#Midweek live two sure

[mycryptosuite]

Midweek Best Numbers To Play Today For 26/07/2023

Midweek Best Numbers To Play Today For 26/07/2023 Midweek best numbers to play today – Prediction for MidWeek​​ You can try Ghana Lotto Prediction tool to predict numbers for the next draw any game you will play. Abc naija lotto prediction for midweek is the best sure magic lotto predictor with baba ijebu two sure for midweek today. Midweek banker for today – Check out the list of the most, and…

[btsmosphere]

Supercharged | JJK

Chapter 8: On the Force

prev | masterlist | next

🗲summary: It starts with a blow to the chest that changes your life. When your city’s most celebrated hero pays a visit, it turns out the noble Bolt has no trouble tossing lives aside. Lives that won't be missed. Lives like yours. Seven mysterious and powerful men give you another chance – one that starts to feel more like a curse the moment you meet golden boy Jungkook. The boy who wants you as far from his brothers as he can get you. Is it you he hates, or the blue lightning that now runs through your veins? And could it be his golden light that illuminates your heart when darkness threatens? 🗲this chapter: Jungkook smiles at you for the first time (and the second).

🗲pairing: jungkook x female reader 🗲word count: 1.2k 🗲genre: angst, action, eventual fluff, enemies to lovers, slow burn, superheroes/villains au, found family 🗲rating: pg15 🗲warnings: none :)

a/n: bonus midweek update!! because of the short length of this and the next chapter, I didn't want to keep you waiting a whole week for each, but they really do stand on their own so I didn't want to merge them either. the adventure continues as normal on Sunday!

Thud. Thud. Thud.

Namjoon’s steps seemed to fall in slow motion as he crossed to his desk. Chairs stood in front of it, but Jungkook had ignored them entirely, upright and standing to attention as his leader faced you both.

Your eyes flicked between the two men. The loaded silence was only intensified by Jungkook’s unflinching gaze, waiting for the hammer to fall when Namjoon would finally speak.

He sucked in a breath.

“Well done.”

Now your gaze snapped abruptly to Namjoon. Blinking, his words replayed in your head as if to prove what you had actually heard.

Beside you, Jungkook’s jaw dropped, tension leaking from his shoulders.

Small smile quirking his mouth, Namjoon chuckled.

“You seem surprised.”

Hesitant, you turned your eyes to Jungkook. His met yours, wide and startled like you had never seen him. How someone like him could ever look so innocent-

“Uh-um,” Jungkook tripped over his tongue, “Y/N wasn’t… we weren’t supposed to be on duty.”

“But you stepped up when we needed you,” Namjoon cut in. Stroking his chin, he raised an eyebrow at Jungkook, “together. I’m impressed by that. It seems you can put aside your differences when it matters, and agree on something.”

You pressed your lips together at his words. Sure enough, Jungkook did the same; Namjoon may have been less impressed had he witnessed Jungkook’s resistance to your help.

Next under Namjoon’s gaze, you tried your best not to look shifty.

“That was also very impressive control from you. At great risk, you managed to snuff out what Bolt was after.”

No words came to you. Dropping your eyes to the floor, you gave a flustered, jerky bow of your head.

Jungkook eyed you from the corner of his eye as you stayed like that, offering only silence. A crease shot along his brow. But he turned back to Namjoon and spoke up, shifting the topic.

“How did Bolt get on us in the first place?”

That drew a sigh from Namjoon. Tugging at his chin, he took a seat.

“He must know our plan. It’s been long enough that we can’t disguise these as random attacks any longer. Media this week has been plastered with calls for vigilance. ‘Villainous movements’ or something. A confrontation like this has been coming for a while.”

Gritting his teeth, Jungkook kicked a chair out with his heel and fell into it. His glare was directed at the ceiling.

More carefully, you took a seat yourself.

“The one time we aren’t attacking, he sees fit to send an army?!”

“Tonight wasn’t an opportunity for him to win any glory,” Namjoon shook his head, “why show his face unless he’s defeating a visible evil? He’s using others, leaving them to fight with the weapons he's already stolen.”

“Probably pin it all on our side in the media,” Jungkook muttered, venomous.

Sitting back, Namjoon held his hands out. Resigned.

“We’re used to that,” he continued calmly, “but him not tackling this in person also tells us we’re right. He’s working on something, and he wants us out of the way – but he can’t risk being the visible instigator of a confrontation.”

“You’re hitting him where it hurts, then,” you added.

“And we can’t stop,” Namjoon agreed, “but this will make it more of a challenge. Which is why you came together at the perfect time – I need you back on board.”

A smirk slid onto Jungkook’s face, but not in time to disguise the hint of much-less-suave delight that lit up his eyes at Namjoon’s declaration. He swelled under his leader’s approval.

“Both of you,” Namjoon continued, “Y/N, you proved you have what we need. Keep training, each of you, but you’re with us now.”

His smile was genuinely warm as he finished. Bolstered by his happiness, you walked out glowing.

Just outside the door, you paused, releasing a sigh. All the adrenaline, the uncertainty and now the relief spilled out of you. You turned to Jungkook.

Abruptly, you were rendered speechless.

He was smiling.

At you.

You had of course seen him smile, but only among the others. It was only now that you felt the full blast of his grin, showing his front teeth and scrunching his nose up. As he looked at you, his smile slipped away, but the happy light never dimmed in his eyes.

“I guess we did it,” you spoke, “are you still mad at me?”

He rolled his eyes, but it was accompanied by a genuine chuckle.

Turning to saunter back through the corridor, he allowed you to fall into step beside him. A smile still hid behind his next words.

“Of course I am.”

“My apologies then,” you replied with an equally suppressed grin, “next time I won’t help you out. My incredible skills are clearly wasted here-”

“I knew it would go to your head,” Jungkook scoffed.

“I don’t see any danger of it surpassing yours in size, don’t worry.”

Jungkook rolled his eyes at your gleeful smile. Together, you reached the base of the stairs and he let you go first, crossing his arms as he hung back a couple of steps.

A flurry of scuffling feet and poorly muffled giggles reached your ears as you ascended, bringing your attention ahead of you once more. On reaching the top, a foot whisked around the corner; someone in a hurry to get to the living room. Their hurry couldn’t erase the glimpse you had just caught of several curious sets of eyes peeking around it, though .

Fond smile emerging on your lips, you marched down the corridor. In front of you, a large, shrieking pile of limbs was toppling over the back of the nearest sofa.

“Yah-”

Yoongi’s tired grumblings mingled with Jimin’s giggles and Hobi’s yelps as the lot of them tried to disentangle from one another. V was the last to sheepishly clamber off the unsuspecting hyung they had squashed.

Over in the kitchen, Jin shot a knowing glance towards you all from his spot by the stove. He held your gaze with a warm smile.

“So? What did Joon say?” Jimin asked, bringing you back.

Multiple sets of curious eyes blinked up at you and Jungkook.

“He was impressed,” Jungkook spoke, moving around to sit, “we’re back on the force.”

A chorus of whoops followed, Jungkook’s brothers grabbing and jostling him in celebration. But they didn’t forget you either: before you knew it, you were being tugged down by Hope too, onto the other sofa as he continued his joyful congratulations.

Breathless with laughter, you managed to escape (though your hair was surely a ruffled state).

The grin paused on your lips as you locked eyes with Jungkook, who was being equally harassed by Jimin, Yoongi patting him on the back. Your lips closed, ready to swallow down the elation if Jungkook was going to be displeased with you joining in, infringing on his group.

He gave you a timid smile.

Thank you for reading! You guys are the most amazing readers, thank you for all your wonderful enthusiasm for this series💜💜

<prev | masterlist | next>

taglist: @aianloveseven @preciouschimine @written-in-flowers @taegularities @dvalities

@parapiop7 @taiwan0618 @11thenightwemet11 @junniesoleilkth @doctorquack

@oddinary4bts @svnbangtansworld @ktownshizzle @minisugakoobies @jksusawife

@kokoandkookie @veemegatron @kookxin @seokout @jkayy

@peaaachpit @stxrrielle @welcometomyworld13 @ssexsellls @ramicherie

@jk5t4r @purplebeebs

[bussyslayer333]

Heart Out

summary: your boyfriend proves his love for you on the beach, so you prove yours in the hard deck bathroom.

pairing: jake seresin x penny’s niece!reader

word count: 2.8k

warnings: smut at the end once again,, but it’s jakes turn this time :0, some swearing, and mentions of dilfs/daddy issues LOL,, MDNI 18+

ps this is my lil continuation of jake x penny’s niece!reader bc i love them <3

((it can be read separately ofc !!))

requests are open as always !!!

⭑･ﾟﾟ･*:༅｡.｡༅:*ﾟ:*:✼✿

Today had been dreadfully boring. Your aunt Penny was out all day at the Hard Deck working on accounts and you couldn’t even pester your little cousin Amelia because she had also been out all day with friends. You’d thought about visiting Jake at work but you weren’t sure whether you were at that stage of your relationship yet. So instead, the best option seemed to be lounging around in your underwear watching Desperate Housewives reruns in the living room. As you flopped over onto your front trying to escape the San Diego heat that you still weren’t accustomed to, a notification popped up onto your phone.

cowboy ❤️

come join me at the beach?

photo

You opened the message to a selfie from Jake in what appeared to be the Hard Deck bathrooms. He was stood shirtless flexing his arms into the mirror doing a little pouty face staring down the camera. You giggled at his stupidly handsome face that somehow manages to look good no matter what he was doing.

You

are you not at work? ❤️

cowboy ❤️

annual dogfight football baby

With that message accompanied a picture Jake had taken over his shoulder of Rooster and Mav shirtless and covered in sand. Suddenly it clicked why your aunt had travelled to the bar to complete tasks which definitely could have been finished at home. Deciding to wind Jake up you replied to the second picture he sent, ignoring his first selfie

You

how does mav still look so good? talk about dilf 🤤

Giggling as you sent the message you put your phone down and decided to finally peel yourself away from the couch to start getting ready for the beach.

Flipping through the variety of swimsuits you had bought with you, you wondered which one Jake would like best. Although Jake would like to call himself a man of taste, when it came to his girl his taste in her clothing was sparse to say the least. Settling on a blue two piece with strings that tied it all together, you moved to pick up Jake’s button up that you had kept since one fateful night in his truck. It was light blue and quite fitted on him but it hung nicely on you and could work as a cover up if the sea breeze became too strong.

You span around to look at yourself in the floor length mirror in the corner of your room. Jake was going to love this. You plucked your sunglasses from the bedside table and placed them on your head so you could finally make your way back downstairs to your phone and tote bag.

Picking up you phone you smirked at Jake’s many replies.

cowboy ❤️

shut up

you’re not being serious right?

because i don’t know the ins and outs of your relationship with your father for that to be a funny text

that emoji makes it seem like a joke

i mean yeah ig he keeps it tight for a guy who gets senior discounts

You interrupted his next text by gracing him with a response.

you

shush jake obv im joking

….we will talk later tho

You then sent a photo of yourself in the mirror near the front door, chest pushed slightly out. You knew your audience.

cowboy ❤️

ur such a tease

you

see u soon flyboy <3

The drive down to the Hard Deck is brisk, not much traffic for a midweek afternoon in Miramar. As you pull into the Hard Deck’s parking lot you recognise a few of the pilots cars and you pull in next to Rooster’s bronco, scoffing at the fuzzy dice hanging from his rear view mirror. That boy was seriously stuck in the 70s.

Moving out of your car, you walk down to where you can see your aunt ‘working’ on one of the benches outside of the Hard Deck that faces the beach front. She slowly averts her gaze from Mav and smiles up at you,

“Hi darling, I wasn’t expecting to see you here?” You giggle as her attention slips from you again when Mav throws the ball particularly well over to Payback.

“Yeah, Jake text me asking if I wanted to join.” She giggles at your dreamy smile and pulls you down onto the bench next to her. Once you’re sat and your belongings have been placed down next to Penny’s you scour the group of pilots to find your boyfriend.

However, as you rake over the group you come to the realisation that he isn’t stood with them. That put an odd feeling in your stomach, Jake was never ever one to miss out on a competition. As you were about to question you aunt, you saw Bob approach with an uneasy look on his face.

“Hey, are you looking for Jake?”

You nod, spurring him on.

“He’s a little further down the beach, with um.. those two girls,”

Your gut twinges again as you look to where Bob is facing, lo and behold Jake is stood pointing something out to two tall slim girls. You weren’t jealous per se, you had no real reason to be. He wasn’t doing anything out of the ordinary, as annoying as it was, girls always seemed to flock to Jake. You weren’t jealous because Jake was the one to express his interest in you first, he knew what he wanted and it was you. Still your gut twinged. You looked to Bob, then stood up abruptly.

“Pen, do you mind looking after my stuff?” You turned to ask your aunt and she hummed absentmindedly, still entranced by her boyfriend. You took the hum as a yes and kicked your slides off ready to go find your boyfriend.

Bob took this as a sign to take off back to the group still playing football and watched your figure retreat to where Jake was standing with the two girls, smiling as they laughed at something he had said.

One of the girls smacked Jake’s chest lightly as she laughed far too hard for what Jake had said. This was when you began to feel slightly angry, you knew that type of laugh. You’d used it before. On Jake nonetheless. No man was ever that funny, especially Jake.

As you came into Jake’s view, his smile widened which made you falter slightly, in what was quite a stompy walk. Reminded of the fact that you were wearing his shirt and his favourite bikini you tried to style out your march into more of a cool girl saunter.

Jake lifted his sunglasses once you were stood in front of him and sucked in a breath as he took in your attire. He lifted his hand from his side and started to play with the hem of his shirt which hung from your frame.

“Wow..”

“Hey baby,” you smiled at him then turned to the two girls who appeared slightly confused by what was occurring in front of them.

“And you guys are…” okay maybe you were slightly snappy, but did these girls still have to hang around when they now clearly knew Jake was taken.

The brunette one of the two spoke up, “Jake, are you not gonna introduce us?”

Jake looked up and scoffed slightly at the girls audacity, he shared a look with you that had you holding in a giggle.

“…right, Brianna, Stace, this is my beautiful girlfriend.” At his statement you smiled up at him, bashful at his compliment and at the thought that you had previously had in which he completely ignored you in favour of his two new friends.

“Hi..” you smiled at the girls with more pep in your step.

The red head (Brianna?) then spoke up, “Oh.. this is your girlfriend?” With distaste on her tongue which made Jake seethe.

“What I just said.” He spoke shortly back to her.

Her friend clearly sensed the tension bubbling and tried to smoothen out the situation, “I think she just means we weren’t expecting to meet her,” she smiled apologetically at you.

You smiled back appreciatively and spoke up, “Well we should really be getting going, I have a game of football i need to see my boyfriend win, it was nice meeting you girls!”

Jake had already began to move away, dragging you along with him as you waved at the two girls when Brianna (?) spoke again,

“Wait Jake! Didn’t you want my number?”

You both turned back to see her friend look confusedly at her and Jake scoffed once again,

“Yeah, no thanks pal.”

You struggled to hold your giggle in again at Jake’s passive aggressive word choice and continued your walk back towards the rest of the pilots who were now taking a break from their game.

“God can you believe them?” Jake asked you exasperatedly, “you look so unbelievably hot right now by the way doll, is that my shirt?”

“They weren’t tooooo bad..” you giggled and nodded at Jake. He continued on,

“I mean they dragged me from the group asking where the closest place was to get food that wasn’t made behind a bar but then when I tried to point places out they just kept going on and on and on and on and-”

“Jake shut up would you?” You said as you finally reached the group sat outside the Hard Deck.

“Hey!” He said and smacked your ass lightly to emphasise his annoyance. You turned and stuck your tongue out at him as Rooster spoke up,

“Finally able to shake you two new best friends then ?”

Phoenix snorted and turned to you, “Babe you should have seen the way they were eyeing Jake up before they finally went in for the kill.” You giggled along next to her at her interesting choice of analysis for the two girls.

Jake had started his own conversation with Coyote and Bob when you finally turned back to look at him and finally realised you hadn’t got the chance to admire how handsome he looked right now. You suddenly couldn’t feel it in you to be angry at the girls and their failed attempts at flirting. The late afternoon sun was warm against your skin and made the remnants of sea water on Jake’s chest glimmer. His dark navy swim shorts hung dangerously low on his hips and his ray bans were sat just slightly too far down on his nose so he had to bring a hand up to push them back upwards, afterwards he raked said hand through his windswept hair and you embarrassingly felt you stomach flutter at the action.

You laced your fingers through his other hand which was still resting low on your hip and squeezed. He turned his head slightly indicating that you had his attention whilst he still managed to listen to Coyote’s ramblings. Standing on your tip toes you whispered into his ear,

“I’m going to go into the bathroom in the Hard Deck in a second and your going to follow in after me in about two minutes, okay?”

Jake looked down at you and smirked at your playful expression, he tipped his head up slightly in a showing of understanding and he dropped his hand from your hips to let you excuse yourself.

Jake watched your retreating form with his eyes trained on the sway of your hips and a smile plastered on his face. He pulled his phone from the pocked of his shorts and checked the time. 16:43. Two minutes and he could follow in after you.

Those last two minutes of Jake’s life seemed to be the longest he’d ever lived through.

He followed your previous path towards the bathroom at the back of the Hard Deck and knocked on the locked door. You open the door to a smiling Jake Seresin.

“Hi doll,” he smirks down at you. You pull him into the bathroom and lock the door behind him, wary of your surroundings.

He has one hand placed on the side of your face with the other groping your ass making you whine out at the contact. Jake leans down and kisses you slowly and sweetly, he goes to slip his tongue into your mouth but before he can you’re pulling away to shed yourself of his shirt and pull your hair up using the spare hair tie on your wrist.

Jake watches with his mouth hanging slightly open as you drop to your knees in front of him smiling sweetly.

“Not that I’m complaining sweetheart but what on earth did I do to deserve this ?”

Tugging at the drawstring holding his shorts up you stare up at him, “you defended my honour in front of those two wenches, oh valiant solider!”

Jake rolls his eyes at your dramatics, but he can see that you truly are grateful for his actions. The thing with you and Jake is that he always understands what you truly mean, even if you mask it behind layers of dry humour, built up for your protection.

You finally undo the knot holding Jake’s shorts so low on his waist (and make a mental note to tease him later on for his navy level drawstring knot) and look up to Jake for conformation.

“Please baby,” he almost whimpers down at you .

You smile at his whiny tone and pull his shorts down enough to release his cock and kitten lick against his leaking tip, making him shudder slightly in pleasure. You grasp him with you right hand and start slowly stroking, watching carefully at what movements make Jake react the most.

He begins to fiddle with the tie at the back of your neck which holds your bikini top together to try and distract him from letting out a groan too loud which could alert anyone outside of your whereabouts.

You lean down again and spit onto his tip, using you tongue to spread the wetness of your saliva and his precum along the length of his cock.

After spending your first night with Jake you realised he had enough of a reason to be so cocky. He was big. (not that you felt the need to tell him and boost his ego even further).

Sinking your mouth down onto him you breathed carefully through your nose and let him hit the back of your throat. Jake released a throaty groan in response to the action and moved his hand into your hair to pull at it lightly causing you to moan onto his shaft. The vibrations make Jake whine even louder into his fist. Spurred on by his noises you continue to move up and down on him sloppily, clenching your thighs at the sounds being pulled from his throat.

The final straw for Jake was when you looked up at him through you long wet lashes as you pulled off of him, with a long string of spit connecting your lips to the tip of his cock.

“Fuck baby, I’m so close.” Jake whimpered.

You take him back into you mouth and trace the vein on the underside of his cock with your tongue. You sloppily continue to suck as Jake’s whines reach a crescendo and he spills into your mouth with a deep grunt. His grip on your hair loosens and you pull your mouth away, careful to keep his cum inside of your mouth. Some slips out the sides of your lips as you swallow and you allow it to drip down in between the valley of your breasts for Jake to admire.

“You are too fucking good to me doll,” Jake speaks breathlessly, helping you up onto unsteady feet.

You giggle up at him, “You can repay the favour later cowboy don’t worry.”

He smirks down at you and rights his shorts swiftly. As he looks back up he uses his fingers to collect his seed that collected in between you breasts and pushes them into your mouth for you to suck clean. Once you finish he pulls you into a searing kiss and licks his tongue around your mouth, moaning at the taste of himself on your tongue.

You pull away, slightly light headed and turn to the mirror to right yourself. Jake stands behind you in the mirror and pulls his button down onto you, smiling at your reflection. You turn around and peck him quickly and reach for the door to let yourselves out.

Walking into the main area of the Hard Deck with Jake behind you, you notice your aunt looking at you with her signature smirk on her face and you blush under her gaze. She wonders when you and Jake will finally stop defiling her property.

⭑･ﾟﾟ･*:༅｡.｡༅:*ﾟ:*:✼✿

a/n: i love these two, jake is much less suckier than he is in my first fic bc i think he is actually so boyfriend !!!!

hopefully you all enjoy this!!! and thank you so much for all the notes on my other two pieces !! i promise i will get to any requests as soon as :)

pls reblog and comment and tell me what you think <333

- honey :0

[gagmewitha-spork]

I Love You (Athenea del Castillo x reader)

Warnings: lil smoochy smoochy, lil angsty angsty, lil lovey lovey

Description: athenea and reader have been dating for a while but the distance is making things a little tense™️

Notes: requested. “reader and athenea are together but reader plays for Barcelona and no one knows they are together till there coming up against each other and after the game they find them kissing in the tunnel”

Word count: 3695

You and Athenea had been together for a few months at this point. Your relationship had built slowly, due to the distance between Madrid, where she played, and Barcelona, where you play, but after going away together for a few days after your euros journey had ended, you knew you needed to make it official. You had finally asked her to be your girlfriend while you had been visiting her in Madrid on a weekend off towards the end of pre season. She had said yes of course, but since then you had only managed to get a few spare days together.

You knew that it would happen, Madrid and Barcelona are close enough together to fool you into thinking it’d be easy, but far enough apart that it’s not actually that easy. The two of you had become well acquainted with the train that ran between the two cities, each taking it in turns to visit the other on the occasional day off you each had.

But with both of your teams playing in the champions league, plus extra midweek games that had been rescheduled from the start of the season, it had been just over two weeks now since either of you had found time to visit the other and you were struggling to see how your relationship would be able to develop if it was always going to be like this. The worst part was that you had decided to keep it a secret from your friends and teammates for the time being, just until you knew it was definitely going to last. But right now you were in a spiral of doubt and you found yourself with no one to talk to.

You and Athenea had ended your latest FaceTime call with an argument. You couldn’t even remember how it had started, but you knew it had ended with accusations that not enough effort was being put in. You hadn’t spoken since and now you were back on the train on your way to Madrid, only this time it wasn’t to visit your girlfriend, it was to play against her and her team in the El Clásico and you were sat staring out the window, silently dreading having to face Athenea.

“Are you ok?”, Keira asks you as she plonks herself down in the empty seat next to you. The two of you had grown fairly close since she joined the team over the summer, her Spanish was abysmal and your English was barely okay but you managed to make it work somehow.

“I’m okay”, you confirm to her, giving her a smile.

“Are you sure?”, she pushes, concerned by your silence over the last couple of days. You were usually very lively and bubbly, one of the loudest in the dressing room, along with the likes of Claudia and Patri, but something had happened that had made you seem down.

Keira wasn’t the only one who had noticed, a few of the other girls had also asked if you were okay, if there was something going on that was making you down, but you had continually shut down their concerns, claiming you were just tired or nervous about the game. It wasn’t entirely a lie, but your nerves weren’t really due to the game, more so what you were going to do and say and feel when you saw Athenea again.

“I’m just tired”, you tell her.

She doesn’t believe you, but doesn’t push any further, instead striking up an easy conversation that makes you instantly feel better. She was good at that, and you again found yourself appreciating that she had moved to your club.

Soon enough you arrived in Madrid and the team all made their way to the bus, which in turn took you to your hotel. Once in your room, which you were sharing with Mariona, your usual away game roommate, you got ready for bed and climbed under the covers, as it was already pretty late. Before sleeping though, you spend a good 45 minutes staring at Athenea’s contact in your phone, as well as drafting several different messages to send before finally giving up and choosing to just go to sleep instead.

——

The following day while down at lunch, you’re pleased to see the injured members of your team, including Alexia, had shown up to support the team and you feel your nerves settle a little as Alexia places her hand on your shoulder. Coming up through La Masia, you looked up to the older Catalan woman greatly. She had taken you under her wing as a midfielder when you had started training, and subsequently signing for and playing with the senior team as a professional.

There had been multiple occasions in the last few weeks in particular where you had almost come clean to her about your relationship with the Real Madrid player, but you had continuously chickened out at the last second, scared about what she might think, even if deep down you know she wouldn’t care about that kind of thing, so long as you were happy.

The day passed quickly, spending most of it hanging out at the hotel, going for a team walk and then finally having a last minute meeting about tactics and line-ups, before getting onto the bus and heading to the stadium.

The closer the bus inched to the stadium the more your nerves built, your palms were sweating and a deep feeling of dread filled your chest. You hated it, how were you allowing one stupid argument make you feel this way. Never in your life had you felt anything but excitement in the lead up to a game. Of course you had felt nerves about big games before, but nothing so sickening as this.

Your knee was bouncing up and down and your fingers picked at the skin around your nails, you had music playing through your earphones but you wouldn’t be able to say what you were listening to, because you weren’t really paying attention. The bus rounds the final corner and the stadium comes into view. A chill shoot’s up your spine and a sudden pain radiates from your thumb, you look down and see it bleeding, having picked away at the skin so much that it had finally broken.

“What’s up with you?”, a muffled voice says as a hand is placed in your knee, stopping it from bouncing quite so erratically. You look at the hand and see the ‘11’ tattoo staring back at you, letting you know who it was immediately.

“Nothing”, you reply, probably a little too quickly, while pulling the earphone from your ears.

“Liar”, Alexia states, “you don’t have to tell me, I won’t force you, but you know you can tell me anything”, the look she gives you, along with her words, almost sends you to tears right there, “whatever it is”, she continues when you don’t immediately start spilling everything to her, “all you need to focus on right now is you, the ball, and the team”, she squeezes your leg gently, “lose yourself in it, just like always, and you’ll play amazing, and whatever has you on edge, we can deal with it after, together, if you want”, her worlds have tears pricking your eyes and you throw yourself into her arms, “you never have to deal with anything alone okay?”, she says quietly into your ear as she holds you in her embrace.

“I know”, you reply, and pull back, almost ready to tell her everything, until you notice the bus has pulled to a stop and everyone is preparing to head into the stadium.

“Come on”, she says, then follows behind everyone.

You feel better already, Alexia is right, all you need to think about right now is the game. You put your earphones back in your ears and head after everyone else. You feel relaxed, the usual excitement about playing in such a hyped up game driving you as you as you head out to check out the pitch.

——

You spend a little more than five minutes out checking the pitch before deciding to head back in to change before warmups. You still have music playing gently into your ears, keeping your mind in the zone and away from thinking of any personal problems you might currently have going on. This however means that you don’t hear your name being called from behind you towards the entrance to the home dressing room.

Athenea had emerged, along with a few of the other Real players, just as you had walked past, your head down, music playing in your ears. She told her teammates to head out to the pitch without her, saying she’d catch up, then jogged after you, calling your name.

“Y/n!”, she called as she caught up with you. You didn’t respond, so she placed her hand on your shoulder to stop you. You stopped and turned, pulling your earphones out of your ears as you did so. Your face immediately fell as your eyes met hers and she dropped her hand from your shoulder as she sensed your sudden shift in mood upon seeing her.

“What do you want Athenea?”, you asked, your voice bitter as all of her accusatory words from your last FaceTime call came flooding back to your mind.

“I just”, she started, seemingly thrown by your cold demeanour, “I just wanted to talk”, she stuttered out, “I mean, I think we should talk”.

“About what exactly?”, you replied.

“About us”, she tells you like it’s obvious, your coldness was starting to irritate her, “don’t you think we should?”, she questioned.

“I don’t think now is really the time”, you say and attempt to turn and head towards the door to your dressing room again.

“Y/n!”, she called again, and grabbed your hand before you could get too far from her, “please”, her tone was begging, and the sorrow in her eyes made your heart clench. You loved her, not that you had told her yet.

“After the game, okay?”, your tone was soft now. You gave her hand a squeeze and your lips twitched into a gentle smile when a flash of hope glazed over her eyes.

“After”, she nodded, before letting you go, she lent in and pressed a kiss to your cheek, causing a gentle heat to crawl its way up your neck. With one last smile you parted ways and entered the dressing room.

Back in the corridor, Alexia stood a few metres up from the doorway you had just entered, having heard everything. It certainly explained your mood over the last few days. And she had finally figured out where you had been disappearing off to on your days off. She had suspected some kind of girl was the reason for your lack of time to hang out with her and your other friends as much recently.

She watched as Athenea paused, watching you disappear through the door and smiling to herself as she turned to leave, but the looming figure of your captain at the end of the hallway stopped her in her tracks, her eyes widening as they locked with Alexia’s. The older midfielder gave her a quick wink, which in turn caused a blush to creep its way up Athenea’s cheeks this time, and she scurried off and out onto the pitch where she joined with her teammates.

——

The game went well, for your side at least. It was rough, as the El Clásico always was, but you were known for being a very level headed player and you had managed to keep your cool throughout, even getting a couple of assists to your name.

Athenea had not managed to keep her cool quite so well, she had clashed pretty harshly with Frido, and you would be lying if you said you hadn’t enjoyed watching it. You could tell she was frustrated, she’d no doubt rant to you for hours afterwards like you weren’t part of the team who had just beaten hers. So long as you made up that is.

You had just finished up your on pitch celebrations, having thanked as many Barca supporters and signed as many shirts as possible. You now made your way back to the changing room, your arm slung around Claudia’s shoulders, laughing along to something she had said.

Athenea had already showered and changed, she felt bad for not staying and thanking many of the fans for coming along, but she was tired and miserable after the loss and as much as she loved to see you happy, watching you celebrate obliterating her team hurt a little too much in the moment. She waited now, leaning against the wall near your changing room, staring the door down like it was her worst enemy. You were so preoccupied with your teammates you hadn’t seen her as you entered the room, so she decided to wait to try and catch you as you left instead.

“You want me to get her?”, a voice next to her causes the young player to nearly jump out of her skin, her heart sent thumping at the shock.

“Um…”, Athenea mumbles, he heart only calming a little as she again finds herself making eye contact with your captain.

“Don’t look so terrified”, Alexia laughed lightly at the expression on your girlfriend’s face, “wait here, I’ll send her out”, she said before entering the door Athenea had been watching like a hawk.

It didn’t take long for you to emerge from the door, pulling your travel top over your head as you did. Your girlfriends eyes scanned over your torso before it disappeared beneath the top and she took a deep breath to steady herself and draw her mind back to the conversation the two of you needed to have.

“You played really well today”, you say to her, trying to ease some of the tension you could feel in the air.

“I didn’t, but thanks”, Athenea replied. The two of you walked a little ways down the corridor, away from the busy area around the dressing rooms and towards somewhere where you could have a little more privacy to talk.

The Real Madrid player leant back against the wall, her eyes trained on the ground in front of her. You watched her, arms folded over your chest, and leant back against the wall opposite where she stood. You waited for her to start, you no longer felt the anger you had when you had seen her before the game. You can tell she’s thinking hard, trying to figure out exactly what she wanted to say, and you let her think instead of pushing her to get on with it.

She looks tired, and not just from playing a full ninety minutes, like she hadn’t slept properly for a few days, it comforted you that she must have been just as effected as you were by your argument, gave you hope that she cared for you as much as you did for her.

“I think I love you”, of all the ways you thought she’d start, that was not it, and you arms dropped from where they had lay crossed over your chest at the shock of it, “I miss you so much when you’re not here, I miss you the second we say bye and I hate not being able to see you every day”, she still hadn’t looked up from the ground but you could tell from the tremble in her voice that she was on the verge of tears.

“It’s okay if you’re not ready to say it back yet”, she tells you when you don’t reply. To be honest you were still too shocked to think of what to say, “but I just thought I should tell you, because I didn’t mean anything I said the other day, all I wanted to say was that I loved you, but everything that came out was the opposite and I don’t know why”, she explains further, she’s finally looking at you know, her eyes racing as they flick over your features, trying to read your thoughts as she spills her heart to you, “I think I maybe just let all the pressure get to me, about the game and all the stuff with the national team, and missing you, and I took it all out in you and I’m really sorry”, a single tear flies down her face and you can feel your own gathering on the rim of your eyes, “please say something”, she whispers after a few seconds of silence, her voice breaking.

You open your mouth to say something, but your mind is a jumble of thoughts, the words she had just spoken bouncing off the walls of your head. Instead you just stepped forward, your fingers wiping at the tears that now flowed freely down her cheeks.

“I think I love you too”, you whispered and her eyes lit up at your admission, “how about we agree to just tell each other how we’re feeling in the future?”, you suggest, smiling down at your girlfriend as her hands came to rest on your hips.

“I think that’s a good idea”, she agrees as your back hits the wall, “right now I feel like I want to kiss you”.

“I feel like you should”, you reply, and before you can take a breath her lips are on yours. Your hands move from where they had been cupping her jaw around to the back of her head, fingers tangling into her hair to hold her against you.

Her fingers in turn dug into your hips, both holding you firm against the wall and pulling you flush against her body at the same time. Your lips glide easily over one others and you sigh into it as you acknowledge just how much you had missed this.

Athenea’s tongue teases at you bottom lip as her hand just barely lifts your top, giving her fingertips access to your bare skin and her hand slips easily around your back as she pulls you impossibly closer to her.

One of your hands stays buried in the hair on the back of her head as the other slides down and comes to rest on her waist.

You’re about to part your lips and give her access to your mouth when a whistle pulls you out of your world and back into the real one. One where you realise exactly where you are. You don’t look up at whoever it is who’s caught you, instead burying your face into Athenea’s neck. She does the same to you and you can feel air brushing your neck as she attempts to catch her breath.

“You know there are better places to get it on that the literal corridor right?”, you instantly recognise the voice, and the fact that it’s in English, as Keira, and finally peek your gaze over your girlfriends shoulder to look towards her. She’s not alone. In fact, it seems half the squad has decided to come and interrupt your little rendezvous in the hallway. You sigh.

“What should I do?”, Athenea questions into your ear, quiet enough that you’re sure you’re the only one who heard the question.

You don’t reply, instead pushing her gently away from you, and pushing yourself off the wall. She stays facing away from your teammates, instead choosing to place her forehead against the wall as she sighs to herself.

You clear your throat, “I umm..”, you start, not really knowing what you’re supposed to say in this kind of situation. Your hand rubs at the back of your neck nervously.

“Is this why you haven’t been hanging out with us much recently?”, Claudia questions you from where she stood beside Keira.

Her question starts a cacophony of questions similar to that, ranging from asking how long it had been going on, why you hadn’t told anyone, to if it had anything to do with your dull mood recently. Your hand rubs over your face as you sigh yet again. You found yourself wishing you had just told your teammates about your relationship when you had had the chance.

“How about you let me shower and maybe I’ll answer some of your questions after”, you suggest, trying to find any way to give yourself some time to think about what answers you would give them.

“You do look like you need a cold shower”, Mapi snickers, causing a few of the others to agree.

“Alright alright”, you hear the voice of your saviour ring out over everyone else, “we’ll have plenty of time to ask questions later, for now let’s just finish getting ready to leave and give the two of them a second alone”, Alexia finishes, ushering your teammates, and a few of the Real players too, back off to the dressing rooms. Before she heads off herself she turns back to you, “you have five minutes”, she sends you a final wink before following after everyone else.

You release a long breath and look towards your girlfriend. Before either if you can say anything you both burst out into laughter.

“We should probably head back”, you say as you both calm down, “before they think we’re back here hooking up or something”.

“Do you have to go back to Barcelona tonight?”, Athenea asks, reaching forward to grab your hands in hers.

You smile, pulling her closer into you once more, “no”, you say quietly into her ear, placing a kiss on her neck before quickly pulling away before she could enjoy it too much, “I’ll come round once I’ve fought off my teammates questions”, you were not looking forward to how many questions you were about to have to answer. You were also pretty sure you’d have to bribe Mariona into not telling everyone you weren’t spending the night at the hotel, but that would be a problem for later.

“I’ll see you later then”, Athenea smiles, “I love you”, she says pulling you back for one last kiss before you go.

“I love you too”, you say back.

[shingekinohyrulewrites]

Lips of an Angel

You and Eren had dated, but the two of you were horrible for each other, and the relationship ended horribly. The both of you moved on, but a single phone call has the two of you falling into each other's lives again.

Read first chapter on AO3 here

Read previous chapter on AO3 here

Talking to Eren on the phone became a weekly ritual, with him calling you if Mina was out with friends or you calling him if Porco was working late. The conversations always started talking about your days before devolving into what shows you were watching, gossip about your friends, or recalling memories of you and your friends. You looked forward to his phone calls, texting him while you were at work to ask what day worked best and arranging a time that worked for both of you.

Pieck had noticed a change in you, observing how you seemed much bubblier when interacting with coworkers and how your presentations were nearly perfect. At first, she assumed that things with Porco were going much better, but when she confronted you about your personality change you had told her the truth.

Her brows had immediately pinched, shifting into a brow before she let out a sigh and shook her head.

“Are you sure this is a good idea? He is your ex, after all.”

“I know, I know,” you rolled your eyes. “But we’re at a good point where we can just chat as friends.”

“Just friends?”

You had hesitated before letting out a fake laugh and patting her shoulder.

“Yes Pieck, trust me.”

But a part of you knew that you were lying. You would always have a soft spot for Eren, despite all of the shit he had put you through, and you knew you looked forward to his phone calls because you missed him. You weren’t sure if Eren felt the same way, and honestly, you were too afraid to ask him.

It had been nearly two months since the two of you had begun talking again. Normally, the two of you talked on the weekends, but it just so happened that both Mina and Porco had midweek plans so you agreed to call each other on the drive home and keep the conversation going after. The conversation began as normal, chatting about your days and complaining about work. Usually, Eren was the one to change the subject, but he was unnaturally quiet after you had complained about one of the new interns.

“Eren? Is everything okay?”

“Yeah, I just . . . um . . . can I ask you something?”

“Sure, what’s up?” you asked, heart pounding as you waited for him to speak.

“What are we doing?”

You were glad you were currently stopped at a red light because you knew if you were driving you would have slammed on the brakes. The silence that followed just prompted him to keep talking.

“Look, I really enjoy talking to you. I mean, fuck, it’s the only thing I really look forward to every week. But I have Mina, and you have Porco. Should we really be doing this?”

You bit your lip, eyes hyper focused on the stoplight. Eren let out a sigh.

“I think we need to figure out what we’re doing here. I really don’t want to get my hopes up, and I’m sure you don’t either. Things are definitely complicated between us, but I don’t want to complicate them further.”

“No, no, I agree,” you replied, voice soft. “We need to set some boundaries, I guess.”

“Yeah, I guess we do.”

You drove in silence for a few minutes, Eren still on the other end. When you were two blocks from your apartment, you decided you needed to make the first move and spoke.

“Why don’t we meet in person to talk things out?”

A pause, then Eren replied quietly.

“Sure, let’s do that.”

***

The two of you agreed to meet at a coffee shop that was midway between where you two lived. You dropped off your work bag before touching yourself up, running a comb through your hair and blotting your face. After swiping on some lipstick, you sucked in a breath before grabbing your keys and returning to your car. You texted Porco that you were meeting a coworker for dinner to discuss some details about a project and he simply replied with an ok.

You felt like you were going to throw up as you pulled into a parking spot. Pulling out your phone, you shot Eren a quick text saying you had arrived before closing your eyes and throwing your head back against the headrest. It had been years since you had seen Eren, and you were unbelievably nervous. Would he still find you attractive?

Your head shot forward, eyes going wide. No.

The feeling of your phone vibrating had you shooting up in your seat. Eren had replied, saying that he was here and would grab a table for the both of you. You glanced around the parking lot, not seeing him and deciding to just meet him inside. Sucking in a breath to steady yourself, you grabbed your purse and stepped out, closing your car door and locking it before slowly walking towards the coffee shop entrance.

There was no missing Eren as soon as you walked in. He was standing at the register, back to you as he spoke to the barista. His brown hair was still long, pulled into a neat bun at the nape of his neck. His shoulders seemed broader, stretching out the material of the emerald green dress shirt he was wearing. Your eyes flickered down his tall frame, admiring his thighs in the gray slacks he was wearing. You were about to approach him when he turned around, face surprised before lighting up.

He hadn’t changed, and the observation had your heart aching. His face was still as tan and sharp as ever, skin practically glowing as he smiled down at you. His eyes matched his shirt, twinkling in the sunlight streaming in from the windows. He took a step towards you, opening his arms to engulf you into a tight hug. The smell of his cologne made you nostalgic, and a flood of memories began to play in your mind.

“Hey. You look great.”

Eren looked embarrassed for a second, reaching up to rub the back of his neck.

“I hope it’s okay but I ordered you a matcha latte. I remember those were your favorite.”

“Oh,” you replied. “It still is. Thanks.”

The two of you stood there awkwardly before he gestured towards one of the tables. You settled on one next to the windows with a view of the street. He gently pulled the chair back for you, giving you a soft smile as he pushed it in for you before sitting across from you.

“Thanks for arranging this. I know it was totally last minute.”

“Of course,” you smiled at him. “You’re right. We definitely have a lot to talk about.”

The barista called Eren’s name and he jogged over to the counter, scooping up your drinks before returning. Your fingers brushed against his and, although it was such a cliche, you felt sparks fly up your arm, sending heat across your cheeks.

“So . . . boundaries.”

You glanced up at Eren, quirking an eyebrow at him.

“Sorry, I’m used to just getting to the point because of work,” he admitted bashfully.

“No, it’s okay it’s just . . . different from you.”

He sighed. “I know, but I meant what I said on the phone. I really do like talking to you, but we are exes, and we’re both in relationships. I don’t think it’s okay that we’re doing this, especially since it’s behind our partners’ backs.”

You nodded, words failing you as you waited for him to continue.

“I really do like talking to you. It’s honestly the best part of my day, and if I’m being honest, that’s what I’m concerned about.”

He took a long sip of his drink, and you figured he was formulating his next sentence in his head.

“I should be more excited about seeing my girlfriend at the end of the day, but I’m more excited to talk to you.”

“Eren,” you breathed out.

“I know, I know, it’s so fucked, but I can’t help it.”

He hesitantly raised his hand, reaching across the table to gently grab yours.

“I fucked up with you, I acknowledge that. I know it isn’t right for the both of us, but I would drop everything to get a second chance with you.”

Your eyes went wide, staring at him like a deer in headlights.

“And now I’ve gone and fucked everything up.”

He retracted his hand slowly, but you were quick to grab it.

“No, you haven’t. I . . . I feel the same. But Porco and Mina complicate things for us.”

“That’s the understatement of the century,” Eren muttered.

“I’m not saying I’m just going to drop Porco but . . .”

Eren’s eyes flickered up to meet yours, curiosity evident in them.

“I’m also not willing to let you go just yet.”

[lexa-griffins]

For Lexa's birthday, Clarke gives her an orgasm for every year she's been alive

It is tradition by now that Clarke will wake up Lexa with an orgasm on her birthday. After seven years of marriage and two babies together, Lexa can easily say it's one of her favorite traditions.

Lexa has the day off today. A midweek birthday always leaves room for little so she intends of celebrating it by just relaxing at home.

Or so she thought.

She's still deep in her slumber when the feeling of pleasure assaults her body. The unmistakable feeling of a toungue tracing the length of her opening, the electric feeling of a fingers who knows her so well circling her clit. She wakes up wet and dripping, her sleeping shorts half way across her legs along side her underwear and her wife’s messy blonde hair buried between her legs.

A particularly hard press of her thumb against her clit makes Lexa moan outloud.

"Shhh baby, the kids are still asleep." Lexa looks down to see Clarke lifting her head, chin already shining with Lexa's wetness.

Lexa hums happily at the sight, "hmm good morning love."

With ease, Clarke climbs over to Lexa, crashing their lips together, "Happy birthday, beautiful!"

Lexa kisses her back with a moan, tasting herself first thing in the morning, "Thank you, my love."

As Clarke kisses her way back to where she was before, Lexa arranges herself on the bed for more comfort, opening her legs fully for Clarke.

"Eager, are we?" Clarke asks, bitting Lexa's inner thigh.

"I'm allowed to be, it's my birthday." Lexa chuckles.

"The big thirty! How do you feel?" Clarke questions, her lips finding their way around Lexa's sensitive nub.

"Ol- ah!" Lexa tries before being stopped by a moan. "Old."

"You're not old hun." Clarke assures her, with one last suck on her clit, letting for of it with a pop that makes Lexa tremble and moan.

"Yes I - ah! - am!" Lexa continues just as Clarke buries her tongue inside of her. She won't last long now.

Clarke shakes her head but doesn't answer, too busy with the task at hand, a smirk playing on her lips when she can feel Lexa's wall clenching around her, seconds away from cumming.

Lexa falls against the mattress as her orgasm lets down finally, adoring the way Clarke makes sure to clean her with her tongue before kissing her way back to her lips.

"I love you so much, baby. Happy birthday! I can't wait to continue celebrating them with you until we're gray and old." Clarke whispers to her adoringly, making Lexa pull her down for a kiss.

It is mid kiss that she feels three fingers enter her without warning, making her moan against Clarke's lips, "Clarke!"

"I think you deserve an orgasm for every year you've lived. How about that baby?"

Lexa chuckles, "I doubt you can make it to thirty before the kids wake up and burts in here."

Clarke kisses her with a smirk, "hm, good thing I took the day off."

Lexa moans in response.

"Let's start we three now, we can work on the rest during the day."

True to her word, Clarke pumps her finger in and out until Lexa's ass is off the bed as she cums, Clarke's hands preventing her from squinting all over the bed.

She has barely recovered from her first two orgasm when Clarke's dick is gently massaging her from inside, Clarke strokes slow and long, knowing with how sensitive Lexa is, it'll be easier to bring her to her third orgasm.

Clarke is about to pull out as Lexa's reaches her climax when Lexa brings her back fully inside, her walls milking Clarke out of her own orgasm, filling Lexa up.

"Are you trying to go for a third baby, love?" Clarke asks with a kiss, still buried inside Lexa.

"Hmm, its my birthday, I get to pick my present."

"3 down, 27 to go."

"Hmm, I have filled day ahead"

"You think an old lady like you can handle it?"

[oedipusted]

Part 2 of blown cover story.

I wasn't sure how many people my sister had told. She said almost everyone, but that could be exaggeration. She told a few I'm sure, and those will tell a few, but at least my secret won't be known far and wide. However, more and more people when they encounter me ask about and comment or talk about my Mom. This was happening more and more. I desperately tried changing subject, but the persons talking to me immediately changed it back to my Mom. Me changing subject I guess made me appear to be guilty I guess. in hindsight.

Around this same time and after, rumors and gossip were multiplying and spreading like wildfire. Every day it seemed 4 or 5 new gossip stories and 5-10 or more new rumors about Mom and I dating/being involved as lovers popped up and started spreading. This went on daily for a few months. During this time, my aunt (who lives on the other side of my home state called me on the phone...the phone at Mom's house of course). My aunt (my Mom's sister) kept saying "I hear you have a new girlfriend. Tell me all about her" I kept saying "No I do not have a girlfriend". "No I truly do not." (Oh did I sound nervous/scared as I talked.). Mom and my Sister are within earshot. After several denials from me, my aunt said "I know you have aa new girlfriend you are super serious about.". "NO NO NO" said I. "My aunt said "Nonsense dear. I know for a fact you have a girlfriend. I am talking about your mother, er... your girlfriend... er your mother. Your mother/girlfriend, she is who I am talking about." I had to explain to my aunt all about it. Next day my aunt from Dad's side of family called, same thing. I had to explain.

Two nights later, my Mother and I are in the midst of a very passionate love making session at around 2:30 AM, in my Mother's bed (it is a midweek night). Suddenly the phone beside Mom'ss bed rings. We ignore it of course. A minute of two later it rings again, in the midst of a thrust stroke I absently mindedly pick up the phone and say breathlessly "Hello. This is Ted Jr. We were in bed". Uh-oh. It is my aunts. Major Uh-oh. They both start talking, and say "Imagine talking to you at 2:30 in the morning, in your Parent's house, and apparently in your Mother's bed to boot, haha. May we speak to her". Major Uh-oh. I say "Yes, here Mom" and quickly hand the phone to Mom, who speaks into it immediately... Major major Uh-oh!! Yes we gave ourselves away. This must have been popular, because a majority of over nights friends, acquaintances, strangers neighbors would call during night. If Mom answered they would want to talk to me, saying they know I am here. If I answered, common response was "Aha, I knew it. I KNEEEEW IT! May I speak to your mother". Oh yeah, we were pretty busted.

During this time, more and more rumors were formed about Mom and I. More and more gossip flew. Our small town and small and larger towns//cities in ssurrounding area seemed to have lots of people who knew. These rumors/gossip also caused others who were not sure it was true, to try to see us or catch us . Oh man oh man oh man. To me it seemed almost everyone knew. Apparently my sister told way more people than I first assumed. And those many people told many other people. If those people had not heard, now they had heard. If people already knew, hearing all the additional gossip and rumors simply confirmed that the gossip and rumors were ALL TRUE!! Part 3 (tonight later) will be about our cover completely being blown, more people finding out, Mom and I getting caught "in the act" a few times,and how that kead to the blog I have today.

[cambria-writes]

hello! hi! i'm starting to learn that updating two fics in one day is a little bit too much. i was gonna post this on monday but then I got distracted so. here’s a midweek update. :)

me, wondering why I don’t have notes on the new chapter: why am I not—oh. oh it’s still in the drafts

is there perhaps a plot hole i forgot to cover up? maybe! (definitely actually but it's more like a slip of the... fingers?) anyways it contributes to the mystery so it's fine! probably. word count: 1,688 it’s babie rating: T, each chapter rated individually warnings: talks about last murder, Jane being a menace, lmk if I should add anything else!

previous

𝕮𝖍𝖆𝖕𝖙𝖊𝖗 𝕰𝖎𝖌𝖍𝖙: 𝔇𝔞𝔫𝔡𝔢𝔩𝔦𝔬𝔫

As soon as you're out of the building, you feel the need to ask. Instead, restrain yourself. Word it differently.

"It feels like you're starting to believe me." Clutch the strap of your bag to your chest. Mr Jane's mouth twitches in a way you don't recognize. You can't tell what it means.

"There's still no such thing as psychics," he replied evenly. Looks sideways at you, considers you for a moment. Opens the passenger door of the car for you. "Doesn't mean I have the answers to everything. Probably." You scoff and drop yourself into a passenger seat that is becoming far too familiar.

You still have no idea where you're going. It's a struggle, initially, not to ask. Once you get to talking about the music on the radio, you're fine. You have something to talk about, take your mind off things. Talk about the musical arrangement, your favourite score composers, instruments. Remember that one time, the first time, you went to see a symphonic orchestra, and how you cried like a child. You were twelve, okay, yes, but still.

You're nervously rambling and you know it. Jane doesn't point it out. Indulges you with a few hums and questions here and there. For the better part of the car ride, however, you try to nap. Once you've exhausted yourself of conversation, you realize you've had... not much sleep. Eyes feel dry, throat feels sore and legs feel stiff.

Thankfully, you don't dream.

Somehow, you manage to wake up a few minutes before you arrive. Wherever it is you're being taken to. Glance at the dashboard clock; nearly four hours have passed. Vaguely remember Mr Jane driving northbound. Most likely far past Yuba by now. You feel a small sense of disappointment. You honestly thought there was a chance you might be going home.

You get the very distinct feeling that where you're going is nowhere near as pleasant.

"Welcome back among the living," is what Mr Jane greets you with when you sit up straighter. You stifle a yawn; look out the window, and glare. Rain. Perfect. The sky had seemed clear when you left. Four hours is a lot of time for weather, apparently.

"Should I even bother to ask where we are?," you ask, tired, rubbing your eyes. Not sure if they feel any less dry than before.

"No point in it," comes a pleasant, chipper reply. It almost rubs you the wrong way.

A quick look around reveals that you're driving along a coastal highway. The 1, if you had to guess. Mr Jane seems resolutely staring off to the left. Not sure if he's looking for a house or out at sea.

"Fun fact, this little corner of Mendocino," he starts, and you sit straighter. At least now you have a name. "Is referred to as Slaughterhouse Gulch. Just makes you want to take a vacation here, doesn't it?"

A shiver runs down the back of your neck. "Oh, yeah, absolutely. Want to raise a family here," you deadpan. What kind of genius names a place Slaughterhouse Gulch?

Mr Jane almost snickers at your disdain. You huff, pull out your phone, and begin to google. There are a ton of useless links to maps of the area. A few to places completely out of state. (Of note is the Slaughterhouse Gulch haunted house, which you promptly frown at. Not what you're looking for.)

The rule of thumb is that if it isn't on the first page, try searching something else. You click on to the next page anyways. More maps. Nothing useful. Only on the fourth page do you find a link to an article written in the early 2000s.

There isn't much detail, but there's enough to make you uncomfortable. The Gulch was the hunting ground for a presumed serial killer. Women went missing every few months over the course of four or five years. The latest missing person reported dates back to 2003. For two years investigators followed less than solid leads, until the trail eventually went cold. Nothing to find, nothing to do.

"Anything interesting?" You just about jump out of your skin. Jane actually chuckles nervously before apologizing. "Geez, someone's a little jumpy."

"I was shot yesterday." Hold your hand to your chest to steady your heart and your breath.

Mr Jane seems to consider his words. "So?" You blink at him. "What did you find?" He keeps his eyes on the road. Looks to be ready to take an off ramp. Marvelous.

Shake your head, flip your phone around in your hands. "There's not much to find," you answer after a while. You determinedly keep your gaze on your feet. "Something about a serial killer that no one ever caught. Has a weird MO, only goes for women, used to take them from the Gulch until 2003, then nothing."

The silence coming from the driver's seat leads you to believe you should continue.

"Then there's... whoever's been taking people around the south?" Bite the inside of your cheek, when something strikes you. You frown. "Wait. Doesn't she seem to stick to the shore?"

"Not a bad guess," is Mr Jane's reply. A small bit of pride swells in your chest. Make quick work of rationalizing it away and ignoring it. "Why do you think?"

It takes a little bit for you to come up with an answer. By the time your thoughts are sorted, Mr Jane is weaving through narrow roads, slowly approaching the shore and its properties.

"I'm not sure. The bodies of the women that disappeared before 2003 were never found, right?" You get a short nod. "Maybe to drop them in the ocean..?" You trail off, resume biting the inside of your cheek.

You honestly feel like a clueless child trying to impress a grandparent. There can't be any way any of what you’re saying hits anywhere close to the mark. You have no background in criminology (high school classes in civil rights and law don't count, and you know it) and you have very little experience in criminal psychology, let alone profiling.

You have no idea why a consulting mentalist is asking you anything.

"I know that look," Jane says. When you turn to look at him, his eyes are still glued to the road. "You're smarter than you think. Miss Benraft. So tell me, why do you doubt that the bodies were dropped in the water?"

That he could sense your unease with your own statement is troubling, but that, too, you ignore. "Unless they were, uh. Disposed? Further from the shore? The current would just beach their bodies, right? So someone would have found something by now."

Again. Ignore the pride from the smirk you get. You look down at your phone's dark screen.

"I'm missing something super obvious right now, aren't I."

It's not a question. "The most obvious thing," Mr Jane answers anyway.

You sigh, close your eyes, hang your head. Your mind is too far into crevices, you know. You wouldn't be able to look at the bigger picture here if it hit you in the face with a truck.

When the car slows, and Mr Jane shifts down, you look up and out. The sight of a pale yellow house makes your stomach turn. Taste bile in the back of your throat. You do your best imitation of someone who isn't terrified.

"This isn't the cabin I saw, though."

Jane sighs, almost wistfully. "Dreams are a projection of the subconscious mind, Miss Benraft. What you saw was what you think is a comfortable, warm home. This," he waves at the custard coloured house. "Is probably someone's idea of comfort. God knows it isn't mine, either. But what can you do." Punctuates the end of his sentence by parking the car. You grab his shoulder before he can get out.

"Wait! Wait. What is this place? I don't—who lives here? Are we allowed to go in?" You get a wolfish grin as a reply before Mr Jane pulls himself away from you and out of the car.

You make a cursory attempt at steadying your breathing before climbing out. Wasn't very successful. Rake your nails against the strap of your bag. Walking up the small stone pathway to the door makes your heart thump increasingly hard against your ribcage. It may not look like the cabin in your dreams, but the visceral feeling of dread remains the same.

Mr Jane stops at the door, looks left and right (you don't like that at all) before kneeling in front of the door. You crowd him instantly, try your best to cover what he's doing.

"What the hell are you—what are you doing?" Frantically look around you. The whole street seems deserted; no cars in any driveways, no one walking around. The anxiety doesn't leave you regardless. "Are you actually allowed to do that? What the hell, are you a locksmith?"

A bark of laughter. Alright then, not a locksmith. "It's not illegal if we're not caught, right?" he offers you, standing up and turning to face you.

He is instantly five miles too close to you. Takes a second for you, long enough to think that Mr Jane probably hasn't shaved in a day or two, before you practically leap out of your skin. His chuckle isn't as carefree as it usually sounds. You don't bother to steady your breathing this time. Make a note to maybe go on a date soon. You probably need it.

The door opens soundlessly, signs of a property well maintained. A question pops up again.

"Wait, are we supposed to be here? Does anyone live here?" Look around; you notice the distinct lack of a "FOR SALE" sign on the lawn. Panic rises in your throat.

Mr Jane waltzes into the home without looking behind him. "Probably. Doesn't really matter; we're just going for a stroll on the beach." Through a house. That is presumably owned. And lived in. You dither at the door before stepping through the threshold.

You can only manage an unintelligible groan before crumpling to the floor unconscious.

𝓣𝓪𝓰𝓵𝓲𝓼𝓽

@fucklife-or-me @yearningforsappho

[timetraveltasting]

MAKKE (c. 1390)

Time for a peasant-style, medieval, midweek dish, because I'm no royal, and this is probably closer to what I'd be eating if I actually did go back in time. The historical dish from Tasting History I tried this past Thursday evening after work was Makke, a medieval peasant-style dish from England. While we don't know for sure that peasants ate this, because the recipe, c. 1390, is also sourced from the Forme of Cury (recipes used to feed the court of Richard II of England), it is one of the few dishes therein that doesn't use expensive herbs or spices and contains only a few easily-accessible ingredients for the average peasant. See Max’s video on how to make it here or see the ingredients and process at the end of this post, sourced from the Youtube description of the video.

My experience making it:

I made a change or two from the modern recipe below: I used white gigante/corona beans (Weiße Riesenbohnen, where I live) instead of fava or broad beans, because I couldn't find fava or broad beans readily, and the white beans would hopefully end up white, like the original recipe describes. Max mentions that the red wine listed in the original recipe would likely not have been used by peasants, as beer was closer to hand, so I also decided to use beer instead of red wine - specifically Gaffel Wiess. Gaffel Wiess is a top-fermented beer from the Cologne region of Germany; it is light, unfiltered, and naturally cloudy, much how I imagine a peasant's beer might be due to lack of modern filtration equipment. Until the mid-20th century, Wiess was the main drink of the people of Cologne, the forefather of the modern and popular Kölsch beer.

The process of making Makke was marvelously simple, making it perfect for a quick midweek meal. The recipe took me only 20 minutes (or less!) to make. Like Max mentioned, I added only half a cup of beer to the mashed beans at first, and added more until it was more of the consistency I was after - similar to mashed potatoes. I also needed to mix in a decent amount of salt in order to add a bit of flavour to the mixture (no fancy royal herbs allowed!). The onions fried up perfectly and added a much-needed colour dimension to the plain-looking dish. I was content that despite using a different type of bean, my Makke looked nearly identical to Max’s!

My experience tasting it:

Serving the Makke forth along with a garden salad, a bit of bread and butter, and the rest of the Gaffel Wiess beer, my husband and I tried the first bite with a bit of the onion, and we were quite happy with the flavour! I'm not sure if it was the mashed consistency (which reminded me of my favourite dish, mashed potatoes) or the crisp and sweet onions, but this dish was easy to inhale and spoon down pretty quick. Makke is in no way out of place in a modern diet, in my opinion. Sure, after a couple spoonfuls I may have added a little black pepper to give it some more bite, but the foundation of this dish is good. I will definitely make this dish again, although perhaps with the powers of a modern pantry, including all of the delightful herbs and spices that only a 16th century royal would have possessed. The fact that this dish is tasty and quick to prepare means that it is a great addition to our midweek meal repertoire. If you end up making it, if you liked it, or if you changed anything from the original recipe, do let me know!

Links to harder-to-find ingredients:

Fava/Broad beans

Makke original recipe (c. 1390)

Sourced from The Forme of Cury

How to make Makke Take drawen benes and seeth them well. Take them up of the water and cast them in a morter grynde them all to doust till thei be white as eny mylk. Chawf a little rede wyne, cast thereamong in the gryndyng, do therto salt, leshe it in disshes. Thenne take Oynouns and mynce them smale and seeth them in oile til they be al broun, and florissh the dishes therwith. And serve it forth.

Modern Recipe

Based on The Forme of Cury and Max Miller’s version in his Tasting History video.

Ingredients:

3 cups (450g) fava/broad beans (or any other bean)

1/2 cup - 1 cup (118 ml - 236 ml) red wine or ale

salt to taste

1 onion minced (white or yellow)

oil or butter for frying

water for boiling

Method:

Wash and boil the beans over a medium heat until soft.

Remove the beans from the water and mash them until smooth.

Warm the wine or ale over a low heat and mix with the beans. Start with 1/2 cup and add more to achieve desired consistency.

Mix in salt to bean mixture to taste.

Place a large pan over medium heat and add the butter or oil.

Add the minced onion and fry until golden brown, about 7-10 minutes.

When onions looking sufficiently brown, garnish onions on top of the beans.

Serve it forth.

[doomedandstoned]

UK Rockers FROGLORD Groove on ‘Sons of Froglord’

~Doomed & Stoned Debuts~

By Billy Goate

Since the dawn of time, Mystics have foretold the coming of the Froglord An ancient amphibian with death ray vision and ectoplasm slime...

Behold, the mighty FROGLORD has returned! We first met the Bristol bunch in these pages when they split an album with Bog Wizard, then again for our compilation, Doomed & Stoned in England, Vol. II. Now they're back with 11 new tracks, 'Sons of Froglord' (2023), each one linked to overarching plot (the saga now spanning four records):

500 years before ascension, Froglord tires of wordly trappings and so departs into the wilderness. There, the great Wizard Gonk awaits, a mighty guide through this garden. Together they seek its forbidden fruit: the Road Raisins. Once found, the flesh is consumed, giving way to visions of a coming collapse. The sound of The Amphibian can be heard, calling to the sage, and the Froglady's embrace guides him back to earth. Returning to the world on a Wednesday, he knows he must hold on till the lord cometh. Till that time, the mind must be honed and create a swamp of its own.

The content really delivers on the storyline, too. "Wizard Gonk" is a riff-driven romp with foot-shuffling stride and deadpan, shoegazy vocals on the order of Depeche Mode. "Garden" is a dank one for sure, donning bluesy guitar, strident rhythm, and a fist-raising chorus. "Road Raisin" couples humid Kyuss guitar tone with an easy-going desert rock tempo and mysterious, doomy vox. Speaking of singing, "Collapse" features grisly pipes that remind me of Neal Fallon's early work. Many tokes will be taken, surely, early on in this album.

It's not all an anuran fantasy, however. "Wednesday" is an ultra cool rocker a la Velvet Revolver about riding through the midweek blues. And the album closes with a nod to the CCR classic, "Born On The Bayou," giving it the Froglord treatment with gutsy drumming, smooooooth bass work, stinging guitar, and crooning that tells us we're deep into marsh country now and there ain't no returning.

Sons of Froglord is an up-beat romp through the swamp, ideal for baking on your favorite lilly pad. Look for the Froglord's latest release on Friday, July 7th (pre-order here). Stick it on a playlist with Deep Purple, Clutch, Merlin, Geezer, and Forming The Void.

Give ear...

FROGLORD - Sons of Froglord

SOME BUZZ

During the pandemic as a one-man project, Froglord released their first EP in 2020, followed soon after by a full-length album 'Amphibian Ascending.' Through their infectious grooves, storytelling, and DIY music videos, Froglord quickly amassed an online cult-like following. After the release of their second album 'The Mystic Toad' a year later, Froglord developed into a full 4-piece band as live venues began to reopen.

Since then, Froglord have released a further EP, split record, a single, and two more full-length albums: 'Army of Frogs' and 'Sons of Froglord.' During this time, Froglord has quickly gained a reputation for their commanding and theatrical stage performances.

Photo by April Marie

Whilst Froglord's sound leans primarily toward stoner doom, they have been characterised for their genre-bending sound, with each album taking on it's own distinct style, taking strong influences from psychedelia, prog, sludge, grunge, groove and blues to deliver the tale of The Froglord through a concept-based discography.

Rooted also in environmentalism, Froglord has worked closely with Save The Frogs, the world's largest amphibian-based conservation charity, raising over £2500 through 'Save The Frogs' EP sales and campaigning, as well as £300 for the Human Dignity Trust through merch sales.

Follow The Band

Get Their Music

[mycryptosuite]

Ghana Midweek Lotto 2Sure Key For 19/07/2023

Ghana Midweek Lotto 2Sure Key For 19/07/2023 Ghana midweek lotto 2sure key for today is ready and we all are going to win with AbcNaija best lotto forecast for today, Wednesday lotto prediction. Today midweek winning banker – Today midweek ghana lotto sure banker facebook forecaster, Ghana Lotto Prediction tool to predict numbers for the next draw any game you will play. Hot and cold numbers for…

[electricbluebutterflies]

better words

Post-s1 Marc/Layla, PG-ish, also on ao3.

prompt: things you said that I wouldn’t understand (thank you @apple-grass-and-smiles)

Layla gets her first scar from avatar duty a few months in.

She’s in Berlin and she really isn’t doing anything when that delighted voice in her head asks if she can spare a few hours, and… Layla is still learning how this recurrent and decidedly voluntary arrangement works, but what she does know by now is that she’s having a different experience than her husband ever did. She is fully present in her body, the voice in her head is more cheerleader than tyrant, and she completes the protective task smoothly and without any unnecessary showing-off.

Oh, and turns out she’s not exactly bullet-proof when she’s in avatar mode. Or knife-proof, as the case may be.

A scratch on her arm where the scarab outfit leaves a little skin exposed isn’t the worst thing in the world – honestly that kind of injury is a normal enough midweek evening for her, which is a whole other tangle of personal baggage she’d like to avoid – but it’s vivid confirmation that this situation she’s gotten herself into is different. Confirmation that she is not a cosmic chewtoy, that this is all every bit as safe as she never thought it could be. Past experiences being what they are, there’s still hesitance, but Layla is more than capable of making her own choices and-

It's two days later, when she’s back home, that she stops being able to avoid dealing with the weirdness of it all.

“What happened?”

She pauses in the middle of changing shirts, for a moment unsure what the problem even is before she remembers the bandage on her shoulder. “I’m fine,” she says too quickly, the practiced tone of a woman who’s had to be fine for about the past decade because she went and married the first disaster she met who could easily out-crazy her own life and-

“Layla-“

“Fine,” she repeats. “Pretty sure it was a pocketknife and it didn’t go deep and-“

The problem with the current state of her life, she thinks sometimes, is that now she has multiple people worrying about her at all times, and it was weird enough when there was just one but now she has to deal with the protective paranoia of both known inhabitants of that body and that drifts all too easily towards overkill. At least Marc is the active presence right now – she can only imagine what’s going on in his mind right now – but that might make the situation worse if he doesn’t let this go and-

“Thought you said this was an easy job.”

“It was,” and she might as well get this over with and escalate what she knows damn well will be a conversation neither of them actually wants. “So was the detour. This isn’t the worst thing-“

“Detour?”

“Taweret saw an opportunity and…”

Well, now Layla knows what it must be like to deal with herself. Marc’s face cycles through a few emotions before settling on what-the-actual-fuck, and maybe there was a moment within the past few months when she should’ve tried explaining that her cosmic involvement has evolved beyond the one-off deal it started as but turns out she can keep secrets too and at least hers are a hell of a lot less likely to ruin all of their lives unlike some people and-

“Shit.”

“She asked permission. It wasn’t…”

It wasn’t like every time that sadistic immortal vulture wanted to make a point, Layla is half-tempted to say but doesn’t. It’s different, and she hasn’t been able to pin down more than that yet but it’s powerful and good and she doesn’t hate it and-

“I thought this was over.”

“It is over. I’m in control. It doesn’t feel like what you told me at all.”

“Layla-“

“You don’t get to tell me to make better life choices,” she hisses. “If you don’t want to know, fine.”

“You can get hurt. You will get hurt.”

“You have seen me take worse before.” Layla gestures to her exposed skin, the marks on her torso alone enough to document what she has chosen to do with her life and how thoroughly she has lived. “I carry that for both of us. Tell me how this is any different.”

“Is this the first…”

“Third time I’ve given her a few hours of my life. First time anything even got close enough to hurt me. Better than you ever did.”

Not that any of those wounds ever stuck, Layla reminds herself – a girl can only watch her partner survive fatal wounds so many times before she loses count – but still. This is different. Eventually she’ll have better words but for now that’s where she is.

“We can’t lose you.”

“You won’t.”

There is so much uncertainty – there is always so much uncertainty, the more things change the more they stay the same and oh she hates that sometimes – but she’s at least at that point. This particular era of her life, this mutually beneficial relationship with a goddess who does not follow the rules Layla thought applied to that world, will not be the end of her. She won’t let it.

“If something happens…”

“Whatever you want to say can’t be worse than what I did,” Layla murmurs. “This isn’t… this is new. Try to let it be new with me.”

It won’t be that easy. Trauma never fades as fast as anyone wants it to. But if she has time, if there is any patience…

“We worry.”

“I know. It’s cute.”

[moodywritesmoody]

“There they are,” Ella said with a low laugh.

Cresting over a hill lined with beeches was the small van that converted into the camping set-up for mobile Casa del Stally - Sally hated when Janine called them Stally; Stella loved it, in part because it annoyed Sally - the van rolled to a gentle stop beside Ella’s larger and more professional camping van.

Sally hopped out of the driver’s side all smiles, her brown boots landing with a foop on the grass, outstretched arms saying everything she needed to say.

Stella, not to be out-done, leaped out of the passenger side and launched into a bold rendition of “Oh what a beautiful morning.”

“Good afternoon, Stella. Sally, how are you, love?” Ella embraced the two arrivals and they shuffled over to Janine; squeezing the last dregs of London out of her too.

With their arrival, their collective was complete and the midweek weekend could begin in earnest.

… ….. … ….. … ….. … ….. … ….. … ….. … ….. … ….. …

But first, Total silence; for one hour. That was the one and only recurring rule for their camping club.. It had to be done, if they didn’t want their two nights of peace to become a place to endlessly ruminate on the problems they tried to leave behind in London.

Their first camping trip together had proved it necessary. When you had a combination such as they were - Stella who vocalised her anxiety in every way short of expressing what actually worried her, Sally who withdrew so far within that she became completely absent, Ella who got testy in emotionally chaotic situations, and Janine herself who absorbed every other person's emotional spillover and concluded the two days more exhausted than rested - you needed some version of mental zoomies.

So for one hour they would sit, and wring all the most dribbly thoughts out. They could give especially tricky quandaries the attention they demanded and reckon with as many of the pent up feelings as they could manage.

After that: freedom. Any feelings that needed airing out could be expressed, or put away if they didn’t feel like talking about it; either way the pressure valve eased considerably for everyone in attendance. It was yet another brilliant idea from Ella, who as a therapist also tried to leave her work at home; but she still always knew just the thing to say or to do when situations got a bit tense. There was also the benefit of her age; more life experience. Janine tended to feel a bit like a fool around her, but considering Ella sought her out and kept her around willingly, she couldn’t be all that bad, right? If there was one thing Janine had learned about Ella so far, it was her commitment to not being where she didn’t have interest in being. A very very enviable strength that Janine imitated - when she remembered to.

Janine glanced around at the three other women sitting in camping chairs facing the sun, watching it sink farther behind the deep green of the hills, while the sky went from pale blue, to peachy pink, to ripe red; and finally the deepening blue of the night. Even under the same miraculous sky, she suspected they all saw it very differently. She was curious how their thoughts were playing out. Stella liked to listen to music with headphones during her hour of silence, saying it helped streamline her thinking, but everyone else sat listening to the sounds of the stream, and the crickets, and the distant town traffic. Sometimes Janine envied them their worries, she was sure they were more exciting than hers - afterall they’d all chosen such exciting lives. Janine had to manufacture her excitement.

Not that her life was completely dull, whenever she related bits of it she could tell that her experiences were unusual as far as experiences went; so it only mystified her more that she felt so grossly uninterested by her daily life.

Ever since she’d finally gathered her big girl panties and quit being a Corporate PA to focus on writing full time; it had felt like she was searching for the special something that would be the source of her creative fountain. She needed more than just creativity and wit, she needed inspiration.

She could tell because for the last year, she’d write a few odd characters and try to create wild and uncommon circumstances for them to be played in; but time after time, it all just felt cheap, and contrived – she was imitating writing, and not writing in a real way. Who the fuck would care about their silly situations, she’d think every time, she could barely get herself to care.

Now Janine was hardly an idiot, she had some idea about where the blockage might lay. While writers didn’t absolutely need twisted or mind bending lives to have interesting things to write about, they at least needed some kind of fire for their own life. A burning problem for which their own stories were just simulations. After-all, weren’t they just sharing all the things within them that were overflowing? Janine churned, sure, but she didn’t have any kind of flow at all.

All she knew for sure was that for as long as she could remember, there was nothing she enjoyed more than stories; whether it was her Grandmother’s old Iranian folk tales or whatever serialised TV show played after school, Janine latched onto them like they could give her life its meaning. Both then and now, she was clearly enchanted by something, she just wished she knew what it was.

Perhaps when their hour was over she might pick Ella’s brain… or she might not. Ella would probably just probe at her dating life again; and there was nothing there but a series of failures - the perfect fodder for trauma analysis probably.

But Janine didn’t want to talk about her love life anymore. She was afraid of what Ella would discover, because she knew her friend; even if she weren’t a trained therapist, she had an eerie knack for seeing to the heart of the matter and standing right next to it as the both of you looked at it - even if she didn’t point at or mention it. Ella made her honest, and sometimes honesty hurt her, and scared her.

Wow Janine, could this possibly be the mysterious thing blocking your creativity that you refuse to address? This door that says ‘Danger, do not Open,’ this couldn’t be important could it?

She knew, at least, that part of why she couldn’t understand was because she didn’t want to. Perhaps her self awareness was itself the problem. If she weren’t self aware, she at least had a chance of tripping into a solution in disguise: her true self under a trench coat. Accidental confrontation.

She glanced at their designated hourglass where it was perched on a camping table, it was almost completely poured out. But she wasn’t sure how to conclude a thought that she already turned in circles day in and day out. It never really had an end; only some compromise that gave her temporary peace.

———————————————————————

Chapter 2 Snippet: Fucking Silence

[realtorjamier]

A Guide to Hosting December Holiday Dinners!

It’s the most wonderful time of the year! Holiday celebrations are back in full swing and back in person. Hosting a holiday dinner party is a great way to reconnect with family and friends. December is the month to take a basic dinner party up a notch with Instagram-worthy, over-the-top décor and jolly fun!

If you need inspiration, Pinterest can be your most creative, stylish friend. Unfortunately, the deluge of digital images can also be overwhelming. Let us help you get a plan in place for your soiree, and then you (and your laptop and your favorite shopping venues) can take it from there!

Party Themes

Pick a vibe that matches your tribe. Do your friends prefer beer pong and nachos or are they drawn to a more sophisticated soiree with guests dressed in their Sunday best? Here are a few ideas for party themes that span the gamut between formal and informal. 

Holiday Movie Premiere

Focus on one particular movie, or a mixture of many. Playing movies in the background is an easy activity and offers introverted guests a comfortable socializing option. This party can be styled up or down, depending on your audience. Red carpet pizazz or pajamas and pizza. Invitations can be elegant stationery or cute admission tickets. The table centerpiece could be anything from the infamous leg lamp from A Christmas Story to fake snowballs a la Buddy the Elf. Dessert could include a gourmet popcorn bar. Let your imagination run wild with your favorite holiday movie ideas.

Gift Back

This year’s gift exchange could be a nostalgic nod with a philanthropic twist. Guests can bring new toys, games or books that remind them of their childhood (think Slinky, Lincoln Logs, Tonka trucks, Spirograph, etc.). Before adding each toy to the donation box, guests can share stories about why they have chosen to gift their item. These stories will make great conversation starters. The trick here is to make sure the toys are brand new and still appealing to kids! Fat Brain Toys offers new versions of popular toys from the 1920s through the 1990s.

Winter Solstice

If you want to be completely on point for this party, the first day of winter this year falls on Dec. 21, which is a Wednesday evening. But celebrating midweek is not absolutely necessary. What IS necessary, is that guests dress in their best winter white, and the party food and décor follows suit: white flowers, meringue-inspired delicacies, snowflake luminaries (doilies wrapped around glass jar candles), a gourmet hot (white) chocolate bar. Party favors could be gourmet marshmallows. You get the idea.

Pajama Party

This can be fun for families with children or you can do a grown up version. Either way, playing The Polar Express movie in the background — the dreamy story of a group of pajama-clad kids who end up on a train bound for the North Pole — will create the right atmosphere for this casual gathering. Don’t forget blanket forts (sized for adults with dimly-lit LED candles), junk food, karaoke, and group games.

There are countless party theme possibilities — Christmas Around the World, Ugly Christmas Sweater, Creative DIYs (wreaths, gingerbread houses, Christmas ornaments), Christmas Carol Karaoke, Holiday Trivia, Christmas in Vegas, Tropical Holiday with the Beach Boys’ Christmas Album, Holiday Talent Show. This list goes on and on.

To-do: The List

Once you have chosen your theme, it’s time to create your list. Live by your detailed to-do list.

Your master to-do list should have many subcategories including:

Guest list

Menu

Budget

Equipment rental

Music selections

Party decor

Grocery store list

Liquor store list

Party store list

Once your preliminary list is underway, it’s time to schedule tasks by creating a checklist and referring to a calendar. What should you accomplish one month before the party? Two weeks before? One week before? Two days before? This will help you eliminate much of the inevitable last-minute scramble and panic.

Simplify, streamline

Here are five tips to simplify and streamline your party:

Choose as many make-ahead recipes as possible.

If you plan to make the spirits bright all night, big-batch cocktails are so much easier than custom cocktails, unless you hire a bartender. Champagne punch in a beautiful punchbowl is not only easier but it also makes for lovely and festive décor. Make sure to include a fancy alcohol-free, and mark the difference with simple tent cards.

Rent or buy an inexpensive coat rack so that guests aren’t searching for their coats in a jumble on your bed at the end of the evening.

Have to-go containers available so you can send guests home with goodies. Table centerpieces and other holiday décor can also make nice take-home party favors.

Be prepared to wrap it up. We’re not talking about gift wrapping, we’re talking about how to gracefully nudge night owls to go home. When the party’s over, but your guests seem to be staying over, be prepared with subtle hints that it’s time to leave. Lower the music. Blow out candles. If they still won’t leave, yawn. Then start cleaning up.

One last way to make your soiree stand out and live on a little longer — take pictures throughout the night to share with guests in a follow-up thank you note and/or social media post. Celebrating together and then capturing these meaningful memories strengthens your friendships and enriches your life.

[booksandwords]

Realigned by Becca Seymour

Series: Coming Home #1 Read time: 1 Day Rating: 4/5 Stars

The Quote: Heat spread over every inch of my skin. Wicked tongue. My brain had short-circuited at some point in the last thirty minutes or so. I didn’t know if it had started when he admitted his feelings for me or at the mention of seduction. I knew one thing for sure, though: my addled brain could not shake the thought of his tongue. — Shaun O'Ryan

Warnings: None. Just a rock-loving scientist and his selfless idiot.

Realigned is Shaun's story. Shaun O'Ryan is an Australian country boy, a geologist employed by NASA. He's been living in America for 8 years not coming home in all that time, talking to his family by phone and occasional visits by them. Now he's in Australia for a two-week stay. The first event in the book is Shaun getting pulled over for speeding... a joke by his lifelong friend Sergeant Mitch Harris. It is kinda funny and is a perfect example of their relationship dynamic.

The novellas epigraph is Take risks.. This sets the tone for the whole story. Shaun is being headhunted by a big company, his family (especially his mum) wants him to stay in Australia for good, taking the offer and coming home. They decide to use Mitch as a weapon knowing full well that Shaun and Mitch have had a thing for each other for a decade. Honestly, it's simple enough. It is Shaun saying I can't have sex involved if I'm going to make a logical decision here. It's a premise a liked and I appreciated that Becca choose to use a single narrator to tell her story. Sometimes having both spoils the surprise for some events.

Have some of the long quotes I liked.

Since it was midweek, there were only a handful of patrons propping up the bar. I greeted every one of them with a handshake when they declared the astronaut had returned. I simply smiled and indicated to Mitch to hurry the hell up with our drinks. There was no point even attempting to explain I wasn’t an astronaut. Yeah, I was lucky enough to work for NASA, but I was all about geology and research. It didn’t matter in a small town like this though. Six hours from civilisation in the arse of the outback, most of the residents heard NASA and decided for themselves I would be travelling the solar system at some point in the future. Who was I to spoil their fun? — I have nothing to add to this really. It just feels like he is the ultimate hometown boy made good. This quote almost said more about him than anything else we got early on. (Shaun)

Apparently everyone knew whatever it was Mum was failing to act coy about. Even my brothers-in-law looked prepped for a reveal. I took a few moments to try to figure out what was going on before returning my attention to Mum. This time her expression was more relaxed, just too much so considering everyone else’s reaction. — Oh the pure joy of this level of this family dynamic. I love it so much. Meddling mothers are the best. (Shaun)

“Not quite sure yet.” I indicated Mitch with a chin lift. “That’s a question for Sarge.” I looked over at him and threw him a wink. “God help us all.” Lorna chuckled, and I glanced back to see her watching the two of us, an amused smile on her lips and a gentleness in her eyes. “You boys back together again.” She shook her head. “Not sure if it’s a good or bad thing Mitch here is now the sarge. Does that mean you’ll get away with even more, rather than not getting up to any crazy stunts?” With her brows raised high, she studied Mitch then clucked. I had no idea what she’d read on his face, but by the time I looked at him, his face was a picture of innocence. I rolled my eyes, not at all convinced. — There are several reasons I like small-town romance, particularly back home after a long-time romance, moments like this are one of them. The people who knew them as kids, the trouble making them, get the whole oh help us all vibe. It's fun and funny. (Shaun and Lorna)

"I’m happy with weird if it means you keep looking at me the way you do.” “What way is that?” I squeaked. “Like you want me to be yours and you don’t want me to ever let you go.” I was done. It was time to stick a damn fork in me. — I just love that last line. I know this is a fairly common quote but somehow it feels like home to me. I can't explain it. I also like the set-up here. (Mitch and Shaun)

I like Becca Seymour for her Australian romance. They have some angst, a whole lot of sweetness and Australian linguistics. Realigned is no exception to this. Better yet it is free on both amazon and Prolific Works (likely other platforms as well), giving this broad access option if a reader wants to try her writing for the first time. I'm giving this 4 rather than 3⭐ because it is free, yes it is short. But it is a HFN, not a HEA and I'm more than okay with that. This does have a follow-up Amalgamated, I will be reading that as well I think. It follows the same sort of ideas.

[twoinchreview]

2023 gigs.

A list rather than a review but there will be the odd descriptive comment when warranted. The list will include accompanying fine dining.

13.1 Harry Hill. New Theatre, 'Boro. Nuts. Funny af, but nuts.

23.1 Frank Turner, Lottery Winners, Wildwood Buoys. O2 Academy, Leicester. The Marquis Wellington.

26.1 Francis of Delirium, Sloe Noon, Collars. Bedford Esquires. McDs. Great gig. 1st support, quirky (the drummer was also the guitarist), 2nd were superb, reminded me of Slothrust and FoD are always excellent.

2.2 Sprints, Langkamer, Eades. Bedford Esquires. Herd. Amazing, just brilliant. Missed Eades (fucked off 'bout that), Langkamer got me well in the mood and Sprints nailed it. Burger at Herd was one of the best I have ever eaten. Top night.

14.2 Mogwai, Brainiac. Rock City. Horn in the Hand. Brainiac are odd, Mogwai were fucking loud. HitH always delivers when it comes to burgers.

17.2 Doors Alive. Roadmender. Oriental Garden. Great tribute act. Great Chinese meal.

18.2 Dr. Feelgood, Dois Padres. Bedford Esquires. McDs. So glad I made the effort.

22.2 Hotel Lux, Average Life Complaints, The Barratts. The Craufurd Arms, MK. 81 The Original Diner. Three good bands. ALC stood out, HL were so interesting to watch. Burger was just 'good'.

25.2 Total Stone Roses, Oaysis. Met Lounge 'Boro. The College Arms. decent tributes, decent pub-grub katsu curry.

28.2 Young Fathers, Callum Easter. O2 Academy Leeds. Almost Famous. Wow. What a midweek trek, what a gig! YF did not disappoint and CE was intriguing - he played with YF also. And, the best burger I have EVER eaten. EVER.

3.3 Emily Breeze, Andrea Kenny. The Donkey, Leicester. Heritage India. EB was fabulous. The restaurant front of house thought I was a food critic, I am sure of it.

5.3 Grade 2, Clobber, Kings of Pigs. Voodoo Lounge, Stamford. McDs. Sunday gig, G2 were really good.

10.3 Suede, Desperate Journalists. Rock City. Horn in the Hand. DJ were fucking excellent. Also, saw great singer in the Lilly Langtrees pub after the gig....see 06.07 entry.

13.3 Self Esteem, Campbell King, Tom Rasmussen. Cambridge Corn Exchange. Honest Burger. SE was wonderful - great show, great songs, great voice, great live.

14.3 Slow Readers Club, Andrew Cushin. Lafayette, King's Cross. Cut and Grind. I loved this gig. SRC in a small venue - place was bouncing. Katsu chicken burger was good.

16.3 Mike Wozniak. The Core at Corby Cube. Nando's. Wonderful, laugh out loud ramblings.

21.3 Death Cab for Cutie, Slow Pulp. O2 Institute, Brum. Manzils. SP stole the show, DCFC were 'alright'. Great veg madras but with fucking mushrooms.

22.3 The Orielles, Pale Blue Eyes. MASH, Cambridge. Butch Annie's. Brilliant gig. TO were a different band live and PBE will play arenas one day, I'm sure of it. Marvellous burger, marvellous gaff.

24.3 Black Honey, The Howlers. Bedford Esquires. Herd. Bloody excellent night for food and music.

28.3 Anna B. Savage. Village Underground. McDs.

30.3 Jadu Heart, Gglum. Assembly Rooms, Islington. MEATLiquor, GDK. Gglum stole the show. She rocked, actually. I had a balcony ticket but snuck downstairs during a technical hitch with JH's kit; the upstairs bar ran out of beer (wtf?) so I went in search of booze only to find I could walk into the main hall unchallenged! Great burger followed by a really great kebab. 04.04 Gretel Hänlyn, Mary in the Junkyard. The Moth Club. McDs. Great little venue and MitJ were excellent (brilliant drumming and drummer) and GH was fantastic. No overground afterwards but jumped in an Uber to Finsbury Park with two fellas who'd been to the gig #lifesavers

11.04 Big Thief. Hammersmith Apollo. Chicago Grill. I found BT disjointed and out of tune at first, came good toward the end. Burger was fucking huge and beat me. Plus I had to use cutlery to eat it.

14.04 Joe Rooney., A Celebration of Father Ted. The Key Theatre, Peterborough. Interesting evening with the chap that was in one episode of Father Ted as Father Damo. 18.04 Waxahatchee, Indigo Sparks. Earth. GDK. No overground, walked there and back and still made GDK and caught the 23.00 train. 20.04 Fenne Lily, Naima Bock. Islington Assembly hall. GDK. Last minute gig (thanks to ReTickin') and I am glad I made the effort FL and her band (esp. the guitarist) was most impressive - great live sound. 21.04 Lemondaze, Treeboy & Arc. Portland Arms, Cambridge. Butch Annie's. Brilliant live sets from both and a flipping excellent burger.

04.05 Yard Act. Troxy.

05.05 Big Country, Spear of Destiny. Islington Assembly hall.

08.05 Haley Blais, Katie Tupper, Georgia Harmer. Bush Hall. Tiger's Diner. Three great artists and HB's voice is one of the best I have ever heard. Burger was a treat...I shovelled it down!

11.05 Foals. Pryzm Kingston. The first of two shows for the band on the night presented by Banquet Records and they were on top form.

16.05 Lael Neale, Guy Blakeslea. Lexington, Islington. McDs, GDK. LN was simply wonderful. 2-4-1 GDK is always a treat! 08.06 Crawlers. Omeara, Borough. The Kebab Shop. Last minute ReTickin' gig and I am very glad I made the effort. Lamb Shawarma was amazing. 10.06 Diane Cluck, Johanna Warren. Cafe OTO, Dalston. Only went to see JH and it was a performance workshop, so no singing. Not what I expected.

16.06 Arctic Monkeys, The Hives, The Mysterines. Emirates Stadium. 22.06 The Sherlocks. Bedford Esquires. Herd. Last minute gig 'cos Dara O Briain was cancelled due to flooding. TS were cracking.

26.06 Indigo de Souza, Rosie Alena. Village Underground. Fat Hippo, Shoreditch. IdS, and her band, flippin' rocked. I like it when the live performance is a real step up from studio. FH was also cracking.

06.07 Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly, Girl Band. Craufurd Arms. GB were excellent - saw the guitarist/lead singer, Georgie, after the Suede gig 10.03 - chatting after their set, she remembered me! GCWCF lost the plot with the chatting, rowdy audience...it was embarrassing.

07.07 Breanna Barbara, Memory of Speke. Moth Club. Burke's Warehouse. BB was so good, fantastic. MoS were very good. Burger & chips were excellent.

19.09 My Baby. MK11 MB were really good value - rock enthused dance music and the lead singer's voice is exemplary.

22.08 Boygenius, Ethal Cain. Piece Hall, Halifax. 242 mile round trip was just about worth it. Both acts were OK. Venue is special, though.

28.08 Karen Jonas. Great Easton Village Hall. 29/08 Future Islands. Cambridge Corn Exchange. Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen. FI are so good live. Cajun chicken burger was fine.

05.09 Samia, Art School Girlfriend. Kentish Town Forum. One of the best gigs this year.

23.09 Flock of Seagulls, Enjoyable Listens. Bedford Esquires. Brewhouse & Kitchen. FoS were good value, EL were excellent as always and the burger was fine.

26.09 The National. Ally Pally. Views from the venue were spectacular.

04.10 Sprints. Scala. Ballache getting to the gig 'cos of the train strike, but well worth it. Aftershow gathering at The Lexington warranted an overnight stay!

05.10 Hard-Fi, Tom A. Smith. The Junction. Impressed with HF, even more impressed with TAS and his band.

06.10 The Undertones, Tom Robinson Band. The Junction. TRB were amazing. He is a great entertainer and his guitarist was superb.

18.10 Treeboy & Arc, Bo Gritz. The Moth Club. T&A are seriously good live.

23.10 Lande Hekt, Charley Stone's Actual Band. The Lexington. 26.10 Yumi and the Weather, Sunny Gym. The Craufurd Arms. Only caught the final song from SG but it was excellent. YatW were banging.

30.10 Cash Savage and the Last Drinks, James P. Honey. The Lexington. CSatLD were amazing. The violinist pulled out one of the best live solos of any instrument I have even witnessed.

08.11 Deadletter, The Joy Hotel. The Craufurd Arms. TJH were bloody good...including bass, 5 guitars! D were superb - great front man.

09.11 Nothing But Thieves. World Resorts Arena, Brum (old NEC). £7.50 a fucking pint. NBT is about right.

12.11 This Is The Kit, Gina Birch. The Glee Club, Brum.

15.11 The Murder Capital. Electric Ballroom. Mental gig. Haven't seena mosh pit like it since the 80s. Thoroughly enjoyed this gig.

16.11 Bleach Lab, Wings of Desire. Scala. WoD were right down my street and delivered - a nice surprise as I'd not heard of them before. One of those gigs where support > headliner.

23.11 Bdrmm, Damefrisor. Bedford Esquires. I flipping enjoyed this. B drummer cracked open a bottle of beer with the end of his drumstick which was the coolest thing I have ever seen.

03.12 The Rural Alberta Advantage, Zoon. Lafayette. I was not in the mood for travelling down to this on a Monday night. However, it was well worth it. RAA were every bit as 9, or so, years ago when I first saw them.

04.12 Coach Party, Bedroom High Club, House of Women. O'Meara. A free gig put on by Beavertown brewery and I'd have gladly paid. Each band were great. BHC were brand new to me and were the pick of a fantastic bunch. I will definitely catch all 3 live again.