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cottoncandyjester · 4 years

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Yandere ocs

So I figured I should show them off..and make stories for them cause this idea won't escape my mind no matter what. Please be gentle on them

All artwork is made on picrew I don't own any of it

As far as they go I'm accepting request, questions for the characters to answer and just questions about them and if you just wanna talk to them you can via ask

Warning: contains both sfw and nsfw headcanons..also these boys are yanderes so they are kinda toxic

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Theodore,21

Gentle giant

I'm not kidding he's 6'3"

Half japanese half american

Is a college student studying to be a doctor

Just the sweetest sweetheart

He comes across as ditzy though

He is the mom of any friend group

Will spoil his darling with affection and love

Best hubby vibes for sure

Works himself to death to provide for you both

Will give you all the headpats

"you're so sweet, a perfect angel"

Got his scar from his childhood

Loves sweets

Likes to make you lunch shaped as animals

Wholesome boy

Will never hurt you

Can be strict about self care

But completely forgets about his own self-care

Works so hard to please you

Makes sure you are never sad or anything

As far as his yandere side

He isn't the type to get violent but is definitely the emotional manipulation type

Will make his darling seem absolutely insane

"sweetie, you shouldn't leave be logical here"

He will make his darling question their own decision making

In his eyes you are too fragile for the outside world

Listen to him, he is only trying to protect you

Doesn't like it when you fight him

Prefers a sweet darling but if you are a hothead he'll love you just as much...though your fighting and struggling will be a challenge

Will drug you if that's what it takes to keep you calm

"Just listen to me, okay? Why would you ever need to think or make your own choices when you have me?"

Definitely has a low sex drive more of a cuddler

But when he wants it he's such a gentleman about it

Will seduce you with a nice meal first before asking to make love

He will never force you to though cause he knows what that feels like

Can spend hours kissing you

Definitely has a kink for purity

If you act super innocent he just can't help but pull you into his lap and love up on you

Doesn't do any feral sex unless you've pushed him past his breaking point.

Is a switch so if you want to top him he'll allow it but he is far more comfortable being the dom

Hikaru, 21

Young and famous model

Full japanese

Comes from a family full of actors

Flamboyant as hell will actually crossdress if he wants to cause fuck gender roles

Monster Dick energy

He comes across as loud and hyper

Seems super sweet and bubbly

Loves to dress up his darling in cute clothes and spoil them when they are well behaved

"look at my adorable baby! Oh you're such a cutie!"

Is a strawberry milk boba drinker(*cough* like me *cough*)

Will take you on shopping dates if you are good

Is the type to flaunt his credit cards

Is actually a degrading king

He isn't the nicest yandere

Will kill an entire army if he has to

Will degrade the absolute hell out of his darling to break your self esteem and self worth

"baby, who else will want you? Honestly darling do you think anyone else actually cares about someone as worthless as you?"

Kinky as fuck

Has a bad temper

Don't piss him off or he will hurt you

"why would you ever need to leave! The only one who cares about you is me! Everyone else will just use you and throw you away!"

Is the type to try and make his darling as clingy as possible

Wants a housewife type darling no matter the gender

Wants to come home to an obedient lover ready to give him a kiss, dinner, and a BJ

Always wants to love up on you and have you in his arms

Will be grouchy if he sees you getting too confident in your looks

He fears that if you have too much self confidence you're going to leave him

"what are you wearing? It's absolutely hideous. Hmm? I bought that? Huh you must have looked cute in it then but right now you kinda look like a pig"

All in all he's a brat

If you try and dom him he will absolutely fight back and it will lead to some feral sex

Axis, 18

100% blind

full japanese

Despite not being able to see he doesn't need a cane or anything

Though he likes it when you offer to hold his hand in public

Works at home as an artist

Is really good at it and had some of his work in museums

Like spicy foods

Dumbass

Like super dumb

"hey, babe is tomato sauce a smoothie? Or maybe it's like jelly..but made out of like tomatoes"

Is basically a puppy

Can't keep his hands off you

Is always kissing and loving you

Praise giving king

Has hightened senses so he definitely remembers your smell and how you walk

Always has to be with you

Never leave

Never

He can't handle it

Is the exact opposite of hikaru

Makes it seem like he will actually die without you

"don't leave! Please! I'm helpless without you! [Y/n]! Don't leave me by myself!"

Will make you quit your job

Will make you move in with him

Acts pathetic when you even mention leaving

Hugs your leg and sobs hard

Has fake fallen many times to get you to think he truly is helpless without you

Will have a screaming tantrum if you walk out the door

Just painful screams and sobs while he claws his own face and body out of absolute insanity

Will keep doing that until you come back to him

"s-see, I'm helpless without you. I'll die without you, I need you so please..stay with me forever"

As far as sex..

He is definitely cries during it

Loves you so much that he is just sobbing while fucking you cause you feel so good and he loves you and-

Is like a dog in heat

Loves just feeling all over your body

Sex with him usually lasts many rounds and involves him humping you to death while he sobs and drools all over you

Will sub for you if you want him to

Will honestly do anything you want as long as you are touching him

Prince, 24

Horny 24/7

Full Korean but moved to Japan shortly after birth

Gained his name out of a magazine..thanks mom and dad

Works as a bartender

Usually a one night stand kind of guy but with you it's different

Loves sloppy kisses and cuddles

Bad boy

Aka he pretends to be a bad boy but is actually a softie who loves dogs and long walks on the beach

Goofy as hell

Loves to make you laugh

He isn't used to having a real relationship so be easy on him

Doesn't like restricting you and lets you do basically anything you want

Of course you belong to him though so no doing crazy things

Like to take you to work with him and gives you free drinks

Definitely has a fan girl club

The word sex escapes his mouth every three seconds

Sex with him is usually amazing

He's knows exactly what he's doing

As long as you love him it's all good

The moment you try to break up with him or distance yourself he loses it

"huh? Huh huh huh huh?! You're kidding yeah?! Stop joking around"

Gets hella paranoid and locks you in his house while pacing around not sure what to do

Will kill for you like absolutely will slaughter someone if they get too close to you

He changes so dramatically it's hard to see him as the same laid back flirty guy

He gets tense and panicked

"you can't leave okay?! Don't even try to ask!"

Will start to calm down if he sees you are accepting your fate

Thinks sex will solve his problems

"you just need to see how much of a man I am yeah?! Then you'll stay right?! Of course you will!"

Spirals out of control

You belong to him in his eyes so you can't ever leave

Clearly has abandonment issues

Will try to do whatever he can to make you happy though

Want it and he will get it

just stay with him and he will be okay

Will try and do whatever he can to make you just as obsessed with him as he is for you

Clearly doesn't have experience in loving someone

He's not used to wanting someone to stay with him so he takes drastic measures to assure you never leave

Even tries getting you pregnant or making you disabled to make you make no choice but to stay

Yuki, 21

Not picking favorites buuut-

Sleepy boy

Oddly enough is super athletic and strong..despite not working out

Half japanese half american

Responds with sounds or very few words

Forked tongue- not given to him by choice

Owns a tattoo and piercing shop

Despite this he doesn't own any tattoos

Loves to put his head on your lap or stomach

Prefers chubbier lovers but honestly will love you regardless

Will sleep the entire day without eating if you let him

Doesn't like speaking but if he has to he will

Hates any sort of loud noise, has sensitive senses

Is pretty lazy but if he has to do it he will.. though he will make random grunts and grumbles the entire time while pouting

More of a cat than a person

Quite moody

Only you're allowed to touch him

Anyone else who does he'll glare at and act cold towards

Likes to hug you from behind and lean against you no matter your height

If you're shorter than him expect him to put his chin on your head

If you are taller he's nuzzling his face in your back and taking in your smell

Can't cook to save his life

Almost burnt the house down cause he fell asleep while cooking

It's fine cause he eats microwave dinners and snacks from the convience store

Low sex drive

The king of sleepy sex

Usually all sex with him is slow,teasing and just filled with sleepy praise and compliments

Unless he's jealous or stressed then it's just rough fucking

Doesn't really act like a yandere at all.. buuut-

Honestly thought you two were dating this whole time

What do you mean you two aren't a couple

No no sweetheart you two were dating the moment he laid eyes on you

If you try to break this fantasy he will shut it down

"we're dating."

Try and say no and he will not be able to handle it

All his delusions keep him from breaking down but if you absolutely say that you two aren't dating he will snap

"stop talking, we are dating. So stop lying"

Doesn't like the thought of kidnapping but he will do it if he must

Will even work from home if he has to

He isn't really a violent type so he won't kill for you but he will absolutely spread lies and use blackmail to get what he wants

All your friends and family think that you eloped with him and never want to see them again

It's better for you both if you just play along with his games

Will definitely tattoo his name on you

He won't ever gag you cause he likes to hear your voice but if you try to scream he honestly won't know what to do

The loudness makes him tear up and he just covers your mouth with your hands begging you to stop

"It hurt. Too Loud. Please."

He just wants to love you he doesn't see what he's doing wrong

He just wants to be with you forever so be good and don't fight him

Is definitely the stalker and stealing clothes type

Will make a nest of all your things that smell like you and he'll just lay in it being in absolute peace

Has scared any and all potential lovers away

Mostly through blackmail

He is easily jealous but pretends not to be

As soon as you walk into the house he is there to smell you to see if you smell different

If you do you are taking a shower with him immediately

If not then yay cool cuddles and kisses

#yandere imagines #yandere ocs #yandere #yandere asks #oc x reader

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solarpunkcryptid · 4 years

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Sewing 101: Making A Sewing Kit

Hey guys! This post will be going over putting together a sewing kit: what essentials you will need, things that are a good idea to have on hand, and storage ideas!

1. Basic Supplies

The most basic supplies you will need for a sewing kit are thread, at least one sharp needle, and a good, sharp pair of scissors. Nearly all other supplies can be substituted for in some way or another, but these three staples are important. While scissors could technically be substituted with any sharp object, making sure you have sharp scissors (embroidery scissors are perfect for sewing kits) is the easiest way to ensure that you will get a clean cut of your thread, which makes tying knots and threading needles a million times easier.

2.Extended Basic Supplies

Now, the three items listed above are essential to have as a base for a sewing kit, but there is room to expand; your sewing kit can be as big or as little as you want it to be. Some ideas for extended supplies: -Various needles. I hate to say that needle quality doesn’t matter, because it does influence how fast they will dull and how easily they will bend when faced with tough fabrics, but if you are only looking to have things on hand for basic mending, a cheap variety pack of needles is as good as the pricier ones. Having a variety of needle sizes is good for maximizing what you can use them for; tiny needles are going to be better suited to working in tight spaces, whereas that same needle will be an absolute pain for larger projects; likewise, having a tapestry needle is great for making things like plastic canvas projects, but impossible to mend clothes with. Something like this is your best friend here.

-A needle threader. I know everyone always says they can thread needles just fine, or they take this suggestion to mean that they have poor eyesight; for some reason, using a needle threader is somehow seen as “cheating” or “shameful”. GET ONE. I don’t care if you can thread needles just fine with no help. It will come in handy at some point. Worst case scenario, you run for your sewing kit to stitch up a wound in someone for some reason, and for whatever reason all you have left are your needles with the tiniest eyes--that threader will come in handy while your hands shake. Get a threader to have on hand. -Beeswax. This is not necessary, but it is helpful; run the end of your thread across it to stick the strands and make threading easier. Spit works just as well, but some people just prefer beeswax. -Pincushion. One of those tomato ones with the little strawberry or something similar, specifically. Needles like to hide when you stick them into a random surface, like the arm of your chair or your comforter, and it is not fun when you go to push off of a surface, only to have the eye of a needle jab your palm. The reason i specify this, however, is the strawberry; filled with sand, it cleans and sharpens pins and needles that are run through it, and will keep a cheap needle set working for a long, long time. Both parts of this can be sewn as a DIY, but I listed it because it is useful. -Pins. To go with the cushion of the same name. This is helpful if you are sewing multiple layers together, or need to make sure your work stays folded at a specific point. Straight pins are best, safety pins are okay, and corsage pins are over the top for this use. Don’t forget a container; mint tins work great, or pin boxes can be bought at craft stores. -Small sharpener. Scissor/knife sharpeners are great for touching up embroidery scissors. It takes them a long time to get dull, but when they do, that sharpener will come in handy. -Fabric Pens. One for light and one for dark fabrics. They are infinitely useful and will be your friends. If you cannot find or get them, a pencil and a piece of chalk work just fine; the pencil just takes a little while to wash out. -Seam ripper. Goes much faster than clipping every single stitch if you mess up or need to take the stitches out of something. -Measuring tape. The floppy cloth kind, not the metal sort (I’ve tried those in a pinch and it’s a pain). Great for, well, measuring! -Buttons/snaps. You never know when you’ll need to replace one on something that has no spares. -Variety of thread. Having a variety of thread in both color and material are good, allowing you to have a versatile choice of thread for different mending projects.

3. Containers

So, now you have a sewing kit together, no matter what it may include. Here are some ideas for containers:

-Mint tin. Great for the tiniest of travel sewing kits. -Jar. Unless you are super particular about your supplies being organized, a jar works just fine. Dump out your supplies and go! -Old match box. Slides open and closed for ease of access! -Trinket box. Especially if it latches. Hide your sewing kit in plain sight! -Old purse/clutch. Whether it’s an old one of yours or one you found at a sale! -Cookie tin. The classic grandmother favorite! Now it’s just weird if you open it and there are actually cookies inside. -Old tupperware. Have stained containers you don’t use? Transitioning to a plasticless life in the kitchen? That old tupperware will work great to hold your sewing stuff. Basically any container large enough to hold all your supplies will do; it doesn’t have to be a “sewing kit bag” or anything marketed similarly. Avoid things with large holes or gaps, like knitted things and berry containers, and you’ll be good to go! You can even go so far as to stitch up a little bag for your supplies with your new kit. The possibilities are endless!

Go forth on your sewing adventures! Thank you for your time!

Have anything to add or suggest? Drop an ask or a message!

#sewing 101 #sewing kit #basics #self sufficient living #self sufficiency #needlework

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feral-crow · 5 years

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actually you know what im gonna infodump about permaculture and sustainable farming for a minute bc it’s been my main hyperfixation for a while and y’all really Ought to Know This because it can, in fact, give you a green thumb as well as extra food to eat, is very cheap, and it’s extremely time management friendly. i only need to work on my garden twice a month, maybe more during drier seasons/if i get more plants.

(also correct grammar and spelling below bc i don’t know about you but i can’t read otherwise.)

The first thing you’re gonna want to do is figure out how much space you have available, your climate, and the condition of the soil (if available.)

If you live in a place where there is limited gardening space and can’t garden because it’s too expensive, don’t worry! You can still grow lots of plants cheaply. If you have access to the outside (like an outdoor balcony, or a small yard, but no soil) then do yourself a favor and grab some cheap plastic storage bins. Drills some holes in the bottom and you should be good to go. If you don’t have space outside, but you do have windowsills, you can grow plants in empty plastic containers. I have a ton of plants growing in old Costco sour cream containers.

Now, if you do have a yard, let’s say you’re starting from complete scratch here. You haven’t touched it in a while. You had grass once, you think, but it’s yellowed and dying. Or maybe you’re like me, and you just have dirt. Hard-packed dirt.

Does this look familiar?

Dry-ass, nasty dirt. You’re more likely to break your leg than to dig a decent hole in this, and the only thing that’ll grow is weeds.

Yeah. That’s because there’s no cover. Nothing’s gonna grow because there’s no nutrients in there, and all water evaporates almost instantly. Your yard is well on it’s way to becoming a desert.

First, make sure there’s no lead in the ground. You can get tests pretty cheaply on amazon. Lead poisoning is no joke, and if we’re gonna be growing edible food you don’t want to take any chances. If you live in a city you especially want to get your soil checked out.

If you don’t have lead in your dirt; What you’re gonna want to do is get your hands on some sort of cover, and some fertilizer. You don’t need anything fancy. Look for fertilizer with worm castings in it, and a minimum amount of pesticides/chemicals. For cover, anything decomposable will work. I’ve personally used newspaper, coffee liners, leaves, and sawdust/wood shavings.

Cover the area you’re planting with the fertilizer, then the covering, then a lil more fertilizer (or mulch if you can get some.) Spray it down every once in a while. You can plant stuff at the same time you set up the soil, or wait a bit. Doesn’t matter too much. As the cover starts to rot, add a little more fresh material.

Trust me, this stuff works. I had never seen an earthworm in my garden until a couple weeks after I started doing this. It’s become a lot easier to dig now too.

If you don’t have access to soil and have to use containers, it’s pretty much the same. Add fertilizer + store-bought soil to containers, plant stuff, and add cover. The cover keeps the soil nice and moist, and as it rots it adds more nutrients to the soil.

As for plants to get;

I really recommend starting off with onions, garlic, and potatoes. They require almost no work, and you can just plant the ones you buy at the grocery store/left over from cooking. Just let them sit in the sun for a couple of days/a week, and as they sprout, separate individual stalks (leaving some of the onion/garlic/potato) and plant them. When the stalks start to wither and die, they’re ready to pull up. (It should take about a year.)

Some other great plants include; marigolds, lavender, and basil (good for keeping away mosquitoes, and are edible), strawberries, spider plants (not edible but pretty and easy to grow), tomatoes, and peas. You can collect seeds, plant from clippings, or buy them.

But if you want to do this long term...

Permaculture works by mimicking how nature works. Instead of using the methods factory farming uses- which requires massive amounts of fertilizer, chemicals, and work- you start by laying the groundwork, then sit back and do the minimal amount of work to keep your garden producing. This video explains them very well. Actually, that youtube channel in particular is a great one for explaining the process. He does a lot of Q&As and visits other people’s permaculture experiments all over the world.

Unfortunately, I personally cannot explain these very well quite yet, as I’m still experimenting with permaculture techniques myself.

#long post #solarpunk #cottagecore #goblincore #infodump time #bc none of my friends wanna hang out rn #so this is all ive been doing #this and basic asl lessons #because your boy here likes to go mute/nonverbal sometimes

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chaoticgabby · 5 years

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My Cheap & Relatively Healthy Grocery List for College Students

Context: I had been used to eating fast food so much because it was cheap that when I went to the doctors' they said I had high glucose content. That wasnt good. So I started eating healthier. Anyway let's skip the BS and get straight into it:

Ramen: the OG cheap food. I personally don't own ramen bc I dont like it that much, but if you want to save money this is the meal, at least add an egg or some veggies to make it healthier.

Frozen Veggies: anywhere from 50 cents to a dollar or two a bag. Can easily be kept in your freezer (if you have one) for months

Mac n' cheese: my all-time favorite. Of course, it might not be healthy for everyone to eat pasta all the time, but I do it anyway. Add some real cheese and spices for taste or chicken and veggies in it / on the side.

Other Pasta boxes (Pasta Roni, Velveeta, Hamburger Helper, etc.): basically as cheap or almost as cheap as Kraft macaroni, but maybe you arent a fan of mac n cheese.

Soup (Soup!!): Cambell's Tomato soup is often $1 a can. I like to eat mine with grilled cheese. Thats a whole ass meal. But of course you can get other soups just as cheap. Basically, any canned foods.

Canned foods & veggies: this one goes without saying. Although, the better options are sometimes $2 to $3 the same can be said for frozen veggies, but just heat these up and cook them in fried rice or just add butter and eat them aside a nice entré

Chunk light tuna: speaking of canned foods, canned tuna is soooo cheap and is a great option (if you even like tuna). Dont actually get the "pack tuna" for $1 a pack unless you want to keep it in your bag bc canned tuna is around 60 cents a can. Mix it with Miracle Whip (or mayo) and spread it over break for a good sammich.

Grilled cheese (or cheese toastie if you arent American I think??): similar to previous options, youre getting your cheese and your butter and your bread. Not as healthy as other options but way better than fast food calories.

Quesadillas: similar to grilled cheese, except spICY. My brother only eats these and he has no meal plan. I do it now too. Honestly, adding up tortillas, cheese dip, shredded cheese, & chicken is kind of costly but worth it. Also cooking chicken is annoying bc I dont have time for that. But. Yknow. A great option.

Pillsbury Crescents: a little costly, about $2+ per tube, but still fookin delicious. Also imma be real: actually havent checked the nutrition label to see if these are actually healthy. But these are sO useful. Make them by themselves for breakfast (with jam, eggs, or alone) or use the dough for other recipes. I use these with Manwich sauce, cheese, and ground beef for snacks :)

Manwiches: manwich sauce cans are $1 and although they have some sugar, its not nearly as bad as fast food. Just cook up some ground beef to go with it & maybe add cheese, sliced bread, or hamburger buns

PB&J: Another OG. I could never get tired of these. You just gotta make sure you have soft bread and the pb&j and youre good to go. Although..like.. some people apparently like theirs toasted or with different jams (I like strawberry).

Eggs!!!! : Just keep these in your fridge. Just do it. You never know when youre going to run out of food. Boiled? Scrambled? Fried? Soft boiled? With ramen? Omelet? In fried rice? Egg sandwich??? Eat them with bread, eat them with toast, eat them as a breakfast sandwich, scramble them with cheese, the list goes on. If you dont eat them often, get a smaller carton, but always have eggs! Also, for baking.

Rice, or fried rice: If you like rice, have been cooking rice for a long time, and can actually make it without burning, make sure you have rice. If you like rice but have never actually made it yourself, it takes trial and error in a pot. Or just invest in a rice cooker. Additionally, fried rice is not that difficult to learn & it fits the bill for healthy bc you can add unlimited veggies and meats. Im not here to educated you but the more ingredients, the better, is how i see it.

Fresh Food:

Fruit: I literally have "an apple a day" for breakfast. It's just good for you. Keep them in your fridge to keep them fresh. Keep one in your bag in case you get hungry. Bananas? Awesome! Use them in smoothies or a milkshake or eat them with your cereal or even with peanut butter. Possibilities are endless with fruit. Just make sure they dont spoil. Apples are OG bc they dont spoil as easily.

Vegetables: Make sure to only periodically get them so that they dont go to waste. Make some broccoli with butter & eat it alongside pasta. Or asparagus. Anything you want. Just make sure to have some with your meals sometimes. Greens are good. Additionally, carrots can get addicting if yoh eat them with ranch. The plus side is they are filling. If you have a tendency to want to munch on something: carrots.

Deli Meat / Sandwich Options: I personally dont make deli sandwiches because ham (as well as roast beef or turkey) can be expensive and then wanting to add lettuce and tomato to a sandwich sounds amazing but I'm scared they will spoil. Dont let me stop you though! Sandwiches are amazing.

Meat: you dont want to be cooking meat all the time bc it can get expensive, but the basics I always get are ground beef and chicken. I prefer "boneless skinless chicken thigh fillets" but you would need to cut off the fat. You could always get rotisserie if you arent feeling to for cooking. Also, if you're feeling expensive one week, salmon is just sooo good. I ate it with asparagus and seasoned with lemon. Delicious.

Snack / Dessert Options:

(I personally don't keep snacks or dessert in my home very often bc you dont want to binge eat. But here is what I have)

Peanut butter: classic, filling, can be potentially bad if you eat a shite ton

Nuts: peanuts, almonds, cashews, and especially pecans

Cookies: make your own, a lot of simple cookie recipes exist and it's a lot easier than you think. Baking essentials like flour, sugar, milk, and eggs are not that expensive to keep around in an apartment kitchen. Difficulties may be vanilla extract (the avg student doesnt have this lying around) a baking sheet, a big bowl, and possible a whisk. Store bought cookie dough isnt too bad either.

Box-cakes / box-brownies: simple and easy. Takes a few eggs sometimes and some oil, milk or water. The same goes for pancake mix. Honestly, I had an out-of-country roommate and he had never heard of boxed cake mix or brownie mix. They always made from scratch where he lived.

Low-calorie ice cream: okay ice cream can be pretty expensive and filled w/ added sugars. I used to eat this strawberry icecream sweetened with stevia and it was SO delicious, but I couldnt find that at my grocery store. Other options are "low-calorie" ice cream or "no added sugars" ice cream. I have one of these and the thing abt it is that its just the right amount of sugar to taste like ice cream and the neat thing is that you dont feel like binging it bc it doesnt have addicting added sugars.

Milkshakes / smoothies: this is a tough one bc me and most other students dont own a blender or juicer. I personally get my smoothies from a local smoothie place that only uses fresh fruit and then I ask not to add the natural sugars bc it is sweet enough with the fruit. Natural smoothies are delicious & I find that you can kind of make then if u freeze your fruits and blend w a fork. "Handmade" milkshakes are actually super easy w this method.

Yogurt: just...mmm.

"Healthy" snack food section, often called the gluten-free aisle: im not too experienced with this and im sure they have added sugars too but what I do know is I tried these gluten free oreos once and they were delicious

Fruits: I mentioned earlier but apples are great snacks

Veggies: also like I said earlier, carrots are great snacks. Not exactly a veggie but possibly potatoes for a meal or snack.

Granola Bars: for when youre too lazy to keep up with fruit and if fruit will spoil, granola bars (they healthy kind, not the chewy sugary kind) are so good to have in your pantry or keep in your backpack for a snack (and to keep you from on campus temptations). Also I used Nature Valley ones instead of cereal. They actually dissolve and are delicious with milk, since some cereals are so sugary.

Since my last college tips post got some notes I figured I'd keep writing these advice posts. For reference, I am hoping to become an RA next year at my college, so I'm not just speaking out of my ass. I generally have experience at college thus far and want to help students.

#Im American and Im not Vegan so sorry if this didnt help non americans and definitely not vegans :(#college tips #college advice #life hack #healthy living #food

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etraytin · 4 years

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Quarantine, Day 91

June 10

Today marks a full week since FIL's death, seven days that seem to have gone by extremely quickly and with little clear delineation between the days. Now that school is out for summer, we don't even have that distinction between weekday and weekend. At least I know that when this unreality starts to feel too oppressive, I can go back in my journal and read what I've been doing in the time that has now faded into featureless beige mush. By this time next week, it is possible that we will be back in Virginia and settling into our new old routine! There is a lot I will miss about being here, but I will also be so glad to get home. It's been a _very_ long time since May 1.

The kiddo had a bad day today; he stubbed his toe very hard while helping Nana carry things out of the car and it hurt him a lot for the rest of the day. By bedtime his middle toe was looking pretty swollen, so we've got an urgent care appointment for tomorrow morning. I know that even if it's broken there's likely not much to be done about it, but it would still be good to know. Also, why on earth would we pay more than 15% of our income for health insurance if not to use it? Just looking at that sentence is terribly depressing but it is still true. We pay thousands of dollars so we can have ten dollar copays, that's a calculus that doesn't work unless you actually go to your doctor.

So the kiddo was sore and couldn't walk very well and missed going to the tailgate market with us. He was sad, but I brought him home a fudge brownie and assured him that nobody was selling any toys, and he was comforted. He was also comforted that I let him use way more electronics than usual because he was stuck sitting down with ice on his foot for ages. MIL enjoyed being able to get to the tailgate market for the first time since the end of last tailgate market season. We got more of the really excellent hazelnut, cocoa and strawberry tea I bought last time, plus some veggies, a bunch of baked goods, and some lavender spritzing spray. There were more booths than two weeks ago when I came, and though everyone was wearing masks, it felt almost like normal.

Today was also car cleaning day. MIL very much likes to have all her spaces organized, but this has been hard for her lately because she was so consumed with caring for FIL and then dealing with the many issues surrounding his hospitalization and the days in the nursing center. Plus with the broken knee and everything, it was hard to get around at all. Her physical therapist cleared her to go very carefully up and down stairs today, and she was _very_ pleased. She and the kiddo cleaned out the car this morning, and then this afternoon she and I took it to the car wash. We actually did a car wash last week because it was covered in pollen, so I just bought the cheapo wash today, especially since it spit rain all day, and used it to get access to the free vacuums. Social distancing at the car wash means every other vacuum parking space is blocked off, which means I didn't have to wear a mask while I vacuumed the heck out of that car. We also bought the little packet of glass wipes and dash wipes and the cloth to wipe off drips, and by the time we were done, that car looked really good. We celebrated by picking up our grocery order at Walmart! I could tell they were v. impressed.

With groceries secured and all the marketing done, I set up a little emergency pantry for MIL in her cute dining room pie safe. She doesn't really need a month's worth of stored food, especially since she has a well stocked regular pantry, but I tucked away evaporated milk, canned meat, tomato sauces, pastas, pancake and biscuit mix, beans, and a few other useful staples. It's probably enough food to last one person a week or so, and it's nice to have in case of emergency. We're also going to make sure she's got five or six gallons of drinking water available in case of problems with the well. Her neighbors around here are really great and take good care of her, but it never hurts to have enough to get by on your own if needed! She's also got plenty of medicine, cleaning supplies and toilet paper, so she should be all set when we have to go.

Another meal train meal tonight, homemade lasagna from the same couple who planted MIL's little herb garden for her this spring. She says they are both semi-retired attorneys and they just do stuff like this all the time to help people. I think I have new role models (and the lasagna was delicious!). At lunchtime, my husband made broccoli cheese soup from scratch, and it was very tasty to put alongside leftover barbecue and potato chips. The quality of our meals is something I will definitely miss about our time here, but it's also something I ought to get away from if I'm hoping to fit into a bridesmaid's (bridesmatron's?) dress by August. My sister's wedding may be a much smaller affair than originally planned, but I have no illusions that I'm going to get out of wearing that thing all day long. Time to start walking again!

#quarantine #car wash #i kind of thought that being the first of my friends to get married would mean i never had to be a bridesmaid #but i discounted the part about sisters

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eldritchsurveys · 4 years

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1005.

What battery percentage is your phone on right now? >> 93%.

Do any medical afflictions run in your family? >> I have no idea what I’m genetically predisposed to.

Who did you last talk to in person and what did you say? >> Sparrow. I don’t remember, it was just a casual interaction.

What's your favourite Mexican dish? >> That’s tough. I do like quesadillas a lot, but ultimately there are hardly any Mexican foods that I would say no to.

Have you ever been to a professional sports game? >> No.

How far do you live from New York City? >> A few hundred miles.

How often do you talk to your parents? >> I don’t.

Do you prefer pads, tampons or something else? >> I prefer to never have a period ever again, if I can help it.

What was the weather like in your town today? >> Mild and sunny.

Are there any phrases or words that you say a lot? >> I mean, probably, but the thing is, I can never remember what they are when asked. If I say something a lot, it becomes unremarkable and not worth remembering.

How many boyfriends or girlfriends have you ever had? >> Too many.

Have you ever ordered a specially made cake from a cake shop? >> Does a wedding cake count?

What was the last movie you saw and who did you watch it with? >> Vampires vs the Bronx. I watched it by myself.

What's the name of your first real boyfriend or girlfriend? >> Meh.

Do you clean your ears daily? >> Not daily.

What accent do you have? >> I assume it’s a generic American anchorman type accent.

What scent of air freshener do you keep in your bathroom? >> Why would I keep an air freshener in the bathroom? The last thing bathrooms need are more smells.

Have you ever dated a model? >> No.

What's the best job you've ever had? >> Selling merch for local bands at their shows.

How about the worst? >> The other jobs I’ve had.

Do you have naturally straight hair? >> Not at all.

What is your ultimate goal in life? >> ---

Have you ever visited someone in prison? >> No.

What months were you and your siblings born in? >> I was born in May.

Do you write down your passwords in a physical place to prevent losing them? >> No, I use a sort of algorithm for my passwords, so while they are always different for every site, I can still figure out what it is.

What are your three favourite vegetables? >> Oh, damn. Can I just lump “leafy greens” in as all one type of vegetable? Gonna cheat and do it anyway. Greens, carrots, tomatoes.

How many times a day do you check Facebook or any other social network? >> I check facebook like 3 times a week.

When was the last time you had a blockednose? >> I don’t remember.

Who is your favourite comedian? >> Dylan Moran, Tiffany Haddish, John Mulaney, Bo Burnham.

What colour are the socks you're wearing today? >> I wore black socks with a space print when I went out earlier today.

What did you have for dinner last night? >> Just some sweet potato fries.

What was the last concert you went to? >> Er... I think that was Hozier.

Are you an ugly crier? >> As self-conscious as I already am about having emotions in a visible manner, the last thing I want to do is call myself ugly about it too. Christ.

What scent is the soap or body wash you use in the shower? >> I don’t remember what the scent of the soap I currently have is supposed to be.

Have you ever had sex in/on a vehicle? >> Once outworld, at least twice Inworld.

Who do you live with? >> My spouse.

What letter does your street name begin with? >> W.

Do you do anything to groom your eyebrows? >> Nope.

When was the last time you ate at McDonald's? >> It’s definitely been a while.

What's your favourite Popsicle flavour? >> I never was a popsicle person until we started going to the farmer’s market and got hooked on this one lady’s homemade popsicles. She uses fresh fruit and makes the best flavour combinations. Right now I’m fantasising about one called “London Fog” which is earl grey, coconut milk, and lavender. It’s the most luscious shade of purplish-grey, too.

Who was the last person you sent a Facebook message to and what did you say? >> Casey, I think. It was a short discussion about the SSI approval process.

Do you have any injuries at the moment? >> No.

Have you ever been to an ophthalmologist? >> No.

Do you own any animal print clothes? >> Nope.

Are you tall, short or average? Would you change this? >> Average, I assume. I don’t care to change it, my height is one of the few things about my body that has never bothered me.

When was the last time you went to a drug store/pharmacy? >> I don’t remember. We’ll have to go to one soon, to get flu shots. Hopefully this weekend.

Do you ever binge-watch TV shows? >> Not really. I used to, but nowadays I get restless after two episodes (or three or so, if it’s a 20-minute show as opposed to a 45-minute or hour).

Have you ever mustered up the courage to tell someone how you feel only to be rejected? >> I mean, I guess. I’ve made overtures towards people that were rebuffed, but not necessarily in a way that felt... particularly rejecting, I guess? Either they were particularly tactful or I just didn’t take it as hard as I could have.

Do you keep your files and documents organised in one place? >> Yeah. I only have a few, anyway.

What's your favourite sweet treat to bake? >> ---

Are you good at flirting and letting people know you're interested? >> ---

What did you have for breakfast today? >> The same thing I have every day.

Do you prefer sweet or savoury breakfasts? >> Savoury only. If there’s sweet stuff involved, like french toast with syrup, it has to be paired with something savoury or I won’t eat it.

Do you like chick-flicks? >> Generally not, I guess. But there’s always exceptions; I love Legally Blonde, for example.

Have you ever taken an acting class? >> No.

What is your favourite kind of berry? >> This is tough. I really don’t want to choose, but I guess if I had to, I’d pick strawberry.

When was the last time you watched one of your favourite movies? >> A while ago, I guess.

How often do you use Youtube? >> I use it fairly often while playing FFXIV because I look up dungeon guides and class guides. Other than that, I watch it maybe once a week or so, to catch up with channels I’m subscribed to or watch things I’ve saved or heard about.

Do you prefer Prince or Michael Jackson? >> I don’t listen to either, but I guess I’d rather listen to MJ than Prince.

What's the coolest thing you've ever dressed up as for Halloween? >> I’ve never dressed up for Halloween.

Are you ignoring anyone right now? >> No.

How do you usually style your hair? >> I don’t.

Do you have any tattoos? Tell me about them. >> Yeah. I feel like I’ve explained them a million times, but the short version is: Mannaz rune, the number XIX with a spider dangling from the I, and “scully, it’s me” which is an obvious X-Files reference (especially if you see Sparrow’s “mulder, it’s me” at the same time).

Have you ever worked in a store while someone shoplifted there? >> No.

When was the last time you used a stove? >> I don’t usually use the stove, so I don’t remember. Probably the last time I made tea.

Is there anything you absolutely refuse to eat? >> Of course.

Are you sitting, standing or laying (or something else) right now? >> Reclining.

How many hours per week do you typically work? >> ---

What was the last pill or tablet you took? >> A CBD capsule.

How far away from your house is the closest grocery store? >> Meijer is about a five- to ten-minute drive away.

Have you ever lived in university/college campus housing? >> No.

Who was the last person you complimented? >> I told someone I liked their glamour (outfit) on FFXIV.

Are you the type of person to take naps, even if you've slept plenty? >> I don’t usually take naps. The only time I do so is when it’s completely unavoidable, like I’m falling asleep at the keyboard.

Do you have a crush on anyone at the moment? >> No.

The age old question: dogs or cats? >> I prefer dogs.

When was the last time you saw your best friend? >> ---

Do you know any couples who resemble each other? >> No.

Have you ever been fired from a job? Why? >> No.

Are you tired right now? >> Not particularly, but it is getting close to my bedtime so I probably will be soon.

Do you like spring rolls? >> I do!

What do you live on in terms of a street, road, crescent, place, court etc? >> Drive.

How many purses or handbags do you own? >> I have a holster type bag, if that counts.

Do you get along with all your aunts and uncles? >> ---

Have you ever eavesdropped and heard something you didn't want to hear? >> Yeah, that happened all the time when I was a child. I had this weird self-destructive habit of listening in on my guardians’ conversations about me, which were almost always on the negative side. I don’t know why I didn’t just... stop eavesdropping. I had to know I wasn’t ever going to hear anything good. So I call it “self-destructive” because, like, why else was I doing it if not to just punish myself?

When was the last time you used a pen, pencil or marker? >> A few hours ago, adding something new to my FFXIV daily-to-do list.

What's your favourite type of curry? >> I have no idea.

Do you often go to do or say something and then just forget? >> Yeah.

Who makes you laugh the hardest? >> I don’t know, man.

Have you ever had casual sex? >> Unfortunately.

What was the last thing you paid for with cash? >> Admission to the Meijer Gardens.

What's the last letter of your middle name? >> W.

If your phone rang right now from a number you don't know, would you answer? >> I never answer my phone.

How long is your hair? >> Like... one centimeter.

What was your first pet's name and how did you pick that? >> Roxie. I think my father chose it, idk.

Do you drink diet or regular soda? >> I don’t drink soda most of the time, but when I do, it’s always regular.

Have you ever been to Europe? >> No.

Do you worry about your own health? >> I mean, sometimes. Not obsessively or anything.

Who did you last make plans with, and what plans did you make? >> ---

Can you smell anything right now? >> Not really.

How old were you when you got your first cell phone? >> Seventeen.

When was the last time you bought a pair of shoes? >> Around this time last year, probably? Or maybe a little earlier, idr.

Do you like fruit and vegetable combo juices? >> Depends on exactly what fruits and vegetables are involved.

Have you ever been on a spring break trip? >> No.

Would you rather be warmer or colder right now? >> I’m at the perfect temperature right now.

How tall are your highest heels? >> ---

What's your favourite flavour of frosting? >> ---

When did you wake up today? >> Around 7.30, I think. Or maybe earlier. I don’t remember.

Do you change your appearance often? >> No. There’s really nothing to change.

What colour are the street signs in your town/suburb? >> Green, I think.

Have you ever blocked someone on Facebook? Why? >> Probably, a long time ago. Because they were annoying, I’d assume.

How many people do you work with? >> ---

What was the last thing you ate? >> Half a lemon coconut cookie.

Do you have any plans for three hours in the future? >> I plan to be asleep then.

Has anyone ever made a comment about your weight that offended or upset you? >> Thankfully not.

#surveys #survey #random survey #not for reblogging *glare*

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bittys · 5 years

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dads slutty new shorts are really a bear magnet - seirei - 1/3

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Pairing: reigen arataka/serizawa katsuya

REBLOGS > LIKES

Summary- Reigen decided to make his new highly attractive neighbor a pie as a "welcome/thanks for waking me up at six in the morning/sorry for your ugly house" gift. And it was a good idea at first, he thought, it coming out of the oven lopsided could have been the only problem. Until it turned out that the new neighbor, while highly attractive, was also allergic to almonds. Yikes. Seriously, who doesn't consider nut allergies?

...At least he gets a date out of it.

Saturday morning, Reigen awoke to the sound of a buzzing truck engine and soft laughter. The frame of his bed was vibrating softly with the noise, the first time it had moved with such expeditious energy in a while. He groaned. It was early, he could tell as he carefully slid his eyelids open to the bronze sunlight that peaked underneath the cracked window and brought in the smell of last nights rain and early sunrise dew. He lolled his head over to the clock that shone in red, 6:37 A.M. Who was awake, causing this much noise, at 6:37 in the fucking morning? Oh how he’d love to meet the bastard. He rolled back over to the empty space next to him, stared for a moment, and then swung his legs over the mattress. There was no use in trying to sleep again, not with the constant vibrations of the truck parked but yet to be shut down out front. Beside the noise that seemed to come through louder when his bedroom door shut, the rest of the house was silent; Absent of the screaming, annoying kids that he loved so dearly. He shoved the curtain at the window by the front of the door aside, and squinted past the sun rays that painted across the pink and orange horizon, to see a large moving truck. The house that been for sale since they had moved into the neighborhood six months ago had finally been sold, apparently, with a cost that wasn’t the absurdly high mortgage price. It was downright ugly. At first, Reigen had thought that it perhaps had been haunted or something, it couldn’t of been that bad. But the more he had to live next to it and look at the damned thing when he was parking, the more he realized that even the dead had to have taste. The dreary green topped off with the growing moss on the shutters was enough of a sight to make him want to go over and paint and clean the entire thing himself. There was only one simple moving truck outside, the name of the company printed in bright orange on the side. A few movers came back and forth from the house to the truck, doing what you’d think they’d be doing, carrying boxes to-and-fro. But absent of the generic beige outfits the movers wore, was a taller man, thickened around the edges of his body, wearing a pair of track pants and a white sweater. By the ruffle of his dark hair and the shadow on his face, he looked as equally as tired as Reigen. But hell, if he wasn’t attractive. Reigen pulled the curtains shut and turned to the kitchen with a sudden need for a cup of coffee. He poured his cup. Straight black, as always. And he sat on one of the leather stools at the island. The house was quiet without the kids up to make trouble. It made him shift awkwardly in his seat, like he didn’t know what to do with himself. Usually, when the kids weren’t up to bother him, he’d be talking with Ekubo, or sharing smiles, or ignoring the chatter on the television because they're too distracted with their own gossip and gentle kisses. But in the end, he did what he did best and left the house with a deafening silence. Reigen sipped his coffee. He thought about the new man living next door. Perhaps he should strip his bitter mood with a bit of sweetness; he could make the new neighbor a pie. That wasn’t something he’d normally do… and hell, did neighbors even welcome each other with sweet pies and casseroles anymore? He wasn’t sure. But he was sure of the thoughts of disgraceful men in his head, how tired he was, and how maybe a bit of good karma would help him out. It didn’t have to be of good nature, did it? As long as he made it with kindness and love, he could totally write in pink icing: Sorry about your ugly house! Or say something along the lines of: Thanks for waking me up at six thirty in the morning and ruining my entire day! Whilst handing the man the pie. Okay, so Reigen didn’t know much about how that worked. And that man was far too attractive to get something with such ill-mannered intentions. But he did know that there was an overwhelming amount of strawberries growing from his and the kids’ strawberry bushes planted in the pots in the backyard, and a package of almonds he’d bought a few months ago before he realized he absolutely did not like almonds. The kids could pick the strawberries, he could make the pie and bring it by during lunch later. It was a rare, yet good, idea. For the good karma, not the hot men. Of course. He pushed himself up from the barstool, leaving his coffee half-drunk. He pulled open the pantry door and located what he needed: Flour, sugar, salt, cornstarch, extract, shortbread cookies, and of course the opened bag of almonds with only one almond missing. He towered them in his arms to carry to the island and lay them out in the order they’d need to be in— not including the refrigerated items. He then slapped his hands together to brush off the stray flour accumulated on the bag and transferred to his hands from carrying, and turned to the fridge to do the same with the rest of the ingredients: butter, milk, and whipped cream. It was 7:16 A.M by the time he began baking, and 8:40 A.M once the boys had awakened from their slumber. They came padding out of their shared room, eyes lazily half-lidded. “Smells good,” Mob mumbled as he rubbed a small fist against his eye. Breathing in the sweet scent of the almond crust, Reigen pulled out the pie pan from the oven. The crust was baked a perfect golden brown, small cracks around the curve of the pan but smooth over the thick bottom. “Pie!” Reigen exclaimed, twisting to place the pan on the counter. He pulled off his pink mitts and kicked the oven shut with his foot. “Do you boys wanna go pick some strawberries for me? We’re gonna go visit the new neighbor today and I need it for the pie.” “Only if we can have a slice,” Ritsu responded. He was already walking to the back door to flip the lock. “If he offers it, sure. But don’t be spoiled,” Reigen said. “Mob?” Mob shrugged. “Sure.” Reigen gave them a smile and watched as they left to the backyard. It was a small deck surrounded by the limited greenery of the yard, but it was enough to carry a few medium sized planters pots for their growing fruits and vegetables. They didn’t get into the gardening hobby until Ekubo left, leaving them with less funds for food and outdoor activities like beaches and parks. Despite that, it was fun and good for bonding. So far, they had plenty of cucumbers, melons, tomatoes, strawberries, and other sorts of foods that they enjoyed better than store-bought. They came back inside a few minutes later with strawberry stained fingers, pink around their mouths, and handfuls of dark red strawberries. They release them onto the counter, watching them roll across the surface before losing interest and scrambling up onto the barstools to watch Reigen instead. The both of them are in sync, leaning their cheeks onto their tiny fists. Reigen collected the strawberries off the counter. In the cup of his hands, he rinsed them of the soil and— a contribution from the children— stickiness, cut the leafy green tops off, and threw them into a bowl. He mashed them, poured sugar and a couple other ingredients in, and stirred. “We have a new neighbor?” Ritsu asked. “Do you think they have kids?” There only seemed to be a man present, but Reigen wasn’t sure. He found himself hoping that there weren’t any kids, that it was just a single man living on his own in an ungodly green house. “We’ll have to find out, won’t we?” He said as he poured the mixture on top of the crust. As soon as the mixture emptied the mixing bowl and filled the pan, apart of the crust crumbles. “Shit.” He frantically tried to push the crust back into place with the tips of his fingers, but he was far too shaky and the crust was already too hard to shape. He sends a prayer to the Gods and simply covered it with the strawberry mixture and a spoon. “You messed it up, Daddy,” Mob pointed out. Reigen rolled his eyes and shoved it into the oven, annoyance prickling at his chest. “I did not. This is fine. It’s fine.” He clicked the button on top of the oven to start the baking again. Brunch went by quickly, and the house was beginning to fill with the scent of bitter sweetness. After he cleaned up his mess, he poured himself another hot cup of coffee, and made bacon and eggs for the boys and himself. They ate with some chatter here and there, but it was mostly a comfortable silence until they finished eating. “Will you marry the new neighbor, daddy?” Mob suddenly asked. Reigen almost choked on the sip of his coffee. “Not in the foreseeable future,” “But you’re making him a pie~” Ritsu chimed in, a song to his voice. “Why don’t we go get dressed and decide on that when we bring it by?” Reigen set down his cup and smiled awkwardly, a tight grip at the sides of the stool to push himself down. The kids jump out of their seats with a clap to their feet as they run to their bedroom, apparently delighted by the idea of another marriage. With Reigen’s own luck, the man is going to wind up married with five children. Or maybe 70 years old with a great skincare routine. Reigen rinsed the plates and set them into the dishwasher, then retreated into his own bedroom to pick out clothing. It shouldn’t of mattered what he wore, but he found himself pulling things out of his drawers carelessly until he decided that nothing was right for the matter of occasion. He decided simply on a t-shirt and a pair of new pink shorts that reached barely mid-thigh. He’d recently bought them on sale at a thrift store. The kids didn’t hesitate to make fun of him for them. They exposed the coarse hair that rose to his thighs, and the fact that he never really went outside. Mob and Ritsu are dressed when Reigen leaves the bedroom. They’re bouncing excitedly on the couch. “Are you ready to go?” Reigen asked as he moved to the kitchen to pull the pie out of the oven. The thickly filling had seemed to cover the collapse for the most part, but it was still evident in the way the red leaked out and snuck between the crust and the pan. Yikes. He pulled it out, wrapped the pie in foil, and they left the house. The sun beamed down on their skin as they walked. Reigen was already sweating by the time they were half way down the sidewalk, an uncomfortably damp residue beneath his armpits. The moving truck was gone, and the outside of the ugly green house was absent of any other person. There’s a couple of small boxes on the concrete patio. They walk up the dusty pathway, Mob and Ritsu trailing behind. Reigen used his hand free of the intense heat seeping through the tinfoil to ring the doorbell. The walls of the house are thin enough to hear the echo of the ring from the inside, and the sound of approaching footsteps. He straightened his back and checked the tinfoil that covered the pie to make sure of no flaws like a rip or a hole. The doorknob twisted and the door swung open. No woman or small child, it was the same man that he had seen out front earlier. This time dressed down to a white t-shirt, and the same tracksuit pants with white lines at the sides. He looked more rugged up close, but daringly attractive at the same time. His hair was a sweaty, ruffled mess. His beard far more lighter and sparse than what it looked to be through the window, and there are prominent bags under his eyes that could not have been visible from so far away. “Oh! Company. Hello!” The man smiled through his tired look. Reigen swallowed down the dryness working its way up his throat. The resent for his early rising was suddenly gone, replaced by heat buried deep in his chest. “We’re sorry to bug you, you must be busy unpacking and stuff. But we made you a pie to welcome you to the neighborhood.” He shoved the pie outwards with a lopsided grin. A bead of sweat rolled down his forehead. With the short pause in the conversation, Reigen scrambled for a grip on his introduction that was being pulled away by new infatuation. “Reigen Arataka, by the way. These are my two sons, Mob and Ritsu.” The man looked down at the tin foil, then up from Reigen’s pink shorts to the two children behind him. Under the glaze of the sunlight, a flush creeped up his cheeks. “It smells great, thank you! I’m Serizawa,” He paused just as Reigen did, and then, “Katsuya. Sorry, Serizawa Katsuya. Hah, It’s been a long morning moving in this heat all alone.” He scratched the back of his neck. Reigen doesn’t want to think it, but, score! “If you ever need any help, I live right next door.” He doesn’t exactly mean the offer, because really, who willingly moves and unpacks boxes unless there was something in it for them like money— or in his case— an attractive man. Serizawa Katsuya reached out and grabbed the pie carefully. The thicker tips of his fingers brush over Reigen’s as he did so. “I think you’ve done enough already, nobody would ever do this in Tokyo.” He gestured with the pie. “But if I may, would you like to come in and help eat some of this? I live alone, it wouldn’t be respectful to let it go stale…” While Ritsu did tug on the back of Reigen’s shorts as if to say yes, yes! he’s already hastily accepting the offer. They followed Serizawa into his home. It was nicer on the inside than it was on the outside, with a similar layout to their own home. Boxes were strewn out across the living room, some opened, some still sealed. The couch, a mustard color with a soft looking texture, sat covered in plastic in the middle of the room. There was a television already on a glass stand, unhooked. But besides that, unopened boxes, and a few paintings hung on the white walls, the place was practically empty. Nobody else was around, it seemed. The house was just as quiet. They were lead to the kitchen. There were two chairs already pushed underneath the island, a different colored marbled top than their own. Serizawa set the pie down and began dismantling the tinfoil. Reigen’s heart skips a beat or two. If only he could turn back time for a few minutes and bake the pie just two minutes longer. It wouldn’t look like the lopsided mess that it was now. “Ah… The pie is a bit…crumbled. Amateur here.” He stared down at the way Serizawa’s hands slow to intricate movements across the foil, nails sliding carefully underneath as so not to cause more destruction. “No worries,” He got most of the foil off but kept it beneath the glass pan to rewrap with later. “Do you bake a lot?” “Sometimes. The kids and I garden, so we have lots to make sometimes.” Serizawa bent down into an open box, and pulled out four glass plates and a wrapping full of utensils. Apparently, the utensils were more important than the glass dishes. He set them out on the island. The kids each grabbed a plate and held it close to their chests, eagerly awaiting a taste of their fathers baking. He doesn’t bother with the collapsed side as he cuts it, and Reigen doesn’t feel the slightest offended. The strawberry filling floods over the sides and collects in a puddle at the bottom of the glass, steaming with a sweet sent. “So is it just you and the kids?” Serizawa asked and then stopped his movements, “Sorry, that was rude.” Reigen opened his mouth to speak, but proving to be listening, Mob chimed in. “Daddy is thinking about marrying you! You can be our new dad also!” Ritsu slapped him on the arm. “Ow.” Reigen’s eyes widened, heat flushing across his cheeks to match the newfound coloring on Serizawa’s. “O-Oh.” “No, no, no, no!” Reigen waved his hands in front of himself frantically. It suddenly felt hot in the room, all across his body. He wanted nothing more than to slap the shit out of his child. Or maybe himself, because he did say that in a way. “No. I did not say that oh god—Mob!— I am so sorry. K-kids, you know?” Beneath the island looked far more comfier than beneath the sight of surprised eyes. But then, he laughs and goes back to cutting. “Oh gosh, that’s okay. I can take that as an answer to my question, yeah?” With a quick nod, Reigen grabbed himself a slice. He considered not giving the kids a slice so not to fulfill their hyperactivity again, but Serizawa placed each of them a sliver of a piece before he could object. “Thank you, Mister,” Ritsu said. They ate in silence. It’s unsettling to not know if it was because his kids had big mouths, or there just wasn’t much to talk about. At the very most, the pie was delicious. A smooth filling, bitter but sweet with the soft chew of melted down strawberries. Serizawa threw a few compliments his way, and that made up for the lack of conversation until their plates were empty with leftover crumbs and jelly-like spots. Eating was a great first date, because you didn’t have to talk through the awkward parts. You could simply just fill your mouth with savory foods until you pile up your dates bill and leave, or find something else to talk about. But this— to Reigen’s misfortune, anyway— wasn’t a date, just a welcome made awkward by a seven year old. The idea, he supposed, still counted. Serizawa was on his last bite when he coughed out the barely chewed forkful. It landed disgustingly on his plate, a splat. Was it really that bad? He dropped the fork next, his hands flying up to his throat. The kids jumped up from their squeezed spot in the chair and run to Serizawa. They pull on his shirt. “Woah, woah. Are you okay?” Reigen followed behind and started clapping his hands against his back. He struggled. His shoulder blades quivered beneath the frantic touch of Reigen's hands. As his own hands awere wrapped tightly around his throat as if to help the choking somehow, he managed out, “What was in the pie?” Ritsu let go of his shirt and looked at Reigen accusingly. “Dad, did you poison the pie?” Reigen pressed his eyebrows together. “What? No. There’s uh…” The memories of the ingredients fall short in his memory. He didn’t do good under pressure. “Uh, strawberries…sugar…almonds…butter-“ “Almonds!” Serizawa choked. “I’m- a-allerg-“ He coughed more. He didn’t need to complete his sentence for Reigen to realize what was happening. He dealt with it all too much when Mob was little. Fish, peanuts, you name it, he couldn’t have it. He was having an allergic fucking reaction, all due to his shitty, sloppily made pie. Who makes things with nuts on the first day of not knowing someone? That was purely idiotic, a thought that had escaped him due to the need of wooing a man. He stopped and pocketed his cellphone to dial an ambulance. The hospital waiting area was stuffy, the air carrying an undertone of strengthened bleach. The few people that sat in the dull grey chairs didn't look like they needed to be there— one had a cough, the other sat on their phone, bored with half-lidded eyes. Quick moving nurses took Serizawa immediately. By the time the ambulance had arrived, his face had grown purple and puffy, and disregarding of the thousands of fumbled apologies Reigen gave while they wheeled him out. Mob and Ritsu played at the small children’s corner with a bead rollercoaster and a couple of small toy trucks, when a nurse came out. She was pretty, long black hair tied into a ponytail, with the same dull look on her face as the people in the waiting room. “Mr. Serizawa seems to be holding up okay. He’s awake and has been treated. You’re free to visit him now if you’d like. Room 203.” She explained before she walked off to tend to another, her ponytail flipping onto her shoulder. Reigen nodded as if she could see him and he walked over to claim Mob and Ritsu. They walked down the hallway, where the scent of bleach only grew stronger. It had about as much personality as the rest of the hospital; opened doors exposing bored-stricken sick patients, dull blue floors and dove walls with paintings of oceans and lakes and trees. The place certainly isn’t run by risk-takers such as Reigen, baking pies for people with nut allergies, and he guessed he should be grateful for that. Amongst the various slates with numbers besides the doors came room 203. Reigen knocked gently and twisted the knob. The kids stumbled through the cracked doorway into the room, excited to see Serizawa in all his swollen glory. Except, he looked rather fine now. “Hey, Serizawa…” Reigen cracked an awkward smile. Serizawa lay covered by the thin hospital sheet, a pillow perching his head up to view the television, turned to a news broadcast. His face, unlike before, was slimmed down again with only a flushed tint around his eyes. “Reigen,” He greeted. He pushed himself up, sheets falling into a bundle atop his lap. The kids moved to sit on the two visitors chairs pushed against the wall by the counters. “Thanks for following me here,” He sounded sincere, not sarcastic. Reigen perched himself on the mattress with precision as to not sit on Serizawa’s feet and cause even more damage than before. “I’m really sorry, this has been an awkward meeting from start to finish. I hadn’t considered the possibility of an allergic reaction…I-I—“ Serizawa cut him off. “Oh, Reigen. Don’t worry. I’m fine! How could you of known? You did the right thing, I don’t even have an Epipen in my house.” He chuckled nervously and scratched the back of his neck. “It could have been worse, really.” “How can I make it up to you?” Reigen ran his hands down his face. Glancing from the kids to Reigen, a soft pink blush matches the red around his eyes. “Tomorrow,” He said, “You can take me on a date.”

#serirei #seirei #mob psycho 100 #mp100 #reigen arataka #serizawa katsuya #DILF REIGEN BABEY #my writing #bittys txt #writing #writeblr #fanfiction #ao3 #reblogs are appreciated #idk how to layout writing on here but we'll figure it out eventually fellas

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lifewithsehun · 5 years

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She's back IV

Characters: Exo, Red Velvet, Y/N

Pairing: Y/N x Baekhyun?

Genre: Fluff/Angst

Warnings: none yet.

It was your boyfriend calling, so you got up and told Baekhyun you'd be back. “Hey babe”, you answered your phone as you walked away. Baekhyun just sat there in shock seeing you walk away as you happily spoke to another man, who apparently was your boyfriend. He didn't know how to react because he thought you were single. He felt his heart become heavy and couldn't believe someone else had what he has been wishing was his since the day he met you. You kept your phone call short and returned to the bench where Baekhyun was sitting quietly, as he stared off into the sky. “Hey”, you said to get his attention and he turned to look at you with a sad expression. “What's wrong Baekhyun?”, you asked with concern. “Nothing, I'm just tired”, he replied with a small smile. “It is getting late”, you said as you looked around for Mongryong. Baekhyun got up as he called out for Mong and he ran up to both of you immediately. “Come here boy”, you cooed and picked him up. “Let's go”, Baekhyun said.

The walk back to the apartment was quiet and once you were in front of your door, you handed Mongryong back to Baekhyun. “Thank you for joining us”, Baekhyun said as he held onto a whining Mongryong. “He really likes you”, Baekhyun chuckled. “No problem I really like him too and I enjoyed spending time with Mongryong and you”, you responded with a smile. Mongryong kept whining and trying to get your attention, so you petted his head while saying, “Mongryong baby, I'll see you around, don't cry”. You stopped petting Mong and Baekhyun continued to pet him. "Goodnight Y/N, sleep well”, Baekhyun said. “Goodnight Baekhyun and Mongryong”, you replied with a smile and went inside your apartment.

Baekhyun's POV

I walked into my apartment and put Mongryong down, but he stood at the entrance with me and stared at the door. I just can't believe that Kyungsoo said she was single, but she isn't. No actually I can't believe that I thought she would still be single. I mean she's beautiful, smart, nice, .. perfect...she's perfect! How could I think that any man would be dumb enough like me and not ask her out. “Ugh”, I said with frustration as I walked to my room with Mongryong following me and still whining. “Stop whining Mong, you'll see her another day”, I said as I layed down. “She may have a boyfriend, so I can't be with her, but she doesn't have her own dog Mong, you'll have her to yourself”, I told him as I got my phone to call Kyungsoo. “Did you know?”, I asked as soon as he answered.

End of Baekhyun's POV

Kyungsoo panicked when he saw Baekhyun calling, but answered anyways. “Hey, wha…”, Kyungsoo started, but Baekhyun interrupted him. “Did you know?”, he asked and Kyungsoo knew what he was talking about. “She barely told me today”, Kyungsoo replied. “Ok”, Baekhyun said. “Baek I..”. “No, it's fine, it's my fault”, Baekhyun interrupted. “I should have known, I mean why would she be single all this time… how long has it been?”, Baekhyun said. “It's been almost two years Baek… he's coming to Korea in a month..”, Kyungsoo responded with a sigh. “There's nothing I can do now… thanks Soo..”, Baekhyun sighed. “Baek..”, Soo said with concern. “Don't worry I'll be okay.. I have been for the past years.. I can do it.. I'll see you on Saturday at the party”, Baekhyun replied and ended the call.

The following days passed quite fast even if you mostly spent them at home watching TV because your job was going to start until Monday and your friends were busy with their jobs. You hadn't seen much of Baekhyun either, just a couple of hellos when you both went to check your mail or he was leaving to work you assumed. Luckily it was finally Saturday because you were dying of boredom and you honestly much rather have Joy forcing you out of bed to go shopping for a new outfit like she currently was. “Why do I need a new outfit?”, you groaned as she pushed you up off the bed. “Because I said so”, she replied with a big smile. “I guess”, you said as you walked into the restroom to take a shower. “Hurry up!”, she yelled. Once you were showered, you brushed your teeth, put your hair into a bun, applied light makeup and threw on some jeans and a tshirt. “Where are they doing the party at?”, you questioned Joy as you walked into the kitchen where she was stealing your strawberries. “Well, we were thinking that it should obviously be at the person's home, which is yours, but then Soo suggested that we do it at his restaurant instead”, she replied with her mouth full. “Ok, so were dressing fancy...and stop stealing my strawberries!”, you yelled.

As you both walked out of your apartment, Baekhyun was leaving also. “Hey Baekhyun”, Joy and you said at the same time. “Hey, where are you both going?”, Baekhyun asked as you three got into the elevator. “Shopping!!”, Joy cheered. “Good luck…”, Baekhyun replied with a laugh while looking at you. You pouted and mouthed a “help me” as Joy dragged you out of the elevator and towards your taxi. Baekhyun mouthed an “I'm sorry” and laughed, which made you glare at him for laughing at your misery. He winked at you and walked to his car. Once you were at the shopping center, Joy dragged you into so many stores that you lost count. Eventually after what felt like an eternity, you had both bought some nice dresses, a couple of accessories and new shoes, so you both walked over to the food court because you were starving due to skipping breakfast. “Shouldn't we help the guys with getting everything thing ready?”, you asked. “No, they'll kill me if I take you to the restaurant before it starts!”, Joy replied. “But..”, you whined. “But nothing Y/N, Soo is in charge of the food and the rest of the girls and guys are helping him prepare the other stuff”, she answered with a glare. “Fine, let's go to my apartment at least, so we can talk some more and get ready”, you replied. Soon it was time to leave and you were both ready, so Joy started taking pictures. “Stop”, you said as you put on your shoes. “Selca selca please”, she whined. "Later", you replied. “Fine....just be ready though because someone's going to have a heart attack when he sees you”, Joy teased. “What are you talking about?”, you questioned. “Oh nothing.. let's go”, she replied with a smirk as you both walked to the door. You both heard someone knock and saw Baekhyun standing at the door when you opened it. He stayed staring at you with his mouth slightly open as he looked at you from head to toe. You also didn't miss the chance to check him out from head to toe when you realized he was wearing a nice blue suit matching your dress. 'Hmm he looks really good.... wait what Y/N.. what's wrong with you?', you thought. “Yo, dude… hello?”, Joy said interrupting yours and Baekhyun's moment. "Ohh look you're both matching and her dress is from Privé", she added with a wink and smirk towards Baekhyun. You looked at Joy upon hearing the dress was from Baekhyun's clothing company with a surprised expression due to the fact that you hadn't even paid attention to the brand when she insisted that you had to buy it for tonight. “Wow…I mean Hey... I actually designed that dress myself, he replied with a big smile. "Really? it's very nice", you replied while blushing. 'Wait why am I blushing?', you thought. "I'm going to take you both to the party”, Baekhyun replied interrupting your thoughts as he shifted his eyes towards the elevator. “Okay... let's go then”, you replied with a small smile.

Once you were close to Baekhyun's car, Joy started walking faster while yelling, "Shotgun in the back!". "I'm pretty sure that's not how it works!", you yelled and laughed while looking at Baekhyun who was also laughing. Joy was already sitting in the back when you reached Baekhyun's car. He was about to open the door for you, but hesitated and made eye contact with you. "What? Is there something on my face", you immediately panicked. "No ... you just... you look beautiful", he said while looking into your eyes. You wanted to respond a thank you, but the words wouldn't come out and you were pretty sure your face looked like a tomato at the moment, so you turned to look at the door handle instead. He chuckled at how cute you looked while blushing and felt his heartbeat racing because he was the cause of it. You reached for the door handle, but Baekhyun beat you to it and opened the door. Once you were seated, he closed it and Joy started teasing you, "Why are so red, what did he say?". "Shut up", you said while rolling your eyes making her laugh. "Why are you laughing", Baekhyun asked Joy once he was in the car. "She's looks like a tomato", Joy said while laughing louder. "You're crazy", you immediately replied with a whine. "Joy stop..", Baekhyun said with a stern voice while trying to hide his smile, but you saw it. "Evil friends", you pouted. "Ok, ok I'll stop... let's go", she replied while trying to not laugh and failing.

This is what Y/N and Baekhyun are wearing:

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diygardens-blog · 5 years

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Money-Saving tips for beginning Gardeners

Our approach to frugal gardening isn’t just to look for great deals on gardening products. We also try to limit our use of purchased inputs like water and electricity. Today I’ll share 10 strategies that allow us to get excellent results while spending very little money on products and other inputs.

The first strategy to save is to have your soil tested before buying fertilizers and amendments. People often think of a soil test as a way to learn what they need to add to the soil, but more often than not the real value is in learning what not to add. When you know what your soil doesn’t need you can avoid buying unnecessary fertilizers and amendments and save money in the process. In our case even though we haven’t used store-bought fertilizers for many years a soil test showed high or very high levels of most nutrients, and all we do is add compost worm castings and mulch to the garden. With nutrient levels as high as they are we can actually use less compost in order to bring them down. If you live in the United States, low-cost professional soil testing is available at your local Agricultural Extension office. Some states even offer free testing, either way, soil testing can save you a lot of money over the long run by helping you to identify what products you don’t need. You may even find like we did that no additional fertilization is needed.gardening for beginners

The second strategy to reduce your gardening costs is to make your own compost from free local resources. The amount of compost you’ll need will vary depending on your soil test results, but if the results show your soil needs more organic matter and nutrients, a good target is to produce enough compost to cover your garden beds with a half-inch to an inch of compost per year. When soil is deficient in nutrients, compost alone can often correct the deficiencies and the good news is that you can usually find all of the compost inputs you need without spending a penny. The best place to start looking for free compost ingredients is on your home property. You can use kitchen scraps, autumn leaves, grass clippings, and other yard waste. If this isn’t enough material to produce a half-inch to an inch of compost per year you can look for free local resources in your community. Where we live there’s an amazing abundance of free resources for compost and as many of you probably know when I started I was on a mission to find as many as I could. I scavenged for leaves, woodchips, grass clippings, used coffee grounds, brewery grains, and horse manure. You may have different free resources where you live, but if you look hard enough you can usually find more than enough to make all the compost you’ll need.

The third strategy is to mulch garden beds using free local organic resources. Mulching has numerous benefits including saving water, feeding the soil, food web, controlling weeds, and reducing erosion, and all of these benefits can be achieved without spending a penny on products. Some of our favorite free local mulch ingredients are autumn leaves, wood chips, grass clippings, chop and drop garden waste, ground eggshells, and small amounts of used coffee grounds. Free straw isn’t available where we live, but we would definitely use it if it was. Now let’s look at four specific ways that mulch saves you money. First, it covers the soil which reduces evaporation and holds moisture in. As a result, you’re gonna have a lower water bill. Secondly, it slowly releases nutrients into the soil which means you can use less fertilizer. Third, you may have heard about how great worm castings are for your soil, but fortunately, you don’t have to buy them. A better approach is to mulch your garden beds. Mulch feeds worms and gives them an excellent habitat, and protects them from temperature extremes. Mulching will significantly increase your native earthworm population and the number of worm castings in your garden. Fourth, fungi will form and benefit symbiotic relationships with a number of plants. The plants provide the fungi with carbohydrates and B vitamins and the fungi provide the plans with an increased uptake of water and nutrients. However, the best way to promote mycorrhizae in your garden isn’t to buy mycorrhizae products, instead, it’s simply to grow a broad diversity of plants that form mycorrhizal associations and to use course mulch like wood chips and leaves which create an environment in which native mycorrhizal fungi flourish.

The fourth money-saving strategy is to grow nitrogen-fixing cover crops. We haven’t used any nitrogen fertilizer for many years, thanks in part to these crops. Late every summer we plant about five dollars worth of covers crop seeds. The plants grow, fix nitrogen in the soil, and then they’re killed by the winter cold. If your winters aren’t cold enough to kill your cover crops you’ll need to chop and drop them before they go to seed. In addition to fixing nitrogen, cover crops prevent erosion and increase organic matter in the soil.

Our fifth money-saving strategy is to grow in polycultures to reduce pests and disease problems and therefore reduce pesticide costs. We choose not to use any conventional pesticides and we also rarely use organic ones. Yet our plants have very few pests and disease problems. Polycultures help make this possible, it is more difficult for pests to find their preferred plans and wreak havoc. If we planted all of our squash plants in the same location you can imagine how much easier would be for powdery mildew to spread from plant to plant then it would be if the plants were scattered around the garden in a variety of locations. Simply put, monocultures create the perfect environment for pests to find their food source, lay eggs and, reproduce while polycultures make their work of destruction much more difficult.

My sixth money-saving tip is to grow plenty of edible perennials and self-sowing annuals. Perennial crops are ones that you plant once and they come back year after year on their own. Whereas self-sowing annuals only live one season, but they produce and drop enough seed that they effectively sell so another crop for the next season. These plants save us money because they only have to be planted once and they come back year after year with minimal care and no additional cost. Some very popular perennials were growing include asparagus, strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, and Asian pears.

Our seventh money-saving tip is to save seeds. We keep our seed costs down by saving seeds for a wide variety of crops including tomatoes, peppers, eggplants, cucumbers, squash, pumpkins, kale, collard greens, and mustard greens. These are not only some of our favorite crops but the seeds are very easy to save. We store the seeds in small plastic bags and airtight containers to improve their longevity and store the containers in a cool dark cabinet.

The eighth tip is to grow most crops from seed rather than buying plant starts. You can often buy about a hundred seeds for the price of a plant start. So the savings are significant. The savings are even greater if you use saved seeds. Direct sowing brings even greater savings, although we start tomatoes, peppers, and eggplants in the grow room we start most of our plants directly in the soil. As a result, we don’t have to add more lights and shelves to our grow room. We save on electricity and we don’t have to buy seed starting trays and potting soil for crops that are directly sown in.

The ninth money-saving tip is to reuse, repurpose, and upcycle. Over the years we’ve used fallen trees as garden bed borders, built a compost bin from discarded pallets and another from tree branches, built cold frames from old storm windows and scrap wood, and started plants in repurposed cottage cheese and yogurt containers. The possibilities for repurposing reusing and upcycling are endless.

Our tenth money-saving strategy is to conserve water. We usually get plenty of rain here in the Chicago area but we still take measures to reduce our use of tap water. In the garden as just discussed we mulch our garden beds. Mulching is the easiest way to significantly reduce water use in the garden and it doesn’t cost a thing if you use free local resources. Second, we harvest rainwater from the roof with a rain barrel and use it to water the garden. Third, we reuse water whenever possible. For example, we save the water that we used to rinse our produce and we water our plants with it. We also reuse the water that’s collected by the dehumidifier that we sometimes run in our basement. If we lived in a more drought-prone area we could take even more measures. For example, I would consider installing a greywater system that safely diverts some wastewater from the house into the garden. I’d also build wicking beds instead of traditional raised beds, wicking beds hold a reservoir of water under the soil and the water is wicked up from the bottom resulting in much less water loss to evaporation.

#gardening activities for kids

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vminity21 · 6 years

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Lush

Pairing: Jungkook X Reader

Word Count: 3.3k

- BTS Aesthetic - Jungkook -

~ Just some fluff to make your butterflies flutter ~

Vegetation.

Red tomatoes dangle from their stems in countless rows before you, encircled by thick, plush trees. The vegetation surrounding the scene abundant that the sun barely shines above it instead remains covered leaving shadows of swaying leaves along the ground. Yellow butterflies flutter amongst the grass, landing on colorful flowers spread across the land. Faintly, you hear cautious hooves rummaging through the forest, the movements lightly crunch along the piles of leaves though you hardly register what it may be. Taking a step forward, your fingertips brush one of the shiny, plump fruits, the red glistening beneath what little sun is protruding through.

The dirt beneath your feet indents leaving a trail of your journey behind you. Gazing at the tomatoes, you're in awe of how a simple seed can grow into something so beautiful along with many other plants that enrapture your soul. When the field of tomatoes seems to come to an end, a bright light piques your attention, your feet shifting onto freshly mowed grass. Something about the light really draws you in, especially with it nearly blinding you. Inwardly, you urge yourself to continue forward, your hand resting above your forehead to dim some of the brightness.

A large tree appears in your vision once your eyes adjust, mossy patches gather along the end of the trunk, a gray stone rests above where the tree roots are buried deep into the earth. Your eyes pan over the sight until they land upon a figure dawned in white clothing, back leaned against the stone, fingers fiddling with what looks to be a flower. You tilt your head, consumed with the way his eyes remain focused on the floret, his thin lips murmuring to himself with each petal he removes, them swaying to the ground or onto his raised knees, and noting his soft pink hair waving on his forehead and long enough to cover the tips of his ears.

The entire moment is angelic to you. Heavenly in a sense. His countenance without the knowledge of your presence moves you to the point you want to call his name. If only, you realize, you knew it. When he reaches the final petal, you instinctively step forward, your lips parted in preparation to speak when the jolt of a doe breaks your concentration, the boy lifting his head with widened eyes, turning to see who has entered-

Running a few errands, you forgot to bring a water bottle along with you which primes you to run by a dollar store with the plan of purchasing water as well as a few other things before returning home. For some reason, you are extremely thirsty today, the summer sun hasn't given a break enough to be able to breathe properly. Either way, you're thankful for your day off, though you can't wait to return to work tomorrow. The greenhouse you work in on the weekends has been a dream, holding numerous flowers, other buildings holding different vegetables or fruits, a backyard filled with a cornfield and a strawberry field- the plantation so immense that it gained popularity from the folks living in your small town. Every employee is assigned certain positions. Yours happens to be with the flowers, though your coworkers love surprising you with baskets of vegetables or fruit whenever there's a lot left over after the harvests.

Monday through Thursday though, you work in an antique shop as a manager. You're the biggest workaholic you know, but art, plants, and the realms of nature have been your passions your whole life. Walking along the isles, you finish retrieving what little items you need, and you head to the register. You're uncertain of why your head feels so foggy, but once you pay for your items, you waltz out the door, zipping your wallet and placing it in your pocket.

"Ma'am!" Someone calls, "Ma'am wait!"

It takes you a moment to realize that the deep voice is calling for you. Turning around, you see someone approaching you, waving an arm in the air until they capture your attention, the sound of a plastic bag clashing with each step.

"Sorry, ma'am. You left this," Your eyes land on the bag holding the items you just bought. Embarrassment immediately flooding your features.

"Oh, my word," you breathe, reaching for the bag, "Thank you so much, I can't believe I left without-"

Your heart halts when the familiarity of the man's pink hair floods your vision. Bright, brown eyes meet yours, your shoulders tensing at the recognition of his face. Someone that appeared in your dreams the night before.

"It's no problem at all," He smiles, his eyes timidly keep your gaze, his hand falling to the side once the bag is hanging from your stiff digits.

With a terse nod, you grin, "I hope you have a nice day." Your heart pounds as you brisk to your car, the strangeness of the whole situation nearly floors you. Have you seen him before? Is that why he somehow crept into your dreams? Either way, you buckle your seatbelt, igniting the engine and driving toward your home, brushing off the whole thing as nothing more than just a mere coincidence.

Maize stalks aim for the sky, the leavings tickling your figure with the light breeze whisking between the greenery. The golden cobs peek from where they're held, the sky a light blue as cirrostratus clouds hover in sight. Your fingertips brush the smooth, yet numerous rows of kernels amazed by the beauty of such a grain- how they grow in rows to feed the world along with many other plants. You spring forward, skipping through the cornfield to find an entrance to the shining light ahead. When you find yourself exiting your previous adventure, the scene before you is breathtaking- the sun brightening the earth as you notice the vacant tree with the stone sitting next to it appearing in your peripherals.

What captures your vision brings a small smile on your parted lips. A lone doe grazes along the grass, her light brown fur evident amongst the colors of the plantation. As if aware, she raises her head, flicking her ears as the wind picks up- her black nose twitches, abruptly turning her head to meet your entranced stare. The doe stiffens at the discovery of your company, but remains in place, firmly planted in the one dwelling she feels safe.

"It's okay," you try to speak, but no words are heard- raising your hand just enough to show her you will not do anything to hurt her. The doe's eyes stay locked on your being, even when pink flower petals softly brush your skin. With furrowed eyebrows, you lift your head to see a shower of them falling from the sky in slow motion, covering the terrain like a blanket of snow. When you turn to find the doe, she's gone. Your assumption is she skittishly ran away which brings an ache to your heart, but you understand her instinct for flight. The sunlight trails to the tree and stone- beyond them your eyes see him. The silhouette dressed in white- his back facing you, yellow butterflies sparsely cling to his clothing, their wings fluttering just enough to enchant the air with their magic. When his figure shifts, you see his hands are raised in front of his chest, his fingers poised as you see two butterflies resting on them. His vision never leaves their beating wings, smiling down at them with the mindset of friendship. You want nothing more than to join him, basking in the glory of the sunshine and the gentle nature of the butterflies, the frolicking of deer in the fields yonder, and catching flower petals replacing rain.

You watch him carefully, not realizing the forward motion you're making. Nearing him, a butterfly flutters from his shoulder to fly in your direction, the man turns to follow the Lepidoptera- eyes enlarging in surprise when he sees who it's traveling to-

Watering the daisy section brings the conversant scent of water and dirt, a fragrance you never want to lose. Reds, pinks, yellows, blues, and purples brighten the greenhouse, a few fans above bring a cooling breeze to the plants, along with relief from the humidity lingering outside. You love the smell of plants which is why you're thankful you only work here on weekends, that way everything remains fresh with every shift. You saunter to the rose section, taking a whiff of one of the deep red emblems with a smile spreading across your face. You're so mesmerized by the attar, you hardly notice the door closing signifying a customer is in the midst. You reach to sniff a pink rose this time, a low hum sounding in your throat.

"Hello, I came to see if-"

Your hand flies to your chest as your eyes widen- the thrumming of your heart evident.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you," The deep voice says, which then you apologize for jumping like you did. When you raise your head to meet the customer, you freeze. It's the same person who not only appears in your dreams but is also the same person who rescued you from leaving purchased items behind.

"It's okay," you reply, gaining your composure, "How can I help you?" You smile, trying to ignore the faint attraction withering within you. You notice he squints his eyes at you in wonderment, trying to figure out where he may have seen you.

"You're the one from yesterday," he then says, snapping his fingers then shyly chuckling, not meaning to avoid your question, "I remember now. I didn't know you work here."

"Just on weekends," you nod, your demeanor timid when he tilts his head with interest.

"Are you in college?"

"Oh no, this is actually my second job. I'm a manager of an antique shop," you mention, then pondering what brings this handsome stranger to the greenhouse of all places. "What about you?"

"I work at a wildlife rehab center." He grins, your eyebrows raising in surprise, "I work with animals that have been injured or animals that were found abandoned as neonates, so we raise or rehabilitate them until they can be released,"

"That's- that's amazing," you stutter, the memory of your latest vision clouding your mind. The face of the doe flashes, and you can't help the astonishment on how much your dreams of this stranger align with his reality.

"Recently, we released a doe we rehabilitated from a wounded leg," he murmurs, sadness in his brown eyes as he slips his hands in his pockets. "I just hope she doesn't go through anything like that again." You're uncertain of what to say other than apologizing once again, though you're very happy to hear of her healing, also hoping she remains in good shape and health for the rest of her life. "By the way, I'm Jungkook." He offers his hand, formally introducing himself.

"I'm [Y/N]," you say, firmly gripping his warm hand in yours with a swift shake.

"Sorry, for the distraction. As far as why I'm here, I'm wanting to send a floral arrangement to my mom's work. It's her birthday today," he grins, revealing what flowers he would like and rattling off the address as you swiftly type up everything, packaging the flowers neatly, and Jungkook signing the store copy of his receipt.

Before he turns to leave, he glances at you one more time, his diffident expression imaging yours,

"It's very nice to meet you."

You're flattered especially when he slightly bows in respect to you.

"It's very nice to meet you, too," you bow in return, Jungkook nodding sweetly, soon disappearing out the door, your thumping heart still echoing in the atmosphere.

Strawberries. Vertical lines of strawberries decorate the ground, the triangularly shaped fruits appetizing as you prick one loose from its stem, the sweet taste of it satisfying as you close your eyes. You're not sure how many you've eaten, but you can't seem to get enough as you follow through the field until you reach the opening where the meadow no longer bears fruit. Your lips are stained pink from the binge, though you can't see it, you can feel it, especially when the crave for more remains on your mind.

Glancing ahead, you pause, your smile widening at two deer frolicking a distance away from you. The two playing at each other as they bounce in different directions- completely in their own little world unbeknownst of your presence. When a tapping on your shoulder causes you to gasp, you whirl around to see the wide-eyed gaze of the pink haired gentleman. Apologetically, he stares at you, his lips parted for he didn't mean to frighten you. Bringing a finger to your lips, he follows your gaze to the deer dancing behind you, his heart melting along with yours at the view.

When you turn to face him once again, it's like the world around the two of you disappears, just two individuals lost in a large world, yet held together by the nature that brings happiness to each of your lives. He raises his hand, swallowing in fear, gently settling his palm along with your cheek, the softness of his skin soothing to you as your fingertips brush his wrist. He inches closer, pausing just enough to where his breath sweeps along your lips, the desire building nearly knocking you off your feet.

When you close your eyes waiting for his kiss, he speaks,

"Love me or love me not-"

You've always been incredibly shy. Which is something you've accepted about yourself a long time ago, you decide as you carve at the wood you've been working on the past week. It's starting to resemble a deer, the ones appearing in your dreams almost every night since your first dream about Jungkook. Your coworker is tidying up the floor, taking care of customers, checking in on you from time to time to make sure your current projects are turning out the way you've hoped. As you whittle at the timber, you smile fondly at it, proud at the detail you're able to create.

It's just- as you twirl the current piece in your hand, you elect to not sell it. Instead, you originally created this project with a different intention. Courage revealing itself, you finally conclude that you're no longer going to cower. Taking a quick break, you lean back in your chair, excitement for the following weekend to arrive.

Shrub surrounds you though in the distance clusters of blueberries bring a peaceful feel to the ether, the dark blue reflecting beautifully with the green stems. You sprint toward the fruit, the sun following you as you twirl with the heat of the breeze. Monarch butterflies flap their orange wings, swarms of them tackling the bushes to enhance the scenery with their aura. If rain exists in this utopia, you'd never know, not with the sun bringing such a euphoric feel to this world you love to escape to.

Laughing joyously, you skip through the blueberry field until you appear in the meadow, the grass tickling your ankles, your heart searching for the constant who gives you a sense of sanity. Without missing a step, you turn to see him, shining so vividly in his white attire, you're nearly breathless when you reach him, tapping his shoulder, him facing you with wide eyes- he relaxes when he sees it's you. He gulps, shifting his gaze momentarily before returning to meet yours.

There's nothing you want more than him. This longing for him doesn't make any sense with him being a stranger, but when do visions from deep slumber ever do? You reach for his hand, resting his palm upon your cheek, him closing the gap between you two just enough to where the tip of his nose brushes your cheek. You know what's coming when his lips part, but it's not a kiss he's about to give,

"Love me or love me not?" he mouths, but you don't answer with words.

Instead, you smile, reaching your free hand to cup his cheek, leaving a soft peck on his lips. In that one second, something powerful astounds you, and you pull away breathless. Without hesitation, he kisses you again, the trampling of a multitude of hooves sound in the distance, the rush prevailing like the bravery exuberating from your entity. Kissing him once more, the both of your hearts beating to the rhythm of the trampling hooves, the gentle touches of falling flower petals encompass in a kaleidoscope of colors, vegetation blooming luxuriously across the land. As he wraps his arms tight around your back, your arms rest around his shoulders, letting the sounds of earth envelop the two of you in a blissful imagination.

Weeks pass before you ever see him again. Twirling along the different sections, you've already watered the plants for the day, helping a few stragglers here and there until you find a moment of peace. The dream you dreamed has you in a daze you can't explain, but something about this human enchants you in such a way that you can't seem to think of anything else, but him. As the hours' tick by, you lean across the register in hopes that a crowd will bustle through the doors, but nothing of the sort happens. When closing time nears, you begin to check on everything until the sound of the door alerts you that someone has entered the facility.

Turning on a heel, you nearly faint when you see the light pink hair of Jungkook, looking around the store, before his eyes land on you.

"Hello," you greet with a small wave, "How are you?"

His lips pull into a side grin revealing small dimples you never knew he had. You approach him slowly, folding your arms across your chest as you timidly pause next to the register.

"I'm doing well," he says, "How are you?"

"I'm doing well, too," you say, the two of you trying to gather words to speak, but neither of you seems to be able to let it out.

"How's work-"

"How's the flow-"

Both of you begin simultaneously, chuckling at the awkward situation.

"You first," he smiles widely, your heart fluttering in reaction.

"How's work?" You repeat, Jungkook nodding as he replies,

"Good. I got to see the deer we rehabilitated the other day," his eyes light up, "Decided to visit the meadow not far from here, and there she was."

What he said sparks the reminder of what you've been waiting to give him for weeks now.

"One sec," you lift a finger, turning to ruffle through your purse until the wooden figurine is within your hand. Facing Jungkook, a timid smile adorns your lips, his eyes widening in sweet surprise as you lift the wooden figurine of the doe in his line of vision. "I know we hardly know each other. But what you do for animals, and your story really inspired me. So, I want you to have this," you hand the carved doe to him, his fingertips brushing yours as he accepts it, his mouth ajar.

"Th-thank you," he breathes, "It's perfect. You made this yourself?" You nod, him continuing to express his amazement on your talent. After a few moments, he then lifts his head, his pink hair covering his forehead, silver earrings exposed from the tufts of hair fluffing over the tips of his ears, "I don't know what time you get off work, but if you're up for it, I'd love to show you the meadow," Jungkook's eyes are hopeful as he holds yours, your heart melting in return. "Maybe we will get to see some deer, too."

"Honestly," you begin, your gaze never faltering from his kind, brown eyes, "I wouldn't dream of missing it."

#jungkook #jeon jungkook #kook #kookie #bts #bangtan #bangtan boys #bts jungkook #bts jeon jungkook #bts kook #bts kookie #jungkook fluff #jungkook one shot #bts imagine #bts aesthetic #bts imagines #jungkook imagine #jungkook imagines #aesthetic

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lovelylogans · 6 years

Text

lavender for luck: chapter one

see here for warnings

art by neil

next chapter

The day Uncle comes to their house for the first time, it’s so hot Virgil feels like a cookie left to burn in the oven. Not just cook, not like the soft and chewy ones with the melty chocolate that Mom made, no. Burn, like when Dad forgot he stuck a dozen store-bought bits of dough into the oven and then ended up taking Virgil and Mom out to dinner and they came back to the fire truck with the men in the big baggy suits who gave Virgil a plastic hat and helped get the big clouds of black smoke out of their kitchen.

“Hi, Uncle,” Virgil says dutifully, because Mom says that’s the polite thing to do, and yes he had to be polite, even when Uncle could care less about societal conventions, whatever those were.

“Boy,” Uncle says evenly. From this angle, it looks like Uncle is smiling. “What are you doing?”

“I’m a cat.” Virgil tells him and lets out his best meow. He’s very good at it. Mom usually tells him he sounds just like a kitten.

“That is how most cats climb trees,” Uncle agrees, and then he adds, “You are a most bizarre and exhausting child.”

“Thank you,” Virgil preens, swinging a little from where he’s hanging by his knees from a tree branch, blood long since rushed to his head. “You are a most bizarre and exhausting Uncle.”

His mouth twitches so it looks like he’s frowning, but it’s gone, and the smile is back in an instant.

“Virgil, you look like a tomato,” his father announces from where he’s stepped out on the porch. “Dee, you look like a butternut squash.”

His face looks like he’s trying be happy, but Virgil can tell he isn’t. Dad’s worried, and scared, and upset, and it’s clear through the smile he’s trying to put on.

Uncle clearly thinks the same thing.

“What’s brought me to the,” Uncle’s lip curls, “lovely suburbs?”

“Virge,” Dad says, again trying to sound happy but Virgil could see in his shadow that he really really really isn’t, “can you tell your uncle why you’re playing cat outside instead of inside today?”

Virgil swings a little more and secures his knees so he can point to the house with his free hand.

“There’s a bug,” Virgil says, pointing to the house. “Mom and Dad can’t hear it.” He clicks his tongue a few times in demonstration, and the frown that appeared on Uncle’s face when Dad stepped outside spins into a smile so fast it makes Virgil feel dizzy, makes him feel like his stomach’s dropped right out of him.

“Inside,” Dad says, before Uncle can say anything else, “now.”

He glances towards Virgil, and his voice softens. “Stay outside as long as you want, Virge, just wipe your feet off when you come in, okay?”

“Kay,” Virgil says, squinting up the tree, because he thinks he sees a squirrel.

“Usual boundaries, buddy. Don’t wander too far, okay?”

“Okay,” Virgil repeats, closing his eyes and watching the red bloom up behind his eyelids.

“Children are a delight,” Uncle says dryly, probably meaning for Virgil to not hear, but he does hear. And his dad snorts and swat his arm.

Eventually Virgil climbs down from the tree and has to sit for a while to make sure his head stops spinning, because there isn’t much to do hanging upside down from a tree other than just hanging upside down. So Virgil wanders into the backwoods, humming to himself as he hops into the shadows.

A familiar amber gleam shines out from the darkness, and Virgil grins, lowering himself to the ground, holding out his hand just so, keeping perfectly still.

“Hello, Virgil,” the voice rumbles out from the underbrush, and Virgil’s grin widens.

“Hallo, Maester Sprockets.”

Maester of the Five Streets Sprockets Mrr’ow is a bit uptight for a cat, but he’s all right, mostly. He reminds Virgil of Zazu in Lion King, except Sprockets is a gray house cat and not a hornbill.

“How’re you?” Virgil offers, wiggling his fingers a bit as Maester Sprockets leans forwards, sniffing his fingers.

“You smell of bacon,” Sprockets declares, whiskers twitching.

Virgil digs in his pocket obligingly, bringing out the three pieces of bacon he’d snagged from the breakfast table that morning, breaking them into bits and laying them on the ground. Cats were very particular about hand-feeding, and Sprockets declines it from everyone except the Marcy (the girl a grade above Virgil who actually housed Sprockets.)

Virgil, upon turning five, has been gifted Hunting Rights of all birds in two streets of his choice, as he was Wise and Fierce and An Asset To Protecting The Land. Virgil doesn’t quite know how to tell Sprockets that he gets all the food he needs from his parents, and wouldn’t know how to go about hunting birds anyways. But it’s a thoughtful gift, and anyways he just has to make sure that the sunning rocks are clear and that the cats of the neighborhood could wander around without trouble.

“What’s the business?” Virgil asks, once Sprockets has sat back, licking his paw and swiping at his whiskers.

He spends time until the sun grows big and orange in the sky, brushing against the pavement, listening to Sprockets list of the various grievances of the cats of the neighborhood. Most of them were Cat Politics (Virgil had long since learned not to poke his nose into those) but there were a couple things he could help with; snakes near the sunning rocks, a troublesome dog barking all day, kids that tended to yank on cat’s tails. Virgil promises to do what he can about it, allows Sprockets to rub his face against Virgil’s knees one more time (giving the gift of smelling like Sprockets) before he rises to his feet and ambles home.

He hears the shouting even from the back porch.

“—promise me, Dee, please,” his father says, and Virgil shrinks down so no one can see him from the windows. He sounds really upset—almost as upset than the time Mom got into a car accident, once, and broke her arm.

A pause. “The Aunts—”

“They love Virgil, of course,” Mom says, and her voice is gentle. “Of course they do. And they’ll pitch in, I’m sure. But you’re the closest relative. You’re the one in the will. If you don’t take him in—”

A pause, a sniffle, the clinking of—mugs, Virgil thinks? He can smell the tea Dad makes from the stuff in the garden. They’re almost noisy enough to cover up the clicking sound.

“You remember the story of great-aunt Seraphine, don’t you?” Dad says, after a long pause, and his voice is strained.

A snort, and Uncle says, “She was locked away in the cellar. If anyone would do that today—”

“Are you sure about that?” Dad says, quiet, a little dangerous. “You and I know better than anyone—the only people who understand Faes are Faes.” A pause, and then, “No offense, Vi.”

“None taken,” his mother sighs. “It’s been settled for a long time. You’re technically legally bound. Let us—just let us have some peace of mind about this, at least.”

“Violet—” Uncle began, uncomfortable.

“Please,” she says, and her voice breaks, and Virgil squirms from where he is. She sounds really, really sad. She probably needs a hug. “Please. We knew this was coming, we prepared for it. In a way, we’ve all known this was going to happen since we were his age. Right now, we just—we just need your word that he’ll be okay.”

“You’ve always been going after us about how he needs to be near the family’s roots,” Dad says. It sounds like he’s trying to joke. “And he will be, now. If you take him in.”

There’s a long pause, and more clinking. Virgil can smell the chamomile on the air, hear the splash—someone’s refilling their cup.

“A swap?” His Dad says at last, after a break. “For old time’s sake.”

“Of course.”

Virgil figures that’s a good a time as any to stomp aggressively up the stairs, trying to rid the clumps of dirt from his shoes, before just giving up and leaving his shoes on the porch, plodding into the house in socked feet.

“Hi, baby,” his mom says, sinking to her knees. Virgil smacks a noisy kiss to her cheek, and she lifts him up in her arms. “Out a bit late, aren’t we?”

Virgil wraps his arms around her neck, pressing his cheek into her shoulder, inhaling her grown-up flowery perfumey smell. “Sprockets says there’s snakes near the sunning rocks.”

“Ah, it all makes sense now,” his Dad says, and Virgil glances over to see him turning a mug over in his hands. “Cat politics,” he says to Uncle, by a way of explanation.

“Snakes, you say?” Uncle muses. “I can handle that.”

Virgil perks up. “Really?” Good. He really doesn’t know what to do with the snakes whenever the cats complain; he doesn’t want them to die, or anything.

“Dee can talk to snakes the way you can talk to cats, Virge,” Dad explains. “Since we were little kids.”

“Really?” Virgil asks, fascinated. He’s never met anyone who can talk to an animal like he can.

“Mm,” Uncle hums as he frowns at the mug, and deliberately sets it down with a delicate clink. “Misunderstood creatures.”

“D’you want cocoa, Virgil?” his Mom asks, setting him down at last, and Virgil squirms happily and nods.

“What do we say,” she prompts, smoothing his hair with a hand, and he tries not to sigh too loudly.

“Yes, please.”

“No tea?” Uncle asks mildly.

Virgil wrinkles his nose. “Tea is gross.”

The offended look on Uncle’s face makes his Dad laugh so hard he chokes on his own spit.

The rest of the night is kinda fun, if a bit weird. They play a new kind of game where Virgil points where he hears the clicking the loudest, and Mom and Dad roll back the rug and Uncle and Dad pry up the floorboards to see if there’s something under there. But Mom swaps between helping roll back the rug and experimenting in the kitchen, so Virgil gets to lick the batter spoons and try whatever Mom’s decided to try to make. The butterscotch cookies are pretty good; the jelly-and-mint, not quite so much.

“Not my best, huh?” Mom says, examining the jelly and mint creation critically.

Virgil pauses, and says nicely, “Maybe not with… this kind of jelly.”

His mom laughs a bit, puts it aside. “You’re right. A nice strawberry, maybe. Citrus. But probably not black currant.”

“Virgil, is it still clicking?” Dad calls.

“Yep,” Virgil calls back, snapping off a piece of lemon drop cookie and popping it into his mouth.

Dad says a naughty word.

“That’s a dollar,” Mom calls without looking, and Dad grumbles a bit more.

It keeps going. Virgil likes the cinnamon roll cookies, the almond and raspberry ones, and the brownie cookies—the chocolate-pistachio ones and the pretzel, peanut and beer ones are just kinda weird. By the end of the night, Virgil thinks Uncle and Dad pry up every floorboard in the house, Mom has filled up just about every tupperware in the house with her various experiments, and Dad owes seven dollars to the naughty word jar.

When Uncle sees the tupperware, he smiles. Just a little.

“I know, I know,” Mom says. “You can take the girl from the diner, and so on.”

Virgil tilts his head, and he’s about to ask, before hands close under his armpits and lift him in the air, making him squeal with equal parts indignation and laughter.

“Time to get ready for bed!” Dad sing-songs.

“Noooooooo,” Virgil groans, flopping his head onto Dad’s shoulder.

“Yeeeess, kiddo, it is way past your bedtime,” Dad declares, and starts walking up the stairs with enough time to see Mom and Uncle leaning over the counter under the sole light still on, the pair of them staring at each other, the kitchen doused in shadows around them. Mom’s face is devoid of a smile, and Uncle’s bowler hat makes it so Virgil can’t see his face.

“Teeth brushing time, teeth brushing time,” Dad sings, depositing Virgil at the sink. “Full two minutes, buddy, I’ll be counting—”

Virgil groans, but reaches for his toothbrush and bubblegum toothpaste of lies, because whoever thinks that tastes like bubblegum is a liar.

He gets ready for bed (teeth brushed, pajamas on, so on and so on) and eventually, both parents are sitting on his bed, as his Mom reads three storybooks, and Virgil’s eyelids grow heavier and heavier.

“When the son came home that night, he stood for a long time at the top of the stairs. Then he went into the room where his very new baby daughter was sleeping. He picked her up in his arms and very slowly rocked her back and forth, back and forth, back and forth. And while he rocked her he sang,” and his mother drew a breath, and Virgil murmured sleepily along with her soft sing-song voice.

“I'll love you forever, I'll like you for always, as long as I'm living, my baby you'll be.”

She leans forwards and kisses his forehead, before she takes a breath, smoothing the covers over his chest with one hand, and tries to smile.

“Virgil, I know you’re sleepy,” she says, voice soft, “but I want you to listen, okay? And remember.”

Virgil blinks the sleep out of his eyes, and nods. It’s important. He can feel it.

She takes a deep breath in, lets it out, and begins to talk.

“When I was a little younger than you are now, my parents died. And I moved to Loch Ligerion to live with my Auntie Cora and my Uncle Virgil.”

“Like me?” Virgil asks, and she smiles, realer this time, brushing his hair off his forehead.

“Yes, exactly like you. We named you after him. I moved to Ligerion, to live with my uncle, and his sisters, and his wife. And I thought my life was never gonna be the same. I was really sad, as I should have been, because I was a kid, and I lost my parents. I was so scared of Loch Ligerion, and I was convinced I’d never be happy again.”

Dad, a sad look on his face, reaches over to grip her shoulder, and she puts her hand on his for a moment, before taking a deep breath.

“But not long after that, I started kindergarten. And do you know who I met there?”

Virgil shakes his head.

“I met your dad,” she says, lifting his hand from her shoulder and kissing it, before lowering it, so they were holding hands. “I met your dad, and your uncle, and some other people too, but no one quite as important as your dad. And I am never, ever going to regret going to Loch Ligerion. Because that’s where I met your dad. And if I didn’t meet your dad, I wouldn’t have had you. And you…” she takes a wobby breath, smooths back his hair again.

“You’re the most important thing in my life, Virgil,” she says. “You and your dad. Some people didn’t like that I was in love with your dad at all, let alone the fact that we had you. But I’m always going to ignore them. Because you two… you two have made me so, so happy, Virgil. The happiest day of my life was the day you were born. I have loved seeing you grow into the smart, brave, funny little boy you are today, and the handsome, talented, loving young man I’m sure you’re going to be. I have loved every single day.”

“Even the day I brought all the stray cats into the house during that thunderstorm?” Virgil asks in a small voice, and his mother and father both laugh.

“Even that day,” she says. “Even when we were running around making sure soaking tomcats weren’t getting into fights and clawing up my carpets. Even the day you and your dad had the flu, and you were both puking everywhere, and I was running around like a chicken with my head cut off. Every single day.”

Virgil wiggles so his arms are out of the blankets, and reaches up to hug her around the neck, squeezing tight.

“I love you too,” he promises. “I love you every single day too.”

Dad’s arms wrap around them then, big and strong and tight, protective and warm. Virgil’s all squished up in between them, and Mom’s elbow is jabbing a little into his stomach, and they’re all hunched over a little awkward, but it’s the best hug ever. In the history of the world.

A pointed throat-clearing noise.

“Oh!” Dad says hastily, and there’s a laugh. “Yeah. Yeah, of course, I love you both every day too.”

They untangle, just a little, enough that they can all see each other’s faces, arms all still around each other.

“Love your Dad, but he’s a bit slow on the uptake,” Mom says, elbowing him playfully.

Dad turns to her, a joking offended look on his face, but she tilts her head at him.

“Who proposed? Asked for the first date?”

“Momma did,” Virgil says, and Mom shoots Dad a smug look.

“That’s ri-ight,” she sing-songs. “That’s right! Momma did!”

“Oh, I see how it goes,” Dad says, reaching over to tousle Virgil’s hair. “The pair of you teaming up against me, huh?”

“It’s not teaming up if we’re right,” Mom says smugly.

Dad laughs, leans over to kiss her forehead, smooths her hair back. “Yeah, okay. I’m a bit slow on the uptake. It runs in the family.” He pokes Virgil playfully in the belly. “So you’re in trouble, mister.”

Virgil wrinkles his nose, pokes him back. It kind of devolves into all of them poking each other, tickling each other, at one point Dad sweeping him up in his arms as Virgil squeals and yells as Mom chases them around the room.

“Okay,” Dad grunts at last, when all the laughter’s died down. “Okay! It’s really time for bed, now, for everyone.”

“Not yet, though,” Mom protests, “everyone’s all energized, now. It is time for cookies.”

“Cookies,” Virgil agrees, from where he’s flopped over on Dad’s back, looking at Mom upside-down, ignoring the click-click-click as he’s been doing since that early morning.

“Yeah, cookies,” Dad agrees.

“Cookies?” A voice purrs from the dark, and Virgil nearly falls from where he’s laying on Dad’s shoulder, jumping from surprise.

“Dee,” Mom laughs a little, settling Virgil with a hand. “Didn’t see you there. Warn a gal next time, would you?”

He simply inclines his head, asks “Tea?” and Dad sets Virgil down.

“Run and grab us four mugs, Virge?”

“Hot chocolate too,” Virgil checks, and Dad chuckles, ruffling his hair.

“Yeah, hot cocoa too.”

With a flick of his hand, the stove snaps on, and Virgil carefully selects four mugs from their vast, mismatched selection, setting them carefully in front of each person. The kettle settles on the stove at the same time the milk comes out from the fridge, the tea and cocoa emerging from the cupboard.

“What kind of tea, do you think?” Dad muses, tilting his head towards Mom, who’s collecting cookie-filled tupperware by hand and ducking flying items with practiced ease.

“Dealer’s choice,” Mom says, and glances ruefully at the tupperware. “There isn’t exactly a unified theme, here.”

“Black tea it is, then,” Dad says, glancing towards Uncle. “Earl grey?”

He hums and accepts the empty mug from Virgil.

“Okay, so,” Mom says, setting down the tupperware. “Being entirely honest here, I barely remember which type of cookie I put in each tupperware, so beware your choices.”

Uncle snorts, opens the tupperware nearest to him, and squints. Then he shrugs and lifts one free, snapping it in half.

Virgil’s still staring at him. Uncle’s the equivalent of Halloween; Virgil usually sees him once a year, and both are spooky in some way. Halloween because of course. Uncle, with his odd smiles and frowns, and the scales spanning the left side of his face, the snakey yellow eye—

Which flicks over to him, and the side of his mouth lifts in a smile. But not the kind of smile Mom or Dad give him; this was the kind of smile that Disney villains smiled. A Scar smile, an Ursula smile.

Virgil looks quickly towards the cookies, and shoves one into his mouth.

“Virgil, smaller bites, bud,” Dad says, setting down the hot chocolate. “Tea’s on in a second, all right?”

“Mkay,” Virgil mumbles, trying his hardest not to spew crumbs all over the table.

The kettle floats through the air and pours it, and Virgil blinks. The tea isn’t in bags, like they usually make; it’s just little bits of stuff in something.

“Loose leaf?” Uncle asks, lifting an eyebrow, and Dad gives a too-casual shrug.

“For old time’s sake,” he offers, and they both look at each other, in a way that’s too loaded for even Virgil to unparse, before they both take a sip from their mugs as Mom stirs her tea with the spoon handle, the soft clink-clink-clink just off-beat with the click-click-click that still sounds in the living room.

Virgil grabs a too-big handful of marshmallows and dumps it into his cocoa, avoiding the way Uncle’s gaze slid back to him.

The only sounds are sipping, quiet chewing, the occasional clink of a spoon, and the click of the mysterious beetle. Once Uncle and Dad both basically upend their mugs at the same time, wordlessly, they reach out and take the others and huddle over it.

From this angle, they’re just mirror images of each other. Dad is maybe a bit more muscular than Uncle; but without the scales or the eye in view, they look like the same person, just copied twice.

Virgil wonders what it’s like, to have a sibling like that. Dad and Uncle call each other once a week, plus the occasional weekend trip Dad and Mom take down to Ligerion to see family members while Virgil’s at a friend’s house. It’s just Mom and Dad and Virgil and the cats, here. Virgil wonders sometimes, what it’d be like to have a little brother, or a little sister. Someone to follow after you, someone who had your back, someone to share toys with. Babies are kind of noisy and smelly, though. He thinks he’s fine for now.

But sometimes, when he sees people with their siblings, he can’t help but think about it.

Because he’s supposed to have one. It’s a thing. Faes are supposed to have at least one sibling. Biological counterbalance, he thinks one of his older cousins said—magic divvying itself up along a family line. But there’s just him.

He can’t help but think about that too.

“What’s it look like?” Dad prompts, and Uncle wrinkles his nose, sets it aside deliberately.

“Nothing we know,” Uncle says. “Mine? We both know whose strengths lie in the divinatory arts.”

Dad sighs, runs the tip of his pinky over the rim of the mug. “House,” he says. “Big one. Which means change, likely related to family. Dashes, for travel, for which you should be cautious. A wheel—strong indicators of inevitable change, a series of events. Responsibility.”

Virgil blinks, tugs at Dad’s wrist. “How’s there a wheel in his tea?”

Uncle blinks too, first at Virgil, then at Dad. “He doesn’t know tasseography?”

Dad sighs a little. “We told you last time—we’re waiting until he’s ready.”

“How will he be ready if you never let him try?” Uncle says, and nods to Virgil. “When we were his age, we read leaves daily. Go on. Take the mug. Tell me what you see.”

Virgil blinks, first at Dad, then at the mug, before tugging it carefully from his father’s hands, turning it and squinting.

“I don’t see a wheel,” he says, glancing to Dad.

“It will come with practice,” Uncle says, and the gleam of his eye is sharp and bright. “Just say what you feel from the mug, Virgil.”

Virgil turns the mug over and over in his hands, staring still. He licks his lips nervously.

“I… I think you need to be really careful,” he says, into the mug. “Something is coming. Something really big. It’s going to change for forever. And I…” Virgil swallows. He feels like the mug is leeching the heat from his hands, taking something away from him. There’s something bad about the leaves, something that makes his stomach squirm like it’s full of snakes. He sets the mug away from his as far as possible.

“I don’t like it,” he whispers, and rubs his hands together, trying to shake them of the feeling.

“That’s okay,” Dad says quickly, wrapping an arm over Virgil’s shoulder. “Hey, that’s okay. That was a really great first try, Virge. You don’t have to do anything you don’t wanna do.”

“It’s bad,” he says into Dad’s chest, and his arms tighten around Virgil.

“I know, bud,” Dad murmurs. “I know, I saw it too. I’m sorry.”

Slowly, Virgil is eased out of his Dad’s arms, plied with butterscotch cookies and even more marshmallows in his cocoa. But he sticks close to his Dad’s side, pressing against him, how warm he is; it’s the only way the snakes calm down. The mug, somewhere between Virgil hiding his face in his Dad’s chest and leaning into his side, has been placed safely away from him, the leaves dumped down the sink.

They work their way through a tupperware-and-a-half of cookies, any attempts at conversation muted and quiet, fading in and out at random. Virgil thinks the leaves might have taken any kind of energy or excitement he had—he just wants to curl up in some warm blankets and sleep, now, not listen to the clicking beetle or Mom’s attempts at small talk.

Soon enough, when Virgil’s mug is empty and he’s full to bursting with cookies and he’s nodding off against Dad’s side, he’s getting lifted up into the air, into Dad’s arms. Virgil mumbles sleepily and lays his head on Dad’s shoulder, twisting his hand into Dad’s shirt.

He drifts off before he’s even put in bed.

He wakes up to rumbling. He’s aware he’s rising and lowering, very gently, as if he fell asleep at sea, and he’s very warm. Virgil hears a slow tha-thump, tha-thump under his ear, and at last blinks his eyes open.

Dad’s awake too, smiling fondly at Mom, as she keeps making the rumbling noises—snoring. The rising-lowering was where his head’s pillowed on Dad’s chest.

They’re all crammed into Virgil’s bed, the tiny twin, so Mom’s head’s pillowed on Dad’s chest too, Mom tucked between the wall and Dad, Virgil near the edge of the bed.

Virgil pats Dad’s chest, and nods towards Mom. Dad grins, rubbing a hand up and down Virgil’s back.

“Welcome to my world,” he whispers to Virgil. “Let’s try to not wake her up, huh? She needs sleep.”

Not waking up Mom involves wriggling very carefully off the bed, and helping Dad sneak a pillow under her head while he wriggles even more carefully out of the bed and helping tuck her in too. It is a lot of wiggling and trying not to laugh at each other and shushing each other whenever it seems like the other one is close to breaking the silence. Virgil even kisses her on the forehead the way she always does to him.

They wander downstairs, to where Uncle is already sitting, sipping from another mug of tea—no tea leaves, which makes Virgil shiver with relief.

Maybe he’s shivering because the clicking’s even louder today. Maybe that’s why. He can’t always tell.

“All right, well, I’ll make some breakfast,” Dad says, and adds, “Dee, how about Virgil shows you the sunning rocks, so you can talk to the snakes while we get a few things sorted out here?”

Uncle narrows his eyes at Dad, but Virgil is already going to put on his shoes.

“Careful, all right?” Dad tells Virgil. “Dee’s not used to walking with kids, you’re gonna have to show him the ropes.”

Uncle scoffs, but follows Virgil out onto the porch. Virgil, absentminded, reaches out and takes his gloved hand as they walk down the steps.

“What are you doing,” he says, in a flat, suspicious tone, practically recoiling, but not letting go of Virgil’s hand.

“I’m s’posed to hold hands whenever I have to cross streets,” Virgil says, and gestures to the land beyond the yard. “Street.”

Uncle shakes his head, seeming confused, but doesn’t let go of Virgil’s hand as Virgil leads him across the street, towards the sunning rock near the opening of the neighborhood, where the sign welcomes people to Russett Grove. The sign provides the only shadow—even now, there is a familiar cat lounging in the sun, opening a baleful yellow eye at Virgil, flicking her tail, before closing it again.

“Somewhere around here,” Virgil says at last, going to sit next to the cat. “There’s snakes.”

“Yes, I hear them,” Uncle says absentmindedly, crouching down. His tone’s changing; the s’s are getting longer, a bit more pronounced, and his snakey eye seems to flicker in the light.

“Hello, snakes,” Uncle rumbles, and even though it’s just as bright and sunny as the day before, Virgil could swear that there was a shadow dropping, curling around him, dousing the summer’s light, highlighting his scales. The familiar cat’s hackles rise; Virgil puts a hand into her ruff, as much comfort as it is caution.

Uncle smiles, wide and cutting, and Virgil’s hand tightens in the cat’s fur.

And then he hisses.

Seeming to emerge from the rocks themselves, tens, looking like hundreds of slimy, sinuous bodies writhed free, crawling from stone, through the grasses, from the trees, with silent, eerie speed. They wrestle, twist, break, but always come forth, to them, to the rocks. It’s like they’re a single, homogenous mass, but Virgil can see all the separate snakes making it up, and Virgil doesn’t even move as the cat yowls and sprints away. The snakes slip over pebbles, the road, converging all as one, twining together, to Uncle, to him alone. Virgil knows that it’s morning, that the sun around them is beating strong on their necks and backs, but it’s like they’re in the depth of a forest, in the depths of the sea, surrounded by great swathing shadows and the dark, and Virgil doesn’t know what’s there, what’s hiding in the dark—

“You,” Uncle murmurs, voice like wind rustling the grass, and all at once, the snakes fall still, and Virgil tries to stop shaking.

“My nephew has dominion over this land,” Uncle says, soft and dangerous all at once, and gestures to Virgil with a yellow glove. “The cats have territory upon this rock. Find elsewhere to warm your blood.”

At once, all the snakes hiss; to Virgil, it sounds like dissent, disagreement, and he sees a few triangular heads turn to him, show fangs gleaming with—with venom, he thinks, and curls tighter on the rock. He’s not running. He’s terrified but he’s not running. He thinks that would just make things worse.

“Elsewhere,” Uncle intones, and waves a dismissive hand; all at once, the mass disbands, separating into singular scaled bodies again, hissing as they slither away, back, down into the receding dark. Virgil can feel the sun heating the top of his head again. Good, he thinks distantly—he’s very cold all of a sudden.

Virgil looks up as Uncle steps, blocking the sun, face looming above him unreadable. He looks… otherworldly. Different. Like he’s something to be feared. Like he isn’t even human.

Virgil opens his mouth, and what comes out is “Did it hurt?”

Uncle’s snakey eye narrows.

“Did it hurt,” Virgil repeats, and gestures to the left side of his own face—where the scales sit on Uncle’s face.

Uncle smiles. “That’s not what normal people usually ask.”

“We’re not normal people,” Virgil points out. “Did it?”

He smiles wider. “Not at all,” he says, and offers Virgil his hand.

Virgil stares a bit longer, before he takes it, and they make their way back to the yellow house, where Dad is whistling as he plates up eggs and bacon.

“How’s the rock?” Dad asks, nudging a plate of two sunny-side up eggs and bacon shaped into a frown towards Uncle, who frowns at it.

“The most merciful thing in the world, I think, is the inability of the human mind to correlate all its contents,” Uncle says, stabbing at the yolk of one of the eggs, so the runny yellow leaks all down the plate. “We live on a placid island of ignorance in the midst of black seas of infinity, and it was not meant that we should voyage far.”

Virgil tilts his head; he gets toast, cheesy scrambled eggs, and bacon set in front of him as Dad asks, “Do I have to guess why you’re quoting H.P. Lovecraft at my five-year-old son?”

“Who’s H.P. Lovecraft?” Virgil asks, picking up his fork and nudging at the little toast triangles.

“An author,” Dad says, distractedly ruffling Virgil’s hair. “What, did something go wrong with the snakes? Should I be worried you’re going to try to call Cthulhu upon my neighborhood?”

Uncle smiles, all pointy teeth, and shoves most of an egg into his mouth; Dad scowls and flicks at his bowler hat, so it sits crooked on top of his head.

“Snakes left,” Virgil offers, because he doesn’t really know how else to describe the temporary eclipse that happened. “I think they know the sunning rock’s for cats now.”

“Well, that’s something,” Dad says. “Apple juice or OJ, Virge?”

“Apple, please,” Virgil says dutifully. The further he is from the rock, the easier it is to believe that it was just that simple; the snakes understood, the snakes left. Uncle doesn’t look nearly so threatening with his bowler hat crooked on his head and a bit of egg yolk smeared on his cheek.

A Lion King cup full of apple juice gets set in front of him, and Mom wanders in, sleepily tugging her hair back into a braid.

“Hi, lovey,” Mom says, bending down to smack a kiss to Virgil’s cheek, and she straightens, smiling, as Dad approaches swiftly. He’s twisting his hands all together, looking at her rapturously.

“Hi, lovey,” she tells him, a bit more teasing, and he leans in, cupping her cheek, and kisses her.

Usually their kisses are quick little things, whenever they think Virgil’s watching; but right now, they’re doing a long kiss, a movie kind of kiss, where their heads are tilting and stuff, and Mom’s hand comes up to his neck before they break apart. Virgil realizes he’s probably supposed to say “Gross!” or cover his eyes or something, but it’s just… nice, he guesses. That they love each other.

“Well,” Mom says, flustered. “Good morning.”

“Hi,” he says, then, “Sorry, um, your toast might be a bit burnt, I’ll eat it instead if you want—”

He bustles over to the stove, and Mom sits down, stealing a sip from Virgil’s cup even as Virgil squawks in protest.

Soon enough, Dad and Mom are sitting next to each other, stealing bites off each others’ plates and sipping from each other’s cups. Virgil defends his apple juice from all sides, and even manages to take one of Mom’s precious bits of bacon. Dad does eat the more-burnt bits of toast, like he promised.

“So,” Uncle says idly, once everyone’s plates are cleared, “what are we to do today?”

Dad and Mom look between each other, and they both shrug.

“Honestly,” Dad says, “we didn’t really expect to get this far, so.”

Uncle lets out a put-upon sigh. “Well, what do you usually do for an idyllic summer day, in the lovely suburbs?”

Dad smiles. It is not a particularly nice smile. It is the kind of smile he gets whenever he has put glitter into the laundry detergent or dye in the shampoo. “So, you want a nice little slice of suburban life, right? That’s what you’re saying?”

Uncle had the distinct expression of someone who had wandered directly into a trap and had no way out of it.

Virgil thinks the day is really nice, even if Uncle is dragging his feet and sighing loudly in the background of everything they do that day. They go to the park, and have a picnic lunch, and Dad and Mom even play a game of tennis even though they’re both really bad at tennis, and Virgil gets this weird iced drink from Starbucks, and Mom is wearing this weird matching sweatsuit thing Virgil’s never seen her wear and Dad is wearing an eyesearing teal shirt and cargo shorts.

“It’s a shame we’re not in the middle of the school year, we could have taken you to a PTA meeting,” Mom chirps happily at Uncle as they pull up to a Sonic, and Uncle gives her a halfhearted glare from where he’s also stationed in the backseat.

“You’ve made your point.”

“Have we?” Mom asks, amused, turning to look at Dad, who is perusing the menu. “I’m not sure if we have.”

“Can I get a grape slushie?” Virgil asks.

“What do you say?” Dad prompts.

Virgil sighs, and says, “Can I get a grape slushie, please?”

“You sure can,” Dad declares. “What kind do you want, wifey?”

“Oh, I’m not sure, hubby,” Mom says, wiggling around to see the menu better.

That’s a thing that’s been happening today too. The really ridiculous pet names. They haven’t repeated one yet.

Eventually, everyone gets a slushie, even Uncle, and they go home, where Virgil and Dad play soccer in the yard as Mom makes lemonade from scratch, over a stove with lemons and sugar, sticky and sweet. Virgil can taste it on the air.

“Do you usually play soccer?” Uncle asks idly, and Virgil shakes his head even has he chases after Dad, who is dribbling the ball back and forth.

“Nah,” Virgil says easily.

Dad flashes a grin at Uncle, and adds, “Just figured we’d round out the whole experience, right?”

Mom comes out then, with glasses of lemonade and sections of oranges, along with last of the many tupperware containers of cookies. She’s since changed out of the sweatsuit and more into her normal attire, a button-down tucked into a pair of jean shorts, the ones Virgil helped cut the hem; he can see from how crooked they are.

Uncle sighs but takes his glass, and a cookie. “The pair of you are unsufferable as ever.”

“Aw, we love you too,” Mom says. “Virge, show me your hands.”

Virgil does, and she hands him a wet wipe to get rid of the dirt before he can grab a cookie, too.

Uncle sticks the orange piece in his mouth, looking kinda silly with the orange skin covering his teeth, giving him a big, uniform smile. Virgil does the same, enjoying the sharp-sweet taste of it.

“And, uh, sweetheart,” Mom says, and tugs lightly at Dad’s sleeve. “We… we have a kitchen issue.”

He blinks. “That’s usually more your area than mine.”

“I should rephrase,” she says. “We have a kitchen issue that’s more aligned with your side of the family’s expertise.”

Uncle stands, then, and Virgil trails after, grabbing another orange slice, and coming to a stop in the doorway.

CLICK-CLICK-CLICK-CLICK-CLICK, the beetle shrieks, it’s loud, it’s louder than it’s ever been, louder and faster.

Mom, only semi-calmly, opens up the fridge door and brings out a bag.

“Marinating chicken for dinner,” Mom says. “Already rotted.” She gestured, vague. “Rotted meat, spoiled milk, rotted fruits and vegetables. Thought about making eggs for dinner, but, well. We only had a couple. Cracked one to see.” She holds up a bowl.

“No yolk,” Dad says, hushed, and exchanges glances with Uncle. He reaches out, takes another one, and cracks it.

Same thing. White and runny, no yolk.

“We went on a grocery run three days ago, this shouldn’t—” Mom begins, and rubs a hand over her eyes.

“It’s starving us out,” Uncle murmurs. “Wants us to leave.”

“Delivery,” Dad suggests, and Uncle shoots him a Look.

“You think you can outsmart it?”

“I’m not suggesting—” he began heatedly, before he cut himself off, and took a breath. “I’m not suggesting outsmarting it,” he says, calmer. “I’m considering just—ignoring it. So, we’re out of food. We’ll order a pizza. Chinese. Whatever.”

Uncle pauses, and nods, putting up his hands. “Okay,” he says. “Fine, fine. Order food in. I’m sure nothing will happen.”

They end up ordering Chinese. Waiting for the food to come, they throw out the spoiled food, and Uncle shows Virgil how to make a quarter appear and disappear in his hands, just a quick bit of sleight of hand. Trickery, instead of actual magic. Virgil thinks it’s kind of funny, but his hands aren’t quite big enough to get away with it yet.

Uncle pulls a quarter from behind his ear and flicks his fingers, making it vanish yet again. “As with all things, it never takes practice,” he says, before twisting the quarter into thin air.

Virgil nods, and soon after, the doorbell rings.

It’s another quiet meal; Mom and Dad split a huge plate of General Tso’s, while Virgil eats his honey chicken and white rice, and Uncle eats lo mein.

“Oh,” Mom says, and, “Honey, did you order cookies? We’ve still got the last of a Tupperware to get through.”

Dad blinks, peeking in. “Nope,” he says. “Must be a complimentary kind of thing. Replaces the fortune cookies, I guess. Dee, you won’t want any of these—almond and coconut.”

Uncle’s face twists, and he sticks his nose into the air in disgust.

“Have we got any chocolate?” Virgil asks, and sacrifices his almond-and-coconut restaurant cookie for extra of Mom’s, because Mom’s cookies are the best cookies.

He ignores the clicking, like he’s done for the past couple days. It gives him the same bad feeling the tea leaves had, except worse, and all Virgil can do is try to tune it out.

“Okay,” Dad says, and checks the time. “Virge, bud, it’s getting to be that time. Can I trust you to brush your teeth by yourself?”

Virgil sighs, but nods, getting up from the ground and plodding grudgingly to the bathroom. He does brush his teeth, if a bit more carelessly than he would if Dad had been watching, and changes into pajamas.

Mom and Dad come in again, this time Mom reading Guess How Much I Love You.

“Do you like your Uncle, Virgil?” Dad asks, after the story, and Virgil blinks at him.

“He’s weird,” Virgil decides. “But funny.”

Dad smiles, and smooths Virgil’s blanket over his chest. “Weird but funny,” he says. “That’s a pretty decent review, I guess. We’re twins, you know?”

“Mhm.”

“Growing up, I just had him. My Dad—” he pauses, fiddles more with the blanket’s edge, before Mom’s hand closes over his fingers. “Our father died when I was little, y’see, and our mother was never really the same after that. It was me and Dee, against the world. And your Mom, of course, but—but not quite in the same way, you know? He’s… yeah, okay, he’s weird. And a lot of people don’t really get that about him. They see the eye, and the scales, and he treats people… not quite the best, sometimes. But he really cares about me—and your Mom, though that took a bit of time, and you, of course. In his own special, weird, funny way. It’s hard to spot sometimes. But it’s still there.”

“Okay,” Virgil says.

“He kind of speaks his own language, and it takes a while to get it. Even I’m not sure I’ve got him right a hundred percent of the time. And he can be kind of… unnerving, I know. I saw your face when you got back from sunning rock this morning. I guess—” He pauses, and swallows. “I guess what I’m saying is, sometimes when someone loves you, they want the best for you. You and the person that loves you might disagree on what that is.”

“Like how?” Virgil asks, and Mom and Dad glance between each other.

“Well,” Dad says, “Like your Mom. Dee really, really didn’t want me to even date your Mom, let alone marry her.”

“What?” Virgil asks, scandalized. “But you two love each other!”

“And he sees that now,” Dad promises. “He might not… understand, but he understands. Does that make sense?”

“Nope,” Virgil says.

“What your Dad’s saying is, your Uncle’s heart’s usually in the right place, he just goes about things in a really unusual way, most of the time. And sometimes he’s really wrong about it, and you have to do what’s right for you anyways.” Mom says. “And by sometimes, I mean just sometimes. He might not show he loves you like we do, or take care of you like we do, but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t love you. Right?”

“Right,” Virgil says, mostly just deciding to go along with it.

“And, okay, look,” Dad adds, “Most of the time, I was the one taking care of him. Dee… well, he doesn’t really quite know how to handle people. He’s not very good with people. But he still—”

“Loves me,” Virgil says. “Right.”

Dad looks… relieved? He smiles, and smooths back Virgil’s hair, leaning forwards to kiss him on the forehead.

“And I love you too,” he says. “So much.”

“Didn’t even have to prompt you into it today,” Mom teases, nudging him with her elbow so she can kiss Virgil on the forehead too. “Love you, sweetheart.”

“Love you both too,” Virgil says.

Years and years later, Virgil will be incredibly grateful that that’s the last thing he says to the pair of them that night.

Because in the midst of the night, he’s shaken awake by rough hands.

“What’s happening?” Virgil mumbles.

“It’s me,” Uncle says, gruff, and Virgil squeaks as Uncle lifts him clumsily out of bed, before sometimes scratchy’s draped over his head.

“What’s going on?”

“Do not take that off,” Uncle says sharply, and Virgil feels himself getting jostled as Uncle walks down the hallway, down the stairs.

“Why, what’s happening?” Virgil asks, anxious. “What’s going on, what’s—?”

There’s more fumbling with Virgil, a word that gets a dollar for the naughty jar, and then a blast of warm summer’s night air as Virgil is brought out, set down on the sidewalk, and at last the scratchy thing is removed from his face—

Virgil squints, bringing up a hand to avoid the wash of blue and red, the cars, the ambulance.

“What’s happened,” Virgil asks, tugging at Uncle’s pantleg, a lump growing in his throat, making his voice scratchy and desperate. “What’s going on, I don’t—”

Uncle crouches, opens up Virgil’s fist, and drops something into it.

Virgil squints, and holds his hand flat open.

It’s a beetle.

A dead one.

Virgil, all at once, understands what it means—the red and blue lights, the ambulance outside, why Uncle didn’t let him look, the beetle, the beetle, the beetle—

And Virgil—

Virgil screams.

#my post #text #lfl #my fic #my fanfic #ts big bang #ts-big bang #sanders sides fanfic

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