#cooking and baking are one of my greatest pleasures and I love messing around with recipes

[tisorridalamor]

I almost forgot to ask: do you want to tell us about your overnight oats?

Boy do I ever!!! Please continue under the cut if you want to hear me talk about breakfast for way too long

I've posted my overnight oats recipe before but generally speaking:

1/3 cup steel cut oats*

1/3 cup milk of choice**

1/3 cup yogurt of choice***

An Amount of peanut/almond/whatever butter, honey, maple syrup, granola, nuts, fruit, jam, seeds, etc. Go crazy go stupid

*Generally the rule should be 1 part oats to 2 parts liquid, so if you want all yogurt or all milk that's fine, and increasing to 1/2 cup oats would mean 1 cup liquid, etc. Also you can play fast and loose with this rule, it doesn't have to be exact

**my favorite milk rn is oat milk! It has kind of a natural sweetness that is nice, I don't really like milk in general so I have kind of just been buying stuff at random but I think this is what I'll stick with going forward

***I'm also obsessed with plain greek yogurt (this post is making me sound like a health nut??) so I add that but any kind works. I genuinely love the taste of plain greek yogurt but getting a good vanilla or other flavored greek / non-greek yogurt is a good way to add flavor without a ton of effort or adding other things :)

Add-ins I'm fond of:

BANANAS❗ super mild so they go good with anything

sesame seeds

cashews

replacing part of the yogurt or milk with spiced apple sauce is REALLY good

cookie butter is so so so good in it if you have that. I assume any sweet spread like nutella would be great too. I got my dad these fancy peanut butters for xmas and used some in my overnight oats and they were fantastic

chocolate chips, cocoa powder

Vanilla Extract...

Dried fruit like cranberries, raisins, mango, etc.

There's also lots of ideas out there, I tried to keep the above pretty straightforward but if you web search it people are making brownie overnight oats, tiramisu overnight oats, creamsicle, carrot cake, pina colada, the list is endless. At work, my old boss had learned about my obsession and gave me a ton of these packets from an overnight oats subscription service (??? they'll make anything these days) that his wife had gotten and didn't like. I'm not interested in buying it but it gave me some fun flavor ideas that you can see on their site if you click the link!

When I get some time I want to make bubble tea overnight oats by making some good milk tea for the liquid and topping it with tapioca pearls and brown sugar syrup :) I like that if you want to make something complicated out of oats you can but it's also very easy to just mix some oats and yogurt and be done with it. I've tried multiple times to make oats on the stove top and I'm gonna be real with you I think they're better cold, idk I've gotten in friendly arguments about this irl

I'm a big breakfast person and I know it's a meal a lot of people skip or substitute with caffeine but I do think getting some real calories in your system helps as much as good sleep does. It's unfortunate that we all have to work a ton and something as simple as "making breakfast in the morning" feels like a luxury on a workday. I like that I can prep something like this a few days in advance and enjoy it at work at my leisure <3 I'm lucky I work an office job that allows me to do that lol!

[taeyaxx]

How would the Haikyuu Captains spend Christmas with you? Like, what gift would they get you and the activities y’all would do? (Bokuto, Oikawa, Daichi, Kuroo, Ushijima, and Terushima)

tae’s notes: aaaaaaah!! ok so i love my nsfw but sfw like this makes my heart go 🥺🥰🥰 i really love hc’s like this too because all these boys are DORKS!!! thank you so much for the ask!! <3

⫸ ━━━━━━━━ ♥ ━━━━━━━━ ⫷

tags: sfw, fluff, bokuto is the biggest nerd when it comes to the holidays, holiday fun, cozy winter’s, warm sweaters, longer post, hc’s, mention of nsfw, mention of alcohol, just mostly sweet hc’s okay 🥺

⫸ ━━━━━━━━ ♥ ━━━━━━━━ ⫷

taglist: @kaaidalupita @ushiwakajimas @lunarkawa

okay so for bokuto i imagine him as the BIGGEST holiday person

like he goes above and beyond for the holidays 

especially Christmas!!! 

will go all out and i mean it!!

brings home a billion decertations and makes it a competition to see who can hang up the most in ten minutes

he always wins somehow 

buys you two ugly ass sweaters too

like i mean those really really ugly sweaters that he knows are ugly but it’s become a tradition between you two 

just wearing.......the ugliest sweaters as you two put the tree up 

as for gifts i think bokuto isn’t one to put like....a lot of money into them?

feel like he’s the type of guy to buy you something that hits you in the heart and makes you want to smother him in kisses

nothing too expensive but it’s the sentimental thought that counts

as for party games or activities i think bo would be into the cuter ones like gingerbread houses or just baking in general 

not that he knows how to bake but he likes to help you make cookies okay

(by help i mean he’s got his arms wrapped around your waist and chin on your shoulder and watching you bake and occasionally handing you things)

he’d sweep you under the mistletoe and kiss you until you both started laughing

picking you up he’d carry you off to the bedroom, sharing a chuckle with you for no other reason than just how in love he is with you

and then he’d quiet down and make the slowest, sweetest love to you 🥺

alright the next boy is the lovely oikawa!

feel like he isn’t the BIGGEST holiday person

for no reason i just think he’d be like “eh it’s another day”

but that DEF changes when he meets you

his attitude starts to go from “it’s a Tuesday” to slowly looking forward to every holiday he can celebrate with you

especially Christmas because it’s the one day he can spoil you in gifts and you can’t really get mad at him

like bokuto tho, he wouldn’t be the most expensive gifts

he’d get a bunch of things he had noticed you spoke of or the things your eyes lingered on just a little longer than others when you two were out

def the type to wake you up with breakfast in bed 

like isn’t the GREATEST cook in the world but he knows how to make some decent food

and he makes sure everything is perfect for your holiday morning

he’d pull out your favorite sweater of his and he’d wear it all day

bring you warm fuzzy socks and his favorite sweater for you and a cup of coffee/tea/hot chocolate

his main gift is probably that one pair of shoes you had wanted for awhile but could never bring yourself to buy

or just any similar gift

for activities, oikawa is ALL about the games

he sets up every holiday game he can think of 

does that stupid thing where he wraps a specific gift in like 12 layers of duct tape and 8 layers of bubble wrap and 5 layers of zip ties

like is an ASS abt it but it’s always funny having to beg him to get a pair of scissors for you because he went overboard again

after gifts he’d pull you off to the bedroom and kiss you slowly before 

giving you all the pleasure in the world 🥰

next is daichi! let’s just say....

MY BOY!!!

daichi here isn’t into any other holiday EXCEPT for Christmas 

mans does everything for Christmas

he’s buying the decorations and hanging them up with your help

setting the tree up IN NOVEMBER !!

goes crazy with the lights outside too

like y’all are def known for being THAT house on the street just 

full blown Christmas lights

when Christmas morning comes tho, he’d wake you up nice and early (not anymore so than normal tho) and take you into the kitchen where he’s made the BIGGEST breakfast for you

i’m talking every breakfast food is out on the tabel and you can’t help but shake your head

cause who’s gonna eat it all? 

somehow you two finish up whatever you can before he’s moving onto doing some small activities 

he doesn’t go crazy with them but likes to do some stuff with you

somehow got into painting? 

don’t know how it happened but i feel like he sets up an entire thing in one of the spare rooms

and you two just paint the silliest things you can think of 

and at some point you two def play drunk roulette and try to guess what alcohol was what in each cup  

as for gifts the man is stupid when it comes to buying things 

he goes so overboard when spending money on you 

doesn’t buy like 15 million gifts but will buy you 3 or 4 SUPER expensive gifts 

and you sit there, opening them up and knew he would spend too much money so you also had to buy more expensive gifts 

that he would use everyday just because you paid for them of course

by the end of the night you two end up on the couch, cuddling under a giant blanket, and watching some hallmark Christmas movies smh 

and if you want something a little more exciting, because daichi is That gentleman, he waits for you to ask

and when you do? y’all don’t even move to the bed 

he’d kiss you all slow and dim the lights and let the movie behind you play out as you two focus on the more intimate parts of the holiday

kuroo my baby.....my life....my heart I love him

mans is so cute during the holidays he’s just 🥺

baby boy doesn’t wake up super early at all

he’d wake up a little bit but you two know it’s too cold so you just cuddle in closer and fall asleep until noon

when you two finally get up tho, he’s sluggish pulling you out of bed and giving you a sweater to wear and that’s all he wants you to wear

pulling you into the living room to reveal his gift for you and it’s gotta be like a dog or cat or something istg 

you’d just walk into a new cat sitting on the couch just sleeping away and you just SIGH 

“kuroo...it’s adorable but this will be the 4th cat we have”

“BAAAABE it’s so cute tho 🥺”

so you get another cat lol Which is fine cause…..it is cute 🥺

can’t decide if kuroo would wait until night to get into the sexc or if he would just start the entire day off with little whispers and lazy sex and then it’s just all daaaaay baby 

pulls you into the bath together

like srsly would fuck you all day long as a gift too 

and god if it isn’t a great gift tho smh 

finally you both decide to get dressed and go out to any open place for dinner 

being too tired from the rest of the activities you had done all day

which is probably why you guys don’t play any games at all lol you just end up being too tired

so no traditional activities other than being bent over every surface in your house 

after it gets too dark i’m sure you two would just cuddle into bed, legs tangled up in a mess and just whisper all the things you love abt each other yk how it be 🥺🥺

NOW THIS IS MY MAAAAAAN UGH 

ushi doesn’t really see the desire of the entire holiday

like giving gifts and eating a good dinner should be EVERY NIGHT he thinks

Christmas eve you two would visit his family (cause uwu farm boi) so that way he’d have you all to himself Christmas day

probs has a tradition on like baking pie together or some kind of sweets

makes it a little competition to see who can bake the best pie tbh

you always win somehow

other than that he really isn’t into too many games?

he just enjoys your company and usually places you and himself in front of the fireplace and you two cuddle for the entire day

you read books and joke and laugh and paint your nails and do just mundane things together

at some point in the night tho he’d turn on some music and would slow dance with you in the kitchen 🥺

as for gifts?

BRUH

that’s all i’m gonna say sjksjd 

ok ok but no this man buys you SO MUCH

like yeah he doesn’t see the reason to buy you gifts only for this one day (cause let’s tbh he buys you gifts constantly)

but for Christmas? he just..... “oh this is a thing everyone else does so i must do it too” but in the kindest way

buys you an entire new wardrobe because he notices you wanting some new shirts

buys you new purses or wallets or jewelry

would surprise you with a trip to some vacation home somewhere

like he is all god giving on Christmas 

lowkey would def surprise you with an entire new wardrobe just for lingerie and you can’t fight me on this

it makes you a little sad you only buy him a few new watches and new ties or whatever else he might have mentioned over a few lunches or dinners

he doesn’t mind tho since he’s literally all abt pleasuring you yk

for the later activities tho, i feel like he’d be more like daichi?

like def would bend you over the counter as you two cooked dinner or in front of the fireplace but he waits for you

waits until you’re calling for him to make love to you

and when he does? UGH

let’s just say he has you crying later 

baby boy....baby....

much like kuroo i feel like he’d wanna make love ALL DAY 

wakes you up early just to have morning sex

after the third round you have to tell him they need to eat something

and tbh feel like he might lowkey forget to get you a gift until the LAST DAY 

like he def just bought this gift last night and wrapped it while you slept 

and tbh....it’s so cute of him to do that jkjks

he seems like the type to buy you jewelry or socks or both lol

like buys you a new necklace and some rings

def doesn’t try to talk you into getting a matching tongue piecing yk

also feel like he’d buy a new set of “bedroom toys” for you two to try out

and at first it’s like “of course he would” but you thank him later after using them

also a HUGE fan of ugly sweaters

but makes it a game to see who can MAKE the ugliest sweater like 

you will not see this man spend money on an ugly sweater but he will buy a bunch of ugly accessories just so you two can have fun making them

so it’s a tradition now that you two a week before Christmas begin making ugly sweaters

usually it ends up being a tie smh

feel like he would be into a bunch of other games tho

like the white elephant games or caramel apples and ginger bread houses

he just wants to spend all his time with you so he looks up a bunch of games you two can play 

he almost seems like the type to do puzzles? so maybe you two would work on a 2,000 piece puzzle together 

watch really old and bad movies together too

for some reason i feel like he’d be the best cook out of all the boys??? for no reason really i just...imagine he knows how to cook so well

so he def makes this big ass dinner of anything you wanted even if it’s not traditional food

like the one year you guys literally had PIZZA just because it sounded good

also talk abt snow ball fights and building all sorts of things outta the snow

and y’all can fight me on this............after a few years he’d be that cliche guy to propose to you and confess his entire heart out for you 

(of course you say yes becausae you’re so in love with him 🥰)

[tuancore]

Lost You (Part 12) :

Starring- Jinyoung x reader

Genre- Angst

Summary- It's your choices and actions which made you miserable.

The more you rotated your eyes around the place, the more you realised how every single thing in there held so many sweet memories. Had the circumstances been different you would've cried out of joy, for every showpiece, every photo frame, every furniture, every book had you and Jinyoung connected with the greatest love which all of your friends swore by, standing inside your apartment alone, your form was trembling burning with rage and grief at the same time, the whole place smelled like home, Jinyoung's Cologne mixed with yours and it began to suffocate you. You didn't want to have any sort of attachment with him.

You hated him for that.

When you first told your parents about dating Jinyoung, they grew quite awkward, which only meant hesitation. You took Jinyoung home, with you couple of times which eased some of their hesitation, your father seemed to grow fond of him, as they played billiards and chess together, it was as if Jinyoung's love in its raw form was visible in everything he did, but your mother never really approved of your relationship with him.

"Why don't you like Jinyoung already? Just look at dad, he's so happy whenever Jinyoung's home" You remarked hugging your mother's shoulders as Jinyoung and your father played chess. Staring at them intently, your mother finally spoke up "I can see how much you both love eachother, but I don't know why I have this uneasy feeling, I don't feel like giving you to him". Shaking your head you pecked your mother's cheeks, saying "Mom stop worrying, you're overthinking. I assure you that he'll love me forever and keep me happy maybe even more than you guys", your little teasing earned you a light head smack from her, "Hopefully honey".

Grabbing your hair harshly you sobbed harder with each passing second, only if you listened to your mother, you wouldn't be standing here like a bloody mess. Your heart was already ripped apart and now your soul was also starting to give up. Striding towards the windows, you tugged onto the curtains harshly as they landed on the floor with a thud, along with the curtain rod, then striding towards the television you pushed it from the tabletop another harsh sound joining the air.

You hated him for that.

"Why! Why! Why! Just why Jinyoung why?! You promised that you'll love me more than yourself! You promised to always put me first!" You punched the wall beside, with every word, ranting to particularly no one, as your knuckles bled painting the beige wall red, "You promised me......then why?".

Despite your bleeding hand, you started taking out every single photo frame from that wall, throwing it somewhere across the room. The place echoed with the noise of breaking and shattering of glasses as frames and showpieces landed harshly on the floor. Rage was all that filled your mind at the moment. Throwing and breaking things wouldn't turn back things to the way they were, but you wanted to destroy every single thing that reminded of your love for him, you wanted your tears to stop flowing for him when he wasn't even worthy to be cried over.

You hated him for that.

Trashing the entire living room, you locked yourself in the bedroom. Reminiscing all over again, staring at the bed where you both spent countless nights loving eachother under the sheets with both of your bodies and souls as one, the times when you both had pillow fights just to win a stupid argument. Yes, you both argued most of the time over nonsensical and useless things but never seriously. Never.

Not to forget those reading sessions, whenever it came to reading books it was a constant for you to occupy the centre of bed either laying on your stomach or on your back, with your spectacles on while Jinyoung liked reading sitting on his beanbag with a vanilla latte or a cup of coffee in his hand, a black squared frame sitting on his nose bridge firmly making him look more handsome. It used to go well for few hours but after you both have satisfied your reading pleasure, you both used to exchange glances at eachother throught the pages of the book to make sure the other one is also done reading and when one puts off their spectacles then it's over.

You hated him for that.

Coming to the kitchen, it was another sweet little thing that you both enjoyed dearly. It was a rule that Jinyoung set up that the one who comes home early will cook the meals, since the one coming late might be exhausted as hell, and whenever you both were late, you guys ordered for a take out. However, mostly it was you both cooking together, no matter who was cooking and who was volunteering, you both couldn't help but keep on brushing past eachother making sure to have some physical contacts.

"I don't know how to bake a cake" You whined, reluctantly putting on the apron. Jinyoung chuckled tying your apron behind your back guiding you to mix the batter, but when you started to mix it, he stood behind you so close that you were able to feel his hot breath fanning your neck, "Angel..slow down.." he whispered darkly, placing his lips on your neck, "Jinyoung...." Suppressing a moan, you pushed him off, "Go prepare other things".

After setting the batter into the mould, you both waited patiently but you being you grabbed a handful of white flour throwing it on Jinyoung, laughing your stomach out you remarked "Your hair is finally dyed to...white...let me click a pic and send it to others". Jinyoung gave you a jokeful glare, grabbing some flour too, he chased you around the house, hugging you closely to him putting flour in your head, "Now yours white too, let's send them our pic with #couplegoals".

Thinking of every moment you both shared there was way too many, that you can never forget even if you gave it your all.

You hated him for that.

Your gaze shifted towards the balcony, it was where you both discussed about your days over a cup of coffee or hot chocolate after an exhausting time at works, how his father always stuffed him with contracts and clients, how your boss nagged you for not being fast enough to complete your work. The times when you stressed over things and he back hugged you peppering your necks and shoulders with kisses which always began innocently but ended up in bed.

There was something about his touch, his words which always lured you to him. The way he gently placed you on bed, before stripping you to nakedness before his eyes, which never spoke hunger for your body but always love and affection, the way he always asked for your consent before making love to you even if he had done it thousands of time before, he was always respectful. During sex, he always cared about your comfort first, he always put you first focusing on your release before his, he liked doing it slow and passionately to show how much he was in love with you and not to forget the "I love you's" You both let out moaning at the feeling as your bodies became one. Over the time, you got so accustomed to his touch and presence that he could have you writhing under without putting any efforts from his side.

You hated him for all the times he sweetly whispered those "I love you's" in your ears.

You hated him for everything.

__________

Jinyoung gasped at the news of your miscarriage, he wanted to cry his out but then again it's what he has been doing for the past few hours. Even his tears can't bring back the child, the evidence of your love for eachother, it was too late now, way too late. BamBam nodded at Jinyoung finally letting hot tears spill from his eyes for the first time after he entered into Jinyoung's cabin.

Nobody dared to speak a single word, how could they when none of them had any particular words left to say. But there was one common sentence running through all six of theirs heads was 'Everything is over'. Heart was not only bleeding but souls and minds were ripping apart as well, they all felt like losing some battle at the last after fighting it with a silver armour.

Even one could see BamBam falling apart, the one who fought for you and Jinyoung with the world just to give you both the same love back. No one saw him crying before, until now. Somehow he blamed the misfortune of you losing the baby on himself.

"Only....If....I didn't let Noona talk to Jisoo and neither had she run away like that.....and...." BamBam's voice getting inaudible, his throat tying. Yugyeom hugged BamBam stroking his back, trying to soothe some of his pain although he knew it was useless, "BamBam.....don't blame yourself, please don't.....you only meant good for noona from the start.....so please....." Yugyeom whispered closing his own eyes shut to prevent his tears from falling.

"It's all my fault......" Jinyoung whispered covering his entire face, "No one is responsible for any of this..... except for me...". Though it was true that Jinyoung was the sole reason behind all these mishappens, he was already drowning in remorse and others didn't want to scold him any further, what would they even gain by scolding him or lecturing him or making him feel the worst person in this entire planet, Will you get your same love back? No. Will you get your child back? No.

"I want to see her...." Was all he managed to cough out, somehow keeping his tears at bay. It was understandable, you both will always be deep rooted in eachother's heart. Whenever Jinyoung did something to hurt you it also hurt him but he loves you and that can never be altered. He was a fool to not to clarify things with you but he always felt sick without you around. He even started to hallucinate you everywhere, in his cabin, in his car, even when he slept he imagined you hugging him, he loves you, but it's his insecure nature which made him lose your love and the child.

"I don't think it's a good time to meet—" JB started with hesitation but BamBam cut in, removing Yugyeom's arms from his body, "I'll take you there".

"But BamBam!" Mark reasoned, BamBam shook his head in denial not wanting to hear any of there theories, "It's best if they both just talk everything out, right now", BamBam completed, putting his phone inside his pants pocket, he grabbed Jinyoung's arm firmly pulling him outside, with others following behind.

"BamBam things will get pretty ugly, Do you think they can just chit chat about what happened?" Jackson belted, as if BamBam was high on thin air. "I know what I'm doing and please.....I don't have any strength left in me to prolong things....".

"Hyungs, Yugyeom....Go home, get some rest, it's better if they talk alone without anyone around" BamBam blurted with a knowing look, hoping for everyone to understand as they nodded.

"BamBam—" Jinyoung called, which BamBam decided to ignore, "Hyung... if I'm helping you that doesn't mean I've forgiven you......nor will I anytime soon", he sternly announced, stepping on the gas pedal.

Jinyoung immediately shut his mouth, staring outside of the window, the sky has already darkened as street lights shone brightly, his mind drifted off to you, how much you loved the night views.

Jinyoung laid lazily on the couch with,'To Kill A Mockingbird',one of his favourite books in his hands reading it with great concentration,on the other hand you were getting crazy as he is reading that book for three hours straight, sitting on the centre table you tapped your feet impatiently.

"Jinyoung...Enough of reading~~" You whined, pouting like a kid but yet he ignored it by reading the lines out aloud. Letting out a groan, you snatched his book running around the house, it was finally his turn to groan,"Give me my book".

"No...you'll get your book when we'll get some ice cream together!",Sighing he agreed.

He was about to take his car when you pleaded him to go on a bike,you hugged his waist tightly sitting behind him, resting your head on his broad back inhaling the evening air. Jinyoung smiled widely, everything you did made him realise how much in love he was with you. The whole ride you kept on hugging him, staring at the lights hung on trees and railings, so beautiful.

After getting the ice cream, you both played in the snow which was gathered in the amusement park, "Nyoung...I just love night time, so cold yet the environment is so warm it gives off so much happiness!" Squealing you threw a snowball at him. "Yeps..with you I feel that happiness" he smiled, dusting off snow from him, placing his lips on your plump ones, he whispered, "I love you".

"I love you more".

Retrieving to the reality, Jinyoung asked hesitantly, "Do you think she'll forgive me?", "To be honest, I have no idea, it's upto her now, you can only hope for the best...." BamBam replied, pulling the car in the parking lot.

When Jinyoung noticed that it was both of yours shared apartment his eyes widened, he stared at BamBam as to why he has brought him here. "I told you I'll take you to Noona..." He muttered getting out of the car.

"She's here...?" Jinyoung tried to reconfirm, "Are you sure?..". Taking the elevator to the desired floor, Jinyoung's body began to tremble real bad, his face got pale as soon as the elevator came to a halt.

"Lisa herself dropped Noona here" BamBam informed, pushing Jinyoung towards the main door, "I won't go inside..... All the best", chills ran through his body, beads of cold sweats forming on his forehead, he tried to open the door but it was locked from inside luckily he had his key with him. Shooting a final glance at BamBam he pushed open the door.

His body freezing at the mere sight of the house, everything completely destroyed. The wall where he hung both of yours pictures all trashed, glass splattered everywhere on the floor, his eyes after scanning each and every part stopped at the red stains on the picture wall, hesitantly walking towards it, he saw fresh blood with your hand marks. Tears rolled down his eyes, not only did he break you but also shattered you completely to debris.

However finding the door to both of your bedroom's locked, he hurried trying to push it open, but stopped since it was locked. Pressing his ears to the door he tensed at your loud sobs and whimpers, hearing your voice your pain and disappointment was visible. And it ripped Jinyoung's heart.

"I HATE YOU PARK JINYOUNG!!!!" You yelled in a high pitch, which made Jinyoung cry listening to so much hate for him.

"I'M SORRY ANGEL!!" He let out a loud whimper making sure you hear him, "I AM SO SO SO SORRY".

Part 11 // Part 12 // Part 13

______________________________________

[s7-evermore]

[Roundtable Rival] Chapter 1 - Noise of Silence

Blissful silence echoed through my bedroom, breaking into my subconscious before I was even willing to break away from the comfort of my dreams. The sound of my breathing came into my senses as light seemed to seep through my closed eyelids, telling me of the new day that had already begun. I wasn't really the type to be a morning person, but I was sure to wake up early enough to make sure I wasn't going to be late for work.

The sounds of birds singing from outside my window as well as the blinding rays of sunlight illuminating within the room reminded me that I had forgotten to close the curtains again, it was probably because I had gone home late yesterday trying to finish the miniature sugar rabbits I was trying to make, luckily enough, a coworker of mine managed to snap me out of my concentration and told me to go home before I could even realize it was almost twelve in the evening-- or, err, morning.

I groaned, burying my face into my pillow deeper, relishing in the comfort and warmth of my bed as if it was the one thing that kept me alive, away from the light that seemed determined to tear me away from the first decent sleep I've had in days.

It always seemed to be that way. Just as I am about to relish the amazing, deep, soothing sleep, plunging myself deep into the darkness of my room and my eyes, that was the moment the world would bust through the doors of darkness, opening the curtains to reveal what I thought was heaven's light, blinding me enough to open my eyes, or even splash light through my closed eyelids, saying that I already had to get my butt up before I get late for work.

I should really start giving Lilly the keys for the shop.

Shifting on my bed, I forced my heavy lids open, inviting the blinding rays of the sun as it luminously lit my room. With a indelicate yawn, I forcefully sat up, groaning at the small headache I'd developed and rubbed my eyes to rid myself of the fatigue. I looked over at the clock next to my bed, it was six thirty-two in the morning. It was a miracle that I'd managed to get up early despite coming home late, mornings like these were miracles that weren't exactly rare, but they didn't happen much either. I must thank Gilbert for dragging me out of work, and Lilly for making sure I didn't look like I was coming home from the pub.

Adulthood was a scary thing, and I wasn't taught that before my father even disappeared, before I even turned eighteen, I didn't have anyone to tell me of such things anymore. Although I can consider it quite hellish, the fact that I needed to wake up so early every goddamn morning, I was quite grateful for at least being left behind with something instead of needing to search for it myself. Still, adulthood was frightening. All the responsibilities and such, you know.

I didn't have any deadlines in my life, other than specific orders I had which involved me having to sleep late to fulfill those orders despite hiring coworkers I considered friends. Nevertheless, life for me was peaceful. It was just me and the confectionery I inherited from my father before he disappeared a while back, it's been years already and I know it would be just a waste of time to look back on it again when I had the future to focus on. Things weren't that eventful, and I didn't even try to involve myself in things that had nothing to do with me. Cradle was a relatively peaceful land, and although skirmishes between the Red and Black armies happened every now and then, it didn't bother me too much at all. I was happy and content.

Sighing, I reluctantly got up from my bed with a grunt of displeasure and prepared to do my morning routine, after dressing up, I faced the mirror once more to fix my hair before heading out for work.

As a child, I've always had a knack for sweets, I've loved every single bit of it. Food in general makes me happy, and I was sure it made other people happy too. My father owned a confectionery, and there, I learned how to make the sweets I made and sold today, through him and my mother, I learned to bake and cook. I enjoyed every single bit of it. I loved being able to do what I loved for a living.

Making sweets was one thing I wanted to perfect, it wasn't just a job for me, nor was it just where I could find pleasure or entertainment, it was almost my life. Creating something new for other people to share and enjoy with others and with people they cared about. That was one of the few things I loved about my job.

Each and everyday, filling my customers's days with sweetness and joy, seeing adults and children alike smiling as they take a bite of my sweets and cakes. I loved every single moment where in I could even get to create something big for special occasions as well. But while I was drowning in enjoyment through my job, I always had my coworkers --my friends-- to remind me that I was overworking myself, it was through them that I noticed the fatigue and the tiredness in my eyes and my face. I nearly forgot to take care of myself.

But it wasn't much of a big deal, I was able to take care of it properly.

And then, there went another day. Going back and forth from my house to the confectionery. I was already content. I was already happy.

As if the sun hadn't gotten enough, it continued to shine down on the grounds of the Central Quarter as I walked through the spacious streets, not too devoid of people. Since it was still early, not much people were out, which was quite a relief. I enjoyed walking through the streets without having to bump into other people, or even hearing too much noise just by passing by them or merely being a few meters from them. Slowing down my pace, I breathed in the fresh morning air. Another good morning to Cradle.

"Hey, are you emoting on the way to work again?" Gilbert's mocking tone reached my ears, and before I knew it I saw him and Lilly standing outside the confectionery. I pulled out a pocket watch and checked the time, I sighed when I realized I was a minute late, but it wasn't too long after the opening, so I forgave myself for that, if only I could tolerate the teasing that's about to come.

"Did you finally manage to bump into a handsome guy before heading here? That could be a sign, you know?" And there it was, Lilly's teasing voice following Gilbert's, a consequence to my one minute lateness. I rolled my eyes at them and pulled out my keys to open up the shop. "Ha ha, funny." I shook my head.

"I forgot you were a morning person." Gilbert sarcastically remarked, as we entered the store and prepped it up. "Did you get enough sleep?"

"Well, I suppose six hours of sleep was enough." I replied with a tired smile.

"It's better than having three hours of sleep like last time." Lilly grinned, reminding me of the last time I had overworked myself. She was close to bashing my head and dragging me home that time in order to let me rest, I'm glad it just resulted to me sleeping in the back room of the shop.

After our short moment of bickering, the three of us continued to fix the shop before Gilbert flipped the sign to "OPEN". Adjusting my red scarf around my neck, I immediately got to work in the kitchen preparing the sweets for display as well as the materials and utensils for the drinks and sweets. I took out the spare dough I saved last night (or the morning of since I did sleep at around twelve AM) and a few other ingredients. Lilly entered the kitchen with a bag, "The sugar cookies sold out yesterday again, and we were running low on a few stuff so I went to the market to pick up some things we were missing."

I smiled at her and nodded, gesturing her to put it on the empty space on the counter, "Thanks, Lilly, put it there for a while. I'll be making extras in a few."

"I'll make the icing." She said.

My passion for making sweets was ingrained by the time I turned nine, and my father let me help him with making sweets in this very shop. I started with just mixing, and sometimes, he'd let me pour in some stuff into the mixing bowl or even prepare the oven before using it. It wasn't much, but to me, it was something more. It was the key to my future and the first step to inheriting this confectionery.

Lilly and Gilbert already knew about my passion towards baking, and they respected me for it, so they knew when to leave me to my devices every time I was working, they let me concentrate on my work and I appreciated them for it. I've met Lilly and Gilbert a while back, Lilly and I met when I was thirteen and she was twelve. She visited the confectionery with her parents and she seemed to enjoy the chocolate cupcakes I've made, those cupcakes were the first things my father let me bake and sell in the shop and I felt so happy people enjoyed them. Lilly greeted me first when she found out that I made them and from then on, I can't even remember how we became so very close.

As for Gilbert, we were both sixteen when we met, and he was looking for a job to start out with before he could move to a better one once he was an adult. That guy loved eating, so of course, he chose to work in a place that made food. My father and I were hiring at that time, so when he volunteered to work, we let him in. By the time my father disappeared, he shared with me his feelings when he first started out working in the confectionery. It turns out, my father was a huge inspiration for him to continue making sweets, and we became close friends after that. The three of us were like a team. And it was the greatest team I could ever ask for.

Of course, there were times where in we messed around in the kitchen, constantly throwing dough and smudged icing on each other, sometimes, we'd even eat the sweets we made together and even hangout during day-offs. We didn't have that much day-offs, but the times we baked and ran the shop together, I felt like the fact I didn't have a family to run it with anymore didn't matter, I had friends to keep this shop going, and we had the same passion to make people happy with the sweets we make.

"Harriet!" Gilbert called from the counter, a hint of giddiness in his voice, "Someone's hear to see you."

I raised a brow and exchanged looks with Lilly, but she only smiled. She shrugged, "It might be him again. He always calls for you whenever he comes by."

I pursed my lips and wiped my hands with a hand towel before heading out of the kitchen, "What's up, Gil?"

He turned to me and pointed to a familiar man on the other side of the counter. "Someone came to visit you."

I looked over at the man and smiled once I realized who it was, the grin on his face was unmistakable, I knew very well what he'd come for. "Fancy seeing you here, King of Spades."

"I see you're doing well as always, Harrie." Ray smiled, leaning over the counter. "Ya got time on your hands right now?"

"Well..." I looked over at where the kitchen was only to see Lilly leaning on the doorway with a raised thumb and an encouraging smile. I turned back to him and nodded, "Yeah, I got a few."

"Great. Let's have some tea together then." He grinned invitingly, before ordering a pot of earl gray tea and a selection of sweets, a few of which he knew I liked. We then carried the orders over to a table for two on a nearby table and began conversing.

"You've been visiting more frequently nowadays, don't you have work to do, Ray?" I asked him, taking a small sip from my cup as I kept my gaze on him. He shrugged his shoulders and placed his cup down.

"There wasn't much to do today, the soldiers were as obedient as usual and it gave me enough time." He replied, "On the other hand, I wanted to make sure you were alright, so I came here to see you."

I looked down at my tea and smiled softly. I found it very heartwarming that Ray still continued to check on me after all these years. It had been more than twenty years since the incident he saved me from, and even until today, I was grateful. I found it very fitting for him when he earned the position of King of Spades in the Black army, and I was very proud of him when he came and told me. I then chuckled warmly and placed my cup down on its saucer before giving him a bright, close-eyed smile.

"I'm very happy you still made time to see me Ray, despite your busy schedule. But you really shouldn't bother yourself. I'm a grown woman now, and I've learned to take care of myself." I told him, "You're a King now, you should focus on your job instead of me."

"As King of Spades, it's my duty to protect the people of Cradle." He began, gazing deeply into my eyes as if he were looking into the depths of my soul. "And you happen to be one of them, Harriet. I want to make sure you're safe as well. Every time I come here, I want to see you."

I was slightly startled at his words, and I felt the sincerity in his voice as it echoed in my mind, reminding me of the times he stayed by my side, from the day we met, to the day my father disappeared, and to today. He always reminded me that he mostly visited just to check on me, and I held on to the meaning of his words, my heart warming at his kindness. Although he was a troublemaker himself, I saw every reason to why he was given the title of the King of Spades. Leading commander of the Black Army.

Ray valued freedom and happiness. He was fighting for that cause. He never judged anyone without trying to understand their true intentions. I respected him that way.

I smiled at him once more, "You truly are a King at heart. I'm so proud of you, Ray."

Ray smiled softly at me, before filling me on the current affairs, even asking me about how my previous days were going and how I was holding up. Afterwards he left before sunset, returning to his work as I cleaned up after us. The day continued on with peace, and once the clock struck eight, Lilly flipped the shop's "OPEN" sign to "CLOSE".

I listened to the noise of silence, the sound of crickets taking over the singing of the birds as night approached. I inhaled the scent of sweets and cakes, smiling softly to myself as I iced the sugar cookies.

"You two looked as calm as usual." Gilbert broke the silence as he took out the last batch of sugar cookies from the oven. "I'm assuming it went good?"

"You talk as if there's something I'm missing here." I said, furrowing my brows as I kept my eyes on the sugar cookies I was icing. I stopped for a moment to wipe a bead of sweat from my forehead before leaning down to work once more.

"He's visiting a lot lately. He must really care about you." Lilly added as a smirk graced her features. "I'm starting to think you're really missing it."

"We're just friends." I countered with an exasperated sigh.

"Well if she's saying that, then I guess she knows what we mean." Gil snickered.

"I've heard something the other day, a girl just confessed to the King of Spades last week." Lilly implored, "But he rejected her, as usual. A lot of girls really have their eyes on him." She hopped and sat on the counter and swung her legs like a child, "And yet, he only has eyes for you~"

"Shut up." I grunted, storing away the batch of cookies before icing a new one. "Ray and I have just known each other for years, that's all."

"Dude, he's known you longer than we have, and you can't tell me there isn't anything else more than the "friendship" stamp you've put on your relationship." Gilbert elaborated, "He clearly likes you, he makes time to visit you regardless of his busy schedule. And besides, who the hell wouldn't want to be courted by the King of Spades?"

"He's not just the King of Spades to me, Gil. He's my friend, and my grateful to him." I looked at my two friends, "Ray and I...we go a long way back, so I know why he visits me."

Listening to my words, Lilly and Gilbert exchanged looks, which made me realize that I still haven't told them the story about my meeting with Ray even after all these years. It's not that I didn't trust them with it, but I just didn't have the right time to tell them, nor did I even see the point of going back to the past when we were happy with our present.

After that day, a part of me changed. I wanted to work to become strong enough to protect myself and the people I loved, the people I held dear to me. Ray and I didn't know each other back then, nor did I know much about him, but the few words we exchanged during that fateful day stayed in mind, etching a scar that wasn't painful anymore. I was happy that he became a King, it led me to believe that he'd be able to save more people like the way he did with me. The thought of that made my heart swell, the thought of knowing my best friend would be able to fight for the freedom and happiness of others.

I didn't take any sides, but I supported him completely. I was neutral at heart and I would never agree with the idea of war, that's why I stayed in the Central Quarter.

"Rumors of an impending war have been going around lately." I pointed out anxiously as I put away the last batch of iced sugar cookies. "Whether those rumors are true or not, I'd like Ray to focus on his job. I'm glad he thinks of me though, that just shows how kind he really is."

The thought of war agitated me, I didn't like it a single bit. The number of casualties on both sides, the terrifying sight of seeing the Central Quarter in ruins, the thought of people leaving their homes because of the chaos raging outside their doors, and the possible threats this war could have on Ray's life. I couldn't help but worry for the future of Cradle, what would have happened if war really did wage in this beautiful and magical country. The Black Army didn't believe in fighting with magic and fought for freedom and happiness, while the Red Army used magic crystals in war and revered lineage above else.

However, just like a coin, magic had its sides. Bad and good. 

══════ •⊰◈��• ══════

The young man who had just recently taken the role of his father stared out in the distance beyond the large window of his manor with emotionless eyes. The room was dark, but the stars in the sky as well as the Cinderella moon provided enough light to illuminate half of it. He listened to the noise of silence. Complete silence. No crickets, no nothing. Not even the sound of the wind whirling could be heard within the dimly lit room.

Just then, an eerie creak filled the room with sound, banishing the silence for a moment a slice of light entered the room from the hallway. The shadow of a butler was seen. He looked over at the well-dressed man standing by the window, barely sparing him a glance through the reflection of the glass.

"Any reason you came here so late at night?" The young man spoke, his monotonous, almost intimidating voice filling the room with tensity.

"I am sorry for intruding, my lord." The butler bowed, holding a letter in his hand as if it were some delicate jewel, but firm enough as to not let it slip from his hands. "But I've received an important report from one of our men."

The young man immediately turned his head to the side at that one emphasized word, the butler stepped into the room and shut the door behind him, continuing, "I assumed you wouldn't want to wait until morning to hear about it."

"Quit wasting time then, spill it." He urged, furrowing his brows as he turned around. The butler handed him the letter and nodded.

"They have found her, my lord."

[sanktaleksander]

Because We Can

Pairing: Negan/J 

Negan is a professor at a local university and happily shares his life with J, a woman who had been deeply unhappy before she met him. The years they’ve been together have helped to heal her wounds and lift her spirits and now something even better is in the couple’s future, all J has to do is tell Negan.

Mentions of pregnancy, Negan swearing, sex typical of Negan, including oral (female receiving) and vaginal sex. 

Okay! This is for @crzcorgi , who has been having a tough time lately. I usually don’t write stuff like this but I tried my best and I really hope you like this. This is essentially my take on domestic!Negan, so he basically looks and has a few more Jason Crouse-like tendencies. I hope that’s okay. I also didn’t write it the normal way a reader insert is since it’s not my strength, so I hope that’s alright too. The title is named after a Bon Jovi song. Any mistakes are mine. Enjoy!

J hummed softly to herself as she stirred the pot of simmering tomato sauce. The whole house smelled of olive oil and Italian spices, along with the distinct scent of garlic bread baking in the oven. It wasn’t any of that frozen shit either, it was homemade. It had been raining that day but she couldn’t seem to bring herself to care. She had plenty to be happy about and thankful for, so no bit of rain was going to bring her down.

It had been a long time since she’d been this at peace. She’d had a long road and felt for a long time that nothing would ever fall into place. But then she’d met Negan and things had started to change.

Now, Negan looked like he belonged in a bar, or at least, his tattoos did. He had dark hair that curled a little at the front and a salt and pepper beard that fit his age. He had several tattoos on his arms and J would eventually find others elsewhere too. He looked almost like a biker, except his leather pants were traded for a dark button up and his black rimmed glasses gave him a softer vibe. There was a reason for this though, as he had once indeed run with the devil, riding a motorcycle and raising hell wherever he went. But a close brush with death during a bar shooting had made him rethink things and he’d somehow found his way into teaching. He was now a tenured professor of mythology at the local university.

That’s how he’d met J. One of his teaching colleagues was a friend of hers and she introduced them. It had been love at first sight. J, curvy with black hair streaked with purple and piercing blue grey eyes, had taken Negan’s heart before he even realized what was happening. They’d kissed on their first date and they hadn’t gone back.

That had been almost three years ago. Now they shared a home and J was in a much better place. She didn’t much like the idea that he had saved her, more like he had helped her realize how to save herself.

And today, today was probably the best day she’d had in a very long time. She smiled softly as she continued to cook. Negan was still asleep upstairs, he’d been awake all night the night before grading papers. She’d found him asleep at his desk in his home office and insisted he go and get some sleep.

Apparently the smell of the food had woken him, as she soon heard footsteps on the stairs.

“And what the hell is all this?” Negan’s hair was still mussed from sleep and he was just putting his glasses on.

“Spaghetti. I was going to make it for dinner but I couldn’t wait to celebrate.”

“Celebrate? What are we celebrating?” He wandered over to the stove, inhaling deeply. He snagged the spoon to taste test for himself.

J found herself blushing faintly. “I guess I should tell you.”

Negan raised an eyebrow. “Tell me what, sugar?”

J bit her lip, glancing down before meeting his eyes. “I’m pregnant.” She murmured softly, a smile again coming to her lips.

Negan froze, tongue on the sauce laden spoon. After a moment he set it down and turned to her, taking her hands. When he spoke, his voice was much quieter than normal, like he was afraid if he spoke too loud, the whole thing would turn out to be some sort of joke.

“You’re sure? Really fucking sure? Because I thought...I thought I couldn’t have kids. I mean, that’s why we never bother with a fucking prophylactic or birth control or any of that.” He squeezed her hands. “You think it’s true?”

“I’m already two weeks late and I’ve been feeling sick in the morning. I took two tests just to be sure and they both came back positive. My gut says yes.” She smiled even more, eyes beginning to water just a little. She wasn’t exactly the crying type but she’d always hoped for this and now she’d been lucky enough to find the perfect guy. Why shouldn’t she want to have a child with him?

Negan’s face broke out into grin, unable to hide his happiness. He immediately took his love into his arms, holding her tight. He leaned down to plant kiss after kiss all over her face and lips and she laughed when his beard tickled her skin.

“And you’re fucking right, we should celebrate.” This was whispered into her ear. “But I can think of way fucking better idea than food.”

“Oh? And what would that be?” J asked, already turning the heat off on the stove and covering the food for later.

He slid up behind her, wrapping his arms around her. “Oh I think you know.” He purred, hands starting to wander.

She couldn’t help giggling. “Let me guess. It involves us and a bed and definitely not sleeping.”

Negan nipped at her ear lobe, “My girl is so fucking smart.”

“Well? What are we waiting for?” She shifted and took his hand, tugging him toward the stairs.

As soon as she fell onto the bed, he was on her, pinning her arms above her head. She didn’t mind, she knew she could get free if she wanted to, he never tried to trap her without giving her a way out.

Negan kissed her deeply, pleased when she yielded beneath him and he was allowed to explore her mouth. When he moved on, his beard tickled her throat as he left hickeys and love bites on her neck. He was a little possessive like that, he loved letting people know that this girl was his girl.

As he went, she set about getting him out of his clothes. First came the shirt, tugged over his head and thrown somewhere to the left. He seemed to like this idea, going for her shirt and giving it the same treatment.

Her bra was quick to follow, his hands immediately coming to massage her breasts. She moaned softly when his thumbs grazed her nipples. But she knew he wouldn’t stop there and he didn’t, leaning down to latch onto one of her nipples, stroking it with his tongue.

J groaned in response, running her fingers through his hair, messing it up even more. Negan pulled back only to move and give the other nipple the same treatment. He then kissed down her chest and to her stomach, where he lavished extra attention.

“This excites you, doesn’t it?” She murmured, stroking his cheek.

He smiled, turning to kiss her palm. “Fuck yeah it does. Everybody always told me I’d never have kids. And now I get to have one with the greatest person I’ve ever met.”

“You’re too good to me.” She insisted, kissing him when he lifted his head.

“Nah, you deserve every fucking thing I give you, that’s for damn sure.” Negan shifted, grinding his erection down against her.

She laughed, “Someone’s eager, aren’t you?” She reached to slip Negan’s glasses off and set them aside. “You always forget those.”

“Good fucking thing I have you to remind me, sweetheart.” He set about ridding her of her pants and underwear, letting out a possessive sort of growl when he finally got her naked. J felt herself blush ever so faintly.

“You’re so fucking beautiful.” Negan was quick to take off the rest of his clothes then, revealed toned muscles and a dusting of hair all over. His cock wasn’t extremely thick, but it was long and already flushed red, curving gently upward. J still remembered the first time they’d done this and how it was like her ideal man had been plucked from her thoughts placed right in front of her. She still felt that way.

Negan laid himself between her legs, wasting no time in taking her into his mouth. She whined, spreading herself wider as he drank her in, his tongue massaging her most intimate place.

“Fuck, sweetheart, you are so fucking wet already.” He groaned himself, unconsciously grinding his hips, sliding his cock against the sheets. He loved this, loved having her in his mouth. She tasted perfect, sweet and addicting.

Above him, J had begun to pant, her toes curling when things felt particularly good. He knew just how to touch, just how to send her crashing toward the edge. It only got better when he inserted his fingers into her heat, stroking in search of that glorious place that would make her see stars.

“I’m gonna make fucking forget your name, sweetheart.” He dove deeper, piercing her with his tongue.

J’s pants grew into moans that she tried to keep from overwhelming her but it soon became too much. The more intense it got, the fewer words she could manage besides his name. When his fingertips found her sweet spot, she couldn’t back, her climax reaching its peak.

Negan didn’t slow down, pleasuring her through the orgasm. He only stopped when it became too much and she squirmed beneath him.

While she recovered, he pressed kisses to her thighs and then on her belly once again, nuzzling and stroking it like she was already showing a bump. She could only imagine what he’d do when she started to look pregnant.

“Please,” She gently fixed his messy hair, nails massaging his scalp, “don’t make me have to beg.”

Negan chuckled deeply, looking up at her with a glint in his eyes. “Oh but darling, I fucking adore it when you beg.”

“Of course you do.” J shook her head, unable to fight her smile. If he wanted, then she would indulge. She licked her lips, meeting his gaze.

“Please Ne, please fuck me. Want your cock so bad and I know how bad you want me. I’ve seen how you’ve been rutting against the bed just from having me in your mouth. Come on Daddy, please?”

Negan surged forward, capturing her mouth again, hands stroking her breasts. “Yeah? You want Daddy’s cock?” He nipped at her lips, slotting his dick against her heat.

She groaned, nodding eagerly. “Yes, yes Daddy, please?”

“How could I ever say no to my sweet girl? Especially when she asks so fucking nicely?” Negan kissed her again and with a shift of hips, entered her in one smooth motion.

Something like an exhale left her lips, like this was how they were always meant to be and it was good to be back in that space. He knew exactly how to move, his thrusts practiced but perfect nonetheless, drawing moan after breathless moan from J’s lips.

He loved seeing her like this. She had carried so much weight for so long, it was a long time even after they met before he could get her to really relax. When they were together like this though, it was like all that weight was gone. She was able to get lost in the feeling and it was a wonderful thing to watch.

They moved together like they were one person, give and take in such a lovely way. He reached to hold her close, placing kisses wherever he could reach. With each movement, he could tell she was reaching her end, her grip on him growing tighter, her eyes falling shut.

“Go on, sweetheart, fucking cum for me again.” Negan’s voice urged in her ear, reaching between them to tease her clit.

J shuddered, her lips wrapping around him as she came for a second time, her cries echoing throughout the house. Negan followed soon after, sinking his teeth into her shoulder as his hips stuttered to a stop and he emptied himself of everything he had. The mark he left wasn’t deep enough to bleed or scar, but he gently soothed it with his tongue when he pulled back.

Negan carefully settled down beside her, uncoupling then but keeping her in his arms. Her eyes remained closed, but she turned toward him, laying her head on his shoulder.

He kissed her head, nuzzling her cheek. “How the hell are you, sweetheart?”

J giggled softly. “Hm...I think I’m pretty damn good.”

“I’m so goddamn glad I could be of service.” His mouth moved to press a kiss to hers.

“And I’m glad to see you so happy.” She opened her eyes and smiled at him, feeling perfectly content.

They stayed like that a good while, perfectly at ease being wrapped up in each other. But Negan could never stay quiet for long.

“You know what?”

“Hm?”

“We should get married.”

J raised an eyebrow. “But you were the one who always said I was yours and you were mine even if we didn’t have the piece of paper.”

“I know, but maybe it would be nice. Don’t you think it would be fucking nice to be able to say I’m your husband? I’d sure as fuck love to have you as my wife.”

She thought about this for a moment. Negan had a point, it would be nice to call him husband and have it be so in every sense of the word. And she very much liked the idea of being Negan’s wife.

“Okay. We can get married, but on one condition. You better find yourself a ring and propose the right way.”

Negan gave her lopsided grin. “Oh honey, you can fucking count on it.”

[peachyblkdemonslayer]

Here’s the commission for @munching-macarons that they wanted to get an look into my Di Angelo Valdez family. I hope that you enjoy and once again thank you for the commission!!!

The morning had started out like any other one. The sun came into the sky and castes bright streaks of light into the house of the Di Angelo Valdez family. Nico eyes made an effort of opening to see what the time was on the clock.

6:30 am

Hmmm its seems he had about about two hours to get everyone ready for school and to get Leo to work. He swinger his legs over the side of the bed and stood up to stretch his back out/ His feet met the cold floor as he slowly walked across the room and out the curtains. A huge flash of light entered causing his husband to jump up out his sleep.

“Gods Nico could you not do that” he blinked a few times to get his eyes to adjust to the sudden change. Nico looked at him with an raised eyebrow and a look of disinterest in his face.

He walked out the room to the hallway of where his six children slept. The first door was of their oldest Maria. She had decided to decorate with gems and bone she had found herself. Out of all his children she was the least difficult to wake up. He grabbed the doorknob and entered the room. She had the fan on so there was a slight breeze in the room.

Posters of her favorite movies and bands hanged on her wall along with pictures of friends and family form over the years. Hr huge head of hair was sticking out in little curls of the black brown tinted hair. Her lashes twitched once in awhile in her sleep.

Nico smiled and turned in the lights in her room. Walking over he sat on her bed and shook her softly.

“Honey its time to get up for school” he whispered. She groaned and slowly raised out of the bed as if she was a zombie of some sort. She looked around her room in a bit of a daze. She got out of her bed and walked to the bathroom to get ready.

One down five to go.

Leaving her room he went to the room across from her’s. Bianca door just had pictures of black puppies and symbols of his father all over it. She choose to paint it a light gray paint to make the items on it pop out more.

He knocked on her door a few times and waited. She didn’t like people just coming into her room without her permission so he just knocked on her door to get her up. After another set of knocks he heard a few bangs back from inside the room.

He smirked and went on to the next ones. The twins were a mixed bag when it came to then waking up. Some days it took a while other days it was a breeze.

“I hope today is an easy one” opening the day he was surprised to see that they were already up and getting their school clothes out for the day. Rey and Persephone saw their papa and smiled saying a shared “Good Morning Papa!” to him.

Smiling he moved onto Alessandra room. She had always been a heavy sleeper since she was a baby. When they first brought her home from the hospital she slept for so long that they were worried that she wasn't breathing properly. As he walked to her door he heard the loud snoring from it.

“Like father like daughter i guess” he rolled his eyes slowly opening her door. The first thing he saw was a mess of his daughter room.  Clothes on the floor, candy wrappers and bags of chips everywhere. Nico had a grimace on his face from the mess of her room.

She is going to clean up this room when she gets home today.

Walking over to her bed he pulled the cover from her and lifted her head up. She opened one eye and slowly opened the other. The eye crust from her heavy sleep like it was every morning. She sat up and patted her hair as if she was confused as to why she had it. She was always a bit….brain dead when it came to the morning.  She had put in two braids in her head the night before she undid them to get her curls out in their neat and soft looking style.

“Hurry up Aless breakfast is almost done you better get up before its gone.” he warned her as she got wide eyed at the thought. His husband was a mean cook when it came to cooking, one of the many things he loved about the man.

The youngest of the bunch Beatrice was just getting up and looking around her drawers for her school day now. He smiled at her for doing her own thing, He opened the door for he when she done and walked down to the kitchen where he smelled the scent of bacon and eggs in the air and baked goods.

He saw the other kids sitting around the table as Leo started to set the plates around the table. Putting a basket of cornetto and crostata in the center along with some butter and a couple of jams.

All the girls went to a very prestige private school all funded by their Grandpa Hades and Grandma Persephone. Wearing their black vests, clean yellow button up shirts, black pants or skirts and black dress shoes. On the left side of their vest was the pin of their school, a black rose that was in bloom.

“Papa i got myself dressed today!” he heard the excited voice for his youngest. He turned to see her wearing a outfit similar to her sisters but instead of the yellow shirt she had on a blue one. He smiled and gave a light chuckle ot that and went to bring her to the table.

“Ok guys food is ready dig in” Leo walked to the table and the girls did just that. Hands grabbed at the baskets and jams on the side. Forks scraped on plates as eggs left them into the mouths of everyone at the table.

“So Dad how's business been going so far?” Alessandra asked. Leo had just stuffed a whole cornetto in his mouth with a look of surprise in his face. Chewing the bread, swallowed and let out a sigh of pure pleasure at that. He looked her and went on to explain.

“Well so far this month we have had about twenty customers nothing out of the usual from  the bunch. Everything has been pretty good with it kid thanks for asking” he leaned over and ruffled her head as she whined and waved her arms all around her to get him to stop. He chuckled at her reaction and checked his wristwatch. They had time still.

“Hey Rey how you two been holding up with your math?”

“Hmmm we're doing good but Seph is better at fractions then I am but i like doing long division better honestly. But our teacher is super nice so i'll get the hang of it soon Dad don't worry” Rey replied.

“I like being in art better then Mat we got to learn about a lot of female artists in Italy in class so far. And we get to play with the pretty colors in black and paint too. But we have to wear aprons over it so we don't get dirty.” she said it at such a rapid speed that if Nico had not been used to Leo talking like that he would have missed it.

Nico nodded and clapped his hands to get their attention.

“Okay guys it's time to do and i'll say this like i say it every other day no using your powers during school we already had a close call with Beatrice this pass week. We will be practicing them when you get off of school today.” He go and pushed in his chair as he walked around the table to pick up all the plates, Leo getting the girls book bags for them to go.

“Ok i’ll see you later love you” hearing a wave of byes and love you too he started to clean the kitchen and planning out the surprise he had for the girls this weekend.

The sun beat down on the grass of the front lawn as Nico sat on the pouch in a chair looking out at the clear fall day. He was drinking some green tea Reyna had brought from her and Drew trip a few months ago. They all been planning to visit them for a year now.

Ever since Nico and Leo had moved to Italy they didn't have the time or the funds to go and visit the other in the states. And from what’s been happening over their with their president its not been good.   

He was the most worried about Hazel in this problem. But she strong and will pull through it no matter what happens, she had always had been strong.

“He heard the phone ringing in the house and got up to answer. The person who was on the other side wasn't someone he accepted.

“Hey Nico! How you been man” out came the loud voice of none other than Percy Jackson. Nico pulled back at the sudden noise on the other side of the phone. Gods he was so loud, he was so used to it being quiet around these times that he was shocked at the sudden noise.

“Hello Jackson how have you been these past few years” he asked in the flat tone. He heard a awkward nervous laugh over the phone. He gave a airy laugh at that, he loved giving him a reason to be scared around him.

“Gods loosen up Jackson it was a joke how’s Annabeth and the kids been.” he went to the front pouch again and leaned back in his chair and pick up his cup of tea.

“It's been good Annabeth loving being a lawyer and the girls are doing great in school at the moment. So what is this about visiting you guys in italy this weekend” Nico sighed as he rubbed his forehead and rolled his eyes. He always did want to get to the point.

“Well i asked father to shadow travel everyone who wanted to visit us this weekend since it's easier and a lot cheaper to get here that way. And i wanted to surprise the girls since they haven’t seen you guys in forever. And Loe could use some other company besides me and his clients.”

“Well me and Annabeth have been waiting to see you guys again Hazel has been excited about since we been talking with her on the phone the past couple of months.” Nico gave a smile at that. His sister is the greatest thing that happened to him.  

“Well Jackson be prepared this weekend you in for a lot of fun” he slipped his cool tea and looked at the bright sun in the sky with a sigh of content. Percy laughed on the side as if he hard the funniest thing in his life.

“Ok Scar see you later man” a light click of the pone was heard and he looked thinking about what the girls reaction would be to seeing all their uncles, aunts and cousins this weekend.

Maria gave a loud yawn as she walked with her sisters home. She got a shit ton of homework from school which was fucking fantastic for her. Like she didn't have enough.

“Maria can we hurry i want to play with my powers” whined the twins and Beatrice as they skipped behind each other and picking up flowers along the way. Bianca had long ago put her ear plugs on the walk home to drown out  her siblings. Maria didn’t even blame her for that.

“Calm down little hell hound we got plenty of time it’s Friday we got the whole weekend. I know how to shadow travel so i can teach you that myself. Papa and Dad might teach you fire control and raising the dead or summoning the hell hounds and ghost and stuff like that”  she explained to the younger siblings.

“Ohhh i get it ok that makes sense” Beatrice said as she picks at the flower petals out the flowers she picked up on the way. She blew off the petals into the light wind that was blowing around them. The soft yellow petals flowing in the wind and landing a ways away from the girls

Maria gave a smile and sniffled the scents of baking bread and freshly cut flowers around them. Thats what she loved about her Papa home country, it just so beautiful  and peaceful at times. 

They do come across some people that don't really care for them, i mean they were the daughters of a trans man and are half Hispanic so that has been the source of some problems but overall they enjoyed the people and their culture. 

As they got closer to home she noticed that there was someone talking to their Papa. It was a woman who was black and had a very dark brown hair. She was wearing a dark green layered skirt with a pale green shirt was nice against her skin. She had a kid next to her wearing a pair of jeans with sneakers and a red shirt. He was very tall with a short haircut. They were in a deep conversation with Papa that had her more puzzled.

“Papa” Beatrice yelled as she runs ahead of them group of girls to him. That had gotten the group’s of the people attention they all turn. And thats when they all let out a scream of pure joy.

“AUNTIE HAZEL, MASON” they jumped into the arms of the two. The laughs of joy from the two was a very pleasant to the ears. She couldn't believe it! None of them had seen their aunt Hazel and cousin Mason for like three years.

“Ok kids you got a few others that would love to see you as well” She pulled away from the two and went to open the door of their house. There she saw all her aunts, uncles, and cousins that were scattered among the living room in multiple positions and talking among themselves unaware that Maria was in the door.    

“Hey guys!” shouting with her arms over her head Alessandra jumped onto the couch where Piper and Jason were sitting with their kids.

The others rushed in and jumped onto everyone with kisses on cheeks and really hard hugs to the people they haven’t seen in years.

This was going to be a fun weekend for them she thought to herself.      

[janemarieroutledge]

Eulogy for Jane read by Peter Mansfield

Jane was an only child born on 13 September 1948 in Bath to John & Joy Howell. John was an aircraft engineer and Joy was a Clerk in the Admiralty at Bath. When Jane was 6 they moved to Amesbury, John had been working at nearby Boscombe Down for some time and they decided the family needed to be together. They move to a rented flat by the water meadows and Jane had an idyllic childhood near the river and going to the local Junior School In 1960 they moved to a detached house in Amesbury and Jane moved schools to South Wilt Girls Grammar. They were a very happy family in their new home. Jane loved the school and excelled in most subjects. During this time they would often holiday abroad which they all loved – Jane would be the one speaking the foreign language. Choosing A-level subjects was not easy since Jane was an excellent student but eventually she selected Maths, Physics and Chemistry – her heroine was Marie Curie. In the 1960s it was a little unusual for a girl to do such sciences and Jane was a first rate student, eventually getting an open scholarship to Birmingham University to read Chemistry in 1967. Although she only required 2 grade Es, she delivered straight As. Jane achieved these results despite terrible anxiety associated with exams and she was to be troubled by this at University. She lost her best friend (her father moved because of his job) and Jane was given the task of befriending Gill who had come from Essex and knew no-one. Gill wrote to Jane recently and said “You made a huge difference in my life and I am forever grateful. School actually became fun and I learned stuff!  Thank you for being a friend.” This was an early illustration of the generous nature of Jane’s friendship to anyone and everyone. Jane did a summer job at Porton Down one year and then at Gibs Mews Brewery. Jane and Alan met in November 1967  in the 1st. year at Birmingham – neither would say it was love at first sight, but an amazing bond was formed very quickly and the two were inseparable. Practical sessions in the Chemistry Labs, music and dances to go to and making friends amongst the other students. Three years passed quickly and Jane struggled to cope with the anxiety associated with the exams, but she passed with an Honours Degree – a 2.2 although everyone felt she was worthy of much more. Jane decided on teaching as a career and did a PGCE in Leicester for one year. In July 1971 Alan and Jane were married in Amesbury Methodist Church with the reception at the Officers’ Mess at nearby Boscombe Down. Teaching was hard for Jane, she was teaching well over 100 pupils in a school on two sites. Alan & Jane bought a house in St. George Bristol. It was renovated with the aid of a Council Grant and Jane left teaching to work at Acorn – perhaps the first Whole Food shop outside London. There Jane built on her interest in foods and cooking and used her knowledge to help people on special diets. Carrie also worked there and became a faithful friend. Sam was born in 1976, Carrie had a son the same year and Jane also met Claire at ante-natal classes – another life long friendship was born. Jane threw herself wholeheartedly into bringing up Sam and he had her undivided attention and encouragement as he grew. Jane even did an Open University course in Child Development so she could ensure she gave him the best possible chance in life. In 1979 Alan & Jane moved to Sandhurst in Surrey as Alan changed jobs Alex was born just after the move. Sandhurst was a happy home in a lovely location, but very soon Alan was offered the chance to go to California – so in early 1981 the entire family moved to Newport Beach. There followed almost 5 very happy years, making yet more life long friends in the process. There was an international circle of friends and Jane somehow found time to indulge two passions – craft (spinning and weaving) and languages (learning Spanish). Ian was born in 1984 and then in 1985 the family returned to the UK, moving to Flackwell Heath by pure chance. Jane enjoyed the village – making yet more good friends but was only truly happy when the family moved to Cibola House in 1993. During this time Jane did some more teaching eventually finding her real niche – personal tutoring. This was a one hour session after school with Jane and the pupil. The lucky pupils had Jane’s undivided attention, the immense benefit of her wisdom and a break in the middle during which they all enjoyed some home cooked treat and a drink. Jane kept up her interest in languages and studied A-Level French and eventually qualified through the Institute of Linguists in French – the equivalent of a degree. Jane was very active in and around the school, the Methodist Church, the Holiday Club and the Marlow Town Twinning association (in French of course) and Club Français with Carolynn. This led to an ever widening circle of good friends. Jane was a popular, valued member of the Evening WI, always enjoying the meetings even though she was “rarely early and often late”. Her performances with the drama group are legendary and she was always one of the first to volunteer for the entertainment.  When pushed she would deliver an excellent vote of thanks. The boys were growing up and life was very good with holidays abroad (often in France) and then in 1998 Jane was diagnosed with Breast Cancer. A “small” lump was removed, and after radiotherapy Jane began to recover – we were hopeful she had been cured. Every year since at Church there would be a Coffee Morning to raise money for Macmillan. Jane had more time for herself, so she did more craft, knitting, crochet and eventually Dorset Buttons. The boys remember Jane saving anything round just in case it had a use in some craft project. When Jane’s mother died, Jane wanted to know more about her family and another major passion was awakened. Jane mapped the family trees of the Routledge and the Howells. Of course, for Jane it had to be rigorous – nothing got in the tree unless she was really certain. In the course of doing this, Jane discovered Eirwen, a cousin she did not know, living in Adelaide. Jane was thrilled to meet Eirwen ultimately and spend two holidays with her – they became like sisters. Grandchildren arrived – first Iris and then Jude – a son for Alex and Natasha, followed by Lara three years later. Jane loved them so much and would do anything to help at any opportunity and took the greatest delight in all their developments. At this time she found the saying “If I had known how nice grandchildren were, I would have had them first” – this summed up Jane’s attitude perfectly. Grandma was never happier than baking, doing craft, reading or explaining something to the grandchildren. Jude in particular came to hang on Grandma’s every word – she never gave him the dumbed down version – he got latent heat of evaporation, gravity, friction, magnetism the full picture! Ian and Vic married three years ago, and have since had a daughter, Alice..

If you asked Jane which was her favourite grandchild she could not say, she had enough love for all. They were in fact without question the most important part of her life. There were coasters on the bedside table with Alice on them, each morning Jane would select a coaster and say “Good morning Alice” as she had her essential cup of tea and pondered what the day might bring for Alice. In retirement, Jane got great pleasure from holidays and short breaks – she loved her luxury and would always take “curious George” with her. You may wonder who “Curious George” is – he is a small monkey who is with Jane now on her final journey. She loved to eat out and when it came to selecting a dessert - she would love to have a “bit of each” - tasting plates were made for Jane! From the early days at Birmingham Jane enjoyed music, especially Folk Music – even going on singing weekends with some of her favourite musicians. She was especially fond of sitting in an outdoor venue singing along to one of her favourite bands. Jane learned the art of cooking – she got to University without having any skills but ultimately her repertoire was extensive – cheese souffles, pavlova, apple crisp and many more. She loved a good gadget: Ian always liked the Kenwood that was made before he was born. Above all Jane loved a party or family gathering. At one party, one of Ian’s friends viewed the array of desserts and said, with a glazed look “I am in heaven”. She organised a wonderful party for her Father’s 90th Jane found it hard to resist a bargain or a good deal and attention to detail meant she would recycle every tiny bit of metal, plastic or cloth, but oddly she was quite happy to agree to spend on Alan’s car. Jane did not play much sport, she grew to love watching Rugby and thoroughly enjoyed a trip to France to see England play. Jonny Wilkinson was a favourite – his picture was always on her bedside table. She was however, an evil Croquet player – you would NOT want her as an opponent! Last year starting in August, Jane struggled to recover from a bad cough, she had terrible pain which the doctor attributed to strains from the cough and it was only at Christmas that we finally understood that the cause of her excruciating pains was secondary breast cancer. The pain was almost unbearable and for some time Alan would administer liquid morphine every 4 hours day and night. Eventually neuropathic pain medication was prescribed and at last Jane was pain free – just as we received the terrible prognosis at the end of May. From that date on we had a succession of visitors who came to see Jane and share their reminiscences. Jane bore this terrible illness with great fortitude. She never once complained, was never angry or bitter – she simply was sorry she would not see her beloved grandchildren grow up. In fact on so many occasions she apologized for being a nuisance (which she truly never was). This all indicates that Alan has had a very difficult time over the last 12 months but he has cared for Jane in a loving and selfless way. It was a great but sad day when Jane came home to spend her last few days in the home she made and that we loved so much. Jude held her hand and said “I love you Grandma” – the last words Jane said were to reply “I love you” to Jude – how fitting. She died surrounded by her two loving sons and our wonderful niece Isi. We have lost a beautiful person, someone who made friends easily, never boasted of her many achievements, a gentle, loving and caring selfless angel.