#home builder in Great Falls

[freedomdesignbuildva]

Tips For Smart Kitchen Remodeling in Arlington, Mclean, Great Falls, Alexandria, Clifton, and Vienna, VA

The kitchen is the heart of one’s home. Apart from using it to rustle up delicious meals, it can incorporate a working and dining space, making it multifunctional and aesthetically appealing. The women and men of today are reluctant to spend a lot of time cooking until they want to. Being creative in the kitchen has become the norm, too. The homeowner can hope to achieve much more by integrating advanced technology when considering kitchen remodeling in Arlington, McLean, Great Falls, Alexandria, Clifton, and Vienna, VA. ​ Sure, the property owner will have specific ideas that may be used to create the dream kitchen. After the remodeling, the modern-day kitchen is sure to be the answer to every prayer that the end user has been waiting for. Transforming a tasteful kitchen into a smart one can make it functional, aesthetically appealing, and practical at the same time.

Contacting a kitchen designer is imperative when including a truly smart kitchen within the home. Some of the features that may be installed and incorporated into the existing kitchen may include the following:

Smart Appliances- Well, this is undoubtedly the need of the hour. The homeowner is well advised to go for a smart refrigerator capable of monitoring a food inventory, generating shopping lists, and even turning on the television to display the right recipes. The smart oven can be preheated remotely, while the innovative cooktop will adjust the temperature according to the requirement. What’s more? The smart coffee maker will brew the beverage at the set times and according to one’s preferences. The smart microwave oven can be controlled by voice commands to cater to specific needs as and when required.

Connectivity- True, the kitchen cannot be smart without automation and connectivity. The designer hired to remodel the kitchen will consider using the latest tools to ensure perfect connectivity and automation.  The newly remodeled kitchen will thus include voice assistants to control the appliances and kitchen lighting simply by speaking. Bluetooth and Wi-Fi connectivity may ensure perfect connectivity between all the smart kitchen appliances. This type of connectivity also ensures harmonious functionality in the kitchen with no time wasted by the user when in the kitchen.

Features—The newly remodeled smart kitchen is sure to have multiple smart features, which make it functional with amazing efficiency. The best smart kitchen is sure to feature smart scales, faucets, and lighting. The user may also go for smart storage solutions with pull-out drawers, adjustable dividers, and vertical storage to maximize the space, thus ensuring enough space even within a limited area.

The most eye-catching feature is likely to be a central hub that offers recipe access, working space, entertainment, and meal-planning advantages.

To construct a home from scratch, one may also use a professional home builder in Great Falls, Clifton, Arlington, Alexandria, McLean, and Vienna, VA. The effort can be less time-consuming and cost-effective when one chooses the design-build plan. 

[ofstarsandvibranium]

How to Woo Someone

Fandom: Star Wars

Pairing: Poe Dameron x F!Reader

prompt #1464

“Do you have any tips on how to woo someone?”

“You’re trying to woo someone?”

“Why do you have to say it like that?” from @writers-are-writers

After the fall of The First Order, Poe thought life would be a little easier. But nothing ever came easy to Poe. Well, nothing except flying. Everything else was a bit of a struggle.

Rebuilding the galaxy after everything, was no walk in the park. As a general of the Resistance, Poe, as well as Finn and Rey, worked to make sure the galaxy found its peace again.

In the process, he made a lot more friends, a few enemies, but, most importantly, he met you.

You were basically in charge of your small village in Batuu. Poe and a few others had stopped on the planet to refuel and rest. You met him at the market, noticing the Resistance symbol on his satchel. You two got to talking and you brought him and his friends back to your village.

It was some distance from the Black Spire Outpost.

Your village was previously pillaged through by some First Order troops. You asked for Poe's help and he gave it to you.

What was supposed to be a short stop on an Outer Rim planet ended up being a two month's stay. For Poe, at least. He wanted to personally see to it that you and your village got the help you needed, while he let his friends continue their journey.

Poe helped lay more of a foundation again in your village. You already set up the blueprints, he just helped you carry out the plans.

"We make a great team. Honestly, I could use someone like you with the Resistance."

You snort, "Are you offering me a job?" you nudge him with your shoulder and a smirk on your lips.

"If you want it, yeah. Like I said, we need more people like you. People who are still willing to help others," he sighs and looks away from you, instead, looking out on a group of villagers helping build a new set of homes, "A lot of people lost hope and peace when the First Order took over. I want to restore that to them again."

You slowly nod, "I'd love to help, but I need to talk with my council."

"Of course. I'm here for a few more days so you have time," he places a reassuring hand on your shoulder and then goes to join the group of builders.

__________________________

While also helping you rebuild your village, Poe became acquainted with several members of your council. One of them being your cousin who was around the same age as Poe.

As he was helping the builders, Poe pauses to watch you interact with some of the village children.

Your cousin, Sendril, slaps him on the chest, "You okay?"

"Huh? Oh, um, ye-yeah," he struggles to pull his eyes away from you as you laugh at something one of the children say. Then Poe asks Sendril, “Do you have any tips on how to woo someone?”

Sendril cocks a brow and asks back, “You’re trying to woo someone?”

Poe's face scrunches up in confusion, “Why do you have to say it like that?”

Sendril shrugs, "I don't know, you just seem so...serious all the time. Didn't think you'd wanna woo anyone." He continues to place bricks to build a wall of a home.

Poe sighs and joins him, "Well, wooing anyone was the last thing on my mind, but..." he pauses and looks back at you, again. His attention is brough back when Sendril snorts, "Good luck."

"Has Y/N ever been with anyone?" Poe asks as he smears concrete and then places a brick down.

"Once, didn't go well. They left her to go explore the galaxy with someone else. She was heartbroken, never saw or heard of her being with anyone else since."

Poe hums, "Would she be interested?"

"In you?" Sendril asks, looking at Poe. When Poe nods, Sendril scrunches up his nose, "Honestly, I'm not sure. Considering you don't plan on being here for much longer, probably not."

"I asked her if she'd want to come with me, help people rebuild around the galaxy."

"What'd she say?"

"She has to talk to the council. Do you think they'd let her go?"

Sendril hums, "It's likely. Y/N is a great leader and has helped us keep our heads above water since the First Order pillaged us, but we're stronger now. We can continue without her." He stands up and crosses his arms over his chest. Sendril may be around the same age as Poe but he's taller and stronger. He casts an intimidating shadow over Poe as he asks, "And are you going to treat her right?"

"If she allows something to happen between us, then yes. While I've only been here for a short time, I already know Y/N to be a strong, caring, and wise person. I admire how well she's led you all through these tough times. She's also funny and beautiful and kind-"

Sendril rolls his eyes and interrupts him, "Alright, I get it. You're smitten for my cousin. I'll give you my blessing since I'm the only family she has left, however, hurt her-"

"And you'll lay me in the ground, I got it."

Your cousin snorts, "No. She'd do that to you, herself. But I'd help bury your body."

"...Thanks, Dril."

"You're welcome, Poe!"

______________________________

You told Poe you’d be seeing the council that morning to discuss your potential leave.

Outside of the building, Poe couldn’t help but pace back and forth. He understands if the council would prefer for you to stay since the village is still in the process of rebuilding. However, Poe really thinks you could do a lot of good around other parts of the galaxy as well. So he hopes the council sees it too.

It was thirty minutes of deliberation before you stepped out.

“Well?”

You smile at him, “When do we leave?”

Poe immediately pulls you into a hug a swings you around, “You’re going to do amazing things out there, Y/N. I just know it.”

You giggle in his embrace, “Thanks, Poe,” you say as you pull away.

You two stare at each other in silence. Poe’s eyes are soft as he looks back at you and then glances at your lips.

He slowly leans in towards you, giving you time to pull away. But you don’t, so when his lips touch yours, he pulls you closer.

You kiss him back with intensity, the secret feelings you’ve kept buried inside you for the past two months. Those feelings and thoughts of Poe spilling out as you kiss him back.

“So this is how you woo her?”

You both pull away to see Sendril leaning against the council building with a smirk.

You clear your throat and ask, “Woo who?”

Poe sighs and shakes his, “Ignore him.”

Sendril laughs, “Just don’t forget to invite me to the wedding,” he shoots a wink at you and carries on his with his day.

Poe clears his throat, “So, um, should probably start packing. Got the whole galaxy to see.”

You smile brightly at him, “Right.”

You step aside and begin to walk to your home, but then you turn around, “For the record, I do still expect you to woo me, Dameron.”

He laughs, “Don’t worry. I plan too,” he smirks your way before you turn back to head home.

[rjzimmerman]

Excerpt from this story from Science Friday:

Flint Hills rancher Daniel Mushrush estimates that his family has killed maybe 10,000 trees in the past three years.

It’s a start. But many more trees still need to fall for the Mushrushes to save this 15,000 acres of rare tallgrass prairie.

Whenever other work on the property can wait, Daniel and his brother, Chris, don helmets and earplugs, grab their tools and pick up where they left off.

“It’s a lot of old-fashioned chainsaw work,” Daniel Mushrush said. “Walking rocky ridges and cutting down trees.”

The Mushrush family is beating back a juggernaut unleashed by humans — a Green Glacier of trees and shrubs grinding slowly across the Great Plains and burying some of the most threatened habitat on the planet.

This blanket of shrublands and dense juniper woods gobbling up grassland leads to wildfires with towering flames that dwarf those generated in prairie fires.

It also eats into ranchers’ livelihoods. It smothers habitat for grassland birds, prairie fish and other critters that evolved for a world that’s disappearing. It dries up streams and creeks. New research even finds that, across much of the Great Plains, the advent of trees actually makes climate change worse.

Now a federal initiative equips landowners like Mushrush with the latest science and strategies for saving rangeland, and money to help with the work.

Satellite imagery and a better understanding of how trees and shrubs spread could help landowners replace a losing game of whack-a-mole with a more systematic course.

Mushrush calls the approach, promoted by the Natural Resources Conservation Service’s Great Plains Grassland Initiative with guidance from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, a morale builder.

“It works,” the third-generation rancher said. “We’re still overwhelmed with how to do this on 15,000 acres — but we have a plan.”

Each time he thinks about the Manhattan area, which is much more infested with juniper woods and seas of sumac, wild plum and dogwood thickets, he feels the threat creeping toward his home in Chase County.

“If a coral reef is worth saving, if some pristine mountain stream is worth saving, then so are the Flint Hills,” he said. “It’s not easy work, but it’s worthy work.”

[abbysimsfun]

Sims In Bloom: Generation 2 Pt. 165 (Lavender's Last Toddler Days)

A month without Ash at home was practically impossible to believe, but they were grateful to have Daisy, Holly, and Betta around. Without Ash to help, Lavender often read to herself - she was almost five and could read entire children's books on her own, but Heather and Conrad weren't entirely sure their voracious reader wasn't just doing it from memory.

Conrad cleaned to settle his mind, and Heather was doing everything she could to keep her spirits up. She couldn't go to work while the clinic rebuild was underway, but she took walks down to Dachshund's Creek between spring rain showers. She even managed to find a puffin feather, which allowed her to hang the completed collection in her downstairs bathroom.

But she still thought things without Ash were a drag, and the bees in their backyard hive noticed she was less attentive in her fog. They made sure to let her know how they felt about it, while Gord barked helplessly to try shooing them away!

Having her mother, sister, and niece in town always helped distract her and Conrad from endless guilt, but overhearing her sister on the phone with Mortimer Goth, she cornered her over a game of chess.

"I've tried not talking about this to comply with Judge Marlow, but I've been curious about something ever since Felix and Lilith got back. Did you happen to find old photographs of Lady Ravendancer Goth and Admiral Landgraab together at the Goth Archives?"

Holly froze. "Y-yes. Mortimer thinks they were taken at a Simlan-"

"Simlandia Builders' Gala in Britechester on July 13, 1920? Felix and Lilith were there that night and they said she was wearing the necklace from the Selvadorada museum."

"Really? Like really?"

"Yeah. Ash's time travel device worked. Felix secured a patent under a corporate trademark to protect Ash's privacy and prevent proliferation of unauthorized devices."

"Why didn't you say anything?"

"Why didn't you?"

Holly sighed. "We weren't trying to lie. We were trying to keep your stress down with the baby coming, because we found the photos bookmarking the decursify spell in a first edition of her book of spells. After the custody hearing, we were waiting for Mortimer to get through more research."

"Felix said the photos were given directly to Lady Ravendancer herself. Apparently she was home and expecting a child and-"

"She was?" Holly gasped.

"That's what he said."

"Mortimer said that after his grandfather Victor was born in 1917, his great-grandparents all but became estranged. If Lady Ravendancer was pregnant in 1920, it was probably Admiral Landgraab's!"

Heather sighed, far less excited by this apparent breakthrough. "If Lady Ravendancer was interested in the decursify spell and having a child with a Landgraab, that must mean the curse is real."

Holly vehemently shook her head. "Heather, we still don't know that. This is why we didn't want to say anything right away."

"Sometimes it feels like the curse has already been working it's way into our lives for years already," she lamented. "All because I thought I might like to date Malcolm Landgraab."

Heather's gloom was expected under the circumstances, and Holly refrained from reminding her of all the incredible things she had achieved. "Everything will work out," she said instead. "I'll get Mortimer to reach out to Felix and Lilith in case it helps his research, and we'll get to the bottom of this Landgraab Curse business one way or another. We're all invested now."

"If the judge finds out we're chasing a curse we'll never get Ash back."

"Then let us look into it. You know we have your best interests at heart, and we'll bend over backwards to help make sure Ash comes home for good."

Heather pushed out a smile as the sisters shared a hug. "I know you will. I understand why you kept this from us for now, but I'm glad you've told me. I promise I won't fall apart and I'm sorry I've been such a mess."

"Nobody blames you. Ash doesn't even blame you, I'm sure of it."

The family carried on as best they could until Ash's first visit back home. On the morning of Lavender and Betta's birthday, the family woke with a certain spring in their step. Conrad woke early to take the dogs to run around the creek, finding Heather up when he returned home.

"Morning, gorgeous," he said sweetly.

"Hey," she said, shifting uncomfortably with her hands on her belly. "He's kicking up a storm this morning."

With a smile, Conrad placed both hands on her stomach, eyes wide with excitement as he felt the colossal kick. "Maybe he's an athlete," Conrad joked, before turning his attention to their son. "Be good to your mother, kid. She's been keeping you nice and comfortable for a long time."

Heather froze. "He stopped! For now."

Conrad grinned. "Today's already a great day. Kid's resting, Ash is coming home, and Lavender knows she's getting cake."

Heather grinned. "We need a good day."

When Conrad returned from work that evening, emotion washed over him the minute he spotted his stepson playing with Gord in the front yard.

Ash was thrilled be be home with his family, and happier still to celebrate with cake. He'd be home all weekend and would even get to see Heather's completed clinic rebuild before he'd have to head back to the city, but the Gordons were just happy he'd sleep in his own bed again.

With Lavender and Betta both pushing for cake, Conrad didn't even have time to change out of his work clothes before the toddlers were gathered in the kitchen. Daisy lit the candles, and Conrad brought his daughter to the two-tiered white cake.

Lavender blew with all her might and a cloud of smoke replaced the yellow flames. Five candles down, and the legacy heir was getting bigger by the day. ->

<- Previous Chapter | Gen 2 Start | Gen 2.1 Summary

Gen 1 Start | Gen 1 Summary

Lavender's child look will be revealed on Thursday, and Betta will age up, too! That's two kids in a row where I've done that, had the candles blown out to end the post with the reveal coming in the next installment. I need a new gimmick, but not today!

[mariacallous]

I’m not even sure whether I can taste pure Old Bay anymore, because the condiment is infused with so many memories of home. I grew up sprinkling it on everything—blue crabs, sure, but also watermelon, mashed potatoes, macaroni and cheese—and I can shuffle through decades of pictures from family reunions, county fairs, church picnics, and back porches where the iconic yellow, red, and blue tins keep popping up like someone’s second cousin, not quite front and center yet always in the frame.

If you’re new to Old Bay, get a tin and shake the contents liberally on popcorn or potato chips—a starter dish, from which you can and should expand. You’ll soon find that you can add the condiment to almost anything. One of my favorite dishes that uses Old Bay as an essential ingredient comes via an old family friend. Keith Davis is a Jack-of-all-trades: a fantastic general contractor, but also a church usher, a builder of wheelchair ramps, a Santa Claus when seasonally necessary, and, lately, a food-truck entrepreneur, grilling burgers and deep-frying funnel cakes for every community event and private party in the area. He goes by Mr. Keith; his food truck is known as Fat Boy’s Fixins, named in honor of the man who taught him to grill and whose Santa suit he inherited.

Of all the things Davis serves up, he might be best known for his crab soup, which he makes in ten-gallon batches and lets the local Ruritan Club sell by the pint every fall at the Waterfowl Festival, when somewhere between fourteen thousand and twenty thousand people descend on the Eastern Shore to see the work of hundreds of decoy carvers and local artists, listen to waterfowl-calling contests, and watch demonstrations of dock dogs, raptors, and fly-fishing. Davis is there every year, gossiping with his fellow-volunteers, talking with out-of-towners, and tossing hunks of crab meat into stew pots. Normally you’d have to shell out eight dollars for even just a cup, but here, exclusively for newsletter readers, free of charge, is the best crab soup you’ll ever taste, a shockingly easy, practically pre-made recipe for trying out America’s greatest condiment: Old Bay.

Mr. Keith’s Crab Soup

1 lb. crab meat (claw meat best) 64-Oz. bottle of Spicy V8 14.5 Oz. chicken broth 32 Oz. water 1 lb. mixed vegetables 1 Tbsp. Montreal Steak seasoning 1 Tbsp. Old Bay

Mix the V8, chicken broth, and water in a pot. Start heating the mixture, then add the vegetables, then the crab meat, and finally the spices. Cook on medium heat until the vegetables start to soften, stirring occasionally “so it doesn’t stick and burn on the bottom of the pot.”

[kalinara]

Why is Charles constantly held up as this leader for mutants when there are many other mutants who would be a way better leader than him and he at times is not very good at it.

I don't know if I'd agree with the word "constantly", since I do think that Xavier's reception both in universe and out tends to fluctuate.

Xavier, at his best, is a man of high ideals, who took in five kids with the intention of giving them a safe place to learn how to use their powers.

It's a genre convention for kid/young adult stories, for the parents and mentors to be, at best, uninvolved and clueless. Because that's how the kids go off and have adventures to begin with. Spider-Man for example gets away with superheroing because Aunt May doesn't know what he's doing. And Uncle Ben is dead.

Xavier takes the genre convention a bit farther though, because rather than being completely clueless, he's the one who actually sends them into battle. And well, when you start to look at it from an adult perspective, you quickly go "wait, what the fuck?!"

It probably didn't help that Lee and Kirby were pretty fond of stories where Xavier would fake impairment and depowerment, or just go off and do his own thing, so that the kids could take charge and act on their own. Or the way he was actively involved in lying to Warren or Jean's parents about what their kids were up to. He starts looking a bit manipulative at best.

So we have a guy with two warring sides at work: the visionary benefactor vs. the manipulative plotter.

And well, X-Men is a franchise that's been ongoing for sixty years, so we have multiple generations who go from kids having fun to adults boggling at the characters' decisions, and I think that tends to get reflected in which traits get the most focus when.

It's probably fair to note that from about the early 2000s onward, Xavier really wasn't involved in a leadership position at all until Krakoa. He got kicked out twice for bad decisions, was hovering around in advisory capacity, and died twice to boot. The second, biggest time ushering in the post Avengers vs. X-Men period, which I think was great for really shaking up the universe.

It also though introduced a lot of really bizarre (Watsonian) veneration for the dude. Maybe it makes some sense, Scott Summers, a character who'd been recognized as a paragon by even his enemies, has proven himself flawed in his own right, so maybe that inspires people to look back at the previous guy more fondly?

(Or we could go with my theory, that Scott-as-Phoenix accidently mind-whammied everyone to love Xavier and hate Scott as much as Scott himself did at that moment.)

But then there's Krakoa, which was a pretty grand, pretty new experiment. And while I may gripe about certain aspects of the storyline, I can't deny that it was definitely a big, earth shattering concept change.

It also wouldn't have worked with anyone but Xavier at the head. Even though Rosenberg's X-Men arc had ended with Scott and Jean reunited, and positioned to lead what was left of mutantkind together, they're not really nation builder types. (Scott had Utopia, but that was less a nation than a garrison, IMO.)

For Krakoa to work, it needed nation builders. Xavier has the influence over mutant kind, and has the characterization of a benefactor. Which very much fits with Krakoa's modus operandus: giving humanity things for recognizing mutant kind, and scheming and manipulating when they don't.

And it makes sense, I think, that he was successful. Not only does he have the benefit of the absence makes the heart grow fonder veneration from his death. But he's offering mutants something tangible and amazing: safety, a home, freedom from death and persecution, a lot of their lost loved ones back.

That's a big deal. It's just unfortunately, Xavier has that other side of him too, and his blind spots and worse impulses play a big part in why Krakoa ends up falling.

(Though, to give him something: there IS a version of Krakoa still out there, in the White Room, where a nation of mutant kind has grown and developed beyond Xavier and the Council's flaws. But it's notable that they did this without him. It always seems to work like that.)

[solarspike]

quick elf doodles, lore under cut

elves are descended from the fairies that came to Velloriand after the great and terrible Hellwars, where the mortals of the planet attempted to oust their oppressive gods and establish Velloriand as their own. They failed, and the population of the planet was decimated - minor deities including fairies, angels, and devils, needed to step in to repopulate. in the four thousand years since this happened, the descendants of the fairies have absorbed their environments and differentiated into the elves we have today. elves live until they are killed, and reach physical and mental maturity around the age of thirty. they are still considered "young" by other elves until their second century

twilight:

found in the 'twilight', the layer of the world beneath the surface, cavern elves have grown to be extremely specialised to their dark, fungal environments. they can see well without light, but they rely predominantly on their senses of hearing and smell to get around. like all elves, they have two rows of sharp teeth, which fall out and are replaced as needed. culturally, twilight elves are fascinated by the dark and macabre, and many venerate the mushroom god Torber for their tenets of personal freedom, self-actualisation, and community. a lot of them also love piercings, tattoos, and (by surface standards) "unusual" hairstyles, making competitions between themselves to see who can pack the most metal and ink into their stone-coloured skin. other cavern elves, particularly the ones residing in Mantle City (the capital of the Twilight), prefer the ways of Orthoclase, the god of Death. these elves, comparatively, are much more culturally repressed, believing that you must play the hand you are dealt, and know your place in society without attempting to break free. (sylvia grew up in this religion, and it is partially why She Is The Way She Is)

green:

green elves, although not typically green, get their name from their woodland environments. they tend to stay in their communities from their birth until their death, and can go centuries without leaving their thousand-mile forests. they are fiercely territorial, and will stop at nothing to protect their homes, frequently killing and eating idiots that unknowingly wander into their woods. they have a special connection with their woodland homes, and often form symbiotic bonds with the plantlife that surrounds them, becoming one with the trees themselves. not always religious, but certain clans are devoted followers of the Evergreen, the life of the world. secrets that will never fall on outsiders' ears have been passed down through clans for generations, and they use this power to protect their forest and the things living in it, as well as simple things like taming beasts, predicting the weather, travelling quickly, and entering Quinacridones

snow:

these elves are the most human-looking of the bunch, with shorter ears to protect them from the cold and stouter proportions to help them stay strong and sturdy in whipping winds. these elves are almost never born with wings, but ones that are grow up to become prophets, scholars, and mages, if they survive to adulthood at all. snow elves make up almost the entire kingdom of Tagabinsk, with the elf queen Eira ruling with a fairer hand than most. their icy home is punishing enough, and snow elves tend to have a strong sense of community and a strong will to help those in need. they are excellent fishers, sailors, tailors, tinkers, builders, and engineers, but their favourite pastime is gathering round the fire and telling old tales.

chromatic:

the rarest and most violent variety of elves, found exclusively in the kingdom of Chroma, high in the clouds. A vast majority of these elves are born with wings, but the ones that aren't are thrown from the clouds if they don't prove themselves useful by adulthood. sometimes they'll just get thrown off anyway. chromatic elves are tall, skeletally slender, and many-toothed, having mouths full to bursting of identical white teeth. their kingdom is beautiful, spilling with rainbows and lightning, but no outsiders are permitted to enter without good reason. thankfully, these elves keep to themselves for the most part, deeming themselves above everyone else and thus too good to touch the sullied earth below. occasionally, you will find chromatic elves on the surface, and you don't want to be left alone with them. having lived in isolation for so long, they have convinced themselves to be superior, and barely view anything else as living beings, let alone people. visually, they have skin, hair, and eyes that come in all colours under the sun, and their wings best resemble those of a dragonfly, giving them superior mobility in the air. they subsist off water and sunlight, and blood if they can get their hands on it

[vint-knight]

Epic The Wisdom Saga Ranking:

SO I really loved this saga so here's my ranking and if you guys want to, you can add it your list by rebloging as well!

1: Little Wolf: Just from the start with Antinous being cold and vicious, Aryon killed it as always, I thought it would just be a long fight of Tele vs Antinous until it would end with either Penelope or Athena (perhaps both saving him in the last moment) But I was genuinely surprised to see Athena appear and aid Telemachus, also their dynamic is cute, and the animation, Liam Davidson delivered it with the videogame aspect of it and Luzia coming with the absolute beautiful animation and expressions, especially Telemachus, and Teagan just throws it out of the park here, I really love her voice that she has been doing since the rereleased Troy/Cyclops Saga albums and how it goes from a Tele getting his ass kicked, to Tele getting some aid but still getting beat up, while leaving some bruises to Antinous and how the Little Wolf taunt was more used like a compliment.

2: Love in Paradise: I would have thought this was gonna be like at the bottom (not in terms of bad, but just not quite top tier) first off the Time-Dive by Mircsy was absolute mind-blowing, from Aeolus, to Poseidon which I really liked because of how quick the "Ruthlessness is mercy upon ourselves" to Circe, Tiresias, Sirens, Scylla which has a really cool shot! and then ending with Thunder Bringer, then we have Gigi! her animation was amazing as always, we get introduced to Calypso who is played by the wonderful Barbara Wangui! she sounds so fun and playful but I like the general creepy vibes given to Calypso, then the cliff scene this absolutely shocked me then I remembered it was accurate to how Homer's Odysseus felt almost sucidial during his time on Ogygia, the belting Jorge lets out, letting out every single part of Odysseus's anguish before screaming for Athena, absolutely gut-wrenching it almost made me tear up

3: We'll Be Fine: I love this song so much, the absolute feels you can feel from Teagan's Athena, the guilt she feels that she can't even sleep, also noticed some lyrics were changed like "When I'll never left home shores" which I find intriguing, the growing friendship between Tele and Athena is just so wholesome and love the ending with him trying to lean his head on her shoulder then falling on his face lmao

4: Legendary: This was absolutely a great start, MICO as Telemachus was absolutely incredible and very proud of how he portrayed Telemachus, nice that Argos is shown following (sad that he was failing to catch Tele because he's a very old dog who's sick) a perfect song to show how a son wants to live up to his father that he never got to meet, the "Man of The House" callback with the suitors and Antinous being an absolute asshole, "DON'T YOU DARE CALL MY MOTHER A TRAMP" from Tele was delivered so well, showing how much respect and protectiveness he has for his mama.

5: God Games: Honestly I would have thought this was going to be at least at the top 1 or 2 for the list, obviously everyone did great, Brandon as Apollo was amazing, love how nonchalant he seemed, wish his part was a bit more longer (but he is LVL1, so it makes sense in video game terms) Hephaestus was quite good, Jorge's dad did amazing and the fact he's also a builder is very ironic, I was quite fine with his part being short because if the "Odysseus took Achilles's armour that Hephaestus specifically made for Achilles" because EPIC doesn't stay too long on the Trojan War (besides references and callbacks etc etc) Janani K. Jha and Earle Grensham Jr did SO GOOD as Ares and Aphrodite, love the fact that Aphrodite's love domain isn't just romantic or lustful love, it's motherly love as well, then we have POSEY as Hera!, love the disco music part of Hera's music, also Anniflamma's animation was so cute and funny! with Athena awkwardly dancing along with Hera, then we have Zeus's part.... alright first off Luke Holt POPPED OFF on this one, his voice was so intimidating here then in Thunder Saga or Troy Saga, the "Thunder Bringer" being brought back with that deep tone he brought in, but I do have some criticism which is I wish Zeus had more words to say, also did not like how he came off like a sore loser (he can be that in the myths sometimes) But I thought it more off like he was actually ashamed of Athena trying so hard to defend this "man full of shame" which in my opinion makes me think that he also felt shame was gonna be brought upon him for the fact The King of Gods's daughter basically going all this way to free one mortal man, besides that I love the small flashback with Athena and baby Telemachus which shows how determined that she is not only doing this for Odysseus, but for his son, then the end was okay, nice to see Ares was genuinely concerned for her, same for the other gods and it ending with Athena being unconscious (also the red blood is kinda explained as her becoming more human by Gwendy who did the last animation for God Games) still like the song but wished it was more longer

[matthew-gray-gubler-lover]

Falling for the handyman a Luke Alvez Smut

Smut ages 18+

Inspired by a Adam Rodriguez movie that I watched over the weekend where he was a handyman. This story takes place during the time after Season 15 ended and season 16 when Luke wasn't working at the BAU. Because the BAU wasn't happening at the time. 

So Luke took up a job as a handyman, and him and a lonely woman who needs some things fixed around her house end up falling in love. I hope that you enjoy it. I don't really write too much for Luke Alvez. But I am quite a fan of his now, so I decided to dabble in a little bit of writing for him.

There's also a little bit of my life that I added to there. This story also contains quite a bit of drama and a mean dad, a fictional mean boyfriend.

Trigger warning!. This story contains A brief part with a abusive ex-boyfriend.

I will leave a * When that part comes. And another one when that part is over.

There will be a mention of him after the.* But nothing much

Y/n Was in some serious need of home repairs when her best friend told her about her handyman Luke Alvez. 

"I don't need a handyman. I just need a few things fixed around here, like the leaky Kitchen faucet. The leaking shower head. The hot water heater is not hot enough. My bathroom door keeps getting stuck so I just kick it open."

" Oh yeah, that sounds like a great solution. Yeah, you definitely don't need a handyman. It's only a few little minor problems around your apartment. Come on. I'm telling you, you are going to love this guy. Possibly love this guy, OK? He's very good with his hands, if you know what I mean. And other parts of his body. Hmm. You sure you don't want to give him a try?" she asked.

 "No, because I know exactly what you're thinking. You're thinking that I'm going to meet him and fall in love and all my problems are going to be over. No, that is not how it happens. I'm not a Lifetime movie, OK? I'm not the kind of girl that's going to fall in love with the handy man or the pool boy or the man that Builds the Gazebo. And where the hell is so many women Need gazebos anyway?" you ask.

"The gazebo is just a concrete item. The real story is how the gazebo builder rebuilds the lonely woman's heart and they end up falling in love with each other. And then he rescued her from her loneliness."  That's what it's really about. It's never really about the gazebo."

" Yeah, too sappy for me. Just take and send the guy over here. Let him fix the stuff up. That way you'll stop bugging me."

" I'll tell him about you. I guarantee you, you will not be sorry, she said. Sing Songy. 

"I certainly hope that I'm not, because I really don't want to be dealing with this kind of crap anymore, OK? Honestly, I just want to just live my life as best as I can, just be done with it."

Two days later, there was a knock at Your door.

You shuffled over to your front door, not really wanting to deal with anyone. You signed before finally unlocking it and opening to see the man standing on the other side. You open the door with a gasp as you saw Luke Alvez holding a little toolbox wearing denim pants. A white T-shirt and a light blue Plaid shirt over it. The Plaid shirt was unbuttoned.

"I'm Luke Alvez. I'm here to fix a few things for you. I think I was told that it's a leaky kitchen faucet. Something about a shower head, a hot water heater, a door that you like to kick. I'd like to take care of all of that for you and anything else that you may need help with". 

You could not believe what you were seeing.

What was your friend thinking, sending this man over to your house? I mean, honestly, look at him, his tone muscles. His short black hair, chiseled features and plump lips that are just begging for you to kiss them. 

"Ma'am?" He said, looking at you before licking his lips and looking around your apartment to see where you might be having the problems. 

"Yeah, sure. Come on in. I'm sorry. I don't mean to just stand here blocking the door."

"If you show me to your kitchen I will gladly fix the problem. Something about leaky pipes. I'm really good with my hands". 

Oh my God, this man was trying to kill you. 

"Uh, yeah, yeah. The kitchen is this way". You told him, running your hands through your hair to try to make yourself look a little bit more presentable. You didn't know that the handyman was really going to be hunky, hunkalicious. You walked through your living room wearing your Sweatshirt and sweatpants.

"It's right through here" you said, pointing to the kitchen. 

Luke could already hear the dripping that was coming from the faucet. "Ohh yes I hear it. I can take care of that no problem". Within 3 minutes the dripping had stopped.

The dripping from the faucet. Anyway, fame couldn't be said from the dripping that was happening in your underwear at this moment.

"OK, and I heard something about a leaky shower head. I'll gladly take care of that for you too" he told you with a smile.

 "Thank you. OK, so you have everything that you need, all your tools and whatever, because I don't have any tools around here, so".

 "Oh yes, I have everything that I need here. Thank you." 

"OK". You said to him before scurrying into the next room and grabbing your phone to call up your friend who sent Luke over here. You called her and as soon as she answered the phone. 

"What the hell were you thinking sending this man to me? You know, I'm just going to end up falling right into bed with him. You're just going to make me into a Lifetime movie. That's all you're going to do. You and your romance novels. I don't wanna fall into bed with the handyman. And you send me quite possibly one of the sexiest handyman that there's ever been. Ever. What is wrong with you? Do you like him? You did this to me on purpose, didn't you? Have you ever had him?"  You kept rambling into the phone.

"Oh, I wish, but no." you're friend told you. "but i have heard about how good he is from an old girlfriend.

As you're talking to your friend, Luke comes up behind you and asks 

"Can you tell me where your bathroom is? I'm going to fix your. Shower head."

" Oh, yes, it's, it's right down the hall there. Hey. Just follow the sound of the dripping, just like you did in the kitchen, I guess" you said with a nervous chuckle.

"OK, I'll do that" he said, walking down the hallway carrying his toolbox. 

"I mean, my God, girl, Seriously, what were you thinking? You know what's going to happen with me?"

" I know exactly what's going to happen with you. At least I know exactly what I hope happens with you. You deserve a better guy than the one that you have. You need to know that there's better men out there than the one that you have, and better men than your dad."

"I know that people tell me that, but so far there's been little to no proof of that on my end." you told her with a sigh.

Just then you heard Luke speak from behind you. 

"I fixed up your shower head for right now, but I'm going to get you a new one. I just wrapped some tape around the connection where the shower head screws into the Water pipe. But I'm going to pick you up a new one in the morning, since when I tried it out to see if the tape was holding, I noticed that you weren't getting much water from the shower head so it was either a water pressure issue, which didn't seem to be the case. And. The water was coming out good from your kitchen faucet so a clogged shower head. That seems to be the more likely thing, so I'm going to get you a new one. I can get it back for you in the morning. Unless you need it tonight, then I can gladly bring it back for you tonight." he told you licking those sexy lips of his.

 "Ohh, no morning's fine. I I can deal with the bad water pressure. For one more night, I suppose."  You told him with a chuckle.

 "OK. Do you have a preference of what kind you'd like?"

" Not really what you think. Fine with me".

" OK. So I'll see you in the morning 9:00 would be ok?"

" Yes, I'll be here"

"ok then tomorrow at 9:00, bye."

 "The man is buying me a new shower head. What are you doing to me?" 

"that it's such a bad thing. I mean, maybe you really need a new one. He is a handyman. He's just doing his job." you're friend told you.

 When morning came, you've already had on your cute little outfit that you frantically Searched through your closet for. When your friend called, to see if Luke had showed up yet. You answered the phone, panting after running around looking for the perfect outfit. 

"Well, why are you panting?" She asked with a chuckle. "Did I interrupt something?"

" The only thing you interrupted was me looking for the perfect outfit"

 "Looking for the perfect outfit, huh? Huh. OK, so where did we go with?"

" Oh, you know, just some. Now in pink shorts and. The green top."

" Pink shorts? Are they Your hot pink shorts that say juicy on the back?'

" Maybe. I mean, I don't know. Maybe those are the ones that I found".

 "Yeah, sure. They're the ones that you found. Is it by any chance going With that lime green tank top of yours?"

 "Maybe".

" My God, you're breaking out your shorts that say stuff on them. You're breaking out the shorts that have words across your Ass. Really. You want him looking at your Ass?"

" Well, I mean, I don't see why not. I've been looking at his. He's walking around my apartment. Cute firm, tight little. Butt. Fits so snugly in those tight pants that he walks around here in."

"Mhhm you like him! i knew it"

"I don't have time to talk to you about this right now. I am busy and Luke's going to be here any minute. I have to make some coffee, so goodbye." When the doorbell rang, you found yourself very excited about it. 

He was here. Luke was here. "You have officially become the girl that you hate" you told yourself, before running to the door to open it. 

"Hi, good morning. Come on in." you said welcoming him.

"Thank you. I got you a very good shower head. I think you're going to be very happy with it. It's removable from the wall mount. That way you can spray yourself off if you need to, like after a bubble bath maybe to remove the excess soap."

"Oh wow, thank you. Yes, that would come in very handy for removing excess soap, wouldn't it?" You said with a shy giggle.

"I made some coffee. If you tell me how you like it, I can make you a cup."

"Oh, thank you very much, but I had some with my breakfast before I went to the hardware store this morning. Maybe next time though."

He put in the shower head and did a few more things that were on your list of things to do. You begin finding yourself looking for things around your apartment for him to fix just so that he could be around. After about a month of projects, little things here and there. He really seemed like he was interested in your life.

"You know, all the little things that I've been doing around here for you would be easy things for your boyfriend to do for you. You know, if he was willing to help you out, maybe. You know, instead of having to keep paying me, I'll gladly keep coming back and fixing anything that you'd like. But I feel bad that you have to keep paying for something that you know. A man could just take care of for you"

 " No, no, no boyfriend. There was one, but. He wasn't very good at fixing things, or a good man at all, really. So no, he's out of the picture for good".

"He is bad news, isn't he? I've seen this a lot. You know, there's a lot of bad men in this world. But I'm not one of them." He told you before putting his hand on your shoulder and patting it.

After Luke left a few minutes later, there was a knock at your door. You thought that Luke had forgotten something and came back for it. you walked to the door and opened it. 

***********************************************************************************************

"What did you forget?"  But you weren't met with Luke. You were met with the face of someone that you never wanted to see again, Your ex-boyfriend, Paul. Grabbing your arm and demanding an answer of who the man was that just left your apartment. 

"He is the handyman. I had to get someone to fix stuff around here. It's not like you were ever any good at anything. All you did was break things, including me. You tried to break me, but I showed you that I was stronger than what you thought I was". 

he Grabbed your arm out of anger. And shoved you to the side before going into the bedroom and retrieving some of the items he had left behind. Calling you names from the bedroom as he threw things into a plastic bag that he wanted to take with him. before left the apartment with a slam of the door.

***********************************************************************************************

The next day, Luke returned to your home. 

"Hey, I just stopped by to see how everything was going. You haven't had any new projects for me have you?"

he can See that you had been crying. Still shaking from what had happened two days Earlier, and the bruise still clearly visible on your arm, just below where your sleeve stopped. You pulled the sleeve down a little, hoping to hide. The bruise. But it didn't work. Luke had already seen it. 

"What happened to your arm?" He asked you, lifting the sleeve up a little bit. And he was probably pushing his boundaries. But his FBI instincts have taken over, not to mention the instincts of just being a good man in general. 

"Did someone do this to you?" He asked, holding your arm in his hand gently. 

"Uh, yeah, it's it's nothing. It was my. It was my ex. He saw you leaving and wanted to know who you were. He didn't accept my answer that you were the handyman, so he got angry".

" This man, he's no good. I know that I'm a handyman now. But my job used to be. As an FBI agent, the Behavioral Analysis Unit. I was an FBI agent. I put away the bad guys. I don't want the bad guys to win. Before that, I was a bounty hunter. So I'm all about stopping the bad guys. You tell me who he is, I'll find him. He'll never touch you again".

" You were an FBI agent?".

" Yeah, I was. Like I said, I stopped the bad guys. I'm not one of them, I promise you".

 "He told me that he loved me. I don't think men are capable of love. is That a wrong way to feel?" 

"No, it's not a wrong way to feel if you've never experienced love"

"Not from a Man, and no my dad was mean to me. Then Paul. I just wanted to be loved, you know? My dad always put me down, called me stupid and useless. Ugly. Paul did the same thing, so maybe it's true". you said with tears streaming down your face.

 "No, it's not true. That's not love. Love is. Being there for somebody, no matter what, through thick and thin. Love is holding someone in your arms when they're sad, not being the one that makes them sad. Love isn't wanting to stay in bed all day Because you don't have anything to get up for. Love is being too tired from the night before To even want to get out of bed in the morning, it's not wanting to leave the person that's in bed with you because you love them so much and the thought of being away from them is too much for you to bear. That's love. Not what this man did to you not what your dad did to you." he Told you, wiping the tears away from your face.

"Have you ever been too tired for before to want to go to work or get out of bed?" you asked him.

 "A few times, yes. Not very much though I. Always picked the wrong woman. Just want somebody to pay for their stuff, not really love me back so. Not really, you know. There's always the fantasy, though, of having someone to love you, but. I agree with you. It's not always sunshine and rainbows, you know. But if I was your man. I would never hurt you. If I was your man, you would be loved so completely. You wouldn't know what to do."

  "What would you do?" You asked him. 

"Well. I would kiss your lips like this". He told you before putting his hand on your cheek gently and kissing you with those beautiful lips that you've been wanting since the first time you saw him. 

"Then I would kiss your neck like this". He told you kissing your neck gently. 

"Then I would pick you up You'd wrap your legs around me". He told you as he picked you up and wrapped your legs around his waist.

"Then I would Carry you to your bedroom". He told you as he walked to your bedroom. 

"I would lay you on the bed gently". He told you doing it. 

"Then I would slowly remove your shirt before. Kissing you gently all the way down. Your chest and your beautiful little tummy. Before making it to exactly where you want me to be."

Everything he described is exactly what he was doing to you. You couldn't believe that this was happening. A man finally loves you. You actually felt safe with Luke for some reason.

He removed your little pajama shorts since you were still wearing your pajamas, not expecting anyone to come over today. In doing so, he exposed your pink underwear with a little bow in the middle.

"So pretty and with the little bow. Did you wear these for me? Did you think this would happen today?"

"No" you said with a shudder. Not an unhappy shutter. A very excited one. So excited about what might happen next.

"Well, I'm glad it is happening" he told you. Before putting his thumbs on each side of your underwear Waistband.

"Would you like if I removed these?" He asked you.

"Yes, please. Please remove them, Luke."

"Ok Baby, anything you want."

He told you before slowly removing them Off of you and throwing them behind his head.

"So beautiful" he told you before pulling away. And removing the shirt that he had on Over a white tank top.

When the shirt was removed and he was standing there in front of you wearing the tank top, that's when you could see how rippled his arms were. The muscles so sexy. And then you saw it. The gold chain that was around his neck. Oh my God, this man was going to kill you and you would gladly let him.

"Would you like me to remove the rest of my clothes?" He asked you.

You were practically drooling at the sight of him already.

"Yes, please. I want to see you, all of you."

Once he was fully undressed, he picked you back up off the bed, bridal style. So that he could peel the covers down and slide you both underneath them.

"So, would you like to know what else I'd want to do to you?"

"Yes".

"Well, I would go under the covers and lick you like a lollipop".

"Please Luke, please do it".

He did. Before long, you could hear him asking. "Would you like me to add my fingers?"

"Yes" you moaned out.

And he did. He had you coming in no time.

Then he came out from under the covers with the biggest grin on his face. 

"I bet your ex never made you feel that good did he?"

He asked, knowing good and well, he never did.

"Are you ready to have me inside of you now?"

You moaned out a pitiful yes.

"OK, then you shall have me"

He pushed inside with no hesitation. Your body gladly welcomed him, just the way you had warmly welcomed him into your home.

He started out with slow thrusts, looking into your eyes. You swear you saw sparkles in those beautiful brown eyes, He felt unlike anything you've ever experienced in your life.

The slow movements, the kisses, the way that you could feel his hands running up and down your arms up and down your thighs. For he wrapped her legs around his waist. And pushing inside of you at a new angle. Moaned his name more Times. Then you could count because you were thinking about counting. Right now, all you were thinking about was the way that Luke felt inside of you. But Luke loved it. He loved hearing you moan. His name is something that he could listen to for the rest of his life.

After you orgasmed for the 5th time. Luke pulled out and laid next to you.

"Are you OK, baby? I wasn't too much, was it?"

"I'm fine. I'm perfect. I'm great. I'm the happiest I've ever been in my life."

"Good. I'm glad I could make you happy".

He told you before pulling you close to him and wrapping his arms around you.

"Would you like to have this for the rest of your life? To feel loved and safe.?" He asked you.

"Yes, I would".

I would do it too you know? I will give you anything you wanted. All you had to do was ask. Sometimes you wouldn't even need to ask. I would just know what you need. That's the way of a Latin lover, you know. When their girl is sad, we know exactly what to do."

"And this right here" he said, brushing his fingertip up and down the bruise that your ex-boyfriend had left on your arm. "I would never do this, Never ever do anything like this to you. You would never have bruises from me. Unless, of course, you're a kinky little one and you'd like to have bruises from me." He said with a chuckle.

"I would let you do anything you wanted to me Luke".

"Remember when I told you that love means being too tired from the night before to want to leave bed? Well, you would be too tired because I would Make Love to you each and every night. And I will wake you up every morning with my head between your legs. Because you asked me this morning how do I like my coffee? I like it with cream. I think I'd like you to even more with your cream."

Your life was forever changed. Even though being Luke Alvez is girl. Meant stressful days and nights for you soon enough. When he had to give up his job as a handyman to go back to the FBI. But he always made sure that he was there as much as he could be for his beautiful girl. And always made it up to you for the time he had to be away. And true to his word, you were too tired to get out of bed in the morning. You couldn't believe what happened to you. You had truly fallen in love with the handyman.

Thank you so much for reading. I hope that You enjoyed my Luke Alvez as a handyman story.

Please leave comments, I would love to know what you thought about my story and if you would like For me to write more about Luke Alvez.

[lurafita]

Love it or List it AU

I have recently been reminded of one of my all time favorite fics (an Inception AU), and then I thought about Malec.

So, real estate agent Magnus (and his assistant?) trying to make his clients fall in love with new properties, while Alec (and his crew) try to renovate the old home to make the owners love it once more.

TV rivalry between the two professions (though lighthearted and friendly.), and lots of fun on set, as well as slow or fast burn Malec.

With the possibility of social media inserts of fans shipping Malec and talking about it.

Jace would be working with Alec, while Izzy could be working with Magnus, and the two groups would be ribbing each other all the time. With Malec slowly falling in love.

In the show this prompt is based off, the two "rivals" always inspect the house together first, so the designer/builder person can see what needs to be done in the old home, and the real estate agent can see what is likely needed in a new home. And those little scenes could be hella cute for Magnus and Alec

And the little moments they have on and off screen just keep on stacking up.

Simon and Clary could be with Magnus or Alec, depending on what jobs they are given.

They should all have great chemistry together. Ruffling each others feathers without being mean about it. Magnus comes around to check on his rival's progress of the renovations and making a show of being worried about his designer clothes, but also commenting how Alec still looks gorgeous even with dust in his hair.

One day, the renovating team has to contend with a burst pipe, and Magnus and his team hear about it. So they grab lawn chairs, head over, and watch sexy people running around wet and cursing, while sipping cocktails. As soon as the water leak is handled, Jace and Alec retaliate. 😉

[freedomdesignbuildva]

Need To Use a Custom Home Builder in Alexandria, Arlington, Ashburn, Great Falls, McLean, and Vienna, VA

Moving into a new home can be daunting, especially when the property has been resold. Trying to make it comfortable takes precedence, therefore. One of the most important things to consider is bathroom remodeling in Alexandria, Arlington, Ashburn, Great Falls, McLean, and Vienna, VA. This will ensure private space, with the prospect of showering or bathing not becoming challenging. The best way to fulfill such an objective is to contact a contractor with many years of experience in completing such projects. ​ Discussing every aspect with the contractor or a design-build firm before beginning the project is further essential. Some of the tips to consider well in advance to ensure comfort and reflection of personal style must include the following:

Planning—A detailed plan of the future bathroom must be in place before discussing it with the builders/designers. Needless to say, the plan must incorporate features, styles, and fixtures suitable for every home user. Trying to fit it into the budget is another aspect that must be considered carefully, too. Setting a timeline is another vital aspect that cannot be overlooked.

Purpose- Nobody likes to spend money arbitrarily. Instead, the purpose of remodeling the existing bathroom must be clear to make it imperative. The end-user must also consider completing or settling to remodel half the available space. It makes sense to incorporate some elements and mix them up with the existing ones that are functional. Shifting the position of the tub, sink, and shower may also make the bathroom look as good as a completely new one. It is essential to have the answers to all such questions ready before giving the go-ahead to the builder.

Space—The size and space within the bathroom are important to consider. While a bathroom that is directly connected to the bedroom is likely to be tiny, a separate bathroom can be spacious. The designer in charge is sure to come up with interesting ideas for utilizing the available space perfectly and providing the required comfort without compromising on ease of use.

Materials- The remodel needs many details to be planned and executed perfectly. Shopping for the right materials is always challenging. This makes it easier to entrust the contractor or builder with the responsibility of sourcing the following and installing them in the right position:

l Countertops l Mirrors l Bathtubs and bath fixtures l Sink l Toilet l Shower l Lighting l Cabinets l Backsplash l Tile flooring Waterproofing materials

Flooring—While many homeowners may decide to keep the existing flooring intact, others may feel the need to replace it with a more suitable and eco-friendly alternative. The right floor tiles should be able to withstand moisture and humidity and not become too slippery when wet. Additionally, they should be comfortable underfoot and easy to clean.

Contacting a highly appreciated custom home builder in Alexandria, Arlington, Ashburn, Great Falls, McLean, and Vienna, VA, can ensure a personalized home constructed according to the homeowner's requirements. 

[the---hermit]

Behold the new kitchen couch on which my morning reading will happen.

07|11|2023

I had a lovely day today. Me and my dad had to go to ikea to look for a new couch for our kitchen since our old one was very much falling apart. We had a great time, we laughed so much , he told me stories of his past I knew nothing of, and I felt like a kid again in the best way possible. We had breakfast together and then we also went out for lunch before going back home. Then we spent the rest of the afternoon assembling the new couch since we are the builders™ of the family. It was truly a lovely day that gave me so much positive energy, and although I am now tired I feel good about it.

Cosy hobbit autumn activities and productivity:

Read first thing in the morning

Daily Irish practice on duolingo

Spent quality time with my dad for the whole day going to ikea, to lunch together and assembling our new sofa (I know I probably said it before but there's few things I love ad much ad I love assembling ikea furniture, don't ask me why I just like assembling stuff apparently but it gave me life)

Podcasts to shut my brain off (I don't think I mentioned it but I had the genious idea of starting yet another re-listening of tma)

Today's self care:

2/7 days off from studying

Moisturized my tattoos

I'll be turining my phone off at least 30 minutes before bed and reading a couple of pages before I sleep

I reached my final cozy/rest form by getting into my beloved sloth onesie and you can bet that's the only thing I'll be wearing around the house in the next couple of days bc it's so comfy and warm !!

📖: Hell Follwed With Us by Andrew Joseph White

[sweetperversiongirl]

Prompt by @callivich :

Mickey is a handyman/builder. His latest job is working on a room which he’s pretty sure is gonna be some kinda sex dungeon. Even though his client, Ian, insists it’s a ‘workout’ room. Maybe Mickey is wrong and this is just a weird home gym but either way…..one thing he does know is that he’s got the hots for Ian.

Climbing up the ladder, Mickey looks closely at the mark on the ceiling. He just finished installing the podium yesterday, and now he has to screw a massive metal hook into the ceiling right above it.

He hears movement behind him. Turning around, Mickey almost falls off the ladder when he finds Ian leaning his shoulder against the doorway.

“What the fuck, dude? You can't sneak up on a man like that when he's busy! Mickey is indignant, coming down from the stepladder.

Ian giggles, hiding his hands in the pockets of his jeans, which are so tight and fit well on those hips that it must be illegal. Mickey thinks the man looks a little shy. On the other hand, his amorous brain may well play this cruel trick on him.

“I'm sorry,” Ian says. His smile at the same time makes Mickey's eyes hurt in the most pleasant way. “I just wanted to know how you're doing here.”

Mickey snorts to himself. He has been doing repairs in a strange room for a week, ridiculously reminiscent of a sex dungeon. At the same time, the owner of the house continues to claim that “this is just a gym.” At the same time, this host is so hot, how sweet, attentive and kind. And Mickey managed to fall head over heels in love with him almost on the very first day they met.

How is he doing? Oh, great! Mickey's totally fucking fine. Why not?

Ian continues to stand in the doorway, giving Mickey space and time to think about his answer. It gives Mickey a little more courage to ask the question that's been on his tongue all morning.

“What is it for? He finally asks, pointing with his gaze at the sturdy metal hook he clutches in his hand.

“Oh, it's going to have a punching bag attached to it,” Ian replies innocently.

He doesn't seem to think about the answer for a second. That doesn't mean Mickey doesn't have more questions.

“A punching bag. Cool,” Mickey snorts again. “In that case, why the fuck would you need this podium under her?”his gaze slides along the perimeter of the structure on the floor, suspiciously resembling a king-sized bed in size and height.

He thinks that the two wooden beams that were brought yesterday would have made a full-size St. Andrew's Cross. Mickey is not sure if he hopes that this is not the case, or vice versa.

Obviously, Ian has an answer to any remark Mickey makes.

“Well, it's convenient. And aesthetic,” Ian shrugs, looking up from the doorway. Mickey notices too late that the atmosphere in the room has changed. When he realizes this, the giant redhead is already standing on the podium right in front of him. “What are you thinking, Mickey?”Ian is asking. His voice now sounds low and muffled.

Mickey has to swallow the lump stuck in his throat. His free hand involuntarily reaches for his face. He scratches his eyebrow with his thumb, tilting his head and staring at his work boots. Should he tell Ian that a sex swing would look much more aesthetic on this hook than a punching bag?

“I think it's more like a dark room,” Mickey hears himself talking before he can stop himself.

He also hears Ian's soft laugh, but he doesn't dare look up yet. His whole body is covered with goosebumps when a large freckled hand reaches out to him. Ian's long fingers touch Mickey's chin so gently and at the same time firmly that he has absolutely no strength (and desire) to resist.

“You wish that was the case, wouldn't you, kid?”

[sopuu]

So you know how Radar said something about Aiden wanting to redeem himself and how there was another letter saying "WATCH OUT" or something like that and it had the initials of W.P. On it?

Well 2 questions

1, If Aiden, Maya and Gill showed up to Beacontown to redeem themselves, how do you think everyone would react?

2, How do you think Cassie managed to get out of the hole she was in?

(in my opinion, I feel like Mevia and Hadrian had something to do with Cassie escaping.)

honestly? i don't think aiden and his gang would head back to beacontown, not on their own terms at least. as someone who's been tormenting jesse for god knows how long, to the point where he's willing to terrorise a city and commit murder if it means getting jesse out of the frame, i don't think it's his place to determine when he should show his face in front of him again (and i feel like aiden would understand that after he's done some growing and thinking of his own). redeeming can come in different ways- and he's definitely got a city's worth of mistakes to fix and atone for before heading home.

despite that, i imagine he'd occasionally send letters to jesse throughout the years post sky city, giving updates on the city's development on new land, how isa and milo are doing, complaining (jokingly) about how much of a bother community service is and most importantly assuring that they're working hard to redeem themselves there. he'd also make sure to drop in a subtle message saying he'd be willing to talk if jesse ever decides to come visit.

but if we do follow the hypothetical scenario, uhh i mean they probably wouldn't be getting much of a warm welcome considering where they all last left off lol. jesse, olivia and axel would definitely be more...skeptical, but if aiden and his gang were really genuine with their apology jesse would be the type to give them a second chance. after all these years he'd have matured himself too- he's seen the rise, falls, guilt and redemptions of even the most corrupted so he'd know if they're sincere about wanting to better themselves.

and lukas? oh this can be a whole post on its own bc i have so much to say on this. to shorten it though, he would not want to talk to them, especially aiden. ever. and rightfully so imo. it's a lot more personal to him than anyone else, because in my eyes they were once the best of friends, maybe even grew up together, and had genuinely great memories. if even after YEARS of that, aiden's jealousy of jesse grew to the point where he was willing (and even eager) to throw all that away -- was that really all their friendship meant to him? sure, he and the gang are more than apologetic for what they've done now. but if there hadn't been any water when lukas fell, or if he didn't make it into the lake, that's...it. there'd be no one to apologise to. and aiden kicked him off there knowing that full well. so yeah, lukas gets to not forgive in my book

as for cassie! tbh i don't have many thoughts on this lol, and i do like the idea that hadrian and mevia helped her out since it's implied she's an old builder too, plus they all have some sort of vendetta against jesse. or if we're going the more technical minecraft route she could've just. done a skyblock strat?? take the block behind the one she's on, place it in front, stand on that block, rinse and repeat till she's outta there fhdgks

[sonofthedunes]

ok. ok. i’ve teased it long enough: it’s time to meet my star wars oc. if you’re interested, venture below the cut…

and here she is: andrie mykarrah of tatooine. her faceclaim is saoirse ronan, specifically in her role as jo in little women-when i began to consider what andrie looked like, this face appeared to me immediately and just fit. (saoirse is perhaps my favorite young actress working today, and in fact auditioned for rey in tfa!) i’m not going to lay out her whole life story for you here, but i’ll tease out some facts for you-and if it piques your interest, she’ll be a character in my next one-shot! for it may shock you to know that she’s luke’s love interest in my little fancanon. :p

born in 19 ABY, about 3 weeks after the twins. of her mother’s eight pregnancies, she was the only surviving full-term child

Andrie’s mother was never especially maternal and abandoned the family when Andrie was eight; they saw each other only occasionally afterward. Andrie’s father loved her but was never around much; he died when Andrie was 13. she was raised on the mykarrah farm with her great-grandmother, grandmother and two uncles

by her own admission is rather hotheaded and temperamental, fighting when cornered and gathering every scrap of agency she can in her sheltered world. this can serve her well in combat later, but admittedly she must work hard to control it

is force-sensitive, but this was suppressed for much of her early life. had at least one relative who was murdered for displaying force powers, and her grandmother feared what might happen to the family if her abilities became known

encountered Luke a few times when they were children, but only properly met him when they were 18 and he came to her farm with his aunt and uncle…because the older women were trying to marry Andrie off in order to continue the family line

of course the marriage didn’t happen (Owen vehemently objected to his nephew being treated like breeding stock), but Luke and Andrie discovered they were kindred spirits who yearned for life beyond the desert and over the course of the next year became friends (of which they both have precious few). neither of them know it, but this is the force guiding the future builders of the new jedi order together…the whole slowly falling in love thing is just a bonus

when the news of the lars’ murder reaches her, Andrie assumes Luke’s been killed too and in her grief vows to travel the galaxy for both of them, no longer willing to allow others to control her life. she runs away from home and makes her way to mos eisley, where in her search for a ship she comes upon a certain corellian freighter on which to stow away…

and thus begins a journey on which Andrie helps rescue a princess, joins the rebel alliance, reaches at least the rank of lieutenant (possibly higher?), becomes a head of the reconnaissance team, sees planets and battles beyond her wildest dreams, recognizes her worth as a woman and soldier, feels accepted for perhaps the first time in her life, fights for an end to tyranny…and eventually opens herself to the power of the force, becoming both padawan and bride to luke. their love, which bloomed in a desert and was solidified by a whirlwind rescue mission, changes the jedi order forever and shakes the stars. not bad for two farm kids.

that’s enough to start on i think :p i’m always open to questions about Andrie, so feel free to drop them in the inbox! and thank you all for indulging me

[wof-shittyfantribes]

pyrrhians: perhaps the most diverse dragons ever, its disputed whether they even share a genus, given the differing physiology of most, though they can all interbreed successfully. this doesn't necessarily exclude them from speciation, considering gar, but the deck isn't exactly stacked in favor of it. depending on the tribe, they may possess freezing breath, fire, acid, gills, active camouflage, luminescence, plant communication, and mind-reading, ridiculous as that all seems. generally omnivorous, favoring meat, though this can change drastically. 9 queens, one democratic monarchy (silkwings)

(the shitty, shitty fantribes)

theran- vaguely mammalian and oddly majikal dragons. differentiated by external mammalian ears and especially tough bones and scales, along with weird majik bullshit

Leviathans [extinct?]- the largest dragons of the south, these are exclusively aquatic predators, with crushing jaws and fish-hook claws. though lacking legs, they retain small wings for communication and robust forelimbs for grappling prey. their tails are strong and shark-like, letting them swim at speed, though due to a high metabolism and great size they are limited to colder waters with plentiful food. this is believed to have been their great undoing, as such large prey has vanished from over hunting of other dragons, and what prey remains is often taken by more efficient predators. carnivorous. solitary(?)

Tarrasque- the closest relatives to leviathans, and among the smallest dragons of all. originating from vast caverns below even the oceans, they've spread to almost every environment, from bare sea-ice to lush temperate rain forests. they can get food out of almost anything, melting down wood, soil, sand, or even bare rocks. such a diet leads to a heavy buildup of minerals and base elements, such as iron, gold, or lead, which are used to strengthen bones, scales, teeth and talons, or vomited up in fluid form, either from the false-gills in their necks or directly from their mouths. they have a stark resistance to heat and most toxins, especially heavy metals such as mercury, as well as a penchant for metalwork and mining. their weaponry is generally considered quite advanced, and their natural armor is tougher than most plate-mail, and covers their entire body. they don't have wings, but they'd be too heavy to fly anyways, and falling from great heights is more liable to break the ground beneath them than deal lasting damage. drowning is a genuine risk, as are fungal infections, since their metal scales and bones are too dense for them to swim and make for the perfect home of rare lichens and mosses. omniphagous. fission/fusion, no major leaders.

Drake [extinct?]- likely similar to tarrasque, though perhaps getting a bit larger. not much is known about them, but many especially ancient ruins have been attributed to them, and some artwork depicting what seems to be a siege depicts them spewing lines of fire from their jaws, which explains the near symbioses many plants on Yrrigya have with fire, and how experienced the animals are with wild flames. its unknown why they went extinct, with some scholars suggesting avans out competed them, though others disagree with this conclusion, and instead attribute the glimmer wings, as minimal artistry depicts drakes after they appear, though there are many potential reasons for this.

Sectan- fairly insectoid dragons, occasionally lumped with theran though their (typically) four wings sets them apart.

glimmer wings [extinct]- large mound builders, often associated with ants and termites. according to myth, they built vast cities of wood, stone, and metal, eradicating or assimilating all other dragons and large hunters in their lath, before being defeated by the flamewings. the myths also say they could perform feats of great majik, though, so take it all with a grain of salt. more reliably, they could breathe fire, and their hardened scales didn't burn, though their insides could still be cooked. supposedly omnivorous, and matriarchal, with one queen ruling them all.

vesper- the fastest and most agile dragons, at least in short bursts. and relative to their tiny size. a mere half the size of steel tails, vespers were once easily the most populous dragons of all, living in desert or savannah mounds, forest or mountain hives, and even polar burrows! they have a wide range of defenses, spewing a sticky yet acidic fluid from their jaws and injecting it with the stingers on their tails and four arms. this is combined with plant-matter to make a material as tough as stone and even less flammable, or meltable. because of this unique stomach acid, they can only really eat liquids, usually fruit juice, blood, or nectar, though whelps are much more adaptable in diet, and can eat more or less anything a typical dragon can. these whelps are also an unfortunate delicacy, a major cause of the severe decline in vesper populations, now limited to the east jungles. multiple queens and democracies.

soran- the toughest, and least majikal, of all dragons. also the longest lived.

sun wings- rare and robust desert specialists, with bone crushing jaws and teeth. their sense of smell is incredible, necessary for such large scavengers, though ancient stories depict them less as the lazy fools we know them today, and more like vicious, cannibalistic killers. reliant on heat for energy, and high altitudes for takeoff, they are now limited to drake-bone coast, off the wingless desert. carnivorous. democratic?

glass wings- the most diverse and common of sorans, these are long, eel-like dragons. scaleless, they rely on water far more heavily than almost any other dragon, and can dry out in hours. a thick slime around their bodies mitigates this, and promotes healing. under sudden, extreme temperatures it becomes solid as stone, offering limited fire protection, though it requires quick replacement. they can also breathe underwater, due to their scaleless skin, and even house symbiotic algae of various pigments. this lets them stay perfectly still underwater for hours, days, or even permanently, though even abyssal glass wings, lacking algae and susceptible to internal sunburns (not fun), occasionally go to the surface, especially at night. capable of mild electric shocks, though occasional individuals will have their long tails filled with electric muscles, letting them produce an especially powerful shock. carnivorous. fission fusion, no major leaders.

snake wings- rare forest predators, these dragons will tackle any game they come across, slitting their throats with a cutting bite. their lower teeth are fish-hooked, while their upper are flat and serrated, making for a nasty cut no matter which way they slice. capable of rapidly changing colors, they can hide anywhere, strike anywhere, and are the most feared creatures in their forest homes. carnivorous. fission/fusion, no major leaders.

avan- said to be the most advanced dragons, these are fairly rare and quite bird like, with feathered wings and some lacking teeth entirely.

flame wings- mesopredators of alpine and boreal regions, these are cautious hunters across their range, but have long graduated such humble beginnings. the phoenix kingdom dominates over its competition, and has granted many dragons a safe place to live from the wild beasts outside their vast cities. capable of spraying a flammable, acidic liquid, and covered in an equally flammable liquid, they themselves are entirely fireproof. their feathers burn both hot and long, thanks to their oil, which is used in art, cooking, and defense, quite necessary when lacking the tough scales or incredible speed of other dragons. omnivorous. one king, multiple primitive tribes.

sea gryphon- the fastest dragons in the skies, sea gryphon are never far from open ocean and sky. ancestrally, they were maritime nomads, skimming the surface and scavenging carcasses, but when cities came to the scene these adaptable dragons quickly took a niche. in port cities, they are often the most common sights, thriving in their vast numbers. their main defense is sheer speed, but their slow to takeoff, and projectile vomit only goes so far, so on the ground they typically defend each other with sheer numbers, which is often a necessity. they often hunt alongside glass wings, as they can drive prey to the surface and sea gryphon have much better eyesight. carnivorous. fission/fusion, no major leaders

prairie gryphon- one of the most common inhabitants of the incredible cities found in Yrrigya, prairie gryphons are natives to nearly all temperate biomes, from the freezing mountains and dense forests to the vast open steppes which are their namesake. they aren't the fastest, strongest, or most dangerous dragons, but their broad, feathered wings and sharp beaks can adapt to any lifestyle. historically they lived in a wide array of independent villages, but most have transitioned to a more civilized life under flame-wing monarchy.

mythic- monsters and legends, almost certainly fiction but listed here

grim wings- generally considered not real, and most articles containing them are considered either fiction or outright blasphemy. said to be nigh invulnerable, and exclusive to the deep caverns. entirely eyeless, highly opportunistic predators, though not exactly blind, if the stories are to be believed.

animus- said to have had incredible power, records containing "animus" mostly seem attributed to a single, very unique, individual, who appeared at the end of the glimmer-wing era. records of the individual, who is mostly considered to be fictional, are nonetheless important to translating other ancient texts, as they are often translated into old-grypyth and stone-touch in various tablets. common features of these stories are world-bending powers and a journey to the far north, though physical descriptions vary, as does gender and sex, with certain articles making an odd amount of fuss over this trait in particular, almost overshadowing the great powers held by this ancient dragon.