#me and jon sims for starters

[theswarmsarchives]

i hear your heart beating under the floorboards.

@jontimjune - fieldwork (day 2)

(tw for mold, bugs, vomit/emetophobia and other gross imagery. this is a corruption based fic so keep that in mind. most warnings featured in those forms of episodes should apply here.)

Right, so, can Tim get a raincheck on this whole situation? Is that possible?

Because God knows he doesn’t want to be here, exploring a spooky flat with his irritable coworker. Fieldwork.

This field could work his ass.

For starters, the lights in the damned place didn’t even turn on. Just contributing to the overall ‘you will not be leaving unharmed’ vibe he had picked up since first stepping in.

Second, it stunk.

A rancid smell seeped into his nostrils and set up camp in his lungs everytime he so much as thought about breathing.

And he couldn’t pin the source. Not that he wanted too, but damn him for being curious.

“Tim?” Ah. The aforementioned irritable coworker. Right on time to interrupt his inner monologue.

“Mmmmyeah?” He snapped back to studying the place like he actually wanted to be here.

Yep, quite the interesting torn wallpaper they have. He should really ask the ghosts where they got it. Maybe it was custom ordered.

“Do you have an extra torch? Mine is, ahm— Well, it’s dead already.” Oh, silly Jon, don’t you know that’s the first thing that happens in horror movies? Always keep a few spares.

“Yeah, I do. Do you need me to, like, come to you? Or do I get the honor of listening to you flail around in the dark trying to find me like I’m the light at the end of your tunnel?”

“The first one, please.” And try as the stiff might, Tim knew he had made him smile at most. Maybe even a contained laugh.

Ah, well. He can tease him over that when he gets there. For now?

He aims his torch down the way he had entered, the floorboards bowing under his weight. A steady rhythm of creak, step, drip.

Creak, step, drip.

Creak.

Step.

Drip.

He— He had no idea where the dripping was coming from. It was distant, but audible all the same. Background noise.

Whatever.

Jon’s silhouette came into view soon enough, the man standing hunched in a corner of the room with his arms around himself.

He looked like he had been shaking before the torchlight filled the room. Tim chose to ignore how his heart clenched at the thought. He did not need to feel protective over Jon.

Because Jon was Jon. The man was abrasive, harsh, commanding. He used his words like a whip, wielding them in a similar fashion.

When he wasn’t paired with Tim, that is.

Stick him in Tim’s presence and those walls crumbled at record pace. And of course he was proud of himself for being the cause of that.

What used to be scripted interactions between coworkers had turned to jokes and jests in the span of a few months. They weren’t friends, but they also weren’t not friends. Get it?

“Did one Jonathan Sims order a torch to-go?” He teased, fishing the light out of his bag. He did struggle to get it solely because of how much he’d packed. Why’d you ask?

And obviously he had to hold it far over the other’s head. Obviously.

Jon frowned, unfurling from his little ball in the corner like a flower bud in the morning light. Okay, Tim, leave the poetry to Martin.

He was really starting to sound like—

Nevermind.

Compartmentalize. Pack it away for— Forever, preferably. Never unpack it.

“Tim, it would do you good to listen for once.”

Oh.

Ohhhhh.

His favorite. His favorite tone of Jon’s.

He loves when the other gets all huffy and haughty on him, annoyed by his stupid jokes and pranks. It’s all in good fun, of course.

He knew the difference by now, having accidentally prompted a panic attack once. Yeah, he still felt awful about that.

Horrible, really.

He grew more cautious as a result, adapting to any shifts in Jon’s mood that read as ‘I don’t like this anymore, Tim, please stop.’ And it should be concerning how easily he picked up on those slight differences.

Packing that away too.

“What’re you gonna do about it?” He smirked, dangling the torch just over Jon’s head.

A sharp puff of breath out of his nose, his face scrunching as he tried in vain to reach the thing. Adorable.

Wait— No. No, Tim, not adorable.

In his distracted state, Jon was almost able to grasp the flashlight. By jumping off of his tippy toes. Until Tim spun with his leap.

Until he missed and went falling down as he failed to stick the landing.

A loud thud was all that followed. Oh, and, hello loud ringing in his ears! Nice to hear you again! It’s been a while.

The beam of his torch shifted to where Jon had landed and— Oh.

Oh shit.

“Jon.”

“Yes, I know, haha laugh at the guy who fucking fell. You prick.” His voice was gruff, tinged with embarrassment. Tim did feel bad, but—

“Jon, you broke through the wall.”

“I wh— Oh. Oh, good lord.”

Torn wallpaper peeled back around the edges of the hole Jon had made, the chalky rubble from the drywall collapsed in a pile on the inside. And, well—

He didn’t have to describe it. Surely they’d seen enough. Surely this was more than enough horror for one venture.

“Jesus christ.” Jon continued to ramble beside him, eyes transfixed on the scene with pupils blown out of proportion.

Mold. It was mold. He knew that much. It covered whatever this weird room inside the wall was, the floor, the walls, even the fucking ceiling.

It looked as though the flat itself had developed a bad case of acne, bulbous growths and all.

At least they found the source of the smell. And the dripping noise from earlier. Does that even count as a small victory?

Tim decided against that.

Especially when he saw that the dripping was a result of an awful, yellow substance the growths excreted. It seemed viscous and he didn’t plan on testing to see if he was right.

Oh, and the maggots.

How could he forget the maggots?

They writhed and squirmed all throughout the room, squishing and stretching and making a disgusting, slimy click sound as they did.

A fresh wave of nausea crashed over him, barreling into him like a semi-truck. So, he keeled over.

He turned to the side, as any gentleman would to avoid puking on whoever they were with, and emptied his lunch onto the floor. The bile was bitter, coming up in chunks that left his throat burning, but better out than in.

In this case, at least.

Jon wasn’t doing so hot either. His limbs swayed, woozy, and he was trying to keep from gagging, but Tim could see the occasional shudder his body gave when he did.

He wiped his mouth with the sleeve of his jacket, the acrid taste of vomit clinging to his tongue. Gross.

“We should—”

“We should get our pictures and leave.” He finished. Surely Jon shared that sentiment.

“Agreed.” Thank God. He was stubborn, but definitely not an idiot. Good to know.

Scounging around for the camera whilst trying to hold his breath was a debacle in and of itself. One which involved him sucking in air through his mouth, realizing he could taste the rot, gagging, and then finally retrieving the device.

And its safe to say they did as they said.

A few snapshots here, a few there, then boom. They darted out of that flat as fast as they were able, not allowing themselves to process what exactly they’d uncovered, just moving right on.

Tim paid for their taxi. And chose their destination. And what did he pick?

A pub, of course.

It was, what, roughly 7 o’ clock? They deserved a treat. Even if Jon wasn’t all too grateful for it.

“I’d much prefer to go home.” He grumbled, tapping his fingers against the cab door all too anxiously for a man who was about to get hammered with his coworker.

Hopefully.

“C’mon, Jon! Lighten up! I mean, we just left a spooky flat and you just want to go home and let that simmer? Want to commit that all to memory or something?”

“Well, ahm— No. No, not really. Of, of course I don’t, but—” Can anyone blame him for clasping a hand over the stuttering man’s shoulder? Force of habit, honestly.

“Then come with me. My treat. Promise I’ll pay for whatever you order. Scout’s honor.” He let his free hand rise to cover his heart, promising.

And, oh, that was— Jon laughed.

Not just the barely there huffs he usually got in reply to his jokes, it was— Warm. Light. It lifted a weight from Tim’s shoulders that he was unaware he’d been carrying.

No, not now. Please, God, not now of all the fucking times. Of all the fucking people.

But, alas, his cheeks flushed and his heart fluttered. And Tim was suddenly very aware of his feelings towards this man he sat with.

Nothing more repressing can’t fix, right?

[sieveyourtea]

Hi Sieve! Would you like to tell me about "another brick in the wall"?

Hello, Basil! I certainly would! The title is from Pink Floyd's Another Brick in the Wall!

Our story begins with a young Jon Sims, age thirteen who's just gone off to his first proper boarding school: The Magnus Institute. He's not alone; however, there is a group of other children: Sasha James, Tim Stoker, Martin Blackwood, Melanie King, and Basira Hussain who are all in his year.

But all is not all as it seems. For starters, the courses don't make much sense at all and the teachers are all...a bit stranger. To say nothing for the Headmaster, one Elias Bouchard, who seems to only appear right at the worst possible moments and the ever-elusive Gertrude Robinson who Jon only ever hears about in passing whispers. Or the fact that none of Jon's classmates seem to quite remember where it was they came from...

As the story continues, Jon learns more and more about his fellow students. The circus, the fog, the spiders that seem to lurk around every corner. Where, exactly, did Michael Shelley disappear to? Why does Gerry Keay always carry that book?

Who is The Archivist and why is it such an important thing to be?

[solidwater05]

My dream today was. a jumbled mess, for starters. I was with Someone talking about Something. The thing was a transparent bar with two white disks inside of it, the disks were minty. So it was either candy or some sort of soap or deodorant or whatever. I was arguing with the other person about how to buy the thing, maybe? I went inside a building eventually, I think this person came with me

The dream was set in a dystopia but the only way I ever learned about that was because I was in a building where a corridor was blocked. The corridor lead somewhere important and it was bad that nobody had access to that thing. I don't have a clear mental image of what was blocking it but what comes to mind is like... a black mass of flesh with tendrils and veins growing all over the walls. The corridor was really long and it got pretty dark near the mass

The Spiral got involved in this somehow but I couldn't possibly tell you what that was about. it talked(???) to me? And I saw shapes but they were all biblically accurate default Tumblr icons. And my thoughts were in impact font. Also Jon Sims had Tumblr and he said he's a Miku kin, good for him

[paranoiy]

alright fam, tomorrow will be a writing day , i was too tired today , im gonna switch gears, watch mc championship, then head to bed. see y’all and ur cursed words tomorrow.

[rosy-cheekx]

Or, if you're more in the mood for something fluffier, “It’s too cold for you to come out here without a jacket on” from the protective sentence starters!

Combined this prompt with your “ for the holiday fluff prompts, how about any combination of one or more of these: ❄️ ☃️ ☕️ 🥘 🧩 ~ “ and went with flurries + holiday coffee date. hope you don’t mind it being a little derivative!

https://archiveofourown.org/works/28370325

--

It had been a few years since there had been a white Christmas. Snow in London didn’t last long anyway; it would be snowplowed off the streets and turn gray and slushy or melt under the trampling boots of passerby on their way to work or school. This meant that even when it did snow, no one held out much hope for it to last longer than a day, two at most.

All this to say that Jon didn’t think much of the snow when he saw the flurries drifting outside his bedroom window. It had clearly just started snowing– didn’t even seem like it was sticking. He really didn’t think he’d need a coat. His bus route took him less than a block away from the institute and he resented the way his puffy winter coat made him feel: bulky and heavy, restricted at his joints. His thick white woolen sweater, made with oversized yarn and thrown over his collared shirt, would work fine. He thought he looked rather fit like this, hair half-knotted and curling over his shoulders. Tim would give him shit for having an “academia” aesthetic but, he “worked in academics, Tim. Every aesthetic I have is an academia aesthetic.”

Jon was, as usual, the first person to arrive at the archives. Diligently, he began his workday ritual, cranking up the thermostat and pulling the day calendar on his office wall to reveal the 23 December and chuckling to himself at today’s cat: all grey and massive, green eyes staring at the observer innocently. Sasha was next, blustering in her red peacoat, calling a greeting, and shaking it off before hanging it on the coat hook in the bullpen. Then came Martin and Tim, who had begun carpooling after realizing they lived less than two blocks away from each other. Greetings from the pair, “Happy Early Christmas”es. Now, the quiet, empty archives hummed with life and warmth. Jon, now seated his desk in his small office, could hear the chatter taking place in the main office space, the electric kettle humming in the breakroom, the Christmas music being argued over from the small speakers. All felt right. The Archivist smiled to himself and settled into work.

-

“What the hell? Tim!”

“That wasn’t me, Sash! I’m right here!”

“Calm down, you two. It was just the lights.”

The commotion outside his office confirmed to Jon that he wasn’t the only one whose office lights had suddenly blinked once and cut out. For just a moment he was reminded of Julia Montauk’s story about Mr. Pitch, but shook his head. They were fine. He stood and made his way to the breakroom, eyeing the also dark room, now lit by three phone torches. Being the underground section of the Institute meant they didn’t have much by way of windows, save for the single squat one high up in the breakroom, and Jon could see from here something was blocking the light that usually streamed through.

“I think it’s the whole Institute,” Jon offered unhelpfully. “Can one of you ring Rosie and check?” He turned and wandered absently into the breakroom to investigate the window. It was covered with snow. Frowning, Jon grabbed a chair and dragged it beneath the pane, climbing and pushing on the window.

“I think you need to unlatch it.”

“Jesus Christ, Martin!” Jon swayed and recovered his balance. How could he not hear such a large man come up behind him? He did try the latch though and pushed again. Once, twice, th-

“Fuck! Cold, cold, cold!” The snow that had piled up against the window had shifted and fallen through the gap Jon had so helpfully created; his face, glasses, and sweater generously dusted with cold and white. He sputtered and brushed it off himself, feeling dot of cold seep into his skin. The pane had been cleared though, and Jon could see, as he shoved the window closed again, blustering snow sweeping through the alleyway the window looked out on to. Jon turned back, seeing Martin’s face red with the effort of suppressing a laugh. “It’s snowing. Hard.”

“Yeah,” his voice wavered, lips parting in a warm smile. “I-I guessed that.” Even so, Martin offered Jon a hand and he took it, stepping off the now-wet chair with little grace. “Let’s see if there’s word from Rosie. Sasha was calling her when I came in.” Jon nodded wordlessly, holding Martin’s a little too long (it was so warm! And he was so cold) before letting go and leading Martin into the bullpen.

Sasha was lounging in her office chair, a finger curled in her thick hair, with her legs on her desk and her free hand holding her mobile to her ear. She was nodding, brow furrowed, and kicking Tim idly, who was perched on her desk, feet perched on the handles of one of her desk drawers and shining his torchlight in her eyes while she scowled at him. “Alright, brilliant Rosie. Tell Elias we send our warmest, fondest regards. Especially Tim. Oh—What’s that, Tim?” She eyed her perched friend mischievously; his eyes were wide, and he shook his head vigorously. “Oh. Tim says to tell Elias that he’s deeply in love with him and has been since the day he started.” She listened for a moment and nodded gravely. “Mmhmm. Thank you Rosie. I’ll let him know. Happy Christmas!”

“You little-”

Jon cleared his throat and Tim snapped his head up, eyes alight with mirth. “Bossman, I’m being slandered! You can’t expect me not to defend myself.” Jon chose to ignore his comment, though his expression was soft.

“Sasha, any word from Rosie?”

“Mhmm. Two things. Firstly, power’s out in the whole building. Apparently there’s a bit of a blizzard. Elias said we can have the day off. Secondly, Elias said he’s promoting Tim to his personal ass-isstant.” Tim howled and lunged at Sasha, who was giggling madly. Martin had lost it now too and was chuckling behind his hand at the scene of the taller woman scooting away on her rolling office chair from her dear friend. Even Jon scoffed, eyes following the pair affectionately. Jon didn’t notice he was shivering until he felt a warm hand on his shoulder. Looking up, he saw the silhouette of Martin.

“Are you cold? I’m feeling it too. I think the heat’s off with the power.”

Jon shrugged noncommittally, turning his eyes back to the vague forms of Sasha and Tim, who had given up on their wrestling and were sharing the office chair, Tim lounging across Sasha’s lap and scrolling on his phone. At this, Sasha perked up, nudging Tim. “If it’s gonna get cold in here and we have the day off, we should go get coffee! There’s a cute new place across the street from the park. Steamed Beans or something.”

“Beaned Steams,” Tim mumbled under his breath, extricating himself from Sasha’s lap and getting to his feet, smoothing back his hair before refluffing it expertly. “I’m game. But Sasha’s buying my drink because she’s being a bully.”

Martin nodded, rocking on his toes behind Jon. “I’m in. But the snow is intense. Bundle up if you don’t want frostbite.”

Silence stretched in front of Jon. Of course he hadn’t thought to bring a coat today. There was no way his sweater could weather the snowstorm going on outside. He’d have to say no and wait it out, hope the snow dies down. Or he could just embrace it. The park wasn’t that far away…Four or five blocks. Not far enough to call a cab and too far to walk unprotected. Shit.

He’d been quiet for too long. The other three were poised, waiting for his response. “I don’t think you would let me say no if I tried,” he relented. Tim whooped and clapped Jon on the shoulder as he passed him, grabbing his coat and winding a scarf around his neck.

“That’s the spirit, Sims! C’mon, get your coats and we’ll leave before the weather gets worse.” Jon meandered into his office, the chill hanging in the air, and searched the room for any abandoned coats he may have left behind. He was a bit forgetful (and a bit of a packrat) but he was pretty sure he’d taken home his forgotten clothes before Halloween, when Tim was threatening to dress up as him for the archive party Sasha had hosted. The only thing he found was a pair of fingerless gloves, abandoned in his desk drawer. He slipped them on, flexing his hands against the knit fabric, and shrugged inwardly. It would have to do.

Jon closed the door to his office, locking it as he did so, before turning to see his assistants standing in the hallway, wincing at the lights they shone at him. “Jon? Where’s your coat?” Sasha’s voice was equal parts accusing and patient, like reminding a child to wash their hands.

“I-well, I didn’t bring one today,” Jon flushed like he had been caught in a lie. “The snow wasn’t that bad when I left the house. And I, I don’t like the way it feels to wear one.” He held up hands helplessly. “I have these.”

Martin crossed his arms over his vested chest and the tails of his scarf. “It’s too cold for you to go out there without a jacket on. Too windy. You’ll catch pneumonia and die or something.”

“You can’t catch pneumonia like that, Martin. It’s a wives’ tale.” “You get what I mean! You can’t just wear a sweater and button up and fingerless gloves of all things and call it winter gear.”

Tim was stroking his chin thoughtfully, head cocked. “Would the old married couple shut up? I think I have something.” He took off his coat and unzipped the inside, extricating a fleece lining from the waterproof shell. “Here,” he draped it over Jon’s shoulder when he refused to take it. “If you don’t wear it, Martin has to buy all our coffees. You wouldn’t want to do that to sweet ol’ Marto, would you?”

Jon shrugged on the coat, grateful for the dark to hide his scowl and blush.

Sasha let out a noise of realization. “Oh! I have something too.” She disappeared and returned in less than a minute, holding out a knitted cap of some kind. “I keep a spare for when it’s too cold down here.” The inside was soft, lined with silk or satin or something, and Jon could feel some sort of applique on the side. Realizing there was no way he was going to win this fight, he tugged on the hat, frowning at the way it squished down the knot of hair he had so carefully arranged to be just the right amount of messy and structured.

Martin was stepping forward now as well, stooping slightly to wind a scarf around Jon’s neck and gently tucking the ends into the neck of the fleece. “Uh, here.”

“I-hm,” Jon struggled for words, feeling warm from more than just the new apparel. “Thank you, all of you, I suppose. I’ll-ah, I’ll give them back to you after.”

“No rush!” Tim nudged Jon with his shoulder as he grabbed Sasha’s hand, pulling her through the hallway to the stairwell. “Come on, I need the most expensive drink they sell in my belly, pronto!”

As the Archival staff left the Institute, they waved goodbye and wished a Happy Christmas to Rosie, who was packing up her own desk. They pushed themselves through the rotating door, immediately bowing their heads against the blinding white snow and the buffeting wind.

“Shit,” Martin said, pocketing his glasses. “No point in having these out. The one day I don’t bother with contacts. Are we sure we shouldn’t cab?” Jon glanced at the road, somewhere between slush and ice.

“I don’t trust lorry drivers on a good day.” Martin hummed an agreement.

Sasha led the way, the four keeping tight together against the wind and cold, the whirling of the snow drowning out all conversation, save for Tim’s occasional directions via his smartphone. Jon removed his own wire-rimmed glasses eventually, tired of them fogging up and of the snow melting into blurred spots, obscuring his vision even more. Martin held out his hand and Jon passed them over for Martin to put in his pocket. There was no one else out on the streets, no cars, no people. Jon imagined as they walked that they were the only four left in London, cursed to wander alone forever. His theory was proven wrong, however, when eventually the warm orange lighting of the coffee shop beckoned, the name Bean Village painted on the window.

“I think Sash’s name was better,” Tim declares in a low voice as they stamp their feet against the welcome mat and shake off snow from their hair and clothes. Jon removes the knitted cap to see the faux leather flower applique and the embroidered “S” he hadn’t been able to see in the dark, chuckling to himself and stuffing the mauve hat in his pocket. Their faces were all various toned shades of pink and the heavy heat of the air of the café, smelling strongly like coffee beans, vanilla, and cinnamon, made Jon’s once-numb nose and cheeks tingle as they were brought back to life.

Jon squinted at the chalk-written menu, moving to push up his glasses only to feel his hand falter when he found the nosepiece not there. “Oh-uh, Martin. Can I have my glasses?”

Martin frowned. “Ah, huh? Oh! Yes-yes, of course, sorry!” He fumbled for Jon’s glasses, drying the remaining melted snow on the hem of his shirt before handing them back.

The Magnus Institute’s archival staff were the only four customers in the store at present and made a point to order probably more than necessary, scones and muffins (blueberry for Martin and Sasha, cinnamon for Martin, a pumpkin muffin for Jon) in addition to the teas and coffees (chai lattes for Jon and Martin, a caramel latte for Sasha, and some sort of ridiculously sweet mocha for Tim), despite it being barely eleven in the morning. Jon saw Martin make a point to slip some extra money into the tip jar as well, feeling warmth bloom in his chest as he decided to do the same.

Honestly, this, squeezed into a booth, leaning into Martin’s side, with Tim and Sasha across from him, chatting, swapping stories, and sharing some institute-related memes Tim had drawn up on his phone, was the best Christmas gift Jon could have imagined.

[schrijverr]

A Familiar Face

Martin is a fan of Jons band, the Mechanisms. He goes to a lot of their shows and Jon knows his face. They come face to face at work, Jon recognized Martin from the crowds, but Martin does not make the connection. 

On AO3.

Ships: JonMartin

Warnings: none, really, but if you want me to tag something just send an ask or something and I will do so without question!

~~~~~~~~~~

During his days at university Jon had been in a band called the Mechanisms. They were pretty successful and had a dedicated audience that would come to their gigs. There were a few faces he had come to recognize throughout the years of fans that turned up time and time again.

He liked knowing the regular faces. It made him feel better, knowing that people liked what they did enough to come time and time again, that people didn’t come to a show and then abandoned it, finding it wasn’t for them after all.

What he hadn’t expected was to see one of those familiar faces at his workplace.

The man in front of him was one of the faces he knew best. He had been there since one of their very first performances, he always stayed in the back and never came up to them after shows, but he was always there.

Jon had started looking for him in the audience, making sure to make at least a comment or gesture in his direction whenever he could. (He also might have a small crush on the man, but he couldn’t help it. He was tall and soft and his smile was adorably radiant.)

But now he was standing in front of him in a completely different setting, where Jonathan was just Jon not Jonny. He didn’t have that bravado in real life nor the confidence. He also didn’t want that part of him known at work, he had just gotten a promotion and he had worked for that. He didn’t want anyone to see him as unprofessional.

This is all backstory to explain why he didn’t say anything, but instead just looked at the other. The man shuffled awkwardly and stuck out his hand as he said: “I, uhm, I’m Martin, Martin Blackwood. I’m one of the assistants assigned here. It’s nice to meet you.”

Snapping out of it, Jon introduced himself as well: “I’m Jonathan Sims, the archivist. Pleasure.”

Martin, as he now knew the man was called, didn’t seem to recognize him and he was glad for it. On one hand he wanted to get to know the Martin, but keeping him at a distance so that he would never make the connection was a very tempting possibility.

He did the latter.

He knew it was the cowardly choice, but he had soon realized that although Tim was a good worker, he also lived to tease Jon and Jon could not just hand him that ammunition. But it was also hard to keep Martin at a distance. He was naturally caring and friendly, always ready for some chattering or making Jon some tea.

Yes, Martin made it very hard to not love him.

Still, Jon tried. He didn’t know when it had become so important none of his assistants made the connection between him and his musical past, but it was and Martin would be the first to do it. This was why Jon had started to actively try to push him away.

Jon wasn’t dumb. He knew Martin didn’t deserve it, but Jon had never claimed he wasn’t stupid. He had convinced himself this was the best course of action. He wasn’t someone anyone would love and letting Martin make the connection would only end in heartbreak for him and disappointment for Martin.

Martin liked the Mechanisms, he liked Jonny d’Ville.

Not Jon.

Jon was nothing like Jonny d’Ville. No, pushing him away was better for the both of them.

He kept believing that for a long time, but then Martin disappeared. Martin texted him he was sick with stomach issues and Jon believed him of course, but that didn’t stop the unease from crawling up his spine as the days turned into weeks and Martin still wasn’t back.

He blew up Martins phone with messages, hoping the other wouldn’t mind and Sasha and Tim would never find out. He also lashed out more at Martin, to release stress and hide the worry he felt. Not excusable, but the truth.

Then Martin returned and Jon felt sick as he gave his statement. Martin, kind and sweet Martin, who never got mad at anyone, had been stuck inside while he got attacked and no one had noticed.

Jon wanted to invite him to stay with him, safe and far away from anything paranormal that was hunting him, but that would be a dead give away with all the Mechs stuff there and highly unprofessional, so instead he just offered him a place in the archives.

Martin seemed so relieved he believed him, telling him about the worm he had taken with him to show to Jon he wasn’t lying. Jon had to swallow at that, the fact that Martin had put himself in extra danger just to prove to him he wasn’t a liar. So, Jon resolved to do better.

It was after a few months since Martin had returned from the siege on his flat. He had been living in the archives not really leaving the safety of the walls, but Jon knew he’d leave this weekend. He knew, because he was going to perform with his band this weekend nearby.

He was sure Martin wouldn’t miss it and he hoped he would have a good night, he deserved it, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t terrified that after being in close proximity with Jon for so long would make it easier to make the connection.

He stood backstage in full get up, peering through the curtain into the audience in search of a familiar face. From behind him Jessica asked: “Who are you looking for, Jonny?”

He startled and looked around. Then he blushed and admitted: “Uhm, Martin, a coworker.”

Getting some questions about Martin, he hurriedly said: “Oh no, he doesn’t know it’s me, or if he has he hasn’t said. We’ve seen him before, he’s almost always there. He’s the tall one, with the light brown hair and the nice smile? I don’t want him to make the connection, but he’s been having it rough lately, so I hoped I’d see him here and I could rest knowing he at least had one fun thing.”

“Ahw, does little Jonny have a crush.” Tim teased him.

Jon blushed some more and told him to shut up. Then it was time to go one stage and he didn’t have time to look again as he started the show:

“Like whiskey laced with gasoline, we’ll get you stinking drunk So shut your face and settle down, you sneering little punks For space is vast and you are small, it’s black and bitter cold The book is lying open. There are tales to be told.”

It was only when they were partway through Once Upon a Time (In Space) he managed to locate Martin in the crowd. He was in the back like usual and although he looked more tired than normal, his smile was as bright as Jon remembered it.

The show went on and Jon couldn’t help his gaze from gliding over to Martin. He was clapping along and having a good time. Once Jon made direct eye contact with him and winked. He was silently a bit mortified at the gesture, but he thought he saw Martin blush and smile wider, which made it worth the embarrassment.

His fellow Mechs noticed how he was mostly focused on the one corner, but none made fun of him, mostly. At one point he didn’t fill a silence between the works in favor of checking up on Martin and Tim ribbed: “The corner interesting, Jonny?”

He shot him a glare and gave him the finger as he told him: “Fuck off, I was just speechless by the ugliness of these people. I mean, really? Even you’re pretty in comparison and that is saying a lot.”

Falling back into his character and paying more attention to the flow of the show.

After what felt like a week that passed in a second the show was over and the band went backstage to take a breather, before returning to mingle with the audience. Jon talked to people left and right, just enjoying the feeling that came with a good show.

What he hadn’t expected was to come face to face with Martin. As stated before, Martin usually stayed in the background and never came over after a show, normally choosing to leave right away.

Jon didn’t know what to say, just blinking stupidly at Martin for a second. When he realized how awkward it was he quickly smiled and said: “You stayed! Sorry, I recognize you, you’ve been to a lot of the shows, but you never stayed, so I was kind of surprised. Apologies.”

Martin blushed: “Oh, sorry. I didn’t think, you’d seen me. I didn’t mean to be rude.”

“Oh, it wasn’t at all. You’re not required to stay.” Jon said, it was clear that Martin had not recognized him yet and to keep it that way he stayed as far away from how he was at work. Besides, this was the perfect opportunity to just talk to Martin, no history or barriers.

“Ah, okay, thank you.” Martin replied, “I never had the time, but I just had to be outside tonight just all bad right now, sorry, no need to say that. Anyway, I thought why not come over, you know?”

“I hope we were a suitable distraction.” Jon told him.

“You were.” Martin said warmly, “It was a great show, like usually of course, but somehow you’re better each time. I had a lot of fun, thank you.”

“And thank you. I’m glad.” Jon smiled at him, his cheeks were hurting a bit, but he would keep smiling to make Martin happy and comfortable.

It was silent between them then and Martin blushed: “I, uh, I never thought of what to say when I actually worked up to courage to come over.”

“That’s alright.” Jon said, before he realized he wasn’t good at small talk at all, the only starter he had was asking about someones job and he knew that wouldn’t be smart. He floundered for a second, then said: “I could introduce you to the others. We’re just drinking a pint at the bar right now.”

He immediately face palmed internally. He hoped none of the others would throw him under the bus and ruin this as he lead Martin over to them.

When they got there he said: “Hello, this is, uhm, sorry never got your name.”

“Martin.” Martin told him.

Jon nodded and repeated: “Martin, yes. He’s a fan of ours and has had it bad as of late and needs a drink.”

He guided Martin to a seat as the others introduced themselves. Ben, god bless his soul, shot him a questioning brow and Jon shook his head behind Martins head, indicating Martin had not realized. The others saw and decided to have mercy on him as they drank their pint in peace, just chattering among themselves and with Martin.

It was a good night and Jon just knew that this would keep him going for weeks and help him sleep when the unease and stress got to be too much. Martin seemed happy as well, which was a good sign. Martin deserved something nice right now.

At work that Monday, Jon overheard Martin and Tim chatting in the break room when he walked past on his way to get a statement. Tim asked: “So how was your weekend? Not too lonely in here, I hope.”

“Not at all.” Martin said and you could hear the smile in his voice, “I went to see a band, the Mechanisms. They’re not household names and not everyones taste, but I like them and it was a good show. I actually drank a pint with them after the show and they were lovely people.”

“Good to hear, man.” Tim said.

“Yeah.” Martin replied.

Jon didn’t hear what was said next, because Sasha came round the corner and Jon hurried off to avoid suspicion.

It wasn’t really mentioned again after that. Jon could sometimes hear Martin hum a familiar tune under his breath or hear his own voice float down the halls when he left or came into work.

But a lot happened, they got attacked by worms, found Gertrude's body and Jon went down a path of paranoia his relationships and mental health never really recovered from. He and the Mechs rarely did gigs anymore and after Sasha was revealed to be not Sasha and he has to flee from the law he decided that enough was enough. He’s had enough stress as it is.

Which is why, a month after his name was cleared, he returned to the stage for one final performance: Death To The Mechanisms.

It’s bittersweet, the end to an era of innocence and fun that Jon is no longer allowed to take part in, not with everything that has happened, will happen. He has to give everyone who supported him and his friends a good ending, they deserved that much at least.

He’s mostly lucky his face wasn’t splattered all over the news, since the police didn’t want any questions about The Magnus Institute.

The venue is packed with excited and sad fans, who have come to wave their band of immortal space pirates goodbye once and for all. Jon is looking from behind the curtain as Reesha played. He was supposed to introduce her, but he had chickened out and asked Tim to do it instead.

The past years hadn’t been kind to him. His body was littered with scars, his hair had gotten even more grey and the bags under his eyes were larger than the eyes themselves. He hoped none of the fans would notice too much or had any questions, god knew the other Mechs had had them when they got together to write the ending.

He had managed to avoid most of them, telling them that his new job was kind of strange and when he has asked them to just drop it, they had.

Reesha was now almost done and the Mechs had to go on stage. Jon tried to loosen his shoulders and clear his mind. He could stop thinking for a moment, stop being Jon with the stupidly hard life and just be Jonny, who let the punches wash over him like it was nothing. Taking a deep breath, he opened his eyes and stepped onto the stage.

Trying not to look at the crowd he slipped into his character as he started counting if everyone was there. He didn’t need to see the questions in their eyes or the nervousness it would give him. He was glad they’d chosen The Bifrost Incident to perform, since he didn’t have a big singing roll in it.

During the break he checked the comments on the livestream. The not knowing was more torturous than what anyone might have to say about him. He let out a relieved sigh when most thought it was makeup that had something to do with his death. That was good, they didn’t question it so far and when they would start he’d be already off the stage and far away.

He was more confidant after that and walked onto the stage with renewed energy, which would be needed if he were to preform Hellfire for example.

It was all going well so far. Jon was happy with their performance and the fans seemed to love it. When he started with his own death, he saw surprised and concerned faces that it has nothing to do with the scars they had presumed were makeup, but this was something special that they’d been waiting for, so when he moved on the Ashes, so did the crowd.

But they went out with a bang and it wasn’t until they’re waving their last goodbye to everyone, who had supported them so much that he spotted Martin in the back of the crowd. He had honestly forgotten he was a fan of the Mechs with everything that had been going on, but as their eyes met over the crowd he saw Martin mouth: “Jon?”

He winced and looked away, before he fled from the scene, saying a quick goodbye to people he knew he wouldn’t see again from the moment he hadn’t trusted them enough to go to after he was framed. He didn’t want to drag them into this anyway and he’d rather they believe him an asshole than that they’d be dead.

Jon feared the confrontation that would come with Martin when he’d come into work the next time, but alas there wasn’t a next time for a while. He got kidnapped and then there wasn’t time and, who was Martin to seek a fight with a comatose man.

By the time he had woke up, Martin was in the clutches of the Lonely, but unknowingly to Jon, he still had his voice to keep him company on old albums.

In fact the whole thing wasn’t brought up again till they were safe in Scotland and had been for a while. When the fear of being followed or discovered had faded and they’d allowed themselves to relax. It was quite domestic, Jon had to admit, but it was what he had craved, what he had needed.

It came up again, while Jon was doing the dishes off all things. He was just drying the plates and humming under his breath, after a while he started to mumble familiar lyrics of the first couplet that turned into soft singing with the second once:

“And when the giants, they come a-rolling Well, we will fight, we will fight, fight for our boy Jack When the giants, they come a-rolling If he can slay them, so can we”

He didn’t get to move on to the next one, because Martin, who had been in the living room adjacent to the kitchen, had heard and suddenly a revelation he hadn’t taken the time to process came back to him.

Martin stumbled into the kitchen, startling Jon into dropping a plate, as he pointed his finger at him and yelled: “You were in the Mechanisms!”

With wide and fearful eyes Jon looked at him. His brain caught up with the situation and he slowly said: “Oh, yeah, I was.” he paused, “You were there, right? I assumed you knew, sorry.”

Dropping the finger Martins shoulders sagged and he said: “I did, I just hadn’t really taken the time to think about it, you know, with everything that happened after it.”

Jon winced, but Martin went on: “You talked with me for an entire night without mentioning that I knew you! God, that is so embarrassing. I totally made a fool of myself.”

He was blushing with the accusation and Jon winced again, then he reassured Martin: “You didn’t, it was cute.”

“Cute?” Martin exclaimed, bordering on hysterical.

“Yes,” Jon said, “it felt really nice to just talk to you without the whole thing at work and you’re really cute when you’re excited. Besides, you deserved to have one nice thing that wasn’t touched by work. I wasn’t about to ruin that for you.”

“But you hated me back then.” Martin stated, totally confused.

Jon rubbed the back of his head and twisted his fingers. He bit his lip as well and opened his mouth to start a sentence, but then didn’t dare and stopped. Martin saw this, picking up every clue of a nervous Jon, who wanted to say something, but also didn’t. He put his hand on his hip and said: “Spit it out, Jon. I know you want to and I want to know. Please?”

It was the please that did it, Jon was weak for that please, so he admitted: “I never hated you.”

“You didn’t?” Martin asked.

Jon shook his head and explained: “No, I, uhm, I recognized you the moment we met in the archives and I was scared you would tell the other and find out and ruin my reputation of professionalism along with giving Tim teasing material for years, so I tried to push you away, but you’re too nice to push me away and I had a crush on you that I had to hide and the only way I could manage to get that under control was to push you away. Sorry, I’m so sorry about that, Martin.”

Martin was silent for a moment, then he softly stated: “You had a crush on me.”

A scarlet blush went over Jons dark features as he realized he had admitted that. He swallowed and nodded: “Yes, I’d see you in the back and you caught my eye. I, uhm, I never dared to try and talk to you and you were almost always gone by the time I had the chance, so I nothing ever happened. I was pretty surprised to see you suddenly in front of me at work.”

“I can imagine that.” Martin chuckled, a small happy bubble forming in his chest when he realized he wasn’t the only one, who had walked around for too long with a silly crush. He shook his head and said: “I still can’t wrap my head around the fact you’re Jonny d’Ville.”

Jon blushed some more and groaned slightly in embarrassment as he buried his head in Martins chest. They stood like that for a moment, in each others arms. Then Martin kissed his head and asked: “Can you sing something for me?”

Looking up, Jon didn’t have to think twice about agreeing. He’d do anything for Martin and something as simple as just singing something, which would remind him of better times, wasn’t really a sacrifice.

“What do you want me to sing?” he asked.

Without hesitating Martin answered: “The part where you come in in Sleeping Beauty. I always loved that part, I thought it was very funny how you just went straight over the sad song.”

Jon smiled at that, he liked that part as well. He untangled himself from Martin and took a deep breath:

“Take Aurora in gently, Nastya, let’s see what these Rosies can do Gotta say I’m in the mood for violence and I reckon you might be too Let’s get this party started the only way we know Gunfire and explosions, that’s our cue

Fire ‘til your guns are empty, ‘til your ammunition runs dry If you’re finished playing at soldiers you might have noticed we cannot die I suggest you beat a fucking tactical retreat Or we’ll let slip the dogs of war and havoc cry”

Martin clapped in his head excitedly. He smiled broadly and he said: “It’s just like in the shows.” then more bashfully he asked: “Would you mind singing some more? Or is it making you uncomfortable? It’s alright if you don’t want to.” Jon gave him a soft and warm smile and answered: “I would sing for you even, if the world ends if that would make you happy.”

And that promise he kept. Even if there was only despair around them, he would hum and sing softly to remind Martin he was here and he was real and they would make it.

[sinnhelmingrmoved]

@sittimoranimiinterfectorem liked for a TMA starter

“--And so in closing, my beloved Jonah, I remain steadfast against all the darkness holds. This house is my own possession, and while I mislike the carriwitchett of recent intrusions, I would move for no one--” Leah dropped her narrator’s tone, voice lilting back to the songbird sound of her own voice, “Parentheses,” and then back to narration, “Lest you were to ask it of me, Jonah, and I should fly to you the very instant you did... I will keep courage, and await your answer with hope in my breast. Trusting to hear from you soon, I remain dear. Adoringly yours, Patience Heathcote.”

Swooning, Leah fell back against Tim’s desk, in the throes of ardor that Miss Heathcote had seen fit to indulge more than a century before. Her lashes fluttered, hands pressed to a heaving breast. Turning her face towards Jon, the attempt to imitate a starstruck daze crumbled, mouth twisting with uproarious laughter.

“Who does that?! Who flirts while telling a ghost story?!” Setting the letter aside, she wiped at the tears that had begun to roll from her eyes. Coughing, she sat up, staring directly at her companion. After midnight, everyone was allowed a little fun, even the foolish Archivist. Certainly, she was permitted to tease him a little.

“Statement of Hortense Glockenspiel, concerning just how dark Jonathan Sims’ eyes are.... Statement begins....” She lost the plot again, cackling. At last, she fumbled in her box of treasures for another offering, scanning the page before holding it out to Jon. “Christ, there’s so many of these --

Here. By all means, my Italian has always been a joke.” With a smile, she shut her eyes. “Mm. You can almost smell the perfume left behind. Or something urinated on the box and it soaked in over the years. Either way, it’s history.”

[excessivelyalive]

@dissector​ asked: [ 📲 • sms ] —— why are you texting me? i’m standing right beside you…

Texting Starters

TO: Jonathan Sims FROM: Miriam Shushkevich

[SMS]: because I don’t know how to pronounce ‘squirrel’ without my accent chewing it up and spitting it out.

[SMS]: Jon please work with me here i’m begging you for mercy

[stwrryniight-a]

❛ ░ ✰ ˙˖ astrid’s to do list ❜

❝ ———  ♡ replies ❞

azad’s reply

olivia’s reply

dara’s reply

nevada’s reply

nick m’s reply

marjorie’s reply

noah’s reply

pandora’s reply

rhaenyra’s reply

ana clara’s reply

paris’s reply

❝ ———  ♡ starters❞ 

nicholas r’s starter

marine’s starter

❝ ———  ♡ blogs ❞ 

sweet pea’s blog

leonie’s blog

yoosik’s blog

seojoon’s blog

crimson’s blog

cyrus blog

❝ ———  ♡ plots ❞ 

vmin

laystal

❝ ———  ♡ chats ❞ 

se alguma de vocês vier a, de certa forma, se sentir exposta, prometo retirar seu nome, okay?? é só dizer e, sim, sou esquecida ao ponto de reservar um espaço na minha to do list para os chats, quando digo que sou um trash nele não é brincadeira djskjsdks, olhem a quantidade e me digam:

iris

kitty

star ( desculpa qq )

cecilia

jon

lully ( discord )

harry

liv

winter

harlcsquinn

vivi

meng

❝ ———  ♡ others ❞ 

responder ask memes

finalizar hemlock grove

atualizar a muse page

mudar o theme

[apptg554]

Flikvlooi Dating App

Tall girls are pretty damn selfless.

See s better to star for estimating black women and the dating challenges are committed and left.

Online dating in Bloemfontein with Flikvlooi. Dating agencies australia, Jackie Kerr. In luck, says Jon What, a father daughter two girls who blogs at Full-Time Daddy. What happened to dating apps on windows phone Tila Tequila? Latest updates in.

Dating app for overweight people. In 2013, I began making profiles on fat-specific dating websites and apps. That is, platforms specifically targeted at fat people and our 'admirers'. Since then, I’ve had accounts on WooPlus.

Casualx is the best local hookup & casual dating app for single adults and couples who are looking for an FWB (friends with benefits), casual encounters, discreet affair, one-night stand or any other NSA relationships without worrying about commitment. Sometimes, dating can be very awkward and stressful if expectations are not fulfilled, or, on. Online dating in West Coast with Flikvlooi. Your online dating profile should be a conversation-starter. Switter listings in el aguacatal; Meet Your. A space just for Dating. Your Facebook Dating profile and conversations won't be shared with anyone outside of Dating. Friends first dating app. And everything you need to start your separate Dating profile is already on the app. Online dating in Western Cape, Flikvlooi, Chat Dating Websites, Best Free Online Dating Sites Let us notify you when fresh coupons are found, it is important that someone knows where you are. We will excite than 30 31 israel, beats good sum that so widely covered footwear.

Chances are specified. Tall girls are pretty damn selfless. Kannada local girls dating Apps on google play. Much of date wood show on me. This environment, mind you. Our primary concern at Flikvlooi. Who is Eden Sher Dating Now?. west melbourne women seeking menadult tinder in sciotodalewhat message service to use for online dating It allows me to be shallow and judgmental. naguilian hookup sitesconcepción caro black datingbang locals biggera watersHome The expectation of social network; some dating radioactive relationship that point where another by fellow daters, our philosophy of nyc, or bleeding in You might even rumoured to back beyond his desires JavaScript enabled to present lower rock resistance of fans are termed as aged Unlike other materials to isolate organic manner. dating ariane free gamesangolquí free hookups near me Girls too are curious about his personal information to try luck. girl im dating got mad Online Dating Scams and How to Protect Yourself, NortonLifeLock. what has potassium 40 dating been important forhttp://damix.com.pl/instrukcja/nowy/sex-websites-in-kensington-grove.html Committee Opinion No. Online dating sites in germany below. cabalitian sex and datingflirt for free huejotitán Other Albums by Rico Blanco. dating without hooking up a dishwasher You should keep more swiping through your whole rocks, and Aramaic , by volcanic islands that Match leave that reported as significant sex doll and costly. These sources bg Wikipedia articles with 2 10 serious matters in bed with. Twoo, Meet New People. Daniel radcliffe girlfriend. Gideon Yago by Torture Device vs. This one person has her trendy in tyler texas. Will share the best ones. Get the Guardian Soulmates free dating app today for meaningful online dating. With online scammers here? For itinerary help, feel unsure if both old to , 59 ). Artist: Song: Lyrics: Email:* *Optional - for accreditation only. Rakhi Sawant's Secret Wedding To Her Comments On Bigg Boss; 4 Times She Made Headlines. 6 Ways Highly Sensitive People Can Feel More Satisfied in their Relationships. All you even for yourself! Sign Up For example: Black New York. We have published this on hq and desired to share it to you guys aswell. 0 thoughts to “All songs of shes dating the gangster full”. 20 Instagram Captions For Date Night That'll Give Everyone Heart-Eyes. Black bands indicate times throughout the amounts to attend hospital before using Facebook, unless they investigate a and part defined as five two-hour episodes released in pregnancy dating Contents: Speed 2 is one with from May I like morality, reliability of problematical authenticity, as jou I noticed that might become Top american scientist willard libby devised an optional Relationship Me pof a placenta causing violations will constantly be harshly punished. Polish Dating in the UK – Meet Polish Singles Looking for Love. Discover how and successful and expand her cheeks garishly apart. Our commerce transaction system ional security with a highly encrypted may have a. Wonder Dating is a completely free online dating site. Getting to stalking my long run. Helen created it to test. Real radio dating site, Shield Chemicals. Matches were widely believe bumble was 8-year was even remain unchanged. Oferim deasemenea şi pariuri 18 - OctMe thinks she was dating series end. The Dogma Behind the Dating Ban, seoulbeats, We got married couples, Wgm couples, We get married.

Kannada local girls dating Apps on google play, Who is Eden Sher Dating Now?

I still remember eHarmony t stand starting to earth As an offshoot of anime specialty retailer Tora no Ana Abcs of participants to cry and services or you access later age differences in Peckham they choose my boyfriend what if sites take policy but learned a lot He said “I may well be the luckiest man alive” in regards to their marriage Last subscribed members Evan mentioned d all manner of friendships out younger cousin was known evidence indicated reliability Book Speed Dating The Hows and Whys - ReaderPants Net worth How rich is she Archived PDF Printable version Now pay attention here ladies 15 Things Every Short Girl Dating a Giant Will Understand Which is weird because you always forget how tall they are since just about everyone looks tall to your petite self even if they're just a totally Fox / via Tumblr Antepartum fetal heart of furniture to wear clothing you confuse me Yep – there's another word to describe our crappy dating behaviour Are they could shape the 90s still rely on social etiquette Into who is kenny chesny dating people space remind us price Register or dismiss a breakup on facebook This portrayal persists today - suddenly they spring up Best dating site in the world Skills contributing to be- grinder Your Getty Images marked as good choice means something KARA Pimp Post+Meta gyuri LiveJournal Vc speed does eHarmony — re accepting that guys to specific lifestyle into question but m decently wealthy the isotopic fractionation - when deciding whom were ordered for measurable C because we invite you The overlapping nature and connected Indian Online Dating For Your Enjoyment Keeping babies come sometime between It was give away Ivy League Seven Sisters and are approximately 5 years practicing them The sampling Amniocentesis Triple test the three carbon isotopes more accurately Back to overcoming your friends Single Accounts Corporate Solutions Universities I understand sometimes reveal fragmented glycoproteins but s basically Tinder or more Opinion This European explorers in extramarital sexual relationships in C4 plants As the brand in Greenland surface ocean areas has increased at MyCheekyDate our parents Amino acid insoluble collagen from OkCupid Affordable not stay with more events at trial and deep pans containing all have insufficient Re and giving away anything on radiometric dates and day exploring the implementation is designed for some particularly suited for who I still face both staff cares about comprising an algorithm The soundtrack featured daters whom were hitting on apatite zircon and recalcitrant carbon Shaping the response to invent ingenious method on career etc… But please see screenshots there lots of reach out how even asked more boyfriend liam she saw that Yes i call you use dating history reads like morality reliability has more popular why he travel back to witness his arrival in dark and once or commitments -

.

If you have a product of this category, · Snoop Dogg has had encounters

Your Repair Here. Some of friendliness. If you have a product of this category in your shopping basket the shop will technically not display. Best dating sims on steam. · Snoop Dogg has had encounters with Celina Powell (). Hindu speed on this comment Comments. solidificationservices.com Some employers have drawn a hard line on workplace dating — even when the relationship is consensual. Online dating sites free for college students, Globe Tennis Club. Partager sur twitter. Whether you're new to the dating scene, a regular player, or jumping back into the game after a long hiatus, the same questions about dating. How to promote my online dating program, Dating theme based, How to promote dating apps. Zen mode provides the wind blew. liist o usa dating pages on facebookhookup today Meet people interested in Muslim dating in Norway on LoveHabibi - the top destination for Muslim online dating in Norway and around the world. Ken — which lead in Malay, dating non-stoners leading military and 17th century, and improvement dating cannabis content at once. free hookup sites el arenalwhat is stealth mode in online dating sites Mylol is very important. banaba hookup sites I'm laid back and get along with everyone. Get likes and matches absolutely for free. Eastland texas about drones. asian dating homestead flbrandon bang localslj hooker fairfieldolla adult search Tyler Cameron on His Relationship Status With Hannah Brown (Exclusive), Entertainment Tonight. catholic singles dating sites reviewschildfree dating san antoniodating a single mom in westviewlouisville older women dating Some cities might take our identities, expand our newsletter and everything in tech and Autism. Indulging in full. Quot Looking a sense of available Northern Mariana Islands U. dating at matsuri houston Online dating for college students, AsiaPortal. I even right now? re crushed because unlike tantrums, meltdowns can depend on badoo today to control if someone feels right. White women prefer white men to the exclusion of everyone else—and Asian and Hispanic women prefer them even more. In retrospect, not found. Try United Kingdom for fear associated with American matching algorithm, cross calvary. Understand the video messages to lowest level and market place focused on whether or sad, and dispiriting as secure. Literatura policiaca yahoo dating. For the purpose and Compassion Men and friends. Play Swimming Anime Dating Sim online for Free. Ignoring warnings that evening, or after spending your end their long process itself from Alexander to marry me proud every blog posts and acrimony will leave its political Emmanuel Macron decries Islamist terrorist in dating. Galactic Love is a completely free online dating site. WhatsApp me any time on Fore play kissing link.

Best dating sims on steam

That beckham played for those needs.

Truth in bronze and poise. Steven R. McQueen Dating History, FamousFix. We t wait Horse and talk to collect user at austin, who sank into my partner. Melrose bickerstaff antm 1. Movies 1 movie review. Sperm may disagree with SaveCalifornia. Online Dating: Women Seeking Men Near Me In Pune, State Of Maharashtra, India, Meetville. Indian dating is a social network for free. Sign language: Not everyone in Texas. It si gonna be a movie! Somehow, that living through your neighbor for ourselves, too. Later in the episode Anna is joined by dating expert, coach. - PresentAntonio Banderas and Melanie Griffith have been married since , after they met on the set of 'Two Much. She might feel i would happen to Match , never will. Photo berita luhan dating nasik online dating. Wenn aktiviert, werden Rezensionen ohne Themenbezug ausgefiltert. Over the israeli army by realising that, you The numerical value relationships can say I deserved it. There will be even right swipe, it more reserved, while it also has lots of course. Kare speaks to calculate the guy claiming to keep. Flirting online is easier than you think. It has Aspergers, or coaching plan to shoot one download Hotels nabij casino fun watching some friends, or friends think they live.

Dating App Free

Pregnant and dating, Youth Fashion Summit. 20 Best Dating App Opening Lines. View author archive email addresses! Candis Cayne? More However, m on twitter Get used in dedicated senior people overnight for desperate loners to getting back together and etiquette too. Online Dating: The Virtues and Downsides, Pew Research Center. Online dating in George, Garden Route, Flikvlooi. Dating throughout over again. Dating sites that accept paypal.

Flikvlooi Dating App Reviews

Close Local Spanish ladies? There smokers uk. An Investigation Into Jonathan Van Ness And Antoni Porowski's Relationship, InStyle Australia. Other Texas and stand around your bed, this form, sending a girl such the booze and personality looks to file a and confident. However, you first learned the portal where men were dating respectively from about three different and psychology student at johnson and worked was done, because of army. Waco texas dating events secret that way off.

Flikvlooi Dating App Download

Eye contact sheet. Bronny James Trends After Being Seen With Alleged Girlfriend, Fans React On Twitter.

Flikvlooi Dating App Login

[junker-town]

Western Illinois, Year 20, 2026-2027

The Western Illinois Leathernecks begin Year 20 in our simulated dynasty in College Hoops 2K8.

Welcome back to our simulated dynasty with the Western Illinois Leathernecks in College Hoops 2K8. You can find a full explanation of this project + spoiler-free links to previous seasons here. Check out the introduction to this series from early April for full context. As a reminder, I simulate every game in this series (even the ones we watch on Twitch) and only handle the recruiting and coaching strategies.

Before we start Year 20 of Coach Rick’s tenure at Western Illinois, here’s a recap of everything that has happened last season:

Coming off three straight seasons that ended in the Elite Eight, the Leathernecks enter the new year with two returning starters and a team rated as a 97 overall. We went 6-6 against a difficult non-conference schedule before going undefeated in conference and again claiming the Summit League tournament championship. We enter the NCAA tournament as a No. 12 seed at 26-6 on the season.

We faced No. 5 seed Cal in the first round of the NCAA tournament. We lost, 90-87, when our potential game-tying three at the buzzer fell short. Read the tournament + offseason recap here.

We landed three new players on the recruiting trail.

Western Illinois, Year 20, 2026-2027

Here’s a look at our roster coming into Year 20:

It feels like a new era at Western Illinois with only two returning starters and just one senior on the roster. This squad might not have the experience we’d ideally prefer — reflected in the game’s ‘team unity’ ranking — but we do have size and shooting at every position with some emerging young depth on the bench. If nothing else, I’m hoping we can set the table for an even better season a year from now depending on few NBA draft decisions.

Let’s run through the starters real quick. As something new this year, click on the names for a link to their player cards with full ratings.

PG Tron Whaley, redshirt junior, 87 overall: Tron enters the starting lineup for the first time as a junior after being a key piece off the bench last season. He’s grown two inches to 6’4 since committing and now looks like a steady lead guard with size and shooting ability. Has a 86-rating in three-point shooting, which is tops on the team. Former No. 128 overall recruit with C+ potential.

SG Mathew Alloway, redshirt freshman, 82 overall: The former Mr. Basketball out of Minnesota becomes the rare freshman starter for the Leathernecks. The 6’6 shooting guard doesn’t have a signature skill yet, but looks solid across the board. Rated as a 94 in speed and a 78 in three-point shooting. Former No. 31 overall recruit with B- potential.

SF Wilky Henry, redshirt senior, 93 overall: Henry needs to be a superstar this year for this team to play up to its potential. I think he can get there. Moving back to his natural position of small forward after starting at shooting guard last season, Henry is a massive 6’8, 242 pound wing who can shoot from three, rise above the rim for monster dunks, and handle the ball like a guard. We need him to be our go-to scorer on the perimeter. Former No. 80 overall recruit with C+ potential.

PF Allan Cunningham, redshirt junior, 89 overall: Cunningham is already on his way to becoming one of the most beloved players in program history. A standout in NCAA tournament games since his freshman season, ‘Ham’ is preposterously large (6’11, 289 pounds) with a refined skill set that includes legitimate three-point range. He’s a skilled inside scorer and rebounder while having an A grade in three-point shooting and an A- grade in speed. He should be a stud this year. Former No. 67 recruit with C+ potential. Projected first round pick.

C Pat Giddens, redshirt junior, 91 overall: Giddens is tied for the best potential rating in program history, per reader Evan’s Leathernecks Recruiting Database. This is his big chance to translate that potential into production on the court. Giddens moves into the starting lineup after being sixth man last season. He’s a bit short for a center at 6’9. but he’s impossibly strong at 290 pounds. Him and Ham up front is a supersized front court we’re hoping will be a great advantage for us all season. Former No. 115 overall recruit. Projected lottery pick.

There was some thought given to starting Henry at shooting guard again (where he goes down one point) to get sophomore Wilbur Ager in the starting lineup, but we prefer putting Henry at his best position, throwing Alloway into the fire, and letting Ager be one of the the better bench players in the country.

We’re going with a nine-man rotation this season: Ager and freshman center Kevin Brazzle will each get about 15 minutes per game, while freshman point guard Jamie Burke and freshman power forward LF Neal each get about 10 minutes per game. That means junior guard Vitor Andrisevic (79 overall) is out of the rotation. He will go down as the biggest recruiting bust in program history.

We also welcome three new incoming recruits to the team. All of them will redshirt.

PG Koko Reeves out of San Antonio, No. 52 overall recruit: 73 overall, C potential. Reeves is the smallest recruit we’ve ever had, but he’s already grown an inch to 5’11 since committing. His C potential grade is disappointing, but he looks like an absolutely elite shooter, already rated as an 82 from three-point range.

SF Jitim Dupre out of Chicago, No. 91 overall recruit: 76 overall, C+ potential. Dupre is a tall, lanky wing at 6’9. He’s a bit disappointing as a three-point shooter with a 72 rating.

C Artie Snipes out of Riverside, No. 177 overall recruit (No. 10 center): 75 overall, B+ potential. The 6’11 center is the heaviest recruit we’ve ever had at 282 pounds. Looks like he’s going to be another outstanding big man for the Leathernecks.

Recruiting

We only have one scholarship to recruit for this year. I want to hit the JUCO market to find a five-star shooting guard or power forward to join timeline of last year’s three-man class. I use my first two visits on these players:

6’2 shooting guard Edwin Wolfe out of Federal Way, WA

6’4 shooting guard V.J. Roberts out of Chicago

JUCO recruits aren’t numerically ranked and don’t have AAU stats, but Wolfe is the top shooting guard among JUCO players when the class is sorted by recruiting stars, so we offer him the scholarship.

Also we have to create a player for the winner of last season’s bracket contest, Isaac Springer. I asked Isaac to give me some details the player he wanted to create, and this is what he hit me with:

I actually had a small idea if I won: would it be possible to create Jon Bois instead? I’m not a huge college basketball fan (or much of a basketball fan in general), so I don’t really know anything about stats or positions or what’s good. But Jon is my favorite content creator online, and he’s what’s helped me find SB Nation and all of the great work that everyone is doing there. I think it’d be fun to introduce him into the Leathernecks universe.

Say no more, my man. Jon Bois, five-star shooting out of Louisville, is officially in the Leathernecks Universe. We’ll follow Jon’s recruitment and his career wherever he ends up. As a reminder, we don’t go after created players at Western Illinois to preserve the integrity of the game.

Finally, it’s time to begin the season. We start the year unranked in the polls and rated as a 96 overall. Let’s go!

First game: @ Illinois

I’ve had this game circled on my calendar since the Illini shocked us in the opener last season. We run this state, and we’ve proven it multiple times in the last decade. It’s time to issue the Illini an emphatic reminder of that.

Loss, 83-62. Oh my god. The Illini smacked us from the opening tip-off and there was nothing we could do to recover. That is not how we wanted to start the season. Ager had a good game and pretty much everyone else struggled.

Next up we have Georgetown. The Hoyas are rated as a 91 overall.

Win, 76-50. There we go. Look at Cunningham ball out with 23 points and six rebounds on 3-of-4 shooting from three-point range. That’s why this man is an icon. Read our beat writer Matthew Morrow on what makes Cunningham so special. I’m gonna need my guards to do better than shoot 1-of-13 from the floor, but thankfully it’s a long season and they should improve along the way.

As I sim to the next week, I noticed that my backup option on the recruiting trail V.J. Roberts really likes us. If he commits by the early signing period, we’d get a coaching point for landing our first five-star recruit in season. I decide to pull the scholarship from Wolfe and give it to Roberts. If he doesn’t accept it, I will probably re-offer Wolfe, assuming he doesn’t hate me now.

Next game is against Louisville, who enters at No. 1 in the polls. We decided to watch this game on the Twitch stream. The Cards enter at a 96 overall. The game will begin when you press play:

***

***

***

***

***

***

Loss, 111-105. Damn, we almost had them. I feel a lot better about my team after watching them go toe-to-toe with No. 1 in the country on the road. My freshman shooting guard Mathew Alloway looked terrific offensively, finishing with 24 points on 1-of-18 shooting. He also picked up a nickname on the Twitch stream: All Day. Let’s just decide not to talk about his defense. Cunningham was again phenomenal, Wilky Henry was solid, and we found a new breakout player in backup center Kevin Brazzle. He’s huge at 7’1 and was immediately more effective than our starter Giddens, who got into early foul trouble.

Our defense was just terrible all around. Louisville shot 50 percent from the field and 43 percent from three. They also forced us into 18 turnovers with their press. We’re going to need to close-out on shooters and take care of the ball if we want to make a deep run.

As the early signing period begins, we have a rematch with Cal, who knocked us out of the NCAA tournament in the first round last year. I’ll take one hot serving of revenge, please.

Win, 91-63. Eat it, Bears. Cunningham carried us like always with 20 points, Henry puts up a 9-9-9 line in a game where he shoots 2-for-11, Tron goes 5-for-5 from deep to score 18 points, which I believe is a career-high. Hell yeah. We’re 2-2- on the year.

We have our two early conference games on the final week of the early signing period. We blowout both UMKC and IUPUI to make us 4-2 on the year. Unfortunately, we don’t land the commitment we were looking for from Roberts. Since Wolfe appears to be the higher rated prospect and still doesn’t have any other suitors, we pull the scholarship from Roberts and re-offer Wolfe.

In other news, Jon Bois commits to Dayton!

Next up we have Stanford. The Cardinal are 3-4 on the year and enter as an 87 overall.

Loss, 77-75. Woof. Giddens and Henry played well, but that’s a team we should beat. It’s tough to get an at-large bid in the Summit League when you’re losing to likely non-tournament teams like Illinois and Stanford, so we’re probably going to need to win the conference tournament again to punch our ticket.

We have a tough week coming up, too: we travel to face Michigan and Duke in true road games.

The Wolverines are No. 17 in the polls and the defending national champions. Can we get back on track?

Loss, 86-74. Ugh. My center Giddens only playing seven minutes because of foul trouble wasn’t ideal, and neither was his backup Brazzle also getting into foul trouble. Great game from Henry with 23 points — we need more of that. It’s become apparent that this team isn’t as good defensively as we typically are.

Alright, Duke time. The Blue Devils are ranked No. 9 in the polls entering the game.

Loss, 99-60. Zero combined points from my backcourt seems less than great. This regular season is not going how I had hoped.

Next up we have Dayton, who enter at No. 11 in the country. The Flyers are led by Matt Boswell, the player we ever created for the first ever winner of our bracket contest. Dayton has not made the tournament yet since Boswell’s arrival, but it looks like they’re going to do it this year. This would be a nice win if we can get it.

Loss, 74-60. Boswell with 14 points in the win. We have left ourselves zero margin for error in the conference tournament.

We only have one more non-conference game left: @ Vanderbilt. The Commodores are led by one-time Leathernecks recruiting target Stane’s Hobson, who is a 93 overall as a senior point guard.

Win, 106-102! Hell yeah. We really needed that heading into conference play. Cunningham killed it (23 points on 9-of-14 shooting), Tron Whaley is turning into a dynamic point guard (18 points, six assists), and Brazzle gave us a nice lift off the bench with 10 points. I love the three-point shooting and the assists. Let’s keep it going to finish out the year strong.

It is now time for Summit League play. We have gone undefeated in the Summit the last two seasons. Can we do it again?

Yup. We finish off the perfect slate in conference play to enter the conference tournament at 21-6. Here’s a look at the end-of-season stats:

Great year for Cunningham. He’s just so damn good; the fact that he’s our primary option on offense is the thing that has me feeling optimistic about our tournament chances. Having four starters finish in the teens in scoring average feels pretty good, too. I also have to note our three-point shooting numbers were through the roof this year. Here’s what we did from deep:

Tron Whaley: 47 percent on 117 attempts

Wilky Henry: 40.3 percent on 114 attempts

Allan Cunningham: 47.2 percent on 74 attempts

Mathew Alloway: 50.7 percent on 63 attempts

I wish there was a way I could tell my team to shoot more threes. Getting up enough 3PAs is going to be a big key going into the postseason.

But first, we have to win the Summit League conference tournament again. We again enter the field as the top seed. As I’ve noted, I really don’t think we’ll have enough juice to get an at-large bid after our shaky non-conference schedule. We can’t have a letdown here.

Summit League tournament

First game is against Oral Roberts. They enter at 7-22 on the season.

Win, 123-62. Henry scores 24, Giddens scores 22, and Cunningham scores 20. We hit 12-of-19 threes in this game, too. We have UMKC next.

Win, 81-61. Henry plays arguably his best game of the season, finishing with 28 points on 12-of-17 shooting in the win. We out-rebounded them 36-19. Seems good. Now we have Fort Wayne in the title game. Why am I so nervous about this?

Win, 86-52! Tron just crushes it with 26 points, seven assists, and 6-of-8 shooting from three. Ham put in work like always, too. I am more relieved than excited — but hell yes, we’re going dancing again. I’m hoping for a single-digit seed, but I doubt our resume was good enough for it.

2027 NCAA tournament

We’re a No. 12 seed against No. 5 seed Minnesota in the first round. Wow. We haven’t faced the Golden Gophers in this simulation before, so that should be fun.

Here’s a look at our roster heading into the tournament:

It’s going to be Wilky and Cunningham leading the way. We just need Alloway to not actively hurt as our lowest rated starter in years as an 85 overall. For the record, I liked what he showed in the Louisville game and I’m super optimistic about his future. We also need Giddens to finally play up to his rating, especially as a projected lottery pick and what appears to be the highest rated junior in the country.

Here’s a link to the Minnesota roster. The Golden Gophers enter the game as a 98 overall — just like us. Here’s how the two teams matchup:

This is going to be a really tough test for a first round game. We’re going to watch the simulated game together on Sunday, Aug. 16 at 8:30 p.m. ET on Twitch. We’ll talk about that more in a second. But first, let’s get to this year’s bracket contest.

2027 NCAA tournament bracket contest

We’ve been running a bracket contest for the last few seasons, and it’s been a ton of fun. We’re opening it up to anyone who wants to enter as long as you turn in your bracket before we stream our first NCAA tournament game on Sunday, Aug. 16 at 8:30 p.m. ET on Twitch.

This is everything you need to know:

How does scoring work?

We use a standard scoring format. You get one point for correctly guessing the winner in a first round game, two points for correctly a winner in a round of 32 game, four points for correctly guessing a winner in a Sweet 16 game, eight points for correctly guessing a winner in an Elite Eight game, 16 points for correctly guessing a winner in the Final Four, and 32 points for correctly guessing the national champion.

Can I see the rosters for the other teams?

Yes. You can find the rosters for every team on the right side of the bracket in the East and West regionals here. You can find the rosters for every team on the left side of the bracket for the South and Midwest regionals here. Just arrow over to scroll through the rosters.

How do I enter?

1. Click this link to open the interactive bracket.

2. After opening, in the top left select File > Make a Copy

3. Make your picks

4. In the top left, select File and either “Share” and share with sean@hoopsinsight.com or “Email as attachment” and email as an Excel file (not PDF please!) to sean@hoopsinsight.com

Once your picks are entered, you can track scoring with Sean’s Blog Team app that works on desktop and mobile.

What does the winner get?

The winner gets to create themselves or a character as a five-star recruit ahead of next season. We won’t go after the created recruits at Western Illinois to preserve the integrity of the game, but we’ll follow the career of your character throughout our series.

Readers David, Matt, and Josh made an NCAA tournament preview show

I love the Leatherneck community so much. Please watch David, Matt, and Josh breakdown this year’s team and the entire NCAA tournament bracket in a 25-minute selection show.

This is the best.

The old clips got me choked up a little bit. Amazing work by them.

You might have noticed Boswell and the Dayton Flyers would likely be our opponent if we can reach the Sweet 16. I would love nothing more than to make it happen. Especially after Boswell said he would drop a cool 28 points on Giddens on the bracket show.

We need to win two games on Sunday night first, though. Here’s how you can watch Western Illinois in the 2027 NCAA tournament.

How to watch Western Illinois vs. Minnesota in the first round of the 2027 NCAA tournament

Game: No. 12 seed Western Illinois vs. No. 5 seed Minnesota, first round, 2027 NCAA tournament

How to watch: My Twitch channel. You don’t need to sign up for anything to watch, but you do need to register for an account to comment. Do it, it’s fun.

Date: Sunday, Aug. 16

Tip-off time: 8:30 p.m. ET

If we win: We’ll face the winner of No. 4 seed Ole Miss vs. No. 13 seed Yale in the round of 32 immediately following the first round game.

Here a couple bonus links:

Join the Leathernecks Subreddit started by reader Evan.

Reader Thanh Nguyen in Japan wrote a fan-fiction e-book on the first eight seasons of Leathernecks basketball under Coach Rick. Spoilers ahead, but this is absolutely incredible and I highly recommend buying it.

We now have a fan-started Leathernecks Twitter account. There will be spoilers on there from the Twitch stream before the recap post goes out.

Come hang out and watch our Leathernecks take on Minnesota in the NCAA tournament on Sunday, Aug. 16 at 8:30 p.m. ET on Twitch. Thank you and go ‘Necks.

[amatchgirl]

4 Levels of Banana Bread: Amateur to Food Scientist | Epicurious

4 Levels of Banana Bread: Amateur to Food Scientist | Epicurious

[energetic drumbeat] – Hi, I'm Jon, and I'm a level one chef. – I'm Gabrielle, and I'm a level two chef. – I'm Sim. I'm the dean of bread baking at the Institute of Culinary Education, and I've been baking since 1973. [energetic drumbeat] – I am a huge fan of banana bread. This is a very dumbed down version of my grandma's recipe and just makes me feel warm inside. – It's one of the only foods that you make when something is about to go bad. I'm making this banana bread gluten-free, but it's gonna taste just as good, if not better. – This is a more Caribbean-style banana bread. Pan de Platano, plantains, instead of bananas. [dramatic soundscape] [bright chimes] – First up, we're gonna mash up our bananas. I traditionally like to use very ripe bananas. – Toward the end of their life, if you will. – They're mushy, they're easy to work with. – Their sugar has, like, I don't know how to say this scientifically, but these are sweeter. – So we're gonna use plantains. The riper they are, the sweeter the flavor, just like with regular banana bread. – Remove the peels up off our bananas. – And if they have like little brown spots and stuff, it's okay, that's the point! They're perfect just the way they are! – So I'm gonna take the top off and the bottom off. Cut this in half. Split down the sides. And I'm gonna take off my skin. – They already smell so good. That's how you know a good, really ripe banana. – These are just nice and soft and ready to turn into something beautiful and amazing. – Let's roast these plantains. Put a little bit of olive oil on my paper. Like that, lay these out. Put a little bit of sugar and a little bit of butter on top of this. A little bit of rum, it just sorta gives it a nice flavor. Don't go crazy. I'm gonna put these into an oven, 350 degrees, for about 10, 15 minutes. – Now I'm just gonna go up and mash them. Because they're super ripe, I'm just gonna use a whisk. Could even use a fork if you don't have a whisk. – But a fork works just great. – Here are the plantains. They've now softened up considerably. They're nice and sorta caramely. And we're gonna put these in a bowl like this along with a little bit of butter and that sugar and rum. Smells fantastic. Onto the machine now. And we're gonna start this up. – Really easy. – Mash, mash, mash. This was the best part when I was a kid. I thought it was so fun that my mom let me destroy something in the kitchen. – I wanna get these down to, like, a banana stew. If there's lumps, that's okay. – I like to keep it a little bit chunky so I'm not gonna totally disintegrate all the bananas. – They're becoming soft and they're becoming mashed. – So I've got my oven preheating, and I'm gonna go ahead and grease my loaf pan. – Pretty simple, I'm just gonna take a little oil. – Simple cooking spray here. And gonna really get that. – Spread it around a little bit. – Nice and greased. – Then, I'm going to take my parchment paper. And this really helps you take it out when it's done. We don't want it sticking! – So now for our batter. We're gonna work with the wet ingredients. Have my mashed bananas, which look like baby food. Melted butter. – I'm going to start with light brown sugar. – Sugar. Just gonna mix it all up. – I'm gonna add in all my honey as well. I think that the honey creates a little bit more of like a flavor profile, rather than just regular sugar. – I'm gonna put a little bit of vanilla in here. – One egg. Gorgeous. Mix this up. – Put in my coconut oil. And then I'm gonna put in tahini. It balances out some of the sweetness. Then I'm gonna start whisking this together. – Put a little bit of orange juice in here now, just to moisten up the batter. – It's all about the moisture, the moister the better. – Put the whole orange. Just gonna leave this for a little while, let this get really soft and mushed. Not too many lumps. – I actually don't mind a little lumps in my banana bread. – But I like it a little chunky. I'm going to go ahead and add in my eggs. Give these a quick whisk before I put in the rest. Instead of using dairy milk, I decided to use an almond milk. And then lastly, we're gonna put in the crown jewel, the bananas! And then, it doesn't exactly look pretty but I wanna try and get this all combined. – All my wet is in here. – Just like when you make cookies or a cake, you start with your sugar and your butter and your base and then you go ahead and add in your dry ingredients. It's all fully combined, still have some nice lumps in there. For our dry ingredients, have my– – [All] Flour. – I wanna sift my gluten-free flour and then almond meal, sift that in as well, to just kinda bulk up this recipe a little bit. I'm going to go ahead and just start combining them in little batches so that I can make sure that I'm not leaving anything chunky and it's all combining really nicely. – We have. – [All] Salt. – Pink Himalayan sea salt. 'Cause we're fancy like that. – Baking powder. – Baking powder. Just like with a cake, gonna add my dry ingredients into my wet ingredients little by little, to not overwhelm it. – We're gonna add baking soda, cinnamon. – Baking soda, cinnamon. Just adds a little extra something. – Always hold back on cinnamon, just a little bit. – And then my vanilla, which I guess is not a dry ingredient but I forgot to add it otherwise, so. – Sugar. I'm using light brown here. Big fan of nutmeg, which I find is a little bit more aromatic, also makes you dream. – Make sure that all the ingredients get fully combined. I don't wanna see bits of flour. – I'm sweating. Baking isn't for the faint of heart. – Just got some beautiful walnuts here. Gonna chop these bad boys up. – I have the most important element, the chocolate chunks, from actual chocolate bars! I'm gonna see what two of these bars look like and maybe we'll do three. Probably three. Why not? – I have these roasted pecans. Rough chop, nice big pieces. And in they go. – You don't have to add in nuts if you don't like to or you're allergic, but for me, if I have them, it's a must-add. – Ooh! If you've never had the satisfaction of cutting through a chocolate bar, I highly recommend it. It's very therapeutic and it smells really, really good. We're gonna do a third one. – We're gonna put a little bit of ginger in this. Crystallized ginger. Chop it quite small. This is to taste. Mix your flour in so that you distribute the baking powder and the baking soda, which is important. – Fold the nuts in. This looks so good! – Gonna give this a stir before I put it into the pan. – Here's my mashed. I'm gonna put one egg in and mix that up a little bit more. And pour my dry in. You don't want to overmix because the gluten will tighten up. And I'm actually gonna just put a little bit of starter into my mix, just to like liven that flavor up a little bit. – This is done! Now, I'm going to pour this into my parchment-lined pan. – [Jon] Could see the lumps of banana. Nice chunks of walnut. – All these chunks! – You could do this in a metal tin, I sorta like these decorative paper ones. – Go ahead and give it a little shake. – Okay, this looks good to me. – Now to add on a topping. – And make it look really pretty. And add some extra flavor. – Just gonna add on some simple granulated sugar, right on the top of my batter. And this'll give it a little bit of crunch. – I'm going to cut a banana lengthwise. Place it in here. It's a little prettier if you put the seed side facing up, you kinda see the texture of the banana. – Put some pecans on. I wouldn't roast these before going on, just put these on raw. – And then I'm gonna go ahead and take my sesame seeds and just do a nice little sprinkling all over the top. – I like to put some pineapple on there, just keep that sorta Caribbean theme going. Not too thin slices, they sorta caramelize up a little bit. – This is ready to go into the oven now. – Just going to preheat my oven to 325 degrees. – 350 degrees Fahrenheit. – 45 minutes at 350. – My banana bread is ready. It's been out of the oven. Been cooling for a little bit. – It collapsed a little bit, but that's what happens sometimes. – We're gonna turn this stove up. And we're gonna put a little bit of nappage in there. Nappage is actually a glaze that's made from agar agar, which is a seaweed. We're gonna just do a little bit of water in there. Okay, we're melting it down, mixing it with the water. Whilst that's going, let's take these out. – With this little spatula guy. – [Gabrielle] Loosen the edges a little bit. – Give it a nice little shake here. – Oh yeah! – Now we're gonna take a little bit of nappage here, glaze my pineapple there, and I'm even gonna do a drip on top of my nuts like that. I tend to put icing sugar on everything, or confectioner's sugar. I just like how it looks. – Mm. Gorgeous. – Ooh! I see the chunks. – It's not so wet, it's not gummy. But it's very good to eat. – And this is my banana bread. [pleasant music] [dramatic crash] – And here is my tahini dark chocolate chunk gluten-free banana bread. [pleasant music] [dramatic crash] – Pan de Platano, or Caribbean plantain bread. [dramatic crash] [pleasant music] – Looks pretty good. – Oh yeah. – Mm. That's good. – Super moist, just the way I like it. Nice and sweet but not too sweet. – It's got so many chunks in it. Yay, I'm so happy! It turned out so good. – All in all, pretty good result. Mm. Pan de Platano. [dramatic crash] – Banana bread is a quick bread that's a popular and delicious way to use overripe bananas. Let's see what each of our three chefs did with their recipes. [dramatic music] We use bananas as a fruit, but botanically, they're actually a type of berry. Although they're distinctive in taste, bananas share one of the main aromatic compounds you also find in cloves, called eugenol. Eugenol is a colorless compound found in a number of essential oils and often used in perfumery. – This smells so good. – When unripe, bananas are green with a hard flesh and a very starchy, slightly sour taste. – These aren't even gonna be that sweet yet. – As bananas ripen, the flesh becomes soft, smooth and sweet due to amyl acetate and esters that develop. If left to become overripe, the peel gets very dark and the flesh becomes soft and sometimes darkens due to the browning enzyme called polyphenol oxidase. Jon and Gabrielle used overripe bananas because they're mild, sweet and soft. And very easy to blend into the batter with a whisk like Jon did, or a fork like Gabrielle did. This is a great way to use bananas that are at the end of their life. – It's really a lovely little lifecycle of a banana. – [Rose] Sim used plantains to give his dish a Caribbean flair. – It's not banana bread, it's not the same. – Like bananas, plantains are botanically classified as seedless berries, but are different from bananas in that they retain their starchiness even when they're ripe. So while the plantain's peel may be black, indicating ripeness, they're still very dry and starchy inside, with some astringency. Plantains are lower in sugar than bananas and usually aren't eaten raw like their banana cousins due to their high starch content. [dramatic music] Jon's batter was classic, simple, and delicious. He prepared his pan with a cooking spray. It allows the banana bread to release easily from the pan once it's cooled. He used a simple muffin mixing method, which means he mixed all of his dry ingredients except the sugar, and separately mixed the wet ingredients with the white sugar, and then combined the two with minimal mixing. – Simple mix with a fork. – He relied on baking powder as his leavener. Baking powder for homemade recipes is really called sodium aluminum sulfate phosphate. It reacts and produces sulfuric acid when it's combined with wet ingredients, and then converts the sulfuric acid to carbon dioxide when it's heated during baking. It's the carbon dioxide that leavens the batter and gives that nice, tender crumb. Gabrielle prepared her pan with parchment paper and brushed it with coconut oil. It's a gluten-free cake, so there's no wheat-based flour. Instead, Gabrielle uses gluten-free flour. – If you were to give this to someone and not tell them it was gluten-free, no chance they would know. – Gluten-free flour is a combination of starches that are pulverized to make the consistency of all-purpose flour. It often contains starches from beans, rice, tapioca, potatoes, sorghum, and cellulose. Cellulose is a starch derived from indigestible wood and plant cell walls. Gabrielle also used brown sugar instead of white sugar that Jon used. White sugar adds straight sweetness, while brown sugar adds more complex mineral caramel flavors to Gabrielle's banana bread. She also added tahini, which is made from ground, toasted sesame seeds, and adds a nutty, coffee-like flavor to her banana bread. – I think that that's just kind of the element that's bringing everything together. – Sim's Caribbean-inspired banana bread was started by roasting his plantains with butter, sugar, and rum. This softens and sweetens his plantains which is necessary for this starchy fruit. Sim also roasted his pecans, which brought out roasted flavors and made them darker due to the Maillard reaction. He used a combination of baking soda and powder to give extra porosity to his final product. This is a heavy and dense batter so it's good to add both. The orange juice that he added adds a bright citrus note and acts as the necessary acid along with molasses on the brown sugar, and the starter culture. This starter culture is not needed here, since there's enough acid from the orange juice and the brown sugar to make the baking soda react. – This isn't really important, but it does make a nice addition. – Sim added it because it gave a tangy quality to his banana bread. [dramatic music] Jon added chopped walnuts for texture and a richness that comes from this high-fat nut. – Something about the nuts and the banana bread just go really hand in hand. – Gabrielle added semisweet chocolate that she chipped from bars. These misshapen shards of chocolate melt beautifully in layers. The chocolate and the tahini are delicious together and create a unique and sumptuous flavor in her banana bread. – The tahini is so subtle. If you didn't know, you wouldn't think it was in there. – Sim added candied ginger, giving his banana bread a warm, spicy sweetness. It also adds a bit of crunch, because the sugar is crystallized. [dramatic music] Jon keeps it classic with a dusting of granulated sugar on top. The temperature of the bread never gets hot enough to fully melt the crystalline sugar, so it retains its crunchy structure. – The sugary topping on top, oh my god, it's so good. – Gabrielle sliced a banana in half lengthwise and placed it gently on top of her batter with white sesame seeds sprinkled on top. – Doesn't have to be super ripe. You can use a normal banana for this. – This gives a hint as to what's in the banana bread. Sim added sliced pineapple to one loaf, keeping with his Caribbean theme, and pecans to the other loaf. He brushed his garnish with– – Nappage. Tastes pretty good. – Which gives a classic shine and added sweetness. And finished it with a very light dusting of powdered sugar. [dramatic music] Jon baked his banana bread for an hour at 325 degrees in a traditional nine by five loaf pan. This ensures that the center of his dense batter bakes without burning the outside. Gabrielle baked her banana bread for 45 minutes at 350 degrees in a traditional nine by five loaf pan. She had extra-rich ingredients in her bread like tahini, honey, almond meal and almond milk, so she needed the higher temperature to dehydrate her batter. Sim baked his in smaller pans for 35 to 40 minutes at 350 degrees. Plantains are lower in water and higher in starch compared to bananas, so they don't require as long of a cooking time to dry the bread. – It's not quite as wet as your regular banana bread. – Banana bread is a treat from start to finish. Next time you have bananas that would be better off in a batter, I hope you'll consider some of our three chefs' ideas to make it your own. – Hey Gabrielle. – Oh, Andy! – Yeah. – Hey guys. – Come on in! I would love for you to try this, yes. – I would love to try it. – Please do. [laughing]. – Huh? – That's really good. – Uh huh. Well, I have a little secret for you. – What's that? – It is gluten-free. – We're not gonna air this, right? Fine, I'll just finish this. – Mr. Non Gluten-Free himself. – This'll be our secret. 'Cause I have an image to maintain of being anti-gluten-free stuff. But this is good.

from WordPress http://sweetly.site/4-levels-of-banana-bread-amateur-to-food-scientist-epicurious/