#pb&j solos as always

[vocaju]

loooove their little interactions !!

[thebearer]

could you write smth with a reader who has safe foods, and carmey trying to get them to branch out? my mom is being a dick to me about only eating pasta and pb&j's.

He teases you about it at first. Small things about how you always order the same thing. Carmen's kidding, of course, until he realizes that you really do order the same things. He asks, just once, and you shrug. "It's just what I like." You mutter, and he doesn't ask you again.

From then, Carmen is on a silent solo mission to expand your palette. He doesn't want to force it, knows better than that. Instead, he'll let you try it, small things. He starts making simple dishes, something about the pasta you always order with just enough similarities to still be safe but something a little different to see if you like it. If you do, he'll try something else with that same ingredient, see if it still works. It's fun for him in a way, a challenge.

"What's this?" You hum, looking at the food on his fork.

"Lasagna but it's vegetarian. Still really fucking good, just less meat, ya know? Better for you. Thinkin' about adding it to the menu on Italian nights, ya know?" Carmen soothes, rambled words that have you swooning. "Try it f'me."

You hesitate for a moment, and his eyes soften. "C'mon, you know you won't hurt my feelings if you don't like it." He grins.

You accept the bite, hesitantly, chewing it in your mouth. It's different... the texture is close to pasta but not the same. You can tell he blended the vegetables finely in the sauce for you, and you're grateful for that.

"'s good." You swallow, looking up at Carmen carefully.

His eyes light up. "Yeah? You like it?" He asks.

You nod. "I like it a lot. Tastes like regular lasagna." You grin. "Well, without the meat but I think that's better?"

Carmen beams, smugly grinning when he sets the fork in the sink. "Great. I'll be adding that one to the menu." He hums, taking note that this dish had eggplant in it too.

[intheupside]

What's the secret to Sidney Crosby's success?

Always eat a strawberry PB&J on game day… and have unwavering dedication, unparalleled work ethic, and exceptional talent.

With Sidney Crosby appearing in his 1,200th NHL contest on Saturday in San Jose, I wanted to ask how his game-day routine has evolved in the years since that first one to help keep him playing at such an elite level.

Because as Mike Sullivan said, that’s not an easy thing to do – and it's a testament to Crosby’s drive, his will to win, his desire to be the best, and his willingness to put the time in and make the sacrifices so that he can continue to sustain that type of play.

At first, Crosby laughed good-naturedly – because we all know how superstitious and routine-based the captain is – and half-joked that there might not be much there. Most of it has stayed the same, particularly his on-ice warmup routine heading into puck drop. "Whether it’s preparing for a game or just a typical game day, (my routines) just allow me to feel good about going out there and doing what I need to do," he said.

But there has been a tweak here and there to the captain’s preparations now that he’s 36, particularly when it comes to what he does in the mornings. Unless the Penguins have the day off before a game, the morning skate is always optional – and in recent years, Crosby has chosen to stay off the ice.

“You look to conserve that energy a little bit more,” he said. “As much as I like getting on the ice in the morning, it’s good if you can just take that opportunity to do other things and still get a little bit of sweat – get ready for the night, but still conserve some energy at the same time. It's always a balancing act.”

Instead of skating, Crosby will take his stick and gloves and find a quiet area of the rink to do some solo stickhandling, which helps him loosen up a bit. He’ll also take part in the first soccer game of the day with Bryan Rust, Jake Guentzel, Erik Karlsson, Marcus Pettersson, and Rickard Rakell. Sometimes, Noel Acciari will join them, depending on if they do 3-on-3 or 2-on-2.

“We’re just kicking it around, but it can get pretty intense,” Crosby said before adding with a grin, “Sometimes, I wonder if I expend more energy in soccer than I would in morning skate. It just depends on the day, maybe.”

After grabbing lunch to go, when he gets home in the afternoons, Crosby’s nap has gotten shorter as he’s gotten older. “I used to sleep like, two and a half hours when I was younger. But a little harder to do that now,” he smiled. But Crosby still isn’t a big coffee drinker, since natural adrenaline gets the job done when it comes to waking up. “I feel like I get pretty amped up, so I don't need that. I’ve had some caffeine before, and I don’t think it’s good for me,” Crosby laughed.

When it comes to the food Crosby fuels himself with, on a game day the players have the same menu available to them both at home and on the road for their breakfast, lunch, and pregame meal/snack, so he sticks to his routine for those … down to the strawberry PB&J that HBO filmed him making during their 24/7 Penguins/Capitals Road to the Winter Classic series.

But Crosby doesn’t eat as much steak the night before games compared to his early years in the league, especially on the road. “That changed a little bit. Other than that, as long as it's somewhat healthy, I just try to make sure I get a good meal,” Crosby said.

There’s obviously a lot more that goes on behind the scenes, both inside and outside of a game day, that Crosby does to set himself up for success.

“All the subtle things he does – for me, that's the most impressive aspect of his overall body of work. A lot of it goes unseen,” Sulivan said. “That's why I've always said on so many occasions that it's not by accident this guy's as good as he is. Yeah, he's talented, he's gifted, and all of those things, but he maximizes every opportunity that he has to be at his best. I think that commitment, in my experience of being around the game, has been unmatched by any other player I've seen.”

And that’s because Crosby’s passion for the sport is something else that’s remained the same.

“I love it just as much as I did Game 1,” he said. “It’s a lot of hockey, and just grateful I’ve been able to play this long.”

[cottagepodfics]

AO3 Wrapped 2022

Thank you for the tag, @daysarestranger! And thanks for editing this for podfics. 😁

Works Published: 21 (14 solo podfics and 7 multivoices, plus 1 WIP)

Word Count Run-Time: 23 hours 57 minutes (so you could listen to *me* for nearly a full day! 😝)

Hits: 7,991 (but some podfics are attached to fics)

Bookmarks: 97

Most popular by kudos: Peaceful Bliss

(*ignoring those that are also fic: STILL PEACEFUL BLISS, which is wild. Hi, Stranger Things. You are my first big fandom and I'm still in awe of/intimidated by you.)

Most hits: Peaceful Bliss again!

(*ignoring those that are also fic in second place: Shall I Stay?)

Longest: also Shall I Stay? at 12 hours 13 minutes

Shortest: i will share this room with you at 6 minutes 20 seconds

Most comments: The Mechanics of Poetry again! It has a lot of chapters, and there were also a few lovely listeners who commented many times. It always made me smile!! ❤️

Podfic that made me cry: I don't have anything tearjerking for this year, but if you're looking for something truly devastating, there's always last year's To Come Out the Other Side (aka Schitt's Creek MCD)...

Podfic that made me smile: Wellies Always Kiss and Tell ! @thirdeye1234 wrote this fantastic fic, and some friends and I got together to surprise her with a podfic. It was so much fun to collaborate on, and it's the first multi-voice I edited.

Gifts: Wisdom Teeth for Amanita_Fierce, as a just-because gift. Reading Nursey high from the dentist and Dex as his suffering caretaker was very fun.

Events: Please (Don't) Have Snow, a cute little PB&J fic, for Deck the Haus.

Here's to even more podfics in 2023! First on the agenda is finishing my WIP, and then I have an idea for a series... 👀

No-pressure tags: @sunlightsymphony, @thirdeye1234, @n0connections, @b13-maybethistime, @hullomoon, and anyone reading this who wants to participate! Consider yourself tagged!

[fangirl-writes]

Nightmares

JJ Maybank x Routledge!Reader

Warning(s): Mentions of physical abuse, nightmares, and blood.

Requested by @abiseifried : heyy i have a fic idea! so i thought you could do a secret relationship jj x reader (john bs sis) and jj shows up at her window beaten up and she cleans him up and they go to bed; then he has a nightmare and wakes up screaming and JB sees how good they are for each other? idk if that makes sense hahaha!

Notes: It totally makes sense! I love it and I hope you enjoy what I've written! The ending sucks, but I like what I’ve written.

JJ Maybank was a loveable goofball.

He smoked weed, made dick jokes, and got into trouble. He played pranks, wore snapbacks, and could make light of almost any situation. He surfed any wave he could catch, drank until it wasn’t fun anymore, and had a permanent place on the couch at the château.

Y/N Routledge was loving soul.

She stocked the cooler, picked the music, and threw red solo cups at John B’s head. She liked PB and J’s, wore flip flops, and was always up for a hug. She cooked meals for fun, cut the boys’ hair when it got too long, and was an expert in nursing a summer morning hangover.

Really, it was only natural they would fall in love.

That classic tale of the brother’s best friend and the little sister, but it wasn’t just that. What Y/N and JJ had was deeper than some shitty romcom.

“Hey,” JJ said.

“Hey,” Y/N replied, smiling at him.

She was standing in the chateau's kitchen, unpacking the cooler after a long day on the water. 

The sun was just starting to dip into the horizon and John B., Kiara, and Pope were out lounging on the hammocks, feeling lethargic and sleepy from the warm day.

JJ seemed similarly tired as he threw an arm over Y/N’s shoulders lazily and kissing her on the cheek before burying his face into her neck.

She chuckled softly, forgetting the cooler for a minute and wrapping her arms around his warm body.

She kneaded her fingers through his hair and whispered. “Do you have to go home tonight? You could just stay here and...”

JJ picked his head up, looking at her sadly. “You know I can’t.”

He could see the worry in her eyes and caressed her cheek softly. “I’ll be okay. He’ll probably be passed out when I get back anyway and I’ll just head straight to bed. No issues.”

She knew that wasn’t going to be true. There were always issues when it came to JJ’s dad.

She pulled him into a hug again. “You know you can always come back here if things get bad. You can sleep with me and if John B. says anything I’ll punch him.”

JJ laughed lightly. “As much as I’d like to see that, we can’t...”

Y/N sighed, pulling back from him.

It hadn’t been an easy decision, hiding it from everyone, but they both decided it was for the best. Ever since Big John had gone missing, things had been a wreck.

John B. had practically gone off the deep end trying to keep the two of them out of the system and together. But it resulted in bigger parties, worse grades, and him being very overprotective of Y/N.

Not that JJ could blame him; she was the only family he had left.

So, they both decided to keep what they had their own little secret...for now.

“Just...come in through the window?” Y/N said, looking at him with her beautiful (e/c) eyes.

He kissed her on the forehead softly, his lips lingering there as he whispered, “Always.”

The loud screech of the screen door echoed through the house and caused the two of them to jump apart to opposite ends of the kitchen.

John B. walked in just as JJ grabbed a water to make it look like that had been what he came in for and Y/N had returned to her job of unstocking the cooler.

“Hey, guys,” John B. said, slightly groggy. “Pope and Kie just headed home. JJ you staying?”

“Nah,” JJ said with a shrug. “I’d like to sleep in a bed that doesn’t have springs digging into my back.”

“Sorry we can’t afford a sleep number, J,” John B. replied, nudging his friend good-naturedly. “But you’d better get going. There’s only a little daylight left.”

He was right. The sun’s orange glow had begun to filter out of the small kitchen, replacing it with a dark gray hue that signaled the start of night.

“Yeah, you’re probably right,” JJ replied, wrapping an arm around John B.’s shoulder and squeezing it. Their version of a goodbye hug.

Y/N wouldn’t be having any of that so she stood up, closed the fridge, and walked over to hug JJ goodbye.

She knew he needed it.

And, really, she needed it, too.

“Be safe,” She whispered, hugging him tighter for a minute before pulling away with a smile. “Night, J,”

JJ smiled softly at her, a look that only she got, and waved to the Routledges before disappearing out of the room, the slam of the screen door and the revving of his motorbike the remaining signals that he was leaving. 

“So,” John B. started. “You and JJ...?”

Y/N looked at him with a raised eyebrow, like she had no idea what he was talking about and dared him to assume anything.

“This is going to sound harsh, but I don’t want you to get involved with him.” He said. “I love the guy, but I know how he is with girls and I don’t want him to be like that to you.”

He’s not, she almost said, but stopped herself.

“JJ’s a good guy,” Y/N said with a shrug, seemingly indifferent.

“To you, maybe,” John B. replied, wrapping an around around her neck. “But that’s because you’re my stinking little sister.”

Y/N pushed his arm away with a frown and punched him in the arm.

“Ow!” He said with a big grin.

“Go to bed, you big wimp,” She replied, shoving him out of the kitchen.

“I’m going! I’m going!” He laughed.

The two of them split off into their separate bedrooms, throwing quick “night”s at each other before closing their doors and preparing for bed.

Y/N discarded her tank top and board shorts, as well as the swimsuit she’d worn underneath them. She put on a pair of underwear and an oversized t-shirt she’d bought to sleep in over the summer.

She flopped onto her bed and the tiredness she’d not been feeling before came crashing down on her. 

She fell asleep quickly.

***

Y/N woke up with a start, a crash against her floor alerting her. She turned on her lamp and when she looked to the source of the noise-

"JJ, oh my god!" She exclaimed, throwing herself out of bed and onto the floor next to him.

It was bad this time. He had a split lip, a bruise on his eye that was slowly darkening, a few small cuts on his face that she knew was from a glass bottle, and god knows what else that she couldn't see.

JJ hissed as she gripped his side a little too hard.

"Sorry, sorry!" She squeaked, as quietly as she could. "Oh my god, JJ."

"Yeah," He replied, softly. "He was feeling especially pissed off tonight. Came in while I was asleep..."

She could see his eyes getting glassy and felt her own tears pricking at her eyes. 

She hugged him softly, trying to miss his bruises. If she hit any he didn’t say anything, just wrapped his arms around her waist and tried not to cry.

Y/N could feel a few tears wetting her shirt, but didn’t care. She just raked her fingers through his hair, soothingly, and eased him over to the bed.

“Sit down, baby. I’ll go get the first-aid kit.”

JJ did as he was told and watched as Y/N went into the bathroom to find the first-aid kit she kept on hand for instances like this.

It made his stomach turn when he thought about it. Her having to have a first-aid kit just for him, having to nurse him back to health when something happened, having to hide it all from her brother, the only family she had left.

She came back in holding the red box she’d always kept underneath the sink in the bathroom.

“Can you take your shirt off for me?” She asked.

If he’d have been in better spirits he’d have joked about her wanting to get in his pants, but he didn’t have it in him.

He pulled the gray shirt over his head and tossed it onto the bed next to him.

It almost hurt Y/N to see the bruises littering his chest and his sides.

She pulled over her desk chair and sat in front of him, pouring peroxide on a cotton ball. “You’re lucky John B.’s a heavy sleeper of he’d have come flying in here when you fell through the window.”

JJ couldn’t help but laugh and then hiss as she pressed the cotton ball to his lip.

“Sorry,”

He met her eyes for the first time. He could see the sadness and the worry swirling in them.

“I wish I would’ve made you stay,” She whispered, tossing the first cotton ball and cleaning up his cuts with another one.

“It would have been worse the next time,” He replied. “You know how he is.”

“Yeah, I know that low-life, son of a-”

“Y/N.” JJ said, a little sharply, then sadly, “he’s my dad.”

Y/N sighed. “I know, it’s just...”

She didn’t have to say, JJ knew. He’d gotten her lecture before, from everyone. From all the pogues, Sheriff Peterkin, the people his dad worked for. They all told him he should just run away.

But he couldn’t. Because it was still his dad.

Y/N closed up the first aid kit after covering some of the bloodier cuts with band-aids. “Let’s get some sleep, okay?”

JJ nodded, laying down in her bed as she left the room to put the kit back. He pulled the sheets up to his chin and rolled on his side.

She came back with a small smile, shutting off the lamp and sliding into bed next to him. He wrapped his arms around her, pulling her impossibly closer.

“Thank you,” JJ whispered, he could see the sparkles in her eyes as his adjusted to the dark.

“You don’t have to thank me.” She replied, running her fingers softly over his arm. “That’s what you do when you love someone. You take care of them.”

JJ felt his breath catch at her words. That was the first time either of them had used the ‘L’ word.

“JJ?” She said, squeezing his arm. “You know I love you, right?”

He was silent for a minute and Y/N thought he might try to bolt, but he didn’t. He just let out a quiet sob and buried his face in her neck.

“Hey, hey, what’s wrong?” She asked.

“Nothing,” he said with a sniff. “I just- I really love you too. And I can’t believe it took me this long to realize just how in love with you I am and you shouldn’t have to deal with all my shit-”

“Hey.” Y/N lifted his head off her neck and made him look at her. “Your shit is my shit, okay? We’re in this together. Just like I said, when you love someone you take care of them. Let me take care of you, J,”

JJ blinked back more tears and nodded. “As long as you let me take care of you, too.”

She allowed him to snuggle back into her. “Always,”

JJ fell asleep with many emotions, but he could deal with those when the sun came up. As long as Y/N was there with him, he could deal with anything.

*****

John B. wasn’t sure why he was awake. Usually he slept right through the night with no disturbances. Maybe being out all day messed with him or something.

So, he got out of bed and headed to the kitchen for a glass of water. That usually helped him when he couldn’t sleep.

The turned on the facet, filling up a glass and taking a large gulp from it before leaning against the counter and staring out the window. 

The sky was barely starting to return to its daily blue and the moon was still most of the light out over the water. It was probably four or five am if he had to guess.

He let out a groan. He hated being awake this early.

John B. dropped his cup as screams started coming from Y/N’s bedroom. He bolted out of the kitchen towards her room, his mind not even registering that those shouts were male.

He just about made it to the room when he heard Y/N call out, “JJ!”

But it was too late, he’d already burst through the door. He startled Y/N, but she couldn’t be bothered by him.

“JJ, wake up, your having a nightmare. It’s just a dream, wake up.”

Her voice was soft, trying to coax JJ out of the nightmare without scaring him any more.

John B. was rooted to the spot, mesmerized by the way Y/N was able to calm JJ down. His screams lessening into whimpers.

John B. had a vague recollection of their dad doing something similar when they were kids.

When JJ finally woke up, he sat straight up and was sweating profusely. He was still obviously distraught from the dream.

Y/N gripped his shoulders and made him look at her. John B. could see the way JJ’s shoulders relaxed as he began to recognize his environment.

“It’s okay,” She said. “You’re safe. You’re with me and John B. and everything is okay.”

JJ choked out a soft sob and a mumbled, “I’m sorry.”

“Stop apologizing. You don’t have anything to be sorry for. It was just a dream.”

JJ nodded and Y/N pulled him into a hug.

The siblings shared a look, conveying that they had the same suspicions on what the dream was about.

John B. reached out a touched his friend’s shoulder, a silent way of telling him that he was also there.

JJ turned his head and looked at John B., never breaking from Y/N’s embrace. “Hey, JB,”

“Hey, man. You alright?”

“Yeah. Yeah, I’m alright.”

“Good.”

John B. looked from JJ to Y/N who was looking at him with curious eyes. As if asking him how he felt about this.

It was then he realized exactly what was going on. JJ was sleeping in Y/N’s bed, wrapped in her hug. And suddenly everything started to make sense.

Why JJ was suddenly more protective of Y/N, why he always helped her out of the boat, and always disappeared when she disappeared. Why they had begun to grow closer, why their touches lingered and their hugs went on a hair too long.

Y/N and JJ were dating. And they didn’t want to tell him.

John B. looked down and then back up at his sister. He simply nodded.

Yeah. Yeah, this is okay. I don’t mind.

Y/N smiled and looked down at JJ.

They’re good together, John B. thought.

[rfadaydreaming]

boyfriend jihyun headcanons

absorbs so many his partners traits

hes just one of those people that adapts to his s/o super well

just really loves to make his partner happy and loved

hugeeee romantic, literally toothrottingly sweet romantic. will write you poetry, paintings dedicated to you, fresh flowers weekly, breakfasts in bed and massages whenever you want. his love language is mainly giving and touch

he’s needy, very needy. sometimes its a bit overbearing, but you know he does it out of love. constant texts or calls whenever youre without him, just making sure youre safe and that he loves you. it can be too much for some people though, if you dont like it then he’ll try his best to tone it down but it does make him anxious not being able to protect you when youre alone

he’ll watch you and randomly just blurt out how beautiful you are or how much he loves you

absolutely adores cooking for you, loves trying new recipes and having you be his little taste tester. really a great natural cook so its never bad. glows when you praise him for his food. he loves cooking traditional korean recipes for you

especially if you’re not korean, he’ll tell you about the origins or how much he loved certain foods growing up. if youre from another country he’ll try to find traditional recipes popular from that area and give it a go. always super yummy, if youre a picky eater he’ll alter everything to your tastes too!

really observant lover. overhears you on the phone mentioning a dress you saw online that you loved but its sold out? noted. will refresh constantly until its in stock and buys it for you as a gift. he would totally buy you the strawberry dress ♥︎

also is really good at registering your emotions and reacting with them properly. if you wanna have a little alone time, no biggie. occupies himself until you seem recharged again even if it does make him a little lonely. super excited? matches that energy no matter what. he never wants to make you feel like your interests are boring or dumb to him.

amazing listener. again, never wants you to feel like he doesnt care about your hobbies or interests. even if he doesn’t know what you’re talking about he’ll still listen intently and ask questions. googles it when you’re away to find out more things about it to bring up next time you guys talk.

loves touching you when he can. tracing patterns on your skin, kissing you wherever he can get to. holding you, cuddling. all of it he loves. he was a little nervous it would be too much at first but you melt into it perfectly. he feels so comfortable around you

so smiley when he talks about you to other people. everyone always talks about how in love you two are, or are in awe about how he speaks of you. a lot of people are jealous of your position, definitely.

loves marriage lingo too

“Let me talk it over with my wife, first.” literally his favorite thing ever to say

he just really loves calling you his wife

enjoys just spending genuine time with you, even just watching movies means a lot to him. he feels so good around you

when he goes on solo trips his world is completely rocked, he feels so empty and wrong and starts to overthink. calls you a lot whenever either of you are away, doesn’t realize how much he’s used to you until moments like that

even though hes a big giant sappy romantic, he never expects anything crazy in return. he constantly feels thankful that you’re even with him.

you could make him a pb&j and he’d cry

like that means SO much to him

if you ever get him little gifts or anything like that he’ll feel horrible, he doesn’t snt like receiving gifts at all, but it means a lot to him anyways

hes a guy that likes flowers so if you pick him some wildflowers by hand he’ll blush so hard and be so in love

dries them and makes resin art out of them when they’re starting to wither

in general he’s just a simple man that truly just enjoys being in love and tries not to let the world into his relationship or his worries, which helps your bond be as strong as it is.

[sandersstudies]

Espresso-ly for You - Chapter Two

I liiiiiive! Or at least, my writing does. Like I said, I can’t and won’t promise regular updates on this one, but the sweet sweet coffeeshop AU will never let me go for sure.

Chapter One Here 

***

“Hey there, long time no see!” Janus said over the top of his mug. It was the one he brought from home, with a snake for a handle. 

“I saw you on Sunday,” Virgil said, slouching his backpack off his shoulder to store in the employee cupboard. 

“Yeah, but so much has happened since then,” Janus said, and then sipped his drink loudly. “Did Logan tell you about the birds that were fighting outside on Tuesday?”

“No.”

“See, of course he didn’t, he doesn’t care about the fun stuff. God, you look exhausted, let me get you a pick-me-up, you raccoon.” He began to measure a shot of espresso.

“I’ve already been drinking way too much soda to stay awake,” Virgil said.

“I’m not giving you soda, am I?” Janus asked, turning on the steam wand. “I’m giving you sweet bean juice, it will give you things no other drink can.” The shots pulling from the espresso machine dripped like warm honey, and Virgil had to admit they looked enticing. Janus was the most skilled barista in the cafe, going to local barista competitions three years in a row, and making it to the final round the last two years. 

“One of the benefits of working here is all the free coffee you want,” Janus said. “Might as well take advantage of it.” He’d barely looked at the machine while preparing the milk and espresso, but now, with a few seconds of intense focus, he guided his pitcher across the surface of the crema to create a delicate rosetta. “There, my nicest flat white of the day, all for you.”

Virgil took the cup and sipped. Perfect, creamy foam. 

Janus picked up his own cup and slurped the last of the coffee inside. “Well, better prepare for the lunchtime rush,” he said, checking his watch. “How was it yesterday?”

“Not too bad.”

“If you want to run register and food the first hour, I’ll run bar and then we can switch,” Janus said, reaching behind himself to tighten his apron strings. “If it slows down I’ll do a restock but I think we should be fine.”

Janus had been the first barista to push Virgil to run the espresso machine solo. When the morning or lunch rush came and there was a line out the door, Janus would watch and speak encouragingly, but never step in to rescue him the way Logan did.

“See these two cups?” Janus had said one day when Virgil could barely hold a milk pitcher without shaking. “These two drinks are the only ones you need to worry about right now. All those other drinks, all those other people, they don’t exist to you. It doesn’t matter if there are three drinks or thirty drinks waiting, you’re always working on these two drinks, and two drinks only.”

Eventually Virgil learned how to fall into a rhythm where he prepped one shot as another one pulled, poured one milk as another one steamed. Janus would flit back and forth from the register to the hand-off, confidently ringing in and handing out drinks as Virgil’s hands shook too hard to stop cups from spilling.

“You don’t need me,” Janus had said. “Someday you’re gonna be stuck up to your elbows in cappuccinos and I’m not going to be here, and you’ll have to haul them out of yourself. If I rescue you now, you won’t be able to do it then.”

Virgil had burned with frustration that Janus wouldn’t help him. But when the line dwindled, Virgil found himself reaching for the next cup in line, and it wasn’t there. He’d done it, he’d seen only two drinks in front of him and had conquered a breakfast rush. The customers had become a blur, and he’d honed in on more lattes and macchiatos than he could count.

“The next challenge,” Janus had said as they shared coffee in the following lull. “Is to bring the customers into focus too. Two things matter in coffeeshops, the coffee, and the people. You can’t let either one distract from the other.”

“You want me to do all that and small talk?”

“It gets easier with time.”

The retrospect that proved Janus right didn’t help Virgil to not feel aghast at the suggestion. It was easy to envy Janus’ ease around customers, asking Wendy how her radishes were doing as he poured her coffee, telling jokes to kids, and showing them the swan he’d drawn in their father’s latte. 

Virgil tied his apron and went to the front register. He ran his fingers over the screen. Pretending to type up a long order was his key both to eavesdropping and to looking busy, especially if he furrowed his brow just enough to look focused. Whenever a particularly angry customer started to complain at the other end of the counter, here Virgil would be, tapping like he was crafting a novel and not hitting the button for “doppio” a dozen times in a row. Meanwhile Janus, usually, would be the one at the end, silver-tongued and composed, listening with raised eyebrows and a soft smile. He’d turn around only when the cafe was empty to say “could you believe that jerk?”

A gaggle of college girls in matching volleyball t-shirts approached, and Virgil glanced at Janus, who cracked his knuckles dramatically. “May the coffee gods guide me,” he said as the bell on the door jangled merrily. 

“Hi, what can I get for you?”

“Large iced vanilla soy latte.”

“Medium blended caramel coffee, extra caramel, whipped cream.”

“Small almond latte.”

And so on down the line. Janus remained unfazed, continuing to greet other customers who braved entering the store despite the line. He called out every drink he made and made eye contact with each girl who picked hers up, even (Virgil thought he saw) winking a couple times. The hum of the espresso machine and hiss of the steam wand filled the cafe, singing along to the piano playing over the speakers. Was this Logan’s playlist?

The line didn’t end, after that. The girls cleared and were replaced by tides of office workers in pressed clothes from the smattering of office buildings that hemmed in the coffee shop on all sides. Friendly receptionists and personal assistants were a favorite of Virgil’s, and were perhaps the only ones who called him by endearments that didn’t feel horribly awkward.  Most of them tipped well. 

The cafe chairs filled up, representing casual business talks, friendly meet-ups, and solitary breaks from long days. All the grind-never-stop types had the coffee to-go, and those taking a quick respite adored the cafe’s “for here” cups. Virgil liked to watch for the people who perked up or relaxed with their first sip. One of the personal assistants from the building across the street (Virgil thought her name was Jackie) put her cappuccino to her lips and leaned back into her chair, the tension around her eyes softening.

A moment came where a couple of middle-aged women paused to examine the menu, and Janus appeared as if by magic at the register. 

“Tag team, let’s go! Your turn on the bar, kid.” 

Virgil moved to the espresso machine. Janus had not only finished the drinks in front of him, but wiped down the counter and machine to leave Virgil the perfect surface to begin again. The middle-aged women put in their orders, and Virgil felt like his vision zoomed in as he began the two drinks in front of him, and the two after that, and the two-

He was getting better at this now, even managed a croaked “hello,” to most of the customers who walked in the door, and a “thank you” as they took their drinks. He let the steam wand run a few extra seconds to feel the warmth bead on his face every time he started to get anxious. 

The lunch rush came to its merciful end, and Virgil took his break to chew a PB&J sandwich before Janus left for the day. As the clock hit two, the elder barista pulled his keys from the cupboard.

“I bid you adieu and an easy close,” he said, twirling his keychain around his hand as he clocked out. The jingle of his keys was followed by the jangle of the door behind him, and Virgil was alone in the cafe.

He brewed fresh coffee - they’d almost run out during the rush, and pause to sweep the floors and wipe down the counters. Running the store for the last three hours before close, and the chance to close the store by himself was both a responsibility and a chance for peace that Virgil appreciated. He liked helping customers, more spread out then before, and in between them finding little things to clean, extra minutes to practice his latte art - damn, how could Janus draw a rosetta so effortlessly? All Virgil’s came out looking like lumps. 

He aerated the milk gently, and heard the front bell ting.

“Hey there,” Virgil said without looking up, tilting his pitcher so the foam was perfectly incorporated. He turned the steam wand off and gently groomed the milk to pour. “Sorry, I’ll be right with you.” 

The milk texture was almost perfect. He guided his pitcher over the crema and… produced a haphazard rosetta. It was lopsided and a little mangled from Virgil swirling the crema too hard, but it wasn’t one of his worst attempts.

“Hey, that looks pretty good!” 

Virgil looked up and felt his ears get hot. Roman was leaning slightly over the bar (oh wow, he was even taller than Virgil had thought), staring at the cup. “Could you do one like that for me?”

Virgil swallowed. “Yeah uh… yeah, sure.” Nevermind that it was much harder to make oat milk froth properly. Virgil grabbed his non-dairy pitcher.

“Oh, could you make it as an large cinnamon-”

“Yeah, I got it.” Oh no, I cut him off. In too deep now. Virgil felt Roman’s gaze on him as he made the latte. The cinnamon-sugar topping made a nice base to draw with, but Virgil didn’t have as much experience with oat and soy, and the rosetta was barely visible as he finished it. Roman stared into the cup.

“Sorry,” Virgil muttered. “Still practicing.” 

“Oh, that’s okay,” Roman said, but sounded a bit disappointed. He left a ten on the counter. “Thanks for trying, the extra’s for you.” 

He left the cafe, and Virgil watched him vanish down the street, but just before he was out of sight, he put the to-go cup to his lips, and Virgil saw his shoulders relax.

[gvnchvcks]

What would the FAHC do if one of them arrived back from a solo mission with an injured small child, saying, “Well, I couldn’t just LEAVE her!” Bonus points if the person doing this is Ryan, though Trevor, Micheal, and Gavin seem like the more obvious choices.

Anon idk what you're on about, Ryan would TOTALLY be the one to do this!! Also this is super adorable tysm (also it's a bit long hope that's okay!)

Okay so, it's a quiet day around the penthouse. Nothing's really been going on lately, the crew is laying low. Ryan and Jeremy were sent to gather information on some drug dealer that's been climbing in popularity these past few weeks. Not that any of the Fakes do much more than maybe smoke weed, they don't need any new criminals getting cocky, and druggies in Los Santos are particularly handsy when it comes to stealing money from others. Now it's just waiting for the Battle Buddies to get back.

There's talking from outside and Gavin is the first to hear it. Without setting down his controller or standing from his position playing around on his X-Box, he calls out,

"Jeremy and Ryan are back!"

The door opens, and in they come. First Jeremy who looks slightly annoyed, then Ryan, then..a little girl?? Gavin hears what sounds like a very quiet sniffle and turns around, wondering why his friend would be crying, then he sees this toddler, she can't be older than 5 or 6, crying quietly and holding onto Ryan's sleeve as if her life depended on it. Of course he's confused as hell because Holy Shit that's an actual child?? What's it doing here?? He pauses his game and turns on the couch.

"Uh, who's your new friend, Ry?"

Jeremy is the first to speak up. "We don't know yet. We found her with that guy we were looking for. We think he's her dad or something-"

"WAS her dad. You saw how that home looked, Jeremy," Ryan turns and picks up the shaking girl, holding her close. "A drug den is no home for a toddler. That place didn't even have furniture, and the way he was talking to her too.." He covers the girl's ears, "Look at her. She's bruised and has a few scrapes too. He didn't deserve to live. We may be criminals, but he was a bad guy."

Jeremy sighs softly. He felt bad for the girl too, but he didn't want to get involved, or have to kill anyone.

"You're right. I'm gonna go change into something more comfortable and get the others, watch your daughter," and with a wave, Jeremy was jogging upstairs.

Gavin is just staring in awe at this point. They'd definitely have to talk about this later but for now this poor girl needed help. He cleared some space beside him on the couch and motioned for Ryan to sit with the girl, who's stopped crying by now. Ryan sits and the girl sits between the two men. Ryan speaks softly, and it's almost unnatural to what Gavin is used to. But he had to admit, it was weirdly cute to see the Vagabond being so careful and nice.

"Hey, it's okay, alright? We aren't gonna hurt you. I promise," he nearly whispers out. "I'm Ryan, and this is Gavin. We're gonna help you feel better. What's your name, sweetheart?"

The girl stares at them both, starting to calm down thanks to his soft voice. She still has a death grip on his arm though. She sniffles, and in a very low and shaky voice says,

"..Em..Emma.."

Her voice, though small, makes both of them smile. Emma. She has a name. Now it's Gav's turn, "What a lovely name, Emma. How old are you?" Queue Ry being surprised by how gentle Gav sounds this time

She sniffles and coughs a bit. "I'm..uhm. F-Five.."

Gavin smiles and reaches for his controller, "Well, Emma, do you like video games?" She nods softly and stares at the shiny golden controller in his hand. He exits the game he was playing and selects Minecraft from the menu. He makes a special creative world just for her, and hands her the controller. She plays the game for a bit, and Gavin sits, helping her. There are footsteps coming down the stairs, enter Jeremy, Michael, and Jack. It's obvious Jeremy's informed the other two by how quiet they are. They fill in the room, trying not to intimidate the poor girl and she notices, staring at them. Ryan introduces everyone, and they all wave. Jack smiles and hands over a folded up quilt. "Here, honey. It's nice and warm, I think you'll like it." Emma takes the blanket, and with the help of Ryan, it's draped around her shoulders. She smiles slightly at this, earning a tender smile from the others.

"Geoff is busy and didn't want to be bothered, but he knows of the situation and will be down in a bit. I also dropped a text in the group chat letting the others know, so expect to see them very soon too," says Jeremy.

Michael then stands up gently and heads to the kitchen, coming back with half of a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. He kneels in front of the girl on the floor and smiles. He thinks he hears Gav whisper something about "big brother instincts" but he ignores it. "You hungry? PB&J is my favorite, try some. I think you'll like it a whole lot." She stares at him, studying his face, and slowly takes the half of the sandwich. She eats it quickly, and Michael smiles. "See? Yummy."

There's a quiet knock at the door, and it opens slowly to reveal the entirety of the B Team. They must've carpooled. Fiona and Lindsay cover their mouths and both make quiet "aww" noises. They sit on the floor a few feet away, watching the girl. Trevor, Alfredo, and Matt stand around, watching quizzically. Emma studies them. As her eyes dart to each of them, they introduce themselves. They take turns for the next few hours, asking Emma what she likes, laughing together, and teaching her about themselves. It's around 7 in the afternoon when Geoff comes down. He sees Gavin and Ryan still on the couch, but Emma is now on the floor in front of the TV beside Matt and Michael. They're teaching her to play Mario Kart, and though she's still quiet, she's enjoying all of the nice attention and love. Jack looks over at Geoff and invites him to sit by her on one of the couches. He does so and watches for a while. Alfredo, who's standing nearby, leans down and whispers, "Her name is Emma and I think it's safe to say we'd all die for her." Jack hears this and nods, still smiling. Geoff, who was confused at first, looks at the young girl again and smiles. Whether they keep the girl or take her to an adoption agency so she can have a normal life, he doesn't know yet. What he does know, is that she's adorable, and he's always wanted to be a dad.

Over the next few weeks, they all do every single thing they possibly can to make the girl feel safe and at home. She opens up to them more too. She even starts to love them it seems. She remembers their names, and enjoys sharing a bed with Jack. They learn that Emma doesn't remember her mom, so of course Jack becomes the most motherly she's ever been. Geoff is the most fatherly of them towards her, with everyone else filling in the role of her big brothers and sisters. Pestering her, gently of course, and helping her out with everything she needs. Emma still seems to have a connection to Ryan the most, but she loves her new friends and potential family equally

This was way longer than I intended but it was ADORABLE so I just went with it lol 💚 also I didn't realize until it was too late that you said "solo mission" so uhh, I'm sorry but I hope the Battle Buddies works out!!

[fun-with-colors]

2 3 7 10 12 13 14 18 19 20 40 46 50 Quarantine asks? (Sorry if thats too many)

That’s totally fine! Happy to answer questions, haha

I hope you don’t mind if I sometimes take the opportunity to go off on tangents and anecdotes, though. If it comes up. 

Whew, alright. Let’s do this. 

I’m gonna put this under a readmore because it’s probably gonna get long. And because, for once in my life, I am actually on the desktop version of tumblr.

2. Grilled Cheese or PB&J?

Grilled cheese. PB&Js can get soggy more easily, and they can be kind of mushy if you get the ratios wrong. Besides, they’re much more likely to be sticky and messy, and honestly there are very few things I hate more in this world than having my hands or face be sticky. 

3. Background video for when i don’t have anything to watch, but I want Something On?

I really like this youtube series called Citation Needed. Its premise is that it’s kind of like a reverse trivia thing. One guy has a laptop with a wikipedia article up, and he’ll give the other 3 guys only the name of the article, and they have to figure out what the article is about. It’s hilarious, and also informative. Honestly, pretty much anything with Tom Scott is good background stuff, I’ve found. That might just be because he makes videos about computer science and linguistics, though, and those two things are pretty much my favorites.

7. First word as a child (that wasn’t a variation of “mom” or “dad”)?

I’m pretty sure it was “ball.” Boring, I know. 

10. Do you own any signed books/memorabilia in general?

I own a few signed books, but that was mostly just happenstance. The only thing I have that’s special for being signed is a poster for a play I was going to be in. It was cancelled due to the coronavirus, sadly. It’s signed by a lot of the other members of the cast and crew. 

12. What do you get on your bagels? What WOULD you get, if you could get anything?

I alternate between regular cream cheese and strawberry cream cheese. Honestly, I’m intrigued by the idea of a thin layer of cheesecake on top of a proper new york bagel. (though the idea of cheesecake on one of those “it’s just circular bread” bagels sounds horrible)

13. Brunch or midnight snacks?

Why not both? A snack after I wake up, and then a lunch(?) somewhere between 10 am and 3 pm, dinner at about 6:30, and then a midnight snack. 

14. Favorite mug you own?

I’ve got a few that are great. There’s one that looks like a red solo cup, which is awesome. I’ve also got one with a cat on it sitting at a desk with a bunch of papers with complicated graphs on them saying “at one point, this made perfect sense”

18. What’s the one TV show that you’re a little bit embarrassed to watch but you like nonetheless?

Uh... hm. I don’t watch many TV shows. Recently I’ve been binging My Hero Academia, but I don’t think that’s the answer to the question. There isn’t one, really? I used to watch TV shows that I now find kind of embarrassing, but at the time I was smack dab in the middle of the demographic, and I didn’t find them embarrassing at the time. There is a TV show that I was watching a few months ago (but ended up dropping) called Interviews with Monster Girls that definitely fit into this category, though. 

19. That book you were forced to read for class but ended up enjoying?

Hmm. There were a few books that I liked when I read them but have since grown less enthusiastic about, including Lord of the Flies and the Great Gatsby. However, I did really like To Kill a Mockingbird. I actually had to read that twice for school, once in middle school and once in high school. 

20. Do you match your socks?

It depends. I’ve got some socks where I definitely match them, because they’ve got words on them or something, but there are some pairs where I don’t worry about it too much. That said, I absolutely make sure that the socks are the same thickness, the same material, and the same height. Otherwise, it’s unbearable. Basically, since all of my socks are colorful and patterned and from a bunch of different sets, I just make sure the two socks are from the same set. 

And now it’s time for:

SOCKS THAT MY MOM HAS GOTTEN ME OVER THE YEARS:

-a pair that say “Kick this day in it’s sunshiney ass”

-a pair that say “I’m a delicate fucking flower”

-a pair that say “Love you... weirdo”

-a pair that say “These are my cuddly period socks”

-a pair that say “Cats don’t care if you’re crazy”

-my grandmother got me a pair that say “fuck off, I’m reading”

-a pair that say “you say crazy cat lady like it’s a bad thing”

And my personal favorite, 

-a pair that say “Adult in training” (They seem like they’ll always bee too big for me)

Alright, back to the questions

40. Where do you sit in the living room?

Either on the left side of the couch or on one of the two chairs opposite the couch. Mostly the couch. There are only really 3 places to sit in the living room, and I don’t really spend enough time there to have a specific place. Really, the only place where I have a “specific place” is at the kitchen table. 

46. What’s the freezer food you stock up on when you go to the grocery store?

I don’t really have a staple for this. I guess... pasta? Mac and cheese or tortellini? Most of the time I just buy box mac  and cheese and non-frozen tortellini, though. 

50. How are you at climbing trees?

Oh man. I miss the days when I feared neither bugs nor moss nor splinters. I had a reputation as a kid. I could (and would) climb anything. I made a point to climb as high as I could any time I saw a climbable tree, and usually I made it pretty far. I remember one time I was at the park with my friends, and there was this huge pine tree. The branches all started too high up to reach, but there was a chain-link fence right beneath it. I climbed up the fence and into the tree, and then I just kept climbing. I got all the way to the very top. The crows that were sitting up there looked kind of confused. My friends were impressed, though. 

I also used to climb to the top of the chain-link thing behind home base at the baseball diamond at that park too. Though, it was pretty common for me to be yelled at for that. The fence was kind of coming apart from the railing at the very top of the cone-shaped part, and so people got nervous when I went up there and laid on the fencing. Never fell, though. 

I also found a way to get on top of one of the buildings at that park. There was a fence that connected up with the back of the building, and there was also a pipe that went up the side of the building. I realized that by climbing on the fence, I could reach the pipe, and I could climb up the brackets holding it to the wall and onto the roof. Eventually, my mom told me that I had to stop doing that, because it was making other parents nervous and she was tired of explaining that “Yes, I know my child is on the roof. Yes, it’s fine. Yes, she can get back down. No, I’m not concerned.” And she also didn’t want other kids who couldn’t get back down safely to copy me. “Hey, stop, you’re making other parents nervous and I’m tired of having to constantly explain that everything’s fine” was a pretty common thing for me to hear. 

There was also that time that I was at a summer camp, and there was a tree. I went up there with a few of my friends, and we were having a grand old time. Eventually, I found a bouncy branch and decided to bounce on it. One of my friends was like “Hey, uh, are you sure that’s safe? It looks like it might break.” And I said “Yeah, it’s fine! Besides, I’ve got this other branch to hold on to if anything happens, not that it wil”--*SNAP* and then I fell. Luckily, I managed to catch myself on another branch on the way down, so it was more like a 7 foot fall than a 15 foot fall, but still. I was fine, if shaken. However, that led to a limit on how high into that tree we were allowed to climb. 

I was also the one who most commonly ignored that limit. 

So, in summary: Pretty good. 

[wishingupontheskyandstars]

Title: Why Did We Break Up?

*Happy Ending guaranteed <3

Chapter 1  Chapter 2

Chapter 3: Memory Of You (More so Ben’s POV)

Chapter Summary: Ben Solo remembers an important memory from the past before doing something he hope he doesn't regret.

*** This short Chapter is the end of Part 1. Part 2 will be coming soon with a prompt that inspires the next part of this fic :)

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

Chapter 3

"PB&J, cereal, and... acorns."

"Did you eat them together?" Rey asked Ben with a grin.

Ben chuckled then shook his head. He grabbed his cup of coffee, from the light blue shabby chic coffee table, in front of them. He ran his fingers through his hair. "Once you soak the acorns in water, they don't taste so bad." He shrugged then took a sip of coffee. "They taste like boiled potatoes."

Rey looked impressed and leaned in. She held her oversized floral designed coffee mug with both hands. "You made them?"

"My grandma did a couple of times." Distracted, he looked into Rey's beautiful hazel eyes. He almost found it unnerving that she wanted to know more about him. "I was seven or eight when I collected acorns that fell from my grandparent's tree. Sometimes I would climb the tree to retrieve more. I would put them in jars... " He felt his ears turn warm as if embarrassed. He pointed at Rey. "Your turn."

Rey looked up and looked lost in thought. She bit her upper lip in thought, Ben noticed. "The first things that come to mind that remind me of my child—"

"You're editing."

Rey blinked and looked at Ben in surprise. "What?"

"Your editing your first thoughts!"

Rey scoffed. "I'm not. Shut it!" She poked her tongue at him.  "Hmm..." She tapped her finger against her mug. "Tulips, peanut butter cookies, and a purple ribbon." She grinned. "I can remember being five or six and the kitchen smelling of peanut butter cookies. They were my mom's favorite and in the middle of the dining table, there was always an assortment of tulips in a vase. And..." Rey put down her coffee mug and walked to the small kitchen nook and grabbed her tote bag. She sat back down and showed a faded purple ribbon that wrapped around the tote handle. "This was a ribbon my mom wore in her hair. It was her favorite." She smiled at it, rubbing the fabric. Ben could see her eyes turn glassy. "The night of the accident, before my parents dropped me off at my grandfather's, I took this ribbon from her vanity and wrapped it around my wrist. My mom saw it and she said to keep it safe for her...And... I continue to keep it with me, keeping it safe for her." Tears ran down Rey's cheek. With her hand, she wiped them off one cheek. "Sorry," she whispered and looked down.

Ben put down his coffee cup and moved closer to Rey. He gently lifted her chin and saw her looking at him with curiosity and trust.  He gently wiped a tear from her other cheek, with his thumb. He was grateful she told him this part of herself. He wanted to know everything about Rey Kenobi. When his thumb traced her cheek, Rey moved closer to him. She looked at him as if she wanted something more. At that moment, he felt he was starting to fall for Rey.

Ben opened his eyes and looked to his left and sighed when he saw her side of the bed empty. He had been up for a while. It was too early to get ready for work. The past clung to his thoughts including the memory of Rey and their first coffee date at her apartment.

Ben ran his hand through his disarrayed hair then removed his duvet off of him. He sat at the edge of the bed then stood up. He stretched then walked to the bathroom. He turned on the shower and looked at himself in the mirror. He noticed the start of stubble from after a few days of not shaving. He then took off his black pajama bottoms before walking into the shower.

It was a couple of minutes before six he observed as he glanced at his watch. The elevator opened and he walked down the hallway until he stood in front of the right door. He knew she would be awake so he felt she wouldn't be bothered if he rang the doorbell. He heard the bell on the other side of the door. He raised his coffee mug, holding the handle, and waited for the door to open. He hoped coming here was a good idea. He had missed the coffee he grew to love the past two years. Just before he turned around thinking she wouldn't open the door it opened and Ben raised his coffee mug towards Rey.

End Of Part 1 (Thank you for reading!)

[ericvanwesenbeeck]

2019 on Two Wheels to Nowhere ~

As we approach the day when the calendar turns the final page on 2019, I have plenty of spare holiday time to mull over both the mundane commutes and epic adventures of the past twelve months of riding my two-wheelers. Fortunately, even the mundane commuting to and from work and around town stirs a little excitement in me each time before I depart. I’m not sure exactly what it is but for me there is a distinct element of exhilaration each time I hop on a bike. Funny how such a simple thing (think “it’s as easy as riding a bike!”) can repeatedly provide such a positive visceral feeling. I’m sure you all get what I am talking about here; we all have the same condition, to varying degrees. Somehow, it makes me feel like a kid again even though the DOB on my driver’s license and my aching joints tell me otherwise. For the first three months of the year, in between bushwhacking on my cross-country skis, I managed to get on a bike a few dozen times. These rides were a combination of occasional commuting https://www.strava.com/activities/2027332120, a few spirited RadRoom time trials on Thursday nights, a few stationary bike workouts at home and a few opportunistic spins https://www.strava.com/activities/2058240437 out on the open road when the stars aligned to provide clear tarmac in spite of the snow banks and sub-zero temps. Just enough cycling, combined with some classic XC skiing, to maintain basic fitness during the dead of Winter. Early April brought Chris and me to Grand Cayman for a week visiting family, soaking in the Caribbean Sea, reading on the beach and of course, riding! Thanks to Keith R who lent me a bike bag, allowing me to transport the Batmobile safely to the island. It was so awesome to have my own wheels in Cayman compared to renting in previous years. Grand Cayman is a small, flat island with generally good roads that lends itself beautifully to fast and furious solo riding https://www.strava.com/activities/2272462632. You can imagine how good it felt to put on a simple summer kit and ride through the balmy air followed by a dip in the warm sea after riding the previous 4-5 months wearing full winter gear! April also brought the unofficial start of the BCC Thursday Morning Sunrise rides https://www.strava.com/activities/2299047313. Led by Craig S, these rides became a weekly staple for me in 2019 as I learned to drag my sorry ass out of bed at 4:55a to join a solid group of riders for a pre-work spin. As Summer progressed, ridership grew and we even got in some Friday morning rides, as well! These early mornings also provided me with numerous opportunities to capture some stunning Sunrises and Moonsets! Icing on the cake. https://ericvanwesenbeeck.tumblr.com/post/185114832427/recently-getting-into-the-routine-of-early April closed out with an awesome BCC volunteer group cleaning up the roadsides around Shanty Bay on a snow Sunday; part of our club’s yearly civic duty! The fifth month of the year usually brings a trip to Asheville, North Carolina with a cadre of the usual suspects from around town but this year it was not happening for me, having just returned from a week in the Carribean. Although May started kind of cold and dreary, some awesome riding began as BCC started regular Tuesday night rides and weekends offered opportunities for some long rides onto the Niagara Escarpment https://www.strava.com/activities/2381124819 with good friends and strong riders. Regular evening cruises along the Barrie Waterfront always brings me to randomly meet people or to see interesting scenes of life on the lake. https://www.strava.com/activities/2394518921 The next month started with a bang with our annual Tour de Lake Simcoe https://www.strava.com/activities/2415506469 on June first. Not for lack of effort, I only managed to get one other person out on the road with me. Well, when that person is Joe F, you end up with a rocket ride around the lake that left me sucking Joe’s wheel for an hour before he pulled away seemingly effortlessly for the last 20 kilometres! It turned out to be the smallest Tour group ever but the fastest Lake Simcoe circumnavigation I have ever ridden, with a blistering pace finishing the 200 kilometer rip in well under six hours. As the daylight got longer and the weather finally started to warm up in June, my rides got longer and faster. We had some great BCC rides as younger riders returned from school and the Tuesday night A-rides began to feel like a Runaway Train https://www.strava.com/activities/2443067914. All these fast, longer rides led us perfectly to the Summer Solstice on which the Toronto-Niagara Falls-Toronto Hairshirt Ride https://www.strava.com/activities/2475551164 is always scheduled. This was my third T-N-T Hairshirt Ride and it was hands-down the fastest! For the first half of the ride, I got caught up in the lead group which was more like a pro peleton, or so I imagine, because we completed the first 160 km in four hours!! While I stopped to fill my empty bottles, this group rode on to clock the fastest Hairshirt elapsed time in its 41 year history, smashing the record by riding 320 kilometers in 8h32m! Rolling with these guys for half the ride helped me to finish with a solid PB: elapsed time of 10h34m in spite of a broken rear derailleur with 120 km to go! June ended with my first of many “Rip ‘n’ Dips” https://www.strava.com/activities/2492727403 in 2019, enjoying the refreshing Kempenfelt Bay waters after an excellent escape on my bike. https://ericvanwesenbeeck.tumblr.com/post/186829227637/beautiful-sunset-today-as-i-cooled-off-in-the-bay July was full of fabulous riding, often with the Barrie Cycling Club during the week and then out for adventures on the weekends with some really inspiring, like minded people. One of these weekends was the first annual Hairshirt North double century ride around Simcoe County https://www.strava.com/activities/2532969425, showcasing the beautiful waterfronts we enjoy all around us! Eleven people started out and six people finished the full 320 km route on a pretty much perfect Summer’s day. I was rather stoked to ride with such a strong group on this inaugural ride, which I hope to make an annual event. Mark your calendars for July 12, 2020! Looking back on August immediately brings to mind one very special ride: the Terrific Tarmac Team Time Trial! https://www.strava.com/activities/2610234053 This ride is arguably, the highlight of the season for me. Exhausting but exhilarating. Four very determined and capable riders - Jason M, Steve E, Joe F and I - met up early on Sunday morning with one goal in mind: completing a 100 kilometre route in two and a half hours. This goal would require some serious suffering and some tactical teamwork. Sunny skies and very little wind definitely helped! We didn’t quite reach our goal but we came damn close at 2h33m, leaving us all the more determined to go for it again in 2020. This last month of Summer also provided some wonderful rides with family. Brothers Benjamin and Peter were in town and we got in some nice tours; I also managed some terrific tandem rides with my Mom. At eighty-four, she has trouble riding solo now as her strength and balance diminish however, her desire to be active outdoors is so strong and riding on the back with me she is able to pedal for quite a while! We enjoyed some memorable tours together around Barrie and the Bay on my now classic Motobecane bicycle built for two. https://www.strava.com/activities/2651817254 September and October made for some solid solo riding as several of my fellow riders headed to the south of France to ride in the mountains. I like solo riding a lot, so this was a chance to do my thing and keep fit for the Tour de T1D https://www.strava.com/activities/2750522352 organized by BCC’s very own Richard G and his wife, Darlene. This was a beautiful and challenging 100k route through the hills of Oro-Medonte raising over $47k for the Youth Diabetic Clinic at RVH, a worthy local cause! https://www.facebook.com/tourdet1d/ It was a really fun event with many friends from BCC participating. I plan to be there again on September 27, 2020! November and early December saw some spectacular Saturday morning group runs with a small gang of BCC friends looking to stay active as the cycling season wound down. We enjoyed early morning meet ups at the Spirit Catcher followed by easy runs around Barrie’s Waterfront paths https://www.strava.com/activities/2885344747. Unfortunately, as I headed into December my knees started chirpin’ at me as old injuries were aggravated by the pounding of the longer runs I was doing. So, I backed off and enjoyed the daily walking as I commuted back and forth to my work and let my knees settle down a little. In early December, I prepped and waxed my classic cross country skis but with a very hectic pace at work and at home, I haven’t yet used them! In the meantime, a mild Christmas holiday week has allowed me one last run of Winter riding before the year is out. https://www.strava.com/activities/2963626488 As usual, cycling was a big part of my daily work and leisure again in 2019. These activities inevitably bring me to meet new people on the road - Max R, Tyler D, Craig L, Todd R, Les - and several new BCC members. The cycling community I find myself in also has some very inspiring individuals! Max R and Larry O, whom I have ridden with in the TNT Hairshirt rides, were both inspiring in their completion of the world renowned Paris-Brest-Paris 1200 kilometer epic tour! Avery G inspires me as a young man building a career in cycling that I only dreamed of at his age - as a bicycle mechanic for touring teams and as an incredible rider in his own right, on the trails as well as on the road. Joe F and Todd R who completed their first Hairshirt rides in stellar form. Jenn J who seems to effortlessly pick up a new sport and within a season is competing at a top national level in it! Trevor O who races with the best in North America, especially inspiring in his crit performances. Eric J and Tyler M who inspired me to reconsider my days-of-old penchant for bike-packing with their three day epic road tour https://lostconglomerate.com/pages/joe-ride through Ontario cottage country. Mark L who “vEverested” https://www.strava.com/activities/2074501841 on a 12h43m epic virtual adventure that had him climb over 8900 metres in a single ride! I am also inspired by the new riders this season who stepped out of their comfort zone and into the world of cycling, which can be intimidating at first but opens up so many new experiences and relationships. With retirement now on my radar, I am inspired by recently retired Carol and Tony who are seizing life by the ball bearings and living their cycling dreams. And so, as we breakaway from 2019, I want to thank you all for your shared passion for cycling. Whether it’s commuting, recreation, racing, endurance, adventure, gravel, trails, roads or cruising, we all have this one simple thing in common. I am grateful for covering so many miles uninjured and in good health in 2019. I am grateful for the fun and fitness, competition and companionship that cycling with you all has brought me over these past twelve months. I hope to see each of you at some point in 2020 on two wheels to nowhere. https://ericvanwesenbeeck.tumblr.com/

[morkdaily]

Get to know me tag!

I was tagged by @peachypinkjackson​  Thanks so much for tagging me! <3

Rules: answer 30 questions then tag 20 blogs

Questions

1. Nickname: Bunny, Peach, Honey Bruh

2. Gender: Female

3. Star sign: Aquarius

4. Height: 5’1

5. Time: 9:33

6. Birthday: February 1st

7. Favorite bands: current top 10 = BTS, Got7, JJ Project, EXO, BlackPink, Monsta X, Day6, Astro, Twice, Red Velvet

8. Favorite solo artist: This is too hard right now??

9. Song stuck in head: Dimple - BTS

10. Last movie I watched: Chicken Little??

11. Last show I watched: ATLA

12: When did I create my blog: My first blog was created in 2010. I started this one in like 2013 or so?

13. What do I post: BTS and Got7

14: Last thing I googled: Ummmm probably Got7 lyrics??

15. Do you have other blogs: I did for a while, but no. I deleted my first blog.

16. Do you get asks: Rarely lol

17. Why did you choose your url: Because I love Mark Tuan and my roommate suggested it as a combo of Got7 and BTS (with Namjoon’s #KimDaily).

18. Following: 217?

19. Followers: Not a whole bunch, but I love all of you very much <3

20. Favorite colors: purple, pastel pinks and blues, rose gold, black, and white.

21. Average hours of sleep: I try to sleep between 7.5 - 8 hours each night. It doesn’t always happen, but I’m pretty good about it.

22. Lucky number: 7. Though I have a tic where volumes have to be even numbers or multiples of 5.

23. Instruments: Not this girl. Not talented enough for that.

24. What am I wearing: Sweat pants and a work shirt and socks

25. How many blankets I sleep with: One.

26. Dream job: ???? I don’t even know.

27. Dream trip: I’d really like to go to Seoul, but I’d also really like to travel a whole lot.

28. Favorite food: Tortillas? You can put anything on them. Taco stuff, sandwich meat, cheese, pb&j. Anything.

29. Nationality: American.

30. Favorite song right now: Prove It - Got7

I’m really exhausted so I may tag people later... But right now I’m just gonna post this.

[dinahdaisies-blog]

Matter Of Time // Alice & Dinah

Dinah kept to herself, and that meant finding a lot of things to do that were solo. So every day, usually lunchtime at her job but she did it on weekends too, she’d go to the park with a sandwich and a book and she’d sit in the grass and read. Often, without even knowing it, she’d absentmindedly pick daisies and pile them up next to her, leaving evidence of her stay as a small mound of daisies. She’d sit and she’d read, and she’d look up at the chattering people who passed her by, and she’d wonder how it was she came to be so isolated. She hadn’t always been. Time was she’d never been alone. She’d had Alice for company, and then later she’d had her rowdy, dangerous friends from high school. Now she had no one, and it stung that she didn’t know how to bridge that gap to another person without feeling like she was drowning. She felt like she had to present a calm and normal front, when inside she knew she was anything but calm and probably farther from normal than she’d like to admit. 

Dinah was reading Big Little Lies and eating a PB&J on her trip to the park, expecting another quiet day to herself. At least quiet made things predictable.

[mrstasiakeith-blog]

MOTHERHOOD…… I believe the entire definition is captured inside this little photo. Layton is the huge ball of energetic fun that explodes every 2.3 seconds! He has this way of making everything about life perfectly fine! Like the times I lose my keys to the times I am crying….. because sometimes its just hard being a grown up. He always makes a point (more than once) during the day to tell me how beautiful I am and how he can’t wait for his daddy to find him a woman just like me (in those exact words). Layton is soooo incredibly smart, my gosh.. I don’t see how he is my kid sometimes! He is so good with numbers, building things, and using huge words I know he didn’t come up with on his own (haha). He laughs in this Darth Vader laugh (I imagine if Darth Vader laughed it would sound just like his) and he gets so tickled to the point he almost forgets to breath! I can’t help but to get on his level! because I want to have that kind of fun too! (Even thought I’m 30). I think the thing about Motherhood that people forget is that it doesn’t always have to be stressful! I spent so many years (I wish I could get back) stressing, wanting things to be perfect, reading every “mom” book I could find, trying to be this model mom you would see on the front cover of the “WORLDS BEST MOM” magazine … (I don’t even think that exists haha) but if it did I would have been on it.. just not for the right reasons. Motherhood is walking into your living room with your child trying to fit his entire body into his shorts, motherhood is stepping on smushed macaroni all over the floor, motherhood is PB&J (because real food doesn’t exist when you’re in a hurry), motherhood is never having a clean car, motherhood is cuddles on a rainy day, and kisses, lot and LOTS of kisses, and motherhood is all those things and more! I can’t imagine my life without the word MOM in it. I remember when my first born was, well….born. Brayden was perfect! You know when your pregnant and you have those nightmares that your child is going to come out with a giant cone head, or even come out being 2 and walking? (Those were literally my nightmares lol) This was the total opposite because Brayden looked like a babydoll! He was super healthy (which is all that should matter) the perfect weight & height, oh! and did I mention he was perfect?! He didn’t have a cone shaped head and he was a newborn! (He wasn’t 2 and walking) I had never been so happy in my life!!!! He saved me in every way possible and God knew exactly what I needed when he placed Brayden into my life, for that (and so much more) I thank him. Brayden was the kind of child that literally did everything right…..sometimes I thought he was immortal (I watch to many vampire movies. Sorry, not sorry) How in the world could a kid behave the way he did at all times and even in public? (Lol) I still to this day will never know! I think its first child syndrome, or something like that. Brayden (BG) is grown now and he’s a heartbreaker! I am asking for prayers because the girl chasing has already started and if he has a phone I know it would be blowing up (lol). Brayden has the biggest heart and he has always wanted to help people! He is saved by the grace of God (like my other 2! AMEN) and he is always witnessing to his friends about Jesus. He loves sports and he is a baller …. literally. He is funny.. my goodness he’s funny! And he acts just like my dad! (If you know my dad you know that’s a huge compliment). I was a single mom for a long time before I got married and I will have to say that’s one of the hardest things I have ever had to do. I have the typical “single mom story”. I met a guy who ended up being the sperm donor instead of the father and I am TOTALLY ok with that! I was so fortunate to live with my parents and have nothing but unconditional love and help in our lives. I remember being confused, stressed (again), worried about our future, and just all tangled up in a mess of “what if’s” ALL THE TIME. “What if I can’t provide”, “what if something happens to me and Brayden is all alone”, “what if I never find the man I’m supposed to be with”, “what if they don’t want the whole package deal” (we all know the answer to that! BYE FELICIA!), “my gosh! What if I am alone FOREVER!”. I thought all those things so many times I lost count after the first day. I had come to terms that every relationship I was going to be in would fail (because none of the guys I dated in my “single mom” life was even close to being a candidate for the perfect husband or father for that matter. I finally just stopped looking, dating, or caring about a relationship until my husband came around! (That’s a story of its own). Days turned to nights, and nights turned to days and before I knew it I was head over heals in love with my high school sweetheart (we dated for 2 years and 5 months back then to be exact). He was incredible and he loved Brayden and I more than I could of asked for. I don’t even think I prayed a prayer good enough to get him (lol for real!). I want to make a long story short (because I will be making a solo post about him and I soon). Jesse is his name…. omg, Jesse is so special to me and with Jesse came Sebastian . (Sebastian is his son from a previous marriage) and I believe all things happen for a reason, I do! I definitely believe Sebastian was meant to be him this world (along with all the other amazing children) and also so he could be apart of us! He has a smile that can light up a room you guys! He is so funny and super smart! I think he’s going to get a full scholarship to an incredible school one day (because he’s that genius) he uses super intelligent words too! And he always analyzes everything before he does it. Sebastian is so patient and such an amazing little boy (well big boy now). Sebastian was never a “stepchild” to me….he was always a BONUS CHILD in my eyes! I honestly want to thank Jesse & Magan… because without them I wouldn’t have him! I know without a shadow of doubt he was meant to be in our lives. Life is good you guys! It’s been a roller coaster of emotions but its so good. I am thankful for each blessing I receive everyday and I am thankful for my children, I am thankful to be their mother.

Brayden- 10 Sebastian- 10 Layton- 6