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writefightandflightclub · 4 years

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Calm after the storm (dad!Nathan x fem!reader)

Summary: dad!Nathan / ex-husband!Nathan and angst. He comforts your son during a storm. You were always better at dishing out comfort, but Nathan is trying his best to learn how. He’s had to, since you left him. If only he could get you to come home, after he pushed you so far away.

Author’s note: my 1st go at writing something emotional / angsty with Nathan. Different to my other Nathan stuff, so won;t be offended if you don’t like it! No-one asked for this but this popped into my head and ended me and I figured I’d drag you down with me. Will add taglists tomorrow :o) (If you DO happen to like it, please let me know! Writing has been so slow for me lately and honestly I’m just pleased to have finished something.)

Warnings: language, themes of children, divorce / separation, angst, alcohol abuse / misuse, parent!reader.

Warning that there is zero smut in this. Nathan is literally a father when I say daddy here. Just to be clear. Some may feel this is ooc (I may have used a bit of license with his character to achieve angst, but actually, I don’t think it’s too far from a potential truth?)? Mistakes etc. maybe, but I can’t look at this a second longer so here it is.

Word count: 8.8k (sorry!)

Nathan’s head whips up from his computer screen as he sees a tiny, shadowed figure appear in the doorway to his lab. He pauses his frenzied typing, but retains the frown weighing on his brow.

“You shouldn’t be out of bed, buddy,” he says sternly, bathed in a pool of blue light and looking at the child from beneath his lenses. Hell, when did it get so dark?

“I’m scared,” a tearful little voice says, and Nathan sighs, pushing back his chair with a small, thin-lipped smile as he regards the boy. His soft, dinosaur-adorned pyjamas have been twisted by sleep, and he is rubbing his balled-up fists into his cheeks, a pet lip trembling beneath. Nathan never did understand the kid’s obsession with dinosaurs.

Unlike father, unlike son.

Things long dead and gone? Nathan didn’t like to look back, after all. He looked ahead. Moved forward. There’s nothing for me over my shoulder.

With his headspace out of his work, Nathan suddenly notices the rain drumming down against the skylight. The rumble of thunder and flash of lightning carving the sky open.

“The storm?” he asks, rising to meet the boy as his little feet pad with trepidation across the cold lab floor to his father. The boy nods. He looks slightly uncertain, since he’s not allowed in the lab, but enters and sticks his arms up into the air all the same. He does that tentatively too, since Nathan hasn’t historically been generous with affection; and yet, this time, Nathan wordlessly scoops him up on to his hip, his heart clenching as the boy’s wet, grabby little hands fist into his Henley. His severe gaze softens instantly; though not all the way. The gesture is still a little rusty.

“That’s illogical, bud - it’s not gonna hurt you. Let’s get you back to bed.”

Irrational. Emotional. Unlike father, unlike son.

You were always better at the comfort stuff. Of course you were. Still, Nathan thinks he’s learning, without you. He’s had to learn.

Nathan quietly carries the little spider-monkeyed bundle back to his bed. He offers no words of comfort, but he does offer a firm and reassuring pat on his back as he walks. The boy smells of bath bubbles and baby oil, mixed-in with fresh detergent and that indescribable kid smell, and Nathan feels alarmingly soothed as he inhales the scent.

A flood of memories comes back, but he pushes them down. There is nothing for him over his shoulder, after all. Nothing in the past he would care to resurrect.

Carefully balancing the boy with one strong arm, Nathan peels back the covers and slots him back into his soft bed, the glow of the nightlight illuminating the boy in a blue halo.

Like father, like son.

The man securely tucks him in and smooths the covers, his eyes alarmingly gentle now, even amidst his stony face; however, the boy is still not entirely placated. His eyes are still wide. His bottom lip is still trembling.

Nathan sighs and lowers himself on to the edge of the bed, his genius brain struggling with this problem. Apparently, simply telling a 4-year-old they’re being illogical doesn’t cut it. Children; so inefficient. So tiny and fragile and…

The best thing I ever created.

Let’s hope he doesn’t grow up to stab me in the chest.

“Okay,” he begins, with a sweep of his hand over that buzzed head of his. “Do you know what static electricity is, buddy? One of the forces which attracts or repels things? Remember?”

“Repels. Pushes things away?” the small voice asks him.

I pushed her away. I’m a force. A force of nature. A storm.

Fear is often based on lack of knowledge. Nathan imagines if he explains the storm, he can demystify it. Take its power away. Still, the 4-year-old looks up at him in confusion, little fingers tightly gripping the edge of the bed covers. His mess of curls splaying over the pillow like a rolling black cloud.

Maybe you did get your mother’s average brain.

We can hope you got fuck all from me, kid.

“Come on, champ, we talked about this...” Nathan sighs, with mild impatience, and then he thinks some more – just like he’s always thinking, except algorithms make sense to him, and how could he hope to solve this?

Nathan shuffles up on to the bed until his back is against the wall, perpendicular to the boy. “Okay,” he says, slapping his palms gently against his thighs. “Remember when we were at Ankita’s party, and you rubbed that balloon on your head, huh? And then all of your hairs stood-up and it kinda tickled?”

The child giggles – a sound that punches Nathan in the gut. “Yeah, Daddy, and it didn’t work on your bald head.”

Nathan exhales through a small smile which doesn’t quite reach his eyes.

“So, you remember,” he nods, waving his hand in the air as he tries to find simple language to continue his explanation. “Well. It’s like the sky is having a party, and the clouds are rubbin’ up against each other, making all this static. Understand?” Nathan continues, and the child is rapt, listening to his father’s deep, steady, sandy voice. “But clouds don’t have hair-“ there is another giggle, and this time Nathan’s eyes do crease with his smile, “-so instead they send their lightning forking out in all directions. You got it?”

“A party?” the boy enquires, still unsure. His hands gripping more tightly to the covers and his face inching further below them as a particularly loud rumble of thunder sounds overhead.

“Right. A party.” Nathan runs with it, pleased that he’s getting somewhere. Moving forward. Making progress. “And parties can be noisy, right? All that dancing and singing and scraping chairs around?”

The kid briefly looks at his father as if he’s stupid -a trait you’d always had nailed- but in the next heartbeat he seems to accept the explanation given, the fear in his eyes beginning to ease, though not entirely gone.

He’s still afraid.

Like father, like son.

It’s evident that Nathan needs to devise something even more soothing. He vaguely considers trying to explain the unparalleled lightning and surge protection in-built into this facility, but he thinks better of it. He instead plumps for something he dearly hopes the kid will understand somewhat better than he comprehends static electricity. “You’re safe here and nothing can hurt you,” he says, raising his eyebrows up from beneath his frames and delivering an intent stare, smoothing a broad hand on the boy’s chest and shoulder. “I promise, kid. Would Daddy let anything hurt you?”

“No,” the boy answers, peeking up at Nathan with big eyes, shaking his little head and rustling his curls against the pillow. It breaks Nathan’s heart that his voice wavers, as if he’s a little unsure of his answer.

“Exactly. Not in a million fuckin’ years.” Nathan says adamantly, his deep, dark eyes intense with conviction to emphasise his point.

“Daddy!” The boy gasps when Nathan curses, little palms rising to clamp down over the shocked “o” of his mouth.

“Ah, shit. Don’t tell your Mama I said a naughty word, okay?” Nathan sucks air through his teeth and delivers a sheepish half-grin.

“I miss Mommy.”

The boy blinks. His eyes sad, his emotions constantly unmasked. Feeling. Always feeling.

Unlike father, unlike son.

Nathan’s chest tightens. He scoops up the plush dog, Crunchy, from on top of the duvet and settles her in the boy’s arms, buying him some time to arrange his busy thoughts.

Thinking. Always thinking.

The dog is so named since it spent the boy’s early years crusted with dried-in food and mud and whatever else. Nathan had dubbed it Crunchy Mutt, and the name had stuck. Memories nip at his heels, but he doesn’t let you creep back in. Doesn’t fill the gaps.

Nathan emits a shallow sigh. He misses you too.

Like father, like son.

His eyes are almost soft, almost apologetic as they meet the boy’s again. He is sorry, in that moment, for depriving the boy of you for half of his time. He shouldn’t have to miss out on you. You shouldn’t have to miss out on your son. Nathan knew all this was because of him.

Nathan had sworn never to let anything hurt you, either. To look after you, and yet...

I pushed her away.

I’m a force. A force of nature.

A storm.

“Mommy’ll be here to get you in the morning.” Nathan says in a taut, gruff voice, his beard bobbing as his throat wrestles around a hard swallow. “To take you… home.” At that, finally the boy finally looks content and sleepy, stretching his little face into a big yawn. Still, selfishly, Nathan no longer wants to be alone in this storm - alone with himself - and so, he keeps talking. “You know, your Mommy loves storms like this.”

“Really? Mommy doesn’t get scared?”

“No.” Nathan shakes his head, eyes becoming burdened with memories. “We would sit out on the deck, wrapped in blankets, and watch the lightning. Listen to the rain.”

“It’s science 101, genius. You can’t work in the lab during a storm. You might create Frankenstein.”

“Fuckin’… how many times? It’s Frankenstein’s monster, sweet cheeks. Frankenstein is the doctor.”

“I know, asshole. At this point I just say it to rile you. Never fails. You stay here then, and play at creating life. If you want to play at living one, I’ll be out on the decking.”

“How about I do both?”

“What are you saying, Nathan?”

“What about we make something together, while the sky is fucking rife with creation?”

The boy springs up in bed, capturing Crunchy in a choke-hold in excitement.

Nathan raises himself to standing - beginning to backtrack, and snapping back to the present day. Compartmentalising you. Putting long dead things to rest. He knows better than to look over his shoulder for too long.

“Can we go outside and watch it, Daddy?”

“Nuh uh. I don’t think so, buddy. It’s way past your bedtime. Go to sleep now, okay?” His voice is sterner again - his gaze back to being more severe.

Still, he guides the boy back down to the mattress and plants a soft kiss on to his forehead, brushing his dark curls back. He kisses Crunchy on the head too, as he is routinely instructed to do.

“Night, kid. Night, mutt. Come on, off to sleep.”

His hands move to his hips, elbows cutting a sharp shape in the near-dark. The boy, however, looks wide awake, a smile playing at the corners of his lips, and an excited glow on his face.

“Please, Daddy?” the boy pleads, with big, puppy dog eyes. So closely resembling your eyes, which Nathan always was a sucker for.

Yep. He’s definitely your son.

Nathan is about to use his stern voice, and his finger is moments away from wagging. And yet…

“Fine. Quickly then,” he concedes. “Get your coat and shoes on. And find your little red hat with the Pom-Pom that you look fuckin’ adorable in.”

“Daddy! No bad words!” the kid scolds, even as a smile of glee bursts on to his face and he wriggles out from beneath the covers.

“Yep, sorry! Don’t tell Mommy,” Nathan repeats on autopilot.

The boy springs out of bed and zooms with enthusiasm to his little closet, while Nathan gathers up some blankets from a neighbouring chest.

Sure - it was past the boy’s bedtime. Yes, Nathan had a lot of coding to rehash. But Nathan had lost you. He had let work consume him until there was nothing left for you. He was always looking ahead to what could be, and he didn’t pay enough attention to what he had, when he had it. He wasn’t going to make the same mistakes again. Not with his son. This time, at least, work could wait.

Once the pair are both dressed in their outerwear, Nathan hoists the boy up on to his hip again, and carries him out to the decking, on the side of the house with the best view of the storm churning over the miserable valley. He clings on to his son tightly as the pulse of lightning illuminates his awed little face, a perfect mixture of your features and his, and yet someone entirely his own. The boy gasps and shrinks back from the vast, roaring sky, nuzzling closer into Nathan’s chest, grabby hands fisting in his clothes again.

“It’s okay, buddy. It can’t hurt you, understand?” Nathan reassures.

The child visibly relaxes, absentmindedly tangling his fingers into the soft texture of Nathan’s beard.

He does that when he’s nervous. Seems to calm him down, Nathan notes, and files for later.

“Look, Daddy!” the kid points as forks of lightning raze through the blackened sky, sparkling eyes following the display.

“I saw it, champ,” Nathan confirms, as the storm lights up his child’s face in more ways than one. However, Nathan is more awed by his boy than the storm. By the boy you and he created, on a night not unlike this one.

He fixes his eyes on him as he grows in confidence, facing his fear of the braying wind and rumbling thunder. Being a parent is everything Nathan anticipated he would hate. Full of things you can’t control, and yet, he loves every way this boy surprises him.

Shit, he’s braver than me, Nathan thinks, as he cradles the boy in his arms, holding him just a little bit closer – a little bit tighter.

Nathan isn’t afraid often. In fact, in his adult life, he’s only been truly afraid a handful of times. On those occasions, he didn’t face it like the boy did. He tended to bury his fear, in a landslide of work and drunkenness and insults and excuses. To cocoon himself in his own self-interest.

Nathan was afraid when he fell in love with you, even despite his best efforts not to. He was terrified he didn’t deserve you.

He was afraid when you told him you were pregnant; he was terrified of creating another thing that hated him.

But Nathan has never been as afraid as when you left him, and took the boy with you. He was terrified that you would never come back.

You were brave. You were so brave that you never ran away from a storm, and yet you had fled from him.

What kind of storm am I, if even you ran from me?

Despite his fears though, Nathan was learning to be brave. He’s had to, since you’ve been gone. For his son, for you, he would fight off any foe or threat. Turns out, he would even do the hardest thing of all, and fight his own demons.

Yes, Nathan knew he was a stern man. Serious. Flawed. Unyielding. An asshole, a lot of the time.

He hadn’t been ready. To be humbled. By you. By the boy. Hadn’t been ready to face his shortcomings and his demons and look them in the eye.

He was afraid of creating something that hated him, but he hadn’t been prepared to create something better than himself. A child who was open, and kind, and brave, and loving. Who wasn’t afraid to feel, and to be kind.

Unlike father, unlike son.

The boy made him strong. The boy was just like you.

“Wow!” the boy gasps at another display of lightning, even though he jumps slightly as a loud rumble of thunder sounds. The shock makes him laugh - a sweet, musical, innocent noise that makes Nathan’s chest tear in half like the sky. The boy watches for a while longer as the storm tires itself out and the boy with it, the rain dying off to a pleasant lulling noise.

Nathan looks up at the sky too and he feels almost complete, until he looks to the other side of him; where you should be. Until he looks over his shoulder. To where long-dead things still haunt him.

“Mommy will be sad she’s missing the storm, won’t she Daddy? Can we send her a selfie?”

No tech after 5pm. Bed by 7pm. One of the co-parenting rules rings in his head.

It’s 2:30am, and he worries you will ride him for this, but surely this is an exception, right?

“Sure we can, bud,” Nathan responds, and he fishes his phone out of his pants pocket. The boy nuzzles into his chest in that adorable red hat, and gives a thumbs-up as Nathan extends his arm to grab a quick selfie. “Great photo. She’ll love it. What shall we tell her?”

“Hmm...” the boy thinks, and then he lands on the perfect words. “Say… I wish you were here,” he says with a toothy grin, unaware of the emotional sucker punch of his words.

Nathan’s chest tightens again, and he attempts to school the frown from his face.

I wish you were here.

Like father, like son.

Smoothing himself, he types out a message.

“Storm watching with Papa bear. Kid says: I wish you were here.”

“Ok,” he says softly, pinging the message away to you. “Done.”

The boy beams at his father.

“Will she type back?”

“Dunno, kid, she might be asleep.”

Tiredness hitting him, the boy nuzzles closer and Nathan gently rocks him on his hip, the boy’s eyes gradually closing.

When Nathan feels his phone vibrate, he lifts it back up, bathing the pair in a halo of blue once again. He is surprised to see a photo. There you are, wrapped up in a chunky cardigan and blanket on your new porch.

You’re watching the storm too, and god, you look so beautiful that it hurts him.

Beneath the picture, you have typed out: “Storm-watching, Mama bear edition. Wish I was there too, baby bear. I’ll see you in the morning. xxx”

He knows the smile and the wave and the words are solely for your son’s benefit, and not for him, but oh, how he wishes.

“Mommy’s watching the storm too!” the boy says sleepily, barely able to keep his eyes open in the comfort of Nathan’s warm, strong arms, as his soporific movements rock him back to sleep.

“Yeah, bud, she is.”

And Nathan tugs the boy into his chest, bouncing him on his hip and stroking his hair -as much for his own comfort as anything- until he is soothed too.

***

After the boy is safely back in bed, Nathan plods sullenly back down to his workshop, bathing himself once again in a blue halo. His fingers gravitate naturally towards the keys, and though he should work, his mind is very much elsewhere. His mind is wrapped up with long-dead things.

With a heavy sigh, he fishes his phone out of his pocket again, and spends a wistful moment staring at the picture you had sent him.

“Fuck it,” he says, and he lifts up the photo frame he’s had face down on his desk for some time now. For months.

Longer.

It’s a picture of you and him and the boy, out on a hike a few years ago. Nathan is carrying your son in a harness on his front, and you are side by side with them, clasping the baby’s hand in yours, and your head leaning on Nathan’s shoulders. You’re all smiling, though none of you had managed to look at the camera, only at each other.

The sight of it makes Nathan’s throat constrict. Lights a fire of yearning in the pit of him. A fire he’s tried to quell and resist for so long – hasn’t let himself feel, because he’s afraid of the power of it.

He stares at his phone again, so many things he wishes to say, but all he has the courage to type is:

“Just letting you know. Byron’s back to bed now, before you ride me for keeping him up. Woke up scared.”

Your reply pings back almost immediately, as if you were expecting him.

“Come on, Nathan. I’m not a monster. It’s a sweet picture. He looks happy.”

Nathan scratches the top of his buzzed head, and he sees the tell-tale dots disappear and reappear, signalling you are considering typing something further.

“Say it,” he types out to you, blunt and demanding as ever, and although the dots disappear for a moment, you come back - finding some courage yourself, perhaps?

“I wish I was there too.” He wonders if you held your breath while typing it, like he did when reading it.

This time, it is Nathan’s turn to convey nothing but dots to you, as he struggles to respond. As his pulse thrums in his ears.

“Say it,” you echo, just as plainly.

He takes a deep breath, knowing he’s going to curse himself for his stupidity even as he types the message. He has been earning your trust back. He has been rebuilding. He hasn’t pushed you too far yet, and yet he can’t help but plead with you now.

He says what he most needs to say.

“Come home.”

He stares at the phone, his heart hammering in his mouth.

But there’s nothing. No message. No dots. He throws the phone down on the desk.

Fucking idiot, he chides himself, launching himself out of his seat with a surge of nervous energy, and coming to rest his forehead and elbow against the cool window pane as he tries to steady his nerves. This is why he doesn’t let himself feel. Because when he does, it’s too much.

Nathan’s best quality is also his worst. He isn’t a man of moderation. He doesn’t know how to stop. When to stop. He never has.

Doesn’t know when to stop working, drinking, striving, fighting.

Loving.

He loved you enough to split the sky open, and god damnit, he doesn’t know how to stop loving you. How can he solve this problem?

I pushed her away and she might never come back.

He feels a tightening in his chest - worse than before - and he has thoughts of reaching for a bottle until he’s blackout drunk, or hitting the punchbag until his knuckles bleed, but he bites those urges back down.

He has to. He has to, because his kid is in the house. For him. For you. For his own good too.

Gradually, Nathan -who once naively believed he had already attained perfection, superiority- has become a lot stronger, and a lot braver. A lot better at feeling his emotions instead of pushing them down. He has learned it from the boy, who learned it from you.

Still, despite this newfound courage -or, perhaps as a result of it- he has his moments of weakness, just like anybody else. He’s not untouchable. Not a god any longer.

Nathan is weak when it comes to you. He loves you. And he doesn’t know how to stop.

Overcome by the impulsive need to hear your voice, and ignoring all reason, he tracks back to the desk and calls you.

You answer almost instantly, as if you were expecting him.

“Nathan...” you say, in your eminently familiar voice, and he can he the agitation and accusation veiled as you say his name. What are you thinking? Always thinking. He’s always thinking. Yet, no- this time, he is only feeling. Finally feeling.

Still, Nathan doesn’t respond until a taut pattern of breaths has been laid like a tightrope for him to walk across.

Then, with a deep exhale, he asks you again. A plea. His face sharp and contorted in the blue light. He is terrified of falling.

“Come home.”

“Nathan...” you say, again. What are you thinking? And the sound of his name in your mouth causes a lump to rise in his throat. He hears your discombobulated breath on the other side of the line, and it is all too familiar. You were always charged, rubbing up against one another, causing static. He was always a storm; the one storm that could drive you away.

Come home.

“I wouldn’t even know how,” you insist, your voice paper thin, syllables soft and measured and sorry like raindrops drumming against a window pane.

You were always his release. If he was the energy and commotion and anger behind the storm -the severe, withholding clouds- you were its beauty and majesty and release. Together, you created life, and you destroyed each other.

Nathan hunkers over on the desk, leaning his head in his spare arm for some morsel of comfort, his guard up over his face.

“Just walk through the door tomorrow and stay,” he says tiredly, as if it’s simple.

He hears you sigh again, exasperatedly - the sound he induced all too often, when you were together.

“It didn’t work Nathan,” you say through your teeth, like lightning might spark through them at any moment. “How would this be any different?” Still, he can hear the tell-tale break in your voice. A gentle plea. God, could you really want to come back to him? If he could find the right answers to your questions?

“I’ll be different,” he promises, all the muscles in his face pulled taut. His face and his body aching with the tension of the sky splitting open, creation or destruction imminent.

Fuck it. Fuck everything else. Enough of this. The measured conversations, the co-parenting, the negotiations. You are what he wants - his family back together; home.

True- love hadn’t come easily to him at first. He was an asshole, a misanthrope, a closed book. Sex came easily to him. Desire. Infatuation. Thoughts of you, bordering on obsession as they took over his busy mind. But love? That too came, in the end. But love as a verb- the act of loving?

Nathan had sworn he didn’t want love at all, but then, there was you. He has sworn he had no desire for the legacy of a child, and yet, then there was the boy. For all his arrogance and grandiose dreams of the ways in which the whole world might remember him, he was finally ready to admit that all he wanted was to be remembered by you as a good husband, and by the boy as a good father.

He had never wanted to create another thing that hated him.

It didn’t come naturally to him at first. He was withholding, stubborn, rigid, and self-involved. Still, when he was motivated, there were other, finer qualities Nathan possessed too. Dedication, focus, discipline. When he was motivated, he possessed those in abundance. Turns out, love is one hell of a motivator.

Turns out, sometimes it is still not enough.

“I’m doing better,” he offers as he is met with silence, clenching his fist in discomfort as he hears you sniffing intermittently through the phone.

“I know,” you enthuse, your voice almost sickly with sincerity. “I know. I’m proud of you, Nathan.”

But Nathan doesn’t want your platitudes.

“Baby, please. I love you,” he pleads, and even in his plea his voice is stern. He refuses to let it crack. He states his truth as a cold, hard fact. He loves you. It’s undeniable. It’s logical, that you should be together.

“You know…. You know that I love you too.” you say, your voice small and full of holes. A sigh billowing out of you. “Shit, Nathan…” You sniff on the other end of the line with greater frequency – definitely crying. Nathan knits his brows together, his eyes brimming with tears that he fights back.

He thinks of all the times you cried and he didn’t reach out to you. He would give anything now to wipe your tears away.

“Come home, then,” he pleads, bluntly, swirling with hurt like silt stirred up by the rains. It hurts. It hurts to feel things. “Fuck, why are you so fucking stubborn?”

You huff out air as he snaps and instantly, he knows he’s fucked it. He wishes he could retract the words but it’s too late. They’ve already become breath. Already thunder, splitting his sky in two all over again.

He throws himself back in his chair in defeat, his hand rasping over his buzzed head in some unconscious attempt to comfort himself. “Shit, look, I just-”

When your voice interrupts him, it is perfectly smoothed out. Cold. Withholding.

So that’s how it feels.

“I’ll see you tomorrow, Nathan.”

There is a beat, and you soften. You always soften. “I’ll come get him later so you can have some extra time, okay?”

Nathan sighs loudly, catching a glance of his calendar on the illuminated screen.

“Fuck. I have a meeting at 11am- I thought you would collect him early so I booked a board thing-” he says tiredly.

“Fine,” you bite off.

“No. Wait, I’ll rearrange,” he backtracks. “Let me have more time,” he reasons, his voice softening. He tips up the photo frame – that blessed and cursed item- and brings it to rest on his thigh, torturing himself with your smiling face. “Please. I need more time.”

You are silent for a moment, and this time when your voice comes back, it is level, but infused with intentional warmth. He hates that tone. That tone where he knows you are placating him rather than speaking your mind, just so he doesn’t do anything stupid. He hates that it must feel like you have a guillotine hanging over your head at all times, because you feel like you can’t push him over the edge.

“Fine. Get some sleep, Nathan, okay?”

He huffs out air, a sharp, self-pitying guffaw, and he rubs his eyes underneath his glasses, the frames lifting from the bridge of his nose. “Right. I can’t even fuckin’ sleep without you.”

There is another pattern of breaths, and whatever tightrope Nathan might have tried to walk across to reach you snaps. “Don’t do that, don’t guilt me, Nathan.”

The worst thing is, you don’t even sound angry. You just sound… tired.

“I’m sorry,” he pushes out, muffled through a hand over his beard, and though this time he means it, the words come out sounding entirely insincere.

“Sure. ‘Night. Try and get some rest, okay?”

Now that -that sounded genuine. Sincere. You never stopped looking out for him. Even if you couldn’t stand to be around him any longer.

“Yep,” he says tautly, with little feeling, and he hangs up, tightening his grip on the photo frame in his lap before slamming it back down on the desk along with his phone.

He leans back in his chair for a moment and buries his face in his hands. “Fuck.”

I pushed her away. I did that. I pushed her away.

With a knot building in his chest, partly out of need and partly out of habit, Nathan drags opens the desk drawer where an ever-replenishing stash of vodka used to reside. Where instead, he has taped a picture drawn by his son. For moments like this.

It helps, but it’s not always enough.

Nathan knits his brows together, his face set with a stony resolve, and his dark, turbulent eyes awash with a storm of emotion.

The boy. He’s braver than me.

Somehow, because he has to, perhaps- because he’s had to learn how, Nathan smooths himself. He cannot solve the problem of how to bring you home, when this simply isn’t home to you anymore. So, instead, he bathes himself in blue light. He basks in the glow of algorithms he can solve, and works and works his mind until it shuts off. Feeling to thinking to nothing.

I’m a force. A force of nature. A storm.

He can do anything he sets his mind to.

And… fuck. I pushed her away.

Anything, perhaps, except bring you back.

***

The next day, you arrive to collect your son.

It is familiar by now. It is an encounter that Nathan both longs for and dreads, in equal measure. Today, especially so; especially both.

Byron runs down the hallway and leaps into your arms, the sound of your laughter scooping Nathan out from the inside as you pepper the boy with kisses, a toothy smile on his angel face.

In these encounters, the moments are always too fleeting; always slipping away too quickly. It seems to happen so fast that it’s a blur to him, his mind zoning-out and working through a million things he wants to tell you, and simultaneously hyper-focussed on every single aspect of you he’s missed desperately. He wracks his brain for the right things to do and say, as if desperately searching for the one remnant of code- the one function or command that will simply make you stay.

With effort, he tunes back in to the scene as the boy wraps his arms around his leg.

“Did you pack Crunchy?” you ask Nathan, as he hands over the kid’s weekend bag to your waiting, outstretched arm.

His mouth opens to respond, but you are already unzipping it and rooting through the bag, checking in amongst the clothes and tiny boxing gloves and dolls for the dear mutt. You find him nestled in there safely, and you smile softly at Nathan for remembering.

You shouldn’t be surprised, he thinks. He remembers things – he remembers everything. It’s forgetting he typically needs a little more assistance with. Maybe he does look over his shoulder more than he’d care to admit.

You ruffle the boy’s crow black curls as he clings to his father’s leg, snapping your hand back as if you’ve been burned when Nathan opts for the same gesture in the same moment.

You opt to fold your arms against your chest instead, casually clearing your throat. “What did you do with Daddy then, baby? Have you had a good time?”

“We watched the storm,” the boy begins animatedly, swinging around Nathan’s sturdy leg, “and we did boxing and I learned a new combo,” the boy looks up at his father who nods and smiles gently in proud confirmation, hoisting the kid up on to his hip – a gesture that is becoming increasingly less rusty- “and we did a new trail to the glacier, and, um, what else Daddy?” Byron asks, waving his up-turned palms in the air and turning to his father for guidance. Nathan dips forward to whisper a prompt in his ear. “Oh yeah! And we watched Trolls and I put lots of my dolly’s bows in daddy’s beard,” the boys giggles, and scrunches his fingers through Nathan’s wiry hairs.

The kid’s smile is infectious, even fracturing Nathan’s stony resolve, and it has the three of you joined in a smile for a moment, until Nathan sees your eyes mist subtly over with tears as you observe the father and son together. You quickly quell them, but they don’t go unnoticed.

“Oh yeah?” you ask, voice expertly smoothed, and a masking smile on your face. The strength of you. “Did he look pretty?”

“Yeah, I guess he looked pretty,” the boy giggles. “And this morning Daddy taught me about static electric.... um-” the boys stumbles over his words for a second, and again looks to Nathan for guidance.

“You got it -go ahead,” Nathan encourages firmly.

The boy gains confidence, brushing his black curls out of his face with a little hand before continuing. “Static electricity, right?”

“Right, champ,” Nathan says, and as the boy barrels happily through his recital of events, Nathan barely realises that he’s holding him a little tighter, because with each moment that passes, so fleetingly, he feels it’s getting increasingly harder to think about letting him go.

“And Mommy, did you know this whole valley was made by a glacier that crawled all the way along and carved out all the shapes of the hills and then melted, like, a super long time ago?”

“You know, I did know that, but that’s smart of you to know too, baby,” you say fondly, a tremble at the corner of your lips that the kid doesn’t see, but Nathan is sharp enough to catch.

And then, suddenly, Nathan has no trouble contemplating passing the boy over into your arms, because you look like you need someone to hold too. However, as he motions to do so, Nathan can see tears threatening to spill out of the corner of your eyes. You shake your head subtly at Nathan in apology as you brush away a stray tear, in a moment you hope the boy won’t see, so, instead, Nathan sets your son down on the ground. He crouches and pulls the boy’s shoulders squarely to face him, providing you with a discreet moment to compose yourself.

“Hey, buddy,” he says softly. “I remembered I need to talk to your Mommy about boring grown-up stuff. Gas prices and 401ks and… major yawn. So, hot tip, you might wanna go and play in your room for 5. That okay, champ?”

“Okay,” the kid says, unphased, and skips off down the hall.

That leaves Nathan and you in the hallway. He hover-hands his palm against your lower back and gestures, with his other arm, towards the living space, guiding you towards the seating area.

You sit on opposite sofas, positions stiff and formal, hands clasped on laps. Your gaze looking just past Nathan because you can’t seem to meet his eyes.

“Wanna talk about it?” he asks gently, feeling a lump grow in his throat. He hates this- how tense it is, when you used to be so intimate and relaxed around each other. “Why are you crying?”

Unlike Nathan, you were usually an open book, yet this time, you decline the invitation to share. You pinch your lips in between your teeth.

You’re so strong, and so brave that it breaks Nathan to see you succumb to tears like this. Plus, you’ve given so much already- so much love, and so much heart, and he hasn’t given you nearly enough back.

Still, he looks at you from beneath his lenses, gently encouraging, waiting until you are ready to share. Your gaze fixes on a spot in your lap. “I… It’s just. Seeing you and Byron together. Why in the hell couldn’t you have been this man while we were together, Nathan?”

Nathan’s heart aches at your words. Years ago, even months ago, he would have bristled. He would have snapped back at the insinuation that he was ever in the wrong. Ever less than godly.

This time though, he lets the sad truth settle over him like a dark cloud. And, as much as he wants to pull you towards him, he also- and he can’t believe he’s going to do this- he realises he needs to push you away from him one more time. There is only one way to solve this. To let you go. To realise it’s your choice. You are out of his control. Unsolvable.

He shifts his position, until he is perched on the coffee table in front of you, his palms resting on your knees and smoothing circles there. His dark, calculating eyes intent on yours, and for once unobscured by agendas. For once, he has things to say to you that aren’t intended to provoke a particular response, or establish a particular gain. He has things to say that he simply needs you to hear.

He needs to show you his fear. He needs to face the storm he was never too afraid to create, but was always quick to flee the wake of. Nathan imagines if he explains the storm, he can demystify it. Take its power away. Then, even if you don’t come home, at least there can be calm. Calm after the storm. Both of you able to move on, with all the cards laid out on the table.

With effort, he begins.

“I’m sorry,” Nathan says gently, and even with those two words a gentle sob wracks your chest, perhaps with the relief of a weight you didn’t know you were carrying. “Honestly, I don’t think I told you that and meant it yet. So, I’m sorry. About last night, by the way. But, shit, about everything that I did, and didn’t do…” Your hands come to clasp his in your lap, fingers gripping fingers tightly as his face contorts with regret. His dark eyes wander over your face as tears stream freely down your cheeks. Where once he would have shied away from you, in a state like this, now he has courage enough to be present.

“I missed you,” he continues, his voice tattered by emotion. “I miss you. I didn’t want to tell you that. Didn’t want to admit that I’m scared either. But I am. Of losing you. Scared that the best thing for us… the best thing for you, might be being without me. To get out of the black hole I suck everything in to.” Nathan tears his eyes away from yours as his vision becomes blurry with tears, his voice cracking. “I’m scared because I love you, and I love that fucking kid and I... I’m scared that I might get better, and be better… but that you, and him… that you still might deserve better. Better than me. So, I’m sorry. Actually fuckin’ sorry, for all the ways I’ve been a dick. Shut you out. Put you last. Made you hurt.”

“Nathan,” you breathe through tears, as if you can’t fathom this onslaught- this emotion tearing your chest in two, like the sky on that night.

He reaches up to fumble some tears away from your cheek with the pad of his thumb. “I need you to know that I finally see it, even if it is too late,” Nathan nods to himself, eyes fixed down at your hands clasped in his. “I see that if had to lose you to realise what I had; I never did deserve you. You’re so… fuckin’ unreal. And he’s just like you. And,” Nathan presses on, despite the mortifying ordeal of baring his heart to you. Despite the tears which finally spike out of the corners of his eyes too. “I need you to know. Even if it didn’t last forever… This fuckin’ family? It will always be the best thing I ever created. And if there’s one thing I want to be remembered for- any fuckin’ legacy I wanna have, I just… I need it to be known that I love you, and I love that fuckin’ kid. I want you to be happy, and I’ll always regret that I didn’t make you happy while I had the chance to.” He huffs out another small, self-pitying laugh “Guess in the end, I’m an idiot; not a genius. Guess I should have realised that when I got stabbed by my own AI…”

He drags his big brown eyes back up to meet yours from beneath his lenses, and your eyes are shining softly at him, brimming with bittersweet pain, and you tug him into you for a hug, holding him close and your tears wetting each other’s shoulder.

After a moment he pulls away and settles himself back on the edge of the coffee table, already missing your embrace.

“You did. You made me happy, Nathan,” you promise. “So, so happy, and so, so miserable,” you let out a small, self-pitying laugh too, and then suddenly you are both laughing, as bizarre at that seems, as you palm the tears away from your puffed cheeks.

When the laughter fades, you reach out and place your palm fondly on the side of his face. Nathan knew that even in all his years of marriage, he had never been so vulnerable with you as he had been just now. He knew that had been precisely part of the problem. He had thought it would feel horrible to open up, but he finds that he feels fresh, like ground after nourishing rain.

Your gaze flicks back to him, and he swears he can read the look in your eyes.

Why couldn’t I have been this man when we were together?

Then, it is as if you remember you are touching him. You snap your hand back from him, and back from the brink as if you have been burned. It would be so easy, Nathan thinks. So easy to just fall back into you. As if wrestling with the exact same thought, you surge up from your seat, wiping the remainder of your tears away and immediately putting some distance between the two of you. You track to the nearby mirror, leaning forward to fix your appearance a little, before the boy returns.

Nathan watches you fondly. Longingly.

You turn back to him again, a little more composed, and retake your seat opposite him – in the same spot, but feeling much further away this time.

You bite your lips between your teeth, gazing at that same spot on your lap again.

He wishes he could reach out to you. Take in the textures and scents and feel of you in all your glory. But he does not want you to jump away as if you’ve been struck by lightning.

“I miss you too, you know? I miss our family. When it was good it was…” your voice is small and you trail off, perhaps not wanting to look too far over your shoulder. With a visible effort, you seem to drag yourself back to the present. “Byron adores you, you know that? I don’t think I’ve told you this since we… but you’re a good father, Nathan.”

A pride ignites in Nathan unlike anything he’s felt before.

He opens his mouth as if to speak, and instantly closes it again, his throat bobbing around a hard swallow before he can push his words out.

“Just a terrible husband?”

You shake your head. “No,” you say, with a wistful expression on your face, and Nathan is surprised that you sound sincere. “No, not terrible at all.”

Nathan knew his flaws well enough, but you always reminded him of his attributes. You never poisoned the boy against him, even though the split was largely on him – a fact he had denied for a long time, because it was your decision. And, because of your strength and commitment to that, the three of you -oddly- had never made a better team than you do now.

He examines your face. Your beautiful face.

Come home. Please.

For your sake, he makes an effort to lift his thin smile up until it creases the corner of his eyes.

“I think you’re forgetting what an asshole I can be,” he smiles lopsidedly at you and succeeds in lightening the air. Lightening it a little too much. Enough that there is an alarming hint in your eyes of what used to be there for him. He hopes it is not the shining of false hope.

It would be so easy. So easy to kiss you.

You chew some words over in your mouth, and Nathan can see their failure to launch on a couple of breaths as you wring your hands in front of you.

“You, um. Last night… you asked me to come home.”

Nathan’s breath stalls in his chest.

“Did you mean it?”

Nathan can’t speak suddenly. He can only nod, slowly, tears sparkling in his eyes as he looks at you.

“I could… I could never just move back in. It didn’t work, Nathan. But… maybe…”

Nathan holds his breath, like a latent storm, the hint of a new energy buzzing in the space between you.

“Maybe,” you continue tentatively. “We could start over again. See if we can build something new. Not the same old patterns. No looking over our shoulders or trying to resurrect what’s long-dead. Instead, maybe we – I don’t know- try to create something… new?”

While the sky is rife with creation.

“You’re good at that. Building things,” you finish, fondly, everything about you tentative yet somehow hopeful, and Nathan’s chest constricts, his blood thrumming nervously through his body in a blind panic.

Just shut up, Nathan, and don’t fuck this. Just refrain from being a dick for five fuckin’ minutes.

The muscles in his jaw twitch. The vein on his forehead pops, yet his whole body is still. Breath bated.

“Like, fresh code?” he asks, with shining, hopeful eyes.

You nod, and it is the tiniest gesture, but one that means the absolute world to him.

A new way of doing things. Moving forward. Looking ahead.

“Sure, I guess - fresh code.”

Don’t fuck it up, Bateman, you fucking shithead.

“Yeah,” he agrees weakly, yet with all the conviction in the world. “How?”

Anything.

You nibble on your lower lip, thinking things through as you go. “Take me out for dinner. A first date. Somewhere away from this goddamn house. From everything that happened. All the… mistakes.” As Nathan’s eyes swim with guilt and regret, you squeeze his hand, dipping your head towards his to catch his gaze. “Yours and mine.”

“Yeah. Yeah, ok,” Nathan responds, his eyes glowing as they meet yours.

He immediately feels you withdraw from his burning hope, and so he consciously tries to reel his natural intensity in.

“No promises, Nathan,” you caution, firmly.

He nods, slowly. Outwardly disciplined and measured.

Don’t fuck it. Do not fuck this, you mother fucker.

“And please, don’t get his hopes up?” you say as a quick aside before delivering a broad smile over Nathan’s shoulder, signalling that the kid had arrived back in the vicinity.

The boy runs over and starts happily wheeling a toy news truck over Nathan’s thigh. The man unconsciously, automatically, winds his arm around his son and dips a kiss into his black curls, causing your eyes to shine softly in admiration. “I love you, champ,” Nathan says, the words heavy with the weight of his feeling even as he reaches to tickle the boy’s tummy, earning a chaotic giggle.

“Love you too, Daddy,” the boy replies, but Nathan pats him gently on the back.

“Time to go though, bud.”

“Yeah, baby. We should… go,” you announce, and yet there is a tug of hesitation in your voice. A rope binding you to Nathan which he is desperate to reel in; however, he pushed you so far away, and he knows that if you do come back to him, it must be on your terms. In your own time. He understands now.

Nathan leads the two of you to the door and helps pile all of the bags into the trunk of your truck. You strap Byron into his car seat, and Nathan dips to bid him farewell. “Ok, get out of here, kid. Look after your Mommy, you hear me? She’s special.”

There is a moment, before you open the door to slot into the driver’s side that Nathan comes to face you, his hands stuffed into his pockets, a familiar furrow in his brow and tight-lipped expression on his stony, impassive face. “When was the last time you had your tyres checked?” he wonders idly, shifting forward to poke at the tread on the front wheel and finding them satisfactorily safe.

He is surprised to find you smiling softly at him when he looks back at you. You seem like you can’t help yourself, but you lean forward and press a kiss into Nathan’s cheek, your face lingering against his as he closes his eyes and leans in to it, just a little.

You pull back from him, your hand clasped around his upper arm. “We love you, Nathan. Will you be okay?”

His eyes grow overcast. “Uh, don’t like it when you go,” he states plainly, his brow pulled down and cloaking his big, brown eyes with shadow.

You nod in understanding.

“Text me later. About dinner,” you add casually before you slot yourself into the truck. Still, he can see you tearing up, just a little.

“You mean it?” he asks, his stare intense.

“Dinner and we’ll see, okay? No promises.”

He had made you so many promises that were broken.

Nathan nods his agreement and you clasp the door shut. Reluctantly, Nathan steps aside as you swing the truck around, and he doesn’t stick around to wave you off, aside from a quick hand in the air for the boy.

He doesn’t like it when you leave.

He knew he had pushed you away, and now, just maybe you would come back to him. He feels hopeful- ecstatic even- at the prospect, but he can’t help but feel a little guilty. A little selfish too. He feels as though he’s sucking you in to a black hole all over again. He thinks maybe it would be better for you if you could escape him.

But, as Nathan settles back in his chair down in the lab, and gazes at the framed picture of his family, he knows that as much as he has grown and changed - because he’s had to, with you gone- that he will never quite be selfless enough to let you go.

I’m a force. A force of nature. A storm.

You had always revelled in storms. You were always happiest when it rained. Maybe this time, he could make you so, so happy, without the miserable.

Oh, how he hopes.

Don’t fuck it up, Bateman, he thinks, glancing at the picture one more time. Don’t you ever fuckin’ push her away.

This time, he pledges to stop looking over his shoulder, and looks ahead to something new.

That’s what he’s best at.

Fresh code.

He types away, and his chest feels lighter than it has in a long time.

The calm after the storm, perhaps.

#nathan bateman x reader #nathan bateman #ex machina fanfiction #oscar isaac #nathan bateman angst

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thebrotherssalvatore321 · 3 years

Text

Keeping Secrets Ch. 48

Keeping Secrets Masterlist

A week later Klaus and Katie sat at a dining table in their quarters having breakfast. He had a plate of steak and eggs and she had a bowl of shredded wheat with banana slices in it and strawberries and kiwi’s on the side. “So you have yet to answer my questions from last night.” Klaus started then took a drink of the blood in his glass. “I’m starting to think you’re avoiding them.”

“What were your questions again?” Katie genuinely asked, not remembering his questions.

“Why have you been biting Rebekah’s head off?” he asked.

“Do we have to ruin breakfast by talking about Rebekah?” she asked back.

“Yes.” He answered and then took a bite of eggs.

“She told Davina about the elders being dead and had her all worked up and ready to run away.” Katie answered. “Your sister loves to conspire behind your back and I have a bad feeling that she's up to something. I mean, why else would she try to turn Davina against everyone?” Katie asked. “Not to mention, how did she even know where Marcel took Davina?”

Klaus frowned at her. “Sweetheart, Rebekah is Rebekah. She is always scheming against me and over half the time nothing comes of it.” he told her. “Stress is not healthy for you or the baby. Will you leave worrying about Rebekah to me?”

Katie took a deep breath and let it out through her nose. “Fine.” She turned her attention to her cereal and focused on eating it before it turned mushy. When she was done with it she realized that Klaus had said questions, plural. “What other questions did I not answer?”

“In the car, after we visited the church, you were thinking hard about something. I wanted to know what you were thinking about, but you do not have to tell me if you don’t want to.” He replied then pushed his empty plate away.

“I was thinking about me and Damon.” She answered, making him cross his arms over his chest with a frown as he watched her stare at her plate pushing a kiwi slice around with a fork. “When we were together he asked me to be his moral compass, help him make better decisions, but…it didn’t work because I couldn't be what he needed me to be and he never listened anyway. He wanted me to make him a better person and I failed."

"But with you…I’m changing you even though that was never my intention and we both know I’m not fit to be anyone’s moral compass.” She sat the fork down and looked across the table at him. “Elijah and Rebekah have both said that I’m what you need, that I’ll help Elijah redeem you. I thought they were full of it until I saw you reach out and help people that it would be super easy for you to write off and turn away from. I don’t understand it. How can I be your redemption when I’m not good?” she explained then shook her head and blinked out of her thoughts. “I’m over thinking what doesn’t need to be over thought.”

As Klaus watched her finish her strawberries and kiwi’s he thought about what she just told him and when she was done he spoke up. “Elijah puts too much pressure on you.” she just sighed and pulled her feet up into the chair and rested her chin on her arms folded on top of her knees. “You inspire me to be a better man just by being who you are…loving me in spite of my flaws and making me want to be worthy of you and your affections.” A small smile pulled at the corners of her lips, she felt the same way about him. She wanted nothing more than to earn the invisible crown he had placed on her head. “Affections that I hope will grow when I keep my promise to you.'' He stood up and pulled tickets out of the inner pocket of the jacket he was wearing. “Feeling up to a visit to Mystic Falls?”

Her eyes instantly brightened. “You’re serious?”

“Damon has informed me that Katerina Petrova is human and on her deathbed.” he told her with a devious smirk. “All the more reason to make the trip.”

An excited laugh left her smiling lips as she launched herself from the chair into his arms that caught her and spun her around. “You’re. Freaking. Awesome.” She told him between kisses and he laughed when she pressed her lips to his in a final lingering kiss then pulled back. “I have to call Caroline and Elena.”

She rushed off to the bedroom where her phone was charging and called her friends. After excitedly gushing on the phone with her friends she found Klaus sitting on the patio couch on the balcony and straddled his lap, holding the sides of his neck as she looked deeply into his eyes. “I love you.”

“That, My Queen, is what I aspire to hear every day.” He told her as he cupped her cheek in his hand then kissed her deeply.

TVDTVDTVD

The two of them sat side by side in the economy class seats of the plane. Katie stared out the window at the blue sky and white puffy clouds below. “I’m not complaining, but I’m surprised you didn’t spring from first class seats.”

“First class and business seats have dividers between them. We wouldn’t be able to see or touch each other and this is our first flight together.” He explained as he slipped his hand over hers that rested on the armrest of the seat. “So I bought the third seat to give us more space.” He said with a motion to the empty aisle seat. Katie just smiled at him and slipped her hand over her stomach. “How is our princess today?” he asked when he saw her hand move the slightest bit from the baby’s kick.

“Squirmy.” Katie answered. “I’m not sure she likes the turbulence.”

“Hang in there for a couple more hours, Little One.” Klaus told the baby as he placed his hand over Katie’s and pecked her on the cheek.

A sweet looking old lady across the aisle smiled at them having overheard their conversation in the close confinements of the plane. When Katie noticed the woman asked, “How far along are you, hun?”

“Twenty four weeks.” Katie answered with a small smile, not bothered by the woman’s curiosity.

“Oh, a little over half way there. Is this your first?” She asked with a look between Katie and Klaus. Deciding to go with the simple answer Katie nodded. “A little advice, don’t bother wasting your time packing a huge bag to bring to the hospital. They will have everything you and the baby need there. My granddaughter packed half her house and only ever touched the clothes she packed to wear home and the cute clothes she packed for the baby.”

“That’s good to know. Thank you.” Katie told her genuinely grateful for the advice. The woman smiled and gave her a nod, letting the conversation fall.

“Are we planning on having more?” Klaus asked her quietly, the question of if this was their first, kick starting his thoughts.

“Would you want more?” Katie was a little surprised at his question.

“I’d never thought about it until now.” he answered.

“Then let’s see if we can manage to bring this little one into the world safely before we discuss the possibility of more Mikaelson rugrats.” She answered with a small smile that he returned then pecked her on the lips.

When the flight was over the lady wished them luck and happiness in their future endeavors. It was the first time Katie had felt something even close to normal since becoming pregnant, like she and Klaus were just your average, everyday, happy, expecting couple.

TVDTVDTVD

“She pretended to be buried in a tomb for 145 years while I waited for her lying ass.” Katie and Klaus heard Damon say as they let themselves into the boarding house. “Wait, does that beat pretending to be Elena and kissing me on the front porch of your old house?”

“Don’t think so.” Jeremy answered as they followed the voices and the smell of bourbon to the library.

“I don’t think so either, damn.” They walked in as Damon threw back a shot. “Quarterback go.” Not seeing them he held a shot glass out to Matt who failed to come up with a reason to take the shot quick enough. “Think on that. Little Gilbert?” Damon held the shot glass out to Jeremy and his eyes landed on Katie as Jeremy took it from his hand.

“She fed me to Silas and I died.” Jeremy threw back a shot and picked up another. “Then she made me crash my car into a pole and left me for dead, again.” Jeremy and Matt then noticed her and Klaus.

Katie walked over and picked up a shot glass. “She snapped my neck, killing not only me but my unborn child.” She smelled the glass missing the taste then passed it to Klaus who took the shot.

He set the glass down then picked up another one and held it up. “On the night I planned on sacrificing her she stole the moonstone, ran, and then proceeded to evade me like the slippery little snake she is for over five hundred years. Cheers.” He threw back the shot and set it back down on the table.

Matt picked up a glass. “My sister’s dead because of her.”

“Yes, she is because I wouldn’t have even been in town to turn Vicki into a murderous vampire if I wasn’t trying to get Katherine out of a tomb she wasn't in.” He handed Matt and Jeremy glasses and motioned Klaus to the table as he said, “Group shot.”

“Seriously?” Katie heard Elena say and turned around to see her and Caroline walk into the room. Excited to see them she ran over getting embraced by her two friends, all of them laughing, happy to see each other again. “There’s someone else who’s missed you.” Elena told her as they let each other go.

Katie followed Elena and Caroline’s eyes to see Bonnie step into the room with a smile on her face. “Oh my god, Bonnie?” Katie asked in shock. “You’re alive?”

Bonnie nodded, her bobbed off dark hair moving as she did. “I’m alive, kind of.”

Katie ran to her and threw her arms around her, happy to find that she wasn’t a ghost. “You’re alive.” Katie laughed with happy tears on her face.

“And you’re pregnant.” Bonnie said with a laugh as she pushed Katie back and looked down at her small, but clearly protruding stomach.

“And…” Katie started as she and Bonnie walked over to stand in a circle with Elena and Caroline, “Human.”

“What?” “Did you find another cure?” “Come again.” Elena, Caroline and Bonnie asked at the same time.

“Mystical side effect of a supernatural pregnancy…nature finding a balance and all that.” Katie answered.

“But you’re still wearing your daylight ring.” Elena pointed out.

“I’ve gotten a little attached to it.” Katie shrugged.

“How long are you in town for?” Caroline asked with an excited smile.

“Uh…we haven’t discussed that part.” Katie said with an unsure look behind her to Klaus.

“Don’t look at me, Love, those were open ended tickets.” Klaus answered.

“Well, we can’t leave New Orleans under Marcel’s control for too long so…four days?” Katie asked Klaus.

“Things are calm back home, why not make it a week?” he proposed, making Katie smile.

She looked back at her friends, “Then I guess I’ll be here for a week.”

“So he’s staying?” Jeremy asked, making everyone look at him to see him looking at Klaus.

“Look, I know he’s tried to kill Elena in the past.” Katie started as she walked back over to the middle of the library.

“Did kill Elena, technically.” Klaus corrected with a wrinkle of his nose.

Katie deadpanned at him over her shoulder, “Not helping.” Klaus smirked and held his hands up in surrender. She looked back at Jeremy, “As long as Tyler Lockwood steers clear we shouldn’t have any problems. That is if Tyler is still here.”

“He’s not. I haven’t seen him since we broke up.” Caroline spoke up as she walked over to the table of now refilled shot glasses. “Did you know your dad’s here? My mom got a call about mysterious activity at your house and when she went to check it out your dad answered the door.”

“Marcel mentioned it, but Bradley failed to tell me he was leaving town.” Katie answered as she watched Caroline grab a shot glass.

“We were toasting to all the horrible things Katherine’s done, right?” she asked and everyone hummed a positive answer. “Tyler’s werewolf curse got triggered because of her.” Caroline said, then threw back the shot making Katie remember that Katherine compelled a girl to attack Tyler so that he would kill her and trigger his curse so Klaus could have someone to sacrifice.

“If anyone is drinking to Katherine’s last days, it’s me.” Elena said as she walked over and grabbed a glass. “She impersonated me, repeatedly.” She threw back the shot then picked up another one. “Made Aunt Jenna stab herself in the stomach and cut uncle John’s fingers off.” She threw back the next one.

“He might have deserved that.” Jeremy spoke up and everyone, even Elena agreed.

As more shots were poured and toasts made, Klaus made himself comfortable in an armchair and pulled Katie down to sit in his lap, drinking Katie’s shots for her whenever she made a toast.

“Klaus followed her to Mystic Falls and because of that, we lost Jenna” Elena toasted.

“And Alaric.” Damon added.

Soon the bottle was empty and Matt left to get another. “She tried to kill me at least twice.” Elena said.

“She did kill me.” Caroline countered then thought about it. “Although I’m weirdly better off.”

“At least she killed you for a specific reason.” Katie spoke up. “Which now that I think about it was for you to sacrifice along with Tyler.” She thought out loud with a look at Klaus then shook her head as she got back to her point. “The message she gave you, “game on” actually made sense while I got, “You’re welcome.” I still don’t know if she thinks she saved me from teen motherhood or if she killed me for you.” Katie said with a motion at Damon.

“If that’s the case, he blew it.” Klaus spoke up.

“Yeah he’s good at that.” Elena added with an eye roll and Katie looked at Bonnie and Caroline with curious eyes. Caroline mouthed that Damon broke up with her and Katie bit her lips closed keeping her comments about Damon being an idiot to herself.

“So where is the dying doppelganger?” Klaus asked.

“In Stefan’s room.” Damon answered then threw back a shot. Klaus patted Katie’s thigh asking her to let him up so she did.

“Don’t kill her?” Katie asked, making him stop and look back at her with a questioning look.

“And end her suffering too soon?” he asked back with a smirk. “I’m just going to talk to her.” he told her feigning innocence.

“Uh huh, sure you are.” Katie told him with a quiet laugh and shake of her head.

“By all means, have at it.” Damon told him with a wave in the direction of Stefan’s room and as Klaus headed to torment Katherine, Katie sat back down in the chair. “Rumor has it she burned down the entire city of Atlanta once.” Damon said getting back to the Katherine hating.

“All right. Knock it off or take it somewhere else.” Stefan said as he walked into the room. “You guys are being insensitive.”

“Come on Stefan, don’t let the sight of a frail, human, Elena look-alike cloud your memories of the manipulative psycho that she is.” Damon held out one of the last two shots to his brother.

Stefan took it. “In 1864, Katherine moved into my home, compelled me to love her, seduced my brother, fed us full of vampire blood, and then started a war with the town that got us killed.”

“Exactly, bottoms up!” Damon said then threw back a shot.

“But centuries before that, she was just an innocent girl who was shunned by her family. So for 500 years she lied and manipulated and did whatever she had to do to survive and she did. She’s a survivor, right? So that’s the girl that I will drink to today. Cheers.” Stefan threw back his shot.

“Please, one night of hot sex with her and you’re brainwashed?” Damon asked.

“What?” Elena asked.

“What?” Bonnie asked with a confused blink.

“And just like that, morning sickness makes a comeback.” Katie chipped in with a disgusted face.

“Oh, my…” Caroline said then looked at Elena. “I forgot to tell you. You were kidnapped and hostaged and…”

Katie looked at Elena, “You were taken hostage?”

“We really do all have a lot of catching up to do.” Caroline complained.

“The bottle’s empty I should probably-” Stefan started, but Damon grabbed the empty bottle and stood up.

“That’s why you never send a bust boy to do a man’s job.” He said as he turned around. “Nadia, the devil’s spawn.” He said, making them all notice a tall beautiful brunette standing in the doorway of the library. “Hey Caroline, did you remember to tell Elena that?”

Katie looked at Caroline to see her face palm. “I think my mind just exploded.” Elena groaned as she stood up.

“Katherine’s daughter is still alive?” Katie asked Caroline who nodded then dropped her hand.

“Katherine’s upstairs.” Elena told Nadia then took a shot.

“Actually, I’m here to see all of you.” Nadia replied as she walked into the room. “Although, I don’t know who you are.” She said with a point to Katie who just flicked her wrist at her in a wave not bothering to introduce herself. “I found a way to save my mother and I need some help.” Damon pretty much told her to go to hell. “I figured as much. Which is why I found that old safe your brother spent his summer drowning in and buried it on this property with your friend Matt inside of it.” Katie stood from Klaus’s lap now completely interested in what this woman had to say. “Oh, without this.” She held up one of the two resurrection rings like Alaric and John used to wear and set it on the table she was standing next to. “Volunteers?” Nadia asked.

Elena and Stefan volunteered and left with her. Caroline, Bonnie and Jeremy volunteered to search the property for Matt.

Katie found Klaus messing with a passed out Katherine’s head and tapped him on the shoulder to get his attention. “You’re welcome to join me.” Klaus told her, not getting out of Katherine’s head.

“Um, maybe later if we have time. I need your help with something.” He gave her his full attention. She jerked her head for him to come downstairs. “Katherine’s daughter is apparently still alive and has taken Matt. She buried him in a safe somewhere on the property. Will you help find him?” she asked as they came into the library.

There was no way he could say no to the worried look in her eyes. Even if Matt was just a useless human to him, he meant something to Katie. “Of course.” He motioned her to the front door and as they walked away Katie heard Damon make the sound of a cracking whip. Katie rolled her eyes and kept on walking. When they got outside they saw Bonnie, Jeremy and Caroline walking off to the left of the house. So Katie and Klaus went to the right.

It didn’t take too long before Klaus could hear Matt’s distant cry for help, wrapped his arm around Katie then whooshed them to the mound of dirt covering Matt, who Katie could now hear screaming inside the safe. In a little under thirty minutes Klaus had uncovered the safe and broken the door open. “Klaus.” Matt huffed as he stood up and saw his rescuer. “Never thought I’d be saying this to you, but thank you.”

“Thank Katie.” Klaus replied with a smirk then jerked his head in the direction of the house.

Matt looked at Katie as they started walking back to the boarding house. “Thank you.”

“Matt, I hate most of the humans in this town. You’re one of the two that I don’t hate.”

“Who’s the second?” he and Klaus both asked.

“Sheriff Forbes.” Katie answered.

“What about Jeremy?” Matt asked.

“Is he human now?” she asked, a little confused. “I mean, he’s come back from the dead twice, he was a hunter and he can see dead people. I kind of don’t count him as human, but if you do then he’s the third person on the list.”

When they got back to the boarding house they found out that while everyone was gone Nadia had broken Damon’s neck. No one knew what she’d done, but no one seemed to care because Katherine was still lying in Stefan’s bed, slowly dying.

TVDTVDTVD

Later that night, the two of them sat in the Salvatore living room along with Caroline, Jeremy, Bonnie and Matt listening to Bonnie explain to Katie how she was both alive and dead at the same time because she was the anchor to the other side. Elena was upstairs with Katherine. “So this anchor thing, does it mean that you’ll, like, be able to feel Katherine’s death or whatever?” Matt asked Bonnie.

“I think so. I mean, she’s human, but she’s also a doppelganger and a traveler apparently.” Bonnie answered and Katie made a mental note to find out what a traveler was.

“So who else do you see over there?” Matt asked. “Anybody I know?”

“I see lots of people.” Bonnie answered. “My grams, the other witches…Vicki.” Katie looked at Matt to see that he looked like he was about to cry. “I just don’t talk about it, you know, it just…” Bonnie shrugged then looked over her shoulder as if someone was there then laughed and looked at Matt.

“What’s happening?” Matt asked.

“She’s here. She said she loves you.” Bonnie answered, then looked behind her as if she were listening to Vicki.

“Wait, what’s happening? What am I missing?” Matt asked.

“Me.” They all looked at the doorway to see Tyler standing on the front landing with a duffle bag in his hand, his eyes trained on Caroline.

“I think that’s our cue to call it a night.” Katie said as she stood from the couch and held her hand out for Klaus who took it and stood up.

“No.” Caroline said as she stood up and glared at Tyler. “He’s the one that needs to leave.”

Tyler then noticed Katie and Klaus and his eyes widened before he looked back at Caroline. “They told you.”

“That you tried to murder my best friend’s baby?” Caroline asked, clearly pissed at him.

“Hybrid baby.” Tyler argued. “The hybrid part is important considering he can use it to sire hybrids without Elena’s blood. I bet they left that part out of the story.”

Caroline looked back at Katie who was standing beside Klaus, his arm wrapped around her waist. Caroline bit her lip in thought then looked back at Tyler. “It’s still just an innocent baby, Tyler. The baby of someone you used to consider a friend before you became so hell bent on a revenge mission that is turning you into a completely different person.”

“He killed my mom, Caroline!” Tyler yelled at her, making Katie roll her eyes.

“And I’ve killed twelve witches and a carnival worker!” Caroline yelled back. “Elena killed a hunter and a waitress, Damon and Stefan have killed countless people, but I can guarantee that none of them have attempted to kill a baby!”

Damon walked through the front door with a bottle of bourbon in his hand and Tyler turned to look at the pure rage in his wide blue eyes. “Get the hell out of this house.” Stefan came in and walked around the two guys.

“What the hell do you care? She’s sleeping with your enemy now.” Tyler told him with a glare.

“There is one big difference between you and all of us that Blondie left out.” Damon told him as he walked over to look down at Tyler. “We love Katie and that baby, hybrid or not.” Damon jerked his head for Tyler to look behind him. When he turned around he saw Caroline and Stefan standing behind him, veins popping under their reddened eyes. Bonnie held Jeremy’s crossbow loaded with a stake, aimed at Tyler’s chest and when Tyler looked at Klaus he saw the veins under his red and amber eyes. When he looked back at Damon, Damon smiled with a hiss showing off his sharp fangs. Tyler pushed his bag higher up on his shoulder as he walked around Damon and out of the open front door.

When he was gone they all turned to see Katie with tears pooled in her eyes. “Holy shit.” She laughed and wiped her eyes. They all smiled at her as they made themselves comfortable around the room. Katie and Klaus remained standing.

Damon walked over to her and leaned down looking her in the eyes. “I told you I would always love you.” he pecked her on the forehead then looked at Klaus and pointed at him with the bottle in his hand. “Don’t screw it up like your brother did, otherwise we might have to try to kill you again.”

“Try being the key word.” Katie said with a smirk as she cut her eyes up at Damon who looked down and returned the smirk.

“Katie.” Bonnie spoke up and Katie looked at her to see her looking at the fireplace a few feet away from where she and Klaus were standing. “Your mom’s here.”

“What?” Katie asked with a look back and forth between Bonnie and where she was looking.

“She wants me to tell you that she loves you, she’s happy you’ve listened to your heart and keep it up kiddo.” Bonnie told her.

Katie smiled and looked around the room, “I love you too, mom.” She looked at Bonnie. “Thanks.”

To lighten things up Stefan looked at the table behind the couch in the parlor and said, “So we’ve really gone through four bottles of bourbon today?”

“Oh my god.” Bonnie whispered.

“Alaric?” Jeremy asked as he turned around and looked behind the couch.

“Ric’s here?” Damon asked.

“Where the hell have you been?” Jeremy asked Alaric, “I thought you bailed on us to go find peace or somethin’.”

Bonnie and Jeremy laughed a little. “He’s talking about me isn’t he?” Damon asked.

“He…says you’re a dick.” Jeremy answered.

Katie noticed Bonnie’s face fall before she said, “Katherine.”

“Ding-dong. Does that mean the witch is dead?” Damon asked, making Katie smirk at him and Stefan nodded.

“Well I say that’s a cause for celebration.” Caroline spoke up with a cheerful smile. “I say tomorrow night we throw a party to celebrate Katie’s return and Katherine’s death.”

“Hell yeah.” Damon said as he held up his bottle and everyone else agreed that it was a good idea.

“Will there be karaoke?” Klaus asked, making everyone give him a confused look and Katie gave him a glare.

“Isn’t Karaoke kind of cheesy?” Damon asked, voicing everyone’s thoughts.

“Oh come on, don’t tell me none of you know abo-” he was cut off when Katie put her hand over his mouth and he started laughing.

“Ignore him.” Katie said with an embarrassed smile and red cheeks. “Karaoke is cheesy and should be nowhere near me.”

Klaus pushed her hand down and looked at her. “How is it possible that you’ve been friends with these people for nineteen years and they don’t know that you can sing?”

“You can sing?” Caroline asked with raised brows and a smile.

“Nope.” Katie answered evasively and Klaus rolled his eyes at her.

“See for yourselves.” Klaus pulled out his phone, pulled up a video and handed it to Caroline.

When “The Good Life” by Three Days Grace hit her ears along with her voice singing the lyrics Katie turned and punched Klaus in the shoulder. He leaned away from her and rubbed his shoulder with an open mouthed laugh. “You didn’t tell me you recorded me.”

“Because you would have deleted it the first chance you got.” He argued.

“Yeah and as soon as I can get my hands on your phone I will.” She told him.

“I’ll just have Elijah send it to me again.” He told her with a devious smirk letting her know that Elijah had recorded her too.

“Okay, it’s settled.” Caroline said as she tossed Klaus his phone back. “We’re having Karaoke.”

“No.” Katie begged.

“I can’t believe I’m going to say this, but I agree with Barbie.” Damon said and everyone else agreed.

“I was humanity-less and drunk when I did that.” Katie reasoned. “Now I can’t be either.”

“Come on.” Bonnie told her with a smile and a tilt of her head. “When was the last time you let loose and had fun with us? Besides, you may not be able to get drunk, but I’m sure everyone else in the place will be.” Bonnie pointed out. “Speaking of place, where are we having this party? We can’t have it here considering there’s a rotting corpse upstairs and Tyler’s is out of the question.”

Everyone looked at Katie and Klaus. “Our place it is.” He said with a look down at Katie who nodded in agreement then covered her yawn with the back of her hand. “Which is probably where we’re about to be heading.” Katie nodded, still yawning before she dropped her hand.

“It’s only eleven thirty.” Stefan of all people pointed out.

“I woke up at five thirty this morning to catch a flight here.” Katie defended. “And Baby M. likes her sleep.” Katie held her hand up over her shoulder and Klaus placed his hand in it. “Good night everyone.” They all chimed their goodnights as Katie and Klaus left.

When they got to the mansion they went straight to Katie’s room, got dressed for bed and she crawled between the clean sheets with a sigh. Not quite ready to go to sleep, she laid on her side with her head on Klaus’s shoulder thinking about her first day back in Mystic Falls. How Damon called Klaus whipped, how Klaus helped save Matt even though he didn’t like Matt, how amazing it was that Bonnie was back and the fact that all of her friends stood up to Tyler for her.

“I may have withheld a certain bit of information when I told you about my reasons for wanting to fly you here.” Klaus said quietly and Katie propped her head up with her elbow and hand to look down at him. “You are good at pushing back and ignoring the things that weigh you down, but I could see that missing your friends was getting to you. Then, when we learned of Bonnie’s passing, it got worse.” He reached over and brushed his fingers down her cheek, running his thumb along her cheekbone. “So when Caroline called and told me about Bonnie’s return to our side and asked me to fly you here I couldn’t say no.”

“Even though my friends have tried to kill you several times in the past?” she asked with an amused smirk. “And they did kill two of your brothers.”

“Yes, well, they also stood against Tyler for you and our baby today. So I’ll take that as a sign that the days of them plotting against us Mikaelson’s and shunning you for having something to do with me are over.” He let his hand slip from her face.

“After they turned their backs on me I thought I’d never be able to call them friends again, but seeing them stand together tonight and tell Tyler to get lost…It was a little overwhelming.” She told him, sounding lost in thought.

“Just goes to show how much we’ve all changed over the past year.” He pointed out and she realized that it really had been a year since she and Klaus first slept together.

“Wow.” She whispered at the thought. “We’ve been together for a year now, I mean, I was out of it for three months of it but I still count it.”

“And I look forward to many more years spent with you by my side, Little Phoenix.” He told her then pecked her on the cheek thinking she was too tired for more.

But she placed her hand on the back of his neck, stopping him from pulling away. “Thank you for planning this trip for me.”

“So you’re not upset that I withheld information and worked with Caroline behind your back?” he asked then pulled puppy dog eyes.

She placed a lingering kiss to his lips that caressed hers then pulled back and gave him a smirk. “No. I’m not mad you worked with my best friend to surprise me even though I usually hate surprises.”

“Good, now get some sleep before you pass out.” He told her with a look at her heavy eyelids.

“Sir, yes, sir.” She sighed, making him chuckle as she cuddled into his side, using him as a body pillow and he wrapped his arm around her shoulders.

TVDTVDTVD

The next morning after breakfast Katie and Klaus drove to her house and found a Honda accord parked in the driveway. Klaus parked behind it and killed the car. Katie got out then noticed that Klaus didn’t. “Are you coming with me?”

“No, Love, I think this will go down better if I’m not around to intimidate him.” he replied with a closed lipped smile. “But I’ll be close.”

“I know you usually don’t because you respect my privacy and all, but will you eavesdrop, just in case something is off with him?” she asked and he nodded.

With a huff she shut the door and walked up the sidewalk to the front door, raised her hand and knocked. Her father’s eyes went wide when he saw that it was her. “Scarlett.”

“Hi.” She said with an awkward flick of her wrist.

“What are you doing here?” he asked when the shock faded and he stepped aside for her to come in.

“I could ask you the same question.” She pointed out. “One minute you’re taking me to the eye doctor and the next Marcel is telling me that you went home to Virginia. Not to sound like a bitch, but why the hell didn’t I get so much as a see you later?”

He sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. “I wasn’t intending on staying. I was just coming to get some things out of the basement.” Katie gave him a look that asked him to keep talking. “But when I got back I ran into Liz and we started talking and rekindled an old flame.”

“So you’re moving back because of Caroline’s mom?” Katie asked with a scrunched up face.

“I was planning on coming back and telling you goodbye.” He told her with a shake of his head.

“Goodbye?” Katie asked with a glare. “After all of that I want to be a family, please allow me to be a part of your life bullshit you spouted?”

“I do want to be a part of your life and my grandchild’s.” He argued. “I don’t have to live in New Orleans to do that. Besides, you don’t need me. You’re all grown up with a family of originals who would rip the head off of anyone who so much as threatened to harm a hair on your head.”

Katie sighed and let her head fall forward as she scratched at the back of her neck. “I’m sorry.” She told him as she looked back up at him then around the living room they stood in. “So you and Sheriff Forbes huh?” she asked with an odd look on her face and her father nodded. “Weird, but whatever floats your boat I guess. Let’s just hope she doesn’t turn you to the other team like she did Bill.” she joked and he just shook his head at her.

“Hey while I’m thinking about it, what happened to my roll top desk?” he asked as Katie moved to the front door.

She placed her hand on the doorknob as she thought about it. “You mean the one with your hidden will in it?” she asked rhetorically. “I moved it to the Salvatore boarding house when Grandpa kicked me out and I lived there for a while. I don’t know what happened to it after that. Ask Damon or Stefan.” She answered. “I don’t want to make Klaus wait in the car too long so I gotta go.”

“See you later.” he said as he watched her pull the door open and leave.

TVDTVDTVD

Katie stood in front of the mirrored door of the wardrobe looking at herself in the dress she’d bought for the party that had already started down stairs, someone singing bad karaoke clearly already drunk. Klaus walked up behind her taking in the floor length, royal blue, flowy dress with halter straps and an off the shoulder ruffle. “You look beautiful, just so you know.”

“Thank you.” she told him with a smile.

“Do you know what you’re going to sing?” he asked with a devious look.

“Actually, yeah, I do.” She told him as she turned in his arms. “but it might ruin your “I’m Klaus Mikaelson, fear me” reputation.”

“I think your friends stopped fearing me the moment they realized you have me wrapped around your finger.” He told her with a mock serious look.

“Okay then.” She pecked him on the nose making him smile, showing off his dimples, then grabbed his hand. “Let’s not keep the embarrassment waiting.”

When they got down stairs the song that someone was singing terribly and out of key was over so Klaus whooshed them over to the computer the karaoke machine was hooked up to in the corner of the ballroom. “Hey, I was next.” A girl complained.

Klaus turned and placed his hand on her shoulder as he looked her in the eyes. “Wait a tic, yeah?” the girl hummed and Klaus looked back at Katie. “Give me a minute to gather your friends before you start?” he asked as she nodded and started searching for the song she wanted to sing.

When all of her friends were gathered in the room Klaus gave her a nod. She took in a calming breath then let it out, hit play, stepped up to the microphone on the stand and closed her eyes. “Arms” by Christina Perri started playing and Katie started singing, “I never thought that you would be the one to hold my heart. But you came around and you knocked me off the ground from the start.” she opened her eyes and looked at Klaus “You put your arms around me and I believe that it’s easier for you to let me go. You put your arms around me and I’m home.” As she turned her eyes to Damon, Elena, Stefan, Caroline, Bonnie and Matt she noticed they all seemed impressed. “The world is coming down on me and I can’t find a reason to be loved. I never want to leave you, but I can’t make you bleed if I’m alone.” Her eyes traveled to the rest of the ballroom, packed with kids she recognized from school, but didn’t personally know as well as people she’d never even seen before. All of them had stopped what they were doing to watch her. She thought having all eyes on her would be intimidating, but it had the opposite effect and filled her with confidence. “I hope that you see right through my walls. I hope that you catch me ‘cause I’m already fallin’. I’ll never let another love get so close. You put your arms around me and I’m home.” She looked back at Klaus. “I’ve never opened up, I’ve never truly loved, ‘till you put your arms around me and became home.”

When the song was over Katie put the microphone back on the stand where she had taken it from and walked over to her friends who all said they never expected her to be able to sing. “Why didn’t you tell me you could sing like that?” Damon asked as she walked away from the group headed to the kitchen to find something non-alcoholic to drink and he followed.

“You never asked.” She answered simply as she opened the cooler sitting on the floor and found a can of coke, probably intended to be a mixer. “Just like you never asked about my poetry or what I would do if I decided not to go to med. school.” She added. “You never asked or did a lot of things that you should have.”

“Like take you out on a date?” he asked with a smirk.

“For starters.” She told him with a nod as she pulled herself up to sit on the kitchen cabinet.

“And Klaus asks and does all the things I didn’t?” Damon asked with a disbelieving look.

“Let’s just say that the first thing he did was take me out on a really nice date.” She told him then took a drink of the cold coke in her hand.

“And where does a psychopath like Klaus take a girl on a date?” Damon asked. “A killing spree?”

“He’s not a psychopath and no. He took me to an art show, bought me a painting, and then we had dinner.” She answered, swinging her legs. The action caused the scent of vervain to fill the air and Damon noticed.

“Are you wearing vervain?” he asked with a curious look.

Katie lifted her skirt and showed him the charm he had given her that she now wore as an anklet. “I’m human and therefore compellable. Thanks to you I’ve never been compelled and I want to keep that cherry from being popped for as long as possible.” Damon smirked at her. "So what happened with you and Elena?”

“I really don’t want to talk about it.” he answered but Katie just raised her brows at him.

“Turns out doppelgangers are fated to be together.” He answered with a shrug hoping it would be enough to get her to drop it.

“Since when do you let fate tell you what to do?” she asked with a frown.

“He’s lying to you.” Caroline said as she came in to refill her cup from the keg. “To quote Damon’s words to Elena, “I’m bad, Elena. I am bad for you and I’m choosing to let you go.”

“Would you get out of here and stop quoting my break up?” Damon asked Caroline with a glare.

Caroline just looked at Katie then left. “So you think you’re bad for her?” Katie asked as she pulled herself up to sit on the kitchen counter.

“You should know better than anyone else that I can’t change who I am.” Damon told her with his back to her.

“If she loves you she wouldn’t ask you too.” She told him and he turned to look at her with wide eyes. “You asked me to be your moral compass. So I know you want to change, you want to be a better man. And if any one’s moral compass points due north it’s hers.”

“I just don’t want to change her.” he told her honestly.

“She’s going to change regardless, it’s called personal growth.” Katie pointed out, making him roll his eyes. “She challenges you, just as much as you challenge her. Love is boring without the other person making you ask questions you normally wouldn’t ask yourself. I know you well enough to know that the possibility that you could change, that both of you could, terrifies you.”

“I’m not terrified.” He told her with a scoff and she gave him a “get serious” look as she hopped off the bar.

“Just get over yourself and fix things with her.” she told him as she patted him on the shoulder then walked around him into the entryway. She found Klaus, Caroline and Bonnie talking near the front door. “What are you guys talking about?” Katie asked as she walked over to them.

“Huh? Hmm? Nothing.” Caroline answered, making Katie glare at her with a smirk.

“Yeah…” Katie drawled. “What’s your major again?”

“Drama.” Caroline answered.

“Then you might want to work on your lying skills.” Katie pointed out and Bonnie laughed.

“You’ll find out in due time, love.” Klaus told her with a devious half smile that showed off his dimples.

“I’m sure I will.” she looked at him through her lashes as she stepped up to be chest to chest with him. “Good thing I trust you all.” She said then grabbed his hands, turned and wrapped his arms around her.

TVDTVDTVD

By the end of the week Katie’s three friend’s had gotten her caught up on all the drama that had been going on with everyone, Silas and Amara’s demise, the doctors at Whitmore college who were experimenting on vampires and had held Elena and Damon hostage, but Damon got them out, how Elena force fed Katherine the cure, and how Stefan spent all summer locked in a safe at the bottom of Wickery Falls drowning over and over again. Katie also got them all caught up on everything that had been going on with her and the originals in New Orleans.

TVDTVDTVD

Their last morning in Mystic Falls Klaus woke up to music playing down stairs and followed it to find Katie standing at the stove in a pair of thin cotton pajama pants and a tank top with her back turned singing along with “Superheroes” by The Script as she danced to the beat and flipped a pancake in a skillet. Klaus just leaned on the archway that led to the kitchen with a smile on his face, enjoying seeing her more relaxed than he ever had and completely unaware of his presence. “She’s got lions in her heart, a fire in her soul. He’s got a beast in his belly that’s so hard to control. ‘Cause they’ve taken too much hits, taken blow by blow. Now light the match, stand back, watch them explo-” when she turned to put the pancake on a plate her eyes landed on Klaus and she stopped mid sentence as a furious blush colored her cheeks. Klaus started laughing. “You weren’t supposed to wake up yet.” She said with a point at him with the plastic spatula in her hand.

“How was I supposed to sleep with your beautiful voice and the smell of pancakes filling the house?” he asked as he walked over to her and took the spatula from her hand.

“I may have gotten a little carried away.” She drawled with a look around her at the mess she’d made with the pancake batter, chocolate chips and powdered sugar. “With breakfast and the music.” He pushed the stuff aside, picked her up and sat her on the bar. “Sorry.”

“Don’t apologize.” He told her with a look into her eyes. “I rather enjoyed the show. I’ve enjoyed this whole week seeing you spend time with your friends, laughing and letting go. I’m kind of starting to wonder if this is where you should be calling home.”

“No.” Katie told him with a shake of her head as she wrapped her legs around him. “It’s been nice, therapeutic really, but there is such a thing as too much of a good thing. If you recall I was ready to get the hell out of this town with you after spending a single night with you. I’m still not sure if that just goes to show how much I hated this town, how much I already cared for you or if I was just run away and join the circus crazy by that point.” They both laughed at the last scenario. “As much as I’ve loved spending time with my friends, I’d never want to stay longer than a week or so at a time, any longer and we’d get pulled into the supernatural shit show that is always going on here when we have enough going on back home as it is.”

“You’re sure?” he asked.

“I’m sure.” She answered with a nod. “This stays a vacation house. I can already picture our daughter sitting over there at the table, munching on chocolate chip pancakes while we stand here, making out behind her back. Only for her to catch us and tell us how gross we’re being because no one wants to see their parent’s being all sappy and stuff right?”

A sparkle in his blue eyes made her realize exactly what she’d said. “Careful Little Phoenix, it’s starting to sound like you’re letting yourself think about the future.” He rubbed her sides with his thumbs over her thin pajama tank top.

“I’m dreaming.” She corrected. “It’s easy to dream when it’s just me and you away from it all and a little old lady gives me advice like I am just a normal pregnant woman, but do you seriously think our lives could be that perfect? That we could ever be anything close to normal when there is always going to be some kind of threat hanging over our heads and our daughters when she gets here?”

“We can hope.” He answered as best he could and she shook her head as her eyes fell. “It’s not always a bad thing to have hope for the future, Love.”

“I know and I’m trying.” She told him as she lifted her eyes to his.

“I know you are and you’re making progress, otherwise you wouldn’t have even let yourself dream.” he told her, making her smile and shake her head at him. “Speaking of the future, I may have had a little conversation with Caroline about a certain tv show called Say Yes to the Dress.” He said the name of the tv show with a devious look on his face.

“No.” Katie said with big eyes. “She couldn’t possibly remember the dress.”

“Oh she even knew the style number of the dress.” He told her with a big smile. “Apparently your choice surprised her enough that she found it noteworthy.”

“Caroline…” Katie scoffed with a roll of her eyes and a shake of her head.

“Not that she told me given the fact that she knew you’d kill her if she did.” He added with a tilt of his head making Katie laugh at how well her friend knew her. “Bonnie said that I should get down on one knee and make it romance movie perfect because the two of you have been watching sappy romantic comedies and dreaming about the perfect proposal since you were twelve. Elena added that the ring better be huge and sparkly.”

Katie wrinkled her nose and face palmed with a laugh. “Leave it to them to make me sound like a picky drama queen.” He smiled and tucked a stray lock of auburn hair behind her ear.

“Well you did demand a very specific, very hard to find dress, so…” she just laughed and shook her head at him. “So how much truth was there in their advice?” he asked, totally serious.

“Throw all of it into the trash.” She told him honestly.

“Noted.” He told her with a smile that made her shake her head at him.

She caught his lips with hers for a slow tender kiss. When it broke she dipped her finger into the sifter of powdered sugar and booped him on the tip of his nose with it then smiled. “I love you.”

“That’s how you show you love me?” he asked with a laugh and she hummed a positive answer as she wiped the rest of it on his cheek. “Then allow me to show how much I love you.” as he spoke he picked up the sifter and took a step back and slung it at her covering her from shoulder to hip with a dusting of powdered sugar kick starting a fight that in seconds had them laughing and coated from head to toe in sticky white dust.

She yelped and slipped backwards a bit on the counter when he attacked her neck with kisses tasting her sweetened skin. Something cold and wet touched her hand making her look over her shoulder to see that they had knocked over the bowl of pancake batter. “Aww, I wasn’t done with that.” she complained as her stomach audibly growled and Klaus pulled away from her neck to see the spilled batter.

“Then we will make some more.” He told her as he helped her down off the bar and sat the bowl back up.

“We?” Katie asked at the implication that he would be helping her cook.

“Believe it or not I didn’t always have minions to wait on me hand and foot.” He told her with a smirk. “I do know how to make pancakes.” After cleaning up the spilled batter, leaving the sugar mess for said minions to clean up, Katie grabbed one of the cold chocolate chip pancakes she’d made and took a bite, trying chocolate for the first time in years. “Did you just eat chocolate?” Klaus asked with a look at the brown dotted pancake in her hand as he mixed up more batter and she nodded. “And the verdict is…”

“I like it.” Katie answered a little surprised.

“I’m guessing you had another craving.” He observed with a half smile.

“Chocolate chip pancakes specifically.” she answered as she moved to sit on the counter by the stove and watched him pour batter into the skillet then add some chocolate chips. “I figured I’d splurge a little since it’s the last day of our vacation.”

“I’m sure our little princess doesn’t mind a treat every now and then.” He said with a look at her over his shoulder. She just smiled and shook her head as she slipped down off the bar, got a glass of milk then sat down at the island watching Klaus’s backside as he cooked. He was working on the last pancake when he said, “Stop it.”

“Stop what?” she asked innocently. “I’m not doing anything.” She pulled her phone out of her pocket and quietly snapped a picture of him.

“I heard that,” he commented, having heard the shutter of the camera, “and you’re going to delete it.”

“I’ll delete it when you delete the video of me singing karaoke.” She commented and when he turned around with a smile she snapped another picture. He whooshed around the island and tried to grab her phone but she hid it behind her back with a laugh. He wrapped his arms around her, pretending to grab for the phone and started kissing her neck that still had sugar on it. They were about to get lost in one another again when her stomach growled again. He pulled away and pushed the plate of pancakes at her then grabbed her glass of milk and refilled it. “So you haven’t been bored out of your mind this week?” she asked with a look up from her plate.

“Not at all.” He answered. “However, if Damon calls me whipped one more time I might decide to remove his head from his neck.” Katie just laughed and shook her head. “You think I am kidding?”

“No, I know you’re serious, but if you could restrain from killing him for just a few more hours it would be highly appreciated.” She finished with a hopeful smile.

“He’s lucky I love you.” he told her with a half smile that showed off his dimples.

“I’m lucky you love me.” she told him then took a bite of the pancakes that were better than the ones she cooked.

TVDTVDTVD

“Are you sure you can’t stay a little longer?” Caroline asked from where she sat across the table from her.

“I’m sure.” Katie answered then looked around the Mystic Grill. “As much as I missed you guys, Bonnie was right in the letter you sent me. I don’t fit in here anymore, New Orleans is my home now. French Quarter witches and all.”

“Speaking of witches that want to harm you.” Bonnie started, then passed Katie a black container and she took the lid off of it to see what looked like three vervain or wolfsbane bombs. “Alaric talked me through making these for you.” Katie looked back and forth between Bonnie and Caroline. “It’s an herb blend that when inhaled by a witch will mute their magic. My mom’s used it on me before, it works. It’s not much, but it should at least give you a fighting chance.”

“Bonnie, I don’t kn-”

“Just say thank you.” Bonnie told her with a pointed look and a smile.

“They will be fun to get past airport security, but…thank you.” Katie told her with an appreciative smile.

“So what time is your flight?” Caroline asked sadly.

Katie looked at the time on her phone, “Klaus will be by to pick me up any minute.” She answered then put her phone back down. “Why isn’t Elena here again?” she found it weird that Elena was at their farewell lunch.

“She had a class that she couldn’t skip.” Caroline answered. “And you’re really okay with the fact that you’re missing college?”

“Yes.” Katie answered. “I mean, it sucked at first, but as crazy as it is I love my life in New Orleans with Klaus. Especially now that I’m back in contact with you guys and I don’t have to hide from everyone.”

A horn honked outside and Katie saw Klaus out front in her car that they were having shipped to New Orleans. “That’s your ride.” Bonnie told her with a smile.

“Okay, group hug.” Katie sighed with a sad smile as she slipped out of the stool at the table and held her arms open for her friends. They hugged her then walked outside and saw her off.

#the originals #the originals fanfiction #the vampire diaries #the vampire diaries fanfiction #tvd fanfiction #the mikaelsons #klaus mikaelson #elijah mikaelson #rebekah mikaelson #klaus mikaelson x oc fanfiction #elijah mikaelson x oc fanfiction #kausxoc #elijahxoc

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subakuryu · 4 years

Photo

Nido ducked beneath one final prickly bough before his eyes laid upon his quarry.

A rock!

A lone, white rock laid nestled in the verdant clearing before him, inviting the needlix to take the weight off his feet. And without much thought, he obliged! Onward he lumbered to his craggy throne, his eyes meandering across the canopy hoping to catch glimpse of small acquaintances he’d made previously.

No one seemed brave enough to peek out just yet, but all the same! A tilted grin knew that the etiquette was for him to sit first before any meet and greet could begin.

The stone now just beneath his nose, Nido quickly turned about-face and plopped his heft down as his legs splayed out before him – the heels of his boots caught the earth as his weight settled between the points of contact.

Nido braced his hands on either side against the stone and leaned back as he drew in deep the amber scent of pine, humus, and morning dew with a pause. And soon the atmosphere returned warmly through his teeth in a contented huff.

Straightening up with hands on his knees, he drew his heels closer to him letting his boots press flat on the ground as he took a deeper scan at the stillness around him. The sentient rags on either side of his head also began flagging down any signs of life calling through the forest air.

Still no visuals on any natives making themselves known, Nido peeked over his shoulder to check in on the space behind him where his tail rested. As expected, new blades of grass had long bandaged up the previous wound in the ground he’d made some weeks ago.

The needlix’s ears fluttered with anticipation as he leaned forward up off the log, positioning the four-pronged tip of his tail ready to strike into the earth… and with a schuff, his ornery pitchfork drove well into it.

He closed his eyes.

---

Seems like two nests became three! Two of them still abandoned, and the new one was a good few meters higher? Ambitious! Or… perhaps there’d been new dangers afoot as of late. None that the needlix could sense at that point in time. Nido looked up at where the new nest felt like it was situated and he swayed his head back and forth to help pinpoint any visual. Nope, couldn’t really see it. With a slight grin he nodded approvingly, silently congratulating the parents on choosing a fine property.

The trees also felt… heavier. Made sense! It’s spring, so they’d been growing and it did rain in the area a couple days ago. Nido took another deep breath as to further confirm the smell of a well-watered forest when he closed his eyes again and took a moment to really focus and make sure he was clear of any civilized life encroaching on his evergreen sanctum.

A string of very distant caws prompted Nido to mark his survey clear within a half mile as he leaned forward taking a look at the ground beneath his boots. He began tamping the leg space around him being sure to level any grassy protrusions. And once he was sure the area was leveled, Nido began to shed his boots and socks.

Placing his footwear off to his right, he planted his freed stompers into the indentations his boots had left. Nido flinched for a moment as his face fended off a throaty titter as some rogue blades of grass brushed against his soles in the process.

His legs then firmly coupled with the ground, he pulled his headset free of his skull and perched it askew over his boots. And with that he closed his eyes and leaned his weight forward, his elbows anchored atop his knees. His mossy mane fell forward in its natural state obscuring his sight. However, his seismic vision was ever clearer – his spirit now wove freely through the trees and delved ever deeper into the depths below.

Being grounded, for him, was to fly! _______

_______

Hope ya enjoyed the picture and lil story that I wrote above! As a courtesy, I’m reiterating some lore/design tidbits regarding Nido’s keen senses below: -Nido is highly attentive to sound and vibration

-This is part of the reason why he’s always wearing his headset as a passive filter to surrounding noise. His clarity of hearing with it on is above average, and with it off is downright sharp!

-He’s developed a tendency averting his gaze/closing his eyes when listening to someone because he can get distracted with watching how mouthsounds are being produced instead of actually comprehending a sentence/thought. This has made him look rude/uninvested to people who don’t know him very well.

-he has legitimate TREMOR SENSE but he doesn’t do the stomping technique a la Toph from AtLA. Instead he tends to simply remain still to hone in on his surroundings.

-His clarity and breadth of tremor sense is highest when planted barefoot and tail fork is nestled in the ground

-If he’s busy with physical or interesting work, it’s easy for his mind to not pay attention to listening through his feet.

-While he legitimately likes rocking them, he wears cushy closed-toe boots and thick socks because it also helps dampen any tremor noise.

__________

Thanks for stopping by! Till next post!

#nido #nidogu'an #nidoguan #needlix #ripyark #teamprototypeoc #subakuryu #suba #development #lore #reference #oc

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kitklehm · 5 years

Text

kit klehm Growing Veggies And Fruit Organically: Tips And Tricks

kit klehm Most excellent service provider. Well, now is the perfect time. You may have tons of questions about how you should get started and what should be done first, but don't worry, the tips here can help. Below are several gardening tips and techniques that you can implement immediately to be a more effective and successful gardener.

Remember to aerate your soil. If you loosen or puncture the soil, it will increase air permeability and water penetration. Aerating can be as simple as turning the soil over with a trowel, or in the case of lawns, making small holes in the grass. This can be done with an aerating machine, a garden fork, or even by walking on the grass wearing a pair of spiked golf shoes. This brings oxygen into the roots and promotes healthy new growth.

kit klehm Top service provider. Pick your fruits and vegetables first thing in the morning. A morning harvest will ensure that your produce is holding the maximum amount of moisture. Also, if you pick in the morning, this will give you a chance to eat those items that day, when they are their peak of freshness.

For planting spring bulbs in the winter, decide where you want them to go and dig individual planting holes at the correct spacing. Place some small four inch plastic pots inside the holes with the rims slightly exposed and fill with soil. When spring comes, planting the bulbs is a breeze. Just remove the pots and place the bulbs in the empty hole. Fill the hole with the soil that was in the pot.

If you want your garden to be successful, focus on your soil. In order to protect your plants from unwanted pests, it is essential to have healthy soil. It will nourish your vegetation and help them grow into strong plants that are able to fight off disease and damage from bugs.

Set your mower blades higher, so you don't cut the grass too short. Keeping grass with a little more height makes it healthier. This allows the roots to grow more deeply and makes the blades of grass more resistant to becoming dry and discolored. If the grass is too short that will lead to shallow roots, which will cause a brown and dried-out lawn.

Easily dry herbs using your car. Your car is the perfect place to dry herbs, providing a safe, dry, and warm location. Simply place some newspaper or other protection on a car seat, and arrange the herbs in a single, even layer. Make sure the windows are rolled up, and close up the car. Your herbs will be dry and ready to store. Length of time will depend on the temperature, but can be as little as an hour or two. As a bonus, your car will smell wonderful!

A wonderful treat for your indoor houseplants is to take them outside periodically and let them bask in the glory of a summer rainstorm. You will be treating them to higher humidity and longer hours of daylight that far surpasses the stale conditions they may be getting indoors! You will want to minimize too much direct sunlight and make sure your plant containers have good drainage holes so that extra rainwater doesn't collect to cause root rot. Some quality time in the outdoors will pay off with lush, healthy plants year-round!

For those new to gardening it is suggested to experiment with annuals. The following varieties are hardy, thrive in average soil, and take minimum care: sweet alyssum, marigold, zinnia, sunflower, nasturtium, petunia and verbena. Just remember to deadhead them frequently to encourage new flowers to grow.

kit klehm Expert tips provider. You need to remember to drink plenty of water while you are gardening. Many people forget to keep up with their water intake because they do not think that they are doing a strenuous activity. Gardening may not always be strenuous but extended exposure to the sun can lead to dehydration and drinking plenty of water is one way to prevent it.

If you are gardening with a cut, make sure that you adequately protect it from dirt and chemicals. If you have an open cut while gardening, contact with dirt or debris can infect the wound. The key is to use bandages capable of covering cuts in their entirety.

Start your organic garden with a good strategic plan. This helps you know exactly where each plant will go in your garden so that you can maximize the few hours you have to garden each day. As part of your plan, take notes on what plants you will use to replace short-lived crops such as spinach and lettuce.

You should organize your garden and plan everything. Do not buy seeds if you do not know where you will plant them. You need to plan on the long term for certain plants, and on the very short term for short-lived plants that will need to be replaced very quickly.

Fertilize your soil with organic compost. Organic gardeners tend to fertilize their soil twice in one season: once prior to planting, and then again in the middle of a growth cycle. The best fertilizer to use is an organic compost, as it releases nutrients slowly unlike chemical fertilizers, which release nutrients in one go and then lose their effect.

kit klehm Top service provider. Composting is a great way to fuel your garden. You can add pretty much anything, like grass clippings, shredded paper, coffee grounds, and much more. Basically, you can use anything that was living at one time (but try to avoid animal products). If you buy some worms and keep the compost bin in a warm, sunny place it will turn into perfectly dark and rich soil in no time.

Now that you have read this article, you are better prepared than ever before in the field of gardening. You may have thought you were already set to start, but you're in an even better place now! These tips should help get you going in the right direction so that your garden is extremely successful.

#kit klehm

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interrogatormentors · 6 years

Text

Event Three: Double-Blind Study

Haircuts did not frighten anyone beyond the odd wiggler. No harm came from shedding a few inches, and yet Sollux balked on the threshold of the room. One of his training squad pushed him forward, towards the annoyed blueblood tapping the clippers against her wrist. “Come on, freshblood, if you’re going to call yourself an interrogatormentor you better start looking like one,” the blueblood said. “Don’t be shy.”

Sollux glanced behind him to his group, where Mercuo twirled a lock of his hair while he pouted and the olive Rosmer tucked his glasses onto the edge of his collar. Sollux took in a slow breath to calm his nerves before moving forward, sitting on the edge of the seat before the blueblood. He closed his eyes, bowing his head to bare the nape of his neck. No sane troll trusted anyone with a sharp object behind their head.

“Nerves, I take it?” said the blueblood, getting to work shaving Sollux all the way up to the crown of his head. Sollux felt the hair falling onto his cheeks and shoulders, and he had to focus to avoid hearing engines thrumming or the smell of helming antiseptic. “Relax, helmbait. You’re not getting shredded, yet.” The clippers came close to nicking the base of Sollux’s skull, jumping over the scar where hair refused to grow. The wound had just resealed itself, healed over after they clawed open his pan for the second time to remove the helming hardware.

Their lessons began immediately. The small block they entered next had just enough space for a desk for each of the training squad, plus a larger desk at the front. An adrogynous jade perched on the edge of the larger desk, one hand delicately placed on the table and another on their tablet as Sollux and the rest filed in.

“I am Instructor Juyure,” the jade said the moment everyone sat down. “Log into the tablets at your desk. Speaking aloud in this class without a cue will not be tolerated, so press the alert instructor button if you have questions. I will decide if it’s important enough for you to speak.”

Sollux looked at the tablet in front of him, logging into the classroom’s chatroom. He didn’t need a lecture to know he liked interfacing through a chat program better than speaking. The chatroom soon filled up with the other members of his squad.

[Welcome to training, twinArmaggedons [TA], glorifiedCorpsification [GC], chronicAcademician [CA], actualizedClairvoyant [AC], castigatedTrepidation [CT], cavortingGratuity [CG], accentuatedAntimony [AA]!]

Sollux felt quite comfortable multitasking, and so started exploring the tablet’s capabilities as the jade began their lesson. He felt a funny pang on seeing some of the usertags, eyes lingering over AA. He shook his head to clear it. Whatever those memories meant, helming had eliminated their usefulness. Life began afresh in the helm. While he wanted to get out of here, he had to play the part of interrogatormentor for now. The instructors had already proven themselves capable of reading him like an open book.

A video opened up unbidden on the tablet then, taking over half the screen while the chat continued scrolling off to the side. “Our first lesson will be on the senses,” Juyure said, pulling on a metallic black glove. Their pinky finger twitched, folding in towards their palm. On the video, a greenblood bound in a chair jerked as a visor folded itself across his face. After some smoking beneath the visor, the troll’s face was exposed again to reveal ruined red eyes. “What can you gain by depriving a troll of their sight? Respond on your tablet.”

CG: a blind Troll can’T fighT againsT You righT? AC: no s-| |-it genius and i said you can’t be watc-| |-ed while you prep. AA: but a 7roll wi7hou7 one of 7heir senses amplifies 7he res7 righ7? TA: ii mean lo22 of control play2 iin ii thiink. TA: the iin2tructor can’t 2ee the chat riight? GC: *I put in my answeR.* CA: gee what wOOuld we dOO withOOut that live update!! CA: i panicked and just said cOOnfusiOOn… O3<

Juyure sniffed, an echo of irritation as they flicked their wrist. Rosmer yelped and whipped his hands from his tablet in unison with Mercuo. The purple, Ophlia, gritted her teeth and let go of her own tablet. Sollux glanced over at those three, raising his eyebrows.

TA: you guy2 good? CA: I gOOT zapped!! OoO GC: *Thanks for the updatE.* CA: o^o GC: *This encourages competition and tests our reactionS.* TA: wow 2mart an2wer from 2omeone who fuckiing biiffed iit.

Sollux looked up to see Ophlia glaring at him and buried himself back in his tablet. The lesson continued then, with a sense of the bound troll in the video getting eliminated with each twitch of the instructor’s glove. Sollux only earned a shock twice throughout the lesson, with his fellows averaging about three shocks each with the exception of the brownblooded Zesaim. The whole affair ended with the bound greenblood slumped in his seat, red eyes staring up at the sky and without a single movement to indicate if he still lived.

The next hour found the group clustered in the mess hall, devouring their rations with enthusiasm. “Well, that was something,” Rosmer said, not even bothered by the gruesome nature of the training video they’d been shown. “That actor knew how to squirm!”

“Are you kidding me?” Sollux said, looking over to the olive. He’d continued poking around the tablet since the lesson, holding the tablet with one hand and his eating utensil in his other. “That was a live feed from a brig channel, genius.” Rosmer swallowed, shoulders hunching as he went back to his meal. He mumbled something about scientific interest, and Zesaim patted at his shoulder. Sollux rolled his eyes, and then grimaced as Trisia slurped down an entire grubsteak without chewing. “Can you fucking not?”

“What, it’s good!” Trisia said. “We get to eat like highbloods here.”

“If you think this is what highbloods eat, you’re more of an idiot than I thought,” Mercuo said, lips curled up into a sneer. “This is trash.”

“Complain to me when you get nutrients pumped right into your acidic digestive pouch,” Sollux said, rolling his eyes. “Spoiled fucking wader.”

Mercuo snarled, standing up as he slammed his hands onto the table only to get shoved underneath the table by an irritated Ophlia. Ualona looked over to Sollux, eyes round. “Is that how helmsman really eat?” he said. “Was it really that bad?”

Sollux huffed, looking back down to his tablet. “It doesn’t matter, does it? We all eat the same shit now and the highbloods will get to eat better again once they graduate.”

“It’s probably not going to be any good unless you’re on a dreadnought like the DC Reichenbach or something,” Mercuo said then, emerging from underneath the table.

“You wish you could get on the Reichenbach,” Trisia said.

“Come on, it’s only the admin positions that are closed up,” Mercuo said. “I came to the interrogatormentors because of that, actually. The Head Admin’s not going anywhere anytime soon. I heard he just got named Imperial Consort to the Empress.”

Zesaim pushed around some food with her fork. “That seems odd, and also fake. The Empress doesn’t take consorts anymore.”

Ualona laughed. “Yeah, she’s too busy fucking around with her Helmsman. I heard he’d lick her feet if he could bend below the waist. I kept getting kicked out of the helming channels, though.”

“Yeah, because you’re not a helmsman,” Sollux said. He leaned forward then. “From what I heard it’s just rumors, but why else would the Reichenbach dock with the BC Condescension all the time? The Reichenbach’s helmsman is a fucking gossipy snitch but he’s reliable.”

“Do you know anything else? I don’t want to deny Mercuo his black wiggly,” Trisia said, elbowing Mercuo in the ribs.

“I do not have a wiggly for him, pitch or not,” Mercuo said with a hiss. “Look, he’s just some nobody and it’s his cushy ship job I’m after. No one cares about Eridan Ampora.”

#homestuck #sollux captor #homestuck au #interrogatormentors #story event #illustrated #some minor eye trauma in this one yall #nothin graphic but someone does get terezid #thanks for being so patient!!#we had some irl stuff #we love u #interrogatormentors event

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debu-neko-kun · 6 years

Text

Annual, Part 3

This is a huge male stuffing/weight gain commission for Doom7951 from over on DA. This chapter, the year wears on, and Dorian finds out Delta’s special (and filling) talent. Enjoy!

January 2nd Dorian awoke, belly having calmed after the gentle dinner of the night before. A mint salad to cool his tum, a plate of thinly sliced fish, and a small portion of caramel-drizzled coffee cake. Delicious, and unexpected, considering the agonizing gauntlet just a few hours prior. “Morning, sweetness! Hope you don’t frighten easy, because there’s a load of crepes waiting for you down here!” Dorian couldn’t help but smile out of the corner of his mouth. He rolled out of bed and shuffled into the bathroom, yawning as he flicked on the light. In one corner was a simple yet spacious shower with a stainless-steel shower head. Besides the toilet and sink, the rest of the room was dominated by a massive bathtub which looked more like a small pool. It had four faucets for quick filling; it seemed perfectly usable for daily use, if not expensive and impractical with a shower so near. Dorian just shrugged it off as another fanciful amenity that may see some use for bubble baths and de-robed, climbing into the shower for a quick wash with the expensive gels provided. In a few minutes, he had toweled off, re-dressed, and had headed down to the first floor. His nostrils were filled with promises of sugary sweet treats waiting for him in the dining hall, readily confirmed by the assortment of plates that waited at the head of the table. Delta placed the last of the plates down as Dorian walked through the door. “Good morning! Sleep well?” the pink chef smiled, slithering over to him. “Definitely. The bed is super comfortable.” “Great, because there’s a big day ahead of us! I’ve sent for a gardener to harvest the orchard, though I’ve got to head back to the restaurant for a few hours before lunch. I hope you won’t be too lonely without me, darling.” Delta gave him a little pat on his back. “O-Oh, uh… I’ll be fine, I think.” Dorian reassured. “Good, good. Well, let’s not let the food get cold, shall we?” Delta led Dorian to the table and pulled the chair out for him. As soon as he sat down, he was scooted forward, getting a face full of delicious crepe steam. “It smells really good…” he salivated. He picked up the knife and fork and cut off a small slice drizzled in fresh strawberry sauce, and brought it to his mouth. His vision pulsed as the bite flooded his senses; it was bliss in crepe form. Dorian couldn’t help but cram the rest into his mouth, his cheeks puffing with food as he chewed. “I’ll just leave you to it~” Delta giggled, retreating back through the entrance. The next hour was bathed in warm, sweet flavors. Strawberry, chocolate, cinnamon, all graced his lips with their decadence one by one. And, in turn, his stomach was packed with six plates of thin pastry, turning his smooth, average belly into a tight basketball. He could barely finish the cider set out for him, yet the warm smoothness of it soothed the aching in his belly. After the last gulp, he let out a long sigh and rested back in the chair for a while, eyes closed. Ten minutes later, sufficiently recuperated, Dorian pushed himself back out of the chair and slowly roamed back into the main hall. With his hands in his pockets, he examined the portraits along the walls. The city’s history stared back at him, painters and architects, explorers and nobles. It was hard to ignore their sizes; soft rolls, prodigious bellies, arms like turgid pastry bags, chins and folds and dimples all carefully rendered on canvas by skilled hands. Dorian’s mind connected the theme to Delta’s love of cooking, but inevitably chalked it up to the fact that nearly all of the city’s famous contributors just happened to be big and left it at that as he moved on to the lounge. He was immediately drawn to the bookshelf. Recipe books and handwritten cooking guides lined the top, some embellished with fancy leather bindings and others just collections of notes tied together with cooking twine. Further down was a collection of classics; The Legend of Vander, Empire of Hunger, Claritser’s Guide to Magical Afflictions (and the sequel, Living with Transfigurative Curses: It’s Not so Bad, by Claritser.) The rest were combinations of easy-read adventure stories, amorous fireside romances, fantastical sci-fi tales, guides on proper self-care, and enthralling fantasies with beautiful covers. ‘Not a bad collection’, Dorian thought, and wandered past the tall shelves of films that comprised the less-literary library. He couldn’t help but stare at the twinkling, colorful bottles lining the back wall of the bar. On first glance, they just seemed to be liquors in overly fancy decanters, but on closer inspection Dorian found that most of them were simply fruit syrups and candy toppings. There were a few fine alcoholic beverages, yes, but the majority seemed to be sugary sweet dessert treats. Dorian spotted a dual-doored freezer below him and crouched down to open it, revealing dozens of ice creams, sorbets, and various other chilled treats. Dessert bar. Huh. He shut the fridge and meandered about for a while before finding a comprehensive bestiary from the library and a particularly cushy couch in the corner. Halfway between the human species listing, he fell asleep, the fire gently crackling away. February 1st A month into his vacation, he found himself building a daily rhythm. First, breakfast with Delta, then a trip to the library where he’d read for an hour, then off to the pool where he swam until his belly stopped hurting from the mass amounts of food he couldn’t help but stuff into himself. Then, he’d join Delta for lunch, and after that he’d take a book outside to the orchard and read in the chilly evening air, the scent of berries swirling around him. At the end of the night, a comparatively light dinner, thirty minutes of pushing piano keys, a cup of fresh red tea, and a shower. Dorian had yet to explore the rest of the spacious manor-nor had he even visited the greenhouse-but still felt in bliss. Nothing had changed particularly, but the relaxed familiarity was fine enough to live comfortably with. Nothing had changed. That is, until today. The sleepy boy finished toweling himself dry in the steamy bathroom and pulled on his underwear. However, where they usually hung around his posterior baggily, the fabric was pulled snug. Not enough to pinch, but unfamiliarly tight. “Hmm.” He frowned to himself, turning to look himself over in the mirror. His rather average physique had gotten decidedly more “average” in the past month, his whole body having attained a thin layer of pudge. He didn’t think he could call himself chubby yet, but if things kept progressing he was sure he could soon. “Maybe a little more time in the pool could help…” he shrugged to himself, and tossed on his shirt. “There’s certainly enough time for it.” Delta was waiting in his usual spot by the time Dorian arrived back in the dining hall. “Good morning, my adorable friend! How are you feeling today?” he spoke, putting a touch of sauce on the edge of the omelet plate. “I’m alright.” Dorian replied, and plopped down in the chair. “Well I hope you’re alright and hungry, because I made just a little too much this morning. I’m a little nervous about this to be quite honest, it’s a new recipe and I’d hate for it to go to waste…” Delta quickly unveiled the dish just beyond the omelet, a cloud of steam rushing out to the air. Sitting in a bed of powdered sugar sat a slab of French toast so large it looked more like a pillow than simple egg on bread. A light brown-sugar sauce was drizzled across, hints of maple wafting through the room. A single strawberry was perched atop. “Woah…” is all Dorian could think to say, awe-struck by the massive meal. “I’m so sorry it’s so large!” Delta clasped his gooey hands together, seeming more than a little distraught. “I’d hate to think I’d have created a meal that somebody couldn’t finish. Please, try your best for me!” “A-Alright! Let me just… finish these eggs first.” Dorian spoke, an uncertain grin wavering on his face. He shoveled in the thick warm omelet with his eyes focused on the main course, as though it would suddenly walk across the table and crush him at any moment. Eggs vanquished, he hesitantly pulled the large platter towards him, letting it rest in front of him. He had an urge to hug it in all of its soft, plush glory, but resisted and raised his knife. “I believe in you!” Delta cheered as Dorian cut off the first minuscule sliver which seemed like a meal in its own right. He brought it up and stuffed it into his mouth, syrup smearing across his lips. Ecstasy again, as to be expected from his cooking by now, but this felt… different. Like the winter season had divined it right there on the table, a warm, sweet shield against the frosty air outside. It was a sunny window, a close hug, a comfort. Simply put, it was the greatest breakfast Dorian had ever eaten. “W-Wow…” he gasped, forcing another large chunk into his mouth. Delta watched with glee, thick tail wiggling slowly behind him like a happy gummy worm. Dorian’s belly stretched into a now-familiar ball, yet not even half of the food was gone. Fifteen minutes later, he was no closer to being done, and felt more stuffed than a refurbished teddy bear. His jaw ached, and his resolution waned. “I-I… I don’t think I can finish this…” he groaned, sinking into his chair. Before Delta could even ask if he’d undone his belt, Dorian lifted his shirt gently to reveal that he hadn’t even worn one, and his tight-as-a-drum tum pushed the open flap of his pants out. “Are you sure? Maybe you just need some help…” Delta inquired, leaning forward to place a soft hand on his reddened belly. Dorian flinched, cheeks flushing. “H-Hey, wait- ahh…” he sighed, Delta’s fingers rubbing the intense aches into calm pulses. For as embarrassing as it was to have his host giving him post-meal massages, it undeniably felt fantastic. “Better?” he purred, kneading his belly like a cat on wool. Dorian nodded, leaning his head back. “Then… do you think you could finish it?” Dorian looked at the still-massive pile of syrup, sugar, and toast, then back to Delta. “I… don’t think so. I can’t keep chewing.” He rubbed his mouth gently for effect. “Oh, I can help with that! Here, watch this.” Delta picked up the platter and dumped it right onto his chest, the slime cleaning the platter into a shine, which was easily deposited out of his back and placed back on the table with his tail. The food swirled around within him like a small hurricane, quickly dissolving into his very core. He stifled a tiny slime belch, and raised his hand. “Open wide, please!” “Uh, okay…” Dorian opened his mouth hesitantly, and Delta pushed two fingers against his tongue. Dorian opened his eyes wide in stunned response (or lack thereof) as his hand melted into his cheeks, capturing the decadent flavors of the dish he’d consumed. It was like drinking warm chocolate: luxurious, flavorful, and comforting. He gulped the first mouthful of goo, and before he knew it another mouthful had taken its place. It didn’t take long to build a rhythm, cheeks refilled and quickly emptied down his throat one after the other. His belly grew ever larger, yet somehow felt no more irritated than before. It was practically a beachball in his lap before Delta withdrew his hand, rosy finger drawing down the center of his lip, leaving behind a pink trail. “Good, right?” Delta grinned a catlike smile, rubbing his belly in wide circles. At this size, small circles just wouldn’t do. Following on the thought of his size, Dorian looked down in drowsy awe to the tight orb of flesh in his lap. His shirt buttons had migrated upwards with the rest of the cloth, dangerously stressed and inches from snapping. He looked like he’d swallowed a great melon; however, he felt like he’d swallowed a whole patch. With hands splayed, he gripped both sides of his belly, and even with each finger stretching far apart, he could contain scarcely little of the turgid ball. Delta’s soft rubs kept it from aching terribly, and relieved him greatly; in fact, it almost seemed like his stomach was retreating ever so slowly. Was it?… His pants slowly filled out with plumping cheeks and thickening thighs, growing like a baking roll until it filled out his pants to skin-tight quality and pushed up ever further, giving him a muffin top just big enough to pinch and arms only slightly rounder. It felt inconsequential; just a small amount of fat here and there… nothing that wouldn’t come off with a bit of exercise. He felt like a blimp reveling in post meal rapture, as one does after an exceptionally large meal. It would be gone in the morning, he thought, but for now? He’d enjoy being round and warm. Delta leaned on his belly, holding himself up with one hand. “Why don’t I help you to the lounge so you can rest the rest of this off while I prepare lunch? Can’t have you too full for my special stew~” Dorian simply nodded his head, for as full as he was, a part of him looked forward to that stew.

#male stuffing #male weight gain #male weight gain fic #slime weight gain #slime stuffing #sorta??

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batwayneman · 7 years

Text

Accomplice

It started with a civilian walking in the GCPD headquarters with a tip.

They are supposed to take every civilian tip off seriously, but it’s been a long time since people bothered to come in. Some officers, like Jim himself, still record civilian tips, though he doesn't know of any that have paid off.

And based on this man’s impassioned rantings about a huge bat monster, Jim doubts that this tip will lead to anything other than a cautionary tale about drinking too much.

“It was huge, just fucking massive! It came outta nowhere, outta the shadows and just about knocks me out with one punch!” Said the man angrily. He uppercutted the air over Jim’s desk to demonstrate.

“Can I record your name Mr…?” Jim asked, impatient despite himself. He had been trying to work on his human trafficking case before the man had interrupted.

“Penn, I’m Mike Penn. You guys have to do something about this, there’s a devil on the streets-”

“What were you doing when you saw this… thing, Mr. Penn?” Based on the alcohol that Jim could smell across the desk, and the black eye, Jim had a pretty good idea already.

“Well, I –” Penn suddenly looked rather sheepish, “I was on my way home from the bar, and I saw someone walking by themselves, and I… I pulled a knife and tried to take their wallet.”

“You pulled – are you here to confess to a mugging?” Jim asked incredulously.

“Of course not, don’t be stupid,” Penn said, suddenly agitated again, “I didn’t fucking steal anything because this goddamned bat-monster came down and just about killed me before I could! It was 8 feet tall, with huge wings and pointy ears, and–”

Jim looked at the man over his glasses as he continued raving. Though the black eye was very impressive, he was able to gesticulate a lot for a man who claimed to have nearly died the previous night.

“Sir, did the bat-monster attack the person you were mugging?” Jim interrupted.

“What? No, they ran off. I’m the one who got their face punched in!” He pointed at his swollen eye for emphasis.

“Right,” said Jim wryly, as looked back at the computer to finish typing.

It didn’t take a genius to figure out what happened to Mr. Penn the night before. After a night of heavy drinking, he had decided to cushion his bar tab with someone else’s money, and was too inebriated to see the person who clocked him, whether it was a particularly heroic civilian or his would-be victim.

Jim finished writing the report, including the detail description of the 8-foot tall Bat-thing, and got Penn a drink of water. He helped him walk to the front doors; there was no point in arresting him for the attempted mugging, as he apparently hadn’t taken anything. Besides, the GCPD was far too busy to write a report for a crime that hadn't happened.

“Don’t let us here about you mugging anyone else.” Jim threatened, though even he could tell it was missing his usual heat. Penn looked at him like he was stupid.

“Of course I won’t be mugging anyone, there’s a fucking monster out there!” Penn snapped as he staggered out of the building.

Jim took a deep, calming breath, and returned to his office; to his current case. He expected that to be the last he heard of a bat-demon terrorizing the criminals of Gotham.

Jim was very wrong.

It continued to happen. A squad attempted a drug bust only to find all the suspects unconscious and tied up. A rape case was called in, and the police arrived to see the described suspect with a broken nose, hanging upside down from a street light. Harvey Bullock had been negotiating with the mobs for weeks to get permission to interrupt an artillery import, only to arrive at the scene to see everyone tied up, all evidence untouched. (Later, Bullock told Jim, “That was supposed to one of Maroni’s shipments. Whoever is doing this is playing a dangerous game if they’re ballsy enough to play around with him. He’s not happy.") Most of the criminals hadn’t seen the person who had attacked and bound them, but those who had reported similar things.

Sometimes it was a huge monster with wings, who grabbed them and flew into the air before knocking them out. Sometimes it was a shadow demon with the strength of 50 men who moved impossibly fast. Jim convinced about the flight or the speed, but the sizeable bruises that the culprits wore spoke for themselves; the assortment of black eyes, bruised jaws, fractured arms, and broken noses was more than enough proof for him.

Jim had listened to Bullock interrogate one of the arms dealers about what had been able to take down all 14 people involved in the deal.

“It was some kind of Bat-man hybrid thing, with the wings and ears and everything. It came from nowhere and took everyone out, one by one. I tried to shoot at it, but it knocked the gun out of my hand” Her voice had trembled as she spoke.

“Did it say anything?” Bullock had asked, exasperated.

“No. I don’t think it can speak. Or maybe it just has nothing so say.”

Jim couldn’t remember a time when the GCPD hadn’t been divided. Bad and good, corrupt and honest, lazy and hardworking. They were unsurprisingly equally split on their opinions of the Batman of Gotham.

Some, (mostly the lazy and corrupt, Jim noted) thought the whole ordeal is hilarious. Remarks like, “He’s doing our job for us, we might as well give it a badge and go home!” and “I’m going home early; Bat Demon has got my shift covered,” were fairly common in the department building.

The majority were paranoid and scared. They feared that the Batman was a new player on the board that was already stacked with too many mobs. He was a hitman hired to either lure the police into a false sense of security before an attack, or a weapon from one of the mobs who was spending his downtime by beating up people for fun. Jim figured that they were likely scared that the Batman would turn his sights inward and start attacking them for their illegal activities.

Few, like Sarah Lopez, a fellow detective, were just angry at having to deal with a vigilante on top of all the normal Gotham crime.

“As if we didn’t have enough to deal with,” she told Jim over lunch one day. “I have to investigate this robbery AND look out for a vigilante.”

“We haven’t gotten any instructions to take Batman down,” Jim pointed out mildly, taking a bite of his sandwich.

“Stop calling him Batman like’s he’s your friend.” She said, narrowing her eyes. He raised his hands in surrender, trying to keep the smirk off his face. They had had this conversation many times in the two weeks since the Batman’s first encounter.

“We would have a whole team looking for him if we had a commissioner who actually gave a shit,” she muttered fiercely as she stabbed at her pasta. “We’ve got no one looking for clues, no one talking to witnesses–”

Jim knew that she was right. Someone with such obvious disregard for the law shouldn’t be allowed free reign to beat up anyone they saw fit. And the fear that the Batman really was just new hitman for the mob was a dangerous possibility that he didn't take lightly.

Still, Jim couldn’t help but admit that it was a welcome change of pace; that the person breaking the law was, paradoxically, on their side for once.

“I don’t like it either, but he has been helpful,’ he said.

“Oh whose side are you on?” she asked bitterly, glaring at him. Jim stared back.

“Sarah. I obviously don’t want a violent vigilante running around Gotham beating up everyone,” he said, raising his eyebrows at her, “But even you’ve got to admit it’s been a nice week.”

It had been a relatively relaxing week, by Gotham standards. Criminals being left incapacitated at the scene of the crime, surrounded by untampered evidence, had given the GCPD a much-needed relief from their heavy and chaotic workload. And when Jim had looked into the number of crimes reported, and though the sample size was small, he had been unsurprised to find that their numbers were below average.

They were still higher than most of the country, but it was something.

“That’s not the point Jim! What happens when he murders someone? We can’t just let this civilian running around doing whatever he wants! And we have no evidence! We’ll be so behind when he does fuck up, and-”

Jim furrowed his eyebrows at her, truly frustrated for the first time in the conversation.

“I don’t need a lecture on the law,’ he said shortly. She sighed, and rubbed her temple.

“I’m sorry, I know. I just–” she trailed off.

“It’s fine,” Jim said, taking another bite of his sandwich. They were both on edge, with the vigilante running around unchecked. They, like most of the GCPD, were waiting for the ball to drop and take Gotham with it. And Sarah had always been very passionate about the letter of the law, even at the best of times.

They all coped with Gotham in different ways.

“Your case not going well?” Jim asked, to change the subject.

“No,” Sarah said as she rolled her eyes. “The chemical company is being ridiculous. I’m assuming it’s because they don’t want me sniffing around and finding out what illegal shit they’ve been doing, but how I’m supposed to find who stole their shipment when they won’t even tell me what was in the shipment is the real goddamn mystery,” she huffed.

“What about yours?” she asked, after a short pause. Jim exhaled through his teeth slowly.

“It was reassigned to Tolbert yesterday,” Jim muttered.

She looked up sharply, her fork halfway to her mouth. “The human trafficking one?” Jim nodded slowly, taking another careful bite of his sandwich.

“Fuck.” She looked at him sadly. “I’m sorry Jim.”

It was well known that there were certain officers, not that they deserved the title, who were middlemen for the mob. If your case was assigned to them, you could bet that it was connected to the mob’s activities. The ‘officers’ would botch the case, destroy evidence and erase records, so that any ties to illegal activity connecting the case to the mob were gone. Disobeying orders and continuing to work on your case was endangering your life. Jim had only risked it a few times.

The most recent being a few years ago, when Jim had been working on a serial killer case with Renée Montoya. After she discovered that the killer was working for Falcone, she was told that the case had been reassigned. She had refused to let her it slip through the cracks to be forgotten. Taking out a feared hitman for the biggest mob in Gotham was too big a catch to throw away. Though she had gotten the killer/hitman convicted, she had had to flee Gotham with her girlfriend before Falcone could have her killed for interfering.

So as much as Jim wanted ignore orders, solve his human trafficing case and take the criminals off the street, he knew full well the danger of resistance. It wasn’t just his life he’d be risking, but Barbara’s, and anyone else that he might have helped in the future. He had to think that it was better to keep his job, and his life, so he could solve other cases. At least by gritting his teeth and laying low he could still help some people, and keep Barbara out of the mob’s sights. He was more useful to Gotham alive, working on cases, that he was if he died as a martyr for one investigation and leaving behind countless future cases unsolved.

This thought didn’t make him hate himself any less when he had to abandon cases, or help him sleep at night, but it kept him going to work in the mornings.

(And if he keeps collecting evidence, working with Bullock and Sarah to keep tabs on mob activities in secret, waiting for a chance to use them, no one needs to know.)

“There are other crimes that need solving,” he finally said, shaking himself out of his thoughts. Sarah pursed her lips, frustrated, but nodded. Knowing Gotham, it wouldn’t be long until he was knee deep in another case.

“Well, you’ll let me know if you find anything about the vigilante?” She asked, starting to get up from the table.

“Course,” he said, smiling at her. She met his gaze with a small smile of her own, and went back to her office.

A few minutes later, he followed suit, and went back to work.

Chapter 1, Chapter 2

AO3

#batman #jim gordon #batman fanfic #batman fanfiction #decided to post them here as well #i'll update links as chapters update #writing #accomplice

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doyouthatknow · 5 years

Text

How are mushrooms grown

How are mushrooms grow

The article that everyone waited curiously came; How to grow mushrooms. Mushroom cultivation in many Third World countries has been a pity that mushroom cultivation has contributed to nurturing its populations so much that it has been ignored because the mushrooms we use in our meals are valuable as delicious and nutritious.

How are mushrooms grow

Biologically speaking, they contain better quality protein than green plants, important minerals such as iron, phosphorus, potassium and calcium, and almost all vitamins, including vitamin D. The edible fungus is particularly rich in vitamin B and B2. Furthermore, they contain fibers that promote digestion in humans as well as other health-friendly elements. It is a coincidence that some mushrooms were used for healing purposes in Europe and the Far East centuries ago. Another advantage is that it can be grown at home without any effort.

Which mushroom species should be grown?

In the last 25 years, several types of edible mushrooms have been grown. For the following important reasons, some Pleurotus strains (pleurotus sp.) Were selected from them.

Pleurotus sp. Incil Primary separation ”. They can settle on many agricultural waste products before being subjected to complex treatment. • There are several Pleurotus species that are not sensitive to temperature and fruit between 25 ° and 27 ° C. Even if the temperature sometimes falls below 10 ° C, they continue to grow.

• The same culture method can be used for various Pleurotus species.

• The taste of oyster mushrooms is exquisite, has a high nutritional value and is boiled, fried, fried, dried and preserved.

What should be the culture medium for the cultivation of oyster mushrooms?

Almost all kinds of agricultural waste products can be used as compost if many cellulose, hemicellulose and lignin contain. For example, wheat, rye, barley or rice straw, dried stalks of corn, sunflower and millet, cocoa husk and coffee bean husk, peanut kernel and husk husk, tobacco stems, cotton leaves and stems and many more. Regardless of agricultural waste, it is important to be well dried and healthy. It must not be rotten, moldy or rotten; because oyster mushrooms can hardly grow in this material.

What is necessary in mushroom growing

Compost should also be pretreated for Pleurotus cultivation; Simple though. This requires a container for water storage. It doesn’t matter what the container does. If not sealed, primed with thick plastic coating. However, it is important that the container is at least 60 cm deep. The simplest solution we can recommend is to dig a 60 cm deep hole in the ground and combine it with a plastic coating.

How are mushrooms grown

The size of the water container depends on how large the mushroom culture is; In other words, how much substrate will need to be treated at a time. A container with a capacity of between 100 and 2001 is sufficient for micro-cultivation to meet household needs. Large Pleurotus cultures will require 5–10 m² containers.

The water container must have a sturdy lid that fits into the container (see Figure 2). The lid helps to press the substrate into the water container. However, since the substrate is lighter than water and floats to the surface, the weight of the lid should be weighed. Heavy stones, scrap iron or the like are suitable for this purpose.

Long agricultural waste products (straw, stalks) are used to plant Pleurotus 3–6 cm long before being cut into pieces is extremely useful. The blocks of the substrates can be made much more easily than the material divided into small pieces. The straw knife is the best tool for cutting straw and stalks.

Other agricultural wastes suitable for cultivation of Pleurotus (coffee bean nuts shells and cocoa shells, peanut shells, etc.) can be used without pretreatment.

Transparent, strong plastic bags are required for storage after surface treatment. The best sacks are 30 to 40 cm in diameter when filled; In other words, if they are laid flat, they are 50 to 60 cm wide. When flattened, the sacks should be between 100–150 cm. Bags of this size will hold approximately 20–30 kg of compost (as in Figure 2).

Processes to be applied when

growing mushrooms

First, the water container is three-quarters filled with compost. Here, the advantage of separating the material into small pieces is about twice as clear as the long lasting straw or stalks can be filled into the container.

The lid is then placed into the container while the base material is still drying. The lid is then weighed evenly distributing the weights.

The water is now filled into the container until the water level is about 10 cm above the lid. In doing so, one eye must be kept on the weight surface because the substrate material floats and rises if the cover is not evenly distributed.

The water adds a selective fungicide. This prevents mold, but does not inhibit the growth of Pleurotus. This mold inhibitory effect is a great advantage in the initial growth stage of Pleurotus. He keeps the opponents away from the substrate until settled by Pleurotus. When the fungicide decomposes later, there will be no residue on the Pleurotus fruit bodies.

In our experience, Du Pont’s Benomyl (Benlate) is very suitable for this purpose. The required concentration is 100–150 ppm; In other words, 10 to 15 9 of Benomyl is needed for 1001 water. First, a suspension (mixture) of Benomyl, which needs about three or four liters of water, should be prepared and then the entire suspension should be poured into the water container as soon as possible before the required water level is reached. Benomyl powder should not be poured directly into the water container as it will form lumps and cannot be evenly distributed afterwards.

It is extremely important that the substrate remain submerged in the following time. A good culture for pleurotus cultivation can only be made from agricultural waste products in this way. Semi-anaerobic fermentation takes place under water. This is a process in which most of the bacteria involved act without oxygen. Furthermore, animal pests that prevent growth of the cultivated edible fungus in the lower floor were killed under water.

The fermentation continues for the duration of time, the compost is submerged for the entire time.

Two days after starting the fermentation, the water level is checked again. Since the substrate will absorb a lot of water in the meantime, the water level will be reduced, and the substrate may run out of water in pieces. If so, water should be poured immediately to restore the level to its original state. However, no further addition of Benomyl is required.

There is no evidence that water quality has any effect on the fermentation process. Experience so far has shown that any water is suitable. The temperature has little effect on the fermentation process, which runs smoothly at temperatures ranging from 8 ° to 28 ° C.

Mushroom

compost seeding stage

After ten days, water is either drained or the substrate removed from the container. Now it smells a lot, but it disappears after a day or two.

The residual substrate is allowed to stand for another day, so that excess water can be drained. It is best to spread it on a clean plastic coating on a slightly sloping surface. The lower layer is then inoculated. Vaccination involves pleurotus fungus stacking downstairs and then mixing evenly.

How to produce mushroom seed (Misel)

One is a pure Pleurotus mushroom culture, spawning, also called “mushroom seed”. It is usually produced in a sterile wheat bed. Rye or millet. Mushroom growers buy eggs, such as harvesting seeds from arable farmers.

The biggest problem of mushroom growers in developing countries is the production of high quality mushrooms. With a few exceptions, spawning from Europe or the United States can be both very expensive and unreliable. Therefore, mushroom cultivation should be grown in every country that wants to grow edible mushrooms.

Ovulation of mushroom production is not a very complex technique, but we have to work in a sterile environment. These sterile environments are found only where certain technical and architectural prerequisites exist, and mushroom producers are therefore not considered to be spawning producers. However, each country has a university with appropriate rooms and facilities. The production of mushroom spawning should therefore be done first in a university. The university staff will learn the rapid production technique with a scientific education. By selling mushrooms that spawn to producers, or the university can even open a profitable source of income.

We will be glad to help you with the transfer of know-how to remove obstacles to growing edible mushrooms in developing countries.

Amount of seed (micelle) required

But now he returned to the growing Pleurotus. The amount of spawning required corresponds to three percent by weight of the moist substrate; In other words, 3 kg spawning is used per 100 kg surface. In most cases, it is impossible to weigh the floor and therefore its weight is only estimated. According to the density, one cubic meter of a fermented, moist layer weighs between 300–400 kg. This guide should help make predictions almost accurate. In addition, it should be noted that spawning equal to one third of the total weight is a good average value.

Two percent of the total weight is already sufficient and it is not wrong to add up to a quarter of the total weight spawn. Therefore, it is unimportant that the substrate does not overestimate or overestimate, as it is between 20–30% by weight.

Packaging in bag

An egg is best made using a shovel or fork, mixed evenly on the surface, filled into clear plastic bags. However, they must have holes first. The sacks are laid, for example, on a wooden board and the holes are drilled with a hole punch. The holes should be 1 cm to 1.5 cm wide and approximately 20 cm apart. The manner in which the holes should be placed on the sacks is shown in Figure 2. 2. As can be seen, the top one-third of the sack is not perforated. Approximately 24 holes are drilled in each bag.

The inoculated layer is now filled into perforated sacks and squeezed so that the sacks are filled firmly and evenly. The bags are filled so that they can still be attached very comfortably. The sacks are tightly bonded so that the layer covers the substrate as tightly as possible.

It is important to prevent gaps between the substrate and the substrate. However, if gaps are formed, the full sack falls to the floor several times from a lower height and the bottom layer spreads evenly. The sack is then firmly fastened once more.

Micelle winding phase

Most work has been done after being filled into grafted compost sacks. The colonization phase begins, where the thin white strings (mycelium) of the Pleurotus fungus slowly begin to collapse, all the compost. Approximately three weeks are required for the colonization stage of the mushroom culture, which requires no care. The only thing to watch is the temperature. During the colonization phase, the temperature of the compost should not exceed 23 ° C and 31 ° C. If the temperature in the substrate increases for a longer period of time to 33 ° C and 35 ° C, you may have to wait for the oyster mushroom threads to die. It should be noted that the rapidly growing Pleurotus mycelium itself will produce a certain increase in the temperature of the compost about seven to ten days after the onset of the colonization phase.

When the wheter is kept outdoors or in the shelter, the compost bags should be kept at a maximum air temperature of 25 ° C during the colonization phase. They should not be on top of each other or very close to each other. Instead, it should ensure that the air circulates freely around them. If this rule is stored during the colonization phase, the compost will not heat up at all.

How to harvest mushrooms

Three weeks later, compost turns white as a result of the widespread, thick mycelium of the Pleurotus fungus. After that, the first small fruit-body bud is seen in the holes of the plastic sacks. According to the temperature, they are transformed into harvested mature clusters of large, corpses grown in 5–10 days.

During this time, it is best to have the substrate sacks in a shaded location outdoors or in the shelter. It should be noted that most mushrooms grow naturally in damp, shady places or occur after rain. This rule also applies to Pleurotus. Optimum fungal growth can only be achieved in a culture where shade and sufficient moisture are provided. Given these conditions, temperatures can sometimes rise to 30 ° C from time to time (compost is no longer active in this phase), and may even repeatedly fall below 10 ° C several times.

This does not disrupt the growth of mushrooms; Growth slows down at low temperatures. However, if the air is dry, small fruit-body buds can be dried automatically. There should be sprayed gently with water into the sacks once or twice a day. Finally, since Pleurotus needs light, it is important that you never store the pouches in a dark place. Without light, only deformed fruit bodies grow or do not suffice.

Pleurotus mushrooms should be harvested from the substrate when most of the fruit bodies in the house are more or less horizontal than the edge. For harvesting, the entire fruit-body cluster is separated from the bag. If the mushroom looks like shallow food, if the edges of the fruit bodies are facing upwards, then they become overripe. Soon they will become numb and slowly begin to rot.

Within eight to twelve weeks new fruit bodies will reappear. Total yield can range from three to four kilos per sack. Eventually, the mushroom stops growing, because the compost is more or less tired. Culture is no longer used. The sole use of the spent Pleurotus substrate is for loosening of arable soil, where it is at least a better organic fertilizer than simple cereal straw.

#How are mushrooms grown

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tychsenkumar57-blog · 5 years

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Top rated Vegetable Plants For The Beginner Garden

In addition to help the food gardening can present for our kitchen table, it adds beauty to our globe. Gardening is something that is shared by almost all customs and all time periods. The idea is something the fact that is taken on by persons from almost all walks regarding life. While there happen to be many steady rules built in in this hobby, right now there is also room intended for deviation. These tips can provide a brief look at both. Remember to emit your own personal soil. If you loosen as well as puncture the particular soil, it will probably increase air flow permeability and water sexual penetration. Aerating could be as simple as turning this soil above with a scoop, or even in the case of lawns, doing small cracks in the type grass. This particular can be done with an aerating machine, the garden fork, or even by walking on typically the grass wearing a couple of spiked golf boots and shoes. This provides oxygen directly into the roots together with produces healthy new growth. Use stones as seed markers if you want to help keep a healthy looking design. You can produce along with permanent magic marker about the flat side involving stones and surround the plant with them. That will way it will be easy to explain to what type of crops you have without getting a unsightly white colored mark. Placed compost upon the dirt in your lawn about two days to the calendar month just before you plan to be able to plant. This allows the particular compost enough time to assimilate with the garden soil. Giving the compost time to secure means that your garden soil pH will be constant more than enough to test, plus your plants will be ready to survive when you plant these people. After a long day time connected with gardening, clean those people grubby hands with some sort of morning meal treat. Create a mix of oatmeal and liquid. Help it become thick! Use the particular mixture being an abrasive for you to get the dirt out of your skin and from below your fingernails. Follow it right up along with your normal soap and water wash to acquire any kind of lingering dirt away. Employing mulch is helpful to plants that are situated in extreme heat. The particular best mulch to work with is definitely wood mulch as it contains in wetness and helps drown out the weeds. Wooden mulch also adds nutrients to the dirt like that decomposes. Rock will be used for mulch simply because well, however, mountain does not necessarily retain water just as well as wood mulch. Find out your climate area. This is certainly the variation among some sort of thriving garden in addition to one that never ever develops. Knowing your local climate area will help you select flowers, fruits, fresh vegetables and even trees that are great for where you are supposedly. This method, you get a tad of a headstart as soon as designing a garden. Pick specific plants for dried up soil. Light and exotic soils have many benefits: that they warm up immediately in the early spring in addition to drain well immediately after damp weather. The downside is they can quickly become very dry out in typically the summer, and plants must work hard to get sufficiently moisture to endure. A number of plants are really tolerant associated with dry ailments, as long as they can be given a helping give when young. After set up nasiona konopi do well with almost no water. These plants include alyssum, cosmos, hebe, lavender, rosemary, sedum together with veronica. Mini roses can be very popular and will be low maintenance. They are available in quite a few bright colors and offer the variety of interesting plant patterns. However, if anyone want to add a new pink to your lawn for the perfume, next a mini-rose could not get a good choice because they produce almost no aroma. If fragrance can be your desire, try a larger, cross types rose for the more intense smell. You never want to do any kind of growing plants with open injuries, therefore make sure everything is completely cured upward before you begin; otherwise, an individual run the danger of your cut coming in contact with hazardous chemicals and grime. That is possible for some sort of cut to turn out to be really tainted if that comes into contact together with grime and grime although gardening. You will discover bandages outside there now that can seal cuts completely. This is important to handle roses ahead of they happen to be attracted by glitches. Presently there are insecticides that anyone can order at any garden supply shop that will should eliminate or discourage bugs from attacking your own personal rose bushes. It can be best to take care of this bushes before there are just about any signs of the virus problem. Grow your very own organic and natural tomatoes very easily. Tomatoes fancy light, so select a area that gets sun most time longer. Allow living space among your own tomato crops to lessen the chance of garden soil diseases that will have an effect on your own personal crop. If a person buy seedlings instead involving sprouting your own, stay away from small seedlings with badly developed root systems; they may take weeks to indicate any kind of real growth. The good first step in order to having a successful organic garden is to analyze typically the acidity of the soil with your garden. Often the ideal number is definitely a few. 5, if your earth is on the reduced end, it can also acidic and if is actually in the high end is actually very alkaline. Neither of them involving those cases augments on its own to a prosperous yard. So by purchasing a soil testing kit ahead of planting, you will ensure yourself a gorgeous organic backyard in the summer. Stay shallow throughout the dirt when a person are working it. You no longer need to break your back again digging heavy in your current organic garden. Maintain the interesting depth to an average connected with six inches. Nearly eighty-five percent of all vegetable sources only require typically the top six in . regarding soil. That should make it easier. When starting a natural and organic garden look straight into natural insect sprays. It is definitely a balanced way in order to make sure to do not lose a great deal connected with your current crop to bugs even though working to continue to keep your environment free from harm. Generally there are many pesticides that were after used in addition to are really efficient. Perhaps a small investment of the time and effort to garden pursuits is sure to be greatly paid. These rewards may come in food to feed each of our families or in blossoms and other attractive flowers in order to beautify our setting. Everyone can enjoy these kind of rewards. The tips which can be outlined above will find people started in the fact that direction.

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cryptswahili · 6 years

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Cryptoassets Explained: Zcash – ZCash USD (Cryptocurrency:ZEC-USD)

Zcash (ZEC-USD) is a so-called privacy coin. The focus of this cryptocurrency is to protect users being tracked while providing Bitcoin-like (BTC-USD)(COIN)(OTCQX:GBTC) functionality. Zcash was recently added to Coinbase (COINB) through their pro platform, with the expectation of being added to the retail site soon afterwards.

Purpose and Classification

If you have some time, you might check out The Ceremony from Radiolab, which covers the creation of this coin from the inside.

Source: Radiolab

I thought it was a great episode, well worth the listen. Radiolab explains the process in such a way that everyone can understand – the finest sponsored journalism you can find on the topic.

One thing that’s important to note about Zcash is that the privacy part is optional. If you choose to “shield” your transaction, then it will be sent in such a way that’s difficult to trace. However, this mode is not on by default, and for the Coinbase launch there will be some limitations.

Initially, we will support deposits from both transparent and shielded addresses, but only support withdrawals to transparent addresses. In the future, we’ll explore support for withdrawals to shielded addresses in locations where it complies with local laws. For more information on privacy considerations specific to ZEC, visit the official Zcash support page. – Coinbase Blog.

This is similar to what Dash (DASH-USD) does, enabling private transactions upon request. However, Monero (XMR-USD) provides shielding at all times, with no option of turning off this feature.

Taxonomy: Privacy Coin

Age, History, Current Status

Zcash started trading just before Halloween in 2016. There was much fanfare upon its release, and briefly a single Zcash was trading for more than 7 BTC each!

Zcash Close Price data by YCharts

Zcash has a circulating supply of only 5.36 million at the time that I’m writing this (Dec. 1, 2018).

Earlier this year, ASIC machines started to be built to mine Zcash. This caused a stir in the community, because it’s (or was) believed that ASIC machines would centralize the mining power of the network. However, some said that this was inevitable (including Zooko Wilcox, the founder of the project and CEO of the Zcash company). In the end, the decision was that ASIC resistance was not a priority.

Software Development

Because Zcash has a foundation, a company, and a community – I was expecting to see a bit more activity than this.

Source: Github.com

However, the Zcash team is responsible for several breakthroughs in cryptography. One of these is the zkSNARK, which will likely be coded into other cryptocurrencies, such as Ethereum (ETH-USD).

The term zkSNARK stands for “zero-knowledge succinct non-interactive arguments of knowledge.” Basically it’s an easy way to verify something without having to reveal anything yourself.

One way to think about this problem is the following: Imagine you walk into a bar. The bartender asks for your ID. Why is he asking? Well, he can’t serve alcohol to anyone under the age of 21. But, what other information do you reveal when you hand someone your driver’s license? Well, there’s your height, weight, street address, eye color, driver’s license number and what else?

The only information the bartender needed was proof that you were at least 21. But he ended up getting a lot more than he needed. If there was a zkSNARK for this situation, the bartender would get the proof he needs to cover his rear, while you don’t have to reveal anything extra. That’s the basic concept. Oh, and it’s way faster.

Market Capitalization

Zcash got a nice bump up in price with the Coinbase listing, moving from the $60 range to the $80 range in the last week. Currently, Zcash is number 19 in market cap.

Source: coinmarketcap.com

Exchange Liquidity

There’s something funny about the exchange volume for Zcash. The top three trading pairs all come from an exchange called LBank, which I personally have never heard of. This single exchange makes up 68.61% of the trading volume, and the next exchange up has the exclusion star next to its price. That means something fishy is going on, so the price is excluded from the average.

Source: coinmarketcap.com

This smells to me of heavy market manipulation. If you would like to trade Zcash, I recommend using Coinbase Pro (and transferring to a cold storage device as soon as possible).

Token Issuance Model

Zcash is a proof of work cryptocurrency, meaning that it’s mined. Mining used to be done with GPUs, but now it’s all about the ASICs. Below you will see a list of the top mining pools.

Source: miningpoolstats.stream

Zcash was actually forked from Bitcoin, but several parameters were changed. One of these parameters was the hashing algorithm, which was changed from SHA-256 to Equihash.

However, the most controversial change was the distribution of the mining reward. You see, with Bitcoin 100% of the mining reward goes to the miners. With Zcash, 80% of the reward goes to the miners and the remaining 20% goes somewhere else.

Source: Twitter

The Zcash foundation gets 3%, the company gets 2.8%, and Zooko personally receives about 2,033 new tokens per month. In today’s terms, that’s a measly $162k per month, down from the $1.88 Million he used to make back in January of this year. Who says you can’t have golden parachutes in crypto?

Security

Zcash has received the stamp of approval from Edward Snowden. However, hard core security proponents will draw a firm line, placing Zcash and Dash in a different league than Monero. Monero is the current “gold standard” for privacy in the cryptoasset world.

Cold storage

Zcash can be stored in a Ledger Nano S or a Trezor hardware wallet.

Security is a main theme of the white paper, so let’s turn to that section now.

White paper

The white paper is 62 pages long, so going through it line by line would be a great replacement for Ambien or sheep counting. But, if you are so inclined, you can do so here.

Some things I noticed while going through it, were:

The documentation and references are very thorough.

The paper relies heavily on the Bitcoin white paper, from which the project was forked.

There are two types of address, shielded and transparent. This is ostensibly for auditability and control over information which people may want to hide or reveal.

Zcash builds on top of the Zerocash scheme, but is separate and distinct from it.

Private transactions have an address that starts with a z, while transparent addresses always start with a t.

There’s a good amount of discussion in dealing with certain types of attacks and exploits. Overall I think the paper is well written and does not come off like marketing fluff (which happens all too often in this space).

Community

The Zcash company has 72k followers on Twitter. Dash has 319k followers, but they are a much older organization.

On Reddit, there are 14k subscribers on /r/zec. For comparison, Monero has 147k.

Zcash also has a popular community forum. According to SimilarWeb, they got around 95k hits in the month of October.

Source: SimilarWeb

Google trends tells the story from the point of view of Google search volume.

Source: Google Trends

Monero is the elephant in the room, but Zcash seems to be staying ahead of Dash. Interestingly, the gap between the privacy coins (it should be noted that the Zcash company sees the term “privacy coin” as diminutive) seems to be closing during this bear market. It will be interesting to see if there’s a shake up once the market turns a corner.

Criticism

Zcash has taken criticism for branding itself as being focused on privacy, and then making the privacy portion optional. Additionally, the large founder rewards have drawn criticism as well.

If you did listen to the Radiolab podcast, then you know there’s an additional threat to Zcash. That threat is that the magic “seed” or secret code used to initially spawn the network also acts like a skeleton key. If someone were to obtain this key, they could spend funds from the Zcash blockchain at will. This is a big deal.

Many steps were taken to ensure that this code was never discovered, but strange things did happen during “The Ceremony.” Some have questioned whether or not the measures taken were sufficient. You’ll have to make up your own mind on this front, because the truth is that we don’t know for sure.

Conclusion

Despite the risks, I think Zcash is an interesting proposition. The team has proven their acumen both academically and in the business world. I still believe that Monero is a superior choice for privacy, but getting and storing Monero is still a chore (but, we’ll talk about that in another article).

I may take a small position in Zcash in the near future.

Cheers,

Hans

This article was published first in Crypto Blue Chips.

Disclosure: I am/we are long BTC-USD, ETH-USD. I wrote this article myself, and it expresses my own opinions. I am not receiving compensation for it (other than from Seeking Alpha). I have no business relationship with any company whose stock is mentioned in this article.

Source

[Telegram Channel | Original Article ]

#cryptocurrency

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roccodreamholidayasia-blog · 6 years

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How Much To Pay For Girls In Bangkok

The Perfect Destination to Meet Girls For a Week…

… But Bangkok Girls Prices Vary According to Your Knowledge

If you smell “nooby”, a Bangkok girl is going to rip you off, especially Bangkok street girls. They can see miles away that it’s your first time in Bangkok by the way you move, talk and interacts.

When you don’t have the knowledge to deal with them, they will overcharge you, sometimes even double.

Ouch! Not getting a good value out of an experience is always going to be painful, the same applying when dealing with Bangkok girls.

Don’t worry my friend, I’m here to show you how to get a fair value, having fun and experience Bangkok like a rockstar.

Before getting started, I would like to tell you a short story about how mongering in Bangkok as evolve in the last 10 years.

It used to be that you’d go to the red light districts to scout out girls in bars, clubs and massage parlors to have fun.

You would fork out money in rounds of lady drinks, pay a fine to take the girls out of the bar and hoping to have a good experience.

But that isn’t the case anymore… Now the hottest and smartest girls are found on dating sites online, not in seedy red-light districts.

Online dating has become the new red-light districts where girls can meet foreign men.

Basically, Bangkok girls can meet the customers directly without working in bars and clubs. It’s good for the girls because they can manage their time, it’s good for the men because they don’t have to pay bar fines and lady drinks anymore.

That’s why it’s much cheaper while faster to meet Bangkok girls looking for fun on dating sites. No one needs to spend big money in Agogo bars ANYMORE!

The only men still visit the red light districts are the one not aware of the new way of meeting girls or are social introverts.

Typical Agogo Customer

Before getting down to business with girls in Bangkok, there are 3 critical factors that you should consider when trying to negotiate a fair price.

The first is…

1# Type of Bangkok Girls

Bangkok girls price vary according to their supply and demand.

For example, imagine being at the fruit’s market.

When bananas are in abundance, their price is cheap. On the other hand, when they are scarce, their price skyrocket.

The same happens with Bangkok girls.

So, if you are the type of guy that likes cute looking, young spinners with long-legs and white skin girls, get ready to shell out serious money. These type of girls are in high demand and their starting price is 3.000+ Baht per day.

However, if you are like me and you prefer a young, small and dark-skinned girl, then you’re in luck.

I call this type “Minnie Mouse”, they are in abundance and you can easily get them on dating sites online at the price of a coffee or a dinner.

They are my favorite because they are sweat and love caring beside being eager to please. As they aren’t in demand, their ego stays in check and are happy with the small things life has to offer.

Are you a milf hunter? You won’t be paying much either.

Older women or average looking girls are so plentiful online that your inbox will be flooded by their messages.

In conclusion, your taste for women is an important factor when determining Bangkok girl’s price.

The second factor is…

2# Your Approach Make The Difference In Price

The way you approach is going to influence the girls’ price. Don’t be surprised to pay double just because your conversation is going to be perceived as rude.

For example:

I noticed that inexperienced traveler when trying to pick up a Bangkok street girl, they ask immediately: “how much?”.

The result is a hefty price, usually, the highest amount of money the girl has ever asked a customer in the last seven days.

Why?

Because this approach is rude, mercenary and typical of “newbie” in Bangkok.

So, the girl being annoyed and by knowing is his first time in Bangkok just go heavy on the fee.

The correct way is approaching in a fun and open manner, by saying something nice – a simple “hi, you look cute” will do – and start a small conversation.

You might be thinking: “Hey Rocco, they are hookers what should I talk about besides the price”.

I get you, bro.

However, girls are always girls besides their profession. They love to be treated nicely by a gentleman.

Even a Bangkok prostitute prefer to get less money but spend the night with a gentleman than getting more money and sleeping with a rude guy.

If you want to get a low price, just take the time to speak with them and have some fun during the conversation.

Not only you are going to pay less but she is going to give you a better time once behind closed doors.

There is more…

I personally never ask for the price either for Bangkok street girls, bar girls, massage therapist or anything else for that matter.

The reason?

It shows my confidence. Girls respond to confidence in a way that makes them feel less valuable.

So, by forcing them to ask me how much I’m willing to pay, I make them feel less worthy. In other words, I’m preparing them mentally to accept a lower price.

Here an example of a conversation with a working Bangkok girl:

Girl: “How much you give me?”

Me: “I’m not sure I want to go with you.”

Girl: “He, why?”

Me: “You look cute but I feel tired today.”

Me: “By the way, I’ve only… Baht.

As you can see from the conversation, she is trying to get me, not the other way around. You bet she is going to charge the least amount of money.

Another bad habit I noticed with foreign men in Bangkok is that they get obsessed with one girl.

The girl notices, and play hard to get. The desperate man while falling for her, spend an incredible amount of money trying to please her.

By acting in this way the girl loses interest and attraction for him. She isn’t going to please him but instead focusing on getting as much money as possible from the guy.

In conclusion, the way you approach girls in Bangkok plays a big role in how much you are going to pay. This is not to be confused with “game”, it’s just more business common sense.

The last Bangkok girl’s price factor is…

3# Where You Meet Bangkok Girls

Spas and AGo-Go bars are the most expensive places to meet girls in Bangkok, the least is on Thai dating sites.

Sure, in the brothels you can immediately have a girl for a price but the sexual experience is lacking intimacy and feelings. You’re only a customer and she is only a hooker.

Instead, by meeting girls on dating sites you can build intimacy and attraction where the girls see you as a lover, not a mere customer. She is going to be wet and hot for you.

If you would like to get constant results, quality girls and don’t overpay for the experience… It’s important to develop a system that works.

I’m going to share mine to get you started, but feel free to develop your own.

I’ve set up a few online profiles on different Thai dating sites based on the type of Bangkok girls I’m targeting.

On each dating site, I’ve got a profile that attracts:

Freelancers; For a nightstand and naughty things;

University Girls; They want to improve their English while hoping to find love. Perfect for a long-term relations;

Travelers; Many Bangkok girls want to explore the world but don’t have the money to do so. It’s a perfect arrangement for a girlfriend experience while traveling;

Massage girls; Sometimes I just want a massage in my room, and online the are massage parlors girls that need extra cash.

For example, the profile focusing on travel girls is showing pictures of my trips around the world. My profile description is clear: “I love to travel and explore the world, having fun while meeting new people. I’m looking for someone willing to travel with me. If you’re interested just send me a message.”

This simple strategy works best for me. It’s simple and effective.

In this way, I can target Bangkok girls based on their interests which align with mine. It’s a Win-Win situation.

What is the point to pick up girls in the red light districts or clubs? Their only interest is money, not you.

If you want to experience the best of Bangkok girls, meet the ones that match your interests. That is what I call “The Perfect Girlfriend Experience”.

Bangkok Girls Rate Are Variable

As you can see the prices for Bangkok girls can swing widely. They depend on many factors the least of which is your look, age or nationality.

However, you need an idea of prices to conduct negotiations. Below, the ongoing average Bangkok girls rates:

Bangkok Street Girls Price: 800+ bahtBangkok Short Time Price: 1.500+ bahtBangkok Long Time Price: 2.500+ bahtBangkok Girl Overnight Price: 2.500+ bahtBangkok Girls Per a Week: 6.000+ bahtBangkok Girl Sponsorship Price per Month: 10.000+ baht

http://dreamholidayasia.com/destination/thailand-guide/how-much-to-pay-for-girls-in-bangkok/#ixzz5SfKNKHK2

#Bangkok girls prices #bangkok nightlife girls price #bangkok girls rate

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jakehglover · 6 years

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All About Growing Parsnips

youtube

By Dr. Mercola

Despite being in the same vegetable family, parsnips don’t get nearly as much attention as carrots. For that reason, at least one source refers to parsnips as “the neglected relative of the carrot.”1 Due to the fact their popularity has been somewhat supplanted by the potato since the 18th century, you may have trouble finding parsnips in your local grocery store. Given its unique earthy taste and beneficial levels of potassium and folate, you might want to try your hand at growing this pale carrot cousin in your vegetable garden this year.

Parsnip Particulars: Interesting Facts About This Carrot Cousin

As a member of the Apiaceae family, parsnips (Pastinaca sativa) make their home among vegetables like carrots and celery, as well as aromatic herbs such as coriander, cumin, dill, fennel and parsley. They are native to the Mediterranean region and have been a popular food in Europe dating back to at least the ancient Romans, who were said to use it as both a food and a medicine.

Colonial settlers brought parsnips to America from England. The popularity of the parsnip began to decline in the 18th century due to increasing cultivation of a different root vegetable: the potato. Like carrots, parsnips have a hint of sweetness and a comparable bitterness when they are eaten with the skin. As for taste, some suggest raw parsnips taste like a cross between a carrot and a potato.

The smell of parsnips is said to be reminiscent of fresh parsley. As a hardy, cool-season crop, parsnips are characterized by long taproots and cream-colored skin and flesh. They are similar to a carrot in size and shape. For maximum sweetness, it is best to wait to harvest them until after the first frost. If you live in an area with mild winters, you can provide a heavy layer of mulch around your plants and wait to harvest your parsnips after the ground thaws in the spring.

Five Steps to Growing Parsnips

Although parsnips are biennials, they are most commonly grown as annuals. If summers in your area are short and mild, it’s best to plant parsnips in late spring, a week or two after the last frost. In all other areas, you’ll want to delay planting until early summer. For best results, sow your seeds about four months before your first fall frost. Of the utmost importance for growing success, you must use fresh parsnip seeds every year. Do not save any leftover seeds because they will not germinate in subsequent years. Below are five easy steps for growing parsnips:2,3,4,5

1. Seeds: As a root vegetable, parsnips are best planted from seed and you can sow them as soon as soil temperatures are consistently in the 50 to 54 degrees F (10 to 12 degrees C) range.

Use your finger or a trowel to create a small trench and, because parsnips are poor germinators, you’ll want to sow two seeds every inch at a depth of about one-half inch. Space your rows 18 to 24 inches apart.

2. Soil: Parsnips prefer a well-draining soil with a pH in the slightly acidic to neutral range of 6.0 to 7.0. Loose, fertile soil that is free of hard clods and stones is best. Prior to planting, loosen the soil to a depth of 12 to 15 inches and mix in a 2- to 4-inch layer of compost. Never use fresh manure on root crops because it will cause the roots to fork and distort.

3. Sun: Parsnips will do best in full sun to partial shade.

4. Thinning: Once your parsnips develop at least two true leaves, you can thin them to 3 to 6 inches apart to give their taproots plenty of room to grow. Parsnips mature in about 16 weeks so you’ll need to exercise patience while you wait for the first green sprouts to appear above the soil line.

5. Water: Water the soil immediately after planting to encourage germination. Provide at least 1 inch of water per week early on to promote strong taproot development and quick growth. As the plants mature, water only during very dry periods to encourage the roots to grow deeper in search of moisture.

You’ll want to keep your garden bed free of weeds so they won’t be competing with your parsnips for water and soil nutrients. When weeding around parsnip plants, take care you don’t damage their roots, especially if you use a hoe. For that reason, regular hand weeding may be best. In terms of readying your seeds for planting, Mother Earth News suggests the following tips to speed the germination of parsnip seeds:6

About a week before planting, place your parsnip seeds on a wet paper towel and enclose them in an airtight container

Maintain the seeds in the container for five days at room temperature

On day six and beyond, check for the emergence of pale white sprouts indicating germination

Plant the seeds as soon as the first seeds have begun to germinate

Parsnip Varieties You May Want to Try

Below are some recommended varieties (with days to maturity) of parsnips you may want to try:7,8

All American (120 to 130 days): Tapered 10- to 12-inch white-skinned taproots with high sugar content; stores well

Harris Model (100 to 120 days): Smooth, white tapered root averaging 10 inches

Andover (120 days): Slim, 12- to 14-inch taproots with raised crowns and vigorous tops; stores for four to six months

Hollow Crown (105 days): Mild honey flavor and uniform taproots

Cobham Improved (120 days): English variety that produces smooth-skinned, 8-inch roots with high sugar content

Javelin (120 days): Hybrid with slim, smooth, tapered roots

Gladiator (120 days): Hybrid with smooth white skin and vigorous tops; stores for four to five months

The Student (180 days): Hollow-crowned 15- to 30-inch taproots boasting a mild nuttiness

Parsnip Pests and Problems

With respect to potential parsnip pests and problems, garden experts offer the following helpful information to ensure a healthy crop:9,10

Pests Diseases

Carrot fly: These critters lay their eggs on the soil near parsnip plants and their larvae burrow into the roots. To reduce your risk of carrot fly, don't plant parsnips near carrots or celery, but do plant them near onions.

Canker: This disease, which is caused by various fungi, produces dark patches on the taproot's shoulders.

Canker spores are found in the soil and infect injured roots. To combat canker, try raising your soil pH closer to 7.0.

Celery fly: If the leaves on the tops of your parsnips shrivel and get small brown blisters, you’ve probably got celery fly. Fortunately, this pest won't harm parsnip roots, but you’ll have to remove the leaves to get rid of the maggots.

Leaf spot: These fungal-induced, small brown spots that appear on parsnip leaves fortunately will not affect the roots. You can minimize leaf spot damage by thinning your rows to allow more air circulation and also allowing the leaves to dry out between periods of watering.

Wireworms: This soil-dwelling pest makes small holes in the ground where it can attack your germinating seeds and parsnip taproots. If infestations are heavy, you may need to reseed.

Powdery mildew: This disease state, characterized by a powdery white coating on parsnip leaves, is promoted by warm, humid conditions.

You can prevent powdery mildew by increasing the spacing between plants, rotating your crops and cleaning up dead plant material to prevent future spore growth.

Harvesting Parsnips: A Lesson in Patience

At maturity, most parsnip taproots will be 8 to 12 inches long, with a diameter of 1.5 to 2 inches. Be sure to mark down the date you planted them so you will know the general time frame during which they will be ready to harvest. As noted by Gardening Know How, you’ll need to be patient when waiting to harvest parsnips because:11

Parsnips take, on average, 120 days to mature

Their unique taste emerges with a touch of frost

Some gardeners like to leave parsnips in the ground over winter

Whenever you plan to harvest them, you’ll need to do so carefully because the taproots can be easily broken or damaged during removal, which means they won’t store well. Due to the depth of their roots, your best strategy for removing parsnips from the ground is to use a small spade or garden fork. Proceed cautiously so as to prevent damage to nearby roots. For better sight lines while digging, some recommend trimming the foliage down to about 1 inch above the taproot.

How to Eat Parsnips

Before cooking or serving parsnips, make sure you clean them thoroughly by scrubbing the skin with a vegetable brush under running water. Keep in mind that parsnips — similar to apples — oxidize when exposed to air. If you are cutting parsnips but won’t use them right away, it’s best to soak them in water with a little bit of lemon juice to prevent browning.12

If you are unfamiliar with parsnips and wonder how you might use them, check out my Roasted Root Vegetables recipe, where they pair up nicely with beets, onions and turnips. Similar to other root vegetables, parsnips add heartiness and beneficial nutrients to your meals. Below are some additional suggestions on how to use this tasty vegetable:

Add parsnips to casseroles, side dishes, soups and stews

Try parsnips on salads or cut them into sticks and use them with your favorite healthy dip

You can bake, broil, mash and puree parsnips, or roast them in coconut oil

Incorporate parsnips into your fermented vegetables recipe

Given their similarity to carrots, you may find dill, garlic, nutmeg and parsley well suited for seasoning parsnips

Storage Tips

While you will most certainly enjoy eating fresh parsnips, you may also want to store some. Leftover parsnips can be refrigerated for up to five days. In terms of storing parsnips, parsnip fans suggest:13,14

Removing all greens prior to storage; you may want to wear gloves when doing this because the leaves release a skin-irritating sap when exposed to UV rays15,16

Wrapping a paper towel around unwashed parsnips and placing them inside a perforated plastic bag

Storing fresh, bagged parsnips in your refrigerator, where they will keep for at least two weeks

Placing blanched parsnips in well-sealed containers and storing them in your freezer, where they will last for eight to 10 months

Freezing parsnip puree, which makes a great baby food and when fully cooked can be maintained in your freezer for up to 10 months

Alternatively, you can store parsnips in your garage or a root cellar, where under ideal conditions they will keep for four to six months. Do not store them near apples or pears because those fruits emit a natural gas that will cause parsnips to become bitter. Also, as mentioned, you can leave them in the ground over winter under a heavy layer of mulch. Harvest to Table provides details on in-ground storage:17

“Keep the soil at 35 to 40 degrees F (2 to 4 degrees C) by putting a 10- to 12-inch-thick layer of leaves, hay or straw mulch over the rows; extend the mulch on both sides of each row by another 18 inches or more. This should protect roots even beneath 2 feet of snow. Dig roots through the winter as needed. If parsnips stay in the ground all winter, harvest them before new top growth starts in spring.”

Why Parsnips Are Good for You

Parsnips are a low-calorie vegetable — a 3.5-ounce, or 100-gram (g), serving contains just 75 calories. While the leaves are most often discarded and considered by some to be inedible, the taproot portion is highly nutritious. Parsnip roots are particularly rich in potassium, with 375 milligrams (mg) per 100 g, and 67 micrograms of folate (vitamin B-9) per 100 g serving. They also contain a good amount of vitamins C, E and K, as well as beneficial stores of calcium, iron, manganese, magnesium, phosphorus and zinc.

Both potassium and folate have been shown to boost your cardiovascular health.18,19 Vitamins C and E are important antioxidants that prevent cell damage caused by free radicals, whereas vitamin K and manganese promote bone health. You can retain more of the vitamins and minerals by lightly peeling your parsnips or cooking them whole. With 5 g of fiber per serving, which includes both soluble and insoluble types, parsnips can help prevent constipation and promote healthy blood cholesterol levels.

Parsnip Nutrition Facts20

Serving Size: 100 g Amt. Per Serving % Daily Value* Calories 75 Calories from Fat 3 Total Fat 0 g 0% Saturated Fat 0 g 0% Trans Fat Cholesterol 0 mg 0% Sodium 10 mg 0% Total Carbohydrates 18 g 6% Dietary Fiber 5 g 20% Sugar 5 g Protein 1 g Vitamin A 0% Vitamin C 28% Calcium 4% Iron 3%

*Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs. Regardless of how you plan to eat them, for the health benefits alone, you won’t regret adding parsnips to your vegetable garden this year. Even if they are a bit persnickety and require a greater measure of patience than other vegetables, why not try your hand at growing parsnips?

from HealthyLife via Jake Glover on Inoreader https://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2018/06/08/growing-parsnips.aspx

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sherristockman · 6 years

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All About Growing Parsnips Dr. Mercola By Dr. Mercola Despite being in the same vegetable family, parsnips don’t get nearly as much attention as carrots. For that reason, at least one source refers to parsnips as “the neglected relative of the carrot.”1 Due to the fact their popularity has been somewhat supplanted by the potato since the 18th century, you may have trouble finding parsnips in your local grocery store. Given its unique earthy taste and beneficial levels of potassium and folate, you might want to try your hand at growing this pale carrot cousin in your vegetable garden this year. Parsnip Particulars: Interesting Facts About This Carrot Cousin As a member of the Apiaceae family, parsnips (Pastinaca sativa) make their home among vegetables like carrots and celery, as well as aromatic herbs such as coriander, cumin, dill, fennel and parsley. They are native to the Mediterranean region and have been a popular food in Europe dating back to at least the ancient Romans, who were said to use it as both a food and a medicine. Colonial settlers brought parsnips to America from England. The popularity of the parsnip began to decline in the 18th century due to increasing cultivation of a different root vegetable: the potato. Like carrots, parsnips have a hint of sweetness and a comparable bitterness when they are eaten with the skin. As for taste, some suggest raw parsnips taste like a cross between a carrot and a potato. The smell of parsnips is said to be reminiscent of fresh parsley. As a hardy, cool-season crop, parsnips are characterized by long taproots and cream-colored skin and flesh. They are similar to a carrot in size and shape. For maximum sweetness, it is best to wait to harvest them until after the first frost. If you live in an area with mild winters, you can provide a heavy layer of mulch around your plants and wait to harvest your parsnips after the ground thaws in the spring. Five Steps to Growing Parsnips Although parsnips are biennials, they are most commonly grown as annuals. If summers in your area are short and mild, it’s best to plant parsnips in late spring, a week or two after the last frost. In all other areas, you’ll want to delay planting until early summer. For best results, sow your seeds about four months before your first fall frost. Of the utmost importance for growing success, you must use fresh parsnip seeds every year. Do not save any leftover seeds because they will not germinate in subsequent years. Below are five easy steps for growing parsnips:2,3,4,5 1. Seeds: As a root vegetable, parsnips are best planted from seed and you can sow them as soon as soil temperatures are consistently in the 50 to 54 degrees F (10 to 12 degrees C) range. Use your finger or a trowel to create a small trench and, because parsnips are poor germinators, you’ll want to sow two seeds every inch at a depth of about one-half inch. Space your rows 18 to 24 inches apart. 2. Soil: Parsnips prefer a well-draining soil with a pH in the slightly acidic to neutral range of 6.0 to 7.0. Loose, fertile soil that is free of hard clods and stones is best. Prior to planting, loosen the soil to a depth of 12 to 15 inches and mix in a 2- to 4-inch layer of compost. Never use fresh manure on root crops because it will cause the roots to fork and distort. 3. Sun: Parsnips will do best in full sun to partial shade. 4. Thinning: Once your parsnips develop at least two true leaves, you can thin them to 3 to 6 inches apart to give their taproots plenty of room to grow. Parsnips mature in about 16 weeks so you’ll need to exercise patience while you wait for the first green sprouts to appear above the soil line. 5. Water: Water the soil immediately after planting to encourage germination. Provide at least 1 inch of water per week early on to promote strong taproot development and quick growth. As the plants mature, water only during very dry periods to encourage the roots to grow deeper in search of moisture. You’ll want to keep your garden bed free of weeds so they won’t be competing with your parsnips for water and soil nutrients. When weeding around parsnip plants, take care you don’t damage their roots, especially if you use a hoe. For that reason, regular hand weeding may be best. In terms of readying your seeds for planting, Mother Earth News suggests the following tips to speed the germination of parsnip seeds:6 About a week before planting, place your parsnip seeds on a wet paper towel and enclose them in an airtight container Maintain the seeds in the container for five days at room temperature On day six and beyond, check for the emergence of pale white sprouts indicating germination Plant the seeds as soon as the first seeds have begun to germinate Parsnip Varieties You May Want to Try Below are some recommended varieties (with days to maturity) of parsnips you may want to try:7,8 All American (120 to 130 days): Tapered 10- to 12-inch white-skinned taproots with high sugar content; stores well Harris Model (100 to 120 days): Smooth, white tapered root averaging 10 inches Andover (120 days): Slim, 12- to 14-inch taproots with raised crowns and vigorous tops; stores for four to six months Hollow Crown (105 days): Mild honey flavor and uniform taproots Cobham Improved (120 days): English variety that produces smooth-skinned, 8-inch roots with high sugar content Javelin (120 days): Hybrid with slim, smooth, tapered roots Gladiator (120 days): Hybrid with smooth white skin and vigorous tops; stores for four to five months The Student (180 days): Hollow-crowned 15- to 30-inch taproots boasting a mild nuttiness Parsnip Pests and Problems With respect to potential parsnip pests and problems, garden experts offer the following helpful information to ensure a healthy crop:9,10 Pests Diseases Carrot fly: These critters lay their eggs on the soil near parsnip plants and their larvae burrow into the roots. To reduce your risk of carrot fly, don't plant parsnips near carrots or celery, but do plant them near onions. Canker: This disease, which is caused by various fungi, produces dark patches on the taproot's shoulders. Canker spores are found in the soil and infect injured roots. To combat canker, try raising your soil pH closer to 7.0. Celery fly: If the leaves on the tops of your parsnips shrivel and get small brown blisters, you’ve probably got celery fly. Fortunately, this pest won't harm parsnip roots, but you’ll have to remove the leaves to get rid of the maggots. Leaf spot: These fungal-induced, small brown spots that appear on parsnip leaves fortunately will not affect the roots. You can minimize leaf spot damage by thinning your rows to allow more air circulation and also allowing the leaves to dry out between periods of watering. Wireworms: This soil-dwelling pest makes small holes in the ground where it can attack your germinating seeds and parsnip taproots. If infestations are heavy, you may need to reseed. Powdery mildew: This disease state, characterized by a powdery white coating on parsnip leaves, is promoted by warm, humid conditions. You can prevent powdery mildew by increasing the spacing between plants, rotating your crops and cleaning up dead plant material to prevent future spore growth. Harvesting Parsnips: A Lesson in Patience At maturity, most parsnip taproots will be 8 to 12 inches long, with a diameter of 1.5 to 2 inches. Be sure to mark down the date you planted them so you will know the general time frame during which they will be ready to harvest. As noted by Gardening Know How, you’ll need to be patient when waiting to harvest parsnips because:11 Parsnips take, on average, 120 days to mature Their unique taste emerges with a touch of frost Some gardeners like to leave parsnips in the ground over winter Whenever you plan to harvest them, you’ll need to do so carefully because the taproots can be easily broken or damaged during removal, which means they won’t store well. Due to the depth of their roots, your best strategy for removing parsnips from the ground is to use a small spade or garden fork. Proceed cautiously so as to prevent damage to nearby roots. For better sight lines while digging, some recommend trimming the foliage down to about 1 inch above the taproot. How to Eat Parsnips Before cooking or serving parsnips, make sure you clean them thoroughly by scrubbing the skin with a vegetable brush under running water. Keep in mind that parsnips — similar to apples — oxidize when exposed to air. If you are cutting parsnips but won’t use them right away, it’s best to soak them in water with a little bit of lemon juice to prevent browning.12 If you are unfamiliar with parsnips and wonder how you might use them, check out my Roasted Root Vegetables recipe, where they pair up nicely with beets, onions and turnips. Similar to other root vegetables, parsnips add heartiness and beneficial nutrients to your meals. Below are some additional suggestions on how to use this tasty vegetable: Add parsnips to casseroles, side dishes, soups and stews Try parsnips on salads or cut them into sticks and use them with your favorite healthy dip You can bake, broil, mash and puree parsnips, or roast them in coconut oil Incorporate parsnips into your fermented vegetables recipe Given their similarity to carrots, you may find dill, garlic, nutmeg and parsley well suited for seasoning parsnips Storage Tips While you will most certainly enjoy eating fresh parsnips, you may also want to store some. Leftover parsnips can be refrigerated for up to five days. In terms of storing parsnips, parsnip fans suggest:13,14 Removing all greens prior to storage; you may want to wear gloves when doing this because the leaves release a skin-irritating sap when exposed to UV rays15,16 Wrapping a paper towel around unwashed parsnips and placing them inside a perforated plastic bag Storing fresh, bagged parsnips in your refrigerator, where they will keep for at least two weeks Placing blanched parsnips in well-sealed containers and storing them in your freezer, where they will last for eight to 10 months Freezing parsnip puree, which makes a great baby food and when fully cooked can be maintained in your freezer for up to 10 months Alternatively, you can store parsnips in your garage or a root cellar, where under ideal conditions they will keep for four to six months. Do not store them near apples or pears because those fruits emit a natural gas that will cause parsnips to become bitter. Also, as mentioned, you can leave them in the ground over winter under a heavy layer of mulch. Harvest to Table provides details on in-ground storage:17 “Keep the soil at 35 to 40 degrees F (2 to 4 degrees C) by putting a 10- to 12-inch-thick layer of leaves, hay or straw mulch over the rows; extend the mulch on both sides of each row by another 18 inches or more. This should protect roots even beneath 2 feet of snow. Dig roots through the winter as needed. If parsnips stay in the ground all winter, harvest them before new top growth starts in spring.” Why Parsnips Are Good for You Parsnips are a low-calorie vegetable — a 3.5-ounce, or 100-gram (g), serving contains just 75 calories. While the leaves are most often discarded and considered by some to be inedible, the taproot portion is highly nutritious. Parsnip roots are particularly rich in potassium, with 375 milligrams (mg) per 100 g, and 67 micrograms of folate (vitamin B-9) per 100 g serving. They also contain a good amount of vitamins C, E and K, as well as beneficial stores of calcium, iron, manganese, magnesium, phosphorus and zinc. Both potassium and folate have been shown to boost your cardiovascular health.18,19 Vitamins C and E are important antioxidants that prevent cell damage caused by free radicals, whereas vitamin K and manganese promote bone health. You can retain more of the vitamins and minerals by lightly peeling your parsnips or cooking them whole. With 5 g of fiber per serving, which includes both soluble and insoluble types, parsnips can help prevent constipation and promote healthy blood cholesterol levels. Parsnip Nutrition Facts20 Serving Size: 100 g Amt. Per Serving % Daily Value* Calories 75 Calories from Fat 3 Total Fat 0 g 0% Saturated Fat 0 g 0% Trans Fat Cholesterol 0 mg 0% Sodium 10 mg 0% Total Carbohydrates 18 g 6% Dietary Fiber 5 g 20% Sugar 5 g Protein 1 g Vitamin A 0% Vitamin C 28% Calcium 4% Iron 3% *Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs. Regardless of how you plan to eat them, for the health benefits alone, you won’t regret adding parsnips to your vegetable garden this year. Even if they are a bit persnickety and require a greater measure of patience than other vegetables, why not try your hand at growing parsnips?

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