#to be fair i want to mix in whatever comes from this to Holiday

[fangirlingfromdownunder]

A Sweet Mishap - Chapter 11

Pairing - Jensen Ackles x Reader 

A/N: I just want to start by thanking everyone for all the love on this story so far. Here's the next chapter, I hope you enjoy. Let me know if you want to be added to the taglist.

A Sweet Mishap Masterlist | Main Masterlist

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───

As has become a habit of recent, the first thing I do when I open my eyes – despite the headache pounding behind them – is check my phone. I smile at the sweet good night text that must have come through mere seconds after I’d fallen asleep and then text back.

Mornin’ Remind me to stay away from eggnog…Or at least not mix it with wine…

I sit up slowly and take a sip out of the water bottle that I’d somehow had the presence of mind to prepare in advance and reach into my bag for some pain killers. I take a couple of pills before laying back down. After a few minutes my phone buzzes.

Awe, Darlin’ That sounds like a lethal mix You ok?

Yeah, my head hurts

I bet You’re gonna hate what I have to say but... Water, pills, breakfast, exercise also helps

Check, Check, I don’t even want to think about food and not a chance

Fair enough Go back to sleep then I’ll be here when you wake up

I gotta get up Work later

Today?

People need their coffee…I’m closing

Please at least eat something first then Even if you don’t want to

I won’t be allowed to leave here without eating first So don’t worry

Good

This is the only thing I miss about London You know they get the day off after Christmas It’s called Boxing Day Though they mainly watch soccer But it’s a nationwide holiday

First you tell me you’re from Texas and now you’re saying you lived in London? Another long story, I’m guessing?

Yeah…I lived there for almost a year with my boyfriend after high school

Wow I thought my move to LA was ambitious and scary You actually went overseas

Yep…At the time I thought I was in love Anyway, you know the rest of that tragic story I really do have to get up now I’ll talk to you after work

Alright Darlin Hope your head feels better

I smile at his sweet message as I shut off my phone, get up, change into fresh jeans and a hoodie and pack all my things back into my bag. I leave the box from Jensen separate. Without all the extras from the cafe, I could easily manage my bag and the box, but I also know that Nick didn’t drink nearly as much as Stella or I, always wanting to be the responsible one and ready to look after her. So, I know he’ll insist on driving me home. With everything organised, I go to the bathroom to freshen up and then downstairs to indulge in whatever my stomach can handle.

In the kitchen, Nick takes one look at me and sighs. “You girls and your wine…”

“What about your eggnog?”

“I was deliberately light on the alcohol, if it wasn’t for the wine, you’d both be fine. How many times do I have to tell you both how much worse wine-hangover are?”

“Maybe a few hundred more. It’s fun at the time…”

“Yeah, and now you’re both a mess.” He hands me a plate with one of Stewie’s croissants heated up. “You’re gonna have to eat on the run. Stella has to go into the office, I’ll drop you off at the same time. Now, if you’ll excuse me I have to make sure she’s getting ready.” 

I sit at the island bench and pick at the croissant while I wait for Nick and Stella to come back downstairs.

“Some manager you are…” I playfully tease Stella from the backseat as she uses the tiny mirror to fix up her make-up, attempting to make herself look more alive and less hungover.

She meets my eyes in the mirror, “Like you’re any better?”

I shrug, “At least my customers will be just as hungover as me.”

Nick cuts us both off as he parks in front of her office building, “You’re both as bad as each other. I really wish you would stop doing this.” He leans over to peck Stella’s cheek, “I love you, go kick some ass.”

“I love you too, both of you,” she says with a glance over the backseat at me before slipping out of the car. 

Nick waits until she disappears into the large, tinted glass doors before driving off. He sighs as he glances in the rearview mirror to meet my eyes briefly. “None of this funny business at the wedding, remember?” I nod. “You know she’s so close to another massive promotion, she’s in the middle of the pitch of her career. I get that you’re her best friend and that your life's a mess and you’re lonely but please don’t bring her down with you. The wedding is enough of a distraction. She wants this so bad, she won’t tell you because she loves you, but she can’t afford anymore distractions right now.”

My jaw drops. He’s never been this candid or harsh with me before. I’m lost for words. Shocked and hurt, all I can do is bite my cheek to hold back my emotions and nod. The rest of the drive to my apartment passes in uncomfortable, tense silence. The second the car stops I swing the door open and jump out. I quietly thank Nick for driving me and then slip into my apartment building. 

I dump my stuff in the corner of the room and go shower. Feeling sick, hurt, sad, and like a woeful disappointment I scrub every inch of my body as I stand under the scalding water. I wash my hair, shave my legs and thoroughly exfoliate in an attempt to wash away all my feelings and make myself feel at least a little better about myself. By the time I shut off the water and step out of the cubicle I’ve made a list of resolutions that I’m not going to wait until New Years to enact. 

Only contact Stella for wedding related matters

Be the best Maid-of-Honor ever

Get my life back on track - Stop chasing pipe dreams

Get a good-paying, stable 9-5 job

Be realistic about Jensen

I get dressed in the same jeans and a clean long sleeve shirt and then as the first step of my new resolutions, I tape up the box and write ‘return to sender’ on the top. I tie up my hair in a messy bun, put on comfy work shoes, grab my designated work backpack and the box, but as I check the time I realise I won’t make the post office before my shift so I leave it by the door and make a mental note to take it first thing in the morning.

My shift passes by in a blur. I hand out order after order with practiced speed and a forced smile. After flicking the sign to ‘closed’ I scrub every surface until it shines and then lock up. As I walk home I briefly check my phone, I see a text from Jensen but don’t let myself read it. I stuff my phone back in my pocket and quicken my pace to get out of the miserable, cold December air. For a second I;m transported back to my time in London.

I walked down a quiet lane back towards my shared apartment. The bleak weather matched my emotions. The light drizzle matching the tears still falling down my cheeks. I had been sitting alone in a park all day avoiding the place and person I had called home for so long. I only got up once I knew he’d be at work, likely serving fancy cocktails to the pale, model-like brunette he brought back to our apartment. I’d only been gone one night, for an acting class in Paris. But when I got home, excited to surprise him, knowing he’d still be sleeping from working until 2am, I found he wasn’t alone; there was another naked woman laying on my pillow.  A chorus of car horns startles me out of the unpleasant memory and I finally slip back into my building. I have another scalding shower to wash away the sweat and unpleasant smell of mixed foods and beverages clinging to my clothes, skin and hair. When I sit down to eat a bland frozen lasagne I flick through the channels. Supernatural is on again but I force myself to flick past it before Jensen’s face appears. Settling on an animal documentary I open my laptop and search for jobs as I eat. My phone buzzes on the coffee table but I silence it. I feel a little guilty for ignoring him since Jensen has been nothing but nice to me, but then Nick’s words ring back through my head, “I get that you’re her best friend and that your life is a mess and you’re lonely but please don’t bring her down with you.”. And I know he’s right, my life is a mess and I am lonely, but until I sort it out, I’ll just bring anyone around me down with me.

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───

Taglist: @stoneyggirl2 @hobby27, @n-o-p-e-never, @deansimpalababy

[nahoney22]

I got one word for you to use and it's a theme. You can use this theme however you wish, as usual. The theme I give you is "SNOW". Have fun ^^

Snow

𐄁𐄙𐄁𐄙𐄁𐄙𐄁𐄙𐄁𐄙𐄁𐄙𐄁𐄙𐄁 𐄁𐄙𐄁𐄙𐄁𐄙𐄁𐄙𐄁𐄙𐄁𐄙𐄁𐄙𐄁 𐄁𐄙𐄁𐄙𐄁𐄙𐄁𐄙𐄁𐄙𐄁𐄙𐄁𐄙𐄁 𐄁𐄙𐄁𐄙𐄁𐄙

All Bad Batch Boys X GN!Reader

Since Christmas/The Holidays is coming it’s only fair I pick a somewhat snowthemed one. So enjoy snow day with the bad batch. Enjoy @gokyacetakal

Masterlist 🤍

warnings: none, fluff and snow ❄️ . Mentions of brief imperial crosshair. Mix of established, platonic and non established relationships. Not proofread as per usual.

𐄁𐄙𐄁𐄙𐄁𐄙𐄁𐄙𐄁𐄙𐄁𐄙𐄁𐄙𐄁 𐄁𐄙𐄁𐄙𐄁𐄙𐄁𐄙𐄁𐄙𐄁𐄙𐄁𐄙𐄁 𐄁𐄙𐄁𐄙𐄁𐄙𐄁𐄙𐄁𐄙𐄁𐄙𐄁𐄙𐄁 𐄁𐄙𐄁𐄙𐄁𐄙

Echo ❄️

“Echo! Echo, wake up!”

Your partner jolts awake, on high alert and eyes wide as he sits up straight and ready to strike at whatever it was that made you wake him at this untimely hour.

When there’s no clear danger, he then looks to see you dressed in your warmest gear, a fuzzy hood covering your entire head and face. “Mesh’la, what is it?” He sighs tiredly, laying back down on your shared bunk and rubbing his tired eyes.

“Snow.”

He pulls his hands away from his face and peers up at you as you pull down your hood to see your excited face. “…and?”

“Let’s go and play in it!” You jump excitedly which couldn’t be the same for your grumpy little trooper.

He sits back up and swings his legs round, rubbing the back of his neck. “Oh sweetheart, it’s early in the morning and still dark outside.” He’s trying to find an excuse for you to just crawl back into bed with him for a few more hours but when your mind was made up; that was it. Truthfully, the Clone was a little nervous how the snow and ice would interfere with his new limbs and worried that he may become rigid and a little uncomfortable.

You pouted a little. “But the snow might melt when we wake back up?”

When you pull that face at him; that adorable and impossible-to-say-no-to face, he feels his heart kickstart and begrudgingly sighs, stands up and grabs his coat. “Well if you insist.”

Before he could even zip himself up, his wrist is taken a hold of and is dragged through the ship and is submerged into snowfall on the outside. Admittedly, the sun was coming up and as he stood by to see you dancing in the snow, laughing and embracing it all; he didn’t mind if his prosthetics got a little stiffer if it’s to see you smile.

Wrecker ❄️

“Wrecker, slow down. I can’t keep up.” Your legs are heaving through the thick snow, having to chase after Wrecker as he tries and succeeds in creating the biggest snowball he can.

By the time you’ve caught up with him, you’re gasping but your eyes light up to see him stand next to his creation, pretty much the same height as he was! “Impressive, ain’t it?” He chuckles, hands resting proudly on his hips.

“Very. But now what are you gonna do with it?” Your question stumped him and he looks at you, then to his massive ball of snow and back at you with a shrug.

“Ain’t sure. Could always throw it down a hill at Tech?”

Your laughter ricocheted around the field, clearly amused that Wrecker would be more than willing to destroy his hard work by throwing it at Tech. “Honey, I think it could kill him.”

“Nah,” he shakes his head with a laugh, “it’s just snow.”

“A whole compacted bunch of it. Plus, you definitely swiped up some stones along with it as you rolled.” You point out, walking into Wrecker’s arms as he opened them up to you, wanting a squeezy hug.

Arms snaking around you, the warmth of Wrecker was enough to heat your whole body up from the coldness of the Hoth snow. “Maybe you’re right.” He sighs happily, resting his chin on top of your head, taking in this moment with you. It’s been too long since you two just had fun by yourselves and you just hope that you both get to explore more snowy planets together too.

Hunter ❄️

“It’s snowing.”

You blink the snowflakes from your lashes and cast a side-ways glance towards Hunter. “Did your senses tell you that?” You tease at him in amusement before taking a few steps further into the snow, hands on hips as you embrace the Winter season.

If it wasn’t the cold that made his cheeks flushed it was definitely your comment because obviously, gesturing to the mountains of snow around the two of you and what dusted the ship, it was indeed snowing. It was probably his least favorite weather as it wreaks havoc with his senses. His nose blocks, the coldness freezes his fingers, the howling of snow storms makes it impossible for him or anyone to hear. But, he felt like he should come with you to embrace the horrible phenomena.

He follows after you, gloved hands being stuffed into the pockets of his coat as you both took in the view that overlooked a small town on the hillside you were all resting upon. “You've been in a lot of snow before?” He asks, genuinely curious and you could only stifle a laugh.

“You could say that. I was born on Hoth.”

His eyebrows raise in actual surprise. “Oh? I didn’t realise it was habitable.” He says whilst shaking his head, snow dripping from the ends of his hair.

“My family were explorers and just so happened to be pregnant with me at the time they visited Hoth. Had to make do for a while.” You say with a somewhat grimace, realising that Hoth probably wasn’t the best place to raise a baby at the time.

“Must’ve been bad.”

You turn your head to face him. “What makes you say that?”

He shrugs a little, folding his arms now over his chest as he admires the snow flakes falling from the skies. “Bit cold, no?”

You smile at him and tilt your head a little. “True,” you nod slowly but then release a sigh, “I do miss it though. It’s been a long while since I last visited and although nobody’s there, it’s still home to me.”

Hunter takes in your words, feeling a little solemn to see your features dampen and ever so gently draped an arm over your shoulder. “Why don’t we visit when we have some more downtime?”

Glancing at the hand over your shoulder and then back at Hunter, you smile. “You’d go to a planet just for me?”

The softness of your voice sent chills down his spine whilst a warmth flickered inside you. He clears his throat a little and nods his head. “S-sure, I’m certain the others would want a change of scenery that isn’t Cid’s bar.”

You say nothing about how bashful he became, keeping it to yourself in your heart as you enjoy this rare moment with your Sergeant. “I’d like that. Thanks Hunter.”

Tech ❄️

“If I am correct, we are only a few minutes away from the destination that the employee had marked down for us.” Tech speaks through his modified helmet, staring down at the holomap in his grasp before turning to face you.

He expected you to be facing him, but instead your eyes are drawn elsewhere to the west. He steps towards you and cocks his head. “What is it?”

“I… I saw something but I’m unsure what.” You state, not taking your eyes off the crack between two trees painted white with snow.

“A threat?” He asked cautiously but relaxed once you shake your head.

“Unsure.” You mumble a little, looking up to the sky once the howling of wind picks up. “We should get moving, don’t want to stay out in the snow more than we have to.”

“Agreed.” Tech says simply, following your footsteps. He was a little happy to spend some time with you after so long. The two of you never did missions just by yourselves which gave him the perfect opportunity to get to know you more. Though, you seemed distracted.

Trudging through the thick snow, you shudder as one single snowdrop hits the back of your neck. You look up towards the tree it must’ve come from but freeze as something moves fast from branch to branch as fast as lightning. “Tech? Something’s out here.”

He stopped behind you and pulled out his datapad. “Granted we are in one of the most vast and large forests in the galaxy, there are bound to be other lifeforms and species. Though in this weather most creatures will be hibernating as fair and few prefer warm climates rather than snow. But not to worry, there are none that are dangerous for that matter except from-.”

“Wolf.”

“I sincerely hope you meant ‘wolves’ but yes, a wolf would not be ideal but.-“

“No. Tech, wolf.” You hiss at him through gritted teeth hoping he’d take a hint and sure enough as he looked up, you're both face to face with a fairly large white wolf.

Slowly, he puts his datapad away and places a hand to his holster. “Stay calm, it is more likely checking us out than it is thinking we are its prey.”

You tried to avoid eye contact with the creature but as it slowly crept towards you, just as cautious as the two of you, its teeth were no longer bared and its ears were pricked forward in intrigue.

With your words failing you, you stand as still as possible aside from your hand that reaches back as if to plead Tech for him to take your hand as comfort. Surprisingly, he does indeed take your hand.

When the wolf begins to sniff at your legs and the sleeves of your coat your nerves somewhat dwindle. Maybe it was because it was just curious and it was quite a surreal moment. And although you were still a little wary, you truly believed you were in no harm's way. Especially with Tech by your side.

“I think,” you begin to speak quietly but tense as the Wolf makes a small noise, kind of like a huff before it collapses by your feet, nestling into the warmth of your furry boots, “you’re right.” You say with a soft laugh.

Tech smiles at the interaction and moves round to face you, the warmth of your glove leaves him once he lets go, looking to the what looks to be like a fairly young wolf, then to you. “Unfortunately we must keep moving. I am sure the wolf's mother is around here somewhere and not one we would like to meet.”

“But Tech,” you whine with a small pout, kneeling and tracing a gloved hand over the creature's fur which was as white as the snow on the ground, “it’s so cute.”

Tech finds himself looking at you rather than the wolf by your feet as the word ‘cute’ slips by your mouth, something he thought of you increasingly as the days went by. “I suppose you are.”

The words processed slowly and you looked up to him, standing up again you tilt your head. “You think I’m cute?”

“S-sorry?”

“You just said I was cute.” You point out with a nervous chuckle, heartbeat quickening up a little.

He’s sweating under his collar and flexes his fingers. “I, I mean yes, you are but I did mean the wolf. Though I will admit that I have admired you for a while now.” He finally gets it off his chest, seeing as he had nothing to lose. After all, if he had embarrassed himself then hopefully the wolf's mother would not hesitate to gobble him up.

You’re flattered and slowly step over the wolf, freeing your leg and taking a step towards him. “Well, I think you’re rather cute too.”

Hesitantly, he takes your hand into his and gestures to you to walk by him. “Let’s keep going, I hope we can continue this talk on the way.”

Holding his hand, you never knew that it would take a small bit of snow and a wild creature to bring you closer to the Clone. Suppose you’d take all the help you can get.

Crosshair ❄️

The air was crisp that morning when you stepped off the ship, cold yet pleasant. It had snowed again since yesterday's snowball fights with yourself, Omega and the boys as the ground was covered with a new sheet of snow.

You squint through the morning sun, a hand coming up to shield your eyes but that’s when you spot a lone figure by the embankment of the lake; Crosshair.

It had been tough for you all about Crosshair’s return, all still a little cautious around one another but you took it day by day, hour by hour.

After pulling on something warm, you quietly make your way over to them and make your presence known almost immediately.

You’re about to tap his shoulder when your foot gives way from under you, slipping on some black ice that was blind to your eyes that sent you backwards. In doing so with your arms flailing and flapping about, you grab onto the thing closest to you… Crosshair.

He tenses and is about to back hand whoever has grabbed him but he’s already falling down. Swiftly, he twists his body and plants both hands on the floor before his body can smack down onto the snow but his eyes widen to see you directly under him as he hovered over you.

A sheepish smile plants on your face and you playfully dust away some snow off his shoulder. “Morning?” You speak, a little abashed to have such a handsome man above you in such surreal circumstances.

“What are you doing?” His eyes narrow down at you, yet, he made no effort to move.

“Chilling… killing… you?” You smirk up at him a little which makes him tilt his head to the side. Dare he say you actually look rather lovely in the snow? For now though, he says nothing of the sort.

“Just wondering why someone would disturb me this early in the morning.” He snarls, his facade not teetering for anyone just yet as he pushed himself off you but sits by your side as you sit up.

You hum in amusement and look out to the frozen lake. The pair of you sat in a comfortable silence for a while until he spoke up for the first time. “Thanks.”

You raise a brow, a little confused. “What for?”

He stills, chewing on the inside of his cheek before he decides to answer. “For coming to see me first.”

Oh. Oh.

“You’re welcome.”

Nothing more was said and as the morning sun shifts across the sky, you can’t help but wonder if maybe his mood shifted a little for the better too.

𐄁𐄙𐄁𐄙𐄁𐄙𐄁𐄙𐄁𐄙𐄁𐄙𐄁𐄙𐄁 𐄁𐄙𐄁𐄙𐄁𐄙𐄁𐄙𐄁𐄙𐄁𐄙𐄁𐄙𐄁 𐄁𐄙𐄁𐄙𐄁𐄙𐄁𐄙𐄁𐄙𐄁𐄙𐄁𐄙𐄁 𐄁𐄙𐄁𐄙𐄁𐄙

Masterlist 🤍

Tags: @nunanuggets @andyoufollowyourheart @littlefeatherr @kaitou2417 @eyecandyeoz @captxin-rex @cwarssimp @jesseeka @ashotofspotchka @oohyesplease @megafrost4 @adriiibell @theroguesully @equalityforcats @rexandechosandwich @mustluvecho @inagalaxywickedfahaway @misogirl828 @ladykatakuri @jambolska-grozdova @chxpsi @alexandrisonfire @arctrooper69 @padawancat97 @rain-on-kamino @by-the-primes @torchbearerkyle @tech-aficionado @grizabellasolo @photogirl894 @therealnekomari @a-c-lee @autumnleaves1991-blog @tech-depression-inventory @the-good-shittt @mylifeinthetardisforever @brynhildrmimi @greaser-wolf @lucyysthings @agenteliix @s1st3r @buddee @cosmic-persephone @imalovernotahater

[zecretsanta]

Twelve Days of Carlosmas

To: @gorokiichi

From: @junpei-rights-activist

For the prompt: Snapshots of Carlos and Junpei spending the holidays together while Akane is away. Maybe Carlos turns on the radio to Christmas songs and Junpei is cranky about it because it’s too early in the morning, or Carlos fumbles when making a gingerbread house because his hands are too big. Up to you! I just really like slice of life with them.

I hope you enjoy and are okay with the amount of shippiness I included because it didn’t occur to me until I had already written it that I might have misinterpreted that part.

1

Junpei wasn’t above the simple pleasure of watching a strong man do hard work. Well, that was assuming stringing a house in Christmas lights was hard work— and it certainly appeared to be. Hell, Junpei was pretty sure he could catch a gleam of sweat on his forehead, even in the early December chill. He wore it well. Junpei didn’t comment.

“Did you want me to…I dunno…do something?” He figured it was fair enough to offer, even though he had no idea about any of this. He wasn’t exactly in the habit of climbing up ladders to put up lights just to climb up ladders and take them down again later. Still, it seemed important to Carlos, so he was happy enough to indulge.

“Just stand there and look pretty.” Junpei crossed his arms and scowled when Carlos looked over his shoulder from his perch, but he felt just a little warmer.

2

“What’s this?” Junpei observed the mug Carlos had placed in front of him on the table. It looked like the sort of monstrosity you could only find this time of year, though usually from some overpriced coffee shop. It was piled high with the kind of whipped cream that definitely came from a can and some crushed mix of chocolate and candy cane.

“Cocoa. Drink it.” Carlos crossed to take his own seat, another mug prepared for himself. Junpei was tempted to ask how, exactly, he was supposed to go about that. He opted to take a mouthful of the candy and cream instead. Not a bad combination, even if he hadn’t touched the chocolate yet.

“Thanks?” Even as this sort of consideration had become commonplace with Carlos in his life, Junpei wasn’t entirely accustomed to it. There was still a part of him that searched for some underlying motive. Carlos wasn’t that complicated, though. Junpei appreciated that, when he took the time to think about it.

“You’ve been down since Akane left.” Astute observation, if not a statement of the most absolute obvious.

“She’s coming back.” Junpei sounded more defensive than he meant to, but Carlos seemed to take it in stride. Whatever uncertainties he might have had were well enough founded after how long he’d been searching…

“Yeah. She’s visiting her brother right? No point sulking around until she comes home.” Junpei startled as Carlos reached across the table and swiped his thumb across his nose. He held it up to display a little dollop of whipped cream, then licked it clean. Junpei averted his eyes and took a too-big gulp of his cocoa. The heat prickled down his throat and overwhelmed his face but he gave a half-hearted shrug.

“Maybe.”

3

Carlos couldn’t carry a tune in a paper bag, not that his enthusiasm with early-morning festive cheer was any indication. Junpei tried covering his head with the blankets, then with the pillow, then gave up on hoping for that ten more minutes of sleep. If bedhead were a person, it was Junpei stumbling out of his bedroom to hone in on the source of the disturbance. He found Carlos singing along with the kitchen speaker while hanging something or another above the room’s entryway.

“Isn’t it a little early for that?” Junpei’s voice remained thick with sleep. Carlos looked amused.

“It’s Christmas. Have a little holiday spirit.” He let his arms fall and looked up at his mistletoe-y handiwork. Junpei looked up too, making a careful distance between himself and the sprig. It was definitely too early for that.

“It’s been December for maybe two days.”

“Fine. Almost Christmas.” Carlos tilted his head slightly, hands on his hips. He was glancing at Junpei but Junpei didn’t look back.

“Almost Christmas means it isn’t Christmas.” Carlos only put on a faux pout in response to this clarification.

“Now c’mon. Get decorating or go mope somewhere else.” Carlos gave him a soft punch to the shoulder then turned to hand him what had to be the world’s oldest, rattiest cardboard box. Junpei was inclined to hand it right back to him and take the moping option, but he decided better of it. It was almost Christmas, after all.

4

Junpei wasn’t sure how he felt about Carlos’s boundless holiday spirit. Depending on the time of day, the position of the stars, and how much Junpei had to drink, it would range between charming and mind-numbing. He had expected the movie marathon to be on the latter end. And he hadn’t been entirely wrong, either. They were all the same basic plot, the same basic story. Small-town girls and businessmen and miracles.

But it was nice when Carlos leaned into him on the couch. When their hands brushed against one another’s. When they shared a look or a laugh. It was nice enough that maybe it didn’t matter if the movies were all garbage and Carlos was hell-bent on driving him crazy for the next two and a half weeks. There was the fleeting possibility that this wasn’t all that bad.

5

“You’ve really never done this before, huh?” Carlos was squatting down, packing snow together in an oversized ball, rolling it around to reveal grass beneath and grow the icy orb. Junpei was right there next to him, observing with some skepticism.

“Never really had enough snow. Or yard.” Junpei shrugged it off. Carlos had enough of a lawn to sustain an entire family of snowmen by Junpei’s estimation, though he didn’t have the experience to back those claims. Carlos flashed him a smile and started rolling the growing ball in earnest, waddling down the lawn then back up in neat little lines.

“Maria and I used to do this every year. The first snow is always best for it.” However the memory made Carlos feel, he didn’t seem keen to show it. Instead, he rolled the ball back toward Junpei, then nudged it so Junpei could take over the rolling.

“How big do we make it?” The thing seemed to be rapidly expanding in mass and Junpei wasn’t really clear on the scale they were after here. Carlos was already hard at work constructing the next part of the snowman’s stacked body.

“As big as you want. I’ll pop the head on when you’re ready.” He gave a cheesy bicep flex then kept rolling. Junpei responded by rolling both the snowball and his eyes. And then a new thought occurred to him. He waited until Carlos was on a trip down the lawn, his back turned. Then he gathered up the snow in a rush, packed it into a ball, and aimed straight for his back.

Or, it would have been his back, had Carlos not turned around just in time to be nailed in the face. A comedy of errors in which Carlos was wiping his face while Junpei, in his haste to rush over and apologize, was slipping cartoonishly in the snow. Carlos accepted these apologies with a fair amount of laughter and a huge handful of snow down Junpei’s hood. 

It was a fair bit more fun than Carlos had made it sound when he’d suggested the whole thing.

6

The apron Carlos was wearing hadn’t done much to  keep him from making an absolute mess of himself. It seemed like their was flour streaked everywhere— across his cheek here, over his knuckles there, a smudge next to his eyebrow… Junpei felt an almost irresistible urge to walk over and wipe him clean.

Instead, he followed his nose to the oven and dropped to his knees to look in, the scent of the cookies erasing all else from his mind. They still had a good few minutes based on what he saw through the little glass window, but Junpei was drooling. He looked at Carlos again, with his apron and his flour and his sleeves pushed up to his elbows. Yeah, he was still drooling.

“How much longer?” He whined instead of taking any action, however tempting the alternative might have been.

7

The tree was too big.

Surely, Carlos had realized the tree was too big.

It took over the bulk of the living room, branches hanging dangerously close to the couch. Junpei thought it was a disaster waiting to happen, but that didn’t stop him from hanging another bauble on a branch. Yeah, it was way too big, but it made Carlos happy and that in turn made Junpei happy, even if he wasn’t always keen to admit it.

“So you like it?” Carlos hadn’t actually asked for an opinion since he went through the trouble of setting the thing up in its stand and smoothing out the skirt and hauling out what seemed like an endless number of ornament boxes. Hell, he’d probably started it all by chopping the thing down himself, knowing Carlos. Junpei was pretty sure he knew his way around an ax, as he could recall.

Junpei considered a sarcastic response, but he didn’t quite have the heart for it with the way Carlos’s eyes gleamed.

“Yeah. I like it.”

8

Junpei watched as Carlos slotted together the two large, square cookies at the corners. He was as delicate as he could manage while he pinched them together and reached for the cement-like frosting. Unfortunately, as it happened, that was not delicate enough. Junpei winced to see the gingerbread crumble beneath his fingers.

“Just let me help.” Junpei’s own attempt at cookie architecture hadn’t turned out half-bad, he had to admit. It wasn’t the fanciest thing, but if he were made out of gingerbread he wouldn’t be too ashamed to have some friends over for dinner. Carlos’s house looked like it probably sat on the other side of the tracks.

It wasn’t his fault, or at least Junpei couldn’t really blame him. He had such big hands for such delicate work. And while Junpei could imagine a thousand and one scenarios where strength and calluses could be major boons, building gingerbread houses didn’t seem to be one of them. Carlos swore under his breath as the whole wall came down before he could seal it up.

“Maybe you should leave the construction to me and worry about the decorating.” The way Carlos’s eyes lit up at the suggestion only confirmed Junpei’s suspicion that that was the part he was looking forward to in the first place.

“You don’t mind?” There was an eager puppy quality about him that made Junpei’s insides squirm.

“Knock yourself out.” He pretended to be just as focused on repairing Carlos’s disastrous attempts as he could be, but Junpei was absolutely watching that childlike glee from the corner of his eye.

9

“Carlos…did you embroider these yourself?” Junpei stared at the stockings on the wall. They hung beneath the TV, for lack of a proper mantel, and each was emblazoned with one of their names. Junpei had the distinct impression that Carlos wasn’t able to pick these up at the superstore. 

“I didn’t want you guys to feel left out.” Akane couldn’t have felt left out, not having been there at all, but that hadn’t stopped Carlos. It was sweet, the sort of sweet little thing that always took Junpei by surprise, even if it shouldn’t have by this point. Maria and Carlos had their own, much older, versions in that line. It was a heartfelt gesture. Junpei didn’t always know what to do with those.

“Well…they look good. I mean, uh, thanks.” He rubbed the back of his head and flashed a smile. “Kinda like a real family.” Carlos smiled back at him.

“Yeah. Kinda like that.”

10

“Aren’t you supposed to put liquor in this?” Junpei swirled his small glass of egg nog disdainfully, his nose scrunched up. Some people might have braced themselves for the impact of spiced rum. Junpei should have braced himself for the absence of it. He wasn’t a fan of festive drinks that didn’t inherently make him feel more festive. And no amount of nutmeg was gonna do it in this case.

“You can,” Carlos admitted over a sip of his own glass, “but then you end up on the naughty list.”

“Maybe I want to be naughty.” Junpei huffed.

“I bet you do.”

11

Junpei stared at the television screen with the sort of awe this particular programming had never before inspired.

“Carlos. Why are you watching a log?” As confounding as the guy could be, this was taking it to new extremes.

“It’s a yule log.” As if that explained it.

“What the hell is a yule log?” Junpei looked at Carlos then back on the screen. He was currently enjoying the HD surround sound version of a log crackling in the fire. This one was well beyond him.

“I mean it’s…a log. For Yule…” Carlos’s voice trailed off. God help them both, he didn’t really know either, did he? “I don’t know, it’s festive. You put it on and you feel cozy. Isn’t that enough?” Junpei covered his face with one hand.

“I guess it’s better than the romcoms.” 

12

“Junpei, could you come here a sec?” Carlos’s voice rang from the edge of the kitchen, drawing Junpei away from some holiday-themed comedy. It was, as with the yule log, better than some of the alternatives. Still, he was happy enough to abandon his post and attend to whatever need Carlos had.

“What’s up?” Junpei stopped in the doorway to the kitchen where Carlos met him, spoon in hand with his hand carefully cradling beneath to catch any spills.

“Try this.” Carlos didn’t wait for Junpei’s acceptance to lift the spoon to his lips. Junpei didn’t reject it though and sipped down whatever it was Carlos was making. Soup, nice and hot, and damn good. Junpei shot him a look that said as much.

“The fact that you can cook on top of everything else is just unfair. Leave something for the rest of us.” Junpei’s pouting was in jest, of course, and Carlos’s eyes only flashed with a hint of…something… while he stepped closer to Junpei.

“Hey.” He leaned in, over, close. Really close. Body heat on Junpei’s skin close. “Notice where you’re standing?”

And Junpei hadn’t noticed, until that moment. He hadn’t necessarily been avoiding the mistletoe, but he also hadn’t been making himself an easy target. Not that Carlos would have pressed if Junpei had given any indication of real discomfort. Still, it was a bit embarrassing, even if it was only the two of them. The way he could smell Carlos’s cologne and feel his warmth, practically taste him through the broth.

“Is that why you called me over?” Junpei’s accusation was met with a smirk. Carlos grasped Junpei’s chin between his thumb and forefinger and tilted his face upward.

“Maybe. Is that why you’re still standing here?” So close.

So close.

“Maybe.”

[elvensorceress]

wip Wednesday

my beloveds @rogerzsteven @swiftiediaz @spotsandsocks @monsterrae1 @shortsighted-owl @ajunerose @eddiediazisascorpio @kananjarus @prettyboybuckley​ 💕💕 all tagged me! 

tagging @ashavahishta​ @messyhairdiaz​ @ajunerose​ @dickley-buddie​ @the-likesofus​ @lostinabuddiehaze​ @bekkachaos @spaceprincessem @fatedbuck @swiftiebuckleys 😘💕

Here’s more of my holiday Hallmark Christmas fic (due out mid January - because we’re including New Year’s? Also it’s already over 50K 😭 idek) so have a nice long chunk because I like this scene 🫧

Eddie cups Buck’s cheek and watches the way Buck leans into the touch. “I’m going to make tea, let you get comfortable, and then I’ll come back. Do you want some, too?”

Buck smiles and nods. “Yeah. You’re going to get me hooked on hot tea every night before bed. I can already feel it starting.”

It’s only fair. Eddie already feels hooked on him. He lets Buck have privacy to undress and goes to fill up and start his kettle heating. When he returns with two steaming mugs, Buck is immersed chin-deep in the hot bath water. It smells faintly of lavender but also has thick, foamy bubbles floating on the surface of the cloudy water, and Buck tells him as he takes his mug, “I may have made my own mix. If you don’t have bubbles with a bath, are you even living?”

Eddie smiles and pulls out a stool that’s tucked under the cabinet so he can sit beside the tub. It’s been a long, long time since he’s used it — since Chris was little enough that he wanted to take baths and “go swimming” in the tub with bubbles and colored foam. Eddie would sit with him and play with rubber ducks and pirate ships and whatever else made him giggle. 

This, however, is entirely different. 

It’s hard not to think about how Buck is naked and not even a foot away from him. It’s even harder not to wonder about shedding everything and joining him. Or kissing him. His lips are so pink and must be raw and chapped from the cold like Eddie’s are. But they don’t look like it. Everything about Buck looks soft and sweet. 

There are little puffs of bubbles decorating the hair on his arms. Streams of steamy bathwater cling to his chest. His hair is wet and sticking up like he dunked himself and fluffed it around. It has clusters of bubbles, too. His cheeks are flushed and he holds the mug Eddie brought him in both hands. When he sips and tastes the tea Eddie chose for him, he closes his eyes first, but then gives Eddie a curious look. “This tastes like berries. Maybe blueberries? Is this a berry tea? I’ve never had berry tea. I love berries.”

Yeah, he definitely enjoys sleepy, adorable Buck.

 “I believe you mentioned that.” He gives him a smile in return and sips his own tea. The hot liquid floods his chest and usually Eddie needs that. Usually, he’s aching and cold without it. It’s still soothing, but he doesn’t quite ache so much tonight. His son is finally home and his Buck is here with him, and all Eddie has to worry about right now is how heavily his heart is beating. “It’s blueberry, lavender, wild berry. A mix of those. I thought you might like it.”

Buck drinks a little more and then sinks back into the steamy water and the bath cushion behind him. “It’s perfect. All of this. I don’t ever want to move. It feels so good. My leg was really hurting. Something about the angle of those plane seats is completely wrong for my stupid legs.”

Eddie starts to reach out for him. He could rub his leg or even hold his hand. Anything to offer him comfort. To be more connected. “You didn’t have to come with me.”  

“I wasn’t going to let you go alone. Plus, my whole job is supposed to be taking care of Chris. So. I’m very dedicated I’ll have you know. My kids are always the number one priority. I had to be there for him.”

Eddie did know. It was why he got attached to the idea of hiring Buck for Chris so quickly. He wouldn’t have it any other way. 

“And also for you,” Buck adds. “Someone needs to look out for you. Not in a bodyguard Athena way. In an everything way. You take care of everyone else and not yourself, and I worry. I want to take care of you, too. Since you keep looking out for me. No one looks out for me. Wow, I didn’t mean to take that to a pity party sort of way. I just mean. I’ve always been alone. By myself. Lone wolf. You know? Even though that whole term is bogus. Wolves are pack animals. They have families and communities. Maybe that’s where the idiom came from? Because wolves and people aren’t supposed to be all alone? Anyway, it was a long trip and I know planes have to be difficult for you. I had to be with you.”

Eddie chuckles a little and rests his elbow on the side of the tub and his head on his hand. “I have noticed that about you.” He’s also noticed the rambling way he talks when he gets tired. It’s different from the excited-about-everything rants he goes on or all the trivia he can spout when he wants to even when his random facts are mixed into everything. 

“I’m starting to think you’re right. It’s nice having a partner to do things with.” Buck drinks more of his tea and then sets it on the ledge behind him and shifts to his side so he’s stretched out, facing Eddie. “When did you get started on the tea thing? Or have you always liked it? What’s your favorite tea? Do you have one? Do you have it cold in the summer?”

No wonder Buck and Chris get along so well. Chris does this sometimes, too. Legions of semi-related questions but very attentive listening. Eddie sits up so he can brush slipping bubbles off Buck’s forehead. He smoothes a thumb over Buck’s eyebrow that’s gone wild and is sticking up much like his hair. And wonders if anyone’s ever kissed his pretty birthmark. 

“Yes, I drink it cold sometimes. I don’t know that I have a favorite? It depends on what I’m feeling like. But chamomile was one of the first ones I tried, and I love peppermint especially mixed with green tea. Chris gave me a chocolate chai for father’s day one year and a black tea with chilies and cinnamon that has a coffee sort of flavor to it, and I loved both of those. My sister, Adriana, gave me one a long time ago. A lavender rooibos that tasted like floral caramel. In a good way. If I had to pick just one as my favorite, it’d probably be that one.”

Buck catches his hand when Eddie starts to pull away. He weaves their fingers together and holds them under the surface of the hot water. “I don’t think I’ve ever tried anything but regular iced tea. And now this one you gave me.” He rests his head on the side of the tub, looking flushed and soggy and still adorable with the frosting of bubbles all over his exposed skin. “When did you start liking tea? What made you like it?” 

And here he thought Buck might have forgotten he’d asked that. He could make something up. Or talk about something else. But then it stays sad and secret, lost with everything else of his family. Eddie takes a deep breath. “My mother loved tea,” he swallows the lump that rises in his chest. He wants to talk about her. He wants to remember her. He wants to never forget how much he loved her. But there are tears that immediately flood his eyes. No matter what he does, it always happens. 

But Buck squeezes his hand and brings it up out of the water until he can kiss Eddie’s knuckles. 

When he lets go, Eddie cups the side of Buck’s face. His several days worth of stubble is tingly against Eddie’s palm, and Eddie wants to be closer. He wants to crack open and let him in. He doesn’t want to be alone and haunted anymore. “It started when I was discharged and came home from Afghanistan. There’d been a helicopter crash. A bad one. Everyone else… None of them made it. I was sure I wasn’t going to either. I was all sorts of fucked up. Mentally. Physically. I had three bad gunshot wounds and the doctors worried I had some kind of spinal trauma. I had cervical, vertebral fractures. And it meant I had to spend several weeks in bed. Doing nothing but lying there, literally losing my mind. And then there were a lot of months of recovery.” 

Buck doesn’t say anything but he nods and listens intently, still holding on to Eddie’s hand even when it slips from his face. 

“My mom would come see me. She’d visit with me and try to keep me from feeling too… well, I’m sure you can imagine how I felt. But every night, she’d make us tea and she’d sit beside me and it was something we always did together. Even after I was better. It started with the chamomile, to try and help me sleep, and it went on from there. She got me hooked. And then,” Eddie clears his throat and wipes at his face. It’s fine. He’s fine. It just hurts. It always does. “When it happened. When I lost her. I just… I wanted to keep her with me. It makes me think of her. So. That’s why. Tea every night.”

Buck wipes at his face, too, and then motions for Eddie to come closer until their foreheads are touching. His hand gently curves around the back of Eddie’s neck and keeps them tethered together. “I know I can’t replace what you lost. Nothing can make up for that. But you do have me now. Just like I have you. I’m here, I’ll be here as long as you want me to be.”

Eddie wants to believe that. God, does he want to believe that. He pulls away slightly, just enough so he can leave a kiss on Buck’s wet forehead. 

Buck makes a soft sighing noise like a happy, purring radiator. And Eddie can’t help wondering what he might sound like if Eddie kissed him on the mouth. 

Not if. When. What will he sound like when Eddie kisses him for real?

[incarnateirony]

If you are old enough to remember your local low-wave TV stations programming circa 1996-2004, that's about what you can expect as phase one of the Nexstar packaging transition.

The Safe List remains the same: AA, AAH, TW, and again flip a coin on Kung Fu right now depending on a variety of weird conditions I don't want to get into in this post. Skull and crossbones any other scripted originals and wait for post-holiday to grab the other top ones, likely GK, S&L. Skull and crossbones most others. Then watch upfronts for pilots.

Just to give a refresher, at that point most weekday slots were a healthy blend of sitcoms, largely but not exclusively black. White sitcoms were on networks like ABC (home improvement), whereas your local WB or UPN or both was a broader rainbow of entertainment you could say.

Some white dramas and even scifi shows were meddled with in the era, but only a few truly standout performers started popping out, like Smallville, and eventually in model, Supernatural. Buffy. ORIGINAL Charmed. These are the kind of shows that survived *into* the CW merger, while the other entertainment evaporated. And, unfortunately due to a variety of cultural, corporate, location and other things, TV became white, and the corporation that kidnapped the airspace had a very white lens by which they declared representation fair, broken off like bread heels and portioned rations rather than dominating.

But still. Before that became *all* there was, it was a really nice mix, a lot of you may remember. And those (often black) sitcoms cost even less to make than those nice dramas. Give Tyler Perry a million dollars an episode, SEE what he does with it while Walker has that slip through its fingers like crumbs to not even hit the same numbers.

That's why GK moved to Atlanta, really. I mean, it also helps Misha juggle filming for both, but then simply look at the fact that there's a Both. New Orleans works off an Atlanta engine and even shares a stretch of IATSE crew (it's the strip that hit my Alabama area too). But also per my reblogs, most of WB's current development space is in Assembly Atlanta right now, and this is their only remaining airspace to cling to. CBS can still bail to, well, CBS.

So I mean, basically WB is in house for Gray and using all local services so i mean. do whatever. But these are the shows that get to call keepsies and then enjoy them sitcoms rolling in, mostly from these Atlanta studios.

NBC has a similar pipeline but on less hostile conditions, because NBC realized they were sleeping on the black demo holding up television while white people flee to play in streaming, mostly due to lack of social equity, which causes different community and fiscal/entertainment behaviors. Read as: they still turn on real TV with friends and family while you guys flip through amazon boredly.

That's why AA just shit on everything else, and didn't collapse when the SPN demo got betrayed and boycotted. They didn't care. It used to be their fuckin airspace so they held for their show and guess who's coming back name by name to run this shit here name dropping who or working from where. kekekekekekekekek

It's. TBS. In. A. CW. Jar.

[kidmachinate]

Do It Later

**no picture, it won't let me put one in, plus this post is long overdue...I'll do it later...**

There are consequences to waiting almost always. The black and white way to look at it is time doesn’t come back. We can’t apply that to everything you might say. Perhaps this isn’t fair. Life doesn’t care about what isn’t fair. This post could have been a million different things and in self-reflection, I was wondering if it was time for a mix of life/gaming post or a strictly gaming impressions/review post, or even reflecting on recently seeing The Super Mario Bros. Movie. All of these things have crossed my mind, but what have I done? I decided to do it later. Maybe these posts will happen, maybe they won’t. Many times, this means we won’t. If we do it later, we make a conscious choice, for whatever it applies to, that it isn’t important. It can wait. If we keep doing this, we show whatever it is we are putting off is not just put a pin in it, but it is not important at all. Making this choice with select life events or people in your life is a literal path to failure at worst or in a hard to come back from situation at best.

There’s several different ways I can go with this. We all procrastinate to some extent. For me, I’ll be honest and say I wish I had gotten into investing earlier. It’s scary to think that had I never gotten involved in a previous job, which led me to interest in alternative markets, which years later would lead me to traditional markets. It inspired me to get into investing. I think constantly what if I did this for a decade longer? What if I stayed with my parents a few more years and put this knowledge to work? Maybe I should have forced myself to get my recent car sooner as continued to put money into a dying vehicle. I can’t worry about this all now. I can only change the present going into the future.

Another big scenario for me is deciding to have key conversations with people I care about. I lack boundaries. This is a huge mistake. It leads to people thinking anything goes. It doesn’t benefit you because you’re always torn between whatever needs people have and it doesn’t benefit the person you’re enabling because they don’t learn anything. You make the boundaries to make sure this doesn’t happen and to learn self-respect as well. Confrontation is also hard…mostly. I’m all for standing what it right, but who wants to confront someone and make things awkward because you know how things are going to play out? Do it anyway, right? Well, yes. You have to know who is going to respect you and who isn’t. Everyone is selfish to some extent and you may find yourself disappointed with the results. Maybe when having a conversation you get put into the do it later category. That’s one thing if this means someone needs time to process or think things over. It is another is this is simply evasion or an attempt to take advantage of ones potential goldfish brain. Time will pass and we will simply forget what concerned you magically goes away. Like the above, this has consequences. I need to make proper firm boundaries. This won’t be a problem anymore. However, I put it in the do it later category all the time.

How about that good old gaming backlog for the gamers out there? Do you have Steam? Do you like sales? Are you ever gonna play those ten to a hundred plus games you forgot you even bought? We all know the answer. This won’t stop you from getting the latest Call of Duty though will it? You can always just play the other stuff later. How about “always being busy”? That’s fine but quite possibly a distraction of sorts from the outside or social relationships. You’ve told people you might care about continuously they are in the do it later category. I hope that sacrifice pays the rent at the very least, or time management might need to be in the do it now category.

In many walks of life, we don’t have a later. So much demanding our attention now. Work, kids, school, car repairs, various holiday parties to keep appearances with the family, the list goes on. The entirety of adulting 101 (paying bills and not being homeless, on a basic level). We can’t do it all right now, but we have to truly separate now from later and realize that not everything can be in either category. If you mix them up, you’re gonna struggle with who you even are as a person. Our kids have time. Us millennials, sure being woke might be “cool” but we ourselves need to wake up. Our time is limited. Tell someone you love them today and truly decide what is important. Some of what you decide isn’t is perfectly fine. We need to do better however about putting too many important things in the do it later category…because do it later many times leads to do it never. Control the fire and rise. Don’t continue to use it to burn bridges.

[annaphoenix1994]

Masterlist!

October 7th - Michael Makes You a Festive and Spooky Dinner

Michael of your Choosing!

How you hated working a retail job, especially towards the end of the year when most of the festivities and holidays are closer together.

Some days, you got home right on time. And other days, you had to stay over for a half hour to provide coverage on a register while waiting on the next cashier to come in.

Due to this, you were unable to check your phone every time you felt it buzzing.

Whether it being Michael or one of your friends, you just couldn't do it.

When the store was slow, you took the opportunity to check your phone and open the text message Michael had sent you, which wasn't often as he truly hated a phone, but he liked to communicate with you and you figured giving him one of your older phones would help him as it took him forever to come out of his shell and actually speak to you.

He simply asked you when you were coming home and you could only reply with "I'm waiting on the next cashier to get here so I can leave. Probably another hour."

He hated when your job seemed to take advantage of you, but he desperately tried to understand.

Roughly an hour later, you were relieved to see the cashier come in to relieve you from the register. Clocking out in a rush, you were desperate to get home and start on dinner.

Once home, you immediately took note of a warm and nostalgic smell coming from inside as you opened the door. Michael was cooking?

"Michael? I'm home!" You announced, removing your shoes off of your feet at the door and setting down your purse.

He didn't reply to you, but you continued into the kitchen to see him stirring whatever it was he had put into the crock pot.

You smiled, leaning up against the doorframe to watch him. Whatever he was making looked and smelled very good, especially what was in the oven.

"Whatcha making?" You asked, surprised that you startled him.

He set the wooden spoon on the nearby napkin before coming over to greet you, kissing your temple before replying, "I went hunting."

You gasped, praying he was joking, pushing him away from you before he started laughing. "Relax, I'm just kidding. Vegetable soup."

"I don't know if I trust you now." You giggled before watching him go to the trash can to show you that he used cans of vegetables and a can of corned beef.

"I'd never do that," He shook his head. "Who do you think I am? Dahmer?"

"I'd sure hope not."

"I mean, I've done my fair share of bad things, but the things he did...wow. I remember reading about him when I was, you know, locked up."

"Whatcha got in the oven?"

"Cinamon streusel cake."

"Wow, you made that all yourself?" You asked, knowing you didn't have any cake mix of that stature in your pantry.

"Yeah... after I figured out how to use Google." He chuckled.

"I'm sure it'll be delicious."

"You got home just in time. It's almost done. Go get settled in and I'll have a bowl waiting on you. Figured we could watch a movie tonight if you wanted to."

"Of course, Michael."

Seriously, how was this man so perfect for you?

[crackajackmac]

As a kid, Easter meant two things: getting kicked out of Sunday school for asking what Jesus had to do with eggs, chocolate, and bunnies and wandering what the hell we were going to do with all the eggs. Just like most kids my neighborhood, my brother and I made a morning of dying eggs all sorts of mix-matched colors and experimenting with making the coolest looking egg. We’d have fun going about the yard and counting them up afterwards (as we’d occasionally forgotten one until it made itself known in summer). However, from there, we wanted nothing to do with the little things. They didn’t taste good, they smelled funny, and, worst yet for myself, they were eggs.

However, wasted food is a crime in my house, even now. So I had to get creative. While some like Easter eggs with a little bit of salt and nothing else, I don’t. Eggs are my least favorite food item on it’s own. Always has been. But that doesn’t mean they can’t be turned into something tasty with a little bit of innovation. So, here’s some ways to use those hard boiled fertility bombs this plagiarized holiday.

-Egg Salad

Typically made with just some eggs, mayo, and seasonings, it’s a versatile, creamy spread that’s great for sandwiches, on it’s own for some, and even on toast with a bit of avocado!

-Devilled Eggs

The go-to for many of us, devilled eggs also utilize mayo and various seasonings – maybe some pickle – to make the yolks and their soft outer vessels more palatable. They are highly versatile, allowing for all sorts of experimentation and flavor profiles to be achieved with little effort and expense. In fact, in one of the links below, there’s a recipe for someone who tried something straight out of a county fair: fried devilled eggs.

-Breakfast Hobo Packet

Hey, I’m not above some hobo packets. Something straight out of my childhood, it’s a struggle meal with a history for a lot of people. Aluminum foil, source of heat, and some ingredients make some tasty little self-contained meals. Typically, one could use raw eggs, but using the hard boiled variety takes the guess-work out of wondering if everything’s cooked all the way for nervous first-time cooks or those on the go.

-Cobb Salad

Let’s be honest: people will make a salad out of anything. And the most popular use of hard boiled eggs for the health conscious is the well-known cobb salad, typically garnished with eggs, ham, and a smattering of shredded cheese alongside whatever dressing they deem necessary to make the greens edible.

-Potato Salad

Some people forget the creamy texture hard-boiled eggs can bring to things. While one could go low-tech and make some egg salad, one extra ingredient can make it more filling and last longer: potatoes. Being the most versatile vegetable of all time, potatoes can make anything stretch in your fridge and go with just about anything, including Easter eggs.

That’s it for now! Check the links below for more ideas and recipes. Come back for another helping of Crackajack+Mac whenever your feeling hungry. Eat well and see you next time.

https://www.tasteofhome.com/collection/recipes-using-leftover-hard-boiled-eggs/

https://www.southernliving.com/food/dairy/eggs/recipes-with-hard-boiled-eggs

[arrowverse-next-gen]

December prompts: Dessert/Food

Growing up in the Queen household, the kids knew one thing about coming home for the holidays; don't bring home food. Any food you might think would be a great addition to whatever holiday you're celebrating, or casual family dinner you're attending, it has more than likely already been prepared and put in the freezer to be defrosted when everyone arrives. However, one of the kids refuse to accept this fate and instead chooses to bring food anyway.

Without fail, every single gathering, it's Bex.

Being at the Queen mansion almost every night from the ages between five months and sixteen years old, she was raised on Oliver's cooking. And now that she's older and is considered a part of the family on a more personal level than everyone else is, self titled, she decided that she would take all that she learned and make things for Oliver to thank him. It started with a plate of cookies when she was seventeen. They were dry, didn't last very long without going stale, and she could taste the extra salt she accidentally spilled into the batter while mixing, but it was the thought that counted.

She was older now, almost 25 and working a full time shift at the hospital while still attending school, other hobbies, and the night life that the family seems to adore more than any other career, but she still wanted to keep up the tradition. This year, she planned on making homemade dumplings. Not exactly the dessert she would always bring to the table, and not exactly fitting for a casual family dinner consisting of chicken and potatoes, but she was determined to make it work.

All week, she would come into work with a few samples to hand out to the nursing staff to get their opinions, promising that they weren't poisoned because if they were even slightly under cooked, she would throw them out before anyone could claim them as her creation. And for the first half of the week, she kept getting the same response about being too doughy. It was a fair judgement, but she couldn't find a way around it to save her own life. On Thursday, Q had suggested maybe not making the wrapping from scratch and just buying the box that was pre-made. As long as the filling was from her, then it could still be her creation. This comment made her more frustrated because she felt like he didn't believe in her ability to make the wrapping, which he didn't after watching her fail for a week, but it also filled her with the motivation she needed to get it right.

Friday morning she felt confident in the dumplings she had made and brought them to the family dinner later in the evening. The hardest part about Friday was making sure she made enough food for everyone, even though this was just a little side treat that maybe a handful of people would pay attention to. But she wanted to prove to Oliver, though he never openly doubted her, that she could handle the job just the same.

Once at the mansion, Bex stood proudly by the tray of food and tried to convince Ada to tell people to eat them.

"I worked on them all week, you can't sucker like four of your siblings into trying it?"

"I've already given Owen like six, he's gonna start questioning it," Ada told her with a slight laugh as she looked out to her family all circling a large table to find their appropriate seating. No one had assigned seats, but everyone had a preference of who they wouldn't mind eating right beside.

"Has he judged them at all?"

"Owen!" Ada called out, catching her younger brother's attention over the crowd every easily. He walked over shortly after. "Do you like the dumplings Bex made?"

Owen looked at the plate, then at Bex who was smiling up at him as if she was waiting for a high praise. "They're not bad."

Her face dropped to confusion. "Not bad? Not bad how?"

"They taste like normal dumplings?" He seemed afraid to go into detail, but it also seemed like he didn't have much to add to his statement.

"Like Dad would make?" Ada looked at him and elbowed his arm.

"Honestly, Dad never really got them down. I'd say these are better."

Bex's smile returned. "Thank you, I worked all week to get it right."

"She was dying for approval," Ada added.

"Why didn't you just give her approval?" Owen looked at his sister, she shrugged.

"I'm not a big dumpling girl," she said before walking towards the table to steal a seat next to Eliza before someone else could.

[sabineelectricheart]

Drunken Hike to the Dorm Room

Summary: Hartmann overindulges at a party and Aurora must take him back to his room in safety. Through their journey, tongues grow loose.

Rating: T - Suitable for teens, 13 years and older, with some violence, minor coarse language, and minor suggestive adult themes.

Words: 1000

Notes: Anyone still hungover from the Holidays?

"No. No, don't laugh at me, Aurora. The one time I get piss drunk and you're already making fun of me?!” Eugene complains, slurring his vowels, so very unlike his usual composed and posh speech.

Aurora wants to shake her head and laugh even more, but she supposes that she can have some sympathy for the nerd’s plight that evening. One can only hold their alcohol with grace when they are eased into it, through many experiences throughout their lives. She has her doubts on whether her flatmate has even smelled booze before, not to say actually drunk it. It was inevitable for something like that to happen.

To also be fair, she did not expect for Eugene to have any interest in joining them that evening when they started their little party. Zui had had a success or another with his lacrosse team, so it meant that it was a perfect excuse to get piss past drunk on a weeknight. Max smuggled the bottles and Delacroix managed the aperitifs, and it was on.

On those occasions, their prefect would sneer at them, call them irresponsible for flaunting so shamelessly the school regulations and, if he was on a good mood, he would shut the blinds on his four-poster and sleep it off until next morning at the earliest. If he was on a bad mood, though, he would venomously threaten calling the head teacher unless they shut down the party, on which occasions they would usually take their celebration somewhere else.

He never said that he wanted to join them before. He never gave a single indication that he ever wished to be a part of their regular night-time entertainment, if anything, considering his usual scathing remarks about it, he has signalled plenty of times how he wanted nothing to do with them and their behaviour.

Not tonight, though.

Tonight, when Max jokingly asked whether he wanted to join in their little soirée, Eugene smiled placidly and said, “Sure. How much do I owe you for the beverages?”

It was then and there that Aurora knew that nothing good would be coming out of it, and she certainly had a point.

At first, everything was going on well. Conversation was flowing, there was no accusations and no frustrations to be raised. The prefect had his first cup of beer, one which he cradled forever until Zui had to point it out to everyone. He promptly chugged it and asked for another.

Then another, then he started to mix alcohol, and then it all came ridiculously undone when, as he tried to walk over to the table to refill his cup with whatever, he tripped over his own feet and took the entire bar down with him, effectively putting an end to the party.

After angry remarks and lots of mocking laughter, Aurora helped him to his feet and led him back to his dorm room, slowly and steady, and with regular intervals for puking breaks along the way.

“I’m absolutely humiliated! It’s not like I haven't had enough of a mockery of myself tonight! What I’m even going to do?" Eugene grumbled, causing his guide to laugh at him again.

"Alright, alright. I am sorry." She pauses, pushing the slick cowlick resting unusually messy on his head behind his sweaty and blanched forehead momentarily to press a light kiss there. "I just don't get what happened with you tonight, it’s all. You're usually the one who's always talking care of us, never wanting a drop and not sleeping until we're all tucked safely in bed."

“You noticed that?” He asked, truly surprised.

Aurora laughs richly. “Of course! You always take such good care of us and I really appreciate it. It’s not as if the bottles would throw themselves on the trash so we don’t trip them in the morning, now do they?”

Eugene sighs softly, the alcohol still swirling his thoughts around. "Egads, I love you so much."

He dropped his head, his eyes blinking rapidly to stay awake.

The girl smiles sweetly at her friend. "I love you too, Eugie, you doof. I just don't see how that correlates with anything we’re talking."

Eugene huffs, in both frustration and self-importance, a pride that roars especially when it is so wounded.

"I mean I'm in love with you." His cheeks immediately burn up, his mind is not nearly sober enough to shut up though. "I have been for a while, too, and seeing you with, with… Going out with those dudes and going out and staying out all night doing whatever, it just… It just got me all fucked up here because..."

The brunet prefect trailed off, getting lost on the sentence that he wanted to convey, getting lost on the raging feelings on his heart. He runs his hands through his head while strands of his increasingly messy hair spilled beautifully in a more natural position than his usual slicked back coif.

Right now, on the chiaroscuro of the moonlight against the cavernous hallway, of the dishevelled appearance and the honest tone of his voice, Aurora understands that she has never found him this attractive.

"You're in love with me?" She asks him dryly.

When Eugene does not answer because he is stuck mid headache and drunken thoughts, she takes his chin in your hands and direct his face to hers. She repeats the question and let it sit for a while as she processes this newfound titbit of relevant information.

"Oh, Eugie! Did you really have to be drunk to tell me this?" She asked, a loving frustration painted all over her expression.

"Yeah, because I always mess everything…" He tried to respond to her question properly, his words slurring out more than ever.

Aurora cuts him off, though, pulling his chin closer until their lips were firmly connected.

Eugene sucked a deep breath and excitement fills his heart. He may be stupidly drunk, but he is sure that he shall never forget it.

Not ever.

*_*_*_*_*

Crème de la Crème Masterlist

[oreramar]

Florist Talk: Mother's Day

Given when I'm writing/posting this, it felt too topical to skip for later.

As always, I'm writing this at least in part with the idea that anyone writing their Florist AU can use it as a reference point for framing their story or throwing into dialogue. Whenever the Florist Blorbo comes up, I shorten it to Florbo.

Also, as always, whatever info I have to share is gonna be anecdotal and colored by the experience I have myself (US, smaller town, etc). Some stuff might work differently in other countries or larger population centers.

So! It's May and the Florbo is preparing for the second biggest florist working holiday of the year: Mother's Day (US, CAN, AUS, NZ according to my wall calendar). Unlike Valentine's Day, this always falls on a Sunday, and there's a lot more flexibility in terms of when a customer might want the flowers delivered - most of them go out from the preceding Thursday to Saturday, but occasionally orders will be made for the Wednesday before or even the Monday after.

Note here that the shop I work for is typically closed on Sundays, and it doesn't make an exception for Mother's Day. Other shops might - I don't know well enough to say one way or another. Write whatever makes sense to you for that aspect of it.

Another Difference from V-Day is the types of flowers: there's kind of a lot more variety. People still get roses sometimes but most flowers sold are just colorful variety mixes. That being said there's a possibly-regional thing were certain groups - churches, mostly, around here - advance-order huge numbers of carnations to hand out to mothers in said groups. I'm talking like 150 here, 120 there, sort of numbers. These have to be ordered in, counted out, and set aside in reserve for them about a week ahead just to make sure there's enough for both these massive orders and for general florist use.

So all that aside, what do these days look like for the Florbo, moment to moment? Let's start here, beneath the cut as it got long:

The Friday before Mother's Day (48 hours remain): Florbo arrives early. So does extra staff. If Florbo has friends and contacts and former workers still in the area they might have agreed to work for a couple of days, answering phones, handling front counter/store space, driving deliveries, or making arrangements if they know how. This day does not run on normal staffing arrangements.

You start the day making the stuff you either didn't finish the day before or stuff that came in online overnight, as well as stuff called and ordered in throughout the morning for the same day. Drivers are going going going, back to back trips. If Florbo owns the shop or manages it, it's possible they aren't arranging much flower stuff themselves - they might be too busy coordinating and organizing everybody else just to keep things moving mostly smoothly.

The printer always chooses the busiest time to jam up, run out of ink, or otherwise cause problems. This is a law of the universe.

Lunch breaks are short. There is not time for someone to disappear for an hour, not this day. The nicest thing a character can do is bring snacks/drinks for everyone working, so keep that in mind if you want another blorbo involved in the story to do something sweet for the Florbo (and company).

Once you start running low on same-day orders you can begin working on next-day (Saturday) orders. If a same-day order comes in then it gets immediate priority, though, especially as the day wears on. Anything coming through the phones can be redirected to the next day by the people answering said phones but internet stuff can be trickier if you don't have (or know) a convenient way to lock customers out of choosing same-day after a certain time.

Generally speaking, any orders made the day before will be delivered first (morning) and any orders made the same day will be delivered last (afternoon/evening). This is to keep it as fair as possible.

For some reason there always seems to be someone who decides to call on this day to order something to go to someone at a school which means dropping everything else to get whatever it is into a delivery van before school lets out for the day. >:(

Lack of forethought on a customer's part so often becomes an emergency on a florist's, I swear.

Between the sheer volume of stuff being made and delivered on Friday, for Friday, and the stuff that has to be made on Friday, for Saturday, this is the day Florbo is likeliest to go home late. How late depends on how popular the shop is and how much help they have and so on. It's not unusual to just leave the last few orders you have to do for the next morning.

It's also not unusual to start running out of flowers during this day! Florbo will likely have to figure out what's going down fastest and order more of it by early afternoon so it'll arrive in the mail the next day - if the wholesaler is far enough away, that is. If Florbo has a shop in the same town/city as their source(s) then I imagine this might be a bit faster.

This brings us to--

The Saturday before Mother's Day (24 hours remain): An early start again, but for some reason it's usually a little quieter while still early; it can take a while for phones to start ringing this morning. My best guess is that nobody is awake at 8am on a Saturday unless they are forced to be.

There's still probably internet orders to sift through from after closing the night before though so a slow start on the phones does not mean a slow start for the designers.

Now, this might just be my experience, but this day is never as intensely busy as the day before, and while incoming orders might flow in the later morning, not long after noon they tend to slow to a trickle if not stop altogether. In fact, aside from drivers who stay busy all day just catching up with the volume of stuff made the day before, the shop's activity tends to shift from "take orders, make flowers" to "clean up and make sure the last bunches of stuff go out properly" halfway through.

Mid-afternoon or so is when you get a handful of people calling to ask if the thing they ordered got delivered yet. Late afternoon, near closing, is when the shop people start calling anyone who ordered a pickup to make sure that they didn't forget about it or something.

While Florbo may stay late on Friday, there's every chance of getting to close up and leave on time on Saturday, barring anything unusual coming up at the last minute.

That is, more or less, the regular breakdown. Other stuff can be added to the mix, though. For example, drawing from experience:

Teacher's Week, Nurse's Week, and Mother's Day (Week) are all the same damn week. Rest in pieces, Florbo, and best of luck when someone wants to give their mom who is also a teacher or a nurse something extra special.

There's a funeral. Two funerals. Three funerals, all on that weekend. Mother's day flowers weren't enough, Florbo also has to make two casket sprays and like a dozen large funeral pieces.

Someone forgot to order their hundred carnations the week before and now Florbo gets to see if it's even possible to source those on short notice. The answer might very well be no, unless they can manage a small miracle.

A final note to ponder:

A Florbo will have a relatively easy time making flowers for their own mom(s) (assuming such are alive and well and local to the area), but what is to be done if the Florbo is themselves a mom? I don't know what the Florbo demographic is to be fair, so this might only be a question to consider if A) any child is old enough to buy flowers, or B) a partner would buy flowers on the child's behalf. If so, do they buy the flowers from the Florbo directly? Do they sneak the order to a coworker/employee to do in secret? Do they skip the flowers and do something else entirely? Is this not even a factor and the Florbo just gives themselves flowers as a treat? There is characterization work to be done here. Have fun.

[collectalong]

one thing in the digital world Moufette has come to notice is that if a holiday exists; Caine is no doubt ready to celebrate it && shove it in everyone's face. just another attempt to make the members feel less alienated from their original home no doubt. normally, the mime avoids this one in particular, for very obvious reasons.

but this time, they wanted to give it a try - with the aided help of a certain host that was more than happy to see one of his stars warm up to the event.

“ ... ragatha ? ” it's a meek call for attention, clearly holding something behind her back. though the moment attention is on them they can't help but avert their gaze to the floor. refusing to make eye contact when they finally hold up the object in question.

a heart shaped box. black as night, tied shut with a white ribbon and decorated in red little flowers. most assuredly filled with chocolate treats.

“ this does not have to be accepted, I simply wanted to try coming out of mon room this time... and f-felt that, ah— if I were to make chocolates for anyone here, it would be you. ”

valentine's... this time of year, similar questions tend to pop up in ragatha's head. did she ever have a valentine, before all this? someone to call her love? like many other things, she just can't figure it out.

the digital world has had its fair share of couples from the meager cast that shifts and swaps about. each had their own quirks, and while it was nice to see hope like that in this... whatever this is—it never ended well.

then again, every romance ends in loss, digital or no. that's just the dice you roll.

half the circus isn't interested in this holiday. a waste of energy, zooble called it once. ragatha knows moufette avoids this day like the plague. at first, she'd tried to coax her out with treats, but, well—everyone deserves their privacy. probably wouldn't be right to force festivities on the poor skunk.

(...is moufette's avatar a skunk? ...you know what. not important.)

it's a surprise, then, to see her friend outside their room. ragatha gasps a little. already, she beelines for moufette.

"oh! aha - moufette! i, didn't think you'd be joining us again...!" ragatha greets him with a smile, trying not to be overbearing. "we were doing this um, paper heart collect-a-thon thing, mixed with valentine card making, so...oh?"

the box, another surprise. a cartoonish blink, all nerves melt away.

"me?" it's a gentle syllable, not forced like her usual pleasantries. a smile comes back, softer in its polygons. "oh, moufette...! you shouldn't have..."

now she feels a little awkward, not having done anything for them...

"well, now i definitely have to do something for you! stay here. i'll make you something back! i-it's the least i could do to, make you feel welcome...!"

really, the possibility it was romantic hadn't even breached her mind. but the point is, she loved it.

[zorilleerrant]

wtf are you talking about Talia is literally canonically Chinese. like yeah they retcon her race constantly and who fucking knows what race Ra's is supposed to be (he really strikes me as a white guy from Connecticut) but her mother is supposed to be Chinese. she's half Chinese half whatever Ra's is (generically Middle Eastern in context I think). Damian is a quarter Chinese. and that's not even considering how many people of MENA descent consider themselves asian because it's considerable and it's not fair to say he's not asian just because you categorize people differently than they categorize themselves. Damian is definitely asian.

also. Cass is mixed race. it's not fair to talk about the mixed heritage of the boys and then just blow off Cass who is half white, which is very important from the standpoint of a) she was raised by her white father completely alienated from her asian heritage and b) looking ambiguously asian or not completely asian is very isolating among both white and asian crowds and her whole story is about isolation and alienation.

Dick's Romani heritage is a retcon that was done in a very offensive way and is taken even further to be offensive in fanon, which also serves to erase his heritage as a Jewish character in the sense of being created by Jewish artists to tell Jewish stories. like if you want him to be Romani fine great but research more because this whole 'yeah he's part of a secret cabal that steals children and experiments on them to achieve immortality' is terrible on both counts.

Jason is racially ambiguous in that he considers it a possibility that he's descended from various nonwhite people, indicating he either looks nonwhite or thinks of himself as nonwhite. that combined with changing racial demographics in the real world equivalent of where he grew up mean that many authors are telling stories about his childhood with nonwhite racial heritage as an important point.

Tim is not 'usually white'. he's racially unmarked in a way that's only read as white because of white default. he looks exactly the same as the way explicitly asian characters are drawn. he doesn't talk about his european heritage or about how he has white privilege or anything where whiteness would be important to that experience the vast majority of the time. there's nothing less canonical about saying he's asian or mixed or any other heritage people want to give him, because his heritage just does not come up in the comics. also, he's the character who explicitly says 'happy holidays' instead of 'merry christmas' so there's actually more canonical evidence that he's Jewish than other characters of ambiguous religion.

Steph is white and Duke is black and that's pretty well established in the text, but there's also nothing to say they don't have mixed race heritage or ties to majority asian cultural/religious communities or anything like that. comics don't go into characters' backgrounds much anymore, so Duke just doesn't have that much established, and Steph has been sidelined a lot when that sort of story had the chance to come up.

if you're going to fucking whitesplain comics to me at least give a shot at using canonical evidence

[lalalovezfrenchfriez]

I guess because I have no fear people will steal this (and if they do it’s a home brew…like…whatever) and I know my players will probably not even go for these missions and ruin it I am here to share a few npc quests and lore they will encounter before their fight with the BBEG

Vampires are a small clan in the mountains in the West that protect Orcs, Trolls and Goblins (OTGs) that have been prosecuted by more “humanoid” races. These vampires are resurrected beings and have been treated fairly humanly by the OTGs despite their bat like features. As a token of appreciation they protect the OTGs with only an ask for a large mansion for them to sleep in, and a daily dose of fruit that they devour (only the most drugged out vampires drink blood, it’s mostly wizards turned vampires) OTGs often let wanderers and explorers find the vampires and do not warn them, leaving a trail of skeletons to the vampires’ lair…

There is an expansive and HOT desert in the middle of the map for only about 5 miles, where the players will find large, tall….DINOSAURS?! Unfortunately the Fae, keepers of balance by the Deity’s word in the world, are there to exterminate the dinosaurs. Under The Deity’s eyes, the dinosaurs are not necessary in the world anymore, and must be killed with a natural disaster

A Fae in it’s homeland (a small area in the north east) that houses a Celestial Angel in its quarters, only for the players to find out the Fae and Angel are in love and are planning to run away from their duties to The Deity (heresy!) they know no matter what, they are willing to fight for their love…even if they are killed

There are Three Human kingdoms in the middle of the East and West, going down in order: The Wallowed, The Wondered and The Wild.

The Wallowed is a kingdom without a king, for once every winter solstice, do they welcome their King back: The Bone King! A joyous holiday is celebrated as the King’s bones are brought back by a mysterious magic and he rules his kingdom in its darkest times with a fit of pure childish joy! (He’s heavily based off of Jack the Skeleton King BUT COME ON ITS SO CUTE CHECK OUT THE WALTZ OF THE BONE KING BY PETER GUNDRY)

The Wondered is the Middle Kingdom, a trade path between the West to East and home to those who need shelter from Wars. The prince who rules this kingdom longs for his princess, and rumors speculate it may be the *gasp* fairy princess!?

The Wild, the lowest kingdom near the outskirts jungles of the south, with the Dinosaur Desert above them to separate from the Wondered, is ruled by an old yet generous Queen, who was once rumored to be a nymph for her connections to the Ani-folk (part animal part human, aka centaurs, Catfolk, Bugfolk, u get it) for her kindness to them to settle out wars, and her peace with them. While many of the human kingdoms have their fair share of distrust with Anifolk, the Wild Kingdom never strays or closes its arms to the smile of an Anifolk.

Separated by grudges and pettiness, the Wizard and Witch clans are on opposite sides of the world (Wizards West, Witches East) and whatever one the players meet upon, they meet a pair of twins (Kori, witch and Cory, wizard ) who are magical and were separated by the distrust of both. They need to pass messages upon to each other to meet at the Wondered kingdom for their freedom and reunion, and if is only up to the players to help.

The players encounter a troll, Jayne who invites them to the underground cities that the OTGs hide out in from their oppressors, only to realize they are not welcome because the OTGs never let outsiders inside their cities! Can the players come up with a good excuse to stay inside, and ease their distrust?

And finally, two silly ideas to play around with as the player’s journey comes to a close:

A Tentacle Seafolk (sea creature human mix) who wants the head of a Dragonborn (dragon human mix) for biting off her lover’s head, Krilliam. I find the name Krilliam hilarious. And the Tentacle Seafolk blubbering over the loss of Krilliam amusing. Idk I’m God.

A Catfolk who is willing to help the players to the island to meet the BBEG as she wants to be a seafarer however she is TERRIFIED of water, however if the players can convince her they can pay her in fish and that she can definitely steer a boat, she will agree. funny cat sailor.

THAT IS ALL I HAVE TO SHARE TODAY!

this was super fun as I can’t rly spam my friends with this, but I know for a great fact my bf and my two best friends will appreciate this, even if this is their first time playing! I’ll probably go into their quest later if anyone is rly interested, but I’m glad I have a space to freely share this :,) love u guys!

[simgerale]

vivian ichor

a new heart throb amongst the sulani islands, known to lure men in with her silky voice and blood-red lips...

[breelandwalker]

Secular Celebrations - Midsummer

After Beltane comes Midsummer, which some also call Litha, mid to late June. I call it “probably already too hot to go outside.” I’m not exactly a summertime person to begin with and I live in Virginia, in the middle of a swamp. So the rest of you can enjoy Midsummer. I’m going to be spending it indoors where the air conditioning is.

Midsummer is the summer solstice, the middle of the growing season, the highest point of high summer. It’s a time to celebrate the hard work we’ve done, take a bit of ease while the weather is pleasant, and have a good romp before we have to start bringing in the harvests in August. If you work with solar magic or the Fair Folk, this is your holiday. Both of these themes run deep and strong through Midsummer, along with the urge to get outside and revel in the beauty of nature at peak flourish.

So enjoy Midsummer first and foremost by getting outside...if you can. If it’s too damn hot, yanno, be realistic. But at least make an effort if you enjoy the hotter weather and it’s not dangerous to be out. Go to your favorite park, maybe go to the beach, go hiking, go to a pick-your-own fruit farm, have a picnic, attend a fair or a carnival, do some stargazing. All this assumes a lot about public safety since we’re still living in the COVID era, so use your good judgement. If it’s not safe to be around crowds, try to focus on solo activities or things you can do in the safety of your home or your backyard.

This is another good time for herb-picking. If you have a garden, your plants should be producing by this point, and you can start pruning your plants and drying those trimmings for use in your craft. This is actually my favorite part of the summer. I love putting up those bundles of plants and flowers to dry, I love the look of them in my home, and I love the satisfaction of putting the dried material into jars for storage. And hey, if you’re not growing anything, you can still enjoy this by picking up fresh herbs from the supermarket or the local garden store and drying them.

You can also go herb gathering like I mentioned for Beltane, since different plants will be in season. Again, always observe permission and best practices if you’re going to do this. And always make sure you label your bundles and your jars for easy identification.

On a practical note, if you’re going to be doing things outside for Midsummer, always make sure you wear sunscreen and adequate clothing to avoid too much UV exposure, including a face covering. Remember to hydrate properly throughout the day, be careful with your alcohol intake, and if you start to feel tired or woozy, or if you stop sweating, get out of the sun IMMEDIATELY. Heat exhaustion and heat stroke are no joke, witches. Take care of yourselves out there.

And speaking of herbs and ways of keeping cool, one of the things I really enjoy doing in the summertime is making magical iced teas. I know some of my overseas listeners might be blinking in confusion right about now, so if you’ve never heard of this, let me enlighten you. In the US, particularly in the South, we’re very fond of iced tea. Now, that doesn’t mean cold tea, it’s tea that’s been sweetened and chilled, and it’s usually served over ice with lemon or mint leaves, depending on the recipe. This is a fun and easy herbal potion that anyone can make. You just need a pitcher of hot water, some herbal tea bags, some sugar or honey, and whatever flavorings you want to add.

Using several teabags or a big pouch of looseleaf tea, mix up a batch of tea that’s a little stronger than you’d usually make for a hot cuppa. Stir in sugar or honey until it’s as sweet as you like it - we usually go a step or two sweeter than you’d think. Then add whatever flavorings you like. And you can use just about anything for this. I’m partial to a nice blend of chamomile and peppermint with a good dollop of honey, or white tea with jasmine, or spearmint and elderflower, or hibiscus and raspberry. Lavender and lemon is another popular recipe, if you can get your hands on culinary lavender. (And yes, there IS a difference between lavender grown for the kitchen and lavender grown for aromatherapy purposes, so shop carefully.) Feel free to make drinks that correspond to magical purposes, too. Health, wealth, happiness, whatever you like. Sweet iced potions? Yes please!

This can be stretched to alcoholic drinks too, if you’re partial. I mean, what are we even doing with our craft if we’re not stirring spells into sangria or joining the midnight margarita club, right? My husband makes a delightful little cocktail he calls a Gardener’s Tonic - basically a gin and tonic with muddled sweet basil and lime juice and a slice of cucumber. Just make sure that when you’re enjoying your alcoholic alchemy, you’re doing so responsibly.

So once you’ve got your drink of choice and you’ve had a chance to relax, look to your homestead. Tend that garden, like I mentioned before. Attend to any pest problems you might be having, or any home repairs that might need doing. Try not to put things off. Once autumn arrives, you may find that you’re too busy. Reorganize your witchy supplies. If you’ve got new material or new tools coming in, try to declutter and get rid of anything that’s gone stale or sour, or anything that’s used up. Check your jars for signs of mold and give your accoutrements a good cleaning.

If you feel that kitchen witch itch, there’s a cream for that….it’s in the fridge next to the milk. (I apologize for NOTHING.) You can check on the beverages you started back around Beltane, or start a batch if you didn’t do one in the spring. You can start a sourdough, since that seems to be all the rage right now, or make preserves and jams with those early fruits and berries. Make food or homemade sweet with local produce and local honey. Oh and bless the bees and the pollinators while you’re at it! Bless their little hearts, they bring so much sweetness to the world, they deserve thanks for their hard work.

Midsummer is a big holiday for picnics, so if you can have one, definitely do it, even if it’s just on your back porch. If you happen to have a fenced yard and a tent to work with, maybe try an overnight campout just for fun. My dad used to do this all the time when my brother and I were kids. We’d set up a tent in the backyard, he’d drag out a TV and VCR on extension cords, and we’d stay up half the night watching movies and eating junk food. Hey, we were suburban kids, my dad’s idea of “roughing it” was having no remote for the TV. It was super fun, and if you can manage something like this, I definitely recommend it to witches with little ones. Lot of good memories there, if they’re inclined to such things.

Of course, summer isn’t all clear skies and sunshine. Sometimes it rains. But heck, that can be just as much fun. Apart from the obvious option of gathering the rainwater for magical purposes, have you ever gone out in the rain on purpose? When it’s warm out and the rain is coming down in nice fat drops and you’re wearing stuff that can stand a little soaking, few things are more fun than running around and getting absolutely drenched. I’ve got a few fond memories of walking in the woods during rainstorms with my bestie from middle school. There’s a saying that goes, “Life isn’t about avoiding the storms, it’s about learning to dance in the rain.” If there’s not a danger of lightning, I definitely recommend giving it a try. It’s really kind of exhilarating.

Midsummer is the longest day of the year. It’s the day when we see the most light, the earliest sunrise, the latest sunset. Meditate on how you can bring more light and positivity into your life, and how you can have a positive impact on the lives of others, on your community, and the world in general. Think about your productivity, your projects, your path to personal growth. How are things going? Is there anything that feels stuck that needs to be addressed? Where can you modify your outlook to something more optimistic, and where do you maybe need to take off the rose-colored glasses and be more of a realist? All things to contemplate while you’re sipping that magical iced tea potion.

Other Posts In This Series:

Imbolc

Spring Equinox

Beltane

Midsummer

Lughnasadh

Autumn Equinox

Samhain

Yule

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