#pumpkin night volume 7

[guro-man]

Pumpkin Night Chapter 63

Several years after the girl they bullied was sent to a mental   hospital, a group of former friends now have to try to survive while   being hunted down by that same girl who now wears a pumpkin mask and is hellbent on revenge

#pumpkin night #pumpkin night volume 7 #pumpkin night chapter 63 #naoko kirino #kazuya makino #manga #horror #horror manga #horror comics #Horror anime #slasher horror #slasher #fan translation #manga translation #manga recs #manga recommendation

[howlingday]

What's your favorite Jaune moment that still felt in character for him in fanfiction? One of my is an old bully when to punch Jaune in the nuts and the bully broke his hand. Jaune just didn't care and left.

So, funny enough, my favorite canon Jaune moment in fan fiction is often the one that gets canned. It's the scene where, during their first night at Beacon, Jaune is walking around in a Pumpkin Pete onesie. Everyone tries to take it out because "my Jaune isn't a little baby and he needs to be a grown-up" completely missing the point of the outfit in the first place.

Jaune wears his onesie BECAUSE he's still a kid. He's in WAY over his head and it's this onesie that proves it! Heck, it's still around all the way into Volume 2! Thinking on it, I don't know if he still has it. Far as we can tell, it probably got thrown out around the same time as the hoodie, according to the Anthology series, around the time of Vol 7.

Why do I like the onesie? Well, it's just such a funny moment for me that really sums up Jaune in the early Volumes well enough. As I said before, Jaune is in way over his head, but he's also got that nearly unshakable confidence to wear it around his peers. Probably my favorite fanart I saw was of him just strutting around in his onesie and Pyrrha gets a nosebleed knockout.

#rwby #jaune arc #character analysis #my thoughts #my answer #my answers

[ynbnevermore]

too little 4 all of it

ageretober day 6 ‘scary movies’ ; cg ot3, little soobin & yeonjun ; wc 1.8k

kai loves doting on his hyungs. teasing them, pinching their cheeks, baby-talking and aegyo-ing his way out of his things. he loves to see his hyungs groan in frustration at his antics. but it’s even better when his two eldest hyungs are not exactly the eldest anymore— but are regressed. yeonjun usually regresses older than soobin, around 5-7, meanwhile soobin sometimes regresses as young as 1 or just a couple months. kai still loves doting on them then too.

 it’s the halloween season and kai was the one to fill their dorm with fake pumpkins and leaf garlands. every time one member comes home, they should be expected to be hit with a whiff of caramel apple or pumpkin spice. kai loves the soft amber feeling of fall, but he also loves the horror and scare of halloween. he has been binge watching horror movies every single night on a too loud volume. taehyun, on the 2nd night, decided to go and sleep in the living room.

it’s the night of their day off and taehyun and beomgyu had agreed to join kai on his nightly binge of a horror movie. soobin and yeonjun did not. 

well, more like yeonjun didn’t agree. soobin had slipped earlier in the day and was still small. baby soobin really did want to watch the movie! but, yeonjun insisted that he was too little for it. and so, soobin decided to cuddle up in bed with yeonjun and mindlessly watch random videos that came up on their youtube feed and bad reality tv shows.

a couple hours later, soobin felt a little bit bigger than he did before. he noticed his dada had fallen asleep and he silently creeped out of bed. he turned the knob of the door and shut it so quietly, it barely made a creak. soobin heard the faint sound of some reality tv actor screaming at their colleague from behind the door. soobin turned around and faced the dark hallway. fear bubbled up in his chest but he swallowed it down and took a careful step forward. the floor creaked and soobin widened his eyes, thinking yeonjun was going to wake up and come out of the room to scold him. 

soobin kept walking and eventually made it into the living room, braving the adventure of passing by dark rooms and the shadowy figures that came within them. he heard the noises from the movie and couldn’t help but get a little excited. he really wanted to watch it earlier but yeonjun forced him to go to bed since he was scared and now he can! he peeked around the corner and then scurried to the couch, finding a place and cuddling up next to beomgyu and kai. he mindlessly stuck his thumb in his mouth and contentedly watched. the protagonist was now walking up the stairs of an old abandoned house and stupidly calling out, “hello? Anyone here?” and soobin couldn’t help but giggle. this drew the attention of beomgyu who then noticed soobin’s thumb in his mouth. He stroked his shoulder and whispered in soobin’s ear, “how old are you, baby?” soobin then held up his hand, proudly showing five fingers. beomgyu knew that he would be okay, and if it got too scary he would just take soobin back to his room. beomgyu looked over towards taehyun and kai, who’s eyes were lost in the screen and spaced out, completely focused on the movie. beomgyu scoffed and then saw soobin doing the exact same thing. he decides to let them be. 

  ๋ㅤ ࣭ ㅤ⭑  ☆ㅤ ๋࣭ㅤ ⭑

yeonjun wakes up in a dark room and hears the sound of wind and hail pellets beating against the window. he groggily rubs his eyes and whimpers. the last thing he remembers before falling asleep is the dance moms pyramid and soobin cuddling up really close. the tv is now showing the graphic of the lifetime logo bouncing around the screen. yeonjun feels a little bit disoriented at first, not knowing why he was here or where he even was. he then registers that he’s in soobin’s bed, and soobin is not here. it’s quiet, except for the buzzing of monitors and the tv. well, it’s quiet for at least a few moments. 

until, yeonjun hears an ear piercing screech from outside and what sounds like a knife stabbing someone. he covers his ears and whimpers. it is now that yeonjun’s consciousness realizes that he’s probably slipping into the mindset of a toddler. yeonjun feels really scared right now. he thinks he regressed younger than he usually does, it’s dark, and a roar of thunder is heard outside. yeonjun shuts his eyes, hoping for it to all go away. but it doesn’t. 

he decides to face his fear. and maybe find soobin. he keeps his hands over his ears and climbs out of the covers. he opens the door and ventures down the dark hallway, jumping at every shadowed room and piles of clothes that look like monsters. he can’t help but focus on the gruesome screams that are echoing from the tv.

tears form in his eyes as he reaches the end of the hallway and finally looks at the movie that has so many scary noises coming from it. as they fall down his cheeks, he quickly wipes them away and sniffles. he holds his breath and walks into the living room. everyone was there, except for him. yeonjun feels a little pathetic. he’s a little boy and he’s not watching a scary movie with all his friends? how much more pitiful can you get? he sighs out the breath he was holding and sits down between taehyun and kai. 

the movie has reached a not so bad scene now, the protagonist at lunch with someone who yeonjun presumes is a businessman. yeonjun cuddles up next to taehyun and rests his head on taehyun’s shoulder. his eyes wander around the room, just in case a jumpscare or something scary happens in the movie. his eyes land on soobin. he’s sucking his thumb and is engrossed in the movie. oh, soobie is little too? he thinks. that’s nice at least; to have someone else be regressed with him too. yeonjun sighs again and wiggles into a more comfortable position. he can feel taehyun’s warm sunshine smile shine down on him and he relaxes his nerves just a little bit.

but of course, yeonjun is never able to have peace. ever. the next scene the protagonist gets jumpscared by the businessman who has now morphed into the nightmare that she has been running away from for the entire movie. yeonjun jumps a little, and he feels himself slip farther. he knew this was a bad idea. but he had to stay. he can’t be alone in his room. he would much rather be scared and with his caregivers than alone. the next scene is even scarier, the girl is running throughout town and it seems like every citizen has been morphed into some sort of form of the scary creature. yeonjun covers his eyes. at this point, it’s too much. the girl screams and yeonjun’s dam breaks.

he is sent into wretched sobs and is hiding into taehyun’s side, trying to almost go behind him into the plush of the couch. he feels smaller than a toddler now. his demeanor is that of a baby.  the emotions and the intenseness of the movie was just too much for him. all the stress and just general anxiousness he had been feeling the past week had all been bottled up and just exploded. salty tears soak taehyun’s shirt and his arms. taehyun tries to caress yeonjun’s hair but the boy beneath him flinches, scared. the movie is paused but yeonjun can’t deal with the silence either. the stares on him bore into his soul and it’s piling up in his throat. yeonjun gets up from where he was cuddling into the couch and runs to the bathroom. he slams the door shut and throws himself onto the floor, choking on his sobs, unable to get the visions and flashbacks of the scenes out of his head. 

 ๋ㅤ ࣭ ㅤ⭑  ☆ㅤ ๋࣭ㅤ ⭑

kai looks at taehyun, taehyun looks at beomgyu, beomgyu looks at soobin. soobin whines. when yeonjun first came into the room, soobin could tell that he was little too but didn’t say anything as he was too invested in the movie. taehyun sighs and they all wordlessly get up from the couch. soobin hesitates, as he knows that he has to be the older brother now to yeonjun. he usually regresses much younger than yeonjun. but after being scared like that, soobin doubts that yeonjun is any older than a little baby. kai tugs at soobin’s shirt to get him to stand up and soobin pouts. he grabs a paci from the kitchen counter as they pass it to get to the bathroom. yeonjun probably needs it more than him. 

the bathroom door is creaked open and soobin sees yeonjun curled up in a fetal position on the floor, crying his eyes out. his heart twinges in guilt. he should’ve stayed and kept cuddling with yeonjun. maybe there was a deeper reason why yeonjun didn’t want soobin watching the movie. soobin watches as his hyungs crowd around his baby brother and he cringes. yeonjun needs space… he whines and flails around, almost punching kai in the face. soobin feels so bad, he needs to help yeonjun. thats his brother. his baby brother right now. “STOP!” he yells. it’s not directed at yeonjun, but at his hyungs. the room of overlapping affirmations of “you’re okay” and “it was just a movie, baby” came to a halt. he pushes through the trio and lays down with yeonjun, matching his position. he then sticks the pacifier inside his mouth, not saying a word. he then, still silent, holds up five fingers. yeonjun, understanding what soobin was conveying, holds up one finger. yeonjun is now significantly calmer now, sobs only reduced to a few tears and whines in just a matter of seconds. the trio watched the quiet exchange and realized that they were probably being a bit overbearing with yeonjun when he was in such a sensitive space. 

soobin spoke to yeonjun softly, “jjunie, no more scaries, okay?” his tone was babyish and the caregivers watching couldn’t help but smile at soobin taking on the role of older brother, despite being small himself. yeonjun nodded subtly and sat up, whining. he climbed into soobin’s lap, suckling on his paci. he then made grabby hands towards the trio, wanting them to cuddle too with him on the bathroom floor. they all came closer and yeonjun smiled a bit. he then cuddled more into soobin’s chest and closed his eyes. soobin patted his head and whispered, “sleepy?” yeonjun nodded again cutely and whined out, “night night. love you.” admittedly, there was some more discussion to do about yeonjun’s outburst at the movie so suddenly, but for now. for now, the trio and yeonjun’s older sibling were comfortable with just watching the baby sleep after being so overwhelmed. their little family, with their flaws, are perfect at knowing what they all need and how to take care of each other. 

#sorry gang this is bad #little txt #txt agere #txt littlespace #txt #txt age regression #txt fluff #age regression txt #agere txt #sfw txt #kpop agere

[toxin45]

Pumpkin Night Volume 7 cover revealed

Pumpkin Night Volume 7 cover revealed Yuki ogita the hacker fanboy of Pumpkin Night is on it comes out on October 14, 2022

#Pumpkin Night #Masaya hokazono #Seima Taniguchi #horror manga #Yuki Ogita #slasher manga

[dramatic-shitpost-poet]

Bumblebee millipede

Enclosure:

Their enclosure should not have a heat mat, they need a temperature of 72-82 degrees F (room temp)

Day and night cycle needed

Enrichment goes along with the substrate and can be dead leaves, decaying wood, branches, live leaves, fruits and veggies, driftwood, 

Substrate needs to be a few inches (2-4) and needs to have a base component and a food component

Base component: coconut fiber is best and this layer makes up most of the substrate volume. It is used for burrowing

Food component: the top layer the millipede will eat from and needs to be replaced more often. Dead leaves, decaying hardwood, organic compost material or compost soil can all be used

their enclosure should be misted daily, so they can drink the water droplets

They need “medium humidity” (60-80%) which means misting their enclosure daily. Substrate always needs to be moist, not damp with dechlorinated water

They can be housed together or alone, but they might breed if housed together

Floor space is more important than height and suggested size is 3x the body width and 2x the body size in depth

Good ventilation must be present

Deep cleanings are not needed, but daily spot cleaning is

Diet/Feeding habits:

They typically eat decaying leaf matter and can survive on the food component layer of substrate

It is beneficial to provide supplemental foods such as dry dog or cat food pellets, powdered calcium or powdered baby formula (powder should be once every month max)

Vegetables are also beneficial: cucumber, chicory, carrots, celery, tomatoes, etc.

Fruits are beneficial too: watermelon, apples, pears, cantaloupe, oranges, and pumpkin

Refresh the food whenever it is gone or every 3 days

Age identification:

Lifespan is an average of 7 years

They reach maturity in about a year or 2

Physical Traits:

Adult size is about 2-4 inches long

They have black and yellow stripes with redish legs (4 per body segment)

Males have smaller legs if you look at the 7th section from their head

They can musk you with a toxic fluid and don’t ingest any of it because you won’t have a good time and it may burn your skin

They will curl up if threatened first

They will often have mites that clean them, it is not anything to worry about

Slow moving

They do molt 

Personality:

Docile

Low maintenance 

They love to burrow

Hardy 

They will musk you with a toxic fluid as a defensive mechanism

Never bites and would rather curl up

They are attracted to light

They bury themselves before and during their molts

Health concerns:

Don’t let them fall as it will cause fatal injury

If you use a heat mat it might burn them and cook them

If you handle them during a molt you could damage them as their new shell/skin is fresh and vulnerable 

Never use chemicals or soaps around them as it will kill them

Handling:

Wash hands before and after always

Gloves might be suggested

They do not like to be handled, so keep it to a minimum

Never handle during a molt 

Never handle more than 20 minutes every week

#bumblebee millipede #dsp care sheet #animal care sheet #entomology #millipede #insect #research #care sheet #bug #sciencecore

[pinerquick]

Di caprio oscar speech fall fall fall meme

"If you guys don't stop posting these things he may just run off!!!" wrote Weibo user Guoshuai. Others are cautioning Internet users to calm down a little before scaring the actor off. 19 Memes de Leonardo DiCaprio que se merecen un scar. "Hahaha, how our Chinese fans welcome him is unique like no other," wrote Weibo user Liangshuitangsiren. Leonardo DiCaprios Oscar Win 2016 Leonardo Dicaprio Oscar, Speech Coach, Public Speaking Tips. Some fans seem to enjoy the welcome gifts China is giving the actor. One of the most famous memes is a close-up shot of the actor's watering eyes, as he reacted to yet-another failed attempt to win an Oscar for best actor for his role in Wolf of Wall Street. Some mock his weight gain over the years, and others pay tribute to his handsome face. Some are made from pictures of DiCaprio's attempts to hide his face from the paparazzi in odd and sometimes bizarre contortions of his body. Ĭhina's social media is no stranger to memes, or emoticons, of the Revenant actor. In just one night, DiCaprio's first post was re-posted some 135,000 times, with roughly 147,000 comments and 500,000 likes.Īside from heartwarming messages, a large volume of pictorial memes of the actor were shared.Īn emoticon of Leonardo DiCaprio. Do you now feel the fire-hot passion of your Chinese fans?" wrote Weibo user Bimuan. "I heard you opened a Weibo account and I rushed here to take a look. įans of Oscar-winning actor Leonardo DiCaprio welcomed him warmly to China's social media with memes after he opened an official Sina Weibo account yesterday.ĭiCaprio, who enjoys a wide fan base in China, made his first Weibo post yesterday afternoon, and fans flooded to his account to welcome him. It’s Been A Long Year 51."Hello China! I'm Leonardo." Actor Leonardo DiCaprio wrote on his official Sina Weibo account on Oct 8, 2016. An Invention of the Mother with this Necessity 47. But, You Can Also Purchase the Wicker Basket for $89.99! 46. Do Your Part This Pumpkin Picking Season 42. Calling out La La Land as the Best Picture winner, the award actually went to Moonlight. During the final minutes of the Oscars, Faye Dunaway and her Bonnie and Clyde co-star Warren Beatty made possibly the biggest gaffe in the Awards history. Assista a contedos populares dos seguintes criadores: Jana :)(i.got.a.bird). A place for memes, viral video, and of course, conspiracy theories. In case you were wondering how pumpkin pie is made… 41. Descubra vdeos curtos sobre Leonardo DiCaprio Interviews no TikTok. I mean, if you could have your way with any holiday… 39. You Go Ahead and Freely Breathe In That Bliss 38. Just Be Careful Where You Roll Around 37. We All Apply the Autumn Urges a Little Differently 32. A Sweet and Tasty Seasonal Musk the Ladies Love 23. It’s September now so this is the mood until Halloween /xp5wcG5ewCġ2. Harvest Your Freshest Self This Autumn 11. They Need to Bone Up on Their Autumn Mood 7.Ĩ. Your New Form Suits You Well Witchy One 6. Autumn, Fill Me With Your Spooktacular Emotions 5. I know September is technically still summer, but… worldwideinterweb 2. So, like this dog, who totally gets it, let us jump right into these funny Fall memes and tweets!ĭogtober : the very best month for leaf pile jumping Dressing up in the most original costume you can find in the popular costumes section of Amazon.Īnd throwing some funny Autumn memes into the mix can brighten it up even further. And it is certainly so, the majority of respondents in that single, solitary poll did agree that Autumn is the best season.īut whether you agree with my questionable research skills and seasonal data manipulation, I think the majority of people can agree that if Fall isn’t the best season, it is a pretty good one. Which is to show that Autumn is the most popular season of them all. And by research, I may mean, I found a poll that suited my present purpose. These funny Fall memes are about as lovely as the crispy crunch of leaves under our feet and that fresh Autumn air in our lungs.

#Di caprio oscar speech fall fall fall meme

[dreamslogs]

September 20, 2022: Log #48

☁️Weather: Sunny with a high of 90, low of 63, humidity of 86%, feels like 75

🩰~☕️~🩰~☕️~🩰~☕️~🩰~☕️~🩰~☕️~🩰~☕️~🩰~☕️~🩰~☕️

💎7:00 AM: Wake up & drink coffee in bed

💜8:00 AM: I ate breakfast

I had grits

💎8:15 AM: Do my morning routine & get ready for the day

💄Todays Makeup

Concealer: Nars Radiant Creamy Concealer

Powder: Laura Mercier Translucent Loose Setting Powder

Eyebrows: Kosas Brow Pop Clean Dual-Action Defining Eyebrow Pencil & Kosas Air Brow Tinted Clean Volumizing Eyebrow Gel

Mascara: Essence Lash Princess False Lash Effect Waterproof Mascara

Highlighter: Essence Pure Nude Highlighter in Be My Highlight

Lipstick: NYX Shine Loud Vegan High Shine Long-Lasting Liquid Lipstick in Make It Work

Setting Spray: Milk Makeup Hydro Grip Setting + Refreshing Spray

Perfume: YSL Black Opium

💜9:00 AM: Leave for campus

💎9:30 AM: Get starbucks

I got an iced chai latte

💜9:45 AM: Work on Fiction Workshop author letters

💎11:00 AM: Forensic Anthropology class

💜12:30 PM: Historical Archaeology class

💎2:00 PM: Fiction Workshop

💜3:30 PM: Head home & eat a late lunch

I ate a turkey, vegetable, and rice bowl

💎4:00 PM: Take a shower

💜4:30 PM: Do Japanese homework while watching Pretty Little Liars with my roommate

💎6:30 PM: Make pumpkin spice cookies

💜8:00 PM: Eat dinner

I ate leftover Chinese

💎10:00 PM: Separate for bed

💜10:10 PM: Do my nighttime routine

💎10:20 PM: Settle down in bed with ambient lighting & watch Mike’s Mic

💜11:00 PM: Turn off all the nights & watch ASMR

💎12:00 AM: Go to sleep

🩰~☕️~🩰~☕️~🩰~☕️~🩰~☕️~🩰~☕️~🩰~☕️~🩰~☕️~🩰~☕️

🖋️Notes on the day🖋️

Quite literary, not anything of note happened besides the fact I was bitten by a bunch of ants in Fiction Workshop. Other than that, it was a good day!

#anthropology #self improvement #daily log #daily routine #diary #personal #reading #self motivation #studying #what i eat in a day #writing #aesthetic #langblr #mental health #college #college life #studyblr #chronic illness #migraines #productivity #Youtube

[meganskane]

Dad Duties (dad!spencer)

masterlist

summary: the one where spencer takes care of his colicky baby.

warnings: none

word count: 0.8k

pairing; spencer reid x fem!reader

There was no amount of reading spencer could have done that would have prepared him to take care of a baby. Once he got a taste of parenthood, it caused him to grow an immense amount of appreciation for other parents. Single parents, co-parents, married parents, etc.

He’d heard about it all, the diapers, the lack of sleep, the crying, the spit-up, and the consistent fear that you’re doing something wrong. They say that it's all worth it when you’re entirely exhausted and delirious, and they stare right into your eyes and smile with a toothless grin.

The familiar loud ear-piercing cry woke spencer from his sleep. His eyes slowly adjusted before allowing himself to sit up from bed, he glanced over toward your side of the bed noticing how you had still been asleep. A small smile spread across his face, as he heard the soft snores slip past your lips.

He carefully lifted the duvet as he carefully stood up from your bed doing his best to avoid disturbing your sleep. He quickly lowered the volume of the monitor before heading toward your daughter's nursery.

The cries proceeded and began to become louder the closer he got, slowly breaking his heart.

“Hey pumpkin” he softly cooed carefully swaddling her with a nearby blanket. His eyes scanned around the room, ‘where did y/n leave the binky’ he thought to himself.

Aurora’s cries began to grow louder causing spencer to panic as he strived for multiple ways to cause the crying to come to a halt. Nothing seemed to be working, he began to try and memorize the numerous amounts of ways to calm a colicky baby. He was desperate at this point, he wanted nothing more than to have her happy.

“Is this what you wanted? Some of your mommy's milk?” he pleaded, waving the small bottle of breastmilk in front of her, he placed the nipple in her mouth only for it to be quickly denied. A weary sigh left his lips before setting the bottle down.

“Seriously? Not even milk?” he grumbled.

“What if daddy asked really nicely?” the cries continued, Spencer himself felt like he too would start crying.

“Not even with that? Geez you're one tough woman to please” he chuckled bouncing around the room softly.

He then found himself crawling into the crib and placing her on his chest, one hand running soothing circles against her bareback while the other softly tapped her bottom, his final attempt to calm her.

A small yawn fell from his mouth, waiting for her cries to stop.

He felt a smug smile fall onto his face as the cries began to grow quiet. He won this round. He let out a small giggle,

“This is how I get your mom to fall asleep too. I'm going to have the both of you spoiled, aren't I?”

“Like mother, like daughter” he mumbled before feeling himself drift off.

The shrill sound of your alarm woke you, a loud groan slipped past your lips.

“Bub, can you turn that off?” you mumbled. You rolled your eyes as the sound continued. Your eyes opened adjusting to the warm sunlight filling the room.

You glared at the clock reading the red lights, 7:15 it read. You threw your hand over to feel for your husband's warmth, only to be met with the cool bed sheets. Instinctively you sat up and looked around the room for him.

Where the hell was he?

You stood up turning the alarm off and heading toward aurora’s nursery. A small chuckle leaving your lips as you admired the sight in front of you.

Spencer’s long legs hung outside of the small crib with Aurora tightly held against his chest fast asleep. you stared at their faces in awe, noticing the striking resemblance between the two. The way their lips fell open as they slept, weak snores falling from their lips, and the occasional nose scrunch.

Like father, like daughter, you thought.

You rushed toward your bedroom for your phone and snapped a picture of the two. You knew spencer had to leave for work soon but, you hadn't had the heart to wake him. It was obvious that he’d been up for most of the night with your daughter.

You ran your thumb along his cheek softly before placing a single kiss on both of their heads.

“Spencer, my love?” you called softly, only to earn a whine in reply. He soon met your gaze,

“What time is it?” he asked, his face scrunching together before letting himself to stretch.

“Last I checked it was fifteen after seven” he furrowed his eyebrows,

“Wake me up in another fifteen minutes, please?” he puckered his lips waiting for you to meet him halfway. You leaned down placing a tender peck on his lips.

“Will do, you get some rest, my love” he nodded before closing his eyes once more with some snores that followed immediately after.

An additional fifteen wouldn't hurt, especially if it was another fifteen of staring at the people you love the most.

#criminal minds #spencer reid #spencer x reader #spencer x you #criminal minds imagine #spencer reid imagine #spencer #spencer reid drabble #spencer reid x y/n #dad!spencer #dad spencer reid #nati writes

[wiypt-writes]

Too Loose And You’ll Lose It

co-written with @icanfeelastormbrewing​

Ch7: Old Habits Die Hard Part 3

Summary: Stella faces the aftermath of her actions in Mexico, and heads home to stay with her mom for a while. But Jake’s hot on her heels, and he’s not giving in without a fight.

Pairing: Jake Jensen x OFC Stella Stevenson

Warnings: Bad language and a whole heap of angst.

A/N: So here is the final part of Chapter 7…and well, we hope you enjoy.

Disclaimer: This is a pure work of fiction and classified as 18+. Please respect this and do not read if you are underage. We do not own any characters in this series bar Stella Stevenson and the other OCs. By reading beyond this point you understand and accept the terms of this disclaimer.

TLAYLI Masterlist // Main Masterlist

Chapter 7 Part 2

So lay down your weary heart, stay by my side, and I promise I’ll be here, till we run out of time

"Hey, Pumpkin." Evan gave Stella a small smile as she answered the door and Stella found herself grimacing at the pet name.

"Hi." She gave him a little smile back as he leaned in to kiss her. Automatically, she turned her face to the side so he caught her cheek and not her lips. He frowned a little as she stepped back to let him in and glanced at her for a moment, his eyes sliding downwards for a split second and Stella saw something flash on his face, but she couldn't quite place his expression. Without a word, he stepped into the apartment, following her to the living area. When she reached the couch she took a deep breath and opened her mouth to say something but he jumped in.

"Listen Stella, I’m so sorry. I was an ass, I shouldn’t have reacted the way I did and left you to go to the wedding alone."

"So you weren’t working then?" She shook her head as Evan let out a sigh. "I didn’t think so

Evan licked his lips and dropped his head a little. "No, I wasn’t. Like I said, I reacted like an ass. I shouldn’t have lied to you, I'm sorry."

"But you did and," Stella shrugged, "it doesn’t matter anymore."

"What do you mean?"

"It’s over, Evan."

Evan blinked, and then frowned a little. "Is this because of what I said the other night?"

Stella sighed. "In a way, yes, it is." She looked at him for a second as the hurt spread across his face before she took a deep breath and glanced down at her hands. She felt awful. Guilt was flooding her system, not only at the hurt on his face but the fact she'd done what she had. But she knew she had to stand strong. It wasn't fair on him, and it wasn't fair on her. "It caught me unawares and I didn’t know how to react," she looked up as she tried to explain, "I panicked but the truth is I didn’t say it back because I couldn’t Ev. I still can’t."

"Stel, look," Evan swallowed and took a step towards her, "I get it. You’ve been hurt in the past and you’re worried about how fast it’s going and, maybe you can’t say it yet, but you know, that doesn’t mean you don’t or you won’t."

"I thought it could be that way but I can’t lie to myself. Not anymore." She shook her head. "I don’t love you Evan. And I’m not sure I ever will."

Evan blinked, and in an instant the hurt on his face slid into something more akin to anger as his jaw set. He gave a scoff, shaking his head and gestured towards her with his right hand.

"You know, you’re never gonna be able to love anyone else whilst you’re still letting Jensen into your head and your bed." The slap his arm made as it swung back to his side rang loudly across the silent apartment as Stella felt her eyes widen.

"What? That’s not," she desperately tried to protest, even thought it was a blatant lie, "I haven’t-"

"No?" Evan gave a scoff. "The mark on your neck tells me a different story."

Stella felt the heat in her neck, she'd been well and truly caught out, and she felt like shit. She took a deep breath, deciding to come clean, he deserved that at least. "I’m sorry. I was drunk and it was a huge mistake. I shouldn’t have done it but that’s nothing to do with why I’m ending this."  

Evan shook his head. "I should have come with you. Fuck!" He seethed. "I shouldn’t have left you alone with him."

"But you didn’t come, and I cheated on you." Stella remained calm. "I'm not proud of it, I've never done this to anyone before and I feel awful, I really do." She swallowed and sighed. "You’re a great guy, Evan, and you have to believe me when I say, what happened this weekend has nothing to do with why I’m... "

"Why you’re breaking up with me? Really, Stel? You expect me to believe that?"

Stella licked her lips and blinked back her tears. "It’s the truth. I’m sorry."

"For what exactly, Stella? For leading me on? For making me fall in love with you when you’re still clearly hooked on your ex? For cheating on me? And with him nonetheless!" Evan's voice gathered volume as he ranted, all the time his eyes boring into hers, "fuck Stel! After everything I did for you!"

Stella looked down, unable to meet his eyes as a tear fell down her cheek. "I wasn’t leading you on. I really did, I mean do like you I just," she looked up, "I can’t lie to you or to myself anymore. This isn’t right. And I think deep down you know that it ain’t gonna work."

“Of course it ain’t gonna work. Because you’re not putting any effort into it!"

"It shouldn’t have to be an effort, Ev." Stella responded, wetting her lips a little with her tongue. There was a moment of silence, before Evan scoffed.

"Whatever. If you're happy to keep being a way for that asshole to simply get his dick wet then that’s up to you. But I tell you something, he’ll hurt you again. And don’t come crying to me when he does."

Stella took a deep breath, trying to keep her emotions in check. "It’s not like that. At all. He’s not, I mean I’m not..." she trailed off and rubbed at her temple. "This has got nothing to do with him, Evan. I’m breaking it off because I don’t love you and I’m really sorry but I can’t lie to you."

"The only person you’re lying to is yourself, Stella." Evan shook his head. "I’ll see myself out."

He turned to leave, Stella remained rooted to the spot. She looked up at the ceiling, wiped her eyes and then turned to him as he opened the door.

"Evan, I really am sorry." She whispered and he stopped, taking a deep breath before he turned to look at her, his blue eyes wet with tears which made Stella feel about as low as she ever had.

"So am I."

With that the door slammed, leaving her stood alone in her apartment, deadly silence engulfing the room. Her legs gave way and she sank to the floor, her back pressed to the couch, tears pouring down her face.

“Fuck!” She yelled, throwing her head back against the couch. She felt like shit. She never wanted to hurt him, she really did like him and never set out for any of this to happen. She'd wanted to have a future, with someone else, but the sad thing was, Evan had hit the nail on the head. As long as Jake was in her life and her heart, she was never going to be able to be with anyone else.

Because, as much as she wished it wasn't true, she still loved him.

As she sat there, her head awash with a flood of feelings and doubts, her phone rang. Shifting a little, she pulled it from her pocket and saw her sister’s name flashing on the screen. Stella took a deep breath, contemplating simply letting it go to voicemail but she realised she really wanted to hear a friendly voice, and despite the fact they were very different people, she loved her sister and knew that Rey would always have her back. With a shaking hand she swiped to answer the call.

“Hey Stel, how was Mexico? I want all the goss about you and Evs first little break! Well, maybe not all the goss as that’s gross and TMI but-“

At that Stella let out the sob she had been trying to keep down and managed to stutter her sister’s name. Immediately, Rey’s tone flicked from its usual, bubbly nature to concerned.

“Woah, Stelly? What’s wrong? Has something happened?”

“Yeah. I just.... “ at that more tears came and her voice broke once more as she struggled to speak.

“You what, Stel? Are you ok?” Rey demanded. “Why are you crying Stel? Talk to me.”

Stella took a deep breath, fighting for control, eventually managing to find enough to stammer into the phone, “I broke up with Ev.”

“You did what?” Rey’s voice was nothing more than a hissed whisper, conveying her shock. “Why? Stel, are you out of your mind?”

At that Stella began crying even more. “I don’t know, maybe.” She wiped her face with the back of her sweater sleeve, giving a very undignified snort as she did so. “But I don’t love him Rey and...” She choked on her words, struggling for composure as her sister took a deep breath.

“You don’t love him? I don’t-“

“He told me he loved me and I couldn’t say it back. So I went to Mexico in my own and-“

Rey cut her off with a low groan. “Tell me you didn’t!” Stella’s loud sob was all the answer Rey needed. “Oh Stell!”

“I know, I know! But I was drunk and I felt lonely and mad at Ev and, it’s Jakey, Rey!”

“You still love him don’t you?” Rey’s voice was sympathetic, not a shred of frustration left. Stella swallowed, pressing the hell of her hand to her forehead in an attempt to relieve the pain that was starting to form from the force of her crying.

“I never stopped.” She stammered and Rey gave a heavy sigh.

“Shit, Stel.”

“Rey, I don’t know what to do.” Stella whispered, her voice trembling as she struggled for air, her throat felt tight and dry.

“Have you talked to him? To Jake I mean?”

“Sorta.” Stella gave another snort. “The morning after I mean, but I can’t face him. I can’t go there again Rey, I just-“

“And that’s fine, Stel, you don’t have to. Just avoid him until you clear your head. You can call me whenever you need to, I got you on this.” Her big sister placated, voice stern yet gentle. “And you got Clay there too. Talk to him if it’s too much, okay?”

Stella took a shaky breath. “Yeah. Yeah okay.” She wiped her eyes and her nose once more before she cleared her throat. “Listen, Rey, I’m gonna go get a bath. I’m exhausted.”

“Great idea, use some of that bath foam I made, it’s got lavender and rose hip in, perfect relaxation.”

Stella smiled. “Sounds like the perfect accompaniment to a large glass of red.”

Rey chuckled before she sighed. “Promise me you call me if you need me? No matter what time or when.”

“I will. Thanks Rey, oh, and don’t mention this to Mom. Not yet. I’ll tell her myself.”

“I won’t tell a soul.” Rey assured her.

“Thanks. I love you.”

“Love you too, sis.”

Stella cut the call, tossing the phone onto the coffee table before she hugged her knees to her chest, lending herself some comfort before he heaved herself off the floor and headed to the kitchen. She filled a wine glass full to the brim before she slurped a mouthful, wiping her tears once more before she made sure her door was locked, flicked off the lights and headed to the bathroom.

****

It was Thursday, four days after getting home, and Stella was sat outside on her small balcony, wrapped in a warm sweater in the April sun with a book and a coffee when there was a loud knock on her door. She hesitated for a moment, as it had to be someone who had access to the building and her mind immediately went to Jake, before she heard Clay's deep baritone.

"Stella, it's me. Open up."

It was a command, not a question, so she placed her book down on the table, picked up her mug and headed inside. She opened the door and turned away, leaving him to follow her, which he did, shutting the door behind him.

"You want at a coffee?" She asked, heading into the kitchen. "It's not long made."

"Sure." Clay nodded, and he stayed silent whilst Stella made herself a fresh cup, and one for Clay, knowing just how he took it, before she slid it over the counter and for the first time met his eyes.

"You look like shit. Guess this mystery illness really has wiped you out, huh?”

"Thanks, Franklin." She said sarcastically and Clay snorted. "I haven’t been sleeping well."

"Yeah, you definitely caught-" Clay raised his hands and bend his index and middle fingers on both, making quotation signs, "-the bug. It’s annoying, right?" Stella looked at him, blinking as he took a sip of his drink, knowing full well that he had well and truly sussed her out. "And impossible to cure from what I hear. Not even a slap gets rid of it."

Stella let out a soft groan. "Should have imagined you saw that."

"Stell, sweetheart, the entire party saw it." Clay eyed her. "Gotta say, your dad would be proud. It was one hell of a slap."

She scratched at her neck. "In my defense I was drunk and angry."

"Yeah, I know. I caught your apology to Pooch and Jolene the next day. Just before you rushed to the airport ignoring the rest of us."

"I needed to catch my flight." Stella's gaze dropped to the counter, both her hands cupping her mug.

"Before the bug caught you sneaking away from the resort, huh?"

"Something like that." She sighed and took a sip of her coffee.

"So what you gonna do?" Clay asked, placing his mug down. "About your condition, I mean."

Stella shrugged, bowing her head. "That’s the worst bit, Clay. I can’t do anything can I? I couldn’t even be happy with someone else."

"You speaking about Evan in the past tense now?" Clay cocked his head and Stella swallowed.

"I ended it on Sunday."

"Well, I'm not gonna lie and tell you I’m sorry, Stella." Clay shrugged a little and Stella's mouth curled up inot a sad little smile.

"I don’t expect you to."

"You know as well as I do there was something off about that guy." Clay continued and Stella gave a little groan.

"Can we not? There was, is, nothing wrong with Evan. This is down to me and my inability to get some dickhead who dumped me years ago outta my head."

"And out of your bed from what I’ve heard." Clay eyed her shrewdly and Stella stilled, looking at him for a moment before she licked her lips.

"How do you know about that?"

"Practically everyone knew by breakfast." Clay gave her a sympathetic smile. "Turns out one spiteful, red-headed bridesmaid was on your floor too and you weren’t exactly quiet when you were shouting down the hall."

Stella groaned.

"Hell hath no fury, Arty." Clay's eyes twinkled with humour and Stella rolled her eyes.

"It’s complicated, Clay and I can’t face Jake. Not yet. Not like this." She signalled to her congested face and red eyes and Clay took a deep breath, his face sympathetic.

"He’s been worried sick. Says you’re ignoring him."

"Huh, maybe he isn’t as stupid as he looks." Stella shrugged and Clay gave a snort.

"Despite what we all say, he isn’t an idiot. He knows he fucked up. Again."

"It wasn’t just him. We both... well, I wasn’t exactly unwilling." Stell licked her lips as she shrugged. "And as much as I want to say I hated it..." She trailed off, her finger gliding around the rim of her mug. "But it just made everything worse."

"Well, one thing I can tell you is that sitting in here, hiding away isn't going to help." Clay spoke gently, and as Stella opened her mouth to protest he cut her off, holding his hand up. "He's not here. He shipped out with Cougs to support a specialist recruitment exercise at Fort Sill this morning."

"How long is he gone?" Stell asked, her voice quiet.

"He’s back Friday." Clay smiled. "Look, why don’t you take a few days off and go home. You could use some family time right now."

"We just got back from a few days away."

"Yeah, and you've been here, hiding so what difference does it make if you hide in New Hampshire? Besides, you're no use to me like this." Stella took a deep breath as Clay continued. "How long since you saw your mom or Rey?"

"Bout six weeks."

"Then go." Clay persisted. "It's not like you have anything pressing here to do, if we need you then I’ll send for you."

"Thanks, Clay." Stella smiled. "

*****

“What do you mean she’s gone home?” Jensen frowned as Clay looked at him, having just finished explaining to the pair of them where Stella was.

“Well, you know her home in New Hampshire?”

“Yeah?”

“She’s gone there.”

Cougar snorted and Jensen let out a low groan of frustration. He was tired and had just gotten back from a long, hard slog away from home to be greeted by this and he wasn’t in the mood for Clay’s sarcasm.

“When is she coming back?” He demanded, staring at his boss who shrugged.

“I don’t know if she is, Jensen.”

At that Jensen blinked. Was Clay seriously suggesting Stel had quit for good? “What? I don’t-why?”

“Why do you think?” For the first time since Jensen had started speaking, Clay’s frustration was evident in his tone. “After your bunk up in Mexico she finished with Evan and she’s cut up, big time.”

Jensen took a deep breath, as the flood of relief he expected to hear once he’d got that news never came. Instead, he felt nothing but a deep sense of guilt at the fact Stella was upset. And he was part of the cause of that.

“She’s hurting Jake, and I think this time it’s just gotten too much.” Clay finished, his voice a little less spiked than it had been. Jensen ran his hand through his hair, before he shook his head.

“Fuck.”

“Jensen, why don’t you call her?” Cougar looked at him and Jake rolled his eyes.

“You know I tried that, several times. She won’t answer my calls or messages.”

“And you’re gonna let that stop you?” Clay folded his arms across his chest and raised his brow. “What happened to fighting for your girl, Jensen?”

Jensen blinked, his eyes not leaving Clay as his words sunk in. He was right, he had to try and fix this.

“I need to go.” He mumbled before he turned and bolted from the office, a loud apology hitting their ears along with a shout from someone else he had clearly run into in his haste to leave.

There was a pause as both men simply stared at the open door, before Cougar broke the silence. “She’s coming back, right?”

“She didn’t say she wasn’t.” Clay nodded.

“So why did you make out to Jensen like she was done?” Cougar looked at Clay who simply smirked as he turned his head towards him.

“Why do you think?”

****

Less than ten minutes after leaving the office, Jake was in his car speeding down the freeway. With one hand he juggled his phone, pressing the button to call the one person he knew would help him.

“I’m coming home.” He blurted into the handset as soon as his call was answered and Jane gave a little scoff.

“I thought you might be.” Her voice was flat. “Rey called me last night on her way to pick Stel up, told me all about your hook up in Mexico. What the hell were you playing at, Jake!”

“Yeah, I know, I fucked up and I need to make it right. I’m on my way to the airport, I’ll be on the next flight into Logan that I can get and I need you to pick me up.”

There was a pause and Jane sighed. “Leave it with me, I’ll get online and see if I can book one for you.”

“Thanks.” He mumbled before he tossed his phone onto the passenger seat and pushed his foot down on the gas, hanging the exit that would connect him onto the road for DC and the Airport.

Jane called back ten minutes later saying there was a flight an hour or so later which he was on. He arrived twenty or so minutes later and parked in the first space he could find on the long stay car park. As he climbed out, he grabbed his wallet, phone and jacket and debated taking his kit bag but, deciding it would slow him down waiting through security, he left it and set off at a sprint to the departure area.

Thankfully, Military ID gives you certain privileges if you can sweet talk, and Jensen could sweet talk with the best of them, so he managed to skip most of the queues and made it to the gate as the last few people were boarding.

Whilst the flight was only an hour and fifteen, it was an hour and fifteen too long and he was restless for all of it. His leg was continually twitching, his hand running repeatedly through his hair and scratching the short layer of stubble that covered his chin and cheeks. He was aware that he was annoying the elderly woman sitting next to him as he could feel her glaring at him and in an attempt to keep his annoying, nervous little ticks to himself, he tried to read the paper that was in the seat pocket in front of him. But it was pointless, he’d been on the same article for twenty minutes, repeatedly losing his place as his thoughts strayed to Stella, so with a huff he folded it back up and leaned back, closing his eyes.

Whilst sleeping on transport wasn’t normally a problem, being in the Army you learnt to sleep when you could, it totally evaded him and he felt like crying in relief when the pilot announced their descent into Logan. As soon as their wheels were down, he attracted the attention of one of the attendants and begged her to let him off the flight first, citing a military emergency, once more flashing his ID. Five minutes later she returned, smiling at him.

“Follow me, Captain Jensen.”

With a relieved sigh he stood up, grabbing his jacket from the overhead locker and followed her to the door which was just opening into the tunnel.

“Thanks,” he nodded at her as the door was latched into place, “by the way, I love your dress.”

He set off at a sprint through the airport. More abuse of his military privileges saw him clear security in record time and he hurried into the arrivals lounge where he saw Jane waiting for him.

“You have no bag?” She frowned as he gave her a quick hug.

“I didn’t have time.” He shrugged and Jane rolled her eyes.

“From what Rey told me, Stella is gonna be here till next week...”

“Yeah but you booked me a flight I had like an hour to catch...”

“Because you said there was a mad panic!”

“And there is.” Jensen shrugged as they began to walk towards the exit. “Like I said, I need to speak to her.”

“So, what is your plan today?” Rey smirked at him a little as they headed over to the car park.

Jake swallowed. He’d spent the last few hours trying to come up with a plan of sorts and had failed, miserable, so there was only one option. “I’m just gonna tell her I’m sorry and how I feel about her, honestly.” He shrugged as they strode through the rows of parked cars. “She might listen, she might not but I can’t leave it how it was. I gotta try, Jane.”

“Yeah I know Jake.” Jane stopped at her car. “But have you ever thought you can’t always have what you want when you want it and how you want it? It’s always been like that little bro and she’s not a skateboard or a football, she’s a person.”

“I know she’s a person, Jane! But I have to tell her, if she doesn’t wanna listen then-“ he shrugged as Jane unlocked her car, “-at least I’ll know.”

“Well, good luck, you’re gonna need because, according to Rey she is really bad.” Jane climbed into the driver’s seat and Jensen dropped heavily into the passenger one. “Oh, and you might wanna avoid Rey.”

Jake scoffed as Jane reversed the car out of the space. “Rey doesn’t scare me.”

“No?” Jane threw him a look as she drove towards the barrier.

“Nope.” He sniffed, pausing. “She terrifies me.”

Between not wanting to disturb his parents and also being unable to face the inevitable lecture about his behaviour from his dad, at least not until he’d spoken to Stella, Jane suggested he stayed with them. So, Forty-five minutes later, they arrived at Jane’s home, Gracie barrelling out of the house to greet her uncle. He swung her up, giving her a huge cuddle as she began to chat to him about her school and soccer. Jensen tried to listen and pay attention, but his mind was whirring about how he was going to get Stella to meet him. As he walked into the kitchen, Rob handed him a beer and clapped his shoulder as he sank into a chair round the table, letting out a sigh.

After he’d had something to eat and a shower, borrowing some of Robert’s clothes he tried again to reach Stel but to no avail, her phone remained switched off. And this was how it went for the next twenty four hours or so. He also tried the landline but it was always Jules who picked up and he couldn’t face speaking to her either so each time he simply hung up like some huge big cowardly chicken.

So, as a last resort, he begged Jane to help him, something Rob urged her to do too, although his reasons were slightly more selfish- he was simply annoyed that Jake was wearing his clothes and drinking his beer and being a general pain in the ass.

“Okay, okay, just,” Jane bit her lip, “let me talk to Rey, see if I can figure something out.”

She grabbed her phone and left the room, Jensen’s focus remained on the door as he could hear her softly speaking outside, but not enough to make out her words. When she came back a few minutes later she took a deep breath and looked at him.

“Rey’s taken Stella shopping to pick up Julie’s birthday gift. On the way back she’s gonna detour and head to the little cafe in their village, just off the main road through. You need to be there at five.”

Jensen gave a sigh of relief as he stood up and hugged his sister. “I owe you big time.”

“Yeah, well, just don’t be surprised if Rey punches you in the face.” Jane looked at him and Jensen took a deep breath, giving a little shrug as he walked towards the door.

“Be worth it if I can get Stella to listen to me.”

****

“Don’t fuck this up, it’s Stel ok?”

“I know. I know. Look, I’ll call you later, once…” he paused to take a deep breath, “well, once I’ve talked to her.”

Jane smiled at her brother sympathetically and reached over to kiss his cheek, giving him a hug. “Good luck, bro.”

“Thanks,” Jensen voice came out almost as a whisper, “I’m gonna need it, sis.” Taking another deep breath, he got out of the car, gathering what little courage still remained in some forsaken part of his nervous system. “Go Petunias!”

He instinctively pulled the collar of his waterproof North Face jacket round his neck against the rain and started walking with determination to the brightly lit coffee shop at the other side of the street. He jogged to avoid a passing car and soon he was crossing the threshold and being engulfed by the warm atmosphere of the place. He didn’t have to scan the room much before he spotted both Stevenson siblings sat at one of the far corner tables and he made a mental note to thank Rey for having made Stella sit with her back to the door.

Jensen breathed in and walked a couple of steps more into the shop to catch Rey’s attention and a wave of excitement washed his body when he saw her get up and say something to Stella before heading as if she was going to the counter but after turning to check her sister wasn’t looking at her she walked to him and grabbed his arm as she passed.

“You’re lucky I’m not shoving your head up your fucking ass.” Rey hissed only for him to hear.

“Nice to see you too Rey.” He smiled at the woman nervously.

“Fuck you, Jake.” Rey spoke again through gritted teeth.

“You flirting with me, Rey? ‘Coz-”

But Jensen didn’t finish whatever stupid quip his mind had come up with as Rey scoffed and left. He watched her go, and when he saw her picking her coat from the rack next to the main door he sighed.

Good start, Jensen.

In an attempt to placate his nerves, Jensen ran his hand through his damp hair and headed to Stella’s table, his nostrils registering the smell of freshly brewed coffee and sugary treats for the first time since he had stepped foot on the place.

Stella, who was checking the messages on her phone, looked up as she sensed the presence of what she thought was her sister but, much to her surprise, it was Jake Jensen she was looking straight at as he sat down on the chair in front of her.

“Hey Stel.”

“Jake.” She whispered, gasping a little with shock. “What are you doing here?”

“Clay told me you’d come home and I had to talk to you.”

Stella rolled her eyes and was about to protest when the waitress came over with the drinks Rey and her had ordered and, after placing the hot cocoa mug in front of Stella, she looked at Jake confused.

“Oh it’s okay that’s mine thanks.” Jensen said as he nodded. The waitress simply shrugged and placed the coffee mug down before leaving

“Don’t suppose there’s any point me asking how you knew I’d be here.” Stella asked, her arms crossed over her chest as she watched Jake spooning sugar into his drink. Jensen just shrugged as he kept on stirring his coffee, thinking it was a good thing she hadn’t run away the moment she had seen him. “Imma kill Rey.” She grumbled.

“You wouldn’t answer your phone.” Jensen offered, trying to keep it as simple and cool as possible.

“Maybe you should take a hint.” Stella sighed, knowing too well Jake Jensen had never been one for taking hints.

“Stel, why you being like this?” Jake frowned. “We didn’t leave it on a bad note after Mexico, I know you said it was a mistake but…”

Stella sighed again and looked down at her drink, not taking her eyes away from the random pattern of cinnamon sprinkles over the whipped cream. “I just need some headspace.” Her tone was a little softer than before, the surprise and anger at her sister setting her up slowly sweeping away. “That’s all, and you being here…”

She didn’t finish her sentence, instead she gripped her mug and took a drink and once she did she looked up to him for the very first time since she had started speaking only to realize Jensen was watching her, but his eyes weren’t looking straight at hers, they were fixed on something else.

“What?” She asked, varying between curious and concerned.

“Your ring.”

Well she hadn’t been expecting that. She cleared her throat and hesitated a little before asking. “What about it?”

“You had it in Mexico. Why are you suddenly wearing it again? You took it off months ago, when you started seeing Evan.” Jensen inquired, his eyes now effectively meeting Stella’s and he saw the surprise in her expression. “Yeah, I noticed Stel.”

“I actually stopped wearing it the day you dumped me for the second time.” She shot back and Jensen flinched at her tone. Her softness had disappeared and she was being snappy again. He only hoped she didn’t clam up before he could get his point made.

“I didn’t dump you, we were…” He sighed. That path wouldn’t lead him anywhere with Stel, so he decided to take a detour, see where it led. “You haven’t answered my question.”

Stella gave a little shake of her head. “Don’t read anything into it. I’m wearing it because I want to.”

“But, why?” He pressed again.

“I saw it in my jewellery box the day I was going to Mexico when I was looking for some earrings.” She shrugged as she explained herself. “It’s a nice ring.”

Jensen didn’t say anything. Satisfied as he was with Stella’s reasoning, he gave her a knowing smirk.

“Don’t smirk at me like that Jake.” She warned him as she narrowed her eyes.

“Okay, okay, I’m sorry.” Jensen placated her before taking another sip of his coffee. “Clay told me you had ended it with Evan.”

“Yeah I bet you’re loving it.” Stella scoffed.

Jake frowned at her accusation. “No.” He shook his head. “I could never be glad you’re hurting.”

“And whose fault is that?” She glared at him.

“Are you saying it’s mine?” Jake blurted out, leaning his forearms on the table. “Look, the morning after we... you know, you told me you were splitting up with Evan and it was nothing to do with us sleeping together.”

“You’re right, I was!” Stella raised her voice, attracting the attention of the two women at the table next to theirs. “But that wasn’t an excuse for me to go and simply jump back into bed with you!” She hissed. “God, I’m so weak. Why did I give in to you?”

“I didn’t force you into bed, Stella!” Jake protested, visibly hurt.

“I never said that.” She shook her head, but avoided his stare.

“Well it kinda sounded like that’s what you were saying.” Jensen shook his head and leaned back on his chair. “You know, you can deny it all you want but that night was good, and I know you felt it too otherwise you wouldn’t be here so upset and accusing me of being the reason you’re hurt.”

Stella stayed silent. The confidence in Jake’s voice left no room for her denying it, there was no point, so she just looked away.

“Why have you got such a problem admitting there’s still something there between us?” Jake broke her silence.

“I’m not admitting shit, Jake. You can go now, back the way you came.” She shrugged, hoping her voice sounded as confident as Jensen’s.

“I’m not going anywhere.” He shook his head before taking another sip from his drink.

“I think you should.”

“Okay,” Jake placed his coffee mug down again, “you look me in the eye and say you feel nothing for me at all and I’ll go.”

“Piss off, Jake!”

“Not until you tell me.” Jensen challenged her as he crossed his arms over his chest. Maybe he was pushing too much, but he had to try.

“Don’t tell me what to do Jacob. You don’t wanna go? Fine!”  Stella shrugged as she got up and grabbed her purse which was hanging from her chair headrest. When Jensen finally registered what was happening he called after her but Stella just ignored him and left the coffee shop after taking her coat from the rack. Sighing with exasperation, Jake stood up and tossed some money down on the table before jogging after her.

The drizzle that was falling when he had first arrived had now turning into a real downpour. The cold air and heavy rain hit Jensen’s face when he stepped out and he needed a few seconds to spot Stella who was walking up the street under the rain, her wool coat failing to stop her from getting increasingly soaked. Jensen started jogging towards her as the same time he cursed himself for not having an umbrella with him.

“Stel.” He panted as he grabbed her arm.

“Don’t touch me!” She snapped, freeing herself from Jake’s grip.

He sighed but looked at her with determination. “You just can’t say it, can you?” But Stella wasn’t giving in and kept silent, staring back at him and after a few too many seconds Jensen had no option but to give up so he looked down and then back up, tears already brimming in his eyes. “My mistake. I’ll, erm, I’ll leave you alone.”

Stella watched, as he turned to go, his shoulders slumping before something inside her cracked, driven completely by the fact he looked and sounded so damned broken.

“Wait!” Stella pleaded, and he stopped, turning to face her as she took a deep breath, looking upwards before she shook her head. “I…damned, fine, I love you, okay. Is that what you wanna hear?” She snigged and shook her head. “I love you Jake but that doesn’t mean shit. I’m tired of hurting.”

“Me too Stel!” Jensen blurted out, his voice cracking. “Jesus, I hurt every dammed day when I saw you with that prick, because I only had myself to blame. I’m a fucking idiot and I get now, my reasons, you know I thought I was doing the right thing, that it would save us both so much heartache but all it did was cause us so much more.”

“What the fuck are you talking about?” Stella frowned at his sudden ramble. “You were doing the right thing? What kind of shit excuse is that? The right thing for what?”

“For you! I saw it in your eyes, the day we found out our postings and we were gonna be split up because we weren’t married!” Jensen tried to explain himself as the tears began to fall from Stella’s eyes. “The hurt and fear in those beautiful eyes, Stel and all I could think about was how worse it would be if something happened and,” he sighed as his eyes silently pleaded with her to show some sign his words were getting to her and when he spoke again, his voice was softer than ever. “I thought by ending it, then it would mean we could both move on and if something happened then you wouldn’t have to go through the amount of pain your mom did when she lost your dad.”

“Don’t you think I had the right to make that decision myself?” Stella practically shrieked at him, her chest heaving. “God, you’re a fucking asshole Jacob Jensen.” She sniffed and made a pause to rub her nose and wipe the tears and raindrops that were falling down her cheeks. “What the fuck? I’ve spent the last fucking five years of my life wondering what the fuck happened, trying to find a reason why you suddenly didn’t love me!”

“Stel, I never stopped loving you!” Jensen yelled back, before he took a deep breath and shook his head. “How could I? I’ve been in love with you since we were eleven.” He moved closer to her, trying to hold her hands in his.

“You have a strange way of showing it!” She screamed back, moving her hands to dodge him.

“I know, I know. I don’t have anything else to say other than I’m so sorry. And I love you.” He choked out. “I always will.”

Stella sighed, tears still running down her face. She was exhausted and tired of listening to him apologize over and over again. “All right, you’re sorry. So what? Apology accepted. Feeling better? You can go back to Virginia now.”

“If that’s what you want.” Jake said so softly Stella almost missed it as he put his hands in his coat pockets.

“Why suddenly it is what I want that matters, Jake?” She railed at him once more. “It’s always been about you and your stupid ideas and your stupid needs!”

“What do you want me to say, Stel?” He pleaded, his voice was beginning to break again. And, as Stella looked at him, his face suddenly illuminated by the headlights of a passing car, she realised that she had never seen him so vulnerable before.

“I don’t want you to say anything, Jake.” She swallowed hard, shaking her head. “I just want you to make up your mind once and for all and stop fucking with my brain.”

“Make up my mind?” Jake scoffed. “Have you listened to a word I just said?” He stepped forward a little. “You know what I want.”

Stella shuddered under his stare at those last words before muttering. “No, I don’t.”

“You! I want you.” He blurted out, his eyes never leaving hers. “Give me another chance baby. I swear, I’ll make you happy, I’ll do anything.”

“Jake…” Stella’s voice was a strangled whisper as she shook her head and Jensen sighed.

“What is it that is making you hold back?” He pressed, rain dripping off his hair down his face.

At that, she swallowed. “I’m scared.”

“Scared of what? Talk to me, Stelly.”

“Of being broken again, Jake. Because I don’t think I can fix myself again.” Stella blinked as the raindrops gathered on her eyelashes.

“You won’t have to.” Jake was fast to assure her. “I promise you that much. Just let me show you I can be the man you need, the man you deserve.”

“You promised me before you’d always be there Jake.” Stella started sobbing again. “And you left me.”

“I know, I know baby and I blame myself every day for that I... I just need you to trust me. I love you, I love you so fucking much, Stelly I can’t even think of you not being around.” His voice cracked completely on the last word and he sniffed loudly, his shoulders shuddering as he took a deep breath.

And, suddenly Stella’s defences, those defences she had fought so much to keep up, were nothing more than paper, paper that was disintegrating after being soaked by the rapidly falling drops of both her tears and the rain. Before she could draw in the air her body needed, she fell forward into Jake’s arms, melting into his form as she sobbed, her face pressing into the cold, wet outer layers of his clothing.

Jensen’s hands folded around her back, drawing her in closer and she could feel her body shake. “Stelly, shh, don’t cry baby,” he managed a whispered choke as she clung to him for dear life, “everything is gonna be all right. You’ll see.”

And as she continued to cry, Jensen simply held her, rocking her gently from side to side as he pressed a kiss to her wet hair before he pulled back, his hands cupping her face as he swiped under her eyes with his thumbs, the tenderness of the action more than Stella’s heart could hold.

“Please Stelly. Just give me this, ‘coz I don’t know what I’m gonna do if you don’t.”

As a response to his plea, Stella leaned into his hand, kissing his palm. “I never wanted you to leave in the first place.” She whispered and turned her eyes to his, to see a soft smile spreading across his face.

Jake swallowed, trying to find his voice. He wanted to speak, he wanted to speak real bad, because, God, there were so many things he wanted to tell her, so many built up wants and needs from over the years they were apart. But he couldn’t form anything more than her name. “Stel,” and, before he could attempt anything else, she reached up and grabbed his face tenderly before kissing him, softly.

The rain ran down their faces to where their lips met, each of them tasting the cold drops, but instead of detracting from the intensity of the moment, it simply took them to new heights. As Stella pushed her lips in more firmly, the wave that ran through her was intoxicating, a connection that showed the strength of the feeling, the mutual need. She paid no attention to the water which was soaking them through to chill their skin, because the sheer burst of love they were sharing was more than enough to keep her warm.

Nature might have brought the rain but Jake’s inner sunshine always came through for her in the end.

As Jake kissed the droplets from her mouth, she felt his lips smile against hers, making her head swim as she pulled back to take in his beautiful face and he was beaming at her.

“This is it, Jake. You fuck this up and I’m out of your life for good. In every way.” She declared with a sniff, but the warning felt less of a warning to Jake as she was smiling at him as she clung to his neck.

“Not gonna happen.” He smiled back. “We’re gonna do great and we’re gonna get married and make gorgeous babies.”

“You’re a fucking moron.” She snorted.

“Yeah.” He shrugged casually before tightening his grip on her and leaning in for another kiss, but it was cut short this time by Jake’s stomach growling, making Stella pull back and arch her brow at him.

“I haven’t eaten all day.” He offered as explanation.

She chuckled and then gave him a big grin. “Wanna stop at the Schwarma stand on the corner of Ruby Ave?”

“Yes.” He groaned more than agreed. Stella smiled as Jake placed his arm round her, pulling her close to kiss her head as they set off. The gesture once so familiar to them that it filled them with the warmth that the merciless rain was denying them. “Hey, does this count as a date?” He quipped.

“Don’t push it, Jake.” Stella groaned as she jabbed at his ribs.

****

“What the hell have you two been up to?” Julie’s loud voice rang out and the pair of them stopped dead as they walked into the kitchen from the Mud Room, looking at her as she stood, her arms folded, leaning against the counter, wearing her best stern mom expression. “The pair of you are soaked!”

“Yeah, it’s raining.” Jensen nodded and Julie narrowed her eyes.

“Don’t get clever with me, Jacob. You’re not too big that I won’t give you a slap.”

He flashed her his best, cheeky smile and she rolled her eyes, her attention flicking to Stella before she frowned a little, her gaze then moving to their hands which were tangled together. She blinked, and then her face softened and she gave Stella a fond smile.

“You guys good?”

They looked at each other and Stella smiled, turning back to her mom. “Yeah. Yeah we are. But, erm, we should probably go get into some dry clothes.”

“There’s some sweats and a T-shirt in your room Stel, I think they’re Jake’s.” Julie smiled. “Drop your soaked things outside the bathroom and I’ll run them through the wash and drier.”

“Thanks, Mom.” Stella grinned as Jake let out a little noise of approval.

“Jules, you’re awesome.”

“Yeah, yeah.” She rolled her eyes but the smile never left her face. “Go on. I’ll fix you both some dinner.”

“It’s ok, we already ate so I think we’re just gonna...” She trailed off as Jake gently squeezed her hand and Julie nodded.

“Okay, well I guess I’ll see you in the morning?”

Stella dropped her head, shyly as Jake grinned. “Yeah, Jules. Have a good night.”

Thirty or so minutes later they were both warm, dry and settled in bed, Jake in the pair of grey sweatpants that had indeed belonged to him. As Stella snuggled up to him, he pressed a kiss to her head realising that it had been years since they’d done this, just been together, as a couple. He felt her shift a little next to him and he glanced down to see her blinking as she struggled to stay awake. Jake could tell she was exhausted and whilst he wanted nothing more than to get her on her back and love her the best way he could, he knew how tired she was, both physically and mentally. It had been an emotional day, hell, week even, and there was a lot to process. So instead he shifted a little so he was led on his side facing her, and drew her in for another soft, deep kiss, his thumb gently stroking her cheek bone as she sighed happily, his lips slowly and sensually caressing hers.

“Do you remember the first time we shared a bed, Stelly?” Jake grinned as he pulled away, tucking her hair behind her ear.

She snorted. “Summer camp when we were thirteen. I could feel a storm brewing, so I came to your tent.”

“And we got caught so your mom came to ours,” Jake grinned as she gave a chuckle, “sat with mine around the kitchen table, giving us both ‘the talk’. Good times.”

“I remember how it grossed the pair of us out.” Stella giggled. “You pointed out that Rey and Jane would share a bed when they stayed over with each other and your dad was protesting that it was different because they were just friends.”

“So were we at that point.” Jensen mused as Stella’s hand traced his bicep.

“Yeah that’s what you said. And then you pointed out that they might have been lesbians so his argument was invalid.”

Jensen snorted. “He was being platonaphobic, and of course when I told him so, he had no idea what it meant.”

“No one did because it was a word you just made up!” Stella laughed and Jake shrugged.

“It means you’re biased against platonic relationships.” He grinned before he took a deep breath. “Truth is, Stelly, there was nothing platonic on my side even then. I wanted you from the day I saw you.”

“You were eleven, Jake!” Stella shook her head.

“Just be glad it wasn’t until I was fourteen that I started getting boners over you.”

“You’re disgusting.” She rolled her eyes and Jensen pouted.

“Hey, don’t complain. You were in all my fantasies”

“That’s a back handed compliment.” She shook her head and Jensen flashed her a cheeky wink.

“It’s the palm of my hand that remembers.”

At that she slapped his arm and he laughed, pulling her closer to him as she nestled into his warmth, the top of her head tucked under his chin.

And that was exactly how she fell asleep a few minutes later. Jake felt her relax against him completely, and he pressed a kiss to the top of her head before he too drifted under, happy and satisfied that he was holding his girl in his arms, right where she belonged.

**** Chapter 8

#too loose and you'll lose it #jake jensen #jake jensen x ofc #jake jensen x original female character #the losers #the losers fan fiction #chris evans #chris evans characters

[theold-ultraviolence]

The Crystalline Knowledge of You (2/13)

Armitage Hux/Reader

Practical Magic au

AVAILABLE ON AO3 (@irma7x)

Rating: Mature // Chapter warnings: vague mention of the reader’s parents having passed away. It is not explicitly described, merely implied briefly. 

MASTERLIST

2. Amas Veritas

When Kylo and you finally go to bed, it’s already too early, with the moon bidding its farewell and the blackness of the night fading to shades of blue. All you do is toss and turn with your head spinning, unable to find the right position to sleep in.

After what feels like hours later, when your eyes feel heavy at last, you’re taken by dreams that are really memories of the past, triggered by the events that had gone down earlier…

...“In this house we have chocolate cake for breakfast!” Aunt Leia exclaimed.

“And we never bother with silly little things like bedtimes, or brushing our teeth!” Added uncle Luke.

In your eyes, at 7 years old, aunt Leia and uncle Luke were the most eccentric characters that you had ever come across. Their clothes seemed to be an organized chaos -- drapey and colorful -- and their hair was always up in disarray as if a bomb had gone off in their heads. Regardless, their eyes were as clear as day and their heart was made out of the purest gold.They lived in Yavin’s Island, in a three storey, white-wooden house with tall, crystal windows that seemed iridescent when the sunlight bounced on its walls, reflecting all the greenery that surrounded the house like a whole magical realm of its own.

They weren’t blood-related to you, but rather close friends with your family. They were your coven. And for that same reason, the same curse that damned the Skywalker family, also fell on you.

“When you hear the sound of the deathwatch beetle, the person you love dies. But that's why you came to live with us!”

Aunt Leia told you the story that evening over the fireplace, with a huge piece of pumpkin bread and an even larger mug of hot chocolate -- decadence was truly the Skywalker preferred way to live.

“It had all started with the grand master, Anakin. The first of us who arrived on this island.” Luke began the tale as he sat beside you on his own armchair.

“He had been lured by the evil sorcerer, Sheev Palpatine, to become his successor -- a master of black magic. Anakin would have given all to aid his sick wife, Padme, and had come all the way to meet Palpatine right by the ocean with the promise that he could cure her if he delved into the darker arts. He was ready to accept it all but had a change of heart at the last second. Enraged, Palpatine cursed Anakin and all the witches here at Yavin -- all those who fell in love with a witch from the coven, died. Legend remembers it as the 66th curse. Padme, right after giving birth to Leia and me, passed away. And so it happened with Han, after Ben was born; and my love Wedge Antilles, who died on a plane crash…”

“And my parents…” you spoke. Leia could only nod mournfully and hug you closer to her, where you sat atop her lap. At that moment, Ben -- who was only a year older than you -- came into the warm room with chocolate cookies, fresh from the oven, and all ailments of the heart were soon forgotten as you spent the rest of the evening playing with him.

Until later, when the mood was disrupted by a desperate knocking on the door and the cries of a woman from town.

Hiding in the staircase, you and Kylo watched in awe as your family lit candles, burnt sage and tossed several ingredients on what appeared to be an age-worn cauldron. Steam rose from it, ribbons so high and mighty that reached the ceiling, like the volume of the woman’s cries.

“I want them so much I can’t hardly stand it!” The woman choked as she held onto a picture of her love. “I want them to want me so much that they don’t know what to do!”

“Careful what you wish for, dear…” said Leia as she held the head of a dove on her palm, while Luke poured the contents of the cauldron into a crystal vial from which the woman gulped to the tune of Luke and Leia’s quiet chants.

With every drop consumed, the woman calmed until her heavy breathing was no more. It was unlike anything you’d ever seen in your own home before, your mother rarely performed magic in front of you.

“I never want to fall in love” you muttered. And with your heart as wild as a beating drum, you slipped away to the back where the greenhouse was.

The night was darkest then, only icey blue threads of light illuminated dark greenery, beams slipping through the glass walls as if the moon herself was guiding your path through the spots that kept the components you needed.

“They will have fiery hair, as bright as the sun…” You whispered as you plucked a leaf out of a yellow potentilla with full conviction.

“They will eat waffles with their hands, like sandwiches,”

“--What are you doing?” Ben gently inquired as he walked in the middle of your tour.

“I’m summoning a true love spell called Amas Veritas.” You spoke with an ancient wisdom for someone so young.

“I thought you never wanted to fall in love” Ben murmured as he came to stand beside you and observe each little leaf that you had dropped on a ceramic bowl.

“That’s the point. If the person of my dreams doesn’t exist, I can’t die of a broken heart.”

Ben simply looked on as you continued on to a Yarrow plant “...They will be marvellously kind, if a little stern at first…”

“Their favorite shape will be a star” at last, you grabbed the prettiest rosemary pod that caught your eye as you stepped outside in the garden, cupped your plants in your palm and extended it like an offering.

“And their eyes will be of two colors, seafoam green and grey” You wished, as the night wind blew the leaves away from your hands, away into the horizon, following the dusty path of light emanating from the moon. Your spell danced away to the singing of crickets and night birds and a distant melody, thrumming like a mellotron.

Ten years later, that same moon would bear witness to the promise that Ben -- who had now changed his name to Kylo Ren -- had made you, as he climbed down the second storey of the house to run away from Yavin with his new friends, the “Knights”.

“I’ll be back, (Y/N). We’re a duo, remember?” He said as he hanged onto the bars of your balcony.

“You worry me, though. You don’t need to leave to perfect your magic.”

“I’m just so bored with this! I want new experiences.” He took your hand and kissed it, sealing the pact. “We’ll grow old together just like the two old hags.”

You snorted out laughing at how he referred to Luke and Leia. They had had their ups and downs lately, but you knew that deep down, no matter how much they fought and nagged one another, their love was endless and the strongest of all.

“Be safe. And please, come back.”

“I will.”

You hugged one last time before he jumped from the balcony and disappeared into the obsidian night…

-- 

taglist: @starlightsearches @starlightreadings @liceforlunch @wayward-rose @rosevon7975  @pradahux​   let me know if you’d like to be tagged for updates! <3 

#armitage hux x reader #armitage hux #reader insert #fanfiction #female reader #domhnall gleeson #domhnall gleeson character #detective!hux #witch!reader #witch! kylo ren #kylo ren #slow burn #practical magic au #modern au #1990s #magic #witches #soulmates #eventual smut #angst #romance

[guro-man]

Pumpkin Night Chapter 67

Several years after the girl they bullied was sent to a mental hospital, a group of former friends now have to try to survive while being hunted down by that same girl who now wears a pumpkin mask and is hellbent on revenge

#pumpkin night #pumpkin night chapter 67 #pumpkin night volume 7 #naoko kirino #kazuya makino #manga #horror #horror manga #manga translation #fan translation #manga recommendation #manga recs #Horror anime #horror comics #slasher #slasher horror

[candyville]

In Canada, these are the top 22 Halloween candies

In Canada, these are the top 22 Halloween candies

Trick-or-treating is a beloved childhood tradition. When kids dig through their pillowcases or plastic pumpkins after a long day of going door-to-door, it seems like everything is a treat. With Halloween just around the corner, we wondered: What are the most popular Halloween candies in Canada?  

Here is the list>

1. Milk Duds

Halloween is no dud with Milk Duds. It is packaged in adorable little boxes of three or four and given out to tens of thousands of trick-or-treaters each year. During Halloween, about 9,732 pounds of these chocolate-covered caramels are sold.

2. Life Savers

Life Savers have been around for more than a century. It's an oldie but a goodie, with an average of 11,987 pounds of Life Savers sold during the holiday season.

3. Almond Joy

There are times when you feel like a nut, and there are times when you don't. It is estimated that 32,744 pounds of Almond Joys will be sold on average this Halloween. Apparently, almond joys sell much better than their nut-free counterparts, as Mounds didn't even make the top 25.

4. Blow Pops

The ultimate two-in-one candy, Charms Blow Pops are lollipops with bubblegum centers. Is there anything better than that? Not much, since this iconic treat is so popular; about 256,916 pounds are sold for Halloween.

5. Dubble Bubble

The little barrels of super-chewable bubblegum known as Dubble Bubble are hugely popular. How popular is it, you ask? In the fall, about 150,000 pounds of this sugary treat are sold.

6. Kit Kat

Here's a fun fact: 172,663 pounds of Kit Kats are sold every Halloween, making them the 18th most popular candy. This year, the Kit Kats in kids' Halloween baskets may look a little different. As well as glowing packaging, Kit Kat has a new flavor in 2019: Mint Chocolate Duos.

7. Twix

Mars introduced Twix to the U.K., which traditionally comes in a two-stick pack. He arrived in the U.S. in 1979. Over the years, this caramel, cookie, and chocolate concoction has become a favorite of young and old alike. There have been 198,777 pounds of fun-sized (and normal-sized) Twix at Halloween over the past 12 years. That is a lot of caramel, no matter how you pronounce it.

8. Swedish Fish

What is the exact flavor of Swedish Fish? Although we're not sure (lingonberries are rumored to be in it), trick-or-treaters love the sweet, fruity taste of Swedish Fish. Each Halloween, about 202,000 pounds of these little swimmers dive into buckets and bags.

9. Milky Way

This Halloween, you don't have to go to outer space to find a Milky Way, just walk around the block. If you follow trick-or-treating etiquette, someone will give you this 15th most popular Halloween candy. Milky Ways make their way to trick-or-treaters in about 282,111 pounds this holiday season.

10. Hershey’s Mini Bars

America's iconic chocolate bar, Hershey's, is often imitated but never duplicated. What is the popularity of this sweet milk chocolate? I like it a lot.  

11. Taffy

This classic boardwalk food has become a Halloween staple, thanks to Laffy Taffy. Taffy branded with Willy Wonka debuted in the 1970s and is now a staple of trick-or-treaters; about 385,000 pounds of taffy are sold each Halloween.

#12 Butterfinger

This Halloween, Butterfingers have a new recipe, but Butterfingers have always been a favorite. Every year, 388,891 pounds of these crispy, crunchy peanut butter chocolate candies are sold for Halloween.

12. Jolly Ranchers

Jolly Ranchers only weigh 6 grams, so it's crazy to think that about 950,000 pounds of these hard candies are purchased for Halloween. Seven million hard candies are equivalent to that. You can buy bulk fruit treats and hand them out to trick-or-treaters.

13. Hershey’s Kisses

Are you aware that Hershey's Kisses are produced every day in excess of 70 million pieces? To keep up with Halloween demand, Hershey will have to maintain that volume. Every Halloween, chocolate drops are the first candy to sell over 1 million pounds, starting off the top 10 with a kiss.

14. Sour Patch Kids

These sour patch kids may be little troublemakers, but there's nothing trick about them. These tart little gummies are perfect for Halloween. Nearly 1.1 million pounds of these fruity candies are sold every Halloween.

15. Tootsie Pops

The genius idea of putting Tootsie Rolls in lollipops emerged in 1931, and since then, this fruity and chocolaty combination has become a global phenomenon. How sensational is this? Just ask the people who contribute to the 1.2 million pounds of these sold on average each Halloween.

16. Hot Tamales

If you like spicy candy, you're in luck. The little red hot cinnamon-flavored chewy candies known as Hot Tamales are hugely popular at Halloween. About 1.3 million pounds of candy are sold every Halloween.

17. Candy Corn

Candy corn is synonymous with Halloween and the fall season, regardless of how you feel about it. Each Halloween, over 1.3 million pounds of this divisive candy are sold, just outside the top five most popular treats.

18. Starburst

Opal Fruit was originally called Opal Fruit when it was introduced in Britain in 1960. We know and love them as Starburst now. Every Halloween, 1.6 million pounds of Starburst are purchased.

19. Snickers

A chewy, tasty candy bar with nougat, caramel, peanuts, and chocolate, Snickers is a national favorite. Halloween trick-or-treaters will likely have their fill this year, thanks to the nearly 2 million pounds of candy sold on average.

20. M&M’s

M&M's are a classic candy. Is there anything better? Every year, 2.2 million pounds of these chocolate buttons are purchased for Halloween, whether they are peanut, caramel, crispy or plain.

21. Reese’s

Reese's Peanut Butter Cups, in mini form and in pumpkin and bat shapes, are perhaps the most beloved Halloween candy, but they're only second in sales. Each year, about 3 million pounds of candy are sold in anticipation of the spookiest night of the year.

22. Skittles

Skittles debuted in the 1980s, but are more popular than ever today. With 3.3 million pounds sold on average, they're also the top-selling candy. Skittles are the most popular Halloween candy of the 2010s, but the most popular Halloween candy of the previous 80 years was quite different.

#wholesalecandies #halloweencandies #candies #halloween

[noxluxfreya]

tagged by: @herevard ahhh ty so much I’m so flattered 💖💖💖

Rules: Tag some people you want to get to know better/catch up with and then answer these questions

Last Song: Vague Hope (Cold Rain) - NieR:Automata OST

Last Movie: Final Fantasy XV: Kingsglaive because it was one of Those Nights™ and I really miss Lunafreya Nox Fleuret

Currently Reading: Elysium by graygoyle (AO3) - god this fic has my whole entire heart and honestly the way they write every moment between Byleth and Edelgard with such emotional gravitas is exactly how I imagine them when I’m playing Three Houses~

Currently Watching: Yagate Kiki ni Naru and Seishun Buta Yaro! I had been meaning to watch both of them for such a long time and I’m loving them so much! especially Seishun Buta Yaro; the writing is just *chef’s kiss* and it has this conversation-at-3am-with-a-friend-who-just-understands-you feeling that I really adore

Currently Craving: Pumpkin pie!! Which is great because I’ll be making some soon! It’s spooky time so that means pumpkin everything u know~

Currently Working On: A RWBY fic, but I might wait until Volume 8 is done to really dig into it since it’s set in between Volume 7 and 8! As well as a Persona fic that is mostly living in my head rn but it’s fineeee lmao. Also achievement hunting random games before Assassin’s Creed Valhalla and Cyberpunk 2077 take over my entire life

Currently Playing: Fire Emblem: Three Houses - Verdant Wind route (which has been hard af because I miss my Crimson Flower kids but I promised myself I’d play all of the routes), Monster Hunter World (mostly for the Halloween event but also just because I missed it!!), and Genshin Impact (it’s just pure serotonin at this point I’m love,,,)

tagging:  @sephirothism // @denofwoe // @arduanatt // @luzrolay // @sylhynn // @kaschra // @sarabeaarrr // @youplayedmeout // @f1nalfantasy

#tag games #thank you again so much for tagging me <3 #it really made me so happy when I saw this in my notifs <33 #also tagged friends - no pressure but I'd really love to see your answers~ #mutuals tag #ash says things sometimes

[mystical-flute]

Black Coffee & Pumpkin Pie: Ch. 7

AO3 || Ko-Fi

New Orleans, 2006

Life had changed dramatically for Eudora d’Orleans. Her beloved husband had been killed overseas, leaving the restaurant and all it entailed, to her. Eudora knew about running the restaurant - whenever she’d been free on the weekends, she’d be at the restaurant, managing the phones or helping with the finances.

Many times she’d bring homework that needed to be graded and do it in the back office, or patchwork that her students had created.

But now, her partner was gone, and the restaurant was squarely on her shoulders. Oh yes, Eli La Bouff had offered his support whenever she needed it, but Eudora wanted to show James, and the detractors she’d acquired that she would be able to lead Tiana’s Palace into a new era. God knew, it was what the city needed.

But still, it was hard, especially with Tiana. The girl was a storm all her own, brave, outgoing and stubborn as her daddy - and being alone, sometimes it was hard to make Tiana understand that she just wanted what was best for her.

Tired eyes wearily looked over the numbers, not fully registering what they meant. She’d been down here for hours, and it was nearing eleven o’clock. The restaurant was closed, the staff having just left for the evening.

She needed some air.

“Eli? Can you make sure Tiana is doin’ her homework? I just need to clear my head outside for a bit,” she called to her old friend.

Eli looked up from his beignets. “Of course, Miss Eudora. Take all the time you need.”

Eudora gave him a grateful smile, heading out the side door to the alley. It wasn’t the most pleasant place, right next to the dumpster, but the front had too much noise with people still crowding the block despite it only being a Wednesday night.

“I miss you, James. I know you’d be so proud of Tiana for wanting to follow in your footsteps, but she can be so damn stubborn sometimes. I know you always said I had the magic touch when it came to getting her to listen, but I’m not so sure I have that anymore. I think she’d be more willing to listen to you,” she sighed into the open air. “This just ain’t fair.”

She glanced up at the sky, feeling herself slowly start to relax, before she heard a thud near the dumpsters. She would have written it off as an animal if it weren’t for the distinctly human arms she could see trying to reach inside.

Eudora knew she shouldn’t, but something compelled her to call out.

“Hey honey, you alright over there?”

The figure froze, the arms dropping back to the other side of the dumpster, but the stranger didn’t run off.

Eudora moved slowly toward the dumpster despite every safety warning she’d ever heard ringing in her head. “It’s okay, I’m not gonna hurt you.”

Finally, the smaller figure peered out from behind. A boy - couldn’t be any older than her daughter, stared at her with terrified eyes. His clothes were baggy and ripped, his hair matted and dirty.

In his hand were scraps of food.

“Please… don’t call the police,” he whispered. “I - I didn’t mean any harm… I was just hungry.”

Her heart sank. This poor boy. She knew it was risky, but she would never let a child go without food - and neither would James.

“Well, I’m not gonna let you eat out of that dumpster. C’mon into the kitchen, I’ll cook you something fresh,” she said, gesturing to the door. “I’m not gonna call the police on you, I promise.”

She could see the boy was shaking as he emptied his fist and started moving toward her.

“What’s your name, honey?”

“N-Neal…” he mumbled, following her into the kitchen, flinching back at the bright lights.

“Alright Neal, is there anything special you - ”

Eudora’s question was cut off as the boy stumbled, falling to his knees.

“Oh - oh no, hey, c’mon honey, it’s alright…” she said, carefully holding him so he didn’t hit the hard tile floor. She shifted her hand to his forehead, realizing with horror that he was burning up. “ELI!” 

She managed to get Neal into the main restaurant as Eli called for an ambulance. She shuffled Tiana off with Eli for the evening and rode to the hospital in the ambulance. It was hours before she got news -  dehydration, malnutrition, and pneumonia, and the next afternoon, she returned with Tiana, Charlotte and Eli.

“Why… why are you here?” Neal asked, frowning in confusion at the group around him.

“You gave us quite a scare. We just wanted to make sure you were alright,” Eudora said with a smile. “Dr. Richardson says you’ve got a bad case of pneumonia.”

“Yeah, she told me that this morning. That explains why I feel like I got hit by a bus…”

“I brought you one of my beignets…” Tiana said, giving him a smile as she set it on the tray. “I’m sure it’ll taste better than a plain old sandwich.”

Eudora took a seat next to him. “Dr. Richardson also said social services’ll be here this afternoon.”

“I don’t need services. I’m fine on my own.”

“I’d say otherwise given your state,” Eudora said, raising a brow.

Neal picked at the deli sandwich on his tray. “I just don’t want to go back.”

“Don’t you have a Mama or Daddy waiting for you?” Charlotte asked with a frown.

He shook his head. “No. No one that would miss me. I’ve been on my own a while now.”

Eudora’s heart ached again for the boy. All alone, with nowhere to turn to…

She couldn’t let it happen.

Tiana nudged her, giving her a worried look, and in that moment, Eudora knew what she had to do.

“You can stay with us.”

Neal’s head snapped back up from his lunch. “I - what?”

Eudora nodded. “You can come live with Tiana and I. We got room.”

“I - I can’t do that… I’m just a street kid. You don’t want me living with you.”

“What I don’t want is for you to be living on the streets without safety or a roof over your head. What do you say?”

It took a few moments, but finally, a sob escaped him. “Okay… I - I’ll stay with you. Thank you. I don’t know what I did to deserve your kindness…”

It was early evening by the time the social worker arrived. Eli had taken Charlotte and Tiana home to do their homework, leaving Eudora alone with Neal.

“I’m Eudora d'Orleans,” Eudora greeted with a smile. “I’m the one who found Neal last night.”

The social worker - Amanda Johnson, she noted - gave her a bright smile. “How nice that you’ve stayed. I don’t usually get to see the rescuers. And this must be Mr. Cassidy.”

Neal gave her a quiet nod, barely looking over at her.

“Ms. d'Orleans, I will have to ask you to leave during this meeting, for his privacy’s sake.”

“Of course, I understand. I’ll be outside.”

She didn’t stray far, remaining close enough to the door to hear the hushed voices inside. When the social worker re-appeared, Eudora approached.

Johnson adjusted her bag. “He says you’ve offered your home to him, Ms. d'Orleans, but I noticed I don’t have you down as a licensed foster parent in the area,” she explained. “I’m afraid I’m going to have to place him with one of them, if they have room - ”

Eudora shook her head, firm. “I want this boy to know he’s going to have a roof over his head. Send me whatever I need to fill out.”

Johnson rustled in her bag, before producing a pamphlet and an application. “Here, then. Given Neal’s circumstances, I’ll put a rush on your application. Thank you, Eudora. It’s difficult to place teens. I’m glad to know this one has someone looking out for him.”

Eudora smiled, handed the complete application back, and returned to Neal’s bedside. “It’s gonna be okay, honey,” she said, looking at his bloodshot eyes and wiping a stray tear from his cheek. “I’m not gonna let anything else happen to you.”

---

“Hey Neal! How did the ball go last night?”

Neal ran his fingers through his hair, smiling at the screen. “It went… better than expected. I have a date with Emma -” he flinched, hastily turning the volume down on his phone at Tiana’s squeal. “ - And I told my dad.”

“Oh? And how did that go?” Eudora asked.

“He and his wife invited me to live with them and moved me in last night after the ball,” Neal said, heading downstairs where his father and Belle were making lunch. “Did you want to meet them?”

“I’d love to.”

“Papa? My mama wants to say hi.”

Aiden looked over and smiled, taking the phone. “You must be the famous Eudora and Tiana I’ve heard so much about.”

“And you must be Mr. Gold. It’s so nice to finally meet you. Neal’s been worried sick about whether or not he should tell you.”

“Please, call me Aiden. I understand. I know I have a reputation in Storybrooke. I’m just glad he told me the truth and that I have my son back.”

“I’m sure. I can’t imagine what you must’ve been feeling all these years. I’m glad we were able to play a small role in getting him home.”

“It wasn’t a small role at all… it was thanks to you that my son was able to find me again.”

Belle put her hand on Aiden’s shoulder, peeking over it and smiling at the camera. “Baelfire spoke so highly of you last night at the ball.”

“Ah, Belle, wasn’t it?”

“That’s right,” she said with a smile. “Aiden and I were hoping that you two would like to come up to Storybrooke for the Thanksgiving holiday?”

“Oh, that sounds wonderful. We’d love to come.”

“Can Lotte and Big Daddy come too?”

“Tia - ” 

“I’d like them here too,” Neal said immediately, looking at Aiden and Belle. “They’re like family. If that’s okay... ”

“The more the merrier,” Belle agreed with a smile. “We’d love to have them.”

Aiden nodded in agreement. “Yes, our home is large enough for all four of you. It might be nice to have more of a barrier between myself and my father-in-law.”

“Oh, I understand that quite well. I thought James’ mama was never going to like me. I don’t think she did until Tia was born, actually…”

“What?!”

Belle laughed softly. “I think some parents just can’t accept that their children grow up. It’s a bit sad, really.”

“Oh, sure. The thing is, I’m pretty sure James would’ve been the same way when Tiana got old enough to start dating, despite knowing what his mother was like to me.”

“Miss Eudora? I’m sorry to interrupt but one of the guests is asking to speak with you…” a new voice suddenly cut in.

Eudora sighed. “Alright, I’ll be right there. It was so nice to meet you, Aiden, Belle. We’ll talk to you all soon.”

“Bye Mama!” Neal said before the call ended, taking his phone back from Aiden.

“They seem so lovely, Bae,” Aiden said with a smile. “But what about those other two that will be joining us for Thanksgiving?”

He slipped his phone into his pocket and stirred the soup Belle had placed in front of him. “Oh, Mr. La Bouff and Charlotte? Well, Charlotte is Tiana’s best friend, and Mr. La Bouff owns a couple news stations. He came from a line of sugar barons. They call him Big Daddy because of how much money and time he spends with charities. They’re good people, I promise.”

Belle smiled. “I think it’ll be a wonderful holiday, Aiden. And we’ll be able to include Bae in our traditions too.”

Neal smiled. “I can’t wait. Do you guys watch the Macy’s parade?”

“We do, but Storybrooke also does a small one the day before. Nothing fancy, but the kids always seem to love it. Aiden is one of the biggest supporters of it,” Belle explained. “Marco dresses as Santa at the end too. It’s very sweet.”

“Marco? The skinny carpenter guy?” Neal asked, frowning a little.

“Well, we give him a little extra padding in the Santa suit. The kids don’t know the difference.”

“It was always Gideon’s favorite part of Thanksgiving when he was little,” Belle giggled. “I’ll have to show you some pictures later.”

Neal smirked before lifting the glass of water to his lips. “I’d like that. And I’ll ask Mama to bring pictures from New Orleans so you can see them, Papa.”

Aiden had seemed deep in thought, but brightened slightly at the words. “I would love nothing more, Baelfire.”

“Oh - and I forgot to say I’ve got plans Friday night, with Emma. I’m taking her on a date.”

Belle unexpectedly laughed. “That explains the squeal we heard coming from your room. You must have told Tiana and Eudora, right?”

His cheeks suddenly blushed pink as his hand scratched the back of his neck awkwardly. “Yeah… sorry about that.”

“No no, don’t apologize. I’m happy for you Bae. You deserve it.”

“Thanks Papa…”

The week flew by, Neal adjusting to life in the Gold household. Everyone was up by six, out the door by seven-thirty. Papa or Belle came by the fire station to offer lunch if he needed, which, while sweet, started feeling a little overbearing by Friday, and he was grateful for the chance to escape and hang out with Emma.

Even if his palms were sweating as he gripped the steering wheel and pulled into the long drive to Nolan farm. One last check of his hair, and he made his way to the door.

Emma greeted him with a wide smile, wearing a red dress with white polka dots, her hair curled and pushed over one shoulder.

“Neal, hey!”

He clutched the tulips a bit tighter in his hand before handing them over. “H-hi Emma. You look great. These are for you.”

“Tulips? Wow, you don’t see these this time of year. How’d you find them?”

“Belle helped. I didn’t ask too many questions.”

“Oh, so Moe, then. He’s a florist. Come on in, I’ll get these in some water and then I’ll be ready,” Emma said with a smile, waving him inside. “Mom! Dad! Neal’s here!”

There was something different about walking through the farmhouse now, as a date instead of as just a friend, and it made him feel even more nervous as he followed Emma into the other room.

David and Mary-Margaret were sitting at the dining room table, David raising a brow at Neal. “Hello Neal.”

“Er… hello Sheriff Nolan, Mrs. Nolan. It’s nice to see you again,” he said politely.

Mary-Margaret, on the other hand, seemed almost serene as she spoke. “Emma said you’ll be going to dinner and then for a walk, right?”

He nodded. “Yes ma’am. And I work the early shift tomorrow at the station so we won’t be out too late.”

Emma appeared from upstairs, a black leather jacket slung over her arm. “Are you ready to go?”

He nodded, offering her arm, which she took just before he heard the snap of a camera.

“Oh! Mrs. Nolan, if you wanted to take a picture I would have stopped…” Neal said, watching as she pulled the polaroid from the camera.

“Oh? Well that’s so kind of you, Neal! Finally, Emma has a date with someone that appreciates me trying to make memories.”

“Mom!” Emma protested, rolling her eyes as the two posed for a better photo, and finally, they were on their way to Tony’s.

“So, I noticed that nice VW bug in the driveway. That yours?” he asked after they ordered.

Emma nodded. “It is! I finally saved up enough to get it. Just in time for my college classes to start!” she made a dramatic jazz-hands gesture before grinning. “I’ve been saving up for that car for months!”

“It’s a pretty cool lookin’ car. I can understand why you’d have your eye on it,” he agreed with a nod. “How’s Bobby?”

She smiled. “He’s doing much better. He got home last week and he’s building up his lung strength. He was able to start school too, just in time.”

Neal grinned. “Hey, that’s great! I’m really glad to hear that Emma.”

“It really is. But how are you doing, with being with your dad and Belle and Gideon?”

He pushed his pasta around with his fork. “I really do love getting to know my dad, don’t get me wrong, but they’re both getting a little pushy, always coming to the station if I’m on shift and asking for lunch… are they usually that way?”

“Belle is, but that’s a bit out of character for Mr. Gold, but I bet he’s just worried that you might not come back, y’know? Just give him a little more time. It’s only been a week,” Emma said. “Have you told your mom in New Orleans?”

“Yeah, the day after the ball. She and Tiana’ll be coming here for Thanksgiving with a couple friends, if you want to meet them.”

“I’d love to!”

Dinner continued, dessert a chocolate mousse with pomegranate seeds on top, Neal and Emma chatting all the way through, and before long, they found themselves walking along the empty shores, a cool breeze beginning to stir and clouds gathering in the distance.

“Can I tell you something and you keep it a secret?” he asked when she laced their hands together.

“Sure, what is it?”

“You know Alice, right?”

“Margot’s girlfriend? Please don’t tell me she’s your ex or something,” Emma asked, her nose screwing up in disgust.

His followed suit. “Ew! No, of course not! She’s my cousin.”

“Your - ” 

“On Killian’s side. Her dad is his twin brother,” Neal explained. “I hadn’t seen her since before I ran away. When she showed up in Storybrooke, it took everything in me not to run back to New Orleans.”

“Does she know?”

He nodded. “Took me a couple weeks, but I told her before the ball. She was the only one I really trusted when I got old enough to realize something was wrong… but I still didn’t trust her enough to tell her I was leaving.”

“I can understand that…” Emma said, pausing their walk to look at him. “You have lived an interesting life, Neal Cassidy.”

“I was thinking about taking Gold back as my last name, actually,” he admitted with a shrug.

“Neal Gold…” she hummed in consideration, smiling. “I like it. It suits you, I think.”

“Thanks,” he trailed off, caught by her eyes. His heart thudded uncomfortably against his ribs, both of their faces going bright red in the fading light.

“Hey, Emma?”

“Yeah?”

“Can I - can I kiss you?”

She nodded, and he leaned in, pressing his lips against hers gently, feeling all of the warm, gooey feelings he’d heard about from movies. She kissed him harder, her arms coming to wrap around his shoulders as he pulled her closer against him, just before the skies opened and a heavy rain began to fall.

They parted, cheeks still bright red, and burst out laughing.

“Guess that’s a sign we need to get back!” Neal said, taking her hand and running along the beach with her back to his truck. They were soaked to the skin when they finally got inside, water dripping everywhere as Neal started the car and turned on the heat to try and dry them off during the drive back.

“I had a really great time tonight, Neal,” Emma said, wringing her hair out carefully. “Do you think we can do it again?”

Neal nodded, pulling into the driveway and getting as close to the door as he could. “I’d love to. Let me know when you’re free.”

��I will. Thanks again!” she gave him another quick peck on the lips, hopped out of the car, racing to the covered porch, giving him a wave before disappearing into the house.

He exhaled as he drove back home, quickly heading into the house out of the storm.

“Nice night, son?” Aiden asked with a small smile, looking up from his book.

Neal nodded, wiping water from his eyes. “Yeah, really nice. Emma and I are going to plan a second date.”

Aiden chuckled. “Good, good. Go ahead and get out of those wet clothes. We can talk more tomorrow when you get back from work.”

“Alright Papa,” Neal replied.

He went upstairs, took a hot shower, and fell asleep with a smile on his face, listening to the storm outside.

#ouat #once upon a time #swanfire #black coffee and pumpkin pie #neal cassidy #emma swan

[swarthwhore]

soft asks ALL pwease 🥺👉🏼👈🏼 - dex

oh jeez oof thats a lot

but im nothing if not a slut for attention, so let’s go:

what song makes you feel better? Oh man there’s actually a lot of songs that make me feel good... Ninja Sex Party’s covers of Heat of the Moment, Photograph, Always Something There To Remind Me, Jump, their songs Danny Don’t You Know, Orgy for One, First Date, FYI I Wanna F Your A, Eating Food in the Shower, Road Trip, The Decision Part 2, and the songs Shine, Boop, Smile, Let’s Just Live, Like Morning Follows Night, Lusus Naturae, Not Fall In Love With You, and Bad Luck Charm from the RWBY soundtracks

what’s your feel-good movie? I don’t really....have one? like i don’t watch/rewatch a lot of movies so i don’t rlly have one i go back to to make me feel better

what’s your favorite candle scent? literally anything like fall related; pumpkin, apple, spices, sign me the FUCK up

what flower would you like to be given? idk.... i’ve always liked tuplis but im also partial to dianthus bc of a magic treehouse book but also no ones given me flowers before

who do you feel most you around? not my parents, that’s for sure... maybe @raneinspane02?

say three nice things about yourself (three physical and three non-physical). “say three” “three physical and three non-physical” 3=3+3? 

what color brings you peace? pastel pink and blue (mostly pink)

tag someone (or multiple people) who make you feel good. @raneinspane02 @idkijustliketofangirl @makeliznotwar

what calms you down? riding in a car. i will fall asleep during a 20 minute car ride if i’m not driving

what’s something you’re excited for? RWBY VOLUME 7 SOUNDTRACK IN 4 DAYS AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH

what’s your ideal date? aw shit i answered this like 2 years ago but i dont really think it’s changed: walking along a wintry forest path with lanterns hung along the sides while this softly plays in the background and eventually we reach a cabin in the woods and cuddle under a blanket by a fire while watching the snow fall outside, then in the morning the cabin is on a hill overlooking a large field covered in an unbroken blanket of snow that leads down to a valley between mountains covered in a pine forest that’s alll finely dusted with snow and god i miss winter

how are you? so tired. fucking stayed up later than i meant to last night, woke up at 6:30am to go pee (my alarm’s set for 8), went back to bed, and then woke up at 10:14am

what’s your comfort food? steak. love that bitch

favorite feel-good show? idk.... probably one of game grumps’ series like stick fight or kirby/grumps dream course

for every emoji you get, tag someone and describe them in one word. 🥺 @raneinspane02 daddy 👉🏼 @idkijustliketofangirl hard-working (hyphens count as one, right?) 👈🏼 @jmojulia chill

compliment the person who sent you this number. always so funny and fucking good at art

fairy lights or LED lights? fairyyyyyyyyyyyyyy

do you still love stuffed animals? yeah but like not as much as i used to

most important thing in your life? probably my phone??

what do you want most in the world right now? motivation to do things i wanna do

if you could tell your past self one thing, what would it be? gender stuff! look it up!

what would you say to your future self? i mean what. like what could i say that i wont remember in the future?

favorite piece of clothing? i have this blue LoZ shirt my friend got me at the nintendo store in new york i really like, but also my friend and i switched our major shirts bc i wanted a women’s but got mens and she got womens but wanted mens and thats p good

what’s something you do to de-stress? viddy gaem (as for specifics? mayb like smash or monster hunter)

what’s the best personal gift someone could give you (playlist, homemade card, etc.) i think playlist is best bc im constantly listening to music, but homemeade cards are a close second bc i have a lot from since like freshman year of high school that i keep bc theyre good

what movie would you want to live in? the only one i can think of is “your name.” but like....odds are it wouldn’t be really different lmao

which character would you want to be? idk, either taki or mitsuha

hugs or hand-holding? hand-holdingggggggggggggggg

morning, afternoon or night? late night, early morning. like just when there’s no one around and everything is quiet

what reminds you of home (doesn’t have to mean house… just things that remind you of the feeling of home)? being comfortable enough to use the bathroom lmao

[kneewall49]

When will this Rain Stop!

March 24, 2020

Must be nearly 4 weeks we have lost on prep of the platform now. Each time it stops raining it takes 2 days at least of bright sunshine to harden the surface, but then it rains again.

We were all set to go again tomorrow, but it rained hard overnight and we are back to square one. I’ll have to call the roller hire place and postpone yet again :(

In the mean time we haven’t been idle.

1) got a casual job at the Noosa Kayak shop working for Andy Ross hiring out SUPs and sit-ons, although the CV19 has put a stop to that. Got two days in anyway, helps to pay for those recurring ‘cost of living expenses’ instead of the continual drawing down of funds, which are not propped up now with such low interest rates.

Below: View from the office :)

2) decided to get on with the retaining wall on the west side of the guest room while things are quiet. We are getting some erosion due to rain on that cut. I’m getting engineer’s plans done now. Footer will go in first, and Paul suggests using quarried ‘split rock’ as an economical material. He said he’d stack them with his bobcat. Will get a couple of truck loads once the footer goes in.

3) big event of the month was the completion of the first straight run of the board formed path retaining wall. Looks good and was fast to do with my forming method. Best part, I have made an arrangement with the local mini mix dude to drop off ‘hot loads’ (unwanted concrete mix) anytime I’m ready to accept one. Instead of $320 a mc, he takes $50. Saves him pay to dump at the tip, probably 50-100, plus my 50, makes us all happy. Also turns out mixing bags is about 3x the cost of buying ready mix. To finish the first run I need some dry weather to back fill the wall with rock, lay the ag drain, plastic and geotech fabric before topping with crushed concrete topping. Doing the path is something to do while waiting to start prep of the pad.

4) had to also cancel the truck to move the container twice. The container has to be out of the way before we start work on the slab. He was coming yesterday at 2, then it pissed down at 1:30.

5) had an awesome paddle with Col and Motoko around to the main beach and out to the point of the National Park on Sunday morning. Beautiful sunny day (before it rained again). We took the V8 double which is a bit more stable than the Carbo. On the way back through the bar I waited for a big set for a ride in. We got a beauty, cresting nicely for the first 100m or so, till it stood up over a shallower bar and we went straight down. The V8 double has a fairly fine nose, not much volume, and you sit fairly close to the nose. First time I’ve ‘pearled’ an ocean ski. I thought we’d pitch pole but at the last minute it flicked left and we when sideways for a while. All good, bounced stariaght back in, retrieved my lost hat and caught the next one coming thru. Water temp is gorgeous at present, and so sparky clear out of the river. Great fun and Motoko is calm and happy for the ride, even when not going exactly to plan.

6) Jamie helped cut down the strangler fig out side the caravan yesterday morning. It started to bear fruit and was becoming an overnight food stop for bats. We don’t want a bat colony developing so yesterday we cut it down. We were considering keeping it as it has a loverly branch structure, but it’s not viable if it attracts bats. The BX came in very handy again moving the logs and branches down the block to dry out. Would have been an ugly task moving by hand.

7) as I’m typing this it’s raining hard again. I had the ute down on the pad yesterday as it was dry, now I can’t get it out again. No way I was getting up in the middle of the night to drive it to dry ground.

8) still no buyers for Frank’s place. Guess with CV, it’ll now be even harder.

9) had our first home grown pumpkin for dinner a few nights back. A butternut number which I made into chips. Very tastie, but not enough to see us through a CV famine :). There are about 6 big Halloween types growing at present. Biggest is about 400ml across. Maybe soup maybe a better option.

10) the hotel Motoko’s working at has now closed so she be out of work till this is over. Maybe fortuitous as I’ll need help with the slab prep.

11) got the sign up so we are all official now :)