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savannahsdrabbles · 4 years

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Ocean Song - Part Seven

rating: PG summary: Marine biology student April O’Neil makes a startling discovery.

notes: 2.1k words - this chapter is a bit shorter, partially because I felt bad not updating and wanted to get something out there to prove that I’m still writing this fic. <3 Thank you to anyone who has stuck around and is keeping up with it! A03 link can be found here. Also thank you to @rusty-wayfarer and @starfiretheninja for beta-reading. <3 We’re almost done!

For a brief moment, all four tires left the ground and the terrified trio found themselves suspended in the air.

April watched out of the corner of her eye as Casey’s furrowed face slowly morphed into a more excited expression, his eyes widening and mouth rounding to let out an adrenaline-fueled whoop.

The turtle in the backseat had finally managed to dig his claws into the ripped upholstery and was clinging desperately even as the rest of his body began to lift off of the seat. Based on the panicked squeals emanating from his beak, defying gravity was a new sensation to him and one he was not particularly thrilled about.

A steep, tree-covered cliffside rose before them almost in slow motion, and April dug her fingernails into the worn armrests as the Jeep began to tilt and angle downwards. The scientific portion of her brain snapped into action, quickly assessing the situation. Based on their trajectory they shouldn’t flip, but it was still going to hurt. She squeezed her eyes shut again. Maybe if she didn’t look, that would help.

Then time began to tick again.

Tires met gravel with a cacophonic chorus of scraping metal and screaming voices. The bottom of the car’s frame skipped once across the earth, nearly tearing off the bumper as the car continued to barrel towards a thick grove of pine trees.

“CASEY – ”

“AAAAAA!”

Illuminated vegetation began to whiz past their headlights in bursts, quickly disappearing into the darkness behind them as Casey jerked the steering wheel from side to side. Years of playing hockey had evidently gifted him with quick reflexes, seeing as he was able to weave the vehicle between several trees before she could even process what was happening.

Heedless to the thumping windshield wiper blades, piles of green needles began to gather along the bottom of the glass as branch after branch slapped against their car. April bit her lip, wondering just how far this tree grove could go and then praying that it wouldn’t end with them flying over the edge of another, steeper cliff. At least the van had looked even less prepared to go surfing through the forest – as if that were something people normally prepped for. Speaking of which… She glanced in the wobbling rearview mirror, scanning the row of green behind them for any sign of pursuit, and then gave the smallest sigh of relief. At least for now, it looked like they were alone on this cliffside adventure.

Before she could even think to verbalize this discovery, Casey stomped on the brakes and the redhead pitched forward with a pained grunt of surprise. She grimaced as the seatbelt tightened roughly across her torso for the second time that night – at this point, she was fairly certain her shoulders and ribcage were covered in blossoming bruises.

The tires skidded beneath them for a moment, struggling to find traction on the shifting ground and threatening to send them spinning off into the tree line. Finally, after a few agonizingly long seconds, the Jeep came to a jerking stop.

Casey cut the engine the second the tires had stopped rotating, halting the thudding windshield wipers halfway through their pilgrimage and leaving the glass partially covered with pine needles. He turned to face his passengers, a triumphant grin already pulling at his lips. “And that’s what I call a perfect stop! I expect my valet parking tip now, thank you.”

“You’ve got to be kidding me,” April gave a breathless laugh, her heart still tap dancing in her chest as she unlatched her seatbelt and carefully rotated her shoulders. True to her theory, they were already aching from the vinyl restraint. “Your ‘tip’ is to not drive over the edge of a cliff without at least giving everyone in the car a solid heads up. Now c’mon – we should keep moving.”

“Duly noted,” Casey gave a nod in agreement, but the smug ‘I-told-you-so’ grin stayed on his face even as he climbed out of the driver’s seat. “However, I don’t see anyone following us, so I think that this would be considered a win for Jones and the Jonesmobile.”

A sudden shuffle of movement and a sharp click interrupted April’s quick retort, and the teens turned just in time to see the back driver’s side door swing open. The turtle in the backseat let out an excited chirp, his clawed hands dropping from the door handle and bracing against the seat as he prepared to fling himself headfirst onto the pine needle covered ground.

April yelped in alarm, throwing herself across the center console to grasp at the lip of the turtle’s shell. “Casey –”

“I’ve got him,” The boy was already on the move, rounding the Jeep before his name had fully left her lips. He grunted softly as he caught the squirming turtle under its armpits, then louder as he shifted the creature into a cradling position. As soon as she knew the risk of him falling was over, April climbed out of her seat and jogged around the car to stand by the other two. “Yo, dude, calm down. We’re safe now.”

The creature let out a low growl of frustration, his thick tail whacking against Casey’s thighs as he wriggled in the boy’s arms. “No! Need go Home! No-” he gestured broadly, indicating the entire car, and then attempted to roll out of Casey’s arms.

“Dude, chill! I don’t want to drop you!”

“Hey, hey! Calm down – ” April reached her arms out, attempting to catch one of the turtle’s flailing limbs and nearly getting smacked across the face in the process. Yikes – she’d felt those claws before and was not interested in feeling them again. Taking a step back, she continued to speak in her attempt at a calm and level voice. “We’re leaving the car, okay?”

The turtle stilled by a degree, giving Casey just enough time to secure his grip and hoist the creature into a more comfortable position. Big brown eyes locked onto April’s wide blue ones, and the creature stared into them imploringly. “No car?”

April gave a nod in agreement, a relieved smile pulling at her lips. “No more car.”

Her promise seemed to have been all that he was looking for, as the turtle nodded in agreement and took a slow, deep breath. It was just then that April noticed the rapid way his plastron was rising and falling with each inhale, and the way his tail had curled back between his legs. Despite being a roughly 200-pound reptile, there was something about his neutral state of nervousness that made him appear almost like a small child cradled in Casey’s arms.

Casey seemed to come to the same conclusion that she did, as his next words were spoken in a soft tone that she could only imagine him using with his younger sister. “I feel ya, dude. After everything you’ve been through tonight, I’d probably hate cars, too.”

The turtle let out a huff of agreement, turning his gaze up towards Casey. “No car. Home.”

“Agreed. I’m ready to go home for the night, too. Now we’ve just got to… um…” the teenage boy paused, his head swiveling like a periscope as he seemed to take in their surroundings for the first time since parking. After a moment of shuffling in a tight circle, thoughtful ‘hmm’s whistling from his nose, he turned back towards April. “Hey, Apes? You’re the scientist here – what exactly is our next step?”

“Oh, we just… um…” Blood rushed to her cheeks as both males turned to face her, confusion etched across their features. April bit her lip. That was actually a good question. She knew from previous experiences in releasing hospitalized creatures that the best way to ensure they made it back home was to release them at or near the coordinates where they had originally been found. But then again, Oroku Inc. already had that information – and what if they’d already guessed the teens’ plans and were moving that direction? What if the turtle’s brothers were already being herded into cages and taken back to the laboratories?

“I was thinking that we should…” she swallowed thickly, suddenly aware of the way that her throat seemed to be swelling with each wave of doubt. Her darting eyes flicked past the turtle’s wide, staring ones, and she lowered her head in sudden shame. What had she gotten them into? They really had no idea what they were doing – who did they think they were? Steve Irwin? As if. And now her dad was going to find out about what they had done, and they were going to go to jail and the turtle would be taken back and –

A hand suddenly rested on one of April’s own, grounding her in reality even as the tornado of nerves continued to swirl in her mind. Simultaneously, a low thrumming sound almost like a distant motor began to fill the air.

Her face jerked back towards the cliff, eyes instinctively scanning the rocky crags several dozen yards away. Had the goons found them after all? Were they about to come flying over the rails?

“Uh, Ape? He’s vibrating.”

April turned back towards her companions, blinking in surprise when her eyes landed on the turtle. He was still cradled in Casey’s arms, tail tucked between his legs and breathing slowly returning to a normal rhythm. However, he was now leaning towards her, arm outstretched to grab at her nearest hand. A look of concern marred his face – not like the fearful, defensive look that he’d been wearing earlier. No, this was a more timid expression – one of… pity? He was worried for her? And that sound… it almost felt familiar. Threads of long forgotten memories wove through her mind, reminding her of feelings of warmth and safety. She was suddenly a toddler again, curled up in her father’s lap and feeling his chest rise and fall beneath her cheek as he softly hummed. The sensation reverberated deeply in her chest and then up through her bones, slowly beginning to untangle the worried knot in her stomach.

Ever so slowly, as if a sudden movement would make everything come crashing down, April rotated the hand that the turtle was touching and held it palm side up. The turtle seemed to recognize this gesture and moved his own hand to accommodate. Thick claws and scales wrapped slowly around April’s hand, and she smiled warmly.

“I don’t know what you’re doing, but thanks,” she offered softly, closing her eyes and letting out a shaky breath. The humming sound continued, quietly clearing the fog from her head and making it easier to think. “And I’m sorry – I didn’t mean to freak out just now. I’m just trying to figure out the best course of action. Like we’re going to get you back to the ocean – that much I can promise. I’m just trying to figure out the best way that we can do that and get you home while still protecting you and your family.”

The thrumming sound faltered as the turtle listened, head cocked and eyes squinted. “Protect Family… from Bad Humans?”

April felt her heart sink a smidge, and she glanced over the turtle’s head to make eye contact with Casey. He really did understand more than they had initially thought; she might as well explain the situation at hand. “Yeah, those two guys that had you in their van were really bad, and they have more bad friends. We got you away from them for now, but they already know where it was that you were initially captured – so I’m worried that if we take you back to that location and leave you there with your brothers, they’ll just show up tomorrow and start this all over again.”

As April spoke, the humming sound slowed to a stop and the turtle slouched in Casey’s arms. His forehead creased in thought as he processed her words. “What if… what if Brothers move? Then… protect?”

“That might work,” Casey used one of his hands to pat the turtle’s shell in agreement. The creature arched his back, still not a huge fan of being touched more than was necessary. “If you guys moved somewhere else like, ASAP, it would be harder for anyone to find you.”

“But for how long could that actually work?” April asked, squeezing the turtle’s hand again. “And you guys would have to move pretty fast – like within the hour of us getting you to the correct coordinates.”

He hummed softly, this time sounding more tired. “Have Sometimes Home? Not long travel from Home, but still good.”

“Ok – that could work!” she nodded enthusiastically, equally trying to cheer him up and reassure herself. For now, this was the best idea they had – it would have to work. “But before we do anything else, let’s get that collar off.”

#tmnt #tmnt 2012 #rottmnt #sea turtles au #savannah drabbles

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malumsmermaid · 4 years

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I’d Do Anything Bonus Chap 5

Rating: PG-13

Warnings: Language? Other than that, super soft and mushy, Cashly in quarantine content

Word Count: 2,575

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The trio were relaxing at home, the first day of working from home coming up soon, having given themselves and their employees a few days to get settled and attempt to relax a bit before thinking about what needed to be done.

Ashton had just started his afternoon yoga routine, deciding to come outside for a bit, unrolling his yoga mat across the grass as a light breeze tossed his raven curls. Calum had followed his boyfriend out after putting basketball shorts on his bare lower body, Duke and Smokey trotting behind him as he settled into the cushions of the bench, scooping the small dog into his lap as he exposed his newly pink hair to the sun, having gotten an impulsive idea during their supply shop the day before.

Lily was the last out, changing from one of Ashton’s old band tees to her swimsuit she’d gotten the spring before, when it was just her and Calum. She’d spent the morning talking on the phone with Michael, listening to the blonde talk about the game he’d been developing over the past six months. He’d had her do vocals for one of the characters the week before and was going to be spending the day listening through the files to put them in place and wanted to ask her if she’d test the game when it was far enough along, devolving into updates and then Animal Crossing, Michael having gotten an advance copy of the game so he could post a review and then disappearing once the review was posted to his blog, lost in island life.

Calum’s attention drifted to Lily as she finally stepped through the back door and onto the patio, Smokey’s life jacket in one hand and a tennis ball in the other. She called the pit bull to her, strapping him into the life vest before showing him the ball, walking to the edge of the pool’s deep end. He trotted after her, bouncing as she raised the ball, flinging it towards the shallow end, both she and the dog jumping in as the ball landed in the water. She surfaced, wiping the water from her eyes and watching the shark fin on top of Smokey’s back wobble back and forth as he paddled after the tennis ball. Once he had it in his mouth he turned, tail whipping the water as he swam to his mama, presenting her the soaked and slobbery ball to throw again.

When Smokey got tired of playing fetch he swam to the stairs, climbing out and shaking off, trotting over to the sunny patio with the ball in his mouth. Calum took off the life jacket and Smokey laid down at his feet, ball still in the dog’s mouth as he stretched across the warm wood. Lily managed to swim two lazy laps before Ashton finished his yoga routine, rolling up his mat and walking over, sticking his feet in the water. She grinned from across the pool, ducking under the water and swimming over to where he was seated. His hazel eyes tracked her underwater figure, surfacing right in front of him. She rested her arms at the top of his knees, pushing herself up closer to him. He leaned down closer to her, “Getting me wet, sweets.” He said lowly, smile on his face.

“How the tables have turned,” she returned cheekily, smiling at his raised eyebrows.

He shook his head as she moved her arms off his legs, sinking back into the water. Ashton turned his head towards the sky, basking in the warmth of the early spring day. He felt Lily’s arms wrap around his legs but didn’t think much of it until the next thing he knew, he was underwater. Lily kicked off the wall, speeding to the other end of the pool before he resurfaced.

Calum had seen this coming the second Ashton started moving to sit poolside, getting his phone out to record. He was curled up in a fit of giggles as Ashton flicked his hair out of his face before swimming after their girlfriend. With his height and strength giving him an advantage he easily caught up with Lily, Calum catching his breath and carefully setting his phone on the patio table, propped up by his pop socket, checking the frame before saying, “Gonna go rescue my girl from our boy.”

He ran across the yard, leaping from the side of the pool and pulling his legs to his chest as he cannonballed into the water, sending up a massive splash, surprising Ashton to the point that he let go of Lily. She swam towards the center of the waves that now filled the pool, hiding behind Calum as he surfaced. “You’re both so gonna pay for that,” Ashton said, hazel eyes glinting playfully as he pulled his arm back.

The effects of Calum deciding they had to binge Avatar and Korra over the rainy weekend were clear as the three of them began flinging water at each other, spreading out across the pool as both dogs stared on from the safety of the patio.

~~~~~

The next day they were sitting in their home office, waiting for people to begin to log in to their first meeting of the week. All three of them had only dressed for work from the waist up, planning to wheel around the room if they had to get something from elsewhere. They were crowded around Ashton’s computer, just barely fitting three bodies into the frame.

Kelsey was the first to pop into the video chat, grinning as she realized this fact and calling, “That’s definitely not six feet you three!”

Lily blushed and Ashton easily shot back, “It’s either this or all three of us being picked up on each other’s computers and creating an echo loop.”

Kelsey just grinned in response, holding up her hands in acceptance as more people joined the virtual meeting.

The first meeting went well, just a discussion of what needed done and giving updates to the three heads of the company, Lily sliding her laptop onto the corner of Ashton’s desk to read attachments and make notes. They traded jokes back and forth as they spoke until the meeting broke up, everyone going to their next task for the day, whether for work or just cleaning up around the house.

Ashton opened the link for their next meeting, a slight energy of anxiety filling the air around the three as they waited. Duke jumped from the couch where he’d been laying with Smokey and pawing at Calum’s leg at the change in the room. Calum lifted the small dog into his lap, scratching between his ears as Ashton turned, giving Calum and Lily each a kiss, trying to be reassuring in their plan as the first member of the finance board popped into the room.

Once all five finance members had gathered Ashton started the meeting, “The three of us had a discussion over dinner last night, and had an idea. I know we’re already paying everyone working from home holiday pay, so they’re getting a week and a half worth of pay every week, but before we left the office Thursday we didn’t discuss any changes on behalf of the people whose jobs can’t be done from home. Calum, Lily and I agreed that they should be getting double their usual pay and—“

Ashton was cut off by one of the men in the meeting. “The economy is tanking because of this panic and you want to risk our company’s money paying people more, Mr. Irwin?”

Ashton stiffened, clenching his jaw and squaring his shoulders as he glared into the camera, “Can think of one way to cut some costs, Jerry.” He stated, the CEO’s voice low and dangerous.

“Ashton,” Lily warned softly, hand coming to rest on his thigh.

Jerry pressed his lips together as Ashton pushed back from the desk, stepping away from the meeting for a moment, Lily’s gaze following him as Calum took control, his tone clipped as he addressed the murmuring men in their own offices. “These employees we’re discussing are real people out there risking their own health as they continue to work. Now if you’d let Ashton finish you would’ve learned that we’d already found a solution to what you brought up. Together, Ashton, Lily, and I all make more than enough to keep ourselves afloat for however long we have to be in this situation, so we thought we could cut costs by not being paid until everyone is clear to go back to work, whenever that happens. Not having to pay the three highest ranking members of the company should easily cover any deficit of paying extra to those who can’t work from home.” Calum paused, glancing toward’s Lily her gaze on the office doorway, Ashton having exited the room, “And, as Ashton so kindly inferred, we could easily make it four if you still have a problem with it, Jerry. As you usually do whenever we have an idea for helping our employees that could potentially impact your ability to make yacht club payments.”

Lily bit her lip, holding back a laugh as Jerry’s face turned red, the other four members of the board doing the same. “Shoulda never agreed to work at a company where my bosses are young enough to be my children,” he spat before disconnecting.

Calum watched as the cameras shifted to fill the empty space glancing towards Lily as he said, “So I suppose we need to email HR before we find Ash, Lil.”

She nodded, opening a new email as he leaned back in his chair, listening as the other four men discussed the necessary movements to make the changes that had been suggested. Once it seemed like they had everything handled, Calum spoke, tone bright again, “Jaime, how’re you guys adjusting to having the kids home?” Jaime grinned, smiling as he replied, “Getting there, Bri and I have only managed to step on legos twice this morning. He has the kids now.”

Calum nodded, lips pulling into a smirk as Pete called, “Twice each or total?”

The entire group fell into laughter at that, the tension in the room easing. Lily sent her email and closed her laptop, pressing a kiss to Calum’s cheek before whispering “Gonna go check on Ash.”

“I’ll join you both in a minute, he’s probably in the gym,” he said softly, squeezing her hand before she waved goodbye to the other four men, wheeling her chair to her desk outside the camera frame, putting her laptop in the center before getting to her feet and walking out.

Sure enough, she found Ashton in their home gym, work shirt torn off so he was now only in his boxers, gloves covering his hands as he attacked the punching bag, rock music filling the room. Lily sighed as she walked over, catching the bag as he landed a high kick.

“Easy there Rocky,” she said softly, “heard it was easier to do this if you had someone holding this thing back from coming flying back at you.”

Ashton let out a heavy breath, stepping back from the bag and Lily released it as he began unwrapping his hands. She stepped around it, coming closer to Ashton, his chest already glistening from not even ten minutes of being in the gym. “As usual, everyone who isn’t Jerry is on board with our idea, figured everything out before I came down here.”

He hummed, arms wrapping around Lily once his hands were free, holding her to him, “Can’t understand how Jerry’s mind works, why he doesn’t understand that we should be taking care of everyone who works for us. Guy brings out the worst in me.” He sighed, burying his face in Lily’s hair as one hand disappeared up the back of her shirt, grounding himself.

Lily smirked, pulling back the smallest bit to look up at Ashton, “Think you should see the email with HR that our girl copied us on, love.” Calum called from where he was leaning against the door frame, “Before that wandering hand of yours gets too distracted.”

Ashton’s eyebrows knitted together, locking gazes with Calum, dots slowly connecting in his mind. “Cal razzed Jerry pretty good before he dropped out of the meeting, you missed out.” Lily giggled, Calum shaking his head as he joined his two partners, pulling Ashton against his exposed chest, having gotten his shirt half unbuttoned during his journey from the office to the gym.

Calum nodded, chewing his lip as he said, “Sure we won’t have to worry about Jerry shitting on our plans again.”

Ashton’s eyes closed as their conversation fully sunk in, body relaxing at the feeling of Lily and Calum surrounding him and holding him, resting his weight back against Calum as he let himself be held.

~~~~~~

They made it through a few more days of working from home before both Ashton and Lily started going stir crazy. Even their near daily walks of Duke and Smokey around the neighborhood wasn’t enough to sate them. Calum had a record spinning as he worked on the half-complete puzzle on the coffee table, Ashton pacing the backyard while Lily sat on the couch upside down. Calum smiled as he glanced up after putting another piece in the puzzle, soft chuckle passing his lips.

Lily sighed as she caught his glance, pulling herself up onto the couch and laying on her side, heavy groan coming from her. Calum shook his head, looking up as Ashton walked back inside from the backyard, pout on his face too. He hummed, getting to his feet and walking across the room, turning off the record player and grabbed the dogs’ leashes. “Car ride, let’s go!” Cal called, waving to his partners as the dogs scrambled from their spot on the rug.

Ashton and Lily both glanced at each other before following behind Calum, his car keys in his hand as he leashed the two dogs, opening the front door. They all climbed into Calum’s car, Ashton choosing to sit in the backseat with the dogs. Calum put on his summertime playlist, rolling down the windows as he drove down the driveway and out of the neighborhood.

Lily and Ashton each leaned against their open windows, smiles on their faces as the wind whipped by them. Calum stole glances at them both, openly admiring them at stoplights as all three of them bopped along to the joyful, carefree songs sounding through the speakers. Calum drove them around for over an hour before pulling back into the driveway, the grins on all of their faces brighter than they had been in a couple days.

Once they were back inside Ashton leaned over and pecked Calum’s lips, “Brilliant idea, babe, think that’s exactly what we needed. Think we should do it again in a couple days, my car though, no dogs, just the three of us. Have an idea of somewhere I want to take you both.”

Ashton had wiggled his eyebrows at the end of his sentence, but Lily and Calum had already figured out the double meaning, laughing softly as they leaned into their boyfriend, smattering him with kisses in the entryway, his giggles echoing off the walls. Calum sighed, pulling away just the slightest bit, whispering, “Think we’re gonna make it through this just fine.”

Tag List: @goth5sos @irwinkitten @wildflowergrae @calpops @empathycth @5sosalh

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talkfastromance4 · 4 years

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Ashton snippet

Found this while perusing through old docs, it’s titled ‘Don’t Call Me Angel” and it ends abruptly because I never finished or I don’t know what happened. But here’s a snippet of a TA!Ashton as an art teacher.

Might have to add this to my list of WIPs to finish if it gets good reviews. Let me know what you think :)

Copyright talkfastromance4 © All works is intellectual property of the author. All rights reserved. Any redistribution or reproduction or any part or all contents in any form is prohibited. You may not, without written expression and consent from the author, distribute works amongst other social media platforms

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Masterlist

• • • •

Ashton has always felt things so deeply. He loves deeply, he rages deeply, he sympathizes deeply and he plays his drums with everything he’s got. He tries to keep his emotions in check but they change like the tides, even he finds it hard to keep up with them.

Ashton lives, breathes and sweats creativity. His passion is seen in his brush strokes, his despair is shown through the negative space of his photographs. Long hours spent in the dark room and sometimes endless nights painting on large canvases in his studio apartment has given him the cliché brooding artist look; dark circles under his eyes complete the look.

When he’s not in the dark room or his apartment he frequents the coffee shop that is the perfect halfway point between his familiar places. It’s called Java Bean and serve the best iced coffee Ashton has ever tasted to tell you the God honest truth and the shop is a literal godsend for being open twenty-four hours.

Ashton’s insides are made of caffeine, paint and a constant ebb and flow of pulsating thoughts and phrases that won’t leave his mind unless he writes them down in his sketchbook. That’s another thing Ashton can never leave the house without, his sketchbook.

It’s large, black and hard covered even though the spine has long since lost the potency of its glue causing it to lie open like a cracked crab. It’s filled with his thoughts, lyrics he can’t get out of his head, small sketches of flowers or images he sees late at night when he dreams (when he gets a chance to sleep).

The book is his vice and he would rather die than ever part with it for Ashton is a closed book with every person (aside from his three best friends) but he opens up fully between those pages.

For his last year at University he’s the TA for his favorite art professor, Miss Dooley who is the perfect amount of scatter-brained and genius. She calls every student ‘pet’ and always has incense or essential oils burning in her classroom.

It has been Ashton’s wish and dream to be an art teacher for high school students, to help those like him who want to stay in their shell reveal who they truly are on the inside.

“Hello, my pet,” Miss Dooley trills in her usual sing song voice as Ashton enters the large art classroom.

He inhales the acrylic paint, the fresh wood waiting to be turned into canvases and the waxy aroma from the oil pastels stowed away in a cupboard. It’s one of his favorite smells in the world, the mediums just waiting to be used and Ashton’s fingers twitch in anticipation to create.

“Hey, Miss D,” he grins making a beeline to her desk at the front of the room. Behind her on the charcoal colored chalkboard is her name in calligraphy with broad strokes of curves and flowers.

‘Advanced Art Multi-Medium’ is written in block letters below her name as well.

“Excited for this year?” she asks rolling around a small was of blue putty in her hands. She claims it keeps her fingers and joints from failing so she’ll always be able to make art.

“Yeah, does it look like we’ll have a good class this year?” he taps the pads of his fingers on the black resin tabletop, a habit he’s always had when he’s anxious.

“Oh, I think so,” she beams her robin’s egg eyes twinkle. “It’s a full class this year, which I have you to thank for my little chickadee.”

“Me? What do you mean?”

“You’ve been the best student for the past six years you’ve been here, my prized pupil and a very handsome fella if you don’t mind me saying.”

Ashton feels the back of his neck heat up from her sentence full of compliments. Surely he’s not the reason for a full class this year? That’s ridiculous.

“I don’t think—“

Before he could finish the double wooden doors swung open and a flood of college students entered and Ashton couldn’t help but judge the first few that came in. He recognized three of the girls in front who were in Delta Zeta which he knew the only amount of creativity in their body was decorating photo backdrops.

Apart from them the rest of the class he’s seen hanging around the art wing of the school and at some of the showings he was at. At the rear was one of his best friends, Michael Clifford who decided a month ago to dye his hair a deep purple again. Michael smirks at his friend as he takes a seat next to a petite girl opening up a small black notebook.

Ashton let out an exasperated breath through his nostrils at his friend who did not tell him he’d be taking this class.

“ . . . Twenty- three . . . and twenty-four. Excellent! We’re all here!” Miss Dooley claps her hands together and moves to the front of her desk to smile sweetly at her pupils. “I recognize some of your faces but welcome to Advanced Art! I am Miss Dooley and this young man next to me is Ashton Irwin who will be my aide for this year. Would you like to inform them what this year will consist of?”

Ashton clears his throat then steps forward to stand next to Miss Dooley but ends up leaning his back against the counter behind him. He wanted them to see he was relaxed.

“Hey everybody. This year will be about using different mediums and creating something great out of them and also finding your niche in your art. Every class you’ll have five sketches of a landscape or a self-portrait or anything else that catches your eye. If you don’t have a sketchbook I recommend getting on.”

Every eye is on him and he is making a point not to look anywhere near Michael in the back. He clears his throat again before continuing.

“Your final exam for the first semester will be the beginning of your portfolio which will show the progression of your ‘voice.’ When—“

“Our voice?” a platinum blond of the Delta Zeta trio asks with her hand in the air, a confused pout on her glossed lips.

Ashton folds his arms across his chest, the leather of his jacket squeaks from the motion.

“Each artist has a voice in their work, a certain style that is all their own. That’s why when you see the blurred colors of a lily pond you know it’s Monet or the small pointed brush strokes and vivid colors of Van Gogh. Art is a voice for when you don’t know what to say, you can convey so much emotion into it. By the end of the year I want to be able to tell who’s piece is who’s, that’s how prominent it needs to be.

“If you don’t think you have it in you or won’t rise up to the challenge of being vulnerable, then I suggest you drop the class. Some people really want to be here and create art, I don’t want you to be deprived of that.”

He stands there eyeing each and every person almost daring one of them to stand up and walk out. A motion of a hand raise catches his eye in the back, he thinks it’s Michael and is ready to kick his friend out if he makes a rude comment. But it’s not Michael, it’s the girl sitting next to him.

“Yes, pet?” Miss Dooley calls on her.

“How many pieces should be in our portfolio?” she asks in a gentle voice but with sureness behind it.

“However many it takes to find your voice,” Ashton answers her. She nods then bends over her notebook to write furiously on the page.

“Well, since no one has jumped ship, let’s start off with a little exercise. Turn to the person you share a table with, introduce yourself and sketch them while you get to know each other. You will be each other’s buddies for the semester. Begin, my pets,” Miss Dooley claps her hands together again and all the students shuffle around for pencils and paper.

» » » » »

It’s a Friday night and Ashton is sitting in his favorite booth at Java Bean with his sketchbook out and earphones in to block out the small chatter of other college students. His first week of class as a TA went really well, a lot of the students showed promise. To his amusement Michael’s first sketches were of the little succulents he has scattered about his apartment.

Ashton was pleased that they took him seriously and Miss Dooley always offered her help and guidance to those who had questions. None of the students had approached Ashton but he was fine with that, he’s still learning by watching Miss Dooley interact with them.

Ashton’s hazel eyes landed on Michael and Calum approaching his table as he sipped at his black coffee. He licks his lips watching them approach with shit eating grins on their faces and he reluctantly removes his earphones. He closes his sketchbook with a soft thump, slightly glaring at his friends. They know better than to interrupt him while he’s drinking coffee and immersed in his sketchbook.

“Hey teacher,” Michael snickers pulling up a chair from the next table over. He slumps down in it with his fingers twiddling in his lap while Calum spins the chair opposite Ashton around and straddles it.

Calum pulls his dark gray beanie down lower over his ears then rests his chin on his elbows.

“Can I help you with something?” Ashton sighs leaning back in his own chair.

“Luke’s throwing a party tonight,” Calum begins, “a back to school rager, if you will.”

“Good for him.”

“C’mon Ash,” Michael whines leaning forward on his knees. “Come party with us like old times.”

“You mean like when we were freshman and your head caught fire?” Ashton quirked his eyebrows up.

“We were young and dumb then,” Michael waves it off. “Come on, it’ll be great. The girl I sit next to in your class will be there.”

“And?”

“What girl?” Calum pipes up.

“And she’s cute,” Michael shrugs, “and it will be fun for you to get out of your little hermit hole you’ve set up here.”

“I dunno guys. I want to get up early tomorrow to take some photos of the waterfall. In my photography class I’m doing a series of different locations throughout the seasons, and I think the—“

“Yeah, yeah, we get it,” Calum interrupts holding his hand up. “Just . . . come hang out with us before you get neck deep in your work, yeah? Just for a few hours.”

Ashton rolls his eyes then sighs before giving in.

“All right, fine. I’ll come.”

“YES! The Ash Man is back!” Michael hollers clapping his friend on the back and the other customers turn to look over in irritation.

“You’ve never called me that,” Ashton says gathering his stuff in his shoulder bag, “and don’t start now.”

The party was like any other party Ashton has been to in his college career, granted it is a bit tamer than when they were all freshman and sophomores. For the most part everyone had their clothes on which relieved Ashton. He hated having to try and wrangle whoever it was to get their clothes back on.

The townhouse was stuffy with vape smoke making the air foggy, beer and liquor filled his nose and he felt the music course through his body.

“Hey, you brought him!” Luke exclaims with a large smile. His arms are raised bringing Ashton in for a tight hug. “Glad you’re here, buddy.”

“Thanks man,” Ashton says tousling the younger guy’s golden curls.

“Drinks are in the kitchen, but I think I hear a shot of fireball calling your name,” Luke wiggles his eyebrows dragging the guys into the kitchen.

“I haven’t had fireball since New Year’s two years ago,” Ashton chuckles.

“Ashton! Hey!”

His head snaps when he hears his name then wishes that he hadn’t. The voice belonged to Breanne Thomas, a girl he used to hook up with on and off a few years back. She was even the model for some of his photography assignments.

“Oh, hey, Breanne,” he nods politely then shuffles past her into the kitchen. He did not want to relive old times with her at the moment.

“Yikes, sorry, mate,” Calum says handing him a shot glass filled with the golden liquid.

“Whatever, let’s cheers to a new year,” he shakes it off holding his glass up in the air. They all clink and down the shots heartily. Ashton remembers the burn as it travels down his throat and into his stomach.

As the night progresses he becomes pleasantly buzzed and that’s when he knows to stop. He just stumbles out of the bathroom when he hears his name being called and looks up to see Michael waving him over near the back of the house to the backyard.

Ashton pushes through the bodies, waves of weed swirl around his head and it’s so strong he’s sure he’ll get a contact high from it. When Michael becomes more in view he notices the girl from his class standing next to him.

“This is Lennox Hastings,” Michael introduces with a loopy smile. “Lennox Hastings this is Ashton Irwin. Our teacher. My best friend.” A small hiccup escapes him.

“Hi,” she smiles shyly at Ashton, “And it’s just Lennox. You don’t have to use my last name Michael.”

“It’s a badass name, Lennox Hastings! I have to say it all. You should show him your notebook, he’s got one too. Oops, I’ve got to go. Bye!”

He skirts away into the crowd and Ashton shakes his head at his drunken friend then turns to Lennox who now looks oddly familiar now that he knows her name. Apart from seeing her in his class he swears he’s seen her somewhere else before, but where? Or did she have a twin?

“I’m sorry you’re stuck with him as a table partner,” Ashton apologizes and she laughs lightly.

“He’s not so bad. He’s fun to talk to when I’m not working.”

“How’re you liking the class so far?”

“It’s good, I’ve been looking forward to it since I got here, actually. I was in all advanced classes in my high school and I’ve heard how amazing Miss Dooley is.”

“Yeah, she’s great,” he smiles then glances around at their surroundings. There’s a couple making out against the fridge and Ashton realizes it’s Calum and some short blond haired girl. “You wanna step outside? Get some fresh air?”

“Yeah, that sounds good,” she smiles opening the door.

Ashton picks up two water bottles from the bucket on the counter then follows her into the warm August night. The screen door swings shut behind him, he inhales deeply and sits on the gliding bench besides Lennox.

“Thanks,” she says taking the water bottle from him and takes a sip. “This isn’t weird, is it?”

“What isn’t weird?”

“Us being out here? You’re basically my teacher,” she laughs nervously.

“Nah, I’m just an aide. I’m not a teacher yet,” he grins at her.

Now that he’s not inside the house with loads of distractions all around, he can finally get a good look at her. She looks familiar for some reason now as he stares at her in the yellow porchlight. Her auburn hair is pulled up in a half ponytail with some fly aways clinging to her round cheeks. Her eyelashes are long atop her doe eyes and Ashton finds himself wishing to see what type of blue they are and if he could paint them.

“You’ll make a good one,” she says pulling him from his wandering mind.

“Ya think?” he leans back and rocks the glider back and forth slowly, it creaks and groans as he does.

“Yeah, you control the room well and I can tell how passionate you are about art.”

“Thanks,” he says sheepishly. He’s never been able to take compliments well, whether it’s about his art or himself. “How’re the rest of your classes going?”

“Okay so far, lots of work already in my poetry class and advanced art,” she gives him a sly smirk and nudges his ribs playfully with her elbow.

“You write?”

“Mhm. Wrote a lot this summer, great inspiration,” she says grimly.

“That’s good, right? I’ve heard writers block is shit.”

“It is.”

“So what inspired you?” he turns his body so he’s angled towards her more.

Lennox shakes her head, a piece of hair clings to her lip and Ashton desperately wants to pull it away.

“I don’t want to bore you with my heartbreak, Mr. Irwin,” she says.

“Please, call me Ashton,” he grimaces at the title. “I’m an artist, too, remember? Heartbreak makes the artist.”

“You already know it, though, the cliché story of girl meets boy. Girl falls for boy and they date and commit but then the boy gets a record deal and leaves girl behind.”

“Wait,” Ashton sits up straighter when he heard record deal. “You aren’t talking about Harry Styles, are you?”

“You know him, huh?” she says airily.

“Yeah, we don’t get along very well. At all, actually,” he chuckles.

“How come?”

“That’s not important right now. I’m sorry he hurt you.”

• • • •

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calpalirwin · 4 years

Text

When I Pray For You

Summary: Ashton Irwin had only planned on performing and enjoying his New Year’s Eve rocking out to 80s music. He never planned on the woman in the black dress shaking up his world. What a way to rock in the new decade.

A/N: So this was originally a one-shot piece designed to satisfy my widest daydreams after actually meeting Ashton Irwin at a New Year’s Eve party. And now it’s a 3-part series. Catch up here with Part 1 and Part 2.

Content: Pregnancy. Cursing. General shenanigans.

Word Count: 7.5K

And away, and away we go!

~~~

“So, who are we gonna pick to be the godfather?” I asked her, once the shock wore off and we were curled up in bed.

“All 3 of them,” Bridget said simply.

“All 3 of them for 1 kid?” I giggled. “Oh, they’re gonna be so spoiled…” I continued to giggle with a small groan.

“You didn’t really look at the picture did you?” she asked.

“No,” I said sheepishly. I had been too excited to realize anything about it besides it being a sonogram.

“Probably for the best.”

“Why? What’s going on?”

“Look closer at the picture, Ash.”

I scrambled to reach for where I had placed it on the bedside table. I squinted, then my eyes shot wide open as I took in the small “A”, “B”, and “C”. “Oh, fuck…” I breathed, clapping a hand to my mouth. “OH, FUCK!”

“More than you bargained for?” she laughed.

“TRIPLETS!” I was on my feet, tears streaming down my face.

“Ash, you’re yelling.”

“HOLY FUCK!” I was spinning in circles, my mind racing, my vision blurry. A year ago I was just a dude who liked a gorgeous girl in a dazzling dress. Now she was going to be my wife and she was carrying not one of my kids, not two, but three! Three babies! Three… babies...

“Ash? ASHTON!”

~~~

“Hey, there you are,” her voice said softly as I opened my eyes.

“What the fuck?” I mumbled, wondering why I was on the bedroom floor. “Did you kick me out of bed?”

She laughed. “Yeah, like I’m strong enough to do that.”

“Triplets, huh?” I asked, it all coming back to me as I stood up.

“Whoa, easy there,” she said, gripping my arms to help keep me steady.

“We’re gonna be outnumbered, baby…” I realized, sitting back down on the bed.

“I know. Good thing we got 3 godfathers on hold.”

“So, they each get one?”

“Yeah. Figured we could name them after them? Sort of anyone. Like initial wise. I want Irish names, though.”

I smiled at her. God, she was perfect, wasn’t she? “Wait, you said you were due in May. Do you know the genders already?”

She nodded, biting her lip. “Well, Sierra knows. And Crystal. They’re planning the reveal party.”

“So, Luke and Mike also know?”

“Nope. The guys don’t know a thing. There are small benefits to you guys being off on tour. Easier to keep things a secret.”

“God, how are you not showing?”

“Oh, I am,” she said with a roll of her eyes.

“You’re still beautiful.” Then, “Wait, you said ‘Baby Irwin’, not ‘Irwins’.”

“I know.”

I quirked an eyebrow at her.

She laughed. “I wasn’t sure if you had noticed much besides that it was a sonogram. I didn’t want you to faint on me in public.”

“Good call,” I giggled weakly.

“You good?” she asked, snuggling up next to me, her brown eyes still holding a trace of worry.

I held her tight against me, pressing a kiss to her hair, “So good. You?”

“I’ve had about four months to get used to the idea, Ash. Yeah, I’m good.”

“Fuck!” I groaned, tears forming in my eyes, this time not with joy.

“What?”

“I’ve missed four months…” I said with a choked sob. Then, I was weeping.

“Ash,” her voice soothed, her arms holding me tight. “It’s okay, Ash. We’re okay.”

“I’m already the worst father!” I wailed, sounding like a broken boy, not a father and husband to me. Not at all a man that deserved her.

Suddenly her lips were on my arms, leaving those soothing kisses I’d come to desire so much when my mind went dark. And just like that, she was pulling me out of the pit, loving the unlovable. “There you are,” she smiled when my breathing became regular.

“Sorry,” I sniffed, wiping at my face, beyond embarrassed.

“Listen to the good voice,” she reminded me. “The one that tells you that you are going to be an amazing father because you are beautiful and strong and wild and caring.”

“That voice sounds a lot like you.”

“Good. Listen to it. I have a tendency of being right.”

~~~

“Wait what?” Calum blinked, the only calm one out of the trio when we told the band. Luke was sobbing in his hands. Mike was running laps around the house screaming.

“She’s having 3 babies, dumbass,” Sierra said with an eye roll, rubbing Luke’s back soothingly. “It’s okay, Lu.”

“I’m just so happy!” the tall blonde man smiled, wiping at his face and pulling it together.

“I call dibs on godfather!” Mike screamed, finally coming to a halt.

“You each get to be a godfather,” Bridget told him happily. “That’s the joy of having triplets, Mike. Nobody gets to be left out.”

He crossed his arms, green eyes narrowed. “Fine. I guess that’s fair. Hey, Crys?”

“Whoa…” Crystal said, holding up a hand. “3 babies in 1 year is enough, Clifford.”

“What? No. I want an engagement ring like Ash.”

“Oh, thank God!” Crystal laughed in relief. “No offense, babes,” she said to Bridget.

“None taken,” Bridget said back with a grimace. “Quit kicking each other!” she growled at her stomach.

“They’re moving?!” we all asked, rushing to touch her stomach.

“They need to stop!” Bridget said, shooing all the hands away except mine.

“What are they?” Mike asked.

“Normally I’d lecture you on how gender is a social construct,” Bridget told him, “But Si, get the cupcakes. Or help me to my feet. No, just bring me the cupcakes.”

“Are you tired, baby?” I asked her, pulling her feet into my lap.

“I’m a lot of things, Ash,” she chuckled wryly.

“A pregnancy reveal, and a gender reveal?” Luke said, teary-eyed again.

Don’t you dare start crying again, Luke. Because then I will,” Bridget threatened him.

“Alright, here you guys go,” Sierra said, bringing out a small box of cupcakes.

“Everybody filming?” I checked, opening the box while 5 phones turned in our direction.

“Whoa, just one of you,” Bridget said, waving her hands. “We don’t need the 5 voiceovers. Crystal, you record.”

“Irwin triplet gender reveal, here we go!” Crystal’s voice announced.

I held one of the cupcakes close to Bridget’s mouth so we could both bite into it, revealing the blue frosting inside. “Boy!” we all cheered.

“Dibs!” Calum decided, taking the cupcake from us. “Godfather to the boy!” Calum sneered playfully at Luke and Mike, shoving the rest of the cupcake in his mouth.

“My turn!” Mike said.

“Ready, baby?” I asked, holding up the second cupcake.

She pecked at my lips. “Ready.”

“Girl!” we cheered around our bites, handing the pink-filled cupcake to Mike.

“Whoohoo!” Mike whooped, swallowing the cupcake in one bite.

“Final one,” I said, waving the last cupcake for Crystal’s benefit.

“Alright, Luke, ready to find out what your godkid is?” Bridget grinned, her tongue blue, pink frosting smeared by her lips.

Luke was practically vibrating with excitement for his turn.

“Here goes nothing,” Bridget shrugged, as we bite into the last cupcake, pink frosting coating our faces. “Girl! You’re outnumbered, Ash!” Bridget cheered, a wild grin on her face.

“Protect you sisters, Bubba,” I whispered, rubbing my hands over her stomach.

“They can protect themselves,” Bridget told me sternly, handing Luke the cupcake.

~~~

“Oh, my God…” I grumbled, placing my phone face down on the coffee table.

“What’s wrong?” she asked me, half asleep in my arms as we laid together on the couch.

“Nothing. The video Crys posted,” I sighed, pushing my hair back.

“What about it? People like it, don’t they?”

I rubbed at my eyes in frustration. A year later and she still wasn’t fazed. She grinned every time she got a new follower, excitedly waving her phone at me. She waved at the paparazzi and asked how they were. “They do. And they don’t. Just the same old bullshit.”

She frowned. “You know I don’t really pay much attention to what they say. We know the truth. Fuck what everyone else thinks.”

“I know.”

“You’re angry,” she said, putting her hands on my face. “What are they saying?”

I shook my head. “I don’t want to upset you.”

Her frown deepened. “Ash…”

I smiled a little and pushed her lips up. “Stop that,” I scolded lightly.

“That’s my thing,” she said, smiling anyway. “What did they say?”

“Just assumptions that I asked you to marry me because you were pregnant. How it’s not very ‘Christian’ of me,” I said, leaving out the worst assumptions- that she had either cheated and was trapping me, or that she had gotten pregnant on purpose, again to trap me.

She laughed. “God, that’s such utter bullshit. People really will shit on other people’s happiness, huh? Wow…”

“Sometimes people just suck,” I shrugged, still angry at the hate people were giving her.

She frowned again. “Uh-oh… you’re not mad about what they’re saying about you, are you? Which means…” she stopped, her mind putting the pieces together. “Those assholes…” she muttered, angry tears in her eyes.

“Shh, baby, it’s fine. We know the truth,” I soothed, my hands rubbing up and down her back as her anger made her break down.

“That is such BULLSHIT!” she cried into my shirt. “We planned this! These babies are planned! We’re getting married because we want to!”

“Shh, it’s okay,” I continued to soothe, letting her give voice to both our anger.

“This is bullshit, Ash!”

“I know.”

“People fuckin suck…” she mumbled, her exhaustion overriding her anger.

“Do you want me to address the comments? Or just leave it be?”

“Address it please…” she mumbled against me.

I reached for my phone, clicking it open and going live, not caring how much hell I’d catch for this with management. This was my personal life people were going after. They had made the mother of my children- my future wife- cry. I was pissed. But I needed to stay calm, for her sake, and maybe for my own. “Hey, guys. Ashton here. So, as some of you know, Bridget and I are expecting triplets. As some of you also know, we’re engaged. And I just wanted to take this moment to clarify a few things. So, Bridget and I decided we wanted to have kids together while I was still in Europe last summer for No Shame. It was a decision we made together. We weren’t expecting for her to get pregnant as quickly as she did. We knew this was something that takes time. But regardless of how short it took us, or how long it could have taken, the fact remains the same: we’re beyond excited to be parents together. We were, and are ready for this. Now, as far as the proposal goes, I actually bought those rings the day after we announced publicly that we were together last March.”

“You did?” her voice asked, her head lifting up.

“Course I did. I love you, baby,” I said, kissing her softly.

“I love you too,” she smiled, tears in her eyes.

“Good tears?”

“Very good.”

“Good. Cuz 5 minutes she was angry crying that some of you were saying… well frankly some rude shit,” I told the camera and her face hid back in my chest. “Anyway. I had the rings about 2 months before we decided to have kids. And when I proposed last week- because I kept stupidly waiting for the right moment, even though every moment with her is the right moment,” I paused to chuckle as she hiccup happy sobbed into my chest. “I didn’t know she was pregnant. I proposed because I love her and want to spend my life with her, preferably as her husband. The pregnancy and proposal have nothing to do with each other besides the fact that they were both going to happen eventually. In conclusion, yes, we’re excited to be outnumbered by our triplets. And yes, that’s ours as in hers and mine. Yes, we’re excited to be engaged and start planning our wedding. Yes, our heads are spinning. No, we don’t think it’s too fast. We both believe life is too short to not chase after what- or in this case who- you love. And as for the Christian aspect of it? God loves me because he has blessed me with an amazing woman who is carrying not one, not two, but three of my children like the unbelievable badass she is. I think He’s got bigger things to worry about than two people who actually love each other having babies out of wedlock. To those of you who have expressed your happiness, love, and support to my growing family, we love and thank you. To the rest of you? Well, this is the truth straight from the source. Anything you wanna add, baby?” I asked, glancing down to find her asleep on my chest. “Oh,” I said to the camera, my voice dropping to a whisper. “My badass superhero of a woman is asleep. Love you all, bye!”

~~~

“I pray you love like your momma,” her voice sang softly from the couch. I paused in my entrance, listening to her sing to our babies, her hands moving across her stomach. God, she was beautiful.

“Which song is that?” I said, coming over to kiss her.

“Oh!” she said, her cheeks flushing, her hand scrambling to stop the music. “Nothing, just a song I like to sing to them sometimes.”

“Country, huh?” I asked, quirking an eyebrow. Any time I caught her singing and asked what it was, I always got the “just a song I like to sing sometimes,” response, like she was embarrassed to admit that she liked other genres of music. I grabbed her phone, taking note of the song title.

She shrugged. “I like it.”

“I know you do.”

Her blush deepened. “Oh, I was thinking of names now that we know the genders.”

“Oh?” I asked, perking up and moving to sit next to her, helping her adjust against me.

“Yeah. Connor Theodore, Logan Rose, and Monroe Grace.”

“That sounds perfect, baby,” I smiled at her.

When she drifted off to sleep, something she took full advantage of on her days off because the pregnancy often left her exhausted, I set out to work. I listened to the song she had been singing, choking back the tears and picking softly at the guitar strings, determined to learn it as fast as possible.

“Ash!” her voice called out, drawing me from my thoughts. “I need help!”

I chuckled, setting the guitar aside and made my way downstairs. “Are you stuck? I asked her, giggling as she tried to roll herself to her feet.

“I am 6 months pregnant with 3 of your children,” she growled, her brown eyes hard. “Help me off this damn couch, or so help me God, I will end you where you stand.”

I giggled despite her threat. “C’mon, you,” I said, giving her my hands and pulled her up with ease. Pregnancy or not, she was still as light as a feather.

“I hate how easy that is for you,” she grumbled, staring up at me.

“How easy what is? This?” I asked, bending to wrap an arm under her knees and scooping her into my arms.

“I don't know whether to cry because of my anger or your thoughtfulness,” she mumbled, her hands gripping my shirt.

“How about neither, and I rub your feet?” I suggested.

“And my back?” she sniffed anyway.

“Whatever you want, baby.”

~~~

“Aw, look at these,” she said with a small laugh, moving her laptop so I could look at the pictures.

“You look beautiful,” I agreed, admiring the picture of her in the flowing dress, picturing her in a different one.

“I look 7 months pregnant,” she said with an eye roll. “You, on the other, look hot. As per usual.”

I chuckled, heat rising to my cheeks.

“Seriously. It’s really not fair how hot you are. Like, look at this shit,” she said, finger pointing at a picture where I was behind her, my hands cradling her stomach, her head tilted up, her eyes closed, a small on both our faces as I kissed her head. “You, sir, walk a fine line between sweet and sexy, and you look damn good doing it.”

“I could say the same thing about you.”

“You could. But you’d be wrong.”

“I also have a tendency of being right,” I smirked, kissing her deeply.

~~~

“Ash!” she said, shaking me awake. “Ash, wake up!”

“What?” I asked, sleepily, rubbing my eyes. “What’s going on?”

“Something’s wrong!” she said, her voice laced with panic.

Suddenly I was wide awake, jumping out of bed and pulling her to her feet. “What’s wrong? What’s going on? It’s too early for labor, isn’t it? Your due date isn’t for another 6 weeks,” I rushed, the words flying out in a panic.

“I know!” she cried, fear written all over her face. “Ash, I’m scared!”

“It’s gonna be okay, baby,” I promised, swallowing my own fear. This had to be okay. It had to.

Everything was a messy blur of tears and whispered promises as I felt my world crumbling around me. It felt like I was watching somebody that looked like me scream at the nurse manning the front desk that something was wrong, then watching as they wheeled her into a room. My weight finally gave and I sank to the ground, sobbing into my hands. Please God, let them be okay, I begged silently.

“Ash? ASHTON!” Calum’s voice called into the fog I was trapped in, and then three pairs of arms were pulling me to my feet, a cup of water pushed into my hands. I couldn’t even remember when or who they had called them. I couldn’t remember anything beyond the sheer terror on her face. The sheer terror of a mother scared for her children. “Easy, mate. We got ya,” Calum said and then I was sitting down. “What happened?”

“I- I dunno…” my voice sounded and everything snapped into focus, the dull ringing and fog finally fading out. “She woke me up. She said something was wrong. And now I’m here.”

“She’s in room 304,” Crystal said and I took in all their faces. Faces that conveyed no emotion except for the storm of panic and worry swirling in their eyes. They were holding it together, like Bridget needed them to. Like I needed to do myself.

I nodded at her words, hastily wiping at my face and downing the small paper cup of water. “Will you guys stay?” I asked, standing up.

“We’re right here, mate,” Calum assured me and they all nodded. “Go be with her. She needs you.”

“Hey, there you are,” her voice said softly, holding out a hand to me when I found myself in the doorway of the hospital room.

I choked back a sob of relief and quickly moved to her. “I’m here, baby. I’m not going anywhere,” I promised, placing kissed in her hair.

“Good, because I was really scared.”

“Did they tell you what was going on?”

She nodded. “But, I- I wasn’t really paying attention. Everything was happening so fast, and I- I’m sorry.”

“Shh,” I soothed, catching the tear that slid down her cheek. “It’s alright. You’re safe. That’s what matters.”

“We’re safe,” she corrected, her hands grazing her stomach. “I paid attention to that much.”

“Oh, thank God,” I sighed with relief, feeling the weight lift from my chest.

~~~

“Ugh this sucks!” she screamed in frustration, chucking the remote. She had been on bed rest for a week and was going stir-crazy.

“Well, the baby shower’s later today,” I told her, trying to keep her mind off the fact that she wasn’t allowed to be on her feet for more than an hour every day.

“Well, the baby shower’s later today,” she mocked, angrily.

I let out my breath in a small huff. I knew she was a storm of emotions, but it didn’t make her lashing out at me any easier to take. “I’m gonna go clean up downstairs so the girls have an easier time setting up,” I told her. “Call if you need anything.”

“Wait!” she said, and I stopped in the doorway, turning to look at her tear-stained cheeks. “I’m sorry!”

I smiled softly and moved back across the room, crawling into bed beside her. “It’s okay,” I told her, holding her in my arms. “I know you don’t mean it.”

“It’s not okay! I’m being a bitch!”

I chuckled and held her tighter. “Do you want your baby shower present from me now?”

“You got me a present?”

“Well… sort of…” I said, rubbing at the back of my neck.

“Well, what is it?” she asked, getting excited.

“Sit tight, I’ll be right back,” I said, patting her leg and getting up.

“Ha-ha, really funny, Irwin. Sit tight? Like where the fuck am I gonna go? Mars?”

I chuckled as she ranted, running down the hall to fetch my guitar- reliving briefly the way she had looked back in May when she asked to play it for the first time. “Ready?” I asked, once I was back, sitting down on the edge of the bed.

“Oh, you’re gonna make me cry? That’s my present? Awesome…”

I gave a small shake of my head and started playing. “I talk to God about you, and I ain’t even met you yet. Everybody’s waiting on you here. I can’t wait to feel your heart beat when I lay you on my chest. I’m already holding back my tears. I wanna be better than my dad was. I hope that I don’t mess this whole thing up,” I sang, altering the lyrics just the slightest.

“Oh, Ash…” she breathed, tears spilling down her face before her voice joined me, both of us gently singing our way through the song. “You really taught yourself to play that?” she asked, wiping at her eyes.

I nodded. “Course I did. You sing it all the time to them. I wanted to be able to do the same.”

“I fuckin love you, Ashton Irwin.”

“I love you too, Bridget Irwin.”

“I’m not your wife yet, mister.”

“We can fix that.”

She laughed. “Let me have these babies, and get back into shape first.”

“Why? You’re already beautiful.”

“Ash, I’m literally not allowed on my feet. I don’t even have a dress.”

“Alright, fine. But, I’m gonna make you my wife, sooner rather than later.”

“You better.”

I sang that song again to her before bed, after she kissed my scars. “Is this part of the ritual now?” I joked. “You kiss my scars, I sing you and them to sleep?”

“You bet your ass it is.”

I grinned, more than happy to comply.

~~~

“Ash!” her voice called from down the hall.

“Be right t- ow! Fuck!” I grumbled, smacking my head on the frame of the crib the guys were helping me assemble. With the baby shower over and done with, we were now getting changing the guest room into a nursery.

“Easy mate,” Calum said, as they all snickered at me.

“Fuck you,” I laughed, dashing out the room and down the hallway. “Whatcha need, baby?”

“Hospital!” she screamed, curled up in the fetal position on the bed. “Ow, ow, OW! STOP THAT!”

“Contractions?” I asked. We still had 3 weeks left until her due date.

“YES! And Connor won’t stop kicking!”

“How do you know it’s Connor?” I giggled, rushing over to help her up.

“The one with the wicked kicks would be Cal’s godkid,” she glared at me.

I shrugged. “Could be Monroe. Kicking you while you’re down? Sounds a lot like what a wild child would do.”

“Sounds like you should respectfully shut the fuck up! Hospital! Now! Please!”

“Up we go,” I said, scooping her up. “Guys, it’s showtime!” I called out as I carried her down the hall and downstairs, hearing the mad scrambling in the bedroom. “Mike, grab her bag. Luke, call everybody. Cal, c’mon, you’re driving us.”

“Ow, ow, OW!”

“Keep breathing, baby. You got this. I’m right here.”

“Ash! I’m not ready!” she told her, her voice panicked.

“Look at me,” I urged. “You can do this. You’re going to be amazing. I’ll be right here with you.”

“No fainting,” she told me.

“No fainting,” I promised.

~~~

“Aw, look at my gorgeous girls,” I smiled softly, watching her hold both Logan and Monroe in her arms.

“Aw, my beautiful boys,” she smiled back at me as I held Connor close.

“Let me know when you get tired,” I told her, seeing the exhaustion on her face.

“But…” she pouted.

“You need to rest,” I said, putting Connor down and coming to get the girls.

“No,” she softly whined. “I wanna hold them forever.”

I chuckled and placed a kiss to her forehead. “I know, baby. I know.”

“God, I could stare at them for hours, you know?” she said, looking longingly at the three bassinets as I set the girls down.

I looked down at the three of them, nodding. I knew exactly what she meant. I would never get tired of this view.

“Knock, knock,” Calum’s voice said, knuckles rapping against the door, Luke and Mike on his heels. “Up for visitors?”

“C’mon in guys,” Bridget smiled, beckoning them. “Did the girls go home?”

“Yeah, they’re making the nursery nice now that we got everything built,” Luke said.

“Thanks guys,” I answered. “Go wash up, and I’ll introduce you to the babies.”

“Oh, they’re so small,” Mike said, his normally loud voice a hushed whisper. “Who’s who?”

“Cal, this is Connor Theodore,” I said, placing the blue bundle in Calum’s waiting arms.

“What’s up, Theo? I’m Uncle Cal,” Calum cooed.

“Luke, this is Logan Rose,” I said, handing Luke the yellow bundle.

“Oh, hey there Lo-Ro,” he grinned.

“And Mike, this is Monroe Grace,” I finished, handing Mike the pink bundle.

“Aw, your pink like my hair used to be Mo-town. Your dad knows us so well.”

“Watch, Theo, Uncle Mikey’s gonna tell your sister how he’s punk rock,” Calum teased.

“I am punk rock, Mo-town, and I’m gonna teach you how to be punk rock, too.”

~~~

“Fuck!” she cursed, her eyelids flying open.

“What?” I asked, instinctively lifting my arm for her to curl up on my chest. “The babies are fine, go back to sleep.”

“No, it’s not the babies,” she said, her hands fluttering in a panic. “God, I’m the worst…”

“What’s wrong?” I chuckled.

“I didn’t kiss you,” she whispered, horrified. “My mind is all over the place lately, and I’m so tired, and I… I can’t believe I forgot. I never forget.”

“Oh,” I said, understanding. Then, “It’s okay, baby. We did the song.”

“No it’s not okay. Give me your arms.”

“Baby, you’re tired. I’m tired. We’re all tired.”

“Give me your arms, Irwin.”

I chuckled again and let her tug my wrists to her lips. “Never forget that I love you. Past, present, future. Every part,” she murmured against my skin.

“Only if you promise to remember the same. Our life together? It’s everything I’ve ever prayed for.”

“Me too,” she smiled up at me and my heart raced. “All those times I prayed for some sort of purpose, some sort of joy to override the pain, it was really you. I was praying for you and this life we’ve built and are continuing to build all my life, and I never even knew it.”

“I love you,” I said, even though those three words were far too simple to ever express how I truly felt towards the woman in my arms.

“I love you, too,” she said with that smile of hers, and I knew she felt what I couldn’t say. That overwhelming, whirlwind, pure fairytale magic that is finding your soulmate. That sense of knowing that every bad day is made better by looking into their eyes, that your best memories will be the ones you make with them. I had gone eight years thinking that the closest I would get to soulmates were my brothers, and I had never been so happy to have been so wrong. She was the piece I never knew I was missing. She was the answer to the prayer I never knew I was praying.

~~~

“Fuck…” I muttered, packing my bags reluctantly.

“What?” she asked.

“I don’t want to go. I’ve always been excited to tour. But this time? I just… fuck!”

She chuckled. “It’s only the summer, Ash.”

“I know, but I don’t want to leave you guys.”

“What if I told you that you didn’t?”

“What?!” I asked, my eyes going wide. “But, I thought…”

“Well, they had their checkup, and they’re doing well. So, I asked. Figured worse Dr. Robbins could say was “no.”

“And she said yes?!”

She nodded. “Since it’s the States, she didn’t see the harm.”

“This is great!” I cheered, packing with more excitement now.

“This is gonna be the most hectic summer vacation I’ve ever had,” she giggled.

“It’s gonna be the best summer vacation we’ve ever had,” I corrected.

“Is it a vacation if you’ll technically be working?”

“Every day with you is a vacation.”

She laughed. “That just might be the cheesiest thing you’ve ever said. And you’re gonna eat those words, Ash. A tour with three two-month olds? Oh, boy, what are we doing?”

“Taking our first family vacation?”

~~~

“No, put it back,” Bridget said, her voice stern, not even looking at whatever Mike had in his hands for his goddaughter. It had become a problem, the men spoiling their godkid as an attempt to prove who was the better godfather. A lousy competition that had no real winner. But it meant Bridget and I hadn’t really had to buy much for the triplets ourselves, so I wasn’t complaining. Even if my house was bursting at the seams with their generosity war.

“C’mon! Babies first tour!” Mike pouted.

“Hey, if he gets to buy something for Monroe, we get to buy stuff, too,” Luke said, crossing his arms, enacting the rule Bridget had put in place when tour started. All purchases for the triplets had to be approved, given that space was limited. Clothes, plushies, and necessities like diapers were the only things being approved thus far, and sparingly so.

“Nobody is buying any of these babies anything,” Bridget said, fighting to keep her voice down in the store because the triplets were asleep in the stroller and hell hath no fury like 3 screaming babies. “We came for ear plugs and diapers. Not clothes and toys.”

“But...” Calum started, holding up a pair of baby Vans that matched the ones on his feet.

“Connor doesn’t even walk!” she hissed.

“But he will!”

“Oh, if Cal’s buying Connor Vans, can I get Lo-Ro these pair of boots?” Luke asked, his blue eyes wide, lower lip jutting down.

“They don’t walk, Lucas!” She stood toe-to-toe with the man who had over a foot in height over her, her brown eyes hard behind her glasses. “Mikey, Monroe hardly has any hair to dye, dude,” she added, still staring the taller blonde down.

“I’m behind you. How did y- How did sh- WITCHCRAFT!” Mike yelled.

The triplets started screaming. Bridget rolled her eyes, glasses pushing up as she pinched the bridge of her nose. A sigh escaped her lips as she bent down over the stroller. “Here,” she said, passing a screaming three month old to the rightful godfather. “You caused this. You soothe. And you!” she said, wheeling around to face me, her index finger poised to stab at my chest.

I held up my hands and took a step back. “What did I do?!”

Her eyes narrowed. “You could be helping.”

“I got the diapers,” I said, holding up the package as proof.

“Thank you,” she said graciously despite the stress etched upon her face as the men struggled to soothe the babies. It seemed like she was constantly stressed these days. I didn’t blame her. First time parenthood to one kid was stressful, but three? Even with the help, it was hard. “Guys really? Rock, sing. Come on, help a woman out. Soothe your godkid, and you can buy them one thing, okay? But only one.”

“Loser gets diaper duty?” Calum grinned.

“You’re on!” the blondes grinned back.

“Oh, I like this idea,” Bridget said in a hushed voice, lifting my arm and placing it over her shoulders as she leaned into me. “Should’ve done this way sooner.”

“You okay?” I asked.

“I’m just tired.”

“I know, baby. I’ll get the guys on baby duty tonight, and we can do something just us, okay?”

“That sounds wonderful, but you know I’m gonna miss my babies, Ash.”

“I know. You’re a great mom, you know that?”

“You’re a great dad. I love you.”

“I love you, too, baby.”

~~~

“Do you, Ashton, take Bridget to be your wife?”

“I do,” I smiled at her, looking fucking radiant in that white dress like I’ve been imaging her in since we met. I took her hand and flipped her Claddagh ring around.

“Bridget, do y-“

“Yes!” she interrupted, giggling, her fingers quickly fixing my own ring.

“I now pronounce you man and wife. You may kiss the bride in 3… 2… HAPPY NEW YEAR!”

I kissed her. She kissed back. It was time-stopping and earth-shattering. “Happy New Year, my wonderful wife,” I said, my cheeks sore from my smile.

“Happy New Year, my handsome husband,” she smiled back.

“I can buy you a real wedding band if you want,” I told her, taking her left hand in mine. “Or a real engagement ring. Whatever you want.”

She shook her head. “I don’t need fancy. I just need you and our babies.”

“I love you.”

“I love you, too.” Then, she giggled. “We really need to stop one-upping this holiday every year. I think we used all the good ideas.”

I shook my head. “Never. I love our tradition of starting a new year in a new way together.”

“You know, Christmas has always been my favorite holiday. But I think it just got bumped to second place.”

“Funny, I was thinking the same thing.”

~~~

“Hey Ash?” she asked me after we got the triplets in bed after an exhausting birthday party for our now three year olds. Just where the hell did the time go?

“Yeah?” I asked, collapsing beside her on the bed.

“We need a bigger house.”

“Why? The girls are fine sharing a room, and they guys and I finished cleaning out the music room for Connor.” It wasn’t that we couldn’t afford another house, I just wasn’t one of those types who needed to live extravagantly. I had bought my 3-bedroom home when I moved to LA with the purpose of raising a family one day. 3 bedrooms was more than enough for us.

“Ash,” she said, handing me a wad of toilet paper. “We need a bigger house.”

“What’s this?” I asked, my eyes wide.

“The third test I’ve taken today. The proof that we’re gonna need a bigger house.”

“You’re pregnant?!”

“Yep. And I know, we haven’t talked about it. I thought I was fine with the triplets. But, they’re getting so big. And, then this just happened. Surprise?”

“This is great!” I cheered, pulling her into a hug.

“Really?”

“Yes! Triplets on the first go-round was a little more than I bargained for, so I wasn’t sure if you wanted more. But, God, baby, I’ll have as many kids with you as you want. I love watching you be a mom.”

“I love watching you be a dad,” she smiled up at me. “But, seriously. We need a bigger house.”

“I’ll call the realtor in the morning,” I promised.

“Whoa, I was half-joking,” she laughed. “It could be one, and if it’s a boy, we can just stick him with Connor.”

“Yeah, but-”

“Don’t you dare finish that sentence. I will be happy regardless, but just don’t.”

~~~

“Congratulations, looks like triplets again,” the doctor smiled.

“You’re not gonna faint on me, are you?” Bridget asked me, her voice teasing.

“Nah, I’m good,” I managed to get out through the lump in my throat, my eyes glued to the three blobs on the small screen.

“Ash, stop,” she said, her fingers soft on my arm. “You’re spiraling.”

“I never want to miss another moment,” my voice whispered, feeling all the hurt from missing the first half of her first pregnancy bubbling up inside of me.

“Look at me, Ash,” she coaxed, using the same soft tone she used with the triplets to get them to calm down. When my hazel eyes met her brown ones, she smiled. “You’re being too hard on yourself. You are the best damn man in the world, alright? You love your family and we love you right back.”

“But, I-” I protested.

“Shh, listen to the good voice.”

I nodded, closing my eyes and taking a few slow breaths to steady myself, listening to the voice in my head that was her. It was always her.

“Now, you’ll need to take it easy,” the doctor was saying when I refocused.

“Take it easy?” Bridget asked, eyebrows quirking upwards.

“Yes. A woman of your build carrying triplets… given your history…”

“History? The triplets were a week premature. I had them naturally. You can’t possibly be suggesting that this is a high risk pregnancy, can you?” Her tone wasn’t sad or worried. It was angry. Like she was insulted.

“Mrs. Irwin, I’m simply saying we need to be cautious. We don’t want a repeat of pre-labor scares.”

“I have three three year olds, six classes of high schoolers, a husband, and a band that need me,” she said, her tone sharp. “Taking it easy isn’t something I have the luxury of doing. So, be straight with me, is there a reason to be worried?”

“No. Not at all. You’re healthy. They’re healthy. You’re still young. But we do need to take previous experience into consideration.”

She scoffed, turning to me.

I squeezed her hand, stepping up to be the man she believed I was. “You got us, baby. Tour’s right around the corner. Whatever it takes, whatever you need, you’ll have us by your side at every step.”

“Right, the touring,” the doctor said, knowingly.

“Can she not go?” I asked. If she couldn’t go on tour, I didn’t know what we're going to do because each option seemed worse than the last. I could go and take the triplets with me, but she would fight me- and win because she would cry- because she didn’t want to be away from her babies. She could stay with the triplets, but I would fight because she was supposed to be taking it easy and I didn’t want to be away from her and my babies, and we would both cry and lose that fight. Or, I could not go on tour, pissing off management, fans, and her because “Ashton Fletcher, it’s your job. We’ll be fine,” which would circle back to fighting over the first two options again.

The doctor smiled. “There’s nothing to worry about. Everybody’s healthy. We’re only 8 weeks in.”

“Then why are you worrying me with this ‘previous experience’ shit?” Bridget sighed. Her glasses pushed up as she pinched her nose. “I’m sorry. You’re the doctor. You’re just making me aware of all the different possibilities. But we’re all healthy?”

“Yes. Everyone is healthy and growing as expected.”

“Then that’s all that matters.”

~~~

“Alright guys, you ready?” Bridget asked excitedly, handing each triplet a cupcake. Her and I already knew the genders: 2 boys, 1 girl- balance. And we were handing each triplet a cupcake of the opposite gender to gauge their reactions. They knew Momma had babies in her tummy. They knew that made everybody excited and Momma extra cranky and tired. They were excited to be big siblings, even helping me sing every night. But right now, the focus was on the sugary sweet in their hands.

“Cupcakes!” they cheered and we giggled at their excitement.

“Whoa, hold on,” I said, hands reaching out to stop them from shoving the desserts in their mouths. “You gotta wait a second.”

“Alright. Irwin triplets revealing Irwin triplets in 3… 2… go!” Bridget said from behind her phone.

“Blue!” the girls said, excitement in their brown eyes.

“Pink!” Connor shouted, outraged, crossing his arms. “I wanted blue!” came the wail, the lip quiver, and the tears.

“Aw, Connor, it’s okay, Bubba,” Bridget soothed from behind the camera. “It means you’re gonna have another sister!”

“No!” The wail became louder and he kicked his legs, throwing the cupcake. “No sister! Brother!”

“Bubba, you are. Look at sissies and their cupcakes,” I urged. “You’re gonna get 2 brothers!”

Now the girls wailed, realizing what was happening. “No! No brother! Sister!” Two more thrown cupcakes. Three pairs of kicking legs. Three high-pitched wails of despair.

“Well, that went about as planned,” Bridget shrugged, turning the camera. “Triple the trouble just got crazier.” She ended the video and put her phone in her pocket. “Alright, hey!” she said, making her voice happy for them. “Everybody gets what they want. Connor, you’re getting a brother. Girls, you’re getting a sister. See? No tears. C’mon,” she coaxed.

“I have an idea!” I said, trying to help. “You guys wanna go see our new home?”

Bridget looked at me, her eyes wide. “What?! We got the house?!” she shrieked, clamping her hand over her mouth in shock. “The one with the basement and the pool?”

I nodded, grinning. She had been picky in our house search. I had wanted a house big enough for everyone to have their own bedroom. She wanted a house small enough to clean herself. And when her eyes light up as we toured the 4-bedroom house with a basement and a pool, I knew I would pay whatever price I had to to get it for her. “Got the keys this morning.”

“Oh, Ash, I love you.”

“I love you, too, baby,” I said, kissing her.

“Ew!” the triplets giggled.

~~~

“Cal, this is your goddaughter, Teagan Caroline,” I said, handing Calum the purple bundle.

“Welcome to Team Cal,” he smiled down at her.

“Luke, this is Ryan Lee, your godson,” I said, placing the red bundle in Luke’s arms.

“Check it out, Lo-Ro,” Luke cooed at his goddaughter, crouching to show her Ryan. “Wanna help me paint his nails and find him some boots?”

“Yeah!” she agreed happily. Then, “Unca Lu, new boots, too, please?”

“You can have whatever you want, princess.”

I rolled my eyes, placing the green bundle in Mike’s arms. “Mike, meet Gavin Mitchell.”

“Aw, what’s up, buddy?”

Calum snickered, realizing the naming pattern. “Who named them this time? I see the theme.”

Bridget grinned, proud of herself. “Are you saying that sharing your initials with your godkids isn’t the cutest fuckin shit?”

“It’s pretty fuckin genius, is what it is.”

~~~

“This color!” Logan’s voice yelled.

“No, this one!” Monroe shouted back.

“It’s my room, too!” Teagan, put in angrily.

“Daddy!” All three blondes with brown eyes turned to me.

I sighed, rubbing at my face. Painting rooms was going to be a nightmare. “Boys, did you guys pick a color?” I asked with another sigh, ignoring the glares. Just another day with two sets of triplets.

Three brown haired, hazel-eyed boys, one a head taller than the other two, shook their heads at me. “We all want different colors too, Daddy.”

“Baby?” I asked, my eyes pleading for her for some of that compromising greatness that has weathered every disagreement and tantrum for the last eight years.

“They have 4 walls,” she shrugged. “Let’s pick a base color for the fourth wall and then they call all paint a wall how they want?”

“That’s a lot of paint that’s gonna go to waste, baby.”

“So, we’ll have a paint war in the basement.”

“Paint war!” the boys grinned.

Hours later, bedroom walls painted, the Great Paint War of 2029 took place in the basement, walls and skin a splattered mosaic rainbow.

~~~

“Happy New Year,” I whispered, pulling her in for a kiss.

“Ew!” six voices giggled.

“Happy 10 years,” she smiled back, a hand shooing the kids away. “Go bother your godfathers.”

“We’ve been married 8 years,” I corrected.

“We’ve been together 10 though,” she told me. “Best decade of my life.”

“Best decade of mine,” I answered back.

She sighed in content, leaning into me. “This is everything I ever prayed for.”

“And you’re not even religious,” I teased.

“I don’t have to be religious to believe, Ash. If this past decade has taught me anything, it’s that we make our own magic.”

“You just said you prayed for this,” I laughed at her endearing inconsistencies.

“Just in case,” she smirked. “Didn’t wanna mess this up. Can never be too careful.”

“Thank God for answered prayers.”

“Thank God for all of my wrongs leading me right to you. And that leather vest. Do you still have that by any chance?”

I laughed. “Depends. Do you still have that black dress.”

“See me around later and find out.”

I laughed again, pulling her tight to me. “I love you.”

“Every part?”

“Every part.”

“Me too. You’re my favorite part of everything, Ash.”

“Even your new favorite holiday?”

“Especially my new favorite holiday.” Then, her lips were on mine for my favorite time-stopping, earth-shattering kiss.

#when i pray for you #ashton irwin #ashton fic #dad!ash #5sos #galcal irwin

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idontneednofuckinhug · 4 years

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My top 20 albums of 2019

As 2019 is in its final month, we're not only about to experience the end of the year, but also the end of a decade filled with amazing music, ground-breaking albums and self-made musical geniuses. We've had some fantastic years, such as 2012, 2014 and 2016 for album releases and this year definitely rivals all of those beforementioned with the quality and quantity of records we had. There was such a great quantity of amazing albums this year that I had to change my original plans of a top 15 list and move it up to a top 20 list, just due to the saturation of projects. Before starting off the list, I'd like to give my honourable mentions to some great albums which would've made the list in quite a few other years: Charli XCX - Charli; clipping. - There Existed an Addiction to Blood; Charles Irwin - Singles (308). I'd strongly advise to check these out as well as the ones I'm about to list off and with that said, let's get going!

20. Solange - When I get Home A project showing her versality, with music ranging from smooth jazz and blues-inspired vibes to Gucci Mane and Playboi Carti features, Solange once again showed a fantastic ear for production and how amazing her voice really is, without putting it in your face and demanding your attention. Instead the album is like a long, carefree day in mid-April, with Solange's voice giving you an amazing vocal experience.

19. Billy Woods & Kenny Segal - Hiding Places Ranking much lower than last year, the underground New-York genius of Billy Woods once again showcases his amazing talent for rough and grimy delivery combined with industrial, eerie production. The project is very personal for Billy, as he gets very real about his fears and anxieties and even takes a spin for the existential as the talented lyricist raps about his mortality, creating a very unsettling and uncomfortable listen, nonetheless keeping you entertained for the whole duration of the album.

18. Blood Orange - Angel's Pulse A much shorter project this year than last year's Negro Swan, Devonte released a very raw mixtape, presented as a radio-cut, with sudden transitions and unexpected topic changes. The tape is presented with very groovy production, creating the feeling of a warm summer day, but Blood Orange does keep close to discussing personal topics about his anxieties, insecurities and political worries.

17.Injury Reserve - Self-Titled Definitely not Injury Reserve's first project, but their official studio-album debut, it really lets the odd trio's strengths shine, with its chaotic production, personal bars and focus on making it out of the regular 9-5 life. Full off innovative ideas, such as the song "Rap Song Tutorial" which is true to its name, the album also includes fantastic features such as Rico Nasty, Jpegmafia and Freddie Gibbs, with its main strength being the difficulties of keeping the balance between being a rapper and a regular person.

16. EARTHGANG - Mirrorland The Atlanta duo's debut-album, Mirrorland is very witty and cheerful, capturing the story of Doctur Dot and Johnny Venus's come up in the ATL. Full of quirky and whimsical ideas, the record really does remind listeners of Atlanta's OutKast, with EARTHGANG's very own personality and spin to it, with very playful bars and captivating singing, beats with multi-cultural inspirations, such as on "Tequila" and banging trap production, the album is a fantastic mirror to the duo's potential.

15. Ariana Grande - thank u, next Carried by the freedom and carelessness of Ariana's voice, thank u, next is an album inspired by her romantic experiences through her life, addressing Mac Miller, Pete Davidson and her need for sexual freedom. The project explores the insecurities she has experienced with herself and acts as an assertion of Grande's confidence in herself as a woman, creating a huge emotional range during the 12 tracks.

14. KAYTRANADA - BUBBA A return to form for KAYTRANADA after a 3 year hiatus, this was an amazing funky and playful R&B project, blessed with fantastic features. The record really does just make you want to dance along and move to the groove, with its defining feature being each song's simplicity, letting the right elements to shine - like in 10% with Kali Uchis with the sexiness of her voice. Don't let the simplicity of the sound fool you, as BUBBA is full of complex production and small elements and samples that you might miss on the very first listen.

13. YBN Cordae - The Lost Boy Another studio-album debut, YBN Cordae really shows an amazing knack for sticky bars and storytelling, backed by the fantastic production of of a team overseen by J. Cole and feature assassins such as Pusha-T and Anderson. Paak. Although occassionally a bit too corny, the project paints a fantastic picture of his persona and puts the light on a young talent, emerging in the mainstream.

12. Ari Lennox - Shea Butter Baby One of the best neo-soul projects in the past few years, Shea Butter Baby really wraps around you with its warmth and nostalgia and brings back fond memories of kicking it back on a couch with your friends. Full of amazing jazz and funk samples, the slow pace and easygoing melodies really put you in a carefree state of mind and create a chilled out vibe.

11. Flying Lotus - FLAMAGRA This might be a difficult album for some, but FlyLo once again shows an amazing talent for creating songs from scratch, with a very psychedelic jazz-funk vibe. Each song telling its own story, with the feeling that each second of the album matters, FLAMAGRA's biggest strength is its spiritual element, giving off an energy that touches your soul, if you grasp deep enough within yourself to feel it.

10. Jpegmafia - All My Heroes are Cornballs Much tamer than last year's Veteran, Jpegmafia's last album has a very experimental R&B feel to it, but that does not mean that it doesn't sound like pure musical chaos. Showing a surprising vocal versatility, Peggy raps, sings and screams, keeping true to his "Fuck PC Culture" bars and nasty punchlines. Each song has a very manic and wild energy to it, with the album sounding like structured anarchy.

9. Free Nationals - Self-Titled A modern take on classic soul and jazz, Anderson. Paak's Free Nationals crafted a very sexy, intensive album, that gives a feel that there's no hurry for anywhere and everything will happen in due course. The sensual record can easily be described as baby-making music and has handpicked seductive features like Kali Uchis, Daniel Caesar and Syd to underline that vibe.

8. Anderson. Paak - Ventura Very much a modern take on a soul record, Anderson. Paak really creates a feel of time-stopping whilst listening to the project's songs. Paak wearing his influences on his sleeve on this one, you can really feel the vibrant melodies and groovy emotions, with the amazing funkiness of Ventura also having a very sensual feel to it, thanks to the thoughtfully picked out features and background vocals.

7. Mereba - The Jungle is the Only Way Out An album that I believe didn't get enough attention, Mereba's latest release is a very conscious R&B project, full of beautiful darkly-toned synths and very slow and jammy folk. The topics range from facing your vices, to the overwhelming emotions of seeing your lover and the self-realization that people's opinion ain't shit. Her voice is absolutely stunning and authentic, with it giving off the feel of her being uncertain and lost with each song.

6. Denzel Curry - ZUU Denzel never misses and this is fact once again - releasing his most dynamic record to date, Zuu goes back to Zel's roots of South Florida. In it he reminisces about his come-up and relationships with his family and friends and the project stays true to its nature with the features being only rappers from the area. Although very party-focused, ZUU has a wide range of songs, with boom-bap, trap, soundcloud rap and even having slower, more introspective jams to it.

5. Rapsody - Eve Eve is a love letter, celebrating the success of the black woman. Rapsody absolutely peaks her musical versatility and rapping potential, crafting an amazing classic hip-hop album, full of creative bars, alluring samples and a very socially engaged range of topics. The record's strengths create a vivid picture of why successful women need to be appreciated and cannot be given enough credit in its impact for the female side of hip-hop culture.

4. slowthai - Nothing Great About Britain A very heavily punk-inspired record, Tyler clashes with the UK's upper class in this project, exploring the difficulties of the everyday life in the UK's working class with cynical and sarcastic bars, full of energetic and grimey production. The topics in the cleverly titled record go into detail about the class bracket gap, widening poverty, political uncertainities and the average briton's arrogance. The album is full of witty jokes and very direct humor and thai does very well to paint the picture of a realistic Great Britain.

3. Freddie Gibbs & Madlib - Bandana Arguably one of the best produced albums of all time, Madlib and Gibbs really pull eachother deep in their worlds and crafted a geniusly produced project. Celebrating black freedom, the record shines on Freddie's talent for grimey and nimble rapping, with him changing cadence again and again, whilst Madlib's gift for erratic production and turning classic jazz and funk songs into off the wall earworms and samples turns this into a spiritual experience.

2. Little Simz - GREY AREA I'm kind of pissed off I put this at number two, just due to how good it is. Simz's coming of age album is a wicked, erratic record full of witty bars, discussion of social themes and goes between grimey, rough production and introspective, jazzy vibes, making for great entertainment. The record is a very open window to her life and the difficulties she's had as a woman and is crafted in such a masterful way, that even if you're not catching the lyrics, you'll feel the album's emotions just by listening to the production.

1. Danny Brown - uknowhatimsayin¿ This project finishes a cycle of Danny for me personally - starting off with his rockstar, crackhead phase with XXX and the consequences of his drug-induced party life in Atrocity Exhibition, his latest project is the maturest face of Danny we've ever seen. Overseen by Q-Tip as an executive producer, uknowhatimsayin¿ is very free-flowing compared to his previous records, topped off with irregular beats and unnerving samples, keeping true to Danny Brown's personality. The project is the culmination of his rap career, as he addresses the need he had to get his life together,get out of the rut he was in and grow up. He uses his cadence and snapiness to make the point of him being grown up, but still being the dude who can do what the fuck he wants.

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crownedbyluke · 5 years

Text

Long Road Ahead (Chapter Five)

Estelle Finley has been friends with Ashton Irwin and Luke Hemmings for three years. When the boys bring her along on a jam-packed road trip to Cape Cod with the rest of the band, their adventures are just beginning. Through long hours driving, exploring cities, and hidden secrets, something more is bound to happen on this journey. How will this road trip change Estelle’s friendship with the friends she’s come to love so dearly?

Word Count: 3,400

{Chapter One} {Chapter Two} {Chapter Three} {Chapter Four}

“Dude, get your ass up!” Calum said, hitting me in the face with his pillow.

I groaned, slowly opening my eyes. He gave me a big smile and then proceeded to hit me again.

“You’re ungodly annoying in the mornings,” I said, glaring at him.

“And you’re making us late!” Crystal called from the hallway.

“What’s she talking about exactly?” I asked while getting up.

“Luke, we’re dropping the girls off at the spa before we head out. Your alarm went off two hours ago,” Calum said, grabbing a couple things.

“Right. Sorry. I’ll be down in two,” I called after him as he walked out of our room.

I pulled on some shorts and a workout shirt.

“Shit, you um, you left the door open. I didn’t. Um. I’ll just head downstairs,” I heard Estelle’s voice from the doorway.

I stopped midway during pulling my shirt over my chest. Estelle had come down to talk and I was here changing with the door open.

“Wait up!” I called, grabbing my bag and shoes before going to meet her.

There was a blush over her cheeks when I met her on the stairs. We had seen each other in swimsuits, but I guess catching me changing was different.

“Um, morning,” she said quietly, looking away from me.

“Morning,” I said, watching her bite her lip.

She only ever did that around guys she liked. My heart picked up as we continued walking.

“Thanks for taking us to the spa,” she said, giving me a small smile.

“Yeah of course,” I responded, noticing how she was a little closer to me than usual. Taking them hadn’t even been my idea, but if it meant that Estelle would be a little closer to me, I’d take it.

“Um, thank you for the picks by the way,” I said, heading towards the door.

I sat down to quickly tie up my shoes before standing back up. I hadn’t noticed the height difference between us before. I didn’t tower over her, but there was enough that she had to look up at me.

“You’re welcome,” she said, standing by me.

It was awkward between us, some of the residual tension from our fight still present. It felt like Estelle was holding back from being herself around me. I understood her hesitation, but it wasn’t usually like this after we fought. Estelle and I went back to normal, made up, and then it was forgotten. She probably doesn’t know how to act now that our feelings are out. I held the door open for her, catching the smell of her perfume. The citrus scent catching in my nose and making me feel at home. We needed to talk about what all of this meant and the whole Calum thing. It needed to be soon too because I can’t handle the tiptoeing around each other for much longer.

“Since you were dragging on this morning, you lost shotgun rights,” Calum said, giving me a wink.

I rolled my eyes at him and flipped him off. He was such a dick in the mornings.

“You all know that I’m not a morning person,” I said, opening the door and getting in the car.

I felt Estelle’s presence next to me. It was like we were magnets that were being drawn to each other. Her hand was resting on the empty seat between us and I wanted to reach over to hold her hand like it was a part of my nature. I had spent the whole ride in my own head that I hadn’t realized that we were at the spa.

“Have fun at the park!” Estelle called before closing the door.

“Dude, are you gonna get in the passenger seat or what? Because I am not playing chauffeur today,” Calum asked once both of the girls were gone and we were left idling on the curb.

“Right, sorry,” I said, quickly moving to sit in the passenger seat.

“What’s up with you?” he asked, putting the park address into the GPS.

“Nothing Cal,” I lied, adding some songs to a playlist while I waited.

“Try again,” he chided, glaring at me.

I sighed and took the aux from him.

“Estelle and I are in a phase so it’s a little awkward between us,” I admitted, smiling at the opening of “Carry On My Wayward Son”.

“Because she told you how she felt or because she told you about what happened between us?” he asked, turning the volume down.

Clearly, Calum was determined to talk about this. I was a little shocked by his words, but he was right. I needed to at least get what was in my head out.

“Honestly, both. I know that I don’t have any grounds to be upset about her hooking up with you, but it just feels like I wasn’t good enough for her to realize her feelings for me without almost having sex with you,” I confessed, feeling the weight of my stress lifted off my shoulders.

“You’re right though. You don’t have the right to be mad at her for hooking up with me. That doesn’t mean you’re not allowed to have feelings,” he said, glancing over at me a bit.

It took me a minute to process what he was saying.

“Yeah I know, but we weren’t together when it happened,” I explained, playing with my necklace.

“So? You were dating some girl that was a hoe. Don’t blame yourself for Estelle’s choices. Now, why are you guys being weird? Both of you have feelings for each other. What’s stopping you two from getting together?” he asked.

“Because I was a dick to her after she told me and I don’t want to take the risk of ruining our friendship,” I said, looking out the window.

The city had faded, leaving open roads and blue sky. There wasn’t anything on the side of the road, but it was still nice to look at.

“What do you mean you were a dick?” Calum asked, confusion in his tone.

I sighed, remembering how I was rude to Estelle at the arch.

“No. I still do.”

I glared at her, anger boiling under my skin. How could she just expect me to forget what she said by telling me what I wanted to hear?

“Oh so, because you still have feelings for me, it’s supposed to make me forget that you basically fucked my best friend? That’s not how life works Estelle. Your daddy can’t get you a free pass on this one,” I almost yelled, letting the anger take over.

I walked away, leaving her there alone. I drove off, not thinking about how Estelle would get back or how she felt.

“Is that why Ashton yelled at you that night after he brought her back?” he asked, pulling into a parking lot.

“Yeah. He stayed in Estelle’s room that night too,” I said, getting out of the car.

“Did you apologize to her at all?” Calum asked while getting his bag out.

“Not yet. Well not completely. I said sorry before we left St. Louis,” I said, putting my sunglasses on.

“No wonder she’s being weird. You left her at the fucking arch with no way of getting back,” he said, pushing my shoulder.

“I know Cal. I know that I messed up and there’s no reason that she should forgive me, but I am stupidly in love with her,” I said, following him onto the trail.

“Well, you better tell her that, not me. You should also mention that you were a dick and apologize,” he said.

Calum had a point and I knew the moment I got back, I had to at least try to talk to Estelle.

➢➢➢

It was four o’clock by the time I looked at my watch.

“Cal! We’re gonna be late for dinner if we don’t head out,” I called over to him.

He was sitting on an outlook cliff, snapping pictures to show his mom.

“You’re right. Let’s go,” he replied, getting up and walking over to me.

We drove back and got there with a half hour to spare.

“Please tell me that you two are gonna shower before we leave for dinner,” Crystal said when we walked into the house.

“Going right now,” Calum said, already heading up the stairs.

“Luke, get your ass up those stairs too!” Crystal said, pointing up.

“Going! Calm down,” I said, taking the steps two-by-two.

I came back down after ten minutes, hair still wet. Ashton whistled, making me roll my eyes.

“Not you Hemmings. Essie, you look absolutely stunning,” he said.

I turned around, seeing Estelle with her hair curled and a white dress. She looked beautiful. My heart basically stopped at the sight of her.

“You do look good,” I said, taking in the way she looked effortlessly beautiful.

“Thank you,” she said, blushing slightly.

Ashton moved in front of me, offering his arm for her to take. She smiled up at him and I felt jealous of the way she was so carefree around him. What happened to her being that way around me?

“And where’s the other third of our unstoppable trio?” she called, turning her head to meet my eyes.

I smiled at her, hoping that we could easily go back to normal. I linked my arm with hers, looking down at her. She flushed when our eyes met. In that moment, I wondered how it would be to take her out on an actual date.

“Let’s get eatin’!” Calum cheered as we walked out.

“Yes!” Ashton and I responded at the same time.

Estelle laughed between us, the sound reminding me of melodies. I helped Estelle into the car before crawling in next to her.

“How was your spa day Essie?” Ashton asked once we started driving.

“Really good. Crys and I got facials. Then I got a massage. It was very relaxing,” she said, a calm smile coming over her face.

Just from the way she was talking about it, I could tell that she was less stressed.

“How was the music store?” she asked, all of her attention on Ashton.

“Good. I got some vinyls and Mikey showed me some bands I should check out,” he said happily.

“That’s cool. I actually looked into that band you played on our run yesterday and they have some good songs,” she said quietly.

I pulled out my phone and started scrolling through my playlist called “Little Dove.” It was my way of tuning out and making sure that I still liked the songs that were on it.

“We’re here!” Michael said, bringing me back to the present.

I helped Estelle get out of the car so her heels wouldn’t make her trip.

“Thank you,” she said softly, the golden sun bringing out the blue in her hazel eyes.

It felt like I couldn’t take my eyes off of her. The time in the sun had given her a slight tan and the white dress was showing it off. Plus, her hair seemed to be lighter. She was gorgeous and deserved all the attention in the world.

“Estelle, you really do look marvelous tonight,” I said, watching her blush yet again.

“Thank you Luke,” she said with a big smile on her face.

The red lipstick accentuated her lips and all I could think about was how badly I wanted to kiss her.

“You look very handsome tonight,” she said, taking my arm as we walked towards the restaurant.

I looked down at my outfit, the black jeans and dark blue short-sleeved button down being something I just grabbed.

“Thanks little dove,” I said, giving her hand on my arm a gentle squeeze.

We sat down across from Michael and Crystal while Ashton and Calum sat at the heads of the table.

“What are you thinking about getting?” I asked quietly.

“The house field green salad sounds good. You?” she responded, pointing at it on the menu.

I saw a glint on her finger, making me look at her hand. There was a silver ring with a wave on her middle finger. My hand reached up unconsciously to play with my necklace.

“Oh um, the Asian pear salad. I really like the idea of dessert though,” I said, twirling the charm between my fingers.

“Oh my gosh I could go for some dessert. Do you wanna share the apple crumble?” she offered, looking up at me.

It felt like we were getting back to our normal, but there was a different energy between us now. Instead of just friendship, there was a slight romantic touch to everything.

“I would like that,” I said before tuning back into the conversation around the table.

I wasn’t completely paying attention to everything, still stuck with melodies and lyrics swimming in my head. Estelle’s hand came down onto my lower thigh suddenly. She was laughing about something that I had missed. She took my breath away yet again. Within a moment, it was gone. I remained quiet for most of dinner, not really having anything to add to the conversations happening between my friends.

“And here’s the apple crumble,” a waitress said, snapping me out of my thoughts.

“It looks delicious. Thank you so much,” Estelle said, giving her a giant smile.

Estelle offered me a spoon, dropping an eye in a wink. I laughed before taking it from her. We both took a spoonful of the crumble along with the salted caramel ice cream and whipped cream before clinking our spoons. It tasted better than it looked.

“Oh my god,” she almost moaned at the sweetness.

“It’s amazing,” I agreed, wanting to savor the taste.

“We made a good choice,” she said before taking another bite.

My best choice was falling in love with you.

I wanted to say it out loud, but I stopped myself, not wanting to ruin dinner by making a stupid comment that would in turn stop conversation.

➢➢➢

I came back down after changing into joggers. I heard everyone’s voices outside and before joining them, I went to the kitchen. I grabbed an apple and caught Estelle sitting in the bay window. She had a book in her hands and the pale moonlight was casting a slight shadow over her face.

“Whatcha reading?” I asked, taking her attention away from the book.

“The Great Gatsby for the fourth time,” she said, looking up at me.

I sat down across from her, wanting to spend some alone time with her. She put her legs in my lap and looked out the window.

“Still obsessed with Daisy and Mr. Gatsby?” I asked, following her gaze out the window.

“More like their struggle to be in love,” she said, a coy smile on her face.

“Estelle, I need to apologize,” I blurted, surprising both of us.

“I’m guessing this is about that night at the arch?” she asked, putting her beaten copy of the book down.

“Yeah. I was an absolute dick to you. I left you there with no way of getting back and for no reason other than I didn’t like what you said. Then I gave you a shit excuse for a sorry and just expected you to forgive me,” I said, taking her hand in mine.

“Luke, you don’t have to-”

“There’s no good excuse to treat one of your best friends like shit,” I cut her off.

“Stop, listen to me. I’m not saying that it was a smart move or that I forgave you right away. You had every right to be mad at me. I was wrong to think that you would be able to get over the Calum thing so easily,” she said, squeezing my hand gently.

“It’s not like we were dating when it happened,” I said softly.

“He’s still your best friend and my delivery of the news wasn’t fantastic,” she said, trying to lighten the mood.

“And so are you,” I responded, moving a little closer to her.

“I’m sorry for not telling you sooner,” she whispered, playing with my fingers.

“And I’m sorry for leaving you,” I said, picking up her hand and looking at the ring she bought.

“We should talk about the other thing yeah?” she asked, resting her head on my shoulder.

I knew she was right, but I wasn’t sure what that meant for our friendship.

“Probably. What shall we talk about?” I asked, still looking at her ring.

“Why do you keep staring at it?” she laughed, grabbing my hand.

I twirled it around her finger before looking up at her.

“Because while I’m the moon, you are the tide. A connected process that the world would fall apart without. Without the moon, the tide would not exist. Without the tide, the moon would have no purpose,” I said, making eye contact with her.

I felt the shift between us happen, the exact moment the tension became romantic instead of angry or hurt. Estelle leaned into me, our close proximity making me glance at her lips.

“Little dove, when you said you have feelings for me, what did you mean?” I asked quietly.

I caught her eyes drift to look at my lips. Were we both thinking about kissing each other right now?

“I love you Lu,” she said, eyes looking back up at me.

Was I dreaming? Had Estelle really said that she loved me?

“Estelle, I-”

My phone started ringing, making me pull away from her. I checked the screen, seeing my mum’s name.

“Hi Mum,” I said, getting up and walking out to the front porch.

“Hi honey. I just wanted to check in,” she said, sounding a little out of breath.

“I’m all good. Actually on vacation for once. How are you?” I asked, taking a seat on the steps.

“Fantastic. I just finished up a workout. So, I have a reason for calling you so late,” she said, the background noise quieting down.

“Okay. What’s up?” I asked calmly despite my pulse picking up.

“I wanted you to thank Estelle for sending those flowers for my birthday,” she said happily.

My eyes went wide from the words.

“I can do that. I had no idea that she did that,” I said, playing with my necklace again.

“Yeah. She sent a beautiful bouquet of daisies over with a birthday card,” she explained.

I heard the smile in her voice and it struck a chord with me. Not only had she remembered my mum’s birthday, but she had gone the extra mile to send my mum something to celebrate. It made my heart swell.

“She’s a good one Luke. You should tie her down,” my mum teased.

I laughed, a giant smile on my face.

“She really is. I’ll do my best,” I said, looking over my shoulder to see Estelle was still sat at the window.

“You love her don’t you?” my mum asked, making my smile widen.

“Yeah Mum, I really do,” I replied, seeing Estelle look up at me.

“Then you should go tell her. I’ll talk to you later honey,” she said, her smile still in her voice.

“I love you Mum,” I said while getting up to head back inside.

“I love you too Luke,” she replied before hanging up.

I walked back into the house, going right back to the bay window. Estelle looked up at me with a soft smile playing across her lips.

“Everything okay?” she asked, closing her book again.

“You sent flowers to my mum for her birthday,” I blurted, making her laugh.

“Yeah. I thought she’d appreciate it,” she said with a shrug.

“She said thank you,” I said, feeling like I just needed to tell her how I felt.

“It was no big deal. I’m glad she liked them though,” she said, tucking her legs underneath each other.

“Estelle, I love you,” I said, the weight of my words lifting off my shoulders.

Her eyes lit up as she stood up to meet me. My thoughts were racing as we looked at each other. I wanted nothing more than to kiss her. The sound of fireworks made both of us jump. It was electric between us and it was as if we would spark with one small touch.

“Estelle, grab your camera!” Ashton yelled at us.

“Timing,” she said with a laugh.

I watched her walk away, leaving me standing by the window alone. Before she went outside, she turned and winked at me. I picked up my guitar that was by the window and started writing. I was inspired by the mutual love that had transpired and I would explode if I didn’t get this down.

OH BOY WE GOING PLACES HOMIES! Des literally yelled at me for not letting them kiss in this chapter and it was a beautiful moment. I hope you’re all enjoying!

tag loves: @notoriouslyhood @thruheavenandhighwater @24kcalum @bbycal @cashton-queen @a-little-international @tommossoccer @slimthicccal @thebookamongmen @jetblackyoungblood @kiss-the-kat @no-guilt-in-living

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recherche-raptor · 5 years

Photo

Got the second batch of gijinkas all wrapped up! Not totally happy with the lighting in the Animal Friends picture, even after spending like half an hour fiddling with different settings, but I think they all turned out pretty well overall.

Base Dream Friends- King Dedede, Meta Knight, Bandana Dee Wave 1 Dream Friends- Dreamland 2 Animal Friends, Gooey, Marx Wave 2 Dream Friends- Adeleine & Ribbon, Dark Meta Knight, Daroach Wave 3 Dream Friends- Magolor, Taranza, Susie Three Mage Sisters- Francisca, Flamberge, Zan Partizanne Other Pals- Prince Fluff, Elline, Dyna Blade Groups of Pals- Dreamland 3 Animal Friends, The Meta-Knights Star Warriors- Kirby, Shadow Kirby, Galacta Knight Misc Antagonists- Dark Matter Swordsman, Morpho Knight, Void Termina

Design notes under the cut:

Kine- Originally, I considered making Kine a merman, but then I started wondering if doing that would have it make more sense to give Rick hamster ears or Coo wings or something like that, which I didn’t really want to do. I was doodling out some possibilities and gave him a Hawaiian shirt on a whim, and decided that I liked the surfer look it gave him (once I decided on that I literally googled ‘surfer hair’ for hairstyle ideas), and then I added on the flippers to just hammer home the fish aspect a little more.

Rick- I heard that in the anime, Rick had an Australian accent, so I based his look partly off of vague childhood memories of Steve Irwin and partly off of what clothes would help him to resemble the fur patterns of his original hamster counterpart. I also threw in an Indiana Jones hat- Rick’s take on Stone turns him into the rolling boulder, so how could I not? The one thing I’m not happy with is that his skin looks less pinkish in this photo than in the original picture, so he doesn’t look quite as nearly-sunburned, but I guess it doesn’t look bad, just different from how it did originally.

Coo- As a wise old owl he had to be a wise old man in gijinka form, and also a bit stodgy and stuffy, so I based him off of a stereotypical old English professor (tho bear in mind my only “English” class in college was a composition class taught by a young Masters student, so). The idea for the mustache came from another gijinka I once saw (that was vastly superior to this design), and the glasses of course give him the big-eyed owl look.

Marx- I think the most original thing about my take on Marx is that his shirt is light purple instead of pink, and his pants are full-length instead of puffy shorts. But I’m happy with how it turned out (and I find it very amusing how so many different artists’ takes on the same character can end up so similar just based on the few hints of an outfit or personality offered by a mostly spherical original design).

Gooey- Wiser, older artists than me saw the usefulness of giving Gooey a cute poncho to make him look armless and rounder, and I tried to use their wisdom well. I also thought it’d be cute to give him rain boots to match the rain poncho; I feel like he looks all ready to go puddle-jumping. You do you, you goofy little blob. I based the front of his poncho a bit off of Dark Matter Swordsman’s to strengthen the aesthetic connection, but the Dark Matter eye on his shirt isn’t meant to imply that Gooey is/can be a singular eyeball or is secretly evil or anything, that’s just the sigil I’d give any gijinka Dark Matters. On Dark Matter Swordsman (coming soon eventually), the single eye on black is accompanied by a few small orange circles around it to show that Dark Matter Swordsman is stronger/higher ranked than little Gooey.

#Kirby #Gooey #Marx #Animal Friends #Kirby gijinka #my art

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gussolomonsjrtest · 5 years

Text

COMPLEXIONS CONTEMPORARY BALLET

Now celebrating a quarter-century of existence, COMPLEXIONS CONTEMPORARY BALLET, founded and directed by Dwight Rhoden and Desmond Richardson, has assembled a company of sixteen of the most spectacular imaginable dancers. These technical phenoms have various dance backgrounds and training, but many come from the world of competition dance, where the sky’s the limit for virtuosity and energetic projection. Then, Rhoden and Richardson have honed them to a razor’s edge with their proprietary NIQUE technique, which can apparently take talented dancers to the next level of dazzlement, judging by their Wednesday evening performance.

Chief choreographer, Rhoden, has often faced criticism, especially from the New York press, for the density of movement in his works, which are non-stop motion at the extreme ends of flexibility and physicality. In this two-week season at the Joyce Theater, February 19- March 3, the company is showing two different programs – and a third configuration at matinees – that encompass its history and highlight the development of its esthetic of physicality to the max.

COMPLEXIONS in BACH25 by Dwight Rhoden. photo by Sharon Bradford

Program A comprises the New York premiere of “Bach 25” (2018), set to richly orchestrated music by Johann Sebastian and Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach, and a tribute to David Bowie, “Star Dust” (2016), using his iconic songs. In both works you can see Rhoden’s skill at crafting his chosen vocabulary – balletic lines, infused with influences from folk, African, club, and disco styles. His transitions tend to be seamless with, say, one of a pas de deux, exiting as others enter in the nick of time to pick up the movement of the remaining partner in perfect unison. From a seeming chaos of bodies, running or doing individual phrases, suddenly will emerge order – four or five couples doing an overhead lift in unison, then dissolving again into individual agendas.

COMPLEXIONS in STAR DUST (center) Brandon Gray. photo by sharon Bradford

The second ballet on the program “Star Dust” is in nine sections that are as theatrically presentational as “Bach25” is presentationally abstract. Dance soloists portray Bowie’s personas, lip-syncing his lyrics while dancing up a storm, and backed by the colorfully-clad company in garish, body-hugging outfits by Darch that allude to the club culture of the albums from 1969 to 2016. In “Space Oddity,” Maxfield Haynes starts with a Rhoden signature move – deep plie in second position, legs wide apart. Haynes is wearing pointe shoes; he struts around the stage on toe, like a runway diva with psychedelic makeup.

Tim Stickney in Dwight Rhoden’s STAR DUST. photo by Sharon Bradford

As “Lazarus,” Brandon Gray divides his face in two with a stripe of silver glitter running down the middle. Simon Plant with a glitter star surrounding one eye, devours the space like a menacing maniac in “Rock and Roll Suicide.” Tim Stickney in black trousers and a leather strap across his bare chest portrays a speculative “1984” humanoid from the eponymous 1974 album. And the spidery six-foot-tall Jillian Davis takes the lead in “Heroes,” sung by Peter Gabriel.

COMPLEXIONS in Dwight Rhoden’s STAR DUST (center) Miguel Solano. photo by Sharon Bradford

A gold fringe curtain and three disco balls fly in for some of the scenes, heightening the glam-rock ambience and letting the dancers come and go upstage for a welcome change. “Modern Love” and “Young Americans” are full-company blasts. And, as usual, Michael Korsch’s imaginative, technically cutting-edge lighting pinpoints and color-washes the stage with dazzling, kaleidoscopic effects that still manage to highlight the extraordinary dancing.

COMPLEXIONS in Dwight Rhoden’s STAR DUST (center) Brandon Gray. photo by Sharon Bradford

Program B, seen on February 26, opens with “From Then to Now,” six audience favorites from Rhoden’s repertory, done with a brief blackout between each. Rhoden has cast these short dances to showcase the notable gifts of his dancers. The curtain ascends on “Rise” (2008) with Tim Stickney running frantically in place to the persistent pulse of U2’s “Where the Streets Have No Name.” The other dancers emerge from the darkness at the back, echoing Stickney’s motif with the fierce energy that characterizes everything they do.

In the duet “Spill” (2010) to contemporary classical music by Joan Jeanrenaud, newcomer Maxfield Haynes manipulates five-year company veteran Shanna Irwin in a pas de deux of continuously entwining lifts. “Wonder-Full” (1994) is a sinuous solo danced to Stevie Wonder’s “All in Love is Fair” by Brandon Gray in white shorts and a silky purple shirt that he removes midway through, so we can see not only the maximum flex of his every sinew, but also his utter control and performing passion.

“Choke” (2006) is a break-neck duet for Thomas Dilley and Simon Plant, both relatively new Complexions dancers with matching, compact builds, who personify the technical precision and difficulty of a side by side duet that switches back and forth from unison to symmetry. In “Testament” (2011) to the traditional “Amazing Grace” limber, lanky Davis in a patterned leotard and tall, lithe Gray in a kilt electrify the space with their extreme flexibility and attack. The final dance is the full-company, “Modern Love” section from “Star Dust,” to end the first act with a bang.

COMPLEXIONS in Dwight Rhoden’s WOKE (l-r): Brandon Gray, Shanna Irwin, Jared Allan Brunson, Daniela O’Neil. photo by Nina Wurtzel

The premiere “Woke” is another nine-part suite that serves, in Rhoden’s words, as “a physical reaction to the daily news.” It uses diverse musical selections by rock and rap artists with ominous titles like “Ball of Confusion (That’s What the World is Today),” “Doomed,” “Killing Spree,” and more reassuring ones – “Peace Piece,” “Mona Lisa,” and “Pray.” Here again, most of the men are bare-chested under sheer tunics and shorts or knee-length leggings, and the women each wear unique, skin-revealing outfits and point shoes (which are later replaced with soft ballet slippers.)

COMPLEXIONS in Dwight Rhoden’s WOKE. photo by Nina Wurtzel

Their interactions start out belligerent and confrontational in continuous duets and trios, which are often juxtaposed with each other on opposite sides of the stage. Korsch’s lighting is stark and shadowy with downward spots that etch the dancers in three-dimensional relief. Here, even more than elsewhere in the repertory, the sky-high leg extensions of both the men and women become thematic. In a brief solo, the small, beautifully-proportioned Plant unfolds his right leg slowly into a twelve o’clock-high extension, which he holds, rock-steady, before rising to the half toe of his standing foot. So spectacular is this feat of flexibility and control it draws applause, although it’s matched elsewhere by equally gasp-worthy contortions – sliding splits, a back walkover, quadruple pirouettes, and spread-legged slides.

COMPLEXIONS in Dwight Rhoden’s WOKE (l-r): Eriko Sugimura, Craig Dionne. photo by Joseph Franciosa

But “Woke”’s vocabulary is also peppered with flapping hands, full-body spasms, and other gestures that add dramatic pungency; it’s moody, angst-filled, and emotionally dark. At the end of one climactic group passage, the empowered women whack their partners to the ground. One of the raps is a remarkable screed using variations of the initials R.I.P. – Raised In Poverty, Remain In Peace, Realness I Preach, etc. – while bodies lie twitching on the ground and others dance oblivious behind them.

COMPLEXIONS in Dwight Rhoden’s WOKE (center) Simon Plant. photo by Nina Wurtzel

Rhoden’s choreography is seductive. Its technical difficulty, non-stop kinetic flow, and physical invention is thoroughly impressive. It’s salient shortcoming is the repetitiousness of spatial patterns and often two-dimensional use of stage space. Dancers sprint on and off from the sides of the stage, just in time to start a phrase or to join one in progress, and they tend to face front, as if performing into a mirror.

But for all its dramatic implications, at the end, there is redemption. The dancers in alternating rows of four – men, women, men, women – outstretch their hands to us in a gesture of invitation or offering, to the melodic strains Bill Evans’s “Peace Piece,” as the curtain slowly descends.

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mikemortgage · 5 years

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Haywood Securities defends legitimacy of Aphria assets in analyst report

An investment firm that provided a fairness opinion and valuation on a trio of controversial Latin American cannabis assets purchased by Aphria Inc. has issued a research report that appears to defend the legitimacy of those assets.

In July 2018, Haywood Securities Inc. provided the opinion to Scythian Biosciences Inc., a Florida-based company that sold the package of assets based in Columbia, Argentina and Jamaica to Aphria.

Aphria shares plunged in December after a short-seller report alleged that assets were largely “worthless.”

Green Growth’s CEO dismisses doubts about the bid for Aphria that a short seller is calling a ‘fakeover’

Aphria targeted in $2.8-billion hostile takeover bid from U.S.-based Green Growth Brands

Cannabis growers are racing to scale up with massive greenhouses — but not everyone thinks bigger is better

On Thursday, a day before Aphria was scheduled to release its latest quarterly earnings, Haywood analysts Neal Gilmer and Ethan Spence released a report providing detailed evidence — primarily through photos — of the Leamington, Ont.-based company’s assets in the three countries, calling them “broadly in-line” with expectations.

“We can confirm that there are operations ongoing with the assets at varying levels of development,” wrote the analysts, who added that they visited some of Aphria’s Latin American sites in December 2018, to assess the validity of short-seller claims.

Aphria has a 90 per cent stake in licensed Colombian producer Colcanna SAS, which is currently developing a 56-acre plot of land in Chinchina, one of the country’s coffee regions. Haywood’s team confirmed that there was indeed a plot of land roughly 56 acres in size undergoing widening and drainage work needed to begin construction of a cannabis facility that will consist of a greenhouse and 16 grow rooms.

Shortsellers Quintessential Capital Management and Hindenburg Research claimed, in their December report, that Aphria’s Colombian asset was an office with just five employees and “not much else.” The report also claimed that Colcanna was still in the licencing process and had not yet begun production.

Haywood’s analysts say that Colcanna’s head office in Manizales, Colombia has eight employees, with “more at a satellite office in Bogota.” They also confirm that Colcanna holds licences for the cultivation and sale of “psychoactive and non-psychoactive” cannabis.

But they don’t dispute the fact that Colcanna has not begun production — the report states that construction on Colcanna’s site is expected to begin in March or April 2019, and be completed by the end of the year.

Aphria has said that when fully operational, their Colombian facility has a potential capacity of 50,000 kgs. “In our opinion the Colombian asset is the asset that holds the most opportunity for Aphria,” wrote Gilmer and Spence.

Aphria’s Jamaican assets were perhaps the most concerning for investors after the short-seller report presented pictures of an abandoned office that the report claimed was the site of Aphria’s Jamaican operations. The short sellers also claimed that Marigold Projects Ltd., the Jamaican company that Aphria had acquired in late September 2018 owned a mere “plot of raw land not approved to grow cannabis,” not a cannabis farm as Aphria had claimed.

But the Haywood report provides pictures of what appears to be a cannabis farm within a small greenhouse flush with plants. Marigold’s management also told Haywood’s team that they had built up an inventory of 2,500 to 2,600 kgs of cannabis, and was waiting on approval to commence sales.

The analysts also toured what they said was Marigold’s head office, which was located at a different address than the official registered office cited in the short report.

“The corporate office is modest containing the basic necessities needed to operate Marigold given its current stage of development,” wrote Gilmer and Spence. “There is little need for a large sophisticated operation given the main assets of the company are the farm where the cannabis is grown and retail locations that will be established across Jamaica.”

Aphria’s Argentinian assets also appeared to have substantial value, according to the Haywood report. In reviewing documents with management of ABP — a pharmaceutical distribution company purchased by Aphria in the fall of 2018 — Haywood’s analysts said that the company generated almost US$11 million in revenue last year through the sale of various inventory and over-the-counter products, none of which includes cannabis.

Aphria’s hope, in purchasing ABP, is that the pharmacy would act as a distributor for medical cannabis, once it becomes legal, and that its Leamington facility would be able to export cannabis directly to ABP to dispense.

Haywood’s analysts appeared to agree with that valuation. “Ultimately our view is that ABP will be able to facilitate and participate in medical cannabis in Argentina, which is at current time not legal,” they wrote.

The short-seller report had alleged that ABP was “just one pharmacy, with virtually no digital presence and a handful of employees.” In order to distribute medical cannabis in Argentina — if and when it becomes legal — businesses have to own a pharmacy, the Argentinian government has said.

Haywood’s overall conclusion to investors was that the risk factor in investing with Aphria was still “very high” due to stock volatility and the potential hostile bid by U.S. retailer Green Growth Brands. Despite those cautions, the analysts stuck to their buy rating and projected a 46 per cent return for investors.

“Our review of the company’s assets backstops our fundamental view that there has been an overreaction on the sell side over the last month,” the report said.

Aphria has yet to respond at length to the short-seller allegations, though CEO Vic Neufeld did give up the post of chairman and was replaced by former Hain Celestial CEO Irwin Simon. An independent committee was also appointed in mid-December to review the allegations.

Neither Aphria, Quintessential Capital Management or Hindenburg Research could be reached for comment at publication time. Haywood’s analysts also did not respond to requests for comment.

from Financial Post http://bit.ly/2VLWQ4S via IFTTT Blogger Mortgage Tumblr Mortgage Evernote Mortgage Wordpress Mortgage href="https://www.diigo.com/user/gelsi11">Diigo Mortgage

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itsworn · 6 years

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Bloomington Gold Tribute to Corvette L88

The Bloomington Gold Corvette 2018 L88 Explosion began in 1988 and has been repeated every 10 years since (1998, 2008 and 2018). This year’s gathering was sponsored by Hagerty Insurance and took place at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. It was organized by curator Bill Locke and his staff. It was an exhausting process but they did an excellent job of arranging this year’s exhibit. He and his team secured 46 of these rare Corvettes that were on display in Indianapolis. The exhibit hall was spacious, well-lit and it was a magnificent way to inspect these historic Corvettes. Kevin Mackay, owner of Corvette Repair in Valley Stream, New York (www.corvetterepair.com), brought 17 L88s to the event. His company restored all 17 of these cars. Kevin also had several book signing sessions for Corvette Hunter. It was written by Tyler Greenblatt and chronicles the history of Kevin’s greatest Corvette finds. It is published by Car Tech and it is a very enjoyable read for any Corvette enthusiast.

Aficionados of early Corvette racing history usually focus on two significant competition generations: C2 (1963-’67) and C3 (1968-’82). During those years, the General was still adhering to the AMA Racing Ban it signed in 1957 to not support any factory racing activities. Zora Arkus-Duntov was not sympathetic to their position. He worked non-stop behind the scenes to find ways to help private teams racing Corvettes. During 1963, the new racing optioned Z06 Sting Ray was badly outclassed by the Ford-powered Cobra. Zora decided to unleash three of his 2,250-pound lightweight Grand Sport coupes (EX VIN# 003, 004 & 005) to embarrass the Cobras. He convinced John Mecom, owner of the Mecom Racing Team in Houston, to purchase the Grand Sports. He instructed Mecom to use the Grand Sports against the Cobras at the December 1963 Nassau Speed Weeks. Zora’s engineers “took vacation” to Nassau to assist Mecom. Zora’s plan was a total success, the Grand Sports clobbered the Cobras and the lightweight became a Corvette Legend. Today, all five are housed in private collections.

Fast forward to 1965 and GM was still firmly anti-racing as a company. Zora decided to work around this ban by increasing the production Corvette’s performance. In mid-1965, the L78 big-block 396-cid/425hp engine was stuffed into the Corvette and four wheel disc brakes became standard. The improvement was startling, but Zora’s team was not finished. They were testing running prototypes with a 427-cid big-block that was producing well over 550 hp. To test its reliability, the engine was installed into a red 1966 coupe and sold to Roger Penske. That car was entered in the 1966 24 Hours of Daytona and the 12 Hours of Sebring. The Corvette finished both races and won the Grand Touring category, beating the Cobras. The engine used by Penske became the L88 option for the 1967 model year.

A total of 87,268 Corvettes were built from 1967-’69 and only 216 RPO L88s were built during that time. The survivors are very rare indeed. In spite of their small numbers, they amassed an amazing competition record. The L88 racers were frequently seen in victory circles at road racing circuits and dragstrips. The most amazing part of their history was they were owned and raced by privateers, not the factory. Their amazing performance is a tribute to the skill of Zora Arkus-Duntov and his team. Somehow they were able to build a world-beating production sports car that could be purchased at a Chevy dealership. They accomplished this in spite of their organization (GM) banning any kind of motor racing.

Zora and his team carefully selected who purchased these cars and found innovative ways to provide backdoor support to ensure their success. Two of these private racing owners were special guests at Bloomington this year. They were driver/owner Tony DeLorenzo and owner Doug Bergen. They both shared their L88 experiences with the large audience that attended. Tony DeLorenzo won multiple SCCA production and endurance races in L88s at tracks like Daytona and Sebring. He told some amazing stories about what it was like to drive these beasts at speed. Doug Bergen purchased two L88 convertibles (1968 & 1969). His British Green ’68 convertible that was restored by Corvette Repair was at the event. Doug told the audience that his wife, Jean, was the first driver for their ’68 L88 because she drove it home from the dealership. Both of Doug’s L88s were multiple race winners, and after he sold his last L88, he joined John Greenwood Racing as team manager. Doug retired from the team in 1976. Both Tony and Doug have had a huge impact on creating the L88 racing legend and we were thrilled they attended and shared their amazing stories.

On the last day of the Bloomington Gold event, all 46 L88 were driven out of the exhibit area and parked in six rows for a photo opportunity. To put the icing on the cake, the owners were invited to take two laps around the famous Indy “Brickyard” in their rare Corvettes. A total of 26 owners took the Brickyard challenge, including Tony DeLorenzo and Doug Bergen, and lapped the speedway to the roar of the crowd. It was a great way to end a memorable event. Vette

There is a lot of horsepower sitting on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway show field as many of the L88s lined up for a photo op near the end of the event. (Photo by David Wesel)

The Indianapolis expo hall was a perfect venue for the L88s to be displayed. The 1969 Monza Red convertible is owned by Guy and Helen Mabee. It is one of 17 L88s with the M40 automatic transmission. The 1969 Can-Am white L88 coupe sitting behind the convertible is one of three exported to Canada with the M40 automatic. Frank Stech Jr. owns this rare Corvette.

Rare Wheels owns this Rally Red L88 coupe. It was the sixth one built on April 12, 1967, and it listed for $6,285.15 with all the factory options. It received a frame-off restoration by the Naber Brothers in 2001 and has received multiple awards. In 2014, it sold for $3.85 million at a Barrett-Jackson auction, making it the highest price paid for a production Corvette.

Bloomington Gold President Guy Larsen introduces championship winning L88 driver Tony DeLorenzo. Tony purchased the first ’67 L88 Corvette built on January 1, 1967. His Owens Corning-sponsored L88 team won every A Production race in 1969 and 1970; a record that still stands today.

Tony DeLorenzo raced the first L88 in 1967 and he won the L88’s first race at Willow Hills, Wisconsin. He finished second in A Production at the American Road Race of Champions in Daytona behind a Cobra. The restored car is owned by Chuck Ungurean.

Hall of Fame inductee Randy Wittine, a GM stylist, designed the paint scheme for every Owens Corning Corvette. Here, the team is shown in the Sebring International Raceway pits prior to the 1969 12 Hour race. The #2 driven by Dick Lang and Gib Hufsteader finished 2nd in GT and 14th overall.

Fabulous Restorations built this stunning replica L88 of Tony DeLorenzo’s 1970 24 Hours of Daytona entry shown on the banking at a Daytona vintage event. Tony and co-driver Dick Lang finished 13th overall and 3rd in GT at that 1970 race.

Doug Bergen (left) and his wife Jean share a moment with Kevin Mackay, owner of Corvette Repair. Kevin located and restored Doug’s original ’68 L88 roadster seen sitting behind the trio. After Doug sold his second L88, he joined Greenwood Racing in 1971 and served as Team Manager until 1976. (Photo by David Wesel)

The colorful Greenwood team is lined up in the pits before the 1973 12 Hour race. The red arrow points to Team Manager Doug Bergen. The No. 50 entry driven by John Greenwood, Ron Grable and Mike Brockman finished 3rd overall behind two Porsche 911s.

The owners stand by their prized L88 Corvettes in Bloomington Gold’s Certification Plaza at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. It was an amazing photo op for any Corvette enthusiast.

Kevin Mackay, owner of this 1967 SCCA A Production L88 roadster, invited David Borroughs and this author to use this Corvette as an on-the-track photo car. We accepted his kind offer! The crowd is lined up around us as we drive toward the racetrack entrance. The noise was deafening.

Twenty-six L88 owners lined up before taking two laps around the famed Indy Brickyard racetrack. (No, we did not drive 200 mph, but the urge was there!)

Here is driver David Burroughs and the author (blue shirt) moving to the front of the line before we enter the speedway. This was pre-agreed to by Bill Locke to give us the best position to photograph every L88 on the track. (Photo by David Wesel)

The C7 in the lead served as the pace car. The white pickup did videography from the bed during our Indy pace laps.

This ’67 L88 roadster is owned by Patti and Dana Mecum. It was driven from Wichita, Kansas, to Daytona Beach, Florida. It was entered into 1970 24 Hours of Daytona without a sponsor by drivers Cliff Gottlob and Dave Dooley. It finished 11th overall and 2nd in GT and was driven back to Wichita after the race. It was clocked at 186 mph on the Daytona banking.

Harry Yeaggy owns this ’67 L88 coupe that competed in the 1967 24 Hours of Le Mans. It is the only C2 Corvette to ever compete at Le Mans. It was driven by Don Yenko, Dick Guldstrand and Bob Bondurant. It led the GT category for over 12 hours until a wristpin failed in the engine, putting it out of the race. It set a new class speed record of 172 mph on the 4-mile long Mulsanne Straight.

Irwin Kroiz owns this Sunray DX-sponsored ’68 L88 (now Sunoco oil). It finished Sixth overall and First in GT at the 1968 12 Hours of Sebring and was driven by Hap Sharp and Dave Morgan.

Doug Bergen and his wife, Jean, lap Indy in this ’68 L88 roadster. This was the first of two L88s owned by the Bergen family and it finished 1st in class and 11th overall at the 1968 6 Hours of Watkins Glen. Corvette Repair completed the body-off restoration and it is owned by Kevin Mackay.

Fred and Terry Michaelis own this ’69 L88 roadster driven by Tony DeLorenzo. Tony ordered this car new and used it for personal transportation. He sold it to his German friend Kurt Wetzel. Kurt planned on racing it in Germany so Tony prepared it for racing. It became so dominant in Germany that Porsche bought it to get it off the track. Nabors Brothers did the restoration, and the Germany-based Corvette still displays its German license plate.

Donald Ghareeh is the proud owner of the ’69 L88 coupe that spent its life on the dragstrip. It was raced for four years and twice set AHRA (American Hot Rod Association) class records. It was ordered on September 7, 1969, and was built on November 22nd, and was the last L88 built.

This 1969 see-through L88 is driven by Phil Castaldo. It was created by Corvette Repair as a 3-D business card in 2005 and continues to draw crowds wherever it appears. The original black L88 was sold through Bay Chevrolet in Douglaston, Queens, New York. Kevin still owns the original body and may reunite it with the original chassis someday. In the meantime, this creation continues to serve effectively as Corvette Repair’s 3-D business card.

Roaring down the Indy back straight, the see-through L88 pulls ahead of the ’67 L88 camera car for one final photo before we return to the pits. It was an amazing adventure.

The post Bloomington Gold Tribute to Corvette L88 appeared first on Hot Rod Network.

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sbknews · 6 years

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New Post has been published on Superbike News

New Post has been published on http://superbike-news.co.uk/wordpress/monster-weekend-for-josh-brookes-as-he-is-crowned-king-of-brands/

Monster weekend for Josh Brookes as he is crowned King of Brands

Josh Brookes conquered the opposition at Brands Hatch to score his first Bennetts British Superbike Championship win of 2018 and then make it a double to celebrate the Yamaha R1 20th Anniversary in style with the McAMS Yamaha team and bolster his title aspirations.

Brookes had been charging throughout the weekend and in the opening race he launched off the line to hit the front of the pack ahead of Glenn Irwin and Tarran Mackenzie. Instantly Brookes and Irwin were dicing for the leading position but by the start of the second lap the Be Wiser Ducati rider had the edge.

Christian Iddon was moving through the order and soon the freight train of riders at the front had turned into Brookes, Irwin, Iddon, Leon Haslam and Mackenzie. Iddon had moved into second with a move at Druids on lap four.

Irwin was instantly on the attack and reclaimed the position from his Tyco BMW rival. Dan Linfoot’s tough weekend continued as the Honda Racing rider crashed out at Westfield on the sixth lap and he was forced to sit out race two with a suspected fractured scaphoid.

At the front the lead group of five started to edge ahead of the chasing pack with Brookes holding off Glenn Irwin, Iddon, Mackenzie and Haslam. The second McAMS Yamaha was on a charge as Mackenzie moved up the order and into third, but it was a disaster for the Superbike rookie as he crashed out on the penultimate lap from a potential first Bennetts BSB podium finish.

Irwin was pushing to attack for the lead on the final lap but it wasn’t enough and Brookes had a 0.227s edge at the finish line with Haslam promoted to third after Mackenzie’s crash. Dixon had carved his way back up the order to snatch fourth place from Iddon on the final lap with Peter Hickman able to hold off the challenge from Richard Cooper in seventh place.

Knockhill double podium finisher Danny Buchan was eighth ahead of Andrew Irwin and Michael Laverty who completed the top ten.

In race two Brookes again fired off the line into the lead ahead of Glenn Irwin and Cooper who had a storming start to move into third in front of Haslam, Buchan and Dixon. But then there was disaster for Cooper though as he crashed out unhurt at Paddock Hill Bend.

Dixon though had moved into fifth place, making a decisive move down the inside at Druids to grab the position. At the front the leading trio began to break the chasing pack with Brookes, Glenn Irwin and Haslam holding a small advantage over Dixon, Iddon who had moved up the order, and Mackenzie.

Irwin was trying to make a last lap attack, but Brookes had the advantage and held him off to the line by just 0.090s to bag another five Podium Points for his championship challenge with Haslam holding on to the final podium position for JG Speedfit Kawasaki.

Dixon had been under threat from Mackenzie but the RAF Regular & Reserves Kawasaki rider managed to hold him off in the closing stages of the race with Iddon scoring sixth place for the Tyco BMW team.

Tommy Bridewell had an impressive performance to finish seventh and give the Moto Rapido Ducati team their best result of the season on his debut weekend, passing Buchan on the final lap. James Ellison and Hickman completed the top ten.

Bennetts British Superbike Championship, Brands Hatch, Race 1 result:

Josh Brookes (McAMS Yamaha)

Glenn Irwin (Be Wiser Ducati) +0.227s

Leon Haslam (JG Speedfit Kawasaki) +3.114s

Jake Dixon (RAF Regular & Reserves Kawasaki) +7.937s

Christian Iddon (Tyco BMW) +8.830s

Peter Hickman (Smiths Racing BMW) +13.285s

Richard Cooper (Buildbase Suzuki) +14.192s

Danny Buchan (FS-3 Racing Kawasaki) +14.591s

Andrew Irwin (Be Wiser Ducati) +16.673s

Michael Laverty (Tyco BMW) +16.862s

Bennetts British Superbike Championship, Brands Hatch, Race 2 result:

Josh Brookes (McAMS Yamaha)

Glenn Irwin (Be Wiser Ducati) +0.090s

Leon Haslam (JG Speedfit Kawasaki) +5.658s

Jake Dixon (RAF Regular & Reserves Kawasaki) +6.419s

Tarran Mackenzie (McAMS Yamaha) +7.684s

Christian Iddon (Tyco BMW) +11.436s

Tommy Bridewell (Moto Rapido Ducati) +14.916s

Danny Buchan (FS-3 Racing Kawasaki) +15.110s

James Ellison (Anvil Hire TAG Yamaha) +15.230s

Peter Hickman (Smiths Racing BMW) +20.891s

Bennetts British Superbike Championship standings after Brands Hatch:

Leon Haslam (JG Speedfit Kawasaki) 242

Jake Dixon (RAF Regular & Reserves Kawasaki) 162

Glenn Irwin (Be Wiser Ducati) 145

Josh Brookes (McAMS Yamaha) 130

Bradley Ray (Buildbase Suzuki) 115

Danny Buchan (FS-3 Racing Kawasaki) 111

The seventh round of the 2018 Bennetts British Superbike Championship take place at Thruxton on August 3./4/5. For more information visit www.britishsuperbike.com

Josh Brookes (McAMS Yamaha) Double race winner “It’s a fantastic timing to get the double for Yamaha on the 20th Anniversary of the R1. It’s a perfect gift for them and it was their birthday a couple of weeks ago so I’m sure this will go down well!

“Those opening laps were quite fun for me in race one. This year has been quite frustrating on the track for me not able to reach my potential and the opening lap but today I felt good and we were making passes so I thought ‘why not, we’ll show our hand and see what we can do’.

“As you’re leading the way it feels like you’ve got to find where the limit is. I tried to keep the lead and I felt comfortable for most of the race. Then I made a mistake in turn one and lost the front a little bit as I turned in, then I went wide onto the dusty surface and started to lose the front again and I put my head down and then got better focus and the end of the race was a lot stronger for me.

“I listened to what Glenn said in the post-race interview in race one and I looked where I needed to improve for the second one. Obviously leading most of race one I didn’t see anyone else’s speed or strategy or the way their bike works.

“I knew there were areas that I needed to improve if I was going to keep him behind in race two so I set about trying to not make no mistake and push hard. There was a point where I was starting to edge a gap and then towards the end of the race I started to lose rear grip; it’s natural pushing that sort of pace.

“We were pushing fast lap times all the way through the race. When you are doing that something’s got to be getting worn, either you or the tyre or both, so last two even maybe three laps I was like ‘oh I’m in trouble here’.

“I didn’t have the drive I needed to continue that pace. But fortunately having that tiny gap that I had was enough to keep it right. I came into the last turn and I could hear the thump of the Ducati right behind me but I wasn’t ready to give it up after leading the whole way!

#Bennetts #BrandsHatch #britishsuperbike #GlennIrwin #JoshBrookes

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theleaderdotinfo-blog · 6 years

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Costa Blanca Sth Bowls Roundup 6 July 18 has been published at http://www.theleader.info/2018/07/07/costa-blanca-sth-bowls-roundup-6-july-18/

New Post has been published on http://www.theleader.info/2018/07/07/costa-blanca-sth-bowls-roundup-6-july-18/

Costa Blanca Sth Bowls Roundup 6 July 18

San Miguel Bowls Club – week ending 6th July By Gail Willshire The Moors finished the league with a flourish this week, winning 14:0 away to Horadada Hawks, 148 points to 74. This result meant the team finished the season unbeaten, 32 points ahead of the nearest rivals and with a massive shot difference of 378. The results were as follows: Lynn Greenland, Linda Plaisted & Gary Raby 17:14; Jan Allen, Stuart Hemmings & Dave Greenland 26:12; Gail Willshire, Brian Allen & Fred Willshire 27:15; Tony Sansom, Don Whitney & Mary Dyer 35:6; Bob Nesbitt, Cliff Plaisted & Stuart Denholm 21:10 and Sue Milner, Lee Sinclair & Steve Cantley 22:17. The Christians faced the squad at the top of league, San Luis Wellingtons, hoping to get enough points to avoid relegation. Pat McEwan, Dave Champion & Dave McEwan managed a draw 16:16 against one of the most experenced trips on the Costa Blanca, and were holding the game until the opposition skip drew in with his last wood. Sheila Errington, Sandie Hannah & Brian Errington also managed a draw 15:15 against another very experienced team. The game was nip and tuck, 15:14 going into the final end when the opposition skip again came in for shot with his last wood. Ian hope, Alan Dobie & Mike Douglas finished with another draw 16:16, after having been 10:4 down after 9 ends but picking up a 5 on the 10th, bringing them back into the game. 3 points meant they had to rely on other results to see what would befall them, but this was just enough to keep them safe. San Miguel look forward to having two teams in the top division again next year. The Wasps sessions have come to an end for the summer but will start again on Wednesday 5th September 1:30 for 2:00. €5 for an afternoon’s bowling with shoes and woods available to borrow. For further information on San Miguel Bowls Club please contact the President Stuart Hemmings on 965720461, or the Secretary Gail Willshire on 965020492. Vistabella Bowls Report With Lynne Bishop The final game of the South Alicante Summer league for the GREENWAYS was played on Monday at home against the Quesada Blenheims, the Blenheims stood a chance of winning the league but the Greenways team gave them a good fight for points, both sides had three wins but the overall shots swung in favour of the Greenways. Captain Arthur Brown & vice Maggie Furness had a tough task of keeping over forty available players happy, they did incredibly well and the Greenways eventually finished fourth in the league..hopefully next year we will be able to submit two teams. Winning the points on this occasion were Mike Irwin, Arthur Brown & Peter Whitehall 21-9. Lynne Bishop, Mike Regan & Pat Rafferty 21-10 and Del Gunning, Charlie Watkins & Eric Bishop 20-10. Shots, VB 104(8) - 99(6) Quesada. Congratulations to San Luis the 2018 league Champions..they won every game except for one...the one we won! Thank you to all our Team Captains & Selectors for their hard work..a daunting task at times. Sue Wilson organised a Saturday morning Competition which ran over eight weeks and was won by Mike Irwin, Mike was neck and neck with his closest contender Frank Barclay, it was so close it was down to a measure on a ditched wood that went in favour of Mike..Congratulations Mike and commiserations to Frank. Thank you Sue for running this. SABA KNOCKOUT. Both Lin Watkins & Maggie Furness have earned themselves a place in the semi finals of the Ladies Singles when they will be playing each other, good luck ladies...one of you will be in the final representing Vistabella! Also Lin & Charlie Watkins are through to the semi final of the mixed pairs. Good luck to all the Vistabella competitors in their next rounds, Arthur Brown & Martin Foulcer. Del Gunning & Gary Thorpe in the men’s pairs. Sandra Burrows & Maggie Furness in the Ladies pairs and Stuart Allman & Maggie Furness in the mixed pairs. That’s me now signing off for the summer...Hasta luego! COUNTRY BOWLS by Geoff Paylor The Country Bowls ‘ Badger’s’ travelled to San Luis on Monday 5th July for the last match of the summer season, and what a match, could it have been any closer with both teams going for second spot.? The morning was very hot as was some of the bowling. The ‘Badger’s’ played well against a very strong team from San Luis with Brenda Jiggins, John Hassell and John Mallet winning with an amazing score of 36 – 2. , Joel Fernandez, Niel West and Phil Warrington with a score of 26 – 14. . 4 points in the bag. The team of Geoff Eggleton, Graham Richardson and Geoff Paylor met a very good trio and a skipper in good form losing 15 – 14. Ben Noke, Derek Jiggins and Andy Bryce played a very close game losing with a score of 12 – 14 on the last end. Craig Dyson in his first role as skip along with Dot Davies and Dave belton, and also Lynne Bryce in her first role as skip with Dean Webb and Dave Smith fought hard but were overcome in the end by the teams from San Luis.. The shot difference near the end was to our advantage and I started to believe we could grab 2nd spot in the league but the final couple of ends turned against us and we lost the shots 102 – 103 and settle for 3rd place which is a fantastic result for Country Bowls. As the out going skipper I would like to thank everyone but especially Andy Bryce, Ben Noke and Phil Warrington without whom we might not have finished the season. Thank you to you all. And a final note from Country Bowls committee to say a big thank you to Geoff Paylor for organising the teams. Thank you Geoff for your hard work. For anymore information on Country Bowls please visit the website www.countrybowlsmurcia.com email [email protected] or ring 868183703 Emerald Isle Bowls Club by Elwyn Morris Monday the Victors travelled to Quesada Lancasters and had a great 10-4, aggregate 104-103 win. The winning trips were: S Kavanagh E Morris B Kavanagh 24-11 M Riley Parsons K Jolliffe 20-19, M Whitelock M Veale G Odell 17-16 C Thomas G Shoots M Odell 13-12 The Vulcans played La Siesta Wasps at home and the visitors took the game 8-6, aggregate 99-122, winning trips were A Brown S Watson Close 24-11 B Doran L Freeman J Mullarkey 25-13, T Capewell C Ayling P Willicott 24-16 Horadada Bowls Club by Irene Graham On Monday of this week we played the last match of the Summer League Hurricane Division at home to San Miguel Moors. To say it was not a good result for us is a bit tame as we lost on all six rinks and gained zero points. However, in saying that, San Miguel put out their best players and we were up against it right from the start. San Miguel played very well and well done to them to top the league. The final shots were 74 for and 148 against. Horadada finished up second bottom of the table with 57 points. If only one team go down then this will be a good finishing result for us given the size of our club. Well done to all the members who participated in the team and think positive for next season. Thanks goes to our Team Captain Bill Stanaway for his efforts on the team selection. It is never an easy job. After the match our spirits were raised with a bit of lunch and a drink at the Asia Restaurant in Pilar de la Horadada. A good laugh and a natter soon chased away the blues. Horadada offers a warm welcome to new or experienced bowlers, and provides the necessary equipment. Our roll-up days for this friendly club are Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday mornings. Please contact Fred Trigwell on 659139129 for more information. Quesada Bowls Club Report by Dee Stephenson It’s been a nervous but exciting week for Quesada with the last matches of the season deciding the winners and losers! In the VCL league QBC Tigers finished the season with a fantastic result winning the Division C league by 11 points and confirming their promotion to Division B next season. The Lions were hot on the heels of San Luis Falcons throughout the season but couldn’t quite catch them and finished second in Division A of the VCL league. Great performances from the whole team in all of their games. The newly formed Cheetahs were QBC’s third team in the VCL league. Although finishing in last place in Division C, they put up a creditable performance against other experienced teams whilst managing the additional challenges of a very small squad. The camaraderie and support throughout the team has been a joy and this tenacious and determined team will be back next season to fight again! In the South Alicante Summer League, the Lancasters had a nail-biting match against the Emerald Isle Victors who won 10-4. But the Lancasters came extremely close to reversing the score and remaining in the division as 3 rinks went to the wire, only losing by one shot, including missing the overall shots by only one. Well done to the two winning rinks: Mel Highland, Peter Farrell, Peter Bradbury, and Colin Highland, Angie Goddard and Steve Gray. The Blenheims also suffered a last minute disappointment following a very tough match against Vistabella Greenways. They needed 11 points from the match to overtake San Luis Wellingtons at the top of the league but it wasn’t to be. Vistabella won the match 8-6 with shots 104-99 which means The Blenheims finished the season in second place. Overall its been a very competitive season, with strong performances and undoubted commitment and tenacity from all of the Quesada members and players. Thanks to the Captains and selectors of the teams for their hard work and to all of the members who have supported as reserves and have given their time as Markers. Quesada Bowls Club is sponsored by Spanish Life Properties https://spanishlifepropertiessl.com/ San Luis Bowls Club Report 06.07.18. The South Alicante leagues have finally been completed; SL Wellingtons and Quesada Blenheims were fighting for top spot but SL Wellingtons finish CHAMPIONS of SPITFIRE DIVISION. South Alicante Summer League: Monday 2nd July SL Wellingtons away v San Miguel Christians, had a really close battle with 3 wins and 3 drawn games! shots 104-86, points 11-3. Well done to all the team: Bob White, Derrick Cooper, Ian Kenyon 18-13, Pam Lockett, June & Keith Jones 16-16, Steve Simmons, Ray Pollock, Scott Malden 24-12, Jan Pocock, Sue Cooper, Brian Pocock 16-16, Irene Everett, William Holtham, Vic Slater 15-14, Margaret Morrison, Sabrina & Russell Marks 15-15. SL Wellingtons finished top with 92 points, and Quesada Blenheims 2nd on 87 points. SL Hercules were contesting 2nd place in the Harrier Division with Country Bowls Badgers and had an excellent but close result home v Country Bowls Badgers, 10-4, shots 103-102. Winners: Dennis Jackson, Ray Watmough, Ralph Jones 14-12, Ros Holmes, Mags Haines, Barry Edwards 15-14, Audrey Ford, Mary Fromson, Charlie Marigold 23-11, Kath Waywell, Mario Cavilla, Bob Bromley 35-3. After a strong fight back, SL Hercules take the runner-up spot with 65 points, behind winners Monte Mar Torro on 71 but ahead of CB Badgers on 61! well done to everyone who played for Hercules. Thursday evening Aussie Pairs: "Kangaroo League" Current positions after 6 games: 1st Wallaroo (capt. Russ M) 9 pts + 24 shots, 2nd Kowari (capt. Roy C) 8 pts + 27 shots, 3rd Wombat (capt. Ian K) 8 pts + 19 shots, 4th Kangaroo (capt. Scott M) 8 pts + 12 shots, 5th Possum (capt. Sab M) 8 pts.+ 2 shots 6th Platypus (capt. Keith J) 8 pts -2 shots. NEW MEMBERS: After a successful 2017/18 season, San Luis BC is looking to enter 4 teams again in both Monday & Friday Leagues for the 2018/19 winter season. We are always looking for new members especially those who are newer to bowls and want to try to start playing, or progress, in the leagues. Ideally anyone who wishes to join San Luis should give their notice of intent BY the end of July as at the beginning of August we will be forming our squads and any late joiners will play where needed. For results etc. Club website: www.sanluisbowls.byethost7.com For general information about San Luis Club, contact June Jones, Captain: 691903773. Sheila Cammack

#Costa Blanca Bowls Roundup

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