PORCH LIGHT.

𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘢𝘯 𝘢𝘶𝘵𝘰𝘱𝘴𝘺 𝘰𝘳 𝘢 𝘩𝘢𝘭𝘧-𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘢𝘭𝘧-𝘢𝘱𝘰𝘭𝘰𝘨𝘺 ?

[porchl1ghts]

#porchl1ghts – – – multi - muse blog for @bearcreekfm, written by mina ( any pronouns, 28, brt ).

LI, kenny : intro.

RAMOS, camila : intro.

[alpenglcws]

truthfully, it is a ridiculous idea, they'd been friends for so long - practically since they were in the cradle, that jasmine couldn't imagine kenny doing anything to push her away, and she supposes that the same could be said for her. at the push for her to try harder, she can't stop her own burst of laughter, doing her best to stifle it with a palm against her mouth. "thank goodness i have countless summers ahead of me. it can be a continual goal." her gaze turns to the instructor in question, brow crinkling as she notes that he's already glancing at them with a stern expression on his features. one that shouldn't be allowed in anything that's supposed to further relaxation, especially this early in the morning. "hates us both, you mean. i feel like we need to stage a revolt, kenny. clearly a man who hates fun shouldn't be teaching yoga." it's not as if they were loud, and with their mats always solidly in the back of the class, who cared just how carefully they were following the instructions? "i still attest to the fact that my pigeon form was better than his." she's not one to needlessly rib, especially other instructors - but with little saplings being all about fostering growth it's hard not to scrutinize methods that go solidly against her own principles. "absolutely - although i suppose i'm not doing much to further my cause. maybe i should force you to eat a salad instead."

[porchl1ghts]

usually, it takes a lot for a smile to break in kenny's features, but there's an easy exception right there, when jasmine shows her joy so freely. "now you're just being cocky. you know you could die crossing the street when we're done here." they just have to be pessimistic, though jasmine knows them well enough to know their delivery is telling of a jest. they don't bother to look at the yoga instructor, lips pursing as they dip their head in a vehemently agreeing nod. "if he hates the least hateable person in the world – you – then i'm all for putting a pitchfork through his gut. unless we're going even more old school – what do you say, burn him in a public square?" they tilt their head towards the man, unable to help the way their lips quirk up in obvious disgust. "hey! do you want me to be the one to throw you into the traffic?" kenny reaches sideways to push jasmine's shoulder, vicious in their playful violence. "sebastian gets me salad everyday. that's well enough now. i need sugar, caffeine, something that will corrode my insides and leave me happy after this class fails to do just that."

[porchl1ghts]

setting: the neon rainbow, with gabriela trevino @violescnts

they can hardly remember the last time they'd had a drink – it must have been during a very bad day some years ago, but it seems that just had to change today because her virgin cocktail tastes very slutty. it's enough to make her leave the corner she had been chatting with jasmine, grabbing both of their drinks before she heads to the bar again. there's a different bartender than the one she'd ordered from, but with her back turned, kenny can't really make sense out of it. "hey, my order's wrong." they say, hopefully loud enough to be heard through the booming sound. it's just when she turns around that they notice who it is. fuck.

[porchl1ghts]

setting: the corner nook, with wyatt sutton @dandelionfm

the pile on the basket they hold is slowly growing, a mixture of notebooks and pencil cases and everything else you could need – and not – to a start of the school term. the list they were supposed to follow strictly has flown out of the window around fifteen minutes ago, when jamie saw a spider man notebook that he just had to have, and that went on to other random things only this small shop could have. while they try to make the math of the cost, they run into someone who's also have quite a basket of their own. "wyatt – hey. if juniper is still into super hero paraphernalia, you just need to go to that alley there."

[porchl1ghts]

setting: after the dam the duck derby, with sloane camden @sweetbvrries

after it is all done, they are still looking for duck vader. jamie swears he can recognize the plastic duck, and because kenny can hardly ever deny the kid anything, she follows him to the edge of the water, where some dozens of losing ducks float. it's the shrieking that catches her attention – natural to a child's excitement, but dangerous at this certain point of the land, and she's quickly drawn to the kid that runs in the direction of the water, grabbing him by the waist and bringing him close before the worst can happen. "kid, you can't do that!" she says, keeping her arms around the unknown child. "where are your parents?"

[itsvivihuang]

Vivienne eyes narrowed with the drifting, but the suggestion still made her eyes darken slightly with the idea. It didn't took much of her to actually hop on her wife's ideas. As she shifts her hands to actually caress Mila's lips and soft face, Vivi bit into her smile before responding "well, i do love you guessing sometimes... it makes the best times with you, your creativity know no bounds" Giggling, like a school girl, the rancher took a good look at her tray before licking her lips, actually noticing the hungry might be physical after all. Looking up to Camila, she nodded into the tray's direction "You did perfect, baby! Don't be dramatic, you can never do any wrong in my eyes, and you know it!" She chided the woman, her brow frowning with how Camila could be that dramatic (as if Vivienne didn't cried for a whole day when her babies won't have a day with her at the Ranch. Then, taking one finger to roll around the locs of her wife, Vivienne closed their proximity, whispering "Are the fire chief joining me?"

[porchl1ghts]

"i am a good guesser, amor. let's think." she pauses, more for dramatic effect than anything. "i was kissing up your leg.. your beautiful calf, your strong thighs, and i was just getting close to where you want when you woke up." camila bats her eyelashes innocently, as if she wasn't leading them into very dirty waters. there is actual bashfulness in her features as vivienne praises her – camila noticed early on how she's a sucker for that – and she tries to center them into focus on what really matters now: food. sitting back on her legs, she pours vivienne a cup of coffee, handing it to her wife. "focus, now. food first." she chides, but it's gentle, with a soft chuckle. "i can eat, amor. what do you want? the fruits or the eggs? you get first pick, just for being your gorgeous self."

[porchl1ghts]

setting: the neon rainbow, with cristina zhao @dandelionfm

at the age of fifty six, camila likes to think of herself as young. she may not be as spry as she had been before, but she still works out, makes love, dances, drinks, has generally all kinds of fun. and then she goes to a club and it all goes flying off the handle – what is this song even playing? it's not chappell roan. does chappell still sings? camila wants to keep up so badly but she doesn't know if she can. she still tries, though. "i know our drinks are comped because your girlfriend is an angel on this earth, so do we want to try the high shelf? i need something to get me through this edm – is it still called that?"

[porchl1ghts]

setting: friday, at the goldhorn with sloane camden @sweetbvrries

although camila does love to spend hours on the kitchen cooking up their own meals, sometimes even she can get a little lazy. she's just pulled a double shift, hasn't seen her wife in over twenty four hours, and all she wants to do is to eat something and go to bed, maybe snuggle while she watches some thrashy tv. that's why she's come to the steakhouse, putting in her regular order; it is already on its way when she catches sight of the owner. camila's smile is tired, but is no less glad. "hi there, sloane. i can see things are a little busy, but would you think less of me if i ask you to put a rush on my order? i can't wait to take off this bra."

[visenyaism]

I ❤️gossip I ❤️eavesdropping I ❤️asking nosy questions I❤️ looking for and acquiring information. On account of my curious and inquisitive nature #mynature

[briarrosew]

⸻ Briar looked at them before looking at the landscape before them. ❛ I'm taking a little break for now. ❜ And then she tapped on her pockets, realizing she left her phone back at home on purpose so as not to be disturbed in her climbing. ❛ So, how are you doing? ❜ She inquired, as she flashed her sympathetic smile, dimples showing on her cheeks, adjusting her pink sun visor. Yeah, yeah… She noticed they weren't thrilled with her presence, but that wasn't going to ruin her day. Then she walked a bit closer to the edge to get a better sight of the view before her, basking in nature’s quiet symphony as the tender gossip of birds overhead and the soft sighing of the wind as it brushed through the canopy.

[porchl1ghts]

now, this was just their luck. of all the people in town, they had to get stuck around on the same trail as briar rose, princess barbie of bear creek. it's by little that the brunette refrains from rolling their eyes, settling instead by focusing on taking a sip of their water. "not used to the track?" they ask, because jasmine's annoying voice is still on their ear and there's something there about doing small talk, even with someone you loathe. their eyebrows furrow as the woman approaches, all smiles and (in their opinion) fake sweetness, asking about their day. this is the last thing she wants to do right now. "i was doing better before you came in with your perfume and ruined the smell of the woods for me." they deadpan, but they bite the inside of their cheek right afterwards. "sorry, but i don't get how you still smell nice after hiking. are you actually made out of plastic?"

[profviccastillo]

He was peculiar and he knew it, Victor just didn’t care. Granted he wasn’t always this much of a curmudgeon, but that fact that it was his own poor choices that led him to having what he classified as nothing while pushing fifty had made him a little angry. It was just easier to be angry at people or silly things than at himself. Still, Victor had always been an acquired taste, and if people didn’t like him, he was okay with that, because there would always be one person who loathed themselves enough to keep his company. 

That person was Kenny.

Victor liked Kenny. Even if he was currently staring like they had two heads. “ What the f-” he paused to lower his voice. “ What the fuck did you just say to me? Who the fuck is gale and why did they fall in love with a baby?! Jesus, I feel like I should be in handcuffs for just hearing you say that. Please put that sentence back in your mouth.” Victor grimaced. It should have gone without saying that he’d never read either of those books, but his gasteds were flabbered once again soon after. “I’m going to have to bathe in holy water later, I just know it, but what in the actual hell is fairy porn? Who is actually publishing these things?! A court of what? Is that a Game of Thrones thing?”

[porchl1ghts]

their eyes widen slightly as he raises his voice, but their features soon relaxes enough that their eyes crinkle in enjoyment of his tirade. "listen, you can blame stephanie meyer and the mormon cult for that. but you need to back up for a moment because – are you telling me you've never read the hunger games? you're worst than i thought, victor. don't you know you can only judge something once you've actually consummed it?" they click their tongue, a disappointment that is not entirely false covering their face for a moment before they press their lips together so they won't laugh. "fairy porn is a type of romance fantasy whose main characters are from the fairy folk. like with wings or even tails and all the super power shit of it, but they also have huge dongs and can make a girl orgasm with a few strokes in the middle of war. so, you know, fully fantasy." now they can't hold back the chuckle. cupping their cheek, they shake their head slowly, purposefully mocking. "you're so out of date, mr. castillo."

[astravorestine]

closed starter: camilia & michael ( @porchl1ghts ) location: station 24

his shift had gone by really fast, faster than he had anticipated. call after call was enough to drive someone crazy. but mikey realized early in his career that he actually enjoyed answering emergency calls and helping people. it made him feel like he was actually doing something with his life. after his accident, he wasn't really sure where he was supposed to go or do what his life. he wouldn't admit it to his brother, but he was really happy they took a chance on a fresh start. it was probably the best thing to happen to michael.

the fast paced of his shift meant that before he knew it, it was time for his lunchbreak. he had been sat under a tree that he normally eats his lunch under. this time, he removed himself from his wheelchair and decided to just enjoy sitting on the grass. michael is normally sitting by himself during his lunch, so he was a bit surprised when he felt the presence of someone else coming up to him.

a smile crosses his features upon seeing camila standing close to him. "did you finally get a chance to breathe for a second and enjoy a little bit of peace?" he asks, looking up at her. "it's always nice when we're able to just get outside. i like to make time for it. helps with my mental health."

[porchl1ghts]

being a captain is actually kind of a bore – that's something camila admits often, despite all the years she's worked to reach that goal and the perks she does enjoy. she misses being on the field so much that whenever she can get a break, she goes outside of the house just to feel like she hasn't fossilized on her office. she's even gladder to see someone is around, because if there's another thing she hates about her job is the quiet of it sometimes, how lonely it can get to be cooped up in an office all day. "for sure," she answers, herself breathing out a sigh of relief. "i've actually been working on paperwork all day. if i have to write another sentence about that cow that got stuck on the westchester farm, i might scream until all my pretty window walls collapse." she chuckles at her own words.

a groan leaves her lips as she crouches down, before taking a seat next to the young man. "mental health is important on our line of work. we can get jumbled in so easily on all of the mess we deal with." she shakes her head, a little more serious now. "have you been handling anything too much lately? i've only been skimming the radio."

[porchl1ghts]

setting: morning birds & brew, with evangeline huang @saintsfell

camila has always been what some describe as a thrill seeker, but she had never quite gotten into hiking. she knows it's ridiculous, knows it's a shame when she lives in a marvelous town surrounded by mountains, but after decades of watching people getting rescued from them, that kinda fell down her list of priority hobbies. of course, she can do it – when she has a reason good enough for that, like when a loved one wants to do it. when that also involves coffee? she simply must do it.

and that's how she ended up looking at birds. all because eve had mentioned it once over dinner that she might want to do that, and camila, ever eager to please her middle child most of all, said she would be up for that. "now, when will we actually get the coffee? i've only had two tiny cups and my hands may be starting to shake. look, eve," she shows her palm, which is trembling – mostly because she's purposefully shaking it like she's a clown. "do you think i'm close to death? tell me the truth."

[hndsights]

The  faintest  smile  crinkled  the  corners  of  his  eyes  as  he  continued  to  gaze  at  Kenny  nakedly  lingering  under  the  sheets  of  his  bed.  It  was  the  only  response  to  her  question  because  he  noted  a  slight  of  annoyance.  Jesse  hadn't  wanted  to  remove  himself  from  proximity,  it  was  just  habitual,  something  so  ingrained  by  now  that  it  was  nearly  impossible  to  break  when  it  came  to  the  early  morning  routine.  Just  as  she  started  shifting  out  of  bed  he'd  been  about  to  tell  her  to  stay  and  rest,  that  maybe  he'd  rejoin  her  in  a  couple  of  hours,  but  like  most  of  his  words  they  never  surfaced.

A  bit  of  hunger  shaded  his  eyes  as  she  covered  her  body  piece  by  piece  as  Kenny  found  her  clothing  they'd  discarded  the  night  before.  Chin  tucked  once  more,  this  time  to  look  at  her  as  she  stood  in  front  of  him  and  her  hands  took  over  the  buttons  of  his  shirt,  there  was  a  fondness  in  his  gaze  that  should  be  worrying.  A  tip  of  his  head  at  her  question  of  coffee,  he  moved  to  the  open  door  and  stopped  in  the  threshold  to  look  back  at  Kenny.  "You  want  breakfast  too?"  It  was  his  way  of  prolonging  her  presence,  of  asking  her  stay  just  a  bit  longer  than  a  cup  of  coffee.  Jesse  headed  downstairs  to  the  kitchen  and  in  the  old  fashioned  way  got  a  pot  going.

[porchl1ghts]

they stick their lips out at his question, as if they're pondering – it's not like they can't have a meal together; have often, whenever she brought something from nonna's kitchen or they had whatever he had laying around, but it's usually before. not after, when he has horses to tend to and she has a book to get lost on. "sure." they settle by, following him closely around the premises. for a moment too long, they just observe him, the hair that's growing a little too long at his nape, his fingers as he works the pot. then they begin to move, loathing to feel like a burden. "do you mind?" they ask, already opening the fridge to pick up the eggs so they can make something for them. he should know by now she can never just stand and watch – even if he's a pretty nice sight to behold. "scrambled, right?"

[hndsights]

Was  she  rich?  No.  Bailey  was  doing  well  enough  not  to  struggle  though  and  she  could  get  away  with  buying  pointless  things  or  not  looking  at  price  tags.  Well,  unless  she  was  at  some  designer  store  where  a  jacket  could  be  more  than  someone's  mortgage  payment.

"Hey,  someone's  gotta  appreciate  art  and  effort."  She'd  be  that  parent  posting  up  her  child's  stick  figure  drawings  if  she  ever  had  one.  "Yeah,  not  everyone's  an  artist  but  man  it's  fucking  rough  being  vulnerable  to  share  what  you  create."  That  she  could  speak  from  experience.  "Pick  the  ugliest.  I'm  remodeling  I  can't  keep  moving  pieces  around  so  just  one...  not  everything  you  deem  ugly."

[porchl1ghts]

they understand something about that – even if they'd always been too chicken shit to write something under their own name, of course. but bailey only knows of one of those, the one that flopped when they were still talking over a decade ago, and they're still on the baby steps stage, so kenny offers her a nod. "are you ever going to be done? feels like you're just dragging it out by now. is your contractor hot or something?" it's their attempt at teasing the woman, deadpan delivery through and through – until a smile breaks in her stoicity for a moment and she glances at bailey. "see, we're getting somewhere. you can only buy one. and you have to be honest if they're bad."

[ofrosalita]

who: mami camila @porchl1ghts where: huang-ramos home

when she went to the farmer's market the weekend before, rose picked up some fancy wine and cheese to share with her mother. what originally started as a plan to drop off some hair oil turned into a small basket containing the three things. rose knew there was no 'quck drop offs’ when it came to her family. she would somehow be convinced to come inside for some food and that would turn into watching a show or sitting and gossiping and before anyone knew it, they'd have spent the whole evening together (perhaps this little gift basket was insurance of such events passing).

as she stepped out of her with the basket in arm, she called her mother. when she answered rose said, "hi mami, i'm here! i got you a lil' something so hurry come open the door." she wiggled in excitement.

[porchl1ghts]

the perks of being addicted to your job is raking up days off – after over twenty five years at the fire house, that meant camila had enough of those to enjoy herself, be it with vivienne or with a good show curled up on the couch. right now, she was binging a weird cookshow with joel mchale, who is supposed to be the charisma of the show but falls flat because he's just a tall white man supposed to be funny, and they're never not funny. so she may be relieved that her phone rings, especially when the ringtone is her rosita's own. "thirty seconds. count it." camila says, pausing the show and going straight to the door – they do not have a doorbell, which she first imagined simply crazy, but now enjoys it a bit too much. make people work for it, make them easier to be avoided.

of course, the last thing she wants to do with rosaline is to avoid her, so the woman is quick to open the door, smile wide on her face. "bebé! oh, you have your hands full. come in, hija, and let me take that." she takes on the basket and looks at it in true marvel, lips parting a little as she looks at her youngest child. "i'm watching something you will love. it's called crime scene kitchen and they have the weirdest sweets. i keep pausing and googling up how to make them – i feel like i should keep learning so i can sign up myself, but with who, you know? nicolas? he would hate it. which could be a plus, but i don't know." she shakes her head, closing the door with her hip and walking towards the couch to put the basket there, so she can give rose a good, tight hug at last. "how are you, my angel girl?"

[alpenglcws]

featuring: camila ramos @porchl1ghts location: the huang-ramos household

there were some days when this house - with the woman who'd practically forced sibling-hood back upon him, felt more like a home than the one he'd built himself. which, if nicolas gave himself the time to dwell on, was remarkably sad, a loss that weighed deep in his chest and he hadn't yet learned to grapple with. luckily for him, there rarely was a quiet moment around camila - be it through gossip or nagging or simply stories shared, he could rely on her to fill the silence he so often left. and, although he might groan and protest sometimes, he loved her for it. "does this count as going out?" it's said with a quirk of his lips, already knowing that her response will be decidedly negative. but it's enough for him, and with sofía at a friend's house and theadora off at work, he had been grateful for the invite to stop on by. honestly, with how lonely the house sometimes felt, he'd have even taken her up on some more outlandish adventure - but letting cami know that was likely an unwise decision, so he kept the thought to himself. "what are we cooking today?"

[porchl1ghts]

camila was happily set in the middle of three children, which gave her both the possibility of being a baby sister and the demanding big sister over the years – of course, after moving across the country, that kind of began to dwindle, and she had to take on heart siblings to replace her blood siblings and here comes nicolas – one of the longest stand ones. so the way she glares at him is pointedly sibling-like, perfectly combined with a lift of the knife she points at his direction, stopping from chopping up plantains just to get back at him. "i'm not an entertainment center, so no. we're still doing something on the weekend and you can't get out of it. there's so much to do, too – how do you feel about yoga? jasmine swears by it." by the middle of her ramble, she's back to cutting up the fruit, attention split between the task and the man.

"i was thinking we could do congrí. with plantains, of course – just haven't decided if i want to actually do them on the pan or on the airfryer. don't you just love how airfriers are so time saving? but sometimes the taste is not the same. does using airfriers mean there's less love there?" she hums in thought, brows furrowing as she looks at nicolas again. "i was also thinking we could do a pebre. the last time you did that, it was a big hit and it keeps you occupied with the knife. unless you're bored of that because – well, obvious reason. you could do the rice instead? what do you think?"