#ok its official we got beef

[thatdeadaquarius]

sagau with the language barrier issue except... the creator is sick and tired of trying to ask for things so they do everything themself.

and it gives their followers mass anxiety bc they can't even ask what you're doing... bc they know they won't understand anything...

SUCH A GENIUS NARVI 10/10 GOOD WORK SORRY IM SUPER LATE BUT THIS IS *chefs kiss*

Like, that's literally how I feel like I first played Genshin LMAO

Also this has a cont. Part 2 at the bottom bc tumblr fucking hates me UPDATE I FIXED IT THANK FUCK

Paimon was like "and then we go to Mondstadt- ! NO, not Wolvendom, to Mondstadt! NOT THE THOUSAND WIND TEMPLE WITH ENEMIES OUT OF UR LEAGUE, ENTER MONDSTADT FOR THE FIRST TIME BEFORE U EXPLORE THE REST OF THE MAP!! >:("

SO MANY IDEAS YET SO LITTLE WRITING SKILL GUYS HELP-

Also warning this is ROUGH in terms of spelling and editing and im so sorry abt that! I have my art show today so you're welcome to come back if you want to see it a little more readable tomorrow lmao

Edit Update 4/6/23:

Revised and fixed all the bad spelling and grammar (hopefully) so make sure to give another read if you havent read the cleaned up version lol

I dont have a beta reader so its just me trying my best ok-

Everything was like kinda chaos tbh at first

WOW- MY FIRST 1,000+ NOTES POST??!?! U GUYS, WHAT ARE R YOU DOIN??!!! THANK YOU SO MUCH!! IM GLAD U GUYS ENJOYED IT SM!! Also look out for more encoded stuff in the future since i mentioned wanting to continue stuff like this + ARG stuff :) <3

Edit 9/7/23: 2,000+ NOTES?? THANK YOU???

Like u wake up under the Irminsul, and u think ur hallucinating a goddamn gacha game for like a solid 5 minutes, or ur lucid dreaming, 

but once u actually took what felt like hours to process that u might actually be in fucking Genshin Impact-

Nahida came running from, somewhere?? Its kinda just very floaty dreamy in here so, unclear, she’s beaming with a giddy little smile (💘)

It’s… so much more than what her game model could manage.

I mean, you knew that, of course you did, but- to see the tiny goddess smiling in person, her cute chubby arms waving in the air, her cheeks all plump with baby fat from her excited smile, pretty green eyes that sparkle only in the way excited toddlers do-

It was just…wow. 🥺

You can’t help it, her sheer carefree excitement, exactly like a child but you know that she must be really overwhelmed with joy if shes letting herself act like that so blatantly, you feel ur muscles tug gently into a smile, you try to muffle it but ur happiness leaks out anyway

She's panting as she stumbles on short chubby legs to reach you.

After just staring at you with those big green clover eyes for a few seconds, she physically shakes her head to knock herself out of it,

Nahida places her hand over her heart, and bows elegantly, going back to looking at you with a small but bright smile, her voice is kind of quiet, muffled in a soft way, much like her game depiction,

“Hzozn! R'ev yvvm dzrgrmt gl nvvg blf! R wrwm'g gsrmp blf dlfow wvhxvmw fmgro R dzh zg ovzhg z uvd gslfhzmw bvzih low!” *

…Nahida begins to look a little concerned… her eyes get impossibly bigger.

…Oh no.

♧

Nahida had apparently quickly spread the news that you can’t understand them, but luckily it seems like all the characters still know you!

Alhaitham is pretty much a constant by your side, you knew he was vaguely studying linguistics in the akademiya… but that knowledge still didn’t prepare you to be intensely stared at with his diamond pupils for hours. 💀

Then he’d tap your shoulder or something, and you quickly picked up that he wanted you to just try and say something.

Then he would scribble for hours.

Turns out they can understand you about as much as you understand Teyvat language (s? You can’t even tell if there are multiple languages, that’s how unrecognizable this language is, damn)

The more extroverted or friendly people, like Venti, Yoimiya, Kazuha, Jean, Noelle, Amber, Xingqiu, Hu Tao, Zhongli, Ganyu, Barbara, Beidou, Collei, Ayaka, Gorou, Nilou

At least attempt to talk to you, and try very hard to watch what you gesture with your hands or body language

They're pretty much ready to play charades at all times for you lol

Interestingly enough, they only ever understood you when you typed in the chat (with other ppl)

But even then not immediately, 

Sumeru scholars basically had to make a whole new department (regardless of how much you play with others) to decipher your ancient language (to them) like those old clay tablets with cuneiform we’re still translating?

Like that, your words appear in elemental magic heavy places (so like that abyss lang. It’ll appear on walls or structures, so like Andrius’ stone colosseum? in Wolvendom gained some of your chat replies inscribed and glowing a rainbow of colors on the top edges of the walls)

Much like the abyss language you see throughout genshin, most Teyvat scholars (across nations/internationally) agreed your language is the oldest form of language known!

It’s like modern languages having roots in older ones, like English with Latin, greek, or German roots, or Sanskrit and the Prakrit for Hindi language today

…so of course no one really speaks the root languages anymore, because they’re so old, so those ancestors who spoke those languages would have little to no understanding of their modern counterparts…

◇

Occasionally if you turned your mic on for whatever reason there would be a gentle whisper on the winds in Mondstadt of your voice,

or your laugh in the waves washing ashore in Inazuma and Fontaine,

your startled noises or screams from battling bosses mixed with the landslides in the mountains of Liyue

So they know what you sound like, but that doesn’t mean they understood your language :/

Nahida had been hoping that you’re actual physical form being here would help improve the language barrier

But unfortunately, those things remained the same, but at least you were physically here to talk to now and give more content for the scholars to study rather than them having to make do with your snippets of language from chats

…so needless to say, it took you a long time to realize they viewed you as a god of sorts.

You kind of knew something was up when at least two allogenes were by your sides at all times, or eremites would replace them if they really couldn’t stick around

You figured they knew you weren’t nearly as combatant-ready as they were at all times, hell you obviously didn’t have a vision hanging off you somewhere, and you only really had a knife strapped to a belt, courtesy of the Thirty Corps

You are still kind of convinced that the people of Teyvat, or Sumeru at least, are just pretty polite (and in the allogenes case, very kind or friendly, even people like Alhaitham or Cyno, resting bitch faces they have, seem to soften a little when they’re walking around with you… maybe you’re just imagining it…)

And as much as you would love to wait until they understand you to do something more fun, as you can see the frustration on Tighnari’s face (and his ears try to flatten back hehe) as he looked like he was debating heatedly with some of the Sumeru sages who insist you stay in the city

…so why not go?

It’s not like they’re going to get it anytime soon, and it’s still too frustrating for yourself to charade things or draw things for them because you can’t even hear their guesses 💀

You can totally handle being like the traveler too, 

You still have access to your inventory afterall! Plus, lucky for you, you still find a pass for the Serenitea Pot in your little pocket dimension!

So now you have somewhere to sleep at night, and while most of your stuff went to the traveler’s pack, the things like Primogems

(which.. Okay now you really want primogems bc theyre so pretty and shiny irl)✨️

And other high-level things, or just objects of no use for the traveler (so basically all your hoarded level up stuff and infinite amount of weapons lol) came along with you

So you did have to wander the first week or so around the city and even commission the Adventurer’s Guild to grab you food supplies to cook with

Filling up, along with a few big waterskins, you’re off!

...and everyone collectively has a heart attack!

◇

When you show up in Ghandaraville essentially all “✨️💖☺️✨️” on Tighnari’s doorstep-

He chokes on the tea he’d been sipping on before he opened the door lol

He looks a little frazzled so you try to just gesture with “calm yourself small animal” energy with your hands

“Tivzgvhg Oliw! R'n- R- sld wrw blf-?! Mvevinrmw, xlnv rm, xlnv rm, ivhg! ...R mvvw gl hvmw z nroorlm ovggvih mld gl ylgs gsv vmgriv xrgb lu Hfnvif, gsv Zxgrmt Tizmw Hztv, zmw gsv Nzgiz nlhg orpvob…” he began out looking at you and talking and gesturing to his small dining table (the game sucks, his house looks great and has lots of cool rooms filled with interesting plants… oooo…so pretty...) 

But then he kinda just devolved into rambling, no need to understand, you can read the vibes and just know that's what he's doing lol

Collei eventually ducks in, and she looks a little panicked?

She’s quickly followed by Cyno, pushing past her to call out into the house,

His voice seems hard and stressed, looking at Tighnari, “Grtsmzir, szev blf hvvm gsv Tivzgvhg Oliw zmbdsviv, gsvb dviv hvvm xlnrmt gl Tszmwziezeroov ozhg-” 

Cyno stops and blinks.

Collei’s mouth is slightly dropped open, she also just, blinks.

You blink. 

Tighnari blinks tiredly, he looks like he’d rather be done for the day, you think.

The doctor sighs, and moves his head to nod towards the other dining seats.

◇

Sumeru foods are so much better looking in real life, and they’re so good too, your practically bloated by the end of dinner, 

As a thank you, bc u cant say it obv, you just gesture for Tighnari to stay sitting, and he gives you a raised eyebrow and a suspicious ear twitch

But stays still, and you reach out to finally hit the eight-pointed star hovering over his, and all playable characters chests at all times.

Like you suspected, it brings up a holographic character menu, but rather than his full model, it kind of hovers in front of Tighnari’s face, replacing his old 3D model self with framing the real thing for a portrait just in front of his face

The poor Denro user nearly jumps a foot out of his chair as he looks in shock at your screen, you do the same “chillll boy” gesture with your hands and press his shoulders for a second to remind him to not run off or panic

Cyno and Collei had done the dishes and put up leftovers, and are now standing behind Tighnari, watching with equally wide eyes,

“...Dszg ziv gsvb wlrmt gl blf?

Cyno’s voice is even deeper and quieter than usual, you feel goosebumps run up your spine

“Ziv blf tvggrmt yovhhvw, Nzhgvi Grtsmzir?!” Collei’s sweet voice is also hushed like she’s witnessing something sacred, Tighnari gently shakes his head negatively in response, his shoulders shrugging,

“Nzbyv? R uvvo... z orggov hgilmtvi, zmw nb Erhrlm rh zxgrmt fk zh dvoo…”

Though he’s replying, Tighnari’s eyes haven’t once left your ancient magic? technology device? hovering in front of him,

and as he crosses his arms and squints to try and look closer at everything floating in front of him, you can see the childlike gleam of awe in his green eyes, (so cute) in fact, now that you glance up and look, both Collei and Cyno have the same quietly excited and fascinated sparkle in their eyes too

With a displeased sneer, you chuck his old level one bow into the material grinding spots, hope he wasn’t attached to that…

Oh well, he’ll like the new one better, afterall, with no characters, all your best weapons and artifacts are ready to use!

With a small smile of reassurance, you finally finish gearing Tighnari up, tap a miniature version of that 8-point star in the corner like an “X” button, and it retreats like a classic TV set📺 turning off into his chest, he startles but then carefully stands

You decide to just start making decisions bc its worked out so far ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

And grab his hand and haul him out into the forest, Collei letting out a surprised squeak, her and Cyno hurrying after

You reach the nearest clearing, and gesture at Tighnari like a bow and arrow firing, he gets it, and your glad he already trusts you, because he doesn’t take long to summon his bow

He takes aim at a smaller tree about two cars length away

You can feel them all holding their breathe, as Tighnari charges it with Dendro, the arrowhead glowing, (it looks so cool and badass irl god you feel envious even tho ur already here-)

The ranger lets it fly, it streaks neon green, whistling through the air, it hits the tree-

and it fucking explodes.

Vines and leaves and the trees roots all rapidly swell like theyre filled with water, like it literally got hit by a superhero with plant powers, which, not that far off actually.

The green floating Dendro seeds make a ring around the tree its so full of elemental energy-

You give a wild grin, you still got it, hell yeah. >:)

Your grin widens as you look over at Tighnari, Collei, and Cyno

Cyno has a smirk lighting up his face, eyes eager, Collei’s jaw has dropped and she’s just frozen staring as the tree finally settles from the burst of the dendro powered arrow

…Tighnari has lowered his bow, and his mouth is only slightly open, his ears perked straight up into the air, shaking with excitement? Happiness? Interest? You don’t know how peopl-animal-hybrid ears work,

and you STILL cant talk to any of them to ask what they thought, so looks will have to do >:/

Tighnari is the first to move, his head snapping over to look at you, the brightest, kinda feral tbh, smile taking over his face-

“Blf pmld, dv xzm'g fmwvihgzmw blf, zmw blf fh, bvg R xzm'g dzrg gl hvv dszg rm gsv dliow blf'iv tlrmt gl wl mvcg. Blf'iv znzarmt."

… and you just 🙂? Cool!

And give a thumbs up👍LMAO

☆

Bonus:

Alhaitham was literally running around Sumeru City trying to find you when you left, tho you did try and leave a translatable-in-3-to-5-business days-note, he didn’t have time to translate that because you were gone.

Or worse, lost in the city, and he would never forgive himself if he lost you, esp as Acting Grand Sage-

Kaveh got a letter a day and a half later from Tighnari letting them know you were having a sleepover in Ghandarvaville lol

Kaveh also had to hunt down Alhaitham to give him said news, then force his roommate to go sit or lay down for the rest of the day to recover lmao

(Haitham honestly kinda freaked Kaveh out bc he’s never seen him that... desperate, it was like seeing a statue emote lol)

♡

ARE YOU KIDDING WE ALMOST HIT LIMIT AGAIN?!

Bro has anyone else had this problem???

I literally had to switch from PC to mobile and copy and paste it there to get all my shit in and tumblr not throw a hissy fit???!!!

FUCKING TUMBLR- SUCK MY BIG FAT- 👹👹 UGH

ANYWAYYYY SO I FINALLY CAVED 

And started doing ciphers for when you dont get teyvat’s language! I meant to do something fun like this for awhile but I wasn’t sure if that would be kind of annoying, but if you’re interested in learning what they actually say (which the whole point of this is that dw it doesnt rlly matter lol) here’s a hint:

*hint = Atbash

:> good luck!

Wish me luck on my art exhibition today!! Then I’ll be homefreeeee 😭

Safe Travels,

💀♒

♡ the beloveds ♡

@karmawonders / @0rah-s / @randomnatics / @glxssynarvi / @nexylaza / @genshin-impacts-me / @wholesomey-artist

#fucking tumblr #ok its official we got beef #welp .-. watch out if i ever need to post a fic or smth Ill just link my ao3 #on the masterpost pinned most likely #sorry btw this got AWAY from me 😭 #like idk? if i even?? answered ur question??? #genshin impact #genshin sagau #ask box open #sagau #my asks #genshin imagines #gender neutral reader #genshin isekai #genshin impact self aware #genshin impact sagau #genshin sagau language barrier au #genshin language barrier au #i should proobbaabbllyyy start tagging that huh #ugh i dont wanna go back to all my old asks/posts and tag it tho 😫 #cipher encoded #encoded #language cipher

[toastess-with-the-mostess]

Let's Rewind! Toast watches Voltron: Defender of The Universe (1984)

Season 1, Episode 21: It'll Be A Cold Day Season 1, Episode 22: The Deadly Flowers

Episode 21: It'll Be A Cold Day

And we open with Lotor evil laughing, great start

Oh, so this is the continuation of the episode where Romelle got kidnapped, she's in a dungeon with other women now Lotor tried to force a kiss on her after he compared her to Allura again, disgustang good for Romelle, she managed to slap him in the face

With the editing it doesn't really look it but Lotor knocked out Romelle and carried her away only for her to return by herself and collapse before she starts crying, something very nonconsensual happened to her,, poor girl

While knocked out she thinks back to when she was captured, Bandor officially became crown prince after their father went insane apparently, pollux is a patriarchy which is good to know for world building The other ladies in the cell are helping her out and making an escape plan, something tells me this is going to go wrong

Oh, shit they did it, similar to how the boys did except they LITERALLY COMMITTED ARSON BEFORE STEALING A SHIP, girlbosses every single one of them

Lotor's already on their tail, somehow his attacks set the ship on fire which you'd think couldn't happen because there's no oxygen in space but ok also they're crash landing on Neeve? I didn't catch the planet name, but Romelle sent out a distress call which obvs the team and Bandor picked up

The team and Bandor meet up, apparently they formed voltron but I think it's so funny that they ended up deactivating formation anyway, what a waste of energy lol

Allura finds one of her mice down her uniform as they're all out scouting in the snow, then proceeds to put them back into her collar, so they can keep warm why do I feel like lance should be saying that he wishes he was that mouse? Maybe it was in golion because he definitely doesn't say it here

Bandor and the team run into the ship but find it empty, then Allura notices a scrap of fabric and almost gets attacked by haggar disguised as romelle after the door closes behind her this is like the second time Haggar's disguised herself as allura's family, does she have beef with them specifically? The mouse saves her though which gives the boys time to get to the princess

Man they make Pidge such an acrobat in this show lol, he flips in the air and PUNTS HAGGARS CAT AWAY AFTER IT STARTS CHASING THE MOUSE SDOVINSDV

obvs haggar escapes but not without bandor, the team chases after her straight into the worst case scenario, being on lower ground Lotor demands Allura to be traded for her cousins, of course nobody trusts that he'd actually follow through

Allura starts heading towards lotor as the pollux siblings head towards the lions, but Keith is the leader for a reason, and he hides his uniform in snow before swapping places with allura so lotor still thinks its her also lotor unleashes a robeast when he gets close enough

Lotor v Keith again, except the siblings come back and want to attack lotor themselves for being a POS Romelle gets knocked out and kidnapped again,,, girl gets no break

Voltron forms, robeast is taken out, and now onto lotor apparently romelle gets set free? It's very vague because they catch lotor and tell him they'll tail him to pollux to make sure, but then they're back on arus? We'll see ig

/episode end

Episode 22: The Deadly Flowers I've seen so many screenshots of this episode onvsdo

Some random seed pods fell from space and sprouted on arus in abundance, immediately that's a sign that things aren't right

The mice pick some for Allura though, and they end up dancing together for a bit, how cute Immediately cut to doom, and we find out the flowers are haggars doing, which are supposed to make anyone who smells them sick

Coran calls an emergency meeting because the flowers are rapid response ig, people are blacking out left and right so Allura wants them treated at the castle by their doctor Dr Gorma The flowers of planet Lyra apparently are medicinal and should help

Lance has literally started a wildfire apparently because Coran told him to burn the flowers that started blooming maybe not the best idea guys

Allura has an idea to get past the magnetic field that surrounds planet Lyra but obvs she smelled the flowers so now she's out cold too just when we were getting somewhere too >:/

Lance ditches the team to go to planet Lyra by himeself in blue hey his suit finally matches lol

"I know, and I've got special equipment! Intelligence, charm, personality, good looks, and a rabbit's foot" *(winks)* -Lance ICONIC

adorable

aaand the bad guys are on planet too, of course, except they think it's allura and go off to try and capture blue

Lance finds this weird divot filled with honey like liquid AND FUCKING TASTES IT, MCCLAIN YOU DON'T EVEN KNOW WHAT THAT IS also the natives started attacking, this is why you don't stick your fingers into everything Lance

ooh pretty girly to act as diplomat, apparently the roses are worshiped and not given away so easily so Lance gets grabbed and taken to the king for that permission only for a doom cruiser to pick him to go there, yeah definitely not good

lotor bitch slaps lance for not being allura, luckily for lance he's near something sharp, so he starts cutting his ropes without being noticed Farla is the girls name and she doesn't seem to understand that lance and lotor know each other so she asks to give him flowers which Lotor is glad to hear because voltron is out of commission atm

Lance is loose and starts a sword fight with lotor before his sword gets stuck on the highly magnetic rocks on the wall of this cliff they're on, Lotor shoves him off into the river below where apparently nobody has ever survived falling from obvs that's about to change real soon

Lotor wants the roses for allura himself and the king of lyra tries to extort him but lotor fucking KILLS THE GUY, LIKE STRAIGHT UP THE TEAM WHO EDITED THIS EPISODE STOPS THE SCENE AND FADES IT TO RED FOR CENSORSHIP HOLY CRAP

Lance lived and is back in blue, hooray! Except Lotor's crew is destroying all the flowers except for what they needed, Farla tries to stop them but she got smacked into the water before Blue came out to crush the troops

Falra pulls through and before she faints (dies) she gives Lance a bag of seeds for him to plant on arus, but he promises to plant them on Lyra instead he's such a fucking sweetie i love him omg

As the other boys try to fight the robeast lotor sent out on Arus, Allura stumbles her way to castle control and flies red since lance and blue are still gone man this girl has flown 3/5 lions already, girlboss

lance returns, voltron is formed, robeast destroyed, and lotor runs off, except dad calls and chews him out for destroying the flowers though lotor gets out of it by saying he's brought enough flowers to keep making the meds he apparently needs to stay alive for a long time, call ends and lotor calls zarkon stupid dude i feel like he'd know if his meds were missing/short how was that a good plan

Special reward for a special guy

Pidge tries to get a kiss too but gets smooched by a mouse instead, maybe that's where vld got the idea in the first place sovsdv

Lance still remembers planet Lyra, and he rushes off to plant the rest of the flowers with Allura coming along too

/episode end

#voltron #voltron defender of the universe #voltron dotu #80s voltron #let's rewind! #toast talks #episode 22 was so cute #im glad they wrote lance into such a caring guy

[dreaminginthedeepsouth]

Were turkey and cranberry sauce on the table at the first Thanksgiving? There's plenty of supposition, but food historian Pamela Cooley says there's no official record that the pilgrims and Native Americans ate turkey and cranberries at that 1621 feast. No official record in the day's diaries, or newspapers, or Martha Stewart Livings.

It wasn't until 1796, when the first American cookbook was published that turkey and cranberries were linked in print. The book was called — (ready for it?!) — American cookery, or, The art of dressing viands, fish, poultry, and vegetables: and the best modes of making pastes, puffs, pies, tarts, puddings, custards, and preserves: and all kinds of cakes, from the imperial plumb to plain cake, adapted to this country, and all grades of life.

(You can page through the whole thing here.) The 18th century author Amelia Simmons said to serve turkey with cranberry sauce, but didn't give a recipe for it.

NPR remedies that oversight every year, by graciously permitting me to share Mama Stamberg's with our audience. For one thing, it's not a sauce at all — this Thanksgiving recipe I've offered NPR audiences for decades. It's a relish. Mama Stamberg's Cranberry relish.

And so, for 2022, here goes.

Mama Stamberg's Cranberry Relish

2 cups whole raw cranberries, washed 1 small onion 3/4 cup sour cream 1/2 cup sugar 2 tablespoons horseradish from a jar ("red is a bit milder than white") Grind the raw berries and onion together. Add everything else and mix. Put in a plastic container and freeze.

The Recipe's Origins

As Susan Stamberg learned long after its radio debut, her mother-in-law got the recipe from a 1959 New York Times clipping of Craig Claiborne's recipe for cranberry relish. In 1993, when she called to apologize for not crediting him, Claiborne said: "Susan, I am simply delighted. We have gotten more mileage, you and I, out of that recipe than almost anything I've printed."

Early Thanksgiving morning, move it from freezer to refrigerator compartment to thaw. (It should still have some little icy slivers left.)

The relish will be thick, creamy, and shocking pink. (OK, Pepto Bismol pink, according to some mis-guided listeners.) It has a tangy taste that cuts through and perks up the turkey and gravy. Its also good on next-day turkey sandwiches, and with roast beef.

Makes 1 and 1/2 pints.

That's it. Simple as mincemeat pie and much tastier.

Back to some history.

Cranberry sauce, presumably without the horseradish, was very popular by 1817. Food historian Pamela Cooley says the magazine Niles Weekly Register reported the amounts of ingredients eaten at Thanksgiving in Connecticut that year: 5,500 turkeys and 1,000 gallons of cranberry sauce. You really have to like those tart little berries to run up numbers like that.

Susan Stamberg's Other Favorite Holiday Cranberry Dish

I like them a great deal. But the cranberry dish I love is from the great Indian actress and cook Madhur Jaffrey.

Madhur Jaffrey's Cranberry Chutney

1-inch piece fresh ginger 3 cloves finely chopped garlic 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar 4 tablespoons sugar 1/8 tsp cayenne pepper 1-pound can cranberry sauce with berries 1/2 teaspoon salt (or less) ground black pepper

Cut ginger into paper-thin slices, stack them together and cut into really thin slivers. Combine ginger, garlic, vinegar, sugar and cayenne in a small pot, and simmer on medium flame about 15 minutes or until there are about four tablespoons of liquid left. Add can of cranberry sauce, salt and pepper. Mix and bring to a simmer. Simmer on a gentle heat for about 10 minutes. Cool, store and refrigerate.

Makes about 1 1/2 cups.

Whatever you choose, whatever you serve, have a very fine Thanksgiving.

(And our thanks to Kim Severson at The New York Times for connecting us with Pamela Cooley.)

#recipes #Thanksgiving #relish #chutney #turkey #smoked meats #NPR #Susan Stamberg #Madhur Jaffrey #cranberry

[falsebooles123]

Confessions of a Recovering Genrephobic 4/13/24

Hey Whores, I gave my two weeks this week!

So I'm really happy, not really sure where we go from here but I'm just enjoying the rush so lets get into some music.

Little Homes (2016) - FEiN

Genre: Indie Pop, Rock Length: 63:00 (16 Tracks)

FEiN an indie pop duo who have only released one album to date.

Feeling a bit like The Neighborhood or Artic Monkeys by way of tally hall FEiN is a band that feels both famalier and complex

and yeah I don't have a lot deep to say about this. Do you like Indie Rock music like the acts I just mentioned???? Then your'll like this.

3/5

Fresh Meat (2017) - Ayesha Erotica

Genre: Hyperpop Length: 30:37 (14 Songs)

I don't know how to tell you this but I don't think this album exists?

So according to the Ayesha Erotica WIkipedia, (the Ayeshapedia for those in the know), this album was planned to be released but was scrapped in 2017 for unknown reasons.

However in 2022, somebody uploaded a full album tracklist to spotify. This is where it gets crazy. Is that at some point it appears that Ayesha Erotica took all of her music offline and that people (whether fans or grifters), have been ripping her music, to spotify, bandcamp, soundcloud. Who even knows right.

Theres like at least 5 different Ayesha Erotica pages on spotify all with like different uploads of her music. But as for as I can tell from the Ayesha Erotica Subreddit the album I listened to does seem to be a semi-legit complition of the album. She is the licensing holder for the account and so forth. The Ayeshapedia has not official canonizized the tracklisting but it seems fairly legit based on there forensic construction of the proposed album.

Also I just realized I've already put in 5000s words into this review and most of you bitches don't even know who she is.

Branding herself as the 'number one crackwhore' and 'for the girls and the gays thats it', Ayesha Erotica brings a manic slut energy to the world of Hyperpop. PITK, (people in the know), are informing me that her style encompesis a lot of very specific eletro genres that I'm too uncultered to get but understand that when I say Hyperpop. I'm discussing the style of aggresive electronic dance music that incorpurates Y2K and McBling aestetics. You may have also heard of Bimbocore or Slut Pop? you get it girlies.

Ayesha Erotica is basically like if Britney Spears and Paris Hilton scissored on top of a mountain of cocaine and razor flip phones. Its aggresive, Tasteless, Overtly Sexual, and honestly a blast and there are also a lot of people that got major beef with Miss Ayesha Nicole Smith.

I honestly don't want to get into her many many controversies and parse what any of the accusations mean but just ask yourself this question. Are you the type of person whose going to vibe with this bimbo crackwhore drag persona or is that too much for you. Its ok if it is but I will honestly always kinda be a stan.

NOTE: I understand that AE is a controversal artist and I'm happy to hear your thoughts on the subject but I do ask that you be civil on my posts.

Beautiful People Will Ruin Your Life (2018) - The Wombats.

Genre: Pop Rock Length: 38:43 (11 Tracks)

Honestly I don't have much to say about this.

Do you like The Wombats? This is a Wombat Album

3/5

Supernatural (1999) - Santana

Genre: Latin Rock (apparently the term is controversal??? I guess call me a fascist in the comments. I get my information from wikipedia) Length: 74:59 (13 Tracks)

Part of the Jam Bands of the 90s. Santana is a american rock band led by hispanic guitarist Carlos Santana. This album is one of the best selling albums of all time. Also you have heard some of these songs you definetly have heard smooth. \/

Mixing Psychedelic Rock with Jazz influences and there signiture 'Latin and African polyrhythms', (as the NYT puts it), Supernatural is a very complex sound that feels completly lived in.

There is something delictable about it and honestly I'm not knowledgable enough about music to really break it down. Because there are elements I can draw from it. Labels I can apply but that is one piece in a more complex whole.

Regardless I can understand why this album is on critics top lists and is a favorite of everyones stoner dad. God do I have to listen to phish for this challenge? cause honestly I'm kinda scared.

#diary #music #Little Homes #Fresh Meat #Beautiful People Will Ruin Your Life #Supernatural #Spotify

[phasmwrites]

carpe diem || bakugou katsuki

*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧  “Thank you for the greatest summer I’ve ever had...”  *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧

Pairing: Bakugou Katsuki x Female!Reader Warnings: Angst; Fluff Word Count: 8,007 A/N: This fic is a part of the bnharem summer collab, all the other amazing works can be found here! Please let me know your thoughts on this piece, I had the idea & I just ran with it honestly, & I put a lot of little messages and secret meanings in this fic heh so I truly hope that you somewhat like it! Also please don’t mind that I used the US school system for summer break ok that is all 😊🥺💕

JUNE 15TH

You always were fond of the changing of seasons, watching the way nature transformed every couple of months. At this time of year, everything outside was nothing short of vibrant as summer was finally beginning to expose itself. The rise in temperature hadn’t been lost on you though; the sun’s harsh rays beamed down harshly while you ate your lunch outdoors. 

A warm breeze suddenly swept over you, the book laid on the picnic table rapidly flipping through its pages. As the pages began to settle once more, your eyes shifted towards a butterfly who had gotten caught in the wind. Its orange wings fluttered once, twice, before settling on your journal. 

“Hello there mister butterfly.” You hummed in amusement, slowly bringing your finger towards the delicate creature. 

It seemed to be unphased by your presence although hesitant as you offered it the chance to perch on your digit. Just as its wings fluttered once more, the sound of plastic meeting the wooden surface had the butterfly rapidly flying away.

“Hey!” You scolded the blonde across from you, “You scared the poor butterfly away!” 

“Tch, who gives a shit?” Bakugou rolled his eyes, reaching for his utensils before popping open the lid off of his lunch. It was rare that he would pay you a visit outside, which meant he had ulterior motives to doing so.

The relationship the two of you shared was built on mutual respect, which he was forced to give considering you’re the reason he had a hero costume in the first place. After nearly two years of knowing Bakugou Katsuki, you considered him kind of a friend. You’ve learned a lot about the blonde across from you in the time the two of you have spent as students at Yuuei and he knew more about you than he probably would ever admit. 

“So, about my costume…” He spoke between large chews of beef curry, explaining in detail what he’d like to improve upon before they’re let out for summer vacation. You flipped over to a new page of your journal, quickly scribbling down his descriptions that included words such as “murder” and “pain”. 

Nearly two whole pages filled to the brim with ideas now took up space in your journal, your fingers beginning to cramp up from trying desperately to keep up with his explanations. You laid the pen down, taking a deep breath, “I doubt I’ll be able to actually finish all of these ideas in the next week, Katsuki.” 

In a little over a week, the two of you would officially be finished with your second year. Meaning, around this time next year Bakugou would be finalizing his decisions on his future. Which agency he wants to join, if he wants to attempt to become a pro on his own: all these things would demand answers then.

“Hah? I didn’t even ask for that much.” He grumbled before reaching for your notes. Before you could protest, he snatched the papers from you, but the ink didn’t match his words, “What the hell is this?”

“You flipped to another page idiot, give it back-!” You attempted to take it back from him but to no avail. Bakugou’s eyes quickly scanned down the list you had made, your body growing warm in embarrassment. 

Pressing his index finger into the title of the page you spent way too long learning calligraphy for, Bakugou finally peeked up at you, “What’s a bucket list?”

“Well...it's uh…” His eyes were intense as he waited for your answer, “This one specifically, I made for things I want to do before summer’s over.”

Bakugou took a second glance over the list, “Are you sure all of this is safe for you?” 

“Huh? Why?” 

“There’s bears in the woods, idiot, and you put that you want to go camping.” He explained, finally returning your journal back to you.

“The bears are way up north, I’m not planning on going that far.” You let out a soft laugh, “Besides, if you join me-”

Immediately, Bakugou shook his head, “Nope, no way in hell.”

“Why not? It’d be nice to have someone to complete my list with, rather than just spend the summer alone.” It was your pleading gaze that caused his rough demeanor to crumble for just a moment, something that seemed to happen more often than not whenever you were around. 

Once more, his ash blonde locks moved with the wind as he shook his head, “Don’t you have shitty friends? Besides, I still have hero studies throughout the summer.”

“Not really...no…” Your head bowed down in abashment, realizing just how little you spoke to others that weren’t him or the classmates in the support course, “We can always plan around your schedule, ‘Suki.”

He refused to admit that his cheeks flushed at the sudden nickname, prepared to blame it on the warm weather if it were mentioned, “You’re annoying.”

“Come on! Please help me with this! I’ll finish all your upgrades for you before summer vacation starts…” If he refused once more, you would let it go, find a way to enjoy yourself, albeit alone.

The sigh that passed his lips was unreadable from where you sat, unsure of what his next words would possibly be. You wouldn’t blame him for not wanting to join you, hell he hardly complied with the crazy antics his friend group in class 2-A found themselves up to. So why was your chest pounding so hard, hoping for him to oblige?

“Tch, fine, only if you finish the upgrades, then you have a fucking deal.” 

Offering your hand, you met Bakugou’s stare with fire in your eyes, “Shake on it then.”

“Whatever.” His palm was warm as it pressed to yours, fingers curled over as you shook on your deal. 

The sound of the bells ringing inside was loud enough to be heard in the courtyard, signalling the end of lunch. As you gathered your things and headed back towards the support workshop, you already began to outline some of his demands from memory alone. 

So when next week dragged along, you could witness the expression on Bakugou’s face at his fully upgraded costume. 

 JULY 2ND

“I cannot believe you actually managed to finish every single fucking thing I asked you to upgrade.” Bakugou scoffed, fingers curled tightly around the metal pole of the bus. You grinned cheekily opposite of him, leg bouncing with excitement as you got closer to your destination.

As promised, Bakugou sauntered into your workshop on the last day of classes only to see his costume upgraded with everything he demanded. He wanted to be annoyed, irritated that he would have to spend his summer helping you complete some “shitty little list”, but he was too entranced at the new design to even care.

So now here the two of you were, on a bus heading towards the beach to complete the very first thing on your summer bucket list. Though, Bakugou managed to bring a couple other people along with him for the trip.

“Maybe when we get back to school you can help me with my costume too!” Kaminari gushed at your side, whipping out his phone to begin swiping through his ideas. 

When Bakugou arrived at the bus stop with his small group of friends that morning, he explained how he accidentally brought it up to them and they practically begged him to join. You were nothing short of thrilled at the prospect, heart growing warm at being surrounded by so many people. 

“Fuck off, Dunce Face! She’s my costume designer, not yours!” Bakugou snapped, catching the attention of the few passengers on the bus who weren’t part of your small group. 

When you curled further into your seat to avoid the glares of the elderly, Mina’s shoulder bumped into yours, “So is that how you know Bakugou, Y/N? We were wondering how he managed to befriend someone on his own!” 

“I hate each and every one of you.” The ash-blonde declared, putting in his earbuds harshly to drown out those in his vicinity. 

That was how the rest of the ride to the beach went, with Bakugou feigning ignorance towards his rambunctious group of friends and those friends bombarding you with questions. For the most part, they asked about the support course and your quirk, a bit taken back when you admit that you’re quirkless. 

Just as the bus settled into a comfortable silence, Kaminari shattered through it by shouting with joy at the sight of the ocean now in your view. You couldn’t mask your amusement, laughing at the electric blonde and the way he was visibly buzzing waiting for the bus to stop and the doors to open. 

“Oi, give me the umbrella.” Your attention was suddenly snapped towards Bakugou who glared down at you from a foot away, holding out an impatient hand for the large umbrella at your side. 

Along with the vibrant colored parasol, he snatched your backpack and slung it over his shoulder before exiting the bus. You shuffled along, the rest of your group following suit and immediately heading towards the water.

Immediately the salty aroma of the ocean flooded your nostrils, ever so present even from a short distance. Seagulls roamed among the beach, some trotting along the ground and others soaring low in the clear sky.

You loved the feeling of walking along the soft sand, allowing your shoes to dangle off your finger as you trailed a brooding Bakugou. Rather than announce that he found an ideal location to set everything up, he halted everyone in their tracks by slamming the stake of the umbrella into the ground.

“Here.” Was all he grunted before you and the others went along with it, lying down blankets and towels along the warm sand.

It didn’t take much time at all for everyone to begin racing towards the ocean, clothes haphazardly discarded by their respective bags. Kirishima and Kaminari were the firsts to race over, Sero and Mina laughing as they watched the two practically stumble and fall into the cool water.

“You coming or what, slowpoke?” Bakugou glared in your direction, waiting for you to scramble onto your feet. 

You quickly shot up, listening to him complain about his embarrassing friends as the two of you reached the edge of the water. The waves barely ghosted over the bottom of your calves as you began slowly stepping forwards. Meanwhile, Bakugou forced his way through the oncoming waves as if it were nothing, walking over to the others who stood waist deep in the ocean.

“Sero please help me with my boogie board moves!” Kaminari begged, “I just need you to use your quirk!”

“Isn’t that cheating?” Sero snickered, everyone watching the way Kaminari struggled to balance his upper body on the rather small piece of foam.

You finally reached the group, feeling goosebumps coat your skin as you waited to grow accustomed to the cool temperature. Mina wadded over to you, her entire body up to her neck underneath the water as she crouched, “You have to watch this, Kami’s going to fall so hard.”

“I can hear you Mina!” The blonde in question cried, “I’m gonna prove all of you wrong!” 

“You’ll probably kill us by short-circuiting first, idiot.” Bakugou rolled his eyes, but nonetheless returned the ball that him and Kirishima were passing between one another. 

Frustrated, Kaminari ignored his friend’s doubts and began swimming a bit further into the water, boogie board in tow. He managed to get his knees pressed upon the foam board, eagerly awaiting the next large wave to wash through.

“Sero! Now!” He shouted and you watched as the water grew in stature, dragging Kaminari and his flimsy board along with it. It was then Sero released a long stripe of tape as Kaminari propped himself feet flat on the foam. The tape curled around his ankles, securing him to the board as he rode the wave. 

Well, that was before his own poor balance caused him to falter off, unceremoniously crashing into the water. As the wave drew closer, laughter shifted into gasps in surprise. You stared wide-eyed at the oncoming wave, feet dug into the sand below you as you froze in fear. 

Just as the water began to crash over you, strong arms suddenly curled around your figure to keep you from being swept up in the ocean’s flow. It was only for a few moments that your head was underwater before it passed, your eyes fluttering open.

“Bakugou?” You peered up at the warm body clutching you to theirs, only to be met with widened red eyes. The two of you stared at one another for a few lingering seconds, his damp blonde locks trailing droplets down his complexion. 

All at once he released his hold on you, eyebrows now furrowed, “Dumbass, why didn’t you fucking move?!” 

“I panicked,” Admitting sheepishly, you scratched at the back of your neck, “Thank you.”

“Tch, it’s nothing.” He refused to meet your gaze, but you could almost detect a hint of pink scattered across his cheeks. 

The others who had been carried by the wave eventually made their way back to you and Bakugou, Kaminari desperately searching for the boogie board in the process. Kirishima and Sero relentlessly teased him for his failed attempt to ride the wave, scolding him for using such a cheap board for balance. 

As the sun continued to move along its axis, everyone was enjoying themselves in the water. You even managed to play a few silly games with the volleyball Kirishima managed to not lose in the waves, Bakugou reluctantly joining in on the activities. 

When inevitably distracted, either a wave of water would be splashed in one’s direction or their head would be dunked. It was overall some of the most fun you had in a long time, outside of the thrill you felt when building new designs in the workshop. 

“Are you okay?” Mina glanced over at you, your body beginning to grow warm despite the cool of the ocean water. You were desperately trying to ignore the exhaustion building up, wanting to spend as much time as possible with your new group of friends. 

When you could hardly mutter out a syllable, Mina shouted for the boys to come over, “I think the sun’s getting to her, could one of you bring her back to shore?”

Kirishima began to offer, but was swiftly halted when Bakugou reached over and curled his fingers around your wrist, aiding you out of the ocean and its harsh pull. You trailed along, just able to keep up with him until you reached the myriad of blankets that were set up earlier. 

A dull thud could be heard when you collapsed onto the blankets, but you were surprised to feel another presence sit down at your side. The look you shot in his direction had Bakugou immediately on the defensive.

“What?! You’re the dumbass who stayed in the sun too long.” He snapped, yanking a bottle of water, still cold, from his bag, “I’m making sure you don’t die, drink.”

You shuffled into a sitting position, chugging the refreshing liquid as if you hadn’t had any in days. Both of your eyes wandered towards the group who continued to play underneath the sun’s harsh rays, splashing and laughing animatedly. 

“I just needed a moment-” You protested, but an arm shot out in front of you as you went to stand up, “I’m fine, seriously.”

“Give those idiots ten more minutes, they’ll be crying over how hungry they are.” Bakugou leaned back until he met the blanket, tossing one of his arms lazily over his eyes. 

Crossing your legs in front of you in acceptance, you reached for your journal in your bag and began flipping through the pages. Thankfully your hands had dried, keeping your sacred notebook free of damage. 

“So you never told me what you thought about the upgrades.” You mumble, catching his attention.

As you dragged a line across ‘Beach Trip’ from your bucket list, Bakugou spoke up, “I was impressed, to be honest. You finished them all really fucking quick.” 

“Well I wanted to prove that I could,” You held your head up in triumph, “All the late nights at the workshop were worth it to see the great Bakugou Katsuki speechless.”

“Hah? Late nights? Do you take any care of yourself?” He sat back up, swiping your book from you in a similar fashion to that one afternoon at lunch. You didn’t even get the chance to wrestle it from his grasp before he began scribbling something on your bucket list. 

Once he finished, he slapped the journal into your lap and watched you with narrowed eyes, “I’m making your shitty little list better.”

Scrawled along the bottom of your list stated the following: Take care of yourself!!!

“Aw, you actually care about me, Suki?” You taunted, giggling at the way his palms began to crackle in frustration. 

Both you and him were taken by surprise at the admission that fell from your lips, “Thank you for helping me complete my list, I’m already having so much fun with you.”

Bakugou stared at you with eyes wide as saucers; he never met someone who could cause his jaw to slack with no harsh words slipping out. He never got the chance to respond anyways, as if right on cue the others tumbled over to the towels groaning about grabbing a bite to eat. 

The rest of the afternoon was spent along the sand, from Sero burying Kaminari into the ground to watching Bakugou and Kirishima spar one another with light use of their quirks. Mina spent a majority of the time by your side, seemingly convinced that something more than a friendship was blooming between you and the hot-headed blonde. As much as you denied her accusations, your heart always palpitated a little harder when he’d glance back to check on you.

Given how well the day went, you were more than thrilled at crossing off more bullet points in your journal. 

 JULY 22ND

Nature continued to amaze you, from the roaring waves of the ocean to the whistling branches of the forest, all of it was simply mesmerizing. It may have also been the reason you found yourself constantly distracted along the hiking trail.

“If you keep stopping to admire the fucking leaves and bugs it’s going to get dark before we even make it, dumbass!” Bakugou shouted from a few yards in front of you, using the back of his hand to wipe at the perspiration accumulating on his forehead.

The dense forests did nothing to alleviate the growing humidity, which seemed to only increase your hiking partner’s ever present irritation. You glanced over at his scowling complexion, skipping along ahead of him on the path.

Hero duties had increased tenfold after the trip to the beach, leaving you to spend some of the summer working on your own personal inventions and projects. You managed to complete a few things on your list on your lonesome, such as ordering the special 10-scoop ice cream bowl from your favorite dessert shop. The stomach ache that followed suit was totally worth it. 

When you asked Bakugou if him and his friends would want to accompany you on a hiking and camping escapade, you were startled to receive a response so fast saying he’d let you know when he had a free weekend. Apparently, the rest of his infamous group would be missing in action, but you didn’t really mind having just Bakugou around.

“Is the stuff getting too heavy? I can carry something you know, I’m not weak!” You argued, staring at the multitude of bags laid over his back. Stubborn as ever, Bakugou eventually sped up his pace to get ahead of you again, the rattling of the equipment a reminder of the added weight.

He shook his head, readjusting his grip on the shoulder strap, “Don’t underestimate me, focus on not tripping and dying.”

“Aye, aye, captain!” Raising your hand, you pressed the edge of it to your head in a saluting motion, laughing to yourself at the audible groan that Bakugou let out in response. 

The trek up the mountain wasn’t nearly as bad as you feared, only a few steep portions had you clinging to the rocks for dear life, but you managed. Much to Bakugou’s disdain, you continued to slow your pace at times to admire the nature that surrounded the two of you all the way up to the campsite. 

Though, you were able to rub it in his face that the two of you made it well before the sun began to set, its bright rays seeping down through the forest of greenery. The campsite was quaint, the ground flattened enough from decades of other travelers setting up their tents. A small circle of stones was located not too far from where you wound up pitching the tent, old ash from the previous fires still lying in between it.

When Bakugou began to drop logs into the makeshift campfire, you gasped at the green figure that landed on his shoulder, “Don’t move!” 

“Hah?” Despite being completely puzzled, he managed to listen to you long enough for you to get a glimpse at the beautiful green butterfly that settled upon him, “What the fuck is your problem?”

“A butterfly landed on you!” You exclaimed, fascinated by its vibrant lime pattern.

Only a few more moments passed before he gently shrugged his shoulder, the butterfly quickly taking off as you watched it abscond into the trees, “Damn bugs.”

He placed the last log into the campfire as you headed to the tent to set up the interior. As you zipped open the bag containing what was supposed to be two rolled up sleeping bags, only one was located inside. 

“Can you hurry up?” Bakugou suddenly called into the tent, causing you to release a small squeak in surprise.

Whipping around to face him, you met his glaring gaze, “Why?”

“There’s some cool shit on this mountain, not my problem if you don’t want to see it.” With that, he whipped the flaps of the tent to a swift close before stomping away.

You managed to tumble your way out, catching your foot on the edge of the flimsy material, but nonetheless managed to finish your exit without crashing into the dirt. Bakugou rolled his eyes at your clumsy behavior, already starting to walk off in the opposite direction.

“Wait for me!” Your voice chimed, jogging over to catch up.

The sun was about to start its descent any moment now, casting new shadows along the rocks and trees while you followed Bakugou like a lost puppy. Eventually, you allowed yourself to speak your curiosity, “How did you find this secret place anyways?”

“Found it once when I was hiking, I told you I’ve been here before.” He responded curtly, swiping at a few branches for the two of you to pass through. 

The sound of rushing water immediately flooded your ears, drawing your interest the louder it got. You used the noise to guide you as you pushed past the blonde, eventually coming upon the edge of a decent sized body of water. 

When you lifted your head up, you were met with the most magnificent waterfall you had ever seen in your life. The water cascaded from its crest, allowing it to free fall down into the shallow plunge, eventually rolling down the river. Greenery surrounded and plastered the stones that made up the gorge. 

Bakugou was ready to scold you for shoving him only seconds before, but immediately froze when he watched the way your eyes beamed in glee at the nature-made falls. It was as if gemstones had collected themselves within your irises; the way they sparkled at the sight left him speechless, again.

“It’s so beautiful.” You whisper before slipping off your sneakers, placing them off to the side as you dipped your feet into the slow moving currents, “It’s like, I feel at peace here.” 

He understood what you meant perfectly, but pride refused to let him admit it, “Yeah.”

Leaning down, you began to gather the small stones that cluttered the bottom of the shallow river, poorly attempting to skip them along the water’s surface. You tried moving a little deeper into the body of water, flicking your wrist a bit harsher, but nothing seemed to work.

Just as you went to straighten your spine after gathering another collection of rocks, you leaned back directly into someone standing tall behind you, “Bakugou! You scared the shit out of me!” 

“Who else could it have possibly been?!” He shouted, reaching down to grab your wrist, “I’m tired of watching you fail at throwing these shitty rocks.” 

His warmth radiated onto you as he glided his unexpectedly soft fingertips over the back of your hand, matching your current finger’s positions. You could almost feel every single intake of breath he made, trying desperately to focus on the way he squeezed your digits tighter against the stone.

“When I say to let go, listen.” Bakugou muttered, his words rolling directly onto your ear and causing the hair on the back of your neck to rise. He was having such an effect on you and you were entirely conflicted on whether or not it was necessarily a good thing.

He’s your friend, that’s it. You couldn’t do that anyways; he’s only a friend-

“Let go.” 

The grey pebble skipped across the water once, twice - three times before sinking back to the bottom of the river. He proceeded to show you a couple more times how to perfect the technique and when he eventually retracted his body from yours, you resented the cool wind that suddenly surrounded you in his place.

“Come on, it’s going to get dark soon.” Bakugou’s voice pulled you from the roaring falls, slipping his footwear back on as he stepped out of the cold river. You mimicked his actions, making sure to not fall behind as the two of you headed back to the campsite. The beauty of the waterfall and sirene feeling that clutched at your heart would never be forgotten, though. 

Dinner was extremely light and spent seated around the now lit campfire. You devoured your sandwich like a person starved for days, ignoring the glances of concern Bakugou seemed to occasionally give from your side. The sun was almost entirely hidden away, exposing the plethora of stars that scattered along the dark night sky. 

As beautiful as space was though, you diverted your attention to the paper bag that you had placed carefully at your side. Inside was one of the single most important camping activities one should always complete when temporarily inhabiting the great outdoors. 

“Have you ever made a ‘smore, Katsuki?” Holding up the bag of puffy marshmallows and decadent chocolate, you waved it across the air and attempted to gauge Bakugou’s reaction.

When he rolled his eyes, your answer was already given, “No, that shit’s unhealthy.”

“You haven’t lived!” You gasped, “Making these delicious treats is a vital part of the ultimate camping experience-”

“If I eat one will you please spare me from listening to you tell a fucking biography on it?” He didn’t even give you the chance to ramble on about its flavor and texture, taking the bag of marshmallows and stick from you. 

The force he used to stake the marshmallow could probably harm an actual person, but you were too excited to watch as he held it just low enough to the flames that it began to coat itself in a light brown shade. 

You grabbed a square of chocolate and a set of graham crackers, laying one on both palms in preparation, “When it's toasted enough for your liking, you place it-”

“I know how to make them, stupid.” Bakugou pressed the now partially burnt marshmallow onto the chocolate, “Tch, thanks.” While he slowly ate the classic camping treat, you zealously began to prepare your own. 

Eventually, after maybe one too many smores, you glanced over to your side at Bakugou only to find that the melted marshmallow didn’t always make it into his mouth. A few webs of the sugary fluff coated the corner of his lips, but he didn’t seem to notice.  

You reacted entirely subconsciously as you leaned over and swiped away at the residue with your thumb, seemingly caressing his now burning cheeks in the process. Bakugou didn’t react how you expected though, there was no screaming, no threats, no use of his quirk. He simply met your eyes and allowed you to wipe at the opposite corner. 

His lips were surprisingly soft as your finger ghosted over, but all at once the reality of the situation settled in and you immediately jumped away from him, “S-Sorry! It was just on your face and-”

Bakugou interrupted you for the uptenth time that night, “It’s fine, let’s put out this damn fire.”

The fire quickly died out, removing a majority of the light from the wooded area. You smacked at the flashlight you brought along, allowing it to come to life and guide you back towards the tent. 

That’s when you remembered what you discovered only a couple hours ago: there was only one sleeping bag, for two people. Just as you remember that little detail, Bakugou discovered it as he opened the tent to see the single bag laid across the floor. 

“Where’s the other sleeping bag?” He asked, rummaging through the variety of bags in hopes of finding it, though you knew it would be to no avail. 

Gnawing at your lower lip, you feared the reaction your next words would elicit from the explosive ash-blonde, “I guess I forgot it at home…?”

“You forgot it?” Bakugou repeated, “Really?” 

“Sorry…” That bottom lip you once chewed on fell into a pout, one that did nothing but tug on the heartstrings Bakugou actually had. 

He released a soft sigh, “Oi, don’t fucking cry, you get the sleeping bag I’ll figure something out.”

“No, you get the sleeping bag! It’s my fault anyways that there’s only one!” 

This went on for a multitude of minutes, both of you going back and forth on who should spend the night wrapped up in the cheap fabric of the makeshift cocoon. It was going nowhere, neither one of you wanted to back down.

“Let’s just share the damn sleeping bag!” You finally shouted, finger pointed at it, “We’re not children, I don’t have cooties, just sleep in the fucking bag with me!” 

Bakugou was taken aback for a moment by your foul language as he had never heard you spew out such words in the near two years he’s known you. In a strange way, it almost made him proud. 

“Fine!” He yelled in response, unsure of what else to truly say.

That’s how you wound up with your leg pressed into Bakugou’s, two sets of eyes burning holes into the center of the tent. The top part of the sleeping bag laid over both of your figures, your arms laid over your stomach as to make more room for the muscular hero-in-training at your side. Crickets and owls could be heard chirping from a distance, a nice break to the deafening silence that filled the small tent. 

Until you finally broke the quiet, “Are you ready for your last year at Yuuei?” 

“Hah?” He turned his head to look at you, forgetting just how close in proximity you were, “I don’t see why not.”

“What are your plans when you graduate?” 

“The fuck is this, twenty questions?” Bakugou huffed. 

You craned your neck over as well, only to feel his nose just barely brush against your own, “Just curious, is all.”

“I don’t know what my plans are, all I know is that I will become the number one hero one day and surpass All Might.” His red eyes never faltered from contact, nothing but seriousness behind his every word. 

Nodding slowly, you couldn’t mask the small smile that grazed your lips, “Why do you want to be a hero, or I guess what drives you to do it?”

“I want to win, you need to win to save.” 

Bakugou was fully prepared for you to chastise his reasonings, well used to being told that saving is most important, but your next few words set an inferno in his heart, “You’re going to be an amazing hero one day, Katsuki. I can’t wait for the world to see.”

“Y-You know,” He hardly ever stammered over his speech, “If you turn your body on your side, there’ll be more room in this shitty bag.”

“You’re right.” You whisper, shifting so that your entire body was now lying in his direction. 

Following your actions, the two of you stared at one another, but for once it was comfortable - the silence. 

“Goodnight, ‘Suki. Thank you for an amazing day, and another thing to cross off my list.” An unwarranted yawn fell from your mouth, your eyelids growing heavier by the second until you eventually allowed them to close. 

That night, Bakugou discovered a part of him that he hadn’t even known existed, let alone would have ever made room for before, “Yeah, goodnight.” 

You could have sworn the weight of his arm draped over your side, but you had already been too far into the land of dreams to fully notice. 

 AUGUST 18TH

When the end of summer drew closer, the influx of carnivals and fairs seemed to pop up out of seemingly nowhere. Though it wasn’t entirely out of thin air, given attending one was one of the few things left the list. 

Your partner in crime, or rather in summer-bucket-list-completing, continued to aid you through your list when he managed to find the time. A part of you almost felt guilty for the way Bakugou was spreading his time so thinly between Yuuei and your silly activities. 

Nonetheless, you got to see the many faces of Bakugou Katsuki over the past few weeks, more so than you had witnessed in the many months you had already been acquaintances. He had become one of your closest friends, and on the other hand he found himself enjoying your presence more and more. 

These feelings accumulating frightened the both of you, but for oh so different reasons. 

“Why do you keep attracting these damn butterflies wherever you go?” Bakugou watched as one suddenly flew past the two of you on your way to the carnival. 

This one was jet black, masking any of the colors that desperately tried to flourish beneath its dark wings. You watched as it fluttered away just as fast as it appeared, flying high enough to contrast with the beautiful sunset that surrounded you and him. 

Obnoxious carnival music could eventually be heard as you reached the opening arch way, immediately overwhelmed by the wide variety of colors that glowed from the different amusement rides. What truly stole your interest first was the different fair games and their assortment of large prizes.

“Oi.” Bakugou called out to you as you began weaving through the heavy crowd of people. He could hardly spot you among the sea of fair-goers, his eyebrows furrowed in frustration, “Y/N, slow down!”

A hand quickly reached for your wrist, fingers curling tightly around it as Bakugou had finally picked you out of the crowd. For a better grip, he slid the pads of his fingers downwards until he could lace them through yours. He told himself this would only be until the crowd grew sparse, then he would let go. 

“What kind of rides do you like, Katsuki?” You asked once the two of you finally slipped out of the huge group of people, though his palm remained flat against yours. 

His eyes roamed the small fair, quickly checking out the light variety, “Tch, anything’s fine.”

Bakugou didn’t realize just how literally you would take his words, as you proceeded to drag him towards all sorts of different rides. From the child-like rollercoaster, to the rapid twister, to bumper cars, you nearly went on every single ride that wasn’t designated towards children specifically. 

The whole while, Bakugou’s hand would casually slip into yours at the end of each and every ride, only releasing his grip when you would approach the next. It felt so easy, so simple - neither of you wanted it to stop. 

There were only a few rides left to complete, one of them being the large ferris wheel that centered the entire fair. The line had grown rather long, but despite Bakugou’s complaints he stood waiting right by your side. That is, until your stomach growled so audibly even a few people nearby attempted to locate the source of the odd noise. 

“When did you last eat?!” Bakugou hissed, his fingers clenching around yours while shooting daggers in your direction. 

Shrugging, you were unsure of when you had eaten before getting on the train to meet up with him, “Ah I don’t know, we can-” 

“What do you want?” He asked, “You’re not about to pass out on this goddamn ride.”

“Can you get me a pretzel, then?” With a nod, Bakugou let go of your hand and wandered off towards the abundance of food stalls. 

As he searched for the source of what you craved, you briefly overheard the couple next to you in line, “See, her boyfriend offers to get her food, why can’t you ever do that for me?”

Boyfriend. The word rang through your head like a thousand different alarms. Sure, Bakugou was a boy, and he had managed to become your friend, but putting the two words together insinuated an entirely different concept. 

It wasn’t like you weren’t attracted to him, or that you didn’t jump in circles in your room after Bakugou obliged to joining you for the summer. He had managed to fully capture your heart in a single summer, but it didn’t bring you the joy most people would feel. 

As long as he doesn’t return the feelings, all will be okay. 

“Earth to Y/N!” A voice pulled you out of your mind, bringing you back to the present where Bakugou was holding a pretzel between his fingers, “I took a bite, it’s my fee.” 

The laugh that you let out forced Bakugou to restrain his lips from lifting, simply handing you the salty snack before returning to your side. He glanced down at your vacant palm and cursed himself for how things seemed to wind up. 

When Bakugou accepted your deal to carry out your summer list, he initially did it to receive his upgrades before the school year came to an end. Aiding you in these silly activities meant nothing, until just as quickly they meant everything to him. You enjoyed being around him, never afraid to tease and taunt him, and most of all you believed and respected his reasoning to become a hero. 

He tried so hard to shove away the feelings he inevitably caught for you; a part of him believed it was because he knew what so few people did about you-

“Next!” The ferris wheel operator shouted and both you and Bakugou were in fact in the front already. 

You tossed the napkin that once held your pretzel in the waste bin before being escorted to the double person seat. Locked into place, your hand quickly seeked out Bakugou’s almost on its own accord. 

The ride began to move, stopping every few feet to allow new passengers onto the attraction. Before either of you fully realized, you had reached the peak of the wheel. 

“Oh, wow.” You gasped in complete wonder, admiring the view of the world from such a high point. 

Bakugou wanted to see what you were so awestruck about but his eyes refused to tear away from your complexion. Even when you met his gaze, he tossed his pride to the wind and leaned across the seat, his face only centimeters away from your own. 

“Katsuki…” Your voice came out in a hushed whisper, almost shaking as his nose practically nudged you to move. Seconds before the ride would begin to turn once more, his lips pressed themselves against yours. 

In all of his years, Bakugou was never one known to do things in a gentle manner. He was arrogant, explosive, and prideful. Yet when he kissed you so briefly before the ride started to move, it had been the softest you ever witnessed him. 

But, it wasn’t that easy, for you at least. 

“Where the fuck are you going?!” You could feel the tears pooling your lower lash line, threatening to escape as you bolted from the ride the second they lifted the restraints. 

Bakugou chased after you, heart sinking into his stomach the longer you ran away from him. He couldn’t, he refused to accept what had been the truth from the very start. 

“Stop running!” He eventually managed to catch up to you, locking his fingers around your arm as he twirled you around to face him, “You don’t have to run…”

The two of you stood on the outskirts of the fair grounds, the street light flickering on and off while the both of you attempted to catch your breath. 

“I don’t feel the same way!” You cried, trying so hard to believe the absolute lie that spewed past your lips. 

He didn’t believe you either, “Don’t fucking lie to me, don’t tell me you haven’t felt anything throughout these past few months.”

“It doesn’t matter!” Your voice grew louder. 

“Why not?!” 

The dam had officially shattered, “You know damn well why! I’m sick, Katsuki, did you forget that? Why do you think I made this silly list in the first place...because this very well may be my last summer, ever.”

“You don’t know that.” He gritted his teeth, fists clenched at his sides as he refused to accept the truth that he had been avoiding the moment he realized he had any ounce of feelings for you. 

While the tears trailed down your complexion, you bowed your head down, “It’s why they call it a bucket list, it's a list of things you want to do before you kick it yourself.” 

“I’m not getting any better…” You admit sheepishly, continuing, “I can’t drag you into my mess when- when I don’t even know how long I have left.” 

“You dragged me into your so-called mess the second you asked me to help you complete your shitty list.” Bakugou’s words may have been harsh, but the way your body collided into his when he pulled you into his chest - it felt like home.

You sobbed into his shirt for what felt like hours; what had been his palm originally awkwardly pressed to your back had now begun to glide up and down in a soothing motion. 

“Oi, look at me.” He used his other hand to grab your chin, forcing your bloodshot eyes to meet his, “I don’t know what the fuck I’m doing when it comes to this shit, all I know is that when I look at you, the feeling I get? I never want it to stop.”

It was your turn this time to initiate the kiss, leaning up and allowing your lips to slant over his. Bakugou made you feel invincible, and you never wanted that to stop.

“Let me be the hero I’m supposed to be.” Bakugou muttered against your mouth before pulling back briefly, “You don’t have to fucking go through it alone.” 

“Okay.”

 AUGUST 30TH

Bakugou was never one for sentiments, but looking back on the summer that had passed he felt nothing but warmth flood through his entire body. Especially given the past couple of weeks that consisted of finishing off the last few bullet points on your list: from roller skating to dinner and a movie, every last one was crossed for completion. 

He never thought he’d see himself content, smiling at just simply the presence of another person, but every moment with you was a moment he never wanted to forget. Bakugou would become the number one hero and he wanted to do it while you watched.

You had told him about your most recent trip to the doctor’s, which was roughly one week before classes began at Yuuei. When he asked about your results, you waved him off and explained how you had to wait a few days before they would come in. 

“Bakugou! Hey!” A familiar cheery voice shouted for his attention as he walked through the halls of his high school, officially a third and final year. 

When he spun around, he was met with Kirishima’s infectious grin, “Hey Shitty Hair.” 

The two conversed about their summers outside of hero training, Kirishima reflecting back on the beach trip the lot of them had taken with you. He even asked how you were doing, but that’s when Bakugou realized you hadn’t texted him all morning; complete and utter radio silence. 

“I’ll meet you in class, I have to go do something.” He didn’t even wait for a response, darting down the hallway through the cluster of students. Your workshop, you had to be in there. 

Every corner he turned his heart palpitated harder and harder, why didn’t you contact him this morning? What happened? Maybe your phone died? Got too held up in your workshop?

Every worst possibility Bakugou could possibly think of came to fruition when he slammed open the metal door to your space, only to find it as vacant as you had left it all summer long. 

“Oh, Bakugou-” The third-year support hero suddenly walked over to the panicked ash-blonde, “I’m guessing you haven’t heard…” 

It didn’t matter that he was going to miss homeroom, there would always be another class, but there would never be another you. His legs dragged him to the hospital, the one you were apparently in emergency surgery for, trying so hard to keep the unfamiliar emotions at bay. 

He slammed his body into the glass doors, forcing them to part as he breathlessly asked the nearest receptionist for your room. The hesitation in her tone as she gave him the wing of the hospital was entirely lost on him, a small detail he’d come to think about at a later date. 

Everything appeared like a blur as he ran to the opposite side of the hospital, and it was only then that Bakugou realized he was crying. 

“I-I’m looking for a young patient, she was - fuck! - admitted to emergency surgery-” Never in his life had he stumbled over his words so carelessly, speaking to the first employee he could find.

“Are you Bakugou?” A small voice caught his attention, causing him to whip around only to be met with the saddened eyes of a young nurse. 

He nodded, watching as she offered him an envelope, sealed with one of the many stickers he had seen before scattered along your journal. 

Nothing would ever heal the small hole that pierced through his heart when he opened up that letter, right outside the hallway that led to the mortuary.

 Bakugou Katsuki,

I know, you hate me. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you about the results I received from the doctor’s right before classes started up again. How could I do that to you? You had so much hope for me, for us, I didn’t want to destroy it so soon. 

I just want to say, thank you for the greatest summer I’ve ever had. If it weren’t for you I would have probably never completed my silly little list, but I did! We did! Every single adventure you and I went on will forever burn brightly in my heart, even long after it's stopped beating. 

Please, don’t tear yourself up for this, you had no control over my sickness. You know what you do have control over though? You have the power and control to become the number one hero one day, making sure to win to save, just like you truly want to. 

Always remember to seize every moment that comes to you, carpe diem as they say, I don’t know I read it in a book somewhere and thought it would sound cool. 

I hope you get everything you want out of being a hero, Katsuki, it may be a bit too soon in the relationship but I think I love you. 

Sincerely, 

Yours

#bakugou x reader #bakugo x reader #bakugou katsuki x reader #bakugo katsuki x reader #bnha x reader #phasm.writings

[incarnateirony]

So for what it's worth, all of my attention seeking nonnies can go home, I've reached peak, and it wasn't even any of these try-hards on tumblr.

I got a like 3 page monologue from a literal incel dude that redpilled himself and joined MGTOW that I haven't spoken to in somewhere between 5-7 years blasting on gloriously about the fact that he's going to hunt down and kill all of my roleplay characters I haven't even played in just as long to close a chapter of a book. He used phrases like "I am a wolf, circling on the hunt, [sic] I will find them and I will kill them" and "In violation of Sun Tzu, [sic] I am going to pursue this until it is complete."

He's even planned out in his head how he's going to annihilate these fictional characters I haven't touched for leaning towards a decade, including somehow breaking my heart by "destroying" a character literally designed to be an importable villain with an open book bible to be used in people's tabletop campaigns for fodder to BE beat if people want plot juice.

Like literally, none of you can ever upstage that. I'm just going to reblog this post from now on whenever a wanky anon tries to grab my attention, because that's it, go home, the game's over, I've been trying to work through tears of laughter for like 3 hours, it just keeps hitting me in waves while I'm at work because I made the mistake of checking my phone at break.

Will post behind the cut for people who want a giggle.

So a few months ago, I realized this dude friended me on FB and like, whatever, I don't care, but I sent him this message:

5/3/20, 3:28 PM

You sent May 3, 2020

Okay I'm dying of curiosity dude. Why would you of all people randomly friend me like 5 years later?

No response. Cool, whatever. Minding, as you can see, the date on that was May 3, and today is June 24, I had literally completely forgotten he existed again. The dude was always a tool and never worth my time, and like-- seriously, peak Whatever?

So today during break, I check my messages--

1:35 PM (Dude) sent Today at 1:35 PM Alright. A while back I friended you, and you asked me why. The answer is simple, and as vitriolic as it is, it's honest.

Because I knew that our beef we had wasn't over. Not on my side. Not even a little.

Am I holding onto it? Yes. Yes, I am. Am I going out of my way to perpetuate it? No. I have way too much on my plate to do that.

But one day, a day that is looming, I knew that our paths would cross again, and when it happened, I wanted to be ready.

As it stands, I am ready.

So in violation of Sun Tzu, I figured that you would appreciate at least one gentlemanly moment of clarity.

I'm still around and I am circling around the haunts like a wolf on a trail.

One day I will find them, and I am going to use (his character) to kill off your characters in combat, either one at a time, or all at once. It doesn't really matter to me. The result is going to end the same.

Santhis/Rudianos will find one opponent that not only matches him blow for blow, but also knows how to see his next move coming.

Xenthus is going to find someone who is not impressed by his illusions and trickery.

Luci is going to start waking up with cold sweat flashbacks until his nightmares are proven real.

Ferrous is going to be overwhelmed and broken.

And Ash is going to be blood eagled, and his entrails hung above his tower as a warning to the others of what is coming.

And when it's all said and done, Serpent Isle in all of its entirety will not lose its life.

It will simply be turned into a breeding ground for nightmares and horrors, and then simply left in that state. Forever.

So maybe you're asking yourself why I am telling you this.

Why after all these years I even still care.

Closure, (Deadname). It's simply closure.

No malice, no mercy, no drama beyond your reaction.

Just me penning the end of a particularly toxic book which I will then close and burn. Happily, I might add.

So that stated... get them ready. Amp them up. Go get that Godslayer.

You're gonna need it.

You sent Today at 1:38 PM I'm sorry, you seem to have me confused with someone that still roleplays, much less wants to channel some strange vendetta you're carrying?

I need you to understand. You aren't a thought in my mind beyond when you insert yourself. I'm currently managing 400 employees as i respond to you. On the daily i have to hold correspondence with elected officials. The rare time i have down is spent in my av media server or finishing up something like DCBB. And that isn't counting my two side hustles or the fact that I am moving.

If you think I so much as think about you often much less hold some grudge for bloody rp combat resolution or something you have direly mismarked this situation.

(Dude) sent Today at 1:40 PM If you say so, (Deadname). If you say so.

You sent Today at 1:42 PM Please take some xanex dude

[1:47 PM] (Dude) Today at 1:46 PM I'll take some Xanex when you stop worshipping Ashmedai. 📷

You sent Today at 1:47 PM OK sweetie please drink your juice box and take a nap

#in violation of sun tzu

[rint4rous]

hogwarts au! oikawa

a/n: wrote this with a bad headache LMAO so if you see mistakes no you didnt <3

yeah help

anyway

oikawa toru

sixth year slytherin

captain of slytherin quidditch team

this one. very popular with the girls.

always gets gifts and confessed to, he turns them all down nicely tho

he flirts with them a little but never goes out with anyone

thanks but no thanks, hes focusing on quidditch

mostly hangs out with hanamaki, matsukawa, and iwaizumi

you, sixth year gryffindor

a chaser for the quidditch team

actually you and oikawa had a bit of a rivalry thing going on

because oikawa was getting good grades AND is good at quidditch

and it doesnt even look like hes trying.

and he lowkey comes off as arrogant sometimes

and youre like i hate geniuses

the two of you met during first year when he tried playfully hitting iwa in the hallway but iwa dodged

and you happen to be speedwalking past and then next thing you know you get slapped???

you stop walking and turn to oikawa

hes like HOLY CRAPDFHJSHJR

“I AM SO SORRY-”

“it’s alright!”

“are you sure??”

“yeah, it was an accident, right? …. unless it wasnt?”

“NO I SWEAR IT WAS AN ACCIDENT”

“i thought so! see you ‘round!”

then you skip away

yeah. yall dont really start competing and shit until you found out your mom and his mom had BEEF??? WHEN THEY WERE IN SCHOOL????

you found that out at the end of first year

“i heard tachibana’s son is in your year. or i guess she’s oikawa now.”

youre like yeah what about it

“my dearest y/n, you’re a smart little girl, okay?”

“so make sure you’re better than that oikawa kid, alright?”

and little innocent you is like “ok”

so start of second year, you study and work extra hard

but here’s perfect little oikawa who always knocks you down to second place

at first youre like. i’ll just work harder!

and he joins quidditch and so do you

so you try hard at that too

you’re not like a sore loser or anything so when slytherin wins you shake his hand with a smile

but by the end of the year you’re just kinda :/ now because you never see him studying or practicing spells so how the fuck is he BETTER THAN YOU AT EVERYTHING!!! ITS NOT FAIR!!!!!

third year you come into school with like not very good feelings abt oikawa

and your mom was on your ass about your grades and you’re like omfggg im TRYING OKAY IM TRYING SO HARD

too bad tho thats when he starts liking you …

middle of third year is when you start expressing those feelings for oikawa out loud

“i hate self-centered geniuses. come back down to earth, will you.”

he heard you say when test results came back

and hes like is she talking abt me? lol nah shes probably talking about stupid ushijima over there

and then he finds out you were in fact talking abt him

hes kinda hurt lol

then when the new term rolls in

and the two of you just start talking shit about each other and start arguing all the time

“what’s the answer, l/n?”

“fairy wings.”

“oh my bad, i didn’t realize she said oikawa, and not l/n.”

“oh sorry, i thought you wouldn’t know the answer so i answered for you! i saved you from embarrassing yourself. you’re welcome~”

your seatmate yaku was holding you down with all his might and HOW IS LITTLE MAN ABLE TO HOLD YOU BACK HIS GRIP IS STRONG BRO

the whole class s ighs here we go AGAIN

the teacher doesnt even bother sending you guys out to hall anymore because this happens so much

you always try to sabotage each other in potions

one time his eyebrows almost burned off after his potion exploded in his face

makki and mattsun like LMFAOWFEHERGUYER

then when the year ends you’re like ranting to your mom like “i hate geniuses. who does he think he is? just because he can beat me at everything?? i’ll show him. i’ll make him eat dirt in the field. i’ll wipe that dumb smirk off his face. i’ll-”

your mom: omg my little baby so full of hate just like her momma

fourth year you’re so determined to beat oikawa at something

he sees you in the library, unprovoked, once and he comes up from behind you like

“aw, is l/n gonna try beating me again this year? you know there’s no point in trying.”

you: hold it in hold it in hold it in YOU’RE MATURE NOW Y/N L/N. YOU SHOULD BE MORE MATURE THAN THIS DIMWIT IN FRONT OF YOU. inhale exhale inhale exhale

“aw, is oikawa gonna try beating ushiwaka in quidditch again this year? you know there’s no point in trying.”

way to be mature

poor oikawa tho you pressed a wrong button so he just leaves silently

you kinda regret it after

so this year goes like the last and so does the next

“arent you tired?? of competing with oikawa all the time??” your friend semi asked you

“kind of”

“then stop?? you dont have to fulfill your mom’s high school revenge lmao”

“ughh eita i know but im too far in”

one time you were out breaking curfew #savage

no but seriously you couldn’t sleep so you thought some fresh air will help, the dorms were super suffocating right now

you were stressed after your mom’s monthly letter

beat oikawa this beat oikawa that

you turn at a corner and you see the man himself, ALSO BREAKING CURFEW

now the both of you are looking at each other like 👁👄👁

“GOD L/N I THOUGHT YOU WERE A TEACHER I NEARLY DIED FROM A HEART ATTACK”

“shush before we both get caught”

“right sorry sorry”

“so what the hell are you doing breaking curfew.”

“what are you doing breaking curfew.”

“i asked you first”

“so?”

“just answer the question, oikawa.”

he looks around, making sure the coast was clear before he motions you over to him and as you walk towards him

you see the door hes standing in front of

he drags you in there and what you see is

a bunch of practice dummies

“yeah i,, practice my spells here at night. contrary to popular belief i’m not a genius like ushiwaka or tobio. i’m flattered you think so, though.”

and youre like he... actually practices?? he is actually human?

“what’s with that look? you wanna join me practice at night?”

“as if-” and then you see the book of spells and you guys aren’t even learning any of this YET. and you are determined not to fall behind oikawa “sure.”

oikawas like pardon?

you: i SAID SURE.

and so now at night you practice spells together

only because you want to beat him as if

the arguing goes down a little because you get caught up in beating each other at who gets to do the spell right first that practice runs super late sometimes and you dont have energy to fight with each other that early

everybodys like ??? huh????

but then you’re back to the usual bs in the afternoon and everybodys like oh okay so the world isnt ending yet

so anyway !! yall are practicing again

you’re pointing your wand at a practice dummy and trying to focus so you dont accidentally do something dumb

"hey why do you hate me so much?”

LITERALLY CATCHES YOU OFF GUARD AND BREAKS YOUR FOCUS

“it’s not because i hit you when we were first years right? it really was an accident i swear-”

“you still remember that?”

“well yeah… because i cant think of any other reason why you don’t like me.”

“um… trying too hard to please my mom, i guess. what about you? why did you try so hard to beat me at everything?” you ask, regaining your focus for the charm

“idk, you never paid attention to me unless i did.”

you scoff, “why? you don’t like me or anything, do you?”

“i do tho??”

he literally said that just before you chanted the spell and you got caught off guard and

“stupefy!”

it almost hits oikawa

oikawa: WHAT DID I DO

you: SHITHEAD DONT SAY THAT WHEN IM ABOUT TO DO SOMETHFIBEFH

“HOW DID THIS EVEN HAPPEN???”

“I DONT KNOW IT WAS FUN COMPETING WITH YOU WHEN WE WERE SECOND YEARS AND IT JUST DID?? I TRIED SO HARD SO I CAN IMPRESS YOU AND I GUESS MY PLAN BACKFIRED BECAUSE I DONT THINK YOU LIKE ME VERY MUCH”

now youre staring at each other and you’re both red

he kinda quiets down “and you’re a better rival than ushijima anyway. i don’t mean any of the stuff i said, i swear. i know you don’t like me but i just needed to let that out or i will go insane.”

and hes just looking down all shy

at this point you actually dont know if you like oikawa or not

i mean??? you spent like 3 years butting heads with this dude

and he liked you the whole time?? hes crazy this man is crazy.

maybe you were just in denial the whole time

because?? you could’ve stopped competing with him at everything

maybe you did enjoy it somehow

he did make your life at school interesting

“let’s go out on a few dates and we’ll see.”

his head just whips up and his eyes like light up and hes so EXCITED

in the time before you officially started dating

you find out from iwaizumi that even tho he smiles at a lot of girls its actually rarely genuine the only girl hes ever seen oikawa smile about genuinely was you

and that his mom actually didnt approve of him playing quidditch at first because he had a bad knee but he pushed for it because he really wanted to

he has like a smug and a flippant demeanor but hes very attentive and super caring !!

hes super passionate and hard working at what he does and

i guess now you finally realize you are falling

it takes five dates until the two of you officially start going out

if you tell third year you that you were dating oikawa she would never believe it but here you are, walking to class with him

when the two of you walked in the classroom talking

like TALKING NORMALLY AND NOT THE USUAL “i will choke you in your sleep” “ooh, kinda k-” “don’t”

it was already sus when the arguing toned down a bit but now that its like. REALLY GONE?? everybody is so confused

LMFAO matsukawa asks like “what happened?? are you guys broken?”

“no???”

“how rude! dearest y/n and i are dating now!”

everybody in this class: see now thats crazy. that is crazy.

makki: maybe we didnt hear him right. say that again oikawa

oikawa: me and y/n are dating.

everybody: oh okay bc we thought you said you and l/n were dat- WAIT SO YOU AND L/N REALLY ARE TOGETHER??? 

you: unfortunately

oikawa: h-hey :((((

everybody: SO WE DONT GOTTA LISTEN TO YALL ARGUE FIRST THING IN THE MORNING??? YOU HAVE TO TREAT THE WHOLE CLASS TO BUTTERBEER I THINK WE DESERVE IT AFTER THESE THREE YEARS OF CONSTANT YELLING

nobody was as SHOCKED as your moms

“y/n, baby, i know i did not just hear you say you’re dating the oikawa kid. repeat that for momma again.”

“i’m dating the oikawa kid.”

like?? MOM THIS WAS TECHNICALLY UR FAULT

“so toru, what did you wanna tell me?”

“i have a girlfriend now! her name is y/n l/n.”

“l/n? surely not THAT l/n’s daughter, right?”

“oh it is that l/n.”

when your families have dinner together for the first time

THE TENSION LMFAO

but they do try hard to get along. they try super hard.

they start getting along because MAN YOU AND OIKAWA WERE SOO CUTE AND THEY WANT YOU TO GET MARRIED AND THEY HAVE TO GET ALONG IF THEY WANT IT TO HAPPEN. THEIR GRANDKIDS ARE GONNA BE SO CUTE!!!

“ma, we haven’t graduated yet-”

your mom, ignoring you: THEYRE GOING TO HAVE THE CUTEST HAIR

oikawa’s mom: AND THEY’RE GOING TO BE SUPER SMART LIKE THEIR PARENTS!

your mom: AND WE’LL BE THE BEST GRANDMAS.

momma oiks: PERIOD!

steals your books from you in the halls so he can carry it for you

you tease each other with pet names and shit???

he’ll try to kiss your cheek in the hall but iwa grabs the back of his robe and pulls him away “you’re gross”

“you’re just jealous iwa!!”

when your houses arent playing each other, he goes to your games and vice versa!

tries to distract you in the field

“hey beautiful”

“toru don’t or i will make iwa knock you off your broom.”

“you're so mean”

so anyways yall r couple goals

"listen well, kindaichi, kunimi, your senior is showing you how to get girls.”

kunimi, without looking up from his book: what are you gonna teach us? accidentally slap the girl and get her to hate you for three years while you secretly pine over her during that time before confessing that you liked her the whole time and you go out on five dates and officially start dating? too much work

oikawa: LISTEN HERE YOU LITTLE SHIT

#oikawa toru x reader #oikawa x reader #oikawa imagine #oikawa x y/n #hq fluff #oikawa au #oikawa scenarios #hq x reader #haikyuu x reader #oikawa x reader au #oikawa tooru x reader

[evil-lloyd]

Ninjago Characters but it's the Mario Kart 8 characters they main:

I've made this post SO MANY TIMES. But it wont process the images so we are just gonna have to go without.

Lloyd- Link

I feel like its kinda self explanatory. They are kinda the same person. I feel like lloyd would have a deep emotional bond with Link,perhaps to an unhealthy extent. What can i say? The kids got lots of trauma. Also this is my official petition for someone to draw lloyd in that desert link outfit (you know the one). Please and thank you

Kai- Bowser

Kai just thinks hes neat! Also kai is competitive in an aggressive way so i think bowser suits him.

Jay- Yoshi

Jay just strikes me as a retro guy. But he also likes ridiculous cartoon characters.

Zane- shyguy

He admires the shyguys calm vibes.

Nya- inkling girl

Nya is a lil shit and inkling girl also radiates that energy. She's the type to always get good power ups which she uses to target kai.

Cole- Princess Peach (including the cat costume one)

I can explain. Cole did it once as a joke but then it stuck. He just admires peaches determination and sass ok? Deep down he too is a princess in a catsuit riding a motorcycle.

Pixal- Baby Rosalina

She just thinks its funny. Also she and cole have beef because according to him 'there can only be one superior princess' (its all in good fun tho)

Wu- Toad

I just think he suits em well

Garmadon- Dry Bowser/King Boo

Garmadon would've picked regular bowser but Kai beat him to it.

Morro- Mario

Its cos Mario is the main character and morro has a complex

Harumi- Bowser jr.

Its bc she sees Bowser as Garmadon and she had that whole 'im your new daughter thing' so

#ninjago #lego ninjago #ninjago lloyd #lloyd garmadon #lego #ninjago jay #ninjago cole #ninjago zane #ninjago kai #ninjago garmadon #ninjago morro #harumi ninjago #nya ninjago

[gaphic]

@geeeny02 @ivehadanapophany @lastoneout

THANKS FOR ENABLING ME YALL

ok so, this isn't a criticism of the movie Raya so much as an observation of a corner disney have been steadily painted into with their most well-known IP: The Princesses.

It's pretty clear the studio has been struggling with their princesses for a while now- all of their live-action remakes have made painstaking (and painful) attempts to 'update' their female protagonists, and a lot of those changes are taking aim at the same problem: being a princess needs to like,,,, Mean something nowadays

Snow White, Cinderella, Aurora, Belle, Tiana, and Rapunzel all essentially become princesses as a reward for being Good. Their royalty is completely meaningless, it's just the romantic idea of 'being a princess' that little girls love.

Ariel goes from being a princess to being a princess and it means nothing, Jasmine's beef with her station in life has barely anything to do with being a princess (forced marriage isn't exactly exclusive to royalty!) and Merida just gets the exact same conflict but worse

Pocahontas stands out as the first princess to not really be a princess, but she's also the ONLY princess based on a person we objectively know existed, and thus a huge outlier. Mulan is the real change. She isn't royal at all, and I get the sense she was only included in the princess brand because... what else were they going to do with her? All their other animated leading women were united, one IP under marketing, amen. So it was either market Mulan alone, which would be strange, or sneak her in with the princesses and really push her more feminine outfits. Breathing a sigh of relief, disney went back to their usual fodder with Tiana and Rapunzel

...Then there was Frozen.

I honestly think it was a coincidence, but Frozen introduced the idea of the princess doing actual royal activities. There's a coronation, a state dinner with ambassadors, a hint of power struggle when Elsa leaves! And then the movie was a SMASH fucking hit and revitalized the hell out of disney's image.

By this time the romantic image of The Disney Princess has long lost its shine, so the mouse is RABID to recapture that success.

Moana gets an aesthetic stand-in for a coronation with the shots including her headdress, and the first act of the movie sets up that she's being groomed to take over one day. She makes executive decisions and helps solve problems, but her being a princess still doesn't really matter to the story, and while the movie was a huge hit, Princess Moana didn't quite slot into the brand like her predecessors did

Frozen 2 got weirder. More vague allusions to governing with evacuating Arendelle, then Elsa is hastily de-princessed and Anna becomes queen offscreen with NO buildup

The live-action remakes? Well. They change the characters a lot. But their relationship to royalty stays very much the same. At first. Frozen comes out in 2013, Moana 2016, in 2017 Beauty and the Beast said nothing substantive about monarchy (just like the live action Cinderella + Maleficent) and everyone on earth hated it, and in 2019? We got Girlboss Jasmine. Oh dear.

Girlboss Jasmine is a PRINCESS alright! She wants to be the sultan! She has no formal policy in mind, but she gestures at slogans like 'my people make the city beautiful' and does complex political maneuvering like... reading maps. But nobody really likes that either

Mulan 2020 basically offloads the princess angle entirely and everyone hates that too

ENTER RAYA.

Did you even notice Raya is a princess? Raya is a princess. She's like the combination of both Frozens and Moana, having the vaguest possible allusions to the responsibility of her position (through her father, NOT herself!!!) and then rushing off on an adventure where her royalty is utterly irrelevant (the movie would actually be better if Raya wasn't a princess- if she was a servant in the palace who didn't know exactly what happened and thought she'd been betrayed by her leaders. If her rival was the princess of her country and that betrayal was the source of her distrust, rather than a broken 30-minute friendship with a total stranger) and doesn't even provide any glamour or romance. And then the movie bombed.

I highly doubt disney will stop trying to do princesses because of this, but I do think they're officially out of ideas. The only way to REALLY justify a character being a princess going forward would be to incorporate it into the story (because nobody is interested in that 'princess as a reward' shit anymore) and there's just no way to do that without a lot of bad press. Cause once you acknowledge a character's responsibilities as a royal in the plot, you're kinda forced to portray it either positively or negatively. Negative depictions ain't marketable. Positive depictions would be pro-monarchist propaganda

You might say 'well they could just go the Mulan route, and use 'princess' as a figurative term' and they are sure as fuck trying to do that in some of their marketing initiatives, but it's just not hitting. Not like they want it to. You can really only play that game with literal babies, because any girl over the age of 10 has developed enough cognition to feel condescended to by the insistence that every woman who accomplishes something is a 'princess'

Committing to that direction would constitute an admission that disney doesn't know or care how to market female protagonists without slapping a crown on them and adding them to the monolith. That's bad press disney doesn't need.

im sure some people will be disappointed by this but i hate monarchy so

[fantranslatorbychoice]

Kakuriyo no Yadomeshi Volume 6 Chapter 6 - An Uncle and Pampas Grass and Moon Viewing Sake

T/N: Hi y’all, I’m back with chapter 6, how are you doing? I thought tumblr didn’t want me to post, kept getting error logs but here we are now. I got a bit unwell so I didn’t get to post this as soon as I wanted to, but I hope you still like it somehow.

As always, if you like this translation, you can heart it, share the link, reblog, I just respectfully ask that DO NOT REPOST ELSEWHERE. This is my contribution to the scant English content of this fandom, and I worked really hard to finish this thing, it’s not like I just copy-pasted everything. I even had to build the kanji in Jisho one by one. Try it and you’ll see what I mean.

You can rave about this, rant about this, reply, etc. but if possible please link back to this page. If you’re unsure how to do that, just copy the web address of this page. If you’re on a blogsite just insert the web address as a hyperlink as a link back to here. Honestly if this light novel was officially-published in English, I wouldn’t even be doing this right now... And if it did, I’d take this offline to support the publishers and Yuuma-sensei. Creators support creators, is what I believe in. I’ll prolly do 1-5 once 6-10 has been done, or however long I can manage to translate the raw texts, it can take a toll at times.  As previously-mentioned in earlier chapters, if you stumbled upon this one, the two seasons of the anime covered volumes 1-5, so other than the extra details, you didn’t miss much stuff. OK, here we go, this chapter’s a racket lol

P186 Kasuga's resignation from Tenjin-ya has been announced. Aside from that, the guests were also a bit dreary that day. Many people came to ask if there's any beef stew or hamburger steak but there's none left already, and there were still a lot of the chestnut okowa** for the Autumn set meals... "It took a lot of pains to steam these in a bamboo steamer, the sweet and piping chestnut okowa though..." It's a waste, what will I do? I wonder if everyone from Tenjin-ya's going to come and eat... "Kasuga... would she be coming? There's so many terrible stuff tonight, she's probably not going here." I remembered Kasuga again, and I got even more gloomy. Today's no good. She's probably thinking about a lot of things due to her leaving. It can't be helped but be sad. As more time passes by, my heart feels more depressed and more bemoaning. When I came to Kakuriyo, Kasuga played a lot of tricks on me and some of the other Ayakashi that I got involved with. Then after that, when she came to my place a lot, she eventually became a very dear friend. T/N: okowa=steamed sticky rice with stuff like beans, nuts, etc. replaces plain white rice in some meals. P187 I wonder what I could do for Kasuga when she leaves...

When I went outside the shop curtain to wear my geta sandals, the lovely waxing gibbous moon floating in the sky lept out in front of my eyes. "Wahhhh" The moon is almost at its fullest. The autumn air that goes with it, it's heartrending. When I walked underneath the rustling willow tree, it was already twilight in the quiet inner garden. "Is there something wrong, Aoi Ojou-san?" In that moment, a young man was leaning over the wooden bridge and chewing on a blade of grass. Having a slender body, with his brown hair covering his eyes, and what seems to be a charming smile showing on his face... It was the Gesokubanchou, Chiaki-san. "Chiaki-san... This is unusual. For what reasons have you come here?" "Oh, Aoi-san, I have a little favor, to ask of you." "A favor?" It was different from Chiaki-san's usual sloppy presence, somehow his manner was solemn as he came here. He was Kasuga's uncle. Could he be talking about something regarding Kasuga? P188 "Errrr... Can Aoi-san expertly stir fry these?" "Say what? What are these.. Ah, ginko nuts!" Chiaki-san nodded eagerly and handed me a thin, drawstring bag that looked like it was filled to the brim, these were ginko nuts." "Today, Odanna-sama and Byakuya-sama, also Dr. Saraku who rarely leaves the underground facility, the three of them went to the mountain behind Tenjin-ya to watch the moon while drinking sake**. This time around, Tenjin-ya was troubled with the Bunmon Tanuki situation, so I decided to pick up some ginko nuts in the inner garden to stir-fry them and bring them to you, but I'm not good at stir-frying." "Oh, I get it now. It's OK, Yugao's already closed and we can go inside. Speaking of Odanna-sama, they went moon-viewing? Because it's nearly the full moon?" "Ayakashi like to drink sake while moon-viewing. Aside from that, those were the three seniors of Tenjin-ya. They probably had something important that they needed to talk about this time." "...oh, I see." If it wasn't the marriage of an employee, then it's likely something else. Likewise, the Northern Land's Hachiyo has been replaced, and Kasuga is going to get married to him, and this brings yet another huge issue and problems in the entirety of Kakuriyo. Previously, Odanna-sama announced his engagement to me while in Youto, and that caused a huge commotion. We entered Yugao, and sitting in his favorite seat, Chiaki-san immediately propped his chin with his hands on the counter.

T/N: Yep, it’s a thing, people drinking rice wine while moon-staring. When spring has the cherry-blossom viewing thing, autumn has moon-viewing activities. They say that when the moon reflects on your sake cup, spirits come out. Well, whatever lol I rather moon-stare sober P189 With that mannerism, somehow he resembles Kasuga during the day. But looking at them in their appearances, they don't look alike. Kasuga is springy and bouncy, and this guy is reasonably quick-paced. "Oh, Chiaki-san, are you hungry?" "Me? I'm good, I've finally had a meal." "You always have your dinner late, don't you?" "Oh, right. Gesokuban have so many minute and detailed jobs, and I also have to take care of the ogre kiddies. I have to put them to bed, and have dinner after that... Ah! Could it be, that you made something for me?!" He was already in a Japanese restaurant, and based on his reactions he only remembered about that now. Even though he explicitly came bringing some ginko nuts, with regards to me he's rather the uninformed type. "Hee hee. I only have chestnut okowa left, it that OK for you to eat? I still haven't had dinner yet." "Did you say... Chestnut okowa?!" Somewhat, Chiaki-san was taken aback. With such a strong reaction, I got anxious. "Is it likely, that you're not fond of chestnuts?" "No! It's not that, it's just that Tanuki love chestnuts and persimmons!" "Really? Thank goodness-- But that's the first time I heard it. That Tanuki love chestnuts" P190 "Yes. There's a huge chestnut tree in Bunmon's University Library, when autumn comes everyone goes out and gathers them." "Ehh?" A library that has a chestnut tree. That's somehow cool. "What side dishes would you like? There's some saury, how about salted and grilled saury? There's also miso soup, try it out, it's a reddish miso soup, it's a suitable accompaniment to the chestnut okowa." "What is that, isn't that the best autumn menu?" Hearing what the menu was, his empty stomach was remembered and it growled. While rubbing the back of his head, Chiaki-san's eagerness shone across his face. "That was embarassing. I uhm, haven't eaten anything since lunch." "Is that so? When Kasuga says that she's hungry, you should have come with her, it's OK." "It's fine, Odanna-sama and I had to go back and talk about other things too. In addition to that, it was necessary for Kasuga that time, to be with Aoi-san who is her friend. Since yesterday, we have been completely surrounded by esteemed Ayakashi." "..." While Chiaki-san wore a strained smile, he secretly let out a sigh. I didn't fail to see that, so I turned on the fire on the grill, and started preparing the salting and grilling of the saury. P191 And then, Chiaki-san weirdly seemed to become fidgety, and suddenly he stood up and took a broom in his hand, and started sweeping inside Yugao. "What are you doing, Chiaki-san?" "Oh, it's nothing, if I don't move I couldn't calm down. You seem to be in the middle of cleaning and tidying up Yugao, is it fine if I sweep here?" "Uhm, thank you, I'm grateful for that..." He might be a manager, but by nature he is humble and feels much obliged. "Ah--  It's Tanu-tanu-shaaan's voice-" For some reason, Chibi who was sleeping in the back room woke up, and that time when he heard Chiaki-san's voice he went out. He held the acorn he picked up during the day on his flank, and with a heave-ho climbed up Chiaki-san's counter seat. "Heyyy isn't that Chibi? Have you slept? Your beak is smeared all over." After saying that, Chiaki-san wiped Chibi's beak with his hand. Apart from being humble and obliging, he also gives off the vibe that he's used to taking care of children... "I'm a baby Kappaaaa. Baby Kappa are the cutesssht newbornssssh in the worrrrld." I have been taking care of him, but for some reason Chibi has returned to being a baby and shows how he's suckling on his thumb zealously. "So to speak, you know of Chibi, Chiaki-san?" P192 "Yes, I do, we went picking up some ginko nuts during the day." "Yesh we diiid. When I wasssh about to get eaten by Shoft-shelled turtle-shan in the garden'sss shmall pond, Tanu-tanu-shaaan saved mee. And for that, this Kappa returnsssh the favor." Chibi went "I presshent you my gift", and he brought out the acorn that he was holding on his flank for Chiaki-san. Even though he seemed to have no need for the acorn, Chiaki-san replied with a smile, "Thank you, Chibi", as Chibi acted morosely. Chibi...Isn't he spoiled by Tenjin-ya's male army? Now then, back to Chiaki-san's saury. To this extent, for anybody with a high-class taste there's probably no other food that is more famous than this one during autumn. Long and thin, rounded and fatty, the luster of the fresh saury, it has been caught off the coast of the Eastern Lands. I salted both sides of the fish. This removes the fishy stench, and improves the elasticity of the flesh. I lightly rinsed this in running water, and again lightly sprinkled salt over the dazzling flesh again, before cutting this into smaller pieces. After that I turned on the charcoal grill and slowly grilled this, steadily holding it over the fire. "Chiaki-san, is Kasuga's uncle, aren't you?" "Yes. Kasuga's father and mother in Youto have been estranged for a long time, I have practically took measures to look after her." "Really? You have been her father's replacement?" "Ahaha. Saying that I'm her father is too much. Well, I'm like a big brother who's older by some years, it's something to that extent. I think it's sensible that way. Kasuga P193 is the youngest daughter, and compared to her other siblings she hates studying... she's a naughty and troublesome child." While Chiaki-san was suppressing a laugh as he recalled some memories, he was sipping some warm sencha tea that I poured for him. That atmosphere, it was a bit different from the light impression that I have of Chiaki-san, he was somehow polished and elegant. "Ah... The fragrance of the grilled saury is good, right?" "Tee hee. When this saury is grilled at just the right amount of time, the skin and the fat just makes it more mouth-watering for anybody and you can't get enough of it's scent." While the saury was being grilled and the appetizing smell was wafting out, I placed the hot and piping chestnut okowa in a rice bowl, and checked out the taste of the reddish miso soup I was using. In a small bowl, I added vinegared miso with squid and scallion. I placed all of these in a four-legged tray, and when the saury was about to be grilled enough I grated daikon over a long and narrow plate, and beside this I placed the grilled fish. Wah, the fat is dripping, and the skin has been grilled to become crunchy, this saury is both delicious and really smells great. It's filled with all the tastes of autumn, and I served this like it was made at home. "Alright! This is Yugao's 'Nothing but Autumn' set meal. These directly echoes the tastes of a hungry stomach during autumn. Ah, kabosu, kabosu!** I'll cut half of a kabosu and if you squeeze that all over, the citrusy fragrance makes it even more appetizing." I sliced a kabosu in half and plopped it beside the saury. "Ahaha. How you smiled, that meant that it's really delicious." Chiaki-san put his hands together and said "let's eat", and as expected took a mouthful of the chestnut okowa. T/N: kabosu=香母酢=some type of citrus fruit, well to be honest anything citrusy goes well with fried or grilled fish, or just fish in general. gwah P194 Rounded and scattered, there's so much of the lovely yellow chestnuts. The steamed sticky rice I used for the okowa, it mildly envelops the chestnuts with sweetness, tenderly and endearingly, it was enjoyably warm and fluffly, and the springy texture have its finishing touches. "These rounded chestnuts, they're surely delicious. Chestnuts in plain rice** is good,  and so is chestnut okowa." "Try eating that with the saury. It's also the best." That being said, Chiaki-san squeezed the kabosu juice over the saury's crunchy skin, and with the chopsticks neatly scattered this to soften the meat, and picked up the jiggly flesh. He ate it as it was, and closed his eyes as he chewed on it. "Oh.. This is good, this is good. This IS autumn. There is so much of this saury's fatty umami, even more so when it was salted and grilled and the skin got crunchy. The refreshing kabosu and the grated daikon over it, no other fish suits this the best. Also, the reddish miso soup really goes well with with everything, it worked the best." This time he tried the saury with the chestnut okowa. Occasionally letting out a sigh of relief and closing his eyes as he eats, it was charming and adorable. Kasuga was also like that, a Tanuki with a distinct gentle air about them, and I love how she's like that. "Kasuga said that when she's eating Aoi-san's delicious food, she goes to work cheerfully everyday." "Kasuga?" T/N: OK, so to make it a bit clearer since not all rice are equal, some rice when boiled or steamed have a texture that makes the grains scattered, and then there are some rice varieties that become sticky/glutinous when cooked, like your usual sushi rice, and then there are some super-mushy ones that need a lot of water-regulating skills to prevent it from becoming rice porridge. The okowa is somewhere in between the excessive watery stuff and the sushi rice consistency. P195 "Yes, she does. That girl, she seemed to have loved working in Tenjin-ya. Way back, she hated working in here." "...is that so? But that's curious. Kasuga's an Ojou-sama, isn't she? Why was she working as a waitress in Tenjin-ya?" "Uhm, that..." Chiaki-san's gaze lowered for a bit, and asked me "How much do you know of... the person Kasuga is engaged to?" I took out the newspaper that Juujirou-ojisan left behind sometime ago, and placed it in front of Chiaki-san. "This child on the photo, I heard that he was the next Hachiyo of the Northern Lands. Isn't he the one that Kasuga previously said that she'll get married to?" "Yes, that's correct. It's Kiyo-sama...He's grown to be very handsome." Chiaki-san looked at the youth on the newspaper, and somehow he seemed calm, he smiled as he drew his eyebrows together. "You know of him?" "Of course. When that child was quite young, he used to stay in the Land of Bunmon a lot. He was sickly, and he gets medical treatment in our University Hospital..." Starting to eat a bit again, Chiaki-san went "Shall I tell you a story from long ago?" and started to talk once again. "The Northern Land's new Hachiyo, Kiyo-sama spent so much time with Kasuga when they were children. Kasuga hated studying, and always hid in the hospital and the library and caused troubles to the adults.” P196 "Kasuga right now is a real hard-worker, I couldn't imagine she was like that. But then again, that was probably because she was still young." "That girl's pranks, as a kid she made those very ingenious and cunning. During that time,  it was hard for me to even handle Kasuga at all." "Tee hee hee" Imagining Chiaki-san following around Kasuga in that situation, somehow I could only smile at that. "During that time when Kasuga has been fleeing a lot and entered a hospital's private room, she met Kiyo-sama. Kasuga and Kiyo-sama were almost the same ages, and they immediately got on good terms. Kiyo-sama read a lot of books, and Kasuga became influenced to read books, as well as growing a bit in working hard in studying. Kiyo-sama was especially interested in the culture and history of Utsushiyo, and those were the topics and books that those two talked about and read about, they had so much fun imagining things." Chiaki-san's expression gradually changed. He was just talking about Kasuga's childhood, but he was smiling a lot as he seemed to remember the past while I was listening, I wonder if there's nothing else other than that. "Kasuga started to have growing feelings for Kiyo-sama. But Kiyo-sama seemed to imagine that he wasn't going to live long, as his body was prone to sickness. Then one day, Kasuga and Kiyo-sama broke out of the hospital room, and the two of them decided to go to Utsushiyo together." P197 "Wahhh? Is that even possible?" "Because it is necessary to go to Utsushiyo, a Hachiyo is issued a travelling pass. Kasuga used her cunning skills to steal the travelling pass from my mother, the Institutional Director. It was preposterous, that wicked brat. But Kasuga, it was because she really wanted to take Kiyo-sama to Utsushiyo so badly..." What I heard happened after those events, was that Kasuga and Kiyo-sama wandered in Utsushiyo together, and after about three days they were discovered by the Bunmon Tanuki who went out on a manhunt, and they were taken to be returned. Because Kiyo-sama has a frail body, his condition deteriorated and took the turn for the worse. Kasuga received severe reprimands, and she was forbidden to meet him again. After that, Kasuga was punished by her Institutional Director grandma to work in Tenjin-ya, so that she would learn the harshness of the outside world. Work really, really hard. That was why everybody always asked Kasuga to do a lot of errands here and there, she was told off to do things for others a lot... But nobody knew that Kasuga was in that circumstance. When everybody learned that Kasuga was an Ojou-sama, it was impossible not to get shocked. It seemed that none of the management staff in Tenjin-ya knew Kasuga's personal history. "However, when Kasuga started to work a lot in Tenjin-ya, it became obvious that she has become changed. Her movements P198 have grown to be more responsible, when total strangers scold her as she was earning hard for her money by working, it was because she hasn't had much experiences. It was altogether different when she met O-ryo-san. She raised Kasuga with eagerness and zeal, the Kasuga who doesn't know anything. This was because it was before O-ryo-san became the Wakaokami." "Really now. So that is why, until now 'O-ryo-sama' is still how Kasuga calls O-ryo." "Yes, that's right. Well, since O-ryo-san is always acting with so much insolence, being with her eventually turned Kasuga into a grown-up." "Well, that's for sure..." O-ryo may have raised Kasuga, in a way O-ryo's bad example probably made Kasuga grow... I could remember when I first came to Kakuriyo. When she got demoted from being the Wakaokami, when O-ryo got a fever, Kasuga brought her here. That time it was somehow unimaginable, but Kasuga, even though she has her own issues to deal with didn't forsake O-ryo. "Kasuga was here, due to the things that she did during her childhood. After that, even though Kasuga can't see Kiyo-sama again... it can be said that it was their fate, wasn't it? When Kiyo-sama became the North's Hachiyo, Kasuga decided to get married to him. Even though they were separated once, this time because they were pushed to a marriage against their own will, it can be said that they have grown into mature beings. Although they may be childhood friends, aren't they having such a complicated idea?" P199 "..." Kasuga, with what she meant with her expressions and her words, I could only realize what her explanations were. She may be smiling because she was going to get married to her first love, but to that end there were still some unfinished issues not taken care of. I was worried. Because Kasuga is my friend. When I came here, I prayed for everybody in Tenjin-ya happiness, likewise I allowed to myself to go through anybody's sadness that they hold, and I couldn't imagine that in my dreams. "Kasuga, she's surely leaving, isn't she?" "Yes, that's right. I daresay that the engagement talks, it's going to progress from now. Aside from that, the Northern Land is not in the road towards stability, but it seems that Kasuga is fully aware of her position. But isn't getting married troublesome? Aoi-san, when you came here, didn't you have a lot of problems?" I peeked at Chiaki-san's face, and he asked. Surely, it was also that same reason why I came here... "But.. I'm not going to get married to Odanna-sama yet!" "Ahaha. While Kasuga was talking about it, she seems to constantly retort that, right?" "Wah, don't laugh at me--" Chiaki-san kept hitting his hand faintly while laughing. Anybody who's facing their worries and affections would eventually show their true feelings, in the end. P200 "Aoi-san. Kasuga has concerned friends such as Aoi-san, who saves her. If that's the case, from here on end... If I could ask for Aoi-san's permission as the need arises, please help us. I want you to help us..." "..." "Aoi-san and Kasuga, will eventually grow to have similar positions in the future, won't they? Being a Hachiyo's wife... Behind the political stage, becoming one is a huge role to carry on one's shoulder. It's because in Kakuriyo, that is the wife of a great Youkai." With an earnest expression he was making his request, but I can't say my routine answer of "No I am not yet married to Odanna-sama". Instead... "Awww... Ish Aoi-shaan crying..?" Chibi who was playing with the acorn lying around, suddenly stopped and pointed at me. He placed his flipper on my hand. "It's, it's not like that! The ashes from the charcoal grill got into my eye!"** "Eh?! Aoi-san... I'm so sorry, I was being weird..." "No, it's not that..." But why do the tears keep on coming... My eyes hurt from the stinging pain, I thought that it was because of the ashes that flew out of the charcoal grill, but at the same time T/N: Yeah right, sure Aoi, keep telling yourself that bwahahaha we all know what's happening here **Lenny face** P201 I was attacked by the merciless thoughts that words cannot describe. Kasuga may have already braced herself with her decision, but I barely have any awareness, that in Kakuriyo I allowed myself to be dragged here to Kakuriyo selfishly. Kasuga is going to leave Tenjin-ya with a smile, I wonder if I can have that... When she's going to be the Northern Land's Hachiyo's wife, meanwhile me here, I don't know... "Ah, uhm, Aoi-san please stop crying..." "Aoi-shaan. Aoi-shaan if you keep crying you'll get uglyyy--" "What the, I already told you I wasn't crying!" Chiaki-san was all consoling-mode, and while at it Chibi was consoling while saying so many things. It's perplexing, it makes no sense that I was crying and sobbing. Chiaki-san was explicitly, one way or another saying a lot himself, and was in a panic. He stooped down and as he pulled out his hand towel, he was saying "I'm sorry, are you alright? I'm so sorry.." In the corner of my mind, as I was wiping my eyes I thought about what O-ryo said before, that this amiable, good-natured young man takes others into consideration so much, no wonder he's absolutely popular. But a while ago, he was wiping off Chibi's drool... "Aoi-san, thank you for your hard work..." Ginji-san unfortunately saw that scenario, just as he came to Yugao. P202 "..." While Ginji-san was still wearing his smile, he quickly went over to Chiaki-san. "Hey Chiaki. What is this? Why did you make Aoi-san cry?" It was scary, Ginji-san grabbed Chiaki-san's collar by the neck, and a shadow fell across his eyes. "The mild-mannered Wakadanna-sama got so scary!" said Chiaki-san as he went pale, and in that moment he turned into a cute, brown Tanuki. Turning into a surprised and scared Tanuki, he's definitely like Kasuga right there. Thankfully, my tears had stopped flowing. "I'm alright, Ginji-san. It's just because some of the ashes went into my eyes. Chiaki-san was just worried for me." "Is.. is that so? I'm sorry, everybody. I may have misunderstood a bit..." Somehow due to that misunderstanding, for some reason Ginji-san's cheeks twinged, and his ears drooped. "Oh! The ginko nuts!" "Ah!" In that moment, Chiaki-san and I remembered what we were supposed to be doing. While I was serving Chiaki-san food, it went over our heads and we forgot about it. "Oh, could that be for Odanna-sama and everyone else, in the back of the mountain? I was about to go there too. P203 I wanted to bring sake and a large towel, and I dispatched an Ogre-fire so fast." "Sake and towel...?" "Because it's rare, let's bring the charcoal grill, and let's all go to the mountain behind Tenjin-ya, together. We'll roast the ginko nuts in there, we're going to have an elegant feast. It's surely going to be a really good appetizer** for moon-viewing sake." "Wah, that's wonderful!" Ginji-san's plan made me feel ecstatic. Just a while ago I was sobbing because of that, but now it's because we're going to cook.

There is a mountain behind Tenjin-ya, and it's a facility where hotspring-boiled eggs are made, has an open-air hotspring, a foot bath, a famous summer place where rice can be cooked in open air, among others, it was a facility with a lot of various uses and has complete furnishings. Odanna-sama was with Tenjin-ya's founding members Byakuya-san and Dr. Saraku, I wonder what were they discussing about... "Hey, this is different from the usual path..." Normally we would be walking through the path in the bamboo grove, but this time we climbed up. I thought that the pipe cats would come out squirming as we passed through the bamboo grove, but this time we turned through a narrow path in front of us, it was lined up with old Jizou statues** and hanging lanterns, and we walked on a small, unpaved path. T/N: Yeah I know it sounds absurd but if you've tried drinking liquor while eating nuts or even some salty junk food, it actually tastes good together. Broke college days cheap beer and cheap junk food lol Jizou=地蔵=patrons of children, you probably saw at least one when you watched J-dramas or anime, the people usually put on scarves and/or hats on them whenever it snows. P204 "This time the bamboo grove is not passable. Other than Tenjin-ya's facilities, since long ago it has been called the secret base of Tenjin-ya's management staff." "Really, a secret base?" "Be that as it may, I didn't say that others are forbidden to enter it. It gives off the feel of children's secret base, that's why it was called as such." If that's the case. my expectations have increased. It has tickled my childish mind. "This season's surely great. Don't you think so, Ginji-san?" "Yes... I thought that Aoi-san would like too. Saying that somehow... You're twinkling." "Twinkling?" While Chiaki-san and Ginji-san were talking, as we left the little road lined up with Jizou statues, there was... "Wahhhh! Amazing! It's pampas grass!" It was a wide field where the pale silver ears of the pampas grass were swaying. Under the clear, night sky where the the moon floats up above, it mystically rules this place and its scenery. Occasionally I've seen the pampas grass growing in the inner garden, but in this wide field there was pampas grass everywhere I looked, like autumn has begun. The ears of the pampas grass in Kakuriyo were specially fluffy, it seems to be enveloped by the fleeting light. Not only does the light dance in the sky but there was also a light breeze, and with the floating full moon above, the light seems P205 to soak it all up... it was an emotionally-moving spectacle. "The children in Kakuriyo play in the pampas grass fields and turn them into their secret bases, you know. Even back in my hometown I used to do that a lot." "Odanna-sama and everyone else, I think that they're in an old shrine after that pampas grass field. There is a hotspring over there that gushes forth with high levels of pure spiritual energies, and since long ago there were facilities that were used to boil things like hell..." We followed Ginji-san who lead the way, and from somewhere we heard the sounds of laughter. That laughing voice, it seems to be from the Thousand-Year Mole** Ayakashi, Dr. Saraku. We left the soft pampas grass field, and there was billowy steam popping out... Is that a hotspring? "..." Somewhat wearing nothing, soaking in that natural hotspring, were the three senior management staff members. Suddenly without warning, with that scene that leaves out the imagination, I got utterly speechless. "Ahhh.. for sure, the moon and the hotspring and the sake, this is the best! I haven't gone above ground after so long... Full moon banzai!" What the, a sake bottle jutted out of a rock, and soaking in the hot spring while holding the small sake drinking bowl, was Dr. Saraku. "Good grief. You've gotten so drunk Saraku. Drinking sake while on a bathtub is bad for the health. You keep saying that you're always hiding and cooping up underground, well now you only want to go above ground whenever you want." Then someone's face appeared to be extremely cautious, with the towel wrapped around his head in the style of someone who's already finished T/N: yeah this mole is a hoax, it's just an old badger with skinny legs lol link to that is here P206 soaking in the hotspring, it was Byakuya-san. "Come now, Byakuya. It has been a long while since we've opened up together like this.** Let's just talk about the really important stuff. Alrighty, let's toast to tonight's full moo---- what the, AOI!!!!!" Odanna-sama wasn't even thoroughly finished when he realized that I was standing out near the edges of the pampas grass field, and he madly dashed back to the hotspring with a splash. Incidentally, Dr. Saraku screamed in a hoarse voice "Gyaaaaaaah" while Byakuya-san quietly and furiously looked at me with his eyes as if saying "It's shameless to peep". "No, no, it's not like I went here on purpose! I was just coming out of the lovely fields of pampas grass here in the mountain, and I didn't realize that I was entering the men's bath!" "Ah, Aoi... Could it be that you.. Wanted to take a bath with me too?" "And how can that happen, how can that even happen, Odanna-sama?" Odanna-sama in his sluggishness did all that he can to make an admirable retort. "Oh, uhm... excuse me but, please use this fresh towels that I have!" In the most critical moment, Ginji-san drew them in to leave the hotspring and wear the towels. "It was because I was in the pampas grass field too." I wasn't really embarassed or blushing like a girlfriend, so I just stayed on the opposite side of the men. "Y-you unfortunately saw a bunch of indecent men, Aoi-san--" T/N: OK fam this part is actually nsfw-ish, as they were all naked together in an open-air hotspring, Odanna-sama's line in the original text was "it's been a while since we've all been naked together" but that just sounds so nsfw so I made a euphemism of some sort. I may be a potty mouth but I also have limits, of infinity lol also srsly I just tried my best to make the following scenes clean, srsly the original japanese text has so many uhm...word play that I deem nsfw srsly I did not expect this, jfc P207 With a forced smile, Chiaki-san followed us here. It was awesome that Chiaki-san somehow said that the bosses being naked was indecent. "It's fine. I have been used to washing Grandpa's back thoroughly." "...what" "Why that speechless expressio....n?" Behind the startled Chiaki-san, I discovered what seems to be an inconspicuous square gazebo. "What's that over there?" We went closer to where it was. There was something that looks like a cauldron, and from its rounded wooden lid steam was coming out. I wonder what they're boiling in there... "Ah, that's is Hell's Cauldron. In here, it's almost never used..." "He-- Hell's Cauldron?" “That cauldron is used to steam ingredients using the hot vapors from the hotsprings. Since the hotsprings also have hot vapors, when these are used to steam food, why, passing them through open fires make them even more delicious. Other than that, here is another thing I can say. When steam that comes out from Tenjin-ya's basements are used to steam ingredients, the steam's composition seems to make them less prone to spoilage." "Really... Isn't that interesting?" Finally, when Ginji-san said that "Alright Aoi-san, it's OK now", I went in front of everybody. P208 A while ago I could only side-glance and go past the three men who were soaking in the open-air hotsprings, but now I followed them for a bit in climbing a small shrine. "Well, Aoi, it's nice that you came." And as if it was nothing, I found Odanna-sama who was sitting in his usual overly-magnanimous pose. There also was Dr. Saraku who was wearing his round, black spectacles  while smiling so brightly as he was holding a bottle of sake, and Byakuya-san who was tapping his fan to the corners of his mouth. But these three management staff members, even though they were comfily wearing large towels after taking a dip in the hotspring, they seemed to be delving into heavy matters. "What were you doing in such a place as this? Did the three of you came to bathe in the hotsprings?" "N-no. In the beginning we were talking about the matter concerning Kasuga. When we eventually thought of going into the hotsprings... Dr. Saraku here, in his drunkeness started pushing Byakuya powerfully into the hotsprings, it was a messy situation." "Byakuya-san wanted to get pushed into the hotsprings" At that point in time I have stopped trembling, and after Byakuya-san cleared his throat, Odanna-sama changed the topic of the conversation. "Kasuga's resignation this month from Tenjin-ya was caused by a lot of issues. That is the path that Kasuga personally chose. As for Tenjin-ya, as Kasuga's marriage is very fortunate, we can't just only give her support from the sides." "..." "...have you gotten lonely, Aoi?" P209 Odanna-sama read my changed expression, and pulling the corners of my eyes together, I smiled. I nodded deeply as I showed my true emotions. "However, there's this sole problem of Hachiyos that hasn't gone away. As Ougondouji-sama predicted, the faction of the Minister of the Left has been calling out the abolition of the Centralized Authoritarian Rulership along with the Hachiyo's Ruling System, hasn't it gotten a lot quieter, Byakuya?" "Hmph. Ougondouji-sama is backed up by the Minister of the Right, but Raijuu is backed up by the Minister of the Left. That guy's evolution doesn't appear to be good, but somehow he's probably making his flashy moves..." Raijuu, isn't it? Odanna-sama and Byakuya-san, they were talking about the movement of Kasuga's marriage, along with the politics of Kakuriyo, and I have no idea what they're talking about right there but... Raijuu making his moves, those words, I couldn't help but not hold on to that without worrying. As the charcoal grill was roasting and toasting the ginko nuts and other tastes of autumn at the shrine's entryway, I remembered the first time that I received Raijuu's maltreatment, and got anguished. "Are you alright, Aoi-san? Is the smoke getting over there?" "Hm? Oh, no.. That's not it, really. The ginko nuts look delicious, don't they?" Ginji-san was fanning the smoke outwards with all his might. Crackle, crackle, the husks of the ginko nuts splitting open were echoing all around. Ah, I could see that these have gotten transluscent, the ginko nut's lovely green color has appeared. When the ginko nuts were gathered they stank, but when they're cooked and ready to eat they seem so appetizing. Those differences were very fascinating. P210 Polishing them brightly, it's not an exaggeration to say that they're the jewels of autumn. Wahh, I wanna eat some... "Kasuga... She works cleverly and is a hardworking person, it's within her core. It's really unfortunate and regretable to lose her as our waitress. It also seems that as a granddaughter leaving by herself, it's so lonely..." Says Odanna-sama. He said it entirely as if he's Kasuga's grandpa. While Odanna-sama was restraining himself from the back, Kasuga's foster-dad Chiaki-san just started crying and sobbing at Odanna-sama's words. Odanna-sama just started patting Chiaki-san's knees, it mysteriously consoled him. "Hey, you know what, Kasuga Ojou-chan always runs so many errands for the basement team, I always give her the unsold manjuu to take home." Oh, so that's why Kasuga always brings in a lot of Tenjin-ya's unsold manjuu, those were given to her by Dr. Saraku. "But from now on, Kasuga's position has changed. Tenjin-ya will be protecting her from behind, and we'll make a lot of souvenirs and other things for her to bring when we send her off. Let's not talk about bad things, Tenjin-ya has its members marrying a Hachiyo one after another.” Byakuya-san opened his fan and while fanning his face, from the corners of his mouth he was somewhat stiffling a laugh. I wonder what souvenirs could those be... "Ah, that's right, Yomego-chan**! Speaking of souvenirs, our souvenirs, OUR souvenirs! Before, Tenjin-ya inquired about the hotspring manjuu, how are those coming along?" T/N: Yomego-chan=嫁御ちゃん=Dr. Saraku calls Aoi as Daughter-in-Law-chan. I've done enough speed runs to know why, so I'll just leave it like this. Don't worry fam, it's cute once that goes up, idk when though T_T dang it, my Nihongo learning skills couldn't keep up T_T P211 "Come again?" While talking about it, Dr. Saraku remembered the matter about the souvenirs, and he abruptly changed it. Everyone stared at me. "Ah, uhm... We're in the middle of our test trials, Dr. Saraku. It will get finished by the time we hold the Autumn Festival." "We don't want an expensive souvenir Aoi-kun." "Well now, Byakuya-san. My basic menu costs minimally. But one more step isn't enough... The usual manjuu as a newly-released product doesn't have enough impact, we have to change it into a striking product so people won't lose interest in it. When the Autumn Festival starts, we'll have it ready." While in the middle of talking about the souvenirs, I instantly had an idea. That's it. The new souvenir from Tenjin-ya...I should also consult Kasuga about it. Kasuga has eaten a lot of Tenjin-ya's manjuu, it seems that she'll have a lot of opinions on what kinds of suitable manjuu can Tenjin-ya make. More than anything, I want Kasuga to taste the new manjuu we'll make before she leaves. It's settled then. I immediately brought a bowl of roasted ginko nuts to Odanna-sama, and he oh-ed when he took one kernel, peeled it of its charred color, and ate the green seed. "Mmmm, this ginko nut tastes good" "It's because it was roasted on a charcoal grill. Roasting the seeds with their husks keeps in the fragrance, and the bitter after taste of the crumbly seeds get more tolerable, which are P212 uniquely the ginko nut's trait. Would you want to try adding coarse salt?" This is too easy to be called cooking, the flavors of autumn, enjoying these as they are, it's the best. Particularly the ginko nuts, just serving them with a bit of salt is exquisite. "Everyone, there's also grilled matsutake mushrooms, and some dried mackerel too. Please have these with the sake." Ginji-san grilled all of these on the charcoal grill, served them in a large platter, and placed them in the center where the management staff were seated. Seeing the flavors of autumn arranged together, my mouth started watering again. "Please take a seat too, Wakadanna-dono" Byakuya-san offered Ginji-san some sake. He only has been waiting to be called for and his expression became so bright, he brought his sake cup and entered the circle of drinkers. It seemed that he somehow, wanted to drink some sake. "Aoi, you come here too. I'm sorry that you have to work here even after Yugao's business hours." "Hm?" "...even your hand, it's full of cracks. She may be of a marriagable age, yet we're helped by such a hard-worker." Matching his concerned words, Odanna-sama faced me, and casually took my hands. Just a while ago the conversations were flowing, and that reminds me... After that Orchard Park date, after a long while we faced each other upfront, for one reason or another I felt embarassed. I flagrantly moved away my face, and the hand he was holding, I pulled it away. "Th-that is, because I work in a Japanese restaurant. Lately it has gotten cold, and my hands have gotten all worn out. P213 But today there weren't many customers, I thought that I needed my body to move some more." "Ahaha, Aoi is definitely a hard-worker, right?" Odanna-sama has always been extremely understanding.** I only realized, it seems that he's only weird with me. "Oh, right. Would you like to drink some of the sweet sake that I got hold of? It has no additives, and no alcohol." "What's that? I wanna drink that." Just a while ago I was all aloof and cold, now I just heard the phrase "There's sweet sake" and my bearing changed 180 degrees. Chiaki-san seemed to have realized my interest, and from the shrine's altar where a lot of the bottles were arranged, he took one and brought it for me. The package gives off a vibe of it being undeniably a high-class product, and my excitement was at its peak. Using the sake cup from the grilled foods plate, Odanna-sama triumphantly poured the sweet sake for me. The sweet sake's particularl trait, I peeked on it and its color is a bit like undisturbed milk, and on the clear top layer some malted rice were floating on it, I saw these as they were shining. "Tenjin-ya has always been in the care of OROCHI's work - The Ebitsu Liquor Products. They made these using only the newly-harvested rice for this year, this product isn’t released in stores to be sold." While Odanna-sama was talking about the product, I took a sip. Ah... Somehow the flavor gave me a sigh of relief. It wasn't too sweet, there wasn't any odor, this sweet sake is easy to drink. There were some grainy lumps left behind, T/N: this phrase is vague-ish, the transliterated version means that he's always glugging the liquor heartily but again, gah this chapter is just full of word plays, really P214 It was really delicious, the sweet sake is like home-brewed and hand-made. I like this grainy stuff too. I could understand why it's really enjoyable, it was hand-made and isn't sold to the public. "This is amazing... I always had the impression that sweet sake has a stench, but this one changed my mind." "It's not altogether a waste using this product, the sweetness of the malted rice helps the flavor to stick to it. That is probably why despite that there aren't so many people who like the sweet sake's unique odor, I like this sweet and mild taste, and every year, when the time comes they make this sweet sake, with a personalized note. I heard that it's also good for your body." "Really now.. Odanna-sama likes this sweet sake. And yet you hate the sweet pumpkin?" "Oh, aren’t the sweet sake and the pumpkin entirely different? A pumpkin is hollow, when it's boiled it gets stuck in the throat. It's soft and sticky, and that is why I find it difficult to eat it." Odanna-sama said those things while sourly turning his eyes away to the side. "That's why I thought somehow, that you were sneakily placing those in my bowl, Odanna-sama" "Byakuya! Don't reveal something that nasty to Aoi!" Odanna-sama was pnaicking and wailing a lot, but I have previously heard that from Ginji-san... On the other hand, Ginji-san has sunk into a drunken stupor. While Byakuya-san poured some sake for him, Ginji-san's nine tails would incidentally move a lot, and he has been extremely exhausted from drinking. It was like eating wanko soba.** "I also want to drink some sweet sake" "Ah, well then I shall pour for you" T/N: wanko soba=わんこそば= this has always weirded me out, it's like they put a bite-size portion in a tiny bowl and they'll keep giving this to you until you get full, like an endless stream of soba/buckwheat noodles. Personally just give the whole thing to me and I'll eat it lol P215 This time, I poured Odanna-sama some of the sweet sake. Looking at that scene with a laidback yet careful attitude, Dr. Saraku suggestively went "Hey, heeeey" while his face broke into a grin. "Yomego-chan pouring sake like that for Odanna-sama, somehow you look like a real husband and wife. After Kasuga Ojou-chan, it's also a good idea to write your marriage registration here too." "What?" "Hmmm... You have a point there. Following Kasuga's lead, pretty soon Aoi-kun will brace herself too." Even Byakuya-san. I could feel that the two higher management members have severely put me under so much pressure, I'm just thoroughly shrivelled. Well, isn't this vibe like what happens all over the country, when a girl reaches a marriagable age the parents just pushes her to get married? "Hey now, both of you stop that. I don't want to force Aoi against her will." "What's that?" "Until Aoi likely decides to have me for her husband, I'll... be waiting forever." "..." What the, this Odanna-sama is being meek. While sipping the sweet sake bit by bit, his face is just full of dejection. Even though before, he said that he had no intention of waiting forever... P216 I can't understand what Odanna-sama's intentions were, but if it's useless to push him, should I pull back? Might it be that, Odanna-sama already, vehemently, doesn't want to marry me anymore? I felt emotionally-struck a thousand times, I don't understand why there is this puzzling feeling of impending fears. Lately I have been... such an emotional wreck.

End of Chapter 6, Volume 6. Previous - Chapter 5    Next - Chapter 7

References:

Wonderful site for the youkai references

Other stuff I used to do this: Kodansha Kanji Learner’s Dictionary (you can buy here, I’m not sponsored btw). I was about to buy the older edition but then the newer one came out 2013 so I bought that instead. Worth buying since I was able to find nearly all of the words I needed just by stroke pattern alone.

Merriam-Webster's Japanese-English Dictionary (the red-covered 1996 version is apparently out of print right now). This is what I have been using for a very long time, I bought it when I was still a fetus (yes I am old so what lol), and after so many years, when compared to newer editions, I still prefer this one since its entirety is Japanese-English, the English to Japanese gloss are just 16 pages tops, so you get more Japanese words for your buck. But that’s just my opinion, maybe other people prefer the Jap-En x En-Jap IDEK.

Basic online dictionary, Jisho. Knowledge of verb conjugations  and other words are necessary since not all have entries.

If you can read Japanese, you can buy the whole set in Amazon Japan, they’re shipping worldwide now, I think.

#kakuriyo no yadomeshi #kakuriyo no yadomeshi light novel #kakuriyo no yadomeshi volume 6 chapter 6 #kakuriyo no yadomeshi english fan translation #kakuriyo no yadomeshi light novel english #kakuriyo no yadomeshi light novel volume 6 chapter 6

[nomoregoldfish]

Imagine Pacho Sends You as a Gift to (Spy on) Amado 3/3

More smut (but I’m really bad at writing it, :////). Plot twist guaranteed. And I can’t believe I wrote 6K for this, FML. What has Chema done to me? I also made a few changes in the first two parts, read the whole thing on AO3.

You are woken by a phone call in the middle of the night. But you neither move nor open your eyes. You hear some numbers, Amado sounds irritated. It could be something related to tonight's dinner?

Your patience is wore out minutes after minute and Amado still hasn't returned to bed. You make a bold decision to wake up, and the Mexican is smoking by the window. Something keeps him up at night? That doesn't sound like the Lord of the Skies, the man who has had the world at his feet.

"You wanna talk, more sex or a bath?" You carefully propose.

"I was expecting for late night snacks you pull with some Asian witch shit." Amado lets you sit on his lap. "Hang on, I've got some leftovers from the kitchen."

You two settle for sharing the jacarandas mochi from a small food container in the bathtub.

"You like it?" You don't really need validation from Amado. It's just you spent hours coming up with the idea of improvisation, trying to make a traditional Japanese dessert more appealing to the Mexican guests. "I made the bean paste from scratch, less sugar. I understand most Mexicans are not used to sweet bean paste..."

"They don't deserve it." Amado suddenly claims. You don't get it. Who are they? "They are just a bunch of pigs in expensive suits, corrupted, stinky pieces of shit." Then Amado tells you almost everything. He invited the tequila exporters with the hope that the cartel could use their affiliate companies in the States as front to launder more drug money since tequila is one of the largest yet least regulated businesses between the US and Mexico. And the politicians are officials from Mexican Customs Bureau and SHCP.

"Fucking idiots. They thought I was gonna ask them to smuggle coke under the tequila crates. With all the fucking Pier 1 sofa and Ford pasenger seat manufacturers in Juárez, I've had more than enough trucks to move products across the border." When Amado brought up money laundering, the tequila exporters expressed concern regarding possible investigation of tax evasion from ATF, putting more pressure on Amado to increase their cut.

They eventually made a deal less favorable to the cartel and that's why Amado's a bit pissed when he's on the phone.

"Why are you telling me this?" For the first time that night, you ask softly.

"Those cabrón. They don't deserve what you bring to the table. You pour your heart and soul, making the best feast I've ever had. You deserve to know what happened." 

You've never thought you'd hear that from Amado. He didn't have to tell you anything. It makes you lower your guard. You want to get closer to him, without any agenda.

"Does this mean my body won't be put in the trunk of one of your auto collections tomorrow?" You try to lighten it up.

Amado kisses you from behind. The position is awkward but neither of you care. 

Making out with Amado in the bathtub makes the night better than your wettest dream. 

The Mexican's gonna make you cum again with those magician hands of his.

"You...haven't told me if you like the jacarandas mochi." You're so screwed. Maybe you'll never get the answer because Amado's too busy sucking you tits.

Amado clears his schedule the next day. He brings you to the Asian boutique where he bought the Japanese painting.

"One of my guys found this place. I thought you might be interested..." That's cute from a drug lord. But you're not that kind of person.

"A) I don't need a Buddha artifact home to find my inner peace, and B) only Pacho wears shirts with Chinese characters taken from a poem back in the Tang Dynasty. Seriously, he's ridiculous. Come on, let's go."

Instead, you two spend the day trying different Asian food you can find in DF. From hotpot to Peking roasted duck, from pho to char kway teow. Amado seems to enjoy the Chinese food more than others.

"Most Asian restaurants in North America are run by the Chinese, from San Francisco to DF. Since you guys can't tell if an Asian cook is from China, Japan, Vietnam or Thailand, he or she would quickly learn dishes from other Asian countries. We are always the most hardworking people." You explain to him.

"Oh, I love hardworking people." He's so full of shit but you can't help smiling. 

Amado finds a fortune cookie note saying "Happy New Year of Monkey." Then you explain Monkey is one of the Chinese zodiac signs which repeat every 12 years. 

"So 1956...I am a monkey? Cool." He's surprisingly quick with math.

You write the Chinese character of monkey on a napkin and Amado seems fascinated by it. So you suggest that he could get the Chinese character tattooed, "Next time you can show that to Pacho. He probably would get one, too."

Holy shit, he's really doing it. 

The way the tattoo parole Amado brings you to is cleared makes you believe it's part of the cartel business, which makes perfect sense. 

"You don't have any tattoos? Not at all?" You're surprised when the tattoo artist prepares Amado's skin on his forearm, first cleaning then shaving.

"We've fucked three times, once in a bathtub," Amado grins, obviously in a good mood, "Don't you think it's a bit late to ask? Or I fucked you too hard you didn't notice?"

Thank God the tattoo artist doesn't even flinch.

OK, you have to get back at the fucker. So when the tattoo artist asks you for the character to make a design, you write pig in Chinese instead of monkey.

"Hold on, that doesn't look like what you wrote on the napkin. Let me see it." Right after the tattoo artist places an outline of the design on his skin, the Mexican stops him.

You're 100% sure Amado doesn't speak or write Chinese. How the fuck does he figure it out?

"What is it exactly? Tell me the truth or you will have an honest conversation with my brother." Amado makes the threat more scary by pointing at Vicente, who stands next to the door with two guns and a pink lollipop. 

"Wait. He doesn't know shit. It was me...I wrote a different character." Your confession is quick, you don't want to see anyone get hurt over this beef.

You thought it's just a silly prank. Now you realize you're dealing with the most notorious narcos of the country. Amado may look like a businessman, reasonable, even decent. He's still capable of getting violent whenever he thinks it is necessary, to an extent you really don't want to know.

You take a deep breath, then apologize to Amado. You are ready for the consequence. 

"Apology accepted. On one condition, you'll have the exact same tattoo as I do when the new design is done." Fair enough.

But you're a chef who often needs to cook right in front of customers. You can't let them see a tattoo on your forearm. 

"How about here?" The Mexican is touching your breast as if no one's around.

It's a small tattoo, just one character. But it's near your heart and you're sensitive as fuck.

You can't move but your nipples are hard almost through the entire process. Amado's right beside you and he sees everything. Someone please help you ease the pain FFS.

The fucker doesn't act on it until you get into the car. Amado shuts the soundproof panel between the front and rear seats and the next thing you know, you're riding the man who just makes you get a stupid matching tattoo. It fucking stings, and itchy. Yet the pleasure is undeniable when your tits being teased, bit, sucked. Amado carefully avoids the tattoo, which makes you want him to scratch the itch even more. You scream his name when you cum with both extreme pleasure and pain.

Amado puts an arm around you when it's over. Two matching tattoos are right next to one another. Your heart is still beating fast from the afterglow, echoing his pulse.

You feel the caress on your beast, it hurts a bit yet the body warmth is nice. Is it how it feels to be marked by someone else? Not many people will ever see it, plus it's not a specific name or symbol that would embarrass you later. It'd be a secret.

"You know what? You won't be able to find a dead body to stand in for you when you eventually betray me, sweetheart. No one else would get a tattoo like this." 

What Amado just says feels like a kick in the stomach. It's cold and absolutely right. Have you been sloppy? Has Amado figured out something already? "Why would I betray you?" You ask, but he doesn't give an answer.

It's the last day of your stay. You have a very special package delivered from Japan.

You gonna make blowfish sashimi tonight for Amado.

Everyone knows it's toxic so it has to be handled with meticulous care. You make Amado watch every step —  a set of fuguhiki, knives with thin blade is unwrapped, you pick them one by one to gut the fish, remove the deadly liver and ovaries, skin it and cut off its head. Then instead of cutting outward like most people do, you turn a knife to cut inward. 

"Careful! You shouldn't hold knife like that." Amado almost jumps in to help. But you assure him it's OK. Then you show off the technique to cut extremely thin and translucent slices of blowfish.

To make the white meat more attractive, you set the slices in a large plate with red poppy flower pattern. They are so thin, the poppy flower is still visible when all's done.

"An ancient Chinese writer used to say, 'The taste of blowfish is worthy of death.'" You joke when you mix the sauce. "Don't worry. I'm a licensed blowfish-preparation chef."

Amado squints, "So you're testing me."

You want to tell him to just trust you, but you don't know how.

"There's no antidote for the tetrodotoxin. But I'll eat it, too. If it's poisonous, our muscle will be paralyzed bit by bit when we're fully conscious, eventually we won't be able to breathe. We're going to die slowly, painfully and desperately."

You take the first bite, Amado follows.

"Why are you so loyal to him?" Amado breaks the silence, "For one, you don't sleep with him. You obviously are not related. And as far as I know, money can't buy loyalty."

"I'll answer it if you answer my question first." The Mexican agrees. "You didn't want me for me, you barely knew me. You made the decision when Pacho said I was the best, he wouldn't last a week without me. You want him, or something that makes you his equivalent. Except being gay, I don't know. You won't fuck his boys, so I'm the next proxy. Am I correct?"

After a pause, Amado nods. Then it's your turn.

"How many female chefs do you know?" Amado is confused for a few seconds, then he gets it.

"There was no place for you in your line of work, just like there was no place for him in this game controlled by men, men who have multiple wives and fuck whores. He sees himself in you. So he takes you under his wings."

"Yes. Pacho is the only one who's believed me. He's also the biggest shareholder of my first restaurant."

Amado then asks what you gonna tell Pacho when you return. "I'll tell him you give really good heads. Maybe he should try it himself." You wink, "No, I'll let him know you're not a cold-blooded bastard. Even though you sometimes make awful choice by dipping sashimi in guacamole, you're appreciative of other people's work." You really mean it, you like Amado. But you'll probably never know if he buys it or if it matters.

After a while, you finish the whole plate of blowfish sashimi. "Seems we're not dead." Amado's poking your cheek with chopsticks.

"No, we are not."

"Last question, why did Pacho send you?"

"Amado, you would've done the same. You know that."

#narcos #narcos mexico #narcos imagine #amado carrillo fuentes #pacho herrera

[domesticated-feral]

Steo Week 2020, Day 2

Title: Why didn't you go M.I.A this time too? (Because, you are Stiles Stilinski)

Prompt: Little League Rating: General Audiences Warnings: There be some beef between Stiles and Theo at the start. WC: 3834

You can also read it on my AO3

Summary:

“Look, I usually go M.I.A on these types of things, so this is my first time,” Theo admitted. “Why didn’t you go M.I.A this time too?” Stiles asked. “Because you are Stiles Stilinski,” Theo said. Stiles smiles and pats Theo’s back, “I don't know what that's supposed to mean, but relax, it’s going to be alright,” he said. 

~

“Also, before you go off, I have the list for the pairings for this year’s science fair, usually you would pick your partner, but due to some of you picking the same people every year-” the teacher announced, eyeing the class- “I made the pairings this year.”

“Man, this sucks,” Scott whispered to Stiles.

“Very,” Stiles agreed.

The teacher started reading out the paired names and Stiles anxiously waited for his name to be called.

“Scott, you’ll be paired with Jackson,” the teacher said.

“Jackson?!” Scott exclaimed as he looked at Jackson, who also had the same expression on his face as well.

“Last but not least, Stiles and Theodore,” the teacher said, folding the list.

“Theo?! Mrs. Garcia, are you sure there isn’t a mistake there?” Stiles yells out.

“Come and look for yourself, Stiles,” she invited Stiles to take a look at the list.

Stiles quickly bounces up to the front of the class and looks at the list that was on her desk. It was without a doubt, ‘Mieczyslaw and Theodore’.

Stiles turns around and stares at Theo who had his usual glare plastered over his disgusting face. He scowls at the boy and goes back to his seat. The bell rings signaling that it was recess. Stiles slings his backpack over his shoulder and walks out of the classroom with Scott following.

“We both are officially dead, you got Jackson, an entitled rich kid and I got Theo, creepy dark kid,” Stiles said.

“Calm down, it’s just a stupid science fair, maybe next year they’d let us choose again,” Scott said opening his locker.

Stiles opens his locker and stuffs his science book inside and slams it shut. He leans against the locker and audibly sighs.

‘It’s just a stupid science fair, Stiles, why are you so worked up?’ he asks himself.

Scott closes his locker and the two sixth graders head off to their usual hangout spot with their friends on the side of the school.

“Who do you think Issac got? And Erica? And Boyd? And Allison?” Stiles asked.

“I dunno,” Scott said.

They walked outside the school to see everyone in their cliques talking about the science fair, the jocks were hanging out near the metal fence at the bleachers and Jackson was eyeing Scott and Stiles as they walked to the side of the school where Issac and Boyd were waiting.

“Hey, where’s Erica?” Scott asks.

“She went to return her book back to the library, she’ll be here in a sec,” Boyd said.

“Allison?” Stiles asked Issac.

“On her way probably,” he replied.

“Hey, sorry I’m late, I got assigned working as a librarian’s assistant before recess,” Allison said.

Erica comes running, completing the gang.

“So, who’d you get for the science fair?” Issac asks.

“Jackson Whittemore,” Scott said.

Everyone grimaced at the sound of the name.

“Well, I got Lydia Martin,” Erica said.

“Greenberg,” Boyd gruffed.

“I got Danny,” Issac said.

“I was paired with Kira,” Allison said.

“Who’d you get Stiles?” Issac asked.

“Theodore Raeken, out of all people, the one I hate the most!” Stiles said.

“You, Scott, and Boyd had the worst luck, I guess,” Erica said, “Lydia is smart and rich, so first place, baby!”

“Well, Greenberg isn’t that bad considering he brings an A in science?” Allison said, trying to comfort Boyd, “and Jackson won’t be that bad, I hope? So is Theo, yeah, he’s creepy, but what’s the worst that could happen?”

~

It was the last period of the day, Science. Stiles wasn’t that interested in Biology so he mindlessly doodled in the margins of his book when he was unjustly interrupted.

“Hey, Stiles,” Theo said, from behind Stiles.

“What is it, Theodore?” Stiles said turning around.

“Uh, I wanted to ask you what house are we doing the project in?” Theo asks.

Stiles thinks about it for a second and he decides his house would be better because he was not stepping foot inside Theo Raeken’s house.

“Mine,” Stiles answered.

“Ok, cool, when should I come over?” Theo asked again.

‘Never,’ Stiles wanted to say but he stopped himself before he could, “Uhh, how about at 4?”

“Stiles, anything you would like to share with the class?” Mr. Oliver asked.

“Nothing, Mr. Oliver,” Stiles squeaks as he turns around.

“Very well then,” he said before continuing his lecture.

Stiles goes back to doodling on his notebook, that was until he was handed his test back. He got an A, he turns around to try and sneak a peek at Theo’s grade, but Theo already stuffed it in his bag.

“Hmm, What was yours?” Stiles asks, turning around.

“Do you really need to know?” He asks.

“You’re my science fair partner, therefore, yes,” Stiles said.

“D, I hate science,” Theo mutters as he slings his bag on his shoulder.

Stiles puts his test in his bag and walks out with the rest of the class, he walks up to his locker where Scott and Issac were waiting.

“So, Allison told me that she saw you and Theo talking in Biology,” Scott said as they walked down the hallways to the bike racks.

“Yeah, he’s coming over at 4 today, I don’t even know what we will do for our project?!” Stiles said.

“Well, we got one week until the science fair, so I guess you can get to know him a little bit more today?” Issac chimed in.

“Get to know him?! I don’t want to ‘get to know him’!” Stiles said, taking Scott and Issac back by his aggressive tone.

“Whoa, calm down, Stiles, what happened between you and Theo?” Scott asked.

“Do you really want to know Scottie? Do you?” Stiles said as they stopped in front of their bikes.

Scott nods while Issac shakes his head.

“Remember when I had to move to my nana’s house for three months? I never told you why, but it was because my dad got shot and had to be in the ICU for three months. Guess who pulled the trigger, Theodore Raeken’s father,” Stiles said.

“But, isn’t he in jail?” Issac asked.

“Yeah, and anytime I look at Theo, I see that man who shot my dad, I can’t trust him,” Stiles said as he put on his bike helmet.

“What if Theo is different from his dad?” Scott asked, “his dad might be a criminal, but Theo might not be a criminal.”

“I guess we’ll find out today,” Stiles said as he unlocked his bike lock.

They rode their bikes to their neighborhood, Scott and Issac dropped Stiles off before making their way down the cul-de-sac to their house.

~

Stiles anxiously paced around his house, locking the knife drawer with duct tape and making sure any dangerous pointy objects are out of sight. He even went out of his way and heaved the pointy sculpture from its place above the fireplace and into the basement. It was heavy and it was surely a miracle that Stiles didn’t drop it.

The clock chimes at 4 o’clock and he leans on the window, looking out onto his front yard. He sees Theo walk up and make his way to the porch. Stiles quickly runs and pulls the door open before Theo has a chance to knock.

“Hi,” Theo said, stuffing his hand back in his black jacket.

“Uh, hey, again,” Stiles said.

They both awkwardly stand, before Stiles opens the door further, inviting Theo inside.

“Your house is pretty nice,” Theo said as he looked around.

Stiles nods, “I try to keep it tidy,” he mutters.

Stiles and Theo, being not the warmest of acquaintances to each other, were awkwardly standing -in awkward silence- in the middle of the Stilinski living room. Stiles opens his mouth to say something but he quickly closes it as whatever he was going to say, would sound insensitive.

“Look, I know you’re probably mad at me because of my dad,” Theo began to say, “he did pretty horrible things and I hated him when I found out the truth.”

“He did horrible things, he shot my dad nearly killing him!” Stiles snapped, “I won’t be surprised if you brought a gun to shoot me too!”

Stiles couldn’t stand in front of the boy anymore, he quickly stormed off to his room and slammed the door shut. He throws his bag onto the bed and it bounces off onto the floor. Stiles lets out a yell of exasperation into his pillow and he hears Theo knocking on the door.

“I- I’m sorry for the pain he had caused, but I swear, I don’t want to end up like him. Never. I am his son, but I don’t want to be known for the things he did,” Theo said, from the other side of the door.

Stiles felt as if he saw a new light, he felt a sense of clarity as he realized a very big thing. All Theo wanted was to be seen differently. He didn’t want to be known as the son of the Beacon Hills Bank Robber. Theo was a different being from his father. He was not necessarily bad, neither did it feel like he wanted to, nor he was.

“I- I’m sorry, Theo. I didn’t mean to say that,” Stiles said, apologizing for his remark.

“It’s alright, Stiles, I’ve gotten used to it, it wasn’t like you are the only one to say that,” Theo said, “Can we focus on the science project now?”

“Yeah, I g-guess,” Stiles said as he opened the door to Theo-.

Stiles felt terribly bad, so as Theo settled down in his bedroom, he went out and fetched his jar of home-baked cookies from the kitchen.

“Want a slightly-burned chocolate chip cookie that I made with my dad?” Stiles asked.

“These don’t look slightly burned, they are burned through and through,” Theo said as he took one out of the jar.

“I mean, it doesn’t taste that bad,” Stiles said, biting a big bite of one cookie.

The bitter taste of charred chocolate chip cookie fills his mouth, setting off the gag-reflex as the dry cookie hits the back of his throat. He dashes towards his bathroom, dropping the cookie jar on the carpeted floor.

He spits the crumbs out, as he rinses his mouth with water.

Theo walks up to the bathroom, stopping just under the door frame, “it doesn’t taste that bad, huh?” he said, snickering.

“Shut up, Raeken,” Stiles said as he put toothpaste on his toothbrush.

Stiles brushes his teeth, making sure to brush his tongue too, the dry ashy cookie taste felt like it was stuck in his mouth. He washes his mouth, swishing the water around before spitting it out.

Stiles picks up the cookie jar and puts it back on the shelf in the kitchen, grimacing as he still tasted the bitter taste of death in his mouth.

“Okay, science fair, I have no idea what to do for it, yet,” Stiles said as he sat down on his bed.

“I hate science and I failed science,” Theo said.

“Kiss goodbye the first place, second place, third place, and honorary mention, then,” Stiles said as he took one of his many science books out of the shelf.

“But, I didn’t say that I don’t have an idea for the science fair project,” Theo added.

Stiles shot his head up from the book, “and what is the idea for the science fair?” he asked.

“You can see the amount of iron in your cereal using a magnet, I learned that by accident once,” Theo said.

“How did you find iron in your cereal, do you eat nails for breakfast?” Stiles asked.

“Using a Neodymium Magnet and soaking cereal with water in a Ziploc bag,” Theo said.

“I thought you hated science,” Stiles asked.

“I saw it on T.V and got interested enough to try it out, alright?” Theo said.

“How do we turn this into a science fair project, then?” Stiles questioned.

“Test other cereal brands for iron?” Theo said, sounding unsure about it.

“Fine, I guess, that could work,” Stiles said, “do you still have that Neodymium magnet?”

“Yeah, that thing cost me 50 bucks, I’m not throwing it away after a morning’s use,” Theo said.

“Bring it over tomorrow, and if you got any extra Ziploc bags, bring ‘em too,” Stiles said to Theo.

“How about the cereals?” Theo asked.

“I have 3 different cereal brands in this house, if you have anything that’s different, bring it,” Stiles said, forgetting to say the 3 cereal brands.

“And what are the cereal brands you got?” Theo asks.

“Frosted Flakes, Froot Loops and Kellogg’s cornflakes,” Stiles listed the three.

“I’ll see if I have anything different at my home,” Theo said, “off-topic but why do you have 3 different cereal brands in your kitchen?”

“I have different preferences on different days, Theodore,” Stiles said.

~

The next day, Theo brings his magnet and a small box of Ziploc bags along with a box of Lucky Charms cereal.

“So, we have to do this and make a visual presentation, so I had my dad buy a bristol board to use as our presentation board,” Stiles said, as he showed Theo the big grey colored paper on the dining table.

“Ok, I also forgot to mention that we need warm water, not cold,” Theo said.

“Lucky for you, I know how to operate a simple electric kettle,” Stiles said as he filled the kettle with water.

They let it cook while Stiles brings out markers and pens from his room to the kitchen. Theo and he weren’t on the best of terms yet, but it was better than it was.

~

In the 4 days leading up to the science fair, Stiles and Theo had done the science experiments, finished up the visual presentation board, and had played Mario Kart 64 twice. Now, it was time to show their science project to the school.

Stiles met with Theo in the hall and both boys felt the energetic vibes they and the whole school were emitting during the hours before the science fair opened.

They go to their place and set their project up. Stiles rehearsed his lines, making sure there were no up-ticks or stutters during his speech on the project. Stiles’ friends came over to see what he had done, and they were pretty welcoming towards Theo. Maybe he could join their group. Or pack as Scott and Stiles liked to call it.

Soon enough, the science fair opened and the judges began making their rounds.

“Are you ready?” Theo asked, with a look on his face that Stiles had never seen before.

“Sorta, are you?” Stiles said.

“Sorta, I guess,” Theo said, scratching the back of his neck.

“You are completely nervous,” Stiles said.

“Look, I usually go M.I.A on these types of things, so this is my first time,” Theo admitted.

“Why didn’t you go M.I.A this time too?” Stiles asked.

“Because you are Stiles Stilinski,” Theo said.

Stiles smiles and pats Theo’s back, “I don't know what that's supposed to mean, but relax, it’s going to be alright,” he said.

~

“And the winner of this year’s science fair at Beacon Hills Middle School is,” the principal announces, Stiles anxiously awaits, chewing at his fingernails ever since they did the judges’ evaluation, “Mieczyslaw Stilinski and Theodore Raeken!”

"Oh, My GOD!" Stiles exclaims as he realizes they won and he quickly grabs Theo’s hand and marches up to the stage. The principal hands them a trophy that can be split in two so that both of them can take it home. Stiles looks at the crowd and sees his friends and his dad clap proudly at them winning.

The event ends with a small ending speech by the principal and Stiles scrambles to find his friends.

“Wanna head to Benny’s Creamery?” Scott asks.

“C-could I come?” Theo asks.

“Of course!” Stiles said, slinging his hand over Theo’s shoulders.

They all head over to Benny’s Creamery with Stiles’ dad carpooling them all to the creamery.

Issac was in the passenger seat along with Scott since both boys can fit in the seat, Boyd sat behind the passenger seat with Allison and Erica squished in the middle and Stiles was sitting behind his dad and Theo was awkwardly half on Stiles’ lap and half on the seat.

The squishing did provoke some unsaid feelings between Stiles and Theo, especially Theo, his cheeks were dusted with pink and red.

“Imitating a Solanum Lycopersicum?” Stiles whispered to Theo.

“A what?” Theo asked.

“Tomato, dummy, your face is red like a tomato,” Stiles said.

“Oh, uh, maybe,” Theo said.

His dad pulls up and parks in the small parking area of the store and everyone scrambles out. Stiles notices Theo staying quite far away from everyone as they wait to order. He holds Theo’s hand and pulls him closer.

“And what would you two boys like?” The woman asked Stiles and Theo.

“Cookies and cream with chocolate chips and whip cream in a cone, please,” Stiles said, his usual order.

“Uh, the same?” Theo said.

“Dude, you like cookies and cream with chocolate chips and whip cream too?” Stiles asked.

“Actually, I’ve never been here, so I didn’t know what else to order,” Theo said.

“Well then, trust me, it’s the best!” Stiles said, excitedly.

The lady hands Stiles and Theo two cones and they head over to sit with the rest. The sun had already set, leaving a slight tinge of purple and blue in the sky. It wasn’t quite dark yet, but it was dark enough for street lights to turn on and illuminate the road.

Stiles’ dad takes pictures of them as they all huddle together with their ice creams. With and without the picture, it was a day that everyone would cherish and remember. Especially Stiles and Theo.

~

Some time had passed, exactly 1 week and 4 days, as Stiles had counted. Theo is part of the pack, meeting up with the rest at recess now, and every time Stiles sees Theo, he feels weird. Weird as in his feet get restless and cold, his stomach squirms and his voice gets high-pitched than normal.

“What’s up with you these days?” Scott asks, distracting Stiles from his train-of-thought.

“What do you mean what’s up with me? I’m fine, completely fine,” Stiles said.

“What he’s trying to say is, what’s with the jitteriness especially around Theo?” Issac asked.

“What jitteriness?” Stiles asked.

“Hey, should I come to your house to watch Star Wars, tomorrow?” Theo said as he walked up to them.

Stiles stumbles over his words, and his brain frantically goes to panic mode, ‘Say hey, no, say good day, or hey,’ Stiles instructed himself.

“Gay,” Stiles blurts out.

Issac, Scott, and Theo stare at Stiles with the faces of absolute confusion, and Stiles gasps as his brain processes what he just said.

“Oh, uh, no, that’s not what I meant, I meant hey, yes, sure, star wars, tomorrow, si,” Stiles sputtered.

“I think Stiles needs to go to the bathroom right now,” Scott said.

“I do?” Stiles said.

Issac nods and Scott darts his eyes at Theo for a slight second.

“Oh yeah, I do,” Stiles said, turning around to go to the bathroom.

Scott holds his friend by the shoulder and walks him out of the school building. They stop in front of their bikes.

“Stiles, you are a mess,” Issac said.

“Thank you, Issac, but I already looked in a mirror today,” Stiles retorted as he put his helmet on.

“You’re welcome,” Issac said, his lips curling in a mischievous smile.

They ride to their houses and Issac heads home while Scott stops at Stiles’ house. Stiles gets off his bike and so does Scott.

“Do you want to tell me what’s up with you and Theo?” Scott asked.

“That, I don’t know either, Scott, I hated him then, but now, every single time I see him, I get this weird feeling-” Stiles confessed.

“Like you have a crush?” Scott interrupted Stiles.

“Why would I have a crush on Theo? I don’t like boys,” Stiles said.

“I was just suggesting, it’s alright if you do, or don’t, but from my eyes, Stiles, you look like you have a crush on Theo,” 

“I mean, it is something, I’m just not sure,” Stiles said.

“You’ll figure it out, soon enough, and oh god,” Scott said, suddenly realizing something.

“What?” Stiles asks.

“I forgot to hide my Reese's peanut butter cup stash from this morning and it’s on my bed, Issac’s going to eat it all!” Scott said, jumping on his bike and riding away.

“You’re dead meat, Issac McCall!” Stiles heard Scott yell as he rode his bike down to their house.

Stiles ponders on what his relationship with Theo was, as he tows his bike into the garage. Were they just friends, and why was he feeling this weird way towards Theo?

‘This is another problem for another day, I got homework to do,’ Stiles thought, brushing the subject off.

~

The last two months of seventh grade came and went, for summer this year, Stiles and his dad went on a week’s trip to the grand canyon and it was amazing. Stiles had so much to tell everyone when eighth grade started, and as for the feelings towards Theo, they grew larger.

Stiles did try to explore himself more, trying to figure out his feelings for Theo, but he never found a conclusion that was concrete enough for Stiles.

On the eve of Christmas, the pack was all in the McCall household, for a sleepover. It was quite early in the night and they just had dinner, courtesy of Mama McCall, and they all sat in a circle to play truth-or-dare.

“So, Stiles, truth, or dare?” Erica asked.

“Truth,” Stiles picks.

“Out of everyone in this circle, would you choose to go on a date with?” Erica asked.

He thought about the question for a second, was he really going to say Theo, or should he lie and say someone else’s name? He did not know.

“I’m going to have to choose, Theo,” Stiles answered.

They all looked at Theo who was nervously chuckling as his face grew red.

“Theo, huh, would you say the same?” Erica asks, stifling a laugh.

“It’s not even my turn, yet,” Theo protested.

“Answer or you will get the sombrero of shame,” Erica said.

“Yeah, I guess I would say the same,” Theo said.

“Oooh, romance,” Erica sang, “cue the sexy saxophone noises!”

They all laughed and the night continued on, with more truth-or-dare, then they started binging on Christmas movies as everyone fell asleep.

“Stiles,” Theo whispered to the boy, who was still awake.

“What?” Stiles asked.

“Did you mean it?” Theo asked.

“Yeah, believe it or not, I did, did you?” Stiles said, turning his head to face Theo’s gaze.

Theo nods, “I did too,” he said.

~

#steoweek #steoweek2020 #stiles stilinski #theo raeken #steo #myfic

[selfcareparker]

(lovely anon) ok so this may sound so dramatic but; let me paint you a picture: i’m responding to your latest message, sitting on the edge of the sofa. i type in “lovely anon” into the search and see this longgg post come up and i’m like uhhh... i scroll down and see the people you tagged and literally. when i saw @ lovely anon. i . cried . like full on tears. my brother goes “what are you doing” “she tagged meeeee” and he continued what he was doing and didn’t care LMAOO but i was so emotional? i love and appreciate you too and aAH IM CRYING!! you’re just really sweet and i didn’t expect it at all and it was really lovely to be a part of something :’)

the kermit pic sent meee but yes yes yes!! when you start uni let me know, lol i’m so excited for you!! let me know how it goes cuz i’m literally hype hahah & yes we will be in our sad corners of the world, missing england but you’re right it’ll be sooooo worth it in the end!!! and oH i’m glad you talk to them lol i truly thought you like haven’t seen them/haven’t spoken to them this whole time😭 that would’ve been awful!

also i totallyyy get what your saying about the english speaking thing. and idk why you’re insecure (well i *knowww* bc it’s not your first language and you’re studying it in college so yuh) but your english is great :)))

lol yeah that makes sense.. my mom took french in college and she remembers NOTHING HDJSHSJ (the fact that you wanna learn MORE languages i- ahh i so admire you.. you literally know so many languages🥺) yea i mean you know a bunch of languages bc you know the base of words lol, but i wonder if because you know latin it’ll be easier for you to learn french? oh- oh wait you said it’ll be easier HAHHAHA

THERES SO MUCH EXCITING STUFF TO TALK ABOUT HDGSJSJSL it’s so wild to me that you can’t watch chaos walking :( i’m a professional hacker tho so i’ll try and find a way for you LMAO (by professional hacker i mean i literally have gotten multiple free trials and i’m pretty sure the hulu police are after me bUT ITS THEIR FAULT BC WHY IS IT SO EXPENSIVE???) i mean the movie was good? and cute? and funny? but yea don’t think it’s gonna be the most fantastic thing haha AND THE DOGGO AWWW (i saw it again today- or my today lol, saturday, aND THESE OLD PEOPLE CAME AND SAT IN FRONT OF ME AND MY FRIEND LIKE ITS A LONG STORY LMK IF YOU WANNA HEAR IT)

SHARK FILMS?!?!! PLEASE READING THIS I HAD NO IDEA YOU WOULD LIKE SHARK MOVIES TOO FHSKSHSHDJDJGAJAYSJS ok so i haven’t seen any of the classics (i’m working on it) but i would probably watch jaws to laugh at it? not like that lmao but like comparing it. OKAY BUT HONESTLY I BARELY KNOW ANYONE WHO LIKES SHARK FILMS AHHH OKAY im adding “the shallows” to my watchlist bc it sounds super good AND SAME AHSJD ANY BODY OF WATER IN A MOVIE I JUST KNOW ITS COMING LMAO watch me not go in the water anymore after seeing that picture HHDJSJ

WHEN I READ THIS I JUST GOT DONE TALKING TO MY MOM ABOUT THE MEG AND THAT SCENE WHERE THE SHARKKK JUMPEDDDD AND ATE THE OTHER ONEEEE AND THEN JONAS HAD TO DO- bro i cannot (i think that one is my favorite because i love me a bit of romance and the subtle romance hAD ME) 47 meters down PHEW could you imagine?? i try not to think too hard about it i’m like “don’t be dumb catherine, don’t put yourself in a dumb situation” (not autocorrect having “dumb bitch” ready i am not lying) and i literally understand... there is no other way to explain 47 meters down

i CANNOT watch horror movies, can’t can’t can’t, i literally hate them i cannot do it!!! the thrill is tempting and it’s cool in the moment but i cant lmao. i don’t have nightmares about scary things (for the majority of the time) but going to sleep i’m like oooohhhhhh shit 🥲 literally what you explained

music !!!! music !!!! music !!!! (u ever write a word and now it looks weird lmao) MY BROTHER DOESNT LIKE MUSIC AND ITS SHIT IM LIKE WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU- anyway, my music taste is all over the place i mean......... it’s crazy. earlier today i was listening to meghan trainor’s album “title” oUT OF NOWHERE, but just a few minutes ago i was listening to fall in love with me by earth wind and fire soooo lol .. megan is *chefs kiss*, i’m not familiar with stormzy🙈, harry styles.... IM SORRY IM THAT PERSON but i don’t listen to his solo music EEK i only listen to adore you... and not that frequently... the music video freaked me out... i like niall’s solo music a lot more, which i listen to a lot more. now. one direction. favorite. please & thank you. i have a playlist called “boy bands” and it consists of one direction and the vamps (obsessed with cherry blossom btw) but as you can see my taste is all over the place!! fr fr if i sent you what apple music has as my “favorites” it went from ariana grande to carrie underwood to glee (OBSESSED DONT LET ME TALK ABOUT IT) i mean please if you let me i will nonstop (hamilton HDJSH) talk about music all day😩 & NOOO UR MUSIC IS GREAT HAHSK IM NOT A BIG RAP PERSON BUT DOJA CAT IS MY FAVORITE!!

okay good, i’m glad :) i was just nervous that you did feel that way <3 and GOT IT HAHAJ healthy pressure is always good :’) my friend got me these pens cuz i love stationary and school supplies lol and was like “now you have to write something” soooo yea i feel that! and i saw you posted the ficcccccc literally so proud of you 🥺🥺 i’m trying to decide if i read it tomorrow or tonight..... sleep or a literal beautiful creation made by the sweetest person and is v v nice smut and college!peter and 4.7k...... sleep aint really calling no more.

GIRL ALL OF MY SENTENCES ARE TOO LONG HAHAHAH IN FACT THIS IS TOO LONG SOOO (also why am i 3 days late..😑) anywho it’s 1 in the morning so <33 lovely anon

🥰

oh my god the fact that you cried nearly made me cry too😭😭🥺🥺 (also, your brother LMAO), i wasn‘t even sure if you‘d see it but i immediately thought of you so of COURSE i included you <333

the hulu police lsjsjaiaik, girl i was ready to get a hulu membership when i wanted to watch big time adolescence and i couldn‘t find it anywhereee, and when i got to the payment it said i need a bank account that‘s based in the US or whatever. like bro i was about to pay you!! but i was forced to find it somewhere (and i did, on levidia,— not that i‘ve ever used it because it‘s illegal 😤 i would never!!! i‘d rather support billion dollar companies and spend my money on watching films that i can find for free 🥰🥰🥰 not

i‘ve found chaos walking online so i‘ll watch it som time this week!! also YES TELL ME THE STORY

okay so idk if you watched/are planning on watching falcon and winter soldier but i watched the first episode the other day and they were speaking french (just a few seconds) and I UNDERSTOOD SOME WORDS DLDJDJ and i was so proud of myself. i‘ve only ever learned french with duolingo lol (i only do like 5 mins a day and that‘s why i was so surprised that i understood some of it!!). and yeah apart from latin i feel like italian, german, french and english are all similar in a sense.. i mean obviously they‘re completely different languages but for example there are some grammatical constructions in french that i think i wouldn‘t understand if i only spoke english? so when i translate those things into english you can‘t directly translate them bc you say things differently, but when i translate them into german then it makes more sense to me. idk that‘s something i noticed so i feel like if you already know multiple languages it‘s easier to learn another language compared to if you only know one language and are trying to learn a second one. even if the languages aren‘t similar then i think you get the hang of it easier.

ikd slsjsjs also i don‘t want you to think that i‘m a linguistic genius or anything lmfao, like i‘m only fluent in english and german and i‘m just a wannabe (ew that word) polyglot sksj (yes i had to google polyglot— i do think learning ancient greek would be super cool tho? like imagine studying latin AND ancient greek, whew). and honestly i don‘t think i‘ll ever be fluent in another language bc i don‘t plan on living anywhere other than germany or possibly england and i‘m not dedicated enough to properly learn any other languages esp if i don‘t have anyone to speak the language with. but i still try my best and i just love language/languages as a whole so yeah i‘m happy & just learning as much as i can dkdjh🥰

(I guess language/linguistics are/is my passion (which sounds sooo lame lmaoooo) and the word passion comes from the latin word pati (i think💀) which means to suffer, and in german passion is called Leidenschaft which basically means suffering too, idk why i‘m telling you this maybe you know it already. but ok dumb fun fact, in german you can make compound words with as many words as you like, and the longest official german word is Rindfleischetikettierungsüberwachungsaufgabenübertragungsgesetz which is a law for the monitoring of labels on beef... this is such a dumb fact but i think about that word like once a day idk why dodjsjsj so... 👁👄👁)

but i‘ll stop boring you with my linguistics talk because truly i don‘t know much about languages but i am interested omg i‘m gonna shut up now.

now water + sharks. (so in non-covid times i always go to croatia with my dad during the summer, and even before ever watching a shark film i was always kind of scared in water.. but after watching so many shark films wldjdj HELP Like you know when you go deeper into the ocean and you can‘t see or feel the ground/floor? anymore.. then i just start imagining sharks. like i can‘t help it i just imagine a shark sneaking up on me or feeling something graze my foot ABD I JUST START FREAKING OUT SSKJSHSJ. idk. anyway kdkdh i do love the ocean/swimming though but the older i get the more i realise how fucking scary the ocean is ( even if we’re gonna disregard sharks)

your brother... what‘s wrong with him? HOw CAN YOU NOT LIKE MUSIC LIKE WHAT THE FAWK

OKAY BUT SAME ABOUT THE ADORE YOU MUSIC VIDEO DLDKDJSJSKSLSLKSKSJSHSH and yeah i have to say harry’s style (styles lol) as a solo artist isn‘t reaaally my cup of tea, and i only like the popular songs from his second album and the first album is only good when i‘m in the right mood (haven‘t actually listened to it in a while though, but kiwi is one of my all time favourites along with only angel but i hate the start, like it takes 40 seconds to actually begin properly). i like mgk and because of him i watched the dirt which is a film about motley crue, and now one of my favourite songs ever is same ol situation and i‘m into rock now lol. +++ justin bieber. I had a justin bieber cardboard cutout thingy😭 i was the biggest Belieber on earth when i was 13-16, but i didn‘t like his last album and tbh he‘s become a bit weird lately, BUT OH MY GOD. i Listened to his new album yesterday and i‘m in LOVE with the song hold on

i really like niall‘s music toooo!!!! And doja cat 😌😌😌😌 And THE VAMPS OG MY GOD. i got to see them live bc they were the opening/support act for little mix and ajdsjskslslsjsjsj. (Also i love concerts, some of the best memories of my life are concerts, i‘ve seen nicki minaj live 🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺 and justin twice and my heart fills every time i think about how excited i was, it was my first concert ever (16th of September 2016 😌) and i was the happiest person alive seeing justin drew fucking bieber (even if i‘m not tooo sure about justin nowadays)

i have a confession? Idk what hamilton is. I mean I‘ve heard about it and i keep googling it but i‘ve never watched it (is it even a film???? or like a proper musical? also pls tell me you grew up with high school musical. i have a few friends who didn‘t and it makes me so sad 😭😭😭 hsm is the best thing to happen to my childhood , the sooooongs— i still listen to some of them every week or month lool they make me so happy)

(Okay wait i was about to recommend some stormzy songs but you said you‘re not that into rap so i won‘t dksksjl)

What you said about my fic AHSLSLSJB (i wasn‘t sure if you sent an ask about it earlier? idk that might have been someone else, so if it was (and you‘ve read it already) i hope you liked it sksjsj i was...... unsure about it. and i have this reeaaallly long peter fic that i started writing in december and that‘s the only peter thing i currently want to write but also i can‘t because idk how to continue kddjj.) but I’m definitely getting back into writing i have a few blurbs that i want to write so 🥰🥰🥰

Oh and pls as soon as you read this let me know: violet or yellow? (it‘s just a tiny thing for my new theme slsksj)

#lovely anon #BY THE WAY: do not feel bad or apologise for not answering straight away #you can take your time i know it can be exhausting (not bc its anything bad but just because its so much and so long) to answer to my shit #all at once* #so really i don‘t mind if you take a few days or a week or whatever to respond #or if you want to you can respond bit by bit/topic by topic whenever you feel like it #so you don‘t have to concentrate on an ask and my post for like AN HOUR DLSKJ but rather do it in smaller chunks #if you want <3 #btw i‘m always so scared that i‘ll type lonely anon instead of lovely dldjdjsksk so if i ever do that i‘m just being #(cue your autocorrect dldkdj) a dumb bitch #its 1 am now sorry if there are any mistakes (i‘ll stop apologing from now now lol but i still am sorry you have to read my word vomit lmao) #*apologis #*from now on #omg

[roaminginspiration]

The Diner

Part 1 (x)

Brooklyn Golden Palace Diner was one of the coziest and nicest restaurants in Brooklyn. The food was tasty and affordable, in spite of the general inflation, and, by anyone’s standards, they served the best coffee in the borough. The vibe was as customer-friendly and simple as its name was posh. The bright cyan and white tiling reflected the warm light and matched nicely with the champagne walls. The furniture was second-hand but clean and shiny. And the staff was welcoming and friendly.

Yes, Steve Rogers had every reason to like Brooklyn Golden Palace. It had opened four years ago and soon become one of the locals’ favorite. He and Bucky sometimes had a burger there after watching a baseball game.

Until it eventually became a regular visit. A weekly one, to be precise. Every Saturday. Bucky liked to tease and say it was because of the new waitress. Steve took it in with an eye-roll but never changed the routine. Bucky often let him choose where to sit, which was either on the stools at the counter or the booth in the left corner with a direct, unobstructed view on the aforementioned counter.

Bucky sat on the leather bench across from him and ostentatiously turned to scope the staff area.

“I’m assuming she’s got a shift today or we wouldn’t be here,” James said, obnoxiously loud.

“Stop it! You look like a creep,” Steve groaned as he leaned over the table and pulled his friend’s jacket. He then brushed back the strand of hair hanging over his forehead.

Bucky sniggered before sitting back on the bench.

“How long is it gonna take you before you actually talk to her?” he said, then reached for the menu standing against the ketchup bottle. “Lucky you, I don’t mind playing this little game — the food here is pretty decent.”

And Bucky’s eyes hungrily skimmed over the card.

A familiar silhouette coming through the kitchen doors immediately caught Steve’s attention. He watched in awe as the slender, red-haired waitress swayed into the room with a beaming smile. She went over to another booth, collected her tips and picked up the plates. She next walked over to them and gracefully slid her hand into her apron pocket to get the notepad. She then reached for the pencil she always kept tucked behind her ear.

“Gentlemen, what can I get you?” she asked.

James put down the menu. “I’ll have your beef burger with extra pickles and no onion, with a chocolate milkshake.”

He then expectantly glanced over at Steve with an amused smirk tugged at his lips. The waitress mirrored him and turned to Steve. Under the table, he nervously wrapped his hand around his thin arm.

“I…,” he began, then buried his nose in the menu card. He intensely felt the gaze of her large emerald eyes on him and soon, this simple fact, clogged up his mind to the point he couldn’t read the menu.

Counting the long embarrassing seconds going by, he eventually cleared his throat and said: “I’ll have the same.”

He tapped the menu card on the table, glancing at the salt and pepper shakers.

“Noted,” she said with a smirk then vanished behind the counter.

Bucky chuckled. “You hate pickles,” he said. He grabbed a toothpick and put it between his lips.

Steve sighed. “I know.”

James was playfully brushing the toothpick over his bottom lip.

“She’s gorgeous, I’ll give you that,” he said. “Why won’t you say anything to her?”

“Because I’m this scrawny guy, and as you said, she’s gorgeous. The other women don’t look at me, so a woman like her won’t ever notice me.”

He suddenly became sullen, hit in the guts by this undeniable truth.

Bucky smiled comfortingly. “Life is full of surprises. You’ll never know if you don’t try,” his friend said. "What’s her name?”

Steve’s eyes wandered over to the counter where she was pouring coffee into a man’s cup.

“Natasha,” he answered absent-mindedly.

Many months went by and the weekly visits eventually became more regular. He’d go with Bucky then, when his friend enlisted in the army, he went there alone.

His exchange with Natasha was always brief but cordial enough to fill him with satisfaction until his next visit at the Golden Palace Diner.

Things changed on a foggy Tuesday morning in fall. Natasha wrapped her fingers tightly around her coat as she took out the keys to the diner for her morning shift. A raucous sound erupted near the corner.

“Now stay down,” a voice grumbled and she jumped in surprise as she watched a tall man step out of the alleyway behind the diner, rub his sore knuckles and disappear down the street.

After a few seconds, she ventured into the alleyway. Amid the broken crates and knocked down trash cans, she found Steve down on all fours. She recognized her regular customer and rushed over to pick him up.

“Are you all right? What happened?” she asked. Still dizzy, he immediately knew whose voice it was and jumped on his feet before she could help him up.

“I’m ok,” he assured sheepishly and headed out to the main street.

“It’s not safe for you to go alone. Just come inside, we have a first aid kit.”

She looked at him closely and nodded soothingly. He followed her as she took them back to the entrance, unlocked the door and let him in. She closed the door behind them and went to switch on the nearest light. She sat him down, took off her coat and went to get the kit.

She grabbed one of the napkins, put ice in it, and gently pressed it on his swollen lip. He winced silently and she cringed sympathetically. She was sitting on a chair by the bench, quiet but focused.

“Wanna tell me what happened?” she asked.

“I caught him stealing a passerby and tried to get the wallet back. Unsuccessfully as you can tell.”

Natasha nodded, still gently pressing the ice on his throbbing skin. “That’s very brave,” she commented. “Many would have looked the other way. Especially with a guy as tall as him.”

“It’s nothing that hasn’t happened before,” he answered dully. “I can take it.”

She smirked. “So you’re a big guy, huh?” She eyed him intently and he almost reeled. “That’s certainly the last thing I expected,” she whispered with genuine appreciation.

And from that day foggy Tuesday morning in fall, it became their inside joke. She’d always greet him as “Big Guy”. Other customers didn’t understand; Tommy, the cook standing behind he kitchen counter didn’t understand; Bucky, who was on furlough, didn’t understand. Only Steve and Natasha did. It was their thing.

Their conversations became more friendly and he eventually found out she was Russian and had moved to the U.S. when she was very young. He knew her last name was Romanoff and he found great pride in knowing he was probably one of the few customers who had been told.

Steve missed Brooklyn Golden Palace Diner greatly after joining the Army. More than Brooklyn or the juicy burgers, he missed the smirk of his favorite waitress.

As he was in the car headed towards the facility that would forever change his destiny, they drove past the street. When Peggy Carter asked him what was so special about it, he answered he’d been beaten up there and looked after by a friendly waitress. He told her her name was Natasha.

Peggy seemed to smile knowingly.

“Well, I’m sure Natasha will be pleased when she sees you again.”

He cleared his throat and blushed slightly at the prospect of it.

A few months later, Steve returned to Brooklyn Golden Palace. Natasha was wiping the waffle machine. His heartbeat quickened and he nervously straightened his tie.

“Is it too late for a milkshake?” he asked.

He heard the smile in her voice.

“I thought you’d forgotten about me, Big Guy.” She said, wiped her hands and turned to face him. She halted and arched an eyebrow as her eyes traveled up his body until they finally met his eyes. He smiled and laid his forearm on the counter.

“What did Tommy put in your scrambled eggs the last time you came?” she asked.

It was the first time she saw him after he was injected the super-soldier serum. He looked nothing like the regular customer she had picked up after a fight in the alleyway. His body, evidently, had changed, but so had his demeanor. He exuded some confidence his former shape did not allow other people to catch on. His lustrous blond hair was neatly brushed behind his shoulders and he was wearing his official military suit.

“Look at you!” Tommy called from the kitchen as he leaned over his counter and whistled. Natasha put a hand on her hip and smirked while Steve’s cheeks flushed red.

“You totally ruined my nickname for you. What happened?” she asked.

He smiled. “It’s a long story.”

She tossed her napkin over her shoulder. “Clearly my life isn’t as exciting as yours, I have time to hear it all.”

He cleared his throat as Bucky’s words echoed inside his head. “About that…maybe I could tell you all about it around a drink?” She raised an eyebrow and he shook his head nervously. “If you’d like to, of course.”

She frowned and scratched the side of her head. “I’m closing tonight. Maybe on Monday?”

“I’m going back tomorrow,” he answered. It had taken him days to muster the courage to turn up at the diner and drop the question.

“I see.”

“I don’t mind waiting till your shift is over. If that’s ok with you.”

“Hey darling, my turkey is turning cold and I really need that sauce,” a customer called from across the room.

She rolled her eyes then turned her attention back to him.

“Sure. I won’t be free till 10.30, though.”

“I know. I can wait.” He smiled. She smiled back. “See you later, then.”

He made his way to the exit and, as he walked past the turkey guy, he swiftly knocked the strawberry milkshake onto his lap. The man grumbled loudly, attracting everyone’s attention on them, including Natasha’s who was smirking from the counter.

Steve feigned to apologize then headed out of the diner.

At 10.25 pm, Steve came back and sat at the booth in the left corner. The place was completely empty, even Tommy had finished to clean the kitchen and had gone. Natasha was wiping the last wet glasses and plates with a cloth. She smiled at him.

“I didn’t think you’d come back,” she said. “It was a long evening.”

Her expression was a little weary. She walked over to his booth and sat down across from him. She stretched her neck and it made a cracking side.

She chuckled. “Sorry. Bad habit.”

She then massaged the bare nape of her neck with her palm. He thought she looked exquisite.

“Can I get you anything?” she asked.

He stood on his feet. “How about we switch roles a bit. You’ve served enough people for today.”

He walked across the empty room, over to the counter, grabbed a clean cup and saucer, and brought them back to the table. He then went again to get the jar of coffee and a spoon from behind the counter.

Natasha had taken off her shoes, climbed up on the bench and sat against the wall as her legs lay along the bench.

He came to stand in front of her and poured coffee into her cup. He came back a few seconds later with a slice of cheesecake covered with syrup. She watched him with unconcealed wonder.

He sat on the bench across the table and watched her as she took a spoonful of the pastry to her mouth. She laid her head back against the wall, wiggled her small feet hanging beyond the edge of her bench and smiled.  

“You know this place like the back of your hand,” she commented.

He propped his chin into the palm of his hand and smiled bashfully. “I may have observed you a lot. Sorry.”

As she looked deep into his blue eyes, she realized how much he looked like that regular customer she had picked up after a fight in the alleyway. She put down the spoon and reached over to nudge his arm.

“Do you want to tell me what happened?” she asked with genuine interest.

And he told her about the greatest thing that had ever happened in his life.

At nearly midnight, she glanced over at the clock on the wall.

“Wanna go for a walk?” she asked.

He smiled approvingly. He got on his feet and came to stand over her bench. She stretched out her arms, slipped her small hands into his, and let herself be swept along to a nightly stroll.

The streets were lit with the city lights, shining on beyond the horizon. They kept on walking until their stroll took them to Brooklyn Bridge. The steps echoed on the thick wooden floor below their feet as the moonlight shone between the steel cables. They eventually stopped and leaned on the edge to look across East River and Manhattan.

“When I left Russia with my parents, we had dreams of achieving all that we ever wanted. I still look at the city like that little girl who first wandered through this steel jungle. The dreams are different, though.”

“What dreams?”

She smiled sheepishly.

“I thought I’d take on the world, mesmerize everyone. I guess Golden Palace is the closest I’ll ever get to sparkles and success.”

“For what it’s worth, I think you’re mesmerizing. It’s only a matter of time before the rest of the world catches up.”

She laughed and buried her face behind the sleeve of her coat. She then cleared her throat and regained her confident countenance.

She raised an eyebrow and stared at him deeply.

A big yawn came through. He smiled fondly.

“Let’s go and I’ll hail you a cab home.”

She blinked. “You’re not offering to walk me back? All the other guys always offer to walk me back tome...to keep the door open. They never fully conceal their intentions.”

“I do have intentions. Hopefully to take out on a second date…if you’ll have me.”

“You’re good,” she remarked with her honeyed voice.

He smiled and started off, but she pulled him back by his sleeve. When he swung around, her lips captured his as she pressed herself against him and clutched her hand around his neck. One of his hands fell to her waist while the other cupped her face and pulled her in. Her lips, full and luscious, were warm and sweet. It was only him and her on the deserted bridge, lit by the moonlight.

When they broke the kiss for air, he breathed in the sweet smell of her perfume and pancakes. It made him smile contentedly.

“I’ve wanted to kiss you all night,” she admitted, breathless.

“I’ve wanted to kiss you since the moment I saw you behind that counter.”

Her pupils quivered as she looked deep into his eyes, amazed and flattered.

“Now,” she began, “are you gonna take me home, Big Guy?”

#romanogers #Steve Rogers #Natasha Romanoff #Captain America #stevenat #captasha #capwidow #skinny!Steve #AU #writing #fanfic #inneedofinspiration #The Diner

[0225pm]

wow the quality of the video really sucks after it has been compressed but well i don’t have a choice!

anyway, i’m moving back to tumblr again mainly cus wordpress sucks and it’s not allowing me to post videos unless i buy their premium plan which is tbh a no cus idk why platforms for blogging should even charge you for the features that they were supposed to have???? also sadly, tumblr also only lets you post 1 video per post limit which is why i’ve put the pics and videos i took into in one but it’s better than not being able to post a video at all.

so it’s our monthsary!!!!

we’ve been officially together for 3 years and 5 months now and wow, i’ve only just realised what a long time that is 😂 honestly, if you want to count how long it has been since we first met each other, it’ll probably be about 8 years now. tho han sees it as 8 years but i see it as 3y5m cus idk who he was back then ya know what i mean? like i know the 3y5m him now than the him 8 years ago.

han sent me his live location as he does so every sat, and i was late. even tho he came all the way to my place i was still late :/ and i was so sorry 😭 i know there shouldn’t be any excuses for my lateness but i have my reasons, even if anyone thinks it isn’t valid :/ so i alr prepared right? like i mentally prepared and visualize what i wanna wear and etc. and so i went to take a shower and all. and then my mom all of a sudden asked me to do things like ordering food for her, clipping her nails, airfrying some sotong balls cus she was feeling peckish. initially she asked me to order food, which i then did but it was immediately cancelled due to the weather. it suddenly rained really heavily. and then while i was in her room drying my hair, she suddenly said she wanted sotong balls which i then went to airfry. and then when i alr did that and continued drying my hair, she then asked me to clip her nails and i was like “i’m going out ibu later farhan will be waiting for me alr” and she was like nvm la it will only take a while. so i did that and then i had to just rush cus i checked his live location and he was alr nearing tenaga area which is so damn close to my place alr. then i quickly picked out the outfit i wanted to wear. i mean come on, it’s our monthsary and i wanted to dress up right and i alr had this mental image of what i wanna wear right? so i took it out, wore it and then i realized that it was still a bit rainy??? like kinda drizzling so i figured he’ll be coming up first to wait till the rain totally stops but he texted me asking me to come down instead. and at this point i was sweating profusely. yeah, it was rainy but i was feeling so warm from rushing and doing so many things at once. oh ya, i was wearing this satin white shirt with shorts and that was my initial outfit like it looks laidback and casual and effortless but i decided to change cus i was perspiring and it felt so uncomfortable wearing a satin material when you’re perspiring like heck!! so i ended up wearing my fav tee with the same shorts and brought my hoodie along. it’s also my fav hoodie from uniqlo. i think their hoodie quality is bomz it’s not too thick or too thin and i wanna buy more but maybe wait till they have sales or something. so i ended up just looking super hobo as heck like it just looks like i didn’t even bother to dress up and i felt sad but i didn’t want han to be waiting even longer.

so when i went down he was alr sitting at the seats at the void deck and i can feel anger radiating within him lol like i knew he was mad and he still had his helmet on and his rain jacket on and all. and then he gave me different options of where to go for our lunch and then i just sat there pondering for a bit. and then i asked him if he wanted to put the jacket and pants at home but he didn’t want to so he took it off and then put it on the table and he took off his helmet as well. and then i asked him if we could eat at genki and he told me that genki was one of the options that he forgot to list so we decided on genki! his anger didn’t last long and as he stood up to head over to his bike i went to him and open up my arms cus i just wanted to hug him lolol then at first he tried to act all “ew” and moved away but he ended up hugging me anyway hehe and then don’t want to let go lol so bobo so cute. honestly i’m still shy??? around him wtf. like when i initiated the hug itself i felt so shy loooooollllll and when he didn’t wanna let go it made me blush wtf but ofc he can’t see cus we have to wear the stupid mask bc of stupid covid. i hate it wtf my face is so sensitive and it’s breaking out bc of having to wear the mask so my skin can’t breathe. like what’s the point of me not wearing makeup underneath the mask when i still break out anyway right zzz hais. ok sorry side track a bit but ya hahaha so then i told him i wanted to show him something!!! and then he was like “eh eh who said you let go” or was it “who said you can stop hugging” but it’s either one la hahaha then i took his hand and pull down my mask and then kissed his hand 😂 then i told him to look and i said “no transfer”!!!!!! hahahahaha cus i was wearing this lipstick and wtf man the formula is damn amazing really didn’t transfer anywhere at all. i even kissed my own hand and i even drank water but not transfer AT ALL. it was a gift i got from two years back i think hahaha for my bday from rai, a kylie kit and i haven’t worn it out before mainly bc the color didn’t suit my skintone cus the shade felt so light but when i wore it this time it felt like the shade was darker somehow? idk if i became pale from staying at home all the time or idk lol but i like the shade now 😌

oh at first i didn’t wanna go to tampines cus we always go to tampines hahaha and i guess i made a face and han teased me about it lol as much as it annoys me it’s a good kind of annoying? 😂 cus he’s so cute whenever he teases me in that way lolol but we ended up just heading to tampines anyway cus he wanted to save up on petrol also and i thought ok ya cus he has to work now and he has to go to and fro everyday so it’s better for him to save the petrol as well. i put on my hoodie and then we went to the usual parking spot at tampines. and then bc both of our masks were down i could actually kiss him hehe. and then from there we walked to the front entrance of the mall cus of this covid there’s only one in and out entrance but entering was a breeze tbh cus even tho there was a long line, we didn’t have to wait long.

then we went up to the escalator. and genki wasn’t crowded at all either so that was great!!! we did the safe entry thing, got our temperature taken and got our seats. then we ordered some food hehe. i was excited cus lol i love genki. not as much as i love my bf but if i have to choose an express sushi shop i would choose genki 😂 i wanted something soupy and filling so i got their beef udon since i alr had their duck udon the previous time we went there. and then i got a drink and chawanmushi as an appetizer. i love their chawanmushi as well and it’s something i will always get. i used to buy their clams miso soup but since it was taken out of the menu, i got their chawanmushi instead. and i was so happy when han decided to try the chawanmushi!!!!! i’ve always knew him as someone that wasn’t into eggs but he actually liked this one!! and he even ate the prawn and the naruto/japanese fish cake when i fed it to him omg 😭😭���� i was legit so happy wtf hahahaha and then his fried squid came, also one of the hot foods i will always order but usually i’ll get it if i didn’t buy any of the udon. but since i alr got the udon i didn’t order it. and then his mini chicken teriyaki don came and lol the bowl was rly so mini ahahaha i wish i took a picture of it but i didn’t. but it was worth for the price of $4 i think since it was actually filled to the brim. there was even slices of tamago in it. he fed me a spoonful and it was nice!!! i’m gonna try that next time i go to genki if i’m feeling like eating rice 😂 i like udon cus of the chewy texture of the noodles and the soup. and then a plate of mentaiko fries came 🤤 there was A LOT of mentaiko on it it was so amazing and i was so surprise cus i didn’t order it but at the end of the day han said that he saw that i didn’t order the fries so he ordered it for me 🥺😍 so sweet hais and i really enjoyed it. i love genki’s mentaiko sauce it’s so damn goooooodddddd. so salty so nice. and then my udon came hehe and i devoured it. i fed han some too and gave him one of the fish cakes cus i think they made a mistake and put two pieces. the udon was so good i love it hahahaha. and then han ordered a seaweed roll, 2 more beef sushi and 1 mentaiko salmon for me hehe yes i know how to eat salmon now!!!! but it must be seared. i still can’t eat raw ones unless i rly dipped it in soy sauce or if it’s cut super thinly then maybe can try 😅

then after we finished eating, we went up to see if we can catch a movie. i wasn’t sure if we’re allowed to sit together so i asked him to ask first if we have to be separated and yay we don’t have to separate!!! so we decided to watch train to busan 2: peninsula. since we alr watched the first one together and there wasn’t much movies that were showing so we decided to catch the 5:10pm slot. it’s been so so so long since we last watched a movie tgt so this was nice. we didn’t get anything to eat since we just ate and i was still full but we had some time so we went to fairprice and got some candies. then farhan bought a root beer slushy which turns out to be scam!!! cus it’s just ice and it was practically solidified even after the movie was over it didn’t even melt much within 2 hours wtf. and then he also got a hotdog bun 😂

the movie was great. not as great as the first one cus the first one was definitely much more impactful but this one was not too bad. a bit too much “racing” scenes but i guess it’s to keep its audience on the toes. the storyline is a bit meh as well but i guess the suspense from some parts made up for it. it’s quite tragic though.

and then after the movie, i asked han if he still wanted pizza but when we saw the queue there was still a bunch of people waiting for their orders. even some foodpanda and grab delivery riders were waiting so i told him we’ll just order in and at first he was like we’ll see how but i ordered anyway. then we went out to head home and han finally lighted a cigarette. hahahaha he actually had to suppressed his desire to smoke cus we didn’t have time since i chose the earlier slot for the movie and im so proud of him for being able to suppress the feeling and yet not turning into a cranky momok.

while on the way back, he wanted to top up some petrol so we stopped by spc and then he wanted to top up his cashcard so we had to go one big round from the carpark to where he can top up his card but the machine is stupid!!! and he got upset cus he wasn’t able to top up his card. i think he still prefers the card with chip reader than the contactless ones. so then we decided to head to 7-11 so he can purchase one with chip but they ran out. so we decided to find another petrol station cus he said usually it’s being sold there too. so we did and this time round i guess i was being cranky cus the seat of his bike was eating into my skin and it hurts like heck so i told him to just top up the card since they don’t have the chip ones and he needed to top up anyway but then in front there was another petrol station and apparently they had a chip + contactless card there and i think they only accepted cash for it so he came out and then went in back and bought one there. and i was still cranky lol and i was perspiring so much both from my scalp to my body and it was drizzling too so all i wanted to do was head home so i got upset and i lashed it out on him when we made our way back cus he kept trying to make a joke out of the pain i felt and it just triggered me cus it’s like he doesn’t understand how much it hurts??

but it’s not his fault. cus i’m the one that chose to wear shorts even tho i know how much it hurts when i sit too long on the bike. and then he said he’ll cut the netting off but i was like no wtf. cus 1, we don’t meet everyday which sucks but ya we don’t and thus i’m not the one sitting on the back of his bike everyday so having to sit one day out of the week doesn’t bother me as much as having to sit on it everyday ya know what i mean? and 2, the parts that are still protected which is probably about 90-80% of the seat is still useable so it’ll be able to help protect the other areas from getting damage by the claws of cats.

and then when we got back, he wanted to pass his gummies to me but no one in this household eats gummies or candies. my mom can’t even eat sugary content cus of health, my dad isn’t a fan of gummies or candies he much prefers chips and chocolates and my brother too prefers chocolates or ice creams. i don’t like sugary content either but unless it comes from cakes or pastries or ice creams or chocolates so rly, no one is gonna eat it. and then he got mad at me and all i could hear was “you do to me can but when i’m doing it to you cannot” and i didn’t get what he meant by that tbh so i just kept quiet all the way till we’re home. i quickly took off my hoodie, changed into a more comfortable shorts went to take a piss and then went into my room. i sat down for awhile in front of the fan cus i was sweating so much and then i cooled down before i apologized to him and then asked him if he was still upset. i tried to get him to explain what he meant but couldn’t get anything out of him cus he just prefers to sweep it under the rug whereas i like to talk about it so i can see what i did wrong or which areas i have to improve or change so it can better our lives ya know but he’s not like that and i have to understand it so i just kept quiet and then i kissed him and stroked his face and hair a little.

and then he asked me if the pizza was here and i said ya hahaha it’s alr in the kitchen and whether he wants me to take it so he was like yes and as i was going to take the pizza he grabbed me and hugged me tight and i just instantly melted. it was genuinely hot lol i like this kinda shit hahahahaha but i’ve always felt afraid that i was gonna hurt him with my weight so i didn’t dare do anything that will shift my whole weight onto him but he didn’t care and he said it doesn’t hurt 🥺 haissss

honestly going home was all i was looking forward to. it’s not bc i’m horny lol or maybe that’s one of the reason but it’s mainly bc i just want to lay in his arms and just cuddle and give him kisses and also receive kisses. i’ve missed him all week long and we haven’t really been able to talk much since he’s working and he’s always tired when he gets home but it’s good that he’s working hard for his future and for our future.

and then the time for him to head home came. a truly saddening end of the day and he left a little later than usual but i’m just glad he got home safely and didn’t get lectured for being home a little late.

#adaywithhan #julywithhan

[roymadison]

Madison: A Goodbye That Goes On Forever

I don’t need to tell you Friends, fans, and followers, signs of finality are everywhere. The haze of darkness arrives earlier than you expect each night. The air in the morning has a chill in it. The leaves in the branches above your head cling to life while their thin membranes turn to dust, and the diamond at the south west corner of Vancouver’s Strathcona Park sits silent. It’s time to say farewell.

The East Van Baseball League saw their last game of the season play out. A 16 to 2 defeat of the Railtown Spikers at the end of a weekend long tournament of post season playoff games that produced the league’s first champions: the Mount Pleasant Murder. The Murder turned in an impressive record all season long and counted only two losses during the league’s inaugural regular season.

Don’t let that record fool you into thinking the Murder had it easy in the playoffs though, friends, fans, and followers; those fellas had to work for their title. The Murder barely escaped loss at the hands of a Black Sox team decked out in Saturday morning hangovers and new jerseys, and a Railtown Spikers crew that wouldn’t go away. The Spikers surprised everyone on the opening Friday of the tournament with a take down of the Strathcona Stevedores. And on Saturday, they managed to brand the only “L” into the Murder’s near impeccable weekend championship run, and earned the right to come back on Sunday for a rematch to determine who would get bragging rights all winter long. What a final it was, friends, fans, and followers. It held the beautiful possibility of a dramatic upset, with a Spikers victory over the Murder all the way into the last gasps of the 4th inning, but after that it was all Murder. That’s when Malibu Rum started making its way around the Official Roy Madison Broadcast Booth like we were sipping from a bottle of memories at a wake.

After the dust settled, everyone went up to the league’s hot dog provider, What’s Up Hot Dog? to celebrate. Suddenly it was the off season friends, fans, and followers; a time when there’s little use for Roy Madison. I took one last look at the green lawn of Strathcona Park darkening in the setting sun, and hired a car back to the hotel to pack up whatever belongings I had worth keeping. I went downstairs, ordered a final round in Sylvia’s Bar, and said so long to everyone there that made my stay so pleasant and welcoming. Then I high tailed it to the airport and got the hell out of town.

That was some time ago. I’m back in California now. Tina is nude and just out of the bath behind the sliding glass doors of my small patio here at the Highland Gardens Hotel. We’re going to Musso’s for dinner to celebrate my return, and I have just enough time to file this final East Van Baseball report from where I can see the teal-blue void of the pool that started this whole business in the first place, glowing into the night sky above. It feels good to be back, I’m a lucky fella to have managed to keep a setup like this intact. Tina runs the Gardens, and kept my room ambiguously occupied and unavailable while I was in Canada. Now I have to occupy her evenings every Tuesday for the foreseeable future.

Some might call me a goddamned prostitute, but for chrissakes what do you expect friends, fans, and followers? A sportswriter doesn’t make much of a living without a steady beat, and I haven’t had one in years. Hell, it was probably in Tina’s best interest to have me off the premises anyway. My crisis in front of the other guests at the Gardens seated around the pool on the day I decided to fall into it without a plan to return to the surface, likely brought plenty of questions Tina didn’t have answers for. Oliver helped out a bit too, by playing the part of a paying guest while I was gone, making it easier for Tina to keep my room out of the hands of holidayers until I was ready to come back.

Don’t go thinking Oliver is some kind of saint though, friends, fans, and followers. He was holed up in my place long before this whole East Van thing got started, and was likely ecstatic at the prospect of having the Madison suite to himself. Oliver and his wife Alice have been on rocks since I don’t know when, so he’s up in my corned beef sandwich on a regular basis. I can always tell a stint at my place is in Oliver’s forecast. He’ll come over for cards, something he rarely does — he says he can’t stand all the smoke — then he’ll stay late to clean up and never leave. All spring he was on my pull-out sofa, and we were bickering with each other night and day. Thank the lord above that he cleared out about a week ago so I didn’t have to put up with him when I got back from Vancouver.

Want to know why? Because Alice missed his cooking! For chrissakes friends, fans, and followers, can you imagine? His cooking! Hell, I can’t figure it out. I thought his cooking was a pain in the neck! The constant worrying over cooking times, the non-stop berating for a critique of his efforts, asking how it tasted, if there was too much salt, if there was something he should have done differently, then professing that there wasn’t enough turmeric, and finally that it was completely ruined. And I hadn’t even had bite yet.

When I got in from Vancouver, Oliver was gone, but his presence still greeted with me a tidal wave of cleanliness. He had sprayed the living bejesus out of the place with Lysol and it just about knocked me over. But that’s not all friends, fans, and followers. Oliver left one of his goddamned soufflés in the fridge with a note under it.

“Welcome back. I whipped up this little something for your arrival because you just can’t trust food on planes these days. And please stop ashing your cigarettes in the window sill of the shower, it’s disgusting. — Oliver.”

Not a word about how to cook the thing, so I threw that damn soufflé in the trash and ordered a bucket of chicken.

Oliver and Tina weren’t the only ones to miss me while I was gone. The fellas I have over on Wednesday’s weren’t too pleased to show up at the Madison suite to find Oliver in an apron, about to put a lasagne in the oven and forgo cards for charades! And Ruben, my bartender at Musso’s thought I might be in some sort of distress when I didn’t show up for my usual. Tina said Ruben actually came all the way up Hollywood Boulevard before dinner service one night to check up on me. Helluva guy. I’m telling you, I don’t need a doctor or a dame, just a bartender to sit in front of.

Now that I’m back, I realize Vancouver had a good effect on me. In the spring, when I didn’t have an inkling of where Vancouver was, another season of Major League Baseball was set to open and I could care less. Actually, come to think of it friends, fans, and followers, I didn’t have much interest in anything. I had no desire to take part in life’s greatest pleasures: not writing, not swimming, not eating, not smoking, christ not even drinking. Ok, I was still drinking, but I sure as hell wasn’t writing.

I was flat out on a lounger in my housecoat by the pool one morning in March under a haze of dilaudid, tomato juice and beer when I heard some kid floating on a yellow donut out on the water, talking with some actors about how he was from Canada and was set to play baseball for a new sandlot league in Vancouver. I didn’t think much of it at the time, but some days later, when I was waiting to run out of air on the floor of the pool’s deep end, I got the idea to come back to the surface and go to Vancouver to check it out.

I was in attendance for the first exhibition game of the season that spring, but didn’t leave the front seat of my car parked outside Strathcona Park. I guess I just wanted to see if what that fella was talking about in Hollywood was real, because there isn’t a goddamned ounce of truth in that town. But when I saw that group of guys and gals, just playing ball out there, in a roughed up park, in the middle of what seemed like nowhere, the mixture of familiarity and foreignness roused an interest in me that said: get out of the bloody car Madison! But it was too soon friends, fans, and followers. I had to take my time. My return to regular coverage had to be taken slowly, seriously, methodically. At that point, all I needed to hear was the tell tale hiss and pop from a ball hitting leather, and hell, I got it.

The next game, I left my car to sit on the grass, but still maintained a safe distance from the diamond and stands so as not to create any interest in my presence. It was still damp, and that goddamned, cold, wet, Canadian lawn put two big wet circles on the ass of my slacks. I snuck out of there somewhere in the fourth inning with my tail between my legs. I certainly wasn’t going to introduce myself in that state. Back in my room at the Sylvia Hotel, with my pants hanging in the window, drying in the breeze of English Bay, I filed my first East Van Baseball report to make it official, by simply stating: this was my beat.

Every time I returned to a East Van Baseball game, I moved a little closer. The fans in the bleachers, the cheers, the scent of the open air, the crack of tin cans being pulled open, the dust and dirt getting kicked up from wild plays around the bases in those early months when players were getting the tightness of winter off their throwing arms and catching hands, everything just felt fresh and full of promise. Finally one morning, as if possessed by the vast turf of Strathcona Park itself, I walked up to a few of the Black Sox to introduce myself like any other good citizen of the free world and said, “Fellas. I’m your writer, Roy Madison.” And that’s how it all got started.

Even though my coverage of East Van Baseball competed with the unexpected hypnosis of ocean surf that held me transfixed in my beach-facing room at the Sylvia Hotel, forcing me to report on games from my dining room table instead of an East Van ballpark, the league appreciated whatever words I managed to put together. All season long, players, friends, fans, and followers came up to me, shook my hand, thanked me for the stories I told, the games I managed to attend, and welcomed me into the community of what’s only getting started up there in Vancouver. I don’t think those kids knew just what the hell I was, where I had come from, or what I was doing, but by the time the season ended I was handed a microphone for the championship tournament.

In the final days of August, when East Van Baseball’s first playoffs were set to begin, Strathcona never looked better. The fields were kept green and lovely by the grounds crew ladies, the washrooms were open, the bbq was on and sizzling with weiner, the spa bus — painted red, and parked just behind the field — was hot, and hell even the goddamned sun decided to come out, making it one of the warmest weekends all summer long.

When I sat down in the official Roy Madison broadcast booth and asserted myself with a clearing of the throat, a flood of memories came through the worn out grass beneath my feet, up to my ankles, through my legs, across my heart and down to my left hand holding the mic. In that split second of amplified silence before I spoke, I heard a child’s cry crossfade into the sound of hard soled shoes on a sidewalk, the thunder of the 7 train pulling into Grand Central on its way to Shea Stadium, felt the warmth of a good meal cooked by someone that once loved me. I smelled exhaust in the autumn air from the car I bought new with the spoils of a good year at the Daily News, and pictured the fat little fingers of fellas I saw every day in the press box plucking away at a keyboard, jawing on about the sight of some sweet dame in the stands. Like a current of nostalgia that ran through the park all around us, it gave me a shock, and electrified my voice with the grandfatherly tone of knowledge I needed to profess to the fans in attendance that Friday evening — “Friends, fans, and followers, it’s time for East Van Baseball!”

And just like that, I had made a return to broadcasting, but christ was I rusty. Thankfully I had a crew of great fellas to help me out. Some kid from the Murder named Rob, kept me on the course of balls and strikes. And Andrew, my color man and sound technician knew all the players, because hell I didn’t know who was at plate half the time. They were just swell friends, fans and followers, and obviously enamored at the chance to work with a self-proclaimed legend! I could see a glint of wonder in their eyes, as I stumbled my way through inning after inning to the annoyance of the umpires, and some of the players that weren’t much impressed with the idea of hearing their motions translated into my brand of poetic play-by-play.

I’m sure those fellas with me in the box thought they might want to get into the press box game one day, so I did my best to make the life of a sportswriter sound terrible. Because it is friends, fans, and followers! I warned those two that every meal would be lunch — an endless cavalcade of plastic wrapped sandwiches, chased with concealed beer in a paper cup. Every town would start to look the same, and the highway at night would start to speak to them through painted streaking signals of light, so that by the time they stepped up to a microphone they would talk in an alien language few people could understand. Home would be a filthy hotel room, an ice machine down the hall their fridge, a vending machine their pantry, an adult movie their lover, and if they happened to check into a joint with a pool in the parking lot... Aw hell, who am I kidding? Sportswriting is great! My life is a good one, it just took me a summer in Vancouver to admit it.

Well, Tina’s turned off her hair dryer. That means she’s just about ready for dinner, and any second now she’ll be stepping onto the patio to complain that I’m still in my underwear. I don’t know why I thought Hollywood was ever so bad in the first place. A writer can only spend so much time courting modesty. Eventually I had to give in and accept that what I have is exceptional: solitude, sun, a swimming pool, sex on Tuesdays, a steady card game every Wednesday, and the desire to spin a yarn to anyone that will listen. I’m a sportswriter. I’m the guy that tells people what’s really going on in that split second between a ball leaving the sweat-glistened hand of a pitcher on its way to the dry wood of a bat — redemption! Friends, fans, and followers, redemption.

But that’s a story best left for another season, because this one has long since finished. The end is good. The constraints of finality are needed. “The last,” defines things, and gives them meaning and purpose. I’m sure you thought Roy Madison was just going to go on forever, didn’t you friends, fans, and followers? A thank you is in order if you made it this far into my endless goodbye, but the only story I have left is for Manny, my usual waiter at Musso’s. It starts like this: a martini and shrimp louie salad in one of Musso’s luscious booths, followed by a rib eye steak, baked potatoe, and bottle of wine that Manny suggests by just bringing it to the table. The climax is dessert, with a tawny port, and several healthy doses of tobacco appear throughout the whole thing. It ends with a late night swim under palm trees that blot the darkness of the sky with their even darker, ink black crowns.

Oh hell, friends, fans, and followers, I’ll be back — or maybe I won’t. I don’t know. That’s the thing, nobody can tell if the air entering their lungs is their last breath or not. Life will always be without a natural, convincing closure. So I’ll just stop.