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nosanime · 6 months

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BIBLIOGRAPHY - “ANIME FOODIES: LAID-BACK CAMP THE MOVIE”

This is the bibliography for our entry in the Anime Foodies series of panels, “Anime Foodies: Laid-Back Camp The Movie”. The sources include not only places from which we garnered background of the food we were cooking, but also sources that helped us determine how to craft our own version of the recipes we were creating.

This is the second Anime Foodies panel which has a formal bibliography of sources. Those marked with double asterisks are regular sources we’ve used in all of the panels in the series and are a good starting point for anyone interested in Japanese food and its history.

Bibliography:

Afro. Laid-Back Camp. Vol. 6, Yen Press, 2019.

Afro. Laid-Back Camp. Vol. 7, Yen Press, 2019.

“Anethum graveolens L.” Royal Botanic Gardens Kew, https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:837530-1.

Baker, Liren. “Taco Rice: Okinawa Taco Rice” Kitchen Confidante, https://kitchenconfidante.com/taco-rice-okinawa-taco-rice.

“Braised Yuba (Tofu Skins) with Vegetables” Sunberry Jam, https://sunberryjam.com/braised-yuba-with-vegetables/.

“Buttered Beere 1588” Oakden, https://oakden.co.uk/buttered-beere-1588/.

“Dutch Oven Roast Chicken” Self-Proclaimed Foodie, https://selfproclaimedfoodie.com/dutch-oven-roasted-chicken/#wprm-recipe-container-33149.

“Dutch Oven Roasted Chicken with Vegetables” Camping Adventures, https://adventures.camp/dutch-oven-roasted-chicken-with-vegetables/.

“Finnish Salmon Soup (Lohikeitto)” Skinny Spatula, https://skinnyspatula.com/salmon-soup-lohikeitto/.

Friesen, Katy June. “Where Did the Taco Come From?” Smithsonian Magazine, https://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/where-did-the-taco-come-from-81228162/.

Greg. “Hot Buttered Rum 2 Ways AND Fat Washing! | How to Drink.” YouTube, uploaded by How To Drink, 23 Nov. 2019, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cCbEwyntSCM.

“Hokkaido Salmon Hot Pot (Ishikari Nabe) 石狩鍋” Just One Cookbook, https://www.justonecookbook.com/salmon-hot-pot/.

“Hoto Noodle Soup from Yamanashi ほうとう” Just One Cookbook, https://www.justonecookbook.com/hoto-noodle-soup-yamanashi/#wprm-recipe-container-79243.

“Hōtō Noodle Soup (Hōtō Nabe)” RecipeTin Japan, https://japan.recipetineats.com/hoto-noodle-soup-hoto-nabe/.

“Houtou (ほうとう)” Food in Japan, https://www.foodinjapan.org/kanto/yamanashi/houtou/.

“How to make Houtou – Yamanashi local speciality noodle dish recipe” Japanese Cooking Class Tokyo, https://japanesecookingclasstokyo.wordpress.com/2014/01/03/how-to-make-houtou-yamanashi-local-speciality-noodle-dish-recipe/.

“How to Make the Best Tempura 天ぷら” Just One Cookbook, https://www.justonecookbook.com/tempura-recipe/.

Hua, Charlie. “Kiritanpo: Trying out one of Akita’s local specialties” Japan Travel, https://en.japantravel.com/akita/kiritanpo/55809.

“Hypomesus olidus” FishBase, https://fishbase.de/summary/Hypomesus-olidus.html.

“Hypomesus olidus” Integrated Taxonomic Information System – Report, https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=162031#null.

**Ishige, Naomichi. The History and Culture of Japanese Food. London, Kegan Paul Limited, 2001.**

“"Ishikari" Salmon Hot Pot (Ishikari nabe)” NHK World – Japan, https://web.archive.org/web/20201101192650/https://www.nhk.or.jp/dwc/food/recipe/kyou_12310.html.

“Ishikari Nabe Recipe (Salmon and Miso Hot Pot in Hokkaido)” Cooking With Dog, https://cookingwithdog.com/recipe/ishikari-nabe/.

“Japan-Mexico Relations (Basic Data)” Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan, https://www.mofa.go.jp/region/latin/mexico/data.html.

“Kiritampo Nabe (Rice Stick Hot Pot)” NHK World, https://web.archive.org/web/20180318093216/http://www.nhk.or.jp:80/dwc/recipes/detail/138.html.

“Kiritanpo (きりたんぽ)” Food in Japan, https://www.foodinjapan.org/tohoku/akita/kiritanpo/.

Laid-Back Camp. Directed by Yoshiaki Kyougoku. C-Station, 2018.

Laid-Back Camp Season 2. Directed by Yoshiaki Kyougoku. C-Station, 2021.

Laid-Back Camp The Movie. Directed by Yoshiaki Kyougoku. C-Station, 2022.

Miller, Max. “Making 400 Year Old Buttered Beere.” YouTube, uploaded by Tasting History with Max Miller, 10 Mar. 2020, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZlMhZvOX2ps.

“Motsunabe” Japanese food style, https://jpnfood.com/recipe/meat/motsunabe.

“Motsunabe: How to Eat and the Best Restaurants in Fukuoka” Savor Japan, https://savorjapan.com/contents/discover-oishii-japan/motsunabe-how-to-eat-and-the-best-restaurants-in-fukuoka/.

“Motsunabe recipe もつ鍋” The Japanese Food Lab, https://thejapanesefoodlab.com/motsunabe/.

“Motsunabe (もつ鍋)” Food in Japan, https://www.foodinjapan.org/kyushu/fukuoka/motsunabe/.

“Okinawa Taco Rice and Cheese (Cafe Style)” Sudachi Recipes, https://sudachirecipes.com/okinawa-taco-rice/.

“Okinawa Taco Rice (Video) タコライス” Just One Cookbook, https://www.justonecookbook.com/taco-rice/.

“Recipe of Speedy Lightly Flavored! Hakata-style Motsunabe (Offal Hot Pot) with Soy Sauce Based Soup” Ground-Skillet, https://ground-skillet.web.app/734-recipe-of-speedy-lightly-flavored-hakata-style-motsunabe-offal-hot-pot-with-soy-sauce-based-soup/.

“Salmon Hot Pot (Ishikari Nabe)” RecipeTin Japan, https://japan.recipetineats.com/salmon-hot-pot-ishikari-nabe/.

“Salmon Soup” Happy Foods Tube, https://www.happyfoodstube.com/salmon-soup/.

Sam. “Aburi Technique for Fish” Chef Epic, https://chefepic.com/aburi-technique-for-fish/.

“Seared Salmon Sushi (Aburi)” Cooking with Cocktail Rings, https://cookingwithcocktailrings.com/seared-salmon-sushi-aburi/.

**Singleton Hachisu, Nancy. Japanese Farm Food. Kansas City, Andrews McMeel Publishing, 2012.**

**Singleton Hachisu, Nancy. Preserving the Japanese Way. Kansas City, Andrews McMeel Publishing, 2015.**

“【Smelt Tempura】 How to make Smelt tempura With technical explanation to stand fins” YouTube, uploaded by 逢禅天ぷらチャンネル / AIZEN TEMPURA CHANNEL 1 Oct. 2020, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H3KTXNGGAL4.

“Soy Milk Hot Pot 豆乳鍋” Just One Cookbook, https://www.justonecookbook.com/soy-milk-hot-pot-tonyu-nabe/.

“Taco Rice (タコライス)” No Recipes, https://norecipes.com/okinawa-taco-rice/.

“Tentsuyu” Oishi Washoku Recipes, https://www.oishi-washoku-recipes.com/tentsuyu.

“‘Tentsuyu’ (Tempura Dipping Sauce)” Hiroko’s Recipes, https://www.hirokoliston.com/tentsuyu-tempura-dipping-sauce/.

Turkell, Michael Harlan. “Foil Yaki Is the Best” Taste, https://tastecooking.com/foil-yaki-best/.

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Wakasagi (Hypomesus nipponensis): Ecological Risk Screening Summary. 8 Nov. 2019, https://www.fws.gov/sites/default/files/documents/Ecological-Risk-Screening-Summary-Wakasagi.pdf.

“What is the “King Tacos” which is loved by Okinawan?” Okinawa Labo, https://okinawa-labo.com/en/okinawa-taco-rice-1966.

**Wondrich, David. Imbibe! From Absinthe Cocktail to Whiskey Smash, A Salute in Stories and Drinks to “Professor” Jerry Thomas, Pioneer of the American Bar. Updated and Revised Edition. New York City, TarcherPerigee, 2015.**

“〆まで美味しいごま豆乳鍋つゆストレート” Mizkan, https://www.mizkan.co.jp/product/group/?gid=07101.

“簡単タコライス” Lettuce Club, https://www.lettuceclub.net/recipe/dish/22978/.

“王道タコライス” Delish Kitchen, https://delishkitchen.tv/recipes/196315721972580774. “簡単！すぐ出来！タコライス　レシピ・作り方” Kurashiru, https://www.kurashiru.com/recipes/80ca4e93-29d6-422a-8168-cf409ac46d23.

#nos anime #camping food #camping #food #laid back camp #yuru camp #anime #anime foodies #anime food #yurucamp #laid back camp the movie #anime bibliography #bibliography

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shoku-and-awe · 7 months

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A really memorable fancy meal: the tofu course at a Kyoto specialty restaurant! Everything was delicious and I loved all the little ceramics. Also, because of pandemic (fall 2020), they seated us in a private room deep, deep in the bowels of their labyrinthine basement—I got lost two or three different ways on my way back from the bathroom and by the time I finally found our table, I had contracted an uncontrollable fit of the giggles that lasted the rest of the night.

For hotpot, we chose yudofu, which is a simple Kyoto specialty of tofu cooked in kombu dashi (but a very sophisticated version)! The maguro was the first time I'd had tofu-yam sauce on sashimi. I also loved the two dumplings: a juicy tofu shumai (one of their specialties) and a lotus root manju, crispy on the outside and gooey on the inside.

The long skinny plate had fried yuba tofu skin (one of my favorite things) and two types of tofu dengaku. The adorable fan-shaped bowl was a gooey cheesy tofu gratin, and then they brought us rice and clear soup with yuba to finish, plus dessert: soymilk ice cream with brown sugar syrup and a bit of azuki bean "tofu." It was a really special experience, definitely recommended!

#around this time in 2020! can you believe #japanese food #tofu #kaiseki #kyoto

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zaruba-needslove · 8 months

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No one:

Me: Let me keep record of the list of stuff available to order at Keiwa's fav soba shop, so anyone can use these for their fics...

From right to left: (At least the ones I can read atm)

Kake - Soba noodle dish made by pouring hot dashi-based soba soup over boiled soba noodles with a sliced scallion garnish.

Tanuki - Kake soba with a layer of tenkasu (tempura bits) on top of the noodles and soup (in Osaka, this was called Haikara soba)

Kitsune - Kake soba topped with aburaage, a lightly sweet, deep-fried tofu pocket (in Osaka, this was called Tanuki soba)

Tsukimi - Kake soba noodles topped with raw egg (that'll become poached inside the hot broth)

?toji

Okame - soba dish that resembles the okame face — a bamboo shoot is the nose and the two kamaboko (cured surimi) are the eyes; soba with Yuba (dried tofu skin), tamagoyaki, shiitake mushroom, kamaboko, bamboo shoot, seaweed, spinach

Okametoji - Okame soba with egg on top

Yama??

Chikara udon - Hot udon noodle soup topped with mochi

Yamakake (Tororo) - Kake soba topped with pureed yamaimo (mountain yam). Often served with raw quail eggs

Tempura Soba - Kake soba topped with deep-fried tempura shrimp and vegetables (Originally topped with chopped scallops and shrimp kakiage)

Mori - cold soba served in a bowl with the noodles submerged in the broth (served in small portions)*

Oomori - Mori soba served in normal portions

Zaru - soba served on a bamboo tray with soy dipping sauce on the side

Tenzaru - a dish that combines two classic Japanese favourites: tempura seafood and vegetables, and zaru-style cold soba served on a bamboo dish

??Tenzaru

??yashiyama??

*I guess it's like boat noodle. Come to think, Ace did have mori soba on that one episode... early on the Creation Arc.

#fic ref #kamen rider #kamen rider geats #soba #food #lol #anyone wanna help with the ones I dunno feel free to comment #haha gosh... I might end up rewriting some details on my fics cos of this #i mean like... what kind of dish Miichi or Neon would like #cos I don't think there's anything with beef... or cat theme #actually I feel like Miichi gonna get chikara udon #and got scolded abt wht you'd order udon at a soba shob #michi: but it's in the menu!#kei: but this is a soba shop!#*shoves okame soba to Michi's face #michi: hey! are you saying my face looked like that #kei: sure do~

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dustyartsywt · 1 year

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YubaInu Explained

It all really started for me when Season 3 Episode 13 of the World Trigger anime was released. There's this chase scene. And Inukai is kinda flirty. And it made me think.

You know they went to school together, right? That before Yuba was 19 and in college, he was 18, and went to the prep school (Rokueikan). You know, no other 19 year olds (that we know) of went there. In fact, the only 18 year olds who do are Arafune, Kurauchi, Kanda, and... Inukai.

So they had to know each other, especially since they're both in Border.

And think about it. Inukai is this cavalier teasing kind of guy, and Yuba is all serious and no nonsense and intense, so to Inukai wouldn't, he be the perfect target for teasing? For messing with? For trying to get under his skin?

Of course, Yuba worked with Ouji, so he can withstand that.

Or can he? What if it's too much? What if he gets fed up, and needs a way to make him shut up?

Imagine the flirting. Imagine the tension. Imagine the spice.

For about a year now I've been busy making sure this ship had content.

All kinds of content.

I won't post it all now. I'll post some of it every once in awhile (I have a backlog). In the meantime, here's a fic:

Just a Suggestion (1.4k words, rated G, Yuba x Inukai)

Thanks for coming to my ted talk. I hope you consider shipping YubaInu!

#yubainu #world trigger #yuba takuma #inukai sumiharu #my art #my fic #fanart #dustyartsywt

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naturalswimmingspirit · 2 years

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alyssaisshere

Nothing like a divine Yuba dip after so many weeks away. So deeply appreciating being home. For these waters + sun soaked skin. 🌊☀️

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silkendandelion · 6 months

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Mirage In The Desert - Chapter 11

Summary: Operation Utopia is tomorrow. All sides take their positions, and Vivi understands exactly what kind of pirate she hired.

Rated Teen and Up Audiences for language, violence. Cross-posted to Ao3, same username. Send me a DM: yell at me, send flowers. Cheers.

~*~

Days to Operation Utopia: 2

“Food… Food, water… Mercy,” Luffy said to no one as they trudged along. Getting from Nanohana to Yuba on foot seemed easy as an idea, though it melted their brains in practice.

“You drank all your water in the first 10 minutes, of course you’re thirsty,” Nami said, though she was in no better shape.

Luffy just groaned at the sky, squinting his eyes free of sweat as the horizon began to ripple. “I see… I see—”

“You’re hallucinating.” Zoro wiped his forehead with his sleeve.

“I see a man!”

“Definitely hallucinating,” Usopp sighed.

“A man with a… a backpack, big one. Maybe he has food!”

His friends cried after him, “LUFFY NO!”, though none of them had a prayer (or the strength) to do anything over than watch him tear over the dunes and up the trail of a very real man with a pack on his shoulders bigger than a camel.

“Hey! Share some of your food!” Luffy yelled, more of a war cry as he rocketed over the last dune, into the air on a snap of his rubbery legs and down onto the top of the enormous backpack. So large, in fact, that the wearer went unaware he had a visitor, who now gnawed on the flap and strap to attempt to burgle some of the provisions within.

He did notice, however, when his owl circled back to dive towards the top of his pack.

“What is it, girl?” He called up, only answered by the knock-knock-knock of her beak hitting something hard over and over, and the far away yells of a person.

‘Ow! Hey! Get your own! This is my food!’

Luffy grunted when the pack was set down in the sand, holding his hands over his head and waving to shoo away the guard owl that tried to peck a hole in the top of his skull.

“Come down from there, thief.” The man tilted the pack to knock him off, and he fell to the sand with a thud.

“Watch out! That owl’s mean!” He pointed, and the brindled owl glided down to land silently on the man’s outstretched arm.

“She’s not mean, she’s meant to help me. With thieves, or otherwise.”

“My bad,” Luffy laid back in the sand, still rubbing his smarting scalp. “I’m just so hungry. Can I have some food? Water? But like, preferably food? Please.”

“Luffy!” Chopper called as the friends finally came over the dune. “Oh, Luffy was right. it is a man.”

“With a big backpack,” Nami blinked at him.

“Are you all hungry?” The man called out to them and his first smile touched his lips, all white teeth against his dark skin. He took a quick inventory of the crew’s members, believing himself to be lucky that Ace had already separated from them, lest his identity be compromised by someone else who did most of their work in the New World.

“… well, yeah!” Usopp called back, cheerfully, when no one else spoke up.

The man lifted the owl to coax her to fly. “Then let’s eat. Rinai, if you please.”

She gave an obedient flap of her wings up to the top of the enormous pack, and picked the latch to let it fall open, unrolling to reveal a massive spread of dried meat, fish, and local fruits, all arranged carefully around a barrel of water.

Luffy, Chopper and Usopp’s eyes nearly left their heads as they fell to their knees. “G-God, he must be a god. Stranger! You’ve saved our lives!”

“A stranger, indeed,” Vivi and Nami looked at each other.

“We don’t have to be. My name is Aurelio.” He took a seat next to the impromptu picnic, content to eat without anymore questions, whether the strangers joined him or not.

“It’s all high quality ingredients. And if he’s eating it, it probably isn’t a trick.” Sanji sat down next to Zoro, though he watched carefully the way the stranger—Aurelio—ate politely across the blanket.

“Maybe.” Zoro felt his stomach growl, even as he tried to be suspicious. “Shit.”

A few of the boys wrestled to pry the water barrel open with clumsy fingers, and the owl fluttered over to sit gently on the rim.

“Cups, we needs cups—” The owl reached under her wing to offer a little tin cup, the handle in her beak.

“Oh! Thank you.” Usopp smiled at her. “Eh—did you understand me?”

“That’s Rinai. She’s very intelligent,” Aurelio said.

Zoro swallowed his bite of fish before he spoke. “I just don’t like birds.”

“Mm?” Chopper leaned to hear her better, giggling suddenly. “She said she doesn’t like you either.”

“Sorry about before, you know,” Luffy said from where he ate beside her, cheeks full of food, and she reached under her wing to offer him a band-aid.

“Haha! I guess that means you forgive me.” He smiled, and she pretended to peck his hand just to hear him laugh again.

Aurelio picked apart a few pieces of fresh fish to give them to her one by one. “She ate the Pocket-Pocket fruit, and now she’s my best friend. A near infinite amount of non-living things can be stored in her dimension through the pockets under her wings.”

“Wow…” Usopp chewed and sipped while he watched her. “What does she keep in there?”

“Mostly mice,” Aurelio said, and the seriousness of his delivery had all of them giggling or choking to various degrees.

“What are you doing out here, Aurelio?” Vivi asked, her cup in her lap. “In the middle of the desert?”

“Being more prepared than you all, apparently,” he said, though his smile implied he was joking. “Seriously, who walks across the desert without food and water?”

“It’s our first time.” Nami sighed.

He took another sip to give himself time to formulate a reply. “I’m actually on my way to Yuba. The rebel army is expecting me.”

Vivi sat up straighter, leaning over and almost spilling her cup. “Really? So are we!”

“Are you with the Revolutionary Army?” Sanji asked, ever perceptive and searching for a reason why a foreigner would be called to a civil war.

“Kind of. The rebels sent a message to the RA but it traveled so far that most of it was destroyed by the time it arrived. Dragon has sent me to investigate.”

“They were so close…” Vivi said quietly, mostly to herself, as she realized any aid that Aurelio could call for would arrive too late for the war that was at their door. Whether it was more bad luck or sabotage didn’t matter now, only that they were on their own.

At most, they had one more ally: a strange, jovial man with a devil fruit eating owl and a shadow to his face that didn’t let his smile quite reach his eyes.

“Would you like to walk with us to Yuba?” She said.

The smile ran from his face to be replaced by genuine confusion, startlingly young for his heavy brown eyes, and a reflexive suspicion that felt more akin to an animal instinct than rudeness.

“… Okay. It’s still several more hours away, so please, eat your fill. And I will carry the leftovers until we get hungry again.”

“He thinks there’s gonna be leftovers,” Nami said into her cup while she looked over at Luffy, who was still going strong. ____ ___ __ _

Days to Operation Utopia: 1

At Raindinners, Robin found Crocodile admiring the Bananawani tank as he always did when his poet was nowhere in sight. He had watched the beasts a lot over the past weeks.

“The Billions in Nanohana were defeated by pirates.”

He turned to acknowledge her, letting the curtain fall shut. “It doesn’t matter, not now. Replace them.”

“The lizard runners are already dispatched. And the officers are on their way.”

Silence stretched between them except for the quiet rumble of the tank, and Crocodile reflected on the empty seat in front of his desk, an open letter beside the lamp that read ‘I will return before the meeting’ across the footnote in a loopy scribble.

“He’s late.”

Her unburdened smile threatened to create a headache in the front of his apathetic face, both of them so careful to never give too much away.

“That’s just how he is.”

“No, he’s not, Miss All Sunday. And you know that.”

They didn’t know that he was arriving as they spoke. Through the lobby and upstairs faster than he could manage without stumbling out of the elevator, and right to his room.

Sweat drenched clothes form a pile beside the door, and he wrenches the suitcase from under his bed to let it bounce on the mattress. The lid is getting dirty from so much handling, latch weak from rough treatment, and the envelope he deposits inside seems like it might be the last straw for the straining suitcase.

No time for anything more than a bath, he decides, not when the officers would arrive any moment, and he was meant to be among them. Another performance, to act surprised until the very end. All in a day’s work—these days, at least.

A knock at the door startled him to almost drop his brush, suddenly frozen except for the drips of his hair onto his dressing gown, and his eyes darting back to the suitcase on the duvet.

“Who is it?”

“May I come in?”, came Crocodile’s muffled voice.

He stared down at him through the tiny sliver that appeared between the door and the frame, like he would wait forever even as a cloud of perfumed bathwater drifted out into the hall, tempting his nose and his memory. But he no longer had permission to intrude.

“I’m getting ready for the meeting,” River said, though the lock slips free. Crocodile finds a seat on the edge of the unmade bed, denied anywhere else to sit with the outfits piled over the back of the couch and books in stacks on the chairs beside his table.

He notices the empty cartons of cigarettes in the wastebasket, none in the bed this time, and the sun setting outside the window almost obscures the fading dark circles under the violet eyes that scrutinize him so gently.

“Is that what you’re wearing tonight?” Crocodile gestures to a hanging suit, black, with a green waistcoat. “It will bring out your eyes—”

“We’ve already said goodbye, Crocodile.” The curls of his bangs, damp against his cheek, nearly obscure his face. “Why have you come here?”

He stands to reach out to him, cup his cheek and touch the bags under his eyes with a gentle thumb. Long lashes flutter closed, perhaps taken by a daydream he would kiss him. If fate was kinder, he might open his eyes to a warm bed and a warmer sunrise coming in the window.

“I don’t want you to sit at the table tonight.”

His eyes flick open, confused, and he almost follows the hand that leaves his cheek. “What do you mean?”

“The table is for my subordinates.” He goes to fetch the suit that hangs waiting, and lays it across the bed to begin unwrapping the outfit.

“Not for you.”

“… Crocodile.” They had already said goodbye to what they once were, agreed to work together once more, purely professional, and yet the fondness in the warlord’s eyes as he arranged the pieces of the silk suit made his chest tight.

“I’m perfectly aware of what we are, where we stand.” He goes to the closet to riffle through River’s pretty things, choose a pair of boots and some earrings, always gold.

“But you will never be one of them. Stand beside me.”

River considered the offer, unaware how long he stared to think, though he felt the brush of fingers on his neck as he pulled the dressing gown aside was wholly unfair. “After everything? When there is so little left between us?”

But he couldn’t manage to sound angry, not anything more than lovesick, an ache behind his eyes to press his nose to the space between his ear and neck, scent his cologne on warm skin.

“Oh,” Crocodile pondered gently as he allowed it, helpless to not scent him back for the starfruit in his shampoo. “… If you refuse, all you have to do is tell me to go.”

He dresses the Oasin like a parting gift, slowly and silent, content to fasten each button with care and iron his edges until he shines. The intimacy fills River’s face with heat, wondering if Crocodile has ever given such a subservient gesture to anyone before, whether he ever will again.

Get away. Don’t you know you polish a Judas to stand beside you at this critical moment?

Do you not care?

A wordless request passes between them, understood, and River moves his hair to allow him to hang sapphires from his ears, drape his neck in gold as he touches a tiny bruise on the front of his neck.

The Pirate Hunter couldn’t manage to scratch him, though the mottled spot was evidence of their meeting.

And Crocodile almost asked if he was all right, feeling silly for stopping to rub a mark smaller than a coin.

“You’re ready.” The quiet of his voice startled River back from where he stared out the window.

“Am I?” He stands to admire himself in the mirror, as laced up as ever, pity that the light of his jewels can’t reach his eyes.

“Look at me.” Spoken not like a warlord’s command, but a man wanting to see his love up close one more time.

The world continues to be cruel to me, that you are the poet and I am the one who wishes to write verses about your face.

You were never mine. But I will never forget you.

“Did you enjoy yourself?”

River scoffs, the moisture in his eyes chased away by the absurdity of a man in love, and replaced by a bubble of a laugh. Just a little at first, until he’s smiling so hard his cheeks hurt, out of breath and eyes wet again as they find Crocodile’s own smile.

“More than anything.” ____ ___ __ _

Downstairs, the officers were already gathered, doomed to bicker when left alone with only each other’s company and the bubbling of the wani tank along the wall.

“This is ridiculous, how much longer are we meant to wait?” Mr. 2 said, hands slapping the table to demand seafood desserts or at least a beverage for their trouble.

“Please be quiet, Mr. 2, or at least complain about things that matter. Like your missing partner,” Miss Double-finger said from across the table.

“Why do you think I’m so hungry? I’ve worried myself sick!” They looked all around, hoping to find River in a chair or at least in the room, but no sign.

In another part of the house, the sound of leather-soled loafers approach the luxury hall.

“I suppose I can’t hope to have you all get along,” came Miss All Sunday’s voice from the stairs. “Though it’s not necessary anyway. Welcome to Rainbase, a city of dreams in a desert such as this.”

She descended the stairs to her captive audience, the officers mostly unimpressed and too impatient to be complaint.

“Can we skip the formalities and get to the point?” Mr. 1 spoke up finally.

“Of course. You all were summoned here regarding the identity of our boss, whose face you have never seen. Mr. i, the door, if you please.”

River stepped from a shadow at the back of the room, all eyes turning wide to see him go to a door on the wall.

“… you—” Mr. 2 found they couldn’t speak, nothing more than a grunt of surprise among the table’s shocked murmurs, some more spiteful than others.

But as River turned the golden handle, the footfalls now on the other side of the door, he met their eyes.

I’m sorry.

Crocodile’s appearance needed no introduction, and he ignored them to extend his hand to River and escort him to the table. Though all the officers gawked, struck speechless, Mr. 2 felt the shock behind their ribs turn sharp, stuck on a vein and stinging when Crocodile took his seat and River stood beside his chair. The perfect posture of a soldier, even as he bends to offer his lighter to the warlord’s lips, and the realization flushed Mr. 2’s face scarlet when they identified the intimate air between them.

I suppose it was always impossible for me to know all of your secrets, River. But aren’t we friends?

They felt possessed to rip the lighter from his hands, force the two apart and shield him with their body from the famously cruel warlord. To grip his shoulders, demand an answer, first to “Why?”, then “How long?”, and “Did he hurt you?”

But Mr. 2 didn’t move. And Crocodile commanded the room.

“The time has come for Baroque Work’s final mission: Operation Utopia.”

“Wait a moment, I have questions. What is a warlord doing with a company like this?” Miss Double-finger said.

“Right? What a big-shot.” Miss Merry Christmas agreed.

His ruthless glare was enough to silence their protests. “Dissatisfied?”

They all looked down at their laps, obedient while he smoked. An explanation was owed, he decided, and he took the time to outline both the purpose of their organization, and how his plans for the fate of Alabasta had to do with the secret buried beneath the sand. By the time he was finished, a neat pile of cigars smoldered in the ashtray.

“Mr. i.” His voice startled River from where he had been watching the wani pass by the window.

A series of envelopes were produced from his breast pocket, the final orders of the officers, and passed around the table according to rank.

“These are your last orders. In a single night, Alabasta will fall to us. Failure is not an option.”

But a voice interrupted their meeting from the stairs.

“Ahem. I hope you’ll excuse my interruption. But you must put a hold on this Operation Utopia.”

“Mr. 3.” River gasped. The mission to eliminate him had failed when the wax man went missing, now suddenly standing before them. Injured, worse for the wear, but alive.

“How did you get down here?” Miss All Sunday asked, and he was happy to ignore her.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, boss. I’ve humbly come to ask for another chance... I failed my mission, after all.”

Crocodile set his tea down to give him his attention. “What are you talking about?”

“Well…” The candle-man began to sweat. “Letting the Strawhats go, of course.”

His teacup shattered under his grip and River managed not to flinch. So that’s the assignment Mr. 3 disappeared from.

“You said you took care of them. On the phone.”

“I… I didn’t. I have no idea what you’re talking about.” He swallowed when Crocodile stood to his full height. “The—the intel was wrong! The Princess had four pirate escorts!”

“Them?” A stack of sketches slid across the table, all beside a photo of a small Vivi, presumably the last time she publicly appeared.

Mr. 2 paled, suddenly ill as they touched the drawings. “I met them.”

“You what?” Crocodile demanded.

“Him! Him! And her!” He flipped through their faces and looked to River. “It was before you stopped in Nanohana. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you.”

“… You didn’t tell me you were in Nanohana.” His rumble sent a shiver of fear up River’s spine, feeling eyes on the side of his face as he struggled to find an untruth that would bide his time.

Calm down. Don’t give away too much. To him or them.

But of all the Rivers scrambling to retain control in the terrifying final hour, the brat is the one who answered. The first mistake.

“I don’t tell you most of my business.” The thik of River lighting a cigarette plucked at the last string of his patience, almost as much as the tick of his hip in his bored posture.

Around the table, the officers were satisfied with his answer, familiar with the River that didn’t speak until spoken to, with a sharp tongue and unapproachable silhouette, but Crocodile knew better. And he was still the one in control.

“Of course.” A cruel smile slid across his face as he turned back to Mr. 3.

“Mr. 3, do you know why you’re ranked as high as you are? Despite the fact that even Mr. 4 outranks you in combat abilities?”

“W-Well, I—” He choked when Crocodile grabbed him around the throat, and River’s cigarette wobbled.

“Crocodile—!” The hook silenced him, a powerful gesture in just it’s appearance.

“Your intelligence has always been useful, and that underhanded tenacity. But letting those kids get away is inexcusable.”

Mr. 3’s skin shriveled faster than anyone could react, the officers around the table visibly nauseous to see him sucked dry by Crocodile’s hand, flung away into a fragile heap.

River’s cigarette fell to the floor, the only movement as a cold dread sunk into his belly.

He was staring at a warning.

To everyone in this room: failure will not be tolerated, and neither will any contact with the Strawhats that didn’t end in their demise.

“W-water…” Mr. 3 looked up at the person closest to him, his eyeballs wrinkling and limbs unable to hold him up with only crumbling, rubbery fibers attached to his bones. “M-Mr. i—”

“Have all the water you like.”

The press of a button sent him plummeting to the Bananawani tank below. Whimpers echoed up the metal of the chute, cutoff screams the last of the noise in the room when the hatch slid shut.

“Miss All Sunday?”

“Sir.”

“Give the order: kill the Princess and the Strawhats on sight. At the very least they can bring confusion to the rebel army, and I want no further issues.”

“Yes, Sir.”

“Mr. i.”

He acknowledged him only by the flicker of his eyes, his cigarette burning out black beside his shoes.

“Hold the casino with Miss All Sunday.” He didn’t bother to meet his gaze. “And you will answer me.”

“… Yes, Sir.”

Mr. 2 watched the shadow pass over his face, an ache in their chest for a friend but no will to challenge his oppressor. Not yet.

“The rest of you have your orders. Go, enjoy yourselves. This time tomorrow, this country will be ours.” ____ ___ __ _

Nearby, in Yuba, the Strawhats trudged over the last dune to find no rebel base or army waiting for them. What had previously been an oasis seemed to crumble with the weight of it’s own shell, lined with decrepit buildings and abandoned even by the wildlife.

Vivi’s knees wobbled, threatening to collapse as she looked out over the remains of the city and the choking, desiccated fruit of their long walk.

Aurelio held up his hand to shield his eyes from the sunset. “They might have been gone before I made land.”

“… I don’t understand.” Her voice quivered.

“Hello? Is someone there? Welcome!” They heard from a hole in the center of town, sand flying up and over the side in shovel-fulls.

An old man climbed out as quick as he could, which wasn’t fast at all, brushing the dust off the holey rags of his clothes and his smile beaming despite the sand clinging to the wrinkles of his face.

“You—”, he stopped when he saw the blue-haired girl among them. “Miss Vivi?”

Luffy jumped to distract him, hands waving. “You’re wrong, that is NOT the Princess Vivi—”

“You moron!” Zoro bonked the still-sore top of his head.

“It… It’s really you, isn’t it? I wouldn’t blame you if you didn’t recognize me, I’ve lost a lot of weight.” He rubbed the back of his neck.

She stared at him for a long moment, this weathered man whose smile never faulted even as he dug until his hands bled, threadbare bandages catching on the dry skin around his face. Memories flooded back to her, warm in her heart but heavy on her stomach, of the jolly, overweight man that was her friend, Koza’s father.

She ran to hug him, almost pushing them both into the hole as he held her. “I thought I’d never see you again, Mr. Toto.”

“I’ll always be here… I know it’s not much, but you all can rest here for the night. The inns are Yuba’s pride, after all.”

“Where did the rebels go?” Aurelio said from where he gazed into a crumbling fountain.

Suddenly no longer welcoming, the old man bristled and braced to yell at him. “What do you want with them, anyway? You’re not stupid enough to join them too, are you?”

“I’m hoping to talk them down,” he said, and the wind rushed out of the old man’s tired anger.

“… well, they haven’t been here for weeks. They moved their operation to Katorea.”

“K-Katorea?” Vivi cried. “But we were just there!”

“It would have been only a few hours walk from Nanohana,” Nami said.

“We… we were just there.” Vivi wiped at her eyes, the weight of their journey finally taking it’s toll.

“Well, no sense wasting time,” Aurelio looked to the sky for due north. “Thanks for the info, old man,” he said and began walking in the opposite direction.

“Where are you going?!” The teenagers all cried.

“Hm? You all are going to rest here, aren’t you? I can travel faster if I’m alone, I’ll be back to Katorea before morning.”

“Let him go,” Zoro said.

“You’re not going to change Luffy’s mind. He’s tired, we’re all tired.” He jerked his thumb to where Luffy was already inspecting the old man’s trenches, half because he was curious, and half because the air was cooler at the bottom of a hole.

“It was nice to meet you all.” Aurelio waved.

“Bye, Mr. Revolutionary!”

“Bye-bye, Aurelio!” They waved back with various intensity, all too preoccupied with the idea of beds and shelter to worry that they didn’t have dinner, or water. Luffy had, predictably, eaten the last of Aurelio’s stash, and the young man walked out of sight with his owl on his shoulder and a goal on his mind.

“He was nice.” Usopp said to Chopper at his side.

“He’s going to beat us there… Maybe it’s too optimistic to think that by the time we arrive, this might all be over,” Vivi said, more to herself than any of her friends.

They just needed time.

Time, that marches equally for the Baroque Works agents drawing up plans, and the rebels who struggle to sleep because they were given orders to march out at dawn. The Strawhats, exhausted beyond their bones, sleep easily because they don’t know they won’t follow Aurelio to Katorea in the morning. They don’t know that by noon they’ll be in Rainbase to face a Warlord of the Sea with only their friends and an unlikely marine captain for an ally.

So they sleep well.

And when Luffy’s patience runs out moments after leaving the drought-stricken town, Vivi will realize they never had to look for the rebels at all.

#one piece #sir crocodile x reader #sir crocodile x oc #sir crocodile #mirage in the desert #ao3 fanfic #oc fanfiction #male reader #x reader #x oc

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morethansalad · 7 months

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Chinese Vegan Duck (素鸭)

#vegan #appetizer #chinese cuisine #east asian cuisine #mid autumn festival #veganized #vegan duck #yuba #tofu skins #mushrooms #bamboo #carrots #green onion #ginger #soy sauce #vegan oyster sauce #sesame oil #wine #coconut sugar

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feelingnom · 8 months

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discovered this vegan ice cream/gelato place in japan during my research and now i’m gonna list a bunch of crazy flavors they have that i’m excited to try! all of these are nut free + dairy free and sosososo claire safe :))

black currant and honey sorbet, yuzu (my fave), peach from wakayama prefecture sorbet, apple cider vinegar sobet (which i’m a little afraid of), mango enzyme and okinawan lemon sorbet, mythical islands mandarin sorbet, ehime citrus unshiu sorbet.

they have a bunch that are totally vegan (aka honey free) and proper ice cream/gelato (not sorbet). i.e. fresh yuba (tofu skin) gelato, brown rice caramel gelato, sake flavor gelato, uji matcha and ume gelato, tomato sorbet :0, white miso vegan cheese gelato!!!, hemp seed and charcoal gelato, corn and amazake gelato, beets and amazake gelato, iran pomegranate and star ruby gelato, lychee and grapefruit sorbet, banana with charcoal gelato

i’m! so! excited!

#this is awesome #japan eats #omg wait should i have a tag for my tokyo noms?#i’m trying to not use instagram as much so maybe i will commit myself to the tumblr food blog lifestyle #the place is called premarche gelateria!#tokyo food #if i’m going to use a basic tag #this is just me listing flavors fr #hypothetically this is so yummy

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redsamuraiii · 1 year

Video

youtube

Arashiyama Bamboo Forest: Foodie Tour at the Birthplace of Zen!

There’s more than just bamboo forest and zen temples in Arashiyama, there are plenty of delicious food to be had as well!

1. Dango, Japanese dumpling made from rice flour.

2. Yojiya Cafe (Parfait - Ice Cream)

3. Yuba & Cheese (Dried Tofu skin with cheese and fish cake)

4. Ikayaki (similar to Takoyaki but more of a pancake style)

#youtube #japan vlog #vlog #japan #japan by food #shizuka anderson #japanese food #dango #yojiya cafe #parfait #yuba #ikayaki #takoyaki #kyoto #arashiyama

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slipshod-sawyer · 2 years

Text

I Know You’re Never Coming Back

The Sheriff of Nottingham and the Maid Marian have a past, one that’s not so bloody as it might’ve been thought.

The Sheriff was uncomfortable listening to the cat speak. The cat was actually the king of Gnomeland, but what did that matter? Not one bit, if anyone asked him

He supposed, however, that he might as well feel a slight bit more uncomfortable since he was in the same room as his Nemesis and they weren’t trying to kill each other for once.

His daughter stood near the other side of the room, with the other two witches. She was still the same girl he’d always known, but different in a slight matter.

What’s changed? Did I miss it? What is it?

He shouldn’t have slipped up about her mother, and he knew it. He hadn’t even realized he’d done it until Hood had given him a look. He was becoming soft.

”My mother died when I was a baby!”

”Course she did!”

He felt a slight remorseful for lying to her for years, but that’s what he was best at. Lying, cheating, and fist fights.

You weren’t the one who cheated.

Neither did she. It was agreed.

You still loved her.

Evil doesn’t love.

Liar.

Dot was talking to the other two, a confused look on her face. They both simply patted her shoulder and continued listening to the Cat-Gnome King.

She looks a bit like her mother.

She looks like me.

And her mother.

But mainly me.

The brown skin, the brown eyes… not his. Not his one bit.

She can’t know.

I know.

She’ll tell-

Who’s there to tell that’ll believe her?

How many times had he sat in the house, wishing to be anywhere else? None. He was Evil. He wasn’t going to mourn someone. Especially someone who wasn’t dead.

You shouldn’t have let her go.

We agreed on it.

She was pregnant.

Doesn’t matter.

You were in love.

Evil doesn’t love. Shut up.

Prove it.

No. I have nothing to prove.

You have everything to prove, idiot.

—

He was twelve years old when he first saw her. They were in the same forest group- Forest Group #3.

Yuba the Gnome scowled at all of them, his gaze wanting them to not play around. He was calling out different names to be in groups, all at random, it seemed.

“Volkan of Nottingham, group three.” Yuba moved on, his scowl transferring to another Never.

It wasn’t long however before a dark hand was stuck in his face.

”Hi!” the owner said. “I’m Marian.”

He scoffed and refused to acknowledge her.

Volkan was aware of her simply standing there, waiting on him to shake her hand.

He huffed and shook it, finally. Only to get her to leave him alone, of course. She was an Ever. She was stupid.

“You’re Volkan, right? I heard Yuba call your name off the list. Nottingham is a Never kingdom, right? I’m from Jaunt Jolie. It’s an Ever kingdom. It’s nice. It doesn’t have trees as big as Sherwood Forest though.”

She talked, it seemed. It was annoying.

Volkan interrupted her before she continued. “Stop. Talking. Now, or I’ll throw you to the wolves.”

Marian looked a bit offended, but she quieted down.

Thank the Storian.

Yuba growled off a few more names, most of which were Evers that had been saved for last. One of them headed their way.

Red hair ablaze, brown eyes watching Marian with calculated intent, and a bow slung over his shoulders. Volkan already knew who he was.

“Hood.”

“Volkan.”

They we’re respectful at best, he supposed. It was the best he could manage. Robin Hood was an idiot.

“And who might you be?” Hood said, smiling at Marian.

Marian grinned. “Robin! We already met at dinner last night!”

Hood laughed. “I know. I was just messing with you.”

Volkan moved away from them, irritated, and into the shadows of the School for Evil. His pale skin would burn easily in the hot sun.

Other Nevers from the Evil half of the school milled around, away from the Good Evers. It was a clean division, even if the Prince of Camelot, Arthur, wouldn’t leave some of the Nevers alone.

“Are you coming, Volkan?” Marian called.

Volkan heaved a sigh and followed she and Hood into the Forest with the other seven members of their group. Four other Nevers he didn’t recognize, Arthur of all people, Arthur’s lackey (Lancelot, he thought), and one of Arthur’s admirers.

He wasn’t looking forward to this.

He had good reason not too, as it turned out.

Yuba was going off about how only a prince could identify a princess, so he decided to put it to the test.

“You there! Marian! Up here!” he said.

Marian listened, and she was whisked into one of the four large barrels next to Yuba.

Yuba growled. “Volkan, Robin, find the girl. Choose.”

Volkan was shaking with rage already. Yuba was willingly letting Volkan make a fool of himself. He wouldn’t choose correctly. Only a prince could tell, and princes were good, not villains from Nottingham.

He listened, however. Better to make a fool of himself and get revenge later than argue and get a bad grade.

He waited for Hood to carefully pick the barrel furthest to the right before randomly choosing the barrel two away from it.

Yuba snapped his fingers and the barrels disappeared, leaving Marian behind, in the exact spot Volkan’s choice had been in.

Marian was grinning at him, proud of her seemingly newfound friend.

Hood was glaring.

Good. Let him be mad. I just bested him at what I wasn’t supposed to be able to do. I’m better than he is.

“He’s not a prince, Sir,” Arthur said.

Yuba nodded thoughtfully. “No, no he is not. Now, let’s move on.”

Volkan was grinning now. His lips moved up into a smile only a student of evil could manage. Evil had won this round.

—

It was the very end of their first year of the school. He had turned thirteen sometime in the past month.

Volkan was well aware that Marian believed them to be friends. She was sorely mistaken, but it made Hood uncomfortable and irritated, so he put up with it.

Doesn’t hurt that she’s pretty, and nice.

Shut up.

He was currently sitting in the balcony off the side of the common room in the Vice Tower, watching the lights and hearing the faint music coming from the ballroom across the bay and at the Ever school.

He’d been standing there when Hood had asked Marian to be his date to the Dance. He’d been a bit jealous, but was content with the knowledge that if he’d been an Ever, Marian might’ve gone with him instead.

“Volkan, you lump of useless information!” A shout rang from inside. It was John, as it always was, it seemed.

Volkan huffed. He was on the Leader track, while John was on the Henchman one, but it didn’t matter. As far as anyone other than the two of them were aware, it was the opposite. Volkan was pulling the shots, but John was the cover. Anyone who wanted to kill him? They’d have to kill the supposed Leader first.

Looking back at the lights one more time before going inside, Volkan could have sworn that he felt someone watching him too.

—

It was dark outside. Midnight was high upon them all. The cold breeze was enough to make even Yuba shiver if he’d been there.

He was standing in the Endless Woods, next to a small lake, awaiting in her arrival.

Marian’s figure was silhouetted in the darkness. Her own black skin blended into the darkness surrounding her. Volkan found it beautiful.

She’d grown up a lot, he supposed. He had too. Matured. Marian was no longer as happy go lucky and innocent as she once was. This was their third year after all. They’d both just recently turned fifteen.

He stood stock still as she approached him. He had no idea why she’d asked him to meet her here tonight. He had no clue why she wasn’t off spending time with Hood before leaving the school for a couple of weeks to visit her family.

His mind was encased in rage and pure, unfiltered hatred at the mere thought of Hood. Thought he was so high and mighty… what would he do if he knew his princess was out here with him instead?

Marian smiled a bit reproachfully but still walked closer. Only she wouldn’t fear getting this close to a Never while it was dark and she was defenseless with the exception of her finger glow.

As if on cue, she lit her finger glow, the purple shining bright in the darkness. At the same time, he lit his, the blue mixing with her purple.

”Marian.” He raised an eyebrow at her, his head tilted back.

Marian smiled more at seeing him clearly now. It made him question things he shouldn’t question.

“How are you, Volkan? We haven’t gotten to talk in a bit,” she said.

Volkan frowned and shook his head. “We never really talk anyway. You’re the one doing all of it.”

Marian smiled brighter and laughed. “You’re right, of course. But don’t avoid the question.”

”I’m fine.” He shrugged.

She let her smile fall for a few seconds. “You’re not in any pain? I got on to him for that fight. He knew it was wrong.”

Volkan shrugged once more. The leftover pain from his fight with Hood two days before was still there, a dull, throbbing ache from his ribs and a pierce, sharp pain like a knife whenever he breathed too deep. It was obvious she already knew that though, so he found no reason to state it.

He was taken aback and a bit uncomfortable when she threw her arms around him and hugged him tight.

“I’m just glad you’re both alright. I was afraid it would escalate and one of you would kill the other. Save that for your fairy tale, though. No one needs to die here at school.”

Volkan didn’t answer, but he stopped struggling in her grasp, allowing her to hug him.

She pulled away, smiling. “Did you agree to meet me so you could try and be better or Robin, or because you genuinely wanted to see me?”

The short laugh he let out was enough to give her an answer. He was Evil. She was Good. Of course he came to best Hood. He was his Nemesis. He would always put that rivalry first.

Marian’s smile diminished a bit, but understanding flooded in right behind it. She understood that as Evil, he couldn’t care for her as she did him.

Volkan felt a certain warmth attack his cheeks and neck the longer he looked at her, the longer she watched him, the longer they stood together.

“Could you ever care for someone, Volkan? Even if it’s not love, could you care for someone?” Her voice was quiet, the tension thick on her tone.

He waited a moment before answering. He couldn’t love, he shouldn’t care, but here he stood: somewhere between the threshold of the two.

“I don’t know,” he said. His own voice was a near whisper, his words cracking as he spoke.

Her hand were on his shoulders, he realized. Her face and body were closer than usual.

It wasn’t until her lips were on his that he realized what she meant: that she was in love with him and still wanted him even if he couldn’t want her back.

He didn’t take long to kiss her in return. Her lips were like the sweet honey that the nuns in Nottingham made in the spring. He wanted to melt right through her if he could.

He felt proud in this moment, proud of himself for being here and kissing her, proud of her for having the courage and strength to love someone who couldn’t love her like she wanted, proud of Hood for not ruining this moment… proud of himself for not running away like a coward.

He vaguely wondered if Hood had wondered where his princess was sneaking of too, if Hood had followed her. He hoped he had, actually. Then Hood was see that Marian had chosen Evil. She’d chosen him. Hood would see his princess kissing another young man like she didn’t have a prince waiting on her.

He hadn’t noticed his arms snaking around her waist, but she didn’t seem to mind, just wanting him.

There was a throbbing pain in his chest that forced him to pull away from her, but he still held her close as she pressed her forehead to his and panted for air.

Her eyes bore into him now like searchlights.

“What?” he asked.

She smiled softly, lovingly, and placed a hand on his cheek. “You care.”

He wasted only a silent moment before speaking in such a quiet whisper he didn’t think she’d heard him. “I care.”

Her smile was everything.

—

“You can’t kill him, Volkan! It’s not worth it!” she pleaded with him.

He was seventeen. He was in love. He’d accepted it. But Hood was in the way. Their fairy tale had opened and he was about to close it, to let Evil win for the first time in years.

Marian had stopped him, he realized. It was she who had called out for him to stop.

He turned to her, frowning. They were in love, even if the Storian, the magical pen that wrote their fairy tales and predicted The End, continued to try and put her with Hood.

“Please, Volkan.” She watched him raise his sword from Hood’s neck, only to sigh in relief as he tossed it away.

Volkan cursed his life now. How dare he fall in love and cause his own fairy tale to ruin? How dare Marian allow him to do that? How dare Hood simply exist?

Volkan didn’t shove her away though when she pulled him close and kissed his cheek.

“Thank you,” she whispered. Whispering, because even after the past two years, Hood still didn’t know about he and Marian. Marian had kept her promise. Hood would never know.

Marian moved past him and picked the sword up, and Volkan was not proud to admit that his eyes followed her, watching her every move like a hawk. She was beautiful in everything she did: so there was no reason not to.

The sword came from behind and sliced his back open.

Volkan felt the red hot fury take over his body as he swung as hard as possible behind him, a sharp crack resounding through the area.

Hood hit the ground at the same time Volkan did, and Volkan took a second longer to pass out from the pain and blood loss.

The last thing he registered with a working mind was Marian crying over him and trying stop the blood flow.

He’d woken up three days later, stitches in his back, Marian gone, and parts of Nottingham vandalized with signs saying:

Long Live The Hood; Down With The Sheriff

Where was Marian?

He got his answer quickly enough. With Hood. In the Forest. Even though neither had won their tale, Hood was still seen as the victor, and as that was the truth, Marian was forced to go with him in order to keep their secret.

His heart was encased in rage, but he still felt like he lost.

He lost because he lost Marian.

—

Now twenty years old, he hadn’t had a proper night with Marian in three years. He missed her. So, naturally, he went to visit her in Maidenvale while she was visiting family.

Her laugh echoed across the room like a cheery afternoon stream. It brought a smile to his face and light to his eyes like nothing else could.

His hand were on her waist, her’s around his neck, and they were dancing to the music filtering inside the small house from the town square.

He met her eyes and gave her a wolffish grin as she pushed up and kissed him.

His arms held her tight as she did. She was his everything. He wouldn’t let her go, not if he could help it.

She pulled away for a moment and smiled at him before kissing him again.

She loves you.

I know.

You love her.

I know.

Evil does love.

I know.

—

Volkan was there when Marian told Hood she was pregnant, but not with his child, with Volkan’s. With the Sheriff’s.

Hood was livid. Volkan hadn’t thought that an Everboy could get mad like Hood did in that moment.

Volkan was prepared to fight he and Marian’s way out of there, but Hood didn’t do anything other than look mad. He didn’t shout, didn’t fight, didn’t argue.

Volkan’s arm was snaked around Marian’s waist and she was leaning on him, her fingers secretly tracing the scar path on his back through his shirt and jacket. She knew the path by heart.

“Are you sure it’s his?” Hood asked, getting a small semblance of control back into his voice.

Marian nodded. “Completely.”

”What happened to me?” Hood asked.

“We’re not together, Robin.” Marian reminded him.

Robin nodded. “I know, but… I still thought…”

For once in his life, Volkan felt a bit sorry for an Ever. It also his him that he’d bested the great Robin Hood more times in his life than Hood had bested him. It made him… not happy, but it was the closest word he could think of.

Hood sighed. “After you have the child, you’re not going to be able to stay with the kid or our rest Sheriff here. The people will riot and it won’t do anyone any good. A Never and Ever can’t be together. Not to the people.”

Volkan hated to admit it, but Hood was right. He was going to lose this fight. He’d have the child, the proof that Evil could love, but he wouldn’t have Marian, the woman that Evil loved.

“She can still stay here, to be safe and stay near you two.” Hood looked at Marian with a sadness that Volkan knew.

You’re more alike than you thought.

Shut up.

Marian smiled softly, sadly, at Volkan and nodded.

—

Volkan ran a hand through his close cropped black hair and then took baby Dot from Marian’s arms as she smiled sleepily at the two of them.

“Dotty…” he whispered. He had a kid. A kid! Who would’ve thought?

It hit him like a pile of bricks. He was gaining little Dot, but losing the only person he’d ever loved or cared for.

Marian gripped his hand tight as he took her’s. She knew it too.

—

The Sheriff watched Dot and the other two witches set off for the mission that King Teapea had given them. He had a sinking feeling in his stomach.

That was his daughter - the one person he ended up coming close to loving more than her mother - and he was letting her go on a dangerous mission without him.

I love you, he thought regretfully. He should’ve said it years ago. Should’ve, but didn’t.

Marian wasn’t coming back either. She couldn’t. Even if she still loved him (which he doubted, he’d seen the mural of she and Hood kissing outside the tavern), she couldn’t love him like she used to, when neither cared what others thought and who saw them other than Hood.

He could feel the old ache in his chest resurface, but not the leftover pain from his boyhood fight with Robin Hood. No, this was a different pain. This pain was so much worse. He could feel his heart throbbing, calling for its other half, all the while knowing it was calling in vain.

—

His last breaths were taken a couple nights later, lying on the forest floor, without Marian, Hood, or Dot anywhere close to him.

Evil dies alone, his own father had told him years ago.

He didn’t die alone.

Sophie of Woods Beyond, the new Dean for the School of Evil was leaning over him, trying to save him. It reminded him badly of Marian when Robin had nearly killed him.

”Tell Dot… me and her mother… it was love…”

He couldn’t hear any of the words that Sophie was crying out; blood was pooling in his ears.

Evil can love.

Evil doesn’t love.

Stop lying to yourself.

He took his last breath, and there was no Marian to save him from his fate this time, but he didn’t die alone.

The Sheriff of Nottingham, Volkan of Nottingham - dead, for good this time.