#Gouda to meet ya

[phant0mc1d3]

Fic where it's the batfam meeting all the stranger ghosts and Danny acting like it's any other Tuesday.

Dairy King: Take some gouda it's a very good cheese don't ya know!

Danny: Cool thanks :)

All of the bats collectively: (What the actual hell is happening rn)

#danny phantom #dc x dp prompt #dc x dp #i just love dairy king nobody talks about him #dk: *oprah meme* and you get cheese and you get cheese

[tom5ive]

Rekap paruh awal 2022

Januari

Malam tahun baru aku habiskan di Indonesia, karena waktu itu kebetulan lagi mudik. Harusnya tanggal 31 Desember udah balik lagi ke Belanda sih, tapi karena masih kangen dan belum puas di Indonesia, jadinya kami perpanjang tinggal di Indonesia sekitar 2 minggu. Lumayan nambah waktu untuk sekedar kumpul-kumpul bareng keluarga :-) Sempet mampir ke Jawa Tengah juga karena budenya Ajeng berpulan :-(

Sekembalinya ke Belanda, ternyata Ajeng kena covid. Sepertinya ketularan pas lagi di pesawat. Studio mungil kami di Delft tidak memungkinkan bagi kami untuk tinggal beda ruangan, jadinya aku tetep beraktivitas bareng sama Ajeng, bahkan tidur di kasur yang sama. Anehnya sampe Ajeng sembuh pun diriku ga ada tanda-tanda kena Covid, hasil tes PCR pun negatif. Syukurlah!

Februari

Di bulan ini mulai serius cari rumah. Beberapa alasan untuk pindah rumah adalah karena makin lama studio ini terasa kecil. Kejadian spesial yang terjadi kemarin, seperti Ajeng kena Covid makin mendorong kami untuk cari tempat baru. Kami juga sering kerja dari rumah, dan kalau lagi sama-sama meeting online suaranya bocor satu sama lain. Dan akhirnya kami juga memutuskan untuk pindah dan beli rumah, bukan sekedar pindah. Alasannya simpel: kalau nyewa uangnya hilang, dan kalau beli uangnya ditabung. Ya kan?

Di bulan ini juga nyobain untuk nge-bid pertama kali.. Yang secara mengejutkan.. Langsung diterima. DEG-DEG-AN banget karena rumahnya emang cakep banget, masih di sekitaran Delft (yang bagi kami kotanya ideal banget), rumah tapak pula. Pastinya seneng banget karena langsung diterima. Tapiii.. Sekitar 2-3 hari setelah kami menang bid, aku selalu bangung dalam perasaan ga enak. Rumah itu indah, tapi banyak tapinya.. Pertama, cukup tua; kedua, butuh renovasi banget; ketiga, perlu overbid banyak banget buat bisa menang. Rasanya banyak sekali hal yang kita gak tau dari rumah ini dan.. Akhirnya bikin makin ga yakin. Ini bener-bener bikin aku ga bisa kerja, overthinking, ga mau makan hahaha, bahkan kayanya turun 2 kg dalam waktu kurang dari seminggu. Akhirnya kami mutusin untuk mundur dari proses pembelian rumah itu :-(

Maret

Beberapan weekend yang cukup berkesan: ketemu kenalan sodara dari Surabaya, terus ketemu temen kuliah di Amsterdam yang akhirnya kita jalan-jalan seharian (bener-bener dari pagi sampe malem di Amsterdam). Capek tapi seru! Ini juga salah satu hal yang disenengin dari 2022 sih, karena pandemi udah mereda, jadi hampir setiap weekend ada jadwal main/ketemu orang :-)

Di bulan ini juga ada berantem sama istri hehehe. Ya normal lah namanya manusia hidup bareng, pasti akan ada konflik. Tapi yang satu ini mungkin salah satu yang terheboh, tapi sekaligus jadi salah satu yang kami bisa belajar banyak atas satu sama lain. Detail berantemnya gausah ditulis lah hahaha.

Di bulan ini juga mulai lagi viewing beberapa rumah, setelah kejadian yang bikin agak down akhir Februari lalu.

April

Jadi manusia berumur 28 tahun, wadidaw umur kepala 3 makin dekat! Dikasih Ajeng kado dompet Secrid yang dibeli di Wageningen. Milih sendiri, jadinya tepat guna dan cocok :-)

Di kerjaan, mulai gabung sama proyek baru. Isinya wong londo kabeh (proyek sebelumnya juga sih). Kalo ngobrol mereka kaya ga ada intensi untuk ngomong Inggris (yang mana bagus buat latihan Londo), tapi jadinya tekanan banget ke diri sendiri hahaha. Yowis memang harus dihadapi. Proyeknya juga bener-bener kerasa kaya proyek beneran, karena ini berupa proyek yang di-deploy ke Production (bukan kaya proyek sebelumya yang lebih banyak eksperimen).

April ini juga beririsan sama bulan Ramadhan, jadinya puasa. Puasa tahun ini ga terlalu terasa berat, karena paling lama "cuma" jam 9 malem udah buka puasa. Dibandingin sama puasa pertama di Belanda di tahun 2017, itu buka puasa bisa jam 22:00-22:30, jadinya buka jam 20:30-21:00 masih oke lah..

Di akhir bulan, kami coba nge-bid rumah lagi di Gouda dan dapet (lagi!). Rumahnya cakep banget, ga terlalu jauh dari Centrum, masih walking distance dari stasiun Sprinter, rumah tapak pula. Kali ini ga ada perasaan ga enak kaya sebelumnya, jadi kami bener-bener jalani proses dengan tenang dan penuh percaya diri. Sampai sebelum kami inspeksi dan tanda tangan pre-purchase agreement, si penjual yang ternyata narik diri.

Shock, karena kondisinya waktu itu kami udah di kereta banget mau perjalanan ke rumah itu. Tau-tau ditelpon makelar penjual bahwa inspeksinya di-cancel. Usut punya usut, si penjual ternyata adalah pasangan yang mau bercerai, makanya mereka mau jual rumahnya. Lalu di pagi sebelum kita mau tanda tangan, mereka memutuskan untuk kembali bersama dan gajadi ngejual rumah. Hahaha super kocak 😂 Kami juga memutuskan untuk legowo, karena pas kami viewing, ada satu kamar kecil dengan kasur bayi kecil. Kami mikir, kalau kita ngotot buat beli rumah itu, mungkin bakal ada perpecahan lagi di rumah tangga mereka, dan bayi itu mungkin bakal kena imbasnya.. Humm, di akhir hari aku dan Ajeng cuma bisa ketawa-ketawa.

Mei

Lebaran, ngebantuin KMD bikin sate padang. Total nusukin 150 sate bareng Ajeng wuhuuu. Di bulan ini juga ujian teori buat nyetir yang Alhamdulillah langsung lulus.

Di akhir bulan liburan singkat ke Luxembourg, negara kecil yang ukurannya paling seukuran satu provinsi di Belanda. Liburan yang cukup aktif dan menyenangkan. DI salah satu hari kita hiking di suatu bentang alam di dekat Kota Echternach. Rutenya relatif ringan, cakep deh, total jalan sekitar 20 km di hari itu doang. Balik ke Kota Luxembourg, ternyata lagi ada marathon, jadinya nontonin orang lari rame-rame. Alhasil ga dapet tram karena semua orang berebut mau masuk. Capek, mana sehabis jalan panjang seharian, jadinya makan pasta di Vapiano yang uwenak.

Di bulan ini juga viewing ke apartemen tempat kita tinggal sekarang :-)

Juni

Tanggal 1 banget memberanikan diri untuk nge-bid ke apartemen di Voorburg yang langsung diterima di hari itu juga. Alhamdulillah :-) Kali ini bener-bener no drama, inspeksi lancar, komunikasi sama penjual, makelar dan penasehat macem-macem juga lancar. Sepertinya memang jodohnya hohoho.

Pertengahan bulan ikutan Inburgeringsexamen demi kehidupan yang tidak terikat pada pihak manapun. Sengaja ambil hampir semua ujian dalam satu hari, jadinya cuti seharian sekalian bisa istirahat. Lalu diajak temennya Ajeng untuk mampir ke rumahnya di daerah Tiel, yang deket sama perkebunan buah ceri. Jadinya kami mampir ke kebun dan metik sendiri ceri yang ginuk-ginuk dan manis-manis banget. Enak!

Di kerjaan juga dikasih kesempatan untuk jadi semacam co-supervisor di mini-project sama mahasiswa Wageningen. Jadinya di akhir bulan ada kesempatan untuk balik ke kampus, kangen sekali~ Siangnya bela-belain untuk makan di kantin chinese food favorit yang murah meriah. Rasanya masih sama, yum! Lalu diundang ke nikahan kolega orang Belanda yang bentukan acaranya unik banget. Karena doi seneng sama hal-hal berbau abad pertengahan, nikahnya di semacam museum abad pertengahan di Alphen a/d Rijn. Dengan pengantin dan pengunjungnya pake busana adat pertengahan juga. Karena saya orangnya membosankan saya mah pake batik aja hahaha.

#story in my life #dailystory

[spudinacup]

Guess what time it is... 

It’s Horny on Main day folks.

Keyframes by my lovely talented and constantly thirsty for some Deltarune No Suit brother @thelostmoongazer . He did a fabulous job crafting the initial concept for this animation and really should consider animating more.

Inbetweens by me.

#art #moon #collaboration #Mr Moon #SOI #look at this can of cheese lookin fucker #Release thine cheddar #Gouda to meet ya #Swiss this man #Moon Mozzarella #his name is very clsoe to that actually #So Moon Mozzarella aint that far off #animation #siblings work together

[immortalcoelacanth]

PTA: Science Team (HLVRAI Fic 1/3)

*pulls dusty story out of garage and drops it into Tumblr*

I have been trying to finish the first chapter for AGES, and I finally got it done! I crave PTA AU content due to the wholesomeness and angst, and I just had to work on one short fic for this fandom. So, welcome to the first chapter out of three!

Word count: 1788

Summary: PTA meetings are a sham and no one hates them more than Gordon, but upon being forced to miss a “mandatory” meeting because of work, Benrey comes up with a brilliant idea to deal with this problem.

Chapter 1: Hostile Arrangements Require Equally Hostile Solutions

“Fuck! Shit! Okay-okay, I’ll just-motherfucker she did what?!”

Cursing was in Gordon’s nature. He often used it as a way to express his angry, dismay, shock, and all sorts of other negative emotions. As such it was not unusual to see pacing about and spitting insults left and right. 

What was unusual, however, was the fact that he was cursing in his own home. He had a strict swearing free zone in effect as a way to stop Joshua from picking up on any foul language, including a swear jar that tended to fill up whenever Bubby visited. It was quite fortunate that Joshua was currently being distracted by Benrey as the pair had been playing video games together for the past hour or so. 

Or they had been until, in a surprising display of stealth, Benrey crept out of the young boy’s room and slowly approached the frustrated Gordon. 

Gordon, who was currently continuing to quietly yell into his cell phone. 

“Are you kidding me?! I was scheduled for a meeting on the weekend! I have work tonight! How in the FUCK did she-”

“psssst, hey, hey feetman. you might wanna chill out there and, uh, stuff. turn down the volume.” Benrey cut in while pointing the tv remote at Gordon and clicking the volume button. “don’t wanna be a bad boy and teach joshie any naughty words.” 

“Shut the fuck up.” Gordon sighed, no real anger in his voice before redirecting his attention back to the phone call. “No, not you Natasha, it was just Benrey-”

“tell tasha her cookies are baller.”

“Wha-baller? Who the fuck says baller anymore?!” 

“c’moooooooon man, be a bro.”

“Natasha I am so sorry-tell her that yourself!”

“i can’t feeman, you know i don’t have a phone.”

“YOU WERE THE ONE WHO STUCK IT IN THE MICROWAVE!”

“i-i was just chagrin’ the battery with those radio waves, man. ads… they never lie.”

Laughter could be heard coming from the phone in response to the conversation going on between the two men. It was enough to snap Gordon out of his somewhat enraged state and refocus on whatever it was that Natasha was telling him. He gestured for Benrey to leave and only succeeded in shooing the ex-guard to the kitchen so he could have some peace. 

Not that the peace lasted long based on the muttered cursing and general sounds of Gordon stomping around. 

About ten minutes later, the frustrated physicist joined him in the kitchen, quickly making himself a cup of coffee and grumbling under his breath. Welp, looked like this was the perfect moment for some interrogation. 

“soooooo, wha was that about?” Benrey asked as he took another bite of the block of cheese he had been digging into. If you asked him, he’d say it tasted pretty gouda.

Damn, he needed to torment Gordon with more puns again. 

“Fucking-” Gordon exhaled sharply and ran a hand through his messy hair, too angry to noticed how Benrey reached out and gently pulled at some of the locks, watching them bounce and resume their previously curly shape. “Linda.”

Well, there went his good mood. 

Benrey’s eyes immediately narrowed, becoming nothing more than glowing slits in his shadowy face, as a disgruntled frown replaced his previous smile. Even the cheese in his hand seemed to start burning, smoke wafting off it as it began to melt in response to the sheer anger that name invoked in him. 

Linda Smith, the scourge of the neighborhood and one of the most uptight, pieces of shit that Benrey had ever encountered. A narcissist with a massive superiority complex, she constantly put down everyone around her who she thought of as being inferior.

Which was just a cover for how much of a racist shitwad she was, plus there were the various comments she made about fags invading the neighborhood.

An obvious insult aimed at not just Gordon and Benrey, but the other “not normal” couples that lived here and there. Poor Joshua had overheard some of the insults on multiple occasions, and she had called the kid a mutt to his face-

“Benrey? You wanna calm down before you poke holes in the ceiling again?”

Fortunately, Gordon’s exasperated voice snapped Benrey out of his enraged state before he accidentally inflicted more damage to the kitchen. A place that had seen many, many small explosions and fires. At this point, he towered over the other man as sharpened, boney spikes poked out of his back and scrapped the ceiling. Plaster fell and dusted the countertop. 

“oops, s-sorry dude.” Benrey awkwardly shrugged, flesh dripping from his arms and face in a rather gruesome display, not that Gordon was bothered by this. He was used to how… horrific his partner could become. 

Especially when someone mentioned Joshua being hurt or insulted in any way. It was actually quite wholesome thinking about how much Benrey cared about the young boy and how much their friendship had bloomed since they first met. 

“I get it.” Gordon sighed. “She’s such a bitch she’d make anyone Hulk out.”

“ten points for the ref there, feetman.”

The physicist somewhat seriously flipped Benrey off, making him laugh, before continuing to rant about the purpose of the now finished phone call. 

“I still can’t believe that stupid school listened to her, and I’m not the only one getting fucked over here!” He spat. “I can’t just drop out-”

It was at this moment that the source of Gordon’s rage dawned on Benrey, and the ex-guard spoke up. “wait, the school thingy?”

“You mean meeting?”

“ya.”

Gordon groaned and hid his face in his hands. “The MEETING! Linda fucked up my schedule! I don’t know what she said to the administrator, but they canceled the weekend meeting I was booked for and rescheduled me for tonight. When I have WORK!”

Benrey winced in sympathy and reached out to pat Gordon’s shoulder with his not cheese coated hand. “damn, th-that’s a real cringe move. can’t you get, uh, joshie’s mom to take care of it? s...shea?”

“I can’t,” Gordon muttered, face muffled by his hands. “Shea’s been on a business trip for some conference and she gets back in five days.”

“oooooh, that’s why you’ve had little josh bro for so long?”

Rather than respond, the physicist just continued to groan and hide his face in his hands as he tried to figure out how to fix the mess he had been caught up in. 

Joshua’s school had a very… specific structure to how it was run. Standard funding and where it would be directed was determined by the staff, however, sometimes the school would receive donations or raise large amounts of money through fairs and other events. 

And it was how this extra funding would be spent that the local community had the chance to weigh in on. Determining if it should be used to get more sports supplies, help fund after school programs, or be used to help make the school more accessible. 

The ramp that had been added two years ago was one such example of the potential good that these extra funds had, however there was one problem with this process. 

All parents were required to attend a meeting and voice their thoughts. This was a rather new development that had been added after a small group of disgruntled parents, ones who had objected to using the extra funds to improve the school and arguing that it should go towards planning fun trips instead, had tried to sue the school board. 

Of course, the case had immediately been thrown out and dismissed, but it had set a dangerous precedent. A precedent that now made it mandatory for all parents to attend one meeting to determine their opinions on where the funding should be used and write it down so they could not claim their voices had not been heard. 

Honestly, it was such a stupid arrangement in Gordon’s opinion. Why not just send out an email? Or forms that kids could take home to their parents. It was so… disruptive and annoying, especially for single parents who had to work long hours. 

Like him. 

His hands tensed, nails nearly dug into his skin before Benrey carefully moved them, holding them. As Gordon looked up, the ex-guard sent him an awkward yet warm smile. An attempt at reassuring him that things would turn out alright. 

“hey... you-you gotta chillax feetman, things’ll be okay-”

“How the hell am I supposed to chillax in this situation?!” Gordon barked as he removed his hands from Benrey’s, shoved himself out of his seat, and began pacing around, furiously staring at the floor. 

“I’ve been fucked over by some racist bitch! Joshua needs someone there and it has to be someone who has some kind of guardianship over him for that stupid funding bullshit!”

As his partner raged on about the unfairness and overall stupidity of the situation, Benrey decided that it was time to think. To think, and plot, and come up with something that would hopefully calm Gordon down while solving the problem that Linda had caused. 

Simply put, Joshua needed someone who had designated guardianship over him to be present during the meeting to act in his best interests. Not surprisingly, Benrey did not have this title due as both he and Gordon had agreed that it would not be the best idea due to both his inhumane nature and the potential destruction he might cause. 

But, that did not mean that only Shea and Gordon were listed as the young boy’s guardians. There was one other who had been granted the title in case of an emergency, although his presence had never been needed up until this point, which was probably why Gordon had forgotten about him in his stressed out state. 

Dr. Coomer, one of Joshua’s “grandpas”. 

And, of course, if one member of the Science Team went somewhere, then the rest had to follow. The Science Team stuck together through thick and thin, no matter the strife or struggle and always left chaos in their wake. 

Hostile arrangements required equally hostile solutions, after all. 

“this is gonna be baller.” Benrey chuckled, his eyes flashing brightly at the brilliance of his plan. Now all he had to do was get Gordon to agree to it.

“pssst, yo, xen to gaydon.”

There was something about the tone that Benrey’s voice took on that snapped Gordon out of his ranting. How calm and collected he sounded, the coherency and confidence in his words. Somewhat concerned, the physicist turned around and saw the scheming look in the ex-guard’s glowing eyes as his fingers drummed on the table. 

“feetman, i got a plan.”

                                             xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

I would like to make it clear that no offense is intended towards anyone named Linda, aside from the one racist Linda I know that she was named after who will never, ever read this so my sins will forever remain unknown :>

#my story #fanfiction #hlvrai #hlvrai gordon #hlvrai benrey #pta au #humor #quick warning that a racist and homophobic character is mentioned #and as such her crimes of using slurs are used #chapter one of three

[viranlly]

Viranlly hosts Thanksgiving Dinner.

in partnership with Wines of British Columbia.

IT’S CRUNCH TIME Y’ALL!

I don’t even where time went but here we are now, just over a week before Thanksgiving. The aroma of PSL is in the crisp fall air, the days are getting shorter, and the meals we preppin’ are getting cozier each day. The holidays are upon us and so is the (grape) harvest month.

To celebrate both festivities, I’ve teamed up with the Wines of British Columbia to come up with some fun thanksgiving recipes and of course delicious BC wine pairings to go with them. I’m skipping the turkey, because let’s be honest, I don’t trust myself with a bird that size, nor that I have the space and capacity both physically and mentally to handle a turkey. I want to make sure that this holiday cooking will be as stress-free and as boozy as possible, because we all deserve that kind of holidays.

Please note that these recipes serve 4-6 people.

First thing first, it’s not a dinner party at Viranlly’s without a damn-well-put-together CHARCUTERIE AND CHEESE BOARD. Here’s the fun part about this board: there’s no recipe. The trick is you want to make sure you have a balance in flavours, textures and colours (because ya know.. aesthetic). 

THE MEAT : variety of cured meats with different flavour profiles - hot genoa salami, prosciutto, iberico ham, chorizo, and capicollo are always a great start.

THE CHEESE : make sure you have at least hard and soft cheese, everything in between never hurts either - jammy brie or camembert is a crowd pleaser, manchego is delicious, especially when you can find the truffle-y ones. Can never go wrong with parmigianio-reggiano, or a nutty pecorino. Aged cheddar and smoked gouda if you want a little funk. The possibility is honestly, endless.

THE FRUITS AND VEGGIES : grapes and olives (olives are veggies, right? I prefer unpitted Castelvetrano) are staple on my board. Seasonal fruits and veggies always add amazing flavours to the board : pears and figs in the fall, peaches and berries in the summer.

THE EVERYTHING ELSE: honey, hummus, nuts, preserves, bread, crackers, pate, and everything your heart and stomach desire.

I always love to start the night off with a bottle or two of bubbly, something really crisp, citrusy and refreshing. The Howling Bluff Faux Paw has a ton of berry notes with a just a zest of spice, perfect to be enjoyed with everything on this board. Another great bubbly is the Haywire Pink Bub, which, we consumed throughout the summer. 

The next two dishes are heavily inspired by my friends’ thanksgiving last year, with a view adjustments to meet what I have readily in my, and most kitchens.

This RADICCHIO AND SQUASH SALAD is my definition of the perfect autumn salad: rich and nutty, a hint of bitterness and lots of crunch.

THE VEGGIES: 

1 medium-sized delicata squash, sliced up to half-an-inch-thick half moons (wow that’s wordy). Toss them in olive oil, salt and pepper before hitting the 450F preheated oven for 25-35 mins, or until  fork tender. Occasionally turn your sheet tray to make sure they’re cooked evenly, and flip the squash over halfway. 

Tear up and cut one head of radicchio into quarter, soak them in ice bath for a couple minutes before assembly. 

Thinly slice one medium-sized asian pear, toss in the juice of half a lemon and season with salt and pepper. 

THE DRESSING: 

Toss half a cup (minus a handful for later) of pecan, or walnut, or hazelnuts (really, any nuts you have around -- 2 tablespoon peanut butter work too), 1 small shallot, juice of half an orange and one lemon, 1 tablespoon dijon mustard, a splash of red wine vinegar and 2 tablespoon maple syrup (or honey) into a blender. Blend together and gradually add in a 1/4 cup of olive oil until a silky consistency is achieved. Season with salt and pepper.

THE ASSEMBLY: 

Spread leftover nuts in a small sheet tray, drizzle with olive oil, salt and one tbsp maple syrup.Put them in the still-hot oven just enough to get them slightly toasty. I tend to forget about them and burn the nuts to the ground, so leave this step until the last 5-10 mins before assembly. 

Combine squash, radicchio in a big bowl, coat with dressing. Transfer to serving plate. 

Sprinkle the toasted nuts, and the asian pear allover squash and radicchio.

Shave some parmesan or piave.

Drizzle with some more olive oil and lemon juice, and crack some more black pepper.

I thought this salad can use the brightness and the blossoming freshness of the Orofino orange wine: stunning colour, burst of tropical fruits and elegant floral notes. My mouth is watering as typed this.  

This SAUSAGE AND CORNBREAD STUFFING changed the stuffing game forever. Honestly, you’d never want to eat another crusty, white bread stuffing for any holidays ever again. It’s so very indulgent, buttery, and loaded with aromatics. Crispy up top, soft and moist -- yes, moist inside.

THE CORNBREAD:

I am obsessed with the cornbread from Boulevard Kitchen and Oyster Bar. And since this recipe relies quite heavily on the cornbread, trust me, you’d want to use the best cornbread you can find. In this case, I’ve found the winner. Cut up 1 1/2 lb cornbread to 3/4″ pieces and leave them in a 350F oven for 40 mins or so until they’re dry. Don’t worry we’ll the moisture back later. Transfer cornbread to a big mixing bowl.

THE STUFFING:

Cook and a lb or so of breakfast sausage in a skillet. Break them apart with a wooden spoon and let brown about 8 minutes. Transfer sausages to a plate.

In the same skillet, leaving the sausage brown bits, add 1/4 cup of butter and cook one diced onion and two stalks of cubed up celery until softened. Add three cloves of chopped garlic and one sliced japaleno, cook for another minute or so. Add 1/2 cup of dry white wine and another 1/4 cup of butter and let the liquid evaporate. Add thyme and chopped sage.

THE ASSEMBLY:

Combine cornbread and stuffing in the mixing bowl, add 2 eggs and 1 1/2 cups of chicken stock. Stir them occasionally until cornbread absorbs most of the liquid.

Lightly butter a cast iron pan, or baking dish and transfer mixture in.

Put the pan in the 350F oven for 40-ish minutes then turn up the heat to 425F for 15-20 mins until the outside is crisp and golden brown.

The VinAmité Chanson d’Amour is quite a delightful pairing for this dish. The chardonnay in the blend gives that soft minerality while keeping the palate fresh and peachy. Another great option is  the Unsworth Pinot Noir: plum-y, dark cherry, a swift hint of earthy herbs - brings out the thyme aroma in the dish.

The last recipe is a simple, choose-your-own-adventure kind of recipe to replace the boring old sweet potato casserole. It’s a BYOB: Build Your Own Baked sweet potato bar!

THE SWEET POTATO:

Cut 4 medium-sized sweet potatoes into half and coat them in olive oil, salt and pepper. Put them cut side down on a sheet tray and into a 425F oven for 30 minutes or until they’re fork tender.

THE TOPPINGS:

The toppings, again, can honestly be anything you’re in the mood for buuut these are my three favourites:

Spicy chorizo cooked in vermouth and butter. It’s as simple as it sounds. In a skillet, heat a tablespoon or so olive oil and bloom chili flakes in it. Slice two links of spanish chorizo and toss into the chili oil. Add vermouth and butter and cook until sauce thickens. 

Spicy soy garlic tempeh. Dice one slab of tempeh (I used tempea) into 1/2 cm cubes and season with salt and pepper. In a skillet, add one table spoon of oil and add 2 cloves of chopped garlic. Toss the tempe in, and add 1 tablespoon of soy sauce, and 1 tablespoon of kecap manis. If you like the heat, add 1-2 sliced up birdseye chili. Serve with cilantro and green onion.

Lobster salad. Cut 2 lobster claws into chunks, add the juice of half a lemon and season with salt and pepper. Add 2 tablespoon of kewpie mayo, one teaspoon of honey, and mix together. Add 2 stalks of thinly sliced celery and top it off with dill. Season with salt and pepper as needed.

THE SAUCE: 

As simple as sour cream (or plain greek yoghurt), lemon juice, olive oil, grated garlic cloves, seasoned with salt and pepper.

The salad dressing leftover works well too!

THE ASSEMBLY:

Go wild ;)

The wines for this particular dish can be as playful as you want them to be buuuut I decided to go with something a bit more crisp, fruity and floral like the Tantalus Vineyard Riesling especially if you go on the lobster route. Another great option is the Bartier Bros Merlot, which, is a slightly nutty, savoury with a touch more of cherry and dark fruits. 

Hosting a holiday dinner is a pretty big job and I admit, it can get really stressful but I hope these easy-ish recipes and the wine (I know the wines work) will help you guys through. A MASSIVE thank you to the team at Legends Haul for making my grocery shopping for this dinner SO. MUCH. EASIER. 

And just another PSA that the holiday is the PERFECT time to support you local wineries and enjoy the delicious wines BC has to offer. And BC has A LOT to offer. So, explore, sip and savour your way throughout this Harvest month. Find more information about BC Harvest Month here.

#thanksgiving #cooking #homecooking #BCWine #Local wine #wineries #wine #British Columbia #BC #foodie #foodblog #bonappetitmag #radar #popular

[thundersstruck]

Down the Hall-Auston Matthews

A/N: oh look I’m not dead I’ve just had major writers block and Auston feels... anyways uh the title sounds like a Harry Styles song lol. Auston and the reader met on tinder but never realized they live super close to each other

Let me know if you want a part two ig

P.S. idk how Canadian money works lol

Masterlist of writings that I sometimes update

Requested: negative

Warnings: fluff, swearing, poor plot and poorly proofread ya know tha usual, short-ish

Gif credit: @fivehole

Word count: 1100

Enjoy!!

(Y/N)’s POV:

Unlocking the door to my dark apartment I open the door, drop my heels and flip on the light with a sigh. As I kick the door shut a message comes through on my phone.

Starboy💫: how was your work event?

Me: a total snooze fest with no deserts, that forced me to wear heels and a dress all night when I could’ve been watching say yes to the dress on my couch in my comfy clothes

Starboy💫: sounds like fun

Me: loads :) how was your night?

Starboy💫: good me and some of the guys hung out but now seeing that it’s approximately 12:15 am they have all left and now it’s just me

Me: woah you used a big word, I’m proud

Starboy💫: hahaha very funny

Me: you know you love me...

Starboy💫:....

Me: xoxo gossip girl 💋

Starboy💫: you need sleep go to bed

Me: no! What I need is cake

Starboy💫: you what?

Me: I. Need. Cake.

Me: I would kill for a slice of cake right now…literally

Starboy💫: umm ok, do you wanna go get cake with me? There’s a cute little bakery down the street from my place that’s open 24/7 and always has good cake. Also please don’t kill me

Me: yes! I mean uh yeah sure let me just change I’ll text you when I need your address

Me: don’t worry I won’t :)

Starboy💫: sounds Gouda

I quickly run to my room, slipping out of my dress and into jeans and the first hoodie I see. I grab my purse and my phone sending a text to Auston.

Me: hey I’m leaving now

Starboy💫: ok I’ll meet you in my lobby *sends location* I’m wearing a hoodie and sweats... you know what I look like lmao

Me: okay sounds good.

I slip on my shoes and open the door to my apartment just to close and lock it. As I turn around to head down the hall I run into a tall, very muscular person. “Oh my gosh I’m so sorry!” I say looking up at the person. “No no it’s totally my fau- (Y/N)?” The person says. “Auston? Where did you come from?” I ask in total shock. “Uh my apartment that’s down the hall.” He says “wait how long have you lived there?” I ask looking towards his apartment door. “Uhh like four years roughly” he answers “wow uh ok me too how have we never run into each other?” I question him. “That’s a good question, that I’ll answer when we get cake.” He responds and we start walking down the hall to the elevators. We step into the elevator and stand in silence, hands brushing against each other just like a movie. Even more cliche like a movie I’ve got a million thoughts running around my damn head but they’re all interrupted by Auston lacing his hand in mine, which is oddly soft, and pulling me out of the elevator and my thoughts. “Safety first ya know.” He says as we leave the building and out into the cold of Toronto. We walk in the quiet night for a bit until Auston starts talking. “I like your jacket, maple leaf blue looks good on you” He says with a wink “aw thanks someone I know kinda plays for them, he’s kinda cute, has tattoos and is tall and stuff.” I say with a smile. “Wow sounds like a great guy.” He says stifling a laugh. “Yeah he really is.” I say with a wide smile, my thoughts drifting to how great Auston is. We reach the bakery and he lets go of my hand to grab the door for me. “Wow what a gentleman” I say with a giggle. “I try, if I didn’t my mom would probably slap me.” He says laughing. “Welcome to Maple Sweet Bakery how may I help you?” The girl behind the counter asks. “Hi yes could I please get a slice the orange dreamsicle cake?” I ask “yes ma’am and for you sir?” She asks referring to Auston. “I’ll take a piece of cannoli cake please.” Auston says. “Coming right up, that’ll be $6.34 please.” The girl says as Auston and I both pull out our wallets. “Nope not gonna happen this is a date, let me be kind and buy you your cake so you don’t possibly think about the thought of killing me.” Auston says handing her his card as I cross my arms. “I owe you one.” I say as she hands him the card and a receipt and me the slices of cake. He hands her back the receipt and heads to the table that I’m sitting at. He sits down and we both start eating our slices of cake and make small talk. As we talk I find myself admiring his features. His soft brown eyes that are like melted chocolate and his cute smile and the cute lines that come with it. “You ok?” He asks me shaking me from my thoughts. “Hm what yeah.” I answer looking at the last bit of cake I have before eating it. “You looked zoned out, deep in thought.” He says taking his last bite of cake. “I was in thought but it was more like admiration.” I say crossing my arms on the table and placing a smile on my face. He reciprocates the smile and asks “whats caught your eye?” “Oh nothing just this cute boy who lives down the hall from me.” I say causing him to lightly blush and smile. “Interesting I was thinking about this breathtaking girl who lives down the hall from me.” He says causing me to blush and smile, as he helps me up from my seat.

We walk back hand in hand to the apartment building, talking and flirting back and forth. We get into the elevator and ride it up to our floor still thinking about our date. We reach my door first and stop after I unlock it. “Well I guess this is goodnight.” He says holding my hands “I guess so.” I respond looking into his eyes. Both of our eyes flicker between looking at each other and looking at our lips. And just like a movie he pushes some hair behind my ear, leans in and places his lips on mine. The kiss is soft like his lips and tastes like the cake he ate a bit ago. He pulls away and then places a kiss on my cheek. “Goodnight.” He says leaving me star struck in my doorway. “Goodnight. See ya later Starboy.”

#hockey #nhl #toronto maple leafs #auston matthews imagine #auston mathews #hockey imagines #hockey one shot #hockey drabble #nhl drabble #nhl one shot #nhl imagines #hockey fanfiction #hockey fic #nhl fanfiction #nhl fic #thundersstruck masterlist

[greedypunster]

The End.

Whilst riding on his trusty steed, Ponycorn, Kiiro makes it to B-da Canyon, and once they arrived, they spot Kasshoku behind a rock formation, staring at the sunset sky. "Kasshokubon!" Kiiro shouted to get his attention, then hopped off Ponycorn and ran over to him.

"There ya' are. Ya' had me waitin'." "Why did ya' want me ta' meet up here, Kasshokubon?" Kiiro immediately asked. Kasshoku turned back to the sky. "Ta' spend time wit' muh son one more time before I leave."

Kiiro's eyes widened. "Wait, y-ya' leavin'?!" Kasshoku nodded solemnly. "'Fraid so." "Bu...But why?!" "Son, I'mma wanted criminal, I can't stay." "Oh right, but I thought ya' said ya' changed, haven't ya'?! Maybe we could-" Kasshoku cuts him off before Kiiro finished. "Kiirobon. While it's true that I have changed, it will not undo all the crimes I did in the past, if I did choose to stay, and if the police will eventually find me, I will not be the only one arrested."

As much as it pains Kiiro, Kasshoku is right. Housing a criminal would get him in huge trouble, it nearly happened before, and he didn't want that, neither did Kasshoku. "I wouldn't forgiven muhself if ya' got in trouble 'cuz of me, hence why I'm leaving." "I...I unda'stand... I was hopin ya stick around a bit longer..." He replied solemnly. "I'm sorry son, but I'm glad I finally got ta' see ya' again and git ta know ya. You grew up inta' one handsome b-daman." "Heh, well, I did git muh looks from somewhere, minus the wrinkles." "Hey!" They both pause, then chuckle.

"Hey, uh, dad, may we at leas' take one photo fer muh album before ya' go..?" Kasshoku paused. "A photo..? Kiirobon, are ya sure that's a good idea?" "Dun' worry! I promise I won' show anyone else."

Kasshoku was still uncertain about taking a photo with his son, but he didn't have anymore of them after the day Kiiro was born, and this might be the last time before he will ever see him again for awhile. He mulled it over a bit before agreeing. "Fine, but ya' betta keep that promise of not showing this ta anyone else, as well as not telling anyone I was hangin around your place."

Kiiro was quick to reply. "You gotta deal!" As Kiiro went to set up the camera, Kasshoku glances over to Ponycorn, whom was kicking some pebbles around, and called out to him. "Ey, horsey."

Ponycorn turns his attention to him. "You wanna join us fer a photo?" PC perked up and quickly nodded, and Kasshoku gestured him on over.

Ponycorn, without hesitation came right over as Kiiro finished setting up his camera. "Aight, camera's ready!" Shouts Kiiro. The three scrambled to get in position before the camera flashed.

Once they were in position, Kiiro says "Everyone say 'That's gouda cheese!'", and the camera flashes as everyone did so. After said camera printed two pictures, Kiiro gave one for Kasshoku to keep.

Sometime after taking the picture, the three watch the sunset together, silent, until Kiiro spoke. "Do...Do ya' know if I'll eva' see ya' again..?" Kasshoku was quiet as he continued staring at the sunset. "I do not know..."

Kiiro was visibly disappointed. "But-" Kasshoku added. "Maybe one day, our paths will cross again. We'll neva' know. Only time will tell." That was the best answer he could give him, and Kiiro, he was fine with it, even if it wasn't definite, it gave him the hope of possibly seeing his father again in the near future.

Kasshoku glanced to him. "See ya' around, son." He did a front-flip off the cliff they were standing on, giving Kiiro and Ponycorn a scare and shouted his name, until he came back up in a rather impressive looking hovercraft.

"Hey! Dun' scare us like that!" Kiiro shouted. Kasshoku chuckled. "Sorry, jus' thought I'd leave ya' on a cliffhanger."

Kiiro stopped, then let out a chuckle himself. "Heh, guess I know where I got muh punniness from too!" "As I said, see ya' 'round, son, 'till we meet again! By the way, left ya' a little sumthin' in yer couch. Farewell!" With that said, Kasshoku took off into the sunset.

Kiiro and Ponycorn waved as he left. "And see ya' 'round too, Dad!" Kiiro yells to him one last time, then he realized something. "Wait, what did he mean by leavin' sumthin' in the couch?"

As soon Kiiro and Ponycorn returned home, Kiiro immediately ran to the couch and removed the cushions, and what he found were many wads of B-bucks, possibly thousands in cash! Saying that Kiiro really liked his gift from his father was an understatement, but he wasn't going to go on a spending spree with it, no, he was going to put all of that cash in a safe place, and will not use it unless he will absolutely need to. Saying Kasshoku payed off his rent was an understatement.

#Drabble #E: Family Ties #Event End #Lonewolf himself #Partner in Crime. Ponycorn #Guest Muse #((This went on for too long.)) #((Might bring Kasshoku back in the future. but I need to think of a reason first.))

[min-gummy]

✨Get To Know Me✨

I was tagged by @girl-meets-disrespect (thank youuu~~ 💕)

Name: Raifa

Gender: Female

Star Sign: Virgooo

Height: 4'11 (aksnaknzjs I'm short ik okay)

Middle name: Jinan

Put your music library on shuffle and name the first 6 songs (mkay here's the thing I only have one album downloaded from iTunes on my phone cuz I only ever use YouTube to listen to music so this section is gonna be pretty boring):

BTS - DNA

BTS - Best Of Me

BTS - Serendipity

BTS - Dimple

BTS - MIC Drop

BTS - Go Go

Aknsjsnjs yes I know but this is the only album I was able to download cuz someone gave me an iTunes gift card and ya this is basically all I have. If any of y'all could let me know if there's any way to download music for free that would be really helpful :)))

Grab the nearest book and flip to page 23. What does line 17 say?:

"If I don't change the subject, Violet's enthusiasm will feed my tiny hopes, and I will implode from possibilities." (I'm reading Love, Hate and Other Filters by Samira Ahmed)

Ever had a poem or song written about you?:

Nope

When was the last time you played air guitar?:

Lol like two months ago when I just jammed out to an entire Panic! at The Disco playlist :P

Who is your celebrity crush?:

Um, I think we all know who it is (Min Yoongi)

What is a sound you hate? Love?

Hate: creaking and squeaking noises

Love: wind rustling the leaves on trees, rain, sound of brushing fingers through hair.

What’s the worst injury you’ve had?

When I was 6 I was running on the school pavement and tripped. My whole knee was covered in blood and it scared the hell out of me. There was also this one time when I was 4 I put my hand on the iron cuz I wanted to see how it got rid of wrinkles on clothes.

Do you have any obsessions right now?

Um besides this blog(lol) I've been really into taking and editing photos. I've also been doing some research on cinematography used in movies n short films. My friends suggested I become a YouTuber n I was like "nah man I don't got enough motivation".

Do you tend to hold grudges against people who have done you wrong?

Hmm, depends on how bad it is. Like, if they just happened to mess up and they realized that they've done wrong, then I'll definitely be willing to forgive. But if they're not sorry whatsoever and what they've done is really bad to the point where I'm so emotionally torn, I will not be afraid to be ruthless.

Are you in a relationship?

Akaknsjsjzbnzjs no T^T

Alrighty, here's who I'm tagging: @cuteseokjin @hopeworldsavedmylife @artistictae @yoonseok @stardoges @je0n @agustjeon @religion-agustd

You don't have to do it if you don't have time or you don't want to it's all gouda dw about it :)))

[yawaribleubear]

RvB Secret Santa Gift

Hello, this was a secret santa gift for @sroloc--elbisivni for the @redvsbluesecretsanta event this year! I hope you enjoy!

Summary: Tucker and Wash meet in a cafe one Christmas evening. A writer meeting a barista is bound to go well.

Pairing: Tuckington

“One Caffe Americano with two extra shots of espresso ready for action!”

It was an extremely busy day at the coffee shop. Tucker was busting out drinks like crazy while York was helping guests at the register and Carolina was serving guests at their tables. The holidays seemed to get a little crazy, but hey, it made the small shop money. They’re not really going to complain.

“Two Caramel Macchiatos and one Eggnog Latte with no whipped cream coming up!” Tucker slid the drinks on the counter as Carolina placed them on her tray.

“How much longer until the rush is over?” She put the tray down and adjusted her ponytail before picking it back up.

“Probably another hour.” Tucker groaned. “My hands are getting tired from making all of these drinks.”

“No kidding. My feet are starting to kill me.”

“Enough chit chat, guys! And lady. We got some guests to finish serving,” York called out from his register.

“Then how about you do it, Mr. I’m-Suave-And-Better-At-Making-Coffee?” Tucker raised an eyebrow and dared him to take the challenge.

“I think I will.” York finished up and switched spots with Tucker, throwing on his apron and settling in for work.

Carolina just rolled her eyes and walked away. She’ll never really understand why they tend to compete the way they do, but it works. With one foot after the other, she set about the cafe and got to work.

Meanwhile Tucker was settling behind the register, apron off and smooth smile ready. “And what can I get for you lovely women this afternoon?”

The two girls swooned at his voice, his eyes inviting them to spend their money and buy a very expensive coffee. Tucker knew exactly how to go about customer service, especially with the ladies. They promptly ordered their drinks and he rang them up. Another sale for the shop.

~~~~~~

“Finally, the rush is done.” Tucker took off his hat and ran his hand through his hair carefully. It wasn’t that the rush was bad- they know how to deal with rush hour. It was the fact that it was Christmas Eve and they were all ready to go home to their families. York and Carolina had planned to head home and spend Christmas with their families, while Tucker was going to hang out with Church for a little bit before heading home for the evening. Christmas was nice and all, but visiting his family in Texas was difficult as it is. He opted out of this year, but promised to visit for New Year’s instead. His little nieces and nephews were going to be excited about the gifts he sent them this year.

“Excuse me, sir?”

Tucker turned around to see a man whose aura screamed at him. Blonde hair with gray streaks, a scar going down his right eye and several scattered on his nose, and a blue sweater and muscly arms decorated his upper body.. His eyes were a lovely shade of grey with specks of gold here and there. He looked to be Tucker’s age, maybe a little older. Whatever the case may be, he appeared to be tired.

“Hi there.” Tucker felt speechless. For the first time, he was speechless. This man, he was beautiful. More beautiful than all of the women he had ever saw in his life, more beautiful than the men he usually hung out with.

“Hey. Can I get an iced latte with two shots of espresso, extra whipped cream, and a shot of caramel and chocolate?”

He had a sweet tooth. Tucker wrote down his order on the cup. “Sure thing. Anything else?”

“Hmm… I’ll take that breakfast sandwich you guys have.”

He loved savory items to balance out the sweetness. “Which one? We have the…” Tucker droned on about the kinds of breakfast sandwiches they had, hoping to keep him in his life for just a little longer.

“That sounds amazing. I’ll take two of the bacon, gouda, and egg sandwich.” The man smiled sweetly at him. “And I’ll also take some of that classic coffee cake.”

“Warmed up?”

“Yes, please.”

Tucker rang him up at the register. “Coffee cake’s on the house, okay?”

The man was pulling out his card when he looked back up at Tucker. “You sure?”

“Absolutely.” Okay Tucker, you can do this.

“Anything for a gorgeous man like you.”

The man couldn’t help but blush, coughing a little as he placed his card into the reader. “U-Uh, thank you very much.”

“No no, thank you! Can I get your name, please?”

“Washington.” He pulled his card out a few seconds later and placed it back into his wallet.

“Washington. I really like that name.” He wrote it down and slid the cup towards York. “We’ll deliver your drink and food to your table shortly.”

“Thanks.” Washington smiled and walked away, heading to his table to sit and check his laptop. Did the barista really just flirt with him?

“Carol, mind switching with me?” Tucker had finished warming up Wash’s food as York called out the drink.

“About time my feet get to rest.” She happily switched with him and rested behind the counter. At least there was a stool, so she could sit for a while.

“You can thank me later.” He grinned and placed his order on the tray. Tucker swiftly made his way to Wash’s table and placed everything down in front of him.

“Alright, here’s your latte, your two sandwiches, and that coffee cake. Anything else you’d like?”

For Tucker to sit with him. “I think I’m good. What’s your name?”

“Name’s Tucker. Most people call me-”

“No we don’t!” Carolina called from the register with a smug grin on her face. Tucker was going to get her back for that someday.

“Anyway, nice meeting you Wash. Let me know if you need anything else, okay?”

“Actually- I have one request.”

Tucker placed the tray under his arm and nodded. “Alright, shoot.”

“Do you mind sitting with me for a while?” He had a look of pure innocence in his eyes. It tugged at Tucker’s heart.

“Sure thing. Lemme put this tray back.” Tucker quickly walked over to York and slid the tray to him. “I’m on break for eternity.”

“I had a feeling.” York chuckled and handed him a drink. “That’s for you. Carol suggested I make it as a surprise.”

“Thanks, man. I’ll see you two in a bit.” Tucker walked back over to Washington’s table and sat down in front of him.

“Welcome back.” Wash moved his laptop aside and placed his dinner in front of him.

“Thank you. Just curious- what are you working on right now?”

“On my laptop?” Wash took a sip of his latte.

“Yeah.” Tucker took a sip of his mystery drink as well. It was hot chocolate with peppermint in it. Not bad, York.

“Oh. I’m a writer, so I work on my books when I swing by here.” He flipped his laptop around for Tucker to see. “Wanna read something I’m working on?”

Tucker put his drink down and paid 100% attention to Wash and his work. “I’d be more than happy to.”

His eyes set to work on reading, the words on the screen slowly being processed by his mind. Wash had a way with words, more than he ever will. Unlike Tucker, Washington made the words into art. They danced along his screen with ease, his sentences were hand-crafted with love and passion behind it all, and the way his characters were coming to life was nothing like he had seen before. Tucker was amazed when he finished reading a few minutes later. He took a sip of his hot chocolate and turned back to Washington, who was anxiously waiting for a response.

“Wash… that was fucking good.” Listen, he had a comprehensible sentence in mind before he put it into practice.

“Thank you. I’ve spent weeks working on this chapter. I think it’s just about done, actually.”

“How much more do you plan on writing?”

“About two more should do it.” Wash took a bite of his sandwich and moaned in delight. “This is mouth-watering. Do you guys make this every morning?”

“Pretty much. Our chef in the back makes them before we come in for work, so we package it and have it ready for customers by the time we open up.” Tucker will have to thank Donut for his cooking skills later before he leaves.

“You guys are really good at your job, that’s for sure. No wonder you’re very popular in town.”

Tucker smiled at him. “Why thank you very much. We’re always trying to make sure the place gives off a good vibe, ya know?”

“Indeed it does.” The two men sat in silence for a minute before Tucker spoke once more.

“Hey Wash, are you doing anything tonight?”

“Not really. I was planning on heading home and writing the rest of the evening. Why do you ask?”

“I was wondering…” Tucker, don’t fuck this up. “Do you wanna spend Christmas with me? I was just going to head back home too, but I figured we can get to know each other a lot more that way. Consider it a gift from me to you.”

Washington was ecstatic. He couldn’t see his family this year due to his schedule, but at least he can spend it with someone he thoroughly enjoyed being around. “I’m in.”

“Great! I’m off my shift in about 20 minutes, sound good to you?”

“Perfect. I can get this done in that same amount of time.” His eyes lit up with a fire Tucker hadn’t seen when he first walked into the cafe. He now had a personal mission to show Washington a good time this Christmas Eve.

“Great. I’ll get back to work now. See you in 20 minutes.”

~~~~~~

Truth be told, Tucker grabbed his stuff and wished York and Carolina a “Happy Holidays” before leaving for the evening. He walked over to Wash, who was typing away at his laptop, and gently tapped on his shoulder. “Hey man, ready to head out?”

Wash looked up slightly startled and nodded. “Yeah, lemme just pack up and we can get going.”

“No need to rush. I got all the time in the world.” Tucker watched as he packed his laptop and leftover food into his bag, throwing his cup away as they walked out of the cafe and into the cold night air. He wrapped his scarf around his neck as they caught a bus back to his house.

Washington was tired and leaned his head against Tucker’s shoulder, his eyes closing as he rested for a little bit. Tucker allowed him to do so, a feeling in his gut telling him that he’s had long nights working on his masterpiece. Overall, it was a nice time. He eventually woke him up once they reached his stop, helping him off the bus as they walked inside his small home and turned on the heater.

“How do you feel about chicken alfredo for dinner?” Tucker hung his coat and placed his bag on the couch.

“Sounds great. Need any help with cooking?” Wash placed his bag on the floor next to the couch.

“If you want.” Tucker shrugged and made his way into the kitchen.

“I’d love to help you out.”

Wash and Tucker listen to some music while making dinner for the night, Wash poking fun at his playlist while Tucker made fun of how he cut chicken (“What do you mean I’m not cutting it right?!”). They cooked up the pasta and sat in the dining room for their dinner tonight.

“So, Wash, tell me more about yourself.”

Wash was in the middle of chewing on a piece of chicken when he quickly swallowed. “Well, I’m a writer, that much you know. I’m going to be a proud owner of a cat soon, I was in the military for a few years, got my degree in Creative Writing, and now I live in this city pursuing my dream. And I can cook some mean pasta.”

Tucker chuckled at the last part. “It definitely proves well. Tastes much better than what I usually make.”

“Why thank you.” He smiled softly. “What about you, Tucker?”

“Oh, me? I just run the cafe with my friends, dabble in dancing, and take care of my dog who’s sleeping in his bed right now.”

“So I didn’t imagine that dog when I walked in here?” Wash took a sip of his water.

“Nope. Freckles is pretty old, but he can fend for himself when I’m down at the shop.” He took another bite of his pasta. “Seriously, this is some good shit, how do you do it?”

“Lots of practice.” The two continued their small banter throughout dinner, the night seeming to fly away as they spent the rest of Christmas Eve watching old movies on the couch and eventually sleeping together on said couch around two in the morning. Luckily, the cafe was closed for the entire day, so Tucker didn’t have to leave his side. Now all he has to do is ask for his number before he leaves his house after Christmas, but Tucker can figure that out later.

#tuckington #rvb #tucker/washington #hope i'm using the right tags #rvb secret santa 2017 #the panda writes #rvbsecretsanta17

[energyswordsunday]

and time’s arrow marches on.

Cross-Posted on AO3.

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences

Fandom: Runescape

Relationship: Adwr/Rowena

Characters: Rowena Behr, Adwr Cadarn, Leolin Cadarn

Words: 2990  Chapter: 1/?

Content Warning: Misogyny, Antisemitism, Classism

Summary: 25 Pentember 1927, 4th Age. Yanille, Kandarin. The day Adwr Cadarn's life takes a bittersweet turn. And yet, in the end, he wouldn't have had it any other way.

Elf meets human meets forbidden romance.

Chapter Summary: A mysterious farm girl has been the talk of the town for the past 2 years. She seems to constantly be in the public eye, no matter how much she keeps to herself. Fresh from Prifddinas, a young elf has been set on guard duty at the entrance to the village. His naturally inquisitive nature lands him in the pickle of a lifetime. His mission: to get to the bottom of this mystery, and figure out just who this girl really is. With help from his best friend, will this elf be able to talk to the intimidating human?

Behr.    A foul, foul word, like a hex.    The mages never liked her. The name she carries is poisoned, to them, for eternity.    Behr. Behr.    A word that oozes off their tongue, is spat with vitriol; a word that ignites a fiery, burning hatred in their heart.    She is a woman.    A woman, young and full of vigor, and filled to the brim with magical talent.    The elders are scared of her, hiding and hissing her name like a curse, for her raw power makes them insecure of their own feeble sparks. Roaches, she calls them. They hiss and spew in quiet tones, but scurry off when faced with confrontation. A mutual relationship of disgust and distrust is what they share, a complex setting where they must occupy the same space; maddening, sickening, but necessary.    She had joined the Mages’ Guild a little over two years prior, against the outcries of these mages. It is incomprehensible to them, still, how she got in. No matter their begging, pleading, grovelling, their Guildmaster will not budge, so they make up stories to soothe themselves. Simple, serpentine, suspiciously spurious stories, about how she threatened, beguiled, seduced him. They try to run her out, but it never works. And they still, still, don’t understand why.    Whatever the true reason, she is a woman, and she is good at magic. Better than all of them. This makes her unholy in the eyes of her guildmates. To them, she is a cheater; she had struck a deal with Zamorak to obtain her power, and in the process, corrupted herself, making her the despicable woman that she is today.    For a handful, she is. Loudmouthed and opinionated, with a sharp tongue to match her wit. Her shoulders are broad, and home to long, curled auburn hair that cascades down her back from under her patched hat, mesmerizing children and adult alike. Stern, scrutinous green eyes set her face, giving one the impression that she could use them to cut glass with ease. Faintly, she smells of hard work and the wilderness. She is Wizard Behr, the Bear from the Woods. And she is not of this earth.    It is clear to anyone who crosses paths with her that this is a stubborn woman. She has bowed her head not once to any man, and has spat in the face of proper society. Local gossip outside the guild pins her as an evil spirit that bewitches foolish men to do her whim. Her scale is in danger of tipping at any moment, her luck due to run out, yet, strangely, she remains unfazed.    “No man in their right mind would allow this beast to practice magic,” A greying wizard hisses to a colleague of his, outside a small building with a magical barrier glistening over its walls and makeshift fence. “I’m still angry that she-devil was let in, and now she has the audacity to make everyone wait on her?”        “Careful, Wizard Flemtoed, she might hear,” the other wizard replies, laced with sarcasm. “You don’t want your guts torn out by a live Behr do you?”    This snippet of conversation glides with the breeze and attracts the attention of a man a distance away. His ears, long and pointed, are fine-tuned to the world around him; what is normally a boon, for him, he wishes he could now deactivate. He is a foreigner in these parts, and still has not quite adjusted to the fact that humans are so different.    This man’s keen sense of hearing has landed him in quite a precarious position on numerous occasions since his migration, and frankly he is a little tired of his accidental eavesdropping, though it breaks the tedium of his daily routine. Consequently, in spite of his interest this time, he errs on the side of caution and keeps to himself.    He is on duty with a few other members from his clan, the Cadarn, who had first passed over Arandar centuries ago to settle and rule Kandarin. Out of a handful of these Elven settlements, the young man is liking his current station the most, as it has the most diversity around him.    Unfortunately, it is also in close proximity to the Ogres, making it a frequent target for raids, which have been rapidly increasing in numbers over the months. Yanille was a bit short-handed as a result, thus prompting King Baxtorian to issue the command leading to his reassignment.    Here, he is to stand guard temporarily in anticipation of a raid, while his fellow clansfolk worked on drafting up better defenses. While it is a fascinating place, guard duty leads to long bouts of boredom for this young man, which cause him to fantasize regularly about all the scouting missions he is missing out on. He often finds himself longing for the freedom and the thrill, along with the exercise.    “Adwr!” A voice barks out at him.        “Ah–?!” The young man jumps, having been caught red-handed in his daydreams. He is met with an intense gaze from his best friend, another elf from his clan, who is stationed about twenty feet from him.    “Don’t make me lecture you again,” the elf warns Adwr, soft but stern. This is a conversation they have had hundreds of times throughout their friendship, but without his help, in all honesty, Adwr doesn’t know how he would have survived his studies, let alone this guard assignment.        “Right,” Adwr chirps back, flashing his friend a sheepish smile. In his own defense, however, waiting around just in case anything happens is pretty boring. He doesn’t understand how people can just… stand there, and do nothing. He sighs and clicks his tongue, focusing on counting and naming all the types of wildlife he sees in front of him, again.    He’s somewhere through his third or fourth ‘I Spy’ game when the whispers that had distracted him moments ago suddenly grow to a hush. The crowd of wizards disperses, as if on cue, every one of them suddenly very late for things they have to do. A mixture of teleportation, running, and meandering occurs, leaving the courtyard bare. All except for one wizard, of course, who lingers – a sharp looking older man who really, really has no business growing a beard that long. Adwr can’t help but sneak a glance over in that direction.    “You’re late,” the older man grumbles, seemingly to himself. “You know how the Mages’ Guild feels about tardiness, right, Behr?”    The object of this man’s dispassionate scolding makes an irritated noise and waves her hand at her superior dismissively. “Farm business. You know, Art.”    The mass of vibrant curls that enters the village in front of him catches Adwr’s attention in an instant. His hand magnetizes to his chin, mouth slightly agape; his companion snorts, but the sound doesn’t register to the pale elf.    This is the woman that the villagers speak so ill of? 'Interesting', he thinks.    “Wizard Behr, I have made it clear that you are to refer to your colleagues with respect. This includes your leader,” the grumpy wizard starts. “You’d do well to note that I am the sole reason you were allowed entrance.”        “Oh, Gods be damned. What are we, monks? Ain’t your ma given you a name for a reason?” She counters.    The redhead shakes her head, giving a grunt of irritation. The tension between the two indicates to Adwr that this is conversation that is had very regularly.    “That is beside the point, Wizard Behr. Now come on, we haven’t got all day, and a full roster is required for this meeting in order to begin.” ‘Art’ resumes. The lines on his face seem to be less from old age and more from stress.        “Fine, fine. Just remember, I have a life an’ family too, ya know?”    “As do we all.”    The two wizards quiet down, taking to mumbling and grumbling to one another and themselves as they approach their guild building. Adwr watches them, engrossed, until his companion butts in again, this time with a gentle tap to his shoulder.    “Hey, pysgodyn aur. Our relief is here. Let’s go have some rarebit before you starve to death.”        “Rarebit… Oh! Lunch! I completely forgot!” Adwr replies. The prospect of food is enough to lure him away from his thoughts.    “I swear, I should just tie some cheese to a fishing rod and hop on your shoulders. Maybe then you’d pay attention to what’s in front of you.” His companion jokes, as they make their way to the meal tent.        “Only if it’s gouda cheese,” Adwr hums back, well aware he’s being ribbed.    The exasperated noise he receives in return is worth the pun. “We don’t even make gouda!”    The pale elf chuckles. “I’ll settle for tintern then.”    “Maybe in the next few years when we make it back to Prifddinas,” says the darker elf.        “I can wait as long as I need for some good cheese!”    “And as always, my point has been proven.”    In good spirits, the two elves plate up and make off to the corner of the tent, where it’s dim and quiet, absent of any distractions or irritants. Adwr seems pleased, content to share his meal with his childhood friend in peace.    Said friend has always understood that Adwr is a little… Odd. Different from other elves, certainly, but pleasant to talk to, passionate, and a very intelligent, creative-minded individual. It was a huge relief to him when they both got older and Adwr hadn’t taken on the arrogant, self-absorbed demeanor so many others of their age groups tended to due to their success and upbringing.    The elf, himself, was also considered strange, but in a different way. Whereas Adwr never really fit in socially, his companion was fine in that regard, where applicable. Instead, his problems lied in his heritage: he was born into a poor family of workers.    He would have been doomed to the same fate, had his family not encouraged and fostered his love for archery. Amongst his peers, this elf was an exceptional shot, but this carefully cultivated talent was always unfairly put under scrutiny. Elves of more influential families made no hesitations in reminding him that he was strange for trying to break out of his designated ‘box.’ Growing up, for him, was a constant unending struggle to prove his worth and fight for his own right to be put in the same courses as his peers.    Adwr, however, is different. This elf always held a specific sort of admiration, and a bit of jealousy, towards his friend, for though Adwr was othered based on his various quirks, he still regarded everyone with the same sort of respect, purely for the joy of friendship. It was Adwr who had approached him and extended his hand, and it was always Adwr who would stick up for him against the rest of their peers. He is thankful, truly, and wishes he could purely be just grateful and appreciative towards him, but there is always a part of him that will be jealous, for he truly had life easier. He never wants Adwr to know this, though, for he understands that Adwr wasn’t trying to play savior to him. But... Everyone has their own demons.    “Leolin. You haven’t touched your rarebit, are you okay?” Adwr interrupts his train of thought with his standard fare. It is a nice gesture, but sometimes Leolin just wishes his friend would let him mope.       “Mmh,” is the response he receives from his melancholic buddy. “I’m fine, just thinking about some things.” He puts on his best smile and Adwr seems to be soothed.    “Well, it’s really good today – they finally got the texture right this time! But I still think that rotating cooking shifts are the worst idea. I know we all were taught how to cook growing up, but some days, I really can’t stomach what’s put out.”    The elf’s passionate chatter warms Leolin a bit, inspiring him to sample the meal in front of him as he finishes speaking. It really is no use trying to be sad around this man. He takes a bite, and nods to indicate his pleasure.    “You’re right. My compliments to the chef – this is actually pretty good for the rarebit we have out here. They must have had a good run in with the locals,” Leolin muses. Quality elven ingredients weren’t always easy to come by out in these parts, so it can be assumed that there was some good luck with trading today.    This reminded him of the wizard that caused that commotion earlier, who was rumored to have come from a large local farm. Maybe she was late because her family was busy trading with their clan? His eyes glint with mischief as he remembers what he was planning to pester Adwr about.    “Speaking of locals… So how about that little redhead you were eyeing up earlier?” Leolin lilts, a devilish grin on his face. “You like farm girls, Adwr?”    Adwr nearly chokes on the piece of bread he’s currently attempting to swallow, causing him to slam a fist down on the shabby table as he tries not to cough it back in his friend’s face. The table wobbles, and Leolin’s plate jostles a little.    “Ach – No!” are the first words out of his mouth before he catches his breath and clears his throat. A light blush dusts his face thanks to the teasing and his lack of air.    “It wasn’t like that! You know I don’t engage in those sorts of behaviors, Leo, I was just curious! Did you see her hair? She stood out! And – I – Look, it was a coincidence. You know how easily distracted I am by noise.”    Leolin almost feels bad for messing with his friend, but gives him a long, drawn out wink and continues on anyways. “Oh, yeah, su~ure. Why so defensive? You just don’t want to admit that the human was cute.”    Adwr huffs indignantly, folding his arms and turning his head pointedly away. “I refuse to answer to your harassment.”    He sneaks a peak at Leolin after his show of being offended, who is giving him a very silly looking face. They meet eyes for a few seconds before Leolin wiggles his eyebrows at him, prompting them both to burst into a giggle fit. It takes at least a minute before they are able to regain their composure again.    “In all seriousness, though, what is with that ‘Behr’ girl?” Adwr asks. “You’ve been here longer than I have. She seems to be a controversial figure in this village. I just can’t wrap my head around why.”    Leolin fixes his friend with a serious gaze. “Rowena? Well, that’s her name, for starters.”    “Rowena,” Adwr repeats, waiting for him to continue.        “Yeah. She’s from some local farm I guess. And she’s the only woman in the Mages’ Guild here, from what I hear.” Something about what he just said to Adwr resonates deeply with Leolin. Another misfit, perhaps?    “Really? There’s no other women? Why?” The paler probes.        “Afraid I don’t know the answer to that. Why don’t you ask her?”    “I can’t! I don’t know her, what if she gets angry with me? I don’t want to be insensitive.”        “That didn’t stop you from talking to me when we first met. Come on, she’s only a human. Humans are practically harmless. I can stand there with you.” Leolin’s offer only makes Adwr frown more, worry creasing his face. Was he really that afraid of offending her?    “I don’t know. I think… I should watch and listen a bit more. I know she’s a human, Leo, but I can’t shake this feeling that she really is as scary as what the people here say.”        “My dear friend, you should know by now that just because people say something about someone, that doesn’t always mean it’s true.”    Adwr shakes his head. “Maybe humans are different like that. You’re forgetting that… That I haven’t actually talked to a human before, Leo.”    Leolin frowns at his friend’s increasingly negative behavior. This wasn’t typical for him. “Hey. What happened to that endless optimism? You were so excited about all the humans that lived here when I talked to you a few days ago. You can’t let your fear of one bad experience hold you back suddenly.”    A small, timid smile works its way to Adwr’s face. “I can, but I shouldn’t, I suppose.”    He looks back at his friend’s freckled face, and takes a deep breath. “I think if I talk to her, I should do it by myself. But. You can stand nearby, if you want, in case things go south. As long as I don’t have to do it right this second.”    “That’s better. I would be glad to stand guard, my friend. It’ll be a favor returned for all the times you were there for me whenever I had to talk to an instructor.” Leolin gives his friend a toothy smile and reaches across the table to offer his hand.    Adwr accepts the gesture, gripping his friend’s hand firmly with his own, and giving it a nice shake. “It’s a deal, then?”    “Deal. So, do you want to work on a list of questions, just in case?” Leolin offered this for his friend in fond memory of all the times Adwr had him do the same. Only, in this case, rather than passing someone a note, the intention was to prepare Adwr to speak to Rowena.        “I don’t want her to think it’s a survey!” Adwr replies hastily.    Leolin snorts. “It won’t be a survey, silly. I meant so you know what you want to say, and how, so you won’t choke up.”    “Oh. Well… In that case, let us commence!” Adwr rises to his feet, suddenly full of vigor and determination. He looks down at Leolin expectantly.        “Okay, fine. I’ll take my food with. Let’s go.”

Notes:

elves in runescape seem to speak welsh and have welsh names, if you're wondering about that. i didn't just pull that out of nowhere hgkdjghkdj

rowena is jewish CODED. i say this because runescape has its own extensive pantheons of gods and it's not easy to fit an irl religion like that in there without being offensive. so she retains more of the racial aspect than the religious here.

i tag antisemitism with the knowledge that some of the things these people will say does stem from that, but that's only one layer of many of hatred that rowena faces for who she is.

adwr is autistic. he was also a canon runescape character that was really only mentioned by name, adopted by me and my gf. 

#runescape #rs #4th age #adwr #rowena #crow writes #adwrow #hi everyone i started writing the story of how makyuri's parents met and the tale of their romance #it would mean a lot to me if you would reblog and/or comment! #aaaa!

[mob-psychology-100]

6, 9, 12, 15 & 16

• 6: Which friendship you found the cutest?- Ok, this is pretty hard. But I actually think Onigawara and Gouda have a pretty good relationship. Usually a delinquent and a mr. Nice Guy is a volatile mix but those two debunked that stereotype.• 9: Which antagonist you could never forgive?- Alright, there are a lot of really terrible villains in MP100 but they're not particularly lousy. (I feel pity for Mogami and contempt but also pity for Touichirou). Most of them actually found redemption, and Mob forgave them. But I really can't stand Shoudou Kirin. Public humiliation makes me cringe and the way he did that to Reigen is still terrible, regardless of reasons. He did that because his ego was bruised, even though getting kneed in the face saved his life; it's an ultimate dick move I'm tellin' ya.• 12: Would you visit Spirits and Such consultation office (if you don't know amy better)?- Reigen has two overly-powered espers as his subordinates and 3 teen ones as backup. On the plus side, I would meet espers. So, yeah.• 15: Do you have a favourite AU?- hmm none so far. But if that AU contains slight changes that causes a butterfly effect, that would be great.But things with structure or system (y'know, espers being sorted by their caliber or commoners discovering the supernatural several years before original timeline. Idk I like that sort of stuff), kinda like, social stratification or some AU that focuses more on a major issue without any romantic focus and has action, is also nice.I don't like romance much, or too much drama. I prefer action and information that gets you on the tip of your toes. Something exciting, to put it simply.• 16: What would be your first or basic psychic skill?- esper abilities are diverse, even I don't know its limits. Telekinesis is arguably the basic (although I would like it if I DO have that ability). I don't want spiritually-related powers (I'm scared of ghosts ok? My people are supertitious and I don't wanna temper with the natural order of the afterlife). Conjuration would be great, only that I don't keep grudges like that sensitive bitch, Sakurai, because I keep forgetting 75% of anything happend.Alright, telekinesis. Because it's basically controlling particles and energy. It's a force, it can do a variety of other abilities.Ok I shouldn't've made it that long sorry abt that I tend to beat around the bush :/

[snsmissionaries]

12/13/18 -- Sister Nicole Ritman, Spain, Madrid Mission

#NUEVOSPORHUEVOS 👊🥚

Subject Line: So basically, I have the best zone ever. Somehow it got started that if we found nuevos (new people to teach), we'd drink raw eggs. I never got around to it (might do it tonight), but I've been gut-laughing at all the other videos because everyone dresses us in redicilous disfraz and gagging with dramatic music in the background. The crowning jewel was when Presidente Bussey said if we hit our zone goal for nuevos, he'd drink raw eggs too. Lemme tell you, WE HIT THE STREETS, we were ON THE SEARCH for people who wanted to hear the truth. And we exceeded our goal! We got a fabulous video of Presidente imitating Rocky and downing two eggs as if it were nothing. #respect.

  Hola a Todos!!

 So.... I probably won't get to all of your personal emails (so sorry!!), but I figured since I didn't send a group one last week, I owe y'all a longerish one this week. 

 So last week for Pday, I had a fairytale experience. Our pics didn't turn out great, but I'm telling you all to google it. Elder Hydrick told me it was voted prettiest Pueblo in Spain and I fully believe it. It's one of Andalucía's famous white pueblos and it has a Cathedral on top of a cliff overlooking a crescent shape valley with a windy river. I melted. Also we saw this cemetery where everyone is stacked and flowers sticking out the walls and it was sad but beautiful. 

 This Pday we played fútbol together as a zone and are eating "Hydrick sandwiches". I thought the Elders were in the kitchen slapping salami on white bread but I promise this is the last time I underestimate these folk. They were in here with mini barras de pan in the oven melting my favorite Mercado a gouda over salchichón with guac spread and pickles and lettuce. I was so impressed. I'm telling you all, my zone is the bomb. 

 Now for the spiritual part!

 There's so much I could say, but I just want to share a Light the Work milagrito. So we had a día de festivo, a regular day, and another festivo. Normally, the work is a bit tougher on festivo days because No one wants to be bothered. So we decided to go around to all the menos activos and members and if they answered the door, we shared Illumina el Mundo and if not, we heart attacked them with Christmas hearts. We went to this one active members house and their super menos activo son opened the door. I've never met him before, but we shared Ilumina el Mundo and we're like "hey, see ya at church tomorrow right?" he was like "well, I have my own relationship with God and don't go to church with a white shirt and tie...". H Gunn looked him straight in the eyes and was like "no venga". And I said "No necesita una camisa blanca ni corbata." We thought that was the end of it, BUT LO AND BEHOLD HE CAME THE NEXT DAY. We were so happy! Illumina your faith everyone!!!

 I've attached the cutest picture of our Relief Society President's sons finding our heart attack. Literally we've seen so many miracles and finding opportunities just serving the members. We finally buckled down and had a real-talk correlation meeting with the Elders in our ward and it was so productive. We've decided to follow an invitation of the stake priesthood leaders and bring a member to as many menos activos as we can and invite them to the special musical service everyone ward in the church is doing on the 23rd. If any of you feel inspired to do this too, what's stopping you? Just a thought 😏

 *****************

 BREAKING NEWS!!!!!!!!! ALERT!!!!!!!!!! 

 My entire life is about to change. It's called transfers!! 

 My predictions:

*Going to freeze up north in Madrid

*My comp will be old, probably about to leave home

*I'll get another comp from the States 

 The truth:

*Going to enjoy this nice weather still because I'm staying in the south in Málaga Barrio 3 🏖️ (there used to be a mission Málaga a few months ago but now it's absolved) 

*I'm  greenie-breaking my comp which means she's younger than me???? Y'ALL I JUST GOT HERE. I STILL DON'T KNOW WHAT I'M DOING?????? 😰😰😰

*Her name is Hermana Orjuela and she's from Colombia. So maybe I don't know what I'm doing but hopefully she will because she actually speaks Spanish unlike me hehe

 Hermana Gunn is training which is funny because I was just trained here and now she'll go through the same experiences I did. Kinda weird to think about. 

 Transfers are tomorrow so I'll let y'all know next week whether it's more of an adventure or a misadventure. EITHER WAY I'M SO LISTA 🙌🙌 VAMOS 👊👊

 ¡Os quiero mucho! 

 Hermana Ritman

 Note:  Nicole never got to share or attach pictures even though she was planning on it.

[ultrahenry88]

Academy Days

Chapter 2

The next few days flew by fast until Friday came along. Since it was a snowy day, students were excused from school, but that didn't mean they were excused from waking up. With the new day came the warm sun rising over the city. The many rays of light of the glowing planet peered into dozens of windows to wake up people. David's window amongst other residents of the city was woken up by the gentle touch of the morning sun hovering over the city. With the gentle prods of the sunlight, after he struggled with the sheets, David woke up with a large yawn. Looking at his clock he saw he woke up earlier than usual at 6:45 A.M. He supposed that he slept early so that he could wake up early. But now, it was time to get up and enjoy the day. After taking a quick shower, David dressed up and headed downstairs. Before he even got to the bottom stairs, he saw Steven there, holding a green envelope in his hands.

"Look what came in the mail for you today," Steven said in a sing-song happy voice. And when David walked further down the stairs and when he saw who the envelope was from, he and gasped for breath. He could not believe what he was seeing.

"You mean...?" David trailed off in shock. Rather than answer, Steven held out the envelope to him with a big old smile.

"See for yourself." The man said.

David took the envelope, opened it up and whisked the letter out of its comfort in the envelope. He opens the letter with his hands trembling from the anxiety of what the content read. He opens it and it read thus:

"Dear Mr. Blair,

We are proud to inform you are accepted into the Drift Mecha Academy on Tresser Time Island. A plane will pick you up the day after tomorrow, so prepare yourself for an adventure of a lifetime. We hope that our training will not only make you a good pilot but also give you a sense of belonging. Our facilities have the latest technology, so you will get to study on as well during your training.

Yours sincerely,

From the Mecha Academy Board"

Once he got to the end of the letter shock rippled throughout David's body. It wasn't a bad shock by any means. It was a shock of elation and relief. The elation that he was accepted and relief it wasn't a rejection paper. David was so overwhelmed by the rush of emotions that he fell backward into a chair with a stunned expression adorning his face.

"Here, have some tea," Steven said as he handed his adopted son a cup of the warm chocolate mixed with the pink lemonade he always likes, smiling at him.

"T-Thanks..." he said, stuttering as he smiled all through, gulping away its contents.

"So, you've been accepted," Steven said in affirmation.

"Y-Yes! I c-can't believe it! God, this almost feels like a dream." David said, pacing about.

"Well, it's not a dream, son. This is happening." Steven said with a smile.

"Oh God, dad, I could do cartwheels around the house!" David exclaimed.

"I'm sure you could... just don't do it while you're holding my favorite ceramic cup," Steven said with smiles as he took the teacup out of David's hands.

"Oh, hey. Sorry..." David said smiling, blushing pink.

The day seemed to go by so fast that, before David knew it, it was already night time and he was already eating dinner with Steven. After heading up to his room, David was still in a state of shock from the euphoria he felt from seeing the words, "you have been accepted…" as he bounced tired on his bed. Ten minutes later he got excited phone calls from John and Nozomi to tell him they had also been accepted. As the morning sun rose two days later, David's eyes opened with excitement.

"Today is the day." He thought to himself as he jumped out of bed and got ready.

"Hey Dave, better hurry!" Steven called up from below. "The bus should be here in the next half an hour."

"All right, I'll be right down." After packing a small duffle bag, David made his way down the stairs as fast as he could with Steven whistling at the door.

"Not bad. You've got twelve minutes to spare and your buddies are waiting outside." Steven said.

"John and Nozomi?" The raven head asked.

"Yep," Steven replied, then smiled as he patted David on the shoulder. "Good luck, son."

David smiled and nodded to dad, then stepped out the door to meet his two friends who were also ready to go.

"Good to see you made it." Said John, grinning wide.

"You should have set your clock a little earlier." Nozomi teased.

"Yeah, yeah, sorry about that. I guess the excitement took more out of me than I thought it would, and almost made me sleep in." David said.

"Well, it's a good thing you got up when you did because here comes our ride to a new future," John said and pointed down the road. David and Nozomi turned to look and saw the bus come around the corner. With a slow intake of breath followed by a long sigh, David put his duffle bag over his shoulder.

"Looks like our ride is here." He said with an anxious tone.

"All aboard!" Called the bus driver as the doors opened. The three youths stepped onto the bus, and from the front porch Steven called out to them.

"Keep safe now, you hear?" Shouted Steve from the house.

David turned and gave a reassuring nod and a slow wave to his father before he piled in along with his buddies. With that, the bus drove off. However, once he got a good look inside along with Nozomi and John, he realized something odd. The bus was empty; it was only the three of them. Why would a bus that can carry fifteen to thirty-five people be empty?

"Don't worry." The bus driver said as if reading David's mind when he caught his questioning look in the rear-view mirror. "The plane will have more people on it." David's head perked up at this.

"We're getting on a plane?" He asked, and the driver smirked.

"Didn't think I would drive across the sea, did ya?" He guffawed as if it were the funniest joke in the world. But John laughed, being the corny guy, he was, while Nozomi rolled her eyes. So, the group took their seats and about three hours later they got to the airport.

"Awesome, we made it!" John exclaimed in excitement. It wasn't so unusual, however, since this was the first time any of them have been in a big airport like this or any at all. And it showed both from John's words and the wide eyes of wonder from Nozomi and David.

"All right, everybody off and I will take you where you need to go." The bus driver said, and the trio gathered their bags then walked out of the bus after the driver. "Right this way."

The man ushered the three to follow him, which they did. After walking, they got to where their plane stood to wait. It was very large and could carry everyone in their town on it. The color scheme was dark blue with a red stripe going along its side. And the wings of the plane were so long they shaded a good part of the ground at its sides.

"Wow..." Nozomi lets out in awe.

"They will take off soon, so you'd better get seats while the getting good seats." The man said. David nodded in understanding and then shook the driver's hand in appreciation.

"Thanks for getting us here Mr.…?" David trailed off, hoping the man would drop his name, and he did.

"Gouda, son. They call me Gouda. Now, you'd best get along or you will miss your flight." The man, Gouda, said, shooing the group off. Without a moment to spare, they all ran to the plane and Gouda then left to get on the bus and drove away.

David went on board first, followed by John then Nozomi. The inside of the plane was even larger than the outside. It looked like it could carry two town's worth of people. However, since the plane would fly in a moment, they couldn't keep standing there. The sitting arrangements caused a little problem, the plane seats were made and arranged and made in pairs. The three friends wouldn't be able to sit together.

"Looks like you'll be sitting alone, David," John said with a frown.

"It's all right, guys. We'll at least be a few feet apart." David said with a smile. And so he took the pair of seats next to where Nozomi and John took their place. Then just as he had gotten comfortable and the plane doors were about to close, a voice shouted out.

"Wait!" Exclaimed a feminine voice. And her shout came just in time before the pilot closed the door.

"Oh, I'm sorry miss. I didn't see you there." The man apologized as he helped the young lady inside.

That was when David got a clear view of the sudden passenger for the first time. She was wearing a sleeveless green shirt with a pair of bellbottom jeans. Her hair were as red as fire and her eyes were the most wondrous shade of blue he had ever seen. Strapped to her shoulder appeared to be a sheath, the type that would hold a sword—and sure enough, a hilt stuck out from behind her head. When the mystery girl walked down the aisle, David became nervous as his hands became all sweaty from the thoughts that she would sit beside him. As she got closer to where he was seated, his nervousness transformed into outright panic.

"Can I sit here?" She asked him, piercing him with those blue eyes.

"Um, s-sure. " David stammered, trying—and failing—to keep his cool. In the seat adjacent, he saw his friends snickering. The traitors, he muttered below his breathe.

"Thanks." The red haired said as she put her sword in the overhead storage compartment before taking her seat. There was a thick silence between them before David gathered enough courage to speak.

"So... you a sword person?" David asked.

"A sword lady. " She corrected him.

"Oh, sorry, I didn't know." David could feel his cheeks flush with embarrassment. Smooth, Blair. Smooth as sandpaper.

"It's okay, swordsmanship is not well known as it used to be." The young lady said.

That was true enough. David thought swordsmanship had suffered a great deal because of a lack of interest. There are not even knives in weapons shops anymore you have to buy them at foreign antique showrooms now, and sometimes, pawn shops.

"And you want to learn to be a mecha pilot, I take it? That is why you're on the plane?" She asked and looked at him this time.

"Yes, I do," David said with more conviction than his previous sentences had. At this, she shrugged.

"Well, I want to bring swordsmanship to the world of mecha." The mystery lady replied.

"A giant robot with a sword? That will be something to see. I hope you can make it happen." David said with a small giggle.

"Thanks for the encouragement." Replied the mystery lady said with a small grin.

And with the ice now broken, the two of them engaged a conversation that lasted for the most part of the six-hour trip from the airport to the Mecha Academy. In that time, David learned a few things about this girl. She was an Irish-American, who lived with her mother in the United States. Her father was in the Irish military's mecha division, and she did not see him very much but for a few days a year plus vacations she got to spend some time with him when she could. It was from her father she heard the many stories that had influenced her to go down the road she was now taking. For another thing, her personality differed from what David had expected. While his old man had told him that redheads always had a short temper, this girl was nothing like that. She had pride, yes, but she was not arrogant and she had an underlying kindness to her, she was in fact, graceful. It was the personality that many guys are attracted to. And just like every guy, David soon realized that he was no different, he was attracted to her. The young man also told her about himself and all the experiences he has had. The pair shared many laughs together before the ride lulled David to sleep.

After several hours of sleeping through the rest of the trip, David felt someone shaking him lightly.

"Hey, sleepy head. Wake up. We are about to land." David stirred, his eyes opening to see it was the redhead who was waking him up.

"A nice sight to wake up to." David thought with a small smile.

"Hey, David! Come out and look at this!" Called John in excitement, and David and his new friend got up to go where Nozomi and John were standing peered out through the window into the beautiful blue clouds that covered the skyline of the Tresser Time Island.

They all stood there and said aww in amazement, with excitement lit in their eyes as the airplane hovered around the island exposing the beautiful landscape in which they will spend most of their time training. The island was rather large than they thought it would be—it even had its own port city—and they could also see the Academy dominating the one side of it. It was a massive place, David realized as he looked out over the grounds. The main school and dorms were in the center and the other Academy buildings radiated out from there.

It was then that the pilot spoke over the intercom. "We have arrived at our destination, so please fasten your seatbelts" the loudspeakers buzzed away, making the teens return to their sits in safety.

After landing, all the teens could do was wait for someone from the Academy to pick them up. Not too long, their wish was answered as a black van zoomed towards them.

"Now that's what I call timing," David said, picking up his duffle bag.

"I'll say." Nozomi chimed in as the van parked in front. Soon after, an older gentleman of around 65 years old stepped out. He was dressed in a fine suit. He took a moment to look at the four teens and then spoke.

"Welcome to Tresser Time Island Mecha Academy. My name is Daniel Hanley. I am the Academy Headmaster. your instructor would meet you but the Academy is undergoing renovations in most of the training facilities and that will keep them busy for at least two weeks. So you four will read part one of your lessons until they are done." Daniel explained to the squad.

"Where will we be staying, sir?" John asked.

"That's where we'll be going to, young man. I'm sure you all have lingering jet-lag. So if you'll get into the car we'll be on our way." Daniel said, gesturing with his left hand towards the large van and his right behind him.

They boarded the van, and it made its way to the Academy, the road led taking them through some thick forest paths. As they pulled up in front of the main building, David felt his mouth gaping. It was an amazing sight to take in. The front lawn had patches of colorful flowers and a large fountain. This was not what they had expected to see as they got out of the van.

"Welcome the place where you will spend the next four years of your lives. Now, let's get you four settled in." Daniel said and led the group to another building just a walk away.

The dorms were bigger than they had thought, too. It was about the size of a luxury hotel or a small casino or more, it was magnificent. The whole place divided into three sections: one side for the boys, the other for the girls, and the center was a large communal living area. Once the group entered the building Daniel left to let them take it all in first since it was a lot to take in.

"Well, this is nice. Headmaster Hadley wasn't kidding when he said it would have all the necessities." David said, dropping his duffle bag on the floor.

"Here I thought they would put us in tents." Nozomi joked.

"Don't give them any ideas," David said with a chuckle. The redhead who was a part of their group sat down on one of the chairs and put her sword down next to her.

"I hear the Tresser Time Academy treats its students well, so I don't think there will be any problems." She said in a knowing manner. David nodded, glad to get the reassurance, then realized something.

"Hey, we didn't catch your name," David said. The redhead looked him in the eye before replying.

"My name is Sayuri Kazuko. What's yours?" Sayuri asked in a way that made David's heart feels like it skipped a beat. But he could regain enough composure to reply.

"David Blair." The young man replied. Sayuri got up from her chair and held out her hand.

"I will be happy to learn with you and the others here." The redhead said with a kind smile, and David took her hand and shook it.

"Same here. I would like you to meet my friends." David said and gestured to his buddies.

John and Nozomi came forward and introduced themselves. After the introductions, Nozomi looked up and noticed the time on the clock. It had gotten much later than they thought it was.

"It's getting late, so we should head off to bed." The cat girl said and the other three nodded in agreement as the girls go off to their side of the dorms

"I agree. We all need our beauty sleep." John said and took a pose.

"Some, more than others," David said with a grin making John puff his cheeks while the girls giggled. "Anyway, goodnight Nozomi, and rest well, Sayuri."

"You too, David, pleasant dreams." Sayuri said and gave a wink to David then walked away with Nozomi to the girl's side of the dorms.

"Looks like you two clicked," John said with a grin on David.

"Whatever, just talked; nothing more. Now, can we please to bed?" David said, not paying mind to the smug grin of his friend. As they both retired to the boys' dorm, John soon slept off as he was dead beat from the travels and catch up. David however, on his side of the bed, could hardly sleep. All he could think of was Sayuri and how graceful her poise was. Moments later after daydreaming of his new friend, he slept off with a smile on his face.

The days seemed to fly by fast and two days went by. The friends saw how things were run and they soon got used to the way things were in the academy and got to the swing of things Every day, they would be in classroom 214, studying their textbooks with vigor. And at the free moments, they had between studying, they spent them getting to know their fellow students at the Academy Cafeteria. During their stay, David and the others learned that this eating room could hold well over 500 students. They met there each day for lunch, but today something interrupted them. There was some commotion near the cafeteria door and David glanced over to see a girl being pushed down to the ground by a rather mean-looking student who appeared to be older than they were.

"Who are those two?" David asks one of the other students.

"That is Wilson Bentley. He is an upperclassman, and the girl is Christine Navarro. She's new, like you." One student explained.

David gritted his teeth. He would not let this Wilson person push a girl down, so he got up from his seat and walked over before another student stopped him.

"Just leave it. Wilson is the top dog around here and does what he wants." The student said, however, David turned to the student with a determined look on his face.

"I think this dog needs a kick in the chops." With that said, David continued to walk to the front door.

"That's David for you," Nozomi said, recalling when she'd first met David.

They were just six years old, and she was being bullied because of her ears and tail. Then David came to her rescue and chased them off. Since then, he had encouraged her to stand up for herself.

"Now he was about stand up for someone else and show this Wilson a thing or two" said Nozomi with confidence in her friend. The Christine girl was on the ground whimpering as Wilson closed in on her, and that is when David stepped in between them. Wilson looked up at this new obstacle keeping him from his latest victim, this new rookie who seemed to think he could stand up to the best pilot in the Academy.

"Stand aside, rookie… NOW!" Wilson's voice was as cold as ice and so was his face and eyes. His eyes, not only were they cold, they looked like "nothing," like nothing could stop him.

"No, I will not," David stated standing his ground. There was no telling what this person would do to Christine if he backed off. The rest of the cafeteria was dead silent as the two stared each other down, like a lion and a bear ready to battle.

"I will tell you one more time: stand aside," Wilson ordered but David just shook his head in defiance.

"If you want to get to her, get through me." The raven-haired teen stated.

Wilson and David were eyes to eye at this point. The tension was so thick you could cut it with a knife. Wilson's eyes were shooting daggers at David's fiery, determined ones with his resolve strong, still standing his ground. No one had ever dared to stand up to him before now. Yet here this punk rookie was stopping him from doing what he pleased.

"You do not understand who you're messing with." Said the upperclassman.

"I guess I'll find out eventually," David replied, crossing his arms, and daring the person before him to make a move.

Wilson was now getting frustrated., and just the threat of him doing something would make people back off. But David was different and wasn't going to be scared off so easily. This left him with no other choice but to withdraw. It would only be for now, though, as he would get back at David some other time. The onlookers couldn't believe their eyes as Wilson walked out the door. For someone to stand up to Wilson was one thing. But for him to walk away was unheard of and unseen. With Wilson gone, David turned his attention to the blue-haired Christine.

"Are you all right?" David asked, reaching his hand down to help pull her up.

"I am fine… thank you." Thanked Christine in a soft and meek voice.

"Is there any reason that Wilson guy was trying to hurt you?" David asked again. The blue-haired female hesitated to say anything for a while, but since David had saved her she felt indebted to tell him.

"I am telepathic, I can hear people's thoughts," Christine said. The reply surprised David. He never met a telepath before. Life was full of interesting people.

"Nice to meet you. My name is David Blair. What is yours?" The young man asked.

Now it was Christine's turn to be surprised. She was always laughed at and mocked because she was telepathic. Even her own parents sent her here because they wanted nothing to do with her. Yet, here was this total stranger, not only standing up for her but talking to her. Everybody else would have left her to that jerk Wilson to be beaten on. So maybe… just maybe, he could be a friend. Her first friend.

"My name is Christine Leontine. Nice to meet you." She smiled, and for the first time in a long while, she could smile.

"Would you like to sit with me and my friends? I am sure they would like to meet you." David said, gesturing to the table.

After the telepath nodded David led her over to the table where the others were seated, and just like that, four friends became five. They later found out that Christine Leontine was now a part of class 214. So now they would have their new freind to join in their studies.

#anime pilot teen mecha

[40daysofselfcare]

Sunday night. I lost my phone and discovered something for 40 days of Self. I had a great conversation with an Über driver about magical love: moments when, on a journey, you fall in love with a stranger, and they reciprocate. I won’t tell his whole story – that’s for him to tell - just know, an uber passenger took him on a beach adventure. Me: I shared about meeting one of my soulmates in Chile. We laughed, drunk on our stories. I exited his car, and then realized I left my phone. I tried to flag him down. Nothing. He zoomed away; I rushed back home. Reached for my iPad; turned on the Find my iPhone and tracked him down. My battery was at 1% on my phone. I couldn't reach him. Then, I noticed my battery level rose. He responded to my text. I texted back: should I meet you at a Denny's? He said: naw. I'll take it to you. I didn't have any cash, I didn’t know what to do, so I responded: are you hungry? I can make you some Gouda and avocado quesadillas. He said: Hell ya! I make 4 gouda avocado quesadillas. Wrap them in foil. He arrived at my apt. I thanked him. We laughed. I handed him the quesadillas and a special gift, and he left. I woke up in the morning with a text on my Google voice: yo, bro. Those quesadillas hit the spot. I share this story because A: it's the 40 days of self-care and storytelling is how I take care of myself, and B: you never know who will feed you, nourish you, share a story or something with you. I know so many things could've gone wrong, but Sunday night – something didn't. And I needed this reminder because sometimes, I always prepare for the worst, and perhaps I need to go back to being available for the best? Thanks for reading. Leave any comments in my tumblr in the link. As part of the 40 days of self care this year I'm thinking about how to care for others is how we care for ourselves to. The stories we share nourish each other. #40daysofSelf #nourishmentnotjustfood #feed #food #gouda #tortilla #story #you #uberdriver https://www.instagram.com/p/Bneq4KSh_4m/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1dpah01ue5720

#40daysofself #nourishmentnotjustfood #feed #food #gouda #tortilla #story #you #uberdriver

[fallen-drow]

1

1: Alpha-gal and who I am Let’s press this bitch. Salutations! My name is Dorothy Jane Oliver-Finnegan and I am currently 26 years-young. Before we get too deep into my life, I want to issue a fair warning. I am blunt and honest. I don’t sugar-coat things because I believe it is a waste of time. I swear like a sailor and may be one of the most sarcastic people you meet. I’ll try to write sarcastic statements in Italics. Writing about me is difficult because I don’t know where to begin. So let’s begin with the basics: the start! “Humble” beginnings, if you will. I lived my first 7 years in Carmel, IN. For those of you not familiar with Carmel, IN: It’s a snobby town. Carmel has more money than it knows what to do with. Well that may not be true; they removed all of the 4-way stop signs and replaced them with roundabouts. Carmel also houses many of the government officials and other important people. For instance – my neighbors in Carmel were Former-Vice President Dan Quail (you know, the potato guy) and Mr. Simon. Mr. Simon owned the Pacers and all of the Simon Malls. But please don’t assume that I grew up wealthy, because I did not grow up with money. My house was a small white ranch, which was falling apart. It was my maternal grandparent’s home and where I spent most of my childhood. When I was 8, we moved to Noblesville, IN. Noblesville was an up and coming area. My mother works for a home-builder and her company built our home. We were the second house built in our subdivision and one of the biggest. The home in Noblesville was like a mansion compared to the home in Carmel. It has three floors, including a full basement. 7 bedrooms, 4 bathrooms, Living, Family, Dining rooms, and a huge kitchen: the house is huge! I stayed in Noblesville until I went to college. I went to Manchester COLLEGE. They can call in a University all they want, but it will always be MC for me. I graduated in three years with a degree in Sociology with a concentration in Criminal Justice and a minor in Psychology. MC is in North Manchester, IN – which is 40 minutes southwest of Fort Wayne, IN. I lived there for 2 years after I graduated with my partner. Then we moved down to Spencer, IN. Spencer is 30 minutes northwest of Bloomington, IN. Currently, I live on 10 acres of wooded wonderland. I love the location of my current home and plan to live there until I’m an old lady. We currently have 20+ chickens, 4 dogs, 4 cats, and 1 fish. It’s my personal paradise. Other basic information: Height: 5’7 ½” Weight: Yeah right Favorites: Color: Royal Purple/Black Animal: Crow Food: Sushi Song: Mad World Past time: Sims 3, drawing, and gardening Show to watch: Reality/Game Shows Hair color: Naturally Brown, but I dye it often Eye color: Hazel – blue/green Okay, enough of that. Let’s talk about Galactose-alpha-1,3-galactose, or Alpha-gal. You can always Google what it means but basically: I’m allergic to ALL red meats. It can also be called Mammalian Meat Allergy (MMA). People with MMA have and overload of immunoglobulin E or IgE. That’s a big word. Let’s break it down. Any immunoglobulin is an anti-body. Immunoglobulin E is ONLY found in mammals. IgE is normally the lowest anti-body in your system, but it is responsible for the most intense reactions (hives, anaphylactic shock, etc.). So my blood is over-flowing with IgE and because of this I cannot eat red meat. IgE attacks the protein in the red meat and causes me to have severe allergic reactions. I’ll share some of my experiences later. What classifies as a red meat? Well just about everything besides poultry and fish. It does include: beef, pork, and any wild game. Pork is NOT the other white meat. I cannot have: steak, bacon, deer, rabbit, lamb, goat, and much more. But it’s not just red meat. It’s everything associated with red meat animals. I cannot have dairy either if it comes from a cow. No cheese, sour cream, cream cheese, buttercream frosting, caramel, ice cream, etc. Also most people allergic to pork are allergic to cats. Remember that I have four cats and four dogs? Well now, I’m allergic to them. My eyes itch and swell shut. I was playing with a kitten, and she licked my hand and scratched me: my whole hand, wrist, and forearm broke out in hives. When I tell people this, the normal reaction is: “Oh man that sucks!” or “No BACCON!?!?” For me it isn’t all that bad. When I was in college, I was vegan. It wasn’t until I hooked up with my wife that I started eating dairy and meat again. She got me with smoked Gouda. So I figured I’d go back to being vegan. Well, it’s not so easy when your best friend makes the MOST AMAZING smoked pork shoulder. Not to mention, we just bought a farm. We were going to get pigs and other animals for food. Now we have 10 beautiful acres, and no need to farm animals. The second question I get is how I knew to be tested for MMA. Well it all started when we moved down here. My wife and I are research fanatics. If we see something we don’t understand or don’t know. We’ll spend an entire day researching the topic and share what we have found with each other. This happened with ticks. When we bought our property, we went hiking and of course found a few ticks on us because we live in deer country. Then it was on like Donkey Kong. My wife and I spent hours and days researching ticks and the different types of ticks that live in our area. One of my wife’s good friends has Lyme disease. She lives in southern Indiana. So we wanted to protect ourselves. I found a red tick with a white dot on me. It wasn’t attached and I pulled it from my pants to look closer at it. I though the tick was oddly colored for being in the woods. Red would be an easy color for predators to find amongst all of the browns and greens. So I researched this little fella. Turns out it was a Lone Star Tick. Again you could Google all about this tick, but I’ll sum it up for you. Lone Star Ticks originated in Texas, but have migrated up the Mississippi River and are now in Indiana and the Midwest region of the United States. They do not transmit Lyme disease, but they transmit MMA. I thought this was interesting and remember it. Ya know, for Jeopardy or Trivial Pursuit. And then something happened. The wife and I still have a home in North Manchester that we want to sell. So we went up there to get some things from the house. On the road, we stopped at a McDonald’s for some food. I don’t remember what I got, but I know it was probably a hamburger. A few hours after I ate it, I experienced the worst heart-burn ever. I thought I might be having a heart attack it was so painful. The pain lasted the rest of the night and I felt I couldn’t move. The next day, I assumed that the McDonald’s we went to had bad patties or something else made me sick. A few months later, we were at a friend’s house. She made tri-tip steak on the grill. It was delicious. A few hours later, we were sitting on their back deck and I noticed that I was covered in hives. I was itchy, struggled to breath, and continued to form more and more hives. My friend decided that she was going to “fix” me with a lot of apple crown and anti-itch lotion. Well, I could no longer feel my face, so it worked! I didn’t know what was happening. Later that night, I woke up in a panic because I couldn’t breathe. My wife stated that if I got worse she would take me to the ER. The next day, I was fine. Like nothing happened. I stopped eating ground beef after that, because it seemed that everything was revolving around ground beef. I continued on. I ate steak, but I cut all of the fat off because I was concerned that I was allergic to beef fat. I had no reactions. Then on September 24, 2016, I; my wife; and my mother went out to a restaurant and I ordered prime rib – rare. It was so good… We went home and I noticed that I had heart burn again. I blamed it on the horseradish. Then, I was covered in hives. I felt so sick. I couldn’t move. I scared my mom. She tried to do everything to make me better, but nothing was working. I then decided no beef at all. When I was vegan, one of my favorite snacks was/is Oreos. I love them. And like most people, I had a glass of milk. When I finished my Oreos, I drank my milk. Almost instantly, I started coughing. I could feel my throat closing. I was scared. Then I was covered in hives. More hives than ever before. I was one giant hive. I even had hives between my toes and in my mouth. I looked over to my wife for help. She didn’t know what to do. She fed me Benadryl and we went to bed. I remember struggling to breathe and thinking that I was going to die, but I didn’t want to scare my wife so I laid in silence. When I woke up the next day, I was sore and still covered in hives. It took me two days to recover. That’s when I made the appointment with the allergist. My tests came back positive for alpha-gal. My allergist was surprised that I knew what to look for and asked her to test me for something specific. Research does pay off. My allergist stated there are less than 3,000 reported cases in the United States of MMA. When I first discovered that I had this allergy, I was in shock. Then shock turned into anger and then sadness. I felt depressed. I love steak. I love prime rib. I love pork. I dislike chicken and turkey. I “like” fish. What was I going to do? My wife does not have MMA. She can eat whatever she wants. And I want her too. When we go out, she constantly apologizes for getting a steak, while I’m eating plain pasta. But she doesn’t have to suffer because I can’t eat what she can. I felt alone. Less than 3,000 people have this allergy. There is an online chat group, but it’s not something that helps me. I know what I can and cannot have. The people online just warn others about the dangers of soy intake and other issues that pop up. There is no cure. This allergy will last a life time. I will never “get better”. I have enough to worry about besides the fact that if I take in too much soy, I’m going to get ovarian cancer or breast cancer. My life will never be the same. But I’m optimistic. I’m hopeful. Nothing is doom and gloom. It’s gonna be okay. This is my journey with alpha-gal.

[snsmissionaries]

10/3/18 -- Sister Nicole Ritman, Spain, Madrid Mission

Satan Works Hard, But We Work Harder 😈<😇😇

¡Hola a todos!

 This entire week falls under the slogan of my subject line. There's just some weeks where Satanás is obviously working against us and all our amigos. For example, the amigo we put on fecha kept having random stuff come up that made it hard to meet even though he wanted to. Once we finally met it was hard to actually give the lesson because random interruptions kept happening like literally a guy wandered in from the street into his living room and started asking him advice on how to remodel his kitchen. I'm not making this up, like can this wait? We had a member at the cita and she was so cute because she just tore out a paper from her notebook, got the guys number and sent him away lol. We still didn't get to teach the lesson because then, a minute later, he got a call that something heavy had fallen on a friend and he had to go help her. We were like ???? This is getting a little obvious Satan, back off. We were RELENTLESS and we finally got to teach him Lección 3 later that week after so many times trying to meet. This is just one example of how Satan was working against us this week but we wouldn't let him take the W. We worked so hard, I was soooooo tired. It's kind of funny because in the pictures I'm sending you can see me getting more tired in every one lol. 

 Things like that are pretty discouraging, but there were also some very encouraging things like when the member we had at his house for the cita pointed out a pencil drawing on the wall that was him copying the painting on the front of the Restauración pamphlet we gave him that has Jesus holding a lamb. Sooooo precious! 💜 Literally made it all worth it.

 Another high of the week was the member family we have noche de hogar with every week gave us cheesecake because it was the Father's Cumpleaños! They are the funniest family and make us laugh every week. They love to teach me new vocab and one of their favorites is "cremallera" (zipper). They call me Hermana Cremallera now because in church church they couldn't get my attention by saying "Hermana" but then they said "cremallera" and it worked lol. The spiritual message we gave last night was also one of my favs, if I do say so myself (I picked it last minute because we realized we didn't have anything planned lol. Usually we meet on Tuesdays, OK? We're not slackers.). We watched the "Create" video from President Uchtdorf that gets me everytime. It's amazing go watch it and you'll be so motivated after I promise! The daughter was kind of looking down ever since school started but we used the video to encourage her to share her talents and she sang for us (she hasn't done that since the first time I met her) and the light literally went back into her eyes! Honestly big miracles happen on the mission but my favorite thing is just seeing someone's day brightened a little bit, whether by something I did or if I'm just there to see it. I think that's something we can relate to on a universal level 😊

 This week for Zone PDay we rented out the soccer field and then went to Burger King  just like last time. Unlike last time, we chose Disney princesses that fit everyone's personalities and apparently I'm Meg from Hercules, and our Zone Leaders are Elsa and Pocahontas hehe. Also, we were supposed to do a photo scavenger hunt but idk what happened to that because we're all just sitting in the chapel and emailing now lol. I'm gonna make that happen next time though because that sounds legit. 

 Os quiero

 Hermana Ritman 

  Questions:

 How is the work progressing?

 We're working on finding as a mission and we set a super high goal as a companionship to find people to teach for the month of October so it should be really gearing up! So far, it's been a lot of foundation-laying, like seeing who is really progressing and who is not. 

 Has it been hot there?

 Yes--hotter than AZ from what I can tell, plus it's humid. The members say it's summer until November lol. But the heat doesn't bother me. The fact that it's socially acceptable to fan yourself with an abanico at any time, even in sacrament meeting or a lesson, helps. 

 Do you have air conditioning in your apartment?  How about most of the buildings?

 We have one room with air conditioning and so we sleep and study with it even though you're not really supposed to do that jaja. (We had piso checks and they said it was fine-don't worry) We're one of the lucky ones--a lot of people we meet with and other missionaries don't have it. 

 Do you cook for yourself a lot? or do the members feed you?

The members feed us occasionally. They feed the Elders a lot because they're good at asking, so it's our fault we don't get fed lol. Our amigos and recent converts feed us more because we see them for lessons. We also have an amigo that give us groceries everytime we see him, which is so nice. Everyone is so nice here, really. And ya I don't really mind cooking for ourselves though, we've gotten creative and I've learned a lot of things like putting a raw egg and a slab of butter and stirring it after your drain the water when you make noodles makes it sooo good. We also make fried rice, toasted gouda and salchichón sandwiches a lot. We also buy cheese frozen pizza and put this Spanish meat slices on it that are kinda like pepperoni and it makes me laugh because we Spanishified our pizza. 

 What is your favorite food there?

Idk if I can say churros and chocolate because I only had it once in Madrid but it's probably up on the list for me. Also Spanish empanadas they're not doughy like Sud América (those those have a special place in my heart too) --they're flaky. Also anything marisco (seafood) especially paella.