#girl dinner dessert and leftovers for breakfast the next morning

[shepherds-of-haven]

I hope you’re having a great day Lena! I was just wondering if we could have any fluff facts about the shepherds as a whole! Like fun tidbits of how they interact with each other, what some of them do if they have the same day off, does anyone host weekly game nights?? I hope that makes sense! Reading the recent short story on Patreon I love seeing how the characters interact with one another and now I need moreeeeeee🙏

Ooh, great question! I’m feeling curiously tapped dry at the moment, so I’ll probably have to reblog this as more ideas come to me; I’m so happy you’re enjoying the short story, btw!! 💖

Some group dynamic headcanons:

Many of them steal clothes from each other. Briony wears a cute sweater of Shery's (she asked), Ayla gets cold so she just takes one of Red's jackets from a chair (she didn't ask), Chase gives Tallys his scarf one day and Riel corders Trouble a pair of gloves from a fashion line he favors because his old ones are holey and they get into an argument about it... This leads to some recruits mistakenly thinking that the captains are all involved in some sort of mass relationship because they keep walking out of each other's rooms wearing each other's clothes. (The recruits believe a lot of really dumb stuff, if you couldn't tell. They LOVE gossip. It's like a competitive sport in the compound)

There is a weekly card game night, initiated and organized first by Chase, but it grows bigger over time, with snacks, cakes, drinks, and new games being procured! I'd actually say it's more like every ten-fourteen days or so than on any set weekday, and is typically proposed by anyone who senses that they or others need to blow off some steam. They all tend to meet in a private common room and either just chill and play some card games and casually drink and listen to music, or they get LOUD and raucous and play more risque non-card games (like Question or Command/Truth or Dare). The loud nights are more like once a month or bi-monthly, though! They take place in the captains' lounge so dumb recruits don't get to join! It's rare that they're in there all doing the same thing, though: maybe half will be at the table playing card games while others will be broken up into smaller groups, say arm-wrestling in the corner or playing chess at the smaller table or reading, but they're all there! Game nights are almost never held unless everyone is there, which is extraordinarily difficult to schedule, but they all make an effort to make it happen--even those who first had to be dragged into it, like Blade or Riel!

Speaking of chess games, Red and Riel have a standing game where they complete at least four more moves every night that they're around and able to meet up after dinner. Planning their next move helps them both break up the monotony of the day, and it's something they enjoy immensely. However, whenever he gets called away on a mission, Red gets sick with worry that Riel's been cooking up all sorts of schemes while he's been gone, so sometimes on the road he has, like, a schematic that he doodles on trying to anticipate Riel's next move, and it's very nerdy and ramps up in joking Anxiety. Riel, graciously, goes easier on him on nights after he comes back from long trips, though he denies it

Similarly, Blade and Trouble have a standing training session once a week where they just beat the crap out of each other. This is generally where they do the majority of their talking

Briony and Ayla first had an agreement that they would get the other one up if they overslept (Briony tends to be the one who oversleeps while Ayla is better about being up at dawn, but Ayla is really grouchy if she went to bed late and Briony is the only one who can handle her), which morphed into doing runs and sparring together at dawn and having breakfast frequently!

The girls have a standing spa night once a month where they all get together in a room (usually Shery’s) and basically do sleepover stuff and relax and chat and catch up for a few hours. This also sometimes involves showing each other new outfits that they bought that month! Sometimes there are even group baths in the big common bath, but these are rarer because Shery is shy and Tallys doesn’t like sitting in hot water getting pruny

Chase and Trouble drag Red and Halek to go drinking with them around once a month; sometimes Blade is persuaded to go if Trouble can get the drop on him and punch him hard enough to wind him. It’s complicated

Riel and Shery, of course, have tea together once a week! You’re not allowed if you can’t bring a chill vibe (Riel’s rules). Tallys, Lavinet, Halek, and Red are occasional visitors; Briony is allowed on a good day. Blade would be allowed but he has 0 interest

Similarly, Lavinet hosts a weekly brunch, either in a courtyard or at some restaurant in town! Typically it’s a girl thing and Ayla, Briony, and Shery are the most consistent attendees, but Chase has snuck his way in there often, and Riel, Halek, or Red pop up occasionally!

Tallys and Halek cook together! It’s not all that often and doesn’t seem to have any set way of materializing--it just happens somehow--but they both very much enjoy it! Sometimes they cook dinner for the whole group and have a little dinner party that they both secretly get excited for! Sometimes Shery bakes the dessert!

Riel noticed that Tallys has a little garden that she spends time weeding, so he sends gardening tools or special seeds when he thinks she needs them and she leaves baskets of vegetables or vases of flowers in his office. All of this is done without exchanging a word

Chase sporadically teaches Briony acrobatics and things like tightrope walking, just randomly whenever they’re both idle. She teaches him how to gut people with bare fists and also sometimes they paint! 

Caine caught Red grazing in the pantry late one night and now it’s like a Thing where they pass each other in the kitchen and Red sort of just looks the other way re: Caine’s bedtime and what on earth he’s doing up so late and Caine doesn’t tell anybody that Red is just absent-mindedly eating a loaf of bread at 2 AM because he was too busy working to remember to eat dinner. It’ll be like, “there’s some turkey leftover from dinner in the cold box” “oh hey, Caine. thanks. ...so, what’s the news from the midnight watch tonight?” “i’m going to go hunt ghosts on the seventh floor with my friends!” “...okay! have fun!”

Lavinet has a monthly shopping trip where she updates her wardrobe, and it is very common for others to accompany her around the city and just shop while they drop! Common partners are Shery, Briony, Riel, Chase, and once memorably Blade, who didn’t know what he was in for!

Trouble and Ayla are wildly competitive and keep arm-wrestling each other for money; this becomes a bi-weekly sporting event that is eagerly attended and bet upon by third parties

There was ONE group karaoke night. ONE. Most of them got so blackout drunk that they swore to never do it again. Even now, several of them go green whenever they hear a popular bar song (“Don’t Piss Where You Plant Your Flowers”) being sung, especially badly

The game of "telephone" gets really bad in their group. It's like, Shery will say to Briony that she's worried because she thought Riel looked a bit peaky and feverish. Briony will say in passing to Trouble that Riel is getting sick and Shery is worried. Trouble will say to Tallys that Shery is worried sick because Riel is bedridden. Tallys will be mixing herbs and Chase will ask what for and Tallys will reply that Riel is sick, but because she's mixing herbs, Chase will surmise that the sickness must be quite advanced, and will later say, "Damn, have you seen Riel? Seems like he's really sick." Red will interpret this as "I have seen Riel for myself and have determined that he's extremely ill." At least four people will bust into Riel's room, expecting him to be on the verge of death, despite the fact that they saw Riel that morning. Riel will be fine and very annoyed at the intrusion.

They rarely go out as a group to bars and establishments outside of the compound (too chaotic as well as risky, for one thing, and also, recruits don't need to see their superiors like hanging out of bushes and dancing on tabletops drunk out of their minds, and also, "Mages can't drink" (lol)), but when they do deem it a worthy occasion (Trouble's birthday, say), the girls are very punctual when getting ready, and the boys are almost always extremely late due to various shenanigans (Chase forgot that he put a booby trap on Red’s door, covering Red with flour, or a cat somehow slips into Trouble’s room and steals, like, a detonator or an important key, and they have to go chasing it across the city). This has led to the girls coming late on purpose in order to even out their arrival, but mysteriously, this has only led to even later start times, meaning they often don’t get started until like 10 or 11 PM when the most well-intentioned souls meant to be in bed by midnight... that never happens, either!

One such night once led to them ending up on a ridge in the Sun’s Embrace, like a mile outside of the city, in order to watch the sun rise together, because hiking in the dark while blasted out of their minds sounded like a really good idea. They all made it, and the dawn was spectacular, but the moment was ruined when Tallys said softly, “It’s the beginning of a beautiful new day--” punctuated by Trouble abruptly throwing up in a bush and Riel just flat-out passing out

#Shepherds of Haven #group #group dynamic #all characters #found family #drinking #cw: alcohol #drunk #shenanigans #party #parties #long #long post

[collecting-stories]

Anniversary - Topper Thornton

Request: A date with Topper at a nice restaurant on the mainland?? - @letsgofullkook 

A/N: When I wrote this I kind of thought of it as a continuation of Flirt.

Outer Banks Masterlist

-

In your wildest dreams you had never thought that one date with Topper would lead to anything more than that. But here you were, sitting in an office in Durham when you were supposed to be celebrating your one-year anniversary. It hadn’t occurred to either of you when you made the appointment with the Dean of Admissions that your college interview would conflict with your anniversary mainly because the relationship was still new and you didn’t think it would last passed a few dates around the island. 

You were wrong, of course, much to your mother’s happiness. You admitted that in the beginning you just liked him cause he was hot and sometimes, occasionally, funny. But now all the things you liked about him outweighed the things you didn’t and those were all niche complaints. The sort of things couples get annoyed by when they’ve committed time and energy to their relationship. 

He’d texted you early in the morning as you were making your way to the ferry. Happy anniversary and good luck. You texted back a sad face, depressed enough that you weren’t going to see him no matter how many times he promised you could do something when you got back. 

“We could even just have a pizza or something?” 

“You want me to eat pizza, no doubt while I’m two seconds from passing out, on our anniversary. Pizza anniversaries are for married couples with kids who just want to eat something that doesn’t taste like five different vegetables puréed together!” You had ranted at him when he offered. 

“Okay, hey it’s okay. No pizza anniversary...yet.”

“Topper!”

“What? I’ll only purée four vegetables into our future childrens’ food too.” He promised. 

“I hate you and you’re not funny and I inadvertently ruined our anniversary.” 

“You didn’t ruin anything...this is an important interview.” Topper had been thrilled when you told him that you had an interview at Duke, it’d been all he could brag about to anyone for weeks. His girlfriend, going to Duke. As if NCS was a chump school. 

The day of the interview and your anniversary you woke up in the morning to flowers delivered to your house, your favorite cupcake from Whole Foods sitting in the refrigerator and the rosé slushies you liked already in the freezer. 

-did you break into my house?- you had sent him a snapchat of you eating the cupcake for breakfast accompanied by a pan down to show off the fact that you were only half dressed in a bralette and short shorts. He might not be there for your anniversary but you could still reciprocate on the gift giving. 

-your parents gave me a key-

-you’re joking-

-you wish-

You continued texting and snapchatting with him as you got ready and as you boarded the ferry. He promised that you would get to celebrate but you knew it wouldn’t be how you wanted. A nice dinner at the only high end restaurant close enough to the OBX to not take practically a day to get to. 

“I just want fancy Italian food.” You told him as you stood outside the campus after your interview, waiting for your dad to pick you back up. 

“All I asked was how the interview went babe,” he teased. 

“It was good. I felt like all my talking points came across well and I didn’t freeze up on any of his questions.” You said, “now if only my dad would show up.”

“Where is he?”

“I don’t know...he was supposed to meet me outside and I don’t see his car anywhere. Hold on, some asshole with tinted windows just honked their horn at me!” 

“Sounds like a dick.”

“Honestly,” you knocked on the window of the sports car, fully prepared to lay into whoever was in the drivers seat because the interview went well but the rest of your day was shit, only to find Topper sitting there smiling at you, phone to his ear. “What are you doing here?” Realising you spoke into the phone you rolled your eyes, hanging up and repeating the question, “what’re you doing here?”

“I came to take you to dinner. It is our anniversary.” 

“Stop, this is so fucking sweet!” You climbed into the car, leaning across the dash to give him a kiss.

“I’m glad you like it, Rafe told me I was a pussy for doing all this.” 

“Rafe’s never dated a girl long enough to finish a sentence.” You replied, giddiness kicking in again as you realised he’d played along to missing dinner while planning this the whole time. “I can’t believe you did this!”

“Short of flying to Italy to actually have Italian food there’s not much I wouldn’t do to spend the night with you.” He admitted. 

“Flying to Italy sounds like a second anniversary kind of thing.”

“I’m sure it does.” 

-

The restaurant he took you to was in Durham, not too far from campus, which you pointed out as a viable future date spot when you were both in school next year. You had been thinking about both of you being in college a lot lately. You had even joked with Topper about being one of those midway through college couples on house hunters looking for an apartment that was unreasonably nice while still being within distance to everything important in life. 

“We’ll get you an apartment that has a big mailbox and a second room that you can use as a closet.” Topper had teased, knowing your unmatched ability to online shop. “And in walking distance to a coffee place.” 

“So you can walk there for me?” You had asked, smiling. 

There was a lot of future planning that you found yourself doing. Whether Topper was truly thinking that far ahead as well or just appeasing you whenever you shared a crazy future plan with him you weren’t sure. You wanted to think that you were on the same page but you had hardly expected to like him enough to have spent a year with him, thinking about the future was new to you. 

“I’m telling you right now if this tiramisu is as good as the waiter said I’m never going anywhere else for Italian food.” You told him, reaching across the table to nab a piece of bread that he had leftover. 

“I figured that anyway.” Topper replied, moving his plate away from your hand. 

“Stop! I want your bread.”  You pouted, trying to poke at him with your fork.

“You already ate like four pieces!” 

“What are you trying to say?” 

“That this is my piece.” He said, taking a bite of it. 

“Unbelievable. You think someone loves you and then they pull this shit.” You complained. 

Topper rolled his eyes, “do you want your present now or?” 

“You did too much Top; all the stuff this morning and showing up here and dinner, I don’t need anything else.” You insisted. You were happy enough just thinking dinner was your gift.

“Well I got you an actual present too so,” 

“Honestly after dessert I don’t think I’ll be able to make it all the way to the ferry...” you trailed off, realizing how late it was getting already, “how are we?”

“We’re staying over.” 

“God you really thought of everything.” 

“I even brought you regular clothes for tomorrow so you don’t have to wear that dress back.” He replied. 

“Have I told you how much I love you?”

“I mean I don’t hate hearing it.” Topper replied. 

-

Taglist: @maplelattes22 @poguesrforlife  @freckled-and-daydreaming  @chasefreakinstokes @millie-753 @fangirlwithme @alex12948 @howdyherron @katherine097 @tangledinsparkles @tragicmisfits @carbonated-beverage @mariofgreengables @damonsalvawhore27 @dopedoodes @dolanfivsosxox @belledutchess @poguelifeeee @faded-blue @parkerpetertingle @thebookwormlife @summer-clouds-and-long-days @jellyfishbeansontoast @minigranger @hoewkeye @love-someone-special @tiredfeels @strangerthanfanfiction713 @the-only-nana @tomzfrog @mozz-are-lla @vindictive-hearts @poguestyleskye @ssprayberrythings @pensysto @jenahbell @beautyandthebleh @lavenderxraindrops @gothackedalready @teenwaywardasgardian @sarahcxmeron @haha-fuck-you-thot @stillbelieve398-5 @rewindlr @queenniccimicci @thedarkqueenofavalon @alytavzla @bqmblebee @linniep @nerdypartytrashpsychic @xxchxrryxx @spencer-reid-is-a-cutie @mirjanak @danielladreaming @obx-saltlife @youngestxhearts @spnobsessedmemes @mybnkjj @averagxfangirl @mysterious-adventurer @justawilddreamerchild @rhyetaylor62 @calm-rejects @99sxuxii @oh-annaa @katiaw2 @aiifandomsunite @marteenuhh08 @x-lulu @kitkat0609 @ceruleanjj @yoxsh06 @wicked-laugh @obxwriterfan @justkeepdreamingswift @allie-mcginn @pcterparxer @literarycharleton @khiaraaa-in-spacee @crushe-s @teamnick @daydreamlilys @poguesnobx @collectiveuniverses @activist-af @mdgrdians @buckys-sunflower @vindictive-hearts @copper-boom 

#topper x reader #topper imagine #topper fanfic #topper fanfiction #topper thornton x reader #topper thornton fanfic #topper thornton imagine #topper thornton fanfiction #topper thornton #obx imagine #obx fanfiction #obx fanfic #obx Netflix imagine #obx Netflix fanfiction #outer banks netflix #outer banks fanfiction #outer banks imagine #outer banks fanfic #outer banks fic #obx fic #obx topper #collecting stories imagine

[catfe-overlord]

“Feral”

Part 5

Read part 1 here

Read part 2 here

Read part 3 here

Read part 4 here

::in which Bakugou and Kirishima are closer than ever, quite literally and figuratively. Bakugou messes up, plans are definitely NOT cancelled, and there is a maybe date happening::

P.S. IM SORRY THIS TOOK SO LONG TO POST. It was a loooong week. I’ve gotten a promotion though, so that was cool! Anywho, I’ll try and be quicker with the updates since I have a lot of my one-shots already half finished:)

P.P.S. I wrote out the whole chapter and apparently it’s exceeded a word count or something so I had to split it into two chapters. I just have to give it a quick edit and I’ll have it up today, hopefully in the next couple hours.

+++++++++++++

Aizawa kept Bakugou for one more night just for observation. He was allowed back to class Tuesday morning.

Kirishima waited outside of his dorm for Bakugou to finish getting ready. He played a game on his phone and leaned against the wall opposite of Bakugou’s door.

He’d only been waiting a few minutes before the door opened and a fully-uniformed Bakugou Katsuki stepped out. He looked well rested and much more like himself than Kirishima had seen him in days. He still had his usual grumpy look, but it put a smile on Kirishima’s face to see it. He’d missed Bakugou so much that having him back felt like a hole had been filled in his chest.

Kirishima didn’t think about what he did next until Bakugou pulled away. The redhead looked down at their hands, dawning on him that he’d just tried to hold Bakugou’s hand. The movement felt so natural, almost like an instinct.

“Oh!” he said, surprised by himself. “I’m sorry, man. That was weird of me. I didn’t even think about it—”

“It’s fine, Shitty Hair,” Bakugou interrupted him. “Here.”

Kirishima watched as Bakugou laced their arms together at their elbows. He had a weird scowl on his face, but he didn’t say anything about it and opted to tug Kirishima along to get him moving. Together, arm in arm, they descended the hall until they reached the elevator.

They didn’t say a word the whole ride down. Kirishima was too lost in his racing thoughts to come up with the right thing to say.

Was Bakugou touch starved? He wasn’t ever the type of guy to initiate any sort of touching. Though, he hadn’t been able to get near anyone in days. On average, at least a few times a day Kirishima would lean on him or put a hand on his shoulder or sometimes even throw him into a surprise hug the blond didn’t see coming. Bakugou had adapted to Kirishima’s fondness. This—having Bakugou as the initiator—was so foreign, Kirishima couldn’t wrap his head around it.

They didn’t let go of each other until they reached the kitchen. Kirishima tossed Bakugou ingredients and utensils as the explosive boy whipped up some egg drop ramen for the two of them.

He usually made more food to include the Bakusquad, but he never bothered with breakfast. The other three were never up early enough.

As it turned out, Kaminari was right: Kirishima had missed Bakugou’s cooking. He wasn’t sure where the blond learned to cook so well, but Kirishima would have given his pal a five star review on Yelp if he could have.

“What did I miss in class?” Bakugou asked after they’d sat down. He was twirling his chopsticks around in his bowl to pick up some noodles.

“Don’t know,” Kirishima answered through a mouthful. He swallowed before continuing. “I didn’t really go to class yesterday.”

Bakugou frowned. He glared at his ramen like he’d just witnessed it murder his cat. “Let’s ask Ponytail for her notes. I’m not asking shitty Deku. His notebook is a fucking mess.”

“Good idea,” Kirishima agreed. “Hey, did you wanna do some extra training after class? The gym is free today. We could work on our special moves like last time.”

Bakugou seemed to be thinking it over. After a moment of considering, he set his chopsticks down. “What if we went to the movies?”

Kirishima stared at him. He’d said it in such a soft voice, Kirishima knew he was being serious. “The movies? Over training? That doesn’t sound like you.”

He glared in return. “Do you want to or not, Shitty Hair?”

He laughed. “Yeah, totally! Was there a movie you had in mind?”

Bakugou picked his chopsticks back up and was using the utensils to play with his food. Kirishima couldn’t help thinking he looked shy. His cheeks were the slightest hint of pink. “There’s that action movie… I know you like those.”

Kirishima perked up at that. “Really? You’re talking about the one where those two guys have to duel for the dojo after their master is killed, right?”

“The only cheesy-as-hell action movie in the theaters right now, yes.”

“Dude, I’ve wanted to watch that forever! It didn’t do great in the box office, but I think it looks great! You really want to sit through that for me? That doesn’t seem like your kind of movie.”

He finally stood to take his bowl to the sink. “I just want to get out. I’ve spent the last four days staring at white walls.” He nodded his head to Kirishima’s empty bowl, who got the message and passed it over.

“I’m down for the movie, one-hundred percent! And, hey—maybe this weekend we can go hiking? That should help get you out of your own head.”

He hummed in response. “There was that new trail we could try.”

“Oh! Yeah, I remember that. We wanted to go last time, but it was getting too dark so we didn’t get the chance. How’s your schedule look? I’m free all weekend!”

He finished up washing their dishes and deposited them onto the drying rack. “Let’s go Saturday. My shitty aunt is in town this weekend, so I can avoid her at least then. I have some stupid family dinner my parents are making me go to on Sunday if… uh, if you wanna go.”

Kirishima cocked his head. “To your family dinner? You want me to go? Would I be intruding?”

Bakugou leaned against the counter and folded his arms. “No. If you’re there I might actually act ‘civil’ is how my old hag put it. You can sleep over too, if you want.”

Kirishima’s eyes sparkled. A sleepover? At Bakugou’s house?! He’d been over a few times, and he loved being able to spend the extra time with his hot-headed friend. But a sleepover? His heart nearly leapt out of his chest.

“Hell yeah! You usually head home Friday nights, right? What time should I be around Saturday to head on the hike?”

“Just come home with me Friday. Then we can leave early.”

Holy. Shit.

Two whole nights with Bakugou. He felt like his brain was about to short circuit.

His moms wouldn’t like him not visiting over the weekend, but they would understand. He talked pretty highly of Bakugou to his parents, so they would know how much this meant to him.

He pumped his fists together. “Alright! A guys’ weekend! This is gonna be great, man! We can watch movies and play video games, and I’m gonna get you to stay up past eight-thirty!”

Bakugou snorted. “Then I’ll make sure to wake you up by six in the morning.”

“No!” Kirishima gasped. “That’s just cruel, man.”

Bakugou smirked and grabbed his book bag, then headed for the door. Kirishima jumped up to follow.

Class was extra boring today, and Kirishima couldn’t pay attention to a word of his lessons. The day dragged on, probably because he had the movies with Bakugou to look forward to.

Finally, the bell rang for lunch. He and the squad moved out while Bakugou stayed back to collect the homework assignments he missed yesterday. He’d catch up with them after.

They were all seated at their usual table, Ashido chatting everyone’s ears off. Kirishima zoned out staring out the window at the lawn when the pink-haired girl brought him back down to earth.

“Kiri? Babe. Earth to Kirishima.”

He smiled sheepishly. “Sorry. My head is all over the place today.”

He hadn’t even realized Bakugou sat down beside him. The blond was giving him a weird look as he popped open his bento box.

“So!” Kaminari exclaimed, catching everyone’s attention. “I had this idea—”

“Oh shit,” Bakugou muttered loud enough for everyone to hear.

Kaminari glared at him while everyone else laughed. “Anyway. Wouldn’t it be such a good idea if we challenged Bakugou and Sato to a cook off? Our class chef versus our class baker. It'd be epic!”

“I love it!” Ashido announced.

Sero looked into the distance dreamily. “Think about all the leftover food.”

“I don’t bake,” Bakugou stated. “I don’t do sweets. And Sugar Freak is a shit cook. Wouldn’t be much of a challenge.”

“Well, we can have you both whip up something as a main dish and then a dessert to follow,” Ashido suggested. “We could vote whose meal was better.”

Bakugou didn’t look impressed. He stuffed a chunk of beef into his mouth and ignored the rest of the conversation.

“What if we did it tonight? Everyone’s free, right?”

Kirishima whipped his head up from his meal to face Kaminari. “Not tonight, man. We’ve got homework to catch up on, and Bakugou and I were going to catch a movie.”

Everyone’s eyebrows scrunched. They stared between the two boys like this was weird behavior of them.

“The movies?” Ashido asked, her expression shifting to something more mischievous. “Like, just the two of you? Alone?”

“You annoying shitsticks aren’t coming, so don’t even ask,” Bakugou said in his grumpy voice.

Kaminari raised a devilish eyebrow. “So… is this like… a date?”

Kirishima felt his ears grow hot. “No! No, it’s not like that! We’re just two bros going to the movies! Right, Katsuki?”

He looked over to the blond, who had a death grip on his chopsticks. His face read pure rage, but there was a blush crawling up his neck and cheeks. It seemed to worsen at the use of his given name. The chopsticks snapped in his grip.

“KATSUKI?!” Ashido practically screamed. “He lets you call him by his given name?”

The other two boys were dying at this point. They clutched their stomachs as they busted out laughing, tears sparkling in their eyes. Sero slapped a hand on the table. “Oh my god! I can’t breathe!”

Bakugou slammed his own fists against the table and stood. “FUCK YOU GUYS, WE’RE OUT OF HERE! COME ON, SHITTY HAIR! LET’S GO.”

Kirishima stood on wobbly legs, his meal forgotten as his mind reeled. He chased after Bakugou, a million questions racing through his brain he couldn’t seem to vocalize. Was this a date? If it wasn’t, wouldn’t Bakugou have corrected them? If it was, why’d he get so defensive?

Bakugou turned around and grabbed Kirishima by the elbow to speed him up. They must have been too loud, because half the cafeteria’s eyes were watching them as they left.

They made it back to the classroom, and Bakugou’s grip hadn't let up. He finally let go when he moved to his desk and sat down heavily. He crossed his arms and turned his face away from Kirishima.

“Uh,” Kirishima tried to form words, but he wasn’t sure what to say. “Should we talk about this?”

“No,” he answered quickly.

“Well, that seemed to really bother you back there. If you were thinking—”

“I don’t want to talk about it, Eijirou.”

Kirishima could see the angry blush on his face when he glanced back at the redhead. Kirishima settled into the desk beside his. “Alright. You still want to go though, don’t you?”

He huffed. “Yeah, we’re still fucking going.”

His lips spread into a smile. “Glad to hear it! I can’t wait.”

The two broke out their homework after that, attempting to get caught up before the rest of the class slowly trickled back in. To Kirishima’s surprise, it was Bakugou who was having trouble focusing.

Class started up again, and Kirishima had to migrate back to his own desk. A worksheet was passed out by Midnight, and they were told to fill out what they could. Kirishima was only a few questions in when he glanced Bakugou’s way out of habit.

Midoriya was leaning forward, whispering something to Bakugou, who looked his usual amount of annoyed. It was when the green-haired boy reached out to tap Bakugou’s shoulder that chaos ensued.

Kirishima shot from his desk and across the room before most students even noticed anything was wrong. Everything happened so fast, even Kirishima’s brain had to play catch up.

Bakugou had snapped. In an instant, he’d had Midoriya pinned to the floor, slashing at his face with the claws that weren’t there. Midoriya was obviously caught off guard, but he was still fast enough to hold his arms up to shield his face from Bakugou’s attacks.

Kirishima tackled Bakugou off of his rival, using his hardening to pin him down. Bakugou was uncharacteristically hissing like some wild animal. Sero and Tokoyami were out of their seats now too, ready to help if they could.

“Katsuki!” Kirishima yelled, trying to snap the blond back to reality. “Katsuki, stop! It’s me! It’s Eijirou!”

Midnight stood above the boys, her hand resting on her sleeve and ready to tear it to put Bakugou to sleep with her quirk. Kirishima quickly shook his head at her. “Don’t! That won’t help.”

Bakugou’s movements became sluggish and he was blinking hard, quicly coming back to his senses. Kirishima watched as realization dawned in his eyes. He looked between Kirishima on top of him to Midoriya on the ground a few feet away. “Shit,” he cursed.

“Kacchan, I’m sorry!” Midoriya apologized. “I didn’t know the quirk hadn’t worn off yet. I shouldn’t have touched you. Kacchan, I’m so sorry!”

“Don’t fucking apologize to me, damn nerd!” he shouted in return. He growled in frustration. “I thought this shit was over.”

“It’s alright, man,” Kirishima sighed, relieved to have Bakugou back. He slid off of the blond and sat on the floor, rubbing the back of his neck. “Midoriya, you okay?”

“I-I’m fine!”

“Ahem,” Midnight cleared her throat. She had her hands on her hips and an unimpressed look on her face. “Could someone tell me what’s going on?”

“After effects,” Todoroki was the one to explain to Kirishima’s surprise. “It seems the quirk hasn’t quite worn off.”

“I’m fine now,” Bakugou grumbled. “It’s gone.”

“I highly doubt—”

“It was a fluke!”

“Guys!” Kirishima raised his voice to get them to stop. Bakugou glared at him for his interruption. Kirishima ignored the look and turned back to the other student still on the floor. “Midoriya, why don’t you swap seats with me for today?”

Midoriya nodded, finally pulling himself off the ground. “Good idea.”

Bakugou caught Kirishima’s wrist before he could stand as well. “I don’t need a damn babysitter.”

“I’m not babysitting you,” the redhead fired back. “My quirk is best suited to stop you if it happens again, which I doubt it will. Just a precaution, man.”

Midnight was tapping her foot, arms folded as she stared the two down. “Are you boys sure this is such a good idea?”

“Yes,” they said in unison. They looked at each other, and Bakugou bowed his head to allow Kirishima to finish. “He’ll be fine. It won’t happen again, and I’ll be there to stop him before it could happen again.”

She clicked her tongue. “Alright. I’ll allow it. Don’t make me regret it. And there had better not be any more interruptions.”

Everyone migrated back to their seats and the light chatter died off. Kirishima and Midoriya collected their things and traded seats. Once he was seated, Kirishima noticed a folded up piece of paper on the corner of the desk.

He opened it as quietly as he could, but Midnight seemed pretty preoccupied by the romance novel her eyes were glued to. It was definitely Bakugou’s handwriting, all caps and angry penmanship.

THANK YOU EIJIRO. YOU’ RE A GOOD FRIEND

Kirishima smiled. Bakugou really had grown so much in his time since coming to UA. Kirishima was so proud to be the explosive boy’s friend.

It’s cool ! Don’t sweat it man . Still wanna see that movie tonight ??

He tossed the note over Bakugou’s shoulder, who jumped a little like he was surprised to see it return. Kirishima could hear his pencil scrawling out a reply.

He passed it back, his eyes on Midnight to avoid being caught passing notes.

STILL THINK IT’S A GOOD IDEA?

Totally !! I wanna spend time with you dude

He chewed on his lip. Maybe that was a little too forward. He ended up erasing that bit and starting over.

Yeh man I think it’d be good for you to get out . Being cooped up for days isn’t good for ya

Bakugou held onto the note for a few minutes, maybe contemplating what to say. Kirishima tried to focus on his assignment, but it proved impossible and he ended up circling random answers.

Bakugou twisted his arm behind his back and held the folded note between two fingers. Kirishima plucked it from his grasp and unfurled it again.

COME TO MY ROOM AFTER YOU’RE READY TO GO. WE’RE GONNA GET DINNER FIRST SHITTY HAIR.

Kirishima giggled, and a few heads turned his way. He was too excited to care about the prying eyes or the blush that rose to his cheeks.

He couldn’t help but think about how date-like this seemed. He didn’t want to get his hopes up, but… well.

He couldn’t help it.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Hope you guys liked it, and thanks for the read !!

Read part 6 here

8/31/2020

[jj-lynn21]

How A Girl Must Live Ch 4

Ch. 4: Dating

  Ch1: A place for singles , Ch 2: Popular Ch 3: opening up  Ch 5: Family  Ch 6 Violence begets Violence Ch 7 Love Birds

taging: @super-pink-a-palouza @luciferreads @glasglowgrin @loomiz @princessloveme123 @hornyhetero @taintedglass @bohemian-brian​ @maryan028 , @scxrsgxrd, lizziejorgie, @waywardtigersandwich​

Warnings: attempted rape, other angst,smoking, mentions of drinking, fluff

“Good luck finding a date after getting the most sought-after boy thrown out.” Missy snidely threw at Samantha as she was leaving with her escort for dinner. “Unless you are actually dating the creepy, crazy, poor, maintenance guy.”  

Samantha was flabbergasted by the statement. There was one more month on dating etiquette and how to be a lady and wife. It was all trying to brain wash young ladies into not thinking for themselves. Bowing to whatever their husband desired whenever he desired it.  

Willard made her feel special. He made her feel like her opinions meant something. He was a gentleman already without needing taught how.  It didn’t mean a thing he didn’t have a trust fund to set them up for life. And the only thing he had ever taken from her was her heart. She was still in a little denial of that. 

When he took her into town for the afternoon it was one of the best times she ever had in her life. They strolled along the sidewalk hand in hand. She adored a lot of the pretty dresses in the window.  

He told her that eventual he would like to make enough money to buy her all the dresses she wanted and the house she always dreamed of having. She especially enjoyed sharing a soda with him at the ice cream shop.

A half an hour after dinner had started for those with escorts, Samantha decided to escort herself to the dining room. As she grasped the doorknob there was a knock. When she opened it, she threw herself around him practically in tears.  

“There, there sweetheart,” Willard stroked her hair gently. “I was worried when I didn’t see you at dinner. Did your date flake out on you?”

She looked up eyes puffy, “They all hate me because that awful boy. He had money to whisk a girl away for her to live like a Princess. That is all they cared about. They don’t care how he acted towards me. They only care about his station. I don’t care about any of that.  I just care about you.”  

He talked softly, “I care about ya to. I wanted ya to get the most out of this place. I didn’t know they were treatin’ ya bad. If ya want, we will leave tomorra. Don’t even tell anyone. We will drive to your parents. I’ll tell ‘em what happened here. I wanna to ask your father permission to date you proper. Then I wanna pick ya up proper at your house for a date.”

“Really, Willard?” She started to beam at him forgetting her sadness for the moment.  

“Yes, Ma’am.” He smiled back lighting up her soul.  “Now let me sneak ya down to the kitchen. Your roommates will probably be back from dinner soon.  I’ll getcha some real food. Maybe there’s a couple of them steaks left I can get Miss Jenna to cook up for us with some taters. Pack your bags when the others fall asleep. I’ll come getcha when they go to breakfast.”  

She did not care about his station in life. She might be...maybe she could be...she was falling in love for the first time in her life. She held her head high as the others passed them in the hall staring. She held Willard’s hand proudly.  

The chef’s helper was just cleaning up as they walked in the kitchen. She looked up puzzled to see anyone in the kitchen after dinner.

“Good evening Mrs. Jenna.” Willard smiled. “Miss Samantha slept right through dinner tonight. Are there any leftovers we could have?”

Mrs. Jenna smiled. “I think there are a few steaks and salads left. Sorry there are no potatoes. But I have some peach pie for dessert. It was for the staff so none of the other students had any.”

“That is mighty kind of you Mrs. Jenna.”  Willard found some chairs pulling them up to the counter.  

Mrs. Jenna wiped down a few more things before turning to the couple. “Do you mind cleaning up after yourselves? My husband is probably waiting outside for me. I must go make dinner for him next. I think the poor man would starve without me.” She giggled like a schoolgirl.

“No problem Mrs. Jenna.” Samantha said after patting her mouth with a napkin delicately. “Thank you for throwing this together for us.”

“Anything to promote true love.” Mrs. Jenna rushed out the door.

Samantha blushed as she took a small bite of steak. They both ate quietly for a few minutes. It was a comfortable silence.  

“I can do up the dishes if you clean off the table?” Samantha suggested before she took her last bite.  

She hadn’t looked up so didn’t notice he had finished before her just admiring how she look under the dim light above them. “I can do that and dry the dishes for ya. Anything high I can put away or pick you up to do. It is always up to the lady in charge of the kitchen in my opinion. In this instance that’s you.”

She laughed. “Is that just an excuse to sweep me off my feet Willard?” She picked up his pie plate, main plate and empty water glass to wash them.  

It was Willard's turn to blush as he grabbed a wet rag from by the sink to wash off the table. “It is not only that.” he murmured.”

“What was that?” She grabbed a soapy sponge to start cleaning the things they use.

He walked over beside her to exchange his damp cloth for a dry one. “I’ll dry these up quick. I’m good at it I reckon. Better than washin’ for sure.”

“Well, I’m good at the washing so we make a good team.” She handed him a dish to dry. He just put it on the top shelf after drying it.  

Willard walked her back to her room. He rubbed is neck a little nervously as they stood by the door. “You still think you are up to introducing me to your Mother and father.”

“I sure am.” she beamed. “As soon as I know all the girls are asleep, I will pack my things quietly. I don’t think they would care much if I left anyway. Good night Mr. Willard Russel.” She leaned up on her toes to kiss his cheek before scurrying off inside the room.

“Night Miss Samantha.” He realized he had not asked her last name yet. It was something he could ask tomorrow. He wanted to greet her Mother and Father proper so her Father would give him permission to date her and possibly marry his daughter someday.  

The next morning Samantha pretended to be asleep as her roommates got ready for their breakfast dates. They still whispered about her affair with Mr. Russel. How they thought she was being promiscuous with him. They were such vile girls.  

When their escorts had picked them up Samantha sprung out of bed to get ready for her adventure with Willard. She was nervous since she had never gone away with any man in a car other than her Father. But anything was less scary than staying at the resort with people that thought she was trash.  

As she finished putting the finishing touches on her light make-up routine there was a knock on the door.  Her heart leaped. She opened the door and all the excitement drained from her replaced by apprehension.

“Mr. Preston?” She put her hands on her hips angrily. “What are you doing here.”

Mr. Preston was best friends with Mr. Goodland in and out of the resort. Him, Mr. Thomas and Mr. Jonas had been taking turns with escorting and going on dates with her roommates.  

“My roommates have already been escorted to breakfast.” She started to close the door.

Mr. Preston kept it open with his hand. “I know that Miss Samantha.” He grinned lecherously as he walked in the room grabbing her upper arms pushing her back on to the bed.

“This is not how a gentleman acts, Mr. Preston.” She managed to free her hand to smack him hard in the face.  

His head bobbed back. A distinctive hand print marked him. “Oh, you like it rough. I have never had sex with a wild girl.” He pinned her arms above her head with one hand as he undid his dress pants with the other.  “You give Mr. Russel a piece, you should have no problem with me taking you. Stop squirming.” He slaps her and tries to pull her panties off under her puffy dress.  

Suddenly he is yanked off the bed with a stronger force than he had ever felt. Samantha slithered off the bed to the far wall. She was shaking. Her knees bent to her chest. Preston was glaring once he stood.  

“You will not treat women with disrespect if I have anything to do with it.” Willard Russel was breathing heavily. He was holding back what he really wanted to do to the boy since Samantha was there.  

“You and your little hussy will be thrown out of this place.” Preston screamed as he ran out the door knowing he could never beat Willard in a fight.  

Mr. Russel knelt in front of Samantha with his hand extended. “Samantha, I’m sorry about all that violence. Will you still come with me? Just forget this place completely. Mr. Jones already knows we are leavin’.”

Samantha’s eyes lifted to his slowly. “We need to leave.” Her voice was meek and shaky.

He helps her to her feet. She wraps her arms around his neck as tears flood her eyes. He picks her. Grabbed her suitcase. And heads out the door to his car. He puts her in the front seat and her suitcase in the back seat before getting in to drive away from the resort.  

“You pay no mind to what Mr. Preston said, Sam.” He popped a cigarette in the left corners of his mouth and lit it. “I already told them we we leavin’.”

Samantha wrapped the scarf from her neck around her hair so her hair wouldn’t go wild in the convertible. “Can, can I have a cigarette Mr. Russel, Willard?” She asked shakily. “It might help me calm down.”

“It sure it will little lady.” He took the pack out of his pocket to offer her one. He lit it politely. “I think it was horse shit they only let the men and boys smoke and drink around here.” He started driving away from the resort. “I was wondering if any of you partook in such things.”

“My roommates were finding places the smoke.” She took a long drag sitting back enjoying the way the wind whipped around them. “I chose to follow the rules but damn I missed it.” Her free hand shot up to her lips. “I am sorry, Willard.”

“Sorry for what, little lady?” He kept his eyes on the road as he puffed on cigarette hanging between his lips.

“That I swore.” She blushed.

Willard chuckled. “Nothin’ wrong with it in my book. Just don’t take the Lords name in vein around my Mamma.”

“You want me to meet your Mother?” Surprise was evident in her tone.

“I sure do Sam.” He smiled. “So, you just enjoy the smokin’ and swearin’. Ya do some drinkin’?

“I don’t exactly enjoy swearing.” She giggled. “I had some White Bordeaux at my cousin’s wedding I liked. I wouldn’t turn down other drinks to try if you offered, I suppose.”

“Good to know.” He took a last puff of his cigarette. Put the bud out on the staring wheel and flicked it out on to the road. “How about we stop to have one of those ice cream sodas you enjoy sharin’ with some burgers and fries. We should be going through that New York City by lunch time. They should have a good soda shop.”

“I would love that.” She squealed. “Finally, some real food.”

#au #willard russel #the devil all the time #willard and samantha #fanfic #fan fiction #fantasy #romance #love #slow burn #1050s #original story

[elisaphoenix13]

Companion For A God

They were all spending a full week at the lake house with the Stark-Strange family. Of course Stephen had to use magic on the cabin so they could comfortably accommodate everyone, but it was a nice way to spend spring break. It was warm enough that the kids could go swimming and the adults spread around the property with their choice activity. Whether it be physical or just sitting around with a drink and talking to each other. Quill chose the latter, but his beer bottle quickly went empty and got up to get everyone they were sitting with another one. Scott, Sam, Clint, and Nat specifically. Stephen had felt too lazy to make lunch for everyone so he ordered a ton of platters. Veggie, fruit, lunch meat and cheese for sandwiches, even some dessert. Quill was going to make himself a sandwich after throwing the empty beer bottles into the recycling bin at the side of the house, but then the hairs on the back of his neck stood on end.

He closed the lid of the bin and looked toward the start of the grove a few feet away which seemed to be what was calling to his sixth sense. Something wasn't right and he wanted to make sure things were still safe, so he walked over to the grove and looked around for any potential danger. There were kids on the property and if anything wasn't supposed to be--

A whine caught Quill's attention and he followed the sound until he came across what looked to be a baby fox. If it hadn't been whining, Quill very likely would have looked him over since it was so small. The cause of its cries was what had the celestial fuming though. It was caught in a fox sized bear trap. Quill had no idea if it was leftover from the time he and Scott were turned into animals, or if it was new, but it made him livid. It was like seeing Scott trapped all over again, even more so when the small creature whined and struggled even more when Quill approached.

"Easy buddy." The celestial said gently as he crouched down.

The fox cowered and whined more and Quill readied some healing energy for when he released the trap. The animal would bolt the second it was released, but Quill didn't want to send it off back into the wild with an injured leg. So with one hand, he somehow managed to open the trap, and with the other he sent the healing energy into the fox's leg as it ran a good distance away. It stopped a few yards away and turned to look back at the god after stopping to lick its now healed paw, and then scampered away out of sight. Only then did Quill turn back to rejoin everyone after finally grabbing more beers for those (hopefully) still waiting for them.

"What took you so long?" Sam asked as Quill distributed the beers and took his place next to Scott.

"Oh...just had to check something. Sorry about that." He responded as he popped the cap off his bottle with his thumb and then opened Scott's.

They sat around and talked some more for about another hour until Quill was roped into throwing the girls and Nathaniel into the lake, and then into helping Clint barbeque dinner for everyone. Seemingly endless amounts of hamburgers and hotdogs were cooked and consumed until everyone was full, and then when it got dark enough, everyone gathered near the fire pit where Steve had built a fire. Marshmallows were broken out and handed around to everyone to roast them to eat as is or to make smores...and Gerald got a little too interested. Since alpacas couldn't consume marshmallows, Stephen asked Thomas to put the creature in his pen for the night so he didn't accidentally get into a bag or three. Gerald was given an apple so he wasn't left out.

Valerie was old enough to enjoy the sugary treats, and she loved them. She helped Stephen eat a couple of his roasted marshmallows that he gave to her in small pieces, and Quill of course licked the small bit that stuck to Scott's bottom lip. He got something thrown at him for the display of affection in front of the kids in addition to being pushed away by his spouse. By his face.

Quill looked back at the fire with a chuckle and then up at the youngest member of the family when he saw her yawn. "Looks like it's bedtime for the baby."

"Sure is." Stephen nodded as he stood up with Valerie. "I'll be right back."

As the sorcerer walked toward the house, Tony came out and gave the baby a kiss on the top of her head as the couple passed each other. During the brief exchange, Quill watched Athena follow Stephen inside the moment he stood up and it still amazed the celestial. She was so incredibly loyal and it was of her own free will. Stephen used magic on her a total of two times, once to communicate telepathically before the wolf first came home with the sorcerer, and second to bind her lifeline with his. It would give Athena the immortality Stephen had, and when the sorcerer died, she would too. Of course, Stephen made sure the wolf was amiable to staying with him like that and she supposedly agreed.

It made Quill wonder what it was like to have an animal so loyal to oneself. He, of course, would have Scott for much longer than the normal human because of his ability to share his immortality, but even Scott could still be taken from him. Death would be permanent for the younger man unlike Quill. The celestial had already hidden his light so that if he was killed he would be able to revive, and only his light being destroyed would kill him permanently. Like with Ego.

Sometimes thinking about it was depressing. He hoped that he would have Scott by his side forever, but even he knew that was improbable. Quill would try his damndest to protect Scott (and Cassie), but he was slowly coming to terms with the idea that he would eventually be alone. Eternity begot loneliness.

Quill and Scott went to bed a couple hours after Stephen returned from putting Valerie to bed, and after a quiet romp in the sheets, they went to sleep for the night. They did get cleaned up and dressed after their carnal activities before they fell asleep, and Quill woke very briefly when he felt Scott leave the bed. He woke again just long enough to wrap an arm around the younger man when he returned to bed...but then a little while later he was woken up again. By some licking. On his face.

What the fuck kind of kinky shit was Scott trying to get him into now and at ass o'clock at night?

"Babe...I love you, but can we please revisit whatever this is at an hour that normal people--pbhft!"

Quill sputtered and hacked when a tongue entered his mouth that definitely wasn't Scott's, and he opened his eyes to look at whoever was licking him. It wasn't a who, it was more like a what. It was the fox from earlier.

"What the fuck?"

"It was just a dream big guy. Go back to sleep." Scott mumbled.

"No. No no. This is not a dream." Quill rubbed his eyes when the fox curled up in the crook of his neck. "Scotty...there's a fox sleeping with us."

"That's great Spaceman. Now sl--" Golden eyes snapped open before Scott sat up and turned on his lamp to look at their new bedmate. "There's a fox."

"You think?" Quill asked, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "How did it get in here?"

"It must have used Athena's pet door...and I left our bedroom door cracked open when I came back in." Scott surmised and the celestial sighed when the fox licked his face again from its position next to Quill's neck. "It's just a baby. What is it doing here?"

"It's the reason I took a while getting the beer. I released him from a trap." Quill admitted.

"Well it looks comfy and unlikely to go anywhere." Scott turned off the lamp and laid back down. "Just like me. Go to sleep."

That had been the end of it. Scott went right back to sleep with his arm slung over Quill's chest, and the fox followed his example, leaving the celestial to wonder what had happened. He fell asleep to the sound of the tiny snores coming from the small creature, and when he woke up the next morning, he got out of bed while somehow remembering there was a tiny fox sharing the bed with him and Scott now. The moment he finished getting dressed for the day, the fox jumped onto his chest and climbed up to his shoulder where it draped itself loosely around Quill's shoulders until it was comfortably laying it's head on one of them.

Scott coincidentally woke up when it happened and burst into laughter the second the creature was settled happily. "You've got an animal version of Val." He said as he rolled out of bed and got dressed.

"I think he's worse."

"He?"

"Yes, he. Which reminds me...I better talk to Tony about the trap. I don't know if it's been there since our incident or what, but he should probably sweep the property for them before one of the kids gets hurt." Quill walked out of the room with Scott as the younger nodded and looked at the fox thoughtfully.

"What are you going to name him? He's clearly not going anywhere." Scott asked.

"I'm not. I'm taking him back."

"Quill, he may be a baby but he's old enough that he was probably recently left on his own. He'll just come back."

Quill sighed as they walked down to the kitchen and Stephen looked up from cutting fruit and raised an eyebrow when he saw the fox.

"Tony doesn't run a zoo."

"He doesn't run an orphanage either." Quill snarked and the sorcerer threw a strawberry at him. The fox just watched it fall to the floor. "He came to me."

Stephen looked back down at the fruit. "Well don't let that strawberry go to waste. Pick it up and give it to him."

"Is Athena going to try to eat him?"

"I'll make sure she knows he's like Tibbs and Gerald. Does he have a name?" Stephen wondered as Quill picked up the piece of fruit from the floor.

"Not yet. I'm still wrapping my head around the fact that I was woken up by him in the middle of the night and he's not leaving."

Stephen nodded and Scott joined him to help with breakfast while Quill walked outside to look for Tony after asking Stephen where he was. When he did find the engineer, he hardly blinked when he saw the fox, but he did scowl when Quill mentioned the traps. Tony didn't waste any time setting out to fly around the property with a magnet to hopefully pick up any remaining traps, and Quill made sure the kids didn't get too far from the house while Tony was cleaning up. Their biggest concern was Thomas who used the property as a place to run around and he was the one most likely to step in one while doing so.

Quill grimaced when the fox started licking his ear and he reached up to gently grab his muzzle to stop him. "Stop that. You'll get breakfast when the rest of us do."

After a brief thought, Quill released the fox's mouth (who playfully snapped at the celestial's hand) and grabbed the animal by his scruff to hold up in front of him. He squirmed in Quill's hold in an attempt to get back to his perch, but the god wanted to get a good look at him if he was going to name him. The fox had barely been with him for eight hours and Quill already knew he was going to be a big baby. He couldn't call him anything similar to that though.

"...you look like a Flynn." Quill finally said after a few more minutes of deliberation and the fox yipped happily.

"Like Rapunzel's boyfriend!" Diana said from behind him.

The god sighed. "Damn it."

The fox had his name the second he responded enthusiastically and Quill was too lazy to think of a different one anyway. He tried setting Flynn down on the ground, but the second his paws touched the dirt, he scrambled back up Quill's clothes and to his earlier perch which only confirmed Scott's theory. Quill was stuck with this fox.

At least he was cute.

#antlord #peter quill #scott lang #celestial quill #the avengers #the avengers kids #mama bear au #flynn the fox

[thehelleniclunarwitch]

Dark Desire [Chapter Five]

Billy Hargrove x Reader x Steve Harrington

One  Two  Three  Four

Warning: Language, Violence, Mention of Blood, Torture

Do I need to keep apologizing for the length? This story won’t be having any short and quick chapters. This story needs all of the details. 

Enjoy!

Tagged: @justgrits​ @fandomfaery​ @charmed-asylum​ @billysgodcomplex​ @asheseiler​ @frozenhuntress67​  @perkypolarbear​  @aillle8​

                             xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

You looked up from the stove as El and Max went running through the house. She shook her head. Ever since the lunch a few weeks ago the two girls had become completely inseparable. You didn’t mind though. El had friends. The boys were a good group of kids, but you liked for your nice to have another female in her life besides you. 

“Hey, can you two please set the table!” You shouted. 

“We’re on it!” El yelled back. 

You returned your attention to the food cooking. Max and El could be heard in your small dining room setting the table. Billy and Steve were on their way over to join you guys for dinner. They would be here shortly. 

The past two weeks had been crazy. After that first brunch, it had opened up a whole new world for you and El. On Friday’s, Steve, Billy, and Max would join you guys for dinner. Max’s new thing was to come over on the weekend and stay the whole time. 

During the week, the three of them would meet up with you and El at Millies. You and El helped the guys buy stuff for their new house. When Max had discovered your artistic skills she had conned you into painting her room. You helped pick out paint, rugs, furniture, and everything else to make their new home not look like another bachelor pad. 

You and your brother were constantly at each other’s throat. He hated your friendship with Billy and Steve. You didn’t care. You had missed Steve. Even after all of the time apart he was still your best friend. Hanging out with Billy felt right. It was like finding your missing piece. 

School started Monday for the girls. This weekend you were taking the girls last-minute shopping for some clothes and school supplies. Billy and Steve were quick to hand over their credit cards. That had turned into an argument. You and Jim could afford to buy El her things. Of course, it was a losing battle. All the battles you had with the boys always ended up with you losing. 

“Max, will you pull out the pitcher of lemonade from the fridge and set it on the table?” You asked. 

“I’m on it, Y/n,” Max said as she came running into the kitchen. 

Suddenly, the doorbell rang echoing through the house. 

“I’ve got it!” El shouted as she sprinted through the house. 

“Stop with the damn running,” You groaned. 

“Hiya, monkey,” Steve greeted. 

“Steve. Billy.” El smiled. 

“These are for you,” Billy said handing over a bouquet of daisies. 

“Thanks!” El exclaimed. 

“Goober. Butthead.” Max greeted coming around the corner. 

“Here ya go, brat,” Billy smirked as he handed his sister a bouquet of tulips. 

“You were not in the flower shop today,” El said. 

Billy laughed.

“Busted,” Steve chuckled. 

The four of them headed into the kitchen where you were just finishing up dinner. You gasped when you suddenly had a faceful of sunflowers. 

“For you,” Steve smiled. 

“Aw, that’s sweet, thank you,” You told him as you kissed him on the cheek. 

“It smells great in here,” Billy commented as he stepped into the kitchen. 

“Thanks, it was my Grandma Hopper’s recipe. It’s always a hit,” You said as you pulled the last pot off the stove and carried it over to the table. 

Everyone sat around the table eating their dinner and keeping up the conversation. Your phone began ringing. You excused yourself to answer. Nancy’s name flashed across the screen. You went straight back to your bedroom so you could take the call.

“Hey Nanc,” You answered. 

“Did I catch you at a bad time?” Nancy asked. 

“Not really, we just sat down for dinner,” You said. 

“You and El?” Nancy asked. 

“Well Steve, Billy, and Max are here as well,” You told her. 

There was a pause. 

“Nancy, you still there?” You asked her. 

“Yeah, how is that going? I remember how hurt you were after Steve pretty much abandoned you,” Nancy wanted to know. 

“Steve didn’t abandon me,” You argued. 

“Y/n, you cried for days after he left you. You can act tough all you want, but Jonathon and I were there for you when he ran off to god knows where with Billy,” Nancy said. 

“Is that what you want me to admit? That Steve hurt my feelings? Fine, Steve hurt my feelings. I was crushed after he said that he was leaving and that there was no mention of me or why he didn’t come for me. But that was years ago. I’m a forgiving person.” You said. 

“I understand that you’re a forgiving person. You’re the best person out of all of us, Y/n. But you deserve an explanation from him. The two of you had a plan together for after graduation and he abandoned you,” Nancy sighed.

“Go on and say it,” You hissed. 

“I just don’t want you to get hurt again. Of course, Jonathon and I will pick up the pieces because you’re our friend and we love you. But we don’t want you to get attached just to turn around to get hurt again. We just want to protect you,” Nancy explained. 

Your heart broke. 

“I want to argue with you. I want to defend that Steve has changed and this is different, but I can’t. What I can tell you is that I miss him and I need to give him this second chance,” You told her. 

“Y/n, I just think he and his little buddy aren’t being honest with you,” Nancy said. 

“Nancy, what do you know that you’re not telling me?” You asked her. 

There was silence from the other end. 

“Nancy?” You said. 

“Listen, I won’t be the one to tell you. I can’t be. If Steve cares about you like he says he does then he needs to be honest with you. You need to make him be honest with you. Don’t let him and his little friend shrug you off,” Nancy said. 

“Okay,” You told her. 

“Promise me that you’ll annoy him into telling you the truth,” Nancy said. 

“I promise,” You said. 

She let out a sigh of relief. “Good, are we still on for coffee Monday after you drop El off at school?”

“I’ll be there,” You said. 

“Alright, well call me if you need anything,” Nancy said. 

“I will. Bye,” You hung up your phone and sat on the edge of your bed for several long minutes. 

You looked up when your bedroom door pushed open. El poked her head in the room. 

“Are you okay?” El asked. 

“Yeah, I’m fine,” You lied. 

“You’ve been gone for a long time,” El pointed out. 

“I know. It was an important call,” You told her. 

She furrowed her brows together. “Is everything okay?”

“Everything is fine. Come on you can help me with dessert,” You told her. 

She smiled and followed you to the kitchen. Max, Steve, and Billy were cleaning off the table. Billy started the hot water and loaded the sink while Steve and Max worked together to take care of the leftover food. El placed your untouched plate in the microwave knowing that you would heat it up later. 

The rest of the night went smoothly. After a few movies, Billy and Steve were on their way back home. Max and El were sound asleep on the floor. You’d have to get them up early in the morning so you could get a good start on your day. You left the girls in the living room and headed towards your bedroom. 

You had to send a text to Steve and address your concerns with him about him and Billy hiding something from you. 

Tossing down your phone, you disappeared into your bathroom to get ready. You didn’t get any answers out of Steve. You weren’t really that surprised. Something serious was going on. Especially, if Nancy was bringing it up and pointing it out to you that there was something fishy going on. 

Coming out of your bathroom you went back out to check on the girls one last time. They must have got up when you were getting around for bed as they had left the living room and had curled up in El’s bed for the night. You closed El’s door before heading back down to your own room for the night. 

Sighing, you flopped down on your bed. Your phone began to buzz and you could see that it was your brother. You knew he was calling to wish a good night to El, but you ignored his call. Rolling over, you turned off your bedside lamp and then crawled underneath the covers. There was a lot going on now. A lot of secrets going around and you were determined to uncover them all.

                               xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The dark room had a small lamp in the corner. Billy stood with his arms crossed over his chest. A smile crept onto his face as he watched Steve’s hand pull back for the fourth time before crashing into the man’s face. Blood sprayed from the man’s mouth and Billy heard the sickening crunch of the man’s nose breaking. 

“You had one job, Marcus,”

“I know,” The man cried out. 

Neither of them looked behind them when the door to the room opened. Soft footsteps padded across the floor as Tommy came over to stand next to Billy. 

“How has your week been going?” Billy asked. 

Steve walked over to the table in the corner and started messing around with the equipment. 

“Fine, the girls are keeping busy with school. Y/n spends most of her time at work. But we do have an issue,” Tommy said. 

“And what’s that?” Steve asked as he picked something up to look at it a little bit closer. 

“Besides keeping an eye on the girls I’ve been checking out the police station,” Tommy began. 

“We have eyes on Hopper,” Billy pointed out. 

“Yeah, I know, but are you aware that the FBI is here?” Tommy asked. 

Billy finally looked over at Tommy. Steve about dropped the machine in his hand to look back at his friends. 

“Just the normal FBI or the pain in my ass?” Steve asked. 

“It’s him for sure. I wasn’t at first that’s why I haven’t said anything, but today I saw him go into the diner with Callahan. They had breakfast together,” Tommy explained. 

“Well, honey, we had a good run,” Billy teased. 

Steve shot him a look. 

“Come on now, Steve, we knew he’d eventually figure it out that we came home,” Billy said. 

“Yeah, well, not only do we have Max to keep away from him but Y/n and El as well,” Steve growled. 

“So we’ll up their protection,” Billy suggested. 

“She’s the sister of the Chief of police. We won’t be able to keep her from him for very long,” Steve said. “Especially, when he figures out not only is she spending all of this time with us, but that she is connected to me and now you,”

“I’ll get ahold of the twins and send them out as extra eyes on the girls,” Tommy said. 

“Thanks, Tommy,” Billy said. 

“Is there anything else that I can do for you two?” Tommy asked. 

Billy shook his head. He could practically feel the anger rolling off Steve. “You can go. You’re not going to want to see what’s about to happen next,” 

Tommy nodded and then excused himself. 

“Steve,” Billy said in a warning tone. 

“Don’t use that tone of voice with me, Billy. I am not a child,” Steve snarled slamming the plug into the wall. 

Billy looked down at the man in the chair. “It was nice knowing you,”

“Wait, what does that mean?” The man asked. 

Billy stepped off to the side as Steve turned on the drill. The man began squirming in his spot. He froze when Steve’s shadow fell over him. 

“Steve, please, I said I was sorry. I can make this right,” The man pleaded with him. 

“You had your chance,” Steve said coldly. 

Billy looked away just as the bit of the drill started to dig its way into the man’s temple. His screams began to fill the room. Steve was having a moment. He was angry. They had believed that they had lost the FBI agent. Now that he was here in Hawkins he was presenting the two of them with new issues. 

Issues that they couldn’t really afford to have right now. Leaving, Steve to continue doing what deemed necessary, Billy left to head to his office. They really needed a secretary/assistant to help with minuscule bullshit they had to deal with. Billy wanted to ask Y/n to do it, but Steve doesn’t want her apart of this. 

She had already started breathing down his neck about telling her the truth. Steve doesn’t want to tell her the truth now that they’ve figured out that her brother has kept her in the dark. Billy told him that would end up biting them in the ass if they continued to keep her in the dark, but Steve didn’t want to listen to him. 

Billy knew that Steve loved her. God, he couldn’t blame his best friend. He was already starting to have feelings for her as well. He was growing attached. El and Y/n have so quickly become part of their lives, Billy couldn’t even tell you how that happened. 

The five of them made sense. They worked so well together. Billy wanted to keep Y/n safe too, but Billy had been doing all of this for long enough that he knew the dangers of keeping people in the dark. Max didn’t know everything, but she knew enough of what her brothers were up to. They were going to have to eventually tell her the truth. 

And they would have to hope that they made enough of an impact on her that she wouldn’t go running and screaming right into her brother’s arms. Now on top of all of that, they had to keep her out of the grasp of the FBI. Once they figure out that not only is she Hopper’s sister, but hanging out with the two of them it was going to cause her a lot of problems. 

Billy’s mind was racing. He had to come up with the best way possible to keep her out of the FBI’s grasp. The best way to keep her safe would be to have Y/n move in with them, but she wouldn’t agree to that. She had El to take care of and she wouldn’t willingly give up her home. 

Unless, yeah, unless, she had no choice and her home was taken away from her giving her no choice but to accept. 

                              xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The week had been long. The first week back to school had worn out the girl. Work was starting to slow down, but you had plenty of things to keep you busy. Max had pretty much stayed over all week. Your place was closer to school then hers and with the boys, all living close the group of them liked walking to and from school together. 

Billy and Steve hadn’t been around and kind of quiet. Max had told you that they were busy with their work and when they got like that they kind of retreated and stayed away from the normal world. 

Today was Friday everyone was supposed to be over for dinner tonight, but Billy had sent a quick text to say that he and Steve wouldn’t make it. El called after school to inform you that she and Max were doing homework at Mike’s and then heading to the arcades for pizza and games. 

Having a Friday to yourself was weird. You weren’t sure how you felt about it. But having the night to yourself you were going to take advantage of it. After work, you decided to do your grocery shopping and then stop for take-out. 

Currently, you stood tucked inside your trunk as you started to grab your grocery bags. You wanted to be a badass and carry all of this in one load, but now that there was more than just you and El eating your groceries there was plenty more to carry in. You decided to carry in all of the cold groceries first. 

Loading your arms up you took a step back and tripped over the skateboard Max had thrown off to the side. You felt yourself losing your balance, but then there was a hand on your back. Settled on your feet once again, you turned around to see who had come to your rescue. 

The man was tall with curly brown hair and big rimmed glasses. He was wearing a black suit and you saw the FBI badge dangling from his pocket. 

“Miss Hopper,” He greeted his accent was thick definitely not American. 

“I want to say thanks, but I have a feeling you’re here for a reason, right Agent?” You asked. 

The man smiled. “I’m Agent Alexei Stepanov from the FBI,”

You refused to shake his hand. “What can I help you with Agent?” 

“Please, we will be spending a lot of time together, I insist you calling me Alexei,” He said. 

“I’m good, thanks, again, what can I help you with, Agent?” You repeated yourself. 

“Well, Y/n, I’m hoping you can assist me on a case that I’m working on,” Alexei said. 

“My brother hasn’t mentioned to me about any cases that required the FBI,” You pointed out. 

“Your brother hasn’t called me in. My case brought me here to Hawkins,” He informed you. 

Your brows furrowed together in confusion. Hawkins never had any trouble. So you didn’t understand why he was here. 

“And why do you think that I will be able to help you?” You asked him hoping to get more answers out of him. 

“Now, isn’t the time to talk about that. Would you be willing to meet me at the hotel on the edge of town tomorrow morning for coffee so we can discuss this?” Alexei asked. 

“I can’t. My girls will be home and we have plans,” You told him. 

Alexei smiled and then pulled out his business card. He didn’t wait for you to reach for it. Instead, he reached forward and tucked it into your coat pocket. 

“Call me and we can set up a time that will work best for you,” Alexei said. 

“And what if I don’t want to help?” You asked him. 

“I’m giving you the chance to be a good citizen, Y/n. If you refuse, I will bring you in legally to help,” Alexei said. 

You clenched your teeth together. You hated being given ultimatums. 

“I won’t call you while my girls are home,” You told him. 

Alexei smiled. “Call me at your earliest convenience then,”

“Fine,” You growled. 

“Now, can I help you with your groceries?” Alexei asked. 

You stepped back from him so he couldn’t take the groceries out of your hand. 

“I received your message loud and clear, Agent. You can escort yourself off my property,” You snarled before hurrying away from him and tucking yourself inside. 

Smiling to himself, Alexei headed back over to his SUV. He climbed into the driver's seat before pulling his phone out of his jacket pocket. He called the only number he had saved into his new phone. 

“Hello,” The voice answered as Alexei placed the call on speaker. 

“You were right she’s a feisty one,” Alexei said with a laugh. 

“Did she fight you?” The voice asked. 

“She resisted just like you said she would,” Alexei replied. 

“But did you get her to agree to meet with you?” They asked. 

“She is to contact me soon to step up a meeting,” Alexei explained. 

The other end was quiet. “What’s on your mind? You’re not regretting your decision to work with me, are you?” Alexei asked. 

“No, of course not, I want Y/n and El to be safe,” He replied. 

“Then what’s the problem?” Alexei asked. 

“I’m afraid Hopper will find out that I was behind this,” He admitted. 

“Ah yes, the ultimate betrayal. Not only are you his officer, but he considers you one of his best friends. I’m sure when Jim finds out the truth it’s going to kill him that you turned your back against him, Callahan,” Alexei said 

Callahan sucked in a breath. “I’m not turning my back against him. He isn’t doing his job to keep Billy and Steve away from Y/n and El. If you can do what you say you can do then that’s all that matters,” Callahan explained. 

“It may not seem like it, but you are doing the right thing, Callahan,” Alexei said reassuringly. 

“Well, it doesn’t feel like it,” Callahan sighed. 

“Once things start moving along you’ll change your mind and realize that this is the right thing to do,” Alexei replied. 

“Right, if you say so,” Callahan said. 

“I do. Now, I have a few more things I need to be attending to while there is still some sunlight left,” Alexei told him. 

“Yeah, okay, I’ll check in later,” Callahan said before hanging up. 

Taking one last look at the small house, Alexei pulled away from the curb and headed his way down to the newspaper. If Y/n wanted to play hardball then he’d let her. Alexei knew that there were enough people worried about her that he’d get someone to talk to him about what she could possibly know. 

And why not start off with Jonathan and Nancy Byers. They were her best friends. Alexei was positive that at least Nancy would have something worth sharing that he could use against Steve and Billy. 

Pulling up in front of the Hawkins Herald Alexei looked at himself in the mirror. He straightened out his time and stuck his phone back into his pocket. Climbing out of the SUV, he plastered another smile to his face before heading inside. 

Billy Hargrove and Steve Harrington weren’t going to get away from him again. Oh no, he was going to take them down right here in their precious hometown and Alexei was going to stop at nothing to finish the job this time. No matter who or what stood in his way, this was going to end now. 

#Billy Hargrove #Steve Harrington #Billy Hargrove x Reader #Steve Harrington x Reader #Billy Hargrove x Reader x Steve Harrington #El Hopper #Max Mayfield #Alexei #Tommy #Stranger Things #mafia au #Jim Hopper

[cmarionthewilkid-blog]

C.O.N.S.U.M.E.D

What happens when we consume more than we need? What happens when our choices are influenced by societal pressures of how things should be? Part 1 of my reflective journal will aim to provide a glimpse at two weeks of a working mom, head of a house of five, who also coincidentally adds event planner often to her job tasks. 

Day 1: I specifically started my consumption journal on Friday, October 25. The day before a large case competition I was hosting on campus. Day 1 starts like most every other day of my life. The 20 minute drive to daycare, followed by the usual ice cap pit stop at Tim Horton’s. This day is special though, with the pressures of ensuring everything was just right for our judges and sponsors. I stroll off to Ferme Beaulieu to spend $328 on gifts. I am thinking that at least I am buying local products (honey, herbs, ketchup aux fruits) and feel pretty great about that. But why do I feel obliged to buy gifts at all? Wouldn’t a sincere thank you be enough? I guess according to Jonathan Porritt (2011), I have fallen victim to consumerism at its best. Somehow, I feel OK about it though. 

 A quick stop at Dollarama for gift bags, disposable coffee cups (cringe!), and plastic plastic trays. Finally, a $148 trip to Provigo for snacks for the case competitors and coaches. Oops, did I mention the trip to the t-shirt printer to pick up the 60 red printed competition momentos. Let’s add the 250+ pages I printed that day! As I sit here and reflect on the necessities (needs) of running a case competition versus expectations (and wants), I come to the realization that most of what I have purchased is simply there to enhance image. 

Day 2 (October 26): Tim’s ice cap (check!). 60 Donuts, 60 pre-packed lunches, 24 cans of Perrier, 60 cans of soft drinks, 40 coffees in disposable cups, 100 plastic glasses of wine. Today, I am completely influenced by materialism and keeping the “image”. Let’s keep in mind that I work for a business school and that comes with some rather large assumptions around how things are supposed to look and be. Not to mention, I am hosting five people from the company who is sponsoring the event, so I need to keep them happy and ensure the event lives up to their expectations. I am reminded of Amitai Etzioni, (2012) and his sentiments about “keeping up with the Jones’”. It is true, when one party sets a certain expectation, we all rise to meet, or better, exceed them.

Today; however, my biggest disappointment was food waste. The boxed lunches were good, but about 25% of people didn’t eat all their meal. Almost 100% of the people didn’t eat the dessert included. We don’t have access to compost, so it went to the trash. Above the clear environmental impact of my event, I am reminded of the fact that one fifth of the world’s richest people consume 45% of all the meat and fish (Shah, 2014). Despite the company providing compostable cutlery and cups, I feel guilty that I sent so many things to the landfill today. To top it all off, Sodexo served a less than stellar menu at the Gala dinner (veal sous-vide). I swear I wanted to eat it, but alas, two bites in and I am done. More to the trash. Exhausted and mentally drained, I wonder to myself where the balance between convenience and waste needs to come into play. Why can’t we have compost stations on campus?

Day 3 (October 27): But first, my ice cap! A friend’s child’s birthday party today so I scramble to get things together. I run to Provigo to grab stuff for mini pizzas to share (forgot my grocery bags, so plastic it is). My friend insisted on no gifts at the party, which I wanted to accept, but quite frankly couldn’t. I’m glad I didn’t because apparently no one else respected it either. I think about this social obligation more deeply (Goodwin, Smith, & Spiggle, 1990). I try my best to make a compromise, we opt for a movie day among friends instead of a traditional gift. I am hoping this small intrinsically motivated action may decrease future landfill waste in the future. Nonetheless, we are filled with waxed juice cups and plates. Back to the Provigo to grab something for the family for supper. I grab peppers in a plastic bag, sausages in a styrofoam package, pasta sauce in a glass bottle, cheese in plastic packaging and pasta in a cardboard box. Nothing much to compost or recycle unfortunately. 

Day 4 (October 28): Monday and back to work. Ice cap, yup! I am starting to get quite the collection in my office recycling bin. My boss just commented on it. I guess it is a bit of an eye sore..haha! 

Two trips to Provigo today. One at lunch to grab George’s bread, deli ham, Coaticook cheese, carrots and dip. Next stop on the way home from work for supper, chicken, baby potatoes and stuffing. 

Day 5 (October 29): If you haven’t guessed by now, ice cap time! Today, my brother (who lives with us) did a fridge clean up. Sigh! I can’t believe how much stuff we threw away. Past date, wilted vegetables, moldy fruits. Why don’t I just throw money directly into the garbage can? Is it normal that the first thing I think about is wasted money? According to a study  by Graham-Rowe, Jessop, and Sparks (2014),  wasting money is indeed a major motivator to minimize food waste. Inspired by this revelation, I am determined to have leftovers for lunch and transform the chicken salad sandwiches tonight for supper. I don’t even have to stop at Provigo today! WOW!

Day 6 (October 30): IC (that’s all I will say). Wednesdays are always tricky because I am running around and teach a class at night. It is one of those days. I grab lunch at Subway (steak sub, chips and a drink) -> garbage.

Run to Provigo after work and grab steak, carrots, potatoes and gravy from Provigo and throw it in pot to cook. I also realize that I haven’t really bought any candy for Halloween for my students in case class. $65.30 later and we have meat and candies! I’ve also been putting out chocolates outside my office door for students. 

Day 7 (October 31): Another ice cap to go please. I don’t even eat lunch today. Now I realize we have no candy for the kids. Drive to Walmart and $68.03, we’ve got goodies. No lunch again, and we go to a friend’s for supper. Off with the 4 year old trick or treating in the rain. She gets a pail of treats, we have 2 boxes of stuff leftover.

Day 8 (November 1): Day of the dead? I think so! Actually order breakfast with my ice cap at Timmy’s this morning. No lunch today. We decide to go shopping after work today as my brother has a 40% discount at L’Equipeur. $218.58 later, my husband enjoys new shoes, jeans, sport jacket, t-shirts, and a pair of sneakers for my mom for Christmas. Oh wait! Marlee needs new winter boots, so $86.22 later, we have new winter boots for her. I also see the cutest dress boots at Marshall’s (fake baby Uggs). I suppose these is what the marketers are hoping for. Top it all off with super for the family at Guido’s. (Wow! I have really been eating like crap!) Day 8 hurt the bank account!  Day 9 (November 2): Maybe I should actually buy some groceries for my empty fridge. I sludge off to Provigo early Saturday morning to spent near $200. At least I have meat, veggies, fruits, and some of the other basics for my family to actually live on. Stop at Tim’s on the way home for the usual. 

Day 10 (November 3): Beautiful breakfast with family (and an ice cap). Spent the day making food (soup, roasted chicken, pasta sauce, etc....). Trying to cut down on the restaurant stops this week. End up at the library with some dear colleagues from GSE503, so I think another ice cap is in order to stay awake (and leftover Halloween Candy). 

Day 11 (November 4): Check that thought. Day went to hell, running late, dead tired, no breakfast, grabbed Rima for supper. Fridge full, but I don’t even care at this point. 

Day 12 (November 5): Today is a new day! I started making iced coffee at home! No Tim’s! I actually did not spend $1 today! Why do I feel so great? Apparently it is something referred to as perceived consumer effectiveness (PCE). When is comes to sustainable buying practices, this PCE is influenced directly by guilt and pride. This becomes important because it means that as a consumer,  my behaviours could be modified by using emotions (Antonetti, & Maklan, 2014).

Day 13 (November 6): Another no spending kind of day! Feeling all pride and no guilt! Maybe Atonetti and Maklan are on to something!

Day 14 (November 7): Last day of recording! No ice caps and going strong.  My husband and I are feeling like we need a little extra family time, so we go out for supper at Mike’s with Marlee. We follow it up by a little Chocolat Favoris. I asked myself why we went to Mike’s again? What a waste!   A quick stop by Provigo to grab snacks for my basketball girls. I make an orzo salad plus pull together fruits, yogurt, cheese and granola bars.

Stay tuned for Part 2 to see if I actually made some changes and what this whole process has meant for me. Until then, I leave you on this note: Waiting on the World to Change

REFERENCES

Antonetti, P., & Maklan, S. (2014). Feelings that make a difference: How guilt and pride convince consumers of the effectiveness of sustainable consumption choices. Journal of Business Ethics, 124(1), 117-134. Retrieved from www.jstor.org/stable/24033218

Etzioni, A. (2012). You Don’t need to Buy This. Retrieved from https://youtu.be/FN3z8gtDUFE

Goodwin, C., Smith, K.L., & Spiggle, S. (1990). Gift giving: Consumer motivation and the gift purchase process. In NA - Advances in Consumer Research. 17, eds. Marvin E. Goldberg, Gerald Gorn, and Richard W. Pollay, Provo, UT : Association for Consumer Research, 690-698. Retrieved from http://acrwebsite.org/volumes/7086/volumes/v17/NA-17

Graham-Rowe, E., Jessop, D.C., & Sparks, P. (2014). Identifying motivations and barriers to minimising household food wasteby. Resources, Conservation & Recycling, 84, 15-23. doi: 10.1016/j.resconrec.2013.12.005

Porritt, J. (2011). The trap of materialism. Retrieved from https://youtu.be/DtwXryPNciM

Shah, A. (2014). Consumption and Consumerism: Global Issues. Retrieved from http://www.globalissues.org/issue/235/consumption-and-consumerism

[marshmallow-phd]

Barging In

(gif not mine)

Request: Hi!! Could I maybe request a Day6 Young K/Brian scenario??? A fluffy neighbor AU, please?? Thank you so much if you do!! -Admin B 💖

Genre: Fluff

Pairing: Reader x Young K

Summary: You lived across the hall from a particularly famous bassist. You’ve done your best to just be a casual neighbor, but what happens when he needs to use your apartment as a hide out?

A/N: Gosh, this was fun!! I took just a small amount of inspiration from one of my favorite movies “What’s Your Number?” and I kept him famous! Enjoy!!

Masterlist

Bam! Bam! Bam!

You groaned, flipping over to smother your face into the wrinkly pillow. Breathing in through your nose, you made a sleepy mental note to clean your sheets tonight.

Bambambambambam!

What the hell?!

With a loud growl, you shot up into a sitting position, more awake than you wanted to be. Who the hell was disturbing your hard earned sleep? Fuming, you threw the covers off of your legs and stomped your way to the front door. Using all your strength, you swung the door open angrily.

“What!”

“Please, let me hide out here!”

You narrowed your eyes at the ridiculous request. Standing in front of you was your neighbor of six months, Brian. However, he preferred Young K, for whatever reason. You didn’t oblige him of the request, especially since you were constantly having to exchange mail with him every other day.

When news around the building had spread about the rock star moving in, you’d simply rolled your eyes. To you, it was an inconvenience with the overly loyal fans constantly hanging around the front entrance. It was a rock and a hard place that you were stuck between, needing to get inside so you could go to your apartment, but not wanting to be too aggressive with the girls and suddenly be roasted on social media as rude and violent to the young people who just wanted a glimpse of their favorite bassist.

As luck would have it, Brian had moved into the apartment right across from yours. You were friendly enough whenever you saw him, only slightly complaining about him to your friends over too much wine. Soo Na insisted that you were secretly attracted to him. All you would do was snort. No, thank you.

Lately, however, you’d been given a nice respite from the craziness as Brian had been gone with his band on a world tour. Apparently, he got back sometime last night.

You blinked, trying to comprehend his request. “You want to what now?”

Letting out frustrated groan, Brian pushed past you and slammed the door behind him.

“Excuse you!” you shrieked. “Who said you could just come in?”

“Shh!” he slapped a hand over your mouth and brought a finger to his lips. “Please, I just need to hide out here for a bit.”

Your eyes widened. Shoving his hand away, you lowered your voice into an irritated hiss. “And why exactly do you need to camp yourself in my apartment?”

Sighing, Brian walked passed you and flopped down on your couch, resting his head on the back cushion. To your relief, he was at least dressed for the day in a pair jeans and a slightly-too-big shirt.

“A couple of fans are hiding out on my fire escape. Security called up and said there’s a crowd out front and the back exit is closed off for maintenance. Some might try to get inside.” He turned to look at you with the most desperate expression. “I don’t have anywhere else to go except Mrs. Kwon’s next door and I can only take so much of her cat plate collection.”

You chuckled at that last bit. It was true. If there was a stereotypical old lady neighbor, Mrs. Kwon was it. She was an absolute sweetheart and you were sure you’d gained a little weight from all the desserts she baked for you over the years. On the other hand, she could really suck you into a conversation to the point where you were desperately searching for a way out that wasn’t rude. She just wanted people to talk to, but her timing wasn’t exactly the greatest.

Giving in, you shrugged. “Fine. You can stay here.” You tried to keep your annoyance out of your voice, mumbling, “There goes my morning plans.”

Apparently, you didn’t mumble low enough. Stretching out on your couch and turning your TV on, Brian offered, “Go ahead and go do whatever you were planning on. I’ll be fine here.”

“Uh, no,” you scoffed. “I’m not leaving you in my apartment by yourself. Besides, it’s not that important.”

You didn’t give him a chance to respond, slipping into your bathroom to clean up. Uncontrollable giggles pushed their way up your throat and out of your mouth as you caught your reflection. Bedhead galore and leftover makeup looked not-so-fabulous on you. Dark circles underlined both your eyes, decorated with sleep crust.

“Everything okay in there?” Brian called from your living room.

You frowned at his question. “Yeah, I’m fine.”

After fixing your hair and deep cleansing your face, you decided you were too lazy to change out of your wrinkly T-shirt and sleep shorts. Trudging out of the bathroom, you ignored your unwanted house guest and went to the kitchen.

The smell of fresh brewed coffee was already apparent. You leaned around the wall obscuring your living room from view, zeroing in on the steaming cup resting politely on a coaster on the coffee table.

“Did you make yourself coffee?”

The intruder nodded. “Yup. Hope you don’t mind. It was a late flight last night.”

Rolling your eyes, you just let it go, knowing it wasn’t even worth the fight. Fixing your own small little Keurig cup, you took out ingredients for breakfast.

“Have you eaten yet?” you called out to him.

“Uh… no, I haven’t.”

You tried not to be put out over his surprise. You weren’t exactly super friendly about letting him in. Even though he did barge in. On other hand, he didn’t really have a choice. Still, he didn’t wait for your response and he never asked for food, only shelter. But fixing only breakfast for one would be impolite and grind on your conscience all day.

Once everything was cooked, you separated it onto two plates and brought them over to your small table along with clean silverware.

“Breakfast is ready,” you announced.

Cautiously, Brian stood up and walked over to join you. He was still hesitant, opting to watch you eat instead.

“It’s not poisoned,” you pouted, hoping he wasn’t going to make you waste food.

“Sorry,” he murmured before slowly shoveling food into his mouth.

The two of you sat in silence as you wondered about his resistance to your breakfast.

“Am I really that mean?”

You flinched. That had meant to be a thought bubble, but somehow it escaped and became actual words.

Brian nearly choked on his coffee. “W-what?”

You thought back to your little interactions with Brian since he’d moved in. Sure, you weren’t the most outgoing person and you didn’t stop him every time you happened to run into him in the hallway, but you always figured he was tired of being bothered. And at least you said hello. And you tried to be friendly when getting your mail from him.

“You’re not mean,” he insisted, not really relieving your fear. Seeing your face, he smiled. “You’re really not, (y/n). Maybe a little shy, but you’re definitely not mean.”

“But-” you couldn’t really form the words so you just pointed at his plate.

He laughed. “I was just confused as to why you were being so nice to me to make me food. I was actually starving, but I knew I kind of just barged in here on you. It’s nice to know I picked the right door to bang on.”

You snorted, covering your mouth after the obnoxious noise. That just made him laugh a little harder.

Balling up a piece of junk mail, you threw it at his face just as he was going to take another sip of coffee. The momentum from your throw caused just a small splash of dark liquid to fall from the cup and land on his white shirt. Now it was your turn to laugh.

“Oh, you’re in for it now,” he warned.

Sensing danger, you scrambled up from your seat, running back to the kitchen. Like it was your life line, you grabbed to hose attached to your sink and held out in front of you threateningly.

“Don’t come any closer!” you warned between chuckles.

Brian just shrugged. “You already ruined my shirt, my caring scale is now at zero.”

He charged at you and you squeezed down on the nozzle, spraying him with faucet water. It didn’t deter him at all. Through the shower of water, Brian managed to wrap one arm around you, trapping you in, while wrestling away the hose from your hand. Holding it above your head face down, he gave you a satisfied smirk before striking.

Your hair and shoulders were soaked, but you just couldn’t be mad. Indeed, you’d brought this upon yourself.

Both of your laughs mixed together and bounced off the walls. Brian nearly slipped on the water as he put the hose back in its proper place. Using you to steady himself, you found yourself only a few inches away from his face. His crooked smile was nearly blinding and you admitted to yourself that his eyes were actually really pretty.

Said eyes were staring at you right now with a sparkling gleam. They shifted down lower, past your nose and to what you could only assume were your lips. Your heart was pounding in your ears, giving off the chant “kiss him, kiss him, kiss him.”

Knock, knock, knock, knock.

The sudden intrusion broke the two of you apart and you couldn’t quite decide if you were relieved or disappointed.

“Young K, you in there?”

“Yeah, give me a sec.” Said rock star was now scratching the back of his head. Turning to you, he explained, “That’s my manager. I told him where I was hiding out.”

You nodded, “Oh, okay.” Clearing your throat, you stepped around him. “Let me grab you a towel.”

Pulling two clean towels out of the hall closet, you handed one to Brian before drying your own hair.

“Thanks,” he said.

You followed him to the front door, a little sad to see him go.

He stopped before he could open the door. “This might be a bit forward, but do you care if I come over for dinner tonight?”

You blinked. “Come… over? For dinner?”

Pink rose on his cheeks. “Yeah, I, um – well, you see, I’d invite you over for dinner at my place, but if they don’t have security fixed on my fire escape and the fans happened to see us together, I wouldn’t want that to cause you any trouble because that would really suck and we’re just now really getting to know each other and–”

You put a hand over his mouth to stop his rambling. “I’d love to. Besides, I have a feeling I’m a better cook than you.”

He nodded. “That is more than likely.” Grinning, he turned the handle, opening the door to reveal his very confused manager. “I’ll see you tonight.”

Smirking, you replied, “I’ll see you tonight, now that you have an actual invitation in.”

#day6 #day6 scenario #day6 neighbor au #day6 reactions #young k #brian kang #kpop

[lizzybeth1986]

Domestic Bliss Ask - Hana x Persephone

@kennaxval asked me to do a Domestic Bliss headcanon for Hana and my OC Persephone, so I thought I’d introduce her here before I plunged in. Persephone is Penelope’s much-older and very bossy sister, who currently lives in Paris and meets Hana when she returns to Cordonia for work purposes.

I have an NSFW ask to be done at a later point, requested by an anonymous poster, which will take a little more time. I’m still trying to figure out for certain what their sexual relationship looks like.

Who first brings up moving in together?

Hana, when she proposes (yep, she does the proposing, and no one quite believes either of them when they tell this story to people) just before Persy is scheduled to go back to Paris. Persy doesn’t give her a straight answer at first and leaves, and Hana believes she doesn’t want a steady relationship, but she returns eventually - for good - and accepts.

Their first few months as a couple are pretty much split between Valtoria and Portavira (Persy and Penelope’s parents’ estate). But once Hana’s best friend Esther marries King Liam and moves to the palace, Persy moves base to Valtoria, eventually working on her immensely successful fashion-and-lifestyle blog from there.

What is their morning routine?

Hana wakes up earlier. Persy’s definitely the night owl of the two. Even on days when she doesn’t have something to do, it usually takes her a while to go to sleep. Hana on the other hand sleeps as soon as she gets into bed, and loves to do something creative before Persy gets up - some days it’s embroidery, some days it’s playing the piano. Hana usually gets breakfast ready, but Persy insists on taking over during the weekends.

What is their nighttime routine?

Nighttime is Hana’s reading time, and on the nights Persy is free, it’s one of the few routines she picks up from Hana. Hana is very old-school - she can’t imagine reading without turning over pages, without the smell of old paper, the way it feels beneath her fingertips. Persy uses her Kindle (blasphemy!).

Occasionally they’ll stop to read aloud passages that stand out to them, passages that remind them of each other or sound inspiring. Persy tends to read out passages from her favourite book Women Who Run With the Wolves, a book she’d love to see Hana read.

Hana misses home, sometimes, so she thumbs through an old collection of classical Chinese poetry (her favourite being the poems of the Song Dynasty) that she had secretly bought as a young adult, and reads out verses. Her favourite is “The Night of the Lantern Festival”: she says it reminds her of Persy.

Who takes long showers/baths?

Definitely Hana. She’s a complete water girl, loves the feel of water on her skin, and will never pass up the opportunity to enjoy a shower for as long as she humanely can.

Persy likes being quick and efficient in all things, so it’s just “get in, get clean, get out”.

Who cooks, and who sets the smoke alarm off?

The more elaborate, family-style cooking? No one can do it like Hana can. Cooking is a stress buster for her. It’s what calms her down when she’s upset or worried. When Persy is around she will happily take over the cooking completely. Because if it were really up to Persy, they’d have minor variations of the five dishes she knows, every week. (“Good God Hana stop behaving like my mother. You’d think there was an entire army living in this house, not two people”)

Had Persy not fled from Cordonia during Leo’s social season…or been pushed into making a life for herself, she would have probably ended up like her “I can’t even boil water!” sister. Persy’s first few months in Paris were hard because she knew absolutely nothing - not how to cook, not how to buy supplies, not how to store food. She had to start over from scratch, and learn at least a few simple recipes - and those recipes have carried her over the past 5-6 years, and she isn’t exactly ready to change routine. If she’s feeling particularly ambitious, Persy will try to cook her grandmother’s special curry chicken. It usually winds up tasting like anything but curry chicken.

Who does the shopping?

Back in Paris, Persy tended to buy supplies only for a few days, and used up whatever she had in the next one or two, with portions meant for just a dish or two (unless she had guests over). She’s not used to the idea of buying supplies in bulk, or having leftovers for dinner, so Hana - who is used to the Cordonian way of buying and using supplies - was puzzled by Persy’s struggle to cook with so much. Hana knows certain dishes tend to taste better later on in the day (or the next day), so she likes shopping and cooking in larger quantities than Persy is used to, with some leftovers for dinner.

Who fixes it when something breaks?

Neither. They usually hire someone.

What are their favorite things to do together?

Reading, obviously.

Outdoors, they both love horses and Hana - who knows every dressage style imaginable - gets to show off her dressage moves.

Discuss fashion trends: I mean, it’s part of Persy’s job, and Hana’s, trends are what they rely on to move forward in their careers. There are times when Persy will have a suggestion that could just make a particular design Hana’s working on come together, and Hana can sometimes act as Persy’s sounding board for ideas.

Sex - how can I forget sex? It took Hana a while to be truly ready, but she’s a warm and enthusiastic partner once they do explore that aspect of their relationship. Persy’s never really been this involved in a relationship before, and this willing to give herself completely to someone else, so in a lot of ways it’s a new experience for her too.

How do they celebrate birthdays and anniversaries (day they first met, first date, month anniversaries, etc.)?

Persy’s birthday - now that she’s returned to Cordonia - is celebrated with the family at the estate, and Hana’s tends to be celebrated more often either at Valtoria or the palace, depending on King Liam and Queen Esther’s schedule. Persy has spent the last 6 years basically just going to the nearest bar, flirting and treating herself to a few extra drinks on birthdays, so this whole idea of celebrating in public is something she’s still getting used to.

Hana is quite fond of TCaTF (the book, not the show), so when she found out that Persephone and Penelope could trace their ancestry back to what was once Ennan, the capital of Fyordia (certain records hint at a connection to King Tevan, but nothing conclusive), Hana’s taken an interest to exploring more of the Portavira duchy. Most anniversaries, Persy takes Hana to historical and natural sites in and around the area because she knows how much Hana loves that. Sometimes they go to the Fydorian Museum, highlighting their spirit and bravery in helping Queen Kenna of Stormholt in the great battle against Empress Azura. Persy’s seen all this enough times to be bored by it by now, but she’d take Hana there everyday just to see the look on her face.

What were their first impressions of each other?

The first time they met was extremely commonplace, very random, and honestly they left no lasting impression on each other. Persephone was a stranger who suggested another dessert at a bakery Hana was visiting, and Hana was a woman who spoke kindly to Persy’s kid sister. They met for no more than ten minutes, spoke barely two lines two each other, and went on with their lives.

By the time Persy eventually came back to Cordonia at least two years after this meeting, Hana had already begun to have an impression of Persy that was largely fed by a very anxious, very stressed Penelope’s reaction to the news that her older sister was coming - that Persephone was intimidating and rather scary, really.

Persy didn’t really relate much to Hana in the beginning - they were far too different - but she did admire from the get go Hana’s courage in making a life completely independent of her parents, and knows very intimately what a struggle it must have been to demand she be heard, and leave if her parents were unable to listen to her. 6 years ago, Persephone would have been one among the many potential brides vying for Prince Leo’s hand, had she not gotten an job offer in Paris, wrangled by an old boarding-school friend who lived there. She was able to make a cleaner break than Hana did, but she remembers how hard that first year was. Hana may have looked like a pushover, but Persy realised soon enough that in certain things she would definitely hold her ground.

When did they each know that they wanted to be with the other person?

For Persy it was a realisation that happened over time, up until a point where she started noticing just how protective she was around Hana, and how angry she’d get on her behalf when someone tried to take advantage of her kindness. It was disconcerting, and scary, and Persy tried to ignore how she felt for at least a few months before she realised those feelings weren’t going to disappear.

Hana was physically attracted to Persy early on, and struggled with how raw and exposed she felt around her. What she felt for Persy was very, very different from what she had once felt for Esther, but the intensity felt familiar. It took her quite a while to figure out that what she felt for Persy was the real deal.

Do they have any inside jokes?

Not any that I know of, at the moment! This is something I’m still working on.

Do they have any embarrassing stories they’ve sworn not to tell anyone else?

Also something I’ll need to think about. I haven’t figured out any yet.

Do they enjoy having time apart, or do they go a little crazy?

They don’t particularly enjoy time apart, but they’re not entirely going to go crazy missing each other either. Persy’s been pretty much brought up away from people she’s been close to, so she already has her ways of coping when someone she loves and lives with isn’t by her side. Hana has a slightly harder time getting used to being without Persy, but she has her ways of keeping herself occupied.

How do they cheer the other one up when they’re having a bad day?

Hana plays the piano for Persy. She’s composed a few pieces in the time they have spent together, and there is one composition that never fails to calm Persy down whenever Hana plays it. Hana also likes to cup Persy’s face in her hands and plant little kisses all over, and Percy secretly loves it every time she does that.

On one of Hana’s ‘bad days’, Persy likes to cuss in French (basically the first things Persy will ever master, in any language she's learning, are the curse words). It makes Hana laugh, and Persy proceeds to teach her every curse word she’s picked up in Paris, including “fuck you”. All Persy has to do is say zut, or merde (shit) in an accent that’s so clearly Cordonian, and Hana gets into a giggle fit. No idea why. She just does.

Let’s not even start with what happens when Persy translates f-bombs into French. Va te faire foutre sounds so elaborate for a phrase that’s just supposed to mean “fuck you”.

#the royal romance #hana x oc #trr hana #hana lee #hana x persephone #persephone antreou #penelope antreou #there's a bit of cussing so i must warn you if that's not something you're comfortable with

[the-coconut-asado]

Nazareth: The Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants

Last month I went to Israel. So did the Duke of Cambridge. I wonder if it was as much of a food revelation to him as it was to me?

I had lazily assumed a diet of falafel and hummus. Don’t get me wrong, there was plenty of both, but so moist and unctuous that I have no desire to buy either from Sainsbury’s ever again. But for somewhere that, by its own admission (or at least according to my foodie tour guide in Tel Aviv) doesn’t have a home-grown cuisine, I ate my way through at least three blogs-worth of inspiration.

So, here’s the first chapter. It’s not where I started my journey, but it’s as good a place as any to start the story.

You come across Nazareth suddenly after driving roughly two and a half hours north-east of Jerusalem. Worried that our bus would abandon us at the edge of the Old Town and we would have to find our guest house in a maze of unnamed streets, we realised on alighting that the Old Town was walkable in 5 minutes and our guesthouse was, er, 100 metres from our drop off point. Doubly happy with our charming new abode and our host’s insistence that we were home now (he said that a lot), we set off to discover one of the Country’s lesser-known foodie destinations.

We spent our whole Israel trip running ahead the Sabbath, because whether you are Jewish or Christian, there ain’t nothing open on the Sabbath. Thus, we left Jerusalem the day before Shabbat and stayed in Nazareth (predominantly Muslim and Christian) until the Sunday, when we drove away from streets devoid of people, to the twin sounds of the Muezzin and Church bells.

But wherever we went, it was Ramadan.  Which meant you had to get your meal timings right.  Half an hour before sundown after a day’s fasting, families sat expectantly at restaurant tables, knives and forks poised and inner engines revving for the signal to eat. Then suddenly, all the restaurants were jammed and buzzing – and no corner for a couple of ravenous tourists to squeeze into.

After the noise and bustle of Jerusalem, Nazareth was like a secret garden of delightful courtyards, cool fountains and monastic whispering alleys.  You soon realise that for Christians, Nazareth is all about Mary. And as Mary wrote the rulebook on serenity, that’s what Nazareth is: a lot like Mary.

But in a week of 35C heat, covering up gnawed at my serenity and curdled it. Self-elected stewards waved their arms to shoo me away from churches if I was wearing anything less than full length jeans, even while I was across the road with no intention of visiting.  Seriously, dude, where are your aggressive arms when a man goes in wearing a pair of dodgy shorts?.   Anyway, I travelled around clutching a pair of floaty trousers that I had haggled for in Old Jerusalem, just like 99% of my fellow female tourists.  We, the Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants, glanced long-sufferingly at each other as we darted into coffee shop bathrooms to pull them on and whip a shawl around our shoulders before sightseeing.  Bright side, coffee shops were great places to make the switch as they served some truly amazing sweetmeats.

If you are fasting all day then you need a sugar buzz in the evening to sustain you for the next day. And the variety and lip-sticky sweetness of the local desserts and sweetmeats kept both of us licking our fingers and catching the syrupy dribbles on our chins. On which subject guys and girls, let me introduce you to Qataifi.  These are little dollar pancakes, filled with either cream cheese or chopped nuts, sealed into half-moon parcels, deep fried and then drenched in a rosewater -flavoured syrup. Call the ambulance Alice. We convinced ourselves that a plate of six Qataifi would be our lunch. A plate of freshly cooked falafel an hour later and we realised the only people we were fooling were ourselves.  

Breakfasts were a simpler, but no less delicious, affair. Our host looked at me with the hurt eyes of a child when I asked for fried eggs instead of his ‘signature’ omelette one morning, but his Za’atar bread and labneh was usually all I needed, with a side of cucumber and tomato salad which in Israel are the baby sisters salt and pepper never knew they had.

But, for me, the stand-out dish in this corner of the world was something I had at dinner at Kitabon, an Arab restaurant on the approach to Mary’s Well:  the romantic-sounding Muhammar. Chicken marinated in Sumac and cumin, poached in just a little stock, then finished off in the oven on a bed of lavash bread soaked in an onion and sumac oil slick. Divine.

Muhammar is a process to make, but not difficult. Za’atar bread just as easy. . And while Qataifi is fiddly, the end result is worth the effort on a special occasion. So you can start discovering Nazareth with these three recipes.

It’ll whet your appetite for Tel Aviv. But that’s another story.

Muhammar

This gives you a spectacular dinner party centrepiece and delicious flavours in one. Serves 4.

Ingredients:

1 chicken, jointed

1 tbsp. cumin

4 cloves garlic, crushed

2 tbsp. sumac

½ cup olive oil

½ tsp cinnamon

4 x lavash flatbreads

3 onions, sliced

50g pine nuts or chopped almonds, toasted

How to Make

Pat the chicken dry, mix the cumin, sumac, garlic and ¼ cup of the olive oil, season and rub into the chicken pieces. Cover with clingfilm and pop in the fridge to marinade for an hour or so.

Sauté the onions in the remaining olive oil, adding seasoning, 1 tsp each cumin and sumac for about 10-15 minutes. You want them caramelised and jammy. Set aside.

Add 2 tbsps. olive oil to a deep saucepan, add the chicken pieces and 1 cup of fresh chicken stock, mixing together, then cover the pot, turn the heat to low, and leave to cook for about 45 mins – an hour, until cooked through and moist. Transfer the chicken pieces to dish pop in a hot oven for 5 minutes to brown for 5 – 10 minutes.

Get your lavash bread and dip each flatbread into the stock mix, lay on a baking sheet and pop into the oven for the last 5 minutes of the chicken cooking so that the edges crisp up slightly.

Now to assemble: Start by laying a layer of lavash bread onto a shallow round dish. Cover with the onions, another tsp sumac and seasoning and drizzle some of the leftover stock mix. Then add the chicken pieces on top, drizzle any leftover stock, sprinkle with a little sumac, seasoning and a spritz of lemon juice.  Sprinkle over the toasted almonds and Serve straight away with slices of lemon and some coriander sprigs.

Super Simple Za’atar bread

We know Za’atar as a mix of thyme, oregano, marjoram and sesame seeds. Mixed with oil and sumac, it gives flatbread a distinctly middle-eastern twist, and is lovely for breakfast with a dollop of labneh cheese. Makes 6-8 flatbreads.

  Ingredients:

For the bread:

1 cup tepid water

½ tsp caster sugar

2 tsp dry active yeast

3 cups plain flour

Generous inch salt

2-3 tbsps. olive oil

For the topping:

3 tbsps. each dried thyme, sumac, oregano and marjoram

2 tblspns sesame seeds

1 tsp sea salt

½ cup olive oil.

How to Make

Sprinkle the yeast onto the water and mix in with the sugar. Leave to stand for about 15 minutes until the surface of the water is foamy. Mix the flour and salt in a bowl, add the olive oil and rub in. Add the yeast mixture and mix to form a soft dough.

Turn onto a lightly floured surface and knead for about 5-7 minutes (10 if you are feeling strong enough). When it feels elastic, place in an oiled bowl, cover with clingfilm or a damp cloth and leave to rise for at least an hour. You want it to double in size. While the dough is rising, mix all the topping ingredients in a bowl and cover.

Heat the oven to 200C. Divide the dough into 8 balls, place on a baking sheet, cover and leave for about 20-30 mins to rise slightly again.

Lightly flour your work surface then take each ball of dough, flatten it slightly in your hands, then roll out to a medium sized disc. Make little dimples in each disc with your fingertips, and divide the topping among each one. Slide the discs onto a baking sheet and bake for about 8-10 minutes. Cool on racks and wither eat straight away, or warm up to serve later, either with labneh for breakfast, or a dinner like the Keralan Roadside Chicken in the picture below.

Qataifi

This is serious sugar rush territory. Less is deliciously more. You can make all the components in advance, then assemble and cook before serving. There are many ways to make these, but I have adapted Little Sunny Kitchen’s version here. Serves 6-8

Ingredients

For the pancakes:

1 cup plain flour

1 cup lukewarm water

½ cup milk

½ cup semolina

1 tsp baking powder

½ tsp dry active yeast

2 tbsp. sugar

2 tsp, vanilla

Pinch salt

For the syrup

1 cup water

2.5 cups caster sugar

1 tsp lemon juice

2 tsp orange flower water

For the fillings

250g ricotta

4 tsp icing sugar

50g chopped toasted pistachios and pecan nuts

1 500ml bottle sunflower oil, for frying

How to Make

First, make the pancakes. Put all the dry ingredients in a bowl, except the yeast. Add the yeast to the water with the sugar and leave for 10-15 minutes, until the surface of the water is foamy. Mix the yeast water and the vanilla in with the dry ingredients until it is smooth and properly mixed. Cover with clingfilm and leave to rise in a warm place for 30 minutes – an hour. The mixture should have expanded, and bubbly on the surface.

Heat a non-stick crepe pan and drop spoonfuls of the mix onto the pan so that they form medium sized discs. 

Cook for about 1-2 minutes each until lots of bubbles form on the surface and the pancake is dry. 

Do not flip it over, just pop onto a clean dishcloth and wrap immediately to prevent the pancakes drying out. Repeat with the rest of the mix. You should end up with about 20 pancakes. Let cool (they will soften as they cool) and then put into a sealed plastic container until you are ready to assemble.

Next, make your syrup: Put the water and sugar in a saucepan and bring to the boil. Add the lemon juice, mix and then simmer for about 7-10 minutes. Remove from the heat and add the orange flower water (you could add rosewater instead, but not everyone likes the perfumey taste). Cool completely – it will thicken slightly as it cools.

You are making two fillings for the pancakes: In one bowl mix the ricotta and icing sugar, in the other, mix the remaining icing sugar with the chopped, toasted nuts.

To assemble: take each pancake in one hand, add a tsp of either filling and seal then edges firmly into a half moon.

 Repeat with the remaining pancakes – you should have 10 ricotta and 10 nut, with some nuts in reserve.

Heat the oil until a cube of bread browns, then fry each sealed pancake for 1-2 minutes on each side, until lightly browned and crisp. Drain on kitchen paper.

When all the Qataifi are cooked, transfer to a dish, pour over the syrup, 

sprinkle with the remaining nuts and serve immediately.

[haltandcatchfiretothemax]

[H&CF S4 SPOILERS] Headcanon that in 1994, Donna Emerson makes a very big deal over Thanksgiving

Bos stops by for a visit in early November and when he sees her lists of potential guests and centerpiece ideas and phone numbers for specialty shops that sell expensive wines, cheeses and chocolate, he teases her, "Now what's all that, a plan to break into Alcatraz?" "I just want it to be nice for the girls," she chuckles. "Haley said we should just get Chinese food that night, but…not this year. Next year, maybe. But not this year," she says firmly. "This year, we go all out."

[This got REALLLLY long but we also don’t get anymore show so THAT IS MY JUSTIFICATION]

Bos says that he'll ask Diane about stopping by that evening for dessert, and then as he's leaving Donna's, he says, "And either way? I will make sure that Cameron gets that scrawny behind of hers over here." "I appreciate that, but no pressure," Donna hugs him.

Haley convinces Joanie to come home for the holidays, or at least that one, after Donna offers to pay for her plane tickets. Donna's so overjoyed by this she ends up inviting literally everyone she knows -- she invites her parents, Cameron of course, emails the entire Symphonic staff to let them know her door is open if they don't have plans, and then sends the same email to everyone she knows from Comet (including Katie Herman) AND Mutiny

The guest list balloons to the point that Donna decides to have the whole thing catered

After a lot of hemming and hawing, she asks Haley, "Have you talked to J*e? Haley says she got an email from him, wrote back, but hasn't heard from him since. "He probably won't feel like coming back here so soon, right?" Donna wonders. "But what if he doesn't have anywhere else to go…." "Can I invite my friend Vanessa? I don't think has anywhere to go either," Haley blurts out. "Uh, sure," Donna says. She emails J*e later that night. He doesn't reply.

Donna is relieved and humbled by her house full of people that day. Cameron gets there an hour late, bottle of cheap wine in hand, and is immediately overwhelmed

Among Donna's guests: Trip, who manages to not bother her, Tanya Reese and her younger sister, who don't have any other family nearby, Comet restaurant expert Risa and her trans butch partner (whose boyish good looks mesmerize both Haley and Joanie), and Yo-yo and his wife and Lev and his partner (the sight of whom actually makes Cameron cry slightly, even though the first thing Lev says to her is, "I haven't see Tom OR Admiral Eyebrows here?! Tell me that means you're finally FREE")

Speaking of which, J*e does call, early in the afternoon, to thank Donna for checking on him. She asks how he's doing, and he admits, "I've been better. …I appreciate the invite, Donna. I couldn't, though." Thinking back to the holidays she spent by herself after the divorce, she says, "Yeah. I've been there. There's next year, though. Or the year after that. I mean, so long as you don't steal any more of my husbands." J*e laughs for the first time that day and says, "Of course. As long as you don't steal any more of my girlfriends." Donna blushes at this, and then awkwardly offers, "Do you wanna talk to her? She's here. Cameron." "Just tell her I really hope she's having a good day," he says. Donna nods and then says, "You know who probably wants to talk to you? Let me find Haley…." He and Haley talk for 20 minutes, and when she mentions Vanessa, he says, "You'll both figure it out. I promise."

Just before dessert is served, Cameron tries to go hide in the kitchen for a bit, but Donna is there, also hiding, weeping quietly over the sink. When she asks Donna if she's okay, she says, "Oh, I'm fine…I'm better than fine. Everything is exactly how I wanted it to be, Joanie is home, everyone seems like they're having a good time, the food is great and we'll have leftovers for a week…it's like, my whole life is out there. Except for Gordon." Cameron frowns at her, "So that's what all of this was about, huh? At least we got a chocolate fountain out of it, I guess." Donna laughs and says, "I thought about just having a normal dinner, but it just felt too much like that last time at Gordon's. Bos' chili."

Cameron understands Donna's mixed feelings. "Have you talked to Lev, or Yo-yo? I've been catching up with them and it's really great but it feels sad too. I don't know why that is." "It's great, but it makes you realize how finite everything is, maybe that's why it's so sad," Donna sighs. "Or maybe we're just weird?" "I've considered that, I'm pretty sure I'm weird," Cameron says. "Well, I gotta get back out there, so come be weird out there, when you're ready," Donna says gently, grabbing a box of plastic pie servers. Cameron takes a few deep breaths, and then when she hears the doorbell, and then Bos' voice, she goes back out to the party.

While everyone is eating dessert, Donna interrupts the party to thank everyone for being there. "This year has been…strange. It's been hard, but it's been good, too, and I'm just grateful that all of you decided to spend part of your day here. So, enjoy! My house is your house, today. Stay as long as you'd like, and don't forget to make a plate to take home if you'd like!" (Almost everyone does make a plate, but Donna's still drowning in leftovers at the end of the night.)

After the last guests leave, Donna starts putting away the food, and Cameron tries to make herself useful by helping her with it. They scrape and pour into and wrap and cover together silently, until Donna thanks her. "You don't have to stay, though, I've got this," Donna reassures her. "Yeah, but we didn't really get to talk, it was so busy," Cameron shrugs. "It's okay. I don't mind helping. I don't have anywhere else to be." Donna smiles and says, "Okay, I'm just gonna go change, I'll be right back."

Donna is already in her sweatpants, sitting on her bed near her nightstand, taking off her jewelry when Haley knocks on her open bedroom door. When Donna tells her to come in, she sits down next to Donna. "I feel sick. I'm not sure if it's because I ate too much pie or because I miss dad." Before Donna can respond, Haley bursts into tears. Donna puts an arm around her and jokes, "But you liked the pie at least, right?"

Cameron spends twenty minutes clearing away all the cups and plates and bottles, and then realizes how quiet and empty and strange the house feels now. Worried that she's overstayed, she goes looking for Donna so she can thank her, say good night, and go home. She sees Joanie standing in a doorway, and calls out, "Hey, is your mom in there?" Joanie turns to smile at her, and motions for Cameron to follow her as she goes into Donna's bedroom.

Cameron stops short when she sees Donna, Haley, and Joanie curled up together on Donna's bed. Haley is asleep, head on Donna's chest, hair rumpled and face blotchy. "I'm sorry, I was gonna go back out there and ask you how you were doing," Donna whispers, "but…" "No, it's okay," Cameron says, feeling an ache in her chest. "I'm gonna get out of here, we can --" "Wait, why?" Joanie interrupts her. "You don't have to go just because Haley fell asleep," she bounces up and grabs Cameron's hand, and drags her to Donna's bed. She goes back to her spot next to her mom, and Cameron gingerly sits on the edge of the bed. "I was just telling mom that she has got to dial it back for Christmas," Joanie says. "Except for the chocolate fountain…."

"Joanie," Donna says firmly, "for the last time, we are not keeping the chocolate fountain. Cameron, how was your day? Are you alright?" "Yeah," Cameron grins. She kicks off her shoes so she can lie down, and gets comfortable, or more comfortable. "I'm okay. This is the easiest Thanksgiving I've had in a while, we always used to go to Tom's family's house in Dallas. God, his mom hated me." Joanie responds with a silent glare, and Donna says, "Well her son is a hypocrite and a jerk and a plagiarist." "He wasn't all bad. And he put up with me," Cameron argues. Like a pair of synchronized swimmers, Donna and Joanie turn at the same time to look at Cameron with the same 'are you serious?!' face. Cameron blushes, and Joanie moves over and throws an arm around her, and says, "Well whatever, we love you even if they didn't." She hops up off the bed and says, "I'm gonna get some pajamas on, be right back!"

Donna sighs, "He really was an asshole." "You never liked him," Cameron replies, and Donna says, "You're right, I never did." After a minute Cameron says, "Thanks for always liking me better than you liked him." Donna snaps, "He made it easy," and then says, "Of course I liked you better. You were my partner. And now…you're family, really." "Right," Cameron nods. "Thanks for inviting me today."

By the time Joanie comes back, an hour later, Cameron and Donna are both asleep. She smiles at them, shuts off the light, and goes back to her spot between them.

Cameron wakes up late the next morning in Donna's empty bed. Donna is standing in front of her dresser, brushing her hair. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to stay here," Cameron frets. "That's okay," Donna shrugs, pulling her hair back into a ponytail. "You can rest more, if you want." "No, no, I'm good," Cameron says getting up. "Okay, then you're free to join the feeding frenzy in the kitchen," Donna replies, "Joanie is on second breakfast, they already ate all the cereal," she grouses as she leaves the room

After a few minutes, Cameron goes to the kitchen, feeling like an intruder. Joanie is making eggs, pancakes, and bacon and telling a story about Thailand, Haley is laughing at her, and Donna is putting on some coffee, beaming at the both of them. She wonders if she should sneak out without bothering them, but Joanie says, "Hey! Are you hungry?" "No, I'm okay, I was just gonna let you guys, you know…" Cameron trails off. "Really?" Haley side eyes her. "Yeah, I don't even really live here anymore, and you're not even gonna stay and visit with me?" Joanie huffs. "Rude much?"

Donna pours some coffee into a mug an walks it over to Cameron. "She has a point," she says. Cameron accepts the coffee, and spends the rest of the afternoon there, listening to the three of them talk and bicker and giggle and tease each other, grateful to be with them, even if she's not yet fully convinced that she really belongs there. 

#i hope everyone had a good holiday and/or weekend but that if not this helps #also fun fact: the chocolate fountain is an early 90s invention! #they were developed in canada and donna SO would've had one brought in #headcanons #headcanon #better living through headcanons! #food #alcohol

[haledamage]

Cafe Nua

(AO3)

for @pillarspromptsweekly 0007, a bit of modern au PoE

"Hey, Kana?" Aloth kept his voice down even though they were the only ones left in the library.

"Yes, my friend?" Kana made no attempt to be quiet. He didn't look up from his notes.

Aloth closed the book in front of him, not bothering to pretend he was still studying. "You're usually pretty good with people, right? With talking to them, I mean."

"I suppose. I enjoy being around people, at least. I find that helps." He closed his book, too, and finally looked up at Aloth. "Is something bothering you?"

Aloth tugged at his sleeve. "No, nothing. I… there's a new person at my support group, and she seems nice, but I have no idea how to start a conversation with a stranger."

"She seems nice, or nice?" Kana asked, grinning widely.

Aloth blushed and kept his eyes on his textbook, picking at a frayed corner of the binding. "A little of both, maybe."

Kana laughed. "You could start by saying 'hi' and see where that gets you. Or maybe Iselmyr has some advice?"

Aloth scowled. "I'd rather not repeat what Iselmyr suggested."

"Oh come now, she can't be wrong all the time!"

"You'd be surprised."

Whatever else Kana had intended to say was cut off as his phone beeped merrily. "Ah, that's my cue. I promised Maia I'd be home for dinner tonight. She's trying some new recipe and wants me to taste test. You're welcome to come too." Kana packed his things away haphazardly in his bag.

Aloth put his books away more slowly, stacking everything meticulously. "Tempting, but I'll pass. Your family can be… very intimidating."

"Yes, I suppose they can." Kana waited patiently for Aloth to finish packing up. "I told my boss I'd come in to the cafe early tomorrow to help with prep. Why don't you stop by after your classes? You can meet my boss, practice talking to a girl in a controlled environment." Aloth scowled more and Kana laughed again. "There's free coffee in it for you, too!"

"Maybe you should have led with that," Aloth muttered, then added "I'll try, if my schedule permits. What did you say the place is called?"

"Cafe Nua. It's on the east side of town, I'll text you the address." Kana picked up his bag and fell into step with Aloth as they left the building.

-------

The bell over the front door rang and Kai knew who it was without stepping into the front room to check. "Good morning, Kana!"

"Good morning!" His voice carried easily into the kitchen and its owner followed shortly after it. "What're you making? It smells delicious!"

"I thought it'd be fun to use some of that Rauatan dark chocolate to make brownies, since the cookies have been so popular. And this," she said as she leaned all her weight on the ball of dough in front of her on the table," is going to be cinnamon rolls whether it likes it or not."

"You need me to remind it who's boss?" He held his fists up in an attempt to threaten the poor dough ball. 'Threatening' was the last word Kai would use to describe Kana, even though he towered over her.

She laughed. "No need, my dear. If it keeps giving me trouble I'm sure Concelhaut's Crushing Doom will convince it to cooperate. Can you please bring in the flour and coffee beans that were delivered this morning? The bags are almost as big as I am."

Kana went out the back door and came back with two huge bags of coffee slung over one shoulder. "You don't know any spells that make you super strong? And you call yourself a wizard!"

"Not all of us can just sing a song and conjure an extra pair of hands out of thin air."

Kana ended up doing just that and summoning a drake. He loaded the delivered ingredients on its back and took them to the pantry in one quick trip. He thanked it for its help and it snorted and disappeared.

"So I finally went to that Awakening support group you suggested," Kai said after she finally got the cinnamon rolls in the oven.

"Good!" Kana looked up from slicing strawberries and grinned at her. "How was it?"

"Awkward. I never know what to say in a situation like that. Maybe I should have brought you or Edér with me." She considered briefly her roommate and his habit of diffusing awkward situations with bad humor and shook her head. "Hmm, maybe not Edér. Everyone was really nice, though."

"I'm glad! I know you haven't been in the Dyrwood long. I hope this'll help you meet more people." Kana picked up the strawberries and folded them into a nearby bowl of whipped cream.

A timer beeped and Kai turned it off, then pulled a shortcake out of one of the ovens. She turned it out onto a plate, set it in the freezer to cool, then returned to Kana and said "I have you and Edér. I don't have time for new friends."

"There's always time for new friends."

-------

After the breakfast rush, it got pretty quiet at Cafe Nua until what Kai called the post-lunch dessert rush. The quiet period was also when her regulars were most likely to come in.

On some days, Pallegina would come in for a latte with extra sugar and ask Kai to listen while she ranted angrily about her bosses or her clients or whatever other things bothered her that day. Other days, Grieving Mother would arrive right before the next rush to have a pot of tea and sit at a corner table to kith watch. Once a week, Hiravias came in with a vase of flowers to brighten the place up and a sample of whatever herb was thriving in his hot house that week. He'd sit around and chat while Kai tried new recipes with the herbs he brought and then take the leftovers home with him.

Sometimes, Sagani and Itumaak would claim a table and spread out the papers of whatever case she's working on, hoping a new location would give her new perspective. Occasionally, Kai would offer to help, but Sagani very rarely wanted a Watcher's assistance, not since Kai helped her find Persoc--"you keep butting your nose into police business, we'll have to start paying you," she would say, but never cruelly-- so Kai just made sure her coffee stayed full and snuck treats to Itumaak.

None of them came in today, though, and except for a couple students from the local college taking advantage of Cafe Nua's "Bring a Cup I'll Fill It Up" special, it was pretty empty. Kai told Kana to go on break so he could study for whatever assignment or project he was working on. She wasn't one hundred percent sure how homework worked in literature degrees, so she assumed he had to read something.

Then she turned the music up and got to work cleaning.

She was standing on a chair with a feather duster, attempting to clean off the top of the curtains, when she heard the door chime. "Be right with you, darling!" she called over her shoulder. Her new customer didn't answer, but after a moment she felt the presence of someone standing next to her. She kept talking, leaning up on tip-toes to reach the top sill of the window. "You'd think with all the years I spent in school, I'd have some practical knowledge to show for it. I don't suppose you know any spells that remove cobwebs, do you, dear?"

"I know a few spells to add webs," said the man next to Kai, and she startled and almost lost her balance with the realization that she knew his voice, "but none to remove them, I'm afraid."

Kai climbed down off her chair and turned to her guest. She'd met him a few nights prior at the Awakening support meeting; he had been very quiet, with occasional snide aside remarks that she's fairly certain she wasn't supposed to hear. He was very handsome and meticulously groomed and Kai was acutely aware of the dust in her hair and the flour on her apron.

Still, intimidated as she was it was no reason to be rude, so she smiled and said, "Hi! It's good to see you again. Aloth, right?" He nodded and she smiled wider. "I'm Kai. But you… already know that." She offered a hand to shake, then hesitated, realizing how dirty her hands must be; before she could pull away, he reached out and shook her hand firmly. She blushed and resisted the urge to fix her hair. "Welcome to Cafe Nua."

"Is this your bakery?" Aloth looked around at the mismatched wooden tables and the colorful lanterns and art on the walls. "It's charming." His eyes widened and he turned back to her. "I don't mean that in the Aedyran veiled-insult way. I mean it as a compliment. Truly."

Kai laughed. "Thank you. The previous owner left her a mess, I've spent a lot of time getting her up to 'charming.' Would you… would you like some coffee? Or tea?"

"I… yes. Coffee would be lovely."

Kai led the way back to the counter, but once she got there she stopped and studied Aloth for a moment. He really was a lovely specimen, long silky hair and pale eyes and high cheekbones and a rare but potent smile. Aedyre, which meant he probably liked sweets, and she remembered hearing he was a student, so he'd want something strong. Hmm…

He fidgeted under her stare, face reddening. "Is there something the matter?"

Kai shook herself. "No. No, I'm sorry. I like to study people and see if I can guess what they want. I always tell them it's a Watcher thing, but it's really just a Me thing."

He smirked, plucking at a button on the sleeve of his jacket, and said "And what do I want?"

Oh no. Kai bit back several things she could have said to that and instead turned to her beloved espresso machine. After thinking about it a moment longer, she decided on a latte with half the milk, an extra shot of espresso, and a dash of vanilla syrup. She then grabbed one of the darkest Rauatai brownies and presented it and the coffee to her new friend.

She tried not to fidget as she watched Aloth try the drink. He had a frustratingly good poker face, and the longer he was quiet the more obvious it was that he was toying with her. Kai wanted so badly to ask what he thought, but she bit her lip against the urge. She watched him and he watched her as he finished the brownie and half his coffee in silence before finally smiling and saying "You have a gift, Kai."

Kai grinned, ridiculously proud of herself. "Thank you. I… if anyone had told me when I was in university that I'd end up running a coffee shop, I'd have laughed them out of Aedyr, but now that I'm here…"

Aloth chuckled. "I know what you mean. Circumstances can find you in the strangest of places." He took another long drink of his latte. Kai could see on his face that he had a lot of questions, but the one he finally asked wasn't what she expected. "What did you study? You mentioned college."

Kai couldn't fully curb the excitement in her voice as she said "History and linguistics, with special interest in dead languages. Well, and the wizardry. I'd been planning to get a degree in anthropology as well, but I Awakened in my second year and things got… complicated." That felt like a gross understatement, but she knew he'd understand. "What about you?"

"What makes you think I went to college?" Aloth asked, but he was smiling.

"There's a peculiar kind of sleeplessness that can only be found in Watchers and postgraduate students, and I know you're not a Watcher."

He laughed aloud then, dropping his guard for a moment, and Kai found herself blushing again for some reason. His eyes were still lit with humor when he finally answered, "History as well, and I'm postgrad in literature. And 'the wizardry'."

"Literature? Do you know Kana Rua?" Kai had a feeling she already knew the answer.

Aloth nodded. "He's the one who told me about this place."

"He's the one who told me about the support group," Kai said. She pointed vaguely over her shoulder and added, "He's in the back right now studying. I actually need to pop back there for a moment, so I'll send him out."

Kai stepped into the back room and as soon as Aloth was out of sight she stomped to the office where Kana sat with his books and hissed, "Why didn't you tell me you had a friend coming to visit?"

"Oh, is Aloth here?" Kana said, in the smuggest voice possible.

"Yes, Aloth is here, and I didn't know he was here to see you, so I've been flirting with him like an idiot." She was horribly embarrassed. She should have been more suspicious. Handsome, charming, intelligent, and she wouldn't have to worry about her condition scaring him off? She should have figured he wasn't there to see her. Even if it did seem like he was flirting back.

Kai was so far into her pity spiral it took her a second to get back on subject when Kana said, "Good. I've been trying to get the two of you to meet for months now. You have a lot in common, Kai."

"I--what--" Kai took a deep breath and restarted. "I am not one of your sisters, Kana. I don't need you playing matchmaker."

"Clearly you do, or I wouldn't be."

She wagged an ineffectual finger at him and he laughed. "I ought to tell Maia. I ought to tell Lena."

"You wouldn't." He put his hand over his heart, feigning horror.

Kai couldn't stop from smiling. She shoved him toward the front room. "Go talk to your friend. I'm going to get the next tray of cream puffs out of the walk-in before the next rush."

-------

After taking a few minutes in the cold of the walk-in freezer to calm her nerves and another minute to shake the cobwebs from her hair, Kai stepped back out front with a tray of assorted snacks to restock. Kana and Aloth sat at one of the tables chatting, fresh cups of coffee in front of them.

"She makes almost everything herself," Kana was saying, "even the flavored syrups for the coffees! How is it you phrased it, Kai?"

Well, at least he was making her look good. Out loud, she said, "I do everything except the farming. Only the best for my girl." She pat the counter affectionately and started restocking the display case.

"Why is Cafe Nua a 'she'?" asked Aloth. He seemed to be relaxing a little now. His fine navy wool jacket was off, draped neatly across the back of his chair, and his crisp black button-up was well-tailored, sleeves rolled up his forearms and long-fingered hands wrapped around his coffee mug. It was a very good look.

Kai almost forgot to answer his question. "That would be because of Steward."

Kai touched the shoulder of a carved stone statue that stood next to the espresso machine. The statue was of a woman about Kai's height but of much fuller figure, draped in a flowing dress. Her head was adorned with an antlered circlet, and her hands were poised as if she were dancing. She had a crown of autumn flowers on her head, courtesy of Kai. "Steward is the soul of Cafe Nua. She built this place and had her consciousness transferred to the statue a long time ago. She keeps quiet mostly so she doesn't scare people away."

"Makes it easier to eavesdrop as well," Steward said slyly. Even with the warning, Aloth jumped a little when the statue started talking.

A group of orlans in business suits came through the door in a flurry of sound and motion and Kai put on her best smile. They talked over each other to place their orders and left with four mochas, the last of the brownies, and half of the cream puffs Kai had just put out.

As they left, Kana and Aloth approached the counter. Kana took Aloth's empty mug and went to the back room to clock back in before the crowds arrived. Aloth smiled at Kai and said, "I'll go and let you work. What do I owe you for the coffee?"

Kai waved a hand. "It's on the house, darling." She hadn't expected him to look so uncomfortable with that idea. Before she could think better of it, she added "Buy me a drink sometime and we'll call it even."

Aloth blushed all the way to the tips of his ears, pausing in the act of putting his jacket on to stare at Kai in… horror? Intrigue? She couldn't tell. He schooled his expression again to a sort of bland interest that she was starting to recognize as his preferred default expression, and he said "How about dinner instead? Folcsdag night?"

Of all the things Kai expected him to say, that wasn't one of them. She suddenly felt shy, a sensation she hadn't experienced much before today, but finally said, "Yes. That sounds lovely. We close at 18:00."

"Then I'll pick you up here, 18:30?"

Kai nodded, and they both fell quiet. Aloth tugged at a button on his sleeve again, Kai toyed with the cord of the necklace she wore, and they stared at each other. It was terribly awkward, but not in an altogether unpleasant way.

Aloth moved abruptly as if shaking himself from sleep and his face reddened again. "Yes. Right. I should get going then. I'll see you on Folcsdag. Have a good day. Bye, Kana."

"Bye!" Kana said from right behind Kai, who just barely managed to not jump. Aloth waved and left.

As soon as he was out of sight, Kai leaned over and pressed her face into the cool wood of the counter. "Usher take me, what was I thinking? If this goes poorly, it's your fault," she said and pointed in Kana's vague direction.

Kana laughed and pat her on the shoulder. "You're such a pessimist, my friend! What if it goes great?"

What if it goes great? First time for everything, Kai thought. Then the crowds showed up and she didn't have time to think for a while.

-------

"If this goes poorly, it's your fault," Aloth told Kana the next day before class.

Kana laughed, heedless of the other students who looked their way. "I think you'll be fine. Just be yourself."

Easy for Kana to say. Aloth had spent more than half his life trying to be someone other than himself.

She looks lik a lass that likes bonny hings, Iselmyr's voice slithered through his mind, mibbie git her some flowers.

Isn't that a little… cliche? Aloth replied, biting his lip to make sure he didn't voice it aloud.

It was a peculiar sensation to have the voice in his head roll her eyes, but one Aloth was all too familiar with. She's a nerd, ye'r a nerd, ye'll fin' a wey tae mak' it nerdy.

He thought about it all through class, barely even aware of the professor's lecture. When it was over Aloth decided that maybe, just this once, Iselmyr had a good idea, and he made his way to Autumn Druid Floral.

The interior reminded Aloth of the jungles of the Cythwood. Every manner and color of flower covered the walls and most of the floor. Some of it was cut in vases, but some grew in pots and others still seemed to be planted right in the floor, and flowering vines climbed up a central pillar.

Someone's peepin' us, Iselmyr warned, and once she pointed it out, he noticed the prickly feeling of eyes on the back of his head.

Or eye, it turned out, as Aloth turned around and came face to face with the shop's owner, a short orlan with a shock of orange hair who seemed to be missing most of the right side of his face. "Hello," he said, after it was obvious the orlan expected him to talk first, "I would like to buy some flowers."

The orlan barked a laugh. "I hope so. Otherwise you're in the wrong place." He scratched at the stump of his missing ear and studied Aloth the same way one might study an intriguing insect. "First date?"

"I beg your pardon?" Aloth wasn't sure why he was so intimidated by a man almost half his height, but there was an intensity to him that he hadn't expected from a florist.

"The reason you're buying flowers. First date?" He spoke slowly, as if he wasn't sure Aloth was fluent in Aedyran.

"Oh. Yes."

He walked off then, headed into the carefully cultivated wilderness. "I'm Hiravias, by the by."

"Aloth," said Aloth, following uncomfortably behind Hiravias.

Hiravias nodded as if Aloth had just told him the secrets of the universe. "Bookish girl, right? Red hair, freckles? Maybe owns a coffee shop?"

"Either you know her or you're in the wrong line of work," Aloth said drolly.

Hiravias laughed sharply. Aloth had never met anyone who could make a laugh sound both friendly and angry before. "Cafe Nua's one of my regular stops. Kiki's good people. And Kana Rua loves to gossip. I figured it was only a matter of time before you ended up in my neck of the woods. Here." He lifted a vase filled with a riot of colorful flowers.

"Why this one?" Aloth stared at the arrangement, but couldn't recognize any of the flowers involved.

Hiravias pointed at each flower in turn as he said, "Amethyst for admiration, coreopsis arkansa for love at first sight, pink rose for friendship, primrose for young love, jasmine just because she likes them."

"I wasn't aware flowers could be quite so… nuanced," Aloth said. It's not the word he was looking for, but it would serve well enough.

Hiravias's eye lit up. "Glanfathans have a whole language built around them. Used to use 'em to send coded messages, but now it's mostly just for fun. You got a minute? Bet I could teach you a thing or two."

The sun had set by the time Aloth left with a completely different bouquet in tow.

-------

Kai had run out of ways to keep busy and it was still only 18:20. The cafe was more spotless than it had ever been, the books were balanced, prep work for tomorrow was finished. She was wearing something weather appropriate that would fit in anywhere except black tie and her hair was… not neat, that would be too much to ask, but it was manageable and didn't have any flour or cobwebs in it.

She had chased Kana out ten minutes ago, making it very clear what she thought of his offer to chaperone. Now she was trying to ignore the buzzing of her phone as Edér sent her pictures of every animal currently living with them with captions like "Cosmo hopes you have fun <3" and "Lady says we won't wait up for you ;)". She'd go through them when she was less nervous and find it endearing, but at the moment it just made her more anxious.

When Aloth finally walked in at 18:30 on the dot, Kai hoped her relief didn't show on her face. She leaned against the counter, trying to look like she hadn't been counting the seconds until he arrived. She waved and said, "Hi. Um, good evening." Smooth, Kiki. Real smooth.

"Good evening. These are for you," he said and held a beautiful bouquet of flowers out to her. She recognized a couple, but the rest were unfamiliar breeds, purple and yellow and pink and white together in a cheerful mix.

She took it and turned to find a vase as an excuse to hide the reddening of her cheeks. "Thank you. They're lovely." She noticed the staelgar paw print on the ribbon binding the arrangement together. "Did Hiravias give you his 'language of flowers' lecture?"

Aloth chuckled and some of the tension drained from his shoulders. "Yes, he mentioned you were acquainted."

"That would explain the jasmine then," Kai said as she found a vase and filled it with water and a spoonful of sugar. "What do the rest of them mean?"

"You're a linguist, aren't you?" Aloth asked slyly. "You tell me."

Kai snapped her mouth shut audibly on whatever reply she had. What an intriguing man. Just when Kai thought she had him figured out, he threw her off-balance again. Two could play at that game. "Are you sending me secret messages, darling?" She said with a grin. "How forward of you."

"Too forward?"

"No," Kai said, then quickly changed the subject. "Shall we go then?"

They stopped to grab a bite to eat from a food truck that claimed to serve authentic Aedyran cuisine. It was good, but they agreed there was something distinctly Dyrwoodan in its seasoning. Aloth then took Kai on a walk through the park and along the canals of Copperlane. It was mid-autumn and pleasantly cool outside, warm enough still that Kai's sweater was enough to keep out the chill, but cold enough that if she walked a little closer to Aloth than necessary she could blame it on the weather.

They talked about nothing in particular, about his classes and job at the library, about the cafe and her roommate, about Kana and Iselmyr and being a Watcher. They had very different taste in music, but similar taste in books, and had both come to the Dyrwood in recent months through surprisingly parallel paths.

It was a new sensation for Kai to be on a date without feeling pressured or like she was being interrogated, and she felt acutely aware of herself and the space she filled in the world and how that space related to his. Every time they walked too close and their fingers or shoulders brushed it made her skin tingle.

It was late when they arrived at her townhouse on the east side of Heritage Hill, later than either of them should have stayed out. They stood at her doorstep a couple feet apart, charged silence stretching between them, until Kai blurted out "Would you like to come up for coffee?"

As soon as the words were out, Kai's brain caught up and reminded her all the implications behind such a simple phrase. She also realized she wasn't averse if Aloth chose to take it that way. That was new, too.

Aloth just smiled, though, and said, "Not tonight. I'm already likely to need a nap at work tomorrow, coffee certainly wouldn't help matters. Maybe next time." The emphasis on 'coffee' made her think maybe he wasn't averse either. Interesting.

"Hmm, you're probably right, I should be at the bakery in--" Kai checked her phone and cringed. Sixteen messages from Edér, two from Kana, and a clock cheerfully displaying a much smaller number than she had expected, "--four hours."

"I suppose we lost track of time a little," Aloth said, fidgeting with that button on his jacket again. Kai wondered briefly how often he had to reattach the poor thing before he added, "I'd like to see you again."

"We have open mic night on Godandag," she answered almost immediately. "It's mostly just an excuse for Kana to bring his guitar to work, but it's a lot of fun." Was two days too soon? Kai had never had a second date before.

"Then I'll see you then."

They exchanged phone numbers and, after another moment of hesitation, Kai pressed a quick peck to his cheek and went inside the house before he could see how red her face was.

In the living room, Kai found Kana and Edér asleep on the couch covered in an assortment of animals. Kai snapped a quick picture and texted it to Aloth with the caption "Eora's Okayest Chaperones" then headed to bed to get a couple hours sleep while she could.

-------

Kai had never considered her Watcher-induced sleeplessness a blessing before, but at least she already knew how to function on only two hours sleep. She was up, bathed, dressed, and out the door before the sun was fully in the sky.

Since she would be working alone that day, she set out the bed for her service dog, a big black hound named Lady, who laid down with a huff and dozed a little while Kai filled the ovens with today's pastries.

The first thing she noticed when she walked into the front room was the vase of flowers from the night before. She smiled, thinking back on last night. The giddy, fluttery feeling still hadn't faded; Kai wasn't sure if that was a good thing or a bad one.

After she finished stocking the display case, she took a few close-up shots of the different flowers and decided to see what she could find about them online. The search took most of the day, hunting in between customers, but she finally had a list she was fairly certain of scrawled messily on a spare piece of paper:

Jasmine - you are cheerful and graceful Lavender rose - enchantment Clematis - mental beauty Meadow lychnis - wit Mimosa – bashful

Kai wasn't completely sure on the last one, but couldn't find any others that matched. Before she could talk herself out of it, she snapped a picture of the list and sent it to Aloth, then followed with "this is the most complicated way i've had anyone compliment my wit and intelligence and tbh i've never been more flattered".

He replied back almost immediately with "Well, it's early yet. I'm sure I'll find other ways to flatter you in the future."

Kai couldn't keep the smile off her face the rest of the day.

-------

When the next evening rolled around, Aloth arrived with Kana right before the crowds, carrying one of Kana's guitars in one hand and a potted flower in the other. Kai grinned as he handed it to her and she said, "So is this a tradition now?"

"Probably not," he chuckled, "I feel that would give Hiravias entirely too much knowledge about our affairs."

Aloth helped Kana and Edér set up the little corner stage while Kai rapidly filled coffee and snack orders for the people that came to see Kana sing. The turnout was a little bigger every month; before long he'd be too popular for her little cafe. She encouraged him to record videos and put them online, but he was a purist. He said music was best when enjoyed live. Kai considered, not for the first time, recording it for him.

During a brief break in the crowd, Kai took a moment to study the new flower and was happy to see that she recognized it. She got as far as typing it into the search engine before getting busy again.

Once the music started, Kai put up her 'Back in a minute!' sign on the counter by the register and stepped away to watch her friend sing. She checked her phone first, curiosity still gnawing at her, and froze as the search results stared back at her: "purple pansy - you occupy my thoughts."

Oh, by Wael's hundred visions, but that made her heart do a funny flip in her chest. Maybe it was the way it was phrased, but the simple fact that Aloth had been thinking about her enough that he felt the need to buy her flowers declaring such made Kai feel like the room was too warm.

"Something on your mind?" said a voice far too close to her ear. Kai yelped and turned to see Aloth looming over her, barely contained laughter dancing in his eyes.

She met those mirthful eyes like a challenge and told him the truth. "You," she said. His face turned bright red, and she added, "You're setting a really high precedent for future dates, darling. No one can possibly be this charming all the time."

Aloth smiled in a way that made Kai feel warm all the way down to her toes and said, "I suppose you'll have to stay and find out."

"I suppose I will," Kai said, and then to stop herself from saying anything else, she grabbed Aloth's hand and pulled him toward the crowd.

#pillars prompts weekly #pillars of eternity #fic #aloth corfiser #kai cirdani #kailoth #modern au #rhi writes #I had to trim a lot out of this that had absolutely nothing to do with the prompt #so you may see that sometime in the future #I could write a whole novel in this setting tbh #it's so great

[floweringthewords]

Untitled pt. 3 - Daily Grind

Sleep came slowly, like a dizzy haze. First it was nothingness, sweet as any dream. But then the reoccurrence came into focus, fading in from the black to the white of morning light, waking up but still in within a dream. It was just the same as I woke up every morning. The movie began to play out with a faint golden silhouette, gold blonde hair framing her face. Her delicate hands run through them as she stretches. I remember thinking her body had more curves than the Nile river. Every time, I could never believe I got to wake up to that each day. A smile graces her lips, half of her face cloaked by the white light. She leans down and presses her mouth to mine. My arms slip around her like a blanket, except she was the one to give me warmth. I run the back of my hand against her smooth back, her skin smoother than velvet. I was always comforted most when I had her in my embrace. She was my drug and my medicine. She was twice the dosage. “Morning,” she hums, her face in my neck. My mouth opens to respond but no sound comes out as I speak. She frowns. “Everything okay?” I swallow and try again, cupping her cheek. Her eyes glisten softly, grinning at me. She rolls and climbs on top of me. “C’mon, speak up. Life gave you a good mouth for a reason.” She smirks before giggling and climbs off. I reach for my throat, trying to cough. I could feel my voice working, but it was like I was mute. Neither of us could hear me and I could feel my panic rising. Ava stands from the bed, staring out the window. “Alright, you coming with, boss?” I get up and reach for her, but my hand goes through her like fog. My fingers felt frail without being able to feel her, and I grasp harder, my hand closing in a fist in hopes that she would become solid. The light gets brighter, the white too much to face. I squint, holding my arm above my eyes to block it off. I try to look at her, but she only melted into the light, walking further as she waited for me to follow, not even looking behind, confident I was already following. The light starts to scorch my skin, then my eyes, and I attempt a scream, the white turning to fire and pouring itself down my throat until the sound finally rips through, her name bellowing out in a piercing, haunting echo.

#pt 3

[twistednuns]

June 2019

“Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance you must keep moving.”   

A (very) sunny day in London. Seeing a seal in the Thames, right under the Tower Bridge. Walking through St. James’s Park, eating ice-cream. Taking a beautiful picture of Laura in Covent Garden. Finally getting out of the underground. A tiny rainbow reflection in the sky over Greenwich.

Playing badminton in the evening with Frank. Sitting by the river, making new friends (duckies).

Micha. Meeting in Thalkirchen after I had just seen a half dead mouse. Walking along the river, finding a nice spot across from the zoo with a bunch of musical hippies playing the drums on the other bank. We got drunk on Toro Loco and Grasovka in ice hockey cups until he kissed me in the middle of a sentence. It took quite a while until I noticed I was just kissing my first man with a tongue piercing. At some point I re-erected a knocked over portable toilet (does drunk me have superhuman powers?) and we walked to the subway together. Such a gentle weirdo.

Making breakfast for someone other than me. Sharing an apple. Eating out of the same bowl.

IKEA has veggie hot dogs now. Excellent. I also got a new cutting board. And that’s ALL I got. I’m virtually patting myself on the shoulder right now.

Christoph and Lauren’s wedding was pretty chill. We squeezed into a car, went up a very steep hill to attend the ceremony and spent the rest of the day around a camp fire drinking gin and tonics or dancing to very bad music. I loved getting to know Michael’s boyfriend of 4 years. I always received gay vibes from him… good to know that my gaydar isn’t broken.

Taking polaroid pictures in the beautiful afternoon light. I also loved Christian’s outtakes of the theme music quiz. One of them honestly looks as if I’d just won a beauty pageant - we have a host, two ladies with jealous side glances and me, all excited, open mouth, in front of the mic, waiting for her tiara…

Spending a few hours in my mum’s garden. Doing dangerous yoga exercises in the grass. Walking barefoot. Marveling at the lush roses everywhere. Watching a blackbird taking a bath under the cherry tree. Very entertaining.

I want to learn Spanish and this video gives me hope - apparently I can heavily rely on my French vocabulary.

Why the men I like usually look the same.

Hanging out with Martina, Tobi and Diego the dog at the Thalkirchen campsite. Watching the rafts go by (horrible music), driving them home with their car right before the apocalyptic thunderstorm.

The perfect dessert: berries or peaches with fresh cream. The perfect dinner: Truffle pasta.

The concept of eclecticism.

Spending the afternoon with Franzi at Maria Einsiedel. Meeting baby Elise for the first time. Hopping into the Eiskanal, turning my body into a freezer for five minutes. Eating tiny lemon ice-cream and galia melon.

Meeting Catrin and Andreas at Brillengalerie in Altheim. Really good cappuccino (he’s an optician AND a latte artist). I loved trying on those gorgeous glasses and talking to Catrin about the Latte Art championships and rude customers.

Our trip to the Bavarian Forest to make a cake tree for the wedding. We visited Lena’s uncle who turned a tree trunk into a three-tiered cake stand with his chainsaw. We helped. I really want to get a chainsaw license now.

Once again: roses. They are incredibly lush this year. I don’t know why exactly but climate change seems to have one tiny upside.

Drawing. Portrait practice. Filling my sketchbook from idee. Polychromos coloured pencils.

Using Instagram’s story feature for the first time. I love editing pictures and adding gifs and colours. Immature and tacky but fun.

Looking trough old analogue pictures. Finding lots of my dad looking like the perfect Millennial. 90s fashion really IS back. I still loathe fanny packs though.

I found someone who’s coming to India with me!! I’m going to travel with Bibi this summer. So excited!

Unfortunately: the Solitaire app on my phone. Unhealthy obsession. You know you’ve got a problem when you’re getting REALLY good…

The smell of dill pickles reminds evokes vivid memories of my grandma. She used to make them herself, in heavy stoneware next to the wash room in the cellar.

Spending the evening with Bibi at Kulturdachgarten (having Ginger Spritz as a sundowner in the late afternoon sun), eating Israeli mezze at NANA in Haidhausen and seeing Rocketman at Rio cinema. My colleague works there so we got discount tickets and free ice-cream. Taron Egerton is a fabulous actor. If I had to describe the film in one word it’d be flamboyant. Also, I’d have loved to be the costume designer for this.

Iglo veggie love frozen meals. With Hela curry ketchup. Nom.

Extremely cute new rockery plants (who will have to do with regular potting soil I’m afraid).

Meeting Andre at Thalkirchen. Spending the evening on an Isar gravel bank, drinking the beer Martina brought from Croatia. Joining the… eh, what’s the Mile High Club for people who prefer water to air travel? Catching the last train home. Taking dinky photobooth pictures because we still had ten minutes to spare. That fake photo strip makes me happy instantly whenever I look at it.

Getting better at asking for what I want.

The character Moe in the Netflix series Trinkets. To me, she’s so much more attractive than Tabitha. And I love her attitude. And her hookup in episode seven. What a pretty man.

Manu making me realise how much I look like my dad. “At least jawwise!”

Spending the evening with Tom. Pre-theatre Spritz, Melancholia at Kammerspiele, Isar-beer near Müllersches Volksbad. Talking about our insights and issues.

It’s fascinating to see the lupin in front of my balcony door open it’s blossoms gradually from bottom to top. This plant has such an interesting structure and geometry.

Salad season. Somehow I only like salads in the summer but then I eat them passionately. With strawberries, Black Forest tofu, peaches, blueberries, mangoes, olives. Those nice, firm Roma tomatoes you only get during the summer months. I made a huge bowl of Tabouleh the other day and had it for breakfast, lunch an dinner.

Going home in the morning, smelling of another person.

Booking flights to India. 5 weeks. I’ve never been gone for so long and then I chose India of all places… I feel a mild panic attack coming but I’m also super excited.

Artificial cherry flavour.

A day trip with Lexi. She brought crisps and a fun Mexican dice game which we played on the train. Spending the whole afternoon soaking in the warm water at Therme Bad Aibling. Discovering the amazing acoustics in the various domes. Making a new duckie friend. Weird mirror selfies with hairdryers. Dinner at a Bavarian restaurant in Rosenheim. Teaching le Sash some obscure Bavarian words.

The word obscure, come to think of it. Uncanny is a close second.

Jupiter being so bright in the night sky. I always notice it first as soon as it’s dark.

Librarians are secretly the funnest people alive.

So many things, really. I’m feeling quite happy at the moment. My only problem is that I keep gaining weight. Somehow enjoying myself is adverse to the strict regime I need in order to stay perfectly healthy.

Random things: Schweppes Fruity citrus and orange lemonade. Tomato sandwiches with fresh basil on olive ciabatta. That squirrel running over the garage roof in the morning. Dreaming of ferry rides through US rivers. And intercourse with a panther. The Garner Ambre Soleil natural bronzer spray with coconut oil. Nice colour, good smell, minimal chipmunk effect. And of course me regular Garnier sun oil. It’s the bottled essence of summer.

Filling in for someone in the Natural 20s pub quiz team. Being invited to a pen and paper round with feline characters only. Meeting Sophia who, I realised later, played Rosencrantz (or Guildenstern?) at Entity Theatre’s production of Hamlet last year.

My complete and utter obsession with Phil Collins’ version of You Can’t Hurry Love. I think it’s going to be my next karaoke song.

A desire and drive to be creative. Making collages out of dried leftover paint. Drawing on the window panes. Getting out gouache, pastel chalks, oil pastels, those weird 3-in-1 coloured pencils which create such a nice texture. Drawing first thing in the morning. Spending hours drawing owls for the coffee roasters. Using coloured pencils to draw portraits of all the cool girls of Instagram.

Oh, speaking of art. I don’t want to jinx it but I might get the chance to write a book soon! I met an editor who works at a publishing house for lifestyle books and needs someone to make a book about portrait drawing/painting for her. So. Excited. They’re also looking for a trainee in the graphic design department. I really hope I get to collaborate with them in one way or another.

Cute summer outfits. Good colour combinations. Accessorizing. Wearing pretty clothes with a creative twist. Actually putting some thought into putting together an outfit can be a lot of fun. After all it’s just another way of making a collage.

Polarized sunglasses providing me with the bluest skies and rainbow-tinted tram windows.

The Croatian man who sat down next to a visibly pregnant Bavarian woman on the subway and started telling her about his daughter Persephone and the abduction myth connected with her. I keep reading and hearing about Demeter and Persephone lately, for example about Baubo and the vulva presentations / Demeter worship.

Carmen Rohrbach’s Unterwegs sein ist mein Leben. I was very impressed by how much she has seen and experienced. How much she knows about nature and animals. I mean, she’s a biologist, too. Reading this book made my days a little more special because it gave me a sense of how much more there is to discover on this planet.

Eating vegan ice-cream (pumpkin seed and ginger-turmeric) with Micha. Sitting on the balustrade in front of the Art Academy. Staring into these insanely pretty blue eyes all the time. Looking for the toilets, roaming through the hallways. I love the architecture of that building.

A ladybug escaping the subway train through an open door. Freedom!

I love how the characters resemble each other so much in the different generations in the TV-series Dark. Uncanny. And they feature very nice colour contrasts, too. I guess I like their production designer / cinematographer.

Late-night Isar strolls. Drinking red wine, lying down, watching the stars surrounded by fireflies! (which are quite rare where I live so I was lucky - the strangest thing is that I had drawn a firefly into my sketchbook earlier that day, feels like I manifested it)

Tollwood gin and tonics, forgetting to go home, ending up in a gay club at 3am. Nice Thursday.

Making up for the lack of sleep on Friday afternoon. Waking up late. Releasing my inner Julia Child at 2am by making sushi rolls, taboulé and Bergsteigerbrot, something like super tasty vegan granola bars with lots of nuts and honey.

A little bike tour with Frank along the river. Pseudo-meditating on a log, eating some snacks I brought. Floating with the current. His alliterations (“further fodder for future followers”).

#personal #present perfect #things i love #june #2019 #june 2019