#({I LAUGH THAT I GOT EXACTLY 0 'MONS})

[izzyizumi]

~TAKE THAT~!!!!! {I GOT THEM ALL}

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[shozaii]

can u pls gib me kunikida and dazai fluff hcs? i love them sm

(a/n):hello anon! why, of course hehe🥰thank you so much for the request!

@amourzai my cielo helped me with this fic ilysm☁🌹

masterlist 

-------------------------------

fluffy hc’s 

pairings: dazai x reader, kunikida x reader

warnings: none!

dazai osamu

despite being the chaotic person that he is, dazai tends to turn into the mushy soft puddle when he’s with you. swoons around you, always shows you his best side, brags about him being better than chuuya, basically what you see him do to atsushi, but it’s ten times more emphasized and complex.😌

when he wants to confess his feelings, he does it in a quiet, peaceful place. namely, while watching the yokohama sunset. may or may not have found time to walk back home alone with you, held your hand and locked his arm around yours. “i need to show you something special, love~.”

feelings to him is something so cherished, so sophisticated and important. as a person who has gone through a series of emotions; he prefers to let them out in private.

even kneels down and asks, “would you be mine, mon cheri?” while rubbing little circles on the back of your hand.

when dazai confesses, his eyes would look directly into yours. if anything were to bother him; consider his other side to be seen. and we all know we don’t want that to happen.

i don’t know why but i always imagine dazai’s hands to be soft and delicate, and lovely to hold. (yes, i have seen too many gifs of them and i am in love) anything he does with his hands are just so attractive.

blows kisses when he’s like across you. so it becomes a series of sending each other kisses when you’re like one metre apart....and when he really does miss it, he gets up from his seat, leans over and pecks your lips real quick.

height difference is pretty obvious between him and his s/o(unless you’re super tall :0). if you were shorter, consider the t e a s i n g 24/7. if you were nearly as tall/taller than him, the floor is all yours🥴

lowkey wish i was taller rn

okay but real talk - he loves carrying you bridal style. a lot. and here’s the thing, it happens at random timing. for instance, when you’re working on your latest paperwork. during a mission (just to boast how strong he is). very unpredictable but so adorable, you can’t help but blush harder.

“osamu! put me down or else....!”

“or else what, my honey bunch?”

“you’re not getting kisses for a week.”

mans sets you down with raptor speed. unless if he’s in a flirty mood, you would see yourself winning.

yes, he loves seeing you flustered. i feel like you can do so as well - but i headcanon him winning everytime. how do you win this...? maybe kiss him when he least expects it. do it.

cute pet names like belladonna, my love, mon cheri, any new language he learns, he uses them. and if he almost forgets them(because he collects so much), he writes them down on a sticky note, and sticks it on his desk. when he goes back to the dorms, he sticks it on the wall or some place he could remember.

dates with dazai are either during work hours, or the after hours of yokohama. and he makes sure you’re going to have the time of your life on every single date; so he plans a new activity on every one of them.

when he doesn’t have the chance to do so, he pouts. but when it has been replaced with a job given by the president/kunikida, there you go. a date and mission in your hands.

he gets this rush of energy when he realizes that what was supposed to be a relaxing date out just got a whole lot better with the mission.

dazai gives kisses anywhere he likes. nose, lips, cheeks, jawline, the list goes on. he even knows where you prefer him to do so. i’m surprised that he still isn’t a psychic.

double suicide? he would never think of it. all his life, he wants to find a reason to live. he does get his reasons - one of them is you. your tears to him are anguish and heartbreak at its worst. cue you crying while telling him to stay by your side. 

“please...never leave my side,” you sobbed as you buried your face in his chest. “if i can stay alive in this place we call earth for as long as possible, then so can you.”

that moved him so much. a whole lot. “oh, belladonna. don’t you ever think i’m going away.”

silence.

“not without you.”

you punched him, and he couldn’t stop laughing. but he’d stop, giving you an unlimited amount of kisses.

b a b y. dazai is babie.

kunikida doppo

oh my god we have baby number 2.

in his eyes, you were the definition of perfection. he even tries to remember exactly when did he catch feelings for you. it was totally unexpected, according to him.

cue almost all of the members of ada teasing him all the time about him finally finding his ‘ideal’ partner.

but to him, it wasn’t the ideal that mattered anymore. you outmatched almost everything he wrote down. and man, was he the happiest person alive.

how does he confess...? well wonderful question. he didn’t plan it. the members did.

maybe yosano-san called you and told you about another ‘crucial case’ a few blocks away from your completed one and ‘since you were out there, you were perfect for it.’ you agreed because why not?

meanwhile, dazai probably said, ‘this case involves yet another series of men wearing glasses - you and me must go out to end this person.’

of course kunikida goes ??? ‘where are the evidences/pictures???” but dazai brushes it off saying ‘ah~ i left them somewhere.’ to which,,,well you already know. they went out and not even a minute after, the bandaged man goes missing. with the intercom, he leads him to - you guessed it - the exact same place you were in.

‘kunikida! you’re here for the non-existent case too...?”

‘non-existent? OHMYGODDAZAI-’

the line was cut off, and he goes on and on about him, until;

‘i can never be the same when i’m with someone i obliviously like-,’

he’s a huge mess when he’s around you, trust me. so him blabbering that out loud is completely normal.

butterflies in your stomach because you’re so in love with him.

‘i don’t know if this is the right time, but our friends probably did this for us. so i hope you’d be okay if i said my feelings are mutual?”

kunikida is alright with just a little pda, maybe some hand-holding and little ruffles on your hair because he secretly loves how floofy it is🥺when it comes to kissing, the furthest he would go is on your head. nothing more, nothing less.

he needs to maintain his composure *cough* but my mans right here couldn’t, you’re just too perfect.

so when you’re two alone, expect lots and lots of wholesome kisses around your face; and also loads of cuddles. this side of kunikida is what i headcanon today, folks. the ‘soft for you’ side. he lovesss it when he kisses your forehead, he finds it so cute.

p l e a s e kiss him on the cheek, kunikida would be all over the place.

if you go somewhere on a mission with someone else, he would be on his feet. he gets so worried, thinking of what might happen. don’t get me wrong, he trusts you in your job so much; he just doesn’t want you to get hurt.

so when you do return, he’s the first one at the door.

checks if you’ve eaten, if you’ve drank enough water, if you’ve gotten enough sleep. if you’ve not he’s just going to pull you to bed, holding you tight and lulling you to sleep.

during work hours, you walk over to him, wrapping your arms. 

‘y/n....we only do this after work.’

‘so you don’t want my hugs then?’

stays silent and just lets you stay there for as long as you want. he will tolerate you and you only.

kunikida loves you a lot. sometimes he might not show it, but just know that the love he has for you is drastic it tears you up. 

--------------------------------------------------

(a/n): i am s o r r y this took so long! ahh i’ve had so much to do and i really do hope this was worth it!

[retphienix]

I Have A Lot To Say So I'll Read More This.

The short of it?

I'm glad I played Joker- I played it because I wanted to know how DQM evolved when it reached the DS and I got my answer.

It's mediocre. Not bad exactly, I enjoyed playing it, it adds some REALLY appreciated features to the DQM series and if you were playing it at release it had online play which plays well with the post game content which I haven't touched by the time I wrote this:

-but there are some engine/console specific things that made it a drag and there are some parts of the game that are just weaker than the previous games which is amusing since the previous games were simple GBC titles.

And finally, I don't really recommend playing through Joker 1. Can't speak on the sequels, but Joker 1 was a pretty middling experience for me so I'm the wrong person to get a positive recommendation from.

And since the opportunity presents itself: If you like monster RPGs and haven't tried it- go emulate Dragon Warrior Monsters 2 for the GBC, it's really good and also if you emulate you can fast forward the GBC era grind if that's your taste- really a win all around.

On to my rambling:

I debated on writing, rewriting, rewriting, and better presenting my thoughts on this game and the series as a whole but nah, Joker ain't getting that, I'm ramblin'- lol

I will split it slightly between "The ending" and "The game as a whole" though.

Ending:

1:07 - This is slightly a 'game a a whole' thing but honestly it's funny to me that you unlock a permanent repel in this game by doing the main quest. I entered this dungeon feeling strong enough to beat the game, so I just avoided 90% of encounters entirely.

5:00 - I genuinely got a laugh out of Sparkpug's whole deal in this finale. Not story wise, that's fine, no complaints- I mean that Sparkpug is clearly built to be a monster that can carry an ineffective team. He's clearly meant to be bred a few times and a god tier member of a potentially inexperienced player's team- but I literally never used him after the intro.

So during this scene it's supposed to be like "I'm a demi-god monster, you can't possibly beat me" and I'm thinking "Dude, you're like level 10 and shit tier, you can't win, this is hilarious."

Obviously it's a real boss fight and not 'face the monster you once had' but I was having fun roasting him behind the scenes of this recording.

45:00 - What an entirely unexpected change of pace.

Like, I had it spoiled for me by a screenshot that Dr. Snap becomes a monster or something- but I thought maybe he was always a monster or something, and also I got a bad look at him.

HE TURNS INTO A BODY HORROR BEAST, THAT'S NUTS.

Genuinely a highlight of the game.

52:00 - I fucking laughed what a meaningless exchange where the payoff is saying "He was stupid!", it's honestly just silly and dumb but not necessarily bad just dumb lol

55:00 - Not a great 'you won' victory lap. Like at all. Kinda feels like they should have just made this all a cutscene where I appear back at town and see that Solitaire is the leader now etc etc.

I kinda don't understand why it's a victory lap at all? Because all anyone says is "They picked a weird successor to Snap >:(" or "Snap went to the island? I bet he was stopping the calamity :)"

If you have 2 lines of dialogue prepared, maybe don't make a victory lap???

1:00:00 - What a fucking stupid payoff lol

Like sincerely, Solitaire does NOTHING the entire game! She's meaningless from start to finish! And the 'surprise' is that she's the new commish??? And she got the position because she's a rich spoiled brat??? Like LITERALLY that's why????????

What a stupid fucking ending lol

Now her proposed evolution of the contest is fair enough, I mean it's childish as hell, but to be fair- more contests is a fine idea especially since prior games and this game demonstrated the public's interest in watching monster fights. And the goal being to fight her as the final fight is fucking egotistical and stupid- BUT- it does play into the fact that the player didn't get to fight her the whole game so it's whatever?

1:03:00 - This is both the best and worst lol.

This game has no story, like at all, it's fucking empty front to back, and only explodes with like- 1 event at the very end.

This moment is a montage of memorable moments with your 'best friend' Sparkpug. It's cinematically very nice to be honest! Even includes a moment I don't remember at the arena which probably didn't happen lol.

So visually it's cool- I dig seeing the camera zoom out as we run across the beach, and the flashback moments intersplice over us making our way to the scout memorial- that's very well done.

The content is empty lol

As I said there's no story, these moments are nothing lol

And that's that.

All said the ending was a very nice challenge to face with my team- I had to abuse items like mad but I MADE IT! It was a GOOD fight.

The rest I've already said.

On to the game as a whole:

I have issues with this game, but there's good too. It's really like 4 steps forward 6-7 steps back it's weird, it's really weird.

Positives are neat!

> First and foremost- TRAITS!

Monsters in Dragon Quest Monsters have always had a problem with keeping their identity for long. The way I'd explain it to an outsider to the series is that Monsters DO have special stat variance and intended movesets and all that jazz- but the breeding system completely and entirely destroys that relatively early into the game.

While a monster might normally have really high defense and low other stats while knowing buffing magic- breeding, EVEN UNINTENTIONALLY, will have that same monster come out with 9 billion attack and all ice magic.

Monsters in DQM have a habit of becoming canvases for the breeding effects rather than their own mons- and this is undeniably a downside. It makes the game feel unique, it doesn't 'hurt' it, but when by mid-game monsters are more easily identified as sprites rather than strengths and weaknesses or even types (family) it's a slight downer on the series.

Traits fix this a lot by making every specific monster have unchangeable traits which offer things like "immunity to x type of damage" or "higher crit chance"- it's small, but it gives each monster more identity.

> Second and secondmost- SKILLS!

The older games didn't use trees, it used each individual spell as a potential pass on during breeding.

Each monster could have 8 spells, and when you breed two monsters you pass on all 16 spells to the offspring (they don't learn them all at once, they learn them as they level up) as well as the natural spells the monster would learn by level up.

So in the older games it is really easy to end up with a refined and overpowered list of 8 spells on each of your monsters.

Now spells are tied to Skill trees and your monsters can have 3 skill trees total (which are passed on as OPTIONS when breeding).

All to say skills do a lot for removing the "Master of all, weakness of none" spell lists that the older games made trivial to make, now you have to limit your builds and be more specialized- also they added skills like "Attack up" to add more variance to a build- instead of having spells you might just have high stat buffs as skill trees.

Overall I think Skills are an improvement because coupled with Traits it makes each monster feel much more specialized and unique and less like a sprite with no identity.

> Breeding is improved.

This is very much because of skills and traits- again- but also the system is just improved in general. Instead of being told "That's a monster you haven't had before!" and judging your decisions based on the name of the offspring breed, now you get to see a small sprite of the resulting monster to help you decide- ALSO instead of getting 1 result for every combo (to the point where you have to back out and choose Monster A + Monster B and Monster B + Monster A as separate options), you now get up to 3 results to pick between for every breeding opportunity.

It's just better.

> The engine is impressive.

At least to me. This is a DS title using (from what I read) a rework of the DQ8 PS2 game's engine- it certainly looks like it.

Combat models are nice, using moves looks nice, overworld exploration looks nice- it looks nice.

Now for some negative and general nonsense- all of which is more often than not 'weird'.

> I gotta be unfair and say "The Story" first and foremost.

DQM 1 and 2 are not intense story games. They aren't.

But they both knew how to handle their story well for what they wanted to tell, I can and will praise both for their narratives because they know what they are and do it well.

DQM:J does not. It's fucking bad.

Basically: The overall story doesn't exist- you're told to be a spy, but that comes up 1 time towards the end of the game and LITERALLY doesn't matter at any other moment INCLUDING the one time it comes up.

You have NO meaningful objective from the start up until near the end of the game. You show up and have no goal- so you get told to get some crystals with no meaning behind it (not even a lie because they are clearly evil- not even a lie to motivate you! NO MEANING IS PRESENTED! JUST DO IT! TO DO THE CONTEST I GUESS! WHY? SHUT UP!)

So 90% of the game time you're not doing anything meaningful. So what about the islands? Any small narratives to keep things moving?

NO!

NOT AT ALL!

So you go 90% of the game having no real objective, just kinda wandering forward mindlessly- and then the game suddenly goes "Oh! Guy who seemed sus! He's evil! He's gonna unleash the calamity that you were 'kinda but not directly' working towards with your dog! You know, that plot point that's kept vague and paid 0% attention to the entire game? Yeah it's happening! Aaaaand you're done! GG!"

Basically there's just nothing going on in this game, it's all background noise until the last 10% of the game. And that's lame.

DQM1 had a light story- but from the very intro cutscene you have a clear objective which makes every action you do seem relevant as you are working towards that goal.

From the start of the game you know "My sister is gone! The king says a magic wish can get her back! I'll go do that!" and then you do!

DQM2 has a much better story!

You have a goal from the start (The kingdom is physically dying and you have to save it by getting a new plug!) AND it has stories for each world you visit!

THAT'S MILES BETTER! THIS GAME COULD HAVE DONE THAT FOR THE ISLANDS!

Anywho. Story is lacking and empty and lame especially when DQM2 has a similar format but does every part better- you have a clear objective you're working towards AND side stories to keep the light narrative moving!

WTH!

The spy plotline doesn't matter! It could have been used to build suspicion on who's the good guy!

The islands are so empty of story!

DQM2 has a fun mix on how a rival character works which makes every world interesting to see how they get involved!

This game has a rival that does NOTHING!!!!!!!!!

It's just such a step back from the previous games, it's weird to see DQM 1 land a solid simple story and DQM 2 build a great format to expand the story going forward- and then DQM:J just slams its head into the dirt and wipes out.

> Game's slow.

The engine switch is a good thing overall, but it makes combat slower (a lot), adds loading screens to combat (primarily), and they didn't bother speeding up the grind from previous games.

Because of the grind still existing which isn't a problem in and of itself- the game becomes SLOW AS HELL because the engine makes that grind take longer.

Also world exploration is slow which is to be expected when moving from 2d to 3d, but this is countered by adding things to the world to find or do- and Joker tries but it's still noticeable. The world exploration isn't a problem, it just stands out alongside the combat being slow as hell.

The engine change was a great thing- but it feels like they should have put more work into speeding up combat to counter the slowdown of load times and flashy animations.

A GOOD WAY TO FIX THAT MIGHT BE XP!

> Music ain't great in my opinion.

DQ has amazing music. This game has some weak renditions in my opinion. The CELL HQ theme song is a pretty good poster child for the worst there is, but just in general even the better music is lacking compared to the chiptunes of the GBC or the better mixes of the main series.

Maybe it's unfair, it's a DS game, I don't know, I just know I ended up just muting most of the game because it didn't sound great. I played the GBC games OSTs instead for a large portion of my playthrough. I listened to videos instead for the bulk of the game.

It's just not pleasant to me, sorry to say.

> XP!!!!!!!

I'm being a spoiled ass on this but yeah!

XP SUCKS IN THIS!

There aren't good placed to grind until you beat the game! (apparently)

The first level blatantly has too low xp which makes you grind before you can tackle the boss of the island- and the late game has you mindlessly grinding low xp rewards in order to be ready to face the final boss.

It's WEIRD!

Why is it so low!

> Tech is weird!

I could ramble on this alone but here's the short version:

DQ has a unique fantasy world aesthetic that each game has explored in its own way. It's basically "swords, magic, monsters, and charm- things feel light but aren't afraid to get scary sometimes :)"

This game... doesn't.

This game has fuckin' tech watches, jet skis, TOWER PCS????

This ISN'T dragon quest on a world building level.

It's like, contemporary modern world but with slimes.

And that could be good I guess, but it feels so fucking weird to see PCs right alongside swords and axes and a dracky.

Like... why?

It's a poor aesthetic according to my tastes. Maybe I'm an ass for that. The tech is weird.

All to say, in a poor rambling "I gotta get this out of me" kinda way, is Joker was fine.

I enjoyed breeding. I enjoyed seeing the engine. I enjoyed the unique additions like a 'hero monster'.

But I also had to grind mindlessly on a slower game.

I had to endure a story that forgot to show up until the very end.

I sat there thinking about replaying the older ones the whole time.

It was fine.

It's mediocre.

I'm glad I played it.

I'm done now :)

[myficdump]

Yandere!Sucre x Male!Player

This was a request on my ao3. 

Mon cher: my dear

______________________________________________

“I want him..”

Zacharie looked started. “Repeat that?”

“I want him!” Sucre smiled at him and laughed. “He sounds really fun :)!”

“He is fun, but you want me to bring him here?”

“Yes! So we can dance and dance,” Sucre shot up to her feet and twirled, laughing.

Zacharie had to admit that while this wasn’t one of Sucre’s weirdest requests, it was still weird. He sighed. At least it was doable. He stood up and placed his toad mask back on. “Alright, I’ll see if I can convince the Batter and player to come to visit.”

Sucre clapped and threw her arms around him. “See you three soon :)!”

Zacharie hugged her back and promised her that if he couldn’t convince them, at least he’d be back.

He wasn’t sure why she wanted to meet the player. Sure the guy was fun, he, unlike Batter, had a sense of humor. But he wasn’t anything too special.

* * * * * * *

It had taken some time but Zacharie convinced Batter to put aside his “holy mission” for a quick visit to Zone 0. The conversation was an irritating one, but seeing Sucre happy would be worth the migraine he could feel coming on.

He led Batter and the player down to the basement and into the room Sucre was staying in with little comment. “And here we are! Sucre mon cher, the player has arrived.”

The only warning the player was given before he was tackled to the floor was a squeal of delight.

“You’re so cute :D!!!” Sucre pinched his cheeks. “I could just eat you up!”

Batter immediately raised his bat but Zacharie threw an arm to his chest to stop him.

“She’s no harm to him,” he said quietly. “Sucre means well. She’s just excited to make a new friend.”

Batter reluctantly lowered his bat and nodded. “If she does anything, I won’t hesitate to purify her,” he warned.

“She won’t. You have my word.”

While Batter and Zacharie quietly talked, the player got Sucre off his chest by promising her that she could teach him how to dance.

She gripped his hand and yanked him up. Then she grabbed his other hand and pulled him around in one of her dances.

“You move your feet like this and follow my lead :)!”

The player smiled and tried his best to follow Sucre's lead as she wanted but ultimately ended up being dragged around by her. They danced for a long while, finally stopping when the player stumbled on her sugar piles and they both fell in.

Sucre laughs and almost immediately stuffs her mouth with the sugar. “Have some, don’t be shy.”

“Oh uh, no thank you,” the player gently pushes her hand away. He cringed at the sugar and got up. He knew what it was made out of and refused to have anything to do with it. “I already ate and I wouldn’t wish to impose.”

Batter cleared his throat and the player turned.

“It’s time to go. We’re too close to finishing my mission to dwell here any longer.”

“It was nice meeting you, Sucre! I hope we get to dance again,” the player said cheerfully. He patted her head and stepped away from the pile of sugar. Or at least, he tried to. He had taken a few steps when Sucre grabbed his arm and yanked him back.

She quickly wrapped her arms around him and held him against her chest. “No, you can’t leave ):! Stay here and dance with me.”

“Sucre,” the player laughed awkwardly. He squirmed in her hold but her grip was too strong to pull away. “Please let me go.”

“Nope!” She laughed. “You’re so much fun to dance with! Stay here with me and we can have lots of fun :).”

Batter raises his bat and Zacharie’s eyes were filled with fear.

“Don’t, she means no harm!” Zacharie gripped Batter’s wrist and used his other hand to gently lower the bat down. “She won’t hurt him, I swore it. Right, Sucre?”

“Uh-huh! Player’s too pretty and fun to hurt :).”

The player’s face turned bright red.

“She won’t let him go,” Batter growled. “If she is impure, then I have to purify her and save my player. I can’t leave him here, he’s important to my mission.”

“But is he?”

“Of course he is! He’s my puppeteer and I am his puppet. He guides me.”

“Maybe once, but not anymore.” Zacharie gestured to Batter’s arms.

“Your strings disappeared once he appeared in this game. Haven’t you noticed that for once in your short life that you have a will of your own? That you can make your own choices? You don’t exactly need him to guide you anymore and your only mission for him is to protect him.” Zacharie looked at the player, then back at Batter. “You think he can stand up to the Queen?” he said, his voice soft.

Batter was silent. He stood there staring at the player for a minute thinking of all the times he had gotten hurt. He thought of all the close calls his dear puppeteer had come close to death before he lowered his bat and sighed. “No. She would tear him to pieces.”

“What are you talking about? I can handle her. I’m not wea-”

Sucre covered the player’s mouth. “Hush cutie! Zacharie has a plan,” she said as she giggled.

Batter sighed again and his grip on the bat tightened. “What do you suggest I do then? Leave him here?”

“Yes, that is exactly what I expect. I… Sucre and I can take good care of him as you face the Queen. The spectre’s can’t reach here. He’ll be in good hands.”

“What’s the price?”

“Sucre’s life. You won’t harm her and we’ll keep the player safe.”

Batter nodded. “Alright, we have a deal.” Without even looking at the player he turned and walked out of the room.

The player bit Sucre’s hand and she cried out.

“Wait, come back!” he yelled. “Batter, you can’t leave me here!”

But he did. Batter didn’t hesitate a bit and disappeared around the corner of the hallway.

“Please,” the player whispered. “How could you leave me just like that?”

Sucre patted his head. “Yay! Now it’s just me, you, and Zacharie! Let’s have a party :).” She turns his head and presses a kiss to both his cheeks. “I love you, so don’t be so down. Smile for me :).”

“We’re not so bad,” Zacharie said, sympathy in his eyes. “Sucre has enough energy to make things entertaining for as long as you’re awake. There’s hardly ever a dull moment with her. And besides,” he sat down and shrugged his backpack off. “I have plenty of stories to keep us entertained.”

Tears rolled down the player's face as he realized he was stuck down here. The Batter didn’t believe in him anymore and thought of him as a burden.

Sucre wiped away his tears. “Zach, I think he’s hungry :(. I only ever cried when I was too.”

“Ah, don’t worry mon cher. I have something for him if he wants it.” Zacharie reached into his backpack and pulled out some kind of meat sandwich in a plastic bag. “Here, you can eat this.”

The bag was tossed in front of Sucre and the player. She moved her arms to his waist so he could eat but made sure he couldn’t get out of her hold.

Zacharie stared at the two of them before he got back to his feet. “I need to go check on Pablo, okay Sucre? I’ll be back with drinkable water for the three of us.”

“Okay :)!”

She watched Zacharie pick his backpack up and leave, locking the door behind him. She kissed the player’s cheek again and said. “I really do love you, cutie. We’ll be so happy together forever. Safe and happy :).”

[clansayeed]

Bound by Destiny II, part 1 ― Chapter 17: The Psychic

PAIRING: Kamilah Sayeed x MC (Nadya Al Jamil) RATING: Mature

⥼ MASTERLIST ⥽

⥼ Bound by Destiny II, part 1 ⥽

While struggling with nightmares of lives she’s never lived, a shadow from the past looming over her city, and the proposed idea that her life may just be a little bit too weird to handle alone, Nadya makes sure to tell herself that everything is perfect just the way it is. If only. When the self-proclaimed King of Vampires (and Maker of her sometimes-girlfriend and always-boss, can’t forget that little tidbit) Gaius Augustine returns intent on claiming Manhattan as the throne that was promised, she and her friends find themselves forced into the task of saving the world. But with millennia-old vampires and an Order of hunters on their heels as well as allies hiding catastrophic secrets at their backs… it won’t be an easy task. Too bad destiny didn’t exactly ask for her input.

Bound by Destiny II and the rest of the Oblivion Bound series is an ongoing dramatic retelling project of the Bloodbound series and spin-off, Nightbound. Find out more [HERE].

*Let me know if you would like to be added to the Destiny II tag list!

⥼ Chapter Summary ⥽

The group's patience is rewarded when Serafine finally arrives in Paris. But with her comes the reality that it's time to buckle down and do what they came here to do. Seeing as none of her previous experiences with psychics have been even remotely good, Nadya can't shake her doubts.

note: from this chapter and going forward this series will contain Adrian x Serafine content/mentions

[READ IT ON AO3]

It’s the longest week of Nadya’s life. A week of unknowns and uncertainties that somehow both keep her exhausted and refuse to let her sleep for fear they would go ignored. Like there’s any chance of that happening.

The suckiest part is there’s no escaping the worry. She doesn’t stray too far from the block the apartment building is on for fear of losing her way, or worse — losing her life.But it’s not like their apartment was the most spacious thing in the world. Only Lily and Nadya are used to living with each other. They aren’t used to living with two grown men.

They scour newspaper stands, memorize the channel numbers for every news station and use Adrian when translations are necessary. Digging almost obsessively for any information on New York and their loved ones. After all, you’d think a giant pitfall in the middle of Central Park would get even one 24-hour news cycle of international attention.

You’d think.

“The police have the entire park sectioned off,” Adrian summarizes; eyes flying over the newsprint of that day’s issue, “looks like they’re trying to write the event off as a scaled-down natural event. Hartfield’s sent out their geology department but I’m guessing that’s for the newspapers rather than to do actual good. Manhattan isn’t exactly known for it’s sprawling underground caverns.”

They stop looking at the papers after that. Or — they stop asking Adrian to expose himself to all of the things he feels he walked out on. He’s got enough on his plate.

And isn’t that an understatement. Yes; Adrian’s worries about being unable to reach Serafine are definitely everyone else’s problem too. But every time he seems to be getting a little too heated or intense Nadya reminds herself of their first night here and the talk they had. He may not admit it aloud but much of his worry for her is personal.

The side effect is as unanticipated as it is worrisome. Adrian’s a vibrant personality; never one to boast his success but always the center of attention because he’s just that interesting. So to see such an extroverted person retreat into themselves as harsh as he does has everyone on edge. He’s quieter at meals and outright avoids the rest of them in the apartment’s lone bedroom most afternoons.

When Nadya tries confronting him about it (she starts off subtle, but screw subtle they’re all in a bad way right now so if he’s going to be miserable he can at least be miserable with the rest of them) he at least does her the courtesy of not pretending to be oblivious about it.

“I’m just worried, that’s all,” he insists; pushy enough that it’s clear he’s trying to convince himself of it too, “about Serafine, and everyone back home too.”

“You think you’re the only one?”

“No, of course not. I —”

“Okay, so stop acting like it. We can’t do this without you.” I can’t do this without you, but she doesn’t need to say it for Adrian to know.

His excuses are always the same; so are the apologies that inevitably follow. Finally Nadya just forces herself to accept that if Adrian won’t confide in her there’s not much she can do about it. Not that acceptance keeps it from hurting her deeply.

The only consolation the universe decides to offer her is a few (worry-addled) days wandering around a snowy Paris at night with her best friend. It gets them out of the claustrophobic confines of the apartment though, so she’ll take it.

Still rosy-cheeked and shivering from their metro ride, Nadya fumbles to Lily’s delight far too long before she manages to get the key into the lock and her butt into the apartment.

“Karma is real you know,” though her huffs of discontent are made less malicious by the way her scarf muffles her words and makes her glasses fog up to the point of blindness, “and it comes after people who watch their friends suffer.”

Lily laughs in the face of karma. “Oh you poor baby, all cold from your visit to the top of the Eiffel Tower. My heart goes out to you.”

“It should!”

“It does!”

“Good!”

They laugh in unison. When Nadya is finished shedding her many wintry layers she grabs for the takeout bag at her feet. “Looks like Jax is still out,” she comments, and doesn’t miss the indescribable look of continued confusion that gets thrown her way. Yeah, she didn’t understand it either at first, but turns out he’s never been out of the country before and likes walking the streets alone.

A woman’s rich and chiming laughter stops both of them in their tracks. Nadya knows full well it’s impossible for her key to have opened any other door in the building yet still she does a quick double-check to make sure they are indeed in the right apartment. Jax’s sword is where he left it on the coffee table, and Adrian’s suit is still hanging over the bedroom door; so it’s definitely their place.

And Adrian doesn’t laugh like that.

“Hold on,” comes Adrian’s voice from the kitchen, “I think I heard the door.”

The laughing woman’s voice is richly accented when she replies. “If your hearing has gotten so terrible, mon chéri, I’m surprised you’ve survived this long.”

Lily wiggles her eyebrows suggestively before calling out; “If you need a minute or ten, we can circle the block!”

Nadya claps her hand over her mouth to stifle her snort, and the fact she can hear Adrian’s rolling eyes when he talks doesn’t help in the least.

“Ha ha, very funny Lily. Come on in — there’s someone here I want you to meet.”

The woman sitting very close to Adrian at the small kitchen table needs no introduction but Adrian gives one anyway. “Nadya, Lily; this is Serafine Dupont.” And she’s a startling beauty to be sure; hair falling in bushy and effortless curls around features that manage to look flawless even under the harsh yellow light overhead. But Nadya can’t look away from Adrian from the moment she sees him.

Adrian who is smiling; really genuinely smiling, for the first time in a long time. She’d almost forgotten what it looked like, but the sight of it is like an old friend and gives her an immense relief. Not just for his sake either — because just maybe something is finally going right for them.

The girls are barely one foot through the doorway when Serafine descends upon them. Feather-light fingertips brushing through the wool of Nadya’s sweater with gentle kisses gifted to her cheeks. She smells of rose perfume and spring morning dew, and carries herself tall and proud in a way that is so familiar it makes Nadya’s heart ache.

Lily returns the kisses enthusiastically. “I’ve been wanting to do that ever since we got here,” she admits to Serafine’s delight.

“Believe me, the pleasure is all mine.” The woman smiles sweetly at the both of them before taking up her seat again. “Adrian’s been talking the both of you up for hours. I told him that I could not remember the last time he spoke so highly of anyone!”

“Well we are admittedly awesome.”

“And modest, too, I see.”

Her oh-so-courteous vampire friends wait until Nadya’s settled in with her food unpacked to get down to business. There are only two chairs for the table so Lily joins her up on the counters; their legs dangling and colliding on lazy occasion.

“So, Serafine,” and there’s a depth to her warm brown eyes that Nadya recognizes; they may not have discussed it before but she has no trouble believing that Serafine is much older than her current companions, “no offense — but you’re a hard woman to track down.”

At least she seems genuinely apologetic. “Ah, oui. I’ve spent the better part of the evening giving Adrian my apologies but I should offer them to you as well.”

“She’s been in hiding.” Adrian comments, and with no small amount of sympathy.

Nadya and Lily exchange surprised looks. “Are you okay?”

Serafine nods with a hum. “I am alive, and that is more than can be said for those who fell victim to the Order.”

The Order. Nadya’s heard that name before — though never with her own ears. She may not remember all of her visions but they’ve come up too frequently for her to fully forget. With that name comes the chill of fear and the weight of loss. Serafine radiates it and so much more.

“The Order of the Dawn, you mean.”

Which makes Serafine regard her with surprise. “You know of them?” she asks, and because she’s working really hard on this whole being-honest thing Nadya just shrugs in a noncommittal answer.

Lily raises her hand. “And for those of us who skipped Vampire History 1-0-1?”

“The Order of the Dawn is the oldest enemy to our kind. Legend says they have been around since the time of the First Vampire Herself, and with the amount of wealth and influence they have gathered the world over… I would believe it. They are the worst of humanity. Radicals who exist solely to exterminate us. By their teachings, from the moment we are Turned we cease to be people. They paint us as savages; animals controlled by our need for blood and nothing more.”

“Sounds a bit like —”

“Ferals?” Adrian nods grimly. “They’ve been used as a tactic for the Order’s indoctrination for decades. But they don’t see the difference between a Feral or the likes of you and I. To them it’s all the same.”

Indoctrination, he says. And judging by the pain that flashes across Serafine’s face when he isn’t looking it’s not a word chosen for melodrama. When she tries her hardest to recall what few memories she can that even so much as whisper the Order in her ear, it’s not an unfounded fear the older vampires share.

However there’s one thing Nadya doesn’t fully understand.

“If they’re so powerful and connected, why haven’t you mentioned them before?” Frankly it would have been nice to know of yet another reason to look over her shoulder.

“Because I didn’t see any reason to scare you over something that you wouldn’t have to deal with. Or… so I’d hoped.”

Serafine offers Nadya a sympathetic smile; something a hair’s breadth from pitying. “Don’t think too little of him for it, petit. America has the luxury of letting the likes of the Order fade into history. They fought hard enough for the right to do so, after all.”

Her hand falls over Adrian’s with a feather-light touch; offering a look with it that Nadya only sees half of but that’s more than enough to know the feelings behind it. The tension melts from his shoulders in a steady wave.

“There was a secret war in the middle of the 19th century; the War of the Dawn. A decade-long campaign to wipe every vampire from the face of North America; and the Order’s last and bloodiest attempt at killing Gaius and damaging our entire species beyond repair. They all but abandoned Western Europe and poured every resource into the fight. Unfortunately we were forced to do the same… and because of it they very nearly succeeded.”

He’s had Lily’s interest since ‘secret war’ but everything after is meant to frighten them. It succeeds — rightfully so.

It wouldn’t hurt for him to stop there but Adrian continues almost like he’s duty-bound to finish the story for the warning it is. “We won because we were connected to the human world in a symbiosis. Gaius spent years weaving his court into the very fabric of American history and it paid off when the time came. Politics, industry, big business — when we formed the Council we didn’t create these connections, we merely stepped in to fill the void our coup left behind.”

She gets it now. “You have more power than the Order does.”

“And so they can’t touch us. Not without losing for a second—and final—time.”

For all of the terrible things Gaius is and will always be, he can play the long game well. Nearly every vision he showed up in left Nadya confused as to how such a terrible tyrant could inspire such loyalty. Now… it makes a little bit more sense.

Not that it makes him any less of a villain.

“But it is not my enemies that bring you so far from home, Adrian.”

If Serafine was hoping to cut even the smallest hole in the tension between them, sucks to be her. She takes the defeat with grace though. “I relish this chance to reconnect… though I have a sense our night would be better spent with why you are here, in Paris with her dangers, at all.”

His laugh is as dry as it is fake. “Where to start…”

There’ve been enough psychic vampires probing around in Nadya’s head lately that she knows the look their new friend gives her right away. Before she can even open her mouth Nadya feels the itch of Serafine’s psychic influence right at the base of her skull.

“The beginning should suffice.”

While Nadya may not have picked up on much of the French language in their short time here, she has little trouble imagining the long string of words that roll off of Serafine’s tongue are the pretty woman’s equivalent of swearing like a sailor. Judging by the way Adrian raises his eyebrows and suddenly finds the bottom of his wine glass the most fascinating thing in the room… she should have bet money on it.

“You okay there?” Lily asks, and passes what’s left of the bottle wordlessly back to the table. As vampires, they may not be able to get drunk like humans could but Nadya’s coming to realize her favorite thing about the French is handling stressful conversations with an alcoholic buffer.

Serafine looks between the girls in a strange emotion possibly named ‘wild sadness,’ which is valid honestly.

“Non, Lily, I am not. But I cannot fathom how minuscule my emotions must be compared to your own. And you, Nadya,” who tries her best not to cringe under the emotions that make her voice thick and accent thicker, “to have endured what you have, so young and in the prime of your life. I would not wish such a fate on my worst enemy.”

“Yeah well…” she has no idea what to say to that; so she drinks until something comes to mind, “I would. If only to show him what it feels like.”

Serafine gives a fitful nod. “But it doesn’t do any good to sit here and ruminate on the tragic things which have already passed. Whatever is in my power is yours.”

“Well that’s the thing — I wasn’t sure if it was in your power.” She looks offended that Adrian would even think of doubting her. He doubles-back; tries again.

“You’re the strongest psychic Kamilah and I know, Serafine. But I’ll admit I don’t know much about the skill. Is it even possible to undo the damage that’s been done?”

Nadya doesn’t disagree that damage is right but it still hurts to hear it. He glances at her quickly and utterly remorseful. “I mean —”

“I know what you meant. Let it go.”

Serafine shrugs. “Let me see what I’m working with first. Nadya, darling, if you would?” She gestures and Nadya slips from her stool without argument, is glad for the fact that Serafine stays seated only because she knows the woman would tower over her. She cups Nadya’s face in her cool palms; thumbs brushing over her cheekbones.

Isadora had touched at her mind subtle and with caution. By comparison Jameson had all but swung a hatchet at her brain; chipped away at her until he found what he needed and that was that. And Serafine, too, is different in her own way. But it’s more than the simple differences between individuals.

There’s a power in Serafine’s touch. Impossible for her to ignore. A compulsion of the will that drags her eyelids closed and brings her deep within and along for the ride.

Images, emotions, thoughts. Nadya sees them coming from a great distance but doesn’t have time to brace herself before they hit her like a truck.

Grasping for Lily’s hand on the plane—Kamilah’s lips on her forehead tears welling in her eyes emotion choking her throat—pleasedon’tmakemeleaveyou—I’mrighthereI’vegotyou—fear and worry and the brief flicker of joy—Taylor’s inconsistent eyes Kathy’s rich violet hair—all those months of lying begging for the end in those moments just before succumbing to sleep and the horrible things that alwaysinevitablycome…

And then there’s Gaius. Gaius whispering in her ear feeling Nadya’s heart pounding in her chest Vega two steps behind don’tlethimcatchyou! Gaius entering the dining room with silent fanfare — the glamour fading to reveal the rotting corpse beneath — his shoes taptaptap echoing in the Chamber the blood of the First staining his teeth before he rises up upup and into the oblivion of the night—

Serafine tries to pull back her psychic reach — but something, certainly not Nadya, holds her down. Keeps her still and there and demands of her to watch. As I have watched, as I have seen.

Nadya knows so very little but she knows without a shadow of a doubt the images that follow are memories, too. Serafine’s memories. Surprised to be pulled from some abyss, out of order.

The smell of spice and ocean sea-salt freshly sanded wood on beaches sand still warm with the sun’s heat sinking between her bare toes — electronica pounding through modern speakers club lights shining down on her skin slick with sweat her head thrown back in laughter — Adrian’s lips on her neck on her breasts lilted language on her tongue slow down darling we have a long day ahead of us fingers intertwining skin burning where the barest sliver of sunlight catches on their shared bed—

Paris bright and both new and old history not yet written in cobbled streets an empty void in the skyline where the Eiffel Tower will be and the smell of burning flesh and bone wafting up from deep within the earth tears and ash smeared over her skin—Youwillseejusticeatthehandsofyourenemies—and a burning hatred that ignited the flame.

Nadya tastes something unfamiliar and metallic on the tip of her tongue. Blood, her mind tells her — though her body struggles to accept it as more than just another memory.

She opens her eyes just as the red slips from Serafine’s own gaze. Shame and confusion burn hot in her cheeks and she barely registers the combined cries of “Nadya!” from both of her friends before she’s emptying the meager contents of her stomach in the kitchen sink.

Nadya reaches with a shaking hand to push her hair out of her face. Lily beats her to it; holds her through every shaking heaving breath without a word.

The two glasses of water she all but inhales help soothe the sting of the cut inside her cheek. Still, Nadya keeps the flat of her tongue against it out of habit. And though she’d like nothing more than to crawl into bed and sleep off the vertigo a nd nausea still churning in her belly Nadya knows she can’t. Sits back on the counter like a good little Bloodkeeper while Lily scrubs the sink before the smell can linger.

“Je suis tellement désolé, Nadya,” apologizes Serafine, to which Nadya only nods to reply. Words are a little bit beyond her right now if that’s alright with them. “I had no idea even a simple exchange would be so… violent.”

Which is a word for it. Though Nadya would almost prefer they find something more dramatic for the future.

Adrian looks between them in a silent war with himself. Torn between apologizing to Nadya and asking Serafine the inevitable. What had she seen?

“Do you truly wish to stay your current course?”

She appreciates Serafine asking; it’s a consideration she hasn’t gotten much of so far. Unfortunately it doesn’t change anything.

“You—gh,” the three vampires wait patiently while she swallows and regains her words, “you saw what happened. You saw what Gaius became. This is the only way.”

Lily throws an arm around Nadya’s shoulders. “Unless you magically happen to have a God-killing stake you can pull outta your back end.”

Serafine’s laughter is more polite than amused. “Would it spare you further pain, I would. But alas. And I would not ask you to try again so soon. Too much has already been forced upon you.”

“So you’re saying I’m damaged beyond repair.”

“Non, I am not. Psychic intrusion is rarely so simple, and cannot be compared to the likes of physical injuries. Judging by what you have told me and the little I was able to see… most—if not all—of your previous encounters within the mind were done without consent?”

Nadya nods slowly; the heartbreak is plain on Serafine’s face. “Then it is of no surprise that you have put barriers in place; even unconsciously. It will take time to bring down those walls safely and without risking further harm to you both mentally and physically.”

“How much time?” asks Adrian.

“I could not say. Up until tonight I too thought the Bloodkeeper only a myth. Even if there were a clear path to recovery, that alone will undoubtedly bring complications.”

He looks down and away. But he doesn’t have to say it — and they don’t need to be psychic to know what he’s thinking.

They don’t have time. The people they love don’t have time.

Nadya inhales shakily. “How big is the risk if we just wing it?”

“It doesn’t matter.”

“Humor me.”

And the distinct lack of humor in her voice makes all three vampires uncomfortable. If she could, Nadya would laugh. They aren’t the ones with anything to be worried about. Serafine glances at Adrian, almost like she hopes he’ll interrupt before the silence becomes a deliberate refusal to answer.

Frankly she’s getting really tired of people making decisions for her. “Adrian didn’t ask you, I did.” She snaps her fingers. “It’s my head and my risk.”

“Nadi’…”

She shoulders Lily away. “No, no ‘Nadi,’ just tell me. If you dig back in for the memory we need right now, how big is the risk?”

There’s no doubt in Nadya’s already-fractured mind that Serafine won’t spare her from the truth. She’s been inside the woman’s head and that kind of knowledge is a dangerous thing. As dangerous as Serafine herself can be, has been, might become.

Maybe some part of her knows this too, because she finally stops holding back.

“Your body would not be able to cope. Your mind would be so focused on the task it would forget to send signals to the rest of your body. Your heart would forget how to beat and you would even forget how to breathe. You could die before I even came close to the answers you seek.”

“So we put me on a respirator or something.”

Adrian looks up at her sharply. “Stop. We’re not entertaining this; that’s not even an option.”

“Well neither is waiting however long it might take,” she snaps back, “they’re risking their lives for us back home — I think the least I can do is return the favor.”

“That’s not true and you know it.”

“I’m tired of everyone risking their lives for me! It’s not worth it!”

“Getting you out of New York was worth it!”

“Obviously not, since I’ve got too much brain PTSD to be of any freakin’ use!” Nadya gestures wildly, arms spread. She’s got no idea where any of this is coming from but that doesn’t make it any less true; that doesn’t make it any less painful. “Every day we’re sitting here tiptoeing around what we need to do is another day Kamilah or Maricruz or Arnold or anyone could be killed.”

How are they not getting this, she thinks, incredulous and bewildered and borderline angry at them all. How can they let others put themselves on the line and not ask the same of her? Because she’s fragile; because she’s human?

Nadya doesn’t realize she’s on her feet until the dizziness hits her. She doesn’t let it or Adrian’s desperate “Nadya, wait, come back!” stop her from leaving them behind. It’s easier when she doesn’t think about what she’s doing. Just lets her feet carry the rest of her aches and pains and all out of the apartment and down to the frigid streets below.

She doesn’t know how far she has — or could have — walked in her half-conscious daze until a firm and supernatural grasp brings her back to the present.

“Whoa there — where the hell is your coat?” Jax’s frown only deepens as he watches her become aware of her surroundings. Even if she had the strength left to try and pull away, she isn’t sure he’d let her go.

“I… left it back at the apartment.” She means to look back over her shoulder but the thought of their disappointed faces, despite not being there, is too much. It keeps Nadya frozen (literally) in place, shivering under his hands.

“Uh-huh… well, let’s go get it.”

Nadya barely manages to dig her heels into the pavement. It’s just enough resistance for Jax to notice. “Don’t… don’t make me go back there.”

He raises an eyebrow silently, but thankfully doesn’t push it. “I’m not leaving you out here on your own though.”

“Probably for the best.”

After a long moment the man sighs; shouldering off his coat and letting it hang on her shoulders comically large and smothering. “Lead the way.”

Though the pair of them isn’t one often found, well ever, Jax must have understood and accepted the moment they began their shared walk that eventually she was going to unload on him. He takes it all with great grace and stride honestly; and only shows his disapproval in a look rather than an outright argument when she makes them stop for another chocolate-stuffed crepe.

“Don’t I always miss out on all the fun…” he mutters, something Nadya probably wasn’t supposed to hear so she goes back to her sniffly mouthful of sweet pastry like he never said a word.

“What was it you saw that upset you so much?” And that she was supposed to hear. No doubt about it.

It’s to Nadya’s surprise that Jax waits with an uncharacteristic patience for her to answer. Eventually there’s no avoiding it.

“It wasn’t what I saw that… it wasn’t a vision or anything.”

“Then what had you running out of there so fast?”

“How I acted.”

“Well yeah, that was pretty dumb.”

She pretends it’s an uneven bit of pavement that makes her trip and not, well!

“Uh, thanks… I think.”

Jax gives her a careless one-shoulder shrug in return. “What did you expect me to say? Because I’m not going to tell you that you weren’t in the wrong, Nadya. You know that’s not my style.”

Yeah, unfortunately. “I just don’t think she gets how… how crucial time is.”

“If you really believed we had such little time you wouldn’t be here right now stuffing your face.”

“Joke’s on you, I’m always ready to stuff my face.”

He stops; Nadya gives herself three steps ahead before she accepts he won’t be joining her another step further. She turns back and, luckily, manages to hide most of her face with crepe. But Jax doesn’t spare her even the tiniest bit of sympathy. His frown is stern; almost harsh. It’s hard to see what’s in his eyes with the lights of the city glowing behind him but she can’t imagine it’s anything consoling.

“You really don’t get it, do you.”

It isn’t a question. Nadya doesn’t answer. “Alright, okay, I guess it’s gonna be up to me to do this. But I’m warning you,” pointing a stern finger her way, “you’d better listen, and listen good. Because I’ll only say this once.”

“Say what, Jax?”

“None of this is about you.”

“I don’t think —”

But Jax cuts her off. “You’re right; you don’t think. If you did then you wouldn’t have had me go behind Adrian’s and Kamilah’s backs. But that one’s on me — I had to agree to it. So that’s your one free pass. But skirting Lily and me and getting yourself kidnapped was what gave Gaius the lead on the Amulet in the first place.”

“I didn’t exactly choose to give him the memory, Jax.” And it’s really hard to keep the I can’t believe you right now from her offended voice but that doesn’t help things in the least.

“No, but you don’t let anybody forget it either. Have you ever considered that if you spent half as much time helping out as you did moping and crying things might be at least a little bit better?”

“Wow. Tell me how you really feel.”

“Oh I am,” he snorts a dry, humorless laugh, “because everyone else might want to spare your feelings but I don’t see any point in it by now. Not when there’s so much at risk. Do you honestly think for one second I want to be here, thousands of miles away from everything and everyone I’ve spent my entire life caring for? Do you think Lily wanted to leave Espinoza behind, or that Adrian wanted to leave his Clan without a leader? These are genuine questions, by the way. Because I really don’t know what reality you’re living in, but from the way it sounds the only one any of this sucks for is you.”

Word after word comes at her each one like a blow to the face, to the gut; fighting skills Jax has honed but Nadya never knew she needed to prepare herself for that leave her bruised and just barely standing.

“I… no.”

“‘No?’ No what?”

“No I… I know I’m not the only one hurting.”

“Damn right you aren’t. But just like all of us, Nadya, you have a part to play. Of course all of us — you included — would rather have stayed in New York; tried to fight. But standing here crying about it isn’t going to turn back time. All it does is make the sacrifices of those like Arnold, like Sayeed and Espinoza and countless others we’ll probably never meet meaningless. Is that what you want?”

“Of course not!”

“Then act like it! Take responsibility and realize everything we’re risking for you. You’re our friend, and a sweet girl and all, but sometimes you’re so self-involved it drives me insane! Newsflash — you’re not the only person hurting right now. But the rest of us can put that aside for the greater good. Now it’s your turn. You keep talking about how much it hurts, well take it from someone who has dealt with a lot of pain in a short amount of time. There comes a time when you have to make all of that suffering mean something. Not just for yourself, but literally for the world.”

Nadya’s way passed the verge of tears but that doesn’t mean she’s not doing everything in her power to keep from falling into a blubbering pathetic mess. Jax is right; worse still, Jax knows he’s right, Nadya knows he’s right. If anything that only makes it hurt more.

“I—I’m… I’m sorry.”

In less than a stride Jax is standing in front of her. His hands on her upper arms this time less forceful, less confused. But kinder than his words and tone would allow for.

“Come on now…” he admonishes; softer but no less insistent, “I’m not saying this to make you cry. I suck at dealing with crying people, actually, so I’d really prefer it if you stopped.”

Which works about as well as politely asking Gaius to not go through with his crazy plan would, which isn’t a surprise to either of them. He sighs and pulls her forward into the world’s strangest hug but it works for them both. He doesn’t want to watch her cry. She doesn’t want him to see her break down against his shirt.

“I—” she hiccoughs, “—I didn’t aa-ask for any of this.”

“I know that. But neither did we. And crying about it doesn’t change what happened. We know what we’re giving up to be here — and… maybe I was a little harsh. Don’t think we don’t care about you or keeping you safe. But, hey—hey. But —” Jax gently pries her back and fixes her glasses where they’ve gone askew, “— that’s our job; to keep you safe. And yours is to figure out how we can stop Gaius.”

“I know. I…” I don’t know what to say. And maybe that means it’s best she not say anything at all.

“Remember —” he waits until she can compose herself enough to look at him without wet hiccups spasming in her lungs; and when she does he surprises her with a small smile, “— whatever it takes.”

Whatever it takes. And isn’t that the kind of mentality that had landed them in all of this in the first place?

Though it was also the mentality that gave her the courage to save Adrian in the Bloody Cellars, to confront the Trinity and evade Vega for as long as she did.

It’s obvious Jax isn’t letting her go until she says it back, and out of the two he doesn’t feel the cold on his cheeks. He can wait her out.

“Whatever it takes.”

[borisbubbles]

40. DENMARK

Ben & Tan - “Yes”

I think this post is bleeding ‘Yes’ to death Lemme shoot an arrow through its chest I’m so in loathe I must surpress THIS MESS THIS MESS THIS MESS.

Song analysis

Another thing why Negaworld Estonia deserves hate: I was forced to rank them below Denmark!! but like Uku, this ranking is mostly personal.

What can I even say beyond the same gospel I’ve been preaching for years? Every year Denmark pulls the same I Can’t Believe It’s Not Sweden bullshit. Every year the only road they follow is the one of least resistance. They are terrified of anything with even an ounce of originality. It’s a broken record by now and I can’t say I’m impressed. Oh a bad Of Monsters And Men clone, forgive me for not getting my knickers into a twist.  Having said that, I don’t exactly feel a BURNING hatred for *De* and *Mon* like I usually feel for my least favourites - In fact, after the cancellation it’s hard to feel anything - but I think it may be in part because I’m always partial towards cheerful songs with deceptively dark messages? “I AM READY TO GIVE LIFE ONE MORE CHANCE” say “YES” to sex, the best anti-depressant in the world, yall.

YAY SEX YAY SEX YAY SEX

The problem is: I don’t buy it. I do not believe a *SINGLE* letter of this song. Depressing/Volatile lyrics (I’m astounded nobody has thought to parodying it yet by juxtaposing “Yes” to like, the hilariously graphic deaths in found in GoT and the Witcher - Get at it!!) + cheerful vibe WORKS if presented as satire or irony, but in a more earnest setting the artifice just leaks from every pore. Anyone who is *THIS* possessive and overdramatic towards their loved one is either mentally unstable or a liar or a mentally unstable liar. 

Secondly, the pair of Ben and Tan. Look, I am aware they are friends who met on some Idol show or whatever, but Tan is 23 and Ben is 17. I swear I’m not a puritan but is this... kosher? Even if we assume for a second their narrative relationship is platonic (which it sure as hell isn’t presented as), it’s still a stretch. Let me put it this way, if it were a 17 year old girl and a 23 year old man singing *those* lyrics I doubt most people would be as okay with it. 

Also, I’ve read that people believe that TAN was the weak link in the pair for God/Drug knows what reason (sexism) and I completely disagree. Tan is good and carries the song. Ben on the other hand completely undermines any credibility “Yes” could have by... well, I mean, have a look yourself: 

Ben’s already past the Lucie Jones Zone of facial errors, and solidly encroaching towards the fluid nightmare that was Demyface. I feel bad having to trashtalk another Danish young person so soon after the world’s oldest twenty year old Leonora, but when there’s a genuine risk of a contestant morphing into John Carpenter’s The Thing, I ain’t gonna take no chances.

NF Corner

Hey, guess what, DMGP was... acceptable this year! It was... well, not *good* because Of Monsters And Men weren’t the only good act to have a *SHITTY* clone but I did love the dystopian pathos of not having an audience, and DR having to resort to hilariously fake cheer and applause stock footage to create some sort of vibe <3

and also, there were two very good songs in the line-up, which is more than what EL had, here they are:

Maja & De Sarte Sjæle - “Den eneste goth i Vejle”

A running theme in this NF season was the abundance of lovable indie entries that would normally ONLY find a place in Eesti Laul, popping up in every NF *other* than Eesti Laul. This was the Danish one. Indie rock song about growing up to be the only goth in some rural, puritan Danish village, wearing a Meat-is-Murder, BETCH, is a good way to start. Shamelessly namedropping 70s rock bands they are pilfering riffs from <3 My main gripe was the staging. You’re talking about goths, so why are your clothes and backdrop inspired by some thriftstore flowerpower movement? Anyway, wow a duo with more chemistry than De & Mon, can you believe it? I do, because they lost DMGP. 😈 (by finishing 4th in the vote allegedly. BRING THEM BACK!!!)

Jasmin Rose & Roxorloops - “Human”

 Okay, I am aware that I JUST shaded Denmark about shamelessly cloning anything that sings, but “Human” is literally a techno-ethnodance remix of Lorena’s “Tower of Babylon” and it’s SO blatant I fell out of my chair laughing the first time I heard it. And then, I had yet to deal with the hilarity of ROXORLOOPS possibly becoming the most random returnee of all times (forget Witloof Bay, Roxorloops was ALSO in the 2006 Belgian NF, where his group not only finished LAST in their heat, but also received the lowest score from ALL jurors and the audience <33333). He is SO redundant he is barely even featured in the studio track <33333 And then we got to the live of “Human” staged as an OTT Rose/Robot dichotomy, with Roxorloops of course playing the part of the ROBOT being more of a dancer than a beatboxer holy fuck this was a hilarious ride. IS THIS DENMARK I FUCKING CANNOT BELIEVE IT. Oh wait, "Human” didn’t make the top 3 YUP sounds like Denmark alright. 😈 BRING THEM BACK AS WELL!!!

Denmark 2020 vs Denmark 2021

There is currently no information published about Denmark’s plans in 2021, but I assume they will just hold DMGP again, with an invite for Ben & Tan (which seems to be the MO for countries that traditionally hold NFs).  I am however happy that “Yes” was neutered though. 😇 I don’t think it could’ve won, but its fake-cheerfulness would’ve ensnared a good chunk of casual votes and I’d rather NOT see Denmark KEiiNO themselves into a top 10 they do not deserve! Crisis averted!

FREAKY! FRIDAY! FACTOR!

I mean, even with several legit good songs in their DMGP, it was always blatantly obvious Denmark would select “Yes”. After all, it was the only Swedish song in the running. 

Score: 0 Senhits out of 5

[thequeenb]

I needed to hate you to love me (part 5)

Pairings: KamilahxMC

Amy was walking in the crowded streets of Paris lost in thought. She loved Maria more than anything, but seeing Kamilah brought back so many feelings and memories. After all the feelings that come back are the ones we never stopped having right? Amy signed wrapping her arms around herself.

After a while her phone rang and she jumped coming back to reality. "Adrian hey" she said trying to sound casual. "Amy? Are we still on about trying dresses together?" Shit she forgot about it completely "oh yes totally its at 10pm right?" she couldn't hide that something was wrong "yea i will wait there".

Adrian was waiting outside of the store, seeing Amy brought a smile on his face. "Hello bride to be" he said earning a chuckle from Amy.

"Oh look at this one!!" Amy said full of excitement, "Maria will love this". Seeing her so happy made his eyes tear up. She got through so much that seeing her so excited was a miracle. She was jumping and trying on dresses, she was posing and walking with grace admiring herself to the mirror but her eyes had a cloudy expression that was almost unreadable.

"Hey are you ok?" Adrian said stroking her back "you look amazing in this dress look at you" he said giving her a small smile. Amy signed "its perfect Adrian but i just.." words got caught in her throat, she couldn't say out loud that she cheated on Maria. "Hey its okay just tell me".

Tears started to fall from her eyes. Seeing herself in that beautiful white dress made her imagine Maria on the Isle walking towards her but the thought of what she did to Kamilah yesterday was making her sick to her stomach. "I cheated on Maria" her words came out lower than a whisper. Adrian reached to hug Amy tight patting her back "i am here ok?"

After choosing the perfect dress her and Adrian walked towards a park. Amy was distant, lost in her thoughts. "Do you want to talk about it?" he asked giving her a faint smile. Amy shrugged "i dont know" she was still processing what had happened, how Kamilah found her? What does she want? Why is she having second thoughts about this marriage?

"She kissed me..and then i couldn't stop myself" she said out of the blue. Adrian ran his hands through his hair "i see, and did you felt things?" Amy nodded before burying her face into her hands. "I am so stupid you know, Maria is an amazing person..she gave me love and affection something i was lacking. Kamilah abused me, she broke my heart yet i threw everything for her once again" saying those words out loud made her heart sink. How will she face her fiancé now? Adrian was about to respond when her phone started ringing Maria

"Hey mon amour" Amy said wiping her tears "hey my love, are you ok? You sound..different"

"No no everything is ok, whats up" Amy's heart was racing, please dont say you want us to meet "i wanted to talk to you if thats ok, dinner at our favourite restaurant?" Of course she wanted to meet "Of course i will be there in half an hour..bye mon cherie" Amy hang up the phone taking a deep breath. "She want us to talk do you think she found out?" Adrian placed his hand on Amy's shoulder "No Amy, you just have to tell her yourself its easier that way" He was right, she eventually had to tell her, she was her fiancé after all "You are right" she said trying to compose herself.

"Hey stranger" Maria said approaching Amy. "Hey you, missed me much?" Maria chuckled placing her hands on her waist "More than you can imagine" Amy flinched under her touch. She took a deep breath closing her eyes but when she opened them she could see Kamilah's face holding her "And i would like to show you how much" Maria said leaning in for a kiss but Amy stepped back shaking her head.

Kamilah's face disappeared but a troubled expression was drawn to Maria's face "Is everything alright?" She could sense something was wrong but she didn't knew what exactly "No nothing" Amy said getting inside the restaurant in hurry.

Some time passed peacefully and calm until Maria brought up a hard conversation. "So they loved my work in Munich, they would like to give me an opportunity" Amy almost chocked on her wine "Munich!?" Maria nodded confused "Aren't you happy for me? For us?" Amy's nerves were starting to build inside her "We talked about this Maria, i want to stay here. Of course i support you but that doesn't mean giving up my dream" Maria laughed sarcastically "What dream? Being an assistant?" the moment she said those words was the moment she regretted them completely "Amy i--" but Amy got up angrily "No dont" and like that she left the restaurant but Maria couldn't let her leave.

One thing you should know about Amy is how you shouldn't talk to her when she was mad.

"Amy wait!!" Maria yelled running behind her. "Please!!" and with that she stopped turning around looking at her lover trying to catch her breath "I..am..really..sorry ok? I didn't want to--"

"You know what no Maria, all you do is working anyway so you might as well leave me to go there" Maria crossed her arms "i am always working? You work for me we see each other"

"Oh i work for you not with you!!" Amy's anger was on top at this point so she prayed to god to not say something she would regret. "Another woman kissed me" Amy looked up at her in question "You did what?" At first she thought it was a joke to break the ice, she hoped it was a joke, please make it be a joke

"I..she.." but that was to much for Amy, she lost total control of her actions "the engagement is cancelled" she said as she took off her ring "No Amy listen-" but she was interrupted by a flying ring on her face. Amy walked as fast as she could, her vision was blurry, her thoughts were racing. She wanted to turn around and go back to Maria. She loved her more than anything right now but she felt broken and lost. How could she even be mad at a kiss when she had sex with her ex lover? It was all to much to handle.

She didn't want to go home, so she walked to her last option Kamilah's hotel.

Before she even stepped inside she felt guilt. Images from last night were still spinning around her head. Maybe she should just go and she tried so, but when she turned around a familiar figure was Infront of her. "Well well, i see you came back after all" Kamilah said giving her a faint smile " I dont have the energy to put up with your attitude Kamilah" she wanted to fire back but she noticed the girl's red eyes, she had been crying a lot. "What happened? Are you ok?" Amy stared at her, surprised by such concern "Yea i am its just..why would you care anyways huh? Stop pretending" Kamilah raised her eyebrow at her "Come inside its freezing" Amy felt paralyzed. Last time she followed Kamilah to her room they ended up naked in eachother's arms. But she had no where to go, no one to wait for her back home, so she followed her, god she would even follow her through the gates of hell. And the feelings she tried to drown, found their way into the surface once more.

Tag list: @lightning-fury @galaxyside-0 @scarlet-letter-a0114 @la-guera-69 @ilovetaylor13m @idkbutkamilah

[waterlinkedgirl]

NPoT chapter 270-272 summary

I wonder if I can catch up! Since we don’t have chapters this month, maybe I can!

“There’s no choice but to give up one of the doubles...”

The atmosphere at the front is heavy...

The coaches discuss the lineup for the upcoming matches against Germany, but with Germany’s overwhelming power they’re having a lot of trouble.

“Dankmar and Bertie... The probability of winning against those two German pros is zero,” Kurobe says. Mifune looks rather unamused. Saitou, however, has a different idea. “Supervisor, how about pairing up Byoudouin and Duke?” “Don’t say stupid things!” Mifune says, “If it ain’t Byoudouin then who’s gonna go up against the pro Volk?” “Supervisor... Aside from that, we also have the matter of the one who had participated in the Japanese representatives camp, who departed to Germany aiming to become a pro, Tezuka Kunimitsu... There’s evidence that suggests that in the upcoming matches against us, he will be playing in singles.”

“There’s many that want to fight against that guy,” Tsuge says.

Mifune takes his bottle and takes a few good swigs. “Right now there ain’t anyone of the brats that can beat Tezuka!”

”Well~, we and Germany really have way different cards in our hand,” Saitou says. “That speaks for itself. Our opponents are the representatives of the world champion Germany, after all...” Kurobe says.

“What’s gonna come of you bastard coaches givin’ up, coach Saitou?!” Mifune has his back to the others, looking out the window.

“That’s right. None of that scum has given up!!”

We cut to: Kirihara being horribly lost.

He was following Atobe because he was being all sneaky and suspicious, but lost sight of him and now he’s in the German representatives village.

This is where he spots!

(this is where I went Konomi what the actual fluck is your anatomy doing but that aside--)

He wonder what the hell they have for a business with each other, when he notices Tezuka handing a CD to Atobe... Of course this means they’re

SPIES! (right?)

He received something like a super-confidential file on the German representatives...! Hiiie!

I see! So Tezuka just pretended to have gone to Germany to do an infiltration investigation as a double-spy! Putting his life on the line for Japan’s victory... Huh?! If the truth got out won’t it be really bad?!

(this is of course a very, very logical conclusion to come to, Akaya, and I love you to bits for that.)

...which is when he gets caught by security.

“Was machts du hier?!”

So of course, when it comes down to this...

he makes a big effing run for it.

Meanwhile, Amadeus and Ralph are still duking it out, with the first set score being 6-5 for now.

“You play a nice style of tennis...” Amadeus says, “However, I will teach you all the decisive difference between you and me!”

Taste the baptism of a pro!!

(Amadeus using baptism here when Volk has his Wirbel Taufe (lit. Whirl Baptism) technique is a fun detail I want to point out.)

With Dark Side, Amadeus scores off of Ralph, and it becomes set point for the Swiss.

“Our commander has switched gears...” Henri says. “How scary...” Peter whispers.

Amadeus’ Dark Side exposes the opponent’s greatest weaknesses and draws them out. The mental power he displays as he mercilessly and relentlessly attacks them...

“Your greatest weakness is the response delay of the opposite site of your pivot foot after your shot!”

However, Ralph manages to return it.

“Ralph’s scariness is his ability to fix and overcome his weaknesses,” Ryoma says. “Make him miss once, and the next time it’ll be an easy course for him.”

(so like, Shiraishi but faster?)

6-6.

“Thanks to you I’ve become fond of that weakness, Amadeus.”

And now for something completely different--

Zeus vs the temptation of fluffy fur feat. Tanegashima!

A whole line of men of statu(r)e is lined up to hug the koala! Heracles, Hermes, Vulcan, Davide...

Davide?!

He makes a pun about being startled now featuring koala’s, and of course if he makes a pun, you can guess who’s near to drop-kick him?

Bane!

Zeus addresses Tanegashima. “In the semifinals tomorrow against the German team, we, the Greek representatives, will come to cheer for you.” “Thanks☆”

“Game, set.” We cut back to the match between Ralph and Amadeus.

“Won by...

The American representative, Ralph Rheinhart!”

Cheers erupt from the American team. “Ohhhhhh! We won against a pro!” And with 3 wins and two losses, America advances to the semifinals!

“You could immediately become active as a pro player,” Amadeus says as they reach out to shake hands. “No...” Ralph says, “Participating as soon as the pro tour ended, the skill of unifying your team as a commander to come this far is something that deserves much more respect.”

“Let’s meet again on the court.”

“At least, the veil’s been lifted on the American representatives... This’s become really interesting.”

Spain moves on to the semis with a 3-0 against Russia. (the fun thing about NPoT is that we literally have no idea how the other matches are going to turn out and who the finals opponent will be... currently, Spain seems to be in favour.)

Amadeus closes his eyes and lifts his head to the skies. This year... we didn’t make it either.

“Commander... Nice game.” When he opens his eyes--

All of his teammates, saluting him. He smiles, and closes them again. “Thank you very much.”

Meanwhile, the American team has noticed Ryoma and are shouting elatedly about how he came to watch. Ryoma tells them they’re making too much of a fuss... but that he’s happy to see everyone doing well.

“By the way, where’s my brother?” “Ah, Ryoga, huh,” Dudu starts.

“He’s always had that wanderlust, you know,” Kiko says. “Who knows where his feet led him♪”

“You’ll be able to fight him somewhere... for sure,” Ralph reassures him.

“Let’s meet in the finals, Ryoma!”

(y’all you have audience right below don’t you feel awkward shouting that drthdcrt6uyjcftguyj)

“We gotta beat Germany first!”

Yeah, about that...

Kirihara’s finally been apprehended by the guards.

“Th- That’s why said! I didn’t see anything!” And, in his best attempt at English, “No spy! No spy! I was searching for a friend and I got all dizzy dizzy lost...

Th- This is bad! They don’t understand anything-- Help me!!” (Kirihara you idiot onomatopoeia don’t translate at ALL xdfhcxftghcgh)

“Che che che~” (this is Bismarck’s trademark laugh, more like ‘chi chi chi’ in the original but this conveys the sound better in the English accent imo, don’t question it)

“You can let him go, that guy’s my Kumpan.”

Bismarck leads Kirihara out of there, to one of the courts.

“Thank you... very...” “Heh. Japanese is fine. Just don’t get lost in the enemy’s athlete village again. If you were caught by Volk he’d beat you up like a punching bag (lie)

If it were QP you’d have a court-martial (lie), and if it were Frankensteiner you’d be turned into a cyborg (lie)” (I love what this says about how these guys on the German team are perceived)

Kirihara lets out a yelp.

“Um.. You’re the guy who went against Fuji in the exhibition matches, right?”

“Yeah, I’m Michael Bismarck!

But you Japanese middle schoolers sure are strong, huh!”

Kirihara laughs nervously. "That so? Those guys still got a long way to go.”

(cin game on point)

“However, the German middle schoolers also have a bunch of guys who hate to lose. I’m looking forward to tomorrow. See you then, Kumpan!” “Thanks”

Right when he finishes waving, our attention is drawn to one of those hate-to-lose types. It’s Siegfried, and he looks exactly like he’s unlocked ten’imuhou.

(meanwhile Frankensteiner looks like he’s nnnot gonna be in the tournament anytime soon htxcftgcyhzsg poor guy)

A park, lined with trees and skyscrapers in the background. “Mon amour... It was a bitter decision I made so they would be loved in the future...”

Camus wistfully reaches for his racket as he laments that he had to stop Oswal.

But... If you talked about what I really wanted, fighting with him...

The person who he’d been thinking about, Duke, pops up.

“Camus... Would you like to have a game?” “Even though you appeared just now, you say some funny things, Duke.

Well, it’s not unthinkable that you wouldn’t have understood my tennis in just our mental match.”

“Will you have a game with me?”

“Are you planning on appearing in the Germany matches as well?”

In yet another meanwhile, Tokugawa is going 1 vs 2 against Oni and Irie.

“Should we take a break?” Irie asks, smiling, when Oni notices someone. “Oi Tokugawa... He showed up today as well.”

(it’s him!!!! :D) "Sorry for interrupting your practice! Tokugawa-san... Can I count on you today too?"

Tokugawa nods, and the two of them take off.

“That guy...” Oni looks over them with a certain pride in his eyes. “It seems that ever since they lost against Germany he’s been having practice with Tokugawa every day.

Though they may have been defeated, they are the only pair that has attained a Howling between their skills!”

Highschoolers and middle schoolers alike are preparing for the big day tomorrow, from watching matches of Volk,

(spotted!) to running until the sun sets. It is already late when Atobe knocks on one of the room’s doors. Fuji opens.

“Hey, Fuji. Tezuka’s told me to return the CD he borrowed from you.”

“Thank you, Atobe. Was Tezuka doing well?” “Yeah, much more than usual.”

“Hey, Fuji. Don’t make me run errands for you again.”

It’s the night before the semis. Everyone is gathered in the hall to listen to the head coach. “You bastards! Tomorrow finally is the Big Match! Go take revenge on Germany and shake the world!”

A roar erupts from the gathered players.

“I’ll announce the order for tomorrow!”

(spotted! haha)

“Huh? Koshimae ain’t here.” “Mm. Akaya isn’t here either,” Sanada remarks.

“Can you believe those guys?”

Of course, they’re playing off against each other. Or, well, it looks rather one-sided on Ryoma’s half, with his ten’imuhou.

“Sht... Why?!”

Tezuka-san... and Atobe-san... For the sake of Japan they put their life on the line and cross all kinds of dangerous bridges... I, too...!

“So how about giving up already?”

(I’m yelling because being on top of the game and then telling their opponent to give up is something much more Yukimura than Ryoma in my book... But here we are!)

“Even if I die I won’t give up.”

He, who can’t be called an angel or a devil, when that single man surpasses that wall--

[One day left until the semis against Germany.]

[mythicallore]

Spooky Stories: The Basement

My house sitting story. Two months after my brother and his wife bought a new house, they had to go out of town and needed their cats fed. Their house and my office are both a good drive from my apartment, but only a few minutes away from each other. My brother said if I wanted, I could just stay over in the guest room rather than driving among the three places. So I got the keys and instructions. I was staying there three nights: Mon-Wed.

Monday evening was uneventful until about midnight. I was lying on the living room couch, watching Conan, with a cat lying on my chest. I started to drift off to sleep. The next thing I knew, I was standing in pitch black darkness. I completely freaked out, I had no idea where I was. I felt around in the dark and felt nothing. Finally I realized there actually was a faint blue light coming from above. I moved toward it and then understood where I was. I was in the fucking basement! The light was coming through the basement door at the top of the stairs, which leads to the kitchen. Just enough moonlight apparently made it through from a window elsewhere in the kitchen. I bolted up the stairs, turned on the kitchen light, and closed the basement door. I was terrified until I calmed down enough to come to the conclusion you probably already came to – I had sleepwalked all the way down the stairs (after opening the basement door, which I know was closed).

A couple things are important to the story. First, the basement. The house was very nice — actually, more than they should have been able to afford. The only exception was the basement. I had only seen the basement once, when I first got the tour. It was totally unfinished and was the one major thing they wanted to fix up. All they had down there was some boxes and the washer/dryer. I had no reason to want to go down there and had kind of forgotten it existed.

The other point is that sleepwalking is kind of a thing in my family, almost an inside joke. My brother talked in his sleep constantly, and would sleepwalk sometimes, and it always scared the hell out of me. The idea of people doing things in their sleep just creeps me out to the core (still does). My brother knew this and would tease me about it, so it was known in my family that I had this phobia. But as far as I know, I had never, ever sleepwalked until that night. The image kept playing in my mind, over and over, of me, asleep, getting up from the couch, walking to the kitchen, opening the basement door, and shuffling down the stairs into total darkness. Creepy as all hell.

Anyway, I saw the TV was still on in the living room, playing Wedding Crashers. I watched the rest of the movie, trying to laugh and think of the sleepwalking as a funny story to tell my brother. When I went upstairs to go to sleep in the guest room, I stayed asleep. That was night one.

The next morning, in the light of day, it didn’t seem that scary. I texted my brother about it and joked around. All day I wasn’t bothered one bit. But as I’m walking out of my office to my car, I’m overcome with this sense of dread. All of a sudden, the thought of going to sleep in that house — and maybe sleepwalking again — is scaring me. So I had a plan. I stop at the hardware store and pick up one of those rubber door-stopper wedges. At the house, I jam this into the crack under the basement door, and kick it in until it’s as far as it can go. I test out trying to open the door, and it won’t budge. Perfect.

Later, I go upstairs and fall asleep. When I wake up, I swear to god I think I’m dreaming. I was standing in darkness again, but this time I know exactly where I am. The smell is the same. The concrete floor under my feet is the same. I look around for the light from upstairs, and it take me longer to find it because it’s farther away. Last night I was only a couple of feet from the stairs, this night it was maybe ten feet. I run up and turn on the kitchen lights. I see the rubber wedge on on the floor, a couple of feet away, as if tossed there. Again, I can’t stop picturing myself sleepwalking. Out of the bedroom, down the stairs, trying to open the basement door. Bending down and yanking out the wedge. And then, again, slowly down into the darkness.

I decided I was turning on the basement lights and they were staying on. I opened the door and flipped the switch to the basement stairway. I saw there was a main switch at the bottom of the stairs. To give you a quick sense of the layout, the staircase splits the basement into two parts. To the right is a small area with the washer/dryer, and to the left is the a big open area.

Anyway, I walked down and turned on the lights for the whole basement. That’s when I noticed something I hadn’t noticed when my brother gave me the tour. About 10-15 feet away, in the big area, there was a door to what looked like a small closet. This door was closed, but had no doorknob (just an empty hole), so it looked like it would freely swing open. I realized it was very close to where I had just awoken. Then a fucking freaky thought came to me: it was as if each night I was heading to the door, and getting a little farther each time before I woke up. As soon as that thought popped into my head, I booked it up the stairs again, left the lights on, and closed the door. I went up to the bedroom, but it took me forever to fall asleep. That was night two.

The next morning, Wednesday morning, I woke up late for work. I didn’t think about the basement at all because I was scrambling to get ready. At work though, I was still curious about what was behind the door, so I texted my brother and asked. He replied “wait….why were you in the basement?” I realized that when I texted him the day before, I never actually told him where I woke up. So I tell him I woke up in the basement, actually twice in a row. After a while, he sends this novel-length text. About how the basement is creepy, not to go down there, etc. How they tried putting the litter boxes in the basement and the cats made a mess in the house because they refused to go down. How he volunteers to do every chore other than the laundry so he doesn’t have to go down there. He says all this stuff, and it’s surprising to me, because my brother never believed in the paranormal or superstitions, ever since we were kids. I also realize he never answered my question about the door, but I let it go.

After work, I get the same feeling of dread as I’m walking to my car. I really don’t want to stay there again, and I decide: fuck it, I don’t have to. So I go feed the cats, get my stuff, and drive back to my place. I’m supposed to feed the cats one more time, so I’ll stop over in the morning. As I went to sleep at my apartment, I was thinking of all the steps I would have to take to sleepwalk to the basement again — find my car parked around the block, drive asleep to my brother’s house, etc. But this time, I sleep through the night. That was night three.

Thursday morning, I stop at the house as planned. I’m about to leave when I remember that the basement lights are still on. I don’t even hesitate to go down to turn them off. There was something about being there in the morning that, at the time, made it seem fine. When I go down, again that door without a doorknob catches my eye, and it also doesn’t seem scary anymore. So, what the hell, let’s see. I walk over to it and I distinctly remember not feeling spooked at all. Until — I reach my hand toward the doorknob hole to pull it open. As soon as I do that, and I mean instantly, I feel this electric feeling, like the air before a storm, and I imagine a hand coming through that hole and grabbing mine. It was like 0 to 60, going from no fear to being certain that something horrible would happen if I opened that door. It’s hard to describe it other than that electric feeling. I booked it up the stairs and out of the house.

So, a month later, I meet my brother for happy hour. A few drinks in, we start joking about me sleepwalking and the creepy basement. I say he never answered me about what’s behind the door, and he says I don’t want to know. Joking at first, but then insisting. Finally he tells me, and I don’t believe him. He’s my big brother and has only bullshitted me about a million times in my life.

This was his explanation: the previous (and first) owners of the house had a teen daughter that used the basement as her bedroom. The door was to her closet, where one night she curled up, took some pills and killed herself. The family was going to remodel the basement, but after tearing it apart realized they couldn’t do it and had to move. That was why only the basement was unfinished, and why my brother was able to afford the place — the seller had to disclose a suicide happened in the residence. He said if I didn’t believe him, to look up the market values of the identical houses in his track (I know how much they paid for their house and it was way lower). He and his wife considered themselves rational people and figured it was a bargain, but didn’t want to tell anyone. After they moved in, his wife was fine with the basement, but he grew to hate it. He apologized for not saying anything to me before I stayed there, but he never thought I’d have any reason to go down there.

Now here’s what that convinced me. I said “Okay, the only thing that makes me kind of believe you is that the last morning I was there, I went over to the closet door” — and at this point, I see my brother’s face change — and I continued: “when I went to open it, the air felt like–” and at the same instant, I say “electricity” and my brother says “electric.” At the same exact time. I saw his face and knew he was telling the truth.

I’ve never stepped foot again in that basement, and I haven’t sleepwalked since.

[ephemeral-astra]

// I present.. a solo starring my KH trio and their new friend! //

While sunlight fell against the mining world of Montressor, a brass-goggled alien found himself haggling a poor, poor shopkeeper for a better price on certain alchemical materials, and of course some herbs and flowers for making tea.

"Allons donc, mon amour..." He begins, his voice practically emitting steam as he spoke in such a sultry tone, goggles being adjusted and placed upon to reveal a pair of citrine eyes, half-lidded and gleaming.

Leaning over the table full of wares. The alien opposite of the flirtatious catlike man stared down at him, a flush growing across his face. Six eyes in total were sparkling upon his inhuman visage as his pupils dilated, ocassionally averting away from his would-be customer's glance.

"My journey will be long, and arduous as I will be with a series of spacefaring fools who likely have not even bathed in a week - my dear! And I gaze upon your many eyes and wonder if I should even entertain the thought of traveling with such hooligans..." His clawed fingers curl around the shopkeep's hand. "If I may have these wares for say... hmm, half the price... I may reconsider this fool's errand. The two of us can leave this planet by tonight and be basking in the starlight of the Pleiades by morn!" Said with a purr - a long, and melodic purr. A brow cocks upon the shopkeeper's face, glancing down at him now with a hint of suspicion. But the doubt faded as he saw those eyes glancing up at him once again, with lashes fluttering so daintily.

"I suppose I will be packing up come evening..." The man stammers, nearly choking on his words.

"Fifty-percent off. No more."

"Ah, darling! I shall brew a new blend in your honor! Pray tell me your favorite sort of tea..."

Alistair was estatic, tail raising upward and swaying in a circular motion.

"I shall return by nightfall, and we shall bathe in the starshine - side by side." A kiss was planted upon the shopkeep's hand, earning Alistair a surprised - yet welcoming gasp.

Once the transaction was completed, the Felinid gave his new would-be paramour his goodbyes with his new purchases in hand.

-------

"Sweet Olympus, you're telling me you used to be on par with Mr. Dreamy over there?" Chuckled a black-cloaked figure, yellow eyes glowing from behind her hood as she watched the display from afar.

A tentacled cyborg with periwinkle skin gave a sigh as he stands beside her, his good eye rolling sideways and stopping to glance at her.

"That's disgusting, Xu. Who'd want to ~bathe in the starshine~ alongside you, you 'lil stick of takoyaki, you?" She baby-talks her companion, who was unable to tell if she was teasing or genuinely being mean to him. Not that he cared anymore.

"I wonder if this fabled Treasure Planet has the secrets of killing gods." Mutters the tentacled man through his respirator.

"What was that, short-stuff? - hey, brass-ass is back." She chimes up, seeing their android companion staring at them with a bag full of goods in tow.

"You are... quite emotive for a woman without a heart. I have recorded your little banter to study further." Smiles the android with a flick of his indigo hair. Xesper, the yellow-eyed goddess, only gives a smirk in response. "Practice, babyboy, you will learn too. Luckily, you've got the capacity to feel." She pinches the android's cheek with a grin, showing off a pair of fangs. The sudden gesture caused Xzarias - her android companion to jump slightly and wipe his cheek off with a long, black sleeve.

The trio's eyes fixate on the man who they were studying previously, who seemed to have his tail tucked between his legs and his ears back as he sauntered through the crowd.

"Go on, Xu, put on the moves with the pussycat. Maybe we can hitch a ride and take over a ship... he did say he was going on a journey." Shrugged Xesper, looking in the direction of Xuluko, her cyborg companion.

"Or maybe Xza would do a better job..." She mutters, noting the cat-man's nerved demeanor. Perhaps the cyborg would scare him a bit. But if the towering six-eyed shopkeeper didn't, maybe Xuluko would still be a good option.

"I'm telling you..." Xuluko begins. "Without a heart behind my words, the flirting's just not what it used to be. That and... the various cybernetics."

"Something tells me Mr. Pussycat doesn't mind a little metal an' wire." She shrugs, giving a laugh before the man began to pass by. She had to think fast, so Xesper thought quick and pushed both of her shorter companions riiiight into him.

The two cybernetic men stared at one another, and then down to the cat-alien they'd knocked to the ground. Standing at a magnificent 5-feet-tall, or rather laying.... Alistair rummaged through his scattered purchases with muttered curses. His hand met with a leather-gloved one, and their eyes locked; Xzarias and Alistair stared at one another for what felt like eons. One visually attracted to the other, and one finding the other fascinating by a scientific standpoint. Or so Xzarias told himself, as his mental processes failed him and he began to mutter out strings of binary code.

"1..0... Allow me to assist." HIs circuits seemed to have been set aflame.

"Oh, no... you need not trouble yourself." Alistair pulls his hand away slowly, laughing ever so softly as he studies Xzarias's features.

"Pray tell, my sapphire-eyed friend... how did the stars align so perfectly to arrange this meeting?"

"Sapp-sapphire-eyed? O-oh..." Xzarias finds himself stuttering as he averts his eyes, looking up at his confused companions. Xuluko offers Xzarias a hand to help him stand, who in turn assists Alistair after he picks up the rest of his things. The cat-man looks up at the trio, slit pupils enlarging.

Oh no, the entire three of them were cute.

Finding himself overwhelmed, Alistair nervously tugs at his jabot to loosen it. No, he wasn't meant to be nervous around those he found attractive!

"Have you got a vessel, uh... mmm... beautiful?" Xuluko asks coldly, staring down with his single-remaining eye. Getting straight to the point.

"Ye-yes, but 'e's in the shop!" Alistair begins. "I-I've hitched a ride on the RLS Legacy for a mission of sorts."

"Ah, a mission?" Xuluko asks, tilting his head to the side. Completely oblivious to the fact that Alistair found his cold, deadly aura to be attractive.

"I'm sure they need capable fellows, heard you calling your compadres rarely-bathing fools, after all." Xesper laughs softly, at least trying to being a wingwoman for her two friends. Being the only married one out of the three - she didn't exactly have her eyes on the Felinid. Not that she'd want to get fur between her teeth, anyway. Treasure Planet could have had with it secrets to restoring their hearts, and at the very least -- treasure. And if this young man was planning on spacefaring, that was their first ticket to finding the fabled place.

"...Come with me, we'll consult the captain." Alistair begins, taking off in a mad dash through the crowd he longed to get out of.

Xzarias noticed the increase in heartrate Alistair had when Xuluko was brought into the equation -- and what did he have that Xzarias didn't?! He scoffed and the trio took off after the flirty Felinid, their intentions... not exactly pure, as they only wished to take over the ship and use Xuluko's navigational skills to find Treasure Planet.

[thetakenpokemon]

@theorangelopunny

“And there we have it folks! Hus.La, the young prodigy has just mercilessly bodied FlawlessLegend in that FT100 set of DragonSphere FighterZ!” The commentator exclaimed as the crowed roared and cheered for the Video Game Extraordinaire known as Hus.La who has once again taken the stage in a dominating fashion. “The fact that she didn’t lose a single match while playing this man says so much about her endurance and her mentality. I had no idea Gochu would be so damn good as her Anchor but along side Gochu Black and Cybor 31 on Point, she set-up the perfect shell that covered all the stops!” The analyst explained while maintaining all the hype from a perfect 100-0 set. “All this tech found no doubt after labbing like the monster she is for a solid week straight. I cant wait to see her in later tournaments! With that being said, This is PTY Hypez, Signing out!” he said with clear excitement in his voice as he took his headset off and flew away. Who knew they made headsets that small for Ribombees? “Wassup guys, Trish HatTricks here waiting for ‘Monarch of Brawlers’ to start and joining me will be Purrrrrrshia–” she started and soon started to fade away as Hus.La got off of the stage and went outside the vicinity to get some fresh air. She was extremely happy and proud of her perfect win streak but she needed to move around a little. Getting up on the stage and actually playing takes a lot more than just skimming at home. So she went to go explore the town of Pearldom! seeing all the local shops they had and aiming for a restaurant to get some food in her belly. Our of the corner of her eye, she saw someone strange yet awesome. A Pokemon that looked like the mythical creature known as a Naga! This particular ‘mon was part Seviper and part Nidoking it seem– Wait a second. Those clothes… Oooooh we’re gonna have fun with this one! Hus.La quickly abandoned her train of thought for food and dashed up to the naga-esque 'mon with stars and her eyes and a wide smile on her face. “You…look wickedly cool!” she exclaimed. “Everything about you just screams master-class Ninja!” she continued then pulled back to do her famous flourish with a winking pose. “I’m Hus.La! Video Game Extraordinaire! It would be my honor if you would considering being the rogue in my LARP'ing group! It’d be so much fun once I find two more members! We would be able to live out our own adventure!” she explained still extremely excited at the possible addition to her LARP'ing party. But there’s just oooooone last thing she has to ask. “Oh! Do you also mind if we take a selfie? I love being able to take pictures with all the awesome new people I meet when I travel!”

[PoV: Minato]

While the other members split away to cool off, I stayed put with Snakewulf. I actually decided conversr with him, since this is the first time I’ve actually met him face to face.

Out of all the members, the Night Watchers are the ones who spend the least time at the GoT HQ. Their job requires them to be constantly moving from one place to the next, keeping tabs on things and looking out for any abnormal activity or threats. But they do have their times when they’re at the GoT HQ, so that they can rest and relax during their break periods.

But out of all the Night Watchers, Snakewulf has never been on break. He’s always out in the field, moving from one place to the next as ordered. This however is of his own request, since he supposedly enjoys the outdoors and the changes of scenery. And because of this I’ve never actually met him, which is why I’ve taken the opportunity to converse with him.

Despite his unusual appearance, he’s actually…a very nice individual. Very kind and inquisitive as well as very casual, even quite humorous with the occasional quip and joke. We were mostly just talking about what we’ve been up to as well as interests, which was more than fine by me.

The conversation is interrupted however, due to a loud exclamation from an interestingly dressed Lopunny. We both look over at her, mine with confusion and Snakewulf’s with amusement.

Master…class…ninja?

Snakewulf ends up laughing. “She has a point you know.” He tells me, glancing over with a twinkle in his orange reptilian eyes. “You do rather fit the bill with the ‘master-class ninja’, from what I’ve read in several books.”

O…kay…

Her question however ended up catching me off guard even more, since…well…no one has ever asked me to join a ‘LARP’ group before.

I smile uncertainly at the Lopunny. “It is…nice to meet you, Hus.La.” I say with a small bow, still unsure of the whole encounter. “I am Silence, and this is-”

“Snakewulf.” He interrupts me, sitting down and letting his hand-like tail flick from left to right. “While not a ‘master-class ninja’, I’d like to think that I’m around that sort of level~” He stops for a moment and tilts his head. “However I’ve never heard of ‘LARPing’ before, mind if you could fill me in?”

I turn to Snakewulf, deciding to answer for the Lopunny. “LARP is an acronym for ‘Live Action Roleplaying’. It’s usually acting out fictional settings with groups of people, for the enjoyment of pretending to be in various scenarios.”

At this the unique hybrid’s eyes widen with realization. “Ahh, so it’s essentially like what I’ve seen younglings do.” He starts laughing again. “I’ve never thought adults would still be into it, since I assumed that it was something that you would ‘grow out’ of.”

Well…it’s not quite like that, since it tends to have rules as well from what I remember Delilah explaining to me. However I decide against further explaining to Snakewulf, since he had the concept. “That’s…correct.” I eventually say before looking back at Hus.La, since I need to respond to her question. “I am honored that you would approach me just to offer a spot in this ‘LARP’ group, however…” My nervous smile is replaced with an apologetic look. “I’m afraid that I have to decline. Although I am always up to experience new things, but due to my job with my guild taking a lot of my time…I won’t be able participate.” Well, that’s not the exact reason since I often have plenty of free time between assignments. But I didn’t want to straight up tell her that I didn’t want to...since that might hurt her feelings.

I bow my head again. “Watashi wa hontōni zan'nendesu, Hus.La. I thank you again for your offer, I appreciate it immensely even though I can’t accept it.”

“And yet you didn’t offer me a spot.” Snakewulf comments dryly, however his face possesses an amused smile without a trace of offense. “Not that I would be able to take you up on it, since I’m also a very busy doggy. Gotta sniff out bad guys twenty four seven, after all~.” His tail stops its flicking and starts scratching the top of his head, probably to take care of an itch. “Still, very cool to hear that adults don’t drop that childish part of them. Keep at it, I say! Everyone needs to indulge into their inner pup once a while.” He stops, his eyes flicking to one of the roads before looking back at me. “Looks like the other members are coming back Silence, they’re probably ready to get started I’m assuming.”

I look over to where he looked, and in the distance on the road I see some figures approaching us. I had to squint my eyes in order to make out Asmund, which shows how keen Snakewulf’s eyesight is.

I look down another road and I notice several forms of Midnight Storm, meaning that they’re all coming back. With this knowledge in hand I turn back to Hus.La, putting on a kind smile. I was about to tell her that I was sorry to end this conversation now, but I had to pause and realize that she asked me something else.

She wanted to take a…selfie?

“What…is a selfie?” I ask her.

At this point Snakewulf starts laughing. “Alright, so you know what ‘LARPing’ is but not a selfie?” The hybrid starts shaking his head. “It’s taking a photo of yourself, Silence. It tends to involve a smart phone pointed at yourself, and it can also include various others with you. It’s all the rage at the moment, I know since I’ve been studying modern culture.” The draconic wolf sits up and strides over to Hus.La. “Now you didn’t ask me this, but I’m joining in. You’d better say yes, since otherwise I’m gonna photobomb it and make it better by having my face completely taking up the photo~”

I look back at the approaching figures of the GoT before turning to Snakewulf and Hus.La, my face uncertain again. “I…don’t see a reason on why I would decline, however I must ask for it to be brief since we’re needed.”

“Yeah yeah, but it WON’T be brief unless you get your snake butt over here.” Snakewulf laughs, gesturing for me to come over with his tail. “C’mon! Time’s a-wasting, I want to make sure my good side is taken!”

Wasting no time I quickly slither over to them. I notice Snakewulf sitting down and raising his tail, the claws doing its best impression of a ‘peace symbol’ even though it only has three claws.

Seeing that I’m rather big compared to the smaller Pokemon, I take advantage of my serpentine body and lower myself more to their level. Unsure on what exactly I have to do, I decide to smile and mimic what Snakewulf is doing with his tail.

“And remember! Say cheese!” Snakewulf adds through his wide smile.

Well…okay. “Cheese?”

[marketingadvisorvietnam]

A Saigon pho stall where justice is served

Marketing Advisor đã viết bài trên http://www.ticvietnam.vn/a-saigon-pho-stall-where-justice-is-served/

A Saigon pho stall where justice is served

First timers at “Pho Bo Ong Nam” (Mr. Nam’s Beef Pho) are sometimes curious about a small red scale on the kitchen table.

Their curiosity is replaced by surprise when they place an order.

Nam, the restaurant owner, uses tongs to place beef slices or meatballs on the scale.

This way, everyone gets equal servings, he explained.

Pho is Vietnamese rice noodles served with beef or chicken slices, in broth made from simmered bone stock and herbs

Located on Tran Quoc Thao Street in District 3, the restaurant has been running for nearly 10 years, and has a loyal following, both for the owner’s sense of fairness and the quality of the dish.

“We only use veal from Cu Chi,” stated Nam.

“I’m now old so my vision is quite poor. When the restaurant gets crowded, I would estimate the meat by instinct, and some servings would end up bigger than others. From then on I began using this scale to weigh the meat,” said Nam.

Nam, who is more than 60 years old, buys the ingredients, washes the vegetables and slices the beef. The ingredients are neatly arranged on the kitchen table for customers to choose. Several types of beef pho are served here: half-cooked beef, flank beef, brisket and so on.

“I am always fair. Even for regular customers, I give them the same amount of meat,” Nam  said, laughing as he turned to pour the broth into several bowls. The appetizing aroma permeates the old house where the eatery is located. 

The scale used to weigh the meat. 

The clear, savory broth has been praised by many customers who said it is cooked exactly in the northern style. Meanwhile, poached bean sprouts and other greens are served together with the pho, reflecting the southern style.

Wiping sweat from his face, college student Tien Hung said he loves the pho here. “The owner is a really good cook. The beef is soft and aromatic. I started eating here two years ago and have become addicted.”

A bowl of pho in Nam’s restaurant. 

Noodle soup romance

For District 7 resident Mi, 28, resident this place is extra special.

This is where she first met her husband. “That noon, the restaurant was so crowded that we had to share a table. Since our workplaces were near, we met again several times. Even when the place was not crowded, we began to sit together. Long after, he confessed his love for me, and our love grew and we got married.”

The narrow entrance can only accommodate one dining table, but the restaurant space expands on the inside. There is no window inside so this eatery can get a bit stuffy. There is no name-board, just an old canvas sheet on which “Pho Bo Ong Nam” has been printed in large sized letters.

However, the restaurant’s popularity needs no further advertisement than the taste of its food and the owner’s obvious sense of fairness.

A Saigon pho stall where justice is served

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[torontoseoulcialite]

Blu Cucina: A Meal That Took Me Back Home

When I moved to Seoul this past November I made it a weekly goal to have lunch dates with close and distant family members alike.  Since I’m from the States, it’s a great opportunity to get to spend time with family I so rarely see.  Every week we choose a popular restaurant about which we’ve read a review.  After about a month and a half, one of my Aunties told me we were going to try a place that ended up being my most memorable foodie experience in Seoul: Blu Cucina. 

Just on the outskirts of Hongdae, nestled in an underground alley, a 15-seater Italian restaurant called Blu Cucina is hidden.  Picture this: beautiful royal blue tiles, a view of the chef at work, and a long dark wooden table in the middle of the restaurant.  Since there are images below, just imagine foodies laughing over a glass of wine and sharing family-style, home-cooked Italian dishes.

Now, imagine home.  Not just what your home looks like, but the feeling of home.  The feeling of comfort and the feeling you get when you’re waiting at the kitchen counter watching your mom, dad, or grandma making a meal to share.  This feeling of home and comfort is the exact same feeling I had while at Blu Cucina.

Green Salad with Fresh Vegetables and Thinly Sliced Beef 

The simplicity of this Blu Cucina salad is just as good as it sounds.  This  tossed green salad consisted of mixed greens, Belgian endive, tomatoes, red onion, thinly sliced cuts of beef, and freshly grated parmigiano to top it off.  This simple and refreshing salad is just what you need to whet your appetite for the next two dishes. 

White Cream Sauce Pasta with Mushrooms and Short Rib

Since I lived in Italy once upon a time, everyone always assumes I’m totally nit picky about pasta.  Completely false.  Although I always appreciate homemade noods (send noods!), I don’t mind being served store-bought.  What really matters to me in a pasta dish is the flavor and sauce to noodle ratio (hint: there can never be too much sauce or pasta).  That’s exactly what I got at Blu Cucina.  Expect boxed pasta, but a great sauce to nood ratio. Presentation was on point, and the cream sauce didn’t make me feel like I was eating an entire stick of butter.  The peppery short rib was melt in your mouth and offset the saltiness of the sauce. Although the squid ink risotto is also a fan favorite, I highly recommend this dish.

   Gambas Al Ajillo Shrimp with Garlic

You may be confused by the name of this dish, I for one was a little confused myself.  Originally a Spanish dish, I wasn’t exactly sure why it was on the menu, but it ended up being my favorite dish at Blu Cucina.  It came out in sizzling cast-iron pan of grilled shrimp in olive oil with chili powder, roasted tomatoes,  and Lots and LOTS of garlic.  Of course, a toasted baguette was served on the side for lots of dipping.  Seoulcialite says: Make sure to dip the bread in the sauce AND smash the garlic buds on top.  You won’t regret it!

햇살좋은 날

A post shared by @ _tomhee on Mar 11, 2017 at 2:19am PST

Blu Cucina – Last Looks

Sometimes I get lost in the foodie hub of Seoul trying to experience the highest rated restaurants.   Eating at Blu Cucina is the best meal I’ve had because I shared this food experience with my two aunties.  This place reminded me of home cooking and of a place I once called home; Italy.  In other publications I’ve written about that feeling of comfort and the feeling of home.  That’s how I felt when I was so homesick and got to enjoy this meal.  Blu Cucina isn’t the highest profile restaurant I’ve visited, but it evoked a special memory when asked about my favorite meal in Seoul.  At the end of the day, the best meal is just one shared with the people I love.

얼른 오시옹 😲 @seosum . . #데일리#일상#주말#망원동#블루쿠치나#daily

A post shared by splendid moments. (@im_eunyoung) on Mar 10, 2017 at 8:14pm PST

Hours & Getting to Blu Cucina Restaurant

Address

  57-41, Mangwon-dong, Mapo-gu, Seoul (Line 6: Mangwon Station Exit 2) Phone Number 02-6015-5741 HOURS OF OPERATION MON-SAT: 11:30 – 22:30 (BREAK: 15:00-17:00) SUN: CLOSED SOCIAL MEDIA

Blu Cucina on instagram

Blu Cucina on Facebook

블루쿠치나 서울시 마포구 월드컵로19길 18 서울시 마포구 망원동 57-41 예약및대관문의:02-6015-5741 월~토 Open: 11시30분 Close: 22시30분 일요일 휴무/3시~5시break time(토요일,공휴일제외) (재료소진시 조기마감)

About Asya

Asya Lee (Asya in Asia) has a Bachelor of Arts in Communications from Washington State University.  Family and food are most important to Asya, and she’s making the most of her time in Seoul exploring all of its culinary delights.  A fellow West-Coast Seoulcialite (ie. sorority gal), she enjoys hiking, discovering new restaurants, Seoul’s plethora of cafes, a good bottle of cab sauv, and solo travel.  The newest member of The Toronto Seoulcialite team, Asya will be in and around the peninsula through Spring 2018!

Seoul Food: Blu Cucina (Asya in Asia – A Meal That Took Me Back Home) Blu Cucina: A Meal That Took Me Back Home When I moved to Seoul this past November I made it a weekly goal to have lunch dates with close and distant family members alike. 

[adoaces]

0150_9_12_2017

Not much of a diary, eh... More like a weekeary :D Nevermind.

Turns out my roommate did tell S the stuff that happened 2 weekends ago. He mocked me like ‘You said something like “One more month of reading Reddit and I’ll be able to fuck anything!”’, and then he laughed. 1st. The Red Pill isn’t something you get into in a month. 2nd. The point isn’t to get laid exclusively. It is one of its goals, but the main goal I’d say is to improve as a man. 3rd. I never said that. In the end, we ended up playing some CoD in the evening after i worked out and ate. AAAAAND after I played poker with friends from college. Was nearly a chip leader at one moment, had some balls, called something, but in a big hand in which E went all in, he got a card he needed on the river. :( Too bad. I would have maybe had won. Sunday, nothing much, studying for Wed, same as Mon and Tue. On Wed, I got up at 7 (which I didn’t in a long time), went to college and started writing the test. It was Python and Excel. Started with Excel ‘cause it’s easier, and the first function-boom. Strange numbers. Everything after row 4 was 0. I panicked a bit and tried to do the 2nd task. AGAIN strange numbers. In the end it turned out some of them were strange. Somehow did the 3rd and went on to Python. I blocked a bit at the start, couldn’t get something easy to worked so I piled up some more panic. I eventually managed to do the 5th task and started the 6th but I couldn’t remember the whole function, since I learned it by heart, not by understanding it. Hopefully I’ll get 7/10. Oh yeah, and I got the results from the first midterm which I expected to be bad. 3rd worst result out of 27 people. Lost 10% on the exam because my calculator wasn’t in fucking radians. FMFL. Lost 15% because I didn’t write something on the graphs which we were told we weren’t going to write anyway after we practice that kind of task anyway. Fuck you, professor. After the exam, R, T and me went to drink something, I got a tea and we taught T to play classic Italian card games, which we did for an hour and so. Went to eat and then to play football. I was abysmal for the first 30-45 minutes+, but then I started playing like mad. Won 5-0 and again my concentration and motivation dropped a bit so we lost 5-2. Went to drink a beer and during the beer, we went to play darts. Cricket, ofcourse. They mocked me and laughed at me and I stayed serious and was on par all the time. The machine didn’t register 2 or 3 of my shots, but I didn’t insist, and in the end when they needed the shots they didn’t get registrated, they counted them for their win. Fuckers. Next time I’ll show them. The registration fails AND the win. ;) I had some serious muscle fever the next day, moving like I’m disabled. Today too, but less seriously, since I’ve stretched before working out on Thursday. It hurt like all hell. There was a situation at football, B started firing too strong shots so KS started it too, but aiming at me, probably wanting me to tell him to stop so I can come out as beta. I didn’t. ;) I slept pretty well today as I went to bed a bit earlier yesterday since I left FNBR when I was tired. A productive day. As soon as I got up, smoked a cig and then changed the bed sheets and dusted the apartment, got under the shower and rushed to class. I got exactly in time, despite the fact I was 7-9 minutes late. Was concentrated, probably because of good sleep. Had only a minor crash after an hour for 15 mins. Went to eat, got home, wiped the floor, procrastinated until 6, started studying, worked out, ate, played a bit of CoD and CS:GO and now I’m off to sleep, hopefully some quality one. Oh yeah, and I had a strong urge to fap today, so I did, twice. Alone in the apartment, took my time, relaxed, and it felt great.

Good night!

EDIT_1056_9_12_2017:

I forgot to mention a situation on Monday. Roommate told me he’s gonna come home with his friends and some bitches. (Right.) He said they’ll be playing DnD and said they’ll be in the main room. I immediately said no, I have to study. He suggested that he takes the table to his room, on which I agreed and said that that was my first idea (which it indeed was). Then he asked me if it’s going to pass through his door and I told him that IDK. Now here’s a shittest. He tells me now ‘Well, then, we’re going to have to play in the main room ;)’. I immediately said no and that I don’t care, I need my peace to study. So he said OK, and when he got home, he bitched about it for a few times and I told him: ‘Look, if it bothers you that much, go to my professor at the college and ask him why did he put the midterm two days after today.’ He replied with: ‘Yeah, I’m running just now.’ and proceeded to make fun of me in front of his friends, they laughed, but I know I was right.

I stopped playing an online browser game which I played for 7 and a fucking half years. Way too fucking long.

I stopped watching porn and deleted all of my 40G porn collection from my laptop a few weeks ago.

[thequeenb]

I needed to hate you to love me (part 3)

Pairings: KamilahxMC

"I once fell in love, she was from Italy her hair were falling in her shoulders like heaven's curtains blue eyes like the ocean under the moonlight, brown curly hair." Adrian smiled "i can picture her beauty, dont worry she knew you love her" Kamilah gave him a greatfull look "Thank you for listening"

"Earth to Adrian" Amy said "i am sorry what did you said?" She rolled her eyes "i said do you want to go get something to eat?" "Of course just let me make a call to my assistant" he said as he stood up "fiiiine but its the first and the last" Adrian smiled and nodded at her dealing Kamilah's number

Kamilah was in her office drowning herself in work for the past 5 years. There wasn't a day she didn't think of Amy but she lied to herself thinking she doesn't love her anymore. Suddenly her phone rang Adrian, what could he possibly want? Another fight?

"What is it Adrian? I am busy" Adrian on the other line took a deep breath "i will come back in 2 days and i want us to ta-" but Kamilah froze when a sweet voice she could recognize everywhere interrupted Adrian "Adriannn you said you will call your assistant not your lover" she teased him giggling "Is that?" Adrian cut the line not wanting to answer to further questions.

Kamilah shocked sat back in her leather chair taking it all in Amy.. she was with him, they were in contact all these years. She really wanted me out of her life. She signed closing her laptop "Karen please put me on the line with Adrian's assistant" she said to her assistant and she did so "Hello there, i want Mister Raines, its Kamilah" on the other line the woman swallowed hard "um he isn't here at the moment" Kamilah smirked "is that so? Where is he then?" "Um i am afraid i ca-" Kamilah didn't have much patience "i said where is he" the woman signed defeated "he went to Paris ma'm, for 4 days" Kamilah cut the line fighting with her heart until the obvious won I am coming Amy she said to herself not knowing what awaits for her.

Paris, France

"So you didn't tell me what you do for work" Amy drank her wine all the way to the bottom "well i work with Maria my fiance" she said smiling widely "she is a designer i am her assistant" Adrian gave her a small smile "thats great Amy you deserve it" "So? Who was that woman you talked to?" Amy said winking. She was the same after all, just 5 years older. "Oh well, no one" Amy smiled "Alright suit yourself but i will ask again" Adrian rolled his eyes "you didn't change at all, stubborn as always" The night went by surprisingly well, it felt like not even one month went by without seeing eachother and it made Amy's heart happy knowing the most important people in her life love her.

The next day

Kamilah arranged a flight to Paris the very first night, her thoughts were killing her did she changed her appearance? By now she will be 28 is she married? Taken? She signed remember the good times they had realising they were so little comparing to their big flights. Maybe i shouldn't go.

No matter her second thoughts she laid her head on the jet window watching the city disappear wondering what Paris hide for her.

A long flight after

Kamilah sat on the hotel bed signing, she couldn't believe she left work to find the girl she loved 5 years now even she lost her. You are weak she thought. She went to the balcony and watched the Eiffel tower lost in her thoughts.

"I promise i will never let go" Amy said stroking Kamilah's cheek, "i will love you in your highs and your lows" Kamilah smiled kissing her lover, the words she couldn't express slipped through her tongue into Amy's lips.

"And i let you go.." she said as herself eyes started watering.

The next night

Amy was walking with Maria on the park watching the stars sparkling. "How do you feel mon amour? We are getting married in a month" Maria said kissing Amy's hand "i never felt more sure about anything" she said kissing her softly "you should meet my friend he is excited about me getting married" Amy closed her eyes processing her next words "after all he was like a brother to the woman who broke my heart, and he finally see me glow from happiness" she said smiling, Maria knew everything about her fiance's past relationship and helped her heal "I am nothing like her, she sounded so unsure" Maria felt hatred against the woman who dare break Amy's heart, but on the other hand she was greatfull she did because like that she met her and became her beginning and her end. "I will call him and ask him to meet us in the Moulin rouge?" Maria nodded kissing Amy's cheek softly.

After a while Adrian walked in and spotted Amy, he smiled seeing her face he really missed that. "Adrian this my fiance Maria" and just like in movies time froze the woman turned around to greet him. blue eyes like the ocean under the moonlight, brown curly hair.

Kamilah's words echoed in his head, the woman Infront of him was exactly like Kamilah described her, it cant be "Adrian you are staring" Amy said laughing snapping him back to reality "My apologies, i am Adrian" he said shaking Maria's hand "i heard so much about you non?"

"I hope good things" he said looking at Amy who had a playful smile "why yes! She talked about how you always supported her" Adrian smiled glad he was there for Amy. "So when were you..you know" Maria gave Amy a look and Amy nodded "i am just like you dont worry" Adrian said smiling showing the tip of his fangs to reassure her. "Well" she started as she held Amy's hand knowing this story bring back dark memories. "I was painting one day when a tall man i cant describe was Infront of me, he wasn't anything like anyone i knew" she held tight Amy's hand "he smiled wide before i saw him light a match, at first i was confused but then" Adrian crossed his arms giving her an apologetic look "then all i remember was fire, until a figure appeared just before i die, i don't remember the rest all i know is i woke up in a dark place feeling transformed" Amy kissed her cheek softly as she wiped her lover's tears "I am sorry i didn't mean to bring bad memories back" Adrian said feeling guilty "Oh non! It is a part of who i am dont apologize" Maria said smiling weakly. She was truly wonderful as Kamilah described her, and a perfect match for Amy.

Meanwhile

Kamilah didn't knew where to start to search for her, she didn't want to call Adrian neither was ready to see Amy yet. So she decided to take a walk.

"Pardon me it was very nice to meet you Adrian but i have to go rest, i believe Amy and you have a lot to catch on" Maria said kissing Amy "call me to know you arrived safely" the girl said smiling "i will mon Cherie" Adrian gave Maria one last smile before she leave

Kamilah was sitting on a bench watching the sky sparkle, stars dancing in the pinch black sky. She was thinking what to do next, it was the first time she was unsure and considered to give up. All that until her answers sat right next to her. She didn't bother to look at the woman next to her, she thought it was nothing but an imbecile that until "Lost in your thoughts as well?" The woman said looking at Kamilah "look i dont wan-" but all of her words slipped away when she dared to gaze into her past lover's eyes.

"I think i will make a portrait of you hm?" Maria said stroking Kamilah's hair "is that so? And why is that?" Maria smiled shyly "because your beauty is so breathtaking to not be captured" Kamilah gazed into those blue eyes she fell madly in love with, she was about to ask Maria to run away together but the clock showed midnight and she knew better than to make Gaius wait "i have to go..i will be back to you" was her last words to Maria, not knowing they were their last.

"Maria?" Kamilah said shocked "have we met?" Maria said curiously scanning the woman Infront of her "H..how?" For the first time in centuries Kamilah felt speechless, the woman she thought was once dead was right Infront of her own eyes "I am Kamilah.. remember? We were together in Italy" Maria looked at her processing what she just heard "it cant be" the Italian woman said but she was interrupted by a kiss "Nonono" she said pulling away. "I am engaged Kamilah!!" Maria said running her hands through her hair "you cant come back after all these centuries!!" Kamilah sat back "i..i didn't mean" her emotions got the best of her "Amy is going to kill me i cant hide that oh mon dieu" Kamilah's eyes opened wide..Amy.

Tag list: @leavemeandmyshipsalone @lesbians4choices @lightning-fury @galaxyside-0 @gaychoices-stories-you-pay @avery-sayeed @kamilahspet @kamilahsayeet @la-guera-69 @scarlet-letter-a0114 @ilovetaylor13m @kamilahs-bitch

[marketingadvisorvietnam]

A Saigon pho stall where justice is served

Marketing Advisor đã viết bài trên http://www.ticvietnam.vn/a-saigon-pho-stall-where-justice-is-served/

A Saigon pho stall where justice is served

First timers at “Pho Bo Ong Nam” (Mr. Nam’s Beef Pho) are sometimes curious about a small red scale on the kitchen table.

Their curiosity is replaced by surprise when they place an order.

Nam, the restaurant owner, uses tongs to place beef slices or meatballs on the scale.

This way, everyone gets equal servings, he explained.

Pho is Vietnamese rice noodles served with beef or chicken slices, in broth made from simmered bone stock and herbs

Located on Tran Quoc Thao Street in District 3, the restaurant has been running for nearly 10 years, and has a loyal following, both for the owner’s sense of fairness and the quality of the dish.

“We only use veal from Cu Chi,” stated Nam.

“I’m now old so my vision is quite poor. When the restaurant gets crowded, I would estimate the meat by instinct, and some servings would end up bigger than others. From then on I began using this scale to weigh the meat,” said Nam.

Nam, who is more than 60 years old, buys the ingredients, washes the vegetables and slices the beef. The ingredients are neatly arranged on the kitchen table for customers to choose. Several types of beef pho are served here: half-cooked beef, flank beef, brisket and so on.

“I am always fair. Even for regular customers, I give them the same amount of meat,” Nam  said, laughing as he turned to pour the broth into several bowls. The appetizing aroma permeates the old house where the eatery is located. 

The scale used to weigh the meat. 

The clear, savory broth has been praised by many customers who said it is cooked exactly in the northern style. Meanwhile, poached bean sprouts and other greens are served together with the pho, reflecting the southern style.

Wiping sweat from his face, college student Tien Hung said he loves the pho here. “The owner is a really good cook. The beef is soft and aromatic. I started eating here two years ago and have become addicted.”

A bowl of pho in Nam’s restaurant. 

Noodle soup romance

For District 7 resident Mi, 28, resident this place is extra special.

This is where she first met her husband. “That noon, the restaurant was so crowded that we had to share a table. Since our workplaces were near, we met again several times. Even when the place was not crowded, we began to sit together. Long after, he confessed his love for me, and our love grew and we got married.”

The narrow entrance can only accommodate one dining table, but the restaurant space expands on the inside. There is no window inside so this eatery can get a bit stuffy. There is no name-board, just an old canvas sheet on which “Pho Bo Ong Nam” has been printed in large sized letters.

However, the restaurant’s popularity needs no further advertisement than the taste of its food and the owner’s obvious sense of fairness.

A Saigon pho stall where justice is served

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