#Favorite food is plain white rice

[autism-swagger]

I’m compiling all my Marcy headcanons in one place and they all vary wildly in tone

[thechekhov]

Favorite Japanese dish?

Bonus question: have you ever tried to make those fluffy pancakes? I hear is easy to do in rice makers.

Mmmmmm that's hard.

I'll list several that come to mind, but they're by no means the end all be all.

Fair warning: If you're easily squicked out by non-western foods, then you may want to read with caution from here on out because I won't censor myself.

First of all, soba.

Specifically the cold stuff. I love it because it often comes with tempura, which is also great.

I love sashimi as well - I'm honestly a huge fan of raw fish in general and usually prefer to to cooked fish.

And speaking of raw meat in general - I also love something called basashi. It's kind of a famous local cuisine around where I live.

Though this type of meat CAN be cooked, I prefer it raw. It's horse! It's horsemeat.

I'm also a fan of nameko soup because I love mushrooms. Most Americans would probably hate this because of the runny texture, though.

As for the fluffy pancakes you mentioned....

I gotta admit, I'm not a huge fan of them. 😅

I've eaten them before in cafes and they're kinda overhyped in my opinion. They're just very airy pancakes. They're not especially different, they're just more fluff than substance in my opinion, and eating them was akin to eating plain white cake with a few strawberries on top.

Then again, I may be biased because when I make pancakes, I like to not cook them all the way through so they stay gooey in the center....

So maybe other people who really love fluffy cake would love them! Who knows. Make up your minds, I guess.

[winter-rp-memes]

Food preferences meme

🌭 - Hotdogs! Do they eat hotdogs at all? Do they use a lot of contiments? Toppings? Or just plain?

🌽 - CORN! Do they eat a lot of corn? Do they ever eat it by itself? Have they ever tried corn on a cobb? They put any butter or pepper on their corn?

🍿 - Popcorn! Do they have butter on their popcorn? Extra salty? Do they get any of the colored popcorn at movie theaters or just the usual stuff?

🍕 - Pizza! How many toppings? Which toppings? All the toppings? Stuffed, thin or regular crust?

🍔 - Burger! Do they prefer them on a charcoal or propane grill? No preference? How do they stack their burgers? What type of bun do they use?

🥪 - Sandwiches! What's their usual go to when it comes to a sandwich? PB&J? BLT? Ham and Cheese? Do they still cut the crust off their sandwiches? Preference on sandwich bread?

🥗 - Salads! Do they eat their greens? What vegetables do they like? Favorite salad dressing? Do they usually have a lot of crackers and cheese on their salad?

🧀 - Cheese! What kind of cheese do they like or consider their favorite? Are they the type of person that will put cheese on almost anything or do they use it sparingly?

🍳 - Breakfast! Do they have a big or very light breakfast? What's their go to breakfast food? Do they eat breakfast at all?

🥧 - Pie! Do they like pie or have a favorite type of pie? Do they prefer cake instead?

🥣 - Soup! Do they have any soups they like? Do they make it from scratch or just get canned soup? Is it something they commonly eat or is it reserved for a sick day?

🍚 - Rice! How do they season their rice? Do they eat rice by themselves or do they combine it with something?

🌯 - Fast food! Do they eat fast food often? What's their favorite place to do? Do they settle for something greesy or are they very picky about where they eat out at?

🌶 - Spice! How well do they handle spicy food? Do they usually put hot sauce on lots of their food? Or do they avoid it at all cost?

🍦- Ice cream! What's their favorite flavor? Do they get any toppings? Syrup? Whip cream? Do they prefer it in a cone or in a cup? Do they eat on warm days only or on cold days too?

🍧- Shaved Ice! Have they ever had it? What flavor would you get? Does ice hurt their teeth? Do they have to wait until it melts and it's more of a slush?

🍩- Doughnuts! Do they get a plain glazed? Icing? Jelly filled? Settle for Doughnut holes? Or do they want powdered sugar?

🍤 - Seafood! Do they have a favorite type of seafood? Like seafood at all? Have they had any bad experiences with seafood in the past?

🥩 - Meat! Do they eat meat? Are they picky about how it's cooked, where it comes from, and how to eat it? Do they prefer red or white meat?

☕️ - Coffee! Do they like it black? With lots of sugar and cream? Do they drink a lot of it or only in small amounts?

🫖- Tea! Do they have a favorite type? Do they drink any herbal tea for health benefits? Do they drink it warm or cold?

🍫- Chocolate! Do they have a favorite? Do they like dark chocolate or prefer it be as impossibly sweet as possible? Do they settle for low end stuff or get the expensive brands?

🍪- Cookies! Favorite type of cookie? Do they eat cookies a lot or just on occasion?

🥃 - Alcohol! The stronger the better or do they have a low tolerance for those type of thing? Do they drink alcohol by itself or do they commonly have it with a meal?

[fluffle-writes]

For weirdcore au

How do some of the mouthless experience taste? Do the hungering flames have preferences? Like flammability versus how clean it burns (oils and grease can burn easy but not cleanly, not all wood burns the same either with some leaving fine ash versus lumps of char or even residue from sap and oils). Or maybe it's based on the contents? Magic or mineral or just plain ol texture? Or maybe they do taste the chicken in the smoke and ash and they eat up some crispy tenders just like us?

What if plant types? Do they have a preference? Or even Idia? Does he have favorite memories to consume?

Sorry if there's a lot of questions 😅 i just really like this

Don't apologise for asking questions! Answering them is TONS of fun! It gives me an opportunity to dig into lil nooks and crannies of my mind palace to find good answers about how their weird lil world works! :D

Weirdcore AU Masterlist Here!

The way that these guys experience taste...

I feel like the plant guys would likely have something going on that's based on how butterflies or octopuses have taste buds on their feet/tentacles, where the plant guys have taste buds on the roots that they consume their food with! These taste buds are incredibly strong, so it's common for beings who eat this way to be picky about their food. (For example, Cater vehemently dislikes sweets, and Trey can't stand mustard!)

Ones who eat with fire can only taste foods that last long enough in the fire - so things like cotton candy would burn away too quickly to be tasted. But ice cream resists burning for a while, so the taste lingers! Things like onions may also be caramelised by the heat, which makes the flavour more complex and appealing to the person eating it. Wood and oil can be a staple food for younger or weaker beings with this feature, as it can help them maintain more energy and keep their flame strong and in good health!

Any residue from the burnt food is swallowed and further digested - it's like how cows have more than one stomach to properly digest the grass that they eat. Beings like Malleus will have a digestive system specifically designed for digesting ashes and burnt remains of the food they consume. For larger chunks of ashes, they may either regurgitate pellets like barn owls owls do with indigestible parts of their food, or they could simply swallow those chunks whole like snakes, crushing them in their throat as they do so.

Idia's sense of taste, when he uses his tech to eat, is more artificial (for normal food consumption, at least.) Like if he eats a banana or a strawberry, the flavour will be more artificial. This is why he may prefer more artificial foods when he eats with his mouth - it's what he's used to tasting.

Memories are somewhat different though. The memories of an unthinking animal is somewhat plain, like eating plain white bread or a rice-only diet - it's filling and a good part of a diet, but memories of more intelligent prey gives him other forms of energy that are vital to his health. I'm not sure what memories would be his favourite... Possibly memories from childhood, of untethered joy. Those ones are particularly sweet.

Sad memories are more bitter, while memories of love have fruity or floral flavours, and memories of victory often taste meaty - like a good steak. But like I said, Idia prefers the sweeter memories (his favourite food is sweets so I'm pretty sure our guy has a sweet tooth lol)

[therealgchu]

super long OC ask

thanks, @fangbangerghoul for the ask! whee, i love these!

for min:

appearance #18 Does your character have a favorite outfit?

nope. whatever is clean and practical. the only mirror on her ship is in the bathroom, too. she pretty much only has tank tops, cargo pants, and work boots. that will come up later in a discussion. of sorts (sam asks why she always looks like a long haul space trucker with a bad aurora habit).

objects #12 Does your character personify objects?

no, that whimsy died lifetimes ago. though, she still saves plushies, but doesn't name them anymore.

food and drink #10 What is a childhood meal your character cherishes?

plain white rice. simple, easy, calorie dense, pair with simple veggies and protein, makes a complete meal.

weather and nature #6 Would your character enjoy sky gazing?

she does, indeed. it's one of the reasons she's out beyond settled space. maybe she'll get some of that old spark back. we'll see..

[me1297]

LoveMeKnot

PAIRING: Bakugo Katsuki x Fem! Oc/Reader,

SUMMARY: When a hopeless romantic is shattered of the fantasy of her soulmate at thirteen in her head and he makes her adolescence miserable until they part ways.

But of course they meet again as adults, late at night, in a convenience store, over the last bag of spicy chips.

STATUS: Ongoing, chapter 2 (Chapter 1)

It was late about 9:30 or so, at night Yena's favorite time of the day as it washed in comforting silence, after a long day but with the coming winter, the days were shortened. It wasn't cold either most people are home, finishing up dinner or getting ready for bed.

Yena had on an old hoodie from one of her exes that he left at her place and under it was a black long-sleeve shirt with black sweatpants, she had her hands deep and snug in her pockets, the hoodie fingers tracing over her designer wallet as she walked down the street with one AirPod in as she was on the phone with her best friend.

“ah, don't stress so much, Satan it was a simple mistake, Mr. Yu is not gonna kill you,” Yena said while entering the small convenience store, the bell above the door jingled, making the worker call out with a greeting and a 'take your time!' to which Yena smiled in response.

“Hahh! That's easy for you to say as you’re literally his secretary, that he's deeply in love with!”

Yena rolled her eyes at the girl's words about their boss being in love with her,

“Oh stop it Suau he does not, I've just been working beside him for a while now so he's just a bit more comfortable with me then others,” She says as she hears a scoff from her headphone

“Yeah okay keep telling yourself that, away I'm gonna head to take a shower I'll see you tomorrow at the company,”

“Okay then have a good night and see you tomorrow, Suau!” Yena says cheerfully, as Sutan says the the same and the hangs up the call.

‘Now, Mr. Yu has a runway he’s attending to coming up so I should get actual food, but...chips and sweets technically were classified as foods. Just not healthy ones…fuck it I can just become a gym rat for a few weeks before the show.’ She thought to herself while taking a small blue basket as she weaves through the small store,

Turning to the array of food, Yena opened one of the coolers, reaching for a bottle of marble sodas of peach, blue raspberry, and grape, then placed them into her basket gently, then proceeded to walk into the next aisle, and grabbed some sweet lychee rice cakes.

Walking some more into the chip section Yena reached out to the last black and red plastic bag that had the words ‘Super strong hot chili’ in bold lettering and fire behind it, but what stopped her movements was that nostalgic feeling of her string tightening around her finger

‘Oh no, god please be joking with me and this not happening really,’ She thought as she looked at her pinky finger, but what sent a jolt through her when a hand nearly bumped into hers, reaching for the same chip bag.

Yena jerks her head up, and she's gazing at Bakugo Katsuki, at his face, puppy fat all gone and replaced with sharp cheekbones and a strong jawline, eyes crimson and intense as ever. He's tall, taller than her not that she was ever taller than him in the first place, and his shoulders are so broad. He's in sweats and a plain white shirt, and a black hoodie looking unnecessarily handsome under the store's lighting, in the chip aisle. He looks so grown up.

Yena realizes, then, that he's looking at her, too. Jumping, and pulling her hand away from the chip bag and looks away quickly and ducking her head. Panic rises within her.

"Sorry, you can have that one," She says, subdued, grabbing a random chip bag and shoving it into her basket, trying to leave faster than before now. She turned on her heel to make a hurried getaway, but her string tightened more and tugged her back to him causing her mental groan.

‘Come on, don't do this now! We both know he doesn't want me!’ She thought but then a grip around her upper arm stopped her.

"Wait, Yena" Bakugo says, her name, and hearing it makes her feel as if he'd punched her, in her stomach, Yena turns back to look at him, with wary in her violet eyes that glance at his hand on hers it was the one that had the string that tied them together to see his string had three knots on it her eyes widened a bit. He drops his hand away from her gaze as if she’d burned him.

‘Why dose he have so many knots on his string?’ She then looked at him to see he had a complicated expression on his face, but he looked serious. She shifted in her stand uncomfortably as she waited to see what he wanted.

"I-" He cuts himself off, swears quietly, then says, voice gruff, "I know it probably doesn't mean much to you. But'm sorry. For everything I did to you when we were teenagers."

Yena stared at him. For a few seconds, her head frozen unknown what to do next, but then an old rush of anger and hurt woke up again. Yena really wanted to tell him off but she felt like she was choking on air to speak up, but a part of herself couldn't believe this was all happening in a convenience store, the absurdity of it. But that is what cools her down, drops things down a notch. As she remembers where they are, and the person in front of her is an adult and so was she,

"…It's whatever it's in the past now anyways…," Yena says tersely. As she looked away from him, feeling uncomfortable rose up in her because of this Yena missed how Bakugou looked at her up and down.

"S'the least I could do," Bakugou mutters. "I know it's not enough."

Yena looked back at him, He's right. It‘s not enough. For years, she dreamed of him apologizing to her just like this but in her dream she had found someone else who loved her and took her on all of those cute romantic dates and felt like she had gained a victory of breaking the red string.

But now that it's happening for real life, she doesn't have that someone else and she feels lost and in pain as the red string was really tightening around her finger, instead of victory.

‘This is what I get for being delusional, a slap in the face from reality,’ Yena thought as she was suddenly hit with an overwhelming wave of self-embarrassment and the urge to be away from here.

"Well, I should go now...um it was nice seeing you…" Yena trails off, gesturing in the direction of the cashier, Yena almost throws up at the end of her sentence, as she says the automatic it was nice seeing you that comes naturally when bumping into someone she hasn't seen in a while,

‘God just kill me now,’ She thought as she really just wanted to die as the way he was looking at her wasn't helping his face was covered in surprise at her words.

“'..Yeah," he says, taking a step back. His eyes don't leave her. His end of red string that was swirling around him caught her attention, as it then made another knot making her confused.

Yena glanced at her string to see it was glowing and fixing itself like before when she first got back when she was four years old, her violet eyes widened as it also had a knot now as well and no longer had burn, scissors and teeth marks on it, if anything she felt like it got stronger.

‘What the hell?!’ This was all too much for Yena as she gave him a final goodbye before shifting to walk away but was quickly stopped by both the string that yanked her back and Bakugou called out to her

'Wait," He says, as Yena turns to him yet again

Bakugou then glanced to the side, where the bag of chips was grabbing them, and walked closer to her.

“You can have them,” He says while placing chips in her basket, Yena flushes a bit at how close he is to her but peeks back up at him. Not sure what his doing.

“Oh! Thank y—” Yena didn't get to finish her words as Bakugou cut her off.

"Do you...Do you want to grab a coffee, sometime?" He asked as Yena blinked a bit taken aback by the question just as she was going to say something she felt her string loosen up a bit

“Y-Yeah sure.” Yena mentally cursed at herself for stuttering, but then exchanged numbers, and made meeting arrangements to get coffee.

Once Yena and Bakugou parted ways Yena felt a wave of blush wash on her cheeks, as her hopeless romantic mind immediately thought how cute and romantic meeting up for coffee was.

‘No bad Yena! We are just going to get coffee as two adults catching up with each other…yeah totally not as soulmates..’ She thought while walking back to her apartment building.

[mikansei]

from a doylist perspective i recognize why kisuke - like a lot of characters in visual media - doesn't get outfit changes often. 1: kubo and/or the animators would have to design & draw the new outfit, which would create more work for themselves for no narratively relevant reason, and 2: a single, consistent design gives a sense of continuity, helps with character recognition for the audience & helps with brand recognition for merch (hence: The Hat™).

BUT.

from a watsonian perspective i find it MUCH more fun to believe kisuke simply found one (1) outfit that he liked & bought a dozen identical copies of it b/c damn if that ain't relatable!!! when i have to replace something in my wardrobe i, too, simply wish to buy an identical version of that exact same thing forever! (which the fashion industry has decided is Fucking Illegal don't get me started lmao)

anyway i don't have a good segue but here's my (personal) headcanons:

💚 as per word of god, he's an incredibly picky eater whose favorite food is plain rice, so extrapolating a bit - maybe it's a texture thing. tight clothes BAD shirt collars BAD socks EVIL

🤍 after having his life upended by captaincy & his worldview upended by aizen's betrayal, he craves stability & is allergic to change - so he's chronically, stubbornly unadventurous in certain aspects of daily life. save the experimentation for the lab (and/or the bedroom)! stop trying to get him to wear socks!

💚 his hair covering his eyes, the hat & the fan are all ways to hide his face when he doesn't want to be Perceived - which is not the same as not being literally physically seen, so the hat & fan being so eye-catching isn't a contradiction (to him. he may or may not be aware how little sense this makes to anyone else)

🤍 he emphatically does not care to follow fashion trends - especially since they change so often in the human world. his outfit was perfectly fine & normal in the 1920s thank u very much! what do u mean that was 80 years ago? the '20s were like, last week!

💚 because he was punted out of soul society with nothing but the clothes on his back, some half-dead friends & a hougyoku, he's loath to throw anything away - so he's kept every gift he's ever been given, even if that gift is a really ugly hat. yes he WILL, in point of fact, wear it every single day for the rest of his life, yoruichi-san! (she & tessai have a betting pool. she is not winning)

🤍 the first black haori with white diamonds at the hem was a gift from shinji, hence why it looks like an inverted captain's haori - complete with insignia on the back. no kisuke does NOT realize that it looks like that, and he's bought eight more just like it since. (the visored have their own betting pool. kensei lost 40 years ago)

💚 (also he will not admit it on pain of death but he wears the haori b/c he got used to the dramatic Swoosh of the captain's haori & REALLY missed it. he can have a lil Swoosh. as a treat)

🤍 the fan was a gift from tessai which might make u think it's secretly an iron fan to be used as a backup weapon but it's not. it's literally just a mass-produced party favor made of cheap bamboo & paper. if everything's secretly a hidden weapon there's no mystique anymore! gotta keep 'em guessing sometimes~

[lyntergalactic]

so i'm allergic to cilantro. it is the stupidest allergy and very annoying because some of my favorite types of food often have cilantro in them. including burritos

luckily, a few restaurants nearby are usually fairly accommodating about working around this!

apparently chipotle was not feeling it tonight though because the burrito i ordered had cilantro rice instead of plain white rice [thisisfine.png] and you know what, shit happens, that's fine. if i could talk to someone and work it out, it would've been fine.

BUT NOOOOO. because all of chipotle's customer service is FUCKING BOTS. the phone? a bot. the chat? a bot

and there is no other way to contact any kind of customer service

i tried to deal with the bot and the response they gave me? sorry there was an issue with your order, we're giving you a coupon for a free drink

yeah, that's right

a drink

specifically a fountain drink which you can't get via delivery so i'd have to go in to the restaurant if i ever wanted to use this coupon

what the fuck, chipotle????

[mycoblogg]

omg i am super curious!! do you like the taste of fungi/mushrooms?? if so, what’s your favorite recipe with them? :-)

i'm a super picky eater & there are few mushrooms commercially sold in my area, but i do enjoy white button mushrooms & enokitake :-)

for buttons i like them on homemade pizzas or a creamy pasta, & for enoki i like them in a south african dish called potjiekos (translating literally to "little pot food").

i mainly just eat white button mushrooms plain & raw cos i enjoy the strange texture !! :-)

here are some recipes i enjoy :

[virgobingo]

Hello, how are you? I saw your post talking about miles is Puerto Rican heritage. Could you do something with food like like certain foods I hope this sounds weird like how they taste and everything I feel like this is a weird question but yeah thank you

hi hi! i’m doing good. not a weird question at all. a lot of our main dishes have been described to me by friends that are not puerto rican as salty! when I think about it it’s true. a lot of our meats are seasoned with a lot of adobo which is essentially:

* Sea Salt, Onion Powder, Garlic Powder, Black Pepper, White Pepper, Paprika, Cumin, Coriander, Dried Oregano, Turmeric

it’s probably why the meats are often paired with amarillos/sweet plantains, rice, or blander root vegetables such as ñame/yam that are doused in plain olive oil (bc otherwise they can be pretty dry). for the sake of balance.

i’ve said this before but we really don’t eat a lot of spicy stuff. if you see hot sauce (pique) on a table, that usually means drinks are involved. it usually goes into soups or frituras, which are essentially our version of street food. alcapurrias, empanadillas and rellenos de papas were my favorite frituras as a kid. they’re crunchy, savory and go really well with icees

our breakfast is very americanized atp so nothing too different there besides maybe corn meal porridge/harina de maiz, maizena/breakfast custard that are very smooth and sweet! cinnamon is often sprinkled on top

this website has some pretty accurate descriptions of other food we eat https://www.discoverpuertorico.com/article/guide-to-traditional-puerto-rican-food

[ailelie]

Food in Nora's Return (in mostly reverse order of appearance)

On Nora’s, she found a mound of lavender-scented rice, shredded lamb, fire-burnt leeks, and coins of pumpkin with two sauces on the side: mint and lavender-sage. Gabriel’s plate did not resemble hers at all, save for the fragrant rice. His meat was flakes of white fish mixed with lemons and zested with orange.

~

“What are we going to do when we see them?” Gabriel asked. He tore the spongy teff bread into tiny pieces, dropping them into the thick stew of tomatoes, peppers, and shredded duck. Nora spooned some of the stew onto her bread. “Act as we always do.

~

For the first time Nora could remember, when she walked downstairs for breakfast, Ambrose was waiting for her. He held one large tray carrying two small bowls of a rice porridge with many small bowls holding different fruits and spices and two cups of rice milk.

~

“Sorry for stopping by so late,” Nora said. She held a tray carrying a small pistachio sesame cream cake and a pot of that smoky Crellish tea Ambrose had liked before.

~

When Nora woke again, she found a bowl of a creamy rice porridge sitting on a tray on her desk. The porridge was still hot.

~

The bowl placed before Nora was tall and wide, half-filled with steaming soup. The waiter set a mountain of fragrant white rice next to her bowl. The oil in the soup glistened in the sunlight. Soft pink flakes formed a circle in the center of her soup. Surrounding it were a bundle of moon-white mushrooms, a twist of dark green leaves, several translucent slices of a root, and a golden, gelled yolk nestled in two halves of a small, cream egg white. Nora slid her spoon just below the surface, scooping up both soup and a few dots of oil. She sipped it from her spoon. Heat from the spices and peppers warmed her mouth. The fish flavor was subtle and almost sweet. Nora scooped in a spoonful of rice and took a larger bite.

~

Nora sat on the other side of the tray. He had brought hummus, puffed rice crackers, grilled bananas, and a variety of berries. “This looks delicious.” Ambrose spread some hummus on a cracker and held it out for Nora to take. “I had them add extra lemon to the hummus for your preferred abomination.”

~

Nora sent him to find them a place to sit while she purchased for them: two bowls of small bowl of cool, sticky rice mixed with black beans, coconut, and mango.

~

Ambrose met them near the door of the dining room with a large platter of steamed buns. “My treat, today,” he said. Nora had not arranged anything special for lunch, content with whatever the Academy had ordered in, and so had no issue shifting to steamed buns instead. Gabriel likewise shrugged.

~

“Why luna buns?” Ivy gave her a confused look, but then turned back to her pot. She pulled another spoon from the spoon cup and used it to fish out the one she’d dropped. “They’re the first thing I learned to make. I was too sick to attend the festival on Astelanon so my papa learned how to make luna buns so I wouldn’t miss out.” Her voice, sweet as ever, rang with a note of sadness. “We didn’t have a grill, so he fried the rice instead of grilling it. That’s still my favorite way to make them.” She washed off the spoon that had fallen into her pot and dropped it back into the correct cup.

“No letters yet?” Nora asked, remembering Ivy’s tears from nearly two months ago.

Ivy shook her head. “Do you prefer your ginger syrup hot or sweet?”

“Hot.”

Ivy shot her a quick smile over her shoulder. “Me too. Papa prefers sweet though. He always says his life has had enough spice and that he deserves some sweetness now.” Ivy removed the pot from the heat and gave it one more stir. She then piled her bowl of cooked rice and a bowl of water onto the empty tray and moved them to the table beside Nora. Ivy wet her hands and scooped up some rice to roll into a ball. “He likes fillings in his buns, too. I prefer plain, though.” She glanced up at Nora. “More ginger flavor that way.”

Nora nodded, somewhat disbelieving she and Ivy had this one thing in common. “I prefer plain, too.” Gabriel liked his stuffed with a lemon curd. Ambrose preferred chopped nuts and cardamom.

~

“Get us a table,” she ordered the others. “I’ll get us some tirazi.”

Gabriel and Ambrose looked puzzled, but Ivy’s eyes widened. “What flavors do they have?” she asked.

“Sweet cream and a sour cherry jam,” Nora said. “You’ve had them?”

“One of my babysitters growing up was from Tegata. She’d make them for special days. Ask if they have lemon cream?”

“I will,” Nora promised. Then, unsure why, she did. The shopkeep did have lemon cream. She also had passion fruit curd.

(Note: Tirazi are fried sweet dough with fillings.)

~

Nora did not know how to respond to that. She took a bite of her rice. It was unctuous with rich duck meat, soft egg yolks, and a thread of sweet mustard for balance. She savored the bite to give herself a moment to think.

~

The family table was not covered with a variety of dishes. Instead, Nora only counted five serving plates or bowls, each filled with one of the king’s favorite foods. Outside, Nora knew the others dined a starry sky’s worth of small dishes, each exquisitely flavored. Family did not need such a show of wealth.

[...]

Ambrose returned carrying a bottle of esal, a fruit wine made from plums and pineapples.

~

The next day, Nora sent out for a picnic lunch with a variety of pickled fruits and vegetables with soft patties of pounded rice and a variety of sauces.

~

But then Gabriel asked, “What did Fletcher want?” His focus was on his meal, a thick stew of vegetables and spices and a side of spongy flatbread. Ambrose, however, was focused fully on her.

[...]

“I won’t ask for details then,” Ivy said, scooping up some of her stew with her bread. Not a single drop fell onto her dress. Nora glanced down at her own bowl and the spoon she was using to eat. Before she would have pointed out how uncouth Ivy was for using her bread like a spoon and part of her ached to say the same now, but she knew they weren’t true. Plenty of people didn’t need utensils to eat like Nora did. They were graceful enough to manage without.

~

“Nowhere,” Nora said quickly. She stuffed a bite of sticky rice and fruit into her mouth. The mint chopped through the dish was cooling.

~

The girl was back and carrying a large plate and forks. “Apologies, your highness. I didn’t mean to hear or interrupt, but my brother really will slaughter me if I don’t give you some pie. You’ll like it. His pies are the best. He makes his own flour blend.” She slipped the pie onto the table and handed each of them a fork.

[...]

Nora took a small bite. The pie had a floral lemon filling that melted over her tongue. The crust was flaky instead of the dense crusts she was accustomed to. She savored the bite, her eyes fluttering closed. When she opened them again, Ambrose was looking away, blushing again, and Gabriel was shaking his head.

~

Ambrose carried the small tray of sweets over to the table Ivy had chosen inside. He had bought Nora two cinnamon cookies as promised and a golden brown bar for himself. The bar was a smoky caramel brownie the bakery had designed just for Ambrose during one of their many visits prior to joining the Academy. Many sweet shops across the city had added some menu items over the years to appeal to his need for smoky, even burnt flavors.

Ivy had also chosen a cookie, though hers was topped with a soft pink icing. She ate oddly, Nora noticed. After taking one small bite, Ivy scraped off a bit of icing and savored it slowly. Then, she scraped off another piece. Her gaze was studious, but not focused on anything in particular. Then she ate some of the plain cookie without frosting. Again, she chewed very slowly. Finally, she took another normal bite.

Nora glanced at Ambrose to see if he was noticing her behavior as well. He was. “Is everything all right?” Ambrose asked.

Ivy’s cheeks darkened. “Sorry. I had expected a vanilla frosting that would soften the sharpness of the lemon in the cookie, but it isn’t just vanilla. The frosting has a very slight fruit element as well, though not as fresh as the lemon. A tea perhaps? The cookie is also incredibly soft, almost as if—excuse me.” She stood and strode over to the counter. She spoke to the clerk for a moment and then the clerk fled to the kitchen. A moment later, a tall man with arms like barrels exited the kitchen.

Ivy greeted him with a smile. “My apologies for disturbing you,” she said. “I was enjoying your lemon cookie and I had a few questions.” She confirmed the use of tea in the frosting and then turned the discussion to the flours used in the cookie. The baker denied using any rice flours in the cookies which prompted Ivy to ask, “Are you friends with a winemaker then, perhaps?”

~

“Clever,” Nora said. “My suggestion is The Broken Wheel. They’re another bakery and make rather delicious spiced meat steamed buns.”

~

“Teo finally convinced his father to add some food to the menu. He said if we give him a day’s warning, he’ll include those big, sticky cinnamon buns on the day’s menu and save us a few.”

“How long have you known about this?” Nora asked, imagining the soft, warm, spicy buns. Teo was two years older than they were and worked in his father’s bar at the harbor. Thanks to his good relationships with merchants, he had access to ingredients others couldn’t afford—like the cinnamon for Nora’s buns.

~

Nora took a bite of her millet cake. Warmth filled her mouth, which matched well with the spicy ginger tisane.

~

Nora noticed he barely touched his food—a cool mint and carrot soup and steamed meat buns. It was simple fare, but appropriate for the holiday.

~

Petra filled a small tray with a variety of steamed buns, indicating which were leftover from lunch and which were filled with fruit jelly. She also boiled some water and fixed up a pot of tea. “Tell the prince this is from my private stash,” Petra advised her. “If he wants more, his father needs to finalize his trade deal with Creldyn.”

~

On the bench, Viola divided the half-dozen tirazi between them. Nora chose one with a dot of speckled cream poking out of one end. It was still warm and the fragrant vanilla cream filled her mouth with delight. She hummed in pleasure.

[...]

She selected another tirazi, this one smeared with a bit of red jam. The nutty dough complemented the sour cherries well.

~

Ambrose sprinkled more smoky pepper over his fish as he thought. “I’m sure they’d find need of me if I showed up, but no one’s sent word I need to be home.”

“Good. What do you think, Gabriel?”

Gabriel swallowed a bite of lemon rice. “I’d planned on visiting the harbor, but something new sounds fun.”

~

“Pickles. Fried pickles on a stick.”

~

“Yes, Petra,” Nora said in a tone she knew would make Petra roll her eyes. Nora followed the corridor into the kitchens and passed along Petra’s instructions. Within moments one of the bakers had her nestled next to a big belly oven with a roll of spongy flatbread spread with honey in one hand and a mug of sweetened tisane in the other. The aroma of rich spices and fish filled the kitchen. The various kitchen servants chattered and shared gossip. Nora withstood the warmth of the oven side seat for two bites of her bread before slowly sneaking away from the kitchen to an outer, cooler room.

~

Around dinner time, the kitchen staff brought her a small tray of rice and the same rich fish curry she’d smelled earlier.

[seolarsonlyloveisyou]

Inseparable Until The End

After all these years, never have I realized how I actually felt. 

I never realized 

The way my heart raced when he was next to me. 

The way how I loved cuddling with him 

The way how I felt like he was my world 

I never realized  

The way he would hug me from behind every morning when I make breakfast for both of us after a sleepover. 

The way he would comfort me after countless arguments with my boyfriend. 

The way he was there for me after my breakup 

The way he would always call me everyday even though we went to different colleges in different states. 

The way he would smile so brightly when he was with me 

The way he quickly left the state he was in when I told him I was feeling very sick 

How he hold my hand tightly as I lay down the hospital bed and heard I had stage III pancreatic cancer 

How he would bring my favorite food and games so I could have fun 

How he would peck my forehead goodnight when he had to leave 

And how he would do the same thing over again the following day 

How did I not notice? 

I chose the wrong person to love 

It should have been him 

He made me feel what real love was 

I was loved 

I am loved 

Is it the same love I feel? 

Who knows 

But how I wish I had more time 

Doctors look at me with worry  

Although the Whipple surgery is very risky for my state 

They keep saying that I can still fight to live 

How I want to believe them 

I feel pain intensify as every day goes on 

But I try hiding it for him 

I wish not to see him cry again 

All I can think of is the memories we have had together 

Just how did I get so lucky… 

♡♡♡ 

Being the new student wasn’t easy on you. You were hoping to make new friends at the new elementary school you just transferred to but with the many cliques’ students were in, you weren’t sure if you could. So, you ended up being alone at recess for the most part. You would feel stares at you as you sat on the wooden bench by yourself, reading. You would cry silently for someone to pull you away from the loneliness you felt. That’s when you met him. 

“Are you crying?” said a voice in front of you. Wiping your tears quicky, you look up. 

“No…I just…Nothing,” 

“Oh, you sure- WAIT A SECOND” the boy exclaimed as he snatched your book from your hands. You feared how loud he was. 

“You also read The Legend of The Eight Fearless Friends?” You questioned him as he excitedly flipped through the pages. He nodded jubilantly as his eyes gleamed when he flipped to a certain page. 

“I haven’t collected all the books yet! Wow I feel soooo lucky holding one I haven’t collected yet. Say, who’s your favorite fearless hero? Mine’s Han Quokka!” 

“Oh, I like Han Quokka too,” you grew a small smile as you finally found someone with the same interest as you. 

“You know, I think I have seen you before. Near my home... what’s your name?” 

“My name is y/n. What is your name?” you asked him, he smiled widely. 

“My name is Jisung.” 

From then on,  Jisung was your best friend. 

“You remember that day, right? How we bonded over that silly comic?” You smiled at Jisung as you recall that fond memory. He grinned like an idiot before feeding you another spoonful of rice. 

“How could I not? It was the best decision I made in my life. My life would have ended dull if I didn’t come up to you,” 

“Well, I’d say you made the right choice. I’m just that amazing.” you said as you motioned him to reach the glass of water next to him. As he passes the glass of water, your fingers touch, making you feel nervous again. 

Muttering thanks, you drink from the cold cup along with the chemo medication you were told to take. Trailing your eyes around the room, you noticed that there were a few picture frames of you and Jisung that were not there before along with some family photos. You assumed he placed them down on the table across the room before waking you up for a meal. 

“Oh right! I thought that lying in a plain white room with boring décor all day must be terrible. So, I decided to bring you some photos. Here, I haven’t placed this one yet.” Jisung says and hands you a frame he reached from his bookbag. He hands it to you as you gaze at the photo of himself. 

“I figured that once I found a job around here, you would miss me. So, I’m giving you a photo of my gorgeous face. Admire as much as you want.” He proudly said as he posed cutely. You rolled your eyes at him. 

You smiled, “Yeah no, keep flattering yourself.” He pouted at the reply before starting to tidy up the area. As much as you wanted him to stay longer, you knew he had to go. His interview for a job nearby will be soon and he can’t miss it. Although he is staying temporarily, he says he’ll work hard to earn money and pay for the upcoming surgery you will be having. 

“I’ll tell you how it goes, okay?” Jisung said as you gave him a tight hug. You took a long breath in of his sweet aroma of cologne, sad that you’ll miss his scent. He kisses your forehead gently and pats your head before exiting the room. You stare a while longer at the door before hearing friction against metal. Turning around, the curtain separating the joined rooms open wider. You met eyes with your roommate, Ms. Lee Jia.  

“Ya, y/n-a, who is that young man to you? I keep seeing him every day now.” said the elderly women from the bed near yours. 

You smiled warmly, “Oh, he’s just been a friend of mine since childhood. We were just inseparable as kids after we found out we were neighbors, so we stayed close,” 

“That’s cute. Is it safe for me to assume you two are a couple?” 

“Oh my, ajumeoni! Of course not. He probably sees me as a sister...either way, how was your lunch?” you nervously stated out loud. She just giggled at your reaction before laying back down and staring at the ceiling. 

“I loved the story that you told your friend. Was that how you two met?” 

“Yeah...Sometimes I wonder how I got lucky with him.” 

“If you don’t mind, could you tell me another story about the two of you? I could use it as my bedtime story.” Although she still faced the ceiling, she smiled warmly. You couldn’t say no to her. 

♡♡♡ 

Once in middle school, both you and Jisung were inseparable. Everyone knew that. You two would frequently get in trouble talking in class, hang out in the library in your free time, eat lunch together, and go walk around. Both didn’t really take school seriously until freshman year. Thats when stuff changed for the both of you. 

Jisung spent more time studying as he stated he wanted to have a better future and provide it to his other half. You didn’t understand what he meant by that but supported him. You would stick with him in the library to help each other review and share snacks. Sometimes, even goofing off but still staying serious. 

What changed for you was that you got your first boyfriend in sophomore year. When you told Jisung, he congratulated you but there was something in his demeanor that changed. He was the same Jisung as before, but you could tell he acted a bit strange. He was playful but not as much as before. You brushed it off, hoping it wouldn’t last long but the strange vibe remained during your relationship with your boyfriend. 

“It was right after my breakup, he felt normal again”  

“How come, dear?” 

“well...” 

“What do you mean you’re still at Sua’s party...I don’t care Jinyoung, do you know what time it is! Hey no...I'm sorry for raising my voice, I’m just really worried...” 

You paced nervously as you confronted your boyfriend over the phone. “I just want you home so please come soon.” With that, you ended the call and sigh. You couldn’t shake off the feeling that something was wrong. Why did he go alone to Sua’s place and leave you at his? Just why is he still at Sua’s place after midnight? 

You sat down on the couch facing the front door. You waited and waited until you fell asleep. Hours later, you regain consciousness when a loud sound of glass breaking is heard. You shot your eyes open, but quickly eased down as you noticed a familiar figure. He was standing-more like swaying-- near the dining table, looking down. 

“...Jinyoung? When did you get here?” You groggily stood up from the couch and approached him only to stop. You saw he had broken a picture frame of your family and Jisung. You rushed and kneeled to see the damage; thankful it wasn’t severe. 

“Why...why did you break it?”  

“...” 

“Jinyoung, are you drunk-” 

“Leave me alone, y/n” He tried to leave but you stood and grabbed him by the arm. 

“No...I need to know why you were gone for hours! Why were you at Sua’s?? And why are you coming home just now? You left me alone at your place waiting for you! Like why invite me over to stay but then ditch me to go to a party?!”  

“Y/N I do NOT want to talk about this right now! I want to sleep, and you are making me angry with your yelling!” He angrily pull away from your grip and pushed you. He headed to the bedroom and all you could do was tear up. 

“I need to know why” 

After cleaning the glass shards and making sure he was asleep, you grabbed his phone. You unlocked it using his thumb and went straight to the bathroom. You went to his camera roll to see if he took pictures as he loves to. 

You found nothing 

You then decided to look through his chats and found nothing suspicious. You were going to give up but then realized you didn’t see Sua’s contact. Strange that he wouldn’t have her number after knowing her for years now. You scrolled back to the top and found an unsaved number. You thought it was just one of those scams or promotion numbers, so you skipped it, but you had to make sure. 

You clicked on it and your heart felt heavy. Tears swelled your eyes as you scrolled through the awful conversation your boyfriend was having about you with this person. You stop scrolling when you see a picture of Sua and her dirty texts.  

“Oh dear, that sounds terrible. What happened afterwards?” The elderly woman stared at you with sympathy. You look down. 

“I collected my things and drove home to my parents. And I guess I was loud when I came home because when I was going to open the front door, I heard his voice. Jisung was awake and wondered why I was outside at 3 in the morning.” 

“He comforted you, right?” 

“Yeah, he did” 

“Y/n? What are you doing?” You heard from your right. You turned and saw that Jisung was opening the fence that led to the front yard. As he made his way to you, you noticed his disheveled hair and the pj’s you gave him for his birthday, Han Quokka themed pj’s. 

“Weren’t you staying with your boyfriend?” 

“Something came up...Look its nothing serious-” 

“If it's nothing serious, why are you here at 3 in the morning? Not to mention, you look like you have been crying.” You looked away but he grabbed your face gently to make you face him. Even if you tried hiding it, he knew you were very upset.  

You couldn’t help but start to sob and quickly ramble about how much you hated Jinyoung. Jisung was taken aback but hugged you tightly. 

“Hey, hey, calm down. Why don’t we head inside, and you tell me what happened, okay?” He held you against him as he walked back to the fence. After locking the fence behind him, he led you to an open window, his room. you crawled inside his room after he did. Before high school, you would jump through his window to have secret sleepovers when your parents didn’t let you go out, upset with them, or felt lonely. 

After laying down in his bed and Jisung giving you tissues, you told him everything that went down. You were broken, fragile, and afraid that Jisung wouldn’t want to hear you. But during your rambling, Jisung held your hand tightly, reassuring you. 

“That jerk, he doesn’t deserve someone so special as you honey. He may not have seen how much you value, and that is his loss. You, my dear, are someone very special and I wish to spend all my life with you if I could. You are someone that I appreciate as you give me comfort. Too bad that Jinyoung will never receive that genuine love you gave him.” 

Hearing someone that you care about saying sweet things about you made you feel a bit better. Especially if it was coming from Jisung. 

“Have you broken up with him yet, though?”  

“In my mind, yes. But he doesn’t know about it yet.” You sighed. Jisung then stood up and exited his room, making you confused. “Jisung? Where did you go to?” You whispered, not wanting to get caught inside his house now. 

After he didn’t reply, you decided to dispose of the tissues and then wrap yourself in Jisungs softest blanket. You just couldn’t relax knowing that your soon-to-be ex was with someone else. Just as you were going to break down again, Jisung came back with a bowl. 

He handed you the bowl with your favorite snacks and smiled “Why don’t we watch a movie? I’ll take your mind off this mess, so what do you say?” He then grabbed the remote to his tv and searched for a movie. 

Your heart skipped at his actions.  

Gosh, he’s just so kind and perfect 

“Well, it's kinda late...Oh whats that one about?” 

Not long after, you fell asleep with your head against the jisungs shoulder. When Jisung noticed, he made sure to wrap the blanket tighter around you. He gently brushed your hair away from your face and kissed your forehead. His eyes lingered on your face, tracing your features. 

“How I wish you knew” 

♡♡♡   

“And then, I made breakfast for the both of us.” You smiled as you remembered how Jisung took care of you. You then looked at the elderly women Infront of you and you could tell she was about to doze off. 

You bitterly smiled, “I think I should also get some more rest before the surgery. Good night, Ms. Lee...” 

You woke up to the feeling of something poking your side. You got up from your laying position, squinting your eyes as they adjusted to the light. You looked at Jisung next to you and smiled. 

“You’re back so soon, how did you do?” 

“I think I did very well! They said they would be contacting me soon,” His eyes sparkled as he excitedly stated. You looked down and softly smiled, afraid that looking at him any longer would make you want to confess to him. Before Jisung could tell you something else, your doctor came in. 

“Ms. L/N, your surgery will be starting soon. Like we stated before, we will be reconstructing the anatomy after detaching the head of the pancreas and other organs, taking much of the cancer as possible. We will be coming shortly to take you to the OR. I’ll give you some time with your visitor.” Dr. Jeon stated before leaving. 

You were worried. You knew that the surgery was very risky and even with success, post-operative complications are severe. You would also still need monitoring and be taking chemotherapy. The question though is, were you up for that risk? You just couldn’t shake away the racing negative thoughts. 

Jisung took your hand. “Fight to live, okay? I’ll be waiting for you right here.” 

“I’ll try but, I'm not so sure if I want to do this anymore...what if I don’t make it? What if something wrong happ-” 

“No, don’t say that! Please don’t say that Jagiya...” Jisung exclaimed as he hugged you tightly. “I promise you will make it out, okay?” 

You could tell Jisung was anxious yet tried looking positive for you. You hugged him back, reassuring him even though you knew the possible outcome.   

“Ms. L/N, it's time to take you.” Dr. Jeon announced as he and other doctors started to unhook your bed from the wall. You took one look last look at jisung’s teary eyes. 

It's now or never 

“I love you” 

“...what?” 

“Jisung...I love you. I've been wanting to say that for a while. I know this might be an inappropriate time for a confession, but with the possibility of dying, I just had to let you know. Take care for me, okay?” 

Jisung was shocked after hearing the confession, but he couldn’t reply to you as you had left him. 

“Pancreatic fluids are leaking!” 

“Thats going to harm the pancreatic tissue, I need suction and needle driver!” 

“It appears she’s going into DIC; her blood is clotting, Dr. Jeon!” 

“Hemostat, we need to keep the blood clotting under control. Suction, there's too much blood in the way and it's not slowing down.” 

“Her heart, she’s going into ventricular fibrillation. Her heart has an irregular beating. Start the chest compressions and get the AED.” 

After grabbing the AED, Dr. Jeon started sending electric shocks to your body, trying to get you stable. But you weren’t responding to the aid they were giving. 

Ms. Lee woke up from her slumber and noticed a panicked Jisung pacing in the room. “Hey, you’re the young man that visits her right?” She questioned him while getting up. 

“Huh? Oh yes, I’m Jisung” 

“Where is y/n?” 

“She’s been in the operating room for more than an hour now. She should have been here by now...” 

“Young man, why don’t you take a seat? I'm sure if y/n-a comes back, she would not like you in this state.” Jisung apologized before taking a seat. He tried to calm himself down. For her 

Both sat in silence, not knowing what to say to each other. Comforting words weren’t really on Ms. Lee’s side, but she hoped that her presence would do enough for Jisung. 

Just then, Dr. Jeon entered the room looking solemn. “Mr. Han?” 

“Yes, Dr. Jeon. What happened?” Han stood up immediately. 

“I'm afraid to announce Ms. Y/N died during surgery. In Whipple surgery, it’s common for an artery rupture to occur. With it being fatal to cancer that is advance, that was the cause of her death. We tried out best, so we apologize that this was the outcome.” Dr. Jeon stated disappointingly before leaving. 

Jisung didn’t hear clearly what Dr. Jeon said as he broke down the second he heard you passed away. Although he kept wiping his eyes, he couldn’t stop his tears from overflowing. Ms. Lee patted his back and gave her condolences. She tried to calm him down, but he didn’t. You were his world and now you were gone. 

“I didn’t get to say ‘I love you’ back...” 

[brookebeebe-blog]

August 3rd - Fo Guang Shan Monastery and Museum

I’m giving up on the cough update. It’s still here, it’s not going anywhere, and it sucks. It was another early start. I got up early enough to talk to my friends from home. After I talked to both of them, I got a quick breakfast because we only had 15 minutes to eat. The hot chocolate at breakfast has become my new favorite drink. We boarded the bus and had a long ride to Fo Guang Shan. It is a beautiful and extremely large buddhist temple. I will say though, there are lots of stairs. We got to offer a flower and a prayer to one of the big buddhas and then it was time for lunch. This lunch though was very specific and we had a 30 minute briefing on how to eat it. First, absolutely no phones or talking was allowed. Also, masks had to worn at all times besides when eating. We had to walk in silently, bow to buddha, then quietly pull our chairs back. Then, a chant resumed for about 5 minutes. After this, we could eat. Another part was that we had to eat everything we accepted and since I didn’t know what things would taste like and I can’t finish food if I don’t like it, I had two bowls of plain white rice for lunch. You also only get 20 minutes to eat. Another part that confused me was that there was no beverage served. Eating two bowls of plain white rice with no water is slightly difficult. After 20 minutes was up, another chant resumes, bowls are taken away, and you get to leave and finally break your silence. It was quite an experience, but I will say I do not think I would able to eat every meal like that for years on end. After lunch, we headed to the Buddha Museum. The most interesting part of the museum was the architecture in my opinion. I have never seen such a large statue of buddha. There were gold buddha’s, jade buddha’s, wooden buddha’s, and everything in between. We also got to practice some calligraphy, which was super fun. I was exhausted after all the stairs and walking, so I was excited to get back on the bus and head back to the hotel. Tonight, we get to party with Peter! I think we’re starting at some bars and then maybe a club? Not really sure but definitely excited.

Academic Reflection

Fo Guang Shan was established by Master Hsing Yun and his disciples. The main structures consist of four temples: Daxiongbao, Dabei, Dazhi, and the Dashu shrines. Daxiongbao is the most notable and largest of each of these temples. The main god of worship is Sakyamuni. They believe he was born in 563 or 566 BCE as a wealthy prince. When he realized he was not reaching liberation, he decided to give up his bountiful way of life and turned to meditation in hopes to reach enlightenment on his own. After 49 days of sitting under a tree resisting temptation and urges, he became a buddha. He then spread his wisdom and advocated for a life without need for objects and power. In the temple, there are 14,800 holes of buddha statues. The museum we visited used to be a temple and in 2011, it was transformed into a memorial center with 8 pagodas at the front and the world’s tallest bronze buddha statue.

Citations

https://kagyuoffice.org/buddhism/shakyamuni-buddha/

https://eng.taiwan.net.tw/m1.aspx?sNo=0002121&id=2206

https://taiwangods.moi.gov.tw/html/landscape_EN/1_0011.aspx?i=87

[super-cosmic-library]

Part 4

part 3, part 2, part 1, ao3

“His dad literally tried to shove me into a locker, Chris,” Eddie whined as he washed the rest of the homemade avocado facemask off his face. “He was such a cliché bully, it was boring. And Steve looks almost exactly like him, but somehow I’m turned on by him? Am I actually insane?”

Chrissy rolled her eyes. Eddie had been going on about Steve nonstop since they dropped him off. At first, it was cute to see her best friend all flustered by his crush, but after a nearly thirty-minute monologue about the guy’s ass while the two did their end-of-week skincare routines, she was ready to change the subject.

“You need a drink?” Chrissy hollered from the kitchen, taking a can of La Croix from the fridge for herself. It filled her with warmth every time she saw them in there. She knew Eddie kept those drinks in there just for her. Neither of the men who lived there drank the stuff.

“Yes, please. God, I’m famished.”

She grabbed an already open bag of blood and shut the door behind her.

She’d known her best friend was a vampire for a long time. She had kind of figured it out when they started hanging out her junior year and she’d realized he had been a senior since she began high school. She didn’t know what the teachers thought, but she’d reasoned that there was no way someone could go through senior year that many times and not just drop out altogether. There had to be a bigger reason.

She took Eddie’s favorite mug—a plain white one with the words “World’s Foxiest Grandma” written in black and a picture of Garfield in a curly grey wig, a green knit shaw, and pink readers on it—off the rack on the wall and poured it half full with blood. He never needed much more for a feeding.

She placed what little remained in the bag back in the fridge, then passed the mug over to Eddie as he entered the kitchen, fresh-faced and mischievous. Although, he almost always had a mischievous glint in his eye. It was a practically permanent fixture.

She cracked open her sparkling water as he took a long sip from his mug.

“Remind me to never skip feeding ever again,” he said, licking blood from his upper lip.

She shook her head, unimpressed that a man his age struggled with taking basic care of himself. “How you’ve been able to keep yourself alive for so long is beyond me.”

“Wayne.”

“You’re a grown-ass man, and you let your brother take care of you?” Chrissy didn’t get to swear at home or anywhere else her mom might hear of it, so she reveled in doing so in the privacy of the trailer.

“What can I say? My brother is my keeper, or whatever the fuck they teach in Sunday school.”

“The fact that you know that much is impressive,” she said, vaguely remembering something like that from her own years of Sunday morning bible classes.

“Excuse you, I read my Bible every day and go to church on Sundays.”

“I find that hard to believe. You’d burst into flames if you set foot in a church, and that’s not even because of the whole vampire thing. That’s just a you thing.”

Eddie grinned wickedly. “You flatter me.”

She gave his shoulder a good shove, and he cackled in response.

Eddie threw a bag of popcorn in the microwave and started rifling through the cabinets for any other junk foods that tickled his fancy. The first time they had a “girl’s night,” Chrissy had been amazed by the abundance of junk food the Munsons had. She knew people bought things like snack cakes and potato chips, otherwise, why would stores stock them? However, because her pantry had always been filled with dried fruits, rice cakes, and almonds for snacks, she thought that was how it was for everyone. This thought had only been reinforced by her friends on the squad having very similar pantries, at least from what she saw when she went to sleepovers and study sessions at their houses.

Her mother had spent years drilling into her head how bad junk food was for her health. Growing up, the only times she ever got to have dessert were when she went to her grandma’s house. Even then, it was only one oatmeal raisin cookie after dinner. She was never allowed to eat cake at her classmates’ birthday parties. She didn’t even get to eat ice cream–only frozen yogurt with fresh fruit toppings. And afterward, her mom would force her to go on runs with her to burn off the calories.

So when Eddie first started offering her snacks when she came over, she was hesitant, to say the least. Of course, she was worried about what would happen to her figure if she ate even a single Oreo. How could she not be, after being drilled on the dangers of processed foods? But more than that, she was scared of how her mother might react if she found out Chrissy had eaten something that contained trans fats. And she would know it, right? Her mom would be able to smell the high fructose corn syrup on her breath, right?

Chrissy about damn near had a panic attack the first time she accepted an Oatmeal Cream Pie from Eddie. It was made with oatmeal. It had it in the name! It should have been healthy, right? But her body had betrayed her after she finished half of it. It wasn’t used to eating something that had more than three ingredients listed on the package. So as her stomach cramped, all she could think about was how disappointed her mother would be.

Chrissy had contemplated going to the bathroom to force herself to throw up. She knew bulimia was dangerous, so she only did it on occasion and only when she had access to a toothbrush. However, she could make an exception. Especially, she felt as bad as she had.

She hadn’t realized she was crying until Eddie asked her what was wrong.

There was something about him that made her feel safe. Like she could be herself around him and talk without a filter, and he wouldn’t judge her or talk behind her back about it. It was something she noticed during their first interaction and the feeling only grew stronger the more they became friends.

That night, she’d broken down and confessed her tumultuous relationship with food–something she had never done aloud. Eddie had sat there silently and listened as she poured out her heart. All of the not gettings and the not wantings and all of the instant regrettings. It left her feeling exposed and scared, though not because of what his reaction to all of it might be but because of what these issues she struggled with might mean about her.

When she had finished, he’d tried his best to comfort her. He had tried to talk things out with her. It helped a little, but the problem was rooted so deep, it had taken months of patient encouragement and talking with Wayne about what an actual healthy diet could look like (and not the crap the women in her mom’s Facebook groups shared) to get to where she was now.

She knew she wasn’t “fixed.” She knew she would always struggle with food to some extent. But now she could eat a slice of veggie pizza for dinner and have Eddie-approved snacks and not have a meltdown afterward. After years of drowning in her mother’s trendy diets and daily exercise regimens, she finally felt like she could breathe.

Chrissy grabbed a bag of M&Ms and poured some into the metal popcorn bowl. If she left Eddie to do it, he would forget to put them in until after the popcorn, which meant they would lose precious time warming up under the heat of the popped kernels. And Chrissy liked them warm.

She padded over to the living room in her fuzzy penguin socks to connect her laptop to the Munsons’ shitty little TV and pull up YouTube.

“No, not this movie again,” Eddie groaned as the intro music to But I’m a Cheerleader filled the room.

“It’s a classic!” She gasped. “Do you hate classics?”

Eddie plopped down on the couch behind her, popcorn bowl resting in his lap. “Only when we’ve already watched them a million times.”

“It has not been a million times.” Chrissy sunk into the couch next to him.

The couch, like many other things in the Munson trailer, was much older than her. She would argue that those things were also much more well-loved than her, but that would start an unwinnable argument between the two of them.

It was one of those couches where the springs were kind of busted and the cushions could no longer keep their shape, so you felt like you were going to be swallowed up whenever you sat down. Then, when two people tried to sit on it, they would always end up tumbling to the center of the couch, all pressed up against each other.

The first time Chrissy ever visited the trailer, she made the mistake of trying to sit next to Eddie on it. She still swore (jokingly) that she had almost been crushed to death by him because of it.

Chrissy loved Eddie’s home because it was nothing like hers. Eddie and Wayne didn’t decorate to impress company as her mother had. They decorated with things that made them happy, like Wayne's hat and mug collections that were displayed along the ceiling of the living room or the framed and completed jigsaw puzzle hanging above Wayne’s sitting chair. It gave the place more character than the abstract paintings her mom had found at Home Goods. Ones that looked like they belonged in a hotel room rather than the house of a suburban family.

The Munsons’ furniture was practical and useful. The tables weren’t replaced because they were mismatched. The lamps were repaired when they broke. Pieces were thrifted and not in the way Chrissy’s mom “thrifted” things–by strolling through different discount stores or scrolling through Wayfair and Etsy. No, these things were found at Goodwill and the Salvation Army. Chrissy should know. When their box TV finally gave out, it was Chrissy and Eddie who spent all day scouring the local thrift stores in search of a new one–picking up clothes and other tchotchkes that caught their eyes and they went along.

The entire trailer was always clean; however, it was also constantly cluttered. This was primarily due to Eddie’s inability to focus on a single task, often setting things down the forgetting they existed. This led to half-painted minis and bottles of paint left on the coffee table. Campaign notes, unfinished homework assignments, and paper scraps of scribbled song lyrics stacked on the kitchen table. A can of hairspray sat next to the toaster. And dozens upon hundreds of guitar picks in the carpet, next to the kitchen sink, in the cupboards, on the bathtub ledge, behind the dryer, wedged between the couch cushions, and so many other places Chrissy couldn’t possibly begin to fathom. The space felt lived in. Unlike her own home, where unless the place was shining, sparkling, and spotless, it was considered a pigsty.

So, yeah, Chrissy preferred spending her time at her best friend’s home much more than she did at her own home.

As the montage of the campers “learning” traditional gender roles played, Chrissy pulled out her box of nail supplies. “What color this week.”

He took a contemplative sip from his mug. “I’m feeling blue.”

“Really?” She asked, setting aside the black nail polish she had been taking out for him. He usually only ever had his nails painted black. On one occasion, he wanted them blood red, but he spent the following days complaining about how bright they were until he finally picked all of the paint off.

“Yeah. Kinda want to switch things up.”

“And this has nothing to do with the blue sweater Steve wore tonight?”

“I am offended that you would accuse me of such behavior.”

“So it has nothing to do with Steve?”

“Absolutely not.” He plucked a midnight blue bottle of nail polish out of her carrying case. The color was so dark, it was nearly black, but there was a slight shimmer to it that one could tell it wasn’t. Maybe she had been wrong, she conceded.

She picked out a lime green color for herself and handed it to Eddie. The two slid down to sit on the floor, so they could use the coffee table to use as a workspace. Chrissy laid her hands palms down on a paper towel. Eddie uncapped the bottle and began to carefully brush the cool paint on her nails.

When they started doing each other’s nails, Chrissy had been surprised at how well Eddie was able to paint hers. Back when they were dating, whenever she asked Jason to help her with her left hand, he always bemoaned doing something so “girly” (his words). Then, he would do such a shit job at actually painting them, that most of the time she would have to scrub it off with nail polish remover and attempt to do it herself to slightly better results. Despite his attitude, she could tell that Jason had actually tried his best to help her out–his face twisting, tongue sticking out of the corner of his mouth in concentration. It wasn’t some sort of attempt at weaponized incompetence, simply inexperience and shaky hands. Even though his complaining had made her feel small, she couldn’t fault him for not trying.

Eddie’s hands, by contrast, were meticulously still. She supposed it made sense due to all of the miniature Dungeons and Dragons figurines he enjoyed painting. He’d ensure the brush wasn’t overloaded with paint, then carefully apply each layer, swiping around her nail with his to collect any excess paint. Because he did this, her nails were always the ones to get painted first. That way, he wouldn’t get any brightly colored paint on his fresh dark nails.

“All joking aside, I’m glad that Steve was able to come tonight. He’s a fun guy. I like how he makes you light up.”

With his wild hair pulled up in a top bun, she was able to see his cheeks flush. “Shut up.”

“It’s true!” She laughed, careful not to jostle her hands. “I like seeing you happy.”

“Well, we should have him bring Buckley next time. How’s that sound, Chris?”

Chrissy turned tomato red. “I swear to god, Eddie.”

“What? What do you swear?” He challenged her.

“I’ll kill you.”

“Pfft,” he waved her off. “That’s an empty threat. You know I can’t die.”

“Then I’ll find a way to end you. Or maybe I’ll just lock you in a coffin and bury you alive. That way you’ll never get out.”

“Cold, Cunningham. Metal, but cold.”

“Thank you.” She grabbed a few pieces of popcorn with the hand Eddie hadn’t painted yet, and popped them in her mouth.

He watched her as she ate. He did that sometimes. It was a little strange, but she knew it came from a place of concern. He wanted to know that she was taking care of herself. Even though she sometimes wanted to shove his face away from her direction, she couldn’t fault him for worrying. She worried about him too.

She worried about what the people in their small-minded town would do if they found out what he was. She was well aware that people in her parents' circles believed with their whole hearts that things like demons and Halloween witches were real. She’d heard some of them rile themselves up by talking about burning witches alive like it was seventeenth-century Salem and not twenty-first-century Hawkins. She wasn’t sure what her parents thought of their friends' righteous rages, but the sheer fact of their keeping those friendships meant Chrissy had to sneak around if she wanted to be herself.

They didn’t know she was friends with Eddie Munson, let alone about their weekly girls’ nights. She let them think she was sleeping over at a teammate’s house. They didn’t know she was a lesbian, despite the rumors at school, or about the Tarot cards and crystals she kept under her bed. She knew that her parents loved her, even though they had a difficult time showing it. But she didn’t know if that love would change if they knew these things. She didn’t really want to know. She looked forward to the day she left for college and would be able to stop feeling like she was sneaking around all the time.

“Maybe we could invite Robin next time?” She said, timidly.

“Fuck yeah,” he pumped his fist in the air. “Mark my words, we are getting you a girlfriend.”

Chrissy giggled. She was really going to miss him when college started next fall.

Tag list:

@yourebuckingkiddingme @mickalaem @live-the-fangirl-life @mojowitchcraft @gregre369 @farfaras @loguine-linguine @spectrum-spectre @sidekick-hero @rozzieroos @steddieloverrr @hellion-child @ littlewildflowerkitten @ novacorpsrecruit @ rainbow-freckle @anaibis @ madigoround @ estrellami-1

[howlngforyou]

(1) What song makes you feel better

(13) What is your comfort food?

(23) What is your favourite piece of clothing?

ooooooo I love many of each of these so let me try to answer this

1) if I need to feel better I'll listen to metal! Literally anything will do. Or 80s rock n roll so Journey, Def Leppard, 38 Special, etc. Anything that I can tap my foot to or jam out to will help.

Or if I need to absolutely sob, somewhere over the rainbow makes me cry.

2) my mom's fried chicken with rice and chicken gravy. my grandmas peanut butter cookies. My white bean chicken chili or my Biscuits and gravy with a side of crispy bacon.

3) my favorite tshirt is green with a duck on it wearing a mighty ducks jersey! Or my favorite sweater is just a plain maroon sweater.

[pyonpyonpyon]

Do they have a “comfort outfit” or a go to look? if so, why did they choose those pieces? (Ramuda) What is their favorite flavor in food? (Hifumi)

𝚖𝚒𝚜𝚌. 𝚜𝚖𝚊𝚕𝚕 𝚍𝚎𝚝𝚊𝚒𝚕 𝚊𝚜𝚔 𝚖𝚎𝚖𝚎

He likes baggy clothes and slightly oversized shirts and jackets! They accentuate his small cuteness <3 He's a big fan of colorful clothes too, for the same reason. Color draws the eye, and the attention goes to his clothes and away from his face. He's a walking advertisement! And the color adds to his personality too! For pants, he prefers ones that make it easy for him to move in, so they can't be too baggy or too tight.

Umami is perferred, but I don't think he has specific favorite! He likes the plainness of white rice just as much as he likes the richness of beef bourguignon. He likes experimenting with all kinds of different recipes and adjusting them so both he and Doppo enjoys it!

But secretly, he likes the simple flavor of omurice best because it makes Doppo smile whenever he makes it :D