#How long does lychee take to bear?

[farmerstrend]

Litchi (Lychee) Farming

Litchi (Litchi chinensis) is a delicious juicy fruit of excellent quality. Botanically it belongs to Sapindaceae family. Litchi fruit is famous for its attractive red colour, excellent quality characteristics and pleasant flavor. Specific climatic conditions are required for litchi growing but the tree is not very fussy about soils. It is also little susceptible to viral diseases. Soil and…

[robininthelabyrinth]

i've been keeping a list of possible prompts for you and there's one i have no memory of adding that just says "courtesan nmj????" so i guess that's the prompt you're getting lmao

What Does the Fox Say - ao3

“Second Madame Nie!” a disciple shouted, rushing into her little garden. She didn’t recognize him, but he was solidly built and well-muscled like most of the others – truly, the Unclean Realm was a rapturous feast for one with eyes to see it. Yum, yum. “Second Madame Nie, I have bad news!”

Boo. She hated bad news: bad news meant she’d have to do something, usually, and right now she was seated very comfortably in a pleasant piece of sun in the garden path that’d been made up just for her and to her preferences, with her feet up on a chair and a full plate of fruit from the kitchen on the table in front of her just begging to be devoured, morsel by delicious morsel.

Her schedule was packed!

“I regret to tell you, but your husband has been killed!”

“Oh,” she said, frowning slightly. “Has he? How obnoxious of him.”

How unreliable. Men.

She sighed.

“Second Madame – Second Madame – you don’t understand!” The disciple was all red-eyed and weepy, which was a look she liked, especially in big, stout men like this. The salt added a bit of spice to the whole thing. “You must flee at once! He was killed by Sect Leader Wen in an act of outright aggression – Sect Leader Wen has declared war – the Wen sect is invading!”

She nodded and picked up another lychee to start peeling it. She’d get around to fleeing in her own time. As long as this Wen sect or whatnot was being led by a man, she wasn’t terribly concerned.

“They intend to wipe out the inheritance of Qinghe Nie! They will rip out the child in your belly!”

She hummed noncommittally. Really, how attached was she to having a child of her own? Really?

“They will slaughter civilians – execute Nie-gongzi –”

Her hands stilled.

“What,” she said, and the disciple took a step back automatically, proving that he, at least, had something more of a survival instinct than her late husband did. “Hurt my little meat bun? My darling rice roll? My savory zongzi?”

She stood up, diminutive height and over-large belly and frilly clothing doing absolutely nothing to diminish the vaguely menacing aura that darkened the sky around her. She bared her teeth.

“Who does this upstart Wen dog think he is?!”

The disciple blinked owlishly, but nodded, seeming relieved that she’d finally accepted his concern, though she could see on his face that he was thinking that her reasoning was – characteristically – a little strange. But then again, and she could see this thought process on his far too honest face, it was well known that the second Madame Nie been quite strange ever since Sect Leader Nie had found her in some lonesome place with no family or background and brought her back to be his new wife nevertheless.

Such a charming man. Pity about his loss, really.

“You have to flee at once, we can’t possibly fight so many people,” the disciple said once more, and this time she nodded in agreement. “We can escort you to a hidden exit –”

“No!” a little voice called. “We can’t go.”

She turned to look, and there was the little pork-and-shrimp dumpling himself, chubby-cheeked and earnest-eyed, looking as delicious as always.

“What do you mean, fish cake?” she asked. “Of course we have to go. Didn’t you hear what this strapping young man said? This Wen person wants to kill you!”

“If Father is dead, then I’m the sect leader,” her stepson said. He was serious and solemn in a way that made her want to pinch his cheeks and bury her face into his belly to blow raspberries, and also possibly to eat him right up, flesh and marrow and gristle and all. “That means it’s my responsibility to preserve the Nie sect.”

“Nie-gongzi, no!” the disciple cried, throwing himself to his knees in a dramatic display of loyalty. “You would only die – far better for you to run, and live!”

“Then isn’t the same true for everyone else?” the tasty little dish asked, crossing his arms over his chest and pouting. Possibly he was trying to put on a fierce expression, maybe, she couldn’t quite tell sometimes. He was so cute. “Why should I live, and them not? I refuse to buy my life with their deaths!”

“But – Nie-gongzi –”

Her charming little honey cake shook his head and held up a hand to stop the disciple, turning to look at her instead.

“Second Mother,” he said, and he had that wholesome trusting expression again that was such a perfect little one-shot-kill to the heart, ugh. “You always said you’re the best at hiding. The best in the world, no one better among all the gods or demons!”

She was, too. She couldn’t help but preen a little, proud.

“– can’t you do something?”

“Oh, darling cabbage bun,” she said, not without fondness. “I can hide myself from even the net of Heaven itself if I so choose, from gods and demons alike, and I can most certainly hide a small group from any mortal eyes that dare to look, if you don’t mind being a little tiny bit dishonorable about the business. But an entire sect? That’s a bit much, even for someone as talented and skilled as me.”

Her stepson looked up at her, all straight-steel sincerity and upright righteousness wrapped into a perfectly edible little snack-sized package. “If we split them up, the sect could be small groups,” he said eagerly. “Couldn’t you do something then?”

He was so cute, and he trusted her. He trusted her, believed in her, felt that she could perform miracles with a wave of her sleeve if only she so wished.

It was awful.

She couldn’t bear it.

“Oh all right, you nummy little slice of roast pork belly,” she said, yielding. “But I’m telling you now, it won’t be the least bit honorable! There’s only so many excuses you can come up with for having a lot of strong men with wide shoulders and women with thick thighs hanging around, and not a single one of them has the slightest bit to do with what you people consider to be appropriate.”

“That’s all right. Preserving human life comes first, always.”

The disciple looked between them, clearly completely confused. Clearly all his effort had been spent on developing the muscles in his arms (quite nice) rather than his brain (quite slow).

“What?” he said. “What’s happening?”

“We’re saving the sect,” Nie Mingjue announced happily, clapping his hands together. Too precious, too precious entirely; she’d have to make sure no one else even thought about going near her darling little snackling. “Tell everyone to prepare to evacuate.”

“That will take too long,” she said, and smiled, with teeth. “Let me call some friends to help.”

-

When the Wen sect arrived at the Unclean Realm, they found the gate open.

That was unexpected enough, but when they entered, they found that the entire place had emptied out – not just of people, but of everything else, too. There wasn’t a single intact chair or table in the entire place, not a scrap of cloth nor a bit of food, like it’d been swept clean by locusts or wild monkeys come to pilfer whatever they could.

Even the paving stones where arrays had been laid out by the Nie sect’s ancestors had been pried up and carted away.

Sect Leader Wen ordered a search, but there wasn’t any trace of it – of the people, of the stuff, anything.

No one ever found out what happened.

-

Jin Guangyao despised social events, he’d found.

It was one thing when it was something he’d planned himself, where the work was interesting enough to distract him, but when he was an honored guest for someone else…miserable. Utterly miserable.

The only thing more miserable was when the host was his erstwhile father, from whom he’d forcefully extracted recognition. With Wen Ruohan as his backer, indulging his favorite torturer as if a beloved pet, there wasn’t much Jin Guangshan could do to refuse, and neither could he force Jin Guangyao to do anything on his behalf, either. And so Jin Guangyao, sitting as always by Wen Ruohan’s side, right beneath his sons, was now an honored guest at his father’s house, getting offered his pick of prostitutes as if the man had no notion of the irony.

Maybe he didn’t. Jin Guangyao couldn’t quite tell if his father had just forgotten his origins, thinking his bastard son too unimportant to remember the details of, or whether it was meant as a deliberate insult – who could tell?

“Oh, right,” the simpering idiot in front of him, a nephew or cousin of some sort to the sect leader, said. “Our dear Jin Guangyao is known not to like the gentle flower queens, even when they come from the finest houses in Lanling. Isn’t that right, cousin?”

Jin Guangyao’s fists clenched. A deliberate insult, then.

Despite that, his face remained neutral. Instead, he chuckled and said, “The appeal is limited. After all, I have seen the best of them.”

Beside him, Wen Ruohan nodded and smirked. He appreciated Jin Guangyao’s devotion to his mother, though Jin Guangyao suspected it was because he thought it funny that Jin Guangyao would bother to honor such a lowly woman – but what he thought didn’t matter, not really. All that mattered was that he let Jin Guangyao pay his respects to her to his heart’s content.

“Well, you’re in luck!” the idiot Jin Zixun said, looking absurdly smug. “We have something of a different flavor than the usual tonight – we’ve invited entertainment from the local branch of Splendid Spring.”

Jin Guangyao barely managed to avoid rolling his eyes.

The Splendid Spring Palace was a series of brothels that had popped up fully formed just about everywhere some years back, with madams and girls and musicians and bodyguards of all sorts. It was so patently a political move that Jin Guangyao had barely bothered to pay attention to it once he’d become actually powerful, and Wen Ruohan hadn’t paid attention to it at all. After all, in the unlikely event that the business really was backed by a cultivation sect that didn’t care about its face any longer, anyone who needed to use such a façade to gather power was clearly beneath notice.

Jin Guangyao had paid only very little attention, but to different and unusual aspects of the place: by all accounts, they were surprisingly decent employers as far as places like that went. They didn’t steal girls or accept unwilling goods – they had some connection with the merchant caravans, or at least one of the companies that helped coordinate routes and provide protection to such things, and they were as meticulous about checking things over as they were about seeking refunds if they were dissatisfied – and they did accept married girls fleeing unhappy marriages, which not everyone did. They did buy up all the girls in the local markets wherever they were, but they swept them away and brought them back transformed, even the ones that wouldn’t sell because they were too ugly; Jin Guangyao assumed that meant they had people who were talented in make-up and clothing, since the usual rumors of the girls being blessed with a yao’s enchantment were obviously ridiculous and nothing more than the usual marketing gimmicks that brothels since time immemorial had tried.

Even once they had the girls in hand, the places were pretty decent: they had physicians on staff to help with the usual side effects of the business, made sure their girls were clean and healthy, and were said to even limit the number of customers a girl would be obliged to take on in a given evening…honestly, knowing as he did the brothel business, Jin Guangyao sometimes wondered how they’d managed to bespell enough people to even make money in the early days. At any rate, whatever they’d done, it’d worked, because by now they had a solid enough reputation to trade on.

In short: a decent enough place, far better than the usual run of the mill. Once he’d had the ability to do so, he’d even pulled a few strings and arranged for the better of his mother’s old compatriots to end up there, since he couldn’t convince them to leave their old professions behind entirely.

Anyway, if they also seemed to have a sideline in information brokering and assassinations, well, let them. In the cultivation world, where the only thing that mattered was strength, real strength.

A little thing like that wouldn’t make any real difference.

Or so Jin Guangyao had thought.

He found himself re-thinking that, though, when the entertainment in question came out. There were the usual set of attractive (albeit in a wider variety of shapes and sizes than usually seen) dancers, dressed up in silks that seemed actually high quality, and plenty of strapping young men carrying sabers – dancers as well, once assumed, to provide some spice to the entertainment, and implicitly on the offer for men who cut their sleeves or women with more flexibility, like widows or ones with especially permissive husbands. Wen Ruohan’s wives were in that latter category, and they were already whispering to each other excitedly, looking at them.

They’d even brought in the local madame, who was…

Well, she was actually breathtaking, even by Jin Guangyao’s extremely jaded standards. She had hair that fell almost all the way to her ankles, shimmering in the light, and dark eyes shining with liveliness, a smooth and ageless face that simultaneously suggested youth and health but also winked at knowable experience, the features characteristic of what his mother’s employers had called the ‘fox-face’. As if to emphasize that, the lady was wrapped in fox-fur and draped in embroidered brocade, with little stylized foxes running up and down the hems of her clothing and along the gazy silk draped on her shoulders.

It ought to have looked absurd, looked gaudy and overwrought and overdone, but it didn’t.

She was a thousand dreams of wealth and beauty and power and sex appeal all wrapped up in one, and even Jin Guangyao – who was in his personal preferences quite firmly a cutsleeve – couldn’t help but intrigued by her, wondering what it might be like to touch the hem of such a glorious creature.

And next to her…

The lady was accompanied by two men that seemed completely different from each other. One was a slender and winsome young man, fluttering his eyelashes from behind a fan with a charming smile, emanating the appeal of softness and weakness, ready to be indulged. While the other…

Jin Guangyao swallowed.

He was the exact opposite of the first man. Clearly strong, muscular and powerful, and tall to the point of towering, with wide shoulders and a narrow waist, a chest that you could lean your head against and an ass that begged to have someone’s hands on it – and there were his hands, big and broad, perfect for holding someone down or up if they so wished and of a size that was very promising as to what was only hinted at under his clothes. His face was hidden behind a veil as if he were a woman, marking him, like his comrade, as one of the available courtesans of the Splendid Spring, but his body was visible under clothing clearly cut to put it to the best advantage.

And oh, what advantages it had…!

“It seems we found something to the tastes of dear cousin Guangyao after all,” the idiot said mockingly, sniggering and snorting like the pig he was, and for once Jin Guangyao didn’t even care.

“Who’s the woman in front?” Wen Ruohan asked, ignoring their interplay. He seemed utterly fascinated, almost spellbound, and Jin Guangyao couldn’t blame him one bit. If this woman had been at the same brothel as his mother, there wouldn’t have even been room for jealousy or shame; his mother would have gone straight up to her to ask for some tips. “She seems…familiar, somehow.”

“That’s the madame of the Splendid Spring,” Jin Zixun said proudly, as if he’d done anything at all in relation to this – nonsense, of course. Everyone know which brothels were backed by the Jin sect, and Splendid Spring wasn’t one of them. He was acting as if he deserve a pat on the back just for the introduction! “That means she’s not for sale.”

His smile faded a little, twisting in a small bit of bitterness. “Or so she told my uncle, anyway…although I’m sure if it were Sect Leader Wen asking, the answer would undoubtedly be different.”

Probably because Jin Guangshan couldn’t slaughter prostitutes with impunity if they said no to him, whereas no one could stop Wen Ruohan from doing any damn thing he pleased.

Wen Ruohan grunted, pleased by the answer – he was a possessive man, in the rare events that he did exert himself in the realm of women, and there had been more than one instance where he’d stolen away some girl his sons had been eyeing first just for the joy of having had her first – and raised a hand, catching the lady’s eye and gesturing for her to come over, which she did.

“What’s your name?” he asked.

She laughed. “You can call me Hu Jiuwei. With the ‘Hu’ being the character for fox.”

Jin Guangyao tried not to choke. There were false names and then there were false names – the lady’s theme was already clearly related to foxes, given her fox-face and fox-fur lining and the foxes embroidered onto her robes. Was the over-the-top name really necessary?

“It’s a fake name,” she added, unnecessarily.

“I see,” Wen Ruohan said, sounding a little choked himself. Possibly it was the woman calling herself ‘Foxy Ninetails’ and then kindly reassuring them all that the name was false as if she thought them too dumb to figure it out that was tripping him up a little. Jin Guangyao couldn’t tell if she was doing it deliberately in order to make her frankly inhuman beauty a little less frightening, or maybe she was blessed with so much beauty that she hadn’t bothered to cultivate her brain at all. “Are you our entertainment for the evening?”

She smiled, and any complaints Jin Guangyao (or indeed Wen Ruohan) might have had about her intelligence faded away at once.

It was that type of smile.

You could wreck nations with that type of smile. Jin Guangyao couldn’t help but wonder: how had a woman this extraordinary ended up in a brothel, of all places? How had no one snatched her up to keep her all for himself before now?

“My sons and I –” she gestured at the two behind her, “– would be more than happy to provide you with all the entertainment you could possibly want.”

Her smile widened.

“We’ve been hoping for an opportunity like this for a long time.”

[alcoress]

kags you could ship your moots if you want

ok i said before that im scared of doing this bc what if i don’t know people well enough but. i think that’s just me overthinking so let’s go !!

@katsdni + kaminari denki — ya’ll, i have already spoken on this many times, you know how i feel. grumpy/serious! + person who helps them let go and stop competing, person who helps them realize that you can be happy without being first, and without destroying yourself in the process. happy-go-lucky/constantly laughing + person that shows them that seriousness and commitment are not scary, that putting down the humorous mask and admitting you’re sad or disappointed will not make you a burden. skateboarding at midnight, “solemates” written on the bottom of your shoes in permanent marker, putting fake tattoos from the dollar store on each other’s cheeks, constant bickering and light-hearted shoving.

@shotosjupiter + shoji mezo — ok ive said todoroki before and i meant it, but shoji was a draw for that and here’s why: he’s perfect for you. getting ice cream and walking together, he’s always holding your hand and it’s kind of funny, like when little kids have to line up in school and the teacher makes them hold hands so none of them get lost? yeah, he hovers, and it’s hella endearing. steady reassurance that you are enough, that you have done enough, that you deserve rest and peace and to live with enjoyment and happiness - and you can’t deny what he’s saying, because mezo is undeniably genuine; he would never lie to you. he never has an ulterior motive, he never tries to hide his thoughts or actions; he gifts you with absolute trust.

@aelbedo + xiao — he finds you to be so vulnerable that it hurts, he wants to protect you, but he’s not sure if he should stay, if he’s allowed to stay. but you’re sweet and kind and he doesn’t want to scare you with the horrible burden he’s carrying with him. doesnt understand most signs of affection, but he brings you a serving of his favorite food and he doesn’t mind when you brush shoulders with him. if you ever give him a gift, he’s never letting it out of his sight. laces his fingers with yours when no one else is around - half to have you close to him, and half to make sure he can feel your pulse where your wrists are pressed together - to make sure you are alive and well and he is not hurting you by existing near you. xiao can bear many things, but hurting you is not one of them.

@cozmixs + kazuha — maybe i just like kazuha too much, maybe this actually makes sense. he is always centered, unruffled, level-headed. he greatly admires your determination to prove yourself and get better and stronger at everything you do, but he also sees how that can tear you apart at times. kazuha wants to be a sanctuary for you, someone you can come to and find rest. he’s not without his own ambitions, and he also strives for constant improvement, but he sees how unwilling you are to bend at times, and he fears that will make you break. you inspire him, he has haiku upon haiku piling up in his mind about every moment he spends with you, the rush of the sea breeze and the beating of his heart.

@kirishimas-manly-eyeliner + uraraka ochako — she holds grudges, but you forgive easily. this is the first thing she admires about you. then your creativity, and then your dedication to the arts, and then the way you smile at her whenever she comes into a room and then everything, and all too soon she adores you. you’re both wearing mittens, hands in each other’s pockets as you explore an open-air market in the winter. she kisses you with powdered sugar on her lips inside the warm, glowing interior of your favorite bakery - you visit it every saturday morning. she does her best to make up a picnic basket for you so that you can sit in the park together and watch the grass and flowers sway. ochako believes you are the sun.

@forget-me-not-myo + toga himiko — she talks so much that she worries you won’t like her for it, that you’ll find her chattering off-putting. your short responses worry her further, until she realizes that you’re not displeased with her, but you just don’t want to talk, or don’t have anything to say in reply. she’s happy to just exist near you if you want silence, or hand you her phone so you can listen to her playlists that she makes especially for you. she brings you gifts constantly, soft clothes and pretty skirts and cute stuffed animals. she braids your hair and puts bracelets on your wrists. she adores you, and it’s obvious.

@strwbry-m1lk + sero hanta — maybe im just thinking about a particular vibe but? great listener, just lets you lay your head in his lap while you talk and he watches you hands move around, probably grabs one and kisses your knuckles. brings you mango tea with lychee jellies, plays riptide for you on his ukulele, loves nothing more than laying down and having you rest your head on his chest. his kisses taste like vanilla chapstick. absolutely beams at you when you come into the room, there’s literally no way for anyone to mistake the way he looks at you as anything but crushingly fond.

@luvmojii + iida tenya — finds your competitiveness amusing, and will absolutely play air hockey with you even if he loses every time. hates that when he kisses you his glasses sometimes get knocked askew, so he always does this adorable thing where you can totally tell he wants a kiss or some form of close affection bc he’ll take his glasses off and he’ll just be squinting ajsj. thinks giving you a piggyback ride is kind of undignified but quickly realizes he doesn’t give a shit about what other people think of him so long as he makes you happy. always brings you book recommendations and sends you news articles about topics you’re interested in. knows every order you make at every restaurant by heart, and learns to cook all of those orders so he can make your favorites for you himself.

if i missed you pls lmk!! there is also the possibility that i feel i don’t know you well enough to write one of these so (;´・`)> but pls tell me if ur a close moot (someone i talk to frequently) and i missed you!! bc chances are i meant to include you <3

[soundofez]

@mastar-week​ 2021, day 3// solace

The Untamed AU. In the end, even Black Star cannot defy his own death. The clans gather to facilitate his fall.

Maka doesn’t let them. It drives her own clan half-mad, but she will not give the world a dying man to execute. She will not give up the man she has left so long abandoned. She will not let Black die unloved.

Warnings: hurt/comfort but mostly hurt, insanity, major character death. this one's a big ouchie my guys ಥvಥ

Ten Years Ago.

After the last surviving branch of the Star clan finally submits itself to the judgment of the Death clan, the wards around the Sunken Hills fail.

The other clans swarm, metaphorical pitchforks readied, eager to tear apart the notorious Last Dragon of Star. Maka arrives too late to stop them from trespassing; she flies past trampled gardens that twist her heart with grief and fury. How dare they disregard the toil of the people who lived there; how dare they claim themselves superior to innocents who wished only to survive.

She arrives in the central cave, the so-called Den of the Last Dragon, to find Black Star holding the rioting clans at bay, untouchable even now, shorn hair tied into powerful charms and dried blood applied with morbid skill to woven talismans. The stink of rotting yin is almost overpowering: lesser cultivators lie strewn about, their natural yang insufficient to counter such high concentrations of that dark energy.

Maka waits until she is noticed, until the assembled cultivators finally back away from Black's final wards. They ask her if she wants the honor, and she nods curtly in return. "Only right," they agree, though their voices betray a rapacious hunger for violence. "Only right for the Jade of Death to avenge her young master."

She does not deign to use words with them. They are not the ones who need to hear what she has to say.

When at last they all stand silent and waiting, like circling crows, she walks past their bedraggled ranks to stand before Black Star.

He nods as she approaches, and she walks directly through the wards that had so powerfully repelled the other cultivators. He keeps his charms and talismans to hand, but he makes no move to use them against her.

The look in his eyes frightens her. He is not defeated, not quite; but he is weary and grieving, and to Maka he appears to be awaiting condemnation.

From your sword, he had once told her, I will face my death and consider it just.

Maka casts her own wards in one smooth flourish. They blaze behind her, brighter than Black's wards are dark. "Leave," she says aloud. She does not look away from Black. She cannot bear to, not now, not when there is so little time left between them.

The cultivators grumble with confusion that morphs into surprise and indignation and shock. "She has been bewitched," one of them cries. "He has corrupted her," shouts another.

Maka turns to face them. "Leave," she repeats.

She has to encourage them with a sweeping blow from her sword before they obey. She grants them no more words, even as they express promises to return. (To free her, the stupider ones declare; to slay her, the smarter ones say.)

They do not understand what she is doing. How could they, when they are so utterly convinced of the guilt of the man she is protecting?

Black Star does not seem to understand, either. "What are you doing?" he asks as their opponents flee.

"I'm doing what I should have done a long time ago," Maka replies.

Black spreads his arms. "Kill me, then."

The accusation stings. Maka permits it. She has done nothing to earn his faith. "I won't," she replies.

Black Star smiles at her, coughs— there is blood in his teeth, dribbling down his chin— his wards fail, and her own are suddenly blindingly bright—

She lunges to catch him before he can hit the ground.

—

In the end, even Black Star cannot resist his fate. His cultivation technique, which draws so heavily on natural quantities of yin, overwhelms his body's supply of yang.

Maka had known it would happen. She hadn't known how little time Black had left.

They spend those last months together, her and Black Star and a surprise child she found around the back of the cave. The girl's eyes as green as Maka's, though her hair is that brilliant blue infamous to the Star Clan. She looks startlingly, heart-achingly similar to how a child might look if Maka ever bore one for Black Star.

Maka salvages what she can of the former gardens, replanting radishes while little Hoshino Ao does her best to plant herself, too. They collect Black's favorite lychee from the trees, hard-won little things that Black had been so proud to show the cuttings of eighteen months ago, when they had stumbled into each other in the little town at the base of the Sunken Hills. Maka washes and peels and pits the tiny fruits, saving their precious flesh in a shallow dish specially reserved for them. Ao loves them as much as Black does; Maka has to teach the little girl restraint, even as she wishes that she could peel all the lychees the two Stars could ever desire. Ao obliges even so, sharing the dish with Black while 

Maka inspects the illusory wards alone. They cover a smaller area than Black's old wards had, but there is no longer a clan here who needs the space. Maka doesn't have access to the same techniques Black had used to cover such an enormous area, anyway. She secures the edges of the wards as the clans storm around invisible border, oblivious to her presence; Maka in particular watches her father, who appears more distraught than dissatisfied. He is one of the few cultivators to come daily, and the only one to beg and grovel for her to come home. He has an uncanny knack for knowing when she is present; he always seems to start pleading when she is around to hear him.

Maybe it is not so uncanny. He knows the feel of Death clan wards as well as she does, even if he cannot get through them. Still, Maka cannot safely speak to him, and so she doesn't. Time enough for forgiveness after Black dies.

—

They talk quite a lot in those last months, even as excessive yin rots his body and decays his mind. "Why are you protecting me?" he asks early on, while he still has his sanity. "The honorable Jade of Death shouldn't be helping an evil cultivator such as myself."

"You were never evil," Maka says hotly. "I should have protected you sooner."

Black laughs her off, light-hearted even as he waits for his grave.

At other times, Black is morbid. "You'll have to live here forever," he informs her. "If you leave this place, they'll kill you." He says this with regret. You shouldn't have come for me, Maka hears, even though the words do not leave his mouth.

"They won't kill me," Maka replies.

Still other times, Black flirts with her. "You can have your way with me, you know," he'll say, winking. "Nobody can stop you, least of all me. I'll never tell, either."

He is trying to drive her away. Tough: she's not leaving him until one of them dies. She tells him as much, though instead of acknowledging his failing body, she simply says, "I'm never leaving you again."

His spirit fails. He is tormented by ghosts who do not exist and nightmares that escape the realms of sleep. Still, he seems to recognize her. "I missed you, you know," he tells her, half-delirious. "All these months I spent cooped up in these hills, I missed you."

"I missed you, too," Maka replies, pressing a cup of water or a bowl of radish stew to his lips. He seems to hear her, and he smiles.

He starts to forget that she's there: when she returns from gardening or lychee-picking or checking the wards, he will startle and beam at her. "Maka, you've come to visit!" he will cry, or even, "You! I love you!"

She never knows if these last words are truly meant for her. "I love you, too," she replies anyway, pressing lychee flesh to his lips and letting him lick the sweet nectar from her fingers like a child. The fruit seems to keep the horrors at bay, at least for a little bit, at least while she's with him.

The last time he speaks to her, he is strangely coherent. "You shouldn't have gotten involved, Maka."

She sits beside him. "If I'd gotten involved sooner, you wouldn't be dying," she replies, thinking bitterly of the years she's spent dithering, and for what? She is already twenty-two, fast leaving marriageable age, and the love of her life is dying.

He is only twenty-two, and he is dying.

"You don't know that," he replies. "And that's beside the point. You should have let them kill me. The gods know I deserve it."

She leans over him, takes his face in her hands. "You promised you would be killed only by my hands," she tells him. "I will not kill you. I will not let the world execute an innocent man. I will not leave you because you are dying. I should never—" Her voice cracks on the word. She swallows and continues, staring into his black eyes, wondering if she will ever fall into such blackness again. Never, she thinks. It's impossible. "I should never have abandoned you, Black."

I will not let you die unloved, she wants to tell him later, but by then he is beyond hearing.

—

She buries his body. She does not take down the wards. She steps out from the Den of the Last Dragon and into her weeping father's embrace. She pushes Hoshino Ao into his arms before she submits to the clans' judgment.

She is not executed, as she had predicted. Lord Death is still too fond of her. Still, she is sentenced to daily lashes and seclusion for a year. It takes another year for her to recover.

Of course, she never really recovers. She continues living, and she is dutiful to the clan, and she finds some measure of joy in teaching the new cultivators; but she does not begin to recover until she sees a man in plain grey robes, his hair white but his eyes that impossible black, placing a talisman she’s seen many times before on a corpse who should have been long gone.

[1stunseeliefaelass]

Darksiders Arthurian Tales Revisited

Chapter 15: Time for Maintenance and Help

In a cold tundra, a peaceful family was enjoying their day. A hearty, meaty feast made of local game. The family themselves, were Orcs. Specifically of the werebear variety. Three little ones, two older boys and a younger girl, sat around the table eating happily. Their Mother, a Black Orc, meanwhile set out a lone plate with a feast all its own on it, just then the door opened up.

"Urrghaaaah! Geez, you'd think it'd be gettin less cold. Heheh.....," A Green Orc with salt n' pepper hair said before sniffing the air, "....Haha, yet another amazing meal. Thank you honey."

"Glad to please, and welcome home Bardak. Hope you're prepared for the feast that is lunch. Kids might beat ya if you wait any longer to start eating."

"Huh? Well then, let me put up my axe." Bardak states before hurrying to sit down and eat.

"Don't eat fast, and don't you dare choke mister." His loving wife told him.

"Easy Ulara, I know my manners. As long as the kids got manners too.," Bardak said sweetly before firmly shouting at one of the boys, "Hey will you quit trying to rip it with your mouth! Use your knife boy, that's what your Mama gave it to ya for!"

"Mmmm? O....sry Pa...."

"And don't talk to me with your mouth full either. Chew first then speak, or at least pack it away."

The boy gulped his bite down finally, "Sorry Pa."

"Hmph, and what about you?" Bardak asked of his other son.

"I'm doing it right, see Pa? I can use a knife."

"Hey you dummy!", the first brother yelled before bonking the other's head, "I know how to use a knife!"

"Pa he bonked me!"

"Oh quit your whining!"

"THAT'S ENOUGH! Now both of ya sit down and leave each other alone." Bardak firmly told them.

"Yes sir!" They both said in unison.

"Now, where's your sister?" Bardak inquires looking around a bit, only to get 'surprised' by a sneak attack.

"RAAAAAA! I got you Papa I got you!" She pipes up with pure delight.

"Ahhhhhhaha....certainly did. Now come on, sit down and eat." Bardak told her gently.

She scurried back to her seat just as Ulara finally sat down herself and began eating. The family continued their meal in peace and just as Bardak finished up, he heard his crystal going off.

"Hmm? What the?", He then answered his crystal, "Hey Death!"

"Ah there you are Bardak. Hope I'm not interrupting anything."

"Oh not at all, just caught us at lunchtime. How are things on your side?" Bardak questioned.

"We're dealing with a wereshark."

"Which one?"

"Leatherbeard."

Bardak immediately freezes, "Uh honey, need you to watch the kids. I gotta take of something, but it's nothing really dangerous."

Ulara sees him going into a specific weapons chest, one with weapons that only has the crazy shit. She's instantly worried, "How can it be 'nothing really dangerous' if you're opening that chest?!"

"Ehehehehehe...heh...", Bardak begins whilst getting a specific dagger he got from Kobolds. Made from cobalt, jagged yet serrated with a hooked end, it ultimately looks like a shark in shape. ,"Heh...nothing but a simple problem that just needs some attending to. Nothing really dangerous heheh...."

The look on his face betrays him, but Ulara keeps quiet. For the kids' sake. Bardak then hurries off to go help out his old friend. Using another crystal to teleport to where everyone is. Everyone is shocked by the sudden appearance of a massive Green Orc in the room.

"Well then, didn't know I'd have this kind of welcome wagon."

"Right....well I suppose we'd best get your introduction out of the way. Everyone, this is Bardak, an old friend of mine." Death awkwardly stated as he rubbed his neck.

Course Bardak then took notice of Death's use of crutches, "What the hell happened to you?"

"Check my ankle, you'll see it."

"Most of time I see ya, you've got twinkle toes. What the hell happened, cement shoes?"

"Oh hardy harhar." Death says a bit grumpy.

"And there's the grumpy old man, where's your cane?"

War then piped up, "I believe he left it in his bedroom."

"Zip it, now. And look who's talking."

"Well if I'm too old for this", Bardak began before putting his hand on Death's head to hold him still, "then what else am I too old for?"

"Now you're just acting like a child."

Bardak shakes his head, "Said the old fart."

"Ugh, let's quit fooling around now."

"Ok." Bardak says before grabbing his old friend into a hug.

"Gah, that was my foot! Bardak put me down please."

Strife snickered, "You think he's giving him a bear hug?"

Bardak just gave him an annoyed look, "Oh sure use puns. Not like they're lazy or anything."

Death sniggered at that as Strife looked at Bardak, "Aw come on. It's wasn't THAT bad was it?"

"I'm a werebear, what do you think?"

"Ooooooooh.....oh....well then..." Strife lets out being unable to say much of anything to remedy that.

Bardak finally put Death down and let him adjust himself. Meanwhile Morgen walked in, "Oh my uhm, this a friend of yours Death?"

"Ah Morgen, yes. This is Bardak, figured he'd be a tremendous help."

Bardak couldn't help but pick on Death's current body language shift as Morgen came into the room. Taking a glance at the woman, he couldn't blame Death either. He then pats Death on the back, "Nice choice Death, nice choice."

"YOU MOTHERFUCKER!" Death shouted in response as Bardak laughed. He then glared at his younger siblings as they joined in the laughter.

Morgen only gave a light snicker to spare him of at least some embarrassment, "Well I'm glad to meet you Bardak. Guessing you know Death extremely well then hmhm?"

Death facepalmed before readjusting himself on the crutches. Leading to Morgen looking at his foot. She went up to him and sat in a chair next to him, "Since we're both here, may as well get this done."

"Uh Morgen....not in front of my siblings....please? It's....really not necessary."

Bardak shook his head, "If she can help with yer leg, then let her help. I've seen you when you're fucked up, and hell look at me, I know when I'm fucked up too. Shoot one of the reasons Ulara and I are together is because of this. Good way to build up your relationship."

"Shut. Up." Death expressed in a deeply embarrassed tone.

Morgen blushes a deep red herself, her eyelashes batting as she blinked. Bardak knew from Death's body language and Morgen's own reactions that the two didn't seem to be official yet. Or they may be aware of their own feelings but not the feelings of the other. Either way, he'd be helping with more than just a wereshark.

"Now go heal up, I gotta go prepare some stuff." Bardak stated trying to give them some minor privacy.

"Wait, what do you have in the way of weapons?" Death quickly inquired.

"Oh just a dagger, that's pretty much it." Bardak tells him.

"Seriously? A singular dagger?"

"Remember the last time we fought Leatherbeard? My axe did jack shit. Besides, this dagger ain't ordinary, it's cobalt. Trust me, this will do some major damage on him." Bardak states firmly.

"If you're certain Bardak, I'll trust you. Oh and be sure to say hi to Harker. Might do him good to see you, and to know that you're helping with Leatherbeard." Death says simply.

"You got it. See ya when you're all 'healed up'."

"Sure thing." Death replied shaking his head.

From there Morgen worked on mending his injury. She'd walked outside first to find a tree to make a small moonfruit tree with. Finding a dead tree in the garden's center, she began to work her magic on it. It takes a bit of work, but to her the small sapling tree is worth it. Even as saplings, moonfruit trees bare some fruit. Using her magic she tenderly sped that process along and smiled as the plump opalite colored fruits formed. Inside them all, was a single glowing golden seed. Morgen gathered all the fruit into a basket before going into the kitchen to prepare them. She chopped all but one of the fruit into bite sized bits and put those to the side. Her next step was to grind the seeds into a fine powder, which she mixed into a bowl of water. As it began to glow radiantly, she also added the thin slices of the final fruit into the bowl for a boosted effect.

Finally she came into the room again and inquired of Death, "In terms of fruits, what would you say your favorites are?"

Death cocked his head confused but thought back a bit regardless, "Depends, I'm a fan of pomegranates, dragon fruit, and prickly pear. It really does depend however."

"I see, well what if they were in a salad together?" Morgen suggests.

"Again, depends on the salad. So just say what you've got. You make it sound like you're about to hand me something that's extremely disgusting."

"Look I don't know your opinion of moonfruit ok? I'm using it to help heal you, but I imagine eating it on it's own might get boring. Hence why I'm asking about the fruit." Morgen explains a bit annoyed.

"What does moonfruit even taste like, when it comes to resemblances to other fruit?"

"It's sweet, with a grape like texture, but without the annoying skin of said grape." Morgen explains.

"Ok. What does it taste like? You said sweet, and that's fine. But details, they are important. Is it like apples, grapes, what?"

Morgen sighs and thinks a moment, "It's like a lychee or rambutan. If you know of those two."

Death snickers, "You do know people describe them both as grape like in flavor right? You could've have just said grapes."

Morgen rolls her eyes, "Yes very funny. Either way this will help to heal you."

"Yeah let's get this over with, please."

Morgen nods and gathers up everything after making the fruit salad with the fruits Death mentioned and the moonfruit bits. Using a tray to carry both the salad and the bowl with moonfruit infused water. Once beside him she places the fruit salad in front of Death before kneeling to place the water by his feet. Course Death is NOT used to anyone removing his boot, let alone anyone touching his foot.

"Gah, what are you doing?"

"You're supposed to soak your foot in this. It helps." Morgen explains.

"Ok then...I think I can handle this end of things. Thanks for trying...at least." Death responds awkwardly.

"You're welcome. Now just keep your foot there and....when was the last time you ....uh...I guess cleaned up?"

"Uhhhh...was it after the first or second dragon I had to kill?" Death questions himself.

Morgen facepalms, as does Fury nearby, "Brother, after you heal, you're bathing."

Bardak then calls after them from down the hall, "I'm an orc and a werebear! Even I know about personal hygiene!"

"SHUT UP OVER THERE!" Death shouts as Bardak laughs.

Puck then walks in to see both Bardak, Morgen with Death's foot in a bowl of water, and everyone else laughing, "Did I miss something here?"

"You know how bad Death smells like all the time? Apparently we found one of the reasons." Strife tells him whilst wheezing.

"Apparently our brother forgot to clean himself after dealing with a dragon." War adds on.

"Both of you zip it. He doesn't need this kind of ammo." Death quickly tells him.

"I already have enough ammo, but a little extra never hurt anybody, right?"

Death just groans and sits in silence as Morgen uses her magic on the water. He does glance towards the little fruit salad, and feels his stomach growl. Finally he takes a bite of the salad and is pleasantly surprised by the moonfruit. He can't help but indulge a little, which helps Morgen with her work since he's distracted. Course eventually she has to hold onto his foot as she's healing him.

Death suddenly jolts as he holds back a light chuckle, "Please be careful..."

"Same to you, I'd rather not be kicked." Morgen tells him simply.

"Right. Uhm....let's finish this up...heheh...hm." Death expressed whilst trying not to let out a laugh.

Morgen smirks but stays on course to be nice. Eventually she's certain she finally has it, "Alright, you should be good to go."

Death then works on standing up and nearly falls at first before Morgen helps him stay up. Course Death accidentally grabbed something he hadn't meant to. After a single, but gentle squeeze, he found out what it was. Quickly he pulled his hand down, his neck revealing yet again just how embarrassed he was at this moment.

"Oh shit my apologies I uhm.....I....ah....shit."

His siblings stifled their laughter, until Strife broke first, causing the other two to follow.

"Real funny, laugh it up before you all die." Death growled at them.

"Apology accepted, you did slip after all." Morgen reassured him, being forgiving.

"That is no excuse for touching you...like that." Death insisted.

"It was an accident Death, I can understand that much. You needn't worry. Now perhaps you should clean yourself up. Nothing like a warm bath to ease the mind." Morgen explains warmly.

"Uhhhhhh.....right. I'll get on that..." Death told her nervously before heading towards the bathing area.

Bardak looked at him funny, "Dude, you had your chance. You were waiting for your moment. That was it."

"Ugh....geez why is everybody trying to hook me up with her? First it was Strife and Puck, and now it's you."

"Because she actually seems to care you. Second of all you seem to care about her." Bardak tells him.

"And that's a completely normal reaction! We're kindred spirits if anything at all."

"Not to mention you yourself are a very attractive man. I am very confident man, so I bring awareness to those facts." Bardak states.

"Geez you're starting to sound like Harker."

"Because I'm right? Try an describe to her, you know as if I've never met her before."

Death facepalms, "Aside from the fact that she is indeed very beautiful, which I can say in confidence is an obvious fact. It's objective, not subjective here. Second, she is very kind to just about everyone. No matter what their background is, or how they look. If anyone deserves the title of noble, it's her. She has a very noble heart. And with her magic, specifically in the healing branch, she is highly skilled with it. Although she could probably use more training, specifically in fighting. At least for the time being."

Bardak smirks, having seen Death go from annoyance to peace as he spoke of Morgen, "And you say you're not into her?"

Death growled before saying quietly, "Zip it."

"What are you scared of things going wrong? That she'd leave ya for someone else? That she'd discover your dark history, and all it's bloody glory? People like her have seen people like you before. They understand em, hell Ulara and I are those types of people, or rather were. Remember how it was when I was young, back when you first met me? I was batshit insane by most standards. And you, were a stuck up son of a bitch."

Death chuckled, "You're not wrong, I was a bit stuck up back then. Among a few other things."

"And Ulara? She found me in the wilderness one day after I'd gotten into one hell of a fight. She took me in, patched me up, after that we started talking. And after quite a few years, we just had a 'thing'. And after that we got married and after that the family heheh..."

Death thought a moment and asked him, "Do you really think, I'd make a decent man for anyone? Or that perhaps I'd be a decent Father? Be honest with me."

"I have only one answer, yer siblings. You managed to protect Strife from yer asshole of an older brother. War, you fed like him a dragon and yet made sure he had manners. Fury? Well a debate is up on that one. But she's at least decent and she shows great promise....later. Besides, you love em and you have faith in em. And despite what you say, you care about em no matter what. You say you won't be a great Father, they prove that to be incorrect. As for the great husband part, and being a great man for someone. You gotta have faith in yerself and remember one thing, she's always right. And she never did anything wrong. Trust me, keep that in your head, and she'll be happy. Happy wife happy life, and I am a good example of that philosophy."

Death chuckled again, "Thanks for the...advice. 'Grandpa'."

"No problem, old fart. Now go take a bath, and get whatever you got on you OFF. I can smell it now, and OOOH BOY it is NOT pleasant. Did you cut your hair, and now cemented that way?"

"Hush up, I've got it covered." Death tells him.

"I'll time ya, see how long it takes ya."

"You're an asshole." Death responds before getting to work.

Bardak did as he said, and timed Death on it. And chuckled at each swear Death uttered or eventually started yelling out.

"Good old grumpy Death."

"I CAN STILL HEAR YOU!"

"Good! Cause you've been at it for about an hour now. Damn son, how long has it been?"

Death begins to see blackness behind him in the water, "Uuuuhhhh....I don't know.", he then smells what was just in his hair.

He immediately recoils, about to throw up. It smells like rotten corpses that took a bath in blood and fish guts, whilst using durian and raw sewage to clean themselves.

"Why couldn't I smell this before.....hurp....no wonder I was ok with eating durian....uurrgh....huuk....oh it's so bad.....gak....blarg...."

Bardak then smells it, "Ooop....ok I'm gone. Have fun with that, oh my gosh....Creator bless that man's hair."

As Death continued washing himself and getting more frustrated, Morgen made her way over in a towel. Course right as she removes it in the room she notices Death and the blackness surrounding him, "Uhm...you want to explain that to me?"

Death froze, "Ah.", then upon turning around he quickly jumps backwards slightly, "Gah wha?! Ok then......next time knock. May I ask by chance, why are you naked? Here at this moment, in front of me?"

He then turns around as Morgen quickly covers herself, "I'll leave now if you wish. But it seems you're having trouble over there. Perhaps you'd like some help? Besides someone has to drain this all out."

Death sighed, "Right......you can aid me, if you wish. Just be careful where you lay your hands."

"Of course. Just give me a moment to drain this mess here, it stinks to high hell, truly." Morgen tells him before using her magic to get the water into a current. One that moves the dirty water towards the drains faster. Eventually it's taken care of and Morgen hops in. Making her way up to Death. As promised she's careful, and for now just focuses on his hair. Course she pulls it back a bit and realizes just how bad it is.

"Oh merciful Creator."

"What is it this time?" Death asks nervously.

"Is this....a piece of entrails in here?" Morgen inquires before pulling at it and realizing it was indeed a piece of rotted guts from something, "Oh Creator! Ah!"

Death turns around to see Morgen shaking her hand to get it off and gently grabs her wrist. He then tenderly removes the entrail bit before inspecting it, "That's dragon guts, yeah...that should've been taken care of a few months. Sorry about that. That's probably very disgusting and disturbing for a female Unseelie to see."

Bardak then comes on back to check on Death, and sees the entrail bit in his hand, "Awwww, you've got her heart."

"Seriously? This was in my hair!"

"So that's the uh left ventricle of a dragon heart. How the hell did ya get THAT in yer hair? Did ya jump inside of it yeesh!" Bardak accidentally yells out.

"Shush ssssshshhhhh stop stop." Death quickly tells him, not wanting anymore attention.

Morgen meanwhile decides trying to put a comb through his hair and asks him, "Death, do you have a comb by chance?"

"What exactly is a comb?"

"Oh my....ok. One moment. Bardak, might you shut the door please?" Morgen requests.

"Alright. Wait a minute you want me in here by chance? Also why was the door open anyway?"

"Oh no, you can go. Also to answer the second question, I don't know." Morgen responds.

"Ok then." Bardak says shrugging and closing the door.

Morgen then gets out of the water to search around the room for a comb. Finally she finds an entire box of them, "Ah here they are, these are combs."

"That's a brush."

"A comb is a type of brush." Morgen insists.

"Then it is indeed a brush." Death responds sarcastically.

"Do you even brush your hair?"

"No, I don't see the point behind it." Death simply states.

"Ok, we are SO changing that. Give me a moment whilst I comb through this 'bloody mess'."

Death groaned, "Leave the puns to Bardak, at least he has an excuse."

"Right. Now hold still, wouldn't want to pull your hair by accident. Who knows how tangled it truly is." Morgen tells him.

He does so as she begins combing through his hair. Using magnemancy to pull a bucket from nearby and scraping anything on the comb into it. Death took note of the magnemancy and wondered what else she could do with it. He soon began to feel his hair slowly becoming longer, not to mention smoother. Normally it was coarse to the touch, but as Morgen worked with it, it seemed to become as soft as her own hair. From what he remembered of it at least. Finally Morgen sighed as her work was complete.

"There, fully combed through and ready for a proper cleaning."

"Huh.", Death begins before looking around them at the water. Surprisingly he sees nothing.

"It's all in this bucket here, if you really want to see the mess I cleaned out. Also you still have that dragon vein thingy on your hand by the way."

Death quickly smacked his hand onto the bucket's rim and got the thing off him finally. Next he cleaned his hand off whilst replying, "So anything else we need to do here? Unless you want to help me get my back."

"Ha, only if you return that favor. But I'd say all that's left is to clean your hair out a final time to be sure, as well as the rest of your body." Morgen responds coyly.

"Well let's get to work then." Death states whilst rolling his eyes. He'd NEVER spent this long in a bath before, and it was ANNOYING.

Morgen meanwhile gave him a shampoo to use and told him, "This is a spare I keep on me in my crystal, I have my own to use. And it is unisex in terms of who it's made for."

"Ah I see......well then....thanks?"

"Hmhm...you're welcome."

Morgen and Death then began working on their respective hair. Morgen had just begun combing her own as Death approached her from behind.

"Mind if I help out with your hair at least?"

"Oh not at all, just be gentle. My hair is wavy so likely the tangles may be thicker." Morgen replied blushing a little.

He then gently grabs the comb from her, and begins a rough brushing she isn't used to. Course she winces a few times, causing Death to ask, "Sorry, too rough? I'm not used to this."

"A bit yes. Just go a little slower with it, like I was doing. If there's a snag, that's when you get a true brush for it" Morgen explains gently.

"Ok. I'll to be more gentle this time." Death tells her softly.

He then works slower and notices the results seem better now. Morgen isn't wincing anymore and soon relaxes as the comb gently massages her head. She can't help but enjoy the experience a little. Death also starts getting more of the scent from the shampoo, but also something else. Something more pleasant that he can't help but accept the occasional whiff of it.

"Uh...ok I've got most of your hair. Mind getting my back for me?"

"I'm on it." Morgen tells him as she gently lathers him up.

Death freezes at first but calms down shortly after. From there, he felt just how good Morgen was with her hands. They were soft to touch as always, and he could actually feel a few muscles loosening as well. The scent from before suddenly becomes more noticeable the more relaxed he becomes. Course something else becomes noticeable too, more so than it has before. Death tries to manage his blade, but the scent keeps making that difficult.

Morgen soon finally finishes his back, "There. Are you alright? You've gone quiet."

"Of course, just fine just fine. I need to get my foot right now. I'll do that myself." Death responds before hurrying away.

"I haven't....scared you have I? I know you have 'bad memories' and all." Morgen implores with heavy concern.

"Hmm? Oh no no, I'm fine truly. I promise you needn't worry about me."

"If you say so....." Morgen says softly before working on her own body.

As she does so, Death works to keep himself under control. He finishes cleaning his foot easily enough to sell the story. But sheathing the blade was harder. Breathing heavy and fast as he took his time. Eventually he does cool down enough to trust himself around Morgen again. Just in time too as Morgen had finished the rest of her body, and had trouble getting her back. Death came over and began helping her out.

"Do you need help with that? You got my back I can get yours, you know?"

"Oh yes please, thank you." Morgen responds as he gently places his hands on her.

He's a bit more rough than her, but is still being careful for the most part. Morgen even begins enjoying the semi-massage of sorts in time. Meanwhile Death was trying to maintain control as he started catching whiffs of the scent around Morgen again. He could only assume the scent was Morgen's natural musk. Although he couldn't understand how it hadn't been so noticeable before now. Finally he and Morgen finished up and Death turned around to let Morgen dry herself in privacy. Morgen quickly worked to dry herself off and soon left the room. Giving Death his own privacy, which he preferred.

Admittedly, he was highly nervous. Perhaps, even scared. But not of Morgen, no, rather he was afraid of himself in this moment. He hadn't had to fight himself like this in a very long time. It frightened him, as he thought about what may have happened had he lost control. Even for a moment. Eventually Death finally dried off and left as Morgen had previously. Being spooked still, as he ran into Bardak again.

He decided to take the moment to ask him for advice, urgently, "Bardak, how do you control your werebeast side?"

"First off, I was lucky I got the bear. Which is technically the most 'gentle' of the beasts. Second off, I didn't fight it. I let most of it through, kind of. Again, got lucky. I remember one werewolf friend, he uh was very off-putting at first. But he was kind, for the most part. When it came to the beast, he didn't let it in. And that's where it led to the whole moon cycle, rage filled monster. Wait, why even ask that?"

"Demonic half is being a bitch today. I caught whiff of Morgen's scent. It caused me to lose control almost."

"Welp, I mean you used to control that part of yerself by fighting all the time correct?" Bardak questions.

"I can't exactly fight inside a bath now can I?"

"Nah but you could handle it in other ways. Second, when was the last time you got laid? Last I heard Demons had high libidos." Bardak presses.

"Practically eons ago."

"That's yer second problem. And finally, what kind of hobby do you have outside working? Beyond occasionally visiting friends." Bardak tells him simply.

"I mean I cook but that's about it, I'm always busy."

"Let me get this straight, are you always busy, or making yerself busy?" Bardak asks.

"Shut up." Death told him annoyed.

"Come with me, you need some time to air dry your hair anyways." Bardak tells him.

Meanwhile as Death and Bardak headed outside for their walk, Leatherbeard had brought Arn along to start their job.

"Be glad that he doesn't want me to have too much fun with ya."

"Be glad I'm willing to tolerate your bullshit." Arn retorted.

Leatherbeard elbow swipes his head, "Heheheheh, keep that spirit up and I might teach ya how to fight."

"I've lasted this long without help. I'll last longer without yours.", Arn says rubbing the spot hit.

"Heheh, surviving's one thing, thriving's another. And buddy, creatures like us were designed to thrive. Ok, you take care of the baby and lady. I'll take care of Death. Hahah." Leatherbeard declares proudly.

"Heh. The easier it is for me to go home. Just so you know I'm not bailing you out, you die you get left behind for the crows.", Arn tells him.

"Heheheheh, I'm assuming you've never met the Horseman have ya? I have. Hahah...nearly came this close to biting his head off. And another time, his close friend almost became my bitch. Trust me when I say this, you have no chance against the Horsemen. Especially, their pussy for a boss."

"Lot of talk for someone who would've died in that arena. If you didn't have that equally bitchy healing effect.", Arn remarks.

"La pute, you were using the wrong weapons. You should've used something of either silver, or magic. And even then, it still wouldn't live up to the true cadence. But if you were to grab a few of those kind of items, you better yer shot counts petite merde." Leatherbeard states.

"Silver or not, you should've died from the blood loss alone. I've seen and done it a hundred times over, as much as you say to the contrary, you're not fucking immortal.", Arn retorts.

"You don't know what I am, nor what you are I'm guessing? Ye probably only think that the 'wolf' is all you are. Am I right?" Leatherbeard inquires coyly.

"I don't give a damn what you think. I just know that when you die, I'll look on your corpse and smile.", Arn explains almost gleefully.

Leatherbeard only laughs, then asks one of the men to bring them a non magical weapon. He does so and Leatherbeard then points it at Arn. From there Arn's shoulder erupts with pain as Leatherbeard stabs it, and twists the blade into the wound. Leatherbeard then coldly pulls it out and the wound heals over, not even a scar is left behind.

"That, was to open your eyes. Believe me boy, you're stronger than what most would think. And I'm far stronger than you or any other wereshark. Heheh. Now, we have a job to do, so get to it."

Arn growls in pain for a good few seconds but he just stares at the shark as they walk

'I hope the Horseman makes soup out of him.', He thinks to himself.

He does touch his shoulder as there is still blood present, but at least he won't be too sore to swing his weapon.

Arn then gets a handkerchief from Leatherbeard, "This scent's from the little one I found the other night. She's one of the few that are aiding the fugitives. She's not yer target, but she is close to them so it'll help."

Arn nods before sniffing the handkerchief and hurrying off on the scent's path. Leaving Leatherbeard to his own task. Suddenly he felt a presence calling to him, he did not know it, but felt it guiding him. Cautiously, he chose to trust it. As it was leading him around the scent as far as he could tell. Nergal meanwhile smiled, glad that his plan was working so far. The Wiseman now could only hope that Puck could bring the young man back from the dark path he was on. Nergal then sent a mental link to Puck, to warn him to 'watch over' Arthur discretely.

"The baby.....watch him.....he'll be needing you....."

Puck shuddered, "Ehhhh ok...creepy voices inside my head are giving me orders.", then upon looking at his current bottle, "Maybe I should really stop experimenting."

"Just go over to the child of Uther, he will need you....both of them will."

"Ok then....I must certainly be losing my mind again, oh boy. Wait, what do you mean by both?" Puck inquired confused.

"You'll know in time."

"Great, I'm dealing with a very vague voice to begin with, oi. Fine, I'll go check on the little squirt." Puck explains before going to Arthur's room.

He finds the little tyke hugging his stuffed lion as always, and notices the magic that's on the toy as well.

"Smart lad making such a good toy." Puck whispered before the voice spoke again.

"Hide close."

"Seriously hiding? Ok." Puck states a bit grumpy.

Arn eventually began to notice his surroundings shift and distort. He stopped and raised his cutlass in preparation for any attacks. He notices it starts at one tree in particular that he passed. One side of the distortion was where he was, the side he was now on seemed to be much darker as opposed to the Seelie Realm. A sure sign he'd been brought to the Unseelie Realm, he wasn't sure why though.

In his confusion, Arn heard a voice, "Continue on with your mission. There's someone there that will you want to meet."

Cautiously he continues on, but says to himself, "This better not be a trick. I am in already in the mood to kill someone."

Arn shakes his head before finding himself on the edge of the woods. There he sees the outer walls of the castle and the moat that surrounds it.

'Nothing I can't handle.' Arn thinks to himself before turning into his wolf form, the process of shifting one's body to a new form is a level of pain that's nearly indescribable, but Arn bears it without making too much noise. When he adjusts he uses his senses to take in the smells and sounds before he makes a plan.

He then gets on all fours and rushes the moat. Before reaching the edge he makes a daring leap from the shore, and by some miracle manages to get a grip on one of the looser stones. Arn then begins using his claws to get a better grip as he ascends the wall. Even leaping to spaces he cannot reach normally.

Once at the top he hears a single guard stop at the edge. Arn then grabs his face and slams his head on the stonework, tossing him over the side. Arn then hops onto the parapet and upon seeing another guard, closes the distance and slams him against the wall of the guard post. With one hand covering his mouth, the other digging into his throat. With one violent jerk, Arn rips open the man's neck. Arn puts the sight out of mind as he sniffs the air for the tyke. Finally he finds the scent again, following it through a few corridors and hallways all whilst dodging the patrols. Course as he follows the scent he doesn't realize he's leaving a trail of blood.

Arn soon finds the room but sees that there's two guards at door,

"Shit...if this goes sideways, just grab the kid and go...no hesitation. The sooner this happens the sooner I can go home." Arn whispers to himself before letting out an audible growl.

The guards look down the hallway and one lowers his pole arm. Arn rushes him, dodging the pole arm and slashing his throat with his cutlass. The second guard is a bit more competant as he deflects the follow up blow. They trade blows before the guy disarms Arn and goes to strike him down. Arn however claws the man's leg and gets behind him so he can get him in a hold. One good jerking twist is all it takes to snap his neck. Arn then grabs the guard's pole axe, snapping it in half so that he now has a hand axe. Arn then opens the door checking if anyone is inside, satisfied he walks over to the crib and sees the little tyke is still asleep.

'Heavy sleeper this one.' Arn thinks to himself before he attempts to grab the kiddo, it's only then that he realizes he's not alone.

He lowly growls before scanning the room and sensing a familiar presence.

[toeil]

summer is over, and so are we. [1] ↠ jung jaehyun

[pt.2] [pt.3]

➹ jaehyun x reader ➹ genre: angst, fluff ➹ word count: 2,104

➹ summary: He introduced you to a warm summer you thought you would never have to leave. Yet, here you are, in the middle of a ruthless winter which’s ending seems to be nowhere in sight. a/n: yall remember her? im bringing it back lol

It still hurts a little bit. When I walk into that café down the street and I’m sipping on bubble tea, but you’re not the one sitting across from me.

“I’ve only had the matcha milk tea. I haven’t tried anything else.” You stood in line with Jaehyun, studying the menu of the endless flavors as you two waited your turn to give your order.

“Only matcha milk tea? I usually stick with the fruity flavored ones. Like, the mango and the lychee ones are probably my favorite.” He explained to you while he observed the staff create the drink of the person in front of you two.

“Would I like them?”

He paused for a second and thought about it, “yeah, you would! I think you’d really enjoy the mango one, actually.

A chuckle escaped your lips and you looked up at him, a bright smile overtaking your face, “I’ll trust you then.”

You two had noticed that one of the tables outside was vacant, a very rare occurrence. Not wanting to miss this chance, you had rushed outside and claimed the table as yours. You moved your chair and now you were seated next to Jaehyun, a mango bubble tea in the both of your hands.

“Can I try yours?”

“...We have the exact same one?” Although you were a bit confused with Jaehyun’s request, you still pushed your drink towards him.

“Yeah, I know. But I told myself if we ever came here for a date, I’d take a sip of your bubble tea, to you know, share an indirect kiss.” He took ahold of your drink and swirled the straw around for a way to avoid eye contact with you. He felt embarrassed, you could tell by the way his cheeks had turned a light crimson color along with the way his ears seemed to burn up, too.

A small giggle escaped your mouth. How could he be so adorable? “Well...why settle for an indirect kiss when you can get a direct one?”

He let out a shy chuckle allowing you to notice his dimple prominently popping in on the side of the cheek that was currently turned to you. Oh, the self-control it took for you not to poke it with your finger.

He licked his lips unconsciously and faced you, “I can kiss you?” You replied with an ecstatic nod. Maybe a bit too ecstatic.

“Then…” You intently watched his every move. The way his right hand had hesitantly come up to your face, his fingers shakily settling under your chin. The way his other hand was still holding onto the drink that he had entirely forgotten about. The way he moved in closer and then took a pause, allowing his eyes to trace over your face to memorize everything about it. His eyes fluttered closed and shortly after, so did yours.

He kissed you, your lips molding together like the last two pieces of an incomplete puzzle. At that moment it was just you two, your senses completely flooding with his smell. It felt like no one else was around, that the past and future didn’t matter anymore. The kiss wasn’t fiery or full of need. It was slow, cautious, sweet, full of promise and didn’t fail to make you feel tingly all over. It was comforting in a way that words could never be. That was when you knew you loved him. From the first kiss you two shared. And maybe that was when he did too.

When I stumble into the park at night, but it’s not you and I sitting on the swings cooling off from the heat of the day.

It was dark out and here you were, sitting on the swings at the park. The usual bird song and the baying of dogs were replaced with the sound of crickets. The unusual rustle of leaves at a time like this would heighten your senses and alert your brain, convincing it some type of danger was approaching, but it’s been different nowadays. Coming here this late has become a routine for you and Jaehyun. It’s a spot to take a breather and spend time together without having to interact with the busy bustle of the day. So you’ve learned to tune out such thoughts. And besides, with Jaehyun by your side, nothing felt as scary as it used to.

Usually, you two felt relaxed in this environment but tonight, Jaehyun was feeling tense and that face didn’t go over your head.

Your feet were planted on the rubber mulch while you used them to slightly sway yourself back and forth on the swing. Jaehyun was on the swing next to you not moving as much as you mainly because he was too busy watching you. Your gaze was set on the floor so he must have assumed you didn’t notice his stare but, of course, you did.

“It feels really nice out.”

Jaehyun sighed and looked away, “yeah, it does. Thank god it gets cooler at night time.”

You hummed in response before turning your body towards him, “are you okay?” He looked back at you and nodded. He held his hand out to you, palm facing up, wanting to hold your hand. You gladly obliged and as soon as you set your hand in his, he enclosed his fingers around it tightly.

It was silent for another few minutes as Jaehyun stared at your hand in his. His eyebrows were furrowed which could only mean he was thinking about something deeply and you so badly wanted to know what was bothering him. He took in a deep breath and finally spoke up, “I think...I...I love you.”

“Oh...Is that a bad thing?”

He quickly shook his head, “of course not! It’s just...I’m worried your feelings aren’t as strong as mine and that maybe you’d get annoyed of it or something. I don’t know.”

“I don’t think I love you,” you watched as his expression completely dropped, “I know I love you.”

Jaehyun let out a gasp and used the hand he was holding to tug you up out of your swing to bring you closer to him. You stumbled up and laughed as he pulled you between his legs where you stood and snaked your arms around his neck. You looked down at him with a grin, your hair now covering the sides of your face and coming down to tickle him.

“y/n! You scared me!” He whined, his bottom lip coming out in a cute pout.

“It’s what you deserve for being so silly and thinking that I’d get annoyed of you!”

“So you love me, huh?” He jerked his brow up cockily, doing a complete 180 from his pouty behavior from earlier in a matter of just a few seconds.

“More than anything.”

“Good, because I do too.” And at that moment, it was undeniably true.

When I’m laying in my bed after a long day, but you’re not there with the sheer comfort that your arms always provide.

“Oh, you’re here?” You walked into your room encountering Jaehyun’s body sprawled across your bed on his back, his legs dangling off the edge.

He nodded, “It seemed like you were having a bad day so I decided to put the spare key you gave me to use.”

Your shoulders fell, no longer feeling like you had to put up a front. Jaehyun could figure you out like you were the back of his hand. “You could tell even over text?”

“Of course I could baby. Was it work?”

“Yeah. I don’t wanna talk about it though, it’ll make me angry and upset all over again.” You sighed and combed your fingers through your hair as you moved across the room to set down your bag down on the dresser.

“Come here~” He opened his arms up without moving up from his position. You gladly complied and settled between his legs, your body falling on top of his. As soon as you fell down on him, his arms found their way around your waist and yours, in return, wrapping around him too. Your face nuzzled into his chest and you instantly were engulfed with his sweet smelling cologne tinged with the soft scent of the citrusy body wash he uses. The same smell that would stick to your bed sheets and provide you with comfort when he wasn’t with you.

“Ugh, I love your smell.” You mumbled into his chest.

He laughed and you could feel his chest vibrate with each breath, “why thank you! I work really hard to smell like this.” It was quiet after that. The only thing that could be heard was your breaths that were starting to sync up now and the sound of the tapping rain against your window that had started falling lightly just a few minutes ago.

“Oh! I did my nails yesterday and I regret it already. They’re so hard to work with.”

“Oh my gosh! Let me see!” Jaehyun started to lift his butt up off the bed to allow you to easily slip your hand out under him. Your heart warmed up with how genuinely excited he sounded. When you brought your hand out, he let go of your waist with one arm and grabbed ahold of your hand to get a better look. You watched him marvel at the fake nails that were glued to your real ones and you immediately began to beam. He always showed interest in every little thing about you and made it so difficult for you not to fall in love with him over and over again every single day.

“They’re so pretty,” he focused his gaze on you and brought his finger to boop you on the nose, “but not as pretty as you.”

You snorted, “you’re so cheesy.” Instead of letting you return your hand back under him, he continued to hold your hand against his body and shot you a grin, bearing his teeth and those dimples that you loved more than anything.

“Let go of my hand, I need to itch the inside of my nose.”

“No.” You whined out his name in response.

“Worry not, I’ll itch it for you!” Before you could protest he picked out your index finger with his own index finger and thumb and began approaching your nose with it. You tried to move your head away and the sudden movement caused him to end up shoving your finger way too far up your nostril. You jerked up off of him, your hands flying up to your nose where you could feel the pain begin to spread.

You groaned with your eyes shut tight and Jaehyun flew up off the bed after you, his eyes were wide and full of worry accompanied with regret. “OH MY GOD Y/N I’M SO SORRY! ARE YOU OKAY!? LET ME SEE! OH MY GOD, I’M SO SORRY!” He grabbed at your hands and removed them away from your nose. He peered into your nose to check if you were bleeding. His relieved sigh indicated you weren’t bleeding at least.

Jaehyun suddenly grabbed the sides of your head and you let out a yelp when he tugged you into his chest, squishing your face against it, “I’m so sorry!” He continuously repeated until you muffled out an “oh my god Jaehyun it’s okay!” against him

“Are you okay?” He asked when he finally let go of your head.

“Yes, I’m fine, babe! Come on, let’s go lay back down.” He nodded and crawled up onto the bed, you following suit with the blanket that was previously at the foot of your bed. You opened it up and loosely wrapped it around him and then yourself. This time his head rested against your chest, the feeling of it rising and falling was therapeutic to him. Your hand played with his hair so softly that it was starting to make his eyes droop heavily with sleep. His arms gave your body a tight squeeze as he groggily mumbled out an “I love you.”

“I love you more, Jae.” And you did.

I met you in the summer, but I wish I hadn’t.

You were my first love, but I wish you weren’t.

I wish I was over you, but it’s been a year and I’m still dwelling on that summer that was once ours.

It’s winter all year long now, and it’s killing me. I need to feel the warmth that is you in order to survive, and I hate it so much.

[gdiwes]

Revisited my Mew girls today, because I had the MIGHTY NEED for some soft PlumPasshon content lmao I wanna digital them and turn them into a sticker :’3c Also some concepts for Plum, and my other girl, Lychee! More below the cut since it’s LONG. 

Mew Plum

Name: Kuroki Plum (Puramu)

Fruit: Plum

Animal: Salt-Marsh Mouse

Color: Purple/Violet

Weapon: Shukuhaki flute. She plays different melodies to change the attacks. 

Attack: Ribbon Plute Dance/Guard/Sever, Ribbon Plum-Flute etc. 

Likes: Himura Passhon (her GF!!!), soft foods, mice (she has two as pets!), sour fruits, reading, quiet places, studying in the library, classical music, arcade FPS games. 

Dislikes: Milk, bugs, accounting (even though she’s pretty good at it), rainy days, tight or short clothing, letting her anxieties get the best of her, being unprepared for LITERALLY anything. 

TL;DR of her and Passhon’s story is that some Chimera Anima were left over and the Mews stayed together to finish eradicating them. However, someone started harnessing them to combine with humans and make ‘Rotten Mews,’ based off invasive species. Plum was one of them but was eventually separated from the Anima by Passhon. They started working together at the cafe although Passhon continued her job as a Mew Mew. Plum eventually had Ryou re-combine her genes so she could help Passhon against the final boss lol 

Her attacks are the same as Passhon’s. When she uses Dance, her flute becomes a sword/dagger she uses to attack with. Shield creates a defensive bubble around her and up to two other people if they’re close. Sever is an attack she doesn’t retain after becoming a Mew Mew, but it acted the same as Passhon’s Aqua Ribbon Extract; still, it sometimes would pull her out of her transformation in addition to the Mew she hit. 

When she was controlled by a Chimera Anima, she went by Rotten Plum and called her attack ‘Corrupted Plute.’

She goes to the same school as Berry. Although Passhon at first thought she was serious and cold/distant, Plum’s actually just pretty anxious and prefers not to interact. She’s quite an airhead and spaces out more often than not. Passhon has better grades than her so they often study together. 

While Passhon works as a maid at the cafe, Plum works as a butler. She’s pretty popular amongst the other girls who visit, and it works out that they often just admire her from afar. 

She likes FPS games but she’s really really bad at them. 

Mew Lychee

Name: Inari Lychee

Fruit: Lychee

Animal: Like Berry, she’s mixed with two: A deer and a bear. 

Color: White/Soft Red

Weapon: Bell Boxers, she is the Master of Punching Things. 

Attack: Ribbon Deeryu Lychock, Ribbon Dear You Lychee Shock. She often shortens it to Lyshika Shock lmao

Likes: Being in the spotlight, vegetables, flexing and letting people touch her biceps, her older sister, boxing/kick boxing/wrestling, pop music esp kpop/jpop and other idol music, seeing people do little good deeds and doing small good deeds of her own.  

Dislikes: Fast food, having to focus for long amounts of time, having pent up energy, lizards, screamo rock, when her sister scolds her, haggling, jelly ironically, taming her bedhead. 

TL;DR of her story, it happens either in conjunction with or slightly after A La Mode. She wakes up with partial amnesia and only bits/pieces of her memories, and quickly finds out she was in a coma for six months. When she finds her mew pendant, she remembers transforming but doesn’t really know how or why she came to be a Mew Mew. Eventually she starts making a name for herself as an ‘idol heroine’ by putting herself constantly in the spotlight, all in hopes that someone who knows her would come to meet her and help her figure out what being a Mew Mew means. Somehow, she didn’t think that it would also draw enemies to her as well...

Lychee is super easily excitable. She has a pretty one-track mind and anything she does between her first step and final goal are just means to ends. She’ll find ways to justify things that distract her, especially if she HAS to do them but doesn’t want to. She can be pretty high wis low int, where she knows a lot of general knowledge/common sense and uses it, but often times just throws caution and planning to the wind and reacts on gut instinct. Because of this, she’s really good at boxing.

When she first got into a fight after her coma, she realized how much muscle she’d lost and embarked on a journey to get ripped again. 

She looks pretty different when she’s not transformed, sporting brown hair and eyes. Her hair’s color is lifted and her black roots show through. When transformed she has white hair and soft red eyes.  

She doesn’t actually go to school, but instead takes online and weekend classes.

Her sister, Zeri (Jelly) works for the police force and is her legal guardian. Lychee at first was stopping petty crimes like muggings and convenience store robberies and kept turning the culprits in to Zeri. Since Lychee is almost always on the news and almost always filmed bringing people in, Zeri is often getting asked to do interviews. She always turns down the offers. 

I have an idea for her story where she runs into some of the Mews and they’re apprehensive of her because at one point she attacked them but doesn’t remember doing it. This is probably what happened in conjunction with A La Mode, where she fell to mind control and ended up getting accidentally injured while fighting the other Mews. I’d have to work out the probability of this actually happening though lol

[growingstrongorsomething]

4. I have a robot inside me.

Original prompt: https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/comments/bo0yiq/wp_youre_a_little_slower_than_others_but_its/ If you like my story, please support me on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/storyforger

“The whole time you have been whispering. You are scaring people off.”

“What, I did?” Walid looks at his boss. Her face is filled with wrinkles, some from old age, some from worry.

“Yes, you are also looking at Waruna. She is crying in the freezer because she thought you are still angry at her.”

Walid slaps his face a little, trying to mold it to a more presentable look. His face now has a bit of a smile, and his eyes doesn’t gaze as sharp as before.

“She already paid for the damages. After all, I wasn’t angry at all. I just...”

Now Walid’s boss is the one massaging her face, mostly around her forehead. “Whatever it is, hold it in for now okay? We are all on the rush season. I will close this bakery for a week after Festival. Deal with your problems, get a psychiatrist, or meditate or something. Okay?”

“Yes, Mdm Kamisah.”

She holds Walid’s face and smiles broadly. “Work hard. The Festival is just three days away. I promise, we will get a big fat bonus, hm?”

“Yes. Well, I need to carry the pastries.”

“Good! That’s the spirit.”

Mdm Kamisah enters the office. Walid turns to the tray of tepung puluts. The smell of glutinous rice and pandanus flour mix in the sweetmeats are alot for him to handle. Walid thinks he is going to eat it all.

If you eat it all, you will have stomach problems again!

Walid sighs. “I am carrying food,” talking to himself again.

Oh you will, see the puddle you will flip!

[I won’t wait what oh god!]

Walid slips and almost fall flat on the tray. The floor where cakes are baked is made rough to prevent slipping, but the floor to the presentation aisles are made from smooth tiles. At least the cakes are safe.

Hamid takes the tray from Walid and places it on the counter. He then lifts Walid up, whose legs spread too far for his level of joint mobility.

“God you’re heavy!”

“Oww, oww, oww, my thighs.”

Hamid steadies Walid, who is groaning slightly from the gymnastics. “Well, I’m sending the tray.”

“No, wait.” Hamid gets a dry towel and wipes the floor from the accident to the aisle until it’s dry. “Ok, go.”

“Thanks!”

Their work that day is rather hard, and all workers are tired. Walid isn’t as tired, but his limping isn’t making things more comfortable either. At least the cleanup is made easy by the dishwashers and bots.

“That’s a wrap for the day. See you tomorrow!”

“See you!”

Walid hails a Grab and lets himself be carried to his flat. The city lights are pretty at night, especially when we are sleepy. The Grab driver thanks Walid too soon. Walid grumbles his thanks and clumsily walks up the stairs.

[Oh yeah, elevator] Walid goes to the elevator only to see that it is under maintenance. “Augh! Today?” He really wants to kick the door, but the last time someone did, that is how the elevator stopped working. Dejected, Walid winds wearily to his bed and falls asleep without even changing clothes.

Yo, how’s life?

[Life-threatening, thanks to you.]

You slipped, and I’m to blame? LOL GG.

[You’re my subconscious. How do you even know what is LOL GG?]

I am not blind when you control this body. I see what you see, I learn what you learn, I am aware of what you are aware. Well, and other things.

[What do you mean?]

We. Need. Diagrams.

Walid’s dream now forms a room. It is cozy, with two blue long sofas facing each other and a lamppost standing guard next to it. The table in between the sofas has a jug of lychee drink. Walid knows it by the smell. He pours a cup and pours the liquid into his mouth. The sweetness slams his tongue, and it flows into his body, making him... happy. He sits on the sofa, drinking more lychee juice.

You like what you’re seeing?

[Yeah, pretty much.]

Now! I will introduce myself. The subconscious slithers from behind the sofa and towards Walid. It is like the root of a ginger tree, only that it has a single straight shaft and many root fibers jutting through it. One of the larger root fibers extend a hand, as if in greeting. Walid shakes it. It does not show its face.

Subconscious, glad to meet you.

[Walid, pleasure’s all mine?]

The ‘ginger root’ slithers to the other sofa, its body reclining regally upon the sofa. Tired, Walid lies down to imitate the ‘ginger root’.

I think you have a lot of questions.

[Are you a ghost? Will you kill me? Is this poison?]

No. I need you alive. I can’t really tell you what I am yet, it will only create more questions. But I am ready to show you.

Walid thinks of the ginger root unzipping its costume and a pretty woman’s leg jut out of it.

No, unfortunately, I am not that sexy. But let me show you.

[How are you going to do that?]

I am going to take over your body. Just for a day. You will have my word, you can get full control of it once I have done my business.

Walid chugs down the lychee. The entirety of his life’s lessons flash before his eyes. All his life, his parents never told him what to do when your subconscious wants to take control of your body. Don’t open the door if the parents don’t expect guests, don’t touch other people’s breasts (and dicks once he came out), don’t steal, don’t show your private parts on the internet, and most importantly, if the offer is too good to be true, turn it down and run like hell.

I am twenty and honest to God, I need an adult.

[As frightening as it is, I am an adult. I assure you, your good health and functioning body is in my best interest.]

Come to think of it, the stress of his life isn’t going away anytime soon either. He still have to work hard tomorrow at the bakery. And he had to take Chinese exam next week, just so employers will consider him a worthy job candidate. Walid pours another cup. He raises it. To the last possible day of me being the conscious mind.

[To a more fruitful Walid.]

They both chug down the lychee. Walid sees the ‘ginger root’ face for a split second before the dream ends.

The next morning, Walid finds his body to be moving to the fridge. It dips some wholemeal bread into the black coffee and sends the bread into its mouth. Walid tried to move his body but it can’t.

Ginger root, are you controlling me?

[Yes, I do. You want answers. I am in the process of showing you. But first, your body needs some fuel and coolant!]

Fuel? Coolant? I am not a robot!

[Oh you’ll understand. By the way, you have a sick leave today. Convenient!]

Convenient for what? Hey, why are we walking?

[To the Doctor!]

The body washes itself. It washes its muscular body with water, then lathers soap on it. The body cleans everywhere, including the nether regions. Walid feels a slight pain as that area is stil a bit overstretched from yesterday. Walid can feel how clean his body is. And how it hurts to almost slip again from water puddles.

The body then pats itself dry with a towel. Walid tries wipe his face a bit more but the body doesn;t listen.

Ginger root, wipe my face!

[Alright, fine!]

Walid feels the intrinsic itch to his soul scratched for now. The body wears a tight T shirt and a sports trousers. Walid always feel comfortable wearing the trousers, but the tight T shirt is chafing his nipples.

Can we get a looser shirt?

[No, I always want to show off this awesome body.]

Walid would like to huff, but it only manifests as the word ‘huff’. He spies to the side of his eyes. There are numbers and letters, some jumbled.

Are those coordinates, distance in kilometers, and name of The Doctor?

[Yes! Now be quite and observe!]

The body hails a Grab and calmly enters the car. The body chats with the driver a bit. Walid thinks the mouth is moving but the language isn’t what he is used to.

“Ni de shangban meiyou mang ma?”

“Aiya, zui mang! Quanbu ren bu yao mai che, he quanbu de shangdian hen yuan la!”

And they both laughed. This son of a bitchy ginger root, he actually knows Mandarin!

The chat ends as the car arrived before the clinic. The sign says ‘The Doctor’s Swig’. This isn’t a clinic, this is a bloody pub.

Wait! I am a Muslim, I can’t drink alcohol.

[Oh come on, we’re meeting a doctor, not drinking!]

This is a pub!

[Oh god, just watch!]

The ginger root moves the body. Well, the insides is a pub. People are eating sunflower seeds and pistachios while watching the news. And drinking beer. There is a blackboard with a chalk drawn picture of a jar and ‘Lihing Limited Edition’ hanging above the bartender’s head.

“Bear with me bro, I need a help.”

The bartender winks. “What help?”

“Health Care.”

“One sec.” The bartender gives a call. “Number?”

Ginger root gives a small paper. The bartender whispers to the phone, and burns the small paper. The bartender then whispers to Ginger Root. “The Doctor is available now. Please come in.”

The Ginger Root smiles and nods. The back of the pub has three doors. Two unisex toilets and one closet. Ginger Root presses the code and the closet door opens. He enters the room, which is littered with brooms, mops, and scoops for the dust. Ginger Root places his hand on a brick, and pushes. A door swings open, away from the body. The body bravely marches through the darkness.

The dark path isn’t very dark to Walid, but he’s still afraid. He instinctively makes command to jerk his foot, but the body remains stoic, moving forward without flinching. They make their way down some stairs and more dark alleys, some branching.

Ginger Root, where are you taking me?

[Oh I’m Ginger Root now? Well, like I always said, just watch. We have a checkup AND a job.]

Walid is too afraid to complain further.

The darkness ends at the end of the tunnel, where the body pulls the door open. Inside is a room. Bodies of men and women are hung, suspended from the ceiling with ropes and hooks.

AAAAAAAHHHHH!

[Stop shouting, I almost jumped!]

A young man, barely 20, rushes forward and shakes the body’s hand with much enthusiasm. “I am always honoured to service you sir.”

“Hello to you too. Please check this body first.”

“Yes, this way.” The room of bodies gave way to a few beds. Ginger Root lies the body on an empty bed, the eyes pointing upward.

“Sir, we are about to begin checkup. Please leave the body.”

And Walid lose consciousness.

SYNCHRONISING NERVOUS SYSTEM... 100%

SYSTEM ERROR? ... RESOLVING... 100%

MUSCLE MOVEMENT? 100%

AUDITORY SYSTEM? 100%

VISUAL SYSTEM? 100%

TOUCH INPUT? 100%

STARTING AUXILIARY FUNCTION...

AUXILIARY FUNCTION ON. ERROR?

...

...

NONE. SYSTEM STARTING.

Walid finds himself still unable to control his body. The body is strapping some belts and pouches.

Wait, what time is it?

[10 am. We have a mission. Rescuing hostages.]

Wait, I am not a soldier!

[I am. Sit tight, you’re my mecha. Switching off auditory output, Auxilia HI.]

Wait, don’t shut me... And Walid can only see and think, not form words. The eyes emits a small screen of the ginger root. His face like an odd, jagged, jack-o-lantern, but Walid doesn’t feel a thing from it.

[I need you to listen closely. I am on a high risk mission to rescue fellow, well, ‘ginger roots’. They are stuck in some continents away. You must trust me that I will bring us alive okay.]

Walid would like to say yes, if only from desperation.

[We may get injured. Yes, even me in this cockpit. You will have extra functions in the fight, but mostly for your brainpower. Just remember, even if you lost all four limbs, you can be repaired.]

[Switching on auditory output, Auxilia HI.]

I thought I was human! Well... if I survive whatever comes, I need a lot of questions answered.

[OK, fair enough. I need to concentrate, so... Switching off auditory output, Auxilia HI]

Ginger Root meets with a few other people. Men and women, they are well-equipped with weapons and body armour.

“Listen up, our hostage situation has turned sour. The kidnappers decided not to further negotiations, and will kill all hostages this midnight. We have to save them. We do not have to kill all of the kidnappers, but we will kill anyone standing in our way. Do you understand?”

“Yes, sir!” Their voiced are lowered, but their voice are filled with fire.

“Good. We Drive Humanity Forward...”

“... So Our Survival’s Assured!”

The team raced to a truck and is driven to an abandoned building. There they dismounted and fan out to secure the perimeter. “The police has been notified of our mission and they will not stand in our way. If you see any uninfected policeman, rescue them. Reports shown that some are held hostage after a failed assault.”

“Our target is 200 meters southwest. We will have to secure a rooftop entry, Damit. Then, Hamidah, Rizal, Shafwan, you three enter first and get a foot hold. We will enter as soon as it’s clear.”

The team races to the top of the abandoned building. To the southwest, they could see three men chatting and drinking coffee on a rooftop balcony. Damit scopes with the sniper rifle. “Three men, mostly bored.”

“Are they armed?”

“No, I don’t think so, Ikhlas.”

Walid knows the name doesn’t refer to him, but Ginger Root. Ikhlas eh?

Ikhlas looks intently with a binocular. “They are, I could see their rifles resting on the wall, behind the sitting man drinking.”

“What’s the plan?”

“Shoot the sitting man first. Then the two.”

Damit pushes the sniper stock close to his shoulder, aims at the sitting man’s neck. He holds his breath, and shoots.

The sitting man falls on the rifles and the two other fumbles to grab their guns. Damit shoots their heads clean off with one shot.

“Double headshot at 200 meters. Easy gg lol.”

Damit sighs. “That isn’t how humans speak.”

Ikhlas writes down the kills. “I know. Still funny though. Shafwan, the rappel.”

Shafwan shoots the rappel rope with his crossbow. The bolt buries deep into the wall. Shafwan slides down first, with some equipment. The others slide down one by one, Ikhlas being the last. They switched equipment amongst each other, as they had carried others’ equipments too.

Walid sees the map screen appear before his eyes. Ikhlas gives the signal to huddle.

“Everyone have maps and possible enemies?”

Everyone nodded.

“We stick together. Rizal at front, Shafwan and Hamidah center, me and Damit behind. Get to the target, fight our way out to the ground floor. Then we evacuate.”

Ikhlas points at the door. Rizal rammed the door with the butt of his gun and the rest streamed in. They move quickly downstairs, but stop before the first door facing the stairs. Two gunmen gets out from the door, laughing along the way. Rizal throws a smoke grenade.

Instead of shouting ‘Boogies’ or something, the two writhed in agony. Their bodies twist and turn, coughing out blood and mucus. Soon, some organisms escape their mouth. It tries to wipe itself clean from the smoke, but it drops as it shouts a small screech of pain.

The two gunmen lays unconscious. Ikhlas’ team moves forward. A few minutes later, they are stopped by three kidnappers running to them. The team manages to take cover behind the walls as the kidnappers shoot to kill. They only stop to reload.

Shafwan takes the opportunity to shoot them in the head, but they do not drop. Instead, they keep firing. Shafwan remains unfazed as a bullet rips through his right upper arm. Some wires frayed out, but his movement isn’t hindered as he reload. Hamidah is about to throw another smoke grenade, but Ikhlas stopped her. Ikhlas waits until they reload again, and turns to shoot.

He aimed at the stomach of the kidnappers. They drop dead as soon as the bullet hits them. Damit moves forward and pumps another bullet in the temple to each of them. Rizal takes the forward position and the team keeps moving forward.

Rizal raises his fist, a signal to move forward. They stopped before the turn of a hallway. Rizal watches the other side with a mirror. “Four men. Standing guard.”

Ikhlas nods to Hamidah. She hands over a defragmentation grenade to Rizal. Rizal removes the pin and moves forward to throw it. The four guards points the gun at Rizal.

They centered their fire Rizal’s head, but Rizal ducks while throwing. Instead, his right arm is severely riddled with holes as the grenade flies. The four is about to jump, but the grenade explodes. The four disintegrated into the smoke. Ikhlas’ team fires forward, as Rizal slings his rifle. He looks at the uselessly hanging right hand. He rips it off. The fingers wiggle uncontrollably as the hand is separated from the body. Rizal holds his rifle on the left hand and joins Ikhlas.

Ikhlas leads the team forward. There seems to be no more kidnappers left. It’s... too quiet. Walid begins to feel uneasy. He wants to ask Ikhlas what is going on, but he can’t say anything. They entered an open courtyard, with doors flanking it.

The silence is finally interrupted a few minutes later. Two kidnappers storm out of a door, but Ikhlas manages to shoot them both before they could open fire. Ikhlas is about to walk forward to the target area, but he is suddenly thrown away by an explosion. Ikhlas almost lands at the other side of the courtyard wall.

A large man, about 9 feet tall appears before the team. Rizal fires his rifle at the man’s face. Its face is chipped away as the bullets ricochet off from the metallic skeleton. The rest pumps their gun dry to the robot. But all their bullets do not even dent it.

Hamidah jumps to give the man a flying kick.  Her shin hits his neck. The man calmly grabs her leg and throws her straight through a wall. Shafwan jumps to the man’s shoulders, stand on it, and pumps a new magazine worth of bullets between the chest and the shoulder blade. The man grabs Shafwan and slams him a few times. Sounds of twisting metal can be heard from Shafwan’s body as he tries to stab and sever the wires in the robot’s hands. The robot throws Shafwan and he is impaled on a pole by the left chest. Shafwan tries to remove himself.

The robot is shaking, it finds itself hard to straighten its body. The robot walks to Shafwan, but he isn’t as fast as he was a few minutes ago.

Rizal and Hamidah pumps more bullets into the robot. But this time, they try to aim at the joints. Hamidah fires all her bullets into the left knee, circling to the front and back. The robot swings his fists to Hamidah but Hamidah can easily evade the robot. Rizal aimed at robot’s right shoulder. The robot turns his attention to Rizal and is preparing to launch himself to him.

The robot sprints towards Rizal. Rizal turns to run away, and the robot is running at full force.

Suddenly, the robot’s trajectory is thwarted by a shot to his head. Damit fires more sniper rounds at the robot. The robot turns and runs towards Damit. He holds his ground, but the robot still charges forward.

Ikhlas bodily throws himself at the robot, pushing the robot away. The robot is flat on its back, and Ikhlas desperately tries to reach his shotgun. The robot grabs him by the leg, and pulls Ikhlas towards him.

Walid feels all the past actions of his flood back to him. His killings of animals, his bullying of other kids, his angry rants against his parents’ He wants to say sorry for all he has done, and he can’t even say in it his inner voice!

Ikhlas the Ginger Root is sweating in its cockpit. He can feel all the anguish that Walid has. Added to his own, he is almost mad from all this. None of his training ever prepared him for this, and none of his experiences ever will. What can he do?

The robot tries to stand, but the connections in its body is too damaged to command his legs for the proper procedure. Instead, the legs dig into the soil erratically. The robot grabs Ikhlas by the neck and raises him up.

“Damit, its elbow!”

Damit aims at the elbow. The robot’s right hand plops uselessly as the bullet hits the joint but Ikhlas still can’t remove himself. He drags the robot’s right hand with him as the robot tightens its grip. But the grip gets looser and looser with each wire ripped from the robot’s hand. Ikhlas’ team gives the robot a wide berth.

The robot tries to stand up with its remaining appendages. But it only ends up wriggling and writhing.

Ikhlas looks for something in his back pouch. “Hamidah, you have anymore grenades?”

“I only have two, and it’s all used up.”

Shafwan has extracted himself from the pole. He hands to Ikhlas one smoke grenade.

Ikhlas throws the grenade to the robot, and it gives out a lot of smoke. When the smoke clears, the robot is still writhing.

“We have to deactivate it, it’s not an exosuit.”

Damit pumps a few sniper rounds to the robot’s left shoulder joint. Shafwan ties his bayonet to a stick and cuts all the wires from a few feet away, far from the robot’s grip. The robot’s hand almost come dangerously close to snatching the stick, but Shafwan deftly retracts it. Soon, the robot is uselessly moving its appendages. Rizal steps forward and jams his left hand to the robot’s neck. He pulls the here and there a bit, and soon the robot stops writhing. Its eyes loses its blue colour, fading to transparent black.

The hostages are brought outside by Shafwan, while Damit checks the perimeter. “It seems like all the kidnappers are dead or have fled. The hostages are just behind me.”

One of the hostages rushes forward to hold Ikhlas’ hands. Ikhlas raises his hands to meet it, but the right hand doesn’t budge.

The hostage looks at Ikhlas’ right hand. Shee shakes her head, but then shakes Ikhlas’ left hand vigourously. “All you have risked your lives to save us. I assure you, the High Root will reward your team well.”

“Thank you, madam, but we aren’t necessarily in the clear yet. We should get out of here quickly.”

They allow the hostages to leave from the front door. The police receives them and hands them to the healthcare unit stationed behind the blockade. Ikhlas’ team goes to the back gate. Along the way, they passed through one of the guard’s body. One being of goo is breathing weakly as the body writhes weakly.

“This... isn’t... over... We... will... be... victors...”

“It never is.” Ikhlas shoots the goo with his pistol.

The team gets into the extraction truck. Rizal holds his severed hand, while Damit ogles Shafwan’s large hole in the chest. Shafwan slaps Damit’s hands as he try to touch his dangling wires.

[Switching on auditory output, Auxilia HI.]

AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!

AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!

Aaa... Aaa... Aaa...

Walid could hear a small screeching on the screen. Is that the ginger root shouting too or the echo in the suit?

[Well, any questions?]

Lots. Wh... Well, what the fuck? I’m a robot? Was my memory real? Did I signed a waiver? Why does all this have anything to do with me?

[Your body is a robot. Your mind is from a human brain, taken from your body. You signed a waiver, but it’s because you are losing all use of legs and hands. It had nothing to do with you, you are just my mecha. Your service to us is how you pay back for the surgery. You also get some money on the side, but from bonuses or bounties.]

Bonuses? Bounties? So I am what, an army equipment? Whose army?

[Yeah. You’re a medium grade military equipment. We are the military arm of Court of Mother Zingiber, Grand Commandery of Lady Goddess Halya of Earth. We have branches in other planets. But in recent centuries, battles are mostly forged here.]

[That goo organism you see is one of our enemies. Just call them Oozes of Doom. As if we want to call them by their regal name, hah!]

So, what happens to me?

[You will be repaired of course. I always intended for you to know about this sooner or later. Having a human on our side helps us to blend in. We can mimic human behaviour, but we aren’t always successful.]

This is too much for me to take in now. You’re in charge I guess, Ikhlas. But can I ask one thing?

[What is it?]

I want to be conscious to see the repairs. I need to see for myself what I am.

[Okay.]

Ikhlas takes the body down to The Doctor. Walid sees the ginger root climb out of his abdomen. The Doctor sets up the machinery as they chat. The language isn’t like any on Earth, so Walid stopped bothering to listen.

The Doctor then starts checking Walid’s right hand. He massages the hand to find where to slice, and starts slicing. Soon Wires are pulled out, reattached, and returned into the body. The Doctor continues with repairing the rest of the bullet injuries. Finally, the damaged body tissue are removed and pastes of new body cells are placed on spots.

The operation as a whole is quite soothing. Walid doesn’t feel any pain, and The Doctor’s movements are as smooth as silk. Soon, Walid’s body is as good as new. Walid extends his right palm to Ikhlas and Ikhlas creeps on to the palm of his hand.

“So that’s how I got my muscular body.”

“These days. Even before the surgery, you’re rather muscular.”

Why I didn’t remembered that? But Walid remembers another thing.

“Why I didn’t feel pain during the firefight just now, but I felt pain from my fall yesterday?’

“Pain reception can be switched on and off. Usually when we take over the body from you, we shut off the pain reception so you won’t go mad from it.”

“Can you make it stay off?”

“No, we want to blend in, and includes you having to feel pain in normal life situations. Can I get into your body now?”

Walid shrugged. “Sure.”

The ginger root presses some buttons on a small key that he holds. Walid’s stomach split into two, and door hinges opento both sides. A small podium with a seat extends out. Walid places his palm before the podium and Ikhlas takes his seat. He presses a button, and the podium pulls back in and Walid’s stomach closes shut.

Walid can move his body again. “Hey, Ikhlas, you there?”

Yeah. Enjoy your bodily autonomy for now. We may be called for next mission later.

Walid sighs. Now he has two jobs, one a part-time back breaking work, and the other a part-time body-breaking work. At least this one has good healthcare benefits.

The team is escorted by The Doctor to a door. “Well, this is goodbye for now. I am always honoured to service you. Your pay will be sent to your accounts by this week. And here are the MCs you require should your bosses question you.”

Walid takes a piece of paper from The Doctor. An MC from... Yang Yang and Co. Clinic?

Walid fishes out his handphone from the pocket. Funny how it survived the carnage. Walid hails a Grab and lets the car carry him to his flat.

[easyfoodnetwork]

The Ultimate Guide to Chinese Supermarket Snacks

17 must-grab snacks, from rice crackers to boba creamsicles

There are few greater pleasures than eating snacks from around the world, whether while traveling abroad or from the comfort of one’s own hometown. Growing up in the Midwest, it was always a weekend treat to stop by our local Chinese mart and leave with a haul of pantry staples, vegetables, and other products we couldn’t find in the international aisles of big box supermarkets — and, of course, the chips, crackers, and candy that, in my mind, are forever linked to that distinct childhood experience.

Informed by those collective years of snacking, here are 17 favorites that can be found in most Chinese marts. Many are classics; some are more recent. Not all of them are even “Chinese,” strictly speaking; in many locales, Chinese supermarkets also function as broader Pan-East Asian stores, stocking Japanese or Korean goods alongside those from mainland China, Taiwan, and Hong Kong. But they are all, in my opinion, worth trying:

Want Want senbei

Rice crackers

Senbei is a type of Japanese rice cracker with roots in imperial China’s Tang dynasty. One of the main senbei brands you’ll find in Chinese supermarkets is Want Want, a Taiwanese manufacturer. The crunchy crackers come in multiple varieties, like sweet-salty (pictured on the left) and a mouth-smacking umami flavor (right).

Spring onion crackers

Another great cracker is the savory scallion or green onion kind, which tastes exactly how you’d imagine. One brand that’s worth trying is Pop-Pan, which makes a round, buttery cracker dotted with sesame seeds and green onion seasoning.

Sachima

Sachima

Sachima are one of my childhood favorites. Traditionally made from flour, butter, and rock sugar in Manchu cuisine, the version you’ll find most often in stores nowadays combines a sweet, eggy taste with a soft, chewy texture. There are sachima with raisins, sesame seed-studded sachima, even chocolate-flavored sachima — but, above all, I would recommend the “original” kind for first-timers.

Cream wafers

At their best, cream wafers are a light snack for satisfying a sweet tooth. At their worst, they could be described as “like thin planks of styrofoam sandwiching layers of cream that taste faintly of strawberry.” Ah well, either way, I could house half a packet of these.

Sesame egg roll cookies, complete with a tin container

Egg roll cookies

Not to be confused with the egg rolls you might get from takeout, these crispy cookies known in Chinese as 蛋卷 are crisp and flaky. They sometimes skew a bit dry, so best enjoyed with a nice beveragino. While there are multiple brands on the market, you might consider the kind sold in classic red tins so you’ll have a new container to store sewing supplies for years afterward.

Pocky

Yes fine, Pocky is a Japanese snack, but it has long been a staple of Chinese and other Asian supermarkets, even before big box retailers like Costco started selling them. The popular confectionery-coated biscuit stick is available in a huge variety of flavors. I’d recommend starting out with the classic chocolate before leveling up to strawberry, matcha, and less widely attainable flavors like cookies and cream, mint chocolate, and sakura.

Yan Yan

Yan Yan

Another Japanese treat turned Asian snacking symbol, Yan Yan predates Dunkaroos, its closest American equivalent. Each cup comes with crisp biscuit sticks — which, in the 15 or so years since I last regularly bought them, have become inscribed with quotes and cartoon animals? — that are dipped in slightly-too-sweet frosting. Delicious.

Hello Panda (strawberry) and Koala’s March (chocolate)

You might already be familiar with these cute filled biscuits, which are often mistaken for each other but are made by different brands (Meiji Seika and Lotte). Listen very carefully when I instruct you to try the strawberry flavor of pandas and the chocolate flavor of koalas, not the other way around. Can be microwaved briefly or refrigerated for different eating experiences.

Fruit jelly

Sweet, fruity, and colorful, these little cups of jelly — often sold in big ol’ buckets — are as delightful to look at as they are to eat. Consuming them basically involves peeling off the top wrapper, affixing one’s mouth to the edges of the cup like a vacuum seal, and inhaling in one swift, unflinching slurp (but don’t go too fast, lest the jelly shooter become a choking hazard). Other jelly varieties to try include ones in straws and ones in pouches.

Fruit gummies

Chinese and other Asian supermarkets offer a plethora of fruit gummy candy. I would recommend the lychee flavor in particular, most commonly sold by Japanese brand Kasugai.

Haw candy, with 山楂卷 on the left, haw flakes on the right

Haw candy

Chinese hawthorn is such a good fruit!!!! I wish for everyone the joy of tasting this sweet, tart flavor. One such way is through haw flakes, which are essentially flat, dry, candy discs packaged in short rolls. A lesser-known — although, in my opinion, better tasting — form of haw candy is 果丹皮 or 山楂卷, sort of like a stickier, more intensely flavored fruit leather or rollup.

White Rabbit candy

So iconic that there are White Rabbit pop-ups and merch, this milk candy is creamy, chewy, and pretty much a national candy of China. Each one is wrapped in a layer of edible rice paper, which dissolves on the tongue.

Peanut and sesame candy

Sesame and peanut candy

These candies — which bear some resemblance to brittle or nougat — typically boast a satisfying crunch and a nutty, aromatic taste.

Flavored peanuts

Shelled or unshelled, savory or sweet, peanuts are a common fixture in Chinese households, especially when guests come over for cards, drinks, or a long chat. Some flavors that are commonly available include garlic, five spice, and fermented soybean curd. Go for shelled when you’re in the mood to work for your food, unshelled when you don’t mind shoveling nuts down by the handful.

Bread, buns, and other baked goods

Not all stores have a fresh bakery section, but if yours does, grab a couple of treats, like a pineapple bun or a sponge cake.

Milk tea

You should always take a supermarket run as an opportunity to stockpile as many Asian drinks as you can. My go-to is milk tea; I’m partial to Japanese brands like Kirin, which I personally find to be smoother and less sweet, but there are usually at least a few different options, including Chinese and Taiwanese brands.

Brown sugar boba ice cream bar

Brown sugar boba ice cream bar

Hot off the brown sugar bubble milk tea craze that has spread from Taiwan to overseas these past couple years, there is now a creamsicle that tastes remarkably similar to the drink, complete with chewy tapioca pearls. If you like brown sugar boba, you’ll probably like this.

from Eater - All https://ift.tt/3ke97uv https://ift.tt/3hxAz4y

17 must-grab snacks, from rice crackers to boba creamsicles

There are few greater pleasures than eating snacks from around the world, whether while traveling abroad or from the comfort of one’s own hometown. Growing up in the Midwest, it was always a weekend treat to stop by our local Chinese mart and leave with a haul of pantry staples, vegetables, and other products we couldn’t find in the international aisles of big box supermarkets — and, of course, the chips, crackers, and candy that, in my mind, are forever linked to that distinct childhood experience.

Informed by those collective years of snacking, here are 17 favorites that can be found in most Chinese marts. Many are classics; some are more recent. Not all of them are even “Chinese,” strictly speaking; in many locales, Chinese supermarkets also function as broader Pan-East Asian stores, stocking Japanese or Korean goods alongside those from mainland China, Taiwan, and Hong Kong. But they are all, in my opinion, worth trying:

Want Want senbei

Rice crackers

Senbei is a type of Japanese rice cracker with roots in imperial China’s Tang dynasty. One of the main senbei brands you’ll find in Chinese supermarkets is Want Want, a Taiwanese manufacturer. The crunchy crackers come in multiple varieties, like sweet-salty (pictured on the left) and a mouth-smacking umami flavor (right).

Spring onion crackers

Another great cracker is the savory scallion or green onion kind, which tastes exactly how you’d imagine. One brand that’s worth trying is Pop-Pan, which makes a round, buttery cracker dotted with sesame seeds and green onion seasoning.

Sachima

Sachima

Sachima are one of my childhood favorites. Traditionally made from flour, butter, and rock sugar in Manchu cuisine, the version you’ll find most often in stores nowadays combines a sweet, eggy taste with a soft, chewy texture. There are sachima with raisins, sesame seed-studded sachima, even chocolate-flavored sachima — but, above all, I would recommend the “original” kind for first-timers.

Cream wafers

At their best, cream wafers are a light snack for satisfying a sweet tooth. At their worst, they could be described as “like thin planks of styrofoam sandwiching layers of cream that taste faintly of strawberry.” Ah well, either way, I could house half a packet of these.

Sesame egg roll cookies, complete with a tin container

Egg roll cookies

Not to be confused with the egg rolls you might get from takeout, these crispy cookies known in Chinese as 蛋卷 are crisp and flaky. They sometimes skew a bit dry, so best enjoyed with a nice beveragino. While there are multiple brands on the market, you might consider the kind sold in classic red tins so you’ll have a new container to store sewing supplies for years afterward.

Pocky

Yes fine, Pocky is a Japanese snack, but it has long been a staple of Chinese and other Asian supermarkets, even before big box retailers like Costco started selling them. The popular confectionery-coated biscuit stick is available in a huge variety of flavors. I’d recommend starting out with the classic chocolate before leveling up to strawberry, matcha, and less widely attainable flavors like cookies and cream, mint chocolate, and sakura.

Yan Yan

Yan Yan

Another Japanese treat turned Asian snacking symbol, Yan Yan predates Dunkaroos, its closest American equivalent. Each cup comes with crisp biscuit sticks — which, in the 15 or so years since I last regularly bought them, have become inscribed with quotes and cartoon animals? — that are dipped in slightly-too-sweet frosting. Delicious.

Hello Panda (strawberry) and Koala’s March (chocolate)

You might already be familiar with these cute filled biscuits, which are often mistaken for each other but are made by different brands (Meiji Seika and Lotte). Listen very carefully when I instruct you to try the strawberry flavor of pandas and the chocolate flavor of koalas, not the other way around. Can be microwaved briefly or refrigerated for different eating experiences.

Fruit jelly

Sweet, fruity, and colorful, these little cups of jelly — often sold in big ol’ buckets — are as delightful to look at as they are to eat. Consuming them basically involves peeling off the top wrapper, affixing one’s mouth to the edges of the cup like a vacuum seal, and inhaling in one swift, unflinching slurp (but don’t go too fast, lest the jelly shooter become a choking hazard). Other jelly varieties to try include ones in straws and ones in pouches.

Fruit gummies

Chinese and other Asian supermarkets offer a plethora of fruit gummy candy. I would recommend the lychee flavor in particular, most commonly sold by Japanese brand Kasugai.

Haw candy, with 山楂卷 on the left, haw flakes on the right

Haw candy

Chinese hawthorn is such a good fruit!!!! I wish for everyone the joy of tasting this sweet, tart flavor. One such way is through haw flakes, which are essentially flat, dry, candy discs packaged in short rolls. A lesser-known — although, in my opinion, better tasting — form of haw candy is 果丹皮 or 山楂卷, sort of like a stickier, more intensely flavored fruit leather or rollup.

White Rabbit candy

So iconic that there are White Rabbit pop-ups and merch, this milk candy is creamy, chewy, and pretty much a national candy of China. Each one is wrapped in a layer of edible rice paper, which dissolves on the tongue.

Peanut and sesame candy

Sesame and peanut candy

These candies — which bear some resemblance to brittle or nougat — typically boast a satisfying crunch and a nutty, aromatic taste.

Flavored peanuts

Shelled or unshelled, savory or sweet, peanuts are a common fixture in Chinese households, especially when guests come over for cards, drinks, or a long chat. Some flavors that are commonly available include garlic, five spice, and fermented soybean curd. Go for shelled when you’re in the mood to work for your food, unshelled when you don’t mind shoveling nuts down by the handful.

Bread, buns, and other baked goods

Not all stores have a fresh bakery section, but if yours does, grab a couple of treats, like a pineapple bun or a sponge cake.

Milk tea

You should always take a supermarket run as an opportunity to stockpile as many Asian drinks as you can. My go-to is milk tea; I’m partial to Japanese brands like Kirin, which I personally find to be smoother and less sweet, but there are usually at least a few different options, including Chinese and Taiwanese brands.

Brown sugar boba ice cream bar

Brown sugar boba ice cream bar

Hot off the brown sugar bubble milk tea craze that has spread from Taiwan to overseas these past couple years, there is now a creamsicle that tastes remarkably similar to the drink, complete with chewy tapioca pearls. If you like brown sugar boba, you’ll probably like this.

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The Gardeners Dublin Diaries

Great preparation is important for your garden to endure the wilting impacts of the Aussie summer season. Summer implies various points to different gardeners. While lots of southern and main areas cook dry, as an example, the steamy Top End is invigorated by drenching storms. However, for all of us, summer brings typical challenges, such as splitting time and effort between keeping our yards healthy, and appreciating them throughout the summer season holidays. Care for budding plants

Does your camellia decline its flowers and buds? As camellias (visualized) launch fledgling in summertime, abrupt loss of buds and flowers is frequently a consequence of the plants drying https://www.washingtonpost.com/newssearch/?query=Gardening Services out, specifically when they are growing in containers. Mulch and water deeply once or twice once a week throughout hot, dry weather to limit this annoying and typical issue. Aid pots to remain awesome Potted plants, specifically those in terracotta pots, are at risk to overheating. Gently mulch and, where feasible, position them from hot western sunlight. Bear in mind that standing potted plants in saucers of water urges root rot and insect reproduction. Rather, stand them in saucers filled with sand, and maintain the sand moist. This ensures origins remain cool and plants remain healthy. If potted plants dry out to the point where re-wetting is hard, soak them in a bucket of water for half a hr, then drain. 3. Water early to avert mildew Water in the cool of the day. The ideal time is morning yet, if you water in the mid-day, enable adequate time for vegetation to dry out prior to sundown. This reduces the danger of mold and various other fungis assaulting leaves, and there's less chance you'll obtain caught by the night shift of insects or sandflies. Add nutrients to the water. Try to water plants deeply and use that possibility to at the same time feed and fix mineral deficiencies if you could only water periodically. Use a soluble fertiliser with added algae. Water in potash around the base of fruit trees, especially citrus, banana and lychee, to enhance fruit flavour and juiciness. The potassium in potash is likewise essential for regulating anthracnose disease of avocado and mango, and it generally assists to boost plant vigour and resistance to foliar fungis. 5. Maintain the yard long and lavish Brown, bare, weed-infested lawns are signs of scalping, which indicates reducing lawns as well reduced. Maintain grass lush by foliar feeding with seaweed restorative when month-to-month and applying one handful of chicken manure each square metre each period, before rainfall or irrigation. Allow 2 weeks for this to eco-friendly your yard-- and for the smell to vanish prior to having a garden event! Maintain the water streaming Clear particles from seamless gutters so that every shower funnels added water into your rainwater storage tank. Use mosquito mesh to quit mosquitoes and frogs from getting in storage tanks and pipelines. Do hard work when it's great A good drink of water and a smear of sunblock are requirements, since that one five-minute work commonly leads to an additional, and one more. Sunscreen takes 15 mins to create its protective layer, so make use of that time to intend your day in the garden. In my Dublin garden, a tea tree oil-based mosquito repellent is additionally necessary. Shield brand-new plantings Fresh planted veggie and blossom seedlings are most likely to require a little bit of sun hardening. Shelter them with 50 per cent shadecloth, old internet curtains, dead palm leaves, or leafy branches for a week or 2. This helps them develop without damage. Plan color tactically North limits may benefit from some extra color, yet will this make a solar panel or warm water system ineffective? Tactically placing a deciduous tree, creeping plant or some clumping bamboo to shield your house and garden from burning western sunlight is commonly a better alternative. For more information on making use of plants to shade revealed locations of your residence, see Your Home Design Guide and pick 'Shading' in the technical guidebook. Increase trace elements Magnesium encourages durable development and the production of power in plants. Add 1 loaded tsp of Epsom salts to 4.5 L of water. Either spray the vegetation, or water it in at the origins. Watch out for parasites A lot of species are dissuaded to attack family and garden wood. Be on guard for pest varieties and maintain garden tools with wooden handles, hardwood stakes and other wood lures off the ground. Protect untreated hardwood, such as benches and garden bed edging, from degeneration. Utilize your time sensibly If you're short of time but like your garden to look cared for, some fresh mulch, a few strategically placed blooming plants and a freshly bordered yard will certainly offer your garden a lift. Apart from maintaining soil cool and conserving water, mulch stops stormwater washing fertiliser away. What does it cost? water suffices? In my Dublin garden, I don't have adequate water to survive long, dry spells, so I water by priority. Dehydrated citrus and banana top the checklist as, without enough water, they won't fruit. But just how else can you inform if a plant is parched? Moisture-loving plants, such as pumpkin or impatiens, may shrivel at midday, merely due to the fact that they can not take in Good Fellers dirt moisture as rapid as it vaporizes. Gingers are better indications of dry soil, due to the fact that they roll their fallen leaves when emphasized. Constantly inspect your dirt to see if even more water is really required. Keep in mind that standing potted plants in dishes of water encourages origin rot and insect breeding. If potted plants dry out to the point where re-wetting is hard, soak them in a pail of water for half a hr, then drainpipe. The best time is morning however, if you water in the afternoon, permit enough time for vegetation to dry out before sunset. If you could just sprinkle periodically, try to water plants deeply and use that possibility to at the same time feed and correct mineral deficiencies. In my Dublin garden, I don't have sufficient water to make it through long, dry spells, so I water by concern.

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17 must-grab snacks, from rice crackers to boba creamsicles There are few greater pleasures than eating snacks from around the world, whether while traveling abroad or from the comfort of one’s own hometown. Growing up in the Midwest, it was always a weekend treat to stop by our local Chinese mart and leave with a haul of pantry staples, vegetables, and other products we couldn’t find in the international aisles of big box supermarkets — and, of course, the chips, crackers, and candy that, in my mind, are forever linked to that distinct childhood experience. Informed by those collective years of snacking, here are 17 favorites that can be found in most Chinese marts. Many are classics; some are more recent. Not all of them are even “Chinese,” strictly speaking; in many locales, Chinese supermarkets also function as broader Pan-East Asian stores, stocking Japanese or Korean goods alongside those from mainland China, Taiwan, and Hong Kong. But they are all, in my opinion, worth trying: Want Want senbei Rice crackers Senbei is a type of Japanese rice cracker with roots in imperial China’s Tang dynasty. One of the main senbei brands you’ll find in Chinese supermarkets is Want Want, a Taiwanese manufacturer. The crunchy crackers come in multiple varieties, like sweet-salty (pictured on the left) and a mouth-smacking umami flavor (right). Spring onion crackers Another great cracker is the savory scallion or green onion kind, which tastes exactly how you’d imagine. One brand that’s worth trying is Pop-Pan, which makes a round, buttery cracker dotted with sesame seeds and green onion seasoning. Sachima Sachima Sachima are one of my childhood favorites. Traditionally made from flour, butter, and rock sugar in Manchu cuisine, the version you’ll find most often in stores nowadays combines a sweet, eggy taste with a soft, chewy texture. There are sachima with raisins, sesame seed-studded sachima, even chocolate-flavored sachima — but, above all, I would recommend the “original” kind for first-timers. Cream wafers At their best, cream wafers are a light snack for satisfying a sweet tooth. At their worst, they could be described as “like thin planks of styrofoam sandwiching layers of cream that taste faintly of strawberry.” Ah well, either way, I could house half a packet of these. Sesame egg roll cookies, complete with a tin container Egg roll cookies Not to be confused with the egg rolls you might get from takeout, these crispy cookies known in Chinese as 蛋卷 are crisp and flaky. They sometimes skew a bit dry, so best enjoyed with a nice beveragino. While there are multiple brands on the market, you might consider the kind sold in classic red tins so you’ll have a new container to store sewing supplies for years afterward. Pocky Yes fine, Pocky is a Japanese snack, but it has long been a staple of Chinese and other Asian supermarkets, even before big box retailers like Costco started selling them. The popular confectionery-coated biscuit stick is available in a huge variety of flavors. I’d recommend starting out with the classic chocolate before leveling up to strawberry, matcha, and less widely attainable flavors like cookies and cream, mint chocolate, and sakura. Yan Yan Yan Yan Another Japanese treat turned Asian snacking symbol, Yan Yan predates Dunkaroos, its closest American equivalent. Each cup comes with crisp biscuit sticks — which, in the 15 or so years since I last regularly bought them, have become inscribed with quotes and cartoon animals? — that are dipped in slightly-too-sweet frosting. Delicious. Hello Panda (strawberry) and Koala’s March (chocolate) You might already be familiar with these cute filled biscuits, which are often mistaken for each other but are made by different brands (Meiji Seika and Lotte). Listen very carefully when I instruct you to try the strawberry flavor of pandas and the chocolate flavor of koalas, not the other way around. Can be microwaved briefly or refrigerated for different eating experiences. Fruit jelly Sweet, fruity, and colorful, these little cups of jelly — often sold in big ol’ buckets — are as delightful to look at as they are to eat. Consuming them basically involves peeling off the top wrapper, affixing one’s mouth to the edges of the cup like a vacuum seal, and inhaling in one swift, unflinching slurp (but don’t go too fast, lest the jelly shooter become a choking hazard). Other jelly varieties to try include ones in straws and ones in pouches. Fruit gummies Chinese and other Asian supermarkets offer a plethora of fruit gummy candy. I would recommend the lychee flavor in particular, most commonly sold by Japanese brand Kasugai. Haw candy, with 山楂卷 on the left, haw flakes on the right Haw candy Chinese hawthorn is such a good fruit!!!! I wish for everyone the joy of tasting this sweet, tart flavor. One such way is through haw flakes, which are essentially flat, dry, candy discs packaged in short rolls. A lesser-known — although, in my opinion, better tasting — form of haw candy is 果丹皮 or 山楂卷, sort of like a stickier, more intensely flavored fruit leather or rollup. White Rabbit candy So iconic that there are White Rabbit pop-ups and merch, this milk candy is creamy, chewy, and pretty much a national candy of China. Each one is wrapped in a layer of edible rice paper, which dissolves on the tongue. Peanut and sesame candy Sesame and peanut candy These candies — which bear some resemblance to brittle or nougat — typically boast a satisfying crunch and a nutty, aromatic taste. Flavored peanuts Shelled or unshelled, savory or sweet, peanuts are a common fixture in Chinese households, especially when guests come over for cards, drinks, or a long chat. Some flavors that are commonly available include garlic, five spice, and fermented soybean curd. Go for shelled when you’re in the mood to work for your food, unshelled when you don’t mind shoveling nuts down by the handful. Bread, buns, and other baked goods Not all stores have a fresh bakery section, but if yours does, grab a couple of treats, like a pineapple bun or a sponge cake. Milk tea You should always take a supermarket run as an opportunity to stockpile as many Asian drinks as you can. My go-to is milk tea; I’m partial to Japanese brands like Kirin, which I personally find to be smoother and less sweet, but there are usually at least a few different options, including Chinese and Taiwanese brands. Brown sugar boba ice cream bar Brown sugar boba ice cream bar Hot off the brown sugar bubble milk tea craze that has spread from Taiwan to overseas these past couple years, there is now a creamsicle that tastes remarkably similar to the drink, complete with chewy tapioca pearls. If you like brown sugar boba, you’ll probably like this. from Eater - All https://ift.tt/3ke97uv

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