#and to add on to a mini thing about tries to cook and eat girl

[cinnbar-bun]

SO based on your recommendation and your comments on american psycho I decided to finally read it and it definitely was not what I expected. Curious on what your thoughts are on Bateman himself and why things like the eats girl chapter are so stuck with you because I have some thoughts on it too. Like I know were not supposed to relate to him because he's a serial killer and all but I felt kinda bad for him like yikes dude. he also annoyed me a bit with the random topic chances out of nowhere and im sure its meant to be cool and all but it took me out of it sometimes.

gjrnejgnjrg Sorry I made you look into that book (but I do hope you found it interesting or enjoyable? Somewhat? Or can appreciate it on an artistic level?) I could go on for hours about this subject but I'll try to keep it short and explain some thoughts on it and sorry but it will lean into very I AM PROJECTING A LOT HERE (but bear with me).

So at its core, American Psycho is a satire, and it's a satire on corporate bros, yuppies, American consumerism yada yada. You know that portion but I like to think that Patrick is very symbolic of a person's base desires and worst aspects of themselves. I think on our worst days someone could read a thought and understand the impulsiveness of it, but they would hardly act out on it. Patrick does. Patrick is also, frankly, not a person, so you cannot give him a character because everything you read and see is an act he puts on, one that he both hates and only finds 'safety' in. He is effectively nothing and he continues to make himself be nothing in his efforts to be something.

Now this is where I get a bit out there by saying I think it's totally understandable to relate to and even feel bad or sympathize with Patrick. Obviously we are not discussing the gory parts but on a human level, I think many struggle with things like addiction, needing validation, work, perfectionism, appearance, and wanting things like love or happiness. Patrick's moments of clarity where he is forced to come to terms with the fact he's such a fucked up piece of shit is hard to read/see but you understand that he put himself in this situation by being a horrid person, and he also only finds comfort in being horrible so you don't forgive him.

I personally think of Patrick as an autistic, asexual, gay (or bi whatever) man mostly because I project a lot and tbh Patrick was very autistic / neurodivergent coded to me. I could relate heavily to some of the sentiments of not being able to understand your own body or having such a monotone or flat affect or that really nauseating feeling that comes with making a social faux pas that you are not aware of until EVERYONE is just looking at you weirdly. I dunno like I feel it really captured a lot of my own experiences of being neurodivergent, not straight, and also asexual but in a very satirical masculine and crazy way.

As for the topic changes, I totally understand that as a reader it can be super obnoxious, I don't blame you. I'm just booboo the fool who's read it a lot so I find something to see with it but in regards to the changes, I think it's really a good mindset to understand that this is Patrick talking to us, the reader, in a stream of consciousness type of monologue. Often these topic changes happen when he commits a faux pas or has a really bad breakdown, and then diverts the topic to something he's 'knowledgeable' on. Why, yes, dear reader, he DID accidentally recommend pepsi to a woman and everyone looked at him dumbly because UM YOURE SUPPOSED TO DRINK COKE? but look he has sex bro. Bro trust him, he gets women he knows about them bro please ignore that he just dared to offer a pepsi in a public setting. Or he can just go on about Phil Collin's catalogue your choice. It's stuff like that that I always find interesting upon rereads and discussions of it and I looooove seeing others' thoughts on it.

[inf3ct3dd]

loser!ellie headcanons pt.6

summary: ellieeee my chiquitita my baby my love

warnings: none :3

authors note: ik yall missed herrrr

masterlist. help palestine.🇵🇸

- ellie tries to be soooo cool and wear her cool people jackets (leather jackets, canvas, those carhartt hoodie jackets etc) but they’re very not helpful against the cold and you’ll be out with her and shes just SHIVERING the whole time…

- she’s obsessed w those “general knowledge quizzes” on tiktok. that girl is a hoe for trivia she’s sitting on her bed at three in the morning saying her answers OUT LOUD while she watches them. she gets so upset when she gets literally any wrong… “man…im not a quiz master 🙁”

- ik in the games she walks around with her little journal and shit but i feel like shes definitely jus constantly typing shit in her notes app… random thoughts and jokes and shit that she most definitely shows you at the end of the day

- she barely ever baby talks to babies… she’ll go up to a baby and just be like “wassup dude” and have a full blown conversation with him while the babies just sitting there babbling and giggling at her

- thinks those “im nothing like yall” slideshows r so hilarious…. like you’ll be on the couch and she’s just giggling at her phone at paracetamol 😞

- references the most niche memes ever constantly and literally googles them to explain herself. you guys went camping and she said “boy you want hot dog” and you were like ????

- so strangely particular about how her stuff is arranged 😭 her desk looks like an absolute hot mess 90% of the time but SHE UNDERSTANDS IT and if u try and organize it for her she just puts it back how it was

- always says “guys” and “yall” when she’s talking to literally one person. and CHAT. she just constantly adds it into conversation like “chat how are you today”

- loves asking if things are “fire.” she’ll cook you something and you take a bite and shes like “is that shit fire???” she has to know

- obsessed with “i barely know her” jokes. the second someone says something ending in er shes like “rider??? i barely know her!!” and she’s laughing her ass off

- that girl will go HAM on some mac and cheese. but it can only be really good baked mac or the shitty kraft mac and cheese. she puts like- hella pepper and red chili flakes in it and eats it straight out of the pot 🔥 its always at like three in the morning and you just walk in the kitchen to her with a pot in her lap watching glee or some shit

- SPEAKING. OF. glee is most definitely one of her guilty pleasure shows…like shes rewatched it a million times and glee cast was one of her top artists on apple music wrapped

- shes an apple music user. send tweet.

- got yelled at by an old lady once cuz she picked her flowers out of her front yard and gave them to you

- when i tell you that girl goes ham on those tiny clementines… she’ll eat like 10 in one day and theres just PEELS. EVERYWHERE.

- also she fw grapes heavy. especially green grapes (shes a weird little freak red grapes are so much better)

- OBSESSED WITH THOSE BLIND BAG SHITS. especially mini brands oh my god she definitely has the whole lil grocery store set and she’s so obsessed with it.

- her house slippers are definitely just a pair of crocs with the fur inside and a bunch of stupid ass jibbits. she buys the mega packs off amazon and changes them whenever shes bored

- has SO MANY drafts on tiktok and they’re all her trying filters staring at the screen like 😯

- most annoying person to sleep next to ever . snoring, sleep talking, moving around CONSTANTLY and hitting you accidentally, the only way she sleeps peacefully is if you’re holding her or she’s holding you, otherwise shes insane

- weirdly into linguistics…that girl is using humongous words for no good reason just for fun and half the time she has no idea what they mean and when she googles them and shes right about the definition she does that little fist pump and “fuck yes”

- speaking of. that girl is SPEEDRUNNING DUOLINGO . she’s fluent in (bad spaniard) spanish from it, and just learns random languages for fun. you speak a different language? she’s learning it immediately. definitely leaves notes for you in random languages she learned and you have to pull out a translator to understand wtf shes talking about… she also sleep talks in spanish sometimes and its so funny

- loves trying out different recipes…like i said my girl is a CHEF she will be at home fucking up a salmon bake she made and making you homemade pho for dinner

- had a phase when she was younger when she was really into the la bamba movie and dressed like richie valens for two years

- also cried so hard when she watched selena with you…that girl was devastated 💔 every time she hears “dreaming of you” she almost sheds a tear

“when that yolanda bitch gets out of prison….im shooting someone . its obvious who its gonna be.”

- she definitely begged joel to buy her a gun for christmas and he would take her to the range all the time so she can SHOOT. that girl is goated at lazer tag she gets down…does not play

- thought that candy cigarettes were the coolest thing ever when she was little… everywhere she went she had one hanging out of the side of her mouth and shed hold them between her fingers like they do in movies. if you two go to a candy shop shes for sure buying a pack

[theallenshorefangirl]

@voidwritesstuff @screechinginthevoid

After the Tapes Chapter 6 (Sorry if it's bad, it's been written since March and April) plz forgive me. I forgot how to write.

As the fresh March rain hit the cabin,it was about 7:00 am.The cabin was quite.The calendar date was the 25th of March.The only room in the cabin that was active with noise,was the kitchen where Desmond,Laz,Jerico,Lucas and Allen were busy like bees in there.”Alright this needs to be perfect for her.” Jerico kept them on their toes while cooking.”Allen stop eating the buttercream frosting!? And Desmond stop playing around with the pancake batter.Lucas you know better stop putting a bunch of sprinkles on the cake!?” Dios mio!? Laz, can you help me keep the children at bay.”

Laz chuckled and nodded. Lucas,Desmond and Allen all slowly turned to Jerico and frowned. ”yeah that's right I called you children cause you're all acting like one.” They all get back to the task at hand.Allen peered in the doorway to his and his sisters room.Laying in a burrito blanket on her own bed was Z.She found a way to keep herself asleep and from the sleep paralysis demon. ”Z wake up time to get up.” Allen knocked on the wood of the bed.Half awake Z sits up. ”Huh?” “Come on rise and shine,take a shower and come to the kitchen.” Allen kept poking her with a random stick he snagged from the tree next to the window “Alright,alright I'll get up.” Z was really annoyed but she got up eventually and took her morning shower.

Once she was done as soon as she stepped into the kitchen she was bombarded with confetti and streamers.”Happy birthday Z!” They all called out.Z stood there embarrassed.Allen escorted Z to a chair where homemade chocolate chip pancakes were on a plate and a chocolate buttercream frosted sprinkle cake sat in the middle of the table.”We made you breakfast and a cake!” Jerico laughed as they sat down to eat. “Wow, it looks great!” Z spoke with joy and a hint of sadness to her voice.

*Timeskip to Town* The town was abandoned and Mayer security was nowhere to be seen.Desmond wanted to grab a few things from his apartment and office area to try and liven up the cabin that Lucas put add-ons to the house for more room for everyone.While Jerico,Lazarus,Desmond and Lucas were busy with collecting stuff from the apartment and to get food at Homa Mart.Allen and Z headed back to the one place that made them feel like themselves again.Icarus Point Lighthouse.

Allen thought Z needed to take in a breath of air from being cooped up in the cabin.He made sure no Mayer Security was roaming about the place and took Z inside.They both reached the top of the lighthouse.Z looked out amongst the ocean and started crying.Allen,worried like he always was, and walked to Z's side.”What's wrong your the birthday girl is everything alright?”

Z's face was red and her eyes started to turn red from how much she cried.”Allen that's the thing I don't feel like a girl I feel like I'm nothing.I don't feel girly…I feel like a void ripped my thoughts straight from my head.Like a singular moon different from the rest of the stars and suns and moons.” Z trembled, losing her balance and fell to her knees sobbing and hyperventilating intensely like an anxiety attack was happening.Allen pulls her close.``Shhh it's alright I think I read it in a book your not female nor male but you don't fall under those categories.I think it's called Non-Binary or enby if I'm not mistaken.” Allen has read multiple books from Desmond’s mini library in the cabin and tries to understand what they were like: books on bird species,cute cats and cuddly dogs,how to comfort a love one,ect.Anything Desmond had he kinda had it.Allen pulls Z close to himself and hugs her.”Do you want me to use Non-Binary pronouns with you?” Allen rubs her back letting the tears stain his canary yellow turtleneck.``With you,you're only allowed to call me by your sister. I don't mind,but I want the others to use enby pronouns.” She sniffled and wiped the tears on her pale violet sweater.``It's ok,we can tell the others when we are back to the cabin…ok?” Allen rubs little circles around their back.

*Timeskip to dinner* They all,got back safe in the cabin.Desmond had his chaise lounge and his chair back,along with a working computer and a few other items like patient files,records and tapes.Lucas was making some grilled lemon salmon and some side dishes to go with it.Everyone sat down to eat.Allen stood up,and the room went quiet.”Guys,Z wants me to tell you all they want to use Non-Binary pronouns from now on.” He sat back down.Z was sinking in her chair,the ringing in her ears were loud and felt like liquid fire was pouring down her eyes.”Z,you're ok with us no matter what you are.” Jerico piped up.”We would even still love you like family if you were a worm!” Allen nudged Z's shoulder.”No matter what kiddo,you're ok in my book.” Lucas gave a warm smile.”If you need anything,let us know.” Laz nodded.Z sat there crying for a good while.Desmond and the others gave them a hug and rubbing their back.After a while they ate the delicious lemon salmon and finished the rest of the birthday cake.

It was now 11pm and they all sat atop the radio tower.Lucas gifted a good sized telescope that could see pretty far away.The cool spring air was fresh and crisp.The stars twinkled like glitter.Afew of the constellations glimmers familiar colors like red,purplish pink,light blue and pink.They all admired the beautiful display as they headed back to bed.Allen and Z both looked out the window as the rain started to pour in.”I'm so proud of you. You know that.I would give you the best sibling ever award if that existed.” Allen laughs.Z smiles and yawns,leaning onto Allen.”Same to you, Al. I mean, without you, it would be boring.” Allen's smile widened.”I forgot to tell you, but I loaded everyone's pillows with confetti.” Once Desmond,Laz,Jer, and Lucas laid down a cloud of confetti poured out of their pillows.The heard groans of disappointment.They both laugh hysterically.”Nice bro.” Z nods in approval.”Hey perfect opportunity, and I took it.” Allen gleamed with joy.They both headed to their beds and went to sleep.

[astaroth1357]

Demon Brothers being Soft for Their Daughters 

Might just be me but I think there's nothing cuter than a Dad who loves his daughter so I made a hc for our boys. Strap in, it’s a long one! 

IMPORTANT! Watch out for first half spoilers! Assumed that the child is a half human/half demon with the MC!

Lucifer

Tries to be really strict but ends up being kind of a pushover.

Oh there ARE rules that even his little girl can't break, but most of the time she can get away with almost anything if she's cute clever enough.

Pushes her to be the best at almost anything she tries, expectations be real high; gonna take the MC stepping in to remind him winning isn't everything and please cool it on the pressure.

Lowkey learned his lesson before and doesn't want to make another Satan situation so tries to take MC's advice to heart and not be quite so controlling.

Her favorite uncle is Mammon and he gets cold sweats about this every night.

Wasn't able to be there for a lot of her firsts due to work and gets real sulky when he misses out. Videos just don't offer the same experience...

Feels bad that work keeps him so busy so he tries to make up for it with toys, clothes, jewelry, pretty much whatever she likes at the time.

Would never admit it, but his black heart melts every time he comes home and sees she's excitedly waiting by the door.

One of those parents who will never stop bragging about how amazing their kid is to anyone who will listen, but never when she's in the same room.

100% that overprotective "I'm going to give you a brief tour of the torture chamber, then we’ll browse my whip collection. Oh, make sure she's home by 8" kind of dad if she were to ever bring home a date. They will know that his baby is not to be messed with (like anyone's crazy enough to try honestly).

Mammon

So over the goddamn moon that someone actually wanted to have a kid with him that he couldn't shut up about it for weeks.

Treasures his little girl more than anything he owns, even Goldie. When she's a baby the two of them are practically inseparable.

The biggest pushover to ever be pushed. She's about the only person he's ever unconditionally generous to and he really spoils her rotten.

She's just as materialistic as her father, honestly, but MC made sure their girl was raised with good morals. The first of which being no stealing. Ever. She works for every cent she spends.

On the one hand, he's actually pretty damn proud and relieved that she won't be called "scum" or anything like her father, but on the other hand like… Ew. Who raised you? (No one remind him it’s kind of his doing anyway).

For once in his greedy existence, he can tell a sob story about really needing that loan or those shoes for his beloved daughter and actually mean it… most of the time 😏

Even when she's young, though, she will ask him if a gift he's giving her was taken from someone else and, man, he cannot lie to her face. People shame him for stealing all the time but the little look of disappointment she gives him hurts WAY more than all of his brothers’ insults combined.

Probably one of the most supportive and involved dads in existence. He will be at every game, every recital, every meet. Even if he's complaining the whole time, if anyone so much as suggests that he just shouldn't go he'd be appalled.

…. He's perhaps a little too involved because he's also totally the kind of father who will lowkey stalk his daughter's dates to be sure nothing bad happens. MC, please step in. She needs privacy too.

Leviathan

Was incredibly worried about having a kid, he's not even had the best track record when it comes to pets and parenting is some high-level normie stuff. But his little girl's first smile absolutely melted his doubts away.

That being said… he's still not the greatest with little kids. For a long time if the baby so much as sneezed unexpectedly he'd start shouting for the MC and checking every website he can like??? My half demon baby won't stop sneezing, is it pneumonia???

Gets a lot less panicky as the child gets older, but in those early years he'd practically want to stick them in a bubble wrap suit.

He passed on his love of the ocean and underwater creatures pretty early on. The running joke is that his girl knew how to swim before she knew how to crawl.

Family aquarium trips are an absolute must.

The second they're old enough to understand plot he's introducing them to his favorite shows, but only the best (and most child-friendly) ones of course. He wants his daughter to grow into a woman of culture, damnit! Pop culture that is.

Sooo much text/chat lingo between these two. It's not her fault really. She was bound to pick it up but man can it sound like they're speaking tongues at times.

With practice she can and will beat her old man at most video games and, yes, it makes his cry tears of equal parts pride and aggravation.

Has a mini-panic attack every time she hits a new milestone, like, yes he's so fucking proud but also don't you think she's growing up too fast??? MY BABY GIRL!!! 😭😭😭

Cries like a baby to the MC when she goes out on her first date because he realized she's really, truly, growing up and he's afraid his little girl isn't going to want to spend time with her lame old dad anymore.

Satan

Tries to be strict and IS strict but mostly on schoolwork.

Her grades best not be slippin' or this Book Papa will take all her stuff away. End of discussion.

Otherwise, he's surprisingly chill being the Avatar of Wrath and all. He of all people understands the desire to just have your own life and do your own thing.

She'll inherit his temper though, that's a given, and if they both get going then watch out. Fights between them can get verbally explosive, but never physical. Even at his angriest Satan would never once lay a hand on his daughter.

Read to her every night when she was young: storybooks, novels, mythologies, didn't matter to him. Whatever she wanted to hear. Still, he was so proud the day she told him that she wanted to read on her own.

100% makes nearly everything in life a teachable lesson but also helps her when she needs it. He wants her to forge her own path but is still very supportive when the situation calls for it.

Would never EVER admit it, but he does just as many dad jokes as Lucifer.

Of all the brothers, he's probably the most typical father to have, there for his kid just enough while also making sure they're not getting away with murder.

Is totally chill with her dating because he knows he doesn’t have to be super protective of her. She can more than handle herself if something goes wrong, in fact, if he were to step in it would probably add insult to their already grievance injury.

That being said, he IS the Avatar of Wrath. If someone hurts his girl he’s going to have a turn one way or another.

Asmodeus

Oh YEEESSS, he's not normally the commitment kind of guy but he and MC raising a child? They'd be the most gorgeous thing in the universe!!! (Not counting himself of course)

Beautifying his baby since day one, but the MC keeps him from doing anything too extreme. A lot of baths, good moisturizer, hairstyling (when she grows enough of it), etc.

Soooo many outfits. She'll practically never wear the same thing twice and Asmo coordinates his own clothes to match hers all the time.

He actually goes out and parties LESS if you can believe it, especially when she's young and needs a lot of supervision. But he'll get pent up real quick so learning how to do a quiet quickie during naptime is a must.

His girl is all over his Devilgram, nearly every milestone is snapped up and recorded. He loves her more than anything and would just scream about his pride and joy from the rooftops if social media didn't provide him that outlet.

Makes sure his daughter knows that she is gorgeous, she is loved, and passes on every bit of self-confidence he has. Doesn't matter if she grows up a girly-girl, tomboy, or anything else under the sun. When you're feeling good just being you, heads will turn on their own accord!

Not the best at discipline and would only really step in if he thinks she's being a real jerk about something. Day to day attitude adjustments are totally up to the MC.

He is, however, the best sex-ed teacher one could ever ask for and makes sure his daughter knows there's no shame in what comes natural, just be sure you're respectful and responsible!

Completely unfazed when the suitors began lining up, I mean she is HIS daughter. It was inevitable. Offers tips and advice when he can but lets her go off and experiment naturally. Young love is a beautiful thing! (Just don't break his girl's heart though because he may lowkey curse your whole bloodline)

Beelzebub 

….. MC, you're going to be eaten out of house and home.

Though his daughter's appetite isn't AS bad as his, Beel could tell it's going to be an issue from day one but he's ready for it.

Dedicates his freaking life to being sure she never goes one night hungry. He'll cook, he'll shop, he'll even share from his own plate if he has to. The thought of her going through anywhere near the level of starvation he feels on a daily basis is enough to crush his soul (if he has one)

You better bet there will be eating competitions. She never wins, but the fact she can even get close will have him grinning anyway.

That being said, he will push for a healthy and active lifestyle for her too. 

Highkey wants her playing sports and doing team activities because he genuinely thinks it will help her stay healthy and make friends.

Just the right amount of discipline. Tries to be understanding but also knows when to call a spade, a spade and express his disapproval.

Very in-tune to her emotions and her needs even if he can’t quite grasp WHY she's feeling the way she is. Keeping up with teen drama is going to be the bane of his existence...

Uncle Belphie=That one cool uncle who lets you get away with anything and probably gives out sugar after bedtime.

One of the only brothers who makes a point of his daughter also seeing and exploring her human heritage too and not just treating her like a pseudo-demon… And it's totally not just for the added excuse of sampling human world cuisine, like, come on who do you take him for? 🤫

Somewhat cautious about her dating, but ultimately just wants her to be happy. He'll usually trust her judgment but he's pretty good at reading someone's character and if he gets real bad vibes from anyone he's not above telling her, "No. Not that one." Whether or not he's listened to depends on the situation.

Belphegor

Lol MC, you could have picked a much better choice. Borderline Deadbeat/Cool Dad here!

Kids… not his thing. He doesn't dislike them exactly, they're just a lot of work and he's sort of allergic to that. He's more of a semi-irresponsible babysitter type.

Case in point, "Belphie, watch the baby" becomes "Belphie, if you're going to take a nap at least hold onto her leg so she doesn't go anywhere."

Only saving grace is she takes after him so most days she's pretty dang sleepy too. Naptime is a good third of the daily routine (not that anyone is complaining).

Shit at discipline because, like, what leg does he have to stand on? If she wants to ditch class, why not let her? Once or twice ain't that bad.

Takes her on a lot of "field trips" to the human world like he would with Lilith. Genuinely wants her to experience both sides of her identity and encourages her to explore her human side just as much as her demon.

The kind of chill dad that you feel comfortable going to when you've got to talk out a problem or need life advice. He might not be able to offer many answers, but he tries in his own way.

Will prank his kid and will not feel sorry, but is never cruel about it. In fact, this will only spur on a mutual prank war between the two.

Uncle Beel=that genuinely nice uncle who tries to teach you life lessons and how to take care of yourself… while also eating a ton of food.

Would be super confused at first if she started dating like?? How? He kind of sees her like a mini-him at times and his human came to him. Since when did she stay awake long enough to leave the house?? But otherwise he goes with the flow. Whatever she wants, her life.

He might get a bit more agitated if she starts to date a human, like, lowkey bad flashbacks to the whole Lilith situation and the MC would probably have to cool his jets about it. Different circumstances after all.

[ao3bronte]

Butter

I have been utterly enchanted by the spoiler images Zag keeps posting of Chat Noir and Ladybug's rooftop dinner date in the movie and I simply had to write about it for Christmas because it's so darn romantic! I've also been honing my food writing skills, which I hope you'll enjoy as well! This story is part of the @mlsecretsanta​ exchange and I was paired up with a Tumblr user named @yuki-sukinomoto​. I hope they like what I have put together for them. Also on AO3.

Like many people around the world, Adrien has a special place in his heart for Disney films. He and his mother had enjoyed many a fireworks celebration at Disneyland Paris, not to mention the mini-vacation he'd taken with her at Disneyland Hong Kong while they were there for Father's flagship store opening. Even now, he regularly enjoys flipping through the archives of Disney+ just as frequently as he does his other streaming services; there's nothing like a rewatch of a favourite film to get his mind off the bigger shadows lording over his life.

He's halfway through his last year of lycée when it occurs to him that he hasn't watched Ratatouille in ages. There are only a few animated films set in Paris that he can think of off the top of his head and he's always enjoyed the romance of Un Monstre en Paris more than the trials and tribulations of a rodent gourmand. It warrants a look though, especially since he's got nothing better to do; the glacial December rain is no place for Paris’ favourite cat.

“Anyone can cook, but only the fearless can be great.”

Something about that statement resonates within him, like the missing piece of a puzzle finally slotting into place. Adrien gawks at the screen, then down at his fingers.

“I’m pretty much fearless,” he murmurs, the cogs of his brain suddenly propelling into motion. “And if that Linguini guy can learn how to cook, then so can I!”

~

That evening, Sous Chef Maurice humours the youngest Agreste when he strides into the kitchen and affably demands to be taught how to cook. The spritely blond’s attitude has always been world’s away from his boss’ brusque, frigid demeanor and Sous Chef Maurice welcomes the change of pace, if only to lighten up the evening as the snowy skies grow dim.

“So, where do we start?”

“With the basics, of course,” Sous Chef Maurice responds, tapping away at the mounted iPad on the wall nearest to the pass. “Watch this video and familiarize yourself with the classical knife cuts of French cuisine. Once you’re finished, bring three large carrots and two bulbs of fennel from the garde manger to my station to practice.”

“Yes, Chef!”

And so, with all of the flagrant gusto of an Agreste on a mission, Adrien watches the videos and does exactly as he’s asked. Wielding the chef’s knife is a bit of a task but he manages not to amputate any fingers, much to Sous Chef Maurice’s relief. All in all, he ends up with a fairly decently sliced pile of carrot batonnets on one side of the cutting board and half a julienned fennel bulb on the other.

“That’s all? There are several other techniques you’ll be required to master if you want to learn to cook.” Sous Chef Maurice frowns beneath his wiry moustache. “Cut a medium and small dice from the batonnets. And as for the fennel, slice the rest of the bulb into wedges. Monsieur Agreste requested it braised this evening.”

Adrien’s tongue wriggles out between his lips as he hacks the carrots into even smaller pieces. “What’s braising?”

“A cooking technique,” Sous Chef Maurice replies, “One you’re about to learn in a moment. Now chop.”

“Yes, Chef!” Adrien flashes his million watt smile before diving head first back into the task that was given and quickly catches on. He’s no Guy Savoy, of course, but he manages well enough with the careful precision of a boy who secretly destroys things for a living. Once he’s finished, he watches as Sous Chef Maurice crafts the rest of the evening’s dinner beneath the copper hooded hearth, stirring and seasoning every dish. Spreads of freshly baked bread and Saucisson Sec jostle for space on the platter, nestled in among wedges of Crottin de Chavignol and small jars of stone fruit jam that remind him of summer. On the burner, Sous Chef Maurice reverently sautées tomatoes in a magnificent French oven until buttery tender.

“Why, exactly, have you decided to learn how to cook all of the sudden?” Sous Chef Maurice asks as he sprinkles a fragrant chiffonade of basil over the tomatoes. “Don’t you have enough on your plate, so to speak?”

Adrien shrugs. “I was watching a movie and realized that I don’t know how to cook anything.”

“And now you suddenly have the inspiration to become a chef?”

“Not exactly,” Adrien says, passing him the pepper mill. “Cooking is...daring. You have to be fearless to be a great chef!”

Sous Chef Maurice begins to chuckle. “You’re doing this to impress a girl, aren’t you?”

“I…” Adrien’s jaw practically drops to the floor. Why didn’t he think of that sooner? Ladybug wouldn’t be able to resist his Chat Noir charm if he could pull off the ultimate homemade dinner for Christmas! She’s always appreciated his do-it-yourself gifts over the ones he’s bought her over the years...he could ask about her favourite foods and create a holiday masterpiece for her to devour as the perfect Christmas present, just for the two of them! “Yes! How did you know?”

“I was a young man once too,” Sous Chef Maurice points out, shaking his head with mirth as he turns his attention back to the hearth. He pulls the olive oil braised fennel from the oven and slathers a huge spoonful of buttery fava bean purée onto the serving platter, smearing it across the china like a streak of bright green paint. Then, he artfully stacks the braised vegetables over the purée and drizzles the juices from the pan in haphazard circles from a height, dressing the dish like Father would a high fashion model. Adrien can hardly believe his eyes as Sous Chef Maurice sprinkles Maldon sea salt on top and places it onto the pass, ready for service.

“Like modelling, cooking is an art. It requires patience and mastery,” Sous Chef Maurice explains, turning towards the youngest Agreste with a smile playing at the edge of his lips. “If you’re serious about learning how to cook, I suggest you start studying the books of Paul Bocuse.”

“Do you think Father will let me?”

“I heard you discussing your latest school project with Mme Sancoeur just yesterday in the dining room. Perhaps you can change the focus of your study to better suit your interests.”

The lightbulb above Adrien’s head suddenly flickers to life. “Yes! Thank you so much! You’re the best!”

As Adrien races from the kitchen to the dining room in a frenzy of inspiration, Sous Chef Maurice simply wipes down his knives and smiles.

~

Cooking, as it turns out, is easier said than done.

The first task on Adrien’s check list is to find out what Ladybug likes to eat. She doesn’t really know what to make of Chat Noir’s sudden barrage of questions about what her favourite meat is or what types of soft cheese she likes to spread on freshly baked baguettes. But she’s spent years by his side at this point — his chaotic behaviour always seems to stem from some haywire plan to prove his worth — so she goes along with it as he goes along with her crazy ideas; trust has always been integral between the two of them.

The second task is to watch as many cooking TV shows as he possibly can. Adrien stays up into the wee hours of the morning bingeing Masterchef and soaking up every detail he can memorize. Always salt the boiling water before cooking pasta; add acid to bring out the flavours of your food; season, season, season! Instant coffee powder accentuates the subtleties of chocolate; toast the spices to release their full potential! Adrien writes it all down and figures that it can’t be that hard to break down a whole chicken for roasting — the judges make it look so easy!

“Merde! I am so sick of this stupid—Plagg, transforme-moi!” Adrien growls that very afternoon after mistaking the back of the chicken for the breast...again, “Cataclysme!”

(Sous Chef Maurice finds the smoking pile of chicken soot in the bin later that evening and doesn’t have the heart to ask.)

~

There are two weeks left until the beginning of his school’s winter holidays and Adrien is bound and determined to host an evening that Ladybug will never forget. Anaïs gives Chat Noir permission to use one of the transparent bubble tents on his restaurant’s rooftop patio as a favour after de-akumatizing him back in September; Le Cochon Joufflu gives him a live edge cheese board to use in exchange for getting his beloved kitten down from the chestnut tree hanging over the patio. Ladybug mentions that she loves strawberries the most out of all of the fruits and Chat makes sure to stop by the Dupain Cheng Boulangerie Patisserie to order a Frasier for pickup in two weeks time.

It’s all coming together...kind of.

The cooking bit is still an issue. Adrien has figured out the difference between the top and the bottom of the chicken (after an embarrassingly long time, though he’ll never admit it). Yesterday, Sous Chef Maurice taught him how to put the mirepoix on the bottom of the roasting pan first, then settle the chicken on top.

Seems simple, right?

Except how much of what goes into the mirepoix? What’s the ratio again? Adrien pinches the bridge of his nose and tries desperately to remember on his own, especially after Sous Chef Maurice nagged him for looking things up too often on the iPad. Cooking is supposed to be about instincts and...well, Adrien’s aren’t proving to be very reliable. Is it two parts celery to one part onion and carrot? Or does he have it all mixed up again?

“I have a secret to share with you,” Sous Chef Maurice says, standing alongside Adrien as they peel potatoes together. “It’s the secret ingredient to make a woman fall in love with you, even when you’ve made a mistake...what do you think it is?”

“Is it...love? Like, when you’re cooking from your heart?”

“That helps, certainly, but it’s not what I had in mind,” Sous Chef Maurice reaches into the wash basket for another potato, “Let me give you a hint. It’s as quintessentially French as it gets.”

“...camembert?”

“I—” Sous Chef Maurice takes a weary breath. “...no. It’s butter. All French cooking tastes better with butter. In fact, no meal is complete without it.”

“Don’t tell Father that,” Adrien says with a grimace.

“What Monsieur Agreste doesn’t know won’t hurt him.” Sous Chef Maurice raises his brows conspiratorially. “Besides, it makes a world of difference. It’s delicious. It’s decadent. It’s a chef’s little secret. And if you want this girl to fall in love with you, there’s no better way than with butter.”

“Really? She’ll fall in love with me right away?”

“I promise. It’s one hundred percent guaranteed.” Sous Chef Maurice plops a package of Charentes-style butter in front of him. “No woman can resist a homemade meal made with French butter. Just a little makes a world of difference to the richness of the taste and tonight, I’m going to show you how.”

To Adrien’s unlimited delight, Sous Chef Maurice teaches him how to make the creamiest, silkiest mashed potatoes to ever grace his palette. His knees weaken at the thought of Ladybug sliding a spoonful of his mashed potatoes past her lips...he can imagine the way she’d groan just like he had when Adrien had finished whipping what felt like an entire block of butter into the spuds. His body burns and tingles with the notion of her enjoying his creations and he doubles down in the kitchen, taking it upon himself to slather the skin of his chicken with an obscene amount of butter before popping it into the oven and hoping for the best.

It comes out perfectly.

~

“Happy early Christmas!” Chat Noir delights, opening the little door to their plastic bubble tent for Ladybug. “I know we promised to exchange gifts on the 23rd but I...I just really couldn’t wait any longer!”

“Why am I not surprised, Kitty?” Ladybug rolls her eyes and bops him on the nose. “Did Anaïs give you permission to use this?”

“Of course he did,” Chat responds, pressing his hand to his chest in mock-insult, “I am a cat of honour! I don’t just go stealing things without permission.”

“Mmhmm,” Ladybug teases him, tapping his bell as she climbs inside. The supporting structure of the transparent dome is decked out with sparkling fairy lights, adding a warm ambiance to the table and chairs set for two. “Is that a bottle of wine?”

“Yup,” Chat confirms, latching the door behind him and scurrying around her to pop the cork. “It’s a 2001 vintage. I picked it myself.”

“Fancy!” Ladybug’s smirking tone falters for a moment as she takes in the elaborate spread. “Did you...is Anaïs picking up the tab for dinner too?”

“Not exactly.” Chat pulls Ladybug’s chair out from the lip of the table and gently drapes her serviette across her lap once she sits down. “I made you dinner tonight.”

“Uh oh.” Ladybug starts laughing. “Is there an ambulance parked outside?”

Chat sticks out his tongue and sits down across from her. “I took lessons! And I had a little help from a professional.”

“So it’s safe to eat? Should I call the hospital just in case?”

“Very funny. And no. Everything here is edible. I know because I tried it.”

“Just because it’s good enough for an alley cat—”

“—hey now, I have a very sophisticat-ed palette!”

Ladybug’s eyes sparkle with mirth. “Come on then, Kitty. Show me what you’ve got.”

“As you wish, M’Lady.” Chat bows his head and pulls the aluminium foil off of the dishes with a flourish. “May I present to you your dinner this evening. It’s roasted chicken with mashed potatoes and a frisée and endive salad.”

Ladybug’s eyes bug out of her skull, much to Chat Noir’s delight. “You made all this yourself?”

“I did!”

“And you made this...for me?”

Chat practically preens with delight. “It’s all homemade. I’ve been practicing for weeks.”

“Wow…” Ladybug trails off, her stare bouncing from dish to dish. “I’m...I’m speechless, Chat. Thank you.”

“You’re welcome!” Chat whoops, jumping up to serve her. He carefully places a chicken thigh onto her plate and scoops a dollop of mashed potatoes beside it. “These are the best mashed potatoes you’ll ever eat, by the way.”

“I’ll be the judge of that,” Ladybug responds, her voice wavering a little as he spoons out the salad. “They smell good though.”

“That’s because they are good!”

“...I’m still skeptical.”

“Buuuug!”

The conversation between them flows like the wine from their bottle, leaving them both a little lightheaded and enchanted by it all. It’s warm in their garden igloo, an Eden of good company and beating hearts cocooned against the December chill and the gently falling snow cascading from the heavens. Chat wishes he could spend the rest of his life like this, laughing and joking with Ladybug over a homemade Christmas dinner made just for the two of them.

“Well?” Chat asks as Ladybug takes a dainty bite of his roast chicken. “What do you think?”

“It’s...it’s actually pretty good.” Ladybug chews thoughtfully, her cheeks flushing pink.

“Yes!” Chat narrowly keeps himself from pumping his fists into the sky. “Try the potatoes!”

Ladybug leans forwards to dip the tines of her fork into the exquisitely satiny spuds and Chat holds his breath as she brings them to her lips.

This is the moment she’s going to fall in love with him!

thump thump

Tentatively, Ladybug opens her mouth.

thump thump

She slips the fork between her lips.

thump thump

Chat can hardly breathe as her eyes flutter closed.

“Oh wow.” Ladybug moans, driving her fork into the potatoes and shoveling an enormous helping into her mouth. “Thish ish so goo!”

Chat truly can’t help himself and starts giggling with glee, every nerve ending in his body firing as his heart nearly bursts in his chest. “I knew you’d like them!”

“I love them,” she gushes around another mouthful. “You have to teach me how to make them.”

“Or I could just make them for you again.” Chat grips the edge of the table so firmly that the wood creaks beneath his fingers. “You know, next time I make you dinner.”

To his absolute elated delight, she doesn’t even sass him. “Deal. But bring your own bowl next time, this one’s all mine.”

Their Christmas dinner lasts long into the evening, their teasing and laughing comments as breezy as the winds coming off the Seine. It’s safe here, just the two of them together, tucked away from prying eyes and miscreant moths looking for trouble. Through it all, she talks and tastes and laughs like an indefatigable hybrid of Brigitte Bardot and Aphrodite. There’s no doubt she looks at him differently now, the stars reflecting in her eyes no longer just the reflection of the fairy lights in their snowy igloo. His heart beats a thousand times a minute as she snags him by the wrist while he tidies their empty plates, stopping him dead in his tracks.

“Dinner was amazing,” Ladybug says, still seated beneath him. “I can’t believe you made this all yourself.”

“Anything for you, M’Lady,” Chat breathes, his voice shaking from the heat of her touch.

“I’m not sure how to thank you.” Her eyes trail away for a moment and glance outside at the falling snow pooling around their dome. “Actually, I think I do.”

With a small, tentative smile, Ladybug tugs him down to her level and ruffles his hair when his jaw drops open at the sudden proximity. He’s helpless when she gets into his space and she knows it; it’s why she’s always got the upper hand whenever they’re together. He turns to jelly as her expression turns mischievous — he knows she’s up to something, but what? What could she possibly be thinking? Chat glances down at her lips before catching himself, dragging his eyes back up to meet hers once again.

“L-Ladybug?” Chat’s voice cracks, pitching up into the stratosphere. She giggles and he feels like dying and flying all at once.

“I think you deserve a well done kiss after all that hard work.” Ladybug tips her head to the side and grins as he begins to stammer and splutter all over himself. “But where? On your cheek? On your forehead?”

Gently, she wraps her fingers around his bell and steadies him, fully aware that he might just come crashing down on top of her. She hovers a hair’s breadth away and hesitates only for a moment before pressing a kiss to the corner of his mouth.

It only lasts for a fleeting moment but Chat swears the world grinds to a halt on its axis, stealing the ground from his feet and the air in his lungs. She kissed him. She kissed him! She honest-to-goodness kissed him — by her own volition! On the lips! She kissed him on the lips with her mouth! Her lips touched his lips! They kissed! They kissed!! They kissed!!!

“Not that your reaction isn’t sweet enough,” Ladybug teases, bopping him on the nose to shake him out of his reverie, “But what’s for dessert, Kitty Cat?”

Chat Noir may be Paris’ number one cat hero, but tonight he’s nothing but a puddle in the wake of her smile. “One Christmas Frasier, coming right up!”

[dudeandduchess]

Cooking with Kyōjurō: Crème Caramel (Kyōjurō x F!S/O, Modern AU, SFW Scenario)

Summary: While his wife was out, Kyōjurō tried to take matters into his own hands and made crème caramel to surprise her and their daughter. Only, things didn’t turn out as he expected. To make him feel better, his wife took him grocery shopping— willingly, that time. Note: Enjoy, bbys. This was really cathartic to write since I’ve been having so much baby fever as of late. 😌🍉 Word Count: 2,830

***

The moment that (Y/n) entered the house, she immediately knew that something wasn’t right. It wasn’t the blaring music from the kitchen that clued her in to whatever was happening, but it was the silence that accompanied it which had her feeling so unsettled.

Because, usually, the loud music would be accompanied by her husband’s own (horrible) rendition of the sound— just him belting out whichever lyrics that came to mind, while he moved around in the kitchen. But, at that moment, it was too silent for her liking.

So, the young woman looked down at her daughter and readjusted her grip on the toddler’s hand— then put down the paper bags that had all of the clothes she’d gotten for Ran at the mall.

“Mama? What’s wrong?” The little girl asked softly, all while tilting her head up at her mother— whom wasn’t even sure what to answer.

So, (Y/n) forced a smile onto her lips, before shrugging. “We’re just going to surprise papa. So shh.”

Slowly, the mother-daughter pair crept up to the entryway to the kitchen, keeping themselves as quiet as possible as (Y/n) carefully peered around the wall; only to see Kyōjurō at the counter.

Seeing him there wouldn’t have been alarming in and of itself, but the sight of him with his hands cradling his face— as if he’d done something so despicably unbelievable— had his wife rushing over to him with their daughter in tow.

“Kyōjurō! What’s wrong?” (Y/n) asked, worry coloring her tone as she shook her husband’s left shoulder— while Ran got up on the stool right next to her father and tried to hug him as best as she could.

The little girl’s eyes wandered to get a clue of what had made her father sad, and landed right on the array of puffy, gelatin-custard hybrids which were upturned on four different plates.

“Oh, papa made steamed eggs.”

Kyōjurō actually whimpered at that, letting it taper into a quiet sigh as he let more of his disappointment sink in. Even his daughter thought that he’d made steamed eggs.

(Y/n)’s eyes darted over to where Ran was pointing at, lowering her hand down to the blond’s bicep and rubbing it up and down to comfort him. Clearly, it wasn’t steamed eggs— and it wasn’t the Korean variant of Chawanmushi— all because of the lack of vegetables, plus the dark sauce on the top… which suspiciously smelled like caramel. “Oh, baby…”

At her words, Kyōjurō slid both of his hands off his face; readjusting himself so he could pull Ran into his lap. He then pressed a kiss to the top of the little girl’s head, before turning to his wife and leaning in to peck her lips. “I was trying to make crème caramel for you, since you said you were craving for it.”

Panic set in to (Y/n)’s chest, as she resisted the urge to go through her stash of vanilla beans— yet she knew, she just knew, that she would find only one or two bean stalks the jar, instead of the six she’d been saving to use for the ice cream that Ran liked.

She wanted to be mad at him, especially since the closer she looked at the failed crème caramels, the more that she saw the vanilla bean seeds that were dotted all over the puffy messes.

“I don’t get what I did wrong,” Kyōjurō whispered, taking to having his daughter play around with his right hand— pulling his fingers apart and bending them into odd positions.

“Papa’s making a bad finger,” The little girl giggled, as her parents looked down at what she was doing— holding down her father’s fingers with her thumbs, all of them save for his middle finger.

Instead of lecturing his daughter about how that wasn’t appropriate, the blond only laughed before squeezing her into a one-armed hug. “Ah, Ran-chan, you’re too adorable.”

As much as (Y/n) was against their daughter knowing such a thing, she couldn’t put a damper on the identical grins on her husband’s and daughter’s faces. So, she let that one incident slide.

Her gaze flitted back to the supposed desserts on the counter, mentally doing the ingredients that her husband must have gone through, and sighed. “We’re out of eggs, flour, and milk, aren’t we?”

The grin on the blond’s face turned sheepish then, as he perched his chin on top of Ran’s head. “Yes.”

***

No matter what, Rengoku Kyōjurō loved basking in the simple pleasures of life; namely spending time with his family, and getting to cook such nice food on a daily basis. So, to have one of those things somewhat combined with the other had him almost jumping in his seat, as he drove all the way to the store.

Meanwhile, in the back, Ran was singing and dancing in her seat to the Doraemon theme song— with Kyōjurō joining in as enthusiastically as he could.

“An an an, tottemo daisuki,” The blond grinned over at his wife, taking one hand off the wheel and motioning over to her— before stringing her name out in the most obnoxious rendition of the song. “(Y/n).”

(Y/n) swatted his hand away, all while giggling at his childish antics. It was as if he hadn’t accidentally ended up with steamed eggs instead of a custard dessert earlier.

“Alright, let’s set some rules before we get there,” The young woman turned to look at their daughter in the back— whose attention had snapped over to her— then over at her husband, whom had lowered his hand and placed it on her thigh. “No playing hide and seek, or tag, or any other game.”

That was said more for Kyōjurō than Ran, but he acted as if he hadn’t been banned from going grocery shopping with them after what had happened the last time he went with them. “We promise.”

“And no asking your papa to buy you more toys, Ran.” (Y/n) pinched the bridge of her nose between her thumb and forefinger, going back to the time when Kyōjurō had used his own membership card to—secretly— purchase the mini electric BMW X6 for their daughter.

They had made their move while she had been busy looking at possible plates to switch out the ones they had at home— and it was safe to say that she was mad at the forty-thousand Yen purchase; all because Ran had wanted to ‘drive papa’s car’.

So, the man had gotten her the mini version of his car— in the same shade of red too— much to his wife’s dismay.

“Are we there yet, mama?”

“Not yet, sweetheart.”

“Okay. Thank you.”

***

Once they got to the store, Kyōjurō had dropped (Y/n) and Ran off by the main entrance before parking the car, so that they wouldn’t have had to walk— as was habit for the three of them when they all went out.

Ran almost looked every inch of an impatient child, while she waited with her hands on her hips— swaying from side to side to entertain herself as they waited for her father. And when she saw him, it was as if he had been gone for a year instead of a few minutes, what with the way the little girl waved her arms above her head and called out, “Over here, papa! We’re here!”

A grin instantly made its way onto Kyōjurō’s face, widening even more when he saw his daughter start blowing him kisses from where she stood beside (Y/n).

He then crossed the street— with more pep in his step than before— and swooped down to pick his little angel up in his arms; spinning around in a circle, even as he felt his back protest at how much heavier she had been getting.

“Ahh! You’re getting so much heavier, sugar plum.”

At her father’s teasing words, which had been uttered with an exaggerated wince, Ran pressed both of her hands against his cheeks— squeezing them tight as she pouted at him. “That’s mean, papa. Mama said that it’s rude to talk about someone’s we... w... how heavy they are.”

“Their weight?” Kyōjurō asked, albeit a bit muffled since his child was still squeezing his cheeks tightly. “Sorry, sweetheart.”

Ran nodded adamantly at that, then leaned up to kiss the tip of her father’s nose. “I forgive you because I love you.”

(Y/n) resisted the urge to gush over how cute her daughter was, as she had caught the tail end of their conversation after having gotten a shopping cart. But she couldn’t hold back the smile that tugged up at the corners of her lips. “If you two are done being all lovey-dovey there...”

Both father and daughter laughed at that, as Kyōjurō set Ran down on the ground and held on to her hand. He would have pushed the cart around, if he didn’t know just how much his wife loved doing that— add in the fact that he wanted to slink away from her so he could get his own snacks.

Because, knowing her, she would put a cap on his snack buying.

With all three of them set, they went inside the store and steadily made their way through (Y/n)’s list— with Ran always wanting to help her mother out in any way she could, which included running over to the shelves and getting things that she normally saw at their house.

Which had gotten awkward when she grabbed a huge bag of mini chocolates; since (Y/n) had been adamant about Kyōjurō not eating anything too unhealthy— for his own sake.

“Why did you get that, sugar plum? We don’t have that at home.” The young man had said with a smile, as he pinched the edge of the bag between his fingers. He tried to pull it out of his daughter’s grasp, only to end up having her hug it even tighter.

“Mama has this in the shoe box in your room. Silly papa.”

The look of betrayal that he shot (Y/n) at finding that out was enough to have her sheepishly smiling and shrugging. “Sorry, baby.”

Immediately, Kyōjurō’s lips turned down at the corners— showing an affronted pout as he reluctantly ushered Ran over to the cart. “Does mama give you chocolate from that box, Ran-chan?”

Ran handed the bag of chocolates over to her mother, then nodded at him. “Mama and I eat it when-”

Before she could say anything more, (Y/n) cupped a hand over her mouth and leaned down to press a kiss to the the top of the little girl’s head. “Papa doesn’t need to know that, sweetheart.”

Definitely, Kyōjurō didn’t need to know that they would snack on the chocolates when he took his afternoon naps— on the days that both of them had the day off. That, or when it was just (Y/n) and Ran at home.

“Oh look, free samples,” (Y/n) blatantly changed the topic, removing her hand from her daughter’s mouth and using the same hand to push her husband’s arm lightly. “Let’s go get some free samples.”

She didn’t even wait for him to answer, merely walked over to push the cart towards the little booth at the end of the aisle. And, thankfully, the girl that was running the booth had greeted them graciously.

Mentally, the Rengoku matriarch apologized to the poor soul that Kyōjurō was going to terrorize.

At first, both Kyōjurō and ran just took two samples each of the cut-up bratwurst— with Ran feeding the other one to her mother with a sweet smile on her face; all while Kyōjurō popped the two portions in his mouth.

Only, the moment all of them chewed on the sample, (Y/n) and Ran adopted pleased smiles on their faces, as Kyōjurō’s expression scrunched up in displeasure.

The wurst had been too spicy for his taste.

He wanted nothing more than to spit the wurst out, but he held back— out of politeness— and forced himself to swallow the samples. Only, the more that he tried to drown out the spicy tingling in his mouth, the worse that it got.

And so, without even saying anything, he raced over to the nearest stack of drinks— which happened to be two-liter bottles of apple juice— and quickly unscrewed the cap off, before downing a considerable amount of its contents.

(Y/n) didn’t even have the chance to stop him, so she resigned herself to most likely getting warned about her husband’s eccentric behavior once they got to the check-out counter.

She pinched the bridge of her nose with her thumb and forefinger, closing her eyes and inhaling deeply— and even deeper— when she heard Ran race over to where her father was. All while calling out, “Papa, I want some juice too!”

There was nothing she could do, other than to accept the fact that her daughter was starting to take more after Kyōjurō, rather than her. And that was a cause for worry, since even she had to admit that her husband was a bit on the unconventional side.

When the pair returned— with Ran carrying a half-empty bottle of apple juice in her arms— (Y/n) made up her mind and grabbed her husband by the shoulders. “Don’t touch anything. Just push the cart.”

To which Ran piped up, “Can I ride the cart now, please?”

In a split-second, the young woman made up her mind and was about to lift her daughter into the shopping cart, when a pair of familiar hands picked her up and set her in with what they’d manage to cross off her grocery list so far.

Ran sat down on an empty spot in the cart, cradling the opened bottle of apple juice in her lap, and grinning up at her father. “Papa, I want some chips too.”

Instantly, both pairs of identically fiery eyes darted over to (Y/n)— silently asking her to let them get a couple of snacks. To which she sighed at, before nodding her head. “Fine. But not a lot.”

And that was how they did the rest of their grocery shopping— with Ran and Kyōjurō firmly staying put at the cart, while munching on a bag of chips, as well as a box of cookies, that they washed down with the apple juice.

It wasn’t the most ideal way to get them to behave, but it was the best solution at that moment.

“Baby,” Kyōjurō began, as he ate the chip that Ran had held up to his face. Then, he swallowed that down before continuing, “You never told me what I did wrong with the crème caramel…”

(Y/n) set down three trays of eggs in the cart, right next to Ran whom patted the top most container with a grin on her lips. “Mama, are you making more steamed eggs?”

That had Kyōjurō’s jaw falling slack, as he looked down in disbelief at his own child. He then turned back to his wife— with a pout marring his features— and asked once more, “What did I do wrong?”

“What did you mix it with?”

“A fork.”

(Y/n) simpered at that, then moved away for a brief while to get some milk from the shelves. And once she set them down by Ran’s feet, she turned back to her husband and asked, “Did you beat it like you would a scrambled egg?”

“…Yes.”

“With custards, it’s better to mix them with spatulas. And aerate them as little as possible.”

Kyōjurō scratched his cheek at that, but leaned down all the same to accept another potato chip from Ran.

“You want more, papa?” The little girl asked through a mouthful of the chips, which had her father grinning as he reached down to wipe away the crumbs that were all over her mouth.

“I’m good, sugar plum. Thank you.” He then turned back to his wife— silent at first as he weighed all the options he had with asking her to help him make the dessert. Yet he still kept pushing the cart behind her— following her around as she put in various ingredients that he didn’t even know they were running low on.

Only, she beat him to the punch by answering, “I’ll get more eggs and milk.”

“How did you even know I was going to ask that?” He asked with a laugh, slightly perplexed that she had managed to pick up on his intentions so easily.

“I’m not your wife for nothing.”

“Oh, you’re going to make more steamed eggs?” Ran asked with a giggle, when her mother set down more milk and eggs next to her, which her father answered by making a crab claw with his left hand and tickling her neck.

Loud peals of laughter colored the air where their little family was, which had people looking over and admiring how cute the father-daughter pair looked as Kyōjurō kept on trying to tickle Ran; all while pushing the cart with one hand.

However, their happiness was put to an abrupt stop when the cart slammed against the side of a display— inevitably knocking down the tower of canned beans in the middle of the store.

“Oh no, we did an oopsie!” Ran cried, completely frantic as her eyes darted over to her wide-eyed father.

And from where she stood a few feet away, (Y/n) buried her face into her hands and prepared herself for a lot of apologizing… and possibly getting banned from that store, as well.

[theycallmebecca]

For the drabble prompts can I have 1 with Chris & Nicki please?

It’s been a long, dang time since I’ve written anything for Chris and Nikki, which meant I had to go back and reread some of the stuff I’d written for them to get back into the flow of them. It was definitely fun and I want to write some more stuff for them.

Before I get on to the story, however, I do need to mention something. While this story takes place in May 2020, the COVID-19 outbreak does not exist in the Chris & Nikki timeline. That is because their mini-series Chris's To Do List (which was written in 2016) would not be possible if COVID-19 existed. It was a hard decision for me to make, but after careful consideration, I have decided to not create a plot hole in this Chris Evans x OFC's timeline.

Title: Birthday Cake

Pairing: Chris Evans x OFC (Nikki Evans)

Rating: PG

Prompt: #1 - "Can we make cake? I like cake."

Warnings: n/a

Disclaimer: This work of fiction is not to be reposted, used or translated without my permission.

Because of how tumblr can be silly about links, I will reblog this post with links to the masterlist and the prompt list.

May 2020

Chris smiled as he looked around the table, watching his family eating dinner together. It was nights like this that made him glad that he had decided to take a break from acting for the summer. His kids were growing up so quickly and he didn't want to miss more than he already had. It was still hard for him to believe that his baby girl, Rachel, would be three next month. Let alone that his first baby, Josh, would be seven on his next birthday.

His eyes focused on his middle child, Aiden, whose birthday was just a few days away. The boy had been excited for weeks, reminding them all that his birthday was coming up soon and Chris couldn't help but tease the boy a bit. "You know, I seem to recall that there is a birthday happening soon," he said, playing dumb. "But I just can't remember whose it is." He looked Nikki. "Do you remember?"

Nikki sighed and shook her head. "I can't, but it's on the tip of my tongue," she said playing along. "Is it you, Rachie?"

"Yes! Imma be threeeeeeeee!" the little girl sang out.

"No it's not! It's me!" Aiden exclaimed, glaring at his little sister. "My birthday is on May 9th and that's before June." Then he glanced at his mom. "Right?"

"Right," Nikki confirmed with a smile. "And that means your birthday is this week."

The little boy's eyes popped open wide. "Already!" he exclaimed, making his parents and older brother laugh.

"Already," Chris said with a smile. "I know you and mom planned a party with your classmates, but do you want to do anything fun with the family?"

"Can we make a cake? I like cake," Aiden requested.

"Of course we can make a cake," Nikki told him.

"Can I make a cake with dad?" Aiden asked, his eyes sliding from mom to dad.

Nikki had to bite her lip to keep from laughing at Chris's deer in the headlights look. Reaching under the table, she squeezed Chris's knee and then answered for her husband, "Absolutely. I'm sure dad would love to make a cake with you."

"I can't bake a cake," Chris stated a couple hours later when he and Nikki were alone in their master suite, all three kids in their own beds.

"It's not as hard as you're making it out to be," Nikki assured him. "And you're a much better cook than you were when we got married."

"Keywood there is cook, not bake," Chris pointed out as he followed her out of the bathroom and into their bedroom. "You're the one that does all the fancy baking. Remember that time I tried to bake cookies and it ended up a burnt mess that was just one giant, crispy cookie."

"That doesn't count as a baking fail," Nikki countered. "Because that was the shitty oven that got way too hot and, therefore, not your fault." She laid her hand on his chest. "You don't have to make the cake from scratch. We can use a box mix."

"You're not going to let me out of this are you?" Chris sighed.

"Do you want to disappoint your son?" Nikki asked.

"Of course not," Chris said as he sat down on the bed looking defeated. "But I also don't want to disappoint him and ruin his birthday party."

"You won't ruin his birthday party," Nikki assured him as she kneeled behind him on the bed and wrapped her arms around his shoulders. "He and I already picked out a cake for his birthday party. The cake you guys will make will only be for the family party on Friday at your mom's."

"Alright," Chris said, giving in. "But I want to run through the directions with you before he and I start. And if there is something you'd do that isn't listed in the directions, tell me so I can do it, too, and not mess up the cake."

"We can do that if it will make you more confident about it," Nikki told him. She kissed his cheek and then pulled away. "Go get ready for bed, love."

When Friday morning finally came around, Chris was still nervous about baking the cake, but Nikki had been coaching him all week. He had helped her and Rachel make cookies and had helped them make banana bread too. The last bit of "training" had come last night after the kids were in bed, he and Nikki had verbally walked through the steps on the back of the cake mix box and now he felt semi prepared.

"Are you ready to make your birthday cake, buddy?" he asked Aiden, who stood on a step stool next to him at the island.

"Yes!" Aiden exclaimed. "Can it have blue frosting?"

"Yes it can," Chris said with more confidence than he felt. Nikki had predicted that their son would want to have a colored frosting and had, therefore, picked up a container of plain white frosting and food coloring to use with it.

He'd asked Nikki to sit at the kitchen table to oversee everything, but she had just kissed his cheek and told him she believed in him. Then she had gone to the office to do some work, leaving him on his own.

"Alright," Chris said, looking at the ingredients that he had taken out of the pantry before calling Aiden into the kitchen. Per Nikki's suggestion, he had also already measured out everything and had them lined up in the order they needed to be put into the stand mixer. "Let's start by washing our hands. And then we'll start adding everything into the bowl."

Once their hands were washed and the oven turned on to preheat, Chris read through the directions aloud one more time. Then he and Aiden started the process of dumping things into the bowl. A process that was surprisingly simple, he realized once it was finished.

By the time the oven beeped, Chris and Aiden had the cake mix dumped into a pan lined with a piece of parchment paper, another of Nikki's suggestions. He made Aiden stay on his step stool while he put the cake into the oven.

With the timer set, father and son worked together to clean up the kitchen, Chris handing non-breakable items to the boy to put in the dishwasher. It made the process slower, but Aiden enjoyed helping.

When the timer went off, Chris checked the cake, putting a toothpick in the center like Nikki had shown him with the banana bread and smiled when it came out clean. He told Aiden to keep back as he pulled the cake out and set it on a cooling rack.

"Can we frost it now?" Aiden asked, excitedly.

"Nope, it's too hot for frosting right now," Chris told him. "We'll have to wait until Josh gets home from school."

Aiden visually deflated and Chris felt like he'd let him down, but Nikki had told him that the cake had to be cool for the frosting or else it would just melt. "Why don't we go see what mommy and Rachel are up to," he suggested. "Maybe we can watch a movie."

Aiden nodded his head and they went off to find the ladies of the house. With Rachel still napping, Aiden got to pick out the movie and allowed his parents to sandwich him on the couch in the playroom while they watched the movie he picked out, Onward. The position eventually led to him stretched out on their laps with his head on his mom's lap, where he ultimately fell asleep.

By the time he and Rachel were up from their naps, Josh was home from school and it was time to frost and decorate the cake. While they worked, Josh sat at the table doing his homework with Nikki looking on as she colored with Rachel.

"Can it be more blue?" Aiden asked as he looked into the bowl that Chris was stirring the now vibrant blue frosting.

"I don't think we want to add any more food color," Chris told him. "I think we're already going to have a hard time seeing your dinosaur candies."

"Oh," Aiden frowned. "Mom, can you take out some of the blue?"

"It's too late for that," Nikki told him. "But you and dad will figure something out."

"My friend Johnny's mom put cookie crumbles on his cake so it looked like the ground," Josh told them. "And mom wouldn't let me have a cookie after school because we're having cake tonight."

"That is a great idea," Chris said with a grin. Grabbing the cookie jar, he pulled out four of the chocolate cookies they'd made earlier in the week and put them in a ziplock bag. Then he handed the bag to Aiden with a spoon. "I'll frost the cake while you break the cookies with a spoon."

What followed was a noisy affair of Aiden beating the cookies and Chris mumbling things under his breath as he attempted to frost the cake. Nikki had helped him take it out of the baking pan earlier and they'd put it on a rectangular cake board that she'd picked up just for this occasion. She'd told him that it was like buttering toast, but it wasn't.

"This is not like buttering toast," he told his wife when she came to check on his progress.

"It doesn't have to be perfect," Nikki reminded him. "Especially if you're going to put cookie crumbs on it." She squeezed his arm gently and then went back to help Josh with his homework.

Three hours later, the whole family was at Chris's mom's house to celebrate Aiden's birthday a day early. They'd dined on pizza from their favorite pizza place, per Aiden's request, and had played bingo for prizes. Now it was time for cake and ice cream, which meant that Chris was nervous all over again.

"Relax," Nikki told him as their moms' took care of cutting the cake and dishing ice cream after they'd all sung happy birthday to Aiden. "It's going to taste great."

And it did, Chris had to admit after he'd taken his first bite. It wasn't the best cake he'd ever eaten, but it wasn't the worst either.

"This cake tastes great, Nikki," her step-brother Mikey said.

"I can't take credit for this one," Nikki told him. "Chris and Aiden made it."

Chris felt himself turning red as all eyes went to him.

"Now that you mention it," his brother Scott started to say, but stopped when his older sister reached over and flicked his ear. "Hey! I was just going to say it was really blue."

"You two did a great job," Lisa told her son and grandson with a big grin.

"Thanks, grammy," Aiden said, proudly. "I think I want to be a baker when I'm big. And then I'll make you a cake that's as big as your house!"

Chris felt a sense of pride as he listened to his son talk about his plans for the future. He'd always promised himself that he'd encourage his kids to pursue their dreams. He had conquered his fear of baking and, in the process, had unknowingly planted a dream in his son's heart. With tears in the corners of his eyes, he reached over and took Nikki's hand. He'd never felt so proud.

[shadowsndaisies]

Stuffed [s.p.]

TGW19 → Blurb #1 → Stuffed

Fandom: Riverdale

Pairing: Sweet Pea (minor)

WC: 1260

Blurb Synopsis: just a little Thanksgiving meal inspired fluff piece for y’all

masterlist                     holiday masterlist

“I don’t think I’ll ever be able to eat again,” Veronica sighed dramatically as she slouched down on the sofa beside Archie. His arm immediately wrapped around her and her head fell to his chest. 

You were seated on the floor beside Sweetpea, both of you leaning back on the sofa which Fangs had laid out on. 

“That’s fine by me, more leftovers for my meals tomorrow,” Jughead chuckled from his position. His head was in Betty’s lap, his beanie temporarily forgotten on the dinner table as Betty’s baby pink nails raked through his raven locks. 

“It was so good!” Toni moaned out from the love seat with Cheryll. 

“TT’s right, you outdid yourself this year, (Y/n),” The redhead added, looking over to you. 

You smiled at the mass of teenagers in your home. This year your parents decided to travel for Thanksgiving leaving you and your twin, Reggie, home alone. Cooking has always been a passion of yours, so you decided to host Friendsgiving. They all showed up and it warmed your heart that they had enjoyed it. 

“She’s not wrong, it was incredible,” Fangs nodded. “And don’t get me started on the mini pies, that was genius!” he cheered and you offered a blinding smile. 

“That’s my sister, the culinary genius,” Reggie agreed as he finished starting the fire in the fireplace. 

“Dude, you’re set for life,” Archie joked and that gained chuckles from everyone. 

“We all are,” Betty noted and you shake your head and giggle. 

“Can I be an official taste tester when you have your own restaurant?” Jughead asked suddenly, sitting up from Betty’s lap to look you in the eyes.

You snorted at that, “Sure, Jug,” you mused. “If I ever get my own place, you can be the taste-tester.”

“I want in on that too,” Veronica decided as the young businesswoman that she was. 

“Sure, Ronnie,” you laughed, “you can be my financial investor.”

“What would you call it?” Archie asked.

You let out a little hum of thought while you scraped your brain for the perfect name, your hand began running through Sweet Pea’s hair as he had shifted his head to your lap. 

“What about the Bulldog’s Chow House?” Reggie offered and the serpents booed, your brother made a face and grabbed a pillow before sitting back in the armchair. “Haters,” he noted hugging the pillow.

“Maybe something more inclusive?” Betty offered. 

“Maybe you could use your name? (Y/n)’s, doesn’t have a bad ring to it?” Veronica tried. 

“I don’t know, seems a little….” you trailed. 

“Narcissistic?” Toni offered. 

“Kind of, but I do like the simplistic idea,” you counter. 

“Mantle’s,” Sweet Pea offered, it was the first time he’d spoken since you all had moved to the living room in your pajamas and stuffed to the max. 

“Mantle’s, I like that,” you smile, looking down at Sweet Pea and he stared right back at you. 

“Me too, it’s got that simplistic thing going for it,” Betty agreed. 

“It’s less narcissistic, and kind of has a cute family vibe going for it,” Toni agrees. 

“What would you specialize in?” Archie asked.

“Probably in fusion foods with a spectacular rotating dessert menu,” you mused, enjoying the little pipe dream you were all collectively creating while your imminent food coma’s got closer. 

“I might just have to let you have Reggie so you can actually make it a family thing. He could run the bar for you,” Veronica added. 

“What do you say, sis? Mantle’s a family business,” Reggie chuckled and you giggled. 

“Friends and Family,” you correct. “With Ronnie as an investor, Jughead as the official guinea pig, Cheryll could be the head hostess,” you add. 

“I would be honored,” Cheryll agreed and your gaze went back to Sweet Pea. His eyes were already on you, and you smiled down at the boy. 

“It can’t be in Riverdale, though, you need a bigger city,” Veronica decided. 

“We could go up to Phokipsie?” Betty offered. 

“Or south?” Archie added. 

“Like to Manhattan?” Reggie seemed excited by the concept. 

Your nose wrinkled, sure a bigger city would be better, but you weren’t sure how you felt about Manhattan. 

“Or Brooklyn,” Sweet Pea added and you loved the idea. 

“Brooklyn,” you repeated fondly. 

“Perfect,” Fangs agreed, “except Sweets and I need jobs too.”

“I wouldn’t mind a job either,” Archie noted and you laughed, the lot of you throwing ideas around.

You all fell asleep around 2 am, surrounded by sleeping bags, pillows, blankets, and each other. The concept of Mantle’s in your minds as your stuffed bodies won out over your brain.

The idea of Mantle’s wouldn’t be mentioned again until your junior year of culinary school. But the concept was burned in your brain. You had a paper from that Thanksgiving night your senior year of high school, the idea written out in different colors and multiple people’s handwriting. When you were 25 you opened a restaurant in Brooklyn, New York. Your old friend and now extremely successful businesswoman Veronica Andrews (nee Lodge) bankrolled the venture as a silent partner. Jughead Jones became your official taste tester while he continued to be a New York Best Selling Author, he even helped you finalize your menu. Archie Andrews was your live entertainment on Friday nights and helped you plan out the building requirements for the restaurant. Cheryll Blossom was your head hostess, and she was happily engaged to your favorite photographer Antonette “Toni” Topaz. Toni and Betty worked for the New York Times, Betty was rising the ranks quickly as a journalist and Toni’s fantastic eye had placed her the most envied photographer of the lot. Your brother spent his days wearing suits and rubbing elbows on Wall Street but in the evening he’d be behind your bar, mixing drinks, flirting, and smiling. Fangs and Sweet Pea were your General Managers and city eyes, they helped you pick out what to use as the seasons changed, and you trusted no one more than them to buy whatever was needed for the kitchen. You wore an apron most nights, a dress on others, bouncing between cooking with the other chefs and making sure your patrons were enjoying their nights. The red sign glistened in the light, Mantle’s. 

When you were 27 your boyfriend proposed to you, in your restaurant. Sweet Pea smiling at you as he slid the ring across the table to you. The cheeky nerves of this serpent.

When you were 30 Mantle’s was named as the best fusion food restaurant in the entire state of New York. The New York Times sent Betty Jones (nee Cooper) and Toni Topaz-Blossom to interview and take pictures. The article depicted a beautiful restaurant that was based on the relations between family and friends. 

When you were 31 you got pregnant and had a beautiful baby boy. 

When you were 34 you had a darling little girl. 

When you were 53 your son joined your restaurant’s business as a junior chef. 

At 58 you gave the keys to your kids; a daughter who would run the back end, balancing the books and mixing drinks, and a son who was leading the kitchen. 

At 60 your brother framed a very old piece of paper for you and had it placed on a wall in the restaurant. There were colored pens with scribbled handwriting matching at least 7 different people. Names are signed on the bottom and right at the top read, “MANTLE’S”. The paper had been the dream that you had come up with as a high schooler, and now it was your life and one of your greatest accomplishments. 

[shadowsof-thenight]

When she leasts expects it - 4

Summary: When Rebecca’s relationship comes to an abrupt and painful end, she finds herself without a home. With her brother currently stationed in Iraq, she turns to the one person she knew she can always depend on—Steve Rogers.

Warnings: Perhaps a tinsy bit of angst, but overall fluff! Steve bringing his A-game.

Ship: Steve Rogers x OFC—Rebecca Barnes

Words: 3781

A/n: This was written for Star’s Follower Celebration. The prompt was a roommate AU. And like the previous chapters it was beta-ed by the wonderful @gnomewithalaptop​

Series Masterlist

Chapter four

Steve whistled along to the song on the radio as he drove off-base. The day had been long—the new cadets weren’t where they were supposed to be in their training—but there was still a sense of calm that had evaded him for a long time. It had been one of the reasons to find a place in town, the extra commute a small price to pay to lose the feeling of constant vigilance. He hadn’t been able to turn his brain off with his cadets so close by; it always felt like he was still on the job. Still, he knew there was more to it. Rebecca had so much to do with his continuous good mood. She was vibrant, filled with passion for any and all things life—and it rubbed off on him. Not that he wasn’t content, but it was easy to become stuck in a rut. Rebecca had this light inside of her that made everything seem brighter, more beautiful. It was something he had admired in childhood, and he loved it even more now.

Her happiness had them dancing through the room on their nights in, and it took her to clubs on the weekends. She had gone dancing every weekend these past six weeks, and Steve had been happy to go along, if only to watch her shine. Whether she was goofing off or losing herself to the beat, there was a radiant smile on her face that he cherished.

His stares in her direction hadn’t gone unnoticed, and a few weeks ago, Sam had finally commented on it. He too got dragged along to the clubs, though he seemed less out of place than Steve felt. Sam loved to dance, was good at it too. And much like Steve, he also enjoyed the act of watching the women dance. Of course, as a good boyfriend would, his eyes were solely fixed on Natasha. At least, that’s what Steve thought, but Sam was more observant that he had given the man credit for. All Sam had asked was if there was something brewing between Steve and Rebecca—innocent enough, though Steve thought there was more to it. Steve had denied the claim, all while blushing violently, which couldn’t be hidden by the dimmed lighting—nothing could have hidden it. Sam had barked out a laugh, informing Steve that he was a terrible liar, though that had been the end of the conversation. That was, until they had been on their way home again. Steve had been driving, Sam next to him and Natasha and Rebecca in the back.

With the four of them so tired, Sam had taken it upon himself to keep the conversation going, prompting subjects that were too close for comfort to Steve. Love at first sight versus it blooming from friendship, and the way close proximity could change relationships. Natasha had been happy to join her boyfriend in torturing Steve, telling them that she had loved getting to know Sam when they were dating, but that there was something to be said about friends becoming lovers and the foundation on which that relationship would be built. At the time, Steve had wished he could have jumped from the car, but Rebecca had seemed oblivious to their true intentions.

Steve shook the memories from his mind as best he could and hoped that the tinge of red that had risen on his cheeks by just thinking of their teasing would disappear soon.

Steve felt more tired now, his jumbled thoughts and feelings draining him easily, and hoped that Rebecca would join him for a night in. Since it was his turn to get dinner, he exited the highway and drove towards the mall. As soon as he parked, he called Rebecca to discuss his plans. She answered before the second ring.

“Hello?” Her tone was absentminded and he knew she had not checked caller-id before picking up. He imagined she had probably been lost in a book and he smiled. He loved it when she got like that, especially when she wanted to passionately discuss the book afterwards.

“Hey, Bec. I was thinking of takeout and a movie—are you in?” He asked, and he could hear her moving around before she answered him.

“Sounds good,” she finally answered and he waited a few moments to say anything else, knowing full well that she would tell him her preferences in a second. “How about Chinese?” She said finally.

“Perfect. I’ll be home soon,” Steve replied and hung up the phone, a smile still playing on his lips.

As he walked through the mall, towards her favourite restaurant and hoped that choosing it would aid in returning the favour that she had bestowed on him. It had not evaded his attention that she had been cooking some of his favourite meals lately. Unfortunately he wasn’t quite as good a cook as she was, so getting her favourite takeout seemed like the next best thing. Soon after, Steve walked back in the direction of his car with two bags filled with enough food to feed a small family. He was ready to put the work week behind him and kick off his shoes. However, before he made it to the exit, his eye fell upon a little flower shop, and he allowed himself one small detour; with a beautiful bouquet in hand and a spring in his step, he finally left the mall behind and drove the short distance home.

He kicked his shoes off by the door and made his way into the living room to deposit the food on the table, while keeping the flowers hidden behind his back. Rebecca smiled brightly as she walked out of the kitchen with plates and cutlery in her hands.

“Smells so good!” She sniffed the bags as she put the plates down.

She turned around and found Steve regarding her with a broad smile. Raising an eyebrow in question, she stared back at him. He removed the flowers from behind his back and stuck his arms out to her.

“Pretty flowers for a beautiful lady.” He leaned forward to kiss her cheek.

“You spoil me.” Rebecca blushed as she smelled them, her heart skipping a beat when she realised he went out of his way to get them for her. She smiled warmly, before walking into the kitchen to search for a vase. Steve followed her.

“You deserve it.” He shrugged and she scoffed at his words, confusing him.

“After last weekend, you deserve to be treated far more than me,” she chuckled, and he could not help but laugh along. Still, he placed a gentle hand on her back and rubbed softly, trying to tell her that he hadn’t minded the events one bit.

Rebecca blushed as she remembered her antics. She had gone for a girls’ night out—she and Natasha had been joined by some friends from Uni, prompting a mini reunion. The night had ended with Steve getting a drunken call well past his bedtime. Apparently none of them had anticipated the amount of alcohol that had flowed, and instead of calling a cab, Uber or Lyft, Rebecca had rung him. Sober, she would have never risked waking him up, but Drunk Rebecca had not cared. She had happily giggled as she pleaded with him to come get them. Steve had only been too happy to do it, which was why he had waved away her apologies the following morning. After driving the other women home, he had made sure that Rebecca would find her bed, going as far as placing a bucket next to it, just in case. Thankfully for both of them, alcohol rarely had that effect on her. It would have caused even more embarrassment for her.

Of course, there was one moment which neither of them dared to speak about. Rebecca wished the ground would swallow her whole, just thinking of it. She didn’t need to hear his take on the subject to intensify the shame.

In her drunken state, she had abandoned all pretence and tried to seduce him. For whatever reason, she had thought herself sexy, tripping over her own feet. Walking her fingers up his chest, she had complimented his shape—she had even used a husky tone in her words. Though perhaps the most humiliating had been his kind smile as he tucked her in, after evading her kisses. Instead he had kissed her forehead as he so often seemed to do and walked out of her room.

In her reminiscing, she missed the blush that covered Steve’s features as he remembered the effect she’d had on him. As soon as her fingers had begun caressing his chest, all the air had been sucked out of him. And when her hands found his neck, to pull him closer and whisper sweet nothings to him, leaving only a hair's width between their lips, it had taken all he had to pull back. He had been sure she didn’t mean it and as much as he would have loved to kiss her, he would never take advantage of her. That had been the moment where Steve realised just how hard it was to have her so close, even though he would still hate to see her go. Even with Bucky coming home, he couldn’t think of it—he wished she would never leave.

***

Later that evening, when the movie they had decided to watch ended, Steve stood to get them both another refill, while Rebecca flipped through the channels. She wasn’t ready to go to sleep, though it seemed too late to start another movie.

“Want more popcorn?” Steve called from the kitchen.

She smiled as she glanced over her shoulder to see him already grabbing another bag. He did that a lot—asking if she wanted something when in reality he did. Only with food though, the unhealthy variety mostly. As if he needed an excuse to eat it. Not that she minded—she’d rather add another work-out to her week than skip the salty snack that was now popping in the microwave.

“Not that you needed an answer, but I’d love more,” she chuckled and turned back to the TV.

Onscreen, a rerun of Grey’s Anatomy ended and gave way to commercials. She barely acknowledged them as she opened the tv-guide to see what was on. Her attention was brought back, however, when they announced the revival of her favourite musical, and she quickly closed the guide. Steve came back with their glasses and watched her shift in her seat, getting giddy. He couldn’t help but smile, when he had seen the commercial last week, he had instantly thought of her.

“Ohhh, I love this one!” She mused, still staring at the screen. She knew that going would interfere with her plan of saving money, which severely dampened her enthusiasm, but a girl could dream.

Still, she reminded herself that the day of her brother’s return was coming close and she would need to vacate his room soon. After the hard work he had done, the least she could do was give him his own bed. Besides, how much longer would Steve let her interfere in his life, his routine?

“I know,” Steve said softly, walking back to retrieve the popcorn from the kitchen.

When he sat back down, Rebecca had changed the channel–opting for a comedy to end their night. Steve watched her smile fade slightly and knew what he had to do for it to return. With a smile he reached into the drawer underneath the TV, before sitting next to her. He handed her a white envelope with a cautious smile, while she stared back in confusion.

“What’s this?” She wondered, eying the envelope suspiciously and Steve chuckled.

“A present,” he said.

“What for?” She asked.

“I just wanted to surprise you.” He shrugged.

“But—“

“Just open it, Bec!” Steve interrupted her. He liked giving her things, even if she didn’t understand why she would deserve them.

With a sigh and a small smile playing on her lips, she surrendered and took the envelope from him. Carefully, she opened it and took out the contents. Quietly, she stared at her hands, speechless and confused. In her hands lay two first-class tickets for the musical she had just commented on, the one she wished she could go to. A big part of her wanted to jump for joy, scream and thank him, but another quieter part of her wanted to ask why—why would he spend so much money on her? He had been doing too much for her already. Rebecca didn’t want to appear ungrateful, but she also didn’t want to ask too much of him either.

“You got me tickets?” She questioned lamely, still unsure how to feel about it.

“I saw the announcement last week and just wanted to surprise you,” he explained, wondering if he had pushed it too far. Would she see through him now? Find out what he felt for her? Would she leave? Though he did not have to wonder for too long, as she finally jumped up from her seat and wrapped her arms around his neck, kissing his cheek.

“I really don’t deserve you,” she mumbled, kissing his cheek once more before pulling back with a bright smile on her face. “When are we going?” She asked as she looked back at the tickets, scanning them for a date.

****

The play was amazing—just like she’d hoped it would be. The actors had been at the top of their game, and the soundtrack sounded even better in person. Opening the door of the apartment, Steve then stepped aside to let Rebecca enter first. She smiled up at him, still beaming from the night’s events as she walked past him and quickly removed her heels. A sigh of relief pushed past her lips as she stepped onto the cool floor. Steve chuckled as he followed her in and helped her out of her jacket. His fingers grazed her bare arms and she shivered, feeling goosebumps rise in the wake of his nails. Quickly she moved away from him, needing distance. The night had been perfect, much like a real date and she needed to remind herself that he was her best friend–not her boyfriend.

“I’m putting on pj’s, nightcap after?” She suggested and Steve nodded in agreement before bending to untie his shoes.

He watched her skip to her room and a bright smile pulled at his lips, an effect she continuously appeared to have on him. She had gotten under his skin, and he was wary to think of what would happen once she left. Earlier that week, she had been apartment hunting, though none had felt right to her—he knew she would find something soon enough. Bucky would also come home in a short while, and he would want his room back. Not that he would turn his sister out—Bucky would rather take the couch—but Steve knew Rebecca would have none of that.

Rebecca sighed happily as she stood in front of the mirror to take her makeup off. The smile on her lips did not waver, even as she scolded herself for reading too much into the night. But it really had been perfect. An early dinner filled with laughter and good conversation that never waned. A show that had been everything she had hoped it would be, and a drink in the bar afterwards where she had been forced to stand close in the crowded room. Steve had been the perfect date. A date so secret that he hadn’t even known about it, but it was such a nice fantasy. She’d thoroughly enjoyed it.

By the time she moved into the living room, Steve had also changed his clothes and she smiled as he dropped down on the couch, while she moved towards the kitchen.

“What do you want?” She asked and opened the fridge to stare blankly into the chilled space, uncertain of what she wanted herself.

“There is a bottle of red in the cabinet to your right,” Steve offered and she smiled. She did like the idea of wine. Closing the fridge again, she instead moved around to grab glasses and the bottle, before moving towards the couch, sitting next to him. She was probably a little too close, but she justified it as she poured the wine—she’d scoot over after handing him the glass. And she did, a little. Rebecca knew that it was important to keep some decorum, not wanting to alert him to her feelings. He was her friend and she did not want to make it awkward for them. And awkward it would be if—when—he refused her advances. So some distance was better.  

Two glasses later, Rebecca was far less worried about the distance. Her sides hurt from laughing, and she had to lean on him to keep from falling over, while tears slipped from her eyes. She couldn’t think of any man that had even made her laugh quite so much, or quite so loud. Rebecca felt a little drowsy as she finished the wine in her glass and decided that this would be a good time to go to bed. Straightening up again, she glanced at Steve, to find his ears tinged with red. He must have been feeling the alcohol as well, she figured. He caught her eye and smiled, which she returned as she stared into his baby blues just a little longer. Perhaps too long, but she couldn’t look away. Gratitude was overwhelming her, and she tried to think of a way to let him know. She needed to thank him for tonight and these past few months. To give herself a moment to think, she stretched and got up from the couch.

Rebecca informed him that she was going to bed, before bending down and placing her hand on his cheek. She smiled and gently kissed his other cheek. Her lips ended up on the corner of his mouth and though it shocked her, she still lingered longer than she normally would have. Then she stood back up, uncertain of her actions and with a blush creeping down her face and neck, she turned to move around the couch and out of the living room.

“What was that for?” Steve asked before she got very far and he got up from the couch too, following her. Her kiss had shaken him, weakening his resolve to be her friend and it took all his will power not to pull her into his arms.

“A thank you,” she said, her voice a little shaky as she turned back to him.

“For tonight? You don’t ha—”

“For everything you’ve done for me these past few months.” She was quick to interrupt, hoping he would see her shaking hands as an after effect of the wine, or perhaps lack of sleep. If he knew how he made her feel—she turned around again and took a few more steps towards the door; it was within reach now and she was almost out of this situation of her own making.

“I’d do anything for you,” Steve said softly, feeling brave, and he reached forward to take her hand in his—effectively thwarting her escape.

He was warm to the touch, gentle and his skin upon hers was enough to send a bolt of lightning through her body. Did he not understand? She needed distance, to save herself from future embarrassment. She was by no means drunk, but she feared that she would tell him how she felt if he pressed the subject. The perfect evening was a far more pressing motivator than the alcohol could ever be. When he did not release her hand, she turned to face him and glanced down at their hands. A sigh escaped her lips; she knew he’d do anything for her. He always treated her like a princess. Better than anyone ever had, but she wanted more. She wanted all of him, desperately.  

“Me too,” she whispered, her thumb softly stroking the back of his hand.

Steve stared at her, her whispered words confusing him. The way she had spoken had sparked a fuse inside of him, and he allowed himself to believe she would mean it the same way he had. He had meant far more than words could ever express, and he really did want her to feel the same. He wished that the sparks he had felt throughout the night were not only in his head. The fear of losing her if he was wrong was strong enough to stall him for a moment, but the urge to take a chance was stronger still. Perhaps fuelled by the wine in his system, he finally made a decision, and with one big stride he closed the distance between them.

She gasped, shocked, though she made no effort to step back. Instead, Rebecca placed her free hand on his chest and stared up into his eyes. His gaze was intense, and her heart beat rapidly in her chest. Then his eyes glanced down at her lips, before returning to her dilated irises. The world seemingly stood still as they stared on, the moment stretching a little longer as they both warred with the doubts in their minds. Then, Steve moved—bending his head down he pressed his lips upon hers, gently. It was a soft kiss, short and hesitant, but Rebecca could feel it all the way to her toes. It was electric and he pulled back way too soon, she thought.

His cheeks were now as red as hers must have been and Rebecca smiled at the sight. He smiled back and she moved her hand off his chest to his neck, pulling him back to her and giving him a much more heated kiss. Steve pulled her impossibly close, his arms tight around her waist, as he tried to show the depth of his feelings in the kiss. And when her fingers moved along the hem of his shirt, touching the small bit of skin they uncovered, he poured even more into it. His hands moved to her ass, while hers roamed his broad back and he grabbed her firmly—pushing her into him. She moaned and he thought he’d lose it. Lowering his hands to her thighs, he picked her up and she wrapped her legs around his waist, their kisses never wavering—and he moved through the door, down the hall and towards his bedroom.

***

Tag: @patzammit​

[erikismybitch]

Waiting In Vain: Chapter 11

First Base.

Erik was coming over tonight . It was a spontaneous matter. He was coming to help her install her security doorbell. He told her he wanted to give her a gift , turns out it was just that. “You live alone , you need to know who’s at your door... people prey on women” he told her . She let him know that he probably needed to Install it for her . That was like music to his ears , he just wanted her to invite him over . Erik insisted that she let him do it . “You ain’t gotta pay nobody , I got you”

It was the end of the afternoon. Erik told her he would swing by late night , he was busy. It would be the first time she seen him since that eventful night at the strip club. She was dwelling on how it might be when he came , so instead of letting her anxiety get the best of her , she tried to occupy her time . She was on her living room floor . Watching youtube trying to find out how to add fake braiding hair to her natural style . Marley was a do it yourself type of girl , and never backed down from a challenge. Her living room was full of free strands of kaneklon . Her wild blow dried hair was pinned with every metal clip she could find. She took a deep breath and blew the hair out of her face , this was harder than she thought . This was only braid one .

“Oh my fucking god” frustration overtook her as she un-did the the braid for the third time . Marley started from the beginning , just as the chipper girl on YouTube showed her . Then there was a knock on the door right in the middle of the braid. Marley thought it was a part of the video, until she heard it again. Then it sounded like her door .

“Who is it!” she made her voice aggressive, a tactic she followed ever since she was a child . It always made her feel safe when she was home alone . Like the voice would scare the unwanted away. Silly, she knew that . Nobody responded . She figured it was another one of her elderly neighbors welcoming her . They had been bringing food and plants all week. One woman told Marley she reminded her of her grandchild, and spend the afternoon showing her pictures of her. They looked nothing alike , but Marley wouldn’t dare tell her that .

The knocks continued. She crept to the peep hole and looked out . Erik, who wasn’t supposed to be there until later was standing at her door. “Erik, I thought you were coming later” Marley observed him through the peep hole . He stood back with his feet facing out and apart . His hands held at his front holding the doorbell in a package.

“I’m here now, so open the door” he looked right at the peep hole , as if he could see her . Marley quickly moved to the side and tried her best to lay her big hair down. She really didn’t want him to see her like that . “Marley, what the fuck” Erik was growing impatient.

She opened the door slowly, but stood behind it . Erik walked in, a bit puzzled because he didn’t see her . She shut the door and prepared herself for his lude comments about her hair. He stared at it with big eyes, then began to laugh .

“Don’t laugh at me , I’m in the middle of doing my hair” she ran her hands through it and held it in a ponytail.

“What are you doing to it?” Erik was being sarcastic , he made sure to bug his eyes out for emphasis .

“I’m trying to braid my hair” Marley walked back to her living room and sat down in front of her laptop . Without saying anything , she pointed to the small tool box on her kitchen counter . Along with her power drill that she never really used . “Thank you for doing this”

Erik nodded and grabbed everything he needed to install the security doorbell. Marley continued to do her hair as Erik worked.

He kept the front door open , his glare reverting back and forth from Marley and the doorbell . She was so focused on what she was doing. It was pretty obvious to Erik that this was something she wasn’t good at . She kept cursing, huffing and starting over . He cut on the drill and it made Marley jump, that made him laugh again. But it only frustrated her further more , she tossed her fake hair across the floor .

Erik finished the doorbell with lightning speed, then came inside . Since she had no furniture yet, he sat on her kitchen counter . Marley decided to give up. Her arms were getting tired and her fingers were slightly sore. She took a deep breath and rested her arms behind her . Marleys soft face looked at Erik. He was already staring at her .

“All you need to do is connect your phone to the camera ”

“I feel safer already” she joked.

Erik hopped off the counter . He circled the living room and looked around. “Give me a tour” Erik held his hand out for her to grab, when she did he pulled her up with ease . She pretended not to be phased at how strong he was. Or how cute he was , or how good he smelled or how his dimples made her heartbeat speed up.

“A tour?” Marley asked , seemingly distracted by him. She even forgot that her hair was still a mess.

“Of the apartment”

Marley showed him every room except for hers, that was last . She made sure to give him the excuse that she’s working on getting more stuff . Marley was embarrassed at the fact that her place was so empty . Although Erik didn’t feel she had anything to prove . They stopped at her bedroom door . Marley gave this exaggerated speech about her exuberant room. She told him she didn’t let many people inside of her room. So it was a privilege for him to witness it.

It was light and airy. The wind from the open windows made her sheer curtains flow freely . On her floor was a huge lilac shag rug that made Erik want to take off his shoes and rub his feet on it . It was neat and organized, down the the matching vases full of flowers that sat on her dresser . Right below her flat screen . Erik fought the urge to ask her who molded her TV for her . But that wasn’t his place yet . Ironically, just like her , Eriks found his favorite part was her bed. Big fluffy and white . He thought she had to have at least twenty pillows on it . She plopped herself on it. Erik couldnt help but watch her chest bounce lightly .

“You hungry?” Marley questioned casually but her words lit him up.

“For you, always”

“You real corny”

“You like it though”

Erik was cocky , it had always got him far. He was mysterious to many , those who didn’t know him could literally see the guard he held up . But to know him, was to love him. Erik had a kind heart that he only revealed to a few. Most knew his other side . Erik could be cold , his emotions had the ability to cut off like a switch .

There was a light in Marley the first time he saw her . She smiled and said “Hi” to him. For the first time in his adult life, Erik found himself unsure of what to say. He was always quick and ready for any thing . That night he was stuck, so he decided to move onto something easy and familiar. Tiana.

Back in those past times, Erik admired how Marley was always working and busy . Coming in late all crabbed and tired . While he was fucking Tiana, he wanted to know everything about her day. That’s why he would catch her in the middle of the night in the kitchen. But that unfamiliar emotion would take over him and he always said something to offend her . As if he was punishing her for making him feel a way . It didn’t stop there . Erik enjoyed eating her good left overs when she didn’t come home at nights . He always ate everything she cooked, subconsciously pretending as if she made it for him. One night after he’d Put Tiana to sleep with the power of his penis, he went into her room . It was an oasis and seemed to be displaced in this apartment. It smelled so good, she always smelled so good. Marley had a big bed that was made perfectly. Her closet was filled with shoes like his . On her nightstand laid her iPod, he didn’t even know people still used those . It was connected to a mini speaker . Erik pressed play . Music began to play softly, Stevie Wonder Golden lady . He went home that same night , because he never spent the night . Erik shamelessly played Stevie wonder with thoughts of her . He tried to invade her privacy again the next night . Tiana caught him in her room . He played it off as if he was searching for condoms . Erik laughed about that often . It was amazing to him that she lived in a different apartment , and in such a short time she had managed to make it smell exactly the same.

“We can’t go eat with your hair like th-”

“I’m gonna fix it” She cut him off and went into the bathroom. While she used a spray bottle and some product to form a slick low bun. Erik told her he’d be waiting for her outside in his car. Marley found a hoodie that semi-matched her joggers . She slid on some sneakers and went outside.

Marley didn’t see him at first until he honked . “Of course that’s your car” she spoke to herself . A fancy sports something she didn’t know the name of . It was loud and white . He reached over and opened her door from the passenger side, which was a big step up from him honking . Erik took off down the road , driving past the speed limit . Marley didn’t fret because she drove fast too . He got on the freeway , Erik didn’t say much . Just mentioned that he wanted Mexican food, and he could only eat from one spot . Marley thought it was a little dramatic , it was a bit far from her house . Then again, looking at it as a person who loved good , maybe it was that good .

Erik exited at a part of the city that Marley didn’t frequent . He was taking her to the hood. Not that she felt too good to be here, she just didn’t have a reason to . Marley didn’t have a stuck-up bone in her body . If anything , places like this humbled her . Same with Erik . He wanted to see if she’d be comfortable in the setting , humility was important to him.

He parked in front of a hole in the wall Mexican restaurant. There was an unnatural amount of litter on the sidewalk and a middle aged homeless man who was asking for change . Erik ignored him , while Marley promised to take care of him on her way back out if he was still around.

For the place to be so run down. There were quite a few people eating inside . There were small booths with pepper sauce and napkins on the tables . Erik told Marley to sit down while he ordered for the both of them . Marley liked how he had taken charge, but warned him not to get her anything too spicy . She was easy like that . Erik ordered and stood at the pick up window for a long while . He scrolled through his phone casually, sometimes glancing at his surroundings and checking Marley out . They called his order number and he brought it back to the table . A platter of tacos with different meat, and sides of rice and beans. Two Mexican Cokes and pickled carrots. Marley was impressed , and wasted no time telling him so . He flaunted because he knew she’d like it .

They began eating , and conversing about everything under the sun . She spoke with food still slightly in her mouth and when she drank her soda she burped . Giving Erik a small look at the real her , without even knowing it. Erik thought she was so pretty , without even trying . It was the small things . Especially her loud laugh. She was laughing at something he said about a movie that they both had recently seen. Some super hero flick that they agreed wasn’t that good .

“Would you rather be a hero or a villain in a movie?” Marley asked him . She would bet her money that Erik wanted to be a villain . Erik played the villain in her life for a little while.

“You go first” he licked the salsa off his fingers and awaited her answer . Marley shrugged her shoulders slowly , she had asked that question without coming up with an answer of her own .

“I’m always somewhere in the middle. I’d probably be the hero’s love interest who died and he avenged my death” Marley took a sip of coke and began eating another taco , even though she was getting full .

“Damn girl”

“You’d be a villain huh?” Marley cheesed because she knew she was right .

“Definitely a villain, who wins”

Marley clasped her hands together and sprung her grand idea into action. “You would be the villain who killed me and the hero had to kill you” she stared off into space imagining the visual.

“Or I was in love with you and killed the hero for not protecting you from death”

Her eyes cut straight back to him , she was stunned. Especially with those words “love” and “you” formed together in a sentence .

“Did we just write a blockbuster smash ?” .

“We did, Marley”

The little smile she let out after he said her name left him curious . So he said her name again making her smile ever harder . Her version of blushing ,she tried to hide it with the bite of a taco . He found it adorable that he could make her nervous . But she could also be herself too. Erik was learning that Marley had these soft spots . When he got close to her , looked in her eyes too long , or said something provocative. And now , it was the way he said her name .

“What exactly do you think about me?”

Erik was also learning that he didn’t have her all figured out the way he thought . He didn’t know exactly what she meant with that question.

“What kind of question is that ?” Erik diverted with another question because he was unable to answer it .

“It’s a valid one” Marley’s tone was a little more straightforward now.

“Well...” he looked heavenward then back down before he spoke again . “That’s not a question I’m ready to answer right now”

“Judging on how we ended up in this situation, I need to know that I’m not making a mistake by entertaining you”

“So I’m just entertainment ?”

They both took a step back , not a literal one but just a moment. Marley thought she could have phrased that better . Considering that dealing with feelings head on may not be his strong suit. Erik didn’t want to make her upset, based on how he treated her in the past he understood the conflict. She opened up her mouth to speak, but Erik thought his response was more important. He interrupted her.

“Im here with you cause’...I want to be” it was plain and simple just like that .

Markey didn’t know if it was the itis that had kicked in and relaxed her . But that was actually enough validation for her . Right now. It was enough to get them started on whatever journey they were taking.

They finished their food , and since Erik paid , Marley cleared the table before they left . They both walked the garbage filled pathway to his car . The homeless man from before had gone . In his place an intolerably drunk man was approaching Marley’s side . Erik casually gripped her waist and moved her out the way , closer to him. The drunk man mouthed a few unrecognizable words but they just ignored him. And when he got too close to Marley again, Erik wasted no time threatening him . She felt protected in that moment. It was ironic though . In a sense Erik was the one who put her in the face of harm, but he wouldn’t let anything harm her.

He opened her car door from the outside this time . She got inside , and he soon followed . Strategically, Erik turned the volume up on his car audio. To Marley’s liking, Stevie wonder was playing . She stared out the window and hummed the melody to Visions ... she found it funny. A song she listened to when things weren’t going well . Visions, a song that asked the question, will things be better as if I imagined them. Maybe it was a sign that things were looking up for her .

He padded her thigh and let his hand remain there , she snapped out of Wonderland and turned to him. “You good?” He noticed how she had zoned out. She nodded.

“I just really love this song, that’s all”

Marley glanced at his hand, and fought the urge to slide her fingers in between his . Holding hands was one of the ultimate signs of affection to her . But if he pulled back , she couldn’t handle that rejection. So she did nothing , just allowed him to rest his hand there . Affection wasn’t the only thing she wanted to feel , Eriks hand was at the top of her thigh signaling her blood to rush to the pleasure points of her body . She cleared her throat and released tension .

“You liked the food huh” He basically told her .

“Hella good” Marley joked about how that might be her new Taco spot . Erik said it was cool, as long as he was with her every time . That was a deal she happily made . He soon pulled up to her apartment complex and found a spot right in front of the fountain . The water was all they could hear on account of the cars silence. Marley wanted him to come inside badly . She wasn’t sure if sex was the right thing to do so soon, but her body said otherwise. He wasn’t moving .

“Alright then” he hit her thigh softly , in a “be on your way” type of manner . Then placed it back on the wheel .

“Bye, thanks” The look disappointment she could not cover. He could tell too. Right as she opened the door to exit, Erik grabbed her back inside by her left arm.

“It’s not that I don’t want to come in” he gave her a once-over . “Trust me ,I do... I do for real I do” he repeated himself .

“It’s okay” that look of dissipointment was still there.

“I put some stuff off to see you early, it can’t wait” Erik didn’t want Marley to feel like he was pushing her away.

“ I said it’s okay” she sounded as if she was trying to convince herself as well as him.

“You had that look on your face , I just had to let you know” her face crept into a smile . All Erik did was make her smile this day . A big change from how they used to be. Erik intertwined his fingers with hers and kissed her palm . “Bye...be good, answer when I call”

“I promise” she took her hand back . He melted at the innocence in her voice. Marley shut his door and let him go. She walked to her complex entrance , Erik waited until she shut the lobby door to pull off .

“Promise , who says promise !” She palmed her face in embarrassment. A few tenants were in the lobby staring at her oddly for talking to herself . But she didn’t care , all she cared about was Erik .

[imagine-organization-xiii]

Organization Members On Their Preferred Vacation

Suggested by: No One

Xemnas

His idea of a great vacation is anywhere that the other organization members aren’t.  He just wants to be left alone, and if that means he has to rent a hotel room in the middle of nowhere and cut himself off from all communication, then so be it.

Usually stays behind when the rest of the group goes on vacation. He’s able to relax, get some work done, and avoid the general stupidity of the other organization members

Xigbar

Doesn’t really like vacations unless they’re road trips. Organization and planning stress him out, so he much prefers to just get in the car and drive. You can end up a lot of different places by just riding in the car and getting purposely lost.

Likes to find little hole in the wall restaurants and random places that are off the beaten path. One time he found this bar/restaurant that had literally the world’s best bacon-wrapped burgers and spicy fried pickles and he only found out about it by chatting with one of the locals at a nearby gas station.

Xaldin

Not really a vacation person and prefers simple, solo vacations than big group vacations.  Likes how he can make his own schedule, do what he wants, wake up when he wants, and doesn’t have to answer to anyone else.

Randomly found a little town that was having a rodeo the weekend he happened to arrive.  Loved it so much that he tries to go back every year and sometimes brings some of the other members along with him.

Vexen

Burns so easily.  This boy goes out in the sun for like twenty minutes and he turns as red as a lobster.  If they go somewhere sunny, like the beach, he’ll slather himself in sunscreen and bury down on a blanket under a beach umbrella with a book and a Mai Tai and call it a day.

Likes museums and exhibits. Natural history, art, war museums, museums about oddities, ancient libraries and buildings? They’re so interesting to him. He’d much prefer doing something like that then going to the beach or spending a lot of money going to someplace with a big shopping district.

Lexaeus

That mom that’s always taking pictures of her kids on vacation.  Doesn’t care where they go to have fun, as long as everyone else is having a good time.  Not organized in his day to day life, but BOY he has every event planned down to the minute.  Has a schedule of where everyone is supposed to be at certain times.

Likes camping and getting back to the basics.  I’m talking in a tent and a sleeping bag, cooking food over a fire in some tin foil, sleeping under the stars and roasting marshmallows on sticks for s’mores.  Usually manages to rope Xaldin into going with him, but not often.

Zexion

Like Vexen, Zexion likes Museums and historical places.  Likes visiting big libraries and haunted places.  Fancies himself as a bit of a ghost hunter, just because he likes the atmosphere of haunted hospitals, mansions, prisons, etc.

Doesn’t care if he’s alone or with friends.  Likes being around people, but there are also times when he just wants to relax by himself in peace and quiet.  Likes long car rides to the destination because he can read in the backseat and still listen to everyone talk about what they’re going to do or what they’re most excited about.

Saix

Likes beach vacations, but not just to go to the beach.  He’s a Hawaii or Bora Bora type of guy, because he likes actually doing things besides sitting on the beach.  Surfing, snorkeling, parasailing, swimming with dolphins, beachside bonfires, etc.  They’re all a personal favorite.

If he’s not really feeling up to doing much, he’ll be up for a log cabin in a snowy place, sitting in front of the fire place with his feet up and a good book.  Hot cocoa with lots of mini marshmallows is a must for times like these.

Axel

EXTREME VACATIONS OR BUST

Axel likes to go all out in his vacations.  Most likely the one who ends up getting injured on vacation from being too careless with whatever it is he happens to be doing.

Likes rock climbing, dirt biking, hiking, bungee jumping, etc.  Anything exciting that burns a lot of excess energy is A+++ for Axel.

Being with friends is a must, even if his friends aren’t daredevils like he is.  Whenever he goes out with Saix, Roxas, Xion, etc., they all make plans to do at least one activity each with Axel just so he doesn’t feel alone and just so they all don’t die of heart attacks by Axel’s “Too Much Gene.”

Demyx

Oddly, another road trip fan, but likes to see those weird monuments that you only happen to find randomly and only the locals of the area seem to know about.  The world’s largest fire hydrant, the world’s largest paintball, the world’s biggest collection of teacups? He’s totally into it.

Has a framed photo in his room of himself dabbing in front of the Biggest Ball of Twine in Darwin, Minnesota.

Luxord

Likes National monuments and peaceful places. Instead of beaches or road trips or even cabins in the woods, Luxord likes big, fancy hotel rooms in far off cities like Paris or Madrid.  Enjoys visiting places like the Ladurée Restaurant and Tea Room to eat macarons.

He and Xemnas once made plans together to escape the rest of the gang, and they came up with an idea to go stay a vineyard for a weekend for a wine tasting.  They met up together for breakfast in the morning and then went their separate ways during the day.  It was one of the greatest vacations that Luxord had ever experienced.

Marluxia

Likes going on cruises, particularly to places like the Caribbean.  Enjoys just being able to sit outside and sunbathe with Larxene, but he has to make sure he puts a lot of sunscreen on because he burns easily.

Liked Busch Gardens, but was disappointed when he found out it was not 100% plants everywhere.

Can go on a nature walk any day of the week.  Will be excited to go to big gardens and fancy gardens and take - steal - samples from other plants to add to his own garden.

Larxene

A beach girl, all the way. Tans perfectly and no one understands how she does it. She’ll strap herself into a bathing suit, pick a quiet spot far away from the others, and lay down in the sun and fall asleep with a piña colada next to her. Hours later, she’ll wake up with a perfectly even tan.

Must go on vacation near to a spot that has a spa. Will spend a whole day getting massages, having a mani-pedi, etc.

Roxas

Doesn’t care where they end up going, just loves the concept of going on vacation.  More into the journey there than the actual destination.

Seriously loves amusement parks like Disney World or Six Flags.  Will be the type of person that will wake everyone up exactly at six AM to be the first in line for when the parks open and will keep everyone out until an hour after the parks close.

On a sugar rush from exciting foods - churros and funnel cakes and ice cream and giant turkey legs, etc.  His logic is ‘I don’t know when i’ll ever come back to this place so I might as well enjoy it while I can.’

Xion

Excited to even be on vacation!!! Likes to go someplace quiet and cold. She went to the beach with the rest of the gang once and it wasn’t her style because she didn’t like the sand or the heat. She much prefers going up to a nice snowy place and sitting in a cabin where she can stare up at the stars through the trees.

[sigurdjarlson]

Because I never get tired of pestering you with OC questions: Your OCs as dungeon/raid bosses! How would a fight with them go? Any snappy boss lines spring to mind? How do they react upon victory/defeat? (I can imagine Diily with her million pets as adds, and Ladelia spouting terrible fire puns)

I feel like a three part raid with all theee simultaneously would be an absolute HELLSCAPE..(I know nothing about making a raid/raid bosses so for all I know this is ridiculously OP but hey its for fun-)

Diily - ranged boss who has a small mini boss with her, Wildheart. She also summons adds but they’re obviously weaker than Wildheart for mechanics sake.

I feel like she has somewhat stealthy approach, being a huntress. She’s quick and hard to keep track of. Especially with Wildheart or other adds on your ass.

And especially with Alaluria and Ladelia on the field (yikes)

Alaluria

She is melee and an absolute pain in the ass to kite/tank. All the usual demon hunter powers and also maybe on..normal we add Shadowclaw to the fight too hm? A weaker add but one nonetheless because lbr my girls would have their cats in a fight. 

Ladelia

Ranged but also dangerous close up. Constantly dropping comets on your ass. If the fire doesn’t kill you the bad puns will! Sets the floor on fire. All kinds of fun stuff

Heroic - +Morningflower with Ladelia along with Wildy and Shadow

Mythic: +Brightheart who is no joke as an add. “Mother’s fury.” Buff and some brutal attacks. Or something like that.

Other mechanics

Sisterhood buff - increased attack and damage reduction when within a certain range of each other

Grief stricken - killing one will enrage the others. Each has a different sort of enrage. I would suggest killing Diily first. It would be..unwise to kill them in front of her.

Diily can revive Wildheart on Heroic Difficulty and up but will be unable to revive any of the other cats.

Ladelia will polymorph your ass. It’s not fun. Interrupt her

I just want heroic or mythic Alaluria to have a buff “well prepared” because well..

Diily Taunts

- “At least try to make this hunt interesting for me.”

- “Dinner time. Isn’t it, Wildheart?”

- “I’ll let them eat you alive for that.”

- “Catch me if you can.”

- “I do love the thrill of the hunt.”

- “Cat got your tongue?”

- “I don’t think they like you very much..”

- “It’s not too late run. I’ll even give you a heads start..but after that. The hunt is on.”

- “I promise I won’t bite…but she [Wildheart] will.”

- “I’ve been doing this since before you were born, surrender now. You don’t stand a chance.”

- “even children know not to mess with a nightsaber’s cubs.” (Brightheart summon)

- “I don’t envy you. She’s…a little overprotective..” (Brightheart summon)

- “lets call this..natural selection.”

- “there’s a reason they’re [sabers] at the top of the food chain, you know.”

- “Disappointing.” (Player death variant)

- “You should have run faster.” (Player death variant)

- “I told you to run.” (Raid wipe)

- “Such a waste. Why didn’t you listen?” (Raid wipe)

- “I didn’t want to hurt you..but then you tried to hurt my sisters and that is something I will not tolerate.” (Raid wipe)

- “I admit I enjoyed myself. A good hunt but I’ve had better.” (Raid wipe)

Alaluria taunts

- “Demons are more worthy prey than you.”

- “I wonder if your soul is worth anything. Doubtful.”

- “What? Are you expecting me to yell you are not prepared?”

- “Is that all you’ve got?”

- “I’m not even breaking a sweat.”

- “I could do this all day..”

- “I’ve fought felhounds more challenging than you.”

- “I can taste your fear.”

- “Won’t you just die already?”

- “you think I’m scared of you? I’m the monster here. It’s you who should be running from me.”

- “Pathetic.” (Player death variant)

- “Hardly worth my time.” (Player death variant)

- “Well, I guess he [Illidan] was right the first time around. You weren’t prepared.” (Raid wipe)

- “you could have at least made it a little challenging.” (Raid wipe)

- “I’m fine. Stop fussing. We have a mess to clean up.” [At Diily]” (Raid Wipe)

- “Nice gear…hm…you know, I’ll be taking that.” (Raid wipe)

Ladelia

- “Burn, baby, Burn”

- “It seems things are finally beginning to heat up.”

- “If you can’t take the heat…”

- “Say bahhhhh-“ (polymorph)

- “Does anyone else remember the floor is lava game? Let’s see if I remember how it goes..”

- “Now look you’ve got me all fired up.”

- “want to see a magic trick? I’ll need a few volunteers..”

- “liar liar pants on fire”

- “Like a moth to a flame.”

- “I’ll smoke you out.”

- “didn’t anyone ever teach you not to play with fire?” (Player death variant)

- “Maybe try being a little less..flammable.” (Player death variant)

- “That looked like it hurt.” (Player death variant)

- “I’d almost pity you if you weren’t trying to kill us.” (Raid wipe)

- “There you go kits [their sabers]. A home cooked meal just for you..uh sorry it’s a little burnt.” (Raid wipe)

- “Can we go now? I’m tired, hungry and would really like to wash this blood off my robes.” (Raid wipe)

- “All you had to do is walk away.” (Raid wipe)

And oh boy do I imagine there’s very unique and very painful dialogue for all the possible death combos? Like cinematic agony 

I would need some voice actors that specialize in “anguished wails of grief and agony” though.

Diily - Alaluria and Ladelia’s deaths

- “Y-you’re hurt but I’ll fix it. I’ll make it better, it’s okay. I-im here..your big sister’s here. I’ve got you..it’s o-okay..it’s okay.”

- “It should have been me..I’m so sorry, it should have been me..I promised..I promised..”

- “It’s okay. I’ll just..let you rest for now. I’ll be right here. I’ll keep you safe. It’s alright.”

- “Why couldn’t you have just killed me too?” (@the wiped raid/Elune/fate)

- “Anyone but you..”

- “This is all my fault.”

- “I don’t know how to live without you..I don’t want to.”

- “I was supposed to protect you..I’m s-sorry..I’m so sorry. I failed you-“

- “Is this my punishment? Tell me! What have I done to deserve this? What have they done to deserve this..they didn’t deserve this.” (Seemingly @ Elune)

- “what’s the point if you’re not here with me?”

- “I’ll hunt down every last one of them, I’ll make them suffer for this..and then I’ll join you. I’ll be with you soon, don’t worry.”

- “I love you. I love you..you know that don’t you? I love you so much, I love you both more than anything. More than life itself. Please get up, I’m begging you please get up- I need you to get up.”

- “I was supposed to be the first to go.” (In general not exclusive to this specific incident. She’s always wanted to die first because there’s nothing more horrifying to her than outliving her baby sisters

Alaluria @ Diily and Ladelia’s deaths

- “Hey..get up. That’s not funny.. -voice breaks- it’s really not f-funny…”

- “I promise, I’ll kill them all. Every one of them. I’ll..I’ll make them scream for mercy.”

- “It should have been me.”

- “I’m sorry, I’m sorry..I’m sorry.”

- “But..we’re a family again..?”

- “I love you..i know I don’t say it enough..but I love you. I love you so much. Is that what you want to hear? Is that what it’ll take? Please-“

- “I need you to get up..I need you..please..GET UP!”

- “you idiot/s. Don’t you dare do this to me! Please- just get up..I..”

- “it’s only fair you leave me now, huh? Is this my punishment?” (Said with immense bitterness and self loathing)

- “it wasn’t worth it.”

Ladelia @ Diily and Alaluria’s deaths

- “W-wake up. You both need to wake up. It’s time to go..i don’t want to be here anymore..i..want to go.”

- “Please..don’t leave me. Please..I can’t..I can’t do this without you.”

- “Get up both of you. You’re scaring me. Come on..Diily? Ally? Im..scared..”

- “It’s always been so easy to forget you’re not invincible..”

- “please don’t leave me alone..”

- “I’ll burn it all down..all of it. All of them. I promise” (No humor/pun intended)

- “you said you’d always be there..”

- “please..don’t go where I can’t come with you..”

- “I can..I can fix this. I will fix this..it’s just..a few spells. I’ll be right back.”

- “It was supposed to be the three of us who win..I-it’s always been the three of us. It’s supposed to always be the..”

- “You promised.”

BUT ALSO fun banter because..that was sad ouch…and maybe you don’t kill them at all and you just fight until they have to surrender…

Ladelia: “I’m on fire tonight-“ Alaluria: “I swear if you make one more fire joke I will turn around and shove this glaive so far up your-“

Ladelia: “Hey, Alaluria. Need a..hand?”: “Put that down and keep casting.” Alaluria: “Put that down and keep casting.”

Diily: “A regular game of cat and mouse.” Alaluria: “Not you too..”

Ladelia: “Diily, look no hands! Dragon’s Breath.” Diily: “That’s wonderful, little sister- but I’m a little busy at the moment”

Alaluria: “Touch my sister again and I’ll leave you choking on your own entrails.” Diily: “Awww..you really do care.” Alaluria: “Shut up.”

Diily: “Awww look at the little puppy (worgen) getting chased by the big bad kitty..you better run faster. She likes to play with her food.”

Ladelia: “I’ll have you know can appreciate a beautiful woman and fight her at the same time!”

Diily: “This next arrow is going in your ass, Alaluria.”

Diily: “Plan B!” Alaluria: “Come on, I hate plan B…” Ladelia: “You love it.” Alaluria: “It’s humiliating-“

Ladelia: “We need more synchronized fighting moves.” Alaluria: “What are we the Barkstreet Boys!?

Diily: “I do hope your rotten flesh doesn’t make my cats sick.” (Player death taunt particularly at undead/death knights/warlocks/etc. if it’s a demon hunter Alaluria will grumble in mock offense.)

Diily: “Touch my baby sister again and I’ll skin you alive and use you as throw rug.” Alaluria and Ladelia simultaneously: “Don’t call me that in battle!”

Ladelia: “Flame on-“ Diily: “Is that a reference to something too?” Ladelia: “I don’t know it just felt right..?”

Alaluria: “Stop juggling your fire balls and do something-“ Ladelia: “Hah!!!!” Alaluria: Seriously? You’re over ten thousand years old act like it-“

Ladelia: “Those are some impressive hooves, you know. You should try kicking them like a donkey. Alaluria: “I’m seriously considering devouring your soul, dear sister.” Ladelia: “I’m being serious!”

Diily: “you need to be more careful-“ Alaluria: “is this really the time for a lecture?”

[kazlifeadventures]

Trinidad & Tobago - Carribean dreams...

I am so ‘vex’ that I won't be ‘liming’ in this beautiful place any more. I have been one lucky person to have been able to come here and hang with a local for almost a week. Jasmine has shown me her Trinidad and for that I am truly grateful. I have eaten so many local foods and they have all been fantastic. I have impressed the locals no end with my love of pepper sauce. The food here is tasty, spicy, and pretty much specific to this island. ‘Nah boy’, I am so very much enamoured with this country! One of my friends asked me if I had posted photos of the food. Truth be told, I don’t have a lot of pics, its not the most photogenic, and I seriously just wanted to eat it! I have partaken in the local speciality of doubles, with ‘plenty’ I might add - for those unaware that is with extra hot sauce and/or the mango bone that is infused with more pepper. Doubles is made with 2 baras filled with a curry channa (chick peas), it originally started as a breakfast food, progressing to be an anytime of the day food. It’s nutritious, tasty, and sold at street side vendors everywhere. Apparently even pizza and KFC taste better over here. This I can now say I agree with. Not sure if the food tastes better, or if its adding the ketchup, mustard, and pepper sauce that assists with the taste upgrade.....

Jas took me to the home of street food a little town called St James, and made sure I got to have saheena, (seriously amazing spicy little deep fried spinachy deliciousness ) as well as alloo pie...amongst other things. The locals only really eat out at restaurants on special occasions so that meant Jas cooked for me a lot of the time, and wow, just wow. I loved the chicken curry (brown), smoked herring, baigan choka, salt fish, home made roti, the fabulous goat curry.... I could rave on, but google Trinidadian food and you’ll understand. Jas lives out in the ‘country’ to the South of Port of Spain, the capital. We spent one evening heading around to some of the local rum bars. Rum bars are everywhere here. Beer is cold and cheap (and made here - love the Stag and the Carib!). I got to meet a few of the locals. Over here they will buy you a drink even for something as simple as the fact that they had to order over you slightly. At the bar. They loved to meet the ‘white girl from Austalia’, as out here they dont see a lot like me... The good thing is none of it was them just trying it on with the foreigner. These are genuinely lovely, polite, caring people. I had a dance off with some girls from Venezuela, and ended up drinking way more drinks then I paid for, eating (they sell bar snacks and’cutters’ only at the rum shops) some tasty wontons at one place, and some really tasty fried chicken at another. We then got some free food from another lovely local who bought us a drink, and also then brought us across some Souse and Corn soup from his food stall (across the road from the rum shop). Anyway I can now say I have tried Souse, not sure I’d eat it again, it was flavourful, but pigs trotters in broth with onion and cucumber is not on my list of things to eat again! I think I have decided that I need to come back to Aus and start my own Trini food store, I think it’d be a huge hit. Love the local beers. Love the rum here. Jas made sure I tasted the Puncheon rum - 75 % and you never get a hangover or upset stomach... I wanted to bring some home, but alas no room in the suitcase! One of the biggest things, I was not aware that this is the home where Angostura bitters is bottled. It was first created in the town called Angostura in Venezuela by a German surgeon stationed in Venezuela, originally produced there between 1824 - 1830. In 1875, the plant was moved to Trinidad and that’s where it’s secret recipe is still produced today.

One of the main religions here is Hindu, they have a giant (85 feet - 26m) statue of Lord Hanuman Murti located in the grounds of Dattatreya Yoga. The statue is the second tallest in the world, and the tallest one in the western hemisphere. When we pulled up onsite there was one man looking after the bookstore who allowed us to enter the grounds and take photos. We weren't allowed to enter the temple/yoga centre as we weren't appropriately dressed. The gentleman then showed us the book explaining how the statue had been built and answered all my gazillion questions. It was like having our own private tour! Jas then took me down the road a little further to show me the temple in the sea. This temple was originally constructed by hand 1947 -52 by Sewdass Sadhu an immigrant from India. It has since been added to, and tidied up, but it's an amazing place, and a site of pilgrimage for Hindus. It's also one of the designated locations for Hindus to perform the funeral pyre. Hindu religion requires that the dead are burned near water and a holy place.

Brian Lara is still HUGE here. He is a home town Trini boy so I completely understand. Cricket is massive, and the new Brian Lara stadium is a huge landmark. They had a cricket game on when I was here (Trinidad vs Jamaica) but they had sold out the tickets otherwise we would have gone.

I spent a day at the beautiful Maracas beach, located on the northern part of Trini. On the way there we stopped at the lookout and had a quick look at the food stalls. I got to try some ‘Chow’, a garlicky spicy way of preserving such things as Pineapple, apple, mango, cucumber... its yummy and not too spicy and I really appreciated the stall holder giving me a taste ( and Jas’s friend Isabelle for buying some of the pineapple one). Maracas beach is a favourite with the locals and its a thing to do to have a ‘bake and shark’ when you go to the beach. Betcha cant guess what I had... Can I say amazing (again!!) You not only get your bake (which is a deep fried Roti) You get beautiful fresh deep fried shark fillet inside it, then you go to a buffet like area and add as many of the additions as you want . Yep, of course I added a bit of EVERYTHING . I had to taste it all. Seriously that thing was amazing. BTW I do taste everything first before adding pepper sauce... pepper sauce heightens the flavours. Jas’s friend Isabelle got her son in law to give us a shout out on the radio station he worked at ( they had it playing at the beach), so ‘Karen from Australia’ is now Trini Famous... love it!!

Jasmine took me out to the Pitch lake, in La Brea, and I’ll admit, I had no idea what it was ( I thought it was a lake!!) Anyway, some how we ended up with a colourful local as our personal guide, he was You tube famous and has apparently featured on David Attenboroughs visit to the lake. I have to sit and edit my ‘documentary’ when I’m back in Australia, it’ll be awesome.. I promise. Suffice to say the lake is the most amazing tar pit. Seriously amazing tar pit. The roads leading into the area are all like travelling over mini crazy hills due to the impact of the tar movements in the area. You have to use an authorised guide on the site, which is fair enough as a wrong step could see you disappear forever into the tar... literally... Trinidads pitch lake is the largest natural deposit of asphalt in the world (estimated to hold about 10 million tonnes) Its covers about 100 acres and is about 250 feet deep. There is a cool legend involving the origin of the lake the involves a hummingbird (I like the story), Historically Walter Raleigh re-discovered the lake on his expedition there in 1595. It has that charming rotten egg smell, and the mud and sulphur water apparently have healing properties. Locals were there immersing themselves in some of the pools while we were there. As we didnt have swim suits we had to settle with getting coated in the mud on our legs, and for me, also my face...lol!!! I didnt get a chance to put it on myself, out guide was very keen to smear it all over my face... (and shirt and hair.. etc...). Rinsing it, after it had set, was a whole other process involving splashing what looked Iike green water all over my face (and legs), all I wanted to do was rinse my face with some fresh water afterwards - and it took over an hour or so until I finally got somewhere to do it. Let’s not talk about how much scrubbing it required later that night to get the last bits of our skin! A great fun day though, made all the better for our colourful guide! I have had a crash course in some of the Trinidadian slang/words and between that and their accents I am sometimes lost in a conversation... (definitely accents particularly when you are trying to enter the country and the border control guy is talking to you and you have to continually say, sorry what??? ) I’m a lot better now!!

Jas couldn’t make it over to Tobago as she had work scheduled at her house that she needed to be around for. So I decided to head over for a night, hire a car, and see what I could see. Its literally a 20 min flight over (only costs about 50 US return) FYI 24 hrs isn’t really enough to see everything. I didnt get to the water fall or national park. I had headed down to Store bay beach when I first arrived with instructions to try the curry crab, conch and dumplings in Tobago (its their local specialty, amongst a few other things). Have to say I liked the conch, crab was over cooked and dry, and dumplings were kind of chewy. The ‘provisions’ that I got with it were really nice though - Plantain, Potato, green banana, avocado ..I would have liked to have tried another outlet to give a second opinion, but didnt have the time. I did get to the beautiful Pigeon Park, a natural reserve area, filled with some shops, water sports hire, beautiful beaches and glorious spot to watch the sunset. I also got out to the Fort of King George in Scarborough hiking up the giant hill to take in the glorious views. Hilariously there was a traffic hold up on my way there due to some goats being herded along the road. Island time boy. I would have to say, as much as its a part of the one country, Tobago island is completely different to Trinidad. Its a lot more touristy for a start, it has more servicible beaches. The roads are not as pot holed as Trinidad. The people are still lovely, but you get the tourist scouters who are looking to sell you on anything they can. Its a beautiful place and I’m so glad I got to go across and visit. As always, I can always go back!

My time in the Caribbean has come to a close. (9-16 Oct). What an adventure. I have had a fabulous time, and recommend to anyone to come here and see this place, taste the food and meet the people for themselves. The country has their own issues with government corruption which impacts the improvement of infrastructure like roads etc. And there are warnings around safety as there are elements involved in crime that impact locals and tourists alike. This just makes Trinidad Tobago, not unlike a lot of other countries that I have visited on my adventures. It just means the more prepared you are to be open to new things, different ways of doing things, different cultures. The more you are aware of your own safety, and that of your belongings , the more you can avoid crime. Crime can impact you anywhere in the world, countries like this dont have it any more or less than others, it just seems to be in the media more....

[yoshi4sushi]

(purupurupuru) (purupurupuru) (gocha!) (coo!) (coo!)

 Happy Jolly Monday, minna-san! I hope everyone had a good weekend. The weather is getting chillier so stay warm, drink plenty of warm fluids, and stay healthy. The flu is getting around lately. Stay in top shape. With that said, let’s get on with this week’s news. We have loads of stuff to share with you so you know the drill. First off, last week’s chapter is filled with new mysterious characters. We start off w/ Ussop, Franky, & Robin enjoying Sanji’s soba. It’s been a while since they had his cooking, and many customers are lined up. Just as everyone is eager to eat his delish soba, three goons from Kyoshiro’s clan name Kaku, Kuni, & Suke showed up to shut down Sanji’s soba stand. They tell Sanji that he’s gotta pay up if he wants to keep his shop safe from hooligans, but he refused. A little girl was about to enjoy her soba until Suke knock it off from her hands and cried. They then knocked over his soba stand. Seeing this enraged Sanji. The customers then ran off. The handsome cooked demand they eat the soba from the floor, but refused to do it. That answer was wroooonnng! So Sanji knocked that cahoots out of Kuni. Franky then took care of Suke with a new technique he learned from Senor Pink: Iron Suplex. Nice one, dude. Some spectators were shocked to see the guys defeat the jerks. The little girl whose soba got spilled came back with a smile hoping to eat the soba was excited to have. She approached and Sanji was able to give her some leftover. She tells the gang that she was late for work, but waited all day in line to eat the tasty soba. Her face glowed with excitement. So the girl’s name is Toko, but if says if you add O in front of her name, her whole is O-toko which means man in Japanese. The gang laughed at her name, and Toko laugh along telling them that her name is means “man”, but she is a girl. Ha ha ha ha ha! What a cutie!, She then finished eating and was about to leave saying that she’ll be back in the same streets since her job is an escort for a famous courtesan, and that many beautiful women will come by. At the end, the old lady that trained Robin to be a geisha came looking for her saying that she has been summoned to be at the shogun’s palace and that a famous geisha name Komurasaki will be presented at the castle as she is the no.1 famous geisha in all of Wano kingdom. The boy got excited to hear such rumor. So the parade begins as Komurasaki passes by with many praised coming from everywhere and Toko made just in time, and it seems she is the younger sister of the famous geisha. Back at Kyoshiro’s hideout, his goons informed him of Sanji’s rebel, and ordered to send out assassins to kill him. Suddenly, a shadow nine dragon figure appears from behind that happens to be the infamous Lord Orochi. Who is this mysterious villain that everyone speaks of? What is the role of this famous geisha? Is she a friend? Or a foe? GAH! So many questions! No chapter this week so it’s another two week break so be patient. Next, this past weekend’s episode is turning chaotic. Luffy continues to struggle to land a hit on Katakuri, but is trying to stay clam so he can also see his attacks coming. Back at the sea, Big Mom shows up in flames and in rage demanding for the wedding cake that the gang is hiding. She starts tearing apart Sunny as Jinbei jumps to defend. He tell her that that cake is not with them, but ignores his truth saying that he believes Perospero’s words. She says she would kill him if he lied, but believed in him. She starts attacking. Jinbei was suddenly knocked off from the ship. Nami and the others try their best to fend off Big Mom, but she was continuing tearing the ship. Just as things were getting worse, Jinbei shows up again and knocked her off from the ship, and Nami lay the finishing blow with her lighting attack. At the end, Luffy continues his struggle with the fight as Katakuri is attacking one step ahead. Next time, Luffy tries his best to see Katakuri’s attack with the wise words and training he learned from Rayleigh as his help and the rotten young sister, Flampe, makes her appearance. Don’t miss it! Now on with the goods! First off, figurines! figurines! Loads of it. Jump Fest is getting near, and Megahouse will be displaying 4 new POP figurines at the event. Next year, they’ll release this awesome POP Maximum of Luffy in gear 4th Snakeman mode, limited ed. of Hina, Maximum figurine of Zoro 3 thousand world attack, and bikini figurine of Nami with a beer. Next, new Glitter & Glamour brand will be guys. The new brand name for it will be Glitter & Brave. Tuesday, all arcades will stock the first Glitter & Brave figurine of Sanji with his cape, and one w/out it. Next, in February, new Gashapon mini figurines will be released. This time, they’ll have Carrot, Shanks, Marco, Ace, Ussop, & Luffy in gear 4th. Cute little ones. Next, this month, more new stuff will be in stock. More new goods of Mugi Collection. They’ll have new key chain straps of Luffy, Brook, Nami, Sanji, & Chopper. They’ll also have this thermal bottle of Luffy. Don’t forget they’ll also sell Luffy’s tea can set that comes with a cute small tote bag, and small plates as well. Next, Bandai will be selling this new awesome red, silk yukata shirt that has the jolly rogers symbol of Luffy on the back with rest of the gang. It will be available for sale at Jump Fest as well. Online order is a possibility, but unsure. No worries, we will ask at the event and get back to you on it. Next, guess whose birthday is approaching next month? Yup! You all know him. He’s the hottest pirate with a feisty, but well-manner attitude. Give it up for Ace! YAY! YAY! The stores will be selling his birthday button, and his acrylic figurine. If you spend over 1000 yen, you’ll get his free mini poster. Now that’s hot! Tower will announce bday goods of him soon. Next, NEW YAKARA BUTTONS! YOLO! The theme this time is UTAGE which means celebration, and it’s all guys! They’ll have Luffy and his boys. New characters include Pedro, Buggy, Shanks, Coby & Helmeppo, Kinemon, Thatch, and many others. It will be released on Dec.22nd at all stores including the tower. Jump Fest will also have it available at TOEI shop. Next, in February, they’ll sell this awesome t-shirt and plate of Katakuri with the word Merienda on it. GUA! So cute! Next, here are the loads of JUMP goods of OP they’ll have at the event. They’ll have a Zou artboard, two big button set of Luffy & Law, a colorful limited ed. t-shirt of Luffy in kimono, folder, pencil board, postcard set, memo block, notebook of vol.91, pack of sticker flakes, a Wano pen of Luffy & Zoro, a package set of ASL bros goods that comes with a folder set, postcard set, button set, a sticker, and a mini tote bag, PVC strap holders of Luffy, Zoro, Sanji, & Ace, a red marche tote bag, Whole Cake Island diagram map set, limited ed. button set of the ASL bros, and key chain set of Luffy & Zoro that will come with an extra limited ed. key chain only available at the event. Also, Bandai stand will be giving away free spicy cheese puff snack that comes with surprised face of Eneru and the ASL bros. HA HA HA HA! Such unusual reaction from Ace & Sabo. Last, but not least, OP game app, Thousand Storm, will have a short campaign where you can now use Capt. Kuro & Jango as playable characters. Just earn enough points and you’ll get them for free. Also, the other game app, Treasure Cruise, is having a short campaign to celebrate the 100 million downloads from everyone. Oda-sensei was kind enough to draw Luffy to give thanks to all the fans. They’ll have short campaigns where you can earn loads of free points, get more free characters, and much more. Phew! I think we covered everything. Also, we like to remind that the crew and I will attend Jump Fest, but we won’t be able to stay for the Super Stage to see the Straw Hat voice actors as we have a flight to catch in the evening. Not to worry, our secret undercover nakama, Kinmaro, will be on the lookout for it. New Year is approaching and many surprises will be announced at the event. We’re done. Tune in next week for more news and a goods. Job well done, boys. Let’s call it a night. Also, check out the official YOUTUBE channel of OP. Oda-sensei drew an awesome head banner for it. Nighty-night!

[dailyrandomwriter]

Day 84

As I was cleaning out my freezer today, it occurred to me that the act of cleaning out a freezer or cupboard is like cleaning out your wardrobe. Especially if you’re not one to do it often, seeing what food you had stored gives a historic insight in the same way as seeing what clothes you wore years ago.

There was a full family size pot pie in that freezer that’s been in there for years because when my oven died, I replaced it with a toaster oven and an induction hot plate. 

I live alone, and have been working from home for over 2 years now, it’s more practical than a full oven. More energy efficient too.

There was also a package of soup dumplings, sticky rice dumplings and two mini custard buns. The custard buns I threw out, but I then spent 5 minutes checking my cupboards to see if I even had the equipment to steam the other two items with my current set up. The problem with a hot plate that uses magnets to work is that your pots and pans need to be magnetic as well. I did have the equipment needed to steam them (I think), and made a note to make a meal out of those two items.

I also found two more mini pot pies and a frozen dinner in the freezer. These items were all probably from a time when I cooked fair less. A large stove/oven takes a while to heat up, pre-heating is a thing. Between that and the fact I used to have to travel to a building somewhere to work I didn’t really like to cook. In fact I used to food prep, so I would limit the amount of times I had to cook and make sure I didn’t eat as many frozen dinners. It turned out the extra time to travel to and from work was tiring to me, even though I wasn’t the one driving.

This meant the more recent additions to my freezer, portioned out beef, pork, chicken and fish became more common. Far more common, especially with my parents helping out. It’s an Asian thing, showing love by giving food. My parents love me alot, and there’s a lot of pork in the fridge.

In fact my mom came by to tell me she got some pork loin on sale. Along with the frozen meatballs and the take out that will be tonight’s dinner.

All the pork was collected into two bags, one that was already sliced and one I would have to slice myself. A few packages were thrown into the upper drawer so I wouldn’t forget about them. I hummed as I tried to remember what I had in the cupboards. There’s shake and bake seasoning and curry in the cupboards.The thought of curry pork with zucchini pleases me and if I really want to treat myself I can add udon into that. That sounded like a good plan.

The last bits in the freezer that were kept but not thrown out were the sweets. An almost eaten jar of ice cream, two ice cream bars, a popsicle called a Melona Bar and leftover thin mint girl scout cookies. The latter had probably been in there for 2 plus years because I used to buy them off a co-worker every fall and I haven’t seen her in 2 plus years. Logically, I should throw everything but the jar of ice cream out, but I keep thinking I’ll eat it. I try not to eat as many sweets, because large amounts of sugar isn’t good for me.

I say this, but I know I want some sort of sugarly Halloween themed treat before the month is out. These things will probably sit in the freezer for longer I think. It's a reminder though not to buy the waffles I saw on sale in a flyer. 

Ah well, the freezer is now cleaned out and I can plan meals for the coming weeks.

[pinkletterday]

The Flash 5x4!!!

I am HYPED, you guys! FINALLY WE FIND OUT WHAT'S UP WITH MOMMA AND BABY.

Whatever it is Im going to deeply empathize with and love both of them.

Idk who this stupid af bitch is running straight into a blazing hail of fireballs and trying to take selfies but I hate her.

Iris. Iris. Baby. Hahahahaha Nora knows what a disaster her Mom is in the kitchen. I love you sfm Iris.

Hey Nora this version of your Mom just met you so hold back on the teenage sass, okay?

Ok this isnt funny anymore my heart is aching for Iris.

Young lady sit back down and eat that breakfast your Mom made for you.

"Make you a banana" lmaoooo this is why Barry does all the cooking. Gawd I love the domesticity.

I love that Iris can't cook. It just adds to her perfection. I guess I really am a fool in love, huh?

Oh God this guy. Shut up shut up shut up. Did this buffoon just call Cisco Ramon not brave???

I wish Ralph would take the lead here. That's right, I like Ralph now. This season is magic.

I would find this softball thing adorkable and hilarious if it wasn't for the fact that Barry is literally the Flash. It doesn't make a lick of sense. Would have been much more interesting if Barry had turned into a star athlete overnight and everyone just boggled.

Otoh it provides an interesting (read: hilarious) look at their dynamic growing up. Their different dorknesses cancel each other out.

I am irked. Why is the Flash a hopeless athlete? HE CATCHES KNIVES OUT OF THE AIR. How does he just switch off his co-ordination?

Kinda nice seeing all the ladies together like that though. Cecile is a gift.

NORA IS A GAY THIS IS NOT A DRILL WE HAVE A BABY QUEER IN THE HOUSE aaaaaand you are seriously trying my patience here. Be rude to your mother one more time. See how that goes.

Oooh Momma Bear is on the case! *hearteyes*

See, Baby Giraffe is already better at this than The Fraudulent Frenchie.

I hate to say it but based on that lumberjane chic I think we have another queer in the house. But this one we don't want.

Loool "like her size extra small". I hate to say it but thats a way better reason for her codename than "excess" ugh.

No it was different because she never knowingly put the people she was writing about in danger you asshat. God I wish you weren't so pretty.

Another black man wrongly accused. What up, America.

...Joe what. You guys. Jesse Martin looks bad. IS HE OKAY I AM SERIOUSLY CONCERNED.

Momma coaching Baby through speedster things! Because Barry taught her that one time she was a speedster. I can't handle this. My heart.

She FINALLY thanked her! Iris's smile.

My girls. I can't.

OMG SOMEONE REMEMBERS EARLY EDITION! I loved that show!

Also. Iris West, ace reporter, always better than fake hoes. Watch and learn, padawan.

Am sad we're not getting any Cisco Ramon. I hope Carlos is enjoying his mini-vacay. Otoh, I really like that Caitlin is included in the West-Allen circle this ep.

I wonder why Nora doesnt call Cait and Cisco Aunt and Uncle. They must be the godparents.

It's okay Ralph. Some leads don't pan out. If Shitloque was an actual detective he'd know that.

But I love that the heroes of Central City can walk around in public and interact freely. Oliver's team would need to break in and scare the bejesus out of some poor unsuspecting sod.

NORA IS A DISASTER LESBIAN CONFIRMED. Or probably a disaster bi like her Dad. I AM LOVIN' THIS.

THAT MOMENT WHEN THE PENNY DROPS FOR BARRY THAT HIS DAUGHTER IS A GAY LMAOOO

Fuck I love that Iris never even blinked when Nora said Spencer was cute. She probably sussed it way before. I love you Momma West-Allen.

Oh no oh no I was right. Iris pulled a Joe West. Goddamn it. I mean I get why, I get how traumatized and scared she must have been but IRIS NO YOU DON'T LIE TO YOUR CHILDREN TO PROTECT THEM. Remember how you felt when your Dad did that to you?

I am legit heartbroken, you guys. I really wanted to be wrong. I blame Joe West's goddamn patriarchal shitty parenting for perpetuating this cycle of lies.

I swear to God if this show tries to justify lying and manipulating your kid again I'm going to give up on it. It's triggering as all fuck (I still havent recovered from S1 and 2) and I need Iris to be held accountable when she fucks up, not let her turn into another Fefe who can do no wrong.

Jesus Christ Iris, trying to force a conversation with Nora by invading her privacy and ignoring her need for space is not okay. BOUNDARIES, girl.

Oh okay but she's holding herself accountable thank fuck. I mean, Barry's right she can't be blamed for what she might do in the future but IT'S STILL WRONG.

I was actually shaking. Friendly reminder that survivors of parental abuse and manipulation are also watching this show, some of us with CPTSD.

"What if my Dad did something like that to you"?? Er. Iris? Remember when he lied to you for twenty years about your mother being dead and you didn't talk to him for six months?

Oh here we go. You've stood there like a gormless beanpole for three episodes without so much as trying to intervene Barry and this is how you choose to comfort your wife. Not "yes, it's a bad thing and we can't know what led you to the choices future you made but in the here and now you know not to. We can learn from the future and make different choices, Iris."

PUNCH HIM IN THE THROAT, CAITLIN.

...I just meant for frightening Caitlin, but he actually wants to be punched?

Ooooh that was satisfying! Pretty sure her form was all wrong but can't argue with the results.

I love how fucking competent Iris is??? She knows how to use the entire STAR Labs tech arsenal. Although that Vibe device kinda defeats the whole purpose of breechers. It's like if they had a device lying around that could give just anyone super speed.

Not sure how Spencer thinks XS can kill Flash. One's a n00b and the other is veteran.

Wait, Baby Flash can do what now?

I don't like that they had to dumb Barry down so much to give Iris a chance to shine. A couple can both be competent at the same time! It's called being a power couple! Not one-half Idiot Ball couple!

So her phone got powers? Huh??

Ah yes. Dark Matter. More multi-purpose than Quantum.

Okay cool Ralph is getting his due. "Less right" LOL

"That puts meta-human powers in the hands of anyone" kinda like having a Breeching device, no?

We have meta-humans, meta-phones, meta-daggers (a tech dagger??) HOLY SHIT WHAT IF THE DARK MATTER HIT A HOME DEPOT?? How many people now have meta-vacuum cleaners? Meta-dishwashers?? Meta-can openers??

Oh God. No. Not this.

No. You do not lie and manipulate your kids to protect them. You do not do that. Love is no justification.

Don't Barry don't. Stop stop.

I can't watch this. FUCK YOU.

FOR GOD'S SAKE SHE'S CRYING AND SHAKING YOU ARE SUPPOSED TO COMFORT HER AND MAKE HER FEEL SAFE NOT STAND ON YOUR PILE OF BULLSHIT WITHOUT GIVING A FLYING FUCK.

No, cry all you want. I have no sympathy for either one of you callous asshats. You fucking destroyed that girl. Fuck Joe West for having raised you to think this way.

Yeah no Joe West is not who you want to go to in these matters, Nora.

I don't even care about Cicada anymore.

I should have known this show would never get any less gross.

Look, I was fully prepared to be sympathetic to Iris, traumatized, alone and single mother to a meta-child in a dangerous world to have made some bad decisions. And I do empathize. But I wasn't prepared for present-day Barry and Iris to justify and rationalize that shit. I thought they were going to say "That was a bad thing your Mom did. I'm sure she thought she was protecting you but she may have lost sight of how much it hurts to have your choices taken away from you. But I'm not that woman, Nora. I know I could never bear to see you hurting like this. I can still make better choices. Please give me a chance?"

Not "No I am your Mom and everything I do is right and good because I love you, I'm sorry if you feel hurt about it but them's the facts."

They did this when Barry and Joe lied to Iris all through S1, when Joe lied to Iris about her mother. This show is still all about apologia for lying and manipulation because LOVE AND GOOD INTENTIONS AND TO PROTECT YOU BY DISRESPECTING THE FUCK OUT OF YOU AND TAKING AWAY YOUR AGENCY.

Parental love is not a justification. Most abuse takes place at the hands of parents who really believe they're doing it for their children's protection. Please never say "your parents have every right to hurt you to protect you because they love you". Do you even care at all.

I'm not okay. Gonna take a break from fandom for a while. Can't deal with people taking Iris's side to protect their Westallen feels. Fuck both of them.

I'm posting this but please don't engage me to argue about it. Massively triggered.