#food fantasy crepe

[icewindandboringhorror]

More misc. daily life pictures and such

[yummyyumagines]

Opposites Attract (Headcanons for Crepe with a tough and intimidating MA/reader)

A/N: Since I still haven't gotten any requests yet, I'm just gonna write whatever comes to mind until I do. Mostly Crepe stuff because I'm biased.

● A fancy, arrogant, yet small young lady always seen by the side of someone who looks like they could kill? Yeah, a lot of people assume you to be Crepe's bodyguard. She denies it the first few times, but then starts to believe it's befitting of someone as important as her, and stops correcting people. Eventually, Crepe herself starts saying you're her bodyguard.

^ "It's not totally a lie, after all, you'd never let me get hurt! Plus, a lady of my stature surely deserves a bodyguard, don't you agree?" She'd say, and although her fan hid the lower half of her face, you could see the crinkle of her eyes as she smiled.

Before meeting you, she would sometimes get into fights with people over items on sale. Now she always has you tag along with her to stores in the hopes you'll intimidate other shoppers into backing off.

Honestly, she was just a teensy bit frightened of you early on and tried to keep a distance. As she got to know you, that wall broke down. She can't even imagine ever thinking that way about you nowadays.

^ "Heeheehee~ Master Attendant, you're not scary at all!" She'd gush with a bright smile, wrapping herself around your arm, "Those people all wary of you are just dummies! I've never felt safer than when I'm with you!" Instantly realizing her last sentence, she pulled away with a bright red filling her cheeks, stammering out a weak attempt at taking back those words. Good ol' Crepe...

She likes to make you wear cute ribbons and stuff from her wardrobe. The sight makes her giggle.

[xxsycamore]

Ok third one. I'm way too enthusiastic for this sorry💀

Napo + masturbation

what if i told you i have a fic about this in my drafts that is only written up to the actual masturbation part but i kind of scrapped it because i made him too lonely to the part where it looked sad just straight-up lonely and jorking it HAHAH i messed up the vibe and it needs reworking and i hate doing that ! but maybe someday.

Napoleon + masturbation

I'd say Napoleon isn't much of the regular jerking-off type. Although he listens and caters to his body's needs - he sleeps to his heart's content without much care, he cooks his own food whenever he feels like it, eats crepes to his heart's content, takes mind-clearing rides at any time he needs them. He's still getting used to having so much time for himself in his hands. He might find himself rushing to get done with his shower and have a sudden realization like wait, I can rub one out, I'm not hurrying for anywhere.

Would he take things slow and enjoy himself? Probably. I think he has those lazy moods where he'd be all in for edging himself and exploring sexual fantasies, but at the same time, he's also someone who can't sit still for longer periods of time. We know he finds quite a lot of activities to keep himself busy with, from helping with the chores at the mansion (tending to the stables too) to teaching kids at his and Isaac's école, to (probably daily) fencing exercises with Jean, to giving bodyguard gigs at balls. So I think he keeps the balance with being lazy in the mornings, claiming some time to appreciate this luxury that he now has. He's grumpy, being woken up by some resident who nudges his shoulder and then takes five steps back to shield themselves from his kissing habits. They shout something at him and leave, and Napoleon now has to fight the urge of going back to sleep, on his own.

A healthy young man such as him, it won't be surprising if his cock is awake long before sleep releases its grip on his mind... it makes him restless as he turns on his back, clicking his tongue at no one in particular, sleepy jade eyes opening to stare at the ceiling... soon his hand travels south to give his cock a firm tug, groaning at the contact. He releases his hold immediately though, letting it spring back against the skin of his belly. He's too sleepy to jerk off, too horny to go back to sleep. By the way yeah, I think he's in the habit of sleeping naked (there was one event story where MC entered his room while he was asleep and was all like "Why are you naked!" - maybe she refers to just his upper body though?) so it makes it easier for him to have a spontaneous morning jerking off. After a bit he turns on his side again, and the covers are grazing past his rock-hard cock juuust in the right way, so he rolls his hips lazily once, and then twice, and it suddenly becomes a real problem. So he says fuck it and pushes off the covers, loosely wrapping his fist around the head of his cock and fucking into it. He doesn't think of anyone in particular, just a nice warm mouth wrapped around his girth, cheeks hollowed out and tongue held out as he thrusts his hips into the willing warm and soft cavern. It's not long before he's cumming in his hand, letting out a satisfied moan and running the fingers of his other hand through his hair to move it out of his forehead, body temperature high and naked chest heaving. A nice cold shower is going to feel amazing for him afterward. The residents might think he becomes a different person once he's past his grumpy wake-up stage but they don't know the secret behind his content little smile.

He also jerks off after his sparring sessions, when the adrenaline is still racing in his blood and the hormones heighten his libido.

Reading erotica is not beyond him either, though he might have an issue with it being too far from what gets him going, with how modest yet dramatic it sounds. He'd enjoy pornographic material that is both deeply intimate and dirty at the same time.

So how does it change for him after he starts dating you? His sex drive is probably skyrocketing, and you can't be available to take care of his morning erections all the time so of course he still has to deal with it himself once in a while. It becomes more interesting now though, because the risk of someone re-entering his room because "are you STILL sleeping, Napoleon?" becomes a dangerously alluring chance of making you catch him, "accidentally". Though he's not without shame. If he expects you to walk on him, if he has that sort of control, it would be very turning-on for him. If he doesn't - if he's caught red-handed with a pair of your underwear or another item of yours... he's going to be embarrassed about it. Frowning, blushing, the sexy ridge of his eyebrows knit together when he's so obviously worked up by it, yet trying to be nonchalant... you should tease him about it. About not being able to wait until he has you later in the day or about being crazy for your scent, about how he must be wishing for your touch that would be able to get him off so, so much faster...

5/10 "Fine, I was touching myself to the thought of you. Are you just going to stand there and watch how hopeless I am? I didn't think you were so coldhearted. Come here... at least let me breathe the air around you. I'll be over with this before you know it, so... indulge me, won't you?"

-> (ALWAYS OPEN) send me a kink & I’ll give you a headcanon and rating for Napoleon!

🦶foot fetish 🥵breeding kink 🥕pregging 😈dom/sub 🍈breast kink ⛓bondage 🩸period kink 👄marking 🐺predator/prey 🏙public sex 🤗praise kink 👅 cunnilingus 🍌blowjobs (receiving) 🚪getting caught

[vidavalor]

I don't think that Aziraphale fell in love with Crowley during The Blitz. I think Aziraphale *realized for sure that he was capable of romantic love* during The Blitz... because Crowley had shown that he was. These are two different things...

This is a bit long... Controversial opinions below...

Aziraphale has always had a thing for Crowley, since the beginning or damn near it. We see evidence of liking his attention and enjoying talking with him in the Garden. We see joy at seeing Crowley and nervousness about getting his attention ("still a demon then?") in Ancient Rome. We see him absolutely *loving* having Crowley wrapped around his finger at the Globe Theatre and we see naked lust and damsel fantasies when he's checking him out in The Bastille. Having feelings for Crowley is not something that just suddenly happened during The Blitz, imo... they are fundamental to who Aziraphale has always been... but Aziraphale does not think himself a very good angel.

To Aziraphale, an angel is a being of love so why *wouldn't* he love Crowley? He loves *everyone*-- fallen or not, human or animal or etheral or supernatural. His *entire identity and only job* is built around love and spreading it. At some point, he began to realize that what he felt for Crowley was different than what he felt for others and, as his study of humanity progressed, he would note the things it seemed to be like. Aziraphale loves humanity to absolute bits and that includes all the fun things they've uncovered to get up to, from books to super gay gentleman's clubs to Parisian crepes. Aziraphale absolutely noticed that he's attracted to Crowley. He absolutely knew that the things he felt about Crowley were things that these humans were writing about in love songs, except that *it couldn't be, not really, because that would be wrong* because he's *not* a human.

He's an *angel*.

And Crowley is a fallen angel-- a *demon*.

They are beings who cannot feel these things of humans, not fully. Is this denial on Aziraphale's part? Oh, heavens, yes. Because what kind of angel would he be if, instead of just spreading love everywhere, he actually went and *fell* in love with, of all creatures, a *demon*? What kind of angel wants to roger said demon into next Tuesday? The same kind of angel who likes to indulge in pleasures in a way that is definitely not de rigueur in sanitized, open floor plan Heaven. Does *Crowley* care that Aziraphale eats too many sweets and loves the pleasures of a good book? Of course not but Crowley is a demon so he should be into indulgence. Aziraphale doesn't expect Crowley to understand that the things they share in common-- the love of music (if different types), of the stars, of words (books, plays), of food (Aziraphale eating it, Crowley watching Aziraphale eating it) and really just *humanity* as a whole--... these things make Crowley a perfectly fine demon but Aziraphale a very, very bad angel. While Crowley rather likes that Aziraphale is different from other angels, *Aziraphale* doesn't like that about himself all the time. This is why it takes until The Blitz for Aziraphale to let himself admit that the romantic love he feels for Crowley is, in fact, romantic love... he can't admit it until Crowley, through Crowley's own actions, shows him.

It happens during The Blitz because *Crowley* shows him that *demons* are capable of romantic love. Not only capable of it but really rather quite *good* at it, if they are of such a mind. Crowley's act of saving the books is what does it. Aziraphale knows that Crowley will always come to rescue him. The Bastille proves it. He not only knows it but he goes out of his way to set up scenarios for Crowley to come to his rescue. What sets The Blitz apart is Crowley saving Aziraphale's books. It is an act of such pure, unselfish, unconditional love that Aziraphale cannot see it as anything *but* that. Crowley has been bringing Aziraphale presents for millennia. He's rescued him more times than either of them can count. They've spent centuries in one another's company and performed literal miracles to make one another happy and safe and comfortable but the reason why it's the books during The Blitz that changes everything for Aziraphale is because everything else, if Aziraphale was of mine to, could be spun as Crowley being a demon and trying to keep Aziraphale close for his *own* reasons.

Aziraphale isn't really an idiot. He knows the wily ol' serpent feels the same way about him as he does about them. It's been centuries upon centuries. He's noticed Crowley's love and adoration and desperate, pining want-- he's just never *allowed himself to assume that these things aren't just demon-y traits*. He thinks Crowley *is just like this* lol. That everyone gets this version of Crowley. And since they barely interact with one another in front of other people lest they get caught fraternizing, there's not really anyone to ever argue against this point.

Ever notice how Aziraphale thinks Crowley is the smoothest, slickest tempter known to man? He's *Asmodeus* to Aziraphale. He's a seductive snake who lured all of humanity out of the garden. Aziraphale thinks himself just an angel (the one who failed at guarding said garden, mind you) and not an especially good one at that. Crowley is *tempting*... because he's temptation personified. (Demonified?) Aziraphale thinks he is *tempted* by Crowley because he is weak and a bad angel. To Aziraphale, Crowley isn't *capable* of things like romantic love because Aziraphale has been taught that all angels are just beings of pure love of God-- a kind of non-sexual, generalized love for all of God's creatures-- and Crowley is a fallen angel. Not only was he not capable of romantic love when he was an angel but he certainly couldn't be now that he's a *demon*, right?

But then Crowley saves the books. Oh, the books...

And the only reason he would is for Aziraphale. The books are old but there are other copies. It's not all the world's knowledge; it's just Aziraphale's favorites from his prophecy collection. Just his own, very human, very earthly, possessions, rescued from a fire by the romantic hero who has also come to rescue him. Just a little miracle of Crowley's own-- using his powers and risking the wrath of Hell to comfort Aziraphale and make him happy.

It's obviously not the first time Crowley has done so but it's the first time that Aziraphale has had *no other excuse* in his mind for why Crowley did what he did for Aziraphale. The Arrangement? Benefitted Crowley. Spending time with Aziraphale? Benefitted Crowley by keeping Aziraphale invested in The Arrangement. Flirting with him, bringing him little gifts? The Arrangement, The Arrangement, The Arrangement... But the books?

Crowley didn't have to do that. He had come to rescue him. The dashing hero kink was already fufilled for Aziraphale. But saving Aziraphale's beloved books and the soft "little miracle of my own" and "lift home" and Aziraphale realized that, Demonic Chief Seductress of Hell or not, Crowley was in love with him.

Not just fond of him. Not just flirting with him or bemused by Aziraphale's lust and indulging him. Not just friends, even.

In love with him.

Demons could fall in love.

And if demons could be in love, then angels...

The Blitz is also *way* different from the era circa The Bastille, when Aziraphale decided that maybe millennia of being flirted with by Asmoseus himself was too much for any one angel to withstand without actively indulging in a bit-- and their long history and everything up to that point confirming that Crowley was soft for him (FOR HIM, a terrible, little, nobody angel!) made him feel safe enough to play a bit more of a heavier hand... even if that, too, was a bit terrifying. When Crowley asked Aziraphale to lunch in the modern era in S1, telling him they could go anywhere Aziraphale wanted to go (a call back, we would learn, to the Soho car "I'll take you anywhere you want to go" scene), what does Aziraphale say?

He doesn't say London in the '40s. (Admittedly, who would want to be there then, romance with Crowley notwithstanding?) Nor any other time. He says:

"Paris. 1793." to which Crowley replies with a little knowing smile:

"Ah. The Reign of Terror."

Yeah, Crowley's not *just* referring to the actual, historical Reign of Terror here. He's referring to *Aziraphale's* reign of terror. *Their* reign of terror. Aziraphale's whole lusty arc, from crepes to "learning The Gavotte" here as he upped the ante on their relationship for the first time...

"Was that one yours or mine?" Crowley asks, putting Aziraphale a bit at ease after knowing that admitting to Paris 1793 was a bit of open honesty by telling him that Aziraphale wasn't the only one scared out of his mind then. (Was that bit of our history primarily my terror or your terror? is what Crowley's really asking. Which one of us was fucking it up then, do you remember?... Not that they don't remember. They both do. Crowley is trying to say that the fear isn't one-sided-- that Aziraphale isn't the only one for whom all of this has always been terrifying.)

Aziraphale says he can't remember (might not be true) but that it doesn't matter because "the crepes were lovely" and Crowley smiles.

Because Aziraphale is calling him lovely. Says their date was lovely and he was lovely. Crowley all like...

The reason why Aziraphale wants to go back to lunch on the post-Bastille date is not just the crepes (though they were really good but you cannot tell me that the French haven't gotten better at making them since the 1700s lol. I'm sure there's a better creperie he and Crowley could have lunched at in the modern era.) He wants to go back there because, in a way, as complicated as it felt, it was *simpler* because Aziraphale thought he understood what he and Crowley were then.

He thought Crowley was temptation personified and that he, Aziraphale, had finally gone full Eve and wanted to give in. He thought it was lust. A little bit of rescue kink. Eyes raking him over. the fun, daring game of playing at the seduction *of temptation itself*. The power of knowing that Hell's Seductress in Chief was weak *for him*. That's a sexy lunch. Those are some *damn good crepes* lol.

Finally, Aziraphale had it figured out, right? He was a being of love since he was an angel so he loved all beings and that included Crowley but not in the way the humans sing and write about, no, cannot be, because he's an angel... but... angels-- bad ones, like himself-- did appear to be open to temptation and Aziraphale has been on Earth since the beginning and struggles to define the difference between temptation and pleasure. Is moaning over this blueberry muffin sinful-- or is it marveling at the work of God's creatures? How could his favorite symphony not be of God? How could God have created sexual attraction between the humans and not made it holy? Still... none of that meant that having these human-like feelings *as an angel* made them okay. Angels were supposed to think like Gabriel. They weren't supposed to want to sully the celestial temple of their corporations with gross matter-- in any way, shape or form. So what did it say about Aziraphale *to* Aziraphale if he liked art and food and if he got all sorts of hot about how Crowley looked at him?

And then not that long after that (not that long for them) came the 1800s and Crowley wanting holy water, right? Aziraphale defaulted to the idea that Crowley's motivations *had* to be selfish on Crowley's part. He was a demon so they *had* to be. It couldn't be about protecting the two of them. Holy water could kill Crowley-- it could kill other demons. Crowley's request was a subtle suggestion that *he might be willing to kill other demons to protect Aziraphale, an angel* and that went against *everything* Aziraphale knew to be true and he completely panicked. He made it entirely about Crowley's own, occasional, suicidal ideations (which do exist) and ignored the other potential reasons because it was too much for him to admit that Crowley's hurt-- his loneliness, his terror-- might be because Aziraphale had gotten this all very, very wrong. He might have just spent the last few decades leading Crowley on, thinking that the fraterization was what the demon would want, not thinking that anything more was possible. Because it *couldn't* be possible for Crowley to feel those things *because then Aziraphale would be capable of them, too*. So long as Aziraphale pretends that Crowley the Fallen Angel is incapable of more than mischief and self-serving arrangements and demonic lust, then Aziraphale can remain comforted in his feelings that he isn't capable of feeling not *angelic, generalized* love but *romantic, very much unplatonic* love for *his hereditary enemy*. A *human* would have been easier for Aziraphale to understand and maybe even solicit more sympathy should anyone find out but *Crowley*?

It would mean he wasn't just a bad angel, by Heaven's standards.

It would mean he doesn't know what an angel *truly is*.

When Crowley shows Aziraphale during The Blitz that he loves him-- that he's *in* love with him-- that every longing look was just that, that every spark of desperate lust in his yellow eyes was just that, that demons are fallen angels and angels can feel these human things and that that's what they are feeling-- these human things-- Aziraphale doesn't fall in love.

He was already in love.

He allows himself, for the first moment in their history, to *be* in love with Crowley, even if it's existed the whole time.

But...

By Soho in the '60s, he and Crowley both know. They know the other knows how they feel. Crowley, back in the '40s, thought Aziraphale was more ready than he was after the whole Reign of Terror through the Holy Water Incident. He thought he just had to show Aziraphale that how he felt was pure and true and he did do that. It's just that it completely upended everything Aziraphale thought he knew about himself and his place in the universe and challenged everything he had ever known or been taught. He needed time to work through that. He asked Crowley for time. He brought him the holy water-- in that cute little tartan Thermos-- to say he understood.

You're mine, see, and I'm yours. I'm just not ready for this. And I'm not sure if I ever *should* be ready for it... is the general attitude he conveys.

He didn't give up on the idea of him and Crowley and that is really beautiful when you consider that the no-longer-deniable truth of it basically was killing Aziraphale, as it made him feel like he failed at the only thing he was ever supposed to be, which means he failed at his whole purpose in life.

Maybe one day we could go for a picnic... or dine at the Ritz.

It's still a pipe dream for Aziraphale in the '60s. These are very romantic things he wants to do with Crowley. These are dates they could go on. This isn't just lust and it's not just friendship anymore. He knows Crowley's in love with him. Aziraphale has never denied having feelings of his own in return but he might never have said them more directly than with his little tartan Thermos and his daydream date ideas. The general vibe is I wish we could have this but I don't really see how and you wanting to just try it scares me. What if I fall? What if it turns out that everything I know isn't true?

It already was untrue and Aziraphale knew it. In a way, in the future, he'd tell Crowley he wanted to go back to 1793 Paris for that crepe date and start it all over again. They had 11 years-- nothing, to them-- until the end of the world. He's telling Crowley they shouldn't work together to stop it-- It's ineffable! It's God's plan! I've already interfered enough being an angel who is hopelessly lusting after and madly in love with bloody Asmodeus! If you think I'm stopping Armageddon so I can keep drinking wine and hanging out in my bookstore with you, you're mad!...

...but he's also saying to Crowley at the same time...

...I now know we are almost out of time and I regret thinking I would have countless more millennia with you to work this out. I wish we could go back and try again. I wish I had known what it was like to be with you before it was all over.

To which Crowley responds by taking him to the damn Ritz lol. (Twice, by S1's end.)

As if he's saying: can't time travel to 1793, Angel, but we can definintely make the most of every moment left.

After which... Aziraphale invites him back for Chateauneuf-de-Pape, in a situation we think might connect to S2's post-Blitz scene, based on the trailer. Just as Aziraphale is saying to Crowley that he wishes he had done things differently and Crowley gives him the opportunity to do things differently going forward by dining with him at the Ritz, it goes back to the Blitz as they walk to the bookstore, because it always will...

...because that is the first moment Aziraphale admitted he was in love because it was the first moment he truly knew that Crowley was in love with him and that the things they both felt are, in fact, romantic love.

[fang-and-feather]

Ikemen Vampire - Jean x Napoleon x Sebastian x Reader x Arthur

Relationship Chart

Wrods: 499

Summary: Napoleon is confused with the four consecutive days one of his partners woke him up too early for no reason at all, or things they had no reason to do this early

Written for Napoleon's Birthday Bullying Party by @xxsycamore with prompt Wake him up early for no reason (mostly)

I didn't mean to post this without finishing the actual post. It's better now, with proper tags

I will post the other parts tomorrow. I wanted to have posted this one before midnight since it happens before his birthday but even with my mistake I was late 😅

Next Part / IkeVamp Masterlist / General Masterlist / AO3 Link

Napoleon’s habit of kissing whoever tried to wake him turned from something that bothered most of the residents to a sweet romantic moment between him and one of his lovers every afternoon.

Not so much at this time of the day.

The first day Napoleon found himself woken up earlier, it was by you. You pulled away from the kiss, a little flustered but with a huge grin. Napoleon caught sight of the watch on your wrist and sighed upon noticing the time.

“What do you need this early in the morning, Nunuche?”

“Oh, it’s just that your birthday is in four days. I’m trying a new crepe recipe and need someone to try it, and Sebastian has the day off with his other partners.”

Napoleon found it strange you didn’t try to make a surprise out of it, but maybe you making his favorite food for his birthday wouldn’t be surprising, anyway.

At least you had an offering of food for waking him up.

He thought nothing suspicious of it. The same couldn’t be said of the second day.

The next person to wake him way too early was Jean, who looked quite troubled, so Napoleon asked what happened without complaint.

“Mademoiselle asked me to wake you. She seems to have a problem I cannot help with.”

Napoleon sighed but nodded, ready to get up, when you showed at the door.

“Oh, you’re here already? I was going to tell you I found Leonardo, and he helped me.” You turned to Napoleon. “Sorry.”

But as you left, he caught sight of the smirk on your lips.

What were you up to?

“Do you have anything important this morning?” He turned back to Jean.

“No.”

Napoleon scooted back on the bed and pulled Jean along, who didn’t resist.

“Then I guess we can stay in for a little longer.”

On the third day, it was Akihiko, with a seemingly valid reason.

“You never do laundry this early.” Napoleon complained with a yawn.

“The weather has been bad since yesterday and we agreed it was best to do this before it rains. I apologize for waking you up.“

We. Napoleon knew who had suggested it. He let out a resigned sigh, kissed his boyfriend, and tried to get back to sleep on the bare bed when he left.

And then the day before his birthday, Napoleon was surprised to find himself kissing Arthur, since the two of them had an undefined relationship that started with Napoleon giving in to one of your fantasies.

Napoleon groaned.

“What is it?”

“Our little bird was worried when you went to sleep too early and asked me to check on you.” But this was exactly why Napoleon went to bed earlier. “Do you need a check-up, old boy?”

“No.”

Napoleon fell back on the bed and closed his eyes with a frown and a groan. He shouldn’t have challenged you to surprise him. He feared what you had up your sleeve for his birthday.

Tag List:

@tele86, @nightghoul381, @natimiles, @bicayaya

@eventinelysplayground, @queengiuliettafirstlady

@kissmetwicekissmedeadly, @polyamships

If you want to be tagged/untagged on future writings, you can reply to this post or send me a message

IkeVamp Masterlist / General Masterlist

[goneahead]

I got tagged by @demeter1111 back when wattieza forests were still a thing. sorry for being a disorganized noodle!

15 questions and 15 mutuals:

Were you named after anyone? When was the last time you cried? Do you have kids? Do you use sarcasm a lot? What's the first thing you notice about people? What's your eye colorScary movies or happy endings? Any special talents? Where were you born? What are your hobbies? Have any pets? What sports do you play/have played? How tall are you? Favorite subiect in school? Dream job?

KNIGHTS! NEW QUESTIONS! (obligatory obscure Monty Python reference)

What famous person, alive or dead, would you want beside you during a zombie apocalypse?

Hanibal of Carthage. He is super smart, a great fighter—and he comes with elephants. Lets be honest, elephants would be super cool in a zombie apocalypse. Especially zombie ones😁

If they made a movie about you, what would your theme song be?

since I’m a nomad, The Great Divide by National Park Radio😉

Which muppet character would you be willing to go on a date with?

Gonzo—as long as Gonzo sets up the date. Cuz you know Gonzo would set up a wild date😆

What is the weirdest thing you have ever eaten?

I was served whale blubber at a party once. Do NOT recommend🤢

What is the weirdest thing you still eat?

I really love peanut butter on my crepes😋

You can have any extinct or fantasy animal as a pet. What would you choose?

The enormous pteradactyl, Quetzalcoatlus. With a handy riding harness. And maybe some water ballons…😏

List a very boring fact about yourself.

I am an American mutt. My parents were from very different parts of the country, but all four of my grandparents came from families that settled in the U.S. in the timespan 1630–1730.

You are granted a wish to have any food you want—but the catch is you will have to eat it twice a day for the rest of your life. What do you choose?

**ponders** popcorn or freshly baked cookies or popcorn or freshly baked cookies or popcorn or—

You can choose any singer or band to play at your funeral. Who do you pick?

Nat King Cole. Everyone can roll up the rugs, and dance the night away!

What line of poetry or doggerel is forever stuck in your brain?

Charge of the Light Brigade: “Into the jaws of Death, into the mouth of hell/Rode the six hundred.” I used to quote this at work, usually when we were getting overrun. For some reason, my bosses were never amused. Then again. they also didnt appreciate it when I would tell them ‘I would like to inform you that the barbarians are at the gates.”😂😂😂

You can bring back an item of clothing that has fallen out of style. What would it be?

We really need to bring back the clothing of the Han Chinese. Imagine if we could all walk around in loose, flowing comfortable clothes. Also, wearing hanfu means long flowing belts—which means we could turn all the cool stuff we currently put on our key chains into belt decorations. With tassles. Cuz modern clothing haz a serious lack of tassles. Just saying…

You are granted the gift of being a were creature. What animal would you choose to change into?

Definitely were-otter. Much scampering, much floating—and lots of fish. Also, I wouldnt have to worry about villagers and pitchforks, cuz seriously, who is gonna be scared of a were-otter?

What is the most useless fact you know?

The last person to collect a Civil War pension was Irene Triplett. She passed away in 2020. Also, in 1916 the U.S. Postal Service changed the rules, and you can no longer mail more than 200 pounds/90 kilos in a single day. Why? Some guy was building a bank in Utah and realized he could save on freight charges by just having the bricks mailed. Yes, ALL of the bricks😂😂😂

You are going to be locked, all alone, in a place for 24 hours. Which place do you choose?

Um, tie. The Jacques Marchais Museum of Tibetan Art or the Gilcrease Museum😍

What is the superpower you want and whats the superpower you DONT want?

Best superpower? Making quarters appear wherever I want. No, seriously. Think about how much fun you could have, in a super sneaky way. College kid walks by—put a few extra quarters in their pocket. Seniors sitting on a park bench—now there are handfuls of quarters in the bottom of their purses. Tip jar at the coffee shop—add another layer of quarters. Also easiest superhero name ever. Just stick a pencil behind your ear and call yourself ‘Drawn and Quartered’🤣🤣🤣

The worst superpower? Anything to do with ice and snow. Nope nope nope!

ok tagging @distilled-prose @cowandcalf @teruel-a-witch @ellena-asg @wordrummager @torrentialmonsoon @sherrylephotography @ends-2-beginnings @itwoodbeprefect @alex-a-roman @mikefrawley @firstfullmoon @gracebriarwoodwrites @maureen2musings @stephmcx and cuz I changed the questions @demeter1111 also tagging @neil-gaiman cuz I know he wont answer, but I am super curious about his answer to question one😂😂😂

[chromaji]

Highly disorganized but whenever i try to involve food in an EO fic i always start breaking down what exactly can be served while taking the timeline into account like FUCK, the timeline is post-apocalyptic so all kinds of shit existed but got wiped out and is slowly getting reinvented.

but according to one of these EO1U mangas, burgers hadn’t been rediscovered. & Frederika had to teach her guild what they were. There are sites that say burgers werent invented until the late 1800’s, but others say they really started as concepts as early as the 1100’s.

HOWEVER, according to an informative portrait commonly know as “Medic 2”, but oftentimes nicknamed as Mediko, candy bars also exist in the EO world which are also said to have been created in the 1800s. So maybe we’re cooking in the late 1800s equivalent.

but also Regina seems to have revived some of the more “modern” dishes (or just food you dont expect in a fantasy rpg unless it’s food-focused) with apicius’ recipes by using monster parts & ingredients grown in the labyrinth, so anything past eo2 is a sort of “you could probably translate any modern food into EO, as long as it’s made from labyrinth monsters/ingredients”. So maybe you cant say “burger” but you can say “war bison rye sandwich”. But ignoring EO2U for a second, according my brief research session I have learned that:

Crepes and burgers are, to my great joy, NOT out of the question for etrian odyssey characters to order from a shop. Restaurants in particular seemingly came around in the mid-to-late 1800s.

philly cheesesteaks are, to my great despair, out of the question as we know them, as those did not come to be until the mid 1900s. However, there is surely a combination of monsters & labyrinth ingredients that will achieve something similar before its time.

This was already known but, unfortunately, EO characters really cannot walk into a joint and say “I’LL HAVE TWO NUMBER 9s, A NUMBER 9 LARGE, A NUMBER 6 WITH EXTRA DIP, A NUMBER 7, TWO NUMBER 45s, ONE WITH CHEESE, AND A LARGE SODA”

unrelated to food but i always wondered what I was cooking when giving napier a cash register in OtL but now i’ve learned they existed in the late 1800s too.

[sofyarostova]

thanks for the tag @mr-saavik :D

last song: after midnight by chappell roan

favourite colour: if i have to choose, orange

currently watching: currently i'm keeping up with d20 fantasy high! i want to rewatch some older seasons (crown of candy my beloved) but first need to find something to do while i watch

sweet/spicy/savoury: sweet! one of my favourite dinner foods is pannenkoeken (inbetween pancakes and crepes)

relationship status: single. however, in the last week i have been asked whether i was in a relationship with a specific person two times, about two people. the consequences of being a flirty drunk i guess

current obsession: a song of ice and fire, as you might have noticed

last thing you searched: telegraphy! i read about it in my modern history textbook an was curious as to how it works. now i realise i closed the wikipedia page before actually reading how it works...

i'm tagging @milfbro @iwillstealyourpotatoes @strrenmeisje @emt00 @goodiebluebox

[captaindibbzy]

So I am making various notes of the food in this book, and I thought you might like to know the Vinti breakfast they have. (Fantasy France)

Breakfast included:

Thick crusted bread, butter, eight kinds of jam, eggs and hollandaise sauce, duck confit, cured means, two varieties of quiche, a selection of pastries, cream tarts topped with fruit, a large puffy pancake with spiced pears, crepes folded in to quaters, coffee, tea, and fresh juice.

All they can do is lie on the floor and groan cause they're so full. There is still food on the table.

[poupeesdecirque]

Wolfscon 2023

Another little Travel Blog... well.. "travel".. it was a local con for once.

I just learned about the Con last monday and decided to attend it. It was held in a mall in one of the bigger cities in my area, completely for free.

Wolfscon - 30th September 2023

Weirdly enough the day started with me dressing up at home, I had time to do the make up and all as I wasn't even driving. I asked Mom to come with me as she loves to stroll around and well I just dislike to drive with wig/make up and therefore she helped out.

After a short driving time we arrived in Wolfsburg. The big thing was: there was a football game happening and Oktoberfest in the city and I was a bit anxious if things would clash. But gladly we exactly left as the match was over later on and the Oktoberfest was busy in the evening but still okay as we went a bit into the city. phew.

The main stage was placed in the basement of the mall, you had some different events happening there like an interview with voice actors, bands playing, a quiz, the cosplay contest etc.

Then you had two little artist/merchandise isles a level up with different vendors. There was regular merch from comic shops, Manga, but also artists with their own products, it varied a lot from anime/manga heavy to fantasy jewerly, to pins, cosplay props, art prints, cosplay prints and more.

Then you had some booths were you could take photos in front of backdrops and some artists advertising their work (like huge Transformer Costumes), there were some Marvel Hero Impersonators walking through the mall, you could get photos with them.

I think it was pretty nice and a good variety of different franchises for a wide audience. For me personally it was little to buy but my anime/manga interests are super niche therefore I don't take my interests as standard.

While Mom bought something for her step-niece I had a very lively talk with one of the artist who was at the Connichi as well about how the first one in Wiesbaden was and we agreed a lot need to be adjusted and she told me that she wasn't even aware of some points, but also told me that the Connichi Management is aware of some issues like the Matsuri being lovelessy arranged.

Another thing here is that she got told to not complain about the food options at the Matsuri because there was soup sold in the congress centre as well and .. uhm... as artist/vendor .. you weren't able to go into the city to eat and that's just a terrible way to deal with feedback. Please organize better food for the people working at your Convention, thank you.

Anyways she even offered me to help at her booth for the future as I have some expierence from the past but I had to decline. It was a super lovely exchange though.

We decided to leave the mall then to check out the Oktoberfest (we were getting hungry).

And they had a ferris wheel... those who know me is that I suffer from acrophobia, but to the extent that I get nauseous when it's really bad, everything starts to spin then but ... oof... it was tempting.

I decided to gather all my courage and go for a ride. I was nervous but was able to manage better than I thought, to my own surprise!

... and as I had no lunch prior we had to fetch some food. Allen without food is not Allen, right? Went for a crepe with kinder schokolade, my favorite combination.

After going through the vendors again I saw someone with a Starbucks cup and Starbucks is ... like I rarely went there (to be honest twice, and the first time was bc someone else wanted something) as we don't have one where I live. I decided I want to try the pumpkin spice latte.

As we left the mall I was actually recognized as Allen! That made me so happy. Thank you <3 I hope we get in touch, especially with the fact you have a Kanda Cosplay in store, it was really nice to meet you.

Back to the Latte... I had one but I decided it's the last I want. i went without cream because I wanted to know how it tastes like but as someone who doesn't like coffee.. well... I'm a bit sad they don't offer the Pumpkin CHAI Latte T_T I am sure I would have loved that one.

After a little shopping trip we went back to the mall and - not without our favorite snack: soft serve ice cream :'D

Gladly we left as the football match was over as the team won and everybody was just hyped about it and the city was getting super full!

I have to say it was a nice afternoon and truly fun to have a local con. I was pretty beat still, but this has different reasons like the fact I ... am now wearing glasses and it was the first day without them again and the city being super full and me eating really late (again ..) didn't help much.

It's still running today, if you are in the area I can tell you can pay it a visit, it's fun!

My little haul and the free entrance ribbon you were able to get.

Wolfsburg is kinda adorable with their Wolfs-Theme over and over.

[wintrhaven]

𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐑𝐀𝐂𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐐𝐔𝐄𝐒𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍 𝐒𝐇𝐄𝐄𝐓 .  

▌ 𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐋 𝐍𝐀𝐌𝐄: Lyon Célian Vastia

▌ 𝐀𝐆𝐄: 28 years old ( x793 )

▌ 𝐒𝐈𝐍𝐆𝐋𝐄 𝐎𝐑 𝐓𝐀𝐊𝐄𝐍: That’s Complicated

▌ 𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐑 𝐒𝐈𝐆𝐍𝐒: Capricorn Sun / Capricorn Moon / Scorpio Rising

▌ 𝐀𝐁𝐈𝐋𝐈𝐓𝐈𝐄𝐒 / 𝐏𝐎𝐖𝐄𝐑𝐒: Ice Make Magic, Snow Magic, Expert Hand to Hand Combatant

▌ 𝐄𝐘𝐄 𝐂𝐎𝐋𝐎𝐑: Cornflower Blue

▌ 𝐇𝐀𝐈𝐑 𝐂𝐎𝐋𝐎𝐑: White with the lightest tinge of silver to it. 

▌ 𝐅𝐀𝐌𝐈𝐋𝐘 𝐌𝐄𝐌𝐁𝐄𝐑𝐒: Quain Vastia ( Father / Deceased ), Coralie Holland ( Mother ), Ember Vastia ( Aunt, Paternal Side )

▌ 𝐏𝐄𝐓𝐒: Adele, she’s a fluffy long haired white cat that loves lazing about. Acts like she’s queen of the loft. Miel, a small tuxedo kitten whose only a few months old. Sweet as honey but a demon in the mornings when he demands food. 

▌ 𝐒𝐎𝐌𝐄𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐘 𝐃𝐎𝐍'𝐓 𝐋𝐈𝐊𝐄: Talking about his feelings, Hot Weather, Burning his tongue on a hot drink, People who refuse to give space, Being sick, Bad hair days

▌ 𝐇𝐎𝐁𝐁𝐈𝐄𝐒 / 𝐀𝐂𝐓𝐈𝐕𝐈𝐓𝐈𝐄𝐒: People watching, painting, drawing, piano playing, reading ( poetry, fantasy novels, historical books ), pottery.

▌ 𝐄𝐕𝐄𝐑 𝐊𝐈𝐋𝐋𝐄𝐃 𝐀𝐍𝐘𝐎𝐍𝐄 𝐁𝐄𝐅𝐎𝐑𝐄: No

▌ 𝐀𝐍𝐈𝐌𝐀𝐋 𝐓𝐇𝐀𝐓 𝐑𝐄𝐏𝐑𝐄𝐒𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐒 𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐌: Fox

▌ 𝐖𝐎𝐑𝐒𝐓 𝐇𝐀𝐁𝐈𝐓𝐒: Perfectionist at heart, Self - Critical at times, picking at his lips or fingernails when anxious / nervous. Holding himself to a high standard that won’t always be reached

▌ 𝐑𝐎𝐋𝐄 𝐌𝐎𝐃𝐄𝐋𝐒: Jura Neekis, Ember Vastia

▌ 𝐒𝐄𝐗𝐔𝐀𝐋 𝐎𝐑𝐈𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍: Bisexual / Demiromantic

▌ 𝐓𝐇𝐎𝐔𝐆𝐇𝐓𝐒 𝐎𝐍 𝐌𝐀𝐑𝐑𝐈𝐀𝐆𝐄   /   𝐊𝐈𝐃𝐒: It’s not a concept that Lyon has gone & thought on much. Most of his life has been centered on magic, being a mage & attaining greater skills. If he did think about it, it’d be something that would make him split 50/50 down the middle. Marrying someone sounds like a great thing, having kids but at the same time it’s a big commitment which is in his mind a bit more on the scary side. 

▌ 𝐅𝐄𝐀𝐑𝐒: Not being enough or good enough, Intimate & Emotional commitment, the day he actually burns out

▌ 𝐒𝐓𝐘𝐋𝐄 𝐏𝐑𝐄𝐅𝐄𝐑𝐄𝐍𝐂𝐄𝐒: No shirt at all. Comfortable but stylish clothes. Fur lined jackets, & capes. Never forget the fur lined. Slim fitting sweaters. Collared long sleeve shirts. Lyon likes his clothes to have a bit of a dramatic flair to it as well sometimes. Vests ( 2 ) for special occasions. He’ll wear shirts that have frills.

▌ 𝐒𝐎𝐌𝐄𝐎𝐍𝐄 𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐘 𝐋𝐎𝐕𝐄: A handful of his fellow Lamia Scale mages, Gray Fullbuster, Ur, Ultear, His father

▌ 𝐀𝐏𝐏𝐑𝐎𝐀𝐂𝐇 𝐓𝐎 𝐅𝐑𝐈𝐄𝐍𝐃𝐒𝐇𝐈𝐏𝐒: What’s that concept. If he knows a common interest that he & the other person may have then usually he’ll start off with that. EX: seeing people at art museums, cafes. Making a gesture or remark to start things off. Lyon doesn’t usually approach people first though, that really depends on the situation. 

▌ 𝐅𝐀𝐕𝐎𝐑𝐈𝐓𝐄 𝐃𝐑𝐈𝐍𝐊: Red Sangria, Lyon makes his own sangria drink that he’ll bring to parties or special occasions. Mint Mojito’s. Iced Tea. Latte, tends to his his magic to make it cold as Lyon feels ice dilutes the drink itself.

▌ 𝐅𝐀𝐕𝐎𝐑𝐈𝐓𝐄 𝐏𝐋𝐀𝐂𝐄 𝐓𝐎 𝐒𝐏𝐄𝐍𝐃 𝐓𝐈𝐌𝐄 𝐀𝐓: Aroma Mocha & Creme de la Crepe. 2 of his favorite cafes in Zinnea that are near to his place.

▌ 𝐒𝐖𝐈𝐌 𝐈𝐍 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐋𝐀𝐊𝐄 𝐎𝐑 𝐈𝐍 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐎𝐂𝐄𝐀𝐍: Lyon’s more of a hiking & walking person then a swimmer but if he had to make a choice then it’d be swimming in the lake.

▌ 𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐈𝐑 𝐓𝐘𝐏𝐄: Intelligent, witty, compassionate, patient, artistic or animal lover. Are some of the qualities he’d look for in a person but overall it comes down to whether he & the other person can do well together. Lyon looks more at a persons personality, their vibe and values.

▌ 𝐂𝐀𝐌𝐏𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐎𝐑 𝐈𝐍𝐃𝐎𝐎𝐑𝐒: Both. He has an equal love for both but it really depends on what he feels at the moment. Sometimes he just wants to spend time indoors but other times his heart sings to be in the outdoors. This is a things he’ll usually decide between when it comes to his jobs as well but that also depends on the job itself.

[mistysharks]

get to know me tag meme

tagged by @hilarychuff !

rules: tag (8-10) people who you want to get to know better. (but i wont beacuse Im a rebel shh)

relationship status: coming up for 10 months married to a straight cis man can you believe (he lets me yell at him about how hard it is to write smut though so we don't hold that against him)

favorite color: really really varies but I've been in a soft pink mood lately

three favorite foods: Chinese hot pot from a place that's gotten waay too popular lately (I have to book like a week in advance! wtf!), vegan Pho and crepes at the moment! Any kind of veggie pie/tart has my heart for homecooked stuff tho

top 3 tv shows: oh that's hard i don't watch that much at the moment! Hmm.... well stranger things duh, Sense8 made me cry but in a good way and Orphan black is my all time favourite for sure!

top 3 characters:..look, sometimes you see a sweaty metalhead from the eighties and cant decide if you want to be him or fuck him and thats ok. So yeah, Eddie Munson followed closely by Wei Ying (the untamed) because goth gremlins from ancient fantasy china are also good and... Jaskier from the witcher. Because i'm also a fan of pathetic men lol (this list needs more women?? Honourable mentions to: Cosima(orphan black) Chrissy(ST), and Byleth(FE3)

what i’m currently reading: look I am a shame to my family of bibliophiles but I'm too busy reading fanfiction and last time i tried to read YA it was REAL BAD Last books I really enjoyed were Legends and Lattes and Iron Widow though

song stuck in my head: BUT ITS NOT REAL!! AND YOU DON'T EXIST!!! AND I CAN'T RECALL THE LAST TIME I WAS KISSED (cielings - Lizzy McAlphine I blame tiktok but also the song is great?)

last movie watched: God I've not watched a movie in ages apparently?? I think its still my neighbour totoro from like a month ago. I started watching the Kdrama Love to hate you on netflix though which is absolutely unhinged but very fun so far

last thing i googled: apparently its just "Valentines day" and I have no memory of this

last song i listened to was: Perfect for you by peach PRC

dream trip: I mean Iceland would be amazing, but I'm finally visiting Orkney and the Shetlands this year and I am EXCITED. Also I would love to go back to Venice one day and not be high on flu medicine pls thanks

time: 11:30 - enjoying my day off even though it did start with me having to get up at 8 for the shower repair man :(

anything i really want right now: a delicious free lunch that i don't have to make myself lol

tagging: Whoever sees this? Youre it now sorry thems the rules that I just made up

[captaingondolin]

tagged by @madluluwriting! less than a month a go, truly a quick response for my standards

first ship: chronologically... Luke Skywalker/me when I was a lil babey? more seriously... House/Cuddy and House/Wilson (House MD), Clark/Lex (Smallville), Alexander/Hephaestion (specifically from the Mary Renault books), all around middle school age. For the life of me, I can’t remember when exactly I read Revenge of the Sith and was punched in the face by obikin feels, might have been the same time or a smidge later.

three ships: three random ships? Cassian Andor/K-2S0 just because I was thinking about them, Thrawn/Padmé because I dug up my fic about them and Codywan because, well, I am never not thinking about them

last song: something by Avenged Sevenfold, I found a playlist of 00s metal classics and I’m having a grand old time re-discovering old faves 

last movie: actually watched: Knives Out: Glass Onion. was in the room during: Vampire Academy (oh, I love it, I’d just seen it before and was studying. trying.)

currently reading: Autobiography of Red by Anne Carson in audio format. it’s short and I’m halfway through, but I’m having too many emotions and now I’m stuck. and a whole stack of started books, including The Prophet by Gibran, a YA queer fantasy with pirates I can’t even remember the title of, a book on writing, The Kingdom of Back, The Witcher short stories, a book about the Imperial cult for study... (this number is disproportionate to the amount of time I actually spend reading, which is not a lot)

currently consuming: do you mean food or media, lol. food: right now nothing, but I just had a very nice chocolate crepe. media: a fave podcast, You’re Dead to Me, just picked up again! I’m also watching the new Bungou Stray Dogs (Fukuzawa is being both a dad and a daddy. I shall add him to my fine collection with Mando and Geralt)

currently craving: some pasta maybe? I’m both hungry and tired, it’s a deadly mix. and a hot mug of some floral bullshit or jasmine tea, but I have neither. tragic. but mostly I’m craving NOT FREEZING. which will hopefully be around next week?

[glitterandmoondustofficial]

Side To Side

Chapter 237: So, what now?

Characters: Ruby Rating: Teen Warnings: Language, non-graphic violence Notes: ;-; I am so sorry that this is as late as it is. I have been crazy busy and crazy stressed because of work. The updates should be more frequent now that most of my stressors aren't as bad as before. We'll see in near future because work will be going through some major changes. In any case, I hope you all enjoy this chapter and continue to love Ruby!

~~~~~~

Ruby woke up slowly. 

She reached across the bed, fishing around for Law. Her brows furrowed and she opened her eyes. She sighed. That’s right. She wasn’t on the Tang. She was in Musnia, on her way to Dressrosa. 

She groaned and laid on her back. She stared up at the ceiling, her mind going blank as it sunk in how lonely she was. She just stared at the ceiling, completely thoughtless, sinking into dissociation. 

She took in a breath and smelled cooked sausage from below. She blinked, the smell of food snapping her out of her misery. 

She sat up, the blankets falling off her bare chest and pooling into her lap. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She slapped her cheeks before getting out of bed. She walked to the bathroom to get ready for the day. Brushing her teeth, brushing her hair, washing her face, all things she needed to do everyday to keep herself sane. 

After she had put on clothes and absolutely after she made sure everything was safe and locked away in her room, she walked downstairs to breakfast. Her ponytail swayed from side to side as she walked with purpose.

Her purpose being food, of course. 

She sat down at the bar and ordered food. She looked around, watching the workers buzz around the room. They were preparing for the breakfast crowd and cleaning up the remnants of the fun from the previous night. Ruby smiled tiredly at them.

Her food arrived and she dug in. She made sure to get three sausage links based on the amazing smell from the kitchen. She ate a silent breakfast, not wanting to bother the workers nor wanting to actually talk to anyone knowing what she’s going to get into these upcoming days.

Ruby almost fell into her eggs when she thought about the mess she got into. How could she agree to such a thing? When had she become so soft that she was willingly helping people instead of ignoring the problem and keeping to herself?

She sighed and finished her meal. It was still morning and she didn’t meet up with Tas and Hanzi until around noon. She could either go back up to her room to read or she could walk around town. She couldn’t really shop, but she could find a park or maybe some crepes or something. She really didn’t want to be cooped up all day in her room like she was on the ship. 

She paid for breakfast and made her way out of the inn, greeting the man with the pink mustache. She walked towards downtown. She passed by many shops that she would’ve loved to go into had she just been visiting the island with the Heart Pirates. Plenty of clothing shops that she would’ve brought Ikkaku to. Bakeries that she would drag Law to and make him buy her tiny cakes. She sighed. She wondered if she had arrived with the Heart Pirates if they would get involved with the island’s problems. 

She wasn’t sure.

It didn’t actually matter. She was alone here and had made the decision to help. She now had to stick to her word and follow through. She wouldn’t abandon the people she agreed to help. She had to be a responsible adult.

Ugh.

Ruby found herself sitting at a table in a cafe, reading a newspaper. She was just wasting time while she drank some coffee and had a snack. She read current events, reading about which pirates were doing what. Something something Kidd Pirates. Something something Blackbeard. She wasn’t interested in them. She definitely wasn’t interested in whatever the marines were doing. This is why she let Law read the paper and not her. She should’ve brought a fantasy novel instead.

She finished her coffee before sighing. She heard a conversation behind her about how the price of food was increasing because of the bandits stealing all the food. Ruby had to admit that her coffee and chocolate croissant was more expensive than what she was used to. She should probably be careful on this island, she didn’t want to run out of money just buying food.

Ruby brought her cup and plate to the counter before leaving a tip and saying goodbye. She realized it was almost lunch time when more people started to come into the cafe. She needed to meet Tas and Hanzi at The Roostery. Although, she wasn’t sure if it would be ready for her to eat im after the attack yesterday.

Ruby walked towards the restaurant, listening to the conversations around her, like she used to when she was on her own. She heard many things. Increasing prices, more patrols, people missing, feeling unsafe at night, police negligence; these people were afraid. 

She sighed. She understood why these people were afraid. If she had been a normal person with a normal life she’d probably really pity them. 

But part of her, deep down in the pit of her stomach, was bitter. The island wasn’t a poor one, which she had noticed as she walked through the town prior. That part of her was struggling to feel bad for these people, who live so much better than she ever had. 

It truly was bitterness, perhaps even jealousy. Maybe she wasn’t as mature as she thought and was holding onto past grudges that didn’t affect her anymore. That small part of her made it really hard to pity these seemingly rich people. 

Luckily, the rational and mature side of her told her that she needed to help these innocent people. The good side of her, well as good as she could be, knew that bandits and pirates hurting people was bad and definitely should not happen.

“Well there she is!” She heard a happy laugh. 

Ruby looked up from the ground and found herself staring at a grinning Hanzi and a neutral Tas. Ruby smiled awkwardly at them. 

“Yep. I’m here,” she waved lamely. She looked at the restaurant, which was cleaned up but the windows were boarded up, making it look shabby. She sighed. “Are we eating here?”

“Unfortunately not,” Tas said. “They took some time off to recover from the attack. We’ll be eating somewhere else.”

“Ah. Okay.” Ruby shifted. “Uh, after you? I don’t really know this place.”

“Right,” Tas said with a nod. “Follow us.”

Ruby followed the two men without thinking about it. They held a quiet conversation while Ruby awkwardly trailed behind them. She noticed the not so subtle stares her group was getting. This was embarrassing. She did not like the suspicious looks she was being given. 

Come to think of it, she just blindly followed two men she barely knew without thinking about it. Oh, come on, Ruby! You’re smarter than this! She could practically hear Law lecturing her from the Polar Tang. Well, at least she could defend herself if she needed to. 

Ruby followed the two men to a seafood restaurant.

She calmed down when she saw the amount of people at the restaurant. They wouldn’t pull anything funny in front of all these people.

They led her into the restaurant and were seated immediately despite how busy it was. Ruby stared at the menu thoughtfully, trying not to be distracted by her anxious thoughts. 

“Order whatever you want, darling,” Hanzi said. “It’s on us.”

Ruby blinked and looked up from her menu. “Oh? Thank you.” She would always accept free food, especially when that food is expensive. Hanzi grinned at her but said nothing. Tas was starting at her silently, very obviously looking her over. What an awkward man. 

Ruby turned her attention back to her menu, as if she hadn’t decided what she already wanted. She knew what she wanted, and it wasn’t lobster or crab or caviar. It was simple fish and chips, it was hard to go wrong with one of her favorite meals. Clione seemed to make it special for her often but no one really complained.

The waiter came by and took their orders. Tas poured water into everyone’s cups from the pitcher the water left behind. Ruby nervously took a sip. There was no conversation happening, no one was saying a word. It was awkward and nerve wracking. Did these people want her help or not?

Tas finally sighed. He placed a file onto the table that had come from a bag he had been carrying. “This is the file from yesterday,” he started. Ruby leaned forward and looked at the file. “What we know is-”

Tas was interrupted by an outburst from another table. Ruby looked at the table curiously. 

“Looks like that person is choking,” Ruby said. 

“Yes, that’s what I’m seeing, too,” Hanzi said.

Ruby sighed. Well, Law did teach her how to help in these situations. She should probably get up and go save that person. She moved to stand up but Tas practically flew over the table to help. Ruby shook her head in shock.  “Whoa,” she mumbled to herself.

Hanzi laughed. “That’s just how he is. Always the first in line to help.” Ruby looked over to Hanzi and nodded. “And now, while the entire restaurant is distracted…” his grin tightened. He placed a folded up piece of paper on the table. Ruby raised her brow and took it. She unfolded it and her curious face turned neutral. She was staring at her old wanted poster. “Sela D. Ruby,” Hanzi continued. “What brings you to our little island?” Ruby didn’t answer. “It certainly isn’t because you lost your husband, seeing you never had one.”

Ruby looked up from the poster. “I’m not here to cause trouble, Duhni would have ratted me out if I was.”

Hanzi stared at her, he scratched his chin. “Then why are you here?”

“I’m…on a mission for my captain, that’s all I can really say. It’s not to hurt anyone or ruin any lives. If I did I would have to go back to being hunted by the Navy, or worse, my captain would. Your island won’t be harmed by me.”

Hanzi stared at her thoughtfully before grinning. “Good enough for me. You’re helping us out so you can’t be that bad.” Ruby sighed. “But we’ll keep this between us. Tas isn’t as open minded as I am.”

“Which is why you confronted me without him here. Makes sense.” She handed the wanted poster back to him. “Where did you even get that? It’s been over a year since I’ve had a wanted poster.”

“We keep a stack of wanted posters at the office, this one was never tossed since you’re not dead.”

“Ah.”

Ruby and Hanzi looked over as they saw Tas being thanked and hugged. He blushed and waved him off, no doubt saying that thanks wasn’t needed. He walked back over to the table and sighed.

Hanzi laughed. “Always playing the hero, Tas.”

“Isn’t that our job?” He sat down again. He looked between them. “Everything alright? Did I miss something?”

“You’re just flustered, my boy! We were just having a pleasant conversation while you were off saving a life!”

“Uh…” He coughed when Hanzi smacked his back hard.

Ruby found herself smiling at the two of them. She looked over when the waiter came over with their food.

“Sorry for the wait, I’m sure you can understand why.” He placed the food in front of them. “Oh, and the owner wanted to let you know that your meals are on us. Thank you for saving that person’s life.”

“It’s our duty.” Tas said. “But thank you.”

The waiter walked off and Ruby started to eat. It was good food. The batter was crispy while the fish was juicy. The fries were perfectly seasoned and had a great aioli dipping sauce. It reminded her of eating with her nakama. Of the times she and Penguin sat in a tavern and ate together and when Clione would make her this dish when she was feeling a little down.

She swallowed and stared at the food. She missed her nakama. 

“Elissa,” Tas called. “Have you heard anything I’ve said?” He asked with an annoyed tone in his voice.

Ruby cleared her throat. “No.”

Tas scoffed and Hanzi laughed. “Han, don’t laugh at that!”

“Oh, why not? It’s funny!” 

Ruby found herself smiling again. These two were quite the comedic duo. “Sorry,” Ruby said. “I got lost in thought thinking about…my family.” They looked at her sadly. “Oh, don’t get all gross on me. What were you talking about, Tas?” 

“Oh, right, I was trying to give you the information that we know.”

“Which is?”

“Jack shit, really,” Hanzi said with a sigh. Tas groaned.

“Do they even have an attack pattern? Like are there specific times of day that they are more likely to attack?”

“They attack when farmers travel with their produce, no matter how many people they have protecting the caravan the bandits always manage to get away with most of the food. They attack the diamond mines when no one is working, stealing the diamonds before they make it into town for refinement. They attack jewelers around closing time, when there are less people around and when everyone is tired at the end of the day.”

Ruby thought silently for a moment. She sighed. “What about, like, when they attacked that restaurant? Was that out of the ordinary?”

“No,” Tas sighed. “They also come into town and demand service. If someone fights back, as they always stupidly do, they destroy things and hurt people. Yesterday when The Roostery was attacked two people were sent to the hospital for wounds.”

“People want to fight these assholes,” Hanzi added. “But they’re just normal people. Normal people don’t have weapons or fighting training. They just punch and hope for the best. The best never happens. These bandits may not be much to someone who has a devil fruit like you, darling, but to some random person on a random island, they’re the worst foe imaginable.” 

Ruby leaned back and crossed her arms. “I see,” she sighed. “So patrols don’t help and guards don’t fight them off well enough. They attack somewhat on a schedule when it comes to food and mineral production but they also just come into town whenever they feel like, causing a scene. No doubt they are actively recruiting, as well, making their numbers grow while also causing unrest due to scarcity of food.” Ruby sighed. “What about a hideout or a base? Do you have any idea where that might be?”

“It’s definitely in the Old Forest,” said Tas. “We’ve managed to follow them far enough to know they are there, but every time we’ve tried to send a scout, they never come back.”

“And I bet since no one comes back, no one wants to volunteer anymore.”

“Yes.”

“It’s hard to motivate a team that’s always too late, always losing the fight, and always getting hurt or worse. It’s like the Nine Lives know everything about us,” Hanzi sighed.

Ruby hummed. She watched as the waiter took her empty plate away. “Would you like dessert?” He asked her with a smile. 

Ruby smiled back. “The lime pie, thanks.”

“And for you?” He looked at Hanzi and Tas.

Tas shook his head. Hanzi laughed. “I’m good, kid, just get our beautiful lady her pie.”

“Right away.” 

The waiter walked off and Ruby turned her attention back to the file on the table. She lifted the edge of a paper before setting it down. She sipped her water from her straw. 

“So, what we need to do is wait for a farmer to travel with their goods and take one of the bandits and then question them. Easy enough.”

“Didn’t I tell you they always escape before we could question them?” Tas asked, annoyed.

“Oh, I didn’t mean you would take them in and question them. I mean I’m going to do it and I’m going to do it my way.” She grinned when her pie was placed in front of her. “Oooh, raspberry sauce.”

“That’s…not the proper way to do things,” Tas complained.

“And look where the “proper way to do things” has gotten you all. Nowhere. People are still getting hurt and starving because of…” she bit her tongue before she said “negligence,” “...going too easy on these fuckers.”

Tas looked like he was ready to argue but Hanzi put his hand on his shoulder. Tas looked at him and sighed. “Fine. We’ll do it your way. I think you have already figured out that we know when these shipments come in.”

“Of course, if the bandits know then, in theory, so should you,” Ruby said after she finished her pie. She wiped her mouth with a napkin. “That was good.”

“Right. That would be tonight. Farmer Brown is coming in tonight with his product. He’s asked for as many guards as we could spare.”

“Brown probably hired some goons as well, knowing how paranoid he is. He does have precious cargo, so I can’t blame him too much,” Hanzi added.

“What’s the product?”

“He’s a cattle farmer. He inherited the only cattle farm on the island and no one else has managed to bring in cattle from somewhere else. So…” Hanzi shrugged.

“So beef is very expensive here.” Ruby couldn’t imagine what a steak would cost. 

“Yes. The common people don’t eat beef, it’s mostly the…more fortunate people who do. We poor folk eat venison from the forest and fish from the sea.”

Ruby nodded. “Got it.” She sighed. “Well, then we have our first task. I’ll guard the so-called precious cargo and capture one of these guys. We’ll question them and then get some info. Easy peasy.”

Hanzi laughed but Tas stared at her in doubt. “You make it sound too easy. Why do you think you can get more accomplished than we have?”

“I mean, don’t you feel that way, too? Isn’t that why you asked me for help?” 

Hanzi laughed again. “She’s got a point, Tas!” Tas huffed.

“Besides,” Ruby continued. “I’m not bound by an ethics or honor code. I can do whatever I want to these people and not feel like I’m doing something morally wrong.”

Hanzi grinned at her knowingly. Tas gave her a serious look. “You’re not going to kill or torture these people. We won’t stoop to their level.”

Ruby grinned at him. “Whatever you say.”

Tas looked like he was ready to argue with her but the waiter came by again. “Was there anything else I can do for you all today?”

“Nope!” Ruby said. “You were great.” She reached into her purse and pulled out 40 berries. “Here’s a tip, dear.”

“Oh! Thank you!” He nodded rapidly. He placed some mints on the table before walking away with a flustered look on his face.

Ruby turned back to Hanzi and Tas. She leaned in and rested her chin in her hand with a grin on her face. “Now, where will we meet up tonight?”

~~~~~

After the meeting place and time had been decided, Ruby went back to the inn to take a quick nap. She greeted the innkeeper with a smile and then walked up to her room. After she checked if all her belongings were still where they were supposed to be, she fell back onto the bed. 

She let out a breath and closed her eyes. After her meal she was full and tired. And since she would probably be up late into the night she needed rest. She breathed deeply for a moment, trying to fall asleep, but was unsuccessful.

She groaned and turned on her side. She thought it would be difficult, even after eating such a full meal. The bed, while comfortable, just wasn’t as good as her and Law’s bed. The pillows weren’t the right feeling and the blankets weren’t as cozy. 

Oh, and Law wasn’t there. That probably didn’t help.

She sighed roughly before sitting up. She got out of bed and walked to the shopping bag she left on the dresser that held one of her new books. She grabbed one and got back into bed, lounging against the headboard.

She started to read it, not paying attention to the passing of time. It wasn’t until she noticed the sun starting to set did she realize that if she didn’t leave right now she would be late!

She placed her bookmark on the page and ran out of the room. She smoothed out her clothes and fixed her hair as she rushed downstairs.

“Miss Elissa! Are you okay?” The pink mustached innkeeper asked.

“Oh, yes! I’m just meeting someone for…drinks, and I don’t want to be late.” She hoped she smiled reassuringly. 

“Oh! Wonderful! I’m glad you have met some friends. Just try not to be too loud when you come back tonight, so you don’t disturb the other guests.”

“Yes, of course. You won’t even notice me.”

Ruby bid him goodbye and rushed out of the inn. She jogged to the station, her pony tail blowing behind her. She reached the station with Tas starting at his watch. He looked up at her and frowned as she approached.

“You’re late.”

“She’s not late, Tas! She’s right on time!” Hanzi laughed.

“If you’re not early…” he started to grumble.

“Well, I’m here, let’s just head over there.”

“...right,” Tas nodded. “We’ll need horses.”

“Horses? Can’t we just walk?” She asked as she followed Tas to a stable behind the police station.

“No? How else are we supposed to get there quickly? Horses are useful animals. Haven’t you ever traveled by one?”

“No.” She suddenly really wanted to be on her submarine. “I’ve never ridden one before.”

“Not to worry, darling, you can ride with me. I’m great around horses! A regular equestrian!”

Tas rolled his eyes but said nothing. The two men readied their horses while Ruby stood awkwardly aside, avoiding being bitten or kicked or whatever it was that horses did. After the horses were ready and Ruby was “safely” on the horse behind Hanzi, they rode off. 

They went too fast for her and she closed her eyes in fear. She hated this. She really, really wanted to be back on the ocean in her submarine.

They slowed to a stop and Ruby blinked open her eyes. Hanzi laughed.

“Well, darling, I didn’t think it would be that scary, but you’re holding onto me so tightly I swear you’re cutting off my circulation!” He laughed joyously. 

Ruby huffed and jumped off the horse. She smoothed out her hair and adjusted her top. She looked around and saw that it was almost dark and that they were standing in front of an old man and his horse drawn wagons. Ruby sighed. She did not like horses one bit.

“You’re late,” the old man said. “You’re leaving me vulnerable here!”

“Sorry, Brown, there was a small hiccup, but we’re here now,” Hanzi said. “Miss Elissa will be helping us out tonight.”

“A new recruit?”

“Eh, something like that.”

“And where’s the rest of you?”

“It’s just us tonight, Mr. Brown,” Tas said from atop his horse. “Don’t worry, we’ll be enough.”

“Oh, I highly doubt that! That’s why I’ve brought my own people, too. You guys can barely do your jobs as it is, let alone protect my precious meats.” He huffed and turned around. “Let’s go!” 

Ruby noticed a small group of people, with makeshift weapons, hanging at the back of the wagons. Oh, this was going to go poorly. Not only did Ruby have to protect the cargo, Farmer Brown, and Tas and Hanzi, but now she had to protect a group of arrogant country folk who think that just because they don’t live in the city they’re somehow more equipped to deal with very dangerous bandits.

This sucked.

“Darling, are you getting back on the horse?” Hanzi asked.

“No. I’ll lose whatever I have in my stomach if I have to do that again.”

He laughed. “Whatever you say.”

The covered wagons started to move and Ruby sat on the back of one of them. She watched everyone carefully. She made sure to pay attention to everything she felt, smelled, and saw. She noticed one of the farmer’s giving her a dirty look and raised her brow.

“What?” She snapped.

“What do you know about fighting?”

Ruby’s annoyed gaze turned into a scary grin. “Oh, I don’t think someone like you could handle everything I know.”

The farmer went red in the face and was ready to start a fight.

“Redd! Don’t be startin’ fights with the help!” Brown yelled from the front of the wagon. “Even if she probably won’t be useful,” he said with a quiet bitterness.

Ruby rolled her eyes but said nothing, she had better things to do than pay attention to these country boys and their dumbassery. 

The road was bumpy but relatively quiet, aside from horse hooves and snuffles. She could hear Tas and Hanzi having a faint conversation, but didn’t care enough to pay attention to it. She just wanted to take a shower. She felt gross after riding on that damn horse. She sighed, she really got herself into some stupid trouble.

“Darling,” Hanzi caught her attention. She looked up and saw him and Tas staring at her. “You look so blue.”

“Oh,” Ruby frowned. “I just…miss my husband is all.” 

Hanzi raised his brow and Tas nodded. “I’m sorry for your loss,” Tas said. “I know it can’t be easy to lose someone like that.”

“Yeah,” she sighed and looked at her hands. “Losing someone is never easy.” She brought her hand up to the ring around her neck and twiddled with it nervously.

“But you’re strong, Elissa,” Tas said confidently. Ruby blinked and looked back up at him. “Losing people is hard, but people like you will always make it through.”

People like me? Ruby questioned silently. He really is quite confident in himself. Ruby smiled up at him genuinely. “Thank you, Tas.”

Ruby couldn’t really tell, due to the dark sky and the dim lantern lights, but it looked like Tas blushed.

Hanzi grinned slyly at Tas. “Kids,” he chuckled quietly. 

“So is this how it usually is? It’s pretty quiet,” Ruby remarked after about thirty minutes. “Or do they attack at a certain spot?”

“It’s mostly random,” Tas said. “I’m sure they know where we are and are just waiting for the right opportunity to attack.”

“Well, they’ll have trouble this time,” Redd said and rubbed his gun. “Brown is wasting his time hiring you folk to help us. We can handle it on our own.”

“Like you have before?” Ruby asked dryly. She heard Tas groan in response. 

Redd balked at her for a moment before his face scrunched up in anger. “You think that just because you’re some damn uppity recruit that us people who live off this land can’t handle ourselves? You need to shut your mouth, lady. Don’t get in our way or you might get hurt.”

Ruby rolled her eyes at him, infuriating him more. “Listen, I don’t care about you or your land or your shitty gun that you rubbed the serial number off of. I told Tas and Hanzi I would help take care of these bandits and I’m going to. You can go shove your cocky attitude up your ass and shut up so I can actually have a conversation with someone who doesn’t talk down to someone they feel is inferior to them for no real reason.” She turned back to Tas and Hanzi.

Tas sighed. “You shouldn’t pick fights with these guys, they only want to protect each other.”

“They shouldn’t be assholes then. I don’t take shit from anyone, especially from people I’m supposed to be helping.”

Hanzi chuckled. “Well, you’ve pissed him off so much he’s silently steaming, so we’ll leave it at that.”

Ruby grinned, satisfied with that. The ride continued down the bumpy road. Ruby made light conversation with Hanzi and Tas, asking them about their lives and evading questions Tas had about hers. Hanzi was smart enough not to ask her any questions, he was holding up his word by not going into her past. 

Ruby yawned suddenly. The night was dragging on and she was starting to become tired. She wished she was back at the inn, sleeping off a nice dinner. She cursed herself for not being able to fall asleep earlier, now she was going to be exhausted by the time she got back to her room. 

“Missing your beauty sleep?” Hanzi teased. 

Ruby sighed. “Yes. It’s a cream mask night as well.” She rubbed her cheeks. “I gotta keep my face nice and soft so that…” she trailed off quietly, thinking about Law caressing her face with that look he got in his eyes telling her that she could be enough. She sighed sadly, “…to keep me looking young.”

“Darling, you don’t look older than 25.”

“I’m 26 actually.”

He laughed. “Oh, forgive me, I didn’t realize you were ancient.”

Ruby giggled. She had a soft smile on her face, that fought back her depressing thoughts for the moment. She yawned again. “Should’ve drank some coffee before this,” she mumbled to herself.  

The group dissolved into silence with Ruby doing everything she could to focus on staying awake. She’d end up looking like a fool if she fell asleep in front of all these people who were supposed to think she was strong and capable of taking on these stupid bandits. 

She breathed out. She stared at her nails that were starting to look like she didn’t care about them. They weren’t painted and were different lengths. It had been some time since they looked like this. 

She blinked. The hairs on her arms stood up before she pushed down Redd. “Get down!”

“What the fuck are you doing?! You stupid-”

He was interrupted by an arrow being shot into the wagon where he was previously sitting. Ruby jumped off the wagon. The horses were becoming spooked and she definitely didn’t like how they were acting. 

Ruby reached forward and made a fist. Someone cried out and fell toward, completely wrapped around in thorny vines. Tas jumped off of his horse and looked at the person. 

“It’s a Nine Lives bandit. They’re here!” Tas unsheathed his sword and pointed it towards the direction the bandit had come from. Hanzi did the same. The group of farmers also prepared their weapons, probably thinking they could actually do something. 

Ruby sighed, too many liabilities. 

It wasn’t long before a group of well armed bandits attacked them. Tas and Hanzi held their own but the farmers struggled. Ruby spent most of her time fighting off the bandits attacking them instead of focusing on picking one to interrogate. 

Soon, Ruby grew frustrated. The horses were freaking out, the farmers were in the way, Tas and Hanzi could only do so much, and she was fucking tired. 

“Enough, fuckers!” She stomped her foot and vines grew from the ground. They wrapped around each bandit, making them drop their weapons in shock. They pulled at the vines, tearing them off, but more grew in their place. “I want to go to bed!” She closed her hand into a fist and the bandits yelped in pain. She squeezed them until they passed out, leaving seven bandits lying on the ground unconscious. 

She stared into the distance where the trees were, knowing the one with the arrows was in there. She felt their presence fade away, meaning they were running back to wherever their base was. She sighed. 

“Dammit!” She exclaimed. “One got away. They might be coming back with more!” Everyone just stared at her in stunned silence. She looked around at them, even Hanzi and Tas looking at her with some shock on their faces. “What?!” She was very tired and therefore very irritated. 

“That’s not normal!” One of the farmers exclaimed. “She made those plants just pop out of the ground! She’s a freak!”

Ruby rolled her eyes. “It’s called devil fruit powers. You’re on the Grand Line. You should know that.”

“Elissa,” Tas said gently. “These are simple farmers who have lived on the same farms for generations. They don’t come into town unless they need to. They don’t really know much about the outside world, let alone about the devil fruits.”

Ruby huffed. “Fine. But “freak” was uncalled for. Especially when I just saved everyone’s asses,” she grumbled. 

Hanzi walked up to them with their horses in tow. “Got the horses. Poor things were scared shitless.” He grinned at Ruby. “Darling, you really are one of a kind, you should stay on this island forever.”

“No thanks,” Ruby said and walked over to the bodies. “We should load these guys onto the wagons and take them back to town and get them into cells.” She walked over to the first bandit she caught, who was still conscious and very much struggling. She tipped his face up with her shoe. “I believe this is the one I get to question.” She smiled sweetly down at them. 

The bandit swallowed. “W-what are you going to do?!”

Ruby crouched down and lifted up the bandit’s face by his hair. “Oh, nothing much! I’m just going to ask some questions. You’re going to answer them the first time honestly. Got it?”

The bandit looked behind her to Hanzi and Tas. Hanzi was dutifully loading up the unconscious bandits onto the wagons —ignoring the whining from the farmers— and Tas was walking up to Ruby

“What are you going to do to them?” He asked. “I don’t suppose you have some magical plant that makes people tell the truth.”

“Not unless you consider my fists plants.”

“Elissa,” he hissed. “You can’t-”

“It was a joke, chill.” She sighed and stood up. She yawned unapologetically. 

“Maybe this should be continued tomorrow?” Tas suggested with a smile. “I don’t think we’ll get much done at this point anyway.”

“You’re probably right,” Ruby sighed. “Let’s just head back into town. I’ll meet up with you guys in the morning after breakfast.”

“When is breakfast?”

“After I wake up.”

Tas chuckled. “Fair enough.”

They turned and saw Hanzi loading the last bandit onto the wagon. He slapped his hands together before resting his fists on his hips. “You two ready to go?”

Ruby smiled. “Yes.”

The trek into town felt like forever because Ruby was trying her best to stay awake. She needed to keep an eye on these bandits. Probably the farmers, too, because they were definitely giving her nasty looks. 

Soon enough, the wagon had parked in front of the station. Hanzi and Tas started to unload the bandits. Ruby jumped off the wagon and yawned. 

“I’m headed to the inn,” she yawned again with a small wave. “See you both in the morning.”

“Do you need someone to escort you back?” Tas asked, causing Hanzi to chortle. 

“Tas! Did you see what she can do?! We should be asking her to escort us home!”

“Han,” he groaned. He turned his attention back to Ruby. “Sleep well, Elissa, we’ll be waiting for you.”

Ruby gave half a smile before mumbling her goodbye. She walked back to the inn, noting that there wasn’t much nightlife in this town. Although, that may have been because of the bandits. Ruby was honestly too tired to think about it. 

She made it to the inn, where it was completely silent. She started to walk up the stairs before panic sent a shock through her body. She didn’t lock up her items before she rushed off!

She quickly rushed up the stairs and to her room, frantically opening the door. The nausea in her stomach calmed down and the tears disappeared when she saw that nothing had been taken, moved, or touched. She sighed in relief before wiping a tear that managed to escape. 

She really was terribly exhausted. 

She stripped naked and took a quick shower to rinse off. After she dried herself she collapsed onto the bed, immediately falling asleep and not waking up until morning light.

[towez]

Tagged by @saucerfulofsins

relationship status: married

favorite color: Grays and Blues

song stuck in your head: if you ever leave, im coming with you by The Wombats

last thing you googled: crumbl cookie flavors

time (at the moment): 8:37

dream trip: Maybe Italy or Greece? I just have this fantasy to eat crepes with fruit by the ocean.

last thing you read: One of my favorite 1988 fics

last book you enjoyed reading: Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow (It was good for my soul)

favorite thing to cook/bake: I think my favorite thing to cook is meatballs? Nice and big and chunky. My oven and I have beef so I don't get to bake very much, but my mom passed down our families ice cream cake recipe. It has crushed oreos that you mend together with melted butter. I would be happy just with that.

favorite craft to do in your free time: I try to write every now and again

most niche dislike: probably windows down while driving. The pressure is too much!

opinion on circuses: ew no

one food you can only eat in a specific way: I think if anyone saw the way I make boxed mac and cheese I would be in jail. I like it a very very specific way

no-pressure tagging: @morgaroooo, @dixie12, @distressednoise, @nebulein

[laurenetuttle]

Moorea Day 2 (July 4th, 2023)

Today was an absolutely lovely 4th ofJuly despite not being at home in the USA for the holiday. Both my mom and I were asleep last night by around 9pm. So we both woke up on the early side this morning, but it wasn’t too bad. We woke up around 6:30 am, but laid in bed for quite the while. It was so nice having a lazy morning where we didn’t have to do anything or be anywhere by any time. We eventually got up and meandered over to breakfast. The breakfast is included in our Costco travel package! It was this very delicious breakfast buffet with views looking over the beach! They greeted us at the restaurant with delicious pineapple ginger juice! My mom enjoyed a lovely, fluffy omelet. And I tried to recreate “fantasy breakfast” with their rice, sausage, and fried egg. We also enjoyed some Nutella on French toast, crepes, and banana bread. Nutella everything!

After breakfast, we wandered around the hotel grounds. We then came back to the room to get ready and finalize our plan for the day! We decided to go into the main town area to do some shopping! We had the front desk call us a taxi, and we befriended the driver, Tom. We told him we were interested in going to look at pearl shops, but didn’t want to spend a ton of money. Turns out, he has a good friend who runs a family owned pearl shop! So we stopped by there and met the pearl guy, Peter! Peter told us all about his family’s history in the pearl business and did a ton of pearl education for us. We learned all about the uniqueness of Tahitian black pearls and how they are “graded” for quality. He was very friendly and was able to switch out any pearls for ones that we wanted in his collection. My mom chose a lovely ring and swapped out the pearl in the setting. I chose a blue pearl and had it turned into a beautiful necklace! We then were driven into the main town for lunch. We stopped at this cute little cafe and had refreshing salads. My mom enjoyed a vanilla milkshake! We then did some more shopping and looking around some local souvenir shops. We may or may not have also stopped into another pearl shop and may or may not have purchased some more items… My mom found a lovely blue pearl necklace and I found a lovely gray/blue ring! We then had the pearl shop call Tom, who picked us up. We stopped by the first pearl shop to pick up our custom order and then went back to the Hilton.

After we got back to the Hilton, we changed into our bathing suits and enjoyed a dip in our own private plunge pool! We tried out our inflatables that we brought with us to Tahiti. My mom brought a lime green ring shaped raft that is kid-sized. It was comical how much it doesn’t work. Our butts barely fit into it. We then went down to the beach and tried out the ocean! It’s a perfectly warm temperature. It was so beautiful! There are coral reefs surrounding Moorea, which break the waves. So all of the beaches are like little lagoons. It was so calm and peaceful!

We then headed back to the room to get ready for dinner. I had ordered a flower crown through the front desk. So we got prepared for some beach/sunset pictures. But, while we were getting ready, a storm came rolling through! So it was starting to sprinkle as we were heading to the beach. We were able to take some cute pics before it started pouring! We ended up running over to the restaurant that we had dinner reservations at! They actually were hosting a 4th of July celebration for the Americans staying at the resort! So a bunch of workers were busy setting up red, white, and blue decor! They also had a DJ playing American tunes. We ended up staying and taking some more sunset pics and enjoying happy hour with some tropical drinks. Then the dinner party started at 6pm. They started with the Star-Spangled Banner, which was nice! And then it went downhill from there…. The service wasn’t great. And it took a long time to get the food. The menu was not very American-themed. We both ordered rib-eye steaks, which were absolutely terrible. Very Smokey and tough. The green beans were good though… They ended up giving us our drinks and one entree for free, which was nice. The food was definitely not worth the listed prices… That’s ok though. Not every meal is going to be perfect. We left with full bellies and the ambiance was nice. We then headed back to the room to relax and get ready for bed! Looking forward to more swimming and snorkeling tomorrow!