#i still have like half a cup of icecream every day its just a more balanced meal plan than what i had before

[ruthlesslistener]

Diet culture as it is rn needs to die out. No more focusing on diet regulation as a means of losing weight, more focus on simply balancing it so that you get the most diverse amount of nutrients possible. Fat and carbs and sugars are all good for you and good for your body you just need to make sure you're eating them in balanced amounts

[wordsandshawn]

Midnight Drive

Here’s some fluff that has been sitting half-finished in my drafts for what feels like forever. I really like how it turned out, so I hope you enjoy!

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word count: 1.5k 

The kind of tired you’ve experienced over the last six months since the twins were born is the type of tired you had never experienced before in your life. It’s the type of tired you didn’t think it was possible to feel. Pulling all-nighters to study for exams or staying up all night because of jet lag doesn’t even come close to the kind of exhaustion you feel now. 

Shawn took the first few months off after the twins were born, but he went back on the road when the twins were three months old. You’ve spent time on and off with him on the road because you and Shawn agreed that you wanted to keep your family together as much as possible. 

However, after a month on the road with the twins, you and Shawn decided together that it would best for you to return home and for him to finish out the next couple of months on his own. Traveling with the twins was more difficult than either of you imagined or could have predicted and it was taking its toll on both you and Shawn. With his attention divided between being a husband and father, helping you with the kids and also being a performer and putting on a show every night, it was affecting his performance in both areas. 

So after a rough month of traveling that wasn’t good for anyone, you and the twins returned home to Toronto. Shawn has come back home as much as he possibly could in order to be with you and spend time with the babies, but it still feels like he’s rarely ever home. You have your family’s support and Shawn’s family’s as well, but everyone has their own lives and jobs, and you could never ask them to drop it all to help you with the babies. 

You and Shawn have discussed the possibility of hiring a nanny, but you haven’t found the right person yet, meaning it has mostly been you and your twins for the past few months with the occassional visits from family members, and Shawn’s short breaks at home. 

Its nearing one am, and both babies appear to be wide awake for a reason you can’t quite comprehend. Both have just eaten and had their diaper’s changed/ You’re exhausted, but the decision basically makes itself when neither baby appears to be going to sleep. You don’t want to wake up Shawn, since he just got home last night, and he has to be feeling pretty jetlagged and exhausted himself. Trying to keep them as quiet as possible, you strap both babies into their infant car seats, hushing them and quietly talking to them the entire time, hoping they’ll be tired enough to sleep soon. You’re almost out the door when Shawn comes padding down the stairs. He seems only half awake, but he must have woken up, noticed you weren’t in bed, and come searching for you. When he sees the babies in their carseats, he seems to be more alert. 

“What’s going on?” He questions, rubbing his eyes then yawning. 

“I’m taking them for a drive.” You respond. 

“Now?” He questions, his eyes widening.

You just shrug, this isn’t the first middle of the night excursion the three of you have been on and you’re nearly certain it won’t be the last. Shawn knows that you sometimes take the twins out for drives when they’re fussy or won’t go to sleep because it’s one of the only things that actually calms them both down and almost always puts them right to sleep. He just didn’t know so much that you do it in the middle of the night like this. 

“Yeah, they’re wide awake and I can’t get them both down at once. It’s easier to take a drive. I got it Shawn, go back to sleep.” You say, putting both carseats back on the ground before closing the space between you and Shawn to hug him briefly. 

He hugs you back, but when he lets go, he doesn’t turn to walk back upstairs like you expected. Instead, he grabs the carseats, “I’ll take them, you go back to sleep.” He says determined. 

“No, it’s okay, Shawn.” You try to argue. 

He pauses for a second, the two of you, both tired just standing there at the foot of the stairs. “We can both go?” He offers, adding, “I’ll drive.” 

The suggestion sounds nice, so you immediately agree. Five minutes later, Shawn is backing out of the garage, both babies safely strapped into their carseats, and you get comfortable in the passenger seat, admiring your husband and hoping the babies fall asleep soon. 

Shawn turns the radio down so only soft sounds are coming through the speakers. The predictable movement of the car serves to not only lull the babies to sleep, but you find yourself dozing off as well. 

You’re not sure how much time passes, but you open your eyes with the intention of checking on the babies and telling Shawn its time to head back home, when you notice Shawn turning into a parking lot of a fast food restaurant. 

“What are you doing?” You question. 

He startles a bit, not realizing you had woken up, before saying, “I thought you were sleeping.” He pulls the car into the drive-thru lane that has only one car in it. You can only assume it is full of drunk and/or high college kids since the University isn’t far from here. You remember when that was you and your friends, but it feels like a lifetime ago now. 

“Remember when I first got my license.” Shawn reminisces. 

A smile crosses your face remembering being sixteen, but it turns into a frown. “And then you left for LA the next day.” You respond. 

Shawn smiles, shaking his head a bit. “Yeah, but when I got back. Do you remember that?” He persists, trying to jog your memory, to see if you still remember.

You can’t stop the smile that crosses your face. Of course you remember. “I don’t think my parents know about that to this day,” You shake your head at the thought of being a teenager and Shawn showing up at your house in the middle of the night because his flight got back late, after your curfew on a school night, so you weren’t supposed to see him until the next day.

It wsa close to one am when Shawn texted you saying he was outside, and he just really wanted to see you. Practically giddy with anticipation of finally getting to see your boyfriend again after two weeks, which felt like a lifetime back then, you snuck out, got into Shawn’s brand new jeep, and he took you through a drive-thru where he bought you french fries and ice cream. 

The car in front of you moves forward, and you glance into the backseat to see your twins both fast asleep. Shawn rolls down his window and orders a large fries and two ice cream cones. He asks for an extra cup on the side knowing about your strange way of eating ice cream, and then he turns to you, asking, “Do you want anything else?” 

You shake your head and he turns back to the screen, “That’s it. Thank you.” He tells the cashier. She lets him know the total, and he starts driving forward, pulling his wallet from his pocket. 

After Shawn pulls out of the drive thru, the bag with the fries in the console between you two, and you holding the two icecream cones, he parks the car in the parking lot on the side of the building. Both you and Shawn know that you could easily go back to the home you now share, with no threat of waiting parents to bust you for breaking curfew or to tell Shawn to go home, but instead, the two of you sit in the car, your two babies fast asleep in the backseat, reliving what had become your tradition back in high school whenever Shawn returned home from a trip. 

Once you got older and had more freedom, you stopped sneaking out to see Shawn in the middle of the night. And for the past few years, you only had to roll over in bed to be closer to him. You don’t even remember the last time you did this. It was definitely long before the twins were born, maybe even before you got married. 

Shawn hands you a spoon from the bag with the fries and you take it, moving some of the ice cream from the cone into the cup and then eating from the cone. Shawn just shakes his head a bit at your weird habit, but he still smiles. You and Shawn eat the ice cream and fries, quietly talking so you won’t wake up the kids. So much has changed since the two of you used to do this together, but you’re still every bit as in love with Shawn now as you were back them when you’d risk being grounded for breaking curfew if it meant you got a few stolen moments together. 

[catchingfeels]

Just Friends

summary: jj and the reader have been friends forever, but recently they’ve drifted apart. when y/n tries to reconnect, she finds out what jj’s been avoiding.

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the sun burned overhead as y/n walked out of Mike’s Market, the place of her summer job. her skin felt sticky and she was dying to trade her work uniform for a bikini and cutoff shorts. 

“bye, Mike!” she called to the grey haired man as she walked towards the street. Mike’s was just a few miles from Figure Eight, smack dab in the middle of the Kooks and the Pogues. with rare treats like mexican style icecream and chocolate imported from Belgium, the Market saw customers from all sides of the island. 

y/n grew up on the cut, sort of a misfit as she didn’t like to surf and parties weren’t her favorite. but on the first day of seventh grade, she found a band of misfits like herself: john b, kiara, pope, and jj. the pogues were goofy, mischievous, and welcoming. with them, y/n could chill on the beach all day and go raise hell all night. it was the best of both worlds. 

as she walked out of the Market, she thought about what her and the pogues would do with the rest of the day. the options were endless, really, with the marsh full of summertime fish and parties planned for the next few weeks. summer was the best time to be a pogue, the best time to be on the island, in fact. no school, no rules, just fun. 

her walk to the chateau, john b’s house, was sweltering. by the time she got to the porch, her brow was beaded with sweat and her cheeks were flushed a cherry red. she opened the screen door, and though she wasn’t welcomed by an air conditioned room (nobody on the Cut had AC), she was thankful to be out of the beating sun. 

kicking her shoes off, y/n looked up to see jj’s blonde hair peeking over the arm of the couch. the boy was sprawled out, arms dangling, gaze focused at the ceiling fan. 

“you know, staring at it won’t make it go faster, jj” y/n teased. 

“ughhh why’s it gotta be so damn hot” jj groaned, not moving from his position. 

“i dont know, maybe its because its august?” y/n ventured, hearing a mumbled “smartass” from jj. “hey, maybe after i get changed, we could go down to the dock, take a swim?” y’n asked.

again, jj didn’t move, dully replying, “yeah, maybe.”

sighing, y/n walked to the guest room to change. her and jj had always been best friends, inseparable since the day they met. though y/n seemed quiet and square, she had a wild side, and jj nurtured that. they were always getting into trouble together, often resulting in both of them running from the cops then laughing until they couldn’t breathe. life was... exhilarating when y/n was with jj, and she loved that she had jj as her ride or die. 

lately, however, jj seemed distant. at all the parties they went to, he’d disappear within an hour with some random girl, which wasn’t unusual, but he never bragged about it the next day like he usually did. with a kegger at the boneyard tonight, y/n was sure the routine wouldn’t change. still, she was worried about him, about his decisions to skip out on fishing, about his need to lay on the couch all day. something was up, and y/n wanted to get jj out of the funk he was in.  

finally free of her full length khakis and tweed shirt (”khakis are classy” Mike insisted) y/n joined jj in the living room. 

“ready?” she asked the blonde, who now had his eyes closed. 

“nah, i’m not really feeling up for a swim today,” jj countered.

y/n paused as jj rolled over, not meeting her gaze. 

“jj, come on, it’s hot in here, the water’s cool, just get off the stupid couch and swim with me,” y/n reasoned, walking towards jj, “if i have to drag you off this couch, i will.”

a low groan came from jj as he rolled over, meeting her gaze for the first time that afternoon. 

“look, i said i’m not feeling it. just go without me, ok?” his eyes held an unreadable emotion, and y/n didn’t miss it. 

“i’m not going swimming by myself, jj,” y/n crossed her arms, ready to live up to her mom’s claims that she was as stubborn as a mule.

jj rolled his eyes, “well then i guess you’re not going at all.”

“jj--”

“not happening. i’m not your chaperone, ok, newsflash--it’s ok to do stuff without me” jj spit, returning his gaze to the ceiling. 

“what the hell does that mean jj?” y/n could feel anger and hurt rising like bile in her stomach.

“it means--” jj sputtered, “it means what i said it means! now just go swim, or go somewhere, i don’t really care as long as its not here.” glancing over as y/n, seeing the hurt in her eyes, jj half-heartedly added, “i want to sleep before everyone else comes.”

tears stung the corners of her eyes as y/n growled, “you know what, fine. i don’t want to hang out an asshole anyways. so just go to sleep, stay on the couch, rest up for the next rando you’ll be hooking up with tonight, i’m sure you need the energy. oh, and newsflash for you: you can’t just bury your problems by being a dick and fucking every girl on this island.”

y/n spun around, storming out of the room, fighting back her tears. 

“i’m not burying my problems, dammit!” jj shouted, sitting up on the couch. 

y/n whirled around again, “then what are you doing, huh? proving your masculinity, earning a reputation?”

“god, y/n, cut the bitchiness! i can hook up with who i want, when i want.”

“and you sure do,” y/n replied, voice shaking. a tear slipped down y/n’s cheek and she wiped it away furiously. “i hope you have fun tonight.”

“yeah, well, i won’t.” jj’s voice was a bit softer, but still sharp. y/n just looked at him, shaking her head. “i won’t, because every girl i take, everything i do, i just wish--”

“wish what, jj?’ y/n hadn’t wanted to continue the conversation, but something in jj’s voice begged her to stay. 

“I wish it was with you.” he admitted, hanging his head. 

y/n could feel her stomach drop at his confession. he sank back down onto the couch, and y/n stepped back into the living room, still processing what he just said. 

“hold on, are you saying you want to have sex with me, maybank?” she looked him dead in the eyes, which sparked at her reply.

“no--no, that’s not what i meant, y/n. well, i mean, i’m not saying no, but no” he babbled.

“then what did you mean?” y/n sat on the floor, looking at the blonde boy before her. his golden hair flopping into his eyes, which sparkled a gorgeous crystal blue in the sunlight. his jaw muscles tensed and his brow furrowed as he thought about his reply.

“i meant, i want more, with you. i want to be with you and do everything with you and i want you to mine,” he sighed, “but that’s so fucked up because we’re just friends, and you clearly don’t want --”

“kiss me, jj,” y/n interrupted jj before he could get too in his head. 

“what?” he looked at her, shocked. 

“you heard me,” she whispered, leaning closer. she could see his eyes spark at her request, and he began closing the distance between them. 

his lips met hers delicately, hesitantly. y/n moved her hands to jj’s golden locks, pulling him closer. his hands cupped her face and he deepened the kiss, sighing into her touch. she tugged at his hair, allowing him to slip his tongue in her mouth. his arms trailed up and down her arms, his hands soft and strong. his kiss was needy, passionate, yet gentle. 

she pulled away, both breathing hard. resting her forehead against his, she smiled, “now i don’t know about you, but “just friends” don’t kiss each other like that.” 

jj placed a soft kiss against her forehead, eyes bright, hands still holding onto y/n waist. 

“c’mon, let’s go for that swim,” he smirked, pulling her towards him. 

[shintorikhazumi]

A Real Girl Chapter 3: Holiday Blueprints- er Misprints?

A/N: Hello!!! Took too long to update as I always do, it seems. I’m sorry about that. Just had really bad writer’s block lately. Unexpectedly did some SayoLisa things while I was gone. I baked a crap ton of cookies lately, around 100 pieces to give to neighbors for the holidays. I even ended baking while waiting for the new year haha. Also bought a new guitar since I left my old one back at my uni when I came home during the COVID lockdown back in May due to travel difficulties, and I was starting to really want to play. My fingers hurt like hell yesterday and the day before coz I might have overdone it after not touching a guitar for nearly 7 months. Anyways, Happy Holidays everyone, and Happy New Year!

Enjoy?

~Shintori Khazumi

  A Real Girl Chapter 3: Holiday Blueprints- er Misprints?

You’d think that being something of a…robot (Sayo wasn’t sure if that was what she was, but she supposed you could call her that) would make her quite efficient with measurements and weights, and allow her to smoothly function in fields requiring such processes. However, as she leaned in impossibly close to her liquid measuring cup, pouring at a drop-per-hour to ensure she had the exact amount she needed, well… that pretty much denounced that assumption.

At least she could accredit some of her stiffness to Imai Lisa who currently had taken seat on a high stool across from where Sayo was, both elbows rooted on the small kitchen island of her home, head nestled in her hands as she stared at Sayo with an amused grin, the usual playful twinkle in her eyes. When given such undivided attention, wouldn’t you want to hide from the pressure of such a gaze? Thus, Sayo thought it would be best to avoid Lisa’s eyes altogether, and pour all her focus on the melted butter she was pouring into a bowl at an incredibly painful rate, hoping it would bore Lisa and make the girl do something besides burning Sayo with her gaze.

It didn’t work.

She shifted her gaze to Yukina, hopeful to find any semblance of help, but Yukina was just as much of a pain as Lisa was being, sprawled across the couch, flat on her belly, with her eyes pointed to Sayo in an unwavering stare.

She internally sighed as she returned to accomplishing her current task, moving on to another step, doing her best to ignore Lisa and Yukina in a casual manner while not seeming too cold, and give the wrong impression that she disliked them. Fun fact: She did not. If anything, she might like those two a little too much. So, now she just had to express just that. How she’d accomplish it? She didn’t know. She just hoped she could.

Mixing in the final needed ingredient which was a mix of chocolate chips and shards, Sayo smiled in satisfaction, sneaking a bite of one of the chocolate pieces, the action not escaping Roselia’s bassist as the string members’ eyes met, Lisa giving Sayo a shit-eating grin that just screamed, ‘gotya’.

Sayo simply rolled her eyes at that, thankful that Yukina was no longer paying attention to their wordless little exchanges; but she still felt that now familiar warmth in her cheeks as she turned away, choosing to search for an icecream scoop for her dough, instead of silently battling out of her embarrassment with Lisa. Upon finding the utensil, she began lining her balls of goodness along a baking sheet with parchment paper, making sure they had enough space between them to not touch as they baked.

She nodded in approval as she finished two trays worth, popping them in the cleared space in Lisa’s fridge to let them cool and develop their flavor.

“Nice work, Sayo~” The homeowner hummed, beckoning the said girl closer by opening her arms wide. Sayo was still getting used to it, but Roselia had very obviously increased their skinship acts as of late; hugs, cuddles, and handholds being thrown around far more than they used to.

And then there was the occasional kiss to the forehead or cheek, usually just between the other four, as Sayo still felt uncomfortable with that particular act. The few times she had received it from someone other than Hina was during a particularly fruitful tutoring session with Ako where the small girl was overjoyed as she shoved her recent report card in Sayo’s face, jumping up and down in excitement, before lunging over and planting a small kiss on her cheek.

It surely shocked them both, but they eventually got past it and continued on like normal. The other time was with Poppin Party’s Toyama Kasumi. That wasn’t as unexpected as most would think as the girl had probably hugged and kissed more than half of the school’s populace. It was only a matter of time before she got to Sayo.

And thus, these little gestures were something Sayo was (very, very) slowly getting used to. Sure, she would usually state if she did not want to…participate… in such activities; but more often than not, she did not necessarily oppose the idea, however it never ceased to be embarrassing for someone like her. It was a matter of tolerance? Resilience? Possibly with how Sayo struggled to keep a normal temperature each time.

Her parents had to issue her a stronger coolant with how often she’d been overheating. She was surprised they seemed prepared for this development, overhearing her father mutter a, “I expected the heat flushes with how we planned it out, but I didn’t expect it to be this bad. Well, whatever!”. Sayo admitted the fact that this bodily reaction was an intentional installment made her feel annoyed.

Walking around from the opposite side of the island, Sayo reached Lisa, halting just in front of her, hesitant for a moment’s worth before allowing herself to indulge in Lisa’s motherly spoiling. Immediately, after stepping into the space of those arms, she was engulfed in a tender warmth, arms squeezing just the right pressure of tight, yet not overbearing.

Sayo leant down to rest her forehead on Lisa’s shoulder, that cinnamon powder scent calming her in a way she could not describe. A hand made its way into teal locks, twirling and playing with the ends of her hair before travelling upwards to massage her scalp. It made her sigh in relaxation.

If there were things she loved about her body system that she’d never admit, one of those things would be the nature of her senses. She wondered if this was what it actually felt like for real people. This heart-fluttering, yet calming sensation. Pleasant. Feelings… that made you want to smile and, entrust and rest your heart in the palm of someone you loved.

Sayo wondered how Lisa felt about all of this. Was she simply doing it out of habit as she coddled all the other members, and even some of her friends? Did it also make her feel this sense of… what Sayo detected in herself… so-called happiness? Did it please her when Sayo allowed her this opportunity to be so close to her? Or was Sayo the only one fretting about all of this? Worried whether or not she was stepping over lines, or hurting someone every other moment, or offending the people she cared about if she chose to do or not to do certain things that were supposedly of ‘normal’ nature.

Before Lisa could consume her every thought, a weight pressed against her back, slim arms wrapping themselves round about her waist just below the brunette’s other arm.

“M-Minato-san?!” Sayo let out a high-pitched squeak she didn’t know she was capable of producing.

There was no reply, she only felt what she would assume was Yukina nuzzling her head against Sayo’s back. If Lisa’s affectionate hugs weren’t enough, Sayo did not quite know how she would deal with this. Her tenseness must have been apparent as Lisa whispered to her,

“Relax Sayo. Take a break. It’s okay to not do anything sometimes.”

She didn’t know how to respond to that, so she simply nodded, very conscious of the way she was sandwiched between her two bandmates, simply standing there. Doing no particular thing.

The lack of tasks unnerved Sayo the tiniest bit as she was used to always being productive no matter the hour- though maybe not as flustering as her hugging situation with Lisa and Yukina- but in the end, even she could not argue against the peace she felt when they all just stayed there, enjoying one another’s presence.

But it would have been a little more relaxing if Yukina and Lisa were not so busy killing her with their intense friendship and care. Sayo didn’t think her heart could take this much physical affection. She was surprised Yukina, of all people, was able to freely express it. Probably Lisa’s influence. And maybe Sayo was jealous of that ability to convey their thoughts and emotions with such liberty.

They remained that way, silent, otherwise unmoving with the exception of Lisa’s expert hands massaging the calm into Sayo’s body. Everything felt so surreal. She felt as though she wouldn’t mind drifting off in their embrace-

A jolt ran through her spine as she felt a ghost of a kiss pressed against her temple. And just as light, a touch of fingers gliding across her abdomen, causing her breath to hitch. ‘What were those?!’ Her eyes shot open, she didn’t know when they had shut, but now they were flicking about, the only thing she was able to see at the moment were brunette curls and smooth skin. She wanted to argue with herself whether or not what had just transpired was actually real, or just a figment of her imagination, but before she could do so a resounding ding of a kitchen timer cut through her brooding.

“I-I’ll… I shall… go. Get that… thing.” Sayo volunteered as a way to escape her mental tormentors. She awkwardly pulled away from the pair; Yukina more willing to allow her exit as she returned to her initial spot on the couch, but Lisa less so, the girl giving her a small pout before relenting, releasing the guitarist from her hold. Sayo would be lying if she said she didn’t suddenly miss the feeling of them and their gentleness wrapped around her.

But this was no time to think about that.

It was time to check on their cake in the oven!

Clumsily staggering around the marbled center of the kitchen, thoughts still swirling, Sayo stood in front of the hot oven, crouching down to check on the cake currently baking inside through the glass. It looked pretty ready. She guessed she could take it out. In her mind’s jumbled and rushed moments, she forgot to don her oven mitts, opening the stove with little care.

And at the moment she reached into the hot chamber, Roselia’s drummer suddenly came bursting through the front door with one of her chuuni war cries, surprising everyone including Sayo, causing one of her hands to hit the roof of the stove from the inside, and unconsciously holding it there for longer than she should have. It took a moment for her to register what had just occurred, but the sensation that she had come to know as pain- courtesy of her indicators- sunk in, her eyes opening wide in shock and she automatically voiced a yelp louder than she would have liked.

This immediately drew the attention of everyone in the room to her. With Sayo cradling a mitt-less hand close to her body, the fact that she had been checking on the cake, the smell that wafted in the air, and Ako’s prior yelling; Lisa pieced it together all too quickly.

“Sayo! Did you burn your hand?!”

With worry spreading amongst the group, Yukina got up from her place on the couch, walking towards the teal-haired girl who currently sported a look the mix of panic and fear.

“Ako! You shouldn’t have come in so roughly!” Rinko scolds, everyone momentarily thrown off by the smoothness of her speech and the absence of honorifics, probably due to her lack of shyness in her state of concern for Sayo. It kind of touched her heart, if she were completely honest.

But now wasn’t the time for that. She hadn’t meant to alert them, she needed to hide it before it was too late-

“Sayo, give me your hand.”

“I-I’m quite alright, Imai-san.” She stuttered out, retreating a step, back hitting the counter’s sink behind her. Her eyes widened a fraction more.

“No, No you’re not. I know it for a fact.” Lisa replied determinedly, reaching for the hand that Sayo stubbornly kept away.

“I really am-“

“Sayo, hurry, I know how much those burns can hurt and we need to run it under some cool water as fast as we can.”

“B-But-!”

It wasn’t as though Sayo feared getting wet. Her skin was waterproof after all. What wasn’t were some parts underneath it. The wires that functioned as her “veins” and nervous system. And even if her skin was made to withstand certain temperatures, it also needed to be as close to real skin as possible to not give herself away.

If the burn from the oven was enough to melt away those layers and expose part of her inner workings, she wouldn’t know how to explain it. Much more if she short-circuited in the event that there was indeed an opening and it was suddenly exposed to water.

She didn’t have the luxury of time to decide. Lisa caught her hand while she was weighing her options and quickly shoved it under running water.

It was cold. The pain temporarily waned, but most importantly for Sayo, the lack of forceful shut down helped her realize that she would be alright for now, seeing her hand was just a searing red with no openings whatsoever.

She sighed in relief.

“Thank goodness it wasn’t that bad” Lisa murmured, shutting the water and bringing Sayo’s hand up closer to inspect it. After a few moments of looking it over, she gave Yukina and an extremely down-hearted and apologetic Ako some instructions to retrieve the first aid kit down the hall, by the bathroom, while Rinko was tasked with doing the actual bandaging while Lisa took over the kitchen. Once Sayo was seated safely on the couch, as the cake was on the table, Lisa gave her head a single firm pat. “Alright, no more baking for you.”

“!!!” Sayo tried to protest. “But I want to help-“

“You’ve helped out enough.” Lisa cut her off firmly, arms crossed over her torso, a stern look in her eyes. “Let us take care of it.”

“But-“

“I’d prefer you sit on yours.” Lisa cleverly quipped, ending that particular conversation.

Sayo sighed in defeat, turning to watch Rinko as she expertly and neatly wrapped her hand in a bandage after having applied an ointment that would help with the pain and discomfort. Just as the girl looked up to check with Sayo if the job she did was alright, the teal-haired guitarist smiled at her. “Many thanks, as usual, Shirokane-san. You always help me out.”

Rinko mumbled out a long, strung-out, incomprehensible reply, face red as a tomato, but Sayo managed to make out a, ‘You’re welcome, Hikawa-san’, and that was enough assurance for her.

Shifting her gaze once more, she was met with Lisa’s head on, fiery gaze. And should Sayo dare say… jealous?

“How come I didn’t get any heart-felt thanks… I’m the one who-…” As the bassist continued to grumble in her corner of the kitchen, Sayo got up, strange bulk of confidence directing her actions as she stood in front of the sulking girl, looking down those few inches she had over Lisa.

“Eh? Sayo-“

Before she could say anything else, the guitarist had wrapped her arms around Lisa’s shoulders, the latter’s arms automatically finding purchase around taller girl’s waist.

“Thank you… Lisa.” She spoke in a near-whisper, though heard by everyone in the room due to how quiet they all were, mute from the surprise at Sayo’s assertiveness. Also the fact she called Lisa by her given name without honorifics.

That had certainly brought everyone’s thoughts to a screeching halt for a few seconds, trying to grasp the situation and its authenticity.

“I- eh- uh… y-yes? O-of course! Of course, Sayo-“ While Lisa was busy being a blubbering mess, Yukina had walked up to them and tugged on the hem of Sayo’s shirt. Arms still wrapped around Lisa, Sayo turned her head to the side to offer an inquisitive look.

“Minato-san?”

“…I must receive your hugs of gratitude as well.”

“…huh?”

“RinRin wants some too, Sayo-san!!! A-and… and if it’s okay, Ako would like a hug as well…” The youngest exclaimed.

Well, this cooking session certainly turning out to be what Sayo first expected it to be.

  //-//-//-//-//

  One might be wondering why Sayo, and Lisa- and supposedly all Roselia- were busy preparing cakes and cookies.

Well, when you place people with crazy ideas such as Kasumi in a room with an equally crazily enthusiastic Kokoro with the power to make those ideas a reality, you had… something quite amazing. The two had pouted up a storm when the band friend-group had to have separate Christmases with their respective families, and some with their own bands.

They had desired a ‘boppin’ party, as Hina put it (said sister of hers also being one of the perpetrators) after their joint holiday live, but the idea was immediately shot down. So, in order to appease these children, they all had agreed to free up the new year’s and have a party-slash-sleepover.

It was collectively agreed upon that they would not allow Kokoro to spoil them with everything, and they had divided the food tasks for the new year’s dinner. Roselia had been assigned the aforementioned cookies and a large strawberry cake. To make up for not getting to spend Christmas and eat the classic food together, as Kasumi claimed. In charge of desserts alongside them was Afterglow. Afterglow had made plans to do their prepping at Tsugumi’s café and they had chosen to make cupcakes, tarts, and some homemade icecream.

Popipa decided to pay a visit to Saaya’s bakery and have her dad prepare them some fresh pizza. Pasupare were assigned with drinks, and other little finger foods and snacks that were easier to acquire as they still had a few scheduled events up until the last minute. Raise A Suilen was chosen to buy the chicken. Chuchu wanted a turkey for unknown reasons, so they’d have that too. Pareo would most likely be the one behind all their prep, anyway.

Aside from food assignments, each band was tasked to come up with a party game; two to three members would then lead out the activity and the rest could participate.

These were the things they each had to prepare.

And prepare Roselia did.

“Ready to leave, everyone?” Yukina’s cool voice questioned, door held open for the others to walk through. Everyone was bundled up in their respective coats and scarves.

“Yes… Minato-san.”

“As one of the descendants of the five great dragon Lord-“

“Are you ready, Ako?”

“Yes. I’m born ready!” Ako giggled, running out the rest of the way, arms spread out in a T.

“Ako, be careful of slipping!” Lisa called from behind, and as if fate wanted to play a little trick, Ako slipped right then and there. Luckily, she hadn’t fallen over, and simply laughed, everyone else sighing in relief. “Geez, Ako…”

“I’m okay!”

Then… there was the last person. Sayo stood up from the step by the doorway after wearing her boots, looking around the area and her person to ensure she hadn’t forgotten anything. Once she was satisfied that she was all ready to go, guitar slung over her shoulder, she grabbed the fairly large cake box in her good hand, and then a smaller box of cookies, similar to what Rinko was carrying, in her bandaged hand.

As she exited, Yukina turned to lock the door, double-checking it a few times to confirm that it was indeed closed properly.

And then everyone began to walk to the station to get to Circle for their party. They had rented out the basement so that they would all fit and have a sizeable amount of space to move around.

Just as they exited the gate to Lisa’s house in single file, Sayo was slightly startled by a cool hand prying the cake away from her. The bassist gave her a small smile before replacing Sayo’s now empty hand with her own, squeezing gently. Right after that, the box of Cookies was taken away by Yukina, and the songstress had slipped her smaller hand into the tealettes’s other hand, intertwining their fingers.

Sayo knew with certainty that her face was dyed hot red despite the cold of the evening that was beginning to settle.

“So that your hands stay warm.” Lisa winked.

“Right… of course.” Sayo craned her neck forward, stiffly, fixing her eyes forward on the road. “Thank you.”

…and maybe it was a good thing they held her hands since she did a tiny slip on the road just moments after.

  //-//-//-//-//

  “Why… did the groupings end up like this?” Sayo muttered.

“Sorry, Sayo.” Lisa clapped her hands in front of her. “Since Ako’s nose started bleeding with how high her tension was, Rinko decided to sit this one out and look after her so that Tomoe could participate. And Yukina and I are the game masters, so every team was going to have about seven members each. And since Roselia was mostly out of the game, we decided to randomly draw lots for the teams…”

“Yeeeeyyyy~ We’re the guitar team!!” Kasumi cheered excitedly, cutting Lisa’s explanation short. “Isn’t that cool, Sayo-senpai?”

“Y-yes, sure.”

“Waaaahhh~ Moca sure is impressed by this coincidence.” As usual, the slothful member of afterglow drawled, casually slipping her arm around Sayo’s waist. “Though I guess it’s not so bad at all if Sayo-san’s here.”

“Eh…” Sayo was starting to think everyone was getting too comfortable around her, skinship and first-name basis and all those little things. Though she supposed some of those factors were old news for some people, and new for others. She was still slightly conflicted about it, though. She had never really allowed people so close to her space, but… she knew her reality was changing by the day.

And she didn’t necessarily hate it.

“If this group has two guitarists from Poppin Party…” Tae hummed in contemplation. “Then we have two times the Popipa energy?! Woaaahhh~”

“That’s right, Tae-chan! Double PopiPower!”

“I’d prefer we only have the minimal amount of that power.” Sayo grumbled to herself.

“On the same team as Popipa, on the same team as Popipa, ON THE SAME TEAM AS POPIPA… POPIPA!!!”

“Rokka-chan!” Kasumi and Tae screamed with as much enthusiasm in response to Rokka’s warcry of fangirling.

“Does that make it three times the PopiPower?” Moca asked Sayo, pointing at the trio, raising their arms up and down in some kind of cult ritual.

“Please don’t ask me that…”

“Ahh~ To be graced by the presence of a Rose, and all the other beautiful flowers in the garden, how blessed I am by my little kittens. Hakanai~!!”

“Kaoru-samaaaa!!!”

“This one is giving me a headache as well.”

“Oh, come on Onee-chan~ Don’t be all ‘Mugyuuuu’.” Hina poked at her side. “Aren’t you feelin’ boppin’ now that we’re on the same team?” She grinned, hugging Sayo from that same side, opposite of Moca.

Sayo looked at her sister’s hopeful eyes, their pressure from the pureness strong. She was rendered unable to deny those shiny greens. Heaving a sigh, she replaced her apprehensive expression with a gentle smile, deciding to be honest with her thoughts about her sister more often outside of their home.

“I suppose… I am a bit happy to be playing on the same team as you, Hina.” She replied, placing a hand atop the shorter girl’s head and giving the short teal hair a gentle ruffle.

There was a collective pause amongst the friend group as they saw this rare tender moment between the twins, hearts clenching at its wholesomeness. Luckily, Sayo hadn’t noticed, thus it didn’t become an awkward issue for her and the topic moved on.

Hina squealed in delight, tightening her hug around Sayo, clearly over the moon. “Onee-chan, I love you! You’re the best!”

“I’m- okay…”

“Eeeehhhhhh~, no fair! I want a hug from Sayo-senpai too!”

Sayo sure was giving a lot of hugs today it seemed.

“Me too!” Tae followed after her leader, joining in the stuffy group hug with Roselia’s guitarist at its core.

“Rare chance!” Rokka realized, diving into the opportunity.

“I wouldn’t mind giving my little kittens some loving-“

“I’d rather you not. Please just… do it normally.”

“…yes.”

As this scene between the guitarists of the bands unfolded, everyone else was just left to watch, unsure of what to do as Sayo was squished in the middle of this human hug pile.

“Oi.”

Well at least Ran might do something.

“I’m a guitarist too. Why aren’t I with you all?”

Maybe Sayo’s assumptions could be wrong more times than she thought.

“That’s because Ran is always left out~” Moca teased with an impish grin.

“You little sh-“

“Language!!” Tomoe hit the top of Ran’s head, and the two both started their bickering, Himari panicking, unable to stop them, and Tsugumi ending up mediating.

“Umm guys… can we start the multi-legged race now?” Lisa sighed at everyone’s antics, feeling like they weren’t going to get to the game any time soon.

“Don’t worry, Lisa.” Yukina placed a hand on her best friend’s shoulder. Lisa felt happy at the comfort, wondering what advice the white-haired vocalist would give in this situation. “This is also rock.”

Of course. This was also Yukina. What was she expecting?

  //-//-//-//-//

  The girls were able to get to the games… eventually. Surprisingly enough, despite their differences and eccentricities, the guitarist team- minus Ran- was able to stage quite the victory. Not only did they have crazily unrivaled coordination during the leg race, in the next game where each person playing was blindfolded and separated from their teams to try to reassemble via making a sound specific to their team to find each other… well Kasumi was like some kind of beacon or control tower, loudly screeching out what she told everyone was the guitar sound.

Yeah, no.

They won anyway, so… it was fine?

You’d expect the teams to shuffle for team games, considering each band had to prepare a game and have different game masters. And Sayo had been waiting for that moment. But her group never changed. None of them were chosen to be in charge of the games, and well… maybe she shouldn’t be surprised at that. She should probably be more relieved, actually. Things might just get out of hand if entrusted to these children.

So she waited for games with fewer people, or individual player games.

…but apparently all of the bands had decided on group games that would work better with bigger groups. Therefore, Sayo was stuck all night with the ragtag gang brimming with ‘PopiPower’.

Well, everyone seemed happy, so it wasn’t so bad. Sayo would think this with a secret smile as she watched over all her friends.

And as they gathered on the roof of the small building to finish off their little party by watching the fireworks that signified the start of the new year, Sayo found herself blessed to be surrounded by these girls, quirks and all.

And as Tsugumi, along with Tomoe and Pasupare tried to prevent Hina from falling off the edge, Sayo couldn’t help but think,

‘They’re crazy, but thank God for this crazy bunch.’

  //-//-//-//-//

  After everyone had finished cleaning and locking up Circle’s basement, they were picked up by Kokoro’s long-ass limo, everyone fitting comfortably inside. Even Chuchu was impressed, and that spoke volumes.

Upon arriving at her mansion, the suits escorted everyone with their sleepover bags to a large room with beanbags, blankets, pillows, strewn about; and futons neatly lined side by side.

“I call center spot!” Hagumi declared, rushing and jumping into the soft cushion.

“Then I wanna be next to you!” Kokoro imitated the motions, landing beside her ginger-headed friend. “Happy~!”

“Kokoro, Hagumi, you need to get washed up and changed first.” Misaki chided, walking over to where they were to usher them to the baths.

“Aww, okay.” The pair beamed, before Kokoro turned to everyone. “Let’s all get in together!”

“Hoo boy, that’s gonna be a whole ‘nother mess.” Arisa complained, rallying up her pair of idiots, along with Saaya and Rimi. “I just wanna get to bed. My back is starting to kill me.”

“There you go with your granny talk again, Arisa~”

“Shut up, Kasumi! Whose fault do you think that is?!”

Following the first two bands out were Afterglow and RAS, more civil and calmer in their exit, and Sayo was grateful for that.

“Shall we?” Yukina invited.

Roselia nodded their heads, grabbing their things and heading out.

  //-//-//-//-//

  Bathing time was rather uneventful, and many of the more level-headed members of the grouped offered their prayers of sincere gratitude that they were able to catch a break and relax in the Tsurumaki’s onsen-level baths.

After that, everyone shuffled sleepily to the bedroom, energy suddenly sapped out from each one of them. Kasumi yawned a contagious one, spreading to O-Tae, then to Rimi, then to the three grand fools of HaroHapi, then to Himari, Ako, and eventually it made its way through all the girls.

… except Sayo.

She looked around, at first finding it adorable how everyone was similar in this aspect having read about it before that yawning was quite contagious.

Then she realized that… she wasn’t like everyone.

She must have stalled in her walk, as Chisato seemed to notice, turning back to her curiously. “Sayo-chan? Are you alright?” The actress asked in concern, separating from her group and approaching the frozen guitarist. “You look… distressed.”

This caught everyone else’s attention.

“Eh? Sayo-san is?” Ako came bounding back towards her, taking her hands carefully in her own. “Sayo-san are you oka- ah! Your hands!” She seemed to realize as she held them. “Is your hand okay now?”

“Did something happen to Hikawa-senpai’s hand?”

“Ah~” Lisa followed Ako soon after. “She accidentally touched the stove earlier and got a slight burn on her hand.”

“Eh? We didn’t notice.”

“Huh? But she had a bandage the whole ti-“ Lisa’s eyes narrowed, staring Sayo down accusingly. “Did you remove it at the party?”

With how she avoided the brunette’s gaze, everyone knew that hit the mark.

“Sayo!!!”

“It is not such a big deal, Imai-san. I felt fine, so I deemed it unnecessary to worry everyone else on such a joyous occasion.”

“Sayo, that’s not the point!”

“Hikawa… san.” Even Rinko frowned disapprovingly, and one by one, Sayo saw the sleepiness in everyone’s eyes replaced by concern.

She hated being the cause of it.

Bowing down in her perfect apology stance, she felt a churning in her stomach, along with her eyes stinging. They were body reactions she was not familiar with. Her mind said it was something like sadness and distress, but the data was mixing and meshing, and fighting. And once again she was confounded by the dreaded feelings. It made her all the more upset.

“Hikawa-senpai.” It was Misaki’s voice. Clear and breaking through the daunting darkness of her thoughts. “No one is mad at you, or blaming you. Okay?”

Sayo’s head shot up, those words clearing her mind as she met those concerned gazes once more, but there was less of that painful stir in her chest. A warmth was slowly overtaking the hurt, and she felt a flush of cooling run through her system.

“?!”

“Senpai?! Are you about to cry?!” Saaya’s question caused a bit of panic, everyone not knowing what to do when one of the steeliest personalities suddenly appeared to be on the brink of tears.

In a flash, before anyone else could react, bright colors filled Sayo’s vision, and she found herself in a situation she was now very accustomed to. A hug.

“When I feel sad, lonely, or when I’m crying, hugging always makes me feel better.” Hagumi murmured. “I want senpai to feel better too.” Sayo felt the movement of Kokoro’s head, assuming the girl was nodding her agreement.

It was warm. Everything, everywhere, it was just so warm. It wasn’t a scalding heat, it wasn’t the biting cold.

For the first time, she might have understood.

Sayo felt… loved.

Returning the hug towards the younger girls, Sayo felt a pleasant kind of prick in her heart as they beamed up at her.

“Ako-chan was right.”

“Mm-hmm! You really are a super comfy big sister!”

“No fair that Yukina-san and Lisa-san keep you all to themselves!” The two mentioned people tried to hide their blushes, but some of their sharper friends had picked up on it, curious at the reaction.

“Righttt?” Hina butted in. “Even though she’s supposed to be my Onee-chan!”

Sayo sputtered out a ‘what are you saying’, flustered all over again as the two released her, Rinko and Chisato taking their place, the former taking Sayo by her good wrist as they sat her down on a random bench in the mansion’s long halls, having acquired a kit from the suits. The rest were ushered into the room to get ready for bed and not overwhelm Sayo.

After treating her hand, the trio made their way into the room, finding everyone positioned and ready for bed, but still awake, attention at the door.

“Sayo.” Yukina called, patting a futon between her and Hina who was next to Lisa. The girl got the message, bowing her thanks to Rinko and Chisato who accepted with their usual grace.

As she made her way there, she noticed that she was at the center of all the laid-out beds, and this made her blush.

Kasumi seemed to pick up on it. “It’s the Sayo Protection Squad formation!” She chirped at the increasingly embarrassed guitarist.

“The… what-why?”

“Mou~ Enough questions!” Hina and Lisa pulled her down to bed, the younger Hikawa twin immediately locking the elder in place with her body.

“H-Hina… I can’t… I can’t move.”

“That’s the point dummy.”

Sayo relented eventually with a sigh, easing Hina’s body-lock into a cuddling position instead, something they were accustomed to at home, at least. Her younger sister was almost on top of her, but she hardly minded the weight.

From her peripheral vision, she noticed everyone moving their futons closer to hers, Lisa moving over to Hina’s as the twins were already practically sharing. As everyone wished their good nights and Happy New Year’s shutting off the lights, Sayo felt Yukina take her uninjured hand, cradling it close, while Lisa held the other, kissing over the bandage.

“Good night, Sayo. Happy New Year.”

Good night.

And a Happy New Year… everyone.

Thank you.

  A/N: D’awww, Sayo is well loved. I’m glad. Please leave some kudos, comments, reblogs if you’re on tumblr! Thank you for the support for this story! See you next chapter, and Happy new year!

~Shintori Khazumi

[orangenfrottee]

hastag game! get to know me

tagged by the amazing: @thugheadjones (I was so happy to get tagged but too lazy to copy&paste the questions on my phone. Oops.)

1. what is the color of your hairbrush? it’s... light wood.

2. name a food you never eat- I eat vegan, so there are a few things i don’t. In a more colloqial sense... I very rarely ‘never’ eat fruits. I’m really bad about it, unless someone cuts up something for me, I probably won’t eat any for .... months. It’s really weird.

3. are you typically too warm or too cold? I’m always too cold! (Unless it’s the middle of one of those record breaking heat waves we had nearly every summer for the last decade. Manmade global heating won’t directly kill me due to location, but I will be pissed off every day. We really have to save our climate.

4. what were you doing 45 minutes ago? Procrastinating while not quite following my online class.

5. what’s your favorite candy bar? I like Mamba, okay? (Okay, that’s actually not really a bar in the classical expectation of this question, but... then again it’s even more of a bar and actually candy. I must admit, I still eat candy but the older I get the less satisfying it gets? I really like these coconut bars without mch else most drug store organic brands sell. And Mr. Tom saved me from certain famine a couple of times during trips.

6. have you ever been to a professional sports game? The most professional sport event I ever went to was a regional (or maybe even national?) Kendo youth competition. I never ever went to a game, professional or not.

7. what is the last thing you said out loud?  Probably something muttered under my breath along the lines of “could you return to the previous page”? I have so many unfinished lines in my class notes, because our professor really goes a little too fast without seeing any reaction from her students. (It’s fine though, she always gives us a copy of her notes, but yeah... I need to go through everything again anyway)

8. what is your favorite ice cream? The vegan icecream from Lidl is really amazing. There’s one with cookies and peanuts and something, it’s the best, really. I keep telling my mother about it.

9. what was the last thing you had to drink? black tea (with white chocolat syrup)

10. do you like your wallet? Yes? It’s this huge shock pink one I bought in harajuku eight years ago. My japanese bestie had one in lime green at the time, so it always kinda brings me back to her? (I really wanted an orange one though.)

11. what is the last thing you ate? A third of a banana. Yes. You know what an event that is in my life. I’m proud of myself. (It totally was the left over bit from my mum’s breakfast who also had a whole pear on top of it. I don’t know why I don’t eat fruit.)

12. did you buy any new clothes last weekend? Haha, no.

13. what’s the last sporting event you watched? probably that kendo competition 14 years ago. My mother really enjoys sports, so I definitely sat through some olympic/ football world cup/ athletics streams reading fanfiction

14. what is your favorite flavor of popcorn? Salty.

15. who is the last person you sent a text message to? A friend in Japan

16. ever been camping? No, we  did a lot of sleeping in our tents in the back yard though - and wait, there is a repressed memory of a horrible camping trip on a forced father’s weekend. Been there, done that, yeah.

17. do you take vitamins? Yes. B12 because I’m vegan and D since I had a terrible deficit a few months ago.

18. do you regularly attend a place of worship? No. I’s like to make a bathtub joke, but I don’t even have a great hair washing routine.

19. do you have a tan? No, not even the year I only wore hot pants all summer (though I was the tannest I’ll ever be that year). My snow white (!) bff came to visit and like half a day later she had an actual tan, so no.

20. do you prefer Chinese or pizza?  Pizza. Mostly because that’s actually easy to get, now that I’m vegan. Can’t remeber when I had (good) Chinese.

21. do you drink your soda through a straw? No, I’m not really a fan. I might one day buy reusable straws, but I don’t feel like I have use for them?

22. what color socks do you usually wear? Whatever socks I grab first? A lot are black or dark red with whatever pattern, I do have a lot of Sailor Moon themed ones though <3

23. do you ever drive above the speed limit? I’m a great cyclist but I only own a dutch bike (in orange!) so, hell no. I’m fast though and good at breaking.

24. what terrifies you? I don’t have a go to answer for this, because I never think about it. That doesn’t mean no fears, but I’m not aware of any.

25. look to your left, what do you see?  My comfy chair nd side table in front of my billy book shelves.

26. what chore do you hate most? Bathroom cleaning? Taking out the garbage? The weird ones you don’t have to do regularly, so you only notive their vague existince once tere’s a ton of work to do?

27. what do you think of when you hear an Australian accent? Not anything? I don’t think I hear them often, not sure if I’d actually recognize one.

28. what’s your favorite soda? Ginger Ale.

29. do you go in a fast food place or just hit the drive thru? I just go to my kitchen. I’m usually better at just whipping something up myself.

30. what’s your favorite number? I once wrote a really weird text in school about hating the number four and a table when we had this creative writing task about assigning emotions and meanings to an object that were actually about something else (our example was a staircase) and all my class mates were whining about how hard that was and as if there were only two or three objects in the world one could use for that (staircases, doors, maybe a phone) when there are random things we can easily projects any emotion on. By the way, have you ever wondered about how men can get into the weirdest tangents when prompted with the simolest question? Suddenly they tell you the greatest stories about how amazing they are. What is that disorder named? Anyway, my favourite number might be seven - I’ll always be a Nana fan.

31. who’s the last person you talked to? my mother

32. favorite meat? tofu <3

33. last song you listened to? No. idea. Now it’s Lonely in Gorgeous by Tommy february6

34. last book you read? I’ve been reading City of Ashes for the last few months.

35. favorite day of the week? saturday

36. can you say the alphabet backwards? No.

37. how do you like your coffee? Non-existing.

38. favorite pair of shoes? My orange ones.

39. time you normally get up? I don’t.

40. what do you prefer, sunrise or sunsets? moonlight

41. how many blankets are on your bed? Thechnically five, but two are just resting over the headboard.

42. describe your kitchen plates? I’ve got really pretty white ones with dark red hearts on them. Friends of mine got them for me for my 18th birthday. Be smart and wish for useful stuff kids.

43. describe your kitchen at the moment: older than me but really pretty and freshly renovated. We threw out the old frifge that wasn’t working for 12 years and gotten some selfmade open shelving in its place. White painted cupboards, green walls, super modern ikea shelves, free standing eggshell coloured fridge, inherited table and chairs, new wood optic vinyl floor. It’s not actually my kitchen.

44. do you have a favorite alcoholic drink? No, I don’t drink.

45. do you play cards? seldom, but if so Rommee with the rules my great-grandmother taught me.

46. what color is your car? My bike is shiny happy orange.

47. can you change a tire? probably, but I was 9 when I last had to help.

48. your favorite state or province? of what? Liquid.

49. favorite job you’ve had? For about a year I worked (volunteered) for my japanese bestie’s cafe and was just so well taken care of <3

I tag, if you’d like, @catthecoder, @strangenightsofdaydreams and YOU dear reader <3

[taisiakat]

Something weird is going on in my energy stream that well after today’s issue I decided to figure it out and handle it.

I’ve never intentionally or unintentionally harmed someone with my skills/craft.

The temptation sometimes in the past has been great, but I didn’t.

However, upon reflection and discussion with my soul sisters, we have all come to the same conclusion, - someone’s messing with my energy stream and deflecting my abundance flow.  And its definitely directed.  

We’re not sure if the person meant to do what happened or was trying to do something else but the effects are rather staggering.

Anyway so I decided to ask the cards instead of doing my today’s October challenge 

“What do I need to do to fix this issue?”  (first three card set) 

“What can I do to reclaim the lost current, energy, and my power?” (second three card set)

“How do I prevent this from happening again” (last two cards)

Using my favorite deck Haindl (which is so full of imagery)

“What do I need to do to fix this issue?” 

Ace of Cups of the North

The first that popped out was the droplet of water above the cup with the red dot.  I’ve never noticed that before. The cup and the winds around it are swirling upward, in gold as if they make up the cup as well.  The yellow, red and blue colors combine into a swirld

Yellow for me is strength

Red and blue are my union colors (me and my husband) 

I need to flow love back... unconditional love and non-judgement.

If this was unintentional, like a child playing with matches, instead of scolding I need to take the matches out of their hands and remind them of the damage not being aware of what is around you when you do this, or think this without understanding how it is going to affect the area.

North is home.

VII The Chariot

Oh man - too much imagery - overload.

Wolf looking watching in the sky waxing Cresent moon with the star in the center

The orange cat at the bow of the red ark.  The container of all life that Noah built and had 2 of every kind inside of it before the great flood.

The red hair witch in the center of the gold firelike building. Red flames leave her as if she is standing in the midst of a head wind that is blowing the flames away from her.

Riding the waves of the ocean my stream, I control the water/energy.  I got it messed up again. 

I let my fear that I fucked up by doing a reading give her and the horrific shame post to me from M, gave them the ability to step in and redirect.  I also let my fear that I wouldn’t give her another session create this restriction.  I have the right to choose my clients.  If someone doesn’t feel right, I’m not going against my intuition.

There still is a lot on this card to go over, but for right now I am going to move on and come back to this later as a separate reading.

III The Empress

Not having Sammie has been a bit of a challenge, because he does have a bite and warns me of incoming shit.  I’ve neglected my keepers, guardians, watchers.  My alters are cluttered, dusty, in need of serious cleaning and refocusing. 

I need to consistently take care of me, my house if I am going to have any energy what so ever.  If I can’t even do that, I’m not letting my energy flow freely here in the safety of my own home.

I squander my energy so no wonder it was easy to deflect away.

And I have to work harder on the balances of my eclectic path.  Rituals, organization, lack of chaos, focus and finish.

I think Empress and Chariot need to sit out for a bit...reminders how to fix this.

“What can I do to reclaim the lost current, energy, and my power?” 

ISIS - Daughter of Swords in the South.

Cresent moons (all over the place even here) -  I think I really don’t enjoy this enough.  I think I am a bit leery of being full on crone and exactly what it would mean to my life.  Maybe it is time to start working on - really putting the divine energy into what I doing - instead of just.  It reminds me of things ‘on a shelf to show off’ but to really not use. Pretty but don’t touch.  Status but not execution.

My Egyptian divinity is missing Isis - I need to put these back on the alter with Auhk.  As much as I want them next to me, my ladies need to be with that alter, and I need to make it so I can reflect at that alter often.  Meditation in the morning.

In fact now I have Youtube on the Playstation I can do my meditation in the morning in the living room, with my alter.  This way my reclaiming is done daily.  I am reminded of my energy and my power, and give gratitude to it instead of getting on the computer and doing the meditation with that distraction.

I The Magician 

The many faces of magick.  The many ways of doing the same thing, the different paths, powers, all f them still structured but still achieve the same thing.  I am Eclectic but I am also drawn to three types; Egyptian, Celtic, Hopi.  Add Irish Catholic and Hindi into this creates a very powerful blend of strength and spice.I need to be as creative as I am creative.  I need to think of how each of my facets manifest, giving them their own ways, if that means multiple places and alters and shrines - so be it.

IX Hermit

OWLS - I need to really take my Inner Dimensions now and really start putting the plan together and executing.  I can’t wait until someone gives me the go.  If you build it they will follow but I have to put the energy out to have the follow.

All my owls.  All my night vision creatures.  Owl - pyramid - not sure but it seems like I need to stop looking for acceptance and just enjoy the different flavors, like icecream.  I don’t go and buy icecream for it to accept me, I go and buy icecream to enjoy it.

So true are the different groups.  I need to stop trying to get noticed and just enjoy the spaces.

And stop using outside influences to influence me.

“How do I prevent this from happening again” 

XVII Star

Monitoring my stream regularly and cleaning in it constantly.  My energy is a river, water, ocean, pool, pond, stream, brook, puddle even.  It can take the form of different levels.  But I must maintain it.  I realized that I have no water Alter.  I realized that I drink water daily and up until today in plastic, as I don’t think about the energy. I need to re-ground my water/earth.  I need to refind it.  

Interesting...bathing, cleansing.  And resalting.

Be real

Stay Open

Touch Lives

Create Value

(One of my wall posters.... )

And I need to go out night and sit outside in the dark down here and just rest.

Brigid of Ireland - Daughter of Cups in the North 

There’s my north.

Henge, Stonework, earth, Brigid.  I used to have a fiery red head goddess picture on my wall but it disappeared.  Maybe now it is time to recapture that spirit.  That strength of warrior.  Not to give up, to look each day as a challenge to win(?) My age has nothing to do with my energy.  My age is the body age, not my age.  I am not the body. I need to disconnect from that concept.

My gifts of prophecy, divination, poetry

Ruadan - I have heard that from Dan before......

And once again - Water/Wisdom.

Imbolc divides winter in half; the Crone months of winter are departing and the promise of the Spring Maiden is around the corner.

Hmmm - I am going to do some more meditation and reflection on her spirit and the star together.

Music to Listen to Chi Energy

[pearls-of-patton-moved]

Adronitis

Takes place in the Fata Organa AU.

Words: 1131

Pairing: Platonic analogical

The first tickle of his throat hits in the morning, and Logan worries for a moment before getting lost in his first class of the day. By lunchtime, he seems to be coughing a bit more than usual, but he’s already focused on a new research project he wants to start, and decides to skip lunch in favor of the library. It comes as a shocking realization to Logan, later that evening, when he glances up from the book he’s reading, to realize that he’s horribly cold and his head is pounding. Shocked at this sudden onset of illness, Logan quickly packs his things up and leaves the library, but by the time he’s reached the dorm, he barely has the energy left to set a water bottle on his nightstand and huddle under the covers. He curls up, but sleep proves difficult to come by, and every time he manages to drift off, he inevitably wakes himself up with yet another coughing fit.

By the time Logan wakes, the next morning, Virgil appears to have come and gone, and with a start, he reaches for his phone to check the time. The glaringly bright screen echoes 11:30 back at him, and Logan struggles to get up, having already missed one of his classes, and determined not to miss the rest. He feels sore and moves sluggishly around the dorm room gathering his things, but just before he can leave, the door bursts open as Virgil returns.

“What are you doing?” Virgil demands, glaring at Logan with a surprising ferocity.

“I overslept. A better question is why didn’t you wake me?” Logan growls back, irritated and still ridiculously tired.

“Overslept?” Virgil barks back. “You kept both of us up half the night with your coughing fits, and you’re worried about oversleeping?!” Logan tries to formulate a response, but Virgil is already stepping forward, crowding into his personal space and herding him back towards his bed.

“Get back in bed, idiot. Hell, you didn’t even eat the breakfast I left you, before trying to book it out of here!” Virgil steps to the side, as soon as Logan sits back down, and picks a tray up from it’s resting place on his nightstand.

“What-” Logan tries to ask, but Virgil is already interrupting him.

“You need to eat something. And drink the tea, too.”Virgil offers him the tray as soon as he’s settled, and Logan examines its contents. Fruit, oatmeal, and a cup containing the tea Virgil had mentioned.

“I can’t just skip my classes, Virgil, I might miss something important,” Logan argued, though he still picked up the spoon.

“Seeing as I already spoke to your teachers about it; yes, you definitely can. You haven’t missed a single day of class yet, and in case you haven’t noticed, you’re sick.” Virgil responded evenly. “The sooner you take the time to get better, the sooner you’ll be able to go back to class.” Silence descends on the two of them for a moment, as Logan eats, and Virgil rummages around in his backpack.

“You spoke to my teachers?” Logan quietly asks a minute later.”Why?”

“I mean, you’re sick.” Virgil looks back at him warily. “What else was I supposed to do?”

“Ignore me? You’ve never displayed an interest in interacting before. I just find it -odd- that you would choose to take an interest in me now when I’m ill.”

“I guess I’m just used to taking care of sick people. I’ve got to go to class.” With that, Virgil leaves Logan alone in their room once more. Carefully, he settles in to finish eating his breakfast, though it’s much closer to lunchtime now, Logan supposes.

The next day is Friday, and if anything, Logan feels even worse, so he stays in bed once again, annoyed with his body but unable to argue in the face of Virgil’s confident assumption of control. It reminds him of being back home, with Aunt Lacey fussing over him the moment he catches a cold. He tries to read his textbooks, to study and at least pretend to be productive, but his eyes can barely stay open, let alone focus, and mostly he ends up just sitting in bed, staring at the wall in front of him, waiting for time to pass. Virgil finds him like that, when he returns from his classes, staring straight ahead with unfocused eyes.

“Jeez, you look like you’ve been given a prison sentence. I’m surprised you’re not studying, actually.” Logan started to shake his head in response but aborted the motion immediately as it set his head spinning.

“I attempted it. My eyes seem to be having trouble maintaining focus on the words.”

“Oh, well you could watch some Netflix or something? It’s honestly creepy, you just staring at the wall like that.” Virgil placed a tray with more food beside Logan, before shrugging of his backpack.

“I do not have Netflix. It seemed an inadvisable expenditure when I should be spending my time studying.” Logan frowned, focusing on the food Virgil had brought him.

“Okay, that’s just sad. Where’s your laptop?” Logan pointed at his backpack, where it lay beside his bed, wondering what Virgil wanted with it.

“Ugh. password?” Virgil asked once the machine had successfully booted up.

“Mmm,” Logan mumbled. “Tomato.”

“That didn’t work, Logan. Are delirious too?”

“Not-” Logan frowned. “Not literally tomato. The scientific name. Solanum Lycopersicum.”

“Sola- what?”

“Solanum Lycopersicum. It’s the scientific name for the tomato. Just google it.” This time, Virgil had brought Logan some kind of soup, so he sniffed at it. It smelled like chicken broth.

“Right. Of course, that’s your password.” Virgil pulled out his phone and started typing.

“What are you doing anyway?’ Logan blew into the soup, watching Virgil out of the corner of his eye.

“I’m logging you into my Netflix account. You need something to do, and it has plenty of documentaries. I’m sure one of them will interest you.” Virgil typed into the computer for a moment more. “There, your own profile and everything. Enjoy. I’m going for a run.” And once again Virgil was out the door, leaving Logan adrift in Virgil’s complete shift in personality over the past two days.

Logan’s feeling marginally better the next day, and by Sunday afternoon, he’s feeling well enough to leave their room for his meals. Logan worries temporarily that Virgil’s been infected with whatever caught hold of him, but that fear proves unfounded, and Virgil remains as healthy as ever. With Logan’s returned health, Virgil’s attitude returns mostly to normal, but Logan finds his curiosity about his aloof roommate has only been heightened after this most recent incident. He only wishes he had an idea of how to properly thank Virgil for his help.

tags taken from the fanders taglist

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[mysplaced-pen]

How (whatever characher you feel inspired to do) react to: they are eating icecream with their s/o and then mc drops the ball of ice cream.So now mc is left with just the cone. Thank you in advance!

hey there, and you’re welcome! I hope you don’t mind, but I’m just gonna make this for everyone lol ^^; side note this almost happened to me once but i managed to catch the thing b les s

thank you for requesting!♥

zen

they went to get ice cream bc it was hot af outside 

and they’re sharing with each other every once in awhile because they’re disgusting adorable

mc is about to give zen another bite before it just kinda…falls to the floor

they both look down for a second

zen starts laughing a little and tbh so does mc 

but they’re disappointed and zen can tell

so he gives them his ice cream cone yall best believe one of them still eats the other cone

“we can eat it together, babe. or i can get another one if you really want one”

they eat it together, which zen actually enjoys more?? 

he kinda stops and stares at them every so often that his side of the cone keeps dripping

“zen, it’s dripping down your fingers” *fake gasp* “mc, kids are here” gfdi zen

he gets slapped on the shoulder, but it was totally worth it 

yoosung

they got some to end a date 

and the two of them got so caught up in talking to each other, mc didn’t notice they were tilting their cone until it fell

this boy gets sad for them because it’s happened to him before

though mc isn’t too disappointed, but they were looking forward to it

“i’ll get you another one, mc!” and they let him their superman

he gets it in a cup this time 

but since mc still has the cone…

they put it on top of the ice cream in the cup

yoosung literally becomes his star-eyed emoji 

“that’s actually..a really good idea”

and so he does the same 

it’s their new way to eat ice cream now 

jaehee

a new ice cream shop opened nearby

and jaehee thought it would be nice to take her (new!) date mate there for a first date

mc was ecstatic same, mc, same

but like when they got there, mc started getting nervous

jaehee was just…so pretty 

and she was laughing to something they said, looking per fect 

mc could barely contain themselves 

when they dropped the ice cream, they lost their nerves and started stuttering

jaehee came in like the superwoman she is and helps them clean the ice cream before just offering to share

and to calm them down, she kisses their nose are you sure that’s calming them, jaehee?

asks for two spoons and holds the cone while they share jaehee’s ice cream 

turns out, jaehee was nervous too but that actually helped her 

they’re so cute

jumin

these two were out on the town and mc decided they should have ice cream

jumin agreed and found them a nice seat outside

they sat next to each other, hands holding and just talking about everything

a breeze blew by, though and mc couldn’t save their ice cream 

he already finished his, it was a small cup

jumin immediately tells them he’d get them a new one 

which he does, you know 

and right before he gives it to them, he leans down and pecks their lips

“the wind blew away your sweet treat, but it didn’t blow away mine”

yeah, jumin, because you finished yours

“oh really?” mc says, thinking he’s teasing her 

“yes. because my sweet treat is you”

wow how g ross 

707 / luciel / saeyoung

they got an ice cream maker oh b oy 

and it actually managed to work out!

they were eating ice cream in the kitchen, marvelling at their work

and then mc’s ice cream dropped

seven busted out laughing. mc glared at him

had the robot cat clean it up while he went to get a bowl and some spoons

put his ice cream into the bowl 

“give me your cone” he said while giving them a spoon

and they did so, but they had no idea why…

until he put the cones on his head

“look, mc! I’m an alien!” 

now mc started laughing 

he kept the cones on while sharing the ice cream

v / jihyun

ice cream! v’s treat!

mc got mint chocolate chip half because they loved it, half because it reminded them of him

and then it fell to the floor as soon as she sat down 

literally nothing went wrong, it just fell

they got all pouty for a minute

“mc? are you okay?” 

“oh, yes! thank you for asking!” *smile for v* bc its what he deserves

“mc…what happened?” he can’t see;;; “nothing.”

eventually gets mc to tell him

“aw, you should’ve just told me. here, have mine.” 

this is why they didn’t tell you, jihyun

now they get even more pouty

“can’t we share, v?” they ask, in a bit of a mumble

*blushy v noises* “o-oh, of course!”

mc grins and scoots over, sharing his ice cream cone 

he never stops blushing 

saeran

i have a feeling saeran’s not sharing 

but! he doesn’t laugh when it falls

he actually gets so upset

“no, your ice cream!” 

this bean gets mc another one, no hesitation 

smiles when he gets back, “here you go!”

he’s like a little kid with ice cream, mc is living

he even gets a spoon and puts some of his in the extra cone

mc does the same

now it’s a swirl! which they share!!

said swirl is now lowkey saeran’s favorite because it reminds him of that day

so now he always asks for a double scoop

[kpop-drabble]

I only want to taste some ice cream loving [wonpil]

Anonymous said "Could you write a precious Wonpil fluff where you work at a ice cream shop and you two have like a lock eye moment where its like woah my heart is break dancing, so he begins to visit the shop often to make small talk until he finally decides to ask you out on a date! I don't really know what else to add to it but something just fluff as heck"

Pairing : Wonpil x Reader Word Count : 2,167 A/N : aaaa, thank you so much for the request i love wonpil so this was so fun 2 write; i hope this was up to your 'fluff as heck' standards owo. im not like 100% abt the ending bc i was like IDK HOW 2 END THIS so that was born. also i couldnt find a good title bc i usually do lyrics but did u kno all ice cream lyrics r abt blowjobs bc i was Thrown Tf Off. and im also considering writing a sequel just of the date and make it extra fluffy but idk, we'll see. tell me if you'd read that. again than you for the request and support ilu so very much.

REQUESTS ARE OPEN

"He's checking you out." Is probably the last thing you'd like to hear during your eight hour shift for two reasons. One: you're not necessarily great at saying no and you've got many blocked messages from people that asked for your number to prove. Two: The main demographic for the icecream shop that you worked in consisted of either small groups of children coming to celebrate their win in whatever sports they persue or large, rowdy groups of pre-teens that probably had to borrow money from their parents for this outing with friends. The second one was one that you feared most, as pre-teens are very easily persuaded by their group of friends to act out, which has lead to the couple of times you've actually managed to nicely say no to someone. And its overall just odd to be hit on by an overly confident prepubescent person while their group of friends egged him on and watching with eyes of a hawk. With these two factors in mind, instead of delving into Jae's teasing words, you keep your back towards the store and keep your circular montions going as you wiped down the counter for an unnecessarily long amount of time. "I said-" Jae started, much louder than before, as if he didn't know that you chosen to ignore him and instead were oblivious to his words due to the murmur of several conversations happening within the small icecream shop, "He's checking you out."

"Must you insist-" "I know most times its for gags when I say this, but there is a guy, who looks to be our age, blantantly staring over at you over his banana split," Jae cut you off short, you only lifted your head momentarily to look over at where Jae stood, head turned to look in what you assumed was the general direction of the customer that he spoke of, "He's got icecream on his chin." He offhandedly commented, his hand absentmindedly raising to rub at his own chin before he was turning his eyes to you. Your eyes held nothing but unamusement as you kept Jae's stare, a silent conversation held between you two before you were bowing your head to look back down at the cloth you held loosely against the metal table top, "Is he cute at least?" Jae was silent for a moment, most likely pondering his words before you could vaguely hear his hum as he came up with an appropriate response, "Personally, no." He started, your eyes already beginning to roll before he could continue on, "But objectively speaking, if I were to look at it from your point of view," You turned your head once more to watch as Jae cocked his head to the side, eyes narrowing in on the customer before he was shaking his head up and down with confidence, "Then yes i suppose he is okay." "'Okay'," You huffed out, turning on the heel of your sneaker so you could face Jae completely, eyes strained to keep forward instead of looking off to where Jae had been staring, "Should I- like, make eye contact?" "No, you dont want to look desperate," He immediately quirked up, eyes finally dragging away from how he had been blatantly staring to meet yours once more. You had half a mind to be annoyed before he was continuing on, "Just make it casual, act cool." Act cool, you recounted the words in your head as Jae turned away from you to tend to a couple customers that have been staring helplessly at the menu for coming up to a minute now. Act cool You weren't necessarily sure what 'acting cool' would consist of, so you just gradually began to move your way to the counter near the side of the shop that Jae had made clear the customer was, your hands halfheartedly working over the top of the counter to collect dust and melted ice cream.

Act cool You lifted your head as nonchalantely as you possibly could, head only tilted enough so you could look up through your lashes. The sight before you was much like every other day, near the door sat a couple, two spoons and one cup of icecream between the two of them. Disgusting. Somewhere in the middle was a family, the parents fussing over the childrens messy clothes as the icecream readily melted on the cone and dripped down their small pudgy hands. And against the furthest wall was a group of three boys that looked to be around Jae and your own age, two of them rowdier as they talked over each other. And then there was him amongst the loud talking group of three. Large dark eyes, the colour holding a large resemblance to a rich dark chocolate, were locked on you. His lips were a dark pink from the chill of the icecream and had a sheer coating of wetness that made them look glossy. And as Jae had mentioned, a small gallop of icecream sat in the center of his chin, slowly inching down leaving a slug like trail in its wake. There wasn't any coherant words that you could come up with on the spot to explain the swoop in your stomach at the sudden lock of eyes across the room, there was no logical reasoning for the butterflies clouding your chest and yet it was there, and growing much denser every passing second your eyes stayed connected with the soft depths of the boys. It was almost like a daze passed as the boy across the rooms lashes fluttered, glints in his eyes from reflected light dimming as he came to and realized that you had noticed him watching. Rouge coloured the tops of his cheek bones and his wet lips parted as if he wanted to say something, but nothing came out and even if it had the distance between the two of you would have prevented you from making it out. With embarrassment seeping into every pore making itself prominent, he turned away from your locked stare and looked at the table with a petrified look in his eyes. You let out a breath from your parted lips, the feeling in your chest lessening but the tightness lingered as you turned to look at Jae. You dont know how long he had been watching, but the lopsided smirk on his lips was telling enough. "Oh, shut up." Regular customers aren't an uncommon occurance when you work in an ice cream shop, in fact the city that it's located in isn't that big which leads you to be able to greet at least a handful of customers by name everytime they came in. But prior to the fateful day where you locked eyes with the customer, you hadn't seen him around the shop before. Which made you more hyper aware of every time he came in, something that was becaming near weekly. Sometimes he'd return with the group of boys that you had seen him with the first time and sometimes he'd come alone accompanied only by his phone which he dug his nose into as he ate (hiding behind the screen of his phone hardly masked each time his eyes dragged away to look up at where you stood behind the counter). But unlike the changing of the group in which he comes with, there are certain things that dont change. He orders the same banana split with extra sprinkles and caramel sauce, and he sits at the table against the wall. Much like other regulars that you've come accostumed to, you had fallen into the same habit each time the boy walked into the shop. After his third visit you began to press in his order before he had made it to the counter and after his sixth visit his name was brought up in the casual conversation you both held as you put in his order, and thus started your greetings on a first name basis. No matter how regular of a customer that he'd become, the butterflies stayed persistent each time the bell above the door chimmed and you were met with soft waves of brown hair and a perminent bright smile. Today was no different.

"Wonpil, its a shock to see you here on a Tuesday," You joked casually as the stranger approached the counter, your fingers already moving across the cash register to press in his order. "Thought I'd shake up the schedule a little and come a day earlier than usual," He shot right back with only minor hesitation, his confidence levels much higher than the first couple encounters that you two had prior. He held an embarrassing innocence around him the first time you both had actually held a casual conversation as he was ordering; which lead him to ponder over his responses for a little too long which inturn would inevitably paint his cheeks scarlet. Overtime you could see him becoming more comfortable and confident in your short conversations, but the innocence that you were first met with was still apparent each time you looked over in his direction and caught his already lingering stare. "Getting a little wild this week," You said on a soft laugh, looking up at him once you had finished processing the banana split, met with confident eyes that glinted from the dull light of the icecream shop and a bright toothy smile to match. "Yes I'm feeling unnaturally wild today, I might even switch up my order," You smacked your palm down onto the metal table top, going along with his over the top playfulness on this sudden change in what seemed to be his new schedule. "Unnaturally wild indeed!" You cooed, fingers swiftly moving over the cash register to delete the previous banana split you had put in, fingers lingering over the keys as you waited, "Then what should I get you today?" There was a seconds pause in the conversation, your head still bowed to look at the cash register as you waited for what you assumed was him making up his mind on what else he could try within the shop. "A simple chocolate dip would suffice," He spoke, his voice slow and thought out as if he was stalling to keep from saying something, but you put no thought into it as you put in his new order. You were about to open your mouth to ring out the new cost before Wonpil's voice was heard once more cutting your sentence off before it could begin, "And a date," Your fingers froze over the cash registers buttons, eyes flickering up to meet his own. The brown swirls completely drained of their confident light and were heavy with something boardering the line between embarrassment and dread. "Maybe?" He tacked on when you hadn't answered him, his voice coming out in a waver and nervous, reminding you of the boy who avoided direct eye contact and rung his fingers everytime he talked to you on the first day you had officially met.

You couldnt help the small embarrassed smile from crossing your lips as your cheeks heated up to an uncomfortably warm temperature, sure enough to leave a glow of red in its wake. You momentarily averted your gaze to the windows leading out to the sidewalk, trying to collect yourself and tame your wildly beating heart. You slowly began to nod your head in response, eyes dragging towards where Wonpil still stood before you, eyes hooded and calculated as he watched each movement you had done in response to his request. "We'll be getting a new delivery of dates at 6pm, when my shift ends," You said, hoping he'd understand your hints and that the playful response was to go along with his ice cream and date order. Wonpil blinked at you for a moment, whether it be because he was in shock or because he was trying to understand what you had said, but in no time his eyes were lighting up to their original confidentfilled brightness, the toothy smile quirking up his lips no matter how hard he tried to tamper it down as to not look too excited, "Then I will be back at 6pm sharp to.. uh.. pick up my date." You nodded quickly, clearing your throat in attempt to push the butterflies back down into your stomach so you could properly speak, "It'll be 2.50 for the cone, though." He stared at you for a moment longer before his smile turned embarrassed and his hand rose to scratch at the back of his neck, "I dont actually- necessarily want icecream today. In fact I'm kind of sick of it." "Then why did you keep coming back each week?" "It was a good excuse to come back and be able to see you." And just as the first time your eyes met across the room, your stomach swooped without clear explanation as to why and the butterflies returned with vengeance.

[touringwithtwonager-blog]

Southern Italy with a Threenager

It’s been 6 months since we arrived home from this magical place and I think it’s taken that long for me to get my thoughts in order - it was sooooo wonderful and a great place to visit with a small person in tow.

We flew into Rome and settled in for 3 nights at the IQ hotel.  We chose this hotel because it had strong family-friendly reviews and was walking distance to the Colosseum.  I would absolutely recommend this hotel as it has everything you need for traveling with a little one - a good sized mini-fridge and some cutlery so you can throw together snacks in the room, a small playground and (here comes the best bit) a wine vending machine! This proved to be very handy as jet lag was the winner for this leg of our trip meaning we often took turns at going out to eat meals while the other one hung with the threenager who was either sleeping or in a filthy mood.  The location was fine but quite touristy - if I were visiting again, I think I’d rather stay further south where there are less English translations on restaurant blackboards.  

We did manage to do once around the town on the hop-on-hop-off bus (with the threenager asleep on our laps), a quick visit to the Colosseum (plan this bit better than we did) and a fabulous walk to the Trevi Fountain.  I had read a wonderful idea to give the threenager a purse full of coins and to throw one in every fountain we saw. This was excellent fun and a great way to interact with the incredible architecture.  We also adored a visit to the Pantheon with even the threenager feeling the little bit of magic that is in that place.  

From Rome, we jumped on the train to Naples and then caught the ferry to Sorrento. Train travel is so easy in Italy and I would highly recommend.  We chose Sorrento as our Amalfi coast home base because it is flatter than many towns in this vicinity and within easy distance to Pompeii which was a bucket-list destination for me. Whilst Sorrento isn’t as picturesque as Positano or Amalfi, it really was a wonderful base and I would recommend it for travellers with kids. We stayed at a small apartment booked through booksorrentovillas and whilst it wasn’t the most decked-out accomodation we’ve ever stayed in, it was comfy and in a fabulous location - great restaurants just around the corner, easy walk to the beach and marina and on a ridiculously charming cobbled laneway.  I loved sitting out on our little balcony with a cup of coffee and waving to the neighbours as they hung out their washing or came home from the shops. It really felt like living there. 

From Sorrento, we launched some excellent day trips.  We caught the train to Pompeii for the day - not the ideal destination with a threenager (as I could have stayed for twice as long on my own) but still lots of fun for all of us as nothing is fenced off and there are lots of little doorways and pathways for exploration.  We caught the ferry to Positano and spent an idyllic day on the beach there. We spent a day on deck chairs at one of Sorrento’s private beaches - not cheap but ultra-relaxing.

But the highlight was a day trip to Ristorante Santa Croce just off Amalfi. This is a restaurant with a private beach which I can only describe as “paradiso sulla terra”.  Make a booking with them the day before and they will pick you up from Amalfi in their small boat and take you for a day of lazing on the beach interspersed with eating the most sublime Italian food overlooking the water. If you are in the neighbourhood, this is a MUST.  Spend the extra $ on taking the ferry to all of these destinations - it’s worth it for the beautiful views and not having to deal with hair-raising bus trips along the windy roads.

After five nights in Sorrento, it was time to catch the ferry back to Naples and then train to Pizzo which is a sleepy seaside town in Calabria overlooking the Tyrhennian sea. “Why Pizzo,” I hear you ask. Well, Rocco the Italian deli owner in our neighbourhood recommended it so enthusiastically to my husband that we booked a week there on the strength of his recommendation.  Lucky it was good or it was going to be awkward next time we went to buy prosciutto!

If you are looking for sightseeing and adventure, Pizzo is not for you.  If you would like a relaxed family beach holiday, Pizzo is the only place you need to be. Here’s why: it has perfectly clear, waist-height, smooth water, the weather in June was around 27 degrees and sunny every day and every second shop sells gelato. We stayed at an incredible apartment right on the beach with views across the sea to Stromboli volcano. From there we could take an easy five minute stroll along the beach to lovely relaxed restaurants or we could walk up the hill to the piazza which is a wonderland of Italian food and ice-cream.  On Sunday nights it is buzzing with Italian families after church and is a wonderful place to have a glass of prosecco and feel a part of real Italian life before wandering down the hill to the sound of church bells.  The only challenge in Pizzo was that the supermarkets were quite a way from our accomodation but Ciccio runs a car service that will drive you to the supermarket and wait while you do a big shop.  

I have to admit, we didn’t do much in Pizzo beside go to the beach although we did head to Tropea which is its more-famous neighbour a half-hour drive down the road.  Tropea is visually stunning and perfect for making people back home jealous with your postcard-worthy photos but actually is not as nice a beach for swimming as Pizzo and a little hard to get around as the beach is at the bottom of a colossal hill with all the food and icecream at the top.  

After a week, we reluctantly said goodbye to Pizzo and began the drive south to cross the straight and head to Taormina in Sicily.  A couple of locals told us we were silly for driving and should have caught the train and they may well have been right although we really enjoyed the drive and especially the crossing on the car ferry - you have never seen a ferry cafe like this one. My head almost exploded from the incredible offering of panini, arancini and torta that was on offer.  On a ferry!

Taormina is a visually stunning town built onto a hillside in the shadow of Mount Etna. We stayed at Hotel Villa Angela which was beautifully appointed and had a wonderful pool. The only downside was it was full of English tourists which made life easy but by that stage of our trip, our Italian had improved so much we missed speaking it here.  We only had two nights here and the first day was largely eaten up with travel but we loved visiting the Greek amphitheatre (my dream performance venue) and spending a couple of hours on the beach.  We also ate more than our fair share of cannoli.  I could easily have stayed a couple more days and explored the town more - it is truly gorgeous.

We had a hair-raising drive to the airport due to a crash on the freeway and then flew back to Rome where we had one more night before the marathon flight home to Melbourne.  This time we stayed closer to Vatican City at the Isa Design Hotel.  I liked this more as by this stage we had our bearings and felt more confident with staying in a less touristy area of Rome.  Also it’s near the best gelateria we went to on the whole trip - I recommend you cross town to try the gelati at Gelateria La Romana.  

Overall, I would say Southern Italy is fabulous for traveling with kids. The only thing I’d do differently would be to head straight to the beach and lose a couple of jet laggy days with the ocean nearby and save exploring Rome until the end.  My biggest recommendation would be to give yourself time to base yourself in a place for more than a couple of nights and have time to explore and relax - Italy is not just for looking at, it is for experiencing.  

[kpop-drabble]

SEVENTEEN AS DADS

Vernon - The “Cool” Dad - always attempting to be your friend more than a father figure, attempts to get their child to spill the latest ‘gosp’ - “dad what the hell is gosp” “its teenage lingo for gossip, i keep up with you youngsters” - cue eye rolling - he’s incredibly chill about nearly everything and allows them to do whatevee they want, for the most part. - the only restriction is that it can’t be illegal - and if it is he told them to lie about who their father was. - all their friends are jealous over how ‘cool’ of a dad their have, no matter how many times they tell them how uncool he truly is he has everyone tricked that he’s some super dad

Soonyoung - The Embarrassing Dad - insists on making their kids lunch one time and puts an embarrassing “have a good day love you -Dad” in the bag without warning. - all their friends cooed and haven’t let them live it down since. - he’s the type to make embarrassingly bad dad jokes when talking to others and then looks over at their kid for a reaction - a pitiful thumbs up and embarrassed smile is the best kind of reaction that he’s looking for - constantly trying to talk to their kids friends when they’re over - “why doesn’t that one friend come over anymore?” “because you broke out the baby pictures last time and i would rather not relive your hour ling stories about the past, and neither would she”

Seungkwan - The emotional dad - constantly crying - oh my god their kids have never seen a grown man cry so much in their lives - always reminiscing about their kids past and getting emotional about how big they’ve gotten - at every graduation that the child has lives through theres always friends that make comment about his screaming once you get on stage - every picture you have to commemorate this moment has a very red eyed blotchy faced Seungkwan, their child always looks less than impressed. - it’s nice to have a dad so passionate about their child but sometimes you just need someone that wont cry because you’ve made your first purchase with your own money that you made from your first job

Seokmin - The Scrapbooking Dad - always insisting on taking pictures - it doesnt matter the occasion, it doesn’t matter how relevant any of it is, he wants a picture and he wants it now. - his kids could make those “365 pictures throughout the year” collage videos you find on the internet dating back to their toddler years just from how many pictures Seokmin had taken. - he has a bookcase full of scrapbooks hes made - he takes the time to decorate them, with pretty stickers and dates each picture with a short description of each. - its not just a picture book, its a life story showcasing every little insignificant thing that his kids have accomplished since birth. - “dad, can we please take that picture of me on the potty off?” “no, its the first time you took a shit and i didn’t have to clean a diaper, it’s staying for memory sake”

Seungcheol - Over protective dad - they cab only have a phone because he insists on using the find your friends app when his kids go out just to make sure that if anything happens he could always find their kid and help out - if they’re one minute past curfew expect said phone to be blown up with questions about where they are. - “you were suppose to be home at 10:00 its now 10:02, i checked traffic and it is light so there isnt any excuse” - is protective and inforces his rules but isn’t terribly rude and would never actually punish his kids (he’s too soft, but ultimatey just wants the best for them) - interogates any significant other that their child brings home, and as they protest in embarassment he simply says hes making sure to rule out any one not worthy of their time. - always has their best interests in mind though they may not realize it until they’re much older - probably has a bat near his bed so if needed he could protect them from anything and anyone who trys to hurt their kid

Jeonghan - The Charming Dad - all their kids friends are completely endeared by him - they’ve heard the word DILF to describe him one too many times that its starting to take some effect on their mental wellbeing - he’s able to talk himself out of many things and their kids have had to sit by idly as they watched their dad talk up another worker to attempt to get some sort of discount - probably has pictures of the family around the house solely to show off how attractive all of them are when guest comes over - he’s ultimately very proud of how beautiful his family has come out, and wants the world to know about how absurdly beautiful they are compared to other families. - its not opinion its Fact.

Jihoon - Passive but Encouraging Dad - not very good at showing how much they love their kids but try their very hardest without having to say directly that he loves them - shows he cares by encouraging their dreams and never tries to hold them back from their dreams - he may not be very involved in their kids lifes but when they come to him with something they claim to be passionate about he’s suddenly #1 dad. - he’ll always be the first to encourage them to chase after whatever they want - and even if they drop it after a couple weeks because it wasn’t exactly the right fit Jihoon will accept it and continue to support them through any other projects they wished to pursue. - their kids know that he loves them through those kind of actions.

Mingyu - The Expirmentive Dad - always trying out new recipes for dinner - his kids have started becoming wary after the his few failed attempts and know to prepare something to eat afterwards just incase his experiment doesnt work out in his favour - never follows a reciepe - “dad it said a tea spoon not a cup” “it’s better this way, just trust me.” - it was not better this way. - he tries his very hardest to make good dishes for his family and sometimes they actually turn out decent. - and when they dont, no matter if mingyu himself knows it wasn’t the best, his kids say it was good while only eating a couple bites of it - he’s grateful that they eat the prepared foods somewhere that hes not (sometimes he goes to their room and they share their snacks with him, but thats only when he’s failed terribly and hes gone desperate)

Chan - The Involved dad - Their child is apart of a school club? he’ll be apart of it just as much. - “Do you guys want me to make snacks?” “Dad its not necessary-” “i’ll pack snacks.” - always insists on going to parent teacher night to talk with each of their kids teacher one on one, he doesnt do it because he thinks his kids are miss behaving just solely for the opprotunity to be apart of their kids lifes just that much more - was their kids soccer couch for most of their junior soccer days, but when their kids approached them about joining a different team he unwillingly allowed them to do so to allow them to be happy - he still attenda each game and became the most embarrassing side line dad at the game - “signs are necessary” chan ignores their kids as he pours another large amount of glitter onto the atrocious sign with his kids name and number on it.

Junhui - The Teasing Dad - constantly making jokes about their kid, it mostly happens when they have friends over or when theyre at a family get together - some how always managing to make their child the center of attention at the family dinners, each family member taking turns to tease his kid. - he definitely does not attempt to stop it because he was the one that started it and seeing his kids get all embarrassed is kind of a highlight to being a father. - Is probably always trying to get a hug or affection from their child especially when friends are around just to embarrass them that much more - He doesn’t mind being rejected in front of all their friends when he goes in for a hug, because the embarrassed hiden smile that his kid has when they turn back to apologize to their friend is enough of a reward

Jisoo - The Overly-Loving Father - he’s wanted to be a dad since he was a child and now that he’s able to do so he doesnt waste any opprotunity to remind his kid about how much he loves them - sometimes he shows his love in materialistic manners - he buys they loads of gifts for every special occasion and still insists on making them do an easter chocolate egg hunt well into their teenage years - he gets really creative when it comes to things like this so their child doesnt really mind, the chocolate is always a bonus - is always trying to get family outings to be a thing and his favourite holiday is family day. Definitely family day because he can use it as an excuse to force his kids to spend time with him.

Wonwoo - The helpful dad - the stereotype that dads are suppose to be good at physical labour such as fixing cars and doing sports falls short when it comes to wonwoo - he couldn’t necessarily fix their car if they asked him to but he could help them ace their  physics exam - and if they didn’t wish to read a book that was assigned for english, he’s probably already read it front to back more than once and is more than willing to help them out - he’s not too anal about good grades but encourages them to try their hardest - they’ve probably had to sit through a small half hearted lecture about genuinely putting their best into things when Wonwoo feels like their grades are slipping

Minghao - The “I didn’t sign up for this” Dad - never really meant to become a dad but it ??? sort of happened and he enjoys it he just was never ready to become one - therefore he really doesn’t know what to do. - during toddler years he’d make any excuse not to be alone with the baby for too long, too frighten that he’d mess it up so severly that he usually calls over his mom to help out - he’s gotten better over the years but still doesn’t properly know how to dad - tries more to be a friend than a dad - whenever their child is in trouble, lets the other parent do the scolding and then retreats up to their childs bedroom with a bowl of icecream to try and make amends better. -he’s sort of getting the hang of things but their kids highly doubt he ever fully will know what being a parent consists of. - but thats okay, he’s trying his very best.