#my big sister is surprisingly good at cooking nowadays

[yardsards]

going to other people's houses for dinner is wild because it's such a crapshoot on what kind of culinary experience you're about to have. some places it's just delightful and you feel like you're in that one scene in ratatouille where it's all colourful when he tastes the ingredients. other places it feels like whatever the fuck is on your plate is a close cousin of the pulp they use in paper manufacturing and you wish you had pulled a hillary clinton and smuggled some hot sauce in your bag

[giallo-jello]

What I Watched In April 2022

This list is going to really expose that I took advantage of a Disney+ account...(Somewhat.)

Also in this one,I will do my best to include mentioning movies I didn’t enjoy this month to make this list more interesting.

Encanto(2021,directed by Bryan Howard,Jared Bush)

A Colombian teenage girl has to face the frustration of being the only member of her family without magical powers.

Encanto is a modern classic in my eyes.

The layers of storytelling in this blows me away. While it is a simple one to follow,its narrative can go beyond that and have fascinating themes of generational family trauma throughout as well as a great universal message that you don’t have to meet an impossibly high expectation placed on you,nor that what makes you special is not the prodigal abilities you’ve gain,but it’s what who you are as a person that defines how special you can be. And that is a great message to be told,especially in a Disney movie.

The visuals in this movie are gorgeous. While Encanto is heavily influenced and inspired by Colombian culture,I think the movie does a good job as a whole to highlight and pay tribute to Latinx culture in general. As a Mexican American,I could relate and feel so seen through these characters as well as feel a sense of nostalgia and pride when I see scenes of their family having a cook out and eating together.

And the songs are done so well in this too. Of course the main highlight of the soundtrack is We Don’t Talk About Bruno but I also heavily appreciated and loved the others like the opening song The Family Madrigal,Waiting for a Miracle,Luisa’s song Surface Pressure,and the heartbreaking song Dos Oruguitas to name a few.

This is probably the most Disney fan girling I have done in a long time. While I don’t consider myself a big Disney fanatic nowadays,I still love the gems from this studio that can still surprise me every once in awhile.

Welcome to the Dollhouse(1995,directed by Todd Solondz)

An awkward seventh-grader struggles to cope with inattentive parents, snobbish class-mates, a smart older brother, an attractive younger sister and her own insecurities in suburban New Jersey.

This movie was fucked up. And it’s no surprise that this was the same person who directed the movie Happiness.(I have not personally seen that one but I have heard about the plot details and that alone scarred me.) While the movie itself is surprisingly more toned down than that other one,I can confidently say it still was hard to watch.

The middle school bullying was so brutal because of its accuracy. We have been told that kids are innocent yet we fail to acknowledge that kids are cruel when placed in a social hierarchy system like this one.

This was also listed under dark comedy and I think the “comedic” moments for me flew over my head entirely.(And this is coming from someone who laughs at Re-Animator.) All I kept thinking throughout was how badly I felt for Dawn and wished I was watching Carrie instead towards the end of this bleak movie.

I just didn’t enjoy this one at all. It kept flashing me back to my own bullying I endure in school as a kid.(But it wasn’t as extreme as Dawn’s though.)

Blue Velvet(1986,directed by David Lynch)

The discovery of a severed human ear found in a field leads a young man on an investigation related to a beautiful, mysterious nightclub singer and a group of psychopathic criminals who have kidnapped her child

So this is another fucked up film yet I enjoyed this more.

I have seen this once before years ago,yet I didn’t get it my first viewing. Nowadays,after gaining more experience with watching midnight movies and camp movies in general,I decided to give it another shot and ended up really falling for it.

It’s a movie that wants you to look at it like an abstract painting and have you feel the story instead of having it explained to you.

I love the opening to this movie. It’s possibly one of my all time favorite openings. It was a nice prelude to the events that will follow.

Dennis Hopper as Frank was the ultimate highlight. On paper,Frank could’ve been a very cartoonish character. In some ways he is,but because of Hopper’s acting he added more depth to Frank. By his long stares alone he was able to tell so much of who his character is.

Blue Velvet is hauntingly beautiful and I can’t stop thinking about it. I hope this motivates me more to give Twin Peaks another chance(I know. It’s practically a Cinema Sin that I haven’t fully watch the series yet.)

She’s Too Young(2004,directed by Tom McLoughlin)

Halifax is hit with an outbreak of STD's among high-school students. Among them is Hannah Vogul, and her horrified mother tries to find out the story of why this is happening.

Of course a 50-something-year-old man directed this movie.

This is not just trash. It’s LifeTime level trash.

If you’re looking for a realistic depiction of how teens are pressured,this isn’t it. But if you love ridiculous so bad it’s good dramas with great 2000s fashion than this is the one for you.

It’s funny to see how teens are perceived by such out of touch adults. This has the same propaganda energy as Reefer Madness.

It’s just so funny to see in this movie that a STD epidemic happened at the school and they’re trying to find patient zero in one plot line.

(My only complaint is the vague racism in this.)

Dick(1999,directed by Andrew Fleming)

After wandering off during a White House tour, two high school girls inadvertently become Richard Nixon's top secret advisers at the height of the Watergate scandal.

This has the same energy as Romy and Michelle’s High School Reunion. I don’t know why but it does. And I love it.

I love all the callbacks to 70s fashion and 70s American subculture. I have no clue about the very details of the Watergate scandal but it has me interested in researching it.

Not much to say about this one. It’s very cute and pretty funny too.

When a Stranger Calls(2006,directed by Simon West)

During a babysitting gig, a high-school student is harassed by an increasingly threatening prank caller.

This was one of the rare good horror reboots I can say I enjoyed.

It’s tricky to get a story like this right enough for a full length feature,yet it does absolutely work.

The set-up is a classic Hitchcock suspense trick. Actually presenting to us,the audience,what kind of danger awaits for the protagonist in it,while it also removes the sense of safety in the process as well.

The atmosphere is so great in it too. It has us get familiar with the setting but also have us on guard when showing the interior in wide dimly lit background shots,having us wonder if the stranger is looming in the shadows.

I also love the final girl in this movie. She acts like a normal teenager being both angsty and funny. In my eyes she is not one dimensional at all.

While this does have its flaws here and there,I think it was one of the better reboots that came out around its time when horror reboots were a big trend. It wasn’t an obvious cash grab.

Worth The Re-Watch?

So this mini section is something I made for myself and I will mainly go over movies I have seen in the past that I decided to re-watch and give a very brief yes or no on if they still hold up for me.(And this is also a quick lazy way for me to describe these movies I don’t have time to talk about.)

The Yes List:

Atlantis The Lost Empire(2001,directed by Gary Trousdale and Kirk Wise)

Toy Story 3(2010,directed by Lee Unkrich)

Freaky Friday(2003,directed by Mark Waters)

Just Like Heaven(2005,directed by Mark Waters)

The No List

A Bug’s Life(1998,directed by John Lasseter)

The DUFF(2015,directed by Ari Sandel)

And that’s a wrap.

<3

[thecairomuse]

What are the most popular beauty tricks among Egyptians?❤

First off I love your blog, sending love from Cairo <3

A lot of modern day Egyptian beauty secrets are inspired by the ancient Egyptians. It's really interesting to see how these practices have been preserved through generations and have survived migration and colonisation.

Salon culture

Visiting Salons regularly is very big here. There is an abundance of salons EVERYWHERE and the prices are very reasonable. Many will choose to get their hair done weekly. Getting manis and pedis is also a popular choice. Regular facials are also increasing in demand.

I would recommend the movie 'Caramel' to those who want to learn more about the salon culture in the MENA region, it's incredibly accurate.

Kohl

The ancient Egyptians used to apply kohl for purification purposes and to protect themselves from any evil. My grandmother applies kohl daily, she makes it at home, for purification purposes. Most girls nowadays will apply it to make their eyes look more intense. It's definitely my favorite step of my makeup routine, it makes such a nice difference. I'll probably have to make a whole post on kohl, how to make it, how to use it and the history behind.

Lemon water rinse

My grandmother always told me to soak my hair in lemon water. personally I like to use it as a rinse (and mix it with ACV). It makes your hair very shiny and is good if you have hard water.

Henna

Henna! what a fun topic. My grandmother and my mom use henna on their hair, it is a natural hair dye and it also strengthens the hair and is good for it. I do a henna mask every 3 months, the color doesn't really show up since I have black hair but I do it for it's benefits. When I visited the new museum and got to see the mummies of Egyptian royalty they ALL had their hair dyed with henna.

Henna designs are also very popular especially around special occasions or religious holidays. Henna was first used for it's cooling properties but now it's more of a fashion statement. I absolutely love going to salons and getting a henna design on my hands.

Some people also like to apply henna to their nails, you end up with this reddish orange, I am personally not a fan of it. It does strengthen your nails though.

Olive oil, Argon oil and Castor oil

Pure, natural oils are very popular here but especially the 3 mentioned above. Castor oil is sourced from Egyptian farms, it is commonly used to grow hair and is also used on the lashes and brows. Olive oil is, most commonly, from Palestine, it is used very heavily in cooking due to it's health benefits, it is also used as a hair oil or as a body moisturizer. We get our argon oil from Morocco, it is commonly used for the hair and in face masks.

Sugaring

The first method of hair removal I was introduced to was sugaring. To make the paste all you need is sugar, honey and lemon, it's all natural. It was first used by the ancient Egyptians and now by modern day Egyptians, It's less painful than waxing and exfoliates the body and removes dead skin cells. It's definitely one of my favorite methods of hair removal.

Rose water

There are many uses for rosewater. It is also occasionally used for cooking. Rose water can be used as a moisturizer or as a facial spray. Rose water is also used for soothing after hair removal. It is also a common ingredient in masks. It's a wonderful ingredient and it's on pretty much every Egyptian's dresser.

Moroccan Hammam and Ghassoul

While technically a Moroccan practice it's very common all over North Africa and the Middle East. I have a moroccan relative who gets a Moroccan hammam once a week, sometimes even more. I have memories of my mom getting at home Moroccan hammam services weekly.

Moroccan hammas consist of sitting in a steam room and you are given some ghassoul, it is a type of soap made of clay from mountains in Morocco, you are also given some exfoliating gloves.

First, you exfoliate your body, then you wash your hair, the ghassoul clay can applied all over your body, face and hair as a masks. Occasionally henna is used on the hair. Massages with Argon oil afterwards are very common as well.

Musk and jasmine

These are two of the most popular scents in Egypt, among men and women. They are usually applied in the form of a fragrance oil.

Nivea cream

Nivea is surprisingly popular in Egypt. It is used daily all over the body for moisturization.

Glycerin

Hyaluronic acids hotter sister. It's been inside every Egyptian house I have ever been in. It's usually the same red tub.

Hammam cream and Hammam zeit

Hammam cream and hammam zeit are used to nourish the hair before washing it. Hammam zeit is done on the scalp, it is done by applying an oil, usually from the ones mentioned above, on your scalp. Hammam cream is used for the rest of the hair shaft, you apply a hair mask to the ends of your hair. Both are done simultaneously. You then will cover your hair with a shower cap/ plastic bag and wash it after a few hours.

Avoiding sun exposure

Due to colorism and modesty people tend to avoid the sun like the plague. Pale skin is definitely the beauty standard so many avoid tanning, that coupled with the fact that many people's bodies are covered from head to toe means barely any skin is exposed to the sun. On the plus side, skin cancer rates are quite low.

Embracing your curls

This is quite new but I have noticed more and more Egyptians embracing their curls, it was only a couple years ago when people would get their hair chemically straightened because that was the trend so it's nice to see people not fighting against their curls and damaging their hair.

Honey

I was always told as a child to take one spoon of honey per day for it's health benefits. It's also used as a moisturizer and in masks and occasionally in baths. It is said that Cleopatra used to soak in a bath full of milk and honey for it's exfoliating and moisturizing purposes.

Frankincense and Myrrh

They are most commonly soaked in water and drank daily. they have endless health benefits and they are incredibly good for your skin and hair as well. They are also common ingredients in masks. Occasionally, they will be used as part of bukhoors to purify the house.

Aloevera gel

Aloevera is used to soothe sunburns and is blended and applied to the hair shaft. Many people rub a slice of aloevera on their face daily.

Cornflower + rosewater mask

This is a mask that my cousin used to make ALL the time. It's really simple, just a blend of cornflour and rosewater, it smells HEAVENLY and makes your skin super soft.

Makeup trends

A winged liner and red lip combo is something that I have been noticing is getting more and more popular.

Hair trends

Straight short blonde hair and a wavy Balayage are common looks, and of course embracing your curls is increasing in popularity.

Fashion trends

Modest fashion is mostly inspired by Turkish fashion, other than that many of the mainstream fashion trends are veryy popular here. The whole boho chic/ hippie look can be seen all over Sinai especially in Dahab. Not everyone dresses modestly, although it does seem like it. It's always nice seeing the fashion scene in Cairo and Egypt evolving.

Diet + Physical activity

I'll keep this one short. Lots of fresh fruit, very little processed food and overall nutritious food. Swimming and tennis are some of the most popular sports here.

[missielee]

Passion

Day 1&2: Fish & Wisp

Fish – such a fascinating creature

It was Olivia’s first passion as well as pet

When she was seven, her dad took her and her sister to the aquarium downtown.

It was magnificent, she said

It was like a different world, she said

Engulfed by a singular color blue, she was mesmerized by all the moving little diamonds around her

Colorful scales glimmered in the tank lights, felt like thousands stars on the sky

They moved oh so gracefully, bubbles curved along their fins

It was like a water dance.

That was at least ten years ago, little Olivia has already turned into a beautiful young woman who is passionate about the ocean life, specifically sea creatures. Fascinated by them, she indulged hours in books on her dad’s shelves and pursued her dream to become, well, quoted on quote “Fish”.

Fish is a peculiar animal. They live in water and absorb oxygen through their respiration system which is the gills. Their body is covered in scales worked as camouflage, protection and swimming aid. Their fins flutter through the current as they sway their body elegantly. What could possibly better than being a fish, swimming freely in the water blue?

“I prefer whale better” Janet voiced her opinion out loud

“What? That swimming elephant? No way!” Olivia eyed her friend in disbelief “That’s not even a fish!”

“It’s a sea creature too so it sorta counts. Also, FYI, that is super mean. That’s probably equivalent to pointing out someone is obese in fish language.” Janet rolled her eyes, continued eating her lunch

“Whale and dolphin are mammals, so not a fish. Beside, would you really want to be a whale? Big, giant blue whale?”

“Uh, whale is my spiritual animal, therefore, yes I’ll be the big giant and BEAUTIFUL blue whale” a glare was directed right back to Olivia “At the very least, I won’t get eaten by other species”

“Other than human, sure!” Olivia sipped her water “You do know that a fair amount of whale was hunted for meat and oil in the past right?”

“Whale hunting was a thing?”

“Yeah, it was like a thing back in 1800s. Products made from whale, mainly oil, are incredibly valuable. A barrel of sperm-whale oil can even went up to 1500$ per barrel” Olivia shrugged “But it wasn’t used much nowadays because many better resource appeared: like Kerosene, vegetable oil, petrol”

“Uh huh, you know a lot about whale for someone who just insult it” Janet smirked upon her “You like whale too, don’t you ~”

“Said the one who have their nose in Moby Dick like twenty times or something. I only know some of the basic thing about whale”

“Hey, that book is a masterpiece! Brave men against the nature! Battling fearlessly! Unlike you and you’re fish tank obsession.”

Olivia couldn’t bother to say back. It’s true that she’s have an itsy bitsy infatuation with fish, but she couldn’t explain it why she adores them that much. Some have told her she could become mermaid like those performs in aquarium shows but Olivia refused. Even though it was her dream to become of them, she absolutely hates mermaid/merman in generally because mermaid doesn’t swim like a fish does, according to her logically research. Since mermaid have different anatomy, their swim movement is up-and-down, which isn’t the normal side-to-side like fish does. In addition to that, mermaid eats fish, explained her dislike towards becoming one. She understood that it’s normal to pray on one to another in the animal kingdom but she cannot stand the idea of feasting on such pretty shiny thing. ‘I mean people might have evolved enough to even eat gold but not diamond, right?’

It’s not the first time she realized turning into a fish is practically impossible. Despite her fascination of the marine life, she apparently have Thalassophobia, which prevents her from any activities near the open water. It was upsetting to Olivia, having to spend her life in pictures capturing a small part of the vast water part. It’s like try to play puzzles with endless pieces and they all have the same shade of color. No amount of therapy could help her reach the board of the ship, the closest she could ever get is the lightly wet sand shore. Moreover, there’s an unexplainable feeling when she reaches the ocean, she hears it whisper her name in sad serenity. And on a more frightening term, it always seems to seep closer and closer to her.

“Livvy? You’re spacing out again. Come on, we’ll be late for class” she snapped out of her daze, turn to see her friend already finished packing her belongings

Checking her phone, 2:45 and her class started at 3, she needed to hurry.

“Oh I almost forgot. You’ll come to the Jake’s party this evening, right?”

“Beach party? Not so sure, you know how I feel about it”

“It’s just on shore. I’ll be there too. Don’t worry, if anyone tries to drag you near the water then they’ll have to go through me” Janet smirked. Three years in Aikido is enough to take anyone down, not to mention she was a three times champion of the city, as if that isn’t intimidating enough but it ensures Olivia enough to have a good time by the sand.

“But this evening already? I thought it’s on 13th?”

“Today is the 13th, Goldfish. Did you fall head over heel for Jake so far that you forgot to check for the actual date?”

“I might have mistaken a Friday for a Saturday. But that doesn’t make me a goldfish! And goldfish have good memory! The five seconds attention span is a myth!” Olivia exclaimed

“I guess your attention span is probably so filled with Jake that you can only remembered that he has invited you~”

The two kept bickering as they walked each other to class, like all the other days.

  It was around eight when Olivia and Janet arrived at the party, and it sure is a lively one. The torch lit up the area but it was no match to the people’s dancing along the live music band. Sound of chatters mixed with the awry waves of the sea like a symphony. Olivia immediately spotted Jake in the crowd by the barbecue, greeting newcomers and grilled the ribs with his cheerful expression bright like sunlight. Janet could guess what millions thoughts going through her bestie’s mind as she pulled her over to the food court.

“Hey Jake, nice buns you got there. Mind if we have a taste?” Jake laughed wholeheartedly  

“Why I wouldn’t mind you two lovely ladies to have a taste of my delicious buns, of course!” A wink sent towards them as Olivia reddened

“I-I-I brought some cakes from Rosie’s! A-And I think it’s a great party!” Jake took the box from Olivia and gave both of them a small dish

“I love Rosie’s cake! This is great for desert! Thanks Olivia!”

And needless to say, Janet had to play the waitress and lead a very blush female to a table while holding two dish of steak.

“Oh Janet! Did you see him smiling at me? He’s so nice!” Janet have a gulp of soda after settling down and listening to her friend’s love rant.

“Eat your steak Olivia or I’ll help you know how it’s like to be fish”

“Alright, no need to do that. I’m not some toddler, you know” Olivia sulked and cut a piece

Olivia notice a newspaper left next to her seat, seemed like it was today’s news. Curious, she decided to have a look since Janet had went to get a second plate.

“BREAKING NEW:  SUCCESSFULLY FOUND THE ONLY SURVIVOR OF THE S.S HARVEY INCIDENT

Olivia Breston, eldest daughter of the Breston family and a bright student at Morrington University, was discovered barely breathing and unconscious on floating remains of the unfortunate ship by the fishermen of Devonne port. Lifeboat was sent immediately to revive and take Olivia to the closest hospital. 17h28 of 13th October, we received news …”

‘No way. Olivia… Breston… That’s… that’s my name!? I… I am dead?’

Janet returned back with a joyful meal in hand.

“Man! Jake sure have a knack for cooking! You’re a lucky one, Olivia!” Olivia didn’t respond, still deep in shock “Olivia?”

Olivia handed her the paper. Janet frowned before realization hit her. Surprisingly, she’s quite calm to react.

“So you found out. Any memory came back?”

Olivia shivered, shook her head.

“I survived, did I? So why… am I here? On this day, I was supposed to be found? But no?”

Janet moved next to her, sat down and comforted the confused girl.

“Do you want to know? Truly want to know?”

A silence between made the air thickened before Olivia gave a nod, reluctantly. Janet rubbed her shoulders soothingly.

“What you read is true. You are the only survivor of the S.S Harvey ship, a research ship directed by your father. You accompanied him on a field trip on 19th June when the ship got caught in bad weather, which later escalated into a sea storm. There was no news from the ship until…”

Janet pointed at the date and then at what supposedly to be warehouse, rather than what’s beside it. Needn’t to guess, Olivia could tell what Janet was trying to show her. But it didn’t explain everything that’s happening at the moment.

“I assume you’re wondering what’s happening right now. Care to take a blind guess?” Janet lighted a cig, savored that nicotine taste on the tip of her tongue before let out a wisp of white smoke.

“I died?”

“Eh, close enough. A coma. If you died, you wouldn’t be here to chit chat Livvy”

“Coma? But then, where am I?”

“Well, some might say it’s your subconscious so let just assume that it is. You didn’t die from the incident but drowning left you stranded in your brain, that’s all I could say.” Janet led her to the water. It seeped up close to their feet but it didn’t frighten Olivia no more

“I’m the fish of my own tank” Janet chuckled

“So you do remember”

“Yeah, I just got bits and bits of it. I chose to stay here, because there’s nothing out there for me, no one is waiting for me. At least I achieved my dream here, well, in a way” Olivia stepped back to clean sand, heart ached as she turned to Janet “Because in here I can see the one I held dear”

Janet tossed the burnt butt cig into the cool sand “Old habits die hard. You know, yet you still want to stay?”

“There’s no point going out there. I rather stay here”

“Alright, don’t keep Jake waiting on the dance floor.” Olivia headed back, blushed to the ear “After tonight, it’ll all be a bad dream”

“Wake up anew right?”

“Totally, Goldfish” Olivia’s shadow faded as now only Janet stood alone, water raised above her ankle. The way the ocean surging was unusual than before. There were whispers, cries lingered in the air. Moaned in pain. The thunder struck faraway on the surface warned the upcoming omen.

 “Time’s running out, Olivia”

--- Missielee ---

[broomballkraken]

Title: Bear Hug

Fandom: Fire Emblem: Three Houses

Pairing: Dedue/Raphael

Word count: 1573

Warnings: None

Summary: Though not as frequent nowadays, Dedue still finds himself having vivid nightmares of his past. He would normally seek comfort in the solitude of taking care of the plants in the greenhouse, but this time it seemed that his comfort would come from a rather...loud and boisterous source instead.

The greenhouse at Garreg Mach was rather impressive, stocked with a wide variety of foliage from all over Fódlan and beyond. It was also one of the few places where Dedue could escape from the disdainful stares from more than a few of the students and faculty, and it also proved to be an effective place to relax and feel at ease.

Dedue was here for the latter, unfortunately. His brow furrowed as he returned from refilling his watering can and he began giving the plants a much-needed watering. He was always mindful of which plants he was tending, as those from differing climates required different amounts of water. He tried to focus on that, and not the reason that he had so desperately retreated here as soon as he was able.

The nightmares stemming from his tragic past were less frequent now, thankfully, but the only drawback to that is when they did pay an unwelcome visit, Dedue was not prepared and often awoke feeling anxious and unnerved. He was lucky that Dimitri was training all day with the Professor, because Dedue was not sure that he could maintain his proper demeanor after being so jarred by his horrid dreams. Very few people frequented the greenhouse when they did not have to be there, so Dedue could enjoy the solitude that it offered.

However, this time the nightmares still sat in the forefront of his mind, and Dedue frowned. Why could he not chase away the darkness that followed him? Maybe the greenhouse was not the place to be today…

“Hey, Dedue! I finally found you!”

Dedue was snapped from his thoughts when a loud, boisterous voice hit his ears, that of which could only belong to one person. He finished watering the roses he was kneeling next to before standing up, quickly brushing the dirt off of his shirt. He turned to find Raphael beaming at him, like the personification of a ray of sunshine. Dedue tilted his head slightly, curious as to why the only one of their classmates who rivaled him in stature was here. Raphael was more likely to be found in the dining hall or the training grounds than in the greenhouse of all places.

“Hello, Raphael. Did you need something?” Dedue asked, watching with a neutral expression as Raphael crossed the room to stand before him.

“I was just wondering...Were you on cooking duty this morning?”

“Yes.” Dedue said with a slight nod. The smile on Raphael’s face somehow grew even brighter, and Dedue was glad that he was not an actual ray of sunshine because he probably would have been blinded by now.

“Wow, really? You made all of that delicious food? It. Was. AMAZING!” Raphael exclaimed, punching a fist into the air for unneeded emphasis. “I could have eaten, like, ten helpings of it...but they, uh, cut me off at five.” Dedue blinked at him, unsure of how to respond to such raw enthusiasm.

“Where did you learn to cook like that? That meat was the most delicious and tender meat that I’ve ever eaten! And the spices were perfect!” Raphael continued, grinning a toothy grin as he waited with bated breath for Dedue to answer.

“Well...I always enjoyed cooking with my mother and sister when I was growing up. I learned all that I know from them.” Dedue said, his jaw clenching when the events of his nightmares resurfaced as he spoke.

“Wow! I bet all three of you could really whip up a heck of a meal!”

“We could, but my family is...dead.” Raphael’s face fell at that, and Dedue wondered if he should have not said anything.

“Oh, hey, I’m sorry to hear that.” Raphael said, a small smile returning to his face, and Dedue was grateful for that. “Is that why you looked so sad this morning? Were you thinking about them?” Dedue said nothing, and instead nodded slightly. He was shocked that Raphael had noticed his dour mood; he was more perceptive than Dedue had realized.

“Well, I lost my parents when I was younger too.” Raphael said. Dedue was surprised at that; he never would have guessed with how happy and carefree Raphael seemed all the time. “I still have my little sis, but it was really hard for the both of us at the time. It took awhile to figure out a good way to deal with all the sad feelings. I didn’t want my sister to see me sad all the time, so I preoccupied myself with training and eating and making her happy to keep my mind on other stuff.” Dedue listened intently as the other man spoke. What he said did make a lot of sense. It was why he himself spent time in the greenhouse when he was sad, even if it did not seem like it was helping too much this particular instance.

“Hey! I’ve got an idea!” Raphael said suddenly, his ear-to-ear smile reappearing on his face, “When Ignatz or Marianne or my other friends are feeling sad, there’s one thing that will always put a smile on their faces!”

“And that is?” Dedue asked, his curiosity piqued. Raphael chuckled and held his arms out in front of him, his fingers wiggling in Dedue’s direction. Dedue just stared at him, confused.

“It’s one of Raphael’s famous bear hugs of course!” he said, “C’mon, try it!” Dedue blinked owlishly at Raphael, a rare stunned look crossing his face. Dedue was too used to people avoiding or flat out running away from him, so having a man almost as big as himself offering to hug him was a completely foreign concept to him.

“Um, you don’t have to if you don’t want to. I know some people are uncomfortable with random physical contact like this.” Raphael said, his smile growing sheepish as a light dusting of pink appeared on his cheeks. His completely earnest words made a small smile threatened to cross Dedue’s face, and he held his arms out to mimic Raphael’s.

“I will try it.”

Raphael beamed at him, quickly closing the distance between them as he wrapped his huge, muscular arms around Dedue. Dedue started to return the hug, hesitating a bit due to feeling a bit awkward, and he let out a startled noise when Raphael lifted Dedue off of his feet with surprising ease.

“Ha! C’mon Dedue! You can’t let this hug be so one-sided!” Raphael said, grinning as his honey-colored eyes met Dedue’s seafoam green. Dedue’s hesitation immediately vanished and he finally wrapped his arms around Raphael in a gentle yet firm hug. Raphael responded by hugging him tighter, his delighted laughter filling the greenhouse and making Dedue’s heartbeat quicken.

“Yeah! That’s more like it! Both people have to participate or the hug doesn’t really count!” Raphael said, laughing again as he finally set Dedue back on his feet. Raphael’s laughter was incredibly infectious, because Dedue ended up laughing along with him. He could not remember the last time he felt at ease enough to laugh around someone else, and Dedue was surprised that it was Raphael of all people.

“Wow Dedue! I don’t think I’ve ever seen you smile before, let alone laugh like that!” Raphael said, his eyes sparkling with excitement. Dedue chuckled, and he found that he was unable to wipe the smile from his face.

“It seems that your bear hugs are indeed an effective deterrent of sadness. Are you sure that you are not casting a spell of some sort?” Dedue asked, raising an eyebrow. Raphael let out a booming laugh and slapped a friendly hand to Dedue’s shoulder.

“Oh, no way! I’m horrible at magic! It’s just some good old comfort and compassion for ya!” Raphael said, his eyes meeting Dedue’s again. “I just can’t sit by when others are feeling down without trying to help. So, if you’re ever feeling sad again, you can always come find me for another hug anytime, Dedue. Or even if you just need someone to listen for a while, I can do that too!”

“I...may have to take you up on that offer, Raphael. Thank you.” Dedue said. He never knew how good a person Raphael was. He was rather intimidating to look at, much like himself, but inside he was a caring and selfless individual. Dedue had never met anyone quite like him before.

“Anytime, buddy!” Raphael said. The moment of silence that followed was interrupted by a loud rumbling sound. Raphael blushed and rubbed the back of his head sheepishly.

“Oops! All of this hugging really worked up an appetite. I’m starving!” Raphael said, laughing as he slapped a hand to his own stomach. “C’mon Dedue! Let’s go get some meat!”

“Alright, I will join you. I am finished watering the plants here for today.” Dedue said, his face heating up when Raphael let out an excited ‘whoop’ as he grabbed Dedue’s hand.

“Great! Let’s go!” Raphael said, smiling as he led the larger man out of the greenhouse. Dedue let out another rare chuckle and followed, his hand fitting surprisingly well in Raphael’s. Dedue had always used the greenhouse as an escape from his troubles, but maybe what he really needed was a famous Raphael bear hug all this time. He would definitely be taking Raphael up on his offer in the future, and Dedue had a feeling that Raphael would be very okay with that.

[imagine-a-killingharmony]

Little Sister (V3 GIRLS!)

V3 casts spend a day with their s/o’s little 9 year old sis? also their sister isn’t that gullible but she is oblivious to innuendos.

Yet again... Anno! Only eight of the cast, don’t worry... honestly nowadays if you ask this it just counts if your lucky or not... if I want to do the girls or boys... so please do specify next time, for now let’s do some more girls!!

Tenko Chabashira

Oh my gosh!! This little girl is just like an mini... an mini you! Look at how small she is, Tenko could pinch her cheeks for days...!

It’ll be hard but you’ll need to convince her to somehow put your little sister down, as Tenko is happily accepting any requests for piggy-back rides, she’s even asking the little girl if she wants to practice spar- this little bundle of joy needs to know how to defend herself!

Tenko’s likely to be more gullible than her here, seriously, if your cute- and a girl she will literally be at your beck and call, which is why she’s just being your little sister’s servant for the day...

Then... you have to admit you feel a little jealous of the way Tenko’s giving her so much affection, especially with all the compliments and adoration...

You need some love too... how mean...

Himiko Yumeno

There... can only be one small cutie-pie in this relationship, Himiko may or may not be squinting at your little sister for the entire day...

Well till she asks about “magic” being the keyword here, your sister asked if she was an witch! Those are usually super duper bad...

Himiko had to go on a rant about how witches and mages are totally different, she went into a large amount of detail with energy you didn’t even know the mage had...

Your sister apologized, promising that she’ll never make the mistake ever again, earning a small smile from Himiko...

They get along better, a bit better after that... entire... discussion, Himiko even gives your little sister a quarter she got from the back of her ear, taken from the dimensional teleportation spell...!

Or your pockets, shit.

Angie Yonaga

Angie’s an utter delight to your little sister, she goes on to explain how such a small mind has so much... potential in her, so they go on to draw together... Angie brought crayons!

It’s a fun day for the two of them, your left watching as Angie “oohs” and “awws” at any of your little sister’s creations, they even make total super original characters together!

Angie gets along with her swimmingly, but not before placing a kiss on your cheek asking if she can talk with the little delight more often, it always is a wonderful-wonderful time to get along with someone related to the best person in the entire galaxy!

“... Angie means you!” Somehow it always draws back onto her loving you, which you won’t... deny, you go to hug her back, she still loves you the most silly! ❤️

Kaede Akamatsu

Kaede has a twin-sister... that doesn’t really count as to having a smaller one would be, so this would be a totally new experience for her, y’know?

She always wondered what it be like... so she organized a bunch of actvities for a little sister and big sister to do, plus you!

Of course, she had to make a good impression on your family... so, most of the day was spent traveling to... places, nail salons, toy stores... wow, Kaede really went all out!

Then... of course as we all know the final activity, of course is playing piano for the little girl, it’s always a pleasure to see the adoring smile on Kaori’s (her sister’s) face... so to see your little sister cheering for her as she plays one of her all-time favorites: “Claire de lune”!

It was a terrific performance to end off a perfect day.

Tsumugi Shirogane

Well she can’t technically drag her to the cosplay swamp, as she’s your sister you’d probably wouldn’t have fun dealing with a little girl in her otaku phase... but still, she’s going to recommend some anime with light fanbases and perfectly nice messages!

Tsumugi spends most of the day just discussing... plain ol’ things with her, offers to do her hair to make it cuter once or twice- actually...

Cosplay... Cosplay! Your little sister is obviously the perfect height to fit in a “Happy” cosplay- maybe “sans” too? Ooooh gosh!

Tsumugi obviously gets her makeup kit out, asking if the little girl wants to be in the shoes of another person for a while... you’ve left the room, you can’t stop what happens...

You don’t know whether or not to feel disappointed when you find your little sister dressed as sans undertale.

Miu Iruma

“Hey! So this is yer’ little sister, kehehehe she’s a rather cute fuuuuuuuuuu- friggin’... munchkin.”

... She’s trying her best, she really is trying her best to not make any inappropriate jokes or say any bad words... and she’s only narrowly doing it...

“Oh! Twinkies? Oh man, you ever notice that if you squeeze em’ tight enough it looks l- a volcano, that, what the fuuu- FRICK! Frick did you think I meant? Aha...”

“Woah! (S/O) after this you owe me a whole d... dang lot for having my golden brain cells improvise so dang much...!”

Miu is obviously in pain the entire time, but she holds it in...

Your thankful that she managed to hold yourself back for your sake if anything... honestly...

Maki Harukawa

As the Ultimate Child Caregiver, she drew children near her... surprisingly she had a rather loving motherly side when it was for children, her face looked... softer the entire day...

Maki was surprisingly good with talking with her, they spoke of small things that you didn’t even know your sister was interested in...!

... They haven’t even known each other for long yet... t-they already have such a strong bond, is this the work of an enemy stand?!

No, it’s just there power of the Ultimate Child Caregiver...

You swear your sister starts asking you if “Big Sister Maki” can visit again...

Kirumi Tojo

“... You shall know that... I shall try my best to make you feel happy for today, I am at your beck and call.”

She’s going to have to make an impression the best way she knows how, with her selfless devotion of course...

... If your sister actually asked for anything other than sweets, the little girl doesn’t want much okay?

They discuss some topics slightly about you, considering that’s the only thing your little sister actually related with about to Kirumi... not all these fancy cooking techniques or whatever...

... It was a fun conversation, talking helps you grow closer to people too, hm.

[icicledream-archive]

i wanna talk about marx kirby because i love him so here we go. please don’t shove me into a locker again this is mostly gonna be about my marx gijinka but basically all of these can apply to his canon form too, of course (if u are like me and think that his wings can be used like arms

first off he’s nonbinary and also a lesbian. don’t fight me on this, if you do YOU’RE the one going into the locker, buddy! (he’s a soft butch). anyways. despite being nonbinary and prefering he/him pronouns he kind of prefers being called things like sister, queen, princess, girlfriend, etc. he also binds most of the time! surprisingly enough he’s a very big advocate on healthy binding. he is 23 years old! for simplicity’s sake i like to think that pop star has the same rotation and revolution speed as earth, so!

marx is very good at some circus things. balancing on a ball is one of them, of course, but a few others are: rola bola, juggling, some aerial acrobatics (trapeze is not one of them). he’s also good at dancing. and playin violin. and riding unicycles. and playing violin while on unicycles he’s also real good at pantomiming but he will totally suddenly yell or speak to startle n catch people off guard

he has autism and ADHD, however i am not educated on ADHD to a point where i’m comfortable talking about it so i will be quiet about it. some of his fav stims, however, are playing with slime, humming, swaying back and forth/shuffling, and flapping his wings/arms when he is happy/excited. he’s also almost always doing some sort of dance to add on to the dancing bit, he’s pretty good at it. especially ballet dancing, and he incorporates that into other styles. while marx isn’t troubled by things like depression, dancing is one of the things that never fails to make him genuinely happy!

he is a noddy! but he’s has insomnia. while he sleeps as much as the average person (bout 8 hours plus an afternoon nap sometimes), for a noddy that is bad considering i like to think they sleep for 14-18 hours a day because of this though he had more than enough time to learn how to do all the things he can do! he also learned how to cook very well, however he is extremely lazy and only cooks for himself when he absolutely has to, so no one really knows he’s a great cook. except his sister circe, my kirby oc

marx is a sucker for physical interaction and will cuddle with anyone that allows it. gryll, being his best friend, is always the cuddle victim. however they enjoy cuddles too so it’s ok

i theorise that marx got all of his powers + his wings from nova! he is able to use his powers nowadays but it hurts him. except for his wings! he can fly and stretch n flap them whenever he wants.

ok this is pretty long now so bye

[matcha-chocolate]

Prompt:  “Your choice of samsteve, sambucky or all caps and adopting! A kitty cat!” by @spooky-redwing ! I know this prompt is literally months old, but I’m going through every single prompt  (except “green zucchini” because FUCK THAT.) The upside of me taking ages to do prompts? People forget all about them and they’re like fun surprise gifts!! Or something!

Their apartment made magazine spreads look like a joke. True, everything was second-hand, because Steve was cheap against being wasteful; and there were several huge bookshelves groaning under the strain of Sam and Bucky’s books; and the kitchen had a truly baffling number of wooden cutting boards, wooden spoons, wooden cups-- because Bucky had a thing for hand-made wooden utensils; and they’d had to change from light to dark decor after Steve’s paint spatters and charcoal smudges made Bucky pitch a fit; and Sam had a whole two shelves just for his records and god help you if you touched them without asking... But if you “pulled up the Googles” (Steve’s words) to look up “eclectic hipster apartment on a budget,” their home would have popped up first. It was a Pinterest addict’s wet dream. It would get dozens of “OMG GOALS” comments on Instagram. It was cozy, it was nicely furnished, and it perfectly reflected the three occupants. And then someone (Bucky. It was Bucky.) left the goddamn window open when all three of them were out on separate missions for a few weeks.

Sam got back first; his missions had been Stateside; something about the changing of the seasons really brought out the weirdo costumed villains. Sam had just fought an embarrassingly short battle against “Leaf-al Weapon,” and aside from general bruising, he’d have to contend with the inevitable YouTube videos of him getting dozens of pinecones fired at him. He’d already gotten messages from Steve and Bucky; Steve would be back that night, Bucky, tomorrow. He’d at least have a good few hours to shower, nap, maybe even finally break open the nice whiskey Director Fury had given him for his last birthday...  The first thing that Sam noticed was that the rain had blown in through the open living room window. The second, was that the place smelled really weird, kinda... fishy? Sam eased his heavy wing pack off his shoulder and heaved a huge sigh before moving over to the window and sliding it partially shut. So much for relaxing -- he spent 20 minutes mopping up the water and praying it wouldn’t fuck up the hardwood too much. He snapped a picture of the mop leaning forlornly against the wall next to the window, sending it in a text to Bucky with the message “Thanks, man.” Okay, maybe skip the shower and go right to the nap part of his plan. When Sam pushed approached his open room door, he reeled back a little. It smelled like... tuna? What the hell? He barely had time to wonder if something had happened to his emergency rations before he got his answer. A pair of eyes glinted in the darkness near the floor, and Sam steeled himself for fighting an angry raccoon (because that was what his life was like nowadays) when a mew pulled him up short. A cat? A cat wasn’t necessarily less dangerous than a raccoon if it was feral and scared, but... Sam liked cats. Sure, he was the Falcon, but he appreciated the way that cats liked you on their terms. He could dig it.  He cautiously flicked on the light and blinked at the intruder. It was small, just a kitten, really. Its coat was grey as the sky outside, the iconic ‘M’ of a tabby on its little forehead.  “Hey, little dude,” Sam said softly. The cat looked away and lifted a leg to clean itself with gusto. “Ah. Not a dude,” Sam amended. He moved slowly, but all the same the cat hunched defensively, its ears flattened. Sam stopped by the closet, not moving any closer to the small animal, and checked the cardboard box in the corner-- ah. Sam had an emergency food stash (they all did; old habits died hard,) and one of the things he always had was vacuum-sealed packages of tuna. It seemed the clever little thing had found it and chewed through the packaging to get to the food inside. That explained what it’d been eating, anyway... but... “You been poopin’ in here, cat?” Sam asked, turning to look at his companion. She’d edged away from him, but was no longer scared-looking, merely blinking at him now. Sam was pretty sure from his experience with his sister’s pets that if the cat had been relieving herself in his room, he’d’ve known immediately. That stuff stank.  Just in case, he checked his room, telegraphing his movements so as to not frighten the cat-- but she seemed to have forgotten about her nerves pretty quickly, because she hopped nimbly onto the bed and just watched him.  “Ooookay, well... you’re weird. Dunno what else I expected,” Sam muttered. After a moment’s thought, he pulled out his phone.  Human foods for cats Sam grimaced as he scanned the results; seemed like most things in the house wasn’t great for cats, especially kittens. Not even cow’s milk was great for them! Sam felt lied to by all those Saturday morning cartoons. He was halfway to Googling “nearby pet stores” when he paused. He should be looking for animal shelters, not a place to buy cat food and cat toys. The object of his deliberations was now sitting loaf-style on his duvet, watching with half-closed eyes. Her tail flicked now and then to show her interest, but otherwise she seemed relaxed.  Dammit, she was cute, big golden-green eyes and a pink little nose. Dammit dammit.  “Stormy,” he murmured, slowly extending his hand for her to smell. He was rewarded with a tentative sniff, which he took to mean she approved of the name.  There was one little problem: their apartment building had a strict no-pets rule. Sam muttered under his breath as he found a soft old sweatshirt, carefully arranging it into a little bed for Stormy.  “Okay, girl... you can sleep here for tonight and tomorrow we gotta find somewhere for you to--” He was interrupted by her looking away from where he was gesturing, putting her chin on her front paws, and closing her eyes.  The cat had gone to sleep in the middle of his sentence. In the middle of his bed.  “No,” Sam said firmly, crossing his arms. The cat didn’t even stir.  “No, you can’t sleep on the bed. No. I’m not getting cat hair on my sheets.” Stormy’s response was to put a paw over her face. Sam felt his shoulders sag; he was tired, he wanted a nap before the whirlwind of energy that was Steve Rogers got home, and this cat had the audacity to be in his bed being adorable. Not okay.  “Okay. You can sleep in here, but you. Are. Not. Sleeping. On. My. Bed.” --- “Sam? Sam, I-- oh.” Steve poked his head into the room through the half-open door and stilled, a fond smile softening his features. Sam was curled up on his side with his back to the doorway, snoring softly. He must have been really tired to have slept through the jingling keys and heavy footsteps that had announced Steve’s arrival.  Steve carefully backed out of the room, closing the door most of the way so that the hallway light wouldn’t bother Sam. Sam didn’t stir, but unnoticed by Steve, a small form slipped from the protective cocoon that Sam had inadvertently formed around her, crept to the edge of the bed and nimbly leapt to the floor. When Sam woke with a start in the early hours of the morning, the little cat was nowhere to be found. He felt surprisingly disappointed; he’d been half-dreaming of jingly cat toys, purring and soft little paws.  After a quick but thorough check, Sam had to admit to himself that she’d probably slipped back out through the open living room window, off to wherever her real home was.  He’d planned to get her a little collar and everything. Dammit. The expression on his face as he settled back into bed was pretty close to a sulk. 

“Mornin’,” Sam yawned hours later, shuffling into the kitchen. Steve, who was frowning at a food package of some kind, looked up with a smile.  “Sam! You’re up. I thought you might miss the whole day, you were sleeping so late.” “It’s 8:30, Steve.” “I know; I’ve been up for 3 hours already.” “I’m so sorry to hear that,” Sam said dryly, leaning in to kiss the side of Steve’s head. “Way back in the 1960s, they invented this thing called ‘sleeping in,’ it’s a real damn shame you never got to try it.” “Wiseguy.” “One of us has to be, Cap. What you got there?” the last question was regarding the large canvas tote at Steve’s feet. Steve glanced down, a strange look of alarm passing over his features before he could school them.  “I got these... uh... hhhhealth snacks. They’re healthy... and you can eat them and-- they’re good!” Steve tore open the package in his hand and popped a few dark green biscuits into his mouth. Sam watched as Steve flinched, grimaced, and chewed like a man eating sawdust.  “Looks... tasty,” Sam deadpanned. Steve nodded, entirely unconvincingly.  “They’re good! And really healthy.” “Tell me one thing, though--” Steve looked strangely alarmed again. “Yeah?” “Are they healthy, though? You’ve only mentioned it 5 times, I think.” “Oh, ha ha, Wilson.” “And anyway, I was asking about all of that stuff,” Sam continued, gesturing again at the shopping bag. Steve bit his lip and shrugged his shoulders in a would-be casual way.  “Oh. I uh--” “Is that... rice?” Sam asked, moving towards the bag. Steve gratefully seized on the assumption, touching Sam’s arm to get his attention.  “Yeah, yes! Yes. Rice! I’m... bringing rice... to the potluck this weekend.” “Rice.” “Yep!” “A bag of rice?” “Ye-- no. No, of course not. I’m... going to watch the YouTune to find recipes?” “Are you asking or telling me, man?” Sam teased gently. He knew Steve was a little bit embarrassed about his horrible cooking skills-- especially since Sam and Bucky could throw down in the kitchen.  “I’m gonna cook a rice dish. For the potluck.” “Okay, baby. I mean... we got plenty of rice here--” “This is special rice.” “O...kay. And that?” Sam asked, gesturing to the large boxy shape straining the seams of the bag. “Is that a--” “Shelving unit!” Steve almost shouted. “It’s. A little bookcase. Got it on sale!”

“Yeah, you’re always saying you need more space for your books,” Sam agreed, smiling fondly. “Sure am. I’m gonna... watch YouTune--” “YouTube.” “YouTube, yes. I’m gonna watch some... in my room. With the door closed. I need to focus. For the recipe.” “Steve, you don’t have to make up some story if you just want some alone time to jerk off, man. We’re all adults here.” “Wh-- I’m not! Not right now! I’m really gonna--” “Mhm. Okay, whatever weirdo stuff you’re doing, have fun.” Sam leaned up to kiss Steve on the mouth, and then made a face.  “Those health snacks taste rank, man.” Sam could have sworn he heard a weird jingling noise as Steve walked away with the bag. --- “Sammy,” Bucky groaned, slumping his considerable body weight on Sam’s shoulder. Sam absent-mindedly pat the top of Bucky’s head, hmmm?ing in response. “I missed you.” “You also missed like 10 showers, Barnes. Jesus.” “I was travelling for a week! No time for luxury.” “Basic hygiene? Not a luxury.” “Yeah, yeah. I’ll shower after you hug me.” “Ohhh, no. Ohhhh no no no no no.” “Take one for the team, Sammy. I been starved for affection and all.” “You were only gone for a month,” Sam grumbled even as he got to his feet and held his arms out to Bucky. “I was gone for a whole month,” Bucky sighed, sinking into Sam’s embrace and breathing him in (Sam was subtly trying not to breathe Bucky in.)  “Okay, I feel better. Thanks, Sammy. I... I really did miss you.” “I-missed-you-too-now-shut-up-and-go-shower.”  Instead, Bucky made a big show of kissing Sam’s neck and jawline, being as noisy as possible while Sam pretended to hate every second.  “Now that I’ve marked you with my scent--” “Aw, nasty.” “--gonna go see how Blondie’s doing.” “Mmm, I wouldn’t,” Sam said thoughtfully. Bucky’s eyebrows crept up.  “Why?” “Steve’s acting weird.” “... gonna have to narrow that one down a little.” “Weirder than usual. I think he wants a little alone time or somethin’.” “Oh. Well-- yeah, okay. I’ll go shower and... you can make me a late breakfast?” “Try again.” “I’ll go shower and we’ll make breakfast together?” “Ding ding ding.”

Steve heaved a huge sigh and then made a face as he smelled his own breath. He’d gotten so caught up in reading the ingredients on the bag of cat treats that he’d had to eat the damn things to hide them from Sam. They were disgusting, and even though Steve had frantically rinsed out his mouth in the washroom, the taste lingered.  “The things I do for you,” he smiled gently down at the small grey cat curled up on his desk. The kitten, which he’d named ‘Slate’ because of her grey coat, raised her head and watched inquisitively as Steve set out the litter box he’d just bought. She sat all the way up when he hefted the small bag of litter (that he’d claimed was rice to throw Sam off) and filled the box, and before Steve had even finished taping the bag shut, she had trotted over to the litter box -- “Oh, wow,” Steve winced, covering his nose. Such a small animal shouldn’t be able to make such a stink, he thought wryly as he slid his window open a little to air out the room. Slate finished her business, kicked litter over it (Steve was relieved) and then became intensely interested in attacking Steve’s shoelaces as he tried to untie his sneakers. He found himself immensely charmed (even though her tiny claws were really sharp.) He’d never thought himself to be a cat person, but she was rambunctious and clearly unafraid despite her small size. He could relate to that.  Listening to her ridiculous mmnyam nyam nyam nyam sounds as she wolfed down kitten food from a bowl Steve had pilfered from their kitchen just made him even more sure. He’d have to find a way to convince the other two to let him keep her. --- Bucky rapped loudly on the door, still towelling his hair from his shower.  “Steve? Hey, Sam says you’re jerkin’ it to some cooking videos or something--” “What?! I’m not!” “--but I’m lettin’ you know I’m back. You coming out soon?” Bucky heard a lot of shuffling and a very quiet “Shhh sh sh sh, be good” and ... decided he didn’t want to know. He was tired and wanted to play grabass have a nice breakfast with his guys. Whatever weird shit Steve was getting up to could wait.  “C’mon, Steve... Sam said he’d make his blueberry pancakes.” Sam didn’t have super hearing, but he still made a sound of protest from the living room, and Bucky corrected himself again. “Sam said I could help him make blueberry pancakes.” Bucky shrugged and was about to turn away from the door when it finally opened a crack, letting out the overwhelming smell of Steve’s scented candle. Steve was wearing a hoodie, which wouldn’t have been unusual except for the fact that it was the middle of summer and the man almost melted into the floorboards if the temperature crept above 30 degrees. He had his hands stuffed into the pouch pocket, looking shifty.  Bucky only took another moment to decide not to ask, yet again. He just wanted pancakes.  Sam, on the other hand, paused in the act of washing blueberries.  “Why the hell are you wearing a hoodie, Steve?” he asked. Steve was already sweating a little and his whole posture screamed I’m hiding something oh god please don’t notice.  “You feeling okay?” he continued, a thread of concern in his voice now. Bucky raised an eyebrow but didn’t say anything, knowing the signs when he saw it. Steve had probably gotten a bad tattoo or something, and was waiting for it to fade before the other two saw it. (It wouldn’t have been the first time, sadly.) “Yeah, just a little chilly,” Steve said, entirely unconvincingly. Bucky turned a flat look upon him then, crossing his arms.  “You’re chilly, Steve.” “A little.” “It’s August.” “Sure is! Autumn’s around the corner.” “You’re sweating.” “Because I’m warm now. In the hoodie.” “You think I was defrosted yesterday, Rogers?” “Jesus, Buck.” “What’re you hiding, Steve?” “Yeah, man. You’re fooling exactly no one here,” Sam interjected. His Single Unimpressed Eyebrow Raise couldn’t be beat, and Steve felt the sudden urge to blurt the truth-- partially spurred on by the fact that Slate, hidden in his hoodie, had just nipped hard at his fingers. She wasn’t happy being bundled up like that, but Steve didn’t trust her alone in his room. There were too many electrical cords to chew, too much paint to get into, too many irreplaceable objects to knock off of tables and break. “What’s with the third degree, guys?” Steve asked, scowling a little.  “Okay, fair. If you wanna act like a weirdo, that’s your right,” Sam said reasonably.  Steve was in the middle of agreeing when Sam continued: “But you’re on pancake duty now.” Steve slowly took his hands out of his oddly bulgy pocket and began shuffling over to Sam. Slate, no longer being gently held in place, immediately started squirming; but luckily Bucky was too busy getting the rest of the ingredients to notice, and Sam was measuring out buttermilk with intense concentration.  “You okay, Steve? Really?” he murmured. Steve opened his mouth to say ‘Of course--’ Unseen to the other two men, Slate leapt out of Steve’s pocket and darted down the hallway-- Steve whirled and tried to catch her-- -- and the bag of flour he’d been sifting into the bowl flew into the air, coating almost everything in a fine white powder. Sam, looking oddly artistic with his long eyelashes now dusted a stark white, slowly lowered his measuring cup and just. Looked at Steve.  “I’m going back to bed,” he said calmly. “Because this has to be a nightmare.” “Steve, what the hell was that?” Bucky asked rather less calmly. He’d just washed his freakin’ hair! “Shit-- I’m sorry, guys. I’ll clean it all up, I promise.” “That much is obvious,” Sam said, using his hands to fluff flour from his hair. Bucky grinned at him.  “You finally look your age, Wilson.” As Sam puffed up like an angry cat, Steve quickly scanned the floor for Slate. He saw a clear set of little pawprints in the flour and he hastily used his foot to scuff them, not wanting her presence to be detected.  In the end, the three of them cleaned up the kitchen together, and Steve finally stopped being weird, peeling off his hoodie. Sam declared that shirtless sweaty Steve Rogers was grounds for partial forgiveness for the flour incident. Bucky kept getting distracted; he could have sworn he kept hearing the faintest patter of small footsteps on the wooden floors down the hall.  Steve spent the rest of the evening peering under the couch and in corners, giving entirely unconvincing answers as to what he was searching for. 

Bucky’s eyes shot open and he took a second to remember where he was-- not draped heavily over Sam and Steve in one of their rooms, but alone in his bed. He usually slept alone for the first few nights after returning from mission; as much as he wanted nothing more than to be with the others, post-mission nights also meant nightmares, which meant staying away from the last people he’d want to hurt in a dream-induced panic. It fucking sucked.  But he’d woken up for a reason. He’d had some of Sam’s mama’s special tea to knock himself into a semi-peaceful sleep, so... Someone’s here. He felt his heart rate kick into high gear, his muscles already tensing for a fight. His gleaming metal fingers inched under his pillow, where he kept a large hunting knife, and-- Something small leapt onto the bed and immediately bit his toe. He just barely kept himself from kicking out in terror, realizing quickly that... it was a cat. A kitten, really, small and dark in the dim light from the outside street lamps. What the fuck? Bucky let go of his knife and willed himself to calm down; unless Hydra had really changed their tactics recently, he doubted the cat was here to kill him.  He cautiously moved his foot away from the playful (and sharp) kitten, sitting up in bed to get a better look by flicking on the bedside lamp. It wasn’t very large, but it didn’t seem to know that; it was already crouched for another ‘attack,’ its little tail swishing back and forth restlessly. It seemed to be grey, with dark swirling marks all over its body. It was... kind of cute, actually.  “How the hell’d you get in here?” Bucky muttered, feeling the smallest smile tugging at his lips. He’d always liked cats, had wanted to adopt one-- but he assumed the other two weren’t keen on them; plus, their building had a strict no-pets rule. Bucky was watching Little Grey (he wasn’t the most poetic guy, sue him) prepare to attack his metal hand and hid it under his blanket, thinking that it probably wasn’t great for little kitten teeth. Or any teeth, for that matter. He offered his flesh hand instead, cautiously extending it to her for her to smell. She didn’t hesitate before pouncing on it, all energy and an excess of bravery. She kinda reminded Bucky of Steve and Sam, although Sam would vehemently deny being reckless. Yeah, right.  Soon enough, Little Grey fell asleep with her tiny head cradled in Bucky’s hand, and the idea that something so small and helpless trusted him ... it was almost too much. He watched her little paws twitch as she dreamed, and even when he fell asleep he didn’t move an inch. He didn’t want to wake her. ---  Bucky was spared wondering how he was going to feed the cat in the morning without alerting the others to her presence; the moment Bucky woke, he saw that she was sitting on the edge of the bed watching him. Waiting silently. Kind of creepy, actually.  Maybe the cat was more like him, after all.  Little Grey jumped nimbly to the floor, trotted over to the door, and let out an impatient mew.  “Shhh sh sh sh,” Bucky shushed her. He paused. He’d heard Steve make a similar plea yesterday when he was locked in his room, hadn’t he? The moment Bucky opened the door a crack, the kitten darted into the hallway. He... didn’t know what he’d expected, actually. He almost slipped on the wooden floor; his socked feet didn’t offer much traction as he tried to shuffle after Little Grey.  But it was too late. She’d disappeared into Sam’s room, having taken advantage of the partially open door. Bucky bit his lip and tried to make a hasty plan to scoop her out of there without waking Sam up. It shouldn’t be difficult; Wilson was a fairly heavy sleeper most of the time. If Little Grey could just keep quiet... Of course, she chose that moment to really let loose with a loud myaaaah that Bucky could hear clearly even from the hallway. And then two more loud, high-pitched mews followed.  He sighed and inched forward, already steeling himself to explain her presence.  “Stormy! Hey, you little thing, where’d you get off to, huh? Had me worried.” Sam’s voice rasped from the room, still hoarse with sleep.  Well, that was unexpected.  Bucky pushed open the door to discover Steve and Sam still tangled in the sheets, yawning and barely awake.  “--her name’s Slate,” Steve was correcting Sam. Sam scoffed, rubbing the sleep from his eyes with one hand while scooping up the noisy kitten with the other.  “This is what you were hiding yesterday, Steve? Stormy?” “If by ‘Stormy’ you mean ‘Slate,’ then... yes.” Bucky entered the room fully, making the other two look up in varying levels of alarm.  “I can explain,” Steve started. “You left the window open, and I couldn’t kick her out--!” Sam protested. Bucky just shook his head and shuffled over to join them in Sam’s bed. “Her name’s Little Grey,” he said without further explanation. Steve made a face. “What happens when she gets bigger? ‘Little’ isn’t going to make sense...” “And what, ‘Slate’ is better?” Sam snorted. “What is she, nail polish?” The kitten was already playing, chewing on the string of Sam’s hoodie. He wasn’t even pretending to be mad about it, just watching her with a dopey smile. Steve gestured subtly to his phone on the nightstand, and Bucky picked it up and slipped it into Steve’s waiting hand.  Sam didn’t even notice them taking pictures of him cuddling and cooing at Stormy Slate Little Grey the kitten. “Okay, so. She played us,” Sam murmured. “Smart girl.” He looked up at the other two, and, seeing the pleading expression on Steve’s face, handed her over to the blond. She immediately started climbing his shirt, using her sharp little claws, but Steve barely flinched. “So... what now? Bucky asked. “Landlord won’t let us keep her,” Sam muttered. “We just moved here; we’ve got, what, 8 months left on the lease?” Steve sighed, hitching one shoulder higher so that the kitten wouldn’t tumble off. “She can be adopted out real easy, she’s cute...” Bucky offered without any real enthusiasm. There was a long pause.  “I mean... we can Internet search pet-friendly apartments, right?” Steve said moments later.  “Would be easy,” Bucky agreed. They both turned to look at Sam, who was chewing his lower lip and frowning.  “Okay, but one thing. If we’re breaking our lease, and packing up our whole life again for this little cat...” “Yeah?” “I get to name her Stormy.”

[jumukus]

Tsuzuru/Taichi Cross Backstage Story Translation: Give Me Popular Big Brother!

Taichi came across Tsuzuru in the kitchen. They started talking about each other family until Tsuzuru mentioned about his popular big brother. It made Taichi wanted one too.

Tsuzuru: Since we only have a few people today, I think this much of meat is...

Is it enough? Is it not?

If we eat this much....

Taichi: Ah, I am thirsty!

Tsuzuru: Ah, welcome back, Taichi.

Taichi: I am home!

Is Tsuzuru-kun in charge of the cooking today?

Tsuzuru: Yes. Director went to help other theater company, and Fushimi-san went to his circle training camp.

Taichi: Heh~ What are you making today?

Tsuzuru: Ginger-fried pork. And a large serving of meat.

Taichi: It sounds delicious~! Let me have a bite!

Tsuzuru: Ah, you, that one..

Taichi: I taste meat....!

Tsuzuru: Rather, it just tastes like meat, you know. I am just about to season it, after all.

Taichi: Omi-kun's cooking is also good, but Tsuzuru-kun's cooking is a man cooking! I think it's fine if you make a lot.

Tsuzuru: For a large family, cooking a large platter is easier, see.

Taichi: Ah~ I see! Does Tsuzuru-kun have lots of brothers-kun?

Tsuzuru: I actually have 2 big brothers, but doing household chores has naturally became my responsibility, see.

Taichi: Eh!? Tsuzuru-kun is not the eldest one!? I am surprised!

Tsuzuru: I just never told you.

Taichi: How many years apart are you?

Tsuzuru: I am 5 years apart from my eldest brother, and 3 years apart from my second eldest brother.

Taichi: Heh~! It's somewhat nice to have big brothers, huh~ Are you close with them?

Tsuzuru: My brothers left home years ago, see, so I haven't really meet them. I don't even know where my eldest brother now.

I will meet my second eldest brother during Bonkure* holiday. Since he went on an overseas trip, he hasn't came home nowadays.

Taichi: Overseas trip!? What's that!?

Tsuzuru: He's a soccer player whom belongs to a soccer team, see, so there must be times when he has to play overseas.

Taichi: Cooool~! A soccer player must be popular, huh!

Tsuzuru: I think he has a lot of female fans...

Taichi: How nice~! I want a big brother like that too!

Tsuzuru: Is Taichi the youngest child?

Taichi: No, I have younger brother and sister.

Tsuzuru: Eh, you're the eldest!?

Taichi: I am really the eldest!

Tsuzuru: Ah...

Taichi: What, what?

Tsuzuru: I just think that you don't have the quality of an eldest son.

Taichi: Eh~!? Awful! What is the example of an eldest son, then?

Tsuzuru: For example... First and foremost, it has to be Fushimi-san.

Taichi: Ah~! Omi-kun is no wonder an eldest son! He is the man who stands at the top of family and takes control of all the chores!

Tsuzuru: But that spot is usually held by the moms, you know.

Next is.. Miyoshi-san is surprisingly good at taking care of people, see, so maybe he's an eldest son? He's good with anyone.

Taichi: Now that you said it, he once said to me he has a younger sister!

I told him that I wanted to meet her sister, see, but he hasn't let me yet.

Tsuzuru: Heh~ To think that he's cautious of Taichi, he's surprisingly a siscon, huh?

Taichi: Somehow, he told me that he already asked her sister about it. He even showed my picture! But I haven't received a reply since then.

Tsuzuru: Ah, aah, is that so....

Taichi: I wonder why.

Tsuzuru: I wonder why, huh. Well, some things are better left unsaid.

Taichi: Hu~uuh?

Tsuzuru: Juza kinda has the characters of an eldest son too, doesn't he? He's also doing well as Banri's partner.

Taichi: By partner, that means fighting partner, you know!

Ah, It seems like Sakyo-san is also an eldest son. He has a younger sister, after all. I told him to show me her picture but...

Tsuzuru: I know what happened next.

So Furuichi-san is also an eldest son, huh.. Autumn troupe is full of eldest sons. There are four eldest son there.

Taichi: Now that you said it, you're right!

We're Mankai Company's eldest son troupe whom you can rely on!

Tsuzuru: In which way? You guys are more like boorish troublemaker troupe.

Taichi: But even so, I still want a popular big brother..

Tsuzuru: Is it necessary to be popular?

Taichi: You know, if I have popular big brother, the girls will also come flying to me to get my big brother, right!

Tsuzuru: Have some pride, you...!

Taichi: Pride is just a grain of rice in front of popularity!

Tsuzuru: You're resolute in some way, huh.

Taichi: Give me popular big brother!

Tsuzuru: Having big brothers doesn't always bring good things, you know. Well, I said this because both of my big brothers are not home, see, so doing household chores has became my job.

Taichi: To think that Tsuzuru-kun has to do things like cooking for his big brothers, I am weeping! You look like a stay-at-home dad!

Tsuzuru: Is that a compliment?

Taichi: Guys who can cook are cooool, you know!

Tsuzuru: Is that so..?

Taichi: Guys who can cook are usually popular!

Tsuzuru: It eventually comes to that, after all!

Taichi: Life consists of a road named popular road! You eat for the sake of being popular, you sleep for the sake of being popular, and you work for the sake of being popular!

Tsuzuru: You're seriously resolute, huh! It's conversely cool.

Tsuzuru: Director and Fushimi-san will come home at night,

What should I do this afternoon....

There are still some leftovers from yesterday's dinner, should I make a fried rice too...

!?

What was that sound? I heard it from the kitchen...

Tsuzuru: What is this....!? The kitchen is a mess.

Taichi: Ouch~...

Tsuzuru: What's wrong!? Was there a thief!?

Taichi: A thief!?

Tsuzuru: The kitchen is devastated, see!

Taichi: Ah, you're wrong, you're wrong. I just thought that I should cook something too, see.

Tsuzuru: No matter which way you look at it, this doesn't look like a cooking scene, you know!?

Taichi: It looks like I screwed up a bit.

Tsuzuru: It's not just a bit! It looks like the site of some foodstuff massacre!

Taichi: It's just a sudden whim...

Tsuzuru: Taichi, you will receive punishment for entering the kitchen. Five years of imprisonment.

Taichi: But....! That kind of thing..! Tolerate it!

Tsuzuru: ....Haa, it can't be helped, then. What are trying to make, anyway?

Taichi: Fried rice.

Tsuzuru: Then, why did I see bonito soup stock there?

Taichi: I followed the wrong page of this cookbook!

Tsuzuru: .....I get it. Just do as I say for now.

Taichi: Yes sir!

Taichi: OUCH~!

Tsuzuru: Don't cut that part!

Taichi: OWW~!!

Tsuzuru: Don't touch it!

Taichi: It's tough!

Tsuzuru: That one is still alive!

Taichi: KYAA~!!

Tsuzuru: What is it this time!?

Taichi: We did it~!

Tsuzuru: We did it.... To think that it took an hour to make fried rice....

Taichi: I will eat it without cooling it down!

.......

Tsuzuru: .....How is it? The taste is supposed to be alright.

Taichi: Delici~ous!! It's delicious, Tsuzuru-kun!

Tsuzuru: What a relief.

Taichi: If it tasted like this, it will be fine to let someone eat it.

Tsuzuru: What's that, do you want certain someone to eat this?

Taichi: Ehehe, more or less~!

Tsuzuru: Could it be, a girl...

Taichi: There is a girl too~!

Tsuzuru: It's not like you will bring it to a home party, right. Like a riajuu*.

Taichi: When I go back home, I want to make one for my siblings, see.

Tsuzuru: ....Heeh, that's just like an eldest son.

Taichi: I am originally an eldest son, after all!

t/n:

*bonkure:  particular rituals and customs that are observed for these occasions as well as this tradition of closure of the old and readiness/celebration of the new. It usually holds near the end of a year. more info here.

*riajuu: the opposite of otaku. someone who has fulfilling life.

[whiitespace]

@duetisms​ stated ;;

💭 + rosa's specific thoughts on the friend group (before or after mari's death) !

[ hot topics. // accepting. ]

   ❝ ...Ah. ❞ Hands press together, the tips of her fingers gently pushing  against each other as she stands there, ❝ Well... alright. ❞

   ❝ I think... I’ll do both. I’ll talk about before... and now. I wanna preface that I might be... just a bit biased, maybe. ❞ She looked at the floor for a moment.

   ❝ Mari was my sister’s tutor, and she was a wonderful one. Though, she was a bit much when it came to perfectionism, Am would worry if she’d be disappointed with her progress so far. She was strict, but still very supportive in everyone’s endeavours. Amerie stopped playing the piano when she died. ❞

   ❝ Sunny was a boy of few words, but he was still very kind. He was a good listener, and he was very hardworking, just... he struggled to focus on long-time projects and couldn’t really keep interests up in something, though I can’t blame him at all. ❞ Her thumbs press together, and fidget, ❝ I don’t know what happened when Mari died, but he shut himself off completely, it was... very worrying, I’m glad to see him outside nowadays. ❞

   ❝ Basil, Basil, Basil... he was one of the nicest. I still talk t’him sometimes. He seemed very shy, but when he opened up to you, he’s honestly such a sweet person. When Mari died, he seemed... off, though he had gotten better over the years. I think he might know something, but I don’t wanna make him cry. ❞

   ❝ Hero... I think Hero’s the one who had it worst. Mari was everything to him, and he was so nice, too. Like a big brother I never really had. His cooking was nice, too... don’t tell uncle Danny, but Hero cooked a lot better than him. When... when Mari died, he just shut down, for-- for a while, anyways. Like he was just some sorta doll. He picked himself up eventually, though. I’m proud of him... though, I’m a little mad that he’s tryin’ to become a doctor instead of a chef. ❞

   ❝ ...Kel... Kel was practically the life of the party. He’s the most normal out of the bunch, surprisingly. He knew how to make people laugh and he was so social, too. I looked up to him. He was the most... normal when it came to Mari’s death, I understand that everyone has different ways of coping, but Kel... Kel never changed, it was kind of refreshing, actually. Really refreshing. ❞

   ❝ ...Then there was Aubrey. She was so sweet, and she was nice to me, if not a little wild. Outcasts know each other, after all. Aubrey... was the big sister I couldn’t have, we couldn’t have. She was so much fun and it was something that made me comfortable. She changed the most when Mari died, since everyone else tried their best to cope, she... turned to the dark side, in a sense. Dyed her hair and carried a nailed bat around-- it scared me, and her attitude did, too. I... I was really, really worried for her, but I was also angry at how she was dealing with it all at the same time, since... this wasn’t a healthy way of coping. But-- but the best I could do was try to, to make sure she didn’t outright... you know. Really hurt anyone. ❞

   ❝ ...I guess I was the most clueless here, huh... ❞

[polar-stars]

Softly If it counts your own ships Kiyoshi, but also !! I wanna hear your thoughts about RyoAli :0

(Give me a ☕️ + a character/ship and I’ll ramble off whatever thoughts and opinion I have about it)

yES, my own ships and characters count!! Thank you so much for asking!

KiyoShi (Kiyoko Saito x Masashi Eizan)

KiyoShi really grew on me lately, ngl! Ironically, despite the fact that they are a pair of two anatgonists they just feel super wholesome to me ahdhdf. 

Okay but being real here, I am a little bit surprised with myself that KiyoShi exists in the way it does actually. In a sense, it’s not the type of relationship I thought I would write someday. Though granted, they’ve come a long way from their initial plans.

One of my first ideas for Kiyoko was to have her as Masashi’s only ally within the Elite 10, excluding his brother Shigeo of course. Kiyoko was also originally supposed to be more stoic, quiet and resembling of her father, Somei. Masashi and her were much of an antisocial pair of eccentrics back then, you could say. But I ultimately do think their dynamic nowadays is a lot more interesting and fun. Masashi is, and always was, an absurdly serious guy and I like it being balanced out with Kiyoko, who is a lot more bubbly in contrast. 

They were always intended to be a villain power couple, because I love villain power couples, however originally they weren’t childhood friends. It was only when I thought to myself “Hm, kind off want EtsuNe to be in contact with SoMomo in adulthood” that the childhood friend aspect was introduced into their relationship. But, surprisingly to me, I think it made it all the more richer and also strengthened their villain power couple bond. I mean due to that, Kiyoko and Masashi got to know each other inside and out and hold great trust in each other. They work together perfectly. AND they feel perfect for each other, ngl.

I like how they’re basically this elitist hothead and the spoiled mean girl, who are feared by the school they attend (”Glory and Gore” by Lorde) but all soft and supportive with each other (”Paper Rings” by Taylor Swift).

alSO, full support from both families, really! Kiyoko’s mom Momo is probably the numero uno KiyoShi stan, but everyone else is pretty much on board as well (Yoshiko denies it though, because she has a reputation as romance-despiser to uphold! And Somei hasn’t fully caught on yet, but when he does he is cool with it). But I would like to bring up Shigeo especially! Shigeo is possibly the greatest supporter of KiyoShi, within Totsuki, tbh. He is not as transparent about it as Momo is, but he really does want Kiyoko and Masashi to end up with each other actually! He is pretty close to Kiyoko after all and views her as much of a big sister, he genuinely wants her to be happy (and Masashi as well) and its just something I think is cute. So, while he often ends up in a third-wheel position, he does not really mind as long as they progress ahdhd. 

Finally, I think my aim in my portrayal of KiyoShi, in SnKimiko at least, is to make it seem like this two are long married already even though they are not because Masashi do be dense. I feel, like I will have a lot of fun with them in the future and they will surely warm my heart a great number of times as well! & I still think it is interesting how much they have grown on me lately. 

RyoAli

I don't think that I shipped them right on sight, but at the same time I can not really remember a time where I was not shipping RyoAli dshhdfhf.

RyoAli, to me at least, is just a lot of fun. Their dynamic is so incredibly entertaining and it is always a good time whenever these two are on screen, interacting. (No Energy x Too much Energy is always a good time as well)

I feel RyoAli is pretty easy to get into because not only are they fun, they also start off with a lot of foundation. I think the fact that they’ve known each other for such a long time is shown through many subtle means (and not-so subtle means ahdhd) and it’s clear that these two know each other really well. I am especially weak for the scenes that showcase just how much trust the two do hold in each other’s skills and abilities (so many moments of them just having a proud “yes, that’s my husband/wife-smile” whenever the other does something badass, I love)!! Yet they still challenge and balance each other out nicely, it’s good stuff!!

Also come onnn, that black/white combo??? I am here for that

The only major gripe I have is the ending that canon gave them :/ Having Ryo be Alice’s butler for all her life was not really what I wanted from him and frankly, I don’t think that Alice wanted that for him either. 

Alice obviously has a lot of trust in Ryo’s skills as a cook and she even nagged at him when he wasn’t the one to win the Autumn Election Finale. I don’t know, I just think she would want him to use all of his talent abd make the best of his potential. I feel, she wants to see him go far. (Not that Alice’s career in Les Dessert was all too exciting either)

But fortunately Les Dessert Canon means nothing to me anyway and I can continue on picturing this power couple & their Yin-Yang-Twin Daughters as the pinnacle of Japan’s culinary business. 

TL/DR: Smug, bossy princess & her stoic bodyguard, not afraid of calling her out when he needs to. How can I not stan?