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fantranslatorbychoice · 4 years

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Kakuriyo no Yadomeshi Volume 6 Chapter 3 - The Village Hidden in Hyakumemomiji Part 2

T/N: Dang it, the last chapter left me hanging so I rushed this one with minimal beta. Well, I did my best with my skills, hopefully it’s OK. Also I have a lot of notes and I don’t really care if it’s annoying. Zero regrets lol

As always, I mostly didn’t translate some of the names of the ayakashi/youkai, as well as the proper nouns because uhm... They’re basically nouns. It’s like how some translated manga are done. Plus it irks me sometimes when everything just gets transliterated, it kills off the vibe. But that’s just me. Links to references at the end of the post.

Also if you like this translation, you can heart it, share the link, reblog, I just respectfully ask that DO NOT REPOST ELSEWHERE. This is my contribution to the scant English content of this fandom, and I worked really hard to finish this thing, it’s not like I just Google-translated this whole sh**.. You can rave about this, rant about this, but if possible please link back to this page. If you’re unsure how to do that, just copy the web address of this page. If you’re on a blogsite just insert the web address as a hyperlink as a link back to here. Honestly if this light novel was officially-published in English, I wouldn’t even be doing this right now... And if it did, I’d take this offline to support the publishers and Yuuma-sensei. Creators support creators, is what I believe in. OK, I may have veered off-course too much, as previously mentioned in my older posts, the 2 seasons of the anime cover most of the plots of volumes 1-5, so if you need a review just rewatch them all. Part 2 starts now. P65 Leaving the large banquet hall where the altar was, we went through a wide passageway, and on the other side of the mountain's stone wall were traces of a solid view of various momiji leaves. We seem to be in a considerably high place, and it was a bit chilly. "The Kaku-zaru's obscured village was made by digging a hole in the wall of rock and making their dwellings there. The solid rock wall was decorated with a lot of momiji, and the passageway as well as the hole were hidden by the leafy branches, which lead to this place being called the Hidden Village." Nearby, Odanna-sama gave explanations to me. Certainly, when you look at the stone wall clearly there was a hole in the passageway. That, was completely hidden by flashy colored momiji. These momiji looked redder and shinier than the usual autumn fallen leaves. The strong wind blowing on my feet made me feel anxious and fluttery, the passageway looks very mystical. The entire place seems to glisten like a red jewel... P66 "The momiji within this vicinity, these are called the precious Hyakumemomiji that decorates the summit of Hyakumeyama. These branches, when burned emits a smoke that can be used to make one drowsy and sleepy." That time when I was taken here I smelled smoke, and that seemed to have happened when they took out a branch and burned it. No wonder, I therefore conclude that was when my consciousness was lost. But the matter regarding the bandits was also a serious thing. I told the Kaku-zaru that we will be preparing to use the piece of Hyakumemomiji as kindling, we will be using the smoke as they normally did. Aside from that, I also explained that the mountain apples were also needed.

"I may have suggested this but.. I wonder if it's really gonna work." After that, I was standing in the the village's kitchen that they allowed me to do my preparations in. The kitchen had a large, wonderful stone kiln, and aside from that there were also old stoneware and other cooking utensils. Odanna told me to make a lot of "recipes using the mountain apples." Because of that, the tactic is that we need to make the bandits eat a lot of the food. "I brought you these, Aoi." Odanna-sama brought his basket that was full of mountain apples, and went inside the kitchen. A while ago we were gathering them in the orchard, now it seems that we were using them to retaliate for the mountain clan. "Say, Odanna-sama. Are you sure that these mountain apples are just fine?" P67 "Ah, saying that, I wonder... If the Hyakumemomiji was used as an ingredient along with the mountain apples and it worked, it's going to be an additive that can easily make them drunk. The sleep-inducing smoke too, it's for that reason that we're using it." The liquor made out of mountain apples could also be added with a lot of pickled chips of Hyakumemomiji branches, but from what I heard from Odanna-sama and Rokusuke-san, that seemed to be an industrial trade secret. I could conclude that I have found out about it while we were talking about it. "Say, can't we make some mountain apple liquor here?" "That is Mizumakinouen's original recipe. I don't think we can make that here. But the bandits seem to like the taste of the liquor they already have here. If they drink that along with the foods, they would leisurely consume it, and your record with the Sea Treasure Appetizers will be surpassed. I want to use the Hyakumemomiji branches to cook the meals made out of the mountain apples--" "Hm, I see..." I bluntly responded with Odanna-sama's request, but in reality I was feeling excited inside. I wanted to try and use the mountain apples immediately. Such cuisines made out of mountain apples, it would feel really awful with those used on those bandits and their territories, but... "I get it. We'll waste no time on that but, what ingredients can we use here? I wonder what do those bandits like to eat up to now?" I looked around, and as I walked across the ashen kitchen, I found it. P68 "Stone pig...” At the entrance of the kitchen stood two little Kaku-zaru children, they brought in a basket. "Stone pig, our village raises and eats a lot of them." "They graze in the forest, and we feed them mountain apples and acorns. The bandits like them." The children wore masks that did not entirely hid their faces, but the corners of their eyes were hidden. "Really-- Stone pig. Don't tell me that the pig's head offering on the altar, came from this? Uhm, is it fine to use this meat, will you not have enough food left?" The children were nodding and nodding a lot, and I realized that their voices were adorable. "At any rate, I have no choice but to use whatever it is for the banquet tonight." "The respectable elder told us that this is for Miko-sama. He also that that you can use anything we have in this village." Inside the basket of ingredients that they brought, there was already a large lump of stone pig. The meat was lovely. Is this the boneless part? It was not fatty, it was just right. Raised by eating the fruits of trees, the nearest vibe that this pork gives off is the Black Iberian pig. There were also some eggs and what look like autumn mushrooms, sweet potato, and there were also a lot of vegetable staples. "Hm? What is this?" I fished out the other ingredients inside the basket. There was cheese, the surface of which was covered in tree ashes. It wasn't easy to find this ingredient in Kakuriyo, P69 but here in front of me, for me to use, I was suprised. "Hey, look at this Odanna-sama! It's cheese, cheese!**" "The dairy industry of the Northern lands have prospered, and because of that it is within their capacity to expand their cheese production methods. If there are those in this mountain who take care of livestock and do pastoralism, it's not surprising that they would be able to discover it." "Oh, so that's it, I see." For sure, the dairy products stocked up in Yugao were ordered from the Northern Lands, and the cheese that the room service in the Southern Lands were also delivered from the Northern Lands. "These cheese were made from the milk of mountain goats." "They're really tasty." The Kaku-zaru child took out a small blade from the bosom, and with a skilled hand sliced cheese from the edges, and offered them to me. I wonder if I have to deal with what's in front of me. But in reality, goat's milk cheese is not my cup of tea. It's smell was very different and unique from cow's milk cheese, and the acrid taste is strong. I was scared as I tried eating it. "What's this?" The goat's cheese had a ripe fermented taste, but it was melty and soft on my tongue. And the acrid taste that I thought it had wasn't there, it felt like it left a milky taste. T/N: Call Aoi a dumbass but if I got hold of some cheese after having none for a long time, I'd go gaga too lol P70 In the end, it was undeniably easy to eat. It was something that I haven't eaten up until now, and it was a bit different. "This.. Is this really mountain goat cheese? It's really delicious..." "It is also covered all around with the ash from Hyakumemomiji wood chips." "I take care of mountain goats!" When I said that the foods in the village tasted good, it made the children glad, and they gleefully started talking. In that situation, they were really like children, and they just look so cute. I couldn't see their eyes through their masks, but from how their mouths moved and spoke, their expressions were visible from their voices. "Thank you, the both of you. Let's succeed together in exterminating the bandits, ok?" I patted their heads, and when the children looked at each other, they went "The Miko-sama patted our heads!" and happily skipped off from the kitchen. The people in this village, somehow they were not quite seized by the bandits, but children are children... Well then, Our plan to drive away the bandits start here. Our strategy to eradicate the bandits is simple. Make them drunk by eating and drinking, then beat** them. That is all. My weapon is cooking, of course. I think I will just operate on the shadows with regards to the "feeding them" part. "With regards to this, what are you planning to make, Aoi?" "Oh, that, it's pizza." "Pizza? That pizza you say, it sounds like it's from Utsushiyo, is that Italian**? T/N: This isn't even a pun. The kanji is literally the kanji for beat, as in "beating a drum, beating them up", that stuff. Also don't ask me how did Odanna-sama even knew that pizza was Italian. No idea about that right now lol P71 "Yeah, I'm bringing that Italian thing from over there. Using the stone pig, this mountain goat cheese, and the mountain mushrooms, I was thinking of making a pizza based on my preferences. I could bake that in the large kiln, and use the Hyakumemomiji branches for that." I could use the ingredients in here, and bake a lot of pizza. There's also just enough flour, it seems that I have all of the the ingredients to make pizza. "By the way Odanna-sama, excuse me but, remove your outer coat, prop up the sleeves of your kimono with a cord, and I want you to help with the other preparations..." "The respectable elder has already given me instructions. If I can do what you're telling me then I will do just that!" Odanna-sama's eagerness is considerably at maximum. He must have reflected for a while now, and his nails were also shortened. This is probably his first time to be forced to help in cooking while in his commoner's look. "I'm thankful for that but... Ai-chan is also here, and it's OK to do other things." After that, I summoned Ai-chan from the pendant, and she instantly came out. Still looking like me, Ai-chan harshly proclaimed "I'm here now, Odanna-sama isn't needed anymore". While having a serious face, cold sweat started flowing from Odanna-sama's forehead.... "D.... Doesn't Ai have other homework to do? Weren't you supposed to be on a training on changing how you look, differently from Aoi?" "Other look? Why so sudden?" P72 Oh well, Ai-chan surely does have her homework but... "Here in Hyakumeyama, in reality I know that Ayakashi train up in this mountain. There was a great Youkai called Nue who exceedingly triumphed in changing appearances, and after practicing in this mountain it was able to learn how to change into it's hundreth form, hence the name of the mountain became Hyakumeyama.** Only Ayakashi with the power to change their appearances into humans have that status. They are displaying their power." "Really? I always thought that was strange. Why is everyone, despite having their original Ayakashi appearances, chose to change to look like humans? That proves the power of those Ayakashi, don't they?" "Yes. When you climb this mountain, there are many Ayakashi who are discovering what apperance they will change into. If Ai is here, it is also possible that the divine blessing of Hyakumeyama will grant you and let you gain information on how you will change your appearance. If you succeed in doing that here, you can also be allowed to work in Yugao." Ai chan placed her finger at the corner of her mouth and immediately started to ponder, and after a bit hit her fist on the palm of her hand. "I couldn't estimate fully what I should do. I see Aoi-sama's face everyday, which is why that's the only one I can change into!" "Oh my...." Definitely, that didn't seem difficult. I tried thinking along with Ai-chan too. T/N: The kanji that forms Hyakumeyama is hyaku=hundred, me=nth, like 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, nth. it's also the same kanji used for "eye". And yama is, well, mountain. At least now the reason why it's called with that name has now been explained. even I was wondering why it was like that. Nue is basically a chimera, look it up lol P73 "Oh, I see. If it's Odanna-sama and I, how about combining the features of our faces to make a new one? You see both of us a lot, since there aren't a lot of other people here..." After suggesting what I thought then, Ai-chan and Odanna-sama's eyes went all round as if drawn, and they looked as if they were taken aback. What the.. why such reactions? "Aoi-sama, part-way Odanna-sama, won't it?" "That's it Aoi. She's so much like our child..." "Whaaaaaat? Wh-- Why are you saying it like you're driving that in?" I could understand the meaning behind Ai-chan's and Odanna-sama's reactions, and in an instant I blushed. My face became horribly hot. "Oh well, that's fair Aoi. But that's a great idea. When Ai makes her original face, like that she can play up with a lot of what her eyes see, and among that it's the easiest. She's our daughter who combines and divides both of our faces, I wanted to see myself a bit too..." Odanna-sama put up a calm and composed demeanor, but my face was still burning all throughout. "Don't think about weird thoughts, Odanna-sama..." "I won't, I won't..." I took a huge step back, and Odanna-sama was lightly shaking his head left and right. Ai-chan was murmuring "Hmmmmm" as the corners of her eyebrows wrinkly drew together, and she looked alternately at Odanna-sama's face and mine. P74 "When you do this, there's a bit of merit, OK?" Completely looking at our faces over and over again, after a while she left the kitchen in an instant. Ai-chan was probably going to practice morphing her appearance outside. "I'm going out for a bit to look for it myself!" "Ah--- Ai-chan! Chibi, look out for Ai-chan. This is an unknown place and she might get lost..." "Okaaaaay." Chibi was hiding inside my sleeve, jumping and squirming he went out from there, using the different folds and layers of the fabric to get himself out. After that he left to follow his younger sister-disciple. "Ai-chan, I wonder what appearance she will debut for us..." "You have also outrageously asked Chibi to look after her.." That seemed somewhat a parental thing to do. The dead air calmly flowed through, it's because the cooking must be done. "Well then, Odanna-sama. You're in charge of making the dough, ok? Over there by the stone cookware, add the flour and oil and a bit of water, mix them one at a time. When they're all incorporated together, pull out that tray and please knead it for me." I taught Odanna-sama the basics of making and the quantity of each, and left him to do it by himself. P75 "Haha. I remembered the time that we did this kind of work together. When the Tengu had that feud at Orio-ya, kneading this dough has that feeling." "We aren't making Japanese dango soup here, you know." The pizza dough that we're making right now is just simple. We aren't using dry yeast. It's fine the we aren't fermenting, that would make a crunchy and thin pizza. After that, Odanna-sama gave me all of the many dough balls that he made, and now I have to prepare the ingredients for the toppings. There will be two types of pizzas. The first will be sweet pizza, using the bandits' favorite sweet potato and mountain apples, along with the cheese. "The first one will be a decoy. Because they only ate nothing but mountain apples, we will use the first pizza to pull them in through their hunger. After giving them that sweet apple pizza, everything else should go smoothly." "Ohhhh.. Luring them is ingenious. As expected from Shirou's granddaughter. And that, is my wife." "Ehhhhh, keep quiet, Odanna-sama--" It was indeed a crafty tactic, and I continued explaining my cooking plans without hesitation. "In Utsushiyo because there are no fixed ingredients used, there are teriyaki pizza and grilled meat pizza, and we can combine those to make a Japanese-style pizza. According to the leaflets on the pizza delivered to our house by the delivery people, the most famous was grilled meat pizza, which had the highest ranking." P76 "Ohhhh! There was time I travelled in Utsushiyo, I ate some Italian pizza, it has cheese and tomato sauce and some flavoring they called basil, and because of that I couldn't imagine an image of a Japanese-style pizza." "Pizza Margherita is undoubtedly the king. If there's tomato you can make one easily..." But right now, we have no choice but to make delicious pizza with the ingredients that we have in here. To make the Japanese-style pizza grilled pork will be used, and the stone pig's boneless meat will be used. Boneless pork, mountain-grown onions, I was thinking of maitake** mushrooms and then cutting each one. The boneless pork makes it easy to eat. The onions will be sliced small and thin, and it's appropriate to shred the maitake. "For the sauce, we'll use the usual soy sauce and mirin, sugar and sake, grate up some garlic and ginger, mountain apple juice, miso, then add some red chilli peppers, it's going to be a sweet spicy sauce for the grilled pork..." We're fighting against bandits. It seems that rather than high-end tastes, they prefer flavor that restores their stamina fully. We have achieved the task of adding mountain apple juice. On top of that it's fruity, and the spiciness gradually seeps out, as the expected outcome. The boneless pork gets stir-fried on the stoneware frying pan, and as it cooks the sauce is incorporated. It has been properly browned and cooked well-done when the lovely shiny color comes out. This only takes 10 minutes to deliciously cook the boneless pork. This is also a fiendish pizza topping. "Aoi, these are already kneaded sufficiently." I thought that for quite a while now, Odanna-sama was being a grown-up, encouraging himself quietly while making the pizza dough. T/N: The maitake mushrooms are also called hen-of-the-forest, they look like a whole clump of tall-stalked shrooms, their root-like structures are so close together that they grow together. Yeah I am familiar with the shroom and other things about the fungi industry, thank you. P77 There were so many rounded doughballs. "Oh wow, really, you made so many doughballs, Odanna-sama. That's very good!" "Aoi praised me! Alright!" Odanna-sama closed his fist and pulled it back, like he made an achievement. "Now that's done we let the dough rest for a bit. We have to let it rest for at least 30 minutes in this low room temperature." Despite being tired, Odanna-sama wrapped the dough in some cloth and placed it in a warmer place inside the room for me. "Alright, next is the preparation of the sweet pizza.** It's an apple and sweet potato with cheese pizza." "Would the sweet potato and apples go well with the cheese?" "Well now, Odanna-sama. It's a bit snazzy, they normally go well together." I sliced the apples and the sweet potato thinly, and soaked each in a bit of water. After that I arranged the cheese on the dough and baked it as it is, once the dough is done I can't do anything more than that. "Whew. That concludes it." We have to make a lot, but the toppings that Odanna-sama and I made together, we earnestly used them all. "Aoi-sama--- Odanna-sama--" T/N: Not a fan of sweet pizza. I tried a smore pizza once, maybe that one was a bit OK, but seriously not a fan. Sorry sweet pizza slash pineapple pizza fans. I'll go Margherita any day lol P78 In here, Ai-chan's cheerful voice reached our ears. "Could it be...?" "Could you have achieved changing your appearance by yourself?" Odanna-sama and I looked at each other, and we sprung out of the kitchen. "!??" Over there.. Over there, there was a black-haired beauty with a short haircut! "Didn't you just entirely placed everything in Odanna-sama's taste?" The only thing that I contributed to this was just the femaleness, and what's left in front of me is the likeness of Odanna-sama's beautiful ogre daughter. Be that as it may, she is a girl about 14 years old, her facial expression is cheerful and spirited, but there wasn't much vibe of Odanna-sama's boldness. Regarding her nature, she has the feel of an individual having a personality. "I saw Aoi-sama and Odanna-sama and gave it a thought. When a child that looks like Odanna-sama is born, won't that child be very happy?" "Ai-chan, come here for a bit." "Owww oww owww--- Aoi-sama--- Please don't pull on my ears--- Aren't daughters said to look like their fathers?" My obedient disciple seems to have gotten refreshed. I'm in a mood to polish her crude language. P79 Her kimono has red and green camellia flowers in a black background. When I looked at her face closely, her eyes had my eye color... Oh well, I guess that's OK. "Hee hee hee. I see it now, you have become our child, Aoi and I. Hee hee hee." "Odanna-sama, don't delude yourself, and don't show me that desperate face." But Ai-chan's transfiguration was superb. Chibi, who was with her blinked with surprise and went " I don't know thisssssh child", and he seemed to be unused to the new appearance of his younger sister-disciple. "Alrighty then! Let's make pizza together!" "Hey...." A human girl and a distinguished ogre-god, an ogre-fire girl and a Temari Kappa. All of the employees have come together, and the rested pizza dough was dusted with flour and stretched over a tray. That pizza dough was made by Odanna-sama, who was in-charge of it. "Heyyyy, you're really good at it, Odanna-sama--" "My experience with it has increased! From now on I want to fully become a master who can help with tasks. Today's Odanna is sharing the house work with the wife and listening to her!" "If everyone in Tenjin-ya saw you right now, they're all going to cry..." Nails trimmed, stripped off of his majesty and villainous vibe, becomes delightful whenever he gets praised... Even though in the beginning he had a scary ogre aura, right now the Odanna-sama in front of me is somewhat like a newbie Odanna. I conclude that without knowing anything he's doing his best.** T/N: This is painfully true, when you're just starting your first job or work, you just do it and give it your all, like the enthusiasm is at its maximum. Well, ignorance is bliss so.. yeah. Can't say more lol If you know, then you know. P80 But, even though Odanna-sama seems to be enjoying helping, it's somehow not bad. After this we will be making the bandit-exterminating pizza. Unexpectedly he seemed to have grown to become a good Master-san... No, no, the Danna-san** that I'm with, I couldn't distinguish between them. Well then. I arranged the ingredients I have prepared before, over the dough that Odanna-sama stretched. With this Japanese-style pizza, cooked pork marinated in sweet and spicy sauce, chopped onions scattered all around, and loaded a lot of the maitake on top. Because there's perilla leaves, I used them as replacement for basil and spread them as garnish and to make the taste come out as Japanese-style. On top of that, I asked Ai-chan to make some home-made mayonnaise and thinly add this over everything, and after that he baked it. We're excited to find out how this will go. In making the sweet pizza, just like before, the thinly-sliced apples and the sweet potatoes were arranged alternately. On top of this, a lot of the cheese was evenly and generously placed. While preheating the stone kiln in the kitchen, I peeked at the shelves to find out what is in there and fish out whatever those are. "It seemed like they didn't have honey. After baking this, if we're adding honey before eating it will make it really yummy." "Aoi, there's some Hyakumemomiji honey, you know." T/N: She called him Danna-san instead of Odanna-sama because he was young-ish and looked like a plebe lol

Honestly by this time I am still questioning whether or not the hours I spent watching food network, masterchef episodes, any cooking show since I could remember, were all worth it. Right now, maybe? Maybe not? I'll probably find out when I'm done with this series. Lol Yuuma-sensei's story makes me hungry waiiiiii

P81 Odanna-sama was searching in the cabinets in here, and found some honey for me in the spice cupboard. What is this Hyakumemomiji honey.. What kind of stuff is this? "Wooow, it looks like it tastes like maple syrup. Yummy--" "This honey's sweetness is not strong. It's a good product. This is also my first time to try eating it." We tried tasting this stuff that we found, and it was impressive. I would want to buy some and take it home regularly... "Well then, would you want to try one baked piece that we used regular chopped wood as kindling? Let's try it, let's do it." "Ohh, that sounds good." And like before, we tried eating the pizza that we all made together. Even though we were doing this** because we're going to exterminate bandits. Inside the hot, stone kiln were two types of pizzas baking. When the pizzas were done baking, we pulled them out of the kiln, and like a triangular fan**, cut them into slices. The grilled pork Japanese-style pizza has white Welsh onions for toppings. The apple and sweet potato pizza with cheese was entirely drizzled with the Hyakumemomiji honey. "Ohhhh, it looks good." "Let's try some. This part that looks like an earlobe, pull it away and eat it with your hands." Odanna-sama ate the Japanese-style pizza, and Ai-chan tried the sweet pizza, each pulled a slice with their hands. The triangular pizzas were still piping hot. They started biting these from the pointy end. T/N: Honestly I want some pizza right now. Talk about subliminal programming. Dang it lol But really, it’s normal to taste what you’re cooking unless you could nail it without testing the taste first. I sure can’t lol I don't know what shape Byakuya's fan is, but the kanji says triangular so even though one side isn't a straight line then that's it lol. P82 "Hmmm, the grilled pork had a strong and defined flavor. The garlic and soy sauce goes well with the crunchy and plate-like dough. This is probably something that the bandits will like." "This is awesome, this is awesome.. Aoi-sama, the cheese is stretchy---" "Gah, the toppings might fall, they might fall down---" The pizza's taste was the best, and it seems that everyone was having fun while noisily eating it. The cheese was a stretchy and melty thing... "Hmm?" At the entryway the Kaku-zaru children seemed interested and glancing at us repeatedly. For sure, they liked the smell of the baking pizza. "You guys want to eat some?" "Is... Is that fine?" "Yes, of course. You can certainly try some." Scared of the pizza, the children poked at it lightly before pulling them with their hands. After seeing how I did it, they copied what I did and each took the pizza slice, propping it up with both of their hands as they bit on it. Their usual expressions were hidden by their masks so I couldn't see their eyes, but their chewing mouths gave it away. They were silent, but they were licking it as they ate. P83 "It's delicious. Stone pig. There's so much meat sauce." "I was surprised. This is the first time I ate a plate." "What you call a plate, it's pizza dough." Even though they seem uninterested and surprised, when they said that it was delicious, I was happy. Finally, I could try some for myself.** Yeah, the Japanese-style pizza, I ate the thick grilled pork covered with white Welsh onion together, and the greasy taste and texture was halved. This goes really well with the crunchy pizza dough. It looks like it will go well with liquor. I tried the sweet pizza too, I took a bite, and the puffy and flaky sweet potato, the crunchy baked apples, being incorporated with the melty cheese, this gave off a vibe of luxury. When a lot of the Hyakumemomiji honey was used, when this was eaten, despite the contrast between the cheese's saltiness and the apple's sourness it becomes more enjoyable. Indeed, it's like a cheesecake made out of rare cheese, it's an enjoyable taste. "Feed all of these to the entire village." "Even though they haven't eaten something that tasted like this?" Grumbling and complaining, the young ones reacted with lack of sophistication. "Isn't this going to be used to defeat the bandits?" And then, there was a bit of tension in the air. T/N: Not sure if this is a cultural thing or a universal thing but in some cultures, it's traditional to let others taste your cooking first before the one who cooked it. In some cultures the one who cooks tastes the food first before serving. I just do both, the former when I am absolutely confident with whatever I made, the latter when I have no clue how it goes. Again, this is a cultural thing, nothing is more OK-er than the other, it depends on the circumstance. P84 Oh, so that's it. They thought that this food had poisoned apples. Probably, the food that the bandits were interested in must be showed first. When we get notified that the bandits have arrived, we will mix in the kindling from the Hyakumemomiji branches, and bake the pizza. We definitely won't want to inhale some of the smoke, so we will tightly wrap a cloth around out mouths. When the bandits have finally arrived at the reception hall, we will bring in the pizza.

The celebrations and the banquet were in that hole in the rock, the reception hall where previously there was an altar where I was worshipped. Holding the freshly-baked pizza, from the back I peeked and looked around the reception hall. "They're... they're huge..." The bandits were an Ayakashi called mountain men, and I could just imagine that their builts were above average, they give off the feel of robust soldiers. Speaking of their height, everyone could easily surpass two meters. They think that they could immediately intimidate this entire reception hall. The small-statured Kaku-zaru couldn't instantly hit them with a long sword. Even I would get easily overwhelmed by them. "Hee hee, well then, it's time to round up some bandits!" Nevertheless, Odanna-sama was not saying anything that indicates that he's faltering. This looks different from the Good Danna from a while ago, now his face looks like he's aiming at the targets. It looks beautiful and exciting, Odanna-sama now shows the smile of a wicked oni. P85 Me standing by, I was was always surprised with this gap.

"Boss-dono, we have captured the nearby mountain. It was a total takeover." The boss of the Ozuma-gang was a guy with ruffled hair tied in a single ponytail, and the unkempt beard surely gives him that impression. While drinking some liquor, he was attended by countless beautiful girls. "Hey, Old Geezer Monkey! Enough with the pretentious talk. Bring us more food and wine! Our stomachs have shrunk!" The bandits' evilness and anger echoed. After that, they consumed and exhausted the food and liquor in the village, and they definitely got drunk. Goodness, their bodies are huge, and they heartily ate and drank, they'll easily get to the end of the stored food. The Kaku-zaru instantly became worried and anxious. "Because of that, I beat the entire Miguma-clan** of the neighboring mountains, what do you say, I think finally beat those bastard bears! In the afterlife you can't strip them off of their pelts, now they’re gone! Gahahahahahaha! Since they're a laughing-stock now, I can laugh at them and brag about it! "Kyaaa-- Boss is so manly!" T/N: Yes, like I explained in the last chapter, compounding words in Japanese changes the 1st syllable of the second word. In this case, it's kuma=bear, becoming GUMA after adding the prefix. Based on the kanji it's literally Snake-bear gang. P86 "Isn't it? I don't know anyone who can beat me yet!" "Yes, as expected of Boss!" "All of these mountains will be the territories of the Ozuma-gang!" The minions and the women all vigorously praised the Boss, and raised their liquor cups. The boss seemed to be in an awfully good mood. "H-hmmm. I am proud to be the Northern Lands' strongest mountain man! Pretty soon I will be the man who has dominion over all of Kakuriyo's mountains!" "Kyaaaa-- Boss is so cool!" "All of my women be happy! Gahahahaha!" Goodness, they are that guy's HAREM. The Boss clings to the women's thin kimono all over, and it seems that they earnestly praise him, and nobody can tell if they're likely to feel itchy. "Odanna-sama, do you think that you're jealous of that?" "No. When I look at that, I don't remember Shirou that way." Ah, even in Kakuriyo Grandpa was like that. I get it now. "Besides, even though things seem to be this way, I am single-minded. I only want to love just one person and give all of my love. How about being my wife, Aoi?"** "Odanna-sama, you really had to bring all of that up now, don't you?" T/N: Honestly at this point, Aoi should just wed the poor guy. I mean, srsly. Or maybe I just stan them b/c they're great together. Also it's effing canon lololol if you're gonna ask me why, because I ship myself with Ginji wahahahaha Also get ready fam-fans, things are gonna get whirly from here gahahaha P87 Odanna-sama suddenly thought of something, and hit his fist as he went "Oh, that's it", and with a pop transfigured his appearance right here. Wha------ A voluptuous beautiful lady with straight and black hair!** When placed with Ai-chan side by side, they'd look like sisters. "Odanna-sama, you can change your appearance into a woman's?!" "Hee hee. Ginji is not the only one with this specialty. Well, I rarely have a chance to change into a woman." Odanna-sama drew a reddish arc in the air, and an evil smile appeared on his face. I touched and clung on that Odanna-sama. Yes, he may be tall but still a girl. "I've seen those girls that guy likes. I wonder if it's a good idea if Ai and I will deliver the pizza all around.. Aoi, you watch everything from here." "Ehh, but I want to go too." "It's out of the question. You're a human girl. You understand the reactions of the Kaku-zaru, don't you? With regards to human girls, the Ayakashi know the value of their existence. If the bandits found out, it's bad." "B-- But..." "Aoi." Odanna-sama crouched down a bit, stared at my eyes, and made me hear his words. "Aoi, because you're a good girl, listen to my words here." With his hand, he lightly touched my forehead. It was such a cold hand. But his strong intention got sent to me directly , and without saying anything I could only agree with him. T/N: I told you guys, it was gonna get saucy from here. Even I was shocked. I ain't complaining though. Bring on the fanart lololol P88 When he told me to go back, he listened to my selfishness, and allowed me to stay here. That is why when he made his point, I thought that I should listen to him.

"Ohhhh, what's that? That's a nice smell!" "Our stomachs are already shrivelled up! Hm.. A woman?" "Hey, hey there, aren't you super gorgeous---" The bandits have smelled the pizza, and their interests have been piqued greatly. Not really, more than the pizza, it's probably Odanna-sama scene-stealing beautiful womanly look, and it seems that they're aren't wary of the pizza because of it. "An ogre-girl, eh? Such a fine jewel you are, what are you doing here in the Kaku-zaru's village?" The Boss watched Odanna-sama (the beautiful girl) from head to toe, and the bottom of his nose stretched out. That seemed to have also made the ladies of his harem feel offended. That considerably set them in a bad mood. "Us ogre sisters got lost in the middle of the mountain, and we were taken in as prisoners. For sure, we're going to be tributed to the Boss." "Ohhh, aren't you tasteful, Old Geezer Monkey? That's too bad though... But, what's that round serving tray? I want to see that now!" "This thing is called a pizza. A cook from Utsushiyo brought this kind of food here." P89 The luxurious food was explained exquisitely by Odanna-sama. With a more-or-less husky voice, Odanna-sama captivated everyone as they all stared at him in fascination. For a guy, I think he's rather good. "Please, please, help yourselves--" And in the middle of that, Ai-chan cheerfully hustled and bustled about, delivering the pizza to the bandits. The cute and cheerful Ai-chan expertly goaded and egged them on, and with the delicious smell of the pizza wafting, the mountain man did not refuse. First, the Boss took a bite of the stone pig pizza. "Mmmmm..." The Boss's facial expression blatantly changed. "Wh.. What is this? It's... Delicious... This thing on top of the tray... You dare to place a large chunk of meat on it. Most importantly, the flavor you added is groundbreaking. I may have been the undisputed ruler of the Northern Lands' mountains, but I haven't eaten anything with this taste." "Ehhh-- Boss, we want to eat some too..." "Well, you wait all of you. This food was made by the mountain men." Well, not really, that's food from Utsushiyo. I quipped as I hid in the shadows. Odanna-sama also served some pizza to the girls. They didn’t seem to like that the Boss was sniffing the beautiful girl, but without losing interest in the pizza, they eventually held their hands out. P90 "Please have these too. These are sweet fruit pizzas." Odanna-sama surely pressed on offering the sweet pizza filled with apples and sweet potato. Regarding that, it was our intention. "Sweet? Isn't that unmanly food?" "Hee hee. Don't say that. This has.. A fascinating flavor.." Fascinating... when Odanna-sama (the beautiful girl) uttered that word it was rather polished, and with the pizza's alluring color and smell he took it with his hands in bewilderment. "Ohhh... This is certainly... Fascinating.." The baked apples were crunchy, and the sweet potato was fluffy. And with the stretchy and melty cheese, these all go well with the Hyakumemomiji syrup, without knowing nobody would say that they're feeling bad. Even the girls, going "what's this, what's this," more than the Boss were all entranced with the sweet pizza. "Wahhhh--" "!?" That's it. After a bit the apples' poison have started to take effect, and everyone who ate the pizza had been struck by sleepiness, and also that timing a Kaku-zaru child was pouring liquor all around, and everyone's who was drinking the liquor sank and fell down forwards. Somewhat, everyone fell due to the liquor, the bandits, the Boss, the harem of ladies. P91 "Ahhh..." The scene in that place froze. The adult Kaku-zaru held their heads without thinking. That kid, it was the kid that brought the ingredients to me in the kitchen. In that small place, I couldn't move. "Uhhhrghh... I thought all of you adult-ish Kaku-zaru were boring because you weren't resisting, but apparently you brats have no willingness. Thankfully, that's energizing--" After that the Boss's condition got better, and immediately the veins popped on his forehead, he was extremely taking offense. "You shitty brats!!!" "Go Boss! Kill the brats in anyway!" The bandits spat out violent words, and the Boss got spurred on. Evilness flowed. The hunch I didn't like happened. The Boss stood up, and drunkenly hurled the pizza tray with force, and decidedly raised his fists to beat the child. "Stop it!" My hunch was right. Without faltering I ran out, revealing myself and hugged and protected the child. Even though Odanna-sama told me to hide. P92 Even though he was resolute in landing a punch, when the Boss suddenly saw me appear, in a nick of time he stopped his fist. "!? What is this... Looking at you closely... Aren't you a human girl?!" I wonder if I'm feeling uneasy. This is the first time the Boss saw me with a bewildered and surprised look on his face, but as expected he guessed right. The other bandits decidedly reacted "Wh-- What?!" The Boss eventually laughed showing his teeth, and the fists that stopped instantly opened and grabbed my collar, and like that he pulled me up. "M--Miko-sama, Miko-sama!" The Kaku-zaru children were on the verge of tears as they reached out their arms to me. Kicking and violently struggling while hanging in mid-air, my usual powers were nothing but unusable. "Haha--- We have met a human girl in a place like this! You'll fetch a good price! No, in any event you should be my unusual maidservant? For you see, you are my spoils." "Hey--" "Hm?" The Boss's interest got stolen from behind him, a scary and mysterious aura started wafting out. The clamour came from that empty space, from the silence instantly came out a reply. "You, get your dirty hands off Aoi!" P93 "What the... Who the heck are you?" While still holding me in the air the Boss turned his head around, Odanna-sama in front of him opened his eyes wide. "You... didn't refuse Aoi's food..." The Odanna-sama in his girl form, while still in the Boss's line of sight started swaying slowly side to side and warping, and in an instant returned into the usual ogre-god. As he came out standing, he was wrapped around in his aura. He had a cold and piercing gaze. Everyone realized that he was an extraordinary being. "Wh--" The Boss's greasy sweat started to spread, and laughed with his teeth out. He could only laugh. "I have seen you before... You bastard, you're Tenjin-ya's Master!" "You knew it right away... Therefore, I wonder if you realize it. You said that you haven't met defeat, now I will show you what's called defeat!" With his dubious smile, Odanna-sama soundlessly appeared and stood where I was, and forcefully grabbed the Boss's wrist and tightened the grip. "G... Gwahhhhh!" The ogre-fire from the Boss's wrist entered into his body. He was screaming in pain as he was burned, and and the same time I was released by Odanna-sama and he gently held me in his arms. P94 "Are you alright, Aoi?" "Uhmm.. Yeah.." After looking at me with a gentle smile, Odanna-sama's cold facial expression returned, and glowered at everyone else in front of him. With his deep-red eyes, looking like blood rushing in, he can frighten anyone. Normally, that's something that someone like him does. But.. Why is that.. In that time, I couldn't think of being especially frightened. "This.. This is unacceptable!" "How dare you do this to the Boss!" All of the minions simultaneously stood up with swords in their hands. At the worst possible time, a brawl might start... "What the...?" Everywhere everybody started staggering. Oh, I see, the apples just started to kick in. It seemed that we chose the timing OK.. With a thump, without warning were were surrounded by countless standing black shadows. They attacked from in-between the bandit's tall physiques, and without pausing toyed and pushed their opponents around.

"Odanna-sama, we have just come to see you right now." Whirling around, with his light green hair he dashed out. P95 It was Tenjin-ya's O-niwaban guards, the Kamaitachi ninjas. "Whew. We have just completely suppressed them." Around his mouth a long scarf hung, and it was obviously the O-niwaban's ace, Sasuke-kun. All of the bandits, mostly everyone had no fight left, in an instant had been stopped, and all around me they have fallen down. "That was splendid. Our O-niwaban sure are strong--" "Eh, how did Sasuke-kun and everyone did it? Ehh.. How did they... They fell down one by one when you told them to, Odanna-sama?" "Ah, yes." Holding me gently, Odanna-sama slowly put me down.** "I previously told them back in Tenjin-ya. Because there was a growing problem in the Northern Lands, I sent out the O-niwaban in secret. There was one person in the village who got hostaged, and we waited for the time when they could simultaneously get hold of them, which was when I saw that the timing of your food's effects came." "I see. That's good. No one got hurt." I anxiously looked at the kid that I protected, we were separated for a bit in that time. But the kid smiled instead. For sure, this was a very frightening experience for all of us. "Well then, one matter has been resolved. Let's tie up the sleeping bandits with heavy ropes." After that, it was the O-niwaban's turn to take them back to jail in the land of Ogre's Gate. T/N: After all of these events, I dare you all not to go whoooo and mushy at how much of a gent Odanna-sama is, to Aoi. I DARE YOUUUUUUU lololol But then again, maybe he wanted a date as well as do some anti-bandit work so... Meh. Still whooo wahahaha asdfgjkukdf;gjg P96 From a fruit orchard date, it enigmatically changed 180 degress into contributing to bandit-suppression in a day, all in one breath. Truly, this is one panic-filled day. "Miko-sama, Miko-sama!" Just as we were leaving, the kid that I protected came running on all fours towards me, and gave me a jar. "This is for Miko-sama." "Hm? Whaat is this?" "That's Hyakumemomiji honey... Because I heard you saying that you wanted one." "No way! That honey? Wahhhh I'm so happy!" I was quite happy, but that kid seemed to be really happy too, and my mouth drew an arc. "Miko-sama, you have saved our village. You're a real Miko-sama!" "It's Aoi. My name is Aoi. But well, it isn't bad to be Miko-sama in one day.." I stooped down to meet the child's eyes. I couldn't see his eyes through the mask, but through those small holes where pure and innocent eyes peeking, and I spoke gingerly. "There are still some unbaked pizzas in the kitchen, ask for an adult to help heating them in the stone kiln, so all of you can eat. It's already nightfall, don't use branches of Hyakumemomiji to burn them, OK?" "OK!" It's a wonderful thought that I was able to feed everyone in the village delicious pizza. P97 Though this was somewhat more difficult than the usual cooking scenarios, it was good that we were able to help people and restore the world's order. "....." The old respectable Kaku-zaru, as well as everyone else again, bowed their heads as they sent us off. Until the end I couldn't capture their figures, the clan has a mysterious aura surrounding them, but if someone gets into this hidden village again, they would surely want to tell the story of what happened today. Right now I do not have the image of a Miko-sama, I am just Yugao's Aoi. "Alright, let's go back to Tenjin-ya, Aoi." "Ohhh, right." We returned to the ship and rode back to Tenjinya, in the middle of the night the sky has cleared up and we proceeded to pierce through it. "Ahh..." From the wooden deck of the airship, I could see the far and distant, countless ogre-fires lighting up Gintengai during this time. And through that, I could see the tall Tenjin-ya floating up high. It's surely a sky-scraper. I found silence in the beautiful night scenery. Somehow, I recalled that time when we returned to Tenjin-ya from Orio-ya. Returning to Tenjin-ya, I thought that I was but only happy... "What is it, Aoi, would you want to come inside? The autumn night's probably cold..." T/N: OK Fam-fans, better hold onto your seats lol j/k no not really P98 "Say, Odanna-sama?" "Hmm?" This timing, there was something that I wanted to ask Odanna-sama. For a long time, even though I wanted to ask him, I couldn't. "Odanna-sama... That uhm..." That time when I was young, the story about the Ayakashi who helped me. Odanna-sama faced me, I used all of my strength to ask him. "Odanna-sama, that thing, have you asked Ginji-san about it? That story when I was young. Ginji-san... Brought me some food, that an Ayakashi was connected to my circumstance..." "Ah, that story.. Yes, even before that I already know..." I saw that Odanna-sama's eyes only flickered for a bit, and it seems that he's flatly going to refuse answering. "Say.. Odanna-sama... Could it be that you.. In some way, have something to do with it?" "...." His lack of reaction continued. I only glanced up at his face fleetingly. Odanna-sama's feelings were unreadable and his face was cold, but while staring at the twinkling ogre-fires from far away, he curtly said "I wonder..." Clearly, that was an ambiguous answer. P99 "If you knew that, Aoi.. What will you do?" "If I knew, well, that I uhm..." "You possess a strong sense of responsibility, Aoi. As soon as you get concerned over an Ayakashi, you take on anyone else's burden. That is why... I do not want you to bear the burden that I already have." "You're saying that..." What does it mean? What is Odanna-sama saying right now? "I wonder why you wanted to know that, but I, do not want you to know about that." "...." Odanna-sama's words, unexpectedly stung and stabbed my heart. Again, I was surprised by that. "I... Only wanted to know... About Odanna-sama.." And, those were the words that went out of my mouth. "Just a little at a time..I am not scared, of Odanna-sama..." "...Aoi?" Not scared. It was something from my heart. I want to know more about you, now. T/N: Me: I have no hecking heart, I have no soul. Also me: ouch my heart my kokoro brokoro T_T I feel you Aoi, I feel you-- Also guys, some fun facts about how I did the translations here, once a girl (or an uke, however you like lololol) starts calling her special other ANATA, you know that things are going down the serious path. Like this is the first time she didn't refer to his public name, it's a Japanese or Asian thing, probably, like when you start calling someone pet names, but in this case she dropped the Odanna-sama in her head monologue and started calling him ANATA, like a WAIFU. Shit's going down guys, I might cry after I do this. DAng it, so much for having no heart. Excuse me while I wipe the stuff that ninjas cutting onions made me do. P100 For the first time, I consciously thought that Odanna-sama wasn't scary. All around him Odanna-sama scares everyone, but I was entirely not dreading him. I was thinking of something good to say about that change. I probably started to trust Odanna-sama. That outward appearance, I couldn't trust it, but I wanted to raise my convictions even if I don't know. Odanna-sama always helps me. While in the shadows, in those times he casually gives me kind advice. But, despite all that, there's still a thread of mystery about him. Among everyone in Tenjin-ya, I understood him the least. "That face, don't give me that, Aoi." While I was shaking, Odanna-sama engulfed me with that huge body. In some way while wavering, he cradled me gently. I was so surprised that my body stiffed up in an instant, I took a long and deep breath, and a long while after talking, the strength from by body was zapped out. I wonder why, in that moment I got flooded with tears, yet I thought that the warmth felt good to abet my horrible mood. "I was shocked by your honesty. I was sure that for a long time I have scared Aoi, and I thought other than that there were no other feelings. That is why, you telling me that you wanted to know more about me, from the bottom of my heart, I am joyful." T/N: dammit ninjas cutting onions not now TT_TT P101 "...." "You sure are a changed person, aren't you?" A changed person. That, was Odanna-sama the same? I don't understand everything at all. Truly, what do you think about me? "Because I have become happy now, even when I jump down from this ship I'll surely live!" "Wait... why are you playing dumb about this now?" It was already all mushy and gooey, but why did he spoil the mood? I pushed myself off Odanna-sama's chest, and I glowered up at him with bulging eyes. Why is he always playing around with important matters like this? I didn't get hurt, but why on earth do I wanna hide myself? "Now, now, Aoi. Don't make that scary face." "Until a while ago I was crying. I will give you a scary face, Odanna-sama." "Sorry, Aoi." I looked at Odanna-sama's troubled yet laughing face, and well, I just gave up. Surely, Odanna-sama's not going to say. Anything. About. Me. Why? I don't know. With regards to that person when I was a child, from my endless conversations with Ginji-san I was thinking surely that there weren't other stories beyond that, and I couldn't be frank about it now. P102 Too bad. But I think that there's no way to ask about that now. I thought that I wanted to know about it, but it was probably just my own selfish wishes. "But, Odanna-sama..." "Hmm?" "Thank you, for today. Didn't you save me from the bandits? You grabbed that huge guy, that was really a bit terrifying." "Oh my, it's because I couldn't imgine that you'd be taken away by that brute. You running and dashing away to protect that child, it was so you, and that's really scary. It's because your human body is so different from Ayakashi, so frail and brittle." "Isn't Odanna-sama so overprotective. I think that is definitely more like having a granddaughter than having a wife, isn't it? But today, you're a bit cool." "R.. Really?" Odanna-sama's cheeks blushed with delight. Usually he sounds so mature, but right now that personality gap seems to have increased. "Because of that, this date has been so much fun. It gets perfect points for the thrill, and I was able to cook as much as I wanted, and I gained a really good item." P103 I wanted the person that I was with, to understand, and I let him know my feelings first. I smiled frankly, I don't want to have a sad nor scary face anymore. "..." Odanna-sama looked a bit surprised, and for a while didn't say anything back. In an instant, he touched my face, the thrill wasn't there immediately, but I drew my eyebrows together and smiled a tiny smile. "Aoi, you're also awesome. And now, you have smiled."

I still don't understand a thing about Odanna-sama. I don't know his favorite things. I don't know his name. I know nothing about his past nor his upbringing. I don't know, if he hides something, if he's involved with the incidents from when I was young. I need to know how to erase all of these.

If I'm going to do it, I wonder how can I get a little bit more closer to him.

End of Chapter 3, Volume 6. Previous - Chapter 2 Next - Intermission 1

References:

Wonderful site for the youkai references

Other stuff I used to do this: Kodansha Kanji Learner’s Dictionary (you can buy here, I’m not sponsored btw). I was about to buy the older edition but then the newer one came out 2013 so I bought that instead. Worth buying since I was able to find nearly all of the words I needed just by stroke pattern alone.

Merriam-Webster's Japanese-English Dictionary (the red-covered 1996 version is apparently out of print right now). This is what I have been using for a very long time, I bought it when I was still a fetus (yes I am old so what lol), and after so many years, when compared to newer editions, I still prefer this one since its entirety is Japanese-English, the English to Japanese gloss are just 16 pages tops, so you get more Japanese words for your buck. But that’s just my opinion, maybe other people prefer the Jap-En x En-Jap IDEK.

Basic online dictionary, Jisho. Knowledge of verb conjugations and other words are necessary since not all have entries.

If you can read Japanese, you can buy the whole set in Amazon Japan, they’re shipping worldwide now, I think.

#kakuriyo no yadomeshi #kakuriyo no yadomeshi volume 6 chapter 3 #kakuriyo no yadomeshi fan translations #kakuriyo no yadomeshi english fan translations #kakuriyo no yadomeshi volume 6 chapter 3 english fan translations #kakuriyo no yadomeshi volume 6 chapter 3 fan translations

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delightfully-ella · 4 years

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A different kind of cook with me...

So I'm doing a hair thing, Wish me luck!

I have been on the fence about trying out Lush henna for a while, I have looked into other henna products and lush just seemed to be the easiest to deal with. I did a lot of research.

I decided to use a mix of Brun and Marron, I have zero idea on what I'm actually doing, but I didn't want to be too red, so I figured a mix might work.

I used two chunks from the Marron and one from the Brun.

I then grated the blocks, on reading about people's experiences and watching videos everyone seemed to go on about how it takes the stuff 15 plus minutes to dissolve the blocks and how annoying that was, so I figured getting it as small as possible would do the trick.

I then popped the bowl onto a bain marie and added boiled water to the grated henna. From what I understand the stuff works best when it's hot so that's why keeping it on the bain marie is a good idea.

Stir that baby and just add more boiled water till it makes a melty chocolate kinda consistency. Honestly the grating beforehand made this a super quick process, I had the consistency I wanted within a couple mins (I forgot to take a pic of the final look)

I then actually used an old hair dye bottle and plooped the henna in there, I saw a comment on a YouTube video suggesting that and thought it was a pretty good idea. And honestly it worked really well. Though I did scoop and ploop too.

I sectioned my hair bit by bit, I stared at the bottom and worked my way up, having the henna in the bottle worked really well making sure I got to the roots and easily got each section covered. I did all my roots first and then saturated the ends, my ends are pretty dry and damaged, I read that with damaged ends they can suck up the product and be more vibrant, overall I don't think it will make a massive difference, but I'm being cautious.

Once my head was totally covered I wrapped myself up in cling film and a turbie towel. I'll leave it for up to 4hrs

I'll show the results later.

Overall the biggest complaints I've heard from people is the time it takes, the smell and the mess.

Honestly it didn't take long to prep, grating the blocks was maybe the hardest part, but still that didn't take that much time and was worth it with how quickly it made the "melting" as for applying the product it was about the same as it would take to put normal dye on.

The squeeze bottle helped with both application and stopping too much mess and I'm not bothered at all about the smell. It has a definite smell, but it's not offensive at all. Badger said he quite likes it.

I guess I'll have to see what the wash out is like apparently that's a pain of a process too, but I'm excited about the results.

#hennahair #henna #lush henna #caca brun #caca marron #lush #hair dye #cook with me #cooking with ella #step by step #how to henna #hennalife #henna novice

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medea10 · 5 years

Text

My Review of The Rising of the Shield Hero

VIEWER DISCRETION IS ADVISED!

Yeah, this warning because apparently I curse more than normal here. That should give you a fun indicator of what you’re in for.

Is this a joke? Is Medea really going to watch a recent Isekai anime?

No joke. I am. Yeah, since just about every Isekai I’ve ever watched was made before the year 2012, I thought it was time. And in case you’re not hip to the lingo, Isekai is where a random person is transported to a strange world (different from their’s) and go on an adventure. Things like Escaflowne, InuYasha, Fushigi Yugi, Kyou Kara Maou, and to a far-lesser extent, Sword Art Online! But because I haven’t watched anything made past 2012, and haven’t watched things like Konosuba, ReZero, or Overlord, my knowledge is shit and I should be ashamed.

So I’m going to start with one of 2019’s best animes, The Rising of the Shield Hero.

Naofumi Iwatani was checking out light novels when he was transported into another world. But unlike many other Isekais with this similar setup, Naofumi isn’t alone.

He and three other boys (from alternate timelines of Japan) are transported as well to the kingdom of Melromarc. These four boys are going to be the saviors of the kingdom as the “Four Cardinal Heroes” where they must combat against these entities known as “waves”. However, Naofumi is seen as the weakling from the very beginning due to being the holder of the shield (and is now known as the “Shield Hero”). But it goes even further than that! The king of Melromarc immediately shows his disdain for the shield hero due to the previous shield hero doing something to him. I don’t know what, just fuck the king. The kingdom, the other heroes, and the people of the kingdom did just about everything to Naofumi to make him feel like trash. If he was on fire, they wouldn’t even spit on him to put him out!

Being the lowest-level weapon user, no one will join his team and even if they did…they would swindle him, set him up for failure, and spread the worst lie you could ever lie about. But Naofumi can’t return home due to all four weapon users must be there until they defeat the waves. So Naofumi is stuck in a new world where literally everyone hates him or fears him.

That is until he buys a slave (named Raphtalia) and their EXP points can grow. Along the way, he obtains an egg that hatches into a filolial (later named Filo) who has the ability of turning into a human female. And every now and then, the second princess of Melromarc (named Melty) will come along with Naofumi. Trust me, she’s the nice one in that family.

Let’s watch the struggles and rising of the Shield Hero!

BETWEEN THE SUB AND THE DUB: So this is licensed by Crunchyroll (but I think FUNimation dipped it’s cookie in this milk). I know these two companies divorced some time ago, but FUNimation sees no problem piggy-backing off of Crunchyroll when they get a hit. And yes, this got an English dub and because of that, YES I watched the whole thing dubbed! Done by the good folks in L.A.! I gotta say this was a well-done dub. Well, they did one thing right by hiring Erica Mendez to play Raphtalia. Just about everything Mendez plays is friggin’ gold! Here’s what you might recognize these folks from.

JAPANESE CAST: *Naofumi is played by Kaito Ishikawa (known for Kiawe on Pokemon SM, Genos on One Punch Man, Mitsuo on Golden Time, Urui on Tokyo Ghoul :re, Sakakibara on Assassination Classroom, and Rinne on Kyokai no Rinne)

*Raphtalia is played by Asami Seto (known for Officer Jenny on Pokemon SM, Mado on Tokyo Ghoul, Young Yukiatsu on Anohana, and Shizu Delta on Overlord)

*Filo is played by Rina Hidaka (known for Last Order on Index/Railgun, Ririchiyo on Inu x Boku SS, Kohane on xxxHOLiC, Silica on SAO, Nemesis on To Love Ru: Darkness, and Urara on Food Wars)

*Melty is played by Maaya Uchida (known for Norman on The Promised Neverland, Rikka on Chunibyo, Rui on Domestic Girlfriend, Frenda on Railgun, Yoshino on Food Wars, Irina on High School DxD, and Yusa on Charlotte)

ENGLISH CAST: *Naofumi is played by Billy Kametz (known for Jousuke/JoJo on Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure: Part IV, Osomatsu on Mr. Osomatsu, Metal Lee on Boruto, and Galo on Promare)

*Raphtalia is played by Erica Mendez (known for Ryuko on Kill la Kill, Haruka/Uranus on Sailor Moon redub, Emma on The Promised Neverland, Nico on Love Live, Yuuki on SAO II, and Tsubaki on Your Lie in April)

*Filo is played by Brianna Knickerbocker (known for Rem on Re:Zero, Akane on Durarara x2, Arisa on Love Live, Anna on The Promised Neverland, Iori on Charlotte, and Erica on Berserk 2016)

*Melty is played by Jackie Lastra (known for Conny on The Promised Neverland and Selka on SAO: Alicization)

FAVORITE CHARACTER: I know I’m gonna have fun with the next category, but I think I spent most of this series hating on several people where I forgot to pick a character I liked.

Well folks, I gotta say that I loved Raphtalia. And after her, Filo! Then Elhart, Queen Melromarc, Melty, and Fitoria! With the exception of Elhart, it’s all women! That’s rare! Don’t worry, there’s one woman that has received a restraining order from this category. On with the worst!

VIEWER DISCRETION IS ADVISED!

Y’all know what’s coming!

DISLIKED CHARACTER: Prior to watching this series, I have gotten several warnings about one particular character! Princess Malty or Myne, whatever people call her. This woman is despised throughout the anime community and even going so far as to say she’s on “horrible character” status left only to infamous characters like Griffith, Makoto Itou, and Shou Tucker. And I’m like, “WOW, what did she do, kill a pope?” I mean seriously, how bad could she possibly…?!

*one episode later*

FUCK THIS BITCH: Oh this bitch can burn at the stake for all I care! Yes, everyone else who treated Naofumi like shit can go jump off a bridge. Because I hold no sympathy for towns-idiots that treat a hero with no respect (as I’ve said before with One Punch Man and Dragon Ball Z)! But Myne just took that zero respect and pushed it to a crispy 425 degrees of fuck-roast! In the first episode, she seemed genuine with pitying Naofumi because no one would join his team. That didn’t even last a whole day. Myne ends up faking a rape by lying to the kingdom that Naofumi sexually assaulted her.

Faking a RAPE!

Faking a FUCKING RAPE!

Bitch, this is 2019 (I KNOW IT AIN’T THAT IN THIS KINGDOM, I’M JUST FUCKING PISSED). Faking a rape is a big, fat, NO-NO!

After he spends the little money he had on her to buy equipment, she double-crosses him by setting him up for immediate trouble and switches to the Spear-Hero side. Well fuck you too, you skank! Have fun with your dickhead Spear Hero. And may that be the last time I ever see you!

*several episodes later*

WHY WOULD YOU DO THAT?! You cheating, lying, slut! Just when you think she can’t possibly get any worse, this bitch takes worse and shoves it off a fucking cliff. As if faking an assault wasn’t bad enough, screwing townspeople for your own gain is another story. She would take over a whole town and give no fucks if it’s destroyed by her or her fuck-face spear-hero. Add to that fuck-cake, every time you run into Naofumi, you find some way to screw him over time and time again. This bitch tampered with a fight between the shield and spear hero so that Naofumi could fail and they could steal his only team member away from him! You have your father, the church, your dickhead boy-toy of yours, and the royals wrapped around your little finger. Myne just continues to be worse than tainted peanut butter. I wish she would catch the worst STD imaginable and die a painful death!

*several more episodes later*

AAAAAAAH gabba da da ffuuuu worble BITCH FACE gararba fruznuss SET FIRE plskay adkkin aidnnlwjsnda UP DONALD TRUMP’S ASS galidamdh amoiejwm wwwaasosoh A POPCICLE! FUCK! AAkajrriaja DIDIA LEJHE KLHAEHAE FYUEEajejioqih3hv SSLLSHE3V ADKDKDDHEI333!!!!

Oh, you do not want a translation from my…whatever the fuck I just wrote. Just know that Princess Malty or Myne is worse than hemroids up the ass. I can’t believe this woman is still around, breathing and shit. Also, I’m tempted in re-writing my Top 10 Least Favorite Anime Character list because Myne would definitely be at #4 after Griffith from Berserk.

Okay…Okay…I think I’m calm now.

WILL SOMEBODY PLEASE CUT THIS FUCKING CUNT’S HEAD OFF LIKE A CHICKEN IN CHINA TOWN?!

Now I’m calm! Now then…

ANYONE ELSE WHO NEEDS TO DIE IN THIS SERIES?: So obviously I hate Bitch and Trash (Myne and the King). And I have the same kind of respect for the townspeople who treat Naofumi like shit. I ain’t got time to be dealing with townsidiots again. But if there was anyone else that should get a mention of how much I want for them to be set on fire and I’ll just sit there drinking my ginger ale, it would be Motoyasu.

Now by no means do I hate him more than Miss Bitch over here. But I hate him on the same level as Shinji from the Fate series (which is now teetering on my top 10). I question why he’s still alive and why no one has introduced his face to a jagged boulder. Unlike the other heroes Ren and Itsuki, this guy has got a vendetta against Naofumi from the get-go. And this was like before the sexual alligations came about. After that incident, this fuckturd tries at every turn to make Naofumi’s life worse than it already is by stealing away his crew and challenging him every chance he gets. And when he’s not doing that, he’s screwing over the townspeople and doing very little to be a “hero” (which is his freakin’ title). Then again, Ren and Itsuki aren’t great heroes either, it’s just I really need to lay into Spear-Dick for the shit he’s done.

SHIPPING: Hmm…aaaaahhhh….eeeeee…urrrrggggh…

Naofumi x Raphtalia: I know Naofumi doesn’t see Raphtalia as a romantic partner and more as a partner on his team, but Raphtalia doesn’t see it that way. She is 100% loyal to Master Naofumi. Who could blame her? Naofumi saved her from a lifetime of enslavement and cured her from an illness she’s had for years. She’s grateful and every other hero is crap in her eyes! She’s worshipped the shield hero since she was younger when she would hear stories about the shield hero. So imagine her worry every time Naofumi talks about going back to his home world, she gets horribly upset. Me being very skeptical here, I can’t really imagine this going any further than team partners. I can’t see at the end of the day Naofumi staying in Melromarc forever or Raphtalia somehow returning to Naofumi’s world when all of this ends. So for now, I’m just going to see where this takes us.

FUNNIEST MOMENT: Whenever Motoyasu gets conked in his frank-and-two-beans by Filo! If anyone deserves to be whammed in the nuts, it’s Motoyasu.

SADDEST MOMENT: I don’t usually mention sad moments in anime anymore, but one moment touched me and that was episode 15 where we learned a little more about Raphtalia’s past. Raphtalia, even after losing her parents in a wave attack, she tries her best to keep a smile on her face. But shortly after that, she and many other demi-humans were taken away from their homes and sold off to a nobleman. This is when we see some pretty inhumane moments where Raphtalia and many of her friends are whipped for the fun of it, starved to death, and sold off to traders.

In this episode, we learn about a few of Raphtalia’s friends (Keel and Rifana) from her younger days. The day Raphtalia got sold off, it looked like Rifana was teetering towards death. When the Shield Hero’s party came to rescue the surviving demi-humans (like Keel), Raphtalia went to see if Rifana could possibly be alive. And if the disturbing picture of Rifana’s skeleton doesn’t churn your stomach, I really don’t know what will. God damn, that was just messed up!

I CANNOT TELL A LIE, THIS ANIME HURT: I know I have sadistic tendencies and take joy in the misery of others. But I seriously cannot enjoy any second of the humiliation and degredation given to Naofumi. And it was because of the abuse put on the Shield Hero that made me feel sick to my stomach just watching all this happen to this guy. I thought it would last for a few episodes at the most, but it carried on a lot further than I imagined. Almost to the very end! And every episode you put on, you just wish for some kind of karma to kick in or for one more person to be nice to Naofumi or something, anything to happen!

But because the king has a vendetta against the previous Shield Hero, Naofumi has had to pay a heavy toll by having every horrible crime or offense thrown at him including rape, murder, attempted murder, cheating, witchcraft, and treason. AND HE COMMITTED NONE OF THESE OFFENSES! So you spend just about 20 episodes watching this poor boy having to go through this hell. I can’t even imagine having to go through this kind of torment and some of these moments make me ill in my stomach and quite pissed off. So like I said, this anime hurts to watch.

ENDING: As it turns out, the kingdom is corrupt under the rule of the king and his daughter, Princess Cunt (yeah, BIG shocker there). How corrupt? Well, they were in cahoots with the church that had their own religion praising only 3 of the Heroes (guess which one they don’t praise)! That was until the pope decided that everything must be wiped away because they are “unclean”. That includes the monarchy, the heroes, and their crew! Thankfully, they were able to put an end to this cult, with a little help from the true leader of Melromarc, Queen Mirelia of Melromarc. She finally shows herself and her powers on the battlefield. And now ladies and gentlemen, it’s time for the moment everyone and their mama have been waiting for.

JUSTICE IS SERVED: With the queen’s return, come some harsh sentences to her own family. Her husband, the king and her daughter, Princess Malty! I gotta tell you, seeing these two in chains makes my heart so happy. The king was guilty of summoning the four heroes prematurely and causing a lot of harm to the kingdom of Melromarc with the church. Then the queen puts a seal on Myne’s chest, giving her unimaginable pain whenever she lied. That still didn’t stop the bitch from lying! In one swoop, it’s proven that Naofumi was innocent the whole time and that the king and princess were worse than period cramps. And for their crimes, THEY ARE SENTENCED TO DEATH BY GUILLOTINE!

FUCK YEAH! BRING IT ON!

CUT THEIR FUCKING HEADS OFF!

Yeah…unfortunately for my blood-lust self, that didn’t happen. Instead, Naofumi stopped the queen seconds before blood was to splatter. Claiming that the princess and king should be stripped from their titles and must go through life with new names! The king will be named “Trash” and Malty/Myne will be named “Bitch” (or “Whore” when she’s traveling). Okay, I guess it’s all good. With that, the church of the three heroes is abolished and handled a lot better than I thought.

But seriously Queenie, was it really, REALLY a good idea to keep your daughter alive? I know she’s your own daughter and you felt severe hesitation (in the anime) before calling for her execution. But for fuck’s sake, literally a day after she’s spared from the guillotine, she’s poisoning food meant for her sister Melty, Naofumi, and his friends!

IN THIS AFTERMATH: Now has Naofumi finally obtained acceptance throughout the kingdom? Yes and no! Yes, it’s true that the people of the land respected Naofumi after all he’s done. It’s just that some of the other heroes and castle men who still treat Naofumi with such disrespect. The queen wishes for all four heroes to be treated equally and to get along so that maybe they can defeat the waves without too much trouble. Hell, the queen of the filolials also said the same thing! I think Ren and Itsuki have kinda been on board with this for a while (even if they are kinda dickish about it). It’s just that Motoyasu’s still a condescending dick to Naofumi! Sigh!

FINAL WAVE ATTACK: Final one for now! On their way to another land, Naofumi ends up getting chummy with two travelers (L’Arc and Therese).

We meet these fuckers three episodes before the finale.

They’re bad guys, aren’t they?!

Something like that! Yeah, the next wave attack was coming up real quick. And the heroes have to go up against Glass again (the woman who caused a lot of trouble in the midway point of the series). But it turns out L’Arc and Therese are in cahoots with Glass. But it gets really…complicated here!

Glass and L’Arc are both fan and scythe heroes from another world. And they’re destroying the waves on this side along with destroying the people of this world to prevent catastrophy in their world. Yeah, finale time guys! How many parallel worlds and heroes are there?

READ THE LIGHT NOVEL!

Fuck me! Well, Naofumi and the other hammy heroes were able to stop the wave attack once more. And we even get to watch Queen Melromarc in action again! In this aftermath, Naofumi gets a new member on his team. Yes, it’s another female, but at least this one is older than all the other girls that hang with him (making this a little less ewwwie). Rishia was abandoned by Itsuki’s team for…reasons. So she’s going to join Naofumi after she helped in the last wave attack. And we get some last-moment hopeful scenes as we see things that give me hope for people in this series. Raphtalia’s old friends and homeland is getting back into the swing of things and Naofumi will take control over the land. And we wait for this promoted second and third season Crunchyroll swears by. Seriously guys, when are we getting more Shield Hero?

DON’T KNOW! READ THE LIGHT NOVEL AND STOP ASKING STUPID QUESTIONS!

If you can’t already tell, I liked this series! Yes it was unbelievably painful to watch certain things where all of these people gang up on Naofumi and screw him eight ways from Sunday, but I guess good stories have a little struggle. Except here, it’s a lot of struggling! It was an interesting tale and is giving me a little hope for the Isekai genre as a whole. Will I get into all the other recent ones so I can one day watch Isekai Quartet? Don’t get too cocky! I’ll stick to this and maybe head on over to Konosuba later on.

Rising of the Shield Hero was definitely a tale and I highly recommend it. It’s just that if you’re prone to anger when it comes to absolute injustice, half of this series might be a little unbearable to handle. But there were several great moments (particularly from Raphtalia) that kept me going with this series.

Especially episode 4! Best episode of the series! Her undying devotion for Naofumi was definitely one to behold! I can’t wait to learn more about these different kinds of worlds, kingdoms, and heroes in the upcoming stories. In the meantime I will await for these seasons two and three Crunchyroll assures us are coming…They are coming right? You guys weren’t just blowing smoke up our asses in the last CRX convention, right?

READ THE FUCKING LIGHT NOVEL, YOU AUTISTIC TWAT!

I can’t do it! There are too many chapters!

Currently, both FUNimation and Crunchyroll have the entire series subbed and dubbed.

Okay, great stuff! What’s next on my Amazon/Netflix…or Crunchyroll licensed anime!

Magical Girl Site?

Oh fuck. I heard about that first episode. This is gonna hurt.

#the rising of the shield hero #anime review #raphtalia #naofumi iwatani #motoyasu kitamura #malty melromarc #myne #filo #melty melromarc

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rockmiyabideusexmachina · 6 years

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2019 Megaman Valentine’s Day (Talent) Contest Results!

Part two of results day, even though I always label the Talent category as Cat. 1, these results are in reverse. Oh well. Again, raffle prize winners will be contained in both posts, so keep an eye out after my commentary on your art. Not all raffle prize winner are contained in this post. I’ll be contacting all winners soon enough, so sit tight!

To see the Humor category results, please head to THIS POST.

Will any of our Iron Chef contestants be able to create an artsy meal with these ingredients?:

To find out, along with your Talent category winners and full gallery of entries, click here after the break:

Category 1 (Talent) - The Way To A Mega Man’s Heart Is Through His Stomach

This category had the larger amount of participants, and was honestly a lot harder to judge. I really was going back and forth on where to place people, because I love so much about all of them! Your delicious culinary character combos were all delectable in their own right, whether they were actually edible pieces of art or not. I did leave this category up to interpretation a bit more, despite the initial description wording it as a food-themed pinup. As long as it contained some sort of food with a character, it technically fit the theme.

Thank you once again to all who participated. You all make holding these events fun year after year!

I know imgbox gallery gave people some issues before, so as always, let me know if images or links appear broken. Crossing my fingers this works smoothly this year! XD

After each entrant’s name, there will be a link in the character description to the entry, too, just in case the external inserted images don’t load for you.

[Full Talent Gallery]

1.) @prar-draws - Zero and Ciel

While most entries focused on sugary sweets, such as pastries or candies, prar thought outside of the box just enough to stand out against the rest. Taking Zero and Ciel’s already long hair and turning it into ramen and soba noodles, the pair are relaxing together in an overflowing hot tub bowl of their pasta-y strands, broth, veggies and then some, while they enjoy their own bowls of noodles. Despite being heavily layered in clothing, *warning* this is one steamy, saucy pic! XD

*For coming in 1st (in back-to-back years, no doubt), prar has won $100 via Paypal, or a prize of their choice up to that value.*

2.) @digitallyfanged - Tron Bonne and Megaman Volnutt

Ever the tease, Tabby’s Tron is wooing Volnutt with a sugary-sweet sensory overload at the hands of both her, and her Servbots. Or maybe at the head, too, based on that 2-tier strawberry cake that doubles as a hat on happy Servbot. While including so many treats were definitely eye candy in this piece, so too is Tron in that dress, causing Volnutt to deeply blush.

The soft glow of the lighter transparency background, along with the usual shine of your lighting on the pair in the foreground, help them stand out. Even if my mouth is watering more at all the Servbot’s treats. Hahaha.

*For coming in 2nd, Tabby has won $50 via Paypal, or a prize of their choice up to that value.*

3.) @irischroma - Nana

Nana is ready to split her banana split sundae with you. I see what you did there. Your mission is to follow her every command as she feeds you, in her bonus rpg/sim screencap. I really liked the use of multiple halftones to accent the shading on both her and the background of the full image. The background itself is really cool, to incorporate the ice cream mounds, syrup and sprinkles, which also actually align nicely with the sprinkles on her apron. Truly adorbs.

*For coming in 3rd, Iris has won $25 via Paypal, or a prize of their choice up to that value*

And the remaining wonderful entries, in alphabetical order by alias:

@bracedshark - Marino

The first entry to embrace food-themed clothing, Marino is the living embodiment of the chocolate peppermint sundae she is holding. I love mint chocolate chip ice cream, so Marino’s green hair and clothing accents fit that ice cream color perfectly. Also while tying in your traditional peppermints as accessories on her, as well as the sort of melty pinkish mascara dripping down the side of her cheeks.

*Bracedshark is the winner of Raffle Prize #1 - The cel of Duo*

@drewblossom - Ice Man and Roll

Another great use of food-styled clothing, Drew made a precious cinnamon roll dress for Roll, and an ice cream cone vest with a more whipped topping trim for Ice Man. Ice’s hair also adds to that whipped cream feel, yet despite dancing around, does a good job keeping that cherry from falling off the top of his head. XD This is a super cute scene, and has even better apparel style.

*Drew is also the winner of Raffle Prize #4 - The Tamashii Nations Zero figure and Zero emblem wristband*

@hyperbole1729 - Tundra Man, Top Man, Snow Robbit and Eye Ice

The first of two yummy cookie entries, which I’ll assume were baked around the same time, feature both real world treats, and 2D ones. I give Hyperbole big props for making the Snow Robbit and Eye Ice enemies into cookie shape form. They look super delicious, and I’m a guy who loves cookies with tons of frosting. XD Taking the pic on a wintry snowflake plate makes them stand out even more, so I totally loved your creativity with that.

That baking didn’t only take place in Hyperbole’s kitchen, as Tundra and Top also spent the day making the same treats. I think their cookie cutter shapes have given me a clue to how you made yours. LOL Very cute!

*Hyperbole is the winner of Raffle Prize #3 - The Zero plush and framed X 3D sprite art*

@larytello - Zero and Ciel

Strawberry cake seemed to be the most popular choice of romantic treats, and here lary has Zero feeding Ciel her slice. Your digital airbrush shading has really improved, and it shows in this piece! It really gives a nice depth and definition to their arms and legs, not to mention the folds in Ciel’s dress, or the shine off of their helmets. Even with the heavily pink background, with all the hearts, they both still stand out nicely against it, despite their color schemes. Super cute!

@papillonthepirate - Roll.EXE

Our other real world food entry is a sugar frosted Roll.EXE cookie, complete with rosy cheek sprinkles and lemon-flavored ribbon candy antennae attached to her. Again, like Hyperbole’s submission, Papillon had the perfect heart decal plate design to help accentuate her creation, along with the doily it’s sitting on. I’m sure she was delicious! I appreciate the extra creativity taking the theme of the contest literally and making an actual tasty Mega Man character treat!

@peach35 - X and Zero

A very cute scene of X and Zero sharing desert and a drink with swirly-shape sippy straws at a quaint little bistro off the shores of Dopple Town. And I’d imagine the pair of strawberries left snuggling on the table also sort of symbolize the hunter couple cuddling up after their cake and conversation, too. Pardon the pun, but I like the slice of life feel to the scene, that sort of gives it this Norman Rockwell-styled feel. The detail on your strawberries and lemon slices really turned out quite great; they look pretty real!

SockMonkii - Ashe

Ashe is so busy devouring that chocolate/strawberry filled cake slice, I don’t know if she fully realizes how much she has missed on her face. XD In fact, I think she’s likely eyeing the rest of the whole cake as the booty she��s after, rather than of any admirer. LOL The ribbon and bow background, along with all the hearts, help emphasize the cake as a romantic gift. Again, I see a lot of growth and improvement in your art style after a year’s time, and I think this pic turned out great!

@star-crossed-swords - Blues and Tempo

While definitely a sweet and romantic drawing, this entry felt like it fit in more with last year’s humor category theme, Beauty and the Beastman.EXE, that I almost wondered if you got mixed up with an older contest post. ^^; So I decided to go with the assumption that Quake Woman/Tempo had something delicious leftover on her hand that Blues was kissing off of her, to fit it within the content requirements. :D Their formalwear looks very nice on both of them. I like the sparkles on her dress coordinating with the starry sky outside the window.

SubZeroIceSkater - Tundra Man

I totally read that tagline in Tundra Man’s voice. And the more bittersweet, the more pure chocolate, so it sounds good to me! Containing most of his stage enemies in cacao form, this box of chocolates is like a your chances at an extra life in item roulette. You never know what you’re gonna get. That’s sort of reverse Forrest Gump logic...right? I love how the box is designed just like his helmet’s rupee with icicles protruding, along with all the beautiful sparkling snowflakes and hearts in the background. I want a box, badly!

#Rockman #Megaman #Mega Man #Rock Miyabi's 2019 Megaman Valentine's Day Contest #Fanart Contest #Too many tags to list

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paperficwriter · 6 years

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My Own Worst Enemy

Here is a KiriBaku request I wrote for @batneko based off this fantastic prompt! Thank you for your commission, Bats!!

If you are interested in commissioning me for Boku no Hero Academia or other series, please check out my commission guidelines here!!

Cut is for length, not for content.

Of all the things that Kirishima had done in his life, including getting accepted to UA, the top hero school in the country, it all seemed like absolutely nothing compared to being able to kiss Bakugou Katsuki.

And not just kissing him. Kissing him in his room. On his bed. No one else had ever even been allowed to go into his space in the dorm, and although there wasn’t much to speak of so far as belongings went (Bakugou was pretty minimalist), he did have an actual bed. He could still remember the first time Bakugou invited him in, his heart pounding, and he lit up into a smile.

“Dude! No futon?! Seriously?”

Bakugou had rolled his eyes. “When my quirk manifested, I had to have more space, and if I didn’t sleep on a mattress I got pissed and burned holes in the floor.”

Kirishima stifled back a laugh as he jumped onto it. It was the most comfortable surface he had ever been on: a little firm but also soft. Pillowy. “That sounds like you, for sure. Does Momo know you have a bed too?” he teased.

“No. And it’s going to stay that way, Shitty Hair.”

He wasn’t sure what else they did that day. Probably studied, maybe watched some videos on his phone, but he knew that at some point he had put his head on Bakugou’s shoulder and dozed off. Class had been busy that week, he recalled, and he was stressed, and with his back pressed against the wall Bakugou had been so close and warm and…

If someone had asked a year or two before if he ever thought he would wake up with a blanket around himself and Bakugou stroking his hair...well, he would have just zoned out and fantasized about it for a minute, then shaken his head and said it would never happen. And yet. It happened, Bakugou’s fingers carding through his hair, quite obviously breaking up the product so it was soft and mostly down when he sat up.

“What?” Bakugou had asked, a pink glow brightening the bridge of his nose.

Kirishima didn’t know how to answer. In fact, he hadn’t known how to for weeks until finally he was in that room again, and he blurted that he had wanted so much for Bakugou to kiss him that night, and Bakugou stared at him and then…

Kissed him.

Had it seriously been that simple?

And sure, maybe he would like to say now that it was a romantic movie kiss with all the bells and whistles. He would have liked to look back and say that Bakugou Katsuki, who would never let anyone come even in arm’s length of him physically or emotionally, swept him off his feet, but...it was awkward, leaving him wondering if it was his first kiss too. One with too much teeth, a tongue thrust into his mouth like a creature seeking a hiding place, and at some point he thought he cut himself on one of Kirishima’s canines. A false alarm, but an alarm nevertheless.

“I guess we’ll just have to practice,” Kirishima joked, his smile turning melty when Bakugou fingered one of the spikes of his hair.

“Whatever.” Bakugou had been dismissive that day, but the following afternoon, he dragged Kirishima into his room. Then again. And again.

And he really had improved. He wanted to ask, to tease, if he had been practicing on some other pair of lips, but he was too busy falling into that warm afternoon of sunshine and ice cream and a cool breeze and all his favorite things wrapped up into one that was Bakugou kissing him. His memory about everything else sucked (at least that's what Aizawa would say) but this…this he gripped tight in his brain.

Bakugou's arm around his waist, holding him against his front where he laid on his side.

Warm, soft lips opening and then closing over his, brushing one moment, pressing hard the next.

The wet noises, the little breaths, even the brush of his fingers against his cheekbone.

If Kirishima opened his eyes - and he didn't often because Bakugou somehow always caught him and snarled at him to “stop fucking staring, weirdo” - he could see how soft Bakugou's face would become. The eyebrows normally knit in an angry 'v’ would go loose. Maybe even turn up a little. The angry line of his mouth now came in to touch his, open or puckered slightly or…

Bakugou's phone vibrated.

“Really?” Kirishima chuckled, balling his fist into Bakugou's black shirt like he was going to fight him. “You left your phone on?”

“Like you turned yours off.” There was the glare again.

“It's at least on silent!” The vibrations started again, obnoxiously loud on Bakugou's dresser. “Want to get that?”

“Fuck ‘em,” he grunted, and he gave Kirishima's bottom lip a wet lick, kissing him again as soon as his jaw dropped. “I'm busy.”

Busy. That was about the extent of it. Whenever Kirishima was in his room and either one of their friends or a classmate or even Midoriya came by, he was always “busy.” Or, if they called him while they were out together eating lunch or dinner in the city, he was “fucking busy.” And if they wandered back into the dorms together and anyone even breathed in Bakugou’s direction to ask where he had been, he’d scream that it wasn’t any of their fucking business.

Kirishima waited for that to bother him. He waited for some sort of pain to settle in, to feel maybe a little bitter or angry or upset, that Bakugou wasn’t telling everyone about him. But then...he liked this. He liked having this something with Bakugou. And he loved everything that went with it, too.

When the phone finally got to the edge of the table, Kirishima pushed Bakugou away to reach out for it. “Oh my god, dude, I can’t handle it anymore. If you’re not going to answer it, at least let me.”

Bakugou groaned as he rolled over on his back, and Kirishima had zero doubts that he would have just let it dance to the edge and clatter to the floor. “Do what you want.”

Kirishima pressed the button on the side of the phone, and there were several texts from Kaminari. Many of them were just Bakugou’s name, but the most recent one said, “Baku, you have to come see this guy. He’s huge. He has some apex predator quirk?? WHAT ARE YOU DOING??”

“Kaminari is talking about some...guy?”

Bakugou took the phone and glared at the screen for a second before he swung his legs up to stand next to the bed. Okay, maybe now Kirishima regretted messing with the phone. He wanted to go back to kissing, and instead Bakugou opened his door. A new challenger had approached and Bakugou clearly had to see if his territory was being threatened. “Come on. Let’s check it out.”

Once they were both out in the hall, they could see and hear clearly that there was a commotion down by the common room. Both boys and girls from not only 1-A but other classrooms were gathered around a single figure, a figure so tall that they loomed over the heads of the students. It was hard not to notice the dramatic bearing of the person who frankly looked more like a teacher than one of their own, and it was only the uniform that gave it away. He (Kirishima didn’t want to make assumptions about gender, but it was difficult not to, given his physical appearance) was broad-chested, and he had the traits of a lion. Kirishima had seen other people with animal characteristics - Tokoyami, of course, and Hound Dog came immediately to mind - but this guy was…a lion. With a gorgeous full mane around his head, gold eyes, and rich sandy fur that seemed to cover his entire body. When he smiled, he showed off perfect, sharp teeth.

“Wow,” Kirishima breathed.

“What?!” Bakugou snapped.

“Nothing! He’s just…” He whistled low, avoiding Bakugou’s narrowed gaze. “You have to admit he looks really cool.”

“Appearances aren’t everything,” Bakugou huffed, crossing his arms over his chest as they wandered up to where the crowd was a steady buzz of sound. When he heard Kaminari’s voice, Bakugou glanced up again when he joined them. “So what’s with this guy, Drooly?”

Kaminari’s face appeared as excited as Kirishima felt. “So his name is Yuri, right? I mean, that’s not really his name, but that’s what he chose for his exchange name. And he’s a transfer student from a sister city in another country and he’s going to live with us for a few weeks and he’s super nice and cool and --”

“Fuck, just suck his cock already,” Bakugou interrupted, rolling his eyes. “What about his quirk?”

“Oh yeah!” Kaminari, as always, was completely unfazed by Bakugou’s attitude. “He was talking about how he has this quirk that kind of jives with his lion genes from his dad’s size of the family, and he can, like, grow his fangs and his claws and run really fast and --”

“I guess it doesn’t suck,” Bakugou concluded. “Where does he rank in his school?”

Kirishima elbowed him lightly. “Somehow I doubt he’s bothered talking about where he places in grades, unlike some people...”

“Actually, he’s third! Just like you, Bakugou!”

He couldn’t be entirely sure, but did Kirishima see Bakugou just tense slightly? Sure, he could get pissy about the fact that Iida and Yaoyorozu were both ahead of him, but Yuri wasn’t even enrolled at UA. Why did he care?

“Excuse me.”

Bakugou, Kirishima and Kaminari turned at the sound of the voice. Yuri was standing right in front of them, two duffel bags casually over one shoulder, and the crowd had parted but remained hovering around him, watching the interaction with close interest. He smiled, and Kirishima had never thought that he would care that much about what someone’s voice sounded like, but Yuri could read the dictionary and he’d be happy. It was smooth and rich, the deepest voice he had ever heard, and despite his accent, he spoke their language flawlessly. “Are you Kirishima Eijirou?”

“Me? Yeah. Yeah! Hi!” Why was he feeling nervous? He shook his hand rather vigorously. “Nice to meet you!”

“I read about the fight you were involved in when you were serving as intern with Fatgum and cooperating with the professional heroes in this region. It was very impressive.” Man, oh man, that voice. So manly. “When I saw that I would be staying in your school’s dorms for a week, I hoped I would be able to meet you.”

Kirishima blushed, and it was only because he had turned his head down sheepishly that he caught the expression on Bakugou’s face, one that was close to scathing. “You’ve probably heard of Bakugou Katsuki, too!” Kirishima blurted. “He won the sports festival during our first year.”

“Ah, yes.” It was hard to read the tone Yuri’s words took on, then, but he spoke slowly. Deliberately. “You were quite something, Bakugou. Although it did not seem you were satisfied with the result, despite your success. I could not help wondering if your fellow classmates appreciated your careless regard for your win.”

Kirishima and Kaminari exchanged a glance.

“Maybe they should have been fucking better, and they could have gotten that piece of shit medal, then.” Bakugou squared his shoulders. Kirishima knew he was waiting for Yuri to throw some other slight his way so he could knock it out. That’s usually how these interactions went, anyway.

But it never happened.

It was like a light switch being flipped. Rather than following up, Yuri returned his full attention to Kirishima, blinking slowly as his dark lips spread into a grin. “I will be staying here in the city for some time. Perhaps we could go have some dinner together?”

It took Kirishima at least ten seconds to realize that he was being asked out. And maybe it wasn’t a date but...it wasn’t not a date either.

“Maybe!” he finally chirped. “That could be fun, right, Bakugou?”

He wished he was more surprised when he turned to see Bakugou stalking away. Yet somehow, that was just the way he was: Bakugou Katsuki, volatile and yet somehow completely predictable, more ticking time bomb than hand grenade.

---

“I don’t like that fucking guy,” Bakugou said as he stabbed his spicy curry with his chopsticks. He hated that he kept glancing up at Kirishima talking to that giant housecat. They would grin and talk, and now and then he would catch him flexing for Kirishima, or showing his sharp claws, or…

“I think he’s nice!” Ashido gushed, sipping her tea. Kaminari and Sero nodded in agreement, and he scowled at all of them. What did they know?

“You would.”

“I think he’s just pissy because Kirishima is spending more time with Yuri than he is with him,” Sero pointed out, like Bakugou wasn't sitting right there in front of them.

“Fuck off. I don’t give a shit who he hangs out with.”

“Oh yeah? Is that why you keep shoving Kirishima into the classroom when Yuri is calling for him down the hall?” Kaminari volunteered.

“Or why when Aizawa was going to partner Yuri and Kirishima for sparring you practically screamed that you volunteered to fight Kirishima instead?”

“Or when you pretty much yelled in his face that Kirishima had a study date with you and that’s why he couldn't go out for karaoke?”

“All right, you fucking asshats, I didn’t ask for your opinion!” When Bakugou got up, his chair clattered to the floor behind him. He didn’t have to listen to this shit. Flipping them off, he stormed over to the garbage can to throw away the remnants of lunch. Hell, he’d barely touched anything. He had thought when he bought Kirishima lunch that he would finally get a chance to just sit down with him and talk for five seconds, but the minute Yuri came over, that had been it. Maybe it wasn’t that big of a surprise that he lost his appetite.

As he shoved his hands into his pockets and headed out to the lawn, kicking the door open in front of him, he could still hear those three fuckwits laughing in his ears. They hadn’t been wrong, and that was the worst of all. It made his insides feel as explosive as his hands when he thought about each of those occurrences. And not once had Yuri been a shit to him about it, not like Bakugou would have been if the tables were turned. Despite his big, bad appearance, Yuri completely tuned him out, his entire focus on Kirishima.

Kirishima, who definitely didn’t seem opposed to the attention.

And it wasn’t like Bakugou had gone silently into this whole situation. He had mentioned it to Kirishima at least several times. “I don’t get why you even like hanging around him,” he said, lying on the bed. He had wanted to go back to where they were that first day, but Kirishima kept sitting up, legs crossed, looking at his phone and reading over snippets of translated articles about Yuri and his school. “Don't get used to him. He’s going to be gone before you know it.”

“He’s really an awesome guy,” Kirishima said, not looking up. “He’s in all these clubs, and he interned for a big-name hero in his country. He has a lot of great stories! Give him a chance!”

“I have to focus on school. And you should be, too, jackass.”

Kirishima had shoved him over, grinning down at him. “I’ll catch up on studying! I promise.”

The whole scenario had left a bitter taste in Bakugou’s mouth.

“Bakugou?” Even at the sound of his name, Bakugou didn’t turn as he kicked his way through the manicured grass. He didn’t have to. He recognized Yuri’s voice immediately, the cadence with which he said his name, the consonants popping on his tongue. “Can I speak to you for a moment?”

“Better keep up, then. I’ve got shit to do.” Maybe he would get tired of following him. Why was he here? He didn’t want to talk to this guy…

Even despite his efforts, he could hear the grass crunch as Yuri jogged up to his side. The wind rolled across the quad, ruffling his mane in a way that made Bakugou hate him even more, because it was perfect, like a goddamned commercial with his stupid face on it. “There is something I am not clear about, and I have been unable to confirm this with you or with Kirishima.”

“Yeah, what?”

“Is Kirishima your boyfriend, or is he not?”

That got his attention. Bakugou stopped walking. “What the...why the fuck are you asking me that?”

Yuri put his hands on his wide hips, and Bakugou hated how much taller he was, forcing him to crane his neck up. “I can tell that there is something between the two of you, but...you are never...particularly kind to him. There is a physical chemistry, but I cannot tell if you have a relationship or if you do not.”

Bakugou wasn’t sure what he was going to say but even the start of the word crackled and dissipated in his throat. He tried again. Nothing. “That’s none of your fucking business!” he finally expelled. That had worked fine before with everyone else.

And yet…

“It is my business, Bakugou,” Yuri said patiently. “Because I wish to court Kirishima, but I cannot do this if I do not understand the nature of your bond.” Now Bakugou was fuming. Courting? Bond?! “Are you intimate with Kirishima? Are you engaging in --”

“Shut up! Don’t ask me that shit!” For lack of further response, though, since Bakugou did not want him to continue that line of questioning, he finally allowed himself to admit, “But yeah, we make out and stuff.”

A slow nod. “But you are not boyfriends?”

“What the fuck does that even mean?!”

“So...you are not.”

“I...We…” Bakugou felt like he was choking. Suddenly he was reminded of the sludge monster, of drowning in the black ectoplasmic goo when he was trapped by the League of Villains. As much as he wanted to reply, he couldn’t. Couldn’t focus, couldn’t find the words, couldn’t get the air behind what might have been the words.

Yuri’s expression changed. Suddenly he seemed less annoyed, and more...sympathetic, and that only made Bakugou’s rage build. “Do you have feelings for him?”

Bakugou wanted to run away. “Do I look like the kind of asshole who would make out with someone I don’t care about?”

“Have you spoken with him about how you feel?”

“He knows!” Small explosions set off in Bakugou’s palms without him even intending for them to, and his voice had become so shrill it echoed in the field. Kirishima knew. He had to know. Right?

Yuri didn’t look away, not even flinching from Bakugou’s quirk triggering. His words were flat. Calm. “Are you certain? Perhaps your ‘making out’ is enough for him. Maybe you are not together because he is waiting for someone who is more deserving of him. Someone who will treat him like a whole person, who will do ‘stuff’ with him but also be kind. Who will love him.” He shrugged. “Maybe he does not want you.”

Maybe he does not want you.

Bakugou didn’t remember what happened between the field and his dorm room. He might have bitten off another curse at Yuri, or he might have just run away. It didn’t matter. His stomach was in knots, and it hurt worse than when All Might had gut-punched him during their exams in the first year. His brain was trying to play back recordings of every conversation between him and Kirishima, and each one brought back...nothing. He had always been left assuming that this - whatever this was - worked for Kirishima, that he was happy with it.

But now…

Doubt.

Doubt that left him lying on his bed for several hours until there was a knock at the door. One that he recognized. God, was that how well he knew him? That he could tell when it was him knocking on his dorm room door? Bakugou stayed where he was, until he knocked again.

“Bakugou? You around?” he finally called.

“Go away.”

“That sounds like a ‘yes’!” Fuck, he could hear his smile, and it hurt to picture it, to recall the taste of it. “Can I come in?”

“Which part of ‘go away’ don’t you understand, Shitty Hair?”

Of course the door opened, and Kirishima walked in like he owned the place. He had changed out of his uniform into his t-shirt and shorts, plopping down on Bakugou’s bed across from him. “You know that if you don’t tell me just ‘yes’ or ‘no,’ I’m going to interpret what you’re saying as Bakugou-speak for ‘I want you around but I’m too much of a baby to tell you.’”

“Oh, fuck off.” Bakugou grabbed his pillow and shoved it against his stomach. For a moment, everything in the room was silent. Why was Kirishima just staring at him? “So. Did Simba ask you out or what?”

“Yeah.”

Here it comes. Bakugou braced himself for it. “What did you say?”

Kirishima smirked. “What do you think?”

Maybe it was the way Kirishima responded, but it sparked at the circle of gasoline that had been soaking around Bakugou’s heart, and he all but yelled, “I think you should just fucking say ‘yes’ and get it over with. Have lots of fucking manly furry babies for all I care. You two deserve each other.”

And then something happened that Bakugou wouldn’t have expected in a million years.

Kirishima laughed at him. He laughed and grabbed him up, pillow and all, and pulled him into a hug that he refused to loosen. “Is that what all this has been about?! Is this why you’ve been acting so cagey the last few weeks?”

Bakugou figured he would push him away, shove him off the bed, or even roll away, but he didn’t. He might have slapped a little at Kirishima’s chest, but it only made him more intent to have his way and cuddle Bakugou into submission. “I said I don’t care,” he mumbled bitterly.

“Yeah, you very clearly don’t care.” Kirishima’s fingers stroked his wild blonde spikes, and even in spite of himself Bakugou could feel his body relax, his muscles loosen. “I said ‘no,’ you know. I wouldn’t do that to you. Obviously.”

“Don't fucking ‘obviously’ at me.”

Another laugh. “You're the one I want.”

“Even though we’re not…” Bakugou buried his face in Kirishima’s shoulder. “I’m so shitty with this kind of thing. I wouldn’t have blamed you if you weren’t serious.”

“Are you serious?”

“I’m always serious.” He reached his arm around his side so he could tug his shirt, pull him in closer. Even without his quirk, Kirishima was a rock. “Especially with you.”

“You don’t think I know?” Kirishima paused to kiss his temple, and Bakugou made a little sound at the affectionate gesture. “After all those study dates and massages and buying me meals and cheering me up? Those mean a lot more to me than any ‘relationship talk,’ dude.”

Bakugou was still, breathing in the clean scent of Kirishima, of his freshly laundered clothes, the shower he had taken. They had gone so long without talking about any of this, and he wasn’t about to start, but… “You’re really okay with this?”

“By ‘this,’ do you mean...you?” Kirishima sounded so tender, soft and sincere, and when he rolled Bakugou over to kiss him, Bakugou let him take the reigns.

“I wouldn’t want it any other way.”

#my paperfics #boku no hero academia #kiribaku #bakushima #kirishima eijirou #bakugou katsuki #sweet boys who are so dumb but so in love with each other

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banditthewriter · 7 years

Text

If You Dare: part 3

This was supposed to be three parts but this part decided not to let me have any plot. So yeah, beware, below the cut is basically a lot of kinky. :)

Warning: Smut, some D/s themes?

@yessy2012 @1550kilogramsofsilver @hermioneshandbag @rileyblues @releasethekracko @youveseen--thebutcher @missphanosaur18 @smiley-celine @itsjustmylifeconfessions @hoodedhavok @anamarierosee @sarasnow22 @sinceimetyou @blackcoffeeandgreenteaforme @nostalgic-uncertainty @gingerstarlight @musingsofbanana @ironstank @aveatquevale- @giggleberts @ravismorgue @flightoftheflightrisk @thehanneloner @mightymelly @queenisabella789 @clarasworldofwonders @hxbbit @colddecember-night @ladyblablabla

Enjoy!

The hardest part of your strange relationship with Billy after the tub incident was that you wanted more. You had one kiss and a lot of material for your fantasies but you wanted more than that. You wanted to hold his hand, to make him coffee and pick on him for his horrible taste in music. You wanted these things but had no way of making them a reality. Even if you met up with Billy for drinks and the inevitable crash into one of your beds, who was to say it would be more than that? No matter the amount of flirty comments or pictures that were exchanged, it could turn around and be nothing more than that. Which isn't to say that things became awkward or stilted between you and Billy. Honestly, since the whole thing had happened you felt as if you spoke to him more often than you had before. The conversations were still flirty, there were still pictures and now videos exchanged, and even a few phone calls that had turned into panting and moaning quicker than you could comprehend. There were still dares being passed back and forth. The last one you had given him involved him wearing a pair of women's underwear because, as you had told him, turnabout is fair play. You're constantly making me not wear any when I'm in public. Put up or shut up babe And he had. The photo of him in his three piece suit with the pants rumbled around his feet to show off the red silky underwear had been both hot and hilarious. His response was of course to dare you not to wear underwear and you decided to send him a similar photo to the one he had sent you. His reaction to that had been phone sex that let you weak in the knees and forty five minutes late to work. "I don't understand why you dislike me wearing underwear so much," you told him one night while you made dinner. He was at his own apartment doing the same and it felt a little like a strange kind of date. "Am I a complete asshole if I say easy access?" You laughed because you had guessed as much but to hear him admit it was another thing. A thought came to you and you found yourself grinning as you stirred the sauce of your dinner. "There is a pair of underwear that I own that I think you'd like." At his curious hum, you leaned against the counter and clutched your legs together. "It has a little attached vibrator." He groaned and you never got tired of hearing that sound. "How does it work?" You turned the stove down so that your food wouldn't burn and moved over to the dresser next to your bed. In the top drawer was the pair you were talking about and you checked the battery before you pulled your scrubs off. It had been another one of Billy's dare days so you were currently underwear-less. "Well," you said as you bent over to slide them on. "There is a remote that controls the vibrator. It has three speeds." You looked at yourself in the mirror and then picked up the remote to look at it but didn't touch the buttons. "Did you just... did you just put them on?" You weren't sure how he knew unless you had made a noise. You made an affirmative noise as you sat down on the edge of the bed. "And you have the remote in your hand?" "It's small, discrete. I used to fantasize about wearing these while in public while a special someone had the remote." He groaned again and you clenched your legs once more. To be honest, since you realized that he had a thing about you not wearing underwear, you had been thinking about telling him about these. The idea of being out with him while you wore these drove you crazy. "Lie down," he told you in a husky voice that had you biting your lip. Once you murmured that you had done what he'd asked, you could hear the smile in his voice as he spoke. "Good girl. Now I think I'd like to know a little more about how that works. Will you turn it on for me?" You inhaled sharply when it turned on and felt your hips already starting to respond as the little device stimulated you. "Tell me," he rasped out and you wondered what he was doing on his side of the phone but didn't ask. This was better. "The first level isn't much. It feels like a tease more than anything." You skimmed a hand over the underwear to press the device against you. "I need more." "Hmm do you? What if I didn't let you have more? What if this was all you got for a while?" Honestly the whine that you let out would have probably embarrassed you if you had any shame left. "No, I won't do that just yet. Go ahead if you need more baby." His voice, the endearment, it all made you gasp out a breath. You bit down on your bottom lip as you hit the next level. "Okay," you gasped out as you moved your hips against the stimulation. "The second setting is better. It feels as good as it does when I use my hand." That had him moaning in response and you smirked before your mouth fell open in another gasp. You hadn't told him that you had never worn these for someone before, only for yourself. Maybe you'd tell him after. "You like it huh? It feel good?" "So good," you moaned as you moved your hips a little faster. You could come just like this with his voice in your ear. "Mm, you sound like you're getting close. Let's turn it back down to the lower setting." You let out a whimper automatically at the mere thought but he made a noise that interrupted you. "Do it." The commanding tone in his voice had your legs clenching even as you turned it down. Now the vibration was barely there and you thrust your hips up to try to get the friction back. "I hate you so much right now Billy." Even as you said the words you could hear him laughing. Yeah, it was pointless when you said it in such a breathless voice. He could read you like a neon billboard. "Yeah I'm sure you do Y/N. How are you feeling?" His voice was soft when he asked and it made you feel a little melty inside. He asked that often when you guys did things like this, careful to always make sure you were into what was being said or done. "Really really good but I really wanna come sometime tonight." Billy laughed and you almost growled in response. He wasn't playing havoc with his own nerve endings here. "Yeah, I bet you do. Okay baby, skip the second level and go straight to the last one." You sucked in a breath, thankful and damning at the same time, and then clicked the last setting. The saying "from zero to sixty" went through your brain as your body felt like it had been severed from whatever it was that held it together. Your hips moved and you couldn't help the moans and whimpers that came out of your mouth while you chased the friction. "Fuck fuck fuck," You weren't sure at first but the words were not coming out of your mouth. Apparently the noises you made were turning him on even more. You knew he probably had his hand on himself and your head smacked against the pillows on your bed at the thought. "Billy, I'm--" you started as you could feel your body pulling taut. His words came out on a breath, low and gravelly as he said "Yes, c'mon, come for me," And then you were gone. Body bowed as you came, you quickly clicked the vibrator off so that you wouldn't be overstimulated. Your chest heaved and you sat up to throw your scrub top and bra off. You pulled the phone back up to your ear and listened to him while he softly panted into the receiver. "So," you began with a laugh. "Was that good for you?" He joined you in the laughter and you let your head fall back onto your pillow. Just a few feet away your dinner was still on and you should probably get up to turn it off, to put some clothes on, but you didn't want to move just yet. You thought about how you got here and couldn't imagine how going to your best friend's bachelorette party could end with you this happy. Olivia would give you hell if she knew that you were this gone on a guy you had technically seen in person once but it had been her dare that introduced the two of you. What did it matter, you wondered as you finally got up and started to clean up a little. You could hear him on the other side of the phone doing the same. What did it matter if the two of you had been doing this for a few weeks? Why couldn't you meet up for drinks? Granted he hadn't asked since the night in the tub. You weren't sure if you should be offended by that or not. Just do it, you thought firmly as you changed your underwear and pulled on a big tshirt. Just ask him. "Hey Billy, would you want to get drinks with me one day this weekend?" You held your breath after the words were out and wondered what would happen if he said no. That would end this thing because you had some self respect. You didn't need to worry. "I'd love that. Saturday? There's a place called Charmings that has some pretty good food." You agreed easily, excited that he had moved the plan beyond just drinks. Once you hung up so that both of you could try to salvage your respective dinners, you couldn't erase the smile from your face. That man drove you crazy and now you were going to go on a date with him. Or maybe it wasn't a date? Maybe it was just dinner with a friend? Who occasionally saw each other naked and gave each other virtual orgasms? Your insecurities were washed away as your phone dinged with a text message from Billy. I have a dare for our date. While you were happy that he had called it a date, you already knew what his dare would be. You had accepted the fact that he wouldn't want you to wear underwear on Saturday. Let me guess. No undies? You walked over to the stove and stirred the food that had thankfully not burned nor congealed. You served yourself a plate and grabbed something to drink from the fridge while you waited for his response. When it finally went off, you opened the text. It definitely wasn't what you expected. Wear those. Bring the remote. You moaned as you clamped your knees together under the table. Oh this date was going to be the death of you. At least it would be a good death.

Part 4

#billy russo #billy russo x reader #billy russo imagine #billy russo fanfic #my writing #smut

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spideyxchelle · 7 years

Note

Can you make a headcanon of Peter and Michelle getting each other’s names on the Decathlon Team’s Secret Santa?

this is late to the party. as it is january. but i am desperately trying to hold on to some holiday cheer as i am thrown back in the deep end at work. like hot damn. so here is some fluffy holiday nonsense. you adorable cherubs.

peter loves the holidays. he likes that everybody finds lessand less reasons to fight. its like the whole world calls a truce for the monthof December. sure, he’s gotta deal with that one ridiculously conservative auntthat starts every sentence with “um, actually-“ but all-in-all he loves theholidays.

he likes that everything sparkles. that people cuddle up forwarmth. he likes that everyone hides their frostbitten nose in the biggest,ugliest sweaters. or, well, he likes that one person in particular does it.

michelle. he’s not gonna beat around the bush. its her. and,well, its been her for over a year now.

the end of their sophomore year she revealed that she knewabout spider-man because he and ned sucked at whispering. and her being a partof spider-man stuff made it better. so much better.

at the beginning of his junior year, he realized her likedher as in crush territory liked her when she leaned over his shoulder to pointsomething out on his computer. a stray tendril of her hair kissed his cheek. andhis heart beat so fast he thought it would implode. that was when he knew.

now he is a senior. and she causes him heart palpitations onalmost a daily basis. it doesn’t feel like suffocating now. it feels likeskipping.

he keeps telling himself he’s gonna bite the bullet and askher out. he found the courage to ask liz, he can ask mj. but the thing is, inthe grand scheme of things, liz was easy to ask because she didn’t matter. notlike mj matters. and she matters so damn much.

so he puts it off. and it drives his decathalon team crazy.

WHICH IS WHY WHEN HE PULLS HER NAME OUT OF THE HAT FORSECRET SANTA HE IS CONVINCED IT IS A CONSPIRACY. they are all plotting againsthis ass. and he wants to throttle Flash for how smug he looks.

he glances across the room at mj when she pulls a name outof the hat. and she is expressionless. she shoves her paper in her pocket. andcatches his watching. she raises one perfect eyebrow in his direction as if tosay “what are you staring at, parker?”

well, her. its always kind of her.

after practice, mj and ned crash at peter’s after school toget some homework done. peter corners ned in his kitchen when mj goes in thekitchen. he waves the paper in ned’s face, “did you know?” ned grins, slow andbroad, “it’s a good idea, right?” “no. bad idea. bad idea, ned,” peter shakeshis head. ned rolls his eyes in a way that is almost sweet, in the way thatonly ned can, “oh come on. nobody knows michelle better than you. it was agreat idea. and you can use it to tell her how you feel.”

“tell who how who feels?” michelle asks from the doorway ofthe kitchen. both boys freeze and slowly turn around to grin at her. ned jumpsin first, “peter. is worried about what to get may for Christmas. he wants herto know how much he appreciates her.”

peter is not sure who is more surprised by how convincingned’s lie is: him or ned. they both look impressed. michelle squints at themand steals peter’s cup of hot chocolate. “whatever, losers.”

it is so not whatever, though. because, like, he has to getmj something for Christmas. specifically for secret santa. most years, asfriends, he gets her tea or books he knows she’ll love. but the rules of secretsanta are to get a gift that is “representative of how you feel about theperson”. last year flash got peter and he gave him a rubber piece of shit. so,you know, that kind of stuff.

and the only thing he can think of that will actually behonest if he gets it for michelle is his heart. and he’s not gonna carve hisheart out of his chest for her. unless, well, unless that was what she wanted. thenhe’d think about it.

he agonizes over it for two whole weeks. and then, the nightbefore the gift exchange. he sees his flannel. the one mj steals all thefreakin’ time. the one that they argue about because its lined with fur. and heknows what to give her. sure, its lame. but so is he. and he’s not sure howelse to lowkey say how much she means to him. because he’s not brave enough towrite a note that says “fuck, I love you so much it fucks me up.”

the team exchanges gifts in the auditorium. ned gives sallya box with paper butterflies in it and she laughs at some inside joke he doesn’tunderstand. and then his nerves kick in as they go around the circle. some presentsearn laughs, others boos, some offhanded comments. and then, michelle is up.

peter zeroes in on her. and she rolls her eyes and shoves abook in his lap. he nearly tips over the back of his chair but stops himself. andhe can feel all of the eyes on him. he slowly opens the book. and inside arepages of paperclippings about peter parker. he’s confused. its articles inlocal newspapers about science fairs and some stuff in the school paper abouthis internship with stark and robotics championships. its a book about him.

he looks at her, his eyes swimming in confusion. she bitesher lip and he turns to the last page. there written in her messy scrawl is anote: this is a book about how amazing peter parker is. you’re more than thesuit. never forget that.

and if he was in crush territory before, he tips over theedge into full-blown love. his eyes never leave her face even when she dares tolook away, embarrassed by the intensity of his gaze.

he nods to himself and closes the book.

“peter?” ned whispers. the room is quiet. peter ignores himand pushes himself up out of his chair and walks across the circle. everyonewatches him. he knows.

michelle looks up at him from her seat and tries to speak. buthe shakes his head. he cups her face between his two hands and presses hismouth to hers. no. he doesn’t press his mouth to hers. he opens her mouth forhers. and drags her into the most magical kiss he’s ever had in his life. itseverything he feels about Christmas twisted up in one, perfect kiss.

she makes the faintest noise of protest and then hums intosomething more melty. she sighs. and he kisses her harder.

peter faintly hears someone around them drop something tothe ground. michelle rests her hands on his forearms.

when they draw apart, she whispers with a soft smile, “wasthat my secret santa present?” “no,” he grins, “it was that dumb flannel. thatwas just because….i wanted to.” “oh,” she teases, and presses another kiss tohis mouth like she’s just discovered how wondrous that could be, “well, thatdoesn’t feel very in the spirit of secret santa.” “rules are more likeguidelines to me,” he admits. she kisses him again, “trust me. I know.”

when they manage to finally untangle themselves from eachother. the whole room breaks out into cheers and applause. Ned cries, “it’s a Christmasmiracle.”

and, well, it sort of is. yea.

#headcanon ask

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shuttershocky · 7 years

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The Tsukihime Worldbuilding Primer : Part 1 - The Factions

Hey Type-Moon fans! Have you not read Tsukihime but wondered how much of the Nasuverse lore you’ve missed out on? Then this is for you! This will be an easy to read Nasuverse worldbuilding guide meant for those who are unwilling or otherwise unable to read Tsukihime, from a very big Tsukihime fan that understands that we’ll all be dead before the remake comes out. It will discuss everything from the factions, magic, connections to Fate and Kara No Kyoukai, and anything else people might find interesting. I will also avoid any major plot spoilers in case this convinces you to read Tsukihime in the future!

(Of course you could just read all this on the Type-Moon wiki yourself, but good luck in those murky waters)

For this post, we’ll talk about the three main factions introduced in the Tsukihime franchise.

1.) The Twenty Seven Dead Apostle Ancestors

Also seen in Fate/Zero, Fate/Apocrypha, and Fate/Strange Fake, the Dead Apostles are the Nasuverse’s term for vampires, powerful monsters that feed on the living. They roam Earth in secret, disguising themselves as humans, while secretly feeding on them at night and turning their corpses into mindless slaves. They are aggressive and territorial, and thus normally stay away from each other, thankfully reducing their ability to form solid alliances and become a massive threat to humanity.

Just like Servants, the abilities of a Dead Apostle vary per individual. Some, like Odd Borzak in Fate/Zero, are not very powerful, and are only capable of creating ghouls and controlling bees. Others like Zepia Eltnam (otherwise known as TATARI), can manifest powerful reality marbles the size of a whole city and maintain it for several days. Within Tsukihime (and apparently even in Fate considering one of them appeared in Strange Fake) 27 of these Dead Apostles form the leadership of these monsters. They are known as the Twenty Seven Dead Apostle Ancestors.

These individuals are extremely dangerous, and together they form an organization that rivals the Church and the Magus Association in power. Originally humans imprisoned to be food for the True Ancestors (a lesson for another time!), The DAA is composed of some of the most powerful Dead Apostles on Earth, each one capable of taking on servants and entirely wiping out human settlements.

A good example for what a Dead Apostle Ancestor looks like is Nrvnsqr (pronounced “Nero”) Chaos.

This vampire keeps 666 beasts in his body, capable of using them for attack, defense, and scouting the area for enemies. The beasts themselves range from mere animals such as crows and lions to powerful magical beasts such as unicorns and dragons, making him absurdly powerful even among Dead Apostles. Though he was defeated by Shiki Tohno in Tsukihime, he was also hinted at as the reason for Richard the Lionheart and Saladin’s truce during the First Crusades in Fate/Strange Fake[1], his arrival on the battlefield forcing both sides to band together for survival.

The primary goal of this organization is the revival of The Dark Six, the very first Dead Apostle and the only one capable of uniting all of the world’s vampires under one banner. This requires an ancient ritual called the Aylesbury Valesti that would take decades to prepare for, but completion of the ritual would spell the doom of humanity (as shown by the state of the world in Fate/Extra, where said ritual is hinted as the reason behind the total collapse of magic on Earth).

In the main timeline however, The DAA suffered several defeats during their centuries-long war with the Holy Church, during which several of their members were killed or imprisoned and thus delaying the Aylesbury Valesti. Within Tsukihime and Melty Blood, several more of their members fell during their repeated attacks on Misaki town, defeated by its inhabitants.

2.) The Holy Church

REJOICE

Known to Fate fans for being the neutral judge of the grail wars and a farmhouse for psychopath villains, The Holy Church’s true purpose in the Nasuverse is to act as humanity’s shield from the supernatural, hunting anything with even a whiff of magic and keeping the general populace in the dark. While this has famously put them at odds with the Magus Association, their true enemies are the Dead Apostle Ancestors, with whom they’ve waged war with for centuries. Their agents/inquisitors, known as Executors, are all experts at fighting inhumanly powerful enemies, with the likes of Kotomine Kirei and Hansa Cervantes able to operate alone vs such creatures.

To that end, The Church has divided itself into several subfactions such as Kotomine Kirei’s Eight Sacrament Assembly or Riesbyfe’s Chivalric Order (Aka the Knights of the Church) in order to better organize their efforts to stamp out or at least control magic, with their most powerful firebrand executors becoming members of the Burial Agency, the faction of inquisitors tasked with the extermination of the Dead Apostle Ancestors and all other demonic organizations.

Burial Agents mostly operate alone, and are known to amass great power and influence while also having the freedom to ignore any direct orders from the church itself if it will interfere in their hunt. The Agency is also not above recruiting members of the DAA themselves (through force or other means), attempting to turn them on one another in order to even the odds. A good example of a Burial Agent is Ciel.

An immortal woman who has slain countless Dead Apostles, her magical ability exceeds that of magi and even her fellow executors, turning her into a one-woman army hellbent on the extermination of the undead. She is capable of wielding any weapon, including the Church’s rarest and deadliest sacred devices, and can turn even mere Black Keys into horrifying devices capable of incinerating or exploding targets. She is also a master of reinforcement magic (the same one Emiya Shirou uses), reinforcing her body in order to grant her superhuman strength and senses, allowing her to keep up with enemies as powerful as Arcueid Brunestud. She is also popularly thought of to have given Shirou his iconic red coat that he wears as Archer.[2]

By the events of Tsukihime, the Church had successfully gained the upper hand in its secret war. The Dead Apostles of the world spend most of their time in hiding, fearing the wrath of the Church and the freelancing magi like Natalia Kaminsky and Emiya Kiritsugu who would hunt them down. Despite this, the DAA themselves are unafraid of the Church, with most of them being far too powerful to be killed by conventional means. Nevertheless, with the (rather testy) alliance that the Church has established with the Magus Association and with the True Ancestor Arcueid Brunestud (whom the Church still attacks relentlessly), humanity wields enough power to keep the DAA working from the shadows.

3.) The Atlas Academy

First introduced in Kara No Kyoukai: Oblivion Recorder, the Atlas Academy is one of the three great branches of the magus association that has since shut itself off from the rest of the world. They are mostly known to Fate fans for being Chaldea’s scientists, who assisted in the construction of Chaldea’s advanced technology.

Hidden in the Atlas Mountains (according to Kara No Kyoukai), or somewhere in Egypt (according to Melty Blood), the Atlas Alchemists are the descendants of the Egyptian goddess Isis, and are concerned with only one thing: the pursuit of knowledge for its own sake. No code of ethics or law binds them, allowing for any researcher to conduct any kind of experiment, no matter how strange, cruel, or horrifying, as long as the end result is never meant to leave Atlas. Due to how shut off they are from the rest of the world (and thus show up very little in the Nasuverse), little is actually known about this organization and just how powerful they really are. It is known however, that they have their own relationship with the Church and occasionally lend them the aid of their great alchemists. There are also 7 contracts in existence that bind Atlas to lend their aid to any who own them. Four of these contracts have been recovered, three more are yet to be used.

Because there is so little known about Atlas, most of what we know of them come from the only three individual alchemists to leave the institute: Satsuki Kurogiri, Zepia Eltnam Atlasia, and Sion Eltnam Atlasia. As the backstories of all three are rife with spoilers, I’ll do my best to stay away from the plot as much as possible, as well as skip talking about Zepia entirely. He’s ALL spoilers.

Satsuki Kurogiri was the first member of Atlas to ever be shown in the Nasuverse (and also the first time the institute was ever mentioned, though the Ufotable movie cut that part out). Like the other Atlas Alchemists, his brand of magic was strange and ancient, considered to be almost completely alien to the members of the Magus Association. He had the ability to speak to the souls of all things, bending them to his will. If he tells you to sleep, you’ll fall right over. if he tells you that you can’t see, then you’ve got to learn to be Daredevil before he gets away.

Though he had this ability as a child, according to the Light Novel version of Oblivion Recorder the ability disappeared as he reached puberty and resurfaced later on in adulthood, which he then honed in the Atlas mountains.

Though Kurogiri was a minor member of the Atlas Academy, Melty Blood would introduce one of its most important people as its main protagonist: Sion Eltnam Atlasia.

The Vice Director of the Atlas Academy and the next head of the whole institute (those chosen to succeed the previous director are given the name ‘Atlasia’), Sion’s personal vendetta with one of the DAA led to her expeditions outside the Institute, and also gave us a look at what kind of technologies the Atlas Alchemists have created.

Sion’s first and most noticeable asset is her superpowered mind (but unfortunately without a mechanical canine). She’s able to perform complex mathematical calculations and analysis with incredible speed and accuracy, and is able to partition her thoughts into 7 different parts that allows her to run 7 independent thought processes at the same time. This allows her to gather and process data like a computer during combat, eventually becoming able to predict movements and decisions through statistical analysis. Whether this is simply a supernatural gift or the results of experiments she ran in Atlas, it’s never made clear, although the two weapons she brings with her certainly are.

Her gun, the Black Barrel Replica, is a replica of the ancient god-killing firearm, the, er, Black Barrel. By almost all appearances it’s just an ordinary gun, but the bullets it holds in special; they have the ability to introduce the concept of death to a being that lives without it, making immortals such as Tiamat or Arcueid capable of death. Think of it like having King Hassan’s power contained in a bullet. Terrifying.

Her second weapon is a nearly invisible string called Etherlite. The Etherlite allows her to connect the mind of any individual it is attached to to her own, superior one, allowing her to read thoughts, sift through memories, and even hack the body to augment or disable its abilities. This horrifying breach of privacy and the abuse such power was capable of was too shocking for even Atlas, and coupled with their sordid ancestry, the Eltnam’s names were disgraced in the institute.

And that’s all for this post! These posts are meant to be read by fans with very little knowledge of Tsukihime, so if there’s anything confusing or unclear (or wrong, although I’m pretty confident in the accuracy of 95% of this post), please don’t hesitate to tell me and I’ll attempt to improve the content. Thank you for reading!

Notes

1 - I have not yet reached this part in Fate/Strange Fake, although I have heard from its fans that the Dead Apostle that battles Richard is in fact, supposed to be Nrvnsqr. If this is wrong, please do tell me!

2 - Try as I might, I can’t find the interview anymore where Nasu said the red coat was a gift from the Church and most likely from Ciel. If anyone could point me to it I’ll be so grateful!

#Nasuverse #Type-Moon #Type Moon #Tsukihime #Melty Blood #Kara No Kyoukai #Fate #Fate series #Fate Grand Order #Angel Notes #Nasuverse meta #The Tsukihime Worldbuilding Primer

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yasmin-khan · 7 years

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the first annual swan-jones cook-off

this is… exactly what it sounds like. whose culinary concoction will prevail? read on for some captain cobra swan action/competition.

this is for @swanemma, whose enthusiasm never fails to inspire me.

~1.3k words

also on ff.net!

“It’s HERE!”

Leroy’s bellows flooded through Storybrooke’s streets, forcing everyone to prick up their ears. In the past, he’d flown through the main road alerting the town’s residents to the newest curse or memory wipe. Today, he was notifying them of an equally as urgent and perhaps even more pressing matter.

“It’s here! The first annual Swan-Jones cook-off is HERE!”

The stage was set. The contestants were ready. In the center of Granny’s, Emma Swan and Killian Jones shared a final friendly handshake before the start of the competition. The challenge? Out-perform their significant other by preparing the most exquisite entrée imaginable. The scoring? Each dish would be judged by three completely unbiased and highly-qualified judges: Granny, David Nolan, and Henry Mills.

The stakes? Higher than ever.

It had all started during a typical Swan-Jones family movie night. Killian had nestled his arm around Emma’s shoulder and tugged her closer to him as she’d popped a melted Milk Dud popcorn kernel into his mouth.

“How is it?” Emma had murmured. “I microwaved it ten seconds longer than usual.”

“All right,” her unsuspecting fiancée had ventured, “but my cooking is better.”

Ominous silence in the living room. Emma had slowly lifted Killian’s hand from her shoulder, sat up to look her pirate straight in the eyes, and said:

“It’s on.”

That night, Killian had been confident in his culinary abilities. But this morning, he was nervous. After years of feeling like he’d lost his way, he was finally cozying into a family. His escapades in Nemo’s submarine with Henry made him hopeful that he could really be a father figure for the boy. This cooking competition, however playful, felt like a test—and he’d never been entirely good at those. Regardless, he planned to give it his all: his honor and favorite spot on the couch were at stake. Emma would never let him live it down if she emerged victorious.

Emma and Killian stood poised to begin on opposite sides of Granny’s kitchen. They had until lunchtime to polish their dishes; then, the judging began. A small crowd had gathered at the diner to watch the spectacle, eager to see who would prevail. Leroy nodded at both contestants, then announced:

“The cook-off begins in three… two… one… Go!”

Emma immediately raced to her side of the kitchen and surveyed her ingredients. Three loaves of bread, grape jelly, Reese’s pieces, and brown sugar. A sly smirk on her face, she picked up her knife and got to work. This was going to be a piece of cake.

Killian sauntered over to his side and cast a cursory glance over the array of spices he’d selected: mint, coriander, and garlic. He couldn’t keep the smile from his face as he looked at his main ingredient. His fiancée didn’t stand a chance.

As the final minutes ticked down, and the judges craned their necks over the diner table in anticipation, the two contestants added finishing touches to their dishes. Killian drizzled his sweet and sour sauce lazily over his meal, taking a quick whiff and sighing with delight at the aroma. Emma spread a layer of oozing jelly onto the wheat bread, licking the extra off of her fingers. She was confident in her concoction.

“And… time!”

Leroy’s piercing shout announced the closure of the competition. Both Emma and Killian took one long, deep breath, and stepped back from the kitchen. It was time for the moment they had been simultaneously awaiting and dreading: the judging.

Leroy and Ruby carried plates of each chef’s dish to the three judges as the spectators took in each meal. Emma and Killian stood behind the diner counter, admiring their dishes proudly.

Granny spoke first. “Before eating, would you both tell us a little bit about what you made?”

Emma piped up. “My meal is peanut butter and jelly sandwiches—but with liquid Reese’s pieces instead of peanut butter. You know, to get all melty. It’s a creative twist on a classic lunchtime favorite.” She grinned triumphantly at Killian as she gestured towards her sandwiches. Killian had to admit, they did look good – jewels of chocolate dribbled from the sides of each one, mingling with the dark purple jelly. The judges, too, looked impressed.

Killian cleared his throat, suddenly feeling less confident in his preparation—especially when he cast a side glance at Henry, who was waiting expectantly. Squeezing the tremor out of his voice, he continued.

“I made, erm, boiled mackerel, topped with soy-chili sweet and sour sauce. A hint of cilantro, mint, and ginger.”

The judges raised their eyebrows. Henry passed Killian a conspiratorial wink, and Killian felt a pang of pride.

“Okay, time to eat!” Ruby cheered. All three judges raised their heads, and then their utensils. They tried Emma’s dish first; they nodded in approval and caught all the leftover melted chocolate in their fingers, licking it up. Emma was glowing. Next, they dug into Killian’s meal. He watched with nervous anticipation, noting David licking his lips after the first bite and Granny scrutinizing a piece by rotating it multiple times on the fork. Henry’s expression was unreadable—he kept his head tilted down towards the food.

After all three judges had polished off their meals, Leroy stepped in. “Are the judges ready to announce the results?” Granny, David, and Henry nodded, wiping their mouths with the cloth napkins bought specifically for this occasion. It was rare for Granny’s to go this classy.

“Okay. We’ll start on the left. Granny, which dish tickled your taste buds?”

Granny wiped a stray glob of jelly from the side of her mouth. “Well, I found both dishes to be very delicious. I’m considering adding them to our lunch menu. But, I did like Killian’s use of the sauce to further flavor the mackerel. And the spices? Genius! The pirate gets my vote.”

Killian grinned while Emma let out a low moan. Leroy didn’t even skip a beat.

“Killian one, Emma zero. David? What did you think?”

David cleared his throat. “Um, I really liked both of the foods. But I’m going to have to go with Emma’s.”

Emma had always been a daddy’s girl; Killian should have seen that one coming, even though David was his mate. As if he’d read his mind, David shrugged at him apologetically. Emma snuck Killian an indignant glance before they both turned their eyes to the final judge and tiebreaker: Henry. Killian didn’t know what to expect, but he really thought he’d eked out a good relationship with the boy. Maybe, just maybe…

Leroy butted in. “It’s tied up. Henry, you have the final decision. Who is the winner?”

Henry looked sheepish, but certain. “Uh… my vote goes to Emma’s sandwich.”

“Yes!” Emma nearly leapt off the floor, pumping her fists in the air. “I knew it!” The triumphant smile didn’t leave her face even as Leroy hoisted the paper crown onto her head. Killian couldn’t help but feel happy for her; after all, she was the woman he was marrying. He chased the wave of disappointment out of his chest and gave his princess a well-deserved kiss. “Congrats, love.”

Killian woke up the next morning to the cadence of Emma’s gentle snoring. Her golden locks were all tangled up in his hook and over his face. As he gently eased her arms away from his chest and sat up, he noticed a crisp white envelope on top of his dresser. Killian, someone had written in a spidery script. Careful not to wake Emma, he stepped towards the table and peeled it open.

Inside, he found a note and a package wrapped in silver. He read the note first.

You and I both know your cooking is way better. But we both also know that Mom’s a sore loser. Sorry you had to take one for the team, Dad. I left you some cooking of my own as a peace offering. –Henry

Killian skipped down the stairs and reread the note over and over again, peeling back the silver wrapping and nibbling on the Pop-Tart Henry had enclosed for him. As he surveyed his own kitchen and got right to making breakfast in bed for his sleepy soon-to-be wife, there was only one word on his mind.

Dad.

#ouat #captain swan #cs ff #ouat ff #cs fluff #my words #swanemma #swan to my hook #i hope you like it maya bc this was way too much fun to write #ill get to the snapchat story at some point too i hope

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morgantakestinder · 7 years

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A Very Tinderella Halloween

After an excellent evening in bed, the only thing I could keep my mind on was how I could find myself sharing a bed again with Prost, although this time maybe a bit more private than the screening room at the Standard Highline. However, I also had absolutely zero expectations; while many a Tinder boy has gone on dates for the sole purpose of bedding a babe, it didn’t seem like this was really Prost’s MO (as I’ve mentioned before his mum raised him right.)

But given that it was Halloweekend (my second fave holiday after my own birthday...) I also wanted to be able to go out and enjoy myself in style - so I booked myself a hotel room for the evening and decided to indulge in a no worries NYC weekend. Without having to figure out which friend’s couch I would stay on or when to get ready, I leisurely drove into the city, found street parking, and checked myself in to Midtown East hotel. Upon arrival, I was upgraded to a corner king suite and I was beaming like a princess when I walked in and, of course, proceeded to take a nap in this giant bed. Once awoken, I started finally putting together the last touches on my costume (see photo below) and also reached out to Prost to see if he still wanted to come out for the evening with my friends. I’d invited him A) because I really loved spending time with him but B) because Americans are obsessed with Halloween and figured we’d show him how it’s done. I invited him to come by the hotel if he wanted to get ready before hand and not too long after this I was standing in a hotel room, with a very charming and attractive and lovely gentleman, dressed as Crocodile Dundee. I very much appreciated the Australian take on Halloween as when I lived there I dressed as the Statue of Liberty ha!

Anyway, I’m sure I don’t need to go into too much detail about what transpired in this well appointed room. (I’m also low-key nervous that Prost’s mum is reading this, so warning there’s some slightly NSFW bits coming up.) But I will tell you that by the time we left to meet up with my friends for some costumed debauchery, he had checked 2 out of 3 boxes of my “Australians in Bed” stereotype. - He had excellent oral skills - He was a superior cuddler I actually shared these “observations” with him and of course he was intrigued about what the third was... Brunch! And we then joked that I guess we would have to do brunch tomorrow then to prove he was really Australian.

We finally dragged ourselves out of bed and made a rendezvous with my friends before heading to a halloween party organized by a friend of mine. It was mostly theatre peeps and it was midtown but Prost didn’t seem to mind at all. I was still drink-free so it was only reasonably entertaining in my opinion (at least compared to the activities from earlier in the evening.) He was such an excellent date because he is so naturally charismatic that he just chats with everyone and all my friends agreed that he was a good pick. Eventually though the night wore me down and we headed back to the hotel together. Well sort of together. We actually stopped for a drink at the Aussie bar on the way and were discussing Insomnia Cookies and how incredible they are so on the way back we split paths and Prost headed to pick up a late night snack. Not too long after, I had changed out of my Tinderella garb and was getting into bed when he walked in with a box full of amazing, warm, melty, delicious cookies. I’m positive these dates are not good for my waistline but there was something both playful and sexy about eating cookies together in bed at three am. Clearly, snacks in bed is becoming a theme for us.

After another bout of what my doctor would refer to as “vigorous physical activity” I fell asleep in Prost’s arms. I’m always skeptical about cuddling and staying the night with boys in general but this was too good to let go. Plus, if we didn’t spend the night together how on earth could he past the real test of Australian-ness? Brunch. We had a lazy morning in bed together but unfortunately all great hotels come with a check out time. So despite the absolute pouring rain we discovered upon leaving, we headed down to the Village for brunch.

In keeping with the theme, I took him to a lovely Australian cafe. Not just because it was Aussie though; they also happen to have the best French Toast I’ve ever eaten. I’ll be totally honest: at this point I was worried that after nearly 24 hours together we’d have run out of things to talk about. I regularly tell people that I’m a great first date but I can’t guarantee the same quality on later dates. There was no need to worry though because despite the fact that we were quite damp from the rain, Prost was his usual genial self and I enjoyed both brunch and wandering in the miserable Manhattan weather with him. There’s an awful lot of weather one can tolerate if it’s punctuated with kissing on street corners.

We also chatted about my upcoming return trip to San Francisco (that I had still not actually booked) and about how fantastic it would be if he wasn’t leaving the States just beforehand. Well as luck would have it, some people (not me) book fully flexible fares and can change their flight dates to accommodate last minute spontaneous trips to cities with girls they meet from Tinder. <3

I don’t want to go so far as to say that Prost is perfect but he’s got damn few flaws. Also, he’s got excellent taste in desserts and when I saw him again on Halloween he bought me a cupcake from Magnolia’s which was both delicious and an incredibly thoughtful gesture. I could brag on and on about how much of a lovely time I had with him on actual Halloween evening, but I think I’ll save some gloating for my upcoming west coast adventure. It’s all been a little whirlwind and crazy but I think I’ll have some excellent stories to tell when I return.

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tylerbeyond-blog1 · 8 years

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♔♗♚♛♜♝♤ ♧♡♣♥

o ♔ : Finding your muse wearing their clothes

when jung so walked in on tae ho wearing their long, pleated skirt, he really had no explanation. they weren’t supposed to be home. so when they opened the door to the bedroom and spotted him looking at himself in the mirror in their pale grey pleated skirt, all he could think to say was “it’s not what it looks like.” because that’s what everyone said when they got caught doing something they weren’t supposed to be doing.

“it looks like you’re stretching out my skirt.” they said, only slightly amused, leaning against the doorframe.

tae ho looked down and lifted his shirt. “no, no, see? it’s on my waist? not stretched!”

they cocked an eyebrow at him, still unimpressed. “let me guess… you thought it would look like a kilt.”

“uh…” he glanced around. “so you’re saying it doesn’t look like a kilt?”

“you’re so fucking stupid.”

♗: Your muse falling asleep with their head in my muse’s lap.

tae ho loved touring. they all did. what wasn’t to love about nearly-all-expense paid roadtrips with your best friends, stopping only to eat crappy fast food and to play music for adoring crowds? nothing. one of the best parts for tae ho was how exhausting it was. even his insomnia didn’t stand a chance. of course, he still didn’t really sleep when he was supposed to, but tae ho almost never did what he was supposed to, anyway.

he stretched across the bench seat in the back of the tour bus, his legs across fang’s lap, his head in jung so’s. he gazed dreamily up at them, a goofy smile on his face.

“you had one of those brownies cassandra told us not to eat, didn’t you?” they asked, bemused, gently running their fingers through his thick, curls.

tae ho giggled and held up his hand, thumb and forefinger nearly touching. “maybe a little.”

“i think more than a little,” jung so giggled. “idiot.”

tae ho’s eyes fluttered and closed. he sighed, smiling. “no, you.”

♥: Your muse crying about something

the soft tinkling of tin striking tin in a music box filled the tiny room. the soft melody was joined by the plip plip of tears falling onto its small wooden panels. the melody wasn’t finished. they’d never finished it. so this music box wasn’t finished either. still, he wound it up and let it play over, and over, and over again. he lay back on the mattress with no sheets, in a room that was only his, in an apartment that wasn’t theirs.

unfinished was another way of saying not whole. he wasn’t whole. the band was back together, sort of, or at least on the way to being whole. the cracks were still there, and they were deep, but the glue holding them together was starting to set. soon, you might not even tell it was ever broken. the melody ended. he reached for it to wind it up once more. he didn’t hear the door open.

“i... i didn’t make that for you to make you sad.”

tae ho gave a start, nearly dropping the delicate little box. he held it to his chest and looked around. jung so stood in the doorway, looking very small, very fragile, and very broken. he set the singing box on the empty nightstand. “it doesn’t make me sad. i really, really love it. it’s beautiful,” he wiped his face with the seat of his palms.

“you’re crying.”

“no i’m not.”

jung so gave him a withering look. it made him smile for a moment. it was the most normal looking he’d seen them since before they’d left. it didn’t last long. “i’m sorry.”

“i’m... i’m sorry, too.”

tentatively, they approached. tae ho pulled his legs up onto the bed and crossed them. “you... you don’t have anything to be sorry about,” muttered jung so, taking a seat on the mattress beside him. they were careful not to sit too close.

“yes i do. but... let’s. let’s not, okay?” he swallowed, thickly. the music box stopped. the room was silent.

jung so nodded. they reached for the music box. it clicked as they wound it, then it sung. “if you don’t like it, you can tell me.”

“i do like it,” he said, his voice unsteady as tears threatened him again. “i love it, honestly, i promise.” reflexively, he crossed his arms. his hand covered the pinky wear tattoo that peaked out from under his sleeve. “i just... i want to finish this melody.” tae ho never used to be so careful with his words. “think we can finish it?”

but jung so was no fool. they knew that when he asked if they could finish it with tears glittering in his eyes like so many stars in the sky, he was really saying i wish we’d finished it. i wish you’d never left. i wish you hadn’t broken my heart. “i was going to add a note to that,” they lied, “it was gonna say “to be continued.” so, uh, yes, of course we can finish it.”

tae ho wasn’t looking at them, but he was smiling. a couple tears trickled from the corners of his eyes.

jung so raised their hand, then hesitated. they put their hand on his shoulder. he covered it with his own. the music stopped.

♚: Head scratches

“my head hurts,” jung so whined. “pass the joint.”

tae ho passed them the joint, then took the seat behind them on the couch. they sat on the floor, so he spread his long legs so they could sit between them.

“what’re you doing?”

“shhh.” tae ho bent and kissed the top of their head. gently, he pulled the elastic out of their hair, freeing their honeyed locks from their ponytail prison. jung so sighed. he saw smoke rising from in front of them. tae ho slipped his rings off and put them on the ash tray on the coffee table before them. unadorned fingers spread over their scalp. they shuddered.

“oh.”

tae ho grinned, massaging their head with long, practiced finger. “dad used to do this for mom. it really helps, dunnit?”

they nodded, relaxing back into the couch. more smoke curled up from their lips. tae ho chuckled. he kissed them again.

♛: Sharing a dessert

tae ho hummed in deep appreciation of the molten chocolate cake placed in front of him. “where’s the ice cream?” he asked, looking around the table for it.

“oops, my bad,” fang pushed it towards him, licking the last bits of vanilla cream from his lips.

snickering, tae ho tipped the small bowl of ice cream into the dish. it mingled with the chocolate fudge sauce that oozed . tae ho reached for his spoon to find it wasn’t there. he looked around in time to catch jung so casually putting a spoonful of cake into their mouth.

“oy, you said you didn’t want one.” tae ho accused, his face no where near as stern as his voice.

“yeah. cuz i want yours.”

tae ho laughed, shaking his head. “you’re the worst.”

♜: Shoulder rubs

“oow!” tae ho yelped.

“sorry not sorry,” jung so said in clipped tones. “you asked for this. you don’t me not to go easy on you.”

“it’s a figure of speech!” he gasped.

“well, you need this, so shut up. jesus, how do end up with knots this big? it’s like you’ve got rocks under your skin.” jung so dug their knuckles painfully into his trapezius muscles. “with all the weed you smoke, i thought you’d be all loose and relaxed.”

“well― ouch― me too, i guess.” he hissed, his fists clenched on his knees.

“my fingers are getting tired. you really need to chill out.”

through gritted teeth, tae ho replied, “i thought i was!”

“nope. i don’t think you’ll ever find your chill.” they dug their thumbs in circular motion into a particularly nasty knot. tae ho groaned, his face scrunched up in pain. finally, they stopped. he slumped forward. “better?” jung so asked.

he turned, his smile tired and melty. “better.”

♝: Reading a book together

“wait, wait, i wasn’t done with that page,” tae ho said, sticking his finger on the page before jung so can turn it.

they huffed and pouted. “how are you so slow? you’ve already read it!”

“yeah, like, eight years ago, c’mon.” a few seconds passed, his eyes scanning the page. jung so noticed his eyes kept darting away from the book, this way and that, before coming back to it. “why don’t we just get you your own copy.”

“cuz i don’t need my own copy,” he replied, turning the page and resting his cheek on their shoulder.

“at this rate we’re not gonna get to where sirius black shows up until they reboot the movies.”

“har, har. don’t be ridiculous. it’ll only take us until the next fantastic beasts movie comes out.”

jung so laughed. “what if i just read it to you?”

“oh! would you do the voices?”

“no.”

tae ho pursed his lips. “fine. read it to me anyway.”

♤: Taking a bath together

“y’know, when you said we should shower together, this is not what i had in mind,” said tae ho, giving jung so’s back a dubious look as they washed their hair.

“i said we need to conserve water. we’re in a drought, tae, keep up. and pass me the conditioner.”

he passed them the bottle, the two changing places so he could stand under the water. “okay, but... i say that all the time and it never actually mean it.” tae ho pushed water and hair back from his eyes, working a thick lather into his curls.

“yeah, i know, it’s problematic as shit. when you say we should shower together, we end up in here for ages and conserve exactly zero water.” their eyes were closed so they wouldn’t get conditioner in their eyes, but the eyeroll was evident in their voice.

“well. my “let’s shower togethers” are way more fun.”

jung so slapped his wet chest with the back of their hand. “you better watch yourself, or i’ll show you the true meaning of “dry spell.””

♧: Your muse playing with their hair

“god, your hair is so versatile.”

“shut up.”

“you can pull off any look.”

“stop.”

“right, sora? i think these one, two, three, four... five! pig tails look really great on them.”

sora giggled, lightly patting each one of the five pigtails she and tae ho had put in their hair.

jung so’s sour expression brightened with a light hearted roll of their eyes. “i don’t know what you expected. i look good in everything.”

“it’s true,” sora put in, nodding her head solemnly.

“c’mere,” jung so scooped sora into their arms and hugged her tight. she squeaked and laughed, squirming a little before relenting and hugging them back. tae ho wrapped his long arms around them both, kissing jung so’s temple as he did.

♡: Accidentally falling asleep together

gabe opened the front door as quietly as he could. it creaked and he remembered he’d been meaning to grease it for ages now and hadn’t gotten around to it. it was nearly four am and he expected everyone to be asleep. at least, everyone except tae ho, who might’ve been smoking on the couch writing songs, or in bed trying to sleep, or at least pretending to sleep. the room was illuminated by the pale glow of netflix on the tv.

he approached it, slipping his shoes off to avoid making too much noise. the room smelled like weed, but that was no surprise. “Are you still watching?” netflix asked him mutely. he glanced down at the couch. there slept jung so and tae ho, tipped into one another, resting awkwardly on each other’s shoulders, snoozing fitfully. gabe smiled. he picked up the playstation remote, which had fallen into jung so’s lap from their relaxed hand. then, he slipped off his well-worn and well-loved misfits jacket and placed it gingerly over tae ho’s body. jung so had a blanket slipping half off their body. gabe picked it up and laid it over their chest.

the two would wake up with awful cricks in their necks, but gabe thought better than to wake them up and trot them off to bed. instead, he turned off the system and the TV, and left them both there to dream.

♣: Back scratches

tae ho really sucked at back scratching. well, that wasn’t true, when his nails were long he was quite good at it. but, when the black polish he wore chipped off enough, he sometimes fell back into the bad habit of biting his nails, making them short and useless for back scratching.

“c’mere, we’ll paint them now. geez, you’d think by now you’d dropped this habit,” jung so said, shaking their head and preparing to stand to get the polish.

“no, no! don’t go anywhere, i’ll make this work, i’m sorry. you can paint my nails later, it’s fine. here.” he pulled them back down by the shoulders, taking a moment to kiss their shoulder.

“ooh,” they shuddered, arching into his touch. “what is that? it feels great. a little to the left, oh, yeah, thanks.”

tae ho moved to scratch where they asked, grinning. “y’know my skull ring and the spiky one? i turned them around. like it?”

“you clever bastard,” jung so chuckled. “you still have to stop biting your nails.”

“i know, i know. in the meantime though―”

#jessehyeon #answered #jungso*#otp: i still love you even more than i did before

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