#$40+????? for FISH STOCK?!?!

[naomiknight-17]

Why is it so hard to just get some fucking fish stock

[physalian]

How to Make Your Writing Less Stiff Part 3

Crazy how one impulsive post has quickly outshined every other post I have made on this blog. Anyway here’s more to consider. Once again, I am recirculating tried-and-true writing advice that shouldn’t have to compromise your author voice and isn’t always applicable when the narrative demands otherwise.

Part 1

Part 2

1. Eliminating to-be verbs (passive voice)

Am/is/are/was/were are another type of filler that doesn’t add anything to your sentences.

There were fireworks in the sky tonight. /// Fireworks glittered in the sky tonight.

My cat was chirping at the lights on the ceiling. /// My cat chirped at the lights on the ceiling.

She was standing /// She stood

He was running /// He ran

Also applicable in present tense, of which I’ve been stuck writing lately.

There are two fish-net goals on either end of the improvised field. /// Two fish-net goals mark either end of the improvised field.

For once, it’s a cloudless night. /// For once, the stars shine clear.

Sometimes the sentence needs a little finagling to remove the bad verb and sometimes you can let a couple remain if it sounds better with the cadence or syntax. Generally, they’re not necessary and you won’t realize how strange it looks until you go back and delete them (it also helps shave off your word count).

Sometimes the to-be verb is necessary. You're writing in past-tense and must convey that.

He was running out of time does not have the same meaning as He ran out of time, and are not interchangeable. You'd have to change the entire sentence to something probably a lot wordier to escape the 'was'. To-be verbs are not the end of the world.

2. Putting character descriptors in the wrong place

I made a post already about motivated exposition, specifically about character descriptions and the mirror trope, saying character details in the wrong place can look odd and screw with the flow of the paragraph, especially if you throw in too many.

She ties her long, curly, brown tresses up in a messy bun. /// She ties her curls up in a messy brown bun. (bonus alliteration too)

Generally, I see this most often with hair, a terrible rule of threes. Eyes less so, but eyes have their own issue. Eye color gets repeated at an exhausting frequency. Whatever you have in your manuscript, you could probably delete 30-40% of the reminders that the love interest has baby blues and readers would be happy, especially if you use the same metaphor over and over again, like gemstones.

He rolled his bright, emerald eyes. /// He rolled his eyes, a vibrant green in the lamplight.

To me, one reads like you want to get the character description out as fast as possible, so the hand of the author comes in to wave and stop the story to give you the details. Fixing it, my way or another way, stands out less as exposition, which is what character descriptions boil down to—something the audience needs to know to appreciate and/or understand the story.

3. Lacking flow between sentences

Much like sentences that are all about the same length with little variety in syntax, sentences that follow each other like a grocery list or instruction manual instead of a proper narrative are difficult to find gripping.

Jack gets out a stock pot from the cupboard. He fills it with the tap and sets it on the stove. Then, he grabs russet potatoes and butter from the fridge. He leaves the butter out to soften, and sets the pot to boil. He then adds salt to the water.

From the cupboard, Jack drags a hefty stockpot. He fills it with the tap, adds salt to taste, and sets it on the stove.

Russet potatoes or yukon gold? Jack drums his fingers on the fridge door in thought. Russet—that’s what the recipe calls for. He tosses the bag on the counter and the butter beside it to soften.

This is just one version of a possible edit to the first paragraph, not the end-all, be-all perfect reconstruction. It’s not just about having transitions, like ‘then’, it’s about how one sentence flows into the next, and you can accomplish better flow in many different ways.

4. Getting too specific with movement.

I don’t see this super often, but when it happens, it tends to be pretty bad. I think it happens because writers feel the need to overcompensate and over-clarify on what’s happening. Remember: The more specific you get, the more your readers are going to wonder what’s so important about these details. This is fiction, so every detail matters.

A ridiculous example:

Jack walks over to his closet. He kneels down at the shoe rack and tugs his running shoes free. He walks back to his desk chair, sits down, and ties the laces.

Unless tying his shoes is a monumental achievement for this character, all readers would need is:

Jack shoves on his running shoes.

*quick note: Do not add "down" after the following: Kneels, stoops, crouches, squats. The "down" is already implied in the verb.

This also happens with multiple movements in succession.

Beth enters the room and steps on her shoelace, nearly causing her to trip. She kneels and ties her shoes. She stands upright and keeps moving.

Or

Beth walks in and nearly trips over her shoelace. She sighs, reties it, and keeps moving.

Even then, unless Beth is a chronically clumsy character or this near-trip is a side effect of her being late or tired (i.e. meaningful), tripping over a shoelace is kind of boring if it does nothing for her character. Miles Morales’ untied shoelaces are thematically part of his story.

Sometimes, over-describing a character’s movement is meant to show how nervous they are—overthinking everything they’re doing, second-guessing themselves ad nauseam. Or they’re autistic coded and this is how this character normally thinks as deeply methodical. Or, you’re trying to emphasize some mundanity about their life and doing it on purpose.

If you’re not writing something where the extra details service the character or the story at large, consider trimming it.

—

These are *suggestions* and writing is highly subjective. Hope this helps!

[reasonsforhope]

"Around the world, mangrove forests have undergone a decades-long decline that is just now slowing to a halt.

In Pakistan, by contrast, mangroves expanded nearly threefold between 1986 and 2020, according to a 2022 analysis of satellite data.

Experts attribute this success to massive mangrove planting and conservation, as well as concerted community engagement.

Many in Pakistan are looking to mangroves to bolster precious fish stocks and defend against the mounting effects of climate change — even as threats to mangroves, such as wood harvesting and camel grazing, continue with no end in sight."

"His sandaled feet drenched in black mud, Rashid Rasheed points to one of the mangrove nurseries he’s been looking after for the past few years. With wooden walls topped by green netting, a dozen nurseries shelter thousands of saplings.

Rasheed, a researcher and nursery expert with the government of Balochistan province in Pakistan, has been leading a drive to establish nurseries in the coastal town of Dam. The goal is to expand and enhance the town’s scattered patches of natural mangrove forest, which have shriveled due to human activities.

“These nurseries have 50,000 saplings that are ready to be transported to the creeks for planting” Rasheed tells Mongabay.

Rasheed’s work is part of a five-year project initiated in 2019 by the Chinese Academy of Sciences’ South China Sea Institute of Oceanography that has planted mangroves on 16 hectares (40 acres) at Dam, and at other sites in Balochistan and neighboring Sindh province.

It’s one of many projects aiming to restore Pakistan’s mangroves. These semiaquatic trees offer a host of benefits, such as protecting coasts against storms and rising sea levels, providing habitat for fish, birds, and other wildlife, sequestering carbon better than most other ecosystems on Earth, and sustaining the livelihoods of some 120 million people globally, according to the IUCN.

Around the world, mangrove forests have undergone a decades-long decline that’s just now slowing to a halt. But Pakistan bucks this trend. The country’s mangroves expanded from 48,331 hectares in 1986 to 143,930 hectares in 2020 (119,430 to 355,659 acres), a nearly threefold increase, according to a 2022 analysis of satellite data. “It is because of the constant endeavor by government and NGOs,” the analysis states, citing restoration, research, and awareness-raising campaigns “now being religiously carried out to conserve and regrow mangroves” by local, national and foreign bodies. Fishing communities, who depend on mangroves for fuel, shelter and as fish nurseries, are often key to the success of Pakistan’s mangrove restoration, providing the labor for planting and protection."

-via Mongabay, February 5, 2024

[drawloverlala]

Some Clip Studio Assets

Hello! I just published a brush for Clip Studio Paint, it’s a cyber effect brush!

https://assets.clip-studio.com/es-es/detail?id=1993559

And along with sharing it with you I also wanted to share some of the assets I've found on the assets store that I think you may like as well! ^_^

here I put them down the read more! (warning it may be a bit too long of a post!)

✒Inking and drawing brushes:

Smooth Ink

Smooth Inker

Voyageffen

Line brush

Ink pen textured

crack lines on surfaces

S Zara Pen

Nong Pen

Line Drawing pen

Rough pen

✏Writing Brushes:

Calligraphy pen set

Halloween themed pen

Neon Pen

Retro brush

🎨 Painting brushes:

Soft fluffy paint (One of my favorites!)

Thick brush set

🖼 Gradient maps:

petitchery set

Holo gradient set

Ommug gradiation map

Toffi's Gradient set

🎇Patterns:

Tone Brush set

Tone Brush set 2

Pretty stone floor pattern

Stone floor pattern

cute Halloween Pattern

Hexagonal pattern

Cute textures (they are patterns)

Sweater pattern brushes

Gun Club Check (plaid pattern)

Lemons pattern

patchwork patterns brush

Argyle pattern brush

Cat face pattern

Cloud and flower pattern

cute brushes and patterns (cactus, peach and clam)

cute simple patterns (warning: they have pretty bright colors, may cause eye strain)

80's patterns

strawberry pattern and brushes

flowery patterns

10 cute plaid patterns

Avocado pattern.

📜Textures:

Textured brush

Glitter star textures

Gold glitter set

Random Textures 1

Random Textures 2

Random Textures 3

Random Textures 4

3 Textures set

Atmosphere set brushes (rusty textures)

📚Background objects:

Wire fence

Books brush 1

Book brush 2

Book brush 3 (fancy)

Bottle brush

Piano brush

Magic Drug shelf set (has baskets, jars and bottles)

City

Window brush

🧁Food:

Cookie brushes

whipped cream brush

Sausages

Many sausages

Bread brush

strawberries and cream

berries brush

strawberries

fruit toppings

Avocado!

🌱🌼Flowers and plants:

Roses1

Roses 2

Tree leaves brush 1 (pretty good)

Peonies

Bougainvillea

Geranium

Easy bush set (this one is pretty good too!)

Palm tree leaves

Mimosa

Flower brush (for cute effects)

✨Effects:

Gaussian blur brush

White drops brush

Glitch effects

Prism brushes

Dual prism brushes

Shiny flowers and sparkles

Retro Filters

Tech brushes

Mini deco effects 1

Mini deco effects 2

👑Ornaments:

Ornament Brushes

Ornament Brushes 2

Oriental Emblem 1-10

Oriental Emblem 21-30

Oriental Emblem 31-40

43 types of decorations

27 Oriental patterns

Ornament material

X-mas brush set

Exotic fantasy decor.

👕Clothing:

Shoe laces set

Shoe laces 2

Sweater knit patterns

10 types of brushes of bows with frills

Patchwork stitches brush

socks/panty/stocking(?) brush

Tattered brush

💕Misc:

Feathers

wind effects

Hot mess confetti

Cute Confetti

Confetti

Halloween particles brush

Fishes

Twinkle brush

Cute pattern 10 pieces set 1

Cute pattern 10 pieces set 2

Cute pattern 10 pieces set 3

Cute pattern 10 pieces set 4

Cute pattern 10 pieces set 5

Star brushes

Halloween washi tape

Puppy stickers!!!

And those are most of the assets I've collected so far from Clip Studio's assets store!

I hope these may result useful to you!

[readyforevolution]

🌍 1) Largest country in Africa by land mass - Algeria 🇩🇿

2) Largest country in Africa by population - Nigeria 🇳🇬

3) Largest movie industry in Africa - Nigeria 🇳🇬

4) Largest democracy in Africa - Nigeria 🇳🇬

5) Richest Black man - Nigerian 🇳🇬

6) Richest African woman - Nigerian 🇳🇬

7) largest single solar power plant in Africa - Morocco 🇲🇦

8) Largest Museum in Africa - Egypt 🇪🇬

9) Tallest building in Africa - Egypt 🇪🇬

10) Largest rice mill in Africa - Nigeria 🇳🇬

11) Largest fertilizer plant in Africa - Nigeria 🇳🇬

12) largest oil refinery in Africa - Nigeria 🇳🇬

13) largest fish farm in Africa - Egypt 🇪🇬

14) largest cement plant in Africa - Nigeria 🇳🇬

15) largest tea farm in Africa - Kenya 🇰🇪

16) largest music industry in Africa - Nigeria 🇳🇬

17) largest stadium in Africa - South Africa 🇿🇦

18) Fastest train in Africa - Nigeria 🇳🇬

19) longest subsea gas pipeline in Africa - Nigeria 🇳🇬

20) largest city by population - Nigeria 🇳🇬

21) Largest news network in Africa - Nigeria 🇳🇬

22) largest car race arena in Africa - South Africa 🇿🇦

23) largest pharmaceutical industry in Africa - Nigeria 🇳🇬

24) Fastest woman in Africa - Nigerian 🇳🇬

25) Fastest man in Africa - Kenyan 🇰🇪

26) largest stock exchange by market capitalization in Africa - South Africa 🇿🇦

27) largest stock exchange by number of listings - south Africa 🇿🇦

28) longest concrete road in Africa - Nigeria 🇳🇬

29) largest airline in Africa - Ethiopia 🇪🇹

30) most streamed musicians in Africa - Nigeria 🇳🇬

31) most awarded artist in Africa - Nigerian 🇳🇬

32) largest mall in Africa by structure - Morocco 🇲🇦

33) most valuable tech startup in Africa - Nigeria 🇳🇬

34) most valuable company in Africa - South Africa 🇿🇦

35) largest economy in Africa - Nigeria 🇳🇬

36) Most tribes in Africa - Nigeria 🇳🇬

37) most languages in Africa - Nigeria 🇳🇬

39) largest seaport In Africa by size - Morocco 🇲🇦

40) largest university in Africa by area - Nigeria 🇳🇬

[itstokkii]

All these anons just make me want to talk about Turkey more. What are your favorite Turkey headcanons? Personally I love to think that Sadik writes poetry in his spare time, and is very, very good at it.

As someone who ships Turkfra because of how fascinating the history between France and the Ottoman Empire is (Franco-Ottoman alliance) I like to think that they would both really bond over each other’s rich poetry culture. Not to mention their rich cuisines. Maybe they cook together in the evenings, or take turns cooking and surprising each other with elaborate dinners.

Youre so right

aph turkey hcs

- physically he's around 180cm, perhaps he had visible muscles during the ottoman empire period but he's mellowed out now and let a little softness take over his form. He put on a little bit of weight bc he's a sweet tooth but it fluctuates from time to time.

- definitely keeps cat treats in his pocket for the stray cats of istanbul!! and when he fishes he leaves a portion for the cats to eat!

- while he is a cat person and owns cats(one of them is named tombili 🥺), he also owns a few dogs too! he probably gets along with germany on that part(maybe korea? though korea owns the cute fluffy tiny dogs that feel the need to eat your face off when it makes eye contact with you).

- is a man of the kitchen. aside from cooking the most banger meals, he dabbles in tweaking recipes or creating new ones altogether! ive seen enough turkish dessert accounts on instagram to know he'd make a bomber cake with coconut shavings, or a pretty good custard.

- the coconut shavings are important btw they're like on every single homemade turkish chocolate cake for some reason??(source: baby tokki grew up with a lot of turkish family friends)

- sorry i have to do this but...he has mediocre drip 🥲 sometimes he dresses like your average old man or middle aged dad and then sometimes it's so obvious that he's trying to dress like the youngsters.. he def has his knockoff Adidas tracksuits and they always come in clutch

- he's not an old man however. he was born as one of the many tribes running around in the seljuk era before he eventually became the ottoman empire. physically...around his mid 20s to early 30s?

- and cuz he has turkish dad vibes...he regularly watches soccer games. like he lays down on the couch elbow propped up eating pistachios as he watches soccer in a Galatasaray shirt(actually turkish fans of hetalia pls tell me who hed be a fan of bc I don't regularly watch turkish soccer)

- regularly plays volleyball!

- life of the party at weddings tbh, especially those rural ones

- very hospitable! he'll arrange a table full of treats and black tea for you and won't take no for an answer as he brags about how hospitable he is.

- when you're at his house DO NOT EVER suggest getting takeout. he will stare at you with a >:0 face

- WILL spill the tea over tea. man's got enough connections to tell you abt who's cheating on who etc. while he has his whole spread of treats and black tea out he'll keep you up on everything. when he goes "Ok so basically" that's when you brace yourself because OH BOY is someone in a secret relationship with someone else and that person you'd always assumed was super shy actually sprinkled salt on their ex's backyard

- the ac in his istanbul apartment keeps breaking(good luck with that man 😔)

- that's why in the summer he spends a big chunk of his paycheck on icecream. bro makes sure to always have icecream stocked on him at all times(just like me fr !!). he'd even eat it in the winter he loves it that much.

- also at the same time he drinks hot tea in the 40-50 degree summer as well, another win for the turkuzbek fans !

- big into architecture, and back in the day it was custom to write a poem to commemorate a new building. he definitely wrote a few but spent forever thinking about how to write it and pissed a lot of people off because they were waiting for the poem lol

- i actually really like fraturk's dynamic! because theyve got a lot of history together, it would be terrible to ignore. i think they have definitely gotten together during the Franco-Ottoman alliance lol.

- one time the french wanted to flex on austria × spain by going "oh yeah??? well we got turkey!!" and commissioned a huge super ornate crown to gift to suleiman the great. see the funny part about this is um. the turks didn't wear crowns. so suleiman never wore it lol

turkey, holding the crown: uhmmmm... wall decoration I guess?? this is awkward

- the name "turquoise" comes from the French "turkish" to describe the gem. i guess that's a fraturk win??? since we all associate that color with turkey now

- they'd probably try to one up each other with the dinners they cook! (can france handle lahmacun??? tune in later today at 11pm to find out !!)

- coffee guy x tea guy with the whole parisian coffee culture and turkish tea culture thing. (except I mean. turkish coffee also exists so)

- I wanna think france tries to help turkey with his drip situation but. turkey always got that inner middle aged dad in him it's not going anywhere

- bulgaria likes going to turkeys place cuz the stuff there is dirt cheap ~~~~!!! rip the lira you would have loved economic stability

- speaking of bulgaria, bulgaria greece and turkey argue a lot over who invented yogurt. turkey thinks he's got a stake in it because of the etymology of yogurt(yoğurtmak), but like the bacteria to make yogurt is called lactobacillius bulgaricus, but everyone thinks of greek yogurt...yeah you can see why they're all arguing

- speaking of arguing he's ratioed saudi a couple times on twitter lol

- he also posts those ironic turk/turan copy pastas as well

- egypt kinda doesn't like him. during the ottoman empire turkey launched egypt to suppress arab revolts like a pokemon.

*putting down fingers* "the greeks don't like us, egypt doesn't like us, saudi definitely doesn't like us....bulgaria likes us cuz we're a cheap travel destination for them..." - my turkish business teacher in highschool, 2023

- gets along well with korea(uhoh BIAS incoming !!!) due to their history beginning from the korean war. the turkish brigade was the only military unit that built a school for korean orphans. there's a story of a soldier taking care of a korean orphan, but he wasn't able to adopt her. they were separated for years after that until one day they reunited. they'd also suffered the third most losses in the war. that's why we call turkey our "older brother country."

- there's even a turkish culture center in seoul(which baby tokki went to a lot lol). recently turkish kaymak has been trending since one of the top korean celebrity chefs paik joongwon visited turkey a while back to try food. people have been traveling to turkey to go to the exact stores and try those foods as well. there's a lot of kebab shops in korea! the turkish presence in korea was the starting point to accommodate muslims in korea as well.

- all of this to say korea and turkey have a mutual admiration and korea definitely calls turkey oppa or hyung. korea also tries to get him to change his drip but NOTHJNG CAN DEFEAT THE STEADFAST TURKISH MIDDLE AGED MAN RAAAH 🇹🇷🇹🇷🇹🇷

- I've said it before I'll say it again: turkey cannot hold a normal conversation with mongolia because he'll always go "OH MY FELLOW NOMAD STEPPE ALTAIC BROTHER HOW ARE YOU DOING!!!" what???

- same with the central asians tbh given their nomadic history as well. he was the first nation to recognize all of their indepences fom russia. he gets along with turkmenistan a lot because they're the closest languages to each other(both in oghuz family) and a lot of turkmens go to turkey to study at their universities! the governments quite stagnant with their policies however, so turkey's having a hard time convincing her to join the turkic council as a full time member. they give me a gojo and megumi vibe for some reason lol

- kazakhstan 🤝 turkey: both having the asian/european identity crisis

- in terms of first meetings, the kazakh khanate and ottoman empire first established diplomatic relations in 1713, and along with uzbekistan, tried to seek turkey's help in the face of an expanding russian empire.

- nowadays, turkey and kazakhstan are the ones to both try to stir up that regional/turkic unity among the central asians. they've gained some small wins along the way lol. in fact, turkey, kazakhstan, and kyrgyzstan were the founding members of the turkic council! kazakhstan admires all that turkey's doing for them but sometimes thinks he's too cocky. actually all the central asians think he's cocky to certain extents lol

- bro gets along a little better with hungary now and that could be because of the whole "huns=turkic?" debate resurfacing in hungary which is why they somehow landed a spot in the turkic council as well???

uzb kaz kyrg turk azer @ hungary: white woman jumpscare,

- he and hungary regularly bother prussia whenever they're in germany lol

- scraps w the netherlands bc tulips come from him!!! not from Licorice Man!!!!!

- fluctuating relationship with iran over the years

- was a fanboy of iran during the seljuk empire until she joined the khwarazmian empire(uzb's mom lol) and then he hated her

- also close with: azerbaijan(who may or may not be his number one fanboy), japan

Here's everything I could squeeze out of my brain lol hope you like it!!

a good chunk of these hcs are by @peonycats and @hetalia-fannn btw!! sorry for not initially crediting u guys i forgot 😭

[lokisis]

I have made soup (magic potion) to feel better myself, so now I pass the recipe unto thee:

Ingredients

6 cups vegetable stock (or chicken stock) (broth works just as well)

1 cup uncooked wild rice

8 ounces baby bella mushrooms, sliced

4 cloves garlic, minced

2 medium carrots, diced

2 ribs celery, diced

1 large (about 1 pound) sweet potato, peeled and diced

1 small white onion, peeled and diced

1 bay leaf

11/2 tablespoon old bay seasoning

1(14-ounce) can unsweetened coconut milk (or see cream sauce option below*)

2 large handfuls of kale, roughly chopped with thick stems removed

fine sea salt and freshly-cracked black pepper

Stovetop Method:

1: Heat (an extra) 1 tablespoon butter or olive oil in a large stockpot over medium-high heat. Add onion and sauté for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until soft and translucent. Stir in the garlic and cook for an additional 1-2 minutes, stirring occasionally, until fragrant.

2: Add in the vegetable stock, wild rice, mushrooms, carrots, celery, sweet potato, bay leaf (I personally use TWO leaf of bay) and Old Bay seasoning. Stir to combine.

3: Continue cooking until the soup reaches a simmer. Then reduce heat to medium-low, cover and simmer for 30 to 40 minutes until the rice is tender, stirring occasionally.

4: Add the coconut milk and kale to the soup, and stir gently until combined.

— Taste and season with salt and pepper (plus any extra Old Bay seasoning, if you would like) as needed. (Keep that mf Old Bay on standby you will need extra!!)

I add a whole hand shredded rotisserie chicken to the soup before I add in the coconut milk and kale

If you use olive oil, veggie stock and no chicken then its a vegan meal!

5: Serve warm and enjoy! Goes great with a warm baguette!

Get better soon, my liege

Damn. How can you afford this

Half joking. Thank you for the recipe. I'll see what I can do with our... limited supply lol

I feel so bad for constantly complaining.. it's what I do to soothe myself. But I appreciate everyone being so kind to me anyway. Imagine a blob fish out of water holding tissues and an ipad

[fungus-no69]

Tf ideas idk

Raccoon

Get points by rummaging around in bins, eating and stealing at night and climbing things

Gives a tail, ears, optional eye markings and (if body hair is enabled), puffy fluff on arms and legs

Lets you hiss, spit and scratch in combat

Annoy your neighbour and be a menace!! Throw trash everywhere, yowl, wash your food, throw more trash!

This tf is just shenanigans in general ngl

Would include lines about how the pc smells like wet dog or that their eyebags are... er.......... very big today.................

Gives you a dance bonus because raccoons use their tails to balance better

I have no clue how much this tf would do but its funny to me

Siren

Get points by staying underwater after you can’t breathe, grabbing shit from the smuggler’s cave and swimming in the deep sea

You get gills, slitted eyes, webbed hands and fins

Allows you to sing, similar to the harpy in some way but yours is more luring people in than communication ig?

Speaking of which you can lure people into the sea! You can (extended beep stock sound effect) them or rob them your choice

Maxes out your swimming stat for as long as you have the tf and also lets you breathe underwater for an unlimited amount of time

Freak out Mason by staying underwater for too long!

Also freak out Robin if you have a pond by laying face down!

Adds a lot of allure bc. Siren yk…

Are you a good or bad omen? Who knows!

You can get to the island after being there once via. swimming. However travelling will take upwards of 3 days depending on the amount of encounters you can get out of

Your skin is weirdly slimy ngl and extremely hot weather (>40 celcius) can dry you out causing + Stress for every continuous hour in the sun

Sirens are cool, i know theyre birds n shit as well but i personally prefer the fish version because i like fish more

Selkie

You can give your pelt to your/one of your love interests!

Another tf with the ability to max swimming but no permanent breathing this time

Be warmer than normal!!! Blubber!!! Cold water reduces stress

More allure because in their human form, selkies are always referred to as being attractive

You can detect movements in the water, this means you can avoid encounters (may initiate a skullduggery check if you're already noticed)

Naps and sleep are more effective, doubled in cold conditions

Constant clothing (your fur), never be naked again! (unless you want to be)

More bite power

Interactions/encounters where unnamed npcs will attempt to take your fur, causes a struggle encounter where you can defeat the npc or, if overwhelmed by pain, another npc will save you

You get flippers, markings along arms and back (not visible), black eyes and (optional) whiskers

i really like seals

[magicshopaholic]

New Year’s Eve Eve

Summary: BTS celebrates Taehyung's birthday in Seoul.

Pairing: OT7 x OC (different OCs)

Genre: Humour, fluff, angst, chaos

Word count: 12.8 K

Rating: 18+

Warnings: language, alcohol, making out, allusions to sex and other R-rated things, insinuations of harassment, public intoxication

A/N: I... cannot believe we're finally here. 40+ fics later, we're finally at the first OTx fic which is exactly how I imagined this universe at the very beginning. A lot of context has been set so far and now the series properly begins as one giant story with interweaving plots.

It feels like a huge, huge milestone, so to all the readers who've stuck around and read/liked/reblogged/commented/asked: this one's for you.

Tagging: @bbl32 @quarter-life-crisis2 @dreaming-with-happiness @faearchives @margopinkerton @purpleseoul7 @confessionsofamarshlily @jiminjhang @xjoonchildx @tarahardcore @infinitehobi @handfullofcandids @whoisbts @kflixnet (drop a message if you want to be added)

Listen to: "home" by bts

main masterlist

A quick recap of where everyone is at the beginning of this fic (under the cut for spoilers):

Namjoon and Kaya are in a fully committed relationship, happy and in love

Seokjin and Nari are in a limbo of sorts, both of them getting closer to different co-workers

Yoongi and Miso work together begrudgingly

Hoseok is trying to come to terms with the fact that Chaeyoung is no longer twelve years old

Sooah comes to the realisation that her past with Jimin may be affecting her present with Alex, and she prepares to make a tough decision

Taehyung and Dilara, after a tough year of pain and heartbreak, are finally back together

Jungkook is just Jungkook

---

Seokjin shoves his phone determinedly into his pocket and rings the doorbell. Tonight is not about him, or her. It’s about a differently uncomfortable situation altogether, one he’s had to learn to live with over the course of his career.

“Hyung!”

Seokjin almost doesn’t hear Taehyung’s yell over the R&B track playing inside the penthouse. It’s filled with people - Taehyung’s friends, all of them, Seokjin is sure - drinking and dancing, making it just the kind of party that makes Seokjin extremely conscious of his hands.

“Heyyy,” he replies, trying to mimic Taehyung’s tone of excitement. “How’s - how’s it going? Oh, happy birthday,” he adds, stepping forward and hugging him.

Taehyung slaps his shoulder and beams. “Drinks are over there,” he informs him, gesturing to a fully stocked bar at the far end of the living room. “Food is in the kitchen - try the fish, it’s spectacular. Oh, and your best friend Donghyuk is over there -” He breaks off, snickering when Seokjin makes a face. “And, uh - what’s left? Right - the vibe,” he adds with a flourish, “is everywhere.”

“There’s no easy way to ask this,” says Seokjin, “but are you high?”

Taehyung laughs a little too much at something Seokjin hadn’t even fully intended as a joke. “Just on life, hyung,” he says wisely, patting his shoulder and raising a glass of whiskey at him.

Before Seokjin can respond to this, another figure appears from behind Taehyung with a faint scent of roses. “Hey, Seokjin!” Dilara greets him with a one-armed hug, the other hand balancing a glass of red wine. 

“Life, huh?” Seokjin mutters to Taehyung, before switching to English. “Hey, Dilara, good to see you. Having fun?”

“It’s a lot of people,” is all she says, shrugging easily as Taehyung pulls her to him by the waist, seemingly out of habit. “You should get a drink, too. Oh, and try the -”

“Fish, I’ve heard. Where’s, uh -” He scans the room as they walk in and sees Namjoon and Kaya by the window with Yoongi, Hoseok with a couple of producers from Big Hit. Jimin isn’t visible but Seokjin hears a shout of laughter from somewhere in the party that can only belong to him. 

“- Jungkook?”

“Oh -” Dilara frowns and looks around, as though expecting Jungkook to appear from behind a curtain. The silver hoops in her ears glint in the dim light. “He got here about an hour ago. Should be around here somewhere.”

Seokjin nods mutely, mildly disappointed that the one person he could rely on to give him company at a party can’t be located.

Well, one of two people. But she won’t arrive till much later, if she makes it at all. The possibility makes his palms slightly sweaty.

“Namjoon hyung is here, though,” says Taehyung, pointing at the leader who catches Seokjin’s eye and waves. Kaya stands next to him, only her side profile visible, nodding at something Yoongi is saying. “Also, Yuna - you like Yuna, you met her at Inkigayo this year,” he reminds him. “She’s here, too. And, Lara, you need to meet Seojoon hyung and the rest of them.”

“I think I should go find Jungkook, actually,” she replies, stepping back apologetically. “Just in case something is wrong. Have fun with your friends, though,” she adds quickly, reaching up and kissing his cheek. “I’ll see you in a bit.”

Seokjin watches as Taehyung stares after her, following her through the crowd of people. “How do you even know this many people?” he asks, mostly to snap him out of his silence.

“Here and there,” he answers vaguely. “Anyway, let’s get you a drink? Oh, is Nari coming, by the way?”

Seokjin makes a non-committal noise as he follows Taehyung, hoping that will suffice. Fortunately, Taehyung changes the subject.

Dilara, true to her word but less so towards her motivations, heads down the hallway of Taehyung’s penthouse in search of the missing BTS member. Her heels click on the marble floor as she reaches the den, making an educated guess about Jungkook’s whereabouts. She pauses at the door, hearing a faint sound, and opens it without warning.

“There you are!”

Jungkook jumps and swears in Korean. “Fuck - you scared the shit out of me,” he gasps, clutching his chest.

Dilara steps inside the dark room and frowns, surveying his lone figure on the sofa and the video console in his hand. “We’re at a party and you’re playing -” She takes another few steps and peers at the screen “- Mario Kart? By yourself?”

His eyes dart from her to the screen and back to her “You can join me if you want.”

“I -” She pauses as she considers this for a fraction of a second. “No! There’s a party going on outside - why are you in here like some depressed loner playing video games by yourself in the dark?”

Jungkook stares at her. “Because there’s a party going on outside. There’s too many people,” he adds uncomfortably when she gives him a look.

“Aren’t they your friends?”

“Kind of, not really. Why aren’t you out there?” He questions, sounding a bit defensive. “It’s your boyfriend’s birthday.”

“I know it’s my boyfriend’s birthday,” she admits, “but my boyfriend is also a very popular person and he’s got, like, nine million friends.”

When she doesn’t continue, Jungkook raises his eyebrows. “So? Shouldn’t his friends become your friends?”

“In theory, yes. But they don’t know me.”

“Then go and intro - intro -”

“I did go and introduce myself,” she interrupts. “I said annyeonghaseyo to everyone. Hey - don’t laugh,” she chides him as he snickers, but fails to keep a smile off her own face. “Come on, I’ve said hi to everyone, I’ve met them… I just felt bad for Tae, okay? I’ve been monopolising him ever since I got here and now he’s having to stand around and translate everything for me -” She sighs, feeling her shoulders fall slightly. “He wasn’t having fun, so I thought I’d let him have some time with his friends and I could have some time with mine.”

Jungkook blinks. “Who, me?”

“Yeah, sure. Come on, let’s go have a drink or something,” she urges him, going over to grab his arm.

He struggles in response. “No.”

“Why?”

“Because it’s a party,” she says for what feels like the tenth time. “We’re supposed to have fun, it’s almost a new year. So many reasons.”

“I liked you better when you were depressed,” he mutters.

“Yeah, I’ve heard that before. Come on, please,” she whines, pulling at his hand again. “You don’t have to socialise. We’ll just go out there, have a few drinks, dance a bit. Please, I don’t have anyone else to talk to,” she adds in a small voice.

“What are you talking about? What about Kaya? I saw you two talking when I came.”

“Yeah, I was and she’s sensational,” admits Dilara. “I think I’m a little in love with her, actually - but then Namjoon stole her away. They’re dancing as we speak, all… slow and close and intimate,” she explains vaguely, recalling how they had sauntered over to the dance floor, Namjoon holding her hand and turning her around so her back was to his chest, incongruous yet perfectly in sync to the hip hop beat thumping outside.

“They’re slow dancing? To -“ Jungkook squints and listens. “Is this ASAP Rocky? They’re slow dancing to ASAP Rocky?”

Dilara nods solemnly. “It is. They are.”

“Seriously?”

“Yes. They’re being all tall and sexy and they shouldn’t be interrupted. Ever. For the rest of their lives.” She tilts her head pleadingly again. “So? Please? Don’t leave me alone out there.”

“I’m not. We can be together in here,” he points out. 

“No, we can’t. That would look really bad. And I didn’t put on make-up and style my hair so I could be hidden inside a room like this.”

He briefly checks out her LBD and high heels. “It’s annoying,” he complains, flopping back on the sofa. “Everybody’s a couple and I’m like this… loser kid that everybody’s dragging along with them.”

“That’s not true,” she says immediately. “Everybody’s not a couple. Jimin’s out there, single as ever.”

Jungkook raises his eyebrows. “Is Sooah there?”

Dilara wracks her brain for all the people she was introduced to tonight. “Uh… Sooah. Yes, I think. With the… the red lipstick and the sexy jeans. But she and Jimin aren’t a couple. I don’t think I’ve seen them say a single word to each other yet.”

Jungkook scoffs, going back to his game. “Jimin and Sooah are always a couple. Even when they’re not a couple, they’re a couple.”

Dilara stares. “Okay, that’s it. Come on, JK,” she mutters, tugging him by the arm hard enough that he’s forced to resist until she lets him go with a jerk. “You know what? Fine. I can’t force you,” she sighs, defeated. “Have fun thinking about what Tae and I did on that sofa,” she says nonchalantly before leaving, ignoring his loud groan from behind her.

The first person she spots when she re-enters the living room is Sooah, the girl Jungkook mentioned. Curious, she goes over to Jimin who’s fiddling with the Bluetooth speaker, alone for the first time all night.

“Hey, Jimin.” She stops and leans backwards against the table as he nods in acknowledgement. “Who is that? Is that Sooah?”

Jimin’s head whips around and he immediately winces, rubbing his neck. “Where? Where did you see -” His eyes focus where Dilara points to another group of people and he swallows. “Taehyung,” he growls in a low voice, slamming his glass on the table before darting off into the crowd.

Dilara stares as he disappears. “Perfect,” she mutters, finishing his drink in one swig.

Jimin snakes through the guests, taking care to ensure Sooah doesn’t spot him. He finally sees Taehyung with a couple of his older friends, taking a selfie. 

“Hyung, do you mind if I borrow him?” Jimin interrupts, smiling tightly at them. “It’s important.” Seojoon nods, looking amused, and Jimin takes it as permission to drag Taehyung away.

“What is it?” Taehyung asks, moving his open collar a bit and fanning himself. “Is it Dilara?”

“No, it’s not Dilara,” he hisses. “What is Sooah doing here?”

Taehyung frowns. “What do you mean? It’s a party. It is quite literally the most predictable place for her to be.”

“But -” Jimin doesn’t understand why his heart is hammering, for Taehyung is right. No party is a party without Kim Sooah. “Why didn’t you - why didn’t you tell me? I would tell you if I invited Dilara somewhere.” When he spots Taehyung’s mildly confused expression, he rolls his eyes. “Fine, not the right comparison. Just… I didn’t know you two were, you know… close.”

“Really?” Taehyung asks incredulously. “We all went to high school together. She and I have been friends for as long as you and her have been… well, not friends, obviously.” He snickers before looking down at Jimin’s hands. “Why don’t you have a drink?”

“Are you even listening to me?”

“You need to be drunker than this,” states Taehyung.

Jimin stares. “How could you,” he whispers, shaking his head. “My best friend. No warning.” He clicks his tongue in disappointment.

“Listen, I have to go make sure there’s more vodka and maybe see if Dilara is okay. Have a good time,” he says quickly, patting Jimin’s shoulder.

“I hate you!” Jimin exclaims as Taehyung walks away. He glares at him until he finds Dilara near the kitchen, both their faces lighting up at the sight of each other, and turns away in annoyance. Sooah is here - here - and Taehyung didn’t think to warn him.

Jimin looks around, waiting for his mood  to sour and trying to ignore how, despite this news, his stomach is already fluttering in anticipation. He spots Seokjin in the corner with a beer, looking pensively into his phone, while Yoongi next to him observes the party blankly with a whiskey in his hand. Jimin makes a beeline for them.

“You won’t believe what Taehyung did,” he complains, leaning against the wall next to them just as the song changes to a popular English track. There’s a low cheer as everyone prepares to do the viral steps to the chorus. But Jimin has never felt less like dancing; he tugs Seokjin’s bottle of his hand, who lets it go without a fuss, and takes a giant swig.

“It’s almost ten,” mutters Seokjin, seemingly to himself. He looks up and does a double take, as though just noticing Jimin. “How’s it going?”

“Taehyung’s an arse,” he says, waiting for one of them to ask why. When all Yoongi does is nod absently, Jimin exhales hard through his nose. “He invited Sooah. And he didn’t even tell me.”

“Aren’t they friends?” Yoongi asks apathetically.

“Not the point,” he says tightly. “She and I have history. He should’ve told me. I could’ve prepared for -” Here he breaks off, for it’s just occurred to him that he’s not completely sure why he’s so bothered by her presence here. 

“The real question isn’t why Taehyung didn’t tell you she was coming,” says Yoongi after a moment. “It’s why she’s been here for twenty minutes and still hasn’t come to talk to you.”

Jimin stares at Yoongi, who smirks slightly and goes back to people-watching. “That’s… no, she probably just doesn’t know I’m here. Or - or she’s waiting for me to say something. We haven’t been in the best place since -” He breaks off when something occurs to him. 

But at that very moment, Seokjin makes an unintelligible exclamation and darts forward.

“What the hell was that?” Jimin asks, a bit peeved at being ignored.

“His lady friend is here, I think,” says Yoongi, peering in the direction the older member disappeared.

“Oh. I didn’t know Nari was coming.”

“She isn’t.” Yoongi points with his glass. “That’s not Nari.”

Seokjin makes his way through the guests and sees Seulgi enter the open door, wincing in surprise at the loud music. She spots him just as he waves and she smiles - and Seokjin feels his stomach float. He can’t help it - it just does.

“Sorry I’m late,” she says, reaching up to hug him as he kisses her cheek. “That dinner went on forever and one of the idols got drunk and I had to call a company cab to take him home -” She sighs and steps back. “It was a mess.”

The familiar scent of her conditioner lingers and Seokjin can’t help but notice how put together she still looks, not a hair out of place. “You don’t look exhausted,” he replies. “Can I get you a drink?”

“Please.” Seulgi nods and lets him take her hand as they weave through the crowd and to the bar. They meet Taehyung on the way, who seems to recognise Seulgi immediately, giving her a bow and a hug in succession before drifting off in a haze of alcohol-induced delight.

“He seems happy,” she comments, reaching for a bottle of red wine. “The consummate birthday boy, I guess.”

“No, it’s not that. He and his girlfriend recently got back together,” explains Seokjin, taking the bottle from her and pouring out two glasses. “She’s here somewhere, too,” he adds, realising he hasn’t seen Dilara since he arrived. 

“Cheers.” Their glasses clink and she sighs after taking a sip. “Speaking of which,” she says after a moment, tucking a lock of shiny hair behind her ear, “I feel like I need to apologise for the other night.”

Seokjin’s heart skips a beat. “You don’t -”

“I feel like I ambushed you a little bit,” she clarifies, sounding nervous. “That wasn’t my intention at all and… it definitely wasn’t my intention to pressure you. At all.”

He nods, believing her. But it doesn’t make her question any less pertinent. Seokjin had known this would come up; they’d gone on their first impromptu date almost two months ago and had continued to see a surprising amount of each other since then. 

He’d hoped that neither would have to bring it up at all and that it would organically become what it needed to be, but the moment she asked the age-old question of what are we doing exactly, he knew it wasn’t going to be that simple.

“I don’t feel pressured,” he says honestly. He steps closer to her so their shoulders brush and feels her relax slightly.

Seulgi bites her lip and nods slowly. “I just don’t do well with ambiguity. You know, we’re both adults and… I don’t want to play the guessing game. But maybe it’s too soon,” she tacks on after a moment, shaking her head and looking away from him, taking another sip.

She doesn’t like ambiguity - that much he’s figured out in the time he’s known her. Whether it’s been picking out a restaurant, ordering food, having her career charted out, getting intimate at the right pace, knowing what she wants out of a relationship… Seokjin’s eyes roam over her clean pink blazer, the same one she’d worn when they’d first met, neatly folded at the forearms, and feels a small smile tug at the corner of his mouth.

He looks up to see Dilara appear through the crowd and waves her over. Her eyes search for the voice calling her name before she spots Seokjin and smiles, walking over.

“Dilara, have you met my girlfriend?” he asks, putting his arm around Seulgi’s shoulders.

“Oh!” Dilara raises her eyebrows, looking mildly confused. “Of course! Um, N-”

“Seulgi,” she introduces herself, offering her hand. “It’s nice to meet you,” she adds, speaking English for the first time since Seokjin has known her.

Seokjin sees a brief flash of confusion on Dilara’s face before it disappears. “You, too! I’m Dilara, Taehyung’s -” She breaks off when she sees something else across the room. “I’m sorry, I need to go… your most annoying band member is calling me,” she says to Seokjin before turning back to Seulgi. “But it was really nice to meet you. Have fun at the party!”

Seokjin feels his heart slow down slightly as Dilara leaves, long hair flowing down her back. It seemed an honest mistake on her part, but he’s just glad any awkwardness was avoided.

“So I really didn’t pressure you, huh?” Seulgi asks, breaking him out of his silence. She’s trying to suppress a smile, and he’s suddenly endeared.

“You didn’t. Just felt like the right time.”

“Introducing me to Taehyung’s girlfriend felt like the right time.”

“Naturally.”

She nods and bites her lip, and Seokjin tilts his head slightly to kiss her. It’s short and sweet, given they’re in public but it speaks volumes. There’s something cathartic about having made a decision that makes his stomach feel lighter… except for the one loose end nagging at the corner of his heart.

“Oh, is that Hyunjin?” Seulgi points to a short-haired girl who waves back in surprise. “I should go say hi. She’s sort of a client of a client…”

“Yeah, of course. I, uh… I actually need to make a phone call as well,” he replies, trying not to let the anxiety show in his voice.

“Okay. I’ll see you in a bit.” She squeezes his hand and departs, leaving Seokjin to watch her leave until she meets her friend and they start chatting, and he has no more ways of avoiding this conversation.

He goes over to the balcony despite the freezing air, the only place in the living room area that isn’t crowded. Taehyung had informed him earlier tonight that Nari would not be coming. His expression had betrayed nothing, but the fact that he’d thought to tell Seokjin in private amidst his happy buzz only told him that his situation with Nari wasn’t precarious only to him. Coupled with Dilara’s near-accidental slip of the tongue, Seokjin was sure that some speculation at least was occurring behind closed doors.

He should’ve had this conversation with Nari weeks ago. He knows it, just like he knew he shouldn’t wait for her to reach out first, just like he knew she wouldn’t show up tonight because she always worked night shifts on Thursdays. But there’s nothing to wait for anymore, not now that things are official. He owes her this much.

Just then, his phone buzzes and he almost falls when he sees a message from Nari. 

Can we talk?

Seokjin stares at the screen, wondering if she’s somehow read his mind, if someone told her about Seulgi before he had a chance to. Hand over his mouth, he shakes his head to himself, knowing this is the universe’s way of kicking them into a room together and locking the door until they speak to each other.

Before he can change his mind, he presses the call button and waits for her to answer.

Nari answers on the third ring. “Hey,” she says, and her tone makes it clear she knows exactly who it is. “Give me a second, I’ll just find a quiet place.” There’s a vague shuffling sound in the background before it goes quiet and she speaks again. “Thanks for calling.”

“Of course.” Seokjin pauses, wishing they were speaking again under better circumstances. He hears a sound in the background, like the crunch of a packet. She’s eating chips for dinner; he resists the urge to tell her to grow up and tries to stay on topic. “How have you been?”

“Not bad. Working a lot.”

“Same here.”

“Are you ready for the tour?”

“We never are.” It’s the truth. “It’s hard to be away from… everything.”

“I can imagine.” He imagines her nodding. “Sorry I couldn’t make it to the party. Is Taehyung having fun?”

“Looks like it. But you escaped a pretty crowded party,” he tells her, thinking that if things were different, they’d be huddled in a corner somewhere, probably with Jungkook tagging along. “I’d count myself lucky.”

She laughs lightly. “Good to know.” Nari pauses. “Seokjin… I know we haven’t talked in a while and it’s been…”

“Weird, yeah.”

“Yeah.” She pauses again. He hasn’t heard her sound this nervous in a while. He wonders momentarily if it’s another pregnancy scare before remembering how silly that sounds.

“You said you wanted to talk?”

“Yeah. I - I know we’re not… I mean, this may not mean anything but it felt weird not telling you but it’s also kind of weird to tell you…” She sighs. “Okay, I’m just going to say it. I - I slept with Jason.”

There’s a gale of laughter from inside the living room. Seokjin frowns, knowing he hasn’t heard her wrong but feeling the need to double check all the same.

“You…”

“Yeah.”

“Like, doctor… Jason?”

“Well… yeah, I guess.”

“Oh.” Seokjin isn’t sure what to say. He knows why she’s telling him; he isn’t obtuse. He isn’t sure what he’s supposed to feel, though. “Are you -“

“It was just one time,” she interrupts quickly. “We didn’t plan it, at all. It was really late and I’d just gotten screwed in the OR during surgery and he was having a bad day, too…” She sighs tiredly. “it just happened. It didn’t mean anything. Purely… recreational.”

Seokjin bites his lip, his knuckles looking white on the railing in the cold. He knows she added the last detail as a reassurance, but for some reason it just sounds off-putting.

“Okay. Sorry, I don’t really know what to say,” he mutters, hearing himself laugh awkwardly. He clears his throat. “I’m dating Seulgi.”

There’s silence on the other end. Seokjin squeezes his eyes shut, for he hadn’t meant for it to come out like that at all. 

“You’re… who?”

“Seulgi.” Out of instinct, he turns to face the party, spotting her pink blazer in the dim lighting. His girlfriend. “We met at your friend’s house. Remember? Turns out she works at Big Hit.”

"Seulgi. She - she works here at Big Hit. We met at your friend's party. Remember?"

"Oh. Right. Um... when? I mean... since when?"

"Uh, I guess our first date was technically... after that press conference last month. She hadn't eaten and I suggested -" He clears his throat. "Anyway. That night."

Nari is quiet for a minute. He can practically hear her mind working, and he frowns.

"Nari? Did you hear me?"

"The night of the press conference... as in, the night of my fundraiser?"

Seokjin's heart stops for a moment. "I - no. No, that wasn't the same night."

"Yes, it was. That's why you said you would be late."

The silence that follows is painfully sharp.

"Nari -"

"You know, I want to say I'm happy for you," she interrupts, her voice shaking just slightly, "but I'm afraid it'll sound sarcastic."

"I'm sorry." There's nothing else to say.

"I'm happy for you."

"It wasn't something I did on purpose, Nari. It's just something that... happened. Like - like you and Jason."

"Yeah. That sounds like the exact same thing."

"That’s not -"

"You know, I have to go.” He can hear the packet crackle again. “I have a long night ahead of me. Have fun at your party.”

Seokjin closes his eyes as she hangs up, slowly lowering his hand to his side and trying to remember the last conversation he’d had with Nari that ended on a good note. He’s at a loss; they seem so far gone down this road of… he’s not even sure what it is. It’s ambiguous, and Seokjin doesn’t think he has the energy to dissect their relationship anymore.

“Oi, hyung.”

He looks up to see Hoseok, dressed in baggy jeans and a Louis Vuitton jacket. “Hey. I’ll be right in.”

“Okay, cool.” He shivers. “Why are you out here by yourself? It’s freezing. Anyway,” he continues, not waiting for Seokjin to respond, “we’re setting up for karaoke to start at midnight. You’ll be there, right?”

Seokjin cracks a smile. “You’re going to have to get me more drunk for that.”

“Not a problem.” Hoseok claps his hands. “Have you seen Namjoon?” When Seokjin shakes his head, he frowns. “Strange. I haven’t seen him for a while. Thought I’d ask Kaya but I can’t find her either. I’ll keep looking.” With that, he disappears back inside.

Meanwhile, Dilara walks up to Jungkook near the bar, who seems to have finally emerged from his cave. “You are an idiot,” she says by way of greeting, slapping his shoulder. “You told me Seokjin’s girlfriend was called Nari.”

Jungkook frowns incredulously “No, I didn’t. I specifically said she wasn’t his girlfriend.”

She rolls her eyes. “Fine, you told me his not-girlfriend was named Nari and apparently it’s Seulgi. Almost made a huge faux pas out there,” she informs him, giving him a glare. “You aren’t drinking?” she asks after a moment, noticing his hunched figure, hands inside the pockets of his baggy jeans.

“Uh, sure.” He watches as she assembles two rum and coke mixes and hands him one. “Thanks.” He takes a sip and gags. “Wow, that’s strong. But I don’t hate it. And, hey, about before -” He winces apologetically. “Sorry. I was giving you a hard time.”

“No, no, it’s okay,” she says immediately. “I totally understand. Being the only single person in a paddock full of drivers parading around their gorgeous girlfriends made me pretty sick, too, so I get it. Which is why I’ve decided to solve that problem for you,” she adds brightly. “I’m going to make you happy as well.”

Jungkook wrinkles his nose. “Gross.”

Dilara gives him a blank look. “Right. Okay. I’m going to set you up.”

“No.”

“So what we’re going to do is - well, you’re going to tell me your type and I’m going to find it.”

“I don’t have a type.”

“Everybody has a type,” she says calmly, taking a satisfying sip of her drink. “Even tall can be a type. Seriously, Jungkook.” She pats his shoulder. “Think.”

“Dilara, I don’t want you to set me up.”

“But I’m really good at it!” she insists.

“Really?”

“Yeah. Pierre Gasly and his current girlfriend?” She gives him a knowing look. “I’m the one who set them up together. Well, I saw her at a party and pointed her out to him, but that’s pretty much the same thing,” she amends, shrugging. “Oh, also: Lexie and Chris.”

“Lexie and Chris?” Jungkook scoffs. “How’s that going?”

“Not good,” she admits, “but it will get better.”

“Wait, Lexie and Chris? Your friends?” he asks incredulously. “Are they even talking to each other?”

“They are, sometimes, when the situation demands it,” she snaps. “But we’re getting off track here. Look, it doesn’t have to be a relationship. Just… you know, have a good time tonight. You’re hot - you don’t even need to try very hard. Just flirt, get her a drink, dance with her.” Dilara shrugs easily before noticing the look of horror on his face. 

“I’ve performed on stage for six hours on an empty stomach and even that sounds easier than what you just said.”

“Give yourself some credit. You’re better with girls than you think.” Dilara pats his shoulder encouragingly. “Just give it a try. It’ll be fun - and then we can go on group dates!”

“Group dates,” he repeats.

“Yes. You and your girl, me and Tae, Namjoon and Kaya.” She raises her eyebrows excitedly. “Seokjin and Seulgi. Jimin and his… situation.” 

Jungkook takes a deep breath. “No offence,” he says, taking another sip of his drink, “but that sounds like the worst plan ever.”

“You’re being a real downer, you know that?”

He sighs. “Fine,” he mutters, bumping her shoulder. “Who do you want to set me up with?”

“First, your type,” states Dilara, getting right back on track. “Blond or brunette?”

“Blond.”

“Oh.” She scans the living room, peers into the kitchen and the few people exiting the washrooms and bedrooms. “Okay. That narrows it down to that one girl exactly, over there.” She points to a few people standing near a painting. “The tall one, with the boobs.”

“Sounds like my type,” mutters Jungkook, sparing her a brief glance.

“Really?”

“No,” he answers, rolling his eyes. “I told you, I don’t have a type.”

“Everybody has a type -” Dilara is interrupted when she feels a pair of arms go around her waist, the toe-curlingly familiar scent of Sauvage wafting over. “Oh, hey, babe,” she murmurs.

“Finally,” mutters Jungkook, as Taehyung kisses the side of her head.

“What are you guys talking about?” He asks as she rests comfortably against his chest. “What are we doing?”

“We are trying to set Jungkook’s single arse up with someone,” she says, dodging his finger flick to her temple. 

“Really?” Taehyung looks at the crowd in interest. “Who?”

“Well, we’re looking for his type.” Dilara points at the blonde girl again. “Apparently that’s his type.”

“Jungkook doesn’t have a type.”

“Thank you,” groans Jungkook. “That’s what I’ve been trying to tell her.”

“Everybody has a type - hey, Namjoon!” She waves him and Kaya over, both looking appropriately buzzed. As they near them, Dilara pretends not to notice the blooming hickey on his neck or the tiny rip high up on Kaya’s sheer stockings.

“Hey, guys,” she says, olive skin glowing. “Wow, I could use a drink,” she murmurs, making a beeline for the liquor.

“The rum is highly recommended,” says Dilara, moving over slightly. “Namjoon, what’s your type?”

Namjoon frowns at her, clearly lost, and glances at Taehyung and Jungkook. “Um… whiskey?” he guesses.

Dilara squints, while Taehyung snorts at the look on his face. Kaya turns around with her fresh drink and raises her eyebrows at their confusion. “Honey, I don’t think that’s what they meant,” she tells Namjoon in a low voice.

Fortunately for him, Hoseok pops his head into the group. “Everyone having a good time?” he asks cheerfully, throwing an arm around Namjoon and Jungkook each. “Karaoke at midnight, remember. Ladies, you, too. Gwaenchanayo?” Without waiting for an answer, he pats both members on the shoulder with a grin and leaves just as abruptly as he’d appeared.

Hoseok grooves to the song playing as he makes his way through the crowd. Karaoke at midnight, as far as he’s concerned, is too late. Unfortunately, the person who’s supposed to be bringing the machine is a late-show, combined with the cake-cutting and the time it will take to actually set everything up, midnight seems like a feasible deadline.

He runs a hand through his hair, stopping by Big Hit artists and colleagues wherever he sees them, reminding them about karaoke, when he spots a familiar face he hadn’t noticed until now.

“Sooah!” Hoseok jogs up to where she’s standing with a couple of people he’s never seen before that he guesses are Taehyung’s friends from high school.

Sooah waves back and excuses herself, looking blazing and beautiful in light jeans and a full-sleeved black top, choker and make-up in place. “Good to see you, oppa,” she says, reaching up to hug him and balancing a glass of what smells like straight vodka in her other hand. “Great party, huh?”

“Happy Taehyung can do things we’d never dreamed of,” he says wisely, still bopping to the beat. “You’re not dancing?”

She gives him a mock-knowing look. “Come on, you know I don’t dance,” she says, already looking self-conscious. “No need to embarrass myself in front of this many people.”

“You’re not that bad,” he says dismissively. “Even Jimin doesn’t think so - there he is!” From seemingly out of nowhere, Hoseok grabs Jimin from in between the crowd and pulls him over to join them. “Look who’s here!”

Jimin blushes, his expression staying carefully neutral. “Hi Sooah,” he says stiffly, taking a conspicuous sip of his vodka and cranberry drink. “Having fun?”

“The most,” she replies, contrastingly looking right at him. “How’ve you been?”

“Just swell.” He clears his throat, hearing how ridiculous and awkward he sounds. “You?” Then, before he can stop himself, he asks, “Alex isn’t with you?”

Sooah pauses for a fraction of a second before answering. “Not tonight, no.”

There’s a moment again when neither of them speaks, Jimin’s mind going a mile a minute at what that could possibly mean and Sooah giving him a mildly challenging look, as though daring him to ask more.

Hoseok claps his hands. “Not to change the subject or anything, but… how’s, uh, how’s Chaeyoung doing?”

She looks away from Jimin and raises her eyebrows. “Good, I think. Work’s keeping her a little busy but she’s okay.”

“Mhm, yeah. She’s, uh… she’s taking care of herself?”

“I - I guess?” Sooah frowns curiously. “She still lives with Sungmi and takes the metro to work everyday… eats lunch with her team…” She shrugs. “She’s pretty good with people.”

Hoseok wrinkles his nose. “She is?”

“Well, other people, obviously.”

“That’s good, then,” he says, nodding and looking marginally more satisfied than he was a moment ago. “I’m guessing  she has some fancy New Year’s Eve plans, too?”

“Not sure, honestly. She’s out tonight, though,” adds Sooah as an afterthought. “Even I thought the day before New Year’s Eve was kind of a weird night for a date, but she seemed excited about it so I didn’t say anything… what?” She frowns in confusion at Jimin behind Hoseok, shaking his head with his eyes wide. He stops the moment Hoseok looks at him, glancing at his drink conspicuously.

“Oh. She’s on a date?” Hoseok looks as though he’s processing this. “Uh… with who?”

“Some guy from work’s friend… or something like that.” Sooah looks from Hoseok to Jimin, piecing together what may have just happened. “Why?”

Hoseok shrugs. “Just asking. We’re sure the guy’s not dangerous or anything?” He catches sight of Jimin’s raised eyebrows and gives him a look. “I’ve known her since she was a kid; it’s not so weird to wonder if she’s out alone at night with some tool.”

“He’s probably not a tool,” says Sooah after a moment. 

Hoseok nods thoughtfully. “Okay, then. Don’t forget about karaoke. Midnight.” With that, he leaves.

Sooah raises her eyebrows. “I’ll have what he’s having,” she says dryly.

“You didn’t tell me you were coming,” says Jimin, cutting to the chase, hearing the accusation in his voice.

“Taehyung and I are friends.”

He gives her a look. “How come Alex isn’t here? Is he working?”

She shrugs. “Yeah, he is. But the reason he’s not here is because we broke up. Because of you,” she adds, smiling calmly.

Jimin scoffs incredulously. “Wow. You know, I can’t wait to hear how this is my fault.”

Sooah sighs. There’s no part of her that thought she could get away with not having this conversation tonight. There’s a big enough part of her that wants to. Chaeyoung seems to know what’s going on - even Alex, bless his heart, seemed to have a decent inkling of her reasons for breaking up with him. The only person who doesn’t seem to know it is Jimin and, until a couple of weeks ago, Sooah herself.

“Can we talk somewhere quiet?”

—

The hallway outside Taehyung’s apartment is quieter and - mercifully - centrally heated. They sit beside each other on the marble floor, backs to the wall like it hasn’t been almost a decade in the making.

“You can’t seriously be blaming me for your break-up.” Jimin begins in a low voice, sullenly staring at his pink drink. “That party was… ages ago. He seemed fine at Big Hit after that - and if you’re telling me it’s because we’re exes, then that’s just lame. I don’t know what else to tell you.”

Sooah turns to him. “Are you done?” When he doesn’t answer, his side profile looking so different from the one she remembers from their youth that she resists the urge to touch his jaw, she sighs. “He didn’t break up with me. I broke up with him.”

Jimin frowns. “Why? I thought you liked him. And he was nice… ish.”

She ignores this. “It turns out I may have been self-sabotaging my relationship unknowingly, because…” This is embarrassing. “You know what? Forget it.”

“Wait, no.” He holds her back by shoulder even though she hadn’t tried to get up. “You were sabotaging it because of me? What - what did I do?”

“You broke up with me over a text, Jimin. That’s what you did,” she blurts, shaking her head and looking away.

Jimin is quiet for a moment. “Sooah…” He sighs, and she doesn’t know if she’s imagining the note of annoyance in it. “It’s been five years, Sooah. You can’t tell me that’s why -”

“Yeah, I know it’s been five years,” she interrupts. “Five years since you went from normal guy to idol, from the guy who walked me home from school to the guy who… couldn’t even tell me he was going away on tour until he was leaving,” she mutters, feeling the old resentment flair up again.

“Sooah…”

“And you never even apologised,” she interrupts again. “You just went on with your life. No, you know what?” she continues when he opens his mouth. “I get why you would want to break up. It was probably too hard and you were too busy and even though I think I could’ve handled it,” she clarifies, holding up a hand, “I think I deserved a conversation. I thought we were… close enough for that,” she finishes in a small voice.

Jimin is quiet. Sooah swallows, but she can’t bring herself to regret this outburst. It feels cathartic to get this out; anything beyond this is in Jimin’s hands.

“Sooah.” He pauses, but his voice is heavy with ghosts of the past. “I didn’t think I could tell you, okay?” he says, head bent low.

“Why not?”

“Because you were Kim Sooah, and you would’ve found someone else like that.” He snaps his fingers, sounding sullen - and mildly embarrassed. “Has it ever occurred to you that maybe it was hard for me, too? Knowing that I’d be gone and you would be here with… options?”

He sounds hurt, not meeting her eyes. Sooah stares at him, then slaps his shoulder - hard.

“What the fuck?”

“No, I get to say that!” she retorts, sitting on her knees and facing him. “What the hell do you mean by options? Did you think I would cheat on you?”

“No! Just that you were - you…” He winces, struggling. “You were Kim Sooah!”

“What the fuck does that mean?”

“That you were you!” Jimin exclaims, looking hassled. “You didn’t need to wait around for someone who would never be there! You deserved better, you could do better and it honestly wouldn’t have taken long for you to find that out! Call me selfish, but I didn’t want to be halfway around the world and get a text from you, saying you were dating someone else,” he finishes, panting slightly.

She raises her eyebrows incredulously. “So you texted me first instead?”

“Yes. It sucked, but it was still better than finding out you were dating Daehyun or something.”

“If you bring up Daehyun one more time, I’m going to throw my drink in your face, Park Jimin.”

“You wouldn’t dare. This is Gucci.”

“Try me.”

They stare at each other for a few seconds, jaws clenched with shared emotion. Sooah’s eyes roam over his face, his sharp jawline, the pouty lips - and she can’t fathom how the cocky rookie idol she was in love with, millions of girls at his feet, still didn’t know what he was.

“I’m sorry, Sooah.”

She nods, sitting back down on her hips, her shoulders touching his comfortably. “I’m sorry, too.”

“Is that why you broke up with Alex?” he mumbles a few moments later. “You thought he’d break up with you over a text?”

It’s a reductive way to put it, but Sooah simply shrugs. “He didn’t have the time, anyway. He needed to focus on his work.”

“Speaking as someone who needed to focus on the same work,” he says hesitantly, his hand brushing the corner of hers on the floor, “you were always worth it.”

She bites her lip, glad he can’t see her face - or her blush. “Don’t get cheesy on me, Chim,” she murmurs, looping her pinky with his. 

“I love this song,” he says, referring to the changing track inside the house, only muffled sounds reaching them. “Dance with me?”

“Not nearly drunk enough for that.”

“Let’s fix that, then.” He gets to his feet gracefully and tugs at her wrist. “I know where Taehyung keeps the expensive vodka.”

—

It’s almost eleven pm when Yoongi, after his second scotch, fishes out his pack of cigarettes. He looks up to see Taehyung bopping towards him with a tumbler of whiskey in one hand.

“Hyung!” Still bopping, he turns to stand next to Yoongi and throws an enthusiastic arm over his shoulder. “Where are you going?”

“For a smoke. Want to come?”

“Oh. No. I’m trying to quit.” Taehyung deliberately averts his gaze from the pack and Yoongi’s eyes flicker to Dilara standing with Kaya at the far end of the room.

“Okay, then. I’ll see you in -“ Yoongi stops abruptly in his tracks when he sees a familiar figure. “Not that I care,” he begins, feeling oddly calm, “but who invited Kang freaking Chanel to this party?”

Taehyung raises his eyebrows and turns to the door to see Miso walking in, slender shoulders slightly hunched and taking in the demeanour with a blank expression as she enters with what looks like her date, someone Yoongi recognises from the marketing department. They don’t even acknowledge each other; her eyes scan the crowd cursorily and she pokes her tongue into her cheek, as though she’s already thought of five different things she doesn’t like about this party.

Already irritated, Yoongi turns to Taehyung for an answer.

“It’s a party, hyung,” is all he says, shrugging and clinking their glasses encouragingly. “I know she’s not your favourite person, but I think you two could be friends, too. She reminds me of you sometimes.” He grins and walks away to greet Miso, oblivious to Yoongi’s annoyance.

He needs a smoke more than ever now. He goes to the balcony, braving the freezing air, and gets through two whole cigarettes before his fingers turn to ice and he’s forced to return to the party. Miso is at the bar now, holding a drink and surveying the crowd with mild interest. Her date is nowhere to be seen.

Yoongi walks over to her, suddenly empathising with Jimin’s annoyance at Taehyung’s popularity. She spots him just as he reaches her.

“I really didn’t expect to see you here,” he says dryly. “Having fun?”

“Tons,” she answers. Her hair is partly pulled back; there’s something different about her face but he can’t quite put his finger on it. “I didn’t expect to be here either.”

“Taehyung says you’re friends.”

“He’s being generous. I was looking forward to seeing you, though,” she adds innocently. “At a party, surrounded by people. Out of your natural habitat.”

Yoongi knows better than to be offended, especially as she looks far more out of place than she does. “You knew I’d be here,” he states.

“Well, I guessed, since you and Taehyung are in a band and all together,” she replies seriously, as though having deduced something major. “One which is famous for many things, including being attached at the hip for three hundred days of the year.”

“You think we get sixty-five days off in the year?” He scoffs. “That’s being generous.”

Miso mock-gasps. “Min Suga complaining about work? After the high, high horse he was on a few days ago when I dared to whine about pulling an all-nighter?” She clicks her tongue, ignoring Yoongi’s roll of the eyes. “Where’s your passion, Yoongi?”

“In a studio, or a stage somewhere.” He finishes the last sip of his scotch, barely feeling the burn anymore. “Can’t stand the press junkets, if I’m being honest.”

To his surprise, she simply nods and says nothing more. She’s wearing make-up, he realises with a start. Her eyes are lined and her lips are a slightly different colour; something about the fact that she’s made an effort surprises Yoongi.

“Am I the only one at this party drinking scotch?” she asks after a moment, glancing at the bottle on the bar. “Or one of two. It looks untouched.”

Yoongi, who was just about to pour himself a third, pauses and picks up the whiskey instead. “Probably.”

“Don’t you have anyone else you’d rather be hanging out with at this party?”

“Probably,” he repeats. “But it’s Taehyung’s party and I wouldn’t be a very good friend if I left one of his guests alone. Or a very good boss,” he adds.

A brief grin flashes across Miso’s face but doesn’t quite reach her eyes. “Good to know you take all aspects of your job so seriously. Must be why you’re such a good boss.”

“Yeah, that tends to happen when you work hard all your life for something with nothing to lose.”

“Obviously, I wouldn’t know anything about that.”

“Obviously.”

There’s a momentary pause that can go either way that they’re both used to by now. “You know, you really don’t have to stand here with me,” she repeats flatly. “If I’m pulling you away from something else.”

“No offence, but I’m probably the closest thing you have to a friend at this party.”

“None taken. This isn’t the kind of get-together I’d expect to have any friends at anyway.”

Is any? But Yoongi resists the urge to ask, knowing it’ll serve no purpose but to sour his mood even further. He could almost cry with relief when Namjoon walks over to them, nodding politely at Miso.

“Good to see you, Namjoon,” she says, raising her glass in response.

“You, too, of course.” He smiles his camera smile, and Yoongi almost gags. “Having a good time?”

“Yes, absolutely. Yoongi has been keeping me company.”

Namjoon’s eyes dart to Yoongi’s stony expression, the smile still frozen on his face. “That’s… so Yoongi.”

“It is.” She places her empty glass on the bar behind her. “If you’ll both excuse me, I’m going to find the ladies’ room.” With a brief smile, she sidles away.

“Kill me now,” mutters Yoongi, finishing the rest of his drink in one go.

Namjoon suppresses a snort. “You don’t have to hang out with her. Didn’t she come with someone?”

Yoongi shrugs noncommittally when Kaya joins them, coming up from behind her boyfriend. “Hey, guys,” she says, sounding a bit like she’s panting and leaning slightly into Namjoon’s side. “Sorry, am I interrupting?”

“Not at all,” answers Yoongi.

“What’s up?” Namjoon asks, placing an automatic hand on her back. “Everything okay?”

“Uh, yeah.” She fluffs out her hair. “Do you guys know the guy over there?” she asks nonchalantly, running a hand down the hem of her navy blue dress. “The one standing by the speaker, in the green jacket?”

Both Yoongi and Namjoon turn to look, spotting the bottle green jacket and the man wearing it, drinking a beer by himself and looking vaguely in their direction.

Yoongi meets his eyes for a fraction of a second before the guy looks away. “He’s in the marketing team, I think.”

“Oh.” Kaya nods. “Is he a friend of yours?”

“Not really,” says Namjoon, frowning. “Why?”

She bites her lip and shakes her head. “No reason.” She reaches for Namjoon’s drink which he lets go of absently. Yoongi notices their eyes meet briefly - knowingly - and Namjoon’s jaw clench slightly as he looks back in the same direction.

Yoongi looks at the floor and closes his eyes, feeling for the familiar shape in his pocket. He needs another smoke.

“Aye, hyung,” comes Hoseok’s voice, just before he steps outside. “You’re staying for karaoke, right?”

“Sure. Do I have to sing?”

“Everybody has to sing.” Hoseok flashes him a grin and pats his shoulder. “See you then.” Leaving Yoongi to himself, he makes his way over to Jimin and Sooah, both in a remarkably better mood than they were before.

“Hyung!” Jimin spots him and waves him over, the other hand holding Sooah’s as she stumbles to the music. “How’s it going?”

Hoseok raises his eyebrows in appreciation, for up close, both of them are also far more drunk than they were before. 

“You should be dancing with Jimin,” chimes in Sooah before Hoseok can answer. “Because I’m totally out of my depth.”

Jimin bursts out laughing and they dissolve into giggles. Hoseok doesn’t bother suppressing a smile, giving Jimin a knowing nudge when Sooah’s phone rings in her pocket.

“Oh, it’s Chae!” she exclaims before answering it. “Hey! Happy new year! I mean -“ She turns to Jimin and whispers loudly over the music. “What’s today’s date?”

“New year’s eve!”

“Are you sure?”

“No, wait -“ Jimin’s eyes go wide as he thinks about it, during which Hoseok smoothly snatched the phone from Sooah’s limp hand.

“- don’t want to go with him,” comes Chaeyoung’s voice, sounding slightly panicked. “Could you send me the number of that cab company? The one you said you used for those guests? It’ll be expensive but at least I can -“

“Wait, you’re not taking a cab in the middle of the night,” blurts out Hoseok without thinking.

“What the hell?” There’s a pause before she speaks again. “Hoseok? How did you - where’s Sooah?”

“She’s… occupied,” he says, glancing sideways at the owner of the phone, now engaged in a forehead-flicking game with Jimin. “Where are you?”

“I’m… with a friend.” The hesitation in her voice is unmistakable, like she’s hiding something from a parent. “I just wanted a number from Sooah -“

“I know you’re on a date, Chaeyoung,” he interrupts, feeling his stomach squirm uncomfortably. “Did he… is something wrong? Do you need to be picked up?”

“I -“ Her pause is enough of an answer. “I don’t want to put you out,” she says at last. “I mean, I’m fine. I just… want to leave.”

“Text me your address. And send me your live location,” he adds before hanging up and placing the phone in Sooah’s hand.

Hoseok has never been more glad that he hasn’t had a single thing to drink all night. His tolerance is nothing to brag about in any case and he wants to be alert for karaoke, his favourite section of any party. The atmosphere was enough to create a buzz in him, all of which got channelled straight into driving through the streets of Seoul until he reaches Chaeyoung’s location.

Chaeyoung is exactly where her location said when he left Taehyung’s house, meaning she hasn’t moved since then. The street is choked with traffic, though, so he parks a little way away and sets off the last three hundred metres on foot, jogging until he sees her sitting at a bus stand outside a pub. There’s a small frown on her forehead as she looks around which fades instantly the moment she spots him.

“I’m sorry,” is the first thing she says when he reaches her. She stands up and pulls her coat around her. “And thank you.”

“Are you okay?” Hoseok is about to grab her shoulders but stops himself. Her cheeks are flushed - hopefully from the cold - and her silver hoops move as she nods.

“I’m fine,” she reassures him, but still sounds shaky. “I just want to go home and -” She shudders. “I don’t want to go home with him.”

Hoseok doesn’t either. In a rare moment of relief and exasperation, he takes a step forward and hugs her with one arm, rubbing her shoulder comfortingly. “Come on. I’ll take you home.”

“I know you were a party,” she tries again as they begin walking, “and I wouldn’t have asked you -”

“You didn’t. Now stop apologising.” Hoseok slows his pace when he notices her heels. “What happened with your date, though? Did he… try something?”

Chaeyoung shakes her head, not looking at him. “No. Worse.”

A fear grips at his heart. Struggling to keep his voice steady because he doesn’t want to scare her, he tries again. “What - what happened?”

She looks up at him, considering it. “You’ll make fun of me,” she says finally, eyes narrowed. “Or worse, you’ll agree with him. And then I’ll have to jump into the river.”

“You can’t swim.”

“Exactly.”

Somewhere, Hoseok’s heart starts to slow down. This is most Chaeyoung thing, really, and he can’t understand if he’s relieved or annoyed. “I promise I won’t make fun of you,” he states. “And if it was really bad, I’ll beat him up. Okay?”

Chaeyoung gives him a small smile. “That’s sweet. But he’s twice your size.”

“Fine. I’ll get Jungkook to do it, then. I can probably bribe him with a popsicle.” He’s glad she half-chuckles at that. “Why won’t you just tell me? I really don’t think I would agree with him,” he says after a moment.

She observes for a few seconds, then takes a deep breath. “He said… he said I was too loud.”

That’s not what he was expecting. “What?”

“He said I was too loud and -” She sighs, and the words come out faster. “Part of me gets it because he’s not the first person to say it, but part of me also had to - I mean, the music was already loud in there and he wouldn’t be able to hear me -”

“Wait, he really said you were too loud?”

“Actually, I think his real problem was that I was talking too much.” She winces in embarrassment, eyes still on the ground. 

“What did he say?”

“He said that I was talking too much.” She shakes her head. “And then, of course, I got self-conscious about it and started practically counting the number of words I was saying - it just threw me off completely.” 

Hoseok chuckles without humour and glances at Chaeyoung, who’s looking up at him doubtfully. “Okay, first of all? He’s a loser. If he can’t take it, then… he’s a loser. Second of all,” he continues, “you don’t talk all that much.”

Her eyes widen in hope. “Really?”

He pauses. “Okay, maybe you talk a little more than the average person but - but -” He repeats, squeezing her shoulders as she gasps and drops her face into her hands, “it is a trait that a lot of people find cute and endearing. And if he’s not one of them, then he’s not the guy for you,” he finishes.

“You think it’s cute and endearing?”

“I mean. Theoretically.” He shrugs awkwardly. “Sure. You just have to find the right guy for that. And he’s around here somewhere.”

“And I need to stay away from the guys who think it’s annoying.”

“Sounds like a plan.”

“Great. So that’s him and… well, you.” She laughs sarcastically. “Two guys on the list. Perfect.”

Hoseok rolls his eyes as they near his car. This conversation took a very different turn from where his mind had gone when she’d called Sooah; the fear he’d felt  is only just occurring to him. 

“Walk on the inside of the pavement,” he mutters, holding her shoulders and moving to her other side. “And you’re not that annoying.”

“I’m not?”

“No,” he mutters, beeping his car open and going to the driver’s seat as she goes the other way. 

“So you find it cute and endearing?”

“Don’t push it.”

Chaeyoung rolls her eyes but looks marginally more cheerful as she straps herself in. “Wait, how do you know my address?” she asks, frowning at the GPS on the screen.

“Because I came to your house.” He glances at her as he reverses. “For your roommate’s party, remember?”

“Oh, yeah. That was so long ago, though.”

Hoseok doesn’t answer and Chaeyoung doesn’t push. It takes them about twenty minutes to get to her apartment in Hongdae and he has the same sense of foreboding as he did the last time at the sight of her desolate neighbourhood that just screams unsafe.

“Um…” He clears his throat as she unbuckles her seatbelt. “Is your roommate home?”

“Sungmi?” Chaeyoung shakes her head. “She’s staying at her boyfriend’s. She’s been doing that a lot lately - I think they’re planning to move in together which seems like a mistake, honestly. He smokes way too much and she can’t even -”

“Wait, you’re going to be alone?”

She frowns, a little peeved at being interrupted. “Yeah. I’m a big girl. I know how to lock my front door.”

Hoseok purses his lips and nods slowly. “Okay,” he begins, looking her right in the eye. “Do not bite my head off when I say this… but is there anyone else you can stay with tonight?”

Chaeyoung opens her mouth, then sighs. “It’s almost midnight. I can’t just barge into somebody’s house.”

“This is not a safe neighbourhood,” he implores. “You know that, right?”

Her momentary silence and aversion of her gaze tells him she knows. “I don’t have any other -”

“Can I take you to my apartment?”

Her eyes widen. “Oppa, you’ve - you’ve done enough for me tonight. I can’t ask you to -”

“You’re not asking. I’m asking.” He stares at her, hoping she won’t be Chaeyoung about this. “Can I take you home? So that you aren’t alone in your empty apartment, without your questionable roommate in an shady part of the city?”

“I -” She bites her lip uncomfortably. “Won’t that be weird? Me, squatting in your house while you’re off at a party? It’ll be like I’m using you.”

Hoseok rolls his eyes. “Don’t be so dramatic. You stayed over at Sooah’s last month.”

“Yeah, but that’s because it was late and we were drinking. Oh, and she was actually there,” she adds dryly.

He sighs, knowing how stubborn she can be about this. “Well, I didn’t want to say anything, but I was looking for a reason to get out of that party, so…” He shrugs. “This seems like a good one.”

“No way.” Chaeyoung shakes her head. “It’s your friend’s birthday, you can’t possibly -”

“Yeah, I can. Everyone’s just getting wasted and indulging in PDA. There’s nothing for me at that party. Honest,” he adds, not breaking eye contact for a moment. “Also… Chan would kill me if -”

“There it is.” Chaeyoung rolls her eyes, but she doesn’t look too annoyed. “Fine. As long as it’s just for Chan.”

There’s a twinkle in her eye when she says it. Hoseok bites his lip and holds her gaze before looking away, thinking privately that karaoke would have to wait for the next party. 

“Only for Chan.”

—

It’s late, and the party has entered the leg of debauchery where some people have started making the decision to go home. 

Yoongi stands with Seokjin and Seulgi, both of whom look appropriately tired for one a.m. He likes Seulgi; he’s sure he’s seen her at Big Hit before but this is the first time he’s properly been introduced and while he knows Seokjin is usually private about his dating life, he can’t help but admire how put together they look. Tall, modest, comfortable in their own skin - and around each other. 

They also know how to exist in comfortable silence, which is why Yoongi can’t help but feel sorry when Seokjin announces they’re going to leave.

“I need my beauty sleep,” he says wryly, “obviously.”

Seulgi glances at her phone and looks up at him. “Do you mind if we stop by Big Hit to pick up a friend? She had to work late. Her apartment is on the way to mine,” she points out.

“Yeah, of course.” Giving Yoongi a small wave, they head out with their fingers interlinked.

Yoongi considers making a move himself. He wants to stop by an electronics store in the morning on the way to the studio and if he’s being honest, this party reached beyond his depth a while ago. He does a once-over of the crowd, looking for Taehyung, but doesn’t see him. He does see Jimin and Sooah, however, passionately bickering as they continuously toss their shiny hair out of their eyes.

Jungkook stands with a girl, looking somewhat awkward but smiling nevertheless. Hoseok is nowhere to be seen, which is odd, given how excited he was about the karaoke session which began and ended without him. Yoongi had been forced into a rap battle with Namjoon, something neither of them wanted but played along with anyway, and the fact that Hoseok escaped it isn’t lost on Yoongi.

Across the living room, he sees Namjoon talking and laughing with a couple of other artists, but every few seconds his gaze darts across the room to Kaya, who’s sitting on a dining chair opposite Dilara. Both the girls look like they’re having fun, with drinks in their hands and talking animatedly, pausing when Taehyung stops by and kneels next to Dilara, clearly asking them if they’re alright.

Both girls nod and they say something, followed by them clinking their glasses and downing their drinks. Taehyung grins and pats Dilara’s thigh, kissing her cheek and going back to the party. Yoongi glances back at Namjoon, who’s now looking furtively at the guy in the green jacket before going back to Kaya, and then to his conversation.

He doesn’t know what it is, whether it’s the fact that Namjoon is being compelled to keep an eye on his girlfriend at a crowded party, or that everything was fine until she got here, but Yoongi finds himself walking down Taehyung’s hallway, checking the rooms for any sign of Miso.

It isn’t until he reaches the end that he opens the door to a dimly lit room with one light switched on, an abandoned video game on the television, and a lone figure at the pool table. Miso, leaning over the table and about to shoot, looks up with a start and relaxes when she sees who it is.

“Is this like a coping thing?” He can’t help but ask. “Finding a pool table wherever you are?”

“You could say that. Although this one is much less crowded than the one at Big Hit.” She aims and shoots, and a bright red ball falls neatly into one of the pockets.

Yoongi closes the door behind him. “Are you playing with yourself?”

“Is that your way of asking me if you can join? You know, as the closest thing I have to a friend here?”

He closes his eyes and counts to five before speaking. He’s sufficiently drunk now, enough that his usual restraint is compromised. 

“Where’s your date?” he asks abruptly.

Miso frowns, moving to another side of the table and taking aim. “My what?”

“Your date. The guy you came with?” Yoongi exhales. “The one in the green jacket.”

“Oh.” She takes aim and shoots, straightening up as another ball rolls into a corner pocket. “He’s not my date.”

“No?”

“No.” 

“You came here with him.”

“I did.” She nods, unfazed. “But I’ve said more words to you tonight than I have to him. Ever.”

Yoongi processes this, his vision swimming slightly. He takes a deep breath and wills himself to focus. “Then… why are you here with him?”

Miso is silent for a moment, taking aim again. But she doesn’t shoot. “Do you know who he is?”

“Yeah. He’s in Marketing.”

“Do you know how he got the job?”

“I’m guessing similar to how you did?”

She chuckles without humour and pockets another ball. The sound of the balls knocking together makes him flinch. “Funny.” She moves past him to stand beside him at the table, and he catches a faint scent of something expensive. “Do you know who his grandmother is?”

It takes Yoongi a few seconds longer than it usually would, but he blames it on the alcohol. Flashes of Big Hit’s most recent advertisements, sponsorship gossip and investor information comes to mind, and he nods.

“He’s a chaebol,” he states.

“Yeah. And his grandmother has recently come into a lot of money that she’s looking to invest… and my father is looking for an investment.” She pauses for a moment longer before bending forward again, this time shooting with force. A purple ball ricochets off one side and rolls into a pocket across the table.

Yoongi bites his lip, so many words coming to his mind but unable to make it out. “And she wants to see her grandson… what? Dating? Married?”

Miso moves to the opposite side of the table and her utter lack of expression seems much more forced now. “As much as I appreciate your interest in my life, Yoongi,” she says quietly, eyes trained on the eight-ball, “we’re not nearly close enough to talk about this yet.”

Yoongi licks his lips, lost for words for once. They’ve clashed before, almost every single time they’ve ever spoken. But she hasn’t quite shut down like this, not even when he’d been to her house - as her date, he realises with a start.

“I wasn’t prying,” he says.

“Yeah, you were.” She moves her arm like she’s about to shoot before apparently rethinking it, and changes her position. “But it’s okay. Can’t alienate the closest thing I have to a friend here, can I?”

Yoongi’s fingers tighten around his glass. It doesn’t seem as though he can ever win with her and it frustrates him beyond belief.

“Well, right now, he’s outside making my actual friend uncomfortable.” The words come out before he can stop them. Miso, who shoots right then, snaps up to look at him and the ball misses the pocket by an inch. “So you might want to tell him to cut it out.”

Her eyes flicker with something. Before Yoongi can process it, she averts her eyes and aims for the eight ball again. “I’m not responsible for him.” She pauses and he can see her jaw clench. “And it’s very telling that I’m the one you choose to warn, not him.”

“I’m not warning -”

He’s interrupted by the loud sound of the balls again, the eight ball making its way into a pocket this time, right next to where his hand is resting on the table. He snatches his hand away out of instinct, by which time Miso has put the cue back and is on her way out.

“Nice talking to you, Min Suga,” she mutters, brushing past him. “See you in the studio tomorrow.”

Yoongi watches her leave, exhaling loudly when she’s out. It’s incessant, the aggravation she inspires in him. With nothing left to say, he aims a kick at Taehyung’s pool table before following her out.

–

Kaya runs a hand through her long hair, forcing her fingers through the tangles at the end. The music has transcended to something older and calmer - if her mind were swimming less, she’d probably be able to identify it. 

As it is, her focus is trained on her feet and their ability to stand straight on her high heels so she doesn’t stumble. She’s admiring a picture of Taehyung’s dog on the mantle when someone else joins her. Her gut warns her before she even registers who it is.

“There you are,” he says, voice the same soft and disconcerting one as before. His English is heavily accented and Kaya tries not to make eye contact. “I love this song.”

She nods noncommittally, taking a step away from him and looking up surreptitiously at where she’d last seen Namjoon, but he isn’t there anymore. She wonders if this person had been keeping tabs on Namjoon, approaching her the one minute he’s nowhere to be seen.

“How about one last drink?”

“No, thanks,” she mutters, panicking slightly when she hears herself slur. She clears her throat and is about to leave when a girl, lanky and i.man all black, comes in between them and grabs his arm.

“Let’s go,” she tells him, her back to Kaya. “It’s late - and you still have to drop me home.”

The guy looks like he’s about to argue for a moment but then sighs and walks away. The girl makes to follow him but not before catching Kaya’s eye.

“Are you okay?” she mutters, pausing. Her English is accented, too, but differently. Kaya’s hazy guess is Australian; she nods anyway.

“Thanks.”

She nods and follows her date out of the party. Kaya exhales, wondering in irritation what this guy’s problem was. She tosses her hair off her neck, feeling flushed, when she feels a pair of hands come on her hips from behind and she jumps.

“Shit,” she gasps, seeing Namjoon behind her and allowing him to pull her to his chest. “Don’t sneak up on me like that.”

“I’m sorry,” he murmurs, kissing the side of her neck. “Do you want to head out?”

“Yes,” she says instantly, realising how tired she is. “Think I’m partied out for the weekend.”

“Okay. I’m going to grab my jacket from the bedroom - should I get yours, too?”

“Do you know which one it is?”

He gives her an obvious sort of look and departs, returning about a minute later in a leather jacket and with her black coat, slung over his arm.

“Should we say bye to Taehyung?” She asks as he helps her into it. “I saw him just a minute ago -“

“He looks kind of busy.” Namjoon gestures with his eyebrows to where Taehyung and Dilara are in the middle of the living room, two of the handful of people still dancing, arms around each other and kissing without a care in the world as they sway to the music.

It’s unexpected but sweet, especially when they break away for a moment, foreheads touching and mouths moving in soft words only they can hear. It feels like an intensely private moment; Kaya looks away and nudges Namjoon.

“I don’t think he’ll really care if we leave,” she suggests, nodding when he chuckles and turns to the door.

“The magic of brand new relationships,” says Namjoon wisely as they leave, squeezing Kaya’s hand.

Kaya is still thinking about his words when they reach his house. The car drops them at the gate and they walk inside, the quiet night a nice reprieve from the loud party. Most of her focus is on placing one foot ahead of the other, but the remaining is on the sweet scene they’d encountered before leaving.

“Do you think we still have the magic?” She asks curiously, focus still on the ground. “Or do you think it’s faded?”

Namjoon scoffs slightly. “You and me? Of course not.” He tugs at their clasped hands.

She’s glad at how quick his response was, but she can’t help but prod further. “Sure? Because it’s been… almost three years. Wouldn’t be completely unheard of.”

“Do you not remember what we did three hours ago in one of Taehyung’s guest bedrooms?”

Kaya laughs, her stomach fluttering at the memory. She remembers how her heart had hammered against her rib cage just before he’d kissed her in that dark room and she suddenly feels ridiculous for questioning their relationship.

She winces a bit as they continue walking, her feet giving up in the heels. Namjoon’s building is barely a hundred metres away but it feels like miles away.

“You okay?”

“No,” she groans softly, stopping and letting go of his hand so she can place it on his shoulder for support. She picks up one foot after the other off the ground and rolls her ankles. “I can only do about four hours, tops, in these shoes.”

“Do you want to take them off?” he asks. “I’d say no because I can see at least one puddle ahead.”

“No, I can’t take them off,” she mutters, setting both her feet on the ground again and exhaling tightly. “It’s alright. I’ll be fine.”

Namjoon stays halted as she takes a few steps. “Okay, let the record show that I’m doing this to prove just how much our magic hasn’t gone anywhere,” he announces, coming up to her and gently pulling her by the waist and scooping her legs up with the other arm.

Kaya, who had somewhat expected this, giggles as she puts her arms around his neck and he starts walking. “Very show, not tell of you. Although, I didn’t actually think our magic has gone anywhere.”

“Good. Because I still find you as sexy as I did the day I met you.”

“And I still find you as sexy as I did a couple months later when you tried to glue back my Garfield mug in Amsterdam.”

“I could drop you, you know?”

She laughs again, her mind still swimming but the cold making it feel slightly better. “You would never. Not on purpose, anyway,” she amends as he carefully steps over the one puddle on their way.

“You see?” He says smugly. “I’m more capable than you think. It would have to be something huge to ever get me to - whoa!”

As though the universe has heard him, Namjoon trips over a bump in the road. He swears in Korean as they tumble down in an awkward mass of limbs, Kaya groaning as her hips hit the ground.

"Damn it," mutters Namjoon, breaking his fall with his hand. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." She giggles and groans again, stretching her stocking-clad legs and leaning back on her hands. "Can we stay down here for a minute?"

Namjoon raises his eyebrows but nods. "Okay." He rests one arm over her knees, tilting his head fondly at her.

She notices. "I'm drunk," she tells him.

"I know."

“God, Dilara can drink.”

“We’ve discovered that at different points.”

"I love you."

His smile widens, the dimple popping. "I know that, too."

She leans forward slightly. "I love you," she repeats, her eyes flickering, "a lot. It scares me a little sometimes."

He frowns curiously. "Why?"

But she shakes her head. "I'm not that drunk."

"Come on, tell me," he urges, nudging her leg. 

"I -" Kaya sighs and turns to him, fingering his bangs gently. "It would suck to lose you, that's all," she says softly.

"You're not going to," he says, almost instantly.

"Yeah?"

He nods and leans forward to press a kiss to her lips. "You want me to convince you of it?"

She half-chuckles. "But it's nice and cold here."

"Yeah, baby, it's freezing."

"Fine," she agrees, rolling her eyes and holding her arms up so he can help her up and wincing. "Ugh, these shoes are a nightmare."

"You looked sexy as hell, though," he murmurs, pressing a kiss to the side of her neck again.

She giggles. "That makes me feel a little better about how much I spent on them."

"Come on, I'll take you up," he says, sliding a hand underneath her legs and picking her up again. This time, she's prepared as she wraps her arms around his neck.

"You were right," she says as he starts walking.

"I know. About what, though?"

She slaps him lightly on the shoulder and kisses his cheek affectionately. "We haven't lost our magic," she agrees, burying her face in his neck. "Not even a little."

—

Thanks for reading. Don't forget to drop a review :)

[akwolfgrl]

LFT PART 38

Sanji wound down the street, hands full of bags. He may have gone a little overboard while shopping. He wore a new shirt the Nami had insisted he get. It had multiple colored fishes all over it, a favorite of the new shirts he had. None of the fishes were realistic but they were still cute.

Sanji wandered over to the fish market checking if there was anything he hadn't already spotted when he noticed a large crowd. He slid through the crowd of people stopping at the front as some fishermen discussed their catch.

“Amazing, that's an elephant bluefin tuna!”

“That's right it probably got mixed in from the south sea, I caught it with a pole and line.”

“A pole and line? No way get outta here!” People laughed but Sanji had tuned the other men out.

“Elephant bluefin tuna,” Sanji would pay whatever the price to get that fish. He remembered looking at it in his second favorite book when he was younger with Zeff. He of course had packed that book and kept it in the galley. The fish was absolutely beautiful, its dark blue scale and silver underbelly, the two tusks coming up from about its large lips, and its long athena. “How much for the fish!” Sanji called out, stepping forward.

“Ahh, what parts of it are you looking to buy?” The fishermen who caught the fish asked.

“All of it, I can take it apart myself. I'll use every part of that beautiful fish,” he gushes excitedly.

“Ahh are you a cook?”

“Chef, I used to work at the Baratie,” he states offhandedly, trying to show pride but still remain humble.

“That fish shaped place, I knew I recognized ya! Love that place's great food and there's alway a fight to watch. I'll tell ya what I'll give you a good deal.”

He had so many ideas buzzing around in his brain. Such a good quality of fish could be eaten raw or cooked. He could make stock from its bones, soup from the head, he was dying to try the bone marrow or spinal jelly.

“Fantastic!”

“Yah if you want we can deliver it to your boat of want? I've got plenty more to look at, at my booth if you'll follow me,” he offered.

“That would be great actually.”

“That's a big ass fish,” Zoro's voice came outta nowhere right next to his ear.

“Shit!” Sanji jumped; he had been so focused on his new fish that he didn't hear him arrive. “When did you get here?” Sanji asked him.

“I noticed you drooling over that big ass fish and came over around the time that guy said he recognized you,” Zoro replied, shrugging slightly to cover a chuckle. “So what are you even gonna make with it?”

“Well I have lots of plans, for today I need to see who all had lunch and see how much sushi I should make, this is a great quality fish so it can be eaten raw. Then of course I want to extract the spinel jelly, I've heard it's delicious,” Sanji was eager to talk about his plans as they walked to the fishermen's booth.

“I like sushi, Luffy and I already had lunch, but we all know Luffy could eat more,”

“How did you pay for it?”

“Some guy in a cloak paid for us, I've just had the best of luck today,” Zoro gave his blond man once over and smirked. “I'm hoping that luck continues tonight.”

“Hmmm,” Sanji pretended he had to think about it, but he too was looking forward to tonight. “I'll tell you what, help me with the dishes and maybe you will,” Sanji began to browse the selection picking out what he wanted.

“I'll also have to think about that, might interrupt my nap time,” Zoro taunted back, only causing Sanji to huff and roll his eyes.

“You and your naps, Marimo,” Sanji handed over the money for his purchases. “Our ship is the Going Merry; its figurehead is shaped like a sheep, pier 40.”

“Do you like alcohol? My wife makes mead and I have some for sale,” the man offers with a gentle smile at the pair.

“Got anything that's not sweet?” Zoro asked.

“Yah, this strawberry one is pretty dry, also a Ginger Matcha Mead, and a Cranberry Mead,” he offers.

“I'll take them all,” Zoro also paid for his mead, happy to not only have two new swords to tame and some hopefully good homemade mead with his (hopefully) boyfriend. “Ready to go curly?”

“Yah, should we find the others?”

“All right,” he states with a shrug. As they turn to go, Zoro brushes his fingertips against Sanji’s, the cook barely keeping their hands touching in some form. It made Zoro’s chest feel warm, everything was going good for him right now.

[gettingfrilly]

Can't get you out of my Ed

Chapter one of... 39 chapters lmao. This fic will kill me and I'll be damned if I don't take some of you down with me. Read it here or on ao3. Super mega thanks to @fish-bowl-2 for betaing and also for giving feedback on my massive outline.

--------------------------------------------------

“Ppbbbbbbththtbbbhththtthhhhh.”

“Dude.”

“Dude yourself.” Eddy mutters, not caring if Kevin objects to his bored mouth noises. What else is he supposed to do? It’s Wednesday, five pm, and raining. No one's been in the candy store for hours, and ain’t no one gonna show up before they close at six. So he stands here bored out of his skull, full weight propped against the counter with his face squished in his hands, elbows velcroed to the permanently sticky wooden surface. He keeps his eyes where they’ve been glued for the last hour, which is directly on the nostalgic kitsch wall clock with plastic lollipops for hands and pounded sheet metal with a scene from some 50’s style soda shop superimposed on it for a face. It goes well with the completely non-functional jukebox in the corner, the rows of dusty, empty, retro soda bottles lining the shelves on the wall opposite the front door, and the 40 year old ice cream machine behind the counter that’s been out of order since last summer. Eddy had felt giddy when Kevin first got him a job here his freshman year, tickled by his younger self’s hypothetical jealousy over how easily he could pocket a jawbreaker here and there. The garish clashing of the puke green tiles and pastel pink walls had filled him with bittersweet memories of childhood, familiar and welcoming for a first time job.

Now he just finds the whole store ugly. 

“You could, ya know. Work.” Kevin suggests. “Clean something. Stock something. Anything other than standing there with your thumb up your ass.”

“Oh? And you can’t?” He asks while side eyeing Kevin, who is also currently standing around with his thumb up his ass. More specifically, he’s leaning backwards against the displays behind the counter, wide shoulders slouched as his arms dangle at his sides. The clean hairline of his crew cut frames his wide, blocky face with sharp angles. He’s been made up of solid, sturdy shapes since he started playing for the varsity team in his junior year, and his workout regimen has further defined his muscles in the years since. Eddy wouldn’t exactly describe him as beefy, but his build is athletic for sure. He’s also classically handsome, Eddy begrudgingly admits to himself, though he’s not really his type. Too much of a normie for his tastes, with his basic sense of style and outfit compiled of store brand athletic wear. Guy shops at Old Navy for sure. Well, more like his mom shops for him there.

“I’m the boss. I’ve got underlings to do that kind of stuff for me.” An annoyingly smug smile graces his shovel shaped chin, and Eddy can’t help but grind his teeth.

“For your information, bossman, ” he hisses the title, “shelves: dusted. Floors: mopped. Inventory: stocked. Windows: windexed. Hell, I even ordered the lollipops by color out of fucking boredom. There is truly not a single thing left to do.”

Kevin hums and scratches his ten acre chin. “Oh. Well. Pbth.”

“My thoughts exactly.”

‘ Come now, with your cleaning skills, surely you left something amiss. Did you wipe down the floor trim? Deep clean the register? I see plenty of snack crumbs wedged between those sticky keys. And you didn’t even mention the employee bathroom, for heaven’s sake. ’

“Shut up.” He mumbles under his breath. “Huh?”

“Nothing. Hey, how’s Nazz doing?” Kevin’s and Nazz’s shaky relationship isn’t exactly his favorite can of worms to open, but he’s starting to get bored enough to peel his eyelids off of his face, so he better strike up some kind of conversation. 

“ Man- ” Yup, here we go, “I don’t get what’s up with her. Ever since she moved to Buffalo she’s been acting all different and weird. Dunno what happened to the Nazz we used to know.”

‘ She grew up. Which is something you may want to look into yourself, Kevin. 19 years old and no interest in pursuing a higher education or a greater calling like our dear Nazz has. Tut tut.’

“Yeah, it’s almost like she cares about shit now or something.”

“Exactly,” Kevin bemoans, completely missing Eddy’s sardonic tone. “I don’t get all the polisci stuff she talks about. I’m just not a political guy, ya know? Why can’t things just go back to being simple between us? College wrecks people, man.”

On one hand, even Eddy can tell Kevin’s being pig-headed about this. On the other hand, he can relate on a very painful, squishy, sore, and tender level.

‘Well you are quite pig-headed yourself.’

“She just outgrew this small town shit. We all should. I know I’m getting out of here as soon as I graduate.”

“Speak for yourself. I like it here.” Kevin mutters while crossing his arms petulantly.

“Of course you do, mister former high school quarterback nepo baby. You already got shit made here. Doesn’t your dad own the candy factory now?”

“Vice president. But yeah, he’ll own it soon. And he’s thinking of expanding. But what are you complaining about? Aren’t you all set up to inherit your old man’s dealership? That place makes decent dosh.”

“I’d rather eat nails.” The words come grinding out of his mouth as if it were already full of sharp, pointy metal.

“What? No way, man, you used to brag about that place all the time. Said it was your legacy and that you were gonna make it the hottest place in the county to get a used car.”

“Times change.” That’s the only explanation he’s willing to offer.

Kevin just shrugs, much to Eddy’s gratitude. That’s probably the best thing about being friends with Kevin; guy doesn’t ask questions. Makes him a solid person to vent to.

‘Especially if you’re allergic to discussing your feelings.’

With a long suffering groan, Eddy literally peels himself off of the old counter to do another useless perimeter search of the shop. He knows he still won’t find anything to do, but at least it’ll get his body moving. His sneakers squeak against the freshly mopped floors (so bored he even got out the mop, for chrissake…) as he eyes the displays, watching his reflection warp and transform from one glass container to the next, an endless hall of funhouse mirrors mocking him with his own boredom, irritation, and overall misery. His fault for scrubbing them all until they were spotless. The hole punched cardboard pallet that holds a variety of different brands of lollipops is just as hue spectrum oriented as he left it, so this time he goes for ordering them by size and shape instead. Well, that killed two minutes. Walk by the freezers, rearrange  some mismatched soda bottles he missed before. 30 seconds. Scrape a fleck of taffy off of one of the sliding door handles. 20 seconds. Stare at the wall for five seconds. Bang his head against it. Another second. Bang. Another second. Bang. Another second. Bang.

“I’m taking a smoke break!” He calls loudly over the shelves in the direction of the front counter, not waiting for Kevin to respond before frantically scrambling towards the backroom. He nearly trips over a broom as he bursts into the cramped space, swearing at it uselessly as he stumbles over to his locker. It gets jammed as usual, the damn thing, Eddy jiggling the handle with a growl before he finally tears it open. The hood of his windbreaker catches on one of the locker’s internal hooks, causing Eddy to shout obscenities until he finally shakes it loose and shoves his arms into the sleeves. He stomps towards the back door and bumps it open with his hip as he wrestles with the zipper, getting himself encased once he steps outside into the muggy July evening air.

The door slams shut behind him as he huddles under the small overhang of the dirty green awning adorned above the back door, fishing his pack of camel menthols out of the pocket of his windbreaker. The hush of rain against the pavement and rhythmic pounding of droplets plunking against the rusty metal of the awning harmonize well together, creating a nice soundscape to back up the click click click of his lighter. He mutters swears under his breath like a prayer, internally praising glory hallelujah once the cig balanced between his lips lights and he can breath in deep and slow, the mint flavoring tickling his nose hairs and soothing the burn of hot smoke in his windpipe. Smoke billows from his mouth and nose after he’s held in his lungful for as long as he can, his exhale audible and pointed heavenward, smoke catching and lingering on the underside of the sheet metal above. 

‘Those will kill you.’

“The sooner the better.” Eddy mumbles, letting gravity pull his loosening body down against the wooden door behind him, desperate for a paint job. He takes another grateful drag as he watches the rain bounce and slide off of trashbags, forming muddied puddles in the potholes below. The hit of nicotine puts a fuzzy blanket over the constantly firing nerve endings in his brain, making his eyes droop as he fights back a yawn. Double D doesn’t know what he’s talking about, calling nicotine a stimulant. Smokes practically put him to sleep. 

He sneers down at the ground. What’s he got to even do these days other than work, smoke, sleep, repeat? The only thing he has to look forward to are the occasional phone calls he makes to Ed at the military school his shithead mom shipped him off to last summer before they all started their junior year. Double D and Ed were inconsolable that day, clinging to each other and sobbing as Ed’s dad silently packed his red commodore with sparse necessities, the rest of Ed’s belongings in boxes marked for the salvation army. The memory still makes Eddy’s eyes burn, the same way they did that day as he blinked to hold back his tears, repeating to the other two that they’d call, they’d write, they’d visit, and once senior year was done in two years, the three of them would be out of here. Double D would definitely get accepted to some fancy shmancy school on a fancy shmancy scholarship, and the two of them would follow along, working whatever jobs available so that their combined income with Double D’s scholarship funds could net them a nice apartment in whatever fancy shmancy city Double D went to for school. They’d be free of this pimple on the map of America called Peach Creek, free from their families, free from public school, free to be themselves. There’d be a queer scene, he told Double D. They’d be accepted there, he told him. It wouldn’t be like it is out here in the boonies. They wouldn’t have to hide.

Well, his plan may have less people in it now, but he’s sticking to it. He can’t stand the boredom anymore, can’t stand the confinement. If he spends one more summer afternoon staring at his bedroom ceiling, has one more shift during the dead hours of the candy store, has to give his dad one more excuse as to why he’s not dating anyone now that he’s got a paycheck, he’s going to burst out of his own skin like some kind of insectoid, brain sucking monster from one of Ed’s B-rated black and white horror flicks and suck the noggins of everyone in a five mile radius. He’ll get out of this shithole come hell or high water. He has to get out.

‘And go where, exactly?’

‘Anywhere but here.’

‘To do what?’

‘Live. Breathe. Stretch out and run around and scream and cry and shout and kick and hit and go and go and go.’

‘With who?’

‘Ed. Or no one. Who cares.’

‘You’d be alone.’

‘I’ve always been alone.’

‘That’s not true. You know that’s not true.’

Water streams from the corners of the awning, creating a puddle dangerously close to his Air Force 1s. An errant raindrop lands right on top of the toe of his left sneaker, and he grumbles as he bends over to swipe it away, cursing himself for not looking at the weather report before putting these on. He curses louder when a chunk of ash falls from his cig and takes up residence where the water droplet just vacated, grabbing it from his mouth to hold it out to the side as he frantically brushes off his shoe.

‘Please, Eddy, be careful! Think of how much money your mother spent on such a frivolous purchase.’

Eddy snarls, sick to death of this incessant nagging. “Just shut uuUGHH!”

The smack of the wooden door against his ass throws him completely off balance, staring down at his shoes one second then catching himself on his hands and gazing at a puddle inches from his face the next. Adrenaline rushes through his body, making his lungs seize up and his eyes go wide, the rain falling on the back of his head feeling far colder than it should be on a warm July evening. He keeps himself propped up on one hand as he swivels around to identify his attacker, blinking owlishly when he sees Kevin standing in the lit doorway, giving Eddy the same, wide eyed look.

“Dude. You okay?”

Anger quickly intermingles with his gut-dropping fear, gritting his teeth as he pushes himself back onto his feet. “Watch where you’re going, shovel chin!”

Kevin places one hand on his hip while he holds the door open with the other, expression blasé. “Doors are for opening, man. Anyway, we’re closing up. Just wasting money at this point.”

He finally catches his breath, raising his cigarette to take another calming drag, only to feel something unpleasantly cold and soggy touching his lips. Damn it. His hand must have landed in a puddle. He groans and pushes his now wet hair out of his face.

“These ain’t fucking cheap.” He grumbles, flicking the unlit stub to the ground.

“Did you even hear me, man?”

“Huh? Oh.” Calmer and less distracted now, his brain finally catches up with what Kevin said. “Yeah, great idea, bossman!” The title is used in a much more jolly manner than before, giving Kevin a pat on the back and leaving a stubby, wet handprint behind as he pushes past him and back into the backroom to grab the rest of his stuff. He kicks off his nice sneakers to trade them for the ratty back ups he keeps in his locker, stepping into the worn pair as he puts his multi-colored Nikes into his water proof backpack for safe keeping.

Kevin sneers and murmurs something Eddy is sure was insulting as he looks behind himself and at the back of his shirt. “I’ve got to count money and lock up if you wanna stick around to help-”

Eddy’s locker slams abruptly, echoing loudly in the small space as he slings his drawstring bag over his shoulders and puts his hood up in quick, jerky motions. “Bye, seeya later, hasta la vista, sayonara, annyeong.” He half-jogs out of the back room before finishing his goodbyes, ignoring Kevin’s jeering as he slips through the door to the front room. He continues his half jog past the candy displays, snagging a jawbreaker and shoving it into his pocket next to his smokes before heading out the door and back out into the rain.

He breathes in a deep breath of freedom as he stretches his arms out to his sides and then over his head, making his way back to the cul de sac with a skip in his step. The world is his oyster now that he’s off of work. Now he can… he can… well.

The skip turns into a slow trudge as Eddy remembers he doesn’t actually have anything post work to look forward to, mood sinking further and further with each dark and empty store he passes by. Looks like Kevin wasn’t the only one who decided to close up early; all of downtown is dead. And it’s just not the cafe, the butcher shop, and the shoe store that are dark. It’s too early for the street lights to come on, but the sky is thick with heavy rain clouds, keeping the sunlight prisoner behind the bubbling veil of black and gray. His eyes turn down to the wet cement of the sidewalk with its divots and potholes, floating cigarette butts in the puddles that formed within them, scowling at his feet as they pointlessly move beneath him. What’s he even going home to? Another evening zoning out in front of the TV? Maybe lying upside down on his bed and listening to saccharine sweet slow dance songs? Then whatever he does will just be followed by chain smoking in the backyard until he’s tired enough to pass out as soon as his head hits the pillow, welcoming oblivion as an alternative to being left alone with his thoughts. It’s the same damn thing every day. And it’ll keep being the same damn thing every day until he gets out of here or dies. Dying may be the more convenient option at this point. It’d be a lot easier than having to finish high school before he beats it. All he has to do is wait for a car to come by and then jump out in front of it.

But no cars come. No one coming, no one leaving, a town stuck in stasis, the white noise enough to deafen him. His shoes are getting soaked. He’s gonna get cold feet.

Christ, he needs to quiet his fucking mind before he ends up as roadkill. He reaches into his pocket, fingertips brushing against the cool metal of his lighter before he finds his pack of camels, grasping onto it like a lifeline. He takes out the light with it, shaking a cig loose from the pack and into his waiting hand. He balances it between his pointer and middle finger, bringing it up to press it between his lips and under his hood so he can attempt to light it-

Only to immediately pull his hand away when he tastes blood on his tongue.

“The fuck?” He squeaks out, high pitched and startled. He looks at the cig and finds fresh red blood smeared on the paper and filter, but that’s not what’s most alarming; what has him wince and hiss under his breath is the sight of his hand, dark, slimy globules clotted together in the center with dried and flaky trails of blood running down between his fingers, some of it gathered under his nails, in his nail beds, and around the gold band on his ring finger. Rain splashes down into his open palm, the droplets saturating themselves with blood before they roll down the sides of Eddy’s hand and down his wrist, leaving trails of pink behind. He swipes his thumb gingerly over his palm and squints, scowl deepening when he discovers the cut beneath, small but deep. 

Damn it. Must have happened when he fell. Probably glass from a broken bottle. How did he not feel it? Stupid Kevin. Stupid door. He clicks his tongue and keeps walking, placing the cig back between his lips; he’s not gonna waste another one of these. It brings him minimal relief once it’s lit, his frayed nerves further agitated by the site, smell, and taste of his own blood. He’s had e-fucking-nough of that for one life time. Thankfully the shops start to become far and few between, with residential houses looming on the horizon. He’ll walk in through the back door to his room before his mom gets a chance to see his hand and starts freaking out. He’ll clean his hand, dry off his feet, and get out of this fucking rain. That’s something to sort of look forward to. Isn’t it?

When he turns the corner of rethink avenue several minutes later, all thoughts of the creature comforts of home disperse like a warren of rabbits intruded on by a fox. His cig, burned down to a stub at this point, dangles from his parted lips, eyes frozen on the looming portend of the past come to haunt him currently parked in his own fucking driveway. He’s freezing suddenly, all heat sapped out of him like someone pulled the plug, lungs becoming a vacuum as cosmic background radiation burns within them, singed by his only source of heat. It’s like he’s falling again, shoved from behind and just barely managing to protect his face from scraping the pavement. An unknown attacker from behind, the familiar sound of him breathing through his teeth.

He tastes blood on his tongue.

The cigarette butt falls from his lips as he turns away from the sight of the whale shaped trailer in front of his house, breaking out into a jog to the only other house he can think to go to, nestled right on the corner he just turned. His bedroom lights are on. His parents, as usual, aren’t home. He misses him with an ache deeper than anything else he’s felt in a long time.

He hopes Double D actually lets him in.

[timetraveltasting]

MINUTAL MATIANUM (ROMAN PORK WITH APPLES, 1st c.)

It's a been a tougher week than usual - my husband broke his leg and had surgery, and I'm dealing with some dental pain - but amongst it all, I thought it would be a good idea to treat ourselves with a Tasting History dish that is especially hearty and comforting: Minutal Matianum (Roman Pork with Apples). From the quintessential Roman source by Apicius from the 1st c., De Re Coquinaria, this meat dish is made using ingredients that would have been available to Roman soldiers in Britain, near forts in the area of Hadrian's Wall. This hearty dish was probably closer to what the officers of the Roman army would have eaten rather than the foot soldiers, however. I decided to make this dish because my husband and I have enjoyed most of the Roman recipes I've made so far, and Max exclaimed this was the best Roman dish even he had made so far. We hope this dish provides us with the fortitude of a Roman soldier on the frontiers! See Max’s video on how to make the dish here or see the ingredients and process at the end of this post, sourced from his website.

My experience making it:

As usual for me with Roman recipes, I struggled to compile all of the specific listed ingredients, but I did my best! I sourced a pork shoulder from our local butcher, and for the ground meat, I used a mix of 60% beef and 40% pork (a very common mixture here in Germany). For the pork roast rub, I used oil, a bit of salt, lots of pepper, and a tablespoon and a half of linden tree blossom honey. For the meatballs, I didn't use any egg to bind them, as I didn't have any on hand. Instead of garum, I used an Asian fish sauce (which Max suggests as a substitute). For the apples, I used some sweet Pink Lady apples (which I definitely snacked on while I was cooking). Instead of the long pepper Max used, I used the tablespoon of peppercorns. I decided to omit the asafoetida completely, as I couldn't find it at 4 different supermarkets, including the bio-supermarket and the Turkish supermarket. I've recently learned that I should look instead at an Indian supermarket, so now I'm on the hunt for one! I reduced grape juice myself to make defrutum, as Saba seems a little expensive. Instead of starch/cornflour, I used regular white flour, since I think they would function fairly similarly.

First, I set out making the rub for the pork roast. Nice and simple with olive oil, salt, pepper, and honey, I loved that I could customize this part to my tastes (give me that sharp pepper taste!). Next, because I didn't have a roasting rack, I made one myself out of tin foil by taking a large sheet, rolling it into a snake shape, and curving it into a zig-zag pattern on top of a layer of tinfoil at the bottom of my pan. It fit the pork perfectly, and then I added the rub and tossed it in the oven. My pork shoulder was just over 2 pounds, so I roasted it for just over 2 hours. While it was cooking, I rolled my meatballs (sans egg), ground my spices for the sauce in the mortar and pestle (which took awhile), and chopped and portioned the ingredients for the next steps. When the pork was almost done cooking, I began cooking the meatballs in olive oil, also adding in the leeks. I added in the chicken stock and garum, stirring to get any bits from the bottom to release their flavour.

While this cooked on the stovetop, the pork roast was ready to take out of the oven. It looked wonderful and smelled delicious! I let it sit for a little bit, then chopped it into cubes and added them to the pot with the meatballs. I added in the cilantro, then a little bit more chicken stock so the pork and meatballs were 3/4 submerged and sizzling nicely in the juices. I simmered it for 15 minutes, then added the apple chunks. I simmered it further, but for less than the 20 minutes in the recipe (more like 15). I portioned the meat and apples into our serving bowls to cool a little while I prepared the quick sauce, being sure to leave some of the juices in order to provide the base to the sauce. I added the juices, defrutum, white wine vinegar, garum, and honey to a pot, added the crushed spices/herbs, and brought it to a light boil, stirring often. I made a roux with some flour by mixing a bit of water into it, then added it to my sauce to thicken it. By the looks of it, I think I ended up thickening it a decent amount more than Max did, but I like a thicker sauce, so I wasn't too upset about that. I took it off the heat once it was combined and thickened, and drizzled it over the pork, meatballs, and apples. It looked absolutely scrumptious - the sauce added a nice silky shine to the meat, the leeks added a pretty green, the peppercorns some texture, and the apples a beautiful yellow and red pop of colour. I served the Minutal Matianum with a side Greek Salad to balance the heaviness of the meat.

My experience tasting it:

I made sure my first bite was with pork, apple, and some sauce - it was very tasty! The pork was tender enough, but I might have overcooked it just a little. Luckily, the tougher, hearty texture was balanced by the crisp and light flavour of the apple and the acidity, sweetness, spice-infused, and herbed flavour of the silky gravy-like sauce. Like Max mentioned, the sauce first tastes a bit sour due to the vinegar, but it melts into a sweetness from the defrutum and honey. It is still a very 'Roman' flavour of sauce - I could taste hints of the previous Roman sauces I have made in other dishes in this one, but this one was more like a gravy, and maybe more in line with the modern palate. In terms of herbs and spices, I found that peppercorn and cilantro were the most forward in the sauce - the mint and cumin were just barely there. I decided to make my next bite a meatball with some sauce, apple and leek: an absolute winning combo! I don't always have time to make a pork roast, so I can't see myself making Minutal Matianum often in its complete form, but I will most certainly make the sauce with apples and meatballs again in the future. Like Max, my husband and I both agreed this is our favourite of the Roman dishes I've made so far. This is a great meal for late fall/early winter, and I will probably make it again as the weather gets colder this fall. If you end up making this dish, if you liked it, or if you changed anything from the original recipe, do let me know!

Links to harder-to-find ingredients:

Long Pepper

Flor de Garum

Colatura di Alici (Garum substitute)

Saba (Defrutum)

Asafoetida

Minutal Matianum (Roman Pork with Apples) original recipe (1st c.)

Sourced from De Re Coquinaria by Apicius, 1st century.

Put oil, garum, stock, chopped leek and cilantro and small ground meatballs in a pot. Chop previously cooked shoulder of pork with skin into cubes. Cook all together. Half-way through cooking add cored and diced Matian apples. While it cooks, grind pepper, cumin, cilantro and coriander seed, mint, and silphium root, pour in vinegar, honey, garum, defrutum, and some of the cooking liquid. Adjust the flavors with vinegar. Bring to a boil. Add broken tracta to thicken. Sprinkle pepper and serve. 

Modern Recipe

Based on De Re Coquinaria by Apicius (1st c.) and Max Miller’s version in his Tasting History video.

Ingredients:

Roasted Pork

Pork shoulder

Olive oil

Salt

Pepper

Honey

Pork and Apples

1 tbsp olive oil

3/4 lb (340g) ground pork or beef, shaped into 1” balls

1 cup chopped leek

1 cup (235ml) chicken stock, plus extra as needed

2 teaspoons garum*

Small handful chopped cilantro

1 lb (450g) roasted pork, cut into cubes

1 lb (450g) sweet apples, cored and cut into about 1” pieces

Sauce

1 tsp cumin

2 tsp chopped cilantro

1 tbsp coriander seeds

2 tsp chopped mint

4 long peppers or 1 tbsp of peppercorns

1/2 tsp asafoetida

1/4 cup (60ml) white wine vinegar

2 tbsp honey

1 tsp garum*

1/4 cup (60ml) defrutum**

1/4 cup (60ml) cooking liquid from the pork and apples

2 tsp starch or cornflour

*Garum was a fermented fish sauce that was used in a lot of ancient Roman cooking. You can buy a modern equivalent or use an Asian fish sauce.

**Defrutum was a 1/3 reduction of grape must. Today, Saba is pretty much the same thing. It can be expensive, so you can reduce some grape juice instead.

Method:

For the roasted pork: Preheat the oven to 450°F (230°C). Line a baking sheet with foil, then place a roasting rack on top of it.

In a small bowl, mix the olive oil, salt, pepper, and honey. There should be enough to coat the pork roast. Adjust the amounts to your liking.

Brush the olive oil mixture onto the pork, then roast for 15 minutes.

Lower the temperature to 275°F (135°C) and cook for about an hour per pound, or until the internal temperature reaches at least 165°F (74°C).

For the pork and apples: Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium heat, then add the meatballs and leeks and cook for 8 to 10 minutes, or until they start to brown.

Deglaze the pot with the chicken stock and garum. Toss in the cilantro and roasted pork. Add enough additional chicken stock so that it covers the bottom of the pot.

Simmer for 15 minutes, adding more stock if necessary.

Add the apples, then cook for another 20 minutes or until the meatballs are fully cooked.

For the sauce: Grind the spices and herbs with a mortar and pestle, then put them in a saucepan with the liquid ingredients. Stir together and bring to a gentle boil over medium heat.

Mix the starch with a little water, then add it to the sauce. Simmer for a couple of minutes until it thickens.

To serve: Dish the pork and apples into a bowl, drizzle with the sauce, and serve it forth.

[otakween]

Digimon World 3 - Final Thoughts

I've beaten the third Digimon World woohoo!! It was a brisk 40 hours, the perfect JRPG length. Overall, it was way better than Digimon World 2, but maybe not better than 1?? I dunno. It was definitely more enjoyable than 1 gameplay-wise, but if I look at it big picture it was way more generic and less memorable. Defeating the first Digimon World felt like more of a triumph and beating 3 felt kinda hollow (because it was easy and anticlimactic).

Despite any gripes I have, I could see myself replaying this. I'm especially interested in a potential revisit (like 10 years from now lol) because I found out that the PAL version of the game (Digimon World 2003) is the true, complete version of the game. Whoops...

So uh...Lord Megadeath and Snatchmon huh...great naming sense guys, good job.

Confession: I straight-up ignored all of the side quests in this game. Skipped all of the card battles, never got the fishing pole, etc. In the end, I don't really regret it because those card battles were kind of pointless anyway.

Confession part 2: I WAS planning on getting back to the side quests in the post-game until I realized that there is no post-game in this game. This is one of those games where you beat the final boss and they kick you back to the start screen with no opportunity to save. I hate it when games do that TT__TT now there's now proof that I beat it!

That ending was kinda lame. I liked the final battle with all of the epic FMVs, but the epilogue with the kids was literally so boring. They did not make me care about any of these characters in the slightest.

Speaking of FMVs, this game had so many!! The FMVs combined with the awesome pixel art definitely made this game great. It was a little lame how half of the world was just the same environments but palette swapped, but eh...whatever. There was enough variation to keep me excited.

Travel in this game was BULLSHIT. I said in one of my previous posts "fast travel will probably come soon!" NOPE, never came. The worst was when you beat a boss and then they made you back track throughout the whole dungeon for no reason. Thank God I played this on an emulator because an unexpected death would have set me back AGES. Very often it would take me an hour in REAL TIME to get to the next place I needed to be. Entire game sessions were just me walking across the map. If it wasn't for this mechanic, the game would have been like 10 hours long lol. Definitely artificial padding.

I noticed a couple of digimon here and there that I had never seen before. I think this game had a great variety in its wild encounters, although it was kind of weird to battle so many ultimates and whoop their butts so easily.

Speaking of easy...I think this game was maybe too easy or at least too exploitable. Health items were dirt cheap so it was super simple to stock up on 99 of each at all times, the counter crest allowed me to deal massive damage beyond my digimon's levels. The final boss fight with Galacticmon was just a game of letting my digimon attack until they died, resurrecting them with a healing item, and repeating that cycle until the battle was finished. The resurrection item brings back all digimon in your party with their full health which is pretty OP. By the 2nd half of the game this strategy became unbeatable and battles became kind of stale.

SO many random battles, like an obnoxious amount. I would leave one random battle, take a single step and another one would be triggered. I listened to a lot of podcasts slogging through this.

One of the weakest parts of this game was the plot/writing, but that was also weak in Digimon World 1 & 2. At least the translation seemed pretty decent this time around. I guess the "stuck in the game world" cliche was kinda fun.

The other thing I ignored in this game was the bonus digimon you can pickup along the way. I did end up getting two of them, but I never used them. They start at level 1 and ain't nobody got time to level up digimon from level 1 halfway through the game. Also, I wasn't super interested in using Guilmon when my Renamon already had MegaloGrowmon in their digivolve roster. I kind of wish this game allowed you to catch the wild digimon because you could create some really crazy parties.

My "main digimon" that I ended up using the most was Kotemon in their Kyukimon form. This was unfortunate because I think Kyukimon is butt ugly, but oh well lol.

The blasted mechanic in battles was really great and I hope they bring it back in future games! It allows you a second chance when you're in a pinch and just feels epic. I rarely used the digivolve option in battles, so it was nice getting a "free" digivolve every now and then.

I could go on and on about this game apparently, but I'm gonna wrap it up here. I have many many more games to get through before I start the next season of the anime. Onwards!

I give Digimon World 3 a solid 6.5 out of 10

[ofdarklands]

like @elizabethrobertajones said, everyone is tagged if they want to

B A S I C S

Name: Mitr'a Alywd

Nicknames: none he allows

Age: 36-40 (ARR-EW)

Nameday: 31st sun of the 5th umbral moon

Guardian: Nymeia

Race: keeper of the moon

Gender: man

Sexuality: he would not understand the question. not lalafells, he guesses?

Profession: botany and crafting. also male keeper duties. he takes it very seriously

P H Y S I C A L     A S P E C T S

Hair: off white, fur-like

Eyes: one purple, one white

Skin: brown, freckled white

Tattoos/scars: many work scars in his hands and arms, some bigger ones from fights over the years on various parts of his body, some of them ifrit burns since there weren't any good healers immediately available after, but from hw on when he got the whm stone he hasn't really gotten any new ones. he tends to keep regen going; being a bard and dragoon is hard on the knees

F A M I L Y

Parents: a mother, as normal. as you might guess her name is Mitr

Siblings: one female twin (Varuna) with her 2 kids, and 3 quite a few years younger sisters he's not as close to. i have not picked their names

Grandparents: a grandmother :) she's the clan boss. very cool

In-laws and other: an aunt and her 2 daughters, general big extended family. he's not aware what an in-law is, but he considers the twins his children. as far as we know g'raha doesn't have any living family and feo ul is a fae so...

Pets: not really. his chocobo Robin is his partner, the palico seems to thinks it's his employee(?), the spirit eagle is a friend and most of the minions are not canon or just temporary charges for him. and midgardsormr is our dad

S K I L L S

Abilities: general wol stuff like very good senses, obscene amounts of aether and control of it, body control and so on. only reason he has not levelled every class is personality reasons. good at languages, and prefers not to rely on the echo. excellent memory as long as he cares about the topic

Hobbies: high adrenaline: being the wol. low adrenaline: fishing, napping, composing music. all things botany related as well

T R A I T S

Most positive trait: fearless, will not stop. loves to meddle even if he won't say it out loud. loving

Most negative trait: fearless, will not stop. also will appear and disappear on you with no warning and give you heart attacks. will not change on this point

L I K E S

Colors: blues, greens. generally anything not unnaturally bright

Smells: most natural smells even if they are pungent. reminds him of home. hates perfumes and incenses. can't things smell like what they are now?

Textures: enjoys them, generally. touch is one of his favourite senses

Drinks: usually just water, but has a bunch of different juices and tea recipes he goes through when he craves something specific. nothing very sweet though. i beileve the english word would be smoothies...?

O T H E R    D E T A I L S

Smokes: unpleasantly smelly. no. the only thing he's smoking is his food for storage

Drinks: traditional keeper beer (hard to find, dense), mildly sweet or fresh drinks. won't drink anything handed to him though

Drugs: the list of plants with interesting effects he knows of could get him an archon mark if he cared about sharlayan's opinion. nothing he uses regularly, though he keeps a little satchel stocked for eventualities

Mount Issuance: what's that

Been Arrested: not that he has noticed

[bioethicists]

What’s your fave tsimmes? It’s cooked a lot of different ways so like what’s your preferred style is more what I mean? (I haven’t had it and I wanna try it bc it seems right up my alley but there’s so many different recipes that it’s overwhelming)

i like it quite sweet! i tailor it to my preferences (i love sweet potatoes + apricots, the carrots in this one are much less forward than they usually would be) the recipe i made last night was

3lbs sweet potatoes (half white, half yam, peeled + cubed)

1 bag dried cherries

1 bag dried apricots

7 carrots (peeled + cubed, this is just all we had haha)

like 20 prunes

2c chicken stock (i boil a kettle then mix in powdered stock but some ppl take this part much more seriously or use like schmaltz or smth)

2c orange juice

3oz honey

large scoop of generic mix of warm spices (cinnamon/cardamom/allspice/nutmeg- i have these premixed in my cabinet so idk ratios)

several sprigs of thyme

add everything except the prunes + only add half the liquid at first (so it goes up halfway to the veg, not submerging them). stack potatoes on bottom, then carrots, then dried fruit, lay thyme on top so it's easy to fish out. mix the honey in with the liquids ahead of time. slow boil, covered for 40 min, then add prunes + the rest of the liquid (DO NOT STIR, you can shake the pot a lil if u are worried abt sticking) + do another ~10 min (prunes will get yucky nasty if u add them at the beginning). fish out the thyme sprigs.

what i look for: a bit of liquid hanging around, ideally runny syrup texture (tbh u could add more honey or add brown sugar for this cuz i skimped on it due to The Neuroses) but mostly a root vegetable/fruit medley, sweet with a slightly savory undercurrent, potatoes hold together but fall apart when bitten

this is not a very traditional recipe + is primarily based on my preferences!

[oopsiepoopsie-herewegoagain]

I convinced my parents to let me make us dinner tonighhhhhhht gonna make some tofu and seaweed soup that’s only like 75 cals per servinggggg woooo!!

It’s kinda a nice recipe so I’ll post it here (read to the bottom for an easier kinda scuffed seaweed soup that I made for myself for lunch today since I was feeling sick, only 30-40 cals depending on what you add)

Serves 2

-8 grams dried seaweed

-1 1/2 cup vegetable stock

-2 1/2 cup water

-150 g silken tofu

-1 tsp vegan fish sauce (or light soy sauce)

-1 tsp sesame oil

-1/8 tsp ground white pepper

-1 sprig green onion/ scallion

-1/2 tsp white sesame seeds

Heat stock and water on high heat, cut seaweed and put it in the pot, cover and simmer for 10 minutes. Add sliced (bite sized) tofu and seasonings, bring to a boil, and serve with onions and sesame seeds as garnish!

My scuffed seaweed soup for one, 30-40 cals:

Chicken bouillon (like 1-2 tsp)

Hot water (1.5-2 cups?)

Dried minced onions (as much as you want ig)

A lil cumin

A lil cayenne

A very smol dash of soy sauce

1 pack of seaweed snacks

Just tear up the seaweed and mix it up. I am very precise XD it’s very salty and a lil spicy, but I like it. Took me a while to eat since it was very hot, and filled me up and settled my stomach well. You could definitely add more water to make it last longer/ to water down the saltiness if you wanted!