#AND I'm trying to find items to do one for Dumpling

[razrogue]

Yet another render to prep for...

[texas-gothic]

Dracula Daily Prep: Gather Your Paprikash!

It's that time of year again. Even as we speak, Jonathan Harker has departed for Transylvania, and the unhallowed halls of Castle Dracula. And as he makes his way towards that foreboding country, he will encounter a singular, most enticing of dishes: Paprika Hendl, or as we might know it better, Chicken Paprikash!

This traditional Central European dish explodes in popularity each May as we all gather around our virtual mess hall to enjoy the spirit of this most influential of gothic novels. Perhaps you yourself are considering throwing together a pot this year? Well, if you are, let this be your guide.

So, first, let's discuss the most important of the ingredients here: authentic hungarian paprika. Now, the recipe I first used last year called only for Sweet Paprika, but I personally found that version to be a little bland. I'm remedying this by adding some Hot Paprika as well. However, this is just my personal experimentation. Hungarian Hot Paprika can in fact be very hot, so if you're not comfortable with anything too spicy, feel free to opt only for the Sweet Paprika.

(Both of these I had to order online.)

Next, is another very important addition. As youre gathering your basic cornerstones of cooking (namely yellow onion, roma tomato, and garlic for this recipe) you may find yourself passing up on something that could vastly improve your dish. I'm talking, of course, about Hungarian Wax Peppers. These peppers range in heat, from meak and mild to slightly hotter than you'd average jalapeño. As per instruction, you should only use one. But on my end, I found the single pepper to be a little underwhelming, and I had trouble picking out it's flavor. So, this year, I'll be using two of them.

I got these from Central Market, an upmarket gorcer on Westheimer. They're a cousin of HEB, and you can find one or two in every major city in Texas. If you're elsewhere, try an alternative like Whole Foods, or try to find a European or International food market in your area.

Next, let's talk chicken. You can't have Chicken Paprkiash without the chicken, after all.

You're going to want to go with dark meat cuts for this. Traditionally the dish would use a mix of legs and thighs. Personally, I suggest using only the thighs, which you'll want to get bone-in and skin-on. The thigh provides a flater surface for browning than the leg, as well as more meat.

(A note on food safety, raw chicken will usually only last 2-3 days in the fridge. So you'll want to grab that fairly close to the day you're actually cooking this. If not, you can do what I'll be doing, and sticking it in the freezer until about 24 hours before I start cooking.)

So, as you gather your meat, produce, and spice you're probably asking yourself, "what on Earth am I going to be eating this with?" And the answer to that is spaetzle! A popular dumpling present in lots of Central European cooking, this is exactly what you need to tie this all together.

Now, while you should be able to find some in the international isle of most major grocers, you might also have to visit an international food store, or perhaps something more upmarket. If none of these options work, then there are a variety of other side dishes that work just as well. Egg noodles are a very popular choice, and in my very American attempt last year, I found that mashed potatoes work especially well.

Now that you've got all these things together, you're very nearly done. All that's left is the thickener. Paprikash is thickened using a blend of flour, heavy whipping cream, and sour cream. We'll get onto preparing this mixture in my post on actually cooking the paprikash, but until then, acquiring them should be a cake walk at any place food items are sold.

Now that will conclude the actual grocery list for just the Paprikash itself, but I do have one more pointer on how to really liven up this meal. Now, if you're under 21 or if perhaps you take after our dear, depraved, beloathed Count

Then you can skip this next bit. As a wine professional myself, I find that a well paired glass can add a tremendous flare to nearly any already great dinner. In the case of something like Chicken Paprkiash, and keeping with the Central European theme, I could hardly think of a better match than a good German Pinot Noir, also known as a Spatburgunder. Pinot from Germany typically has a very light body and a refreshing acidity that plays very well with the rich and creamy sauce of Chicken Paprikash. The palate of earth and red fruit should always pair nicely with the smoke of the paprika, as well as being a general good partner for any chicken. I myself am going with this 2020 Rheingau from August Kesseler.

And with that, we are done! Hit those checkout isles and make sure to get home before dark. Terrible things have sway over the world once the sun has gone down. So if the crowd does keep you locked up until nightfall, make sure to graciously accept any crucifixes given to you by kindly, elderly grandmothers and inn keepers. But whatever you do, make sure to pop in on Friday, when I'll be sharing a step by step guide on taking these ingredients and turning them into a dinner that will make our good friend Jonathan go red as a fire truck!

Happy Dracula Week everybody!

[galaxysupreme17]

Takeout and Truths

Y/n = your name

AgathaRIo x daughter!reader

The morning was a swirl of activity as Agatha bustled around, her hands fluttering from one packed item to another, checking and rechecking her bag. Y/n watched her from the doorway, trying to hold back a smile. Despite being one of the most powerful witches Y/n knew, Agatha looked downright flustered.

"Are you sure you packed enough?" Y/n teased, her eyes twinkling as she saw her mother fussing over a handful of spellbooks and a carefully wrapped potion bottle.

Agatha shot her a look, half-amused and half-apprehensive. "I know it seems like I'm going overboard, but Wanda said this retreat requires full focus. I just want to be prepared for anything." She paused, her face softening as she glanced at Y/n and then Rio, who was lounging in the corner with an amused grin.

Y/n approached, leaning in to hug Agatha. "We'll be fine, Mama. It's just the weekend."

"Yes," Rio said, sauntering over and touching Agatha's shoulders. We've got this covered. There's no need to worry yourself into a frenzy. Besides..."..." She tilted her head, giving Agatha a reassuring smile. "You deserve some time away."

Agatha's expression softened, but she still sighed, running her fingers along the edges of her bag. "I know, I know... but it's just the first time I'll be away from both of you like this in a long time." She gave Y/n a gentle look. "And I'll miss you, kiddo."

Y/n rolled her eyes but grinned. "Three days is nothing, and Mom and I have all sorts of plans. Right, Mom?"

Rio smirked, nodding. "Oh, absolutely. There's takeout, movie marathons, and maybe—if Y/n's up for it—a bit of light spell practice."

Agatha's eyes narrowed playfully at Rio, clearly catching the hidden mischief in her voice. "I better not come back to find half the kitchen charmed to life," she warned, only half-joking.

"Relax," Rio chuckled, wrapping her arms around Agatha's waist and gently kissing her cheek. "We'll behave. Probably."

This earned a laugh from Agatha, who leaned into Rio's embrace, momentarily abandoning her bag to savor the touch. With one final hug for Y/n and a lingering kiss from Rio, Agatha finally stepped back, taking a deep breath to steel herself.

"I love you both," she said, a smile spreading across her face as she looked at them.

"Love you too," Y/n said softly, giving her a little wave.

"Now go before you change your mind," Rio added, gently nudging Agatha toward the door. Agatha took a deep breath, then smiled, and with a final glance over her shoulder, she disappeared down the path, leaving Y/n and Rio alone in the house for the first time in what felt like forever.

Y/n then retreated to her room for a few hours to work on homework while Rio cleaned the house.

The house felt different without Agatha around. Though it was still filled with its usual warmth, an unmistakable stillness was in the air. It wasn't often that Y/n and Rio got time together, just the two of them, and while Y/n missed her mother's presence, she also welcomed this rare opportunity to connect with Rio on a deeper level.

As the sun set, painting the living room in a soft orange glow, Rio peeked around the corner from the kitchen, where she'd been rummaging through the fridge with a half-hearted look of uncertainty.

"Alright," Rio declared, leaning in the doorway. "First night of it being just us. How about we do something a little different for dinner? You call the shots tonight, kiddo."

Y/n looked up from the book she'd been reading, eyes twinkling with excitement. "Are you sure about that? No limits?"

"None at all," Rio replied, folding her arms with a smirk. "Whatever you want."

"Chinese takeout, then!" Y/n said after only a moment's thought. "I've been craving it all week."

Rio grinned, grabbing her phone and plopping down next to Y/n on the couch as she scrolled through the menu. "Alright, let's go all out: dumplings, sweet and sour chicken, fried rice... the works."

Y/n laughed, watching Rio's expression as she made each selection. Seeing her mother like this was nice, so relaxed and willing to indulge her. Within the hour, they were back on the couch, surrounded by a spread of takeout containers, chopsticks in hand, laughing and chatting as they dug into their meal.

Halfway through her spring roll, Y/n glanced at Rio, mischief sparking in her gaze. "Hey, how about a game?"

Rio raised an eyebrow, smirking. "Oh, we're playing games now? What did you have in mind?"

"20 Questions," Y/n replied, grinning. "But you go first."

"Oh, I'm going all in," Rio said, setting her chopsticks down and leaning forward, a playful gleam in her eye. "Let's start easy... What's something you never told Agatha?"

Y/n blushed, thinking. "Probably that I used a little magic once to...change my grade on a pop quiz. I know, I know," she said, throwing her hands up when Rio gave her a knowing look, "but it was just once! And I was really tired!"

Rio chuckled, shaking her head. "Noted. But fair warning, if she ever finds out, I'll have to pretend I didn't hear this."

They laughed, enjoying the feeling of shared secrets, of bonding over small, silly things. As they finished their dumplings, Y/n leaned back into the couch cushions, feeling the comfortable weight of contentment settle over her.

"Okay, my turn," she said, looking at Rio thoughtfully. "Who was your first crush?"

Rio laughed, her face lighting up with a bit of mock embarrassment. "Alright, alright, I'll tell you. But it might surprise you."

"Try me," Y/n said, curious.

"Agatha," Rio replied simply, a soft smile gracing her lips. "From the moment I met her, I never looked at anyone else the same way. She had this spark, this confidence that was... magnetic. Even back then, she was one of a kind."

Y/n's eyes widened, surprised but warmed by the confession. "Really? All this time, and you never looked at anyone else?"

Rio chuckled, shaking her head. "Not a single soul. It was always her. She scared me a little at first, to be honest. But I think that's part of why I fell for her."

They shared a smile, and Y/n felt her heart swell with admiration. Seeing Rio in this vulnerable, open light made her appreciate the depth of love her parents shared, a love she knew was rare and extraordinary.

"Alright, my turn," Rio announced, snapping them back to the game. "What's one of the craziest things you've done that I don't know about?"

Y/n's eyes sparkled mischievously as she thought about when she'd snuck out after midnight to meet some friends for an impromptu beach bonfire. "Let's just say there may have been a night involving Sabrina and me, a beach, a full moon, and some very questionable marshmallow-roasting techniques," she admitted, laughing.

Rio let out a laugh, raising her eyebrows. "Oh, I would've loved to see that. Noted for future bonding activities."

"Your turn," Y/n said, nudging her with an expectant look. "What's the silliest thing you've ever done with magic?"

Rio groaned, but her eyes sparkled with amusement. "Alright, but don't laugh too hard. Back in Salem, when Agatha and I were still young witches, I tried to cast a simple glamour spell to make my eyes change color. You know, to impress her." She rolled her eyes at her younger self, shaking her head with a chuckle. "But instead of my eyes changing color, my entire face turned bright green. And I was stuck like that for hours until Agatha found the right counter-spell."

Y/n nearly choked on her drink, bursting into laughter. "Oh no! Did she make fun of you?"

Rio laughed, her cheeks tinged with embarrassment. "Oh, for weeks. She didn't let me forget it for a long time. She kept calling me 'Emerald' and asked if I needed any potion to 'match the rest of my look.'"

As their laughter faded, a comfortable silence filled the room. They nibbled on the last bites of their food, savoring the quiet peace that had settled between them. Eventually, Y/n broke the silence with another question, her tone more reflective.

"Mom, do you ever miss those old days? Like... back in Salem, before everything changed?"

Rio's smile softened as she gazed at Y/n. "Sometimes, I do. But those days, while special, were just the beginning of the journey that brought us here. All the magic, all the memories, it all led to this—to us, right here, right now. And I wouldn't trade this for anything in the world." She reached out, brushing a strand of hair behind Y/n's ear. "You're the best thing that ever happened to us."

Y/n's eyes misted, her heart warmed by her mother's words. She leaned her head against Rio's shoulder, feeling deeply grateful for the love she'd found in her family. "I love you, Mom."

Rio wrapped an arm around her, pulling her close. "I love you too, kiddo. Now, let's top this night off with something sweet. What do you say to ice cream? Mint chocolate chip, of course."

"With sprinkles?" Y/n asked, grinning.

"Oh, definitely sprinkles," Rio replied, smiling as she led them to the kitchen to scoop out their treats. They sat on the countertop, bowls in hand, enjoying their ice cream as they continued their game, sharing more stories, laughs, and quiet moments of understanding.

The night ended with Y/n yawning and Rio ruffling her hair affectionately. She wrapped an arm around her daughter's shoulders, guiding her to her room, where she tucked Y/n in, pressing a soft kiss to her forehead.

"Sweet dreams, mi amour," she whispered, her voice warm.

As Rio turned off the light and left, Y/n snuggled into her bed, feeling a deep, unbreakable bond with her family that would carry her through anything.

[shoku-and-awe]

Do you have a personal ranking of the different convenience stores in Japan? The ones off the top of my head I can think of are 7-11, Lawson, Family Mart, Daily Yamazaki, and Ministop.

This is a great ask, very much my field of interest! But I don't rank them hierarchically so much as.... territorially(? situationally?) because they have different strengths but here it is!

------------------------------ 7-11: The conbini I'm most attached to! Generally has the best bento selection, and also the best-smelling coffee. (All the grind-and-brew coffee machines are basically the same quality, but the 7-11 ones really smell great.)

FamiMa: The best fried chicken! And generally a good chuhi selection. Also has far and away the most iconic jingle, and now I get this absolute bop by Miyachi stuck in my head every time I visit.

Lawson: Best for its special stores! Discount store Lawson 100 was a godsend for groceries and household supplies my first year in Tokyo. And I will stop basically anytime I see a Natural Lawson (aka Natty Law aka Naughty Lad) because they have organic/imported/upscale/health/vegetarian stuff you won't find elsewhere.

Ministop: Great for softserve ice cream and also hotcase and deli items! The deli items feel more homemade than at the Big Three. Also they have halohalo and sticky rice dumplings that I always mean to try.

Daily Yamazaki: Kind of a wild card! These days they have interesting variety and grocery items (the other day I got these kimchis and a liter of unbelievably sweet organic soymilk that was in a plastic bag for some reason), fresh breads/pastries and Japanese sweets, and snacks that aren't major brands. But! Until recently, they were kind of..... hmm. Of the two near me, one was staffed by a very old woman on an oxygen machine who completely ignored you (both things *very* unusual for Tokyo) and one by the absolute tiniest old woman I'd ever seen and a very smiley man who was either her elderly son or somewhat younger husband, both utter sweethearts. The stores were dingy and poorly lit, and the selection was somewhere between basics and bare bones—but also some nights they would sell fresh cream puffs from a French bakery?? Chaotic, kind of a grab bag, some Building 19 vibes (IYKYK). Then in maybe 2018ish, there was a major overhaul and now they are as shiny, well-lit, and antiseptically clean any other chain. If a little less friendly.

New Days: I added this one! Easy to overlook because they're teeny, with a very basic selection, but that's because they're only found inside of JR train stations. I don't think that they're anyone's conbini of choice, but they're there when you need them! (Sometimes.) ------------------------------

Also honorable mentions to Poplar, which I never see anymore (East Tokyo only?), and to Three-F, which seems to have been bought by Lawson, and 🫡 RIP to Sunkus (run by Circle K), which I always liked. When I lived near the red light district, we always used to stop at Tokyo's last surviving Sunkus on our way to see the pharmacy with the goat.

[thecatundertheladder]

You know what? Fuck it. Morro is alive in my fsm lives au.

He got all the way into Fsm's tomb (which is actually just an over-the-top storage facility) before Fsm caught him.

When Morro was first taken in by Wu he was in awe. I mean it's not every day you're offered a place to stay by the son of God. But he doesn't know much about Wu or his family, nor does Wu think to tell him.

Over time, Morro works out that Wu isn't human. It's the little things at first that make him unsure of his dad's sensei's heritage. A low, draconic hiss there, a quick, barely noticeable shapeshifting mishap there. But Morro is still insecure about his place in the monastery, so he doesn't mention it. However, the truth of Wu's dragoni status comes to light when Wu serves himself a slab of raw meat for dinner, still dripping with blood. Naturally morro, who got served dumplings, freaks out.

Morro: Why are you eating that?!

Wu, confused as to why he's getting asked this: Because I'm technically a carnivore?

Morro: What!?

Wu: You know, because I'm half dragon and half oni.

Morro: No?!

So Morro finds out one "secret" about Wu and his family. And Wu even starts using his true form every now and then. Unfortunately this incident doesn't make Wu stop to think that if Morro doesn't know that Wu isn't human, then he probably doesn't know a lot of other things, such as the Very Important Fact of the First Spinjitzu Master being alive. For Morro, the Fsm's "death" is only confirmed when Wu offhandedly comments that he might of realised that Morro didn't know he wasn't human sooner, if his father wasn't almost certainly in the Departed Realm. (Wu's reasoning behind this was that Fsm tends to be in their true form more often than Wu)

When Morro runs away to prove that he's worthy of being the green ninja, he doesn't actually set out with any particular goal in mind. Rather, the idea of finding the Fsm's tomb comes about after hearing rumours about it in a few of the villages he passed through. In one of them, he even overhears two men talking about how allegedly "not even the First Spinjitzu Master's son's know where the tomb is" (Garmadon and Wu actually don't know where the storage facility is located, as the only time they've ever been there the Fsm teleported them straight into it and straight back out again). It's this comment that gives Morro the idea: if he can find the tomb, something that Wu himself has failed to do, Wu will have to make him the green ninja! And so Morro sets out to find The Tomb of The First Spinjitzu Master.

Meanwhile Wu is having a crisis trying to remember if running away for months at a time was normal human behaviour. Because his draconic instincts are seeing this as normal (I hc dragons to have very large territories that they let their hatchlings run amok in) but his oni instincts are screaming at him to find his pup student. And of course Morro is human, so he's not sure what he should be doing. In the end, however, Wu will always be more dragon than oni, so his draconic instincts win out and he settles down to wait for the return of his hatchling student (though if he needs an few calming teas a day and stops nearly all communication with the outside world that's nobody else's business).

Morro actually does achieve what so few have before, and finds the tomb after months of searching. He then proceeds to one up everyone else and get inside, even without the clues, doing this by using his power over the wind and knowledge of spinjitzu. Morro then decides to do what any teenager in the tomb of God would, and starts to explore. But the cave system that it's in is complex and dangerous for mortals, so Morro quickly gets lost.

Fsm, meanwhile, had come to their storage facility to do some much needed organisation (listen, there is thousands of years worth of stuff in there. Fsm is half dragon and has the hoarding skills to prove it). While they're moving through the caves sorting random items they hear a disturbance a few tunnels over (dragoni hearing for the win!) and go to investigate. It's there that he finds Morro on the verge of a breakdown.

Morro, who was not expecting anyone else to be in the tomb nearly has a heart attack, because there is a massive being with wings and sharp horns and talons staring down at him. He panics and gets ready to fight. But the more he observes the being in the cave with him, the more familiar it seems. After a few seconds, it clicks, the being looks like Wu. And if the being looks like Wu, and it's not Garmadon, then there's really only one person it could be. But that's impossible, isn't it? But all the same, Morro relaxes a bit.

Morro: You're the First Spinjitzu Master

Fsm, wondering why there is a small child in his storage facility: I am, yes.

Morro: But you're dead! We're in your tomb!?

Fsm, now wondering why this small child has traces of their son's scent on him: This is a storage facility. And I'm not dead, who told you that?

Morro: Well - I mean - Wu said you were most likely in the Departed Realm!

Fsm: And I was, but I can leave it at any time. I'm a god afterall. Anyway, how do you know my son?

Morro: Wu took me in and trained me, and he lied to me and told me I was destined to become the green ninja. But I've found your tomb, surely that makes me worthy. You can make me the green ninja!

Fsm: Of course you are not the green ninja. It's not about how worthy one is. It's the fact that you are mortal, you simply wouldn't survive carrying the power of the green ninja. Besides, if it makes you feel better, you can already do something I cannot. You can control wind, something that no one since Wojira herself has been able to do. I assume that's why Wu thought you might the green ninja. I do apologise, it's my fault he's not the best at communication.

Fsm: You should return to the monastery. Wu is worried. He sees you as his son, you know, he will be happy that you are safe.

Morro: How can you know that when you didn't even know who I was.

Fsm: Omniscience is something I can chose whether to use or not. Now, I believe it is time for you to leave. Come, I will lead out of the caves.

So Morro and the First Spinjitzu Master leave the cave system. Morro has had his ego boosted since he can do something the First Spinjitzu Master can't, and is less angry about being not the green ninja. He's still angry at Wu, of course, but he misses him all the same. Besides, this way he can yell at Wu in person again.

Morro doesn't go back immediately though, instead he takes a few months to gather his thoughts. As he travels through the villages and cities of Ninjago he occasionally helps people out, and starts to get a sense of what being a ninja is all about. So by the time he actually reaches the monastery he's mostly cooled off, as well as lost some of his arrogance. However, he does still have a speech to give Wu that involves several apologies about how he acted, along with an section that explains the pressure that Morro felt Wu put him under.

He doesn't get a chance to actually say the speech until a few days after he returns home though, as the moment Morro steps through the gates he is greeted by his touch starved dragoni sensei parent, who immediately whisks him away for cuddles. And Morro, equally touched starved, simply can't bring himself to stop it.

Fsm, on the other hand, is absolutely thrilled that they now have a grandson to dote on.

(Thanks to @coolprofessorbagelwinner for the little tidbit at the end)

[dragon-communion]

Since you’re trying to compile stuff, just in case you hadn’t stumbled across it, there’s cut content for Trina involving Dreamwine&Dream-mist on top of her relation to the Merchants (Kale’s first cut quest, before the complete but cut 2nd quest). Malenia also has cut content involving what appears to be Milicent’s quest ending VERY differently, which ties into the cut content about the twins and the Age of Abundance ending that got killed. (Added in Malenia since she IS sleeping until PC manages to wake her, and it should be very odd that PC can despite the presumed efforts of the Haligtree forces to wake her up after Finlay did her Epic Saga to get her back there.)

I am aware of them! I haven't looked at Millicent's questline in as much detail, but the merchants and their dream wine have been pretty crucial to a few conclusions I've drawn about Trina's actions and potential conflicts in the Lands Between, as well as what her priesthood might look like.

It's notable to me that of the three factions Trina seems associated with: the albinaurics (arrows, quest locations), the merchants (cut quest, selling her items), and the Cleanrot Knights (decent enemies for farming her lilies, implying they habitually carry her sacred flower), two of those factions are involved with the Flame of Frenzy. One of the most beneficial Frenzy items you can get in the game, the Black Dumpling, comes from farming albinaurics. There's a possibility that even if we discount the cut content entirely, Trina is still textually invested in combating the Flame of Frenzy.

Which is fascinating, since the only other entity I can think of (beyond the Golden Order) that speaks about opposing Frenzy is Melina herself. People seem to know what Frenzy is, I think, but for such a universal cosmic threat you would expect the other Outer Gods to be just as invested. And there's nothing. The Golden Order locked the merchants away, sure, which is a type of acknowledgement- but Rykard/Eiglay has frenzied albinaurics directly under his nose, and seems ambivalent at best about it. As an inquisitor there's an argument to be made for him perhaps encouraging Frenzy.

Trina seems like a relatively passive figure who then becomes a mere icon of faith in a similar manner to the burned Erdtree after her disappearance, so any indication of motivation or desire on her part is fascinating to me. People certainly love her, and the idea of a cute girl in your dreams promising Ultimate Comfort sounds like the start of a fairly successful religion, but part of me has to wonder if she was at all personally invested in having a following.

Miquella was, he actively wanted to build a paradise and fill it with people, promising them salvation, but I think Trina's following might have been more incidental and based around acts of simple kindness. She promises no salvation, only rest, and that's so utterly alien to the people she encounters that they swear life and loyalty to her forever. She's very much a martyr figure in that way, I think.

I got wildly distracted here but yeah. I am going full archaeologist here. And the SECOND I get into the DLC and discover her items there myself, I'm doing a full breakdown on everything I can find.

[vacant--body]

fresh start (b.b.)

Summary: bucky tries to surprise you by bringing home supplies to cut his hair, but he's a terrible lair, and terrible at hiding things.

Warnings: so much fluff, bucky being in love, angst if you squint, TFATWS!bucky, female!reader, soft!bucky, mentions of death, implied smut

Side note: asdfghjk fluffy bucky makes me so soft, i love it so much❤️feel free to reblog, comment, and like this! it makes me happy when you guys do :) enjoy!

ps, i know i keep changing my style of headers, i’m just trying to see which one i’m comfortable with :)

It was a cold November evening, the sun setting low in the sky casting yellow and orange rays through the curtains, making it look like the living room was on fire. You sat curled up on the couch, thumbing through the book you had picked up while you ran out for coffee earlier. Slow forties music played softly through the stereo, and you hummed quietly to the tune.

Before you met Bucky you would have laughed at the thought of enjoying any music past the 60's. But the more Bucky played it, the more you grew to like it. You would have laughed at yourself a year ago thinking you would end up with James Buchanan Barnes. But here you were, giving lazy good morning kisses and heated nights in bed.

You heard the apartment door open and the sound of keys being set down on the counter. "Hey doll." Bucky muttered behind you, planting a soft kiss on the top of your head. "Brought dinner." He handed you a take out container of Chinese food.

You set you book down on the end table and stretched your arms out. "How was your date with Yori?" You yawned, the corner of your lips twitching into a smirk.

"Date." He scoffed, echoing your words. "It's not easy finding someone who's the same age as you are, ya know, shared life experience and all."

"But he doesn't know you're 106?"

"He's 90. It's close enough." He chuckled, sitting down next to you, his arm snaking around your shoulders.

You smiled to yourself, taking a bite of your dumplings. The two of you sat in a comfortable silence as you ate. Bucky scrolled through his phone while tapping his foot along to the music. It's nights like these that remind you of why you fell in love with him in the first place. Time just seemed to slow when you were with him, everything was in it's place and was perfect. You loved his entire body relaxed around you, the creases in his face softening. The way his long hair framed his face, curls touching the bottom of his chin.

You gulped down the last of your dumplings and got up to throw out of container. As you passed the kitchen counter, you saw a grocery bag sitting on one of the chairs. You tossed the container is the garbage and grabbed the bag, opening it up. You barely got a glimpse inside before Bucky was jumping over the back of the couch, snatching it out of your hands.

"Hey! That's private stuff!" He said, hiding the bag behind is back. You set you hands on your hips, raising your eyebrow.

"What did you buy now, Bucky?" You chided. Ever since Bucky had came back from being blipped, he's been trying new things. Buying random items that just seem to interest him. His spending spree had been the butt of a joke ever since you started dating.

"Nothing, nothing." His eyes couldn't meet yours. "Nothing stupid, anyway."

"Then why can't I see?" You reached for the bag again, but he moved it out of your reach.

"It's a surprise." He gave you a lopsided grin.

"Uh huh." You rolled your eyes. "I'm going to take a bath. You can join me if you want, or you can stay out here and play with your secrets." You wiggled your fingertips at him as you walked past.

You saw Bucky's bottom lip pout out as you headed towards the bathroom. You watched as he stuck the bag on top of the fridge and you smirked. It was funny for him to think that you couldn't reach it up there.

You turned the faucet to the bath on, sticking your finger under the stream to feel the water. Once you got it to the temperature you wanted, you plugged the drain and shed off your warm clothes. Goosebumps pricked your skin as you exposed it to the cold air, making you shiver. You felt a large arm wrap around you and pull you close, his nose nuzzling into your hair.

The hot water felt like heaven as you stepped in, Bucky coming in behind you. You both sunk down in the water, your back leaning against his broad chest. His chin came to rest on your shoulder, his arms wrapping completely around you. His long hair tickled your cheek, making you squirm.

"I killed Yori's son." He blurted out suddenly. "I'm putting him down on the list."

"How do you know?" You muttered against his cheek.

"Saw a picture of him in his apartment. Had a nightmare the other night." He whispered. "He was in the same hotel as the targets I was taking out. He saw me, so I killed him. No loose ends."

You sighed, hands reaching up to stroke his hair. "What are you gonna tell him?"

"I don't know."

You sat there quietly, unsure of what to say. The noise of water sloshing in the tub filled the silence.

"Just tell him the truth." You said finally.

Bucky didn't respond. Instead, he pulled you even closer to him, hiding his face in the crook of your neck. You closed your eyes, fingertips stroking over his scared arm.

You weren't sure how long the two of you sat like that, holding each other. You were beginning to doze off when you felt Bucky shift under you. Suddenly, you were aware of how the hot water was starting to turn cold and your hands felt prune-y.

Moving his arms off your waist, you stood up and let the water drip off of you before grabbing a towel. You dried off and Bucky did the same. You quickly walked into your bedroom, your body starting to feel cold after soaking in a hot bathtub. You slipped one on his long tee shirts, and opted for a simply pair of lacy black panties.

Hearing the sound of Bucky's dog tags softly clinking against his chest, you turned in look at him. The white towel hung low on his hips, his V line peaking out. His ab's rippled as he moved, his pictorials popping out. Your tongue swiped across your bottom lip, and you looked away, not wanting to meet his intense gaze.

Bucky's eyes ran across your body, his heart leaping when seeing that you were wearing his shirt. He loved it when you did that. You were so small compared to his, making it look like you were drowning in his clothes. He dropped his towel, tossing it in the laundry basket before pulling his grey sweatpants over his still damp legs.

You sat down on the foot of the bed, watching him as he got dressed. When he crossed the room, he leaned down to press a gentle kiss on your forehead. Smiling, you grabbed his cheeks, forcing him to kiss you on the mouth. Bucky's plump lips pressed tightly onto yours and you nibbled on his bottom lip, receiving a small whimper in return. His tongue slipped into your mouth and it swirled around with yours, fighting for dominance.

Humming in satisfaction, you pulled away. His lips were red and puffy from the friction on them, probably matching your own. He looked at you through his eyelashes, his sky colored eyes piercing your heart.

"You're such a tease." He groaned, flopping on top of you, pinning you to the bed. You squealed at the sudden feeling of you being squashed.

"You know you love it." You giggled, digging your fingers into his rib cage. As much as Bucky likes to deny it, you knew he was ticklish.

"No, you love it. It's torture to me." He declared, tickling you back. You squealed again, your body squirming underneath his.

"Okay, okay!" You yelled through laughter. "I do like it, it makes you needy. That leads to some of the best sex we've ever had."

"Let me show you how needy I can be." He growled in your ear, nipping at the nape of your neck. You shuddered at the feeling, Bucky knew that was your sweet spot.

You moaned softly, but quickly snapped out of it. You reached around him, fisting his hair and tugging on it, making him look at you. He groaned at the feeling.

"You don't get to fuck me until you show me what's in the bag." You stated promptly, releasing his hair.

"What? That ain't fair!" He protested.

"No bag? No sex."

Bucky groaned again, this time in annoyance. He pushed himself off of you and stood up. Grabbing your hand, he lead you out to the kitchen. He let go of you and reached up to get the bag. You quickly snatched it from him before he could change his mind, setting it down on the table with a thunk.

You opened it, peering inside. You frowned in confusion, pulling out an electric razor, hair scissors, and some pomade. You looked up, still confused. Bucky seemed almost embarrassed, shifting his weight back and forth on his feet.

"What, hair cutting stuff? I thought you didn't want to cut your hair?"

"I guess I changed my mind." He shrugged. "It was supposed to be a surprise."

"Well, it still is." You laughed. "I never thought in a million years you would cut it." He shrugged again, looking away. "Baby," You said softly, feeling a light mood switch into something else.

"Hmm?"

"Why do you want to cut your hair?"

"I-I," He stuttered. You laced your arms around his neck, wanting him to know that you were there for him. “I just need a fresh start. I haven't had my hair short since-" He took a shuddering breath. "Since World War Two. When I woke up from being the Winter Soldier, I never had enough time. Moving from one battle to the next. I spent two years in Wakanda, but I was in cyrofreeze most of the time." He sighed, his forehead coming to rest on yours. "I just need a fresh start, to put everything that has happened behind me."

This was one of the things Bucky loved about you. He could just talk, ramble on for hours and you would sit and listen, soaking up every word he said. Never interrupting, telling him that what he was saying was stupid-unless it actually was stupid. His gaze finally landed back on yours, the love that was pouring out of your soft eyes made him feel better.

You stood on your tiptoes and placed a kiss on the tip of his nose. A smile crept the corners of your mouth. "I can cut it for you." You whispered. Bucky's eyes lit up in excitement. "Plus, it'll be better than the hack job you'd do."

"Hey!" He spanked your bum, laughing.

"Sit down." You giggled, pulling a chair up for him.

You ran and grabbed a spray bottle while Bucky got comfy. You filled it with water and returned to him, misting it over his hair. You grabbed the shears and straightened it out, pulling all of it to his back.

"How short do you want it?" You asked, running your fingers through his hair.

"Whatever you wanna do, doll." He replied.

He heard the scissors snip and watched as a good chunk of it floated to the ground.

"There's no going back now." You hummed, continuing to cut up towards his scalp.

After you cut off most of the length, you reached over his shoulder and grabbed the razor. You turned it on and it buzzed to life. You brought it up to his head, careful not to cut it too short. The razor had a guard on, so it left the patch you had started on feeling fuzzy. You continued to do that around his head, leaving the top a little bit longer than the rest.

You moved to his front, using the scissors to style it a little bit more before you finished. Grabbing the pomade, you squeezed a glob of it into your palm. You rubbed your hands together spreading it around. You ran your hands through his hair, fluffing it up a bit. You got it to lay exactly how you wanted and stepped back, admiring your work.

"Excuse me, sir? Have you seen my Bucky anywhere? I've seemed to have lost him again." You said, fake concern in your voice. Bucky rolled his eyes at you. "Go look, babe. I like it." You tapped him on the shoulder, letting him know you were done.

Bucky disappeared into the bathroom and you turned to the kitchen sink to wash the sticky pomade off your hands. You went and grabbed a broom and dust pan, sweeping up the locks of hair you cut off. When you were done, you looked up and saw Bucky standing in front of you, smiling like an idiot.

"You like it?" You smiled.

"I love it." His soft eyes sparkled with happiness.

"See? Told you, you would have ended up cutting your ear off if I didn't do it."

Bucky didn't answer. Instead, he grabbed you by the hips and lifted on you onto the table. His body moved in between your legs and you instinctively wrapped them around his hips, your arms wrapping around his thick neck.

He kissed you, hard, his palm of his hands digging into your hips. You kissed him back with such passion that it felt like he was sucking all the air of your lungs. He suddenly pulled away, his chest heaving.

"I love you, doll." Bucky murmured, lifting a hand to tuck your hair behind you ear.

"I love you too, Buck."

"Now, what were you saying about me needy?"

Oh, you were in for one hell of a night.

pls lmk if you want to be added to my tag list!!

[zmediaoutlet]

Oh man, would you mind talking a little more about your pet HC of ace!Dean? I have flirted with aro!Dean for ages, but now that you mention ace...!

hey bud

This is intended to be a fic one day so I've sort of avoided talking about it, but tbh it might be one of those headcanons that doesn't really deserve a fic? Like the kind of thing where, once it's translated into narrative, it really just reads like a pamphlet for the author's HC and isn't particularly satisfying to read. So I guess I might as well talk about it.

First: **THIS IS JUST A HEADCANON OMG**. Here I'm using headcanon in the sense of 'hey, this is a thing that can sorta be extrapolated from the text as shown, and it's kinda fun to play with! I don't think it's literally canon or intentional on the part of the writers, but it's entertaining!' So, please don't take as me trying to claim canon gospel, I don't need angry anons. Especially these days.

Second, to the aro thing: I know a lot of people do kinda like that for Dean, and to be honest I can't see it at all, like at all at all. But! There are a lot of semantics and personal interpretations when we come to the words 'love' or 'romance', so what you may viewing as a divorce between Dean and either concept may be miles from what I'm viewing as Dean + those concepts. I see a much more fluid/seamless river between affection/friendlove/romanticlove/need-for-closeness. This is aside from the fact that Dean's love for Sam is pretty indefinable and insane-making, in literal canon as well as any fanon treatments.

That said, I really do see a lot of romantic urges in Dean. Of course they can be interpretable depending on your semantic readings! But things like: - crushing on the guitar lesson girl in Bad Boys - immediately falling in love with Cassie - the dream of himself in the djinn!episode being in a committed affectionate dating relationship with Carmen - literally dreaming about Hallmark picnic dates with Lisa - later actually committing to a real relationship with Lisa, and fully operating as a romantic partner for her. His speech in the virginity ep about how good sex is because of connection, and his wistfulness when he talks about how he always has to say goodbye. [from here on I'm going to stop putting in caveats about how those *can* be interpreted still as aro and just take it as read that you can have any hc you like, okay?]

Third, given the last item in the previous list: I find it fun to interrogate Dean's love for sex. He loves sex. He loves it! He goes after it when he can get it and has so much fun! There's the fireworks and the joy and all that good stuff. ...But. Physical sensations are nice, but what if it's more that he wants the warm and happy human connection? What if it's that he loves making other people feel good, because after all what is Dean but the happiest-to-serve little dumpling? What if, after all, he doesn't necessarily need sex in itself just to get off, but instead really is after the romantic elements of the act, however he can access them?

Is that 100% supported by canon? Of course not. He's going after purple nurple girl because he wants to get laid. I just find it to be an interesting read, especially as we see his 'hookup count' go down and down through the years, until he's practically celibate in the latest part of the show when he's living in the bunker with Sam in what is, romantically or not, a committed relationship. Dean doesn't fuck prostitutes and he does not coldly get laid -- there was NO way he was going to have hate!sex with Bela -- so the sex qua sex is not the goal. He wants affection and connection, not just an orgasm.

As often is the case, the reason I'm interested in something is because it's a surprisingly available read in the text, and I think this sort of is! Of course he would have to be a sex-positive ace person, not of the repulsed type. But what I see, for the fic that will probably never get written, is a wincest life where he and Sam started hooking up whenever, that part doesn't matter -- but now they're in the bunker and they're committed and they're never letting go, and Sam realizes that Dean hasn't initiated sex in... months. They have had sex, of course! But Sam's realizing that he's always the one who starts it -- and Dean happily leans in and goes along and everyone seems to have a good time. But what's really happening is that Dean's getting the warm intimate emotional connection that he needs; orgasms really are just an afterthought.

I find it interesting, that's all. Mr. soft saxophone solo, holding hands during sex, is really more interested in the holding hands. Sam should take him for a picnic.

[prince-honeypaw]

hello!! i really like ur writings!! could i please request a little tamaki finding out about agere and asking mirio to join him in this cool journey (as their caretaker) :] <3 thank u sm

♡ Hello! I'm happy you enjoy my writing! I had a lot of fun writing this one so I hope you have fun reading it! :3

♡ Tamaki learned about regression early in his first year at UA. When he took up a work study with Fatgum he was a lot more insecure- More than he is now! So, holding his little future sidekick's best interests at heart, Taishiro said that Tamaki needed to find a way to cope with his anxiety before he shivered himself right out of his hero costume!

♡ Being in therapy already, Tamaki hesitantly asked his therapist if there was anything she could recommend that could help him. He left that day with an itemized list and an assignment: Try at least three of the mechanisms she had suggested before their next session.

♡ Regression had stuck out the most.

♡ His first time regressing was... Messy. He'd dropped a LOT younger than anticipated and it left a mark on his bedroom. Most of the gear he had set out wasn't appealing to baby Tamaki so the only solution was to unmake his bed and toss things all around. He worried that he'd ended up eating his own homework at one point, but thankfully did not.

♡ But... It was pretty fun being small. It just was something he needed to prepare better for next time! And that meant asking for help.

♡ Of course Mirio was his first option, seeing as they'd known each other since they were kids! He didn't know anyone he trusted more to see him in such a vulnerable state, really. And Mirio was happy to help his friend in need.

♡ While Mirio didn't have much experience with little-little kids, he knew Tamaki and figured that was as good as anything. He was given a simple set of rules: Do NOT let baby Tamaki wreak havoc. The rest they'd figure out as they went. Seemed easy enough!

♡ It was not that easy. A lot of bumps were found in the road from Tamaki struggling to fully regress for about two hours to Tamaki's grandmother forgetting to knock before coming in and causing him to jam his pacifier under the pillow, and more. It left Tamaki to drop purely from frustration, his cheeks red and tears spilling in quiet rivers. Nothing was going the way he wanted! It sucked!

♡ Being so caught up in his head, he barely noticed Mirio moving around next to him. Mirio had reclaimed the forgotten paci and spoke so softly, "C'mon sunflower, there's nothing to cry about, see? Nothing's broken and no one is hurt. D'ya wanna watch Sagwa?"

♡ As a matter of fact!!! ... He did wanna watch Sagwa. Being upset was exhausting, he would like to not do it very often. His favorite was Sheegwa because she looked like a dumpling.

♡ Mirio was in charge of finding the show on Tamaki's laptop, so Tamaki took up his pacifier before he burrowed under Mirio's discarded jacket like a little fox in a den.

♡ He'll be taking this, thanks.

♡ Tamaki fell asleep under Mirio's jacket, curled up against his hip. The sight was enough to put Mirio at ease... Sure, things didn't go the way either of them thought it would or even wanted it to, but it ended up just fine in his most humble opinion.

♡ Careful not to disturb the sleepy beast, Mirio leaned back against the wall and watched old PBS cartoons until the lax mood took him out.

♡ Mirio would wake up to find that Tamaki got into a box of markers.

♡ He'd have to keep those on lockdown next time.

[sunevial]

Greetings and I hereby like to request more of them delightful the space and magic gays

Somewhat to Venny's surprise—though she really shouldn't have been surprised, given the eagerness and oddly specific timing of her neighbors—Sol was already waiting inside the restaurant. Weaving between the tables and mismatched chairs, she took a seat across the booth, setting down her bag with a heavy thud.

Sol glanced up from the menu. "Long first day?"

"Not so much long as...you know that feeling of being horribly overwhelmed and every single thing you've ever known got tossed out the window?" she said, taking a long gulp from the complimentary glass of water. "That. Basically that."

"I'm sure you did fine, girl." Sol flipped to the next page in the nearly book sized list of offerings, stopping just long enough to slide a plate of appetizers in her directon. "No one expects you to know everything first day out of the gate."

"They do when you're the supposed expert in your field from the next planet over," Venny muttered, flipping to a random page and scanning through the listings. "Nevermind that I haven't even used most of these computers and they speak a different dialect than I'm used to. You try translating something from two hundred years ago into the modern tongue."

"I mean personally that sounds like hell, so, good on you if you can even talk to our computers."

Venny shrugged her shoulders, taking her chopsticks and picking up one of the appetizer dumplings. Chicken, lightly seasoned, and lovingly fried up crispy. "It's really not that different from learning another language. You have coders, after all."

"I failed Interplanetary Standard Common."

"...your world has coders."

"There you go," Sol said, glancing up as the waiter came to their table. She brushed a lock of lavender hair from her eyes, mulling over the page for a moment before pointing about halfway down the page. "Beef potstickers for me, and can I get the pork buns to go?"

"Certainly miss. And for you?"

Venny bit her lip, flipping back a few pages with relative speed. She wanted something familiar, a taste of home so far away. Ylxret's staple diet trended towards a flavor palette that some described as 'overly complex' and was perhaps better stated as 'overwhelming', combining several textures and bright, bold profiles.

That combination was, as far as she could tell, not the most popular here on Toven.

Couldn't even find fried giant spider legs.

"I'll take the steamed pork dumplings, extra sauce," she said, folding the menu back up and handing it to the waiter. "And could I have some chili oil to go along with it?"

"Coming right up."

After refilling their waters, the waiter vanished back into the kitchen, leaving the two of them alone and without the social convention of not talking while trying to figure out something to eat.

Now they actually had to talk.

Fuck.

"So...how long have you and Clarissa known each other?" Venny eventually said, cracking a small smile to try and break the silence.

"That's really your lead here?"

She shrugged. "You're the two people I know so far, and you literally gave me about a fifth of the items currently in my apartment."

"That was entirely on her."

"Also she set this up and I want to know how many other villainous plots that girl has in her head."

"You know, that's fair," Sol took a sip of water. "We met freshman year of college, assigned randomly as roommates. She made sure I was up for my 7:45 physics lab-"

"Oh gross."

"I know, right? And I apparently didn't drive her up the walls," Sol continued, taking one of the dumplings and dragging it through some sweet chili sauce. "So, we became friends, stayed friends, and just decided to stay roommates until we got sick of each other or one of us had to move for work."

"And I'm guessing you regret that right about now?"

"I mean, dumplings are dumplings." She popped one in her mouth, raising an eyebrow in Venny's direction. "What about you? Got anyone back home you're missing?"

She let a small laugh escape, stifling it just as the waiter brought out their main course and whisked the earlier plates away. Without wasting another second, she drizzled the deliciously spicy oil over the dumplings and dug in. "Well, mom and dad, obviously. And my friend Josie, who's probably going to grill me on everything once we can get on call."

"Sounds like a good friend."

"She's honestly a lot like you." Venny tapped her chopsticks against her bowl, trying to sort the words in her mind. "She's a maker of things, though she uses hard light instead of..."

"Steal and engines?"

She nodded. "She's honestly the reason I'm here at all. Always pushing me to try out new things, go new places. Never thought she'd get me to do something like this, though. She's the brave one between us."

"Moving to an entire new planet seems pretty brave to me," Sol said, cracking a smile that seemed to brighten her entire composure.

"I mean you say that, but she drag races planes."

"...for real?"

"She got first place in the Forlarn Circuit three years ago.'

"I have no idea what that is."

"Regional race. Got some prize money out of it, and a little extra from the betting pool."

"Damn."

"Maybe I should've said she's a bit crazy," Venny said, letting another laugh bubble over her lips. "But the good kind of crazy, you know?"

"I've got some like that, yeah." Sol sighed, stretching out her arms and back as the waiter came back with her order to go and the two checks. "Though mine decide to either ruin every single one of my tabletop games or get absolutely plastered after softball games."

"I'll have to come to one someday," Venny said, setting down the cash and tip. Before she could reach for her purse, Sol flicked her fingers, sending a small burst of wind to lift it up into her hands. "Oh, thank you."

"Don't mention it." She shrugged, slinging her own bag over her shoulder. "This was...fun, actually."

"Yeah, it was," Venny replied with a brighter smile. Turns out food and a full stomach makes for a happer disposition. Who knew. "Been a bit since I've been on a platonic date."

Sol snorted, though her features also softened. "Same, honestly. Usually it's just me and Clarissa, or me and a friend trying to speed through the lunch hour."

"Wanna do this again next week? As friends, of course," Venny added hastily, the words spilling out of her mouth faster than she expected. "No need to give into your roommate's meddling."

That got a genuine grin out of Sol. "Yeah, that'll work. As friends."

"As friends."

[fifteenskies15]

Flamboyantly Worked it Out

(Tengen Uzui)

Summary: Your son is sick right in Kodomo no Hi festival, he wanted to spend it so badly with his family and friends, not wanting to make him unhappy you, Tengen, and the rest of his wives decided to make an "indoor festival" for him

Admin's Note: My first fic about Tengen and reader, this is all for you my dearest fellow Tengen stans, But I'm fully aware that you mostly spend time with his wives too

"I have renewed my clear and flamboyant priority..."

"First the four of you..."

"Then respectable humans"

"Then myself"

"Even if we're no longer in the corps, we're still going to protect the plain and carefree people, of course since we're still demon hunters till the end of the day"

"Hehehe! Papa!!"

...

"Ah.. How could I forget?"

"I mean the five of you..."

"and frankly speaking, you guys are all so precious to me, so remember..."

"... Don't die"

"ACCHOO!!!" a high pitched sneeze enacted out from your son's bedroom, lately he's been sneezing a lot "Mom/Dad...what happened? My nose feel stuffy" you compared your body temperature with his "Oh my, Ginjiro, you catch a cold"

"Is it bad? Can I still participate in children's day?" He say as he break into another sneeze, you had a sinking feeling inside your stomach, your son, Ginjiro had been looking forward to spend children's day with his moms and dad/dads, you gulped, trying to be as gentle as possible to say that he can't participate in the festival he's been looking forward to.

"Ginjiro, I'm sorry, but you had to rest... Can you please do that for us?"

Ginjiro's (E/C) eyes start to tear up, you feel guilty to see your seven year old son can't do much for now "B-but...I have been looking forward to this day... I even made my own Kabuto helmet..." You sighed and gently stroke his white hair "I'm so sorry, but chin up... there's always next year..."

Little Ginjiro just sighed and lay back down to his futon, dejectedly, "... It's okay mom/dad... You're just looking out for me...If that's the case, I'll just take a rest..., Love you Mom/dad..." You sighed and pat his head "We love you too, son..." Ginjiro smiled and close his eyes as you came out of his bedroom, sighing.

"I know that sigh quite well, (Name), is everything alright?" Hinatsuru asked you, visibly concerned "It's Ginjiro... he's got a fever and..." You sighed for the second time "...Do you remember that he wanted to go to children's day festival together with all of us this year? Well I'm afraid he can't..."

Hinatsuru then pouted sadly as she heard that her son is sick, with a sigh, she put a comforting hand on you "Oh, I'm so sorry, dear (name), I can't imagine how sad our son is" you sighed softly but smiled at her "It's okay, Hina... It's not even your fault" Hinatsuru hugged you and stroked your (H/C) hair to console you, you lean in to her motherly touch.

"Oh! But I just have a good idea!" Hinatsuru say beaming up, you looked up to her, slightly tilting your head "What is it, Hina?"

"What if we just "bring the festival in"?" She smiled at you, as you tilt your head again "How can we do that, Hina? She just smiled at you until you get what she meant by that.

"Oh, I see how it is" you say smiling at her "Well all and all, we're going to make a koinobori, each carp represent us as his parents, the biggest and black carp, Magoi, symbolize Tengen-sama/and me as his father(s), the red and smaller carp banner, higoi, represent us/all of you as his mothers, Ginjiro is our only son, and frankly speaking he's also our first son, so he's going to have blue carp banner"

Hinatsuru listened closely and nodded as she did, "I see, very well then, what about the food?"

"Hmm, if I recall correctly, we make sweets for him is chimaki (bamboo dumpling) along with Mochi and various array of rice cakes, I don't remember much, but we could always ask Suma, she and Ginjiro had a lot of fun on last year's festival, so she might knew"

"Ah, okay then! Suma and I will handle the sweets, you and Makio can make the carp banners, and that leave Tengen-sama to watch over Ginjiro, and... Maybe stall him for a bit so he won't know what surprise we store for him" you smiled at her and nodded "Great idea! Well then, chop chop! We can't waste the sunlight!"

Hinatsuru smiled as she see how hyped you are, she chuckled and kissed your cheek "Well let's get to work, dear wife/husband" you giggled and do the same gesture to her as you scurry off to find Makio.

----

"You need me to help make a carp banner? Well, no problem, (name)! I have plenty of free time to make those!" Makio said, grinning at you "That's good to hear, Makio, well let's gather up the items we need!"

"Alright, what do we need?"

You recall what items are required to make the carp banner "Let's see, we need a ryudama, yaguruma, and fukiganashi, I'm sure the general store had those for us and we could make the carp banner ourselves" Makio nodded as she memorized the items you said "Well, what are we waiting for? Let's get them now!" She said as she headed out and you follow her.

You and her then bumped into Tengen "Whoa there, what brings my wives/my wife and husband today? You both look agitated"

"Ah, Tengen-sama! Well...we..."

"No, let me guess, you both are going to get item for the carp banners, right?"

"Actually, yes, has Hinatsuru told you what to do?"

He nodded with (unusually) gentle smile on his face "Yeah, she did, don't you worry, my girls/and boy, I will get him busy with my flamboyant tales" he said, slightly flipping his hair as you and Makio giggled at him "But on one condition"

"What is it, Tengen-sama?" You and Makio said in unison "You should let me help you both so this impromptu festival will goes flamboyantly" you and Makio share a look and then nods "Only when Ginjiro is asleep"

"Deal, well now godspeed, you two, time's a wastin'!" He said as he gave you both a "flamboyant" hug as you and Makio headed out from Uzui estate.

----

"Well! Isn't it just nice! It's been quite a while since I came to the town aside from taking Ginjiro to children festival all those years ago" Makio said taking in the bustling town, people are passing by, vendors selling so many stuff and even food and array of unique shop, "Well since we're both are kunoichi/we're a shinobi we don't have much time to act like normal people"

Makio grinned and elbow your side, slightly chuckling "Hey, I take an offense, I can be normal too, you know?!" You giggled at her "I dunno, you looked angry and hungry 24/7 so basically you're hangry, get it?"

"Oh, I show you hangry!" She said laughing as she chases you as you run while giggling like a kid.

You and Makio had cat and dog chasing game around the town, you were at your advantage at least until Makio use her ninja trick and got you.

"Gotcha, you cute girl/guy!"

"Aaahh!! Noo!! Spare me mercy, Divine Makio!!"

You and Makio burst out laughing before you remember why you're in the town now "Oh dear, we better get those items now!"

"You're right, I'm having fun chasing you around though" she said giggling as you both headed to the general store, a kind old lady greet you both with a smile

"Well, hello, hello! What a pair of beauties/cute couples you are, is there anything I can help with?"

"Well, old lady, do you have...umm...what was it again, (name)?"

"A Ryudama, yaguruma and fukiganashi"

"Yeah, those things"

"Ahh, I see you're going to celebrate the children day, give me a moment, dearies, I'll be right back" the old lady said as she got the item you both required.

"You know, it's a good idea to have the festival in the estate so little Ginjiro can have a good time with all of us, last year we take him to the festival separately, you on his first year, then Hinatsuru, me, Tengen-sama then lastly with Suma"

"Hehe, well it's Hinatsuru's idea, I'm just doing what I need to do" Makio smiled warmly at you and put her hand on your shoulder "Still, it's good to know that you both find a way so we can cheer our son and let him enjoy the festival even though he's under the weather"

"Well, anything for our only kid, and maybe...if Tengen-sama agrees, our future kids too" you say wiggling your eyebrows as Makio laughed and playfully smacked your shoulder "(name)! You naughty girl/boy!" You both burst out laughing again as the old lady bring the required items "Here we go, dearies"

"Thank you, ma'am!" You took out a pouch of money, but the old lady stopped you "Oh, it's free for you, dearie, I may be old but I can't help hearing your conversation with this lady, I take it you made a koinobori for your sick son?"

"Yeah, we are, he's been looking forward to this and there's no way we make him sad just because he can't enjoy it with other kids" Makio said, huffing a bit "Well, you both are certainly are good parents for him! I wish that he'll get well soon so he can enjoy the festival"

You and Makio smiled at her and bowed your head a bit "Thank you very much, old lady! Sorry for the trouble!"

"Think nothing of it, dearies"

You thanked her once again before you and Makio headed home.

-----

"Hina, Suma, how's the food?" You said as you checked the other wives at the kitchen "Oh, (name)! We're doing great! We're just going to make the kashiwa mochi and the Kabuto namagashi, how's the carp banner doing?" Suma asked you as she made the pickled oak leaf for the mochi "Oh we're going to make it now, if you're finished why don't you join us on drawing the carp banner?"

"Oh! I don't know...I mean! I would love to but what if the carp banner turned out to be a mess because of me??"

Hinatsuru shakes her head at Suma "Oh, Suma, it's okay, you're going to do well, and (name) we will join you later, alright?"

"Alright! We're at the genkan if you looked for us!" You said as you headed to the entrance area to join Makio making the carp banner, and to see Tengen already sit next to her

"Oh, Tengen! You're here, I take it that Ginjiro is asleep?" You said as you sit down, joining them "Yup, I figured out I'm going to help you and Makio making this carp banner, we're going to make it, flamboyantly!"

You chuckled at him as you took the fabric "Well in that case, we better get going before our son is awake"

The three of you worked on the banners in peaceful silence, sometimes though, you're being cheeky by smearing the fabric paint on your wife and husband's face "Whoops, my hand slipped" you said nonchalantly while drawing the higoi, trying your best to hide your smirk, unfortunately, Tengen saw that and smeared some on your cheek "Oh, the God of Festivies didn't mean to smear a paint on his wife/husband's face" he said jokingly, as you retaliate him "You were saying?"

You and Tengen keep smearing each other faces with the paint, Makio who made the banner for Ginjiro just laughed and shake her head at her wife and husband/husbands antics, "Now, you guys are going to wake Ginjiro and the banner won't be finished!"

You and Tengen share looks before you both smirk at her and smeared a red paint on her face "Ohh, so this is how we're going to finish the banners huh! It's on!"

The three of you basically chasing around trying to "paint each other faces" while laughing

"Ha! In your face, Makio!"

"You're not getting away with that, (name)!"

"Eat my Flamboyant Surprise attack!!"

Tengen manage to get the paint on your and Makio's nose, you gasped with her "The audacity!" You both then tackled Tengen and smear paint all over his face "Aahh!! Betrayed by my wives/my wife and husband!! I have fallen!!"

The three of you burst out laughing, you hear a giggle and to see Hinatsuru and Suma on the doorway smiling at both of you "Well it looks like you both have fun with making the banners"

You, Tengen and Makio sheepishly get up "Hehe, umm...sorry, we got carried away" Hinatsuru just smiled and sit down "Well let's not waste our time"

Suma joined her with a napkin on her hand, wiping the paint off your face "Hehe, you're actually cute with paint on your face, (name)" you smiled at her and kissed her cheek as a thank you gesture "Thank you, Suma-chan" she smiled and clean Tengen's face then Makio as you all continue making the banners and it pole.

"How's the Magoi banner, Tengen-sama?" Hinatsuru said as she helped you paint the higoi banner "I have made the most flamboyant banner the people ever seen!" Tengen said as he flaunt the black carp banner with jewels that similar to his eye patch he had, you and the other wives smiled at him.

"That is a flamboyant banner, alright" you chuckled "Now then, Tengen, if you don't mind can you attach it on the pole along with the fukiganashi?"

He nodded and start to attach the banner and wind bag on the pole,

"Suma!! You got the color mixed up!!"

You and Hinatsuru look over Makio and Suma's banner, the white paint smeared on the blue paint

"Ahhh!! I'm so sorry, Makio-san!! I knew I would mess it up"

"Quit talking like a coward, Suma!"

You, Tengen and Hinatsuru can only sigh as you approach them "It's okay Suma-chan, I will salvage this, you help Hinatsuru on attaching the ring in the carp's mouth"

"O-okay..." She then went to help Hinatsuru as you help Makio salvage the banner, she sighed "We don't have much time to salvage this" you shook your head and smiled at her "We still can, just leave it to me"

You dip the brush in the bowl of water to clean it and cover the white smudges on the carp's body with blue paint and carefully draw it's scales "See, we're almost finished so don't worry about it, Makio"

Makio sighed and smiled at you "Well, I shouldn't doubt you then" you all continue make the banner together and only few hours later, it's finished.

"Well, looks like we flamboyantly worked it out!" Tengen said as all of you all see how the wind fluttered the carp banners "Not really, Tengen-sama, Ginjiro haven't seen this yet so it's not finished yet, besides I have another thing I got for him" Hinatsuru say smiling at him.

"Hmm, yeah you're right, I wonder if he's awake now"

"I'll go check on him then"

His wives smiled at both of you "We'll get the tea and sweets ready then"

----

"Thanks for doing this, (name), it was a flamboyant idea to celebrate children's day like this" Tengen said as you both head to Ginjiro's bedroom, you smiled and shook your head "It was all Hinatsuru's idea, so you'll have to thank her instead"

Tengen smiled at you and ruffled your (H/C) hair "Hey don't sweat it, you both did amazingly and flamboyantly, Suma and Makio too, you don't know how lucky I am that I married to four amazing women/three amazing women and a flamboyant man and I have even more flamboyant son, too"

You chuckled and playfully punched his chest "save your sappy words for later, Tengen" he just smirked and slid open the shoji door and to see your son, huddled in blanket hugging his self made Kabuto helmet.

"Hey there kiddo" Tengen smiled and sit next to him "Hey Dad, sniff, and hey Mom/father" he say smiling weakly "what's up?"

"We know you're feeling under the weather, but do you want to get some fresh air for a bit? Spring wind is never that cold so don't worry" he thought of it for a while then smiled "Yeah, okay"

Tengen smiled and carried him on his shoulders as you both lead him outside "We're sorry that you couldn't celebrated the festival at the town, we knew how much you want to"

Ginjiro only smiled and shook his head "It's okay Mom/dad, I know you're worried about me..."

"Damn right we are so we decided to have a little festivies here and now" Tengen said as you both stepped out of the estate "Huh? What do you mean, da...-" he then looked up at the carp banner and his (E/C) eyes sparkled in happiness "Waahh!! A koinobori!! It looks so cool!! Did you guys made this??"

You and Tengen nodded as he pointed out at the banners "That black one is me/and your dad, the red ones are your moms, and the blue one on the bottom? It's you kid, you look awesomely flamboyant"

"Cool" the little boy marveled the carp banner and bounce up excitedly "This is the first time I saw this up close!! It's so cool!"

You and Tengen share a smile before back to Ginjiro "Hey kid, I know you're supposed to eat something warm like soup, but for today, it's an exception"

If it's possible, Ginjiro's eyes sparkled even more "Really?? What is it??"

"You'll see, your moms prepared something for you"

----

"Ah! You're awake, Ginjiro! Come, come! Sit down and enjoy the food!" Suma said as she excitedly usher Ginjiro to sit, his eyes widen in surprise when he saw array of sweets in front of him

"Wow!! A Kashiwa Mochi!! I got this with Suma kaa-chan last year! Can I eat it? Can I eat it pleeaasee??"

Makio laughed and ruffled his white hair "help yourself! It's all yours!"

"Yay!!" He happily gobbled up the mochi as you, Tengen and the other wives watch him as you all are the rice cakes Hinatsuru made and sipping green tea, you notice once your sullen and sad son became happier as he gobbled up the mochi happily.

"Oh and I have one more thing" Hinatsuru then walked away get something and come back with Kabuto helmet "Here! This is an actual Kabuto helmet to commemorate this day" she said as she displayed it in the middle of the room, Ginjiro excitedly approach it and look at it in awe "Would that mean it's mine too now?" He said looking up at Hinatsuru with his wide and sparkling eyes, she smiled and gently stroked his hair "Yes Ginjiro, We had hope that you will grow into a strong and healthy man just like...-"

"Just like dad/and father!! I will grow up into a strong shinobi and save people..."

The boy strike a dramatic pose

"... Flamboyantly!"

You all laughed at him as if he forget that he's sick, apple really did not fall far from its tree...

"Well, how about it? What's your thoughts on this "in home festival"?" Suma asked him with a smile, Ginjiro smiled brightly that it melt all of everyone's heart.

"This is the best children's day festival EVER!!" he said jumping up and down and hugged all of you "You guys are the best!! I love you all!!"

You share smile with your husband and wives as you both huddled up in a warm hug

"We love you too, Uzui Ginjiro"

----

Admin 15: Oh whoa, that's the longest story I have ever made, I'm actually quite proud of the outcome, I'm terribly sorry if this story made no sense

[mastrrt]

The Tigress Dilemma *fanfiction*

Usually, fanfic writers (such as I) have a hard time depicting complex characters such as Tigress, ergo this lack of this understanding about our characters can lead us to defile their original personalities and characteristics. I'm pretty sure most, if not, all of us are victims to the Tigress Dilemma, and this problem can only be resolved once Dreamworks has finished Tigress's arc. The Tigress Dilemma is basically what I mentioned above. We misinterpret Tigress and that could lead us to writing imposters instead. Now I have seen many fanfics, and all of them vary in the extent of how terrible their Tigress imposter is. I would say that for my fanfics, my Tigress imposter is pretty far off from the original character, but I feel I am getting there... it's a very slow progress, but every increment of time is making me better as a writer. Anywho, I'll be addressing some Tigress Imposter stereotypes. These stereotypes are the ones we want to avoid as much as possible. And if we do so, we can get closer to the original Tigress. Now, disclaimer, I am not here to tarnish the pride of any of you fanfic writers. I'm just here to point out my opinions and hopefully my opinions can do more good than harm. Also, to bring this blog a more positive vibe, I will be writing some Tigress stereotypes that we should all follow. But that'll be on the next post. 1. The 'Punk Girl School Bully' Type of Tigress. (LoA Tigress) Sleeves are for wimps... fat muscles... I got huge front teeth... i'll put your head on the toilet... pig anatomy on the facial region... you punk!... ILLL BEAT YOUUU UP!... girl that looks like a man... Those lines are all inside the ambit of any typical Buff School Girl Bully. And yeah, these types of people aren't the most likeable. Mainly because of their terrible ego and pride, their unmanaged temper, their constant screaming, and the fact that they bully. And these types of characters usually act upon their anger, and these types of characters are usually defeated by their own caprices. Now a lot of times, people usually confuse 'Punk Girl School Bully' as Tigress's characteristics.

For example, a lot of fanfictions tend to write this: Tigress was clouded with anger. How dare this cocky prick make fun of her name like that? She charged at him, trying to land a double fist strike on her belly, but it has seemed that her muscles were so angry that she suddenly turned into an amateur fighter and totally missed the cocky mite's stomache. Now she was even angrier. She gave a frustrated yell and pounced at the prick, driving her feet into a powerful tornado kick, but the man has sidestepped and she was too angry to use that momentum to execute another kick upon landing. Oh she was so so SO angry that everything turned red. Even though the man was merely a stranger, his smart remarks was enough to somehow make Tigress want to tamper him, as if her anger was derived from personal matter. Oh yes, Tigress was so weak that her peace has succumbed so easily to something as superficial as an empty insult. It isn't like she's a warrior who learned integrity, who lived by virtues and proverbs, and learned to swallow her pride the hard way. Nope. She was just the average hot head. "You! You idiot!" She yelled, driving her fist into arbitrary turns and twist with the speed of a toddler's fist in a fit of frenzy. And yet, after delivering such 'efficient' attacks, the man had avoided her punches the Muhammad Ali way. What's next? The rope-a-dope? Is that how weak Tigress became because of her anger? Oh, and since she's sooo angry, she also became majorly stupid! Since she's losing, she might as well become more desperate to win and because of this, she kinda lost 9/10 of her damn brain. It isn't like she had experienced worst before. It isn't like she's been in a tower surrounded by hundreds of adversaries, outmatched, outgunned, out everything, and still managed to escape through a genius idea to catapult her and her Enterprise out the flaming tower THROUGH the toppling flaming tower.

Look, Tigress can be hot head, but she doesn't allow it to manifest in a way that hampers her during battle. She's a warrior who for sure learned patience. Yes, she might have let herself succumb to her anger during the first movie (by trying to fight Tai Lung despite her master's efforts to stop her) but do understand that it was because of that cursed snow leopard that her father was just outright terrible to her, and 20 years of desperation and overwhelming commitment to kung fu led her to think that defeating Tai Lung is the key to Shifu's heart. Watch the Second movie through and through, with the eyes of a scrutenizing critic. If she is angry, it is usually to appear intimidating or lethal. It's a great strategy, escpecially now that her opponents would surely hold back once they hear the low baritone of her growl. But never, never, never, never, I assure you, did she appear angry and let that rage make her a haphazard, stupid, mess.

Also, fanfic writers tend to also write this: Tigress crossed her arms and growled. Po was so annoying! He wouldn't stop babbling about his new dumpling recipe. If he says 'broccoli broth' one more time, she is sure her dormant side would burst. "SHUT UP PO! YOU ARE AN IDIOT! YOU ARE SO CHILDISH! YOU DON'T DESERVE TO BE THE DRAGON WARRIOR!" And then, Po cried and ran away from the kitchen. The rest of the five gave her a look that could compare to the menacing glare of a thousand men, and they all left her to find the weeping Po. She sneered, she didn't need them anyways. She didn't have a family. And they were no friends of hers.

Tigress is not like this! She values her friends, and she talks to them like friends. Do no potray her the LoA way, because she's not always grumpy... and she is, by chance, grumpy, it's mostly for a reason. When the other five are irritated or even disgusted of Po, you can see that only Tigress smiles. And when she is in an argument, she usually deliver herself in a calm and threatening. Yeah, calm and threatening can be together. Tigress works as a paradox. I think the problem here is that people mistake seriousness and grumpiness as neigh synonyms. DON'T mistake those two different words with the same definition. Tigress is serious, but rarely grumpy in the way LoA/ fancfictions potrays her (just compare KFP 2 Tigress to LoA Tigress (there's a big difference I tell you that (mostly because she doesn't haphazardly turn into a big bish (is this even grammatically correct?))))

2. The Morally Deficient Tigress. I hate you!... you've always been terrible to me Shifu. So I hate you too!... you guys are not my family!... i have no family!... brat times twenty... your spoon is stupid... everyone is stupid... I don't wanna do this anymore... i'll turn evil in six seconds if you don't assuage my ego... cold hearted... insults everywhere... long sullen silences followed by mean comments followed by even more long sullen silences... angst angst angst for no reason... teenage i-have-20-pounds-of-eyeliner-under-my-eyes prototype. this type of imposter Tigress is probably one of the worst forms of Tigress out there. You cannot just ignore that she has been raised by two kung fu masters, one has morals that are so polished and perfect, and the other one with flaws but regardless still wiser than most. She's also follows a regimented schedule of supreme discipline throughout the course of her twenty-eight years, so surely she has been taught hardwork, patience, determination and other virtues that any average olympian athletes would typically have. Despite being called cold-hearted, stoic, perhaps even mean, do remember that she is also a HERO. With a hero's heart and the strength of a hero's mind. You can not simply ignore that she's a good person who had saved, quite possibly, thousands of lives, expecting nothing in return except the heart of her father and a place to reside. Do not mistake badassery with idiocy. Do not make her morally deficient like she's a little child with the mindset of a brat on a bad day.

Here's some examples of this nightmare: "Why do you keep these stuff? You're so childish, you don't deserve to be the Dragon Warrior!" Tigress looked around his loft, threatened by the action figures and the posters of the masters that adorned it.

Po frowned, "But... but... items like these have very big value to me Tigress. Especially my action figures, I cherish them because it's a large fragment of my childhood memories!"

Tigress did not understand. Of course she did not, not only is she whimsy, grumpy, angry and stupid, she also lacks understanding and lessons that can usually be self-taught at the age of twenty. She acts like a little child and that's all her morality is limited to. "No! They're wooden things with no value whatsoever. Stop being a fanboy. Stop being yourself! I can't support you! You idiot."

And she left the room with grandeur ---Sharpei Style with the hint of swagger. Five days later... "It's all your fault why we're here Po! All your fault. It isn't like you made a wonderful plan and I kinda destroyed it after this cocky douche made me angry and I decided to fight him and ditch your plan. And since my dignity got the best of me, it isn't like I'm blaming you 100% on our unfortunate demise when I know 200% that i'm to blame." Po tried to speak, but Tigress continued, "Ya'll should have listened to me! Me me me me! Me me me me!" The end!

Okay okay, it's a little too exaggerated, but you get the point right? Tigress doesn't act like this. She is kind and nice, she's truly supportive even with her doubts, and she loves and values her friends, albeit these traits are not exposed because it's overshadowed by her stoic demeanor. Whatever... sometimes light filters through her facade and you can see her vulnerabilities.

3. The Profesional Becomes the Biggest Amateur. Gets defeated by a few alligators who could barely fight... can't get unstuck from a rope THAT ISNT EVEN KNOTTED NOR THICK ENOUGH TO CARRY TWO POUNDS... can't get out a sticky situation even though she has been through worse... pathetic tiger... no longer has super strength that she has been gifted with. Now I'm just a thread's breadth away before typing a full fledge rant. Yes! I get it. She has been defeated by people who Po can defeat. She has been defeated by Tai lung and Po was able to defeat Tai Lung. But that was because Po was in a special situation, and it was truly only Po who could defeat Tai Lung (I'll adress this in a new post.) Have ya'll ever of this rule, in both film making and book writing, that authors must refrain from degrading everyone's intelligence so that a single character can appear in the caliber of a genius? Basically, what I'm saying is that you cannot make the five (escape Tigress) leagues weaker than their original selves just for the sake of making Po or your main OCs appear stronger. One, that's a terrible illusion that even a blind man can see through. And two, that's just disrespectful for a The Five. Not only are the five overshadowed, but ya'll also heavily disregarded the fact that they are warriors that did a lot. You're forgetting that Tigress can do this

Do not forget that she is the person who can do so much more. If you want a story where Tigress becomes a damsel in distress, and Po is the one to save her, DO NOT get her kidnapped by five wolves. Or ten. Or even twenty. Because this tiger can handle of them easy. Make sure she is defeated by a whole fudging army, or a bunch of hooded warriors who are thousands of years old and are as good as Shifu in kung fu. Make sure her defeat is reasonable and respects what she can do. KNOW what she can do, so that you learn her limits. Give her a challenge, give her a run for her money. Don't make her pathetic just because you want someone else to seem not pathetic. Us fan fic writers say that Tigress is hardcore. Awesome. Badarse. So maybe we should write her that way. Some fan fics I read write that Tigress got defeated because she was hungry or tired and couldn't fight against a few adversaries. I roll me eyes. Bro! You cannot make hunger the reason why she's defeated😂 have you seen what she ate during the first KFP movie? Her meals consists of tea and a small, chewy block of tofu. Please. She had trained her body and mind to resist pain in a way that wouldn't affect her during battle. And don't go destroying her stamina either. If she can go the whole night just battling a bunch of wolves, without even so much as passing out then pulease, don't make tiredness as an excuse. But there are some exceptions though. Like maybe she got tired because she drained her chi. Then that's understandable. So much work.