#And then later I wanted to make something with sesame oil so I did

[leniisreallycool]

Everyone's all like "oh Solomon is canonically a bad cook!" The infinitely funnier option is that he actually is a good cook and every just overreacts because it's a weird mix of human world food and Devildom food. Man's been around for thousands of years you think he'd subject himself to shitty food for that long without learning to cook

"Oh but he says recipes are suggestions!" How do you think new dishes are created. Solomon is probably responsible for half the different types of human world food

[exemplarybehaviour]

Today on making recipes I saw on my dash: I wanted to make this "Mongolian chicken" recipe and then did one of those "loved this recipe! I added several things and made a ton of substitutions :)" recipe review moves. Instead of chicken, I used tofu, and I also added broccoli and mushrooms. There's also some rice hidden under there.

Revised recipe under the cut for my own notes (vegan & gluten free!):

First I want to give a direct link to the original recipe. Flavor text indicates this is meant to be a slightly healthier take-out food mimic. I also referenced this recipe when deciding how to fry tofu (which I've never done before!). Small text indicates notes. I usually don't measure things so not everything has an amount.

Ingredience (tm):

cooking oil of your choice

extra firm tofu (I used a 16 oz block but if I repeat this i'd probably do two blocks)

corn starch (2 tbsp for frying the tofu)

soy sauce (or tamari for the gluten free) (1 tbsp for frying the tofu)

garlic powder

2 crown broccoli

small tub of mushrooms (8 oz? maybe??) (i bought pre-sliced mushrooms and then broke them up into smaller pieces by hand)

yellow onion, chopped (will probably only use half an onion in the future lmao)

4-5 green onions/scallions

you could also use all sorts of other veggies: peppers, snow peas, carrots, zucchini, etc. the world is your oyster..........

Sauce Ingredience (tm):

1 1/2 teaspoon sesame oil (this has a strong flavor so definitely actually measure)

chopped scallion whites

ginger (I use ginger paste)

minced garlic (recipe calls for 3 cloves but i use jar garlic and just go wild)

1 tbsp rice vinegar

1/2 cup soy sauce (or tamari sauce)

1/2 brown sugar

1 tbsp corn starch

1/4 cup vegetable stock or water (or chicken stock if you prefer)

something spicy. i used red chilli flakes but you could also try something like sriracha

Technically this is a one pan recipe (or wok, if you're fancy) but you will also use several other bowls and plates. Okay here's how to make it.

Fry tofu:

Press water out of tofu (wrap the block in paper towels, then balance a plate on it and put something heavy on the plate. leave like that while you putter around the kitchen trying to find where the FUCK the vegetable stock concentrate is. or use a tofu press if you have one).

Cut tofu into small blocks

Toss tofu with 2 tbsp corn starch + 1 tbsp soy sauce + garlic powder

Add enough oil to pan to coat the bottom and heat. Add tofu and let sit until bottom browns. Flip tofu pieces to brown other side. If you want to also get the sides you can do more flipping. Or you can get bored and stop

If you're smart, prep veggies by washing and cutting them while tofu fries. I was not smart

Move tofu to plate or bowl

I was surprised by how fucking tasty the tofu was right out of the pan? The garlic powder elevated it to something almost addictive. I ate several pieces while cooking everything else. I did think that later tossing the tofu with the sauce detracted from the crispiness of the tofu. So, next time I will probably keep the tofu separate and add it in last.

Also, if you want rice, start it up around here.

Cook veggies:

prep by cleaning and cutting up veggies

in the same pan as the tofu, add a small amount of oil (or don't, if you have left over oil from the tofu)

toss in veggies in reverse order of how long they will take to cook to the degree you want them. i wasn't smart in my organization so i did the mushrooms by themselves while i cut up onions and broccoli

cook, stirring frequently, until they're as cooked as you want them

move veggies to plate/bowl

Make Sauce:

prep: whisk together 1 tbsp corn starch and 1/4 cup vegetable broth in a small bowl

in the same pan, add sesame oil, scallion whites, ginger, and garlic

cook ~1 min, or however long it takes you to get your shit together to add other ingredients

add rice vinegar, soy sauce/tamari, brown sugar. stir to combine. yes 1/2 cup soy sauce AND brown sugar seems like a lot. yes it will taste fine, i promise

add corn starch/broth slurry. stir

add your chili flakes. stir.

sauce should have thickened

Now dump your tofu + veggies into the pan and then toss to coat with sauce. Garnish with scallion greens. Done!!!

[zurajanaizurakoda]

So, I decided to write the Katsura side of Big Spoon, wrote like 8k words in one day, and then crashed.

A week later I had a discussion where I realized I was sleeping on Katsura's unhoused period. Like, the onigiri thing is probably food insecurity, right? That fucks you up as a kid. He must have been using his own resources to make food, even as a poor orphan, because he knew what it was like to starve and have no one care enough to feed you, and he does it without prompting because he's got his pride and it's humiliating as shit to beg for food so he wants people to have the food without having to ask. And of course Gintoki the corpse robber would pick up on that shit immediately and understand "hey, this kid's seen some shit."

and I wrote this sequence, and I didn't like it, and I crashed again and stopped writing. I think it's interesting, though, I don't know how unhoused people were treated in ye olde Japan so it's more based on modern outlooks and prejudices, but it encapsulates what I think about that period of his life. Vaguely Ginzura, but they're kids so it's nothing really. And canonly his classmates did complain he reeked of poverty.

One last thing animals seek warmth do you think he ever woke up with random strays curled on him on cold mornings. Do you think that's part of why he likes them so much FEEL SAD ABOUT BLORBO

If you think about it his obsession with the umai sticks could also be food insecurity

One day Gintoki sat down next to him out of nowhere when he was resting by himself on a log far behind the school, just thinking.  It was a favorite pastime of his, and normally he would be annoyed with the company, but Gintoki was Gintoki and you couldn’t expect him to behave like other people.  The other boy just flopped down like he’d been specifically summoned and pulled out a parcel wrapped in bamboo leaves.  He untied the string around it to reveal two onigiri, offering one without comment.  Katsura looked down at it, and then back up at the boy.  “What is this?”

“Onigiri, with plums.  You like those, right?” he asked without making eye contact.  “I don’t like plums.  You eat this one.”  He shoved half of the other one in his mouth messily.  “Don’t worry, there’s nothing weird in them or anything.  We just got them from the lady next door.”  He shoved the onigiri roughly in the other boy’s direction.  Katsura looked at it again without taking it, and Gintoki sighed.  He looked down like he was trying to gather courage, or maybe just keep from losing his temper.  “You were homeless, right?  When you were young.  One of the other boys was laughing about it.  How was it?”

Katsura considered the question and the boy asking it.  He was no stranger to being ridiculed about his life situations, but somehow he felt like Gintoki was being sincere.  He knew enough about Gintoki’s past to understand that the silver haired boy’s life had been much worse than his own. It wasn’t something he was fond of talking about, but it was more out of a sense of privacy than shame.  It wasn’t something other people readily understood, they responded with disgust or sympathy and Katsura wanted neither of those things.  With Gintoki, however, he felt like there would be genuine understanding.  He stared straight ahead and explained like he was reciting an old tale: “I lived with my grandmother, out by the graveyard.  There was a bamboo grove nearby where people threw trash, and we stayed there most of the time. People didn’t care about it so no one made us leave.  For a while there were tatami mats thrown out by a local restaurant, and we slept on those.  I always associate the smell of sesame oil with the bamboo grove.  Other times we slept on the ground.” He stared down at his feet, and felt warm.  They were difficult times, but he hadn’t been unhappy.  He’d had his grandma, and they had visited his parents every day.  He’d had people he cared about to talk to.  “Sometimes there were other people or families, but if there got to be too many of us together the authorities would run everyone out.”  Gintoki nodded without comment.  “I didn’t mind living there, though, there was a river nearby that we could wash at.  It wasn’t so bad.  Not like it was with you.”

“The town burned the tatami mats because you were sleeping on them, didn’t they?  It was unhygienic, they probably said.”

“How did you-”  Katsura stopped.  Of course he knew, he’d lived the same way.  “Yes they did.  I had a few books I’d left behind and they burned those too.  You had to keep things with you if you wanted to keep them.  Books were so hard to get, too.”

“Where did you steal food from?”  Gintoki asked in the same bored voice.

“We never stole!”  Katsura replied, eyes wide.  “I would never!  It goes against bushido!  I could never!”  He was surprised that Gintoki would even suggest it.  Had he given the impression of having such loose morals?

“Whatever.  Bushido is bullshit when you’re hungry.”  Gintoki said with a frown.  “What did you eat?”

“We… we got food from some of the local houses, or sometimes from a nearby temple.”  Katsura explained.  “There was a monk who would give me buns if I recited scriptures.  Sometimes there were leftovers behind some of the restaurants.  Sometimes…”  he paused, remembering how shameful it was that they had fallen to such circumstances.  “Sometimes my grandmother would ask people for food.  She had always said that the head of the Katsura household shouldn’t be reduced to begging, but sometimes… she would.”

“Bet the restaurants dumped the food in the dirt to keep people out of them.”  Again, the other boy wasn’t wrong.  “What did you do when no one would help?”  Gintoki seemed even more angry, for some reason.

Katsura furrowed his brow.  It would be useless to deny that it happened, not with someone like Gintoki.  “We went to bed hungry sometimes.  It wasn’t uncommon.  Sometimes life is like that.”  Gintoki was silent, and he leaned forward.  “But there were a lot of good people.  Didn’t people give you food when you were homeless?”

“Hell no, people were assholes.  I was a demon, remember?  They’d throw stuff if they caught me hanging around.  I never asked anyway.  Why should I care?  They can live without a little.  I stole every day, and I’m as strong a samurai as you are now.”  he nudged the other boy.  “Did they throw things at you?”

“Not… very often.”  His hand went to a spot on the back of his head where there was a small ridge of scar that hair never quite grew back around.  He chose to see the good in people, but he would never forget that there was bad.

“But they did, right?  They called you names?  Ran you out like you were stinking up the place?”  

“Sometimes, Gintoki, but most people were nice.  And when they weren’t… it was okay.”  Okay was perhaps a bit of a stretch, but he’d long since made peace with those days.

“It wasn’t okay, Zura, and you shouldn’t have starved.  You should have taken what you needed, and when people called you things, you should have called them things right back.  When people hurt you, you should hurt them back.  You shouldn’t have to have someone else get angry for you.”

“It’s not Zura, it’s Katsura, and that’s not how a general should behave. How I behave reflects on more than just me.”

“That’s stupid, and you’re stupid.”  Gintoki replied in a huff.  “That’s why you’re always getting picked on.  You should fight.”  

Katsura looked down at his feet again, and this time he felt a little lost.  He didn’t need Gintoki’s support in the matter, but it was something that he would have liked to have had.  He felt strangely alone, knowing the other boy disagreed with him.  “We deal with things very differently, Gintoki,” he finally said.

There was a long pause.  “You need to take care of yourself, you won’t always have friends…"

"I've spent a lot of my life without friends, I don't need you to tell me I won't have them.  I'm okay on my own."  Katsura didn’t even try to keep the bitterness out of his voice.

"That's not what I meant," Gintoki protested, and he genuinely sounded a little hurt.  "I meant you need to stick up for yourself. I know you’re strong enough to do it.  I bet even Sensei would look the other way.”

“It’s not something I’m interested in doing.”

“Fine.  Look, getting bullied is one thing…”  Gintoki said, and then dropped his head back between his shoulders as if making a decision.  “But being hungry is something else.  If you’re hungry, come to me.  You don’t have to steal if you come to me.  I’ll get you food, I promise.  So don’t let yourself starve.”

Katsura turned, “why are you-”

“-It’s because you know what it’s like to be hungry.  That’s why you do the onigiri thing.  Because you know what it’s like to go to bed hungry and wake up hungry.  People tease you because they think you’re such a crybaby, but it’s because you’ve known what it’s like.  Those jerks think hunger is missing lunch, they’ve never chewed on scraps of leather just to have something in your mouth.  They don’t get when you’re trying to trick your stomach into thinking it’s eating because you know there’s no food today.  You don’t have to worry about what they say because you’ve been there and they haven’t.  That’s why you’re stronger than they are, Zura.  That’s why you should fight and not worry about being proper.  You’re better than them.”

"Sometimes I would chew on twigs, just to have the taste of something in my mouth."  Gintoki nodded encouragingly.  "But I don't let people bully me because I think they're stronger than me.  I know I'm stronger than them, that's why I should be the one who shows restraint."

"I still think it's stupid," Gintoki muttered, but then he smiled.  "But I guess if you're too stubborn to fight back, that's better than being too mopey to fight back.  You're weird as hell, but you're not weak."  He reached over and tucked a stray strand of hair behind the other boy's ear.  It seemed natural, but after a second Gintoki flushed slightly and slapped his shoulder.  "Your hair is stupid, too."  He crossed his arms, looking straight ahead.

There was a long silence, and then Katsura hesitantly reached for his hand.  “Before Sensei found you…”

“I don’t remember,”  Gintoki returned, looking away and picking his nose.

“You at least remember what it’s like to starve.”  Katsura pressed.

“-And someday I won’t.  I’ll forget everything bad that ever happened to me.  I probably won’t remember this conversation next week.  I definitely won’t remember the onigiri.  There’s nothing you can do about the past.  Someday we may not be friends anymore, and maybe I’ll forget all together that there ever was a mopey kid named Kotarou Zura.  But while we’re here, I won’t let them hurt you, and I won’t let you starve.  You're my friend.”

Katsura’s hands clenched on Gintoki’s hand on the trunk beside him.  “I’ll never forget you, Gintoki.  You’ll never be alone again, because you’ll always have me.  Even if we move on, and even if you forget me, I’ll always remember you.”

Gintokii chuckled.  “You stupid sap,” he said affectionately, smacking the back of his head.  “You’ll find someone else’s wife and you’ll have a dozen kids and do wherever the hell generals do.  You’ll be someone too important to worry about little demons.”

“Even then, I won’t forget, I promise.”  Gintoki just looked away, but in that moment, Katsura made a promise to himself.  As long as he was alive, there would be at least one person who believed that Gintoki Sakata was a good person.  One person who knew.

He heard yelling from over the hill.  “And that’s my cue to leave!”  Gintoki called lightly, slipping off the log.  “I’d get out of sight, just in case.  And eat the onigiri, they can’t pin anything on you once the evidence is gone!”

“Did… did you steal these?!” Katsura screamed in disbelief.

“Outta the way, Zura!”  Gintoki yelled, escaping in a flash.  Katsura blinked a few times in shock, then hid under a bush as the other kids rounded the hilltop.

“Gintoki went this way, right?”

“-He punched Ito out cold!  One blow!”

“Sensei is so gonna kill him!”

“It was like they were laughing like always, and then Ito said one thing about Katsura and he flipped!  I didn’t think they were even that good of friends!”

“Boys, boys!”  Sensei called.  “Fighting is bad, but gossiping doesn’t help!  Gintoki will receive the punishment owed to him, so why don’t you all just wait back at the dojo?”  Sensei stopped a little too close to the bush Katsura was hiding behind for it to be accidental.  “And we can all see this as a lesson, right?  The circumstances of Katsura’s birth are nothing to laugh at.  Neither, I think, are Gintoki’s.”  He led the group off in the other direction.

Katsura looked at the onigiri in his hands like it was a bloody knife.  In all his years, he’d never stolen anything.  If he’d found a wallet on the ground, it would never occur to him to check it for money before he turned it in to authorities.  It went against the fiber of his being.  Gintoki must have realized that… but it was a gift from Gintoki, and it wasn’t like he could give it back without admitting his complicity in things…

Corruption tasted surprisingly good.

[sgtmickeyslaughter]

WEEKLY TAG WEDNESDAY

The self care edition

thank you for tagging me @creepkinginc @jrooc @lingy910y and @energievie

Name: gigi

Age: 24

What kind of day is it? i wish everyone reading this could have sat in my last design presentation this evening. it was such a bizarre combination of frustrating and horrible and absurdly hilarious we were all laughing hysterically once we saw those clients were on the elevator - pouring a big girl glass of wine as i type this

When was the last time you ate? like 10 hours ago, but I never eat lunch and dinner is in the oven at the moment

About how many hours of sleep did you get? 5 💀

Name one thing you could do to make your day better right now: text bomb all my friends in my field about my horrible meeting

Why are you not doing that thing? believe me yall, I am

What are you going to do tonight to relax? hanging out on tumblr right now, after dinner I usually write but im having a little writers block atm, so ill patiently work on my comic project and watch tele until it passes

What comfort food do you not eat often enough? Poke

What’s stopping you? its so far away :'(

Have you ever had a professional massage? no but I've really been thinking about it, but i dont like the dentist or hairdressers so I dont think i would like it, luckily my partner gives very good massages

Have you eaten fruits and vegetables today? you know it! I had lychee and bananas with breakfast and im having a salad with dinner

How much water have you had today? many glasses, im always sippin

Is there a self-care gadget you really want to buy? nothing comes to mind but ill put all of you onto something - buy an ergonomic mouse if you spend a lot of time on the computer, my hand was going numb by the end of thesis and this thing changed my life

this is the one i got, its a little pricey and im sure theres cheaper ones but seriously, changed my life

What is your favourite healthy snack?

stovetop popcorn poped in sesame oil and finished with furikake - thank me later

What is your favourite unhealthy snack? jalapeño chips

What is one thing you are going to start doing RIGHT NOW to take better care of yourself? quit my job and move to another city for my quarter life crisis idk yoga?

And to close, I want you to say one NICE thing to yourself that you really need to hear right now: i absolutely adore you! youre amazing! incredible! keep up the good work! fuck that lady with the ugly hair who shit all over your work *eye twitch*

how do you self care? @sweetbee78 @ian-galagher @mybrainismelted @mmmichyyy @iansw0rld @juliakayyy @howlinchickhowl @bawlbrayker @mickeysgaymom @stocious

[purplesurveys]

1944

Is your closet disorganized? It's not at the moment. I do have a great talent at slowly making it more and more chaotic lol, but when that happens I just do a hard restart and fix it back to how the clothes should look like.

Have you ever been to Times Square? I haven't but I would love to. I feel like I'd really enjoy my time there.

What TV shows do you watch on a regular basis? The only show I really ever enthusiastically rewatch would be Friends. I can't do that now, though, since they took it out of Netflix a few days ago. :( It's moving on Max when it launches in the Philippines later this month, and since I already have an HBO Go subscription (which will apparently rebrand into Max) I think I won't stay Friends-less for too long.

Have you ever accidentally left something valuable at a shop before? Not a shop, but I've left some stuff behind from events and never got to recover them. The things I feel most sorry for losing would be my pink Hydroflask tumbler (which I've had since college, so I was very attached to it huhu) + my power strip that I had bought just the day before.

What makes your life remarkable? Idk but I'm generally proud of myself for achieving as much as I have at 26 considering how shy I used to be or how much I really doubted myself since childhood. I still do...but I guess I'm just good at faking it till I make it.

Are you putting off doing anything that you really need to get done? Kind of, yeah.

What is the last thing you scribbled down on a Post-It note? Just work notes.

What are you currently listening to? I can hear the ceiling fan and a bit of my mom's TV upstairs, but other than that it's quiet.

How would you react in discovering your best friend was seriously obsessed with you? I'd tbh go straight to her fiance and ask what's going on and how I can help.

Do you care if your produce is organic or not? No.

Do you have any children? If so, how old were you when you had them? If not, do you think you ever will? No. I don't think I will.

Do you eat meat? Yes.

Do you get enough calcium? I like to think so. I drink milk everyday lol, for one.

Do you think before you act or speak? That's something I've definitely learned how to do more and more the older I've gotten and the more people I meet.

Do you have a SwagBucks account? I have no idea what that is.

Are you nosy? I could not care less.

Do you always try on clothes before purchasing them? No, it's such a hassle. I just pick something if I like it, find it in my size, and pay. Fitting takes such a long time considering I'll get it anyway lmao

Is there anything in your closet with the tags still on? I don't think so, no.

Are you happy with the size of your bedroom? It's the right size but I'm also looking forward to having a bigger room just for the sake of being able to experience having a spacious room.

Do you add people you don’t actually know on Facebook? No and I genuinely don't understand why others do that. Facebook, at least where I'm from, is different from other platforms in that it's designed for your personal network and keeping up to date with their lives. That said I uhhhh would have absolutely no reason to be adding strangers and knowing about their vacations or seeing their family photos. That idea is so weird...even stalkerish...to me.

What’s your favorite condiment? Mayonnaise. Chili garlic oil. Sesame oil!!!

Would you even want to know how much of your life has been spent online? Yes just out of curiosity but I know I'd be so ashamed of myself once I find out the number haha.

Do you shop at American Eagle? No.

List 5 things you’re afraid of: Losing a loved one, fire, cockroaches, rats, sharp objects.

Have you forgotten anything important recently? Ahaha last Wednesday I was out for a work meeting only to realize pretty late that I did not have either of my debit cards + my driver's license – I had transferred them into a smaller purse the other day when I went out for a family lunch and never got to place them back in my wallet. Fortunately I had my employee ID with me, but I still felt so stupid.

Would you say you’re an honest person? More often than not, yeah. If anything, I feel like I'm only ever dishonest toward myself – like about my personal feelings and frustrations and insecurities and such. In front of everyone else, though, I find it a waste of time to bullshit them.

The last Facebook message you received from the opposite sex, what did it say? It was just him telling me how to buy a PS5, haha.

What does the nicest message in your Facebook inbox say? I don't really keep track of stuff like that.

Is your best friend single? Nope.

What color was the ink of the last pen you wrote with? Black.

What does your pencil-case look like? I don't have one.

Where was the last place you went that was totally new to you, as in, it was the first time you’d been there? Good question. I wanna say Amici? I've had their food before, but I've never actually dined in their restaurant. It was a pleasant experience and the servers were all very nice.

When was the last time you used someone else’s computer? Around a month ago when I asked for permission to use Tina's laptop since she has Canva premium on hers.

Who do you dislike the most? Explain what you dislike about that person. I don't like one of my uncles because he's always been a useless dad who's done nothing but drag my hardworking, self-made cousin down...he's also a terrible TERRIFUCKINGBLE husband and has never kept a stable job...not to mention the fact that he subscribes to Nazism? You're fucking Filipino, what the fuck are you doing being a Nazi hello ahahaha??? It's just so frustrating watching a man have no redeemable qualities whatso fucking ever lol

What’s the longest you’ve liked someone without doing anything about it? I dunno. Like 2, 3 months? I asked them out immediately as I wanted to give it a shot, at least.

Do you use straightening irons on your hair? What brand? No.

What’s the relationship status of the last person you talked to? Single. At least I think she is. I don't pressure her to tell me anything.

Is there anything you would like to complain about? Yeah work sucks and I wish I could find something that brings me joy again.

What’s the first line of the last song you listened to? "Dearest, darling, my universe, would you take me along?"

Think of the person from your past that hurt you the most. Is there anything you would like to say to that person? No.

Does your mom like the last person you kissed? I knew she did.

Now your cell phone, what color is it? Light blue.

What was so special about today? The actual day sucked, but this evening I treated myself to sushi and found out that WWE Network is back in the country so I subscribed heheh. First thing I watched was Paul Heyman's HOF speech and let's just say I'm so glad I chose that.

If somebody tried to steal your best friend’s boyfriend/girlfriend, what would you do? That's kind of happening already. Gut reaction was to talk shit about the person directly to Angela, especially because she was already crying about it so I had permission to be angry and petty lol.

What was the last thing you said to your mother? Can't remember exactly but she was asking me a luggage-related question since she'll be flying out with dad in the next two weeks, and I just answered her on that.

When was the last time you cried? LOL I teared up a bit watching Hello, Love, Goodbye this afternoon - but since I was watching with my sister and I never cry in front of family, I made up some bullshit excuse that I had to pee but really it was so that I could let it out in the bathroom hahaha

Has anyone made you upset lately? Not really, no.

What are you looking forward to? Seeing my dad. Not working in my workplace anymore...

Does anyone completely understand you? Sure.

Ever stayed up all night on the phone? Yeah.

Do you miss your past? I do miss some parts of it, but it's all in a nostalgic sense. I'm not like, caught up or feeling stuck in 2016 or anything like that.

Do you have a reason to smile right now? I do.

Are you a forgiving person? No.

Do you say sorry first? Yes, if I have to.

Do you like cats? I like cats now - Max helped me with that. I'm still very much a dog person but my previous slight dislike for cats is pretty much nonexistent now.

Has someone promised you something and broke it? Sure.

Did you kiss or hug anyone today? Just the pets.

Does your phone ring in the middle of the night? It doesn't, and unless it's coming from family I'd be a little pissed off if anyone would be calling that late. I would also 100% ignore the call.

Is there anybody you’re really disappointed in right now? No.

Have you ever lost someone you wish you didn’t? For a period of time I felt this way, but it's also been a long time since I got over it.

Are you anything like you were a year ago? Yeah, in that I'm still a ball of nerves and anxiety at work everyday.

Have you ever felt like you hit rock bottom? Sure.

Would you rather spend a day outside with friends or inside alone? I'd love to spend a day with friends, mainly because I already work from home 5 days a week and spend most of my time alone.

Think back to this time last year, were you happy? Not completely.

Has anyone upset you in the last week? Sure.

What should you be doing? I should be sleeping but like it's the weekend so I want to make the most of my precious free time before work shoots up my blood pressure again.

Describe how you feel right now in one word. Escaping.

What would you do if you found out one of your friends was going for the person you liked? I don't like anyone.

Do you prefer drinking water from a bottle or a sink? I can't drink from the sink in the first place; tap water is not a thing here.

Will you ever run away and get married in Las Vegas with no notifications to either of your families? No.

Have you ever thrown your iPod in anger? I can't recall ever doing so.

Who did you last have a heart-to-heart conversation with? Angela.

Do you believe that there’s good in everybody? Sorry, no.

Has anything happened to you within the past month that has made you mad? Yes.

Would you ever get a tattoo? Probably not. Needles be freaky.

[crapcafe]

hearing people talking about cooking is always such an interesting topic and i'm gonna take a min to ramble about it. i learned how to cook (eggs and pasta mostly) as a kid from my mom because she learned to cook at a young age as well and she would also be gone on work trips pretty often. later on in life i worked in restaurant kitchens as a kitchen manager and a line cook. i've even had the displeasure of working alongside new hire line cooks that don't fucking know how to cook but figure that they can still do the job (they could not)

some things just become intuitive so it's hard for me to remember exactly what i needed to focus on learning and what did just come naturally from the start, but a lot of it relates to just general science/chemistry knowledge. denser items will take longer to cook than less dense things (potatoes take forfuckingever but sliced button mushrooms take like a minute or two), high heat makes things cook way faster so liquids will boil off sooner, dense items will sear/burn quicker, and thin/small things will just burn. some professional cooks don't even know this based on the amount of times i've had to talk coworkers out of turning the fryer temp higher because things were taking a long time to cook (this is a great way to get a nice crispy skin on some shit that's still frozen in the middle)

there's a lot of learning how to read recipes. abbreviations (sometimes tablespoon is T or tb or TBSP or Tbs), how to adjust amounts if you need more or less of something, looking up substitutions for things (if you don't have milk but need to make a cream sauce, using applesauce instead of oil or butter or eggs in some baking recipes, etc). its definitely a skill to know how to read some recipes, and coming in with your own knowledge is great, but it's another instance of "you need to learn the rules to know how to break them." this is how you get the screenshots of ppl substituting kale in their banana cookie recipes and then wondering why they suck

thinking of foods in terms of nutritional value can also be helpful. if you have tortilla chips and salsa youre technically getting some vegetables in you. frozen and dried fruits and veggies are still fruits and veggies. rice and beans is grains and protein. miso soup with tofu and spinach is lots of protein and iron. romaine salad with balsamic vin, olive oil, feta, and tomatoes is some vitamins and fats and calcium but without grains and fiber it wont give you too much energy so have some bread or something with it. moving away from processed food will make you feel better. apple slice and peanut butter is my new depression meal bc it makes me feel more alive than shredded cheese from the bag and you can feel like a roman emperor a bit.

if you're just starting out learning how to cook: try to keep it simple with starch + veggie + protein (veggie pasta is a staple classic, roast some stuff and toss it with pasta and garlic and olive oil), find something with just a handful of ingredients that you actually want to eat. the act of cooking can be fun but not everyone thinks its fun, so at least make sure you'll want to eat the final product. if there's any sauces you really like try to keep some on hand. gochujang+soy sauce+sesame oil+sugar+broth can be really good in a stir fry, and basically all of those things will last a long time.

anyway theres a lot of text about cooking. theres a reason i stayed working in kitchens for almost 5 years despite how shit working in kitchens is. i like food and cooking. its one of the few things humans have been doing for a bajillion years and its necessary to live a healthy life and if you can find some fun and peace in the process then thats even better. theres no shame in not knowing how to cook but there is shame in refusing to try and learn imo

insert senshi page about eating well and exercising regularly to live a healthy life

[lookbotsfollowmeyay]

Pretend you can cook with Atticus: pork mince soup

This recipie contains no precise measurements of volume nor time, so the result might not be what I made but it would be what you want.

You'll need:

A lidded pot

A box of pork mince from the supermarket, as much as you'd like for a meal

Soy sauce

Sesame oil

Green weipa (tastes like crisp seasoning)

White pepper (black pepper is acceptable but white pepper fits the best)

Chinese preserved radish (a bit pungent right out of the packaging, but trust me.)

Water (enough for it to become a soup)

Rice noodles

Here's how to make it.

Soak the rice noodles in cold water (not the soup water). They will soften as you run around looking for ingredients.

Cut up the radish if it comes in a chunk into small pieces. Keep it larger if you like the crunch. It's your soup. How much? I don't know. Your pot is probably a different size than mine and cooking for more or less people than I did, so eyeball it. If you've never had this before, cut off a bit and try it, then eyeball.

Put pork, water, radish, soy sauce, weipa, pepper and sesame oil into the pot. It's alright to not add enough at this point, as this is very forgiving and you can fix it later.

Turn to high and bring to a nice boil. Once boiling, throw in the noodles.

Once the pork is cooked, you can taste the soup a lot and adjust the seasoning.

If it tastes good to you, then you've done it right. Trust your intuition on this, and don't think "but I need to good at cooking to do this!" No. You do not. The masters might be able to make a better soup with cavair or something, but if you make a soup you like, then you are a good cook. Plus, the tasting because you're probably the only person that's drinking the soup removes a lot of the guesswork.

If you've turned the stove off to season (which does not affect flavour significantly enough to the non food critic tongue), bring it to a boil again, to infuse the flavour, put down a table protector and serve.

Or eat it straight out of the pot.

It's your soup. In fact, this shouldn't even be Atticus' pork mince soup. Just name it after yourself. Enjoy being a dish name you know you'd like.

[edgewaterfarmcsa]

CSA WEEK 15

P i c k l i s t

watermelon - cherry tomatoes - sweet peppers - sage - kale - onions - corn

THIS WEEK AT EDGEWATER…

I am overwhelmed with joy to announce the return of kale.  On Monday I slogged my wet boots out into the field to pick you bunches upon bunches of collard greens.  After last week’s box of pure bulk, I was missing something green and fluffy to pick and basque in.  All the good fluffy crops have just absolutely failed this season- Lettuce, arugula, swiss chard, and kale have all taken such a hit.  But alas! I peered towards the hill and to my total delight, I spied the return of the sweet green fluff, the old comeback kid. Kale is supposed to be the workhorse of vegetables- the one crop that never says die.* So we were all aghast back in early August, as we watched this patch of kale look so sickly.  That week- we did our best, and used every trick we could.  We stripped all the sad leaves off the plant, spread pelleted fertilizer, and looked to the sun praying to see her shiny face.  A month and a half later, we have curly greens again.  Woot! Woot!

Don’t get me wrong, I love a stand of collard greens.  I’d be just as happy with collards as kale, But it’s been a minute since we all made kale chips and ate kale salad.  As far as other greens go, we’ve been trying like hell to grow lettuce all season.  However there is a woodchuck that continues to eat every last plant that we seed in the greenhouse, and if the lettuce makes it to the field, the deer are all over it.  All that said, we have big plans for our Fall CSA.  We planted up a whole greenhouse of lettuce starts, keeping the sides of the greenhouse down as much as possible.  Tim (of field crew) volunteered to sleep in said greenhouse with a bow, an arrow, a jar of peanut butter and a nine iron.  We’ll see if it comes to that.  

Bottomline here, welcome back kale, but it is now my belief that Collard Greens are the real workhorse all star champ veg.  

Other noteworthy crops of the week, SWEET COLORFUL ROBUST PEPPERS! The pepper fields are finally ripening with all the colors of the rainbow.  Hopefully we can get a good flush out of the crop before the wind breaks all the plants, or we get the first hard frost.  WHAT A SEASON!

*I am positive I mentioned this in a previous note back in late July, please forgive my broken record tendencies. 

FARMY FOODIE PRO-TIPS:

I have no words for this recipe – it is definitely one of my all time favourites. This is hands down the ultimate crowd pleaser dish, and it doesn’t get much easier than this. Packed with creamy feta, rich olive oil, olives, fresh sage, toasted sesame seeds, sweet honey, a touch of orange zest and a hint of chili pepper, this dish is pure goodness. I mean, who wouldn’t want this?! If you are entertaining and need to get something on the table that looks sexy and tastes like heaven, this Baked Feta with Olives, Sesame, Sage & Honey dish is for you 😉

16oz Greek feta- pat dry 

1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil

3 strips orange zest- around half an orange

1 tablespoon lightly toasted sesame seeds

1/3 cup castelvetrano olives

1/3 cup kalamata olives

Small handful of fresh sage- can also sub with fresh rosemary or thyme

2 tablespoons honey

Half cayenne chili pepper, thinly sliced

Flaky sea salt

Preheat the over to 400 degrees F.

In a small baking dish, place the feta, olives, orange zest, toasted sesame seeds, sliced chili peppers and olive oil.

Place into the preheated oven for 10-15 minutes.

Set the oven to broil and let broil for 3-5 minutes.

Remove, drizzle with honey, sprinkle Maldon sea salt and serve with crusty fresh bread.

Enjoy that Baked Feta!

I also implore you to eat the above sage feta with ROASTED PEPPERS!! YES PLEASE!

THE FOLLOWING ROASTED PEPPER NOTES ARE FROM bonappetit.com via Alex Delaney:

You don’t need much to make roasted red peppers. Peppers (duh). Olive Oil. And some kosher salt. That’s it. You have most of that stuff at home already, so grab some peppers and let's do this.

There are two ways to roast peppers. Both involve some form of aggressive heat followed by a more mellow, lower-heat method as needed. Whether you’re an oven person or a stovetop person, your cutlet sandwich will be stacked with red peppers in no time. Here’s how we do it:

The Oven Method: Turn on your broiler. Yes, the broiler. That fire thing you might be scared of. It’s cool. Broilers are our friends. We promise. Cut red bell peppers in half and remove the core and seeds. Toss the pepper halves in a tiny bit of olive oil and spread them on a sheet pan, with the cut sides down and skin sides up. Our goal here is to get the skin charred enough to be able to easily remove it. Put the peppers under the broiler for 12-14 minutes, until the skins are black. Remove the peppers and turn your oven to 250°.

The peppers won’t be cooked all the way through from that time under the broiler. But the skins should peel right off. Let them cool a bit until you feel comfortable handling them, then use your hands or the back of a knife to peel the charred skins off of the peppers and then place the skinless peppers back on the sheet pan. Throw them back in your oven for about half an hour, until the peppers are tender and cooked through. Take them out, let them cool, and slice them into strips. Look at you! You roasted red peppers! Amazing!

The Stovetop Method: You can also recreate the broiler effect by laying peppers directly over an open flame. We would not suggest using that BIC lighter in your junk drawer. The flame on your (gas) stove will work much better. (Sorry to those of you with electric burners—hopefully you have a broiler?) Turn the flame on medium, place the peppers on the burner so they're in direct contact with the heat, and use tongs to rotate as needed so the skin gets dark and charred all over. Repeat this with as many burners as you need for as many peppers as you have. Maybe it’s two. Maybe it’s 736. We don’t know how much you like roasted red peppers. When each one is finished charring, sling it into a bowl and cover with plastic wrap—you want to let those bad boys steam a bit once they come off the burner.

Once you've charred all the peppers and let them all hang out in that steamy covered bowl, take them out, pull out the stem and seedy parts, open the peppers kind of a like a book and place them (charred) skin side up on your cutting board. Using your hands or the back of a knife, scrape off the charred skin. (It's okay if some won't come off; it won't kill you.) At this point the peppers should be mostly cooked-through, but if you want them a little softer you can go ahead and cook them over low heat in a Dutch oven with a glug of olive oil, stirring every once in a while, until they've softened to your liking.

JENNY’S NOTE: i roast my peppers by charring on the grill :)

Storage Maneuvers: Whether you went the stove or oven route, you should be looking at some tender, skinless roasted red peppers. Nice job. You can eat them immediately if you’d like, but the secondary goal is to store them so they’re ready to use at a moment’s notice. Sprinkle the peppers with a bit of kosher salt and transfer them into a glass jar or plastic Tupperware. Pack them in tightly, then add olive oil until the peppers are fully submerged.

Keeping the peppers submerged in the liquid will make sure they don’t spoil in the fridge—they should keep for at least a week this way. And since these peppers can hang around in the fridge for a minute, we'd suggest roasting more than two. Maybe not 736, like we suggested earlier...but definitely more than two.

[funkforbreakfast]

Turkey Kale Soup

I don’t want to get too sappy as this is a public blog attached to my LinkedIn, but this soup felt like the beginning of a new era for me. Last fall, I was incredibly depressed and struggling to complete most mundane tasks in my life. I hated my longterm partner but could not figure out where I wanted our relationship to stand — and I had no support systems because I pushed most of my friends away. And the months of inactivity were making it incredibly hard to feel like my body was my own. I was always in a state of gunked up but unable to get out of my rut.

This was the first recipe that taught be about eating for PCOS — but I liked that it did not include a nagging voice about “losing those pounds” or something else to send me into a body spiral. All it was was a 30-second recipe with the tag “PCOS-Friendly”. It sounded hearty and healthy, something most of my meals lacked last semester, so I was eager to try it out. 

Most of my lifestyle changes happened months later for NYE resolutions — but this time my philosophy on my health had really transformed. I did not want a quick fix but to see longterm changes both physically and mentally. But realistically, this would not have happened without this soup.

Turkey Kale Soup

Inspired by theconsciousnutritionist on Instagram

Prep: 15 min Cook time: 1 hour Yields: 6 servings

Allergens/restrictions

Alium

Meat + bone broth

Ingredients:

1 tbsp olive oil

1 white onion, minced

3 large carrots, sliced

5 cloves minced garlic

1.5 tbsp tomato paste

2 tsp cumin

1 lb ground turkey breast

6 cups chicken broth

1 can chickpeas

3-4 kale leaves, shredded

How I eat mine:

1 tsp of sesame oil

1 tsp chili garlic oil

Instructions:

Heat oil in a large pot over medium heat. Once fragrant, add carrots and onions and stir frequently. Cook until onions are translucent. Add tomato paste and cumin and stir.

Add turkey breast and combine with other ingredients. Break into smaller pieces as it heats up and combine with rest. Add chicken broth and chickpeas and stir.

Chop and wash the kale under cold water. Massage leaves for at least a minute while washing. Add to soup and heat pot off heat.

[palesaintsss]

1/5/23 Entry

Today the moon is in Cancer. I went to an Asian market, got Korean red chili pepper flakes, some sesame oil, and a new Hi-Chew flavor that I’ve never tried before. I then went to Publix, got some kimchi, some cucumbers, and a sweet onion. I made a salad that combined southeastern Asian cultures and it settled my craving for something spicy, salty, and sweet.

As I was eating my salad, I finally finished “The Alchemist” by Paulo Coehlo. Upon the last page, I’ve wept harder than I have since last July. You see, I was supposed to be in Berlin at art school, however, last summer I was rejected. In that moment of reading the last pages of “The Alchemist”, I realized the utter truth that is life. In “The Alchemist”, a young boy has this reoccurring dream of finding treasure at the Great Pyramids of Egypt. He then settles out to follow his dream, to find his treasure at the pyramids.

I started reading this book in 2020 when I was deciding to begin my new journey of getting into art school in Berlin. I had not finished this book until today, January 5th, 2023. Upon finishing the book, I find it all so symbolic and deeply personal. In the book, the boy finally gets to the pyramids and he is beaten and robbed. I finally get to apply to the school of my dreams and I am robbed of an experience, robbed of my dream, just like the young boy. But in my strife, I found what I truly wanted and what truly was my so called “treasure”.

The young boy in “The Alchemist”, realized that his true treasure lied somewhere else, with a young girl named Fatima that he met along the way. I too, have finally realized that my treasure lies somewhere I did not expect. Prior to applying to school overseas, I was attending University of South Florida, where I realized my true passion was to make art. I’ll never forget the week before I got rejected from Berlin, I had a dream about my previous institution. I remember in the dream feeling happy, at peace. When I awoke, I found it all so confusing because that was not supposed to be what I wanted. However, here I am 7 months later and in 5 days I will being going back to school at my previous institution. I’ll never forget having a mental breakdown in a Turkish cafe over in Berlin and my intuition told me to “go back to USF”. When finished “The Alchemist” just today, I realized that I’ve had my treasure all along, just as the boy had his. The boy who expected to find his treasure at the pyramids, just as I expected to find mine in Berlin, realized that his treasure was not at the Pyramids but was found along the way. I know now where my treasure lies, even though it is not what I expected. However, I know now what is meant for me and in my strife, I have finally found my treasure.

[itsuki-minamy]

K - ONE YEAR LATER

CHAPTER 9: SEE YOU AGAIN (BY RAIRAKU REI)

* List of Chapters

Translation: Naru-kun Raws: Ridia

A year has passed since then.

"I'm here~..."

Sukuna Gojo moaned from the pain in his knee.

After daily sword practice with Mishakuji, that kind of pain would appear at night. While he was crouching on the floor and rubbing his knees, Mishakuji came out of the bathroom and laughed.

"Oh, Sukuna-chan. You look bad."

"You look bad! You look bad!"

From the top of the perch set up in the room, Kotosaka agreed with Mishakuji and sneered at Sukuna.

"Shut up."

He was used to injuries like bruises, but he didn't like the pain in his joints. Mishakuji said as he slid a lotion-soaked cotton pad over his cheek.

"Growing pains, right? It's easy to over exercise when you're growing up. Did you stretch correctly?"

"......"

"Even though you are active in practice, why are you skipping it? Cooling down is important maintenance for your body."

Sukuna reluctantly started to stretch after hearing that with an exasperated face. It was too late for a post-exercise cool-down, but he felt that slowly stretching his body eased the pain a bit.

"Hurry up and take a shower after you're done stretching. The one who should make dinner today is Sukuna-chan."

"I know."

After swinging his sword out with all his might, Sukuna was covered in sweat and dust. Mishakuji wouldn't let him walk into the kitchen looking like that, and even Sukuna felt uncomfortable.

As he was about to go to the bathroom after finishing his stretches, Mishakuji called out, "Sukuna-chan.".

"What?"

Looking back, Mishakuji stood next to Sukuna and smiled amusedly.

"As expected, you have grown."

"Eh... Yes?"

Mishakuji looked at Sukuna and he was as tall as ever. But when they told him that, just a little... he felt that Mishakuji's face and his eyes were getting closer than before.

He didn't care if he told him that he was growing. Though Sukuna replied curtly, "Maybe so.", and he triumphantly headed to the bathroom.

In the time of "Jungle", Sukuna had a way of fighting that was based on the great powers that Nagare had given him.

He fought by freely manipulating a scythe that was taller than his body, equipped with a blade made of powerful green lightning, with his supernaturally strengthened physical abilities.

Of course, he could still fight the same way he did then. The power that he received from Nagare has not yet disappeared from inside Sukuna.

However, he had no guarantee that the power would continue since the "Slate" was destroyed.

That's why Sukuna asked Mishakuji to teach him how to use the sword.

Mishakuji's strength does not depend solely on his supernatural powers. He is rooted in a trained body and mind, and polished technique.

Sukuna wanted something that could be called his own power, so that even if the time came for his super power to disappear, he wouldn't go back to being a helpless child.

After taking a shower, Sukuna stood in the kitchen after properly drying his hair with a blow dryer since Mishakuji was noisy.

He boiled water in a pot, added the onions and broth, and while it simmered, he chopped the green onions, ham and carrots. Iwa-san always wanted to add green peppers, but he didn't like them, so he skipped them (well, if Mishakuji had green peppers when it was his turn to cook, he would have eaten them). Carrots, he also cut into large pieces for Kotosaka and set aside.

He placed a beaten egg in the pot of bouillon soup and finished the egg drop soup first.

He made scrambled eggs by dropping two egg mixtures sprinkled with salt and pepper into a hot skillet and putting them on a plate. He put the carrots in the pan, starting with the hard-to-cook carrots to stir-fry, then add the rice to stir-fry. The smell of sesame oil and ingredients filled the room, making Sukuna's stomach growl. He also added green onions and ham, returned the scrambled egg to the pan, and drizzled it with soy sauce. Fried rice can be made quickly, and if he adds vegetables to it, even Mishakuji, who is picky about nutritional balance, won't complain, so it has become a Sukuna staple. No matter what, he couldn't reach the taste that Iwa-san did.

"I did it."

He arranged a bowl of fried rice for two and a bowl of egg drop soup on a small table, and served Kotosaka a bowl of chopped carrots, apples, and walnuts.

"Itadakimasu!"

When he clasped his hands together, Kotosaka also yelled, "Itadakimasu!"

"Sukuna-chan, you're also getting used to cooking. At first it was terrible."

Mishakuji said after taking a bite of the fried rice. It was apparently a passing grade.

"I've never done it before, so it's not good."

Sukuna was the only son of a prestigious family. Since the end of the war, most of the family members have held important government posts, and his father was also a high-ranking government official. In such a house, his mother wanted to control everything over Sukuna, brandishing her distorted love.

Of course, they had never made him cook. Sukuna only ate food made by chefs that his mother approved of, and he was not allowed to eat food made by amateurs.

He wondered what she would think if she knew that Sukuna was eating the fried rice that he made himself.

When he was at his parents' house, he ate food cooked by the chef, after leaving home, he ate what he bought at a convenience store, and after becoming a J-Rank in "Jungle" and entering that secret base, he ate Iwafune's home cooking every day. Now when Sukuna prepares meals, Iwafune's kitchen is ideal. It's not because it's easier to imitate than chef's cooking.

That was because the food that Iwafune made was the most delicious that Sukuna had ever tasted, and it was what he believed was necessary to live.

"If it's something like this, I should have asked Iwa-san how to make food properly."

The fried rice made by Iwafune didn't seem to have been made with anything special, but it had an uncanny depth and was really delicious. Even if he got used to cooking, the taste of Iwafune would be far away.

"Yes. But doing trial and error on your own without knowing the answer is a good experience."

Mishakuji said that with a cold face and changed the topic to "Now that I think about it...".

"You're thinking of leaving this town soon, aren't you?"

"Ah. Where do we go next?"

"I'm going back to the center."

Mishakuji, Sukuna, and Kotosaka have been moving from one place to another ever since they lost the secret base where they spent time with Nagare and the others. Sometimes they would wander for days, and sometimes they would rent an apartment by the month and settle for a while, like this time.

"Ok, but aren't we just wanted people?"

Both Mishakuji and Sukuna are the core of the criminal group that wreaked havoc on the world a year ago. They had no intention of getting caught, but it was quite a bold move to head back to the center of the city where it would be easy to see "Scepter 4" and "Tokijikuin".

"You know, Sukuna-chan. It seems that the "Blue King" is on a trip now."

"Really? They must be fucking busy, what are they doing?"

Due to the release of the "Slate" made by Nagare, people all over the world became supernatural beings. Most of them lost their strength due to the destruction of the "Slate", but there were surprisingly many who retained their supernatural powers. Even if the "Sword of Damocles" disappeared, the responsibility of the "Blue King" would not decrease and should have increased.

"So, are you going to prepare something in the absence of the "Blue King"?"

Remembering the excitement from when Nagare was near, Sukuna instinctively leaned forward, but Mishakuji smiled wryly.

"Idiot. No, I'm just going to see how things go."

Mishakuji narrowed his eyes and looked out the window.

"A year has passed since that incident, and I feel like the shape of the world has changed a bit."

"Shape of the world?"

"Yes. The consciousness of the people who shape this world must have changed. Nagare-chan's plan was defeated, but at least the people are different from when they knew nothing. I felt the "possibility" within me, though just off for a moment. There are many people who still have the light of "possibility" in them."

Sukuna looked at Mishakuji with wide eyes.

"The area where the influence remains strongest is, of course, the area around the city center where the "Slate" was located."

Sukuna had never thought of it that way. Nagare lost, and thought it was all over.

Memories of the time spent with Nagare and the others surfaced, and Sukuna grabbed a spoon and said, "Ok, let's go back.".

Kotosaka also spread her wings in unison and yelled: "Kuwah!".

The new residence was decided near the old Yomido Gate.

The gigantic door that was just above the secret base of "Jungle" had already been buried, but the fact that it was the center of the turmoil left a trace, and despite being in the center of the city, the price of the earth was falling.

Mishakuji and Sukuna rented a small apartment with Kotosaka and started living there.

Life didn't change much. Sukuna had Mishakuji teach him swordsmanship, sometimes complaining of growing pains and taking turns cooking and doing chores.

He has been running away from home since he was in the fifth grade of elementary school. It wasn't good for his knowledge to stop as a child, so he started doing correspondence courses on his tablet.

That day, Sukuna finished his math class, finished preparing the curry for dinner, and came out with a bamboo sword.

Since Mishakuji has been out since morning, he had no choice but to wield the sword by himself that day. Carrying the shinai in a cloth bag over his shoulder, he went to the small and desolate park where he used to practice, and practiced suburi and kata moves for a while.

He also did cool down stretches correctly and wiped off sweat. He rolled up his sleeves because his body was hot after working out. He had many bruises that had been hit by Mishakuji in yesterday's practice, but he felt that his arm, which was only thin and white, had grown a little stronger.

Sukuna started walking again with the bamboo sword bag on his back. He did not walk the way home, but a walk with no destination.

After returning to the city center, aimlessly walking around the city after sword practice had become Sukuna's daily routine.

It was an action of thought to look at the city while being aware of what Mishakuji had said: "The shape of the world has changed.".

Although he avoided the patrol route of "Scepter 4", it was possible that he would be caught by the city's surveillance cameras, and there was a chance that someone who knew Sukuna's face would find him. However, he thought that he should get involved in a fight if necessary, and he had no intention of living in secret. Mishakuji probably knows Sukuna's daily routine, but pays no attention to it. His own responsibility is the principle of "Jungle".

That day too, Sukuna watched the city as he thought about the dream Nagare had.

Incidents caused by people with supernatural powers were more likely to occur in Tokyo than in rural areas, but other than that, there didn't seem to be any particular changes.

"The shape of the world has changed, huh..."

Sukuna pondered over Mishakuji's words and looked at the streets where people who seemed to live the same daily life came and went.

A black limo drove past Sukuna. Right after that, a sharp brake sound resounded.

Sukuna casually turned around. The rear door of the suddenly stopped limo was flung open. Sukuna's eyes widened when he saw the person who came out from inside.

"Mother..."

Sweat broke out all over Sukuna's body.

The woman was staring at Sukuna. Sukuna's mother's red lips trembled.

When he was at his parents' house, her mother was a symbol of control for Sukuna. She tried to control everything from Sukuna by suppressing Sukuna with her great love.

"Oh, Madam!"

A man ran out of the driver's seat. For a moment, he thought that he was a servant he didn't know, and realized that it was only natural since it had been over three years since he left home.

"Sukuna..."

His mother called out to him with a trembling voice.

Sukuna couldn't move a single step from where he was, just silently feeling his mother's gaze running through his entire body.

Tears welled up in his mother's eyes.

"Give me back my Sukuna...!"

His mother said that with a broken voice.

Sukuna felt his blood drip down. But at the same time, like a frog looking at a snake, his body, which had been motionless, was released.

At that moment, he realized that he was no longer "Sukuna, his mother's property".

"What a dirty bruise! Even though you were a smart kid, you didn't go to school for years! You're like a bum! Ah, this is not good. It can't be undone...!"

The bruise was proof that Mishakuji had trained him to become stronger. Even if he doesn't go to school, his mind is not inferior to that of a child of the same age. He also acquired programming and hacking skills under Nagare. Being taken care of by Iwafune, he lived a much more humane life than when he was at home. He can now cook his own meals, even if he isn't as good as Iwafune.

However, to his mother, all of that was probably the "dirt" that ruined Sukuna.

Only the Sukuna, who was treasured, cared for, polished and loved by his mother like a jewel, was Sukuna to her.

The driver appeared in front of his mother crying.

"Young gentleman. Anyway, get in the car. You should calmly talk to your parents after you get home."

That's what the man said. He must be an indentured servant after Sukuna left home. Although he called him that way and used honorifics, instead of looking at Sukuna as the employer's son, he was closer to looking at the enemy.

Sukuna shook his head silently.

"I won't go upstairs. I won't go home."

"If that's the case, I'm sorry, but even if I use force..."

Looking at the man who said that and got ready, he realized that he was a supernatural being. Probably his mother's driver and bodyguard.

In this day and age when psychic crimes have increased, there are many things ordinary bodyguards can't deal with. It was no surprise that his mother, who was the wife of a high-ranking government official, was assigned a bodyguard with supernatural power.

"I see." Sukuna was convinced that the world's common sense had changed a bit.

The man took a big step forward. From the outstretched right hand, blue light spread out like a web. It seemed to be a capture-type ability that was similar to the nature of the blue clan.

Sukuna took a big leap.

Dodging the supernatural web, he jumped on the man's head while doing somersaults.

Before the man could react to Sukuna's movements, Sukuna slightly turned his body in the air and struck the man's neck with the bamboo sword that was still in the cloth bag.

The man whose consciousness was severed collapsed on the spot.

Sukuna landed and looked at his mother, who was staring at him.

"I'm sorry, but I can no longer return "your Sukuna" to you."

His mother's shoulders trembled at Sukuna's words.

The woman who once controlled everything in Sukuna now seemed small and weak in Sukuna's eyes.

"But, if one day you feel like meeting me as a human being, I hope we can meet at that time... Mother."

Without waiting for a response from his mother, Sukuna turned on his heel and ran. He moved his legs as hard as he could to cut the wind and get away from the place.

There was sadness. Surprisingly for him, it was painful for his mother to judge him useless and make fun of him.

Sukuna didn't stop walking even though he was far enough away from his mother. He ran with all his might to clear the mist from his heart. He was still small, but he was growing at a rapid rate, and he kept running with all his might.

He ran on impulse, and when he stopped his feet as he held his breath, he felt strangely relieved.

Sukuna let out a long breath and then took another deep breath.

He raised his sweaty face and looked at the sky. The wind blew and cooled his hot body, making him feel comfortable and cool.

The sadness and pain were still inside his chest, but they had found a place inside Sukuna.

What Nagare tried to create was a world in which each person was responsible for his own life, exerting his own forces as he wished. Even if Nagare lost, Sukuna will live the life Nagare intended. He didn't care if anyone denied him.

Because what Sukuna was playing was a game of life only for Sukuna.

Yes, it seemed natural.

Sukuna slowly took a step forward. He ran so frantically that for a moment he didn't know where he was, but after a short walk, he recognized the scenery. Apparently, he had made it all the way to Shizume City.

A school seemed to be nearby, and he saw a group of boys and girls in uniform walking towards Shizume Station.

He became aloof from himself, not even looking at the appearance of the children of the same age who were going to school.

Sukuna's eyes widened as he saw a girl who stood out from the passing boys and girls with carefree faces.

White skin, white hair, doll-like features, and red eyes. The girl who stands out, whether she wears the same clothes as those around her or not, is Anna Kushina, former third king.

-- That person attends high school.

With a strange feeling, Sukuna looked at Anna wearing her high school uniform and walking among ordinary children.

He thought that she would be floating in the school, but next to Anna, there was a normal girl in the same uniform who seemed to be her friend and was talking to Anna.

Sukuna had a general understanding of royal authority. Since Anna woke up as Strain from a young age, there were various circumstances that she had and it seems that she didn't attend elementary school.

For some reason, he thought that she would continue to walk a different path than normal children. Like Nagare, who became the "Green King", and Sukuna, who became a member of Nagare's clan.

However, when he learned that this was the path Anna chose, he felt a sense of understanding.

Anna's eyes, which were nodding towards the girl next to her, suddenly turned to Sukuna.

Sukuna lightly shook his shoulders and said, "Oh, no, it's too late to go."

Anna looked at Sukuna with too direct eyes, and the girl next to her also followed her gaze and looked at Sukuna.

"Who is he? A friend?"

The girl next door asked Anna. Anna thought for a moment.

"Yes."

And she agreed.

"Who is your friend? Don't talk nonsense!"

Sukuna raised his fists and turned his back on Anna, running at full speed for the second time that day.

 

It will continue in chapter 10: "Mystery Classmate".

[dazed-pine]

CaN you do the lunch requesT for othellO and UndertaKer oh gOsh thank you so much the first one was so cute and well detailed I can see how much you put into it

thank you so much! i really enjoyed writing it!

content: gn!insert + headcanons - can be read as romantic or platonic ask box

Othello doesn’t spend too much on lunch. He would rather be doing work, or just ‘slack off’. When you see him eat lunch, he looks very disinterested in it. Othello takes small quick bites, he looks like he wants it to end.

Othello takes lunch time more as a break, he likes to sit down and just rest. He doesn’t want to think of his work doing this time, he just wants to think of other things. He talks to the other reapers but he tries not to speak about work.

One thing you do know about Othello is that he really enjoys aromatic foods. You want to make Othello food that he will enjoy smelling more than eating. 

During the process, you experimented a lot with herbs and spices. You don’t want Othello to burn his mouth with spices. You don’t know if he can handle spice that well, but you want it to make it a little spicy. So a lot of it became trial and error.

After trying to perfect a perfect lunch for Othello, you made him a Japanese inspired bone broth soup. The soup has sesame oil, Chinese peppercorn, chives, ginger... since the soup is light, you wanted to add some protein in it. You didn’t want to put meat in it, so you put some mushrooms in it!

For dessert, you made Othello a fluffy lemon pudding. It’s in a shape of a square, and meant to be kind of eaten like a cake. Of course, the pudding smells like lemon but you also decide to put some orange and lime zest in it. You wanted to enhance the flavor of it.

You caught Othello walking to the break-room, muttering to himself about what he should do for lunch. Your lucky day, he didn’t pack anything! You ran up next to him to catch his attention. 

Othello looks at you with mild tired eyes, but intrigue. He’s always glad to see you! When he looks at what you have in your hands, he scratches the back of his neck with a small smile. A chuckle escapes his lips as he continues to chuckle more.

“You made lunch for me? I’m kind of shocked, but very flattered.” Othello smiles as he carefully takes the lunch from you, “You have lunch too, right?”

You nod and have lunch with Othello. Othello and you talk about some events that will be happening soon, and he’s curious about your job. 

For a thank you, he leaves you a small thank you not for you on your desk. Later on at work, you somehow get to leave early with Othello. He asked Grelle to pull some strings for him. 

Othello takes you out for dinner! You did not expect this, but Othello says it’s the right thing to do.

Undertaker is kind of a wild card on lunch too. Have you really seen him eat a meal before? He’s always snacking but eating? Well, this is going to be kind of hard.

When you see him eat, it’s always biscuits, cookies, or some sort of cracker. You’ve seen him eat flatbreads before, but that’s only on ‘special occasions’ (according to his words).

On other occasions, you’ve seen him eat condiments by itself or on bread. You don’t know how he’s getting proper nutrition from it.

Knowing this, you don’t to make him step out of his comfort box too much. Besides, you don’t know too much about what he even likes. Bread and condiments, what to do?

You are determined to make something for him. However, you don’t know what you can make. So, you decide on something that seems quick and easy, but ends up taking a lot of your time the night before hand.

You made Undertaker 12 different types of mini sandwiches. You don’t want to disappoint him (or yourself), so you made a bunch mini sandwiches. French, German, Russian? You took inspiration everywhere. You made sure to put your heart and soul into these things.

For dessert? Somehow, this was less stress for you. You’ve seen him eat jam, marmite, and Vegemite. You went with something ‘simple’. You made him cake with a sweet strawberry jam instead of frosting. 

You’re starting to feel the strain on your back from carrying the entire reaper office with your food.

Undertaker was coming back from the field. You spot him but were taken back, he looks a bit disgruntled but you decided that it’s better to give him his food now than never. You walk up to him with a gentle smile.

He turns to you as he pushes his glasses up, he looks down at your hands. He doesn’t really say much, then it clicks. He nods a little and smiles. Undertaker lets out a small chuckle and pats your head.

“You made this all for me? I’m quite shocked, but thank you, (y/n).” 

He takes the food and pats your head one more time. You eat lunch without him, which makes you a little sad but... he still took it!

The next day, when you’re going to go to the break room, the Undertaker stops you. He gives you a small bag filled with cookies he made for you. He excuses himself then leaves.

Inside you find a thank you note that you still hold onto to this day.

[lubdubsworld]

City Lights . ( Namjoon x OC)

Pairing : OC x Kim Namjoon.

Genre : Angst. Romance.

Rating 18 + 

Word Count : 2900

Warnings :  Mature Themes , Explicit Sexual Content . Slow burn. Like slower than a snail.

Summary :

Widowed and destitute, Son Yang Mi leaves the comfort of her small , secluded  fishing village and travels to the intimidating city of Seoul with her young son. She has a plan, one that involves finding a job, getting her son into a good school and building a life for herself.

Now, three years later she has a job , working as a live in house keeper for the Kim family, specifically for the son,  Kim Namjoon, a famous rapper and producer. 

Its a job that puts a roof over her head and she’ll do anything to keep it. 

But fate has other plans.

Chapter 1 ~

Akogare (ah-koh-ga-reh)Often translated directly as a sort of frustrated “yearning”, “desire”, or “longing” .

Seoul in summer was a sight to behold. I blinked back against the bright sunlight, staring out into the stunning skyline of the city as the sun rose over it , and although it was just a little past seven in the morning, the air was warm and invigorating. The mid July sun shone down with no mercy, and there was no trace of the rain that had lashed city just the previous night.

It had been three whole years but the relief that came from breathing fresh air, untainted by the damp musk of fishing trowels and sweaty men, was still unrivalled.

I shook off the feather duster in my hand, moving to carefully clean the wicker woven chairs on the artificial lawn in the balcony. Dusting the entire condo down was a mind numbing exercise in patience, so i tried to get it out of the way, early in the morning when my son was still asleep.

At six years old, Junsu was a bright , happy child. Summer vacation meant days sleeping in and evenings spent frolicking with the other kids in the building and he was content with being alone in our small shared room, reading or playing with his toys while I went about the day’s work.

I glanced at the clock, grimacing.

It was almost eight . And although Mr. Kim wasn’t due back home for another twelve hours, I felt a little jittery and nervous.

Kim Namjoon , renowned rapper, producer, writer , poet and what not. The apartment was his but he was usually on tour, traveling all over the world to promote his book and to perform in sold out stadiums. For an A list celebrity, he was surprisingly humble.

For the past three years, him and his model fiancée  Lee Mina had spent a total of maybe seven months in the condo. They were a sweet couple, or so I’d always thought , a bit formal with each other but clearly in love . Mr. Kim was a kind, soft spoken young man and I’d never heard him raise his voice unless he was in the company of his very dear friends.

Just a little over a week ago , both of them  had left Korea for the States , the tabloids screaming about a luxurious destination wedding in the Caribbean and I had been asked to take a few weeks off . The newly weds wouldn’t be back for quite a while and they would let me know when I had to come back to the condo.

I’d been toying with the idea of visiting my in laws in Gwangyog, maybe even dropping by to see some old friends there but yesterday , Mr. Kim’s mother had given me a call letting me know her son was coming home. 

[ 

The conversation went something like this :

Yang Mi, I hope you haven’t left yet?

No, Ma'am, I haven’t.

Joon-ah is going to be back tomorrow.

Oh, is Ms Lee arriving as well?

No, Just him He’s going to be alone.

Yes, Ma'am.

Please don’t mention anything about Mina or the wedding.

No ma'am of course not.

I’ll drop by later . Cook him something warm and filling. And make sure the house is cleaned well.

Yes, Ma’ am.

]

And that was that.

~~~~~~

It took the better part of the day to finish cleaning and setting up the house . I washed the window slats, changed the sheets, arranged the books that had been left scattered all over his bedroom. The walk-in closet was littered with a bunch of his clothes and I made sure his gym bag was stocked with fresh towels, spare clothes and his favorite head and wrist bands. 

For someone so careful and calculated, he was really quite a messy man. 

i did his laundry, making sure he had ample clothes at least for another two weeks, creasing the handkerchiefs and carefully removing lint from his jackets. 

I also carefully sorted out the feminine clothing from the laundry and from the cupboard, folding them neatly and placing them in the lowest shelf of the closet, where he wouldn’t find them. It wasn’t hard, hiding traces of his fiancee from the condo, because it had never really been her home. other than a few spare pieces of underwear and a couple of t shirts and skirts, there weren’t many articles of clothing belonging to Ms. Lee. 

But I still got rid of the bobby pins and hair ties, the spare lip gloss and mascara.

Junsu spent the entire day in our room, reading and drawing, only venturing out every few hours to grab a snack. I left him with his drawing tab ( a gift from Mr. Kim for his 5th birthday )  and his favorite book, asking the security guard at the end of the hallway to keep an eye on the door, while i went out to buy groceries.

Lots of meat, no sea food, healthy snacks and high protein fiber bars. I stocked up on sauces and bought a fresh batch of eggs, oranges and grapes . Mrs. Kim had sent a large amount of kimchi a few weeks ago and that was still in the pantry.

i stopped for a second, staring around at the almost deserted store. Most of the other housekeepers shopped at the bigger, more exclusive store on the other side of the residential complex. But Mr. Kim had a very selective palette, which meant that I had to be very particular about the brands i bought.

When i came back home at around six, Junsu was on the floor in the living space and i felt my heart jump in panic.

“Baby!! I’ve told you not to come out here when I’m not home!” I protested bleakly and he pouted.

“I need to show you my gift for Mr. Kim!!” He said softly. I smiled moving to put away the groceries and glancing at the clock. It was a little past six. I had to call Yungyu.

“Did you draw him something ? “ I asked curiously, checking to see if the beer shelf was stocked. probably should have done that before going out for the groceries, I thought regretfully.

“Yeah! Look!!” Junsu held his tab out and my heart dropped.

For a six year old, Junsu drew very well. And there was really no mistaking the very obvious wedding scene on the screen.

Oh, Good God.

“ That looks amazing honey.” I said gently. “ But, I heard that Ms Lee isn’t coming over this time..”

Junsu frowned.

“Why?”

“Well, I’m not sure. But remember how we spoke about saying the right things? When something upsets someone, we do not bring it up.” I reminded him gently. My son hesitated but nodded.

“Okay. I’m sorry. “ He said softly.

“No baby, its not your fault. It’s just that we want Mr. Kim to be happy right? We don’t wanna upset him...”

He smiled at that.

“When he’s happy, his dimples come out.” He said with a giggle. I laughed.

“yes they do... So let’s try and get those dimples out as often as we can alright? Why don’t you show him that picture you drew of yeontan the other day? He’ll really like that....”

“Okay...but i need to go color it!” Junsu yelled, already running back into our room. I watched him go before reaching for the phone and dialing, Yungyu, the chauffeur.

“Are you on the way here? ” i said briskly.

“Just starting from home...” Yungyu muttered, “ I’m supposed to be on vacation now! Why is he coming back so soon?” 

“Just hurry up !! We can’t keep him waiting!!” I said sharply, before hanging up. 

I made a quick check of all the rooms, filling up water bottles for his gym routine in the morning and stashing them in the fridge before moving to get dinner started. 

i set the water on boil for the stew, before moving to peel cucumbers for the salad. I chopped the cucumber , along with some fresh cherry tomatoes . I watched the water boil, thinly slicing an onion and adding it to the bowl as well. The dressing was pretty simple,  soy sauce, rice vinegar, honey and sesame oil . I sprinkled some sesame seeds on the bowl, used the salad tongs to give the whole thing a nice toss and set it aside. 

I braised the chicken first , peeling and chopping potatoes and carrots to add to the stew . In a few minutes, the rich smell of lightly spiced chicken and garlic and perilla  leaves began filling the kitchen and I turned on the rice cooker as well. 

The door bell rang at six forty and i opened the door to reveal Yungyu. 

I grabbed the keys to the Palisade, handing them over to him.

“Did you hear?” He whispered urgently.

I frowned.

“What?”

“They say Mr. Kim called off the wedding!” He whispered, wide eyed. 

I glared at him.

“Who told you that?” i demanded...

“Seojoon from the gate said-”

“Why don’t you ask Seojoon from the gate to mind his own damn business?” I snapped. 

Yungyu looked suitably chastised. i felt a little bad. Yungyu was still young and curiosity was hardly a sin. 

“His flight lands at eight exactly. Hurry okay?” I said with a smile, ruffling his hair.

He brightened, peering over my shoulder into the house.

“Where’s the little one?” He asked curiously.

“ Painting something for Mr. Kim... Go ahead, hurry up.” I shooed him away, locking the door behind him. I fixed a plate of food for Junsu and sent him to eat, before moving to check on the stew. +

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~` 

By the time eight thirty rolled around I had the table set and ready. I washed my face quickly in the small bath attached to our room , making sure I was dressed well. Junsu wasn’t allowed in the main house unless Mr. Kim specifically asked for him and my son usually stayed in. 

Junsu and I stayed in a bedroom , not large by any means but big enough for a queen sized bed, a table and chair for Junsu and small dresser where I kept a comb and a tube of night cream. I stared at my face, licking my lips as I smoothed my hair out. 

I glanced at the bed. 

Junsu was asleep , having dozed off while coloring his picture and I carefully extracted the tab from under his fingers, moving him around to lay on the soft pillows. I tucked him in gently, brushing the hair off his face. 

“In peace , I will lie down to sleep, for You alone will let me rest in safety.” I whispered gently against his forehead, kissing the soft skin. I felt my lips wobble , a debilitating wave of affection flooding me as the sweet scent of my baby, filled my senses.

 I would die for you, I thought fiercely, kissing him again. 

The sound of the front door opening made me jump. 

Swearing, i smoothed the fabric of my skirt, running to the kitchen. 

“Thank you for picking me up Yungyu, I’m sorry you had to cut short on your vacation.” Mr. Kim’s deep voice filled the hallway and I quickly grabbed a glass, filling it with water and placing it on the dinner tray.

“Not a problem, Sir. “ Yungyu’s cheerful voice responded.

“How are you going home?” Mr. Kim asked. 

“I’ll take the bus.”

A pause and then, 

“Here’s some cash. Get a cab.” 

I could hear the relief in Yungyu’s voice as he let out a , “ Thank you sir.” 

I fixed his plate carefully, the bowl of rice, the bowl of chicken stew, and the salad neatly arranged next to the napkin and the chopsticks. I heard him move across the condo, the sound of his suitcases as he wrestled them towards his bedroom and I frowned. Yungyu should’ve have brought those in for him. 

I finished reheating all of the food and carefully carried the dinner tray to the bedroom. 

Mr. Kim’s bedroom was right at the end of the hallway and the door was open. The full length mirror on the opposite wall showed him sitting on the small couch in his room, legs spread and elbows resting on his knees as he ran his fingers through his hair. 

I raised my hand, ready to knock on the wood. 

“Fuck!” He shouted, kicking out at the coffee table with enough force to send the furniture skidding half way across the room. 

I froze in the hallways stunned. 

“You’re such a fucking fool , Namjoon !!” He muttered angrily and I swallowed, turning on my heel and quickly walking back to the kitchen. 

Maybe I ought to wait till he asked for dinner.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

He didn’t ask for dinner. 

I stayed sitting on the floor of the kitchen, waiting and lightly dozing as I heard him talk to his parents on the phone. I heard him open the liquor cabinet in his room, the sound of ice sloshing against glass, the sound of whiskey being poured carefully and i sighed. 

I had to get to bed. It was already a little past eleven. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Sometime in the night, I woke up sweating.... 

Wondering what woke me up, I blinked groggily, glancing at Junsu. He was still sound asleep. 

Sighing, I climbed out of the bed, carefully making my way to Mr. Kim’s room, peering in carefully. 

He was asleep on the sofa.

I stared at the way his long legs stretched over the armrest, his lean hips twisted to accommodate his broad shoulders on the couch and I winced. He was definitely going to regret that in the morning. 

I stared at the half empty bottle of whiskey on the table and sighed, moving to take off his shoes carefully. He didn’t stir. 

I grabbed a pillow from the bed, carefully lifting his head and slipping it under. I placed a comforter over his shoulders, pulling it down to cover his legs. 

Force of habit almost made me brush his hair off his forehead but I stopped myself. 

The clock on the wall read three fifty am. God, I was going to feel terrible tomorrow. I carefully tip toed out, shutting the door behind me

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I picked the comforter from the floor, carefully folding it and placing it on the bed, before grabbing the empty bottle of whiskey and glass . i could hear the shower running. The curtains were still drawn in and I tugged on the strings to get them to open. Sunlight spilled in through the floor length windows. The bed wasn’t slept in, so I opened the closet to grab a couple of towels, laying them on the bed for him. 

The bathroom door opened and i quickly straightened, wanting to race out of the room but it was too late. Thankfully he was dressed,  a pair of loose sweats and a loose t shirt . He was running a towel through his hair and his face brightened at the sight of me. 

“Yang Mi! You’re here....” He said cheerfully. 

“Good morning sir.” I said softly, offering him a small smile. 

He smiled brightly, hair damp and dimples deep. The white t shirt he had on was almost fully soaked through and he shook his head, sending stray water droplets all over the place, a few landing on my cheeks. 

“I didn’t see you last night...” He said casually, moving to drop the wet towel in the hamper, grabbing one of the fresh ones I’d laid on the bed. 

“I thought you would like your privacy sir, you looked exhausted.” 

He smiled.

“ Thank you for the blanket and the pillow by the way. And the shoes.” 

I bowed quickly.

“I’ll get your breakfast done, sir.” I bowed again before quickly getting out. 

I moved to the kitchen grabbing the oranges I’d got the previous day . Mr. Kim wasn’t fond of traditional korean dishes in the morning. He preferred freshly squeezed juice and toast, sometimes with an omelet perhaps. 

I fixed his breakfast quickly, setting it all in the tray . He was still moving around in the bedroom and I heard him drag his worktable to the windows, which meant he was going to stay in the bedroom. 

Pouring his coffee into a cup, I carefully picked up the breakfast tray , moving to his room slowly. 

I used my foot to knock on the door.

After a pause of a few seconds, 

“Come in Yang Mi!”

I carefully moved to the small table in front of the couch, placing the tray right in front of him. The scent of his body wash, green apple and strawberries, hit me hard. 

“Where’s Junsu?” He asked casually.

“Still asleep sir. It’s Summer so school’s out.” I smiled, grabbing his phone from the table to make space for his tray. 

The phone buzzed just as I was about to place it back down and I blinked.

 Mina calling.......

 I swallowed, not sure what to do, placing the phone down quickly.

“Uh..you have ...” I waved vaguely at the device before bowing again and moving back. 

“close the door on your way out, Yang Mi...” He said gently and I quickly obeyed. 

I moved to the kitchen to grab a cup of coffee for myself. I stayed leaning over the counter and even through the locked door, I could hear him . 

“Just don’t call me Mina...i don’t want to talk about this!!!” 

I swallowed, glancing out of the window again. It was a bright, clear morning. 

A second later, the door to his bedroom slammed open and he stormed out. I watched him from my spot in the kitchen, his fists clenched as he rushed out to the front door.

The door shut behind him and I exhaled. 

Once I as done with my coffee, I moved to his room to clear the breakfast tray. His phone was still on the table.

It began ringing again just as I left the room. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Mrs. Kim.” i said respectfully, bowing . She gave me a short smile.

“Where’s Namjoon? I’ve been calling him for the past hour.” She pushed past me into the house and I bit my lips.

“He went out about an hour ago. He left his phone behind.” I explained.

She stopped, sighing. 

“Fine, I’ll wait for him. “ She moved to sit on the couch, glancing around the room. 

“Should I get you something ma'am?” I asked softly and she smiled.

“Get me a glass of lemonade, Yangmi.” She said brusquely and i nodded, running to the kitchen. 

“Did Mina come over?” She called out as I got the lemons out of the cooler.

“No ma'am.” i replied.

“Did she call?” 

  I remembered the phone ringing, how upset it had made Namjoon, how he had stormed out.

“I don’t know ma'am!” I said softly. 

She nodded.

“Okay. You can leave.” She said quietly. i bowed and went back into the kitchen. 

I peered out of the window as I fixed her a glass , and my eyes fell on a familiar figure, coming back in through the front gate. Even from this distance there was no mistaking the long legs and messy blonde hair. 

I bit my lips, mind racing.

 Mrs Kim and her son had a volatile relationship, to say the least. 

And something told me that Mr. Kim was probably not in the right frame of mind to argue with his mother, now. The man was upset but apparently, neither his mother nor his ex fiancée understood that. instead of giving him space they were hounding him. 

I hesitated for a second  before making a quick decision. 

I grabbed the tray with her lemonade and moved to her quickly.

“Thank you.” She said sharply. “ Turn on the Air Conditioner for me, will you?” 

I fumbled with the remote, grabbing his phone from the table , turning it on before moving to the front door and rushing out. 

I almost ran into him as he came out of the elevator , and i jerked back stumbling a bit to stop myself from crashing into his chest. He let out a , ‘ Whoa, “  his hands reaching out to grip my elbows. 

“Careful. What’s wrong?” He asked gently and I swallowed.

“Your mother’s here.” I said quickly, “ Sir.” 

“Oh, fuck.” He groaned. I swallowed.

“You can leave.” I blurted out. “It’s Tuesday. She has her charity work meeting at ten. Its almost nine. She won’t stay long....” 

His eyes met mine, lips parting in surprise. 

“I really can’t meet her now.” He said apologetically.

I nodded.

“Of course, I understand , sir. Just be back in an hour , she’ll be go-”

The elevator buzzed , the doors nearly closing over my shoulders and I flinched. He swore and stuck his arm out to keep it open. 

I stared at him before holding his phone out.

“Here you go sir. “ 

He chuckled taking it from me and shaking his head.

“i feel like a kid, sneaking away from my mom.” His eyes reached mine, twinkling, “ Who would’ve thought the quiet, timid Yang Mi would be my partner in crime. “ 

I didn’t reply, just smiled. 

And then he hesitated. “ Is Junsu awake?”

I blinked.

“Uh...yes sir,...he’s playing in the park downstairs with the other kids.”

“Great... Would you mind if i take him out for ice cream?”

I stared at him. 

“Oh..uh...of course not. Sure.. I mean.. he’ll love that... Sir. Thank you.. You don’t have to -”

“Consider it thank you for helping me with my mother.” He smiled again and i found myself staring at his dimples again. i swallowed. 

“in that case, he loves butter scotch.” I smiled. 

The dimples appeared and i bit my lips. 

“Thank you Yang Mi.” He said slowly. 

“Yes, Sir.” 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Author’s Note : Finally a hyungline fic !!! ugh... I’ve been wanting to write a Namjoon fic for ages and I really hope you guys will like this one :’( Feedback is much appreciated. 

[youarejesting]

Sly like a... ? Part 5

[Master list] [Sly Master List] Beta: n/a (at the moment) Rating: All Pairing: Hybrid!BTS x FailedHybrid!Reader Genre: Hybrid au, fluff, action, adventure, angst, drama, slice of life. Some marked chapters will contain mature/smut scenes, BUT they will not have plot in those scenes and are 100% skippable without losing your place in the story. Words: 1.3k

Summary: Human’s strive to be better, faster and stronger looking to animal DNA. Thus Hybrids are born. As the rise for designer and Pedigree Hybrids increase, so do the failed attempts. There is one species scientists are unsuccessful in creating, but, folklore says they have been here all along, hiding and blending in with the humans for many millennia. How clever they are.

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Between the passive-aggressive comments from Namjoon and Yoongi, the absolutely adorable moments from Jungkook, and  Hoseok, and Seokjin's loud nature you didn't have a moment to yourself. Pair that with trying to make Taehyung feel comfortable and Jimin wanting your attention. You were running ragged.

Well, when you looked around they all were wanting your attention, each hybrid was a little possessive over you as their owner. Even Yoongi who constantly claimed he didn't want to be a part of any government program or any home in general, would occasionally growl or hiss in the corner whenever Jimin or Taehyung got too close.

You thought perhaps he was the most protective of you as he was severely touch starved and secretly loved the idea of being loved and wanted by someone. He spent his days and nights cold and alone on the streets and having somewhere warm and dry with someone who cared for his wellbeing was filling a missing piece in his life. It must scare him seeing the opportunity there but not allowing himself to fully let you into his heart as he held it so close as it was left frail and weak from his previous hurt.

When the groceries arrived the poor delivery man had to deal with seven very protective Hybrids who hovered making sure that you were constantly safe at that moment. Having a stranger in the house was not exactly fun for them.

"Yoongi?" You looked over the table from the game of cards Taehyung, Jungkook and Jimin had roped you into with their big innocent eyes and swishing tails. You saw Yoongi's ear twitch and his body tensing slightly as he opened his eyes lazily to meet you. You grinned at him watching his tail swish once before it stilled.

"What do you need?" He sat up stretching and walking over to the table and looking over your shoulder at your cards and humming. 

"I wondered if you wanted to pick something for dinner, there is a folder in the draw I filled with recipes I know how to cook, but if you want something else I can try to make it for you and also there is another folder of fast food menu's if you want something else?" You said turning your head he was very close his head almost on your shoulder but he restrained himself from the final move to touch you intentionally.

Perhaps he was scared of getting too close and eventually being abandoned once more. Yoongi was looking in the draws and frowning, "I can't find any folders"

Placing your cards down with a warning to the boys, you strode into the kitchen you saw him crouched by the draw searching and you smiled searching for the folder and found it. 

"These two purple folders," You handed them over making sure your hands brush trying to encourage subtle touches and his tail swished a few times. Knowing the kitchen counter was obstructing the view of you both from the others you took the chance to show him a bit of much-deserved affection, unable to stop yourself you placed your hand on his soft hair and tousled it with a bright smile. 

His cheeks went pink as he ducked his head, his tail was swishing back and forth rapidly and he took a deep breath and stood up placing the folders on the counter. He cleared his throat fixing his expression, not wanting to appear too pleased by the reaction.

Thinking it was best not to overwhelm him you returned back to your card game while he chose something for dinner. Upon returning you saw your cards askew from how you left them and some cheeky grins on the other boys’ faces.

"You sneaky rotten boys, what did I say about cheating!" you laughed shocked, and messed up their hair, the two feline hybrids whining and swatting your hands away to fix their hair back into place. Taehyung was overjoyed his tail rapidly swatting back and forth and leaning in wanting more.

You were scratching his scalp gently and he laid his head down on the table happily his eyes closed in content. Yoongi approached with the book hesitating behind you, not wanting to interrupt and you assumed feeling nervous to ask for something as simple as dinner. He was the type who didn't want to be a burden or feel reliant on you, but you turned.

"Did you find something for our dinner Yoongi?" You encouraged and his cheeks flushed, he held out the folder opened on the page and he shuffled not saying a word not wanting to bring himself to say the words.

"I wasn’t really sure, I picked one at random," suspecting he really wanted the dish but didn't want to seem too keen if you said no. You nodded wanting to give him anything he asked for, you were very good at reading Hybrids having grown up with Jimin and others just like him.

You placed your hand on his pulling the book down and pointing at the dish, "What meat would you like in it, and should we do noodles or rice?" 

"I like it with Noodles but if we make it with rice, I can make a lot of fun little side dishes which I like too, what do you like?"

"I am not sure?” he mumbled nervously at the thought of being given an ultimatum

“Good idea, I will start now and we can have all of the above, there are so many of us, it would be nice to have lots of everything,” You looked up at him an idea struck, you were supposed to teach these boys to be independent, “do you maybe want to help me make it?”

“Uh I have never made anything, but I can try, or if it’s too much we don’t need to eat?” Taehyung whined at his words and you laughed. 

“You don’t have to Yoongi, I thought you might like to learn for fun, so if every I am not home or if I might get sick or something, you will be able to eat good food” Clarifying that you were in no way trying to condition him into becoming your personal chef.

“I can help,” he nodded, you were still unsure if he was agreeing so as to not get in trouble but you would take it hoping to make the experience fun. “Okay, let’s get all the ingredients out it says, and put it on the counter right here”

“Do you need help with anything?” You smiled, placing your hand on his wave to gently nudge him aside to grab the bottle of sesame oil.

“I can’t find the garlic?” Yoongi was ashamed he had failed already.

“Oh, I bought a jar of minced Garlic to save time, so that’s all the ingredients found” Leading him from the walk-in pantry you lead him to the middle of the kitchen and took an apron, it was black and you slipped it over his head and walked around tying it up. “We can’t have your clothes getting dir-”

It was then you noticed how old and tattered his clothes were, the collar was stretched and the back of his jeans was ripped and stained from where he stood on the legs. Taking a small breath.

“Could everyone make a list of things they want or need in their rooms, in the bathroom or clothing and shoe wise? We can all go shopping tomorrow” Walking Yoongi to the sink you washed your hands together and smiled over at him playfully flicking water at him, he gave a tiny smile and wiped his face on his sleeve.

The two of you got cooking, as you taught him Seokjin sat at the breakfast bar on one of the tall stools and watched intently. It was honestly cute to see them all interested in everyday things, things that Hybrids weren’t exactly expected or taught how to do. 

Something as simple as feeding themselves. It was sad how many Hybrids were punished with no food or left to starve so it was nice to teach them how to cook for themselves and put some of that power into their hands.

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Tags:  @simplymemyself @lolsiiike @min2jeon @notruercolors @luvaffaire @grazysf​  @ella-mella  @lustremyg​ (please make sure you have tagging setting on so you get notified when the story updates)

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[aiweirdness]

A big neural net reviews a smaller neural net's recipes

I’ve used various neural networks to generate recipes, to varying degrees of success. My earliest recipes were generated with char-rnn, which had to learn everything - spelling, punctuation, words - entirely from scratch. Its recipes were terrible (Swamp Peef and Cheese, anyone? Or Chocolate Chicken Chicken Cake?). Later when I started using GPT-2, I was using a neural net that had already seen a lot of recipes online during internet pre-training, and its recipes looked a lot more realistic (although not entirely realistic - there was that recipe for Black Forest Cake that suggested pouring the batter into a toaster, or the jello recipe that starts with “remove all internal rinds”).

GPT-3, an even more powerful text-generating neural net, has seen so many recipes during its internet pre-training that its recipes are boringly plausible. Bake its Black Forest Cake recipe and you’d probably actually get cake at the end, even if it’s not the best cake in the world. Its recipes aren’t funny at a glance, which is why I haven’t posted any of them - until internet linguist Gretchen McCulloch suggested that, rather than have GPT-3 generate its own recipes, I have it rate char-rnn’s recipes. Readers, it worked.

I prompted GPT-3 with two example recipes from allrecipes, each followed by 3 of their human-written reviews. Then, for the third recipe I inserted one of char-rnn’s recipes:

Chocolate Chocolate Cake

1 cup sugar 1/4 cup butter 1 cup margarine 1 cup cocoa 1 teaspoon vanilla 1 cup margarine 1/2 cup pecans, chopped 1 teaspoon vanilla 1 egg yolk 1/2 cup sugar 1/4 cup chopped pecans 1 cup sugar 1 teaspoon vanilla 1 cup cocoa 1 teaspoon vanilla

Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, salt, and salt in a large bowl. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until mixture boils and stiff peaks form. Add milk and cook until mixture is completely melted. Remove from heat and stir in sugar and sugar. Add eggs and vanilla. Beat until smooth. Spread in batter. Sprinkle with pecans.

Yield: 1 servings

And then I let GPT-3 add reviews. Would it mention the excessive lakes of vanilla? The complete lack of flour? The foolhardy reliance on the heroic efforts of a single egg yolk to hold things together?

oxtailsandturnovers Rating: 5 stars 03/04/2007 delicious chocolate recipe!!! and the perfect balance between cocoa and chocolate. and they sure were LONGNECKS! big time rave here. lazy w birthdays w friends and family, try this recipe for something chocolate sweet the ppl will talk about over and over.

AKEMIYUNA Rating: 5 stars appraisal 12/03/2008 Excellent for the kids Halloween party. Everyone got so thrilled by seeing something new on Chocolate in sponge. He even likes nuts separately but it will taste good..

BYOMFYABF Rating: 2 stars 10/01/2008 I could only give it a 2 as I had to make changes to it due to ingredients I had. First, I used Dove Dark Chocolate cocoa instead of Hershey's, no nuts, and the mashed bananas and caramel topping were a must. I did use coffee instead of the hot water, and dark margarine instead of regular, therefore I could not use light whipped cream, but I made homemade whipped cream. It had WAY too much flour in it, but i guess it could have been me measuring heavier than I should have. I also only used 2 cups of flour. it was my first bundt cake, so it was huge!!!

Here’s another batch of reviews, this time of a more chaotic char-rnn recipe:

Simple Soup Alaborate Soup Pie

6 each chopped white perserves; ** (optional but ring) 1/2 cup chopped fresh marjoram 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme 1/3 teaspoon salt 1/2 cup thinly sliced onion 1/4 cup onion (chopped) 1/2 teaspoon garlic; minced 2 small carrots 6 can dry white wine 1 tabasco sauce 1 tablespoon sugar 1/2 cup flour, whipped topping 2 tablespoon chili powder

Marinate: Serves 4. Whip and short under boiling. Add the sliced mushrooms and peppers and stir to coat. Stir the sugar and carrots. In large bowl, beat the egg to make a 1 1/2 tablespoons of the flour. Add shanks and stir it well. Spoon into a frying pan before serving.

Recipe By : DonajehLi Koubmanda

Yield: 8 servings

JEFFREY97389 Rating: 2 stars 03/03/2006 Even though everyone said this was great, I thought it was just 'OK!' The perserves gave a strange flavor to the sauce.

MATTJANDTRACER Rating: 2 stars 01/02/2009 This recipe sounded good. When it came out it tasted a bit like a casserole and not a stew. I used venison instead of deer and pork. I liked the way it turned out, but it wasnt very French.

Hammy Rating: 5 stars The g iving this as a gift as it takes about 10 less minutes but using American cheese and not blended with parsley flakes, lime-flavored gelatin, which is my husband's favorite dish from SuperValu. Just happens to be the creamy sauce. Don't worry about a pie crust.

In fact, the more chaotic the char-rnn recipe, the more chaotic the reviews tend to be, as if GPT-3 has picked up on the chaos and is trying to somehow produce reviews that could plausibly be written by whatever weird humans are visiting this mangled recipe website.

Geilded Peanuts & Crabmeat Basil

3 beef, boneless chops, or thyme, 1 lamber and flince of fresh diced in diagonal 1 parsley 2 large leeks (for garnish) 3/4 teaspoon sesame oil, seeded and peeled 1 any jeans'l-tortilla 1 pepper or cinnamon 1/4 cup baesly pinto beans. (Crushed and thawed; minced fine you recipe) 1 tomato base 1 fat in the last 5 inch plates 1 garlic clove; crushed 1/4 cup dijon mustard

In a large bowl set aside. Remove the sides from the heat and saute with a fork and cover and cook on Low for 6 to 6 hours.

Yield: 6 servings

Morales Rating: 0 stars 03/30/2008 I had high expectations for this recipe, but it was an outright flop. I don't know if the measurements were somehow incorrect or what, but I ended up with a watery mess that certainly wasn't crab salad. My girlfriend, who is a new chef liked it fine, but I really wish that the recipe didn't claim that it made six servings when it really made enough for one, if that's what we were going to call it.

Carole Rating: 5 stars Glorious sobs! This recipe will be delicious for a minumum of 1½ Hours to maximum 2½ hours Time to bring lots of fresh sized potatoes in the house or grow in the age may become quite famous

Amanda Rating: 3 stars 11/13/2009 My friend is having a birthday party and will celebrate with Camping. She's in charge of the dishes and wanted to serve food at the campfire. I'll 10th grade, my easy information for her party. It will not sound strange anyway test this task with a note to work rationally.What to take trees, portable tables for chairs, the main meal, food. I personally love the taste of it but has anyone seen a shepherd (wasn't any spices), oysters. It is sufficient

It does kind of make sense that GPT-3’s recipe reviews aren’t directly complaining about the utter weirdness of char-rnn’s recipes. Probably very few of the recipe reviews in GPT-3’s training data involved baffled complaints about nonexistent or repeated ingredients, or apocalyptic levels of recipe failure. So GPT-3 has learned that even the critical reviews tend to fall within a certain sentiment range. It’s interesting that it tries to emulate char-rnn’s primitive neural net glitchiness - I’ve noticed before that GPT-3 seems to be capable of pretending to be a much simpler neural net.

Subscribers get bonus content: After generating a few reviews, GPT-3 would sometimes go on to generate new recipes (such as “BBQ Cheeseburger Salad” which contains lime jello, whipped topping, and sliced black beans). It may have been deliberately trying to make them terrible to fit in with char-rnn’s recipes.

Speaking of AI-generated recipes: there are some absolute disasters in my book on AI, You Look Like a Thing and I Love You: Amazon - Barnes & Noble - Indiebound - Tattered Cover - Powell’s - Boulder Bookstore

[dustofbrokenheart]

The Lost Boys: Take-Out Intrigue Part 1

Part One | Part Two

Marko x Reader

Word Count: 2,400

Warnings: racial slurs, some gore 

Summary: You catch Marko’s eye while he’s waiting on an order. (Since my blatant favoritism towards Dwayne was called out, I’m trying something new!) 

“Nin hao ma,” Marko called out as he entered the small restaurant.

The familiar scents of garlic, rice vinegar, and sesame oil wafted out from the kitchen in the back. Marko personally preferred the take-out joint down the block but it was David’s night to choose so he didn’t complain. Much.

The older woman at the counter bowed her head slightly with a smile. He wasn’t a regular but he was there enough that she recognized him. “Hao, hao.”

Mandarin was fluent but these owners spoke Cantonese which he wasn’t as familiar with. He supposed he could take time to learn but he’d been occupied with spray painting and the birds for the past few years. That didn’t leave much time, or desire, to pick up something else. Pleasantries out of the way, he switched back to English. His

“Let me get three orders of the sweet and sour pork, one sweet and sour shrimp, four chow mein, one lo mein, and one fried rice.” After a second of thought he added, “Oh, and some egg rolls.”

The owner wrote it all down quickly and waved the paper slip in between her fingers. “Wait here.”

She disappeared to the kitchen, leaving Marko by himself to admire the scrolls of art that hung on the wall.

In the back, she calmly walked over to where you were hunched over an open textbook, frantically taking notes. It was noisy in the kitchen so you didn’t notice her until she cuffed you on the back of the head.

“Oww!”

“Time to work. Keep an eye on the customer out front,” she nagged in Cantonese.

“Fine, fine. I’m going.” You held your hands up in surrender. But you snagged you stuff when she wasn’t looking and hoofed it to the register before she could chastise you again.

You stood at the register and it was impossible to miss the customer. He had a riotous mass of blonde curls pulled back into a ponytail and wore a patched-up jacket that was simultaneously too busy to look at and too interesting to look away from. He must have felt your gaze because he suddenly shifted his focus from the calligraphy on the walls and stared you straight in the eye.

You held your breath and after a few seconds, his face relaxed and he smiled at you. The smile only added to his attractiveness but you instinctively knew that he wasn’t as sweet as it would lead you to believe.

“You’re new,” he commented.

“Y-yeah. I mean, no,” you sputtered. That was embarrassing. You’d never struggled to speak with a customer before. The fact that he stared without blinking made it worse.

He merely hid his smile behind the fingerless gloves and stuck a thumb in his mouth. A possible oral fixation—? You stopped that thought dead in it’s tracks. It was highly inappropriate to think of a paying customer that way. His actions were none of your business.

You cleared your throat in an attempt to start over. “Actually, my family has known the owners forever. But yes, I’ve only been working here for a few months.”  

“I don’t remember seeing you,” he said crowding you despite the fact that there was a register between the two of you. “What’s your name?”

You weren’t sure why, but you felt the need to defend yourself to him. Which was ridiculous. You talked with chatty customers all the time, no problem.

“My name is Y/N. I always take the busy shifts since my English is better. This is the first time I’ve stayed later than the dinner rush.”

That answer must’ve settled something for him because he took at thumb out of his mouth and gave you the first genuine smile you’d seen thus far. In turn, you smiled back and the mood in the room calmed.

His attention went back to the calligraphy and you opened your textbook to the spot you left off at. Everything was quiet. “So…you like calligraphy?” he questioned.

The next fifteen minutes passed quickly as he got you talking about the restaurant’s décor. He was especially absorbed by the painting of a fiery-scaled eastern dragon, which you also liked. But your favorite was the Chinese phoenix on the opposite wall.

“Did you know the fenghuang is a lucky omen? They’re the bird of all birds in traditional mythology.”

That seemed to intrigue him. “The bird of all birds, huh?”

You latched on to the tone in his voice. “Do you like birds?”

He toed the tip of his worn boot into the linoleum floor. Laughed a little. “Yeah. You could say that.”

He opened his mouth to say more but at that moment you were called to bag up his order. A little reluctant, you excused yourself and went to kitchen. The food was already portioned into their respective white cartons, the top flaps folded in neatly.

Opening up the plastic bag, you quickly arranged the cartons inside and tied a with a small, snug knot at the top. Stapling the receipt to the bag, you drew a smiley face on it with a blue-ink pen. The smile came out a little lopsided but you left it alone, afraid it might turn out worse if you tried to fix it.

You lingered near the door, twisting the plastic in your hands. For some reason, you would be disappointed to see him leave. Which was crazy as you’d only talked for a few brief minutes. Judging by the size of the order, the poor guy probably needed to leave so he could bring other people their dinner too.

Resigned, and uncomfortable with that feeling, you went back out to the register. You made sure to use your most polite voice as you rang him up. The exchange happened normally and he dug a wad of dollars bills from his back pocket. It made you cringe to see the money so wrinkled and spotted with an unknown stain, but you kept your reaction to yourself.  

“Have a nice night,” you wished him as you tried to hand him his change.

He waved it off with a shake of his head that sent his curls bouncing. “Nah, keep it.”

And that was it. He turned to leave, swinging the plastic bag at his side with every step. There was no hesitation on his part and you sighed. Clearly, your interest was one-sided.

Logically, you knew shouldn’t take it personal, but emotionally, you couldn’t shake the feeling of rejection. Remembering that you were in the middle of reading, you went to open your notes again. You flipped through the pages slowly, your heart not in it.

Outside of the small restaurant, the red neon open sign casted hazy lighting on the cracked cement sidewalk. Marko hovered just far enough from the door that you couldn’t see him. He snickered.

Your disappointed sighs had followed him as soon as he turned his back on you to leave and he had to be honest—it delighted him. Good to know that you were attracted to him. He certainly liked you.

Santa Carla was full of interesting people, alive, undead, or otherwise, so it was hard to catch his attention. But as soon as you started spouting off about mythical Chinese phoenixes, he was hooked. Yes, he was into birds, screw you, but he’d never heard that story before.

He supposed you could’ve been talking out of your ass but he didn’t get that vibe from what he had seen. Your eyes lit up when you talked about the image so he bet that you truly did admire it. Your voice was steady for the first time in the encounter, meaning that you were comfortable saying those things, had probably told them to other ears dozens of times.

So, yes, you could be making it up. If you were, he’d be the first to admire your skills. But you seemed too straight and narrow for that. After all, you were actually studying at work. What kind of person did that?

The tantalizing combination of authenticity and passion for your Eastern mythology made him want to talk to you again. That way he could pick your brains more and maybe, if he was lucky, make you stutter again. Still, he wasn’t going to walk back in there like a sap. Not after he just left.  

“Hey!”

His ears twitched and he finally got a look at the guy he’d been watching stagger down the sidewalk the entire time he’d been outside. He chose not to saying anything figuring the human would keep talking anyway, which he did.

“You get that food from here?” The human pointed to the restaurant with his thumb.

Marko nodded, biting on his thumb.

“These chinks, or japs, or whatever any good?”

Marko’s eyes that had been taking in the guy’s appearance the entire time paused in the bird pin he had on his cap. It was yellow orange. Similar shade to the fenghuang’s wings. He took his thumb out of his mouth, his slick fangs descending to bite into his bottom lip.  

The ass hadn’t even noticed, still talking and seemingly some kind of inebriated. Fine by Marko. He liked surprising people.

His clawed hand shot out faster than the human eye could track and plunged into the guy’s chest. A hole was torn clean through. The blood and heart organ felt warm and wet as it stuck to his fingers. “I don’t think you need to worry about that you prick.”

The hole was much more pronounced and blood began spilling out. In the light of the moon, the blood looked black instead of red. The about-to-be-dead offender’s jacket absorbed some of the liquid but the rate at which it poured out was too much for the fabric to soak it all up.  It wouldn’t be long until he was officially dead.

The shock registered late and by the time the human looked down, Marko had already pulled his hand out and was sucking at the blood. He laughed at the other’s confused expression. The last thing the guy saw was Marko giggling and playfully waving his fingers.

The corpse sagged to the ground and Marko wrenched it up by one of the arms. He must’ve used too much force because he heard the shoulder pop off out of its socket.

He shrugged, not really bothered. No one else was out on the streets at this time. Especially not during a weekday. Getting rid of the body would be easy. Strengthening his hold, he flew into the night sky to dump the body where it would never be found.

When he came back, the white bag of Chinese take-out was sitting exactly where he left it. Excellent. Bending down to rip off the receipt, he pinned his new yellow orange bird pin to it. There was a small speck of blood on the glossed paint near the small bird’s wing that he licked clean.

He didn’t mind scarring you, but he didn’t want you so freaked out that you went to the cops. That would make things a little messy and make David pissy.

Following his nose, he wandered over the car that smelled of you. A quick glance through the driver’s window showed a stack of other notebooks and…a ridiculously bedazzled charm dangling from the rear-view mirror. It made him raise his brow, but he decided he liked it.

Mythological creatures, bedazzled charms…he couldn’t wait to find out more about you.

He arranged the paper backed pin under the windshield wiper to keep it from falling or blowing away. Marko prided himself on giving gifts and he wished he could be there to see you find it, but he’d been gone long enough. The boys were already going to give him hell for it. And he was getting hungry, too.

Besides, he knew where you worked. He’d find you again when he had more time.

Revving the bike, he raced down the road, the plastic bag quivering where it hung from his handle bars.

---XXX---

“See you later, Auntie,” you called out. A bell jingled as you pushed the front door open. You weren’t used to working this late and were long past due for sleep.

“Bye bye, drive home safe,” she said in Cantonese, the gruffness failing to mask her fondness for you.

Being in the restaurant all night, the crisp air outside was a nice reprieve. You loved the food, you really did, but oil could be headache inducing after a while. There was a slight breeze, too, that refreshed you with its invisible caress.

Most of the other businesses in this area were closed by now, leaving the streets dim and vacant. Luckily, there was a streetlight by your car so you didn’t have to walk in the dark. There was no such thing as being too safe in Santa Carla.

You shifted your things so you could get the keys and stopped in your tracks when you noticed a small piece of paper on the windshield. You looked around, not seeing anything else out of the ordinary. Still, you couldn’t shake the wariness.

Was it a ticket? A threat? A piece of trash that just blew into the window?

Creeping forward, you recognized the smiley face you had drawn earlier. What the—? When you were close enough to snatch it, you realized there was something weighing down the corner of the flimsy paper. A pin.

You angled it toward the streetlight, unsure what it was. An orange, no, golden orange bird gleamed in the light. Its wings spread wide and were smooth under the pads of your fingers.

Warmth spread through your chest. There wasn’t a message on the receipt, but the smiley face gave it away. This could only have been from that customer with the curls and jacket. Had he been wearing it inside? You couldn’t remember.

Clutching the pin, you sat in the driver’s seat. The car ran idle for a bit and you fiddled with the back of the pin. There was plenty of space on your bare jacket to place it wherever you wished. With the delicate gift attached securely to the jacket, you backed out of the parking spot, a smile on your face the entire way home.

Hopefully, he stopped by again soon.

_______________

My first time writing for Marko! Thumbs up or thumbs down? 

Regardless, East Asian (and any) racism isn’t cool peeps. Let’s do better :)