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thatslikely · 4 years ago

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Seasons- G.W. Headcannons

dating George Weasley through the seasons

Warnings: mentions of food, but it's all fluff

Word Count: 1.4k

A/N: just thought it would be fun! Let me know if you want this for any other characters!

George Taglist: @hufflepuff5972

if you want to be added to the taglist, reply to this post, send me an ask, or dm me!

I recommend listening to this playlist while reading for the best experience!

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Winter

On the first snowfall of the season, you two definitely built an adorable little snowman, complete with coal eyes (you probably stole Ron's scarf for his neck). You told George about the muggle story Frosty the Snowman, and he tried to find a spell to recreate Frosty.

The next day, you two gradually started amassing a large snowman army. Inevitably, in the middle of construction, George betrayed you with an icy snowball to your back.

Naturally, this incited a five day-long snowball war that increasingly got more and more intense. George was surprisingly good at building sturdy snow forts, so you never really stood a chance against his defences. He could have probably constructed a 7 foot tall barricade in a matter of minutes!

Even if you two are locked in battle, he'll always take time to admire the way the white snowflakes rest in your hair so beautifully, as well as the fiery determination behind your eyes.

Fiesty battles aside, George always made sure that you were warm and cozy after a long day in the cold, making homemade hot cocoa using Molly's famous recipe.

One day, long after the ‘Snow Skirmish’, you convince him to go ice skating with you; he absolutely fell in love with it. For a while, he had to hold onto your arms for balance, which led to a lot of falls considering he's a giant compared to you.

Eventually he got the hang of it and you taught him how to play muggle hockey, which he picked up quite quickly. He eventually got all the Weasleys hooked, and they held weekly tournaments. You were always George's favorite cheerleader.

If he ever became a little too cocky, he'd fall face-first onto the hard ice, which always brought a small smile to your face. He always laughed with you, too.

On snowless days, however, you two went on 'expeditions', which entailed peaceful walks through the woods, hand-knitted gloves intertwined.

You'd always keep your eyes peeled for birds or foxes, and occasionally he swore he saw a yeti. You were surprised he never got Fred to dress up in a yeti suit, at least not yet.

Spring

One word: picnics.

You spent the majority of springtime down at the Burrow, enjoying the pleasant spring weather. There were huge multicolored flower fields surrounding George's childhood home, making it even more fitting for the season.

Some days, he'd take you down to the creek past the Burrow, and the two of you would stand ankle-deep in the cool, flowing water. Sometimes, if he was feeling a bit mischievious, he’d splash you with some of the refreshing water, you quickly returning the favor.

Occasionally, he'd try to catch a little leaping frog, holding it carefully in his big palms. He was enchanted by the tiny creature, and without fail, he always begged you to let him keep it.

"But Terrance needs a home! We can make him a terrarium and everything! Please?"

Some days, he'd take you up to the Tree, which laid on a soft, grassy hill in the middle of a luscious yellow flower field. A single tire swing hung from its burly and ancient branches.

Often times, he'd sit at the base of the trunk, either dozing off or humming a song from his youth. If you chose to sit with him, however, he'd braid your hair perfectly and pick some colorful flowers to accent it.

"My little Angel, you look so pretty with flowers in your hair."

You'd always pick some petals for his ginger mop, too.

"Now we're matching, Georgie. Daffodils compliment your hair beautifully."

He loved to push you in the tire swing. He was far too big to fit in it now, to your dismay, but he was perfectly satisfied pushing you back and forth in it. It almost reminded him of rocking a baby cradle.

On rainy days, he'd fetch old rain boots from the attic. He'd always wear Bill's old pair, you wearing his'. The area around the small creek was all muddy, and you can't tell me he wouldn't make mud pies. Even if he's way too old for them.

"Darling, would you care for a pie?"

"And what does it taste like, exactly?"

"It's my signature flavor, mud!"

Summer

I firmly believe George is a good cook. He just is (see my chef!George fic for elabroation).

One sweltering day, you and him went out to the gardens and pick ripe, ruby-red strawberries to chop up and make into homemade strawberry ice cream.

His ice cream would surpass Fortescue's by a lot. Like it's scary. From then on, he made it every Saturday morning, even on chilly winter days.

Sometimes he'd turn adventurous and try some new flavors, which were normally pretty good, until he got a little too creative and made caramel watermelon ice cream. From then on, he stuck with the classics.

In the evenings, a small bonfire was lit and all the Weasleys spent the night drinking and dancing. Bill held a guitar concert, George and Arthur grilled up some hot dogs (which were juicy and delcious), Fred set off some fireworks, and Ginny held fiercely competitive broom races.

When everyone went inside, exhausted, you and George stayed outside, listening to the crickets chirping and admiring the clear, country sky. He pointed out his favorite constellations to you, reenacting the myths behind them with you as his co-actor (you can't tell me we wouldn't let you fake-stab him and he'd fall to the grass super dramatically).

Beach days: a must have.

George would definitely wear red/maroon swim trunks, and there would always be a white stripe of sunscreen on his freckled nose, even after he furiously rubbed it in.

He'd always love the bathing suit you sported, whether it was a gingham bikini or a gorgeous silver one piece. He loved you so much, you never felt self conscious around him.

He'd take you to a secret, tucked-away beach, and you two would spend the day building elaborate sand castles, burying you deep in the sand, and searching for pretty sea shells and sand dollars.

“Where do you think you’re going, Mister? You can’t just leave me buried under the san like this!”

“Someone’ll find you eventually. I just want all the icecream for myself, what can I say? Oh fine, I’ll dig you up, darling.”

Autumn

Autumn at the Burrow was like nothing else. There was always a seemingly endless supply of pumpkin juice and apple juice on tap, and traditions were ampted up to the max.

Pumpkin carving was taken very seriously, and you and George were no exceptions. You and him were never artsy per se, but you always tried your hardest together to crave an intricately designed pumpkin. It always turned out pretty decent, to your surprise.

George and Fred would constantly wear scary masks and hide around he Burrow, or plant fake spiders in the cupboards in hopes of scaring Ron. It always worked.

Since the weather was so nice and chilly, he'd always go around the woods with you collecting a pile of some good sticks for a tree fort. He always carried the branches, and you collected the prettiest orange leaves you could find, for a collage or scrapbook.

All fall, he worked on building a small, secluded tree fort, which was definitely worth it in the end. You two stayed up late into the night, telling ghost stories, kissing, or inviting the whole Weasley clan for a good old fashioned game of Truth or Dare.

As for Halloween, you guys already know he goes overboard. He decorated every inch of every wall with black and orange streamers, fake cobwebs, and little baby pumpkins. It was always really sweet; he'd always wear a proud grin after the whole house was adorned to his liking.

For costumes, I'm 99% sure that you two would always do pun-y couple costumes think him dressing up as a cereal box and you as a killer, or him as a ghost and you a pepper).

You two would also 100% go to a costume store, and buy as much cheap hair gel as you could, all so you two could make each spiky Mohawks (you'd never admit it to George, but he pulled them off).

One time, he let you take him to a muggle farm for the day. You decided it would be fun to do a corn maze. The both of you got lost for three hours. From then on, he just stuck with hay rides.

Spending time with George was always fun, year-round.

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harveywritings92 · 4 years ago

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Welcome home!: Hawks x Older! OC

Summary: Keigo (Hawks) age 23 pro-hero #2 and a model who can't cook for crap! so one night after patrol he's wandering back home with his convenience store dinner, and notices a lady, Tsukino Akibara age 27 occupation: Librarian; walking home by herself when he noticed a man was following her, he decided to intervene and walk her home, and as a thank you she makes him dinner, now Keigo can't seem to stay away, though a lot of people are wondering if it's the food or the pretty girl that's keeping him around.

Kino's quirk is called Push-pull: she can telepathically pull people or objects towards her or push them away, the drawback is that is she overuses her quirk can cause temporary blindness.

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"Whoa! you seriously need to eat six bowls of rice for dinner?!" The brunette said gawking at Hawks who nodded downing his fourth helping of rice, he just got done telling the older woman the strict diet the commission had him on since childhood a healthy light breakfast, lunch was always his call, and end the day with a hardy dinner, they're starting to not really care what he eats so long as he does his job! Kino gawked at the winged hero in astonishment she knew Keigo ate lot... but six with every meal?

"How much food should I even cook with that much rice..." she muttered then looked at her tiny blue rice cooker that she's had for years. *The poor thing will never make it...* she mentally shuddered then snapped out of it when Keigo held his bowl out for another helping to go with his hamburger steaks, Kino complied and watched in awe as Keigo downed the half the steak in one bite. *He kind of reminds me of my old dog Poro...* she hummed having mini flash back of her late childhood pet... then was brought out of her reminiscing by the blond holding his bowl out to her. *Another?!* You smiled tightly and went to the kitchen while thinking back to how this all started...

[Tsukino was walking home late after a long day of work walking this late in the night would invoke fear and wariness over every movement creeping in the shadows... Kino however was numb to it all it had been three years since her ex husband left her... the empty silence and loneliness seemed to be her only companions... The brunette didn't even noticed the sleazy man eyeing her, from the bus stop she passed nor did she hear his footsteps coming up behind her...

She was almost in his grasp when a chipper voice called out. "Hey honey! Sorry for not meeting you at the station I fell asleep!" a blond man with red wings smiled sheepishly as he walked up to Kino who looked at the young man bemused, before his gold eyed glanced behind her and he frowned. "Who are you?" he asked briskly the brunette women turned to see her stalker gawking like a deer in the headlights, before putting his hand in his pockets and walking away with his head down. "You gotta be more careful being out this late, I saw him tailing you from the bus stop." Tsukino eyes widened as her hands gripped her bag.

"Thank you...I" she was cut off by the man's stomach growling he blushed putting he hand on his belly. "It was no problem I should probably grab some dinner now." you saw him walking away with bag convenience store bentos, and in a moment of pure impulsiveness Kino grabbed his arm."Say eating premade store food all the time isn't really good for you, um why don't you come over to my place? I'll make you something."

She wasn't expecting him to say yes, but next thing she knew was making him homemade onigiri which the blond man who introduced himself as Keigo ate in under 30 secs and was getting ready to leave when, Kino stopped him again. "Why don't you comeback whenever you feel hungry after I've grocery shopped of course." again you weren't expecting Keigo to say yes. "All right gimme your number." and with that an odd friendship began....]

That was nearly six weeks ago...

Kino was slack-jawed as she was watching the winged hero still in awe as he asked for another bowl of rice, only to find the cooker completely empty. "I'm outta rice!" she said eye twitching, Keigo said that was fine and continued eating the rest of his food, after his plates were clear; Kino still felt guilty for losing the battle to his monstrous appetite, so she cut up some apples and sprinkled them with some cinnamon sugar and brought them out to Keigo. "Hey, I know you're still hungry sooo..." she trailed off seeing Keigo slumped over her table with his head resting in his arms as his breaths came out steadily. "Huh...ya gotta be kidding me, he fell asleep?" she said surprised putting the bowl of apple slices on the table; Kino went to get a spare blanket and draped it over Keigo's shoulders the wing man didn't even twitch.

"Hero business must really take the wind out of you..." Kino hummed patting him on the head before going back to the kitchen to do the dishes as she was finishing up she heard Keigo wake up. " mm, *checks clock* Oh crap! it’s already this late!?" he sputtered quickly grabbing his goggles and jacket. "Well it looked like you were sleeping well, I didn't want to wake you." Kino said wiping her hands on her apron. "Oh by the way I left some apples..." Hawks cut mouth full. "Aw rlawredy tate em'! (I already ate them!)" he tossed the bowl her way which the brunette caught with her quirk she gawked at the empty bowl astounded and gently set it down on her counter and went to meet Keigo by the door and the winged hero turned to her.

"Thanks for meal Kino, I'll text if I can come again?"

"You don't have to ask my answer will always be the same."

With that Hawks took off for his night patrol, and Tsukino when to look through her mail pile for that electronic store catalog she saw earlier...

The next day the silver eyed brunette arrived to a large electronics store, intending on buying a brand new rice cooker, but first decided to have a little fun. testing out video games, playing on the display tablets and lounging in a massage chair for few minutes, Before finding her way to the small appliances aisle.

Kino felt a little overwhelmed by the different Rice cooker brands and tried to remember when she bought her old one and how much it cost, but then remembered she was a broke high schooler living on her own bought it at a yard sale, that was like eight years ago! and she didn't know how long previous owner had it for!

Eventually a clerk noticed her looking lost and decided to help her, unfortunately the clerk was obviously looking out for their quota and Kino found she'd gone a bit over budget with her new toy..."Looks like I'll be taking double shifts..." she mumbled to herself patting her new Rice-cooker while continuingly telling herself it was a very necessary purchase, and as it turned out it was able to meet all of Keigo's rice needs when he stopped by for dinner again that night!

a month later...

Kino was woken up by a text from Keigo. {Hey I'm pretty busy tonight, so I won't be able to come over sorry 😞] the short woman blinked as she re-read the text. {Okay! don't push yourself to hard! 😊] she sighed before rolling over to looked at the ceiling wondering what she'll do today... Keigo told her he's interested in western cooking and has never tried pulled pork before she was gonna make that tonight! even searched the internet for a slow cooker recipe that she'd been dying to try out! she puffed out her cheeks as she got up and her vacuumed her living room, then went to do the laundry...

{not noticing the little red feather following her around.}

"Hmm, maybe I should go visit auntie's grave." She said to herself it had been a while since she went to clean the headstone, she got on the phone with her friend Shun. "Yeah I was thinking of going this Tuesday… yeah I can meet you there, haven't been there since school!" she hung up and looking at the tv to see a KFC Commercial with Hawks flying around eating a bucket of chicken and her stomach growled. "It's lunch time!" She cheered deciding not to cook and got some cup noodles and peach juice, before sitting down to read something...

"I've already read this book." She huffed decided to go to the library (the feather from earlier snuck into her bag) and went to get a few new books and she spied a few magazines with Hawks on the cover, but decided it was too weird reading about someone that she cooks dinner for almost every night and left them alone...

On her way back the owner of the butcher shop she frequents called to her. "Say missy those Chicken legs you were asking about are on real cheap today!~" Kino smiled at him. "that's okay I'm fine today!" the man looked at her like she grew three heads. "Hey... ya better not be cheating on me with another meat vendor!" he joked the brunette giggled and waved him off.

"Tonight dinner will be whatever I want." she mumbled as made her way home as soon she got home Kino sat down to read a book on the rules soccer as her cousin's son had joined a club was curious. "Holy crap!...I never thought kicking a ball around would be so complicated!" she sputtered gawking at all the rules and regulations. "Urhg, all this sports jargon making my head spin, think I'll take a bath." she said getting up from the beanbag she was sitting in and going over the a pink drawer and pulling a purple bottle out of it.

"Shun gave these bath-bombs for a birthday gift, never really used them before." she said getting the bath ready as Kino was opening wrapping on the bath bomb, nearly choke on her spit when she saw it was Easter themed it was supposed to looked golden chicken but instead "hehe.. it-IT LOOKS JUST LIKE KEIGO! HAHA!" the feather that was chilling outside her bathroom bristled as she burst out laughing as she put it in the water. "Oh wait... I should've taken photo, dang!"

Now that she got a few minutes to think to herself quietly Kino didn't realize how lonely she was feeling. "Spending the whole day alone like this... feels long and tiring." she sighed then noticed her arms and belly were looking kind of gummy... "Jeez... A month of eating the same meals as Hawks and without excising I'm starting to get pudgy..." she huffed getting out of the bath, later when she was getting ready for bed Kino stayed up to do a word search puzzle when she heard something on her balcony... scared she looked around for a weapon as using her quirk would be a bad call in this situation, as she didn't want to accidentally kill someone; grabbing a random object she crept towards her balcony door.

The short woman swallowed hard as she opened the door only be greeted by Hawks sitting on her railing sipping a can of coffee. "Keigo?" Kino blinked bemused as the blond turned to look at her. "Oh hey you are awak...why are you holding a toaster for?" he asked brows scrunched up in confusion, the silver eyed brunette looked down at what she was holding, sure enough! in her frazzled she grabbed the toaster to defend herself with. "Uh.. I was just putting it away..." she said using her quirk to put it back on the counter, the wing hero hummed as the brunette cleared her throat.

"So what are you doing here?"

"I'm taking a break from mid-night patrol, figured I'd see if you were awake.."

"Oh, so you going back out?"

"In about five minutes, why?"

Hawks cocked a brow as Kino was quiet for a moment he frowned mentally preparing for her to try and kiss him or try and drag him to bed with her, (like all the other girls that just wanted to be friends...) instead he was confused when she told him to sit tight for a second, and disappeared in inside she came out couple minutes later. "Hold your hand out." she said Keigo complied and Kino grab his hand the blond felt shock go through him, and his wings fluffed up a little as the brunette woman gave him this a small bundle wrapped in a cloth. "A bento!" she chirped as Keigo's jaw dropped slightly he looked down at the bento then back at her stunned.

" I don't have anything warm other than onigiri though..." she said apologetically as Hawk kept looking at her wide-eyed then shook his head. "Urm, it's fine thank you...I gotta go." he muttered avoiding eye contact his ears were burning as he took off into the sky. "Goodnight Keigo! be safe!" Kino called after him before turning in for the night.

{Meanwhile the head of the commission received pictures of Hawks frequently visiting as certain brunette and did not take kindly to this one bit. and decided to put an end to to these little trysts at once. "I look forward to meeting you miss Akibara." she smirked confidently... Not realizing just who she was threatening.}

#boku no hero academia #boku no hero fic #keigo takami #hawks x oc #Keigo takami x oc #female oc

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yikeswtfmate · 5 years ago

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Saccharine

Summary: Bucky is trying to cook again and Y/N is afraid he will starve to death one of these days. Surely, no one can eat something that smells this horrifying?

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x you

Warnings: swearing; a small sexual innuendo?; alcohol consumption; that’s it?

A/N: Based on the prompt My neighbour’s at my door, asking if everything’s alright, because it smells like something is burning, and I was only trying to cook for once and this is embarrassing but they decide to help me fix this mess although I’ve changed it a bit

Feels a bit rushed to the end imo, but this is what happens when I’m getting super excited about another idea and I can’t think about anything else

masterlist

There’s a distinct smell of burnt onions in the kitchen. I can smell it even from my place on the sofa, distracting me from my phone enough to raise my nose into the air and take a lungful of what now seems to be…rotten eggs? I wouldn’t be so confused if it weren’t for the fact that no one is currently cooking in my kitchen but as I make my way to the open window, I can bet good money that my neighbour is trying to cook again. It’s the third time this week that I’m wondering whether that long-haired handsome man is actually a vulture, coyote or freak of nature because how can someone eat something that smells so vile? His only redemption is that I know thanks to the impossibly thin walls of the building that these cooking endeavours inevitably end up in him ordering takeout after a couple of hours of cursing and what must only be whatever he’s been trying to make dumped into the bin.

This is it, I think. There is literally no possibility that a human being can survive on takeout alone. I go to the bathroom and make myself presentable, because let’s face it, I’m not going to face that pretty man looking like I’ve just hibernated for a week (which I have, but he doesn’t need to know that), put on a pair of slippers and with a long inhale get out of my apartment. In front of his door, I shift my weight from one foot to the other, now my exasperation at his culinary inabilities suddenly vanishing in the face of uncertainty. What if he’ll think I’m rude? What if he has someone over and I’m interrupting? What if he’ll think I’m weird? We’ve never spoken before after all, with the exception of the nods of acknowledgement in the mornings when we would occasionally meet.

As I ponder my decision, there are more curses flowing over the sound of sizzling. Fuck it, this man needs my help or he’ll starve. I knock on his door, waiting for a few seconds after I hear a shouted “coming.” The door flies open and my neighbour, this beautiful specimen of a man, is surrounded by steam and the smell of…does he have a wet dog inside the house? His hair must have been tied at the back, but now long strands are stuck to his sweaty forehead. He brings a hand to his face, wiping away at a red streak, only to be replaced by a black smudge. The kitchen towel he’s holding is dripping with something orange and the sleeve on his other arm is scorched. Has he been trying to cook an armchair?

“Hi. I know this might sound weird, but are you trying to cook?”

“Uh…Yeah. I’m failing miserably, as you can see.” He says with a frown, moving away from the door so I can look inside his apartment, which is now starting to fill with smoke.

“Uh – I think you might want to take off whatever you have on the stove now or the fire alarm will start going off soon.” I advise and with bulging eyes, he just turns around and runs toward the kitchen.

He leaves the door open so I take that as an invitation to come in and close it, just so I can spare the rest of our neighbours from the appalling smell. Following him, I inspect the damage and I can say hand on my heart that I have never in my entire life seen such damage. I let him take the pan off the stove and into the sink, although I should warn him that it’s probably not a good idea to pour cold water onto boiling oil, but I’m not even sure that is oil. I find some paper towels and wipe the cracked eggs off the counter and into a bowl that is full of skinned…peppers? I throw that away after I locate the bin, take a wet washcloth and clean the kitchen island, which is full of burnt meat, I’ll presume. As I inspect a purple sphere surrounded by slices of cucumber on a plate, there’s a grunt in front of me on the other side of the island and I look up with a consoling smile.

“This looks worse than it actually is.” He says.

“Well, it certainly looks better than it smells.”

“That bad, huh?” He scratches the back of his neck and extends a hand after he wipes it on his jeans that are actually covered in flour. “I’m Bucky by the way. I’ve never had the chance to introduce myself.”

“Y/N.” I shake his hand, noticing the rough skin – definitely not a cook then. At least I’ve established he’s not poisoning anyone else. “What were you trying to make anyway?”

“My friend Natalia gave me this Russian recipe for pirozhki, but I’ve just realised that she’s a worse cook than me so I should’ve never trusted her.”

He takes a sit with a grunt and a shake of his head. He offers me the chair next to him, reaching over an opened bottle of wine that was sitting on the island, next to a few mismatched glasses. I grab two, letting him fill them to the brim. It’s one of those nights, apparently.

“I’m pretty sure pirozhki are made with cabbage not…is that hummous?” I frown at yet another plate with an unnamed content that has started to get a green tint.

“It’s alright, I’m used to the cheap noodles by now.” He shrugs and takes a sip of his drink.

“Tell you what.” I say, now more emboldened by the wine. “I’ll whip up some pasta so you can enjoy some homemade food tonight and I can have some company on this fine Friday evening. What do you say?”

Bucky shifts in his chair to look at me with a confused expression that slowly turns into a soft smile. It suits him so well, rough edges becoming sweet, his eyes suddenly my only focus. It cuts the air out of my lungs, and if I were younger, I would’ve blushed to the roots of my hair. It still manages to make me tighten my grip on the tall glass I am holding.

“You don’t have to do that.”

“I insist.”

“I don’t have any spaghetti though.” He says, still smiling, still looking directly into my eyes.

“Oh, I’m not going to cook in here, honey. This whole kitchen needs to be decontaminated, sterilised and cleansed with holy water.”

He laughs, which would have knocked me off my feet if I were standing. It seems this man can be very unhealthy for my state of mind, legs and lungs. With a chuckle he asks me to lead the way, bottle of wine in his hand and we’re now in my kitchen, a place I would have never seen him in in a million years. Maybe in some scattered fantasies, fleeting moments when I remember the broad line of his shoulders right before I fall asleep or the shape of his thighs in that particular pair of jeans he sometimes wears when he’s downstairs checking for his post.

“In my defence, I never had to cook for myself. After I moved to college, Steve would be the one cooking all the time and let me tell you, he did not like it if people meddled with his sauces.” He tells me two hours later after we’ve finished our bowls of pasta and we’re now sitting on the sofa, legs stretched on the coffee table and the tv turned on just for background noise.

“I don’t know, Buck. It’s kind of embarrassing not knowing how to at least make an omelette.” I laugh as he pours what is probably my third glass of wine.

“Now listen here, missy. I ain’t French and I do know how to do one thing.”

“Oh yeah? What’s that?”

“I know how to pour milk over my cereal.” He says with a serious face. I burst out laughing, dropping the spoon I was holding directly on my t-shirt.

“I’ll tell you something though.” He offers me a napkin from the table, and I try to focus on wiping the chocolate cream off, but I’m suddenly seeing double and everything is ten times funnier, although to be fair, Bucky turned out to be the best company I’ve had in a long time. “I’ve never eaten so well in a whole ass time. But don’t tell Steve that or he’ll rip one of my arms out.”

“I’m sure everything is better than boiled leather, Bucky.” I smile.

“Nuh-uh. The pasta was divine. And this cake…Y/N, I’ll have to marry you just so I can eat this for the rest of my life.”

I bump my shoulder with his, but there is a feeling that I’m not sure I want to ignore. He’s been sweet all night, complimenting the food, which to be fair, in my eyes is not only the way to a man’s heart, but to mine as well. He’s making my heart sticky, a syrup running through veins with viscous sugar and honey, and he’s candy-coated, teeth-rotting saccharine.

Bucky knocks on my door the next day, a lazy Saturday that I’ve spent baking cookies and reading a novel that’s been twisting my gut with want. When my eyes meet his, my legs involuntarily twitch, scenes replaying in my head, but the smile I offer in return is nothing but genuine.

“I smell something delicious.” He says instead of a greeting.

I let him in, pouring him a bowl of soup after he reluctantly admits he only ate an apple the whole day. He protests at first, claiming that he only wanted a cookie, but ends up asking for seconds and finishing an entire batch of raspberry filled cookies.

Three hours later, I’m somehow curled up into his side, watching The Office because he committed the heinous crime of never having watched it. He absently curls a strand of my hair around his finger and I’m drifting asleep, wrapped in a cocoon of powdered sugar.

“You’re making me fat.” He says, around a mouthful of mashed potatoes.

“Excuse you, James. You’re making me an alcoholic.” I retaliate, raising yet another glass of wine.

Bucky is sitting in my kitchen, eating my food, as he’s been doing for nearly every evening for the last four months. We’ve fallen into a strange routine, where he’s just drop by, claiming he smelled “something delicious” on his way in after work and I’d just learned to cook dinner for two without questions. I got so used to spending this time with him, that whenever he’d text he won’t be joining me, it would feel off, somehow unbalanced without him on the other side of the table.

I watch him as he moves around the kitchen with ease, putting the empty dishes in the sink, cutting two slices of cheesecake, pouring me another glass of wine. It felt strange having him in my apartment at first, but now it’s just normal, easy, sweet. He takes the plates with the dessert to the coffee table, and I join him in the living room. He’s already dug into his slice, unholy moans escaping his lips, and I just purse mine. Sometimes I wonder if he does it on purpose.

“Stop judging me, this is heavenly.”

“I’m not judging you, I think you’re an idiot.” I laugh. “It’s just a cheesecake. And I’ve made this before.”

“It’s not just a cheesecake. It is the most marvellous thing ever. It is transcendental.”

“Ok, I think you’ve had enough wine.”

We settle into comfortable silence as I turn on the tv and look through the selection of films that seems pretty slim at the moment, considering the amount of Netflix we’ve been consuming lately. Bucky shifts on the sofa next to me, clears his throat, closes his mouth after opening it to say something, rubs the back of his neck, picks at a piece of strawberry on his plate, turns to me, takes his hair out of its bun, fiddles with the band.

“Spit it out already.” I say, without even sparing him a glance. He does this sometimes, this little dance of his when he locks himself up and is unsure of how to voice whatever’s on his mind. I continue to look through the list of unwatched films, but I have a feeling I’ll just introduce him to Parks and Recreation tonight, because this man has apparently been living under a rock for the past century.

“My birthday’s coming up soon. I was wondering if you’d like to come? I’m not throwing a huge party, just a little get together with some friends over at my place. I’ll just buy some beer and order pizza, but I’d like you to be there as well.”

He’s looking at me expectantly, uncertainty clear in his voice, which is stupid because he could ask me anything and I’d do it without second thoughts by this point.

“Of course, you moron.” I say with a roll of my eyes. “I’ll be expecting my formal invitation in the mail though.”

It’s two weeks later and I am running so late. My mother insisted to have a girls’ day out, which I’ve tried getting out of, considering that a) I know my mother too well not to be aware that even dinners with her usually take decades to end, b) my very cute neighbour is expecting me to make an appearance at his birthday party, and most importantly, c) I haven’t seen him for three days already and I miss his smile more than anything. As the hours have been progressing, my fidgeting became worse, to the point that mum had enough of it and finally released me of my captivity, two hours later than I promised I’ll be there.

“That boy better be worth it.” She laughed, holding me in a hug as we were parting. “I hope you’re feeding him well.”

I am now faced with his closed door, voices and laughter interlacing in the apartment before me, and I suddenly feel very nervous, a reminder of the first time I knocked at Bucky’s door. I hope his friends like me, not only because I have been programmed since birth to need to be loved by everyone, but also because I gathered from all my conversations with Bucky that he holds his friends’ opinions in high regard. I better not fuck this up, I think and with a deep breath, I knock on the door.

Someone shouts after Bucky, and I can distinctly hear a commotion set into motion, that makes me wary. There are yells, a loud line of cursing, and the clatter of what must only be a shattered glass on the hard tile of the kitchen. The door opens and I’m greeted by a man who’s holding a bottle of beer and looks as if he’d just stepped out of a Fourth of July commercial.

“You must be Y/N. Come in.” Mister America says and lets me step in.

The first thing I see is Bucky being held in a headlock by another man who seems too happy to be sober or sorry that his friend can’t breathe at the moment. Bucky looks like he’s trying to fight against an eagle, flailing around like an overexcited puppy. I am standing in the middle of the hallway, trying to stifle the burst of laughter that is taking hold of me.

“Come on, Barnes, don’t be rude. Your girlfriend’s here and you won’t even say hi to her? Where are your manners? I thought you couldn’t wait to see her after you’ve been worried all night she won’t show up.” Bird Boy says.

I raise my eyebrows, but Stars and Stripes is the only one that can notice my reaction. “That’s Sam.” He says nodding to his wrestling friends. “You probably already know that their relationship is…intense. I’m Steve, by the way. We’ve all heard a lot about you.”

A hand slams onto Steve’s shoulder before I try to pry information out of him. Bucky seems to have broken free, Sam closely following him, and I’m now faced with three broad-shouldered men that could easily pass for the planet’s bodyguards. I extend the cake tin to Bucky and he takes it, looking at me with those huge eyes that would be more fit for a cartoon character.

“Did you bake something for me?” He asks incredulous.

“Figured you’re too much of a dumbass to order a cake, so…” I shrug.

Bucky gives Steve the tin, without even opening it, as I would have expected him to do. I worry at my bottom lip, thinking maybe I overstepped or that a bottle of wine would’ve been more fitting, when he literally swipes me off my feet in a hard embrace. He snuggles his face into my neck, tickling my cheek with strands of his hair, and I can clearly smell the alcohol on him. He’s drunk, I realise, which can only mean that he’s past the point of being funny, now he’s just going to downright say whatever’s on his mind.

“Easy there, tiger. You’re gonna break her spine.” I can hear a woman passing by saying, but it’s too muffled by Bucky’s entire display of affection to figure out whether that’s Natalia or not.

“You didn’t have to bake me a cake.” Bucky murmurs. “You are enough.”

“I wanted to, Buck. Happy birthday, honey.” I say when he finally lets go off me and I can stand on my own two feet again. He brushes his thumb over my cheek and looks at me for a long moment, until he takes my hand in his and drags me into the living room, where there are more people sitting on the sofa, on the armchairs, and even on the floor.

“Everyone, this is Y/N. She saved me from starvation, she is the love of my life, she has the softest hair that I’ve ever touched in my entire existence and if anyone lies a finger on her, they’ll be dead within the minute, just so you all jackasses know, so don’t try anything, Thor!” Bucky announces with a flourish of his hand.

There’s no time to process what he just said, as his guests start yelling their hellos and introduce themselves. I try to shake as many hands as possible, and even give hugs back when they’re offered, and I’m surprised to notice that it seems as if I already know all these people from Bucky’s stories.

A few hours later, I’m sitting next to Bucky on the floor of the living room, after being lured into playing a variation of Truth or Dare, that would make no sense for a sober person. There’s yelling, popcorn flying over heads when a dare is not deigned to be fulfilled, empty bottles scattered around the floor, and too many paper plates to count. I wonder fleetingly how much all of this will take to clean tomorrow morning and I make a mental note to offer my help, before a hand rests on my knee. I turn to look at Bucky, who seems unaware of his actions, his vision clearly hazy with alcohol, but I’ve also consumed enough to just enjoy it and not read too much into it. I lean my chin on his shoulder, which makes him cut his shout short and direct his attention to me. Our faces are a few inches away from each other, alcohol mixing from our breaths, pupils dilating in the dim light, and we sit there, looking at each other before a cushion comes flying right to our heads.

“Get a room!” Someone shouts and there’s an eruption of laughter, but no one else pays any attention to us anymore.

Bucky stands up and holds his hand out to me. I take it and follow him through the apartment without a word. He leads me to the fire escape, climbing out the window into the fresh cold air. With a shiver, I take the space between his legs, leaning my back on his chest and letting him warm me up with his arms. He’s the one to rest his chin on my shoulder now, and I play with his thumb, suddenly more sober than I was in the heated apartment, but I have to know, before my ounce of bravery is gone.

“Did you mean it?” I whisper, half wondering whether he’s too drunk to understand what I’m saying.

“What?”

“Back there. When you introduced me.”

“That you saved me from starvation? Well, yeah, did you forget I am completely useless in the kitchen?” He laughs.

“Not that.” But I really don’t want to give him any more clarifications.

“That you have the softest hair?” He murmurs into my ear, kissing my temple. “You do. That I’ll kill anyone who would even look wrong at you?” He kisses my cheek. “That you are the love of my life? I’m not a hundred percent sure about that, but I’m more than certain that I’ve never loved anyone the way that I already do you. And I haven’t even kissed you yet.”

The angle is strange, him towering over me although he’s only sitting a step above me, his arm wrapped around mine, while his other hand makes its way around my face, pulling it towards his. Strands of his hair fall over his eyes, but I can see the gentleness in them in the light pouring out from the kitchen. His nose brushes over my brow, breath ghosting over my skin until I close my eyes and his lips are like honey, melting like butter in a hot summer day. I feel syrup pouring over my soul, coating it in cotton candy, that leaves my insides sticky with sugar.

“Now I’m certain.” He whispers and I smile. I kiss his nose and snuggle closer into his arms. We stay like that for some time, that could have been either hours or mere minutes, the party dying down slowly inside the house. The sky is still dark, and I’m slowly drifting to sleep, but from Bucky’s shiver I know we should be going back, although he won’t admit it.

“You wanna know a secret?” He asks.

“Yeah?” I really don’t want to move

“My only saving grace is that compared to the kitchen, I’m amazing in the bedroom.”

I groan and bump my shoulder into his chest. This man will be the death of me. I climb my way back inside, closely followed by Bucky who is laughing behind me. He grabs my wrist and turns me around, loosely resting his arms on my hips and looking down at me through clear eyes. At least he’s sober now.

“Thank you for making my birthday wish come true.”

“You wished for a birthday cake?” I snort with a raised eyebrow.

He kisses my forehead and murmurs sugar-coated word into my skin. “I wished for you.”

***

Taglist:

@imma-new-soul

#bucky barnes x reader #bucky barnes #bucky barnes fanfiction #bucky barnes fanfic #bucky barnes fic

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howtodisassembleyourdeviant · 4 years ago

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🧦 🎵 🥧 🗺 ( I wanna ask everything tbh XD )

Munday Meme for the Holidays

I decided to put this under the cut. Good thing you didn’t ask all of them! XD

🧦 Do you wear cozy clothes for the season? How do you relax during the season?

I absolutely do! On my days off, I’m usually in a pair of thick Christmas leggings or long socks and an oversized sweater. I also have Christmas pajamas I’m quite partial to.

I relax by having a cup of hot cocoa with marshmallows and whipped cream, tv playing a favorite Christmas film, curled up in a fluffy blanket with one (or more) of my cats, and just soaking in the joyful season, maybe watching snow outside if I’m lucky.

🎵 Does Christmas music drive you nuts or do you like it? Classics or remakes? Do you sing along? Which one always gets stuck in your head?

I love Christmas music, but I’m also pretty picky. I don’t care much for the remakes and some of them I just want to punch the artist in the face for soiling a wonderful song (like that fucking country cover of ‘Silver Bells’. IT’S A SONG ABOUT CHRISTMASTIME IN THE CITY! YOU CANNOT HAVE IT BOTH WAYS!).

I don’t sing along so much as dance to them. One of my favorites is ‘Wonderful Christmastime’ by Paul McCartney (followed quickly by ‘It’s Beginning to Look A Lot Like Christmas’ by Bing Crosby or any Christmas song by Bing Crosby. He is the king of Christmas).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8tMWTzjfeTU

🥧 Do you have a big feast or a small meal? What do you typically have? Is your family the 'dinner at 1pm and pick at it all day' or the 'dinner at 6pm with enough food to feed the family not the army'?

When I’m with my family, we have a massive feast. For the longest time, we had turkey and honey ham, stuffing, turkey trimmings gravy, mashed potatoes, green beans, sweet potato casserole, homemade mac and cheese, black olives, and usually a couple of pies. We always wanted to try goose, but we could never afford it (it’s either eat only goose or eat an entire meal. At a lot of stores, if you buy $50 in grocery, you get a turkey for $.19lb and ham used to be cheap). We have switched it up when we had the money and got a prime rib.

My mother did most of the cooking, though I helped as much as I could. When I learned how to make pies, I found a recipe to make pecan pie without corn syrup or molasses that tastes amazing without being heavy, so I had to make that every year. We are definitely the ‘eat at 1pm’ though we were always late so it’s more like 2pm, but it was an all-day feast. I imagine this year will be very different for me.

One year, we had the turkey out on the counter and we heard the plate fall. We all went into the kitchen and my step-dad’s dog had eaten all the white meat (we separate it for me and my mother). We’re all staring at her in silence, she looked guilty as fuck, and I start laughing. It triggered everyone else to start as well. Reason? We always watch ‘A Christmas Story’ about a million times every December and all I could think about was that scene with the dogs eating the turkey.

🗺 Any traditions that are celebrated where you live but nowhere else? Do you take them with you when you leave or start new ones? Any traditions that only your family celebrate?

Well, I’m not a very worldly person but, back in South Carolina, we would make either coconut cake or a spice cake with an old recipe for coconut frosting that my great grandmother used back in Tennessee. My mother was supposed to tell me the recipe, but she keeps forgetting to. I’d totally make it. It’s my favorite.

My first step-dad’s family also used to do oyster-shucking parties. I don’t remember much about them, but we used to stand outside by the burn barrel and they’d have the small truck trailer full of oysters and we’d just eat them and chill by the fire. I don’t even know where the hell they got all those oysters.

As for family-specific traditions, the main one is watching ‘A Christmas Carol’, and by watching it, I mean watching as many versions as we could find. On my old computer, I had two black and white versions. One from 1910 that was only 15 minutes and the other was from 1923 that was 28 minutes. Both of which were silent films. So far, my favorites are the 1999 one with Patrick Steuart, the musical from 1970 with Albert Finney, and the 2004 musical with Kelsey Grammer (some of the music and dance drag on a little longer than necessary, but it shows more emotion than a lot of versions without straying too far from the book). You also can’t go wrong with Bill Murray’s ‘Scrooged’ from 1988. This is the first year watching them without my family.

#Munday Meme #Christmas Edition #the-quantum-repairman

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lemonflavouredspatula · 4 years ago

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hi! what are some of your favorite christmas things?

hello!!!!

ooooo christmas, i love christmas so apologies if this becomes a long mess -

- call me cliché but i love presents, giving other people something they really want and playing a little part in their day of happiness? amazing

also (insight into my crazy family here lmao, apologies) but we (and i don't know why or how this started but it's just a thing) all write our names and a colour on a piece of paper and randomly pick one each, and then fill a stocking up with 15-20 random little cheap bits we find in shops in that colour and wrap them in ridiculous ways and we can honestly end up with anything from really shitty cheap little plastic cocktail sticks to 11 individually wrapped pens (which yes i did to my dad. twice.) and everything in between and it is genuinely a very good laugh

- i'm going to start this off by reinstating that my family is crazy. like really. so, again unsure why or how this started, but on christmas eve we all get together and make mince pies. roughly 90. and no i'm not kidding. there's usually 11 of us on christmas day, two can't even eat mince pies and yet we still spend an entire evening drinking and singing along to christmas songs and making so many mince pies we run out of room to cool them. we do end up giving a lot of them out to family friends and in hampers for others but we do go through a lot ourselves. who doesn't love a homemade mince pie right?😂

- going to the christmas tree farm and walking in and amongst a forest of trees and pine cones and feeling so incredibly at peace. and then finding the perfect tree and chopping it down and bringing it home is just, i love it

- decorations. i LOVE decorating for christmas. putting the tree up and decorating that is so fun, bringing out all (and when i say all, i mean all) the little characters we have sitting around in and outside the house (which, yes, i have named them all) and lights!!! god i love christmas lights, everyone's houses just look SO pretty. we're really the only house in my little street that do more than one set of lights (and we really do do more than one, turning them all on/off is a task™) and tbh we're like a bright little beacon of light on the corner and i think it's joyful

- bringing out and decorating the castles my grandad made quite a few years ago. he was a crafty man (like my whole family tbh) and made each household a christmas castle out of old toilet rolls and cereal boxes/tablet boxes and matchsticks and sprayed them gold. he made my sister and i one each about a year or 2 before he died, with our names in old english stuck on the front, and they are the one decoration we all cherish deeply in our hearts and light up with pride.

- giving my dog presents. yeah. and yeah i do buy him more than i buy anyone else. i love him and he's my world and i know he doesn't know that they're for a special occasion but i still spoil him nonetheless.

- my family all descend on my nan's house on christmas morning and we don't leave until the new year has rung in, even though we only live 5 minutes from each other and i love it??? it's the one time of the year my family just forget all their toxic opinions and we just get on and have a good time.

- my nan started a tradition in my town many many years ago where the high street shuts down and all the shops stay open late and there's the local brass band playing carols, staff from banks and pubs and restaurants all stand outside their respective buildings serving mulled wine and homemade mince pies. Charity's and local guide/scout groups sell homemade crafts and bakes for charity/to fund an excursion. Local crafts people sell things they've made on little stalls, santa sits on his sleigh with his reindeer, choirs (one which i'm part of) sing christmas songs in the street, halls and community spaces open up for more stalls and it is a wonderfully joyful start to christmas. It was started as an ode to the victorian times and people would often dress up in dickensian outfits, not as many people do these days but the whole town comes out for the lighting of the lights and our town's beginning of christmas.

- performing in christmas concerts. The choir that i'm part of usually does a christmas concert each year (supposed to do one in an old cathedral a few towns over this year but ya know, 2020 happened) and they're always a load of fun too, because we do not take ourselves too seriously.

- attending the local brass band's christmas carol sing along. My grandad wrote a few pieces of music for them and my nan is vice president for them and very much a friend and my family has been going for as long as i can remember. They play carols, we dress up incredibly festively and sing along. There's mince pies and a raffle and a lot of very silly fun.

- boxing day because we all just wake up at some point nearing afternoon (after going to sleep at around 3/4am the night before probably) and eat left over food from the day before, meaning we have mince pies for breakfast and turkey sandwiches for lunch and endless christmas pudding for dinner and we spend the entire day playing board games and just genuinely having a laugh.

- talking of christmas pudding, we make them too. We all get together at my nans in around october every couple of years and make enough christmas pudding mix for roughly 8 puddings, using the same recipe my nan's nan used when she was young. We don't eat all 8 in one day though lmao, we tend to get through 2 between those of us that can eat it on christmas day and boxing day. We then have another on new years eve and another at easter (i yet again do not know why but i am also not complaining). The other 4 get doused in brandy every few months and come out the following christmas and tbh by the time we eat them, we don't need to pour brandy over them to light them on fire, they are flammable enough themselves😂 and thankfully we made enough last year that we didn't have to this year because, ya know, 2020.

- christmas morning. I know it sounds cliché and all but no matter how old i am and how far i've strayed from childhood, i wake up with giddy excitement for the few days of genuine joy i know i'm going to experience. I wear a ridiculously christmassy outift that is just pattern after pattern after pattern and a santa hat and ridiculous earings and wake up to the smell of the turkey cooking in the oven that my mum got up at stupid hours of the morning to prepare. And then we all go up to my nans and shout merry christmas at each other and all easily fall into roles of putting presents under the tree and finding enough mismatched chairs for everyone to sit at, trapesing through the garage to get the extra table, covering them all in many christmassy table cloths, setting the table, preparing the food, folding the christmas napkins into christmas trees (yes i do do that, it makes us laugh), giving everyone a cracker and putting the santa salt and pepper shakers on the table, roles that we wordlessly assigned ourselves years before we realised we had.

I just, i love christmas. And i apologise for just throwing a load of words at you but here is a very very crazy insight into what it is about christmas that i thoroughly enjoy and thank you for taking time to even ask <33

#honestly i'm so so sorry #i just kept going #like i was just asking myself 'what do i like about christmas' and everything just kept coming to me #and i am so sorry lmao #what a mess #spatula rambles #asks #answered #did i say i'm sorry? cos i'm sorry #lmao

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artlessictoan · 5 years ago

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this one’s actually a request I got on the ao3 version of this drabble collection, butch!sak/tomboy!hina coffe shop au! and is this the first coffee shop au I’ve ever done?? I think it might be!

(requests open)

(ao3 mirror)

---

It had been a long morning and Hinata desperately needed caffeine.

She’d had to wake up hellishly early – which might’ve been fine if she hadn’t been up until three in the morning desperately trying to finish her thesis in time for her first class – then spent almost an hour being jerked around by the aggressively indifferent receptionist of her school’s laboratory, before learning that the time she had booked for her vital preliminary experiments, had in fact been given to another student and the next available slot wasn’t until the end of the week. Handily throwing a wrench in her entire year’s calendar that she would be trying to work around for months to come.

And, on top of all that, the heavens had opened up the second she stepped outside, releasing several days’ worth of water all at once, leaving her to trudge home through a downpour, or hang out in the waiting room of the lab until it passed.

With the smirking receptionist, who she was too polite to tell to fuck himself, but who she dearly hoped would suffer several minor inconveniences for the rest of the day.

She chose the cold, wet walk instead.

Perhaps it had been a mistake, she could probably have found an empty classroom to quietly study in for an hour or so if she’d tried, but with her mind only lightly tethered to reality in her current state, it was more likely she would’ve just had a cry-nap instead.

It wouldn’t be the first time, but if a lecturer found her like that again, someone was bound to try and contact her father to inform him of her struggles, and he would wield that knowledge like a sledgehammer against her dreams of a career of her own; one without constant parental oversight and criticism.

She was absolutely not going to let that happen. Right now, however, what mattered most was getting out of the rain.

Squinting against the water running off the hood of her coat, she searched for somewhere – anywhere – that she could duck into and while away the time until her next lecture in a few hours. When she spotted a small café tucked away between a derelict bookstore and a corner shop that proudly called itself ‘Cheap-mart’ she didn’t care how dingy it looked, she just threw open the doors and shook herself off like a dog the second she was inside.

The barista leaning against the counter with his head in his hand glanced up at her; she offered him an awkward smile as she tried to brush down her damp hair. He returned with his own smile, one somehow even more awkward than her own, but straightened up and waved her over.

“Welcome, what can I get for you today?”

She didn’t bother to peruse the blackboards painted up behind him. “Black coffee, thank you.” Definitely not a drink that fit her usual tastes – she was more of a tea person – but she was about five seconds from collapsing on the cold, hard floor and wanted as little diluting the terrible, life-giving substance as possible.

If she’d had a syringe with her, she would have injected it directly into her bloodstream.

“Can I interest you in something to eat?” he asked, voice robotic and smile unnaturally fixed in place. “A sandwich, perhaps even one of our homemade cakes?”

The word ‘cake’ immediately caught her fraying attention and she stared into the glass display to scrutinise the options available with the same keen eye she would use for chemical analysis. It was actually quite impressive how… unappetizing they all looked; sponges were wonky, frosting looked like it had been applied with a slingshot, one was painted in the garish colours of a toddler given free reign of the crayon box and they had apparently all been cut with a chainsaw, she had no other explanation for the crumbling edges and uneven slices.

“I’ll have the coffee and walnut.” She glanced back outside, noting that the storm didn’t look like it would be passing any time soon and she had already skipped breakfast. “Actually, make that two slices.”

Dark eyes blinked at her in pure shock, before the man wordlessly fulfilled her order, only breaking his silence to tell her the cost and exchange cash.

She barely noticed, taking her plate and her cup and her sopping bag, she stumbled to the nearest table and sank down into the wooden chair like it was a plush, feather pillow. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed the barista slipping through a door that presumably led to a kitchen; she might’ve found that a bit unprofessional, if it weren’t for the fact that she was literally the only customer in right now.

As she gulped down half of her coffee – grimacing at the taste, but pushing through it regardless – she wondered if the place was always this quiet. Sure, it was a little out of the way and if she hadn’t been looking for somewhere to escape the weather, she probably wouldn’t have noticed it was even there, but it had a stylish interior, wall painted with abstract ink patterns and rustic furniture.

And, when she shoved a generous forkful of cake into her mouth, she had to wonder even more about how a café with such incredible goods had flown so completely under the radar.

She literally closed her eyes and moaned.

Her fatigue was completely forgotten as she eagerly shovelled another mouthful between her lips, then another, and another. She was onto the second slice in about thirty seconds.

“Holy shit, I didn’t actually believe it…”

Hinata glanced up, absolutely no clue who would be disturbing her mid-meal and, even if her mouth hadn’t been full of soft, melting deliciousness, she probably wouldn’t have been able to say anything.

The short, stocky woman, with arms practically bursting out of the sleeves of her chef’s jacket – which presumably had been white at one point, but was now littered with so many stains in basically every conceivable colour that it was basically tie-dye – pulled out the chair opposite her and sat down heavily, crossing her arms on the table and leaning forwards with a slight frown. “Someone actually bought a cake.”

She was still chewing and had to wash down her bite with a generous gulp of coffee, just to respond.

“Huh?”

Very eloquent. Her father would be proud.

“No one buys the cake, we get about fifteen customers a day, I would remember someone buying the cake before-” she jerked a thumb in the direction of the barista leaning boredly against the counter “-Sai was so shocked he immediately came into the kitchen to tell me about it.”

That a customer actually choosing to eat the food on offer was such an anomaly that the chef had to come out of the kitchen, just to see if it was true, was a damning report on the state of their business. “Really?” she asked, looking down at the slice on her plate. “I can’t imagine why, it’s delicious.”

Dark brows narrowed over her green, green eyes. “Are you making fun of me? Did my mother send you here? Are you an EHO?” The woman was standing up now, leaning ever further into her personal space, flour-covered hands steady on either side of the table. With her face only a few inches away, Hinata could pick out individual pores on her nose and several old, faded scars. “I assure you; all my paperwork is up to date,” she said slowly, in such a low, threatening tone that left Hinata less assured than ever before.

She waved her hands in front of her face and backed away as far as the chair would let her. “I don’t’ know what that means and I came here on my own, I just… really like the cake?”

The speed at which the chef’s entire demeanour switched left Hinata feeling a little dizzy. Suddenly her bright eyes were sparkling and she had a wide, toothy grin stretching across her face as she asked, “For real? Even though it looks like absolute dogshit?”

“Well, as long as it tastes good, I don’t think the appearance really matters that much.” A statement easily reinforced by the fact that she was wearing an old, faded hoodie and some leggings she’d technically bought just for the gym, but were so comfortable that they’d wormed their way into her everyday wardrobe anyway.

Also, she was still soaked through and probably looked like a bedraggled cat, but she was trying to ignore that right now.

“Finally, someone who appreciates my genius!” Slapping a hand against the table hard enough to make it rock on its uneven legs, she turned around to shout at her co-worker, “You hear that Sai?”

“As glad as I am to have a satisfied customer, I would point you to the forty-seven other slices of cake that have been consistently rejected by everyone else who’s come in today.” His smile didn’t quite reach his eyes, but Hinata got the feeling that he really was trying his best. “You can’t decorate cakes for shit and no one wants to eat them.”

The scoff and dramatic rolling of eyes suggested that this was a regular argument for these two. “Ignore him, he just thinks that he’s a better artist than me-”

“I am an objectively better artist than you.”

“Anyway-” she displayed a middle finger at him over her shoulder, all while keeping her gaze fixed on Hinata “-I’m really glad you like the cake, I know my presentation’s a bit… rough, but I know what tastes good, just wish more people would give it a chance.”

Hinata had to give a wobbly smile at the woman’s childish pout; ohhh she was in trouble. “You do have a talent for flavour, I must admit,” she said, “I think this is the best coffee cake I’ve ever had.”

“Right? I’ve been playing around with some ideas for new recipes- actually wait here a sec, I’ll go cut you off some samples.” She was charging through the door leading to the kitchen before Hinata could object, but, looking at the rain still hammering down against the windows and taking another bite of beautifully soft cake… she could think of worse ways to spend an afternoon than being fed a selection of baked goods by an incredibly handsome woman with biceps that could probably crush steel.

Maybe she could even come up with an excuse to touch them. Just to satisfy her scientific curiosity.

---

By the time the rain had settled down to a slow drizzle, she had completely forgotten everything that led her to the café in the first place, so distracted was she by chatting to the charmingly exuberant chef – who was called Sakura, she quickly learned.

They had shared several slices of experimental cakes and, while none of them looked very pretty, Hinata had been blow away by the taste each and every time.

If her alarm hadn’t started buzzing insistently, she would’ve happily spent the whole day getting lost in sugar and soft pink hair and distractingly shifting muscles and a boisterous, snorting laugh that had absolutely no right being as cute as she found it. Alas, she still had classes that she could not afford to skip and she really shouldn’t keep Sakura from her work for any longer. Even if she didn’t seem to have much to do.

As she gathered her things and pulled on her coat, she glanced down at the woman with a soft smile. “Thank you for all the wonderful food, and conversation.” She rummaged through her bag and drew out her wallet, dropping a few notes in the tip jar as she passed. One benefit to coming from a wealthy family, she afford to be very generous.

Sai grinned at her, slapping a hand over Sakura’s mouth before she could object to the payment – and judging from the look in her bright eyes, that was almost certainly what she was planning.

Rolling her eyes as she pushed his hand away, she leaned over the counter to grin widely at Hinata. “Please, come again!”

“Yes, and bring friends with you next time, as you can see, we’re pretty desperate for business.”

“Idiot, don’t tell that to the customers!” Sakura yelled, slapping a hand to her forehead hard enough to leave a red mark there.

He gave her a Look. “It’s advertising.”

“No, it’s desperation, you better not have been telling that to everyone who comes in here.”

“Are we not desperate?” He asked, voice completely even and reasonable. “Do I have to show you our account books again? Maybe you should focus on trying to find a cake decorating course, before you start criticising me.”

Hinata laughed softly to herself, but not quietly enough that she didn’t catch the attention of both workers. She smiled at the pair, marvelling at their bizarre friendship that she wouldn’t mind seeing a bit more of. “I’ll tell everyone I know that the food here is delicious and they need to come try it-” she glanced at Sakura, who was almost glowing at the compliment, and had to duck her head to hide her blush “-and I live pretty close by, I’m sure I’ll be coming in here a lot more too.”

Before she could rush out of the doors, a voice called out to her, “Hey, what’s your favourite kind of cake? I wanna make it for the next time you come here.”

She stopped and had to take several calming breaths before turning around. “Anything with cinnamon,” she said, not wanting to give herself too much hope, but unable to deny the rush of excitement fizzing through her veins at the thought of spending more time – much more time – with the wonderful, strange, charming baker.

Sakura nodded, eyes already sparking with ideas. “Alright, I’ll make you something amazing, you better come back to taste it soon!”

“I will,” she said, stepping out into the damp afternoon, feeling lighter than air and ready to take on the whole world.

---

#ictoan writes #sakuhina #hinasaku #hinata hyuga #sakura haruno #naruto #hinata is Relatable and sakura is a Disaster and all is right with the world

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runningwithrio · 5 years ago

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Preparing for a Quarantine

With shortages in food and supplies around the world, an economic crisis, and potential longer-term quarantine, we all have to take life day-by-day.

I have been doing a ton of research regarding this topic since the china travel bans, when word of the potential pandemic was beginning. I’ve been slowly preparing, meal prepping, and making sure I can live self-sufficiently if necessary. I’ve also been worried about my family and friends, in the case that others may not be prepared.

Some things that you should ensure you have:

Medical supplies:

Thermometer, over-the-counter medicine, vitamins and basic medical supplies. If possible, get prescriptions filled ahead of time so you have a 30+ day supply to avoid withdrawal or medical emergencies

Dog/pet food and supplies:

Dog food, cat litter if you have a cat, prescriptions if necessary, and any other essential supplies. Your dog may have less exercise during a time of emergency, so consider getting toys, bones, etc to keep them busy

Frozen meats or protein sources:

I have been buying and storing meals that I've made such as meatballs, pre-cooked food sources, etc. Now that grocery stores even have a meat shortage, and I want to avoid public places, I tried to order my meat from my food subscription box, Thrive Markets, but, even they are two weeks behind on deliveries. With the threat of a military-enforced quarantine on the horizon, I realized I simply could not take the chance, and opted to order from Butcher Box. Another option is to order protein powder, so even if you don’t have frozen meats, you will at least have a long term protein source if necessary

Frozen, canned and fresh fruits and vegetables:

I always have a ton of frozen fruits and vegetables on hand for smoothies, sides for dinner and even freeze my produce if possible when I’m unable to eat it in time. For example, peppers and onions can be diced and frozen for stir-fries, fajitas, etc. These will likely be essential nutrients to keep your immune system strong in the case of a quarantine

Coffee/tea:

This may not be essential for survival, but for me, it’s important for my productivity at work and daily tasks, and I want to avoid withdrawal if I’m stuck at home. I buy coffee beans and grind them daily for the coffee I make at home, and stocked up on bags of coffee beans. Lord knows they won't go to waste

Pasta, pasta sauce, rice:

These are easy and cheap ingredients to stock pile in the case of emergency. I’m a Banza girl when it comes to pasta so I have boxes and boxes at all times in my cabinet. You can throw vegetables and nuts, seeds, cheeses, meats, etc into pasta or with rice and easily make it a balanced meal. Homemade pasta salad is also amazing

Soup and crackers:

Another easy meal, and for me an essential when I’m sick. If I do end up sick, I’ll be relying heavily on my soup and cracker stash

Nuts, seeds, nut butters:

Easy protein and healthy fat source. Can be added to stir fries, eaten as a snack, or put in a breakfast parfait or smoothie

Bread/rolls:

Thankfully, these can be frozen and used at any point, so I have bagels, hamburger rolls, English muffins, and bread stored for when I need it

Ground beef:

Such a versatile protein source. Make hamburgers, tacos, meatballs, lasagna, etc. This is a staple for me because of how many ways this can be used. I buy it refrigerated and freeze if necessary

Bread crumbs:

Can up any meal if you get bored of the same old

Eggs/milk/oil:

Necessary for a lot of recipes. Eggs can be eaten on their own as well and last a long time in the fridge. I recently learned they can also be cracked and frozen

Pancake mix or ingredients:

Easy tasty meal, stores well

Bacon:

Great side, can make BLTs, added to lunchmeat sandwiches, added to breakfast sandwiches, eaten as a snack :)

Flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, yeast, spices:

If you like to bake like myself, the opportunities are endless here

Fruit:

Bananas can be frozen if you don't eat them in time, and are great for smoothies, pancakes, parfaits, baking, etc. Apples last a long time, can be eaten as a snack with PB. Avocados go with everything. Berries are incredible. Grapes are the best snack. Please be careful and wash your fruit at a time like this. Well and with an antibacterial soap. I actually have a specific produce spray for washing my fruit, but these days I’m disinfecting

Vegetables:

Carrots and celery last forever. Spinach/kale you can buy frozen and add to pasta dishes, smoothies, stir fry, etc. Tomatoes are big in my world, although technically a fruit lol

Potatoes and onions:

Both last forever and can be cooked in so many ways

Batteries

For appliances and remotes and video game controllers

Shampoo/conditioner/shower supplies

Trash bags, cleaning supplies, laundry detergent, dishwasher detergent, sponges, soap, paper products

I hope this helps you think of a few things and prepare if you haven’t already. I’d utilize online shopping if possible. Hungry Harvest ‘rescues’ fruit and vegetables that are surplus, incorrect sizes, or scarred, and are delivered super cheap and farmed locally. They’re in most big cities and surrounding areas, and are so reasonable and convenient! I have a shipment coming Sunday. Butcher Box is pricy but worth it during a national emergency. Grocery stores also often have local delivery options. I find that being prepared makes me feel so much more at ease, because I’ve done everything within my control. Prepare, don’t panic!

#personal #Coronavirus Quarantine #quarantine #quarantine ideas #coronavirus quarantine ideas #coronavirus isolation #isolation #Isolation ideas

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dogfoodadvisor-blog · 5 years ago

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Make High Quality Dog-Food at Home

At the time of writing this article, there has been a HUGE commercial dog and cat food poisoning scare in the USA - from contaminated dog food. Around 60 Million cans and pouches of prepared pet food were recalled. navigate to this website Pet Supplies Plus

Some owners lost their dogs and cats, because a type of plastic called melamine had found its way into pet food! This was traced to a Chinese sourced wheat gluten contamination with melamine. Why pet food manufacturers use wheat gluten in pet food is a mystery - it is a VERY POOR source of protein!

We make our own homemade dog food for a number of reasons - one of them being the unknown composition of commercial dog food!

Why DOES canned or packet food look and smell so similar, no matter what brand you buy?

I was always suspicious, the commercials show lovely piles of beef or even chicken breast fillet and vegetables etc. How COULD they put that in there, those cuts are so expensive?

Well basic economics says they don't! But what makes me angry is their attempts at deception!

We started making homemade dog food, some time after I got an Insiders look at what is called a "protein recovery unit".

I nicknamed it the Beak Factory because this plant used leftovers from a chicken processor - heads (beak and all), feet, feathers and gizzards - and turned it into a foul smelling dirty brown powder destined to go into pet-food!

It stank so bad and that smell got into my hair and on my clothes and I am not exaggerating when I say the smell hung around me for the entire day!

This protein powder is often among the first ingredients listed on the pack or can - and goes by the name meat by-products or sometimes meat meal. It's part of the reason that commercial dry biscuits almost always smell the same! If you're game - try eating one of those biscuits yourself - see what your dog has been putting up with!

But you see because this protein powder undergoes a high temperature process during manufacture, it's deemed to be safe for pets.

But the huge dumpsters of heads, carcasses, feet, feathers etc I SAW were left at ambient temperature for who knows how long - so you can imagine the putrid condition they were in?

I REFUSE to feed this refuse, which is what it really is - GARBAGE - to our dogs! Because while they MAY have killed the bacteria in this rubbish, what they may not destroy are some of the toxins that the bacteria produce as part of their action!

In addition to the bacterial toxins; there may also be toxins produced by moulds and fungi; known as aflatoxins and mycotoxins and some of these are known to be heat tolerant!

Now I don't want to bore you with a lot of technical info on toxins - but I do want you to see that I am not exaggerating!

And that is just one bacteria - there are lots more! Try Googling the words Aflatoxin, Mycotoxin or bacterial toxins for yourself!

Plus there's potentially accumulated insecticide residues in the concentrated bird feathers.....AND I'm not even going to mention the stories we've read about euthanised animal carcasses from vets or abbatoir animals that were diseased - or road kill!

In short - it HAS ALWAYS BEEN potentially contaminated dog food! But even if you totally ignore the contamination issue - it's STILL a very cheap and nasty source of protein!

Because it's labelled as Pet Food Not For Human Consumption - there is far less scrutiny, concern and accountability! FACT IS : they HAVE to label it as UNFIT - ask yourself why would that be?

Why would you feed this stuff to any pet that you care about? We love our dogs - so to avoid food based on rubbish, with added soy protein, colourings and other additives - we make our own homemade dog food exclusively!

And here's the thing - Homemade dog food is not only BETTER FOR YOUR DOG it's also far cheaper than than commercial dog food - here in Australia, we can feed an adult Staffordshire Bull Terrier for about 45c per day!

Now's when the Pet food companies and some veterinarians comment that the food that you make needs to be complete. It's like it's some sort of mystery; as if we are too stupid to do it ourselves! I take offense at their attempts to manipulate us into buying their products!

Dogs have shared human lives for thousands of years (long before pet food companies) - and NEVER became extinct due to malnutrition!

Let me state this - anyone who can read and can cook - can make their own high quality homemade dog food! All it takes is a bit of time and planning and since its easier to make in bulk - a bit of freezer space.

Canine nutrition has also been very well researched and published and now that we live in an information age; this information can be freely distributed worldwide!

Sure there are some basics - when making homemade dog food it's important to remember that dogs are meat eaters (carnivorous). Since meat is almost entirely made up of proteins - protein is therefore an essential component in dog diets!

But did you know that many canned or dried foods are based on plant sources of protein (often Soy beans - and no wonder they fart so much); because vegetable proteins are MUCH cheaper than animal proteins

But vegetable based proteins like those found in soy beans, chickpeas, lentils etc are not complete in all the amino acids found in animal proteins like meat, fish and dairy.

To overcome this lack of complete proteins pet food manufacturers add the the horrible smelling powder I mentioned earlier!

In his book Home Prepared Dog and Cat Diets, The Healthful Alternative, - when speaking about commercially prepared pet food, Donald Stromberg had this to say:

"The cost of pet foods is lessened by using no more animal protein, than is necessary. Using sources of animal proteins not fit for human consumption also reduces the cost. For example, animal meat meals are unfit for human consumption. Some meat meal protein is from animals that died and were beginning to decompose." (pg. 35)

Stromberg gives a figure of 13% protein for growing dogs and 19% for aging dogs. I always aim that homemade dog food falls into this higher protein range.

Since dogs in the wild are predominantly meat eating, most of their dietary protein will come from animal or insect sources - I use animal proteins.

However dogs also can and do eat fruit - foxes are known to eat blackberries and undoubtedly other fruit, for example grapes from a vineyard or fruit from an orchard. Our Staffords love all kinds of fruit - including banana!

I also vary the protein content of my homemade dog food, according to the needs of my dogs.

One of our girls (an Australian Terrier) is now 11 years old and diabetic, so her diet is quite high in protein and very low in fat. Pregnant bitches and growing puppies need considerably more protein and also need more total food quantity.

However when using meat as your source of protein, you CAN cause problems for the dog if the food is not balanced with the correct minerals. Red meat alone; will supply good levels of protein and iron, but almost no calcium and phosphorus for example.

Dogs in the wild forage on a variety of foods and would eat an entire rabbit for example - fur, bones gizzards and all! When they do this they are able to extract ALL of the minerals in the bones and intestines of the animal -- so their diet is more balanced!

When making homemade dog food, it's important to aim for this balance between protein, vitamins and minerals! When you use my homemade dog food recipes you'll see that one of my principle protein sources is skinless chicken necks.

I use these because of their high protein/low fat ratio and low price - PLUS - the added advantage of the minerals like calcium, phosphorus and potassium etc, available in the bone!

AND skinless chicken necks are often available at low cost as human grade fresh meat in the deli departments of many supermarkets or poultry meat stores, which means they MUST be fit for human consumption!

Right here and right now then; your homemade dog food is streets ahead of commercial pet food, because you are using quality, nutritious and balanced protein from clean, safe food sources!

Try making your own Home-made Dog food I guarantee that your dog will love the REAL food that you are giving - instead of the pseudo food that he has been forced to accept until now!

#Pet Supplies Plus #Dog Food Advisor #Pet Supplies

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soaringlark · 5 years ago

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The Other Girl (Part 1/Cancelled)

changed the title again! I think this fits better.

Warnings: Pain (not very detailed)

Future Warnings: Daniella being really offensive

No g/t or vore first part, but will come later :D

Word count (for first part): 1528

”I can’t believe that they paired me up with you,” said Daniella, as she closed the door. “I thought the system was well thought out. Do we even have anything in common?” Isabella avoid her piercing gaze.

“We’re both girls and our names end in ella,” she replied, quickly taking her beanie of to scratch her head. Daniella glared at her, before she opened her mouth to speak. “I know it was rhetorical, sorry, I thought it was funny.”

She rolled her eyes. “Whatever, I’m going to start unpacking.”

Isabella decided to do the same. She wasn’t sure what to do about dinner, though. Pizza sounded good, but Daniella didn’t like fast food. But she didn’t feel like going to the grocer. Maybe Daniella had been out already?

She decided to ask her.

She knocked on the door, before she walked in. “Hey, Dani?”

“Don’t call me Dani! What do you want?” she yelled. Isabella groaned; she really didn’t care. “Are you going to say anything Bella?”

“Sorry then,” she apologized, sighing through her nose. “Just wanted to hear if you had bought anything for dinner. ‘cause I’m not in the mood to go out and buy anything.” Now she wanted to order pizza just to make Dani upset.

“Oh, no, I haven’t,” she replied, out of nowhere she seemed a bit embarrassed. “I should have thought about that.” She fiddled with a framed picture she was holding. “We should make a meal plan. Can you cook?”

All of this caught Isabella a bit off guard. “Yeah, I like to cook, I mostly follow the recipe, but I think it’s pretty fun to experiment too,” she answered. She really wanted to talk about cooking, but not with the other girl. “Why are you asking?”

She put the picture down on a bedside table. “Just so we could take turns making food,” she said. “But I don’t have any idea what to make today. What do you think?” She moved over to an open briefcase and grabbed a snow globe with a dog playing in snow inside.

Isabella shrugged. “I was just going to order pizza for myself if you didn’t have anything,” she said. Something clicked in her head. “Wait, you like homemade pizza right?”

She shook the thing a little. “Yeah, we could make that.” She placed it down next to the picture. “But you might have to come with me then; I don’t know what you like on your pizza.”

She scratched the back of her head. “I could just tell you.”

“But it would be a good time to get to know each other,” she explained, as she laughed. “I don’t want to judge you too quickly.”

She sighed. “Fine, I guess we can,” she said. “But only if we leave now.”

They didn’t learn much more about each other, other than that they both liked pineapple on their pizza. That fact made them both excited. They rarely ever met anybody that liked that.

A couple hours after they had come home Daniella asked if Isabella thought it was time to prepare food. She agreed. They decided to make one pizza each.

They shared the task as evenly as they could. Isabella wanted to make the dough. Daniella was fine with cutting the mushrooms… and so on.

It went pretty smooth. Both of them proved to be decently good at cooking. The pizzas ended up just how both liked them.

“Do you want to watch a movie or something? It is Friday,” asked Isabella. “Do you like animated movies?” She sort of hoped that Daniella would say yes. She really wanted to watch one of her favorite childhood movies that night.

“Depends on which ones you’re talking about,” said Daniella. “It sounds fun, though.” She sat down on the other side of the small cheap-looking sofa. “What did you have in mind?”

She had already found the movie she wanted to watch. “I was thinking this one?” she said. “I loved it when I was a child.” It was somewhat scary for a children’s movie. “It also reminds me of some of my old nightmares. I think it might have been the cause.”

Daniella gasp and her eyes light up. “I loved that movie too! It’s been so long since I was able to watch it,” she exclaimed. “I definitely want to watch it! If that wasn’t clear… Sorry.”

Isabella laughed. “Maybe we have more in common than we thought,” she said, trying to settle down properly in the crappy sofa. “Let’s start the movie then.” She pressed play.

While the credits were rolling, the two went into a detailed discussion about what they loved about the movie when they were kids and what they enjoyed now.

“And that scene were Jessie fell of the cliff only to be caught by Flare was so suspenseful when I was kid! It’s amazing that it holds up with that awesome animation!” Exclaimed Daniella. “And the part where it looks like Shigafo is going to eat her, but he is only hiding her is so amazing; you can really feel Jessie’s fear and how much trust she’s has to put in him.”

Isabella nodded. “I love it when the dragons are on screen; it shows how much work they put into the movie,” she stated. Dragons were hard enough to draw as a still image; she would know. She was sort of artsy. “And I think Flare is my favorite character now, just how he overcomes all the hateful stereotypes people put on dragons like him. And he doesn’t fall for all that peer pressure the other dragons put on him.”

“He almost does and that was so scary as a kid,” she said. That was also what gave her nightmares as a kid. “The laughs of the dragons as George is chased through the forest by him, while the some of the dragons are spewing fire at them.”

“That scene is so cool,” she agreed. The music in movie fit perfectly for what it was made for. “It’s amazing how good the music is for a children’s movie it really grasps your feelings. I think the only thing I dislike is that it is a children’s movie.”

“But it probably wouldn’t have been animated if that was the case,” said Daniella as she stretched and got up. “I think I’m going to bed.”

Isabella checked her phone. It was only 9 pm. “Isn’t it a little early?” she asked. But it wasn’t out of place for someone who also didn’t like junk food and made meal plans. “Also there are a few I want to ask you about.”

She sat back down. “What is it?”

“Why did you get so mad at me when I called you Dani?” That had confused her a little, but she didn’t feel like it was right to ask her before.

She sighed deeply. “I’m sorry; it was just because I was a bit upset already,” she replied. “You can call me Dani if you want. My grandma recently…” She took a deep breath and sniffled quietly. “Passed away.” She dried her eyes with her hands. “I was setting up a picture of her. And I thought you were annoying.”

Despite the half insult, she felt bad for asking. “Oh,” she said shyly. “I’m sorry for your loss.” She shuffled awkwardly on the sofa. She couldn’t think of anything else to say about it.

“So, what else did you want to ask about?”

She scratched her neck. “Never mind, it doesn’t feel right to ask about that now,” she answered. “It is sort of rude, because it’s not directly your fault.” She was saying too much already. It really wasn’t her fault that the other girl’s friend bullied her.

She tilted her head to the side. “Now you’re making me curious,” she said, before she furrowed her brow. After about a minute of awkward silence, she spoke out. “Are you talking about Kayla? You don’t have to be friends with her.”

She lowered her head shyly. “You’re right, it’s about her,” she admitted, as she took out her phone and began fiddling with it. “But I just don’t want to see her where I live.” She could feel herself tearing up. She was scared to be around Kayla. “I don’t think I could be friends with her if I wanted; you know she thinks I’m a waste of air.”

Daniella looked away from her. “I mean, if she gets to know you, she might not call you that anymore,” She said, sitting quietly for moment, before she gave her a hard shove into the couch. Isabella dropped her phone, making it bounce off sofa. “You know what? Maybe being your friend isn’t even worth it! You’re probably going to ruin my friendship with my best friend!”

That came out of nowhere. “What? But- but I thought,” Suddenly a sharp pain that shot through her entire body cut her off. She screamed loudly. “What is happening? Help!”

Daniella fainted with a loud crash. ‘Am I going to die?’ were the last thoughts that made it into her head before she passed out too.

End of Part 1

Some credit to Random Litith on youtube for the inspiration! It’s not at all similar, but still my inspiration.

She’s a G/t GachaTuber. I know it’s cringy that I like gacha, but what can you do? It reminds me of my old “Movies” on moviestar planet.

If you have any questions feel free to ask :D

#My writing #My characters #Isabella OC #Daniella OC #The Other Girl

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centralparkpawsblog · 5 years ago

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Blue Buffalo vs Purina Pro Plan

https://www.centralparkpaws.net/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/Purina-Pro-Plan-Savor-Adult-Shredded-Blend-chicken-rice-dog-food-brand-comparison.jpg When I was growing up, I never thought too much about what our family dog was eating.

I would go with my dad to pick up new bags of dog food at our local pet store every once and a while, but that was all I knew.

I figured that dogs ate the same brand of food for most of the lives, only changing things up when they entered the different life stages on the front of the dog bags.

Bringing home my own dog has been a life changing experience.

She’s gone through phases where certain types of food irritated her stomach and one even gave her an allergic reaction!

It’s not uncommon for dogs to change their dietary preferences and needs as they age, which is why I study the different brands that are out there.

Check out the research I found when I compared Blue Buffalo and Purina Pro Plan.

It might change your mind about which one you should feed your dog.

Purina’s Company History

Purina’s history began in 1894, when William Danforth partnered with two other men to found the Robinson-Danforth Commission Company[1]. In 1902, the name was changed to Ralston Purina.

After working on their dog food blend for many years, its first major success was when it was fed to dogs on Admiral Richard E. Byrd’s Antarctic expedition in 1933[2].

The dogs were able to thrive even in the harshest conditions.

Since then, Purina has become one of the biggest brands in the dog food industry.

Best Sellers

Purina has many different lines of dog foods, but these are the top three Purina Pro Plan best sellers that people come back for again and again[3]:

Purina Pro Plan Bright Mind Adult 7+ Chicken and Rice Formula

Purina Pro Plan Focus Adult Large Breed Formula

Purina Pro Plan Focus Adult Sensitive Skin and Stomach, Lamb and Oatmeal Formula

While Purina sells Pro Plan blends for different life stages and breed sizes, their Bright Mind and Focus blends have particularly resonated with consumers.

This isn’t the first time we’ve compared Purina with another dog food company. How did Purina fare against IAMS?

Blue Buffalo’s Company History

People always say they’d do anything for their dog, and the Blue Buffalo founding family did exactly that.

When their dog, Blue, went for a check up at the vet and came back with a cancer diagnosis, the family dove into studying how they could optimize his nutrition.

This led to the creation of many different homemade blends, until they ended up with the one they liked.

Their BLUE Life Protection Formula became the foundation of their Blue Buffalo company.

Now, the company makes super premium pet food with only the best ingredients they can find, always calling back to the importance of natural nutrition for dogs.

Best Sellers

Blue Buffalo continues to improve on their original Life Protection Formula, which has made it the number one dog food in the country[4].

It has many different variations, which include their best selling products[5]:

BLUE Life Protection Formula Adult Chicken and Brown Rice Recipe

BLUE Life Protection Formula Adult Fish and Brown Rice Recipe

BLUE Life Protection Formula Puppy Chicken and Brown Rice Recipe

Given the Life Protection Formulas for all the life stages of a dog, these best selling products continue to meet the needs of many dog owners.

Blue Buffalo is a popular brand. But, is it the best? We tested Blue Buffalo against Fromm!

Recalls

Both of these brands have been around for many years, so they’ve each had a few recalls that potential consumers should be aware of.

Purina Recalls

Purina’s dog food was last recalled in March of 2016, since some of the wet dog food was lacking the right mineral and vitamin levels[6].

They were also recalled in 2013 for a potential salmonella contamination[7].

Blue Buffalo Recalls

Blue Buffalo most recently faced a recall in March of 2017, since further studies revealed toxic levels of lead in some of their wet dog food[8].

Over the last six years, they’ve also been recalled for having high levels of vitamin D[9], dangerous levels of mold[10], the presence of salmonella[11], and chunks of aluminum metal[12] in their dog foods.

What’s Important When Choosing a Dog Food?

Now that dog owners can see what food is available at pet stores and online, there’s a lot to choose from.

Here’s what you should consider before bringing any dog food home:

Many dog foods contain chicken. But, is all chicken equal?

Ingredients

Does your dog have any allergies or sensitivities?

Are you concerned about them eating only fresh ingredients?

Every dog owner should look at the ingredients listed on a dog food bag to see what their dog would actually be eating if they purchased it.

Price

How much are you willing to spend for a higher quality food?

Consider what your dog food budget is and how often you’ll be buying new dog food to determine what the best price is for you.

Availability

Some towns don’t have many pet stores for owners to visit, and some people may not be able to get deliveries at their home.

Make sure to check where you can get the dog food you’re thinking about purchasing for your dog to figure out its availability.

Taste

You’ll want to read online about what other dogs think about the food and even give your pup a taste test before fully committing to a brand.

Dogs shouldn’t have to eat food every day that they hate just because it fits a budget or is easy to find.

Brand Reliability

Once you’ve found the brands you like, research them.

You may find that they face frequent recalls or make some dogs sick, which won’t be something you’ll find out just by looking at the bag at a store.

Comparison of Purina vs Blue Buffalo

So how do these two brands stack up against each other?

Let’s find out.

Ingredients

Winner: Blue Buffalo

While I like that Purina is trusted by so many dog owners, I’m not so sure about their ingredients.

On the list for their first big best seller bag, one of the first ingredients is “poultry by-product meal”[13].

I looked it up and apparently by-product meal is when they grind up cleaned parts of a chicken carcass[14], which often contains things like undeveloped eggs and bones.

That’s supposed to make the food have a higher level of protein, but I would never let Maggie chew on a chicken carcass.

Why let it be in her dog food?

Blue Buffalo has many more recognizable ingredients on the list for their best-selling blend[15].

Blue Buffalo, on the other hand…

I’m not a fan of the second product being chicken meal, but that’s different from by-product meal.

Chicken meal is a combination of chicken flesh and skin that isn’t originally used in the food[16]. It’s cooked and ground up to add more protein.

Blue Buffalo wins the ingredients round for me.

It just doesn’t feel right to imagine feeding my dog powdered chicken carcasses.

Price/Value

Winner: Purina…?

Something every dog owner knows is that Blue Buffalo is expensive, but their prices are becoming much more competitive with other brands.

Purina’s specialty offerings are more expensive, but still not as expensive as Blue Buffalo

They average out at $50 per 25 pound bag[17].

On the other hand, Purina’s 20 pound bags are typically around $15-20[18], depending on where you’re looking.

That price is so low, it actually concerns me.

It makes me wonder how many fillers are actually in their food.

I’m used to paying $45-50 per bag of food for Maggie, so I’d much rather stick with Blue Buffalo’s price.

It’s much more than Purina, but it makes more sense to me to put my money with the food that uses fresh, whole ingredients.

Availability

Winner: Tie

These are both big brands, so they’re available at most pet stores and online.

That makes it easy for people to restock their dog food even on their busiest days, so they tie in availability.

Shop Blue Buffalo on Amazon

Shop Blue Buffalo on Chewy

Shop Purina Pro Plan on Amazon

Shop Purina Pro Plan on Chewy

Taste

Winner: Depends

It’s always really up to your dog to decide whether the dog food brand is a keeper.

If they like the taste of the food, it may be worth it to stick with the brand.

Brand Reliability

Winner: Purina

Purina has less of a history with recalls than Blue Buffalo does, so that may sway some dog owners into becoming their customers.

But both have had recalls on wet dog food, so that should be considered by any dog owners who need to get wet food for their dog.

Winner

Winner: Blue Buffalo

While price and availability are huge influences on which dog food brands people buy, this comparison came down to ingredients for me.

It really concerns me that Purina has by-product meal in their food and that their food is so cheap.

I don’t want Maggie eating fillers every day, which is why I’d go with Blue Buffalo before I’d ever buy Purina.

Think about all these factors for yourself before deciding which brand you should buy for your dog.

Resources

https://www.purina.com/about-purina

https://www.pressreader.com/usa/readers-digest/20190301/281517932267486

https://www.purina.com/dogs/dog-food/dry

https://www.wsj.com/articles/meet-blue-founder-of-americas-top-natural-pet-food-brand-1519416803

https://bluebuffalo.com/product-finder/dog/?facets=

https://news.vin.com/vinnews.aspx?articleId=51391

https://www.foodsafetynews.com/2013/09/purina-one-beyond-dry-dog-food-recalled-for-salmonella-risk/

https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/does-blue-buffalo-contain-toxic-levels-lead/

https://news.vin.com/vinnews.aspx?articleId=51391

https://www.seviernewsmessenger.com/2016/05/31/blue-buffalo-dry-dog-food-recall/

https://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2018/02/24/FDA-issues-2-more-pet-food-recalls-listeria-salmonella-found/5171519499067/

https://www.consumeraffairs.com/news/index/2017/03/

https://www.purina.com/pro-plan/dogs/dry-dog-food/bright-mind-senior-chicken-rice

https://www.petmd.com/dog/nutrition/evr_pet_food_for_your_pets_sake

https://bluebuffalo.com/natural-dog-food/healthy-holistic-blue-life-protection-formula/dry-food/lpf-adult-chicken-and-brown-rice-recipe/

https://www.petmd.com/dog/nutrition/evr_pet_food_for_your_pets_sake

http://theconnectiontcc.com/2019/07/09/dog-traction-rope-emerging-markets-analysis-regional-demand-growth-and-forecast-to-2024/

http://thescrippsvoice.com/market-research-news/160862/wet-pet-food-market-report-forecast-by-industry-insights-volume-opportunities-type-product-analysis-and-application/

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from https://www.centralparkpaws.net/dog-food/blue-buffalo-vs-purina-pro-plan/

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dreaming-paradise-dixie · 6 years ago

Text

You Were There

Mother’s Day prompt by @talesofdorks: Ruby/Yang Summary: "Mom is. . . Gone," Ruby hesitated, deflating for a moment before regaining her composure, "and Dad wasn't and still isn't around a lot. But you were there! So in a way, you're my mother! I know it sounds weird considering you're my sister and all, but you did raise me and take care of me."

It was Mother's Day.

Ruby was sitting in the grass in front of her mother's memorial stone, reliving the events the month had thrown at her. She had quite a few stories to tell mother, and she knew the woman was seated right beside her listening to her every word. She could feel her presence, as strange as it was. Maybe it was just her hoping her mother was here with her, but she didn't feel alone. She imagined her mother laughing at the stories she told her, explaining some of the things Yang had done, how their father reacted, and even told a few about herself.

"Oh! And yesterday, I tried to make breakfast for Yang since she wasn't feeling good, and I almost set the kitchen on fire! Yang came running downstairs when she heard the smoke alarm going off, I told her I was making food for her and she was all like 'oh well that's sweet of you, Ruby, but the oven is on fire!', then she put it out. Dad came home a few minutes later and had to remodel the kitchen since I killed the oven and part of the wall was scorched."

She'd never forget the panicked look on her sister's face when she'd barged into the kitchen and put out the fire before it spread. They'd hoped the oven had survived the disaster, but the moment Yang brought it up, it had went completely out. Needless to say, Tai wasn't too pleased about having to purchase a new oven and replace the charcoal-like wall. After a moment of laughter, Ruby moved on to the next story. She and Yang had spent the rest of the day outside in the backyard playing while Tai cleaned up. They'd set up their stuffed animals (well, Ruby's stuffed animals) and pretended to be professionally trained huntresses killing Grimm and saving the world.

During the game, Ruby had tripped all over the red cloak she'd received for her birthday and had skinned her knees. Yang had been by her side in a second and had helped her into the house, cleaned up the wounds, and had bandaged them. "When do you think I'll unlock my aura?" Ruby had asked, having seen her sister's aura heal her scrapes and bruises.

"Probably soon if you keep hurting yourself like this." Yang had replied. She was right, too.

"I didn't tell you, did I?" Ruby's eyes lit up, suddenly cutting off her story. "I unlocked my aura last night! Yang was going to check on me and I had felt something all tingly in my knees, I pulled the bandages off and my knees were healed! She told me that it looked like I'd unlocked my aura! 'About time', she said. Maybe I'll discover my semblance soon, too!" Ruby grinned, briefly explaining that the color was ironically ruby red. She found it funny, but really, what other color would it be?

After a few more stories and a lot of rambling, Ruby had realized that the sun was beginning to set and started home. She used to stay out until midnight, but Grimm were becoming more and more frequent in the area and Yang wanted her home before she became a target. The last time she'd stayed out late, she'd just barely avoided becoming their next victim. Yang was trying to teach her self-defense, but she was more focused on forging her own weapon.

Maybe once she had her scythe built and began her training Yang would relax about her safety; Ruby loved her sister, but Yang was just a tad bit overprotective. She was getting better, though.

"Oh! That's right! I should get something for Yang!" Ruby realized. Her sister had played the role of a mother for as long as she could remember, she knew Yang gave up her own childhood just to give her one. Sure, their father was around a lot more often, but it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that Yang had raised Ruby all on her own. With a little help from their uncle, of course, considering the blonde was young, stubborn, and impulsive.

She didn't have any money to buy her sister something very expensive, and there wouldn't be any flowers down the trail heading home, so maybe she could visit town and see if she could buy any cheap flowers on sale. She had a bit of money left over from their uncle, but she'd spent almost all of it on cookies. . .

Heading down the path that took her into town, she pulled out the change from her pockets and began to count. Ruby grumbled a 'crap' under her breath when she realized she was missing two silver pieces. She must've lost them somewhere down the trail. . . "Girl pockets are the worst!"

Within five minutes, she'd walked into town and had gone into the first store she laid eyes on. Her father was friends with the owner and she and Yang would often come up here to buy flowers for their mother's memorial site. The shop owner also had the most delicious homemade cookies, so Ruby had become a frequent customer.

"Hey, Ruby!" A thick voice caught her attention and the eleven-year old whirled around to see a tall, lanky man with a short, dog-like tail approaching her with a bag in hand. "I figured you'd stop by today. Here for some cookies for you and your sister? I already have your bag prepared." He handed the bag of cookies to her and Ruby smiled nervously.

Yang wasn't here. These cookies would be gone before she got home, even if was simply a ten minute walk back to their house.

"Actually, Mister-"

"Please, just call me Rufous." The faunus replied with a happy smile and Ruby nodded, explaining that she'd stopped by for some flowers for Yang. She sheepishly informed him that she would probably have the cookies gone before she was even half way home when he asked if the cookies would do. After a moment, the man nodded and lead her outside and into his greenhouse. "Take your pick!" It didn't take her long to find what she was looking for; a vase full of every color rose she could think of. They were perfect!

She'd had just enough money to purchase the roses, the cookies were given to her for free.

"Thank you, Mis- I mean Rufous!" She called, racing out of the store and towards her home. It was getting pretty dark, Yang was probably beginning to worry about her. She wasn't sure if her father would be home or not, she could never tell with him. Slowing down to a quick jog, Ruby reached into the bag and pulled out a freshly cooked chocolate chip cookie.

She grinned. "Jackpot!" She thought, devouring the cookie and savoring the taste. She loved it when they were fresh out of the oven; Rufous must've made an extra batch just for her. "I really should ask for the recipe, if he would give it to me. Maybe Yang could make them for me! Then I could have cookies whenever I want!"

Probably not, though. Yang insisted that eating sweets constantly would be bad for her teeth. She hadn't had a cavity yet, so surely they couldn't be that bad. Then again, her sister made sure that she ate healthy and would only allow her to have sweets before breakfast/dinner on special occasions such as her birthday.

Reaching into the bag again for another cookie, a pitiful whine escaped her throat when she realized it was empty. There were nothing but crumbs inside the bag! She'd eaten them that fast? "I want more. . ." She huffed as she crumbled up the bag and began tossing it back and forth like a ball. She'd been taught not to litter and toss your trash to the side, it was harmful to the environment and the animals. Somebody's beloved pet could think the trash is food, consume it, and then die! She didn't want that blood on her hands.

Ruby glanced up to see her house in the distance and she grinned, breaking into a run and clutching the flowers tightly so that she wouldn't drop and shatter the vase. The front door was open, so she charged straight into the house and shot the empty bag towards the trashcan as if it were a basketball. "Goal!" She cheered, ringing the basket perfectly.

Footsteps came running down the staircase and Ruby set the flowers down just before she was pulled into a bone-crushing bear hug. "You're okay!" Yang cried, her voice laced with worry and fear. "I seen on TV that there were Grimm on the outskirts of town, and I was so worried you had run into them!"

"No Grimm. . . Need air. . ." Ruby managed to cough out, gasping for air when Yang released her.

"What are these for? Are they for Mom?" Yang asked, eyeing the flowers sitting on the table. "They're really pretty, I'm sure she'll love them! We can put them on the stone tomorrow morning, if you want." Ruby shook her head and grinned, grabbing the small vase and presenting it to her older sister.

Yang raised a brow, "They're for you!" Ruby informed her and the older blonde gave her a warm smile. "I know it must be hard for you to take care of me since you're still a child yourself, and you've sacrificed a lot for me! Mom is. . . Gone," Ruby hesitated, deflating for a moment before regaining her composure, "and Dad wasn't and still isn't around a lot. But you were there! So in a way, you're my mother! I know it sounds weird considering you're my sister and all, but you did raise me and take care of me - I mean you still do, but-"

Yang cut her off, "Thank you, Ruby." She chuckled as she took the vase from the rambling redhead, "I would've wanted some sunflowers or something, though. Roses are kind of your thing." Yang grinned when Ruby shot her a displeased look, "I'm kidding, they're from you, my baby sister, so they're perfect."

Ruby was pulled into a gentle, one-armed hug and she smiled, "We can pick up some for Mom tomorrow, I kind of forgot- what are you doing?" Yang had pulled away from the embrace and had begun picking the white roses from the vase, setting them down on the table. "Do you not like the white ones? There was a-" Ruby panicked, thinking maybe she'd upset her sister.

"These are for Mom," Yang smiled, "put them in spare vase and we can take them to her tomorrow." Ruby grinned and raced off to grab a vase. Returning with it, setting the roses inside, and filling it with water, she set it on the counter to take to the memorial site first thing in the morning.

"Hey Ruby?" She glanced at her sister, who offered her a gentle smile, "I didn't sacrifice anything. I love taking care of you, you're my baby sister and I'll always be here when you need me."

The eleven-year old returned the smile, "I know. . . Thank you, Yang."

#rwby #ruby rose #yang xiao long #mother's day rwby #this took only an hour to write #it's not my best work #but enjoy!

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