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#Does Green Tea Have Caffeine
meeorganic · 1 year
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Does Green Tea Have Caffeine
Embark on a journey into the wonders of CBD green tea – a rejuvenating elixir with a gentle caffeine boost. To craft the perfect cup, begin by bringing water to a boil and then allowing it to cool to around 80°C or 176°F. Nestle green tea leaves into an infuser or teapot, pour in the water, and let it steep for 2-3 minutes, coaxing out those subtle flavors. Concerned about sleep? The caffeine in green tea is milder than that in coffee, but if you're particularly sensitive, opt for decaf or indulge earlier in the day. Delve into the invigorating embrace of green tea, savoring its taste and the wellness advantages whenever the mood strikes!
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figofswords · 8 months
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wow I didn’t think reblogging that tea post and then seeing people’s tags would deal me such strong psychic damage. come over I can fix you I can find a tea you will like. “I don’t like tea” how can you say that as a blanket statement when there are so many vastly different kinds of tea. head in hands
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gentlethorns · 10 months
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i have always been and will always be utterly fucking insane. help
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I get a customized box of tea every month, and have had a subscription for years now. It's my treat and morale booster, and arrive usually within the first week of the month. After I try all the teas, I leave a review for each of them, and then the next box is customized further. Plus, you get points that can be applied to receiving a free box, or more tea samples, and other various goodies. I've used mine for free boxes twice.
Through Sips by Box, I have discovered soooooo many teas. Some of them are big nope and go to a friend or neighbor. Other teas that are very yummy have resulted in me buying enough to have them daily for a month.
You take a little quiz thing to put it what you like, don't like, things you cannot have, and various other things. I have celiac disease, epilepsy, and a high sensitivity to caffeine; some ingredients in herbal teas will result in an ER visit. Not once have a received a tea with these ingredients via Sips.
If you can't afford a box for a few months, you can pause your account. I had to do this for about six (very miserable) months. It was easy and took less than a minute.
Here's the little bit the shared with me about y'all signing up:
Send a friend $15 off their first Sips by Box & 200 bonus points for signing-up using this link. You'll earn 200 points when they sign-up for a free account and 600 points if they subscribe to the box!
If you're interested, please click the link and sign up. Consider it a gift exchange and a great way to make me extremely happy. I currently have 379 points and need a 418 more so I can get a free box.
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Thank you and enjoy!
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brunetterightsactivist · 10 months
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gonna try and get into teas if you ever saw me say i hate tea mind ur buisness in 2024 i am a woman who loves a cup of tea
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teaboot · 7 months
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Y'know, despite having tea in your name, I can't find it you've said what your favorite kind of tea is.
If you don't mind, what are your top 3 teas that you'd say people should try?
Oh, like if you enjoy tea and want to try new stuff?
First off, tea (broadly speaking, for readers who aren't familiar) is made of leaves from the tea plant, and the TYPES of tea- White, green, oolong*, and black- just refer to different levels of oxidization. The darker the tea, the more oxidized it is, the higher the tannins are, more bitter it gets, the higher caffeine is.
That said:
First pick, London fog. The kind I like is the customary earl grey tea prepped with milk, sugar, vanilla, and lavender. Feels soft and cozy and lightly floral, but not in a perfume way- best I can describe it is drinking a warm blanket fresh out of the dryer.
Earl grey tea, btw, is a black tea flavored with bergamot oils. Bergamot is a sour-bitter citrus fruit. Oversteeped or scalded, Earl Grey can taste super nasty and bitter-flat, but I like mine steeped for about 3-4 minutes for a milder taste.
Second pick, Gunpowder green tea, chilled. I like mine steeped for about 2-3 minutes in a medium boil, remove the leaves and place in the fridge until cold. Gunpowder tea has more caffeine than most green teas and is very refreshing when iced, in my opinion. Has more of a kick to it than plain ice water, especially after hard exercise. No idea if that's healthy or not, I just like the taste.
Third, Lemon black tea boba with tapioca pearls. Because I know what I fuckin like. Sassy dance
Honorable mentions include Russian Caravan (reminds me of my grandma), Market Spice Rooibos Blend (reminds me of my mom), Chai, Mint Tisane, and Black Tea iced with sugar and lemon.
Enjoy!!
*Edit: I was thinking "warm plant drink with 'oo' in name that steeps red" and wrote Rooibos instead of Oolong in the original. Oolong comes from tea plants, Rooibos does not
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cuubism · 7 months
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Computation
part 7 of Complex Mathematics
(aka Dream vs Technology -- Technology: 1, Dream: 0)
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Wednesday, 3:54am
Hob. what is the wifi password?
3:56am: why are you texting me when I’m in the same house?
3:57am: I did not want to wake you up.
4:00am: ……….
4:01am: Ah.
4:03am: it’s 12345. which is terrible security by the way
4:04am: how do i know this and you don’t? we’re in YOUR flat
4:05am: Computers are your friends, not mine.
4:10am: It does not like the password.
4:12am: alright i’m getting up
Dream creeps back into the living room, holding a cup of tea, as Hob’s tinkering with the router. Turns out it needed to be completely reset before he could reconnect it to Dream’s laptop. Not that this is that hard, but for some reason Hob doesn’t understand, technology is simply out of Dream’s grasp. Head in the clouds, too smart for basic computer skills, etc etc.
“A peace offering,” Dream says, placing the tea on the coffee table. He perches on the couch beside where Hob’s leaning over the router on its spot on the bookshelf.
“I’m not mad at you,” Hob says. He pats the router as its indicator lights finally turn green again. “I will take tea, though.”
“I woke you,” Dream says softly.
“You’ve woken me before, you will again,” Hob says with equanimity. Their sleep schedules are out of alignment, it tends to happen.
It’s the wrong thing to say, though. Dream cringes, hands folding in his lap. “I should be able to handle such things.”
“It’s just the wifi.” Hob finally finishes reconnecting Dream’s laptop and turns properly towards him. Dream still looks guilty about it. Sometimes Hob misses the time before they were dating, when Dream would bristle at him instead of caving. Just because he doesn’t like seeing Dream feel bad.
He takes the cup of tea and places it in Dream’s hands instead, briefly wrapping their hands around each other. “It’s okay,” he repeats. Possibly they should have a longer conversation about it, but Hob’s not emotionally awake enough for it.
Instead, he gets up and heads for the kitchen to put on some coffee. He needs something with more caffeine in it than tea.
“What are you doing?” Dream asks.
“Might as well get something done while my brain is online,” Hob says. He goes to fetch his own laptop from Dream’s bedroom. Lord knows it’ll need to get reconnected to the glitchy wifi again, anyway.
~~
Friday, 2:05pm
Hob.
2:06pm: ?
2:07pm: The wifi is angry again.
2:09pm: did you antagonize it?
2:09pm: hang on did you just wake up now?
2:10pm: I cannot comment.
2:12pm: I assume you have been hard at work in the library since six.
2:14pm: more like hardly working in the library. i did make an app that gives you a gold star every time you do the laundry
2:16pm: Will that assist in your routines?
2:17pm: probably not but it’ll be fun for 5 minutes
2:17pm: wifi password’s still 12345
2:18pm: maybe I should make an app for that instead…
2:20pm: I do not think it would help.
2:30pm: …You are not trying to make said app, are you?
2:34pm: nope just realized I’m late for a class and had to scramble out of there. I’ll be back later can do couples counseling for you and wifi then?
2:35pm: Very well.
For a while after putting down his phone, Dream stares at the wifi router in vexation, as if that will possibly make the angry red lights turn green again. He doesn’t know what he’s done wrong. He knows even less what to do to fix it.
He needs the wifi operational to keep generating these fractals. He supposes he could go to the library and use university wifi, but that requires going out in public, which is preferably avoided, at least while he’s trying to work. So he will have to do something else until Hob gets back from class.
He recalls what Hob had said. That instead of working on his dissertation he had made an entire phone app about laundry. He had said it so casually, like it was a doodle to pass the time. Dream can use apps—barely—but he cannot begin to fathom how he would go about making one. Hob does not understand how even in his procrastination he is exceptional.
Well. This is something that Dream can do. Hob hates doing laundry—hence the app-based reward system—but Dream doesn’t mind. He finds it meditative. He will have to be more precise about fabric care instructions now, as while his own clothes rarely range beyond grey, black, and dark blue, Hob actually wears colors which might bleed into each other.
He puts on his headphones with some music, gathers up the laundry from the bedroom, and goes about his routine.
When Hob gets back, Dream has finished hanging the laundry to dry and returned to his contemplation of the router, this time still with his headphones playing. He’s lost in thought, and doesn’t notice Hob’s come in until his hand lands on Dream’s shoulder. Normally a sudden touch when he’s thinking would make him jump, but he’s become used to Hob.
“Trying to solve your marital problems through telepathy?” Hob asks.
“We were never married,” Dream says. “Indeed we are enemies.”
Hob laughs. He kisses Dream on the cheek, then kneels in front of the router. “You have to stop tormenting my boyfriend,” he tells it. It only blinks back at him innocently.
Hob can be very silly at times. “I do not think arguing with the inanimate object will help,” Dream says.
“You never know.” Hob takes the router down and sets about unplugging all the cables. Dream still doesn’t know what any of them precisely do, nor how wifi works. It may as well be magic.  
Hob has it fixed within minutes, of course. Far more effective than Dream’s intense staring. He gets Dream’s laptop reconnected, and Dream is finally able to start generating his fractal. “Thank you,” he says.
“Anything for my love,” says Hob, getting to his feet again. “Guessing you want some time to yourself now to work on this?”
“Yes,” says Dream, with some guilt. Hob has come home to help him only for him to immediately bury himself in his work again. But yes, he does want to make progress on this at last.
“Well, good,” says Hob, and Dream turns to him in surprise. “Because I’m due for a nap.”
Dream still hasn’t formulated a response to this by the time Hob’s disappeared into his bedroom. Strange, that their routines can be so opposite and still meld together so well.
Hob pokes his head back out into the hall. “Did you do the laundry?”
“Yes,” says Dream.
“I could kiss you,” Hob declares, then blows one to him before disappearing back into the bedroom.
Dream presses his hand to his cheek, as if to touch a kiss that had really landed there. Smiles to himself. Then goes back to his fractal.
~~
Monday, 5:02pm
Hob.
5:03pm: Wifi?
5:04pm: …Yes.
Thursday, 9:50pm
…..Hob.
9:50pm: I’m sitting right next to you.
9:51pm: ….
9:51pm: I’m just gonna get you a new router. This thing’s got problems.
9:52pm: I think it is I who has the problems.
9:52pm: That too.
Saturday, 6:00pm
Hob.
6:00pm: Is it broken AGAIN??
6:01pm: No. I got dinner.
6:02pm: Oh!
6:02pm: Fuck I’m starving.
6:03pm: Coming back from class now.
6:03pm: Don’t touch the router it’s in a fragile mental state.
6:04pm: Aren’t we all.
~~
Thursday, 3:50pm
This time, it is the wifi in Hob’s flat that is stymieing Dream. He does not think it is broken. Hob has merely changed the password, as he’s much more diligent about internet security than Dream, and then forgotten to tell Dream what it is. Or, more likely, correctly assumed Dream would have to ask him again anyway.
He briefly contemplates trying to deduce the password, but it is likely an incomprehensible string of characters that Hob would claim is ideal security precisely because of the impossibility of deducing it.
He refuses to text Hob about it again. Hob has a class to teach soon—Dream has his schedule memorized—Dream does not want to distract him. Though speaking of…
3:50pm: You have a class in ten minutes.
3:51pm: FUCK
3:51pm: I got distracted
3:53pm: Now… running
3:54pm: You are not near the building, are you.
3:55pm: NOPE
Dream smiles to himself, thinking of Hob sprinting across campus. It happens often. Hob is good at many things, but time management is not one of them. This is why Dream knows his schedule.
He does feel… a bit silly, though. He should be better at this, should he not? Less bothersome to Hob over small things that he should be able to handle.
Normally he would go back to his work to distract himself from these thoughts, but he still can’t work on his fractals without being able to connect remotely to the university computers, which are more powerful than his own. This is something Hob had also set up for him, because Dream had not been able to make any sense of the instructions he had been given for remote login, and the like.
Sighing, he instead takes his sketchbook out of his bag. It’s been a while since he’s made any time for drawing. But he had started looking at fractals in the first place to better understand patterns in art, to understand resonances between what occurred in nature and what was projected by mathematics. And drawing used to soothe him.
So he starts drawing, sketching the fractal he has been generating—to the extant that he can with the imprecise instrument of his pen. Even in infinite impossible digital form, the branching spirals eventually become too small for him to see, though he knows they continue on in perfect replication forever, smaller and smaller until they disappear into atoms. He cannot recreate that level of detail by hand. But he tries.
By the time he gets another text back from Hob, an hour later, he’s moved to the floor to have more space. He’s found a bigger piece of scrap paper and is drawing the fractal again, in more detail this time, color-coding the different shapes, free-handing where he should probably use a ruler for more precision. He has achieved several more levels of replication than before, but it is still not right. He can’t get it right. If he could only use the stupid computer system he could get it right.
Finally he looks at his phone, several minutes after the text alert pinged.
Thanks love 😘
Unexpectedly, it makes him tear up. Always this happens to him. He does not realize how frustrated he has become with himself until it is too late.
Of course, to only make matters worse, he is still sitting hunched on the floor, pen clasped tight in his hand, teeth clenched so hard it’s hurting his jaw, when Hob comes through the door. He must have texted not far from home.
“Hey, love,” Hob’s already saying as he comes through the door, “meant to stop and grab dinner but I totally forgot— I’m sure I have something here, though— Dream?”
Dream hasn’t moved from the floor, or responded. Hob puts down his bag and comes over to him. He looks down at the fractal, which is still incomplete. “Did you draw that?”
“Obviously,” Dream bites. The pen is still in his hand. He drops it, scraping a hand through his hair. Great. Now he’s snapping at Hob, too.
Hob sits down on the floor beside him. He studies the fractal. Then points to one of the shapes that Dream’s colored in red. “That’s supposed to be purple.”
Dream stares at the fractal. Hob is right, it is meant to be purple. According to the way Dream had color-coded it digitally. He looks at Hob. “How do you know that?”
“I’ve watched you fiddling with it enough. We set it up on your laptop, remember?”
Yes. Dream remembers. He remembers how Hob had helped him.
“Wifi giving you troubles again?” Hob asks, looking from the drawing, to Dream’s laptop, which is sleeping on the couch.
Dream nods, then saws quietly, “Are you not… frustrated with me? Annoyed?”
Hob doesn’t need to ask what he means. “Sometimes,” he says, and Dream can’t help his flinch. “So?”
“So?”
Hob shrugs. “I would have missed that class if you didn’t text me.”
Dream does not understand the relevance.
Hob looks up at him, raising an eyebrow in challenge. “Aren’t you annoyed with me?”
Perhaps he is, at times. Recently, Dream has been too absorbed in his project to feel much about it at all.
“I don’t know,” he says. “It is just how you are.”
Hob seems to think that Dream still doesn’t understand the point he’s making, and perhaps Dream doesn’t. Hob takes his hand. “Look. I’ve no idea why someone as smart as you are is constantly defeated by basic technology, but it doesn’t matter. Always having to be the one to fix the router is a small price to pay for having you in my life.”
Dream’s mouth opens, but no words come out. He… he does not know if anyone has ever put up with him with so little complaint. For truly, it is not only computer troubles. It is all the small things that stack upon each other to make him feel different and difficult.
“I find I do not like…” Dream admits tentatively, “when you must do these things. That I should be able to do.”
“You did the laundry the other day,” Hob says.
Why must he jump topics in this manner? “I do not understand.”
“Well, we don’t actually live together, you know. You have your own laundry. You don’t have to do mine, too.”
“I thought it would help you,” Dream says.
Hob just waits expectantly.
Dream looks down at his lap. “Ah. I… see.” Hob finds him frustrating at times, he had said so, but still wants to help him. He finds Hob’s admittance that Dream is frustrating to be a relief, in its way. He would only feel more on edge if Hob pretended otherwise, surely to snap later when Dream was least expecting it, as so many have done.
“Give me your arm,” Hob says then.
When Dream does, Hob pushes up his sleeve, takes one of the markers from the floor and writes on Dream’s forearm, the wifi password is I love you.
“There,” he says. “Now you won’t forget.”
Dream touches the words with a light fingertip. “This is not good internet security.”
“Oh, so you do listen my ramblings,” Hob says, laughing. Always, Dream thinks. “What, you’re going to throw out my valentine because I cut the heart out a little wonky?”
He makes as if to rub the marker off, and Dream pulls his arm protectively to his chest. Hob’s smile softens. He carefully pulls Dream forward into a hug, Dream’s arm pressed between them. Dream tucks his face into the crook of Hob’s neck. It’s one of his favorite places to hide.
“I’ll help you fix your program after we find some dinner,” Hob tells him, rubbing his back.
“I think I should give up on using computers,” Dream mumbles.
Hob chuckles. “See how you feel about it after I make you some brownies for dessert.”
Dream hums in pleasure at the thought, and Hob kisses the side of his head. And Dream touches, again, the words Hob’s written on his arm, where it’s pressed between them. And allows himself to smile.
Wednesday, 6:03pm
Dream is attempting to cook dinner. Hob doesn’t think it’s going so well. At least not if the blaring fire alarm, which Hob’s just silenced by waving a dish towel at it until the smoke dissipated, is any indication. But it does mean he’s been treated to the sight of Dream with his sleeves rolled up, delicate hands at work—and wearing an actual apron.
Having soothed the alarm, he leans against the counter so he can shamelessly ogle instead of helping.
“What are you even trying to make?” he asks, eyeing the still-smoking oven.
Dream pouts. “Only bread. It should not be so hard.”
“You didn’t wait for me to get home to watch?” He imagines the sight of Dream aggressively kneading the bread dough. It shouldn’t be a turn on, but it kind of is.
“You would make a spectacle of my misery?” Dream says, but there’s a smile tugging at the corner of his lips, like he knows exactly what Hob is thinking about.
“Definitely,” Hob says, and Dream sighs, but turns to take the attempt at bread out of the oven. It’s… pretty blackened, to be honest. “Butter’ll save it, I’m sure!” Hob says cheerfully.
“Nothing will save it,” says Dream, morosely. He pulls off his oven mitt in apparent disgrace, and— Hob catches his arm.
“How has this not faded yet?”
For Hob’s writing saying the wifi password is I love you is still on his forearm.
Dream looks sheepish. “I got it tattooed.”
Hob tilts his head at him, confused. “So you could remember the wifi password?”
“So that I could remember this.” He traces his finger over, I love you.
Hob feels a blush creep across his cheeks. But it’s a pleasant feeling. “This is not even my best handwriting.”
“I know,” says Dream. He does not seem unhappy about it.
Hob takes his arm, touches the words, too. “You could have just gotten this part done.”
“I think,” Dream says slowly, touching the part that says, the wifi password is, “that this is another form of the same.”
And Hob… finds himself tearing up a little. Because it’s true. It’s so silly that Dream, certifiable maths genius, struggles so much with basic computer skills. But Hob will do any silly thing for him, because he loves him.
“Yeah,” he says, taking a shaky breath. “It is.”
“Unfortunately, you can never change the wifi password now,” says Dream, and Hob laughs wetly.
“I really can’t, can I? Terrible security. The things I’ll do for you, darling.”
“Would that include making proper bread?” Dream asks, and Hob nods, patting his arm.
“We’ll fix it, don’t worry.”
Now he’s wondering how he didn’t notice Dream getting a tattoo. Though to be fair, they haven’t seen each other as much in the past two weeks as they usually would, thanks to very inconvenient scheduling. Apparently Dream’s taken advantage of that time to do this.
“Can’t let you out of my sight for a second,” he says, as he fetches a new bread pan from the cupboard. “God knows what you’ll come back with next.”
“Be careful or I will consider that a challenge,” Dream says, and Hob pauses as way too many images flash through his mind. He shakes them off. He’ll never be able to focus on anything like that.
And Dream, the bastard, is smirking.
“Watch that look on your face or you might find that flour you’re holding dumped over your head,” Hob warns, but Dream only looks victorious, and utterly uncaring of the bag of flour he's precariously picked up.
“How will you ogle me kneading the dough that way?”
Hob swipes a dish towel from the counter and throws it at him. Dream yelps and spills the flour, which poofs up in a cloud of white landing all over his black t-shirt.
“Hob,” he complains.
“Serves you right, you dickhead,” Hob says. It only returns the smirk to Dream’s face.
“If you feel that way perhaps I’ll decide I don’t need your supervision,” he says archly.
Hob tears a piece off of Dream’s first attempt at a loaf. Or rather, breaks off a piece, which is hard as stone. He shows it to him as evidence.
Dream snatches it and shoves it into his mouth. Bites down with a crunch so horrifying Hob’s afraid he’s broken a tooth. But Dream persists, chewing it painstakingly and then swallowing, as if by force.
“Taste good?” Hob asks.
“Yes—” Dream starts to insist—then dissolves into a fit of coughing that swiftly turns into giggles. Hob loves it so much when he laughs like that. It’s so rare.
Hob laughs with him. Then frees the crumpled bag of flour from Dream’s grasp and sets it aside, brushes the flour and crumbs from his shirt. Then he takes Dream’s arm and runs his fingertip over the words again, still in awe.
He again finds himself having to clear his throat to avoid tearing up. But he manages, and says, “Let’s get you some proper, not burnt bread, yeah?”
“Please,” says Dream, a tad sheepish. “I am… very hungry.”
Hob kisses his cheek, then goes about solving that problem, too.
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gremlinmodetweeker · 9 days
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TF 141 and their Morning Drink Preferences
TF 141 Dump
TF 141 Headcanons
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Ghost:
Obvious tea drinker
Or is it that obvious?
Painfully British of the whole lot of them
Will only drink black teas, absolutely despises herbal, green or rooibos teas
Of the black teas avoids anything floral because he thinks it’s a bit too frilly for his palette
Never adds sugar to teas, says it ruins the flavor
Will add milk to help cool a tea, but only just slightly
Claims drinking a freshly made cup of tea on a hot summer day helps cool him down
How this works is beyond me, but he claims it anyways
Thinks adding cream is a vile concept and anyone who does so should be interrogated by the CIA
Soap
He’ll drink a cup of tea with Ghost, but he’s really more of a coffee person
Prefers medium roast with a heavy serving of cream
He can’t stand adding milk, but will use it if there’s nothing else
Adds sugar when he gets a chance
Despises sweeteners and will make little digs at anyone who does use sweetener, usually citing health reasons
Don’t try arguing that adding two spoons of sugar is just as bad, he won’t hear it
As for tea he prefers rooibos, which drives Ghost up the wall
Is down for anything, really
Gaz
Doesn’t like hot beverages
Prefers either a cool glass of water or juice
Does not understand caffeine addiction whatsoever
Claims the drinks are healthier and more refreshing
People just think he’s incredibly dehydrated in the morning
Will take orange juice from concentrate without batting an eye, but really enjoys more exotic juices if he can get his hands on them
When stationed in foreign countries he’ll try juices made from native fruits
Really likes cactus and mango juice, but is not opposed to papaya
Dislikes southern lemonade with a passion, claims it’s far too sweet
Is surprisingly peppy in the morning despite only drinking juice
Roach
Whatever’s there will work
However, he tends to prefer teas
He’s especially fond of green teas
He goes on about how healthy they are for the mind and body
Also will go on about how easy they are to transport and keeps a small sachet of matcha powder (the cheap stuff) on him to prove his point
He thinks Ghost is a snob and should just get over himself
Has tried to sway the others, but they all tell him matcha tastes like grass
He thinks they’re all idiots
Price
Coffee only
Does not fuss over his coffee whatsoever
Whatever’s in the canteen will do
His one gripe is adding cream or sugar
He will only take his coffee black
Some have tried to win him over with coffees made with cream/milk/sugar, and he’ll be polite enough to drink them and thank them, but he really doesn’t like it too much
He will tell them to not fuss too much if they get him another coffee so they don’t do it again
Cannot stand people whining about how they take their coffee and how the military doesn’t give out the good stuff
He just considers them weak whiners
This includes Ghost when he complains about not having enough black tea in the canteen
Price glad to say it to his face
He could not care less about age or temperature
He’ll pull a day-old cup straight out of the fridge and down it like there’s no tomorrow
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Art from This Post
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jolenes-doppelganger · 4 months
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Gentle Hands (Part Three)
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Stalker Ilsa Faust x Fem! Reader
NSFW 18+- MINORS WHO INTERACT CAN AND WILL BE BLOCKED.
Summary: Fights, make-ups, another fight, a badly arranged foreplay and cameras. What does good for Ilsa really look like? And what cost does it come at?
Warnings: Allusions to a physical fight between R and Ilsa, angst, losing Mario Kart because of Toad, brief panty sniffing (Ilsa you creep), bad foreplay that results in hurt feelings (brief), consensual SMUT (oral Ilsa recieving, masturbation via partner (Ilsa touches R), sweet talking, breast fondling, Ilsa being a creep with cameras).
A/N: Took a break mid-smut sequence to complete tasks for the big green bird. He is sated (for now).
Word Count: 5.4k (Eat up gremmies)
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It had been a week since Ilsa had abducted you. Ilsa, not Lisa. She insisted that you call her by her ‘correct’ name now that it was just the two of you. Ilsa was horrendously efficient at erasing your past life. She sent in your urgent notice of resignation the morning after she’d taken you into her apartment. She’d also installed brand new locks inside your home, all electronic, finger-print coded locks. They were high-tech, you couldn’t fake it with a thumb print on a piece of tape. She allowed you to move between her house and your home, mostly to move your things into her town home. You were never allowed outside without her knowledge. You also couldn’t open any windows without an alarm going off. Every single exit in the home was barred, and every single moment of your life was spent with Ilsa.
“Darling, can you make us a cup of tea?” Ilsa asked, brow furrowed as she cracked into another bank account. 
Ilsa’s new hobby was re-establishing her wire transfer network. By this point you knew she was a former intelligence operative, or more likely a seasoned criminal. She had connections and skills that didn’t make sense otherwise. Your new hobby was Mario Kart and baking. You cooked incessantly, as it was the only thing that felt ‘normal’. That and making lattes. You could really only make two for yourself in a day. Ilsa wasn’t fond of you increasing your caffeine intake more than what she deemed ‘healthy’. She was so fond of ‘healthy’ endeavours. So you worked out with her in the mornings. She was teaching you how to box. It was therapeutic, getting to take out all of your frustrations on the person who was the root of them. Mostly. Ilsa had a nasty habit of getting too into it and treating you too roughly.
“Darling?”
“Sorry, yeah. I’m on it.”
You moved into the kitchen, turning the kettle on and preparing the two mugs. Ilsa liked her coffee bland. Cream. Zero sugar. In Ilsa’s mind, sugar was the devil. Mostly because she made up for it in alcohol. With the cup of black tea with just a splash of cream, Ilsa was back at work. You left her side, hoping to skip out on the mandatory ‘morning couple time’.
‘Ah, ah. Not so fast. You come back here.” Ilsa chuckled.
You sat back down next to her.
“Why so frigid, hmm? Come, sit in my lap for a bit.” Ilsa gave a sly smirk.
You remained put, and Ilsa sighed, giving a playful pout.
“You’re no fun.”
Crossing your arms and ignoring her comments felt like second-nature at this point. You were upset with her, as was reasonably so. She’d abducted you and disconnected you from the outside world. It was infuriating, watching her snip off the connections you had to society, to your family bit by carefully timed bit. But last night was the worst. Your Mom had called. You’d tried to send her some sort of message that things weren’t fine, that you were being held against your will, but Ilsa wouldn’t have it. 
‘Are you still upset about Bella?”
At the sound of her name, the cat let out a soft ‘meh’ sound, stretching out her fur-encased arms.
“Why wouldn’t I be? Holding a knife to my cat’s throat? What the fuck is wrong with you?”
Isa sighed softly, giving you a soft glance that said, ‘I know, I know’. Her eyebrow and lip were still taped up.
“I paid for it, I knew that it wasn’t fair to you, and I paid for it.”
Moreso, she’d let you hit her. You’d lost count of how many punches you’d given before she finally restrained you. There was a bruise on one of your knuckles. You didn’t feel vindicated, the contrary. Hitting her felt weak. She was stronger than you, quicker, skilled in a thousand ways that you weren’t, and she’d taken the punches until she deemed that it was enough.
“I’m angry.” you huffed. “Why couldn’t you have used a different method.”
“Like what? Holding a knife to your throat? We both know I’d never mean it. I couldn’t intentionally harm you, but if it came down to it, I’d do a lot of awful things to keep you around.”
“I thought you liked Bella!”
“I do, princess, I do. It’s just that I needed you to not raise suspicion.” Ilsa sighed.
“Yeah, not tell the fucking truth about what’s going on.” you spat back.
“I know you don’t like this life, but I have given so much to ensure it’s better than your old-”
“Better how? It was my life before! Mine! It wasn’t perfect, but at least I was working towards a better future with honest work!”
Ilsa laughed.
“Oh, and what I do isn’t honest?”
“I don’t steal.”
“No, you were stolen from. You were spending hours working one of the most difficult, draining jobs for sub-par pay and zero safety net aside from the government’s shitty one.” Ilsa scoffed. “I steal, sure. But it’s from people who steal from people like you. And I steal a small amount from a lot of wicked, evil people. And I’m using it to protect something good.”
“Exhausting, isn’t it.”
“Oh come off it.” Ilsa groaned.
“Your personal fable is maintained at the cost of morality-”
“Do you really think I have what society considers to be ‘morals’?” Ilsa cut you off.
“No.”
“Then stop wasting your time. You’re upset, you’re angry, and I’m not doing anything to make it better. You’re not getting your old life back, accept it and move on.”
Ilsa reached for her desk, grabbing a cherry vape and inhaling slowly. She pushed out a series of rings, momentarily focusing on vape tricks.
“I’m not in the mood for couple time.” 
You made it about three paces out of the office before Ilsa’s arms were around your waist and restraining you. She pulled you back into her office, attaching a handcuff from her chair to your wrist.
“This is supposed to make me hate you any less?”
“Forced proximity does wonders for the mind.” Ilsa mused, taking another hit off of her vape.
“So Stockholm syndrome?”
Ilsa chuckled, reaching over to ruffle your hair.
“The academic.”
You rolled your eyes. 
“And look where it got me? Working at a damn coffee shop.”
Ilsa hummed, amused by the interaction.
“You know what you need?”
“My freedom.” you cracked back.
“Day drinking.” Ilsa rolled her eyes. “This little mood swing would just fade away with some alcohol.”
“I’m not getting drunk so you can fuck me.”
The former agent groaned, turning off her computer. She wouldn’t deny it. She did want that, but not while you were intoxicated. She had some morals.
“I can’t work in such a hostile work environment.” 
“Wasn’t your entire thing working in hostile environments?” you smirked, poking at her ex-operative past.
“And I’d never go back.” Ilsa sighed. 
She was nice enough to unfasten your cuff, giving you free reign, or so you thought.
“No, no, no.” Ilsa chided, pulling you back into her body. “You and I are going to do something fun.”
You were out of one-liners at this point. In all honesty, it was exhausting being angry with her. That’s all you were, angry with her. She led you through the kitchen, and then she opened the door to the garden. It was a decent day, but chilly. Ilsa shoved a sweatshirt over your head, which you begrudgingly put on all the way. The fresh air felt good.
“Bella, goddammit!” Ilsa swore, the fat tuxedo evading the dirty blonde before she could catch her once more.
“Just let her outside. She deserves it as much as I do.”
Ilsa sighed, shaking her head. 
“Only because you’re upset with me.”
“Kills you, doesn’t it?” you snarked back on instinct.
But the barbed jab you expected in return never came. There was just silence, which Ilsa broke by clearing her throat. You’d inadvertently hit the nail on the head. She was upset, and she was anxious. You’d forgotten how much she did care. Ilsa didn’t just abduct someone because she could. She wasn’t a ‘because I can’ person. And the arguments you’d been having all morning, all week really, they were upsetting.
“I’m not going to feel bad just because you’re playing the victim card.”
“Stop. Just fucking stop.” Ilsa’s voice broke. “Get your ass back inside.”
“Ilsa, I’m-”
“No, nope. Inside.”
You walked inside the house, shutting the door behind you. You never did get a good glance at Ilsa’s face, but you didn’t need to. Through the screen door, you saw her slump to her knees on the back door steps, and her shoulders heaved. And there was that guilt again. Bella had slunk inside with you again, pawing at the door in confusion.
“I can’t let you out.” you whispered.
“Meh.” she protested.
“It was your own fault, you should’ve stayed outside.”
The walk upstairs to yours and Ilsa’s room felt a lot harder than was reasonable. You knew that it wasn’t all that rational to feel guilty about tormenting someone who was equally, if not exceeding you in torment. But you could empathise with her pain. She was doing a lot for you. And even though you couldn’t go outside without her, even leave the garden, she was doing a lot for you. The food in the fridge, you didn’t pay for. The furniture and games you wound down with hadn’t been out of your pocket, and the skills she was teaching you, the boxing, the german, the little tricks for hacking, those were all things she’d given you for nothing much, other than a few small requests.
Out of the second story hallway window, you could see Ilsa leaving the garden, slipping into her Benz. She’d be gone for hours, probably. And your time felt… Hollow. Mario Kart was repetitive and infuriating. Language learning with help from the green bird didn’t amount to shit, even with Ilsa’s super membership. Nothing you did was fulfilling. So you did as your cat did, slumping into the bed and taking a nap. But still, that didn’t feel right. With great mortification and a small degree of realised irony, you picked up Ilsa’s pillow and buried your face into it. Then, and only then, did you sleep.
<->
Ilsa didn’t do anything but drive. She ended up in a farmer’s field, sitting behind a hedge and just fucking fuming. She was mad. Mad at herself, mad at you, mad at her life. In another life she could have pursued you normally. In another life where she could walk into a supermarket at rush hour without fear of an anxiety episode, she could have struck up a conversation with you there. But she wasn’t normal. And so she’d resort to abnormal methods to get you, because something with you was better than nothing. 
“Bella, you silly girl.” Ilsa sighed as she walked into the house, blocking the fat tuxedo from getting out.
It was quiet, too quiet for Ilsa’s tastes. She rushed through the house, looking for you in every room until she eventually burst into the bedroom. You were curled up, sleeping. Ilsa slumped against the doorframe, letting out an audible sigh of relief. And… Was that her pillow? Jesus Christ, you were precious. Ilsa took off her shoes and her overcoat. She was wet from the rain, so everything came off, aside from underwear and a sports bra. Slipping into bed with you felt so right. Ilsa needed that physical contact with you, and she’d sneak it where she could. The pillow was replaced by her arms, a delicate act of shifting. You smelled so good to Ilsa. 
“Oh… Princess.” Ilsa whispered, almost ready to cry again.
This week had been the most infuriating week of her life. You almost never touched Ilsa, unless it was in a boxing set-up. Training you had been a lovely way to break tension. She could guide your posture, adjusting your body with her hands. Showers were the best thing for Ilsa. She’d let you finish up a few exercises while she showered, using the head to relieve the ceaseless aching that came when she was too close to you for too long. And the emotional whiplash. Ilsa was fatigued of the constant bickering, arguing and overall tension between the two of you; not the sexy kind. Drugging you again was a thought that flicked through her head daily. Just long enough to cuddle you, to breathe in the smell of your skin without the threat of you waking up.
“Mmph.” she heard you softly complain.
You shifted your body, wiggling deeper into her arms. With every exhale, your breath would ghost over her neck and it was driving her insane.
“Princess, don’t tease, I know-”
“Shut up.” you mumbled, clumsily pawing at her face to get her to stop talking.
Ilsa let out a startled laugh. She’d forgotten you were a light sleeper.
“Shh… Let me sleep.” you continued to complain.
Ilsa rolled her eyes, holding you closer, half-listening to your complaints. 
“Let me hold you.”
And this time you didn’t push her off. She was warm, body temperature raised from her run, or wherever she’d been. She smelled like hay, for whatever reason. Bella, sensing the cuddle puddle, hopped up on the bed, sniffing around the two of you, turning about four or five times before she slumped into the bed, yawning. 
“Are you still upset with me?” Ilsa eventually asked.
“A little.” you admitted. “It would be hard not to be. I don’t like feeling guilty for making you upset.”
“Because you want to hurt me for what I’m doing to you?”
You let a frustrated sigh. When she put it like that, it made you sound like an asshole. It was complicated.
“I don’t like that I can feel myself starting to like you. Because you’re not mean, you don’t hurt me, and you take so much of my shit. I’d be lucky to find someone like you, but you’ve taken my entire life.”
Ilsa hummed, shifting you in her arms. She took another deep breath, and you felt her thigh graze your pant leg.
“Are you just in a bra and panties? Seriously?”
And just like that, whatever understanding you were going to reach disappeared. She was a constant voyeur. When you baked, when you read, and you suspected when you were changing. You’d never seen one of the cameras, but you were sure they were there somewhere. Hence you hadn’t been masturbating at all. It was infuriating, the lead up to your period didn’t make it too difficult, but still. A week with nothing? 
“Hey, hey, hey.” Ilsa sat up, trying to pull you back. “Stay on the bed, I’ll go change. My clothes were wet, Jesus Christ.”
Ilsa grabbed a change of clothes, shutting the bathroom door behind her. She stripped completely, mumbling something under her breath about ‘not catching a damn break’. That’s when she saw them. You never left your clothes out anymore, shoving them in the hamper. You were religious about home cleanliness with nothing else to do, so most laundry was collected and washed. You’d left your panties out after your morning shower, probably because you still had Bella on your mind.
“I think I’m just going to take a shower, my hair’s all wet.” Ilsa called from inside the bathroom. 
“Yeah, whatever.” you called back.
Ilsa turned on the shower, stepping in the water for a moment, then stepping right back out. She needed her body wet to maintain the lie, long enough for her to enjoy the remnants left in your panties.
“Oh my.” Ilsa whispered to herself.
Her body heated up almost immediately, nasty thought after more damnable nasty thought flicking through her head. She wanted to pin you to the bed so badly. What would you smell like at the source? And the taste? How rich it would be, how debaucherous and unsoiled. Not these cloth remnants. She dropped the cloth garment to the floor, staggering back into the shower. She needed to focus, to breathe, to run her fingers over the dripping wet seam between her labia. It wasn’t enough. When had this stopped being enough?
<->
You hadn’t seen Ilsa since she’d gotten in the shower. You were fully awake by the time she had left the bed, and there was no sense hanging around. Not for her, anyways. By this point in the mid-afternoon, day drinking seemed excusable. So you slipped into the basement and found one of Ilsa’s wine bottles. You weren’t a wine drinker. Especially dark wines. But alcohol was alcohol. A glass of wine and Mario Kart on a weekday afternoon? The lap of luxury, truly.
“Hey.” you heard a breathy sigh near your ear.
“Hi Ilsa. I’m busy.”
The woman sat next to you. She smelled nice. Vanilla cashmere lotion. How long had she been grooming for? Not that you cared.
“Can you be a little less busy for me?” Ilsa asked.
You turned, looking at her full on as you paused the game. You opened your mouth to snark at her, but she looked… Good. Her hair was a little damp and she’d taken pains to get herself clean.
“Umm, what is this about?” you gestured to her sweats that were just a little too tight.
Ilsa took a deep breath in. 
“I want to spend some time with you. Do you mind if I pour myself a glass of wine?”
“It’s your house and your wine, don’t ask me for permission.” you shrugged.
Ilsa chuckled, a breathy sound. What was up with her. You didn’t care, you just unpaused the game, returning to the high stakes race that was ‘Rainbow Road’. Ilsa busied herself, pouring herself a glass of wine. She settled beside you, eyeing the glass of wine you’d barely touched.
“I keep thinking…” Ilsa whispered in your ear. “About that night you came over with my friends…”
She was distracting, and you had to fight to stay on course.
“Ilsa, please, I’m trying to get a trophy right now.”
Ilsa had other plans. Better plans. Plans that involved you paying attention to her. So she scooted closer, using the distraction of your hands on the switch controller to place her hands on your waist.
“Just wait, I’m almost fini-”
The former spy leaned in, her mouth meeting your neck. Wet, sinful kisses placed one after the other on your rapidly accelerating pulse, tongue slipping out just past her lips, tracing lines and patterns over the sensitive skin.
“I can’t get your taste out of my mouth, I can’t unhear your little moans.” Ilsa whispered, a distinct reediness to her voice, like she was speaking with a sore throat.
“I have one more lap, please, Ilsa.” you groaned, searching for anything to get away from the woman, even briefly.
But was it her you were trying to get away from, or yourself? You couldn’t deny how hot it had been to makeout with her, how sexy and commanding she had been. And her hands were slipping lower, squeezing and releasing your hips in time with those kisses trailing up your neck, to your jaw, to your ear.
“You said you didn’t do hookups, but I think we can both agree that it wouldn’t be a one time thing.”
There was a lump in your throat. You had to cough to dislodge it. You were in first, you could let down your guard for a-
“Fucking toad!” you growled, all of your senses back in gear to win rainbow road.
“Toad can wait.” Ilsa growled.
She swung her leg over your lap, settling her pelvis in the space created by your crossed legs. This time her mouth was hungry, nipping, sucking licking. Over your neck, your jaw, biting and sucking your earlobe into your mouth. The grip on the controller grew lax, and you shut your eyes, not even caring that it caused your car to slip off the race track right before the finish line.
“I’m listening, I’m listening, Jesus.” you swore. 
Ilsa looked into your eyes, nibbling on her lip with mixed desire and anxiety.
“One night.” Ilsa begged. “Just one.”
You opened your mouth to say no. But that look in her eyes… One night couldn’t hurt. She was a good kisser, she’d treat you right… And then you could go back to hating her in the morning. But a little steam. Just letting loose a little.
“... Okay. Just one night.”
Ilsa didn’t delay. She didn’t wait. Her mouth was on yours, and she let out a sound in between a hum and a huff, like she was relieved and yet still frustrated that it had taken this long. Placing your arms around her waist felt right. She had a firm, muscular backside, but in the jumper she was wearing, she had a softer feeling. And though her mouth was demanding and needy at first, Ilsa slowed down, pressing her lips against yours slowly, tongue lightly gracing your bottom lip with every soft smooch. You opened your mouth just a little, gracing your tongue with the feeling of her bottom lip, her tongue. Ilsa held your head steady, leaning in and drawing your tongue out, just long enough to divert it so she could slip her tongue in. She tasted like red wine, and… She’d been chewing that cherry tobacco again. She tasted like sin. One of your hands slipped beneath her jumper, tracing those abs that were always peeking out below her sports bra. She had a soft layer of tissue above the muscles, like a padded layer making her harder points comfortable.
“Princess, take off that t-shirt for me.” Ilsa whispered.
You chuckled.
“I will, but you’ve got to tell me why I’m ‘princess’ in the first place.”
Ilsa smiled, kissing your jaw softly.
“Innocent, gentle, and those hands.” Ilsa smirked, cupping one of your hands against her bare waist. “Princess hands, so dainty and gentle.”
You blushed, and you didn’t resist as she brought one of your hands to her mouth, gently kissing your palm, your knuckles, and then eventually, enveloping your fingers in her mouth entirely.
“Mmm…” Ilsa hummed, a wrinkle relaxing around her eyes. “Finally.” she whispered, kissing your hands again, one after the other.
There was a gentle beat, and then she reached for your t-shirt, pulling it off as you raised your arms. Ilsa spent a good minute just looking at your bare chest. She reached out, aiming to touch one of your breasts, but she paused.
“May I?”
There was irony here in her asking consent, but you weren’t focused on that. You were focused on those soft eyes and how they twinkled with excitement.
“You may.” 
She reached out with both hands, cupping your breasts, humming softly. She didn’t stay in one place for long, massaging your sides and gently kissing your collarbone. It was easy to relax, even as she lowered you to lay sideways on the couch, it was easy to relax. You helped her take off your pants and your panties, and Ilsa was quick to pull off her sweats, leaving her in nothing but a sheer, see through bra and panty set.
“I didn’t know we were dressing up.” you flushed, trying to hide your arousal.
“It doesn’t matter. I’d have ripped off whatever you were wearing anyway.” Ilsa husked, settling atop your hips, crossing her arms.
“... Do you know that Ankah meme?”
Ilsa rolled her eyes, not giving two shits about you and your little memes. Her lips attacked your neck again, urging you to just get lost in the moment. Her hair was soft under your fingertips, and her back… You wanted to take a moment to just admire every curve of her spine, of her trapezius, her deltoids, her latissimus dorsi. She made you smarter, you realised. It was her training, her attention. She’d taught you the names of these muscles, and she’d teach you more, you realised.
“I can’t be slow, honey, I’m so sorry.” Ilsa whispered.
You met her eyes. She looked so… 
“What do you need?”
Ilsa tugged off her panties, then the bra. You watched in shock as a literal string of arousal extended from her entrance to the cloth of the panties, before eventually snapping back.
“Oh.. My go-”
Ilsa wasn’t in the mood for talking, rather only in the mood for one thing. She shoved the soiled panties into your agape mouth, nearly causing you to gag.
“No talking, none.” Ilsa huffed.
She slipped one leg over your hip, the other leg slipping beneath one of yours on the opposite side. Ilsa was going to press your bodies together, but the shocked look on your face gave her pause.
“Sorry, I’m not thinking.” Ilsa sighed, pulling her panties out of your mouth. “Do I have your consent?”
“Can we maybe slow down?”
Ilsa let out an angry noise. You weren’t expecting her to just… Get up and leave.
“Woah, woah, this isn’t effective communication, you’re not telling me what you need!” you ran after her, noting how her ass would jiggle a bit with every step.
“I’m too frustrated, and it’ll be better for me if I just do it myself.” Ilsa spat.
Now you were confused. She’d begged you to have sex with her, and now she didn’t want it.
“Hey, hey, let’s talk about this.” you tried, snagging her elbow.
Ilsa had tears in her eyes. Now you felt like an ass, and it must have showed on your face, because Ilsa blubbered out reassurances immediately after.
“I just… I am so frustrated, it hurts.” Ilsa stammered.
It was those eyes. It had to be those eyes, because you wouldn’t have done what you did next without some explanation. Taking her hips, you pushed her against the hallway wall, falling to your knees in front of her, hooking one of her thighs over your shoulders.
“Just let me take care of you, hmm?”
Ilsa groaned, tangling her hands in your hair, tugging at the roots. The tension in her body evaporated as your arms glided up her thighs to rest on her hips. Your eyes looking up at her, so glassy and reassuring. Your mouth open, wet, hot, air ghosting over the mess that was her core. And then those lips, closing over her entrance, tongue parting her labia, drawing steady strokes up and down, igniting pleasurable sensations that slithered up and down her spine. Ilsa relaxed, letting out a long, satisfied moan. All these months of stalking, of monitoring, of tirelessly working to get you here… And now you were on your knees, gently servicing her with those wet, warm lips. She nearly cried when you wrapped your lips around her clit, licking and sucking, drawing steady circles over the buzzing nerve. 
But for you… This was a different experience. You were nervous, anxious to please, anxious to bring her relief, and almost too focused on the process… That was until her fingers drew up and down your scalp in little scratching motions. You moaned into her, to which she gasped, and whimpered. It was the sexiest thing you’d ever heard. You trailed your hands down, parting her outer labia and pulling the clitoral hood up, only to let out a deep moan around the nerve. 
“Fuck!” Ilsa cried out, her hips bucking. “Oh my god, pleaseeee.”
You hummed again, licking and sucking at her clit with full abandon. Her hips canted in circles, grinding herself into your mouth, against your chin. You felt a mix of saliva and her own arousal slipping down your chin, to your neck.
“Just like that, oh goddd.” Ilsa whined again, struggling to stand. 
She grabbed the hallway cabinet to her left for leverage, her muscular thighs rippling as she focused on the sensations of your blessed mouth tracing patterns over her hyper-sensitive clit. You pressed your face deeper into her, spelling out sentences with your tongue, letter by letter, suckling in between the messages. ‘Lover’, ‘Sexy’, ‘Needy baby’. Whatever you could think of, whatever her whines and moans stirred in you, that was what you wrote.
“Oh.. Oh.. Oh, oh oh!” Ilsa panted, the motions of her hips growing desperate.
You knew better than to stop, so you doubled down, drawing your tongue in steady circles, even as your jaws ached, as your head buzzed, as your neck screamed. Both of her hands flew to your head, shoving you into her. You moaned as she tugged on your scalp again, and that is what sent her over the edge. Ilsa’s back bowed, her thighs tensed, and she threw her head back in a silent scream, followed by intermittent pants. She held on for as long as she could, but her legs were too wobbly to safely remain standing.
“Coming down.” Ilsa warned, sliding down the wall and into your arms.
She was panting and flushed, you were panting and massaging your jaw which ached like a bitch. Ilsa took several moments to just commit the image to memory. 
“Turn around.” Ilsa rasped.
You sat down on your back, giving your sore knees a break. You’d have tender bruises there soon, visible or otherwise. Awkwardly shuffling around, you managed to slump into her back, to which Ilsa let out a sound that almost sounded like a purr.
“Hike your legs over mine.” Ilsa cooed.
You flushed, placing your knees on either side of her bent ones. Her lips returned to your neck, her hands sliding up and down your front. One of her hands found a breast, gently toying with one of your nipples again. 
“Ilsa…”
“Shhh, princess. Let me make you feel good too. You deserve it after loving me so spectacularly.” Ilsa murmured, pressing slow kisses to your jaw.
Her other hand travelled lower, parting your glistening labia. Two fingers held your labia taught, the middle finger drawing slow circles over your clit, a gentle stimulation. 
“... Oh.. Ohhh.” you hummed.
It felt better than when you touched yourself. She wasn’t doing anything unusual or otherwise groundbreaking, but it felt so good when it was her hand. Ilsa smiled against your neck, gently kissing over your neck. Her lips attached themselves right above that flickering pulse of your artery, sucking, leaving her mark. You shut your eyes, letting her just work you over.
“Moan for me, let me hear how good it feels.” Ilsa whispered, kissing your ear.
The spot on your neck where she’d sucked an angry hickey throbbed, electrifying the other senses her hands were creating on your body. You let out a tentative moan as she sped her fingers up just a little.
“Can you talk to me?” you whispered.
Ilsa chuckled, nibbling your ear.
“Of course I can, princess. I’ll tell you all about how wet you are for me, hmm? And how good you’re doing, sitting so pretty with your knees in place…”
You whimpered again, and you were rewarded with a bit more pressure from her finger.
“Oh, good girl. It feels so good, doesn’t it? Having your body loved like this?”
A head lean into her and another needy moan was enough assurance that Ilsa was doing what she needed to do. 
“Mhm, just like that, are you feeling yourself getting close?”
A shuddering breath and a soft head nod was enough for Ilsa. She gently sped up her fingers, drawing harder circles over your clit until your thighs trembled and your hips bucked.
“Ilsa!” you moaned, arching your back against her hand.
Ilsa cooed softly, continuing to roll her fingers at that steady pace until your hips relaxed, and her hand with it. Her arms wrapped around your sides, and she kissed you up and down your face, your jaw. She smiled, cuddling you to her. In the dark light of the hallway, Ilsa looked up, noting the little red dot that flashed. Once was enough for now. She could replay this on her laptop as many times as she wanted to now, she could see the angle of your body from the front as you bucked into her arms. She’d recorded this, after all. And she’d save it for as long as she needed to. 
This was just the beginning.
Tags (For previous askers and people who might want this): @lakita-fisher, @ilovehotactresses, @gay-and-sad-tm, @needyformilfs
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ofoceansandtombsanew · 6 months
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I Cherish You, Halcyon Days: vi
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“You’re gonna die, kid. In the worst way possible.”
tags: afab!reader (she/her), angst, slow burn
pairing: gojou x reader + onesided!getou x reader
summary: You’re 15 years old when you’re told you’re going to die. You’re 17 years old when you realize who your killer will be. And you’re 17 years old when you make peace with the fact you wouldn’t want it any other way.
index | previous chapter | next chapter
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"Need a pick me up?"
You open your eyes to see the youngest of your grade holding a cold bottle of green tea. "Oh, thanks," you grab the cool bottle from Suguru's hands gratefully. You had been sitting in the living room area on the couch when you started drifting off. Staying up for hours the past couple nights training with Gojou is a draining experience.
"It's not coffee but it has caffeine in it," he takes a seat next you, nestling against the arm on the opposite end of the couch. "Did you have trouble sleeping? When I got up to get water, it smelled like someone had been cooking. Was that you?"
Guilty as charged, you deny nothing. "Was up late bullshittin' and decided to chef it up in the kitchen," you shrug nonchalantly.
Your little training sessions with Gojou always go on longer than you originally planned. He's surprisingly strict and persistent nor does he really hold back with any comments on what you're doing wrong, but they're all fair assessments. So just as you did the first night this began, you cooked you both a late night dinner before skipping off to bed.
"Did you meet that Naoya guy, by the way?" The way Suguru's face twists into an annoyed grimace is enough of answer. I'm already coming up with comebacks for the next time I see him, I wasn't fully prepared the last time. "Yeah, can't believe Gojou wasn't just being overdramatic for once. Please kick that guy's ass if you get paired up in the individual battles." You wonder how it will go since there's an uneven number of combatants. Will it be 1v1 fights split between four of them or will it be an all out jumping with every Kyoto student fighting Suguru and Gojou all at once? You suppose you'll find out in a couple days. "Our legacy is on the line!"
The curse user chuckles, "I'll be sure to defend it fiercely," he vows poshly, bowing with a hand over his heart. "Should I fail, I'll gladly banish myself from your sight for all time."
Giggles slip from your lips with ease. Serious as Suguru looks, he's quite playful. It was something you appreciated during your first days at Jujutsu Tech when you came in a month later than the other first years.
Utahime was a doting senpai, Shoko was kind but respectful, Gojou was annoying and Suguru was helpful with an air of spiritedness. He didn't come at you with wave after wave of prodding questions about where you came from, why you were in Japan or even jokes about your technique the way Gojou did. Yet he was more forward than Shoko who was more content to let you do the reaching. Your transition into being integrated into the already established friend group in a way was thanks to Suguru. You were more grateful than you'd ever reveal.
"You know, if being a sorcerer doesn't work out for you, you should really consider a career in acting." Suguru only snorts at your comment. "I'm serious! I can see you reciting Shakespeare as we speak!"
Suguru rolls his eyes but it's good-natured, "as if a sorcerer would be satisfied in a normal career."
"You never know," you lean against the arm of the couch you're on with a grin. "Having backups might be a good idea! You just don't wanna admit I'm right that you have a flair for theatrics."
One of Suguru's eyebrows raises inquisitively, "what are your plans? After we graduate, I mean," he clarifies as quickly as he asks. "Even before you came to this school, I'm sure that's something you had to think about. Were you planning to go back to your home country after graduation?"
Your eyes dart to the corner of the room and you press your lips together, shoulders stiffening ever-so-slightly. You hope it isn't noticeable but perceptive as Suguru is, you know he can tell. "That's," you think of your mother and father and your uneasy upbringing. How your relationship improved after you moved out the house. It isn't like there'd be much of a problem now that I know what curses are. And even by the time I got to middle school, I got better at ignoring them. It would be different if you moved back in with them. "Something I'm still figuring out, I guess."
It isn't as if you never thought of your future. You knew inevitably that it was something you'd have to cross. You suppose you were just hoping to leave that problem for the [First] of the future to deal with. "I'm not really opposed to staying a sorcerer," you continue truthfully. "But I'm not really sure how the jujutsu scene works in my country. We probably don't have an organized force of jujutsu sorcerers like Japan, maybe I could start one."
Suguru mulls over his next question thoughtfully as if he is unsure he even wants to ask. "Why did you come to Japan, if you don't mind me asking."
You mull over if that's something you want to answer yourself, "well-"
"What are you two talking about over here?" Saved by a bell cosplaying as a lanky, nearly 190 cm teenager with white hair who wears sunglasses indoors. Gojou yawns as he approaches the couch you and Suguru are sitting on, he reaches a hand out almost expectantly to your green tea. You open the bottle, taking another swig before you hand it over before Gojou takes a large gulp himself. One that is literally more than half of the bottle.
"Most of that is mine, Gojou," you remind him a sharp look but there's no real bark or bite in your words, you're too tired.
Gojou shrugs, lips still resting on the neck and finish of the bottle, "I'll get you another one," he mumbles nearly incoherently, drinking the rest without a care in the world.
He's lucky you're more amenable to his morning shenanigans because he's been helping you the past couple nights. "Whatever, just put it in the fridge after you buy it."
"Looks like I jinxed you after all," Suguru chuckles to your right and you groan because he's probably right.
"I'm fighting your jinx with all my might," you mutter back. Apparently, once indulging Gojou becomes habit, it's hard to stop. Or is it a bit much to say you indulge Gojou if the most you really do is share food and drink? You're too tired to consider the nuances in this particular moment.
"What jinx?" Gojou cocks his head to the side.
"Nothing," you yawn again. "It's the nunya jinx where if Gojou asks too many questions, I stop sharing all my snacks with him." It's satisfying to see how both boy looks at you in confusion when you speak in your native tongue. As much of a disadvantage you were put in when you first came to Japan because of it, it's become a nice little source of privacy among your peers that don't know the language. A pocket of something you can keep to yourself. "Anyway, it's just a little inside joke between the non-sorcerer family hailing kids on the block," you wink at Suguru and he closes his eyes with a small smile.
The still-cold bottom of what was once your green tea is placed against your forehead in retribution.
Maybe you won't cook for Gojou tonight.
[Today, 14:43]
Shoko: The Kyoto Tech kids passed us up heading to the training area. Naoya is with them. Have fun with that www.
Me: ^o^ don't worry I won't~
It's a day before the Sister Exchange event truly begins when you see the Kyoto Tech students again.
There's only one training outdoor training facility at this school and so, if you all happen to use it at the same time, there isn't much that can be done about it.
You can see why Utahime listed Kamo Ririka as a person of interest, she's gorgeous. You pointedly ignore your friend sputtering that is not why Ririka had been mentioned in favor of focusing on her pastel pink hair. "I only mentioned her at all because you wanted to know about the Kamo students at Kyoto Tech!"
She whispers furiously in your ear, you personally think the dust of pink on Utahime's cheeks still lean favorably towards your theory. Me thinks the lady doth protest too much, you puff your cheeks in coyly. That only serves to make Utahime press her fingers against them to release the air stored in them. "Also, the person you mentioned before with the green streak in his hair," you spot the very lad yourself. "That's Kumatetsu, he's a second year like you."
"Thank you, Utahime, I appreciate your knowledge."
"I could have told you that," Gojou shrugs.
Your side eye is directs to the boy as quick as ever, "you said you didn't even talk to these guys much last year, how am I supposed to know what you know?"
Four of your seven peers are absent from this coincidental gathering. Haibara and Nanami are on some sort of spur of the moment mission and will be back later in the evening. Shoko and Suguru went on a quest to get drinks from the vending machine. As for Mei Mei, she didn't care for training for an event she wouldn't be part of.
Gojou sticks his tongue at you and you return the favor. "Naoya, looking horrid as ever, I see," Gojou waves at the first year with so much mock enthusiasm, you might have thought he was being genuine when he sauntered over to the Zenin. "I'm not good at holding back so if you go home now, I promise to be nice the next time I see you."
Utahime scowls, "Gojou, they just got here-"
"Eager for my attention I see," Utahime's attempt to stop feathers from being ruffled is futile as Naoya welcomes the jabs with his own. As far as you're concerned, Gojou can rile the Zenin boy up all he wants. "Had I known that, I would have done my best to say hi the other day if I hadn't been interrupted."
You snort as you thumb out a text to Shoko that the Kyoto students have arrived. That she and Suguru should probably prepare for the training grounds to be in shambles when they return. And that if a fight starts between Gojou and the mustard-haired first year, you won't be stopping it.
Me: Hell I'll jump in and help!
Shoko: Getou says he would you not get into a fight but if you do, punch Naoya for him if he doesn't make it back in time.
"Even Icarus had to learn a lesson about flying too close to the sun. I look forward to the day the Six Eyes is humbled and brought back down to earth with the rest of us," you thumb halts over your keyboard, glancing at where Gojou and Naoya presently stand. It irks you at how easily Naoya says it, clearly accustomed to using it. "Hopefully it'll be me. But honestly, why wait for tomorrow when we can see what happens today, Si-"
"He has a name," you close your silver Nokia flip, slipping it into your pocket. You feel the buzz of a message coming through but you choose to ignore it in favor scratching the dark irritating itch growing in your stomach.
"Excuse me?" Two heads look at you at your interjection. Naoya who looks at you like you're an insect large enough to garner attention, and Gojou who tilts his head at you curiously.
"A name," you repeat yourself, setting a hand on your hip as you glare back into amber eyes. They just barely look at you with anything other than cold indifference. "Gojou has one. I call you Whiney the Poo and Bitch Baby in my head all the time and I still manage to call you Zenin Naoya out loud so stop calling him that."
"And what happens if I keep doing it in, senpai?" Never before have you wanted to punch someone this badly. Never and you live with Gojou Satoru, the menace of Tokyo's Jujutsu Tech.
"You wanna say the shit again and find out?" Matter of fact, you want Naoya to say it. You take a step forward, all too eager to put the arrogant first year in his place. "You know what, go ahead. Make my day. Say the shit again and see what happens to your ass."
"Okay," Utahime's hand grips your shoulder tightly before you can take another step. "I think we should just train on that side of the training grounds," she points feverishly to the opposite side of the track field that is considerably further than where the Kyoto students have settled.
The Kyoto second year from the other day ー Kumatetsu, if you remember correctly ー places his own arm in front of the aggravating first year. Pretty third year Ririka sighs in equal parts, dark green eyes darkening as she watches the scene unfolding in front of her. "Yeah, that would be nice, there's just so much space here to train," he agrees with Utahime with swift ease. "Why just bundle up in one little corner here, right?"
"Nah, he can move if he wants to though," you snap in Naoya's direction, nodding your chin to where Utahime's finger leads. "Take your first year before I embarrass his ass in front of everybody."
"No no, there doesn't need to be any fighting," Kumatetsu replies with a frantic but annoyed smiled. "We don't want any problems, we're all allies here. We don't want to fight." As if sensing the mustard-haired first year was about to open his mouth and deny that claim, Kumatetsu covers it with without even blinking. "Ignore him, he doesn't want to fight."
"Yeah, I wouldn't wanna fight me either," you roll your eyes. When you see that particular comment grinds Naoya's gears more than anything, you decide to give yourself the win. Bitch Baby 0, [First] 1, you nod to yourself as Naoya is unceremoniously dragged to the rest of his Kyoto peers in a tight headlock away from you and infinitely further from your tallest classmate.
You tap Utahime's hand lightly. "It's fine, I'm not gonna run over and drop kick him if you let me go." Utahime doesn't look like she entirely believes you and you can't really blame her in this moment. You don't think you've ever been that mad before, not in front of these particular classmates at least. When was the last time I got like this actually, you struggle to sort your thoughts as you try to calm yourself down. Right, right, that time with Takuya and his hair.
Takuya, your old crush from your first and second years of middle school. A core member of your friend group with Chinatsu and Tooru until he moved away after the end of second year. I wonder how he's doing, we haven't heard from him in forever. He was a kind boy, a real sweetheart, that's why you liked him so much. His eyes were as black as the night but your favorite thing about him was his hair. You became friends because of it, actually. His dark red hair was long and almost always kept in a braid.
Then some asshole tried cutting it. That was the first and only school brawl you got into in your entire life, skirt on and all. Thank you, Auntie Chiharu, for not grounding me for punching that guy first.
To think the next time you'd get so angry would be for Gojou's sake.
What has this world come to?
"We're going this way," Utahime tells you firmly, upperclassman voice front and center.
"Fine," you sigh. This motherfucker pissing me off, you glare in Naoya's direction one more time. I haven't cussed like this since my Sakuragi Middle days. Your eyes catch Gojou's shades before you turn, his expression unreadable. Partially because half of his face is obscured, partially because the bottom half of his face gives no clues as to what he might be thinking.
Ugh, he has me over here defending Gojou of all people. This might be more unforgivable than Naoya's presence being generally unpleasant. Your glare narrows with a click of your tongue but you smooth out your face since Gojou is who you're looking at. It isn't like Gojou is the one you're mad at. The same rules from before applies. No one messes with one of us except for us. And even then, there are lines that shouldn't be crossed. You turn to follow Utahime begrudgingly to where she is briskly walking to. When you feel the unmistakable shape of an arm draping across your shoulders, you groan, "Gojou don't start."
Unfortunately, the menace of your class is already snickering much to your chagrin. "Oh [First], you do care!" Gojou swoons, leaning against you as if he's a damsel. "I wouldn't have believed it if I didn't see it myself!"
"I did not do that because I like you," you deny uselessly, knowing it won't matter what you say. "We just have a temporary We Hate Gojou Alliance truce going on right now. The We Hate Zenin Naoya Alliance takes precedence over any of your shenanigans during this time period." Utahime doesn't argue against it, so perhaps there really is a truce going on with Gojou.
"You know, the more you say that, the more I'm convinced that you're secretly the president of my fan club," Gojou all but beams. Maybe it's you but he seems slightly more obnoxious than normal and you decide that's likely a good thing in this particular instance. "You can be honest."
You huff but you don't move to immediately shove his heavy ass off of you. He didn't look like he was particularly bothered by Naoya's nasty comments, but you didn't want to assume when you spoke up. Well as long as he's in a good mood, I guess that's all that matters. "Yeah, yeah, you caught me," you decide to indulge the boy only two days older than you. "Number 1 Gojou Satoru fan right here, don't tell Utahime."
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index | previous chapter | next chapter
Extra
Here you go, chapter 6 prime for the reading and a day away from the Sister Exchange Event taking place. Y'all are getting this a day early because I have something to do all day this Friday and I'm not sure if I'd be able to get up then at a proper time.
Anyways, Reader is appalled. Naoya's got you out here defending Gojou's honor and shit, you need to rethink your priorities in life. But at least you can confidently say that you'll call Naoya out on his shit whenever the opportunity presents itself time and time again. Turn us up, Whiney the Poo.
See y'all next week.
Likes and Reblogs appreciated.
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harvesti · 2 months
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extended intro post:
daily workout (running/pilates/yoga): home workouts, because gyms make me nervous and a bit annoyed (too many people making too much noise!). I usually spend around 45 minutes-1 hour doing each of these, and I rarely do more than one per day, except when I mix my yoga routine to my pilates routine. I don't like to take full rest days so usually my rest days are just yoga days, and I leave my full rest days for occasions when I can't workout because of another commitment.
no refined/added sugar: made the decision to cut back on sugar by the end of 2023 because I started reading a lot about nutrition and realized that sugar is just not meant to be consumed the way we do, in this extremely processed, refined, concentrated form. it's addictive, harmful for our health, and it spoils our palate for other foods. not to mention that it is the biggest villain when it comes to weight gain. I meant to just cut back a bit when I made the decision but since around April 2024 I just cut it off completely.
no highly processed food: another huge villain when it comes to health and weight, full of toxic additives that we don't even understand, addictive, and a big enabler of laziness. I only eat food that I can recognize as food and understand what's in it, so almost nothing that comes in an aluminium foil packet makes it to my shopping cart.
no red meat: I was actually vegan for 2 and a half years but eventually went back to eating dairy and eggs, and I'll eat the occasional chicken and fish, although so rarely that I think I could consider myself a vegetarian. but even when I went back on my dietary choices, I couldn't stomach red meat anymore. most people don't even know how to cook it properly anyway, I hate handling it on my own, and it just makes me feel heavy, both physically as well as spiritually.
no soda: this came naturally as I decided to stop eating highly processed foods, but I used to be the Diet Coke Girl™ all my life, and I thought it was cool since it had no sugar. imagine my surprise when I found out that artificial sweeteners such as the one in diet Coke actually make you crave sugar and leads to binges. not to mention, soda makes me totally bloated.
no overeating: that's a no-brainer, but it was the hardest part of my journey! I love eating, y'all, and my brain was always like, I rather feast and indulge than feel like I'm going to miss out. it took me a long time to find a balance and being able to just enjoy a meal without feeling like I need to ravage a huge plate to feel like I truly enjoyed it. cooking 100% of my own food helped a lot with that.
no alcohol: quit on May 2024, after I realized I was using alcohol as a way to distract myself and ease anxiety when it occured. I was also feeling my limit getting weaker, so I had to drink a lot more to get tipsy, but when I got tipsy, I got sick almost immediately. it stopped being fun, and it felt more like a hassle than something that could give me pleasure. now that I'm completely sober, I realize drinking alcohol is kind of... terrible. it was a great decision, even if I did it sort of by accident really.
low caffeine (coffee only in the morning, green tea all day): I used to drink 4-5 cups of very strong black coffee throughout the day and, of course, I had major anxiety to the point of trembling, getting migraines and becoming paranoid. I started lowering my intake first to deal with this aspect, but later I found out that caffeine also leads to cravings and binging exactly because it accelerates the body and the mind so much! now I only have it after I wake up and sometimes in the afternoon, if I'm really sleepy when I can't really be sleepy. I still have a lot of tea because I love a hot beverage, and green tea actually calms me down a lot, even if it does have caffeine as well. I take mine with ginger and a splash of lemon juice.
lots of greens, lots of whole foods, lots of water, lots of fruits, lots of sun: another no-brainer! my favorites are broccoli, kale, leeks, chickpeas, zucchini, cherry tomatoes (which I grow myself), mushrooms, grapes, plums, pineapple, bananas, coconut and melon.
i.f. 16:8: I feel like it's absolutely necessary to give my body time to deal with itself without the "burden" of digestion. everything that happens in the body is a trade-off, so if my body is constantly dealing with food, it can't pay attention to other important processes. not to mention that, intermittent fasting takes my mind off food for a while, helps me plan ahead my meals better, makes me focus on nutritive choices instead of ones that are just yummy... and I enjoy eating when I'm actually hungry!
takeouts/eating out out on special occasions; same with dessert: it may seem like a restriction, but it's something I decided to kind of recover a sense of hacing these things be special again. once I started to make my own money and become independent, I started to indulge a lot on these things because when I was a kid they were so rare and exciting, so I was always eating out at my fav restaurants and always having something sweet around, until it just became a bad habit. now, keeping these things safe for special days makes them special too instead of just feeling like a boring indulgence. (I still try to get desserts that are sugar-free or very small on sugar though.) my fav food to eat out is sushi!
daily reading, at least 3 hours: as a real Classic Millennial, I used to be a huge reader when I was a kid, but as social media became a thing in my life, I lost the habit completely. the pandemic made me realize I needed to go back to books and delete Twitter, basically, which was my biggest distraction, and I've immediately reconnected with my old self and started to read like 50 books every year since. my fav genres are romance and non-fiction about nutrition and botany!
no complaining, no gossiping: it's a big part of my mental health to be grateful and to focus on myself. it may seem small, but it completely changed my perspective on day-to-day life once I set the rules to not complain and not gossip. actually, I don't engage with anything that doesn't concern me directly, doesn't benefit me directly, and is out of my control. life is chill like that.
no dwelling on the past: burned my childhood diaries, cut ties with past relationships that were just hanging around me because of the size of our history, let go of constantly reminiscing and trying to run scenarios and dialogues in my head. I only deal with the day and the week I have ahead, and that's what exists in my reality. no past, no distant future. two feet on the ground.
skin and hair care every evening: I've been genetically blessed with poreless skin and thick hair, but I still have to care for my skin because it tends to dry heavily, and caring for long, thick hair is a must, otherwise it tangles within hours. my skin care is a mix of high hydration, careful nutrition, and The Body Shop's aloe vera night cream for my face, and my hair care is washing it every 3 days (2 days in the summer), keeping it in a hydrating mask, blow drying it, coconut-oiling it, and keeping it in braids whenever I can, especially when sleeping.
silence = gold: I focus immensely on being observant, being a listener, being non-reactive. I think spending long periods of time not speaking, not watching anything, no music, just listening to nature (especially in the mornings) is of utmost importance to a healthy mental and spiritual state. "speech is silver, silence is gold" is one of my life's mottos!
(thanks for reading all of this!)
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meeorganic · 1 year
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Does Green Tea Have Caffeine
Explore the marvels of green tea - a revitalizing and invigorating drink with a mild caffeine kick. For that perfect cup, start by boiling water and then let it cool to around 80°C or 176°F. Pop green tea leaves into a teapot or infuser, pour in the water, and let it steep for 2-3 minutes, drawing out those delicate flavors. Worried about sleep? Green tea's caffeine content is gentler than coffee's, but if you're extra sensitive, you can go for decaf or enjoy it earlier in the day. Dive into the refreshing shot of green tea or relish its taste and wellness perks any time you fancy!
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barista suguru and reader has the biggest crush on him that they try to ask him out but got too nervous to do so!! however.. reader suddenly see him at a party they were invited in, and what does alcohol do to a person sometimes? confidence, and they hook up (eventually got together??) I'm not sure if this request makes sense, and English isn't my first language..
omg hi anon thank you for the ask - not sure if you're an AOT fan but @humanitys-strongest-bamf has an amazing fic similar to this w Levi and its god tier
anywaysss here we go <3
(The ages in this are all fucked up lol, Megumi, Nobara, and Yuji are 22 and Gojo, Geto, and Shoko are like 25)
content warning: Haibara and Nanami are lovers lmao, weed, alcohol, cigarettes, hookup culture
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(this is my original drawing please do not repost)
-
Being well known on your college campus is a blessing and a curse. You loved being involved in a lot of clubs and participating in social events. Going to the library or trying to study was nearly impossible with how many people knew you. However being a senior, you needed to focus and get things done. You lived a little ways off campus to save money and started frequenting a little coffee shop a few blocks from your apartment.
The first time you stopped, you had been walking home from class when a storm with bad winds blew in, and you decided to just study in this cafe until the storm passes. There are little tables all throughout, you grab one near the back and pull out some of your course materials and get started writing notes and going over chapters for your quiz in a few days. That is when a yawn washes over you and the exhaustion from late nights sets in. You figure you might as well get a drink while you're at this coffee shop.
Walking up to the counter you squint up at the menu board trying to decide what you're in the mood for.
"What can I get for you?" a man's voice asks.
Lost in your indecisiveness you don't even look down to make eye contact reading between Americano, Latte, Cold Brew, etc.
"Mmmm, not sure yet, I may need a few minutes," biting your bottom lip thinking about how much caffeine you want to intake today.
"We also have a list of specials down in front of you," he says politely and you see him walk away out of your peripherals.
The thing is, you're not a huge coffee person. Half the time it's too sweet, half the time it's too bitter. The caffeine gives you jitters and makes you anxious. Also sometimes coffee just messes your stomach up so you just have given up on expensive coffee places and opt for making your own shitty coffee at home.
You glance down at the specials list, reading them to yourself,
"Almond Joy Latte
Sparkling Green Tea Refresher
Pink Velvet Cold Brew
Barista's Choice"
You finally look up at the employee, a tall man that is turned around cleaning the espresso machine. His hair is pulled back into a cute bun and his frame is just large. You look at his hands, so large and strong with some veins protruding. He has a black button up on with the sleeves rolled up, exposing tattoos on his forearms. Matching it with black pants and a black apron, he looks kind of dark and mysterious.
He turns around and catches your eye, forgetting all the words that were about to form in your head.
"Still need a minute?" He squints his eyes a little and smiles softly as your eyes rake over his whole face. He has a piece of black bangs sticking out from the bun, pierced ears, a lip ring, amber eyes, and an amazingly chiseled jaw. Your mouth opens but nothing comes out and you can feel the heat spread across your cheeks.
"Uh, I, sorry," you shake your head and try to laugh at your own stupor, "Can I do the barista's choice?"
He nods, "Any preferences?"
"Uhm, no, whatever you like," you completely lie through your teeth trying to seem chill. He taps in the order on the iPad at the register and flips it over for you to pay and sign. At least it isn't too expensive if you don't like it, but you eagerly press the "25%" tip button hoping Mr. tall, dark, and handsome appreciates it.
"I'll bring it over to you when it's ready," he smiles and nods his head towards where you were seated.
"Thanks," you smile awkwardly walking back to your course materials, although it's not like you'll be focusing on anything other than the barista soon. You not-so-casually watch him work, obsessed with a man you've hardly spoken to once.
A few minutes later he brings over a cute tea cup and saucer, and you immediately smile when he sets it down, seeing the little design on top.
"It's a dirty chai...like a chai tea latte with a shot of espresso in it and a little special touch. Let me know if you like it."
The man smirks and walks away before you can even properly thank him. You burn your tongue eagerly taking a sip too soon, trying to find another excuse to talk to him. You try to take your mind off of it by scrolling through instagram for a bit while drinking your latte but around this time of year its all couples and engagements and babies which only adds to how down bad you feel. You get a text from your friend Nobara letting you know that a friend of her friend, Megumi, is having a party Friday and the friend told Megumi who told Nobara that they could bring whoever. After deciphering the word vomit of a text she sent you you send back a "thumbs up emoji" letting her know you'll be there because nobody else has invited you anywhere yet.
You finish your drink and decide to pack up your stuff and head home, a few blocks in the rain won't hurt you. It might cool you off from thinking about the dreamy barista you just met. You set the cute mug on the counter, and he turns around when he hears the noise. He raised an eyebrow, as if asking 'how was it?'
"It was great," you smile, "uhm, have a good one," you slightly shrug and turn around to go before he can add anything, just like he did to you earlier.
-
The next few days are uneventful, you walk by the coffee shop every day on your way to campus, wondering if he is working or if you should go in, but not wanting to struggle to pick a drink or pay for coffee again.
On Friday Nobara walks back to your apartment with you, she commutes in to town so whenever there is a party or something going on she crashes on your couch. She eyes the little cafe, "Want coffee? I think tonight might be pretty fun from the sounds of it!" She practically squeals and you find it adorable how excited she is. "Sure" you grumble, holding the door open for her.
She waltzes right up to the counter, decisive as always, and knows exactly what she wants. You trail behind her, not seeing any employees at the counter, squinting up at the menu board yet again. That's when you hear giggling come from the back room and see the handsome barista come out with some supplies, followed by a cute girl with a short brown bob who seems to be helping him.
You can't help but think about his beautiful laugh, and how you can hear it again.
"See ya tonight Shoko" he says, putting his apron back on and refocusing his attention to Nobara.
"Bye Geto!" This so called Shoko calls back to him as she walks out the front door. You cant help but feel a twinge of jealousy at the way he was in the backroom with his apron off and laughing with a girl.
Like girl - quit being delusional, you just heard his name for the first time and he probably doesn't even know who you are.
"Y/n, what do you want?" Nobara interrupts your talk with yourself.
"I'll have what she's having," you say overly confident, smiling at Geto. They both side eye you and you just remain oblivious, opting to go on your phone as you let your friend pay for your coffee as payment for her 'hotel' for the night. The two of you move out of the way and stand off to the side waiting for your drinks while Nobara talks about how Megumi's other friend Yuji is going to be there tonight with his big brother Sukuna and how excited she is because they're both sooo attractive. You nod your head along with what she says while scrolling on your phone. It's not that you don't care what she's saying, it's just that she knows so much about everything. All the gossip on campus is at your fingertips because of her, good or bad. You zone out staring at whatever drinks the barista is making, watching his damn good looking hands do his job. He walks over to you with two cups and you can't help but just stare at him. His outfit today consists of jeans and a tight black tshirt with a flannel jacket over top.
"Two iced matcha lattes with coconut milk and a strawberry cold foam on top," He smiles as Nobara eagerly grabs both of the drinks and hands one to you.
She sips it right away, "This is the best I've ever had thank youuu," she dramatically draws out while pulling you out the door heading to your apartment again. You look back to see him watching you leave and give a small wave with the hand that is holding your drink. You can't tell if you're imagining it but you think you see a faint blush over his cheeks.
-
You and Nobara enjoy your typical pregame activities, getting ready together, listening to music, and sharing a blunt.
"The guy at the coffee shop was checking you out," she half slurs, talking while applying her lip gloss.
"What makes you say that?" You think she's messing with you but you also hadn't told her about your little crush.
"When I was ordering he was staring at you the WHOLE time. Like he didn't even make eye contact with me I don't think!" She wines, "God it's not fair he's so gorgeous."
"To be fair Nobara, you think most guys are gorgeous" You giggle and walk towards the freezer to grab some liquor. "Speaking of gorgeous men, who's party are we even going to tonight?"
"I think it's at some guy named Satoru Gojo's house? I guess he's good childhood friends with Megumi from when he didn't really have a dad." There goes your friend, sharing other people's business when she didn't really need to.
"Mmm," you nod and throw back a shot of liquor, "I think I had a class with him when I was like a freshman and he was a senior. A real interesting character."
"Maybe you can introduce me and I'll get lucky," Nobara raises her eyebrows at you.
"You will not be having sex on my couch." You say sternly before you both erupt in a fit of giggles. Gathering a few last minute things before heading out, you also grab a reusable shopping tote and fill it with a little bit of your own alcohol, you never know what they may or may not have at these kinds of parties.
-
Walking there was a little chilly but overall a nice night for the time of year. This guy must've gone to your school and hadn't left yet given the proximity of his house to your apartment and to campus.
You walk in and see Yuji Itadori right away with his friendly smile and big personality. He gives you both hugs and you know at least if Nobara doesn't get lucky with anyone else she can rely on Yuji.
Your energetic friend holds your hand as she searches the rest of the party to find her friend Megumi. He stands in the kitchen with a white haired man that you faintly think is this Gojo guy, both getting ready to shotgun a beer together. You and Nobara wait to see who wins before interrupting, grabbing drinks out of the cooler and setting down your bag with liquor and hard seltzers in it. It appears that Gojo finishes just a second before Megumi and you hear Nobara interrupting, "Gumi what was that?! You lost like a little bitch?"
He groans in response but ultimately smiles, "Why am I friends with you again?"
"Because you've been stuck with me since high school."
Watching the altercation, Gojo comes up to you and asks, "You're with them?" Nodding his head at the two immaturely arguing.
"Sadly." you respond taking a swig of your drink.
"I'm Satoru Gojo, this is my place, thanks for coming." He eyes you over top of his black round sunglasses, making you feel like you may be wearing too revealing of clothes.
"I'm y/n, thanks for the invite by proxy," You giggle as Megumi makes his way over to you.
"Y/n, good to see you," the spikey haired boy gives you an awkward side hug, and a little kiss on the top of your head. Satoru raises his eyebrows at the two of you and you roll your eyes. When Megumi and Nobara get distracted and head into another room you fill him in. "Megumi and I may have hooked up once or twice when we were drunk," You blush, revealing your secret that hardly anyone knew to this stranger.
"Mhmm, seems like more than once or twice," Gojo sips his drink and sighs dramatically, leaving the kitchen to you alone.
Just then the back door of the kitchen that leads to the back yard creaks open. You turn to see who it was out of instinct, and recognize the girl with the brown bob from the cafe earlier today. She carries on past you not even really looking at you with her cigarette still lit in her mouth.
You see Nobara in the living room from your spot on the kitchen and mouth to her that you're going outside to smoke. She nods and thumbs up, but it seems that Yuji also read your lips and is interested in joining you.
You head out to the backyard, very dimly lit despite the pretty lights Gojo tried to hang up to make it look more aesthetic. You pull out a dab pen and a cigarette and hold them up for Yuji to take his pick. His eyes light up at the weed pen and he takes a huge inhale.
"God Yuji, careful," you laugh and proceed to take a smaller hit.
Your laugh seems to attract the attention of another group standing outside, and you immediately quiet yourself.
"Do you have a light?" One of them asks although you can't make out names or voices and even if you could you don't know many people here.
"Yeah," you respond, digging out a baby pink lighter that has a "Daddy's Girl" sticker on it, a joke that one of your friends gave you. Hopefully its dark enough that they can't see it.
A blonde guy approaches you to grab it, "Thanks, we have some seats over here if you guys want." Yuji happily follows but you're a little apprehensive. However they do have a firepit going so it is a little brighter over there.
"I'm Kento, this is my boyfriend Yu," the two introduce themselves, lighting their cigs at the same time with your lighter. You take another small hit of your pen as the brunette one comments, "Nice lighter." It makes you cough on your smoke a bit but eventually turns into laughter, "Thank you," You smile grabbing it back from them.
Yuji seems to be a little high from his rather large puff earlier, and you ask, "I'm going to go check on Nobara, you need anything?" He smiles and shakes his head and starts some conversation about an underground fight club with the two guys as you walk back inside. You enter back into the kitchen, grabbing another drink and heading into the living room where you last saw Nobara. She is having a heart to heart with some girl that graduated last year that you know of named Maki. They both have been drinking and just are smiling and agreeing with everything the other says.
She suddenly turns to you when she realizes you're standing there, "Your lover, he's here." She abruptly turns back around ignoring your inquiry of who she is referring to. You see Gojo and Megumi talking in the kitchen and decide to go talk to them instead of standing there looking awkward. You couldn't see from the angle you were at, but the brunette bob cigarette girl was also standing with them chatting.
Gojo waves you over to the conversation, putting a playful arm around your shoulders. "So sweetheart," Satoru starts, slurring his words a little more than he was the last time you talked to him, "Were trying to place bets on who's going to hook up with who tonight."
"Shoko has money on Suguru and Yuki, Megumi bets on Nobara and Yuji, and me, well I have money on you and Megumi." The four of you errupt in laughter and yelling over top of each other of who is correct.
"What are we arguing about?" Another voice asks that just came into the kitchen. You turn to see who it is with Gojo's arm still loosely hanging onto you.
"Suguruuuu" Satoru coos, "Finally joined the party! Shoko here thinks you're going to hook up with Yuki tonight."
"Like hell," he mutters looking to see who his best friends choice of girl is for the evening, before his eyes land on you. You can't help but drop your jaw at the beautiful barista from the cafe standing in front of you. It looks like he just showered, wet hair which is half up half down, and you can smell the fresh body wash radiating off of him.
"Who'd you bet Satoru?" Suguru questions, still having his eyes focused on you.
"I bet little miss y/n here and her boy toy Megumi." He responds and your cheeks flush at the fact this beautiful man may think you're not interested because of Gojo's fat mouth.
"Who'd you bet on?" Shoko asks directed towards Geto.
"I'll have to get back to you on that," he turns to get a drink from the cooler before taking a step outside, you assume to smoke.
You excuse yourself from under Satoru's arm, leaving him Megumi and Shoko to talk about more random gossip. Heading to the backdoor, you try to build up some courage to introduce yourself to this Geto guy. Much to your dismay, as you are walking out of the door in your own thoughts, another person was coming through the door to go inside but was a lot more solid than you. Bouncing back onto your ass you giggle, "I'm so so sorry, I wasn't paying attention," you look up to meet the amber eyes you've been thinking about for the past week. It feels like the wind has gotten knocked out of you seeing how close your faces were with him grabbing your hand to help you up.
“I’m sorry, didn’t mean to knock you over like that,” he slightly laughs. “I’m just grabbing a lighter,” letting go of your hand holding the door open.
“Oh I have one here!” You pull it out of your pocket kicking yourself for showing it to someone else again. Well maybe it will at least start a conversation. You hand it to him and he lights his cigarette, not making a comment and hands it back to you. You also decide to light a cigarette, trying your best to look cool doing it but because of the wind you’re having a little trouble. Suguru sticks up his hand to block the wind for you. His damn hands. It’s like as big as your face up close and you say “thanks” with the cigarette hanging out of your mouth now lit.
“Y/n? Is that your name?” He breaks the silence first.
“Yes, are you Suguru?” You ask sweetly back
“Suguru Geto, the one, the only, barista extrodinaire,” he laughs and draws a puff.
“I like your laugh.” You blurt out, now realizing your judgement is a little impaired from your weed alcohol and nicotine pairing. “Sorry that just kind of came out.”
“That’s okay,” he stares at you with kind eyes ashing his cigarette against Gojos house.
“Did you like the matcha today?” He asks after you don’t respond.
“Actually no,” you bust out laughing, “I don’t like matcha I was just distracted when she was ordering.”
“Distracted by what?” He asks.
“You,” you realize how close your faces are and how intimate the moment is with your glowing cigarettes and how intoxicating the mix of his smell is.
He nods and smirks at your response, glancing down at your lips. “I think I want to get to know you more y/n.”
You gather all the courage that you haven’t had with this man for the past few days and put it all in your lips and lean in to kiss him. He kisses back, graciously, putting his hand against the back of your head as you place your hand on his hard pec. He depends the kiss, moving his lips passionately before entering his tongue into your mouth. His free hand wraps around your waist.
Just as things are getting intense you hear Nobara squeal in the kitchen, “GOJO LOOK!” You both break the kiss laughing, but still pressed up against him.
“I think I may know who my bet is on for tonight,” he winks and gives you another kiss, making your knees weak and release a tiny whimper into his mouth. You pray he didn’t hear it, but instead he asks, “needy daddy’s girl?”
You feel your cheeks grow so warm and cover your face with your hands. “Just kidding pretty girl, your lighter was cute though.”
reblogs and comment for a part 2 ?? 🤭🤭
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sodajerking · 7 months
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Mountain Dew voltage
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The first time I had mountain Dew was when I was 13 on a biking trip with my family. I remember it vividly because within 15min of drinking it I had to pee harder and faster than I've ever had to pee in my life (a sensation that would not be topped again until I tried the Hard Arizona green tea in uni - a story for another time). I vividly remember pedalling as hard as I could to try and reach the end of the trail and find a restroom. In doing so, I hit a fruit fly which took up a short lived but torturous residence in my ear canal, fluttering uncomfortably against my ear drum for several hours until I drowned it in the shower. It was a small wonder, to share a mutual moment of abject terror with such a small animal, neither of us intending for this tragedy to occur.
Haven't been one for mountain Dew ever since but a patient gifted this small bottle of voltage to us tonight and I'm not one to refuse free soda. I have poured it into a cup to maintain the social propriety of implying I am sharing with my coworkers, however I think I am the only one who is willing to drink this stuff.
It tastes as I remember it; mostly like citric acid with a surprisingly watered down amount of blue raspberry syrup. Deceptively high in caffeine.
I had a few sips while typing this post out and already I have to piss. What a fascinating elixir.
D tier but I'll probably drink more if nobody else does.
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touchlikethesun · 7 months
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coffee or tea??
tsukishima and yamaguchi are coffee drinkers, but tsukki puts more milk and sugar in it than is probably advisable (he carries a toothbrush with him that he thinks probably wards away cavities effectively enough). whereas yams takes his black normally. he picked up the habit in university for long nights studying, but has been trying to cut down and only have a few cups in the morning. their mug collection is starting to take over the kitchen because yamaguchi started unintentionally collecting them. he tends to cycle thru mainly the pokémon themed ones, but tsukki uses the same mug and washes it by hand every day so he can use it again (it’s big enough to hold all the milk sugar and coffee but still sits comfortable in his hand)
yachi and kageyama are tea drinkers. yachi mainly drinks herbal tea - lord knows she doesn’t need caffeine making her anxious - and she really likes rosehip tea and other sorts of nice floral teas. she has a really nice matching tea set for guests but she usually drinks out of the cartoon crow mug the boys got for her as a graduation present. kageyama is no where near as particular about his tea, he just has two types of generic tea bags, one green and one black, but he does drink a fair bit of it, and he leaves half drunk cups of tea all around the flat because he can’t stand when it gets cold. (ik about the boy’s milk obsession but i think that’s an out-and-about drink. at home he has tea.)
hinata doesn’t drink coffee or tea, he’ll have protein shakes for workouts, but otherwise he really only drinks water. winter mornings, he might heat it up and add lemon to it, but most of the time he’s more than happy to just have water. some people think it’s for the health benefits, and that’s a small part of it, but really he just… doesn’t really like coffee or tea.
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noodyl-blasstal · 1 month
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The Good Lick Store - Best Served Cold Part 1
It's @tazsapphicweek!! Here's a story that started life last year when @ceilingfan5 and I plotted it out and meant to write it together but time happened and life happened. This year it was still rattling round my brain and they kindly gave me permission to go ham. So here's Best Served Cold!
You can read below or on Ao3
--
Raven wishes the bell on the door to Aw Beans! was slightly less cheerful. She’s not prepared for that level of peppy jingling this early in the morning, especially not when it’s coupled with the queue. The lines and noise are usually tempered by her desperate need for caffeine in the afternoon, but she knows Istus’ knee is playing up and Raven’s got some time before her next client so she’ll brave it. Early morning pep and crowds are worth it to please Istus, she’ll doubtless be putting a brave face on it, but Raven knows that a salted caramel green tea should help get her through the day. Aw Beans! is an institution at this point, nearly there as long as Raven and Istus, so when she finally makes it to the counter she smiles and idly chats to the new person on the till, takes her goods, and heads towards Istus, the same familiar route between their shops… although today it’s not so familiar.
Unit 12 has been empty for years, since Boyland’s accordion repair shop shut down no one else has stepped in, well, until now apparently. The sign for The Good Lick Store is big and gaudy with a series of light blubs around it to no doubt flash in terrible ways once it’s powered up. Raven hates it on sight. She hates the stupid font and the image of a tub with a swirl of what had better fucking not be ice cream in it over the ‘i’. She hates it even harder once she notices the smaller "It’s dewishis!" underneath. Istus makes the best ice cream, Istus is cutesy in the good way, the ‘that's my wife and I love her goofiness against my will’ way. How dare this place try and compete with anything she does?
Raven glares at the sign and turns away, she has tea to deliver.
Raven will never get tired of the way Istus lights up when she sees her, not that she’s never un-pleased to see Istus, but facial expressions are hard for Raven. It’s nice to see joy laid out so clearly.
“Raven! What a wonderful surprise, my love.” Raven pretends to roll her eyes at Istus’ attention, but presses a fond kiss to her sweet, delighted face before handing over the cup and a bag of fruit tarts that she couldn’t resist picking up. “For me? Thank you so much!”
After 30 odd years the novelty should probably have worn off, but it hasn’t. It's still just as much of a treat to roll into Istus’ shop and greet her… although Raven is grateful to no longer have to pretend that Aw Beans! ‘got her order wrong' and ask if there was any chance Istus might want it because it seems a shame to let it go to waste? It was only coincident the errors were always her favourites, honest.
But now she needs to focus. There’s bad news to deliver.
“There’s a new shop.” She says, as Istus takes her first sip, softening the blow with goodies is a happy coincidence at least, but thankfully she can be here for Istus too.
“It’s adorable isn’t it? "Dewishis!" So fun!” Istus sounds delighted.
Oh.
“You aren’t worried about competition?” Raven raises an eyebrow. “They’re pretty close to us… er, you, I mean.”
“We can be an us,” Istus says, taking Raven’s hand and kissing it. “With the amount of time I’m there I might as well be working part time at your shop.”
“I don’t remember ever seeing you tattoo somebody,” Raven says, laughing. “In fact, if I remember correctly, when I asked if you wanted to learn, you said ‘yuck’, right in front of the customer.”
“I maintain that it is yucky,” Istus says pleasantly. “But someone has to do it, and it may as well be my beautiful wife, who is worried about things beyond her control and projecting that concern on me.”
“You’re married??” Raven says, putting a hand to her chest, fake-aghast. “Oh lord, I’m a homewrecker.”
“I mean,” Killian interrupts from behind the point of sale machine. “Should we be worried?” She pauses… “...Not to get in the way of your smooching of course.”
“I am going to get in the way of the smooching, actually,” Carey says, whapping Killian with her cloth, and then gesturing pointedly to the mush jar.
“Raven instigated it,” Istus says, throwing Raven under the bus without a thought. “I’m also out of cash.” She opens her hands and looks mournfully at the lack of cold hard cash in them.
So much for the vows they swore to each other. Raven mutters some things that are not actually as grumpy as they sound, fishes out a note to stuff in the jar, kisses Istus’ hand one more time, and deposits the money in the already very full jar. “In my own place of business, so cruel!”
“I thought you didn’t work here?” Istus’ mouth tilts up at the corner.
Raven gasps. “I thought we were an us! Is this how you tell me it’s over? Oh, oh woe is me!” Raven looks her very saddest, summoning the biggest pout she can muster.
Istus cups her face so fondly, strokes a thumb across her cheek, and whispers far too loudly, “I could never be without you my love, you're the wings of my heart, the spring in my step, the sand in my hourglass, but don’t let them hear me say that or you’ll have to chuck another fiver in.”
Carey and Killian both groan in tandem.
“That’s at least ten. Self awareness won't save you, and stop enjoying it! It defeats the point of the jar when you revel in it.” Carey spares a moment to point a warning finger at them before she returns to her perfect sprinkle mix. She maintains that no one else does it right, there’s a graph about the colour, shape, and texture ratios, but no one else has managed to interpret it correctly.
“Don’t make us find another way to punish you for, well, all of this.” Killian gestures at the pair of them making eyes at each other and sighs heavily. Then grins and turns to Carey. “Promise me we’ll be this gross when we’re old?” She bats her eyelashes dramatically.
Carey rolls her eyes. “I hate you all.”
“Fine, since being in love is apparently illegal, I suppose I’ll resort to asking the pair of you what you think of the sign?” Raven’s mouth draws into a thin line at the thought of the garish mess.
Killian hisses and Carey narrows her eyes.
The terse “uh huh,” and the grunt of acknowledgement are simultaneous and tell Raven everything she needs to know. At least she's not the only one.
"Stop it, the lot of you. I know it's because you care about me, but this will be fun! We can do cross promotions, work together! ‘Get stabbed and ice it’ was fun, wasn't it?"
"That was different!" Says Raven indignantly. Because it's not the same, that was cute, there were stickers, it was her and Istus, it was fun! This is some evil ice cream conglomerate coming for sweet Istus' unsuspecting throat, and Raven refused to let that happen. By the looks on their faces, Killian and Carey agree.
"It was.” Istus says with consideration, then bats her eyelashes at Raven. “You see, I'm not in love with them." She pulls Raven in for another kiss as Carey and Killian boo loudly. "Now, I believe you have an appointment to get to?"
"...and about twenty five quid to add to the jar!" Carey points.
Raven plants another kiss firmly on Istus' lips and Istus laughs into it, when she surfaces she grabs another wodge of notes. "There, I rounded it up to thirty."
Istus laughs happily and waves Raven off with a flurry of blown kisses. She’d marry that woman tomorrow if she hadn’t done it already… although maybe they could do another vow renewal? It had been a few years since the last one…
The shop is empty when Istus stops by later that day, but there's a poster tacked up in the window. Frozen yoghurt! At least she assumes that’s what ‘fro yo!’ means. How fun! She makes a note of the website in her planner. She can look it up later on. It's exciting though - fro yo friends! That rolls off the tongue nicely. Istus can definitely send some of her customers their way, it'll be nice for them to get to try some new things. Maybe the Good Lick management would be willing to get involved in the outreach programme with them, she makes a note to mention that when she visits too.
"Istus, are you sure about this?" Carey stands, arms crossed, in front of the shop door. She knows Istus is an adult, a successful business owner who’s perfectly capable of making her own decisions, but she also worries. Istus is so ready to see the good in everyone, expects them to be as unfailingly kind as she is, and that's just not the world they live in.
“I’m so sure I made a card!” Istus flourishes the sprinkle themed envelope she has stashed in one of her deep pockets.
“You make cards for everything.”
“Only when I’m sure I want to.”
Istus smiles so beautifically, so confidently, that Carey doesn’t even know how to begin to challenge it. “But…” She tails off.
Istus just pats her on the shoulder. “I don’t want you to worry about work, Carey, there’s always a place for you here, it doesn’t matter if the new spot picks up some of our business, we’re absolutely fine.”
That hadn’t been what Carey was worried about, actually, but now she was going to cry about feeling so valued. Istus was hugging her, and she smelled so sweet and comforting, like the caramel popcorn she’d been mixing a batch of today, but then she wasn’t hugging her anymore and she was outside the shop waving… fuck. Fine. Maybe the people would be nice, and if they weren’t, the rest of them would deal with it.
Istus only feels slightly guilty for how she escaped the shop. It wasn’t a lie, she means it, Carey and Killian will always have work with her. They turn a good profit, and between her and Raven there’s plenty of money to keep things going regardless. Honestly, they could have retired years ago, but the community events need a place to happen and their friends need a place to work. Therefore the shop stays open no matter what.
It’s nice to see the way the shop looks, warm and bright. The old unit had been empty for ages, but there was finally going to be some life in it again! Boyland always used to keep it so neat, since he passed they’d taken turns to keep the weeds at bay and repaint the window and door frames, but they couldn’t get inside to do anything about the dust or the spiderwebs.
She peers in the large windowed portion of the door, knocks loudly, then waits… and waits. She could swear someone was inside, there was an unfamiliar car in the staff lot earlier and the lights are on, but she can’t see anyone. Maybe if she just puts the card under the door? She’s about to stoop down to try when two almost identical faces pop out from either side of the window. It’s startling, but Istus tries to recover herself as quickly as possible, afterall, she doesn’t want to be rude, they just need to be careful with jumping out at people like that.
“Hello!” She says through the door.
It creaks open and they step back in tandem. Their outfits are absolutely wonderful - white with colourful stripes and little matching hats.
“Oh, your uniforms are darling!” There’s still no real response. “Sorry, I sometimes get things a bit out of order. Let me try again.” Istus waves pleasantly. “Hello, I’m Istus, I work at Happy Scoops.” She stays in the doorway unsure if she’s allowed to enter, no matter how excited she is to see what they’ve done with the place.
“How charming.” Says the one on the left, that even with Istus’ disposition to believe the best in people, comes off as anything but sincere.
“I’m Lydia, and this is my brother, Edward.” Lydia’s smile doesn’t reach her eyes.
Istus powers through regardless, she came here with a job to do. “I brought you this to welcome you.” Istus holds out the card. “We’re all about community here, you know, cross promotions, helping each other out. I’m looking forward to being able to tell my customers about you. I’m sure they’d love to try something different.” She smiles encouragingly in case they’re anxious about meeting new people.
Edward plucks the card from her hand and it slides through his fingers to the ground.
“Oops.” He says without making any move to pick it up. “I can be so clumsy.”
It’s fine. It is. They might be embarrassed about opening it in front of her, this is probably just a clever way to allow them to savour it later.
“So you’re from the ice cream shop?” Lydia’s voice sounds warmer than before. See, it’s fine.
“I am, we’ve been here for years. Not that that’s a bad thing, it’s a joy! There’s lots of regular customers too, it’s good for that here.”
“Yes, well, it’s lovely that someone can cater to people with simple tastes.” Edward says it so kindly that it takes Istus a moment to realise it isn’t a compliment.
“Anyway, I suppose you’re probably very busy, with the… churning. Don’t let us keep you.” Edward smiles his broadest smile yet.
“Ta ta!” Lydia waves brightly.
The door shuts slowly enough for Istus to see Edward retrieve the card and drop it straight into the bin; she has a horrible feeling she was meant to.
--
I hope you enjoyed! If you want to keep reading you can find part two here.
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