#I eat a shit ton of stir fries | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

slocumjoe · 2 years ago

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could i get your take on what the companions (or just my favorite boy X6's) top 10 fave candies/foods would be in a modern AU?

anon you are in luck, because I am constantly thinking about the diets and eating habits of my blorbos

The numbered list isn't in any particular order, it's just so I don't have to manually count each point

What the companions would eat if not in a post apocalypse

Cait; Wouldn't have a taste for fancier cuisine. Eats more...hick-ish. I can say that because I was a hick with this kind of diet, growing up. Has a taste for filling, cheap, low-effort food...think lots of fast food, but "healthier" fast food. Like Chipotle, Panera, etc. Can cook, doesn't often, but will if she has a craving. Savory or tart tastes. She tends to eat lighter than you'd expect.

Blueberry brownie anything, favors dark chocolate in general

Submarine sandwiches, anything with pickles

Key lime pie

Salt and vinegar chips and thinks critics of such chips are cowards

Peach Redbull, any energy drinks though

Storebought hummus and Doritos, has been seen eating hummus with just a spoon though

Blueberry bread pudding. Simple to make, fun to eat, very comforting. Buys her bread already stale from a local bakery, has a guy to hook her up with the old shit

Seafood chowder

Sausages in any capacity. Jerky sticks, breakfast sausage, etc. Loves chorizo.

Honey buns from the gas station

Curie; Health nut, she eats like every influencer claims they eat like. Only, Curie actually eats like that. Lots of fresh foods and whole grains, little red meat. However, Curie makes a point to have foods that other health nuts would condemn, thinks its really important to not label any food as "bad." So, she balances between health nut and normal person. Her taste leans toward bright and/or sweet. Dislikes red meat.

Salmon breakfast wraps

Tropical fruit smoothies, eats so much pineapple

Iced tea, favors raspberry. Never seen without an iced tea of some kind

Halibut tacos, likes red cabbage and a fuck ton of lemon on it. Soft shells all the way

Bananas foster

Whipped brie dip, eats it with anything but loves it on apples, basically dessert

Lemon pepper grilled chicken and rice

So many salads, loves that you can just throw shit in a bowl and call it a recipe. Likes strawberries and almonds

Lemon poppyseed muffins

Shrimp and bitter melon stir fry

Danse; mixed bag. One on hand, small town diner tastes. Simple, cheap, good ol' American food. On the other, he's doomed to be a soldier in every universe he's in, so...maybe he picks up some tastes and dishes from places he's toured. Gets a weird pallate that shoots in all directions and makes you wonder what it's like in that thick skull. One day he's a good American boy with pancakes and steak, the next he's eating cake mix dry and drinking tahini from a flask.

Anything BBQ, but a pulled pork devotee

Hot coffee so heavily creamed and sugars it looks like milk. He likes the twix combo of chocolate, shortbread, and caramel flavors

Prepackaged baked goods a la Hostess, fucks up little Debbie oatmeal cookies

Apple and pecan pie

Menemen—Turkish dish, scrambled eggs with tomatoes, bell peppers, spices to taste, and (controversially) onions. Adds sausage and cheese, eats it with a fork or spoon (its meant to be eaten with bread)

Khachapuri—Georgian cheesy bread with egg. Eats with a knife and fork. (its meant to be eaten with the bread crust)

Smores pop tarts

Beef and potato stew

Rice bowl with fried egg and avocado, bonus points if it has bacon

Straight cookie dough/brownie/cake batter, usually when he's black out drunk and cannot shame himself out of eating raw egg products.

Deacon; Very childhood comfort food. Y'know, things you had as a kid, but probably grew out of a bit? Eats out of gas stations/takeout frequently. Very open flavor pallete, has tried everything he's had the chance to. Likes one-handed food, stuff you can have the other hand free for. Doesn’t really have a 'theme', has broad horizons for his diet. Likes lighter, mild flavors, though. He eats lightly and on the go a lot.

Hot/corn dogs, taste in hot dog toppings varies

Egg salad sandwiches

French fries and vanilla ice cream, classic combo

Mango sticky rice

Cornbread with any accompaniments. Likes honey or chili, thinks if you have a drink with cornbread, you ain't a real cornhead

Penne alla vodka

Cucumber salad. This could mean a salad with cucumbers, that trending Asian recipe where you cut the cumber so its springy, or eating a cucumber like a hotdog.

Fried mushrooms

Usually just drinks water but will have gator/powerade when he's working. Likes purple flavor

Captain crunch cereal, loves all cereal though. Prefers the kibble stuff to the berries. Starts philosophical debates about the morality of Trix commercials vs Lucky Charms commercials

Gage; His favorite foods reflect his upbringing. Coastal swamp cuisine, cheap and made in bulk. Take Danse's pallate and hyperlocalize it, and then lower the budget by a good amount. Things he grew up eating. Would gradually replace his favorites with pricier, 'less embarrassing' dishes, distances himself from his origins. However, takes care to not looked too loaded. Smokey and savory flavors are his thing, likes more spice than people expect.

Doberge cake, which is layered with pudding, often half-chocolate and half-lemon

Red beans and rice, with stewed pork if they could afford it

Blackened fish of any kind, liked it with cilantro-lime rice

Steak with potatoes and/or eggs

Chronic iced tea drinker like Curie, though he prefers the bitter kinds

Scallops

Brussels sprouts defender and will fight for their honor

Peaches

Was introduced to curry during a business meeting/outing. Could drink that shit from a glass, has it with potatoes and porkchops.

Lobster anything. This is one of those 'less embarresing' things, but he genuinely enjoys a good lobster roll. Even if he prefers a freshly-caught lobster bisque. Again, something he had growing up, something he pushes away.

Hancock; Similar to Deacon, but favors fatty, greasy food. No, it's not the drugs, that's just his metabolism. He's a skinny twink, always starving, can never put on weight. Eats as much as Danse, who is a big guy and needs more calories than most. He's really into street food and foreign dishes, won't eat at a restaurant if they speak fluent English or have good customer service. IYKYK. Very comfort food heavy, lots of "this would slap with Netflix at 2 am"

A classic oxtail, mac and cheese, and collard green take out combo

Any and all American-chinese take out, usually gets eggplant tofu with chow mein and cream cheese rangoons

"Walking tacos", those things where you open a small bag of chips and dump White People taco makings in. Probably just tips the whole thing into his mouth

Yakitori, Japanese chicken skewers, popular bar food

Bloody Mary cocktails

Pizza, will fight for the honor of pineapple. Would really be into how Brazil does pizza

Frozen yogurt and ice cream, piles with toppings

Breakfast sandwiches or wraps. Egg, meat, cheese, doesn't matter the time nor specifics.

Jam donuts, loves cherry fillings

Puppy chow/muddy buddies, chex cereal covered in chocolate and powdered sugar. Eats his weight in them if not careful

MacCready; forces himself to learn how to cook for Duncan's sake, but for himself...good God. It's horrible. Eats like garbage. Would never drink water if not to set an example. Take out, frozen food, so much candy and soda. After Duncan, broadens his horizons. Finds he really likes soups. Just throw shit in a pot and it works. Eats on a budget, so that's a life-saver. Doesn't have a preferred flavor pallete, aside from his love of candy.

Meat lover's pizza. Thinks pineapple has no place on pizza

Used to drink Mountain Dew and diet coke, replaced it with iced teas and more organic fruit juices for the sake of his teeth

Chicken soup, either from a can, or homemade. Either way, slaps. If homemade, blends veggies for a hidden veggie stock. For him, Duncan is a lot better at eating veggies, MacCready needs to trick himself.

Sour rainbow ropes

Cookie crisp cereal, thinks whoever came up with it deserved the sloppiest head. Incredible design, no notes

Cheese and sour cream chips

Famous Amos cookies

Eggo waffles

Gnocchi is God to him. Its superior to all noodles and makes your Shit In The Fridge soup 1000 times better.

Rice pudding is cheap, easy, and a surprisingly efficient sweet-tooth satisfier. Makes it with pumpkin spice mix or chocolate.

Nick; Home-cooked meals all the way. Could kill himself with cheese and die happy. Lots of easy meals and snacking so he can keep working, but will treat himself to a nice, hard-earned dinner when he has the time and energy. Likes himself the smokey, the fresh, or the sour. Probably knows all the best sub shops in the city, probably in a turf war with regulars of rival shops. Jewish delicatessens are like church to him.

Lasanga. Most of his freezer space is lasagna. Eats so much of it. He's lactose intolerant. It hurts but it hurts so good

Latkes. Fried potato things, kind of like hashbrowns, except the potato is mashed/ground instead of grated. And yes. Also pastrami. But those little potato bitches...mmmph.

Red velvet muffins with cream cheese frosting.

Fried cheese in any capacity

A prosciutto, arugula, brie, and fig sandwich

Pickled pearl onions

Cobb salad

Black coffee. Temp doesn't matter, because he's going to forget it until its room temp.

Has been known to enter fugue states and consume an absurd amount of Chicago style hot dogs

Scones or just plain bread with butter and jams

Piper; Broke college student trying to make it as a reporter. Her tastebuds are fucked, they salivate not for flavor, or texture, but for those good, good low prices. Piper's diet is almost entirely snackfood or takeout. If she ever cooks, it's for Nat. But when taking care of just herself, Piper eats from a box or bag. When she does cook, it's very simple meals. Loves her carbs and her fruit flavors

Chicken Ramen with canned chicken and frozen broccoli chucked in. Also makes this for Nat

Hot cheetos, eats with chopsticks

Spaghetti and meatballs

Fruit smoothies/smoothie bowls, blends in veggies as well for the nutrition

Coka cola and anything from Fanta, loves fruit sodas

Anything carbs and I mean that. Eats a lot of bread, pasta, cakes, potatoes...they're the sweetheart of anyone on a budget.

Buffalo cauliflower, likes it more than Buffalo chicken

Chewing gum. Fruit flavors only, hates mint gum. Likes mint elsewhere, just not in gum.

Nickle-nips and other "jelly/juice in a wax package" candies. Likes the charm of it, also, free chewing wax

Suckers/lollipops, big on hard candy in general but the stick satisfies her smoking habit.

Preston; A mix of easy depression/bulk meals and dishes from his childhood. Lots of spices, cooks with a lot of straight peppers. Tends to eat his food 'raw', not made into a dish. Again, easy and quick to eat. Also tends to buy pre-prepared stuff for the same reason, buys more fruits and veggies and just eats them straight. Doesn't care about eating healthy, he just lacks energy to cook most days.

I have no choice to explain this as it has no name. Casserole dish, layer of mashed potatoes, layer of shredded or chunked chicken, layer of white breakfast gravy or brown poultry gravy, top with drop biscuits. It's buttery, its savory, it is white as snow. Easy, cheap, one ladlefull is dinner. You'll get a few meals out of it, and it's so filling you have like, five minutes before you're stuffed. I call it gut-glue.

Dirty rice

Eggs scrambled with spinach

Jollof/jambalaya

Veggies and hummus or ranch

Various fruits and berries such as grapes, cherries, blackberries, and oranges

Shakshouka, eggs poached in spicy tomato sauce and eaten with bread

Chicken biscuits, crackers dusted with, like, chicken bouillon? They taste like a chicken Ramen packet sneezed on a ritz

Slurpees/Icees/those syruped gas station ice drinks

Straight peppers, eats bell peppers like apples. Eats pickled jalapeños and scotch bonnets to feel something. Drinks the liquid in pickle jars instead of alcohol, or mixes it with gelatin and makes pickle jello.

X6-88; Pretensious rich asshole who eats like it. He rarely cooks for himself, probably has a personal chef or something. Maybe his work has their own restaurants, like Google. Eats mostly vegetables, but his favorite foods skew from "Dubai Influencer" to "12 year old who earned too much lawn mowing money and was let loose in a convenience store." So much sugar. Willy Wonka's factory is his idea of heaven and until it exists, he's an atheist.

Raw meats. Steak and tuna tartar, sashimi, and sushi

Braised duck with cherries

Nduja, a spicy pork sausage spread, has it with flatbreads

Oysters. Eats them all fancy in public, eats them from a tin with doritos at home

Anything from Hostess, Little Debbie, those brands. Fucking anything. However, would kill a man for any kind of Swiss roll

Chocolate milk

Gummies, very picky with brands, hates the harder kinds like Haribo. Wants his gummies soft as a marshmellow

Cadbury eggs

Milano dark chocolate cookies

Gushers

#fallout 4 #fo4 #paladin danse #preston garvey #nick valentine #piper wright #x6-88 #robert joseph maccready #companions react #porter gage

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darcyolsson · 1 year ago

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low effort meal: cook rice (i use rice cooker bc lazy), get can of black beans, put into pot and cook with aromatics of ur choice (little garlic and onion, can also use garlic/onion powder for less effort, bay leave), can cook for literally however long u want, fry piece of bone in skin on chicken thigh (spiced obviously). more low effort meal: just do the black bean thing and eat a shit ton of black beans

alternative: fry small pieces of ham (or other protein), add veggie of ur choice (i like to use peas and spring beans), add egg, stir fry, add left over rice, stir fry, add soy sauce, bam now u have fried rice . if u use shrimp u have shrimp fried rice .

more alternative: take rice and any kind of vegetable and also any kind of pre-cooked protein, put into pot/rice cooker, add spices/aromatics, cook, eat. rice absorbs water and while the rice is cooking the vegetables get steamed. u can literally get like rotisserie chicken or smth for this

genius. thank you

#answered asks #sanzuphobe #im making that fried rice!#recipes

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werebutch · 4 years ago

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For me, everything really got so much better when I turned 18. There's a bit of an adjustment for the first little bit as you start to learn what it means to be an adult, but it honestly brings good things.

Advice time!

1. Get some kind of storage, and keep all your important documents there. Any tax receipts, passports, proof of employment, ect. When you move, it rules to just open a drawer and have all that stuff ready to go. Obviously also make this a secure storage, if you can

2. Cooking! Even the higher-end dishes can be cheaper than eating out almost anywhere. Provided you don't live in a food desert - those are worth moving to a different city to get out of. If you're completely unknowledgable, refried bean burritos, steamed vegetables, stir fries, and most breakfast food are good ones for people just starting out. I've been cooking since forever, and anyone is always welcome to message and ask for recipies, fyi! Also while you're learning stuff, fixing clothes is a great one to pick up if you have the change. In general, how to fix things is always worth learning if you can.

3. Don't feel like you need to move out just because you're old enough to do it! If your parents are people you like (or don't really mind at least), consider staying with them and focusing on building up finances. If you need to get out, see if you can join a rental group, especially queer-focused ones. It's always cheaper to rent with roommates. Keep in mind that living with other people is a skill that takes time to develop and there will be road bumps.

4. There's a lot of new things to do & try! Hell yes. Don't feel like you need to do any of them, just because they're easier/legal to do. Especially for drugs (including alcohol) and sex (especially kink / risky sex). If you do want to try a new thing, start with a smaller amount. Doing something too much or too intensely can really be a rough experience, and doing something in a small amount will let you get a good feel for it, while keeping your head clear enough to understand what's happening.

5. Fuck rules and manners. Learn how to say no to people, its the best skill to have. Also, learn how to say yes - specifically when you're offered help, or free things, or any act of kindness. If someone is offering something, it's often because they'd legitimately be happy to see you have it.

6. Go thrifting! Buying high quality used clothes, instead of fast fashion, will have a much longer life span. Go to shitty little music shows! Go to dingy diners at 2am! But also take care and joy in taking care of yourself. Self maintenance will seriously make everything else much easier, and getting into the habit early will really help.

7. Whenever you move out, you'll be in a totally different environment, and that's really spooky. The first 3 or 4 nights will likely feel scary, and like you made the wrong decision. Big changes are hard, and leaving the consistency of your home is intimidating. Normally, I always say trust your gut instincts, but this one is usually wrong. Humans are built to survive, and your brain doesn't trust new things. Once you've lived there a week or so, you'll love the place. If you still feel like you shouldn't be living somewhere after 3 weeks or so, you should start looking, if you can afford it. Keeping a good and healing space is serious a #1 priority.

8. You may have been lied to about credit cards. My parents, teachers, and a bunch of people basically hammered home "don't get a credit card or you'll lose all your money". I didn't get one for so long, and I was honestly so proud. But, it was a struggle! Occasionally a place will only accept credit, and it'll suck to be locked out of them. Also, you won't build good credit that way. My recommendation is to get a card that doesn't have any fees (doesn't matter about points or whatever) and just use it for 1 or 2 of your purchases a month, that you know you can easily afford, they really don't need to be big. Pay it off immediately. If you end up taking out any loans, pay them on time! Most people recommend paying the maximum amount off of a loan each month, but as a new adult, it'll be ok if you want to hold onto more of your money, and only pay the minimum each month. That's totally OK, just do it on time! As long as you do this, you'll have really good credit.

9. Own it! You're in control now. For me, the simple little thing of picking out my own hand soaps is something I treasure. It's your life, and it looks like it now! You can get posters, fairy lights, plants, anything! Give your space some personality, make it feel like yours! Note- posters feel a little dingy after a while, even new ones. If you have some you like especially, buy some frames for them, or get them as tapestries. Both feel way fancier and more adult. But posters are cheaper, so you can get way more of them.

10. Once you're out of school, it'll be a bit harder to make friends. The best way to do it is to go to social events, like board game nights, hobby groups, ect. Anything with a shared interest means you'll likely find some people you vibe with. Don't feel like you need a ton of friends! Just a few is fine, you want to make sure they're people you truly like being around, that are good friends to have.

11. Oh shit also get vaccinated before you do any of that social stuff. Also,,, maybe look into health insurance. It's a seriously good investment, (more if you're in USA, in Canada it's not needed quite as much. Dental, on the other hand, is definetly worth getting). If you're on your parents insurance, stay on that for as long as possible! It's free baby!

12. Don't try to become what you thing an adult "needs" to be. It's your life, being an adult can be whatever you want it to look like! And, honestly, the first step of being an adult just looks a lot like being a teenager, just with a bit of change every year or so. Take it slow, and put yourself first.

13. That's it! There's probably a bit more I could put on here, but this feels good. I'm open to questions! If this ends up getting posted, this includes other people too! It's a scary process, but it can be a really good thing, and it has been for so many people I know. Good luck, be safe, have fun!

this is super helpful once I start wanting to move out, but I’m not quite there yet :) thank u tho this rlly helps me prepare lol

#asks #anonymous #I’ll put some tags in here:#life tips #life advice #long post

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libraford · 6 years ago

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Everyone tells you about the zucchini.

No one tells you about the zucchini advice. Because the minute you plant your wee little zucchini plants, you will be inundated with unsolicited advice on how to handle the massive amounts of zucchini that you don’t have yet.

I shall now pass this wisdom on to you, so that you may have a list of all the things you might do with large amounts of zucchini- should you be mysteriously gifted with someone else’s unwanted crop.

Which brings me to bullet point number one:

Give your unwanted crop to someone else. This is a longstanding tradition in suburban areas, where someone wanting to start a garden may have been under the very incorrect assumption that one plant yields one fruit. Well, soccer mom, you are incorrect. Welcome zucchini hell- hope your friends are loyal, and they didn’t make the same mistakes you did.

Thinly-sliced zucchini will freeze well.

Matchstick-sliced zucchini will also freeze well.

Zucchini Bread

for use as a ballast

Sliced and stir-fried

Sliced and steamed with other vegetables

Have you considered giving them to your neighbors?

Make a relish out of shredded zucchini and carrots. Add radish if you’re feeling froggy.

Grill them in olive oil with balsamic vinegar

Feed them to the chickens and the pigs.

Stuffed, fried zucchini flowers.

Do consider bringing your spare zucchinis to queer meet-ups, because it is likely that your queer friends are in need of greens and fiber in their diet.

wepon

chocolate zucchini cake

pickle them.

Also minced. Minced will freeze well.

Ratatouille.

Zucchini Pancakes

Zucchini Brownies

Stuffed zucchini boat

See that fool over there who left his car doors unlocked? I bet he’d love some zucchini.

Greek Stuffed Zucchini

Under the cover of night, take the seeds of your bountiful zucchini and plant them covertly on the property of your local bigoted politicians.

Zucchini soups

Zucchini noodles

A lot of y’all are suggesting to compost the zucchinis. This is what you do if you want significantly more zucchinis next year.

Sauteed with garlic, butter, pepper, and salt

Grated zucchini freezes well also.

Cheese and zucchini souffle (cheese souffle plus zucchini minced)

Vegetable lasagna

Zucchini compote (just slow cook the shit out of it)

Zucchini quiche

Swaddle your oversized zucchini like a baby and when your neighbor asks to hold the baby, throw it at her and run.

Zucchini parmesan.

Zucchini chips

Breaded and fried zucchini

And I’m sure there’s tons more because zucchinis are a versatile starchy vegetable which means that they have endless possibilities. Use your imagination and build your new kingdom on courgettes. Bend them to your will.

And then eat them.

#the garden of earthly hoa violations

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ericsonclan · 3 years ago

Text

Stop and Smell the Stew

Summary: Duck goes down to the kitchen to see if dinner is ready and ends up helping his mom cook.

Word Count: 1759

Read on AO3:

Duck lay on his bed, his legs lazily kicking as they dangled off the edge. His eyes focused on a weird dot on his ceiling for a second, wondering how it got there before his attention was stolen by the TV as Final Fantasy music began to play on the title screen of the game. He had just finished an intense gaming session of grinding his weaker team members, cheering for them when they leveled up and laughing with Tidus as he did the laugh alongside Yuna.

It was a ton of fun but his stomach had been growling and sadly all he’d had was some Batman fruit snacks. Well, not some - one pack. He had inhaled that like it was nothing and now his stomach demanded more. It gave its usual pleas and angry cries, making Duck wonder if dinner would be ready soon. He knew it was only four but still maybe his mom would have started dinner early tonight or maybe she had made some treats.

With that thought in mind Duck swung his legs off his bed and swayed up to his full height in one awkward movement. Strolling forward, he walked past his bookshelf filled with nothing but comics and mystery novels. Batman, Spiderman and Scooby Doo figures stood proudly by the great reads he had collected over the years. His eyes stuck on the Shaggy figure who was definitely a bit worse for the wear due to being such an old toy. Still his goofy expression was still as strong as ever. With a small smile Duck reached out to grab the figure but accidentally knocked over Daphne in the process.

“Shit, sorry, Daphne,” Duck apologized with a smile and leaned down to pick up the toy when his eyes locked onto a Rubik’s cube. Oh, so that's where it had ended up. He could’ve sworn he had lost it in his pants. Eh, no use thinking about it too hard. Snatching up the Rubik’s cube, Duck began to flick around the colored sections while he put Daphne back on the shelf.

With a grin he turned and began to solve the cube. He had always had a love and a knack for puzzles and this one was one of his favorites. Spinning around the different sections, Duck quickly solved it then blindly reorganized it. His mind was easily distracted by the thought of a new puzzle game coming out and after a few minutes Duck had no recollections of how many spins he had done or what order it was in. The Rubik’s cube would remain a puzzle to solve later. Still holding it in one hand, Duck walked down the stairs with a smile and headed towards the kitchen.

“Hey, Mom, what's going to be for dinner?” Duck poked his head in the kitchen and noticed that Katjaa was busy getting out the dutch oven, carefully placing it onto the stove. The sound of her son’s voice made Katjaa look over with the brightest smile.

“I’m just getting started on it: carbonnade flamande,”

The name of the dish brought back fond memories and made Duck’s stomach growl.

That caused a laugh to leave Katjaa’s lips.“Want to help me?”

“Sure!” Duck beamed and placed down the Rubik’s cube in a spot he would most likely forget about by this evening. Rolling up his sleeves that immediately fell back down, he went to work grabbing all the ingredients. His loud footsteps rang around the kitchen as he grabbed the chuck roast that had been marinating overnight in the sour ale, bay leaves, garlic and some salt and also snatched up the bacon, beef broth and way too many other ingredients to try to carry all in one trip. Yet he still tried.

“Duck!” Katjaa exclaimed then bustled over, helping her son out.

“I wanted to carry it all in one trip,” Duck grinned at his mom who shook her head good naturedly before setting down the ingredients on the counter.

“I can see that and that was a very kind thought but you have to be careful,” Katjaa pulled Duck close to her and placed a gentle kiss on the side of his head.

“Okay, I’ll be more careful. Promise,” Duck gave a smile to his mom then turned his attention to the stove. “So, what’s step one?”

“We’re going to drain the beef and pat it dry,” Katjaa leaned down and grabbed a food strainer from the lower cupboard.

“On it!” Duck was off like a shot after snatching up the food strainer from his mom.

“Wait!” Katjaa called out, making Duck pause. “We have to reserve the marinade,”

“Oops, okay. I’ll do that,” Duck corrected his action and soon the beef was safely drained. Passing it over to his mom, Duck watched as Katjaa patted the beef dry with paper towels.

“Can you get the olive oil heated up in the dutch oven?” Katjaa smiled over at Duck as she sliced the onions. Duck nodded excitedly and was off once more, preparing the dutch oven.

Once the oil was piping hot Katjaa began to cook the beef in batches, careful to not let the oil splatter when she did so, and told Duck to do the same. Even though he was a young adult sometimes he still got too excited for his own good and forgot things. The two of them worked well together, making sure the beef was golden brown on all sides as the smells started to permeate the air around them. It was a warm, comforting smell that made Duck nostalgic as his stomach continued to growl.

After about ten minutes they removed the beef cubes and went on to the next step. It was time to cook the bacon and Duck had volunteered to take the lead on this one. Being ever vigilant, he made sure the bacon was cooked to crispy perfection while Katjaa hummed a Belgian tune that made Duck bop his head. Both of them shared a soft smile and soon Katjaa was back over beside him giving him hugs and ruffling his hair.

“Great job. You’re such a wonderful cooking helper,”

Duck gave a light laugh at that and grinned. “I had the best teacher,”

Katjaa gave his head another kiss then gave the instructions for the next step. After the bacon was taken out and put to the side, the onions were thrown in with some salt. The smell cut through the deep, meaty air that the beef and bacon had made, adding notes of onions that complemented it greatly. Soon some flour was added to the dutch oven to coat the caramelized onions and after that the beef broth was used to get any scraps off the bottom. Once all of those had been snagged, Duck gave a thumbs up and Katjaa added the reserved marinade, beef, bacon and thyme.

“Is that everything?” Duck asked, bouncing on the balls of his feet in anticipation for dinner.

“For now, yes. It needs to cook for an hour and a half first before we finish up the last few steps,”

Those words made Duck’s eyes grow big and his smile faltered. “An hour and a half?!? I thought it would be like twenty minutes. I can’t wait that long!”

Katjaa laughed at that; patience wasn’t her son’s strongest suit. “Don’t worry, you can have a snack to help tide you over,”

“I guess,” Duck mumbled, looking a bit defeated.

“Y’know, Duck, sometimes you just have to stop and smell the stew,” Katjaa placed a hand on her son’s arm and smiled, hoping he would get the twist on the saying. He didn’t. Instead he took it literally and began to smell the stew.

“It smells good,” Duck’s nose scrunched up when he saw his mom laugh. “What?”

“Nothing, it's just I was trying to put a twist on that saying. Y’know the one that talks about stopping to smell the roses. Duck, sometimes you need to slow down and relax, okay?” “Okay,” Duck nodded then tried to think of what to do to pass the time. “Wanna watch a movie while it cooks?”

“I’d love that,” Katjaa smiled and watched in amusement as Duck scampered off to put on Knives Out . He knew that his mom hadn’t seen it yet and he wanted to see if she could guess who the killer was.

It was a fun experience. Duck was on the edge of his seat as he munched on apples and peanut butter while Katjaa threw out guess after guess on who the killer was. Many laughs were shared, gasps given and their attention was captured. The hour and a half flew by in no time and even though they were both reluctant they paused the movie.

Duck repeated his same action from the beginning of dinner prep, his sleeves rolled up for three glorious seconds before falling back down as he helped add in the last few ingredients. Katjaa quickly added in the brown sugar, parsley, mustard and fresh pepper, giving the contents of the dutch oven a quick stir before putting the lid back on. The warm, deep flavors stayed in the air though, overwhelming Duck’s nose in the most wonderful of ways. His steps had a bit more pep to them as he guided his mom back to the living room, excited to finish the movie and then have a feast.

It didn’t take long for both of them to get swept up in the movie again and the reveal of the killer made Katjaa gasp. She gave her commentary as the credits rolled, Duck listening with a big smile as he added his own thoughts here and there. The two continued to gush about their favorite parts of the film as the fries cooked and soon dinner was ready. Duck eagerly set the table for three then looked over at the luscious Belgian stew that held a depth of flavor. The crisp smell of the french fries complemented the stew, adding another layer to the smells that danced around the kitchen.

Just as the table had been set and the food placed down the front door opened, revealing Kenny. He gave a big smile as he shifted his jacket off. “Hey there, Kat, Duck, it smells delicious,” He strolled forward and gave Katjaa a quick kiss on the cheek.

“Alright!” Duck sat down a bit too quickly, nearly slipping off his chair but gave a grin to his parents to show that he was a-okay. “Let’s eat!”

#twdg #twdg duck #twdg katjaa #twdg kenny #duck katjaa brotp #fanfic #ericson's diner au

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brelione · 4 years ago

Text

Road Trip (Rafe,Kelce,Topper X Reader)

Takes Place before The Best Boys

Arguing over who gets to play music

Merging all your playlists together and putting it on shuffle.That means going from the Moana soundtrack to Good Girls Bad Guys real quick

The ending location is Kelce’s lake house in Maine

Swapping spots in the car at every stop (Mostly stops demanded by Topper who just wants a slushie from every state)

Rafe driving when you guys first take off,letting you hold his hand

After the third snack stop you sawp to sit in the back with Topper,Kelce going into the passengers seat.You and Topper would watch Finding Nemo together and you werent wearing your seatbelt,leaning against him.

You used your polaroid camera so often,snapping pictures of Kelce whenever you could,even getting some of Rafe driving.

“OOH!MCDONALDS!PLEASE!”Kelce shouted over the music,Rafe glancing at you through the mirror,asking you silently. “Dont look at me!Get the poor boy some McDonalds!”You exclaimed,Kelce fistbumping you as Rafe pulled up to the McDonalds,not quite at the microphone. “Okay,we’re about to go throught the drive thru.Does everyone know what they want?”He asked,sick of Topper never knowing what he was doing.The three of you nodded,the boys ordering cheeseburgers,large fries,McFlurries and a yogurt parfait to “stay fit”.Rafe looked over to you,asking what you wanted. “Just a caramel iced coffee and a happy meal please.”You smiled,still having food from the gas stations.

Kelce was only allowed to drive during daytime because he has terrible eyesight

“Fuck-they forgot my happy meal toy!”You exclaimed,disappointed.The second Rafe saw another McDonalds he pulled up to the drive thu,asking for a cheeseburger happy meal,checking it for a toy after the worker handed it to him,letting out a relieved sigh. “Thats a good one,too.It looks like a Marvel person.”He handed it back to you.

At four in the morning the four of you were looking for a hotel to stay the night in,Topper driving this time around.Rafe noticed you go pretty much limp in his arms,your phone slowly falling from your hands and onto your stomach.He grinned,whispering to Topper and Kelce to turn down the music.

When they finally did find a hotel you guys were somewhere in Pennsylvania,getting a room with two beds and a pull out couch.

You were pretty tired,falling asleep on one of the beds immediately while the boys went to the vending machines,Kelce looking for something other than an energy drink for you to take your vitamins with.He had come back with an apple juice,grabbing your pills from the backpack you chose to bring inside,waking you up. “Hey,princess.You gotta take your vitamins then you can go to sleep.”He grinned,placing your pills into your palm,opening the bottle of apple juice.

Rafe was too tall for the beds,ending up on the pull out couch while old Mickey Mouse cartoons played on the tv.

You were clinging to Kelce when you woke up.He was scrolling through his phone,his arm at a strange angle so he wouldnt accidentally hit you. “Morning.”He grinned,setting his phone down,moving his other arm so you could sit up. You rubbed your eyes,yawning.The shower was running and Kelce had told you that Topper went to go get coffee.At some point you had fallen back asleep,face pressed into the cold pillow when an iced coffee was placed on the table next to you.You heard the shower turn off,Rafe emerging with a towel around his waist,hunting for his backpack.You blinked a few times,thinking that he was naked for a second. “Can we stay here for the day?Im tired of being in the truck.”You grumbled,reaching for the coffee and stirring the sugar and caramel syrup that was stuck at the bottom.Topper nodded in agreement,glad to finally stretch out his legs. “Yeah,yeah okay.”Rafe nodded,sitting on the pull out,watching the tv,glancing to you and Kelce every once in a while.He heard his phone ring,heart dropping when he saw that it was Ward. “I’ll be right back.”He told you guys,accepting the call.He paced up and down the hall as Ward demanded to know where he was. “I told you for the past three weeks I was going on a trip with (Y/N) and the boys.”He answered,biting his lip. “I dont remember that.��Ward grumbled. “Its cause you dont listen to me.”Rafe answered,hanging up and turning off his ringer,huffing as he leaned his head against the wall.You came out shortly after,sweatpants and Kelce’s baggy shirt on your body. “Hey,you okay?”You asked.He nodded,sniffling.You didnt say anything else,hugging him.His arms were tight around you,kissing your forehead,eyes closing as he calmed down. “He’s so bitchy.”Rafe whispered,voice shaky.You nodded,pressing a kiss to his collarbone. “I know,I know he is.But this is a fun little trip we’re having,right?”You asked,looking up at him.He nodded,his smile slowly coming back. “Right,so lets enjoy it.Lets go eat shit and watch stupid movies,i’ll even let you pick the movie.Even though its my turn-dont forget its my turn next time.”You grinned,tapping the tip of his nose.He chuckled,letting you drag him into the hotel room,sitting next to him on the bed.Topper had taken your polaroid camera from your bag,waiting for a good time to take a photo.Your arms were around Rafe,his head under your chin as he scrolled through the movies. “Isnt it (Y/N)’s turn to pick the movie?”Topper asked.You shrugged,not wanting to go into details.Rafe eventually picked a movie called ‘Shark Night’,a grin on his face knowing it would probably disturb you.You were on your phone most of the movie,a smile on your face as Rafe moved his face up so he could take a photo with you on snapchat,blue butterflies on his cheeks.You were oblivious to the fact of Topper taking a polaroid photo.It didnt matter how much it hurt him to see you and Rafe cuddling like a cute couple,you looked happy.He wanted to capture your genuine happiness in a photo,keeping the polaroid for himself.

Rafe had managed to stay clean for a bit of the trip,eventually doing a line in the hotel bathroom,pinching his nostrils so he wouldnt get a nose bleed.

Topper had went to go get you some fruit at a nearby grocery store,figuring that you’d be more comfortable eating something healthy.

He was right,watfching your happiness increase,loosening up as you ate a bowl of cherries and grapes.The second night at the hotel you slept next to-on top-of Topper,your arms around his shoulders and legs around his waist.

The morning of the third day you guys got back in the truck,enjoying The Descendants soundtrack,stopping at a beach to watch the sunset and have a small fire.

New york was a crazy experience,the place too crowded for you to really enjoy yourself.The four of you stayed at an apartment that Topper’s mother owned because of course she had to own a random apartment in the middle of New York.You showered at the apartment,the place so cold that you had to take Topper’s long sleeve shirt from him,shivering against him.

Thats when you chose to watch Z Nation,accidentally catching feelings for 10k.You had also gotten some of the best polaroids of Topper and Kelce,including two of Kelce eating a cookie the size of his head.In the first he was biting into it,the second he was glaring at the camera,realizing you had caught him.You also got a polaroid of Topper doing meditation,headphones on and sitting on the floor.The polaroids from that trip stayed in your mini backpack and away from the others just incase the boys ever wanted to look through your polaroid stacks.

The boys also got plenty of photos of you on their snapchat and around one hundred in their camerarolls if they were all put together.

Once you guys finally got to the lake house it was nothing but laughs,camp fires,kayaking and dancing around

You and Topper decided to bake a ton of sugar cookies and frost flowers and waves on them,most of it just looking like melted blobs of color but it was still fun to do.

Sitting on the large couch and binge watching disney princess films as you all ate the sugar cookies

“We love a bisexual bitch.”Kelce grinned at the television.You guys were currently watching Mulan,one of Kelce’s favorites. “He really puts the bi in bitch.”You agreed.

Campfires were fun,roasting marshmallows.Rafe being the dumb bitch he is burnt all of his,eating one that had ashes on it,gagging.

You and Rafe went kayaking in the lake but you were paranoid as hell from the movie you guys had watched,wanting to turn around when you guys got to the deeper part of the lake.He had laughed at you,agreeing.You guys decided to just sit on the sand,his hand on your thigh as you sighed,looking out at the clouds.

You guys stayed at the lake house for around ten days,not wanting to leave the cozy place. “We should move here.Like,can you imagine all of us living together?That would all be fucking chaos.”You laughed,eyes closed as you laid on your back with a pillow under your head.Topper blushed,glancing outside one of the windows. “I feel like it’d be fun.”Kelce shrugged,flipping through the channels.

You and the boys had driven into town to the tourist shops,laughing about how you probably looked the same as the tourons in obx.You got a sweatshirt with the location on it along with a t shirt and a mug,a grin on your face when you saw Kelce looking at t shirts,figuring it would most likely end up on you more than it was on him.

The mornings were really fun,the air was cold and you could see your breath,the four of you drinking hot coffee outside and enjoying the sight of the water and the beautiful green trees.

Kelce had taken photos of plenty of leaves,claiming that they were ‘the chosen ones’

You guys found a farm stand,going and trying a ton of new things including a bottle of home made strawberry milk and dunking the leftover sugar cookies in it.

You guys even went to see a huge waterfall,Rafe doing a secret photo shoot of both the trees,the waterfall and you.

You found a really cool rock that was both shiny and green,giving it to Topper for his rock collection that only you knew about.

The drive back to North Carolina was kind of sad,missing the vibes of the house in the woods.You all decided to go back to your house and have a sleepover,not wanting to drive anymore than necessary.

“Can we get taco bell?”Kelce asked,half asleep against the window. “Bruh,I cant even think about food right now ill throw the fuck up.”You mumbled,reaching for his hand.It felt cold which was nice because you felt really warm for some reason,dragging him across the leather seat,enjoying how cold he was. “What are you doing?”He asked,not fighting it. “You feel cold.”You mumbled,clinging onto him.Rafe frowned,asking if you wanted him to turn the AC on higher.You nodded,enjoying the blasts of cool air.Luckily Kelce got his taco bell,eating only half of it before falling asleep.You felt the car pull into a gas station,Topper and Rafe swapping spots so Topper would be the one driving and pumping gas into the truck. “We’re almost there guys.”Topper told you and Kelce,the radio playing Billie Eilish quietly.When the truck stopped again you guys were at a motel,not far from the docks where you’d have to catch a ferry in the morning.Topper just carried you in,letting you sleep against him on the bed,only waking up to the alarm that had been set.

The ferry ride was a blur.Kelce’s silver car had been parked in his cousins garage,the four of you getting inside and driving right to your house,all of you going back to sleep in your living room.Poor Rafe didnt even make it onto the couch,falling asleep on your floor.You were all asleep until mid afternoon,Rafe having a slight sunburn on his nose,cheeks and forehead but not so bad that he needed aloe.Kelce was walking like a zombie,making coffees and hot pockets,serving them to you guys. “Shitting hell-you didnt take you vitamins last night.”He cursed,handing you the small fist full and grabbing you a water bottle.

“dammit-we have to redo the whole trip!I forgot to get a slushie in every state.”Topper huffed. “Fuck dammit,bottom!” “Well who’s fault is that?Who’s is it?Not mine” “Maybe you shouldve driven the whole time!” Topper pouted,all of you attacking him at once.

“I made a cool edit though,you wanna see?”Kelce asked you guys,excited as he went into his cameraroll,not waiting for an answer.There were clips of you guys in the car,screaming the lyrics to the Ever After High theme song,the next clip of you and Rafe cuddling on the pull out mattress,weird filters on your faces.The next was Topper trying to get chips out of the vending machine,nearly getting his arm stuck.

“Shut the hell up!Its almost my favorite part!”You shouted,shushing the boys as your favorite part of Rewrite The Stars came up.

“Im going to catch this frog-im gonna do it.”You were determined,squatting over the long grass,staring down. “Shit-I lost it!”You laughed.

Topper tried to balance a sugar cookie on his nose,failing and losing it to the couch. “NO!THAT ONE HAD A SUNFLOWER ON IT!”He cried,searching desperately for it.The camera then moved to you and Rafe laughing then to Kelce,a smile on his face as he glanced down at the phone screen.

It was all funnier than it shoulve been since the theme song to little einsteins was playing the background,the video ending with a video of you and Rafe battling eachother with pool noodles,Topper shouting about fowl hits and how it was ‘illegal in the land of narnia’

“Wow,freaking photographer ass.”Topper chuckled,making Kelce shrugged. “I mean,I learn from the best.”He smiled at you.

@sweetlittlegingy @nicolefarley603 @ilikealotofpeople-younotsomuch @newsies-yeet @butgilinsky @jjjmaybank @gracelovesbroadway @one-stella @outerbongs @copper-boom @httpstarkey @teenwaywardasgardian @drewswannabegirl @simonsbluee @jiaraendgame @khiaraaa-in-spacee @on-socks-off @spn-marvel-nerd @lovelyelinor @chinamolina602 @sexytholland @28cnn @popcrone818 @fttayla @cherryobx @n1ghtsh4d3-67 @drewstarkeyobx @poguestyleskye @judayyyw @jjtheangel @jj-iz-bae@sunwardsss @meaganjm @sarcasticsagittarius1998 @natalie-kate-98 @nxsmss @broken-jj @joshy-obx

#the best boys #kelce outer banks #kelce obx #kelce x reader #topper thornton #topper thorton x reader #topper thorton imagine #topper imagine #rafe cameron #rafe obx #rafe x reader #rafe cameron imagine #rafe #rafe x y/n #obx

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starry-cosmos · 3 years ago

Text

[Event Translation] Sleepless Night at the Campeggio 「眠れぬ夜のカンペッジオ」Chapter 10

Thank you En for proofreading!

Chapter 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Heathcliff: So that's what happened!?

Nero finally withdrew his magical tools that had been chasing after Bradley.

Nero: Yeah... We didn't want to cause a stir, so we kept it on the down low.

Mitile: But to get thrown into a pool of magma, won't you normally die that way...

Shino: So that means we're looking at a dead Bradley.

Lennox: ... Really?

Bradley: Don't just kill me off! You can see it for yourself. I, who was just about to be beat up before your eyes, am the one and only Bradley!

Bradley: Though it's true I was thrown right into the magma pool.

Bradley: I was getting dragged into the door in the air, and only narrowly missed by sneezing, and somehow ended up on this island.

Figaro: I see, you've been rescued by your injury from the calamity.

Rutile: But why didn't you return to the manor straightaway?

Bradley: I wanted to, but I was gettin' attacked by a monster.

Bradley: I returned those attacks, and it retreated into this place. It was a damn pain in the ass trying to chase it around.

Bradley: Well, I killed it off anyway. Y'gotta be shit outta luck if anyone wants to pick a fight with me.

Murr: So, what did the monster look like? Was it something like a huge spider?

Bradley: Ah? And how do you know that?

Everyone: !

Bradley: What, was Mister Bowl-Cut looking for it too? It's too late anyway. Monster's turned into mana stone and is long in my stomach.

Shino, Mitile, Heathcliff: ........

As expected, the truth of the island's big spider legend was indiscernible… even until now.

Akira: In any case, I'm really glad you're alright, Bradley.

Bradley: Yeah. I can finally return.

Bradley: Nero, make some fried chicken for me when we get back to the wizard manor, okay?

Nero: Don't you talk like everything's fine already. Go apologize to Mister Sage properly. You sure worried him a ton.

Shino: In any case, you were really intense back there, Nero.

Heathcliff: Yeah. It's my first time seeing Nero this angry.

Heathcliff: You were facing a northern wizard, but you weren't holding back at all...

Nero: Heh?

Nero's eyes swiftly darted around.

Nero: Uhm... Well... Actually... Right now, this guy's also at the manor, eating the food I've prepared with you guys.

Nero: So I guess he's one of us kinda... a comrade, if you will. And that's why... y'know... That's why I didn't hold back...

Nero: Yeah?

Bradley: Wow, those're some really nice words you got there...

Bradley: But yeah, it's something like that.

Stumped as he was, Bradley nodded along. He seemed to be a little happy, even.

I doubt the loosening of these intertwined strings would stay that way forever, but even so, I was still very happy at the outcome.

Heathcliff: Shino.

Heathcliff: Whatever you do, don't just decide for yourself and rush out like that. If you do the same thing next time, I will be mad.

Shino: ... Sorry. I'll do my best to give a good heads-up from now on.

Heathcliff: You can't just do your best. Same goes for how you report back.

Shino: Got it. I'll be careful.

Heathcliff: ... You're surprisingly good about this today.

Shino glanced over at Nero.

Shino: I don't want Heath to get that mad towards me.

In our hands, we have the ingredients for the Dream-Eating Wheel, souvenirs for everyone back at the manor, and even a Bradley.

We met with many twists and turns on this deserted island, but had to wave goodbye to the fun and exciting vacation we had, and went back to the manor.

Heathcliff: Mister Faust, this is from us.

Shino: It's a charm, called a Dream-Eating Wheel. It’s said to feed on nightmares, so you can let it have a go at yours.

Heathcliff: We actually went to an island in the South Country just to make this, by the way.

Faust: Ah is that so. I didn't know. Totally. Not in the slightest.

Shino: Are you surprised?

Faust: Yeah. I'm surprised. Really, very surprised.

Shino, Heathcliff: Hooray!

Murr: Faust, that was some sick monotone!

Figaro: Clumsy yet earnest, that's a trait of his that didn't change.

Lennox: Does that mean Master Faust knew right from the start?

Figaro: Well, you could say an adult would get the drift when it comes to knowing what the kids are up to.

Figaro: Looks like he did his best to pretend not to know, for the sake of the kids.

Mitile: Everything turned out well though! Mister Faust looks really happy about it.

Rutile: I'm sure that part isn't pretense at all.

Faust: Shino, Heath. Thanks for going all the way to do this for me.

Shino: Hehe. It's okay to cry from being deeply emotional, you know.

Faust: Eh, I'm not crying, but...

Shino: Yeah?

Faust: I'll take good care of it. Thank you, both of you.

Heathcliff: You're welcome!

Shino: Sure thing.

Once Bradley was out of sight, Nero and I began to plan how we would go about our drinking party.

We've put off this plan for so long that we've decided to definitely make it a reality, once and for all. And so I was here at the dining hall.

Akira: ...Hm?

Nero was present at the scene, but the main man, Bradley, was nowhere in sight.

Akira: Now what will we ever do...?

Nero: Hm... Maybe he's...

[Ground shakes]

Akira: !? What's with that sound...?

Nero: Likely went off to settle his scores with Mithra.

The atrociously loud, ceiling-shaking sound went on for two, no, three more times.

Akira: B-Bradley... He's able to make it today, right...?

Nero: Hey, he was the one who brought the idea up. He'll come over even if he has to crawl over 'n all that.

Nero had his elbow on the table, and his face was somehow rather relaxed.

Akira: Nero, you look well today.

Nero: Well, I too got the Dream-Eating Wheel from Shino and Heath. It's probably thanks to that.

Nero: A’ight then... Let's have a bite of the fried chicken before it goes cold.

Bradley: Hey! Don't go startin' without me!

The star of the party made his appearance, and as if he came back from a war like in the stories, brought along injuries all over himself. He looked a little more battered than when we met him at the deserted island.

Akira: Bradley, are you alright?

Bradley: For sure. I got sucker punched big-time the second time, but I got a blow onto his face the first time round. And that's a wrap for the day.

Bradley: So, shall we begin?

Nero: Stubborn guy, isn't he. Same goes for you.

Bradley: Ha. Who do you think I am? I'm the One and Only Bradley, who even shuts crying kids up.

Nero smiled and said one thing to the smirking, tough-looking Bradley.

Nero: 'Course you are.

As if they were long-time buddies.

#mhyktl #event translation

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youwerenevermeanttofeelalone · 5 years ago

Text

But? Damian Wayne • Tim Drake

Pairing: Older!Damian Wayne x Plus Size Reader, Tim Drake x Plus Size Reader

Word Count: 4.5k

Summary: you go through a lot because of Tim and Damian but in different ways.

Request: do you listen to asmr boyfriend roleplay (on yt)? Some of them would be great as fics.

Warnings: angst, mentions of cheating, sexual innuendos, language, fluff, a very light mention of violence, light mentions of insecurity, is rain a warning?

A/N: the fact that every fic I’ve written for these characters has the same concept is very funny but I definitely see the appeal and the potential.

Based off these YouTube videos: one two three

❖︎・・・・・❖︎・・・・・❖︎・・・・・❖︎

Replaying it didn’t make it easier to digest. After months of plans to move in together and talks about adopting a dog, Tim had broken up with you. He fell for someone else, a person he spoke about often.

She was a coworker of his, a gorgeous woman if anyone asked you. You could never blame him for falling for someone like her, she looked like a model and was a badass agent — it just hurt.

Now you were packing the belongings he kept at your place to send them to him with Alfred. It seemed like he couldn’t only break your heart and walk away, Tim also had to humiliate you. Out of respect, Alfred didn’t ask anything at all, he merely reminded you he was always available for you and wished you a good night.

The TV show playing in front of you wasn’t being processed by your brain. Curled up on the bed, covered with the duvet and a fuzzy blanket, you were desperately trying to conceive some sleep, for your brain to at least calm down so your head would stop throbbing and your eyes twitching.

Startled by tapping on the window, you were forced to swallow the mucus clogging your nose. Coughing, you rolled on the bed to asses who had disturbed you. Upon realizing it was just Robin, you begrudgingly left the bed to open the window.

He entered the room without saying anything, waiting for you to lock the window and close the curtains to take his domino mask off. He always did that, no matter how many times you told him no one would see him.

Damian stared down at the dozens of used Kleenex in the trashcan you kept near the bed. “Why are you upset?”

“I thought you knew...” your voice was strained, throat too tired due to the sobbing.

“I clearly don’t.”

“Tim dumped me for someone else.” Saying it in front of his brother was even worse than you had imagined. “Why are you here if it isn’t because I forgot to pack his brown jacket?”

Damian plopped down on your desk chair, staring directly at you, “patrol was boring and father is with Kyle again.”

Nodding, you went back to your spot on the bed, making yourself comfortable with a pillow on your lap.

“Are you tired?”

You were, but you didn’t want to be alone. “Not at all,” you lied so he wouldn’t dare leave. “Do you want to watch that movie you recommended to me last month?”

“Sure.”

Browsing through different streaming services until you found the film, you saw Damian take parts of his suit off in order to be more comfortable. Surprising you, he sat down on the bed, just beside you, once you had found the title.

You had to admit that paying attention was easier with him around, probably because you didn’t want to annoy him. The film did its job, you finally got distracted — you also fell asleep.

It became a routine, every night he would tap on your window and make you company. Some nights you would stay up until sunrise when you had to go to work, others he would be so tired he’d crash out on your couch, and a few nights you fully rested because his presence made you feel calmer.

Damian and you had never been too close, he and Tim had a complicated relationship and you didn’t want to have problems with your now ex-boyfriend. Now you hoped you had, he wasn’t what you had thought — Damian was nicer than every member of the family made him out to be, funnier, smarter, kinder. You genuinely enjoyed being around him.

He was extremely patient with you. He’d recommend you things to entertain yourself, let you vent when you needed, and without having to do it, would often make sure you had been eating properly because he had observed that between how much you had cried the days after the breakup, your job, and your lack of sleep you were low on energy. Damian had even spent an entire week helping you redecorate the apartment to cheer your spirit.

Being close to Damian meant spending time at the park with Titus, a shit ton of it, and trying new food every weekend, and visiting art galleries which had never been your thing. Being close to Damian also meant worrying because with all of his skills and abilities he was the most stubborn man you had ever met who often fought blindly just to end up in the Batcave's medical wing with a worried Alfred calling you to let you know your friend was hurt but alive.

Most importantly, being close to him meant feeling free to be yourself. You were sure no one would believe you, but it had never been truer.

❖︎・・・・・❖︎・・・・・❖︎・・・・・❖︎

Elevators had you tired, ironically. The only reason you hadn’t taken the stairs was that you were carrying a portfolio full of documents, a book bag, your purse, and a coat — everything was wet, just like you. Taking an umbrella would’ve saved you many nuisances, or not walking home from work, but you were too distracted in the morning to remember and now you were paying for it thanks to the rain that came with the nearing seasonal change.

You liked the rain, its sound was soothing, the smell made you aware of your own existence as it awakened your senses, you felt cleansed by it. A lovely thing to experience overall, just not after a long day of work.

Stepping out the second the elevator doors slid open, you took the keys out of your coat with your right hand. You let the straps of your purse slide down to your forearm as you flexed your arm while introducing the key in the lock, when it turned, you sighed out of relief and pushed the door open to finally get inside.

The lights were already on, sizzling echoed around the small apartment and a familiar smell of stir-fried vegetables hit your nose. You hung your coat, letting it drip as much water it naturally could before even daring to put it into the dryer.

Walking further into the apartment, you found Damian in the kitchen. He was wearing the comfiest clothes you had seen him on, sweatpants and a matching sweatshirt with only a pair of white socks.

“What are you doing in here with this weather?” you asked, taking a look at what he was cooking.

“I was bored.”

He always said the same, you always told him you didn’t believe him but he ignored it every single time. Patting his back, you announced you would get changed.

“Don’t take too long, dinner will get cold!”

As much as you were fine with Damian being there( and his cuisine,) you had to wonder why couldn’t he tell you his reasonings for his presence at your place. One thing was him visiting when you were there and another him practically breaking into your apartment — you were open to give him a copy of the keys, to be honest, but you would really appreciate it if he asked.

Dinner was delicious, shared over talk about your day. Damian was avoiding speaking about his day, about his entire week actually — in the past month and a half he hadn’t done anything close to that.

Sat on the couch in order to continue bingeing the show the two of you had started last week, you considered asking him what was going on with him. It partially scared you, the last time a member of that family had acted like that toward you they broke your heart.

Taking a deep breath, you threw your head backward to rest it against the edge of the sofa. Damian watched you, frowning. “Are you okay?”

You answered in a hum. “You?”

“Peachy.”

You moved around the couch, opening your eyes to stare at him. He stared back, the frown slowly disappearing from his face as seconds passed.

“Do you want to talk about it?” you inquired in a timid voice.

“Father is planning on retiring.”

“Oh... are you taking over?”

“Yes.”

You couldn’t picture anyone but him doing it. Dick had been miserable as Batman, Jason wasn’t interested in being like Bruce after everything that had happened, and Cass was finally finding a balance in her life.

“You don’t sound happy about it.”

“I am.”

“But?”

He shook his head, “but nothing. It was a long day.”

For your mental wellbeing, you didn’t press on it. He was clearly hiding something from you but he had the right to do so. It made you feel bad but whatever.

The lights flickered, prompting you to groan. The storm was getting worse, the sky was rumbling with thunder and the lighting striking the city and flashing into the living room through the thin white drapes was as mesmerizing as terrifying.

You mumbled, “can you stay?”

“Yes.”

Damian walked behind you, holding the flashlight from his cellphone to light the path toward your bedroom. You undid the bed quickly so he wouldn’t have to hold the device up for so long, you were sure it wasn’t an inconvenience to him but you still didn’t want to bother him.

He sat down on the bed, just next to you, “I’ll stay here until you fall asleep, then I’ll sleep on the couch.”

“You can sleep next to me if you want.” You felt your face burn up the second the words left your mouth yet you meant them. Oh, you did.

You heard shuffling. Assuming he was taking his sweatshirt off to get into bed, you moved away from the middle of the mattress toward the farthest side from him.

Getting under the duvet, Damian laid on his back. His cologne mixed with his usual smell of vanilla and almonds filled your nostrils as he dropped his head onto the pillow with his arms crossed against his front.

“Dami?” you whispered. He hummed in acknowledgment. “Can you get closer? I’m cold.”

With no hesitation, he turned over in order to lay on his side. Throwing his arm around you from behind, “Is that better?”

You relaxed with your back against his chest, letting a content sigh out. Damian inhaled deeply, taking a whiff off you. He did it again then, finding the smell of your lotion soothing. As he relaxed too, his arm curled around you more comfortably with his hand laying on your plump belly. You placed your hand on top of his, a little nervous yet excited. Being held was a nice feeling, one you had forgotten.

He lifted his fingers, brushing yours. You intertwined your fingers between his, playing with them. He huffed a light breath, caressing the sides of your fingers as you played with his.

Turning around, you got lost into the ethereal way the light from the lamppost entering through the window illuminated Damian’s side profile. He opened his mouth to probably say something but you abruptly shut him up. You did know what overcame you, it was something that had been simmering in you for the past month — the need of being near him, the butterflies that swarmed inside you when he laughed, the peace he brought you. He surprised you by kissing back.

“Shit,” you exclaimed, realizing you had actually done it. “I’m sorry, I—“

“It’s okay,” he interrupted to assure you. He placed his hand on your lower back, leaning in again. “Can we do it again?”

You kissed him again, feeling him tighten his arm around you in order to pull you closer. He deepened the kiss too, prying your mouth open as you held his face in order to ground yourself mentally. Damian laid you on your back, pushing you into the mattress as he straddled you — his lips didn’t leave yours, not even as both of you whimpered while his hands trailed up and down your thighs and yours mapped his back. Full-on making out with your best friend wasn’t how you pictured your shitty day ending, but you weren’t about to complain.

Damian couldn’t keep his lips off your face, enjoying the softness of your cheeks under his mouth and seeing the natural twitches of your nose which made him realize you were actually awake. He hoped he hadn’t awakened you up.

“I thought you were asleep.” The depth of his voice sent a shiver down your spine. “Were you pretending?”

You hummed, “it was hard with all those kisses.”

“I wasn’t kissing you,” he said teasingly, using his index and middle fingers to lift your head in order to continue kissing your face. “Did you sleep well?”

“I did. You?”

He answered, “yes. The best in months.” It felt good knowing you weren’t the only one.

Damian hugged you close with both arms, exhaling happily, “you’re very warm.”

Hiding your face in his chest, you hugged back. You didn’t know what it meant, or the meaning behind the gesture of still cuddling in bed with the guy you had started developing feelings for mere weeks after breaking up with his brother. But it didn’t matter, you were comfortable in his arms and happy with seemingly having cracked his shell.

You had to ask, however. “Did I overstep last night?”

“No, I told you it was okay.”

“Oh, yeah.”

He pulled away enough to fully face you. You attempted to ignore him, shifting under his gaze. Damian licked his lips, “did I make you think otherwise?”

You shook your head, the sound the friction of the side of your face made against the pillow too loud for your liking. “I just... I don’t want to ruin our friendship.”

“Is this ruining our friendship?”

You stuttered, “I— I think so?” You weren’t sure.

“I want to ruin it,” he stated, eyes fixed on yours, “more than anything.”

Your eyes dropped to his mouth as he said it, his full lips tempting you again. You were scared of the lack of guilt you were feeling, but you happily gave in. “Let’s ruin it, then.”

Smiling brightly, he dipped his face in order to kiss you. You were certain you would never get over his soft lips, the warmth of his breath, the firmness of his touch, his intoxicating scent, his silky voice... God, he truly had you smitten.

Nuzzling against your shoulder, he intertwined his legs with yours. “I don’t want to get out of bed yet.”

You giggled. “Then don’t.”

Damian decided he could do that, just cuddle his favorite person in the world until something came up, maybe.

❖︎・・・・・❖︎・・・・・❖︎・・・・・❖︎

You had been typing on your computer, as music harmonized your den-office when the doorbell rang. Looking at the time to try and guess who could be visiting you on a Tuesday noon, you pushed yourself back, away from the desk, in order to stand up.

Dot, the Labrador you had adopted no long ago wiggled her tail from her spot near the couch as you crossed the living room. She loved laying there, she had a good view of the door and could jump on you the second you got home.

You regretted opening the door the second you faced your visitor. Tim Drake smiled timidly at you, “hi, (Y/N).”

“I— uh, hello?” You tilted your head, confused as to what he was doing there, who had given him the address and why had he thought he would be welcome.

“Can I come in?”

You lifted your index finger. “Just a second.”

Opening the guest-closet, you took a pair of slippers out and padded back toward the door. Tim looked down at the slippers you were offering to him, then at his shoes — as he did, he realized you weren’t wearing any footwear.

He complied, taking his shoes off and sliding his feet into the slippers. When he asked where to put the pair of footwear he had just taken off, you pointed to a mat next to the door, just under the key holders. You closed the front door as he dropped his shoes.

“Wow,” he exclaimed, eyes taking in as much of the space around him as possible, “your taste has changed! How long has it been?”

“A little over a year and a half.”

“We really need to catch up!”

You motioned for him to sit down on the couch. Dot curiously stared at him when he did so while you asked, “do you want anything to drink?”

“Coffee would be fine,” he answered just to have more time to examine the living room. It was extremely luxurious, with a vaulted ceiling and oversized windows.

Curious about the overall design of the penthouse, and how good your job had to be for you to be able to pay for such living arrangements, he followed you toward the kitchen where you were preparing his coffee. It was as full of luxury as the living room, with stainless steel appliances, granite counter-tops and a breakfast bar the size of your previous apartment’s entire kitchen.

“How have you been?” He asked, sliding his palm against the marbled breakfast bar.

“I’ve been great.” You gave him a tight smile, placing the sugar bowl onto the bar.

“I’m glad. How’s your family?”

“They’re great, thank you.” Out of courtesy, you asked, “how have you been?”

He cleared his throat and took a deep breath, “well, after I abruptly broke up with you, from which I’m very sorry because I was a dick, my girlfriend broke up with me too...”

“I’m sorry.” You genuinely felt for him, being dumped out of the blue wasn’t something you wished upon anyone. Pouring coffee into a mug, you handed it to him.

“It’s okay,” he smiled openly, nodding as a thank you for the coffee and dropping a couple of spoonfuls of sugar into the beverage, “I’m over it. I moved to Europe when Bruce said he needed someone to supervise the branch of the company there, the drama wasn’t good for my spirit.”

“Why are you back? It’s not like Gotham has changed.”

“My best friend is getting married.”

You hummed, finding estrange that you hadn’t been invited to the wedding.

“You have a new boy or anything?”

You stuttered, dropping a teabag into a cup, “perhaps.”

“Come on, (N/N), tell me! I won’t get mad.” He deviated his gaze. “I’m over you and everything.”

You confessed then, pouring hot water on top of the herbs, “I am dating Damian.”

“Which Damian?”

You waited for your ex-boyfriend to swallow the sip of coffee he had just taken and took the opportunity to have a sip of tea to calm your nerves. “Wayne,” you explained.

“You’re dating my little brother?!” He whisper-shouted. You simply nodded. “For how long?”

“Eleven months.”

“So what? You ran into his arms as soon as I broke up with you?!”

You didn’t appreciate the tone he was using or what he was insinuating. Definitely not when he had cheated on you without for once thinking of sparing your feelings.

“Damian was there for me when no one else had the time, it just happened.”

“I thought you were going to stay away from my family,” he reproached you.

In all honesty, you had thought the same thing. As much as Alfred had told you to call him if you needed anything when he went to pick up the belongings Tim kept at your place, you hadn’t planned on doing it — but that same night, when Damian arrived, tired after a long patrol, and playing dumb by saying he had just dropped by because he was bored you decided you didn’t have to, you didn’t want to. Eventually, you evolved, as many things had after that night, not for Damian nor because of him but next to him, with his patience and support.

“I can’t believe you,” he shook his head.

“I thought you were over me.”

“I’m not jealous! But you deserve better than him — you’re so pretty and nice and he’s selfish and mean and depends on Bruce for everything.”

That didn’t sound like Damian at all. “Maybe you don’t know your brother.”

“You’re telling me he’s changed? Because I don’t believe it.”

You couldn’t be a testimony of Damian’s change when you had never seen the version Tim described, but you could definitely say Damian was everything you had always wanted in a partner and more — he was what you needed, what you loved.

“You still can do way, waaaaaay better than him,” Tim interpreted your silence as a confirmation of Damian’s change.

“Like who, Timothy?”

“Like me!” he exploded, clenching his eyes shut for a couple seconds to control his breathing. “I’ll go straight to the point: I miss you. I came back to get you back, there’s no wedding. I was too stupid to see what I had when I had it, I know, but I’ve changed,” he assured, “I have a new philosophy, I’m surrounded by better people. I’m not blind anymore.”

“Neither I am.”

He ignored your comment and went on, “let’s just start again. In another country, a new house. We’ll adopt as many puppies as you want!” Tim took an envelope out, “I have two plane tickets here for tomorrow. One is yours.”

The front door unlocked loudly, prompting both you and Dot to crane your necks in order to stare at it. Damian pushed it open, shoes in hand and blazer draping over his forearm.

You saw him focus on the pair of shoes on the mat for mere seconds before Dot happily wiggled her tail at him as she approached him. Damian threw his blazer to the nearest couch, quickly undoing his tie which followed suit, before hunching down to pet the little dog.

Out of habit, you left the kitchen to walk toward him and greet him. He stood back up, naturally towering over you and kissing you softly, “hello, beloved.”

You giddily smiled, forgetting you weren’t alone, “hi, handsome. I missed you.” Wrapping your arms around his waist, you inhaled his scent. God, you had truly missed him. Sleeping without him wasn’t the same, nor having to rely on music or the tv for the place to not feel alone. Two days of not hearing his voice not waking up tangled up with him were too much sometimes.

Damian put his hands on your waist, sighing at finally being able to touch your soft body again. “I missed you more.” He leaned downward, placing his lips on yours again.

“(Y/N),” Tim pleaded from behind you, making you jump.

Damian parted from you, looking past your shoulder and directly at his brother. “Drake. What are you doing in here?”

You stepped to the side, opting for opening the terrace’s door so Dot could have some fun outside. In the background, as you leant against the doorway and watched the little dog sniff the terrace, you heard Tim say Alfred had given him the address. Oh, sweet Alfred, always trying to keep the family together.

Turning around, you saw them both sit down in front of each other in the living room. Trying to keep them from fighting, you walked back into the room and sat down next to your boyfriend.

Tim immediately told you, “please don’t throw it all to waste for him.”

Both Damian and you frowned. He put his hand on your thigh, like he had done the first time he had taken you to a business dinner as his date, like he had grown used to do under any table. It was your favorite gesture, he wasn’t a big fan of PDA but he still made sure to always be touching you — the fact that he loved your thighs when you had always been insecure due to their size was a nice addition.

“I’m over you, Tim. Damian is my boyfriend, and with who I want to be.”

“He’ll never love you like I do, he can’t.” Tim’s tone was the harshest you had heard from him.

He was right, though. Damian would never love you like Tim did, that was the whole point. You didn’t want what Tim had to offer, the kind of love he could give — you were past that, you had been for a long time now and it felt amazing.

Tired and spent, Damian hugged you extremely tightly while cuddling that night, almost to the point where you struggled to breathe. Wiggling in his arms in order to turn around and face him, you wrapped your arms around him as best as you could.

“What’s wrong, Dami?”

“Nothing.”

You dropped yourself onto your back, struggling to bring him in but ultimately succeeding. Damian sighed, shifting to be more comfortable as he laid his head on your bare chest.

“I don’t know,” he mumbled. Damian inhaled your scent, sighing in content — he was in his safe place. “I sometimes forget not everyone sees me the way you do.”

You supposed he was referring to Tim’s assumptions about him. “Does it bother you?”

“Only when they use it to try putting you against me.”

“You know they would never succeed, right?” You needed him to be aware of that.

“I do.”

“But?”

He moved to hover over you, fitting his legs between yours as he propped himself up with his elbows. “But it’s different when your ex does it. And no, I’m not jealous, I do trust you.”

You wrapped your arms around his neck. You understood what he meant, perfectly so. Damian had been there to pick up the pieces, he had helped you glue them together and even taught you to tweak them so the final piece would look better — with that, beautiful things had bloomed, but in between many tears had been shed on your behalf and many confessions had been made regarding your feelings in general; sprinkle in how hard it had been to process the fact that you had fallen for each other and you could understand where he was coming from. There was a piece of Damian in you, and there was a piece of you in him; at every level.

“It’s not relevant anymore, love,” you reminded him.

Damian caught your lips in a tender kiss, humming. “I just wish he wasn’t back.”

“He’ll be gone by tomorrow. And if he isn’t, I don’t care.” You started playing with his hair, unconsciously running your fingers up and down through his locks. “But I don’t want you to have a bad relationship with your brother because of me.”

“We’ve spoken about that.”

Damian had never been able to get along with Tim, his relationship with Dick was great and he had even built one with Jason, Cass was his favorite, and he had gotten to meet with Helena a few times. However, his resentment toward Tim heightened when you two started frequenting each other — he seemed to now despise him.

You tilted your head to pepper kisses over his jaw. “You’ll manage, Damian. You ignored him for years.”

Your boyfriend sighed dramatically, letting his weight gradually fall on top of you. Placing his hand on your cheek, he smirked before burying his face in your neck. “Besides,” Damian mumbled, “he’s not the one keeping you up tonight.”

#damian wayne x reader #damian wayne x plus size reader #tim drake x reader #tim drake x plus size reader #plus size fanfiction #plus size reader #robin x reader #robin x plus size reader #damian wayne #robin #dc x plus size reader #dc x reader #batfam x plus size reader #batfam x reader

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bomberqueen17 · 5 years ago

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putting things by

One of the things I do at the farm is take over preserving excess harvested vegetables so the busy farmers don’t have to stay up late and do it. It’s one of those tasks it’s hard to find time for. Farmsister and VegMan are both expert canners, but the unskilled drudge labor of freezing often falls to me. (There have been jokes about calling me The Freezer.)

Freezing vegetables is super super easy and you can do it in small batches-- like, huh these carrots are about to go off, I only used three out of the bunch and I’ll never get through them before they go the rest of the way wrinkly or get slimy--

Wash them, peel them if you’re into that, chop them, put them in a quart Ziploc freezer bag or cram them into an old plastic container you washed out but didn’t recycle yet. Put into freezer. Wham, bam, you’re set, now you have frozen carrots to use at your leisure sometime in the next six months to a year. This works for peppers, onions, celery-- you could even make a mirepoix and freeze blends of this stuff, if that’s how you use it most often.

I always just Google the thing I’m about to preserve. Some stuff-- spinach, beet greens, Swiss chard, snow peas-- you have to blanch first. This is because there are enzymes in them that freezing will not stop, and they’ll keep breaking the food down. Boiling will stop them, and so when you defrost your frozen thing, they’ll come out mushy-cooked, not gooey-gross.

Some things you cook down to save space. Tomatoes, you cook down first, because they’re mostly water and you can save a ton of room by only preserving the part of the tomatoes that’s tomato, not the water. Some things you cook down because it’s the most sensible way of preserving them-- like winter squash, which you can store for ages but when you think it’s gonna mold, roast it first and scrape the pulp into a baggie or a container of some kind, and freeze that. Eggplant, you have to cook before freezing because it will just be mush and cooked mush is usable while raw mush is just kind of gooey and nasty. A lot of stuff just tastes better roasted, and freezing is a method of cooking-- it breaks down things-- so it’s better to have it cooked the way you wanted, and then cooked a bit more by the freezer, than to be trying to cook it how you like after the freezer’s already broken it down.

A CSA customer was telling us she freezes raw cabbage, and then when she thaws it, it’s cooked enough that she can use it to make cabbage rolls with. She just throws it right in the freezer whole and chops it afterward, and then she doesn’t have to boil it for the cabbage rolls. We all were boggled by this, but I haven’t yet tried it myself, so if you do, let me know how it worked.

I guess you can freeze zucchini chopped in pieces and blanched, if you want to eat it in stir-fries later, but you can also just grate it raw into baggies if you’re going to use it for bread etc. later.

This is the kind of stuff gardeners know about, homesteading types and such. But I’m telling you, yes you, apartment dweller, who cooks for one or two-- you can do this too. Don’t feel shut out from a CSA share or loading up on amazing fresh in-season shit at the farmer’s market just because you tried it and then had to throw out a bunch of moldy wilted stuff later. No! Get it, get the annoyingly-sized box for four adults, and figure right away that you’re going to eat maybe a quarter of it now, and freeze the rest. Do it. You can do it!

(Another trend worth noting: most CSAs won’t give you a smaller box or let you customize it much [though some will! worth asking!] but many many many will let you get a half share by picking up every other week. Even more will let you sign up with another person to split the share-- it’s just on you to organize it. CSA boxes do not just have to be for large families or people who cook a ton. It just takes organization and management, and you don’t have to do it yourself-- you can glom onto another person to help you organize. For real, think about it.)

I have found that freezing stuff in tiny quantities means I can make my little freezer work-- I just have the one that sits on top of a regular fridge, I don’t have a chest freezer, I have a tiny house and a Dude who isn’t good at meal planning.

But we have a tiny whiteboard on the outside of the freezer, and when I put stuff in there I write that it’s there, so when we’re meal planning later, we can look at the list and at least sometimes it’s up to date and we know what’s there.

He’s starting to get into pickling and fermenting vegetables, and I dunno how that’s going to go, but it’s also pretty accessible and can be done on a small scale with the shit you can’t eat fast enough and don’t want to have to throw out.

I chopped, blanched, and packaged the rest of my bunch of Swiss chard and all the greens from my beets while my Instant Pot was making me beet pilaf last night. I put the water on to boil after I sealed the lid, and I was done before the pot was. I only had one bunch of beets (it was two beets! they were huge!) and one single bunch of Swiss chard and I’d been trying all week to eat them and it was too much for two people and they were wilting in the fridge. Now I have one more two-person serving of each, for future meals when we haven’t been grocery shopping lately.

My point is-- you can do it. Do that farm wife shit. Do it on your tiny scale in your tiny-ass kitchen in your little freezer in your stolen half-hour after dinner prep. Then you can buy your lush local shit at the farmer’s market with your precious little basket and all, and not have to throw most of it out and buy frozen Birdseye shit at WalMart in November.

You can do this, it is accessible to you! Maybe that seems obvious and condescending but I am saying it because I didn’t realize it until pretty recently and i feel like our generation hasn’t had the same access to this kind of knowledge as former ones. My mom froze shit all the time but my parents were borderline preppers before that was a thing, and I just plain didn’t realize I could do that shit in the suburbs. But I can! And I will.

And I do. So can you.

#solarpunk #canning #food preservation #meal prep i guess

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characteroulette · 4 years ago

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so I know I haven’t posted just writing in a while, but here’s some SouYo that I finished a single chapter of and then haven’t found time for continuing yet. (this is going on AO3 once I get more chapters finished, also). Just a weird little “what if Souji and Narukami, but one of them is shadow”

---

[The True Self]

From the moment they'd med (and Yosuke meant really met. When the guy had pulled him out of the trash can, not when Chie had kicked him in the balls holy shit both of those were so lame, Yosuke was such a loser), Yosuke had sensed a certain kinship with the transfer student. They were both city kids plopped into the small middle of nowhere town of Yaso-Inaba, therefore Yosuke had to help the guy out.

Unfortunately, it was hard to really tell how to do that with this guy. When the guy had helped Yosuke out of the trash, he'd smiled so brightly and introduced himself as Seta that Yosuke wasn't sure there'd be anything to help out with. His voice was so gentle and radiated a kindness that Yosuke had instinctively wanted to protect this guy immediately.

(Which was weird. Protect from what?)

In lieu of anything that didn't make sense or make Yosuke sound like even more of a loser, he'd just casually slid the offer to go out for the specialty in this small town (nothing big, just fried steak, god this town was such a podunk boring shithole) onto the table. Seta had been polite, a little embarrassed, but that small smile was ecstatic as he agreed.

Then, after class, Yosuke wanted to gently remind Seta, but the guy seemed completely different all of a sudden. That gentleness had become a strange mischievous smirk, though it quickly became one of disgust once Yosuke mentioned the plan. Although, really, Yosuke was sure Seta was disgusted the moment he had realised Yosuke was talking to him.

Politely, harshly this time, Seta complied, but Chie had luckily overheard (and there was something Yosuke had never known he'd be grateful for, Chie's freeloading) and asked to come with. Then Seta was much more agreeable.

Another thing of note, Chie called the guy 'Narukami', not Seta. Which, again, was weird.

(Who the fuck was this guy?)

Yosuke took them to Junes, not the place with fried steak (because he wasn't made of money, he reminded Chie amidst her loud complaining) and the guy (fine, Narukami for now) continued to be a mystery. The way Narukami casually flirted with Chie really rubbed Yosuke the wrong way. Even when Yosuke left to talk with Saki-senpai a moment, Narukami leaned over to Chie and gave a pointed murmur of, "No way a guy like him has a girl like that, right?"

But, okay. Yosuke couldn't let it bother him too much. He'd lived in cities, too, he knew the drill of guys acting cooler in front of girls. He'd been shoved around like this, made the butt of the joke, just so his 'friends' could score some points with the girls they liked. Prince of Disappointment and all.

And, really, it just had to be that this guy was realising what a bore this place was compared to a bigger city. After a few days, the stir craziness had set in and he was probably doing this purposely to get a rise out of them. Maybe. Either way, Yosuke could still relate, could still understand.

Then Saki-senpai blew Yosuke off to go see the transfer guy, too. And warned him about how annoying and nosy Yosuke could be. That stung. Yosuke tried not to flinch, but Narukami replied with a teasing, "Yeah, tell me about it."

It was a bit much and Yosuke was not proud of the way he had to grip his hands into such tight fists to keep himself from showing how much it affected him. There was a mysterious glint in Narukami's eyes, though. Something more genuine than the taunting bravado he was putting on. Chie and Saki-senpai laughed in agreement, but then he continued.

"But I kinda like that about him. Makes things interesting."

Narukami turned his gaze straight at Yosuke, meeting his eyes with all the smugness of a goddamned self-important cat. The girls' laughter died out after that. Then Saki-senpai returned to work and Chie launched into some stupid rumour about something called the Midnight Channel. Yosuke barely listened, too busy watching this Narukami, trying to find some clue explaining what the hell all that was even about.

Narukami continued flirting with Chie until they had to head home, going so far as to offer to walk with her. This guy had to be some kind of pro, as she agreed easily, all blushy and stuttery and cute. And that just made Yosuke want to punch the fucking smirk off Narukami's face.

The next morning, Yosuke was hesitant to approach the guy. Which face would he end up seeing this time? Before he could make a decision one way or another, the guy noticed him and waited for him to catch up.

Smiling out of politeness and concern, the guy said, "Ah, I wanted to apologise for the other day, Hanamura-san. My brother tends to not agree with those I like to talk to."

Yosuke frowned. "Your brother?"

"Yes, Narukami."

The guy (Yosuke was sure it was Seta this time, maybe) nodded, as if that explained things perfectly. Had Seta swapped with Narukami sometime yesterday during class and Yosuke hadn't noticed? Had anyone noticed? They had to be identical twins, as Narukami looked exactly like Seta (except for the harsher expressions), but how did they get away with this?

Admittedly, Yosuke hadn't paid too much attention yesterday during class. Nor had he paid much attention to when Seta (and Narukami, maybe?) had been introduced, as he'd been in too much agony over crashing his bike and breaking Chie's precious Kung-Fu DVD. It was possible that there were two of them and Yosuke just hadn't noticed.

Oh, but that meant Yosuke had made the mistake of taking out Narukami instead of Seta. Well, shit. Yosuke was the asshole here, as usual.

"I also had. A strange experience last night. Concerning the Midnight Channel." Seta pressed on, before Yosuke had the time to apologise.

That distracted Yosuke instantly. The stupid rumour thing Chie had strong armed them into checking out, right. Yosuke grew a bit hesitant as his own experience flashed through his mind (Saki-senpai, looking in pain and calling out for help though there was no sound to it) and gave a prompting, "Oh. Yeah? Who'd you see?"

Seta's frown twisted in confusion. "Well. It's less about what I saw, but." His shoulders drooped as he deflated. "It was a girl, but that was all I could tell. She seemed to be in pain."

Yosuke's stomach dropped. Could it be that they saw the same thing? The same person? If that were true, then Saki-senpai might be in trouble. Then again, that was quite a leap of logic. But if this Midnight Channel really worked like how Chie had said, then how could it be possible for Saki-senpai to be both of their soulmates?

Back when the rumour got started. Weren't a ton of the students talking about how they saw that newscaster, Yamano? And then she'd ended up dead.

A shudder rolled down Yosuke's sides and he had to shake that dread off. It was too early to be making these types of hasty conclusions.

They walked the rest of the way to school in silence, Yosuke too lost in his own thoughts to think of replying properly. Seta looked like he had more to say, but nervously kept his mouth shut. He took his seat in the spot right in front of Yosuke once they arrived at class and Yosuke stared out towards the windows until King Moron shouted at all of them for being lazy asswipes. (Not in those words exactly, but the sentiment was definitely there.)

Embarrassingly, Yosuke spent most of the day staring at the back of Seta's head instead of paying attention to the lessons. It was just so mysterious. A transfer student with a twin whom they swapped places with during the day? It went against all logic, really. Yosuke wanted to find out when exactly Seta and Narukami made the switch. Was it lunch? Before they arrived in their classes? Shit, that would mean Narukami was all ready seated in front of Yosuke, possibly. But how had no one else noticed this? How did Yasogami allow it?

Seta did leave during lunch, no doubt to eat in private, but did return for the rest of classes. Well, Yosuke thought it was still Seta. He needed to figure out a way to tell the two apart, because there had to be at least one tell. There had to be at least one visual cue to tell them apart besides their mannerisms.

After classes were finished for the day, Yosuke took a deep breath and went to test the waters. He stood by Seta's desk and grinned his usual friendly grin. "S'up, dude?"

The guy smirked, mischievous and harsher once more. That was Narukami. "Are you checking in with me again, Hanamura-san? That's rather sweet of you, I guess I have to say 'thank you' now."

Yosuke's eye twitched. Yup, no mistaking it. He laughed a bit half-heartedly with an uneasy, "That's a little..."

"It's no wonder Souji-chan likes you."

Narukami's smirk turned into a glare. A surprisingly sinister glare at that. Yosuke's hands gripped into fists and he had to, once again, hold himself back from punching this guy's smug face. Why was his immediate instinct to defend Seta? To stand up for someone he barely even knew? Unable to fully curb that aggravation, Yosuke muttered a heated, "No need to be an ass about it, Narukami-san."

There was nothing wrong with either of their statements. Except for the clear hostility they radiated. Still, Chie butted in with an oblivious and eager, "Hey, guys! Did you watch it? Who'd you see?"

Narukami sat back, rolling his eyes (grey, Yosuke noticed, just like his and Seta's hair), then smiled charmingly up at Chie. "It was fuzzy, but definitely a girl. Boyish and cute, too, from what I could tell."

Narukami looked like a smug cat. How was it even possible to be that bold and smooth at the same time? Shockingly, Chie took the bait and blushed, all coy and girly. "Oh, really?" She (thankfully) snapped out of it quick enough and grew serious. "But - But I saw a girl, too. So that means my soulmates a girl as well."

She gave a defeated exhale while Narukami frowned in thought. The most neutral expression Yosuke had seen on either brother yet. If all three of them had seen a girl. Possibly the same girl. Yosuke's earlier apprehension slammed back into him. This couldn't be a coincidence. There was no way this Midnight Channel was showing anyone's soulmates.

But why Saki-senpai? Why that Yamano lady? Was it even really Saki-senpai? Something still seemed a bit too far-fetched here, there was some piece Yosuke was missing to really understand what the hell was going on here.

Narukami, still oddly neutral for once, said, "After seeing the Midnight Channel last night, my TV tried to eat me."

Chie and Yosuke both snapped their heads towards him, incredulous. Narukami didn't seem to even notice as he continued, parsing out something on his own.

"The only reason it couldn't was because the screen was too small and my shoulder stuck. Perhaps this could have something to do with the fact that we all saw a girl?"

"All? Wait." Chie sputtered (very undignified) and whirled on Yosuke. "You saw a girl, too?"

"You don't have to act like it's some big shock." Yosuke huffed at her, putting up the affronted airs though he had no energy to really meet her challenge. "Honestly. It looked like someone I knew. And she was in a lot of distress."

He rubbed a hand through the back of his head, through the hair there (it was getting a bit too long, probably, and he'd need to dye it again soon since the roots were coming through just a bit), too concerned to not let it show through for the moment. Chie looked at him in sympathy, in confusion, but Narukami chose that moment to stand and shock them both out of the moment. "It's decided then." He said, grabbing one of Chie's hands in a way too familiar, way too gentlemanly manner. "Let's go look for a bigger TV and find the truth."

"Wha-What does that even mean? Hey, Narukami-san!"

Chie's shrill voice continued as Narukami directed her out of the room. Yosuke should probably go along, especially if they were headed towards Junes. Which, of course they would be. Where else could anyone find a TV large enough to jump through in this small little town?

#P4 #Persona 4 #Yosuke Hanamura #Souji Seta #Yu Narukami #brotagonist #Chie Satonaka #Momo writes stuff #Yosuke being IT's lead thinker #let the boy be smart #this is my curse #writing the first chapter to something #and then never coming back to it #ugh

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docholligay · 4 years ago

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Thanksgiving Ask! Green bean casserole is a staple for our Thanksgiving dinner, but I know you've said you don't particularly love green beans. Have you ever found a version of this dish that you enjoy? (If not, do you have any recommendations on how to make a healthier version of it?)

I do not make green bean casserole! I had it growing up, like most families, but I don’t like green beans, as you say*. Not that that would stop me entirely--one person’s pickiniess does not determine the will of the table. I have made them for regular dinners in the past, and eaten them without complaint. But no one in my family really LOVES green beans, so it’s not a huge thing to leave them off, you know?

And, to sound like the judgmental cunt I am, there’s nothing about taking green beans and mixing it with oversalty condensed soup and fried packaged onions that makes me think “Surely this will be delicious.” I am, admittedly, either particular, discerning, or a snob, depending on how one views things. I have never had a green bean casserole I thought was particularly good.

For human beings named Doc, who are me, the best way to have green beans thus far is the ones at the peak of freshness in summer, with a quick brown butter sauté, flavored with lemon juice and a bit of seasoning. For obvious reasons, this is not conducive to Thanksgiving, starting with the fact that green beans are not, in any sense, at the height of freshness right now. And freezing affects the texture, as it does with most vegetables.

BUT, as far as “A green bean casserole that isn’t like 230 calories a serving” yes, I do know how to do this! Whether people will let you get away with it is another thing entirely, I don’t know how utterly sacrosanct the dish is in your family.

ONe thing to embrace is the idea that green beans and mushrooms are ....good? And so throwing a shit ton of salt and cream on them is rather gilding the lily, especially on a day where there is MUCH heavy food on the table. So get fresh green beans from your grocery store, though they are not in season, the texture will help a lot, and after your basic trimming and washing, blanch them quickly. Cook them longer if you like them soft. You’re wrong, but it is your right to be so.

Saute your mushrooms with some olive oil or butter, and some onion, for depth of flavor. Sprinkle them with flour to thicken, and then about a cup of chicken stock (or vegetable) and a cup of milk. Let it boil down until it’s a bit saucy, seasoning as needed (I love smoked paprika) and then add like....a big handful? I have tiny hands though so between a 1/4 and 1/2 cup of grated parm or romano or something, to the sauce, and stir. Toss it into a casserole dish, top with toasted breadcrumbs, and throw it in an oven until it’s done. Shouldn’t take more than half and hour to 45 minutes, depending on what you throw it in with.

*as perhaps the LEAST picky person I know, it is one of like...a handful??? of things I won’t eat**?? And we’re including pork (which is religious) in that, as well as things like balut and natto. Still only a handful. Hate green beans. ONly vegetable I don’t like.

**I just realized, as I mentioned in the post--I literally do still eat them. I just hate them the whole time ahahah. ADULTHOOD.

#thanksgiving asks #amberlilly

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rederiswrites · 5 years ago

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Oh I have a question! I only have a very small yard, of which I don’t get much real estate because Mom hoards plants worse than me. But I would love to have a small homestead like your own. So since I have such a small space what would be your essentials for trying to live sustainably and eco friendly?

First, I don’t think there’s any such thing as one concrete list of “essentials”. Thing is, humans specializing is like...part of the definition of civilization, you know? You make yogurt, swap Magda over-creek for eggs. You all make your own sourdough, but Heinrich put in the effort for a really nice big oven, so most of you go to him to bake it. You shear your sheep, take it to Aldreda’s family at the forest’s edge, they clean it and keep a percentage as payment. I digress, but the point is that everyone can experiment and find the things that really speak to them, that work with their space and their schedule and their interests. Maybe they find things that they like well enough to double down on and start sharing and trading with others. That’s where it’s at, to me. Sustainability is a community effort.

But! Some things that can be done in very little space:

--Quail can be kept in like...a rabbit hutch, and are very simple to keep and quiet so they won’t bother neighbors. You can get eggs even if you don’t have enough space for chickens. Or you can keep like four chickens in a pretty darn small space too.

--Fermenting. Personally, I love it, and all the commitment it takes is enough counter space for a few mason jars, veggies, and salt. There’s a lot of good information online, but you can make a huge range of pickled veggies (curry cauliflower is amazingly good). Or keep a kombucha culture. Or get a crockpot from the thrift store and make your own yogurt, if you eat a lot of yogurt.

--Sprouts. You can buy seeds for sprouting--broccoli is good, radish sprouts are ever so slighly spicy, you can go classic and do mung bean sprouts if you like to cook stir fries or pho. For some reason they sell all sorts of sprouting devices but really you just need a jar with holes punched in the lid.

--Culinary herbs. If you have a sunny stretch of wall or fence, you could even do one of these:

Herbs in a hanging shoe sorter! I love it.

--Compost. I lied, if anything’s essential, this is. Staying in places where I have to throw away my food waste makes me sadface. In an ideal world, we’d have community composting, and food waste would be collected. But in the meantime, there are a lot of compost tumblers and things meant for small spaces. I don’t know shit about them because I have the luxury of a big ugly bin I just throw stuff in and then don’t think about it until two years later it’s amazing dirt.

Anyway this is already too long but there really are a ton of good options for small spaces. My best advice is to experiment and then go with the ones that catch your interest, and not worry about the fact that you’re not doing everything.

#gardening #red homesteads #emotionalmorphine

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razorblade180 · 5 years ago

Text

Sunshower 4

Our unlikely trio find themselves sitting on a patio with umbrellas blocking the afternoon sunset. A table seperates Neptune from Sun and Ilia who sit on the other side with menus in their hand. It isn’t long before a teenaged boy in a casual waiter uniform approaches them. He waves with one hand as his rat tail grabs the notepad and paper out of apron pocket.

Neptune:*whispers* I’m not the only one who thinks a rat faunus working in a restaurant is in poor taste?

Ilia*kicks him* Are you assuming he’s dirty? What’s next, a faunus with mosquitos features can’t grow up and be a veterinary?

Sun:Shut up, he’s getting closer... What’s up dude!!

Dan:Nothing much, my name is Dan and I’ll be your server. Anything you need just ask me and I’ll let our head chef Remi know; you guys ready to order?

Neptune:Uhhh I think we all need a few more minutes.

Dan:That’s fine, I can get your drinks now.

Sun:Iced Peach Tea

Neptune:Blueberry lemonade

Ilia:Is it happy hour yet?

Sun and Neptune:*stare at her*...........

Ilia:Ugh fine, iced mango tea.

Dan:Done and done! *walks off*

Ilia:Can you scoot over? I’m practically falling out the seat and I want to rest my arm.

Sun:We could switch spots!

Ilia:I’m using you to block the sunlight so there’s no glare on the menu.

Neptune:*snorts* Are you to short for the umbrella to-

Ilia:I’ll kick you again....

Sun:*slides over*be nice you two.

Neptune:I can’t believe you asked if it was happy hour. What even is the drinking age here?

Ilia:Honestly as long as you’re not a kid and you’ve seen some stuff, people don’t mind letting you get a drink or two.

Neptune:No offense but you look like you’d get carded for the rest of your life. I can imagine people think you’re pretty young.

Ilia:That looks bad on you since you’ve flirted with me. “Super tall dude flirts unapologetically to any girl in his sight knows no limits.” I can see the headline now.

Neptune:.......*gets a chill* Yeah I don’t need that kind of attention in my life.

Sun:You flirted with Weiss, another short girl that makes her look younger than she is. Maybe you have a type.

Neptune:Everyone knows my type is beautiful women. Tall, short, big, small, if I’m into you then I’m into you. *chuckles* which means I probably also want to get into you.

Ilia:Please don’t ruin my appetite. *reading* food is the only thing I’m looking forward to today now.

Neptune:Uhhh this entire Island is gonna be a giant party the moment that sunlight is gone and those dust infused flags you put up start shining.

Ilia:My part mood is ruined.......

Neptune:*looks at Sun* Can you help me out here?

Sun:Actually, I’m not really feeling-

Neptune:Wrong answer! Blake is expecting to have a grand time with the two people who helped her topple an organization filled with blood thirsty terroist.

Ilia:Ahem......

Neptune:What? You stabbed Sun with no hesitation right?

Ilia:I have half a mind to-

Dan:Here are the drinks! *hands them out* Ready to order?

Neptune:Fish and Chips Platter with steak fries.

Sun:Shrimp basket, also replace the fries with more shrimp, but then give me an extra order of fries.

Everyone:.........

Sun:*red* I like shrimp.....

Ilia:Double Cheeseburger, seasoned fries, and double the fries.

Dan:Got it! *walks away*

Neptune:You know eating because your sad is-

Sun and Ilia:*Glare......*

Neptune:.........

Neptune:*sips drink* Gee all that decorating made you both really hungry. Hehehehe this lemonade is great. In all seriousness however, This party should have nothing but happy faces from everyone; especially the guest of honor.

Ilia:I’m sure her new girlfriend won’t have a problem managing that. *folds her arms*

No one spoke for a minute after that. Neptune didn’t look like it but he was in fact treading lightly with this conversation in his own way. Sun wasn’t hard to read when it came to his feelings over this thanks to their friendship; watching Ilia’s not so subtle body reactions was pretty was almost too easy. It didn’t help her that these reactions were being caused by Blake as well. Finding the write words to break the silence was tricky, but fortunately he didn’t have to. The moment Ilia took a sip of tea her face scrunched up slid it away.

Neptune:Uhhhh are you okay?

Ilia:Blegh!!! That isn’t mango....

Sun:*sips his* This one definitely is. Honest mistake getting them crisscrossed. *switches drinks around*

Neptune:Who has that type of reaction over peach tea?

Ilia:Someone who was ready for the taste of mango. They put way too much syrup in there.

Sun:*about to sip* That’s why you stir your drink before-

Ilia:Wait.....

Sun:Hmmm?

Ilia:*swaps their straws* that’s better....

Sun:Really? Was it gonna bother you that much.

Ilia:I’m not using the same straw as you. Who knows where your mouth has bee-

Sun:.............

Ilia:Okay that’s a weak response at the moment. It’s still gross; I don’t need your germs.

Neptune:💡!!!! But Ilia aren’t you planning on cutting loose tonight?

Dan:Food is done! Enjoy....*passes it out*

Ilia:What is rattling in that head of yours? *eating fries*

Neptune:Oh nothing, I just thought a single and awesome women such as yourself would love a giant event like this. Music, tons of prettt girls, good drinks that everyone will probably be passing around for free, dancing, and you know... a chance to show Blake- no....to show Yang and Blake that you’re the shit.

Ilia:Are you telling me to make them jealous or something? *grabbing burger*

Neptune:Not specifically; just show them how much fun and happy you are without having to constantly be around them. Walk up and be all friendly of course but let Blake see you’re not here for her. It’s a party and you both just happen to be there.

Sun:The party is for Blake.......

Neptune:Shut up! You know what I mean. Don’t let her be the center of your attention you two. Walk up to her with other friends and stuff. That shouldn’t be hard right Ili- what the what?

Ilia:What?

Neptune:What happened to all your food?

Ilia:*looking at an empty plate* I ate all the food on it obviously. Should’ve gotten more fries....

Sun:.......*dumps half his fries on her plate*

Ilia:*happily eating*

Neptune and Sun:(Geez where does all that go?)

Sun:Anyways..... I don’t think that’s a good idea. Alcohol and romantic rivalry plans sound like a poor combination. Especially when one of us still isn’t seen in the best light.

He had a pretty good point. Even with all the help Ilia is doing for Menagerie, some citizens are still put off by her. Especially the captain of the police she regularly still has to touch base with just for the sake of keeping up appearances. Yet, the idea of cutting loss was something that was really interesting to say the least.

Ilia:I’ll just do all the meet and greet stuff before I actually start drinking. Also it’s not like I’ll have an empty stomach by tonight; actually that might be bad....

Dan:Would any of you like dessert?

Neptune:I think we’re-

Sun:A vanilla milkshake please.

Dan:*thumps up*

Neptune:I’m starting to think we should split the bill by who how much we actually ate.

Ilia:Nice try but no.

Sun:Just worry about the tip and I’ll handle the rest Neptune.

Ilia:*snickers* Wow I didn’t know you two were that close.

Neptune:I always have Sun’s tip covered.

Sun:Yeah it’s how this relationship works.

Ilia:.......You two are no fun to tease.

Neptune:You are not the first and won’t be the last to make those jokes. Scarlet would love meeting you.

Sun:Sage would probably love meeting her too if she eats this much. So is all your weight going to your hair or....?

Ilia:You’re just jealous I can eat what I want when I want.

Neptune:Except for Blake *sips lemonade*

Ilia:..........

Neptune:Too soon? That was too soon. *stands up. Well I gotta go get ready for tonight. I don’t have the luxury of still having a guest room in Blake’s house or jumping from roof to roof to reach the inn I barely remember the shape of. *tosses money down* seriously you two, make the most of tonight and don’t stress this whole thing too much. From what Kali told me, this celebration already looks like it could last a month. People really party here like uhhhh.... ummm

Ilia:Stop being scared, no one is gonna best you up for saying party animals.

Sun:Ghira might, please do not say that too loud or at all just to be safe.

Neptune:Noted......*leaves*

Ilia:Stop ruining my fun. Watching him trying not to offend anyone is great.

Sun:Be nice, he’s my best friend. He could be yours too.

Ilia:Gross...

Sun:Oh come on, he’s actually a great guy. Don’t let all the dumb things he says fool you. *smiles* his heart is in the right place.

There was something about that smile that was a little familiar to Ilia. The way he spoke so highly of his friend felt like there was a genuine since of admiration or bond between the two. Neptune was actually a big help to her finding Sun and the boy did seem to try to help both of them in earnest. There wasn’t even a single time he actually attempted to flirt with her just now. Maybe she should ease up on him if only just a little.

Ilia:If you say so, I’ll keep that in mind.

Dan:Here’s the milkshake and receipt. Do you both need one straw or two?

Ilia???........Oh! No we’re not a.....this is all him right here. I’m just here on business.

Dan:My mistake you two just sort of seemed.... yeah. *walks away*

Ilia:Sort of seemed what?

Sun:This is what happens when you want more room on the bench. People make assumptions.

Ilia:Oh whatever, you just hate being my personal sun blocker. You gonna follow Neptune’s advice.

Sun:*shrugs* I’m sure when the time comes I’ll find a way to not be awkward; definitely don’t want to ruin her night and I know you don’t either.

Ilia:*groans* Maybe, maybe not. We don’t have an obligation to keep her happy.

Sun:No but it’s the right thing to do as her friend.

Ilia:A friend wouldn’t have strung you along or mislead you when it comes to emotions. Aren’t you upset at her even in the slightest? It’s like she.........*holds her tongue*

For a moment her skin turns red before her whole body turns gray. Her lip is slightly quivering and she starts slouching.

Sun:What does gray mean? This like the third time I’ve seen it.

Ilia:It’s nothing, don’t worry about it.

Sun:You know you can open up to me right? We’re in the same-

Ilia:Don’t say we’re in the same boat because we’re not okay!?

Sun:......

Ilia:*changes back* I’m sorry I yelled. I’m sorry I keep yelling at you. This is just something that I’m not too comfortable talking with.

Sun:No need to explain yourself to me. Just trying to be friend is all. *puts money the table* Honestly I need walk around a bit and get into a good mindset too. I’ll see you at the party maybe?

Ilia:Yeah......probably.....

Sun:Cool, there’s still milkshake left if you want any.

She gets up so he has an easier time getting out. As she sits back he waves goodbye and his tail mimics the sway of his hand. It got real quiet with her now just sitting there alone, staring at half a milkshake. Now would’ve been a good time to call Dan over and get that second straw but he was busy with other customers. Honestly germs and little things like that were the least of her worries right now. Still it bothered just the tiniest piece of her and the tea straw wasn’t big enough to deal with the dense dessert. Drinking right out the cup was bound to end in with whipped cream and frozen milk all over her face.

Ilia:.........Oh to hell with it. *sips milkshake* Huh, this is pretty good.

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3

#rwby #rwby sunshower #sun wukong #ilia amitola #neptune vasilias

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mxrcayong · 5 years ago

Text

the avatar series: 01.02

masterlist

previous | next

The apartment was borderline full. If anyone wanted the perfect example of the opposite of silence, it would be Doyoung’s and Tari’s apartment. Usually, the apartment would be full of conversation between the roommates – but never this many happening simultaneously. However, their neighbors wouldn’t be complaining. It’s Avatar Day! Everyone is celebrating today; evident through the cheers and large parties on the streets.

Kilari is standing on the couch, having a playful argument with Lucas who was sitting down and holding his arms up defensively. On the other side of the room, Taeil and Doyoung are discussing something they saw today at the festival regarding a strange performance that involved a clown that “looked deranged”. Sonan, Tari, and Johnny are preparing the table – Sonan talking with Johnny about his article while Tari just offered any extra commentary – which often included teasing Johnny and supporting Sonan. The food all arrived from local vendors only a few minutes ago; mostly consisting of fried rice, stir-fry noodles, chicken pan dan, and a series of skewers.

“But, you must have gotten some interesting feedback from the girl who went to her first festival today!” Sonan enthused, her emerald eyes gleaming as she motioned to Tarir. She always seems to have a positive attitude – everyone deems her as the mom friend, always the one to brighten moods and to make sure everyone has eaten. “How was it?”

Tari smiled, “It was really great.” A small silence followed as they continued putting down the plates, but was ended when Johnny looked up at her with disbelief in his eyes.

“What insightful comments, descriptive, newspaper-worthy.” This comment was responded to with a playful slap from both Tari and Sonan, making Johnny flinch. “Hey!”

“Finnneee.” She breathed out, “It was so much more fun than I imagined, but it’s just too crowded.”

“Is that why you left?” Sonan asked, looking up at Tari with a sympathetic look as she temporarily halted putting down the last plate.

“She left because she’s a coward.” Johnny teased, making Tari roll her eyes and stick her tongue out. “Honestly though, I bet you Hendery’s burn wasn’t even that bad. If the crowd was so bad, you should’ve just stayed with Doyoung and I. We could’ve protected you. Doyoung could’ve even casted an air bubble around us.”

At the mention of his name, Doyoung took his place next to the group. “Johnny, as a non-bender, you may not understand this but with great power…” he paused dramatically, “comes great responsibility. And I will not be using my responsibility to accidentally hurt others because of the bubble.”

“Didn’t you bend to fly a fork closer to you yesterday because you were lazy?” Tari reminded him, making Doyoung go red with a sheepish smile.

“Yes, but it was my responsibility to feed myself.” Doyoung excused, singing to himself.

“And Tari’s responsibility to heal me from you accidentally stabbing me with that same fork.” Johnny reminded. A glare warning Johnny of impending doom came from Doyoung, who was wondering what he did to deserve all this mockery. Especially as Taeil, Lucas, Kilari, and Sonan have all tuned in and started laughing at the conversation. “You stabbed me!” Johnny reiterated.

Without missing a beat, Doyoung turned to look at Johnny with the best sincere look he could muster. “Why are you here all the time?” Johnny decided to do a cute look, scrunching up his nose and pulling his lips into a tight smile. It was a common joke between the three of them; but it was usually said by Tari and then she would get scolded by Doyoung for making that joke.

“You love it really.” The butt of the joke said with too much pride.

Doyoung lunged at Johnny, pinching his sides. “Do not mess with me, I’m not scared to ‘accidentally’ stab you again.”

“And I’m not scared to forget my responsibility to heal you.” Tari said off-handly and quickly, making Johnny’s jaw drop with fake offence. “Come on everyone, let’s eat!” Before Johnny could retaliate, everyone came rushing to the table where the smell of relatively-fresh take-out food was enticing.

“You know, I really do nothing wrong and get treated like this.” Johnny sighed teasingly, taking his seat and eventually fake-crying. But everyone turned their head to look at him as soon as he said ‘do nothing wrong’.

Everyone in an unsynchronized chorus, everybody repeated after him. “Nothing?” Lucas let out a loud laugh while Tari snapped and did finger guns at Johnny from across the table.

“ANYWAY,” Sonan sang as everyone started reaching forward to grab their servings, “G-Dragon came across the stall today and said there will be a special event for Avatar Day.”

Taeil widened his eyes, “Honestly about time,” He chuckled, “This will be their first time doing something special for today.” NCT usually only has bending fights three times a week, but due to this special event, this week will be having four different bending fights. In addition, they normally never do bending fights on Tuesdays with G-Dragon famously calling Tuesdays and Thursdays ‘those awkward days that fail to fit in’.

“Yeah, but I can’t go because I have a warrior class to teach tonight – I’m gonna teach them some moves Kyoshi is most known for, but you guys should go.” She looked around the table, observing the reactions of everyone on the table. “If you emit aenough details, you could add that to your article.” She said to Johnny, as if he wasn’t convinced already. Everyone was on board – the bending club was how a lot of them have met and bonded with other members of the bending community. However, she couldn’t help but notice Tari scratching her head with uncertainty.

“Do you just hate fun?” Kilari poked her tongue out at Tari, also having noticed this behavior. “What’s up with you and today?”

Lucas fake gasped, “Are you secretly anti-bending?” Everyone joined his fake shocked reaction; hands covering their mouths or jaws dropped, revealing some pretty unsightly views of indigested food in their mouth. “Are you against the Avatar?”

Tari rolled her eyes, playing along. “Totally, all benders should not be benders. Okay? It’s unfair!” She said in the fakest valley-girl accent she could muster. “Also, close your mouths please, I don’t enjoy seeing unchewed food in your mouths.” That was only responded with Lucas over-exaggeratingly chewing his food, mouth open and revealing the indigested food in his mouth.

“I love how the only non-bender in the room seemed the most angry with that statement.” Kilari pointed out Johnny who was looking at Tari in complete disbelief, playing along as well. Johnny looked like a deer in headlights; his eyes widened, his lips slightly parted – having flinched to face Tari. “Okay, but seriously, why not? You love being there.”

Tari just shrugged, “Isn’t a whole day of festivities enough? Like, I’m not anti-Avatar but like, I don’t know! All we do is celebrate the Avatar today, but it was a group of people who helped? Like Katara and Sokka and Suki,” She pointed at Sonan as she was the granddaughter of Sokka and Suki, “And Toph and a shit ton of tribes.” She sighed, “And like, yeah, Aang was amazing, all the Avatars are amazing. But… where is the new Avatar? Will they even be good enough to live towards that standard? If we keep hyping them up, then the new Avatar will seemingly be nothing.” Even saying those words made her heart drop, a guilty feeling rushing through her veins as she put her thoughts into words – the first time she has said these feelinsg out loud.

Everyone went silent. Usually perspectives were for the Avatar and expressing excitement for the new one. They’d expect Tari to have that attitude; she was always the one who’d always uncontrollably smile at the sight of people bending. She was always the one who was quick to name facts about the Avatar or the history behind their world. In fact, when Tari was brought to a pub quiz night, she basically knew all the answers immediately.

Kilari was quick to speak; after all, she grew up in a family that’s the head of the group that basically focuses on celebrating the Avatar and identifying them. It helps that she’s one of the most outspoken people - other than Johnny - Tari knows. “The Avatar will only be as good as their training, but they also have access to the previous Avatars.” She reminded, “And, the Avatar doesn’t need to do anything unless the world is in danger. Which, luckily, we currently aren’t. Their main purpose is to protect mankind and there’s not much to protect them from.”

“Except our danger is the current government,” Lucas added, about to say more but then noticed Doyoung and Taeil’s expressions warning him to stop the talk about politics. “But, let’s not talk politics over dinner. I definitely want to go to the fight. Majority rules as we all know everyone has nothing to do tonight.”

“Excuse me?”

“Except Sonan.”

Johnny came equipped with his camera, of course. It’s like these days he’s nowhere without it. He always wants to capture the action; even if the action is just his friend smiling at a cup of coffee. He wasn’t going to miss any action here. Before coming, everyone changed into less heavy clothes with the knowledge that the theater will be absolutely packed, and they’ll only sweat from the amount of heat from the crowd.

Entering the arena; which is flooded with people as it normally is, everyone felt like family. For such a secret community, it’s quite large. It’s always the same people attending, maybe with one or two extra people. The people who come are a community; they all support the same cause of allowing benders to be treated equally and enjoy seeing people try and improve their skill or show it off in the ring.

The theater itself is unknown, but the fighting ring is whispered about by everyone. It’s not like the government doesn’t know its happening - they just don’t know where, when, or how. It’s how they chose this abandoned theater, left in ruins that G-Dragon and the Big Bang crew bought and fixed to host make-shift, illegal probending tournaments since the government banned it 20 years ago. Due to the illegality, a community was built - but to be fair, its more like a family.

The arena was full of whispers; everyone chatting and theorizing what they might do for the secret festivity. This year would be the first year G-Dragon did something explicitly special for Avatar Day, as the years prior, the day fell upon the usual fight days and therefore nothing special was done. “I’m going to try and go to the front, I think Renjun is the announcer for today’s match.” Taeil commented, excusing himself to the front.

“No way!” Both Doyoung and Lucas chorused, both obviously familiar with Renjun. “Let’s drop by and say hi, yeah?”

With that, it was Kilara, Johnny, and Tari against the crowd – going the opposite direction as their friends who already managed to move with the current and made their way to the announcer’s location. “This is the most crowded fight I’ve seen in a while.” Tari commented off-handedly, noticing how although it was the same people – all of the usual people were in attendance. As of the last year, only slightly above half the people would attend the event due to previous commitment or work.

“It really feels like the community is all back together, huh?” Johnny winked, smiling wildly as he scanned the crowd – diverting his attention similarly to Tari. They were on the first floor, which has an audience that is half-standing and half sitting, while upstairs is all standing. “It’s most likely due to the lack of work people had today so everyone can probably stay until the end of the match.” He reasoned before grabbing his camera to take photos of the crowds.

“Do you think the Osaka Prince will fight today?” Kilara asked, standing on her tip-toes to look over the crowd of people to try and get a better view of the fighting box where the pre-signed up fighters would sit and stretch. All benders who participate fight under performance names. There was Mouse, Boulder, Osaka Prince, Flyer – all the names you can think. The cringiest one? It was a school boy who wanted to take a swing and signed up under the name ‘Swagbucks69’. “Literally, he is so hot, I will jump on him if I could.”

Johnny only chuckled, “I mean, he always fights. He is practically the king of NCT.” The Osaka Prince attended his first match two years ago and ever since then, he’s practically undefeated. Everyone looks to him as the owner of the rink – he managed to beat even G-Dragon, a previous pro-bender, during a match. The Osaka Prince is usually the last fight of the night, fighting whoever won the most matches and anyone who dares to go against him.

“And I’ll do anything to be his queen.” Kilara winked, making Tari chuckle and Johnny go beet-red at Kilara’s flirty manner. “Literally, like, he makes me so flushed.” She started attempting to use her tight-fitting crop top to fan herself over exaggeratingly. While Kilara and Johnny discuss the local celebrity, Tari made eye-contact with someone she didn’t expect to see there. The person was wearing a dark hood, her eyes making direct eye-contact with Tari as if she watching her the whole time. She held up her arm and signaled Tari to come over. Tari shook her head, refusing the offer and trying to look away, but as soon as the lady started mouthing words – she found herself entranced.

“You barely see his face!” Johnny commented, looking confused. All fighters also wear a mask that covers most of their face to avoid their identities being leaked.

Kilara suggestively looked at Johnny, “I don’t need to see his face to see the muscles on that guy. Were you not there when he fought shirtless?”

“I was, I think I have some photos of that actually.” He teased.

“Send me!” Kilara practically begged, “I bet Tari will enjoy the view too.” The use of her name snapped Tari out of her trance. “Okay wait can we try to get closer? I think I see him and I want him to see me.” Tari’s vision shifted and at the sight of a familiar face, a smile graced her lips as she lifted her hand up to wave.

Johnny thought for a moment, sighing in defeat. The things I do for my friends, he thought. “I know G-Dragon quite a bit from interviewing him a lot, do you want to sit in the medics box today? He lets me sit there whenever I ask.”

Tari stood back – not wanting to hold them back from having fun, “You guys go! I see a friend over there, and I don’t think I’d like to be that close.”

“You okay being alone?” Johnny asked, concerned and serious. Tari bit her lip and nodded, noticing this is one of the first times in two years she’s seen Johnny this serious.

“I won’t be alone, I see a friend.” She reassured, “I’ll meet you guys outside? We can work on your article tonight, Johnny.” The duo nodded, letting Tari head off, walking over to someone Johnny doesn’t recognize.

“And you never asked for me before?” Kilara sounded almost offended as the two started their journey of squeezing through the crowd to get to the front.

“It’s because I almost always watch with Tari,” He commented between apologies to familiar faces for moving to the front to where G-Dragon usually stays, “And we know Tari. She gets sometimes flakey or anxious during these events and just needs to leave. I don’t like her leaving alone.”

Kilara sighed, remembering that Johnny and her only met a year back due to both of them knowing Tari. Tari actually brought them both here, accidentally promising both of them to hang out. It was a tradition for Tari to come to these, and Johnny and Doyoung always go with her. “You’re right, but I’m glad she found a friend.”

“Do you recognize him by the way?” Johnny asked, concerned to the unfamiliar face. Johnny, Doyoung, and Tari are practically inseparable – they know almost everyone the other encounters regularly.

“Umm,” Kilara searched through her head as they finally reached the edge where the rink meets the audience, “I think his name is either Sehun or Kyungsoo. They know each other from the coffee shop. I remember seeing him always come in to the café when I worked there for a bit and he was always with someone and I never distinguished who was who.”

Johnny nodded solemnly, “Okay, I’ll go ask G-Dragon if we can sit with Ten.”

“Hello everybody!” G-Dragon screamed, getting into the middle of the ring. “Welcome to the first ever Avatar Day special!” Everyone cheered, including Sehun, Suho, Chanyeol, and Jongdae who stood beside Tari. She came initially to say hi to Sehun after months of not seeing him, but he was quick to introduce her to some of his friends and mentioning that Kyungsoo had signed up to fight today. Tari remained more quiet, cheering not as loudly as the other people around her.

The spotlights lit up the arena, bringing the light to center the focus on whoever will be in the ring. The gray walls of the abandoned building felt blank in comparison to the lit up stage. It also reminded everyone here of the severity and the illegal nature of the event they’re participating in; even just as audiences. Everyone found this ban ridiculous; they still allow non-benders to fight with guns and tasers, and they still allow boxing. But they don’t allow bending tournaments. And the first duo who got caught in a bending tournament ended up in jail for 10 years and are still being patrolled and watched closely every day since.

The stage is distinguished from the rest of the theater through a risen up ovular stage and with a buffer zone and a air bubble by an air bender to prevent any audience members to get hurt.

“Today, we celebrate the end of the 100 year war. But we first must acknowledge the beginning of it – by a fight between the air nation and the fire nation.” G-Dragon said in his story telling voice that entranced the audience, “Although we know the results of this in history, we’ll allow for some creative liberties.” G-Dragon had a marvelous stage persona; he was hypontising the audience with his gleaming smile and his charisma. “Once that fight is over, the competition will begin. We’ll host 10 to 15 competitions between benders and the winner will move on to the next round. Whoever wins the finals will be, drumroll please” The sounds of people clapping their thighs filled the make-shift stadium with the drums by the medic box bellowing along. Tari noticed how Kilari and Johnny sat next to the famous dancer Ten, who Tari always wanted to talk to. She also noticed how Johnny looked up at the very moment she noticed him. When he noticed her eye contact, he greeted her with a soft smile and a wave. She returned this and then chuckled, pointing at the stage to remind him to watch.

“So, you’re probably sick of me yapping about! Today, our announcer is the amazing Renjun, who you may know from his podcast ‘Reloaded”. G-Dragon motioned to the box suspended on the second floor, where Renjun sits with Doyoung, Taeil, Lucas, and someone with blue hair she didn’t particularly recognize. She noticed Doyoung was already looking at her, probably previously looking for her in the crowd. He gave her a thumbs up as if asking her she was okay, to which she nodded and did a similar motion to him. He grinned and nodded, before turning his attention back to Taeil.

Renjun’s voice then filled the stadium, “Hello everybody, my name is Renjun and I’m your announcer for today.” He grinned, “Today we have an amazing group of contesters, but first we start with a fight between the Figure Penny and The Foreign Swagger!” Two people stepped on stage; The Foreign Swagger wearing a red vest with cream one-piece outfit and Figure Penny wearing black over wear reminicient of traditional army wear with red traditional bottoms. Figure Penny also wore a black headband, keeping his hair from his face. “After this, we’ll have The Mouse and The Ice Queen fight!”

Everyone’s shouts beat with the beat of the drum, with the beat of their hearts. Adrenaline – even second hand – seemed to be pumping their blood. The last fight was between the Mouse and The Osaka Prince, which made Tari think that G-Dragon set this up. No one has beated the Osaka Prince, so she cheered for the Mouse. Unfortunately, she was now left alone as the people she was with left to check up on Kyungsoo after someone messed up their aim and hit him in the crotch – which is a no-go area in the rules of the game. She told them to congratulate him for her as she didn’t want to fight through the crowd.

The Mouse was one of the smallest contestants whose been fighting for a while. He hasn’t won any big games yet, but he won all the smaller matches he would do. It was impressive – he can’t be older than 17. Despite the mask on his face, Tari could distinguish some youthful features; particularly kind and innocent doe eyes and a face that looked like he has yet to see any major wrongs. She hopes nothing bad happens to him, she’ll make sure of it. At least, she hopes she can.

Tari mentally focus on each of their steps; they were both amazing benders. She knows she can never live up to them. They all equally deserve to be Avatar for the day, hell – Avatar for life. Every single bender today only showed that literally anyone is better than Tari in bending. If Johnny had powers for a day, he’d better than her in a second.

She couldn’t help analyze his movements; the beauty behind it, the skill. He truly is the king of the ring. The Osaka Prince moved in a way he is compressed. He kept his energy close to him, not trying to do any flare or any energy draining movements. He kept himself close, probably to prevent him from having more available targets. It’s clear that he uses multiple culturally bending techniques into his; Earth Bending’s conservation of energy and efficient movements plus its stability and Fire Bending’s precision and agility. He has the momentum of a waterbender – he gooes with each movement, completing each of them to it’s fullest and avoiding losing energy as a result of hastily ending it. It looks like he has some ability to control how long he stays in the air – probably something he learnt from the Air Nation, where they encourage the use of arms to make your momentum last longer while jumping and lunging. He also goes against tradition - she notices he doesn’t step off the balls of his feet – only a few times letting his heel touch the ground. She was always taught to stand with at least oone heel always on the ground to keep herself stable, but he doesn’t need that.

She also looked at the Mouse; but noticed it seemed he was mimicking some movements from the Osaka Prince. She swore the last time she watched the Mouse, he was more rigid with his movements. He must be learning from The Osaka Prince. She can physically see how much the Mouse seemed to cringe whenever his heels naturally touch the ground, as if someone taught him to stop doing it.

Tari was so distracted by analyzing the movements, she didn’t realise the Mouse hit the floor with a thump. The Osaka Prince has won again, making Tari roll her eyes. His movement was beautiful – but no offence to the Mouse, but he had no chance. This was a set up for failure.

About to leave early, she heard G-Dragon announce the winner before The Osaka Prince’s disguised voice took over the room. She turned around to face the stage, intrigued to what he will say.

“I win everyday,” Okay, so cocky, Tari thought to herself, chuckling. “And I am treated like royalty here already, but I’ve been training The Mouse and I think he has improved. He deserves to be the Avatar. I give my title to him.” Two thoughts ran through Tari’s head – both ‘I knew it’ regarding The Osaka Prince influencing The Mouse and ‘okay that was really sweet’.

She decided to leave early still, despite the amount of claps and applause that filled the room during the bowing moment. She overheard many people as she pushed through talking about ‘how fun it would be to be the Avatar’, ‘how blessed’ the Avatar is, ‘how powerful’ and ‘how amazing’ they must be.

It felt too much. Overpowering, her head spinning. She needed to leave. And once she managed to get outside, she let her back rest upon a wall, and she took deep breaths. She aimed her palm facing her and blew a gust of wind at her face.

“I’m glad to see you haven’t ignored your powers completely.” A voice chuckled. Tari quickly stopped an action – fuck, I’m caught, she thought to herself before berating herself. She’s usually so careful. “No, no, no, continue! I’m happy to see you do it. I thought you’d forget who you are when you got here.” It was the same lady frorm earlier.

“Sukiara.” She pushed herself off the wall, startled.

“Tari, I need to talk to you.”

As Johnny and Kilara left the theater to wait outside for Tari – they didn’t realise Tari would be out before them. They invited Ten and his friend Taeyong to come along, knowing Tari mentioned seeing them in the water bending gym and how she finds them impressive. Tari wasn’t with the person they saw her with earlier; but with an older woman. Tari’s arms were folded across her chest as she was looking at anywhere but the lady in front of her. They couldn’t see her face directly nor could they see the lady’s but it was definitely not the same person as earlier and clearly, Tari didn’t want to be there.

“I’ll try and pull her away.” Johnny noted, before a hand pulled him and Kilari back – startling them both, making their heart race faster than prior.

It was Lucas, who was followed by Taeil and Doyoung.

“I swear to the Avatar, you are a massive doofus.” Kilari swore, holding her heart. “Why did you do that?”

Ignoring the question, Lucas started rambling – loudly. “Dude, it must be so cool to be the Avatar. I swear, I think The Osaka Prince is secretly the Avatar and disguises himself as a fire bender to keep it a secret.”

“Interesting theory actually.” Johnny commented, still glancing over to Tari. But Tari heard Lucas’s voice from over there and she quickly walked away from the lady dressed in black.

“Bro, I’d kill to be the Avatar.” Lucas kept talking, making the crowd around him laugh. Tari can hear every word and it felt like her head was about to explode.

“You good?” Doyoung asked, quickly noticing the water bender walking their way.

She hid her grimace and pain behind a smile, “Yeah, perfect.”

Doyoung made a mental note in his roommate to do list; get Tari some ice cream, watch a movie, and once she’s in a better mood, ask her what’s up.

“ANYWAY,” Kilari said, interrupting Lucas who was still rambling about how cool it would be to be the Avatar and how he’d use his powers in a way that’s definitely not the purpose of being the Avatar. “Taeyong and Ten, this is Tari. She’s also a water bender.”

“Oh my gosh,” Tari quickly recognized their faces from the gym and from their performances, “I’m literally always in awe whenever I see you guys practice,, I always see you whenever I’m in the gym.”

Ten dramatically flipped his not-long enough hair, “Thank you, we try.” Taeyong got flustered, turning pink as he smiled and thanked her. “Why don’t we normally see you at the gym?”

Tari smiled softly, “I normally go to visit Irene, she’s the head of the gym. I bring her coffee and we have a chat once in a while.”

“How do you know her?” Taeyong asked. “I literally never see her around, she stays in her master room.” Irene is the designated Master of Water bending in Sooman city.

Tari decided to tell a half truth, “She’s a regular at the café I work at. We bonded over our families both being from the Northern Water tribe.”

Kilari noticed odd behavior radiating off of Tari and changed the conversation the best way she knew how. “Yo, you should’ve joined us there. I think the Osaka Prince winked at me.” She boasted.

Ten teasingly smirked, “it was at me honey.” This made Tari grin widely.

“Okay but back to the Osaka Prince,” Lucas started again. He was oblivious to the daggers Kilari was sending his way, “he is definitely the Avatar. Only the Avatar can be that good. Like I don’t think anyone is better.”

Kilari sent a hesitant glance to Tari, knowing how insecure she is with her water bending abilities. “Yeah,” Tari agreed softly, “I don’t think anyone can be better.”

request anything for future parts / penny for your thoughts here

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