#Nagomi Cake House | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

charaznablescanontoyota · 3 years ago

Note

shaqedric + delay

They try not to watch the elections, as a rule. Edric paces around the living room, and Quill bakes something that hopefully won't have to function as a sorry-about-being-alternated gift, and they both steal glances at each other to make sure nothing's changed, but they don't watch the elections. Anything that doesn't immediately effect either of them, they can read about online later - or, less frequently, glean from Briskie or someone else texting Edric in a panic. Quill wonders if they haven't set themselves up for some kind of disappointment, building this little bubble where they don't have to think about blaseball until the game demands it of them. Like a house of cards they're just waiting for the wind to knock over.

It's election day of Season 21 when the broom appears in the kitchen. Neither of them notice it at first, until Quill moves to get the powdered sugar out of the pantry and nearly knocks it over. It's heavy, Quill realizes, as they catch it on reflex. It looks painted gold, but now that they're holding it, they think it might be gold all the way through. An impractical thing sculpted out of metal, not made for any real purpose.

"Which one of us won a prize?" they ask, because Edric's already reaching for his phone on the kitchen table. They know about items, in theory - players can grab new ones during active play sometimes, there have been ones dropped to shadows in the past - but hadn't thought they were quite so ostentatious.

"Lions," Edric says shortly, once he has the results up. "Shadow Brooms Supply Run blessed the Elysium Lions - Nagomi Meng, Eris Street, Tyler Violet - shit, okay, there you are. Shaquille Torres gained Golden Broom."

"What," Quill says patiently, leaning against the broom in question, "the fuck does that mean."

"It -" Edric says, and taps something on his phone's screen, and grimaces. "Well, the good news is, you're not good at the game, so -"

"Thanks, Eds," Quill deadpans.

"Baby," Edric says, casting a helpless look in their direction. "Can we be serious?"

"I can't be serious until you tell me if the broom's cursed or not," Quill says. They don't feel particularly cursed, though they're pretty sure they do recall there being items that make you worse at playing. Not that it would matter - because Edric's right, they're already not very good.

"It's not cursed," Edric says, though his tone indicates he might think otherwise. "It just - you're a Super Idol now."

Quill shrieks out a laugh, slaps a hand over their mouth, and keeps laughing regardless. They can't help it. It's hysterical. Maybe not in a way they could adequately explain, considering how Edric's looking at them like they've grown a second head, but - well. It's certainly a joke with layers to it.

"Guess I have to dig up my old platform shoes," they manage, when they can breathe enough to finally find their voice. Their own joke sets them off again, and they lean into the broom for support, breathless and teary.

"Babe," Edric says, still helpless, a little pleading.

"Eddie, I'm fine," Quill says. "I - it's funny."

"Funny until they take you out of the shadows to make money off of."

"They won't," Quill says, maybe too sure.

Edric gives them a long-suffering look that's not dissimilar from the grimace he had on before. "You don't know -"

"The Lions like their undead right where we are," Quill says. "And you said it yourself, I'm not good. Now stop making that face."

"Or what?" Edric asks. And he's stubborn, so of course his face doesn't change.

"Or I have to come over there and kiss you," Quill says, matter-of-fact, finally letting go of the broom. "And then my lemon cake is going to burn."

The ghost of a smile pulls at the corners of Edric's mouth, but he turns away to face the door to the back deck before Quill gets more than a passing glance at it.

"Sure," he says, and there's still worry there, but there's quiet amusement, too. "Can't have that."

#marn writes #mirrorverse au #tigers/lions shadow blessings (affectionate)#only the silliest things have happened to them and for that i am grateful(?)

10 notes · View notes

warmheartworldwide · 7 years ago

Text

Warm Heart Truly Warms Hearts

The following blog comes from Singaporean Xuehui (Dawn) Lim who’s been at Warm Heart since August:

During my university days, there were plenty of opportunities to volunteer but I never had the time. Then I started working at the same major company, first five years in the Human Resources department followed by two more in the Innovations section. It was definitely time for a change so I decided that volunteering would give me a good kickstart in finding new directions.

As it was my first time volunteering overseas, I really did not know where to start. I found Warm Heart during a random internet search and having previously worked only with adults, I was really attracted to the idea of working with kids. The WH website gave plenty of background information so I decided to take a leap of faith. I certainly had concerns about whether I would be safe, comfortable and really able to contribute something. But once I had my video call with Evelind, it was clear that she had plenty of experience dealing with the same concerns from other volunteers. She and her support staff were so helpful in answering all my questions and then dealing with my administrative needs that I really felt more relaxed.

That concern for each volunteer’s well-being continued after I arrived. There was only one other volunteer at the time and no other women so Michael and Evelind kindly let me stay in their house for the first few weeks. Coming from Singapore where we have street lamps in practically every part of the city, the pitch black nights and high beam driving here can seem scary at first. But it took me just a few days to adjust and now I love the nights and seeing the moon and stars.

Eventually when some other volunteers arrived, I moved to the Pradu volunteer house but I still wasn’t comfortable with riding a motorbike. I ended up renting a car from one of our staff members and even feel confident now driving in busy Chiang Mai. Evelind will always bend over backwards to try to find a solution to whatever your needs and budget are.

Learning to adapt to local conditions has also extended to my project work at Warm Heart. Like pretty much all new volunteers, I was first assigned to teaching English. I was surprised not to find much in the WH English teaching file in Dropbox so I Googled on ESL and downloaded materials which I thought might be useful. I have to admit that English teaching at WH seems pretty unstructured, especially with the younger kids, since you never know who will show up. You just have to be flexible.

Brothers A, B and C – my favorite WH kids

Before leaving Singapore, I decided I needed to familiarize myself with activities which might be useful with kids. I took a short course in Nagomi pastel art, a Japanese technique where pastel chalk is ground onto paper. The powder is then blended with your finger and color can be removed with an eraser. There are no fixed rules and everybody can do it. When I decided I was ready to launch the project at WH, I just started doing it in the dining room. Soon the kids gathered around and joined in. Some of the work from the older girls is really beautiful. The project was so successful that WH will be doing Nagomi for a forthcoming children’s art competition where the winners get modest money prizes.

Submissions to Nagomi art contest

I also joined projects from other volunteers. Laure and Juliette are two French volunteers who recently completed a hospitality/tourism degree. As tourism is so important in the Chiang Mai area and some of the older kids might be going into the field, we decided to stage a Customer Service Camp during the school holidays. What we didn’t realize is that most of the older kids had gone home so we ended up with 16 mostly younger kids, some from WH and some from the surrounding district.

Learning how to serve a drink

We ran the Customer Service Camp for three half-days. We introduced greetings in four languages – Thai, English, Mandarin and French. We taught the kids how to serve drinks and look after guests. The kids baked cakes and made colorful signs for their baked goods. The goals were serious but everybody had fun and for once the boys were just as enthusiastic and interested as the girls.

Boys baking yogurt cake

Customer Service Camp is over!

I did a part-time graduate diploma in positive psychology, so Evelind asked me to participate in a follow-up session of a project started by Gina which focuses on bolstering self-esteem in the older girls. I helped to draft personal statements for the girls. Gina felt that some of them seemed to have made progress since her previous visit and she felt good about the results of her work. I then hung a series of positive quotes around the WH compound in English and Thai and conducted a guided tour to help the kids understand the meaning of the quotes.

Joy in front of a positive quote

In my free time, I’ve also joined Noina, our public health staff member, in her visits to the elderly, disabled and kids living in the Phrao district. It doesn’t matter whether you come to WH with real skills or not. If you have the right attitude and are willing to learn, there is always something to get involved in. There’s also plenty of time for real fun. Our Halloween celebration was completely impromptu but the kids loved getting their scary make-up and going trick-and-treating around Warm Heart.

Me and B at Halloween

The bulk of my personal project work has been working with the older kids to build up their confidence and help get them ready for when they have to go out into the real world. I started with the nine kids who are graduating from high school this year. The idea was for them each to write their self-introduction in English. They weren’t able to do the work themselves so in the end, they spoke in Thai to the translator and I wrote up the intros in English. Now the kids are practising reading their intros out loud and soon we will be presenting them in front of M&E and the other kids. Not only are we trying to get the kids focusing on their medium-term plans and aspirations, they are also learning how to speak in public. Now we are extending the program to the kids in grades 7-9.

I’m also working with the WH kids who are already in college. Most of them don’t know how to write their resumes or present themselves professionally. They’ve all been quite active at WH, looking after the younger kids, helping the volunteers, working in the kitchen or on recycling projects. What they don’t realize is that these are real work experiences and regardless of how young they are, if they are documented correctly, they can be useful for when they apply for programs or jobs.

Coming from Singapore where higher education and professional careers are so valued, it’s been a revelation how little emphasis there is on human resources development here. But then our lives in Singapore are so regimented and many people like myself end up wanting to break out of the box and embrace a freer, simpler lifestyle. I guess the best solution would be a balance of the two worlds.

I’ve also been able to connect my Singapore family and friends with my life at Warm Heart. Before I left, everybody asked me how they could help so I asked Evelind what she needed the most. She said that since the kids were always growing, probably shoes would be the most useful donation. I went back to Singapore for a short break and my initial goal was to collect 50 pairs – in the end, we got over 200 pairs! I brought the best 45 pairs back with me and posted another 100 pairs. The rest are sitting at Evelind’s daughter’s house in Singapore. Through this effort I learned that as long as something is done with a genuine heart, wonders can be achieved.

A trying out his new shoes

My entire journey here has been wonderful and I have gained more than I have given. In fact Warm Heart now feels like my home away from home and my journey here will continue after I return to Singapore. I am planning to keep supervising the graduating kids with their resumes and college and job applications. I will always be looking for ways to help raise money and provide other practical assistance to support the kids in achieving their dreams.

What’s great at Warm Heart is that you get to initiate and are fully empowered to run your projects. You can bounce your ideas off M&E and as long as the project is beneficial in some way, you will get a green light. I also like it that the same philosophy applies to the WH kids and their futures. Although everyone here will help, ultimately the kids get to decide for themselves what they want to do with their lives.

As I complete my final weeks here, my strongest memories will be of how much effort Michael, Evelind and the WH staff put into making sure that each child is well both physically and mentally. When WH says they are providing the children with a safe place to live and thrive in, they really mean it. Not a day goes by that you don’t see a kid running up to Michael or Evelind for a big hug. As for myself, I previously had little exposure to kids and I now love my constant interaction with them. When I return to Singapore, I plan to start a completely new career in childcare or child development. So my Warm Heart experience has truly been life-changing.

Thank you Warm Heart!

0 notes