#actually i know exactly why wasabi’s blue.

[leosabi]

Big Hero 6 is coming to Lorcana in November!

[milihamada]

•CaVoyd: Hamada's Life (Fanfic)•

Chapter 1:

*How Cass and Karen Meet After The Events Of The Second Film*

*In Coffee At The Hamada's*

H: Aunt Cass We're Back From Metroville Trip

*She Hugs Her Nephews With Happiness*

C: Ohhh Hiro... Tadashi... How Good You All Came Home Safe After The Mission In Metroville

T: Yes Aunt Cass

H: There in Metroville We Meet New People At Deevtech and New Heroes and Friends Too

C: How Good Hiro

H: So, Aunt Cass....You Are Pleased With The News ?

C: Yes Hiro

*Then She Finishes Hugging Her Nephews We Start To Explain How Tadashi Survived That Fire and How We Became Heroes in Secret*

C: Well I Know I Understand You Two, After You Found Your Brother in Metroville For a Long Time It Was Thanks To Honey Who Found You, Right Tadashi ?

T: Yes Aunt Cass, It's Been a Long Time Since I've Seen You Two and My Friends and Honey Too.... And I Don't Want To Be Separated From You Again.... I Love Her.... Because She Brought Me Back Tô San Fransokyo and You Two Too....

*He Cries Emotionally and His Aunt Cass Consoles The Boy*

C: I Know Tadashi You Went Throught Those Difficult Times Back In Metroville and Now That You Are Here Alive We Are Happy That You Came Back To Us

H: Yes Tadashi, I'm Also Happy That You're Around You Again and Thanks To Mr.Deavor and Our Teammate Too

T: Thank You Guys For Your Support

*After The Conversation Between Them, The Three End Up Hearing The Arrival Of Their Friends At The Coffee Shop, My Nephews Go Down To Talk To Their Friends, During The Meeting With Hiro and Tadashi's Friends Colleagues I Was Still Upstairs Making Breakfast For a Few Hours, The Two Were Talking To Their Colleagues Along With Baymax and The Girl Who Was Between Them and When I Went To Serve Breakfast and She Saw Me We Each Other For The First Time a Young Girl With Light Blue Hair and Turquoise Green Eyes Anxiously and It Was Like That At Moment Exchanging Looks And Her Name is Karen Fields*

C: Ready Guys, I Already Made Breakfast

K/V: "Oh My Gosh.....Wow She is Beautiful She Reminds Me a Lot Of The Elastigirl"......(Admiring The Girl)

C: Hey Darling, Everything Aright ?

K/V: Yes I'm Fine on Good....Terms With My Colleagues and...You Are Hiro and Tadashi's Aunt ?

C: Yes I'm Their Aunt, But You Already Know My Nephews ?

K/V: Yes I Know The Both, I Thought You Were Tadashi and Hiro's Mother ?

C: It's Okay, Dear, Sometimes a Lot Of People Get Confused and I'm Actually Their Aunt

K/V: So....I Thought You Were Very Similar To The Elastigirl and You Are Actually Tadashi and Hiro's Aunt ?

C: Exactly

K/V: I Liked You More Before I Introduced Myself.....Hi My Name Is Karen... Karen Fields What Is Your Name ?

C: My Name Is Cass...Cass Hamada You Can Call Me Aunt Cass

K/V: Ok Aunt Cass

C: So You Already Know My Nephews Colleagues, Hiro and Tadashi Right ?

K/V: Yes, Already Know These Two and Their Colleagues Too And.....

*The Young Girl Felt Something Under The Coffee Shop Table, Which Was Mochi That Was Rubbing on Her Legs, He Really Wanted To Get Her Attetion*

K/V: Oh How Cute What Is His Name

H: Karen This Is Mochi, He Is Our House Cat

K/V: And Why Is He Between My Legs ?

G/E: I Think He Liked You

HL: It's Normal He Will Get Used To You Right

K/V: You're Right Honey Lemon, I'd Going To Adapt For The First Time in San Fransokyo When I Was Moving To Metroville and I Arrived Yesterday Morning and I'm Living in The GoGo House's Kitnet With The Two Of Them and Little By Little I'm Going To Get Used To It Here With You And.....

W: Ok Karen, We Already Understand, We're Going To Help You, Okay

K/V: Okay Wasabi

T: Karen, As You Are Very Anxious We Will Show You Some Places Here In The City Of San Fransokyo and Baymax Will Help You Control Your Anxiety With The Scanner and Your Personal Heath Agent

K/V: Thank You Tadashi

T: You're Welcome

F: Guys, How About We Go To The Square And Enjoy a Walk Among Ourselves

HL: Good Idea Fred

F: So What Are We Waiting For Let's Go

K/V: Aunt Cass Wants To Go With Us On The Walk in The Square ?

C: Well, I Don't Know, I Have a Lot Of Things And......

H: Come On Auntie Quickly, We'll Be Back With Things At The Coffee Shops Soon, Let's Go

C: Okay, I'II Go With You, But This Time Just Today

H: Yes

K/V: What Are You Waiting For Aunt Cass Let's Go

*And Thanks To Fred's Invitation To Take a Walk In The Square, When Karen Invited Me For a Walk In The Square, She Took My Hand and Looked At Me With Her Beautiful Smile and We Went Together For a Walk In The Square Of San Fransokyo And That Was The Beginning Of Our Colorful Friendship Between You And Me Karen*

Continue.......

[arctimon]

Big Hero 6 - On Hallow’s Eve, Watch Over Me

I hope that everyone had a good Halloween, and you got literally all the candy.  I, on the other hand, spent the evening watching three dogs and a sister give out candy as dinosaurs.

No, I will not be giving any further context.

Either way, every time Halloween comes around, it reminds me of the story that I’ve wanted to write every Halloween, but never got around to: the Big Hero 6/Overwatch sort-of crossover.

I say sort-of because it’s not like Mercy and Tracer are going to show up in San Fransokyo.  At least...not physically.

I have made a few references to Overwatch in my stories (mostly in Highway to Hell), and I think it would be a perfect way for the team to get into alternate characters.  Of course, things would never be that easy, especially if they have to do some heroics during Halloween night.

I haven’t gotten around to figuring out what exactly they’d be doing (if I was sadistic, probably pushing a payload or something),   But I do have a pretty good idea of who’d they be going as.

Here’s the big bad list:

Hiro Hamada - Wrecking Ball (Potassium)

Funny story behind this one.  I would imagine that after staying up all night for a few consecutive days (including his costume), he loses his voice and has to have a voice module talk for him, which is where the robot’s voice comes from.  Plus, his grappling hook is the closest thing to the magnetic coils he uses (and he ain’t no Widowmaker, that’s for sure).

Honey Lemon - Mercy (Witch)

Pretty self explanatory.  Plus, you have to go for the Witch one.  It’s her most popular skin.

Baymax - Orisa (Carbon Fiber) Again, I think this one is pretty obvious.  She even has a voice line riffing off of him (”Are you satisfied with your care?”).  She doesn’t have much of a red skin sans the team ones, so I went with the most futuristic one.

Go Go - Lucio (Jazzy)

Now, I know what you’re thinking.  Why would you make Go Go Lucio?  Well, for one, have you seen Go Go’s actual Halloween costume in “Obake Yashiki”?  She doesn’t want to do any work.  All she needs is a set of roller blades and she’s set.

I at least wanted to jazz her up a bit with her skin.  I think even Go Go would appreciate a good fedora/top hat/whatever Lucio’s wearing in this skin.

Fredzilla - Doomfist (Lake)

Fred and a giant blue fist?  Count me in. 

Wasabi - Genji (Blackwatch)

I gave Wasabi Genji because of his affinity for blades, and also because at the time I was doing all of this (which was a while ago), Baptiste hadn’t come out yet.  I suppose that the combat healer would be a better fit for him, but something about him having a giant dragon blade just fills me with glee.

Karmi - Symmetra (Classic)

When I was searching for screenshots for Karmi, I had completely forgotten the gauntlet.  I have no idea how, but it makes her fit in even well.  The hardlight turrets, the giant wall ultimate, the general disregard for things out of order.  It all fits.  And you can’t go wrong with the classic Symmetra look.

Now the question is whether or not she’ll kill Hiro for having leggings that high.  XD

Aunt Cass - Ana (Horus)

Older woman who drinks tea and is the mother of the group?  Pretty obvious.

Megan - Sombra (Talon)

A young Mexican girl that can turn invisible and can turn out the lights with EMPs?  Even more obvious.

I was contemplating the Talon skin and her Glitch one, but this one would probably be the “tamer” one.  Methinks that Chief Cruz wouldn’t like her shaving half of her head to get into character.

Although would that even stop her?

Juniper - Zarya (Totally 80′s)

Yes, June’s not Russian, and has slightly less musculature than Zarya, but the costume is a spitting image.  Maybe give her Gravity Cannon an electrical field so she can carry it?

Someday I’ll get around to writing this story, just like all the other ones.  It’s just that certain events have to happen in order for this story to happen.

Oh well.  Maybe next (spooky) year?

[tsubaki3192]

250+ Followers HC! Artist!MC Draws a Portrait of Nobunaga, Ieyasu, Kenshin, Mitsuhide

Requested by: @puffpuff300​

Note: Thank you so much! Haha this sounds like so much fun… So here we go!

Haha… Not all of these are portraits or are they drawn, but…

Edit: I’m so sorry it took so long! But now I think I’m back in business! 

Please let me know if you’d like to be (un)tagged!

--------------------------------------------

Nobunaga:

Honestly? You just loved the way the paint seems to splatter itself on the page.

No, before I properly begin, you don’t necessarily do traditional painting. You like the abstract ones. Like Piccasso… but not quite his style xD

Piccasso’s style… Would confused the shit out of NObunaga if you drew him in that style- I swear if you don’t paint him like that at least once, I’ll smack you xD

Anyway, your paints are precious to you. You know that Nobunaga might be able to get some oil paints for you, but acrylic paint has always seemed to be better for you. That, and you’ve gotten used to it.

On the night you arrive at Honnoji, you’re carrying your art satchel, filled with paint, a couple of canvases, and your beloved brushes. You were in Japan to paint some of the blooming cherry blossoms and scenery at the time.

Dragged into this mess of a Princess and chatelaine duties made you miss painting so badly. Even picking up a calligraphy brush reminded you of the calligraphy-brush style paintings you had been studying before you had arrived.

So you grab the a4-sized canvas and wander the hallways for days, as you search for the best thing to draw. Honestly? You’ve had to white the canvas multiple times simply because nothing seemed right.

That sakura tree in the corner of the castle gardens? Nope.

The bustling streets of Azuchi town in the middle of the day? Hm...

The Ghost of Mitsuhide, smirking wildly as he wanders down the hallways? Not that either.

Not even the pretty Mitsunari seemed to capture your attention for long.

Ironically though, you didn’t even think of paining the lord of the castle at first, perhaps because his ego didn’t need to be brushed up further? 

At the end of the day, you’ve decided to retire to your room, having wasted the whole day wandering the town and castle, listlessly, tirelessly and unsuccessfully seeking the perfect scene to paint.

Weirdly enough, just after dinner, you somehow end up outside the tenshu, peering through the gap the raven-haired lord left in the doorway.

What a sight, though, to see Nobunaga hard at work, that frown finally focused on something other than yourself. You’re suddenly filled with inspiration, and you set down opposite the gap, sketching the outline of exactly what you’re seeing: the gap between the doorway, and Nobunaga seated at his desk.

You know he can see you: You’ve spotted that all-knowing smirk of his. But he doesn’t speak or move until you begin to leave, having finally marked out the correct colours in pencil. 

“Fireball, you may enter the room if you wish-?”

Unsurprisingly, you had jolted at the sound of his voice and bolted from the opening of his door, leaving a baffled Nobunaga staring at your empty postion.

2 days later, you leave the completed painting on his desk, covered by a square of leftover fabric you had used to make the kimono you wore that day. 

He unveils it curiously, only because you didn’t leave a note of any kind. 

Honestly? He just kinda stares at it- curiously- since the painting seemed even more realistic than the ones circling at that time.

And he just laughs, leaving it hanging against the wall beside the Kimono you had made for him.

Mitsuhide:

Okay… So catching this one somewhere paintable is simply impossible. Believe yourself- You’ve tried.

In fact the only reason why you’re trying to paint Mitsuhide is: 1. You don’t have a camera, and 2, He’s just so ethereally beautiful and 3. He’s never lingered in somewhere pretty or ‘nice’ enough for a sufficient amount of time to even sketch him.

As for Mitsuhide, he, without a doubt, is teasing you. He’s seen the paint tubes you brought with you on that night you had first arrived in the Sengoku Era, and he’s seen that sketchbook- or rather paint-book- of yours, filled with random practice paintings of flowers you’ve spotted in the Azuchi gardens-

or Kyubei, which you had admittedly sketched multiple times. Why were both Lord and Vassal so pretty?

and has figured out their uses after stealing a blank page from your book and a couple of paint tubes. 

You’ve found that same torn page tucked within the pile of paperwork when he requested your assistance once.

It was kinda cute too: fingerprints and finger painting galore xD

You’ve also spotted paint residues of blue beneath his fingernails, much to your amusement.

Anyway… So you’ve been trying to paint an image of Mitsuhide with a parasol beneath a willow tree for awhile now… And it’s to the point where you’re tempted to just use your imagination bc he’s simply not letting you.

But you just snap at him, one day, after having had a VERY bad day. And he just… relents, standing statue-still despite you still grumbling beneath your breath with every glance towards him.

You stuff Kyubae into the image too bc he deserves to be immortalised in a painting with his lord….

It takes a week, on top of all your other duties, to complete the painting, and if that’s not the best painting you’ve ever painted, you’d be lying to yourself.

Honestly, even though he’s curious and teasing about it, Mitsuhide only finds out once you’ve completed the painting. Yes, he could’ve seen the painting at any time, but a part of him wanted to keep that as a reward for all his hard work.

He makes that adorable blushy pout when he later realises he simply could’ve asked you to see the painting: Kyubei’s seen it before he has.

You leave the painting on his desk under all the paperwork there is, knowing full well that his curiousity would get the better of him and he’d stop working-

It works, but only at the expense of your blush from his tease when he finds you in the kitchen with Masamune, rewarding yourself with Mochi.

He’s secretly proud of it, and it’s the only one he’ll willingly hang in his room.

Ieyasu:

Ehhhh…. This one’s kinda easy, okay?

So you’ve always wanted to paint Ieyasu with Wasabi. It’s been on your agenda ever since you first caught him playing with the baby deer 3 nights after your arrival in Sengoku Japan.

The only thing is, you’ll have to resort to using Traditional watercolour techniques, since you: 1. Had no paints on you, and 2, canvases didn’t exist back then. You could try to make one, but you swore it wouldn’t turn out as good as the store-bought ones.

So you do paint it. From your memory, and from whatever scenery you could draw from the Azuchi garden.

It’s pretty funny, actually: You know most of the Azuchi warlords are aware of what you’re up to. And by that, you mean all but Ieyasu, who claimed he couldn’t care less, and Mitsunari, that oblivious genius.

Nobunaga and Mitsuhide knows because they’ve been watching you, and Masamune and Ranmaru only knows because Hideyoshi found out.

Long story short, you’ve been neglecting yourself: forgetting meals and overall becoming a Mitsunari 2.0…. Hence the whole “Hideyoshi” thing.

Honestly, it’s a surprise the receiver of the painting doesn’t know. Usually Ieyasu would be the type to scold you with harsh words before you even get to painting him.

But not this time.

Actually, you’re certain he’s been avoiding you. For what reason? Who knows. But painting from memory was always a good mental exercise….

Ieyasu does find out eventually, but that’s simply because you purposely drag him out to the garden where you’ve hung the painted scene on a branch to allow it to dry.

He just sort of stands there surprised, before averting his gaze.

“This is what you’ve been doing the entire time?”

You don’t blame him for the blunt question since you rushed off to the location at any given time to continue the painting, pretty much neglecting anything but your sleep, chores and-

Honestly, being that tsundere-contrarian he is, he flicks you on the forehead while muttering a quiet “It’s good” with averted eyes.

You honestly should never have grinned that widely at his words, bc now he’s walking off while  blushing… and taking the painting with him :3

Kenshin:

You know better than to go behind Kenshin’s back. And by that, you mean “Oh-god-he’s-etherally-beautiful-but-also-a-yandere-so-I-must-gain-permission-to-paint-him-otherwise-he-might-kill-me-help”.

But honestly, it takes you awhile, simply because you’re not sure how to approach him- He’s always given you that sensation of “don’t-touch-me” xD

If it weren’t for Sasuke, who you had known for years, given you went to the same university and assisted him with some artist renditions of the night sky, you honestly would never have had the courage.

The question comes off as awkward. Very much so, since you had been, well, stalking him for days on end before he calls you out and you reply to him, nervously stuttering in response.

Kenshin doesn’t disagree with your request, however, choosing to just call for you whenever he suddenly feels bored.

It’s honestly chaotic and stressful, since he keeps changing position every few minutes…. ^-^’’

In the end you enlist  the help of Shingen, who was only willing to pose for you so he could stare at your expression~ xD

The rest of the time you spend painting is holed up in your room, which, by the way, confuses Kenshin since usually artists would force him to sit agonising hours of stillness just to capture his appearance.

So he goes looking for you.

It’s at a pretty ironic time too, considering you were just adding the finishing touches to the painting. Just some background colouring and details….

But Kenshin’s hovering over your shoulder and-

He compliments you with some VERY sugary words, while you’re wrapped up in his arms. Honestly it puts Shingen’s flirting to shame xD 

You’re warm, but to be fair you’ve left him pretty much unattended for the past week thanks to your want to paint.

Just cross your fingers he never asks you how exactly you managed to accurately paint the position he, in the painting, sat in.

Shingen would most certainly die from spending hours with Kenshin’s princess and love of his life-

Tagging: @tsukiiiyo​​ @unstoppablelinda​ @zavannahmj​ @nad-zeta​ @thesirenwashere​ @ikemenoliver​​ @jiyuu-chan​ @nuttytani​ <3

[writemekpop]

City Lights | Wong Yukhei (Lucas)

Pairing: Wong Yukhei (Lucas) x Reader

Summary: Being a single mother isn’t doing wonders for your dating life. That is, until you meet your gorgeous neighbour Lucas. You try to stay away, but it's getting harder to resist his charm. Will you be able to let a new man into your life?

Genre: Fluff, Angst, Suggestive 

Word Count: 2.9k 

The lights of Hong Kong glittered in the distance as you watched through the glass wall of your new apartment. It felt strange moving into a new city on your own, free from your ex-husband Yuta. Well, you weren’t really on your own; you had your two-year-old daughter, Nara.

You had to admit that getting pregnant at twenty-four and ending up a single mother wasn’t in your life plan, but two years down the line, things were working out alright.

“Mummy look!” Nara said, peering down at the twinkling cars below. “They’re funny, aren’t they?” you cooed in response.

You had nearly finished unpacking; you just had to bring one more box into your apartment. You walked out into the corridor, your red heels clicking on the marble floor. You hauled the box inside, leaving the front door ajar.

You spent the next few minutes sorting through the contents of the box. “Honey look, here’s the alphabet book you were looking for,” you called out. Hearing no response, you looked up from the box. Your daughter was nowhere to be seen. “Nara?” you called louder this time. Still no response.

You dashed out into the corridor, calling her name a few more times. There was only one other apartment on this floor, so she couldn’t have gone far. You hadn’t had the chance to meet the neighbours yet, and you prayed that they weren’t serial killers.

Then, you heard the unmistakable giggling of your daughter. You rushed around the corner to see Nara babbling away happily with a young man. He was crouched in front of her, with one knee on the ground smiling at the completely unfazed toddler.

“Nara!” you called out. Two smiling faces turned in your direction. “Mummy!” Nara squealed, running to you with arms outstretched. You picked her up her lovingly, finally able to relax.

You turned to the handsome stranger, your eyes widening as you scanned him from head to toe. Now that he was standing, he towered over you – he was easily over six foot tall. His skin was a gorgeous dark caramel, and you wondered if it would taste as good as it looked.

You noticed the man’s large brown eyes raking over your body, a smirk forming on his full lips. You didn’t really mind - you were used to men staring at you. But you’d never seen a man as handsome as the one who stood before you now.

You realise that neither of you had broken the silence, so you decided to step in. “Thanks for finding my daughter,” you said, smiling up at him.

“No problem,” he replied, his voice deep and velvety, “She’s an angel, wouldn’t want her getting lost.” Nara buried her face into your neck, her little hands toying with your necklace. You smiled back at the gorgeous man, admiring the dimples that formed on his face.

“I’m Lucas by the way. Welcome to the building,” he said.

“Thank you, I’m Y/n,” you said, “And this little one is Nara.”

“She’s beautiful…” he said, “just like her mother”. Lucas smirked, his dark eyes twinkling in the corridor lights. Your eyes went wide at his blatant flirting, a deep red blush tingeing your cheeks.

“Thanks. You’re… you’re not so bad yourself,” you replied, cringing slightly at your words. You were a bit rusty in the dating department; since Nara came along, you’d not dated much.  

Lucas chucked, bringing his large hand up to cover his mouth. His eyes crinkled beautifully as he replied, “I know, right?”.

You and Lucas chatted for a few minutes, and you found yourself quickly growing comfortable in his presence. Then, out of the blue, he said “You should take my number”.

“Oh really, and why is that?” you said. Now it was your turn to smirk.

“It’s important to be friendly with your neighbours,” he replied.

“Oh, so you’re just being friendly?” you said, enjoying teasing the handsome man who stood before you.

“Of course!” he winked at you and flashed a dazzling smile. “I’d love to take you on a date sometime,” he continued.

“Bold of you to assume I’m single,” you said. Although your exterior was cool, you were melting on the inside.

“I mean, a gorgeous girl like you, I’m sure you’ve got loads of guys after you,” Lucas said. “But umm, the little one mentioned that the two of you lived alone. I just assumed!” he said, looking bashful and rubbing his large hand against the back of his neck.

“I am single…” you started “But I just moved here, and I need a bit of time to settle in.” You weren’t sure if you could let someone new in; now that you had Nara in your life, your priorities were different. Lucas’s face fell, and you found yourself regretting what you’d said.

“Wait…” you said, struck with a strong desire to see that gorgeous smile again. “If you really do want to go on a date, how about you ask me again in… in fifty days’ time?” you said, a blush creeping up your cheeks. Maybe by then, you’d have space in your life for Lucas.

Lucas smiled quizzically. He stepped closer to you and softly placed a hand on your arm, “Fifty days, you say?” he whispered, leaning in. “I’ll definitely be worth the wait”.

Lucas waved goodbye and left. You hadn’t expected a run-in with a handsome stranger on your first day in Hong Kong, but you’d be lying if you said you weren’t intrigued.

Over the next few weeks you bumped into Lucas everywhere: in the elevator, in the hallway, a couple times in the bakery across the street. Each time, Lucas would crack a flirty joke and flash you a smile that sent your head spinning.

You’d learnt quite a bit about Lucas. For example, you found out that he was twenty-three (three years younger than you, but as Lucas always said, when it comes to love, age doesn’t matter). You were realising that Lucas was not just a pretty face. But you had to admit, his face was very, very pretty.

-----50 days later-----

It was a breezy Saturday afternoon, and you were waiting for the elevator to go up to your apartment. You had your sleeping toddler in one arm, and bags of groceries in the other.

Unsurprisingly, Lucas was on your mind. Just as you were picturing his lips, you felt a hand touch your shoulder. You spun around to see the man himself.  

Lucas was wearing black sweatpants and an Adidas T shirt with the sleeves rolled up, showing off his sculpted biceps. He had headphones around his neck, and the sheen of sweat that lightly coated his skin made him glisten.

“Hey gorgeous!” Lucas boomed, gesturing to carry your bags for you, which you gratefully accepted. “Do you know what day it is today?” he asked.

“Saturday?” you replied coyly. You knew exactly what day it was.

“Well yes,” Lucas replied, laughing slightly. “But more importantly…” he leaned in so he could whisper into your ear, “It’s been fifty days”.

Your heart fluttered at his closeness - you could actually feel the heat radiating off his body. “So, what do you say? Can we go on a date?” he asked, smirking slightly, like he knew the effect he had on you.

You smiled and beckoned him into the elevator. Lucas grinned cockily and followed you in. “I’d like that,” you said, after a pause. Lucas clasped his chest and let out a comically loud sigh. “Yes!” he exclaimed, “Name a place and time, princess, and I’ll be there”.

As the elevator ascended, the two of you agreed to cook dinner in your apartment next Saturday. You were secretly relieved you wouldn’t need to find a babysitter for Nara – she would be fast asleep in her room.

Over the next week, warm brown eyes invaded your dreams every night. You tried on countless date outfits, and Nara enjoyed the mini fashion show you put on for her. In the end, you settled for deep purple bodycon dress, black lace thigh-high socks and red lipstick that complimented the richness of your skin tone.

The evening of your date had finally arrived, and Nara was asleep in her bedroom, right next door to yours. She’d had some trouble sleeping through the night, but you prayed that this time she would.

As the clock struck eight, you heard a knock on the front door. You walked to the door and pulled it open, taking a second to look at the man standing before you.  

Lucas was leaning on your door frame, checking you out with a satisfied smirk. The way he was dressed made it clear he knew what made him look good. He was wearing a blue velvet jacket with trousers to match. His shirt clung to his chest and highlighted the hard muscles that lay beneath, its stark white colour contrasting his golden skin. A black bow tie lay open carelessly around his neck and his dark hair was styled up. He looked absolutely gorgeous.  

You noticed that Lucas was holding a punnet of strawberries and a can of whipped cream. You raised your brows quizzically as you let him inside. “Chocolates and flowers are too cliché, right?” he said. You chuckled as he set his gift down on the table and pulled you in for a hug. You sighed contently as you felt his strong arms wrap around you, revelling in his cinnamon musk and feeling very secure.

**************************

“Argh!” Lucas bellowed as he staggered around the kitchen, eyes watering. You stood watching him, one hand clutching your stomach in laughter. You had made sushi for dinner, and Lucas had boasted about how much wasabi he could eat. Let’s just say he was now paying the price.  

You looked around frantically until you found something that could help. “Here, open your mouth!” you said, still laughing. You sprayed some whipped cream in his mouth. After a few more sprays, the fire in Lucas’ mouth had finally calmed down, and he was giggling too, his lips and chin now completely covered in cream.

“You saved me!” Lucas yelled. “Come here…” he said mischievously, placing one hand on your waist and the other on your chin, tilting your head up. Lucas puckered his cream covered lips and leaned towards to you.

You squealed and tried to wriggle away, but Lucas’ grip on you was firm. Plus, he was hard to resist, so you let his lips touch yours in a sugary kiss. You licked the cream that was now on your lips and smiled as he stepped back, his cheeks tinged red.

After the meal, the two of you moved to the couch. An empty bottle of wine sat on the table in front of you, the alcohol making your blood hot with desire. You were lying down with your head on the arm of the sofa and your legs draped over Lucas’s lap.

Lucas’s large hands rested lightly on your knees, and as you talked, you felt his fingers ghost the skin of your thigh. Each time he touched you, a warm buzz ran through your body.

After a while, you were done with talking – you just wanted his lips on you. And this time not just for a little kiss.

“Lucas…” you purred. You looked up to him and saw his eyes darken with understanding. As you were about to move onto his lap, Lucas held you in place with a strong hand on your shoulder. “Let me,” he whispered.  

Lucas moved so that his legs were straddling your waist on the sofa. You reached your hand up to caress the back of his neck, pulling him in for a kiss. The feeling of Lucas’ soft lips on yours was dizzying. You drew him closer, deepening the kiss and revelling in the feeling of Lucas over you.

Soon, your kisses got rougher, and you could feel Lucas responding to the change in pace. You ran your fingers though his dark hair and tugged, eliciting a low moan from the boy.

“Let’s take this to the bedroom,” you said, softly pushing Lucas off you. He nodded eagerly. His cheeks were flushed, and his shirt ruffled. You held his hand and walked quietly past Nara’s room.

Softly shutting your bedroom door, you kissed Lucas again, your hands tangling in his hair. The weight of his body on yours had you stepping back until he pushed you onto the bed. You lay back, propping yourself up on your elbows as you admired the view in front of you.

Lucas stood at the foot of the bed, smirking as he slowly unbuttoned his shirt. He tossed his shirt to the floor, pulling off his bowtie in the process too. Your eyes traced down his abs, imagining what it would feel like to rake your nails down them.

Lucas climbed onto the bed, staring hungrily at you. You pulled him closer, intent on kissing him again, but he shook his head and stopped you before you could. “Take off your dress,” he said. You pouted slightly but obeyed, slowly easing the purple garment off your body.

As you began to pull down your socks, Lucas placed a hand on your thigh. “Leave them on,” he said with a sly grin. Lucas stroked the bare skin of your tummy, the rough pads of his fingers leaving a fiery trail from your navel, sneaking dangerously lower.

Just as his hand reached the lace of your underwear, you heard a wail from the next room. Your hand quickly clasped his and halted his actions. Urging Lucas to be quiet, you strained to listen more closely. “That sounds like Nara,” you said, the concern evident in your voice.

Lucas pushed your hand off his and continued to tug down your underwear. “Wait!” you said, grabbing his hand again, “She must be having a nightmare.”

“She’ll be fine, just forget about her…” Lucas said, paying no attention to the worry spreading across your face.

“Forget about her? Are you being serious?” you snapped, staring at him incredulously. Lucas stared back at you blankly, his large eyes wide.

You shoved Lucas off you and left the bed, the mood shattered. "You’re just gonna leave me like this?" he asked, which only made you more annoyed.

You pulled a dressing gown over your exposed body. You expected Lucas to be different, but you should have known better.

“Maybe you should just get out of here,” you mumbled, avoiding his gaze.

Without waiting for a response, you left the bedroom and walked into your daughter’s room. Nara was sat on the bed, tears rolling down her chubby cheeks. “It’s ok baby, it’s just a dream,” you said, wrapping your arms around her.

It took longer than expected to calm Nara down. You heard a door thud and assumed that Lucas had walked out. As Nara was drifting off, you began to regret what you had said. You had certain priorities as a mother, but how was Lucas meant to understand that? Maybe you had overreacted.

Around an hour had passed before Nara finally fell asleep, and you were sure Lucas had left by now. Not ready to face your empty bed, you went to the living room and stared out of the window down at the twinkling lights of your new city.

Lucas had been nothing but kind to you both these past fifty days, and the idea of not seeing that sweet smile again was more than you could bear.

Staring out into the night, you decided that Lucas deserved a second chance. You would make amends, starting with going over to his place first thing in the morning and talking everything over.

You rushed to your bedroom with a newfound resolve, eager to fall asleep, if it would make tomorrow come quicker. You opened your bedroom door and flicked the lights on. You gasped when you saw what was in front of you. Lucas was fast asleep on your bed. He had stayed!  

Lucas’s long tan limbs were stretched out on the duvet, and faint snores escaped his lips. Your heart swelled at the sight. You quickly dimmed the lights, not wanting to startle him.

Lucas was starting to stir. “Babe?” he mumbled, rubbing his eyes, “How is Nara? Is she alright?” he sat up, concern creasing his brow.

“She’s alright,” you said softly, walking closer towards the bed.

“I’m so sorry for earlier, I don’t know what came over me, of course I care about Nara! I- I should probably go,” Lucas blurted out.

“It’s ok baby,” you said, moving to sit on Lucas’s lap, “I don’t want you to go”.

You placed a kiss on Lucas’s neck, closing your eyes as you felt his hands hold your hips. “It’s okay, I know you care,” you mumbled into his neck.

Lucas was fully awake now, and he placed soft kisses on your fingers. At the feeling of his strong thighs under you, a wave of lust washed over you.

You carefully placed one of your hands on his thigh and stroked his skin, eyes fixed on his face to read his mood. Lucas flexed his thigh under your touch, understanding your intentions.

“How about we finish what we started?” you whispered.

“Good idea,” Lucas said, as he pulled off your robe and pushed you down onto the bed.

[l-egionaire]

A Gocup Christmas

I posted this over a year ago to my AO3 and Fanfiction accounts and wanted to post it here.

It was Christmas time in the city of San Fransokyo. People were stringing up lights, putting up their trees, and working to make everything just feel festive. And nowhere was that felt more than the San Fransokyo Institute of technology. The walls of the buildings were lined with blinking high tech environmentally friendly Christmas bulbs, and inside the middle of the quad a massive Christmas tree had been put up and covered in almost every kind of decoration the students could find. The small spray of snow falling from the sky decorated its branches with layers of white, further adding to its holiday display.

Inside the robotics lab, two students in particular where hard at work. One was a young woman with black hair with a purple streak in it and the other was a young man with scruffy wind whipped brown hair and a large nose. They were currently examining a bright yellow bike frame hanging from the ceiling.

"I think it's looking pretty good Gogo." Said the man as he admired the bike.

The woman examined the bike frame with extreme scrutiny. "Yeah, but so far all the practical tests I've done have been in the lab. I haven't managed to try it out on the open road, so I don't know how it'll perform." She looked over at the man. "Besides Hiccup, there is a big difference between something looking good and it actually working the way it should."

"I know, but what can you do? You'd need permission from the university to test out something like this outside of school, you know with their whole "Not letting students test their dangerous experiments outside campus" Policy." Hiccup shrugged. "Not much you can do."

Gogo sighed. "Yeah, guess I'll just have to figure it out after the holidays." Then she cleared her throat and nervously looked off to the side. "So um, Christmas is just two days away."

Hiccup smirked. "I gathered that from the twinkling lights and people wearing Santa hats."

"Yeah, and I was just wondering if maybe you wanted to do something tomorrow."

Hiccup frowned. "Like what?"

"I don't know. Go to dinner or see a flick or something" Gogo suggested, doing her best to look away from him.

Hiccup thought for a few seconds before regretfully saying. "I can't. I've got some Christmas shopping to do tomorrow." He turned away so she wouldn't notice the conflicted look on his face. In truth he'd be using the time to complete a special gift for her. He'd been working on it for weeks and it was almost done.

"Oh." Gogo said sullenly.

Hiccup frowned in concern. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing, I just figured since that since this is our first Christmas together as a couple, we'd spend it, you know, together."

"Sorry, but I really put this off to the last minute." Hiccup said. "Besides, it's just Christmas Eve. As in, the day before. We can still go out and do something Christmas day."

"Yeah, yeah sure." She said, not quite managing to hide her disappointment.

Hiccup noticed her downtrodden expression. "What's the matter?"

Before she could answer, the door to the lab opened. They looked behind them and saw Fred, Wasabi, and Honey all wearing thick Christmas sweaters. Fred's was red, Honeys was pink, and Wasabi's was light green.

"Feliz navidad you two!" Honey said cheerfully. She ran over and pulled them into a tight hug.

"Merry Christmas Honey." Hiccup croaked out.

"Ribs….being…..crushed." Gogo groaned.

Honey let go and pulled on the sides of her sweater to better display the glittering periodic table on the front. "What do you think? I made them for everyone!"

Fred walked over and lovingly rubbed the front of his sweater,which bore the image of a giant blue and orange kaiju breathing flames onto a city. "Honey you are amazing. I have never wanted a piece of fabric to touch my body as much as this one."

Wasabi simply hid his face in his hands and mumbled something about "being roped into this", his other hand trying to cover the red atom on his sweater.

Hiccup stared at them, dumbfounded, while Gogo stood there with an eyebrow raised in surprise.

"Wow, those are really…..something Honey." Hiccup said, feigning enthusiasm.

"I'm so glad you think so, because I made some for you guys too!" Honey whipped out two more sweaters from her purse. One was bright yellow with the picture of a speeding bike and the other was black with the image of a red jet.

The two of them looked at each other before begrudgingly pulling on the sweaters.

"Great. You really shouldn't have." Hiccup said, pulling his head through the neck hole on his.

"Yeah. Really." Gogo grumbled while putting on hers.

Fred reached behind his back and withdrew a thermos and five small paper cups. He unscrewed the top of the thermos and poured a thick white liquid into each.

"My special recipe eggnog." He shoved a full cup into each of their hands and then raised his in the air. "A toast! To this awesome Christmas and all the ones that come after it."

"Merry Christmas!" They all met their cups in the middle and then took a swig of the Eggnog. Unfortunately, Fred was the only one to do so without spitting it out two seconds later.

"Ugh!"

"Yuck!"

"Oh god!"

"Umm, Freddie?" Honey asked politely while trying not to be sick. "What exactly is in this Eggnog?"

"Just a few eggs, some milk, a little bit of scotch, some cinnamon, some nutmeg, ground up Christmas cookies, powdered cocoa mix, mint toothpaste, some holly, and a leaf of mistletoe." He took another sip and gave a satisfied sigh, licking the nog mustache off his upper lip. "I call it Christmas joy."

After hearing the exact list of ingredients, Wasabi covered his mouth and bolted out to the nearest bathroom.

The others grimaced and poured the concoction into a nearby trashcan.

"So." Honey said, hoping to distract from the horrific beverage they'd just consumed. "Hiccup, Gogo, your first Christmas together as a couple. You must have some exciting plans for tomorrow."

"Not really." Gogo said abruptly. "Hiccups going to be too busy."

"Seriously, why are you so upset?" Hiccup pressed.

"I'm not upset okay!?" Gogo snapped. "I just- I gotta go." She grabbed her coat, and her bag, and bolted from the room, slamming the door as she left.

Honey stared worriedly at the lab door. "What was that about?"

"I don't know. All I said was that I wouldn't be able to do something with her tomorrow because I was going Christmas shopping."

"Ah, Hiccup how much do you know about how Asian countries celebrate Christmas?" Honey asked.

"Besides the fact that they eat different foods and do different things? Not much." He admitted.

"Well, in places like Korea and Japan, Christmas eve is usually celebrated more than Christmas day. And it's seen as more of a romantic holiday. Sort of like Valentine's day."

Hiccup eyes popped. "What!?"

"It's just that from what I know, most couples in San Fransokyo spend Christmas Eve together doing something special, so I think the reason Gogo got so upset was because she figured you'd spend that time together."

Hiccups brain was almost overloaded by this new information. "Why wouldn't she just tell me that?"

Honey snorted. "Hiccup, it's Gogo. She's like a brick wall when it comes to expressing her emotions. I doubt she'd admit she wanted to do something romantic with her boyfriend on Christmas Eve."

Hiccup sighed wearily and rubbed the back of his head. "Yeah, I guess you're right. Ugh, what am I going to do?"

"Don't worry Hiccup, I'm sure you'll think of something." She left.

Hiccup simply stood there for a few minutes before Fred walked over and slung an arm around his shoulder.

"I feel you buddy. Love can be tough. I bet another cup of Christmas joy would-."

"Not going to happen."

As he walked back home, Hiccup tried to figure out what to do about Gogo. He had no idea Christmas eve was such a big deal around here. God, if this was really as big as Valentine's Day, he definitely didn't know what to do.

He kept going until he reached the Lucky cat Café. The outside was completely covered in lines of Christmas lights. In front of the door was a red bowl set up for charity.

Walking in, he found that the inside was no less festive. The number of lights inside were double the amount outside. The place was packed full of people who had come in to get away from the snow and have a nice warm drink. The air wreaked of cinnamon, gingerbread, and eggnog. In the corner was a Christmas tree that was slightly too big to fit, the tip of the star on top poking into the ceiling. The menu had been rewritten in festive green and red and several holiday exclusive items were circled on it.

Cass came from out of the back wearing a bright red Santa hat on her head and holding a tray of hot chocolates in red mugs. Once she saw Hiccup she immediately ran over to him.

"Hey Hiccup. Glad you're here, there's a huge crowed." She glared up at the stares and yelled. "AND IT'D BE NICE TO HAVE A LITTLE HELP DOWN HERE HIRO!"

"I'M NOT COMING DOWN LIKE THIS!" Hiro yelled down.

"THAN I GUESS A CERTAIN SOMEONE ISN"T GOING TO GET THOSE NEW SERVOS HE ASKED FOR!"

There was a pause before Hiro groaned loudly and came down the stairs wearing a green elf suit with a green elf hat, green pointed belled elf shoes, fake pointy ears, and green and red striped stockings on his legs. His happy outfit was marred by the very unhappy look on his face.

Behind him, Baymax waddled down wearing a Santa suit, Santa hat, and a beard duct taped to his face.

Hiccup put his hand over his mouth trying futilely to hide his laughter.

Hiro glared at him. "Not. One. Word." He growled.

Hiccup snorted into his palm. "Of course not." He pulled out his phone and quickly snapped a picture of Hiro. Before he could stop him, he immediately sent it to Gogo with the caption MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Cass beckoned Hiro down. "Come on. You look adorable."

"I look like a total loser." Hiccup moaned as he came down the last step.

"No, you look great, really. I bet Santa's all ready for you to help out with making toys" Hiccup snickered.

Hiro gave him the evil eye. "Well, I'll have to do that after asking about where you got that nice sweater."

Hiccup looked down, having forgotten he was wearing it. "Yeah, I got it from Honey. She made one for everyone in the lab. She might have one for you too."

"I'm good." Hiro said testily. He went to take the tray from Cass.

Baymax walked over to Hiccup. "Hello Hiccup. And merry Christmas. I have been told that this is a customary greeting at this time of year, despite it not yet being Christmas day."

Hiccup smiled. "Thanks Baymax."

"My scanners indicate that you have lower than average neurotransmitter activity and a slight increase in melatonin. Diagnosis: You are sad."

Hearing that, Cass looked at him worriedly. "What's the matter?"

Hiccup was about to answer but then heard a number of people call out for service. He told her. "I'll tell you later." And they went to go serve the customers.

The work was good. It kept him distracted and took his mind off of his problems. He even managed to crack a grin after a customer asked Hiro to pose with her child for a photo. Seeing him stand stonily in an elf costume with that kid felt like an early Christmas present. Unfortunately, Cass remembered and made sure to question him during dinner.

"So what had you upset earlier?" She asked.

Hiccup, having nearly forgotten about the conversation and with a mouthful of katsu don, simply blinked in confusion.

"Baymax scanned you and said you were sad. How come?" She explained.

Now realizing what she was talking about, Hiccup regretfully swallowed his mouthful of chicken, rice, and sauce, and replied. "Eh, me and Gogo got into an argument and now she's upset."

"Argument about what?" Hiro asked.

"Well, I was going to use tomorrow to finish off Gogo's gift so I told her I was going Christmas shopping. Unfortunately, I didn't realize that Christmas eve was considered a romantic holiday in the city and she got angry and baled on me."

Hiro snorted, his face covered in rice." Sounds like you screwed u-OWWW!" He rubbed the spot where Cass had smacked him on the head.

She glared sternly at him and said. "Don't use that kind of language." Then she turned to Hiccup. "And you! How could you tell her you couldn't be with her on Christmas Eve?"

"I didn't realize it was such a big deal!" Hiccup argued. "Most people usually use Christmas Day as an excuse to go out and do romantic stuff!"

Cass looked at him doubtfully. "Really? You told you had a girlfriend before Gogo, didn't she ever want to do something on Christmas Eve?"

"No" Hiccup said, absentmindedly stirring his katsudon. "Honestly, Astrid was more into preparing for holidays. Setting up Christmas lights, decorating the tree, wrapping presents. By the time we we're done all that, we had spent more than enough time together."

"Well you still should've thought of Gogo wanting to do something." Cass pointed out. "Look, this is your first holiday together as a couple. Are you really telling me you don't want to spend as much time with her as possible?"

"Of course I do, I just…..I just wanted to make something special for her. To show her how much she means to me." He sank sadly back into his chair. "I wanted what I gave her to be really special."

"Oh Hiccup, that's so sweet. But don't just focus on what you can give her. Think about what you can do with her too. After all, she knows you love her."

Hiccup knew she was right. Finishing his gift for her might have been important, but he knew he would still miss the time they could have together. Even with his minimal relationship experience, he knew how important Christmas could be.

And he was going to spend it with the woman he loved.

Gogo awoke the next morning still feeling disgruntled from last night. She tried to focus on her usual morning routine of making a cup of coffee with her busted up coffee maker and getting dressed for her morning run and not on the cold feeling of waking up alone instead of with Hiccup next to her or sucking down a mug of brown coffee sludge instead of going out to breakfast with her boyfriend.

She knew her scene last night was stupid. Hiccup had made other arrangements and if he couldn't go, he couldn't go. It wasn't like he was missing out on spending Christmas eve together by choice.

And she hated how sappy she was being. All down in the dumps just because she couldn't spend the day before Christmas with him.

"Get a grip." She whispered to herself. "Plenty of couples can't spend Christmas eve together. It's not the end of the world."

But no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't help but think of the Christmas's of her youth she'd spend with her family. Couples snuggled all warmly on the couches holding mugs of hot chocolate. Tender kisses shared under the mistletoe. Heartfelt gifts that were thoughtfully picked out traded between lovers. In her childhood she'd considered it all too mushy and figured she'd never want to do any of that romantic junk with someone. Now the fact that she couldn't do any of those things with Hiccup was making her feel like someone was squeezing her heart.

"Auugghhh!" Gogo roared, clenching her fists and her cheeks burning red. "What is wrong with me!?"

"I'm guessing you're still upset about hiccup?"

Gogo turned around and saw Honey, still in her pajamas, looking at her worriedly.

"No." Gogo lied, her face still flush.

Honey Lemon stepped closer to her and give her an encouraging smile. "It's okay to be upset that you can't be together today. I know I'd be upset if I couldn't do something with Fred."

Gogo raised her eyebrow bemusedly. "Let me guess, you two going superhero Christmas Caroling?"

"And baking big hero cookies for the little ones!" Honey squealed. "You're welcome to join us."

Gogo cringed. The only thing more depressing than spending Christmas alone was acting as a third wheel to Honey and Fred. Especially if Fred brought more of that nightmare concoction he called eggnog.

"I'll pass." Gogo said. She slipped on her boots and went to the door. She turned back and said. "I'm going for a jog."

"Why do you still do that during the winter?" Honey asked.

Gogo shrugged. "Keeps me warm." And went out.

Trudging through the layers of snow that had accumulated over the night, Gogo headed for the stop sign at the end of the street, the combination of her jacket and the friction she was creating keeping her warm.

She was so focused on her run, she just barely heard the sound of her voice being called.

"GOGO!"

She turned around just in time to see Hiccup coming towards her until he tripped and feel face first first into the snow.

She ran back to him and helped pull him up, brushing snow off his jacket sleeves. "What are you doing here!"

Hiccup huffed, his breaths showing up in the cold air. "I lied." He blurted out.

"W-what?"

"I lied. I don't really have to go shopping, That was just something I said because I wanted to finish making a present for you and I didn't want you to find out but I realized how stupid it was to focus so much on that when all I really wanted was to be with you." He said, all in one breath.

Gogo stared at him, not sure how to respond to that, before asking. "Why do you look so tired?"

Hiccup smiled and started digging through his satchel. "Because, I stayed up all night and downed enough caffeine to kill a small house in to make you...this!" From his satchel, Hiccup withdrew a slim black box.

Gogo took it and pulled the top off. Inside, sitting on a bed of crushed velvet was a locket on a small chain. She took it out and opened the locket. Two pictures were set inside the locket, one was of Hiccup bent down next to her bike, examining it closely. The other was one of her in a a white and red sleeveless shirt with a red 6 on the chest and red and white shorts. She was dowsed in sweat and raising her fist triumphantly in the air after winning the San Fransokyo marathon. Hiccup always said it was his favorite picture of her.

She looked up at Hiccup who was rubbing the back of his neck nervously.

"I know it's not as good as it could be. I wanted the chain to be longer so you could wear it around your neck and for it to play a little tune when you opened the locket-." He was cut off by her giving him a nice warm hug he quickly leaned into.

She let him go and said. "It's perfect dork." She slid the chain around her wrist. "See? Now it's a kickass bracelet."

Hiccup smiled and pressed a kiss to her cheek. "Thanks. So, Since it's the day before Christmas I couldn't really arrange something fancy, so I was thinking maybe we could go for breakfast at Cass's hang out for most of the day, get some lunch at noodle burger, go see the tree light up and then go back to your place?"

Gogo grinned. "That sounds great." Then her smile fell. "But, um..."

"What?"

"I'm not so fond of noodle burger ever since I was almost murdered by it's mascot."

"Oh, right." They stood in awkward silence before he said. "Yakl-taco?"

"Better." The two started walking down the street towards the Lucky Cat. They took a second to look at each other with adoration.

"Merry Christmas Gogo."

"Merry Christmas Hiccup."

[sammysdewysensitiveeyes]

@thecorteztwins 

I wound up writing a little thing based on those panels you showed me of villains “rehabilitating” (but actually being mind-controlled) at Clear Mountain Center in X-Men 92.  This was meant to be a funny story about Fabian in rehab learning how to talk to women, but it got a little disturbing because of the mind-control aspect, and also Avalanche tells a grim little story about baby murder, so warnings for that.  But now I’m really tempted to write something about Haven taking the place over and actually Doing It Right.

“So,” Fabian began, speaking in the halting tones of someone attempting to wrap his mind around a difficult concept. “You’re saying you’re not attracted to me?”

               “Not in the slightest,” said Tabitha Smith, the mutant known as Boomer (and also Time Bomb, Boom-boom, Meltdown, and whatever other code-name caught her fancy).  Her tone was firm, but she smiled at him, as if to soften the blow.  “I mean, you’re obviously good-looking, just not my type.”

               “Oh, of course, you prefer women.  I understand.  I am open-minded about such things –“

               “Nooooo…..” Boomer cut in, with some slight irritation creeping into her voice.  “I’m mostly into guys.  Just different types of guys.”  Fabian thought hard.  He was tempted to spread his legs out wider, to give her a better look at what she was rejecting, but he’d gotten enough tiny power-bombs to the crotch to learn that that was a bad idea.  (The low-powered bombs did no real damage, but they certainly stung.)

               “I get it, I get it.  You are holding yourself back.  You are maintaining a professional relationship because you are my counselor.”

               “No!”  Boomer held her head in her hands for a moment, sighing.  “Look, not every woman will find you attractive, okay?  Everyone has different preferences.  Like, people think Leonard Decaprio is super-hot, and he just doesn’t do anything for me, I’m more of a Brad Pitt girl.  It’s not something you need to feel bad about, it doesn’t mean you’re like, ugly, or anything like that.”

               Fabian’s mind whirled.  This girl was young, beautiful, a powerful mutant, and had showed him such kindness as his mentor.  She had a surprising amount of wisdom underneath her shallow and flippant demeanor.  And yet, her judgement was so unsound. Perhaps she had some kind of psychological condition, like a strange form of face-blindness?  But then, Fabian had been learning to accept many ideas that had previously seemed impossible.  The idea of living with the humans in peace.  The idea of answering hatred with understanding, not violence. The idea that he should treat others with kindness and respect, instead using them as stepping stones in his quest for status and power.

               “Very well,” Fabian began again.  It was difficult to force the words out.  “I…accept that you do not find me attractive.  I….accept that some people…..may….not find me attractive.   After all, there are many different preferences in this world.”

               “Yeah, dude, exactly.  It’s like…some people like Cool Ranch Doritos?  And some people prefer Nacho Cheese.  There’s no right or wrong, except for the people who like Funyuns, because that shit is nasty.”  Fabian wanted to roll at his eyes at her rather low class tastes, but instead he found himself laughing good-naturedly.

               “Ha, ha, yes, that is a funny joke,” he said, beaming.  It was strange.  His mind felt so….slow.  Like there was this weight pressing down in it.  But at the same time, it was oddly pleasant.  A bit like Anne Marie’s more enthusiastic hugs, which always threatened to break the recipient’s back.

               “In Spain we have jamon flavored potato chips.  Perhaps you would find them interesting to try.  I will bring some back the next time I visit home.” He did not add that he had never eaten those chips, they were junk food for peasants, but if this girl found them enjoyable, he would indulge her.  It was a nice thing to do, and he found that he wanted to be nice lately. He didn’t entirely understand why.

               “Oh dude, that would be amazing!”  Boomer exclaimed.  “I love trying junk food from other countries.  There’s so much cool stuff out there.  Did you know that they have, like, a whole ton of Kit-Kat flavors in Japan?”

                I don’t care, Fabian wanted to say.  I spent my time in Japan eating Kobe beef and blue-fin tuna, not wasting my money on cheap candy.

               “No, I didn’t know that,” he said aloud instead.  He hadn’t meant to say that.  He hadn’t intended to sound so interested, but his mouth and brain did not seem properly connected.  The pleasant feeling hung over him, almost suffocating.

               “OMG, there are like, so many!  There’s strawberry, and sweet potato, and soy sauce, and wasabi – which is like, better than you’d expect – and sake, and…”

               Fabian wanted to tell her to stop prattling, but he couldn’t quite find the words.  He looked around the outdoor area while she rambled on.  There was Blob pruning rhododendron bushes with Storm, the blossoms tiny in his huge, clumsy hands.    

               “….and blueberry cheesecake, and apple pie, and brown sugar syrup, and cantaloupe which sounds totally disgusting but apparently it’s pretty good, and…”

               The Kleinstock brothers and Frenzy were tossing a Frisbee around with Feral and Cannonball, while Vertigo and Arclight were playing scrabble with Polaris and Multiple Man.  Ruckus was strumming a guitar, pausing occasionally to sweep his hair back dramatically, and clearly looking around for an audience.  Ugh, he was singing “One Tin Soldier.”  Fabian hated that song.  Fabian hated……a lot of things that were happening at that moment.

    ��          “….and maple, and pumpkin, and chestnut, and green tea, and Tokyo Banana, because apparently that’s a thing, and..”

               He hated listening to this stupid girl spew out every thought in her empty brain.  He hated sitting in group therapy and listening to the peons that he shared the facility with whining about their inconsequential problems.  He hated having to hug people.  He hated being stuck in this adult daycare while he should be leading his Acolytes to victory against humankind (and racking up a few kill points for the Upstarts while he was at it.)  Something in his mind was breaking free.

               “Enough!” he snapped, jumping to his feet.  “This isn’t right!  I shouldn’t be here!”  Boomer paused in her Kit-Kat flavor recital.

               “Whoa, dude.  Chill out. You need a time-out, or something? Maybe you need some time in the Angry Room.”

“No, I do not need some time in the Angry Room,” Fabian snarled.  “I don’t belong here with the  rest of these losers, there’s nothing wrong with me.  I’m….I’m so much better than the rest of you.  I’m practically a god!  I should be….should be –“  His eyebrow twitched.  His body shuddered, and a fixed grin came over his face.

               “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t be saying things like that. What am I thinking?  We’re all special in our own way.  I just want us all to be friends,” Fabian continued.  A single tear leaked out of one corner of his eye.

               “Hey, good job, man,” said Boomer, patting him on the shoulder. “You recognized a negative thought pattern, and then, like, stopped it.  That totally deserves a Hershey Kiss.”  She tossed him the silver wrapped chocolate.

               “Thank you.”  Fabian shuddered again, and then his body seemed to relax, his tense smile softening into one that seemed genuine, if a bit dazed.  “I like Hershey Kisses.”

               “Don’t we all, buddy.”

               “They are good,” Fabian continued, pulling the foil off and popping the chocolate in his mouth absent-mindedly.  “This place is a good place.  We are all good here.”

               At the table, another group was mid-way through a fairly intense game of Uno.  Most of the group (X-Men included), would have preferred poker, but apparently that wasn’t wholesome enough the rehabilitation process.

               “I’m just saying, we didn’t start the war.”  Avalanche slapped down a card, perhaps slightly too hard. “Humans want to stomp out anyone who’s different.  That’s the whole damn history of the human race.”

               “But nothing will change if we continue the cycle of violence,” argued Colossus.  

               “We must ‘turn the other cheek,’” agreed Nightcrawler. “Send out a message of peace and love.” He betrayed that sentiment by tossing down a Draw Four card.

               “Yeah, and the guy that did that got nailed to a cross, didn’t he?”  Avalanche retorted.  “Didn’t work out so well for him.”

               “You can’t be expecting us to imitate Christ, can ya?” Pyro put in, throwing a Reverse on the stack.  “He was all flawless and perfect and ‘ineffable,’ right?  And he had a get-out-of-death-free card.  We ain’t got that.”  

               “You could have that, by the Grace of God –“ Nightcrawler began, than stopped, shaking his head.  “I’m sorry, this is not the right place for that conversation.  I know religion is very personal, and everyone must make their own choices.  But I will talk about it with any of you privately, if you want.”

               “All I’m saying is, humans have tried to bloody kill us,” Pyro continued.  “Are we supposed to just lie down and take it?  I’ve had people turn on me, even back before the Brotherhood, before I committed any crimes.  People that I thought I could trust.”  The cards in his hand crumpled as his fist clenched.

               “Humans are fucking brutal.  I’ve seen…..”  Avalanche shook his head.  “There was a woman back on Kalymnos, gave birth to a baby with gills.  Nothing wrong with the kid otherwise, it was just a cute baby.  But people acted like it was the damn anti-Christ.  Her husband moved out and wouldn’t have anything to do with her. And one day….”  A slight tremor rippled across the table as he continued. “One day some guy just snatched the baby out of her arms and threw it down on the rocks.  I’ll never forget how she screamed.  And nothing ever happened to the guy.  He was a murderer, and the police did nothing.  Everyone just pretended that it never happened –“  The table shook visibly now, the vibrations spreading out into the ground around them.

               “Tovarish, please calm down.  I understand how that memory must pain you, but –“    

               The vibrations suddenly stopped.  For a moment, Avalanche looked confused, then a dull smile spread across his face.

               “I’m sorry, friends.  I just get upset sometimes, thinking about that.  I shouldn’t dwell on such horrible memories.”

               “Yes, we should just think about good things,” Pyro agreed, wearing the same sickly smile.  “We are in a good place.  We are all good here.”

               Sitting in the sun on the roof, Toad wrapped his arms around himself, smiling.  He felt….good.  For the first time that he could remember, he was entirely at peace with himself.  He wasn’t plagued with anxiety at every social interaction, waiting for the inevitable rejection, wasn’t miserable when he looked into the mirror.  No more flashbacks or sudden fits of sadness or anger.  He woke up and was actually eager to get out of bed in the morning, eager for a day that he knew would bring good things.  And people were actually being nice to him!  There was no superficial politeness or poorly hidden disgust, no cheap pity.  Just genuine kindness.  His counselors and the other former super-villains actually seemed glad to see him every day.

               Of course, sometimes it felt too good to be true. Sometimes he would look around and everything would feel slightly off, like one of those hyper-realistic dreams where you can only tell that you’re dreaming because something in your room is out of place.  He felt like he was constantly wrapped in a blanket of warm air, and it was so good and comforting, but it made him dull and sleepy.  (Perhaps this was what being drunk was supposed to be like?  For the normal people?  When Toad tried alcohol, it only seemed to make him sad.)  Things were very hazy, and it was hard to put his thoughts together.  But that didn’t matter, did it?  Because finally he was safe and happy, and everyone was so nice.

               “This is a good place,” he said aloud to no one in particular. “We are all good here.”

[cutiecrates]

Cutie Reviews: TokyoTreat September 19

I can’t believe it’s been like 3 months since I last did one of these o_o I mean, it does feel like it’s been some time- but not that long. I’d blame it on Pokemon Sword, but I just got it last week so I guess I can’t. But it did partially have to do with why I was putting this box off, besides a little intimidation because I’m still getting into the swing of things again...

(Warning: melted chocolate pics inside!)

Okay, so as you guys can see for this month we got a paper, which usually only happens when there is an issue going on with an item. Well, for this month, it’s basically saying that they mislabeled the AJ Curry item in the booklet as something else.

The Lucky Treat for this month... do you guys remember? :3 this is the one I actually won! If you want to see the prizes in full detail, check out this blog post! The Prize for the contest features some Dragonball and Gintama figures and candy.

The booklet also features an article on flavors of the month, some basic Japanese, and Pocky!

Watermelon Soda & Melon Jelly DIY

For our fruity theme this month, we got a watermelon flavored soda by Kirin. The drink only contains 15kcal per 100ml, and if I understand this right, the bottle contains 480ml? I can’t really read it- and I suck at math, but that doesn’t sound too bad right?

It smells exactly like watermelon candy/artificial watermelon, and you mostly taste that while drinking it- but the after taste brings to mind a real watermelon. When I was younger I used to love watermelon flavored things, but now that I’m older I find there’s only a few I still like now, so I kinda like this. But I can’t see myself wanting to drink the entire thing either, I’ll probably share it.

Also, I like how the packaging makes it look like a watermelon.

- - - - - -

Our DIY item I’ve reviewed before (I’m pretty sure because I know I had it before), and because of how quick and easy it is, I didn’t see the point in making a whole separate post about it.   

This is a “jelly drink“, in that it starts out liquidy when you mix it, but the more you mix and let it sit, the more... slime-like it becomes. With the color and texture it feels like you’re making a slime rather than a snackish-candy-drink; in saying that, if you’re someone who doesn’t like slimey textured food items, you probably won’t like this.

I have to admit that with its green coloring, I got a little grossed out because of what it reminded me of <_< but I assure it delicious, although light on the melon flavor. It’s also fun to make and play with.

Caramel Corn & Melon Bread Cookies

Next is the ever-so-popular Caramel Corn by Tohato. However, this pack is kind of special because its the last share pack I will be getting in this box! We weren’t supposed to get one at all, but somehow this ended up being my mystery item they included. Luckily I like caramel corn.

If you’re looking for a sweet, crispy snack then I’d recommend trying them. Each little bag of original flavor Caramel Corn is 56kcal, and they come in several flavors for all sorts of tastes, even those you might normally see in crunchy-crispy snacks; like ice cream and soda!

My only issue with these is that sometimes they’re too sweet. I’m used to the normal flavor by now after eating it so many times, but whenever I try a new flavor I can usually just eat a handful before I want something else. But they always taste good :P as long as you eat them within a few days of opening- they go stale pretty quick.

- - - - - - - -

Our next item is a melon bread cookie pack by Yaokin. These seemingly plain cookies are packed with a melon flavoring; and chocolate, as I discovered after I took the picture.

The three flavors of the melon and chocolate combined with the cookie give the entire taste a light sweetness that isn’t overwhelming. It seems dry but the thin chocolate provides a little moistness, I didn’t feel like a drink was necessary after eating one.

Mint Taiyaki & Chocolate Mint Pocky

I’ve said this countless times but for anyone new, I love mint and chocolate mint flavors~

The taiyaki (a fish-shaped cookie or cake filled with cream) I have had before, and as you can see this one came to be very beaten up. I’m not sure what happened because nothing else was mangled in the box, but I assume it could be because of the airy chocolate insides melting.

It’s still very tasty though, and as you eat it, you feel a cooling mint effect in your mouth x3 each one is 89kcal. These are by the brand Meito, and they come in several flavors so I would recommend trying one if you ever see them.

- - - - - - -

Meanwhile, you can also see that the pocky suffered from being in the heat and kept in a box for so long. These weren’t the only thing that suffered in the box.

Anyway, these Pocky come in a 2-set pack, making them perfect for sharing or just giving to someone special or in need of a pick-me-up. The stick is chocolate, while the chocolate cream over it is mint. Per-pack, these are 165kcal.

According to the box, these are good until May, and they taste fine even in this shape. But the flavoring is very light in my opinion, so I’m not sure how I feel about them.

Gudetama Custard Chocolate & Detective Conan Chocolate Bar

Yeah... I think these 2 items got the “heat deformation“ worse than anything else in the box. Surprisingly they are also both by the brand Furuta.

The gudetama bag of chocolates consists of a small chocolate filled with a softer, creamish sort of white chocolate flavored like custard. Each one is 54kcal, and as you can see pretty messy to try to eat as a result of them melting in the packaging.

Honestly, I’m not really into these. They still taste the same as they did back when I opened the box and tried one, but I’m not really crazy about the taste; they kind of remind me of a chocolate brand I really don’t like. They’re not the worst chocolate I’ve tried though.

But I will say that just for the adorable Gudetama theme, they are still worth trying. Especially if you know someone who likes Gudetama. 

- - - - - - 

Our next item (which I know is really hard to see in this picture) is very common, because it frequently shows up in the Kawaii Box. These are the chocolate bars that are filled with wafer and chocolate cream, then coated in another layer of chocolate that resembles a log of wood. Furuta makes them for several series, like Sanrio and Disney.

This one featured a Detective Conan wrapper, but it was pretty messed up by the time I got the chocolate out, so I had to discard it. It was also strawberry-chocolate in taste, and it was very yummy! It reminds me of the Apollo strawberry chocolate, which I would also recommend trying. They’re one of the smaller, cheaper Japanese candies you can easily find on Amazon.

Watermelon Gummies & Soda Soft Candy

This box was kind of repetitive in my opinion, because here we are at another candy I’ve had before. These watermelon gummies by Kabaya came in a Kawaii Box a few months back prior to this one. The entire bag is 159kcal, and something I appreciate about them is that the pack is resealable.

I like these gummies because they’re soft, and the sweetness is very light, but you get a lot of watermelon flavor. They have a refreshing quality to them too, so I think they would make a great summer snack.

- - - - - -

Our next item is by Coris, and it is a soft, chewy candy stick flavored after Soda (which is comparable or also labeled as ramune, you can tell the difference between soda flavors and cola because of the coloring. Cola is usually red or brown, while soda will be blue or white). The candy consists of a chewy tube filled with tightly packed powder, both of which have soda flavoring.

Although it’s not as chewy, these remind me a lot of a Hi-Chew. It’s very tasty, and it’s smooth chewiness makes it feel really nice in the mouth x3 I really like it.

Aj Curry, Yaokin Soba, and Petit Kabuki Rice Crackers

AJ Curry is a fairly common snack you can find in various Japanese snack packs or online, as such as I’ve had it a couple times before. Each bag is 38kcal, and you get a bunch so if you’re looking for a little snack I think these would be a good choice.

I will mention that these expired back in December, but when I opened them they didn’t taste stale, although now I’m beginning to notice it. The flavor is fairly light and I would assume by the name they’re going for a curry spice flavor, which I can taste- but they also remind me a lot of Bugles.

- - - - -

Also by Yaokin, we have this soba snacking noodle and puff pack, flavored after the sauce you would find on soba noodles. You can eat these as-is, or the booklet even recommends putting them on some cooked noodles. Which is something I see a lot of people do, but I never tried it myself.

These expired at the end of December, and they have a weird taste- but I’m not sure if its due to expiration or if its just how they taste. I haven’t had them for a long time. They smell really good, but they have a sort of... fishy aftertaste? To be fair though I haven’t really been a fan of these though, so I’ll probably give them to someone else who I know would like them.

- - - - -

Our last item in this pic is a pack of rice crackers, and I got very excited to see these; I love rice, and I love rice snacks (especially savory ones). I really wish we got more of them!

The flavor is light with these -it reminds me of soy sauce- and they have a soft-crunch texture. I’ve had them before but I will gladly welcome them again because I really like these ♥

Wasabi Nori & Natto Umaibo

I can’t say I’m a big fan of wasabi or natto- but it’s always fun to try something new (within reason that is, there are things I never plan on eating). Our first item is this Nori (seaweed) stick similar to jerky. I have tried one of these before, but I don’t remember what flavor it was; I will say that they remind me a lot of squid though.

As much as I like eating seaweed, I can’t say this is my favorite form of it. You get the taste, but it’s pretty chewy, and honestly a little unpleasant from the wasabi flavor. It’s not terrible, but not something I would choose again.

- - - - -

I love umaibo, but would you believe this one reminded me of wasabi way more than the seaweed did? I never actually tried natto before, but I do know there are like... wasabi or musardish flavoring for it from what I’ve seen. I think that’s what I taste while eating it. But it’s pretty light; this expired back in December though so that might have played a part in it.

It actually tasted really good. Nothing comparable to my favorite Umaibo flavor (corn potage), but I didn’t dislike it at all.

Fried Potato Chips & Yuzu Lemon Salt Chips

These are our last 2 items of this box. Our first item is a small pack of fry-style potato chips. They look a bit like the AJ Curry don’t they?

These don’t taste bad, but they’re pretty plain in comparison to the other items in the box. They have a light flavor, but it’s basic, nothing special. They got a nice crunch though, and they don’t taste bad. If you’re not really into unique flavors this would probably be up your alley.

- - - - -

Our last item is a frequent one by Calbee we often get the pleasure of trying :3 and I mean that very sincerely, because I love their chips (I suggest trying the pepper ones if you ever see them!). They range from basic savory flavors to the more adventurous fruity ones, sweet chocolate dipped, and even some spicy ones like wasabi. But they also have basic chip flavors too.

I think I’ve tried at least 5 variants of their chips, and so far not a stinker among them. They have a high calorie count though, which is the one downside; but as long as you don’t eat them all at once or frequently, I don’t think its too bad.

Now, as I discovered from getting this box, lemon-salt is a fairly popular flavor combination. At first it sounded kind of strange to me, but it always tastes pretty good. You get the refreshing sweetness of lemon with a cut of saltiness, so there isn’t usually any sourness.

Which is exactly how you could describe these chips. They taste really good, and the flavor is a bit lighter than usual so if you’re new to it these might be a good place to start. 

♥ Cutie Ranking ♥

Content - 3 out of 5. I complain about repetition a lot, and sadly this box jammed that button hard for me. Only 4 items were extremely new to me, while the rest was either the same flavors or different ones. BUT, if they had to do repeats I’m glad they were items I actually liked. I was also happy not to see a bag of kit kats. I love them but I was getting tire of them <_< and I find it ironic that even though we no longer got share pack items, I still got them from the random item!   Quality - 3.5 out of 5. A fair amount of items were either expired or melted, warped chocolate but to be fair this box is about 5 months old, it’s not Tokyo Treats fault. But in saying that, I’m rating this based on the fact these items aren’t likely to hold over long, but they mostly all still taste the same/pretty good. Theme - 5 out of 5. Well I can’t say the items were fresh by the time I got to them, but they were tasty :P Total Rank: 7 out of 10. I wasn’t very happy with this heavy repetition (for me personally, I know that can’t be helped because there’s a lot of new people who can say they never had these before), but at least everything was yummy. I disliked one item out of everything, and even then it wasn’t unbearable or nasty. I also didn’t like how badly this box handled itself over time, and out of every box I got I think this one had it the worst. Usually they hold up so much better. But it didn’t ruin the box, an with next months box being Halloween based, I can’t wait to see what we get~

♥ Cutie’s Scale of Yummy ♥

1. Rice Crackers - ♥ Very very VERY yummy ♥ 2. Soda Soft Candy - Delicious ♥ 3. Chocolate Bar - I love Apollo chocolate x3 so considering this tasted like it, I really liked this one.  4. Melon Jelly Drink DIY - I usually don’t include the DIY items, but since I reviewed it here I didn’t see a point in excluding it. Very tasty, but the melon is really light.  

5. Natto Umaibo - I was kind of surprised I liked this as much as I did. I wasn’t expecting to.  6. Mint Taiyaki - given its poor shape, it didn’t taste as good as my previous one did. But it was still yummy~ 7. Lemon Salt Chips - I’m not sure they’re my favorite of this brand, but I did like them. They make me think of a non-sour lemon meringue.   8. Watermelon Soda - Initially I didn’t want very much but over time I began to like it more, and it seemed to lose that artificial watermelon taste.  9. Watermelon Gummies - Sweet and soft, very refreshing.   10. Melon Bread Biscuits - Pretty tasty, and I like the chocolate cream. I feel like that added something to it.  11. Wasabi Nori - I wouldn’t choose this again, but I didn’t hate it. 12. Choco Mint Pocky - I thought I would like these a lot more, but they’re not as strong as the chocolate mint I’m used to. 13. AJ Curry - these taste fine, I never disliked them. But they were never my favorite either.

14. Gudetama Chocolate - It’s very cute in packaging but the taste wasn’t the best.

15. Fried Potato Chips -  Nothing wrong with them, but they didn’t offer much.

16. Caramel Corn - don’t get me wrong, I think they’re delicious, but it’s just the same thing with these every time.

17. Yaokin Soba - I never liked this, and i still don’t.

[neelahind]

🧁🧾🎶👕

🧁 favorite legendary cookie

very good question

uuhhhh if i had to pick i think i’d say moonlight? don’t know exactly why though, especially since i... know much less about the city of wizards lore than i’d like to (there was an event back in january, right? but since i was JUST starting out i had no idea what was going on and couldn’t make much progress :/ )

🧾Cookie you’d like more lore for

for a recent one i’d like to have a continuation on: roguefort (and probably walnut by extension). what the FUCK happened to the blue cheese manor and what the FUCK did they mean when they told walnut she still doesn’t know who they really are i need ANSWERS

beyond that idk exactly? there’s a lot of cookies who could use more lore actually (& as someone who didn’t play much line cr idk how much lore already exists that i’m missing)

🎶 favorite song

ok ok so idk what my FAVORITE favorite song is but i’ve recently realized that the moonlit clock tower BGM fuckin slaps. i never got to listen to it because 1. even when i get to it in trophy race my relay’s (previously cotton candy, now DJ) skill would always activate with its own music and 2. i’m usually playing cr in a public space without headphones so i usually play with sound off anyway (sorry DJ)

but thanks to one of the current guild run arenas (can’t remember which) i actually got to listen to the whole track and kinda got BLOWN AWAY by how much it SLAPPED

👕Favorite costume

ANOTHER very good question

to pick one i really like... wasabi’s twilight outlaw. final decision possibly influenced by how much of an achievement it was to finally get it

[tartar-tots]

Sound Setup [part 1]

"Yo 8-T, y'all ready for this!?" Octavio yells enthusiastically to the Octarian-like creature in hypno-goggles, who is busy tinkering away at a strange new machine that resembles a double DJ booth of sorts. How curious of a design!

Reaching for a spraycan of blue paint, 8-T stops and turns to acknowledge Octavio, smirking confidentally all the while. "Almost done, broski! Just gotta pimp this ride out a little more before it's showtime."

"Right, the googles are still on. Just a sec." Octavio comments, as he pulls out a remote-controller and clicks a button on it, causing 8-T's body to jolt awkwardly and stagger for a bit. "I think the Octobot King III's lookin' shella fresh as it is actually..."

Rather dazed after being released from the influence of the hypno-goggles, Beta had to take a moment to regain his composure before speaking. "Ahh...finally." he groaned, rubbing his head. "Not a big fan of those goggles Octavio, but I get it - it's part of the deal. So...how did I do on the Octobot King's upgrade?"

"It's pretty fire I gotta say! The improvements are jammin'! We got 8-Bomb launchers, the stingrave lasers, the um...blender thingy. Whatever ya called it - that thing's rad-lookin'!" Octavio praised, nodding in approval. He was rather happy with these strange new innovations, despite not quite paying attention to what exactly they were.

"I call it 'The Thang'." Beta corrected him. "It's powering the whole machine, by mixing wasabi with Salmonid power eggs to create a spicy and viable energy source."

"Hey! Spicy sounds good ta me! But, ya know...any reason why I couldn't have the Killa Wails from the first model put in 'cause I liked those?" Octavio questioned after further observations.

Beta sighed a little before informing Octavio. "Sorry, but I had to exclude that due to Pearl...personal reasons. ...I can't keep a level head when one sounds off near me."

"Okay, whatever. Still good enough!" Octavio just shrugs. "So like...I guess I'll give ya a moment ta talk to Coraline then before the party starts? Remember, she gets ta leave free of charge after this."

"Alright, thanks for that." Beta responds before pondering a little. "...But Octavio, do you really think that this concert is what you need to get your spark back? Will this even work out right?"

"Gotta try. I'm tired of bein' a wash-out..." complained Octavio. "Two of mah concerts got crashed and no one really cared for me in that third one just cause they were too busy payin' attention ta all the other musicians. I felt like I was particularly mild in that last one, for real."

[ryouverua]

Investigation... start?

ONLY NOW, TSUMUGI? ONLY NOW?!

LMAO is this why you were so afraid of the sci-fi genre?

I guess he never expected K1-b0 to use it? Or he was hoping K1-b0 would use it on another student? In terms of firepower though it’s not exactly subtle - so it probably isn’t the latter. Monokuma just made the assumption that he would never use it... which means he knew about inner voice/piece of hair, then?

With that said I guess it isn’t programming coded in K1-b0 then but an actual antenna of sorts if removing it caused him to go haywire. So was he getting instructions from someone? Is he really Chiaki 2.0 then, but just entirely unaware of it? He did mention that there was an incident in his lab way back when, so if this was a preventative measure...

Those... aren’t necessarily the same thing, are they? The truth of why they’re here + the mastermind - they’re related, sure, but they’re different pieces of a greater puzzle...

I’m laughing because if my theory from way back when is right, it makes sense that Tsumugi of all people would be questioning whether there’s a mastermind or not. Well, I guess this is the chapter to find out if I’ve been right or not. 8′D

I was about to say, ‘unless they planted a robo-murder-bear and died with everyone else’ but no, thanks to Kokichi’s plan and how he managed to isolate Monokuma, the mastermind has been established as someone existing in the same shared space as the rest of them. Way to show their hand, Kokichi!

It’s nice to hear Maki say it out loud. 8′D From the sounds of what people are saying we’re not going to hear that much in the way of Maki actively trying to redeem herself - with that said, I may push to read between the lines via her actions and silent pauses to see if there’s any room for interpretation there. Fair warning in advance!

THE 17TH STUDENT....

No. No, I refuse. 8′/

There were no more than 16 people on this island spaceship.

....

There were no more than 16 students on this spaceship. there K1-b0 I got you in there for sure

I guess despite Kokichi being proved as not involved, the cult was confirmed as the Remnants after all, right?

WHAT NO DAMN IT HE’S NOT A REMNANT STOP TRYING TO MAKE REMNANT OF DESPAIR KOKICHI HAPPEN TSUMUGI

LMAO MAKI FOR FUCK’S SAKE THAT’S LITERALLY THE ATTITUDE THAT BROUGHT US CHAPTER 1 AND 5

lmao through the tears that is

“No seriously Maki. Seriously. We literally just walked out of the trial maybe an hour ago tops. Can you, um. Just. Chill please. Just for a second, okay?”

Library.... and Rantaro’s lab? Rantaro’s lab?!?! :D

WE ARE NOT THROWING AWAY OUR SHOT!!!

Kokichi is rolling in his fucking grave with the truth and lies theme. You know that, right? or he would be if he had a body left to roll you know what that’s not really the point -

I’m not used to Sweetcheeks being Mr. Positivity but it’s an interesting look on him! And that’s a good point - they’re going to have to figure out where to go back to after everything is done. Whether they have to stay here, or figure out what’s left back home to salvage if there really are still people alive out there which, you know, it sounds like there is...

This is d-d-d-d-daaaaanganronpa!

Well, then again, it kinda worked out for the SDR2 cast? Sorta? Via the power of hope and friendship? .... Maybe you guys should hold onto that hope theme after all.

DAMN IT SHUICHI KAITO WOULD BE SO PROUD OF YOU RIGHT NOW

POUR ONE OUT FOR THE ROBO-BOY

*flips table* RANTARO’S LAB I WANT TO KNOW HIS TALENT I’VE BEEN CRAVING WASABI FOR WEEKS CAN WE PLEASE GO TO HIS LAB!!!!

So a magician mage, assassin, a cosplayer and a detective walk into a killing game school -

I’ll be curious to see if Himiko and Tsumugi’s talents come into play at all here. I know we had the magic show way back in Chapter 2, but still - fingers crossed!

Introvert friendship, man. 8′) I’m glad they’ve made up though. They’ll have stuff to hash out in the future, but I feel like they can at least trust each other now in a way that they couldn’t before the trial - and most importantly, hopefully Maki has learned she can rely on Shuichi and not have to go at things alone!!

INVESTIGATION - START!!!!

Y-YEAH ACTUALLY I WAS JUST GOING TO SAY -

U-Um, okay! I don’t know if we should really be letting everyone out of sight considering we just established the mastermind is in the academy with us (though I guess everyone is still hoping it’s someone outside of their group) - LOOKS AT A CERTAIN BLUE-HAIRED GIRL IN PARTICULAR - but okay!

ANYWAY BYE EVERYONE I’M GOING TO RANTARO’S LAB

.... is what I was about to say but then -

ROCKS FALL

EVERYONE DI - oh wait too late for that now

WHAT THE HELL

?!?!?!

also where’s Miu to make a comment about a large hole and ‘going in deep’ when you need her

what

a time limit - what -

Are you telling me that we’re powering up Shuichi’s slapping hand with the power of friendship -

S-SOUNDS WEIRD, BUT OKAY

What the hell were we supposed to use, a giant mecha drill?! Was Shuichi just gonna chuck it at the ground ala the hammer from Chapter 3? I guess we were due to get another area unlocked because we would lose at least 2 people in the next ‘round’ of the game, so it makes sense that there was one more area!

Well, um. Here goes nothing!

[fox-and-benedict]

[Fanfic, 100% Orange Juice] Drabble Pack 1

A/N: I love drabbles. I enjoy writing them, I enjoy the skills they teach me, and I think overall they’re super fun to do. There’s something about having to fit stuff into exactly 100 words that fires up my creativity, and one of the greatest benefits of Tumblr over blogspot for me might actually be that it’s a more suitable format for them.

Originally, these were posted separately. I’ve compressed them into one entry here for the purpose of archiving. They’re mostly drabbles (100 words), although there are a few droubles (200 words) mixed in, which I’ll mark.

Paperweight

Kyoko, like a scolding headmistress, continued pacing in front of Saki. Her hair was singed. “Why are we here?” she asked. “...Because I blew up the kitchen.” “My kitchen. On my birthday. ” Saki winced. Inside her head, she had put herself in the category of 'bad houseguest'.  “Why did you blow up my kitchen?”  “There was a gust, and my newspaper–” “So you hastily put something on the newspaper.” “Yes.” “And it was a stick grenade.” “I'm sorry!” Sighing, Kyoko put down the plate of cake that survived the blast. Slowly, deliberately, she pushed her friend's face into it.

Monocle

A backless evening dress with a plunging neckline. A flashy hairstyle out of a fashion magazine. A disarming, lascivious smile. That was all it took to get an invite to a party for the rich and the famous, although her only concern is the former. “Wow, boss. You look killer,” Tomato says, her face set in awe. She basks in the admiration of her underlings, but keeps her goal in mind. She checks her make-up, her earpiece, the pistol strapped to her thigh. Everything is ready. “Alright, Warudas! It's time to begin the operation,” Yuki announces. “Let's make some cash.”

Bodkin There is a blade, spoken of in legends; sharp enough to tear through skin, small enough to conceal in the palm of the hand – a necromantic blade for stitching together the remains of the dead. And now, she holds it in her hand. A few stabs as practice: it whistles through the air, sings as it dips into the body, snck-snck-snck, as quickly as she dares to use it. “Truly, this is the sword of my soul,” she mutters, holding the needle to the sky. “It befits only one such as me... Krilalaris, the dark witch of home economics! Ahuhuhuhu...”

Ascot (Drouble)

QP struggled, but found no purchase with her wrists tied behind her back with scarves, and the rest of her tied to the chair she was sitting on. All she could do was rock her seat. “I thought you had changed! You said all you wanted to do was enjoy pudding and play games! You tricked me with that bet!” “Quit that. You lost, so you have to play the penalty game,” Yuki taunted. “I have so many exotic puddings for you. Soy sauce, wasabi, curry powder... no expenses spared. I even made sure to tie you down with something soft, so your poor doggy wrists don't hurt.” The world went black as Yuki selected another scarf and bound it across QP's eyes. She found her senses already sharpening against her will. Her skin prickled with goosebumps as she felt Yuki's fingertips brush against her cheek, before trailing down her face to settle underneath her chin. “All you have to do,” Yuki whispered, uncomfortably close to her ear, “is identify five puddings, and I'll untie you. Should be easy, right?”QP nodded with what she hoped look like confidence. “Good. Now,” Yuki purred, “Be a good girl, and open wide.”

Spider

"Eeeek!" Within a second Suguri burst into action, flashing across the hall in a heartbeat. As if it had been a choreographed dance, Hime rushed out of the bathroom and leapt into her arms. "Suguri! I saw a --" "That's a washcloth." Hime looked up at her with teary eyes, close enough to see the fineness of her eyelashes. Then she relaxed into Suguri's arms and assumed a coy grin. "I wanted to see if you would catch me." Suguri rolled her eyes. She did a lot more eye-rolling these days. “I ought to drop you.” But she didn't.

Curlers

It was meant to be a quiet evening – snacks, pyjamas, truth or dare where everybody picked truth. Then Krila found the perm rods, and decided they made her look like Medusa. Syura, predictably, ran with it. “Sir Aru! Cleave her in twain with your mighty greatsword and save Princess QP!” Syura the cleric yelled. Aru didn't have a greatsword. Aru had a standing lamp. Dark Krilalaris surged forward. Her foot came down on a lone cup of pudding left on the floor. A terrifying silence descended upon the room. Tearing off her lampshade tiara, the true final boss revealed herself.

Marching Band

She soars through pillowed clouds, a blue sky stretching out before her. A soldier older than any other, she counts only the birds as her brothers in arms; she has outlived the war that created her, but not the peace that she made from it.She touches down before a cottage with a thatched roof, where an old friend waits. She is singing a song as old as either of them, a melody from their youth. The song ends and Sham smiles, arms open to greet her; and at last Sora knows that she has finished the long march home.

[arctimon]

By the Grace of Granville

(Warning: This post is long.  But what else is new when it comes to character analyses?)

One of the bigger mysteries that gets introduced into Big Hero 6: The Series made their introduction in the very first episode, got a little bit of expansion into their background, and then didn’t really see much daylight for the rest of the series sand her becoming an even-numbered wheel. No, I’m not talking about Obake.

I’m talking about Professor Granville, the newly-installed dean of the San Fransokyo Institute of Technology.

People, including myself, play Granville up as some sort of Nick Fury-esque figure.  She’s always in the know, gives advice to the team, and seems to have a general understanding of everything at once.

This is further helped by the fact that we don’t know a lot about what she has been up to since she resigned after Obake’s accident. It’s hindered by the fact that there may be some misinformation going on at the Big Hero 6 Wiki.

Here’s the introductory blurb for Professor Granville on her page:

Grace Granville has been a professor at the San Fransokyo Institute of Technology for at least 20 years, having taught Wendy Wower and Trevor Trengrove among other modern day geniuses.

She used to teach robotics and had her own star student, Bob Aken, but once he began an experiment to build an energy amplifier, it went awry as the amplifier exploded on his face, the result of which sent him to the hospital.

Though Bob survived, Granville felt extreme guilt from the incident and resigned. However, she kept the remains of the amplifier, possibly unaware that it still worked, as a reminder to not repeat the same mistakes.

She would return decades later to teach thermodynamics when Robert Callaghan, the dean of the institute at the time, was thought to have died, then resurfaced as the villain Yokai and was arrested for putting San Fransokyo in danger. Professor Granville became the college's new dean as she settled into her new role quite well. Now, after rewatching “Mini-Max”, I call into question the very first part that she’s been a professor there for at least 20 years.  As far as I am aware of, that has never been said or confirmed in the show.  She said herself (and the yearbook and Callaghan confirm this) that she worked there 20 years ago.  That’s not the same thing.  Working there for 20 years is not the same thing as being there 20 years ago.  So is that a discrepancy or am I the one who doesn’t remember things correctly?

And let’s go to what Callaghan said about the incident when Hiro went to visit him in prison in “Mini-Max”:

Robert: “She was in the lab after hours.  Something went wrong.  There was...an incident.”

Hiro:  “What kind of incident?” Robert: ”Officially, a pipe burst.  But there were rumors.  An unsanctioned project gone wrong.” Hiro:  ”So she was fired?”

Robert: “She resigned.  The matter was not pursued further.  That’s all I know.” OK, first of all...was Callaghan not the dean twenty years ago?  And even if he wasn’t...

Does anyone think that was caused by a simple burst pipe?  What was in said pipe?  Lava?  TNT?  Mentos and Coke?

That leads to the second possibility: Callaghan was Dean at the time, knew about it, and “pushed” Granville to resign to avoid a messy lawsuit.

But we’re getting away from the original point, which is...what exactly has Granville been doing this entire time? I find it hard to believe that Granville was still at the school when Tadashi, Go Go, Honey Lemon, and Wasabi were there.  You’d think that one of them would have said something about it, and all through the conversations in “Mini-Max” gave no indication of that as well.

So she’s been gone for twenty years (presumably).  Which begs the next question... Why did she have to become the dean? Endangering a student’s life is a very serious thing.  Something like that can’t be just forgiven.  So, why did it have to be her? It’s not like there’s not other candidates:

(From left to right: Monica Rambeau [one of the Physics professors], Grace Granville, Robert Callaghan, Linda Carter, and Timothy Dugan.  Note that these are merely names I’ve given them based off of who I think they are and not canon names.  However, for the sake of simplicity, I will refer to them as such from here on out.) Monica might have been a good replacement.  Linda’s just the nurse, so unlikely.  Dugan’s the Dean of Athletics, so probably not.  The dean doesn’t have to be the robotics professor, right?  Granville teaches Thermodynamics. And then you have Professor Kameela from the comics, who appears to be another Physics professor:

So why her?

Granville’s been out of the game, as far as we know, for a long time.  Did the board at SFIT really have no other options other than Granville?  Why give the top job to someone who hasn’t even stepped foot in SFIT for decades?

And the worst part is that I don’t really have a good answer for that.  The show delves into Granville’s history with Obake a lot and not enough into her actual history with SFIT, so that part is pretty much an unsolved mystery.

And if the info on the Wiki is true, then that means...what?  Granville was teaching for 20 years, and then took a 20 year break.  Wouldn’t that put Granville in her 60s, at minimum? (She looks pretty good for possibly being in her 60s.  Maybe she got some Infinity Formula from her possible Marvel counterpart.)

I think it’s much more possible that she’s in her early 50s.  That gives her enough time to be a professor, have an actual working history, and then have to leave with Obake’s accident. So my personal timeline for her career would be something like this.  For the sake of being simple, let’s assume that Granville is an even 50, and also that Big Hero 6 the movie takes place in the year 2031 (as per movie screenshots):

1981 - Grace Gretchen Granville is born 2002 - Graduates college (perhaps at SFIT; haven’t thought that far ahead) Sometime between 2002 and 2004 - Granville begins her work at [Redacted] 2005 - Granville become a TA in the Thermodynamics department (as per Highway to Hell Chapter 2, “In The Details”) 2006 to 2007 - Given government assignment to [SORT OF Redacted] 2007 - Returns to SFIT 2007 to 2011 - Becomes thermodynamics professor at SFIT; continues periodic work at [Redacted] 2011 - Obake’s accident; Granville resigns from SFIT 2011 to 2013 - Takes a position with [SUPER Redacted] in Symkaria 2013 - Returns stateside and [Redacted] 2013 to 2031 - Various jobs and positions, including start-up at Fathom Blue Incorporated and a instructor at the San Fransokyo Police Academy with Sara Pezzini 2031 (Current Time) - Granville becomes Dean at SFIT (Keep in mind that this is a sliding timeline which is subject to change.  Probably.) Man, that’s a lot of redacted information.  It’s almost like she worked for a secret government organization and did a lot of things that aren’t on the public record or something.

I am going to delve into Granville’s history in future stories, and that will include something that I’ve done a fanart on. Mainly this:

The Wakanda story is going to happen at some point, and it’s going to involve one of the redacted items above (from 2002 - 2003).  What exactly she was doing there is going to stay secret for a little bit. Speaking of which, I had done research on a few pieces of Wakandan technology.  Guess which one I found of particular interest.

The Kimoyo Beads.  A bracelet given to every single Wakandan citizen that stores all of their medical information and serves as an everyday tool for them. It also notes that it doesn’t work outside of Wakanda because of its reliance on tapping into Vibranium as a power source.

Now, what would happen if a very realistic version of Vibranium were to find its way out of the country and into Granville’s orbit?

I wonder if her bracelet would start working again. Mysteries abound when it comes to Grace Granville.  If we’re lucky, maybe we’ll solve a few of them before too long.

[dontmindifidontt]

EARLY MORNINGS AND OVERTIME | Chapter 2: A Healing Meal

Pairing: Nanami Kento x Reader (fem, first person pov) Word count: 1851 Fic Summary: A smutty fic in which Nanami Kento brightens up the mundane, flour-dusted life a college dropout working in a bakery. Chapter Summary: Friday night post-work dinner and drinks with Nanami find our baker enjoying herself more than expected. Warnings: None yet.

Read on AO3. Masterlist. Please feel free to ask me to correct anything in the above info, this is my first fic and I want to be sure I'm following all fic-posting etiquette. Ty!

5 pm. That day.

Tank tops, cardigans, and dresses are strewn over my shoulders as I rummage through my overcrowded closet. I continue to pull fabric off the various hangers, pausing to press my thumb and middle finger against my right wrist each time it begins to ache from the movement. Every shirt I swipe a glance at is either too patterned, too plain, or somehow a mix of both. I try to shake the indecisiveness from my head as I wonder, Why are my nerves so high? Is this what it feels like to have a crush again? Wait, is this a crush?

Since I presume he will show up in the same grey pinstripe suit he wore earlier, I opt for a dress that's both appropriate for work and after-work dinner + drinks attire. For this I choose a simple navy blue snug yet professional sleeveless dress that rests halfway down my thighs. Helping my confidence is the fact that said thighs, and calves, are accentuated by the pale pink pumps on my feet. I add a few simple gold rings, tiny hoops that cuff my earlobes, and put my hair in a high-ish ponytail. I brighten my eyes with concealer, blend bronzer along the crease of my eyelids, and dab highlighter in each inner corner. A few extra coats of mascara, some liquid blush, and a matte nude cream lipstick completes my look. I haven't put this much thought or time into my outfit or makeup in months. Maybe Mei Mei was right, I deserve to have some fun on another person's dime.

One look at the clock and I know I have to leave now if I don't want to rush on my walk and end up sweaty. It kind of feels good to leave on time for once.

I walk back towards the shop at a leisurely pace, not even minding that I'm taking the same steps I usually dread on my daily commute. This feels different, maybe because I'm actually looking forward to what waits at the end of the walk.

I round the last turn before I reach the storefront and although I don't know this man at all (including his name), I'm not surprised he beat me there. I take a quick glance at my phone, his timing was exact.

"Hi, you mean it when you say 6 o'clock, huh?" "I take my working schedule very seriously," he quickly replies.

"Yeah, I hear that," I respond, recalling every single morning I clock in at the last possible moment and leave the second it's quitting time. "So, what's your name?"

"Kento Nanami."

"Nice to meet you Nanami, you can call me _____."

"The pleasure is mine, ______. Let's get to it then." He turns on his heel and gestures for me to follow his lead. Without thinking I follow, seemingly forgetting every instinct that would normally prevent me from blindly trusting any stranger. Well, former stranger may be more accurate.

"So where are we headed?"

"I figure since you likely spend most of your time in a bakery, you'd prefer something a little different for tonight." Still doesn't answer the question. How can he be both so straightforward and vague at the same time?

"You guessed right. What's the opposite of baked goods? A sushi bar?"

"Now you've guessed right. It's just around the corner here." He's still sporting a serious, though kind, look on his face, though he did seem to quicken his step as we round the corner to the nearby sushi bar. I'm familiar with this one since it's not far from work, though I've never actually eaten here due to the unaffordable pricetag on most of the menu.

With one hand Nanami pulls open the door, using his other to wave me in in front of him. I shuffled past, noticing the subtle yet alluring scent of his cologne. A perfect mix of sweet like vanilla and a little bit dark, like tobacco.

The hostess at the front of the restaurant looks up at him and immediately begins to smile, greeting him as if they are familiar with each other and wasting no time to walk us to a table by the front windows. If he can afford to be a regular here maybe I won't feel so bad about ordering from such an expensive menu.

As I lower myself into the soft leather chair Nanami had pulled away from the table for me, I looked around. Nearly every single person at the bar or in the surrounding booths and tables were dressed similarly in suits or dresses with heels. The restaurant was dimly lit but far from dark, I could still make out the intricate overhead light fixtures and beautiful finish of the wood on the bartop. It was somehow both fancy yet cozy, I can see why he may frequent this spot.

It also happened to be slightly more romantic-looking than I expected. I thanked my past-self for choosing a dress that fit my body a hell of a lot better than my apron did.

After taking a moment to observe my surroundings, I turn my attention back to the quiet man across the table from me. I guess it's up to me to make conversation. I figure I'll start with the lingering question I'm a bit nervous to get an answer on.

"So, how exactly do you plan to heal the ache in my wrist, Not Dr. Nanami?"

He smirked at that title and opened his mouth without letting the smile fall. "By means of distraction," he replied matter-of-factly.

"So you're saying it's all in my head?" Defensiveness begins creeping in and his smile dropped.

"No, not at all. Why don't you tell me three things about yourself, and when you're done I'll do the same."

Slightly caught off guard, I began to think, reflexively averting my eyes from his gaze and looking to the side. I quickly wracked my brain for interesting things to say about myself.

"Three things, okay. Well most importantly I'm not actually a baker or anything like that, I just happen to work in a bakery. I'd much rather spend my time reading or even cooking, but I needed the job ever since leaving school." I was already rambling. "Second thing is I don't usually take strangers up on their offers to mysteriously heal my-" I paused. My wrist - it felt... lighter all of a sudden.

He stared back at me, patient but with knowing eyes as if he knew what I was going to say next.

"It feels better, doesn't it?" he asked. Was that a grin slowly lifting the corners of his mouth? I stared a second too long.

"It does. It doesn't hurt at all anymore. What did you do?" "I told you, just a distraction," he said in a casual manner while slowly leaning back in his seat. I sensed there was more to the story than this, but didn't press for more. The relief I feel is enough for me not to ask another question.

"So you never finished," he went on.

"Never finished what?" I stared back.

"Telling me three things about yourself."

Oh, right. I got distracted at two. Was it really just a distraction, or does he genuinely want to know?

"I guess the third thing about myself is that I hate mornings. I really love sleeping in."

"And yet you work in a bakery?" he mused while I shrugged my shoulders.

"Yup, kinda relates back to thing 1, I need the job," I said while slouching a bit in my seat.

"Well I feel the same way, if I had it my way I wouldn't start my workday until 10am," he began as my ears perked, "Technically I wouldn't work at all if I truly had it my way."

"Cheers to that," I say in a joking tone yet with full sincerity behind my voice as I raise the stemmed glass of champagne the server seemed to have brought without prompting. Another perk of being a regular?

"Cheers," he responds while raising his own champagne flute.

I held his gaze, not breaking eye contact until the bubbly sip worked its way down my throat, warming my chest.

After setting my glass back down I scanned my eyes over the menu, one thick page of rough paper printed onto the front of sturdy leather back.

"I suggest the wasabi tobiko with qual egg," he shares as I skim that portion of the menu. He's suggesting caviar? Guess I know my next question for him.

"So it's your turn, tell me three things about you. Why don't you begin with what you do?" I internally laugh at my lack of subtlety.

"Simply put I take money from the wealthy and make those people even more wealthy. Can't say I enjoy it, in fact I've grown to hate everything the corporate culture represents. I'd much rather spend my day making people happy with baked bread than money."

I opened my mouth to interject with a joke but quickly shut it when I realized he was being sincere.

"Second," he went on, "I actually enjoy a few of the things you listed yourself. Reading, cooking, enjoying a drink after work," he gestured to the table between us, "are all the simple pleasures in life I like to occupy my time with." I stared, wondering if he truly meant it or if he was just saying that to copy my own admission. Though so far he has been nothing but genuine. "And third," he continued, "I don't normally help other people the way I did with you today."

"Oh?" I couldn't help but prod involuntarily.

"I tend to stay out of other people's business," he explained while sipping his drink. At that moment the server returned to ask for our orders. I chose his earlier recommendation while he ordered a bottle of white wine for us to share. Maybe I can see the fun in letting others buy me things after all...

"So you stay out of people's business, and yet here you are providing unsolicited help to me along with asking me to describe details about myself over dinner?" I couldn't help but poke at the obvious.

He continued to hold his relaxed posture, but let out what I assume is the faintest chuckle at my question. "Both of those things are correct, yes," was all he had to say on the matter. Again with the straightforward-meets-vague.

I guess two can play that game. "Well like I said I don't typically take strangers up on the offer but here we are."

He continued to stare. I stared back. Oddly enough it wasn't uncomfortable. By now the wine had been poured and I found myself simply enjoying the moment, savoring the taste of each sip, and peering over the top of the glass to the polished, though still mysterious, man sitting across from me. As tired as I was from the workweek behind me, I could begin to see why most people look forward to spending Friday nights anywhere but home.

.....

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[nubnubblr]

Day By Day .26

INSOO

We made our way towards the restaurant, the three of us walked side by side with Eunji in the middle. Seyong had insisted on it, he still hadn't slept much, I'm not sure how he was functioning on that much sleep. I was hoping he'd go back to sleep last night but he hadn't, he just kind of laid there and muttered to himself. I managed  to get a few hours sleep between his conversations with himself, but eventually gave up and about eight this morning and decided to get up and slowly get ready for lunch.

I was right about Seyong wanting to come, well actually, I asked him if he wanted to come to lunch and he said no. That was until he found out Eunji was coming, then he insisted on going. I don't really understand why he's so worked up over this, I mean I understand that it was a horrible thing to dream but why would he dream it in the first place? From what I understand he stop Hymen before he actually didn't anything damaging.

"Should we look around while we wait for Ji?" Eunji asked.

"Sure," Seyong nodded.

"I'm just going to give her a call to see where she is,"

"Okay, we'll meet you inside,"

I pulled my phone out and dialed her number, when the phone just kept ringing I was a little worried she wasn't going to answer.

"Hey, I was going to message you," her voice filled the receiver as I was about to end the call.

"Yeah?"

"Yeah, I'm running a little late, I just have a meeting at the university. I should only be 20 minutes, you haven't left yet have you?"

"We're already here but we can just look around while we wait for you. Just message me when you're here and we'll come to the cafe,"

"Okay, I shouldn't be too long,"

"See you soon,"

SEYONG

"Where's Ji?" Eunji asked over her shoulder while looking through racks of clothes.

"She's going to be a little late,"

"We'll just have to look around until she get's here, unless you want to go and sit in the cafe until then," Eunji paused what she was doing to look at Insoo.

"Let's look around," Insoo shrugged.

We wondered around a small market, Eunji was busying herself searching through racks of clothes. She was pretty much back to normal this morning which was nice to see, though her outfit was making me uneasy. Well, technically it wasn't her outfit, it was the looks that the males around us were giving her. Do they not have anything better to do then objectify her?

"You'd look really good in this," Eunji stated with a serious face holding a 60's style floral dress up to Insoo.

"I just don't think I have the shoes to match," he sighed.

"I'm sure we could find some," she laughed.

"I don't know, I wouldn't want to out shine Jiyeon,"

"You're probably right," she nodded putting the dress back, he laughed and patted her head. She frowned at him and swatted his hand away.

Why was she so comfortable with him? He seemed to have no problem getting close to her or having her be comfortable around him. I don't know why it bothered me so much, they were friends and he was dating her sister, but why couldn't she be like that with me?

"What do you think?" she asked holding up a dark blue hooded jumper with a pink ribbon for the pull strings. She was looking directly at me but I wasn't sure if she was talking to me or not.

"Seyong?" she frowned.

"Oh, it looks good,"

"So you like it?" she tilted her head slightly.

"Yeah," I nodded. Why was she suddenly interested in my opinion?

"Good," she smiled draping it over her arm while she continued looking.

EUNJI

I looked at the jumper for a while, or at least it felt like a while. If I were a guy I'd wear it, or if I were dating the guy who owned it I would borrow it. I still hadn't thanked Seyong for helping me with the Ha Min situation, well I had, but maybe I should get him a thank you gift? I mean it's not like he fix a cabinet, he saved me from what could have been a very bad situation.

SEYONG

"Let's go get coffee," Eunji stated.

"We're going to have lunch soon?" Insoo frowned.

"It's just coffee," she shrugged.

"I have studying to do tonight," she added with a pout.

"I'll go with you," I offered.

"Okay," she nodded with a smile.

"Are you coming?" she turned to Insoo.

"No, I'm going to call Jiyeon and see where she is,"

"Okay, did you want something?"

"No, I'm okay,"

"Let's go then," she smiled up at me.

We walked out of the little store after she'd paid for her jumper and walked down the hall to find a coffee shop. It was nice just walking with her.

I'd been feeling extremely guilty lately, both because of the dream and because of the way I'd been treating her. I realized I hadn't even apologized for that.

"Here," she stopped handing me the bag with the jumper she'd just brought.

"What?" I frowned.

"I didn't thank you for the whole Ha Min situation, well I did but, I mean, technically I still owed you a shirt for the coffee thing and it's cold today so I figured a jumper," she rambled.

"So here,"

"Thanks," I hesitantly took the bag.

"But I'm wearing a jumper,"

"I didn't say you had to wear it now,"

"What I mean, is that I'm wearing a jumper, but you're not and it's cold so did you want to wear it?" It was my turn to ramble.

"Oh, ah, sure," she nodded, I pulled the jumper from the bag and handed it to her.

She slid the jumper over her head, it was too big for her, the sleeves ate her hands  and the bottom sat just above the hem of her shorts, if it were an longer it would look like she wasn't wearing pants.

"You'll probably have to wash it later, it's going to smell like perfume," she gave me a small smile.

"That's okay," I shrugged.

I don't think I would mind it smelling like her, she smelt like a mixture of pomegranate and cinnamon, both of which I enjoyed. We stood there staring at each other for what felt like hours, her cheeks turned a light shade of pink as she looked down at the sleeves of the jumper, she was fiddling with the hem avoiding my eyes.

"Let's go get you that coffee," I rubbed the back of my neck.

EUNJI

I felt excessively shy all of a sudden, maybe it was the fact he was staring at me. But why would his gaze make me shy?

Unless... no.

No, I'm just grateful for him saving me, and I'm clearly confusing that for the possibility of having feelings for him. I mean, why would I have any feelings for him? After everything he's done and said to me? I don't think his attractiveness and the fact he saved me one time makes up for that...does it?

JIYEON

I sighed getting out of the taxi at the shopping center, I'd just gone through everything with the doctor; foods to avoid, the different treatment methods, signs and symptoms of it possibly getting worse. He wanted to have me go in for the surgery but said that seeing as it is in the early stages that it wasn't necessary.

I really wanted to avoid the surgery option because that would mean I would have to tell Insoo, and if the medication worked then he would never have to know. I know how that sounds but you can't exactly pass the judgement unless you're in the same situation, it's not that easy a decision to make.

I messaged Insoo to see where he was and waited for him to message back. It took less than a minute. I slid my phone into my back pocket and made my way towards the cafe, they were all standing out the front waiting for me, Eunji was throwing away an empty cup of coffee as I reached them.

"Hey," she smiled at me as Insoo wrapped his arm around my waist,

"Let's go in," Insoo directed me into the small cafe.

SEYONG

Insoo sat us down at a round table next to the wall that was covered in vines and twinkling lights, there were small sections of plant pots full of white and purple flowers. Jiyeon sat next to Insoo, then Eunji sat next to her and I was between Eunji and Insoo.

"Share Tteokbokki with me?" Insoo winked at Jiyeon.

"I don't eat spicy food," she shook her head.

"Seriously?" he frowned.

"Why do you think I always cook?"

"But you've cooked it for me before,"

"I didn't eat it though,"

"Huh," Insoo frowned down at the menu,

"Why don't we just get something off the dessert menu?" Eunji stated.

"Why?"

"Because I don't feel like eating a whole meal and I really want that," she pointed at the tiramisu on the dessert page.

"Sounds like a plan to me," Insoo nodded.

"That jumpers a little big on you, where did you get it?" Jiyeon frowned at her sister,

"I bought it for Seyong,"

"Ahh, so one thing changes everything?" she muttered under her breath, I'm not sure Eunji heard her but I definitely did.

"Okay, so dessert then?" Eunji stated.

"I'll go order, what do you want?" I stated, obviously it was strange for me to offer but no one seemed to argue which I was happy about.

"Chocolate cake," Insoo close his menu.

"Vanilla ice cream," Jiyeon shrugged.

"And a tiramisu for you?" I turned to Eunji who nodded.

I went up and ordered out food, getting myself cookies and cream shaved ice and I may have accidentally ordered Jiyeon wasabi ice-cream instead of vanilla.

JIYEON

"I'm just going to go to the bathroom," Eunji smiled leaving the table.

"Was that necessary?" Insoo sighed.

"What?"

"He's beating himself up about something that never happened. And to be fair it's not like that one thing was opening a door for her,"

"I know," I sighed.

"I know he was an ass, but can you please try and be civil with him?"

"Okay," I nodded.

He was right and I didn't mean to make the comment earlier. At least not out loud. I did want to thank him for what he did for Eunji.

I waited for him to come back to the table, he sat down quietly keeping an eye on the bathroom doors. He really had assigned himself the role of guardian/bodyguard for her. All because of one dream? Then again from what I heard from Insoo it wasn't exactly an un-detailed dream.

"Sorry about earlier," I'd meant to say it but it came out as more of a reluctant mumble.

"Sorry?" he frowned.

"I ah, I wanted to thank you actually... for what you did for Eunji, if you hadn't...anyway thank you,"

SEYONG

The shock of her actually thanking me made me forget about the wasabi ice cream, until it was served in front of her. She'd already picked up her spoon as I remember.

"Wait," I said as she put the spoon in her mouth, I watched her expression change from content to what looked like she was going to be sick.

"What did you do?" Insoo frowned at me when he seen Jiyeon's face.

"I was mad at what she said earlier so I kind of...ordered her wasabi instead of vanilla. I completely forgot until now," I scratched the back of my head.

I didn't actually feel guilty until I seen the disappointment and disapproval on Eunji's face.

EUNJI

"Here Ji," I slid her plate towards me and swapped her scoop of the scoop of vanilla on my plate before sliding it back.

"I'm sorry," Seyong frowned.

"You heard her say she can't eat spicy earlier right?" I frowned at him. Hey I though he was getting better.

"I said I don't like spicy," Jiyeon stated, she's lying I know she said cant.

"We're even now?" she raised an eyebrow at Seyong who sunk into his chair a little. He nodded looking down at his food.

"Then it's fine," she nodded, but I could see the spice was already affecting her.

***

SEYONG

The rest of lunch had been a little awkward, Eunji was still kind of disappointed about my actions, or at least that's what it seemed like. Once we'd gotten home she made herself a cup of coffee and went up to her room to study.

The only time she came down was to make herself a fresh cup of coffee before heading back up there.

It was just after dinner when she came down, we were sitting at the kitchen table after eating. Everyone else had pretty much gone to bed or were just sitting in the lounge room. It was just myself, Jiyeon, and Eunji. Insoo had gone to shower.

She couldn't sit still, she was tapping her fingers across the table and her knee was bouncing. It didn't seem to faze Jiyeon who was flicking through a magazine, come to think of it that was strange for her too.

"What-are-you-reading?" the sentence came out of Eunji's mouth as one really long word.

"I'm looking though some of the advertising E.X.I.D do,"

"Are-you-still-deciding-if-you-want-to-sign-a-contract?"

"Mmm,"

"What-do-you-think?"

"They do a lot of different things so it's not like I'll be stuck in frilly girl clothes,"

"How do you understand what she's saying?" I frowned.

"What do you mean?" Jiyeon raised an eyebrow at me.

"She's speaking too fast to make out anything,"

"I've lived with it for so long I guess it's just second nature," Jiyeon shrugged turning back the the magazine.

"Hey Jiyeon, do you want to go for a walk? I'm bored," Insoo entered the room drying his hair with a towel.

"I don't really want to go out, why don't you talk to Eunji if you're so bored?"

"No offence but how would that help?"

"The fun part's figuring out what she said," I muttered.

"What do you mean?" he frowned.

"You-realize-I'm-right-here?" Eunji frowned,

"I have no idea what you're saying," I shook my head.

"What?" Insoo frowned.

"She said she's right here," Jiyeon turned the page.

"We-could-go-down-to-Han-River-and-run-around,"

"No,"Jiyeon shook her head.

"Why?" the first word she said that I understood.

"Because it's too late at night and you've got studying to do,"

"What does she want to do?" Insoo asked.

"Okay-mum- but-I've-finished-studying-and-now-I-have-a-whole-lot-of-energy,"

"She wants to go down to Han River and run around,"

"And how do you understand that?"

"It's not like she's speaking a different language, she's just speaking a little fast. It happens when she has a lot of studying to do and she drinks too much coffee,"

"So-can-we-go?"

"I still have no idea what you're saying,"

"Maybe you should use the energy and try to actually study?" Jiyeon looked at her sister,

"I-can't-stay-focused,"

"How much have you actually done?"

"I-just-have-to-go-through-the-notes-I've-made-before-the-tests-the-hard-part-is-done,"

"If those two want to take you down then fine," Jiyeon shrugged.

I gave Insoo a look, it was way too late at night to take her down to Han River.

INSOO

Seyong was pleading with me to say no, I considered it. Then I thought that maybe if we take her down there he'll see that she's fine and stop playing guardian? Then maybe he'll sleep more than an hour.

"Go put something warmer on," I stated.

"Are you getting back at me for what happened at lunch?" he waited for Eunji to leave the room before he spoke.

"Why would I do that?"

"I wouldn't worry too much, she'll pack up all of her books and get changed and then she crash and go to sleep. You wont even make it out of the house,"

SEYONG

Jiyeon was right, ten minutes later I went upstairs to see if she was ready and she was asleep across the bottom of her bed. She was still wearing my jumper, I'm not sure if she even remembered she had it on. Her hands had been eaten by the sleeve and she was using the hood as a pillow. I carefully lifted her bridal style to move her into her bed properly, as soon as I lifted her she moved. I froze thinking she'd woken up but she just nuzzled into my chest letting out a soft sigh.

INSOO

I went up to see what was taking them so long, he was gently placing her down in her bed. A small smile found its way to his face. I'm not sure if he realized it but she was changing him bit by bit, and his feelings for her were growing each day.

[abovethecanyonwall]

Best Restaurant Review Ever

GUY FIERI, have you eaten at your new restaurant in Times Square? Have you pulled up one of the 500 seats at Guy’s American Kitchen & Bar and ordered a meal? Did you eat the food? Did it live up to your expectations? Did panic grip your soul as you stared into the whirling hypno wheel of the menu, where adjectives and nouns spin in a crazy vortex? When you saw the burger described as “Guy’s Pat LaFrieda custom blend, all-natural Creekstone Farm Black Angus beef patty, LTOP (lettuce, tomato, onion + pickle), SMC (super-melty-cheese) and a slathering of Donkey Sauce on garlic-buttered brioche,” did your mind touch the void for a minute? Did you notice that the menu was an unreliable predictor of what actually came to the table? Were the “bourbon butter crunch chips” missing from your Almond Joy cocktail, too? Was your deep-fried “boulder” of ice cream the size of a standard scoop? What exactly about a small salad with four or five miniature croutons makes Guy’s Famous Big Bite Caesar (a) big (b) famous or (c) Guy’s, in any meaningful sense? Were you struck by how very far from awesome the Awesome Pretzel Chicken Tenders are? If you hadn’t come up with the recipe yourself, would you ever guess that the shiny tissue of breading that exudes grease onto the plate contains either pretzels or smoked almonds? Did you discern any buttermilk or brine in the white meat, or did you think it tasted like chewy air? Why is one of the few things on your menu that can be eaten without fear or regret — a lunch-only sandwich of chopped soy-glazed pork with coleslaw and cucumbers — called a Roasted Pork Bahn Mi, when it resembles that item about as much as you resemble Emily Dickinson? When you have a second, Mr. Fieri, would you see what happened to the black bean and roasted squash soup we ordered? Hey, did you try that blue drink, the one that glows like nuclear waste? The watermelon margarita? Any idea why it tastes like some combination of radiator fluid and formaldehyde? At your five Johnny Garlic’s restaurants in California, if servers arrive with main courses and find that the appetizers haven’t been cleared yet, do they try to find space for the new plates next to the dirty ones? Or does that just happen in Times Square, where people are used to crowding? If a customer shows up with a reservation at one of your two Tex Wasabi’s outlets, and the rest of the party has already been seated, does the host say, “Why don’t you have a look around and see if you can find them?” and point in the general direction of about 200 seat? What is going on at this new restaurant of yours, really? Has anyone ever told you that your high-wattage passion for no-collar American food makes you television’s answer to Calvin Trillin, if Mr. Trillin bleached his hair, drove a Camaro and drank Boozy Creamsicle? When you cruise around the country for your show “Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives,” rasping out slangy odes to the unfancy places where Americans like to get down and greasy, do you really mean it? Or is it all an act? Is that why the kind of cooking you celebrate on television is treated with so little respect at Guy’s American Kitchen & Bar? How, for example, did Rhode Island’s supremely unhealthy and awesomely good fried calamari — dressed with garlic butter and pickled hot peppers — end up in your restaurant as a plate of pale, unsalted squid rings next to a dish of sweet mayonnaise with a distant rumor of spice? How did Louisiana’s blackened, Cajun-spiced treatment turn into the ghostly nubs of unblackened, unspiced white meat in your Cajun Chicken Alfredo? How did nachos, one of the hardest dishes in the American canon to mess up, turn out so deeply unlovable? Why augment tortilla chips with fried lasagna noodles that taste like nothing except oil? Why not bury those chips under a properly hot and filling layer of melted cheese and jalapeños instead of dribbling them with thin needles of pepperoni and cold gray clots of ground turkey? By the way, would you let our server know that when we asked for chai, he brought us a cup of hot water? When you hung that sign by the entrance that says, WELCOME TO FLAVOR TOWN!, were you just messing with our heads? Does this make it sound as if everything at Guy’s American Kitchen & Bar is inedible? I didn’t say that, did I? Tell me, though, why does your kitchen sabotage even its more appealing main courses with ruinous sides and sauces? Why stifle a pretty good bison meatloaf in a sugary brown glaze with no undertow of acid or spice? Why send a serviceable herb-stuffed rotisserie chicken to the table in the company of your insipid Rice-a-Roni variant? Why undermine a big fist of slow-roasted pork shank, which might fly in many downtown restaurants if the General Tso’s-style sauce were a notch less sweet, with randomly shaped scraps of carrot that combine a tough, nearly raw crunch with the deadened, overcooked taste of school cafeteria vegetables? Is this how you roll in Flavor Town? Somewhere within the yawning, three-level interior of Guy’s American Kitchen & Bar, is there a long refrigerated tunnel that servers have to pass through to make sure that the French fries, already limp and oil-sogged, are also served cold? What accounts for the vast difference between the Donkey Sauce recipe you’ve published and the Donkey Sauce in your restaurant? Why has the hearty, rustic appeal of roasted-garlic mayonnaise been replaced by something that tastes like Miracle Whip with minced raw garlic? And when we hear the words Donkey Sauce, which part of the donkey are we supposed to think about? Is the entire restaurant a very expensive piece of conceptual art? Is the shapeless, structureless baked alaska that droops and slumps and collapses while you eat it, or don’t eat it, supposed to be a representation in sugar and eggs of the experience of going insane? Why did the toasted marshmallow taste like fish? Did you finish that blue drink? Oh, and we never got our Vegas fries; would you mind telling the kitchen that we don’t need them? Thanks.