#and i am team waitstaff as always!!
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only thing that wouldve made the bear more accurate is at least 6 hours of b-roll of the kitchen staff yelling at the wait staff for no reason
#thats some behind the scenes stuff they didnt have time for i guess#last week my coworker made a joke to one of the chefs over the counter like 'hurry up' and he started swearing at her#mind you this is an open kitchen environment#obviously she started yelling back at him#and i am team waitstaff as always!!#so in the ring i would be supporting my homegirl#and not slenderman the chef#also bc those assholes keep calling me a 'matcha person' despite me NOT LIKING MATCHS#they think i have a 'crystal vibe'#well fuck you!!!#the bear#i have restaurant trauma if youre not aware i sometimes have nightmares about it#the bear fx
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As a fan of "2 Moons" The Series,...I think it will forever be a mystery as to why the whole star-cast of the series were changed for Season-2. And I I don't believe in any speculations made by toxic fans.
Regarding to the same,...I'd like to ask you a couple of questions that's intriguing me, forever.
1. Do you really think the star-cast was changed regarding some copyrights issue quoted by "Motive Village?
2. Why isn't "Star-Hunter Studios" promoting Tae Darvid & Tee Thanapon like Kimmon and Copter?
3. What is your opinion about Motive Village? And what are your expectations from "2 Moons 3 : The Ambassador"?
P.S: Hope I haven't bombarded you with too many questions at the same time. I'm coming back after a long time, so apologies in advance.
xoxo
Arjuna
Not sure I have much to say about 2 Moons. I'm not a big fan of either series. I mean they were fine but I missed the *craze* for it, ya know? It's such a dull dynamic for the leads that PhaYo has never worked for me.
I don't mind being bombarded with questions. Anything to procrastinate regressions...
1. Do you really think the star-cast was changed regarding some copyrights issue quoted by "Motive Village?
Nope. I think God didn't want to come back and/or something went wrong with the option. And I think we will never know the specifics and if I were them I would never reveal those specifics.
Fans should never know how the sausage is made, it sucks for EVERYONE when they do.
I will die on this tiny hill.
2. Why isn't "Star-Hunter Studios" promoting Tae Darvid & Tee Thanapon like Kimmon and Copter?
Possible reasons:
They didn't stick with a pair, they didn't want to be paired, and/or don't like that kind of promo. They don't have the "look" the studio is after. Also I haven't seen either associated with any of Star Hunter's events or promo in years. Thanapon I *think* has left the stable. And Darvid is under contract with Channel 3 now. Star Hunter is a little like GMMTV they spent their promo energy on in house actors first, with very few exception.
3. What is your opinion about Motive Village? And what are your expectations from "2 Moons 3 : The Ambassador"?
It's always a sign of concern when a studio keeps whole scale losing cast. Did you know Call it What You Want is considered a bit of an expose/wholesale indictment of what went down on the set of 2 Moons 2? Also BL: Broken Fantasy.
Generally I gonna side with (believe in) the following in order:
post production,
pre production,
production,
talent,
and then maybe the studio.
fans
(Writers tend to have so little power they don't rank, although that seems to be different with y-novel power houses like Mame. Also since most fans have absolutely no idea how the film industry actually functions. So as far as I am concerned, fans are the least trustworthy.)
Look this is a principle I think we should apply to everything in life; judge the operation/corporation on how they treat their lowest value (least public facing) workers. i believe that you can learn everything you need to know about a person from how they treat waitstaff. This is that principal applied to the studio system. Pre/post production is the catering team of the film industry, they do all the set up, all the serving, and then all the clean up. How the studio treats them will tell you everything.
I don't know if any pre/post production peeps also walked from Motive, but that would be the biggest red flag for me. As it stands, all we do know is that both production and talent left Motive 2x, so on principle I would say: they seem shitty to work for at best and corrupt or possibly abusive at worst.
I have no expectations of 2 Moons 3.
I imagine only the most desperate talent would ever want to work for Motive. Which means the cast/director will be crappy. But what Thailand has the least of, obviously, is post production teams. If Motive can't find snippies & clippies, or any kind of engineering staff, they won't be able to get anything decent completed, anyway. How will 2M3 ever leave dev hell Under those circumstances?
But I haven't worked inside the Thai film industry. So I can only call it from what little I know of what goes on there, and my own experience with Hollywood.
#asked and answered#film industry weeked#thai bl#2 moons 2#2 moons#the curse of the 2 moons franchise#thai film industry#studio system
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SDOC AU
SDC4 fics
为战而爱 (series) by Anonymous (Teen and Up, 50k)
12 short fics related to SDC3 and its filming
这就是真爱 | The Reality of Love (series) by notsoquietly (E, 16k)
XZ visits the set of SDC3, and is on Let's Hotpot
Body Language by Bixgirl1823 (E, 10k)
Sometimes they understand each other perfectly without saying a word. Then there are the times when they have to talk. Tonight, it's a little of both. (Or: What happens when Xiao Zhan stumbles across the clip of Wang Yibo dancing with Xiao Bao.)
Two Faces by MadFilaments (E, 2k)
I had an insane craving for an established relationship fic where Xiao Zhan visits Wang Yibo on the set of SDC... and all the dancers see how cool guy Wang Yibo suddenly melts into a puddle when he spots bf. So I wrote it.
Liminal Spaces by fyredancer (E, 9k)
Xiao Zhan has two faces—the one he presents to Yibo and how he’s really feeling every time they part. Between traveling for work and feeling a little too seen by others, somewhere Xiao Zhan may have forgotten Yibo always pays attention to what remains unsaid. He gets some reminders.
push, pull by dieofthatroar (Gen, 2k)
Wang Yibo has a conversation with Xiao Zhan about how he wants to be seen. AKA: Yibo's new IDGAF attitude is sending me.
Shades of Purple (Out of Red and Blue) by ShamelessPeterPan (PiscesDragon) (Teen and Up, 3k)
Xiao Zhan has watched Yibo run himself ragged all summer for SDC3 filming, on top of all of his other work. Now the show is finally over, and Yibo has a few days off - and Xiao Zhan has the chance to take care of him, to tend to his injuries, and make sure he gets the rest he deserves.
Walk with you forever by Selene210 (Gen, 2k)
“Xiao Zhan!” Perhaps surprisingly, one of the the first people to notice Xiao Zhan is not in fact his boyfriend, but a PD. Like a switch had been flipped, suddenly every single head in the room was turning to look at where Xiao Zhan was stood in the doorway. “Uhh, hi?”
Tempt and Punish by siler30 (E, 3k)
Yibo actually thought he could get away after the little stint in SDC. Or the one where Jealous Xiao Zhan has plans for his boyfriend.
for the rest of our lives by msz (Teen and Up, 6k)
He knew the show would capture moments between the captains and even the explosive dance moves but they wouldn’t capture the little moments of bonding between Yibo and his team. He wanted to meet them, to hear why they chose Yibo and to see why Yibo chose them. They were Yibo’s family for the time being and Xiao Zhan was itching to see them for himself. /Inspired by the next SDC ep where the Captains all play an escape room style game.
nobody knows me the way you do by msz (Teen and Up, 1,5k)
The director entered and edged over to the men who noticed him and exchanged greetings. "Today's going to be different, boys!" He proclaimed, waving a hand around. He stood next to their table and pointed to the back wall, where usually all their cameramen sat. "This segment is not going to be filmed today, as you can see - no cameras here. We have a surprise for you all." With that, the man left the room with a flourish and when he came back a minute later, he was followed by several waitstaff carrying a cloche and dish each. Within minutes, they had the whole table set up, but Yibo still looked around, confused. /Yibo hates surprises. But will he like this one?
Surprise on the set by Yakitorii (Gen, 3k)
“Make a wish, Yibo.”
AUs
Brightest Star On The Stage by Selene210 (E, 15k)
Finally, it was time for the last captain. Xiao Zhan felt like a distinct muted hum fell on the crowd, everyone waiting with bated breaths as the announcer paused dramatically. “And in the south corner, let’s welcome… Wang Yibooooo!!!” ~~~ a mentor x trainee fic set in SDC, where Yibo is smitten, Xiao Zhan is trying, and the entire world ships them~
Peace & Love by ella_minnow (E, 51k)
Xiao Zhan doesn’t know what he’s doing here. Really, honestly, he doesn’t. How he’s landed a gig as a dance captain on the second season of This! is Street Dance is anyone’s guess.
Cliche by SnowySpacePeach (M, 4k)
Wang Yibo commissions designer Xiao Zhan to create his panther logo for SDC.
so in love with you, my love, am I (series) by nikefemme (No Archive Warnings, 15k)
XZ's PA doesn't know her boss is married to Wang Yibo, one of SDC3's captains.
#im rereading sdc3 fics since sdc4 has started but its mostly for myself 😅#bjyx#yizhan#bjyx fic rec#bjyx fics rec#under the series are my own short summaries so i know what are they about 😅😅😅#all fics have links but 2 look like theey dont? idk tumblr is weird#also there are a few gang/bang fics with yibo and other captains but i dont read them sooo#pls remember to leave kudos and comments for authors 🙏
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♠: One character adjusting the other’s jewelry/neck tie/ etc.
You can pick which Ethan x MC. I’m down for both 💕
Poco a Poco
Pairing: Ethan x F!MC (Odette Hall) Rating: Teen+ Summary: She accompanies him to an awards gala. It’s the first time they’re out in public together, and a certain doctor is appreciating the view. Trope: Fluff, Date, Gala; Protective; Pining
A/N: thanks Sara 💖
__________________
She walked out like it was just a typical day; leaving the hospital behind like she was heading home, finally, hours after her scheduled shift had ended.
Odette sauntered like there wasn’t anything different about today at all. Head held high, petite shoulders pushed back to elongate the column of her neck and highlight her impeccable posture. She moved effortlessly over the concrete as if each step were the intended note of tonight’s melody - Not like she was dressed in a form fitting evening gown, long platinum hair pulled back and cascading in a signature stylized-ponytail. Her trusty wool trench coat hiding much of the strapless bodice.
His black sedan sat idly at the curb awaiting her arrival. In the last two years Ethan has known her, he’s come to learn she was never late – always promptly two minutes early. Tonight he made sure he was five – didn’t want her waiting at the curb in the cold, he told himself as he tried to pass the excruciatingly long three minutes.
Odette’s doing him a favor tonight. She’s accompanying him to this incessant function where he’s being honored for his work with the W.H.O. earlier that year. Ethan simply couldn’t brush it off, and he certainly couldn’t bear even the thought of being alone at such an event full of self-righteous asshats. So, he asked her to join him - to “lessen the torture” - with a promise of introducing her to key individuals in their field. Odette accepted, quite happily - the timid look on his face as he asked was convincing enough.
It’s not like this is the first time they’ve dressed up to go somewhere together. They’ve been having these kinds of evenings more and more it seems. But this is the first time the new friends would be seen together by someone other than the waitstaff at the Boston Opera.
Ethan’s eyes lingered on her in the rearview mirror. His heart began beating just a bit faster as it always does when she’s near. He couldn’t look away if he tried - frankly he didn’t even bother to try.
She doesn’t look much different than when he saw her an hour earlier - isn’t wearing anything out of the ordinary for nights like these as far as he can tell in the dimming street lighting. Yet she still has the power to render him incapacitated, utterly speechless by her grace alone. And from the safety of his car Ethan doesn’t feel quite as bad for appreciating her form.
He came to his full senses when the tune of her heels became louder and his throat drier.
His deft fingers clicked unlock just as she reached to open the passenger-side door.
“Hey! Didn’t keep you waiting, did I?” Her voice so chipper as she settled into the leather seat.
If Ethan Ramsey could form a coherent thought he would have made a comment about how anyone could share the same verity for life after working since dawn and then being forced to dress in a locker room for this pointless affair.
Instead he took in a cleansing breath tainted by her delirium-inducing perfume. Ignored the alluring state of her by fixing his stare on the shallow crease of her forehead. Exhaled. And said,
“No. I’d say we were perfectly timed.”
His azure eyes traveled down to hers - deep emerald enhanced by the dark fabrics she chose to wear - on their own accord. The faintest of smiles tugged at the corners of his mouth.
She smiled right back, “Great.”
With the slightest stammer even he wasn’t aware of, Ethan started the car.
***
At the venue Ethan and Odette hadn’t taken more than two steps from handing keys over to the valet when —
“Ethan!” a voice boomed through the crowd.
Ethan groaned deep and afflicted at the sound, his eyes searching the scene crazily before realizing that there wasn’t enough time to grab Ode’s hand and flee. He chanced a glance to the woman close by his side, already smiling warmly, welcoming the stranger like only someone like she could.
“Enrich,” Ethan replied, not bothering to hide even an ounce of distain on his tone.
The slyly confident man clapped Ethan on the shoulder without regard for personal space, “How’s the guest of honor?”
“I am not the only one,” Ethan all but growled. The muscles in his face working hard to keep impassive - small fibers of his being not wanting to tarnish the evening so early with a sour attitude. He owed it to her to at least be civil.
“There’s an entire team of physicians being recognized this evening.”
“Alright,” Enrich chortled, more for show than as a reaction. He nodded just once, removing his hand from Ethan’s shoulder. “The only one that matters.”
Enrich’s tight smile accompanied the silence hanging between the men. A silence long enough for Enrich to take a gander towards the vision to Ethan’s left.
His hungry grey eyes took a long look at Odette. Two excruciating seconds too long without saying a single thing. His gaze moving from her face to her chest to the hem of her dress. And as they made their way back up her curves to settle on the dip of her necklace, Ethan placed his hand on the small of Odette’s back. As if the small movement could shield her from the man’s predatory intentions.
Enrich caught the movement, darkened eyes darting back to the honorable man before him. The two dignitaries held a wordless conversation. A silent showdown.
Enrich straightened his back, rose an eyebrow and was the last one to speak;
“Have a lovely evening,” Before turning on the heels of his pristine oxfords and into the sway, calling out another’s name.
Ethan was silently fuming, ears reddening and jaw rigid as he watched Enrich walk away with that detestable swagger. Pads of his fingers adding a slight pressure to her back as he fights to keep shreds of his composure.
Ode felt the change in mood. Her natural instinct moving to break his line of sight. Standing closely in front of him, closer than two colleagues ought in a bubble all their own, her dainty fingers went to wrap around the gold silk of his tie. She fiddled with the windsor knot, pretending to adjust it. Her movements tactical and enough for Ethan to begin to become more aware of her presence than the hatred he has for Enrich Valentine.
Immediately his jaw loosened and his shoulders fell into contentment.
“Breathe.” The word was a commanding whisper meant solely for him.
When his darkened eyes met hers all Ethan found is a quizzical expression held in the dip of her dainty brows and in the flecks of gold of her irises that match the autumnal sunset behind him.
He’s looking at her and she’s still so damn radiant. Gorgeous and amazing and not a single emotion pointing to what’s just transpired. Ethan can’t tell if she realized she was just being objectified by the worst kind of man, and if she knows then why is she still smiling. Why is she pretending like what’s just happened was nothing? There’s so much more Ethan Ramsey craves to learn about Odette Hall.
She gently squeezes his bicep bringing him down from whatever cloud he was on.
“Ready?”
He let out a breath and nodded once.
She smiled privately and took Ethan’s offered arm. He tucks her ringless fingers into the crook, and they descended into one of the many nights like these they will share.
____________________
@openheartfanfics @choicesficwriterscreations
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#thesassywitchofthenortheast#asked#open heart#open heart fanfic#choices open heart#ethan x mc#ethan ramsey#ethan ramsey x mc
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I had this idea thats been bugging me for hours, I imagine the reader is with LOV or shigaraki on a mission in a bar or somewhere where they need a destruction so the reader has an idea goes behind the mini stage and steals a red dress and goes to sing and everyone is just shocked Btw they could be singing sway by Michael buble and u can put some smut if u want💕💕 Btw sorry if I request a lot it’s just ur such an amazing writer and ur writing makes it much more better 💕 Z
Feeling good 18+
This reminds me of the scene in She-Ra where scorpia distracts everyone by singing 🎤 I love that scene 😊
Anon requested a song change to “feeing good” so I am not ignoring their request XD
I changed this a bit, and made it a lil more..... scandalous....
Shigaraki x F! Reader
🎤🎤🎤🎤
You and the rest of the League of Villians stood in a crowd, hidden behind black suede masks like everyone else in the room. The black rabbit is a underground club where anyone can indulge without the fear of judgement or social status. Hidden in cloaks and masks made everyone equal- they could be heros, villains or civilians. When shigaraki caught wind of some high up hero’s basking in such an environment as the one they are in now- he saught it as the perfect opportunity to either get damaging information. Or to damage the hero directly.
The black rabbit is over 12,000 sqft of space to get lost in. You and your group were flooded in a sea of black cloaks. The only faces you could see clearly was the staff and entertainment. Naked men and women danced inside metal cages. Nude waitstaff walked around offering drinks and hors d'oeuvres. The whole atmosphere is highly sexual and mysterious. It’s no wonder everyone wears a disguise, which also means any hero here would have their reputations ruined if anyone found out. Perfect. Shigaraki tells his group they should split into teams. You and shigarakis quirks work best together, so he didn’t even have to tell the group who he would be with. Compress went with spinner, Toga with Twice and Dabi went on his lonesome. Being alone with Shigaraki in here was suffocating. There has always been unspoken sexual tension between the two, and to now be surrounded by seduction made the mood even more intense. You would walk by private rooms hidden behind curtains with orgies going on. The screams and moans you would both hear, would cause you two to giggle at each other then end in a long stair and heavy blushing. You wanted to behind one of those curtains with him, making those same sounds. The moment is ended when a naked woman walks up behind Shigaraki, and stokes his back up and landing with her arm resting against his shoulder. She offers a good time and with her other hand gestures “pay me” with her fingers. He gives a quick glance down at her exposed breasts, then looks behind her at you. Disgust and anger were heavily painted in your expressions. He knows he could technically go off with the sex worker- you two are not a couple, but he also knows how that would hurt the both of you. Shigaraki gives a scoff, removing himself from the situation. He grabs your hand and drags you away to continue your search for heros. When he begins to remove his hand away from you, you lock your fingers in with his. Shigaraki doesn’t flinch at the sudden change, but his hand grips tighter and you can see the tips of his ears turning red.
A buzz in your back pocket goes off, looking at the notifications on your screen. You see a message from Toga in the group chat. She alerts the group that her and Twice think they spotted a hero. But there is too many people, and everyone is too hidden in a disguise to know for sure. You drop your hand from Shigaraki, and both start your decent twords Togas location. Your mind kept wondering to the naked woman hanging off him, thinking about what would of happened if he went with her. You felt jealous and annoyed. Nothing even happened, but you couldn’t stop thinking of the what-ifs. A petty side of you wanted to make him feel that way too. Maybe then he will finally lock down this weird situation- and make this into something that really matters.
“I see them up a head.”
You reply with nothing but an accepting hum. You know he probably is picking up on your weirdness right now. Once you meet up with the rest of the group, Toga subtly points out the suspected hero’s. To do this right, they had to be discreet. Which is a word not in their vocabularies.
“So all we need is to get them to expose who they are? Right?”
“That or kill ‘em”
“Let’s kill them all! We should take a more stealth approach.”
You saw this as a perfect opportunity, for the team...and yourself. You sneak away from the group, heading off to the suspected hero’s.
“Hi, boys....”
You caress the chest of the taller stronger man in the group of potential heros. You bat your long lashes that in coated in a black smokey eye look. Your (e/c) contrasted through the heavy makeup and black mask.
“You boys look like a fun group to hang around~”
One of the men hover their hand at the lower of your back, letting his hand come dangerously close to your ass.
“How about you put on a little show for us?”
You could recognize the voices, having a good idea who was behind the masks.
“Okay, stay there and watch boys. This one is for you”
~~~~
“Where the hell is Y/N?”
“No idea... she was just here with us.”
Shigaraki growns and cursed under his breath. He hates when you just get up and leave. The good news is, you are completely unknown to hero’s and the media. He made sure your identity was always kept hidden to protect you. Honestly, you kinda hated it. You are proud to be apart of the LOV. You wouldn’t mind flaunting that shit. You are a sexy bad ass, the media would have a damn picnic with you.
“Uhhhh, Shigaraki....I found her.”
Dabi turned Shigaraki around, facing him twords the stage. There you stood, changed into a very sight long red silk dress that had a very high and open slit running up the side. The mask and consealing cloak are removed. Your hair is flowing down, so elegantly. The stage lights illuminate you and make you shine. Shigaraki was pissed, absolutely fuming. But when he started to think about why, he realized it’s not because you did such a careless thing. But because all eyes are on what’s his. The dress leaves nothing to the image. Your beauty is on full display for everyone to gawk at. He was seeing red, and it wasn’t just your dress.
“Birds flying high
You know how I feel
Sun in the sky
You know how I feel
Breeze driftin' on by
You know how I feel”
The red he feels begins to cool down, your voice.... he’s never heard it sound so beautiful before. Your hand glides up the microphone stand, and his eyes are hypnotized by how your fingers look so dainty. He began to think about those hands, them dusting over his skin; gripping around his manhood.
“It's a new dawn
It's a new day
It's a new life
For me
And I'm feeling good
I'm feeling good”
Feeling...good. Shigaraki wanted to feel that, having the feeling being delivered by your touch. Your lips looked so plump as they sang to the crowd. He imagined how those lips would taste. How they would feel as they sucked on his skin and bit at his flesh.
“Fish in the sea
You know how I feel
River running free
You know how I feel
Blossom on a tree
You know how I feel
It's a new dawn
It's a new day
It's a new life
For me
And I'm feeling good”
Your hips began to sway with the music. Your body but him into a trance. He fantasized about his face between those hips, licking up your essence. Squeezing those hips as he’s diving deeper inside.
“Dragonfly out in the sun, you know what I mean, don't you know
Butterflies all havin' fun, you know what I mean
Sleep in peace when day is done, that's what I mean
And this old world is a new world
And a bold world
For me
For me”
He repeated those last two words as a whisper. You are for him. He is for you. He fucking knows how you feel about it, you’re not subtle about it by any means. He himself isn’t either. Why the fuck are you both playing this sick game with each other. You are for him.
“Looks like the hero’s are moving in on our girl.” Dabi pointed out.
“My girl.”
Shigaraki started to move in, ready to turn those false hero’s into dust. No more than a foot away from the group, you shoot Shigaraki a deadly glance- stopping him in his tracks.
“Stars when you shine
You know how I feel
Scent of the pine
You know how I feel
Oh, freedom is mine
And I know how I feel
It's a new dawn
It's a new day
It's a new life”
You dip down before one of the hero’s, cupping your palm around his jawline. Your hand slowly snakes behind his neck. You bring your lips so they just dance over his. You stare into his eyes, you know who he is now. You’re certain of it. You look around seeing people on their phones, taking videos, posting on social media. Sure would be a shame if the hero... suddenly had no.... mask. Your hand that’s around the back of his head, rips away at the ribbon holding the black suede mask. Your other hand tears away the robe- all the hero’s secrets are exposed for the world to see. The screens, cameras, tweets, feed- all point at the hero. Quickly grabbing the other hero’s cloaks, you rip them away before they can run. All three high level ranking hero’s- front stage- their false honors brought to light.
“It's a new dawn
It's a new day
It's a new life
It's a new dawn
It's a new day
It's a new life
It's a new life
-your eyes snap to Tomura. He locks his eyes back at you-
For me
And I'm feeling good
I'm feeling good
I'm feeling so good
I feel so good”
You watch his mouth move from agape to a sinful smirk. You jump off the stage, leaving the hero’s and their audience to be. You don’t leave the locked eyes with Tomura as you strut twords him. As your body moves just past his, you grab his hand and lead him to the private rooms hidden away by mear fabric curtains.
/end *currently unedited
Hi, Z! Thanks for the request! I hope you like it!
Did you have a good day today? I hope so! I hope you got a good amount of sun, laughed, and had a genuine smile!
As always, peace and love
- Bread
Taglist: want to be added? Lemme know!
@bat-eclecticwolfbouquet-love
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13. “I thought you were dead”
16. “I can explain”
24. “You’re trembling”
Clarke quickly uncorked two bottles of champagne and poured them into a large punch bowl filled with cranberry juice, rum, sliced oranges and fresh cranberries, but not before ducking behind the wall of the kitchen and downing half of the first bottle. She gave the bowl a quick stir then slid it over to the large kitchen island covered in festive hors d'oeuvres and Christmas decor.
Noting a small pile of crumbs on the counter, she grabbed a cloth napkin and dabbed the mess up just as her husband appeared out of the throng of aptly dressed socialites littering her cavernous living room. He was wearing the cream colored sweater she’d picked out for him to match her long-sleeve, swoop back dress. He loved the coordination and she loved the chance to get out of the house for a couple of hours in search of the perfect matching outfit.
“There you are,” he said, his smile as perfectly manicured as the three-hundred dollar hair-cut he sported. She accepted his extended hand and let him pull her into his chest. He kissed the top of her head and slipped his hand into the loose fabric bordering her back. He thumbed down the ridges of her ribs and she felt his breath quicken against her face as he leaned down to kiss her. “You look ravishing,” he murmured as he kissed the corner of her mouth.
She smiled and pressed her palm to his chest. She smoothed the fabric of his sweater and patted the space between his collar bones. “Thank you, Sweetheart. You clean up well, yourself.”
“Are you going to come join the party anytime soon or are you going to spend all night in the kitchen?”
“Well, someone has to keep the food flowing,” she said as she ran her thumb across his lips, wiping away the crimson lipstick she’d left behind. He nipped at her thumb and she grinned before swiping at his nose. “Behave,” she said with a well-practiced glint in her eye. She watched his pupils expand in arousal and she smiled again, this time for herself. He was an easy fiddle to play and if there was one silver lining she could find amidst this charade, it’s that, relatively speaking, she never had to work very hard. It made her hatred for him ever so slightly easier to bear.
“That’s what the waitstaff is for,” he said, nuzzling at her ear.
“It’s Christmas Eve, Christian. Let the staff enjoy the evening.”
“What about you? Don’t you want to enjoy the evening?” He ran his palm up her stomach and cupped at her breast. “I know I do.”
She gently pulled his hand away and kissed the inside of his wrist. “Later. Our guests are waiting.”
He groaned good-naturedly and relented, stepping back enough to let the space between them breathe again. “I suppose you’re right.”
“I always am,” she said with a grin. When the melodic, alto chimes of the old-fashioned doorbell rang through the house, she patted his chest once again and slipped past him.
On her way to the door she grabbed three empty champagne glasses from a side table and wiped up the water from the wood with a napkin laying nearby. Christian would flip at the sight of the water stains, but she’d deal with it later.
Carefully shifting the glasses to one hand, she swung open the front door with the other, nodding hello to the guests that milled about behind her. When she turned her attention back to the door, her heart slammed to a halt and the only thing she heard above the sudden ringing in her ears was the sound of the champagne glasses shattering in her hand.
“Jesus,” Lexa said and grabbed Clarke’s wrist, pulling her out of the doorway. Clarke, unseeing, unbelieving, tripped over her feet as she was tugged down the front steps and off to the side of the house where the front lights didn’t bathe everything in an artificial glow. “You’re bleeding. Clarke. Clarke!”
Clarke looked down at her trembling hands, then up at the ghost staring down at her with startling alive eyes. Sure enough, her right palm was slick and shiny with black blood. The sight finally shocked her back into her own body. Instinctively, she quickly clamped her other hand over it until the blood receded and the laceration in her hand disappeared. When she realized what she’d done, she jerked up and looked behind her.
“It’s okay. We’re invisible.”
Clarke looked around and noticed the slight shimmering of the air around them, the slight wobble to their plane of existence as Lexa manipulated the matter around them, bending atoms until they disappeared from the naked eye. “Let me see your hand.”
“I healed it,” Clarke murmured, searching Lexa’s face for some way to make sense of any of this.
“Just let me see.”
Clarke held up her hand. Lexa took it between hers and gently brushed her thumb across the pale pink line left behind. “You’re trembling.”
Clarke said the only thing that’d been ricocheting around mind the moment she’d seen Lexa. “I thought you were dead.”
Lexa smiled sadly. “I’m sorry.”
Clarke pulled her hand from Lexa’s grasp, her confusion quickly transforming into anger. “What the fuck is going on?”
Lexa dropped the shield around them and pulled Clarke behind a wall of hedges. “I can’t stay long.”
“You’re dead. You’re dead.”
“Clarke--”
“I watched you die, Lexa! Goddammit, what the fuck is going on?” Clarke dodged each of Lexa’s attempts to reach out to her as hot, angry tears filled her eyes. “Don’t touch me,” she gasped when Lexa finally caught her around the waist and pulled her close. She pressed against her chest, but Lexa was stronger than she was and pulled her even closer.
When Lexa kissed her, Clarke finally cracked and she sobbed against Lexa’s lips. She grabbed Lexa’s cheeks in her hands and held onto her, threading her fingers into Lexa’s hair. She kept her there until they both broke apart to catch their breath. “What the fuck,” Clarke whispered, running her hands over every inch of Lexa, committing her to memory. “I saw you die.”
Immortals, they were called. Witches. Changers. Demons. Threats. Genetically altered after the last Nuclear Fall, they possessed powers beyond anyone’s explanation and the State, her husband, wanted them eradicated. His administration had killed her friends. Her family. The love of her life. She’d vowed to avenge them, no matter the cost. Sleeping with the enemy had taken on an entirely new meaning in the years that followed the attack.
When she closed her eyes, she could still remember the blinding, blue light of the State-owned helicraft descending upon their encampment. She could still feel Lexa’s warm skin against hers, the softness of the sheets they were swathed in. It was the first real bed they’d found in the Fall Zone in months. She would never forget the sounds of the bombs hitting the abandoned buildings around theirs. The screams of her family as the bombs got closer. One moment, she and Lexa were curled around each other. The next, she was looking into Lexa’s eyes, her pupils blown wide in confusion drenched terror. “Go. I’m right behind you.” That’d been the last thing Lexa had said to her. There’d only been time for that as Lexa cast an invisibility net wide enough for them to run. Only when Clarke looked back, Lexa hadn’t moved. She couldn’t have. Of course, it made sense once Clarke was too far away to do anything about it. Lexa couldn’t move and cast at the same time. She had never intended to follow. She could still feel Lexa’s name in her throat as she screamed out for her. And then the final bombs fell and Lexa was gone.
Clarke ran her hands down Lexa’s cheeks and along her neck. “You’re real.”
Lexa placed her hands over Clarke’s and squeezed. “I can explain. But we don’t have much time.”
“What do you mean?”
“Christian. He knows who you are. What you are.”
As she said it, flood lights Clarke had never seen before went off all around the grounds, bathing everything in a harsh, blinding light. A siren wailed and Clarke recognized the suited men of her husband’s private security team come pouring out of the house. She turned back to Lexa and found her outstretched hand waiting for her. “Do you trust me?”
Clarke hesitated. She peered over the hedges at the confused guests, the security team searching the grounds. Nothing here had been real, but it had been hers. She thought she’d been close to understanding her husband’s plans for people like her, but had he been playing her the whole time?
“Clarke.”
She turned back to Lexa. Her life. Her family. Her love. “Don’t leave me again.”
Lexa grinned. “Never.”
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All Emiya-san AU's are good AU's (its where my Actor Fionn lives too lol) and man there's a lot of untapped comedy gold of Shirou hearing all these stories about Diarmuid scaring away rude customers and thinking he looks super scarred up or w/e and then he meets him and it's like "??? he looks so nice?? are u sure this is the guy who nearly stabbed someones eye out???"
EHEHEHE I wrote a thing beneath the read more I looooove the Emiya Gohan AUS so much...
Everything about this situation was concerning for Shirou. It was bad enough that Archer was using Shirou’s name (the number of times he’d gotten, “Is that guy a relative of yours, Emiya-kun?” from ignorant but well-meaning classmates was starting to grate on his nerves) at his dumb part-time job (why Servants even needed part-time jobs was a mystery) and the fact that Lancer kept popping up to invite Taiga out for dinner and drinking but now, apparently, a third Servant had arrived.
The cafe’s regulars, of course, had no idea he was a Servant. Sakura and Rider had confirmed it after visiting the cafe on one of their dates, but didn’t seem to be worried. Of course, they weren’t worried. Sakura and Rider had enough power and magical energy between them to flatten the city, let alone deal with Servants. Rin also brushed off what Shirou believed was a wholly justified concern - “He’s probably just some lingering ghost from a past Grail War. Archer seems to like him fine, and he hangs out around Lancer, so what’s the big deal? If he becomes a problem, we’ll just deal with it like we always do.”
But in Shirou’s view, the Servant was already a problem. It was bad enough that the restored Servants of the Fifth Grail War could still draw upon the wild, free-flowing magic of Fuyuki’s leylines and pop up whenever they pleased - the fact that Servants from previous wars might show up too was giving him anxiety.
And this was before the rumors started.
Nobody seemed to know the guy’s name, or remember it if they saw it written down. He would pop up - always in the vicinity of the cafe - and often left behind gifts. One time, it was a bottle of wine for the manager. Another time, an antique coin for one of the waiters. He always seemed to disappear right when anyone asked for information about him, and reappear whenever something interesting happened. One time, near closing, a couple of drunk university students came in and tried to convince their waitress to leave in their car. When she refused, one of them joked about following her home.
At once, the mystery Servant walked in the door.
Another time, a middle-aged man from out of town shouted at one of the baristas until they had to run into the back to cry for the rest of their shift. On the local news the next morning, the man appeared to have been dropped at the hospital with a broken jaw and a soul full of remorse.
(Lancer actually laughed when he informed Shirou of this story.
“You were there and didn’t say anything?”
“Hey, I was the guy who had to deal with the asshole after he made our barista run off. It wasn’t a big deal, I just happened to call in a favor from a friend. Plus, he deserved it.”
And Lancer winked, like they were sharing an inside joke.)
And so on and so forth. Nobody could purge the service industry of customer horror stories, but this mystery Servant seemed to be doing his damnedest to make a dent in the problem. He was the most ghost-like of any Servant that Shriou had ever encountered.
Ayako and Kaede quickly became regulars at the cafe. Shirou thought it was hard to tell whether or not they were in love with the mystery Servant or whether or not they wanted to challenge him to a duel. It seemed to be a combination of both.
“He’s like, the toughest guy I’ve ever seen,” said Ayako, mystified. “I swear I thought he was going to tear that woman’s throat out.”
“This guy threatened a customer,” Shirou said, “and you’re happy?”
“Well, she was being rude to Yukika,” Kaede retorted, like that settled the matter. “I mean, I wasn’t counting, but I think she sent her coffee back six times before anyone said anything. She kept berating her like it was Yukika’s fault that she kept changing her mind about sugar and milk. She literally lied about what her original order was to get a free drink. It was awful.”
“But then this guy shows up,” Ayako continued the story, talking over Kaede as she continued muttering about the injustice faced by the track team’s manager. “And he clocks what’s happening, like, instantly. I dunno where the blue-haired guy was, I guess he was late for his shift or something, but he just - “
She motioned like she was trying to take up more space than her physical body allowed.
“I swear, it was like you could’ve heard a pin drop! He takes one look at Yukika and just goes up to the lady and -”
Another vague gesture like a karate chop.
“He hit this woman?” Shirou said, outraged.
“Nah, he wouldn’t hit anyone,” Kaede said, nodding sagely. “He doesn’t really need to, you know? You could just take one look at him and you know not to mess with this guy when he’s mad.”
That settled it. Shirou had to investigate on his own, since obviously no one else was going to take this seriously. It was bad that customers were mistreating the staff at Yukika’s job, but a Servant threatening humans was unacceptable.
It was time, at last, to enlist Saber’s help.
She had been living at Shirou’s house since her restoration, recovering from her injuries. Shirou hated the idea of asking her to fight again, especially when she was so clearly enjoying her life as a “normal human,” but he couldn’t afford to hold back if there was a dangerous, unknown Servant in the city. To her credit, Saber was happy to assist. She said she had been meaning to drop by and try Archer’s cooking for quite some time.
The two of them met on Sunday for lunch. Saber ordered two coffees and went into the kitchen to see Archer. Yukika wasn’t on shift today, so Shirou didn’t recognize any of the other staff. But he did notice that they all kept watching the door, as if waiting for something.
After the coffees arrived (Saber’s was left to cool on the table), the bell above the door chimed. Shirou felt the shift in the area’s magical energy before he looked up and saw the Servant himself. It was remarkably subtle, considering that it was like an icy draft passing through the cafe. You wouldn’t notice unless you were looking for it.
The waitstaff was suddenly all smiles.
Shirou looked up - and felt his jaw drop to the floor.
He did not look remotely threatening. The mystery Servant was, in fact, the most physically beautiful person that Shirou had ever seen in his life. Tall and muscular - his build was not dissimilar to Lancer, though he lacked Lancer’s wolfish aura - with a head of dark, thick curls. His face was elegant, from piercing, bright eyes all the way down to his perfect lips, only marred by a tiny beauty mark beneath his right eye.
Shirou had to look away, blushing despite himself. What the hell is wrong with me? He realized belatedly that he had come to this battle totally unprepared for a charm attack.
Is this guy cursed or something?
That was the only explanation. Why else did he feel like he would collapse if he looked this Servant directly in the face for too long? It wasn’t normal.
And on second glance, it appeared that Shirou wasn’t the only person taken aback. A couple on a date had paused their conversation to stare at the Servant, murmuring their appreciation in hushed tones; a middle-aged woman was holding a fork in her hand, oblivious to the fact that her cake had just splattered over her shoes. Two little kids were waving at him, apparently recognizing him from somewhere, and their parents had to hurriedly shush them because it’s rude to try and pull someone out of a conversation like that.
One of the waiters was talking to him. Shirou strained to listen, shaking himself.
“Want the usual?”
“If it’s not too much trouble,” said the Servant, in a smooth, polite voice that made Shirou hate him irrationally. Stupid, handsome guy. “Is Cu in today?”
“I think he said he’s on vacation,” the waiter replied. “But Emiya’s here if you want to talk to him.”
Shirou looked up, baffled by the fact that the unfamiliar waiter knew his name, momentarily forgetting that Archer had stolen his name as a cover-up.
The Servant noticed. Barely a glance, a flicker of the gaze in his direction.
Shirou turned back and drank deeply from his coffee, which scalded his tongue.
“Oh, I see,” said the Servant, sounding amused now. “Thank you.”
“Sure thing! I’ll let him know you’re here.”
Once the initial shock of the Servant’s appearance dissipated, everything went back to normal so fast that it was almost jarring. The middle-aged woman clicked her tongue and grabbed napkins to clean up her shoes; the couple resumed planning the rest of their day; the kids kept eating, having gotten bored with trying to get the Servant’s attention. The faint, drafty aura of magic passed and the temperature in the cafe seemed to rise back to comfortable levels. Definitely cursed, Shirou decided, frowning into his coffee cup.
“Excuse me?”
Shirou blanched. The Servant had appeared behind him, smiling patiently.
“Are you waiting for someone?” he asked, indicating Saber’s coffee cup.
Shirou was suddenly, oddly conflicted. Without knowing what this Servant was capable of, was it fair to expose Saber like this?
“Uh, no,” he said, uselessly. “Well, not exactly.”
The Servant waited, patiently, for him to explain. Shirou grimaced.
“My friend is a friend of the guy who cooks here,” he said, hating himself for giving it away. “She wanted to come visit him, so I’m just waiting for her to get back before we leave.”
“Really?” said the Servant, smiling. “That’s nice. You’re a friend of Emiya?”
Shirou twitched. “No. I am Emiya.”
“Oh?”
“Not related to that guy, obviously,” he muttered. “But - anyway,” Shirou blurted, suddenly noticing a distinctive piece of fly-away blonde hair emerging from the kitchen, “it’s a long story, and we’d better get going, so see you later -”
He hastily threw some money down on the table for his coffee and rushed to Saber’s side.
“What’s the matter?” she asked him, brows furrowed with concern. “I thought that you were -”
“Saber!”
Shirou winced, and then - wait a minute. How on Earth did the enemy Servant know Saber’s name!?
To his horror, a huge smile spread over Saber’s face.
“Saber, don’t!” Shirou hissed. “You have to look away! This guy’s got some kind of charm spell on him that -”
Saber only laughed and lightly pushed him aside. Though she’d scarcely used a fraction of her true strength, Shirou stumbled.
“Oh, don’t be silly, Shirou. This is an old friend of mine.”
And she crossed the cafe in order to give the Servant a huge hug. Because Saber was approximately half of the mystery Servant’s size, he was able to lift her easily and spun her in a circle. Saber laughed at this.
“I must admit I’m surprised!” she said. “I didn’t think -”
Saber seemed to become self-conscious. But the enemy Servant merely beamed.
“Think nothing of it! I had no idea you were here in the city.”
“Really? Cu and Emiya didn’t tell you?”
“They mentioned a surprise,” said the Servant, shrugging. “I suppose this must be it.”
Saber shook her head. “Of course they did. Foolish boys.”
“I must apologize - I was introducing myself to your friend.”
“Oh, yes! This is my current Master, Shirou. Shirou,” said Saber, waving to him. “This is my old friend - he was a Lancer in the previous quest for the Grail.”
“Please,” said the former Lancer, “call me Diarmuid, if you’d like.”
He gave away his True Name so casually. Who the hell is he, though? Shirou frowned as he came closer.
“Sorry,” he muttered. “I didn’t realize you were one of Saber’s friends.”
“And I did not realize you were a mage,” said Diarmuid, breezily. “But no matter! Are you really leaving?” he asked Saber. “Your Master has indicated that you might have plans -”
“Nonsense!” Saber assured him, cheerful as well. “We were just sitting down. Did you order? I’ve been meaning to try Archer’s cooking for awhile, you see, so I plan to stay here for the afternoon.”
Saber and Diarmuid walked back to their table and pulled up a third chair.
Shirou bit back a groan.
It was going to be a long day.
#fate series#diarmuid ua duibhne#shirou emiya#anyway i think that sakura and medusa should be in love
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Games we shouldn’t play
Chapter One: Friday Nights
If there was one thing everyone could count on it was Jackson Wang’s ability to be a hopeless romantic, but even this was a bit far fetched.
“I’m just saying guys Y/n is single, JB is single, which really is a crime against humanity, but anyway maybe we should set them up.” Jackson was speaking in a hushed conspiratorial tone even though it wasn’t likely that either you or Jaebeom could even hear him over the music and across the barbecue restaurant where you were grabbing everyone’s drinks and trying to get a waiter to bring the usual Friday night menu for the team or at least give you the dishes so you could carry them back over.
“Y/n just broke up with Jin. Do you really think it’s fair to force her into dating before she’s ready?” Mark asked.
“Seokjin was a narcissist and didn’t care about her. Maybe Jacks is right and we should try and get her with someone better.” BamBam piped up.
“You’re drunk Bammie so maybe you shouldn’t be making decisions for anyone. Jackson, do you have to try and set everyone up? Maybe it’s best to leave the two of them alone. They’ll find someone when they’re ready,” Sooran chided the two men drinking down the last of her beer.
“I am not.” Bambam protested followed by a fit of hiccups that belied his protests.
“It worked out for you and Jinyoung didn’t it?” Jasmine rebutted teasingly. It was true though Jackson had been the one to introduce Jinyoung to Sooran the first day he’d been on the job, over two years ago, and at first they worked well together, then they started getting along well together, and one day they were just together.
“Point proven,” Jinyoung chimed from where he was before lifting Sooran’s hand and leaving a light kiss on her knuckles. BamBam, Jasmine and Youngjae started cheering and cooing at the two of them while Jackson got this self satisfied expression crossing his arms and Mark and Yugyeom just rolled their eyes.
“So it’s settled. Next Friday meet up they’ll be here we won’t. Deal? Yugyeom go help Y/n with that.” Jackson gestured to where you were carrying a serving tray full of meat and sides and all the talk of setting anyone up on dates died down.
“Why don’t you just ask her to marry you already, you sap?” Your voice carried over everyone to Jinyoung where he was looking at Sooran like she had hung the moon. They all separated when you arrived at the table, reaching up trying to help you with the food and help JB with his drink haul. The waitstaff here were used to your team doing this. Friday nights at the beginning and end of the month were the team’s night to meet up and discuss work and the new designs as well as the next scheduled plans.
“As always our lead designer comes up with a brilliant idea.” Jackson joked. You blushed a little sitting down and Jaebeom let out a slight chuckle.
“Hey!” Mark protested the ‘lead designer’ comment throwing a piece of dried squid at Jackson and everyone burst into laughter.
“What? It is a brilliant idea. Besides, I’ve got it all planned out.” Jackson popped the food in his mouth and grinned.
“Of course you do.” all of them groaned.
“Is this really all you guys talked about while we were up?” JB asked.
“Actually…” Bambam started and Jasmine cut him off.
“Yeah pretty much. We just talked about romance. Boring stuff.” She waved a hand and gave the drunken video tech a look like he was the biggest idiot in the galaxy which he didn’t seem to notice or mind.
“You guys don’t have to do that you know.” You said mood darkening from the earlier laughter.
“Do what?” Jasmine asked.
“Pretend like you don’t know about me and Jin. I’m okay I promise.” You said.
“Oh Y/n, that’s not… Yeah, we found out about what Hyeji did. Don’t worry about her we have officially frozen her out and Jackson transferred her to another team so that she wouldn’t be an issue. If we can do anything...” Youngjae wasn’t good with dealing with sad topics so he was a little fumbly, but it was still sweet of him to tell you all of this anyway and you appreciated it.
“No thanks Jae. I appreciate it. Really guys I don’t know what I’d do without you but what you can do for me right now is to cook the food and tell me what the plan is for next month. I’m starving and I don’t want to think about Jin or that woman when we can do something productive and put the dream team at the top of the fashion scene once again.” You said trying to lighten the mood by lifting your soju glass and getting everyone to move past the story of your break up.
“I’ll drink to that.” Jackson said and everyone followed suit raising their glasses into a salute before taking a drink.
It was Thursday now and you had been ‘doing just fine’ for almost two weeks since that Friday and almost a month since the day you and Jin had broken up. In spite of what BamBam and some of the others thought Jin wasn’t a horrible person. Yeah he was a bit full of himself, but he had treated you well up until you’d introduced him to that model at one of the company’s charity functions. It started small from there, other charity functions and she’d gotten closer to the two of you. Then it went from being close with you to just being close with Jin at those functions and outside. Then it was “don’t worry about it y/n any model worth her salt would want to get to know the head of marketing for the most prestigious fashion company in the country. It’s just business”, “I’m sure he’s just finalizing a new deal on an ad campaign I’ll tell him to give you a call”, and then finally the day came when you stopped by to surprise him in his office with dinner because you both were working late because of the most recent magazine deal the company had made. You’d walked in to find him with her in his arms and instead you’d been the one to be surprised. It had taken everything you had not to put her career on ice, but you’d done it. You walked away and hadn’t looked back. Jin, however, had called every day since and left messages apologizing and begging you to pick up. He’d even gone as far as trying to get on the design floor a couple times but you’d made sure each time that one of the guys had intercepted him and put your headphones in so you didn’t hear him calling for you. Funny how that worked out, wasn’t it?
“Hey Y/n don’t forget about Friday okay? If you don’t mind when you go down there can you remind JB too?” Jackson asked, drawing you out of your bitter memories. You nodded and finished locking up for the night. You did have a little extra to do, but it wasn’t on the design floor so there was no need to leave it open.
“Yeah, sure thing, I’ll let him know. I was going to have to head that way anyway. We have a runway show coming up next week and I need to check on the tracks for that.”
“That’s our girl always ahead of the curve. See you tomorrow.” Jackson waved a hand over his shoulder at you before heading out the door that led to the elevators. That’s my girl… Jin’s voice and the barest memory of being kissed on the top of your head made your eyes prick. Like he was summoned by the memory your cell phone rang again.
MISSED CALLS 23
You opened your phone cleared your notifications and texted JB.
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✧I Need You✧ Chapter 109 [Begin: Interlude]
The first quarter meeting had been delayed by unfortunate circumstances this year. What with its two CEOs mixed up in Avengers superhero business and the downfall of a huge government agency which was hiding a Hydra conspiracy inside of it… things had to understandably be put on the back burner until the end of January. So now that you and Tony were a little bit more free and clear, you decided to host a bigger conference than normal. You had your own presentation to give inside of it, for the Board more than anyone else, but at the same time you could run the project updates from the other departments and see where development were on several other key things.
These sort of things were always nerve wracking, no matter if you were confident in the works you had started. Even if it ended up that the Board disagreed or didn’t like what was going on, they would never have the balls to start organizing another movement for removal. For either you or Tony. After what had happened last time… and now that the two of you were certifiable public darlings and heroes- they’d never do that again. It would be against their own interests.
Yet, still, knowing this, you had a two hour long presentation about your projects and initiatives. Some that went years back. It was hard to hold a room for that long, you knew. But the information needed to be out and in the light of day so that Stark Industries could move forward into the new year. Tony helped you prepare… the best he could, anyway, and he sat front row for you while you took the stage.
You went through each with power points that you and Pepper had put together late into the night the day before. Starting with the Clean Planet Initiative that had started the moment Tony had shut down the weapons division of Stark Industries and spanning the power up of the Tower everyone was currently sitting in. That was going all well and good. Of course. Running smoothly, the Tower was still sustaining itself, and Stark Industries had been able to credit itself with the reduction of air pollution, with plastic waste reduction, with fuel efficiency regulations, and new clean energy production. Stark Industries’ teams in that area had also begun their last phase of their Intellicrops project, which was something they’d present near the end of the conference.
Then came the update on the Disaster Relief Funds for both the Expo and the Battle of New York. After the initial snafu of having terrible staff that had had to be replaced, things had been running a little bit more smoothly. Though the funds had not run dry, their usage had gone down- which was a great sign. It meant people were no longer relying on Stark Industries for help. Life was returning back to normal. Not particularly important to people like the Board, but the mentions of the oodles of tax credits the company could still claim and the boost to PR through all this was a little bit more substantial to their tastes.
A lengthy chunk of time was dedicated to Damage Control’s reports about the clean up portion of New York. You made sure to include that you’d broken off a portion of the team to go assess and clean up DC, and that the warehouses were scheduled to go under a revamp after you’d been forced to purchase more property for them to operate. Company bloat would always be a thing to be mindful of, but when that bloat consisted of deadly weapons… someone needed to go through every single shelf to make sure things were not only accounted for, but to determine whether or not those very same things were worth holding on to.
After that you gave the update on the Hansen Foundation. Still up and running strong. Though it had mostly assisted and helped the veterans that had been hurt by AIM’s malicious intentions, you and Tony had expanded it to care for the nation’s veterans that were otherwise not getting the help they needed. Going well, smoothly, and in the light of mentioning the funds needed for the Foundation, you again brought up the tax breaks and stock boosts that came from having someone like Colonel Rhodes on advisory staff. It had been a huge face lift for Stark Industries. Putting its past behind it and moving forward to navigate the damage it may have taken part in.
...especially after the SHIELD leaks had informed the public that Obadiah Stane had been selling weapons to America’s enemies for fun and profit… yes, this foundation out of all of them was probably the most important one to have as a full face right now.
The last two points of business were two of your newest initiatives: M and OAT. It was a little early to be reporting on either of them in a financial capacity, but the public returns had already been great and, as you convinced everyone, very cost effective. The net gain would far outweigh whatever dollar amount ended up being on the end of this year’s reports. You were very sure of that. With OAT came the mention that you and Tony were looking to buy up another building- perhaps in DC, but not sure yet, to accommodate the expansion of Stark Industries and its brand new employees. Scouting would have to be done soon, something you said you were looking forward to.
With that you opened the floor for questions, whether from the Board or the teams that had been invited to this big meeting. There had been… many. More than you would have liked. And more than you needed about topics not exactly pertinent to your presentations. Many of them having to do with the SHIELD leaks, of course, and your and Tony’s various… dealings. It wasn’t hard to put the voices to bed, and direct them to any of the multitude of reports that already existed. As for if any of them would negatively impact the company, you had personally already seen to that your and Tony’s motives would not be questioned.
After that very public spat with Christine, the general consensus was that you were doing your job- as a superhero and businesswoman. Were someone to look up to. Were someone that people agreed with, in every poll that had come out about it. Stark Industries had remained untouched. So whether or not you should have blown up that way (you were kind of the mind that you maybe shouldn’t have and should have remained dignified about it) didn’t matter anymore. You had and the public was loving it.
Christine had retreated into a hole. Calls had stopped. Her portion of the media that followed you and Tony around like hawks had disappeared. That spelled trouble, you were sure. She’d been smacked pretty hard for all to see. There was no way she was going to take that without repercussions. You just hoped… she wouldn’t do something drastic. Better not to think about it, for the moment.
Once your portion of the conference was finished, you thanked everyone and as usual, made a small speech about looking forward to the year ahead. After that, you excused yourself off the presentation stage in the theater, wanting to take a moment just to breathe after speaking for so long. Even though you hadn’t seen him get up, it didn’t surprise you to see Tony waiting for you behind the curtain, bottle of chilled water in hand.
The next presenter was already taking the stage as he smiled at you. “Great stuff. You really have a talent for getting people to eat out of your hand.”
“You know, I think one of the members of the Board said that to me a long time ago.” Hard to remember it, now. Although the part of your brain that held on to all things painful reminded you that that moment had not been a good one.
“They’re not wrong.” As you took the water from him and sipped at it gingerly, he put an arm around your waist. “What’d’you think? Time to cut and run?”
“That would be very rude to the other presenters.” While this grand meeting would be summarized in reports that you would go over later anyway… it was better for appearance to sit through and smile.
“Hm. Yeah. Well. Then we have a problem.” Humming sardonically. When you looked up at him he grinned. “It may also be very rude to the waitstaff at Ivy Lane if we bail on our reservation.”
You settled a hand on his chest with a playfully light push. “You mean your reservation. I had no part in that.”
“It was for two.”
“Guess you’ll have to get Bruce to go.”
“Busy.”
“So am I.”
The exchange left the two of you lightly smirking at one another, probably all too obvious you’d give in very soon. He helped speed matters along by lifting the hand you’d laid over his heart, pressing a kiss to the back. “Come on. Little celebration dinner never hurt anyone.”
“Technically the conference isn’t over. Celebrating early might invite chaos…” Lilting lightly as you half leaned up.
“I can handle chaos- especially restaurant chaos. What’s the worst they can do. Burn my chicken? Spill my wine?”
“Let’s not tempt fate, darling.” Shifting completely forward to press a small kiss to his lips.
It was interrupted all too soon by a clearing of someone’s throat. And when the two of you broke and turned, you saw Happy standing behind you. He hooked a thumb towards the exit door. “Car’s ready.”
You feigned annoyance back up at Tony. “I didn’t even say I would go.”
“But you will. Call me crazy, but, I’m pretty sure I know you by now.”
That damnable boyish charm of his, with that beautiful wry smile… you wondered if Tony Stark was aware of just how much he had you wrapped around his finger. You only hoped the feeling was mutual, as the two of you made your quiet escape. And hoped that no one noticed. Or saw. Or cared.
----
As luck would have it, the night after that went perfectly fine. No one burned Tony’s food, no one spilled any drinks on you. Though he didn’t reserve the whole restaurant, the two of you had a back table all to yourselves. It was nice to just be together, to just spend some time together after everything. Really, it was starting to feel like falling into a bit of a routine that way.
Something terrible and seemingly world-ending would come down upon you, Tony, and the team. You’d all figure it out. Clean up would start. And then eventually you and Tony would pretend you knew what normal life looked like for a little while. Enjoy each other’s company. And then… something else bad would happen.
It made the moments you shared, like that, precious. But it also… served to fuel your anxiety. How many more times would big terrible things happen? How many more storms would you have to weather?
While you had decided, coming into your realization, that you didn’t want to ruin the evening, he caught your eyes in the lowlights of flickering candles, and his smile disappeared. Settling his hand over yours, “You okay?”
Your smile was somewhat bittersweet. “That obvious?”
“Always.” Such a strong and resolute statement drove a stake of warmth through your churning worries.
But it wasn’t enough to kill them. “I don’t wanna ruin the night. I just… for a second couldn’t help but think about how we always end up here. After something nasty. Like we’re caught in an endless cycle.”
His eyes lowered, thinking. There was a soft silence before he started nodding lightly. “Yeah. ...I’m still in the planning phases, of this whole defense idea, but. I think I can get Banner in by June and start putting in the real work.”
This was not where you wanted to put his mind right now, but now that you’d forced him there, you had no choice. “I know we’ve talked about it but could you just… as simple as possible give me what your “defense idea” is?” Before it had been assistance. Something to help the Avengers. But now…
“It would be nice. Kinda far fetched, but. I work best on lofty ideals.” Smiling just a little. “-anyway, what I’m getting at… I’m willing to put in the time and effort- to something that… lets us go home.”
“Is that an option?”
“I’m still in the very rough draft phases, but-”
You turned your hand over in his so that you could give him a squeeze. “I’m not asking if you could build something. I have no doubt in my mind that you could figure out something- even something that big. I’m asking… even if you did…”
“Would we be able to stop?” A breath left him, and he slid his fingers between yours, just holding on. His eyes dropped again. “If you’re asking me that, you already know the answer. But. In terms of incremental steps. Monitoring a situation is better than being on the front lines.”
Monitoring. You imagined, he meant this, from somewhere safe. Wasn’t that what this was all about? There were levels of this. To build something that would allow you to pretend you could lead normal lives. To build something that would protect the earth from the things he saw up in space, and the things he thought would eventually come to earth to wreak more havoc. But, on top of it all…
Somewhere inside you, you heard the broken plea he’d made the night before your house in California had been blown up.
Threat is imminent, and I have to protect the one thing that I can't live without. That's you.
Taking a breath, you tried to level the both of you out, and aimed a quieter smile his way. “When you say lets us go home, what is it you’re envisioning?”
He blinked twice, having to shift gears to acquiesce that kind of question. But, once he was there, the quirk in the corner of his lips was considerably wry. “Are you asking me where I see us?”
“In… five years.”
“Am I being interviewed?” Grinning, then.
You returned the expression. “If it helps to think of it that way, then sure.”
“Alright. Five years…” Breathing out, eyes going up quickly in thought. As if he was looking at something- the picture he had in his mind. “New house. Something- comfortable. I think I’m aging out of my whole playboy billionaire estate vibe.”
“Thank god for that.”
For one reason or another this got a little laugh out of him, a drop of his head. When his eyes returned to yours, he lifted your joined hands, shifting forward so that he could rest the back of yours against his cheek. “Even though it seems like it’s not up to me- I’d hope by then you’ll settle for marriage.”
“Settle, huh? That’s a terrible pitch. You’re doing a disservice to yourself, you know.”
“If that’s how you feel, I’ll have them bring out a slice of cake with a ring in it right now.”
While you didn’t think he had something like that set up, you also knew if you gave him even the barest notion that that was what you wanted, he’d absolutely make it happen in fifteen minutes. He was ready to jump for you, whenever you were ready. That’s what he was saying. It put a squeeze in your heart. “Tony…”
“Oh that sounds bad.” Teasing, even knowing defeat was coming, smiling even still.
“It’s not that I don’t want to.”
“We’re off to a good start.”
“Just- right now…” You sighed, and he mirrored it, looking the exact kind of crestfallen yet understanding that really broke your heart. “Right now is not the right time.”
He nodded, and then pressed a little closer to your hand. “But. In five years?”
Your brows went up. “Did you just turn the tables on me?”
“I was sure you’d be used to that by now.”
Untangling your fingers from his, you turned your hand, resting his cheek in your palm. Just holding him. Dearly. Lovingly. Eyes watching his. “In five years… yes. I’d like a home with you. I’d like to build a life with you. And… yes. Be married to you.”
“Okay.” He murmured, looking at you. Adoration shone in his eyes, radiated between you, twined with that ever present and deep feeling of love. That he had only for you. “In five years.”
Hearing him at that moment, make a promise. A promise to try and find a way to cull that self same chaos in your lives. The uncertainty. Not only for the world. But for the both of you. So that the two of you could have a life together. “I love you, Tony.”
His smile was so beautiful. “I love you, too.” Reaching up to hold your hand there against his face, turning lightly, to press a kiss to your palm. “More than anything.”
----
A light rain had started to fall and it was terribly chilly outside, but after your meal you and Tony decided it might be nice to just take a little walk in the rain. Happy provided the both of you with an umbrella, and at your request set a moving security perimeter of twenty feet, him ten behind, just to keep cameras at bay. It sucked, that you were having to do that increasingly more, but this life came with that territory.
Tony was holding the umbrella over the both of you, his other arm preoccupied, twined with yours as you laid your head against him. The city at least seemed quiet, not even in the superficial way that your security was creating. It was just… nice. Even the cold was refreshing, in a way. The two of you had slipped into slightly broken and soft conversation about nothing important.
It was hard to sense the subtle shift, lulled into that false sense of things being alright. Someone had been following the two of you. And it wasn’t until you heard Happy arguing with whoever it was that the both of you turned.
A little too late as a woman put him over her shoulder and onto his back in a hard thump. She was short, black hair and very pale skin- and she was angry. Tony immediately moved just in front of you, “Please don’t touch my Happy.” Calling out to her.
While she looked at him for a few seconds, her gaze skewed to you. “I don’t want trouble.” And after saying so, continued to give you the exact opposite idea as she came stomping your way.
You couldn’t help but make a face at her. “Then you’re making a mistake.” Whoever she was, she was now just short of charging two of the most powerful people in the city. How she’d broken through security was a bit of an upsetting question- but- the two of you could handle yourselves.
Said security had gotten the message that something was going down on their watch, and two of your Stark Industries strongmen came to her side. A car pulled up on the sidewalk. Tony opened the door for you, and put his arm around you to usher you inside. But, with one leg up and a hand on the door, you heard her call. “Hey-!” Whoever she was, the police could sort her out. Your plan was to leave. At least until she yelled again.
“Hey, puppy!”
It shot a tremor through you so violent you thought for a second the sidewalk must be shaking. Going in the car was no longer an option. Your body seemed to be moving on its own as you turned back to look at her. Your security was scattered on the sidewalk.
“That’s what I thought. That’s you. Right?”
Tony’s voice was so very far away. Muffled, as he called out, with a hand on your shoulder, “Honey-”
The next motions came in swift chops. The yank of your jacket zipper. The double press of the Heart Reactor. Tony was yelling something behind you- as you’d started moving. Running at full speed. This woman was dangerous. And not only that-
She was with him.
Moving to a half leap to put all your momentum forward, you charged at her with a powerful punch. One she caught, both of her hands holding you at bay, gritting her teeth at you as the two of you struggled. “Listen to me-” Growling at you.
“You work for him-” Growling right on back, zipping your eyes up along your HUD to get the helmet to release. You wanted to look into her eyes for this. To send a message to her- and him. You felt a snarl as you bore your teeth at her, “So you go back to him and tell him-”
“I don’t work for that asshole. And he’s dead. No thanks to you.”
That practically killed the fight in you almost immediately. The feeling of such raw and powerful guilt- of disgust and of wrath… you’d felt these things before. Easing up on your punch, even though she still held you in her palms, you narrowed your eyes at her. The heavy smell of liquor rolling off her was sickening. “What are you talking about?”
“It’s you, right? At least tell me I’ve got that part down.” There was a smaller air of satisfaction. She scoffed with a dead-eyed half grin. “Yeah. He’s dead. I thought you should know.” Her eyes moved sideways and then she let you go, putting her hands up. “I did what I came here to do.”
You realized the sound of a heavy thunk behind you too late. Tony had pulled a suit- probably from the car- and while this woman was strong... she was also probably no idiot. “Are we talking about-”
“Kilgrave. If you even got that far. If you even cared.” She spit at you. Like this was… your fault, somehow. “I thought he was lying, you know. Not that it matters, he’s dead now. But he hurt a lot of people. Because you let him.”
“You’re sure he’s dead?”
She hung her head, a sarcastic bark of laughter leaving her. “Saw him got hit by a bus. Yeah. He’s pretty dead.” Then she looked up at you, and for a moment you weren’t sure you’d ever seen so much boiling hate- or felt so much- directed at you before. “Superhero my ass. You could’ve stopped him-”
It riled you straight to your core. Even as you held up your hand to keep Tony at bay- from firing on this woman- you stared her down. “If we’re talking about the same monster, then you know I had no say in what I did.”
“But you got out. And you let him continue to roam around. Because you’re a coward. Live with that for the rest of your life. Knowing he hurt so many other people. Knowing you could have done more. People are dead because of you.” Then she turned away in a half stumble, shoving aside one of your other security guards who had gotten to his feet. “Don’t touch me.” Barking at him, half falling over, catching herself, and then walking off.
Your men were staring at you, waiting for direction- because two of the Iron People of the world were standing there, letting her get away. So clearly that meant they shouldn’t get involved. Right? “...ma’am?”
Tony put a hand on your shoulder. “Honey.”
With a shaky hand, feeling the earth shift beneath you, you reached up to deactivate the suit, and felt the slice of pouring rain suddenly coming down over you. The man that had taken you… one you’d promised vengeance on- the one you’d promised you’d make regret doing that- regret hurting others… also the one you ran from- such a dangerous, powerful man. The man who could command people with a single word.
...had gotten hit by a bus.
Wrapping your arms around yourself, you turned to Tony, unable to meet his eyes. “I need to go home.”
“Yeah-” Clearly stunned and confused, having no earthly idea what the hell was going on. But wanting to heed your needs.
Once the two of you were in the car with Happy behind the wheel, promising he was okay- and apologizing for letting that happen- you tuned everything else out except the patter of rain on the windows.
Fury had been right. You should have gotten out of bed. You should have made an effort. Maybe you could have caught that man- Kilgrave, apparently. That did make you a coward. The woman was right.
Stuck in traffic, fifteen minutes out from the Tower, you found your voice. “She said he’s dead.”
Tony had his arm around you, the both of you soaking wet still. “Who?”
“The one who took me.”
The air in the back of the car became suffocating and dark. “...she sure about that?”
“She wasn’t lying.” You knew it, now. Sensed it, as she was coming down on you. Everything she’d said was true. “She blamed me-” This escaping out of you in a hiccup as you reached up to press a hand to your forehead.
“She was also drunk. Which. Excusable. Given the circumstances. But. Also skews her judgment.” He was trying to defend you. And much as you wanted to give in…
“She called me a coward.”
“What more proof do you need that she’s wrong?” When you didn’t- couldn’t- answer, he let a breath out. “...we’re really sure. That he’s dead? Who even is she? ...you’re sure she’s sure?” Double and triple checking. Wordlessly you nodded. “...how did she know about you?”
“He must have… told her. I don’t know. He was a sick person.”
“And he’s dead now. According to her.” Tony’s skepticism was understandable. This was such a terrible mark on both your lives. To have it come to a quick and unforeseeable, maybe even unknowable end… it was hard to believe. “...either way. I had JARVIS grab a scan.”
“Why?” Finding enough strength to finally look up at him.
“Seems like enhanced people are popping up everywhere, these days. Seeing as how she laid out our security and held a swing from you like Cap, I’m thinking it’s not a bad idea to keep an eye on things.”
You weren’t sure how you felt about this. If she were anything like you- and it seemed like you had an uncomfortable amount in common… “I don’t want to spy on her.”
“Nobody said spy. I’m not spying.” Defending himself quickly.
“I believe her.” What she had been saying was true. You… were pretty sure about it.
“Alright. So I believe you when you believe her. Doesn’t change the fact that a woman that angry and that boozed up could punch a hole through a regular person.”
Your eyes dropped, thinking about this. ...he was right. And you weren’t sure how to feel about that. The two of you weren’t responsible for every single newly enhanced individual that showed up on the street. Not until they started menacing the general public, at least. Then it was sort of your problem.
But this woman had been taken by that man. Probably abused by him. No telling for how long. She was now angry and had a new sense of freedom. ...she was also self medicating with alcohol. And she had some pretty heavy firepower in her muscles. This was a dangerous cocktail. ...it also wasn’t fair to pigeonhole her.
“SHIELD kept tabs on people, remember? And we didn’t like it. ...I’m- I agree with you. This situation is a little dicey but… let’s leave her alone. Until she decides what side of the fence she’s coming out on.”
“I’m not trying to menace her.” There was a sudden blossom of blue in the backseat as he looked away. Guilt was very close. “...I remember. How you came out of that. I’ve got nothing but sympathy, alright?” Leaning in closer, you practically hid your face against the round of his shoulder, hand over his heart. Just clinging to him. He took a breath to even himself out. “We’ll stay worried about us. And our current situation.” Making a very valiant effort, he touched a hand over your wet hair, directing your attention his way, and tried a smile for you. “...and that five years will be here before you know it.”
Out of all the ways you’d expected this evening to go… this wasn’t exactly the chaos you’d thought you were inviting. It wasn’t exactly the worst, either. But it… definitely sucked.
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Before the Fall (Chapter 8)
The Elite Ten retreat had been Alice’s idea, so Erina probably should have anticipated that it wouldn’t be a serious trip.
The rationale had been that a change of scenery would get the team’s creativity flowing so they might come up with some event or ritual to leave their mark on the academy. However, as soon as they boarded their charter jet to the all-inclusive beach resort, all pretensions of productivity became lost footprints in the sand.
“You were complaining a lot at first,” Alice said she, Erina, and Hisako sat in massage chairs, getting gel pedicures and facials with edible ingredients. “But you have to admit it—we needed this.”
Erina scowled, adjusting her complimentary robe. “What we needed was to finish the budget for the spring festival.”
“We’ll do it on the plane ride back,” Alice replied, waving her off. “For now just enjoy Santorini.”
“She does have a point, Erina-sama,” added Hisako, whose face was still covered in a brown sugar mask.
“See!” Alice said. “If even someone as neurotic as Hishoko says you need to relax, then you know it’s true.” Then she turned to Kurokiba, who was standing by her side with a tray of hors d’oeuvres, wearing nothing but a pair of athletic shorts. “Babe, can I get another grape leaf?”
With her fingernails wrapped in preparation for her appointment with the manicurist, the white haired Nakiri’s hands had been rendered essentially useless.
He brought one to her lips and she smiled appreciatively. “Just one question, Alice,” he said, ever monotone.
“Yeah?”
“Why did you tell me to come here shirtless?”
She shrugged. “Because I love you.”
“You’re ridiculous,” Kurokiba said, though his eyes told a completely different story.
“Yeah, yeah. Just feed me another mini spanakopita.”
Despite all her efforts to look less sheltered and naive in front of her cousin, Erina could not keep her eyes from widening, her cheeks from flushing. How could she be so damn cavalier about saying something like that?
She glanced over at Hisako, expecting that her best friend would be similarly stunned, but she just shook her head. If looks could speak, the pink haired girl’s said ‘just get a room already.’
Erina was still wondering just how her cousin had become so comfortable with the kinds of words that all but rendered her mute when a member of the hotel waitstaff arrived with an assortment of trays.
“We actually didn’t order anything,” Hisako said. “You might have the wrong room. There are a number of us here with Totsuki Academy.”
The waiter smiled apologetically. “Our chef in residence actually asked that I bring this up to you when he learned you were staying here,” he said. “Is one of you called Miss Erina?”
Alice gave a mirthless laugh and pointed to her cousin, fingertips still clad in acetone and tin foil. “I had forgotten what it was like to travel with the god tongue. Everybody always wants you to write them a good review.”
“It’s so presumptuous,” Erina huffed even as she lifted the metal lid off the dish. “Please do tell whoever sent you that there is usually an application process and ten-month waiting period to observe before I try the cooking of chefs with fewer than two Michelin attached to their names. However, I’m feeling gracious today.”
It was a dessert, an egg custard mousse topped with fresh honeycomb in a bowl of delicate rice flour pastry.
Of all things...
She studied the dish carefully, weighing the simple presentation against the level of precision necessary it to make it work. She could feel her heart beating double time.
Let the records show that Erina had her suspicions since the moment the hapless waiter walked in, but once she tasted it, there wasn’t a doubt left in her mind.
She had never known Yukihira to be a particularly gifted pastry chef, but his mastery over those ingredients — ones that had been the culinary nexus of their ever-changing relationship, or lack thereof, for years now — sent shock waves crashing through her.
“These are actually really good,” Hisako said as she sampled the matcha roll cake that he had probably included just for her. “What do you think of yours, Erina-sama?”
Her gaze fell again upon the dessert, the honeycomb glazed and dripping in a way that seemed almost erotic. She couldn’t help but take another two bites before she responded. “It’s fine, I suppose.”
Already, she was planning the excuses she’d use to disappear later that night.
The hotel’s restaurant stopped taking orders at eleven and closed promptly at midnight. So at 12:25 am, when the last of the kitchen staff started strolling out, Nakiri Erina could be found pacing the lobby in a striped sundress and a denim jacket, mumbling to herself.
She had just decided — for the twenty-third time in the past ten minutes — to head back to her room and watch rom-coms with Hisako when he approached her.
“Yo, Nakiri.”
Hearing his voice after all this time, so casual and warm, sent both rage and affection coursing through her.
“Yo Nakiri?” She whirled on him — noting the couple centimeters he had grown and the fact that his hair was getting longish again — and scowled. “You drop off the face of the earth for almost a year, completely flouting school wide policies and abusing Elite Ten executive privilege, and all you have to say to me is ‘Yo Nakiri’?”
“You know, your hair looks nice like that,” he told her, unfazed as ever by her death stare. “How have you been?”
“I mean, as someone with common sense and a shred of self preservation, I’ve managed to keep myself out of the ER,” she said with a pointed look.
“Alright, that’s more than I can say,” he conceded. “And thanks, by the way. I promise I’m gonna pay you back soon.”
Erina crossed her arms in front of her chest. There was no way Hisako would have told him, right? “I-I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“C’mon, Nakiri. Who else uses Swiss bank accounts?”
Erina tucked a few strands of hair behind her ear, her face on fire. “It could have been Alice,” she argued lamely, “or Mito-san.”
“Either of them would have just said so.”
A valid point, indeed.
“A-at any rate, whoever it is that paid off the bill would be utterly offended at the idea of accepting money from some upstart commoner, so you may as well forget about it.”
He gave her a small smirk, and Erina could tell that she’d put her foot in her mouth again somehow.
“What?” she snapped, just wanting to get it over with.
“I never said anything about a bill.”
Erina heaved a sigh from the depths of her. “I hate you,” she said, unable to meet his eyes.
“I got that the first five thousand times you said it,” he told her, the smirk fading slightly. “But if you hate me so much, what are you doing down here at damn near one in the morning?”
Usually a question this direct would send Erina reaching for her worst insults, but this time she was prepared. “How about you tell me why you’re sending desserts to my massage room when you said you were going to leave me alone?”
He sighed. “Believe me, I tried. But you’re hard to forget about, Nakiri.”
“That sounds like a you problem,” Erina said with a huff. “Although...” She cleared her throat. “Although I’d be lying if I said you haven’t crossed my mind as well. Not often, though. Definitely not often. ”
“Got’cha.” He was smiling at her again, turning her insides to slush. “So where does that leave us?”
“With you booking a flight back to Tokyo,” she said. “And a plate on my desk first thing tomorrow.”
“And if I refuse?”
Despite her sweating palms and racing heart, Erina made her best effort to appear calm, imperious. “You won’t.”
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Tatte Bakery & Cafe Offers Elegant Yet Diverse Comfort Food
Kate O’Connor | Review | April 7, 2021
You might be tempted to brush off Tatte as a Boston bakery chain. However, after waiting in one of the epic lines and tasting any one of their fluffy creations, you’ll know, Tatte is worth the trip.
(Back Bay)
What’s the Vibe?
Tatte Bakery and Cafe is located throughout the Boston Massachusetts area; Downtown Crossing, Back Bay, Beacon Hill, Brookline, The Seaport, and even Somerville. No matter which location you visit, each bakery follows the same aesthetic. After (generally) waiting in a line that is literally out the door, you are struck by Tatte’s inviting, minimalist space and the aroma of freshly baked bread. There is an expansive outdoor eating area flanked by friendly waitstaff offering hand sanitizer and order suggestions. The indoor space is beautifully-crafted with monstrous crystal chandeliers that have a birds eye view of the black and white subway floor tiles, rustic tables and chairs, and the continuous amount of customers coming in to satisfy their sweet tooth, or just coming in for brunch. Throughout the entire bakery, there is an abundance of pastry display boxes which are filled with cookies, sourdough boules, quiches, scones, popovers, muffins and more. The main pastry counter is even a repurposed antique apothecary table aligned with even more danishes, ranging from gorgeously-slashed sourdough boules to handsomely rustic galettes and tarts. For Brunch lovers, breakfast is served all day, and the bakery offers reasonably priced items which include egg sandwiches starting at seven dollars, tartines for eleven, and lattes for about three dollars. It’s hard to restrain yourself from overbuying (or at least it was for me). No wonder why Tatte is on the list for “Most Instagrammable Places in Boston”....
First Visit: Brookline
From open until close you’ll find each Tatte bustling with a hurried, social, open-market energy including students, tourists, professionals, floaters, moms, and dads. So I’ve been to the Brookline, Back Bay, and Beacon Hill location, and all of them offer a different clientele. The Brookline location took my Tatte virginity back in 2016, when it was a hot summer day in June, and my friends and I were making our way to the MBTA Red line and wanted a little boost of energy. We popped in and I was blown away by the amount of people stopping by at 1 p.m. on a Friday afternoon. The consumers were a diverse array of male and females, mostly in business attire, and in a rush. I happened to notice some occasional tourists, but a lot of young individuals wearing Boston University merchandise. After a delicious Chocolate Croissant, I was satisfied with the Brookline location and felt ready to start a relationship with Tatte Bakery.
Back Bay
In August of 2019, my younger sister and I decided to spend the day in Boston and caught a ride with my dad on his way to work. After getting situated in the office, my sister and I searched “coffee shops near me”. Aside from Starbucks or Dunkin Donuts, Tatte Bakery stood out and caught our attention. According to our maps there was a Tatte Bakery right around the corner from Berkeley Street (where my dad worked), and based on my last visit, I was eager to visit again. At around 8:30 a.m, we made our way to the bakery, where I noticed there was a much larger space than the Brookline destination. Although it was a work day, I happened to notice not that many people were truly working in a professional capacity. Tatte was packed with baby strollers, couples in their thirties, and even sweaty runners. My sister and I carried out lattes, imagining that we were tourists strolling around Paris, France. By the second visit, I was getting a better understanding of Tatte’s simplistic ambience and how they meet the needs for an array of people throughout the day.
Beacon Hill:
In contrast to the Tatte Bakery in Back Bay and Brookline, the Beacon Hill scene is by far my favorite! I have now been to the Tatte Bakery and Cafe located on Beacon Hill two times. My first trip to Tatte on Beacon Hill was with my mother and grandmother on a nice fall afternoon, when we were craving a little pick-me-up. I have never waited in such a crowded place for a cup of coffee before. Tatte was mobbed with young couples in their twenties, friend groups catching up, and even elderly couples enjoying hot bowls of soup or sharing a Danish. We were lucky enough to grab a table in the small space! Yet, the raspberry linzer cookie and cappuccino were worth the wait. The following year, on a warm Saturday in November 2020, my older sister and I wanted to spend the day together in Boston and tried to think of where to go for a light brunch while strolling Beacon Hill. Without much hesitation we agreed to go to Tatte Bakery. And let me tell you, this Tatte Bakery location is the ultimate people watching destination! Due to the glorious weather, and our good luck of getting a picnic table on the patio, my sister and I were able to sit outside! I don’t remember too much from our visit (don’t tell my sister) except for how many young women were around us grabbing a bite to eat after their yoga or spin class. The women around us were definitely a bit intimidating and flushed in their athleisure outfits. However, when the young men walked past the cafe, they seemed to be on their way to a more casual spot or back to bed. Tatte Bakery on Beacon Hill had an array of young stylish couples who looked like they were dressed almost too perfect for a Saturday casual brunch. After a full stomach of Greek Style Pancakes, I realized my relationship had deepend to a more exclusive one with Tatte Bakery.
Must Haves:
In addition to presentation, Tatte is big on flavor. Each time that I have visited, I have ordered something different. However, I always pair my order with a nice, smooth latte. From Tatte, my go-to’s are their Stumptown Coffee/espresso (which I either take black or with just Oat Milk depending on my order), one of their croissants (chocolate is preferred), a raspberry linzer cookie, and their Greek Style Pancakes. Now I must say that I am not a fan of eggs, so a typical breakfast for me is light. However, when I read on Tatte’s menu that their Greek Style Pancakes were served with Greek Yogurt, housemade pear jam, wildflower honey, and sesame seeds, I couldn’t resist...or finish them. For three pancakes that felt fresh and filling, they were accurately priced for a total of eleven dollars. The pancakes even paired well with my latte! I think the next time I visit a Tatte Bakery for brunch, I’m dying to try their Avocado and Sweet potato Tartine (I love sweet potatoes) and I hope that’ll be my order on my next date with Tatte.
(Oatmilk latte & Raspberry Linzers - Back Bay )
(Greek Style Pancakes - Beacon Hill)
The Service:
The team at Tatte can be strapped for time, as is the nature of a café with more guests than tables. They keep things rolling, but you may find them somewhat harried during the lunch rush. If you catch them outside of peak hours, they're happy to chat about the menu in more detail.
Some Tips:
Tatte delivers on fancy food without the formalities of a reservation. Given the coffee-shop style seating, you either have to time your meal strategically or put up with a bit of mayhem. Keep your party small and nimble; bringing large groups can be precarious considering the near impossibility of securing a table that will fit everyone (pre-covid). Yet, stay as long as you can (if you’re not on the clock). Whether it be Back Bay, Beacon Hill, or Brookline, there are plenty of people-watching one can do while enjoying a chocolate croissant and a cup of coffee inside or outside the cafe.
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── hi i’m ashley and my golly i am so beyond excited to join this roleplay. for the quickest, least anxiety inducing intro possible, here are three things about me: i love doggos, i will tirelessly promo mamma mia!:here we go again (out july 20th) and i’m patiently waiting for vine 2.0. down below is all sorts of stuff about my angsty cinnamon roll aspen if you’d like to check it out!! & if you like her pls feel free to dm me & we can plot somthing!! i have lots of ideas so just holla at ya girl
LOCAL. ━★ ( danielle campbell, female, she/her ) hey, that’s ( aspen shepherd ), who’s lived here for ( a month ). the ( twenty - three ) year old is known to be ( determined & independent ) but you’ll find that they can be ( reticent & stubborn ), too. i heard they work as a ( a barista at the bean & waitstaff at the grape vine ) and ( come hang out ) by ( ajr ) always seems to be playing around them. ( the smell of a new book, a fresh bouquet of flowers, finding paint all over your body after an art project, pens running out of ink, the feeling when you get into bed after a long day, new glasses, sun against your skin )
HERE’S AN ATTEMPT AT A QUICK RUN THROUGH!! * IF YOU’RE IN THE MOOD TO READ HER WHOLE GOSH DARN THING I 1) LOVE YOU & 2) WILL LET YOU KNOW YOU GET THERE BY CLICKING HERE!!
the very basics
aspen shepherd aka shepherd or mcdreamy cisfemale, she/her, bisexual
born in seattle, washington, living in seagrove, florida
inside aspen’s head
she wishes to give her family the life they deserve
working to pay off student loans and become a part of the film industry, ( professional screen-writer and eventually, a director )the girl’s done quite the balancing act in regards to jobs. at one point she was a waitress during the day, bartender at night, and occasionally, stripping on the side. how else was she going to pay off school, rent, & the basic necessities?
currently working at the bean and the grape vine aspen moved to seagrove after graduating college as a place of inspiration to continue writing. it was cheap enough to settle down for some time and much more calm lifestyle from living in seattle or school in california. she’s been living there for one month
relationships
family: luca: (father, location unknown): when aspen was born her parents were in their early twenties. her father stayed around all for around two years before disappearing. reason? her mom wouldn’t say. her mother would never tell her much, other than his name: luca. marie sheppard (mother, deceased) : it was marie & aspen for the longest time. they were a team, and a good one at that. until one night her mom was coming to pick aspen up from a friend’s house and she got in a fatal car accident. aspen was nearly eight years old. olivia & william parkes (adoptive parents) : unfortunately when aspen’s mother passed away, there wasn’t any family to take care of her. either they were too old, barely had enough money to take care of themselves, or their location unknown. quite a theme. so she was shuffled into the foster care system where she truly turned out to be extremely lucky. after two homes, after staying with her third set of foster parents for just over seven months, they asked her if she’d be comfortable with them adopting her. she was old enough to have a vivid memory of her mother, and was admidst a grieving process, but she was now living in a house full of foster children who came and went, and a few who got to stick around for the long haul. it was family. chosen family. when aspen left for college, she argued a lot about how much money she would let her parents loan her. they’d always been so generous. she took the bare minimum they allowed, and took out loans from the bank otherwise. they had a family of six, not big enough of a house, and certainly not enough money to suddenly send their second eldest off to college with how much money they were offering. whenever her family asks how she is and if she needs help money wise, she always says about the same thing: “i’m great, thanks guys. yes i love you too. no i don’t need any money. thank you.” she’s too stubborn for her own good, and has gotten somewhat distant from her family as she tries to manage her life in solitude.pet: leaves a bowl out for a stray kitty that stops by her apartment from time to time
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And The AWRD Goes To... (Part 55)
Note: I struggled to actually write this chapter from how much I was squealing and pounding my desk for how cute it was.
Enjoy.
“Oh, you guys are just going to have an amazing time tonight!” Akko said as they rode to the Bakunawa, tightly gripping onto the handrails or their seats for the poor streets on the way there. “I mean, you guys already know that their cooking is great, but they really amp it up for the Tsukimi Festival!
“It’s not just better versions of all their bestsellers, too, they make up entirely new menus to go along with whatever their theme is, really show the world what the Urbina brothers can do!”
“What can we expect, then?” Diana asked, her voice wavering as the rickshaw hit a bumpy patch.
“Anything and everything!” Akko said, her voice also shaking.“This one year, they had Laughing Buns, they were one of my absolute favourites!”
“Pardon?” Diana asked as they hit a relatively flat stretch of road. “I didn’t quite catch that.”
“Laughing Buns, it’s a recipe they learned while they were still active hunters,” Weiss explained. “Someone from Atlas taught them how to make deep fried buns where the steam inside would cause the filling to rattle, making it sound like they were laughing.”
“You’d be smiling before, during, and after eating them, especially because of the savoury-sweet sauce they used!” Akko said.
“Man, I really want to eat that now!” Ruby said.
“Yeah, I really hope they brought it back for this year!” Akko squealed. “I mean, whatever else they’ll have is going to be fantastic, I’m sure, but I really want those buns again, and for you guys to have them, too.”
“Indeed, they sound like quite the dish,” Diana said. “You know, I’m surprised I haven’t heard of that, nor anything else from the Bakunawa until now.”
“That’s because this is Mistral,” Weiss said. “The cooking scene is incredibly cut-throat with its competition, and the trends move lightning fast, not to mention a whole lot of advancement in the ranks relies on who you know as much as what you can do.”
“It’s true,” their driver said as they turned into the district the Bakunawa was in, restaurants, dessert shops, bakeries, bars, liquor stores, tea houses, groceries, and food stalls wherever you looked. “You want good food? I’ve got hundreds of places that come to mind just like that, gotta ask you what you want exactly, or else we’ll never get anywhere.
“You want great food? You find someone who can get you a reservation up there, for starters,” he said, pointing up at the higher rungs of Mistral as the rickshaw slowed to a stop just before the Bakunawa.
“Not so surprising in hindsight, then,” Diana said as the team got off and headed into the restaurant.
It was unsurprisingly busy that night, the waiting area’s benches already filled with people; lively sounds of drinking, eating, and conversing floating in from beyond the partition wall; and in the distance, the faint, distinct sounds of any of the three Urbina brothers shouting and screaming, either at their staff or from sheer enthusiasm.
Aqua almost didn’t notice AWRD coming up to the desk, her eyes firmly on her terminal’s monitor, until Akko rang the tiny gong nearby. She looked up with a polite smile and a line already about to be delivered, before her eyes widened.
“Oh! Hey guys! You’re here!” Aqua said uneasily. “Look, I am so, so sorry, there was a glitch in the system, or someone here screwed up, but we don’t have a table reserved for all four of you right now.
“HOWEVER, we DO have two separate, two-person tables we’ve been keeping on reserve since we realized that, so you can guys can either eat now, or just give them up and wait for a table to open up—it’s Friday night, though, so it might be a while!”
Akko frowned. “That sucks,” she said, before looked at the others. “What do you guys think? I’m really hungry, and I don’t mind splitting up.”
Everyone else said similarly, so Diana asked, “Who’ll be sitting with whom, then?”
“If you guys don’t mind, father still wants it to be a mix of new and old customers, so, Akko and Diana in one table, Ruby and Weiss on the other?” Aqua offered. After everyone agreed, she smiled, and said, “Great! Let me just call up someone to show each of you to your tables!”
The team was soon split, each half lead off to either side of the partition wall, then to tables on opposite ends of the restaurant.
Ruby looked around at the sea of diners around them, the waitstaff going around with their trays or dim sum and dessert carts, the kids, their parents, and the other customers crowded around the decorative fish pond in the center of the restaurant.
“Man, this place is super popular, isn’t it?” she asked as she turned back to Weiss.
“To say the least,” Weiss replied. “The Bakunawa’s built up and kept a pretty loyal customer base over generations, but the contributions of the Little Sirena tactic can never be understated. Come for Aqua, stay for the food; simple, yet devastatingly effective—well, in principal, anyway.
She sighed. “I always knew it was a much more complex operation behind the scenes, but I didn’t exactly know it was this intricate.”
“I really like it though!” Ruby said. “Big, complex projects are my favourites; they really give me a challenge, feel like I’m really pushing the boundaries and doing something great!”
Weiss chuckled. “I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised, what with your weapon and all.”
“Mhmm!” Ruby said, beaming. “Crescent Rose is my magnum opus, you know! I know it might be a little too early to say that, especially because I’ve only really only been formally weaponsmithing for five years, two of them in a garage with crappy tools, but I don’t think I’ll ever be able to make anything as perfect and amazing as she is.”
“Careful,” Weiss said, playfully wagging her finger, “tradition says that means you’ll have to build a second one to offer to the heavens.”
Ruby chuckled. “And you say that like I wouldn’t jump at the chance to be able to build her again, just cause—gonna be hard to resist the temptation to make modifications and improvements, though...”
Their conversation was interrupted as their appetizer arrived.
“Evening ladies! First up on tonight’s menu: Mighty and Melodious Salad, inspired by an old Mayari legend!” Aubergine said as she laid the plate out between them. “Sliced bamboo shoots, one half crunchy and packing a serious spicy punch, the other half melt-in-your-mouth soft with a gentler, sweeter flavour!
“Enjoy!”
"Itadakimasu!” Weiss and Ruby said before they broke their chopsticks and eagerly dug in, while on the other side of the restaurant, Diana frowned as she looked around the table and found only chopsticks.
“Can I please get a fork?” she asked Liu, another of Aqua’s cousins.
“But of course!” he replied. “Bit of friendly advice, though: you might want to learn how to eat with chopsticks since you’re studying in Haven and all; you’re gonna have a really bad time eating outside major cities otherwise.”
“I’m planning to, and I’m aware of that, thank you,” Diana said before Liu left.
“You want me to wait for him to get back, Diana?” Akko asked, already holding her chopsticks in her hand. “I feel kind of bad eating first while you have to watch.”
“Don’t be, Akko, I really won’t mind if you go first,” Diana replied.
Akko shrugged. “Okay, if you insist!” she said, before happily putting a generous amount of the salad onto her plate.
Diana patiently sat there waiting, listening to the loud crunch of the spicy bits, Akko’s blowing air out of her mouth, her pleased humming as she put the sweeter variety into her mouth. Her enthusiastic alternating was making Diana’s stomach growl, but she assured herself that Liu was going to be back soon enough.
Then, there was a crash, and some yelling.
Diana and Akko turned to the sound, and a group of young men with large mugs of beer all over their table seemed to have gotten into a spat. To Diana’s dismay, Liu was the one who had to deal with it, his tray forgotten on the table as he put himself between three different guys looking all too ready to fight.
“Ooh, seems like it’s getting bad!” Akko said, turning back to Diana. “Think we should step in?”
“No, Akko, I don’t think it’s escalated that far yet,” Diana said, carefully observing the scene.
Thankfully, the men were quickly pacified; unfortunately, Liu was joining their cooler headed companions in seeing them out.
Diana’s stomach rumbled again, she couldn’t stop the frown that came over her face.
“You want to try using chopsticks until he gets back?” Akko asked.
“It seems like I don’t have much of a choice,” Diana said, picking up her set and breaking it apart. She winced as they split unevenly, a chunk of one stuck on the back end of its pair.
“Don’t worry, that won’t affect them too much!” Akko said, smiling.
Diana began to try and hold them in her hands.
“That, though? That’s really not going to work,” Akko said, frowning now. “Here, try to hold them like this!” she said, showing off her hand and her chopsticks.
The two of them spent a while with Akko modeling and Diana trying to copy her gestures, until Akko put her chopsticks down, Diana let her hold and guide her hands.
Together, they managed to pick up a sizable chunk of bamboo salad, had most of it fall back down or on the table as they tried to bring it to Diana’s plate, and ended with a small handful of salad.
Akko leaned back into her seat, smiling and clapping, Diana groaned. “Akko, don’t applaud this, it was pathetic!” Diana whined, blushing.
“But it was still progress!” Akko said. “Maybe we should just practice some more together.”
Diana sighed. “Or maybe I should just wait for that fork to get here...”
As if on cue, Liu returned, proudly laying a plate before Diana with the fork on top of it. “I’m back! I’m so sorry for the delay, there was a bit of an incident I had to attend to,” he said, smiling apologetically.
“We noticed, it’s fine,” Diana said, picking up the fork, spearing a bit of both halves of the salad and gracefully bringing it to her mouth. In a much less dignified manner, she went “Oh, Sweet Mother--” before grabbing a napkin and trying to discretely spit it out as best as she could.
“Eat the sweet kind, eat the other sweet!” Akko cried, quickly picking them out and putting them onto Diana’s plate with the back end of her chopsticks. Diana ate them in a hurry, but she was still red faced and sweating by the time she held up her hand for Akko to stop.
Liu frowned, and said, “I’m going to go get you a glass of milk...”
“Please...” Diana whispered.
“Not used to Mistral spicy?” Akko asked.
Diana shook her head as she nudged the remaining spicy slices to the edge of her plate. “It would seem Mistral likes it much more intense than both Vale and Atlas...”
“What’s the food usually like there, anyway?” Akko said. “The only guaranteed 100% authentic style food I’ve ever had is Mantle stuff, everything else tended to be changed up a lot.”
“Well, with Atlas, it’s quite the eclectic and bizarre culinary scene, more for the novelty and the experience than anything else, based on my experiences...” Diana replied.
The two tables continued on with their conversation and their appetizers, until their next course arrived.
“Presenting: Mayari Buns!” Aubergine said as he laid out a plate full of them before Weiss and Ruby. “Freshly baked flake pastry filled with pork that has been seasoned and spiced with some of the best aromatics you can forage from the wilderness, stamped with the logo of the Huntress of the Night herself!”
“Really digging deep into the Mayari mythology, huh?” Weiss asked as she admired the detail in the emblem toasted onto each bun.
“And with one of my all time favourites, too!” Ruby said as she eagerly picked one of them up.
“Really? I’m surprised you know her,” Weiss said as she took another for herself. “Most people only really know the place, never the deity it was named after.”
“Souma told me once about how much I’m like her, and I was seriously hooked after I started doing some research and reading about all her legends,” Ruby said, still holding her bun. “I mean, I already wanted to become a huntress by then, but that was the moment I really thought to myself:
“’Yes, that, that’s the specific kind of huntress I want to be!’
“The goddess of Combat, War, Revolution, the Hunt, Weaponry, Beauty, Strength, the Moon, and the Night—it’s like someone out there decided to make a supernatural, kickass version of me! Well, minus the ‘Beauty’ part, anyway,” Ruby said before she took a bite out of her bun, juice and grease spilling out all over her lips and fingers.
“Oh, I beg to differ,” Weiss said.
Ruby blinked, and looked up at Weiss. “I’m sorry, what was that?” she asked, mouth full of flake pastry and succulent pork. “I was just caught off guard by how good this is...”
Weiss blushed. “Uh, I said--” she quickly took a bite of her bun, her eyes widening as the flavours exploded out all over her tongue. “Oh, wow--” she muttered, before shut her mouth, chewed through her mouthful and said, “Wow, that was...”
“… Like a mouth-punch, but in the good way?” Ruby offered.
Weiss nodded.
“So anyway, what was it you said that I didn’t catch?” Ruby asked.
“I...” Weiss started, juice still dripping around her mouth and her hands, “… totally forgot, sorry! It’s like that bite just knocked it out of my mind!” she said, before chuckled nervously.
Ruby giggled. “Heh, kinda like one of Mayari’s stories, where she punched someone in the back of the head to do that.”
“That sounds really bizarre,” Weiss said. “Please, do tell!”
“Well, not that one, because it’s really gross, but there are a lot of other ones if you’re interested? Pretty much all of them involve lots of hunting, killing, and general badassery, though.”
“Ruby, we’re both huntresses, I’m sure my appetite can’t be spoiled by that,” Weiss said, smiling.
“Alright then!” Ruby said, brightening up, before she started retelling her favourite legends, Weiss listening in intently.
Eventually, both the buns and the stories were finished, and they moved onto the main course, inspired by a different myth from another of part of Sanus:
“Neverending Noodles!” Aubergine said as she laid a bowl of them before Akko and Diana. “Not literally infinite like the legend, mind you, but baba managed to make them pretty long! Try to slurp it all up without cutting them!”
“This some sort of Mistral tradition, I’m assuming?” Diana asked as she wiped her fork clean with a napkin.
“Mhmm!” Akko said as she eagerly picked up her chopsticks again, pulled up a generous amount of noodles. “No one really knows where it came from, but everyone agrees it’s best if you slurp them all the way to the end and never cut them to avoid bad luck—I don’t care whether or not it’s true, though, because slurping’s always fun!” she said, before she started doing just that.
Diana winced at how messy and loud Akko was being, before she wound some noodles around her fork, and started slurping them up with more restraint and less speed. Aside from the taste and the texture, she didn’t think much about the noodles, until she found one of her strings rising up out of the broth at an angle.
Akko stopped slurping as she noticed a single noodle hanging between her and Diana’s mouths, pulled taut between them.
Akko smiled and gave Diana a pointed look, her cheeks bulging and noodle broth dripping down her lips. Diana’s cheeks started to heat up as she reached up with her fork, Akko’s eyes widened as she motioned for her to put it down.
Aubergine calmly slipped in beside them, and smiled. “Got a connecting noodle, huh? That means there’s a special connection between you two!”
Diana looked at her in a panic, her face now bright red.
“Don’t worry, Diana, it isn’t like that—not unless you want it to be~” Aubergine said, winking. “Anyway, it’s still bad luck to cut it with utensils or your hands, but it’s good luck for you to both slurp it up together till it breaks!
“Ready?”
Akko hummed, Diana tried to nod without snapping the noodle.
“Go!”
Akko started to slurp it up with renewed vigour, Diana held it tightly between her lips as it threatened to slip back out of her mouth, and the noodle snapped in no time. Akko proudly ate up her prize with the rest of her noodles, Diana quietly looked down and helped the rest of hers into her mouth with her fork.
Aubergine clapped and congratulated Akko, before she went off to attend to a different table.
“Akko…?” Diana asked after she had chewed and swallowed her mouthful. “What did she a mean by a special connection, exactly?”
“Oh, just some legendary nonsense about Fate connecting two people together for some big, important reason,” Akko replied. “It could be friendship, romance, or even rivalries, which is a really good thing, or else I’d have had a lot of super awkward moments with Weiss over the years!”
“Right...” Diana muttered. “You and her dined here a lot, I’m assuming?”
“Oh, for a whole two years!” Akko said. “After we met Aqua, we were eating out here all the time as often as time and our budget would allow. At first, I thought it was just because of the great food, but eventually, I realized what Weiss was also coming for!
“In hindsight, it was really obvious, though I wasn’t really all that surprised that I’d completely missed it—I’m super dense like that...” Akko said.
The conversation quickly moved on to other, more neutral subjects, until it was finally, time for dessert, the Bakunawa’s pastry chef JP insisting on getting out of the kitchen and personally serving both tables his newest creation:
“The Celestial River Sundae!” he said as he laid down a wide bowl with two artfully garnished scoops of ice cream on either side, a line of thick, black syrup filled with glittering “stars” separating them. “Based on one of the most popular and enduring legends in all of Mistral!”
Weiss blushed. “Did you really have to use that one specifically?” she asked.
“Of course!” JP replied, grinning. “Couple’s dishes and desserts rakes in the mo-ney! Oh, and by the way, Weiss, I specifically used that fancy brand of blueberry froyo you like so much; the strawberry is in-house though, because damn, that crap is expensive!”
Weiss chuckled. “Thank you for going through the trouble, JP,” she said, smiling at him before she picked up her spoon, and Ruby did the same.
“Wait, wait, crap, almost forgot!” JP said, holding his hands out.
Ruby and Weiss looked at him curiously, and watched as JP carefully grabbed the bowl, and spun it around, so the strawberry half faced Weiss, and the blueberry half faced Ruby.
“Oh, are we supposed to feed our ice cream to each other?” Ruby asked.
“Yes, yes, it’s an essential part of the experience!” JP replied, nodding. “Feel free to dip it in the ‘river’ on your way across, by the way, it’s delicious whichever side you’re coming from,” he said, his hands making all manner of gestures the whole time.
“Can we please not?” Weiss said, blushing.
“Aww, c’mon, Weiss, it’s fun to share desserts like that!” Ruby said. “It’s one of my favourite things to do when eating with friends, actually!”
“… Okay, fine.”
“Great!” Ruby said, eagerly scooping up a bit of blueberry froyo on her spoon, dipping it in the “river” before holding it up to Weiss mouth. “Open wide…!” she hummed, beaming.
Weiss blushed even brighter as she slowly leaned forward, her lips trembling as she opened her mouth, ate the ice cream with almost painful slowness.
“Well?” JP asked as she chewed. “Is it good?”
Weiss swallowed, and said, “It’s great!”
“My turn!” Ruby said, putting her spoon down, before leaning forward with her eyes closed and her mouth wide open.
Weiss’ face started feeling like it was melting. With shaking hands, she scooped up a bit of strawberry ice cream; it fell off and landed in the river, she scooped it out, took a deep breath, and carefully thrust the spoon into Ruby’s mouth!
… She missed, the syrup-covered gob of ice cream smearing on all over the side of her face.
“Woops...” Weiss whispered, quickly pulling her hand back.
Ruby opened her eyes and giggled. “Don’t worry, Weiss, I’m used to accidents like this!” she said as she wiped it off with a finger, put it into her mouth and sucked it clean, humming in pleasure as she did. “Mmm! It’s really good, Mr. Urbina!” she said, turning to JP.
“Thanks!” JP said, beaming with pride. “But please, just call me JP.”
“Will do, JP!” Ruby said, before she turned back to Weiss. “Ready for more...?”
Weiss swallowed, and nodded.
Elsewhere, at the waiting area or in a relatively quiet corner of the kitchen, Aqua, Aubergine, and Liu, watched both tables via their scrolls and the security camera feeds.
“Damn, you can see the awkward a mile away!” Liu said.
“Now do you guys believe me?” Aqua snapped quietly.
“Yeah, this is really sad,” Aubergine said. “It’s somehow even worse than when you were flirting with Weiss, which is really saying something!”
“What are you two doing over here?” Topaz asked as she walked up behind Aubergine and Liu. “There’s still tables calling for service out there and this isn’t break time for any of you!”
“We’re working on a very important side project, sis!” Aqua said.
Topaz groaned. “That again? Haven’t any of you realized yet that it’s wrong to be breaking up their big team dinner for this convoluted plan?”
“It’s a necessary intervention, believe me,” Aqua grumbled, Liu and Aubergine nodding along with her.
Topaz rolled her eyes. “Just get back to work, all three of you!”
Note:
Joon or “Jojo” is the oldest Urbina brother, the head chef of the Bakunawa, and Liu’s father.
Juanito or “Jun-Jun” is the middle child, sous chef of the Bakunawa, and Aqua and Topaz’ father.
Junpei or “JP” is the youngest child, pastry chef of the Bakunawa, and Aubergine’s father.
Topaz is older than Aqua, Aubergine is the same age as Aqua, Liu is older than all three of them.
If you’re curious, the conversations you missed were:
Diana and Akko discussing all the restaurants and dining experiences they’ve had before their appetizer.
Weiss and Ruby were discussing their weapons, Ruby building hers, the adventure Weiss had in trying to buy hers outside of Atlas, and their training and mastering both, during the Mighty and Melodious Salad.
Akko was talking with Diana about other warrior deities and legendary hunters, as Shiny Chariot used them a lot as inspiration for the choreography of her shows, during the Mayari Buns.
Weiss and Ruby were reminiscing about dining with siblings and friends, sharing the same bowl together, during the Neverending Noodles. Yes, they also got a connecting noodle, but since they were both used to it, Weiss was more competitive than surprised and embarrassed.
Diana was managing relatively better than Weiss with her and Akko’s Celestial River Sundae. Akko thought nothing much of it, as Diana’s confessed that Atlas’ and her rigid norms and manners never really allowed her to do something like this before.
P.S. Mayari actually exists. She is indeed a supernatural, Asian version of Ruby.
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Wags and Kisses (A DogPark!Brittana One Shot in 3? Parts)
Heeeeeyyyyyy y’all. Remember when I was saying I wanted to write some more? Yeah, here it is. (Will be on FFF.net once it’s done here)
Santana should have known better than agreeing to babysit Quinn’s spoiled lap dog, Dolly.
She should have said no. She wanted to say no. She’d known Quinn and her wife, Mercedes, since they were all in high school, and Santana could say no to Quinn no problem. In fact, she relished it. Quinn was a proud woman, and since they’d started their law firm in the city almost a decade prior, they’d spent most of their days arguing. Over the last eight years they’d gone from a handful of lawyers and law clerks to a firm rocketing its way through the ranks. She made her living arguing, and spent a lot of that time arguing with Quinn. Getting to say no when Quinn asked anything was almost the highlight of her day.
But Quinn hadn’t asked her. Mercedes had.
The same Mercedes who’d been her best friend in high school. The same Mercedes who’d let her crash at her place in the city when she had nowhere else to go. The same Mercedes who’d encouraged her when law school was kicking her ass (meanwhile, of course, Quinn was on her third highly competitive internship in some international city). That same patient, kind, giving Mercedes, who very rarely asked her for anything, had to only look at her once, and make a request and she was stuck.
So, that’s how Santana found herself at the dog park twice a day for the past week, walking the ball of fluff that went by the name Dolly. Mercedes and Quinn were still pretending they didn’t want kids (though Santana was sure it would only be a matter of time), so Dolly was a stand-in until they figured out why they stopped every time a baby carriage went by, and it showed. Santana had never met a more pampered pooch, and the list Mercedes had given her as Quinn was trying to get them out the door so they wouldn’t miss their flight, was atrocious.
Dolly had a specific diet, medicine that had to be administered every day, special bedding, and, inexplicably, a collection of DVDs that were to be played everyday while Santana was at work. It was madness, but she had the sneaking suspicion that both Mercedes and Quinn would know if she missed any of the steps on the list, and she’d never hear the end of it.
So, she dutifully walked Dolly, mostly ignoring the other people at the dog park with their pets. She didn’t have anything against socializing per se, but half of the people there seemed to be even more insufferable about their pets than Quinn and Mercedes, and the other half seemed to only be there to chat up any people who looked single.
Today, in particular, she found herself in a mood. She had been managing Quinn’s cases (most of which were headed up by junior partners), but one specific one would require a court appearance that she hadn’t prepared for. She’d need to step in for Quinn in court, and she felt underprepared in a way she hadn’t felt in years. It was like an itchy collar that just didn’t fit correctly, and it seemed no matter what she did, that feeling just wouldn’t go away.
There would have been worse places to spend an afternoon. The dog park was nice, in a small green space in the heart of the city with big trees that the dogs could sniff at and plenty of room for them to run around.
Santana paced back and forth while Dolly sniffed at new dogs and played tag. The scene should have been relaxing, but she furrowed her brow in frustration as she held her cell phone up to her ear.
“Because, Rachel, I have my own problems right now that don’t include listening to you whine about how there were anchovies in your caesar dressing.”
She had known Rachel as long as she’d known Quinn and Mercedes, but where Mercedes brought out a warm protectiveness, and Quinn brought out a fierce competitiveness; Rachel brought out what one might feel if they were strapped to a circus clown everyday of their life: annoyed, inconvenienced and a bit terrified. Anyway, she had a lot of her mind. The case that they were working on at the moment was an important one. She humoured her because they'd been through so much they were practically sisters, but she could only take so much. She's gotten lost in thought but tuned back into Rachel who’d taken exception to her complaint.
“And furthermore, Santana it’s not just about the anchovies, it was the entire attitude of the waitstaff! They were completely out of order!”
“Look, Yentl, I have actual problems like what I’m going to do with Quinn’s case. If anything goes wrong with it. Quinn will have my ass.”
Sugar Motta was one of their firm’s wealthiest clients, and her divorce from famous musician Artie Abrams was the talk of the town. It was also a make or break case for them. One that would take their good firm to great, and ensure they could have their pick of clients in the future. So, a lot was riding on it. A fact that Rachel didn’t seem to appreciate.
“You'd probably be into that.” Rachel muttered.
“What was that, Berry?”
“Oh nothing.”
“Anyway, I don’t get it, Santana. You’ve got a whole team of associates working for you, why don’t you just leave it to them?”
“Well, first of all, if I just leave it to them and they screw it up, what do you think Quinn is going to do to me? Secondly, I am Santana Lopez, I don’t leave things half done. I’m going to go in there and show those newbies what a real lawyer looks like.”
“And what does a lawyer look like?”
“Me, idiot.”
“No need to be rude, Santana.” Rachel responded in a clipped tone.
“Whatever. Sorry, okay? I’m just running around in circles, and this case is killing me, and top it all off, I have that dumb dog yapping at all hours of the night because I left the green kibbles in her food bowl and-”
Santana trailed off as she realized she lost sight of Dolly. She looked around frantically, and took a step back as a blur whizzed by her.
“Frank, no!”
Santana’s gaze was drawn towards the woman the voice belonged to. She was one of the most gorgeous women that Santana had ever seen. Tall, and blonde, with legs for days and a face that even when curled up into a gentle chastising of her dog was adorable in every way conceivable. For the first time in a long time, Santana found herself at a loss for words. She could only stare at the other woman as she raced towards what looked to be a mix between a French bulldog and a poodle.
The dog that was currently humping Dolly.
“Rachel, I’ve gotta go.” Santana didn’t even give Rachel a chance to respond before ending the call, and stuffing the phone into her pocket, striding over to the blonde and her mutt.
“Franklin Beans Pierce!” The woman called again. “What do you think you’re doing? Get offa her!”
She probably thought she was being stern, but Santana could only laugh. There wasn’t a stern bone in that woman’s whole body.
“It’s fine, you know.” Santana said, interrupting.
“Huh?” The woman turned, and Santana almost had to take a step back. She was facing some of the brightest blue eyes she’d ever seen. They were deep and beautiful, and they made Santana want to drop down on one knee right then and there and propose in front of the entire dog park.
She lost her voice for a second, and cleared it to get it back (though there was still a bit of a squeak left behind). “Hi, um, hi. I just meant, she’s fixed. My dog, she’s spayed, so she can’t get pregnant.”
The blonde smiled and Santana did take a step back. The smile lit up her face in a way that was almost blinding.
“Oh! Well, that’s good. I mean, I just don’t know if your pup was that into it, but I’m glad there’s no harm done.”
She stuck out a hand. “Hi, I’m Brittany. Nice to meet you.”
Santana placed her hand in Brittany’s and nearly melted on the spot. There was a firmness in that hand, all long, strong fingers. Santana tried not to think about it.
“Um, Santana. Santana Lopez. Nice to meet you, too.”
Brittany seemed to linger in the handshake, and then reluctantly let go of Santana’s hand. She turned back to the dogs, who were now chasing each other happily.
“They’re having a good time, huh?”
“Yeah.”
Santana couldn’t take her eyes off of Brittany. Even in profile, she still made for a striking figure. Her face was like something carved out of marble, but surprisingly soft. Santana was almost overcome with the desire to cup Brittany’s cheek and pull her close. She shook herself, and tried to come up with a topic of conversation. She could feel the thread of their possible meeting coming undone, and she scrambled to catch it before it got away. She fumbled for a few seconds more when Brittany turned back to her with an effortless grace.
“I haven’t seen you around before. Is the little lady a new addition to your family?”
She was smiling again, and Santana could feel herself smiling back. “Uh, yeah, she’s actually my best friend’s dog. She and her wife went on vacation, and I told them I’d watch the mutt.”
Santana almost slapped her hand over her mouth. This woman clearly liked dogs. What would she think of Santana bad mouthing them? She scrambled, desperate to correct. “I mean, she’s a nice dog, but kind of spoiled.”
Brittany laughed again, that tinkling thing that seemed to ripple out of her and surrounded Santana in a soft warmth.
“It’s ok. I could tell from the bow she could be a bit of a handful. Even though she looks really cute in it.”
“Yeah, and I always get the feeling if I don’t put it on her, my friends will hear and never speak to me again.”
“Pup mommies tend to be like that.” She said with another chuckle. “So, no pets of your own?”
Santana thought of her spotless foyer and imagined Dolly sitting in the middle of it, holding a freshly chewed pair of her favorite Louboutins, and shuddered.
“No, they’re really not my bag.” She felt more than saw the disappointment coming from Brittany so she quickly changed the subject. “What about you? How long have you had Frank?”
Brittany faltered for a moment, her eyes widening slightly. It was enough that Santana hurried to backtrack.
“It’s just that you seem like a real natural with him, so I figured-”
“No, it’s okay, yeah, he’s like my little doggy buddy.”
Santana wanted to keep talking, but at that moment the alarm on her smartwatch began to beep and she looked down with annoyance.
“Sorry, I’ve gotta go. Dolly gets her pills in about five minutes, and it takes me at least that much time to stuff them into her snausages.”
The brightness returned to Brittany’s face, and she nodded. “That makes sense. Maybe I’ll see you the next time you bring her for a walk?”
“Yeah, for sure. I always come at the same time anyway, so if you come at the same time, then, um, we’ll be here at the same time.”
“Cool. It’s a date, then.”
Santana felt her face burning, and did her best to attach Dolly to her leash, all the while trying to keep her smile from getting too desperate. She walked out of the double gate, and back towards her condo, looking back every so often to Brittany who would wave and she would wave back. She felt a bit silly, but more than that she felt elated. Who was that woman, and how could she spend every day with her?
When Mercedes and Quinn called to FaceTime with Dolly, Santana took a moment of her own, telling Mercedes all about her meeting with Brittany.
“She must have been hot.”
“Oh man, she was! Like, you wouldn’t believe, ‘Cedes. But she was more than hot, she was amazing. Her smile, her laugh. I think I’m in love.”
Mercedes laughed. “Wow, Santana, I never heard you fall so fast. And this is including that girl you dated who could put both of her feet behind her head.”
“This is way beyond that.”
“Are you really going to see her again tomorrow?”
“Yeah, I hope so.” Santana said wistfully. “I’m going to wear something cute.”
“If she likes you as much as you seem to like her, you’re in good shape. Good luck.”
“If she likes me as much as I like her, I’m not going to need it.”
#brittana#glee#fanfiction#santana lopez#brittany s. pierce#Wags and Kisses#i literally came up with that title five seconds ago#i do not hate it
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Not a Normal Christmas - Chapter 2
Chapter ONE
Rumbelle Die Hard. (I’m still a bit out of it on pain killers because my spine hates me. Please forgive any glaring spelling mistakes)
-x-x-x-
Belle watched the snow-covered cityscape drifted by the window as they moved through the New York traffic. The snow was mostly grey slush, not in the least bit Christmasy. If Rum had been willing to come out the California, they could have at least gone to the beach, it wouldn’t have been as warm as an Aussie Christmas, but it would have been fun. She supposed it made sense her coming back to New York, the university was closed for the holidays after all, but it would have been nice if Rum had made the effort to come and see where she worked in person instead of through a webcam. She was trying not to take his refusal to travel as a sign of how little value he placed on her work, but it was difficult. He had said that he would explain why they had to spend Christmas here once they were face to face, so she should find out what was going on in that head of his very soon.
The plush dragon sat in the back seat. Belle had insisted on sitting up front because she was still feeling tense from the flight, and didn’t want to puke on the ride over to Camelot. Jefferson wasn’t troubled by this, and had been very apologetic that the limo wasn’t equipped with the correct adapter, so she could charge her phone. He kept glancing in the rear view at the dragon.
“So, are you an auntie, or a god-mum?”
She blinked her morose thoughts about the state of her marriage away and replied; “I’m a Mom.”
“Wow, clearly a cool Mom. McScales back there is awesome.”
Belle grinned at the name he’d given the dragon. Gideon would like that. Traffic slowed down as the approached a junction, giving Jefferson the chance to look across at her.
“Significant Other Dragon must be pleased you made it back for the holiday.”
“Husband. And I don’t know. It’s complicated.”
The lights changed, and Jefferson had to focus on pulling away. Once they were moving again he asked; “How complicated is complicated?”
She was normally tight-lipped about her relationship with Rum when any of her colleagues enquired how they were coping with the long-distance, but it was often easier to talk to a complete stranger about deeply private matters.
“I got a great job in California, but he did want to leave his great job here. We argued, and now I’m impressed if we can get through a five-minute phone call without it turning bitter.”
Jefferson hissed through his teeth; “Yep, that’s complicated.”
Belle snorted; “Tell me about it.”
He turned the wheel and brought the limo to a stop outside Camelot. He popped his seatbelt and twisted to face her; “But it’s Christmas, time of magic moments and happy endings. So how about I pull into the parking garage, you go in find your man. You’ll both apologise, kiss and make up and I’ll be here ready to drive Mama and Papa Dragon home to Little Dragon in time to leave milk and cookies out for Santa. Sound like a plan?”
Belle honestly didn’t think it would be that easy, but it was Christmas Eve, maybe Rum would be willing to leave early and head home to Gid. Jefferson handed her a card.
“That’s my cell phone. If the plan changes gimme a call. I can bring your bags up, or whatever. Okay?”
She tucked the card into the pocket of her jeans; “Thanks Jefferson. You’re a star.”
He gave her a wink; “Just remember that when you sign for the tip.”
Belle chuckled and grabbed her handbag as she got out of the limo.
-o0o-
The brightly coloured doors of Camelot swooshed open to admit Belle. She knew from what Rum had told her that they were made from a solar glass, as was the rest of the building. Camelot powered itself on clean energy. Had this been any other building she would have been fascinated, but this place was one of the reasons Rum had given for staying in New York. It was silly to direct her anger at a building, but she couldn’t help wishing that Camelot had never been built.
The security guard was snoozing in his chair at the welcome desk. The rap of Belle’s heels on the tiled floor didn’t wake him, but the sharp knock she gave the desk did. He started upright and rubbed at his eyes.
“Good evening. How can I help you?”
“I’m looking for Mr Gold’s office?”
The guard gave a wide yawn; “He’ll be at the party, they are the only ones still here. Thirtieth floor. Take the express elevator.”
He waved her towards the back of the lobby. She wasn’t sure if her heard her say thank you as he yawned again. His eyes were drooping shut before she’d moved away from the desk. Still at least he wasn’t upset about not going to the party.
Rum hadn’t mentioned that there was an event tonight, else she would have brought a change of clothes with her. She grinned as she pushed the call button for the elevator. Rum hated corporate parties, she was willing to bet that he hadn’t told her about it, so he would have an excuse to get out of there as soon as she arrived. He’d played that move before, and she always happily played her part, claiming a headache, or a need to get home to Gid, so they could slip out. He’d done the same when it had been her office party last year, she grinned at the memory of him apologetically blaming his aching leg for them needing to head home early when he’d seen how frazzled she was becoming with the socializing and small talk. They worked well as a team in things like that, and there was something sweet about him doing it again tonight. She was taking it as a sign that he wanted them to start their family Christmas together.
-o0o-
Jefferson pulled the limo into the parking garage. It took him a moment to find a slot in the near empty ground level, the majority of the spaces were marked for electric cars, and the limo wasn’t one of those. He supposed nobody would mind if he parked in one of them, but it was his first time on this sort of assignment and he didn’t want to get into any trouble. He glanced in the rear view at the dragon.
“You comfy back there, McScales? Not going to tell on me if I send a personal text while I’m on the clock?”
The dragon gave no reply, so he took his phone from his inside pocket and typed a message to Ariel and Grace.
Job taking a bit longer than planned. Will be home very soon.
The phone pinged quickly with a reply.
We’re making our second batch of cookies. We ate the first batch before we got them in the oven : )
Jefferson laughed, and decided he was going to call his girls and for a quick chat, so he could suggest decorations for the cookies if they got baked; “Okay McScales. I’m gonna get out and stretch my legs. Don’t raid the mini bar.”
-o0o-
The elevator doors slid open and Belle was hit with a wave of party noise. Light jazz piano music competed with the hum of multiple conversations. Waitstaff elegantly wove their way through the press of bodies, carrying trays laden with drinks and canapés. This was just the sort of party that would have Rum eyeing the exit after half an hour, but she had to give it to Excalibur Industries, they knew how to celebrate in style. Conscious of being under-dressed for the occasion in her jeans and sweater, she strolled into the crowd certain that someone would stop her and ask her who she was, and what she was doing here.
It didn’t take long.
“Doctor Gold?”
A tall man with kind eyes smiled at her and offered her his hand to shake.
“I go by Doctor French if we’re using my professional tile, but I’m Belle Gold.”
“I’m Merlin Glendower,” – they shook hands, - “I am sorry about my mistake with your correct title, I should have asked Rum, but when he mentioned that you weren’t found of flying I want to make sure that you arrived in comfort. Was the limo alright?”
It was a relief to Belle that the mix up with her name hadn’t been Rum having a passive aggressive dig.
“It was very nice, my first time in a limo,” – she looked around at the party, - “Quite the party.”
“Oh yes, we’ve had a good year. It should have been the celebration for the building being finished, but there are still six floors under construction. I keep reminding myself that Rome wasn’t built in a day.”
“Nor was Camelot. You wouldn’t happen to know where my husband is?”
Merlin laughed; “I suspect he is lurking in his office. I’ll show you the way.”
-o0o-
Jefferson had decided to wait in the back seat with McScales where there was more leg room. He watched the large black truck pull into the garage and thought it was a strange time for a delivery. Then again what did he know about the workings of a cooperate giant. He settled back against the seat and flicked the DVD player on.
“Now, there are people who will tell you that this is a Halloween film, but I say that if it features Santa Claus then it’s a Christmas film as well.”
Focused on the opening monologue of the film, Jefferson didn’t notice that the men exiting the truck looked very disreputable for deliverymen. It wouldn’t be until much later that he thought to be glad that they hadn’t glanced in the direction of the parked limo.
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Covid-19, Weddings, Events, and The Future: A Message
Last week I published a podcast and a YouTube video about the novel Coronavirus and the way in which my business was approaching it. My position and advice to engaged couples was to stay calm, wash your hands often, and proceed with common sense. My advice to wedding professionals was the same, with an added caveat suggesting that we all work towards finding innovative solutions to the new problems that our clients would be facing.
In 48 hours the world changed dramatically. First, with Nevada declaring a State of Emergency, and then the country following suit. Suddenly, we are facing massive shutdowns in the hospitality industry. Flights are canceled, restaurants are closed, and the level of fear and panic has taken the general public to a place that I have not seen in my lifetime.
My heart goes out to all of the couples and clients faced with the reality that their celebrations can no longer happen the way in which they dreamed of them. I love the optimism of those who are choosing to move forward and respect the concerns that others have who need to postpone. I am deeply moved by and concerned for all of the businesses that are being impacted, and I feel absolutely horrible for the front line employees that are losing their jobs. Waitstaff, valets, banquet captains, cooks and chefs are all in compromised positions. The economy is unstable, the stores are empty, and people are fighting with one another over toilet paper as they try to practice social distancing. We look to the media for information and instead find politics and panic.
Which begs the question: Where do I stand now?
Exactly where I did last week. I fully acknowledge that we are in an unprecedented situation, the likes of which I have never seen in my lifetime. And yet I look back over the collective human experience and the things that we have lived through. As a nation, we have survived the Cold War, 9-11, the Crash of 2008, H1N1, and Ebola. Individually, we each have had our own trials and tribulations, but here we are. Different from how we once were and forever changed, but here.
None of us know what the future will hold, and it is for that reason that I wholly go back to my Why. When bad things happen, and they always happen, we need good things to look forward to and look back on. Some people think it is frivolous to celebrate now. I believe the opposite. How we come together, what we celebrate, and the stories we tell define our humanity. They are the benchmarks of our legacy, and the thing that connect one generation to the next.
Today, right now, we need to be both calm and vigilant. Use common sense, wash your hands, and maintain whatever lifestyle you need to in order to be mentally comfortable.
Economically, seek out ways to support local businesses. The goal is not to cancel weddings and events, but to postpone them and execute them with innovative ideas that will allow us all to gather in new and meaningful ways. Internally, we are working on unique seating arrangements to increase the distance between guests, adding hand wash stations to the main space, and adding another layer of sanitation to all surfaces. We are deploying the use of 360 degree cameras to broadcast weddings to older guests who may not be able to attend in person, and working with our tech teams on virtual experiences and live streaming.
Emotionally, remember that life is worth living because we have each other. The relationships we have, the memories we make, and the promise of the future is what sustains us. As much as I would hope that it isn’t so, Covid-19 is going to change us all irrevocably. Ultimately, however, we will continue to come together. We will celebrate, congregate, and live our lives because that’s what we do
And when you are ready to come back into the world and celebrate again, I will be here.
Always…
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