#best solo holiday tradition

[thetragicallynerdy]

Time to go to the christkindle markt :3

[cartermagazine]

Today In History

Dana Elaine Owens born March 18, 1970, better known as Queen Latifah is a Grammy and Emmy Award - winning and Oscar - nominated musician, actress, producer, label president, author, and entrepreneur.

She has earned six Grammy Award nominations, as well as a Grammy Award for Best Solo Rap Performance in 1994. In 2004, she was nominated for Best Female Rap Solo Performance for “Go Head.” In 2005, she was nominated for Best Jazz Vocal Album for The Dana Owens Album, and in 2008, she was nominated for Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album for Trav’lin Light.

Her previous film credits include Jungle Fever, Set It Off, Chicago, Bringing Down the House, Beauty Shop, The Last Holiday, Life Support, Bessie, Girls Trip, and End of the Road. Her television credits include Living Single and Star. Latifah starred in the live television adaptations of The Wiz Live! for NBC and The Little Mermaid Live! for ABC.

Latifah can currently be seen in the hit CBS series The Equalizer, for which she is also an executive producer.

All Hail The Queen 👑

CARTER™️ Magazine

[rewritingcanon]

do you have any headcanons about post-hogwarts scorbus? :)

oh DO i!!

scorpius gets a huge glow-up after hogwarts sometime around his mid twenties and everyone is shocked by it except albus (who always thought scorpius was drop dead gorgeous) and draco (who knew astoria’s model genes would kick in sooner or later)

i think most of nextgen would do better than their parents and not marry as mind bogglingly early as them. all except scorbus, who would probs marry each other at 19 or some ridiculous bs.

would have the weddings to end all weddings too. theres no “small intimate gathering” absolutely not, not with DRACO MALFOY being the grooms father 💀💀 its more fancy than the royals i swear its making headlines.

also albus would take on the malfoy name in my opinion. no hyphenation, just full integration

scorpius will be over at the potters house every second week just to suck up to all of them and win the favour of everyone especially ginny (because ginny is the alpha of the household). hes of the opinion that he cant ask albus to marry him unless everyone accepts him (they all do but scorpius doesn’t believe it for at least eight months).

he also tries to win rose’s favour but she pretends to not gaf just to fw him.

i always go back and forth between their careers, im never set on one. for scorpius i predominantly like the idea of him being a healer and going through the wizard-equivalent of med school because it just feels like something he would needlessly put himself through. i also like him doing a career he’s passionate about, like something to do with history, or working in a really obscure department of the ministry.

i fluctuate with albus’ career the MOST. i can see him working a desk job and hating it and being that guy whos disassociating staring at the clock on the wall waiting for his shift/workday to be over do he can go home and love all over his husband. i also see him quitting it all to go full house-husband/stay-at-home dad when he gets sick of it. but i think he’d like having a muggle career better than a wizard one.

albus does ALL the cooking. scorpius is BANNED from touching the kitchen because he burns everything (poor thing tries his best)

the only reason they didn’t move out immediately after graduating was because scorpius was scared to leave draco alone in the manor. so draco pretended to be sick of albus basically staying over at the manor every night to push scorpius to do what he wanted

i think scorpius and albus would move into a young-adultish flat/apartment when they first move in together, even though they can def afford a proper home 😭😭

they still literally follow each other everywhere. deadass cannot separate them.

ginny goes on solo holidays with the boys 😭😭💀💀💀

scorpius is an early waker and albus will sleep until 3pm if not roused. albus keeps wanting to wake up early to make scorpius breakfast in bed but alas hes not built for it…..

albus has to teach scorpius how to not be so ostentatious when buying things for their home or nursery or whatever. that boy has no idea how to save his money 💀

always go to family functions in matching accessories like ties or watches or socks or jewellery or SOMETHING. they just have to outdo all the other couples there smh.

also always wears matching pyjamas because they’re sickening

albus would be more passionate about following the tradition of naming their kids after stars/constellations than scorpius would be.

albus is very wifey material like he gives scorp the best massages after work, runs him hot baths, cooks and cleans, handles financials, spoils scorpius by buying him lots of things he likes (tbf scorpius is very easy to please), listens to his rants, so whenever scorpius feels hes not doing enough he’ll panic and buy out an entire cinema for a date night or something similarly corny 💀

albus gets the white streaks in his hair that make him a honorary malfoy

albus gets a pot belly when he’s older im so passionate about this

i also like the idea of scorpius needing to wear glasses when hes old too

lmk if you want more scorbus hcs i am always ready and willing to yap about scorbus

[warningsine]

The funniest show on television is Girls5Eva, which transplanted from the backwoods of Peacock to the mires of Netflix for its third season. While a lot of shows have taken off after landing on Netflix — You, for instance — Girls5Eva, from the data available publicly, didn’t get many viewers on the platform. I’m no expert on the mechanics of streaming, but I have one radical explanation for why this is happening: There are simply not enough episodes of Girls5Eva available to watch. On Peacock, the show had two eight-episode seasons. Netflix has given it an additional six. That means that Girls5Eva has aired, in total, only 22 episodes, about the same number as a full-season order of an old-fashioned network sitcom like 30 Rock, to which Meredith Scardino’s series is deeply indebted (Scardino wrote on 30 Rock; Tina Fey is a Girls5Eva executive producer). Over a three-year period? This is simply not enough!

Sitcoms are built for mass production and consumption, with dynamics between characters designed to generate an endless stream of story lines, and it can take a season or two to fully gel. Girls5Eva is lucky enough to have a distinct sensibility and a strong cast from the start, but it hasn’t had the space to work through all the possible material. There’s so much to mine in flashbacks to the girl group’s checkered early-aughts past, in Wickie’s failed solo career, in Summer’s wackadoo Christian upbringing, in Gloria’s fraught lesbian drama, and in Dawn’s attempts to find her own way as a songwriter (plus the larger meta arc of Sara Bareilles coming into her own as a comedic actor). Season three, in which the crew goes on tour around the country, tries to cover so much ground it’s like a distance runner sprinting at her vO2 max. The overarching plot — they want to perform at Radio City Music Hall — encroaches on all the fun along the way, rushing past a guest appearance from Cat Cohen, the reveal of Wickie’s real backstory, and an intricate Harry Styles parody. Sitcoms should be about all the fun everyone is having along the way, and we’ve lost that.

But there is another and perhaps more important reason that we need longer seasons of Girls5Eva: holidays. Network sitcoms, airing on a traditional schedule, have the opportunity to set episodes around the holidays near which they would air; think of the Thanksgiving episodes of Friends, The Office’s Christmas episodes, 30 Rock’s impeccable use of Leap Day. In my ideal universe where Girls5Eva has 22-episode seasons, Netflix would also abandon the binge strategy and air those episodes weekly, but that’s not a necessity. You could still drop them all at once, which gives me the opportunity to revisit the holiday episodes as those holidays occur throughout the year. If you need convincing, here are my suggestions for some holidays the Girls5Eva might celebrate:

Christmas (duh): Dawn tries to write a Christmas song; Wickie reveals a longstanding feud with Mariah Carey (she claims one of the items from her riff rolodex appears in “All I Want for Christmas Is You”; Mariah does not know her).

Thanksgiving: The girls try to book a gig at the Macy’s Parade (as Peacock actually had the stars do, to the confusion of my parents watching at home) while also atoning for their past sins at the event (revealed in flashback).

Valentine’s Day: Gloria revisits a past relationship with Taylor Lautner (she was his dentist).

Tax season: Summer reveals she hasn’t been paying taxes for years (thought you were covered if you already paid your church).

Presidents’ Day: Dawn tries to write a song about Lincoln being sexy, inadvertently offends a gay activist group.

Pride month: Return of Bowen Yang’s lip-sync influencer.

Cuffing season: Big for Gloria.

The Feast of San Gennaro: Big for Dawn (why is the show so all-in on Sara Bareilles being Italian??).

V-E Day: Wickie and Dawn’s husband, Scott, discover their mutual fascination with the Eastern Front: “I spent a lot of time touring post-Soviet states, okay!”

Casimir Pulaski Day: Gloria has beef with Sufjan Stevens.

[the-badger-mole]

Solstice

Winter Solstice was one of the most important celebrations in the Southern Water Tribe, not just because of the cultural significance and honoring of the spirits of the ancestors, but because the holiday and the lead up to it broke the monotony of the long, dark winter months. Katara always loved these celebrations, but in the years following the war, it wasn't always possible for her to be there. For the first few years, it was because she was dating Aang. He'd always found reasons to avoid the Southern Water Tribe's holiday feasts, and of course he couldn't spare Katara at the time as she was indispensable in his duties as Avatar . Katara called these the dark years. It took her longer than she was comfortable admitting to realize what her now ex was doing.

After her break up, she made a point to go home as often as she could, though her solo diplomatic travels sometimes meant that she wouldn't be able to go to every celebration. She missed a few Solstice celebrations, and that made her sad, but she found ways to celebrate with her family in spirit wherever she was. When she took up her first permanent post as Ambassador in Ba Sing Se, she would host a Solstice celebration with her staff whenever they couldn't make it home. It was a tradition she continued when she was transferred to the Fire Nation.

King Kuei had never expressed much interest in the Winter Solstice traditions while Katara was in his court, but the first year Katara was in Caldera, Zuko asked if he could join in. He and a few members of his own staff joined in the feasting and games and gift exchanges. It was a welcome addition to Katara's team of a dozen. During her time serving as Ambassador, Zuko did his best to make sure Katara and her team could go home for Winter Solstice each year for a few weeks, but in the years she couldn't go, he would help her set up the celebrations in the palace.

The last year she served as ambassador, she went home for Winter Solstice, with Zuko by her side. It was his first "proper" Winter Solstice, as Katara called it. Her family had welcomed him with open arms. Gran Gran had made him his own blessings box with his name for well wishers to leave him gifts and blessings for the coming year. He'd gone out with Sokka, Hakoda and the men of the tribe to hunt for the meal for that year's celebrations. It was easy to see now why the Winter Solstice was so important to Katara. Later, while they watched the Southern Lights dance across the dark winter sky, he slipped his hand into hers. Silently, he made a promise that he would make sure that he and his family would make it to the Southern Water Tribe for as many Winter Solstice celebrations as they could.

[sakurapika]

Supermarket Bouquet

A short story for Azurido Week

Theme: Roses

Word Count: 971 words

Summary: A certain octopus, who is both a businessman and a helpless romantic, takes a quick trip to the supermarket.

Please enjoy :)

No unnecessary purchases.

This was the ground rule Azul had set when he and the twins had first stepped into the supermarket. They were only there to buy a few emergency ingredients for tonight’s dinner rush. It was supposed to be short: in and out. Still, although he emphasized their goal multiple times on the commute there, he couldn’t guarantee that the Leech brothers remembered the original objective. 

He steered his shopping cart towards the spice aisle, catching a glimpse of Floyd filling his own with sugar cookies and macarons. Azul stopped to give him a disapproving glare.

“I just wanted--”

“No.”

“But they’re on sale--”

“No!”

“Whatever, man! I’m gonna pay for this with my own money, and I’m not gonna share.”

Azul simply let him be, wondering if his stress was getting to his head. Under normal circumstances, Azul would’ve been ecstatic that tonight was Valentine’s Day. Students would come flocking to the Mostro Lounge, begging to be squeezed in for reservations. Even better, they brought their significant others--fewer solo diners meant more available tables, and twice the customers! But word had gotten out that the Mostro Lounge was fully booked for the 14th of February, and so people had started booking for the weekends surrounding the holiday. As a result, there was already a shortage of spices, fruits, and seafood--and not enough time to order more from their usual suppliers. 

Therefore, just a few hours before the dinner opening hour, the three of them had set out off campus to buy their last-minute necessities.

Azul approached the spices and herbs, quickly gathering the best-looking peppers, rosemary, and bay leaves he could find. Everything on his list was accounted for. Knowing that Floyd was a helpless case, he moved on to find Jade. 

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the bouquets. 

Growing up in the Coral Sea, Azul had read about the landfolks’ traditions, including giving flowers to your beloved. He didn’t understand the appeal back then. His own home was in a considerably deep part of the sea, where sunlight scarcely reached the floor. Sure, when he swam up to the reefs to go to school, he did see beautiful plants, coral and sponges around, but they were just there. They were unremarkable.

And when he came to the land, he certainly was caught off-guard by the plants that grew up on the surface. The grass was greener. There were massive trees taller than whales. There were blossoms in every season in colors that were so crisp, so striking, they should’ve been forbidden. No wonder the landfolk liked to give their loved ones flowers on Valentine’s day. It was a reminder of how beautiful it was to be part of this world.

Azul lingered in the floral aisle, the sweet fragrance overwhelming his senses. After his transition to life on land, he had gotten used to flowers--or so he thought. He had eventually convinced himself of the reality: people didn’t really buy flowers on any occasions aside from birthdays, graduations, recitals, and Valentine’s Day. Other than that, it was no big deal. But now was the season, and suddenly everyone was scrambling to buy them. Of course, the supermarket would make this common commodity cost three times as much as usual. It was how the basic principle of supply and demand worked.

But, how beautiful they are! Azul gushed to himself, admiring the petals of the tulips, brushed in a soft blush, as well as the rich, regal purple of the orchids. I can’t justify buying this for myself, though. If only there was someone who loved flowers as much as I do…

Then he realized that this supermarket sold roses.

And suddenly, Azul was grinning like a madman, even laughing to himself, as he lifted the bouquets one by one, checking to see which roses had the reddest petals. He couldn’t stop thinking about it: What is he going to think? He would never expect this. He'd be so happy if I bought these for him out of the blue. Oh, I’m so generous, I’m so benevolent. I’m going to cast a spell on these flowers so he can look at them forever--

“I’m done,” Jade said, appearing with his cart of seafood, fruits, and an inconspicuous bag of shiitake mushrooms (which, for the record, weren’t on the list).

Azul scooped up the bouquet he was eyeing, the very best one. “Very well. Get your brother, and let’s get out of here.”

“Guys!” Floyd called from the checkout line, “I’m already here! Move it!”

They hurried to combine their groceries to be scanned, and Azul whipped out his credit card to pay for everything. 

Floyd pointed to the bouquet. “Um, that wasn’t on the list.”

“No. It wasn’t,” Azul remarked candidly, swiping his card.

Jade said, “Doesn’t that mean it’s an unnecessary purchase?”

“Oh, I assure you, everything I do is deliberate.”

He glanced at his watch--four o’clock already?! One more hour before the dinner time rush, and it took thirty minutes to get back on campus. The trio threw their groceries into their shopping bags, except for the roses, which Azul clutched to his chest to keep them from getting crushed. Even though they had to run to catch the bus, and there was so much to do before opening, he couldn’t stop thinking about Riddle. 

It didn’t matter that Riddle had grown up surrounded by roses--they grew around his childhood home, around his new school dorm, everywhere. He kept roses on his desk and pinned to his jacket. But he never failed to smile when he saw those bright petals or smelled its sweet fragrance. Riddle was in love with the ordinary, and Azul was in love with him. For Azul to see that everyday smile again, well, it was absolutely necessary. 

The End

[inthelittlewood]

Any plans after Rats SMP ends? Solo content? Find a new SMP?

I've been getting this question a lot since the Rats end was confirmed and it's very reassuring that I've put my best foot forward this past month or two (I'm glad you've enjoyed it all!)

Currently I've no plans. That's the honest truth.

Rats episodes will likely see the YouTube channel through to mid January and streams should last until early Jan, at a guess

But then, it's a big unknown...

The next Life series has no date but Grian has said 2023, that can be as short lived as 6 weeks so that's more of a flash in the pan project than a proper SMP

I don't have another SMP to transition to (and I stress this every time, PLEASE DON'T pester people in existent SMPs to add me. That won't achieve anything and will likely only put them off the idea entirely)

I'd love to make some content themed around Blockbench and coding. It will be January after all, it's almost tradition at this point that I go on a development binge haha

Those videos wouldn't be tutorials but more 'making your comments in Minecraft' type ones instead

As for episodical / long form content, I'm clueless. I'll have to do some research over the holidays and see what others are up to to try and draw inspiration then calve a niche so I stand out

Vault Hunters? Too grindy from what I've seen / been told

Hardcore World? Unless I'm missing something, are these literally just single player world series people do and there's the risk I lose everything (no thanks!)

I've done some build homework recently for Fwhip and Sausage. Those were really fun exercises and something I'm going to keep up with because historically I've always had minimalist / ugly bases and I certainly feel behind my peers on that skillset, so I need to brush up!

The truth of it is.. The Rats SMP is perfect for me. A little building (leaning in to pixel art which is my only slight artistic capability), a unique environment to explore, unfamiliar dangers, plenty of room for light roleplay and improv comedy, all wrapped up with a light overarching narrative. It's now my favourite MC experience ever (yes, even moreso than the ADVENTure)

So there you have it. I'm reinvigorated and more in love with Minecraft than ever before but have absolutely no clue how to apply myself!!

I plan to do a community post on YouTube and vet my chat / discord on content preferences as we have to remember, this is a job at the end of the day. Gotta please the people, but I certainly won't be making videos for the sake of making them. They won't have that same spark if I do.

If you've any thoughts, comment away 👋

[bangtanhoneys]

BTS Wedding Series: The Proposal

SEOKJIN 

So he had everything planned…near enough. He had booked one of the fanciest restaurants in Seoul, In Space, located at the Arario Museum. The courses were going to cost a pretty penny but this night had been about a month in the making and he wasn’t going to let anything ruin this. 

In a private area of the restaurant, a table for two had been set up with a vase of a dozen red roses in the middle, expensive wine and an expensive private chef to cook the food in front of you. Convincing you to come to a restaurant like this, to glam up and put on the fanciest dress you had, was a trial in itself. It wasn’t your anniversary or your birthday or Seokjin’s birthday. So why the need for fancy?

“Because I pulled a few favours to try this place and I’m eating there at least once in my life,” Seokjin had explained while going through your wardrobe to find one of the dresses he liked. So you got glammed up, got in the hired car and here you were, wondering not for the first time in the evening what was happening. 

By the time dessert came along, the two of you were completely stuffed. You certainly got what you paid for with a four-course meal, using fine ingredients, with an incredible view and a private chef to talk you through what he was cooking and how he was cooking it. 

The dessert was a round chocolate ball, with various flavours of sorbet and ice cream and a pot of melted chocolate to pour over the ball. Seokjin grinned behind his hand as he watched you pick up the pot and with childlike glee, pour the chocolate over the ball and watch it melt like magic. 

Now you’d expect the ball to be filled with some kind of cheesecake or dessert but instead, the ring Seokjin had picked out those years ago laid perfectly in its open box, glinting in the candlelight. 

“No way,” you gasped as you put the pot down then turned to look at your boyfriend with amazement. “And here I thought I forgot our anniversary.”

“No, that’s another three months away. This,” he said as he plucked the ring out of its box and held it in front of you, “is a proposal. One I’ve spent a lot of time on so it would be wonderful if you said yes otherwise it’s going to look a bit awkward.”

Only he could downplay his own proposal, make it seem like nothing when it was everything and the ring he had picked was simply gorgeous. “Well let’s not make things awkward. Yes, one hundred times yes.”

It certainly wasn’t awkward when he slipped the ring onto your finger, it wasn’t awkward when he kissed you, it wasn’t awkward when you finally realised what was happening and you were engaged to your best friend. It became a little awkward when the staff started cheering, the chef cheering louder about how his chocolate invention worked perfectly this time. 

YOONGI

You both had decided to go to your parents for Christmas this year with plans to meet Yoongi’s parents for the New Year. It had been hard to do something with both sets of parents because of Yoongi’s schedule but now the group was focusing on solo projects, this meant holidays were now family time. 

One of the traditions your parents kept up was stockings at the end of the bed that could be opened in the morning before coming down for the main presents and since Yoongi had come into your life all those years ago, they had one ready for him at the end of your bed. It was a cute little tradition, stockings filled with random bits and bobs. 

You both had snuck something in each stocking the night before, thinking each other wouldn’t have a clue what was going on. For Yoongi, it had been the perfect time to finally propose to you. He could do it in the comfort of your family home, yet not in front of your parents (you never know, something could go wrong). That didn’t mean he hadn’t already spoken to them beforehand about plans to propose to you and had received their blessings, so he was now more than ready to get that ring on your finger. 

You, on the other hand, had decided to be an idiot and pile his stocking full of tangerines which would spill out the moment he opened his stocking. 

“Come on, let’s open our stockings,” you said as you gently poked at his chest. Yoongi groaned and rolled over, glanced at the time and then groaned even louder. “It’s five in the morning, why don’t you go back to sleep?”

“Nope. Excited. Come on.” 

There wasn’t going to be anything to stop you so Yoongi let out a long yawn and sat up, rubbed at his shoulder for a moment then reached over to the bottom of the bed to pull the two stockings over. He plopped yours in your lap, then settled against the pillows to open his. Tangerines, many tangerines, spilled over his chest, and his lap then rolled off the bed and across the floor.

“What the hell,” he went to yell but you shushed him before he could, reminding him of the time. The look he shot you reminded you easily of a grumpy cat. 

You giggled to yourself then began pulling out presents, opening them, chuckling at all the silly presents your parents had gotten you. You finally got to the last one, a small box and ripped the wrapping from it. A small grin settled on Yoongi’s mouth when he saw what present you got to so he picked up one of the many oranges and began to peel it. 

“What’s this?” you whispered then opened the box, the sapphire glittering at you from where it sat on what was clearly an engagement ring.

“Marry me?” Yoongi asked, holding out a segment of tangerine for you to eat. You looked at him completely dumbfounded and ate the segment without thinking, allowing Yoongi to take hold of the ring and slip it onto your finger.

“Hang on! I haven’t said yes!” 

“You ate the orange, you accepted, deal with it.”

You pouted at Yoongi who grinned at you and held out another segment. “Yes?”

“Yes. Always yes.”

HOSEOK 

If you know Hobi enough, and you did, he liked to do things differently and slightly over the top. He was dramatic with everything he did though the silence and dark eyes when he went into focus mode often worried you. So for the past week or two, he had been silent and brooding almost. Locked away in his studio, planning, though you didn’t know what exactly. Even the boys had been unaware of what Hobi had planned, they were none the wiser. 

After walking on eggshells, for what felt like forever, Hobi came bouncing home one day to ask you to reserve your weekend for him and him only as he had plans. Of course, he didn’t say what plans and he didn’t exactly allude to anything else other than get your fancy dress on and meet him at HYBE. 

Staff cleared the entrances and lifts for you, directing you to go all the way up to the top where they had created a space for events. By the time you got to the floor, everywhere was completely empty and very few lights had been left on for you. 

“Hobi?!” you called out, gripping the bag you had brought with you. “You’re making me nervous here.”

Somehow you managed to find the double doors which you pushed open, letting out a gasp at what you saw. Ivory material had been laid out across the floor like a carpet, an aisle had been formed with a mix of ivory flowers (hydrangeas, roses, lilies) and candles. They led the way from the doors to the end of the room where there were massive lit-up letters that spelt out ‘MARRY ME,’ large white balloons floating behind the sign. 

Right in front, how could you miss him, was Hoseok on one knee, waiting for you. 

“You had me so worried,” you tearfully laugh as you walk up the material and take everything in, including the gorgeous ring that lay in a box in Hoseok’s hands. 

“Surprised you though,” he chuckled as he stood to pull you into his arms, bringing your head to rest underneath his chin. You stood there for a moment or two, pulling away enough to look up at his face. “I need to give you my answer though,” you started as you took hold of his free hand and laced your fingers together. “Yes, I’ll marry you. Just don’t scare me again.”

Hobi burst into giggles, almost falling back if it hadn’t been for your hand holding him tight and placed the engagement ring securely on your finger. The lights all of a sudden came on and you could see six pairs of eyes watching from the door that had opened the moment you had given the answer. 

“She said yes?”

“She said yes,” Hobi confirmed. There was a chorus of cheers as all the boys came rushing in, Jimin popping the champagne bottle that made Hobi jump back and scream at the noise. They were a crazy bunch, and one of them just happened to now be your fiance.

NAMJOON 

At first, it had been a great idea to suggest a hike up the Jindallae Mountain Range, to see the azaleas bloom and to challenge them to get to the peak in record time. But then you had underestimated your walking skills and Namjoon’s long legs and thick thighs. So many stairs. So many goddamn stairs. It was if the lift to Hybe had stopped working and you were walking up its many, many, many flights of stairs.

“Come on jagi, it’s not far now,” Namjoon encouraged as he adjusted the backpack filled with water and snacks.

“You said that about twenty minutes ago and we’re not even halfway up yet,” you scowled. At least you were wearing a good pair of hiking shoes, coupled with decent clothing that allowed a good breeze in because lord, you were sweating. 

“We’ll be there in another hour or so,” the leader of BTS estimated and ignored your cry of protest, glancing at the map along the trail as if he didn’t know this place like the back of his hands. 

It was a long and gruelling process, only made better by the views you would see at every stop on the way. It was gorgeous and the flowers gave off their soft scent on the way, though the stairs were a bit unsteady and one wrong move could have you over the edge and down the rocky cliff.

You finally got to the top of the peak, which overlooked the whole national park and you had to admit that even though it had been a complete labour of love, it was worth it for just the view. You snapped a few pictures on your phone and took the bottle of water Namjoon offered, gulping half of it down. 

“So was I right?” he asked, wiping the sweat from his forehead and placing his hat on more securely.

“Yes, you were right. You always are.”

“Would I be right about this?”

When you turned to question what it was, you found him on one knee (in the rocky mud mind you) with one hand on yours and another holding the most gorgeous ring you had seen. The band had leaves and diamonds on the points, both a testament to your love of nature and Namjoon’s love of the earth. A ring to show the bond you two had, a ring to show his complete and utter love for you.

“When are you ever wrong?” you asked but gently closed the box, giggling slightly at the look on his face. “Ask me again when we’re down the other side and there’s no risk of you losing it down the rocky mountain.”

“But the answer’s yes?” he questioned while carefully slipping the box back into his backpack.

“When have you ever heard me say no?”

“Never. But I wanted to make sure you didn’t mind marrying this clumsy fool.”

To prove his point, Namjoon’s foot slipped against the rock he was on and you automatically reached over to pull him to you. “I really don’t mind, you clumsy fool.”

JIMIN 

For your birthday, Jimin had booked a holiday to the famous city of love: Paris. You two had hopped on a plane, spent many hours on board a direct flight to Paris and arrived at one of the most exquisite hotels the city had to offer: Shangri-La. He had booked the La Suite Shangri-La, which was perched on the top floor and a modern apartment with a full 360 balcony that ran from the bathroom to the living room, giving a completely unobstructed view of Paris and the Eiffel Tower.

You were on day five of your holiday, another nine days to enjoy yourselves and you had planned to spend the day on the terrace, enjoy the French sun and do nothing as tomorrow it was a private tour of Lourve. Jimin had gone completely all out on this holiday, wanting to make sure everything was perfect and had booked every day full of things to do.

In the morning you had enjoyed a bubble bath with the balcony doors slightly open to hear the people of the city go to work, got dressed in a floaty summer dress in the walk-in closet outside the bathroom, walked through the bedroom and into the living room with a dining room attached. It really was an apartment, one you could live in quite happily for the rest of your life as your feet padded through to the small kitchen where coffee was on the go.

On the terrace, Jimin had sat at the table where he was enjoying his own coffee and updating the boys on the trip. They had asked if he had popped the question yet which he said he hadn’t, laughing to himself at the messages that came back from everyone which was essentially calling him an idiot.

He didn’t want to rush, wanted to wait for the right time. 

The random playlist he found on Spotify was playing in the background and he glanced over when the door to the terrace opened, holding out his hand for you to take. “Enjoy your bath?” he asked, pulling you onto his lap and wrapping an arm around your waist to hold you in place. He placed a kiss on your bare shoulder, breathed in the scene from the bubble bath and rested his chin on top of your shoulder.

“There’s something about Parisian baths and how I want one for the rest of the trip,” you answered while taking a sip of your coffee. Even the coffee was perfect.

The Eiffel Tower was right in front of you, the two of you staring at it as the sound of the city continued their day like normal. It seemed surreal to find yourself here but it was one of Jimin’s favourite places to visit so he had promised to bring you for your birthday.

“What are you thinking about?” you asked, placing the cup on the table and turning around so your side was resting against Jimin’s chest.

“You, the future, everything.”

“Hmmm,” you murmured and reached over to play with the blonde locks that had been dyed two weeks before you left. “Anything in particular?”

“Marrying you,” was his honest answer. Your eyes met and you let out a chuckle, reaching over to press a kiss to his lips. “Well, I can’t wait for that to happen.”

There was silence for a moment, just enjoying the slow jazz that was playing now in the background as you both stared at the Eiffel Tower. All of a sudden a Tiffany & Co box was placed in front of you, still wrapped in its bow. 

“Jimin, when did you get this?” you whispered, reaching over to take hold of it. 

“In New York, I’ve had it for a while. You going to open it?” Jimin muttered against your shoulder, both arms around your waist as if he was afraid you’d run away. 

It was stupid but there were already tears forming in your eyes as you pulled the bow away and opened the box. The gasp you let out reassured Jimin that he had picked the right ring and he reached out to take hold of it, bringing it both to your eyeline.

“Can we start putting plans in place? Because I really do want to marry you.”

You let out a teary laugh, brushing the tears from your cheek but you nodded all the same. “Yes, a thousand times yes.” 

The ring slipped on your finger perfectly and as Jimin reached over to kiss you, he muttered: “Let’s explore Paris now as fiancees.”

TAEHYUNG

“So you’ve hired out a cafe in Hongdae for Valentine’s Day so we can have a one to one jewellery making course?”

Taehyung really did come up with the most ingenious ideas for Valentine’s Day and how to treat you and make it fun. Maybe Hongdae wasn’t the best place for an idol to be seen but his driver was dropping the two of you off, parking around the corner to wait for the two of you to be done and then you’d be off for dinner.

“Exactly. Come on, it will be fun,” Tae said as he took hold of your hand and pulled you into the cafe. Sure enough, it was closed to the public and the blinds were drawn for complete privacy. One member of staff at the counter to make drinks and the instructor ready for your lesson.

You had to put your hand on your heart and say it was one of the best dates the two of you had in a while and Tae’s unusual questions about the material and the tools had the instructor scratching their head but glad someone was asking questions that weren’t the lovey dovey kind.

Enjoying each other's company while Taehyung’s favourite jazz music played in the background, the two of you almost competing with one another over who could create the best piece of jewellery. You had gone for a silver band bracelet, keeping it simple so it wouldn’t cause too much suspicion if ARMY happened to see it at any point. Taehyung had gone for a ring to match the bracelet you were making, measuring your finger with eyes rather than the measuring type.

It took a good two hours, if not slightly longer with the amount of laughter that was happening but the results came out perfect in the end. You had gone for an engraving on the side of the bracelet that no one could see, with the date of which was made with your two initials. Taehyung had gone a bit different, picking out the garnet stone and placing it in the middle of the band.

When it was finished, the two of you swapped jewellery. Tae slid the bracelet onto his right wrist, wiggling it slightly to get it comfortable and you slid the ring onto the only finger that it would fit: your ring finger. 

“Jagi, it’s on the wrong finger,” he called out as the instructor was finishing up and cleaning it all away.

“It’s the only finger it will fit on.” You were a bit baffled as he slipped the ring off the offending finger and placed it on your other ring finger. “What?” you laughed but were soon shut up by the replacement he had slipped on your finger.

A gorgeous art deco style ring with a ruby in the middle, mini diamonds surrounding it. “Happy Valentine’s Day,” he said as he kissed your cheek and grinned at your dumbfounded face. 

“What? How?”

“How? Well I bought this engagement ring awhile back and this was all a ploy to ask you to marry me.”

You gaped at him in complete surprise and Taehyung had to burst into laughter as he pushed your law up to close your mouth. “You can say yes later. We’ve got reservations to get to, we need to celebrate.”

JUNGKOOK 

“Now, Bam, this piece goes here,” you said as you held up the offending puzzle piece that you had been struggling to find for the past hour. You showed it to Bam who automatically sniffed it and watched as you slotted it into its place. “There we go.”

Jungkook had brought the puzzle home an hour ago as part of your birthday gifts since you had a habit of putting jigsaw puzzles together and then enjoying pulling them apart after agonising days of searching for pieces. At least this time you had Bam for comfort as you were finally starting to put all the last pieces together. 

“You finished yet?” Jungkook called from the bedroom, where he had just come out of the shower after a long day of dance practice. 

“Nearly! Another hour I think,” you called back as Bam rested his head in your lap and left you to it. “Thanks buddy. Help was appreciated,” you chuckled as you rubbed his ears with one hand and used the other to pick up a piece of the puzzle, lifted it to the light then back to the puzzle to find the piece. 

Your boyfriend came out in his signature grey sweatpants and black t-shirt as if he didn’t wear anything else, and settled down beside you. As much as he wanted tempted to reach over and finish the puzzle for you, it was something for you and you only to finish. 

It was an agonising hour, as you predicted before you placed the final puzzle piece into its slot. “All done,” you cheered and used the moment to stretch your back. Sitting on the floor with a high coffee table in front of you was not a good idea.

“So what does it say?” Jungkook asked, throwing his phone onto the couch to lean forward to see the puzzle.

“Hmm? Oh,” you gently moved a sleeping Bam off your lap and used the couch to stand up to get a good look at the puzzle.

“Forever and always. Will you marry me?”

By the time you had finished reading it and your brain caught up with what you were reading, Jungkook had already pulled the ring out of his pocket and handed it to you.

“Me and ARMY created this together. So really it’s a question from all of us: will you marry me and have me, Bam and ARMY forever?”

The ring was an exact representation of Jungkook’s love for his fans, their love for the both of you and it all coming together with a purple stone on a band of diamonds that looked like a crown. And it certainly didn’t take you long to slip the ring on your finger, jump into Jungkook’s arms screaming ‘yes’ and for Bam to soon join in the celebration by knocking the puzzle off the table in his haste to get you.

[msmargaretmurry]

would love to know which romance novels you’ve enjoyed!! i feel like we share a lot of “standards” so it would be pretty likely for me to enjoy anything you recommend.

p.s.: have you read any emily henry books? i feel like you might like those. <3

i have not read emily henry but i've heard pretty good things! i actually have a copy of beach read on my shelf that i am hoping to get to this summer. thank you for the recommendation! <3 will talk about some romance novels i've enjoyed under the cut. i am always accepting recs btw!!

my platonic ideal of a contemporary romance novel is evvie drake starts over by linda holmes. the setting feels real, the characters feel real and have real problems, the emotional stakes are proportionate and believable. bonus points for the portrayal of baseball and the main guy's relationship with baseball feeling normal and real. linda holmes's books (i also really enjoyed flying solo, tho not as much as evvie drake) are so character-driven that it almost feels like the romance arcs are secondary to the character arcs, which is ideal to me personally!!

i read a lot more historical romance than contemporary because i find it easier to get over the "that's not how that works!!" of it all in historicals, for reasons not worth elaborating on here. i tend to enjoy kj charles because she's very good at having a strong exteral plot in addition to strong characters! think of england is my fav of hers. for het historical romance i really liked courtney milan's brothers sinister series (esp. the countess conspiracy) and tessa dare's girl meets duke series (can't remember which one i liked best but i listened to them on audiobook at work and i do remember having to stop during a sex scene because i was like oh my god this is actually hot i can't listen to this at work LMAO). i have read every bridgerton and they're all a little dated and some are more mid than others but the francesca book, when he was wicked, is the best one imo.

i liked bringing down the duke by evie dunmore but i did not like the sequel so i haven't read more of hers 😅

it's not structured quite like a traditional romance novel but i really loved peter darling by austin chant, a gay trans peter pan retelling.

i do want to give a shoutout to a romance novel i did NOT think i would enjoy but wound up actually liking a lot, canadian boyfriend by jenny holiday. i was going to skip it because i don't like alternating first person pov but my coworker who loved it told me joshua jackson does the male pov chapters in the audiobook and i was like. fine i will listen to joshua jackson. and i had plenty of quibbles with the book (for one thing i thought the whole book could have been done without the central "fake canadian boyfriend" premise and might have been better for it, lol) but i was surprised by how moved i was by the male lead's complicated grief as a widower and i thought the hockey parts felt realistic and good. going in i was also like urgh ough hockey player/ballet dancer romance is gonna go so hard on the big strong man/tiny dainty woman of it all but it DIDN'T, and i thought the female lead's relationship with dance was nuanced and interesting. i don't think i could have read this book with my eyes due to the povs but the audiobook with alternating narrators worked nicely. and definitely not a perfect book (if i were to rate it on goodreads i'd probably do like a 3.5 rounded down?) but i liked it so much more than i expected to and i feel like i need to demonstrate that i am NOT a hater by default and i CAN be a generous reader when i think a book has earned it 😂

[dailyreverie]

☃️ 𝐃𝐞𝐜𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐭𝐬 𝐦𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭 🎄(2023 edition)

❄️ As it is already our little tradition, I present to you the 2023 dailyreverie holiday prompt event! Below the cut there are 25 fics, but this will carry on through all december.

❄️As always, you are welcome to request! I’m giving myself the self-indulgent Christmas gift of choosing who to write about for some of the prompts BUT feel free to request one for your favorite character so we can celebrate together.

𝐇𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐲 𝐇𝐨𝐥𝐢𝐝𝐚𝐲𝐬 !

❄️ Characters:

Bucky Barnes

Poe Dameron / Poe x Solo!Reader (From Your wish is my command series)

Santiago Garcia

Moon knight system (any of them)

Miguel O'Hara

Duke Leto Atreides

Steve Harrington

TASM!Peter Parker

I’ll be using this post as a masterlist, so as we go on the links to the prompts will be added below.

❄️ Prompts:

Ice skating + Poe Dameron

“You shouldn’t have” + Bucky Barnes

Peppermint + Steve Harrington

Kissing cold noses + Steven Grant

Family gathering

Silver and gold

“We have to hurry”

Wrapping paper + Bucky Barnes

Evergreen tree + Poe Dameron

Naughty + Poe Dameron

Nice + Bucky Barnes

Warming the other’s hands + Santiago Garcia

“You look really cute in my clothes” + Poe Dameron

Stockings

Frosted windows

The best present

“Here, take my scarf” + Duke Leto Atreides

Twinkling lights

 The night before

Holiday music + Bucky Barnes

Sweet kisses

Moonlight + Santiago Garcia

Late morning

“May I have this dance?” + Santiago Garcia

New year's kiss

SEND YOUR REQUEST ☃️

Disclaimer: prompts come from @lavenderotpprompts December OTP Prompts post (x) + A few ones from last year's event that never saw the light of day.

[colorsunimaginable]

the spare // chapter sixty-five // death eater ! tom hiddleston oc x plus size ofc - voldemort wins au

story summary: 

While on a mission to avenge the death of her best friend, Ilvermorny graduate Melisa Alder finds herself in the middle of the fight to defeat Voldemort. Upon capture after the Dark Lord's triumph, she's being sold at an auction with other muggle borns and blood traitors. Her only hope is also her only bidder - the tall, dark, and handsome Thomus Malfoy, Lucius Malfoy's younger half-brother. Is he just another Death Eater or is he hiding more than just his face beneath the mask? Will she realize her true potential to be one of the resistance's greatest weapons?

*a Voldemort Wins AU with Tom Hiddleston cast as an OC x a plus size protagonist* *takes place in The Auction universe by Lovesbitca8*

words for this chapter: 5.8k warnings for this chapter: none

my lovely beta reader 💕 banner credit @cafekitsune

CHAPTER MASTERLIST

Chapter Sixty-Five:

“What happened to the TV?” Thomus asks when we return to the cottage. 

I let out a disappointed sigh, having already prepared a believable lie. “I woke up from a nap on the couch and found it broken. Honestly, I’m really sad about it.”

He stands before TV and tilts it back, taking a longer look at the crack in the screen. “Have you not tried to fix it?”

I snort, tucking my legs under me as I sit on the couch. “Magic won’t fix that.”

“That’s a shame,” he says, sounding genuine. He comes to the couch and sits next to me, one leg over the other, an arm along the back behind my shoulders. “Perhaps I can get you one for Christmas.”

My eyebrows come together and I blink. “Christmas?”

The backs of his fingers casually rub against the back of my shoulder as he nods. “Yes, Christmas. It’s a little over a week from now.”

I still stare at him in disbelief. “You’re shitting me.”

He lets out a soft chuckle. “Afraid not.”

“I guess that explains the snow,” I say, looking out the window at the untouched blanket outside. “Christmas is something you guys are still celebrating?”

“You ‘guys’ as in –“

“Death Eaters, and you know, the general magical population,” I fill in. “I wouldn’t imagine there’s too much to celebrate with the war going on.”

“I can’t speak for the average witch or wizard, but those who support the Great Order believe they do.” 

His wording is confusing. “And where does that leave you?” 

“I’m grateful my family and those I care about are alive and well,” he says after a moments’ thought. 

“But you still support the war?” 

His relaxed posture shifts, spine straightening, lips forming a hard line. Even a muscle in his jaw ticks. “Of course.”

I make a face and turn away. The little spark of hope I’d had is smothered once again. “Should’ve guessed.”

“Do the… Alders have any Christmas traditions?” he asks, his tone relaxed once more. 

My head swivels back to him. Again he looks genuine, as if he regrets upsetting me.

“Um,” I start, unsure of what would be considered a tradition amongst my family. “I mean, they set up a tree, do presents, have a special dinner the day of.” I shrug. “Pretty standard.”

“So you celebrate the birth of that wizard?”

At that I have to laugh. “You mean Jesus?”

“Yes, that’s the one. I’ve heard he walked on water and turned water into wine.”

“So they say,” I reply. “My mom’s the only one who goes to church. I wouldn’t even consider her religious - she just does a lot with music. She sings in the adult choir, directs the kids choir, and is in the church band. During the Christmas Eve service she usually solos Silent Night in German and I like going to hear her sing.” I stare at the fireplace while I speak, but then I glance at him and suddenly feel shy. “I guess that’s a tradition of mine because eventually I won’t be able to.”

His blue gaze is tender, like he understands. “No time wasted.”

I nod. “Did you ever spend time with your mom for the holidays?”

“When I was younger, before she married, yes,” he says. “I hardly had contact with her after.”

“Really?” I ask, surprised. “I’m sorry to hear that. It must’ve been difficult.” I think of the dark-haired woman who looked at baby Thomus with nothing but love in the film I developed. “For both of you.”

He makes a doubtful noise and shakes his head. “I sent her countless letters, but the only one I received in return was the news she was dying.” 

My jaw drops as I suck in a little gasp. My reaction must be encouraging because he continues. 

“It was from her other son, my younger brother, Casey, whom I didn’t know existed until that letter. He reached out because she kept asking for me.”

“You have another half-brother?”

He nods. “I think he’s about your age. I’m assuming he attended Ilvermorny.”

“Hm, I don’t remember any Casey’s, but Ilvermorny’s massive, so it’s not surprising,” I say. “But you went?”

“Yes,” he replies softly, his eyes on the snow. 

“Did you get any closure?”

“I don’t know if I’d call it closure,” he murmurs, looking pensive as he shakes his head slightly. “I think I’ve been too angry to really be at peace.”

“Angry with yourself?” I gently prod.

“Myself, my parents, Lucius… the list goes on.”

“Hm, well, that checks out,” I tease. “Anger does seem to be a personality trait of yours.”

His eyes bounce to me and I clamp my lips together to smother my grin. Trying to hold back my amusement has the opposite effect and a giggle slips through. 

“Yes, ha ha, very funny,” he replies dryly, and that only makes me laugh more. 

While I’m busy laughing, his hand goes from my shoulder to my cheek, and the next thing I know, he’s leaning forward to crush his lips to mine. It’s a surprise, but not one I reject. I readily kiss him back and get lost in it. 

After a few moments, he pulls his lips away and rests his forehead against mine, our heavy breaths between us. 

“I’ve missed your laugh,” he admits so softly, I’m not sure I heard him correctly. It makes my heart pound and my face flood with heat. 

I have no idea how to respond, so I run my hands up his chest and grip his shirt to pull his mouth back to mine. 

~*~

The next morning, I enter Thomus’ room after a shower to find him propped up in bed with a book. Wrapped in a towel, but mostly dry, I climb up onto the mattress and sit next to him, legs criss crossed. I’m facing him and his eyes immediately drop to between my legs, but unfortunately for him I’m covered by the towel. 

“So, I’ve been thinking,” I start, and he pushes his glasses up the bridge of his nose and closes his book. 

“About?”

“Would it be impolite if I asked for something for Christmas?” 

His head tilts curiously, but his expression is skeptical. I’m nervous, so I don’t wait for him to respond before I continue.

“Even though you mentioned the TV, I’m obviously not expecting you to actually get me anything. This is more of an 'I’m hoping you’ll allow me to do this' sort of thing, because I’m hoping that since it’s Christmas, the usual rules can be… bent, you know?”

I pause because I’m waiting for Thomus to shut me down. He definitely doesn’t like where this conversation is going, as evidenced by his frown, but I keep going.

“So what I’m really asking is to do my hair,” I say, fingering the still-wet ends around my shoulders. “My roots have really grown out and so in addition to cutting it again, I need to bleach and redye my hair.”

“You have your magic, I’m not stopping you from cutting it,” he says. “You can do whatever you want to your hair.”

“Yes, I understand that, but I need the materials to do it.”

His face suddenly dawns in understanding. “You need me to run to a muggle shop, don’t you?”

I smile sheepishly. “Um, no. I should have everything I need, but I don’t… have it. It’s in my vault at Gringotts.”

He raises an eyebrow. “You keep hair products in a bank vault?”

“No,” I sigh. “Before shit really hit the fan at the end of April, I put my backpack there. There’s things in it that I didn’t want to risk losing, but it’s also just what I carried all my crap in, so what I need to do my hair is also in there.”

Thomus looks me up and down. “Where have you put your key?”

“I don’t have one,” I say slowly. “I knew that I’d probably lose it, so I asked for an alternative option.”

“Which would be?”

“My blood, fresh from my body.” I wince when I realize I probably said that far too cheerfully. “So I’ll need to come with you.”

“I see,” he says and a cheeky smile vanishes the serious expression on his face. “Well, I have one condition, and I don’t think you’re going to like it.”

~*~

Thomus had been right. I absolutely do not like his condition. 

“Hold this,” Thomus says, handing me the end of the leash he just fastened at the back of my neck. Now he’s swinging that dark green cloak around my shoulders. 

I sigh heavily, failing to hold back my annoyance. 

“Don’t worry,” he says, stepping back and slipping the leash over his wrist. “The Muggles can’t see it and anyone else wouldn’t dare comment on it.”

“I just don’t see why I have to wear it in the first place. I didn’t try to escape the last time we went to London.”

“You also had a dislocated shoulder, so you weren’t exactly a flight risk.”

“I wouldn’t try to leave,” I argue, pulling my hair out from beneath the cloak. “I’m not that stupid.”

He waves his wand across his face once, his Death Eater mask materializing into place. “I never said you were.”

He readies the Floo powder in one hand and holds the other out for me. I pull up my left sleeve, exposing the tattoo of his name. His fingers find it as he calls out for the Leaky Cauldron and we step through the fireplace. 

From the moment we step foot in the pub, I keep my head down, even though I feel eyes on me. We’ve clearly stopped in during their lunch hours because the place is packed. With the chain, I feel like I’ve got a big red A on my chest. As we make our way to the bricked entrance to Diagon Alley, I peek up at him to see his mask bob when he nods to someone I don’t know.

The first thing I notice about Diagon Alley is it’s covered with snow, the uneven cobble stones revealed by muddy footpaths. Daring to look around, I see most of the shops are still sitting abandoned or boarded up. 

“Put your hood up,” Thomus orders softly as we approach Knockturn Alley. There’s a few figures loitering about the entrance, and one of them is Greyback with his fur-tufted ears peeking out over his collar. 

I hastily do as Thomus asks and my other hand shoots to his, drawing my strides closer to him. We walk on the farthest side of the alley, Thomus keeping himself between them and me. I have half a mind to cast a Disillusionment charm, but I fear it won’t be as sneaky as I would hope for. Thomus is keeping his head forward and I’m following his lead. 

Despite my heart thumping loudly in my ears, I can still hear two very distinct sniffs. Thomus doesn’t react to Greyback’s subtle low growl and walks on.

I, however, do not possess that much self-control. 

My head turns within the hood of my cloak and I only catch sight of him with one eye, but it’s enough. He’s staring right at me. I swivel my face forward, gripping Thomus’ hand tighter. 

All I want is for him to forget he even saw me, or at least forget the clear intent in his expression. No, I can’t do a disillusionment charm, but I can do something better.

When I turn my face back, I make sure both eyes are narrowed on him as I shoot him a silent Confundo. 

Greyback blinks, shakes his head, and looks away, suddenly disinterested. 

My eyes dart to Thomus, making sure he didn’t notice. I don’t think the guy standing with Greyback noticed either, thank god. 

I feel like shit for already breaking my promise to him, no matter how much I can justify using my magic.

My grip on Thomus doesn’t ease as we make our way to Gringotts and I pull my hood down once inside. I take in the extravagant golden tiled floor and glass dome roof, looking very much the same as when I was last here. No one could possibly have guessed a few months ago a dragon broke through from the caverns below.

Thomus took us straight to the tallest desk at the end of the aisle. Behind it sits the oldest looking goblin I’ve ever seen. Gravity pulls on her skin, making her eyelids droop down to the sides. Her wiry white hair is styled to look like a beehive, and just above her bangs sits a jeweled little bumble bee, glittering every time she turns her head.

Her black eyes latch onto Thomus as we draw near and she smiles down at him when he vanishes his mask. 

“You, sir, look very much like a young man I used to know,” she says, her voice extremely gravelly. “Your face says Abraxas Malfoy, but that hair -” She tsks and shakes her head “ - is definitely your mother. Though I wonder how far back we’d have to look to find those curls.”

“Good afternoon to you, too, Orla,” Thomus greets. “I thought you retired.”

Orla shakes her head. “Not yet. Too much going on, you know.” Her beady eyes land on me and the collar around my neck. “Care to state the nature of your visit?”

“I’m making a withdrawal from vault 581,” he states.

“Hm, I see.” She narrows her eyes and with a wave of her fingers, the book in front of her flips several pages. “It would seem vault 581 belongs to an American witch by the name of Melissa Alder.”

“The correct pronunciation is Mel-leesa, and you’ll find that the Mudblood in question is standing with me.”

My throat feels a little tighter that he'd even care to correct her on the pronunciation of my name. I don't even bother when it's someone I'm not going to interact with a whole bunch.

“Very well," she quips, "and you’ll find I must ask why you are making the withdrawal and not her?”

Thomus doesn’t hesitate. “Because under our current Ministry, this Mudblood belongs to me.” With his free hand, he digs into a pocket in his jacket, pulling out a small scroll. “This is the bill of sale, upon which you’ll find states everything belonging to Alder, is now my property. Including not only herself, but valuables and accounts.”

Orla unravels the scroll with her claw-like nails and inspects its contents. She looks up at him, clearly ready to say something, but he says, not without a hint of arrogance, “On the back.”

As she flips it onto the back, my eyes zero in on this document I’ve never seen or heard of before. Yet, there printed in black ink is my name alongside Thomus’ too-familiar signature. 

Just when I think this whole ordeal can’t humiliate me any further, I’m proven wrong. There’s government record of this shit-show?

“I see,” Orla says again, passing the scroll back to Thomus between two fingers. She sighs heavily and looks at him with new disdain. “Do you have her key?”

“There isn’t one,” he explains. “Hence why her presence is required.”

“Hmph,” she frowns. “Very well.” 

Orla stands with the slowness of her age, disappears behind the desk and emerges next to it on our level. She stands no taller than my hip, even with her updo. A lamp floats next to her head. “Follow me.”

The ride on the carriage track is short. I have a newer and smaller account, so it’s not all that far underground. We get off and approach a locker-sized door with 581 painted above it. In the middle of the metal door is a sharp point with the shallowest pool of water no larger than a Galleon cupped beneath it. I always dread this part. 

Wanting to get it over with, I step before the door and press the pad of my thumb onto the point. It easily slices through and I feel blood beading up along the cut before I dip my finger into the little pool. The water lights up around my blood like some kind of bioluminescence and locks audibly pull back behind the door. 

It swings open and my excitement and happiness eclipses all the stress to get here once I lay eyes on my backpack, nestled exactly as I left it. I quickly suck the rest of the blood out of the cut and grab my bag. I’m about to close the door when I remember something that’s in it. 

I unzip it and avoid Thomus’ eyes. “Hold on.”

My arm descends into the main compartment, feeling around for what I threw hastily inside. I step into the door, turning my back to Orla, but keeping Thomus privy to what I pull out. His eyes widen and he visibly tenses when he sees my wand. Before he can get any angrier, I quickly drop it on the shelf inside the vault and close it. With a sheepish smile, I hold the bag out to him. 

Now with suspicion in his narrowed eyes, he takes it and slings a strap over his shoulder, under his cloak. I turn my back to him, facing Orla. I give her the same smile, but hope it’s a bit more genuine. 

“Thank you,” I say softly. “All done.”

“Hmph,” she huffs, and repeats these words, but with a much more suggestive tone, “I see.”

~*~

Outside Gringotts, Thomus waits until no one’s looking and pulls me into the secluded alcove of an abandoned shop. 

“What the bloody hell was that?” he hisses, backing me into a corner. “I thought I could trust you.”

I raise my chin, glaring at him. “You can. That should make me even more trustworthy.”

“How do I know this wasn’t all a ruse?”

“If it was, why would I have left my wand there?”

“Maybe there’s something else you wanted in this bag.”

“And maybe,” I say, pulling it off his shoulder and yanking open the main compartment, “maybe I just want to do my hair.” My hand dives in again and I pull out the bottle of Hair Stay, the box of bright pink dye, and - “Shit.”

“What?”

“I don’t have any bleach,” I sigh. I toss the dye and potion back in, zipping it up and opening the small pouch in the front. My wallet’s still there, along with just enough British pounds to get what I need. “Can we go to a No-Maj store? I apparently don’t have everything I need like I had thought.”

He rolls his eyes. “I suppose I don’t have a choice.”

“Not if you want me to look pretty again,” I bite with a fake smile.

Thomus looks at me for a moment, then leans in so close I have to press my back against the charred door. His mouth connects with mine long enough to make me melt and relax as I realize he’s not really mad. 

“You never stopped,” he murmurs before giving me his back. 

I’m left dazed at his words until he tugs on the leash of my collar and I scurry after him. He takes my bag and puts it on his shoulder again before taking my hand, the chain on his wrist. 

He speaks to me again only when we’re out on the No-Maj streets. “I’m assuming you know what shop will have what you need?”

“Yeah, of course,” I reply. “There.”

The stop at the pharmacy is quick. It’s not a proper beauty store, but boxed bleach works just as well. At the counter to pay, Thomus hands the cashier money before I can even count out the correct amount. 

“Thanks,” I say while we wait for the correct change and receipt. He just gives me a crooked smile. 

When we get out onto the sidewalk, Thomus looks around, eyeing the different stores. 

“Are you looking for something specific?” I ask, bewildered as to what he could possibly want from a No-Maj store. 

“There’s a shop that I remember - oh, there it is,” he says, already pulling me by the hand to a store two doors down. 

“A hobby shop?” I ask. He doesn’t answer, just releases my hand and opens the door for me to enter first.

As I’m busy looking around, Thomus makes a beeline for the glass counter in the back. I have no choice but to follow him, and when I see what’s on the shelf behind the store clerk, I gasp.

It’s a Toshiba TV with a VHS and a DVD player. 

“Does that work?” I blurt out, pointing to the TV. 

The teenage worker looks back at it and reads verbatim off a bright orange sticker. “Yes, it works.” 

I blush and let out an embarrassed laugh. “Thanks. Is it plugged in? Can we test it?”

“Sure,” the worker says, grabbing a remote off the shelf next to it. He hits a button and the TV pops on, volume blasting the intro music to Gone with the Wind.

“We’ll take it,” Thomus says.

The worker gets busy lugging the 20 inch box off the shelf to the register and my eyes wander to the aisles of movies on display. 

“Is that all?” the worker asks.

“Give us like two seconds,” I say, tugging Thomus towards an aisle. The used DVDs are a pound each with the VHS tapes being half that. I quickly nab Home Alone 1 & 2, The Holiday, and The Polar Express, Christmas movies I know we don’t have in the bin. Cradling the DVD case and two tapes, I ask Thomus, “Anything that looks good to you?”

I glance up at him and his head is tilted, his eyes focused on scanning the shelves. When he doesn’t answer, I softly chuckle and slip the end of the leash off his wrist. “Well, you look here and I’ll check behind us.”

He nods absently, picking up The Dark Knight to read the back. 

By the time we leave, Thomus is lugging the TV under one arm while I have a full bag of our movie haul. As we were checking out, I tried very hard not to judge his choices. While my choices were movies like Forrest Gump, Back to the Future, and Wall-E, his were Sherlock Holmes, The Great Escape, and The Silence of the Lambs. I’m not saying his choices were bad, just different. I made sure to add my No-Maj money to the bills he counted out for the cashier, especially because I’d snuck in the boxed series of The Nanny.

To get home, Thomus doesn’t want to use the Floo in the Leaky Cauldron because that would reveal our location to those in the pub, so we chose to Apparate. We hide behind a dumpster in an alley to shrink the TV so it would fit inside my backpack. 

After we land and get inside the gate, I wait for Thomus as he closes the protective barriers. 

“What’re we watching first?” he asks.

“A Christmas movie, obviously,” I reply. “Have you heard of A Christmas Carol?”

Finished, we walk up the snow covered path to the front door. “By Charles Dickens? Yes, I’ve actually read that.”

“Good, because that’s the one I want to watch first.”

~*~

The version of A Christmas Carol Mary has is the one with Patrick Stewart, which just so happens to be my favorite. 

After the movie, we take a break so I can start on my hair and Thomus can pop out to visit Narcissa. When he comes back my hair is about four inches shorter and I’m half-way through bleaching my roots.

“Merlin, that smell is foul,” Thomus says as he saunters into the bathroom, propping himself on the edge of the tub. 

I’m focused on sectioning the last bit of hair from the back of my head, so I only respond with hums. Once I don’t have to concentrate so hard, I finally glance at him. 

“How’s Narcissa doing?” I ask. “With Draco being gone.”

“As well as can be expected,” he replies. “Luckily her mind’s preoccupied with party planning for the moment.”

“Party for what?” 

“The Dark Lord wishes for her to throw her annual New Year’s Eve Gala.”

“Oh,” I say, surprised. “Didn’t know he was such a partier.”

I hear him chuckle. “Not quite. She explained it’s to provide some kind of normalcy and amusement for his loyal followers.”

“The revels at Edinburgh aren’t enough?” I ask, a bit exasperated by this news.

“Edinburgh is for a specific crowd, if you haven’t noticed,” he explains. “The Gala will be… formal.” 

“Oh, so trading in the sex slaves for the wives, huh?” I roll my eyes and let out a big sigh, trying to not to get all worked up. “Surprise surprise.”

He shifts in his spot, crossing his arms. “I’ll be in and out to help her prepare.”

“‘Kay.”

“And then Christmas day we’re going to the Manor for dinner.”

“That’ll be nice.”

He tilts his head, sending me a questioning look. “You think so?”

“Better than being here alone.”

He looks down. “Yeah, I suppose you’re right.”

~*~

My hair is a yellow bleach blond for the next few days to give it a break from the chemicals. There’s still some remnants of the pink on my ends, but it’s super faded. When Thomus first saw me he did a double take and spilt coffee on his sweater. 

I show him how to get into the attic, after making sure George’s temporary nest was cleared away first. We poke around the bins, looking for any Christmas decor, and hit the jackpot when we find a mini tree, complete with a box of little ornaments and lights. 

In the living room I clear the short bookshelf of Mary’s figurines, making space for the mini tree. I come back from placing the figurines on a shelf in the office to find Thomus struggling to get the tree stand put together. I wait for a few moments, pulling everything else out of the bin in the meantime, to see if he can figure it out. 

When he finally gets it standing on its own, he looks a bit chagrined. “Well, that was more difficult than I expected.”

“Seemed like it,” I chuckle, and pass him the tree skirt, which really seems more like a scarf. He just kinda stares at it and then at the tree. “That’s the skirt.”

“Right,” he says, holding it up. “The skirt.”

“Have you never done this before?” I ask. “Decorate a tree?”

“No,” he says slowly, tentatively wrapping the skirt around the base of the tree. “It was always a task the elves did, and usually when we weren’t around. Not to mention the trees were much larger and not…” he fingers the stiff artificial needles “made of plastic.”

“A real tree is much nicer, I agree, but this suits the space, I think,” I say, shrugging. I totally brush off his comment about never having decorated a tree before. My heart wants me to get all sentimental, but my brain reminds me to stay detached. I pass him the string of lights. “Here, plug these in.”

At least he understands that and plugs it into the outlet behind the bookcase. They’re pretty, multi-colored lights with ridged bulbs. I show him how to wrap the string around the tree, starting at the bottom and finishing at the top. I plug the star into the end of it and pop it onto the top. Then we start rummaging through the box of ornaments. 

They honestly make me sad. Most of them are homemade, clearly made by kids. A few say Merry Christmas Nanna with the year from a few decades ago. I sift around for non-personal ones. A Nutcracker, a turtle dove, a few trumpeting angels, and multiple Santa Claus heads. Since it’s technically his tree, I let him put them where he wants. A few miniature knitted candy canes finished it off. 

I come back from shoving the bin into the attic and find Thomus sitting on the couch, just admiring the tree. 

~*~

On Christmas Eve, I finish my hair and start baking. Thomus has been in and out, running errands for Narcissa, so when he comes back that night, Christmas music blasts from the record player, and there’s several different batches of cookies and a plate of cherry pie bars littering the kitchen. 

“Merlin’s beard, you’ve been busy,” he says, surprising me with a kiss to my cheek while I’m half soaked from doing dishes for the eighth time today. He sets a takeout bag on the counter. “Who’s army are you trying to feed?”

I shrug, feeling a blush spread to my cheeks. “It’s just for Christmas. I wouldn’t even know what to get everyone.”

He tucks my freshly pink hair behind my ear. “Feel better about your hair?”

“Much.” I nod toward the takeout bag and dry my hands. “Is that dinner?”

Thomus nods, turning to open the bag. “I thought you’d want a break from cooking, seeing that it’s Christmas.”

The moment I get a whiff of pure, authentic Chinese food, I almost start to weep. Instead, I stifle that urge and throw my arms around his shoulders, despite his protests because of my wet shirt. 

~*~

Thomus disappears into the office for a bit and I settle on the couch with the blazing fire and a cozy blanket. 

Despite the tree and the plethora of Christmas movies we’ve watched the last few days, it doesn’t really feel like Christmas. The absence of my loved ones is far more apparent this year. My family is an ocean away. This cottage I call home isn’t really mine, it’s just a place where I live. 

I reach for my backpack, where it’s sat mostly untouched except for the removal of my hair products, and plunge my arm into the main compartment. I feel around through clothes, books, and a camera bag. My fingers run along a smooth rubber wire that leads to my phone. It’s no doubt loaded with unanswered texts and voicemails from my parents wondering where I am and how I’m doing. 

As I hold it in my hand, I wonder what Jonathan’s been saying to them. What lie he’s told my parents to make them believe I’m okay. I wonder if it ever became too much, if they had too many questions he couldn’t answer, and he had to resort to the worst case scenario. 

Eventually I abandon my phone and continue my search. When I finally find what I’m looking for, at the very bottom of my bag, I pull out the two large, full photo albums.

I know looking through these probably isn’t in my best interest right now, but I’m already depressed, why not make it hurt a little more? Christmas is the time for looking back at old memories. 

A lot of them are pictures of Ilvermorny, especially in the beginning. I just couldn’t get over how beautiful the school was and I just had to share this special, most amazing place. Views from the front gates to walking the path from the nearby town with the school in the distance just barely emerging from the fog that keeps it hidden from No Majes. Our Quidditch pitch and outside stage for theater performances. She was most interested in the library, so I flip through at least two full pages of the seemingly endless rows of books, a few flying through on their way to their rightful shelf. 

The pages slowly transition to random students practicing spells in the halls or the courtyards. A few are of my homework working with mandrakes. We had to grow them ourselves from seeds and as someone who struggled with Herbology, I’d been so proud of my fully grown plant, so I had to snag a picture. 

I’d given Jonathan my camera during the Wandless Magic Tournaments. My first year competing, the tournament was held at the Salem Witches Institute. The school is almost entirely underground and despite the ceilings charmed to look like an endless sky, I couldn’t get past knowing that we were miles beneath the surface. 

Since I couldn’t bring my family, Jonathan came in their place. Cheering me on from the sidelines and managing to capture the ugliest, most unflattering images of me red-faced and sweating from nervousness. I’ll admit he did manage to capture how much of a badass I looked during the dueling portion though.

The pictures that hurt the most are the ones of Sam. She’s not alone in any of them, whether it’s me third-wheeling her and Jonathan, or us in front of museum signs or with a concert in the background. My favorite is one Jonathan caught of us on her couch, both curled up with our noses deep into our books. That one was taken around Christmas, her tree peeking out in the corner of the picture. Her favorite bit of magic I’d started to do once I was old enough was cast an illusion of a little witch with a Santa hat flying around on her broomstick. I can see it moving in and out of frame on its path around the tree. 

I look up at the little tree, barely waving my hand to conjure the little witch. She flies across the room, slowly circling the branches and ornaments. 

Thomus emerges from the office when my eyes are dry and ready to slam shut. He places a plain box next to the tree and then kneels by my side, kissing my cheek. 

When his eyes take in the pages of the photo album, he just stares. His expression betrays how unprepared he was to see pictures of Sam. He doesn’t say anything as I flip through to the next page. 

It’s a single picture, the last one she ever put in. It’s of fireworks shooting up from below the frame, trailing to the center where they explode, scattering red and blue sparkles across the night sky. It was New Year’s Eve, the year she died. 

The empty expanse of the remaining pages is what finally sends tears blurring my vision. With Thomus right next to me, I try to smother my emotions, but it translates to choked sobs and a runny nose. 

Quietly, he takes the photo album from my lap, closes it and sets it aside. He’s running a hand over my shoulders, trying to comfort me.

“Come on, my darling,” he murmurs. “Let’s get some sleep.”

I nod and let him lead me upstairs to bed, where I crawl in and he wraps me in his arms. 

[lboogie1906]

Ann Nesby (Lula Ann Bennett; July 24, 1955) is an R&B, gospel, and dance music singer and actress. She is the former lead singer of Sounds of Blackness; and a songwriter with credits including hits sung by Patti LaBelle and Gladys Knight; plus she co-starred in The Fighting Temptations. She had various appearances on American Idol and Queen Sugar. She duetted with Al Green on “Put It on Paper”. She has been nominated four times since her departure from Sounds of Blackness, most recently for her album This Is Love; plus the lead single “I Apologize” was nominated for a Grammy.

She joined Sounds of Blackness in the late 1980s. Sounds of Blackness were awarded two Grammys and she sang on a number of their tracks including “I Believe,” “Optimistic,” “I’m Going All the Way,” “Soul Holiday,” and “The Pressure.”

She released her debut solo album, I’m Here for You. In the UK, her Witness EP peaked at #42 on the UK Singles Chart, and Hold On EP at #75.

Tyler Perry cast her in a lead role in his stage production, I Know I’ve Been Changed. By 2002, she released her second album, Put It on Paper. The lead single of the same title featured Al Green, leading Nesby to her first solo Grammy nomination in 2003, and the album included Nesby’s first #1 song on the dance chart, “Lovin’ Is Really My Game”.

She garnered three additional Grammy nominations between 2004 and 2008.

Her latest album, The Lula Lee Project debuted at #13 on the US Billboard’s Top Gospel Album Chart and #57 on the R&B chart. Her latest nominations include Best R&B Performance By a Duo or Group with Vocal for her duet with Calvin Richardson, “Love Has Finally Come at Last” and Best Traditional R&B Vocal Performance for “Sow Love”. #africanhistory365 #africanexcellence #zetaphibeta

[ancicntforged]

what are all your plans for future muses joy boy

Glad you're asking, here's a list, involving several factions like the Universal Government and more.

Admiral Blue, who is Ruby's sister Lux.

Aurora is the daughter of a Duke and will be her own central protagonist for the story and arcs centering around and within the Blanchimont Kingdom.

The narrative itself will be focused on world-building and exploring more about Blair's Kingdom, like the traditions, the culture and holidays and the likes. It will also expand on the nobility, the citizens and the Kingdom itself. Interestingly enough, Blair herself will be at best a deuteragonist in those arcs, as she's seen more akin to a mythical figure by her the Kingdom she created.

UMI, the Leader of the Universal Government, who has a double identity.

Cadenza, Blair's first student.

Alice, a muse from Solo Max Level Newbie, but with canon-divergence.

A villain OC that's still superhuman, but not to the insane scale of Ruby and co. Just someone more 'down to earth'.

[dojae-huh]

Just to add to anon's marriage topic, I still laugh whenever I see that content. Doyoung was caught offguard for a very brief second, he ended up looking at the cameras and tried his best to school his expression into something neutral and nonchalant. In another content, he wore the ring that Jaehyun made for him on his fourth finger (the finger known for engagement/marriage rings) and you can see that Jaehyun was following Doyoung's hand with his eyes.

With how future-oriented Doyoung is, I think it's possible that marriage is a common topic now for them with how Jaehyun was too comfortable opening it up on camera, or why Doyoung wears the ring on his ring finger. Not the traditional marriage type, but events that likely equates to marriage.

Which brings me to my assumption, Jaehyun has been wearing that chain necklace for a while now, everywhere he goes he wears it. Jaedoists are theorizing it to be a couple necklace because Doyoung was seen wearing the same necklace during his solo promotion, or a sentimental gift from Doyoung. With how big the couple culture is in Korea, I will not be surprised. Jaehyun likes to subtly show off his bae any way possible. Also, how do you think Jaehyun and Doyoung's relationship are with the parents of one another? Johnny's mother was seen attending Dear Youth concert and she is seated beside Doyoung's mother, there were clips where the two mothers are seen interacting. Both Gongmyung and Mama Kim attended the same day Jaehyun and the other memebrs went to the concert. I believe Doyoung is also quite close to Mark's father as they played badminton/tennis together. With how comfortable Doyoung is with the parents, I will find it weird if he is not close with the Jeongs. The Jeong parents seem to be supportive of their son, so I was hoping that Doyoung is also warmly welcomed into the family.

(a paper ring, DJJ made for each other as a part of "we do everything" promotion)

Haechan can organise a wedding, Taeil marry them, 127 be witnesses, and we will never know...

It's hard to speculate on this topic due to lack of information and the need for idols to lie on the matter of romance and matrimony.

I do think though that Jaehyun would like to have the label of husband (even if not registered) for the special status it gives. With Doyoung it's less clear for me. He is a religious person, and I don't know if he views marriage as a sacred ceremony or just the legal union that provides special benefits.

It looks like Jeongs live in Daegu. At least Jae's father works there currently. It's been 6 years of dating, so the families should have met by now, I assume. We know that Jae has a gc with his parents, and that Do's mom comes to Seoul regularly to meet with her son. Both Jae and Do are in close contact with their families. Do's cousin knows Jae personally, and it's almost certain Jae visits Kims in Guri for holidays.

I can't believe in Doyoung not introducing himself to Jeongs and not asking for their blessing. As an only son and child Jaehyun is too comfortable with his orientation and doing what he wants (he wanted to date in 2015 already) for him not to be out to his family. (I wonder if Jae's father is just very progressive, or he himself is a younger brother, so it's OK if his own smaller family branch dies out).

Do's parents are more interested in him being an idol, following his success, they live closer as well, they are involved more (a filming crew came to their flat, afterall). Not to forget many neos visited his house. So it's natural Kim mother knows Do's work friends and some of their parents. Johnny's mother lives in US, she has motivation to get some acquintances in SK as she probably doesn't have her own circle of friends there.

[rabbitcruiser]

National Cheese Day

June 4 is National Cheese Day. Not to be confused with other popular cheese related holidays like grilled cheese day, cheesecake day, or mac and cheese day. This day is in reverence of the queen of all dairy, the big cheese.

When is National Cheese Day 2024?

Cheese and its many varieties are celebrated on National Cheese Day on June 4.

History of National Cheese Day

Cheese making is an ancient, some might even say sacred, craft. So ancient in fact it predates recorded history. It is speculated that the magic of cheese making began somewhere around 8000BCE shortly after the domestication of animals. Archeological digs have found evidence of cheese around the world including strainers coated in milk-fat molecules in Kuyavia, Poland dated around 5500BCE, murals in Egypt dated at 2000BCE, and an artifact of preserved cheese in Xinjiang, China believed to be more than 3,000 years old! European Imperialism took their styles of cheese through Asia, sub saharan Africa, and eventually to the Americas.

The most popular cheese of all is (obviously) mozzarella. This delicious and pizza topping cheese was first created near Naples from the rich milk of water buffalos. At the time, it rarely left its home near Naples, as it was made from pasteurized milk, and a lack of refrigeration meant it had a very short shelf life. As both cheese technology and refrigeration systems advanced, this delicious cheese left the southern region of Italy and found itself traveling around the world.

There are two types of mozzarella produced within the United States — low moisture and high moisture. Low moisture mozzarella has a moisture content less than 50% while high moisture has a content of over 52%. Low moisture is made specifically for transportation and mass production as the lack of moisture gives it a longer shelf life.

Today, cheese dishes can be found on every continent served savory, sweet, melted, deep fried, and even chilled in ice cream. This household staple can still satisfy any craving after thousands of years.

National Cheese Day timeline

1815 Industrial Revolution

First large scale industrial cheese production begins in Switzerland.

1851 Mass production

Jesse Williams, a farmer, is credited with being the first to have an assembly-line of cheese production in Rome, New York.

1939-1945 Goodbye Mom and Pop

Factory made cheese surpasses the production numbers of traditional farm raised cheeses during World War II.

1982 Mama Mia

The Mozzarella Company was founded in Dallas to bring fresh Mozzarella to America.

By The Numbers

4% – the percentage of all cheese being sold that ends up stolen. 1,400 pounds – the weight of a block of cheddar cheese delivered to the White House once by President Andrew Jackson. 2 – the hours it took for 10,000 visitors to the White House to finish the block of cheddar cheese. 17th century – the period in which they started dyeing cheese orange to fool people into thinking it was higher quality. ½ – of the total cheese consumption in the world is of Gouda cheese. 1,000 – the estimated number of different French cheeses. 1615 B.C. – the year when the oldest known cheese was discovered in China.

National Cheese Day Activities

Charcuterie

Take a cooking class

Cook something

Make a spread of some of your favorite cheeses to enjoy solo or with friends. Try working in new and international varieties you’ve never tried before. Check out Pinterest for ideas on the best meat, wine, and veggie pairings.

You may be surprised how many cheese themed educational experiences there are. Learn how to make your own cheese at home, the perfect drink and food pairings, or discover a new cheesy dish. With workshops, in person classes, and free online tutorials there are a lot of ways you can learn to enjoy this ancient culinary staple.

Whether traditional comfort food like mac n cheese, the tangy sweetness of cheesecake, or the contemporary refinement of stuffed pull apart bread there are countless cheese recipes to try. Why not try a new twist on a family recipe or search the internet for the latest cheese trend. You can start simple with a five ingredient ricotta cheese recipe.

5 FACTS ABOUT CHEESE THAT WILL BLOW YOUR MIND

It’s vegan!

Americans cut the cheese

Don’t forget the stomach

Medieval curds

Cheesy Moon

Okay, not really, but dairy free cheese is definitely having a renaissance. Food experimentation has come a long way in recent decades offering up many plant based cheese alternatives you can find at major grocery retailers or your local vegan butcher shop (if you’re lucky enough to have one).

Contrary to popular assumption the U.S., not Europe, is the biggest producer of cheese, making up 29% of the global market. In order the top producing countries are the United States, Germany, France, and Italy.

Rennet is curdled milk and complex enzymes found in the fourth stomach of unweaned calves and is often added in the cheese making process, as it is considered to make a bolder, richer quality product.

The most popular types of cheeses of today like gouda, cheddar, parmesan, and camembert, all came in vogue during or after the Middle Ages.

The long standing myth that the moon is made out of cheese may stem from “The Proverbs of John Heywood” back in 1546 which stated "the moon is made of a green cheese." We now understand this to be more metaphor than literal, with “green” referring to the freshness or un-aged nature of the moon.

Why We Love National Cheese Day

Expanding our Palate

New cultural experiences

Sharing and bonding

We love taking our taste buds on new adventures! Today can be about trying so much more than cheese. Wine, beer, meats, veggies, deserts… all of it is up for grabs and we can’t wait.

As an international food staple, National Cheese Day opens the door to a variety of new cultural experiences. We love being able to explore new dishes, cultures, and traditions.

We love breaking cheesy bread and making new memories with the ones we love.

Source

[lgcjunkyu]

solo trainee mission 015

when junkyu had heard that this round of missions for the trainees would be learning traditional korean games, there was a part of him that felt like stone.

it was just another reminder of one of the things that he didn't know, something that he hadn't ever learned. these things were things that you would typically learn growing up with your parents, but for junkyu? he never did.

so this whole talking about what he's learned has him feeling a little.. staggered. he barely ever spoke about his relationship with is parents, and very few people even knew that his relationship with them was so strained. so how was he meant to talk about the fact that he didn't know any of the traditional games without raising alarms that his parents just simply, to put it short, didn't care enough to teach him?

thus, he decides to just make it seem like it wasn't something that came up in the past, a pointless reason as to why he had been so clueless about how the games were played.

"i learned a lot through this all, actually. i didn't ever really play traditional games like that when i was younger, i was always usually more focused on school and all so it was definitely a whole new experience for me," junkyu pauses, tilting his head to the slide as he tries to think of the next thing to say. "i'd say my favorite one was probably yurnori, i think everyone's seen other idols play it in their variety shows and all, so i had a decent idea of how the game worked. but actually playing it was a lot more fun, and i think with the right people, like a group of your close friends would make it a really fun experience." he nods, feeling like he did pretty good at answering that question. he just really hopes no one thinks too much into his words.

he sighs as he thinks back to the games, thinking about which one he liked the least and it's pretty clear, from the way he glances down at his hands like he can still feel the burns in his skin. "my leas favorite, i'd say juldarigi, it was fun but i left with my hands feeling sore and achy and a little tough from the rope, so i think that made me.. not want to play it again, not unless i had something to protect my hands." there's a chuckle that falls from junkyu then, a real one, because that was the truth - it did hurt his hands a lot and the skin on his hand around his knuckle area has peeled ever so slightly. "i wasn't the best at a few of them, but i did pick up some easier than i thought i would, so i was surprised about that. gave myself a little pat on the back. one thing i definitely learned was patience, you need patience for some of these games and a tactic, in a sense? but i'm glad i was able to do these, because now i can say i can play them, even if i'm not the best at them."

he feels like it's a good ending, and he says his usual thank you, wishes everyone a happy holidays and happy new year before he bows.