#black olives and mushrooms are both things i like on pizza anyway

[cynicalrainbows]

The Next Best Thing Chapter 12

In which Anne’s parents are Awful Nouveau-Riche and Cathy realises her skill at Scary Stories.

There’s pizza and birthday cake for supper when they’re called downstairs, flushed and ruffled from much entombing and raining down of curses. 

(They even managed to include Anne’s birthday present: the doll became the sacrifice, like in the story of Abraham and Isaac that they learned in R.E, except that no one replaces the doll with a sheep at the last minute.

It’s ok. The doll doesn’t seem to mind being a sacrifice. It doesn’t mess up her dress or her ringlets anyway.)

At home and at Catalina’s house at her old house, it’s tea but at Anne’s house, it’s supper. She knows not to call it tea because Anne’s Mum and Dad like to pretend that they don’t understand when people call it tea.

(Once, Anne says, Jane asked what time she should bring Anne and Kitty home for tea and Anne’s Mum made a big show of looking confused and told Jane that Of course they didn’t let the children drink TEA, Jane, oh goodness no…. Oh I’m so sorry, do you mean supper? and Jane had just sighed really big.)

Cathy wonders if she or Anne should have warned Anna about the tea/supper thing in case she gets it wrong and has to listen to Anne’s Mum doing her I’m Very Confused face...but it turns out to be ok because Anna calls it abendessen, and Anne’s Mum gets a funny look on her face, like she isn’t sure whether or not to correct her, and ends up not saying anything at all.

The pizza is delicious- real, proper pizza ordered from a pizza delivery place- not the frozen pizza that Catalina buys or the homemade pizza that they have as a treat sometimes, when she gets to help knead the dough herself and choose her own toppings. 

(She always makes her pizza into a face- with olives for eyes and a red pepper smiley mouth and pepperoni cheeks and a button mushroom nose, even though she doesn’t like peppers very much and she doesn’t like olives at all. 

She picks those parts off before she eats it. 

The very first time, she’d wondered for a moment in Catalina would be cross at the waste but when she’d asked to check, Catalina had just laughed and said that they could probably just about afford it and that if Cathy valued The Aesthetic that much, who was she to stand in the way of art? 

Which turned out to be a fancy way of saying that she didn’t mind.)

The birthday cake is even more exciting than the pizza: it has two tiers like a wedding cake, except it’s pink rather than white and there are little pink and white roses on the top rather than a bride and groom and Happy Birthday Ann written around the side.

Mary laughs and asks Anne’s Dad if he noticed that they missed off an E and Anne’s Dad tells her not to look at him, he didn’t order the bloody thing and Anne’s Mum goes pink and quickly says that it must have been a typo and then snaps at them both that it doesn’t matter, isn’t it still a beautiful cake?

(Anne whispers to Cathy that it doesn’t seem fair that grown ups can make all the spelling mistakes they want: why doesn’t it matter that the cake maker spelt her name wrong when she gets told off if she forgets about the secret E in Boleyn?

But she only says it quietly, so no one thinks she’s being Ungrateful.)

She and Anna and Anne’s Mum (who is holding her magazine open with her finger so she doesn’t lose her place) and Anne’s Dad (who is still wearing his suit and is drinking something dark brown from a fancy glass) and Mary (who is home from Group) and Baby Catherine (who is enthusiastically gumming a rusk) sing Happy Birthday to Anne while she blows out her candles and cuts the cake to make a wish.

(She doesn’t get to do more than the first cut though because Anne’s Mum is fussed about mess.)

Cathy makes sure to hold her cake fork in her left rather than her right hand when she’s eating her slice of birthday cake (she’s getting quite good at it now) and feels pleased with herself when she doesn’t drop even a single crumb. 

Anne is….less careful, but it’s her birthday, so her Mum only frowns at her a little bit and her Dad doesn’t notice at all because he’s looking at his phone.

Baby Catherine is a lot less careful and drops bits of rusk and crumbs of cake all over the carpet and Anne’s Mum sighs and frowns and then scolds Mary for letting the baby have CAKE and what were you thinking?

 Mary tells her it was only a tiny taste and to lay off her, it’s HER daughter, and Anne’s Mum snaps back that if it’s her daughter, maybe Mary should pay for her clothes and toys and nappies and food from her own pocket and how would she like that?  and they snap back and forth until Mary crossly whisks Baby Catherine away to clean her up.

Then Anne’s Dad says he needs to make a phone call and Anne’s Mum turns to them and asks if they wouldn’t like to go back upstairs to play now so that the grownups can have some peace and quiet even though they haven’t been downstairs all that long, and that’s it, the cake bit of the party is clearly over.

Anna looks a tiny bit surprised, and Anne looks a tiny bit disappointed (Cathy just feels relieved) …….but it’s alright really.

The pillow fort isn’t going to build itself, after all.

*

Making the fort is fun.

Climbing into the fort and playing that they’re Arctic Explorers in a blizzard is even more fun (especially when Anna’s Captain Oates decides he wants to come back into the tent after he’s left and she and Anne have to fight really hard to keep him outside in the snow)......and then Anne says they should do scary ghost stories.

Because it’s her sleepover and her birthday and everyone in sleepovers on tv tells ghost stories and so they should too.

This is….sort of a good idea.

It’s a good idea because it’s true that a proper sleepover needs ghost stories- they all agree on that.

It’s less of a good idea because… well, at first she thinks it’s a less-good idea because she doesn’t really know any proper ghost stories.

(Both her parents and Catalina have been very clear in letting her know that Ghosts- and monsters-under-the-bed and Vampires and Witches are all Just In Stories…..but they haven’t supplied her many of the stories themselves. Not ones that are scary enough to make them worthy of a sleepover anyway.)

Not only does she not know any real scary stories though, neither does Anne (as far as she knows) and so it’ll be just boring.

However it soon turns out- once the lights are turned off and they’re sitting in the pillow fort with their torches under their chins to make their faces all spooky- that actually Anne DOES know quite a few ghost stories.

At least, they’re not exactly ghost stories, more plots-of-horror-films-that-Mary-watches-and-Anne-Isn’t-Supposed-To-See….. but they work perfectly well even if they ARE more about zombies and men with chainsaws and big sharks than ghosts (and even though Anne has to make some of it up because she- unluckily for her- never gets to see more than a minute or two before Mary tells her to go and play.)

Anna knows stories too- stories that are old, stories that her Omi learnt from her Omi when she was a little, little girl. 

There’s the story of the maid who tricks a princess into being a goose girl and who gets rolled around the city in a spiked barrel as her punishment and now haunts the town every night- which makes them all wince- and the story of the peddler who is given a gun with seven bullets in by a man in a cloak who turns out to be the devil and who ends up shooting his wife by mistake and now haunts the forest- which makes them all sad.

And then Anne says it’s time for Cathy to tell a ghost story and she wonders what she could possibly say.

She has no idea how she’ll be able to match Anna’s devil-with-a-gun story, and certain she won’t be able to top Anne’s man-who-cuts-off-peoples-skin-and-wears-it anecdote.

She hasn’t seen any scary films herself at all- not even a bit of one because Catalina doesn’t watch those sorts of films, just old, old films that are all black and white, or serious grown up films where people do lots of looking out of rainy windows while sad music plays in the background.

Once or twice, out of curiosity, she’s tried picking something that looks scary and grown up from the dvd section of the library to see if she’ll be allowed it but Catalina just makes her put it back and choose something else.

(‘You wouldn’t like it, querida.’

Catalina has barely even looked at the dvd case and it makes her cross. 

‘I might. You don’t know I won’t like it.’

Catalina raises her eyebrows. ‘I can make a pretty good guess. Remember the detective program that you didn’t like because of the scary music? Well this would be even scarier than that. It would give you nightmares for sure.’

‘Maybe I LIKE having nightmares.’

‘Maybe you do but I don’t. Just choose something else please.’

‘Well I ONLY want this one.’ It’s a challenge but Catalina looks unimpressed.

‘Well I am more than ok with you getting nothing at all mija if that’s what you’d like.’ Catalina nonchalantly examines the case with a picture of a tiger in a sailboat on the front and puts it back. 

Annoyingly, Cathy knows she means it. ‘Now shall I pick out another dvd for myself or would you like to choose a different one?’

‘......A different one.’

‘Ah, I thought so.’

Grudgingly, she lets Catalina put the dvd case back on the shelf but it’s still frustrating.

It’s too hard to explain that what really made her hide her eyes and cover her ears from the detective program wasn’t really the scariness but how normal it was. 

Scary films, she thinks, should be Scary. And she doesn’t think she’d mind Scary Scary.

 What she doesn’t like are normal things that turn scary and remind you of all the bad things that could happen to you at any time at all.

But explaining that is too hard so she doesn’t even try.)

She wonders if Catalina would have changed her mind about the dvd if she knew she was leaving Cathy in such a position as she is now, the only person at the sleepover without a scary story to tell. 

(Maybe she’ll tell her tomorrow. She hopes Catalina feels bad about it when she tells her.)

Anna and Anne are starting to look a bit impatient now so she decides she’s just going to have to make something up.

She takes a deep breath.

‘Once upon a time-’

Anne giggles a bit- maybe because she’s using the fairy story beginning, maybe because she’s making her voice all spooky and different, maybe just from sheer nerves, but Cathy can’t tell which so she throws a stray cushion at Anne to make her be quiet and listen properly.

‘Once upon a time….there was a little girl. She lived with her Godmother in a big, big house. It had hundreds of rooms and ten floors and a big big garden….’

‘Was there a swimming pool?’

She wants to be annoyed at Anne for interrupting but she supposes it’s only fair considering that she interrupted Anne’s story about The Scary Murder Hotel to say that it was really the ladies fault she got stabbed in the shower and why didn’t she lock the door like a normal person?

‘No- Yes.’ She changes her mind. ‘She DID have a pool, and she could do the backstroke and dive and hold her breath underwater-’

Anne scowls (it’s still a point of contention between them that Cathy learned how to do the backstroke in swimming lessons first even though Anne has a nicer swimming costume.)

���Bet she couldn’t really. Bet the dive was only once and she couldn’t do it again.’

Cathy is on the verge of asking Anne just whose story it is (and possibly adding that maybe the little girl could only manage to dive once but at least she didn’t cry when she got pushed fell off the floaty raft even though all that happened was getting a little bit of water up her nose like some people she could name…) but then Anna interrupts because she wants to hear what happens next.

‘Go on Cathy!’

‘Well, she lived in a big big house, anyway. She was allowed to play in every room except the attic. Every day she asked her Godmother if she could go into the attic and every day, her Godmother would say, maybe when you’re a bit older. 

And she would come up with reasons about why the little girl couldn’t go up there, like one day she’d say that the roof was leaking or that there were some presents she wasn’t allowed to see or that it was too cold. 

But the little girl didn’t really think that was really why. And every night when she was in bed, she could hear noises coming from the attic. And if she ever asked about it, her Godmother would say that it was the wind. 

But it didn’t sound like the wind. It sounded like-’ Cathy drums with the heel of her hand on the carpeted floor a few times and then makes her fingers all witchy and scratches them along the side of the fort.

‘One night, she decided that she couldn’t wait any longer to find out so she got out of bed really quietly and snuck up the stairs to the attic. On the first step, she heard a little voice in her head telling her to go back but she ignored it. When she was half way up, she heard a little voice telling her to go back to bed RIGHT NOW...but she ignored it. And when she got to the top step, she opened the door really slowly….’

Cathy pauses dramatically- she’s not really been paying attention to the other two while she’s been talking but they’re both staring at her, eyes wide. Anna is holding a pillow to her chest and Anne is biting the nail of her littlest finger.

I did that, she thinks. My story did that….

It feels exciting. It feels powerful.

‘She opened the door and saw...nothing.’ She lets her voice drop back to normal and Anna and Anna both relax. ‘It was just an ordinary boring attic….and she thought maybe her Godmother had been telling the truth the whole time, and she was just turning around to go back to bed when she felt….a hand….close around…..her wrist…’

She lets her words fall slowly until she gets to the last part, and then she grabs Anne’s bare wrist as she says it. 

Anne gasps and pushes her away and takes back her arm like she’s afraid of what Cathy might do to it; Anna puts the pillow over her face so only her eyes are peeking out.

‘The hand was all cold and thin….and the little girl was too scared to turn around. She heard a voice- just a little girl's voice- in her ear, and it said…’ 

She makes her voice all scratchy. ‘It’s my turn now. You’ve lived downstairs for all these years and your Godmother promised that one day, we were going to get to swap places and now you’re here so we will. 

The little girl tried to run but before she could, the other little girl had pulled off her dressing gown and put it on over her own raggedy dress, and she pushed the little girl down and she took a big needle and she sewed up the little girls mouth so she couldn’t even scream-’

Anne presses her lips together tightly.

 ‘The little girl lay there with her mouth all sewn up, and she watched as the attic girl escaped out of the door and shut it hard…. 

And then the little girl heard her go downstairs. And she tried and tried to open the door but she couldn’t, no matter how hard because it was locked up tight.

And after a while, she heard her Godmother coming into the hall and so she banged as hard as she could on the door, hoping she would hear her and come and rescue her and let her out…’

‘And then?’ Anna’s voice is nearly a whisper.

‘And then…’ Cathy took a deep breath. ‘Then she heard the other little attic girl saying What’s that funny noise? Can I go up to the attic today? 

And she heard her Godmother say That’s just the wind, come and have breakfast. Maybe you can go to the attic when you’re a little bit older. 

And it made her wonder if she’d be able to escape when the attic girl came up to see her….

But then she heard the little girl reply That’s ok. I don’t really want to go up there. I don’t ever want to go up there, not ever!

 And the attic girl and her Godmother walked away, and the little girl was left all alone. Forever. The end.’

There’s a long quiet after she finishes and she wonders if maybe she was wrong, if Anne and Anna don’t like her story after all….but then Anna lets out a shaky breath.

‘Wow Cathy, you’re really good at scary stories!’

‘Thank you.’

‘Did Catalina tell you that one?’ Anne asks and Cathy shakes her head. ‘No. I just….made it up.’

‘How? How? Teach me!’ 

‘I don’t know how-’

‘Please Cathy!’ Anne grips her arm like she wants to shake the stories out of Cathy for herself and Cathy pushes her off, giggling.

‘I don’t know how to!’

Anne subsides reluctantly. ‘It was SO scary! What happened to the little girl?’

‘Yes!’ Anna joins in. ‘What happened to her?’

They’re looking at her expectantly- it’s so strange to think that now, this little girl exists not just in her head but in Anna and Anne’s heads too, she exists now when five minutes ago she was just nothing at all.

She’s made something out of nothing- and although she’s written stories before, in school and just for fun, this feels different. This feels real.

It occurs to her that she could say anything- anything- and that would be The End….so she has to think for a minute before she asks (and this is quite clever she thinks really) if they want a Scary Ending or a Happy Ending.

(It’s like when Catalina asks if she wants truth or lies when she asks what Catalina did at work that day, and sometimes she says lies and sometimes she says truth.

When she says she wants lies, Catalina will tell her about the tiger that got in through the office window and how everybody but her ran away and how she had to fight it off with just the contents of her handbag until it fled, never to be seen again. 

Or she’ll talk about how she got lost on the way to work and as she walked and walked, the buildings around her got bigger and bigger and it was only when she came across a dandelion the size of an umbrella that she decided she should maybe turn back….

When she says she wants truth, Catalina will tell her about the new person who made a mistake and tried to blame it on her, and the annoying woman who talks about being on a diet and then goes and takes the last biscuit anyway, and the annoying man who listens to what she says and then repeats it and pretends it’s his idea and how much she’d like to throw something at him but of course I wouldn’t really querida because that would be very bad.

Whether she chooses truth or lies, it’s usually a good story anyway.)

Anne says Happy Ending just as Anna says Scary Ending, which is no help at all.

‘Tell us both!’

‘Yes, tell us both!’

She gives in, and tells them all about how the little girls Godmother noticed that the attic girl wasn’t wearing the same pajamas as her real daughter and went up and rescued her and unstitched her mouth and made the little attic girl say sorry and go and live with her neighbour who was going to have a baby the normal way but then decided that babies were too much trouble but that she’d still quite like a daughter anyway.

‘-and they all lived happily ever after.’

‘Was the little attic girl her sister?’ asks Anna and Cathy shakes her head.

‘She came with the house.’

‘Ohhhh.’ Anna nods understandingly. ‘Yes. The new house has some furniture Mutti didn’t like because it was ugly and Vati said that it came with the house and that we had to put up with it.’ She pauses. ‘I’m glad we didn’t get a creepy little girl too.’

‘You MIGHT have done!’ Anne bursts out. ‘Maybe you did and she’s in the attic and she’s waiting for you to go up-’

Anna shakes her head. ‘We don’t have an attic.’

‘Maybe she’s in the cellar!’

‘We don’t have a cellar either. Vati said houses with cellars and attics were too much trouble and if Mutti wanted either, she could be in charge of sorting them out when something went wrong and Mutti said there was no way she was doing that, so we just got a normal house.’

‘Oh.’ Anne looks stumped. ‘That’s a shame. Nowhere for the little attic girl to live just because your Daddy didn’t want a cellar.’

Anna says if Anne is so sorry for the little attic girl, maybe she can come and live in Anne’s attic instead and Anne squeals and says she better not even try, it’s not her fault Anna doesn’t have an attic.

‘Can we have the scary ending now Cathy?’ Anna asks (possibly to distract Anne from further scrutiny of her father’s potential disregard for the welfare for little attic girls) and Cathy nods.

‘The scary ending…..is that the little girl stayed up in the attic forever. She got hungrier and hungrier but she couldn’t eat anything because her mouth was all sewn up and no one was bringing her food anyway. So she died. All by herself and she never saw her Godmother again and no one noticed or was sad about it because they didn’t know.’

It’s not a very long ending but it’s the saddest, scariest ending Cathy can think of, and the others must agree because they just nod, like it makes sense that of course you can’t eat with a mouth all sewn up.

They’re thinking about it so hard that when there’s knock on the door, they all jump and Anne gives a little scream and Cathy grabs tight onto her hand….but it’s only Mary, telling them that Anne’s Mum says it’s time they went to bed.

Coming out of the pillow fort feels funny after all the stories- especially as the big light is still off and they have to shine their torches so Anne can find the switch by the door.

(She makes it across the room ok, no scary hands reach out to grab her or anything.)

(Not that they can see, anyway.)

At least things feel a bit more normal when the light is on- and finding pajamas and toothbrushes is at least a reassuringly prosaic distraction.

It also helps that she’s excited to show off the new pajamas Catalina brought her as a special treat- her old ones were just pink and purple plaid but her new ones are very cool and blue and have little otters and ‘Otterly Exhausted’ on them.

(Catalina says that’s a pun, which means getting words wrong on purpose to be funny. Cathy decides she likes puns but from the way Catalina rolls her eyes when she’s explaining it, she thinks Catalina might not feel the same way.)

(But it’s ok because Anne says that Jane likes puns a LOT.)

Anne’s pajamas are just plain green (although they’re made of special silky stuff) but Anna has pajamas patterned with little skulls and crossbones like a pirate.

 (Anna says they’re from the boys section because why should boys get the cool pajamas and Cathy and Anne agree that’s a very good point.)

The fort gets a bit demolished when they’re getting into bed to sleep because they need the pillows and blankets back, and Anna goes back to her bag for a minute and fishes out a slightly worn grey and white toy fluffy thing.

She tells them her Vati brought one for her and one for her sister when their old dog, Albrecht got put to sleep, even though Amelia was too little at the time to know what Put To Sleep meant. So her dog is Albrecht The Second.

Albrecht The Second barks and lollops around the remains of the fort until Anne’s stuffed dragon blows a plume of smoke and fire and scares him away… and then Anne turns to Cathy and says they need Tarka (who is important enough to have a whole book written about him) to throw water on the fire…

It makes her wish very much that she hadn’t left Tarka under her pillow at home for fear of looking like a baby. When Anne asks why she didn’t bring him, she just shrugs.

‘I forgot.’

‘Oh.’ Anne loses interest and makes Rothko dragon burrow under the duvet.

(Rothko dragon got his name from the big red painting on Anne’s living room wall because Anne’s Mum and Dad were having a fight about it the same day that Anne was trying to think of a name for him: Anne’s Dad kept shouting that it was a completely ridiculous waste of money and Anne’s Mum kept shouting back that it was an original Rothko Thomas, an original Rothko! Anne doesn’t care much about the Rothko painting- she says it’s looks like something someone even younger than Kitty could paint- but she does like Rothko dragon very, very much.)

Cathy tries to remind herself that not bringing Tarkar means she’s obviously very grown up and that’s a good thing….but it’s quite hard to do.

Anne says that one of them can have Kitty’s bed and one of them can have the camp bed and one of them can have Anne’s bed and that her Mum said it was up to them to decide, so she thinks they should draw straws for it like in Oliver Twist.

(This is, Cathy thinks, more that Anne likes the idea of drawing straws than really caring where anyone sleeps.)

In the end, Cathy ends up on the fold up bed, Anne has her own bed and Anna has Kitty’s. 

Anna asks, while they’re waiting for their turns in the bathroom, whether Cathy really minds being on the camp bed and does she want to swap and Cathy says it’s ok.

She feels a bit bad when Anna smiles at her like she’s being nice.

She isn’t sure if she should tell her that the real reason she doesn’t mind having the fold-up is because she knows from Anne that Kitty has started wetting her bed again after her visit to Edmund.

(Jane says that it’s nothing to worry about, it’s easily fixed, and it doesn’t matter in the slightest so please don’t cry Kitty-Kat, which is pretty much the opposite of what Anne’s Mum has to say on the subject. But then again, she and Jane often say opposite things and Anne and Kitty are mostly used to it by now.)

She decides not to tell Anna because Anna seems happy to have the proper bed anyway, but she also feels a tiny bit guilty that Anna thinks she’s being more nice than she is, so she lets Anna clean her teeth next.

Which sort of makes it fair.

They get into bed and turn off all the lights, apart from Anne’s lava lamp and their torches. It’s sort of exciting- to be somewhere new, for the real sleepover part to begin….but it’s also, for some reason, suddenly really quite easy to imagine little attic girls and scary hands grabbing at their wrists and people wearing skin and what it must feel like to be rolled around in a spiky barrel…..

When there’s another knock on the door, it makes them all jump….but it’s only Anne’s Mum, checking that they’re really in bed and reminding them to not touch the special soap in the bathroom.

There’s a little uncomfortable silence after she goes: Cathy can still feel her heart beating a bit faster under her pajama top and she can tell that Anne and Anna are feeling the same way (although they at least have a dragon and a dog for protection while Cathy has nothing at all.)

After a bit, Anna says that attic girls probably can’t knock on doors to make it less scary- and they all feel better for a moment.

Then Anne says that little attic girls probably don’t knock because they can just come straight in whenever they want to…...

And they go right back to being scared again.

[surveys-at-your-service]

Survey #334

"i dreamed i was missing  /  you were so scared  /  but no one would listen,  ‘cuz no one else cared”

Sunrise or sunset? Sunset has prettier colors, imo, but I enjoy the pastel nature of sunrises, too. Are you mentally ill? Oh brother. Are you physically ill? I don't have any serious physical health issues, no. Introvert or extrovert? I'm a very strong introvert. What do you think when you look at your body? That it's fucking disgusting. What have others said when they look at your body? When I was healthy, I was complimented every now and again. With the body I have now? I'm glad people keep their months shut. Do you have a particular song that you feel deeply? There's a good 'ole handful or two. Talk about a time in your life where you have felt most alive? It's weird, I'm not a city person at all, but possibly when I was walking the streets of Chicago with Sara and her dad one evening. There was just so much life, so many new sights, that it was impossible not to. Plus, I was at a very happy point in my life, so. I just enjoyed a lot. Are you confident wearing a bikini? FUCK NO. Have you ever been hurt physically or mentally by a family member? Mentally, obviously. Everyone has at some point. I've never been seriously physically hurt by family, but Mom did spank my sisters and me as kids if we did something wrong. Biggest lie you have told? I don't really know. I get really uncomfortable telling even minor lies, so making a big one would be excruciating. I'm not saying I've never said a biggie, I'm sure in 25 years of life I said something stupid at one point, I just don't remember it. Do you believe in the Illuminati? Nah; there's some compelling evidence, but I just think it's way too big of a secret to keep. Regrets in your life? Blaming the breakup entirely on Jason and saying just plain cruel things to him afterwards. Also sending an appallingly hateful letter to Dad to vent after the divorce. Flirting with my then-best friend's boyfriend at the time behind her back. Dating Tyler (it's a small one, but still a regret). There are others, those are just the only ones coming to me right now. Achievements in your life? Lots of academic success and awards (before college, anyway...), artistic accomplishments like having my work put in a museum, surviving a traumatic breakup, (mostly) recovering from massive depression... What did people say about you in school? Nothing, really. I was a quiet student who just did her work and tried hard. Is there something you have never told anyone? Yes. If you had two days to spend one million dollars how would you spend it? First, I'm paying off college debt. Then Mom gets a new car, followed by me getting new glasses and renewing my permit. I'm getting a good terrarium setup for Venus. Then, it's tattoo time, baby, haha. I can't really do the mental math on how much this all would cost, but those are the high-priority things I can think of. Describe your first kiss? Was it how you imagined? Jason and I were playfighting in bed, and he had me pinned. Our faces were close, and I decided to kiss him. It was a fairy tale moment, in my eyes. He looked so bashful for once (he's far from shy) but also really happy, and I was too. Growing up were you in a wealthy, average, or low income household? Low, I think. Or maybe average, when Dad was still around. Have you been raised by a solo parent? When I was around 17, my parents split, so kinda-sorta. Do you know both your parents? Thankfully, yes. Have you abused drugs or alcohol? No. Are you comfortable accepting compliments? Ehhhh, I really appreciate them and they can make my whole day, but I'm very awkward about it. I get shy. Are you comfortable giving compliments? Oh yes. I honestly love giving compliments; I know how happy they can make me, so why not share that with others? Is any mental illness hindering your life? Guess. (: Is any physical illness hindering your life? Well, it's not an "illness," but the muscles in my legs have severely atrophied from leading such a horribly sedentary lifestyle, and that has greatly affected my ability to work without the risk of just collapsing. Walking at all is painful. Are you preparing for an apocalypse? No. I'm not really one to worry about "prepping." If it happens, it happens, man. I'm not spending loads of money on a "maybe." Are you interested in cults? Not really, no. Are your parents good cooks? Mom is fine, but it's hard to really judge Dad's cooking since he barely ever did it, plus I haven't had his cooking in many, many years. I remember he was great at making breakfast, though. That was like a rare treat, him deciding to make breakfast for everyone. Have you ever been to a chiropractor? Did you like it? No. Do you know anyone who is an actor? No. Have your wisdom teeth come through yet? They never did. Have you ever used a public pay phone? No. Have you ever made an item of clothing? No. Have you taken someone's virginity? No. Is confidence cute? "Confidence, yes. But cockiness and arrogance, no. That’s a whole different area that’s definitely not cute." <<<< Nailed it. Would you be able to date someone who doesn’t make you laugh? Doubt it. Are you one of those people who never drinks soda? No; rather, I drink too much of it. I'm trying really hard to lay off of it, and I drink nowhere near as much as I used to (when oddly enough, I was healthy and fit), but I'm still not comfortable drinking a can and a half a day. Listening to? "Castle of Glass" by Linkin Park. Kinda obsessed. Ever used a bow and arrow? No, but archery is cool. Last time you got a portrait taken by a photographer? I don't think this has happened since my senior shot in HS. Take a vitamin daily? Daily, no, but I really should. I take a Vitamin D capsule every Sunday, though. Favorite Taylor Swift song? I only really like "Love Story" and "Picture to Burn." Have you ever cried because you were so happy? Yeah. Which are better: black or green olives? I don't like olives period, but I guess black. What’s your 3rd favourite animal? Huh, never thought of #3, just #1 and #2: meerkats and opossums. Maybe snakes? Do you like mushrooms? NO. NO NO NO. What dream do you remember most vividly? One I don't talk about. A childhood nickname? Mom called me "Twinkie" and still sometimes does. ;-; Does anyone in "real life" know that you take surveys? Would you be embarrassed if they found your blog? Just Sara. And yes, regarding some people. Who was the last person you blocked on social media? Did you have an argument that lead to that happening? I'm unsure, but probably. I don't tend to just like... randomly block people. What was the first social media account you remember signing up for? Are you still a member of that particular website, if it even still exists? Of course it was MySpace. It's still floating around somewhere in cyberspace. What website from your childhood/teen years do you wish still existed? I get nostalgic over the Animal Planet forums sometimes. Have you ever met up with anyone in real life that you first met via the internet? Did you get on as well as you thought you would? Yes, Sara. I felt like it would go just fine, but it went even better than I expected - I was oddly very comfortable around her and her family. Have you ever tried any of those meal replacement shakes? Are you a fan of things like that in general? Yeah; I tried many brands until I settled for Equate, surprisingly. Cheap does not equate to bad quality, my friends. We always have the chocolate ones in the house, and they're really not bad at all. Are you the kind of person to enjoy taking naps? I love me my daily nap, man. What's your favourite kind of cheese to have on a pizza? Idk, whatever cheese is normally used, lol. What's a hobby you loved when you were younger but no longer enjoy for whatever reason? I guess video editing. I can't say I'd no longer enjoy it at all, but now the idea sounds far more like a chore than fun. Is there a popular food/drink that you can't stand? What is it and why don't you like it? I could name five dozen, but here's just a few: coffee, pie, tea, fried chicken (or is that just a Southern thing to be obsessed with?), and... of course now that I'm asked this question, I'm blanking on the huge number I know exist. As for "why," that varies, but it's either just simply a taste or even a texture thing. How would your wedding boquet look like? I want a gothic-themed wedding, so imagine a mix of black and maroon roses... whew-wee. You’re at a bar, and you witness a man drugging some girl's drink. What do you do? No hesitation, I'm decking the motherfucker. Fuck my fear of men, he's getting knocked out, and I'm immediately alerting the staff, as well as of course the girl. Kids? How many? Why? Names? Boy or girl? Y'know, loads and loads of scaly and hairy ones. Got plenty of name ideas depending on what they are and how they look. The only baby whose gender matters to me is the tarantula because females live waaaay longer. Fuck them human babies, not for me. Are you an organ donor? Absolutely. I sure as hell ain't usin' 'em once I'm dead, so consider it my last act of selflessness. Whats the most you’ve ever lost gambling? I don't gamble. What is something you can never give up (that's not love or family)? My pebble from my "graduation" from my first partial hospitalization program. It's meant to symbolize how great pain and trials can file you into something beautiful. It was passed around group, everyone holding it in their hands as they wished me well and spoke their piece about me. I'm honestly just fighting back tears remembering it. Have you ever waited in line overnight for something? No, I'm way too impatient for that shit.. Do you think having an expensive phone is a good investment? Hm. I guess it depends on what you use it for. Have you ever witnessed a birth in person? A human birth, no fucking thank you. I've only ever seen pet cats give birth. Does anyone in your family smoke? My dad does, big time. He quit drinking, but never quite managed to stay away from cigarettes. Have you ever had a pet escape and run away? Seeing as I grew up with outdoor cats that we couldn't afford to fix, pretty much all of our tomcats left for roving once they came of a certain age. Do any of your exes know each other? Juan and Jason know each other, Jason and Girt know one another as well, and Sara and Girt have met. What’s an opinion you find impossible to take seriously? I simply cannot fathom the belief that "dinosaurs never existed." Explain the fucking fossils, like come the fuck on. It's absolute denial in the name of religion. What was the very first election you voted in? This one that just passed, actually. What is one random fact about you? I want like 20 tarantulas but Mom says no. :( Do you spend a lot of time outdoors in the summer? Fuck no, I will do anything to stay inside in summer. Do you wear band tees? if yes, which one is your favorite? I love band tees, yeah. My Ninja Sex Party shirt is the most comfortable, but comfort aside, it's hard to pick a favorite. Possibly my Otep one, 'cuz the design is dope. Do you ever re-arrange your room? No. What season do you want to get married in? Fall. What is the highest name-brand thing you own? Oh god, I don't own expensive brand stuff. I guess the only exclusion would be my Cloak shirt, but even that's not like, mad pricey. What color GameBoy did you have as a kid? Red. What was your favorite GameBoy game? Maybe that Catz game? Even though the music was the most fucking obnoxious meowing ever lmao. What was the last compliment you remember someone gave to you? Who was it? It was this guy in my PHP group; my therapist surprised the fuck out of me by sharing with everyone my most recent poem (I trust him a lot, and he urges me to send him my art, so I've done that twice), and I nearly fucking died from cardiac arrest. However, this Nick guy, who's a poetry major, told me it was better than stuff he reads in his Master's program. I almost cried. Have you ever personally been friends with a stripper or prostitute? No, not that I'm opposed though or anything. If you have tattoos, which one that you have was the most painful? The one on my inner forearm. Have you ever actually met and talked to someone who’s famous? No. When was the last time you got a parking ticket for anything at all? I never have. Do you have any pets who will bite anyone else out there, besides you? No; Roman won't even come close enough to a stranger TO bite, haha. It's funny, he's so goofy and you'd guess outgoing, but instead, he's terrified of people he doesn't recognize. What’s your favorite type of sushi? I don't eat sushi. What’s your favorite patriotic song? Don't have one. Have you ever read a book about a character in a psych ward? No, and I'd really prefer not to because it would just drag me back to dark times. Have you ever been in a mental hospital as a patient? ^ Have you ever had an ulcer? No. Do you like soy sauce? omfg no What’s your favorite store to browse around? Morph Market. @_@ It's a hub for reptiles for sale, and I have my days where I just browse the ball python morphs for like an hour or so, haha. What’s the name of the most recent baby a friend had? Christ, half my friends on Facebook are having babies, idr. I don't know who was the most recent. Do people normally say you’re a fast typer, or are you rather slow? I'm very fast. Have you ever been considered the "smartest person in school?" No; that was my friend Hannia. I'm pretty certain she would qualify as a genius. Her GPA was fucking incredible. Were you named after anyone famous or anyone on television? No.

[alix-writes-things]

Ember’s Story Chapter Two: Deflated Laughter

“I can’t believe I just did that,” Nox says.

We’re in the library, and they’re still absolutely stunned by what they said to that jerk from the football team. We had spent the last ten minutes in complete silence while we all tried to wrap our heads around what just happened. They seem to give up on trying to understand what caused them to speak up like that, and they start looking around the room.

There’s nothing special about the room other than the five fire extinguishers all within reach and the small, purple bookshelf in the corner filled with special-ordered, fire-proof books. The small, light-blue-painted room is only about six feet across and seven feet wide. It used to be a normal study room, but I petitioned to be allowed in the library before the start of my freshman year. I was allowed in on the condition I stayed in this room and only read the fire-proof books the librarian, Mrs. Pace, orders for me. I’m not complaining though. I convinced Mrs. Pace to let me put a mini fridge in here on the condition I stock it myself.

“Wow,” Nox says, “for someone who is treated like a literal wildfire, you have it pretty good.”

“Yeah,” Everett says, “they bribed Mrs. Pace to let them have whatever they want in here.”

“No,” I say, glaring at him, “I did not. I asked politely and agreed to stock the fridge with my own money. Anyways, isn’t there a certain boy you’re supposed to be meeting up with?”

“Oh,” Nox says, “there’s a boy involved.”

“I hate you both.”

“Love you, too,” I say, smirking.

Nox chuckles softly at us. Everett shoots them a look, and they stop for a moment before bursting out laughing. I can’t help but join them.

“Whatever,” Everett says, “I’m leaving.”

“Okay,” I choke out, “have fun with your boyfriend.”

Everett glares at us while Nox and I laugh even harder. He leaves quickly, and Nox and I spend about five minutes trying to catch our breath. We finally calm down enough to look at each other without laughing again.

“So,” they say, “he has a boyfriend?”

“No,” I say, “he has a huge crush on this guy from his history class. They’re hanging out this morning so Everett can help him ‘study’ for his exam this afternoon.”

“Why the quotation marks?”

“We both know there’s going to be more flirting than studying.”

This seems to amuse them. They start laughing again which causes me to start laughing, too. Mrs. Pace walks in to see us laughing at seemingly nothing.

“What’s so funny, you two?” she asks us.

“Everett,” I reply, gasping for air, “has a ‘study’ date.”

This seems to amuse her as well because she lets out a small chuckle.

“Alright,” she says, “I’ll leave you two alone. I just came in to let you know, Ember, that the book I ordered for you will be in in about a week.”

“Awesome,” I reply, “Thank you so much, Mrs. Pace.”

She leaves, and Nox turns to me.

“What’s the book?” they ask.

“It’s about this non-binary kid trying to get through their second semester of their senior year after they transferred because they got kicked out of their parents’ house. They had to move in with their older sister who…,” I trail off, suddenly conscious of how much I’ve been talking.

“Wait, why did you stop?” Nox looks at me with something between concern and confusion.

“Oh, sorry,” I say sheepishly.

I continue telling them about the book while they listen eagerly. We spend the next few hours talking about books, movies, and music. We’re talking about our favorite bands when Everett walks in with an odd look in his eyes and the corners of his mouth upturned.

“I take it your little study date went well,” I say, smirking.

“Hush! I’m trying to relive it,” he says, smiling lazily.

Nox and I look at each other and immediately burst out laughing again.

“Oh, my goodness!” they choke out, “I haven’t laughed so much in years!”

“Will you two stop it? I’m trying to be happy here!”

Everett proceeds to spend the next ten minutes attempting to quiet me and Nox, but he only succeeds in making us laugh harder. We finally calm down enough for Everett to tell us what happened with him and his crush, Isaac.

“He totally flirted with me,” he says confidently.

“Everett,” I say, rolling my eyes, “we get it. Your boyfriend likes you. That makes a grand total of one person who likes you.”

“Rude,” he says, glaring.

“Okay,” Nox says, stifling laughter, “tell us about this boy.”

Everett spends about fifteen minutes telling us everything he can about Isaac, the time they spent together, and all the compliments Isaac gave him. By the end of his tangent, he’s smiling even wider than before and has a faraway look in his eyes. Nox gives me a knowing look. I can tell we’re both thinking the same thing: he’s lovestruck. I sigh and turn to Everett.

“Things seem to be going really we-,”

I’m interrupted by Ethan, the football jerk from this morning, passing by the window that looks out to the hall and yelling

“Freaks!”

I look over to see Nox has tears trailing down their face.

“Just ignore him,” I tell them, but they’re already shaking.

It breaks my heart seeing them so upset, but I can’t do much to calm them down as I’m currently holding back tears of my own. I can hear Everett breathing heavily out of anger. I go stand by the door in case he decides to try to go after Ethan. We sit in silence for a few minutes before Nox decides to speak up.

“Can he really not come up with a more creative insult?”

This instantly lifts everyone’s moods.

“I know, right?” I say, “That’s probably the tenth time he’s called me that in a week!”

“I knew he wasn’t exactly smart,” Everett says, “but I never realized he was too dumb to come up with a more creative insult.”

We start a discussion on the hundreds of infinitely more creative insults a person could come up with; my favorites being “death toll” and “flint and steel”. Realizing it’s now nearly 1:00 p.m., and we have yet to have lunch, I ask the other two what they want to do about lunch.

“I’m down for anything,” Everett says.

“Yeah, same,” Nox says.

“Okay,” I say, “how about we walk down the street to the shopping center and see what we can find there?”

They both agree, and we start walking down the street. The shopping center is only a ten-minute walk from the school, so, hopefully, we’ll have plenty of time to get our food and get back to school before lunch is over depending on where we choose to eat

“How about the steakhouse?” Everett asks.

“Sorry,” Nox says, “I can’t. I’m vegetarian.”

“Me, too.” I glare at Everett “Everett knows that.”

“Worth a shot,” he says knowing full well that it was not “worth a shot.”

“Oh!” Nox says, “I know the perfect place.”

They start leading us to the far end of the shopping center and, after about five minutes, they stop in front of a restaurant I’ve never noticed before. The sign reads “The Life of Pie” with a picture of a pizza where the “o” should be.

“It’s a make-your-own-pizza restaurant!” they say excitedly, “Since none of us have exams today, we don’t have to worry about time.”

Everett walks to the door, but I’m too distracted by how cute Nox is. I’ve only seen them get excited about something a few times, and each time I’m absolutely transfixed.

“Earth to Ember,” Everett says.

I look over to him, and he starts laughing at me. My face starts heating up, and I turn away, embarrassed. I can hear Nox and Everett laughing behind me.

“Oh, shut up,” I tell them.

“Alright,” I hear Nox say, “We’re sorry.”

“I’m not,” Everett says, still laughing.

I hear a small thwack and someone yelp. I turn back around to see Everett bent over slightly and clutching his stomach. I start laughing when I realize that high-pitched yelp came from him.

“It’s not funny,” he says, groaning.

“That’s what you get for being mean,” Nox says.

“Okay,” I say once Everett is able to stand up straight, “Let’s go in. I’m starving.”

The restaurant is small and quiet. The dining area only has five or six tables, and there’s only one person behind the counter at what a sign depicts as the Creation Station. The floors are black-and-white checkerboard tiles, and the red walls are covered in posters and advertisements. We walk up to the Creation Station and decide to order one pizza split into thirds so we each get what we want.

Everett orders ham and pineapple which causes Nox to tell him how much they now detest him. Nox orders mushrooms, tomatoes, and black olives to which Everett loudly proclaims how they have a horrible taste in pizza. I order spinach, tomatoes, and mozzarella slices. Nox and Everett seem to agree that I have the worst taste in pizza.

We sit at a table near one of the large storefront windows while we wait. At first, we sit in an awkward silence because no one really knows what to say. Eventually, Everett brings up the subject of exams, so we start talking about our schedules for the week. As it turns out, Nox and I have nearly identical schedules due large in part to us having five classes together. Everett, who I only share two classes with, has a similar schedule to ours other than an exam on Friday morning whereas we get Friday off because our Chemistry teacher gave us a lab that we did in class last Wednesday as our final. Everett starts complaining about how he’s positive he’s going to fail his History exam, but he’s cut off by the waiter bringing out our pizza. We thank them and start reaching for the pizza as they walk off when they stop and turn to back us.

“I’m so stupid,” they say in a thick southern accent, “I completely forgot to ask for y’alls drink orders. What would y’all like?”

“It’s alright,” I say, “I’d like a Coke please.”

“Can I have a lemonade?” Nox asks.

“Sweet tea, please,” Everett says.

“I’ll have those out in just a minute,” the waiter says, “Again, I am so sorry for forgetting.”

“Don’t worry about it,” Everett says, “It was a minor mistake.”

The waiter smiles at him and hurries off to the kitchen to get our drinks.

“Poor kid,” Everett says, “I feel bad for them. That’s Letha. They’re in my Chemistry class, and they’ve been super stressed out about their exams. Their parents are strict about grades, and if they don’t get straight A’s on their exams, they’re not allowed to go to this science camp they’ve been looking forward to.”

“Sounds like my parents,” I say empathetically.

“Really?” Nox asks, “You seem so unconcerned by the exams.”

“Ha,” Everett says, “when we get back to the library, look at the books on top of the bookshelf. They’re all textbooks they’ve annotated to study with.”

“Oh, hush,” I say, “Nox is right. I’m not all that concerned about the exams. There isn’t much my parents can do. They pretty much gave up on me in 8th grade.”

Our conversation is cut short by Letha bringing out our drinks and apologizing again for forgetting. We eat our food in silence until it’s time to pay. Everett and Nox both offer to pay, but I grab the bill before either of them can. I wait for the usual intake of breath that comes every time I grab a piece of paper, but it never happens. I sign it quickly, leaving a 25% tip because I get the feeling Letha doesn’t make much working here, and hand it back along with my credit card. When Letha comes back with my card, we tell them goodbye and start heading back to the school.

Everett starts making jokes about how I nearly burned the whole building down by grabbing a small piece of paper. Nox joins in, and soon, they’re both making fun of me. At some point, it turns into all of us making fun of each other. We walk into the school laughing at a joke Nox made about Everett’s crush on Isaac. We’re interrupted by Ethan once again trying to make us miserable. This time, however, he seems to be targeting all three of us.

“Faggots!” he yells at us.

This time, no one says anything. We just walk back to the library with silent tears rolling down our faces.

[skytimil]

College au with Soonyoung part 6 |Final

(This part has 1.4K words. I'm shocked myself. hope you enjoy tho)

You close the door exactly at 7pm and walk up to the boy in front of your dorm who was waiting for you.

"Hi!" he greets you with a smile on his face and a red nose.

"Hi, Rudolph." You say back, making him laugh. "What is Santa bringing me this year?"

"I don't know, but if you really want to know I can ask my friend Jeff, the elf." He shrugs, joining the little joke, making you laugh as well.

"Yes please." You laugh, putting your hands in your coat pockets. It was colder than you thought it was.

Soonyoung looks at you, removing his own scarf and walks a little closer to you, placing it around your neck, gently.

"Soonyoung, it's okay. We're going to your house anyways, it's not cold there." You state, trying to stop him.

"Shh, I'm the one in charge tonight." He says, placing a gentle kiss on your forehead. His scarf smells so good, that you immediately stop protesting, even though you still don't want him to get a cold. "Besides we're not going to my dorm right now. We still need to do a little of grocery shopping. I don't have all the ingredients for the pizza." He grabs your hand, winking at you.

You look at him surprised, while you start to walk to the supermarket, that was a 10 minute walk away from your dorm.

"Are we going to cook? Really?" you ask, your surprised tone easy to be noticed.

"Yup." he smiles, "It turns out, pizza is one of my specialities, so I'm gonna make it for you." he says in a sweet way, that makes you melt.

"Sweet! I wanna help, I love cooking!" you say excited and the boy next to you can't contain his smile anymore.

You start to wonder if this guy is real.

You get to the supermarket and get one of those shopping carts and start your shopping for things you had no idea what to get.

" So, we need tomatoes, cheese, and I need you to tell me what toppings you want." he starts picking some tomatoes that were near the entrance.

"Okay, so... I like olives, ham, mushrooms and..." you start thinking, "pineapple."

He looks at you with a disgusted face, "what did you say?"

"Pineapple." You repeat, knowing he would have this reaction if he didn't like pinapple on pizza.

"Oh God... I would never guess that we're on different teams..." he says dramatically, placing a hand on his forehead.

"Less, Soon. You're being dramatic." you roll your eyes, searching for pineapple.

"I'm just gonna accept that because I like you too much." he finishes, coming behind you and placing a quick kiss on your cheek.

"Awe, I'm so lucky." you smile at him and he winks at you, placing some more things inside the shopping cart.

"I was thinking of buying wine, what do you say?" he asks when you pass in the aisle of the alcohol. "Or beer, if you don't like wine."

"No, I like wine. Red?" you question, start looking for a bottle.

"Of course." the boy responds, joining you.

You are both looking for a bottle of wine, when you stop, looking at him.

"Hey Soon?"

He hums in response, still searching between the dozens of different bottles, not looking at you.

"Do you want to get drunk?"

Soonyoung would never expect you to say such a thing, and you notice the surprised look on his face and the loss of words he's at.

"W-what?" he manages to mutter.

"Do you want to get drunk?" you repeat, but adding an excuse this time. "I've been super stressed with the exams and I've been wanting a loose night. Just saying at home and get drunk." you explain, looking again to the bottles of wine in front of you. "Of course, only if you want and if you don't mind me to stay over."

Soonyoung looks carefully at you, looking for any sign of joke. "You're serious?"

"Of course I'm serious."

"Then let's get drunk." he confirms, smiling at you. "we all deserve a pause from this stressing exam season"

You smile "Yes, let's do that!"

"And do you want to get drunk with wine only?" the boy asks with a bottle in hand already.

"We can start with wine, but I want black vodka as well. Do you like black vodka?" Soonyoung nods at your question and you go grab the bottle of vodka. "This cheap one is good, let's take this one. Do you have orange juice at home, to mix?"

"Yes, I think there is." he thinks and you both walk to the cashier, buying your things and walk back home.

When you get home, Soonyoung proves that in fact he's a really good cook. He looks very at ease in the kitchen, preparing everything for the pizza. You guys make a good team and open the wine bottle while preparing everything and put the pizza in the oven.

"Damn, we're so good together." Soonyoung states while sipping on his wine, raising his hand for a high five.

You high five him, as you drink as well. "We sure are." you smile adorably at him.

While the pizza gets ready, you both lost yourselves in the conversation, finishing the first bottle of wine.

"Ups, I guess this is the end of this one." you state with the bottle in you hands, upside down. "Should we open another one?" you look at Soonyoung, who was across you and he nods, before getting up to open the other bottle.

You were sitting in the countertop, with an empty glass in hand, sure that once you got up, you would feel dizzy from the wine, so you just stayed still, watching Soonyoung come in your direction with the bottle opened. He pours the red liquid inside your cup, extra carefully because he could start to feel the effects of the alcohol.

"You good?" you ask, lowering your head to watch the male's eyes. He was really focused on not spilling the wine anywhere but inside the glass. You giggle at his cuteness, grabing his attention.

"What?" he looks at you confused.

"Are you a little drunk, Soonyoung?" you smile when you ask the question.

"... A little, maybe?" he answers, looking at you. "Are you?"

"Totally. I bet once I get up, I'll fall." you state, drinking a little bit more.

"No you won't. I'm here." he speaks and you feel goosebumps all over you. The way Soonoyoung spoke was a way that made you feel so secure, that even if the earth was about to explode, you knew he would be right next to you to help you.

You look at the boy in front of you and give him a smile. "Thank you." you say gently. You put your cup down, besides you and start getting close with the male, watching his face getting closer and closer.

Soonyoung, smiles gently, he being the one who finally closes the distance betweet your lips touch for the first time. The familiar taste of the red wine invades your mouth, in a much stronger level. The male gently grabs the back of your head, getting you closer to him, not getting enough of you. He has been waiting for so long to finally kiss you, he wanted to make sure this was real.

With the need to breathe, you separate, keeping your foreheads touching and you look to him, seeing him with his eyes closed. You smile at the adorableness. "Soon?" you call him and watch him open his beautiful eyes and looking directly at you, making you feel like you two were the only thing that existed in the world.

"I... oh my god." he smiles shyly. "I've been wanting to kiss you for so long Y/n." he closes his eyes for a moment.

"Hey, Soon?" you call him again.

"Hum?" he open his eyes and looks at you again.

"I know I'm drunk, but do you want to be my boyfriend?" you ask grinning.

"I should be the one to say that." he laughs, kissing you again, this time a quicker kiss. "Yes, of course I want to be your boyfriend."

A huge smile grows on both your faces and you hug him so tight, not wanting to let go, but then...

"Soon? The pizza?" You remember him, and watch him rush to the oven. He opens it a take out a overly cooked pizza.

"At least it's not burnt."

He looks at you and you both start to laugh. The wine certainly made you laugh much more than necessary, but you felt so happy at that moment and you knew this was something to take for life.

_______ The end _______

part 1 | part 2 | part 3 | part 4 | part 5

Drink responsibly kids.

I know I really suck at writing endings but meeeh here you have it. I found it really cutesy and fluffy, I hope you don’t hate it lmao

[foodpilgrim]

Appalachian Anomaly

At the annual Table Rock Writers Workshop last week, our special guest was Emily Nunn, a native of southwest Virginia and author of The Comfort Food Diaries, published in 2017 by Simon & Schuster. Emily read from the memoir in which she discovers that comfort food is less about the dish and more about its preparation. Food can be a way to express the deepest care without saying a word. Cooking for others can be more comforting than eating itself.

After her presentation, Emily, who also created the “Table for Two” column in the New Yorker magazine when she worked there, revealed a recent discovery—a wood-fired pizza joint in an unlikely place—Roan Mountain, Tennessee, the little village at the base of the high peak that divides North Carolina and Tennessee. Back in the 19th century, the winding road to the top, then very narrow and precarious, allowed traffic in one direction (toward Tennessee) in the mornings and then became one way toward North Carolina in the afternoons. Hardscrabble mountain people made the passage on foot, by hack, and on horseback as they could.

Eventually, in 1894, a resort hotel called The Cloudland was built right on the state line near the peak at 6,286 feet. Travelers could rent rooms with spring mattresses, copper tubs, and steam heat for two dollars a night, a fee which also included three meals. The state line was painted on the dining room floor at the Cloudland, because those seated in Tennessee could order an alcoholic beverage to go with their meals, but those who were on the North Carolina side could not. The Mitchell County (NC) sheriff reportedly came often at dinnertime to patrol the border, hoping some of those imbibing in Tennessee might accidentally stumble across the state line into North Carolina, presumably then being forced to pay a fine as steep as the slopes of the Roan.

Anyway, I digress.

Emily’s report of the Roan Mountain pizza was so evocative that Donna Campbell and I set out at week’s end to sample it. I have reported here on Pie on the Mountain in Lansing, NC, and Big Ed’s Pizza in Oak Ridge, TN. Both restaurants feature righteously fresh ingredients, including the now-ubiquitous Benton’s Tennessee Bacon. However, the pinnacle of pizzas for me is in Carrboro, NC, where Gabe Barker--the son of James Beard Award-winning chefs Karen and Ben Barker--makes ten-inch Neapolitan miracles at his Pizzeria Mercato. 

Gabe has developed a handcrafted thin yeast dough that blisters to perfection in his gas-fired oven. The Mercato toppings vary with the season--organic vegetables and meats from the Carrboro Farmer’s Market across the street and the finest imports of Castelvetrano olives, Italian cheeses, and dried Calabrian chiles. Gabe’s most sublime creation to date is a grilled sweet corn and Gorgonzola pizza topped with razor thin slices of Serrano pepper scattered sparsely enough to open the sinuses without numbing the tongue. But I digress again.

On the way to Tennessee Donna and I studied the Smoky Mountain Bakery’s online menu and agreed on the Gourmet Veggie and the Hiker’s Surprise.  All of their pizzas are more-or-less 12 inches and range in price from ten to twelve dollars with a maximum of twelve toppings.  When we arrived on Cloudland Drive, we couldn’t see the restaurant from the road, only a bank of sunflowers just beginning to bend toward autumn.

The sign out front

Ten years ago, Tim and Crystal Decker, both northern Californians and seasoned chefs, set up shop in a renovated barn to create this Appalachian anomaly.  He is a European-style artisanal bread maker and she is a pastry expert. Their son Anton, a musician, also takes a turn in the kitchen.

If Gabe Barker’s place in Carrboro is urban chic—concrete floors and recycled timber tables and benches—this place is shabby seventies. No frills, no fuss. A throwback to hippiedom.

Breakfast is still under way when we walk in, served until 10:45—omelets, biscuits and gravy, pancakes, Belgian waffles, and pastries. The pizza oven is blazing by 11:00. The line soon runs out the door, and inside you find yourself waiting amid stock storage—cardboard boxes piled high and to-go pizzas already stacked in boxes on a low bench for pick-up beside the cashier’s station. A glass cabinet holds cherry pinwheels, lemon crinkles, coconut macaroons, snicker doodles, blueberry scones, red velvet sandwich cookies filled with cream cheese, banana bran muffins, and little loaves of pumpkin bread laced with walnuts and cranberries. A sign above these treats reads: “Stressed is desserts spelled backwards.”  On the opposite wall, a metal baker’s rack on wheels is heaped with chocolate chip cookies and sweet rolls in plastic bags to go.

Eight young people are navigating around the flour-covered worktable in the kitchen. Two are rolling out dough, another is chopping toppings. Another slathers on tomato sauce while the young man closest to the hot maw of the oven wields the pizza shovel with grace. The rest take turns taking orders and swiping credit cards through nothing more than an iPhone.

Down the line, salads of frisee, mesclun mix, luscious cherry tomatoes, and random red beans sit in closed clam shells on refrigerator shelves for the taking. Three bucks per salad or two for five, DIY. Commercial dressings, however, come sealed in packets at the ordering window—the only disappointment, as it turns out. On down the line, self-serve fountain drinks with free refills are two dollars. There are a few tables inside; many more outside on the wrap around deck.

We place our order, take a number, and find communal benches at a long picnic table out back in sunlight dappled by a half-dozen black walnut trees towering over two sides of the deck. There is a vegetable garden, now waning, in the sideyard. Trees up the hill beyond are rounded sculptures of kudzu. Tendrils trail down and wave in the breeze. A sudden waft of woodsmoke heightens my appetite. We prepare with paper plates, napkins, plastic cutlery, and condiments, including red chile flakes and a shaker of parmesan that doesn’t taste like sawdust. All of these acoutrements are anchored against the wind in plastic bins on each table.  The service is surprisingly quick.

Gourmet Veggie and Hiker’s Surprise. All photos by Donna Campbell

The Gourmet Veggie pie comes first--backroad-Italian rustic—chunky onions, generous bites of artichoke, a heavy hand of cheese.  Yet, the dominant taste is salty black Kalamata olives and sweet sundried tomatoes—both flavors intensified by the oven’s heat.  I suspect the tomatoes are local and dried on the premises. Fantastic.

Next out, the Hiker’s Surprise lives up to its name immediately. What is that crunch?  Besides the saltine-like crust, there are deliciously browned chunks of walnut. Wow. The walnut pieces have been laid down on a light brush of pesto and then slyly covered by slabs of mushroom, more sun-dried tomatoes and caramelized onions, and the silky melt of Gorgonzola. The only thing I can imagine that might add to this magic is a handful of sliced red grapes spread and roasted over the top. (I mention this addition only to work in another  pizza joint recommendation in Fayetteville, West Virginia, near the New River Gorge. Pies and Pints is the name—Gorgonzola and Grape is the pizza’s appelation.)

So, Miss Emily Nunn, you do not disappoint. These pizzas are a rare find, an unusual amalgam of flavors in an even more unlikely place. But as you told us last week at the writing workshop, the comfort often comes in the odd mix at the table. Or as she put it near the end of her book: 

“Luckily, I had figured out that life was not a banquet at all but a potluck. A party celebrating nothing but the desire to be together, where everyone brings what they have, what they are able to at any given time, and it is accepted with equal love and equanimity.”  

That’s how it was for us at the writing workshop--sharing what we had brought unvarnished, both our manuscripts and our personal stories, mostly told at table when we stopped long enough to eat. And so it was at this Appalachian anomaly—Californians making pizzas and pastries on the side of an ancient mountain. We declared our gratitude in the moment, delighting in the many tastes unfolding, bite after bite, on a not-exactly-round but satisfying crust.

[mosylufanfic]

I request prompt 22nd; Happy birthday month!

Thank you! Also requested by a nonny, although you might see another reply for that, nonny! I keep thinking these are going to be short and cute and I look up four pages later and go, “. . . shit.”

Best Laid Plans

Caitlin heaved a sigh, dropped her head back, and told the ceiling, "I'm trying very hard not to see all this as a metaphor for my life."

The smoke alarm shrieked. The lasagna that she'd worked on all afternoon was a scorched-black lump. Her pan was probably ruined too.

She sniffed and wiped away tears. "It's just a lasagna," she scolded herself.

But it wasn't, and she knew it. The lasagna had been a single but critical cog in a carefully crafted plan, and now it was trash.

Cisco was due any minute, and she was still in her robe, with no makeup and her hair barely blow-dried. Her main dish was completely ruined and there was no time to throw together something new.

She sniffed again and then pulled a chair over and climbed up on it to turn off the smoke alarm. When it had been silenced, with a last surprised tweet, she rested her head against the top of the door frame and mourned briefly for her ruined evening, which was supposed to end with her in Cisco's arms.

Sometimes it seemed like her dating life since Ronnie's death had been nothing but trying to feel more than she did, or disastrous breakups. Or both. Often both. But Cisco had always had a place in her heart. Sometime after he'd first gotten together with Cynthia, she'd realized that the place he occupied had transformed from platonic to romantic without her noticing.

She'd told herself then that it was hopeless. He had a girlfriend, one he was madly in love with. She'd hated herself for the ember of hope that had blossomed when he'd told her that they'd broken up. "Too different," he'd said, sagging in her comfy armchair with his third or fourth stiff drink. "We love each other, but we don't want the same things. And the things we want - they’re kind of all or nothing."

"I'm sorry," she'd said, and gotten more ice cream out of the freezer.

She'd counseled herself to wait, to let him heal, to watch for signs that he was ready to risk his heart again.

In the past month, she'd been seeing those signs, and more, signs that he might be already willing to risk it with her. Casual touches that lingered longer than usual. Banter that leaned toward flirtation. Small, thoughtful gestures, that wouldn't have seemed out of place in Cisco's history of thoughtful gestures except for the smiles he gave her along with the cup of tea he brought to her desk, or the candy bar he picked up when he was out. Long text conversations about nothing in the middle of the night.

But if they were ever going to be anything more than text buddies, one of them was going to have to move things along, and she'd decided it was going to be her. Except that her meticulous plan had gone off the rails the moment she turned on her hair-dryer and missed hearing the over timer go off.

She looked over and saw the wine on the counter. She hopped off the chair, grabbed a corkscrew, jammed it into the cork, and worked it out of the bottle with a pop. Without bothering with a glass, she took a deep chug straight out of the bottle.

It was a nice red wine, and it would have been really nice with her burned lasagna.

She was considering another chug when the doorbell rang. With a gasp, she stuck the bottle back on the counter and bolted for the door.

"Hey - what burned?" were the first words out of his mouth when she opened it.

"Lasagna," she said, letting him in. "I was drying my hair and I didn't hear the buzzer."

"Awww," he said. "I’ve been there. Sorry." He gave her a quick hug and she told herself to let go when he did, not to cling to him, not to snuggle close and bask in the smell of his shampoo and the feel of his body against hers. "You didn't have to make dinner. I told you I'd bring something over."

"I wanted to," she said. "But I screwed it up."

He squeezed her upper arms to comfort. "Look," he said. "Why don't I go get a pizza? Will that work with the rest of your menu?"

"Sure," she sighed. "Go for it."

"Be right back," he said, and opened up a breach in the middle of her entryway.

When it sucked itself closed, she went back into her bedroom to put on clothes. Half her closet was scattered over her bed - pretty ruffled skirts that showed off her legs, low cut tops that showed off her decolletage, dresses in a fine-gauge knit that clung to her curves. They'd all seemed not quite perfect for the intimate dinner she'd had planned.

They definitely wouldn't work over pizza.

She put on a soft, drapey t-shirt and a pair of yoga pants, then pulled her hair into a ponytail and put on basic makeup. She started to put on a simple, sheer pink lipstick, then paused, wiped it off, and selected a redder shade.

Even if she couldn't seduce him tonight like she'd planned, that was no reason not to make him think about her lips if she had the chance.

She shut her bedroom door behind her and went to see what else could be salvaged.

By the time he knocked again, she was feeling more cheerful. Yes, the charred lasagna was occupying a place of dishonor on the back of her stove, but that wasn’t the only thing she’d prepared. She did swap out her table settings, though. Thick-crusted, cheesy, greasy pizza just didn't go with her fine china. She let him in with a smile.

"All right," Cisco said, bearing a heavenly-smelling cardboard box toward her table and setting it down in the center. He plopped two twenty-ounce bottles next to the box, one orange soda and one iced tea. “We’ve got a large sausage and mushroom, because I ain’t looking at pineapple on pizza tonight, you Hawaiian-loving weirdo.”

Although sausage and mushroom did go better with the rest of the meal, she scowled playfully at him. He always gave her grief for her taste in pizza. “Keep talking like that and you won't get any caprese salad.”

“Any what now?” he asked, transferring slices onto her red Fiestaware plates.

She shifted the box and showed him the plate. Fat chunks of mozzarella alternated with tomato slices, garnished with basil leaves, and all of it drizzled in olive oil and balsamic vinegar. She’d assembled it and put in the fridge before jumping in the shower earlier.

His eyes lit up. “Fancy!” He nudged his two slices of pizza aside to make room on his plate.

“Okay,” she said after serving herself. “Are you ready to plan?”

“Born ready,” he said, twisting the cap off the orange soda. “Hit me. What are you thinking?”

She pulled out her notebook. “I’ve jotted down some ideas. This is Iris’s thirtieth birthday. It’s a milestone. We want it to be special.”

He cut up a slice of mozzarella and swabbed up balsamic vinegar before popping it in his mouth. “Remind me why we’re planning this and Barry isn’t?”

“Because it’s supposed to stay a surprise for more than thirty seconds,” Caitlin said.

“And he folds like a cheap suit when she cocks her eyebrow. Right.”

She should feel guilty, using a party planning session as a pretense for luring Cisco into her clutches. But Iris, who’d listened to her agonize a few times, would more than understand. Anyway, Caitlin had ditched that plan.

Mostly.

She watched Cisco lick pizza grease off his lips and grin at her as he suggested a country western theme (which she shot down with a quickness) and reminded herself that she wasn’t going to jump him.

Which was too bad, because in that shirt and those pants, he was looking really good. And he was having an incredible hair day.

They settled on a private room at Iris’s favorite restaurant the Saturday after her birthday. Caitlin wrote herself a note to check availability, and to figure out backup restaurants if that one didn’t pan out.

“We should have a decoy celebration,” Cisco suggested. “Like, tell her to meet us for lunch on Sunday.”

“Right! If we all just pretend to have forgotten, she’ll know something’s up. A decoy sounds perfect. Now, who are we inviting to the real thing?”

Cisco pulled up Facebook on his phone and went trawling through Iris’s friend list. “I’ll take care of contacting everybody,” he said, scribbling names down. “Hey, have you got contact info for Linda Park?”

“I can get it,” Caitlin said, writing herself another note. “Iris would love it if she made it from Coast City for this.”

By the time they’d eaten half the pizza and all the caprese salad, they had the beginnings of a really nice party. Cisco closed the box. "Want to keep the rest of this?"

"You take it home," she said, hopping up. "But I do have a new recipe that I tried for dessert."

"I'm going to get fat if you keep making me all your finds," Cisco said, not sounding terribly worried about the prospect. "They're gonna start calling me Jello instead of Vibe."

She grinned at him. "Maybe it's awful. I did burn the lasagna."

"Yikes," he said, and loaded her dishwasher while she pulled the dessert out.

He tilted his head to study the mound of white dessert that she set in front of him. "Is this flan? Because I have to tell you, it’s on the pale side."

"No," she said. "It's panna cotta. Taste it."

He did, and made a noise in his throat that made her skin buzz. "Holy shit. What's it called again?"

"Panna cotta. I made it last night." She tasted it herself and almost sighed. It had really turned out well. Good choice to garnish with raspberries. Next time, she would have to do the mint chocolate variation she'd found.

"Just for funsies?"

"Well, I found the recipe and I really wanted to try it out."

"And you knew I'd be here to help you eat it," he said, taking another bite. "So how did you make it?"

She launched into an explanation of the recipe, how the cream had to just simmer, not fully boil. How you had to let the gelatin dissolve just right, why you had to warm the mixture and let it cool in a particular pattern so the chemical reaction could happen properly. How you could add vanilla or almond or tea or anything, really, to flavor it and then add even more things on top when it had chilled overnight, and then - if you chose - unmold it onto a plate before garnishing. It was her favorite kind of recipe - scientific precision on the one hand, endless flavor choices on the other.

He watched her, smiling as he ate his panna cotta. “Maybe you should make it for Iris’s party,” he suggested.

She wrinkled her nose. “I don’t think I’m up to making this for that many people, and the restaurant might have something to say about it.”

“Okay,” he said with a laugh. “You’ll just have to make it for me again.”

She looked up to see him smiling at her, and her heart skipped a beat. “Okay,” she said, telling herself that her voice wasn’t breathier than Jessica Rabbit’s. “Sure. Anytime.”

Their gazes locked and held until her heart fluttered again, and his lips parted. He blinked, breaking the spell, and set his spoon in his empty dish. “I’m gonna - “ He gestured vaguely in the direction of her bathroom. “Um.”

“Sure,” she said, and had to sit for another five or ten seconds, catching her breath, before she could get up and take the panna cotta dishes to the sink. They had to be hand-washed, but she couldn’t do it now. She’d probably break one.

She cleaned up the rest of the table, checked that Cisco had loaded the dishwasher properly (he had) and was considering how salvageable the lasagna pan was when Cisco called out, “Hey, Caitlin?”

“Hmmm?”

“Can you come here a minute?”

She went to the living room to see him studying her coffee table. “So, what’s this?” he asked.

She swallowed hard. She’d forgotten about that setup. “Um, candles. And wine glasses.”

“Fancy candles,” he said. “And your good wine glasses. And I couldn't help but notice there was a pretty nice red wine breathing on the counter all through dinner.”

“Oh,” she said. “I forgot about that. Yes.”

“And I know you’ll probably be mad and I’m sorry, but I may have slightly snooped in your bedroom on my way to the bathroom and I noticed your closet had exploded.”

She felt herself go red to the hairline. “. . . Yes,” she admitted. “It did, kind of.”

He tilted his head. “Did you have a plan for tonight?”

She nodded slowly. Her face felt hot enough to cook an egg. “But I burned the lasagna and spent too much time looking for the right outfit and ruined it.”

He smushed his lips together. “That’s an easily ruined plan.”

“You know how I am about my plans,” she said.

“Yeah,” he admitted, and picked up one of the wine glasses. “Too bad. This looks like it would have been pretty nice.”

She stood looking at him twisting the wineglass in his fingers, and thought, I’m on Team Flash. Plans going wrong is where we live. I should be able to improvise.

She curled her toes against the carpet. “Do you want to know what end I was planning toward?” she asked.

He looked up at her. “Kinda would. Yeah.”

“Okay,” she said. Whispered, really. “Okay.”

She reached out and took the wineglass from his hand. Setting it down on the coffee table, she rested her hands on his shoulders and leaned forward to kiss him.

He went still, and she thought, Oh, oh no, I’ve misread everything, I -

Then his arms slipped around her waist and he kissed her back. Cautious at first, learning how they fit together, what she liked, what he liked. Then the kiss became more confident, hungrier. She wrapped her arms around his neck and pressed up against him, and he hummed in his throat the way he had when he’d tasted the panna cotta. This time, the sound thrilled her right down to the marrow.

They had to break for air eventually, and leaned together, panting. “So,” he said, his thumb rubbing against her rib cage through her thin shirt. “That was the end of the evening? In your plan?”

“Well,” she said, stroking her fingers through the baby-fine hairs on his neck. “No. Not necessarily.”

He smiled at her, his big joyful Cisco smile that she’d always loved to see, and said, “I was hoping you’d say that.”

FINIS

[abdicatedarchive]

not a date || rose and asher

𝐖𝐇𝐄𝐍: TBD // early march 2021.

𝐅𝐄𝐀𝐓𝐔𝐑𝐈𝐍𝐆: rose x asher.

𝐓𝐑𝐈𝐆𝐆𝐄𝐑𝐒: drug mention.

𝐃𝐄𝐓𝐀𝐈𝐋𝐒: rose does her best to keep up her side of the bet, asher is not exactly thrilled. 

Rose got off her bed and changed out of her sweats in preparation for Asher picking her up to go get a slice of pizza. She figured that it would all be harmless, she was definitely not going to lose the bet with Marina over Asher. He had made it abundantly clear that he was available any time she wanted, and it made it easy to say no. She loved the chase, and with Asher there was no such thing. It was either on or off. She heard a knock on her door and opened it, bag in hand, "Let's head out" she said with a smile as she stepped out and locked her door behind her.

Asher slipped on a pair of jeans and a black tee shirt and headed over to roses dorm. Asher promised to be on his best behavior and he was willing to see how@long that lasted. Either way, him and rose could hang out without it being like that. Knocking on her door, the brunette smiled. “Hey babes. You ready?” He said “alrighty, let’s go.” He said with a smile as the started walking out of the dorms.

Rose walked by his side as they left the dorm building, "The real question is, what kind of toppings man are you?" she asked, you could tell a lot about people by the kind of pizza toppings they get. It was always a band conflict when it was time to order pizza, there were just a lot of differing opinions and they almost always had to split things or just say fuck it and get plain cheese. Sometimes it was strange walking campus with Asher, he had been here longer and had a very established reputation, she tried not to think about it. That was very high school of her to think about what other people were thinking of her just for walking in the evening with a boy. No one actually cared here, in fact most people just minded their own damn business. It must be the trauma reaction from having a gossip page at school.

Asher shrugged. "I mean, I'll eat anything on my pizza. I'll even eat it all." He said, He wasn't picky at all. He loved all different kinds of pizza. Anything would make him happy really. "What do you like on your pizza?" He questioned. Asher knew he had a bit of a rep around this campus but he didn't really care. No one cared to look beyond the surface of him so he only gave them surface effort. Except for Rose, she was able to see deeper, understand him a bit more and he liked that, he liked having someone that could see past the hot jock with a nice  dick game.

Rose continued to walk by his side, "I like artichokes, olives, and red onions" said the girl, "pretty much any veggie pizza." Their friendship is weird, she knew that he used her like he used everybody else. But at least most of the time they were able to cut the bullshit and just be friends, and good ones at that. She also wasn't totally blameless, she used him from time to time too. Of course, with the bet that was completely off the table. God, why did she suggest it? But a challenge was a challenge, and it had already gotten her out of her comfort zone.

Asher shrugged. "Thats cool, Yeah I just hate mushrooms, well the non drug kind." He said with a laugh. "So, I want to know a bit more about this challange? I mean, What Marina doesn't know doesn't hurt her and you know me. I can keep a secret babes." He said with a laugh. "Either way, Its just a weird bet to make, it could last months." 

Rosemary laughed when he asked about the challenge, "I would never betray the sanctity of a bet. It's a moral code issue. If I cheat, then all rules are off the table for the next one, and that's no fair" said Rose, laughing a little. The whole thing was really ridiculous, she had no idea why she suggested it in the first place. "Yeah, but we're both in a weird place right now, and not distracting ourselves with people is probably for the best. It's also good to get out of your comfort zone, I dunno" she explained as she looked up at the stars. "Hopefully it won't last until the summer, that would be awful. One of us will break, and if it was worth it, I would" she admitted.

“I do give you that, cheating isn’t fair.” Asher said, he just liked to temp people. Rose was hard, she knew what she wanted. People like Romeo Asher could have wrapped around his finger and play them like putty. He respected the hell out of rose tho. “Honestly that sounds pretty healthy if you both.” Asher said with a nod. “But yeah, if it lasts till the summer I’d be surprised. I could never go that long without flirting. Sometimes I’m flirting and I don’t even realize. I’m also a hot mess so there is that.” 

"There's also a difference between intentional flirting and unintentional flirting. I think flirting that would lead to anyone asking for your number or to hangout counts. But banter is another thing. I don't think I can physically talk to someone and not be a little tease-y flirty" Rose said, thinking out loud. They hadn't really discussed what defined flirting, but she believed it was if you were planning on something. "I mean, all three of us are kinda a hot mess. Flirting is just second nature" she said as they came up to the restaurant.

“I give you props, Hollingsworth. You impress me. And I will be watching carefully and reporting any flirting I see if you directly to the queen herself.” He said with a laugh. He opened the door of the pizza place for her. He might be a fuck boy but he did know manners. “After you,” he said with a smile. “I’ll do some extra flirting for you, you know, out of solidarity. I’ll be flirting for two next party.”

"Wow, thank you so much for holding me to such a high standard" said Rose giving him a playful shove. That definitely didn't count. "Thank you" she replied as he opened the door for her and smiled. "Awww, how sweet. Think of me when you do it" she teased, her and Marina had gone to a few parties so far under their new conditions. They had had a lot of fun, the night always ended with drunk eating and spending time with their girl friends. It was actually kind of refreshing to not go to some grimey dorm room with a guy and not know what you're in for.

"Of course, anything for you babes. You hold the highest standards in my eyes." He said playfully, though he did respect the shit out of the girl. "I know, I am just the best. And lets be real, would I think of anyone else?" He said playfully. He had that issue, not necessarily with thinking of Rose... sometimes it would be Romeo, other times MAdden, most of the time it would be David beckham or Megan Fox. Asher had some good friends, but he was never too close with many people and sometimes that hurt him sometimes. But thats what he liked about rose, she was always there when he needed it. "So what kinda pizza do you want, it's on me."

The girl smiled, she enjoyed her time with Asher. He could turn it on when he wanted to, she had to give him that. He was a little much for some people, but she thrived off of messy people sometimes. With the right energy, you could clean them right up. She had Asher pretty together when he was around her. "Just cheese pizza" she said sweetly, it was to avoid any complications. She liked food orders to be cut and dry, no options for anyone to have to pick anything off or any way they could do it wrong. How could anyone mess up a cheese pizza? "So what's with the chivalry this evening?" she inquired, wondering why he was on such good behavior.

Asher smiled. "You got it." He said ordering a cheese pizza and handing the dude his debit card. Turning back to her he smiled. "What? I can't be a jerk all the time, It does get boring you know." He said playfully. "Plus I promised to be a good boy today, so I am." He added in. "Why? I heard chivalry isn't as dead as everyone thinks."

She laughed a little, "I mean chivalry is archaic as an idea, but you playing nice is a treat." Somedays Rose didn't even know what to do with Asher, but he had a good heart under all of it. That much she knew for certain. "What are your weekend plans looking like?" she inquired.

"I mean, I am totally pro feminism, yall run this world, but chivalry is nice from time to time." He said with a shrug. "My weekend plans? Well I have football training on friday, and intramural lacrosse practice, but that just means friday night is a drinking night, probably out with the boys, saturday day recover and repeat. Sunday recover and bang out a bunch of homework."

Rose shrugged, "I think it's kinda harmful to the whole thing, but I did use the word. So that's on me" said Rosemary, thinking about her favorite teacher from high school would definitely shake her head at that. "Sounds like you're pretty busy" she teased, "are you going to have time for little old Rose Holly?"

Asher nodded. "Yeah, I am def pro feminism. Stick it to the patriarchy." He said with a smile. "I also know how to be mannerful, even when I don't seem like it." He added in. "Eh, I like keeping busy. Or else I get bored, but of coure. I always have time for you, rosie." He said as the guy handed them their pie. "Wanna find a place to sit?"

Rose half smiled at his use of the nickname, it was strange hearing that from someone outside her family. She knew he meant well, it was just very personal. Sometimes it caught her off guard. "Aww, I always have time for you Asher" she replied sweetly. He was a good guy, and she knew that, "Lets." The two found a table towards the back, there were a bunch of big groups taking up the majority of the tables. Pizza places on any night were always packed.

Most times Asher played above the line. He didn’t even realize Rosie was a family nickname. But again even if he did he would probably call her it anyway, he liked it for her. “So what are your big weekend plans?” He said as they moved to the table. He opened the box up and handed her a plate.

Rosemary thought for a second, "well, I'm going to a party on Friday, studying all Saturday, band stuff on Sunday and workouts all in between" she said with a smile as she grabbed a piece of pizza and put it on her plate. "and of course some face masks and time with mari" she added before taking a bite of her pizza, "you have any particular conquests in mind for this weekend?" she pried.

"Sounds action packed." He said with a smile. "Ah Rina. Facemask sounds fun and relaxing. I hope you enjoy." He said before taking a bit. "Conquests? Nah. Whoever is interested in a good time and seems like fun when I'm crossed." He said with a laugh. "That or that cute blond on the cheer team, I've been dying to see under that little skirt of hers."

"No conquests, but mild conquests" she said with a laugh as the cheese slowly pulled between her mouth and the slice. Rose didn't know who worked here, but whoever it was really knew what they were doing when they made this pizza. "Do you mean Chanel, or one of the other blond girls?" she asked, curious.

"I mean like, I always have someone in mind, like, I'm a active male with high sex hormones. I gotta keep it up to keep myself sane." he said playfully. "No not Chanel, that girl Kylie. The flyer that is hella flexible." He said with a smile. "She doesn't even have to fuck me. I just wanna see her bend."

"Kylie is really cute" said Rose with a laugh, "not that I approve of you messing with any of my teammates." He was crude, but that was just Asher. Rose took a bite of her pizza, enjoying the much needed food. "You must have a backup, who is after Kylie?" she taunted.

“Yeah she seems nice too which is a different pace for me.” Asher knew he was a player, but it wasn’t like he was breaking hearts. He liked to have sex, it brought him pleasure and he didn’t mind sharing that with other people. “She is the backup. You are always number one” he said throwing a playful wink at her

"Be careful with nice girls, they aren't as resilient as the guarded ones" she toyed, she thought it was a protective layer but she didn't really know how deep the damage was from being cheated on and toyed with throughout high school. She thought she was just having fun after everything, but it only caused more damage. "No flirting, this is your warning" she said laughing a little, "I'm so serious about this bet."

“Don’t worry I know the drill. Leave my emotions at the door, be clear about what I want and don’t call her the wrong name.” Asher said with a laugh. He knew his actions were a protective measure. After everything he had been through with his dad and now step dad, he never let anyone get to close to him emotionally. He couldn’t take anymore pain. “I was just testing you and had to make sure my devilishly good looks didn’t bring you astray” he said as he finished up his slice of pizza

"Funny boy, but for real. You don't want to ruin your rep with the whole cheer team, I've already done so much positive reinforcement" said Rose laughing a little. "I think I can manage" she joked, "but solid try. I give you a 5/10 for pursuit effort."

Asher shrugged. “Ehh. I don’t really care what people thing to be honest.” Not entirely true, but okay Asher. “I mean, I got what? Two more years here and then I’ll never see 90% of these bitches again. Like the weirdo in the chem lab, never see him again. Chad in the baseball team? Nope. You, jet and the Bois? Kidding of course I’ll see y’all again” he said playfully. “ can’t blame a guy for trying, am I right?”

"You never know who you're going to see again, that's the whole point! Good impressions all the time" said Rosemary, but she was also still sadly very concerned with how people viewed her. It was hard balancing fun and hardworking, and she thought her and Marina pulled it off well, but that was also just her opinion. "I mean, I can blame a guy for anything" she joked.

Rose did have a good point, especially if his dream of pro ball took off. They everyone would have stories of him. “I mean, yeah true. But also people these days are so judgmental, no one likes to just have fun and keep it casual anymore.” Asher pointed out. “ like I don’t care what someone ate for breakfast or what their zodiac is. And listening to some girl babble on for hours is draining.” Asher looked up at Rosemary. “Never me though. I always have an alibi”

Rosemary smiled, "Well just to have you know, I am a Leo on the virgo cusp. I'm an ESTP and an enneagram three" she said, a smirk forming. She did love to push his buttons, "and trust me I could go on for hours. I have plenty of times with Marina." She did find all of that stuff really fascinating, and honestly it wouldn't hurt Asher to listen to girls every once in a while.

Asher smiled nodded and did the basic guy not listening card. “Really? Wow! I would have never guessed that.” He said looking up at her. “I’m also a tiger with a Pluto rising and a devil sinking.” He added in just to be funny. “Wanna hear me roar?” He said throwing a wink. “Kidding kidding. But what I was saying is that when they pull the zodiac card then they start going deep into our compatibility and if we will get married and have kids and it’s kinda creepy

"Sweetie, I didn't mention my moon or anything. I'm talking about the enneagram" Rosemary teased, playing the hurt girlfriend. She couldn't imagine what it was like to actually date Asher, Rose had never seen it ... but she also figured that he shaped up quite quickly under the right circumstances. "It's just a fun thing, let people like what they like Ash" Rose reminded him.

“Well I don’t want to hear about your butt test.” He said making a disgusted face. “I thought only ok’d people get enneagrams.” He questioned, showing he didn’t quite understand the word. “They can like it, that’s cool. But I don’t want to get married.” Asher knew when the time came he could be a good boyfriend. He just never let anyone get close enough for that to happen. Rose was different though. Out of pure curiosity he somehow let her slip through his guarded gate and he didn’t mind. 

"Asher the enneagram is a personality test, not a prostate exam" said the girl, laughing at his confusion. At least he was an idiot in a funny way, she always laughed around him. "You say that, but I can imagine you married someday. She'll have to be a very very very special girl" said Rose as she took another bite of her pizza.

“ are you sure? Isn’t the butt water test called an ennema?” He questioned. “I don’t need a personality test, I already know I’m fabulous.” He added in with a laugh. “Well I mean yeah one day but not right now. I’m to young and hot.”

[vulcan-highblood]

A knock sounded on the door. Wade Wilson was on his feet and pirouetted his way to the door in a matter of seconds, flinging it wide open.

“Thank Thor (or Loki)! I was about to starve!”

The kid at the door looked on, vaguely unimpressed at Wade’s antics. “Are you the mister Pool comma Dead who ordered a large, uh… pineapple olive, large anchovy mushroom, and large special order of four cheese with… mozzarella sticks as the topping?” he recited the order in a bored drawl, but there was a hint of judgement in his tone. So Wade liked his pizzas with a bit of zest and creativity. Was it a crime? Part of Wade hoped it was, how thrilling would it be to live on the run from the cops for daring to order a pizza outside the conventional system? It would make a great movie! He should write it, he could make millions-

“I’m taking that as a yes,” Pizza kid said, clearing his throat loudly. “If you could maybe pay for these, I gotta get going.” He shifted the pizzas in his grip with a peeved look on his face.

Okay, rude. It’s not like Wade had made him stand there for… Wade checked his watch. Oh. Nearly five minutes. Okay, maybe he’d been dissociating a bit longer than he realized. “My bad,” Wade said, reaching for his wallet, “what do I owe ya for, pretty boy?”

Pizza kid raised an eyebrow, glancing down at his polo shirt before looking up at Wade as if to ask ‘what part of this do you find “pretty”, exactly?’ He was still holding the pizzas. His arms hadn’t even started quivering from the strain yet. Wade was impressed. “Forty-one seventy-nine for the pizzas,” said the kid - his nametag read as ‘Peter’. Peter’s face was telling Wade he would like to demand another forty to cover the inconvenience of waiting for Wade to get his shit together.

Wade peeled a few twenties out of his wallet, not bothering to count them. Hopefully there was at least sixty in the stack. It was probably closer to two hundred. He tossed them on top of the Pizza boxes.

Peter Pizza waited for Wade to grab the boxes, then scooped up the wad of bills with a stunned expression on his face. “Uh…”

“Keep the change,” Wade said brightly. “Next time, try not to judge a man by his toppings. Especially when they’re perfectly legitimate choices,” he added in an undertone.

Peter Pizza stuffed the money in his payment pouch. “Thanks,” he said, “Enjoy your pizza.”

“Oh, I definitely will,” Wade answered.

Peter turned to walk back to the stairs (the elevator was broken), Wade standing in the doorway to watch him go, appreciating the view. Tousled, mousy brown hair in need of a trim, shoulders that were neither broad nor narrow, a trim waist, and… that ass. His pair of tight-fitting jeans made it easy to see how round and pert it was. Damn but you could bounce a quarter off that ass. He hadn’t seen an ass like that since Cap… or… Spidey…

Holy shit. Wade tossed the boxes aside, pizza totally forgotten in his excitement. “I’d know that ass anywhere!” he bellowed, charging down the hall after Peter Pizza. “Spidey! What are you doing delivering pizzas?”

The kid turned around slowly, a confused look creasing his features. “Spidey?” he repeated. “Is he a friend of yours?”

“Of course you are!” Wade beamed, although of course Spidey would have probably insisted they were merely acquaintances.

“Is Spidey his nickname? God I pity the guy if it’s his given name,” said Pizza Parker, and Wade was momentarily derailed.

“Wait, no, Spidey. Spider-Man. As in, ‘your friendly neighborhood’.” Wade pointed at Peter. “I’d know your pert little tushy anywhere, you can’t fool me.”

Peter scowled. “Do I look like the kind of guy who has time to run around the city in a garish suit of spandex?” Wade was about to answer the kid when he continued. “No, I do not, because pizza delivery does not pay well enough for me to afford the spandex, much less the time I could be spending earning money.” Peter turned and started walking away again, snorting “Me, Spider-Man? Hah.”

Wade watched that ass sway down the hall, a dark look on his features. “Oh, we’ll see about that, baby boy. We will see.”

Wade wasn’t one to take no for an answer, and he was fairly convinced that this Peter kid was either Spidey’s butt-double or the real deal. In any case, he was determined to discern the true identity of the derrière in question. First, he made a few calls, learning that there was only one Peter working as a delivery boy in that pizza shop, he was a college sophomore and part-timer. Sounded like about the right age range for his Delivery boy and while he’d always pegged (heh) Spidey as being a bit older than that, it wasn’t outside the realm of possibility.

The next step was twofold. First, it involved tailing both Peter and Spidey, and acquiring accurate analyses of their bootyliscious behinds. For science. Then he would compare the analysis and decide whether or not his suspicions were confirmed. He was fairly certain they would be confirmed.

Wade decided to seek out Spidey first since he was fairly certain he knew most of Spidey’s favorite haunts. Sure enough, he found the friendly neighborhood web-slinger doing his thing, webbing up bad guys, calling cops, all while rocking a smokin hot bod… classic.

Deadpool popped up behind Spidey while he was lecturing one of the hoodlums or bank robbers or vandals or whoever, grabbed that round little ass and gave it a niiice squeeze, trying to get a feel for it.

Spider-Man squealed in a most undignified way, cutting his lecture short to whirl on Deadpool. “How many times?” he demanded, shaking a finger in Wade’s face. “How? Many? Times?”

“How many times have I thought of you while jacking off?” Deadpool quipped. “I lost count around thirty.”

Spider-Man seemed momentarily lost for words. Then, “Boundaries, Deadpool. I have them. Please respect them.” He rubbed his behind gingerly. “Jeez. What was that for, anyway?”

“Pretty sure I saw that tushy in action earlier this evening,” Wade explained. “Now I’m trying to verify my suspicions.”

“You saw my butt today?” Spidey-Man sounded both confused and disturbed. “I hope it was attached to the rest of me. Otherwise we have a problem.”

“I think you delivered a pizza to my place,” Deadpool explained. “Or else some guy who happens to be your booty double.”

“Oh gee, well, if I ever need a stand-in for my ass, I guess I’ll give this pizza guy a call.” Spidey sighed. “Was that all, Wade?”

Deadpool considered the question seriously. “Could I get oooone more feel? For science,” he explained, making grabby hands.

“No. I’m not going to encourage your weird butt-doppelgänger theory.” Spidey-Man knelt down to pick up one of the thugs’ phones. “I’m calling the police now,” he said. “You might wanna make yourself scarce.”

That was fine, Wade decided. Tomorrow, he would implement step two…

The next day found Wade scoping out the campus of Midtown University. It was a decently sized school, which made spotting the Spidey-butt more challenging than he’d prefer. Still, it was something to do and Wade was 100% certain that Spidey had been the one to deliver pizza to his door. He just needed one more ass-grab to prove it.

There! Wade leapt from the top of the building, rolling as he hit the ground bs springing to his feet. He jogged across the wide green campus lawn towards a nerdy-looking kid hoisting a heavy backpack over one shoulder. He came up behind the kid and gave his perfect ass a squeeze.

The kid yelped. So did Wade.

“It is you!” Wade shouted.

“OH MY GOD WHAT THE HELL?” the kid bellowed, drawing every eye in the vicinity for a split second before they returned to whatever had them occupied before. “You just groped me!”

Wade shook his head. “I was testing a hypothesis!”

“Was it about the likelihood of me punching you?” the kid snapped.

Wade just stared at Peter dispassionately.

Then the kid really looked at Wade, his eyes tracing the merc’s broad shoulders and taut muscles, noting that the man was a good head and shoulders taller than him as well. “…not that it would do any damage…” he awkwardly tacked the phrase onto the end of his previous statement.

Wade grinned. “Admit it, Spidey, I found you.”

Peter sighed. “Even if I was a costumed creep, what makes you think I’d tell you?”

Wade considered this. “So you’re saying I need another way to prove it.”

The kid looked exasperated. “No, I meant that-” Wade was already gone. Peter sighed. “That man is going to be the death of me.”

In the weeks that followed, Wade tried a number of things to try and get Peter to reveal his secret identity. He tried throwing things at him in order to prove that Peter had superhuman reflexes. (Which explained why Peter was sporting a fading black eye- he was apparently bad at dodging, or good at holding back his spider-instincts.) He tried staging a robbery at the convenience store across the street from Peter’s student housing. No Peter or Spidey showed up, but Wade walked away from the ordeal with a garbage sack full of candy bars and a giant slushee, so he counted it as a win anyway.

He tried casually (note: it was not actually casual) dragging Peter to the roof of the tallest building on campus and throwing him over the edge. It was a lucky thing there was a trampoline below to break his fall. Wade had been expecting web-slinging, but watching Pizza boy’s arms and legs flailing as he bounced was almost as satisfying.

Finally, after nearly a month of harassment, Peter finally broke down and confronted Deadpool. “Why are you doing this to me?” he demanded, rubbing his cheek where he’d been hit by a ball Wade had lobbed at him while shouting ‘think fast, Spidey!’

Wade considered Peter’s question. “I wanna know I’m right,” he said.

Peter sighed. “What would you even do if I did admit it?”

Wade considered this. He had never really thought of anything beyond the stage of “prove pizza parker is ‘pidey”. “I don’t know,” Wade answered. “Gloat, I guess.”

“You’ve been harassing me for a month, on the off chance that you might be able to gloat about it?” Peter sounded exasperated. “You’re an asshole!”

Wade shrugged. “Guilty,” he admitted easily.

Peter looked mad enough to spit. “Oh my god, I think I literally hate you,” he said finally. Then. “I’m going to let you in on a little secret, Wade.”

Wade leaned forward. “Yeah?”

“At this point, even if I were Spider-Man, I would never admit it, just because I know it would piss you off.” With that, Peter spun on his heel and walked away.

Wade watched him go for a moment, then sputtered. “Wait a minute,” he shouted, “how do you know my name?!”

Peter didn’t even look back, flipping him the bird with both hands as he kept walking.

Wade slowly touched a hand to his own cheek, feeling as though he’d been slapped despite the lack of physical contact. “Fuck,” he whispered reverently, “I think I’m in love.”

[xseedgames]

Story of Seasons: Trio of Towns Localization Blog #6

Howdy, everybody! This is John with our final localization blog for Story of Seasons: Trio of Towns. The game comes out next Tuesday (2/28). Don’t miss out on your chance to preorder the game from select retailers to get the adorable capybara pocket plushie bonus, which I have had a lot of fun posing for our little “Capy and Bunny Adventures” comics over the past month. (Okay, sometimes it was a little embarrassing getting those photos.)

We just released a new trailer showing off the four Super Mario Bros. costumes that you can unlock in the game. We’ll also be streaming the game on our Twitch channel from 2:30 PM PST today. Stop by and ask us some questions.

Before I bury the lede any further, I’d like to update you all on the DLC for Story of Seasons: Trio of Towns. For more information on the patches released for free over the course of six months after launch in Japan, as well as our dilemma about whether or not to localize this content, see my previous blog.

We were really overwhelmed by the feedback we received from it. The patience and support of those who responded was encouraging to say the least, and we were grateful to hear all of your opinions, however you felt about the situation. One issue that came up on our forums that I’d like to address quickly is about the bug fixes that were included in the post-launch patches in Japan. Those fixes are all already included in the core game that we are releasing on February 28.

Now then, on to the big news: I’m happy to report that we have decided to localize and release the DLC in North America. I don’t have information on a release timeline or costs for you yet, but we’re eager to dive into translating and editing the text for this massive update. Stay tuned for updates in the months after the initial release.

Thanks again for all your feedback. It made our decision much easier. While the DLC is a ways off, until then we hope you enjoy Story of Seasons: Trio of Towns. Even without the post-launch DLC, it is still the biggest game in the storied history of the farm/life-sim series.

As this is our final planned pre-release localization blog, I wanted to give some of the other members of the XSEED staff who worked on Story of Seasons: Trio of Towns a chance to give their comments on the game. As I mentioned in our very first blog, this game had a massive amount of text that we spent months and months focusing on.

Here are our questionnaire respondents:

Danielle: QA tester and editor

Nathan: QA tester

John: Project lead

1. Who were your favorite character(s) to work on and why? Have any lines in particular made an impression on you?

John: It’s hard to choose, but I will say that I love the dynamics between all the Lulukoko characters. Some of my favorite text in the game are the conversations that will take place between 3-4 characters during certain festivals. The normal groups (Zahau-Caolila, Lotus-Mithra, Iluka-Siluka-Ludus) are great, but funny conversations happen when you mix those characters together. There’s a really great exchange between Lotus and Tototara.

 2. What were your favorite changes and/or additions made to the game?

Danielle: Streamlined farming. Unlike in the previous game, harvested animal by-products and crops go straight into your inventory.Another feature I really like is the addition of actual dog/cat breeds. The previous game had about 4 different "breeds," and were mostly reskins. SoS: ToT has about 16 unique different breeds of dogs, and I have no idea how cat breeds work, but trust me when I say there's a lot more variety there. And last but not least, there's the new--and adorable--capybara!

 3. Which of the three towns do you like the most, and why?

Danielle: Lulukoko hands down for me. I absolutely love locations with tropical and/or oceanside settings. The music for Lulukoko is one of my favorites in the game as well.

Nathan: Lulukoko. Generally speaking it had my favorite bunch of characters, shop hours that matched my playstyle, and the most expensive stuff on the ground for scavenging.

John: Tsuyukusa has my favorite music and some really beautiful scenery. The homes and shops are jam-packed with interesting decorations and knick-knacks from Japanese culture. All of those cultural references were difficult to localize, but I think they make the town so interesting for players.

Many of the decorations in Tsuyukusa are explained by the characters in dialogue.

4. Favorite bachelor/bachelorette? (Minor spoiler about a secret marriage candidate)

Danielle: Ludus. (Ford is pretty great too, though.)

Nathan: For the bachelors, I like Ludus, as he's a good dude that works hard and helps directly. As for the bachelorettes, it's a toss up between Siluka and Inari, though I may be biased as I spent a good deal of time with Siluka. Meanwhile, Inari is a god, so...

John: It’s a little weird seeing Inari referred to as a “bachelorette,” as we tried to keep the Tsuyukusa guardian’s text as gender-neutral as possible. (Though, ultimately, Inari will call him or herself your “husband” or “wife” in some scenes depending on your character’s gender. This is accurate to the Japanese text.)

Anyway, here in the office, Ludus is sort of everyone’s favorite because he’s so attractive and kind-hearted, but for me Ford is the funniest and sweetest bachelor. His response if you dump him just about broke my heart.

Iluka is a treasure. Komari was my choice when I originally played through the game in Japanese, and she’s definitely more my “type.” But Iluka’s sass just turned out so well in English.

To be fair to Iluka, most characters ask you to come back later if you talk to them while they’re eating.

5. Do you have a favorite non-farming SoS activity?

Danielle: Decorating my farmland (or house) is always fun. I also really enjoy creating all the different outfits.

Nathan: Mining for sure, GIVE ME ALL OF THE MONEY.

John: I love fishing in these games. There are so many different fish in Trio of Towns too; it seems like it could almost be its own game. Also, you no longer have to mash the A Button to reel your line in, which is gentler on my hands and my 3DS.

Fish alongside Lulukoko’s master angler, Zahau.

6. Which aspect of the game do you tend to focus on? The social or the farming?

Danielle: I'd say I probably focus about 60% on the social and 40% on the farming.

Nathan: I tend to do an equal amount of both, as I try to set up my farm to require as little attention as possible (and by that I mean planting trees). I do enjoy taking care of the animals though, especially my prize-winning cow: Horse.

John: I’m usually more interested in the social side. I’m always impressed by players who really micromanage their farms. (Like Nathan, who quickly became a fruit tree tycoon during his QA playthrough.)

 7. Which festival would you most like to participate in IRL?

Danielle: The Beverage Bash. I like cooking (making drinks counts as cooking, right?), and I love tea even more, so getting together with a bunch of people to try and create a new drink concoction sounds like a ton of fun. I just hope people in real life have more common sense than to bring mayonnaise as an ingredient.

Nathan: Westown's Goddess Festival, because, let's be real here for a second, there's a giant pizza. Giant. Pizza.

John: The “stargazing” events in Westown and Lulukoko are nice. In Westown, you go up in a hot air balloon to look at the stars. In Lulukoko, you go out in a boat to admire bioluminescent “sea sparkles” in the ocean. (Tsuyukusa has a similar event based on the Japanese festival Tanabata.) The prospect of going up in a hot air balloon (Westown) without a trained pilot is less appealing the more I think about it, however.

The “Beverage Bash” event.

8. If you were a character in Trio of Towns, what would be your number one most loved and hated item?

Danielle:

Loved: Pumpkin Pie

Hated: Pickles

Nathan:

Loved: Black Coffee Hated: Mushrooms, of any type

John: There are over 1,100 items in this game, so it was hard to decide.

Loved: Curry (all types)

Hated: Olive (Who even likes these?)

You would also lose friendship points with me if you shoved a cat in my face (allergies).

 9. What features or changes would you like to see implemented in future games?

Danielle: The biggest feature I'd like to see the return of is the multi-floored mining system (as seen in some of the Wii-era games), as opposed to just the mining points.

Nathan: I'd love to see something along the lines of expeditions or fishing trips for rare fauna as pets, plants, or fish.

John: I would like the developers to bring back larger wilderness areas and even caves/mines to explore. That was the thing I missed most in Trio of Towns.

And, of course, it would be nice to finally have same-sex dating options.

Don’t swing too far back, now.

That’s all from us. We really hope you enjoy the game. Look for another entry starting with “Howdy, everybody” on this blog in a few months’ time.

[danny-reece]

First Rule of Fight Club

WHO → Daniel Reece & Eliza Oliver

WHEN → Monday, January 2nd 2017

WHERE → Reece Household

NOTES → After falling asleep during the first movie night, Eliza comes over to watch another one. Their evening is filled with fight clubs, handmade remote cars, and kisses - both chocolate and not.

WORD COUNT →  10,415

Eliza was really struggling with the whole ‘don’t look up the synopsis to Fight Club’ thing at that point. It had been a long day for the girl and between having her first day back at school after break and having a mountain of homework to get through to be able to have a decent time that evening Eliza was feeling a little restless. It didn’t help that her text message conversation with Danny earlier that day had left her with a lot of questions and way more feelings than she knew what to do with. So she was thankful when she saw a familiar figure approaching the front door to the Reece residence, a smile immediately springing to Eliza’s lips as she greeted the person she was actually there to see. “Hey!” she started. “I brought pizza. And chocolate. As promised.”

Danny: “Well I would have been very disappointed if you didn’t. I was expecting my courtship chocolate after all. Hey Eliza, good to see you.” Daniel smiled and nodded slightly though he wanted to reach out and give her a hug, he still was a little messy from work. “Let me just wash up really quick and then we can start the movie. It shouldn’t take me more than fifteen minutes to shower and get into a change of clothes. You can um look at my baby pictures or something as entertainment.” He laughed slightly at his own comment before opening the front door to his home and letting them both in. “I don’t actually know where my parents are, but if they show up while I’m in the shower, they’ll probably ask you why you’re here acting all shocked that I can spend time with girls outside of a bedroom.”

Eliza “Good to see you too,” the girl returned even though it really hadn’t been that long since they’d last seen each other in person. She liked spending time with him so yeah, it was good to see him. “Yes, you still get your courtship chocolate even though we decided a courtship was no fun,” she followed up, still amused by the website she had discovered. The girl picked up the pizza box that she had set down just a few minutes earlier, nodding as Danny spoke about how she could keep herself occupied while he showered. “Nice to know I have permission to do something I was probably going to end up doing anyway,” she informed with a grin, only semi-serious. She would probably look around his living room, but she just liked to observe her surroundings. “You would think that the reason why they’d be surprised would be because you invited someone to spend time inside your home at 6pm knowing full well that your parents may be around and not because the location’s a little different than it would normally be,” the girl mused as she walked inside, slightly ignoring the meaning of his words as she headed towards where she assumed the living room was.

Danny: “Yes well, I’m sure they’ll be very impressed and confused by that as well, but since it’s you I’m sure they’ll be delighted. They always are hoping I’ll meet someone to be a good influence and turn me into everything they’ve ever hoped for. Lucky for me, the person who they would love to shove me with actually isn’t half bad.” Daniel smirked slightly as he took off his jacket and went to hang it in the coat closet before looking over at Eliza. “Coat? I’ll hang it up in here so it doesn’t get all wrinkled or messed up. Unless you want to keep wearing it. That’s fine too.” Once that was done, he began to make his way towards his bedroom so he could get into the shower. “Okay, I’ll be out in like fifteen minutes okay? Try not to miss me that hard.”

Eliza smirked as she spoke, repeating words that Danny had once said to her. “That’s me - a parent’s wet dream.” She was pretty sure it had been an insult the first time around, but it had stuck with her and she wasn’t bitter when she repeated it just then. “Oh, right,” Eliza murmured as she slid off her coat, handing it over to the boy before looking around. “I’ll do my very best!” she called out before setting down the pizza and beginning her examination of the room, taking note of all of the family photos and the atmosphere of the space. Everything seemed really... clean. And the photos were... nice, but weird to see considering how Eliza knew how Danny really felt about his family. He had been a cute kid, though. Obviously, since he was a cute adult but... still. After a few minutes of looking around the room she decided to finally take a seat, checking her phone to see if she had any messages from her parents, brother, Seth, or Hazel, before checking a few social media apps. Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat... they were quick ways to pass the time and before she knew it 15 minutes had passed on the clock in the room. Weird. But great? She had managed to not start eating without Danny too.

Danny: When Daniel came back into the living room, there was a towel wrapped around his neck and he had changed into gray sweatpants with a tight black t-shirt. “Alright, I don’t smell as much like oil anymore at least. It’s a start. That wasn’t too long now was it?” He flopped down on the couch then leaned forward to open up the pizza box. “I’m going to go ahead and assume that you didn’t ask for any mushrooms on this? I mean, unless you’re the Lakewood killer and this is how you’re going to get me. It would be very rude to kill me on our first date though, just so you know.” He chuckled softly, though he didn’t take a bite out of his slice until he got confirmation. Sure, he had an epipen in the living room and one in his bag in his room, but that didn’t mean he wanted to use them any time soon. Hearing the backdoor open and close then, Daniel couldn’t stop himself from rolling his eyes. “They’re here.”

Eliza did a quick and hopefully innocent double take of Danny as he came back in the room, momentarily distracted by his current look. Why did that work for him?? “Shockingly I was able to amuse myself while you were away,” she informed him, readjusting her position now that there was someone else on the couch. “I hate mushrooms, but good to know your greatest weakness. I feel like you could easily take out half of this town with food,” the girl joked as she grabbed her own slice of pizza, taking a quick bite of it before she spoke again. “Murder is at least a third date thing. Though if you count Jack Frost as a date we’re already at number two so I guess your days are numbered.” Eliza wasn’t super sure whether or not they were joking about the dating thing or not, but she rolled with it anyway, knowing that if they were serious she’d actually be a-okay with that. “You know, if you did that in a slightly higher voice it’d be like we’re in a horror movie,” the girl murmured before turning to greet the Reece matriarch and patriarch. “Hello Mr. and Mrs. Reece!” she said with a smile.

Danny: “Well it seems I will have to push off any future encounters. The party doesn’t get to count as date number three though because that just isn’t fair. I’m supposed to be driving you so you can’t off me.” As his parents made their way into the living room, there was a noticeable look of surprise on their faces from seeing Eliza there. His mother was the first to speak out of the two. “Hello Eliza. Daniel, you didn’t tell us that you were having Eliza over this evening and why are you all wet on the couch?” He shrugged slightly before putting his arm on the back of the couch, behind the girl. “Had to take a shower. I just got off of work and it was sort of a last minute thing, her coming over. Figured you and dad wouldn’t care since I was just watching a movie.” His mother shook her head then. “No, we don’t mind, we are just surprised is all. Daniel, we saw Liberty on the way home. Is everything alright?”

At the mention of the girl’s name, Daniel stiffened up and looked down at his slice of pizza as if it was the most interesting thing in the world. “Yeah, mom. Everything is great. So…Eliza and I are just going to watch a movie in here and then I’m probably staying in for the night. I’ll talk to you more about all of that in the morning, but everything is fine.” Though it was obvious neither of them believed him, his parents nodded and made their way up to their bedroom, leaving Daniel and Eliza alone again. His arm was still behind her, resting casually on the back of the couch. “Alright then. Movie?” Though he tried to keep his words joyful, his expression was anything but.

Eliza: “Oh? So you’re just going to cut this non-courtship off after date two so you can enjoy all that getting to date two has to offer without dealing with the drama that unfolds with date three? Tragic,” Eliza joked, hoping that he knew she really wasn’t being serious in that moment. “I think it goes without saying that I wouldn’t kill anyone, but I really wouldn’t kill you,” she reassured him before looking over at his parents. They… really were surprised to see her there. Was it because they were in the living room or because it was her? His mom was being cordial, but Eliza could tell that she didn’t exactly approve of all aspects of the situation. Danny was wet and there was pizza on the coffee table and no napkins in sight… it was probably a nightmare for her. It was at that realization that Eliza involuntarily straightened up, a little more nervous than she would’ve otherwise been. She sort of had a… need, really, for parents to like her. Eliza listened as Danny’s parents spoke, looking over at him a bit in surprise after they mentioned Liberty. Why would everything not be alright with Liberty? Moments later his parents had left and it was just the two of them in the room once again… but Eliza wasn’t about to not let her curiosity get the best of her. “What happened?” she asked as she turned towards Danny, concern clear from her tone and expression. “Are you okay?”

Danny: “It’s nothing. I…spoke to Liberty about everything and she just didn’t take it well. When we broke up, I told her that I cheated on her so that she would dump me. At that time, I guess I just knew that I wasn’t really the guy she needed, but she wasn’t going to let me go. I needed her to dump me so that not only would she be free of me, but then she could see that she could do so much better. So, yeah, I told her that and obviously we broke up but somehow we still remained friends and…more sometimes. I told her about what had really happened, about getting scared of being in love with her and just needing her to find someone else and that I knew it wasn’t the right thing to do, but I had done it.”

Danny’s hands folded into his lap then as he placed his slice of pizza back into the box. “She didn’t take it well at all. It sort of ended in her saying that she hated me and wanted me to act as if we didn’t know each other. I’ve never really seen Liberty so angry and I know it’s my fault. I should have never lied in the first place. I just never expected her to ask me to forget anything about us and now she says that she doesn’t believe I ever loved her at all. I did though, I really did.”

Eliza: “Hey, it’s okay,” Eliza immediately tried to reassure, placing a hand on Danny’s shoulder. She wanted to do a hug, but she wasn’t really sure if their current positioning or conversation topic really made that the best choice. “I mean, it’s not really okay because you’re not okay, but… it’s going to be okay.” Her clarification sort of sucked, but she felt like it was important for her to emphasize. “It sucks that things turned out the way that they did, but it’s good that you told her the truth. She deserved to know. And now she won’t have tons of unanswered questions about what happened and what went wrong.” She was trying to look on the bright side of things, but it was a little difficult at that exact moment. Honestly, if Danny had said he’d cheated on her, she would’ve dumped him in a heartbeat and never looked back, but things between Danny and Liberty had apparently been so strong that even (fake) cheating hadn’t really kept them apart. So obviously now that things really seemed to be over neither party was exactly going to be okay. “You’re not going to forget, though. And even though she doesn’t want to admit it, she won’t forget either. She has to know that you actually did. I’m positive that she knows, actually,” Eliza insisted before dropping her hand from Danny’s shoulder. “What do you need right now? Do you need to watch Fight Club and eat pizza and chocolate? Do you need to take a walk? Do you need to… steal a tire while I sit here and pretend I have no idea what you’re doing elsewhere, vouching as your potential alibi at a later date?”

Danny: “My parents would have a heart attack if I went out right now even though I tell them time after time that I’m alright and I’ll be alright. I want to watch the movie with you. I know I should have lied to her in the first place. I should have just been honest about how I was feeling, but at the time I just couldn’t. It was scary and I couldn’t do it. I wish I could, but I couldn’t. If I could take back the lies, I would have. I would have told her the truth about everything, but that’s not possible. I told her now though – not to hurt her – because she deserved to know.” Daniel shrugged once again before reaching out to rest his hand over Eliza’s. “I told her everything I told you, really. I told her that I had feelings for someone else and that I did still love her, but just that I know her and I aren’t a good match. She’s not good for me and I’m certainly not good for her.”

Eliza: Eliza: “Okay then, we’ll watch the movie. Which I still haven’t looked at the synopsis for, I’d just like you to know,” Eliza teased before setting down her own slice of pizza, trying to cheer Danny up at that point. He was allowed to wallow, but she just didn’t want him feeling hopeless or like he was an awful person for doing the right thing. Because in her (biased) opinion he had done the right thing. Surprised by Danny returning her touch, the girl looked up at him and tried not to make her surprise obvious it was really the least important thing in that moment. “She did deserve to know. Some people go their whole lives wishing they had this kind of closure. And I know it really doesn’t feel like it right now, but everything will be okay in the end. Better than they would had been otherwise. Now you can both move on and… you know, be with people who are good for you.”

Danny: “Yeah. I know there’s someone out there for her that could be a lot better and I – I like to think I found someone too. I wasn’t trying to rub that in her face or anything or push that I was moving on. I just wanted her to know the truth about how I was feeling and where I was so that we weren’t still getting into the cycle of making out at parties only to know…this wasn’t going to happen again. I didn’t want her waiting to be with me or just for us to get back together when I know that we shouldn’t be together.” Daniel sighed, leaning back into the couch again before tilting his head back and closing his eyes. “Sorry my relationships seem to be sinking the evening mood. I wasn’t going to discuss it but then my mom had to and – “ He heard footsteps and sighed once again. “Speaking of which, they’re back.”

Eliza took in what Danny was saying with a nod, simply keeping her eyes on him as he spoke. At that point she really felt like listening and maybe saying a few encouraging words was all she could do to help. The situation really wasn’t something she could do anything about. It was like Danny and Liberty were going through a breakup all over again… but this time it was final so it probably felt worse. “It’s always better to know. She’s angry right now, but she’s going to go through the seven stages and come out of things just fine. And she’ll probably still talk to you, it’ll just take a while. And when she’s off, happy with someone who’s good for her she’ll realize why it just wouldn’t have worked. Beyond the whole… telling her you cheated on her when you hadn’t actually done so thing,” Eliza tried to comfort, unsure of if her words were having any effect. She heard the footsteps about  a half-second after Danny seemed to and she wasn’t really prepared for anything that could possibly happen next. She had just been expecting a nice night of relaxation with a movie about…  fighting (was that what it was about??), but things had taken some unexpected turns. “Maybe they’re just grabbing water?”

Danny: “Probably coming to check and make sure we’re not making out” He hissed out in a whisper before he saw his mother finally appear. He wanted her gone, but that didn’t seem as though it was happening so instead Daniel leans back once again and groaned softly. “Yes, mother?” Though the woman tried to look as though she was surprised to be addressed by her son, it didn’t come off very convincing. “I thought you said that you two were watching a movie? Why isn’t there a movie playing?” Then Daniel groaned softly, tilting his head back once again and closing his eyes. “Because Eliza and I were talking, mom. We do that every now and then and we would like to do it without a movie playing in the background so that we can actually focus on the conversation. Was there something you actually needed or were you just coming down to spy?” Mrs. Reece tried to look offended, but that too came off very ungenuine. “I was coming to get my checkbook from the kitchen table. Daniel, your father wants to know what you want to do for your birthday so he can make the arrangements.” At this the boy shrugged. “I don’t know. Don’t really care, whatever you all want I guess. That’s what happens anyways.” Not giving her son’s sass much attention, Mrs. Reece shook her head and went back up to the master bedroom, hands empty which Daniel just chuckled at slightly. “Checkbook, right.”

Eliza: Wait. What? Eliza immediately shook all of /those/ thoughts from her mind as she instead focused on the fact that Mrs. Reece was approaching. And seemed to have a very specific purpose for doing so. Eliza didn’t speak up to answer when she asked a question, instead leaving Daniel to handle his mother while she just sort of nodded along. Prior to that evening Eliza had felt much more positively about the woman… now she realized that she was a little more cold and distant than the girl had originally thought. She could kind of get the soul sucking comments. At the mention of an upcoming birthday, Eliza’s eyebrows rose. She had to mentally take note of that. She’d had no clue. Moments later Danny’s mother was gone once again and the two were left to the silence that had been present immediately prior to her arrival. “Birthday? When?” Eliza didn’t hesitate to ask, already having various plans float through her mind. Birthdays were like… a thing for her.

Danny: “Um, yeah. My birthday is this month, the 19th. My parents usually do something or at least they ask me if I would like to plan something, but really we always end up going out to dinner at a place my dad likes. While there we always see someone he knows and it’s yet again a chance for him to try and push the idea of taking over his business on me which isn’t something I’m interested in. Of course, that opens doors for my mom to try and push her agenda as well. As you can see, my birthdays are great – well celebrated. It’s fine though, it’s just tradition and it’s a good meal at least. I have that to be thankful for if nothing else.” He had leaned back against the couch, one arm behind Eliza still. The back and forth with his mother after discussing his issues with Liberty were starting to actually give him a headache. “Alright, are we ready to start the movie?”

Eliza: “That’s… not a very good birthday, honestly. Give me one to two hours that day?” Was it weird for her to request the time? She didn’t think it was, but she couldn’t be sure. She just knew that no one deserved to celebrate the day of their birth in such a manner. “I promise I won’t throw a party or anything, but you’re turning 20. It should be a little more fun than birthday dinner and business.” How would she make thing fun? What would they do? No clue. But she had some time to figure it out. Eliza watched as Danny leaned back, unsure of if she should say something to comfort him again or if she should just move on from all of the stuff his parents had brought up since their arrival. At his question it became incredibly apparent to the girl that he just wanted to move on,  so she didn’t hesitate to agree. “Yes, we are. I’ve been living in anticipation for hours. I really don’t think I can live with the mystery much longer.”

Danny: “You want to hang out with me on my birthday?” It was a simple request – one that anyone would probably make after learning it was his birthday really – but somehow it felt special coming from Eliza. “Okay, yeah, we can hang out. I would actually really like that if we hung out.” After getting a confirmation that they could start the movie, Daniel pressed play and smiled as he reached out to teasingly grab Eliza and pull her closer against him. However, he did let her go quickly after, laughing slightly as he did so. “If my parents are going to keep coming down to check, might as well give them a little bit to go on.”

Eliza immediately wondered if she shouldn’t have asked for the time that she had. Should she have asked for five minutes? Or no time at all, with a simple statement about how it sucked that his birthday wouldn’t be filled with activities he actually wanted to do? Eliza simply nodded at his question, a smile coming to her face when he okayed things. “Good. I will figure out something for us to do,” she told him before turning to face the television, actually excited to finally be watching Fight Club. She had no interest in the movie, but she did want to know what happened. In her peripheral vision she saw Danny moving, but she didn’t fully expect him to bring her closer (and then let go so soon after). And she definitely didn’t expect his words. “Check on what? That nothing inappropriate is happening in their living room? I think they would straight up be down here if that was a legitimate fear of theirs,” Eliza mused, not bothering to actually move all that far away at that point. She had fallen asleep on Danny last time they had watched a movie together, so clearly space wasn’t so much of an issue… plus it sort of seemed like the boy needed some positive human contact at that point. The day had been sort of rough.

Danny: “You don’t know my parents. They have thoughts about how one should behave and I just don’t really meet those thoughts very well. I’m sure right now they’re trying to think of what they can do to apologize to your parents, figuring that I’m down here corrupting you and pulling you into my web of terribleness.” Daniel was smiling though as he wrapped his arm around her then, not bothered by the contact or the fact that she hadn’t pulled away back into her original position. As the movie started, it was obvious he was focusing in a little more. Daniel grew more comfortable as his arm loosened around Eliza just a bit.

Eliza: “Web of terribleness? Luckily I probably fit some of those thoughts, so maybe they’re instead talking about what good choices you seem to be making nowadays. Also I’m eighteen so they really wouldn’t have to apologize to my parents.” There really was no reason to apologize, though. Eliza didn’t get why so many people (including her best friend apparently) just didn’t seem to get that Danny wasn’t a bad person. Yes, he had been in minor trouble with the law, but there were worse things. But that moment wasn’t the time to think of that. It was Fight Club time. Eliza made herself comfortable before doing her best to pay attention to the movie as the events unfolded before her, taking note of what she felt might be major plot points even though she had no idea what the actual dramatic structure would turn out to be… because she hadn’t read the synopsis.

Danny: He wasn’t sure how Eliza was going to take the movie, nor had he even been sure if she would like it in the first place, but as it went on, Daniel glanced over at her every now and again. There had always been something about the movie that really attracted him. Themes of anti-consumerism mixed with violence and disillusion tended to make him think long and hard each time he watched it. However, Daniel was sure if there was anything that was going to turn the girl off from the movie, it would be the violent scenes and the headache-inducing back and forth to conceal the reality of the situation. When the reveal of Tyler being the narrator – or the narrator being Tyler – arrived, Daniel’s hold on Eliza grew a little tighter out of excitement. “And this is why I love this movie.”

Eliza: ...what? Wait. What? That was the only thing running through the girl’s mind when what was clearly the big plot twist came. This wasn’t really a movie about a Fight Club. Well, it was, but… Eliza had been expecting something like Rocky, not a tale of someone with Disassociate Identity Disorder. God she had wished she had ready the synopsis. She really hadn’t been prepared for that reveal - a reveal which clearly Danny loved. “This movie wasn’t at all what I was expecting,” the girl admitted as she kept her eyes on the screen, doing her best to continue to follow along. Were there going to be any other plot twists?? The director was the same guy who had done Gone Girl so probably.

Danny: “I figured as much. No one ever expects it when they first watch this movie, but it’s a cult classic for a reason. It was a huge reveal and just so – I love it.” Daniel leaned forward a bit on the couch then, his hand drifting down from being around Eliza’s shoulder to being on her waist as he sat forward so that his arm was no longer propped against the back of the couch. “It’s just all in his head. Like, everything that was bothering him but also the pieces of him that his own mind was rejecting as being him, they were Tyler. He was Tyler and it’s so fucking awesome because it’s not even like Tyler is his best self either. It’s just bits of the Narrator and he’s there and of course Tyler has similar views because it’s a part of him but also he’s not. Tyler is totally his own person at the same time, just in the Narrator’s body. Honestly the coolest thing. I mean, I know it sucked for him, but the way the movie does it is fantastic because you never think it. Can you imagine?”

Eliza listened as Danny went on and on about how much he liked Fight Club, not even a little surprised when he started to analyze it more deeply than just an average viewer might. His whole shift in touch thing was completely distracting, but she did her best to not have an obvious reaction to it and to instead remain focused on what he was saying. “This is actually a really interesting take on Dissociative Identity Disorder,” she murmured in response to his question, immediately pinpointing the psychology at play. Was that too nerdy? As soon as the reveal happened that was immediately what she thought of. “My future psych career has me really wanting to analyze this with all of the limited knowledge I have so far, but I’m going to wait to do that after,” she continued, figuring it wouldn’t hurt to admit it. They were fairly varied things out of the film, but it was only her first time watching it and clearly Danny had seen it plenty of times. Eliza had done a great job of keeping her eyes on the screen thus far, but she couldn’t help but turn slightly to look over at Danny as she began to verbalize her next thought. “You /really/ like this movie, though. Like, I can feel how passionate you are about it. It’s great.”

Danny: “Yeah, I do. I mean, I can kind of understand how fed up with everything the Narrator is at the beginning of the movie. Everything just sort of sucks and he knows that, but he’s continuing on anyways because what else can he do? Then he meets Tyler – or at least he thinks he meets a Tyler – and there’s a bit of release there. Obviously it isn’t this fix everything thing. He’s still got the fucked up life and things are still hard just as they were the day before, but he sort of created his own personal release in the form of another persona, but he doesn’t know it. It’s just an odd concept, release through such an extreme method, even though he didn’t mean to do that at all.” Daniel shrugged then. “I’ve also watched the movie a bunch of times and it’s just cool with all the fight scenes and the acting too.”

Eliza moved away from Danny just a bit as his words started to grow a little concerning but quickly came up with an excuse for why she did so. “Hey, I almost forgot about the courting chocolate,” she told him as she moved to grab her satchel (which she had dropped by her feet when she had first sat down). Release through an extreme method… was that what he did with his minor crimes? The girl couldn’t help but wonder about what Danny had just said as she dug through the bag to find the bag of chocolate she’d stored there earlier, grabbing it and placing her bag back at her feet before she settled back onto the couch. “I think I’ll have to watch this again at some point.”

Danny: He hardly noticed it as odd as Eliza began to shift away, and instead shifted a bit himself so he could face her move. “Yeah, you’ll really have to. It’s kind of one of those movies that goes to the extreme. That’s part of the reason why it’s so controversial. It’s very violent and twisted in a way that people don’t really want to look at because overall we’re not that way, you know? Well, we are, but not to that level. We all have our little things and bits of life that bother us, but no one wants to look at them because no one wants to find out they have a Tyler in them. Not like an actual disorder – everyone doesn’t have that obviously – but that bit of yourself that’s willing to do that shit. No one wants to face it because they worry it will be too much when honestly, if you did you would see it’s just your basic run of the mill annoyance that everyone has.” Daniel shrugged slightly. “It’s kind of a dark movie to show after Jack Frost, huh? Sorry.”

Eliza: “You have a very intellectual analysis of this movie going on and I don’t even know how it ends yet,” Eliza pointed out as she grabbed one of the Kit Kat bars from her bag of random chocolates, her attention only half-focused on the screen. Or… like, a quarter focused on it. Honestly, Danny was taking up a solid amount of her attention. Plus what he was saying about movie!Tyler was making her think about Nina’s Tyler. Had he sought release through an extreme method? “Yeah, it’s a little different. But it’s not really the holiday season anymore so I guess shaking things up like this really makes that clear. And it’s not like we’re not going to watch one of my favorite movies sooner rather than later. Isn’t this movie on most of those ‘greatest movies of all time’ lists? I feel like I would’ve seen it at some point either way. Better to experience it with someone who will only improve the experience, right?”

Danny: Daniel felt a slight blush coming to his cheeks then when the girl said that watching it with him improved the experience. “Yeah, I guess that’s true and yeah, it is. It’s considering one of the cult classics that just has to be watched eventually.” He too reached into the bag of chocolates, pulling one out and opening it so he could nibble on it a bit. Leaning back, Daniel returned his arm to the back of the couch, though this time he didn’t pull Eliza closer, allowing her to get close herself if she so wished. “You’ll see how it ends soon enough. There’s not too much left in it. From here it’s all just sort of downhill and wrapping it up.” As the movie continued to play, Daniel began to watch Eliza’s facial expressions rather than the screen, wanting to watch her reaction to everything going on.

Eliza: “I wouldn’t exactly consider myself a cult classics girl. I’ve seen Heathers and Rocky Horror and like… Clue, but outside of those this is really a new thing for me,” Eliza admitted before opening up the Kit Kat to break it apart, carefully eating each piece a moment later as she turned to focus her attention back on the screen again. At least, as much attention as she could pay while she was also scootching back to where she had been before she had moved away earlier. “Noted,” she murmured without a glance at Danny, actually determined to focus on the ending of the film. She didn’t want to miss anything important and then just… not get it. Her expression turned to one of utmost concentration as she watched, not even bothering to look and see what candy she grabbed next as she reached into the bag for something else. She actually managed to eat the candy without even looking to see what it was or how best to unwrap it and she was almost positive that she could make it the whole rest of the movie without any distractions. Until she felt eyes on her and realized that Danny was probably trying to judge how she actually felt about the movie just by her facial reactions to it. A hint of a smile came to the girl’s face then, but it immediately left once she watched things unfold on screen. “Is he-what?” she asked once she realized what was going to happen next, her face obviously showing her surprise when the Narrator fired his gun. Realistically that was /not/ the way to deal with DID, but… it definitely worked for dramatic effect. And then... explosions. And the movie was over with a really good soundtrack moment. “Wait, so it ends like that?”

Danny: “Yeah, that’s kind of just it. I suppose it’s supposed to be this idea that he’s accepted this shit he can’t handle and was able to kill Tyler even though obviously that’s not how someone with that actual issue would handle things or should. That’s why it’s kind of an interesting movie that way because the Narrator is able to step away from this other personality when it gets to the point where that personality is ready to kill him. Obviously someone with those sort of issues couldn’t actually do that, but this is a movie and whatnot.” Daniel let his arm fall back into her, wrapping it around Eliza tight and smiling. “But that’s it. He rids himself of Tyler, I guess realizes that Tyler wasn’t who he really wanted to be or needed in his life, and kept going with himself and the girl.” With his free hand, Daniel reached into the bag of chocolates again and pulled out another candy bar. “You really did bring a lot of chocolate, you know that?”

Eliza: “A lot of people with that issue don’t even realize they have it… like, another fictional example, but Bates Motel. Norman Bates clearly has no clue. So they don’t even know that there is something to be handled, but yeah, it definitely goes without saying that Fight Club isn’t exactly a model for how one should live one’s life,” Eliza agreed as she easily settled into her slightly shifted position on the couch. “I appreciate that choice, though. I think he made the right one.” At the comment about chocolate, Eliza reached into the bag a third time, bringing out a Hershey’s kiss only to quickly unwrap it and pop it into her mouth. “The courting was going to be super serious before we figured out that it was a leave room for Jesus thing. I had to come prepared.”

Danny: “Well I’m glad you are taking this courting thing seriously. I do enjoy my chocolate and appreciate it wherever I can get it.” Seeing her unwrapping the chocolate, Daniel smiled slightly. “I want a kiss.” Before the girl could comment, though Daniel did watch to see if her face turned red, he reached into the bag trying to find another Hershey’s kiss. Once he found one, he began unwrapping it and popped it into his mouth as well. “Always did enjoy kisses, just pure delicious chocolate goodness for me to consume.” Noticing that Eliza was still against him, Daniel smiled slightly. “Well there hasn’t really been much room for Jesus here so I think we failed at the traditional courting.” Just as he started to pull away, Daniel heard footsteps once again that made him stay put, arm around Eliza still.

“Daniel where did I – oh Eliza, you’re still here. Daniel, have you seen your father’s briefcase? He swears it was in the study but I know it wasn’t there earlier today.” Rolling his eyes slightly, Daniel used his free hand to gesture towards the door. “He usually puts it down by the table when he first comes in.” The woman nodded, making her way towards the kitchen before stopping. “Daniel, have you asked Eliza if she would like to join us for your birthday dinner? You’ve never actually…brought anyone with you to them.” He looked over at her then, eyebrow raised slightly as a sort of question before finally asking. “Would you? If you’re free, that is. Would you like to go?”

Eliza: “I was taking it seriously. But then we agreed to switch from courtship to dating so now I need to figure out your dating needs. Those might be more demanding.” She didn’t even really remember how the whole courtship thing had started, but she wasn’t opposed to the direction it had since taken. It was almost a wishful thinking thing on her part, not that she’d ever admit to it. At Danny’s comment Eliza did her best not to react too much, her mind immediately rushing to the opposite of the true meaning of what he’d meant. He just wanted the candy. Obviously. Her mouth opened to make a witty comment, trying to hide the fact that she was probably blushing, but no words actually came out. So it looked like she had to settle for a simple factual statement instead. “There should be plenty in there. I dumped like… a whole bag of them in,” she admitted. Were she bolder she might’ve jokingly leaned in as if she was actually going to kiss him, but she was not bold. At all. And that would be a weird ‘get your hopes up only to be let down with a laugh’ moment. “Kisses are indeed nice, though, yes. Gotta love them.” Okay, good, the subject changed a moment later… but the new one didn’t exactly help the situation. “There’s been room for Jesus where Jesus would probably want it most,” Eliza insisted before turning to face whoever had just come down the stairs. Oh, it was Mrs. Reece again. That… was not at all a surprise. Eliza was honestly prepared to mostly be ignored again, so she was caught off guard when Danny’s mom addressed her sort of indirectly. Was she really being invited to the birthday dinner? “Oh. Yes, of course,” Eliza was quick to respond, half addressing both Danny and his mother. “I’ll have to check with my parents, but I would love that Mrs. Reece.” What she was agreeing to she honestly had no clue.

Danny: “Alright then, I’ll let your father know you plan to bring a date. Do you have any food allergies, Eliza? We know Daniel is allergic to mushrooms so that sometimes greatly alters our plans.” Daniel groaned slightly then. “Or we could just go somewhere with mushrooms and you can kill me. That works too. Whatever makes you happy, mom.” Again, the woman paid her son’s sass no mind as she went to grab her husband’s briefcase from where Daniel had said it was placed. Once she was at least somewhat out of earshot, Daniel chuckled slightly. “We at least this year won’t totally suck. Mom’s never actually asked me if I wanted to bring someone along. She never even invited Liberty to go.”

Eliza ’s mind sort of latched onto the word ‘date’ before finally snapping to attention when Mrs. Reece said her name. And then mentioned Danny being allergic to mushrooms. So clearly they were talking about allergies. “Oh, um, grapefruits. Hopefully that won’t alter plans?” Eliza asked, seeing more and more what Danny had meant when he spoke of his mother. She was a little… cold and dismissive of his basic needs. Parents weren’t supposed to treat a child’s allergy as a personal inconvenience. Eliza was sort of expecting Danny to have some sort of comeback to his mother’s words, so when he did speak up Eliza did her best not to have a reaction. She saw his point though. The girl waited until Mrs. Reece had left to make a slight face of horror, feeling like her ‘give parents the benefit of the doubt’ attitude was a little crushed right about then. “She’s… something. I feel like my invitation is a trick? Like she has some sort of plan?” Eliza admitted before turning towards Danny. His ex-girlfriend - the mayor’s daughter - hadn’t even been invited. So why had she gotten  the honor of being the first? “You don’t have to bring me if you would rather invite someone else I mean, I’d like to go, but if you want to bring someone else I’d understand.”

Danny: “If you’re going then it means I don’t have to deal with just my parents and maybe the birthday dinner won’t suck as bad. But yeah, my mom really is something. She grew up in a really prissy family so there’s some weird culture lodged inside of her. I wouldn’t put it past her to have a plan though. She is my mother and she is a sneaky one.” Daniel shrugged slightly, not at all worried about exactly why his mother had offered Eliza the invitation as he could already guess. “Well, let’s look at it this way, you’re a good person who doesn’t steal tires. You’re the only person really in my life who doesn’t get up to these sorts of things. So, she probably either hopes or assumes that we’re dating and hopes you will be a good influence. Thus, it’s important to keep you around and make you feel all close. Either way, it means I don’t have to do the dinner alone with my parents.”

Eliza: “I can’t be the only person in your life who doesn’t get up to trouble… but okay. I’ll go. And I’ll even be cautiously optimistic and say that it’ll be fun. Just me, you, and your parents,” Eliza agreed. “Besides, your mom said that she’d tell your dad you’re bringing a date so the unspoken, unwritten rules of our not-courtship basically guarantee that it’s gotta be me. You’ll have to let Raffy down easy for yet another year. I’m sure he’s always dreamed of going to your special birthday dinner.”

Danny: “Raffy, nah. I’m sure he would be completely fine avoiding my parents as long as he could. That is true though. I will have to tell him that our forbidden romance will have to go undiscussed for another year since it’s assumed I’m bringing a date to my birthday dinner. God, every time I say that it sounds so childish – birthday dinner.” Daniel shook his head slightly before leaning back on the couch. “So what now, Oliver? We finished the movie, you brought me chocolates. Where do we go from here?”

Eliza: “Glad that the forbidden romance has finally been confirmed to me, but more glad that your birthday dinner might not be so bad this year.” If the familial interactions Eliza had witnessed thus far were anything to go off of, she could see why things maybe hadn’t worked out so well previously. Moments later all the girl could do was shrug in response to Danny’s question, really unsure of what to say. “Excellent question. Unless that’s your way of sneakily hinting to me that I should leave now, in which case you might want to try a little harder to make that clear. But yeah, honestly I do not know. Anything you’d like to do?”

Danny: “If I wanted you to leave I would say Hey Eliza, isn’t it time for you to be getting home? I’m not exactly subtle or nice so I’m sure I would skip over all the pleasantries.” He chuckled slightly before wrapping his arms around Eliza and pulling her against him, keeping one arm around her waist. “Nah, I like just hanging out with you, even if it’s just watching movies and watching you freak out over surprise twists. It’s nice to have someone other than Raffy to hang out with. Don’t get me wrong, I love the guy, but if he were the only friend I had that would be kinda embarrassing on my part. So, I like that you like hanging out with me and that we get to do this.”

Eliza: “You know, that sounds about right,” Eliza admitted before she let herself be pulled closer to Danny. She was very particular with who she initiated touch with, so the fact that she had just kept getting closer and closer to Danny as the evening progressed to the point where she was basically on top of him now (though not actually) was pretty telling to the girl regarding how she felt about him. But she was pretty sure that was obvious to no one but her. Thank goodness. “I like watching movies with you too. Even though this is the first one I’ve made it through without literally falling asleep on you. It’s nice for me to have someone else to spend time with too. I mean, Seth is great, and so is my family, and I love hanging out with Hazel when I get a chance… but this is nice. I like getting to do this too,” she admitted with a smile before reaching for the bag of chocolate once again, reaching in to grab the first chocolate she could find. Which was, of course, a Kiss. “Oh fun. Want another Kiss?”

Danny: “I would love a kiss from you, actually. Thank you for asking.” He smiled as he took the chocolate out of her hand and began to unwrap it. “I guess I don’t really hang out with people much anymore. I hang out with Raffy when I get the chance, but I’ve been working on some stuff for school and looking into a few things that keep me pretty busy. Then there’s the classes that my mom insists I take and those keep me pretty busy. Also –“ Daniel stopped then shifting a little so that he could get up off the couch, offering his hand to Eliza once he was up. “There’s actually something I want to show you. It’s in the garage.”

Eliza handed over the chocolate then, grabbing one for herself and quickly popping it into her mouth as she listened to Danny speak. “Do you like any of the classes she has you in?” she asked, moving to make sure that he could actually get up off the couch once it was clear that was what he actually wanted to do. At the offer of a hand Eliza didn’t hesitate to accept, her curiosity getting the best of her. “What could it possibly be?” she asked as she began to walk.

Danny: “No, I don’t like any of the classes that my mom insists I take, but at least if I take those then every now and again I can take something I actually like.” He held onto Eliza’s hand as he led the girl out to the garage, searching blindly for a light for a few seconds before flipping the switch. Once there was light, he released the girl’s hand and made his way over to a table where something was covered with a small sheet. “Okay so it’s not exactly done and there are still some things to work out, but this is what I do when I’m actually at home and not working on other things.” Daniel removed the sheet to reveal a car the side of a remote controlled toy there on the table. “I built it and once I get some issues fixed, she should be able to actually operate.”

Eliza: “It is quite unfortunate that /that’s/ the way that has to work.” He was clearly intelligent and had an interest in /something/, so the fact that he couldn’t so easily pursue what he actually wanted to due to family pressure was actually pretty upsetting. She didn’t have too long to focus on that thought, though, because before she knew it Eliza was standing in the garage staring down at a sheet. “Is it a mini-Frankenstein?” the girl half-joked before Danny actually revealed to her what he’d been working on. And then everything clicked. “You build things. Machines. That… makes so much sense.”

Danny: “Yeah, I do. Though I don’t see what it makes sense with. I’ll take your word for it though.” He placed the sheet to the side and picked up the car, looking underneath it before placing it back down on the table. “I’m having a little bit of a problem with the circuits and I think I’m actually going to have to replace them. I’m hoping not though. If I can’t get these to work though, that’s what I’ll be doing. But yeah, this is the project that I’ve been working on. Last year I entered one of those robot fighting things that nerds do and got past a few rounds. Ultimately my robot was taken out by this group of dorks in actual square glasses and that sucked, but it was cool while it was going on.”

Eliza: “I just meant that with your job and everything… and you know how sometimes people have interests that when you hear about them they just sort of click like right, yes, knowing what I know about that person that makes total sense for some reason? That’s what I was going for,” Eliza explained as she moved to take a closer look at the car. “You did a Battle Bot competition? I’ve heard those get pretty intense… but I really only have pop culture to rely on for that. Like… Big Hero Six pop culture. Do you think you’ll do it again this year?”

Danny: Daniel nodded then before pushing the car forward a bit on the table to watch the wheels spin. “I might. I haven’t really thought about it yet. If I was, I would have to start building my robot right away so that I could have time to make improvements and time for failures if something doesn’t go well like with the car here. Before all of that, I would have to have a design. Last year I didn’t start early enough so my design wasn’t at its best.” He shrugged then before grabbing the sheet and putting it back over the car. “That’s kind of what I want to do. I like building things and I like working with my hands. I’m good with my parents so I just – my dad wants me to do business, my mom wants a lawyer and that’s just not me.”

Eliza: “Maybe you start now for next year then. Take plenty of time to test and improve before you go back into the ring and take out those square glasses nerds. Or, if they’re not there, any square glasses nerds.” Eliza watched as Danny put the car back under its protective sheet, a small smile on her face due to her happiness that Danny had shared this part of his life with her. It was never something she would’ve just been able to guess but it made so much sense. And it seemed like she had the perfect opportunity to encourage him to pursue his desired field. Clearly he was passionate about it. He had to do it! “I think you should do this. This is like… mechanical engineering. It’s not something to scoff at. And it’s actually probably a more stable field than business and maybe even law. Your parents may want different things for you, but who knows? Maybe they’d surprise you. This country needs some good engineers.”

Danny: “I’ve been looking into engineering degrees, but I don’t know. Anyways –“ He gestured towards the door of the garage then, clearly done with the topic of him applying to get into an engineering program. Sure, there had been many programs he had looked at and thought about, but applying meant possibly being rejected or worse – being accepted only for everyone to find out that he wasn’t as good as he thought. These things were just toys that passed the time. Who was he to think that this could turn into a real career for him? Once they were back inside the living room, Daniel ran his fingers through his hair and smiled shyly. “Well, it was fun. I’m glad you came over. You should do that more. Of course I’ll see you at the party Friday still, right?”

Eliza: “Keep looking into them,” Eliza insisted before following him back to the living room, their night clearly coming to a close… especially since she had school the next day. “Yes, it most certainly was. I’m glad I came too. The jury is still out on whether or not your parents are happy with my presence too, but if I ever turn out to no longer be welcome you know you’re always welcome to come over to my house too,” she informed him before nodding as she grabbed her satchel and moved to slip on her jacket. “Yes, yes. I definitely still plan on attending that. It just might be the biggest Lakewood event of 2017.” She should go. She knew she should, but one or two quick more comments and then she’d excuse herself. “You can keep the rest of the non-courting chocolate, by the way. My gift to you. And whatever pizza is left obviously… but, uh, I should probably go. School tomorrow and everything.”

Danny: “Cool, then I will definitely see you Friday night to pick you up. I mean – not just you. Seth too obviously and Raffy if he wants to go, but you know what I mean. I just figure it’s easier to meet at your house and go from there.” Daniel stood with her at the doorway, trying to help Eliza put her jacket on before simply standing there smiling at her. His eyes flickered down to her lips, though he didn’t make a move to meet them. Nerves were firing throughout his body down to a tingling in his fingers as Daniel swallowed hard and let out a slightly nervous laugh. “I will, don’t worry. So um, I’ll see you around then I guess. Soon, hopefully, or Friday. Whenever. Have a good day at school and such. I’ll try and text you or something.” Though they were saying goodbyes, Daniel made no attempt to back away from the doorway, his gaze still flickering down to what he assumed were the softest lips ever.

Eliza: “Maybe not Seth. I’ll let you know. He said something about a police escort and told me to be safe so… I don’t know. He’ll be there, though, so you can still help him to have the best first party ever. So you definitely get me and honestly probably Raffy too because that’d be convenient,” she began to ramble, her jacket on and everything really ready to go by that point. Or… almost everything. She knew she already had everything and physically she was all good to go but something was holding her back. “Yes! Please text me. Feel free. Whenever, really,” she told Danny as she looked up at him, unexpectedly catching where his line of sight had just been. Wait. Hold on. Hold the phone. Maybe she was just then misinterpreting several moments from the night, but… was that a sign? They had been talking about dating and kissing basically all night in very joking ways (clearly since Danny had an interest in someone that Eliza was pretty darn sure wasn’t her). But… what if those hadn’t been entirely jokes on both of their ends. Because she knew that it hadn’t been on hers. God she was suddenly so nervous even though she hadn’t decided whether or not to do anything about what she had witnessed just yet. She wasn’t brave enough to try anything and she would never want to risk her friendship with Daniel Reece, but… what if this was one of those now or never moments?

“You have a good day tomorrow too. With work and… class if you have it and everything,” Eliza continued as she still looked up at the boy in front of her, her eyes too flickering to his lips… and in that moment she just deciding to go for it. If she was wrong and it backfired spectacularly she was pretty sure Danny would let her know… and he might not even get weird about it. Without a second thought Eliza moved up onto her toes just enough so that their height difference wouldn’t be terribly awkward as she quickly brought his face down to hers to bring their lips together. It wasn’t like she had done it at some sort of super speed, so he probably could’ve guessed what she was about to do before she did it… but she was still really worried that she was screwing everything up with her one moment of impulsiveness. And it was a moment. Eliza made sure to keep the kiss decently short (but not too short) and sweet, pulling back and opening her  eyes at the same time to look up at the boy she had no doubt just shocked. “Okay, bye,” she immediately murmured then, turning to leave before things could go south too quickly. What had she just done?

Danny: Eliza had kissed him. Eliza Oliver had kissed him. She was already out the door before he could manage words, but Daniel still wanted to say something. “Wow…” The words were soft, barely a whisper as his fingers drifted over his lips – slightly tingling from the sensation. Sure, it had been a thought in his mind for most of the night, longer actually, but he had never expected it to happen. Considering part of him agreed with Carter, Eliza was far too good for him, he had never expected – and yet she had. Though he wasn’t sure what this meant, had it been just a thing to see or if she actually felt that way about him, there would be time to find out.

[grlsoconfusing]

It is not often that the name of a restaurant so accurately reflects the product and experience a customer is getting. Turns out Tasty Pizza, the restaurant, sells some pretty tasty pizza! Jack recommended this spot for a ‘lil DC Intern reunion last weekend so we decided to check it out!

Tasty Pizza is located off of 55th and Leavenworth, near the Midtown area. The corner restaurant looks like a little red house, covered in vines and plants. There about six or seven tables inside and a few tables outside, but it’s a pretty small space. Many know this joint as “Tasty Pastry,” but they recently change their name to Tasty Pizza. Probably more fitting for their most popular menu item, pizza!

cheese block!

menu and kitchen

They have a simple menu when you walk in the restaurant, with sixteen (!!) pizza options, a salad, a sandwich, and a few desserts in a fridge to the right. When you enter, you stand by the menu, ponder what pizzas look the best, take too long to order….oh wait! Is that just me?!? Anyways – you order at the counter, then wait for your pizza to be called. There’s a giant block of parmesan sitting on the counter, so you can hand-shave the toppings! Who doesn’t love giant blocks of cheese?! The pizzas took about 15-20 minutes, which was fine for a casual lunch. If you’re in a hurry, this may not be the best spot for you!

clockwise: veggie, buffalo chicken, pesto bruschetta

Jack got the Buffalo Chicken pizza, topped with smoked gouda, chicken, buffalo sauce, and mozzarella. He also had a pesto bruschetta, topped with artichokes, chicken, tomatoes, and other bruschetta-y things. Katie had the Veggie, featuring a tomato sauce base, with mozzarella, mushrooms, black olives, tomato, spinach, and onions.

mmmmmmedditerranean pizza

Let’s talk about that PIZZA. Caleb and I both had the Mediterranean, which was a goat cheese base, topped with red peppers, artichokes, black olives, spinach, and capers. The crust was made of white flour, and was very crispy on the bottom. I’m not a crust kinda gal, but I ate this crust up! Through eating this pizza, I did discover that i’m not a huge fan of artichokes, and combined with the capers and olives, it was a little to much salt for me. But! This was a filling and satisfying pizza with fresh ingredients for 5$. Literally, what could be better than that?

buffalo chicken pizza, banana peppers, and katie’s hands!

I really enjoyed this spot! This is a wonderful, cheap, homey restaurant, where people around all parts of town gather for some amazing, simple food. Also, an obligatory shoutout to Jack, who suggested Tasty Pizza. He gives this place 5 stars, and I see why! This is a proper redemption from the Taqueria Habanero disaster, uff. Really proud to see him order two different pizzas this time!

Everyone should go visit Tasty Pizza. They have a variety of options at impossible-to-beat prices. The staff is very kind and patient, and they clearly care about their customers, they even offer free coffee, free water bottles, and an abundance of ranch for y’all Midwesterners who like it with their pizza! They have options for different types of meat eaters, vegetarians, and even use locally sourced cheese from Nebraska farms. My only complaint is their odd hours. Tasty Pizza is open Tues, Wed, Thurs, and Sat 10AM-2PM, and Fridays 10AM-8PM. Its kind of odd and hard to keep track of.

ahh. doesn’t this make you happy? it makes me happy.

And! May I repeat! None of these pizzas are over 5$!!!!! Their Cheese pizza is (and i’m not joking) $2.75! If you’re hungry and want to support local businesses, this is the spot for you. Go buy their pizza, maybe if we help them gain enough revenue, they can be open all the time forever and ever!

The Bottom Line

Tasty tasty pizza at unbeatable prices. Seriously, amazing prices.

Cone Rating: 4.5 Stars 

Location: Midtown, Omaha, NE

Price: $ (Under 10$)

On the Internet: Tasty Pizza Website, Tasty Pizza Yelp Page 

Tasty Pizza It is not often that the name of a restaurant so accurately reflects the product and experience a customer is getting.

[geekade]

Geekade Top Ten: Stock Your Spice Rack

You’ve graduated from ramen and mac n’cheese and Sriracha isn’t doing it for you anymore. But when you venture into the spice aisle, row after row of little glass bottles stare you down, each more gnomic than the last and each price tag suspiciously steep for an ounce of dried leaves or colorful powder, and you always slink out of there with nothing more than another set of those disposable McCormick’s salt and pepper shakers.

You deserve better. This list includes ten essential seasonings to keep your salt and pepper shakers company without breaking the bank. Most of them mix and match well, and appear (or can be substituted for more esoteric ingredients) in basic recipes. (You can substitute dried herbs for fresh, but dried herbs have a more concentrated flavor than fresh, so use less.) When you want to cook these seasonings will enrich your marinades and dry rubs; when you don’t they will punch up your frozen pizzas and jar sauces.

Foodies will tell you that herbs come from the leaf or stem of an aromatic plant, and spices come from their roots, bark, fruit, and seeds. This list includes both. Foodies will also tell you that you should buy spices whole and grind them just before using them. They’re not wrong, but unless your idea of a relaxing after a long day of work includes laboring over a spice mill, go ahead and buy pre-ground. I won’t tell on you if you don’t tell on me.

Without further ado, here are the top ten seasonings to start your spice rack:

#10. Celery salt – Celery salt is just what it says on the tin, a mixture of ground celery seed and salt. You know that bright, sharp, green snap of aroma fresh celery gives off when you bite or cut into it? Celery salt is that snap, dried and concentrated into the secret weapon for all your dry rubs, marinades, and broths. Used sparingly – you never want your food to taste of celery salt – it neutralizes gaminess in chicken, pork, and occasionally beef, perhaps most famously in the classic Chicago hot dog. If a recipe calls for fresh celery and you don’t have any on hand, a tiny bit of celery salt can cover for you. And if you like Bloody Marys – I understand such people exist – celery salt smooths out the acid and umami collisions between (*shudder*) tomato juice and Worcestershire sauce.

#9. Garlic powder – After a long day, one of the biggest obstacles between me and a home-cooked meal is the prospect of peeling and mincing garlic. (Yes, the blade-smash trick is excellent, but it doesn’t make mincing any less of a PITA.) I may love garlic, but I love being a lazy bastard more. Enter garlic powder: all the flavor of garlic and none of the fuss. This shelf-stable shortcut can help along marinades, sauces, and breading mixes, especially on those nights when you Really Just Can’t, and/or you belatedly realize that was the one thing you forgot to grab at the grocery store. I have swapped it into marinades that called for actual fresh garlic cloves and mixed it (along with Italian seasoning) into breadcrumbs for everything from chicken/eggplant parmigianas to breaded zucchini to stuffed mushrooms. It’s not quite as good as the real thing, but it’s still pretty damn good.

#8. Cumin – Cumin seeds come from a flowering plant related to parsley. They provide the pungent signature notes of chili and shakshouka and add an unmistakable and unmissable richness to spice blends. On those winter days when you are too cold and miserable to bother with anything, potato wedges or cauliflower pieces tossed with olive oil, salt, pepper, and cumin and roasted in the oven will warm the cockles of your grim and frozen heart.

#7. Coriander – Coriander seeds (technically a dried fruit, but who wants to buy “dried coriander fruit?”) are an enduring mystery to me, because I do not understand how it is possible for my arch nemesis, cilantro (aka coriander), to produce something so delicious and essential. Coriander is both earthy and fresh, with an almost lemony aroma that brings out the best in fish and chicken. It pairs well with cumin, with which it often appears in salsas, curries, and dry rubs. Alongside orange peels, coriander also traditionally flavors Belgian Witbiers, so you home brewers have an extra reason to keep some on hand.

#6. Chili – Every spice rack should have at least one kind of chili pepper, even if you don’t like spicy food. Chilis, bell peppers’ spicier cousins, are sweet, bright, occasionally smoky and always delicious. They enliven everything from goulash to roast chicken to toasted nuts. Mixed with salt, they make a savory rim for tequila- or mezcal-based cocktails. If you only have one chili powder, cayenne has a bright heat that’s welcome almost anywhere. The jack-of-all-trades chili, cayenne powder can heat up a stew, a plate of eggs, a batch of cornbread, or even a mug of hot chocolate. But if heat really isn’t your thing, grab a bottle of smoked paprika instead. Its smoky, mellow notes add a nice touch of chili flavor with almost no heat. I wouldn’t add it to cocktails or hot cocoa, but it’s still great in marinades, dry rubs, and stews. In a pinch, you can mix either cayenne or paprika (I do both, but I’m a capsaicin fiend) with cumin, coriander, garlic powder, and a little oregano or Italian seasoning for a quick chili powder.

#5. Crushed red pepper – You might be thinking that I already told you to get a chili pepper, but crushed red pepper flakes’ texture set them apart from their ground counterpart. If I told you, for example, to sprinkle cayenne or paprika on your pizza instead of crushed red pepper flakes, you would be well within your rights to get me blacklisted from every reputable pizza parlor on the Eastern seaboard. The fact that they’re more whole than ground chilis but small enough to require no extra work from you means you can sprinkle them directly on a dish (like pasta or frozen pizzas, which often need the help) or infuse them in another solution, like a salad dressing or a dipping sauce. If you’re not persuaded enough to buy a bottle, just stow those little pepper packets from the pizza place. One day you’ll need a little heat, and your palate will thank you.

#4. Bay leaves – The dried leaves of the laurel tree, bay leaves add a savory, grassy, faintly woody aroma to broths, soups, and stews. This is one herb to buy and use whole. A leaf or two will do for a whole pot of chili or chicken soup or braised pork shoulder or tomato sauce, and almost anything improved by braising or long simmering will benefit from the addition of a bay leaf. It is best to pick them out when you’re done cooking, though; they don’t soften, and much like tea leaves, they’re not something you actually want to eat.

#3. Italian seasoning – Despite the name, Italian seasoning has applications way beyond Italian cooking. A collection of savory herbs that go well with broths, meats, sauces, and stews – it usually includes oregano, thyme, basil, rosemary, and marjoram – Italian seasoning pre-mixes spices that frequently get used together anyway. You can often get away with using it any time a recipe calls for just one of the herbs it includes. Mixed with coriander, celery salt, and black pepper, it makes a decent chicken rub. With olive oil, balsamic vinegar, and Dijon mustard it rounds out a sweet and savory steak marinade. A few shakes can help along a jar of red sauce that leaves something to be desired or turn plain olive oil into a dipping sauce for bread or breadsticks. Italian seasoning is the spice rack equivalent of a pocket multitool: It gives you versatility in exchange for precision and specialization. In a perfect world you would buy your oregano, thyme, basil, and marjoram fresh and dry them from the rafters of your picturesque kitchen, snipping off bits as needed. In the real world you crack open a bottle of Italian seasoning and call it a day.

#2. Kosher salt – This is miles apart from the iodized salt sitting in your salt shaker. Iodized salt contains iodine, which can lend the salt – and any food you season with it – a vaguely metallic flavor. The metallic edge is negligible unless salt will play a defining role in a flavor profile, as it does in brines or when sprinkled directly on a good cut of meat or fish. Kosher salt comes in bigger grains and packs more salt punch by volume* than iodized salt, and the lack of iodine means a clean, unadulterated flavor. Less complex but also less expensive, it’s also a cheap but viable alternative to sea salt, which can get real pricey real fast. Once you try Kosher salt on a steak instead of iodized, you will wonder where it has been your whole life and you will never go back. *The two major brands, Diamond and Morton, produce different-shaped salt crystals. Morton’s are flatter, so a teaspoon of Morton Kosher salt is saltier, by volume, than a teaspoon of Diamond. Most recipes base their measurements on Diamond’s crystal size; if you’re using Morton, start with half the specified volume and adjust to taste.

#1. Cinnamon – Cinnamon is the sweet, fragrant, inner bark of a tree from the same family as the bay laurel. Although best known for spicing baked goods like apple and pumpkin pies, cinnamon is the flavor you never knew you always needed in a surprising variety of beverages and savory dishes. You can sprinkle it over grounds before brewing or directly into your cup for more flavorful coffee, or add it to hot cocoa alongside cayenne. It is essential for mulling cider or wine and pairs well with whiskey and brandy cocktails, either directly or simmered into a simple syrup. And a tiny dash added to beef or pork, as a dry rub or in a stew, produces a result as irresistible as it is inexplicable.

The secret to stocking your spice rack affordably is to avoid that supermarket aisle as much as possible (except for the Kosher salt, which has less pricing variance). The absolute cheapest way to maintain your spice rack is to purchase from a bulk supplier. This is easier than it sounds – even Target carries bags of bulk herbs and spices, mostly for $1-2 a pop. The second cheapest way to stock your spice rack is to start at Trader Joe’s and World Market, both of which price their seasonings very reasonably and package them in durable, reusable glass bottles. Buy the glass bottles once and you can refill them from bulk purchases pretty much forever.

Now go forth, and never eat bland food again.