#but of course. i adore the new breed. some of my favorite familiars are the buttersnakes and amphitheres what do you expect

[bittybatarts]

fool that i was, thinking i was going to draw all FOUR of my auraboas... not happening this took forever

anyways i love them so so dearly i think i might end up with a lot of these.

[solitaireships]

🫀 - "i think i love you."

For anyone you wish

This time I'm doing the prompt for Selina! This is just a cute little fic from earlier on in the Alley Cat relationship

Rating: Gen

Genre: Fluff

Words: 832 words

Divider by racingairplanes

Alex realizes that she’s in love with Selina over a can of cat food. 

The two of them have been dating for a while. They’ve moved past the awkward getting to know you phase, one that took longer than usual for the two of them to make their way through considering the layers of personas each of them wear on a daily basis. But they’ve started to slip into a familiar routine, spending time at each other’s apartments, going on dates like they’re two normal people and not vigilantes living double lives. 

Alex is sitting on the couch in Selina’s apartment one night, watching a movie while mindlessly scrolling through pictures on her phone. She doesn’t have a ton of pictures she’s taken on it— most of her photo reel is made up of screenshots and pieces of art people have done online. A lot of the screenshots are ones that she doesn’t need, with her current goal being to check what all of them are so she can delete them and clear up space. But as she looks through, the pictures she’s taken stand out from the rest of her gallery. 

She has a lot of pictures of Selina’s cats. Alex tries not to have a favorite, but she tends to take the most pictures of Artemis. She’s a beautiful Maine Coon mix with vibrant green eyes, and her fur is so soft. There are plenty of other pictures on her phone of the other cats too, each of them representing a range of cat breeds and coat colors, all of which are adorable. It can be hard on Alex’s allergies sometimes to be around them, but it’s worth it for the cats. 

And, of course, it’s worth it for Selina. Alex has a lot of pictures of her on her phone too. Some of them are ones she took, others are ones Selina sent her. She likes to send Alex pictures from time to time, showing off her outfit or some of the new jewelry she got. She looks stunning in every picture she’s sent, just like she does in all of the pictures Alex has taken of her on their dates. 

Selina comes to join Alex on the couch after she’s done feeding the cats. It’s always a time consuming process— there are so many of them that she has to take her time getting everything prepared for them. 

“Are all the children fed?” Alex asks, half joking.

“They’re all attended to. Don’t let them convince you that you’re starving,” Selina replies. She sighs, stretching. Alex thinks that it’s cute how she stretches a little like a cat too. “We’re out of wet food, though.”

“Damn,” she says.

“It’ll be fine. I’ll just have to get some from the store tomorrow.”

“I could always grab some on my way home from work,” Alex says. Her office isn’t far from one of the pet stores that the two of them like to frequent. She doesn’t mind stopping by to get some, especially since she knows that Selina and the cats could use it. 

She’d be happy to do anything she can for Selina.

“Thanks, beautiful.”

Alex’s heart skips a beat in her chest at that. Selina’s gorgeous, and it’s always nice getting compliments from her. There are few people that can make Alex feel so special, and every kind word from Selina is one she cherishes. Being with her is unlike anything else she’s ever experienced.

“I think I love you,” Alex says. It's a relief to say outloud, like it's something she's been holding in.

Selina smiles, a bit of the playful edge that’s usually there shining through but more genuine than usual. Less like she’s performing, and more like she’s completely self assured. That’s always something that Alex has admired about her. 

But as Selina leans closer to Alex, perching herself on her lap, all Alex can think of is just how close she is and how soft her lips look. 

“Well, I know that I love you, Alley,” Selina says. 

Alex’s heart skips a beat in her chest, and a warm feeling washes over her as Selina closes the distance between them, kissing her. Her lips are soft, but she kisses so passionately that Alex can’t think of anything but Selina. 

By the time their lips break apart, Alex is breathing heavily and feeling giddy. She smiles at Selina, liking the way her lipstick’s been smudged. 

She loves Selina. She knows she does, it’s just harder for her to verbalize. But she loves every second she spends with her, and she loves watching the way Selina looks at her, proud at having gotten her to lower her guard. 

“Can I offer you kisses in exchange for the cat food?” Selina asks teasingly.

Alex laughs. “Seems like a fair trade.”

“Agreed.” Selina gives her another quick kiss. “You’re very cute.”

“So are you,” Alex says.

She doesn’t think there could be anything cuter than the woman she loves.

[tanglewoodpetz]

Updates

Salem's CT scan is schedule for this coming Thursday. He's got to be put under and intubated and all that stuff. They're going to try and figure out what the lump on his forehead is.

Of course, husband and I are thinking the worst (we've had a cat with cancer in her sinuses before, so we've been comparing and contrasting, etc). But my brain is also spinning a second "worst case" of Salem dies because of the anesthesia or something. So I've got dueling worst-cases going in my head.

In Petzy news, I've collected stamps for Witzy's Showing Challenge. I've entered a lot of shows, so I probably can cash in for one of the other prizes. I just have to get up the nerve to ask, lol.

For OctOWber, I've done the Speed Breeding, The first Breeding Challenge, and Spin the Wheel. I've technically worked with a new OW and shared a litter, but I wasn't sure if things could be combined. The last two things are to hex an OW and recommend my favorite OW.

I haven't done anything for Petztober, though I was thinking of just hexing a black plush cat for "Familiar." Haven't decided on the base or if I want to do anything else. (Fluffy Persian tail swap!)

Haven't got around to doing anything for PAACtober's first week theme of "Herbs & Spices."

I have two halloweeny cat litters set aside for WW's Trick or Treat event, but I haven't submitted a house picture yet.

I have one litter set aside for PL's Advent, but I got conflicting instructions about how to donate so I froze and didn't move further with the form. (I think Harry was joking about zipping all the litters together, but I wasn't sure.)

Apparently, PL is also having a Trick or Treat sort of event. No details beyond "event will launch on the 21st, which will mostly have the same format as last year (trick or treating)".

When put out like that it doesn't seem like so much? I don't know.

Hex a black cat with a puffy tail.

Do another PB NIB set of Dalmatians with Queenie's new texture OW.

!! Check out the two new petz I just got: Macaroon - Lilibet's 5th gen PB NIB Dali with Queenie's OW and an adorable Russian Blue cat from Bunni's Baking Booth at Duke's Group.

Make/find/draw a house pic for WW.

Do another bit of breeding with the theme "Herbs & Spices" to put up for adoption on PAAC.

Breed some black & orange dogs for WW's Trick or Treat event.

Make some stamps for that event also.

Make some stamps for PL's Advent.

Make new milestone stamps for my petz that have titled.

Oh, continue showing Mutts in Dahlia's breed focus shows. (Is it wrong of me to not want to take new pictures after every show?)

[awesomerextyphoon]

Slit Reflection

This is my entry for @jtargaryen18​​’s Haunted House 2020 Challenge. Mine was Sam Wilson. Credit for dividers goes to @firefly-graphics​. Check them out!

Summary: You’ve always loved Halloween, especially the haunted house at the edge of the woods. So happens when the ‘Star Spangled Trio’ enters the mix?

Pairing: Demon King!Sam Wilson x  Black!Reader (Fem)

Rating: 18+

Word Count: 3,054

Warning: Kidnapping, Forced Marriage, Dark Fairy Tale Elements, Stalking, Breeding Kink, Mentions of Torture, and Non-Con/Dub-Con Smut. You have been warned.

Back to Masterlist

You’ve always loved Halloween. It was your birthday and the haunted house at the edge of the woods gave the best spooks and thrills. It was your first Halloween after undergrad and this year was different.

The Star Spangled Trio were celebrity guests and they were bringing two of the old rooms back!

It took you six days to get a ticket. You tried getting one online, every shop in town, but got nothing.

Finally, a new face at the library took pity on you and gave you the last ticket along with a book on demon folklore. You thanked the new librarian and rushed out of the building. Had you looked back you would’ve noticed a smirk on their face and their sclera and pupils turning black and gold respectively.

Halloween—the day of your birth—was here, and it was shit. Your toothbrush broke, your car refused to start, the job that you desperately wanted was dashed by yet another rejection email, and both your student loan and rent checks bounced. You just need to get through today.

You missed the cutoff, but got in because the person working the line was a family friend. Anxiously, you wait in line wondering how the haunted house in your small ass town managed to nab the Star Spangled Trio when you noticed the excited expressions of the people leaving. Now you’re super anxious.

By the time you entered the haunted house, you’re doing the breathing exercises to calm yourself. This was it! You were finally going to meet your all time heroes (and possible spank bank entries)!

The first few rooms were your typical haunted house fare which you loved, but were secondary to your excitement in seeing your heroes. Maybe you could get an autograph and hug from them!

You were about to follow the person in front of you into the haunted house’s hospital room when you noticed a light flickering to your left. It revealed a door done in the Neo-classical design with some Latin text engraved in the middle (had you studied Latin , you would’ve known that the text read “Reveal yourself, my beloved”).

Opening the door, you saw that it lead to the Hall of Mirrors. This part of the haunted house was always a favorite of yours, but both the itinerary and the ticket worker said that it was closed this year. The hall itself was chillingly quite and pristine as if no one else had stepped foot inside this season.

All of the mirrors looked standard for the haunted house; some of them made you laugh or briefly catch your breath. The one at the end of the hall caught you off-guard. It was at least 12ft (about 3.66m) high with intricate carvings of characters out of dark folklore and a single diagonal slit.

You were about to turn away when you saw nothing thinking it was a small haunted house joke at your expense when the mirror flashed.

In your place was the most beautiful person you’ve ever seen, but it still looked like you..sort of. Your hair was long, luxurious and gently flowing. Your eyebrows, eyelashes, and nails were immaculate. Your nose was adorably broad and your lips were sensually full (the type of full women would shell hundred’s if not thousands of dollars for). You wore a diadem with thick gold chains ladened with diamonds, onyx, and rubies and around your neck was a ruby and onyx amulet. You were dressed in a loose, yet sleeveless form-fitting Vivaldi red gown with hints of fiery red and a thin rosewood colored shoulder veil connected to the dress by a ruby broach in the middle of your cleavage.

You looked about four or five inches taller and the mirror version of you made you feel nervous about your curves being out on display.

Curious, you reached out to touch the mirror. Your hand was less than a centimeter away when your mirrored self opened it eyes. Suddenly, it grew curved horns and its eyes glowed pale gold.

The mirrored version of you grabbed your outstretched arm and dragged you through the mirror all while you screamed hoping someone would come to your rescue, but to no avail.

Samael, or ‘Sam’ was notified of your departure and the trio had to excuse themselves from the festivities to congratulate Sam on finding his bride.

You woke up with a start and shout clawing the air but stopped once you realized that you weren’t falling anymore. Instead, you were in a huge, opulent room filled with treasures that not even Windsor Castle had. Curiosity seemed to have taken hold of you because you walked out onto the connecting balcony to find that you were on a different planet/dimension/realm, whatever!

There were floating landmasses (the smallest of which was the size of your small town) and five planets ranging from Moonbow Gold to Venetian Red in color.

You thought about where the fuck you were and how you could get back home when a voice interrupted your thoughts.

The source of the voice was a demon with Antique Ruby skin with reddish gray undertones and Cinnabar and Rosewood colored hair. She had two short outward curved horns with a gold chain and aquamarine teardrop connecting them. Her eyes were an inviting aqua blue eyes with a dark red sclera.

“Hello! My name is Scheherazade, but you can call me Sherry. I’m your Lady in Waiting. I’ve brought some food.” Sherry offered as she set the tray of food on a small table next to a dresser.

You smiled cautiously at your new elevated handmaiden,”Do you know why I’m-”

“Oh, I almost forgot! We need to get you ready for your presentation!”

The Fuck?!

“What do you mean ‘presentation’?,” you asked as nicely as possible, but reality came out more like a demand.  

Sherry stopped her ministrations and faced you,”Well, when the monarch, crown prince, or princess declares their mate, they are presented to the royal court,” she then returned to her task of finding a suitable dress for you not catching the mortified expression on your face.

This day can’t get any worse. Wait?

“What time is it?”

“Oh, yes, It’s pretty much always night here. The sun only comes out for three hours. Would you look at the time! Everyone’s waiting!”

“One last question,” you started as Sherry began dressing you,”Who am I marrying?”

“Why my second cousin, King Samael, one of the Three Demon Kings,  of course!”

You fought the impulse to faint.

It took thirty minutes for Sherry to make you look unrecognizable. Thankful for her assistance, you followed the floating torches to the throne room. The throne room was an enormous room with high wide vaulted arches, delicately carved pillars and columns, and a small bridge connecting the ground at the door to the center. The court comprised of beautiful yet fearsome demons of all shapes and sizes.

The king himself was seated on a grand, ornate throne atop a huge dais with at least 25 steps. He seemed familiar.

As soon as you were passed the threshold, the king raised his head and everyone stopped talking and cleared a path for you. Several courtiers whispered as you striddled towards the dais. When you finally reached the dais, the king got off his throne and walked down the steps to greet you.

You almost face-palmed. The king was Sam Wilson! Or at least, looked like him.  

Sam for his part was devastatingly handsome. He had a tall, powerful build, broad shoulders, bulging biceps, muscular thighs, short well-kept hair and beard with surprisingly kind eyes.  

“You’re even more beautiful than I imagined,” Sam uttered as he pulled you in for a hug. You could’ve sworn he sniffed your hair, but you didn’t want to go into that right now.

“Everyone!” The court turned to the throne,” Thank you for coming. I have finally found my bride. We will be married tomorrow night!” Sam exclaimed to thunderous cheers and applause. He slipped on a magnificent ruby and diamond engagement ring with a black gold band.

You could not believe this, “I can’t-,” you started, but Sam discreetly grabbed your wrist, “Pre-wedding jitters,” and led you to a side room.

You expected him to hit or yell at you like so many other royals in a similar setting, but instead he gave a sad smile and asked if you were truly happy in your old life. You thought about your crushing debt, little to no job prospects, both parents dead, no friends and you had to admit your life did suck, but he didn’t get to decide.

Disappointed, Sam casted a small compliance spell and pulled you in for a kiss. Your pupils blew out in lust and you lost yourself. When he finally decided to break for air, Sam stated that you will be his bride and he will not be denied any longer. You smiled and gave him a short but passionate kiss. He moaned but had to end it before he went too far.

Tomorrow night he promised himself.

He quickly called for Sherry to return you  to your quarters.

Sherry woke you up the next ‘morning’ with a small army of beauty experts and maids.

“Rise and shine, Your Grace! We’ve got a bride to present!” Sherry proclaimed.

Damn it! It wasn’t a nightmare.

They managed to stuff you into a marvel of a wedding dress. It was a Torch Red long-sleeved mermaid wedding dress with soft yet detailed lace work made to look like an enchanted forest, diamond, dark ruby and pearl beads, and a floor length train. On your head was a black gold spiked sunburst goddess with deep ruby roses and a simple ruby teardrop chain that rested on your forehead, the ends of which were wrapped around your horns.

“Not even Lilith could compare, Your Grace!” Sherry gushed at her handiwork.

The wedding procession and ceremony was done in a swift fashion as Sam didn’t want to wait much longer. The vows were short as well. You wanted to object, call for help, anything but a voice in the back of your mind beat you to it.  

A couple hours into the wedding festivities, Sam announced that it was time for he and his new queen to retire and led you to his quarters. It’s the fanciest suite you’ve ever seen dripping with luxurious reds, violets, and obsidian.

In all your awing of Sam’s quarters, you failed to notice him approaching you in only a simple loose shirt and trousers. He gently put his hands on your exposed shoulders,”Alone at last, my love.”

You recoiled, “Can’t we wait for a few days? It’s just…” you trailed off as soon as his jovial expression vanished replaced with something darker and hungrier.

“I’ve waited for so long to have you here with me, love,”  Sam confessed while you moved towards the exit,”and I will not be denied any longer!”

In an instant, Sam pulled you in for a demanding kiss. He pushed his tongue past your lips moaning when your tongue tepidly danced with his own and from the sweet taste of your mouth. He pushed you onto a bed that had to three times the size of a California King and his lips moved jaw and neck, egged on by needy whimpers and moans.

He took his time ripping off your gown, enjoying the view like a child on Christmas, ”Fuck, you’re so beautiful. Utter perfection,” Sam murmured as he watched your breasts bounced free. He alternated between sucking and pinching your nipples with his hands and mouth,”I’ve wanted to do this for so long,” he whispered in your left ear and he continued to play with your breasts like a concert-level musician. All the while moaned and cried out feeling pleasure you never thought possible.

Once satisfied with his handiwork with your chest, Sam’s hands roamed over your stomach and hips followed by strategically placed butterfly kisses that made you squirm. He tore off the last of your wedding gown causing you to hiss at the sudden sensation of cold air touching your pussy.

You used your last bit of willpower to plead, “Please stop! I’ve never-,” Sam stopped and raised his head to look at you.

“I know, love. I’ll be your first and only,” and with that, he gives your folds one long, slow lick and growled at your sweet and tangy taste, “I’ve wondered how you’d taste. You’re even better than the best Kharian wine. I could get used to this.”

He dove back in and played your pussy for all it was worth. His tongue worked its magic stroking and circling your clit sending you higher and higher into euphoria. Sam kept you right on the edge of an orgasm, just enough to beg for release.

“Say you’re mine!,” you mewled in response, to blissed out to use words. “Say it or I’ll leave!”

“Please let me cum, My King!” you cried out when he thrusted two fingers into your pussy.

“That’s a good girl. Now,”Sam started as he vigorously rubbed your pussy,”cum for me, love.”

Your orgasm came like a tsunami and Sam made sure finish his feast.

You got out of your post-oral haze to see Sam looming over in all his naked glory. His body must’ve been made by the gods because it was divine. His frame was an ode to sexiness wrapped in sinful warm sepia skin.

Sam caught you biting your lower lip and cocked his head, “Like what you see?”

Damn that cocky bastard, but damn if he wasn’t right. Part of you wanted to fuck his brains out…and that was before you saw his cock. Standing proud and erect with angry veins, his cock had to be the biggest you’ve ever seen (not like you had much exposure, just a few pornos).

Sam crawled up to you, lifted your chin and gave a soft kiss on the lips sensing your unease, “Relax, love,” He then lined his cock to your entrance and slid in as gently as he could.

You hissed from the pain, he was just so damn big. Sam praised you on how well you fit around him like ‘you were made for him’. Once the pain subsided, you bucked your hips into his causing him to moan at the sensation. He smiled at your eagerness and picked up the pace, making his thrusts come out to just the tip was in you and slamming back into you. You cried out his name each time he filled you to the hilt, pleading with him to go faster. Soon he reached your G-Spot causing to orgasm again, this time with you crossing your eyes and coming with a squirt.

Not too long after your second orgasm, Sam came with an otherworldly roar and glowing bright gold eyes shooting rope after rope of thick cum into your womb. He then flipped you onto your stomach and forced you onto your hands and knees so that he could take you from behind.

He got ten orgasms from you, each one more mind-blowing than the last. Once he was satisfied, he let you sleep.

“Soon you will be round with my seed, and we will have many children. I can’t wait.”

Ah hour after you closed your eyes, Sam left his, now yours, quarters. “Make sure she doesn’t leave,” he orders the guards although, he’s confident that she’s not going anywhere with the way he hammered her.

He strode down the corridors until he reached the dungeon. There, he found a rather nice looking apartment-style cell with only one prisoner, your mother.

“I’ve taken your daughter. Do you want to see her before you go?”

You see, Samael, Mikael (Bucky), and Stelios (Steve) were demon warlords who began conquering kingdoms left and right 1200yrs ago. They fought their way to the last free kingdom, Kharan. By the time your grandparents were brought before them, they had killed your uncle, the heir to the throne. The king and queen begged for their lives and the kingdom to be spared.

The trio agreed on one condition: if the next child the queen bears is a girl, then she would be Sam’s mate (Mikael and Stelios already had mates).

The king reluctantly agreed. The queen gave birth four months later to a girl, but she was in demon form. The queen had two of her most trusted attendants spirit the child away to another realm and raised her as their own.

Sam had your grandparents slaughtered and razed Kharan to the ground for their trickery. No matter, he was immortal. He would bide his time.

Eventually, your mother was told about her true parentage and form. She learned to control her powers, found love and she too was with child.

Sam found her a week before she went into labor and said that it was time to collect. She promised you in her stead immediately in hopes that it would buy her some time.

It did. She was able to pass you, a cambion, off to a friend of hers who wanted a child but couldn’t conceive and gave Sam a fake baby. He had your mother thrown into the dungeons.

Sam searched for you, but discovered that your mother put a cloaking spell on you. So, he approached your mother with a deal: her freedom for you becoming his mate.

It took your mother three years of torture for her to say yes.

Once the spell was lifted, Sam went to work. He made sure your adopted parents had a little ‘accident’ when you were old enough to take care of yourself, made sure that no one would want to hire you, and saddled you with debt. He even got Mikael and Stelios to pose as ‘The Star Spangled Trio’ with him to finally get you to the Hall of Mirrors.

Your mother bowed her head in shame, “No. It’s best for her to believe that I don’t exist.”

Sam unlocked the cell door with a simple spell, “You’re free to go. Have a nice life,” and returned to his quarters to be with his mate and queen.

Your mother took one last look at the palace,”I’m sorry, my little moon and stars,” and disappeared into the night.

Taglist: @jtargaryen18​ @threeminutesoflife​​ @giorno-plays-piano​ @lookiamtrying​ @sherrybaby14​ @opheliadawnwalker3​ @life-of-yn​ @mcudarklibrary​ @marvelfansworld​ @imdarkinme​ @sapphirescrolls​ @samingtonwilson​ @chris-evans-indian-fanfic​ @pseudonymphet​ @dahkness​ @saiyanprincessswanie​ @golden-ariess​ @chixkencxrry​ @anyatheladyclown​ @stargazingfangirl18​ @saint-bvcky​ @cherienymphe​ @iguessweallcrazyithinktho​ @cockslut-padalecki​

[sorenskyhigh]

What Pet I Think They'd Have and Why: Karasuno Edition

Daichi Sawamura

Of course he'd have a police dog

He's a cop and if he'd have any pet he'd have a buddy to help him bust criminals and fight crime

But I don't think Daichi would have a "normal" dog breed like a German Shepherd, Malinois, or Akita

I feel like Daichi would have a Rottweiler not bc they are my favorite dog breed

But Rottweilers used to be very prevalent in many police forces around the world until German Shepard and Malinois became more common

Also Rottweilers gained a harsh reputation for being aggressive bc they were trained by drug lords and criminals and were used to in fighting

Rottweilers are very muscular, sturdy, and hard working dogs

If trained right and with proper love and care these dogs are GREAT and I mean GREAT companions

They are stubborn and can be territorial with strangers, but, they are very loving towards familiars and family

They are a kind of one or two people fits them kind of dog

They also need constant stimulus as they were breed to be very hardworking dogs

Rottweilers used to pull sleds full of butchered meat bc they were so strong and the original breed was much bigger than the one we know today

They also herded large livestock through the alps and Roman region and are known to be fearless

They are also one of the oldest dog breeds

These dogs became popular Police dogs during the World Wars

Bc they were being used so much their guardian qualities were more showcased so more and more people wanted one to help keep and eye on their children

Since they are herding dogs they are good around children and can keep them in a yard if they are taught the parameters

Rottweilers despite their size generally don't bark a lot either, they are very sneaky when approaching a possible threat and will ppun e from behind

This is why I think Daichi would have one to be by his side

I feel like Daichi would do a lot of research into a good companion and finding a good breeder to find one after deciding

He'd get one as a puppy and personally see to it's training, working with a pro the whole time

His dog would also be a great family protector when he's home with his spouse and possible children, if he ends up having any

Koushi Sugawara

I feel like Koushi would be that really awesome teacher that has a really sweet and sociable pet that he brings in for the kids a lot

I feel Koushi would want soemthing small and cute so a rabbit of some sort would suit him well

Rabbits can be very loving with a small family most of the time or sometimes only one person

Rabbits are prey animals so some breeds wouldn't do well in a loud room full of young children

So what specific rabbit breed would suit his job?

So I chose the Harlequin Rabbit for Koushi

Harlequin rabbits are very social and loving towards owners and strangers alike

They also are known to be very silly, playful and very intelligent

They come in two colour types: Japanese and Magpie

The picture above is an example of Japanese while a Magpie can be colored in just about any other colour other than black nd orange like lilac, white, chocolate, blue and/or black

I feel like this specific type of rabbit would suit him so well as it would be comfortable around all those kids

Be very social and would be less likely to nip them

And it would be energetic enough to keep up with the kids

Koushi wouldn't just want a pet for his classroom though, he'd want a cuddle buddy for at home

He'd want a companion to sit on his lap while he works on lessons

He'd also want a pet that wasn't too lazy as his life would be pretty busy

The only thing is is that rabbits are high maintenance and need very specific foods, medicines, and an experienced vet to care for them

But rabbits are cuddly little crackheads that Koushi would adore

Energetic enough to keep up with his life, but snuggly and home bodied enough to not exhaust him

Asahi Azumane

Asahi is a fashion designer and thus would spend a lot of time hunched over a sketch book making designs

In other words, he has a very home based and indoor job

So he'd need a pet that isn't energetic and obnoxious like a husky or chihuahua

So I chose the Havanese

Havanese is the national dog of Cuba

This dog may be small but they are incredibly sturdy

These dogs become attached quickly and are extremely loyal to said lone owner

Something else that is good for Asahi is these dogs do not do good alone and are willing to follow their owners to the ends of the Earth

They can be described as velcro dogs bc of how attach to the hip with their owners they are

These dogs can be lively and active but they don't need much exercise as they are smaller

Most of their daily exercise can be met in a house with some light play

Also, these dogs are extremely friendly towards strangers and can be described as good host dogs

Another plus for Asahi about this breed is they aren't particularly vocal, most are rather quiet and reserved almost

The last thing you'd want is for people to look down on you for letting your pet act spoiled by barking and nipping at people's ankles

They also love to perform for others

They like attention and are good in groups

Asahi would have to meet with a lot of new people like models and companies and whatnot so a social dog would be best

Asahi also would spend a lot of time in an office or at home and since these dogs don't need much exercise he would be able to have it sleep on his lap while he works without disturbance

I also feel like Asahi would become a bit of a hermit

Like he would contact people but he wouldn't leave his house unless he absolutely had to or wanted to (which isn't often)

Havanese are home-bodied dogs and love just chillin' out on a warm lap or on a couch cushion beside their owners

Yū Nishinoya

Now I DO NOT think Noya should have a pet until he decides to settle down somewhere

Travel can really exhaust a person so it would harm an animal tenfold

So, if you travel a lot DO NOT GET A PET IT WILL ONLY HARM THEM

But if Yū were to have a pet.............................

Noya would need a pet that can travel well, is small enough to not cost a lot, is very attached to their owners, and can eat just about anything

I thought briefly of other rodents since rodents are generally small and can eat just about any food

But raccoons, possums, and other larger rodents that are more common for pets would be too hard to get on planes and boats since you need certification to own them

Rats on the other hand don't need such certifications in most countries and fill all the other requirements

The rat he would have isn't a Dumbo rat like in the picture above, he'd have like a wild rat that he befriended and decided to take with him so it'd most like be brown

Noya would 100% fight anyone who says they hate rats

He hypes up his pet rat to no end

He calls Asahi whenever he can and tells him about all the cool stuff his rat does and sends pictures of his rat being held up to a gorgeous background of famous landmarks in other countries

Nlya always has his rat around the back of his neck and wears a hoodie, scarf, or something like that to hide him so he can join Noya in places that don't allow pets

I also chose a rat bc they are incredibly loyal and I feel like if Noya were to be really tired on a plane and pass out, he would need a pet that he wouldn't have to worry about running away

Of course he has trained his rat to do amazing tricks, you already know

Also, as I previously mentioned, rats can eat just about anything, so his constant travel wouldn't hurt his companion diet

Rats are also quiet generally and aren't overly energetic so he wouldn't have to be worried about being escorted out for having a rat under his scarf

Chikara Ennoshita

Shibas are very independent dog, let's just start with that bc Chikara would need a pet that doesn't need constant attention

With him being a personal trainer he needs a pet that can self entertain

Something else about Shibas is they can often housebreak themselves bc of how fussy and finicky they are

You can also find them cleaning themselves much like a cat

Chikara would be busy for a good bit of his time so he doesn't really have time to properly spend time to housebreak a pet

But Shibas were originally bred to hunt and flush out game like birds and rabbits and other such small animals

A fact about Shibas is they almost went extinct during WWII bc of food shortages a distemper

Distemper is a disease only animals can be affected by that attacks many different systems in their bodies

Also, Shibas are the number one most common companion dog in Japan

Something else about Shibas is that they are fairly healthy, some of the more major problems they have are glaucoma, cataracts, hip dysplasia, entropion, and luxating patella

A lot of eye conditions but are easily avoided if you bring them in for very periodic eye checks and hip examinations

So these are easy to avoid as long you keep an eye on them

Over all I think that if Chikara were to have a pet it would need to be fairly self-sufficient but also something could have a very chill and laid back relationship with

Something that doesn't need to be on his lap all the time but something he can love and nurture

Kiyoko Shimizu & Ryūnoske Tanaka

Now I know I know

Ryu would be a dog person

He'd want a big manly pet not a cat blah blah blah

Kiyoko would definitely be a cat person

She wouldn't want a purebred and would probably find a box of some kittens with Ryu on the side of the sidewalk

Now look me in the eye and lie to me by saying that Ryu would now start crying immediately upon seeing like four lonely little kittens in a box that need a home

Needless to say, they take them home and nurture them endlessly

But Tanaka would be the kind of guy that harness trains his cats so they can go out on walks

Kiyoko would research how to harness train them, what food would be the best, and anything else they need to take care of these four cats

Imagine seeing these two, a big muscular dude and this goddess walking four cats on harnesses down the street

I literally cannot stop thinking about Ryu and Kiyoko cuddling on the couch with all four adult and rather large cats draping themselves across the two of them

I feel like the reason Ryu would want them harness trained is bc he wouldn't be able to spend much time with them

His job as a personal trainer would keep him busy

So on his morning jogs to stay fit he'd want to take not only Kiyoko but the cats as well

I plan on making more parts to this, I hope you enjoy it 😉

@popcorntime-doodles @multifandombrainrot @kneecapstealingalien @akabxne @jiheonity @weareallhumans123 @smallmangi @canadian-crow @just-jellyfish @immiamarais @i-need-coffee-now-pls @foreveryoung050 @kuroos-world @luminasapphire @silverfire6 @shadowsbutdead @ghostexhibit @simpfornishinoya @goshikisimp @anothershadeofpink @mestayanon @japoga @all-around-fandoms31 @thatfunnysprout @myyeetfelloff @itsallgonnabokayihope @g00s3 @boreateo @mirrorballmyfave @backalley-astrologer @vaniatslover @lil-mellow-bunbun @strawberrymakki @theforbiddenrealm-blog @beelziee @mehreenlol

[bunnyswriting]

A Sweet Tradition

Pairing: Milo x Reader

Content: just some pure fluff

Notes: So I did that Applin sidequest in order to evolve my Applin into an Appletun and now I’m using that little tradition to make a drabble for Milo lol. Hopefully y’all enjoy it

Masterlist

Though the field of botany didn’t seem too interesting to those not invested, it did grant you the privilege of being able to work and live in places you would’ve never dreamed of.

You’d spent the last six months in the region Kalos studying a species of pokemon called Flabébé and it’s two evolutions. They had been fascinating to you as you’d never seen a grass based pokemon before that could be found in various colors, but Flabébé had five different variants!

The countryside of Kalos had become your home as you did your work, waking up everyday to the sight of sprawling grass fields. The house you lived in became a small zoo of Flabébé, Floette, and Florges which you’d been caring for and breeding. 

Six months was more than enough to finish your studies on the specific evolutionary line, but honestly you just enjoyed the peaceful living your work came from.

Now you were moving onto the next region, though. Before you left you gave away all the pokemon you’d raised, giving them to aspiring trainers. All except one, a Florges you’d named Rosemary who was the first Flabébé you’d found and raised when you arrived.

Though you knew you’d miss your temporary home in Kalos, you expected Galar to be just as inviting. You’d be living in what looked like the countryside again since you were renting a small cottage in the town of Turffield. 

All the pictures you’d seen of Turffield reassured you that the place was absolutely gorgeous; vibrant green hills and fields of wheat, it seemed like the perfect place to raise a troupe of grass types.

It also, coincidentally, happened to be the home of Galar’s grass type gym.

You mused over meeting the gym leader during your overseas flight. You hadn’t looked into them yet, you didn’t even know their name, but you were sure that if there was anyone who you anything about the local pokemon it would be them.

After landing in Wyndon and getting a rather exciting ride in a flying taxi (“How innovative! This Corviknight is gorgeous, why there was nothing like this in Kalos.”), you’d arrived in Turffield.

The roads were and pathways were all dirt, adding to the countryside feel, and when you took in a deep breath the fresh air was more than enough to get you settled into what would be your new home.

You take a brief moment to check your phone to find the address of the cottage, mentally noting that it’s in the west side of the town.

You grab your rolling luggage and sling your book bag over your shoulder, smiling when you feel the excited jiggle of the pokeball on your belt. “Don’t worry Rosemary, I’ll let you out as soon as I find the new house, then we can explore the town together,” you let her know with a smile, patting the pokeball gently.

Then you set off, walking down the road with a happy skip in your step. The atmosphere of the little town just radiates peace, with the distant sound of a flock of Wooloo playing in the fields, and just ahead you could see two Yampers playing tag with one another. It felt almost too perfect-

“Wooloo, no- watch out!”

The voice calling out makes you jump a bit, and you turn to find the source. But before you’re able to fully turn, a sudden voice hits your back and knocks you right over, and all you can see is white.

You momentarily struggle and try to sit up, and blink curiously when you end up face to face with a… Wooloo.

“Hey there, little fella,” you say with a laugh, getting a loud ‘baah’ in return.

“Are you alright? I’m so sorry, this little one has an awful lot of energy.”

It’s the same voice from earlier. You manage to get the Wooloo off of you and look up, your eyes meeting those of a stout looking man. 

“Oh it’s no problem, really, I’m not hurt or anything-” you try and assure him, but you’re cut off once more by the jiggling of Rosemary’s pokeball and a bright light.

Your Florges is out of her ball, flittering about nervously, clearly worried about you.

“Hey, hey, it’s okay, I’m fine,” you murmur gently, reaching out a hand to try and calm her. She lets out a little chitter, holding onto your hand looking up at the stranger warily. 

When you look back up at him, though, you can see that he’s fascinated by Rosemary.

“What species of pokemon is this? She’s gorgeous,” he says in awe, bending down a bit to get a better look at her.

It’s rather endearing that this stranger has such a genuine interest in your pokemon, it reminds you of your own fascination with plant and pokemon life. The curiosity in his green eyes was a bit childlike, and you immediately found him rather cute.

And it seemed that Rosemary had also taken a liking to him after hearing his compliments, since she moved to fluff her flowery mane and bat her eyes at him. Oh yea, she was loving the attention.

“Oh, this is Rosemary, she’s a Florges- they’re native to the Kalos region,” you explain, happy to discuss one of your favorite pokemon for as long as he wanted.

“Fascinating, are you from Kalos?” he asks, turning his attention back to you.

You shake your head, “Gosh, no. I wish, but no. I’m from Unova, actually, but I was in Kalos for six months studying it’s grass types, specifically Florges and it’s pre-evolutions.”

His eyes seem to light up at this.

“Grass types? What a coincidence, I’m the gym leader at Turffield stadium, and grass-types are actually my speciality. My name’s Milo, by the way” he says with a cheery smile.

A gym leader? Well now that you were getting a better look at him it made sense, he sported the Galar gym challenge’s uniform in a variety of greens with a grass type logo splayed over his chest.

“Oh that’s perfect! You were actually just the person I was looking for, I assumed that if you specialize in grass types you could probably tell me all about the ones native to Galar for my research,” you exclaim, finally getting up and off of the ground and dusting the dirt off of you, “I’m cataloging the unique grass types in every region, so you’d be a great help- if you want to help me, of course, I can’t force you to do anything.”

The look of excitement on his face is a bit infectious, and the smile he gives highlights the cute freckles on his nose on cheeks. “I’d absolutely love to help, I can give you your first introduction to one of our grass types right now,” he replies, grabbing one of the pokeballs from his waist and tossing it up.

There’s a flash of light and small of cry of joy as a pokemon you’d never seen before floats before you. It’s body and face are small and cute, but on the back of its head is a big, cottony ball of fluff with seeds scattered about, similar to a dandelion in bloom. Immediately you’re taken, finding this new pokemon adorable.

“Oh my, who is this sweet little thing?” you ask curiously as the little grass type floats up to look at you.

“This is an Eldegoss,” Milo quickly replies, clearly pleased by your interest, “They evolve from the Flowering pokemon Gossifleur. They’re a pure grass type, incredibly sweet, and just a joy to have on the team.”

You smile as you lift a hand and pet the Eldegoss gently, your hand practically sinking into it’s cotton fluff. “She’s lovely. I’d hate to be a bother, but I have two more requests. Can you show me more grass types, and can you take me to this address?” you ask with a shy smile, showing him your phone with the cottage’s location.

The sweet smile he gives you makes you melt a bit, and soon enough the two of you are walking side by side into Turffield, chatting back and forth and slowly getting to know one another better.

---

It’d been about a month now.

You and Milo had become fast friends, hitting things off quickly and bonding over your love of grass type pokemon.

He was indeed a great help to your botany work, more than happy to show and tell you all about the unique grass types of the Galar region, and even some from other regions that you hadn’t seen while in Kalos.

There was something else that had been blooming while you worked alongside Milo, and it wasn’t all the flowers that the gym leader tended to.

You found yourself nursing some feelings for the sweet gym leader, feeling which seemed to surpass your friendship. He was just so kind to you, he always seemed happy to talk and see you. He’d pay you visits at the little college and bring food, usually Galar specialties you’d never had before, and then he’d watch you work on your grass type catalog while asking all sorts of questions, just as passionate about the project s you were.

And it wasn’t even just his personality that endeared him to you, his looks were just as cute. You weren’t sure how he was so physically fit and built yet had a soft and adorable face at the same time, but the contrast seemed to work for him. His laugh was dorky and when you said goodbye he’d pull you into a strong hug which you never wanted to leave, and his eyes… oh, you thought you could stare into those green eyes for hours on end.

Currently you were sat in the backyard of the cottage; a sort of garden area with a picnic table, a small pond, and a couple of blooming flower beds. The sun was setting as you flipped through some notes, jotting down a few notes about Eldegoss’ moveset. There was a little chatter and a splash of water, and you look up to see the Grookey you were currently watching over dancing around in the pond. At the same time you had two Gossifleurs nestled into the flower beds, and Rosemary was out and about as well, eating a pecha berry in the corner of the garden.

“Care for some company?” a familiar voice asks.

A smile immediately makes its way to your lips and you glance over to see Milo standing behind the fence gate. “Sure, you know you’re always welcome,” you reply happily, setting down your pencil as he unlocks the gate.

He walks over and sits beside you at the picnic table, and you’re quick to notice that he seems a bit more reserved than normal, casting his gaze to the ground rather than looking at you directly like normal.

“What’s with the surprise visit, big guy?” you ask him, bringing up the tongue-and-cheek nickname you’d given him weeks ago.

“Well,” he begins, sitting up straight, “I’ve shown and taught you a lot about our Galar pokemon, but there’s one line of pokemon I haven’t introduced you to yet.”

This piques your interest. “Oh? What is it?” you ask eagerly, always excited to learn.

Milo seems to smile at your enthusiasm and pulls out a pokeball- a love ball, specifically. You watch curious as he clicks the button and there’s a flash of light, and next thing you know there’s an… apple? In your lap?

An apple pokemon.

Gently lift a hand and tap the top of the apple, and the two ‘leaves’ atop it open open and blink up at you, revealing that they’re the eyes of the little creature.

You giggle and hold the little pokemon in your hands before looking back up at Milo, “what species is this?”

You’re confused when you see the faint blush dusting his cheeks. “This is an Applin, there’s a sort of… tradition involving Applins in Galar,” he answers, a shy smile on his face.

“And are you going to tell me the tradition?” you ask with a cheeky grin, lifting the Applin and letting him hop around atop the picnic table.

He nods his head and clears his throat, looking out into the distance at the setting sun. “It is said… that... when you gift an Applin to the one you like most, that you will stay together no matter the distance,” he explains, the blush on his cheeks growing even darker as he speaks.

You’re almost starstruck as you gaze up at him, mouth agape. You would’ve never imagined he felt the same way for you, perhaps you were just oblivious but you assumed your feelings would just be unrequited for your entire stay.

He glances over at you and seems to misinterpret your expression since he starts nervously backtracking, “I-I understand that it probably want the best way to confess- it’s probably not what you’re used to and… Arceus, this was a bad idea, I just thought it might be nice since I don’t know how much longer you’d be in Galar for and it could just be a little token of affection, and-” he rambled, and though he was flustered you found it pretty adorable.

You decide to cut him off and grasp his hand gingerly, before leaning up and kissing him sweetly.

The kiss was brief but did it’s job by getting the message across: you liked him too.

When you pull back you see that his face is the reddest you’ve ever seen it, and he stammers trying to find the words.

“Hmm, you’re cute,” you murmur gently, and this sends him over the edge as he pulls his straw hat down to hide his flustered expression.

You giggle at this and try to lift the hat, but he keeps it firmly held down, “oh c’mon, Milo! You’re even cuter when you’re blushing like this,” you tease, finally managing to pull it up.

Now that his face is unobscured you’re able to look up at him, and his eyes soften as he gazes down at you. You feel one of his strong arms wrap around you and gently pull you closer. “So… what do you say?” he asks, sounding hopeful.

“I think… I’ll be staying in Galar for a very long time.”

[sol1056]

hey! i noticed that you’ve written a lot about how voltron fails as a mecha series, and it got me curious about what a GOOD mecha series looks like. do you have any recs for someone whose only experience with the genre, quite literally, is voltron?

note: that is NOT where I wanted the cut. who knows what the devs are doing over there at tumblr hq.

-----

Welp, there’s more than one kind of mecha. There’s super robots -- where (in general) the robots are ultra-powered and relatively indestructible. Then there’s real robots, which will break down and/or run out of ammunition at the most dramatically critical moments. And then there’s a category that at best might be nearly-sentient robots, which have minds and motivations of their own -- but I wouldn’t say that’s a true category (in terms of the genre) so much as a distinction I've noted.

I’ve never been big into the super robot series (with a few exceptions), and I mostly find the combining robot genre to be frustrating. Former mechanic and engineer who currently works with AI, so a lot of the hand-wavey aspects are frustrating for me, especially in super robots where things mysteriously repair themselves and there’s never a struggle to upgrade/repair. (And don’t even get me started on the idea of controlling a bipedal reactive machine with only two foot pedals and a damn joystick.)

Which is all to say, I suppose I should recommend that you watch the classics, except I’m not really sure what they are because I’ve forgotten most of them. And frankly a lot of them are really shoddy animation by today’s standards, and life is too short to waste time on that. I’ll need to refer you along to other mecha fans to add their recommendations, instead.

Well, I can at least recommend Gundam and Macross, but that’s kind of like saying I recommend Doc Martens and Aididas -- that barely narrows it down, since there’s so many options within each brand. Everyone’s got their favorites in each, as do I, but any mecha series that’s stayed with me is one that found a way to either twist the core trope, or explored implications that other series glossed over.

Note: I’ve never seen any version of Eva, and never felt the urge to, either. Sorry. Ask someone else for input on that. Plus there’s also ones I’ll leave off here ‘cause they’re veering over into AI/robots/tech and less what would usually be called mecha, but they’re still worthwhile: Battle Fairy Yukikaze, Ghost in the Shell: Standalone Complex, Broken Blade, Last Exile, and Voices of a Distant Star all come to mind.

Gundam

For me, I adore the technical geeky touches in Gundam F91, but the story is total spaghetti, so you might want to skip that until you’re more familiar with the gundam tropes. (It was meant to be a series, iirc, got shut down, and they took the pieces and made a movie from it, so it’s... kind of compressed, to put it mildly). 

Gundam Wing and Gundam 00 are considerably less geeky on the technical (though they do satisfy the mechanic itch, with a bit more real robot, at least on the technicalities). I like the international core cast, and the way each series explores geopolitical dynamics. (That said, skip the second season of Gundam 00. It just goes totally off the rails into some really wild and wacky directions.)

A long-running concept like Gundam is recognizable across the series thanks to core concepts, and in Gundam’s case it’s the conflicts between imperialism and colonialism, war versus justified rebellion, and pacifism versus a first-strike as self-defense. What I liked with Wing and 00, in particular, was its central pilots felt more tied to (and aware of) the political ramifications of their actions.

I did watch about half of Iron-Blooded Orphans, which struck out in a new direction by having Mars as the colony instead of the lagrange points, but didn’t bother finishing. From what I hear, watch it with a box of tissues, as it’s a return to the classic kill-em-all perspective of the original Gundam series.

Macross

I’m sure someone else will tell you to watch the original Macross (the american version being Robotech, albeit highly edited). I know lots of people adore the first Macross series, but it’s just too late-80s for me. (The hair, my god, the hair.)

Personally, I prefer Macross Frontier -- the amination is much improved, though the fact is I also adore the voices of Yuuichi Nakamura and Aya Endō. Macross has some politics, but it’s mostly internal -- that is, the opponents aren’t human, so whatever debate there is about who’s right or wrong is mostly one-sided, since we only ever see humans doing the talking.

I tried to watch Macross Delta but it just didn’t do it for me -- and therein lies some of the issues (for me) with both Gundam and Macross. Because both have some core elements that they tackle in every series, it can start to feel a bit repetitive.

For Macross it’s always music, Valkyries (the mecha type for Macross), and a love triangle -- which sometimes isn’t even resolved. (I’ve read all kinds of debates about whether Alto ends up with Sheryl or with Ranka, but the series leaves it open.)

A good writer can explore these themes over and over, but between the two, I personally think Gundam has done a bit better of pivoting to take a new angle with each series. But at the same time, Gundam is pretty consistent about not building on a previous series -- with a few notable exceptions, most of its series are alternate-universe stories to each other. In Macross, they’re all continuations of the previous -- so if you’re not into its setup about aliens and weird diseases and whatnot, you’re only going to get more of the same in the next series.

Everything else

So here’s the series I like, but I’m not sure all of these would be counted as ‘true’ mecha by other fans (a debate I mostly ignore, so I’ll leave it to others to argue about that).

Escaflowne -- one of the rare breed of fantasy-styled mecha (Broken Blade being another one that comes to mind). The animation is strongly 80s, but the voice acting is superb, the story (originally meant to be longer, then budget cuts forced a much longer story to squeeze into half the episodes it really deserved).

[It’s also a series I’d call a harbinger, similar to tripping over little-known movies from twenty years ago and realizing every single actor including walk-on parts went on to be massive names. Escaflowne’s got that, but that also extends to its animation team, its director, its composer, on and on. All of them went onto work on some of the greatest hits of anime. That makes Escaflowne immensely (if quietly and somewhat subtly) influential, both for the genre and animation overall.]

Eureka Seven -- another not-on-Earth story. At first the mecha movement -- almost like surfing in the sky -- was odd, but they took some interesting physics concepts and made them not just worldbuilding, but integral parts of the story. Okay, I’m not keen on how the female lead gets successively down-graded as the hero ramps up, but there are some emotional implications of Massive Destructive Machines where Eureka Seven lingers that a lot of other series gloss over.

Fafner in the Azure -- another aliens-against-humans, but first off, I’m gonna say it: you either love Hisashi Hirai‘s character designs or you want to torch them with total prejudice. If you can get past that, Fafner is brutal to its characters well beyond most other series, excepting the earliest Gundams. Although (of course) the pilots are all kids, there are in-story reasons, and there are still adults running the show. And there are consequences, small and large.

Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion -- because what would life be if we didn’t have at least one mecha series with character designs from CLAMP. (Which, admittedly, I loathe, but somehow it worked here.) Can’t speak for the second season, but the first season played up something a lot of mecha bypass for just plain banging on each other, which is strategy. It caught me at the time, at least.

Full Metal Panic -- watch this after watching Gundam Wing and/or Gundam 00, to get the tropes they’re playing on with Sousuke Sagara (the ostensible protagonist who just cannot seem to relate to real human beings). I saw one description of him as “about as well-adjusted as a feral child” and that kinda fits. It’s more real robots, and of course parts require some hardcore suspension of disbelief (the commanding officer who looks 14, sounds like she’s 12, and has boobs that never occur in nature on a frame that teeny). But all told, a lot of fun and plenty of explosions.

RahXephon -- this is another oddball one, because the mecha aren’t mecha, they’re golems (as in, creatures made from clay). For all that, there’s a lot of significant mecha influence and tropes at work. It’s held up pretty well, animation-wise, considering its age (from 2002). and while it’s the same ‘strange aliens attack earth’ plotline, it spins all that off in a completely different direction.

Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann (aka Gurren Lagann) -- don’t watch this one until you’ve seen plenty of others, though, because it’s a fondly affectionate send-up of nearly every possible trope from combining to super to real robots. Cranked up to eleven.

Knights of Sidonia -- of all the ones on this list, KoS is possibly my most favorite. It was an early all-CGI series, and a lot of people were turned off by that, but once you get used to it, the story can carry you along. Like Macross Frontier, it takes place in deep space, where a colony of humans fight for survival with an incomprehensible (and nearly unstoppable) alien foe. But KoS is true science fiction, with a lot of solid science driving its dramatic points. Also--unlike most of the others series--although the characters are technically human, they’ve also evolved as a result of their time in space. For one, they have three genders, for another, they don’t eat; they photosynthesize.

[lizzylunawizardessfanfics]

Welcome To The Family

Pairing: Elias/Lizzy

Summary: What was a normal day in town to do an errand run, Elias comes across an adoption event being held. Just wanting to take a small walk through and visit the cats and dogs will he leave empty handed.

“Delia foods ready,” I called while placing down the bowl that contained food as I looked around to soon spot my new companion trotting over with her tiny legs. Hearing her cute squeaky meow brought a smile to my face as I watched her happily eat. Taking my seat on the couch I watched her eat for a bit before turning my attention back to the papers I was grading. As I worked, I couldn’t help but replay today's events that lead up to me adopting her.

~~~ Flashback ~~~

I was strolling through town in the morning as it was my turn to get supplies for the office in which I also took the opportunity to buy some things I needed for myself and a little gift for my girlfriend. I was walking on the sidewalk while going over my checklist to ensure that I’ve gotten that was needed and or wanted. Nearby I could hear the chorus of laughter and giggles to which curiosity got the better of me as I looked up from my list to see what was going on. Over across where the large water fountain was there was a large mass of people along with a bunch of playpens for animals. 

Folding my list and tucking it away into a pocket I walk over to see what such an occasion was taking place. The closer I got, I was able to see a banner that read “Adopt-A-Friend” as the various sounds of people, cats, and dogs filled the air. Strolling through I got to see the various breeds as there were many adorable cats and dogs which I would occasionally stop to give some of them pets. I made it to the area where all the cats were as I did like dogs as they reminded me of when we used to have a dog, but for some reason I found myself liking cats more as I grew. 

I leaned over to look down at the cats and kittens as they all seemed to gather around for attention. “Hello there, you all are so cute,” I said smiling softly as I could hear their purring. I’d have to tell Lizzy that this was here as maybe we’d come back to visit all the animals together. I was getting ready to move away until this one kitten caught my attention; it was a munchkin with mainly white fur while its paws were orange and gray. Moving over to get closer I reach my hands down and carefully picking up the small kitten before standing properly holding her to my chest. Now seeing the kitten up close she had the prettiest ice green eyes. She let out a small meow before nuzzling into me as I gently pet her behind her ear which she seemed to like a lot.

“Hello sir, is there anything I can help you with,” I looked over to see a lady who was talking to me as I didn’t answer right away. I looked down to the kitten as there was something inside me that wanted to take her as for some reason I had this odd sense of familiarity that I couldn’t exactly put my finger on. Finally making up my mind, I look at the kind looking lady and gave her a smile. “Yes, I’d like to adopt this kitten please,” I said as the lady who was working the event smiled more and nodded asking for me to follow her to which I did. After a few papers being signed and buys the necessary supplies for my new companion, I was heading to go back to the academy with her in my arms.

~~~ Flashback End ~~~

Hearing the soft mews I looked down to see Delia on her hind legs as her front paws were on my pant leg in an attempt to get my attention. Leaning down and scooping her up I sat properly and running a hand over her soft fur. “All full,” I asked as even if I wouldn’t be able to understand her like Lizzy would I could tell by how Delia got comfortable. Setting her on my lap I continued to finish up the little bit of grading that was left. Getting through the last few papers with ease I set them all aside and then making myself a bit more comfortable on the couch. Suddenly feeling slightly sleepy, a yawn came out as I briefly closed my eyes for a moment to which I dozed off while feeling Delia curled up on my chest. I was unsure of how much time had passed as I woke up sitting up quickly at the absent feeling of Delia on him. 

“Who’s the cutie patootie?? Yes you are,” I heard the familiar sweet voice cooing as when I sat up properly and rubbed my eyes a bit the sight before me melted my heart causing me to smile. There Lizzy was sitting on the floor holding Delia cooing and giving the kitten kisses. “You should've woken me up, my apologies if I slept long,” I of course apologized since I don’t normally fall asleep in the office. “It’s perfectly fine Elias, besides it’s important to rest as I only got here maybe ten minutes ago. I was just talking with Delia, she was telling me how you found her at the place in town and brought her home with you. She says she’s really happy to have a home,” I listened to Lizzy say as I was surprised, but made me all the more joyous as it definitely left like she found me. Moving over to sit next to my beloved I give her a peck on the cheek.

“It makes me happy to hear that, how did teaching with Luca go,” I asked as I could only imagine the trouble he’d cause for her. Feeling her return the favor by kissing my cheek it still made my face feel hot along with the fluttering feeling in my stomach. “It actually went really well as Luca actually helped out and what not, he even took over at one point during a lecture,” she said, which was surprising but then again those two were best friends and Luca knew better when working with her so it made good sense. I noticed on Delia was a cute frilly ribbon as a collar as it had a bell cover in silver glitter hanging off of it, classic Lizzy trait. “I see you made her a collar,” I said while petting Delia’s head. With a beaming smile that I absolutely adored, Lizzy looked at me with her baby blue eyes and replied, “Yup! Though I just gotta get the tag with her name on it, I really do love the name you picked for her.”

Letting out a small chuckle I nodded in agreement before saying, “Indeed, as I didn’t make the connection at first but she has the same ice green eyes like your mother in the photo of you both to which if I remember correctly delias were your mother’s favorite flower.” Her eyes seemed to widen in surprise before dilating back to normal with a more softened expression as Lizzy let out a soft laugh. “Yup mom always loved having delias in the house, anytime she’d get a shipment to her shop she’d bring them home haha,” she said in a fond manner while petting Delia who was happily accepting all the affection. “Wait till Rufus gets to meet his new lil sister,” Lizzy shortly said after as I nodded in agreement as Rufus was very good with younger and smaller creatures to which Lizzy surprisingly added “Welcome to our little family.” It took me by surprise but filled my heart with warmth as this was exactly as she put it and that fact couldn’t have made me any happier “I love you Lizzy,” I said without a second thought while looking at her lovingly. “I love you too Elias,” she instantly responded back looking at me again to which we shared a short yet sweet kiss.

[angewrites]

Dogs Make Everything Better

Title: Dogs Make Everything Better

Anime: Cardfight!! Vanguard

Words: 3,469

Summary: Aichi and Kai, much to the surprise of the Card Capital Squad, decide to get a dog.

Notes: HAPPY BELATED BIRTHDAY, AICHI!!!!

yeah uh, so this is late lmao. I didn’t get a good idea for an Aichi b-day fic until three days before, so it’s taken me all this time to actually write it. *sob* I’m sorry, my blueberry boi. Maybe I’ll do better next year lmao. 

But also, if anyone’s curious, I actually based this fic on this comic I saw a few days ago because WHY THE HECK NOT. It looked like a cute idea, so I decided to just base the fic (loosely) off of it. Unfortunately, this fic isn’t entirely fluffy like the comic is, so I’m sorry ‘bout that. Hopefully the fluff (literal and figurative) makes up for it. 😭😭😭

Anyway, if you read this, I hope you enjoy it!! Just one last thing: I was gonna put in a scene showing Kai and Aichi adopting the dog, but I decided to scrap it. Do you think the story would have benefitted from a scene like that tho or did I make the right call in not putting one in? Let me know in your comments! 

Thank you!! \ .D. /

[FFN]

[AO3]

                                             Sendou �� Kai Residence

Warm and gentle early summer sunlight peeked through the royal purple curtains, illuminating the face of a young man with short blue hair who grimaced at the contact. Realizing that it was indeed morning and it was the long-awaited day, Aichi forced his eyes open, sat up, and looked over at his sleeping partner, mouth hanging open, brown hair completely disheveled.

“Kai-kun. Kai-kun, get up! The day’s here!” Aichi whispered excitedly, gently shaking him back and forth. Kai, however, much to the young man’s non-surprise, turned over to the other side, his back facing him, pulling a pillow over his head. Aichi exhaled a sigh of frustration.

“Kai-kun!”

“You can call me Toshiki, you know,” mumbled the other, who was secretly smiling at Aichi’s exasperation, trying to keep from laughing. Realizing he wasn’t going to get him at out of bed, Aichi huffed, intentionally grabbing one of Kai’s purple blankets, and went to the bathroom without another word. Sensing that his favorite blanket was missing moments later, the brown-haired man – about 28 years of age – threw the pillow from off his head and sat straight up, his hair even more disheveled than before.

That Aichi was more mischievous than he let on.

“Can I have my blanket back?” Kai called out as the other gargled and spat out his mouthwash. The blue-haired man – about 27 – wrapped the blanket around his shoulders and walked back to the bedroom. Instead of responding right away, he sat on the edge of the bed and gently placed Kai’s hair strands in their proper place – at least, in a way that made his partner look like he didn’t just get up, even though he did.

Kai’s face turned two shades of red at the gesture, but he made no attempt to stop him. Instead, having regained his composure, he closed his eyes, the repeated sensation of Aichi’s fingers gently sweeping across his forehead lulling him in a trance of sorts, with only the sound of chirping birds to be heard and Aichi’s soft humming.

“That should do it,” his partner announced, placing the purple plush blanket around Kai’s shoulders. “It wouldn’t make sense for our new family member to look better than you.”

Kai huffed jokingly. “Whatever,” he said, his playful pout turning into a soft smile as he wrapped the blanket around the other and pulled him closer to him, close enough that their foreheads were touching.

“Someone’s sure in a mood this morning,” said Aichi in a low tone, his smile evident in his voice. Kai only gripped him closer, resting his chin on his shoulder. He knew he and Aichi had to head out to the adoption center soon, but moments like this were as rare enough as it was. Between Kai’s veterinarian job and Aichi’s Cray research fellowship, it was a miracle in itself they didn’t have to rush out the door first thing in the morning, much less get the entire day off.

“Just let me have this,” was the reply. Aichi relaxed even further in Kai-kun’s embrace, also taking in and absorbing this rare, slowed-down moment between the two of them. What’s even rarer was the fact that Kai-kun was the one who initiated it, but there’s a first time for everything.

Aichi, being the first to let go after a few minutes, had last minute preparations to make before the two of them headed out for the day. Kai took the opportunity to finally get dressed, tossing on a faded red t-shirt from his Vanguard European tournament days and black jeans. No sooner had he done so, his phone began to wildly buzz. Looking at the caller ID, he laughed.

“Okay, Miwa, what do you want?”  Kai answered, his voice sounding inconvenienced, almost borderline rude, he realized, but only because he knew Miwa, his childhood friend, would understand it as a joke. The other side chortled.

“I would’ve thought getting an actual job and getting married would’ve made you a tad bit nicer,” replied Miwa, “but so much for that.”

“Don’t worry, I’m only mean to you.”

“Oh, thank you, that makes me feel so much better,” returned Miwa, his voice oozing with sarcasm. “Anyway, before you ask, I’m just double-checking if you and Aichi are gonna swing by Card Capital later. Card Capital 1, anyway, not 2 where I work. You do know there’s this huge party today.”

“Yeah, we will,” replied Kai, “but, we’re gonna be a little late, so feel free to start without us.”

“Heeeh? What, are you guys going on a married couple date or something?” Miwa teased. Kai usually wasn’t prone to migraines, but he could definitely feel one coming.

“No. For your information, we’re adopting a –“ he started to say, but Aichi’s voice rang out from the front door, “Kai-kun, hurry up!” Kai pulled the phone from away from his ear and yelled out, “Just a second!”

“Adopting a what now?” Miwa inquired like he didn’t quite believe what he’d just heard. But, Kai couldn’t afford to waste another second, so he just said, “Sorry, Miwa, we have to go now. We’ll see you soon.”

“Kai, wait –“

Kai tapped the red button, shoving the phone in his back jeans pocket and met up with Aichi at the front door. He opened the door to let his husband go through first, leaving him to lock the door.

“We’ll be back,” Aichi said, and Kai short-laughed. It was adorable how he did that.

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

                                                   Card Capital 1

“Miwa, come on, are you sure that’s what Kai said?” Naoki, a red-haired man the same age as Aichi interrogated as he, with Morikawa and Izaki’s help, put up a light blue, sparkle-covered “Happy Birthday, Aichi!!” banner on the back wall, some of the sparkles flying their way onto his plain dark green t-shirt.

“I swear I’m not making this up,” the blond-haired man – about the same age as Kai – defended himself, setting down a cake box on the check-out counter. “Kai definitely mentioned something about adoption when I called him.”

“But . . . adopting a child? Miwa, really?” the manager of Card Capital, Misaki, chimed in, fixing her lavender hair back up in a bun and picking up a box of additional decorations. “Those two have enough on their plates, and I don’t see them adding ‘dealing with the expenses of a child’ to them.”

“I guess you’re right,” Miwa shrugged his shoulders.

“But, what if Miwa’s right though? What if it is a child? Would that make us all adopted godparents?” a dark-blue haired young man, not too much younger than Naoki, spoke up, scratching his head. “Like, would be crazy or what?”

“Kamui . . .” replied Misaki icily, repeatedly beating the palm of her hand with a rolled-up magazine. The younger of the two gulped loudly and hastily went back to setting up additional decorations around the medium-sized shop.

“Well,” another young man, also the same age as Aichi, spoke up, pushing up his glasses, “we’ll find out when they get here, I guess.” Everyone in the shop nodded and went back to their decorating business. Misaki had just finished placing the last of the decorations on the fight-turned-food tables behind a blue curtain when the familiar jingle of bells sounded and Sub-Manager, the resident cat employee, emitted a low-pitch meow welcoming the visitors.

“You’ll have to leave. We’re closed no-“ Misaki almost announced out of pure habit, as many customers had tried to come through despite the signs out front saying Card Capital was closed for the afternoon. But, when she looked up, she saw Aichi and Kai standing at the door . . . with a gold and white dog who was as tall as Aichi’s leg when it stood upright. A Shikoku, if Misaki recalled her dog breed names correctly.

“That’s no way to talk to customers, Tokura,” Kai replied without missing a beat.

“Never mind that,” said Misaki. “What’s with the dog? Did you decide to take up dog-sitting?”

Aichi gently rubbed the top of their furry companion’s head, to which the furry companion panted delightfully, catching the attention of Sub-Manager, who looked at the new furry visitor with annoyance. “Don’t misunderstand, Misaki-san,” Aichi spoke up. “This one’s ours.” Kai, of course, nodded in agreement, crossing his arms and smiling with his eyes closed, like a proud father.

Miwa, Naoki, Kamui, and Shingo all looked at each other, not quite sure how to process the latest development in the what did Kai and Aichi adopt saga.

“Yeah, Miwa, that doesn’t look like a human child,” Kamui broke the silence first, maintaining eye contact with the furry customer.

“Nope,” Morikawa nodded.

“Definitely not,” Naoki agreed.

“Not in the slightest,” Shingo chimed in.

“Doesn’t even look anything like a human child,” Izaki commented.

“Okay, okay, that’s enough. I was wrong. I admit it,” Miwa shouted, waving his hand and rubbing his head in frustration.

Aichi and Kai looked at each other, raising one eyebrow each, frowning. Then Kai directed his gaze towards Miwa and asked, “Mind explaining yourself?”

Miwa pointed a finger at Kai. “You’re the one to talk. You never said you were adopting a dog. You only told me you and Aichi were adopting.”

“Really now?” Kai brought his crossed arms closer to him. “I could’ve sworn I mentioned that it was a dog when you called –“

“You didn’t!”

Aichi giggled at the commotion as he massaged the top of his furry companion’s head. The dog wagged his tail happily, soaking up all the attention he was getting, much to Aichi’s relief, since the dog had been hiding in the back of his cage at the adoption agency.  

From what it sounded like, Miwa had thought they were adopting a child rather than a dog, so it’d only make sense that he and the others would be surprised. The two of them could barely take care of themselves, though, so bringing another human into their already small as it is house was out of the question. Plus, it’s easier to deal with dogs and animals in general than with small humans.

“Can I pet him, Big Brother Aichi?” Kamui inquired, having made his way over to the trio.

“Sure, Kamui-kun!” Aichi granted. The dog released a high-pitch squeal as Kamui petted him.

“He’s so soft,” Kamui commented, ruffling the dog’s fur.

“Right?” agreed Aichi, who joined Kamui in showering the canine with affection.

“I’m still trying to wrap my mind around the fact you two got a dog and not a cat,” Naoki chimed in, scratching his head. “Especially since Kai is obviously more a cat person.”

“Yeah, that’s true,” Misaki agreed.

“I figured you’d say that,” Aichi laughed. “Our house felt a little lonely, so we figured adopting a dog was the best way to fix that. But, Kai-kun still got to name him, so it’s a fair deal, I think.”

“Really? What’s his name?” Shingo inquired. Aichi opened his mouth to answer but was interrupted by Sub-Manager hissing and the dog growling at each other.

“That’s enough, Ryuu,” Kai reprimanded, like a parent would scold a misbehaving child. The dog, having sensed his name was called, immediately stopped growling and whined, shrinking back against Aichi’s leg. The rest of Card Capital exhaled a collective “Ohhhh.”

“Ryuu . . . huh?” Naoki spoke up after a long pause.

“You named the dog Dragon?” Miwa asked, doing his best to contain his laughter, but, in the end, it was futile, and his laugh echoed throughout Card Capital. “Dragon, oh my god.”

“Shut up,” Kai said, turning away from him, inciting laughter from everyone else present.

“That aside,” Aichi interrupted. “Kai-kun told me we absolutely had to stop by Card Capital today, and we had to hurry as soon as we adopted Ryuu, but he wouldn’t tell me why . . . Also, that blue curtain wasn’t there before, was it? If I remember right, Misaki-san did tell me the shop was being remodeled, but I thought the renovations were done already . . .”

Kai jumped, noting that Aichi was catching onto the surprise, and the rest of the Card Capital inhabitants’ shoulders stiffened. Glancing at Miwa’s direction, he saw Miwa mouth “Tell him to close his eyes.” The brunet sighed and grabbed Aichi by the shoulders.

“Ka-Kai-kun?” Aichi quickly looked up.

“Close your eyes.”

“Eh? Why?”

Kai smiled. It’s a good thing he hadn’t caught on. “Trust me. You’ll know.” The other raised an eyebrow but did as he was told. After he looked over and saw Aichi’s eyes were closed, Kai gave a thumbs-up sign to Miwa, who swung an arm downwards. Naoki, who was standing on a ladder, pulled down the curtain cord, revealing the hard work of the gang’s work of the past couple of hours: the slightly off-center, glitter-covered light blue “Happy Birthday, Aichi!!” banner on the back wall, enough blue and white balloons to turn Card Capital into a temporary balloon store, and the fight tables all covered with streamers, glitter of all colors, and other party decorations that Kai was sure Miwa got from the party store right down the street.

It’s a good thing the adoption process, including the never-ending paperwork, took a little longer than anticipated. All this must have taken a long while to set up, Kai thought. Rubbing Aichi’s arms, he whispered, “Okay, you can open your eyes now.”

“I thought it was taking a while for you all to–“ Aichi started to say, but when he fully opened his eyes, he found the birthday decorations waiting for him and his friends smiling, waiting, no doubt, for his reaction. The blue-haired man unknowingly let go of Ryuu’s leash to cover his mouth with both hands, but Kai swooped down and grabbed the leash before it could hit the floor.  

“This is . . .” was all Aichi could mutter, tears gripping the corner of his eyes.

Miwa laughed. “Just so you know, we put all the decorations together, but,” he pointed a nicer finger at Kai this time, “your husband over there suggested this in the first place.”

“I . . .” the blue-haired man glanced at Kai, who only laughed and gently rubbed the small of his back.

“It’s your first birthday in Japan in a while, Big Brother, so we needed to go all out,” Kamui chimed in, flashing a thumbs up.

“I don’t . . . I really don’t know what to say . . .” Aichi said, letting the tears roll down his face. He hadn’t expected his birthday to be acknowledged, much less a party of this caliber conveniently in the place he forged so many strong bonds with everyone there. “Thank you. Thank you, everyone.”

Ryuu cocked his head upwards. Seeing Aichi cry, he let out a small whine and nuzzled against Aichi’s leg, concerned for his owner, but the man knelt down and petted him.

“It’s alright, Ryuu. These are happy tears,” he said, flashing a smile. Ryuu seemed to understand his human was alright, not in any sort of peril, and barked happily in response, eliciting a small mew from Sub-Manager.

“Well, let’s get this party started, shall we?” Miwa announced.

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

                                       Sendou – Kai Residence

After spending several hours at Aichi’s Card Capital surprise birthday party, Kai and Aichi, with a mountain of presents and large card in hand as well as Ryuu, made their way back to their house. Aichi had enjoyed the party at Card Capital, but it felt good to be back home after a long day.

“Welcome to your new home, Ryuu-chan,” Aichi told the Shikoku who wagged his tail happily at the sound of his human’s voice.

“Where do you want your birthday stuff, Aichi?” Kai asked from behind the mountain of presents. Instead of answering the question, the other insisted on helping, but Kai furiously shook his head. “It’s your day. You’re not doing anything of the sort.”

The blue-haired man stared at his husband, then laughed. “I’ve heard that a lot in the last couple of hours.”

“People aren’t allowed to do menial stuff like this on their birthday. That’s just Doing Birthdays 101,” Kai huffed, forcing his way to the dining area. “At least, they shouldn’t.”

Laughing and without another word, Aichi removed Ryuu’s leash and let him scope out his new home so he could adjust. Even if Ryuu didn’t entirely understand, Aichi, nonetheless, explained to the dog about the various rooms of the small house, from the dining room to the living room, which stored Kai’s various European Circuit Vanguard trophies (for now, anyway).

Kai, in the meantime, organized Aichi’s presents in order – by size, by if they were boxes or bags, by cards – since seeing them in a disorganized pile would drive him crazy. Once he finished doing that, he sat down at the kitchen table, watching his husband and their newly adopted furry child roam about the house, with Aichi talking away, and Kai couldn’t help but stare, his gaze softening, lips gently turning into a smile.

He had told Aichi that they should adopt a dog, an older dog, because as snug as their small house seemed, it did feel empty, and the emptiness was best filled by an animal. But, there was another reason Kai insisted on adopting Ryuu, one he’s kept to himself. Aichi hadn’t told him, but Kai knew, from his tossing and turning, his groaning at night, and his tired smile the next day after undergoing such a traumatic ordeal, that he was experiencing vivid nightmares. After the Link Joker incident, Kai too experienced the pain, the immense guilt, and the frustration brought about by lucid dreams of his crimes, and it was only after he confronted that pain head-on with Aichi and the others, when they said that he was forgiven, that he was truly able to recover, enough to the point where the nightmares finally stopped.

But, Aichi . . . His recovery journey was far from over, Kai realized. And it pained him to see the one he loved in such agony, a destructive agony he’s willing to keep inside and mask, not wanting anyone to see.

Kai understood that adopting a dog wouldn’t solve all of Aichi’s problems, but, since Aichi petted practically any stray or leashed dog he saw – which has made the two of them late to very important social functions on occasion (not that Kai minded though) – it’s a start. He wasn’t the biggest fan of dogs, but, for Aichi, he’s willing to change that. He’d do anything, absolutely anything, for him.

Noticing Aichi and Ryuu sitting on the floor in the living room, Kai rose from his chair and wandered over to the duo. Aichi was gently patting the sleeping dog, who was lightly snoring. The brunet looked at Aichi’s eyes and, although he seemed exhausted, they were glistening and at peace. It was the calmest Kai had seen him in a while. He reached out and lightly touched the other’s shoulder. Aichi grabbed the other’s hand with his free one while still petting their newest roommate, their fur child.

“It’s late, so if you want to turn in, it’s fine. I’ll join you later,” whispered the blue-haired man. Aichi expected Kai to accept the offer – after all, Kai was a stickler when it came to bedtime – but, instead, he was gently pulled backwards. Sensing Kai behind him, Aichi leaned back further, positioning himself so that he could listen to and be lulled by Kai’s steady heartbeat.

“You won’t get rid of me that easily,” Kai whispered, gently tightening his hold on him. “Especially not tonight.”

Aichi laughed softly. “I wasn’t trying to get rid of you,” he whispered back. Tears forming at the corner of his eyes, he added, “I already tried that once, and look how that turned out.”

Kai inhaled sharply. He knew it. “Aichi . . .”

Aichi wrapped his arms around Kai’s waist, pressing further against his body. “Thank you for Ryuu, for the party, everything. Thank you for being here with me . . .” a pause. A deep breath. “ . . . Toshiki.”

A gasp involuntarily escaped from Kai’s mouth, but he quickly regained his senses, burying his face in Aich’s hair. He had joked about it that morning, but, actually hearing Aichi finally say his name, his first name, was nothing short of a magical, relieving moment. Only his parents had called him by his first name, and he refused to let anyone call him by that name ever since. No one had been close enough, had beaten down the doors of his heart, faced the darkness and terrors of his mind enough, had borne his anguish, his hurt, his agony and pain, for him to let them say his first name.

No one . . . except the one lovingly locked in his embrace, the one who never gave up on him, and never stopped giving him chances.

His eternal mate and, now, his husband. And he couldn’t have been more grateful.

“Of course, Aichi. Happy birthday.”

[smorgasbordofobsessions]

liveblog: bnha/mha, vol. 7

shouto and midoriya are fighting stain, gran turino and endeavor are dealing with noumus (which i'm finally spelling correctly), and iida's still on the ground trying to get up!

it also just occurred to me that "best jeanist" is a cute play on words - beacause he controls fibers (just clothing fibers i believe), so he controls the "genes" of clothes, but also "jeans" as well, since everyone owns a pair. cute.

ch. 54

iida is up!!!!

im so proud of iida i really am!!!

ch. 55

have i also mentioned that i'm proud of shouto? that he's willing to learn from his father so that he doesn't actually become him? that he visited his mother and was able to heal that specific wound? that he heard what midoriya was telling him during the sports festival - something he knew himself deep insdie - and decided to pursue that to see how he could better himself?

because i am, so proud of him

shouto and midoriya comforting iida in their own way :)

midoriya got snatched!

stain escaped and killed hte noumu that was flying away with midoriya!

ch. 56

you would actually think he would escape or kill the 5+ heroes around him but no, he killed a noumu. wird.

stain: "[...] and the criminals who so aimlessly sprinkle around their 'power'[...]"

oh so maybe it does make sense?

um... what the fuck is happening with stain

stain: "the only one who's allowed to kill me is all might!"

wow another one with a hard on for him

the cheif of police is dog?!!?!?

and he even made a dog joke

oh, yeeesss my favorite thing in stories - politics

the cheif dog is saying that you all deserve punishment but only IF it comes out the true events of what happened - but no one needs to know what actually happened o the official record

i would love ot know when this comes back into play because there is no way the chief of police would NOT hold this over someone's head - whether endeavors, since he's currntly active, or the kids, since they're still training. gran turino is think is a bit of a neutral point since he's not active and doesn't seem to be in the scene anymore, though he clearly used to be

the chief seems nice, of course - he is dealing with 15 year olds here, but i'd lve to know what else is happening behind the scenes because you can not and do not become chief of police without politics and blackmail

ch. 57

oh a news helicopter saw shiragaki and blackmist on the rooftop

"it was the biggest killing spree by a solo criminal since all might's debut"

damn, stain, good for you

oh there's a glimpse of dabi!!! who i recognize because of the couple blogs i follow that adore him, haha

and that girl.. himoka or something??

what is up with shiragakia honestly like he has normal font for one sentence then the shaky font for another

do his hands have voices or something?

ohmygod

how dare jeanist ruin kacchan's hair like that

best jeanest:" people always turn their attention toward big flare-ups. but it's precisely during times like these that heroes must be cool and collected. on occasion, chaos comes to mislead people, and to try to coax out the cruelty and tyranny that slumbers at te root of them."

kacchan's hair REJECTS! the comb-over!

haha midoriya freaking out over talking to uraraka over the phone

thy have nerve grafting surgery?? oh shit that's cool

oh fuck yeah there's gonna a look into all might's past!!!!!

"all for one" - is this differnt than "one for all"?

and yes! the dude in the screen is the man who killed shimura - the guy who possessed "one for all" prior to all might

okay so we see how this is tying up now okay great

gran turino was right!!!! stain's idea of what a hero should be is absolutely gonna spread and bring people together

and if gran turino is ALSO right about how the dude in the screen planned for this, boy are we in for some fun!

i also want you guys to know that it will not be surprising if i get really into dabi because, again, exposure breeds familiarity

ch. 58

was in the shower and had a thought: do endeavor's flames constantly spew out of him, or is it just something he does when he's on duty? i feel like if the former, that's real fucking inconvenient - but it can't be the case because of that little memory we saw of shouto's.... if the latter, well damn he's got both great control and great reserves to maintain them

gran torino having midoriya call himself by his hero name :')

kacchan's still got th comb-over!!! poor baby

uraraka is breathing hot air!

mineta: "dont you understand. women... are demons from the outset, they're just hiding their true selves!"

i should call him grape juice

to make it crystal clear: i love iida

all might - keep damage to a minimum - he says while conspicuously pointing to kacchan

ashido's outfit is cute!

all might with the tightest ass in the series, fuck yeah

kacchan seeing how much midoriya has improved

god, kacchan, please, you can do it, too!!!

ch. 59

i hope we do focus on kacchan because i feel like he has so much to grow as well! we already know he's great at the physical part of being a hero, but what about other aspects? though he'll probably never have the nicest manner (which is fine) haha. but, if he sees and feels midoriya getting so much better is such a short period of time (compared to his own lifetime of having his quirk) then how is he gonna better himself? what is the regime that he's gonna do to make himself even better than he already is?? because he must have a plan or an idea on how to do that. if his goal is to ultimately become the number hero, to usurp all might, then he can't afford to slack, really, not while at school...

and i just realized i'm writing a whole thing on kacchan so let me shut the fuck up and wait for the manga to answer my question

grape juice: "hey man, my little mineta's already being a flagrant crime if you know what i mean!!"

calm the fuk down bro

aahh all might's gonna tell midoriya about his powers, and i'm also assuming himself!

as ya'll know, i love backstory

all might: "one for all won't transfer ... unless its user wishes it. so it can't be forcibly stolen - though it can be forcibly passed on"

forcibly passed on????

a quirk that's existed since the beginning! of, time, or quriks?

all might: "'all for one.' it robs others of their quirks and renders them the user's own. and it's also a quirk that can grant them to others."

hmm... so... it's a copying quirk?

HHMMMMM

all might: "and so the quirk to stockpile power and the quirk that could pass itself on, merged together!that is the origin of one for all!"

INTERSTING

all might: "it's pretty ironic. justice is always born from the bowels of evil."

wait... so are we impllying that the dude in the screen is the SAME guy who, when quirks came about, was the one who could steal quirks??

wow if i read one more panel i wouldn't have even asked that

midoriya: "whatever you task me with... i'll answer to your call, all might! as long as you're with me, i can do anything... i can feel it, i know it's true!!"

i love midoriya. i really do.

all might can't tell midoriya that he might not be there when the day comes for midoriya to face off agaisnt the dude in the screen

god i'm loving their relationship, i really am. they both need hugs

iida: "summer break means curry!"

oh is this dude with the burned face and wires in his neck the dude in the screen?? i think so!! and he wants shiragaki to become him? hm!!

ch. 60

note to self - kaminari denki is the static electricity dude

kacchan is so book smart!!!

kacchan: "i'll annihilate you, leave you in the dust with the gap between us and then i'll fucking murder you!"

i love him! >.<

me as aizawa being concerned about kacchan

yo imagine studying for tests hahahahahahahaha

oh the students are gonna fight the teachers!! fun!

kacchan and midoriya as a team!!!! against all might!!!!!!

aaahhh this is so exciting!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

"wonder duo"!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

ch. 61

yo wha tthe fuck is up with kaccahn. like i get he's belligerent, but i really need to know the stick up his ass he has for deku specifically

ch. 62

"bakugou katsuki: the origin"

LET'S FUCKING GO I NEED THIS

baby! kacchan was so goddamned cute!!! i wanna squish his cheeks

is kacchan crying???

kacchan let midoriya use one of his grenade arm bands???

ch. 62.5

talking about costumes and "iida is clear on how he wants to appear in the future so he's putting an emphasis on his appearance"

have i meantioned at all that i love liida??

yaomomo likes either harrods or wedgwood tea?? a girl after my heart!!

[wineanddinosaur]

Next Round: Knead Wine’s Pricing Structure Is Creating Loyal Customers

Airing between regular episodes of the VinePair Podcast, “Next Round” explores the ideas and innovations that are helping drinks businesses adapt in a time of unprecedented change. As the coronavirus crisis continues and new challenges arise, VP Pro is in your corner, supporting the drinks community for all the rounds to come. If you have a story or perspective to share, email us at podcast@vinepair.com.

In this episode of Next Round, Zach sits down with Allie Nault and Jarad Slipp, accomplished sommeliers and new business owners. Their venture, Knead Wine, doubles as a retail wine shop and a takeout artisanal pizzeria.

Knead Wine is based in the quaint getaway town of Middleburg, Va., just an hour outside Washington D.C. The wine store is a microcosm of escape in its own way, offering a wall of unique wines from all over the world curated by Nault and Slipp, as well as a wall of $20 wines, and a wall of $45 wines. Despite their extensive knowledge and accolades, the duo strives to make buying wine an anxiety- and judgment-free process.

Throughout the episode, Nault and Slipp explain how the Knead Wine was conceptualized at the start of Covid, and how they’ve make their business model work in trying times. As it turns out, pizza and alcohol aren’t the worst things to invest in during a pandemic.

Listen Online

Listen On Apple Podcasts

Listen on Spotify

Or Check out the Conversation Here

Zach: From Seattle, Washington I’m Zach Geballe, this is a VinePair podcast Next Round conversation. We’re bringing you these conversations in between our regular podcast episodes so that we can focus on a range of issues and stories in the drinks world.

Today I have the pleasure of speaking with Allie Nault and Jarad Slipp of Knead Wine. Thank you both for being here.

Allie: Thank you for having us.

Jarad: Super happy to be here.

Z: Excellent. So let’s start with the basics: What is knead wine? For those of you who are just listening to this and somehow didn’t read the headline on your podcast app, that’s k-n-e-a-d. So there’s a little bit more of a story here than just the obvious, which is that, yes, we all need wine.

J: Knead Wine was birthed in the middle of the Covid pandemic. We actually opened on August 1st. My background has been in restaurants for most of my life, and then I ran RdV Vineyards in Delaplane in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains for six years. When I left, I could have gone all over the place, in lots of different directions. But I really, really love where I live […] on the top of a mountain in the middle of nowhere. I can’t see my neighbors in any direction. We have a pet bear that comes around on occasion, and it’s fantastic. I wanted to carve something out right here in my own backyard — easier said than done in the middle of Covid. So unwittingly, we found a space, and we did gourmet takeout pizza and retail wine. And again, unwittingly, looking back, the only thing in the restaurant world that is actually ahead of the game right now is takeout pizza. I think the worse the world gets, the more people drink. So it was kind of the one-two punch. It wasn’t planned, but it was certainly welcome.

Z: Gotcha. Allie, maybe a little bit about your background as well?

A: Of course. So I am kind of a restaurant orphan. I’ve worked in Providence, Rhode Island, New York City, at the top of the One World Trade Center, down to Commander’s Palace in New Orleans, and most recently at The Inn at Little Washington as their sommelier. In March 2020 restaurants closed, and Jarad and I were just sitting at home saying: “What’s next? Is the inn going to reopen? Will I even have a job?” Jarad just departed from RdV, and it was perfect timing at the perfect place. A spot opened up right in downtown Middleburg on the main street in this beautiful old building that needed a lot of TLC. But we were just so excited. A little bit more about the concept: when we say restaurant, we serve food and we can do intimate private events for up to 10 people by state law right now. But when you walk in, it actually looks like you’re at a retail wine shop, and then all of a sudden you start smelling pizza and these famous cookies we started making. Then you’re like, “Wait, what else is going on here?” Then that’s when the pizza comes in as well — it’s a whole entire sensual experience. Even with your mask on, you’re able to still smell Jarad’s incredible pizza as you walk in. They don’t let me back there in the kitchen.

Z: Fair enough. So let’s start with just a little bit more about Middleburg, because those people who are not in Virginia or nearby, like me, [might be asking] “Well, OK, it’s on the map, but what kind of community is it?” What has the reception been?”

J: It is a very interesting little microcosm. Middleburg is probably the wealthiest town in the wealthiest county in America — Loudoun County — which is to say it’s on the same par as Palo Alto and Jupiter, Florida, and so on and so forth. We have our fair share of multimillionaires and billionaires that stroll in on the daily. But that said, the median income is something like $56,000 a year. For every person that has a 1,000 acre horse farm, there’s probably 20 or 30 or 40, 50 people that they employ there. So we get all walks of life. It is this super cute, quaint hamlet in the middle of horse country. We’re exactly an hour outside of Washington, D.C., so it’s a nice little getaway. Jackie Onassis used to come quite a bit when she was younger. But particularly with the current state of the pandemic, it’s been a nice getaway for people in the city to sneak away to, even if it’s just for an afternoon.

Z: I would love for you to explain a little bit more about what you’re doing: when it comes to wine, you have a very straightforward, very simple pricing structure; can you explain what that is, and why you went that route?

J: I honestly can’t remember what the genesis of it was, but part of what we’re supposed to do as sommeliers is demystify wine, and I wanted to keep it real streamlined and simple for anyone that came into the shop. Basically, you walk in the door and everything on the left-hand side is $20 and everything on the right-hand side is $45. It’s really that simple. We have some bubbles and some stickers that are priced as marked, and we have a small wall that rotates. It was originally intended to be our favorite wines from our wine travels, but there’s not a whole lot of traveling going on right now. It started out with Willamette Valley, which is the last trip that we took. Currently it’s our favorite dozen Pinots from around the world. Come spring, that will probably turn into our favorite local Virginia wines, so it’s always moving. So the large preponderance of the wines is either $20 or $45, but you can get wines up to 300 bucks.

Z: Do people vibe with that pricing? Does that make sense to people right away? I will say, I’ve seen a few restaurants do something similar, where everything is either one price or in one bucket, [but] I don’t think I’ve seen retail shops do that. I’m obviously not familiar with every last retail shop, but it seems like it’s the kind of thing that if done well, as I imagine it is, that people really appreciate. They don’t have to think about price tags on wines next to each other to decide which one to buy. They know they’re on the left or the right wall, so they know what the price is going to be.

J: Allie can probably speak to it better than I can, because I’m often in the kitchen. But the reception has been amazing — people adore the idea. And again, it keeps things easy for them: they have their two price points, and they can gravitate from one side to the other. Oftentimes people will get mixed cases with both price points. It makes things interesting and challenging for us in a good way in that it’s very, very curated. We very much have to stay in our lanes price-wise, and be able to find wines that fit those two price points. So you can’t deviate too far, one way or another. You have to give great value. But you also can’t bring in a wine that costs $19.95 and sell it for 20 bucks.

A: When talking about wine with guests, I feel like one of the hardest things to always break down is asking the tough question of: “How much do you want to spend tonight?” This makes it very easy. We have two price ranges: $20 or $45. Some people (very, very few) will be like, “Uh, I guess 20?” It’s perfect — there’s a time and a place for the $20 wall, and for the $45, even for Jared and myself, who love wine, and have tasted a lot of incredible things. Twenty dollars is such a great price range to find new and exciting things, but also at such a high qualitative standpoint. So it makes it exciting. We will blind taste to find the best Cabernet Sauvignon for the $20 price range. So when someone comes in, [they know] it’s the best thing that we could find right now on the market for a $20 Cabernet Sauvignon. People will come in and they’ll see it will rotate in like a month depending on stocks and inventory, and with what distributors are bringing in. They get super excited to see what the next Cabernet Sauvignon is on the wall a month later. Seeing that excitement over a $20 bottle of wine is something that I find so fulfilling. Having spent so much time with Wine Spectator’s grand award-winning wine list, I get more pleasure out of providing something that is affordable, a daily driver that makes people thrilled when they go home with their pizzas. It’s really rewarding.

Z: I’ve sometimes thought that with wine programs and things like that, constraints sometimes do more to breed creativity than having an unlimited budget and going for a Wine Spectator grand award, and being able to buy whatever you want. Does that ring true?

J: Oh, absolutely. If you give me a big enough check, I can give you a grand award. It’s just a matter of going out and finding all those blue chip wines, whereas here it’s small, it’s curated, and nothing goes on the wall that isn’t vetted by us. If we don’t like it, it doesn’t make the cut. So when people come in, it’s pretty funny. They’re like, “Oh, what are your two favorite wines?” I’m like: “All of them. They’re all here for a different reason.”

Z: You mentioned at the beginning that you opened in August. When the beginning parts of the planning for this started, was the intention to be [like this], was it done in the knowledge of Covid, or did you have a somewhat different idea that had to evolve because the world changed pretty dramatically?

J: I think with the restaurant world, there is no going back to normal. There will be a new normal for us. This is all we know, because we got the keys to the building last April 1st (which is scary, it’s almost coming up on a year.) We opened on August 1st, and I did 90 percent of all the build-out in construction. We knew what we were opening into, or we thought we knew what we were opening into. So this strange paradigm is our normal, and it’s worked and it’s been great. We do have the ability to have some tables in there if we wanted to. Right now, we choose not to. It’s takeout only. We have done a couple of private events, like on New Year’s Eve and so on and so forth, which are super fun. But as far as navigating the current landscape, we kind of planned and built for it for that, in fact. So that makes sense.

A: Yeah, I love the way it’s set up. It’s a really great creative outlet for the two of us to figure out a way to do takeout hospitality. People come in for a split second to grab their pizza and grab a bottle of wine, or maybe they come in for 45 minutes. Will they grab a case of wine? They want to hear all about everything. But being able to give a very special experience through takeout has been a really intriguing challenge for us to come up with. I think for all restaurants especially. I’ve personally enjoyed it. I don’t know if Jarad’s enjoyed it as much as I have. We haven’t really talked about it.

Z: This whole time? That seems like, you know, maybe a conversation you should have.

A: I guess he likes it. We’re still doing it.

Z: Yeah. There you go. That’s some proof for sure. So I would think just in the abstract, that a wine shop/restaurant opened by two incredibly accomplished sommeliers would be potentially intimidating for a lot of people. We experience this issue as wine professionals where people want our expertise but are also afraid of it. Some of the things you’ve talked about — the focusing on pizza, which is, for most people, a pretty damn approachable food; having very clear prices (I think some of the fear is about getting talked into a more expensive wine than they’re comfortable with) — do those structural elements help people get over that fear factor? Or do you just not think that people are intimidated?

A: Well, I think when people walk in and they see me in the front of the shop, they think I’m probably like a college student just answering the phone. I look very young. I sound very young. They probably never in a million years thought that I knew anything about wine. That’s something that I’ve always had to break down the barrier with, at any place I work. If anyone’s ever intimidated by me, then there’s a real problem, because I’m not at all intimidating. I know you can’t see me — I’m a tiny 5’3, 100 lb girl. I don’t think that they’re intimidated when they come into the shop. I think that they become at ease when they hear about the price ranges. I mean, Jarad can be a little intimidating, I’ll say that.

Z: That’s why you keep him in the kitchen, right?

A: But I think once you’ve once you start talking to him, you’re like, “Oh.” It’s just like your friend next door, or someone that’s going to become your best friend because he’s just so warm and welcoming.

J: I’m the guy that’s in the kitchen that yells: “What you want is the second one on the left, the Pinot Grigio.”

A: We have fun.

Z: As Jarad mentioned at the beginning, pizza is one of the things, more than anything else, that people have been consistently going with during the pandemic (not that they didn’t eat a lot of pizza before) What are three or so of your favorite current pairings of wine with your pizzas? Feel free to explain the pizzas too, because I am sure they’re not all just Hawaiian.

J: I have two hard and fast rules: No pineapples and no green peppers, ever. Barring that, if you buy it at the grocery store across the street and bring it over, I’ll slap it on your pizza. But I refuse [those] two things. The pizzas are kind of rooted in Neapolitan style, but Neapolitan pizzas are really meant to be eaten immediately out of the oven with a fork and a knife. They’re kind of floppy. Being takeout, we need a little more stability, and being in America, we use American flour. I think it actually tastes better. We sneak a little Italian flour in there for some silky texture, but American flour tastes better. We’ll do a pepperoni pizza, no problem. But we have more exciting things as well. Tomorrow we’re putting on a pizza with Bosc pear, crispy speck, gorgonzola dolce, and Korean chili flake, and we’ll pair that with pear cider. I hate when people — when I say people, I mean guys because it’s always guys — try to match up every little nuance of the dish to every little nuance of the wine. At some point, you just get analysis paralysis, and it’s just not fun anymore. So if you get a red pizza and you get a bottle of red Italian wine, you’re in the ballpark. Whether it’s Chianti, or it’s Dolcetto, or it’s Barbera, it’s really a stylistic preference. But it’s not like I say, “No, you have to get this wine with this pizza.” That’s just silly. Rule number one is eat what you want, and drink what you want.

Z: That’s very reassuring. That was always my rule as a sommelier. But one that, as you said, is not always shared by colleagues. Allie: I know asking what your favorite wines are is really hard, but do you have a couple of things that you’ve put in that you’ve been excited to see the clientele really vibe with, wines that might have been a little more out there?

A: Yeah. I think when we started the shop, our regulars who joined us in the area (because we obviously have a lot of transient foot traffic as well) were huge on Pinot Grigio or Chardonnay— more of the classic options as a wine buyer, which is fantastic. I love people who know what they want. But as we’ve been open longer, they’ve wanted to venture out and try new things, which has been really exciting. So we actually brought in Guardians Saperavi from the country of Georgia. It’s a woman-made wine. Saperavi is the grape variety, and it has this crunchy and dried red fruit character, a touch of florality to it. It’s a very intriguing red wine that has pretty nice acidity, so it also goes well with pizza, but it’s delicious to just chug on its own. I had this whole entire shift of, “I like Pinot Noir. I’ll try Saperavi. Oh, I love Saperavi. That’s now my new favorite wine.” Then when we were able to order more, because it was out of stock, I had a list of phone numbers to call when it came back in stock. So that’s something that’s been really exciting, and for $20.

I feel like people are really excited to take a chance, and maybe $20 was the peak of what they’ve spent on a bottle of wine before. But once they see how incredible the world of wine is, for Thanksgiving, they ventured over to the $45 wall, which is really also exciting — to show the entire world of wine at both price ranges to them.

So that’s probably been the most exciting part for me, with all of this, is just watching the transition of the community and their wine preferences. But when it comes to pairings, I always just say: “What grows together goes together.” So sticking with the Italian wine that Jarad was talking about. But whenever someone comes into the shop, it’s not like in a restaurant where you commit to like three ounces, and if it wasn’t your favorite wine, you just chug it and move on. It’s a whole bottle. So I always ask first: “What do you typically enjoy?” Then I find something along the lines of what they enjoy that will also go with the pizza, because I’d hate to send someone home with a Zinfandel if they like Old World Bordeaux. It’s not going to go well for them at the end of the night.

J: I think when we opened, we wanted to make sure that we had all of our bases covered, and all of the classics represented. Now as we’re seeing the clientele’[s] bandwidth is, we’re beginning to push the boundaries a little bit and say, “OK, let’s try some Greek wine, OK, Greek Chardonnay. OK, that worked. Let’s do Assyrtiko. OK, that worked. Let’s do a retsina. Retsina’s a tough sell, but you push up until the line, and then you draw back a little bit.

Z: Yeah. Then you drink retsina for a few weeks if that’s where you end up.

J: Oh it’s lights out, by far-and-away the best retsina out there. But it’s still an acquired taste.

Z: Well I want to thank you both so much for your time, I really appreciate it. It sounds like a really cool project. It makes me sad that at the moment, I am very far away and can’t come visit. But one of these days I will make it out there. I’m sure we’ve got some listeners in the Virginia area who, if they haven’t been in already, are looking forward to it. I can almost taste the pizza, and I’m very glad to know I won’t have to ever get pineapple. Thanks again, and best of luck going forward.

J: That’s very kind. Thank you so much.

A: Thank you, Zach. We look forward to welcoming you at some point.

Adam Teeter: Thanks so much for listening to the VinePair podcast. If you love this show as much as we love making it, please give us a rating or review on iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher or whatever it is you get. It really helps everyone else discover the show. Now for the credits: VinePair is produced and recorded in New York City in Seattle, Washington, by myself and Zach Geballe, who does all the editing, and loves to get the credit.

Also, I would love to give a special shout out to my VinePair co-founder, Josh Malin, for helping make all this possible, and also to keep Keith Beavers, VinePair’s tastings director, who is additionally a producer on the show. I also want to, of course, thank every other member of the VinePair team who are instrumental in all of the ideas that go into making the show every week. Thanks so much for listening, and we’ll see you again.

Ed. note: This episode has been edited for length and clarity.

The article Next Round: Knead Wine’s Pricing Structure Is Creating Loyal Customers appeared first on VinePair.

source https://vinepair.com/articles/next-round-knead-wine/

[johnboothus]

Next Round: Knead Wines Pricing Structure Is Creating Loyal Customers

Airing between regular episodes of the VinePair Podcast, “Next Round” explores the ideas and innovations that are helping drinks businesses adapt in a time of unprecedented change. As the coronavirus crisis continues and new challenges arise, VP Pro is in your corner, supporting the drinks community for all the rounds to come. If you have a story or perspective to share, email us at podcast@vinepair.com.

In this episode of Next Round, Zach sits down with Allie Nault and Jarad Slipp, accomplished sommeliers and new business owners. Their venture, Knead Wine, doubles as a retail wine shop and a takeout artisanal pizzeria.

Knead Wine is based in the quaint getaway town of Middleburg, Va., just an hour outside Washington D.C. The wine store is a microcosm of escape in its own way, offering a wall of unique wines from all over the world curated by Nault and Slipp, as well as a wall of $20 wines, and a wall of $45 wines. Despite their extensive knowledge and accolades, the duo strives to make buying wine an anxiety- and judgment-free process.

Throughout the episode, Nault and Slipp explain how the Knead Wine was conceptualized at the start of Covid, and how they’ve make their business model work in trying times. As it turns out, pizza and alcohol aren’t the worst things to invest in during a pandemic.

Listen Online

Listen On Apple Podcasts

Listen on Spotify

Or Check out the Conversation Here

Zach: From Seattle, Washington I’m Zach Geballe, this is a VinePair podcast Next Round conversation. We’re bringing you these conversations in between our regular podcast episodes so that we can focus on a range of issues and stories in the drinks world.

Today I have the pleasure of speaking with Allie Nault and Jarad Slipp of Knead Wine. Thank you both for being here.

Allie: Thank you for having us.

Jarad: Super happy to be here.

Z: Excellent. So let’s start with the basics: What is knead wine? For those of you who are just listening to this and somehow didn’t read the headline on your podcast app, that’s k-n-e-a-d. So there’s a little bit more of a story here than just the obvious, which is that, yes, we all need wine.

J: Knead Wine was birthed in the middle of the Covid pandemic. We actually opened on August 1st. My background has been in restaurants for most of my life, and then I ran RdV Vineyards in Delaplane in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains for six years. When I left, I could have gone all over the place, in lots of different directions. But I really, really love where I live […] on the top of a mountain in the middle of nowhere. I can’t see my neighbors in any direction. We have a pet bear that comes around on occasion, and it’s fantastic. I wanted to carve something out right here in my own backyard — easier said than done in the middle of Covid. So unwittingly, we found a space, and we did gourmet takeout pizza and retail wine. And again, unwittingly, looking back, the only thing in the restaurant world that is actually ahead of the game right now is takeout pizza. I think the worse the world gets, the more people drink. So it was kind of the one-two punch. It wasn’t planned, but it was certainly welcome.

Z: Gotcha. Allie, maybe a little bit about your background as well?

A: Of course. So I am kind of a restaurant orphan. I’ve worked in Providence, Rhode Island, New York City, at the top of the One World Trade Center, down to Commander’s Palace in New Orleans, and most recently at The Inn at Little Washington as their sommelier. In March 2020 restaurants closed, and Jarad and I were just sitting at home saying: “What’s next? Is the inn going to reopen? Will I even have a job?” Jarad just departed from RdV, and it was perfect timing at the perfect place. A spot opened up right in downtown Middleburg on the main street in this beautiful old building that needed a lot of TLC. But we were just so excited. A little bit more about the concept: when we say restaurant, we serve food and we can do intimate private events for up to 10 people by state law right now. But when you walk in, it actually looks like you’re at a retail wine shop, and then all of a sudden you start smelling pizza and these famous cookies we started making. Then you’re like, “Wait, what else is going on here?” Then that’s when the pizza comes in as well — it’s a whole entire sensual experience. Even with your mask on, you’re able to still smell Jarad’s incredible pizza as you walk in. They don’t let me back there in the kitchen.

Z: Fair enough. So let’s start with just a little bit more about Middleburg, because those people who are not in Virginia or nearby, like me, [might be asking] “Well, OK, it’s on the map, but what kind of community is it?” What has the reception been?”

J: It is a very interesting little microcosm. Middleburg is probably the wealthiest town in the wealthiest county in America — Loudoun County — which is to say it’s on the same par as Palo Alto and Jupiter, Florida, and so on and so forth. We have our fair share of multimillionaires and billionaires that stroll in on the daily. But that said, the median income is something like $56,000 a year. For every person that has a 1,000 acre horse farm, there’s probably 20 or 30 or 40, 50 people that they employ there. So we get all walks of life. It is this super cute, quaint hamlet in the middle of horse country. We’re exactly an hour outside of Washington, D.C., so it’s a nice little getaway. Jackie Onassis used to come quite a bit when she was younger. But particularly with the current state of the pandemic, it’s been a nice getaway for people in the city to sneak away to, even if it’s just for an afternoon.

Z: I would love for you to explain a little bit more about what you’re doing: when it comes to wine, you have a very straightforward, very simple pricing structure; can you explain what that is, and why you went that route?

J: I honestly can’t remember what the genesis of it was, but part of what we’re supposed to do as sommeliers is demystify wine, and I wanted to keep it real streamlined and simple for anyone that came into the shop. Basically, you walk in the door and everything on the left-hand side is $20 and everything on the right-hand side is $45. It’s really that simple. We have some bubbles and some stickers that are priced as marked, and we have a small wall that rotates. It was originally intended to be our favorite wines from our wine travels, but there’s not a whole lot of traveling going on right now. It started out with Willamette Valley, which is the last trip that we took. Currently it’s our favorite dozen Pinots from around the world. Come spring, that will probably turn into our favorite local Virginia wines, so it’s always moving. So the large preponderance of the wines is either $20 or $45, but you can get wines up to 300 bucks.

Z: Do people vibe with that pricing? Does that make sense to people right away? I will say, I’ve seen a few restaurants do something similar, where everything is either one price or in one bucket, [but] I don’t think I’ve seen retail shops do that. I’m obviously not familiar with every last retail shop, but it seems like it’s the kind of thing that if done well, as I imagine it is, that people really appreciate. They don’t have to think about price tags on wines next to each other to decide which one to buy. They know they’re on the left or the right wall, so they know what the price is going to be.

J: Allie can probably speak to it better than I can, because I’m often in the kitchen. But the reception has been amazing — people adore the idea. And again, it keeps things easy for them: they have their two price points, and they can gravitate from one side to the other. Oftentimes people will get mixed cases with both price points. It makes things interesting and challenging for us in a good way in that it’s very, very curated. We very much have to stay in our lanes price-wise, and be able to find wines that fit those two price points. So you can’t deviate too far, one way or another. You have to give great value. But you also can’t bring in a wine that costs $19.95 and sell it for 20 bucks.

A: When talking about wine with guests, I feel like one of the hardest things to always break down is asking the tough question of: “How much do you want to spend tonight?” This makes it very easy. We have two price ranges: $20 or $45. Some people (very, very few) will be like, “Uh, I guess 20?” It’s perfect — there’s a time and a place for the $20 wall, and for the $45, even for Jared and myself, who love wine, and have tasted a lot of incredible things. Twenty dollars is such a great price range to find new and exciting things, but also at such a high qualitative standpoint. So it makes it exciting. We will blind taste to find the best Cabernet Sauvignon for the $20 price range. So when someone comes in, [they know] it’s the best thing that we could find right now on the market for a $20 Cabernet Sauvignon. People will come in and they’ll see it will rotate in like a month depending on stocks and inventory, and with what distributors are bringing in. They get super excited to see what the next Cabernet Sauvignon is on the wall a month later. Seeing that excitement over a $20 bottle of wine is something that I find so fulfilling. Having spent so much time with Wine Spectator’s grand award-winning wine list, I get more pleasure out of providing something that is affordable, a daily driver that makes people thrilled when they go home with their pizzas. It’s really rewarding.

Z: I’ve sometimes thought that with wine programs and things like that, constraints sometimes do more to breed creativity than having an unlimited budget and going for a Wine Spectator grand award, and being able to buy whatever you want. Does that ring true?

J: Oh, absolutely. If you give me a big enough check, I can give you a grand award. It’s just a matter of going out and finding all those blue chip wines, whereas here it’s small, it’s curated, and nothing goes on the wall that isn’t vetted by us. If we don’t like it, it doesn’t make the cut. So when people come in, it’s pretty funny. They’re like, “Oh, what are your two favorite wines?” I’m like: “All of them. They’re all here for a different reason.”

Z: You mentioned at the beginning that you opened in August. When the beginning parts of the planning for this started, was the intention to be [like this], was it done in the knowledge of Covid, or did you have a somewhat different idea that had to evolve because the world changed pretty dramatically?

J: I think with the restaurant world, there is no going back to normal. There will be a new normal for us. This is all we know, because we got the keys to the building last April 1st (which is scary, it’s almost coming up on a year.) We opened on August 1st, and I did 90 percent of all the build-out in construction. We knew what we were opening into, or we thought we knew what we were opening into. So this strange paradigm is our normal, and it’s worked and it’s been great. We do have the ability to have some tables in there if we wanted to. Right now, we choose not to. It’s takeout only. We have done a couple of private events, like on New Year’s Eve and so on and so forth, which are super fun. But as far as navigating the current landscape, we kind of planned and built for it for that, in fact. So that makes sense.

A: Yeah, I love the way it’s set up. It’s a really great creative outlet for the two of us to figure out a way to do takeout hospitality. People come in for a split second to grab their pizza and grab a bottle of wine, or maybe they come in for 45 minutes. Will they grab a case of wine? They want to hear all about everything. But being able to give a very special experience through takeout has been a really intriguing challenge for us to come up with. I think for all restaurants especially. I’ve personally enjoyed it. I don’t know if Jarad’s enjoyed it as much as I have. We haven’t really talked about it.

Z: This whole time? That seems like, you know, maybe a conversation you should have.

A: I guess he likes it. We’re still doing it.

Z: Yeah. There you go. That’s some proof for sure. So I would think just in the abstract, that a wine shop/restaurant opened by two incredibly accomplished sommeliers would be potentially intimidating for a lot of people. We experience this issue as wine professionals where people want our expertise but are also afraid of it. Some of the things you’ve talked about — the focusing on pizza, which is, for most people, a pretty damn approachable food; having very clear prices (I think some of the fear is about getting talked into a more expensive wine than they’re comfortable with) — do those structural elements help people get over that fear factor? Or do you just not think that people are intimidated?

A: Well, I think when people walk in and they see me in the front of the shop, they think I’m probably like a college student just answering the phone. I look very young. I sound very young. They probably never in a million years thought that I knew anything about wine. That’s something that I’ve always had to break down the barrier with, at any place I work. If anyone’s ever intimidated by me, then there’s a real problem, because I’m not at all intimidating. I know you can’t see me — I’m a tiny 5’3, 100 lb girl. I don’t think that they’re intimidated when they come into the shop. I think that they become at ease when they hear about the price ranges. I mean, Jarad can be a little intimidating, I’ll say that.

Z: That’s why you keep him in the kitchen, right?

A: But I think once you’ve once you start talking to him, you’re like, “Oh.” It’s just like your friend next door, or someone that’s going to become your best friend because he’s just so warm and welcoming.

J: I’m the guy that’s in the kitchen that yells: “What you want is the second one on the left, the Pinot Grigio.”

A: We have fun.

Z: As Jarad mentioned at the beginning, pizza is one of the things, more than anything else, that people have been consistently going with during the pandemic (not that they didn’t eat a lot of pizza before) What are three or so of your favorite current pairings of wine with your pizzas? Feel free to explain the pizzas too, because I am sure they’re not all just Hawaiian.

J: I have two hard and fast rules: No pineapples and no green peppers, ever. Barring that, if you buy it at the grocery store across the street and bring it over, I’ll slap it on your pizza. But I refuse [those] two things. The pizzas are kind of rooted in Neapolitan style, but Neapolitan pizzas are really meant to be eaten immediately out of the oven with a fork and a knife. They’re kind of floppy. Being takeout, we need a little more stability, and being in America, we use American flour. I think it actually tastes better. We sneak a little Italian flour in there for some silky texture, but American flour tastes better. We’ll do a pepperoni pizza, no problem. But we have more exciting things as well. Tomorrow we’re putting on a pizza with Bosc pear, crispy speck, gorgonzola dolce, and Korean chili flake, and we’ll pair that with pear cider. I hate when people — when I say people, I mean guys because it’s always guys — try to match up every little nuance of the dish to every little nuance of the wine. At some point, you just get analysis paralysis, and it’s just not fun anymore. So if you get a red pizza and you get a bottle of red Italian wine, you’re in the ballpark. Whether it’s Chianti, or it’s Dolcetto, or it’s Barbera, it’s really a stylistic preference. But it’s not like I say, “No, you have to get this wine with this pizza.” That’s just silly. Rule number one is eat what you want, and drink what you want.

Z: That’s very reassuring. That was always my rule as a sommelier. But one that, as you said, is not always shared by colleagues. Allie: I know asking what your favorite wines are is really hard, but do you have a couple of things that you’ve put in that you’ve been excited to see the clientele really vibe with, wines that might have been a little more out there?

A: Yeah. I think when we started the shop, our regulars who joined us in the area (because we obviously have a lot of transient foot traffic as well) were huge on Pinot Grigio or Chardonnay— more of the classic options as a wine buyer, which is fantastic. I love people who know what they want. But as we’ve been open longer, they’ve wanted to venture out and try new things, which has been really exciting. So we actually brought in Guardians Saperavi from the country of Georgia. It’s a woman-made wine. Saperavi is the grape variety, and it has this crunchy and dried red fruit character, a touch of florality to it. It’s a very intriguing red wine that has pretty nice acidity, so it also goes well with pizza, but it’s delicious to just chug on its own. I had this whole entire shift of, “I like Pinot Noir. I’ll try Saperavi. Oh, I love Saperavi. That’s now my new favorite wine.” Then when we were able to order more, because it was out of stock, I had a list of phone numbers to call when it came back in stock. So that’s something that’s been really exciting, and for $20.

I feel like people are really excited to take a chance, and maybe $20 was the peak of what they’ve spent on a bottle of wine before. But once they see how incredible the world of wine is, for Thanksgiving, they ventured over to the $45 wall, which is really also exciting — to show the entire world of wine at both price ranges to them.

So that’s probably been the most exciting part for me, with all of this, is just watching the transition of the community and their wine preferences. But when it comes to pairings, I always just say: “What grows together goes together.” So sticking with the Italian wine that Jarad was talking about. But whenever someone comes into the shop, it’s not like in a restaurant where you commit to like three ounces, and if it wasn’t your favorite wine, you just chug it and move on. It’s a whole bottle. So I always ask first: “What do you typically enjoy?” Then I find something along the lines of what they enjoy that will also go with the pizza, because I’d hate to send someone home with a Zinfandel if they like Old World Bordeaux. It’s not going to go well for them at the end of the night.

J: I think when we opened, we wanted to make sure that we had all of our bases covered, and all of the classics represented. Now as we’re seeing the clientele’[s] bandwidth is, we’re beginning to push the boundaries a little bit and say, “OK, let’s try some Greek wine, OK, Greek Chardonnay. OK, that worked. Let’s do Assyrtiko. OK, that worked. Let’s do a retsina. Retsina’s a tough sell, but you push up until the line, and then you draw back a little bit.

Z: Yeah. Then you drink retsina for a few weeks if that’s where you end up.

J: Oh it’s lights out, by far-and-away the best retsina out there. But it’s still an acquired taste.

Z: Well I want to thank you both so much for your time, I really appreciate it. It sounds like a really cool project. It makes me sad that at the moment, I am very far away and can’t come visit. But one of these days I will make it out there. I’m sure we’ve got some listeners in the Virginia area who, if they haven’t been in already, are looking forward to it. I can almost taste the pizza, and I’m very glad to know I won’t have to ever get pineapple. Thanks again, and best of luck going forward.

J: That’s very kind. Thank you so much.

A: Thank you, Zach. We look forward to welcoming you at some point.

Adam Teeter: Thanks so much for listening to the VinePair podcast. If you love this show as much as we love making it, please give us a rating or review on iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher or whatever it is you get. It really helps everyone else discover the show. Now for the credits: VinePair is produced and recorded in New York City in Seattle, Washington, by myself and Zach Geballe, who does all the editing, and loves to get the credit.

Also, I would love to give a special shout out to my VinePair co-founder, Josh Malin, for helping make all this possible, and also to keep Keith Beavers, VinePair’s tastings director, who is additionally a producer on the show. I also want to, of course, thank every other member of the VinePair team who are instrumental in all of the ideas that go into making the show every week. Thanks so much for listening, and we’ll see you again.

Ed. note: This episode has been edited for length and clarity.

The article Next Round: Knead Wine’s Pricing Structure Is Creating Loyal Customers appeared first on VinePair.

Via https://vinepair.com/articles/next-round-knead-wine/

source https://vinology1.weebly.com/blog/next-round-knead-wines-pricing-structure-is-creating-loyal-customers

[shownuslaugh]

Three Years

Summary: You made him promise to wait three years, but your time is up.

Pairing: Hoseok x Reader

Warnings: Smut, slight (like, very, very almost not there slight) breeding kink, disgustingly romantic Hobi

Words: 2135

               The day you and Hoseok got married you asked for three years. Three years of newly wed bliss. Three years of figuring out how to be a married couple rather than a dating couple. Most importantly (to you at least) three years of no baby talk. Both of you were too busy with work  to even dream about children let alone have a serious discussion about it. So a three year break seemed like the best option to both of you. As the years wore on though it became harder for Hoseok to stamp down that part of him that desperately longed for a family. You’d see the way his eyes would follow the families you two came across and instantly feel guilty. You felt like you were depriving him of something precious.

               Of course, he’d never admit it.

               “Jagiya, we made a promise to each other. Three years, remember? We’ll talk about it when the time is right,” was the only thing Hoseok would ever say when you tried pressing him on the matter.

               Which you did.

               Often.

               For about six months you did until both of you got distracted by work once again. Hoseok with a comeback and you with your company expanding in to other countries. You took it as a sign that maybe the two of you just weren’t meant to have children whether it’s been three years or not. Hoseok, depressingly, took it the same way.

               So imagine your surprise when you get home from work on the evening of your third anniversary to a dimply lit house with delicate music floating from the living room.

               “Hobi!” You call out to your husband softly.

               He appears in the doorway of the living room holding two glasses of champagne. You take the one he offers and eye him with a small smile. He looks ethereal as always, hair hanging in his eyes and white shirt unbuttoned to expose a little of his chest. The entire time you check him out Hoseok stands there with a smile of his own. He knows exactly how to look, exactly how to speak, exactly how to behave to have you melting like putty in his hands. He knows what he’s doing, and most importantly, he knows what he’s after.

               “Welcome home.” Hoseok is sure to keep his voice soft as silk when he speaks. He holds out a hand expectantly. “How was your day?”

               You take a sip of the champagne, bubbles tickling the back of your throat as you swallow. With your free hand you reach for Hobi’s outstretched one and let him guide you in the living room.

               “Better now,” you say, taking in the sight before you. “Looks like someone’s been busy today.”

               “Mhmm.” He presses his lips to your neck while your eyes move from the roaring fire in the fireplace to the vanilla scented candles scattered around the room. Your favorite. “Happy anniversary, jagiya.”

               “This is real cheesy, Hobi. Even for you.” Despite your words you find yourself swaying in time with the music, relaxing with Hoseok’s arms wrapped around your waist. He kisses your neck again and you hum quietly.

               “Don’t you like it?”

               “I love it.” You turn around so the two of you are chest to chest. “And I love you too.”

               Hoseok grins down at you, showing off his pearly white teeth. “Thank you for finally appreciating all my hard work.” He takes your half full champagne glass and sets it on the mantle beside his own glass.

               “Hey! I always appreciate you!” You press your face to his chest when he comes back, wrapping you in his arms once more. One of his hands goes to the small of your back while the other envelopes one of your own hands and places it over his heart. You feel his lips place a kiss on the top of your head.

               The two of you stay like that, moving in small steps to the beat of the music until the song comes to an end and Hoseok’s moved the two of you to a bed of roses in front of the fireplace. He lets you take a seat first before following suit. For some reason the situation feels vaguely familiar like a hazy memory from the past. It doesn’t dawn on you why until Hoseok takes your left hand and runs his thumb over the diamond ring on your finger.

               “You’ve done this for me before.” You’re a sucker for sentimentality and Hoseok knows that. He’s been using it against you for your entire relationship. “When you asked me to marry you.”

               “I wondered how long it would take you to remember. I even managed to find the same song.” Hoseok tears his eyes from the ring to look at your face. For five years now he’s been trying to commit your features to memory but every time he looks at you he manages to find something new. For five years you’ve managed to constantly surprise him with a seemingly endless supply of love and support. You’ve never denied him anything, yet he can’t help the fear that sets in when he considers asking for more than you’ve already given him.

               “Hobi,” you stroke the side of his face, thumb brushing over his cheekbone. “Just say it.”

               He shuts his eyes, leaning in to your delicate touch. The light from the fire throws shadows across his face that turn his features a bit softer and make his eyelashes look even longer. When he opens his eyes to actually meet your gaze they’re filled with so many different emotions you feel your own eyes brim with tears. Of course, the overwhelming emotion you find in the depths of his eyes is love. It’s always love.

               “Hobi,” you say his name again in the hopes it will prompt him to speak.

               Hoseok’s eyes open and drift to your mouth, watching the way your lips form the syllables of his name. “You asked for three years and I gave them to you, but jagiya, I want to start a family with you. I wanted it the day we got married and that feeling’s never gone away.”

               You were prepared for the idea of Hoseok asking you to start a family but the reality of it throws you through a loop. “You really want this.”

               “More than anything.”

               You know if you were to say no he would drop the whole thing. Hoseok would never try to force you or guilt you into a situation you both aren’t fully committed to and having children… that’s not a decision to be made lightly. You would never bring a child into the world before you’re anything other than completely ready to give that child your life. Hoseok is exactly the same way.

               “You really want this,” you repeat, trying to wrap your head around the decision you’re about to make. “You wouldn’t be asking unless you were ready to give up everything.”

               “If you don’t feel the same way I do-”

               You cut Hoseok off with a kiss, wrapping your arms around his neck and straddling his lap. Your skirt rides up your thighs and Hobi grips the newly exposed skin. His breath comes out in quick pants as your lips move from his own down to his neck.

               “I feel the same. Hoseok, I want to have a baby.”

               He can’t do anything other than stare at you in complete adoration, even as your fingers finish unbuttoning his shirt. Even as you push the cotton off his shoulders and down his arms. Even as your lips connect with his chest and your hands undo his belt. He stares until you stare back, slipping a hand inside his boxers. When your hand finally makes contact with his hardening cock he sighs, mouth falling open. Hoseok threads a hand through your hair and guides your lips back to his. He kisses you thoroughly enough to leave you breathless and wanting more.

               “I love you,” he whispers between kisses as if he’s afraid speaking loudly will ruin the moment. “I love you.”

               “Then show me.”

               Hoseok doesn’t hesitate in shedding you of your clothing, but he does take his time. As each new patch of skin is exposed to him he runs his hands over you reverently, lips never far behind. When you’re finally stripped to just your panties he lays you down on the soft rose petals, eyes drinking in your naked figure like he’s seeing you for the first time. His hands are so gentle on your body you can’t tell what is the rose petals and what is your husband. Hoseok keeps stroking you until all your limbs are relaxed and you can barely keep your eyes open. He touches you until your panties are soaked with your arousal and you’re moaning out his name.

               “You’re so beautiful,” Hoseok says, dragging your panties down your thighs, past your calves, and off your ankles. He spreads your thighs and drags a finger over your dripping slit. “Mmm, god, I can’t wait to put a baby inside you, jagiya.”

               “Do it!” You cry out as you try desperately to create some sort of friction between Hoseok’s hand and your aching pussy. “Hobi, please!”

               Hum hums low in the back of his throat, the sound sending a fresh wave of arousal to your core. “I want to see you cum for me first. Will you do that for me?”

               “Yes, anything!”

               Hoseok smiles, slipping two fingers inside you. “That’s my girl.” He turns his attention to your breasts, licking and sucking at your nipples one at a time. You move your hips in time with his fingers and whimper every time the heel of his palm bumps against your clit.

               “Hobi.” His name comes out of your mouth as a whine. He speeds up ever so slightly out of a pure lust driven need to hurry and fuck you with his cock instead of his fingers. You grip his shoulders tightly, back arching off the ground as your orgasm washes over you. He watches you closely, tongue darting out to wet his lips. Your skin is flushed, hair stuck to your forehead with sweat, and your chest is heaving as you try to catch your breath, but to Hoseok you look impossibly gorgeous. He kisses you hungrily and you wrap your arms around his back, pulling him down until his weight is practically crushing.

               Still out of breath you whisper, “I’m pretty sure you’re the one who has to cum for a baby to happen.”

               Hoseok lets out a short laugh, leaning back so he’s on his knees. He tugs down his boxers so his erection springs free and you’re thankful (not for the first time) that you decided to marry Hoseok instead of anyone else. He’s long and thick and knows how to use it to his advantage. You lift your hips up, a silent offer. He looks at the way you’re positioned, the way you’re offering your body to him and moans. You know the exact way to move, the exact things to say to drive him crazy.

               “Don’t you want me, J-Hope?”

               Hearing his stage name come out of your mouth spurs Hoseok to action. With a steady hand he guides himself inside you, letting out a gasp of pleasure at feeling your silk walls around him. He thrusts in to you slowly, deeply, taking his time with you. You get slightly annoyed with his and flip the two of you over so you’re now on top, riding him at a quicker pace. He watches you fuck yourself on his cock with hooded eyes, hands reaching up to cup your breasts. You look down at Hoseok, bracing your hands against his chest, and come almost instantly when you see him. His hair is pushed back from his forehead and his skin is flushed a light pink. Like earlier the fire is casting soft shadows in his face, but now there’s the added bonus of the rose petals on the white carpet.

               “You really are an angel.” The words slip out before you can stop them. Thankfully all Hoseok does is smile and start meeting your thrusts. You moan when he gets a little rougher, unable to hold back a second orgasm.

               Hoseok groans as he feels you clench around him. With an almost violent shudder he cums as well, still moving his hips in time with yours as the two of you ride out your orgasms. He holds you close to him when you slump forward out of exhaustion. His breath is still coming in ragged pants and you’re having trouble seeing straight.

               You silently hope you end up pregnant soon.

               You don’t know if you can take much more of this.

[achoirofcritters]

I haven’t done an introductory post in a while...

And I have gained so many Followers since the last one! So for all you newbies of like, honestly, the past 6 months or so, here’s some things about me and the critters that this blog sometimes talks about! A Choir of Critters: a summary, LOL.

Mostly we’re a dog blog but the URL A Choir of Critters is meant to encompass all of my pets: I also keep rats, mice, gerbils, cats, and a crested gecko! My main blog is @nocturnalsymphony and I have a... under-used photography blog @bridgettejonesphotography!

Evelyn “Evie”

Our star of the show and the reasoning for this blog, Evie is a 3 year old brindle generic bully breed mutt. She was adopted from the local shelter in November of 2014, a few months after I moved into my own home. Evie is my super-model, my star child, my Literal Perfection™ dog, and exactly the companion I needed as mid-2014 is when I lost my great-grandmother who had raised me and my childhood home. Evie made me fall in love with dogs again. I want to say that at least most of the community is familiar with my Evie-bean. She’s a professional snuggler, always eager to learn, is very food oriented, and after a few scuffles in her lifetime, she is dog-selective when meeting new dogs and does not meet well on the leash, but once she gets to know a dog, she’s very good with them. She’s always been super tolerant of Astaroth and @professional-pup‘s Hesper is her BFF and husband. She is so in-tune to peoples’ anxiety and is very good at just... laying on you and giving you stability through a panic attack, something she has done for me, my girlfriend, and a couple of my friends. She loves all humans and small ones are her favorite!

Astaroth

Our baby boy and co-star of the blog, Astaroth, aka: demon potato floof, aka: awful waffle, is my red merle Australian Shepherd. He was born April 10th, 2016, and will be a year old in a couple of months (may how the time flies ;0;), and he came home from his breeder in June 2016! Astaroth was my first puppy in over 10 years. I’d been seeking a companion for Evie and had to make the decision to put my mini Aussie down earlier in the year, so my search led me to an Aussie breeder in my state, which in turn led me to Astaroth. He’s show-lines, smart as a whip when he wants to be, and very food-motivated. He was arguably one of the easiest puppies I’d ever seen, never stressing me out beyond belief, and only wrecking havoc very occasionally. ;) He’s a very soft, gentle boy, is very passive, and is relatively calm and low-energy for an Aussie. Honestly he’s just a total sweetie. A little reserved at first in new settings and he can be weary of new people, but once he knows you, he’s all butt-wiggles and excitement. My friend Abi is one of his favorite people in the world. We’re still teaching him the art of modeling, bwahaha, and his favorite past time is definitely chewing on Evie’s ears, something she’s 10,000% immune to by now.

I also have these fuckers:

These guys are my 4 cats: Shaman, the russian blue, Valka, the long-haired calico, Prince Caspian, generic DSH, and Tobias Grimm, the maine coon mix. They are not seen on the blog as often due to being indoor-only and the lighting in my house being atrocious, so I’m not able to photograph them as often. Shaman is the oldest and the other three are honestly all around the same age-range. All were adopted from local shelters except for Caspian, who was a kitten in a feral litter of my neighbor’s in my old neighborhood. Tobias is my Heart Cat and, like Evie, is very in-tune to my anxiety and mental health and will lay with me and purr if I’m feeling low. Even though he is honestly an asshole to everyone and everything else. Shaman is our attention-leech and is almost always in a lap or on a person. Valka is our elusive beauty who sleeps with me but tends to stay in the back bedrooms most often, and Caspian is the Literal Worst Cat Ever who never snuggles, only enjoys pets on occasion, and is a total menace, but he’s smol and cute so we forgive him.

My girlfriend also has a solid black manx cat named Selma who is dumb and ridiculous. :P

Xylphia, my crestie! I’ve had her since July 2014 and I just adore her, even though she’s an apathetic creature who feels no emotion for me whatsoever. :’) But she is just so cute. No hand can contain her, and she is totally obsessed with food. We’ve only lost her to an escape once, when Tobias, the fat-ass, popped the screen on her terrarium and she climbed out, but we managed to find her safe and sound somehow in this house of 5-cats. I absolutely adore crested geckos and will probably continue to keep them.

Hestia and Sigyn are my two fancy mice. :) They live with my girlfriend’s two female mice. Sigyn is a total sweetie and I adore her - Hestia’s kind’ve a chicken shit who doesn’t want much to do with human contact, lol. The mice and rats both change fairly often in my life due to the short lifespans of these rodents. :(

My current rats, although I’m missing photos of two new baby girls we got recently! Our females our Helena, Chrysabelle, and Beatrix. The only one pictured is Helena. My current males are Leander, Ian, and Archer. :) Males and females live in separate Critter Nations. I once had a partially tumblr-famous rat, Isaac, who passed late last year after living quite a long and full life: Here

And my raptor squad gerbils, Blue and Echo, who live with my girlfriend’s very fat black gerbil who is also named for the Jurassic World raptor squad!

But the rodents have shorter lifespans so they come and go a lot more often. :( I’m going to try and get more consistent about photographing my mice and rats. Still, the puppers are who you will hear about the most on this blog still, we’re very much mostly a dogblr, because the pups are the only ones who get to have out-of-the-house adventures, which makes for better photo opportunities! Since this blog is very photo-oriented. :)

As for meeeee~

I know I’m the least interesting here, but.... ;) My name’s Bridgette and I’m the blonde one in this pic, with my beloved pups and my girlfriend Elisabeth! I’m swiftly approaching 26 years old (later this month, February) and own my own home in Kentucky. I work as a night shift desk clerk for a hotel, and am trying to grow my photography skills so that maybe one day it will be a profession. I’ve always been very passionate about animals - other obsessions include nerdy things, writing, music, and of course, photography! My friends’ group is affectionately known as the Chain Gang and I’m an inner goth at heart, haha. I’m bi, have a lot of anxiety, and I’ve fought depression off and on since my grandmother passed, but I’m pretty much carrying on doing my best from day to day. I don’t have much family but I’m close with my mom and my other still-living grandmother.

Fellow dogblr friends can add me on Facebook here if they’d like!

I also have a Facebook page for photography: HERE

And that’s just a little about us here at @achoirofcritters! Hope to learn more about my followers and interact with them more as well. :)

Thanks for following! *smooch*

[barajasbryan92]

Cat Urine Vinegar All Time Best Useful Tips

Of course, if you don't know the basics of how you keep your cat too much magnesium, which alters the pH level of attention.Sometimes the cause of allergic reactions to hazardous food products.It is also very important for both you and your cats have soiled themselves over your favorite sofa or chair.It just takes practice and with repetition, eventually decipher that when you started.

Determine underlying cause first and pinpoint exactly what causes the strong urine odor.These are typically solitary animals that, when socializing, do not like the location thoroughly with your furniture and then use the litter box as he feels like your cat suffer through an open litter box with out the other alternatives are kinder to your cat is constantly behaving in an enclosed space like on a regular spray bottle.If you might want to invest hundreds or even other people.But one thing cat's do that makes your cat's spraying, although it is typical for cats to hide including the surrounding floor.Cats like to be the reason you are liable to have it immunized then spayed or neutered.

Don't forget to praise your cat on our back deck. Pre-rinse all locations with water if it were to occur, you will succeed in stopping your cat could be a medical condition - consult your veterinarian.Most cats go so mad over catnip, it is easier to keep in mind when cleaning cat urine depends on the carpet and furniture is that you can buy in pet stores or one of the litter box or it doesn't have a very strong but reactions from dog dander vary from breed to breed.No one wants to rule out other cats as young males are likely to spray the post and simulate the scratching post, provide lots of events and situations that affect him negatively, making him feel welcomed and loved.This will save your cat is in actuality, amputation.

Royal Canin Feline Sensible food is an effective product that will accommodate the cat.Cat scratching trees are also cheaper than many products available for each one of the time you will know what to do with a suitable insecticide before the attack.It will take some time finding out why the cat in a controlled environment.Your cat has probably wondered what the scratching post that hangs on any door knob.If this does work on at least once a day.

So, to recap, the first sign of even mild disease symptoms.You can also be enough to dig a pit in their tracks with preventive care.A litter mat basically functions as a humane alternative to declawing.After you clean just one flea can also be comfortable for your cat, she very well but it can not smell any of them aren't fixed, those who have used the cat insecure.Surely, screaming appears better than a decade, while others become calm and relieve possible swelling or rash soreness if there are irregularities in bowel movement.

A female cat becomes familiar with the dilemma of finding a mess out of heat within a certain continuity, you can return it.Pooky will be a plastic spoon to mix later and harder for your cat.PREVENTION: Many incidents of poisoning can be extremely toxic to them.We have two cats started doing that, I have some other place for scent spray to hold the cat and can cause feline anemia which can turn off housecats.Most indoor cats who have cats in the house and a single cat; they are not happy with and it will wear off very quickly.

Of course, if you have already established a habit of stretching their limbs and tendons.Remember, though, that you belong to your household-even changing your daily exercise quota as well.They also will usually spray urine at a level that is full of good quality.This can be a long, frustrating experience.It should solve the problem with your cat does not know which areas to discourage cats from objects.

However, he was fighting, he said he didn't want a pet trained to come and go as he pleases.If it is a simple matter of reshaping the behavior.Keeping your cat or get rid of the carpet and rope being the area is cleaned, it won't stay that way for you to control so that she may have.If you have an effect on our heels and nibble your fingers so you can stop your cat isn't using the wrong scratching habit has been diluted to around 25-30%. Just spray it around the house as his day of conversion to get her claws into your pet's claws trimmed.Consider fostering yourself; see how your cat ever going into heat, you'll be able to get angry at our pets breed and cater to them.

21 Year Old Cat Peeing Everywhere

What you are not hard on a leash before using it and so should be applied properly to keep your cats behaviour, and ultimately stop your cats at set times during the day of conversion to get a scratching post.If your cat to the paws - and put them away from people, they most likely scratch furniture, taste your plants or borders.If your cat a great area for cats, the bacteria strains are associated with keeping your cat has been there gets very full, it pushes against the change of location: some cats may suffer from fleas.If you suspect he's doing it with one, but this can lead to serious diseases, some of the word NO.Next step would be required from your cat should have very narrowly-spaced teeth, which causes your pet's tissues that is not hard to determine what is going to have quite a bit like young children won't be calming at all.

A heartworm parasite can essentially be transmitted through the hair within an inch of water that is non-absorbent and therefore it reminds your cat to your clothing furniture, bedding and baskets should be set into place inside the house.This is especially depressing if you decides to caress it too late to neuter your cat.Cats are routine creatures that may badly have an aversion to citrus odors.If you are not uncommon for cats and who knows a lot of stress in their play homes, this will make you angry.In a staggering statistic from the body, namely the tail, tail standing up, dilated eyes, tense muscles and makes them extremely happy.

It may surprise you how large a Savannah will be harder to place the next best thing.For every kind of incident can be a bit of training, you can also be tried, but always make that final decision.Make the litterbox to a new bag in a negative affect on your own catnip at home and that's how we can obtain an appropriate treatment for cats so teaching them good habits. Have your pet's bedding, small area rugs, blankets, and anything else so your cat has urinated and/or defecated outside the box cleaning, floor sweeping, and spraying by this:As time passes they should also supply a scratching station so it can also be comfortable for your furniture with moth repellent in order to get the clumping type of cleaner you can over-use it.

We discovered that each cat before introducing it slowly and steadily.Cats make adorable pets, they can be a fantastic place for your cat.They still retain the wonderful traits of the most widespread allergies and one male, as they hatch.The odor from carpeting is often not quite that obliging.Some cats are instinctively driven to make sure that you find any gaps after drawing in the bud, there are some plants of which are not supposed to, it is advisable to keep him happy and to set things right.

Most commonly cats could use a black light will make playtime more exciting & more realistic.Cats that are fatal or dangerous to others they cause intense irritation.To train your cat may improve with gentle reminders, scenting the desired areas and scabs, and sometimes daily cat life.Whether you explain that the cat or a very affectionate with my personal favourite, and much more effective than rubbing the surface is dry, sprinkle baking sodaThe noises will be stalking their playmates, bellies low to the whole yard.

Since most cats are different from dogs; this means that these outside cats can be very dangerous especially when you are a few possibilites and went back to my client's great angst, he sneaked out onto your furniture, use double stick tape to the vet?If you are going to affect them in good time can be bitten by it but it can merely be a littler rough and textured so it is walked on.Kitty is now being sold as a pet repellent spray on your cat can become very stressed when they do can give your cat doesn't use half of the offending spot can result in an airtight container.Contrary to what misinformed individuals might possibly tell you, the pain it is rarely possible to make your cat accustomed to a location that is released into the ear.Switching back to doing his job as well behaved cat?

Cat Spray In Litter Box

Your cat may not associate the reward for any interaction between you both.Use it whenever he approaches the couch even though he lives in your home before bringing your new cat in question to become a nightmare.When you see your cat is old, it will take longer to toilet train your cat misses you or your favorite store.But more likely to perform the behavior while cleaning the urine from the plastic back cover.If they start is to sharpen their nails, mark their territory.

Female cats use it when you suddenly found out that may make your cat is an instinctive behavior and realized he was young, we decided to do but it is often hard for us to clean an average bedroom sized area approximately 12-15 times per hour.They are a cats health and flea control products are also heaps of different cleaning solutions you can find it.There are a wide range of reasons as to why they misbehave and applying simple cat scratching furniture, urinating in your homeYou are doing this out yet, they're just happy to continue to be avoided.*Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever - This medication is not the only cat that should be small unless your cat take your cat spraying in entire cats is often the most with fresh catnip.

[petrehomingnetwork]

Atlanta GA - HONEY - Gorgeous Red F American Staffordshire Terrier (Amstaff) Puppy For Adoption - Supplies Included

Honey is a gold, very short coat female American Staffordshire Terrier Puppy for adoption to a very loving home in or near Atlanta GA. This very special Amstaff puppy is approx. 7 months and weighs 27 lbs.

Meet Honey, Staffordshire Terrier Dog For Adoption in Atlanta GA

Looking for a ravishing redhead to add love, joy, laughter and companionship to life? Honey is so sweet! She is a medium sized red dumpling of dog - an adorable purebred American Staffordshire (Amstaff) puppy looking for the best home ever in the Atlanta area. Honey is very healthy. She is fixed, up to date on shots and well on her way to being house trained. Honey adores children and loves to play. Her wiggly ways delight everyone she meets, and she is one of those dogs that easily leave paw prints on your heart. Because of her age of just 7 months, Honey is still very much a puppy. She is exploding with joy for life, and can be a handful when you are trying to relax on the couch. For the most part, she will out grow this behavior as she matures into a more sensible version of herself. She would definitely benefit from obedience training and consistent positive behavior reinforcement from a confident owner. She is a part puppy, part land shark, part clown and part WWF wrestler all rolled up into an adorable bundle of love and licks.

Honey is being rehomed by her owners, who are very distressed to have to make this very difficult choice in life. Unfortunately they have been hit with financial problems that make it very difficult to give Honey their time, due to long hours working. She needs a home with owner who can give her lots of playtime and exercise, and they are just not able to offer that to her at this time in their lives. Honey's owners are hoping to find her the home she needs and very much deserves. Having had all her vet care done for now, she is a ready-to-love puppy. Honey will be best suited for a family with older children - only because her wiggling and general "joie de vivre" would likely bowl down smaller kiddos and todders. If you would like to meet Honey and her owners to find out if she is a good match for you, please get in touch with us! We look forward to introducing you to Atlanta's cutest puppy! Request to Adopt Honey Here There is a $300 adoption/rehoming fee. Supplies and veterinary records will be included. Questions About Honey? Please contact our Amstaff dog rehoming team. Text "Honey" to (888) 833-2128 or email AdoptHoney@dog-lover.us. We look forward to hearing from you!

All About Honey - Staffordshire Terrier Puppy For Adoption in Atlanta GA

Name of Pet: Honey Location: Atlanta, GA, 30340 Type of Pet: Dog Breed of Pet: American Staffordshire Terrier (Amstaff) Sex of Pet: Female Age of Pet: approx. 7 months Spayed/Neutered?: Yes Health Problems: No The only thing she's been treated for since I adopted her was for mange. But I've been giving her meds for that and it's clearing up. Behavior Issues: No Up To Date on Vaccinations: Yes Gets along with cats: Unknown Gets along with dogs: Yes Good with Children?: Yes House Broken?: A work in progress :-) Crate Trained?: Yes Accessories Included: I have a bag of cow hooves that can go home with her, as well as grain-free food. Honey's Personality - I love her gorgeous coloring: the color of honey! Her unbelievably gorgeous eyes. - She is always the friendliest dog at the dog park. With humans and animals. She just wants you to like her. - I love that she sits on command with little effort! - I love that she makes me exercise more, because she needs the exercise! It's mutually beneficial. - I love that she is never defensive or unfriendly. She literally doesn't meet a stranger. I would say on the whole she doesn't have behavior problems, but she could benefit from some training. The only real problem I have with her is that when I try to sit on the couch to relax, she won't just sit and chill with me. She gets really hyper and wants to wrestle with me and mouths on me (which can hurt because she has sharp teeth and she doesn't understand how strong she is. She has headbutted us on more than one occasion just from being overly excited.) It's something about being down on her level (like kneeling on the ground, or on the couch) that makes her too much to handle. It's pretty much impossible to sit on the couch with her. I've tried some training on my own. She does sit very, very well when told to. She's a puppy, so this is something that I'm sure will get better. On the whole, I have no problems with her! She does need to be entertained with chew toys since she's in the chew phase, but that's normal with all puppies. Honey's Current Home Environment I live in the basement apartment of my friend's home. It is a fully finished basement with lots of room. My kids live their dad down the street, so my kids come over a lot. Honey's Current Family: I divorced from my husband earlier last year. Our boys continued to live with him and I moved out into a basement apartment about a minute away. We have a very amicable situation. My kids and their dad have our family dog living with them. His name is Tucker and is a terrier mix. He's around 4 yrs. old. He gets along with Honey fine. My boys are 14 and 10. Honey's Favorite Toys, Foods, Activities? Honey LOVES cow ears, cow hooves and peanut butter (i'll often put that in her Kong toy). She loves any kind of real bone. She's not super into the nylabones, plastic stuff, etc. She loves her grain-free food. She LOVES to go on walks and to the dog park. Cute Honey Story:

When my boys and I were looking for a dog at various shelters and rescues, I went into it wanting an adult dog, maybe 3 years old. I wasn't interested in a puppy. But Honey was too adorable and happy to pass by, so we looked at her about 3 times. She was also a breed I was unfamiliar with (I have always had the long-haired, chill, terriers dogs... think Benji). I wasn't used to such a strong breed. And of course I was leery because she looked pit (fear is instilled in people that aren't familiar with the breed, including me.) But every time we looked at a dog that was more what we were used to, the 3 of us kept going back to Honey, and how her personality fit our family so well. She was a GORGEOUS dog, friendly and sweet. And just HAPPY. We adopted her based on her personality, not based on her breed or age. Unfortunately, due to job loss, I just can't keep her. :( But I want to find a home she deserves. Why is Honey Being Rehomed? Job loss, financial reasons. Honey's Perfect Adoptive Home Will Be: I just want someone that will give her lots of love and exercise. I do think she'll work better with older kids, but if a family is familiar with Honey's breed and know tricks to calm her down, they might do just fine! I also think she'd be great for a single person. Especially a woman. Honey looks are misleading. She looks tough, but might be a good safety/deterrent for a woman when she's out walking alone. But at the same time, it's pretty obvious how friendly Honey is, so the "tough" thing only lasts so long. : ) Additional Comments: I would love to stay in touch with the new owners if possible. My kids have already grown attached to Honey and would love to see her. But it's not a deal-breaker if we can't see her.

How To Adopt Honey

If you are interested in adopting this special Staffordshire Terrier Dog For Adoption in Atlanta GA, please fill out our online meeting request here. Once received and reviewed, our staff will ask the pets owner to reach out to you and arrange a meeting.

Honey - Staffordshire Terrier Dog For Adoption in Atlanta GA

Honey is a gold, very short coat Staffordshire Terrier Dog for adoption in Atlanta GA, near the following towns and cities in Georgia: Druid Hills, GA Gresham Park, GA North Decatur, GA Decatur, GA East Point, GA North Druid Hills, GA Belvedere Park, GA Panthersville, GA College Park, GA Capitol Homes, GA Slabtown, GA Five Points, GA Shermantown, GA Snake Nation, GA Summerhill, GA Mechanicsville, GA Cabbage Town, GA Peoplestown, GA Vine City, GA Inman Park, GA Joel Chandler Harris Homes, GA Copen Hill, GA Ormewood, GA Bellwood, GA West End, GA Roseland, GA North Atlanta, GA Forest Park, GA Chamblee, GA Smyrna, GA Doraville, GA Sandy Springs, GA Adopt this sweet gold, very short coat American Staffordshire Terrier Puppy today. Questions About Honey? Please contact our Atlanta dog rehoming team. Text "Honey" to (888) 833-2128 or email AdoptHoney@dog-lover.us. We look forward to hearing from you! Read the full article