#gosh that article made me steamed

[arazialotis]

Long Distance

Pairing: Dean × Reader

Word Count: Around 1700

Summary: Dean and Y/N have been separated during the holidays due to a string of hunts but Dean has a thought to make the distance seem not so far apart.

Warnings: Language, General SPN spooky stuff

This is purely just for writing and wasting my time as hobby. Maybe some of you will enjoy it too. I apologize in advance for any mistakes or grammatical/spelling errors. I appreciate any feedback or suggestions!

-----

Nights came early this time of year, each day growing darker a little earlier. It was hard to fight off the fatigue that crept in every passing moment. Even harder so with Dean out of town on another string of hunts. You sat in the picture window curled up in a fuzzy blanket with a warm cup of tea and a new book. Though you had a corner lamp turned on, the Christmas lights outside bounced off the white snow, illuminating the world and keeping the dark at bay. 

Your phone had occasionally been buzzing as Dean updated you on his progress in a new town. You did what you could to not worry, to have faith, but each day he was gone you needed distractions to keep your mind off it. And of course, communication. The longer he went without an update, the more your stomach turned. 

Though you were entranced with the novel, methodically flipping pages and on the edge of your seat, as soon as the phone sounded, you threw the book down only focusing on him. 

You answered with a pant of excitement. “Hey babe.” 

Dean’s smile practically shined through the receiver. “Evenin’ Y/N. Man it's good to hear your voice.” 

“Yours too.” You echoed setting your tea down on the ledge as you started pacing the floor. “How’s the first day been?”

“Ah, you know, just getting settled and the feel for things. Wish I had your mind here to sort things out but this has been a long stretch, it’s starting to drag. It was good for you to stay home.” He paused waiting for a reply. “This’ll be the last one, promise.” 

“Don’t say that.” You chided knowing fully well he easily broke these promises. “You are doing good work. If you need to keep going, that’s alright. Just promise me you’ll come home eventually.” “You know there’s nowhere else I’d rather be.”

“And besides.” You sighed. “I’m still here virtually, put me together the case details tonight and I’ll scour over them.”

Dean’s blush heated up the air around you as he shamefully admitted. “I already sent them to Sam.” 

“Ugh! What? God Da…” Dean’s chuckle cut you off. You rubbed your brow reminding yourself it wasn’t a competition. “I want to help too.” You whined. 

“Okay, okay.” His voice faded. “I’m sending them now.” 

You looked at your phone waiting for the email to come through. A few moments passed and it eventually did. He had sent over a few news articles, pdfs, and a word doc of his own notes. 

“Hmmm… it’s definitely a werewolf.” You teased. “Shut up.” He rolled his eyes. “I’m not stupid enough to get stumped by an oversized rabid poodle.” 

“I’ll shoot you some real ideas by tomorrow at the latest.”

 “Don’t feel rushed, I got some pretty good leads to follow up on tomorrow.” He assured. “Alright, enough work talk. What about you? How was Thanksgiving?” 

“I mean, it wasn’t the same without you and everyone else. But uh, I still tried to make the most of it. Brussels, beans, wild rice, potatoes…” You listed. “Mashed?” Dean interrupted. 

“Pfft. Of course. Cranberries. Oh, I did a cornish hen cause like, what the fuck am I going to do with a whole turkey? I already have enough leftovers to last me ‘til Christmas. Tell me you had something more than deli meat turkey.”

“Don’t worry about me babe.” He lightly chuckled. “Denny’s got me covered.” 

“Dean.” You scolded.

“Pie? Please tell me you had pie.” He begged. 

“No way I’m having pie without you.”  

“But.. But… Thanksgiving.” Dean pouted. 

You giggled at his adorable antics. “There’s one waiting in the freezer for when you get back.” “Yes! Cherry?” He pleaded. 

“Of course…” You giggled together until a knock sounded at the door. “Hey, hold on a sec.” 

“What is it?” Dean’s voice grew concerned. He heard the door open, a soft thank you, and the door closing before a bit of rustling. “Oh, nothing.” You fiddled with the box and the phone. “Just looks like a package for you.” Dean licked his lips with anticipation. “Why don’t you go ahead and open it for me?” You wrinkled your nose, unsure if you wanted to. “Really?” 

“I’m sure.” 

You grabbed a kitchen knife to hack away at the tape. Dean sat down on the motel bed anxiously waiting for you to find what was inside. 

“It’s um… it’s.” You pulled it out further inspecting it. “It’s a lamp?” 

Dean grinned ear to ear waiting for you to figure it out. “A long distance lamp? What?” “I found it online. You have one and I have one.” He explained. “I felt bad the last hunt with the bad reception. My lamp will light up when you touch it and vice versa.” 

“What?” You squealed. 

“Yeah. It’s an early Christmas gift.” Your heart melted.  “Go plug it in.” He ordered before you could respond. 

“Dean…” His thoughtfulness nearly brought you to tears. “Go!” He repeated before you got too sappy. 

After a few minutes of him guiding you through the set up, you were ready to test it out. “Okay, ready?” He asked, his hand hovering over the lamp on his end. 

“Yes.” You sat on the floor staring at the dark lamp. “Nothings happening.” You sighed. “Oh, wait!” It was dim at first but slowly turned into a green glow reminding you of his eyes. “Oh my gosh.”

“Your turn.” You pressed the top of yours sending him a warm purple glow. You could hear his smile over the phone. 

“See, now we can talk to each other even without the phones.” 

“Dean. This is… it’s… thank you.” Was all you could muster to say. “I’ll keep it by my bed so I can say good night and good morning.” “Me too sweetheart.” Dean agreed. “And in case anything happens to my phone or I get stuck in another dead area, you’ll know not to worry.”

The two of you spent another good hour talking; tentatively setting up holiday plans, explaining the unexpected twist in your book, and thrilling him with all the juicy details of exactly what you were going to do to him when he finally did make it home. You read a few more pages before finally calling it a night. Tucked into a bundle of blankets, you reached to your nightstand sending him a final thought of the night. A few moments later came the dim green glow. Though it was just a light, it made you feel as though he was there, his arms wrapped around you making your heart warm. 

When Dean awoke the next morning, the lamp next to him was already glowing purple. He smiled, typical that you would be the first to rise. After a yawn and deep stretch, he sent the thought back to you before going to freshen up and shower. The hot water and steam soothed his sore muscles and the tension he held in his shoulders if only for a brief minute. Towel wrapped around his waist and clean shaven, he came back out to get dressed in a suit for the day only to find the light had not faded. With another chuckle he assumed you must have been on the same schedule and sent another touch back before heading out for the day. 

From the morning, he was in a sprint; talking with the local police department, interviewing witnesses, consoling family members. Dutifully, he kept you updated on his progress hoping to hear back from you soon on any thoughts yet you were quiet. He wondered if he had mixed up your work schedule again. Having gone nonstop throughout the day, he opted for an early dinner back at the hotel room. 

Entering back to the room with his Chinese takeout, he immediately noticed the lamp was still on. He set down his food on the table and pulled out his phone. 

‘The lamp doesn’t need to fully replace the phones.’ He texted you, adding a little laughing emoji hoping you wouldn’t be offended by him calling out your silence today. 

He popped open his laptop and dug into the Mongolian beef hoping to review any ideas you had come up with. But you hadn’t emailed him like you said. It was still early enough in the day, and especially if you had worked, maybe hadn’t had time to get around to it. He pulled up Sam’s email instead, reviewing notes and potential leads. 

An hour had passed and the light still glowed purple. Thinking it must be broken, Dean meandered over to the plug resetting it. The only other explanation would be your hand on top of it consistently which didn’t make any sense. The lamp powered back up and momentarily was dark before the purple hue came through again. 

“This is weird.” Dean muttered to himself. 

He walked back over to the table and grabbed his phone and dialed your number. After two rings, it answered. 

Dean chuckled, thankful to finally have gotten you. “Either these things are malfunctioning or you must really miss me.” He heard a deep breath from the other side of the line. 

“Y/N?” His voice dropped. “Sweetheart, are you there?” A sinister voice crackled on the other end. “It’s been a long time Dean.” 

Dean’s heart dropped to his stomach. Panic and anger rose to his chest. It was a voice he could never forget. “Alastair.” 

“Now I was hoping to find you home when I stopped by but this pretty little lady said you were out on business.” Alastair's voice delightfully slithered. 

His jaw clenched. “If you’ve touched a single hair on her head, I swear to God…” Dean spat. 

Amusement rose into laughter. “What makes you assume I could harm such a delicate creature. Her neck as easy to snap as a sparrow's."

“You better pray that's not what I find when I get back.” Dean threatened already furiously packing his bag. 

“Its not her I want, it’s you.” Alastair clarified. “But I guess that all depends on how long you take getting back home Dean. I might become bored.” 

-----

TAGS:

Forevers: @mogaruke @deanwinchesterforpromqueen @jotink78@blushingdean @sup3r-pott3r-lock3d @dancingalone21@carryonmyswansong @atc74 @superapplepie @cassieraider@adaliamalfoy @iwriteaboutdean @spnbaby-67@monkeymcpoopoo @adoptdontshoppets @maddiepants@onceuponathreetwoone @thisismysecrethappyplace

Dean x Reader: @akshi8278 @boxywrites @its-not-a-tulpa @tacklesackles @aubreystilinski @iamabeautifulperson18@jerkbitchidjitassbutt @spn-dean-and-sam-winchester @ria132love​

[seokmingiggles]

english breakfast.

Prompt: "You never cease to amaze me."

Pairing: Boo Seungkwan x gender neutral reader (technically, the original one-shot this drabble comes from has a female reader)

Genre: fluff, established relationship, post-apocalyptic!au (a drabble from my IWYMH universe).

1.14k words

Warnings: a quick mention of making out, a very brief allusion to a deceased friend of the reader (from the original one-shot; it is not described here).

You and your boyfriend reminisce about some of the times you’ve had throughout your year spent together. Particularly about when you first fell for each other.

Alternatively, when you unexpectedly met Seungkwan on that fateful winter day continues to hold a special place in your heart.

A/N: I wanted to revisit the universe of the fic I wrote that kind of changed everything for me (alright, that sounds much more dramatic than it is). It was while I was creating IWYMH just over a month ago that I realized I wanted to start posting my writing online again for the first time in years. It reminded me how much I love creative writing and also how much I missed it.

By no means do you have to read the original for this one to make sense! Especially since it's over 10k words, and this barely surpasses 1k. If by chance you have read the original, this drabble takes place just before it begins.

Back to the teacup masterlist.

•• "You never cease to amaze me, love," you say with a smile as Seungkwan provides you with your favourite mug, the smell of the tea flooding your senses.

"It's just a cup of tea, (Y/N), calm down."

"But you're the one who made it," you sing as he shakes his head with a smile. You change the subject out of courtesy of his burning ears, "What has to get done today?"

Seungkwan returns next to you on the living room floor with his own cup of tea, gingerly taking a sip from the steaming beverage. "Today's another run into the city. We're in search of medical equipment and toiletries primarily."

"We're?"

"Yeah, that's right, it's you and me today," your boyfriend beams and pokes your smiling cheek. "It means that I won't have to worry about you heading out with Junhui or Taehyung again. Instead, I'll be able to look out for you."

"Right, because I need to be looked after," you playfully roll your eyes. "That better not be code for making out in the back of a car or something."

"Who's to say?" Seungkwan asks lightly, feigning ignorance.

You shake your head at his words, but a smile still prominent on your face and cheeks becoming rosy at the thought of sneaking off with your boyfriend.

You trace your thumb over the steaming mug of tea, basking in the silence next to Seungkwan.

"Hey," he says with a soft voice, "do you remember before we began dating? I would make you cups of tea then, and we would sit here," he gestures to the couch beside you, "or outside on the balcony when the weather was warm enough."

"Yes, of course, I remember." You beam at thinking back to last year when you first began to bond with Seungkwan more upon arriving at the cabin.

"Well, it's been a year."

You lift your gaze to look at the boy. Slightly caught off guard, your expression reflects the newness of the information.

"Has it already? Gosh, that went by fast." Your head tilts in disbelief. "I'm sorry I didn't remember. I'm not the best at remembering dates—well, except for…" your words trail off, thinking about your childhood friend you lost, likewise last year.

"You don't have to say it, I know," Seungkwan reassures you. His hand lifts to your back, pulling you in for a side-hug, careful to not spill the hot drink you're holding, nor knocking his over where it's resting on the floor.

You lean your head onto his shoulder as you focus on the small circles he rubs between your shoulder blades. The teacup you're holding warms your hands while the kiss Seungkwan places on the top of your head warms your heart.

"Do you want to know the first time I realized I had a crush on you?"

As he processes your words, Seungkwan's hand stops moving momentarily, until he replies, "Only if I can give my answer after, too. About you."

"Okay," you smile, shifting slightly in your boyfriend's embrace to find optimum comfort. "It was one of the nights we spent talking until dawn on the balcony."

"You'll have to be more specific, love," you can hear the smile evident in Seungkwan's voice. "We've spent a lot of nights talking outside."

You giggle, "You're right. We tend to do that a lot, don't we?" You take a sip of the tea that's now cooled to a pleasant temperature. "It couldn't have been much longer than a month after I arrived. You were comforting me about—well, about a lot of things, but one thing that stuck with me was how you reminded me that life continues." You slowly pull yourself from Seungkwan's hold to look at him, "You reminded me that life continues even through difficult times."

"That's when you began falling for me?"

"That's all you got from that?" you lightly quip back but continue, "Time heals; you weren't the one who first taught me that, but you're certainly the one who proved it for me. This past year—this time with you—it's been healing."

"And I wouldn't change a thing," Seungkwan says in a hushed tone.

He leans in to place a gentle kiss on your cheek, then your lips. A habitual smile breaks out onto your face at the gesture.

"Now, do you want to know the first time I realized I was screwed?"

"You make it sound like falling for me was a bad thing."

"No, definitely not a bad thing," Seungkwan reassures you, "'I was screwed' in an 'Oh, well, I guess this is who my heart belongs to now,' kind of way."

You furrow your eyebrows, yet a grin remains evident on your face. "You're not making it sound very romantic, love."

"Anyways," the boy presses on, "it was none other than the day of your arrival when I first saw you wearing my sweatshirt."

"Oh, come on," you lightly push his shoulder. "You better not say it was love at first sight."

"It was love at first sight."

"Boo Seungkwan, I swear to–"

"Okay, maybe not love at first sight, but seriously, that was the moment I knew you were someone special. And you are someone special, I was right."

"What you are is cheesy," your head finds its spot on the boy's shoulder again.

"You're the one who brought the topic up in the first place, (Y/N). And besides," Seungkwan's nose nuzzles the top of your head, "you love me, I'm allowed to be cheesy."

You mumble something along the lines of him being right but drown your words in your cup of tea.

"Time to head out," you hear Wheein call from the doorway.

Your boyfriend stands first. "Time to head out," he repeats.

You nod and take Seungkwan's hand he holds out for you to help you up.

You deposit the ceramic cups in the kitchen before slipping on your boots and a light jacket. Seungkwan grabs a backpack after putting on his shoes and holds out a second bag for you to take.

Once Minghao comes to the porch to meet you all, the four of you begin the trek to head out into town.

Seungkwan's hand finds yours, fingers lacing in a comforting clasp. Your gaze lifts to meet his; you're both bearing gentle smiles at the simple act of affection.

Behind Seungkwan's head, you catch the familiar glimpse of his sweater—clean and drying on the clothesline strung between the house and a neighbouring tree. It slightly sways in the gentle spring breeze between the mix of the other clothes hanging to dry. That sweater has been your favourite article to wear since the day you unexpectedly arrived at this refuge, and you don't anticipate that to change anytime soon; likewise, your feelings about the boy whose hand fits perfectly in yours.

••

[sorry-but-we-have-moved]

🌟✨𝓑𝓵𝓸𝓰 𝓜𝓪𝓼𝓽𝓮𝓻𝓹𝓸𝓼𝓽✨🌟

Hi and welcome! I’m Lillian, and this is my main blog. I used to run @j00nkr4t before it was flagged for sensitive media (i protested the NSFW ban). Since my older blog represents a time when i was much more bigoted, and i’ve grown as a person, i opted for a fresh start. With that out of the way...

🛑 D O  N O T  I N T E R A C T with me if you are: 🛑

Under 18

MAP/Pear/pedophile

MAGA/Trump supporter

Anti-BLM

LGBTQIA+ exclusionist

Aphobic

Terf/Truscum/Transmed/Transphobic

Pro-life

Fatphobic

Pro-Blue Lives Matter

Panphobic

Proana/thinspo/meanspo

LGB/Trans-exclusionist/THAT kind of radfem

Enbyphobic/Non binary exclusionist

Pro Autism Speaks

Ableist

Anti MOGAI

Some stuff about me (I’ll try and update this as regularly as possible. Bigger sections separate blog info from personal info):

⚪ Anon? ⚪

I never go on anon to be honest. I’m gonna say what i say and show that it’s me saying it. However, i allow anon asks, so if you’re a little shy or whatever go ahead!

🎂 Birthday 🎂

March 11, 1996.

🐱 Cats or dogs? 🐶

😻 Cats! I love dogs too (Huskies especially!), but i’m a certified crazy cat lady. Currently caring for a calico, her name is Fornia. Like California. (’cause we live here)

🟪 Discord/Twitch 🟢

🄰🄽-🄸🄶🄼🄰 #2173

In addition i run a couple discord servers, Memescene and ArticleArchive.

ArticleArchive: https://discord.gg/z6jtvhKQRA - For educational purposes. We archive images and articles from Wikipedia, Wikimedia, and other sources to compile free information for people in studies. - Subjects like LGBT+, biology, topography, world cuisine and more are discussed and archived! 13+ MemeScene: https://discord.gg/nY4EpSe - Purely for sharing, creating and consuming meme media. Was started on April Fool’s day 2019 and has gained a small following! 13+ MyMOGAI: https://discord.gg/Y54C3Pae25 - I’ve recently started a new blog, @my-mogai​, which aims to represent little-known or little-supported branches of the LGBTQIA+ community, while also giving fandoms a boost of inclusiveness. 18+

https://www.twitch.tv/zourcherri

🎬 Favorite Film Genres? 🎬

Horror, Animation, Sci-Fi, Paranormal and some Romance and Comedy. Oh, and be sure to recommend me any good Musicals you find as well!

👾 Favorite Games? 👾

Terraria Final Fantasy 12 Borderlands 2/PreSequel Team Fortress 2 Nier: Automata Kingdom Hearts 1 SimCity

🐾 Furry? 🐾

🐾 Furry, 100%! (And it doesn’t mean i want to do anything inherently s*xual or gross. It just means i really like anthro character designs!) I have alot of furry OCs as well, which i’ll eventually get around to introducing.

🎮 Game Fandoms? 🎮

Borderlands, Animal Crossing, Kingdom Hearts, Nier, Final Fantasy, Gex, Monster Hunter, Terraria, Halo, Crash Bandicoot, Driver, Telltale, Team Fortress 2, Portal, Rhythm Heaven, Ace Attorney, Gosh there’s alot of ‘em to name here. I also love to discuss game lore, so feel free to send asks or DMs related to that stuff!

Hobbies

🎨 Art - Some traditional, but mostly digital and 3D. - I now have two side blogs i use, specially made for posting artwork and sharing other’s art. (l3m0n-l4dy, strawberry-scented-psx-logo) 🍴 Cooking - Started small, but now i have over 50+ original recipes. I’ll share one every now and then. - I’ll also share cooking tips and hacks. 🔊 Micspam - Be careful if you use Discord servers like Fortnite, Rainbow Six Siege, Valorant, PUBG/PUBG Mobile or Black Ops; i frequent these. I’ll post compilations of my micspam escapades from time to time. - I’ve also recently begun doing audio mashups and edits. 📷 Photography - I take out a digital camera sometimes to snap a pic of something outside i find neat, film some clouds, or take photos of animals. 📄 Writing - Another hobby i’m insecure about. I have a ton of drafts i add onto and add onto, but hardly ever share with anyone. Hopefully soon, i will. - I recently started an AO3 account, so this is picking up some steam at least.

📝 Nicknames? 📝

I’ve decided to start going by Cherri/Anigma.

But you can also call me Crystal, Krystal, or cry/krystie.

💞 My Besties 💞

Let me know if you want added to/removed from this list!

@kamkairo @handsome-jackoff @silverdashipper @angiethewitch @rust-4-life @gofficangel @of-faunsandyellowflowers @moniiirose @redback-phoenix-the-raptor @ginger-the-espeon​ @handsome-jackoff​ @michellespenscratchz​ @trans-bloblobber​

💌 My Favorite Blogs! 💌

Let me know if you want added to/removed from this list!

@snowysaur @dp2282 @fairy-space @shitposts-from-the-borderlands​ @politijohn @p4radox99 @cort3d​ @handsomepeacock​ @mens-rights-activia​ @sleepypotatostudio​ @captainshivers​ @holographicai​ @bastardfrog27​ @97tysons-trans-rat-emporium​ @fairy-space​ @mspareader​ @yinx1​ @thecutestdinosaur​

💕 Partner 💕

@p0rtalmadness is everything to me. I feel what a puppy feels when their human comes home to them with you. Love you, want you, need you. All the way.

We’re an open relationship, but we normally don’t bring it up until both sides are comfortable!

🕚 Queue 🕚

I didn’t use the queue that much until recently. It works, but i have to fight the queue menu sometimes to get it to work properly lol. Expect some posts and reblogs to be automatically posted from 3 - 7 AM, or 1 - 9 PM. There may be a few odd-hour posts here and there.

Sexuality

Pan all the way!

Side Blogs:

@strawberry-scented-psx-logo​ (Stims) @lime-psx-logo​ (Games) @l3m0n-l4dy​ (Fandoms)

...In closing...

Content posted is highly inconsistent, and a majority is just reblogs. In order to navigate my original works, use my URLs as tags.

Right now, i don’t have submissions enabled (on strawberry i do, just not this blog). I just don’t see what COULD be submitted as content. But, if i figure out something in the future, then you’ll see the option appear on my blog.

[twokinkybeans]

The Arachnoids: ROCK BAND AU [Starker] - Chapter 4: COFFEE CONFUSION

READ “CHAPTER 4: COFFEE CONFUSION” ON AO3

Find the masterpost with all the chapters linked here!

Taglist: @crystallinecrimsonmoth​​ & @staticwhispersinthedark​​ (Let me know if you want to be added!)

-

Chapter 4: Coffee Confusion

“Goodmorning to our new rock star!” Peter groans when May flips the light switch. The brightness stings his eyes and he grabs the blankets to cover his face. “Morning,” he says groggily. He doesn’t want to leave his aunt standing there so he lowers the sheets after all and peeks at her. “Hi.” “Scoot over,” she orders him. “You gotta tell me everything.” Peter does as she asks and moves a little closer to the wall to create space for her.

May had been very upset that she wouldn’t be able to attend the show. She’d already signed up to help out in the local homeless shelter on New Year’s Eve. As much as she hated that she'd miss Peter's first big set, she couldn’t bail on that. “Well?” She asks, her eyes shimmering with pride. Peter chuckles and enthusiastically tells her all the juicy details. About the huge stage, great crowd and how he still feels that none of it is real. He drops a quick remark about Tony too, but he doesn’t want to spend too much attention talking about the man. Tony's simply not worth it.  “...And we stayed for three more hours having a good time with some crew members. Gosh, May, it’s been… I don’t even know how to describe it!” He chuckles in amazement. “It’s insane, like, what even?!" “I’m so, so proud of you Peter,” May says quietly and leans in for a tight hug. “Alsooo, did you know you made the news?” “What?!” “The reviews about the show are off the charts! And The Arachnoids are mentioned more than once, here lemme show you.” 

Peter turns to sit upright and he stares at May’s phone to read the article she’s talking about. His eyes widen at seeing the headline.

The Arachnoids: Will these talented youngsters make it to The Avengers’ World Tour?

Peter huffs. “As if! There are way more qualified bands than us.” “Yet they asked you for this show.” “Mh,” Peter responds, his lips pressing together. It’s slowly starting to be a little overwhelming. The attention, the praise, the success. When they started The Arachnoids for a high school project four years ago they never thought any of this was possible. “We’ll see,” he says eventually. May nods understandingly and ruffles through his hair. 

“If you go see your friends today, could you maybe hop by the shelter? I forgot my bag there last night.” “Of course,” Peter smiles. “Thank you. You hungry? I made breakfast!” Peter frowns. “What did you make?” “Oh, don’t be so suspicious. I know how to make waffles, thank you very much."

Peter chuckles.

-

“Peter! Hi!”  Peter waves at his friends and walks over to the small table they're seated at. He takes off his thick coat, carefully draping it on the backrest of the chair. He slumps into the seat. “So, how are my famous friends, mh?” He grins and wiggles his eyebrows. MJ laughs and shoves an extra large caramel latte his way. “Not that famous, no one in the shop knows who we are.” “Except for Brad, of course,” Ned chuckles and waves at the barista. Brad’s face lights up and he nods his head at them. MJ shrinks in her seat.

“Hey, you okay?” “Yeah, I’m fine. I’m fine,” she murmurs. Peter sighs and puts his hand on top of hers. She looks up. “Em, we can find a different coffee shop if you want.” “Yes,” Ned joins in. “I’m sorry- For a second I forgot about… Y’know. I’m sorry MJ.”

The girl shakes her head and presses her lips together. Her eyes clearly show that Brad is still a sore spot for her. “No, I’m alright. Really. I don’t want to change my life just because of the breakup. I like this place, and if he’s a part of it… So be it. Can we, uhm, talk about something else?” 

Instantly, Ned starts rambling on about this new Netflix series he and MJ are both watching and Peter smiles. Ned is sweet, knowing exactly what to say to distract her. Peter still feels bad for their friend. MJ and Brad made a cute couple. She'd told Brad that she’s demisexual and how she needed more time to figure out her feelings for him. Just as she started to realize that maybe she did like him like that; he got impatient and left.

It’s been nearly a year now, but it’s clear it still hurts her. Peter wishes he could do something to take her sadness and insecurities away. She’s so scared to meet someone new- scared they might dismiss her for her sexuality as well. That’s why he’d been so thrilled to see her interact with Harley last night. Of course, she doesn’t know the roadie even a tiny bit so any attraction is out of the question. It’s a step in the right direction, though. “Peter, have you started watching it yet?”  “No, not yet, I-”

MJ’s phone buzzes and she frowns.  “I’m sorry, let me check real quick.” She opens the message and Peter cocks his head curiously. She never checks on her messages in the midst of a conversation. MJ giggles and quickly starts typing back, shaking her head lightly. After she sends her message, she puts her phone down and eyes the boys. “What?” “You know what!” Ned teases. “Do tell?” “Guys! It’s just- It’s just, uhm, Harley? He sent us a couple of pictures from our show last night. Didn’t you get them?” Peter forces himself to not smile too broadly.  “I didn’t check yet.” “Me neither,” Ned adds. “Can we see them?” He reaches for her phone, but MJ quickly puts her hand over it, sliding it towards herself. She smiles at them sheepishly, knowing damn well they aren’t stupid.

“It’s nothing,” she stresses. “I swear. Y’know I don’t… Yeah. He wanted my number just in case. He's actually in a discussion with the managers now, lobbying for our band to be the support act on their new world tour.”

“World tour? Wait, so, the press wasn’t just saying things?” Peter is so confused right now. “Does Harley think we’re that good?” “Not just Harley, Pete. Everyone loved us.” “Except for Stark,” Ned scoffs. “He'll die of a heart attack if we join them.” “He hates everyone so I don’t think it matters that much who the support act is,” MJ sighs. Peter swallows, thinking back on his short talk with the man yesterday.

“He… He likes us though. He, eh, told me.” “He what?” “Peter! What happened?!” Peter sighs and wraps his hands around his large coffee mug. He shakes his head. “Honestly, not that much. When I went to get the van I ran into him outside. He… Said we’re unique and that he was having a shitty day. After that he went all asshole again, but… I dunno. I think there’s more to his behavior than we thought.”

MJ and Ned are quiet for a good second and Peter takes the opportunity to finally sip from his drink. The sweet and bitter mixture fills his mouth and he hums quietly to himself. This will forever be his favorite drink.  “Most assholes are assholes for a reason,” Ned finally adds to it. “But it doesn’t make them any less shitty.” “Oh no, for sure,” Peter agrees. “I told him he should get himself sorted out.” MJ laughs and pats him on his back. Peter grins proudly.

Just when he wants to take another sip from his drink, MJ’s phone buzzes again. She stoically ignores it, clearly trying to evade more teasing. Peter cocks an eyebrow at her. “You can look, don’t worry. We were joking, but we'd never judge you, I promise. Harley’s nice and it’s sweet that he wants to help us.”  “Exactly,” Ned smiles. “You know we love you. Completely.” MJ casts her eyes down, but she can’t hide the happy, yet fragile smile on her face. Peter hates how her sexuality makes her question herself so often. He makes a mental note to not tease her about Harley anymore. Not until she brings it up again.

Slowly she takes her phone and reads the message she received. MJ gasps, eyes widening.  “Holy shit, I’m-” This time, she shoves her phone toward the middle of the table. Peter and Ned immediately lean forward to read whatever is on there.

Good news!!!😱😱 I talked to Happy & Bruce and they’re gonna contact you, possibly tonight!! Ofc, nothing’s set yet, but they're super excited! If you wanna rock the world girl, take this chance! 💫🥁🎸

Peter leans back against his chair, utterly dumbfounded. Until yesterday, they never even played for more than 400 people at once. Now they're invited for a world tour, in front of huge crowds. He bites onto his lower lip. “I-I’m gonna have to discuss this with May,” he whispers quietly. “Do you… Do you guys want to do this? If we get the chance?”

“I think we all need to think about this,” Ned mumbles. “My first reaction is yes, of course! But God, I’m absolutely terrified.” “Yeah,” MJ sighs. “It’s a lot. What if we go home, think about it, and meet each other at my place for dinner?” “I think that’s a good idea,” Peter breathes and he looks into his cup. The brown liquid is no longer steaming. He brings the mug towards his lips and chugs it down in one go.

He’s got some thinking to do.

-

Read the next chapter >> 5: Denmark Daydream

[mcwriting]

Starstruck (7)

I’m back again and so quickly! Ha! I’m getting soooo close to finishing this but now I’m distracted writing my other series lol. 

While writing this I thought a lot about how much Tom actually curses vs. how little I put in andddd it’s pretty disproportional. I mostly just don’t speak like that so it carries over into my writing, but whatever. I’ll stick with it.

Anyways pls enjoy

Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Chapter 9

Fandom: Tom Holland

Ship: Tom x reader

Setting: Mostly LA, a little bit of South Korea in this one, but it doesn’t really talk about it

Word Count: 2146

Warnings: Mild language as per usual

Rating: K+

                            __________________________________

You tore apart your room looking for your favorite swimsuit, an olive green bikini top that accentuated your chest and a pair of black high cut bottoms that lengthened your legs nicely. 

It had been a few days since you went and stayed with b/f/n and she now wanted to go to the beach with you. You hadn’t gone out much since due to the paparazzi, who still hung around your house sometimes.

The suit was nowhere to be found, every drawer and cabinet searched high and low. 

And then you spotted something in the corner of your eye.

A beach bag slumped over the chair by your desk.

Could it be? 

No

Unless…?

You stepped carefully towards it, dreading opening up the bag and the subsequent memories attached to it. The hurt of what Tom did was still fresh, but better than before.

Neither of you had had contact since his final message to you, which was something you weren’t sure if you were happy, sad, or mad about. 

You’d thought about what Caroline had said in the past few nights, losing sleep over her words.

There’s no way I’ve caught feelings for the guy, right?

I mean, sure. He’s handsome, nice accent, great muscles, smells good, dancer, good sense of humor. The list could go on, I guess. 

Oh wait. Shit. 

Those thoughts flooded your mind as you dumped the contents of the bag onto the carpet, something landing with a heavy thud underneath the swimsuit you’d been searching for.

You peeled away the clothes and things to find a yellow glass bottle, Tom’s stupid unopened cologne now rested on the floor of your room. You stared at it for a few seconds, not knowing what to think.

You’d pretty much forgotten about it since the incident, pushed far from every other thought you’d had since that day.

A buzz suddenly sounded from your phone on the bed, revealing a text from b/f/n saying she was on her way. 

Not wanting to run late, you sat the bottle on the desk and ran to the bathroom to change before she arrived.

                             __________________________________

Photographers followed you and b/f/n at the beach, probably wanting to write a gossip piece about how you were “moving on.” Neither of you cared.

Instead, you both actively posed for the cameras for a little bit, laughing at the men’s persistence. Eventually, however, another of many celebrities in the area caught their eyes and they left, giving you much needed peace.

After a couple hours spent swimming, taking selfies, and tanning, the two of you gathered your things and headed for lunch at a nearby cafe. 

As you sat and ate under an umbrella, you found an article that had already been written containing photos from the beach earlier. It was titled “Moving on? Y/l/n spotted in spicy bikini with pal,” something that made you roll your eyes. 

“Wouldn’t it be funny if we reposted some of these pictures?” you joked to b/f/n. 

“Yes oh my gosh! That would be hilarious! Send me the article,” she agreed. 

You both screenshotted some pictures, picking your favorite to be the cover of your next Instagram post and intermixing some of the day’s selfies, too. Each of you hit post, tagging one another, and went back to your food.

                             __________________________________

The day had been long but perfect. 

B/f/n dropped you at your house late that afternoon, both of you tired from sitting in the sun most of the day. Since then, you’d spent the evening with your family and now prepared for bed.

You hadn’t checked your phone much since posting the photos, but you opened instagram to find that tons of Tom’s fangirls had liked and commented on your picture, most of them pretty supportive. 

Your caption had read “Apparently this is a spicy swimsuit and somehow it’s helping me move on from drama. Either way, today was a much needed beach day with my fav!” 

Other of your friends commented inside jokes, adding fire and pepper emojis, and called you spicy.

You spent a few minutes replying to comments when you decided to look at the likes. You searched “Holland” in the bar, wanting to see how many fans were liking it, but the first name caused your stomach to drop. 

Tomholland2013

There was a blue checkmark signifying it was him, too. 

There was no way he’d done it earlier, so you went back to the comments, where you found a new comment from only a minute before that read “OMG TOM LIKED!”

You were shocked to say the least. Was this some kind of a joke to him? Or was this his way of reaching out from a distance? Your thoughts became frequent and jumbled, and finally you decided to put up the phone and truly get ready for bed.

On the back of your desk chair was draped your favorite sleep shirt. As you went to grab it, the cologne bottle caught your eye once again.

You stared at it for a minute, then did something you’d probably regret later. 

You ripped off the plastic wrap off top and uncapped it. You took a heavy breath, and then spritzed the scent a few times over the sheets. 

It wafted up around you, filling your nose with the musky sweetness you were familiar with. 

After changing, you crawled into bed, the smell overcoming you, relaxing you. Surprisingly, butterflies filled your stomach as warm memories of yours and Tom’s night together came to mind once again. 

Ah shit. Caroline was right was the last thought to cross your mind as sleep overtook you.

                             __________________________________

Stan Twitter and Insta had blown up overnight as Tom’s fans speculated about him liking your post (and of course it just had to be one in a swimsuit). You tried not to think about it too much as you once again went to dance and tried to let off steam.

After class came and went, a parent came to let you know that once again there were dozens of people outside waiting for you with cameras and whatnot.

Your friends offered to help walk you to the car, but you were honestly angry. Enough was enough.

“I knew things would get crazy but this has gone on for too long. Celebrities might have to put up with this, but I don’t,” you spat, shouldering your dance bag and heading for the door. 

A few people tried to stop you but you just shrugged them off.

“Y/n, y/n!” the people began yelling, fighting to see who would get to your first. One woman beat out the rest and shoved a microphone in your face, the cameraman blocking your way.

“Tell us about your time with Tom Holland! We only want the truth!” she exclaimed with her feigned enthusiasm.

”You don’t want the truth, you want a story,” you began. Seeing the way people already looked uncomfortable with that statement, you continued.

“You take a good, normal person and turn him into your own little reality show. You build him up into a big celebrity just so you can tear him down in public.”

You were beginning to feel your face heat up and eyes threaten tears, but still you continued, looking out at the rest of the crowd.

“Just so you can sell magazines and TV shows? That’s really sick. And Tom Holland’s just one example. He’s talented and successful. He’s all the stuff lots of kids dream of having.”

Nothing you said had a hint of sarcasm or disdain, but rather it was a defendant tone. Now you took on an accusatory one directed at the reporters.

“But thanks to you, he’s had to give up some of the best things in life. Freedom. Privacy. Honesty. So congratulations, you’ve created a celebrity. But you have wrecked the human being inside. You should be ashamed of yourselves.”

You finished the tirade, a tear slipping onto your cheek as you remembered the night he spent at your house telling you about how he often missed normal life. There was a heavy pause but cameras continued to flash. The reporter turned to her cameraman.

“Did you get that?” she asked. He nodded, so she turned back to you.

“Y/n, y/n just one more question. In your opinion, who is Tom Holland really?”

You looked at her, taken aback. Your blood boiled.

“Who is he? I don’t know. The Tom Holland you’re all so obsessed with…” you took a moment to collect your thoughts. “I promise you I never met him. And I wouldn’t want to.”

With that, you pushed through the crowd and to your car, hoping they were satisfied.

                             __________________________________

On the other side of the world, Tom was becoming stir crazy. By the time Tom had awoken, videos and transcripts of your speech were already circulating the internet and he was overwhelmed and frankly angry. 

He was supposed to be getting ready for another press day, but how could he do interviews when everyone would just want to hound on him about you?

“Tom, we need to talk,” Harrison said sternly as Tom paced his hotel living room. Harry and Sam stood behind him in the entryway..

“Alright what on?” he asked as though nothing was wrong.

“Tom. Tell us what’s got you acting like this, saying what you did, and her making that speech through tears. You obviously liked that girl and something happened with her,” Harry stated.

Tom paused and turned to the group.

“What are you talking about? There was nothing going on between us.”

They all looked at each other and then Tom like he was an idiot.

“Look mate, you have no reason to lie to us. We always have your back and we’ll probably understand,” Sam added. The group took a few steps forward.

Tom was becoming more agitated and avoided eye contact with all of them. He crossed his arms tightly over his chest.

“First off, I’m not lying. And secondly, if I were, you all wouldn’t understand anyways because you aren’t me! None of you get what it’s like living my life and you never will!” Tom exclaimed, running his fingers through his hair in frustration.

The group was taken aback at Tom’s explosive statement and now Harrison was mad too.

“You know what, man? We came here to talk because we care about you. You’ve been a real dick the past few days and it’s getting old. All we wanted to do was help you out but instead you decided to go all movie star on us,” Harrison blurted. He turned to the twins, “Let’s go guys. He’s obviously beyond us.”

The three boys turned to walk out the door and Tom felt a weight drop in his stomach. Harry was just starting to open the door when Tom stopped them.

“Wait!” he paused and took a deep breath, “I’ll tell you all what’s really going on, but you have to let me tell the whole story first.”

They reluctantly turned back, eventually making themselves comfortable around the living room and letting Tom vent out the whole story, including how his management had made him cut ties with you.

“She was so honest and kind and I blew it. The more distant from her I can make myself, the better. I couldn’t let myself bring you in on this secret and feel bad too. She deserves to just hate me.”

The boys were all shocked and angered at what was going on.

“Tom, I love you, you’re my brother. But you are such a div! And I mean that in the most extreme manner possible,” said Harry.

“Yeah, come on mate. Just fire them! Why are you letting them control your life?” asked Sam. 

“You guys don’t get it! Singleness sells! I can’t jeopardize my career just because I found y/n to be the most beautiful and incredible and real person I’ve ever met. I mean, right?”

Harrison piped up at that.

“You really are more stupid than you look. Tom I’m gonna tell you straight. They’re living in some figmented reality where your relationship status determines whether or not you get hired. I mean, you’re Spider-Man for God’s sake. That has to count for something, right?”

Tom bounced his head back and forth in contemplation. 

“I mean I guess-” he started when Harrison cut him off again.

“You guess!” he stood up in disbelief. “You guess? Come on! Directors don’t care who the hell you’re dating if you’re giving them Oscar worthy performances and box office hits! And even then, who cares about your career when you’re putting your heart on the cutting board for it. Just go after the damn girl, Tom. And fire those assholes while you’re at it.”

                            __________________________________

A/N: Still can’t believe I got this out so quickly. Anyways, thanks for reading and as always, send me a message or ask if you wanna talk since I can’t respond to comments! (And keep an eye out for “the best revenge,” my new series)

TAG LIST: @marvel-lously, @jackiehollanderr, @one-big-fangirl, @dreamyvans, @lisannehus, @honeymoonpeter, @shootingstarsaretearsofheaven, @chenellearose, @photoshopart15, @parkeret, @ilikealotofpeople-younotsomuch, @racewife2004 

[hamsterrivals]

ok, so.

I made a youtube video, of me narrating Ashita no Joe episode 4.

I was wondering for awhile if it would be ok to upload a video that’s just directly an anime episode of Ashita no Joe.

I thought partly, maybe it would be ok, since that anime came out like before 1970 or something so maybe it’s free domain,

but nah. It is blocked. I can’t find the video at all.

but, that isn’t going to stop me..

I will do the impossible, (even though I am depressed, about someone I know. irl)

and narrate Ashita no Joe episode 4.

I made a whole video of me narrating it with my voice. but it’s blocked aaaa. I refuse to let it go, though.

giga..drill...breakeriswhat I’d say but I am too depressed about someone I know irl.

Ok so anyways, this was gonna be a YouTube video, especially cuz-- [had to delete the explanation] anyways here:

[deleted stuff.....] ...

anyways here:

oh shizzat its 4am I’m fluffin’ tired. so I’m just gonna skim the episode and post screenshots argh my foot is pulsating as I type that as if my entire body is thinking “wow I know you re-watched Ashita no Joe episodes again yesterday but you should watch the whole episode again its godly” I’m sorry ewotjwte its just almost 4am and I had to wake up at 10am yesterday.

the opening plays. and then:

that one guy that is like my dad reads about my stuff

Jebus freakin’ RICE I’m tired. But I need to do something productive today cuz after I woke up at 10am for my social worker I was tired and drained all day from hearing the voices of the people upstairs and the noise in the wall.

my dad I mean Danpai keeps reading the newspaper (like how in -- gah nevermind [deleted cuz I’m paranoid about what [NEVERMIND deleted the explanation]] and

my freakin’ dad I mean Danpai gets mad at Joe just like

I DELETED [can’t say] like 8 years ago cuz of that time when I [=/ Can’t say the details]

GOSH DARN IT this is just like something irl and I can’t even say what it is because I’m too paranoid about people [deleted explanation here]

ok so basically Joe is super successful and doing good things in this world but no one believes him cuz his stupid azz danpai adopted dad figure is a dumb bummie, and then

and then I wanna explain 99 lines but we’re not even 2 minutes into the episode, so I guess I have to skip some parts; I mean it is 4am after all

and then

ok so there’s this snobby lady (at the time ? perhaps she changes at the very very very very end but I won’t give any spoilers about how the very final episode goes itjewiot btw I literally watched this anime starting from the very last episode cuz someone said this series has best ending in anime/manga of all time, and then I started back at early episodes after that, when I first watched this however years ago,)

and then

yes we printed this article cuz .. you’re trustworthy and popular but Joe is just an unpopular guy who helps out orphans and gives his money away to help out orphans

ya know how when I watched the first 11 episode with [won’t say but the guy that begins with Sau and ends with ce that I was friends with for 15 years and he kept making fun of it multiple times in the chat saying “More like a shit a joe.”] well these guys are like wow Joe is a delinquent cuz he is helping out orphans

wow Yabuki Joe used an alt account or some shiz and made a complete lie to try to help society for the better like making a peaceful game and then I mean boxing I mean waterver and then

no one believes ni the main character Joe who is LITERALLY helping out local orphans; and they’re basically like just jealous of him and twisting the truth to make him look bad is what these snobby popular people are doing t hat actually have friends unlike the wondering loner Joe Yabuki,

this very popular snobby lady who actually has friends unlike ab- Yabuki Joe doesn’t care that Joe is actually being helpful and wants to make projects that will bring peace to this world, she will not give him a chance because she cares more about appearances and keeping up her reputation.

....She takes on the full pressure and responsibilty. But can she handle it?

they’re basically like “uhhh do you have [deleted in case it comes off as offensive, since I know some others that make fun of that stuff >=\ which I don’t like either cuz I get made fun of [the deleted thing] too . It shouldn’t even have to be deleted >=\ but I was in a [DELETED] and they made fun of [the deleted thing] so I guess it has to be [deleted] which is so sad for this world ??] and so

the really cool person who *doesn’t reveal spoilers of the end of the series aa* says please leave Train- Yabuki Joe to me !!

i have faith in him he totally will not somehow break this faith that I vaguely have in him and am kinda too shy to publicly admit..

I wonder what Joe is feeling like right now and doing:

s o anyways Joe keeps laughing 99 times in this episode, and, cuz he knows he’s right and just helping out orphans and people that aren’t popular and too afraid to join the b- never mind.

some of his followers don’t respond to his long rants and are like maybe he is going too far and should back down fro mthe very popular snobby lady

Yabuki Joe laughs again

he says What’s the matter with you!? Stop siding with the very popular lady that actually has friends and a good reputation who is a stuck up and like do what is right instead of what . will make people think better of you even if you know in your hear that maybe it might be wrong.

The snobby lady posted on Twit- I mean irl the anime known as Ashita no Joe the they posted a screenshot of me saying “I have family.....” and they mocked him saying “Um.... I have family too....?” as her followers mocked Yabuki Joe on twitter in the 1970s anime or something,

but family isn’t what matters, everyone has family,

what matters is that you all still have a poor reputation because you have no friends which I think is 100% ok but the stuck-up lady who hates Joe for some reason atm just cares about how they’re rich in [deleted snarky remarks] reputation.

stop caring about the dislikes and haters and appreciate the supporters that you do have;;.

yabuki Joe says F THE HATERS THIS IS Just the beginning of [would say but I wanna here but X_X; [deleted the reason why I won’t] because of [deleted] because of [deleted]]

,y gpa; s 1 million followers cuz then they at least know what is right

in this world.

and then joe is like

and then;

then he’s like yea in my heart I know its good to have that many followers cuz I know the true true truth about Yabuki Joe the anime and manga character from Ashita no Joe, he just wants that many followers to program an indie game about- I mean anyways

they say

[OK WHAT THEH ECK I SERIOUSLY DID RECORD A VIDEO OF ME JUST NARRATING THIS ENTIRE EPISODE AND I uploaded it yesterday on a video sharing site but it is blocked cuz of copyrighted content aaa even though this was from before  1970 aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa now I gotta explain in text instead of voice like I already did last night AAAAAAAAAAaa]

they say But what would you do with that much power, that many internet I mean irl followers in 197o in Ashita no Joe the anime/manga series?

and then Yabuki Joe says teh

then he’s like What the gosh darn shiz in yoshville mans,

and then

and they’re like Look Yabuki Joe lives in a Terrible place with Terrible living conditions wher e brick dust keeps falling down and then

and like Joe has no problems like getting kawaii innocent ppl to follow him, but the others are a bit suspicious.. of Joe and his behavior..

Joe is like i’m gonna build a huge online hamster game soon.

and then someone tells Abu in tumblr messages I mean they tell

Someone tells Yabuki Joe as you can see if you flippin’ watch the episode yourself (I don’t blame you. I hope someone will check this series out, though. It’s my favorite anime series, to be honest.) anyways and then someone from his fandom of - anyways someone says

He’s so full of himself.

I guess you suffer from delusions of grandeur?

the bully who is even in the same exact fandom as ab- Yabuki Joe of being an orphan says that, and because they’re so big inside, people blindly listen to them.

the true actual innocent follower that knows trainerab- Yabuki Joe is actually honest and truthful is like, wow shut the fak up brah, and then:

Then the “Are you sure you don’t suffer from delusions of grandeur?” doubtful follower who is keeping an eye on Ab-Yabuki Joe I mean and watching over him to try to keep the orphanage safe falsely then says “This is a clown. See this clown? Abu is hiring th I mean Yabuki Joe had this younger person defend him” Wow and then

one of the only innocent ppl in this show besides Yabuki Joe and a bunch of later characters in this series in later episodes that happen soon, know Joe really is telling the truth and that he really is honest and she’s pizzed awf at that hater troll person trying to Provoke joe and such on [deleted] anime & manga series Ashita no Joe the anime/manga series, and then

then they’re like, uh oh maybe Joe does have some loyal followers who know the real truth and we should hold our distance and see what he does and what he is truly like, first, and then

so, then

so then Yabuki Joe shows them their steam profile and the gam I mean the BY- I mean

Joe is like ok I played retro games my whole life and watched cool cartoons like the Rugrats and I play cool games and twisted trolls like the snobby girl try to make it look like I “change my interests to appease others” but come into my YouTube channel office and c the truth that I really DID play a lot of SNES games and then

I mean Yabuki Joe says this is my office and this is where I live,

I live in a factory that rains brick dust,

and then,

AND THEN I WANNA NARRATE THIS ENTIRE EPISODE BUT IT IS FREAKIN’ 4:35am and I gotta get up soon

I mean I flippin’ already narrated this entire episode and commented on it etc. and made a cool video of it but YouTube blocked it AAAAAAAA even tho it was an anime made in

1970 I thought it would be free domain by now and o.k. to upload a video of it to YouTube with audio commentary GOSH AAAaaaa GOSH I WANNA NARRATE THE WHOLE EPISODE

AS I SAID IN THE youtube video that is blocked on YouTube I think it is a requirement cuz like it really pejeroyjoirjyorejijioe

ok have a nice night.

[portals-to-a-new-world]

Come Hell or High Water Chapter 5: Storms A-Brewin’

Who?: Leonard McCoy x Reader

What?: Had to deal with the aftermath of date night, Leonard is a storm waiting to happen, and never play B.S. with Joanna. You will lose.

Word Count: 2364

Warnings: Language, cheesy-ness, little bit of steam for good measure (Its a hot southern summer yall 🤪)

A/n: WOOO BOY. Finally got this done, and let me apologize once again for the wait. Work is finally looking like it’s gonna lighten up on me so hopefully I’ll be able to work on this a lot more now. As always, @bakerstreethound​ is an angel who I love and adore and she’s the best. 

Series Masterlist

You were greeted by the whole family as you finally pulled into the yard. Joanna nearly crushed poor Leonard in a hug the moment his feet hit the ground. “Hey now, it’s alright, Shug. We’re okay,” He held her tight, once again failing to hide the tears brimming his eyes. Jim had rushed to your side but stopped himself before he could aggravate his sunburn by hugging you.

“Gosh I can’t take you anywhere, can I?” He joked, but before you could respond, the sound of a car rolling up the gravel drive drew everyone’s attention.

“Apparently not.” You said after stepping back to see a black and white police vehicle approaching. Leonard quickly sent Joanna inside before coming over to place a supportive hand on your back.

“Leave it to Jocelyn to get the police involved.” He said with a clenched jaw. You both tensed as the door opened, and as the person inside stepped out, you looked up to see recognition on Len’s face. Eleanora was the first to speak.

“Sheriff Graham. What can we do for you?” The man stepped forward and shook his head gravely.

“’Fraid I’m here to talk to that boy of yours, El,” He continued walking forward as he spoke until he stood directly in front of you both. He looked you up and down before turning his attention to Leonard. “See, somebody down at the music festival got in quite the scrap with his ex-wife, and I had to come see for myself the woman who put her on her ass.” He broke out in a grin as he finished, and you felt Leonard relax beside you.

“Damn it, man, you nearly gave me a heart attack!” Len said while reaching out to shake the sheriff’s hand. The man laughed and returned the gesture, and you quickly spoke up in surprise.

“Wait, she’s not pressing charges?”

“Well, she wanted to, but I’ve got about 30 witnesses that were ready to testify in front of God himself that she started it, so she gave up the notion pretty fast.” He said, finally turning his attention to you. “Leonard, please tell me this gorgeous gal is the one responsible.” You couldn’t help the slight blush dusting your cheeks as you nodded and reached out to shake the man’s hand.

“I’m afraid I can neither confirm nor deny these allegations, Sheriff.” You said. He laughed and waved you off.

“Not that it matters, but it would be kinda hard to play innocent considering you practically announced your name and rank to everyone in the vicinity, sweetheart. Which, by the way, was a hell of a ballsy move. How you ended up with this old stick in the mud is beyond me.” He said, giving Leonard a playful shove, which was met with a scowl. You giggled and moved to wrap your arms around Len’s waist.

“Just lucky, I guess.” You said, smiling up at your lover.

“He must be.” Said the sheriff with a wink. El, who had been standing off to the side, stepped forward to stand alongside the three of you.

“Why don’t you come inside and sit a spell, John? I’ve got some fresh tea in the fridge.” She said. The sheriff offered a polite smile before shaking his head.

“Naw, I’ve got to get back into town. It was great seeing y’all, though. Pleasure meeting you, Lieutenant Commander (Y/n) (Y/L/N).” He said, finishing with a tip of his hat. You grinned and gave a dramatic curtsy.

“Pleasures all mine, Sheriff Graham.” He shook Leonard’s hand again and hugged Eleanora before hopping back into his vehicle with a wave. You were waving back when the sound of the front door opening drew your attention. You turned to find Jim walking out with a look of disbelief.

“Did you just charm your way out of an assault charge?” He demanded. Deciding to mess with him, you nodded your head.

“Yep.” You said, popping the p. Leonard shook his head as you broke out in giggles. “No, Jim. I was smart enough to not throw the first punch, so we’re all good. He just stopped by to say hello.” Jim shook his head as you all made your way inside.

“Unbelievable.” He mumbled to himself. Once inside, Joanna was waiting to bombard you all with questions, until Eleanora eventually sent her, and everyone else, to bed. You finally relaxed as you got upstairs, not realizing how much tension you’d been holding in your body since the whole ordeal started. Leonard came up behind you and wrapped his arms around your waist.

“Some date night, this turned out to be, huh?” You said bitterly. He hummed in response as he buried his face in your neck.

“I’ve had worse. Cmon. Let’s just go to bed.” He mumbled against your skin. You sighed and nodded, letting him walk you forward until you reached the bed.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Everyone slept in the next day; no premade plans meant there was no rush to get up and get going. Nowhere was this more evident than the bed you were sharing with Leonard. He had wrapped himself around you like a koala and was refusing to let you get out of bed, citing “lazy day laws” as his excuse. When you finally made it downstairs, Joanna was curled up on the couch reading one of her new books while El and Donna sat watching the news. “Mornin’ you two. Give me just a minute, I haven’t started cooking yet, I wanna see the weather.” El said, moving to get up, but you were quick to jump in.

“No, no, don’t worry about it! Just point me in the direction of the cereal, and I’ll be right as rain, although I’ll let Len speak for himself.” You said, looking up over your shoulder at the man. He gave you a quick smile before looking back up to his mother.

“Yeah, Ma, don’t worry about it. I think you’ve earned a break from all the excellent cookin you’ve been doing all week.” She still looked hesitant as she replied.

“Well, if y’all are sure…”

“Absolutely.” You reaffirmed, nodding. She sighed and relaxed back into her seat.

“Cereal’s where it’s always been, Leonard.” He walked over and placed a kiss on her head.

“Thanks, ma.” She smiled and waved him off. He walked back over and took your hand to lead you into the kitchen, grabbing two bowls from one cabinet and the cereal from another. Jim walked in right as you finished pouring your bowl, grabbing the box from your hand. You shook your head as he grabbed a bowl, bright and chipper despite having clearly just rolled out of bed.

“Was he like this at the academy? I can’t imagine rooming with a morning person.” You jokingly asked Len.

“Worse than you can imagine, sweetheart.”

“Hey!” Jim cried out, indignantly.

“Up at 5:30 every morning. God knows how many times I’d come back from an overnight clinic shift to find that Hurricane Jim had hit, leaving snack wrappers and textbooks laying everywhere,” Leonard said, pointing at Jim, who’d decided to ignore him and read the news on his PADD instead. “Not to mention the number of women out there who had to endure me trying to explain that my roommate had already left and that she needed to go-” Leonard’s rant was cut off by the sudden sputtering and coughing coming from Jim. Leonard was by his side in a flash, and you turned to see Jim waving him off while laughing and coughing. “The hell’s wrong with you?” Len demanded. Jim held up a finger while he got himself under control and then handed Leonard his PADD.

“Just the greatest coincidence I’ve seen in years.” Leonard looked down at the device in his hand, his eyes bugging out comically as he read the screen.

“You’ve gotta be kidding me!” The sound of Joanna’s laughter and rapid footsteps nearly overwhelmed Len’s outcry. She turned the corner right as Len handed back the PADD.

“What’s-”

“Did you see” You and Jo spoke at the same time, but you were cut off by Leonard.

“Don’t.” Jim stood and walked over to hand you the device, ignoring Leonard throwing his hands in the air. You looked down at the screen, reading the headline.

Massive Storm in Atlantic Upgraded to Hurricane Status.

“What’s so funny about-” Jim just pointed further down the article. 

The storm, which has been dubbed Hurricane Leonard . . . 

You looked up at the man himself, valiantly trying not to laugh but you broke the moment you saw his grumpy scowl. He rolled his eyes and picked up his bowl. Jim took his PADD back and sat back down to finish his breakfast while you and Joanna set each other off in fits of giggles. By the time you both managed to rein yourselves in Jim and Leonard had both finished and Len stood at the sink washing out the dishes. You picked up your bowl still grinning as Jim and Jo retreated to the living room. “C’mon, Leo. Now we have something to call you when it’s time for annual physicals, and you go hunting for all the crew members.” He huffed and dried off his hands before walking over to you.

“Just for that, you can wash your own bowl.” He said, pointing at you, but there was the smallest trace of a smile on his lips, so you knew he wasn’t actually upset. You raised your hand in a mock salute.

“Aye, sir!” You said. His gaze darkened ever so slightly. He reached to grab your bowl and set it on the counter behind you as he leaned in.

“Good girl.” Was all he said before pressing his lips against yours, his words sending a shudder down your spine. The moment was short-lived, however, as Jim re-entered the kitchen.

“Oh, come on, really? We leave the room for two seconds” He trailed off and shook his head at your sheepish grin.

“Something we can help you with, or are you just intent on interrupting every moment I have with my girl?” Leonard said, looking over his shoulder. Jim held his hands up in surrender.

“Calm down, Romeo. I just forgot my PADD.” He said, walking over to grab the offending item before heading back towards the door. “As you were.” Jim said with a wave. Leonard shook his head and mumbled.

“As you were.” He started to lean in again, but you reached up to press a finger against his lips.

“Can I finish eating, Romeo?” You asked. He sighed dramatically and rolled his eyes before stepping away.

“I suppose.” He grumbled. You smiled and stepped forward to pull him into a quick kiss.

“Thank you, Doctor.” You said with a wink.

“Well how am I supposed to leave now?” He said jokingly, reaching out to pull you back into him. The answer came in the form of Joanna’s voice calling through the house.

“Dad we’re gonna play B.S. you want in?” You grinned as he shook his head and smiled before calling back.

“Yeah, I’ll be right there.” He pressed one more kiss against your lips before turning to leave. “Want us to wait for you?” You shook your head and picked up your bowl.

“Nah, I want to watch Jo kick your asses.” Leonard scoffed as he walked away.

“Whatever you say, sweetheart.”

 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Much to your amusement and the boys’ annoyance, Joanna proved you right and absolutely slaughtered the two of them. Leonard lasted two games before admitting defeat, deciding instead to sit back and watch with you as Jim refused to give up. In fairness to him, he did manage to pull out a few wins, but Joanna was astonishingly good at reading when someone was lying. Leonard, proud papa that he was, spent the entire time with a smug grin on his face. Jim finally gave in when you joined a game, and it was with a near full deck in his hands, none in Jo’s, and the few remaining cards in yours that he cried out in surrender. Several hours later you found yourself laying on a blanket in the yard staring up at the stars in awe. Everyone else had gone to bed and you’d somehow convinced Leonard to join you. He sat beside you playing with your hair as you mapped constellations in your mind. “Can you believe we get to be out there?” You turned your head to look at Leonard, blushing slightly as you found him looking at you and not the sky. “Leo, why’d you agree to come to stargaze if you’re not even gonna gaze at the stars?”

“I am looking at the stars.” He said, brushing a stray piece of hair from your face. “I can see them reflected in your eyes.” You blushed crimson, and he huffed out a laugh. His fingers moved to cradle your face, but he stopped when his gaze fell on the stitches in your cheek. His expression turned serious and he gently brushed a thumb under them. “How are these feeling?” You shrugged before replying.

“Stings a bit, but otherwise okay.” He hummed in response, eyeing them for a few moments before nodding in satisfaction. You sat up and slid closer to kiss him softly. “Y’know, I wish that old truck wasn’t so loud. I’d’ve loved to have seen that spot you were talking about yesterday.” Leonard raised an amused eyebrow before wrapping an arm around your waist.

“Now she tells me.” He said sarcastically. You gave him a playful shove and shook your head, not bothering to hide the smile on your face.

“Ass.” He just nodded and claimed your lips once again. The kiss quickly grew heated, and eventually, you both had to break away.

“Can’t believe you’ve got me out here, sneaking kisses like some horny teenager.” He said, earning an amused scoff.

“Classy, McCoy. Real classy.” He smirked and stood to his feet, offering a hand to pull you up.

“Trust me, sugar. Just wait till we get to Charleston. I’ll show you how classy I can be.”

Tags: (if you’d like to be added or removed let me know)

@bakerstreethound​ @bookscoffeeandracoons​ 

[nctxnation]

A Haunting in Neo City

➳ Pairing: Renjun x Reader 

➳ Genre: Romance | Buzzfeed Unsolved AU

➳ Word Count: 4.8k

➳ Warnings: Mild Language

➳ “Of all the problems and complications in my life, I had not expected love to be one of them.” ― Stacie Evans

You spun around in your chair, eyes tired of seeing the screen after finally finishing another article. The coffee mug next to you, empty, and your brain still sleep deprived and sluggish.

“You look like shit.”

You groaned, pressing send on the computer and turning to see your partner in crime, or more like partner in the occult and crime. 

“Hello, to you too, Renjun,” You flicked a paper clip at him and he rolled his eyes as it bounced off his chest. “I’m just tired. Yeri and the girls’ invited me out for dinner last night.”

“Fun,” He grinned, jumping onto your desk, knocking papers to the side. “All I did last night was see how many pens Jisung could stuff in his mouth, nine, by the way.”

“I’m guessing you have some news for me,” Your eyes zeroed in on the stack of papers in his hands. “Let me guess a cursed doll that terrorizes its owners?”

“Been there, done that, remember?” He smiled down at you, eyes brightening at the prospect of a new adventure. Your heart fluttered at the eagerness in his tone and the sparkle of his eyes, “We’re going out to Neo City to scope out the Evermore Woods, aka the Haunted Woods of Neo City. There’s supposedly haunted cabins and we might just end up possessed, you in?” 

Of course, you were in. You’d follow Renjun anywhere, he didn’t know that. You sure as hell didn’t want to submit to the sheer embarrassment and awkwardness that would ensue after disclosing your romantic feelings to your coworker and closest friend. 

“Do I have a choice?” You grinned snatching the prints of research out of his grip. “We’re not gonna end up possessed, it has never happened.”

“You never know,” He was positively buzzing with excitement and it made you beam at how adorable he looked. “I have a feeling this one is gonna be a good episode though.”

“You always have the craziest shit up your sleeve,” You noted, glancing through rumored sightings of ghosts and wild stories that spurred from college students partying in the woods. “This is no exception. Sounds like a fun roadtrip to me.”

“Wait ‘til you read about the Ghost of Jieun they saw there, it’s some crazy shit I kid you not!” 

Renjun went on the full blown spiel, trying to persuade you that the woods were indeed haunted and it wasn’t just a hoax. He did this all the time, seeing as he was the one who fully believed in the paranormal between the two of you. You were the one who decidedly followed him throughout his supernatural investigations sprinkling witty commentary as you weren’t as sold in any stuff like that. 

You were often the cause of Renjun’s constant hysteria as you seldom kept quiet and continuously egged and taunted any ‘spirit’ that might be lurking. It got to the point Renjun would keep a small bottle of holy water in his car and occasionally spray you with it just to make sure you weren’t actually possessed. 

A long ass story about some ghost later, Renjun was summoned by Jeno who needed help as Haechan had gotten his hand stuck up some tubing they were filming a video with. You took that as your cue to refill your empty coffee cup, to regain some life and have at least a semblance of a normal, functioning human being. 

You however didn’t expect yourself to be cornered by Yeri and Yuta, who were looking far too devilish. Their evil smirking were making you want to add them to the list of possible people to perform an exorcism on, part of Renjun’s never ending list.

“So, you and Renjun looked pretty cosy there,” Yeri commented, subtly glancing at Yuta whose face only darkend with mischief. 

“We’re partners on this ongoing project,” You deadpanned, pouring in some burning hot liquid into your mug. The steaming zest of life. “He literally has no choice now, the loser is stuck with me. We ordained it with a blood oath which is pretty on brand for us, I guess.”

Yuta cackled heartily, “No wonder you guys’ are in love. You have the same sense of humor.”

“Thanks,” The words processed in your brain slower than Internet Explorer. “Wait--what? In love? Renjun and me?”

“Am I speaking in Japanese?” Yuta winked at you, sipping his coffee so smugly you wanted to slap him. “So, when’s the wedding?”

“It’s not like that,” You began to feel uneasy, their staring was predator-like. “How many times do I have to spell it out to you guys? Renjun and me, we’re friends and co-workers, nothing more. So, we share a room every once in a while and have inside jokes, you and Winwin do too.”

“Mhmm sure,” Yeri shrugged it off, “One day we’ll get you to admit your love for each other.”

“Not gonna happen,” You gritted out, taking your mug and walking away as fast as you could so they couldn’t see the intense blush coloring your features. 

“You better send a wedding invitation!” Yuta hollered as you rounded the corner and saw Renjun and Haechan laughing about his incident.

Your heart warmed as Renjun’s eyes met yours and you could have sworn you saw a fondness in his eyes that was only reserved for you. A small sliver of hope slithered its way into your heart, but you crushed it easily on account of it being your sleep deprived brain creating scenarios in your head that weren’t real.

Unbeknownst to you, Renjun sighed in aggravation. His little frown catching Haechan’s attention.

“You might as well tell Y/N you like them,” Haechan said as he watched your retreating figure. 

“It’s not that easy,” Renjun admitted, “Y/N and me are a team, we have our own series and its doing really good. I don’t want to ruin any of that knowing they don’t feel the same.”

“You sure about that?” Haechan snorted.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Renjun snapped, ready to put Haechan in headlock at any given offense. 

“I mean the supernatural isn’t the only thing your blind to,” Haechan patted his friend’s shoulder and left, leaving Renjun more confused than before.

Renjun thought it was easier to be cornered by ghosts, demons, serial killers, and bizarre monsters than having to ever come close to admitting his feelings for you. Your friendship ran deep and he didn’t want to derail the dynamic he worked so hard to upkeep. Plus, he didn’t think you’d like him, you got along swimmingly due to the fact that you two instantly clicked. You were his best friend, in his eyes, telling you he wanted something more was severely scarier than facing ghouls. 

The matters of the heart were always something terrifying.

Renjun placed his folder of information neatly on the table, eyes bright as he faced the camera. You sat next to him trying your best not to stare too much at him. You failed of course and you hoped your audience thought none of it. The comment section had a few comments littered about they way you looked at each other. The last thing you needed was your full blown heart eyes for Renjung to be the one thing your viewers discussed. 

“This week we will be exploring the haunted cabins in the Neo City Evermore Woods.”

Gosh, even the way his voice went into professional mode was starting to sound immensely attractive to you. 

“Do you think we'll see bears?” You asked, smirking at the frustrated sigh he let out. The edges of his lips turned upwards and that in itself was enough to have you glowing.

“The woods are crawling with ghosts and demons and you're worried about bears?” He chuckled, it was so like you. It was one of the many things he liked about you, even when it clashed with who he was. 

“I just don't want to take my chances.”

“But you'll be okay with being possessed?” His eyes bulged out of his face and you giggled at how comical he looked. 

“I'm being realistic. I guess we can trace a circle around us.”

“Of salt?”

“No, dirt like with a stick. For the bear, Renjun. Not the ghosts.”

“Isn't that from Spongebob?” He regarded you with sparkly eyes full of amusement. 

He loved the way you made the tension in his body release, the way your eyes crinkled when you laughed at your own stupid jokes. He was seriously gone and he hoped it didn’t get captured on camera. 

“Yeah that's where I get all my educational information from.”

He started wheezing and you joined in laughing at how silly you sounded. That was your role in this dynamic duo, he took everything regarding the supernatural seriously and you joked about it. You two were like yin and yang in a sense, you balanced each other out. 

“Well, I get all my educational information from reliable sources,” Renjun began addressing the timeline of the Disappearance of Jieun, to telling about her murder and the hauntings of the lake and cabins.

You added your own commentary, smiling when the camera turned off and Renjun excitedly high fived you. Yup, you were way too deep. 

“You were really funny out there,” He said, shuffling all his papers back into his folder, “Great stuff. I think I’m going to need an inhaler or something.”

“Nah, I think I sounded cringey,” You waved off his immediate protests, “I just wanted to take the time to say that you really put a lot of work into this series and it shows. You’re doing amazing, Renjun, and you deserve to know it.”

“Couldn’t do it without you?” He was too sweet, he was going to give you tooth decay.

“I don’t think--”

“No, of course you don’t see how great you are,” He interrupted you, placing a small warm hand on your shoulder. “But I see how great you are and I think you should know you make this series worth doing.”

“Renjun…”You swiped an imaginary tear off your cheek, ignoring the actual tears building up. “You really are the sweetest person in the office, don’t tell Jungwoo I said that.” 

The weight of his compliment and your lack of though, had you wrapping his frame around your arms. He froze, but then melted into your hands. 

“I’m serious you make the other half of Spooky Duo,” Renjun’s warmth blossomed a new kind of warmth in your heart, “I love you, Y/N...I mean, you’re the best partner in crime money can buy.”

“You threatened me to join you,” You sniffled, ignoring the fluttering feelings the eight letters he murmured brought you. “I had no choice in the matter, but you’re a great partner in crime...I love you too, Renjun.”

The love you felt was different than the love he felt that much you knew. No lack of sleep or caffeine rush was going to lull you into a false reality that you made up in your head. He didn’t feel the same. 

There was beat, in which you both stood, arms tangled and breathing rough, staring into each other’s eyes. The moment was broken when Yuta and Yeri stumbled into your work room claiming a group meeting. You scrambled away from each other, your eyes having totally not been hyperfixed on his lips. Renjun cleared his throat and fist bumped you claiming you as the best friend he could ask for, before he went on his merry way.

You sighed, not trying hard enough to hide you own dejection, but you followed behind him. This, unfortunately, only roused Yuta and Yeri even more as they began gossiping about the office, murmuring about how any day now the Spooky Duo were finally going to get together.

It was dusk, night barely stretching across the horizon when you reached the edge of the Evermore Woods. The forest was cold, dark, and dense. It was the picturesque vision of any horror movie setting, horrific and nightmarish. It would certainly allow for your mind to conjure up the scariest of things to crawl from out of the forest, had you been creative enough for it. From the look in Renjun’s wide eyes, you can tell he felt the eeriness set in too. 

The uneasiness reflected in Jeno and Jaemin’s eyes, your camera crew for tonight. Haechan and Yuta were already setting up things in the cabins. Renjun gulped and led the way down the path,  Jeno and Jaemin stayed a couple of steps behind you two, jostling through the greenery with their equipment. 

“Are you afraid of anything?” Renjun trekked through the foliage skillfully, the bright flashlight guiding him, although there was a subtle shake to his grip.

“Yeah, dying alone. Thank God I have you.” It was meant as a joke, but the weight of your words rang heavy and poignant in contrast to the eerie silence of the night.

Renjun deliberated for a moment, before following it up with a quip of his own, “I'll feed you to the demons before you even get to me.”

“That’s to say there’s even demons.” 

“Our viewers think you’re a demon.” His eyes were playful, reeling you in and effectively turning you into mush.

“I can’t confirm nor deny that.” You squashed the butterflies easily, falling into step behind him. 

“Do you think we’ll catch some real footage of something?”

“What if we see Bigfoot?”

“Wrong episode,” Renjun smiled, “Do these woods spook you out? What's that noise?”

“Do you know what a cricket is? Speaking of Bigfoot,” You poked his side and he flew up, sending you a glare, “Remember last time? Dude, you were practically crying.”

“I thought we were gonna die,” He defended, “How was I supposed to know Johnny was in a Bigfoot costume ready to scare the shit out of us.”

“That was the whole point,” You said as you finally reached the small lake where the Ghost of Jieun was rumored to be seen. “Are you down for a late night swim?” 

Renjun focused his thermal camera on his surroundings, frowning as he caught sight of nothing out of the ordinary. “Should we try the spirit box? Maybe we can speak to her.”

“Chick was murdered by a man, she probably has some deep issues,” You said, plopping down on the wet grass that covered the lip of the lake. “She probably won’t want to speak to you. Or maybe she’s hiding in the cabins back there.”

Jeno and Jaemin propped up all the filming equipment and readied the camera to start filming. They signaled Renjun to get started and he immediately launched into ‘YouTuber Renjun’. 

“We’re here at the Evermore Woods of Neo City. As you can see, we have Green Water Lake right behind me and some of the cabins that remained from the old campground. People say the Ghost of Jieun likes to linger around this general area, near the dock.”

“Wasn’t she killed by her lover?” You bounced a small pebble into the water and watched it ripple.

“Yeah, he dated her. He actually said she was too beautiful to be murdered and she agreed and used that as her tactic to live for one more minute.”

“I--what?”

“Yeah she was basically like ‘Please don't kill me, I’m too sexy for this disrespect.”

“Do you think he was like hahaha don't die your so sexy...oops sorry my knife fell into you.”

“We really shouldn't be joking about this here,” Renjun bit his lip, glancing around nervously.

“That sounds like a freaking skit from American Horror Story 1984! How am I supposed to take it seriously?”

“Because we're probably standing within the general vicinity of the crime.”

“Oh, shit.” You turned towards the cabins. “Should we go inside?”

“You want to go first or should I?” He asked, brushing off bits of grass of his pants and helping you up off the ground. 

“The non-believer always goes first,” You smiled, pinching his cheek, “You, my dear, are last because you’ll most likely freak out and that will be great footage.”

“Please don’t summon anymore demons from the pits of hell.” Renjun begged, although you caught subtle lilt of amusement in his voice. 

“Can’t make any promises,” You took the spirit box and thermal camera from him. “It’s not like anything exciting ever happens anyway.”

“Be careful.” 

The words were simple but the way he said them, dripping with concern. You almost turned around to see his face, but you knew that if you didn’t stop walking towards the cabin, you’d kiss him then and there. Your feelings were growing and him being the sweet, caring person he was, wasn’t helping your case. 

“Honestly, Renjun, is probably pissing his pants right now.” You told the camera Jeno was pointed at you, he agreed silently with a grin. “He’s always terrified, but is like an eager puppy wanting to catch anything.”

“Y/N probably raised hell in there, but what's new.” Renjun called out, opening the door to one of the cabins. 

“I did no such thing...just told the ghost to screw itself for not singing Fergalicious to see if it's real or not.”

“Fergalicious wasn't even a thing back then.”

“Fergie withstands the fabric of time, it's all an illusion, Renjun.” You walked up to him and he made room for Jeno and you to enter. “Maybe something will come out if there’s more of us. It could want variety in its selection.”

The door closed behind you and all you could hear was the heavy breathing of everyone in the room. There was a freakish vibe to them, more so than when you were alone. Jeno swept the camera around the room, catching every cobweb and dust particle within view. Jaemin focused his camera on the Renjun and you waiting for some action.

“Okay, if there’s anyone--Jeiun or any other ghost can you say something to let us know you’re hear.” Renjun flipped the spirit box on and the room was flooded with static noise and the occasional gurgle of something possibly otherworldly.

“My name is Y/N and this my buddy Renjun,” You licked your lips, feeling the chill of the night creep up on you like a frosty hand. “For his sake, can you say something? Is it like in Ghost Whisper, that you have unfinished business and that’s why don’t cross over?”

“Ren…”

“Oh, fuck,” Renjun began to blubber.

“Y/N….” The voice was barely audible above the static, but still managed to erupt a trail of goosebumps down your arm. It clearly sounded like the voice of a girl. “Ren...jun…”

“Oh, hell no,” Renjun looked on the brink of a breakdown, he clambered towards the exit but Jeno blocked it. “Jeno, what the hell!”

“I...am...Jieun…”

A shrill noise pierced the ear and the static of the spirit box became muffled right after. Suddenly, Jeno began to move frenetically, casting the camera aside on a wooden table. His eyes were twitching and his arms waved in the air as if he were possessed.

“Jeno?” Jaemin’s voice was hoarse, he gently shook Jeno.

His eyes widened as Jeno glared down at him and then smacked him on the side, knocking him straight down. Jaemin whimpered from the brute force of his hit and recoiled as Jeno wailed violently and incoherently.

“J-Jeno?” Renjun grabbed your arm and shoved you behind his body, shielding you from any harm Jeno may cause. “Hey, man, if this is about you not getting to pick the location, we can work this out?”

Jaemin got up and quickly grabbed a hold of Jeno whose eyes were rolling back, his whole body contorting under the hold of Jaemin. Renjun pushed you back, slowly stumbling into the small closet in the corner of the room.

“I think he’s possessed!” Jaemin shouted, pinning Jeno down and waving you two off. “Take cover somewhere, I don’t think I can hold him down for much longer.”

Renjun hesitated, not believing his eyes. You pulled him back and ducked into the small closet, the only thing you could hear was the violent rustle of the wind outside and Jeno’s screeching. 

“I shit you not if this is one of your pranks Y/N--”

“It’s n-not,” You stuttered, your whole body quivering like a feather in the breeze. “I swear to God Renjun, I don’t know what’s going on.”

Jaemin’s screaming ceased, there was silence, then a loud, thumping. Jeno’s fists hit the door in frantic, solid beats shaking the door with each hit. 

“He loved me,” Jeno’s voice sounded distanted, higher pitched, “He said he loved me. He said I was beautiful, yet he killed me.”

“Jieun?” Renjun almost sounded sympathetic and you wanted to cry at how sweet he can be, but this wasn’t the time. “Is that you in Jeno? Look, I’m sorry for--”

“You’re not sorry!” Jeno’s thundering voice was full of anguish, “You mock me with your love!”

“What?” You cleared your throat, finding it hard to sound anything remotely human when all you wanted was to sob. 

“Your love for each other,” Jeno as Jieun said, “I thought I had that with him. I was wrong. All I want to see is the love I never got.”

“Is she on crack?” You blurted unthinkingly causing Renjun to silence you with a frantic glare. “I mean, oh yeah, we have a very deep friendly affection.”

“Love,” possessed Jeno corrected, “Tell each other you love each other. You never know what life might throw at you. Enjoy love while you can.”

“Is that a threat Ghost Lady?” You didn’t know what to think of possessed Jeno’s words.

“I’ll let you out only if you speak your heart’s desire.”

“Heart’s desire?” Renjun laughed perturbed by the ghost’s insinuation. “This is crazy.”

“Confess your heart’s desire or face the consequences!” Jeno began banging on the door again and it looked like if he slammed his fist one more time, it would crumble under his sheer strength.

“Renjun do something!”

“Okay, okay, stop Jieun,” Shaking like a leaf, he turned to you ignoring the persistent badgering and grumbling from possessed Jeno. “Y/N, if we don’t make it out of this alive I’m sorry I dragged you into this place.”

The lack of heartfelt confessions only angered Jeno even more. 

“Hey, Samara chill for a second, okay?” You looked at Renjun, taking his hand and squeezing it. “You don’t force me to go anywhere with you, truth is, I’d follow you to any stupid place you want to go. It doesn’t matter if I think it’s haunted or not, for work or not, I’d still follow you anywhere.”

“What?” His breath knotted in his threat and as your breath fanned across his cheeks, he could have sworn he’d be the next ghost to inhabit that cabin. You were too close and his poor heart can only take so much in one night.

“I don’t know if its the fact we’re about to die,” You wanted to be swallowed by some random hole in the ground or have creepy ghost Jeno drag you away. “Or the fact I can’t see you since it’s dark as shit in here. Or even the fact that I’m starting to think this is a nightmare and I’ll wake up in my desk with you hovering over me with fresh coffee and that cheesy smile of yours that I lo--”

“Y/N.” The way he spoke your name so softly and lovingly, made your temperature rise the cold of the dinky closet no longer affected you. 

“Oh, right, sorry,” You rushed through your words, wanting this all to be over, “Truth is I like you, Renjun. I’ve liked you for a long time and that’s why I didn’t need a lot of convincing to join your team.”

“Is that true?” Samara-Jeno asked. 

“Truer words have never been spoken.”

“I like you too, Y/N,” Renjun’s voice cracked and your heart swelled. “I’m not...I have no words to describe it. But I like you so much and I never had the courage to say it.”

You smiled, shrouded in the darkness he couldn’t see the pure happiness on your face. 

“I’ll leave this body now,” Samara-Jeno said, breaking the heart-eyes-through-the-dark spell you two were in. “You can rest easy, I’m gone…Hey, you guys what the hell happened?”

“Holy shit it worked!” The sheer exuberance of him confessing and you not being in danger had you squealing. “I didn’t think that would work!”

Renjun, however took this differently, “Yeah, you’re such a good actor. That confession...wow.”

“What?” You didn’t even have time to process the crushing sensation his words brought. “Oh, yeah, good one right?” You knew it was too good to be true.

“For God’s sake--”Jeno threw the door open and you clambered over to grip Renjun close to you.

Jaemin sighed exasperated as he readjusted the camera in his hands. You crawled out of the closet, disoriented and bewildered by everything going on. Haechan was handing Chenle money (“Told you they were dumb to see their love”) and bitterly glaring at you two. Yuta and Yeri looked like they wanted to bang their heads. 

“What the hell is this?” You shrieked as Renjun gaped at his coworkers. 

“This was a set up!” Jeno explained, outraged by the sheer dumbassery you two possessed. “You guys literally confessed to each other like we wanted! Then straight up made it sound like it was all acting...what the heck!”

“You guys are really something else,” Yuta shook his head. “Love is blind and makes you oblivious, but you two are just dumbassess.”

“Wait, so you like me?” Renjun’s eyes widened at your accusation.

“You like me too?” 

“Yeah, I actually wasn’t lying,” You felt sheepish at all the pairs of eyes glued on you. “I do like you, Renjun...enough to go ghost hunting even though I don’t believe in that.”

“I like you too,” He cupped your cheek in his hands, ignoring the camera Jaemin pointed right at you. “You’re my partner in crime and I kinda wanna have you around to hunt more ghosts.”

“That’s an offer I can’t resist,” You grinned, kissing him gently on the cheek. “However, you’re gonna have to buy me dinner after, all this ghost hunting makes me hungry.”

“Deal.” The same fondness in his eyes you thought you imagined before, returned and your eyes reflected that fondness. “Now, what the hell were you guys thinking this was a great location and we could have had awesome footage!”

You spent the rest of the night scouring the woods for ghosts, although you didn’t find any. Renjun and you, trailed behind everyone, hand and hand and beaming brighter than the moon above. 

“What do you think our viewers are gonna make our ship name be?”

“I hope it’s not something silly,” You gripped his fingers tightly, yanking him closer to you. “There’s something I’ve really been wanting to do, but doing it in front of everyone and in haunted cabin, just didn’t seem right.”

“Yeah, what’s that?” His fingers caressed your cheek, letting them trail down as he placed his hand on your arm. He marveled at the way you shivered under his touch. He was getting too cocky and needed to be stepped down a notch.

You pecked his lips quickly, the only witness to your kiss was the moon and stars. He soften under your touch, holding you tighter. You pulled away all too quick for his taste and laughed as you made your way towards the cars and the group.

“That’s what you get for being a tease!”

He smiled and followed you spraying holy water from his spray can at your retreating figure.

“You really are a demon!” He joked as he caught up to you and took your hand in his again.

“Another one to add to the list of completed missions,” You grinned shuffling into the van. “Up for another adventure?”

“With you, yes,” He would never stop making your heart flutter.

“I swear to God if you two are going to be this cheesy, I am going to regret setting this up in the first place.”

Yuta was only kidding, considering he was the biggest shipper. The next day at the office the video of you two confessing to each other was seen by everyone. For once, you were glad to have been terrorized by an alleged ghost. You watched as Renjun walked over to you, glowing, and a folder in his hand. Yeah, you’d definitely followed this dork through any “haunted” place or anywhere for that matter. 

Paranormal Neotivity masterlist 

[tomatetoro]

gold, jazz, pearls, penthouse, roses, and satin~

under the cut cause i typed so much lmao 

Gold: describe what you would call the most perfect meal.

i love seafoood and comfort food, a perfect meal would probably be an array of lots of things i love to eat: a bowl of freshly made steamed rice with soy sauce, some pieces of tuna and salmon sashimi, a bowl of paella, some lasagna on the side, some enchiladas on the sideeee, some extra cheesy mac n cheese, some imitation crab with lemon squeezed on it too for the Last Snackie. jsdsfgh and for my drink? of course it must be: the baja blast or thai iced tea  that is so much food but i could eat it all trust me 

Jazz: name a song that resonates with you and your emotions. explain the reason why.

I’m gonna say a non-Vocaloid song for this one, Hoshi Kira by Megumi Nakajima Ranka Lee . It’s a really touching song and the lyrics are so beautiful. It makes my eyes well up with tears honestly; the song is a love song but also bittersweet by how she’s singing how she wants to be reborn and meet again and again with her beloved and how her love is like the universe ever expanding. It’s just super sweet and beautiful and no matter how I explain it I could never convey the story and emotions I hear in her voice :’U 

Pearls: What’s something about your personality that surprises others?

this is kinda hard to know but I’m guessing how positive I can be? I don’t feel like I’m an optimistic person, but I’m definitely the type to say everything WILL be ok and things will unravel themselves out of the knots and what not. like yeah sure i know some things will suck and might be shit for a while but i just don’t see things as 100% awful always ig, i feel that’s kinda annoying for others too though. 

I also think probably my willingness to help. I always wanna lend an ear and I often times have to offer multiple times before a person realizes that I’m not joking hfhfhgh I get told a lot like “it’s fine i know it’s probably too much im sorry to make you listen to me” but im like no!!!! i want to know!!! i genuinely want to know and help and listen!! 

lastly, probably that im not as much of a baby as i seem to be even tho im like nya nya nya all day i do have normal thoughts heh

Penthouse: what would you consider your dream home? describe it.

oh gosh aaaa, i dont mind where i live as love as its comfy and safe. I’d wanna be near a city, maybe even a major city, but i dont wanna necessarily be living in the middle of new york city yknow what i mean. i want a nicely spaced backyard and front yard, enough to do little projects and stuff but not a super nice backyard. i would have lots of pretty plants and have lil bunnies and deer coming infgjhnm maybe like , that sorta dutch style with the cream base and brown trim wood planks (i cannot describe for my life lmao)? or mission style would be pretty too. i would like enough rooms and space for my stuff and to have extra goodies in the house :3 and i want to have lots of little things for Beans to be extra happy (omg omg those cat stairs that go across the walls lmao)! a gazebo outside with a flowy veil over it would be pretty ghgfh

Roses: If it had to be winter, autumn, spring or summer for the rest of your life, which would you choose?

maybe summer :0c i loveee warm weather and clear skies bc it feels like i can go out and actually do things. i wanna say spring because the aesthetic is soooo cute but in the spring i have classes and my allergies so 😔 i dont really mind any weather as long as its not too extreme or annoying with the same extreme weather all day every day i hate washington weather now like raining all day and night for weeks or white cloudy skies and cold windy? nope, thats some seasonal depression activator realness 💅

Satin: what is your most favorite article of clothing?

probably my ouji lolita button up shirt w vest pairing! i dont wear it much atm because of My Emotions , but i still really love it , lace trim on a shirt is so cuteeee :’U 

thank you for the asks mercies!! 💕 :3

[bridgetkat-blog]

Set Free

No one ever told me; at least, not explicitly. No one ever said the word to me. Anorexic. And I didn’t want them to. I didn’t want to be one of those girls. I wasn’t one of those girls. Somehow that word would have made me something that I wasn’t. Somehow, I thought that one word would have been a lie.

          14 years old. 600 calories per day. 87 pounds. A body mass index of 17.

          It started around my 14th birthday. I told my parents I didn’t want a cake. I don’t remember why. They got me a cake anyway – a small, round one, probably meant to serve about six people. I sat down with the cake in front of me and a fork in my hand, and before I knew it, half of it had disappeared. Guilt rushed into my gut. I sat there and stared at the half of the cake that remained, and the crumbs and smeared frosting that occupied the other half of the plate. For the first time in my life, I felt completely and truly fat.

          The next day, I desperately researched how to reverse a binging episode. Everything I read said the same thing: drink plenty of water, and keep a “clean” diet for the next couple of days. So that’s what I did, or at least, that’s what I thought I did; I’m sure you can imagine how much a 14-year-old knows about dieting. So I made my naïve attempt at “clean eating”— that is, until my self-restriction resulted in more binging. My life went on as a cycle of fasting and binging for a couple of weeks. After that, I had learned to keep myself from binging, but the problem had gone on too long. I had gained five pounds, which felt like twenty. I looked in the mirror at my protruding, bloated belly. I hated myself for letting it happen. I desperately wanted to take a knife to that disgustingly rounded belly and sculpt it flat again. I wanted all of it gone. So while the binging stopped, the fasting continued.

          I kept my calorie intake below 1400 on most days. But eventually, I got tired of counting my calories. I can probably just eyeball it, I told myself. The less I ate, the more successful I felt. I started refusing to eat at restaurants with my family. I survived on scrambled egg whites and steamed broccoli. I always ate prior to social events to avoid the horror of eating pizza or chocolate chip cookies; that is, if I could gain the courage to go at all. My thoughts were constantly dominated by food – what I had eaten, what I would eat later, what I wished I could eat. I would spend hours baking cupcakes and cookies, only to never eat a single bite of them.

          “Hey, will you taste this?” I would ask my little sister. “I wanna make sure you can’t taste the food coloring.”

          “Why don’t you just taste it?” she would ask me. I never quite knew how to respond to questions like that.

          In my neglect to consume food, food began to consume me – my strength, my happiness, my passion. I suffered a kind of exhaustion that no amount of sleep could cure. Whether the exhaustion was a consequence of my malnourishment or my yet-to-be-diagnosed depression, I’m not sure. Honestly, it was probably both.

          After several months, I read something about the dangers of “very low-calorie diets,” or “VLCDs.” I don’t remember how I came across it. Maybe I had googled something like “low-calorie foods” or “how to eat less;” maybe I had just happened upon the term in some magazine article. Like I said, I really don’t remember. Anyway, as I read about this “VLCD” thing, I rejected that I might have been on one of these diets myself, but a voice in my head knew that I was in denial. I went through everything I would eat in a typical day and added up all the calories. The final number I came to was horrifying. I didn’t mean to starve myself. I was only fourteen years old. I thought I was just eating “healthy.” I had no idea that my diet was just as detrimental to my health as a diet of toaster waffles, chicken nuggets, and late-night Taco Bell.

          I was terrified of what I might have done to my body. I came across several sources that suggested that I may have permanently damaged my bones and my metabolism. But I was also terrified of changing. I was still terrified of being fat. So which was worse?

          I was forced to see a nutritionist by my pediatrician. “Disordered eating.” That’s what the nutritionist called it. She said it was different than an eating disorder, but honestly, I call bullshit. It’s literally the same words, just flipped around. Who did she think she was fooling? Anyway, she essentially told me I needed to eat more. I just wanted everyone to stop telling me that.

          Early in my recovery process, I came down with a violent case of the stomach flu. At my next appointment with the nutritionist, I weighed in at 82 pounds – 5 pounds less than my previous visit. The nutritionist brought in some random pediatrician that I had never met before. The asshole scolded me for losing more weight, as if it was my fault I had to live on saltines and ginger ale for an entire week. As if he even knew me at all.

          I knew I needed to gain weight, but I couldn’t bear to imagine how I would look once I did. I looked skinny, and I wanted to keep looking skinny. I had never had a boyfriend, and I never would if I wasn’t skinny. People at school complimented my thin figure. “Oh my gosh, Bridget, how are you so skinny?” one classmate commented. But at the same time, my friends looked at me with puzzled faces when I refused a piece of pizza or a cupcake. But I gradually started to eat more and expand the list of foods I was willing to eat. Eventually, my diet evolved to include ice cream, pizza, peanut butter, Oreos – you know, the things that are worth the calories because they just taste so goddamn good.

          Now, about five years later, I weigh 110 pounds, putting me at a healthy BMI of 21.5. I still struggle with my body image at times, but I have learned to let go of my anxieties around food and not let them interfere with my daily life. I still try to watch what I eat, but with the intention of being healthy rather than skinny. I’ve learned that it’s okay – even healthy – to give in to my cravings every once in a while. I have returned to enjoying birthday cake, snacking on movie theater popcorn, savoring homemade burgers, and devouring campfire s’mores. Food no longer controls my life. I’m finally living again.

[noisyquokka]

Sniffles Under The Stars

pairing: Chan x reader

genre: fluff, sick au??, humor

length: 2.9k 

warnings: mild language, your heart exploding in your chest because Chan is a cuddly kangaroo!

Gist- In which you're an astronomy geek, and the Geminids Meteor shower is upon us... only one problem! You're in the midst of battling a cold, and whilst Chan's trying to be that good, caring best friend; you're trying to sneak out to watch the show with a thick blanket in place of a parka. One can only imagine Chan's reaction when he spots you out there. He knows he won't win the argument to get you back inside, so he does what any other panicking best friend would do; basically brings your bed to you!

a/n: (Ahem, hi yes! I did, in fact, come up with this story idea whilst spending a night outside watching the Geminids meteor shower. And yes, I was sick! (Well, actually I was almost over it but this isn't the point lol) And me being from New York, Decembers are almost always cold here. So I was out there in a hoodie and light sweatpants like an idiot. And the thought had occurred to me that Chan would probably be flipping at the sight of me. Outside. Watching a bunch of fucking rocks fall from the sky! Whilst combating a cold in a hoodie and light pants! So, here's that thought in a drabble! Enjoy.) Gosh, I’m sorry for my babbling 🤦‍♀️ someone tell me to shut up!

Prompt cred’s go to @bump-of-whump who has some great sick prompts, and got the cogs in my mind turning 😁 

"You should be in bed."

"Need a tissue, Snuffleupagus?"  

Sneezes raked your body for the fifth time in the past thirty minutes.

You'd been having these sneeze attacks all morning and into the afternoon, 3 boxes of tissues sitting on either side table for convenient nose blowing. Honestly, you thought you were getting better... then they started back up.

"Need a tissue, Snuffleupagus?"

You opened your eyes slightly to see Chan in the doorway, sympathetic smile on his face. You could barely smell the soup he just finished making with your congested sinuses. A groan left your sore throat, grimacing as you swallowed.

"You don't have to be here." You reminded him, reaching for the box of tissues. "I'm perfectly capable of treating my own cold!" He sat beside you on your bed, setting the bowl down on your nightstand.

"Y/n, we've talked about this!" He said, and you scoffed. Your parents were out of town on business, so you were home alone. Had it not been for your clumsy fingers tapping the answer button when Chan called, he wouldn't be here right now!

Yes, you appreciated Chan for taking the time to come by and take care of you in your ill state. But at the same time, you knew there were other things he could be doing while on break from promotions. Plus, you would feel like complete shit if he caught your cold.

You could feel another set of sneezes coming on, trying and failing miserably to fend them off. Gosh, why did it have to be sneezing? Chan sighed, handing you the box of tissues off the table.

"And here I thought I could help with your sore throat..." He trailed off, glancing at the bowl of soup before focusing on you again. He brought a hand up to your forehead, shaking his head. "You're still warm, I'm gonna go get the thermometer."

"Chan, I'm fine." You nasally mumbled. This had Chan quirking a brow your way. And really! How were you gonna fool this man into thinking you weren't dying from a typical cold? Why were you treating him as if he was oblivious?

"Yeah, and Changlix is real!" He said, rolling his eyes.

"How dare you... that's not even laugh worthy, you monster!"

He stood up from your bedside, sending you a smile before heading towards your bathroom. All while ignoring your protests that he go back to the dorms and properly enjoy his break. A sigh fell from your lips, the cover of your laptop catching your attention. You snatched it off your duvet, opening the top and typing in your passcode. Hey, if you're stuck in bed might as well spend it surfing the web! A few quick clicks to the news page and you were stopped in your scrolling tracks.

Looking For A Lightshow? The Geminids Peak Tonight!

That's right! The Geminids were tonight. And your fuzzy, cold-ridden mind forgot about it! Winter was the best time to stargaze - when you're healthy of course... and weather permitting. But the Geminids were among your favorite shower to watch. You couldn't possibly let this slip by over a measly cold!

"Alright!" Chan said, scaring the shit out of you in the process. "You definitely need to clean out your medicine cabinet." This was your chance.

"Chaaaannnn!" You smiled sweetly up at him, and he instantly knew your intentions.

"Nope. Whatever it is, it's a big no!" He said, holding the thermometer out to you. You frowned, sliding your laptop towards him.

"I just remembered they peak tonight. They're one of the best showers of the year... I haven't missed them once during clear peak nights, Chan." You told him, looking up at the brunette locks that sat tousled on his forehead. You watched as he read the article, his eyes trailing from the left to the right of the screen. And god, you should have seen yourself! You looked so damn hopeful. As if you'd just told the mall Santa what you wanted for Christmas and wondered if 'Santa' would approve. All hope disintegrated as Chan closed the tab on your web browser.

"You're battling a cold, y/n. I'm not allowing you to potentially make things worse for yourself." He said, handing you the thermometer. You took it from him, pressing the button before placing it under your tongue.

"I'll go make more tea, don't let me catch you out of bed!" He warned, grabbing the mug from the nightstand.

"Whut ipf I hapf tu gur tur teh baffrum?!"

"What??"

You rolled your eyes, taking the thermometer out of your mouth.

"I said, what if I have to go to the bathroom?"

The look of confusion left Chan's features, shrugging his shoulders.

"If you gotta go, you gotta go..." He said, walking out of the room. And you were quick to hop out of bed. Thermometer in hand, you crept to the bedroom window, slowly turning the lock as to not trigger mom!Chan just down the hall. The frosty chill of winter enveloped you as soon as you cracked the window. The sky above was crystal clear, perfect conditions for what was to come tonight. If not for the cool breeze nipping at your arms, you would've been standing there longer than you wanted to. You almost forgot how hot you were before, quickly snatching the cardigan off your desk chair. Your fingers would be cold for the next few minutes, but you didn't care. You were going to see that meteor shower! It was fairly simple. All you had to do was stick the thermometer in the sn-

"You've got to be kidding..."

Chan's voice startled you, your clumsy fingers almost dropping the thermometer out the window. You pulled the window closed before turning to your best friend, head down as he pointed to your bed. A silent command; the worst kind. Slowly you shuffled back to bed, slipping under the sheets with a pout evident on your lips. The cup of tea Chan made was placed on your nightstand, steam dancing above the top of the mug. He jutted a hand out before you.

"Thermometer!"

You handed it over, finally locking eyes with him before he headed for the bathroom. Yep, he was disappointed! You knew not just by the look on his face, but by the tone in his voice. The faint sound of the faucet trickling oddly calmed you, taking a sip from your mug. How were you gonna convince him?

"Now," Chan sighed as he made his way back over to you. "If we can stay in bed and you can properly take your temperature, I'll give you a cookie." You quirked a brow, taking the thermometer from him.

"I'm not a child. You can't bribe me with cookies!"

He took a seat on the edge of your bed, running a hand through his hair. God, you were so damn stubborn! You'd be lying if you said the thought of why Chan stuck by your side didn't cross your mind on a regular basis. Between being friends with you and being the leader of Stray Kids - ultimately a bunch of rowdy kids in men's bodies - to say he had his hands full was an understatement!

"Look, if you weren't in the middle of battling this cold then maybe I'd consider it." He said, resting a hand on your calf. It was your turn to sigh. You knew how much Chan cared for you, really you did. It brought on a warm and fuzzy feeling within your chest, which ultimately led to you feel guilty for the shit you put him through.

"I guess one year missed won't kill me." You admitted, a soft smile gracing your lips. He frowned, straightening up in his spot.

"You sure??"

You nodded, pressing the button on the thermometer once again. When you looked up at him, that warm and fuzzy feeling bubbled up in you again. His smile on full display with dimples to match... the highlight of your evening.

"Think you could reheat that soup? I'm feeling a bit hungry." You told him, pulling the blankets over your legs and placing your laptop on top. You stuck the thermometer under your tongue for the second time that night.

"Of course I can!" He said, taking the bowl from the nightstand. "Finish your tea, it'll help with the congestion and your sore throat." Then he was gone again. So was the thermometer. You placed it on your nightstand and picked up the mug, taking another sip of the now lukewarm drink. Your fingers typed away at the keyboard, going to Youtube to check your new subscriptions for the day.

Come on Y/N, you can do this.

You clicked on a recent upload, fixing your pillows behind you and settling in. Tonight was going to be a night of relaxing. In the warmth of your home. Under the blankets. You kept trying to remind yourself of this, your ring finger tracing the rim of the mug.

It's just a meteor shower! They occur every year!

At this point, you weren't even paying attention to the video on the screen. Who were you kidding?! The longer you sat there, the more you argued with your mind. Your eyes flicked over to the doorway every few seconds, even catching the time in the corner of your computer screen. 11:38 PM.

I can't do this!!!

The mug was back in its spot on your nightstand, tea unfinished. You didn't even pause the video, shutting your laptop and shoving it off your lap. Blankets were thrown to the side, and your bootie slippers were slid onto your feet. Now it was time for ninja mode!

You slipped out of your bedroom, quick but careful steps down the hallway. Yes, you were well aware that Chan could come walking around the corner at any moment. Yes, you were still going to try sneaking out. Chan's singing could be heard from the kitchen, the perfect distraction from the sound of your footsteps. As long as his back was turned...

A quick peek around the corner and you were creating a game-plan in your head. Crawl to the kitchen island, roll to cover behind the couch, there's a curtain right there... that's good camouflage, parkour over the recliner, sneak out the patio door. Ka-ching! We're home free.

Or as soon as you pathetically somersault behind the couch, Chan makes his way back to your room.

Well... that was easy. You snatched the thick fleece blanket from the back of the couch, enveloping yourself with it. Then as simple as letting the dog out, you opened the patio door and stepped outside, quietly latching it behind you. And wow... There it was!

While the earth below was blanketed in white, the sky above sparkled like diamonds. The moon had already risen and set, letting the constellations be the real show-stopper of the night. Orion hung proudly in the east, the distinctive belt guiding you to Gemini. You exhaled deeply, a content smile on your lips as you took it all in. Behold, your happy place! The entirety of space, looking down at you from above whilst you admired it from your tiny spot on Earth. Everything felt right... until the patio door opened.

"You should be in bed." Chan scolded, rushing up behind you. He pulled you into his chest, starting back towards the door only for you to pull back.

"Chan, I really can't stay inside when I know the sky is alive tonight!" You sounded like a poetic idiot! But it was true; the sky was awake! The stars were communicating from light years away and there was no way you could bear taking a raincheck for next year. Chan watched you carefully, all wrapped up in that large fleece, the bed head look you'd been rocking since he showed up early this morning. Your eyes sparkled as the stars above did, a childlike wonder settling over your features. And it hit him.

There was no winning this argument.

No matter what he would come up with tonight, nothing would keep you inside that house. Even handcuffs wouldn't prevent your escape. Chan was at a loss here. What could he possibly do to make this work? ... Idea!

You hadn't even noticed him race back into the house. It was common sense, really! If y/n won't come to bed, bring the bed to y/n! Hammock, blankets, pillows, and Chan. That was all that was needed for you to enjoy a night under the stars. He raced about the house collecting all the essentials. The hammock in the garage, the pillows he'd found in the hall closet, and a slew of blankets to stay warm for however many hours you planned on staying out there. When he finally came back outside, your attention swayed to him.

"What's all this?!" You asked, hint of a knowing smile on your lips. Chan set down the frame of the hammock, sighing in defeat.

"I'm compromising." He said, getting to work on your makeshift bed. Good thing, too! You were starting to feel the chill through the fleece. It didn't take Chan long to set everything up for the two of you though. Before you knew it, you were slipping under the mountain of blankets and cuddling a pillow as the show started above. You felt an arm pulling you closer, to which you pushed away. A quick glance at the brunette next to you and you instantly felt bad.

"I don't want you to catch my cold." You tried telling him. Chan furrowed a brow, pulling you into his side.

"Well, I'm not taking no for an answer." He murmured, intertwining his fingers with yours. You couldn't help the small smile that found its way onto your lips. The both of you laid there in comfortable silence, your head on Chan's chest, the pillow you'd been cuddling moments ago left behind you. Your eyes trailed across the sky watching for any meteors. You were the first to break the silence.

"Thanks..." You trailed off, taking a deep breath. "For all of this. Even though I know you were against it." Chan's gaze fell from the stars to your body against his. He grinned to himself, propping one hand behind his head.

"Hey, you know I can't take saying no to you more than 4 times a day." He joked. You chuckled, leaving a playful smack on his chest.

"You're too good to me. If I wouldn't have answered the phone today, you wouldn't even know I was sick. You wouldn't be here."

Gosh, now you were just being sappy!

"Wait, is that why my call almost went to voicemail!?" He asked, pulling the blankets over your shoulder. You chuckled lightly, shrugging awkwardly.

"I'm sorry! It's just... I didn't want to be bothering you on your break like this. You have so much on your shoulders with promotions, composing songs, being the leader of Stray Kids. And I put you through even more shit than what I'm worth. You deserve a proper break! This is just a burden!" You sighed in mild frustration. At this point, Chan was stargazing more than you were!

"Hey, slow down," He said, sitting up. When you didn't spare him a look, he cupped your chin. "You are not a burden! Alright? I'm here because I want to be. I take care of you, you take care of me, right?"

You bit the inside of your cheek, nodding slowly. Chan was right, but that didn't mean it made you feel better. You were taking him away from what could be a stress-free break, surrounded by his family and friends who he rarely saw anymore. Instead, he sat here with you under the stars because you were too damn stubborn to care more about your health! The guilty look on your face didn't go unnoticed by Chan, who wrapped his arms around you to sit you on his lap. His fingers laced with yours once again, brown eyes staring into your own.

"I know there are other things I could be doing right now. But, I honestly don't think anything could beat this!" You quirked a brow at him.

"What? Watching stars in the freezing cold with your sick best friend?"

"Pfft, no! Just being here with you." He said, pulling you into his chest. "Yes, you put me through a lot of crap! Yes, it can get annoying! Yes, you are one of the most stubborn people in my life! But I'd be stupid to let that all go. You make my life more interesting than I need it to be sometimes, the guys love you, and you have to put up with my stubborn ass, too." You chuckled into the fabric of his hoodie, craning your neck to look up at the one you called your best friend. Seeing how uncomfortable your position was, Chan leaned back with you on his chest, pressing a single kiss to your forehead.

"Thank you, Chan. I really needed to hear that." You murmured, your eyes catching a faint meteor dashing across the canvas of an inky black sky. There and gone in seconds.

Like the days that went by without you seeing Chan.

But the memories both of you cherished, stashed somewhere in the vast expanse of your minds, would never be lost.

Including the ones made tonight.

Gahh!! My first piece of writing on this blog 😓 How exciting and nerve-wracking haha. If you’ve come this far and enjoyed, like/reblog to let me know you want more 😊 

If you’d like to request a skz Valentine’s Day drabble, you can do so with these prompts! Don’t forget to specify which member unless you don’t mind. Thanks y’all!💛

[meteora-fc]

Wrote a little something about Dele, I've got hardly any followers and wanted this to reach as many people so here goes. I hope thats okay.

With a long sigh and heavy eyes you open the door which holds so much memories inside. People have been telling you it gets much easier than this, friends have been reassuring you that with time, your heart will beat and it will beat much stronger next time. But yet you haven’t felt any of the magic this so called time brings. You’ve cried yourself to sleep for what felt like eternity and you’ve looked for any remnants of news, pictures to show that he was struggling the same way. You felt horrible for feeling that way, for constantly wishing that it wasn’t just you who was struggling to move on, that it wasn’t just you who believed that the love you shared ran so deep that it would scare even the strongest of believers. So it was no surprise that as you slung yourself lazily onto the worn out grey couch that took way too much space in your already small living area, the first thing your thump did was the only thing it had mastered to do. Your bright lit phone illuminating the room sprung up many results under what had long become your favourite name. Your eyes scanned the images for any new ones of that dashing smile your soul craved for. You found one you haven’t seen, a picture of him in his training ground, grinning ear to ear as he nutmegged one of his team mates. You found yourself finally letting a breath out, as if you were anticipating seeing the worst and the fact that being in training was reassuring enough that he was keeping himself occupied. Gosh you wanted him to be happy, it was just sad it could never be with you. ‘Dele, the superstar everyone is talking about’, read the article you found next. It gave you so much pride to know that everyone was appreciating the incredible talent he is. The article provided no new details of his career that you weren’t aware of. Or so you thought until you stumbled on to the last paragraph, a paragraph which felt like you dropped into a gaping hole into despair. 'Dele now resides in London, sharing a comfortable 5 bedroom house with his supermodel girlfriend who, as he has been telling all his friends, is the one’.

The thumping beat of your heart was becoming more alive, more alert as you forced your mind to read along with your eyes.

Dele. Girlfriend. The one. And it wasn’t you.

For that minute you sat in silence hoping to any God that was listening to erase that memory, it couldn’t have been real, you only imagined it. Dele wouldn’t have moved on that quickly, would he?

And surely not with a supermodel, that’s the kind of footballers you would joke about into early hours with him in your small, dingy flat watching any comedy special you would find on Netflix.

Memories of your sweet time with your sweet boy was flooding you now, begging to be let in and share your mind to keep you company. You needed a distraction, you knew bringing up memories would lead you crying a river in your bed so you ran to the most appealing thing you kept in your house. The Alcohol. The burning sensation finally hit your throat as you left your kitchen to run yourself a bath. Your mind not synchronized with your legs as it went on auto pilot. Memories of your time together were no longer asking for permission to enter your mind, it was inviting itself in and making tea in your space. His smile, his heart, his confidence and his determination all being plastered in your head as if he had never left at all. As if the heart break had never occurred, as if the world you imagined, invested in did not disappear in the space of a few hours. As if the family growing inside of you was just that, inside of you.

As the warm bath enveloped you into a comforting hug, one memory would not leave your mind.

He was in the kitchen checking for the fifth time that there definitely was no spider in your kitchen. And reassuring you that yes he did just take it outside and not kill it, even though you both knew that he most definitely would have just thrown it in the bin.

'Babes, I promise you that there’s nothing in there’, he said one final time, appearing on the doorway to the living room with two mugs of hot steaming tea.

'Now how about we finish this last episode of friends and I’ll stay just to reassure you that no spiders will come on your bed’, he finished with a cheeky grin.

He slumped down to the sofas, swapping the tv remote for your cup. You gave him a leg squeeze as a thank you for bringing you tea.

'I’ll happily watch some friends with you’, you quipped back, scooting over to close the distance between each other.

'Ohh, I love this episode’, he remarked as he finally settled on what to watch and put the remote down and put his arm around you.

'I love the smell of you’, you stated as you snuggled deeper into your love. You looked up to him to see what he was doing only to meet his eyes smiling down at you, his grin wider than you’ve ever seen.

'You say that now’, he starts 'but would you feel the same way when I’m a pensioner, unable to wipe the dribble off my own mouth?’, he question with a cheeky grin and a raised eyebrow. You met him with the same raised eyebrow as you straightened up to reply but he wouldn’t let you answer and he continued talking,

'Or when I’ve just run out off the pitch after running for god knows how long and I open up for a hug’? he looked on, as if finally giving you the green light to reply.

You’ve sat cross legged now facing him, really enjoying this line of questioning. Of course both of you never took it seriously, but it always made you giddy when he asked things like this, talking about your future because there was nothing more you would like then to spend the rest of your life with him.

Your hands rested perfect on his chin, caressing his beautifully sculpted face.

'Well mister, believe it or not’, you began giving him the same smile his been gracing you with all evening,

'you have nothing to be scared about, I will just hold my nose and imagine the smell of you in this moment’. You stated, giving him a small peck on the lips to reassure him.

'Besides’, you continue, as you go back to the comfier position of under his arms, legs intertwined 'You’d probably be with a hot model, reminiscing about the glory days of football while she rolls her eyes by the time the drolling happens, so nothing to worry about babes’, you say, tapping his thigh.

'Would never happen, unless the hot model is you’ he quips back in the most serious tone so far this evening.

He stands up, makes a turn for the kitchen but stops before entering, and looks back to stare at you.

’ you know I would hate it that you think I would be like those footballers, who are only about the appearance and just want some arm candy to show off to their friends’ he starts, and by the glint of his eye, you know he’s ready to make a grand speech.

'We’ve been dating for over two years and not once have I ever even thought about what it would be like to be with someone else, despite the times girls attempt to try something. Girls jump at the prospect of being in my bed but I don’t bat an eyelash, you know why?’ He asked,

'it’s not because I’m scared of what you’ll do when you find out, but because just imaging you dropping ice cream on your two-day old shirt and still licking it off makes me more giddy and in love than any excitement of a good looking girl could ever do. you’re the one, I just know it so please drop this’.

He leaves his space near the kitchen and moves closer, ready to kiss you, 'I’m completely and devastatingly in love with you.’ He finishes before closing the gap and kissing you. Your lips melting into his as you connect.

The once hot and aromatic bath was now becoming stale and cold, finally reminding you of your reality. You quickly wrap yourself in a towel and sprinted into the bedroom to avoid your cold surroundings.

The bed you once shared ready to engulf you in your sleep.

Once your pyjamas are on, you put an alarm on your phone, reminding yourself of the early start you have for work in the morning.

You almost put it on top of your bed side, almost. But your brain has a much better Idea on how to keep you occupied. Your fingers find the number you’ve attempted to avoid all these weeks, the name that feels so familiar to you. You open up the empty WhatsApp chat between the two of you, almost as if there’s no history shared.

You begin drafting a message, a nasty message wishing him the absolute worst and hoping he’s injured for his next game. You shake your head while you clear out the message, you wonder what has got into you, you’re hardly ever this angry and when you are it’s always at how you’ve handled the situation and never at him alone. And you remember the drink you’ve taken before the shower, the new found confidence compelling you to type out a second draft that you know you’ll regret come morning.

So you finally bat an eyelash for one your fans huh?

Sent. No return.

Your heart beating fast at breaking the one rule that was holding you upright this time of heart break. No contact with him, one which your girlfriends have promised will help if you follow and you have been avoiding it, you have been so good for 5 weeks and six days. But the news broke you and you wanted him to know that you knew.

You drifted of to sleep praying that he had changed his number. Only if to safe face.

➡️ w o w this was emotional😣i really liked this, and you aren't helping me in my drive to not fall for Dele, but thank you !!

[gelasssoek]

Curry Gosh/curry Mutton. This is yet another delicacy mutton curry. Indian cuisine is very famous all over World and popular. The speciality of this lamb curry is the real taste of.

Watching your calorie consumption and in addition sticking to a balanced. This article is part of the series on. Mutton curry (also referred to as kosha mangsho, lamb curry, or goat curry) is a dish that is prepared from goat meat.

Hello everybody, I hope you're having an amazing day today. Today, I will show you a way to make a special dish, curry gosh/curry mutton. One of my favorites food recipes. For mine, I will make it a bit unique. This will be really delicious.

This is yet another delicacy mutton curry. Indian cuisine is very famous all over World and popular. The speciality of this lamb curry is the real taste of.

Curry Gosh/curry Mutton is one of the most well liked of recent trending meals in the world. It is appreciated by millions daily. It is easy, it is quick, it tastes delicious. They're fine and they look fantastic. Curry Gosh/curry Mutton is something that I have loved my entire life.

To begin with this particular recipe, we must prepare a few components. You can have curry gosh/curry mutton using 17 ingredients and 7 steps. Here is how you can achieve that.

The ingredients needed to make Curry Gosh/curry Mutton:

{Get 500 gm of mutton washed.

{Take 2 of onions sliced.

{Make ready 2 sprig of curry leaves.

{Prepare 1 teaspoon of ginger paste.

{Prepare 1 teaspoon of garlic paste.

{Prepare 2 tablespoons of khaskhas.

{Make ready 1/2 cup of roasted bengal gramdal.

{Make ready 2 tablespoons of sesame seeds.

{Prepare 7 of nos dried red chilies.

{Take 1 glass of coconut milk.

{Make ready 2 tablespoons of tamarind pulps soaked.

{Get 2 of bayleaf.

{Get 4 of Cloves.

{Prepare 7 of nos black pepper corn.

{Make ready to taste of salt.

{Get 3 tablespoons of cooking oil.

{Take 1 tablespoon of fresh chopped coriander leaves.

The curry is then seasoned well with some crispy curry leaves and Crackled mustard seeds. Southe means Mangalore cucumber in Konkani and Koddel refers to coconut curry. This recipe is made preferably in the monsoon season as it is very comforting to be eaten along with some steamed rice. Eid Special Mutton Curry Mutton Gravy Mutton Curry By Spice Eats.

Instructions to make Curry Gosh/curry Mutton:

Boiled mutton with salt, onion, ginger and garlic paste on 5 6 whistle..

Khas khas, cashew, peanuts, gram dal, sesame seeds, kashmiri Mirch, cloves, black pepper Grind these into fine powder and you can store it for month in refrigerator..

Heat oil in wok and crackle curry leaves and bay leaves..

Add grinded powder say about a big bowl and saute for 4-5mins till you get aroma. Add 1 glass coconut milk in that and add boiled meat and the boiled mutton stock also. let it cook for about 20 mins..

Add the tamarind pulp in between taste according let it boil fr some more 10 mins..

Garnish with coriander leaves and Serve with naan or roti..

Suggestion:- Add water according to the gravy you want but remember it should not be very thin gravy.

The Bengali Mutton Curry made with Goat meat is synonymous with Sundays and daytime naps. Made with potatoes and spiced with garam masala, this rich and spicy Mangshor Jhol is best enjoyed with rice. Make lovely Goan mutton curry at home just like those at the best restaurants! Best selling cookbook author Dan Toombs aka The Curry Guy shares his There's so much going on here. So much so, I'm wondering why it took me so long to type and post the recipe.

So that's going to wrap this up for this exceptional food curry gosh/curry mutton recipe. Thank you very much for your time. I am sure you will make this at home. There's gonna be more interesting food at home recipes coming up. Remember to save this page on your browser, and share it to your loved ones, friends and colleague. Thanks again for reading. Go on get cooking!

[painatheart]

method to my madness - two 02.

story page | before - next 

“Okay, let’s—Work stuff. That’s your desk,” he points behind him. Even if she knows that already, she nods like she doesn’t. She glances quickly over, and it’s obvious that his attention is fully back on his computer, focused and driven, like what he’s currently doing is the most important thing in the world.

“Thanks,” Cez walks over, begging herself not bump anything else. Not to interrupt Niall’s concentration. And momentary good graces. She doesn’t need another crash to remind her that Niall exists in some sort of different plane than her—a plane where perfection is reached, basically right next door, and boys with brown fluffy hair and pressed polos and genius brains can get away with breaking girls’ hearts. Specifically, hearts like hers.

“I’m not sure,” Niall used to say. He said this when he was bored or flustered or endlessly tired from fishing for answers. He said it as a go-to statement, when he didn’t want to be bothered. And if a statement could be used more than anything else in the world, he said this with an air of unfinished finality, a mess of a paradox—the same way someone would say, ‘I’m done, I’m confused, but I’m not changing anything about it.’ Because Niall wasn’t a person who’d go blind and pave the road for his heart. He was logical, a follower of his mind, and basically, so very unlike her.

 He would be determined, until he’d realize that it would be impossible. Cez would think it’d be impossible, which is why she’d be determined. In the a little way, Cez thought that they were her own little paradox, if placed together.

 Niall wouldn’t second-guess any of his decisions. It’s not who he is. Cez, on the other hand, would constantly seek for a second chance, even if her brain said otherwise.

 +

 The One Direction tutoring center resembles more of an art studio and a corporate office mixed together rather than what she had imagined it to be. Cez usually had bouts of imagination enough to fill a pack of elephants, ready enough to spin the cogs of Willy Wonka’s factory into a non-probable demise, but here... well, she shouldn’t have picked up an arm to think, because she’s not exactly sure if she’s pleased with the minimalistic theme the center’s got going on.

 When Louis forks over to an opposite direction from where Liam’s going, his head nodding at the male’s bathroom  plaque and a mumbled ‘see ya later,’ Cez has less than a second to wave an enthusiastic goodbye before she uses her short legs to run after her soon-to-be boss.

 Cez scurries at Liam’s pace, big strides that beckon the long hallway alike to the cramp walkway leading towards the bathroom back at home. Her thoughts wander at a funny monochrome statue of what must be a naked lady and her torso smelling her own shiny armpit, unfortunately Liam snaps his finger to tell her to quicken up her pace before she can dare snapchat it to Alice. “Ever heard of Holden?” He says nonchalantly, bringing up his finger to sweep it against a crook of one wall. He inspects his finger, and is pleased to see it dirt-free.

 “Of course,” She perks up, happy to answer. “It’s the preppy boarding school that kids with famous parents go to. The Guardian had an article on it.”

 He continues, amused. “Glad you know. Well, we have a partnership with Holden and we have tutoring lessons there on Saturdays. It’s a wonderful school to tutor for, don’t be afraid of what Louis curses off about that school.”

 “Why?”

 “Because Louis will definitely restrain you from going, he hates it there. And he says it smells too garlicky for him, messes up his stomach. But he still goes there every Saturday anyway.”

 “He gets paid though, right? I think it’ll be fun. Children and a posh school, how bad can it be?”

 “Right. Keep up that enthusiasm. I don’t know what Louis’ got going with Holden. He hates it there, but he’s got his own crazy kid cult that he can’t help but coddle, so yes, it’s not bad at all.” Liam leans against the door handle. “So here’s where you’ll be working.”

 With a single pump, her vision alertly takes in the busy querying and bustling footsteps marking up and down the floor. First of the few tables Cez’s eyes have looked at are uncontainable and messy, with ball-point pens in metal holders, stacks of a4 paper, and manned by busy young adults that either have their back hunched over a clipboard, or their respective Mac screens. A mid-twenty looking guy in velvet jeans has his own screen blaring a Stranger Things episode, but he frantically switches it over to an Excel sheet once he catches the sight of Liam.

 Even if the fluorescents above them are making her eyes water, it obviously doesn’t matter because this place really looks promising despite the lighting flaw. Not like any sort of sham she expected she’ll be getting into, thankfully. God has finally blessed her with a job that had an office she actually likes, as shallow as it sounds. Getting a job through a should-be date is surely the worst way to acquire one, but to her it doesn’t matter as long as she’s no longer unemployed.

 Hmm… It’s a bit of a horror story she’ll be telling her mom, for sure, once she gets home for Christmas.

 “’Scuse me, miss,” she ducks down, cheeks flushing, as a cute guy in sleeves shoot a Trident-bright smile at her, the printer on his arm looking like it weighed as heavy as a teacup Chihuahua.

 As she stands up properly, her skin bristles at all the opportunities of starting fresh. Here, she imagines as she wades through her potential new co-workers and maybe-friends, she can be anyone. She can be someone exciting. No more nerdy Francesca, or boring Francesca. The possibilities are endless.

 +

             “Here we are,” announces Liam, “Let’s get to the science department,” half-way blinking rapidly and half-way wearily smiling. Sometime between stepping into this certain hallway Liam’s shoulders has constricted, looping his white jacket around his stressed shoulders like a squished dollop of whip-cream. She’s only about to question him when they curve around the corner and she’s hugged by a cloud of coffee-shop aroma and unfortunately, assaulted by a spray of goosebumps and a raised heartbeat.

 Oh no, oh no. Don’t tell me... Her eyes do not betray her. Well, the glasses are new. The black slim full rim frames are perched perfectly on his nose, like a sleeping crow on a tree branch; while his head is bowed down, eyes skipping past pages of printed paper, her blood boils as his stubbly chin is on full-view, and she simply stands there—excited, afraid, and unable to move.

             “Francesca?” Liam questions, skimming the calendar on his phone, politely unaware, yet oddly irregularly different from his usual composure when she first met him.

             “Cez,” she answers instinctively, and hell no, it’s exactly like in movies and everything is going in slow-motion. Niall snappishly cocks up his head at the sound of her voice, blue eyes flicking over in her proximity. It’s both climactic and anti-climactic at the exact same time, which she supposes it definitely should be, if you would ever meet your childhood crush again in your young twenties. Composed yet mildly freaked out—because she’s an adult and she must be mature.

             After a few painstaking seconds, it’s Niall who hesitantly greets her. “Cez… it’s great to see ya?” However, it’s ironic that his face says anything but. His fingers brush up against the edges of his brown hair, bewildered. There’s something about the way he says Cez that pushes up blood up to her ears. It’s a mixture of painful embarrassment and pure torture, considering what happened the last time she was face-to-face with him... A lodge of nerves are coming to block her voice box, and she literally wants to whisk herself away from this abrupt mess.

             And here goes another part of her body’s constant flush, she can feel the blood peeping up her neck. “Uh—“ She squeaks, “Uh, what’s up, Niall? Long time no chat, yeah?” Oh. My. Gosh.

             She can’t believe after years and years of no contact, this is where they meet again. In a tutoring center, for goodness’ sake!

             His surprise lasts for a brief moment, but like a bird indeed, Niall flattens his ruffled feathers and stands up quickly to shake her hand, as if no time has passed at all. She finds herself gripping back with intent, stupidly marveling how the once bottled-blond boy with the penchant for science textbooks and math equations suddenly decided to grow and broaden up in her absence. Staring down at her, his straight face—clean eyes and unsmiling lips—doesn’t waver. It reminds her of spelling bees and science Olympiads, them being partnered together. All the time. “The replacement for Kim, yeah?”

             Sensing his address, Liam looks up with an abnormally straight face of his own. “Yeah, show her the ropes tomorrow, okay Horan?” Liam faces her right after, now with a smile. “After all, the kids don’t teach themselves.”

             They go off to, ostensibly, Liam’s office. The temptation to turn around makes her neck itch, it’s like her brain is telling her to take another glimpse to make sure if it really was Niall James Horan, and not just a figment of her highly active imagination. Her desperation seeps through her pores, an ache lodged in her throat hoping that she can study him—study every part of him, frantic to see what changes he had encountered over the years of her absence. Turn around, Cez.

 But she doesn’t. She thinks she can feel the heat on the back of her neck, but that must be her brain playing tricks on her self-esteem.

             When Cez enters after Liam in his clean (how surprising!) office, she blinks when Liam lets out a steam of relief. Patting his chest, as if he’s rewarding himself for a blip of triumph, his face floods with content. “Phew, thank god you survived that. Scares the shit outta me, that Horan. Taking bets, he’s the one who made Kim go AWOL.”

             “You’re scared of Niall?” She says, disbelief mauling her features. The tone layered over Liam’s voice immediately takes her skin in annoyance, because Niall’s as harmless as a goldfish. A brunet goldfish, with a brain that can make Einstein snatched from his wig.

             “Ah.” Liam rolls his eyes and checks his watch, looking like he can sense her defensive stance about Niall, “You know the weirdo?”

             Cez coughs, “…He was my—“

             “Don’t say boyfriend.”

             “He’s not!” Although, Cez wanted him to be. “He’s just someone I’ve gone to school with in the past. He’s a go--” What kind of friend was he, anyway? “…He’s a friend.”

             Liam says, “Of course, you got the same school in your records. I’ve checked, didn’t I tell you? Just didn’t think that you would really know, know each other.”

             “Funny,” she sneers.

             Liam ignores her. Instead, he runs to his table with a hundred-watt grin. “This is even better. Since you know each other you’ll definitely get along better than Kim and Niall did. I hope you don’t run off because I’m always in need of staff.” He finishes it off with fire under his eyes, although she doesn’t bother to question him about that further.

             “Um, I don’t think—“

             Liam flips through papers, jotting something down. “Okay, now just sign this and you’ll be off to work starting tomorrow. Do you have any questions that I need to address? Have any problems with the department you’ll be working in or anything else aside from that?” His words run together too quickly and she only finds herself looking into Liam’s eager smile until she realizes that she’s got to respond or else she’ll look like a gob smacked blob.  

             Cez steps closer to investigate the paper he’s got out for her, her fingers curling around Liam’s black Muji pen. In big black print, her name listed her under the science department, under the capitalized NIALL HORAN as her new ‘head,’ basically her new boss who she’s got to follow the whole time for the next duration of her future in this tutoring center. Is she really going to follow through with this? Technically, she had already been hired by Liam but the only thing that it isn’t official is that she’ll work in the science department with her childhood crush.

             But her hand speaks for itself, pretty sure of what Cez truly wants. Without further ado, she marks her signature on it with a single flourish over her printed name, officially listing her under the Science department in One Direction tutoring center, complete with a panicky heart and a black 0.5 Muji-penned type of finality.

 +

             Someone in orange Crocs runs in the girl’s bathroom with a flurry ready to pull out the thunder from her under, and Cez immediately pushes up her feet against the wooden stall, hiding her shoe profile, until she hears another door closes and clicks to a lock. Sighing, she puts more weight against her own toilet seat, and glances down on her cracked phone screen.

             It’s 7 o’clock. Technically, she’s a bit too early for her first day at work, but the chances of meeting Niall in the girl’s bathroom is clearly none, and she’s willing to grab it at her reach while she still can. Goodness, signing that contract yesterday didn’t really shake her into seriousness about working with Niall. It was only the next morning when she had already taken the early train to work, got a bagel along the way, and actually stepped in the elevator leading up to her floor, was when she realized that she was going to see Niall again.

             Another part of her wants to slap herself silly, thinking how moronic it is that a boy is obliviously rattling her to the core right now. That, in actuality, a boy was and now, is, the hindrance to unlocking her future potential, whatever it’s going to be. Literally, the idea of Niall is the current dilemma that’s stopping her from acting like her cool, casual self (who was she kidding? She was never cool and casual.) It’s stopping her from perusing her plan (the one where she wanted to be someone new in this fresh, unfamiliar start that she was supposed to be in), and she can’t possibly do that now—not when someone from her past has floated up abruptly back in her life.

             Simply put, Cez is scared to see Niall. She has a million reasons to be scared.

             Can’t she please just get locked in this stall forever? She closes her eyes for God’s intervention, praying He’s got an answer to her gigantic first-world problem.

             “Excuse me?” A knock and an irritated voice coming against her door interrupts her hopeless monologue. “Er, are you done? I need to use the toilet and you’ve been in there for, like, twenty minutes.” It isn’t God, but rather one of His annoying creations.

             Cez leaps out of there with her jacket and her purse, leaving the toilet seat down, letting the girl pass, and immediately she scans herself on the mirror for embarrassing cream cheese stains; but, the voice comes up again, “Um, ew. Aren’t you going to flush?” Beckons the same girl, her grimace saying that she’s not going in unless Cez does something.

             “What?” Cez stares blankly.

             “Like, you didn’t flush. That’s disgusting and unhygienic,” her kohl-lined eyes narrow and seizes her up. “I’ve never seen you in my life. Who are you anyway? I’m reporting you to the Health Crisis center ASAP.” She snaps her fingers for emphasis.

             There’s a pregnant pause. She isn’t sure if she is to answer the first statement or the next question, but she proceeds to the latter instead, thinking that it’s better to introduce herself first before making a first impression that she’s a notorious non-handwasher.

             “I’m Cez, and don’t worry, I didn’t take a dump if that’s what you’re thinking, I swear. It’s a long story but I’m actually—“ The girl brings a hand up to stop her. And she bursts out laughing a second later. “I’m sorry,” she tells Cez’s startled eyebrows. “I honestly don’t give a shit, Bambi, I was just taking the piss out of you. Consider it as a rite of passage, don’t worry ‘bout it.”

             “Um.”

             “Perrie Edwards, at your service.” The blonde smiles like she’s in an insurance commercial. Though, Cez doesn’t deny that there’s a sort of underlying mischief in it.  

 “English department. Saw you walking down the square yesterday. Me and Jesy sweared it was a new hire Liam roped in again. And here am I again, correct! Liam’s the most predictable prat, evah,” there’s a second where she takes another breath in, and subsequently, she starts again. “Oh, if you’re wondering, the square is where most of the desks are for the English and Maths tutors. Either way, people from the rest of the departments hang out there because it’s closer to the pantry, which by the way, is tiny as hell.” Her continuous talking spins her head crazier than Liam did.

             Clearing her throat, Cez thinks that she’s probably the only reserved one in this center. “This place seemed more of a real-time office than what I imagined a tutoring center would be. It’s honestly kind of crazy. Where do we even teach the children? And why is everyone here so hectic?”

             “It’s not just a tutoring center, we’re also an educational publishing house and we release updated review books every year. The third floor is reserved for the one-on-one handling. We have five rooms for tutoring over there. The fourth floor, on the other hand, has got the three classrooms for general review sessions. Most of our kids come from fancy schmancy public and private schools, with parents willing to dump us in cash to take them in for five hours a day like fucking daycare.” Perrie cackles at the thought of that. She narrows her eyes for the second time when she turns to look at the mirror to examine her dyed side part. “What did you say your department was again?”

             Cez places her hands together into prayer formation, “I didn’t. I’m under the Science department. Ya know, Niall—“

             “Horan, he’s the Science head,” Perrie slowly nods. And Perrie pivots her thigh to the side to cock her head out like a parrot at the mirror (either to check out the back of her hair or if the seams of her pants are straight—Cez isn’t sure), “You know, we only had three people under him for the past year, and let me tell you things that gone over there were as messy as a Jackson Pollock artwork. You didn’t hear this from me but I heard that Kim, she was here until she scrammed, couldn’t take the guy. He was a nightmare, as so she said—It was alright, I guess, I wasn’t too keen on Kim, either. A dark horse, that one.”

             Honestly, that only makes her skin prickle faster than she can say ‘go.’ Cez already had a feeling that Liam and Louis didn’t like Niall. It had been apparent in the elevator yesterday, and Liam’s reaction soon after they had encountered him both absurd and fascinated her. While it was interesting to accumulate these brand new descriptions of the New Niall in her brain, she nevertheless knew that all these reactions and words sting her powerfully as if they had been talking about her. In her mind, Cez still thought of Niall as a childhood friend—a part of her past that was also an extension of her arm. It doesn’t seem fair that she’s taking things personally, but come on! She’s nursed a crush on that boy for multiple years. She definitely will take things personal.

             ...Despite that fact that she’s currently tactfully avoiding his presence as much as possible. Like, for example, now.

             In the midst of her thinking, Perrie had apparently still been talking, “...But not like we know, too, I mean, we stay away from him as much as possible.”

             “Eh, I’ll just have my own judgement when I meet him,” Cez only realizes she had said this a few seconds too late. “Who knows, maybe he’s secretly a fluffy teddy bear?” She tries for upbeat, but it rings fake and dry a bit too much across the tile floors.

             “Doubt it,” Perrie says, unaware of her tone. “He’s probably a secret raging serial killer who preys on midget Asian girls. How tall are you anyway? I can practically eat you in one bite!”

 +

             He wasn’t there! Is her first thought when she arrives at her marked desk—marked, speaking, with a taped paper slip with her name and smiley face on it. Her chair sits in front of her desk, which thankfully, has its back towards Niall’s respective desk.

 This will enable her to work with their backs facing each other. No way is she going to spend her hours glancing up her screen to have accidental locking eyes with said man. Granted, Niall is a sight for sore eyes but she isn’t willing to sacrifice her blush-able cheeks, that is doomed to be the bane of her existence, just to catch a quick glance of him. She isn’t that desperate.

             “Cez,” behind her, his voice startles her so much that she knocks right into her desk. They both watch (her—wide-eyed and mentally groaning, and him—probably sneering over her existence) as an empty red pen holder clatters after it crashes like Humpty Dumpty (without the cracks).

 If it had a life, she’d be on her knees now to hug its’ soreness away. Just so she can get away from interacting with Niall, even for a few minutes. But the pen holder’s a pen holder. And she can only pick it up and lay it back on her empty desk (it lasted for two seconds) before glancing up again at the man with the calculating blue eyes.

             “Sorry. The pen holder. It fell.” She says bluntly, shrugging her shoulders like ‘what can she do?’ “Uh, hi there.”

             “You’re still quite clumsy.” Niall states after a millisecond of eyeing her cautiously. “Unfortunately.”

             “Yeah,” she laughs awkwardly. “Uh, I guess so.” Did he really just say unfortunately? How rude.

             A tiny pause appears. There are two ways to take hold of this situation; first, she can steer this simple conversation into a boring path, all about work and strictly professional things; or second, she can totally screw it up by talking about the last time she’s seen him...

             Or you know, she can talk about neither.

 “I forgot you were starting today.” He says curtly through slim glasses, beating her. His voice, however, tells her he obviously didn’t forget. Judging by the slight frown on his face (a familiar sight that kind of hugs her as a welcome), he most probably couldn’t.

 Standing there awkwardly, Cez is suddenly microscopically aware of the chipped nail she accidentally broken today when she was hurrying to catch an early train. After all her time in picking a respectable outfit the night before, the broken nail seems to defeat the purpose.

 She’s distinctly aware of the floating ‘um’ in the air, especially due to the lack of noise within the big room and that only two of them are seemingly early today. Cez recalls the Perrie girl mentioning two other workers in the Science department, besides the non-existent Kim, who are supposedly under Niall, too; however her sight catches none of their presence right now.

             “Uh, so, weird huh, how we meet again in a tutoring center?” She starts off lamely.

             Niall gives her a frosty look. “Not really. It’s not the most suitable job for my credentials, but for a starter job I guess it’s fine for a while. For you, I believe, this job is better than nothing.”

             “Excuse you,” she’s surprised at herself when she squawks, “But it was my personal choice to work in this tutoring center! I didn’t get in here because I didn’t have anywhere else to go.” She doesn’t add that she got interviewed through a faux date, but it’s not like anyone, most importantly Niall, has to know the details, right?

             “Really?” He arches an eyebrow, looking at her intently. When she nods vigorously, Niall slightly frowns, as though he’s trying to read her. “Is it just me or were you always this small?”

             The change of topic catches her off guard. “I grew,” she fibs lamely.

 He eyes her once, obviously not believing her, before he counters, “I don’t think so. Your hair is different, though. It’s all wavy and long now.” Niall joins her in noise, stretching his hands and getting in his seat.

             It’s the first thing New Niall has mentioned anything about her new appearance, so she’s a bit surprised initially. He’s never really one for descriptions, always saying that whatever occurs in between the lines didn’t matter; for example, the appearance of a character. As long as Katniss was able to overthrow the Capitol, it didn’t matter than she was hot.

             “Says the man who grew his real color out,” she pauses when he just stares, curious. He’s actually waiting of what she’s got to say. “Er—It looks good on you, in fairness. It’s nice, uh, with,” Cez’s eyes catches one of those hipster Moose heads propped against one of the walls in the Square, “With the nature-y feel of this place.”

             He blinks. Even Cez is unsure of what she just said.

             “Thanks very much,” he says unsurely. But she can sense the cogs of his brain working and summing up the fact what she just said equated very much to his supposed answer=what the fuck? “I guess it would be a shame if my natural color didn’t fit me.” And Niall halts from getting different papers from his drawer and he flips around. His fingers curl around the neck of his hair.

 “Okay, let’s—Work stuff. That’s your desk,” he points behind him. Even if she knows that already, she nods like she doesn’t. She glances quickly over, and it’s obvious that his attention is fully back on his computer, focused and driven, like what he’s currently doing is the most important thing in the world.

 “Thanks,” Cez walks over, begging herself not bump anything else. Not to interrupt Niall’s concentration. And momentary good graces. She doesn’t need another crash to remind her that Niall exists in some sort of different plane than her—a plane where perfection is reached, basically right next door, and boys with brown fluffy hair and pressed polos and genius brains can get away with breaking girls’ hearts. Specifically, hearts like hers.

 A printer sits in between their desks, each of its sides has wires plugged into it from both of their respective computers. It suddenly gives a mechanical groan, startling her.

             “Right, work stuff.” But Cez realizes that she’s not exactly sure what her ‘work stuff’ should be. She tells Niall, and he looks like displeased to see her interrupt his work, annoying her a bit. All the more she gets flustered because it’s not her fault that her own boss hadn’t told her what to do in the first place.

             Subsequently, he shows her how to connect the Bluetooth printer to her designated computer, how to work several programs designed for the center’s use, and sort out old questionnaires from the new ones. Kim, apparently, has left her work in a state of disarray, and Niall hadn’t got the time to fix it himself. Following his instructions, he uses the mouse to bring up Keynote and he tells her calmly that he needs slides centered on Cell Anatomy, Chemical Bases, and Animal Forms & Functions ready by Wednesday morning, which is tomorrow. At least 30 slides, each.

             Her eyebrows furrow but she resists from asking too much questions.

             “I teach a review session in the afternoon,” Niall explains, distractedly. He must have seen her curious face over the sudden workload. He had removed himself from standing over Cez’s desk to return at his own desk, showcasing that his attention over teaching the newbie has soon come to an end.

             “So,” she says, setting down her bag, processing what he just said, and distracting herself from the remnants of his coffee smell that flew over to her nose when he was showing her where the illegal download file for Campbell’s 10th edition was. “I’m basically your assistant. Just making it clear.”

             “Yes.” Niall says bluntly as she sits on the edge of her chair.

             “Sorry, it’s just that, when Liam was telling me about this job I thought I was going to teach and hang out with kids. Not, you know, be a tutor’s assistant or somethin’.”

             “Who said assisting me was the only thing you’ll be doing? You’ll be helping out Shawn and Julia, two of my tutors. Gotta keep an eye on you, Kim could have left her magical spell to curse you in leaving.” She opens her mouth, but he shockingly smirks. “You’re still the grunt round here, I guess, until I reckon if you’re adequate enough for bigger jobs.”

leave a review! :D

[pinayillustrada]

About the Most Recent Aksys Otome Game Localizations and Other Otoge-Related Things...

More than a year ago, I wrote a post about some of my predictions and some suggestions of what Aksys can localize. Among those on the list included, Collar x Malice, Bad Apple Wars and Psychedelica of the Black Butterfly. When I wrote that, only expected to get one (or two if I’m lucky) of them right, and I never imagined that there would be this many localizations in so little time.

Also, so many things have happened: from Mystic Messenger becoming as popular as it is, THAT terrible Taisho Alice localization and ensuing boycott, and all the new otome game localizations cropping up from many other companies.

Those made me realize a few things:

1. Aksys does read our blog posts, and if you actually read that post, thank you so much (if not’s that’s okay too)! And it’s moments like this where individuals such as myself within participatory cultures feel special.

2. All of the titles are still mostly Otomate and they’re mostly the newer titles. I wonder if this is a copyright thing, or simply because newer titles also have reviews from people who played them in Japanese.

3. Most of otome game localizations by Aksys, apart from being otome games are marketable to other audiences (ie. Collar x Malice is also a mystery/thriller game) or reminiscent of other otaku related IPs (ie. Period: Cube may be reminiscent of Sword Art Online at least on paper).

4. While there are definitely some problems with those games’ gender representation wise, Ichika and the otome game heroines that Aksys brought to us are comparatively more progressive than the usually passive self-insert otome game heroine. Also, after finishing all the routes of Ichika, it will be super hard to return to playing Chizuru for that paper I’m writing about Hakuoki.

5. The titles that sell well domestically may be not as well received by global audiences (ie. Norn 9) in comparison, and this may be with the lack of the anime media mix infrastructure to support it.

6. Anime does help introduce games to global audiences, but with aggregations of fans gathering together, it is not the only way to introduce games to global audiences. Fan reviews, after all, one way that fan and player communities take control of their own consumption, and consumption is not a passive activity as many media critics think. I think about Code: Realize, and how much love it got even without an anime yet. Of course, I will definitely watch the anime when it comes out.

7. Fan and player communities tend to substitute with the lack of a media mix environment and infrastructure. Not all of us may be able to buy Dengeki Girl’s Style every month, but we do have Twitter, Tumblr and all our blogs within the #OtomeArmada. Thus the structure becomes more bottom-up than top-down, allowing for fan resistance to happen (remember those months with THAT Taisho Alice localization?).

8. From April to June, Dengeki Girl’s Style released a multi-issue article on the history of otome games in Japan from Angelique to the present. Most of these narratives are interviews with companies and subsidiaries such as Ruby Party, Otomate and HoneyBee. This month, I think there will be an article on adult otome games, in this month’s Sweet Princess. Companies assembling their own narratives in writing this history. While those stories are important, creating a history without fan perspectives may be sorely lacking. After all, without fan communities in the 90s, Angelique will not be what it is right now. So in this way, it is important for fans to also tell their own stories of the games that they love, and their stories too tell bits and prices of games’ histories.

9. While there is definitely a North American focus when it comes to marketing otome game global releases, a significant number of players do come from Europe, South East Asia, Australia and many other parts of the world.

10. I really need to look into the history of #OtomeArmada as a hashtag. I know it is being used for a while (heck, I use it too!), but I am curious about a number of things about it: who created the hastag? Who used it first? It’s so easy to use tools to look at current data, such as who use it the most these days, but it is a bit tricky to find histories on Twitter. Also, I need to get those Dengeki articles translated.

11. The ways in which we define and characterize otome games may vary depending on what games we play, how we are introduced to them, new games being created outside Japan, the ways in which search terms operate on Steam, etc.

12. Apart from Steam and the Vita, the mobile market can be another venue for some games to get localized, but this may come at the cost of voices, and other features as it the case with NTT Solmare’s localization of Princess Arthur. But hey, it’s playable. Here’s hope that they don’t cut out too much of the voices in the new Uta No Prince Sama Shining Live game.

13. I’ve mostly kept my distance from this blog for a while. Yes, I was busy but it is because a part of me thought that I needed to keep my distance from this to maintain some objectivity on my study. I now realize that not being that objective is not too much of a bad thing, because all scholars are affected by their own positions to begin with. Yes, I love this community, and am part of it, and maybe being part of it actually helps be see things that someone unfamiliar with otome games.

14. I really need to stop travelling, finish my thesis and do more interviews.

So there’s that. Gosh, that was a lot.

[dashlung62-blog]

Easy Meal Planning Tips to Use Your CSA Share

This post is from KS contributing writer Becca Stallings of The Earthling’s Handbook, with photography assistance from her son Nicholas Efran, age 13.

Two years ago, I wrote up a handy 5-step plan for using all the vegetables you receive in a weekly crate from a Community-Sponsored Agriculture farm. That article tells you all about how a CSA works on a subscription plan to bring you several pounds of organic, locally-grown produce every week. Here’s a tool for finding a CSA in your area.

My family has bought a share in Kretschmann Farm near Pittsburgh every summer since 2001. It’s fascinating to see how each vegetable appears and disappears throughout the season, from early June through mid-November. The pattern is sort of predictable, yet every year is unique.

That’s why Katie asked me to write another “how to use a week of CSA veggies” detailing my experience in the last week of July but in a different year. As you’ll see, the veggies we got this year were somewhat different than two years ago at the same time. We used the same 5 steps of veggie stewardship, and out popped some very different meals! On the other hand, the green beans found themselves in exactly the same meal as two years ago!

Not just for CSA subscribers, this strategy works anytime you have a lot of fresh produce: from your garden, from the garden of someone who likes sharing, from spotting a lot of great deals in the store or farmer’s market, from foraging, from your friend who just couldn’t resist buying a case of beautiful eggplants, etc.

Quick Review: 5 Steps for Evaluating Your Veggies

When you pick up that pile of produce, ask yourself these 5 questions:

What to swap or give away?

What needs to be eaten in the next two days?

What can wait until later?

What needs to be preserved?

What’s the plan?

Answer the first 4, and then use your answers to develop your plan for finding each veggie a good home in this week’s meals, in your freezer or pantry stash, or in a friend’s stomach! My previous article gives more detail on each question and tips on how to categorize.

One Week’s Example: Our CSA Box

I’m going to talk you through another week working through the 5 steps in our kitchen, but first I’ll have to explain our starting point.

Before This Week

Two years ago, I was able to write up our week in veggies almost with a “clean slate”–some ingredients we already had in stock came into play, but most of our meals were based around the veggies we received that week.

This year, I had decided which week I would make detailed notes about our CSA, meals, and preservation–and then, midway through the week before, I realized that the surplus of certain vegetables in that week’s crate was pushing us into some activities that would affect the new week. Instead of a “Wednesday wild card” dinner, the meal we cooked on the night we get our CSA was planned to use up the previous week’s veggies! Also, we went into the week stocked up with a healthy breakfast/snack food.

Weather conditions this year have been perfect for cucumbers, zucchini, and eggplant. I have to admit we didn’t do so well with last week’s cucumbers: We ate one with hummus, we put one in a salad, our guinea pigs ate one, and we gave away two–but we still had 4 cucumbers that got mushy and went to the compost bin. That was really a lot of cucumbers!! We should have made Cucumber Salad, which preserves them for a couple of weeks.

Last week’s CSA gave us an even larger volume of zucchini than cucumbers! (We got 6 zucchini vs. 9 cucumbers, but some of the zucchini were larger.)

Luckily, zucchini can be cooked or frozen (Kaite has 6 great preservation methods). I shredded all of it in the food processor, baked 4 loaves of whole-wheat zucchini bread, packed up 4-cup portions to freeze, and set aside 2 cups of raw grated zucchini. Those 6 zucchinis turned into 18 cups of shreds!

Tuesday night’s dinner was a slightly awkward meal of zucchini pancakes and cucumber slices with yogurt-dill dip. (The dill also was from the farm, several weeks ago—we had hung it up to dry.) My partner Daniel made the zucchini pancakes from this recipe. (It calls them “fritters,” but we thought “pancakes” would sound more appealing to the kids.) He used sharp cheddar cheese instead of Parmesan. He’d made them the previous week as well, and we were pleased that both kids ate them without complaint–one using ketchup and the other maple syrup!

We’d used a big, dark-purple Italian eggplant in chili, but we still had two thin, lilac-colored Asian eggplants. One of them was curled into this cute shape that looks like an alien pet!

When we went grocery shopping Wednesday morning before seeing our new crate of veggies, I asked my 13-year-old Nicholas what we could make to use up the eggplant. He said he would cook with my help, and we would have kebabs of eggplant and onion “and more zucchini pancakes, for protein, because they have so much egg in them.” We still had a small onion left from last week, but I reminded him that we couldn’t be certain we’d get more zucchini—although it was likely at this time of year—so we might have to thaw some.

Wednesday

Here’s what we got in this week’s CSA share!

3 cucumbers

2 Italian eggplants and 1 Asian eggplant

potatoes

carrots

4 tomatoes

kale

3 onions

green beans

2 zucchini

coffee–Of course, that isn’t grown in Pennsylvania! Kretschmann Farm has a deal with Building New Hope, a Pittsburgh non-profit that partners with coffee growers in Nicaragua. For an additional fee, we get a pound of shade-grown coffee in our CSA box once a month.

Nicholas and I started work on the kebabs: He asked me to make the pancakes while he did all the rest, occasionally asking for advice.

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I grated the smaller zucchini and adjusted the recipe to this smaller amount. I still used 1 egg and then added some breadcrumbs to soak up excess liquid. The pancakes held together pretty well, but frying them was very stressful!

I have a hard time with food that tends to burn on the outside before it’s cooked all the way through and that falls apart when you flip it. Daniel is more coordinated and less nervous than I am, so he was surprised when I thanked him so effusively for having made these before!

Meanwhile, Nicholas cut up the eggplants and tossed them with Real Salt in the colander. (This makes eggplant less bitter.) He cut the onion in big chunks and browned them in olive oil. Then he added the eggplant. He seasoned the vegetables with lemon juice, minced garlic, and bottled Tandoori Chicken Spice. He cooked them until the eggplant was soft and slightly browned.

He decided that the kebabs also should include slices of hard-boiled egg. I don’t boil eggs often enough to remember the timing, so he looked it up. He assembled a variety of kebab combinations.

The kebabs were delicious! They gave us an opportunity to teach our 4-year-old Lydia how to eat a kebab safely: One hand on each end; careful of the point! Eat it like corn on the cob. Don’t bite the stick!

I didn’t think the zucchini pancakes were really necessary along with hardboiled eggs–I would rather have had chunks of zucchini cooked along with the eggplant and onions–but their flavor blended in with the vegetables’ seasoning better than I expected.

We found that the kebabs reheated well in the toaster oven (400 degrees for 7-8 minutes) and were still good on Sunday when I finished the last ones.

Thursday

Nicholas wanted to make a salad of kale and cucumbers with strawberry vinaigrette like he’d made a couple of weeks ago. This time, he added fresh strawberries and a yellow pepper we’d just bought at ALDI.

What would go with the salad? Nicholas wanted garlic mashed potatoes (our CSA potatoes) and a can of cranberry sauce: “It’ll be like Thanksgiving!” I suggested baking some fish for a Fishgiving Feast, but it was a hot day and he didn’t want the oven on while he was making the salad.

Instead, he suggested fried eggs for the protein–those of us who like sunny-side-up eggs could put them on top of our mashed potatoes and break the yolk as “gravy” for the potatoes. I don’t think I’d ever tried this before. It was good! But it didn’t seem anything like Thanksgiving dinner, even though the cranberry sauce was a nice treat. I was feeling a little tired of eggs.

Daniel cooked the potatoes and eggs while Nicholas made the salad. By the way, if you happen to have a bag of frozen strawberries (mine were on sale at GFS!), an easy way to make strawberry vinaigrette is to thaw one big strawberry, which will become so soft that you can just mash it with a fork and mix in oil, vinegar, salt, and honey.

Friday

I cooked one of our classic favorite meals: Honey Apricot Tofu, Salty String Beans, and rice. This used up the green beans from the farm and one small onion. Here’s Lydia’s serving.

Saturday

We had so many leftovers that we didn’t cook anything new today! I ate one of the tomatoes as a snack.

Sunday

I made Creamy Lentil Coconut Curry with Roasted Vegetables. My array of vegetables was different this time: no peppers, broccoli, or green beans, but I did have zucchini. Gosh, that was a lot of eggplant!

It was a cool day by summer standards, so I didn’t mind being in the room with a 400-degree oven and a steaming saucepan—but I was glad we had enough rice left over from Friday that I didn’t have to coordinate cooking that, too!

I ended up with more than enough veggies for the curry, so I froze some for other uses of roasted veggies in the future. I also set aside a jar of raw, salted eggplant for Lydia, who loves to eat it (and refuses cooked eggplant) recently! I thought I’d heard something about raw eggplant being dangerous to eat, so I looked it up–a person her size would have to eat 2 or 3 entire raw eggplants to have toxic symptoms, and she eats no more than about 1/4 of an eggplant at a time. Whatever she doesn’t eat in the next few days, I can add to marinara sauce or anytime I want to cook up a few veggies for lunch.

Monday

Because Nicholas had made Thursday���s salad only big enough for a side dish at one meal, we still had a lot of kale. I collected other vegetables to cook with it to make Hummus and Vegetable Flatbread Sandwiches. This time I used kale, carrots, onion, and tomato from the farm, plus a red pepper from ALDI. I also threw in a handful of that salted eggplant.

I always think I have too much kale to fit in my skillet . . . but after I put in as much as can and cook it for a few minutes, it gets much less fluffy so that I’m able to mix in the rest of the kale.

I didn’t cook the tomato at all, just diced it and put it and the cooked veggies into the sandwiches after toasting them and then pulling them apart with tongs.

We had a jar full of delicious sautéed veggies left over. They make a great accompaniment to scrambled eggs for breakfast!

Recently we’ve been buying white-flour tortillas at Costco because they’re cheap and taste good, but they’re not all that nutritious. If you’re up for making homemade tortillas, try Katie’s whole-wheat tortillas or gluten-free, gum-free whole-grain tortillas!

Tuesday

Daniel and Nicholas made Salmon Limone with Couscous and Zucchini Ribbon Salad, a recipe Nicholas had found on the Hello Fresh website earlier this summer and made once before. (You don’t have to subscribe to their boxed meal kits to access their recipes–but if you see a recipe you like, make sure to print it right away rather than plan to read it from your screen! We’ve learned that sometimes their recipes “disappear” from the URL where we saw them and are hard to find again!)

Ironically, although Nicholas eagerly suggested this recipe when he saw zucchini and tomatoes in our CSA box, scheduling issues pushed this meal to the end of the week when we’d already used all our zucchini and tomatoes. But when I went to our neighborhood Giant Eagle supermarket to buy them (along with the salmon, lemon, scallions, and couscous) I found great prices on zucchini and tomatoes from Brenckle’s Farm, another local organic farm that also offers a CSA. It’s only 26 miles away; Kretschmann Farm is 28 miles from our home. So we were still eating local, organic vegetables!

This meal was delicious!

Wrapping Up the Week

How did we do with our 5 steps?

What to swap or give away? This was one week when we kept everything in our share!

What needs to be eaten in the next two days? Fresh green beans last only a short time without getting moldy. We also prioritized cucumbers, kale, and zucchini but didn’t actually get through all of them in the first 48 hours–but we used them up within the week (see below) without anything spoiling!

What can wait until later? We still have some of the carrots and the coffee. These tomatoes were firm enough to be used late in the week but wouldn’t have lasted much longer.

What needs to be preserved? Roasting and sautéing more veggies than we needed for our dinners created leftovers that will keep longer than raw veggies.

What’s the plan? We’d already planned the kebabs before we saw our new veggies. On Wednesday night, we planned Thursday’s and Friday’s dinners and the Salmon Limone . . . but meal planning for the rest of the week kind of worked out as we went along. I did make a list of the veggies before putting them away so that I could see at a glance what we needed to use.

We still had two cucumbers and some potatoes, so on the Wednesday when we got our next CSA box, our dinner side dishes were mashed potatoes and cucumbers with lemon sour cream (left over from Salmon Limone), with the main dish of soy-free veggie burgers from Trader Joe’s.

What’s your approach to an abundance of vegetables?

Source: https://www.kitchenstewardship.com/csa-meal-planning-tips/