#i did have a couple translation jobs this week so those ate the time and when i've put them down i've been too tired to do anything but

[seconddoubt]

why do the days keep going by so fast i've had so much i wanted to get done this week and i have time for like. half a thing a day

[bloodandthestars]

・✧ — 𝐄𝐘𝐄𝐒 𝐎𝐍 𝐌𝐄

tags: NO SPOILERS!, a part in the HE ATE MY HEART series, antihero fwb! reader, takes place before atsv, little translations this time (fantastic, fuck), of course mdni.

author’s note: hello everyone! thank you for 155 followers?? never thought this would happen, much less me ever posting my work. so thank you for taking a chance on me! i hope you’ll enjoy where I’ll take this (when i figure it out lmao)

EDIT: so I’ve discovered that Miguel doesn’t have a spider sense, so let’s just have him go off of his enhanced senses instead, sorry for the error!

wc: 4.8k previous masterlist

You weren’t exactly knowing of Nueva York’s high elite, other than what you could use to your advantage. They were so high on their pedestals, that they think no one will climb to touch their things. And those that did, hid them within layers of secrets and security. That’s where you come in.

For the right price, anything can be known by anyone. Cooperate coverups, measly affairs, underground operations— you charge triple for anything connected to the government, god forbid. You could retain information that could crumble empires and not bat an eye.

You’ve been working with Miguel for a couple of months now. You weren’t used to working with someone else and well, neither was he. But so far, you had nothing for a cause to keep a knife behind your back.

Weeks went by without another word from the arachnid— at least on the work-related side of things. Behind closed doors was an entirely different story you both knew too well. You didn’t take notice, as he was usually tight-lipped on his plans. That was until you pulled out a hint of what he was doing at your previous job at Oscorp. It was only at your last hookup however that he mentioned a new job for you.

You adjusted the earring back to fit snugly on the jewel and more thoroughly, the mic underneath it. Your eyes scan over your attire when he speaks from behind. “I heard it connect.”

You turn around, seeing his broad backside covered by a formal jacket. He turns around, adjusting the dress shirt’s cuffs underneath. “So it should work fine.”

You hear him, understand the words he tells you, but god how could you ignore the sight in front of you? Your eyes go to what harnesses his shoulders, a cool grey metal sitting atop each one. You see how the fabric compliments the hue of his skin. He left the jacket unbuttoned, allowing your gaze to go down the buttons of his dress shirt. With further observation, you could see how tight they were in holding his body, the curves of his abdomen evident in the fit. He should wear black more often, you thought.

Miguel coughs, and your attention goes to his face, where he sends you a look. You raise your brow at him. “I heard you.”

He hums, adjusting the other cuff. “Didn’t seem like it.”

“Just seeing how your clothes fit you.”

He looks up to give you another look, looking back down to the empty hole for his cufflinks. “I don’t know why you have me wearing this…thing.”

You know exactly what he’s talking about. The pieces upon his shoulders went into an abstract shape on his upper back. It was in metallic silver, shining with an alchemy symbol edged into it. You step forward, high shoes making light thumps against his bedroom floor.

“Because you were invited to an elite party. They don’t exactly dress in something as simple as a prom date from eons ago.”

“This is still an operation, don’t you think blending in would be the right call?”

You scoff at the sarcasm in his tone, looking down at the small case of various cuff links. You study each of them as you speak. “Blending in would be a crime to them and only get you noticed more. If you stand out in a crowd who’s trying to do just as much, that’s when you’re in a sea of secrecy.”

Your fingers trail over the different shapes, textures, and images edged into the small accessories. His eyes follow, listening.

“Who are you going as?”

“Myself.”

“So you have to try, but not too hard. As just a scientist, the middle ground is what you aim for.” You hand picks out a silver pair, with triangles cut into its shape. You display them out in your palm to him with your head up to meet his gaze. “I picked out something subtle.“

“This is subtle-?”

You laugh. “Best believe this barely scratches the surface on what they consider formal fashion. With your loathing, it was the best I could do with such a lost cause.”

Miguel looks up from your palm, then down, then back— slowly grabbing the cuffs from you. He goes to put them on, but after watching him fiddle with them for a minute or two, you step closer and let your hands take over. Silence falls over the two of you, both looking down to watch your hands.

“Lost cause, huh?” He mutters in a low tone.

You glance at him, going back to pinning the cuffs. “I only ever see you naked or in high-tech spandex. You’re not exactly giving me a good impression of range.”

The cuff secures the fabrics in a final tug. Your fingertips brush over the veins of his wrist, turning it over when you finish. You look up to him, voice going just as low as his does. “…but this is a good start.”

A small smirk appears on his face and you return it with ease.

You get into the penthouse first, with Miguel arriving a couple of minutes later to not draw suspicion. Whoever was hosting the party obviously had the cash to go all out. There was a champagne tower in the corner of the vast foyer. Guests in another interacted with Alchemax’s latest in augmented reality, giving the company their oohs and ahhs. You could immediately tell that the foyer alone could cost a fortune. It held a high ceiling due to the various floors. Long glass panels gave the guests a fantastic view of Nueva York’s skyline— lit in a technological blue.

You pretend to adjust your earring in the reflection of an extravagant vase, hearing it click to life. “You inside?”

“Mhm.”

You didn’t have to see him to know that his jaw was locked shut. Miguel takes note of the guests who were in small clusters across the space. He recognized a few faces, holding the disdain from his expression for a few others. It bubbles higher when he sees Alchemax chairmen socializing about “How’s security looking?”

You take a glance around the room, huffing. “Three security men in each corner of the room…including at the hall with the stairs. What a tool.”

Miguel huffs, not still hiding his glare into the crowd.

Your lips press together in thought. “Do you remember what you’re supposed to be doing?”

“Surveillance, look for an entry point and-“

“No, what you do during surveillance.”

He frowns, resetting his jaw so that he can resist a groan. “I know what to-“

A man comes up to him, and you can hear his voice faintly through your connection. “My, that is an exquisite piece! Such detail in the marking- Do you mind telling me who the designer is?”

Miguel freezes slightly, dropping his hand from his ear. “I- it’s Vancasa-“

“-Vancada-“ You correct.

“Vancada.” Miguel clears his throat, placing his hands into his pockets. “Excuse me.”

The gentleman raises his brow before looking over his attire one last time, then giving him a cordial nod. Miguel nods back and watches him leave to speak to others. He hears you snicker in his earpiece. “Shut up.”

“I said not a word.”

The arachnid supposed he’d have to play house, much to his dismay.

He was greeted by some of his colleagues, some that he actually tolerated. They all told him the same thing: it would be a death wish to their careers not to take an invite. Miguel hated that such intelligent people were held in the grasp of such corrupt ones, including himself. Eventually, he finds himself at the silver-lit bar at one end of the room. His eyes scan the crowd, finding you. You held a flute of champagne in your hand, letting out a fluttering laugh at what the woman next to you said. He knew you, however. It didn’t come as a surprise to him that you knew how to play with the crowd. Miguel’s eyes eventually wandered, going down the attire that you picked out for yourself to the tiniest detail. The way fabric hugs your figure, a dark blue satin that gives a slight shine. Your features seemed to be highlighted in the interior’s soft lighting. He presses his lips together with a sip of his drink.

“O’Hara!”

He snapped back to reality when two men wave him over. He takes a glance at you before taking another sip of his drink and walking a few short steps.

“Bastava, Mr. Hayward.” He addresses them with a nod. “It’s an honor to be invited to such an event.”

Each of them put out their hands to shake, and he wanted to brittle both of their hands. A firm handshake would just have to do.

“It’s so good to see you again, O’Hara!”

Mr. Hayward motions between Bastava and Miguel. “Is this the one you spoke of? The lead scientist?”

Bastava nods, a smile on display. “Yes!”

He goes around the tall table they gathered at to wrap around Miguel’s broad shoulder. “Cooperate Raiders’ finest scientist in the flesh.” He knocks Miguel playfully. “And he knows how to clean up too!”

The two elites break out into a laugh, Miguel joining in with a forced one. You were right, he was an absolute lost cause. Because if he had it his way, that arm around him would be broken.

Bastava goes back to his side of the table, refilling his glass of vodka while Mr. Hayward sipped at his own whisky. “Good to see you back at the company, O’Hara. The succession rates could never be better.”

He gives them a hard smile. “It’s good to be back.”

Mr. Hayward motions his glass in a brief toast. “May you don’t run into any other mishaps this time around for your continued stay?”

Miguel gives a short toast back. His paranoia may have gotten him over his head a few times, but with the way he emphasized it— it was almost like he was referring to what happened. And with the look Mr. Hayward sends over the glass as he drinks, it almost like he wanted Miguel to know that he is.

“Excuse me.” The two men give him short nods and he parts from the table. The arachnid practically felt bile come up in his throat from his words, taking a gulp of his drink to calm himself. The strong tang sent a kick to his head, shutting his eyes tightly so he could adjust. An exhale slips past his lips while his eyelids softened. He taps quickly into his earpiece. “Checking in.”

You hear him in your ear, getting up from your seat. “See, if I didn’t have to powder myself up, we wouldn’t have this problem of ending such a lovely conversation.”

He can hear formal laughs through the microphone, faintly picking up a “Why? You have nothing to freshen up.”

Miguel did your eye rolling for you. You give the gentleman a smile and thanks. When you excuse yourself, your face falls as soon as you turn around. Miguel catches that, giving him a slight amusement. You see him through the wave of people locking eyes. He was off to the side by an extravagant plant. You walk past, eyes forward, and stop at a mirror next to the hall you both needed to go down. Both of your backs were to each other with distance put between you. You begin patting your face, and clicking your earring in the process. “This place has a lot of rooms to cover.”

Miguel hums. “I figured.”

You continue to pat down your neck. “Did you get anything from speaking to them?”

His jaw sets again. “Nothing of use.”

His brows form a firm line as his senses began to go off. There were eyes on him somewhere. Red eyes cautiously look from side to side, finding a guard staring right at him. Before either can react, a click of glasses averts their gazes to Bastava standing atop a bar stool. A slurred chuckle escapes his lips before clearing his throat. “It’s an honor to have you all here tonight. I wouldn’t have an event going any other way. Now-” His hands flick out. “-Let’s get this music going shall we?”

The crowd cheers. Marble panels on the walls trade themselves out for black ones. With a press of a button, they emit a turquoise light out to the floor. Electronic lines are built into instruments. The crowd murmurs in wonder as they begin to play themselves. People a few at a time begin to stray towards the center of the room.

The arachnid’s sense was still going haywire. Miguel gives the security a glance before coughing into the mic. “When I approach you, just go with it.”

Your face contorted. “What-?”

“Excuse me, miss?“

You turn around to his voice, both of your earpieces shutting down with being in front of each other. You look at him up and down, looking into his eyes on what his game plan was. With his back to the guard, he’s able to dart his eyes in his direction and then back for you to catch on. His hand goes out between you both. “I couldn’t help but watch you the entire night, would you like to dance?”

You look down at his hand, then up at his figure. Your smile of amusement slips into one of formality. Placing your hand in his, you say in a hushed tone. “I would love to.”

Before he turns, he gives you a look, almost as if to tell you to behave. He immediately sensed the amusement under your facade. Miguel’s arm curls around your own, the build of his upper arm brushing against your own. You take your walk to the dance floor with a quick glance to see what others were doing. The music was light, tones of classical filling the air. You follow suit, turning to place a hand on his shoulder. The large of your hand envelopes your hip, snaking your other hand into his. Your eyes were at your feet to follow the steps in your head.

His mouth clicks. “Look at me.”

Your head shoots up in surprise, immediately going to slight your brow.

“Keep your eyes on me and I’ll lead. Think we got eyes on us.”

You take a glance at the room and then back to him. “From where?”

“My left.”

He shifts your dance, going in the motions of steps so you can see who he’s talking about. A guard from his behind looks in your direction from the corner of your eye. You did as the man in front of you asked, only using your peripherals to keep most of your focus on him. Miguel’s eyes are fully on you.

“We’ll have to go down the hall.” You say in a low voice.

His fingers press into your lower back to decrease your space, going along with the front of that he didn’t hear you. As if his senses weren’t already on ten.

“No choice?” He asks.

“Not seeing any other way around it. We’re going to have to get that guy to move.”

“Fantástico.” He mutters sarcastically, switching your perspective around once again with his lead in the dance. You can’t help but take a glance down at both of your feet, realizing just how in sync he is with his steps. “You’re a pretty good dancer.”

His face contorts to confusion, blasphemy even. “You think this is good?”

You shrug. “I’ve met a lot of people with two left feet. Terrible crowd for the club scene.”

Your jest earns you a short huff. “This isn’t even music to really dance to, much less just a step around with feet.”

“Classical is timeless to those who hold onto it. Including snobs with their heads up their ass.”

He grunts with distaste before a pondering moment of silence falls over you both. You watch him take a look at your feet as both of you follow his motions. “Maybe I’ll show you what the real stuff is.”

His mutter allows for something unknown to stir in your chest. The hand that grips his gives him a taunting squeeze. “I challenge you to.”

“To teach you a thing or two?”

Your head tilts. “Who said I couldn’t dance?”

He goes to speak, but your eyes cutting away from him stops him. He notices quickly how you spot something, the cogs slowly turning in your head.

“The one by the hall.”

“Mhm?”

“There’s one way we can get him to move.”

You surprise him by moving in your direction, turning him to your previous position where he faces the holographic instruments. Your eyes watch his face slowly draw his conclusion, looking down at you with an affirming nod.

Once you’ve secured a drink in your hand, you play out the routine of a drunken beauty. You pull out the charming smile a few giggles wandering about your eyes, catch the closest person to the panels and your foot goes behind theirs. And with a swift motion make it all seems like an accident and their drink spills onto the holographic base. It shocks with electricity, causing the crowd to gasp. You let out a dramatic gasp of your own. Miguel was right behind you as he put his hand over his mouth. Bastava quickly notices how the music ends up properly, and it goes on to address the crowd. “People people not to worry, we have mechanics on hand for this!”

His guests give him a small clap. He relishes it in full before turning to your targeted guard and signaling him to get assistance. As the guard leaves, you both look at each other in a quick glance before going into fits of fake giggles. People step back from the panels, creating a cluster of distractions, and the both of you slip down the hall with ease.

As a pair, you take cautious steps down the hallway. Each of your eyes darts left and right, looking for a space that could remotely resemble an office. Miguel was on a determined path, the sooner he could get this done, the sooner he didn't have to feel like he was suffocating.

“Wait-” You stop him. He turns around quickly, looking to the same door you do— noticeably with a keypad right beside it. You both share a look, stepping into the door. Miguel looks over his shoulder to keep watch while you pull that square glass tool from the fabric of your attire. You press a few hologram buttons then face it towards the keypad. It takes a scan of it, lighting with a projection of which numbers had the most fingerprints. The more you could do with that thing, the more curious you were about the arachnid hero.

The keypad clicks with a green light and with a part of your attire in your hand, you open the door. To your surprise the space was normal looking compared to the heights Bastava would go for extravagance. A glass panel wall was behind the desk. To the left were large cabinets, and even enough space for two lounge chairs. Miguel goes to the right at the tech board whirling to life at his presence. All of Alchemax at his fingertips if he wished. His hand itched to take control of it but he had to remain on task, making sure that their fall would be from a higher drop. You catch how he sighs with frustration, turning back to you, and hovering over the computer. “Another drive?”

“Another drive.” He says, practically trying to convince himself.

You eye him up and down, giving him a short nod and turning back to the computer. “You don’t think there’d be any physical files we’d miss?”

Miguel scoffs. “I doubt it.”

Thanks to another scan of fingerprints, your go through two attempts to finally get the password. From there you slide out of the way for Miguel to take over. As he does so, you go to the door to keep watch. Your eyes keep to the crack you let open, ears catching the clicks of the keywords and various sounds. One sounded promising with a BING!

“How long?” You ask with your eyes still on the hallway.

“Twenty minutes.”

“Be fucking for real-”

“Anyone out there?”

“No-”

“-then shut the hell up. I’ll make it go as fast as I can.”

You snicker under your breath. “Shocker.”

You hear him exhale through his nose.

Fifteen minutes pass with smooth sailing. You have yet to see a passerby to the stairs. Miguel keeps his focus on the computer for a long while, leaving you in silence, until his head perks up abruptly. So abruptly, that you whip your head around in his direction. His face scrunches. when you turn your head around, you see what might be the cause: Bastava, coming up the stairs and heading in your direction.

You turn to Miguel. “How long?” His eyes go back to the computer “Five, maybe three minutes?”

You cursed under your breath, your body starting to fill with tension. Your eyes go back out to the crack in the door. Bastava stumbles slightly, but he doesn’t lose his way.

Your tone shifts to urgency. “Miguel-”

“I’m working on it.”

With one more head turn, you see that he’s only three pieces away. You feel your heart drop quickly, shutting the door as quietly and as quickly as possible.

“Shocking-” You don’t finish the curse when something tugs your arm. Your head whips around to get only a split second of Miguel pulling you towards an opened large cabinet. Taking you both inside, he shuts the door just in time for his senses to pick up the click of the keypad.

You control your breathing the best you can after the rush of adrenaline. Your chests graze each other each time you quietly breathe. There’s a stumbling of feet, a chair sliding against the marble floor that causes you two to wince. Miguel recognizes Bastava’s voice. “Hey there, gorgeous…no no, I’m not busy at all. Just want you..to come by…maybe after the party, eh?”

You roll your eyes, turning your head in the direction of the call to hear any sign of a goodbye. Miguel was doing the same, brows furrowing suddenly. As soon as you turn your neck something immediately takes hold of him. His nostrils fill with your scent, something new, he caught. It had to be that or perhaps his senses being on eleven ever since he heard Bastava coming up the steps. He closes his eyes, the scent envelops him whole with a tilt of his head.

“What are you wearing?”

The question snaps your head his way in an instant. You look him up and down. “Under-?”

“Your fragrance.” He said with a hard tone. You question if there was restraint in his voice. Your eyes linger on him before answering. “It’s new…picked it up for tonight.”

He hums quietly. Scarlet eyes still bore into your being even when you turn to listen for Bastava. The chairman was still on the phone. Something still along the lines of convincing someone to come over— Miguel couldn’t process his words, much less comprehend them. He was tuning his words out and into your heartbeat instead. His felt like it was quickening to your pace— a light thump loose of the threads of adrenaline.

You turn your head back, startled at how his eyes look. They were almost…carnal…in a way that you only knew how.

Your tongue swipes over your bottom lip, causing him to let out a low “Don’t.”

He catches your eyes in a heated gaze. It didn’t help how close you both were. He wouldn’t have to move much to wrap around you. Your breath quickens, latching onto the sight of his parted lips. He does the same with yours, breath even heavier.

Bastava’s tone picks up. “Well, what can I do to convince you, baby? Just because we aren’t public doesn’t mean…” He scoffs with abrasiveness. “…Yes, it doesn’t matter- we’ve gone over this-”

He’s in an argument now, you know that much from that point. Everything goes in and out with your focus shifting entirely on Miguel. His eyes go lower, not to your lips anymore, but to your neck. His tongue suddenly felt *dry*, nose taking inhale after inhale of you and taking him further down the rabbit hole. Your eyes never leave him when an arm sneaks around your lower back to pull you into his body. You meet his head to line it with your own. With each of your breathing tickling the other’s face, you feel how worked he is.

Your breath hitches when he shoves his face into your neck. His air is hot against your skin, sending shivers down your spine. Your hand goes to the back of his head in case you slip. His feet shuffle mere centimeters to place his other hand on the wall by your head.

“Carajo..” He mutters against you, head flooded by your scent. Now that he was fully surrounded by it, his senses soothed— barely, but enough to not raise suspicion. Your heartbeat was picking up, thumping inside his head. You feel something wet graze your neck in a slow lick, making you inhale tightly.

You’re trying to listen out for the man outside but it was growing difficult with the way Miguel was nosing your neck, as if there was any space left he had to get rid of. Every now and then, his lips brush against your neck and makes you shift under him. The hand on your back adds pressure.

“Thought you could handle me.”

“I can handle you just…” You let out a shaky exhale. “…fine.”

Miguel’s huff turns into a muffled sigh.

“…See that wasn’t so hard, cupcake. You get your sweet little ass over here after the party…Eleven…bye.”

You hear Bastava take a large gulp then sigh. A few steps go past you, making you both hold your breath. The steps stop for a few minutes then fade off to the other side of the room. You hear the door open and then shut, but you knew better than to rush out. You steady your breathing to become background noise to Miguel’s senses. He could still hear your heart calming and now, the steps of the chairman’s dress shoes echoing down his vast hall. He only eases when he knows Bastava is going down the stairs. “We’re good.”

He turns his head to be met with your nose brushed against his. Your eyes were big looking into his own. He knew you were wondering what the hell came over him. The one thing you did know was that all of what he was doing wasn’t to start anything but to give himself restraint.

Miguel swallows before you both leave the cabinet without another word.

Leaving the scene felt like the easiest part of the whole night. You two pretend to giggle drunkenly together back into the foyer, just in time to for Bastava to close the night. You slip into the leaving crowd to waddle alongside them. And since you felt eyes on you, you knew Miguel wasn’t too far behind.

You look out at Neuva’s brightly colored building from your passenger window. The car was heavy with silence, you could practically feel the weight of it right in the pit of your stomach. His hand on your thigh *certainly* didn’t help. The arachnid kept his eyes on the road, only keeping focus by kneading your flesh. Miguel glances at you through the interior mirror. Your lips were slightly obscured as you rested your chin in your palms but he could imagine them all the same.

Taking notice of the scenery, your exit flies past you at a moment’s notice.

“Not going back to my-?”

“No.”

You turn to catch his eyes in the mirror, quiet in both of your stares. Your lids lower. “…work-related?”

He turns his gaze back to the road and squeezes your thigh in his grip.

“…No.”

taglist: @manchuria @mezzke @rea-zxv @vvitcxen @pooiooi @jowtaro @deputy-videogamer @vegas-writing-den @m150-50up @simplysolo @timotheesrealgf @thecityofspareparts @miguelsfangs (dunno why it won’t let me tag you guys, trying to figure it out!)

[tokyoheiku]

Japan 2024

Finally, after 12 years, I went back to Japan for nearly a month! It's a trip that's been a long time coming; a trip I've had many, many dreams about lol. After losing my passion for Japan/Japanese by the time my degree ended (for various reasons), it took a few years before I was toying with the idea of going back, particularly to see friends who had decided to go and move there (or already lived there) post-university. And then of course you've got to factor in time and cost. 2020 was the first time things seemded to be aligning and I really thought I might go back, but then, well, obviously I couldn't.

Then late last year, a friend (let's call her M) I recently got back in contact with happened to be planning her own Japan trip, and from time to time would mention that I should come along. I was hesitant at first (time and money!) but after thinking it over I realised that actually, for lots of reasons, this lined up pretty perfectly with my current life situation. So I agreed and we booked the trip!

This is a summation of that trip :D In parts cuz I can only upload so many photos per post -

Week 1! Tokyo

Our flight was indirect: Heathrow --> Helsinki --> Narita, with Finnair, who I have to hand it to, did a fantastic job. The planes were so nice and modern, and neither flight caused me any ear pain, which is a massive deal for me - if you've flown with me before, you'll know. Not to mention, the second flight only had 70 people on it...! So we were able to lay down. In economy! Plus we had some reindeer pasta during our layover in Helsinki, so now I can say I've done that. As flights go, (and for my first ever layover flight) it was possibly one of the best I've ever been on. Even though it was dragging toward the end of the 13 hours.

I don't know exactly what I had expected when arriving back in Japan, but it was so easy to just pick up where I left off. Everything was familiar, I was able to speak the language, I was finally returning to places I used to live.. it's amazing how quicky the brain just normalises these things. It was almost like I'd never left and those 12 years turned into nothing. This time I also had the added bonus of lots of pre-trip research, and google maps/translate (which I mostly needed for kanji every so often.!). I felt more at home than I did during my year abroad, I think. And in a far, far better mindset, to boot. I feel like I was able to take things in more; to experience the differences more. Or maybe I just don't remember what it was like 12 years ago lol

Something that catches your attention immediately in Japanese cities (apart from the neon) are the smells - walking by the many, many restaurants you'll get passing wafts of amazing smelling Japanese food. London cannot compete...! And for our first meal we ate at Torikizoku, an izakaya (pub-esque places where you can order Japanese 'tapas' style dishes for cheap) chain, and it was just immediately so heartening; even chain Japanese food is better than any Japanese food we can get in the UK. And my god, the price. I know the yen is weak right now which really worked in our favour this trip, but even so. A full meal for around £7 each.

It'd be an incredibly long post if I went day by day, so here are highlights of week one, separated by activities, and food

Activities:

Wandering around Shimokitazawa! I used to go fairly frequently since it was only a couple of stops away from Meidaimae, my station, which we also dropped into for that taste of nostalgia. Shimokitazawa is known for being a bit hipster, with a lot of vintage clothing shops. It's a nice change of vibe from the bigger areas like Shinjuku/Shibuya etc.

Night out in Shinjuku, at Psy Bar! One of the many, many tiny little bars dotted around Shinjuku/Kabukicho, this one was specifically rock/metal music themed and could house maybe 15 people? The guy behind the bar was already wasted, and a huge personality. Everyone was really friendly and the music was great. Definitely worth experiencing :D

Magical Lollipop Maid Cafe - we had to go to at least one! This one was themed around magical girls in training trying to become powerful enough to protect their customers. Despite the theme, it was pretty subdued compared to some other maid cafes but it was nice to chat to the maids and, of course, have our own omuraisu drawn on

Team Lab Planets - worth a mention mainly for the LED room tbh. I didn't think it was as good as it's made out to be, but then again it's so overhyped that that's pretty difficult. Worth experiencing, I think.

Muscle Girl Bar - absolutely fantastic. A++++. Only in Japan. The photos speak for themselves. M got slapped by like 8 muscley women and I got carried by two.

Food:

Fluffy Japanese pancakes from Flippers - dear god these are so light and fluffy and delicious and absolutely worth having if you ever go

Nabezou - a restaurant chain that does hotpot style dishes - specifically, in my case, SUKIYAKI! This is maybe my favourite meal of all time

Fancy yakiniku - yakiniku, but fancy

Zarusoba - a dish I'd never had before but have really come to enjoy: cold soba noodles you dip in a sauce. M ordered this tempura squid side dish which I ended up absolutely loving despite always having had reservations about squid in the past

Konbini bento boxes - the fried chicken/rice one was particularly good :D

Noteworthy mentions:

Shopping in Shibuya - it's worth traversing around 109 just to have a look.

Pokemon Centres - by the end of week 1 we'd already hit up a few

Cat Cafes - same here lol

Atami - a seaside town 40 minutes away from Tokyo by bullet train, where we went to the plum blossom garden

It's possible I front-loaded week 1 a little too much, but it ended up being so, so much fun - even if incredibly exhausting lol. By week 2 I was already feeling like I had eaten too much...!

A few things I took note of -

Japan is just so convenient. Everything this country does is to aid in helping make people's lives a little bit easier; diametrically opposed to England in that sense...! Having convenience stores literally everywhere really is so convenient, and the vending machines as well. There are drug stores on every corner, Starbucks on every other corner.. you could come to Japan with your passport and phone and immediately be within 5 minutes of everything you could possibly need.

On the flip side, they're obsessed with 1 ply toilet paper??? I get it, conservation etc, but if you're gonna go hard on conservation efforts, cut down on the plastic, Japan, not the toilet paper lol

Getting around takes time. Even if a train journey only takes 5 minutes, walking around the massive stations will take 10, and if you're outside, you've got to wait ages for traffic lights to change..!!! This was true everywhere I went, not just the metropolis that is Tokyo. Maybe it's different further out from the cities though.

Oh, and jingles. Jingles everywhere. I love them :')

Week 2 next!

[corpse-of-bandersnatch]

That's the whole interview with Jeff by Nicole Iskra, in which they also talked about him shaving of his chest hair. It was published in the Moviestar 05/2001 (the interview, not the chest hair).

I won't translate everything word for word, but if you wish a closer translation of a special topic/question, let me know and I try my best. (Also I apologize for the bad quality of the middle part of the scanned magazine).

PARALLAX – Madness from the Internet

„I was the Incarnation of their worst nightmare!“ - An interview with Jeffrey Combs

Before the interview starts, they introduce the latest movie Jeff was in back then, which is Parallax aka FearDotCom (almost the complete first column describes the Plot). Parts of it where shot in Luxembourg, which is also the Place where the interviewer meets Mr. Combs.

They meet in front of the Inter-Continental Hotel. Mr. Combs is PISSED, because the breakfast in the Hotel was awful (slimy fried egg) and the staff was rude (someone came in his room without knocking or apologizing, while he was sitting on his bed, only wearing a T-Shirt and Shorts).

They walk into the City of Luxembourg and Jeff's wondering about the many colourful life-sized cow sculptures, that you can find everywhere in town (quote: „Is this supposed to be art?!“).

He's searching for a souvenir for his wife, but in in his opinion, all of the dresses are outdated and their colours terrible. The interviewer teaches him the very important rule „Grün und Blau schmückt die Sau“.

They decide to eat in a Burger Restaurant called „Maybe not Bob's“, where he orders chicken wings with french fries and a coke (quote: „like a real American“).

Jeff speaks about the results of his genealogical research: Originally, his family came from Devon in England, but settled 1619 in Jamestown (Virginia) to work for Virginian Tobacco Co.

1. Question: The first question is about the renaming of FearDotCom to Parallax (reason being uncertainty about who owns the name). It follows more describing of the movie’s plot, this time from Mr. Combs himself.

His friend Bill Malone directed Parallax/FDC and offered Jeff the role, because they already worked together in Haunted Hill and Perversions of Science.

2. Question: You got along so well with Peter Jackson while filming The Frighteners. Will you at least get a Cameo in Lord of the Rings, even if it's only as Orc Nr. 260?

JC: That's the one Orc, that survived, right? (laughs). Nah seriously, I didn't get a role, unfortunately. I auditioned, , but the problem was the british accent. I can imitate it, but when you're surrounded by actors like Ian McKellen and Ian Holm, it's really not hard to tell who's a „real  Briton“ and who's not.

3. Question: Did your latest movie before Parallax/FDT – The Attic Expeditions –  had it's premiere in America yet?

JC: No, not yet. The world premiere was a couple of weeks ago here in Luxembourg and it was also shown on Festivals in Edinburgh and Amsterdam. Sadly, they didn't show it on the film festival in Brussel.

I'm really enthused by The attic Expeditions, because it's interesting, not linear, not logical, with few horror elements, but the horror is mostly psychological. It's like a dream in a nightmare on a trip. The longer you watch the movie, the less you know, what's real, it's a really complex movie, especially by american standards.

4. Question: In retrospect, would you call your role as Herbert West a curse?

JC: (sighs) Somehow, it's a curse and a blessing at the same time. Thanks to the role, I was branded as „Horror actor“ in Hollywood. After Deep Space Nine I was branded as „Horror- and Sci Fi- actor“. Movie people love to categorize you. On the other hand, the role of Herbert West opened up a lot of possibilities for me.

5. Question: 10 Years ago you told a funny story at a convention in New York, about sth. that happened while filming From Beyond. Could you maybe tell it again for the Moviestar readers?

JC: You mean the one with the children?

MS: Exactly!

JC: (grins) Well, we were already filming for a month – so I've been in this horrible make-up for 30 days already, with this awful head piece that looked like a red dog dick. I looked worse than Quasimodo! That's why I ate mostly in my dressing room. One day, they shot a commercial with a bunch of 4-year-old children in mushroom costumes on the same soundstage. We met in the hallway and as soon as those poor, innocent children saw me, all hell has broken loose. I was the incarnation of their worst nightmare, they screamed and ran to their mothers, who wanted to lynch me on the spot. So now it was me, who ran away.

But that's how it is, when you have a lot to do with make-up and masks and stuff like this. Not long ago, I was strapped to a cross made out of tubes, my throat was „cut“, there was blood all over me. And sometimes, when you're hanging there long enough, the crew just forgets that you're there, because for them, you just turned into a part of the set. Until you give a signal: „Umm sorry, guys, could you..maybe..“ - „Oh yeah sure, sorry Jeff, sorry..“

6. Question: (you might already know this one from this post): After that scene in From Beyond, in which you get eaten by this worm, your chest is as smooth as that of a baby – did they shave off your chest fur?

Jeff: Yes! (laughs)

MS: Did you do it yourself?

Jeff: Yes and I learnt something very important: Never use a normal razor blade, an electric razor is way better and safer and it doesn’t itch as badly, when the hair grows back. I had to shave my chest for a theater role once as well. I was 26 or so and played an 18-year-old.

7. Question: Do you still play in theatres regulary?

JC: No, not in the past couple of years, though theatre is very dear to my heart. Back in the days, I loved to play in theatres – living like a gypsy, 8 weeks in San Diego, and somewhere else afterwards. But that's not how I want to live today, now that I have a family. I don't like to leave my two little girls for several weeks, plus an engagement in a theatre isn't really helpful financially. I earn the same money in 1 week of shooting a movie as I do in 4-5 months of theatre work.

8. Question: I read that Woody Allen pays every actor 5.000 Dollar, because in his opinion, no one is worth 20 Million Dollar, neither beginner nor Superstar. What do you think about the explosive growth of fees nowadays?

JC: I do think that you should take the money, that the market offers you. But somebody, who earns 20 Millions per movie should share at least a million with their not so lucky co-actors.  No, seriously, it's not that easy to make a living. A friend of mine got a job, where he plays the brother of Kevin Costner. When I asked him, if he gets payed well, he shook his head and said, that he only gets tariff plus 10%. Tariff is the lowest wage possible, that was defined by union. My friend had the choice to either work with Costner or don't. And as an actor you always hope that a movie like this becomes a success and maybe improves your chances in Hollywood.

MS: Thank you for making so much time for us!

[blankdblank]

Brother Dearest Pt 68

State vs Lewis Patzer

“October 31, 1947. Mr Barnham’s mansion, while he threw a costume party in another of his properties and upon a search that several priceless gold statues along with gem accented decorations were taken along with a solid ruby/ivory/ebony piano and a variety of black market paintings and marbles. Almost all of the black market pieces were returned to the museums and exhibits they were stolen from. The gem based goods are still missing. All the portraits and statues were replaced by ones modeled around cats.” The student playing the suspect fought a chuckle while you listened to the rest of the opening statement of the Prosecution Antonio Speltzer in a ploy to paint this absurdly rich person as a victim who was heinously victimized.

Mr Patzer’s Lawyer Vernon Dorman stood and took his on turn to bring up how this whole trial was twisted to fulfill a personal grudge against Mr Patzer while there are other suspects who actually could have done this, including his twin Dennis Patzer. And with the conclusion of the opening statements that case was paused to allow the student teams to swap places with the Divorce Case while in the chair you lifted your feet to cross your legs and sit up straighter when one of the girls started to press into your spine to guide them more forward into your belly.

.

Schmidt vs Schmidt

For the husband Emil Mr Felton stood to call up the first character witness for their case to try and sway your impression of the two people who hoped to gain what the wanted and needed in this division of assets and custody.

Ray Schwartz – Age 32 atop the stand sat and as best friend to the husband made his loyalty known in a slew of statements as for what he had heard and supposedly witnessed upon her failure as both wife and mother. Compared fully to the elder Mrs Schmidt and how she was the pinnacle role model mother and wife for the husband to aim for in a wife for himself.

Dan Vallier – Age 42, the former boss of Mrs Schmidt in the gallery she once was employed while you made a few pretend notes to the student playing up his testimony that she couldn’t keep up with the job. Of course you could hear from the details that it was her focus on her son’s activities and health that had kept her from jumping to the Boss’ every beck and call that landed her out of his employment. Which had the male student for the husband smirk in believe that the male pretend wife had been made openly a pitiful financial provider for their young son.

Lee Hogue in the excuse of Mr Vallier began his own call for the first two character witnesses for the pretend Mrs Schmidt. Irene Moses – Age 23 was called up and delved amusingly into several tales of how in her former relationship with Mr Schmidt who dumped her for an even younger woman with whom he was to be soon hopefully wedded. From broken property, his outbursts and continued possessive letters that she is still receiving years after their break up.

Leslie Welch – Age 24, former driver to her and their child shared a trio of tales when he witnessed the husband degrading his wife and being lost into a deep dependence upon alcohol that has drawn a new side out of Mr Schmidt that is rather despicable and cruel to those around him who do not control his paycheck. As he shared that around fellow employees or bosses he can put on a calm exterior and paint himself with a friendlier brush.

.

A couple exams and an open Saturday granted you some work on a new part for your tv you made that in the middle of the next page of the translation you moved onto next to keep from using too much energy you drifted off and woke up to a lunch under a blanket in a nest of pillows the guys had nestled around you. Talks of the house next door came up with Gina and her husband who talked with Eddie on more plans through the meal you struggled to focus on at the lack of a comfortable position to be found. Sharp and clear the drop of your fork to the plate turned heads to you and brought James back from the kitchen without the refill on your drink he’d gone to fetch. His hand right over your back while your hands folded around the arms of your chair in a pained inch back in your seat, “Breathe out Bunny,” Gina said in a pop up to take your free side and gently laid a hand over your still supple belly. “Just breathe out, nice and slow.”

Slow and steady you exhaled and James said, “That wasn’t labor.”

Gina shook his head and said, “No, belly’s not hard.” Shakily you inhaled through the receding wave of pain that had radiated from your hips and said in a lock of your eyes on his, “Just your first Braxton Hicks. Just a check of your muscles.”

Sharply you exhaled and said, “You know if it feels like this why don’t all the girls do this? So much fun,” you said making her chuckle and reach up to fix your bangs that fell in your face.

“I’m going to get you some more pickles, baby corn and beets. Mine always relaxed when I snacked extra.”

Sharply you exhaled again to James’ next stroke of your back while you somehow suddenly came upon a comfortable sort of hunch forward and lifted your fork again saying, “You were saying, about the green tile.” Tentatively attention went back to the house and when he had confirmed Victor would watch you in the few moments away James did fetch your drink and remained fixed at your side to ensure your comfort for the rest of the day.

All through your return to the nest to do more translations until up in bed you laid out after a few more gentle pecks from your worried husband who in his trip to turn off the light turned to eye you on the bed in a soft huff. Hastily he flipped the switch and came back to bed and eased up on it behind you asking, “Are you in pain?”

“I’m an inch too low,” you sighed and he chuckled and leaned in to curl a hand below your thighs to glide you just a bit higher inside your nest that had you settle in more comfortably. “Thank you.”

“You are welcome.” And sweetly behind you he cuddled close, pleased that your extra metal insulation in the walls had kept the house cool in this humid spring so that he could cuddle up to you still without causing you to warm up too much and send him away. Under your stolen shirt from his supply he slid his hand to stroke your belly in the close of his eyes to confirm for himself with all his focus that his babies were not coming out early and would wait the few more weeks left to the finish line for a private birth in your home your family would fix up the final details upon your return.  

“I suppose Herc will be interested to know about my pain earlier. Finally have something more than a bruise to question him about.”

A bit more he wiggled his forehead to rest fully into your hair against the back of your head to the kick against his palm, “I doubt he has been bored in seeing to you and our girls.”

“I just mean, 48 weeks pregnant, and nine weeks left finally something to get his blood pumping.”

That had him chuckle, “You didn’t see him pop in the middle of our house to share you’d been scared by an owl when ever we got tingles something happened after the Twins gave the all clear on danger. Plenty of blood pumping moments.”

You sighed again and asked, “What happens if I keep having triplets? One set after the other?”

“We’ll have to build another wing onto the house. But however our babies come in whatever groups they choose to arrive in I will do all I can to help you. I wish I could do more.”

“You’re amazing,” you sighed again and said to the pull of your leg up that lifted his head.

“Foot cramp again?” You nodded and after a gentle press of his lips to your cheek he sat up and slid down taking the covers with him to rest your foot on his lap to cradle it and massage the odd cramp in your foot that had been on and off since your false contraction earlier. “At least Herc will be by after Mass.” Again you sighed making him grin at the sight of you with brows furrowed to the cramp that had him start to hum to you while he massaged your foot and lower leg gradually lulling you to sleep.

It almost seemed to have come full circle, at the uncertain beginning when there was no idea three babies were growing inside of your belly now with almost five pound babies safely growing stronger by the day again naps and sleep were paramount in this stressful town. And he knew that much like over the Winter when you magnificently had begun to show and they had grown impressively in that peaceful free time he knew could change the back end of this pregnancy for you. Not just free from the eyes of the press but well within the chance to have your parents there to fill those gaps of support he and the others couldn’t fill while Herc was available to come up and stay for daily checks if needed. And when he felt your legs were at ease he settled down again around your back to slip into his own dreams of what was coming.

.

Spare inches on the now oddly shinier belly you stood in front of the mirror in the bathroom with your head tilted through a turn from side to side. The impressive bubble shape a bit less pointed from the stretched area where your babies began to stretch out more had you tell James in his step to your side from the toilet nook he turned away from after having flushed a moth he found in your closet. “I look like someone coated me in butter.”

Softly he chuckled and said after a kiss of your temple, “You look fantastic.” Still smiling from a candid photograph he had taken earlier when you were changing out of his stolen clothes to add to the collection. Back from your side he collected the pants you wanted to wear he helped you step into after you’d changed your underwear and added some padding to your bra in case of some leaking of the milk you started to dribble. A blouse was next to add and be settled underneath the straps of your pants. “Only means the babies are growing and you with them.”

“From the side I look like a snake that ate a beaver.” Unable to help it he chucked and leaned in to kiss you on his lips sweetly and then bent to add your socks and your sneakers.

“You do not.” Up again he stood and guided you to the bathroom where he helped to comb out your braid he helped to work the top half of your hair back into a clip so your hat would sit nicely while the rest of your curls hung loosely down your back. Rain sounds grew louder on the way down and after a light breakfast in the cars you drove off to the Mass lit by candlelight followed by another meeting with Herc.

.

This time it was a great deal more focused upon checks of your hips and pelvis, these done in one of the spare rooms for more room for use of a new device that cut out another worrisome intrusive internal exam. Checks of blood pressure with a bulb activated pump were followed by a prick of your finger for a drop of blood to be added to a solution in a small vial he settled inside a lemon sized cube device.

Over that a full readout of the results were projected and you asked to his focused expression, “Is that good?”

“Oh yes, I would suggest some more pickles though. Your girls are using a good bit of your iron.”

Eddie popped up, “Pickles, on it,” and hurried to the kitchen.

Herc said with a grin, “Again, the tests are all good, your pelvic floor as well is growing more elastic which is a good sign at this stage. The hips as well, nice and cushioned for when they shift in labor.”

You nodded and asked at the still projected results, “What is all that?” Spreading his grin to shift the projection so you could read it properly while he explained it all and how it showed your progress and the girls’. You nodded and asked timidly, “You um, so you don’t have to do any, internal exams?”

Kindly he gave you a grin to James’ pat on your back, “No, thankfully with our kin we require that usually only on the day of labor to gauge progress or to shift the position of the babies. I understand that first exam was quite unsettling to you when that Nurse examined your ovaries.” You nodded and he gently patted your hand rested on the bed beside you, “I will not cross that boundary of your comfort until necessary and only with your permission and full disclosure of the reasoning. I do understand there is quite the common notion that your body is no longer your own in pregnancy,” he nodded as you did in a fight against tears that misted into your eyes. “This is your body and I will always respect that. There is always time to explain things even in emergencies, a great deal of Doctors forget that compassion when treating patients these days when we see things so pragmatically in search of diagnosis or cure of ailments.” You nodded again and smiled to Eddie in his lowering a full try of snacks to the bed he eased off of to rest beside you, “For now, leg and foot exam while you snack and I will check your levels again in a bit.”

A couple of contractions when your exam was through had Herc shift his focus to her and her baby girl who through him made it clear that she was ready to come out in the next few days that allowed the brood to plan accordingly for the sudden arrival. The family dinner that followed granted you a chance to hand over a gift to her just in case she went into labor while you were at school, a crank fed mobile that played a lullaby like the one she had been pining over for years when she had a baby girl of her own. Tearfully she gave you a hug and confirmed that you hadn’t spent the ridiculous sum that the magazine she’d seen it in listed it for and squealed excitedly as her husband promised to install it when they got home over the crib to have it ready.

.

State vs Lewis Patzer

Antonio Speltzer stood across from the Detective Nathaniel Madison, Age 43, who delved into the whole process of the investigation of the case and then delved into the identification of Mr Patzer as the suspect who was behind the robbery.

And when Mr Speltzer sat down and representation for the Defense Vernon Dorman stood and adjusted his jacket buttons and asked his first few questions and then finished off with what he hoped to be his zinger. “Detective Madison, is it not true that Jacob Shea, who you credit the naming of Mr Patzer as the prime suspect, named him in the process of negotiating a plea deal on his own pending felony charges?”

Detective Madison cleared his throat and said, “Yes, we were discussing his plea deal when he brought it to our attentions.”

Vernon Dorman answered, “No further questions, Your Honor.”

Cecilia Marsh – Age 39 came next with the Prosecution who displayed a variety of blown up copies of several art pieces that she priced and named. A few which you corrected the dates in the notes and made a few people in the crowds smirk at your unknown mouthing of the proper dates, including the author, Clifford Adler, of the case who made note to check those dates later to correct in the notes for the case. And had to smirk at the pictures of the replacement pieces of artwork all themed after cats.

Vernon Dorman at the end of the initial questioning stood to say, “No questions, Your Honor.” And he sat again for the next witness to be led up as the prosecution gathered up the pictures and Officer Graham left the easel for the blueprint of the Mansion brought out for the next witness.

Jimmie Feigel – Age 28. Head security guard in charge of that property was asked several questions on his usual tasks and pattern of patrol and then questions of the discovery of the theft came next which the Defense expanded on by clarifying that even in the absence of goods there was no sign of who might have committed the crime or even how they had gotten in or out.

Jacob Shea – Age 43. A Mobster who testifies in deal for pending case that he’d seen one of the twins at a bar planning the heist and at a pool hall gaining a crew to pull it off. Hinting coercion of identification by the Defense digging more into the details of how the identity of the suspect was brought up eventually bringing to light there was a supply of pictures laid out for him to choose from when the Detective swayed the questioning from his own Felony charges to the robbery. An admission that had the crowd buzzing all through the switch over for the next case.

.

Schmidt vs Schmidt

Ben Lynch – Age 51, a licensed Psychiatrist. Atop the stand was halfway through his statement of how he was approached in the planned testimony that Mr Schmidt had approached him and shared about his wife to see what sort of mental problems she might be suffering from to solidify his grounds that she was unstable.

“Mr Lynch,” to the cease of the silent taps of your pen atop your notepad you felt his eyes shift to land on you with brows raised and you asked, “Did you just say that Mr Schmidt approached you and filled you into this whole situation?”

“Yes, Your Honor,” he answered and you tapped your pen on the notepad again.

“Have you ever spoken to Mrs Schmidt?”

“No, Your Honor,” he said and stole a glance at Billie Bretz, the author of the case over the shoulder of the pretend concerned Mr Schmidt’s shoulder.

“Have you ever met Mrs Schmidt?”

“No, Your Honor.”

“Alright, then I’m going to have to excuse you.”

“Okay,” he said and stood to return to follow Officer McTavish who smirked guiding him back out to the hall before the next witness would be brought in.

Mr Schmidt’s Lawyer Mr Felton asked, “Your Honor?”

“I will not accept any diagnosis from any Medical Professional who has not personally consulted the supposed afflicted party. And had Mrs Schmidt spoken to him without the grounds of a criminal mental inquiry said testimony would be inadmissible in court as well even with the permission of the Husband to share her confidential information shared with Mr Lynch unless she had threatened to harm someone or herself. And then that would be heard in grounds of a criminal case not a Divorce Hearing.”

“Fair enough,” Mr Felton said that had his pretend client shift his hands in a ‘what the hell’ motion he could only shake his head at while the judges of the case made note of your decision and reasoning.

Estelle Warner – Age 21. Assistant who says she demands gifts and is bad with and is after money came next and had you pretending to take notes to keep from rolling your eyes through the fruitless testimony.

Where you had to keep from rolling your eyes you had to keep from laughing when the next student came up to represent the 20 year old current mistress, Wilhelmina Adler. Who was called in favor of the current Mrs Schmidt who ends up admitting in the line of questioning by Lee Hogue in favor of his client that brought out her pattern of dating well off men. Ending with a glaring statement that she has the impression that Mr Schmidt’s son Daniel could ruin things between the both of them and their happiness.

Leonard Frisbe – Age 39. Tutor for young Daniel came with a share on both environments the child was residing in, and while the father’s home was more spacious his mother’s home came with a parent who took part in the studies of the child to help him understand topics that came difficult for the tutor to get him to understand.

With a nod you flashed him a smile and said, “Thank you Mr Frisbe, you are excused.” He nodded and strolled out and you called the case for the day to meet again in two days for the next step in the process.

.

More exams and handwritten essay prompts filled your Tuesday while you sat to the side in separate desks while your Professors ensured that more of the final assignments were crossed off their grade books to finalize your credits before the month was up. Jointly along with a note from the Dean of Barnard and Columbia they stated that the first week of April was the solidified date that you would be graduating this semester as a sort of firm support of you and this next step of your pregnancy to grant some highly required rest from all of the public press. All around the dinner table at least that letter gave a solid date to be spread through the family to plan accordingly.

.

State vs Lewis Patzer

Vernon Dorman for Mr Patzer’s defense called up the first witness and began with Matilda Patzer – Age 54, his grandmother who was with him and his Grandfather as well as the night when the goods were returned. While you hoped to throw out the case a few details were a bit too shaky for you to do so when the Prosecution cross examined her.

Charity Patzer – Age 22 was next and also was a hair away from being worthy of throwing out the case when she stood as his alibi for Halloween night.

Ralph Adler – Age 27 was next and while the Prosecution used the fact that there are identical twins involved was used to fight the alibis was used against the Prosecution’s case with a doubled down attack that the Detective had a deep seeded grudge against Lewis Patzer since he did not return the affections the Detective’s daughter had for him. Buzz worthy testimony the Prosecution could not shake that gave way to the final witness before the closing statements.

Lawrence Barnham – Age 45, the victim of the case was called next and took the stand to play what the files had him as a living airhead of an heir to a fortune with little to offer the world beyond his pocketbook withdrawals. All of which brought little sympathy from anyone when his ploy to state he had lost dear things to him, and while it made a tiny dent in his overall fortune did not leave him any worse for wear aside from hurt feelings.

.

Schmidt vs Schmidt

Once everyone took their seats after a bathroom break for you to the group you flashed a quick grin and said, “I realize the both of you are hoping that after all of the character witness testimonies that I could decide everything for you and wrap it up in a nice bow for you. However I have a few more questions and information I need from the both of you.” Both sides nodded and you asked, “Mr Schmidt, how many hours do you work?” he answered the question and then shifted in his seat as you asked, “And while you work when you have custody of your son who watches him?”

“I have a nanny.”

You nodded and made a tick mark next to that question on the list you had noted to ask later and asked, “And in or out of your custody how many school events do you go to?”

“Um,” he said and wet his lips, “I go to the occasional game when I can with my job.”

“Fair enough,” you said and made a tick mark on the list and asked, “And how much savings do you have set away for Daniel for schooling or emergencies?”

Your eyes landed on him in the draw of his pretend smug attitude in saying to a nudge of his elbow into his lawyer’s, “I make more than enough with my job to not need savings. And the boy isn’t anywhere near old enough to think on college yet.”

Blankly at him you stared a moment and made him inch back in his seat before you asked the same questions to the male student acting as the wife who while she had basic funds compared to his to draw from she spent more quality time with the boy and never missed a chance to be with him during his school events she assured he made it to.

You nodded and said “I would like to speak to Daniel,” and Officer Browen grinned as you said, “Officer Browen would you escort him in?”

To the hall he went and heads turned to watch the anxious preteen who was the stand in nine year old son that smiled and poked is brother’s arm on the way to the stand where he made sure to flash you a glimpse of the Venom and Battle Bunny comic in his hand. To your smile he settled into his seat and listened as you said, “Now, Daniel, I know this is a bit confusing but I just have a few questions for you to make sure that I have all the details and perspectives.”

He nodded and into his schooling and clubs he shared the memorized details and those he stole glances at his script of his life tucked inside the comic book to answer your questions. Sharing fully that he loved school and his clubs and was an active and happy child who seemed to be adjusting well to the two new household situation even though he might wish his dad would be around more. “What do you think of the new two home situation? Do you feel happier?”

The preteen after a glance at his sheet said, “My parents fight less, and even though Dad doesn’t come to many of my games or meets when he’s not around his new girlfriend he does spend more time with me.” Then he added, “I would like to spend more time with my mom though, usually I spend most of the time with a nanny at dad’s visits when he works.”

You nodded and said, “Well thank you for answering my questions, and if you don’t mind following Officer Browen again your parents should be out in a little bit.” He nodded and smiled in his pop up for a relieved sort of bounce to the hall past his grinning brother who was proud of his baby brother’s successful role in this trial.

And in his absence when the Officer Browen went back to his spot you adjusted yourself to face the parents and said, “As far as the primary custody is concerned I am awarding that to Mrs Schmidt.” Jaws dropped in the crowd and the students at the tables inched up in amused shock as you clarified, “Parenthood is more than money and for all of the houses and hired staff to watch after your son Mr Schmidt he is a kind hearted bubbly boy with big dreams and solitude and distance can only crush that without proper guidance and reinforcement. I will leave the aspect of dates to decide visitation between your Lawyers, however I have a list of information that I will sort through to the details of your assets to ascertain the proper financial support to be granted as child support.”

After a pause you stated, “And amongst the division of dates for visitation I would like the both of you to draft up your wills.” That had their lips part and you said, “We will continue this hearing on Friday.” And you brought down the gavel casting the courtroom in an amused and stunned moment of confusion in your rise and stroll out with the amused General behind you.

Assets present/future

Property/Bank information

Child’s activities and school records

Prenup or postnup

Husband’s work habits

Wife’s possible income, former assets

Possible child support and alimony

All from the evidence boxes were compiled at home and would be consulted later when you got home to mark up the financial settlement while the pretend divided couple would spend the next class they had off to work out with their pretend Lawyers to mark up dates to spilt monthly with holidays divided or agreed to be celebrated together. The wills confusingly were drafted up by means of a textbook they got from the library to know how to write it up with details filled in from the evidence given and typed up for a less shoddy version to be brought into the final hearing on Friday when they hoped the case was to be closed.

“You asked them to make wills?” was whispered through the halls and they continued on excitedly to gossip and guess on your plans to see if they will be right about them when Friday rolled around. The same question that was echoed when you returned home and sat with the notes to compile them all as you used the guys as sounding boards for what you had decided.

Just two weeks were until your trip and through the home small bits were being tucked away in trunks and suitcases to be driven back to Canada to simplify the final tings to grab the day of the move. Absolute neutrality was an odd mood that washed over you and across the main floor you paced and did a few odd stretches along the way that had the guys peer between doorways more than a bit confused by their tries to hint they had your usual nesting spots ready for you that had failed.

Reinforcements sent in the form of a pouting toddler with a ball in hand had you settled down on a cushion on the floor to play with Teddy until dinner was called for. A meal he tottered off to and with an adorable tilt of your head backwards to glance at Victor with a chuckle he squatted to take hold of your upper thighs on your legs you unfolded and planted to help you up once your hands had settled behind his neck. James’ hand extended to claim yours for the walk to eat after having set down the camera to capture that moment and gladly after you had eaten your fill a bath and early night in let them relax.

.

Closing arguments and the send off of the Jury to deliberate bled to the Divorce Case that had you hand over two copies of the decided arrangements that both sides read along with you while the author of the case smirked taking note of the decisions in the payment plans and custody agreement. Including their decided dates that you signed off on and shared tasks in case of emergency to renegotiate days to skip if one of them was suddenly unavailable to have custody that day.

After that you said, “And I just have one final thing to say before I close this case to you Mr Schmidt. You have no right not to protect your family from the worst case scenario. I know all too well what happens to a mother who loses their spouse and father to their child and now has to adjust accordingly to raise her children alone. And while you might consider nine a huge leap from eighteen if you dropped dead tomorrow your child would be left without any means of support at all. That was the reason for my order to have you write your will, and if you do marry your current flame then I highly suggest re-writing that will to include her and any possible children you might conceive from that union. I would also advise speaking with a financial consultant to begin a savings plan and possible trust for your son that could be set aside for his schooling and remain protected should the worst befall you. Sunny skies today do not negate storm clouds tomorrow. Buy an umbrella and some boots for your son.” You said to the slam of the gavel that had some in the crowd chuckle and begin to clap as you turned to head to the office to simply get out of that room and chair that your body didn’t want to remain fixed upon any longer to final notes being taken by the Judges who collected the copies of your drafted plans for the couple.

For Psychology at least you were able to stand for a bit off to the side of your desk against the wall out of view of mostly everyone but the understanding Professor who calmed on threats of labor when you finally felt relaxed enough to lower into your seat for the rest of the class. Literature however had you arrive to an empty classroom where you read the note that a family emergency had the Professor gone but the TA there with a grin and a special exam in hand to have you complete for a final major credit for the semester for his class. To your usual seat you strolled and accepted the packet to complete then turn in for a short break to browse through one of the courtyards until the Photography club would meet.

Up to the tree where you found the owl from before you peered locked in place only to turn and smile at the Twins who guided you to the club room and would wait to meet you again after to show you to James’ car. And by the time you got home the reason for your discomfort was clear as Ambrose woke the family in the middle of the night when she went into labor and by Saturday morning had a bouncing baby girl to have the family boast about at mass the following day while she got about a week to rest.

.

Not Guilty would be the words that echoed through the halls while you focused on the course list that you had sent for from the same Alberta Community College that Columbia and Barnard would accept credits for through your summer break to get ahead on your degrees. Some that you would have to attend on campus but others the school at the tolerable distance allowed for weekly visits from a tutor for check ins on your understanding and bi-weekly exams in a program that was meant to aid new mothers specifically in continuing their credits. Quite proudly they meant to welcome the second of the sibling set to grace their campus to take up the courses they had to offer.

And by the time you got to the meeting of the paper your booklet on the Canadian College drew more than a few gazes and Portia smiled asking, “They finally sent the book for your summer classes?”

You nodded calming the young women in the room as you answered, “They’re letting me take a whole chunk of my credits at home, out of the twelve they let me sign up for I have to go on campus for five of them. The rest they’ll send a tutor out to make sure I’m on track and to monitor tests twice a month at the house.”

Portia, “Oh that’s wonderful news. Have you with those Bachelor Degrees in no time.”

Amber asked, “And you’ll be back in September?”

You nodded, “Yes, they’re compact courses in a program for new mothers they are picking up. I think it should go well.”

Another of the young women asked, “And you’ll have time for the birth?”

“Oh ya, I don’t start the at home classes until the end of May and the back half of June I start the on campus classes, so there’s time for me to give birth and get my feet back before I have to head out to the campus, and even that is twice a week.”

The news calmed the group and while you left the room silent smiles behind you were traded in the plan for the first meeting next week to give you an amazing send off to the semester. Schedules to keep over the summer seemed to help and calls from the University had confirmed the best would be chosen and given a non-disclosure contract to not share anything that they would learn about yourself, your family or so much as what color your soap trays were. An odd addition in hopes to have you calmed that the press situation from New York wouldn’t happen in Canada and you would be given a semblance of privacy and heaps of respect in this difficult time of transition. And all you had to pull from the conversation with your moment of corvid brain was to discuss with the family on what type of soap dishes you all wanted for the numerous bathrooms within the spacious manor.

Pt 69

All –

@sherala007​, @mariannetora​​, @jesgisborne​, @knitastically​, @catthefearless​​, @theincaprincess, ggbbhehe4455, @lilith15000​​, @alishlieb​​,

Not nsfw(smut) - @otakumultimuse-hiddlewhore​

X Marvel-Cast - @himoverflowers​, @theincaprincess​, @changlingkhat​

Brother Dearest - @thorinanddwalinsdwarrowdam​​, @swoopswishsward

[ayuuria]

Inuyasha & Yashahime Translation: Shounen Sunday Super December Edition

Takahashi Rumiko-Sensei’s Question Corner Rumic Question

From the many questions we received from readers via the web, we chose 20 questions for Takahashi Rumiko-sensei to answer!!

Q: The names of the characters in “Inuyasha” are not only original but fit them so well that you can’t think of any other name; peerlessly cool good taste! How did you come up with their names?

Once you name a character, you cannot change it so that’s what I worry about the most. Even if I give them a temporary name for when they make their debut, if it doesn’t stick I will think all the way up to the last minute. While all I can say is “That was the name that fit that character” … a name that is easy to call, draw, and remember. A name that fits the story. For example, in flower language, Kikyou means “Unchanging love” or how Kagome is like a children’s song and cute. I feel like Sesshomaru originally had a different name, but I forgot. On the other hand, I remember the outfit design solidified when I decided on the name.

Q: There are a lot of demons that appear in “Inuyasha” but who was the hardest and easiest to draw?

Magatsuhi was the hardest to draw. He didn’t have a solid form afterall. Also I drew them as I pleased so I don’t remember really struggling.

Q: Is Buyo a male or a female?

When serialization first started, I thought they were a male at first but as I continued to draw, I started to think “This cat might be an old lady”. They might be a female. Well Buyo is Buyo so I think it’s fine if everyone decides for themselves whether Buyo is a male or a female.

Q: I want to know how Sesshomaru and Jaken first met. Was Jaken an old man from the time they first met?

I remember their meeting being drawn in an original episode in the “Inuyasha” anime. I can’t remember which episode number though. According to that, Jaken was a demon leader who lost to Sesshomaru in battle and thus decided to follow him, I think that was the scenario. And I think he was an old man as well.

Q: If Kikyo had lived on, would she and Kagome have been good friends

As long as Inuyasha is around, I think it would be really hard for them to be friends like nothing happened… I imagine they would have this strange tension between them as they accepted the other while feeling uneasy. I don’t think Inuyasha could mentally handle that either.

Q: I like small creatures that appear in the Rumic World like Kilala and Shippou so could you tell us what you focus on when drawing these small creatures?

I make sure that they’re fundamentally cute in appearance. Also because of how small they are, they ride on a main character’s shoulder. Anyhow, I make sure they can share the spotlight.

Q: I think Tessaiga is a good sword that is considerate of the main character such as when it gives Inuyasha a warning so as not to hurt him but Inuyasha treats it so recklessly in comparison. (Though he acts like that fully trusting Tessaiga) If Tessaiga could talk, what do you think it would say to Inuyasha? I have loved “Inuyasha” since I was in elementary school and I’ve viewed the manga and anime but looking back, I feel Tessaiga was gallant in responding to Inuyasha’s recklessness… I was curious about this so I decided to ask.

Tessaiga is a sword forged from his (Inuyasha) father’s fang so while being Inuyasha’s “friend”, I would guess that it might be an existence of higher status. If it could talk, it would probably say “Hurry up and catch up to me”

Q: Thank for the Anime Support Project. “What a time to be alive to be able to send a question to Takahashi Rumiko-sensei” Is what I think (laughs). I’ve loved “Inuyasha” since I was a child and it’s my life’s “bible”. I admired Kagome and lived thinking that I want to be a kind, strong woman like her. Now here is my question: There was a scene where Sesshomaru said “I don’t eat human food” but for a demon that doesn’t attack humans, what does he eat to sustain his life? I mean Inuyasha and Shippou ate with Kagome and the others so do demons and humans eat the same thing? Was Sesshomaru by chance bluffing with that line? Lastly, I look forward to the serialization of “Hanyou no Yashahime” and “MAO”! Thank you for all the wonderful works.

Thank you for your support. Sesshomaru’s meals, I can’t imagine it after all. There’s a possibility he absorbs mists of “essence” or “energy” of the demons he’s defeated. Also fruits are another possibility.

Q: Within “Inuyasha”, is there a story that was most fun for you to draw? Also I would love for sensei to tell us your best (favorite) episode!

I have a lot of favorite episodes so it’s hard to decide. Black haired Inuyasha on the Night of the New Moon was refreshing and fun, and the stories of Inuyasha going to the Modern Era and loosening up as he took a break from fighting had me in many laughing fits. Also drawing the story for the Band of Seven made me excited. And, while fun may not be the right word, I put a lot of effort into Kagura’s death and Kikyou’s last moments with the idea that I wanted to give them a proper send off. The process of Kagome and Inuyasha and Miroku and Sango’s relationship gradually changing was also fun. Ultimately if I had to pick one, it’s probably the final episode. I finished drawing it feeling “I finally made it” and it was satisfying.

Q: I love the Band of Seven in “Inuyasha”! Did Bankotsu, who is the strongest member of the Band of Seven, scout the others? Bankotsu and Jakotsu seem close so are they the first members? I’ve always wondered this. I look forward to appealing enemies appearing in Yashahime.

I think all the other members of the Band of Seven most likely had enough strength to make it on their own. For all those people to come together would require a very strong leader at its core which is basically what Bankotsu was. Also, being together made jobs easier or they felt there may have been a merit. I feel like Bankotsu and Jakotsu being the founding members does indeed fit really nicely.

Q: I really like Monk Miroku and Sango in “Inuyasha” and I continue to support them even now. My question is in the end, how many children did these two, who said “Would you be willing to bear 10, 20 children?” when they purposed, have? If you have back stories and such for the children, I would love to hear them.

I only remember the twins and the newborn baby boy that appeared in the last chapter of “Inuyasha” making an appearance in Yashahime. In my mind, I didn’t think of anything beyond that but they are still a young married couple so I think there’s unlimited possibilities. I am happy that you like these two even now. Thank you very much.

Q: I have a question regarding the different use for “Scent” and “Odor”. The expressions for when Sesshomaru smelled something, for Rin it was constantly “scent” and for everything else it was “odor”. When they first met too, the expression was “A human’s scent”.  Just as Inuyasha called Kagome’s smell a “scent”, is it because it is a “smell” that they like?

I had an image of Inuyasha and Sesshomaru differentiating between friend or foe with “smell”. Of course “scent” is friend while “odor” is enemy. In addition, keeping in mind of the image that comes to readers minds when they see these words, I fundamentally had “scent” used for female characters. I wanted readers to get a sense of purity and cuteness from it.

Q: If there’s an episode or scene in “Inuyasha” that ended up turning out differently than what was originally thought up prior to serialization, could you please tell us?

First, I only started the story with the idea of half-demon Inuyasha, getting back stabbed by Kikyou and getting sealed away, and having a sword that was his father’s memento. Everything else, I created while thinking on the week of. Thus, Naraku came after, as well as I thought of Shippou, Miroku, and Sango when they debuted. I had thought of Sesshomaru possibly dying after protecting a human but it seemed like such a waste and I became unable to kill him. The direction of the story was decided when the antagonist, Naraku, was born. I’m an adlib (improv) type person so I won’t be surprised by what I draw if I decide things too far ahead. It’s fun to imagine every week “What will they do, what will happen”.

Q: “Inuyasha” is my bible on life! When talk of Yashahime happened, what was your first thought?

In my mind “Inuyasha” was complete so when they spoke to me about this, I thought “You’re going to do this?”. However Sumizawa-san, who handled the scenario for the “Inuyasha” anime, is a person who, in addition to being adept and talented, does not make mistakes so I felt that I could leave it to him.

Q: In the final chapter of the original work, Sesshomaru was gifting Rin a kimono but how did he go about obtaining it? I’m really curious as to if Sesshomaru delivered something Jaken prepared or if he went and bought it himself?

I thought about this over and over after I received this question. I think after all, he would order Jaken to go buy it and to continue buying until he bought a kimono that fit his image. On top of that, he probably doesn’t tell him (Jaken) a precise image to begin with.

Q: In “Hanyou no Yashahime” we saw Grandma Kaede. Seeing her surprised me… she hasn’t changed from the time of “Inuyasha”! Is Grandma Kaede by chance a demon?

She’s a human. However she still has the role of advising the young folks and having them listen to stories from the past so maybe she doesn’t age because it’s something worth doing.

Q: In “Hanyou no Yashahime”, Inuyasha and Kagome’s child, Moroha, appears. Inuyasha is a half demon, Kagome is a human, and Moroha is cross between a human and a half-demon. Do the three of them age differently in the Feudal Era?

In the span of the story, they seem to age the same. I’m sure the results will gradually begin to show after a few decades.

Q: In “Hanyou no Yashahime” Moroha wears a red ribbon; is this ribbon something with Inuyasha’s ears in mind? Also why is it that Inuyasha, who is a half-demon, has dog ears but Towa and Setsuna, who are also half-demons, do not? I can under Moroha since she’s a quarter (demon)… is there a basis for the dog ears? Please tell us!

Just as you guessed, Moroha’s ribbon was a projection of Inuyasha’s image. In regards to the dogs ears for Towa and Setsuna, Sesshomaru takes a human form and reversely, Inuyasha was something like half beast. The half demons that appear in Inuyasha have all sorts of appearances so understand that it depends on the individual.

Q: Ever since I watched the anime, “Inuyasha”, when I was 5 years old, it has been my absolute favorite work. When I was young, whenever I looked at the sacred tree at the shrine, I always imagined “Was Inuyasha sealed to this tree?...” It’s been 12 years since the original work was concluded. 10 years since the anime “Final Act”. I’m so excited for “Hanyou no Yashahime” beginning this fall! What was the most important thing when you designed the half-demon princess, Towa, Setsuna, and Moroha?

Scenario writer Sumizawa-san asked of me the following images: Towa as a “White Sesshomaru” and Setsuna as a “Black Sesshomaru”. While they’re twins, they grew up in two completely different eras so I designed them as two separate individuals. In addition, while Towa wears a boy’s uniform, I thought it would be good if she had a feminine streak to her. Moroha strongly resembles Inuyasha and Kagome. She’s a cheerful character so I didn’t have any second thoughts when I drew her into what she is now.

Q: Is there anything in “Hanyou no Yashahime” that you would like readers to pay attention to?

Sunrise’s beautiful pictures and animations as well as the story is also entertaining. The previous generation will periodically make an appearance and I think Towa, Setsuna, and Moroha are each charming. I think it’s a work that both first time people and people who watched “Inuyasha” can enjoy. Also Wada Kaoru-san continues from “Inuyasha” as being in charge of music. I’m excited for this as well.

We received a comment, autograph, and illustration for all the readers from Takahashi Rumiko-sensei!

[dinosdawn]

First Christmas

This is something that I wrote for me and my friend, who in this is in a relationship with Hyunjin.

Blurb: You and Chris prepare to spend Christmas Eve with your best friend and her boyfriend, Hyunjin.

Genre: Fluff

Warnings: Language (I use one curse word lmao)

Members: Bang Chan, Hyunjin

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

It was a bitterly cold winter, snowing almost everyday that week. Y/N had just finished moving into her shared apartment with Chris and invited Y/F/N and Hyunjin over to spend Christmas Eve together. The apartment was lavish and warm, the main wall being floor to ceiling windows with a breathtaking view of Hongdae, the busy streets and nip of the cold locked out. The walls were cream with crown molding and a hardwood floor throughout the home. 

It had 3 bedrooms; one they shared, and a studio for both Y/N and Chris respectively, a relatively large kitchen with plenty of counter space, 2 bathrooms and a large living room. The walls were decorated in golden tinsel, the doors had holly wreaths, and fairy lights hung from the ceiling giving the room a warm glow. 

Nestled in the corner of the living room was a beautiful douglas fir that had white lights and pink and silver ornaments scattered on it. The tree was home to several presents, Y/N and Chris both agreed only to get the other a few gifts but as soon as they went shopping they threw that agreement out the window. There was a large L-sofa with a coffee table in the middle facing a flat screen.

Y/N had been cooking all day, both American, Australian, and Korean dishes so everyone would feel like they were at home while they celebrated. She made about 7 different main dishes, 5 side dishes, and plenty of homemade candy for everyone to snack on. She really had been standing all day, feeling the effects of being in the same place for over 5 hours but she didn’t mind, it was the first time that she would be spending Christmas in her new home and wanted it to be perfect for everyone. Especially Y/F/N and Hyunjin since it was their first Christmas together. She was so excited to see her longtime friend with someone, even more so that they were in the same group that Chris was in. 

Needless to say Y/N wasn’t surprised when Y/F/N admitted that she liked Hyunjin in a romantic way, and was thrilled knowing he felt the same way. It took some careful planning with Chris to get them to accidentally run into each other but clearly it worked since they’ve been together for 8 months now.

Y/N moved to Seoul 2 years ago to pursue a career in music while studying at Yonsei University. She had been doing YouTube primarily, producing her own music and filming mini music videos and choreography videos. That’s how she met Chris, JYP Ent. had reached out to her regarding a potential collaboration between her and one of their artists and she jumped at the chance. When she went to the business meeting she was still in her school etire, backpack in hand and barely made it.

When she found out who she was going to make a song with she died right then and there. Chris had been watching her on YouTube, stays recommended her music to him during his live, and when he realized she was based in Seoul he took the chance to make something with her. They signed a contract and began a 2 month process of writing, composing, recording, and choreographing a single they were going to release together. 

Naturally they grew closer together and once Chris checked with JYP that it was alright for him to date he asked her on a date immediately. Of course she said yes and it grew from there. That was a year and a half ago, they were very serious at this point and decided to buy an apartment together and move in. Which is where they are now.

Y/F/N, on the other hand, moved to Seoul a year after Y/N did. She saved up for years and was able to afford a small place nestled in the heart of Gangnam. She got a job as an assistant producer for Starship and began to flourish, often finding Y/N staying on her couch because her roommate was fucking in the middle of their shared room. 

Y/F/N viewed Y/N as a little sister and had no problem taking care of her. When Y/F/N finally met Chris, Y/N swore she was going to pass out. Y/F/N did her best not to come off as a clingy fan in respect of him but Chris understood and brushed it off. He even offered to show her around the city and help her meet more people since it’s hard to meet new people with the culture. 

That included meeting the other members of Stray Kids, which also almost killed her. They were all so friendly to her, helping her learn Korean and being very patient with her mistakes and stumbles when it came to the language. The person who helped her the most was Hyunjin, who was proficient enough in English to not need Chris or Felix to help translate, and they began to spend more time together whenever the group would get together and hangout. 

Once Y/F/N confessed to Y/N her feelings, she switched into matchmaking mode, setting up times to meet up but oh no something came up i'll call you later. This went on for a few months until Y/F/N built up the courage to ask Hyunjin out. He was very flustered but said yes, being more shy when it comes to his feelings then Y/F/N was. 

There was about 15 minutes before the couple was set to arrive and Y/N was almost finished with the gingerbread when a pair of arms wrapped around her waist and a chin rested on her shoulder. 

“They’ll be here soon, don’t you want to change before they get here?” Chris’ voice soothed next to her ear. She leaned into him while cutting shapes into the dough. She let out a sigh, “Yes but I need to finish this and get it in the oven before they get here, I want to surprise them with cookies.”

He chuckled and slowly spun her around so she was facing him and kissed her nose. “You’ve been cooking for hours, let me finish up so you can get changed. You haven’t let me help all day baby, you look so tired.” She scrunched her nose up at the feeling and smiled at him. “Alright fine, but I want those cookies looking like Gordan Ramsey made them.” 

They both laughed and shared a soft kiss before she rushed off to change into something more comfortable. She trusted Chris in the kitchen but didn’t want him doing much because he’s been training almost everyday for a month and just wanted him to relax on his vacation. 

She put on one of his baggy hoodies and a pair of leggings and some fluffy slippers. She always felt so warm and safe in his shirts and knew he loved seeing her wear them no matter how much he complained about her stealing his wardrobe. He was wearing a loose pair of pants and a Christmas sweater Y/N picked out. It had a little pug with reindeer antlers and the antlers lit up. It was adorable and Y/N loved that he actually wore it. 

By the time she was done the cookies were in the oven and Chris was putting on Polar Express for background noise, making sure to turn on Korean subtitles for Hyunjin. He didn’t necessarily need them but sometimes they talked so fast it was hard for his brain to keep up. He looked over at his girlfriend and couldn’t hold back the smile as she stood there with her hair pulled back and sweater paws. He loved her wearing his clothes because the arms were always too long so only her fingertips would be visible. 

The doorbell pulled them out of their staring contest and Y/N rushed to the little screen that illuminated the hallway outside their home. The fuzzy screen showed a short figure whose arms were full of presents and a taller figure with a few dishes in their arms. Y/N squealed and rushed to the door and threw it open, not even putting on the right shoes.

There stood Y/F/N and Hyunjin, lightly dusted with snow, and Y/N immediately took some of the presents from her friend. “I thought I told you no gifts yet!” 

“I couldn’t help it, you know how I get.” Y/F/N responded with a huff now that her arms were less full. Y/N invited them inside and told Hyunjin where to put the food and Y/F/N the presents. Once hands were empty hugs were exchanged and they began talking about how life had been since the last time they’d seen each other, literally a week ago, but they loved it non the less.

“Y/N why did you make so much food?” Hyunjin asked while looking at the numerous dishes. Y/N blushed and scratched the back of her head. “I wanted everyone to have food from their childhood so it would feel like home.” 

Chris wrapped his arm around her waist and kissed her head. “And you did just that, I wish you would’ve taken it easy though. She was cooking for at least 5 hours, I could barely get her to go change.” Y/N slapped his chest and blushed even harder. “I’m making hot chocolate.” She mumbled and hurried over to the kitchen where she had mugs prepared.

Y/F/N sat on the couch and looked at the tv. “Polar Express?! I haven’t watched this in years!” She exclaimed and grabbed Hyunjin’s hand, pulling him onto the couch with little resistance. He knew that his girlfriend loved movies and couldn’t help but get excited when she did. He wrapped his arm around her shoulders, pulling her into him and kissed her head gently before resting his head on hers. 

Chris went to help Y/N with the hot coco and tried to get her to stop ignoring him. It didn’t take much and he knew she wasn’t really upset with him, so when she gave him a quick kiss on the cheek and rushed off he couldn’t stop smiling. They carried the drinks over to the other couple and quickly took the same positions on the opposite side of the couch where they all watched the movie full of content. They exchanged pleasantries and both of the girls couldn’t help but sing the hot chocolate song when it came around.

They stayed like this for hours, wrapped in the serenity of each other's comforting touch. They ate food, played card games, laughed and sang for hours til it got late in the evening. Chris and Hyunjin cleaned the dishes while their significant others went into Y/N’s studio to listen to her new work in progress. 

The boys joked around and began talking about what their schedule was going to be once the New Year hit and how hectic it was going to become. They were both dreading having to leave the healing atmosphere of staying at home with the love of their lives but they knew what they signed up for being idols.

After a short while Y/F/N and Hyunjin were bidding the other couple goodbye and returned to Y/F/N home. Hyunjin was staying with her as long as he could, he still lived in the dorms with some of the others. Y/F/N took a shower first followed by her boyfriend. When he had come out and changed Y/F/N put something on the tv and held her arms open for him to join her. He complied with no resistance and held her in his arms.

“Tonight was amazing love.” He whispered while staring at her. She was everything he could ever want in a person. Caring and kind, giving so much of herself while not dealing with anyone's bullshit. He loved her for that. He was so happy to spend the first of many Christmases with her. He looked forward to the Christmas they would spend together married, the ones they would spend together with little ones running around. She was everything to him and he wasn’t going to let that go. Ever.

She smiled and agreed with him. “It was perfect. I’m so glad we get to spend this together. I love you.” He beamed at her. “I love you too.” He leaned in slowly and pressed his lips softly to hers. They were content with what they had and not pushing the other, just simply taking in the other. Never asking for more. They were perfect together and everyone could see that. When they pulled away for air they just smiled at the other, feathering kisses here and there and whispering sweet words that were meant for only them to hear.

Y/N and Chris ended the night in a similar fashion, with kisses and cuddles. Y/N was exhausted both physically and mentally and he knew that. He was content holding her as she fought off sleep to spend more time with him, singing her songs in hopes of helping her drift off to sleep. It took very little time for her breathing to even out and he only allowed himself to drift when he was sure she was asleep.

[fiction-in-my-blood]

Obey Me! Brothers x MC’s Job HC

So this is a headcannon based on each brother’s MC having a job or experience in a field that would be somewhat benefit to them the most in work and play ;). Ya girl just wants to feel useful TT 

Warnings: The SLIGHTEST reference of NSFW in some of the HCs

~~~~~~

Lucifer: 

Okay, maybe an elementry school teacher wouldn’t directly help Big Brother Lucifer the most, especially when you were just out of supervised training, but you sure as hell can help keep some of his more troublesome problems at bay. 

Having to deal with overexcitable, emotionally unstable, and honestly frequently hyped-up-on-sugar children just out of infancy has given you a backbone, not to meant a glare that’s strong enough to stop everyone still, but not scare. 

Unless you wanted it to. 

Not to mention that voice. 

The range of your vocal cords could be heard even by Diavolo in his castle. 

You needed it, dealing with crying children and sometimes parents who thought their child couldn’t possibly bully the girl they ‘crushed’ on when you had seen it with your own eyes.

And even after grabbing everyone’s attention in a room full of strong personalities, you’re more than capable of turning it down a bit to explain what the issue is.

“Levi, you can’t chop off Mammon’s hands to stop him from stealing your things.”

“Don’t you laugh, Mammon! You’re not off the hook just yet. Give Levi his figurine back before I put Goldie in the microwave, hm?”

“Asmodeus, you can’t go around stealing my underwear! What would your mother think of this?”

“Beelzebub, you can’t eat other people’s food without asking. How would you feel if I went along and ate all your blackbelly newt legs and your monkey brain pudding?”

“Mammon, this is your last warning. Put the money back where you found it.”

“Belphegor, you need to stop sleeping on the floor. Mamo keeps tripping over you and I don’t think we can afford any more screaming in this house.”

“Mammon! Do I need to send you to the quiet corner again?”

“Satan, clean up your books or they’re going back on the shelf out of order.”

Your use of their full names definitely felt like their were being reprimanded by a teacher.

Even if you sometimes treat the younger brothers like children, which will often cause a few snickers, you can’t really help it when they act the way they do. 

Sometimes you get a little too carried away, on instinct threatening to cancel the end of year pizza party unless they start behaving, but Lucifer appreciates your attempts to restrain them all the same while chuckling along with everyone else. 

You may act before you think, but you’ve brought his family closer together. 

Mamo: 

Being a professional pocker player would be just too easy. 

That’s why it’s your weekend gig.

Besides from your backers and frequent trips to pocker tournements, you spent your nights, and sometimes at day parties, as a mixologist. 

It may not seem like much, but bartending has helped you nuture a skill to read people and help them talk out their problems.

Which is the only reason Mamo hasn’t been thrown into the fiery pits of hell when a revengeful witch comes knocking every now and then. 

You hear out his fraud victim’s troubles and show your understanding, wondering in the back of your head why, in Diavolo’s great Devildom, Mammon would agree to give away some of Satan’s incantations for a credit card that looked similar to Goldie?!

You manage to talk her out of taking his liver as payment and agree to help mix some potions you recently learnt at school, being a mixologist has helped in that regard as well.

A few times you’ve had to play some other demons in a game of cards in order to get Mammon back home safely. 

It was only when you beat Soloman that Mamo first noticed your professional-grade talent. 

You didn’t really want him knowing, you knew he wouldn’t be able to help himself but use you to his advantage, so you first said that it was a natural skill humans had- which no one believed and only made them all curious.

Eventually, you gave in to Mamo’s pestering and it was then you said you weren’t going to give him money. 

At first, he was a little offended you’d think he would use you like that, but, for once, he listened to everyone’s harsh words and understood why you had that idea. 

He was the Avatar of Greed, after all.

Ever since, he’s been working hard to show you he would never use you again.

Unless it was a life or death scenario with that one witch he conned a dragon’s egg from. 

Levi: 

It was impressive when you picked up Ancient Languages so quickly, but the otaku didn’t question it, at that time he didn’t have that much interest in you. 

Then you were able to annunciate those words better than Satan or Lucifer or Diavolo, but maybe you were a quick learner?

It was only when you nonchalantly offered him the latest, unreleased, series of a longer-than-necessary-anime-title did Levi think to ask. 

You were a translator in the human world. 

Had more interest in the words than the story, but that was enough for him to start treating you less of a normie and more of a fellow recluse like him. 

It didn’t take long after that when he realised you were THE MC. 

The MC who had translated most of the anime he watched, even though he didn’t need to read subs, you were stil famous, and not only for translating. 

You had dabbled in voice acting, mainly due to one conference call you had where the client asked you to voice for a minor character that would only be in for a few episodes of TSL. 

It was a disasterous when the character died, having been quite a noble and vicious knight to the Lord of Shadow- who, of which, the lord also liked.

You weren’t going to tell him the character was booted off because you weren’t comfortable voice acting anymore. 

However, he will have you read aloud lines he had found on a certain website where many like-minded fans wrote their own stories about the characters. 

Lucifer caught the skript-like paper when he saw the word ‘master’ printed next to a less than savoury subject the eldest brother would not allow you to be tricked into saying. 

Levi wasn’t too happy about that, ranting and raving how it was unfair and he needed to hear the Shadow Knight confess to the Lord of Shadow the way the fandom, and most of all, he, deserved.

You may have little clue what the animes your translating are about, but you never again reject the offer to have one of your own, walking to Levi’s room the second it reaches you in the mail and you spend practically all night binging on every word you wrote for him.

Satan: 

When you first came to Devildom, you were particularly overly-curious.

Maybe it was because you were in a knew place, surrounded by beings you once thought only existed in stories? 

Maybe you had that same respect for knowledge as Satan did? 

Well, it would be easy to think that if it weren’t for the types of questions you asked each of the brothers, as well as the angels, Soloman, Barbatos and even the Prince of Devildom himself. 

“What do you like to do on your days off?”

“Are you a tits or ass guy?”

“What’s your relationship like with your family?”

“Do you like men, women, or a bit of both?”

Every demon, witch, angel and whoever you met at RAD had the pleasure of being interrogated by you, your gracious smile and genuine concern for their answer coaxing them to tell you more than they would think to like.

When you wrote in that little journal, stock full of flyaway papers, the victim of your inquisitive nature would worry, for some reason, what you thought of them. 

Still, you never let anyone look, not until you had the perfect match for the client.

A matchmaker, that’s what you were in the human world.

You paired couples, looking for marriage or a short term thing, with their perfect better half. 

And you had been struggling to pair Satan with anyone.

“You have no interest in either of the sexes. How am I meant to find a girl for you when all you care about are dusty old books?” You muttered dismissively, speaking directly at the pages of your book, the two-page profile you had on Satan spread across the fine lined sheets. 

You had been so enraptured in you quest for love that you didn’t notice the warmth looming over you. 

“Who’s dusty old books?” The familiar teasing whisper graced your ear, way too close for comfort. 

You turned, slamming the journal shut, but it was too late. 

He had discovered your plan. 

You quickly explained that you were a matchmaker back home and it was hard to hold back. 

Even when you were with your human friends, you got carried away, pairing them with nice guys you met in the bar when you went on your weekly girl’s night. 

Satan laughed at first, who couldn’t find their own mate? 

Until he realised you couldn’t find anyone for him. 

You’ve never seen him combust into flames so quickly. 

You would be scared if you weren’t so annoyed. 

“This is exactly my point! No one will want to be with you if you get this angry all the time!” You pouted, not realising the brothers that had run in at the drop of the proverbial hat, frozen in the doorway as they watched you, a human, talking smack to a demonic Satan.

They had come to save you once they heard him roaring in anger, but you seemed to be coping just fine on your own.

It took both of you a few weeks to realise, the reason you couldn’t find him anyone is because you wanted him.

Asmo: 

You and Asmodeus had surprisingly philosophical conversations when you had only just met.

You would answer his teasing comments with very deep and personal questions, asking about his past relationships and how it made him feel to flirt with everyone he laid eyes on.

You had caught him off-guard a few times with your out of left-field inquiries.

One time, after you asked about any childhood trauma he may have had that could lead to his sexual nature, he actually got a little angry, losing his cool and throwing your question right back in your face.

He usually seemed to enjoy the strange back and forth, so you watched him devole into his demon-form with a startled gaze.

“I-I’m sorry, Asmo, I shouldn’t have asked that. Force of habit.”

You were blunt, distant and sometimes rude with your short questions, but when you told him those questions were something you were so familiar with they were a large part of your vocabularly, he had to know.

“How could that possibly be a habit?”

You were a relationships councillor. 

You spent your days with arguing couples, coworkers who just couldn’t get along, and the odd friendship that had been torn apart thanks to one sleeping with the other’s partner.

You weren’t used to dealing with overly-friendly cilents, most would be crying about how sorry they were or silent with stubbonness, so you wanted to put that professional gap between the two of you.

But you never intended to hurt him or rehash memories you had no right to know.

“I’m meant to help people, but I can’t even treat the people I care about right.”

Before you had arrived in Devildom, you were pretty much a loner.

You were ambitious, pretty much a recluse outside of work, mainly because anyone you talked to would also get your brain shrinking questions. 

“No human likes being asked if they really trust their partner.”

The self-deprecating laugh that left your down-turned lips in that moment pushed Asmo right back down to his usual laidback demeanor, imploring you to explain what you meant by that.

It was only right, you thought, you had been far too invasive for too long.

Asmo respected the work you told him about.

Even if long-term relationships weren’t his thing, or they hadn’t been until he met you, he understand that not everyone could live off the joys of primal lust. 

Most people needed a lifelong partner that understood everything they were, ever the dark, twisted parts of them.

But, he didn’t like you tales of the threats you received when certain couples didn’t make it through your counciling sessions.

One too many times had a brick been thrown through the windshield of your car or had been generously gifted a death threat in the mail.

They never worried you, you were used to people finding you odd and anti-social, but it did hurt.

You had only ever wanted to help.

From then, Asmo learnt the psychologist tricks you had up your sleeve, intending to use them on his brothers if they were being particularly secretive.

Especially when you were the subject of their conversation.

He would often bring you to parties, pointing out couples on the dance floor or groups of people who were meant to be friends, asking you who had sexual tension and who were on their last straw with their other half.

You told him time and time again that it didn’t work like that, that you couldn’t just look at someone’s face and defer they were a serial killer.

But body language is a hell of a thing.

Beel: 

Being a chef, you were often in the kitchen during the day, trying out recipes Mamo, Satan or Asmo had suggested to you.

Of course, they would often be pranks, potion recipes that would literally blow up in your face the moment you added the frog’s leg or eye of newt. 

But, even the smell of the fire place blazing brought the Avatar of Gluttony sniffing around.

At first, he didn’t care what you made, he always cleaned up the mess of your failed experiement made.

When you actually started acting sad when his brothers pranked you again, it was his time to step in.

Instead of leaving you to do your own thing and reap the rewards of your failures, he sat in a wooden chair much too small for him, bearing with the emptiness of his stomach so he could really teach you about the ways of his world.

He told you what you actually needed to make his favourite meal, which he had overheard you ask Mammon one time as you walked to class together. 

It was gross and difficult to learn how to cook with a cauldron and entrails of creatures, but you dealt with it because the look of pure, yet subtle, joy on Beel’s face when he ate what you meant to make was far worth the displeasure you went through to cook it.

When you got a couple days vacation from RAD, you somehow talked Mammon into taking you to the human world so you could buy real ingredients you were used to cooking with.

You wanted to prove to them all you weren’t as useless as you seemed when you first got there.

Of course, you would have to alter the recipes to the demons, but it shouldn’t be too hard. 

You were a trained professional, after all.

And you definitely proved them all wrong.

Plates of fine dining, fresh vegetables, cakes and sweets.

Abundances of foods of varying cultures and spices. 

It took you a whole day to make it all, but the stiffness in your back as you watched the demons, angels and Soloman alike walk into the banquet hall with looks of awe on their faces was enough to ease that pain.

You were exhausted and didn’t want to eat anything yourself, but that went unnoticed by everyone else.

Everyone else but Beelzebub, Avatar of Gluttony.

He pulled his attention away from the amazing food in his mouth long enough to see you sitting in your chair, hugging your legs to your chest and eyes closing a little longer every time you blinked.

You had never looked cuter, but he had never been more worried about you.

“You’re not going you eat anything?” His mouth was full of the fruits of your labour as he leaned over to grab your attention, continuing to shovel food into his mouth as he waited for you to reply.

“The best thing about my job is watching people enjoy it. I’m not hungry.” You yawned through a smile, letting your head rest on his shoulder as your heavy eyelids almost completely restricted your view of the show. 

Everyone finally seemed to be getting along.

Diavolo noted to himself he would have a few words with you once the dinner was over. 

Belphie:

“You’re a barista.” 

Soloman smirked as you two sat together in class, waiting for the ending bell. 

“No, I develop energy enhancers, which does include coffee. I literally make new, healthier products that help boost energy and motivation.”

Sure, your part-time job was in a coffee shop, but that was only to pay yourself through college. 

The course was nutrionism, paired with a course in chemistry. 

You had hoped to use your degree, when you did graduate, to make a product that didn’t cause heart attacks with the sugar content or make people stressed beyond belief on addictive caffeine. 

You were a tired teen and survived high school on coffee, but that didn’t do well with your heart. 

Now you had a medical condition and got even more tired than you did back then. 

Since you couldn’t have coffee anymore, your research was mainly for you.

That’s why, when you hung out with Belphie, sleeping, ironically, you couldn’t be more jealous. 

He slept and slept and slept, not a care to the centuries he was wasting doing so.

When you two got close, closer than he and Beel, you somehow managed to get him to test a prototype you had developed with the help of Solomo. 

Being the only other human, he actually understood your aims, even if no one else did.

The brother teased you about the fagility of man until you told them about your condition, showing them the medication you had to take everyday to keep your heart beating. 

The ones that did bully you, take a lucky guess, first unbelievably guilty, but you got them to pay you back by being your test subjects.

Often, they wouldn’t work, you were still trying to figure out what all these new potions meant and trying to work with the differences between demons and humans. Not to mention the strongest demons there are. 

When Belphie did get tricked into drinking the energy concoctions you made, and when they finally worked, he wouldn’t be off the walls like Mammon and Asmo.

He remains docile, talking for a little longer than usual, actually showing interest in what his brothers, and you, did.

It’s not like he was a completely different person, he was still your Belphie, but he had just that little more energy he needed to seemed interested in life as a whole.

When you did admit to him that you had been esstentially drugging him, he took a moment to compute.

MC, the first human he had trusted in so long, had been tricking him to stay awake longer?

To ignore the sin he repesented?

You quickly explained that you had tested it hundreds of times, several times on yourself, like a true scientist, and that you just wanted to spend more time with him, he managed to calm down, just a little.

He jokingly second guessed every drink you handed him from then on, but, honestly, he was happy you had used him like that.

The reasoning for it, for you two to be able to spend more time together, getting to no each other when he wasn’t half asleep or yawning at your every other word.

Mammon had invested in your business venture, but Belphie would be your top customer.

[cinnamoonsworld]

Two Worlds Collide - Chapter 8 [Aizawa x fem!reader]

Hi everyone!  We are now almost at the end of the fanfiction, few chapters are missing!  Enjoy <3  Thanks to my boyfriend for the translation.  -------------------------------------------------- Previous chapters: ch1 | ch 2 | ch3 | ch4 | ch5 | ch6 | ch7 You can also find me on Ao3! Word count: 1332 TW: just a little bit fluff  ---------------------------------------------------- Weeks went by, and the relationship between you and Aizawa got better and better. You had begun to spend much more time together, for example by correcting the boys' homework together (he asked for your help because he hoped to be able to rest a little more before his evening patrol) or asking for advice on what to do the surprise tests. The Professor, the first dayss, was constantly reprimanded for judging you just for your singing job. He did not expect to work in contact with a girl so attentive to the needs of others, sweet and caring... However, the more he began to know you, the more he liked to be in your company. Strangely enough, you didn’t rattle or scream like most of his friends, who always gave him a migraine. Every once in a while he stared at you longer than the others when you walked into the teachers' lounge and greeted everyone with one of your usual glowing smiles. "Hello? Anybody there? Aizawa?! Are you with us?!" Nemuri exclaimed by snapping his fingers near Aizawa’s face, which distracted his attention from you who had meanwhile gone to make photocopies. The raven gave him a very angry look. "By now we have noticed that you keep staring (Y/N) more and more often, why?" Hizashi asked him approaching him with the desk chair. Both he and Nemuri noticed that their friend was with you a lot, and how they caught him staring at you more and more. "Come on, tell us what you’re hiding!" Midnight chased him with elbow strokes on his arm. "I’m not hiding anything from anyone." Aizawa spoke staring at the computer screen. "I was thinking about all the red marks I put on yesterday afternoon in the homework the kids handed me." You waved at Aizawa with your hand, and he responded with a nod. You too had begun to appreciate the time more and more with him. Almost surprised you when, at first, you noticed when he was always very worried about his class and how much he cared about all of them even if he never showed it. You’d always found him a charming man, but because of his character and his attitude toward you, you’d always found it scary to even talk to him about the bare minimum for work. Now you wanted to spend hours and hours talking about everything that went through your mind and maybe go somewhere just the two of you... you always felt comfortable and at ease with him. You were both realizing that, as much as you came from two different worlds, you were much more alike than you thought and how different you were at the same time. And that’s why you two were so good together.

"Ah, did you all get Nezu’s email about the Christmas party?" Present Mic asked out loud "Apparently there are some news..."

The teachers rushed to read the email, and suddenly you found everyone’s looks on you. You thought you got a pretty big coffee stain on your shirt. Nemuri signaled you to come to her, with a smile running all over her face. You started reading the e-mail with the headmaster’s instructions, and you scratched your eyes. "Wait...what does it mean that I will perform?" you wondered confused with the heart that began to beat wildly. "In the sense that you will be our flagship performance for the evening." Nezu calmly said that, in the meantime, he had arrived in the teachers' lounge. "Mr Headmaster..." you moaned embarrassed as you grew redder and redder in your face. "U.A. Christmas Party is a very famous event in Musutafo, where all the Pro Heroes of Japan participate and in which, every year, money is donated to charity. We usually did a charity auction...but this year I decided to change, since we have a very well-known name in our staff like yours, (Y/S/N)". "I thank you so much for this opportunity...but I don’t think I will be able to sing the songs I did before... I don't feel them like mine anymore... you see?" Aizawa immediately felt the sadness in those words. He happened to go and see some of your videos or old shows once, and he realized that now, as a woman, you didn’t feel comfortable singing certain things. "There’s no problem!" exclaimed the principal. "If you want, you can also sing covers!" "Or...can I sing some original songs?" you asked a little embarrassed and with the tone of voice a bit lower than usual. "Of course!" Nezu emphatically said, glowing in the face. "I would be truly honored! If you need anything, don’t hesitate to ask me or Present Mic, thanks to their radio show he knows many musicians!" Hizashi nodded in your direction. You were feeling immensely grateful for the opportunity they were giving you "(Y/S/N), I think this year I will attend the Christmas party for the first time" Aizawa told you while eating his soba. It was lunch, and you were eating on the roof of the school like a couple of high school kids. There was a nice mild climate, and Aizawa had decided that, that day, you would eat there. "Honestly, I’m surprised Nemuri and Hizashi never forced you into it." You said and laughed as you ate a mouthful of rice. "Well, you know...I don’t like social events. The thought of having to spend the evening having to talk forcefully with people I don’t even know then, I nauseated myself." He supported the hero. "Even this time it will be so, I don’t think it changes much..." You sighed. "This year there’s you, I can make a tear." Aizawa said. You felt your cheeks go up in flames and your heart start pounding in your chest. You were afraid he might feel it too. "T-Thank you." You stuttered with a very shy smile. Aizawa found you incredibly adorable when you did that, and it happened every time someone gave you a compliment or said something nice to you, and he never got tired of seeing that look on your face. "You know Aizawa..." you said as you watched the clouds sluggish over your head. "I want you to know that singing is very important to me. I don’t consider it a hobby or something to do in your spare time...since I was a child I have always found it difficult to express my feelings to people, and singing for me was the only way to bring out what I had inside."    The raven was surprised to hear you say that. It was the first time you had expressed something very personal to him, and he felt grateful for it. "You’re also lucky to have a good voice, so you don’t even bother to say how you feel without smashing people’s eardrums." He declared Aizawa by hinting a smile and making you laugh. "That’s true." Asserting yourself by continuing to eat and laughing. "I can’t wait to hear your new songs, I’m sure they’ll be really good." said the hero with a sweet smile on his face. You looked at him with a dreamy look, and you were sure people could see your face from outer space for hou much you turned red. "Thank you, Aizawa." you smiled back. "Shouta." The raven announced. "When we’re together, you can call me Shouta." "All right Shouta...and then you can call me (Y/N)." You both looked each other straight in the eye. It was strange to call each other by name, but you were happy to be more intimate with each other. Aizawa felt a strange but pleasant feeling of well-being, almost as if he was looking forward to calling you by your name. You wanted to run and scream from how happy you were at that moment. You started eating again by talking about what you should have done in class that afternoon, calling each other by name and feeling thrilled to call each other by name.

[goldenxsunshine]

50 questions you’ve never been asked

I was tagged by the lovely @softboylwt​, thank you darling ✨

1. what is the colour of your hairbrush? edit: so I realized I didn’t read that correctly the first time around, but I don’t usually brush my hair, tho I do have one that’s brown

2. a food you never eat? it’s not really a food but i never eat plain butter, like in cakes and all that, when it’s cooked, alright, but on bread, in sandwiches or anything else it just grosses me out to no avail!! I can’t even touch it!! Also any sea food is a no-go for me, i just can’t!!

3. are you typically too warm or too cold? i think it can depend, but in general i tend to get cold very easily

4. what were you doing 45 minutes ago? i was catching up on niall and liam’s live and feeling very emotional about it

5. what is your favourite candy bar? here we call it kinder tranche au lait, which literally translates to kinder milky slice but idk if that’s what it’s called!! Anyways, it’s the kinder that you have to keep in the fridge with the creamy white thing in the middle, i just love it!!

6. have you ever been to a professional sports event? Nope never, i don’t really care much for any sports tbh afdhkj

7. what is the last thing you said out loud? “good night” to my little sister about five seconds ago

8. what is your favourite ice cream? salted caramel!!!!!! it’s my LIFE

9. what was the last thing you had to drink? water

10. do you like your wallet? I do actually!! I had another pink one that was too big but i received a small dark blue one for my birthday that’s just perfect

11. what was the last thing you ate? something very very VERY good!! it was a polish recipe: tomato soup with some homemade kluski (some sort of pasta i guess you could say) and basil

12. did you buy any new clothes last weekend? nope

13. the last sporting event you watched? as i said before i really don’t care much for any sports so i think the answer is none, if i did watch one well it was so long ago that i forgot afskdly

14. what is your favourite flavour of popcorn? sweet popcorn OR those with some chocolate you can buy, both are equally good

15. who is the last person you sent a text message to? well technically the last message i sent was on here to, but if we mean irl texting then an old friend of mine

16. ever go camping? nope not really, i went a couple times when i was younger with some friends but not anymore

17. do you take vitamins? nooe i don’t, but i should

18. do you go to church every sunday? nope

19. do you have a tan? as of right now, only the beginning of one on my back

20. do you prefer Chinese food or pizza? oof tough one, but im gonna have to go with pizza!! I actually had some today

21. do you drink your soda with a straw? nope not anymore

22. what colour socks do you usually wear? small white ones, sometimes black

23. do you ever drive above the speed limit? wellll since i still haven’t got my driver’s licence i can assure you that i’ve never once driven above the speed limit in my life 😌

24. what terrifies you? loneliness

25. look to your left, what do you see? i can see my bedroom door as well as my cupboard and the front door a bit further

26. what chore do you hate? washing the toilets

27. what do you think of when you hear an Australian accent?  i have no idea tbh ajdsfkds 5sos maybe

28. what’s your favourite soda? i actually don’t really drink any sodas, but if i had to get one i’d say sprite or lemon iced tea

29. do you go in a fast food place or just hit the drive-thru? i don’t think we have any drive-through here, or if there are i’ve never been, so i’m gonna say fast food place

30. who’s the last person you talked to? my little sister

31. favourite cut of beef? i have no fucking clue, i only eat beef when i eat burgers so that one i guess jsdkajl

32. last song you listened to? some song off a random sport playlist i listend to when i was working out earlier, it’s called hometown apparently

33. last book you read? if we’re talking last book i read through but haven’t actually finished yet, it’s une bête au paradis (a beast in paradise)

34. favourite day of the week? i don’t really have one tbh, i just know it’s not monday nor sunday

35. can you say the alphabet backwards? yes i can actually ajkdjfld, well i need to say it thorugh once in order (mentally is enough) but yeah i can

36. how do you like your coffee? i absolutely despise coffee, in any form

37. favourite pair of shoes? a pair of shoes that i found in italy a few years ago, but i just can’t describe them asjdhfk they have too many things idk how to say in english

38. at what time do you normally go to bed? i’d say usually it’s around 11pm or midnight, but lately it’s been more like 1 or 2 am

39. at what time do you normally get up? again usually would depend on my classes, but lately it’s between 8 am and 10 am

40. what do you prefer, sunrise or sunsets? i literally cannot choose one!! boht can be so magical, but maybe i’ll go with sunset cause i’m almost never up for sunrise ajdfkjl

41. how many blankets are on your bed? only one

42. describe your kitchen plates? i still live wiht my parents so they’re just plain white, but modern-ish 

43. do you have a favourite alcoholic beverage? i don’t really have one, but the only alcohol i can enjoy drinking is vodka so anything with that i guess

44. do you play cards? ugh way too much, or well not anymore, but when i was in high school it was literally all my friends’ favourite thing to do and tbh i just don’t really like them

45. what colour is your car? again i don’t have a driving’s licence adjfhk

46. can you change a tire? there are too many questions concerning driving in this jadshkj, nope or well never tried, who knows maybe i have a secret talent

47. what is your favourite state/province? i haven’t been in the US, or well i went when i was much younger so i don’t remember!! But i’ll pick a country and say tulum, Mexico!! i went there once a few years ago and it was just magical

48. favourite job you’ve ever had? i haven’t had a lot of experience in real jobs i guess, but one of my favourite closest to a job thing was the internship i started right before this whole mess in something called psychopédagogie (i haven’t got a clue what it might be in english im sorry)

49. how did you get your biggest scar? i don’t have many scars and the few i have are pretty small, but i guess the “biggest” would be on my foot, i was at a friend’s for the summer and we were going around in quads, then there was a little slope and my dumbass panicked and pushed the accelerator instead of the brake and well....we bumped into a littel tree and yeah adfjhkjs

50. what did you do today that made someone else happy? i haven’t done much today i don’t think, but maybe helping to make dinner ? idk

I apologize in advance if you’ve already done this, but i’m tagging: @essercipertuttienonperse, @rosegoldeyelids, @ltpolari, @watermelonsugarhii, @bigsparrowharry, @herefortommo, @arouiis, @farmjpg and @strawberryhabit

[dailyaudiobible]

12/19/2020 DAB Transcript

Zephaniah 1:1-3:20, Revelation 10:1-11, Psalms 138:1-8, Proverbs 30:11-14

Today is the 19th day of December welcome to the Daily Audio Bible I am Brian and it's great to be here with you as we close another week down together and take the next step forward. And as has been the custom lately, like we’re reading a book a day and we’ll be doing that today. We’ll read an entire book in the Old Testament.

Introduction to the book of Zephaniah:

This is the ninth of the minor prophets and its name is Zephaniah. And it's similar to some of the other minor prophets in that we don't know much about who Zephaniah was. The only clues within the text is that the message from Zephaniah came when Josiah son of Amon was king of Judah. And then there's a little bit of lineage. Zephaniah was the son of Cushi the son of Gedaliah the son of Amaria the son of Hezekiah. And that little lineage may actually be a major clue because a lot of times in the Scriptures, a lot of times in antiquity, it's…it's not like an entire multiple generational description. A lot of times when you're talking about somebody or just saying, “this person who is the son of this man.” For example, my son's name is Ezekiel and if he were introducing himself, he’s a little guy so he wouldn’t be doing that, but if he were…he’d be…in antiquity he’d be saying, “I'm Ezekiel bar Brian”, right? The son of Brian. He wouldn't necessarily continue that lineage back to his great-great-grandfather unless his great-great-grandfather were significant. And in this case, it's possible that Zephaniah was a descendent of the reforming king Hezekiah, which would explain how Zephaniah was aware of his surroundings and literate and also why, perhaps is prophetic utterances would be preserved. Obviously, credibility comes if you're an ancestor of a king. The name Zephaniah means “God has hidden.” And the text states that the message was given during the reign of Josiah. So, that would put him somewhere in the middle of the 600s B.C., or thereabouts, which would make him contemporary with other prophets that are famous and biblical like Jeremiah. A lot of textual scholars believe that Zephaniah had to be familiar with at least the writings of the prophet Isaiah because there's a similarity in the language and the tone. And we have read a number…like we’ve been reading prophecies for months now. And, so, we understand that a lot of times and most of the time prophecies are targeted very specific to a very specific people for very specific reasons. Zephaniah’s a little different there, because he's…he's essentially prophesying judgment on the whole known world, including Judah, including the Hebrew people. And, so, we come across a term that we have seen elsewhere, “the day of the Lord.” and that is the theme in Zephaniah. And, of course, we’re reading the book of Revelation as well. So, this “day of the Lord” this kind of final judgment sort of idea is ever present in front of us as we continue forward. But we should understand what God wants…wanted and wants to get rid of because it's not people that He wants to destroy. It’s evil that He wants to destroy. And when people want to hold on to their evil…well…then they get what they want. They get to hold onto their evil, but God gets what He wants, and the evil gets eradicated. And, so, the people doom themselves. But as we have learned from biblical prophecy, there is a foretelling of things that…that are to come or that may come if change doesn't occur, if repentance doesn't happen. But then there's the other side of that. What if…what if you do humble yourself? What if you do return to God? And then we hear words of abundant restoration. And Zephaniah is no different. And, so, there are three chapters in Zephaniah. We’re reading from the Good News Translation this week. Zephaniah one through three.

Prayer:

Father, we thank You for Your word. We thank You for another week. We are so grateful to You for giving us the gift of Your word, and giving us the gift of each other to move through a year of life together in Your word and community. We are grateful. And, so, as we close down this week we look to the proverb and we identify the kind of people that we don't want to be. There may be people who curse their Fathers and do not show appreciation for their mothers, may that not be said of us, Lord. There are people who think they are pure when they are as filthy as they can be. May that not be said of us Lord. There are people who think they are so good. How good they think they are. Lord our only goodness, and we declare this and confess it, the only good thing about us is You. You make us good. If we are good, it is because of You. Left to our own devices we know…we know where things go. And, so, may the pride and arrogance spoken of here never be said of us. And there are people who take cruel advantage of the poor and needy, even making a living by taking advantage of the poor and needy. Father the Scriptures over…You have said over and over and over that this has no place in Your kingdom. So, may this never be said of us. And as we close this week down and prepare to move into the next week, Christmas week, we invite Your Holy Spirit to hover and permeate everything that we do and say and think, all of our thoughts, words and deeds. We pray this in the name of Jesus. Amen.

Announcements:

dailyaudiobible.com is home base, and yup, it’s the website, and yup, it’s where you find what's going on around here.

And it's Christmas time around here. And we’re about to go through this weekend and enter Christmas week. Super excited about that.

Next week will be our Christmas party, our annual Christmas...well…it is our virtual Christmas party when we get to hear from each other. Looking forward to that early next week.

Reminding you of the Family Christmas album that is really the soundtrack here around the Global Campfire for the holiday season. You can stream it. Just look for my name, Brian Hardin or Family Christmas and my name and you’ll find it. You can stream it on Spotify, or Apple music or wherever. You can…you can buy it from those places as well. If you want a physical copy, like a physical CD of it, you can get that from the Daily Audio Bible Shop. But adding that into the mix of the Christmas season is…well…I mean it was intended to be kind…just to create the kind of atmosphere that we try to create here every day - serenity, peace, hope, and a relaxing exhale. And, so, check out Family Christmas.

Also, we released last week a Christmas single from Jill my wife, “O Holy Night”, one of the classic Christmas carols of all time. And I mentioned this, I don’t know, the day before yesterday or whatever, when you listen to the words to that song it brings so much context and hope into the holiday season. So, you can stream that at Spotify or Apple music or YouTube music or Google play or wherever. You can also buy it from those places. So, check those out.

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And that's it for today. I’m Brian I love you and I'll be waiting for you here tomorrow.

Community Prayer and Praise:

Hi DAB family this is Dorothy out in California with a small prayer request. I got 39 shot…Botox shots for migraines. And, you know how when you sign a waiver and you never think it’s going to happen? It happens. Aside from all the things that almost…I mean…a lot of the things on the list, the hardest one is that I lost muscle control around my eyes. I have a forehead of a 20-year-old, but I can’t use my eyes. It…it’s…I…it’s actually really hard. I can’t drive. I can only see 1 foot in front of me. Actually, a couple days ago I ate strawberries and anyway I ate slugs in my strawberries. I didn’t see em’. I washed them. I did a good job washing em’ but I didn’t see them. So it’s been…it’s been hard. God assured me before I, you know, before I lost control of both…but God assured me when this started it’s temporary. And I know Botox lasts one or two months but it’s gonna be one or two months of this. And the counter medicine isn’t working. Anyway, I have an appointment with a neurologist on Wednesday. But anyway… so if you could just please pray for me. It’s small, I know, but I love you guys so very very very very much and I love you all. Okay. Thank you. Bye. I appreciate…

Hey, it’s Val in Vegas today’s December 15th. I’m so happy to come to you guys today in the last 15th of the year. We made it guys. Through God’s grace we made it. How this year started for me is absolutely unbelievable, but the real joy and power’s in God’s love and grace for me…for all of us and how I’m finishing it. To say the 2020s has been an unusual and challenging year would be an understatement. I just want you guys to know that I am doing good. I know one thing that’s happened this year for me is I have developed a deeper closer relationship with the Lord, and it has been wonderful. I needed to be closer to him in this quarantine as it’s just me and my little dog that live together and the Lord has really shown up and showed out in my life this year. I just want to say thank you guys for all the prayers and well wishes and thoughts and just love. And please know that I am putting that right back into this DAB world. I absolutely love you guys and if you don’t mind, I’m gonna continue calling in on the 15th of every month. I’ve enjoyed being committed to that and sharing my life with you guys. I love you all so much. You have no idea. So, thank you for holding me up and for loving me and caring for me. Val in Vegas out until January 15, 2021.

Hi Daily Audio Bible family this is All the Treasures in Wyoming with an update. If you all remember months ago, I asked you guys to pray for sweet Emily who had almost lost her life and was in the ICU. She had thrown some blood clots, her kidneys had failed. I mean it was a really urgent prayer request and you guys came through and you prayed. And even more than that God came through and answered those prayers with a yes. And I got to see Emily yesterday and I got to give her a hug. And she said that she is…she sent me this text…she said that she is walking without a cane and that her brain injury is coming along slowly. She’s off dialysis for now because her kidneys are waking up. And then she said, this is all God’s plan. Maybe not mine, but I pray to him morning noon and night. And if you guys also remember we weren’t sure whether or not Emily knew Him, right? So, I just want to encourage you. When I went to see her and I gave her a hug I asked her, I said, Emily did you get the letter that was dropped off to you while you were in the ICU. And she said yes, I did. And she said I kept that letter with me. It was up where I could read it every single day in my ICU room. And when I went to the long term acute care rehab that letter went with me and it was also up in my room where I could read it every day. And it’s one of those things that reminded me that I wasn’t alone and that I could get through it. And in that letter, I reminded her…well…I share the gospel with her and told her who Jesus was but I also told her who you guys all were. I said there are people all over the world praying for you right now. And she said that that helped her get through. But I do know today that she knows the Lord and I just wanted to thank you guys again for praying. God bless you guys. And to God be all the glory

Eyes of the Dove in Sekomane Washington lifting up prayers this morning 5 AM heading to work for Harold in St. Louis and your son. And I heard another father call in and broken for your son. And my goodness it was like a chain reaction. It made me feel broken too. I instantly thought of Brayden and Rylan my children remembering when they were born and their perfect body’s and their perfect little toes, counting their totes. And as you get the report about his foot, every piece, every part of your precious son is so important. Father, I just lift up Harold and his son. Father, I ask that blood would flow. Father that his body would be…would line up in the name of Jesus that that boy’s foot Father would be healed by Your blood. We call him healed Father. I ask for Your peace, Your peace that surpasses our understanding would be upon this family. And we just put on the full armor of God on Harold God as he goes through this…this hardship. There’s so many things going on this year that he’s having to process and now this. And this is no little thing. And we ask for protection of our children Lord Jesus in every way, their minds and their bodies, that nothing would be touched, nothing would be touched in Jesus’ name. Care about you Harold. Coming around you. You’re not alone.

[tickletastic]

Another Puppy

Fandom: Wonder Woman

Ship: Diana/Steve

Summary: Etta believes that Steve can’t handle a puppy, but a grouchy Steve is not a good Steve either.

Notes: Day seven of my 31 days of fics! 

“Please? Please, please, please?” Steve begged, practically on his knees. 

“No!” Etta started, fed up with his persistence, “We cannot get an office pet. You can barely take care of yourself! What about when you have to go out on another mission? The second world war may be through, but that doesn’t mean you don’t have work to do.”

Steve turned to Diana, knowing that when he gave her the puppy-dog eyes, she would always give in. After all, human males could be kind of cute sometimes, she had found out. As she was about to open her mouth to give Steve a ‘yes, of course dear,’ Etta interrupted her, shaking her head in disapproval.

“No, you are not manipulating Diana into giving you a yes. You act like a puppy as it is, Diana and I do not want to be taking care of another one.” Etta reasoned, trying to get some work done while also having to listen to Steve’s whining.

“But it would be so cute! We could give it a spy themed name, like Espionage or Sneak!” Steve chattered, far too much excitement in his voice considering he was supposed to be researching into a new case. In the next few months, he was expected to leave for Austria with Diana. Although the war was over, there were still many people out there who deserved to be imprisoned, and it was going to be part of Steve’s job to help catch them. First, he had to infiltrate their post-war communities, which involved quite a bit of knowledge on what Austrians and Germans were like. 

“No means no! We’re not getting a dog, Steve! Quite being so darn stubborn.”

Etta knew what was coming: Steve’s cycle of ‘no’. First, he begs and begs and begs, until he finally receives an answer that definitely translates to no. Second, he would mope. Steve Trevor was good at a lot of things, and he was definitely good at moping for hours on end. The third stage was grouchy Steve, if Steve got to this phase, he would snap at the people around him and isolate himself. The final stage was sad Steve. Nobody liked seeing him on this stage. 

Etta knew that she could intervene, ending the cycle in its tracks, but she had work to do, very important, world-saving work. For now, she continued her research, searching through encyclopedias and databases to find the answers to any question Steve might have while undercover. Diana did some research herself, but mostly on the food and attractions there, she knew that Steve and her would be able to kick ass and get their job finished within a reasonable time period, and she really hoped she could learn about the local cultures. 

Steve holed himself up in his office, learning about the mannerisms and habits of German and Austrian men, and the type of clothes worn in that region of the world. The last time he had been undercover, he hadn’t done as good of a job as he wanted to, but in his defence, he hadn’t known that a world war was going to break out when it did. Now, he had some time to prepare. There were already plenty of agents in Europe, so his director had requested that he stay for the time-being, in order to gather as much information as he could about the type of people he would be searching for and the type of person that he would need to be to blend in.

The three of them often worked for hours, staying late in the office, often up until the early morning hours, just in hopes that they would be able to leave for Europe early. Tonight was one of those nights, and tragically, the office had run out of coffee. This is what caused grumpy Steve to come a few hours too early. 

Etta had entered his office to ask him a simple question, and he had spit back an answer, like it was venom on his tongue. Etta didn’t take it personally, she had seen her fair share of grouchy Steve, and she even had her own grouchy alter-ego. She knew that she would definitely have to stop Steve before he reached his sad stage, though. It was always the hardest stage to get him to snap out of.

At four in the morning, Etta walked into Steve’s office, practically dragging him out of the room by the sleeve of his coat. The entire time he groaned out protests about how important it was for him to stay, hosting a one-sided argument with himself. Etta just ignored him, while Diana obediently followed the two of them.

A few months prior, the apartment next to Steve and Diana’s opened up, and Etta promptly moved in after Steve had advised her to. Usually, she would just go back to her apartment, but on nights like these, Etta would crash on the daybed in the couple’s apartment, usually waking up to the smell of Diana’s delicious breakfast and fresh coffee. 

Etta wished the two of them goodnight, and Diana ended up dragging a drowsy Steve to bed. When they entered the room, Steve ended up falling asleep in the clothes he was wearing, jeans and all, as Diana struggled to wake him in order to get him to change. In the end, she just let him sleep like that. 

The next morning, Diana hummed with glee as she made eggs and bacon, a fresh pot of coffee already made. Etta sat on a bar stool at the island, bursting into song with Diana, doing goofy dances while the other woman cooked. When Steve exited the room, only 4 hours after they had gone to sleep, he looked like a hurricane. His bed head was in full effect, and he was grouchy, he was definitely grouchy. 

Steve sat down on the couch, looking forward angrily in a way that only a morning-hating person could, unmoving. Diana and Etta looked at Steve before looking back at each other, Etta shrugging in response. 

Diana finished making the food, plating it in a way that only a Michelin star chef could plate fried eggs and bacon, intentionally shaping Steve’s into a smile. She placed it at his spot on the dining room table, and awaited his response to the cute gesture. She was disappointed when Steve showed no response, but she shared a knowing look with Etta. They both knew what was in store for one Steve Trevor.

Despite his demeanour, Steve ate like he had never eaten food in his life, finishing his plate in less than five minutes. He went over to clean his dishes, the sound of the sink and his thoughts drowning out all of the others. 

Steve couldn��t hear the sound of Etta and Diana softly speaking, and he definitely didn’t hear the sound when Etta had crept behind him, giggling to herself. She tasered him in the ribs, and he instantly giggled, hitting his knee against the counter as a reflex. 

Etta wasn’t dissuaded, she continued to spider up and down his ribs. This time, Steve tried to stifle his laughter, trying to return back to his grumpy state. Steve turned to move away and Diana grabbed him, holding him still as he slid to the floor in an attempt to escape. 

“Come on Steve, don’t be grumpy. You’ve made the tickle monsters come out of their hiding. Give us a smile!” Etta spoke in a pitch much higher than her usual tone, scratching in a claw over her victim’s tummy.

Steve was doomed the second that he let a small giggle escape him, and then more. He tried too desperately to fight the smile from his lips, but it just caused the giggles to flow more rapidly, betraying his brain and everything that he was trying to prevent his body from doing. 

“Aww, who’s a little giggle bug? Who’s a ticklish cutie?” Etta and Steve had quite the sibling relationship, they bickered like brother and sister and they certainly knew each other like brother and sister. When it came to teasing, Etta always aimed for max embarrassment, she adored making Steve blush, knowing how mortified it made him. He always found the baby talk the absolute worst, he hates when she cooes, and he hates being doted on. Her teasing was definitely working, he could feel his face lit up to a point where even his ears felt warm compared to the cool air of the apartment.

Etta motioned for Diana to join in, and Diana knew just how to get him. Diana leaned down and blew a long raspberry on the side of Steve’s neck. The spy tried to roll his head to stop Diana in her tracks, but instead it just made it worse. When he moved his head, Diana had access to Steve’s neck and his ear, and he snorted when he felt her blow another one, the odd sensation of feeling the raspberry resonate throughout his ear. 

“Aww, does that tickle baby boy? What a cute little giggle.” Diana joined Etta in all respects, the teasing absolutely relentless. 

“Plehehease! Stohohop teheheasing mehehehe!” Steve begged, wishing that his strength equated to even a fraction of his girlfriend’s. 

“Aww, we can stop if you promise to stop being grouchy. I know the wittle baby is ticklish.” Etta jabbed back, also jabbing her fingers beneath Steve’s arms. Steve tried desperately to free himself from under Diana, but it just wasn’t working for him. 

“Ohohokay juhust- nohoho!” Steve was interrupted by himself when Diana placed a raspberry on his tummy, just above his belly button. “Juhuhust shuhuhut up! I- hehehe I’ll stahahap!”

Etta made a face as if she were considering it, keeping up her movements with intensity for a few moments. Usually Steve wouldn’t give up so easily, and it usually took hysterics to get him to agree to anything, but she finally stopped. She let Diana go on for a few more until Etta finally told her that Steve needed to breathe, Diana releasing him almost instantly. 

Steve remained in his starfish position, watching his own chest rise and fall with giggles.

When he finally sat up, a wide smile on his face, he looked at Etta, “so, a puppy?”

Etta simply rolled her eyes, getting up and going back to her apartment to shower before the three of them would leave again for the office.

A week later, Steve Trevor left on his lunch break without either of them, and came back holding a week-old golden retriever who he excitedly introduced as Agent. Soon enough, Steve’s frantic giggles could be heard throughout the halls of the agency, his office not big enough to contain them. Agent grew on Etta eventually, but that didn’t change the fact that she never agreed to taking care of their new furry friend.

[reminiscences]

another attempt at blogging

i started this tumblr a couple years ago at the same time kate did. i can’t remember why—i’m sure tumblr was in the news again for some reason. i guess it was before the great porn purge. i was talking about blogging again this week with my friend daniel, and i woke up this morning and he had sent me a blog he wrote on a new tumblr account early in the morning, so to continue my regression to the early 2010s, i too have rebooted tumblr, given it an era-appropriate name, and decided to give it another go.

the problem with having a newsletter is that i don’t think anyone wants to hear from me in their inbox daily, so i’ve become very precious about the things i write there. it feels like it has to really matter. i like blogs because they’re disposable and can be dumb and not your best writing. how many two-graf tumblr posts did i write in 2011 that were just thoughts i idly had during a statistics lecture? anyway, here’s the first blog, they won’t all be this long probably. 

When I think about eventually looking back at this year I think about what I want to remember from it. I will remember the first week of March. I’ll remember the last birthday party I attended in person at Branch Ofc, a perfectly serviceable Crown Heights bar that was very full of people. I’ll think about that night and how I showed up to the party with a Ziplock full of homemade salted chocolate chip cookies in my purse, how I shared them with a table where the birthday-haver and their friends sat. Breathing in the same air as the four dozen other people crammed into the bar. I can’t imagine it now. I like Branch Ofc because it is unpretentious without pretending to be a dive, unlike Sharlene’s, which tries too hard to mimic the aesthetic trappings of an authentic dive bar but is really just a normal Park Slope bar. Branch Ofc is just a bar where you can buy drinks, and it was an eight-minute walk from my old apartment. It used to be a bar with a photobooth and Big Buck Hunter but I think both of those are gone now. 

For a few days in March, it felt like people were preparing for a snow day. Everyone was slightly more on edge than giddy—but only slightly. “WFH but make it a coffeeshop” I saw on someone’s Instagram story, a selfie with four of their friends coworking somewhere in Bushwick, completely nullifying the point of a work-from-home edict. I ran into my friend Maddie at the renovated Key Food on Nostrand the next week. Maddie, her roommate and I were in the aisle with the Pop Tarts and the Oreos. “I feel like I should get those?” we asked each other, pointing at junk food. I wasn’t wearing a mask or gloves; nobody was. Some guy wearing a Cornell University Sigma Chi tshirt walked by us with the largest bag of dried beans I’ve ever seen in my life slung over his shoulder. That was a man who had never soaked dried beans in his life. I wonder if he ever ate the beans. We were a bunch of idiot 20-somethings blindly grabbing for cans of soup and Fritos for the end of the world. What were any of us doing there? Why was it imperative that day that I make and freeze a lasagna? Maddie’s roommate had fresh lasagna noodles from Eataly she wasn’t going to use before she left for her parents’ house, and she said I could have those. She brought them over for me and I idly wondered if you could get Coronavirus from someone else’s fresh pasta noodles or if the heat of the oven would kill the germs. I made my lasagna.

I’ll think about how March-to-May is just one long gray blurry streak in my head. I baked, I got into running, I said “running with a mask? No thank you, no more running for me,” I got a job, I felt bad about getting a job when everyone I knew in journalism was getting laid off. I did a lot of Zoom Zumba. At first I slept terribly, and then I started sleeping too much, and then I stopped sleeping again at some point during that stretch. There was a novelty to suddenly being inside all the time that made it feel like an excuse to get “really into martinis.” I got really into martinis. Then I stopped drinking for a couple months. Remember “Zoom happy hours”? 

The thing I use most as a means of setting apart different eras in my head is the music I used as a soundtrack at the time. I rang in the 2014 new year in my cute apartment on Westcott Street in Syracuse with my college boyfriend, drunk and blaring Cold Cave, before we walked down the street to Alto Cinco and got Mexican food and passed out. It was my senior year and I only had a few more months of living like this and I loved the small life I’d built for myself there. Of course, it couldn’t stay. When we broke up a year and a half later after he moved to New York, where I had been living for most of a year, I walked around the neighborhood near the Myrtle-Wyckoff stop, close to where we were living together, listening to Mitski’s 2014 album Bury Me At Makeout Creek. I sat in Maria Hernandez Park and watched a bunch of kids play Red Rover. I didn’t especially want to go home because I hadn’t taken an escape route into account when we broke up and somehow timed it out so that things ended after the first of the month, leaving me with three-and-a-half weeks of continuing to share an apartment with someone whose heart I had just broken. In retrospect it’s clear to me that I had just outgrown a relationship with someone five years older than me who hadn’t grown up at all, but I hear that Mitski album now and all I think about are the cold early April days of 2015 when no place and no person felt like home. There’s a line in First Love/Late Spring, by Mitski, where she sings “胸がはち切れそうで,” which translates to something like “My chest is about to burst (with grief).” My advice to recent college graduates moving to New York is to simply not do anything the way I did it. 

So when I think about 2020, I do not want to associate any music I previously had fond memories of with this year. This is unfortunate because every musician I like who produces sad music has nothing but time on their hands now and they’ve all come out with new songs and albums. My recently played selections on Spotify look like a cry for help: Phoebe Bridgers, Bright Eyes, even Tigers Jaw. 

On Saturday I couldn’t sleep in. I woke up at 5:30 and watched the sun appear through my bedroom windows. I kept rolling over, trying to sleep again, but it was futile. Eventually I got up and got dressed, and left my apartment on foot. The walk into lower Manhattan is a few miles from my new place in Fort Greene. I walked west on Fulton, and then down Flatbush. It would have saved me ten minutes to take the Manhattan Bridge, but I’ve always regarded it as the ugliest of the bridges to cross on foot or on bike—last fall, I would walk home from Ben’s apartment over the Manhattan Bridge, and it was just so grey. You get an okay view of Dumbo, I guess, on the walk east, but it isn’t much to look at. When I got back to the Brooklyn side on those walks, I’d get on the A at High Street and take it back to Nostrand instead of walking the last couple miles. 

So I chose the Brooklyn Bridge this time. It was as busy as you’d expect it to be in a non-pandemic event. Instagram boyfriends took pictures of their girlfriends, who took off their masks for a few seconds for the right shot. I saw a couple taking engagement pictures in front of the lower Manhattan skyline. It felt so normal, pedestrians and bicyclists squeezing past each other at the narrow points. 

I was listening to Saint Cloud, the Waxahatchee album that came out a few months ago, turning it over and over in my brain like a rock you pick up at the beach and end up carrying with you on a long walk. The album, outwardly, has this gauzy blue-sky Americana vibe but when you listen to the lyrics of some of the songs it feels like peeling back layers of skin until you hit a raw nerve ending. Every song feels like a eulogy for this year. “You might mourn all that you wasted/That’s just part of the haul,” Katie Crutchfield sings on Ruby Falls. I got to the title track, which closes out the album, as I ascended the bridge. When you get baaaack on the M train, watch the cityyyyyy mutaaaaaaate, she sings. I guess she’s singing about New York. Is there another M train somewhere? I don’t know. I’m going to think about this stupid year whenever I listen to this album, I thought.

I got off the bridge at City Hall, surveyed the ongoing occupation movement there and the literal dozens of cops that had seemingly been deployed to stand there and, at best, do nothing. I walked down Centre Street, eventually winding through the little park by Baxter Street where two adults were playing ping pong, which felt like a socially distanced sport, all things considered. I walked down all those side streets in Chinatown as the sun struggled to break through the oppressive clouds. I walked by Nom Wah, past the salon Polly taught me will give you a very good $12 blowout, past that annoying bar where the bartenders are dressed like scientists, past the place where Kate and I got our auras read on her birthday in January, and ended up at Deluxe Green Bo. I ordered my spicy wontons in peanut sauce and ate them right there, the hot plastic container burning my knees as I sat on the sidewalk. 

Afterwards I walked by all my favorite places—the skatepark under the bridge, Cervo’s, Beverly’s (RIP), Little Canal, Jajaja, the Hawa Smoothie near the East Broadway F. The skaters were hanging out in Dimes Square. Everything had changed but standing outside Kiki’s, it felt for a second like almost nothing had. It was almost a normal Saturday on Canal Street. The sky stayed electric blue until I got back to Brooklyn. 

[feynavaley]

50 Questions

I took this from @mandelene, thanks for the open invitation!

———

1. What is the colour of your hairbrush? Light brown. (It’s a wooden hairbrush.)

2. Name a food you never ever eat. Well... I’m quite a picky eater but I generally try everything if I’m pressed (even though I end up not liking it). I won’t eat very spicy food though, I don’t have a good tolerance for it. Another food I used to enjoy but now I can’t even stand the smell of anymore – and even less I would eat – is almond paste. (Long story short, I came up with something – maybe labyrinthitis – that made me awfully nauseous and dizzy for a few days. I would throw up any time I even just stood up, I couldn’t eat anything. But my roommate had on her desk and almond paste cake, which has a very strong smell. Since I constantly smelled it while feeling so sick, now that’s what I associate that smell and taste with.)

3. Are you typically too warm or too cold? Generally, too cold. I handle being cold better than I handle being hot, though.

4. What were you doing 45 minutes ago? Translating from English to Italian some stuff my dad needs for work. (He doesn’t understand/speak English.)

5. What is your favourite candy bar? Kinder Bueno, Tronky, and Bounty.

6. Have you ever been to a professional sports game? No.

7. What is the last thing you said out loud? “No, I haven’t seen your glasses. Are you sure you didn’t leave them upstairs?” to my mother.

8. What is your favourite ice cream? If it’s good, Pistachio. It’s very hard to get right, though. Not many ice cream parlours can prepare it well, they tend to make it too sweet.

9. What was the last thing you had to drink? Water.

10. Do you like your wallet? Yes. Actually, I have two – one is a big red one where I keep basically everything, the other is blue and small and I just put in there a few banknotes and coins and the cards I need, changing them every time. I like both of them.

11. What was the last thing you ate? Chicken breast and salad for dinner.

12. Did you buy any new clothes last weekend? Nope. I’ve been confined home for almost one month and a half. 😅

13. The last sporting event you watched? I don’t know. I’m not a fan of sports so I don’t watch anything spontaneously. I only watch something if I’m with somebody who wants to watch it, but I don’t remember when the last time was.

14. What is your favourite flavour of popcorn? Uhh... there are different flavours of popcorns? I only know one... 😅 I’m not a great fan, though.

15. Who is the last person you sent a text message to? An aunt of mine. (My mother’s youngest sister.)

16. Ever go camping? Yes and no. I’ve never gone with a tent in the wild or anything – however, my grandparents used to own a trailer that they kept in a fancy camping location/trailer park by the seaside. When I was a child, I would spend the entire three months of summer break there. I don’t know if it counts as camping, though. After growing older, my sister and I would sleep in a tent instead of the trailer (because the trailer was too small for everybody), but it was still in that fancy campsite which I don’t know how much can count.

17. Do you take vitamins? No.

18. Do you go to church every Sunday? Yes. I mean, not right now, clearly (all the Churches are closed due to Covid-19 lockdown) but I would go under normal circumstances.

19. Do you have a tan? No. And it’s very hard for me to get one, anyway. I’m as white as a person can possibly be. 😅 (I’m paler than an actual albino person I know at work. I wish I were kidding. 😓)

20. Do you prefer Chinese food over pizza? I prefer pizza. Very stereotypical, I know. 😅 (I’m talking about real Italian pizza, though.)

21. Do you drink your soda with a straw? Generally not.

22. What colour socks do you usually wear? White or black.

23. Do you ever drive above the speed limit? Depends on where I am and what the speed limit is. I respect the 50 km/h limit inside the cities and towns, but the 30 km/h that can be often found... yeah. 😅 (I’ve never met a driver who respected it, though.) If I’m out of the city and on a straight street across the countryside, I respect the 70 km/h limit but I tend to go faster if there’s a 50 km/h one. (Unless I know there’s an autovelox.) I’ve never gone above the 90 km/h limit, either – actually, I tend to go more around 80–85 km/h on those streets. I should probably also mention that I never drive much above the speed limit, though.

24. What terrifies you? Failure. Hurting or even just disappointing or upsetting other people. On the irrational side, I’m highly arachnophobic and I’m terrified of dogs.(Because I was attacked by a freaking SAINT BERNARD. Luckily, it just got my sweater, but it was completely mauled by the time somebody managed to get it back so... It also turned out I’m mildly allergic though, so me not staying around dogs is probably for the best anyway.)

25. Look to your left, what do you see? I actually don’t know how it’s called in English. I have a sloped wooden roof covering the left side of my bedroom, and I see it along with the skylight.

26. What chore do you hate most? Washing the dishes. Our sink is at a height that forces me to bend in an awkward way and makes my back ache if I have to wash more than a couple of dishes.

27. What do you think of when you hear an Australian accent? “OMG what is that person saying?? 😭” I’m not a native English speaker so strong non-standard accents always throw me off a bit, at least at first. 😅 I need a few minutes to get used to them.

28. What’s your favourite soda? Citron soda (I don’t know the brand. It was one my great-grandparents used to have in small glass bottles, it tasted amazing and was so refreshing...), Fanta, or Coke Zero. I don’t drink soda often, though.

29. Do you go in a fast food place or just hit the drive? I go in. I think there’s only one place with a drive-through in my hometown. 

30. What is your favourite number? For some reason, I’ve always liked the numbers 3 and 11. They aren’t my lucky numbers or anything, I just like them. (Actually, thinking about it, I know why I like the number 11... In German, it’s ‘elf’, and I started taking German around the period I was obsessed with LoTR... 😅)

31. Who’s the last person you talked to? My mother.

32. Favourite cut of beef? I hardly ever eat beef (I eat meat about every other day, but it’s generally chicken or turkey breast), I don’t have a preference.

33. Last song you listened to? This one. (You’re welcome.)

34. Last book you read? Fire and Blood by George R.R. Martin.

35. Favourite day of the week? Saturday.

36. Can you say the alphabet backwards? Yes, but only the Italian one (that is missing J, K, X, Y, W). I tend to mix up some letters in the English one. 😅

37. How do you like your coffee? Plain espresso.

38. Favourite pair of shoes? My ankle-height black converse.

39. The time you normally get up? Since the lockdown started, between 8:30–9. I’ve been having trouble sleeping so I’m always tired in the morning.

40. What do you prefer, sunrise or sunsets? Sunset, the colours are gorgeous. Sunrise is still beautiful and so it’s the atmosphere, but the colours tend to be fainter.

41. How many blankets on your bed? One, at the moment.

42. Describe your kitchen plates. Kind of square, white with blue and yellow stylized flowers in the corners.

43. Describe your kitchen at the moment? Quite empty. We’re due a grocery run.

44. Do you have a favourite alcoholic drink? No, I don’t like any alcoholic drink. For some reason, I don’t like the taste of alcohol. (And there’s probably something genetic here as it’s also true for my sister, my father, and other relatives from my father’s side.)

45. Do you play cards? Technically, I know a few games but I’m not really good at them and I don’t play often.

46. What colour is your car? I use my mother’s car and it’s dark blue. We also have a dark grey car (belonging to my father) but I’ve never used it because it’s very big (you can go up to 7 seats), I wouldn’t feel comfortable with driving it, let alone parking.

47. Can you change a tire? No.

48. Your favourite state? I’ve never been anywhere in the US so I can’t say.

49. Favourite job you’ve had? The current one. The pay is very low so I’ll have to leave it as soon as I find something better, but I love these children so much. 😭

50. How did you get your biggest scar? I actually don’t have any big scar... I have several small ones. The biggest one is probably on my arm, from when I leaned against the toaster to unplug it and got this long, thin burn. 😅

———

I tag anybody who feels like doing this! And please tag me back, I’d love to read your answers! 😊

[princebete]

So Wednesday morning I got a call from the same person who hired me at my current job, who was supposed to train since joining as an Esthetician.

She said that “ I am not spunky enough” and not “ what they are looking for” as far as the position and basically discontinued my candidacy in the training program... 

thing is... 

i never even got to train. 

When I was hired in October, my license was still in limbo and I was put on the front desk to learn that basic position, until my license would be posted. Not to mention, when I was hired, their main desk person was there for two days before dropping to one shift a week. So I filled a hole, but I did not get trained appropraitely. Queue the fucking holiday rush. All November and mid-December I worked on front desk... awaiting my license to be approved so I could end the nightmare. I wanted to be a service provider so bad, and then I went to California for christmas, and came back to the desk again... and my family was asking me when I’d start training, and I asked myself this question. And I noticed I had a personal development meeting scheduled... so I though perhaps that I’d learn more front desk until they could train me. And my license had finally been posted...  

I feel so mislead and lied to. Like ... I told an esthetician that I consider an acquaintance and SHE IS MORE QUIET THAN ME ... what the fuck 

i feel like there is another “non legal” reason... and honestly ... no matter what anyone says. Estheticians and Cosmos are opposite. Esthes are not meant to be with a personality of a cosmo, and when I WAS IN SCHOOL HALF OF THE COSMOS WERE LIKE “ why are you not a stylist?? you have the personality for one!” what the fuck.  Esthes are the “spa” relaxing, mellow lighting, soothing music--- massage type of environment. Not the loud obnoxious pop rock music blaring in the background while people scream out their life story over hair dryers and alumnimum foil. No--- 

no i think it’s bcause of the fact that I am a fuller figure

that because I am larger, the illusion is that-that i move slower and do less.. that because i am big i seem “ Less” and because of this it takes away opportunities. it’s terrible. 

it’s a world of outliers. there is no more middle ground it’s either :

body positivity!! and accepting unhealthy behavior 

or it’s 

“appear” healthy because of ur size ( which is total bull shit) and ur not a health insurance risk, and u fit the social standard that’s been around in post modern era. 

.... like i HATE THIS ... i am trying hard right now. 

I am HUNGRY, guys. I’m STARVING right now. 

I HAVE eaten, I am on a special diet plan to lose up to 5 a week ( yes dropping 5 a week is not as healthy as 2-3... i already know) 

I am following a diet plan that was written in 1984!! and for what? so i dont have to worry about being a fat bride!! so I can make more money!! SO I DONT HAVE TO WORK IN A POSITION WHERE I HAVE TO BEND TO THE WILL OF SOME PRIVLEGED SNOB. 

this society sucks. it takes away job opportunities, it takes my happiness( well for 6 months...) and i know this isn’t forever, and this is a special metabolism diet plan, so it’s not crash dieting. i mean it is a LOT less food, but it’s healthy... I mean 

i get a limit on calorie intake, and i walk after eating consistent meals. they aren’t filling, but i mean-- my stomach is shrinking and that diet world is all backwards all the time anyway. but it SUCKS. i can’t just march up to the fridge and grab a cheese stick right now ( unless weight watchers which if u do, u just track it) -- anyways I digress... but there is just so much pressure and stress, which to me is a lot of suffering just to “ get it right” in the world. 

It’s just very sad to go through this, and make an effort ... yet still get rejected... I mean I was kinda disliking the place anyway?? but i was hoping that my training would turn around my feelings and help me reconcile my view. but it was all a lie. 

and they paid me less than a desk person... yep. they paid me what an esthetician would make when not taking commission. I feel like i got sucked into this, so they could put me on desk, pay me less, then tell me i wont be working as an esthetician to keep me on desk

... and ever since I’ve been in a state of shock. “ Well”  I thought   “ at least I have my other $14.50/hr job that makes me a $100 per 8 hour shift. That’s good!” ....  but oh no 

an email came from my supervisor last night .

Mandatory company wide call at 9 am in the morning. On a Friday... our pay day... in JANUARY. 

----o fuck this can’t be good. 

and my suspicions were correct.... 

they disbanded the beauty concierge program.  I got my sister a job with this company and she lives on her own with her bf so i mean... she dependso n this too... so it sucks... i am kinda... wow

After 6 years they decide to disband THIS year. The year I join. 

So I am now working very part time as a front desk person earning 10.50 and hour with the looming storm of student loans in student view.... 

anyways i dont know why i spew all this yhere. im looking for an outlet so perhaps some people, you, my friends-- can see what is up.

Honestly.. as far as career goes...

I don’t really know what I want anymore. I know that I dont wanna waste my life on something meaningless, and I feel like I am endlessly searching for something-- learning about the bad parts, and discarding it... but Iwould like to find something where if I find those bad parts, I’d be okay with embracing it and just rolling with the punches.

So far I have not found it yet. 

in all honestly, if i could just be a home maker and not work at all, do art and cosplay and sing in  the evenings-- that’d be ideal. 

Right now I am learning more about UX/UI to see if I could use my art degree and make more money. But... for the most part I am looking up wax specialists, and office administration type jobs... where the front desk person does all the party planning and grocery shopping for the office. lol .. I know sounds lazy, but whatever  Ican admit that--- my laziness can be translated to depression.

I just really wanna lose weight...  this strict plan isn’t forever. The book I am using the method from strictly outlines that it is a temporary thing just to get metabolism on track using a series of net carbs, good fats and calorie reduction-- so it’s not like it is unhealthy. It’s not like if I went and got some cheetohs or ate a cookie I’d be fucked like if I was on keto .... 

tbh I should be a weightloss plan expert I’ve done it all... 

but yeah. 

anyways-- thanks for listening to my rant

all in all my life isn’t that bad 

i have a home 

a car 

a wonderful cat 

a loving fiance 

education 

and some money to my name. i’m not totally broke.

I am very grateful and i am not to sore about all of this, it’s just crazy that it’s happening within days of eachother. and it kind sucks cuz this means i may not have a paycheck next couple weeks... or atleast a good one. 10.50 an hour my ASS. but oh well it’s SOMETHING. 

ALSO .... I might make a blog for tracking my wedding plans-- if anyone likes that suff and wants to follow... I may post reference to that. otherwise <3 love you all 

[puckyou-forpuckssake]

White Violets—M. Barzal

Message me to request an imagine. This one was not requested but a huge thanks to @hockey-yesplease for the idea of using Mat Barzal. No warning for this. If you guys have any ideas, please make a request, even if it’s just a player you want to see here! Check my blog for master list or search for more in blog with #hockeyimagine

Flowers were your passion. Business was your major. Thus the birth of Secret Garden of Brooklyn. It was still a small start up business. You had a few regular customers though. Today, however, was Tuesday, and Tuesdays were always slow.

You sat behind the counter, flipping through a catalog of vases, when the bell tinkled to signal a customer’s entrance. The boy was young. Probably needs something for his girlfriend, you thought. “I need flowers,” he said in a hurry.

“It’s a good thing you came to a flower shop then,” you replied without even thinking. The guy was probably going to leave now.

Instead, he cracked a grin. “I deserve that. I need flowers that say ‘I’m sorry I ate your cheesecake and let Breaker break his arm trying to be Superman. Please don’t kick me out.’”

“Your girlfriend must not be happy with you.”

The boy shrugged. “I have no idea if she is or not considering I don’t have one. I do, however, have a 6’1, 210 lb defenseman upset that his kid broke his arm under my watch. His wife can also get very scary too.”

You nodded and began grabbing flowers to put an arrangement together. He watched you in awe. “It seems like you’re just grabbing random flowers, but I feel like there is a method to your madness.”

You chuckled. “Flowers actually have meanings. It’s something I’ve always admired. So when I make bouquets, each one has a special meaning.”

“That’s really cool.”

“It can be challenging at times. Flowers have lots of meanings, and depending on where you check can give you different meanings,” you explained.

“Can you explain this bouquet to me?”

You nodded. “The yellow roses represent friendship. I gathered from your story that you are friends with these people. Just make sure they know it means friendship and joy. A yellow rose can also represent infidelity. The purple hyacinth symbolizes asking for forgiveness. Hyacinths in general also represent play and sport. Those really light purple, small flowers are raspberry blossom, and they represent regret and remorse. The white tulips also represent forgiveness.

“I know it may seem odd with all these flowers together, and in this line of business beauty if supposed to be everything. I always see it as the thought and meaning of it counts.”

“That’s beautiful.” You had no idea if he meant the bouquet or your words. He paid and grabbed the bouquet. “You’ve got a nice place here. I’ll have to recommend you.”

—————————————————————

It was a week and a half later when you saw the boy again. “I need flowers again.”

“How did the bouquet go?”

“Rebecca loved it, and Dennis was impressed that flowers have meanings and I could remember them. I need flowers that say ‘Congratulations on the new deal. Let’s kick ass together on ice.’”

You chuckled as you started pulling different flowers. “I can do congratulations, but I’m not sure how to get kick ass to translate. That might be a job for yourself.”

“Mat,” the guy said suddenly. “My name is Mat.”

“I’m Y/N,” you introduced. “So you want the meanings of these flowers?”

“Yes. I think Tito will find it funny if I actually know this stuff.”

“The yellow poppies mean success and wealth. Apple blossoms mean hope and good fortune. The goldenrod suggests success, good fortune, and encouragement. I put some general hyacinths in here too because—“

“It means games and sports!” Mat shouted. He did a little fist pump for remembering, causing you to giggle at his excitement.

“Very good, Mat. These lilies are Casablanca ones. They represent celebration. The yellow roses, which you may remember, mean friendship, but they also represent achievement.”

Mat smiled as he grabbed the bouquet and paid. “Thank you, Y/N. I’m definitely recommending this place.”

You smiled. “I’d appreciate that a lot, Mat.”

—————————————————————

It had been a month since Mat had last been in. He must have kept his promise because your sales went up after his last visit. You even met Dennis, the guy who lets Mat live in his basement. You learned from him that they played for the Islanders. By now you had met most of the team and the organization staff from all their visits to your shop. You even had to hire a couple extra workers because of the business increase.

Business was slow the current morning, which was fine with you. Sometimes you liked the slowdown. “Hey, Y/N,” you looked up to see Mat.

“Mat!” You cheered. “It’s been a while. I was hoping you’d stop by sometime. I really want to thank you for bringing me business.”

Mat blushed. “It was nothing. So since you aware of what I do, then this will make it less awkward. This weekend is mothers’ weekend for the Islanders. The guys and I talked and we wanted to order bouquets from you for them.”

You nodded and grabbed a pad of paper. “How many and when?”

Mat counted on his hands. “26. We decided Sunday would be good. It’ll be a home game and the end to their trip. Is that enough time for that much?”

You nodded. “They won’t be big and extravagant.”

Mat grinned. “That’s fine. It’s the meaning that counts. Any ideas on the flowers?”

“You really want to know?”

“Yes! I like this whole meaning thing.”

You nodded and thought for a moment. “White periwinkles for delightful memories. The pink rose is for gratitude and thanks. A cactus symbolizes maternal affection and love; however, I will put the flower of cactus in substitute. The pink carnations symbolize woman’s love. Purple tulips mean royalty, which mothers are. Coltsfoot means maternal care.”

“That sounds beautiful,” Mat commented. “Everyone’s going to love them.”

—————————————————————

It had only been a couple days since the delivery to the Islanders, and all you could think of was how it went and if Mat liked it, even if it was the moms. It had been awhile since someone had appreciated what you do, and Mat seemed to love what you do.

Off in your own world, you didn’t hear the door open and the man in question enter. He coughed to get your attention. “Mat!”

“Hi, Y/N.”

“I didn’t expect to see you so soon. Did the mothers like the flowers?”

He nodded eagerly. “Everyone loved them,” He pulled out a card from his coat. “This is for you from everyone. I also need one more bouquet.”

“What’s the occasion?”

Mat shook his head and pulled out another piece of paper. “I already know the flowers I need.”

You nodded and got ready to find the flowers. Mat’s hands shook as he glanced down at the paper and took a deep breath. “Phlox for sweet dreams and to say I’m trying to please you. Saxifrage for affection. White camellias for the lovable and adorable and pink ones for strong desire. Sweet William so I can be granted a smile. Red tulips to declare my love, and red carnations symbolizing admiration. Forget-me-nots for true love, hope, and memories. Gardenias for secret admiration and love. Daylilies for flirtation. Love at first sight represented by a lavender rose. Blue bells for gratitude, appreciation, and never ending love.”

Mat watched you run around looking for flowers. “You must be in deep,” you said as you put the piece together. “There’s a lot of love and affection in this bouquet.”

Mat nodded. “Good. That’s what I want.”

You finished up the bouquet and passed to to Mat. He looked at it before setting it down. “You put a lot of work into this,” he whispered.

You nodded. “You’re my favorite customer honestly. You deserve this. Good luck with the girl...or guy.”

“Girl,” Mat reaffirmed. He started walking towards the door without the flowers.

“Mat! Your flowers!” Mat stopped. “What’s this girl going to think of you ask her out and forget these?”

“She’s already holding them,” Mat answered. You stopped and stared at the bouquet in your hand. “I honestly didn’t know how to do this. Will you go on a date with me, Y/N?”

You set the bouquet down and grabbed a handful of white violets. “Let’s take a chance,” Mat said staring at the flowers. “I’m going to take this as a yes.”

You put the bouquet in an empty vase. “This is one of my favorite bouquets I’ve ever made. And to think, I thought you were going to give this to another girl.”

Mat laughed. “You’re the only girl I’d ever give these flowers to.”

===============================

For flower meanings I used https://gardenerdy.com/list-of-flowers-their-meanings