#i only learned after that you can just put some lemon juice in there

[ooglywooglies]

did my workout AND emergency collected a bunch of rainwater from my dogs sandbox, boiled and tempered it, and did a water change with it because turns out our tap water has kind of a high ph and it was stressing out my fish (i think)

[honeytonedhottie]

taking control of ur wellness (tips and tricks to be ur healthiest most vibrant you)⋆.ೃ࿔*:･✍🏽🌸

you must treat ur body like the temple that it is. love every inch of urself and out of love for urself, take good care of it. in this post we'll explore how to take control of ur wellness and overall take better care of urself from the inside out…💬🎀

THE MAINTENANCE ;

maintaining ur health by taking supplements is something that i do and its made a big difference in my health. because im taking my vitamins and supplements i feel a lot better and i dont get sick often at all.

♡ invest in a cute vitamin box to inspire u to take ur vitamins

i take a daily multivitamin in the morning and at night i take magnesium + D3 because its helped me fix my sleep schedule and just have better quality of sleep. plus its a better alternative to melatonin ᡣ𐭩 •｡ꪆৎ ˚⋅✍🏽

DISCLAIMER : its crucial for u to do ur own research when it comes to ur health so make sure that u do that before applying anything that u learn on the internet for ur own safety!…💬🎀

♡ chia seed water every morning

make sure that ur not consuming more than 1-2 tbsp of chia seeds a day but i put 2 tablespoons of chia seeds in my water every morning cuz its an amazing source of fiber, and they're rich in omega-3 fatty acids and other vitamins and minerals.

♡ if im experiencing inflammation i'll take some warm water, turmeric and some lemon

♡ chlorophyll water (bonus points if u add a lemon wedge)

chlorophyll is an internal deodorizer! it helps to detoxify the body by binding to and eliminating toxins, heavy metals, and harmful substances. it also helps with skin concerns like acne 💕

♡ dry brushing

dry brushing is something else that i do that has an impact on my health. dry brushing unclogs pores in the exfoliation process. it also helps detoxify your skin by increasing blood circulation and promoting lymph flow/drainage. so not only am i exfoliating for softer more princessy skin, im also promoting my lymph flow and increasing my blood circulation.

THE IMPORTANCE OF HYDRATION ;

i know everyone always talks about how important it is to drink water and its lowkey overdone but its TRUE. water is so SO important. if u have difficulty drinking enough water invest in a cute water bottle with a straw. i say with a straw cuz i feel like personally, im more inclined to drink water if its out of a straw.

YOU ARE WHAT YOU EAT ;

when ur eating, try focusing on how the food ur eating is making you feel. everyones body responds differently to different foods so by noticing how u feel after eating something, you can have a better idea of what u should continue eating and what u should steer clear of. with that being said, lets get into this section. 🗒️

something else that i wanted to yap about in this section is that there is a difference between restricting urself and self control. eating shouldn't be bringing u anxiety and ur allowed to let urself live. so eat to feel satiated and happy, dont eat to the point where you feel sick and like u can barely move.

something that has helped me be more conscious of what im choosing to fuel my body with is the 80-20 rule. choose the healthier option 80% of the time and the 20% of the time eat yummy pastries and cakes 💕

if ur someone who has difficulty eating vegetables, try cooking them in a different way and seasoning them adequately to make them yummy, masking them in different dishes. OR if that doesnt work for u get ur veggies in smoothies. cuz u gotta get in some fruits and vegetables.

im someone who loves to have a fun drink in the mornings and during the day so i've been super obsessed with making my own smoothies. my smoothie formula is super simple and it has never failed me.

(1-2 fruits + collagen powder/protein powder + almond milk + a bit of honey/maple syrup + ice)…💬🎀

some more wellness drinks and juicing recipes →

♡ apple + lemon + kale + honey + water

♡ grapefruit + lemon + kale + water

ALL ABOUT PROBIOTICS ;

probiotics are the good bacteria that live in your gut, working hard to keep your digestive system balanced and healthy. SO if you’re dealing with bloating, fatigue, or even skin issues, it might be time to show your gut some love.

♡ kimchi

♡ greek yogurt

♡ kefir

♡ pickles

♡ kombucha

MOVING YOUR BODY ;

moving ur body is also super duper important, not only for ur physical well being but also for ur mental wellbeing so make sure that ur getting physical activity every single day.

whether thats going to the gym, stretching, playing a sport, going on walks, dancing etc. there are literally SO many ways that u can move ur body and enjoy urself ᡣ𐭩 •｡ꪆৎ ˚⋅ some things that i like to do to stay active are →

♡ dancing ♡ stretching ♡ jump-roping (my favorite) ♡ walking

the trick to this is using the stair master machine OR if u dont have one in ur gym, u can just go on the treadmill at an incline for like 30 minutes or however long u can, and putting ur hands up to ur head and keeping ur posture straight. aim for at least a 5-10% incline, but you can go higher depending on your fitness level…💬🎀

or ofc u can go on walks with ur pet or ✨hot girl walks✨ and walk while listening to a podcast, literally whatever u prefer.

♡ pilates/workouts that i can follow along with on youtube

a fun way to keep track of the workouts that u consistently do is to make a workout book like i did. that way i can have everything at my fingertips right when i need it 💕🗒️

[soopsiedaisies]

Hey!! Hey!!! Do you want to bake an easy snack?? Do you want something sweet and fruity, but not too sweet?? Boy have I got the thing for you

APPLEFLAPS

This is a treat that, as far as I know, is rather common in Belgium, The Netherlands, and some parts Germany. It’s one of the first baked goods that Dutch kids learn to make, shortly followed by peppernuts and apple pie and poundcake. It’s easy, only requires a couple of ingredients, and has quite a short baking time. You literally cannot go wrong with this I promise. Recipe under the cut

INGREDIENTS NEEDED:

Square puff pastry sheets, but round ones work as well. About 12cm by 12cm preferably (like 4 and half inches by 4 and a half inches). Each sheet will be one (1) pastry. If you get one massive sheet, cut it into smaller squares with like a pair of scissors. Idc I’m not your dad. 

Apples, for the filling. Ones you use for apple pie work best but any apples will do. Make sure you’ve got at least 4 large ones (you can eat the leftover filling by the spoonful) 

Lemon (or lime) juice, to prevent browning of the apples (and to prevent overwhelming sweetness, if the apples aren’t a bit sour themselves)

Sugar (to taste and for decoration) 

Ground cinnamon

An egg for the eggwash (if vegan or allergic to eggs or without eggs, water works as well)

Some lukewarm water

Optional: Vanilla sugar

Optional: (rum-)soaked raisins 

UTENSILS NEEDED

Baking sheet

Baking paper

Bowl (large enough for at least 4 cut-up apples)

Knife

Cutting board (covering my bases here) 

Spoon

Fork 

Lil brush for the eggwash

Your fingers

A fucking oven. 

To start

Preheat the oven to 175 Celcius, or about 350 Fahrenheit. If you got the kind of puff pastry that’s frozen, take that out to thaw a little bit. Line your baking sheet with baking paper. 

The filling:

Peel the apples. Cut them in half, then in quarters. Core them. Cut the quarters in half lengthwise, then gather a few together and cut these width wise: you want to end up with little triangles. The thickness of these triangles depends wholly on how chunky you want the filling to be. I usually go for about 5 millimetres, which means there’s still some chunk after baking. 

Throw the pieces in a bowl. Add a dash of lemon juice, maybe a bit more if the apples are really sweet and you don’t really like that. Throw in the (totally optional) raisins, add some sugar, and pound the bottom of the ground cinnamon jar. Mix with a spoon and give it a little taste. Not sweet enough? Add more sugar. Not cinnamon-y enough? Add more cinnamon. Is it too sweet, or too cinnamon-y? Don’t worry, if you’ve got another apple cut that one up and throw it in. Give it a taste. Still too sweet? Lemon juice. It’ll help. Not more apples? Just roll with it. It’ll taste great either way. 

You can heat the filling a little bit if you want, but it’s not necessary and will only result in extra dishes. 

Folding and stuff

Filling’s done, and puff pastry’s thawed? Great. Let’s get to filling and folding. 

The common shape of the appleflap is a triangle because we tend to use square puff pastry sheets. It doesn’t really matter what the shape ends up being, as long as it’s folded in half and forms a little pocket (you don’t want the filling to spill out a whole lot). 

What you do is grab one of the pastry sheets, put it down flat, and put a spoonful (a little less, a little more. It’s a bit of fiddling) in the middle of it. Avoid the edges. Then you use that jar of lukewarm water: using the brush or your fingers, wet one half of the edge of the pastry sheet. Then pinch the dry half and pull it a bit, folding it over. The filling shouldn’t burst out of the pocket or tear the dough: if it does only a little bit, it’s fine, but if it’s far too much simply peel the pocket back open and take some of the filling out. 

You’ll notice that when you press the wet edge to the dry edge, it’ll stick shut. Decorate/further secure the edge by crimping it with a fork. There. You’ve done it. That’s a fucking pastry. Carefully place it on the baking sheet, and just continue on until you’re out of pastry dough. 

(There will usually be some filling left. This is for you to eat, or for the kiddos you’re making it with) 

Finishing touches 

Stand before the overfull baking sheet and determine whether or not the pastries will touch as they bake. If they do, take some out. Two rounds of baking is also doable. It’s kind of like cookies. 

Brush the top of the pastries with the eggwash or water, then sprinkle some sugar on top. At this point you throw them into the preheated oven for about 25 minutes and just wait. Keep bit of an eye on them though, you don’t want them to burn. 

…and that’s it. That’s all there’s to it. They’re fantastic to eat when still warm, and they’re still fantastic when cold. The sugar melts and comes a bit caramel-y so the pastry is a bit tacky, yet the puff pastry itself is still fluffy and dry. The apple pie filling is just fruity goodness. Easy, fun. You can replace the apple filling with different fruits if you want (cherry and apricot is also brilliant). Enjoy!

[jegaphone]

I've always loved to cook, but since I started working from home in 2020, I've really leaned into it as a joyful hobby. I live with three other adults and I'm the only cook, so I have a lot of opportunity to practice and flex what I've learned!

I've never posted my own words much on here, but honestly, I've been missing the LJ days in the current social media hellscape. So fuck it, I'm gonna start sharing what I've made when the urge strikes me. I want to share home cooking tips that I love, too - I still use recipes a lot of the time, but I love to freestyle and make the dishes my own.

Tonight I made one of my favorite quick dinners that's nice and flexible with the ingredients - pesto pasta. I grew up on basil pesto, but truly anything goes!

1/2 cup nuts or seeds - the classic is pine nuts, but those are expensive. My favorites are pistachios and sunflower seeds.

1/3 cup hard sharp cheese, like parmesan or pecorino romano, cut into chunks.

3-4 cups greens and/or herbs - I've used arugula, chard, mustard and carrot greens, blanched kale and collard greens... I don't think you can go wrong. Herb-wise I've only gone with basil or cilantro, but I bet there are a lot of possibilities.

4-6 cloves of garlic - note that I'm of Italian heritage and have already increased this level beyond what you'd find in a lot of recipes lmao.

A few teaspoons of salt, fresh cracked pepper, and a few dashes of lemon juice - vinegar would also work, just needs a bit of acid.

About 1/3 cup of olive oil, more if needed to get the blender going. You can also loosen it up with some water from cooking the pasta if needed.

Throw it all in a blender and go until it's all emulsified! This makes enough for two pounds of pasta. It's a fantastic meal to have leftovers of, we eat it for lunch throughout the week after I've made a big batch.

While I usually make this for pasta, you can also put a dollop on steak, chicken, eggs, steamed or roasted vegetables... universal condiment as far as I'm concerned! It's a great way to use up greens and herbs that are starting to wilt.

[podracerbarrelroll]

Dye your hair red with henna: a guide

This comes from my own personal experience with dyeing my hair red because someone recently asked me for a step-by-step, and I'm writing it down because think it might be helpful to others.

Some things to know first:

Henna adds dark red color on top of your natural color. So if you start out blonde to light brown, you can go red. If you are starting darker than that, I'm sorry, but you may only get a red tint in certain lights. I have very straight white people hair and my natural color is blonde. I don't know how well you can make henna work on different hair colors and textures.

You cannot apply henna on top of hair dyed with synthetic dye. If you already have synthetic dye in, I'm sorry again, but it will fuck up your hair. Your only option if you want to do henna is to wait for your hair to grow out so there's no synthetic dye left.

Henna is very, very permanent. I only ever dye my roots, and I wash my hair in hot water in the shower with head & shoulders shampoo. It stains the follicle rather than coating the strand, so it does not come out. It will make your hair red, but you must be sure you want your hair red and you want it to say like that for awhile.

So, to dye your hair with henna:

Wash your hair with your regular shampoo. Do NOT use conditioner. Allow to dry completely. I usually do this earlier in the day when I shower.

Get your supplies. These are: hair henna (it's a powder), lemon juice, hair clips to section your hair, plastic gloves, a disposable plastic shower cap, saran/plastic wrap, an old shirt, an old sweater or jacket or towel to go around your shoulders, and ideally, someone to help you apply it. I've never applied it by myself.

Mix the henna and lemon juice together until the henna reaches roughly the consistency of pudding. It will be brown-green in color. You don't want lumps, so if I need to open a fresh box of henna, I do this earlier in the day and let it sit. You can let it sit on the counter all day; it won't go bad. Do cover it if it's sitting for awhile so it doesn't dry out.

Section your hair with hair clips. The person applying your henna (ideally not you) will remove these section by section.

Apply the henna. Wearing the plastic gloves, remove the hair clip from the section you want to start with and completely coat the hair with the mixed henna. Go from root to tip, unless you're only touching up your roots, in which case just do the roots. Repeat for all sections.

Wrap it up. Have the person applying your henna gather your hair up, and then put it inside the plastic shower cap. Once that's done, get the saran wrap and go around your head a few times to make it tight.

Clean up. Any spots of henna left on your skin will make it orange for a few days if left to dry, so take some wet paper towels and get any that fell on your face, neck, and ears. Also clean any that might have fallen on the counter or floor etc. The hair clips you used will probably have henna on them and can be rinsed with water and left to dry.

Let it sit. Here's the downside. Henna needs to sit in your hair for at least 4-6 hours for your hair to turn red. For this reason, I get my henna applied right before I go to bed and sleep with it in. I wrap an old jacket around my head so none gets on the pillow or sheets, and then I rinse it out in the morning.

Rinse your hair. I do this the next morning in the shower with hot water and a comb. Henna does tangle my hair, so I need the comb to work through that. I've also learned to work my fingers through the fine hairs by my ears because little dried chunks of henna like to get stuck there. When that's done, I can wash my body free of henna dirt...and then wash the shower and tub, because I usually do get henna dirt all over it.

DO NOT wash your hair with shampoo until 3 days/72 hours have passed. During this time, my scalp is sometimes a little itchy, but nothing too bad. After 3 days have passed, I go back to shampooing and conditioning my hair on my normal schedule, which for me is twice a week, and that's it until it's time for me to do my roots again

If you have leftover henna, you can freeze it for next time. It freezes well, and just needs to thaw for a few hours before you use it. If you're doing it for the first time, you may need a whole box depending on how long your hair is, but if you're just touching up your roots, you may be able to do that two or three times before you go through a box.

Hopefully this can be helpful to someone else, even if that someone is only me the next time I get asked about henna!

Pictures beneath the cut.

I usually use this type of henna, but any hair henna should be fine. Some will make your hair darker.

Comparison of my hair from before I started using henna and after.

[crowdedstranger]

the things i want to share about my granddad:

the camellias bloom through the winter,

vibrant magenta, one gentle snip,

the single flower floats alone, i watch us spin

thinking of warmth, of what should've been,

soft peeling of oranges under my fingers,

sticky zest lingers on and on

summer sun sets slowly, the 126 open,

someday I'll see it, just as forgiving as it is lonely

fish and chips by the water, delicate flakes torn apart

tartar sauce and lemon juice, so sour it's, oh, sweet-heart

early risers, sunscreen put on OUTSIDE

salty noses, in the shallow end you can be anything

mermaids circle, aviators frame your face

i wonder how long until i brave the deep

i sit in the truck bed, almost tall enough for our eyes to meet

no attempts to look ahead as tequila sunrise becomes our rearview

we hide under a stack of books tall enough to pass the afternoon

spines sit side by side, pages turning in a race not winnable

both born under the autumn sun,

then again, by a sycamore tree I can't wrap my arms around

you were here as a child, my mother too,

will my child bear the weight of this love?

inherited places, drawn to the burning orange, the blood red

my hands sticky from the gala,

apples fill my basket and belly,

cider spilling on the back seat

i will remember a childhood of love and light

of every fruit and every season,

learning to love, to let go, as it all eventually does

my need-to-grow-into-it kind of halo,

your golden sunhat in the hallway

can't leave without eyeing my reflection

wondering when i'll start to look like you,

completely unaware i already do

the things i don't want to share about my granddad:

a heart kept in overdrive, while never sure where to start

oil-stained fingers working until there's some kind of spark

double vision, misdirected, my throat will suffice

tear-stained cheeks, but you only nicked my heart

i'm still unsure it happened, the invisible engine,

they only see it after it fucking starts,

my north star a whiskey scented apology,

but you remember it too,

be careful what you wish for, she says while painting herself blue

strangers’ tears on my jacket, salt and pepper hair reduced to snow

with a name like James there's sacrilege everywhere I go

losing memory, losing trust, losing my own sense of just

drunken haze, rising to an ever-blazing son

welcome home, our favorite corpse livens the living room,

none of us brave enough to carry her to the closet

who does this body belong to?

how long until i can let go?

could i really, if i wanted?

for once, maybe i don’t need to know,

learning so far, certainly, anything goes

no one needs to be honest, silence all ghosts

if only, how much time spent trying to be alone

I'll look over my shoulder for the rest of my life,

do you really want to know what I remember?

[khotetsu]

Are we oversharing cooking advice? Because I've got a few tips that I've learned living by myself:

The one that really changed how I cook is when you're making dinner, make enough for two meals. This way you have hearty leftovers that you can just reheat the day after and don't have to cook again while only having to increase the amount you cook at one time - effectively halving the amount of cooking and cleaning that you have to do. This is basically the idea behind meal prepping ahead of time, but can be done on the fly and doesn't require the prep work.

When cooking meat, my rule of thumb is that 10 minutes per inch of thickness at medium/medium-high heat will cook it to medium-rare. Cooking a burger in a pan on the stove? Flip it after 5 minutes, wait another 5, and you're done. If you like your meat a little more on the medium to well-done side, add a couple of minutes, or take it off a minute or two early if you like it more rare.

Speaking of meat, meat is generally pretty expensive (comparatively), so it might be a good idea to look for other options to get stuff like protein in your diet (think spinach and beans and the like).

Rice and potatoes are fantastic. They keep well, are cheap, and are very flexible in what you can do with them as well as being filling and pretty good for you (rice especially).

Frozen veggies are frozen at the height of the season when they're the freshest, so for one person it's much easier to get them frozen and pull out just what you need for one meal than it is to try and use up the big containers that you often get buying the fresh stuff before it goes bad. Unless you live somewhere where you can simply go down to the market and pick up just enough for that night's meal. In that case, I'm super jealous.

My two most used appliances are my rice cooker and air fryer. Both are really flexible and easy to cook with. An air fryer is just a convection oven with a stronger fan it, which means not only can it fry food, but it can bake just as well as a regular oven without needing to preheat, and it can also take the place of a grill. You can make a steak or a burger in there as easily as you can make french fries. Rice cookers can cook soups and stews as well as steam food, and is probably the ultimate set it and forget it when it comes to cooking. Mine has a warming setting that it defaults to after cooking that can last something like 7 hours, so I can set a pot of rice on it and not have to worry about cold rice or anything when I come back.

Now that the wall of text is out of the way, a couple of quick and fairly easy recipes:

Honey-Garlic Pork-chops:

What you'll need:

A frying pan, cutting board, and a knife Vegetable oil of your choice (I use Olive oil) One or two cloves of garlic One pork-chop Honey

Peel your garlic and chop it into medium-sized pieces. Put some oil in the pan and turn the heat to medium. While that's heating up, take the garlic, pork-chops, some oil, and a little honey and mix them together (I like to just dump it all in a zip-lock bag and shake it up). Once the pan is hot enough, put the pork-chops in the pan and dump the sauce mixture in and put the lid back on (carefully, cold oil and a hot pan don't mix well!). Turn the pork-chops after about 6 minutes and put the lid back on. Cook for another 6 minutes and they're done!

You can skip the garlic if you want, and substitute lemon juice instead of the honey for an entirely different flavor. This one pairs really well with pasta, as the olive oil sauce can be drizzled right out of the pan and onto the pasta.

Lazy Chicken "Cordon Bleu":

What you'll need:

A baking pan, cutting board, and a sharp knife One chicken breast Cheese(s) of your choice Bread crumbs (I like Panko)

Preheat your oven (350-375 degrees Fahrenheit). While that's preheating, take your chicken breast and cut a slit in the middle - not all the way through the bottom - on the cutting board. You can now put your chicken on the baking pan, and then stuff that slice as full of cheese as you can get it. Sprinkle some bread crumbs on top of the cheese and then when the oven is preheated, put it in for 30 minutes or until it's cooked all the way through (if you have a meat thermometer, stick it in the fattest part of the breast and it should read at least 165 degrees Fahrenheit, otherwise, you can cut the breast open to make sure that it's cooked all the way through).

Cheese and chicken go well with pretty much anything, so make some rice or pasta, or just a salad, whatever sounds good.

Consomme Rice:

What you'll need:

A baking dish Beef Consomme White rice

This is a very simple family recipe I learned from my dad that replaces the water in cooking rice with beef consomme for a hearty flavor. As such, you need beef consomme equivalent to the amount of water you would normally use, but instead of cooking it on the stove-top, the rice is baked instead.

Preheat your oven (350-375 degrees Fahrenheit). Add the rice and consomme to the baking dish and put the lid on. When the oven is ready, put the baking dish in and cook until the rice is cooked (it should take about the same amount of time as on the stove and come out looking like brown rice).

Mexican Street Corn:

What you'll need:

Corn (on the cob or off, both work just fine) Sour Cream Shredded Parmesan cheese (or if you can get it, Cotija cheese for the real deal) Chili powder Cilantro (I just use freeze dried)

Once you've cooked your corn however you like (grilled is the way you'd get it on the streets, but you can microwave it or even cook a cob in the air fryer like I do), just slather sour cream over it, sprinkle it with the cheese, chili powder, and cilantro, and enjoy!

would it be ok to send u a few simple low-effort recipes and cooking tips in DMs? I've been cooking for a long time and work in foodservice but I got that auDHD + poor so I've had to pick up some easy-to-do shit over the years that I fall back on when my brain/body/wallet isnt feeling it

okay but if there's more than three steps i'll be upset

[yandere-sins]

Hi :3 i had an idea and couldn't wait to tell you about it. What do you think about yandere shibari master x darling? I just want to know what the creative mind of yours comes up with. 👀 One shot or headcanon love you <3

[Rated Lemon]

Proficiency with ropes certainly comes in handy (ba dum tss) when dealing with a darling.

It’s all about the art for the yandere. Art shared with their very special someone.

Only their darling can make as good of a model as to compliment their craft. No one else will ever look as good as you when you are at the mercy of the master of the ropes binding you. They are like snakes, and the yan commands them while you are the helpless victim caught in strained poses, crying tears that your yan will gladly wipe away for you with sick fascination (unless they look good in the pictures). Tying you up is much more fun, exciting, and rewarding than when he does anyone else. So it absolutely has to be you.

You have no idea how good you look with your limbs stretched out from fingertip to toe or folded together in itself until you can barely breathe. How beautiful you are dangling in the air, wrapped in colored ropes to accentuate the beauty of your body. They take pictures, some for their portfolio to show, some for their very own, very private albums to remember the work and passion they put into making you a piece of art.

Even though you cry and struggle every time they decide on a new composition, you can’t really complain about their treatment of you. The yan makes sure your body is always on par to represent their craft exactly as they imagine it to be. Every day they tie your wrists with new ropes, ensuring you never have to suffer too long, cleaning the wounds that roughhousing might occasionally cause when you resist them. And when all is done to secure their most beautiful, astounding, excellent key piece is ready and calmed down, the yan will spare no words and no touches to make sure you know how much they adore you.

You are everything to them, their muse and the light of their life, and if you weren’t there, they’d see no sense in continuing their own life without you by their side. You are irreplaceable and treasured, belonging to them and the art. A gift. You belong in this world full of ropes and performing. Nothing else matters, but you tied up in a way that makes the yandere sink to their knees and pray to you like the deity you are. You belong in their world.

Of course, there’s the aspect of sexuality combined with their skill. They are positively hungry for the body littered with rope burns and marks, all hints at how much they love you and how they love you too much at times, getting careless and over their head. They can read your body like a review of their own skills, and they take all the time after every session to make sure they learn their lessons, licking along the grooves and tasting their ropes before mixing it with your juices.

It’s like a reward for both of you after a long, concentrated session, as they grope and bury themselves into your flesh, littering it with even more marks of their teeth and nails, screaming about the inspiration that comes to mind while they fuck you. All while your hands and ankles remain tied, but your eyes aren’t the only witnesses to the madness as the master satisfies their urges. Pent-up lust and desire—you will never know the amount of willpower it takes to resist the temptation as they work their magic on you—their art becomes a game of patience for the yandere as they get to touch you so much but never enough until the moment they finally get you down and ravish you.

But there’s a limit to their kindness. And while you’ll never lack anything in their care (except your freedom) if you become a hindrance to their art, the most important thing next to you for them, the yandere might decide to punish you in a very... unique way.

Ever thought about performing naked in front of a crowd of people? With your legs spread and the crowd touching themselves as you dangle in your ropes? Ah’s and Oh’s echoing below the stage as your yan begins touching you, showing off his perfect, beautiful darling in this utterly degrading composition of his love and madness? Them starting to pleasure you on stage for the crowd to see, watching you come undone in an elaborate showcase of the master’s skills.

And for it to go on and on as they keep trying new compositions with you until you are an overstimulated, shivering mess, begging to go home.

But that’s where the yan’s fun begins, and you finally receive your punishment.

[whentherewerebicycles]

unbelievably easy plant-based meal #3: roasted veggie bowl with sweet potato, red onion, & broccoli topped with crispy spiced chickpeas

this was the first specifically plant-based whole food veggie bowl I learned to make and it’s so delicious I once ate only variations on this dish for like a month. it takes a bit longer to make than the previous two meals but is easy to prep ahead and requires minimal monitoring once everything’s in the oven. ��

what you need:

to roast—sweet potato, red onion, broccoli (and cauliflower if you like), chickpeas, kale

for the sauce—tahini, lemon juice, maple syrup

spices—cumin, chili powder, garlic powder, oregano, turmeric (3/4th a tsp of each according to the original recipe but I just generously dump in a lot)

prep work: just chopping the veggies and mixing the chickpeas + spices. you can do everything ahead of time—just be sure to store the sweet potato + red onion, broccoli, and kale separately since they go in at different times.

what you do:

preheat oven to 400. cut sweet potato into cubes + red onion into thick wedges (you want the onion wedges decently thick or they burn in the oven). tear kale off the stem and chop. cut broccoli into chunks. then put the sweet potato and onion on a foil-lined baking sheet, drizzle with oil, and season with salt + pepper. I sometimes dump cumin, garlic powder, and turmeric on them too but I have no idea if that’s recommended or not lol I just like the spices. cook for 10 min. I always clean up at this point since I have dead time to fill.

after 10 min, pull out the tray and add the broccoli. drizzle some more olive oil and add a pinch of salt and pepper. put back in for 8-10 more min and start gathering your spices.

drain and rinse chickpeas, then dump them into a bowl with all your spices. start heating a saucepan with a little bit of olive oil or water over medium heat while you’re mixing stuff together. when it sizzles, dump chickpeas in and let cook for 10 min (or until crispy to taste and popping a bit), stirring occasionally.

while the chickpeas are cooking, your second 10-min veggie timer should go off! pull out the tray and add your roughly chopped kale to the top. drizzle a little more olive oil plus salt + pepper and mix it all up. put it back in for 4-5 more min.

in a small bowl, mix 1/4 cup tahini, 1 Tbs of maple syrup, and a generous splash of lemon juice. add a little bit of hot water slooowly to thin, mixing as you go (you want it to be pourable but still thick—not watery!). taste it and adjust if needed. tahini is yummy but can be pretty bitter so I like the maple syrup to balance it out. if it gets too watery you can always add a bit more tahini to thicken it up.

once everything’s done, mix your veggies, crispy chickpeas, and tahini sauce in a big bowl. add salt + pepper to taste. then ENJOY!YUMMM!!!!! this one only lasts a day or two in the fridge but you will probably devour it long before it starts going off.

portion sizes: eat to your heart’s content, but I find that 2/3rds cup on a smaller plate fills me up just as much as eating a huge bowlful. as always I give myself full permission to go back for seconds but I usually don’t need to.

total time: 5-10 min prep + 25 min baking time. little bit more cleanup than the previous ones but using foil on the baking sheet helps a lot and you can clean as you wait.

fun additions: I’ve also roasted cauliflower in addition to the broccoli. and you can make the tahini sauce without maple syrup if you want less sugar. otherwise idk this meal is perfect to me I don’t ever really mess with it.

[vaspider]

What are those?👀 And would you teach us? Ok no that's too much maybe, point us in the right direction to resources to learn how to make … Forgot the word of bottling things uuighhhh

Canning is the term you are looking for. :)

In this cabinet we have:

Jams & Jellies

grape jam (grapes from my backyard)

plum jam (neighbor's tree)

fig jam (other neighbor's tree)

lemon jelly

kiwi jam

blackberry jam

low-sugar blackberry jam

strawberry jam

Pickles

pickled beets

dill pickles

Dinners

chicken, veggies & gravy

"pot roast in a jar" (beef & veggies)

chicken curry

french onion soup

chili

Savory

salsa

Singapore chili sauce

basalmic caramelized onion

As far as "can I teach you," there are a lot of good resources online, and I can recommend a few books. I cannot stress enough that canning is not hard, but that you must follow the instructions very carefully. Botulism is no joke.

Do:

Read the entire process several times.

Have everything ready before you start.

Start with water bath canning.

Make sure that you are using the right method of canning (water bath vs. pressure canning) for the food type. Water bath canning is only for acidic foods (ph below 4.6).

Use recipes only from vetted, known sources. This is not a time to use random website recipes. Reputable. Sources. Only.

Use only name-brand jars and lids. Seriously, don't fuck around. Ball/Mason, Kerr. That's it. (I only use Ball jars because that's what my mom and grandmother used.)

Use a very long-handled spoon to stir jam, or wear grill gloves. I have scars from jam splashes. :) We ended up buying a wooden paddle usually used for stirring crab boils or gumbo.

Check your jars every time to make sure the rims are not chipped and the jars are not cracked.

Be careful looking up videos, or just skip looking up anything on YouTube. You may fall into white supremacist YouTube via the prepper route real fucking fast. Also, you may find people who tell you that you can safely use an Instant Pot as a pressure canner or reuse lids or whatever and YOU CANNOT DO THOSE THINGS.

Make sure any vinegar you use is 5% vinegar. Some companies are putting out 4% vinegar and that is not acidic enough.

Use your bubble popper to make sure there are no bubbles hiding along the sides of your jar. Bubbles add to your head space, and can cause spoilage or seal failure.

Get yourself a set of reusable jar lids for after the jars are open and in your fridge. Much less annoying than the 2-piece lids once stuff is open.

Accumulate stuff slowly. You can start out with a stock pot and a hand towel and some jars.

Buy your jars and lids (and as much stuff as you can) at your local hardware store. It's cheaper than Amazon, and also your local store.

Use white or apple cider vinegar when called for by the recipe. Other vinegars may not be acidic enough. (Rice vinegar isn't.)

Use bottled lemon juice when called for by the recipe. Fresh lemon juice may or may not be acidic enough. Bottled will be consistent.

Don't:

Substitute ingredients unless the recipe says you can.

Ever ever ever put dairy or any kind of flour or powdered starch (tapioca starch, etc.) in things you're canning.

Use an Instant Pot for canning. No, it does NOT get up to sufficient pressure. I don't care what that YouTube video says.

Use broth concentrate or bouillon if a recipe calls for broth. (They pretty much always have vegetable starches in them.) Unless you're using homemade broth from a recipe in your canning book, just buy the boxed stuff. Yes, you're mostly paying for water, but seriously, safety.

Try to use your grill gloves or hot pad to pick up jars out of the water. Always use a jar lifter.

Cut corners or try to rush. Take. Your. Time.

Use anything but very fresh vegetables, fruits and meats.

Touch the underside of the jar lid with your fingers after you wash the lids as you prepare them for use. Go wash that lid again.

Reuse jar lids for another batch. They won't seal properly again. I can't say this enough: DO NOT REUSE THE INNER LIDS. You can reuse the rings.

Put jars in a water bath canner directly on the bottom of the pot. If you don't have a rack, put a hand towel on the bottom of the pot.

Leave the rings on your jars after they've cooled. This can cause a 'false seal,' where you can't tell that the jar's seal has failed, and that's a botulism party.

Forget to measure the head space in your jars. Seriously. Do it. Every time. (See the funnel I use, below. Makes it easy. Check it every time.)

Forget to wipe the rim of the jar with a clean damp cloth before putting the lid on. Food particles on the rim can affect your seal. (For foods containing animal fats, dip the cloth in vinegar to make sure you wipe away all of the fat. Water won't do the trick.)

Websites:

USDA Guide to Home Canning

National Center for Home Food Preservation

Basics of Home Canning

How to Can (Ball/Mason)

Canning Foods At Home (has good instructions on how to dispose of food which may have botulism toxin in it)

(Everything from here down is something I own and personally use.)

Books:

The All New Ball Book Of Canning And Preserving - lots of pictures and diagrams. My favorite beginner's guide. Also contains recipes which show you how to incorporate what you've preserved into your meals.

Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving - fewer pictures, lots and lots and lots of recipes.

The Complete Guide to Home Canning: Current Printing | Official U.S. Department of Agriculture Information Bulletin No. 539 (Revised 2015)

Tools:

Progressive Canning Scoop - This thing changed the game for me. Every scoop is a half pint. It hangs on the edge of the pot, so it doesn't need a plate on the stove to sit on.

Progressive Canning Funnel - Ditto this. It has a head-measuring marking set on the 'feet' of the funnel. The funnel has feet! It doesn't make a mess.

Canning Essentials - A good, inexpensive starter set. I use most of this and then my upgraded funnel.

Progressive Reversible Stainless Steel Canning Rack

Presto Pressure Canner - this is an investment, when you're ready to move up to pressure canning.

I also recommend having ph test strips to check the acidity of things you're water bath canning. Better safe than sorry.

So I've been busy.

This isn't even all of it.

[rainy-day-coffee]

Vice dorm leaders with a fem!s/o who doesn't care about her, but cares hella for other people? She is someone extremely lovely, but doesn't care for go to extremes to help someone?

Make sure to take care of yourself everyone! Go drink water! Or tea! Or better yet, coffee! Go eat something too!

If this isn’t exactly what you wanted, don’t hesitate to send in another request! On an entirely different note, I just realized that if I wrote a confession scenario for Jamil it would contain a ton of angst, with some ending fluff in an attempt to heal the wounds. Or maybe more angst to squeeze lemon juice in said wounds.

Vice dorm leaders with a caring fem!s/o who does not care for herself

Trey knows the feeling of burnout at the expense of others. He doesn’t tend to put the needs of others before his own, but he is used to leaving them for later if the situation calls for it. As vice dorm leader, he always has a steady stream of stress flowing all around him. It’s one of the last things he would wish upon anyone.

His dorm always seems to have a new source of trouble. You always try and lessen his burden even when he tells you it isn’t necessary. It melts him on the inside!

He’s thoroughly heart-broken when he realizes you care for everyone but yourself. He knew you had a tendency to prioritize others, he just hadn’t thought it would be this severe.

In his free time, he’ll sit you down and have a long talk with you. He needs to know why exactly you feel the need to do this and what he can do to help. If you aren’t confident enough to tell him, he’ll respect your wishes.

If you thought he radiated parent aura before, he’ll radiate nearly twice as much now. He sends you text messages throughout the day to remind you of things! For example, “If Ace and Deuce get into trouble again, let them. Riddle can chew them out later”

He’ll gently pull you away from draining situations you put yourself in. If you so desire, you can return to them later. For now, how about you help him bake a bit? It’s a great way to relieve some stress!

Your thinking and way of being is almost the exact opposite of his. Why are you willing to give people everything and not take anything for yourself? Why do you push your own importance to the bottom of the list? That is, if it’s even there in the first place. You absolutely baffle him to no end.

Growing up in the slums taught him to put his needs first. He acts solely to benefit himself, or so he says. That mindset carried on into your relationship too. For the long run, you both will learn from each other. Ruggie will teach you that it’s okay to think about yourself. Everything you do will benefit someone important to him, you. You’ll teach him that not every act of kindness needs something in return. He won’t be indebted to anyone, especially not to you.

Every time you offer to help him with anything his heart explodes with happiness! It’s a strange feeling, but he loves it nonetheless!

He does get a little jealous when you help others. He knows it’s in your nature but he’s a little on the greedier side.

The moment Ruggie sees you biting off more than you can chew, he will sit you down and make you rest. You’ve done this countless times for him, it’s only fair if he does it for you too.

He’ll help you with absolutely everything you ask! Your happiness is something that makes him happy too. It’s well worth the investment!

He’s guilty of exploiting you. Long before your relationship blossomed into what it is today, he would ruthlessly watch you diligently completing tasks for others. Even he would give you things to do! You were always willing to help after all. It didn’t matter if he threw a tsunami of different chores at you, you’d always do your best to complete them. It amused him greatly. A caring hard-worker with no strings attached? How excellent.

That way of thinking changes a bit when he starts to develop feelings for you. It changes even more when you two start dating.

Loves that you support his club activities! He likes inviting you to help him too. The Mountain Appreciation Club now has two members!

If he sees people dump their problems on you, he’ll send his dear brother after them. While Floyd has fun squeezing them, Jade will invite you to take a nice long break with him instead.

He knows that talking sometimes isn’t the best way to get things to happen. He’s aware that changing the way someone thinks is also something that will take time.

If you refuse to put your needs first, he’ll request things from you whilst simultaneously canceling all other plans. Those requests will simply include things he knows you enjoy doing and things he knows you need to attend to. You’ll do it for him no doubt, correct?

You managed to worm your way into a cold eel’s heart, you now must deal with the “selfish” love he gives. Though that love doesn’t seem all that selfish.

At first he was very hesitant to let you into his life, much his less heart. People who were “kind” to him always hide their true intentions until the last moment. Usually, they would only be kind to him to get to Kalim, something Jamil always had to be wary of.

He’s used to people asking him for his services, not someone asking to help him with them. Although Kalim is always willing to help him, Jamil can never accept, not that he wants to in the first place. It’s a different case with you.

Mainly, he’ll give you tasks the two of you can do together. It’s a way to squeeze in more time with you! Apart from that, he prefers to do his work by himself. He doesn’t want to rope you into his life as a servant.

Jamil isn’t the best at speaking about emotions and such. When he realizes just how little you take for yourself, he feels pained but he won’t say anything about it. Instead, he takes it upon himself to help you just as you’ve helped him.

As hypocritical as he thinks it is, he wants you to take care of your own needs and desires too. Ever since Kalim granted him more freedom, he’s been trying to do the same. Although you two are different cases, it’s a lesson both of you can learn together.

The moment you become his girlfriend, he technically starts to stalk you. He used to do so before the relationship started as, but whether you knew that or not is a subject for another day.

After watching you for a while, he starts to notice a pattern. Not one he likes either.

Rook sees the beauty in everything and everyone. He has a way of convincing people to see that beauty too. He’ll slowly make sure you extend that kindness you give to others to yourself. As eccentric as he is, he’s also a very patient man.

He’ll verbally remind you and ask what you really want to do. This includes the topic of his requests too. If he ever asks for something that you really don’t want to do, he’ll drop it. He tells you it’s your right to put your needs first.

“Mon amour, all people in the world are important and worth loving. That includes yourself. If you ever find yourself forgetting this, I will be here to remind you every day!”

He’s a very giving lover himself! He goes out of his way to do many things for you! 

He doesn’t want you to change who you are, he just wants you to be kinder to yourself!

More likely than not, you’re some sort of friend to Idia. You probably met him through Ortho!

He’s very grateful to you, you’re one of the first real-life people who has tried to befriend Idia. You’ve probably tried to get Idia to practice some more healthy eating habits and the like too. Apart from that, you also try to understand both of them.

Ortho sees you as a best friend, maybe even an older sister! He doesn’t like to see such negative thoughts concerning your well-being.

Just like he does for his older brother, he tries to get you to practice some healthier habits. More specifically, he makes you promise to help yourself! It’s his way of showing that he cares for you greatly.

Be wary, he pops up randomly during the day to remind you to take care of yourself! If he sees you helping a friend, he will help you himself. Afterwards, he’ll drag you to rest! You spend lots of energy both physically and mentally, you need to recharge! Not even Ortho can run for forever without recharging his battery!

Lean on him! He’s very reliable, his brother has given him many different features!

He’s met people such as yourself before. Right off the bat he knew how you handled yourself.

As much as he appreciates the amount of effort you put into helping him, he most likely will shoot you down from trying in the first place. He’s an old one, he can do such work easily you can rest assured!

He constantly tells you to enjoy your youth. Go on! Do crazy things! Be selfish! 

Lilia will be your personal cheerleader on your journey!

In all seriousness though, he’ll have a talk with you about this. Among other things, he’ll gently encourage you to push yourself forward. Though it will be a long process, stamping out the thoughts of needing to help others without helping yourself is the first step.

Nobody dares to ask too much of you. The vice leader of Diasomnia may look cute on the outside but he does have an intense aura surrounding him when he wants to.

He likes to rope you into spontaneous adventures in the great outdoors! It’s a perfect get-away from the stress at school. It also gives you some time to sort out your thoughts. 

Slowly but surely he’ll make you realize your worth is just as-if not even more-important as those around you.

[itsany62]

SteveTony - Superfamily

Here are some Superfamily fics that I love. Don’t forget to leave kudos and nice comments in every fic!

What We Learn?, by nannersmelo, 1 k >, Fluff.

“Who is this?”

“That doesn’t matter. What matters is that we have your husband, so you will listen very closely-”

“My husband Tony? Tony Stark?”

"...Yes?”

“Oh well,” Steve laughed, “good luck with that.”

Intruder, by wordscorrupt, 500 words.

Steve and Tony face a rather tiny, adorable intruder in the middle of the night.

the privilege of loving you by starklystar, 7 k > words.

“Why won’t you let me touch you?”

It’s a desperate plea, half-shouted and half-whispered, Steve’s voice cracking at the end. Tony stops in his tracks, halfway to the stairs. He doesn’t dare to turn back, and he really doesn’t want to fight, or to leave, to spend the last month of his life away from his husband and their son. But Steve can’t know, can he?

-x-

Or: Tony has palladium poisoning, but he doesn't tell Steve and Peter

ah-choo by starksnack, 3 k words, Hurt/Comfort.

Peter catches a cold at the park while Tony is away for work. Steve is all out of sorts trying to care for a sick child on his own.

The Sign by nightwalker, 2 k > words, Adoption.

Tony hadn't slept the night before and he knew Steve hadn't either. They'd just laid there, side by side, listening to each other breathe and thinking their own thoughts. Somewhere around dawn Steve had rolled onto his side and splayed his fingers over Tony's heart.

Bellflower (unwavering love) by S_Horne, 1 k > words.

“Aw, man.” Tony shook his head at himself as he finally broke. He bent down and tucked his hands underneath Peter’s armpits, hoisting him up onto his hip with a practiced ease. “You’re lucky you’re cute.”

“No m’not.”

Tony shook his head, straightening Peter’s shirt out where it had bunched up around his chest. “You’re in one of those moods today, aren’t you?”

Peter shook his head sagely and Tony huffed a laugh. “Not. You’re just mean.”

“I swear,” Tony said, blowing out a sigh, “if your Pops walks in and you turn into an angel, you’re grounded until you’re 50.”

a little lemonade by tonystarkssnipples, 1 k > words.

Tony came downstairs after putting Piper to sleep to find Steve with about 10 pounds of lemons spread across the table. At Tony’s footsteps, Steve looked up at him with wide eyes. “The recipe says a cup of lemon juice per gallon.”

“And?”

“I don’t know how many lemons make a cup of lemon juice.”

--or--

It's summer and Steve wants to help their daughter with a lemonade stand.

Distracted by a Dime by happyaspie, 56 k > words, Homeless Peter Parker.

Peter Parker thinks he has everything figured out. Where he can eat, sleep and make a little bit of money. What he needs to do in order to continue attending Midtown High and being Queen’s friendly neighborhood Spider-man. How to keep his entire situation under wraps and most importantly, who he can trust.

Then, along comes Tony Stark with an offer he can’t refuse. The plan is to remain professional, to not get too close to the Stark-Rogers’ family. Not getting comfortable means not slipping up and saying anything that he can’t take back.

...but for Peter- things rarely go as planned...

one makes me want another by parkrstark, 12 k > words, Adoption, Angst with a Happy Ending.

Steve and Tony adopt Peter when he's 6-years-old and 10 years later, he still thinks he's living the best life with two father doting on him. Until they tell him about the new baby they're bringing home and suddenly, the attention is all on her.

steve rogers-stark: full time dad/husband, part time spider relocator by parkrstark, 1 k > words, Spiders, Fluff.

"Love, what's wrong?" He called out, waiting for a reply.

"Steve!" Tony instantly screamed back. "Come here! I need you!"

Steve quickened his pace slightly, trying to keep himself calm so he didn't worry Peter. Babies could sense that stuff. "Where is 'here', love?"

“Bathroom!"

come morning light (we'll be safe & sound) by parkrstark, 14 k > words, Hurt/Comfort, Angst with a Happy Ending.

After a strange mission, Steve, Tony, and Peter find themselves trapped in their own living nightmares. Some memories of their past, some they hoped to keep from even each other, and some of the worst 'what if's their minds can imagine. All they have is each other until they wake up...but is that enough to survive until they figure out how?

Gelid Feint by geekymoviemom, 21 k > words, Fluff and Angst.

Gelid: icy; extremely cold

Feint: a deceptive or pretended blow

Steve Rogers’ world had completely changed since he was discovered in the Arctic Ice. Not only had he led a team of actual superheroes to defend New York against an alien invasion, he had also found love, and the family he’d never dared to dream he could have.

So when Nick Fury asked Steve on a simple mission to retrieve materials from a hidden bunker, Steve thought nothing of it.

Until the demons he’d thought he had buried within the Red Skull’s airplane suddenly reappeared, and he was forced to face the one enemy he’d thought he had vanquished.

He had cut off one head, but now two more had taken its place.

love lives on by parkrstark, 6 > k words, Teacher Steve Rogers, Alternate Universe.

Steve doesn't like picking favorite students, but when he gets Peter in his class, he can't help it when this sweet little boy becomes his favorite. He shouldn't be surprised when one day his father picks him up, and Steve realizes that he's the son of Tony Stark...the love of his life he let go back in high school. Steve wants his second chance, even if Tony doesn't want anything to do with him anymore.

maybe love is the reason why (we're seeing it eye to eye) by parkrstark, 134 k > words, undercover as a family, Fake/Pretend Relationship.

"I'm sorry. Repeat that again." Tony leaned forward in his seat from across the table. He even stuck a finger in his ear as if he was cleaning it out. "I don't think I heard you right."

Fury rolled his eyes-- or well, eye. "You and Rogers need to go undercover as a married couple in a community out on Long Island."

--

After Civil War, Tony and Steve are sent on an undercover mission as a couple to try and find Hydra informants. Somehow, they end up with Peter as their undercover son who decides to play matchmaker even if the two of them are doing their best to ignore their feelings after Siberia.

little moments like this by parkrstark, 1 k > words, Domestic Fluff.

Steve grabs the blanket and covers himself. "Stop it! My husband will kill you!"

It takes Tony only a second to realize what Steve thinks is going on and he laughs. "Steve, it's me. Tony." He tries to take the blanket off, but Steve doesn't let him.

"Don't-- take advantage of me! My husband will kill you!"

Or, Steve is loyal to no end. Even after a night of drinking Asgardian mead.

Trapped in the Shadows by geekymoviemom, 97 k > words, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Parent Tony Stark.

All Steve Rogers wanted after a lifetime of war was to immerse himself in quiet, and solitude. Opening a bookstore seemed like the perfect answer. He could escape to any world that he desired, all while keeping his past firmly behind him, where it belonged.

Until the day Peter Stark walked in.

anytime by complicationstoo, 714 words, Pre-Serum Steve Rogers, Established Relationship.

Steve is there, holding Tony's sleepy one year old against his chest and stirring scrambled eggs on the stove with his free hand. He's murmuring quietly to Peter, low enough that Tony can't quite make out the words, but there's a soft smile on his face as he talks.

Tony wanders further in, sneaking up behind him and wrapping his arms around his waist. He buries his face into Steve's hair, and he can hear the grin in Steve's voice as he says, "Good morning, dear.”

How To Change A Diaper by writerstrash, 1 k > words, Established Relationship, Fatherhood.

Steve and Tony deal with a wriggly, crawly baby Peter who enjoys keeping his parents on their toes.

[symphonicmetal101]

After watching some anime, can I request the brothers and Side characters with an MC that makes really great bentos in their aesthetic with their favorite meals? MC could make Lucifer a fancy dish of steak done to his favorite temperature, side dishes are organized neatly, and the bento is red and black to match his design or she made pink/pastel treats for Asmo is a very cute bento that matches his style. I think it would make their day when they receive something so cute from the human

ABSOFRICKINGLUTELY! ANON! I LOVE YOU! THANK YOU! However, I write gn! Whenever possible, so I hope you don't mind. Also, I've only made bento once, so I did a tinny bit of research. Most of them stray from traditional bento, however I tried to make sure I had the four components, (protien, carbs, salad/veggies, and fruit) (except Asmo), and different cooking methods for each. Some of them I forgot to explicitly say what colour the box was, so I'm sorry about that. I didn't do Luke because he had a role in Simeon's, and I blanked. (Sorry) Also, some of them have links bc I started to lose inspiration and motivation to write the same thing over and over again bc brain juice went bye. Hopefully I did this justice, I may have gotten a little carried away...sorry for rambling.

MC Makes Bento For The Boys

Lucifer

Lucifer had been working non-stop for the past few weeks

You had barely seen him, as he was so busy going back and forth from the castle, meetings, and he had banned everyone from his office. It had gotten so bad that he would "postpone" his meals, but nobody had seen him eat in a while.

You had a lot of spare time, so you did meal prep for the whole week just for Lucifer.

It was a little past noon by the time you finished, (and made Beel swear he wouldn't touch the food because you would treat him at Madam Scream's later), so you decided to make a bento box for Lucifer's lunch today with some leftover beef and rice you had.

With your protein and carbs taken care of, you prepared some roasted asparagus to add some colour to the box as well as a couple of carrots. You also added an umeboshi plum on top of the rice to match the colour of the box. (A/N I personally don't mind umeboshi on it's own, but if anyone wants to try it, I highly suggest you eat it with rice or have water on hand 😂)(oh yeah, umeboshi is a small, sour, pickled plum.)

In the final box you arranged a couple of orange slices, strawberries and grapes.

Satisfied, you brought the box and a glass of water up to his study. You didn't even bother knocking, knowing he would just send you away anyways.

You were greeted by a low growl. "Get out."

You rolled your eyes. "No. You need to eat Lucifer, and I'm not leaving until I know you've finished this."

"I don't have time for this MC. I have to-" he was cut off by his stomach rumbling.

He blushed slightly, and continued to busy himself with work.

"Please? I hate seeing you overwork yourself like this. Have you looked in the mirror lately? When was the last time you slept? Eaten? Had something other than coffee? Have you even gone to the bathroom in the past 48 hours?"

He sighed, folded his hands under his chin and looked up at you through disheveled raven locks.

"...you really aren't going anywhere until I eat." It wasn't a question, rather a statement with a trace of relief in it.

You extended the bento box out to him once more, though this time he accepted it.

"....thank you MC.....this is quite delicious. Perhaps once I'm done my work I can take you out to Ristorante Six to show my appreciation."

You pushed his hair back and planted a kiss on his forehead.

"Once you're done your work, you're going to sleep. That's an order, sir."

He silently cursed himself as he felt himself blush again

You were planning to stay until he finished, but then you heard Mammon and Levi fighting.

"I'll take care of that love. Make sure you drink that water too. Also, I prepped meals for the rest of the week for you, so you have no excuse to not eat. I bribed Beel, so they should stay there, but as an extra precaution I got Satan to teach me a protection spell. I didn't tell him what it was for, so it should be fine."

He watched you close the door behind you and wondered what he did to deserve someone like you.

Mammon

He was complaining to you because his actions finally caught up with him, and tomorrow he had to go out and repay some witches with time and favours, (being a bagboy), instead of money

He started belly-aching even more when you told him you weren't interested in joining him.

Luckily you were on dinner duty tonight, so you had a legitimate excuse to leave his pity-party

However while you were making dinner, you decided to show Mammon a little bit of sympathy, and set some rice and pork cutlet aside that you could use later.

After dinner, Mammon followed Lucifer, trying to convince him to give him money.

So you had ample time to continue working on his bento.

He had a three compartment wooden box

You scooped the rice into the box, put the cutlet on top, and two thinly sliced pieces of lemon on top.

You cut up some yellow, red, and orange bell pepper to put in the top left corner of the box

In the last compartment, you cut up golden kiwi, pineapple chunks, and a couple blueberries

You were about to put it in the fridge, when Mammon came screaming into the kitchen.

"MC HELP ME LUCIFER'S MAD I DON'T WANNA GET STRUNG UP AGAIN AND- wait, what's that?"

You sighed. "It was supposed to be a surprise Mammon! I made lunch for you for tomorrow, because you're going to be doing some running around and who knows when you'll get a moment to yourself? I was going to cast a spell on it to keep Beel from eating it, so it would have lasted overnight too... I just want to make sure you have something healthy to eat and so you don't have to spend money on take out. If you don't want it though, I'll just give it to Beel..."

He blushed furiously. "Ya don't gotta worry bout me, silly human. The Great Mammon can take care of himself! But-uh, I'll probably end up taking it anyways, because it's umm, it's free food! And Mammon ain't about to pass that up!"

He tried to grab it, but you pulled it close to yourself and turned, blocking him.

"You only want it because it's free? Ok. Fine. You'll have to pay me if you want it." You teased

He whined a bit. "Aw come on, ya even said ya didn't want me spendin money tomorrow! And ya said it was for me! MC, this ain't fair!"

"I didn't say you had to use money."

The next day while Mammon was out and about, trying to carry multiple bags of stuff for the witches, he happily ate his food, a light blush on his cheeks as every bite reminded him of the way you felt against his lips yesterday.

Leviathan

Levi had lost out on another draw despite having spent copious amounts of money on the tickets

As such, he had locked himself in his room to temporarily drown in his sorrows

You decided to make Kyaraben, character bento, for him. (Kyaraben can also refer to animals, real life celebrities, or natural settings)

(I would do Ruri- Chan but I have no fricking clue, so here's a link to a recipe for Pikachu Kyaraben because that's what you did instead)

Hesitantly, you brought your creation to his room and lightly knocked on the door.

"...I don't wanna talk to anyone right now."

"Levi, it's me. I brought something to cheer you up! At least let me give it to you if you don't want me to stay."

You could hear some scuffling and mumbling from behind the door. "I highly doubt there's anything a normie like you can do to help."

You tried to brush that off, because, ouch, but you knew he was upset so you tried not to take it to heart.

He was pouty as he opened the door, his demon form on display.

His expression immediately changed when he saw the bento in your hands.

"WOOOOOAAAHHH!!! THIS IS FOR ME??!! YOU MADE ME BENTO??!! This is something straight out of anime!!! Uh...uhm...d-do you maybe w-want to share it?"

The last part of his sentence had him blushing furiously, and he refused to look you in the eye.

"Sure. Maybe we can watch that anime you texted me about a couple days ago too."

His eyes lit up with joy as he used his tail to gently grab your wrist and pull you excitedly to his couch.

Once he had arranged everything to his liking, he sat down and bashfully accepted the bento.

At some point, he asked if he could feed it to you, however, there was only one pair of chopsticks

Blushy otaku very much enjoyed the bento, not only because it was like his anime, but also because it was you who made it.

He also got a couple indirect kisses, and could not focus on anything but that for the next few days.

Satan

You and Satan had been spending a lot of time together lately because he was helping you study for a test

Thanks to Satan's tutoring, you had managed to get a much higher score on the test than you had imagined.

As thanks, you wanted to make a kitten Kyaraben

You found him in the library at a desk, hunched over a book, studying some foreign language.

He was so engrossed in his studies that he didn't notice you right away, so you tapped him gently on his shoulder.

"Ah, MC. I'm afraid I missed you coming in. Are you alright?"

You smiled and nodded. You brought the box out from behind your back with your test papers on top, the mark clearly visible.

"I couldn't have gotten that mark without your help, so I made you some bento as thanks. I hope you like it."

His eyes widened in surprise. "Oh MC, that wasn't necessary. Spending time with you was enough for me, but thank you."

He slid the lid off the bento and chuckled when he saw what you had done.

"That's quite clever kitten. Perhaps next time you can show me how to make it?"

His pet name made you blush a bit, but that didn't stop you from agreeing.

You two spent the next few hours discussing different meals you guys could learn to make together.

Asmodeus

Asmo had been taking you shopping lately, hyping you up and helping you destress with spa nights

In return, you decided to make a dessert bento box in a pretty pink container.

It was a square container split into nine compartments.

Across the top three compartments, you arranged a rainbow of mochi.

On the bottom three you arranged a rainbow of macaroons.

In the two outside compartments left, you put a mini Wicked cupcake in each

Finally in the middle, you arranged Hershey's kisses into a heart.

Satisfied, you made your way to his room and announced your presence at his door.

"Come in darling~ I'm just finishing up my nails!"

You let yourself in and settled across the table from Asmo.

"I brought you something. I just wanted to thank you for helping me out lately and show you how much I appreciate you!"

You placed the box next to him so he could see what you had done.

His squeal of excitement almost decimated your eardrums, however moments later you were enveloped in a very tight, heartfelt, "smooshy" hug, but his elated expression made up for your temporary loss of hearing.

"Ohh MC! You're so sweet!!!! These look delicious, let's share them!! Just let me take a picture first with my favourite snack!!"

You sat back and expected him to pick up a cupcake, but yelped as he pulled you into the frame.

"I said with my favourite snacc MC, and I meant it!!" (Yes, he still took a picture of the bento)

Beelzebub

You wanted to plan an outdoor date for the two of you that wouldn't require you to excersize.

So you decided to try and make Koraku Bento, or picnic bento, but even bigger in hopes you would be able to temporarily satiate Beel's hunger

Because you were making so much, you needed multiple boxes, and a couple days to prepare, so you asked Simeon if you could work at PH so Beel wouldn't get to it early.

Of course, he agreed

Day one, you prepared five different fillings for the Onigiri you were planning to make: sha-ke (salted salmon),umeboshi (Japanese pickled plum), okaka (bonito flakes moistened with soy sauce), kombu (simmered kombu seaweed), tuna mayo (canned tuna with Japanese mayonnaise)

Day two you prepared three large protiens, (chicken, beef, and pork), each enough to fill about two containers each. You cooked each of them differently. You also cut up/prepared vegetables you wanted to use for tempura.

Day three you woke up early in order to be ready to take Beel out after his game. You made rice and finished making the Onigiri, (which Luke was adamant you let him make with you).

And Simeon helped you make the tempura and a beautiful salad to accompany everything else.

However, now there was a lot of stuff to carry and you wanted to greet Beel out of his game.

So the angels took care of transporting the food to the roof while you went to get Beel

"Why are we going to Purgatory Hall? Are we having dinner with the angels?"

"Not quite. The date I wanted to take you on had a slight change of plans. We just need to get to the roof-"

"Do you want me to fly us up there?"

You considered it for a moment then agreed. If nothing else, you would be avoiding Solomon.

Once you landed, appreciation for the angels swelled as they had laid everything out so beautifully.

"...oh. It looks like someone else is doing something up here. It smells really good, so we should probably go. I don't want to eat someone else's food and ruin their night by accident....again." He tried to leave, but you pulled on him gently.

"I'm glad you think it smells good. This is for you! I made it for you, and the angels helped me bring it up here when I went to pick you up."

His eyes widened. "...All of that...you made it for me?"

You couldn't help but smile and nod at his bashful expression.

He hugged you gently. "Thank you MC. I know that took a lot."

"It was worth it! You haven't even tried it yet. Come on, I'm hungry!" You giggled.

Beel's stomach growled in response, causing a slight blush to light his cheeks. You're so good to him❤

Belphegor (this has a bit of crack energy, I'm sorry. So will Solomon's😅)

"MC....can you pass me my D.D.D?"

"MC....can you give me a massage?"

"MC....can you switch my laundry for me?"

"MC....can you pass me my pillow?"

"Belphie, I love you. I understand you're the Avatar of Sloth. But what the actual fuck? Your pillow is under your arm, just move it under your head. I've already gotten up, like six times to do stuff for you."

He groaned. "But it takes too much effort!" He smushed his cheek into his arm and attempted to give you puppy-dog eyes.

"Sorry, only Beel can pull that off. If you want your pillow moved less than a foot, you're going to do it yourself. You of all people should now how frustrating it is to get up as soon as you sit down."

He groaned again and grumbled as he moved his own damn pillow.

You tried to relax a bit. Normally your time with Belphie consisted of cuddles, movie nights, planeterium visits, or just plugging into some music and enjoying each other's company, like you were trying to do now.

Until you made eye contact with him again.

He was going to ask something-

"MC........... can you get me a snack?"

Dear God, he was not gonna like this.

"Of course Belphie. I'd love to."

You made your way to the kitchen with new found energy.

You were going to make Shikaeshi Bento (revenge lunchbox)

Basically, it's supposed to be inedible or embarrassing, and be used to convey anger or overall dissatisfaction

So you grabbed his bento box, dumped uncooked rice into it, cracked an egg and left the shell in the box. You used purple food colouring to make a heart.

You brought the box up to Belphie, who was surprisingly still awake

"That was quick."

You grunted in response and walked out

"Hey why are you leaving?!"

A few seconds later, you heard, "MC! ...WHAT DID I DO??!! I JUST WANTED A SNACK!!...MC PLEASE COME BACK I DON'T WANNA GET UP!!"

Diavolo

So, usually Barbatos is in charge of making sure the Demon Prince eats

However, you told Barbatos that you wanted to make something special for Dia

"My Lord would thoroughly enjoy anything you made for him. He's been very busy lately, so I'm sure he would appreciate the kind gesture."

Barbatos graciously gave you precedence over the kitchen, giving you full access to everything you could ever need or want.

You decided to make him bento with your favourite protein

One compartment you filled with rice, using sesame seeds and an umeboshi for garnish

You arranged pieces of your favourite fruits in one of the smaller compartments

Then you made your favourite type of tempura, and prepared the sauce to go in the last two compartments

You asked Barbatos where Diavolo would be, and he escorted you to his office.

"My Lord, MC has come to speak with you."

Diavolo's head shot up and his face lit up with delight as he watched you walk through the door.

"MC! A welcome surprise. How are you? Is everything alright?"

"Everything's fine! I actually just wanted to give you something." You gave him the black box.

"I made bento with some of my favourite things...you mentioned wanting to get to know me a little bett-"

You were cut off by Diavolo crushing you in a hug

"...My Lord, MC needs to breathe."

"Ah, my apologies MC. This is the most wonderful, meaningful thing anyone has ever given me. How can I adequately express my gratitude? Simply name anything you want, and it shall be yours."

Once you had regained your breath, you gave him a small smile.

"Anything? Could I trouble you for your time?"

"MC, Lord Diavolo must finish his work in a timely matter. I can clear his schedule for afterwards."

"Barbatos, could they stay long enough for us to share the wonderful meal they've prepared?"

Usually Diavolo's begging and sad eyes™ would be powerless against him, however the soft spot he had for you and your much- less-seen sad expression were enough for him to bend this once.

"My Lord, I'll be back in an hour. I'm afraid that's all the time I can allow."

He stepped out, and allowed a small smile form on his face as he heard the two of you celebrate, also knowing that later on he would be listening to a very happy prince recount everything you two talked about and how much he loved you.

Barbatos

You, the brothers, and the other exchange students had been invited to the demon lord's castle for another event

It wasn't for another day, but you felt your chest tighten as you remembered Barbatos

Did he even get to eat those days when everyone was there?

You didn't want to take that chance, and decided to set up a small, filling bento box.

It only had three compartments, so you stuffed each one.

One had rice and meat.

You made some sushi and tamagoyaki to go on top.

For the last compartment, you made a simple chickpea salad.

The next day, Barbatos welcomed you all to the castle, as per usual.

However, this time he stuck around once the brothers and others had left.

"I...Well you already know, but this is for you!"

He nodded and graced you with a smile. "My knowing does not take away from my appreciation MC. Admittedly, nights like this are very demanding. I will repay you later. Thank you."

He tried to walk away, but you yelled after him, "You're not supposed to repay someone for a gift! Just take it!!"

He smiled to himself as he started to eat some food.

Perhaps this night would not be as taxing as he thought

Simeon

You had been experimenting new dinner recipes with Luke at Purgatory Hall; you were watching him while Simeon was away.

"If we leave these leftovers out, Solomon will get to them and ruin them."

"....why don't we make bento for Simeon? He's coming back tomorrow, isn't he?"

Luke beamed at you. "Okay!"

He went to get a small bento box divided into fifths (two large bottom compartments and three small top ones).

"Ok, so in one of the big ones, we can fit the rest of the rice."

Luke nodded. "Can I use this?" He held up a star-shaped cookie cutter.

"Of course!" You helped him mould the rice into a stable star shape.

He looked so happy designing stuff, you let him take the lead.

By the time you were finished, it was easily the most stunning dish you had seen.

"Wow MC! We should do this more often!" He was very proud of himself, and rightfully so. "I can't wait to give it to Simeon!....Is it ok if I give it to Simeon? It was your idea, so it's ok if you want to do it instead..."

You just smiled at him. "You can give it to him, you did most of the work anyways. For now though, you need to get to bed."

He pouted slightly, but complied.

The next morning you woke up to Luke speaking very animatedly to Simeon.

"Yeah! We tried a bunch of new things, and then MC suggested we make you a bento box with the leftovers, and it turned out really well so I can't wait for you to try it!!"

You leaned against the kitchen doorframe observing the interaction.

"Thank you Luke, it looks wonderful. Good morning MC. I hope you slept well. Thanks for ba- for helping Luke while I was away."

He smiled gently at you before Luke was trying to get him to try the bento again.

He took a bite and smiled at Luke.

"It's delicious. You guys must have put a lot of love into it, as always." He looked directly at you at that point, but Luke was too elated to notice the silent exchange between you too.

Solomon

"Don't get mad at me! You agreed to test spells with me!"

"You asked me when I was half asleep Solomon! I also meant later, not right away!"

"Well, you're not a frog anymore, so I don't see what the problem is."

.... No, you weren't a frog anymore

That didn't mean you were happy about being a frog in the first place.

You texted Simeon, 'Who's on lunch duty today?"

"Me. Why?"

"I'll make us bento. We can picnic, the exchange students, that is."

So you spent the next little bit making normal bento for the three of you.

"Simeon said we should probably leave in five minutes" you thanked Luke and started on Solomon's.

You made Shikaeshi bento; you cracked four eggs and aligned their yolks into a rather phallic shape, added way too much fish oil, and threw a few sesame seeds on top.

However, once you made it to the picnic grounds, Solomon opened his box and gasped.

"MC, you know me so well!" And proceeded to drink right out of the box, the rest of you looking on in horror.

"I thought you were mad at me and you were going to give me something disgusting like Mac and Cheese. I guess all is forgiven. Thank you!"

At that point you couldn't even stay mad, that was just disgusting.

Aye, I hope you liked it anon, not sure if this is quite what you meant but....yeah.

Love y'all!

Masterlist

[mello-jello]

Happy Birthday Hange - A Levihan Drabble

Gift giving was one of the easier ways Levi learned to express feelings, be it gratitude, love, or something else.

It is a yearly ritual now. Levi made chocolates for Hange that one time and she never let it go. She’d beg Levi to make her sweets and Levi would always relent. Her joy upon receiving it was always the best part for Levi. After all these years, she must just expect it by now, but she’d act with the same unadulterated enthusiasm every time.

It was always worth it. It was worth the time, the money, and the dishes. All worth it to see Hange smile.

Onyankopon had the car for the day- not that Levi would drive it- but Gabi had her licence now and would always jump at the chance to chauffeur. Gabi would have dutifully wheeled Levi to anywhere and everywhere he wanted. She would have, if only he had asked. Even without access to the car, Levi’s trip would have only been a couple of hours.

He spent the day in different bakeries, multiple farmers’ markets, and countless shops. His wheelchair certainly made the journey more difficult but he was in no rush. He took his time comparing the ingredients for Hange’s Birthday cake, wanting the best Marley had to offer.

Levi trudges through the door and Onyankopon greets him from the living room, where he sat with a book and glass of whisky.

“Hey, Levi, where have you been?” He hollers.

Levi doesn’t answer as he was struggling with the bags. Onyankopon peeks around the corner and smiles knowingly. “Oh I see, is it that time already?”

“It would seem so,” Levi replied dryly.

Onyankopon watches Levi hobble over to the kitchen. Past experiences taught him not to offer any help. This was Levi’s yearly project, his leg be damned.

“What flavour this time?” He asked.

“Lemon Raspberry,” Levi stated.

“Ah, Hange’ll love that,” he said with a smile and returned to his reading.

Once Levi unpacked all the ingredients, he donned his apron, rolled up his sleeves, and went to work. It’s late, but he should be done in time.

He measures two round segments of parchment paper to line the cake pans with and greases both sides. In a large bowl he takes all the wet ingredients and mixes. He adds in the eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition, and scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. It is tedious work, but anything for Hange.

He can’t stand for very long, but the tall kitchen stool is tall enough for Levi to continue working.

Next, Levi whisks together the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and folds them into each other until everything is just barely combined. Levi fights the urge to get all the clumps out, but this recipe calls for lumps and dry streaks.

“Tch.” Stupid Four-Eyes. Of course she’d like this weird recipe.

In a separate bowl, he washes and gently tosses fresh raspberries in some flour. He adds to the batter and folds them in, again, being careful to not over mix.

He then divides the batter evenly between the two pans and puts them in the oven. Time for a tea break. He slowly sips as the room is filled with the smell of fresh baked cake, a hint of the crisp raspberries and lemon. He is already quite satisfied with the way it smells. Now to get started on Hange’s favourite part: the frosting.

It is a thick cream cheese frosting, and Levi’s arms are sore from all the mixing. He constantly switches because his non-dominant arm is less comfortable but his dominant hand is missing 2 fingers. He adds in lemon zest, lemon juice, and salt. He remembers when salt was a luxury in Paradis. Now it sits on his dinner table. He continues beating the frosting until it’s very light and fluffy. He dips his pinky into the batter and licks it, testing the taste. His face scrunches up at the sweetness. Perfect, he thinks to himself.

He checks the cakes, making sure the tops are a nice golden brown. He sticks a toothpick in the centres, and is content when they both come out clean. Levi takes the cakes and puts them on a rack to cool.

He is not one to leave a mess for very long, and so he gets started on the dishes. Levi is feeling hot, with the exertion compounded by the heat of the oven. He wipes his brow and decides to shower while he waits for the cakes to cool off. Onyankopon is in bed now, and Levi realizes how late it’s getting. He’d better make this quick, or else he was going to miss it.

Feeling refreshed from his shower and clean clothes, Levi returns to the kitchen. He brews a fresh pot of tea and gets to work on decorating.

He spreads some frosting along with chunks of raspberry on top of one of the cakes, and layers the other on top, pressing down lightly to seal them together. He uses a knife to shave the sides so they are even with one another. The double layer dessert is starting to take form.

Levi meticulously smoothes out the thick icing on the top and sides of the cake, making it completely unblemished. He garnishes the top with a handful of raspberries around the perimeter and a lemon slice in the middle. It looks just like the one he saw in the bakery a little while back. He looks up at the clock. It’s almost time.

He can practically hear Hange’s whoops of excitement. She’d scruff up his hair and make some joke about how something so sweet came from someone so salty. He can already feel her arms around him in an embrace of gratitude. Levi smiles to himself as he places a single candle in the center of the little cake and lights it. He watches as the delicate flame dances in the dark. He takes this moment to reminisce, remember, and mourn.

The grandfather clock in the living room chimes, indicating it was midnight.

“Happy Birthday Hange,” Levi says to the candle before blowing it out.

[buglife]

Shh I got inspired by those doodles I did of Monomon and sick bby Quirrel so I wrote a ficlet.

----

It had been a few months since Monomon found a tiny pip rolling around the trash in the City of Tears. She thought at first that it was some sort of ball that some child had lost. Then it sneezed, which scared the hell out of her. She had looked closer and she was surprised to see a nearly transparent pip crawling around the garbage. The poor thing was dented up and was attempting to eat a discarded cloak. When he saw her, he hissed and curled up into a ball, thinking that if he couldn’t see her, than she couldn’t see him. She had picked him up, this little shivering ball of tenacity, and took him with her.

One thing lead to another and she had found herself as an adoptive mother to a baby isopod. The doctor she took him too told her that he shouldn’t even be out of the pouch, let alone being all by himself. Either he was abandoned or something unfortunate happened to his mother, and having the guard investigate gave her no answers. She decided that it was probably going to be a mystery forever, and decided to focus her energy on raising her newly acquired son.

She had named him Quirrel, after an old philosopher who often wrote about the beauty of the world. She somehow knew he’d be able to see the world for the beautiful thing as it is and not be focused on the doom and gloom of it all. She was a scientist, so of course she could find beauty in even the smallest micro-organism and all the way to the desolate wastes. Something told her he’d see it too.

Her high hopes proved to be true, as he turned out to be a rather clever little pip. He was still far too young for speech, or even to be roaming about by himself, so she decided to conduct a little experiment. Sign language wasn’t uncommon in Hallownest, but most non-hindered bugs tended to learn it after they have mastered speech and not before. What if she taught Quirrel, a little pip, some sign language now?

Her experiment bore fruit, and he learned some signs quickly. It was only a few words now that were simple to sign. He was still a baby and lacked the fine motor control for the more complex signs, but he could at least tell her when he was hungry or if he wanted something. She imagined that this experiment could do a lot of good in the end.

What concerned her however, was the lack of actual noise he made.

Quirrel was an incredibly quiet baby at he beginning. He simply refused to make much noise at all, and when he did, he flinched as though expecting to be punished for it. It had taken weeks of positive reinforcement before he started making the noises a little pip was expected to be making. It was very endearing to see him babbling and having her students babble back at him. His tiny eyes would light up and he’d wiggle in excitement before continuing the ‘conversation’. Even with all the encouragements from both her and her students, he still preferred to be quiet, napping through most of the day whilst in her pip pocket. That was normal for an isopod this young, but it was still concerning that he felt that he had to stay quiet.

That changed early one morning when he started to audibly fuss. Usually he’d just try to escape when bored, writhing about and trying to climb out of the pocket. But today, at the most ungodly early hour, he was making noises, squeaking and hissing in what seemed to be discomfort. Monomon had at first though he was hungry, but he outright refused his usual leaf paste. She tried tiktik bits, sliced fruit, and even a cookie, but he refused it all and grew increasingly more frustrated with each rejected food item.

She had tried asking him to tell her what was wrong through sign language, but he was either unwilling or unable to bother with it.

Finally he had enough, and began to wail, loudly. She had never heard him make a noise that loud before and it startled her enough to spill the juice she was trying to tempt him with all over herself. He only stopped loud enough to take a breath before belting out another heaving cry, little eyes overflowing with tears as he made his discomfort known.

“Shhhh….shhhh...it’s okay, my little one.” She attempted to try and comfort him, but he just wailed louder.

Concerned, she picked him up and tucked him under her chin, trying to soothe the sobbing pillbug, when she noticed what could be causing all this pain. His forehead was burning hot, and he was faintly shivering as he bawled into her veil. It wasn’t hard to figure out that her pip was ill and she plucked him out from her embrace to take a better look at him.

There were bags under his eyes and his face was tinged blue with heat. He had his mandibles open wide enough when crying that she can see some swelling in the back of his throat. She gently palpitated his belly and could feel the organs within twist and with every movement he cried harder. So, he was nauseous, which made sense on why he would refuse a cookie. Fever, chills, sore throat, most likely he picked something up from one of the students. She mentally kicked herself, she should have made her students wash up before picking him up as they liked to do. She should have not allowed them to give him little smooches and hugs. She should have not brought him with her at all when among the masses of students and archivists that swarmed about her. But she couldn’t bear the thought of leaving him all alone, not after what he’d been through.

The fact of the matter is that no amount of hindsight was going to change the fact that Quirrel caught something and was currently not having a very good time about it. His wails were starting to sound raspy and wet, no doubt that his sinuses were starting to be affected too. The sheer amount of screaming wasn’t helping matters and her thoughts raced on what she should do.

“Modern Manca Medicine, Chapter Seven, pages nine through ten,” She recited out loud as she recalled one of the many books she absorbed after taking Quirrel in, “Common treatment options for sickly manca and juvenile pillbugs include swaddling and standard fever reduction tactics for most invertebrates. Hrm... Grubs and You: A New Mother’s Guide, Chapter Nine, page twelve. When a child refuses to eat, honey is a suitable way to provide needed nutrition and slip in medication without upsetting the stomach. Hrm... that would work, wouldn’t it?”

Quirrel continued his crying, rapidly losing his voice, and she brushed a kiss on the top of his head to comfort him. His antenna twitched and his sobbing died down just a teensy bit, but it was enough for her to notice. He must have smelled her and realized she was going to help him, his eyes were too full of tears to be much use to him at the moment. She grabbed a spare blanket and wrapped him up tightly to deal with the shivers. He instantly stopped wriggling so hard and she managed to slip him back into the pip pocket without much incident.

Next, a cool cloth was needed. She needed to bring down his fever so he could rest. That wasn’t too hard to find. She ended up tying the wet cloth on his head like you would a kerchief, pinning down his antenna so they can cool down as well. She was quite happy to find that after she did that, he had stopped his wailing. He was still making noises of discomfort, squeaking and hiccupping, but he wasn’t outright screaming anymore. Her auditory organs was most happy with that turn of events for sure.

“Herbal Remedies for the Modern Bug, Chapter two, pages one through twenty.” She floated quickly to her herb cabinet, selecting dried bundles here and there. Lemon balm for fever, mint and ginger for his stomach, marshmallow root for his throat, maybe licorice root too? Lavender and Chamomile to help him sleep so he can focus on getting better, yes, that should do it. She mentally ran through the list, using a free set of tentacles to rock Quirrel gently. For now he seemed content to stay in his pocket, squeaking here and there as he braved through his illness. Poor little pip...she resolved to give him extra cookies once he felt well enough to eat them.

She put a kettle to boil and threw her selected herbs inside to seep and condense. She would have used her alchemical equipment to do this faster, but she didn’t feel like taking him downstairs where there would be students and workers showing up. When Quirrel started fussing again, she replaced his now warm cloth with a freshly cooled one, and he quieted down again.

Finally, the kettle had boiled enough and she strained the liquid into a bowl. Next, she took out a jar of honey and began the delicate procedure of making medicine that won’t be instantly spat out by a fussy grub. She calculated that a 2:1 ratio should work the best as he would be less likely to spit up something that tasted relatively good. Eventually, she mixed up a small cup full of her makeshift medicine and retrieved a clean eyedropper. Calculating body weight, she drew up half a measure, and with that finished she went to attempt to give it to Quirrel.

He, of course, put up a fuss, and began screaming again. She understood why, he wasn’t feeling well and his belly was hurting. The last thing he would want right now was something to go down into said hurting belly and she was not surprised when he tried to bite her a few times. Unfortunately for him, Isopods are not known for being able to do much more than nibble. Using that to her advantage, she let him latch on to the end of one of her tentacles, letting him get nice and occupied, and then shoved the end of the eyedropper into the corner of his mouth. The medicine was squirted down his throat before he could do anything to stop it and for that he bit her harder. He even hissed a little and it would be adorable if he wasn’t feeling so poorly.

He let go to scream again, but then stopped and stuck out his tongue. He was obviously tasting the honey now, and he loved honey. Monomon sighed in relief, at least next time she gave him a dose she wouldn’t get bit for her troubles. He opened his mouth a couple times and blinked, looking up at her face. He lifted up his hands and wiggled them.

“Abah?” He sniffled, trying to clear his throat and sinus.

“Hrm, what do you want, my little scholar?” She was pleased to not longer see him screaming. “Use your hand words.”

He made two fists and bumped them together. <”more,”> he signed.

“Of course, you can have more honey. I think you deserve it, after putting up with all that.”

He seemed happy with the idea, and she was able to give him another teaspoon of honey before he signed ‘done’ at her. His little belly could only take so much now and she took the time to wipe his face clean. He fussed at the cleaning, but yawned once she finished. Clearly the medicine was starting to work, his breathing was better and feeling his gut showed that it was settling down. She gave him a nuzzle and a kiss and tucked him back into his pip pocket. He was asleep nearly instantly and she gently strapped the pocket to herself once more.

Once he was secure she floated downstairs and was once again, swept up into the chaos of the Archives. Someone had accidentally released the charged lumaflies and they were setting books on fire.

Thankfully, Quirrel slept through the whole thing.

[mortimer-writes-sometimes]

Idk if this is a good prompt but im always a sucker for clothes swap fluff so 👉👈 smth with grillby wearing sans’ jacket maybe?

This is so freaking cute. I might have to write like, three alternate versions of this.

Once again, I think I strayed a bit from expectation writing this one. Also, it’s entirely off-season. And I think I got a bit sloppy at the end, so I apologize for that. If you can’t tell, I don’t think very highly of my own writing. In any case, here’s the one-shot that nearly turned into multiple chapters!

Grillby Looks Good In Blue

Word count: 4961 Summary: When it’s revealed that Grillby doesn’t have a Halloween costume, Frisk comes up with a great idea.

Grillby had never been particularly festive. Even after opening his new bar on the surface, the ‘holiday spirit’ people talked about continued to elude him. The older members of his family didn’t celebrate many holidays, and what celebrations they did have were never more than another family gathering. He enjoyed them, of course. Any opportunity to see his brothers and niece was a welcome one! But he’d never decorated his bar or hosted any sort of seasonally themed party. So, when he learned about the human holiday of ‘Halloween’, he didn’t plan to come up with a costume.

(He planned to close early and hand out candy, of course. He had a soft spot for children.)

The night before Halloween, Grillby’s bar was lively with excited monsters and humans alike. The anticipation for the big night was palpable as people chattered among themselves, talking about their costumes, the best places to get candy, and parties that were going to be held. The sun had only just started to set when the bell above the door rang, a familiar family of monsters entering with a single human child.

“Welcome back,” Grillby greeted with a small smile. The whole gang was there- Toriel, Frisk, Alphys, Undyne, Papyrus, Sans… even Asgore was there. Sans and Frisk made a beeline for the bar while the rest of the group discussed seating arrangements. Grillby started pouring a glass of apple juice for Frisk automatically, placing it in front of them as the child struggled up onto a barstool. “It’s good to see you all again. What’s the occasion?”

Sans shrugged and hopped up into his usual seat. “Well, we’re gonna have a little All Hallows Eve Eve party while we put the finishing touches on everyone’s costumes. Thought that since we’re all here, it’d be nice to go out to eat together. It was mostly Frisk’s idea.”

Grillby chuckled. “Well, I think it was an excellent idea. Now, what can I get the two of you started with?”

The night wore on with plenty of food, drinks, and laughter as everyone caught up with each other. Frisk and Sans went back to sit with the others during dinner, but when it was time for dessert, Frisk was right back up at the bar to talk with Grillby. They were excited to tell him about their costume. “Guess what I’m going as for Halloween!” they demanded, bouncing on their stool.

Grillby set a piece of cake in front of Frisk as he carefully monitored the stool’s stability. “I don’t know, what?”

“Nooooo,” Frisk whined, “That’s not how it works! You have to guess!”

“Alright, alright.” He pretended to think for a moment, tapping his chin. “You’re going to be… adorable,” he teased, ruffling their hair.

Frisk laughed, pushing his hand away. “No, I’m not! I’m going to be scary!”

Grillby shook his head. “Forgive me for being unable to imagine that. What scary thing are you going as, then?”

Frisk was unable to contain their excitement any longer, jumping up on the stool. “I’m going to be a zombie!” they yelled. As they did, the stool teetered beneath them.

Ding! You’re blue now!

Grillby had reached out and grabbed Frisk by the shoulders at the same time Sans turned them blue and levitated them, the unbalanced stool the child was sitting on hitting the floor. Sans walked up to the bar and righted the stool, chuckling as he found a seat of his own. “Careful, kid. Don’t want you partying too hard now.”

Frisk gave both of them a sheepish grin as they were set back on their stool, looking up at Grillby. “Sorry. Anyway, as I was saying, I’m going to be a zombie for Halloween. It was Sans’s idea!” They shoveled a big bite of chocolate cake in their mouth as they looked at the skeleton.

“Yeah,” Sans said with a shrug. “I mean, a supernatural being that keeps coming back to life no matter how many times you’ve killed it? It seems appropriate.”

Grillby wasn’t sure what Sans meant by that, but at that point, he was used to it enough to not bother asking. He turned to Frisk and poured them a glass of milk to go with their dessert. “Well, make sure Sans sends me a picture. I’m sure it will look great.”

Frisk nodded eagerly, taking the glass of milk and drinking half of it in one go. Grillby offered them a napkin before they could wipe their mouth on their sleeve. Frisk took it, scrubbing at their face and smiling up at him. “So,” they asked, “What’s your Halloween costume gonna be?”

“Oh, I’m not really doing anything for Halloween,” Grillby responded as he moved to wipe some crumbs from his bar. “I will be handing out candy, though, if you’d like to stop by.”

“You don’t have a costume?!” Apparently, in Frisk’s mind, this was a horrible tragedy. “But everyone put a costume together! Even Sans made one!”

Papyrus, overhearing this, looked up from where he’d been enjoying a plate of pasta with chocolate sauce. “Wait, Sans, you actually made a costume?! I thought you said you were just going to buy one!”

Sans shrugged. “Yeah, well, everyone else was making their own. Besides, the costume I came up with is a piece of art. You can’t get that at a store.”

Frisk didn’t look impressed. “Sans, your costume is literally a shirt with the word ‘life’ written on it and a bowl of lemon drops.”

“Well, I didn’t really have much to work with. You know what they say- when life gives you lemons…”

Papyrus groaned. “SANS THAT DOESN’T COUNT AS A COSTUME AT ALL!”

Grillby chuckled from behind the bar, fond. “I think it sounds very you, Sans.”

Sans grinned up at him. “Heh, at least someone appreciates my talents. Anyway, Grillbz, the kid is right. It’s our first Halloween on the surface. You gotta do something more than just hand out candy.”

Apparently, everyone was listening at that point, because that was when Alphys stood up. “O-Oh! If, um, if you still n-need a costume, I, uh… w-well I have some material l-leftover from making mine and Undyne’s! I’m sure we can- um- c-come up with some ideas, haha…”

“That sounds like a great idea,” Toriel chimed in. “You should join us for our costume-making party tonight, Grillby. Then you can accompany Frisk with us for trick-or-treating.”

Grillby adjusted his glasses, a bit flustered by all the sudden attention. “I-i wouldn’t want to intrude…”

Undyne laughed, getting up. “Too late, fire dude! If Frisk says you need a costume, then that’s that. Now let’s close this joint and get going already!”

As Undyne and Papyrus began rounding people up and making them go home so Grillby could close the bar, the fire monster chuckled to himself. Maybe, just this once, he could have a little more fun with a holiday.

It felt odd, being in Toriel’s house. Grillby considered the others his friends, but he’d never actually hung out with any of them outside the bar before. Everyone was gathered in the living room, where multiple old bedsheets had been spread on the floor and furniture. The group spread out around the living room as they helped each put finishing touches on their designs with hot glue and paint. “The bedsheets are a clever idea,” Grillby commented lightly as he took a cup of tea from Toriel (he didn’t have the heart to tell her that he usually didn’t drink tea. It was basically just hot flavored water).

The motherly monster smiled, sitting in an armchair and watching the scene in front of her with a fond look in her eye. “Dr. Alphys suggested it. She’s very good at arts and crafts!”

“Speaking of arts and crafts,” Sans interjected from his spot on the couch, “It’s time to figure out what Grillby’s costume is going to be.”

Alphys had a lot of ideas. “Oh! Y-you could go as a gender-bent v-version of Sailor Mars! Or maybe, um, if you c-can burn blue for- for the evening you could go a-a-as Rin Okumura from Blue Exorcist! Oh, I b-bet you could m-make a great Kyoya! Uh, from O-ouran Highschool Host Club?”

...Grillby didn’t understand what she said, but was flattered anyway. Kind of.

Sans decided to step in and rescue Grillby before Alphys put him in cat ears. “While those are all good ideas,” he said thoughtfully, “Maybe we should think of something that we can, y’know, throw together overnight? Plus I’m pretty sure all those characters wear like fancy clothes and stuff. That’s what Grillby wears already. Hardly counts as a costume.”

Papyrus stood up specifically so he could put his hands on his hips. “Well the whole point of a costume is to dress up for the evening! What is Grillby supposed to do? Dress down?”

That gave Frisk an idea. They got up, walking over to Grillby and pulling on his arms to make him stand up. “Come here for a second!” Then, they went and grabbed Sans, pulling him to stand next to Grillby. Frisk took a couple of steps back, rubbing their chin in thought as they inspected the two side-by-side. Apparently, they liked what they saw, because they smiled. “Hey Sans, do you mind if I change your costume a bit?”

“Uhhh, what are we talking about when we say ‘a bit’?” Sans asked, unsure of where Frisk was going with this.

Alphys seemed to catch on, because anyone who has read lots and lots of fanfiction can guess where this is going. “Ohhhh, that’s g-genius, Frisk! But, u-um, Grillby’s a lot taller than Sans.”

Frisk’s smile only widened, the plan coming together in their mind. “Sans’s jacket is big enough! And I’m sure we can find him a white T-shirt that’s big enough!”

The skeleton waved a hand at them, interrupting. “Sans’s jacket is big enough for what?”

Frisk and Alphys shared a mischievous look. Sans looked up at Grillby (who was still confused and clueless) and came to a terrible realization.

He was going to have to tie his shoes for once.

 “Do I really have to keep the shirt tucked in?”

“Yes! Grillby always has his shirt tucked in!”

“A-and don’t- don’t slouch. You have to, um, g-get into character!”

“When did this go from a Halloween costume to full-on cosplay?”

Sans tugged at his suspenders as he inspected the completed outfit. Somehow, Frisk and Alphys had managed to find a white button-up, dress pants, and dress shoes to fit Sans. Grillby’s suspenders could be adjusted down to fit Sans, and bowties tended to be one-size-fits-all, so Sans got to wear the real deal in those departments. Finally, Toriel had taken the lenses out of an old pair of reading glasses she didn’t use and set the frames on Sans’s skull (Frisk taped the sides since Sans didn’t have ears).

The skeleton couldn’t help chuckling. “Man, no wonder Grillby is pretty fit. Getting dressed in this stuff is a whole workout.” It didn’t look bad, though. He glanced upstairs, where Papyrus and Toriel had whisked Grillby away for his ‘transformation’. Sans had already managed to get fully dressed, and his usual outfit was way simpler than Grillby’s. What was taking so long?

The others seemingly had the same thought. Undyne crossed her arms, walking to the base of the stairs. “HEY PAPYRUS! WHAT’S THE HOLD UP?!” she yelled through the house.

Papyrus cracked the door to Toriel’s room open for a moment. “JUST BE PATIENT, UNDYNE!”

Toriel pushed the door the rest of the way open, sighing. “Please, both of you, no shouting in the house. We… had a minor issue with finding a T-shirt, is all. Grillby is changing in my bathroom, he’ll be down in a moment.”

Just then, Papyrus spotted Sans, eyesockets widening. “OH MY GOD! Sans, you actually have style for once!”

“Heh, thanks, I guess…” Sans felt nervous, for some reason. What if Grillby thought he looked dumb? What if Grillby got really uncomfortable with this idea? What if he got mad? Maybe it wasn’t a good idea to force him to-

The door to Toriel’s room opened again, a warm light filling the hall. If Sans could have blushed, he would have.

Sans’s shorts were wide enough around the waist to fit Grillby, although they didn’t quite go down to his knees. The old white shirt Toriel had found him was a bit more form-fitting than the ones Sans usually wore, clinging near his waist and the center of his chest. Amusingly, Sans’s slippers were a bit too big on the fire monster, if the way he had to shuffle in them to get them to stay on was any indication. What got Sans, though, was the jacket.

Sans’s hoodie fit Grillby perfectly. 

Grillby had shot Papyrus a questioning look when he was handed Sans’s jacket, still unsure about the whole thing. “Will this even fit me?” he asked skeptically. “I’m quite a bit taller than Sans.”

“Well, it’s very big on Sans,” Toriel pointed out. “Just try it on. I’m sure we can go find a cheap blue hoodie in the morning to complete the look if that doesn’t fit.”

Papyrus nodded. “Or if it smells too much like ketchup for you to bear!”

The bartender still wasn’t sure, but it couldn’t hurt to just try it on, right? Blushing a bit under the attention the other two were giving him, he shrugged on the blue jacket. Papyrus was right, it did smell a little like ketchup. But…

As the weight of the fabric settled around his shoulders, something in Grillby relaxed. The fabric that lined the inside of Sans’s jacket was surprisingly soft, and the sleeves were just long enough that if Grillby wanted to, he could pull them over his hands. The fire monster’s face grew hotter, a bright blush spreading across his cheeks. He was wearing Sans’s clothes. He was wearing Sans’s jacket. He wrapped his arms around himself without thinking, closing his eyes and taking a deep breath. When he opened them again, he found that Toriel and Papyrus were both staring at him. He shifted a bit, fiddling with the hoodie strings. “...wh-what? Is something wrong?”

After a long moment, Toriel smiled, raising a hand to her mouth in an attempt to hold back laughter. Papyrus tilted his head, entirely bemused. “Grillby, why did you turn blue? Is it that overwhelming? I told Sans he needed to wash that old thing more often!”

Toriel lost her composure, laughing softly. “That’s not what it means when a fire monster turns blue, Papyrus.”

“W-wait, I’m what-?!” Grillby ran back into Toriel’s bathroom. Sure enough, the blush on his cheeks had turned a vibrant blue, along with some of the flames that made up his hair. “Oh. Oh no.”

“‘Oh no’ what?! I don’t understand! Ms. Toriel, why are you laughing?!” Papyrus frowned, unhappy at being left out of the loop. 

Toriel was all too happy to clarify. “Fire monsters blush differently than other monsters. The flames that make up their faces change temperature depending on the emotion. When they’re embarrassed, they may turn red. When flustered, a brighter orange. The most dazzling display, though, is when a fire monster is-”

“You can’t tell Sans!” Grillby suddenly cried out, nearly shouting it. He went back into the bedroom, willing himself to calm down. “Fuck, I can’t let him see me like this…!”

Toriel decided to let the language slide, focusing on calming Grillby down. “It’s alright,” she said soothingly, “We won’t tell him. You should tell him yourself.”

Grillby shook his head. “No, no no no no no. Sans can’t know about this. It’s entirely inappropriate, and it would ruin everything we already have-”

Toriel held up a hand to stop him. She tilted her head a bit, concerned. “Now why would it be inappropriate? You’re adults. If you both consent to a relationship, there’s nothing wrong with that.”

“Don’t phrase it like that,” Grillby groaned. “It’s- I’m a fire elemental and he’s a skeleton. We’re not going to be compatible.”

Toriel frowned at that. “Now that’s an outdated mindset and you know it,” she huffed. “You like him, don’t you? I’m sure even if he didn’t like you that way, you could still be friends after telling him.”

“Like him in what way?!?!” The Great Papyrus interrupted, starting to get irritated that the author seemed to keep forgetting he was there.

Toriel looked at Papyrus, then sighed, smiling a bit as she looked back at Grillby. Grillby groaned again, hanging his head in defeat. “Fire monsters turn blue,” he mumbled, “When they’re in love.”

Papyrus took a moment to process that. Grillby was in love… he’d turned blue when he put Sans’s jacket on… Oh! The pieces clicked in his skull. “HOLY FU-”

“LANGUAGE!”

Grillby took a deep breath as he walked down the stairs, trying to stay calm and, more importantly, stay cold. Sans would probably say I just need to ‘chill out’. Or be ‘cool’, Grillby thought to himself, his awkward smile becoming a bit more genuine in amusement. He stepped into the living room, holding his arms out in a sort of ‘Ta-da!’ motion. Frisk started clapping while Alphys took pictures, both of them far more excited about the outfit change than they should have been.

“Well if it isn’t the ‘hottest’ new fashion trend, Grillby casual.”

Sans caught Grillby’s attention, the fire monster turning to look at him. “Ha, funny, Sans,” is what he said on the outside. On the inside, he was screaming. Stay chill stay chill stay chill stay chill god damn it now that terrible joke is stuck in my head holy shit just stay chill! 

“Y-you look nice,” Grillby managed to stammer out. “I never thought I’d see you wear a tie that wasn’t printed on the shirt.”

“I’ll take that as a compliment,” Sans replied with a wink. “So I guess it’s decided then? We’re going as each other for Halloween?”

Grillby nodded, barely trusting himself to speak. “I suppose so…”

Frisk jumped up on the couch. “WHICH MEANS YOU HAVE TO GO TRICK OR TREATING WITH US!!”

The next several minutes were filled with Toriel lecturing Frisk about jumping on furniture and yelling in the house.

The next day, the whole group met at Grillby’s to get ready, taking advantage of the fact that the restaurant had a total of four bathroom stalls. Grillby volunteered to put his costume on last, soul thrumming with anxiety. He was sure that the evening was going to be the hardest evening of his life (oh, the things he put himself through for Frisk’s sake).

Grillby was far from unaware of his feelings for Sans. He’d had a bit of a crush for a long time, and in the time since they’d been released from the Underground, that affection had only grown. There was just something about the skeleton that made him want to sit and talk with him forever. It would never work out, though. Relationships were complicated, and Grillby didn’t want to mess up what he already had. If he made a move and it didn’t work out, it would be hard to go back to just being friends. Needless to say, Sans’s new ability to turn Grillby’s flames blue without even being in the room was a huge problem.

“Hey fire dude, your turn!” Undyne pulled Grillby from his thoughts, thrusting the bartender’s costume into his arms. “Hurry up and get changed! It’s almost time to get going!”

Grillby nodded, a bit overwhelmed all of a sudden. “R-right. I’ll be back in a moment.”

He took his time getting dressed, carefully monitoring his temperature. For the most part, he was fine. He could forget that he was dressed as his favorite skeleton, even be amused by it. There was no problem at all… until he got to the jacket.

Slipping on Sans’s hoodie, Grillby felt his temperature immediately rise. He was never cold, but he could still appreciate that the jacket was comfortably warm. Between the smell and the weight, if he closed his eyes he could almost imagine Sans had his arms around him. 

Oh god, there was no way he was going to make it through this night.

Cautiously stepping out of the bathroom stall, Grillby looked in the mirror and confirmed what he already suspected. That bright blue tint had returned to his face. He took a deep breath, willing it away, but some of the flames that formed his hair and cheeks wouldn’t cool off. The traitorous streaks of heat flickered and Grillby felt like he was being mocked. 

The door to the bathroom suddenly opened and Grillby panicked, pulling up the hood of the and ducking his head to hide his face. Glancing to the side, he wanted to scream. Of course, it was Sans.

Sans looked worried, dress shoes clicking on the tile floor as he walked over. “You okay, Grillbz? You’ve been in here for a while. I was starting to get worried.”

“I-i’m fine,” Grillby stammered, turning to look at the wall, the counter, anywhere but at Sans. “I’m just nervous. It’s the first time I’ve participated in something like this.”

Sans chuckled, a gentle sound that soothed some of Grillby’s nerves. “C’mon, you can’t mess up Halloween. Just ‘chill’ out and enjoy yourself.”

Sans was right. There wasn’t any reason to be this worked up. So long as he focused on the festivities, Grillby didn’t run any risk of being flustered again. “Alright. I’ll be out in a moment.” He straightened up, looking in the mirror again and sighing in relief. For now, the blush was gone.

Later that evening, the Halloween festivities were in full swing. Monster and human children alike were wandering up and down the streets with their parents, laughing and playing as their buckets and bags slowly filled with sweets. Frisk insisted on dragging as many people as they could up to each door with them, insisting that, “Larger groups of people get more candy!” 

Of course, being a pretty big group of monsters, they couldn’t all fit on a doorstep at once. Instead, they all took turns. Two people would go with Frisk at a time, and the rest of them would just wave from the street.

Sans put his hands in his pockets as he watched Grillby and Asgore walk Frisk to the door of the next house, chuckling a bit as the former king stopped to admire the flowerbeds. His gaze drifted to Grillby. He’d been worried that the bartender would feel a little out of place, but he seemed to be enjoying himself, holding Frisk’s hand as the child cheered, “Trick or treat!”

The couple at the door stopped to ask about their costumes like any other house, putting a few pieces of candy in Frisk’s bag. Sans couldn’t hear what was said, but when Grillby explained his costume, whatever the couple said made him laugh. Sans smiled to himself, fond. 

Undyne elbowed Sans, arching an eyebrow at him. “Dude, you’re staring again.”

Sans rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. “Yeah, well, he’s being really cute. Besides, anyone could appreciate a guy that hot.”

Undyne groaned. “Okay, but being serious, why don’t you just talk to him already? The guy obviously has a thing for you. Nobody would let you rack up a tab like yours if they didn’t want to cook for you all the time.”

“I know,” Sans admitted, “But he can be kinda shy. I don’t wanna scare him off by making the first move.”

She just rolled her eyes. “If he’s shy, he’s never gonna confess to you. Just go for it, man!”

Sans looked back at Grillby. In the time they’d been talking, the fire monster had picked Frisk up and put them on his shoulders, smiling as Frisk declared which house they should go to next. He was so good with the kid. He let Frisk hang out at the bar after school all the time, and he’d even helped them with their homework once or twice. The bartender was one of the sweetest guys Sans had ever met. How could the skeleton not like him? And Sans had to admit, he was getting a little impatient. “You know what? Fine,” he said, looking back at Undyne. “I’m gonna tell him.”

Undyne looked genuinely surprised. “Really?”

“Yup.”

“Tonight?”

“Right now.”

“Oh my god.” Undyne whipped out her phone, pulling up her camera. “Fucking finally. You have no idea how long I’ve waited for this. Alphys! Alphys, it’s finally happening, come help me film this!”

Sans laughed, pulling his hands out of his pockets to fidget with his suspenders. “Thanks for the enthusiasm, but this is something I kinda want to do alone? Grillby’s a private guy. You’ll make him nervous.”

Undyne groaned. “Fine, but you better tell me how it goes!”

Sans gave her a thumbs-up. “Sure thing, captain.”

“I mean it!” she emphasized, jabbing a finger at his chest. “I want every detail.”

Sans chuckled. “I’ll make sure to ‘burn’ the moment in my memory. Now get out of here, they’re coming back.”

Grillby and Asgore rejoined the group, Grillby handing Frisk off to Toriel. “I believe it’s your turn, You Majesty.”

Toriel smiled a bit. “Now what have I told you about that? It’s just Toriel now.” She turned to the others. “Sans? Would you like to come as well?”

“I’ll c-come!” Alphys quickly interjected. “We sh-should all go! Except Sans and Grillby! G-Grillby just went, and, u-um… Sans, well…”

“I’m too lazy to go all the way up to the door,” Sans finished for her. “I’ll hang back here with Grillby. You all go on ahead.”

Toriel tilted her head, trying to figure out what Sans was planning before understanding hit her. She smiled a bit and nodded. “Alright, you two. Don’t fall too far behind.”

“This won’t take very long,” Sans assured her, waving them off. Frisk lead the way, and pretty soon it was just Sans and Grillby, walking side by side in the cool autumn evening.

Grillby adjusted his glasses, glancing curiously at Sans. “...alright. What is this all about? I can tell you’re plotting something.”

Sans chuckled. “Yeah, you’ve always been able to read me pretty well.” And somehow the bartender was still totally oblivious. “I just wanted to talk with you for a minute. Just you and me.” He stopped walking, looking Grillby up and down. “...y’know, you don’t look half bad in my jacket.”

Oh god. The fear of blushing and tipping Sans off returned at full force, Grillby swallowing hard. “Th-thank you? Um, I think you look nice, too. Dressed up, I mean.”

“Eh, you pull it off better.” Sans shrugged. “You know, you’ve been kinda quiet this evening. You doing okay?”

“I’m fine,” Grillby answered too quickly. He’d honestly been avoiding talking to Sans too much. Sans was far too good at flustering him and making him laugh. “Why do you ask?”

Sans huffed, fond as he tilted his head. “Well, I’ve been thinking. Hanging out with everybody is great and all, but I’d kinda like to spend more time with just you, y’know?” He rubbed the back of his neck, a little nervous. He didn’t want to make Grillby uncomfortable by being too direct, but he couldn’t be too subtle. Otherwise, it would go over the fire monster’s head. He took a deep breath and braced himself. “I was wondering if maybe you’d like to go get breakfast or something sometime?”

Grillby nearly choked. What was Sans trying to say? Surely he wasn’t asking what Grillby wanted him to thought he might be asking. He felt his temperature rise without his permission and reflectively pulled up the hood of the jacket, covering his face with his sleeves. If anything, remembering that he was hiding in Sans’s jacket just made it worse. He tried to say something, but to his dismay, all he could get out was a flustered squeak.

That was about the reaction Sans was expecting. “Grillby? You okay?” Sans asked gently. He stepped closer, trying to move into the bartender’s field of vision.

“F-f-fine…!” Grillby managed. He was dead. He was going to die. This was a disaster.

“Heh, sure,” Sans mumbled, giving him a small smile. “Alright, if you’re gonna be shy about it, let’s try this a different way.” The skeleton reached up and gently took Grillby’s hands in his own, pulling them away. Grillby’s face was burning with beautiful shades of red, orange, and blue, all mixing together. Sans chuckled a bit, putting his hands on the bartender’s shoulders and making him lean over. “Come here, you dork.” He stood up on his toes, pulling the fire monster’s hood down as he did.

The light show when Sans kissed him was spectacular.

Papyrus, who had been watching the whole time, jumped out of the bushes. “OH MY GOD, SANS!” He was shortly followed by Undyne, Alphys, and Frisk, who were all rewatching the scene from Frisk’s phone.

“That was s-so cute!” Alphys gushed. “You’re so adorable t-together! I think it’s my new OTP.”

Grillby groaned, covering his face with one hand as Sans laughed. “I hate all of you.” He stopped as a hand slipped into his own, looking down at Sans.

Sans smiled up at him, still chuckling a bit. His gaze softened a bit as he ran his thumb over Grillby’s knuckles. “So,” he said quietly, “What do you say, firefly? Coffee this Saturday.”

Grillby smiled, finally letting himself blush without panicking. He laced their fingers together and gave the skeleton a gentle nod. “That sounds lovely.”

Thank you for reading! I hope you liked it! If you did, consider leaving me a comment to tell me your favorite part. If you want to send me a prompt, my asks are open!