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j4gm · 4 years ago

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TOGETHER AGAIN SPOILERS

A thread of lore, Easter eggs, episode connections, and background details from Adventure Time: Distant Lands: Together Again! Let me know if I missed anything! This is adapted from my original Twitter thread.

Keep reading ⬇️⬇️⬇️

1. I was expecting them to perhaps do a classic style title sequence for this episode, but I wasn't expecting them to straight up use the original title sequence. The only difference is this final screen saying "Distant Lands".

2. The background of the title cards is also the hill from the title sequence.

3. The ice cream having "50 flavours" and having an image of an enlightened soul is an obvious reference to the 50th Dead World as we see it later in the episode.

4. Continuing with the metaphor, the dirt in the ice cream could be a parallel to the fact that Jake's Nirvana actually wasn't perfect, because his inaction was allowing for injustice to perpetuate.

5. This whole scene feels immediately slightly off. Finn has his Scarlet sword and is out on a classic Ice King adventure, but he speaks in his grown voice and all the slang feels much more forced than it did in the real season one. Turns out this was deliberate.

6. The snow golem speaks with a baby voice like it did in the pilot episode, even though in canon it has a deeper voice. This further hints that something is not quite right.

7. The first major break in continuity is these snow golems resembling Uncle Gumbald and Peace Master, who Finn didn't meet until later in his life.

8. LSP sitting on Finn's head like this is reminiscent of Pen Ward's piece for the 2018 Ble crew zine.

9. Finn being given the choice of helping somebody but ending up helping everybody reminds me of "Memories of Boom Boom Mountain". It's the kind of resolution that wouldn't happen so much in the late seasons of the show, which helps make this scene feel even further out of place.

10. Jake is half frozen by Ice King in pretty much the exact same way as he was in "Prisoners of Love", and even has a very similar line.

11. The Snail is seen here. The crew have said that the Snail has been deliberately left out of previous Distant Lands specials, so its placement here is another very deliberate hint that this whole sequence is "trying too hard" to be like the early seasons.

12. The book "Mind Games" appears a couple of times, as seen in several previous episodes of Adventure Time. The first is as Finn is approaching the library in his dream. It also appears as one of the items in Finn's backpack later.

13. Jake is hurt when Finn fist bumps him with his metal arm, revealing that this scene is not real. This is also a callback to the title sequences of "Islands" and "Elements".

14. A whole bunch of familiar skeletons are seen in the bird's nest: Dirt Beer Guy, Abracadaniel, Me-Mow, Lemongrab, Mr. Pig, and the Snail again. This doesn't necessarily mean that all these characters are dead, since this scene is just a hallucination.

15. Old Man Finn! He's still got the chest tattoo of Jake, and this time we know that Jake is dead, so the theory that Jake died before "Obsidian" seems pretty likely. He looks similar to his old man design from "Puhoy", with the same facial hair.

16. There are several cameos of familiar characters who apparently died at the same time as Finn. The first is this duck, who previously appeared in "Ocarina".

17. The second is Donny, from the episode... uh, "Donny".

18. This goblin guy is an unnamed background character from “The Silent King”.

19. This old lady first appeared in "The Enchiridion", way back in season one. Old ladies are a species in the Land of Ooo, so I guess she wasn't actually very old back then, given she just about outlived Finn.

20. This is the cobbler who first appears in "His Hero". Amazing that he lived so long given all the trouble he got into in that episode.

21. Land of the Dead! This place was first seen in season two's "Death in Bloom", and now we are finally learning its actual purpose. It's a sort of gateway and hub to all of the other dead worlds.

22. There are some more minor cameos at the gates: a house person from "Donny", a soft person from "Gut Grinder", and a wood person from "When Wedding Bells Thaw". And, of course, the gate guardian himself from “Death in Bloom”.

23. Finn completely ignores the gate guardian in the same way he did in Death in Bloom. This also has the convenient effect of not having to reveal how Finn died, leaving it up to the audience's imagination.

24. Mr. Fox! We already knew he would die at some point because BMO had his skull in the finale.

25. Finn has his design from the first Distant Lands poster in this scene. Turns out it's young Finn in old Finn's clothes. But they gave him a shirt in the poster so you wouldn't be able to see the tattoo.

26. The clapping that Finn does while he's looking for Jake is a callback to "James Baxter the Horse", when Jake tells Finn to listen for that same rhythm if they are killed and need to find each other in the afterlife.

27. Mr. Fox talks about a "past life quotient", suggesting that there might be some kind of limit to how many times somebody can reincarnate. Finn's reincarnations are also seen in this scene; a callback to "The Vault", and confirmation that reincarnations share the same soul.

28. Boobafina, the goose who Mr. Fox was in love with in his debut episode “Storytelling”, apparently reincarnated into a tugboat. We've already seen that objects can have souls in the episode "Ghost Fly".

29. Finn is initially assigned to the 37th Dead World, which is the same one that Jake went to when he died in "Sons of Mars". We can only guess at what the other numbers on the ticket mean ;)

30. Tiffany! Despite several lucky escapes throughout his life, Tiffany has finally died. I like the use of this imagery to express Finn's conflicted feelings about him.

31. The 50th Dead World has long been established as the "highest" dead world, and the one synonymous with Heaven within Adventure Time's universe. It was first mentioned in "Ghost Princess" back in season three.

32. It's unclear what happens to souls which are destroyed within the dead worlds. It is a similar question to asking what happened to the ghosts that were killed in "Ghost Fly".

33. Death doesn't speak at all in Together Again because his voice actor, Miguel Ferrer, passed away in 2017 long before production began.

34. Finn phases through New Death when he tries to attack him, just like what happened way back in "Death in Bloom".

35. The 30th Dead World contains Tree Trunks as well as many of her love interests; Mr. Pig, her alien husband from "High Strangeness", Danny and Randy who first appeared in "Apple Wedding", and several more who we don't recognise, including at least one who presents as a woman.

36. Literally yelled when these two showed up. Joshua calls Finn a crybaby, which is a callback to "Dad's Dungeon".

37. The wall of weapons in Joshua and Margaret's house includes the iconic Demon Blood Sword, which was broken in "Play Date", as well as Margaret's auto-loading crossbow from "Joshua & Margaret Investigations".

38. Jermaine is sidelined a few times through the episode, in reference to his attitude in "Jermaine" where he feels that Finn and Jake were always their parents' favourites. I would have hoped things would be a bit better by now.

39. Fern gets name dropped while Finn and Jake are reuniting. A shame he doesn't actually show up in the episode.

40. In this scene, Finn says "What time is it?" This is a very subtle reference to the 2010 cartoon "Adventure Time".

41. In a couple of shots during this fight scene it looks like Jake might have a tattoo. It seems like it only becomes visible when he stretches out his arm.

42. New Death's amulet in this scene resembles parts of the Lich's cape, foreshadowing his influence on New Death.

43. There are several more cameos in the 50th Dead World: Booshy from "High Strangeness", one of the Marshmallow Kids from "Scamps", and Ghost Princess and Clarence, who were seen ascending to the 50th Dead World in "Ghost Princess".

44. Finn didn't interact with Booshy in "High Strangeness", but it seems they must have met at some point before they both died because Finn knows his name.

45. It seems like people in the 1st Dead World are slowly melted away until they become part of the landscape. Nasty.

46. Lots more cameos in this scene: a gnome from "Power Animal", a gnome from "The Enchiridion", a Bath Boy from "The Vault", Blagertha from "Love Games", Maja the Sky Witch, a troll from "Dungeon", Chocoberry, Choose Goose, Wyatt, a spiky person from "Gut Grinder", and possibly more.

47. Tiffany's insults are consistently nonsensical and amazing, as they were in the original series.

48. The Candy Kingdom looks extremely different. Peppermint Butler is wearing the crown so he might be in charge now, which is supported by the kingdom's very magical-looking augmentations. It’s not clear whether Finn and Jake were expecting to find Princess Bubblegum or Peppermint Butler, since both have the initials “PB” and both could be going by the title of “Princess”. Perhaps Peps and Bubblegum share the princess duties now that PB is living with Marceline more of the time.

49. Peppermint Butler has a "Boss" mug, although it's not the same colour as the one from "Obsidian".

50. Jake's ghost has the same design as he did when BMO killed him in "Ghost Fly". I also absolutely love Finn's ghost. This scene establishes that ghosts are just visitors to the mortal plane from the dead worlds.

51. Life has only appeared in animated shorts before now. Namely, "The Gift That Reaps Giving" which establishes her relationship with Death, and "Frog Seasons: Winter". This episode gives her a concrete place within Adventure Time's pantheon: she is in charge of reincarnation.

52. A translation of Life’s angry French dialogue by Shado: “After all I did for that boy. After all I did for him. No, it's not possible. It's not possible no, that... that makes me so mad but it's not possible.”

53. We finally have in-universe confirmation that Shoko's tiger is a previous life of Jake. This was previously confirmed by one of the writers, but wasn't canon until now.

54. I feel like Finn pulled off Shoko's look even better than Shoko did. I wonder whether Finn has gained the memories of his past lives now that he’s dead.

55. No Easter egg here, just want to appreciate this image.

56. There is an elemental symbol on the wall here, as seen in "Jelly Beans Have Power".

57. Tiffany's dramatic internal monologue is a recurring gag, as is his habit of nearly dying from falling into holes.

58. The Jake suit makes a cameo in the fight against New Death. It was last seen in the episode "Reboot”.

59. Finn's backpack contains a few familiar items: the t-shirt with the pocket from "It Came from the Nightosphere", Finn's underwear from "Little Dude" and other episodes, and a copy of Mind Games as I've already mentioned.

60. The Lich's Hand is present in the background of Death's... death scene. This is probably the unseen "friend" who New Death keeps talking about.

61. The Lich's menacing monologues often begin with a single command. Previously they have included "Fall" and "Stop". This time, the command is "Burn".

62. Jake uses the word "boingloings", which is a callback all the way to "Hitman" in the third season.

63. Jake's blue shape-shifter form from "Abstract" appears very briefly during his fight with Finn.

64. Finn's lumpy space person form also makes an appearance. This design was last seen all the way back in the second episode of the entire show, "Trouble in Lumpy Space".

65. Jake steps on the Lich's hand in a very similar way to how he stepped on Ash in "Memory of a Memory", which is itself a Monty Python reference.

66. The credits include a dedication to a few AT cast and crew who have passed away. Polly Lou Livingston was the voice of Tree Trunks. Miguel Ferrer was the voice of Death. Michel Lyman and Maureen Mlynarczyk were both sheet timers on the original series. Rest in peace.

67. The message that Finn and Jake write out on the ouija board is "BUTT", which Peppermint Butler takes as a distress signal. This message is also used as a distress signal by the Hot Dog Knights in "The Limit".

68. Peppermint Butler's reversed dialogue from the scene where he makes contact with Finn and Jake is "Kee-Oth Rama Pancake", the spell from “Dad's Dungeon” for banishing demons.

69. That appears to be President Porpoise with all of Tree Trunks’ other lovers.

70. In this scene, Life is humming part of "Lonely Bones", the song which Death tried to record for her in her debut short "The Gift That Reaps Giving". It's hard to notice because it's so brief.

71. Finn and Jake's cover is blown while in the Land of the Dead because Jake loudly farts, which also happened in "Death in Bloom".

72. The place where Mr. Fox explains the perception mechanics of the afterlife is the exact same location as the River of Forgetfulness from "Death in Bloom", which, as it turns out, was imaginary.

These are sort of out of order at the end because I was adding stuff to the Twitter thread as it got discovered. That’s all for now!

#adventure time #together again #finn the human #jake the dog #lorepost

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lesbianlovelanguage · 5 years ago

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i want to feel something (i’m numb inside)

It’s another HfBLM Prompt for imperfectabstraction on AO3, who requested pining!Billy who’s bad at communication. Thank you endlessly for your donation!!

Also a huge ass thank you to @gideongrace for your patience and help in me writing this and basically betaing it. I love you so much.

Read it on AO3 here or below the cut

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1. Welcome to Hawkins.

Billy had been attending Hawkins High for two weeks when he realized what was happening.

It wasn’t anything special, no fireworks or butterflies, but instead a cold frustration frosting over him. Because he realized he had a crush. On the most popular and decidedly straight boy in the miserable town of Hawkins, Indiana. Neil’s beatings could never compare to the sinking feeling in Billy’s gut when Steve Harrington stood in front of their english class and gave a frankly terrible report on Moby-Dick .

It certainly wasn’t Harrington’s presentation that made Billy recognize his crush, but the way his soft hair shined and he stood tall and confident even as the words that poured from his mouth were utter bullshit .

Billy had always been a sucker for confidence and cockiness.

But once Harrington had sat down, and was thus out of Billy’s sightlines, the warmth that came with a new crush turned to the familiar iciness, and it felt as if a great gaping maw had opened below him.

Even after the bell rang and the classroom emptied out, Billy was stuck in his head.

It wasn’t fair, he thought. He was supposed to hate everyone and everything about this town, and be fucking thankful when he got to put everything in his rearview mirror. But here he was with a ridiculous crush.

It wouldn’t couldn’t change his plans. Billy was resolute to not act upon his feelings, to avoid Harrington at every turn.

That resolution to ignore Harrington stayed for the next 5 periods, until he got to basketball practice. Harrington was clearly in his element on the court, no math problems or english reports here. Just sheer athleticism and strategy. And it made Billy angry. Because he couldn’t do anything about Harrington’s breathless panting or the way he was clearly showing off. So Billy did what he always did when he was angry.

He played dirty.

He used every trick in the book to trip up Harrington, guarding him by pushing every body part up against Harrington, using even the tiniest of openings to steal the ball, and he rammed into Harrington to steal the ball. He showed off a little, bolstered by the knowledge that Harrington’s focus was entirely upon him, the anger replaced by the feeling of pride.

When he landed after dunking the ball, he turned and continued to use the excitement of being Harrington’s sole focus to bound over to the tangled heap of lanky limbs and pale, creamy skin. He even put out a hand to help him up before he came back to himself, violently.

What was he doing? This is the exact opposite of ignoring Harrington .

He tried to save face by growling some stupid one-liner about planting his feet, and then dropped him like a sack of potatoes.

When Harrington popped back up and ignored Billy completely to chase after the ice princess herself, he shook his head and continued to play. This time, his showing off and dirty moves turned vicious as he continued to foul right and left before the coach was forced to bench him. He tried to shrug off the anger and left to take a shower.

Thankfully the showers stayed empty, and Billy was able to escape. After the disaster that was basketball practice, he decided to firmly clamp down his feelings and avoid Steve Harrington at all costs.

2. Can’t Ignore Him Anymore

Billy was having a bad night, to say the least .

His plan to head off to Indianapolis and the nearest gay bar with a loose ID policy was ruined because his shitbird step-sister decided to fuck off with her weird ass friends, probably with Sinclair even though he tried to warn her that Neil wouldn’t be happy. He had proof of what happened when Neil wasn’t happy blooming on his back too. At least it wasn’t worse, he thought with a grimace. He wasn’t sure when walking away with bruises had become lucky but it was what it was.

And now he had to run all over Hawkins to find the little shitbird, and with every house that sent him somewhere else his admittedly small patience was dwindling. By the time he was pulling into the dark driveway of the Byer’s house, he was itching for a fight.

And then Steve fucking Harrington walked out of the house. Because God hated him.

Or at least, it felt like the Big Man hated him as Harrington sauntered towards him, dish towel casually tossed over one shoulder and hands tucked into his jacket pockets.

“Am I dreaming or is that you, Harrington?” He felt himself call out before fully processing the words.

“Yeah, it’s me. Don’t cream your pants.” Harrington sounded blase in his response, but a faint blush appeared on his cheeks as Billy took off his jacket. Interesting. As he walked towards Harrington, a familiar bush of bright red hair popped in and out of the window and shocked Billy back to reality. He stopped, leaving plenty of space between himself and Harrington, enough to hopefully let him keep a clear head.

“What are you doing here, amigo?” Billy taunted. Maybe he would finally see some action tonight, at least enough to wipe the bitter taste that flirting with Mrs. Wheeler left in his mouth.

“Wouldn’t you like to know?” Harrington retorted, sounding exactly like a fifth grader.

“Well, I would. ‘S why I asked, cause I don’t really like the picture that’s being painted here. Max goes missing all day, and then I find her here in some stranger’s house, with you of all people. See what I’m seeing, Pretty Boy?”

“What’s that supposed to mean, me of all people?” Of course Harrington would pick up on that.

“What does King Steve want with a thirteen-year-old girl? Not a great look man.” The adrenaline bubbled up in Billy’s stomach in anticipation of a fight, fists clenching and skin buzzing. But Harrington never reacted how Billy expected, and this was no exception.

“Yeah, but letting demon monsters kill a group of pre-teens isn’t so great either,” he said casually, as if his words would make a lick of sense. Billy gaped a little before shaking his head and laughing a bitter, mean laugh.

“You’re digging your own grave man. I just wanted my step-sister, but it looks like I’m gonna have to kick your ass.” That was the only warning he gave before closing the distance and swinging. Harrington went down like a sack of potatoes and Billy couldn’t help the smugness in his voice when he bent over and spit, “Told you to plant your fucking feet, Princess.” He then stepped over Harrington’s sprawled body and walked inside.

He noticed all of the usual brats that hang off of Harrington, but his gaze zeroed in on Lucas. All of the anger and frustration Billy had felt over the course of the night collided into one comprehensible thought.

He had warned her.

He wasn’t proud of what he did, but at least he had the ability to stop. He just wanted to scare the kid, hoping that if he couldn’t warn Max he could scare the kid off before Neil got involved.

If he got involved, he wouldn’t stop, not until Sinclair was really hurt. Or even dead.

Billy didn’t like himself while he was doing it, knew that his behavior was revolting and monstrous, but he was willing to play the bad guy if it kept the gremlins from the real bad guy. He was thankful when Harrington forced him around and clocked him in the face. Then he had something better to focus his rage and fear on.

They were in the middle of fighting when Billy thought he lost his mind. He had grabbed the fridge door, planning to use it to clock Harrington in the head, when a thing fell out. It didn’t move from it’s spot on the kitchen floor but it left a trail of something slimy and Billy went mental.

“What the actual fuck. Someone had ten seconds to explain what this is,” he growled, and was promptly educated about the Upside Down, demogorgons, and something the brats called The Mind Flayer. Apparently Hawkins was housing some horror movie level shit, and of course Harrington was involved. So much for ignoring him forever.

3. Summer Sweetness

Billy didn’t just enjoy summer. He thrived in the summer. The sun, the heat, the smell of the ocean and the sound of busy beaches filled him with a happiness even Neil couldn’t touch. There were no ocean waves that summer, but chlorine was a close substitute. Anything was better than the disgusting stench of cowshit that seemed to permeate Hawkins in the fall.

And even better was the silent agreement he had made with one Steve Harrington.

It started at Prom. Billy had agreed to go with some girl, he hadn’t bothered to remember her name, only to get the promposals to stop. It was a good ego boost at first, but after six in four class periods, it got exhausting to try and politely decline. So, the seventh girl who came up to him with a big home-made card practically dripping in glitter got a ‘Yes’ from the Billy Hargrove. Ridiculous.

He made the mistake of telling Max somewhere that Neil could overhear him, so he ended up having to rent a limo and buy a corsage and dress up in a full tux. All for a thing he didn’t want to go to with a girl he didn’t care about. To just get through the night, he ended up downing an entire bottle of tequila by himself.

The next morning he would definitely be blaming the tequila, but he would be lying to himself that it was the only reason he did what he did.

It had been building for a long time, but it wasn’t until he saw Steve in the bathroom furthest from the gym that he realized what it was.

He had stumbled down the darkened hallways of Hawkins High, desperate for the escape a cigarette would bring him. He knew the bathroom in the english hall had a busted fire alarm, so he made a beeline towards it. He was so focused on pulling the pack out and lighting up, he failed to notice there was someone else, not until they cleared their throat. His head shot up, ready to fight, only to be met with big brown eyes and pale creamy skin.

“Oh hey, Pretty Boy. What are you doing here?” He tried to play it casual, not letting on that blood was rushing in his ears and his heart was in his throat.

“Could ask you the same question. I’m pretty sure Colleen is asthmatic, won’t appreciate the nicotine smell,” he said, gesturing to the cigarette he had just lit up. It took him a minute to figure out who the fuck Colleen was, until he realized it was the date he had abandoned in the gym.

“Pretty sure she won’t care what I smell like, if you know what I mean.” Billy waggled his eyebrows and dragged his tongue along his bottom lip. He was caught off guard though, when Steve’s pupils dilated. Interesting.

“You’re nasty,” Steve tried to cover the few seconds of silence, but Billy was a shark who had smelt blood.

“Oh really, Stevie?” He asked before taking a long drag of his cigarette and blowing it towards Steve. “You don’t like the idea of Colleen and I getting freaky? What’s a little locker room talk between amigos after all?” He smirked before going in for what he hoped was the kill. “Unless… You’re jealous?” His smirk only grew as Steve stuttered, trying to form a rebuttal.

“I am not jealous of Colleen. I feel bad for her, going to one of the most special nights with you.” Steve’s words were meant to cut, but Billy could hear the uncertainty in his voice.

“Never said you were jealous of Colleen, Stevie. But if you are, I think I have a solution.” That was the only warning he gave Steve before walking over to be right in front of him. They were so close their shoes were touching, and Billy could smell the smoke on Steve’s breath.

“Seems a little hypocritical to yell at me about smoking when you were doing the same thing.” Billy may have noticed that Steve wasn’t the best in school, but he would never say the boy was slow. He seemed to get with the picture pretty quickly.

“Oh yeah?” His voice was breathy and soft. “You gonna do something about it?”

“I think I have to. It wouldn’t be right if I just ignored it.”

“Well, what are you waiting for? Do it,” Steve challenged. And Billy never backed down from a challenge. He lunged forward the few feet between them and smashed his lips against Steve’s.

The kiss wasn’t nice or gentle. It was a battle between two wild animals, only softened when Steve’s hands snuck up Billy’s back and tugged on the golden ringlets. Billy broke the kiss with a moan and Steve grinned.

“Like that, tiger?”

“Shut up and get back here,” was Billy’s only response before they collided again. Shaky hands unbuttoned shirts. As soon as Steve’s torso was exposed, Billy moved down to suck what was sure to be an impressive hickey along Steve’s collarbone, unable to resist marking the pale skin.

Steve’s moan was loud as Billy moved his hands from the small of his back to his thighs and picked him up. Like he was nothing. He was placed on the edge of a sink, and then Billy moved down Steve’s chest, kissing every mole he could find. After successfully making his way down to his knees, Billy unzipped Steve’s pants and proceeded to rock the boy’s damn world.

That was the only time they had sex during school, but it wasn’t the last time they had hooked up, far from it in fact. He was dropping Max off at the ice cream shop, Scoops Ahoy, when he saw Steve again. He was in a truly ridiculous parody of a sailor’s costume and Billy wanted to eat him alive.

He was surprised to find the feeling was mutual. He walked up to the counter to tease Steve about the uniform, and somehow ended up in the storage room getting his dick sucked this time.

The summer proceeded to pass like that, until some time in July when Steve said he couldn’t keep having sex at work and gave Billy his phone number with a wink. Then Billy started sneaking into Steve’s bedroom at ungodly hours and left before the sun had risen.

But all good things came to an end, and Billy was nothing if not a coward. As soon as August came around, and the pool closed, Billy took all of his savings and the four boxes it had taken to pack up everything he cared about, and left. Without a word, a text, or a note. He ran away from Hawkins, ran from his father, and from Steve, who had started talking about having movie nights and cooking dinner together and other domestic crap fuck buddies weren’t supposed to do together.

He ran.

4. Hey Pretty Boy, Long Time No See

Billy loved Chicago. He had moved there with plans of just saving up enough to fly back to Los Angeles, but a year into living there he had fallen in love. Sure there were things he hated, like the winters and the tourists, but there were so many more things to love.

Like the food, and the people he had met. Both of which he was enjoying on a perfect summer’s day. And to top it all off, he was finally going to get a tattoo.

Robin, a girl he had met through work and then started to hang out with after running into her at the annual Pride Parade, had convinced him to finally indulge in it, helped him work out what exactly he wanted, and even gave him a recommendation for a guy at her shop that specialized in the style of tattoos that Billy had decided he wanted.

So, on the day of his appointment, he met Robin during her lunch break where they grabbed some tacos from a street car and walked back to her shop. Billy was silent, nervous as hell, but luckily Robin was enough of a chatterbox to fill the silence and keep it from getting awkward.

“You will love Steve, Billy. Swear to God he’s one of the sweetest people I’ve met.” She let out a small huff. “Of course he’s a total dingus, but so are you. Boom. Match made in Heaven.” She waved her hand around, almost dropping her taco, and Billy couldn’t help but laugh at her antics.

That laughter died in his throat though, and he nearly choked on his own spit, as they walked through the door of The Mind Flayer Tattoos and Piercing because behind the desk was a face he never thought he would see again.

Steve Harrington.

Of course he had fantasized about this moment, had dreamed about those Bambi eyes and impish grin, even years later as it was. He had tried to distract himself, tried to move on, but he quickly realized it wasn’t working. Once he realized he had been silently comparing every other guy to Steve, he gave up, resigned himself to being alone, and had gotten a cat.

Just like in high school though, all of his resolve to move on disappeared when faced with Steve Harrington.

The years since high school had clearly been kind to him, and while Billy had always thought he was pretty, now he was downright gorgeous. His hair was still perfectly styled, but he had grown it out so that the ends just barely touched his shoulders. He was also wearing a pair of stylish glasses with thin golden frames that glinted softly in the warm lighting of the tattoo parlor. Most notably though, Billy could clearly see his left arm where it rested next to a book he bent over, and it was covered in a beautiful, intricate tattoo sleeve. All Billy wanted in that moment was to trail his fingertips over the black lines that formed shapes that resembled flowers. Looking closer though, he realized some of the flowers actually held rows and rows of teeth, and mixed in was the rough outline of a baseball bat with nails. It was a mural dedicated to his experiences that one fall day, a constant reminder of what he had been through.

Steve finally looked up at them as Robin led Billy to the counter, and he clearly recognized Billy, as his mouth dropped open and his eyes widened.

“Holy shit.”

Billy felt a small smile form as he lifted a hand and waved awkwardly at the boy he had left behind. “Hiay Pretty Boy. Long time, no see.” He had hoped that the nickname would lighten the mood, but instead Steve’s shock was replaced by hard lines and tense shoulders.

“What the fuck are you doing here?” His voice was dripping in hostility, making Billy flinch slightly before tensing up as well. He knew he was the one in the wrong, but fuck if that had ever stopped him from being the weak one.

Robin beat Billy to a response however, letting out a small noise before looking quickly between the two boys.

“I think I’m missing something here, and that something is big,so I’m jist going to walk over here and let you two work it out. Please don’t kill each other.” Despite the lingering angst in the air, both boys couldn’t hold back a chuckle as Robin walked away from them and disappeared into the back room. As the door swung shut though, and they were alone in the shop, the tension could be cut with a knife.

“Let’s get this over with,” Steve said with a sigh, and all Billy could do was nod and follow him to a prepared work station in the back corner of the open-plan parlor.

He double checked where the tattoo was going, on his right shoulder, and then gently placed the stencil on and smoothing it over. He removed the plastic to reveal a purple version of the tattoo and then nodded to where a full length mirror had been hung on the wall.

Billy checked how it laid, and took in how the design had turned out once again. He had seen the draft in an email, but to see it on his body was an entirely different experience. It was a depiction of the beach, detailed with old school flowers and a setting sun, and a perfect symbol of Billy’s origins. He had decided that while he didn’t want to return to California, he wanted a reminder of the peace an evening on the beach brought him.

Having confirmed that it was perfectly placed, he returned to the workstation and settled into the chair. The tension remained as Steve silently placed his arm in the best position and loaded the gun with ink. He returned to Billy’s side and sighed.

“You need to relax if you want me to actually do this.”

“Sorry, Pretty Boy. Guess you just fill me with butterflies,” Billy shot back, trying to regain some of the bravado that had conveniently left him. Steve snorted before setting down the tattoo gun and muttering Jesus and rubbing at his temple.

“If we’re gonna do this, you gotta cut that shit out.”

“What shit?”

“The- the fucking flirting and the nicknames. That shit.”

“Sorry, Pretty Boy,” he emphasized the name with a cocky smirk. “It’s just part of the Hargrove charm.”

“Well if you want a good tattoo, you’ll dial back the Hargrove bullshit. Now take a deep breath and fucking relax.” Billy gave a sarcastic salute before deliberately taking a deep breath and dropping his shoulders. Steve rolled his eyes, but reserved all his smart comments in favor of starting the tattoo.

They sat in relative silence, only broken by the gentle whir of the tattoo gun and Steve occasionally reminding Billy to not hold his breath. It wasn’t until Steve muttered a soft, “Halfway there tiger,” that he found the courage to break the silence. Whether consciously or not, Steve had used one of his favorite pet names for Billy and that action alone gave him hope that he hadn’t ruined their relationship completely when he left.

“Nice tats Harrington,” he said casually, nodding at his left arm. Steve snorted.

“Thanks. Of course, you know the whole story behind it. Robin and everyone at the shop just think it’s some insane movie monster they’ve never heard of.”

“Yeah, not exactly the easiest thing to explain to people,” Billy agreed, nodding his head.

“As chill as Robs can be, I think if I tried to tell her I fought off intergalactic demon dogs with a nail bat and a group of four middle schoolers she would check me into the nearest institute.”

Billy faked an offended gasp. “It wasn’t all middle schoolers, I was there too. Saved your ass at one point too.”

“Bullshit you saved me. If I recall, you screamed like a little bitch until Max threatened you with my bat and then stole your keys. If she hadn’t threatened to drive your car I think you would never have come with.” There was a fire in Steve’s eyes now, a warmth Billy thought he would never be privy to again.

And then Steve looked up from his arm and his face shuttered back into stone. He wiped the excess ink and blood off of his arm and studiously ignored any more attempts Billy made at conversation, which ranged from commenting about the photos littering his workstation to commenting on the fucking weather. Eventually he got the message and shut his trap for the rest of the session.

Steve walked him through the after-care steps clinically, and he faintly picked up the “wash with antibacterial soap twice a day” and “apply scent-free lotion when it starts flaking”, but his brain was mostly stuck on “touch-ups are free up to six months after the first appointment.”

He still had a chance. Maybe the shock was too much, but if Steve was offering up the chance to meet again?

Billy wouldn’t let it slip past.

5. Let’s Try This Again

Billy loved his tattoo. He made sure to take meticulous care of it, applying lotion religiously and steadfastly ignoring the urge to pick at the peeling skin. Luckily, the amount of sunburns he got back in California prepared him for it pretty well.

Even if it was healing perfectly, and he was ecstatic about the final result after it had finished peeling, he still decided to talk to Robin about scheduling a touch-up. She had looked it over when he asked while they were grabbing burritos, and told him that he definitely didn’t need a touch up, but when he continued to insist that he wanted another appointment she looked at him skeptically and agreed.

He had it scheduled for a month after his initial appointment, and the weeks seemed to drag by as he eagerly awaited his second- well, technically third- chance with Steve.The day of, he and Robin agreed to the same schedule of grabbing lunch and then walking over to the shop together, but instead of Robin filling the silence, Billy instead prattled on about a couple cases he was looking over and how well they were going. As much as he could without breaking the NASW Code of Ethics of course.

Robin nodded along agreeable and made all the right noises in the right places, but she was overall quieter than usual, until the shop got into view.

A block away from the neon sign, she stopped them both and turned to Billy. “I’ve been pretty patient, but I have to know before we walk in there. What is the deal between you and Steve?”

“I- I don’t know what you’re talking about, Brat. There’s no story there,” Billy tried to brush it off and keep walking, but Robin was surprisingly strong for her slender frame. She grabbed his arm and forced him to stop.

“That’s a blatant lie, and I can’t let you in there if you’re on some sort of weird revenge quest or something. He was seriously shaken up after your session, and I love you, but I love the dingus too.” She paired the serious tone of her voice with stern eye contact and a slight tightening of her hand on his bicep.

“Jesus Robin,” Billy said, shrugging off her vice-like grip, “It’s nothing like that, I swear. If anything, I’m trying to fucking apologize.” She just raised an eyebrow, clearly not satisfied with his explanation. “Fine. We went to high school together and I fucked up in a big way, alright? I regret it, and I want to try and make it up to him.”

“Yeah, well. You seem to have forgotten that this-” she emphasized with a sharp point at the parlor “-is his work. His job. He doesn’t deserve you pestering him here of all places. Just do what everyone else does and fucking ask him out to coffee.”

Feeling slightly chastised as only Robin could do, he looked down at the scuffs on his work boots and muttered, “Yeah, whatever.”

Finally satisfied, she continued their walk to The Mind Flayer Tattoo and Piercings Shop, Billy trailing two steps behind her.

The little bell tinkled again as the door opened, but this time Steve wasn’t at the front desk. Instead a tan woman with long, curly, dark hair was popping bubble gum and casually scrolling through her iPhone. All of the frustration seemed to seep out of Robin at once as she squealed, “Heather!” and launched herself at the girl behind the desk.

Letting Robin and Heather do their thing, Billy wandered over to where he could see the top of Steve’s head peeking over the low wall of his work station. He could see that all of his focus was on a drawing pad, where he was carefully sketching out something in pencil. He was so in the zone that the tip of his tongue was poking through his teeth. Cute.

Loath as he was to break the peace on Steve’s face, he cleared his throat and called out, “Hey Harrington.”

Steve, predictably, shot up out of his chair and whirled around to face Billy. “Jesus Christ Billy. Don’t sneak up on me like that.”

“Sorry, amigo. Didn’t mean to scare you.”

“What, no Pretty Boy?” Steve spit out as he tried to recoup from being startled. The tone brought back the sense of shame Robin had made him feel earlier, and he held up his hands in surrender.

“No, um,” he tried to start. “Actually, I’m here to ask if we could get a cup of joe? Talk some shit out?” Steve seemed startled by the proposal, but masked it with a suspicious glare.

“Is this some kind of joke? You want to get coffee?”

“Yeah. I want to- want to explain I guess.” Steve continued to glare at him, but after finding or not finding something, he nodded his head and sighed.

“Fine. Fuck it. You were my last appointment, so why the hell not.” Billy blinked, surprised that it had somehow been that easy to get Steve to agree. Maybe they could work it out, at least enough to be friends again.

He decided to wait in the front area while Steve packed up his station and grabbed his bag from the back room, nodding at Heather and Robin when they left.

They mutually agreed to walk the block down to a local coffee shop, called Joe’s Joe. Billy got a black iced coffee while Steve got a complexe medley of coffee, oat milk, and sugar. After they got their drinks, they sat at a table by the window.

“Do you want to start?” Steve asked.

“I mean, I guess. That’s kind of why we’re here or whatever.” Billy hadn’t wanted to start out hostile, but his nerves were starting to get the best of him. He took a swig of his coffee, letting the scalding heat coat his tongue. “Just, I’m sorry I guess.”

“You’re sorry?” Steve asked indignantly, “For what? Fucking with me for an entire summer? Leaving without a single fucking word? Or just being an all around asshole?”

“Technically, I was fucking you, not fucking with you,” Billy corrected absentmindedly, before wincing as Steve’s expression grew even more hostile. “Shit, I’m sorry. For- for everything alright? I was a dickhead, I shouldn’t have left but you have to underst-”

“I don’t have to do shit, Hargrove,” Steve interrupted.

“No, you have to understand that I didn’t have a choice. I packed up and left in the span of like four hours. There wasn’t time to tell you.”

“There wasn’t time to send a fucking text? Call? Something? I thought you were dead in a ditch somewhere. I had to find out from Max that you just pissed off to who knows where in the middle of the goddamn night. And you couldn’t bother to send anything? It’s been eight fucking years jackass.” Steve was almost yelling by the end of his rant, panting and visibly trying to calm himself down.

“It didn’t seem like something to send over text, I just figured it was better to do a clean break. Let you move on.”

“Let me- Fucking hell, you let me move on?” Steve was borderline hysterical at this point. Billy wasn’t sure when he had lost control of the conversation so drastically, but he felt the chances of him and Steve rekindling some sort of friendship slipping away. This wasn’t how he wanted to do this at all. Fuck.

“Yeah, because you shouldn’t be stuck with someone like me, Pretty Boy. I’m sorry I hurt you but I was stupid and young and I didn’t see any better way to do it.”

“You fucking broke my heart Billy. You’re gonna have to do a lot better than that,” Steve said, and walked out of the coffee shop.

6. Billy Does Better

After the disastrous coffee date, Billy steered clear of everything to do with The Mind Flayer, including Robin. He buried himself in his work, doubled his gym hours, and let the weekends pass by in a haze of cheap whiskey.

It took Robin a week to decide she was over him avoiding her. She stormed into his apartment on Sunday morning and forced him to take a shower, put on clean clothes and go with her to her apartment.

Once there, she sat him down on the couch and told him in the sternest voice she had to stay, and then left him to go let in someone else. He really shouldn’t have been surprised at who it was, but he still blinked rapidly when Steve appeared in the doorway.

“Am I dreaming, or is that you Harrington?” Billy asked, his voice hoarse from the lack of water he had drank in the past 48 hours.

“Yeah, it’s me. Don’t cream your pants.” If Billy sounded hungover, Steve sounded wrecked. He looked like it too, eyes rimmed red and puffy, lips chapped and bitten within an inch of their soft, plush life, and skin even paler than it usually was. Robin dragged him by the back of his shirt over to the couch, next to Billy, and pushed him down.

“Alright. I tried to give you two assholes space to work it out yourselves, but I am officially over it, so you’re going to figure it out here and now. I’m going to go in the kitchen to make lunch and when I get back, I expect you both to at least stop moping like fucking widows.” She turned on her heel and marched into the kitchen, where she could give them some semblance of privacy, but would still be within ear shot if they decided to kill each other or something.

Once she disappeared through the doorway, Billy turned hesitantly to face Steve, but when they made eye contact, any words he may have managed to string together left him and he was left there gaping like a fish. Steve saved him the trouble of starting though.

“You were moping?” He asked, voice quiet and defeated.

“Yeah, Bambi. Pretty heavily too if Robin had to step in.”

“What were you so upset about? You broke my heart after all.”

“Because I never meant to. I only meant to break my own damn heart, but not yours. Never yours Pretty Boy,” Billy’s voice was dripping in honesty and vulnerability, the dredges of alcohol still in his system making this entire situation exhausting. He just wanted to go back home and sleep until tomorrow.

“You- you loved me too?” Steve sounded so damn unsure, it hurt Billy to hear.

“Yeah, of course I loved you. That’s why I had to leave. I couldn’t love you and be under Neil’s roof. He would kill me. He would kill you. So I had to leave.”

“A clean break,” Steve finished for him. He didn’t sound as angry as he had at the coffee shop, more defeated.

“Exactly.”

They sat in silence for a few moments that seemed to stretch on for eternity before Steve finally broke it.

“So, where does that leave us?”

“Can we, can we try friends?” Billy asked hesitantly, eager for any opportunity but scared to push his luck.

“Yeah. I think that could work,” he said with a faint smile. As if on cue, Robin burst through the kitchen door armed with a plate of sandwiches and snacks and declared it a movie night.

7. Steve Takes A Leap

It had been two months since Robin’s forced intervention, and Steve couldn’t have been more thankful towards her. He had been scared that having Billy back in his life would drag up the memories he tried so hard to hide from, but it was actually refreshing to have someone to call when the memories came back, someone who understood what he was going through.

He also realized how much he genuinely missed Billy himself. He had grown and changed for sure, but it was only in that he was far less angry all the damn time. Steve had really come to realize just how intense the hold Neil Hargrove had over his son in high school. Now the sharp wit Billy had wielded as a weapon in high school was more playful than hurtful, and his more self-destructive tendencies of driving recklessly and chain-smoking had been replaced by a gym membership and therapy. Apparently, Billy had gone through a lot of therapy.

With all of the changes, he realized that it was just that much easier to find the Billy he had fallen in love with all those years ago. He had started recognizing the feelings a month into their rekindled friendship, but he waited for another month to make sure the spark was still there, that it wasn’t just him romanticising the past. They had added each other on snapchat and had even started a streak. It was at a solid 55 days that Steve finally made his move.

It was a simple snap of his work station with the caption What are you doing Saturday night?

Not even two minutes later he got a response. The picture was of Billy’s coffee mug he kept at his desk and said Nothing, wbu?

He snapped another hasty shot of his station, replied, Thinking about going out. Wanna join?

Another notification, another shot of his mug. “ Sure. What’s the plan?”

He was in the middle of prepping his station for an appointment in twenty minutes, so it was a quick shot of sterile packaging. Dinner and then hit up a club I know in Boystown?

This time the response was immediate. Sounds good.

Cool, I’ll make a reservation for six? Then club at like 8?

Why do we need a reservation? Want to spoil little old me, Pretty Boy?

The old nickname gave Steve the courage he needed to finally take a selfie and stop beating around the bush. He gave the camera an impish grin and raised eyebrows. I just want to make our first date memorable.

There was no response to that. Steve waited with bated breath, chewing on his bottom lip anxiously as the minutes ticked by. His appointment had shown up, and he finished the 45 minute session. Still no response.

Anxiety coursed through him, swirling around in his head. He could see that Billy had opened the picture as soon as he had sent it, a whole hour ago. But no response. No notifications. Nothing.

Steve tried to reason with himself that maybe he had a meeting or a lot of paperwork or something, but that didn’t stop him from bouncing his leg and fidgeting around until Robin finished her final appointment.

She only needed to look at him once to know something was up. She decided they were going to dinner together, and they walked to the diner three blocks down in silence.

It wasn’t until they had sent in their orders that Robin finally broke.

“Okay, what’s going on? I haven’t seen you this nervous since your first date with Julian,” she stated.

“I might have fucked up Robin. Like big time.” She sighed, used to Steve’s dramatic tendencies, and sipped at her strawberry milkshake.

“I doubt that, but I need more information. So spill.”

“I asked Billy on a date,” he blurted out, knowing there was no use in bullshitting Robin.

“And? Seems like a logical move, Dingus. I was getting sick of the intense pinning like ten days ago.”

“But, he left me on read Robin. We were talking about going out on Saturday and then I mentioned it was a date and boom. Radio silence.”

“Okay, chill out. He was probably busy at work. You know how seriously he takes that shit.”

“Yeah, but no response for three hours?” He said, voice raising in pitch on the last words.

“I’m sure there’s some explanation. Have you reached out again?” Robin’s patient and even tone calmed Steve down a little, but his leg still bounced up and down rapidly as he thought over what she said.

“No. I didn’t want to pressure him.”

“Just send something unrelated to the date. Like your milkshake. You’ve done it a million times, it’s safe.”

“Yeah. Okay. I can do that.” He nodded to himself before pulling out his phone, only to see a single snapchat notification amongst the barrage of emails and other random updates. It was from Billy.

He immediately felt his heart leap into his throat, and Robin reached over to grab his hand that was still resting on the table.

“Is it from him?” She questioned, deliberately neutral.

“Yep,” he choked out. His finger shook as he opened up his phone, and he felt paralized by the little blue box letting him know it was a text response. He took a deep breath before clicking on it.

Sorry I was MIA, Pretty Boy. Got busy with work, but I’d love to see where you want to take me. He included a winking and smirking emoji. Steve let out a startled laugh as the anxiety slowly dissipated.

“Code red officially over. I have a date on Saturday,” he informed Robin, and they finished up dinner with casual conversation about their various appointments throughout the day. They paid and eventually parted ways towards their respective apartments.

He trudged up the stairs because the elevator in his building was perpetually broken, but stopped in his tracks when his door got within view. There, resting innocently on his doormat, was a simple bouquet of sunflowers and baby’s breath. He gently picked them up and noticed a small piece of cardstock. In simple black scratch it read I am sorry for the no response. I got nervous. Bill.

Steve smiled gently at the note and pulled the flowers close to smell the soft fragrance they held. He felt another wave of confidence swell and push him to walk into the apartment and pick up his phone. He called Billy and waited in excited anticipation for him to pick up.

“I love them,” he said, and smiled a little more when Billy chuckled.

“I’m glad. They made me think of you.”

“Can’t wait for Saturday,” Steve confessed and Billy finally smiled back.

“Me too, Pretty Boy. Feels like it’s been years in the making.”

That it had been, but man had it been worth the wait.

----

tag team: @lostnoise @gideongrace @stevefuckingharrington @a-magey @trashmouth-hargrove @catharrington (lmk if you would like to be added/removed from the list!)

#harringrove for blm #harringrove #a dash of #bucklway #angst #fluff #hurt/comfort #pining!billy hargrove #billy hargrove centric #billy hargrove #steve harrington #tay writes #holy shit #i think this is the longest thing I've ever written #minus lost boys

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misssunflowersandsangria · 5 years ago

Text

Gifts

Chapter 1: From my Mother

Flowers

“Mommy! What are these called again?” Ino smiled picking up Inojin to look at the flower safely held in his hands.

“These are chrysanthemums.”

“Cr...San...t...mum?” He asked proudly.

“Yes, they mean hope, love, and friendship.”

“They’re pretty! I like the different colors.”

“Me too baby.” She always loved bringing Inojin to the flower shop with her. She was kept busy working for Konoha’s Intelligence Division but she enjoyed her more simple work in the family store.

“What’s this one? With all the pointy stuff?” He asked looking at the green plant sitting on the counter. He reached his hand out to touch the spikes then pulled his hand right back.

“It is called a cactus. Where your Aunt Temari is from it rarely ever rains and so not a lot of plants can grow but they have cactus. A lot of people think that they are plain or don’t like them because they have spines and can poke you. But they can flower and bloom as well. And the cactus flower means warmth and care between a mom and her baby. It also symbolizes the strength to go through really hard things. As you grow up and learn more I always want you to look beyond what something might look like at first glance. Something or someone might be scary or unfamiliar but be brave and open-minded to look and learn about it.” She’d walked through enough minds to know there were shattered broken pieces in everyone. Inojin nodded. His mom was so pretty and smart like daddy always said.

“Yes, mommy. It’s like our family flower, the bush clover, positive love. I’ll be happy and loving like mommy and daddy.” Ino ruffled his hair affectionately her baby was growing up and she was both excited and dreading it at the same time. She wanted him to stay her baby just a little longer.

The rest of the morning she observed him as he dutifully watered the plants taking great care to give the cactus enough. He would so sweetly talk to the plants about how much he liked their colors and encouraged them to grow. He’d greet any customers that came thru. He’d ask them questions about who they might be buying flowers for and provide his recommendations. He’d convinced his Uncle Shikamaru that he needed to buy his Aunt Temari an elaborate bouquet of purple tulips because they meant perfect love and purple was for royalty. Shikadai has just told him that his mom was a princess in Suna.

“So what are you apologizing for?” Ino grinned wrapping up the bouquet.

He just rolled his eyes. “Nothing, I stopped by to say hi. I didn’t think I’d get hustled into buying flowers by a toddler.” She just laughed brightly taking the money from his hand.

“I guess just take it as a deposit for when you inevitably mess up.”

He just sighed rubbing the back of his neck. “Gah...troublesome. Bye, thank you for the recommendation Inojin. I’ll make sure to let your aunt know that you picked them out.”

The two blondes waved with bright smiles.

“You ready to go see daddy?”

“Uhm almost! 5 minutes?” He requested.

“Okay let me start closing up.”

Once she’d finished arranging the counter and wiping down the surfaces her son returned with an array of flowers that his little arms could carry.

“Can I buy these flowers please?”

She smiled down at him amused carefully taking the stems from his arms to begin arranging them.

“Of course baby. Are you buying them for someone special?”

“Yes! She is the best so I picked out the prettiest flowers.”

She nodded with a smile. “Oh, I see. They are beautiful.” He’d run thru and grabbed all different stalks but they were all brightly colored.

She handed him the bouquet taking in exchange a crumpled bill that he’d pulled out of his pocket.

“Daddy gave me money to buy a snack but I’d rather buy these flowers.”

“Well, this girl must be special for you to give up your snack money for.”

On their way home he took great care to keep the bouquet safe and in pristine condition. She wondered who it could be for, and was terrified that her baby had a crush on someone already.

Once they arrived home she began preparing dinner while Inojin went to his room to play.

Ino looked down feeling a tug on her dress.

“Yes, baby?”

From his back, Inojin pulled out a hand-drawn card and the bouquet he’d bought earlier.

“I made you a card and the flowers were for you, Mommy!” He told her with a proud smile. Ino felt tears appear in her eyes while she gathered him into a hug.

“Thank you little one. You didn’t have to do this.”

“I know but some people are worth giving up your snack money for. I love you, mommy.”

She tightened her hold on him even more so. “I love you too baby. You’re the best gift I could ever ask for.” She was so thankful to have such a thoughtful and sweet child. That she’d gifted her child a level of kindness and compassion. She hoped that he’d always look at her so admiringly.

When Sai came home Injojn proudly pointed out to his father the flower bouquet that he’d picked out that was now the centerpiece for their table.

"Daddy! Look what I gave mommy!" He walked over to see the brightly colored bouquet after kissing Ino.

“You did a great job buddy. Did your mommy cry?” He teased her with a smile.

“Of course!” He just laughed and picked him up while Ino rolled her eyes.

“It’s going to be hard to top this.”

“I think that you might need to give me more snack money.” His parents both laughed loudly before proceeding to kiss his cheeks.

“Well if you keep getting uncle Shikamaru to buy flowers I’ll give you a cut.”

“Deal”

Wind

“Mama! Look! I made a fan!”

Temari looked down amused at her son. He had a carefully folded construction paper fan that he was waving around in the air.

“Be careful or you’ll cause a maelstrom.”

“Don’t be silly mama it’s not real.” She just chuckled to herself. Her son was way too smart for his own good.

“My apologies my Little Fawn.”

“When I get older and if I train will I be able to use wind style like you?” She was surprised by the question. Shikadai was a mini Shikamaru, she figured that he’d only want to know how to use shadow jutsu.

“Yes, if you train hard enough you could probably be an even better wind user than me.”

“Sounds like a lot of work.” She just smiled, he was his father's son.

“It is, but you’re smart and capable. I know that you can master both of our jutsu if you really tried.” He nodded looking as though he was contemplating whether the effort it would take would be worth it.

He’d watched both of his parents train in awe at their ability and control over their jutsu. It seemed so effortless. He wanted to believe that he could become that talented too.

“You really think I’ll be able to?” His bright green eyes that reminded her so much of her own looked up at her hopefully.

“Of course. When I met your father he was the laziest shinobi I’d ever met. It made me so mad.”

“Really?” He asked surprised. It seemed like such a far cry from the father that was the Hokage’s adviser and came home late at night.

“Yes, but he learned and pushed himself. Lucky for you, you have my genes so you’re already ahead of where he was.”

He just smiled at her at the thought. “Can I uh see what it feels like.”

“What do you mean?”

“Can you use your wind on me just like a little you know?”

She eyed him carefully. “Why?”

“So that I can know what it's like to fly…”

Her baby was always a curious child. He wanted to know how the world worked. It wasn’t surprising. Temari just smiled, it was such a sweet and innocent request. She’d only really ever used her wind to defend or destroy not for something so childish. Part of her wanted to admonish him for asking her such a silly thing, but that would come soon enough.

“Okay, but this is a one-time thing.”

She didn’t know if she could fulfill that promise seeing how happy he was floating in the wind. He was laughing and smiling begging her to make him go higher that she couldn’t help but indulge him. Life as a shinobi was hard and peace couldn’t be guaranteed. Soon enough it will be up to her son and the new generation of ninja to care for the village and the world. It was a tall order and a heavy weight to put on little shoulders so if she had an opportunity now to make him feel weightless and free that was what she needed to do. Real-life would happen eventually.

She felt Shikamaru’s arms wrap around her waist surprising her. “Having fun?”

She nodded resting her head against his chest. “He’s growing up too fast.” She sighed. She knew that it was bound to happen and there would be so much more growth and exciting milestones, but she knew that she’d miss him being so young and innocent. Shikamaru made hand signs in front of them using his shadow jutsu to wrap around their son.

“Daddy!!!!” He cheered loudly seeing the shadow wrap carefully around him. It deposited him in his mama's arms.

“Thank you, Mama! That was a lot of fun!” He smiled so brightly at her that she felt her heart melt. Her family brought her so much more joy than she thought she could ever experience.

“I had fun too my little Fawn thank you.”

“I’m going to be the best wind, shadow jutsu user that ever existed!” They both knew that if anyone could do it, it would be their child.

“I’m sure you will son,” Shikamaru told him affectionately knowing that his son would surpass him and Temari one day.

Blades

Karui smiled using her katana to block ChouChou’s attack.

“Good job little one. You have some good instincts.” ChouChou grinned at the compliment. She knew that she was becoming better every day.

Her Uncle Omoi had given her a playset of Katanas when he visited last. This was after Karui loudly explained why the toddler shouldn’t have the sharp, deadly set he’d originally tried to give her. She promised that he could give them to her when she was old enough to carry the set. Either way, Karui was thankful for it. She was sure that her daughter would rely on Akimichi Jutsu but she wanted her to develop in kenjutsu as well. Being the female in the InoShikaCho trio meant that she’d had to hold her own. Her daughter would be able to stand on her own feet with her skills.

While they were just playing Karui could tell that her daughter was strong and would be a formidable kunoichi when she grew up. She’d shown improvement daily. There weren’t too many girls that wanted to become ninjas, even less now that there was peace. Her daughter would be at the forefront, leading a generation of kunoichi.

Taking a break Karui fed her a healthy snack while they laid on the grass. She knew her husband's appetite and that her daughter had inherited it, but she still wanted her to eat a balanced meal as much as possible.

“Mommy! Can I see you use your katanas?” Karui was surprised by the request but nodded. Despite it being peacetime she still tried to keep her skills up. Using them so freely felt wonderful. Like reacquainting herself with an old friend. In the Leaf, there weren’t too many Shinobi who handled ninja blades with the proficiency she did.

ChouChou watched her mom with wide, bright eyes. She looked so graceful and beautiful while she wielded her weapons. The blades glittering in the light while her hair flowed freely in waves behind her. She was light on her feet that it looked like she was floating through it. She moved like a dancer. ChouChou couldn’t help but clap when she had finished.

“Mommy! That was amazing!” Karui smiled and kissed her forehead softly.

“Thank you, baby.”

“Do you think that I’ll ever be able to move like that?”

“You’re my daughter so of course, you will. The kunoichi from the Cloud are all powerful warriors. You carry their legacy within you. You have your daddy’s strength and my skills. It’s a strong combination. Right hun?”

ChouChou looked behind surprised to see her dad standing there with a smile.

“Daddy!” ChouChou ran and jumped into her father's arms. He placed an affectionate hand on her head.

“Your Mommy is amazing isn’t she?”

“She really is daddy. It’s no wonder you love her a lot!”

“You’re right my little bug. She’s given us both a lot of gifts. We’re very lucky that she’s ours.” Karui couldn’t help the blush. After so long he still made her feel like a blushing schoolgirl.

Of all the things that the universe could have given her, her husband and daughter would always remain her greatest gifts.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/21088739/chapters/50174720

#sai x ino #inojin #shikamaru x temari #shikadai #chouji x karui #chouchou #saiino #shikatema #choukarui #inoshikacho

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eventuallyfall-blog · 8 years ago

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13 Envelopes

pairing: reader x lin summary: After graduating from UCLA, you would find any way to escape having to go back home. Lucky for you, your Aunt Jasmine Cephas Jones had organized a way for you to have the adventure you’d never gotten to have before. You’re ready to take her up on the offer. warnings: rpf (naturally), mentions of teen pregnancy, swearing a/n: i was tryin to post this august 6th but then i had a hard time writing thru it bc i made myself sad with my writing because that’s a thing i do i guess. anyway let’s get crackin tagged: @defenestrate-yourself-please@justabravelittleblogger @decayingtrash @andschuyler @linslovelylocks @sarahgurl09 @artofnerdom

(part 1) (part 2) (part 3) (part 4)

Ever since the date, you had been utterly giddy. You were suddenly extremely grateful that your Aunt Jasmine had decided to shove you to asking someone out. It was like you were walking on air, actually. “So wait, he actually kissed you?” “For the last time, Pippa, yes,” you said with the widest grin as you remembered the feel of his lips against yours. It'd been ages since you and Pippa had gotten to hang out. Right now, Pippa and you had made tea and decided to catch up on the couch. “I mean, you knew Aunt Jas was going to make me ask someone out, though? You couldn't have warned me?”

Pippa laughed, shaking her head. “Your aunt really wanted everything in the envelopes to be a surprise so no, I couldn't,” she said with a grin. “Besides, I only knew the contents of that one letter because she mentioned that you were still single and she felt that you should be going on dates and what not. I think she did you a favor. From the way you and Lin were acting, the two of you would've danced around asking the other out until someone else asked you out and end up married to someone else. Which is what happened with this other girl he liked a few years back.”

“Really,” you said with your eyebrows going up. “So then it sounds like Lin also owes Jas a thank you and not just me.”

“Oh for sure,” she said with a giggle, leaning back with a bright grin. “You're a catch! I mean, you are so pretty and smart. Exactly his type, funnily enough. Which it turns out that's also Michael's type.”

“Who the fuck is Michael?”

“The guy the girl he liked ended up with,” she explained as she finished off her tea and stood up. “Lin was bitter about it for a while there, but I think he's getting over it. Oh, you should open the next letter. I wanna know what letter five is all about.”

Envelope five had a small drawing of a girl that looked vaguely familiar. It took a minute before you realized it was your mother, age twenty-seven. She hadn't looked that vibrant and glowing in years. It was like life had started to suck the life out of her. You didn't realize that Aunt Jasmine remembered how your mom looked back then. Normally you discarded the envelopes but you set this one down with the intention of keeping it.

Honey bun,

Sometimes life doesn't have direction. When I was born, Anya was already fifteen and a full fledged teenager. Our dad and her mom had split ages ago – shortly after Anya was born, actually. Dad was only nineteen when your mom was born and her mother was only eighteen. Instead of taking responsibility and staying with dad, she split. He knew that relationships when you're a teenager aren't meant to last. He was worried that Anya's relationship wouldn't make it despite your existence and that she'd be left with little to nothing. Honestly, what I admire most about Anya and your father is that they still went to college and took care of you. It wasn't an easy task and I'm not sure you remember them being on food stamps and living in a crappy married couples dorm in Stanford.

They made it work, though. Stanford saw the happiest years of your parents' lives because there's something about being in school that made it easier. They had a roof over their heads, they had a schedule. It all fell apart upon graduation – which you probably don't remember well. I barely remember it myself. The only reason I know is because my dad told me about how he'd been surprised how steady their relationship was while he and my mom were raising me. I think when I turned ten is when your mother decided she didn't want to see him and my mom together anymore but I still wanted to see you and her. So I started visiting California on my own on dad's dime with his blessing.

Relationships are a tricky thing to explain, actually. It's the sort of thing that can feel like you're spinning rapidly out of control and it's easy to ditch them once it starts getting too serious. When you've got dreams, it's easy to see love itself as a baggage. That's how I once thought of love, anyway. Neither your mother nor I had any real model of healthy relationships. I think it might be why your mother is so defensive of her relationship with your father. It's... real. Or real enough, really. I think once you've spent twenty-eight years with someone, it becomes harder to say this isn't working. You don't want to throw away all those years together. Especially when you can say you'd been together since high school.

See, your mother doesn't hear criticism well, especially since dad's been trying to get her out of that relationship since before you were born. Which is the only reason I was okay with the relationship, I think. It made me an aunt to you. You're the greatest thing to come out of that relationship. And honestly, this is why envelope five is a wild card – you get to decide what you need to do. You can open envelope six whenever you feel it's appropriate.

All my love, Aunt Jas

There was no answers to this. You couldn't tell what the appropriate time to open envelope six was. For some reason, right after reading this letter didn't feel like the right time. You tucked away the sixth envelope in your purse, figuring that the perfect moment would hit you eventually. You already knew your family had been a bit screwed up – it was obvious to anyone. Between the fact your aunt was barely two years older than and you being the product of a teenage pregnancy and your mother somehow also being the product of teenage pregnancy (you wondered what the odds on that happening were), there was too much to your family that you didn't want to go into. In fact, when Lin specifically asked about your family during the date you went out of your way to focus exclusively on Aunt Jasmine. It had just been easier at the time.

You talked about how before Aunt Jasmine turned 15, she had stayed in your room during summer vacations and how when she was 15 she started staying in fancy hotels under her dad's name. How she was the one who helped you picked out your homecoming dress freshman and sophomore year and how lost you felt when she wasn't there to help after. You danced around why she stopped showing up and merely mentioned being surprised at the contact she'd made two years ago. For some reason, it felt like luck that you hadn't opened the envelopes until now. While you were certain this trip would've been just as amazing two years ago, it felt like a crescendo in your life. Like this was the drum roll, leading up to something important that you've yet to figure out.

Maybe you were investing too much stock in these envelopes your aunt gave you. Maybe the goal wasn't to figure your life out. After all, you'd only been 22 when the letters arrived. There's no way it was as simple as “help you figure your life out”. Whatever was going on, you figured a breather from the envelopes would help you sort out what you needed to do next. What you needed was something to clear your head. Some space away from them, something that would take you away from the right now.

The answer of what you needed to do next was see the Museum of Natural History. You weren't certain how your mind connected the need for distance from the now to history. Perhaps it had been on your mind a lot due to your recent conversations with Lin. He texted you almost every day now, telling you how he couldn't wait to see you again. It was nice to see his name flash across your phone screen with your heart racing every time, even as you were swiping on the blood red of Vampira from Kat Von D. You texted Lin, asking him to send your aunt to meet you at the Museum of Natural History. A slight grin appeared on your face as he texted back with your aunt's number and that he'll let her know you'd like to see her.

It was then that you realized that you never told your aunt that you had bought a laptop and phone in New York City. You supposed you should probably let her know that you had done that and explain that you figured that you'd be staying in New York City for a while. It'd already been almost a month, you realized with a start. How long where you going to stay? You weren't even halfway through the envelopes and it's already taken almost a month to get through them. It was then that you started to calculate out how long it'd been. You arrived June 20 – a week after graduating. It was now July 18 – in two days it would be a month. Suddenly you wondered if you should be getting through the envelopes faster.

You were grinning when your aunt showed up. Here was the thing about your aunt: you always felt like she was so much prettier than you. It was just since the two of you were so close in age it seemed like you and her should have bloomed at the same time. However, when Jasmine bloomed, you... didn't. Jasmine got the attention from the boys and at one point over the summer, a crush you'd had all summer long ended up trying to get your aunt Jasmine's number. It was demoralizing to have your aunt get the guy you liked, to say the least. That was when your self confidence was definitely at its lowest.

Right now was no exception either. It was why you were still surprised that Lin showed an interest in you over your aunt – who was older (and a gap between 35 and 26 was far less insane than the gap between 35 and 24), with lighter skin and with far more control over her own curls, and far more knowledgeable about theater than you. Looking at her now, it was hard to believe this was the same woman you had once shared baths with at age five and harder still to believe that someone would actually chose you over her. She threw her arms around you, a big grin on her face. “Let's go look at some dinosaur bones.”

Dinosaur bones wasn't exactly what you had in mind – you'd really wanted to see the planetarium. You figured maybe there was a chance the two of you could do both. Some time to see dinosaurs and stars. While logically, you knew museums like this existed all over the country something about New York City made it feel different. It was that feeling again; that feeling that felt like you'd been struck by lightening and were unable to put the flames out. “And maybe some stars later?”

Jasmine laughed slightly – you weren't sure if it was because of your predictability or because she was laughing at you. You took the favorable option. “You want to look at the observatory, huh?”

And for a while, everything went fine. Aunt Jasmine starting telling you the stories of backstage life, with you clinging to every word and realizing you'd never met the rest of the cast beyond Phillipa and Lin. “So when am I going to get to meet everyone else?”

“In due time, honey bun,” Jasmine said as she read the plaque for the giant set of bones that was in front of the two of you. “Pippa says you're the best roommate she's ever had. She comes home and you've already cleaned everything and have a hot meal waiting for her. Sounds incredibly domestic.”

You supposed domestic was the right word for it. You found yourself settling more into Pippa's apartment over the past month. A week after arriving, you'd hung your clothes up in the closet. Two weeks after, you starting writing your own events you needed to get to on the big whiteboard that Pippa had hanging up in the kitchen. Three days ago, you paid for groceries in the place after you'd run out of chicken. You hadn't realized how quickly you slipped into treating Pippa's apartment like “home”. “I suppose it's just cause I can't do anything without a clear head. Cleaning helps.”

“You'd always been a neat freak,” Jasmine said with a sly grin on her face. “Whenever you'd come over to my hotel, you'd yell at me over leaving my clothes everywhere. Renee and Pip do the same thing in the dressing room. Well not yell... more like sternly talk to me about how it's a shared space.”

Jasmine was right – she'd always been messy and you'd always been the clean one. Cleaning up after everyone else's mess, the same way you always had chosen the clear cut path rather than taking risks. It had been the biggest opposition between you and aunt Jasmine. She was messy, a risk taker, the one who broke the rules. You were clean, the steady course, the one who abode by every rule. Even your notebooks told this – clean, neat, elegant notes. Everything laid out neatly in stark contrast with Jasmine. Her lighter but somehow messier. “You probably might need my help,” you teased. “I'm willing to come look at previews any time.”

“Oh no you don't,” she said, her eyes going wide. “Pippa insists you need to get the full experience opening night. Star studded VIP treatment and all that. I kinda agree with her.”

You shrugged, figuring at least you could find out how much 128 gigabytes really could store when it came to pictures. It did go against the spirit of the trip, but since it was starting to feel more like it'd be months before you returned back to reality... you wanted a way to call your mother is what you told yourself. You missed home. But you knew that it was all because you wanted a way to keep in contact with those you'd met in New York City. “Pippa likes to be bossy, doesn't she?”

And then your phone went off. The loud ringing meant it was probably Lin – either texting you or calling you. And then you saw Jasmine's face – you'd never seen that look on her face. Her lips had parted and her eyes just had a hint of something that looked... like hurt. The only time you'd ever seen her seem hurt is when your mother had told her that she was too young to understand her. “You brought your phone? On the trip where I said don’t bring your phone?”

Logically, you knew you didn't have to explain yourself if you had brought your phone with you. You knew that you were an adult and she couldn't prevent you from. But you didn't like how vulnerable Jasmine looked. Your aunt wasn't a vulnerable person. So instead of the 'so what if I had' answer on the tip of your tongue, you said instead, “No, I bought a new phone. The instructions didn't say I couldn't buy new electronics.”

“It was... implied,” Jasmine said, briskly starting to walk away from you. And your heart sank. You chased after her, calling her name until she spun around, clearly upset. “You just... you violated the spirit of the adventure!”

You sputtered in response. “The spirit of the adventure,” you said, seeing red. “We haven't spoken in almost ten years! And the first thing I get from you is ditch your phone and your entire life in Los Angeles to come hang out in New York City! We were like sisters growing up but here we are and I had no idea you were making a Broadway debut!”

Jasmine looked hurt by this. “At the time when I sent those, I didn't know I'd be making a debut on Broadway,” she said, folding her arms over her chest and pulling away. You knew that this was probably a point where you could apologize and everything would be fine and the two of you could go off the planetarium but the logic had checked out for the day. “What about you, huh? You took two years to even get around to this! It was supposed to be a graduation gift!”

“Graduation gift,” you said incredulously, shaking your head. “A better graduation gift would have been actually coming to my commencement ceremony. But you weren't there. You had... three separate tries at now! High school graduation – where were you? Not there! Bachelor's? Not there! Masters? Nope! I had to find out through your cast mates that you even knew that I had gotten my masters!” You paused, realizing by the look on her face that you had touched a nerve. “I'm flying back to LA. Tonight.”

And you stormed off with aunt Jasmine making no attempt to stop you from leaving. Yet when you arrived at Pippa's apartment with the intent of going back to Los Angeles and forgetting about the rest of the envelopes, your phone buzzed yet again. Lin's name flashed across your phone and the ticket Pippa promised to get you for the premiere of Hamilton caught your eye – sitting right there on the bedside table. The silver dress you planned to wear to the event was hanging on the door. And then the realization came that you couldn't leave. You had to see this thing through. So there was only one option you could really feel comfortable with: you dialed a number on your phone and through your tears, you managed to get out, “Can we hang out later?”

#reader x lin #reader x lmm #lin manuel imagine #lin miranda imagine #poc reader #it's More Obviously stated here lmao #mywriting #13envelopes

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cutiecrates · 5 years ago

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Cutie Reviews: Tokyo Treat June 19

After being so annoyed with May’s Tokyo Treat I approached this one with an open mind. And I’ve decided this will be the final time I mention this, I’ve been considering dropping the individual item rating system. I‘ll still give my opinions but I don’t feel like those are necessary anymore.

Also, my mom’s surgery was scheduled for today and I wasn’t really in the mood to write this- but it’s giving me distraction.

“Hey there TokyoTreat family! We’ve got an exciting mix of delicious snacks for you guys this month; they’re perfect for a springtime hanami picnic! Hanami picnics are super popular in Japan in the springtime when the cherry blossoms are blooming! Pack your picnic basket and get ready for some sweet floral flavors, crispy crunchy textures, and a great selection of picnic worthy snacks! Are you all packed and ready to go on a picnc? We can’t wait for you to enjoy this month’s snacks in the Hanami Picnic box!“

Lucky Treat

As you can see, this Lucky Treat is heavily inspired by the pastel hues of a dreamy Kirby, with some candies and an adorable Miku plush thrown in for good measure.

June’s Contest Prize

Meanwhile, we also have some cute Penguin baby plushies for the grand-prize winner, and the runner-ups received a can of beer drops from Sappuro.

(Incidentally, the booklet made a mistake and had the information from May’s prize!)

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Okay, so as you guys know I don’t like to re-review items I’ve already had. There is a few of them this time, including the Candy Apple DIY Kit. If you never tried it I’d highly recommend it, it’s very tasty.

Lipton Sakura Tea

(See pic on top of post!)

Our first official item I will be reviewing is this fun pack of Lipton tea inspired by sakura/cherry blossoms. This is perfect for a Hanami (which means “cherry blossom viewing”) picnic; or just to partner up with the snacks in the box!

This was the very first non-cold/refrigerated drink we’ve gotten in this box, so that was pretty interesting to me. The downside was that I hate tea. The very few exceptions is if it’s a super-lemony/fruity iced tea (I think the one I like actually is by Lipton too), or if it’s mint.

I didn’t know what to expect with this tea because of this, and after I let it sit around for sometime it pretty much tasted like bland, bitter water and smelled like average tea. BUT, after adding some sugar, I found it to be pleasant. It tasted like a light sweetened tea with a hint of cherry, and you could pick up the cherry blossom scent a bit. I was pretty surprised, I didn’t hate this!

Sakura Shrimp Chips & Anpanman Soft Corn

By Calbee we have a big bag of Shrimp Chips- but not just any shrimp chips, these ones have an additional hit of Sakura flavoring. Each bag has 250 calories. The booklet describes this as floral notes, but I honestly don’t taste it. To me it tastes like normal shrimp chips, maybe a tiny bit less shrimpy than usual?

I don’t really like shrimp so I’m not a big fan of these, but I do like their light and crispy texture. My mom loves shrimp and shrimp snacks though, so I think I’ll surprise her with some tomorrow, when she can have solids again.

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The next item is one we’ve already had before, Anpanman themed corn rings by Tohato. I think they were also in a 4-pack that time too. As much as the 4-packs annoy me, if it’s something I like I’m a little more understanding :P These are even lighter in crispy texture than the shrimp chips, and each bag is only 40 calories. They have a vegetable flavor and a hint of salt.

I like them, but I will say that they aren’t extremely flavorful. It’s on the lighter side, so I can’t see them appealing to everyone, but the bag is pretty full and I think this could be a nice, healthier alternative to some other similar snacks. I also feel like this would be a good snack for children.

Abekko Ramune Candies & Yaokin Kinako Mochi

For a quick and cute little treat, we have these Ramune Candies by Abekko. They come in a variety of fun fruity flavors, each with a colorful package an adorable little animal interaction with the fruit the candy is based on. I got the melon candies, but there is also Strawberry, Grape, Lemon, and what looks like a Tangerine or Orange. This pack is 21.9 calories (but I assume they’re all the same).

For those unfamiliar, Ramune Candies are little candies made from pressed powdered ingredients, and when eaten/wet they dissolve in your mouth. In the mouth, they only take about 5 seconds to dissolve.

If you like melon then these are tasty :3 they’re sweet and have a very light sour note. I kind of wish we had one of each pouch to try because while I do like melon, I think I would have liked essentially every other flavor even more!

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Now, if you read my previous TokyoTreat review you might recognize this item; it’s another baby mochi duo pack! This time they are the classic soybean flavor, a flavor I recognize as one of the ones the Chinese cafe at my mall serves.

Because of how it resembles the ones from the mall, I assumed it would taste like them and other soybean flavored snacks I tried; they’re usually a toasty, slightly peanut buttery flavor with a hint of sweetness. For most part these are spot-on, but there was something different... although I’m not sure what. I did like them though, and if you never tried mochi and can find these, I’d recommend them- just make sure you chew them carefully!

Sumikko Gurashi Card and Seal Gum

I’ve mentioned this before, but this is one of those generic several series types of snacks/candies, by that I mean it’s common to find them in a big variety of characters/series. However, I usually only seen Sanrio products like this, so this might be an exclusive item. This is 11 calories.

Anyway, besides the adorable standing card, we also receive a sheet of cute little pastel stickers, and a gum sheet in Soda flavor. As soon as I opened the pack my nose was assaulted by the scent, in a GREAT way! I really like the soda/ramune flavor, which I describe as being sweet and cooling, and this didn’t fail to please.

Sadly, the flavor only lasted for about 1 minute, then over the next minute it lessened and eventually vanished. It didn’t have much bubble making capabilities, so I can’t say it’s very impressive.

Ramue Energy Drink Bubble Candy

I mentioned this before but I don’t like energy drinks. I never tried one but because of all the health risks, I’m kind of afraid of them <3< As far as I know this is only flavored like an energy drink, and it comes in the form of a polished ramune candy. You can really see the difference between it and the melon ones above. What makes these fun is that they’re also foamy, so the more wet they get the more they foam up, like an actual carbonated drink!

The entire bag calorie count is 93 and it is resealable, which is good because you get tons of these!

But... for me it’s bad, because I didn’t like them. I was fair, I gave them a chance, but the flavor wasn’t appealing to me. I can’t even describe it... other than to say the smell reminds me of my old dentist office, again.

Sakura Mochi Cookies & Crushed Strawberry Pocky

Usually we get a lot of cherry blossom/sakura candies and snacks this time of year, so I was surprised by how little we got this time. As such, I was excited to see these unique cookies by Furuta, which are flavored after sakura and filled with what I assume is bean paste, but I’m not 100% sure. They are inspired by a popular sakura mochi snack, which is wrapped in edible leaf (you can see a pic of it on the package).

Each cookie is 46 calories, and they are described as moist in the booklet. They’re super-crumbly, but I can’t say they are moist, my mouth was pretty dry after eating one. The unique flavor is a hit or miss, but I like them; with the exception of the crumbly mess...

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Now here’s something we haven’t seen in a long time! Pocky was sem-popular for a while in this box like a year or so ago, but as of late I think the kit-kats we’ve been getting ended up replacing them. Speaking of, we didn’t get any this month (I think it’s because May’s Kit-Kats were sakura flavored), and I was feeling kind of good about that. I like kit-kats but I was getting tired of them...

Anyway, this is a Crushed Strawberry pocky, so it’s different from the normal ho-hum strawberry pocky. What makes this box special is that not only are the sticks an interesting bittersweet chocolate flavor, but the strawberry chocolate cream has little itty-bitty chunks of strawberry in it! Each pack (there is 2) is 142 calories.

They taste pretty similar to normal strawberry pocky but with a very lightly-flavored chocolate stick and slightly stronger strawberry flavor. I like them, but I don’t have too much of an opinion on them.

Also, as a side note, it’s very cute; they have a To and From section on the back of the box where you can leave a message to someone special~

Nacho Cheese Pringles & Yaokin Porickey German Potato Sticks

Now, I knew they had Pringles in Japan, but having never actually seen them before (I believe we’ve only gotten the Japanese equivalent brand Chip Star until this point) I thought this was pretty interesting, even though this isn’t a unique or new flavor. But nacho cheese is still delicious, and who doesn’t like Pringles?

This small pack of Pringles is 284 calories, which seems like a lot but you’re not going to eat them in one sitting or on your own... unless you’re my mom, she loves these types of chips too :P

These taste nothing like the nacho cheese most American people are familiar with, but I heard Mexican food is pretty rare or uncommon in Japan. They remind me of cheddar cheese chips I’ve tried, and if you like cheese you’ll probably like them. I find them decent, but not addictive or interesting. If you expect nacho cheese it’s not going to taste like that, but the booklet suggests eating these with nacho cheese to increase the experience.

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Perfect for a picnic snack are these Porickey pretzel sticks inspired by a German potato dish. The entire pack is 81 calories.

Okay so... I don’t really have much to say about these. They have very little flavor, but I noticed it seems to increase as you eat more, but it’s still not very impressive. I like the crunchy texture and they’re not bad, but there isn’t very much to them. They feel boring and bland, but at the same time they could compliment various other items, so maybe it’s not that bad?

Nori Potato Stick(?) & Mentaiko Umaibo

Okay, so... I was a bit confused with this next item, I’m not sure if there is a mistake or if I’m clearly missing the flavor note. I thought this would be tasty, but I was sadly mistaking. Nori is seaweed, which I really like, but this potato stick... is very bitter and kinda nasty >3< I didn’t like it at all. The seaweed flavoring is like nothing I ever tried.

But if you do like the flavor it’s only 28 calories, so it would be an acceptable snack if you’re trying to cut down...

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Our last item is an Umaibo :D my most favorite thing in these boxes, especially if it’s Corn Potage! That is the best!

This flavor is Mentaiko, which I believe is Mayonnaise fish eggs, I could be a little off. I’ve already tried this one and I have to tell you, I don’t like fish but I’ve come to enjoy this one a little. It’s not in my top 5 Umaibo list or anything, but it’s not bad. I can’t really describe the flavor, but it has a hint of saltiness and spice that is pretty tasty.

♥ Cutie Ranking ♥

Content - 4 out of 5. There was a couple repeats but they were items I enjoyed enough to not be displeased by it; but there was also 1 item I didn’t like at all.

Quality - 3 out of 5. I’m noting this because while nothing was tasting stale or old by the time I opened them, I did notice a handful of items were smashed/broken in the packaging (which was in mint condition meanwhile), and in the case of the Pocky, it was broken and melted together.

Theme - 4.5 out of 5. Now keep in mind, the theme wasn’t specifically cherry blossoms, but the picnic aspect of Hanami. But in saying that, I kind of wish there was a little more sakura featured in this box, or maybe some more traditional items to go with the sakura theme. Like for Hanami you would expect sakura, green tea, stuff like that, not nacho cheese and potatoes. BUT I do think all of these items are picnic acceptable.

Total Rank: 9 out of 10. Compared to the previous box I really like this one! I don’t have much to say about it, but I would recommend this one- especially if you’re looking for easy to carry snacks, which was the primary goal of this one.

♥ Cutie’s Scale of Yummy ♥

1. Ramune Candies - I’m not actually sure if these were my favorite of the box, but I really liked them.

2. Anpanman Soft Corn - Light and crisp with a small flavor, but they’re still delicious to me.

3. Sakura Tea - I really didn’t think I would like this, so I was pleasantly surprised.

4. Kinako Mochi Cake - These are nice if you like Mochi and can’t really buy a bigger sized one, or if you never tried them before and always wanted to. The flavor was slightly different than what I’m used to but still yummy~

5. Sumikko Gurashi Gum and Seal - I like Sumikko Gurashi, what can I say. The gum tasted good for the minute it lasted.

6. Mentaiko Umaibo - Again it’s not the best Umaibo, but it’s tasty ;3

7. Sakura Mochi Cookies - Their taste is unique, I’d give them a 70 out of 100 in terms of taste. I don’t love them, but I like them.

8. Crushed Strawberry Pocky - Kinda like the pringles, they’re not very different or unusual, I’ve had tons of strawberry pocky. But they remain my favorite~

9. German Potato Sticks - Despite their little to no flavor, I can’t say I hate them.

10. Shrimp Chips - These aren’t bad but I usually don’t enjoy them too much. I know my mom will be happy with that though, and since she’ll be hospitalized for a few days I think they’ll cheer her up x3

11. Nacho Cheese Pringles - They taste good, but there wasn’t really anything unique about them to me.

12. Ramune Energy Drink Candy - Just slightly better than that potato thing. I still didn’t like them though.

13. Potato Stick thing - Horrible DX

#cutie reviews #tokyotreat

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alciavikkander · 8 years ago

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just like honey | peyton x jake

this was three-quarters for @missgoalie75‘s birthday today and one-quarter because i really wanted to write jake/peyton interactions and it made it easier with a deadline to get it done by lmao.

set in a roundabout s1/s2 setting where peyton works at the record shop in town and jake can’t help but visit her everyday. this is before they actually get to know each other.

disclaimer: title is from The Jesus and Mary Chain song by the same name. some dialogue is taken from the show.

word count: ~2k

Some perks about working in the town’s record store were three things, in this order: free merchandise, big named bands mysteriously always seemed to roll through this tiny podunk town, and one of the more attractive basketball players from Tree Hill High School stopped in every single day.

And she’s definitely not complaining.

It started out small, really. Usually during her late afternoon shifts after cheerleading practice, he’d come in and roam the aisles, catch her eye a time or two, and no matter how much she liked to believe she was a badass, she blushed.

(One time he came in, his hair mussed up from the wind and his long plaid shirt lazily untucked, and started maddeningly searching for something, but she realizes with a soft laugh that he kept looking up at her while searching through the seldom used bluegrass section. He must have heard her cause he left quickly without a word.)

She knows him by association – he is part of the team that she cheers for after all – but for the most part she only knows his name is Jake and his jersey number also happens to be her lucky number: 7.

Not that she believes in luck. No, not at all.

-/-

His visits started getting longer and longer. He used to wander around for as little as a couple of minutes, and she always wondered why he went out of his way to stop in and never buy anything, but then he started staying 15 minutes, then 20.

They talked to each other a few times, small things in passing that didn’t take as much courage as actually getting to know each other. She would have to catch herself on the edge of prolonged eye contact or rubbing her fingers against his as she passed a record back to him.

She didn’t know if she could take it if she was simply reading too much into all of this.

-/-

About 7 months into working there, Peyton was given a raise and more time to help organize the store – new albums in the front and artwork on the walls – and she couldn’t help but jump at the chance. She was even able to create her own piece for the back wall next to the local bands section.

Perched on the top of a mid size ladder, she was bent over slightly making sure the canvas sat level on the protruding nail when she heard a scuffle behind her. “Nice view.”

She takes her time in turning around, part afraid she’ll fall if she whips too fast. “Thanks,” she says, the other part of her knowing he didn’t mean the artwork. She steps down off the ladder with a small smirk on her face and the ending of a husky giggle on her lips.

He stuffs his hands in his jean pockets, the fabric of his jacket bunching up around his shoulders as he moves closer to her as she puts the ladder away. “Didn’t see you at practice today.”

Crossing her arms, her eyebrows raise in surprise. “Didn’t think you noticed.”

“Oh,” he quirks an eyebrow, face turned towards her as they walk down the aisle between punk and blues. He stops to rummage through a bin, his nimble fingers moving quickly. He must play an instrument, she thinks, before shaking her head to get rid of a particularly heart racing image. “I always notice.”

Her mouth drops slightly, hanging open like a fish. “Um, well,” she coughs in embarrassment as he just turns back to her stares with soft eyes and a cute smile. “Uh, yeah, I talked to Brooke and Whitey about missing. It’s like my first absence in 6 months? Plus, I’m pretty sure they need me more here than they do there.”

His mouth stretching sideways into a grimace, he sucks air through his teeth. “Considering how much Brooke yelled today, I wouldn’t say that’s true.”

“Brooke always yells,” Peyton says, making her way back to the checkout counter.

Her eyes follow him as he moves to stand in front of her.

“True, but this time she got even louder than Whitey on game day. So…you know, bad.”

She hangs her head as she sighs. “Agh, crap.”

“Eh, she’ll get over it,” he says, waving his hand nonchalantly in air. “Anyways, I was here to, um, get that record you recommended the other day.”

She wracks her brain quickly, confused before it comes to her. “Oh! Psychocandy.” He stares uselessly. “The Jesus and Mary Chain?” He’s obviously lost, but he looks scared at the name. She laughs understandably. “Yeah, I know, but I’m on a huge 80’s post-punk kick right now. So, just…trust me.”

She runs to get the album, tucked out of order between Sonic Youth and Dinosaur Jr. She reminds herself to recommend those to him later, too. They’re both silent while he pays, the rustling of the thin black plastic bag the only noise being made. As he leaves, his foot propping open the door, she says, “Oh, and it just so happens that the best track is #1.”

-/-

She put her number in the bag that day before he left, quickly scribbled on the back of one of store’s business cards. ‘Call me at my real number,’ it said, a stark underline separating the words from the numbers.

They’ve been talking for several weeks now, him coming by the store asking for new recommendations – which she’ll give with a kiss to his cheek – or texting her that she looked good at practice that day. A smile never fails to grace her face.

She comes to learn he’s got a daughter, a 2 year old with wisps of blonde hair and his brown eyes if she goes by the badly taken picture he showed her. He said he couldn’t afford professional photos, so he tried his best with a disposal camera and a stuffed animal to get her to laugh.

One time he sent a picture of Jenny while she was at work. She’s napping with her mouth open and her bunny rabbit’s ears are stuck in her mouth and it causes something akin to love to bloom in her belly and she laughs so hard she blows soda out of her nose as her boss looks on with a funny look on his face.

-/-

Peyton knows whisperings of the dirty details of how Jenny came to be, but she’s not willing to put him in that position just yet. She knows how it feels to have things come out that you’re not ready to confront.

For now they talk, and they flirt, and they lean on one another when life gets tough but nothing more.

-/-

Brooke can tell right away that she’s hiding something, and she’s right. Peyton hasn’t exactly jumped at the chance to tell her best friend about this new slow moving development.

“Why didn’t you tell me?!” Maybe because I didn’t want to, she thinks, the rustling of their pom poms mixes in with the cheers of the crowd and the squeaks of the players sneakers on the court.

“I don’t know, I just haven’t thought about it.”

“It’s so obvious he likes you, like he stares at you during practice all the time.”

She catches Jake’s eye as he sits on the bench waiting his turn to play. He smiles softly with that look in his eyes and she can feel the tell-tale sign of goosebumps rising up along her arms.

Her friend continues to prattle on beside her as they raise their hands in the air and twist. “Lucas said he was going on about some record he got the other day.” Brooke turns to her with an eyebrow raised. “You wouldn’t happen to know anything about that, would you?”

Peyton rolls her eyes, her mouth pursing into a barely contained smile.

“Oh my god, you do! You gave it to him!”

“No, he bought it. Big difference.”

“Whatever. At least now we know there’s a reason behind his lovesick puppy dog eyes. Look at you using her musical wiles to get him all riled up.”

They clap their hands, shouting a quick cheer when Nathan scores yet another shot. “We’re just friends.”

Brooke shimmies her shoulders, a glint in her eyes. “For now.”

She looks back to Jake as the buzzer sounds, signaling the end of the game. He gets lost in the crowd as everyone screams in victory.

-/-

The following Thursday he comes by at the end of her shift, five minutes to spare, holding a baby carrier by his side. Jenny coo’s when she sees Peyton, and she has admits it’s the cutest thing she’s ever seen.

She’s counting the till as he sets the carrier on the counter and rests against it. “Sorry, I’m late. We,” he says, reaching forward to rub Jenny’s cheek softly, “had a doctor’s appointment and it went longer than I thought it would.”

Laughing, she places the extra money in the zippered bag to put in the safe in the back. “Well, considering you come in unannounced almost every day and we don’t actually make plans, I think you’re good.” She shuts down the register, making sure it’s locked. “Is she okay?”

“Oh, yeah, she’s fine. Just a check up.”

“Good,” she says, wrapping her leather jacket around her shoulders and grabbing the money bag. “Um, give me a second and we can go? I just have to put this is in the back.”

Ten minutes later they’re walking down the sidewalk after stopping for coffees at the kiosk on the corner that seemingly never closes. Jenny is still in her carrier between them, fast asleep.

They come to a stop next to her car that was parked down the street. Peyton rests her ass against the passenger side door.

“Thank you, you know, for walking me to my car.” He smiles and nods in appreciation. “And for the work visits. They’ve kind of been the best parts of my day.”

“Really?”

She laughs, bringing the cup to her lips to take a sip. “Yeah, I mean Brooke comes too, of course, but it’s mainly to scream about something new in her life and then leave. You know, as one does.”

Jake looks down at his feet, gently hoisting the carrier up higher on his arm so as not to wake Jenny. “About that, I, uh, I’m gonna have to stop coming by.”

Her smile vanishes instantly. “Wait, what?” She stands up off the car, back rigid. “Why?”

He looks guilty. “It’s just, you know, we’ve gotten so close and–”

Eyebrows scrunching in annoyance, she interrupts him. “Okay, you know what–”

“And I want to ask you out. Friday night.”

She stops her ranting, looking at him, expressionless, before a smile tugs at her. “That’s tomorrow.”

“Like I said earlier, I was a little late.” Shrugging, he steps closer, the tips of their shoes barely touching. “I talked to my parents, they agreed to watch Jenny. “

Peyton whispers, “Oh.” Licking her lips, she nods slowly before raising her eyebrows. “Kinda presumptuous, don’t you think?”

“I don’t know, you tell me.”

She laughs, smile wide at how quickly things changed. He leans in closer, tucking her hair behind her ear. A rebellious curl escapes and rest at the corner of her eye.

“By the way,” he lowers his voice to a whisper, “you smell insanely good tonight.”

Her heart skips a beat as she looks down, embarrassed. He backs away, a small smirk on his face before saying, “See you tomorrow.”

“Bye,” she says, staring after him.

This is all new for her, and it scares her, but she’s learning to live with that fear.

And he seems like the perfect person to do that with.

#jake x peyton #jeyton fic #one tree hill #missgoalie75 #m: fic #omfg this came out so much easier than my literati fest fic i'm working on #but i really wanted to write them i miss them so much #i hope you love it kris~#happy sort of 2nd birthday present lol

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icesis · 8 years ago

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A Trip of a Life Time

It has always been a life long dream of mine to visit Japan. This year, that finally happened. From March 23-April 2nd, I had made my way to and through Japan.

So I would like to walk you through my trip and what happened!

On March 23rd 2017, we left our house around 2:15am to arrive at the air port around 3am. The weather was terrible, we were having snow and ice at the time. Our travelling companion arrived around 3:45 am. We checked his bag, and headed through security around 4am.

Funnily enough, my great aunt was travelling on the same plane as us to Toronto, and we met up for a few minutes before boarding the plane.

We boarded our flight around 6:10am (on time!) for our departure at 6:50am. We were all seated and getting ready to go. Waiting to get de-iced, the maintenance folk thought they saw a leak. This caused a delay of over 2 hours, and we left after 9am when they determined it was just melting snow. During this delay, my spouse and I watched Doctor Strange in its entirety. Finally de-iced, we took flight.

We arrived in the Toronto Pearson Airport around 10am EST (2hours after our flight left Halifax). Many of those on our flight had missed connections and there was a lot of chaos from the delay. Thankfully, it just made our layover shorter.

We were supposed to meet up with my great aunt and her friend for food, however, they were told they had a chance to make their layover and tried to get there. However, once all was done they sadly missed it and couldn’t get out of their section of the airport.

So we ate Pad Thai at Thai Express, and then made our way through security again, and to our terminal. It was pretty uneventful after this, and we boarded our flight to Japan at 1:50pm. Since our flight boarded quickly, we ended up leaving a little bit early at 2:20pm.

During the flight (which was 13 hours), I tried to sleep and watched movies. After awhile, you do get very uncomfortable, but don’t want to move and disturb those around you.I was excited, as the plane had Your Name which I had been wanting to see but hadn’t come out in North America yet. I also watched some episodes of the Big Bang Theory with my spouse. I don’t remember exactly what I ate on this flight, but I do remember really enjoying the chicken meal I had, and of course the best part of my flight was my Cup Noodle! I also watched most of Moana but fell asleep towards the end.

Since my spouse and I only took carry on bags, our moving through the airport and security was very fast and we were ready to go immediately. However, our friend had brought a checked in bag, which caused us a lot of delays with leaving. At the airport, we obtained our pocket wifi from Wifi Ninja and our Suica cards for the train.

We boarded to Monorail, and we were listening for our stop. A kind older Japanese man boarded the train and spent some time talking to us. It was really pleasant experience. We did, however, miss our train stop and had to get off and get back on the train on the other side.

We took in what we could as we boarded our next train towards our apartment we were renting. Once we found our way, we dropped off our goodies and went out to see what we could find.

We grabbed some drinks out of the vending machine, and headed to Lawsons and 7-Eleven to see what we could find. We then headed back to the apartment for the night.

For our second day, we got an early start and headed out. We stopped at McDonalds and decided to try a Mega Muffin (two sausages, cheese, egg, and bacon) which was a delicious greasy mistake.

We walked around Akihabara and Shinjuku. Sadly, we didn’t realize most things didn’t open until later. So we didn’t do too much during this time.

We found our way to pick up our Japan Rail Passes while were out though!

We found tons of vending machines while we were out.

And we found a Square Enix Cafe! Sadly you can’t see how long the line was, but it was definitely a few blocks long.

We later made our way over to Ueno Park and Zoo. Where we saw a lot of animals and cherry blossoms starting to bloom.

We also got to see some great signs!

After this, I was exhausted and we headed home. I slept a long time this night!

The next day, we were just wondering around and taking in the sights. We checked out Taito Games and the Mega Tokyo Pokemon Center. I also tried some various foods, but notably it was some store bought dango!

Because of being so sore, we didn’t do too much else this day. However, we did eat at McDonald’s again and had a Big Mac! It was the most beautiful Big Mac I have ever had.

That brings us to the 27th. This was Disney Day! We visited Tokyo Disneyland which was way more emotional than I thought it would be. I was stunned when I got there. I hadn’t ever been big into going to Disneyland or World, but since it was near us I wanted to go.

I’m not one to be super corny, but it definitely felt magical. It also helped that it always smelled like candy in the park.

Once we left Disneyland, there was a crepe shop outside called Bell’s Crepes... and I knew I had to try one! I even ordered in Japanese!

While we were in Tokyo, I got to meet up with one of the lovely girls I met when she was here in Halifax studying English. She took us to a great restaurant and we had a really good time! I can’t wait until I can see her next. :)

Then it was time to move on. We made our way to Kyoto to meet up with my close friend Yuuka, who I met while she was studying in Halifax. We visited the Fushimi Inari-Taisha shrine, which was beautiful. Those gorgeous torii will stick with me forever.

We ate at some of the vendors outside. We tried a mochi skewer, yakiniku and nikumaki! I think Nikumaki was my favorite. I ate it so fast I forgot to take a picture.

After this, we headed back to Osaka and ate at the restaurant Kappa Zushi.

We then headed to our capsule hotel in Dotonbori. The capsule hotel was beautiful, and outside of a bit of a language barrier, we got checked in and stayed the night.

My friend was busy the next day, so we made our way around to see what we could find. We visited an internet cafe, which was an amazing experience! I wish we had them here. It had a vending machine for hot food, and machine that dispensed free drinks for patrons!

We also played in an Arcade. We played a Dungeon’s and Dragons game together. We then met up with a friend I had made on the app Hello Talk. He took us to this wonderful Tuna restaurant. We ate delicious fried tuna ribs, we tried sushi, and sashimi.

He gave us a beautiful gift each. They were chopsticks with our names and lucky animals.

The next day, we met up with Yuuka again, and she took us to visit Himeji Castle. It was a rainy day, but it was still a lot of fun! We stopped at ate food on the way too!

After this, we did some shopping, and ate at Cafe de Miki. Which is a Hello Kitty themed Cafe!

We then met up with Yuuka’s mother, whom I had the pleasure of meeting. We exchanged gifts and they saw us off on our train to head back to Tokyo.

One of these gifts was this delicious unagi bento box that Himeji is known for.

The next day, we went out on our last adventure for the day. We visited Super Potato where we picked up some games and our traveling companion picked up a Super Famicom.

After this, it was time to get ready to leave. We packed our bags that night and headed to the airport early the next day. Everything went smoothly for us, and we got through quickly. It was sad to come home. I would definitely love to live in Japan one day!

Here is a bit more of Japan that I didn’t know where to squeeze in else where! I met a toilet I hate, and toilets I love while I was there. You have regular toilets, squat toilets and what I like to call super toilets. I love these fully loaded toilets. They have bidets, some have things to dry you, heated seats, and some make noise so others can’t hear what you’re doing!

I also took pictures when I found stores I recognized from home. Some won’t be surprising. However, I was totally surprised to find out Kumon was from Japan! I only ever knew it from here.

That’s all I have for now! I hope you enjoyed my trip through Japan!

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marinette-buginette · 8 years ago

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Serial Killer AU(Part 2)

Well, everybody wanted a sequel so here it is. Honestly, I wasn’t planning on posting this today, but it is a special day.

Happy Birthday @ladyofacat ! You said you liked the au, so here is my gift for you. Best wishes ^^

Marinette barely closed one eye the whole night. When she woke up, she glanced at the clock on her bedside.

7:30

Marinette groaned. She had to get up, she had work dammit. With a grunt, Marinette managed to get out of the bed and drag herself out of the bedroom. Her world was spinning with her. She really needed some coffee to get her through this day. Absently, she wondered how she still managed to use her body properly when it felt like every bone was about to crack under tiredness if that was even a thing. Was her boss going to be angry if she got a little bit late to work? She could come with a nice excuse and… Marinette covered her mouth with a hand to dimish the shriek that just passed her lips at the sight before her.

“Hey, easy, easy. It is just me.” Adrien said, circling the table to approach her, clearly taken aback by her reaction.

“How did you get in here?” she questioned while the memories from last night flooded her memory. He looked at her surprised.

“With the key? You know, same key Alya also has, cause we all have keys from each other apartments in case one of us forgets the oven on and almost burns down a building again” Marinette placed a hand over her chest. Her heart was about to jump out, but she needed to calm down. Right, keys. Adrien looked apologetically at her. “I’m so sorry, Mari. You were so tired lately and overworked, I just wanted to surprise you with breakfast. But I guess I shouldn’t have just come randomly in your house.”

“It’s okay, Adrien.” Marinette said managing to crack a smile, though it must have looked awful on her almost sleepless face. Adrien didn’t seem to notice or care for the matter how much she resembled a zombie. He gave her one of those smiles that seemed to make all the clouds go away and let the sun shine through while the birds sang in harmony.

“The crêpes will be ready in fifteen minutes. I even made your favourite sauce, with strawberries and a little vanilla.”

Marinette nodded. “I’m just going to get ready until then. I’ll be fast.”

Twenty minutes later, Marinette was happily stuffing her face with crêpes. God, she forgot when was the last time she had an actually cooked breakfast. She had been so ridiculously busy lately. Glancing up at Adrien, she couldn’t help but smile at the sight of him chewing on his own food with some strawberry cream dripping from the corners of his mouth. Marinette snorted. This dork was way too cute. Noticing it, Adrien swallowed the bite he was chewing on. Then he put an extremely serious expression on. Marinette raised an eyebrow as he slowly stuck his tongue out. Then, he crossed his eyes fastly managing to make Marinette burst out laughing at the silly expression on his face. For the first time in weeks, she felt content. Until her eyes slid to the clock and saw she had about three minutes to get to work. Well, fuck. She was about to get up and go when Adrien called out her name.

“Marinette.” he rubbed the back of his head. “It’s not my place or anything, but maybe you should call in sick today? You are overworked and you’ll get actually ill if you keep this up. And the dark circles are still visible, even if you are wearing makeup.”

Marinette stopped dead in her tracks. Truth was, she was in no mood to go to work to analyze the same dead end again and again. And while the breakfast had been wonderful, she doubted she had enough energy to carry on through the day. Especially with the events from last night. A shiver run down her spine as she remembered how she took the gift box from last night and shoved it in the freezer. Isn’t like she could get rid of it as fast as she got rid of the other so called gifts. Pulling her phone out she shoots a fast message to Tikki informing her she is sick and she will be absent today. She got an answer pretty fast, telling her about a new body they found, with the heart ripped out. Still no other kind of clue. Marinette gulped, remembering the night before.

I wanted to give you my own.

“All good?“Adrien asked, appearing in front of her. Marinette nodded, trying to ignore the thoughts from last night just a little bit more. “Do you want to Play MS Seven? Or watch some movies?“We could do the random pick thing again.”

“Yeah, ” she said, giving Adrien the most honest smile she could muster. “Sounds like a good idea.”

Marinette had no idea what movie they were watching. She was cuddled against Adrien’s side, on the couch and while, she was enjoying the feeling of relaxation and the shared warmth her mind was far away. Chat Noir was haunting her mind. It couldn’t possibly be Adrien. Paris had over two million people. Adrien wasn’t the only tall, green eyed, blond man. Marinette was surprised she could still remember Chat Noir’s look so well and the profile she made. She couldn’t accuse Adrien of it, not just because of one gesture that unsettled her. She didn’t get enough clues to get a mental analysis or behavior description. Based strictly on physical description, there were similarities, but…

Marinette frowned. Trying to picture Chat Noir without the mask and the cat eyes didn’t work. But trying to picture Adrien in a leather suit, that worked just fine. Marinette’s jaw clenched at the mental imagine. Too damn close. Too alike. No, it couldn’t possibly be. But when a black mask joined the imagine… no!

Adrien wasn’t a murdered. She knew him for so long he never once displayed anything remotely similar to homicidal tendencies. Nothing that could eventually lead to it. Hell, Adrien wasn’t even killing spiders or cockroaches, he simply took them out. He couldn’t kill a man. She glanced up at him. He was focused on the movie, his green eyes glimmering. His eyes were so soft and kind, nothing cat like about them. And Adrien was such a sweetheart. Always there to help without expecting anything back. Without all the snobbish behavior and superiority complex people in the world he grew up in had. Loyal, brave Adrien who was always there for people no matter how close he was to them. Who always tried to cheer them up even if it was a lame joke or pun.

Are you checking meowt?

No! Marinette felt a pain spreading in her chest. Adrien was one of her best friends. The most loyal one. He meant so much to her… he, he. Oh fuck it, she may as well admit after ten years that she was in love with him. She loved him so much. He can’t be a killer. Not him.

Denying won’t help you through the grief. You have to move forward. That’s what they always told the people close to murderers.

“Marinette?” Adrien’s voice broke her line of thoughts. “Marinette, what’s wrong?”

She didn’t answer. She just hid her face in his shirt and sobbed.

“Are you sure you will be okay?” Adrien asked later that evening when he was about to leave.

Marinette nodded, giving him what she hoped was a convincing smile. “I will be good. Thank you for everything today.”

”Marinette.” Adrien was giving her that look that she never could quite. It was simply so… loving. He settled his hands on her shoulders. “If you need more time, to just forget about everything for a while, we can always make a break for London or Amsterdam. Or Venice. Venice is nice in this period of the year and we could spend the whole night in a gondola, under the stars and watch the sunrise. Or we could go to that vineyard where we had been last summer. With the chateau you loved. We may get lucky and see fireflies again and dance in the gardens like we did back in July. Or I could cuddle you to sleep. Here or if you want, at my apartment. I could sing you to sleep and I also have the piano there. I could play your favourite part from Rite of Spring. Anything you wish, princess.”

Marinette did her best to keep from crying again. Without a second thought, she jumped in his arms, hugging him as tight as she could. “You are too good.” she wasn’t sure if she was telling him that or she was trying to convince herself of it.

”There is nothing too good for you Marinette. You deserve everything.” he whispered in her ear.

Marinette didn’t care how much they stayed like that, she didn’t want to let him go. Ever. “Don’t do anything stupid, please.” she requested.

Adrien’s only answer was a kiss on the forehead.

Marinette was sitting on her bed, trying to put her thoughts together. It was all too much to take in, yet nothing was for sure. She almost didn’t hear her phone ringing. With trembling hands, she accepted the call.

”I know you have a sick day.” Tikki’s voice was clear from the other end of the line. “But you have to come right now. We have a clue.”

Marinette must have broken several speed records since the call ended. Slightly out of breath, she made her way towards the victim. The area had been cleared, the only people around wearing the red and black uniforms of their division. The place was a beautiful one, quite romantic too, especially in spring with all the blooming trees and flowers. But now, it had a macabre air, especially with a corpse staring at the lake. Except there was nothing to stare with. The eyesockets were empty, the only thing suggesting they had been there in the first place being the dried blood around the hollows. Tikki pointed to a card in the lap of the victim. Marinette picked it up.

Why stare at any crystal water when I could just get lost in your eyes?

The note fell out of her hand as Marinette’s heart shattered in pieces. She recognized the handwriting.

#miraculous ladybug #adrien x marinette #adrinette #chat noir x marinette #marichat #ladybug x chat noir #ladynoir #my writing #tml

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chicagofoodaffair · 7 years ago

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Tokyo, Japan

I am not sure why, but I had always been drawn to Japan. I originally went on a group tour around part of the country. Initially, I had the philosophy of only going somewhere once, unless I had already finished seeing all that I needed from the world. So far, this is the only place that I made that exception.

My first tour here ended in Tokyo, but I had only spent half a day here and had to leave first thing in the morning back home. Our hotel (Prince Park Tower Hotel or Tokyo Prince Hotel…I couldn’t remember the exact name) was near Tokyo Tower. We were not able to see as much as we wanted in that short period of time.

We booked this trip for a few reasons: It was my husband’s and my fifth anniversary together, and it was a collective birthday present for us (as we both have birthdays in April). Plus, my brother had always wanted to go during cherry blossom season.

Saturday, April 7, 2018 – Arrival

We arrived at Narita Airport on a VERY windy day (as in “first-time-getting-motion-sick-on-a-plane-type-of-windy.”) Clearing immigration and getting our bags didn’t take a lot of time. However, we were planning to get our Tokyo Rail passes at the visitors’ center, and by the time we finished with customs, the desk was closed (missed by 5 minutes, at 8:50pm). It was evening, we were tired, and I didn’t feel like figuring out the rail ticket machine. Besides, the last time I was here, the ride from the hotel to Narita wasn’t that much.

Boy was I wrong!

The charge for the taxi ride from Narita to Ginza, Tokyo, was upwards of $250!!!

Later, I was reminded that we had a shuttle from the hotel that we were at to Narita (oops).

Moral of the story here: Learn from my mistakes and do your research on transportation options before arrival.

Now that we have taken care of our PSA moment, on to the rest of the story!

We arrive at our hotel, Mitsui Garden Hotel Shiodome Italia-gai (2-14-24, Higashi-shimbashi, Minato-ku, Tokyo, 105-0021). It is minutes away from Ginza, Tokyo Tower, Zojo-ji Shrine and the Imperial Gardens. They also provided a free loaner smartphone that guests could use to make and receive calls, as well as for email, GPS and social media services. I mostly used it for GPS to navigate through the city.

We were also next door to a Lawson Station, one of the popular convenience stores – along with 7-Eleven – in the country. What was different about these convenience stores is that they carried more variety of foods, including hot food. It has been the locals’ favorite for fresh, convenient food. They are open 24 hours a day, which helps if a worker has an early 4am start or if they are just getting off of work at 10pm. Also, just like back here, there is one Lawsons’ or 7-Eleven on every other block (at least in Tokyo).

7-Eleven has their own set of ATMs, which I found to be the only ATM that worked for my Chase Card. The only downside is that the minimum amount available for withdrawal is 10,000 JPY (about 100 USD). This is important because not every place accepts credit cards. There are a good number of stores and restaurants that take cash only. This leads to PRO-tip #2: Bring cash.

Sunday, April 8, 2018: Tokyo Station, Sensoji Temple, Akihabara

So, our first stop was to acquire our rail passes (for clarity, the passes for me and my husband – my brother arrived earlier and received his already). Plus, it gave me an opportunity to test run the loaner phone from the hotel.

One of the Stores in Tokyo Station (Looks Familiar, Can’t Put My Finger on It…)

Once we had reached Tokyo Station, we were able to get our Rail Passes (yay!) The station has a number of restaurants in the lower level. Ramen Street is a stretch of restaurants in the basement level. Some will be traditional restaurants where they seat you and serve you. Others had a vending machine where you would put in the money, make a selection of what you want to eat and then it would print out the receipt for you to give your server or the cook. One such place was Rokurinsha on Ramen Street.

Dipping Ramen (with Tonkotsu)

Once we were fed, we continued on our trek. We started at Sensoji Temple (2 Chome-3-1 Asakusa, Taitō, Tokyo 111-0032, Japan). It was pretty crowded for a Sunday. It was a beautiful day though.

The Meiji Temple

The Main Gate

Nearby Street Market

We then hopped on the rail to Ueno and onto Ueno Onshi Park. We were on a mission to find cherry blossoms. I had heard that they had already bloomed, but there were some late bloomers around still. We were lucky to find some there!

Having a Picnic Under the Sakura Trees

We also wanted to look for a cat café. According to the GPS, there was one nearby: Neko Maru Café Ueno (7 Chome Ueno, Taitō, Tokyo 110-0005, Japan). There was a fee schedule, but the one we chose was 30 minutes for $6 USD. They had coffee and tea, as well as some snacks. They also had a few bookcases so you could sit and read while surrounded by the cats. If you want, they also had kitty toys to engage with the cats/kittens in house.

Welcome to the Kitty Cafe!

Cafe Menu and Helper

There are Enough Boxes for Every Kitty!

Shh! Do Not Disturb!

This is Part of their Elevated Cat Walk

Pretty Fur-Baby!

Beautiful Bengal

Next stop: Akihabara to check out the electronics district.

Inside the Sega Building – they have these types of games on the first 3 floors

These Remind me of the Slime blog-things in Dragon Quest

The streets were closed for the shoppers.

Proof of Life!

Interesting KitKat Variety

We noticed that some electronics were more expensive there than online. Only exception seemed to be those from Japan, and the prices seemed more fair.

After some shopping, we started back towards home for dinner and to sleep off some of the jetlag.

Salmon with Rice, Miso Soup, Pickles, Salt Cod Roe, and Egg

Monday, April 8, 2018: Mt Fuji

We went on a day tour through JAPANiCAN. Our first stop was the Mt Fuji 5th Station.

Unfortunately, we didn’t have as clear a view as we had hoped. It was also 1 degree below Centigrade when we were there, so just a little cold!

Mt. Fuji is Behind those Clouds Somewhere!

Next stop was at Oshino Hakkai. The snowmelt from Mt. Fuji formed several fresh water springs in the area. It’s also a cute little village where we were able to get another view of Mt. Fuji. The sun had come out and some of the clouds were starting to clear.

Mt. Fuji is starting to Peek Out thru the Cloud Cover!

There were some shops along the street – some selling food, others selling souvenirs.

These were very yummy BBQ Beef Skewers

Our next stop was Shiraito Falls. The falls are fed by the snowmelt from Mt. Fuji also. There were also a number of shops in the area, including soft serve ice cream.

Green Tea/Vanilla Mixed

Main Waterfall

Fujisan Hongu Sengen Taisha Shrine. The head shrine for Sengen and Asama shrines throughout Japan.

Shrine Entrance

The White Ties and Wooden Tags are All Wishes

Shrine’s Lagoon

A Much Clearer View!

Happy With the Sight!

On our way back, our tour guide informed us that Mt. Fuji can be clearly seen 60 to 65 days out of the year (so we were lucky!)

For dinner, we stopped by one of the restaurants nearby our hotel – Akami Yakiniku Horumondokoro Nikuman. (1-23-6 Hamamatsucho, Minato 105-0013, Tokyo Prefecture).

We were seated at the bar. Each table/seat had a mini grill and a vent right above it. We decided to share the Tonya place.

Since the meat is thinly sliced, it was cooked quickly.

With full stomachs after a full day, sleep came easy.

Tuesday, April 10, 2018: Tsukiji Fish Market, Namiyoke Inari Shrine, Hachiko Memorial Statue, Shibuya Crossing, Meiji Shrine, Ginza

Tsukiji Fish Market is a famous market located in Central Tokyo. It is the largest wholesale fish and seafood market in the world. As part of development for the upcoming Olympics in Tokyo 2020, the fish market is slated to be moved Toyosu, Kotu in the Fall of 2018. If you can get there anywhere from 3am to 5am, you can observe the tuna auction (we opted not to do that). If you do decide to go, it is highly recommended to wear rubber boots.

There is two parts of the market – the Inner Market, where wholesale vendors are located, and the Outer Market where people like us can purchase items in more manageable numbers.

Tea Vendor

We wanted to find one, if not two places to eat. So our first place was here (apologies, I’m not sure what it translates in English).

I felt like we were lucky because it wasn’t so crowded here, nor was there a line for us to wait in. As far as the food goes, I had once heard that “Fish should taste like the sea, and if it doesn’t, then it is no longer good.” The fish that we had here tasted exactly like the sea and I was extremely happy.

Traditionally Wasabi is In Between the Fish and the Rice (and they used FRESH Wasabi!)

After our sushi brunch, we continued walking through the market. Where a variety of items were up for sale as you can see here:

We came across another set of restaurants with long lines.

Apparently people lined up since opening to eat at these places.

After a few hours of walking and shopping, we decided to try another sushi place. This was located just outside the market, called Iwasa Sushi (6 Chome-27-3 Tsukiji, Chūō, Tokyo 104-0045, Japan). Incidentally it was highly rated on tripadvisor.com, so we wanted to see if it lived up to the hype. They have a set menu, and you basically choose between three or four different sets of sushi combinations. They only have seats at the sushi bar and they only accept cash.

Our Sushi Chefs

When we were done, I made a quick stop at Namiyoke Inari Shrine. Its name literally means “protection from waves.”

After that, we dropped off our purchases at the hotel and headed towards Shibuya.

Our first stop outside the Shibuya Station was the Hachiko Memorial. Hachiko was an Akita dog that was owned by Professor Ueno Hidesaburo from Tokyo Imperial University. Hachiko would meet Professor Ueno at Shibuya Station at the end of the day, and it became their routine. One day, Professor Ueno had a cerebral hemorrhage at the University, and never came home. However, Hachiko would go to the station every day for almost ten years. This statue is a symbol of the loyalty and love that Hachiko had for Ueno. Fun fact: Hachiko was present when the statue was unveiled.

There was a LONG line for taking pictures with the statue, so I improvised. The important thing was that I was there.

Now, there is a famous intersection near this statue that maybe the busiest intersection in the world: Shibuya Crossing. The lights turn red/green at the same time to control the pedestrian traffic. Even though there are crosswalks, when the light turns green, the intersection gets swarmed by people.

We crossed and survived (phew!)

We were walking through Shibuya in order to get to Meiji Shrine. In our walk, we encountered these:

For Those Who are Familiar with Sutadonya at Mitsuwa in Arlington Hts…

Stan Lee would Approve!

Meiji Shrine is a Shinto Shrine that is surrounded by a forest, and was built to honor Emperor Meiji and Empress Shoken.

Camphor Tree

After that, we went back to our hotel to freshen up a bit before dinner: Itamae Sushi, Ginza Corridor (J Bld.1F, 8-2-13, Ginza, Chuo, Tokyo, 104-0061, Japan).

The City Never Sleeps!

Our Sushi Chefs at Ita Mae Sushi

Fresh Seafood Salad

Sushi!

Menu Said “Live Squid” but I think they meant “Raw Squid” with Wasabi vinagrette (it was still good!)

So far, the only critique that I had was that they used powdered wasabi (what can I say, I was spoiled from the fresh wasabi from earlier today). However, the taste made up for it. I would have to say that the first place we ate at today and Itamae Sushi were the better of the three places we ate today. Wednesday, April 11, 2018: Zojo-ji Shrine, Tokyo Tower, Departure

We had a half day left here in Tokyo. I decided to do a quick stop at Zojo-ji Shrine and Tokyo Tower before we left. There is also a mausoleum where the most loyal samurai are buried as well.

If Zojo-ji Shrine looks familiar, its because it was in the movie “Wolverine” (2013)

And Here I Have Come Full Circle!

In case you were wondering what I was doing at all those shrines, it was because of this: my notebook filled with Goshuin, which are unique stamps/seals and calligraphy from the temples that I had visited. I had been introduced to this during my first visit here and acquired quite a collection!

Alas, our trip had come to an end, but our hearts are full with the memories that we had made. Thank you for reading, and I hope that this inspired you for your next adventure!

–Maeven

Resources:

Mitsui Garden Hotel Shiodome Italia-gai. 2-14-24, Higashi-shimbashi, Minato-ku, Tokyo, 105-0021 https://www.gardenhotels.co.jp/shiodome-italiagai/eng/

Lawson Station (various locations). http://lawson.jp/en/

7-Eleven (various locations). http://www.sej.co.jp/in/en.html

Tokyo Station http://www.tokyoinfo.com/en/

Rokurinsha. https://www.yelp.com/biz/YD4NquiK0mPR_WMse5KPOA?utm_campaign=www_business_share_popup&utm_medium=copy_link&utm_source=(direct) http://www.rokurinsha.com/ (Japanese)

Neko Maru Café Ueno. http://www.nekomarucafe.com/index.html

1-Day World Heritage Mt. Fuji Tour. https://www.japanican.com/en/tour/detail/BUS1J00711MKS/?typecd=TOU&destcd=V21&kw=golden&sbit=4&typegrpcd=TPA

Akami Yakiniku Horumondokoro Nikuman. 1-23-6 Hamamatsucho, Minato 105-0013, Tokyo Prefecture. https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g1066451-d6047847-Reviews-Akami_Yakiniku_Horumondokoro_Nikuman-Minato_Tokyo_Tokyo_Prefecture_Kanto.html

The Tsukiji Fish Market. 5 Chome-2-1 Tsukiji, Chūō, Tokyo 104-0045, Japan. http://www.tsukiji-market.or.jp/tukiji_e.htm

Hachiko Memorial Statue. 1 Chome-2 Dogenzaka, Shibuya, Tokyo 150-0043, Japan.

Hachiko. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hachik%C5%8D

Meiji Shrine. 1-1 Yoyogikamizonocho, Shibuya, Tokyo 151-8557, Japan. http://www.meijijingu.or.jp/english/your/1.html

Itamae Sushi. J Bld.1F, 8-2-13, Ginza, Chuo, Tokyo, 104-0061, Japan. http://itamae.co.jp/english/

Zojo-ji. ４丁目-7-35 Shibakoen, Minato, Tokyo 105-0011, Japan. https://www.zojoji.or.jp/en/

Tokyo Tower. 4 Chome-2-8 Shibakoen, Minato, Tokyo 105-0011, Japan. https://www.tokyotower.co.jp/en.html

Wanderlust Wednesday: Trip to the Land of the Rising Sun Tokyo, Japan I am not sure why, but I had always been drawn to Japan. I originally went on a group tour around part of the country.

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