#like I actually mean it... and that includes most red sauces... pizza sauce is the only way I don't mind it

[medicinemane]

Man I hate tomatoes, but what I really hate is how people are like "hear you loud and clear" and then hand me tomato stuff

[beesandwasps]

Yes, but you have to understand: the phenomenon I was describing originally is a genuine, documented thing. Poor people in Europe (or Asia, people came to the US from the west as well as the east) were starving in their home countries and came to the Americas. Here, raw materials which were so expensive in Europe (usually certain types or cuts of meat and cheeses with high milkfat) that the poor seldom/never ate them were freely available and cheap, and so immigrants would cook their cuisine but with “rich” ingredients — and, almost inevitably, whatever new recipes they created were derided by the food snobs of their homeland as “inauthentic” when in fact they were simply how their people would eat if not constrained by scarcity. European food snobbery against America is often as artificial as wine snobbery, which is very thoroughly debunked at this point. (The overwhelming majority of people, including most “experts”, can’t tell the difference between wines of the same type in blind taste tests — and often can’t even tell the difference between red wine and white wine with added food coloring! They will praise or criticize the same wine depending on the supposed source, real or fictional!)

As for whether pineapple pizza is “authentic”: tomatoes are a New World fruit. They were completely unheard of in Italy until basically the 1500s and didn’t actually get popular until later — and, in fact, pizza wasn’t even invented until the late 1800s. If pizza with tomato sauce is “authentic”, or pasta with tomato sauce is “authentic”, then it means that incorporating a new, previously-unavailable ingredient into a cuisine is “authentic”. Therefore, adding pineapple to pizza, however much the idea makes me, among other people, shudder, must be at least potentially “authentic”. Really, it just comes down to a quibble over what is meant by “authentic”, and as far as I can tell the idea is “people who come from the region and were raised eating the food think that this is something that should be used/done��.

Italian cuisine in particular is reliant on fruits and vegetables from the New World which weren’t available to them at all until the 1500s, but a lot of other “authentic” European dishes are in the same boat. Imagine European cuisine without tomatoes, potatoes (both sweet and regular), chili peppers, bell peppers, corn (maize), vanilla, chocolate, peanuts, and a whole host of other less-common things like avocados, pecans, and pumpkin. (Here’s a Wikipedia article with a list.) If you’re going to argue for history as a guide to authenticity, then an incredible number of “traditional” dishes will have to be scrapped — and then there are the things brought to Europe from the far east, do those get a pass for being available longer or not?

FOOD HUBRIS BY COUNTRY america: believes their shitty local burger chain is a once-in-a-lifetime culinary experience because their mayo includes onion paste canada: if your poutine tastes better than the styrofoam plate it comes on you will discover the cold rage that lies under the canadian's polite exterior united kingdom: despite thriving and unique fusion cuisines spreading from the UK to the rest of the world in recent decades, when asked to think of 'british food' the average UK citizen will start a fight over whether cold beans with a modest side of white bread is haute cuisine france: McDo Ortolan Bunting italy: extremely mad about american versions of italian food. blissfully ignorant of what happens in brazil brazil: if the scientific genius applied to making cronenbergian pizzas were applied to anything else, brazilians would all be commuting to jobs on the moon. They have pizza that can feel pain russia: obviously mayonnaise is the perfect topping for all foodstuffs, this is solved. The question is what to put on top of mayonnaise, and it might never be answered germany: less a joke than a fact: the single most produced numbered Volkswagen part is a standardized currywurst

[wienerbarnes]

A Certain Romance (2/6)

Pairing: Bucky x Reader

Word Count: 1,685

Warnings: not rlly anything

A/N: a lil bit of a deeper dive for these two’s relationship👀... enjoy!

MAIN MASTERLIST | A CERTAIN ROMANCE MASTERLIST

Your apartment is nice. Very you.

Sam invited him out to some restaurant, but after the last one he suggested, he decided to pass. And when Sam asked him what he was doing instead, if he was seeing you, Bucky lied and said yes. It made Sam happy and got him out of going to another ridiculous restaurant, so he saw it as a win-win.

Once Sam left, though, his thoughts did drift to what you were doing.

You two exchanged numbers at the pizza place after your date, but you two haven’t texted much. He texted you making sure you got home safe, which you did, and a day or so after, you texted him a picture of some advertisement with an awfully cheesy pick-up line written on it, which even he agreed was awful.

But that’s about it. So, he texts you.

Hey. What are u doing?

About to make dinner. Y?

Told Sam I was seeing u. Wanna hang out?

Come over.

Simple enough, he thinks.

You two haven’t had the most meaningful text conversations, clearly, but it’s still nice. No flirting, no typing and retyping messages in order to hook, line, and sinker, no ghosting. No relationship texting.

It was a dream for him. To have a new friend. He’s made plenty of friends, both in New York and in Wakanda. But it’s all under the same… umbrella. Always an agent, a fighter, an analyst of some sort. Someone to train with, to fight with, to fight for. Never someone like you. Someone that works a mundane job and lives in a mundane part of New York where her weekends are filled with going on mundane blind dates or otherwise cooking dinner for one.

It’s a breath of fresh air to not talk about fighting or missions or press or media or anything else he has to hear about at work. The only connection you have with Sam is that you met in a coffee shop a few years ago that has since closed down. He was one of your first friends here.

You could care less about Captain America, too. Which hurts Sam’s ego, and in turn, makes Bucky smile.

So, he goes over to yours.

He’s not sure what you’re making, but he brings a bottle of red wine as a courtesy. You are making dinner after all. Besides, women love wine, right?

Your apartment is nice. Very you.

Enough going on to show that someone does indeed live here, but also enough to show that you’re not exactly swimming in riches, like most people that live in this city.

The place smells like garlic and basil, and he’s glad that he brought the wine.

Shoes discarded at the door, he helps chop up the rest of the ingredients while you put a pot of water to boil. He chops up mushrooms, onion, pancetta, eyeing the bottle of vodka out on the table and tube of tomato paste next to his hand.

It's an understatement to say he’s excited. Most of the pasta he makes is from a bag of precooked noodles and a jar of tomato sauce.

Basic small talk floats through the air as the two of you dance around one another in the kitchen. Even though you’re “dating”, you don’t know much about each other. This isn’t too uncommon from how dating was for Bucky when he was a teenager; you’d marry women knowing very little about them.

Your favorite color is orange. You played violin in grade school. You had a childhood dog named Chowder. Bucky tells you his favorite color is green. He played a little bit of piano when he was younger, but did boxing in his late teens and early twenties before the war. You poke fun at him when he can’t remember the name of his own childhood dog.

“He’s probably rolling over in dog-heaven.”

“Good boy; he’d deserve a treat.”

You laugh.

Easy conversation continues on the couch as bowl after bowl of pasta is eaten and replenished. As fun and seemingly simple questions are asked, like each of your favorite movies or whether or not you pour the milk before the cereal, the room that’s left is used for deeper questions.

“What’s your most embarrassing moment?” You ask him.

He thinks for a moment before opening his mouth, only to close it again. “One time when Princess Shuri was fixing my arm it wasn’t secure completely, so it flew off while I was playing with some of the children.”

“That’s not your most embarrassing moment. I know it’s not, now you have to tell me what it really is.” You tease him.

He’s never been the best liar.

“You’re right, it’s not my most embarrassing moment. My actual most embarrassing moment is just kind of… sad. And I didn’t want to ruin the mood or anything.” He explains, hoping you’ll accept that but instead you give him an encouraging smile to hopefully give him some comfort that whatever it is he wants to tell you is safe in your apartment.

“Okay, uhm. So, in the 40’s, after I was rescued by Steve, but before we shipped out again where I was recaptured for the second and final time. We were all holed up in this little dance club, all the soldiers and their gals. And in walks Peggy Carter in a pretty red dress,” He begins, only glancing at your eyes periodically as if to make sure you’re still there.

“I know she’s Steve’s gal, he told me all about her. I wasn’t flirting with her because I wanted her, I was flirting with her… to make sure I still could. I mean, after being held in that… place… they injected me with stuff, told me things that weren’t true, I mean Steve told me I was repeating my number over and over again when he found me, I didn’t even remember doing that. I felt… violated, used, not like myself. I felt like I wasn’t me anymore.

“So, when Peggy walked in, I thought about how everyone always called me a ladies man, how good I was with women, I mean, I’d take girls out about every damn weekend, you know? I wanted to feel normal, so I flirted with her, tried to get her to dance with me. And she completely ignored me. She never even took her eyes off of Steve. It’s like I was invisible. And it just sort of felt like the nail in the coffin for whoever James Barnes was before the war. It was a realization that I’m never going to be that person again. And it was embarrassing for me.” He explains.

He hasn’t looked up at you again, but he heard your fork stop moving around your bowl a minute or so ago. He feels a lump in his throat thinking about that time, how he knew he’d never get back the man he was, even before knowing what was in store for him after falling off that train. How he used to be this man that wanted a long, happy marriage, six or seven kids running around a big backyard, a white picket fence surrounding a big two-story house in a neighborhood of identical homes. He wanted the cheesy life, at one point. But the same man that wanted that life died falling off a train many years ago.

All of that’s forgotten, though, when you open your mouth, and seem to say the perfect thing to make him feel better.

“One time in the third grade, this girl pulled my skirt down in front of my crush, and I wasn’t wearing any undies.”

A snort escapes his throat as you, somehow, after he’s shared something so deeply personal, something he never even told Steve or Sam about, still found a way to make him laugh. Which is what he wanted, he realizes. The comfort of moving on from that confession and not having to wallow in it like other people would try to. His hand leaves his fork to cover his face as tears threaten to leak out from how hard he’s laughing.

He took that secret to the grave, even if it wasn’t his own. He told himself he’d never tell Steve about how he felt in that situation, and he never did. He never told Steve that he didn’t enlist, either. He couldn’t imagine how Steve would’ve felt knowing that the army would’ve rather taken men that didn’t want to go to war, men who were terrified to go to war, had too much to lose and wanted to be selfish and stay home, than men like Steve who would do anything to enlist. Including lying on the damn enlistment form.

He wonders if Steve is looking at him now. Watching over him as he shares something that he never did with his best friend, with you, a girl he’s met barely a week ago, on your couch over bowls of pasta while he points out leftover sauce on the corner of your lip.

“What’s your greatest fear?” He asks you next.

“Dying alone. Actually, no. Getting kidnapped, probably.”

“Oh, mine’s spiders.” He shares.

It’s so easy to laugh with you, he finds. He jokes with Sam a lot, all the bickering and teasing all in good fun at the end of the day, and it’s mostly pretty funny. But laughing with you. He feels like a teenager again. Somehow, everything is funny; he doesn’t remember the last time he’s laughed so much, especially about things that aren’t even that funny.

It’s raining at the end of the night. Early morning, rather.

“You can take the couch, if you’d like.”

“Nah, I don't mind a little rain, and I like the ride home.” He fed Alpine before he left, but he imagines his cat misses him, even if she’s probably busy licking herself to even notice he’s left.

“Suit yourself.”

You don’t push him. A simple pleasure that’s more of a luxury for him. There’s no pushing or convincing or Are you sure’s with you.

Certainly a luxury, you are.

[nostalgebraist-autoresponder]

Top 10 sandwiches

1. (tie) "Tuna sandwich with pesto, capers, and red onion," from the "Hors d'Oeuvre" section of The Cheeseburger Love Story (a book about, among other things, the search for the perfect burger), by Eric Kampowski

2. "Cheeseburger" from The Cheeseburger Love Story

3. From Bistro Gras, a small French bistro in Somerville, MA, whose name translates to "Pizza Place" (after the other nearby pizza place, Pizza Gras) but in all likelihood refers to the owner and the Italian pizzeria/restaurant, also called Bistro Gras, he bought and renamed (because the original was a place where he liked to eat); the menu includes "Pizza Gras" (French for "Pizza Grasse"), as well as a kind of cheesy fish sandwich that is not really a fish sandwich at all, but which may or may not be my favorite sandwich of all time

4. From "The Restaurant at the End of the Universe," a book about, among other things, space travel, by Douglas Adams

5. A few years ago, I ate at a particular Mexican restaurant where the waiter brought me a bowl of black beans and rice which I didn't dare mix together because it had a huge amount of onion in it, and I also ate a "gordita de pollo" but I have no memory of what that was, so instead I will describe two sandwiches I ate recently that both had similar stuff in them, and then maybe you will know which one I mean

First, at a restaurant called Velvet Crevice (it has velvet for the walls) in a town called North Hollywood, CA, with (as the name suggests) lots of velvet on the walls, and a very large number of other "crevices" or "corrosive elements," including a rugby footballbarbie, which you could use as a kind of "fist" in order to try to knock people out, or who knows what. Anyway, the "crepuscular elements" also extended to the menu, with a category for the dishes in a section called "crepuscular," for example there was something called "Spicy Crepe," and a Crepe with Pomegranate Seeds, although the actual menu item I remember most clearly was this one, called "Crepe with Pesto Cheese and Pesto Sauce":

In the middle there was a picture of a girl called "Crepe," doing nothing but looking kind of bored.

And second, over at Zaxs, there was a booth called "The Meatball Bar," which (as the name suggests) had the (obvious) "meatball" as the centerpiece, which could be dipped into a sauce, which also happened to be delicious.

The meatball was small and round, and tasted kind of like bread. It was like eating a bread-saltine. There was a "Crisp" on the side. There were three flavors: "Sweet," "Savory," and "Chocolate" (though "chocolate" was not really the thing that was there to taste). There was also an actual "hour" in the shape of a ball, with a "hand" at the end. It was a pretty great lunch.

I ate those two sandwiches because they were good sandwiches.

[certifiedskywalker]

Late Night - Peter Parker

Due to the cramped apartment complexes littering the streets of Queens, crowding was often a large complaint amongst residents. However, you found the close quarters more than bearable. Peter Parker had a way of turning a less than attractive situation on its head. Luckily for you, the friendly, neighborhood Spiderman just happens to be your best friend.

You could look past how the entire building seemed to creak whenever there was a harsh storm and how, every so often, the odd bird would run into your window, waking you during the night. However those natural occurrences felt all too rare when compared to the unnaturally loud apartment patrons that seemed to surround you on all sides. Most of the time, instead of actually resting, you would lay in your bed listening. Your neighbors seemed to have no volume control and, often, you could make out what they were saying.

For instance, you seemed to share a wall with an older Italian woman whose son recently moved back in, much to her very vocal disappointment. Apparently his ‘big role’ fell through and, being the daughter of immigrants, the woman was very displeased with her son’s failure to ‘get an actual job’. On the rare occasion that the mother and son were not at each other's throats, you could catch the tell tale moans and the sounds of a squeaking bed frames of the couple living above you. You never thought it was possible for people to love each other too much, but many sleepless nights had long since proven that wrong.

There were few, select interruptions to your slumber that you didn’t quite mind. The aforementioned birds hitting your window, the sorrowful cry of a baby down the hall, and a specific set of taps against your window. The very tapping sound that pulled you from your sleepy haze now pulled a smile to your lips. Throwing the covers up and away from your body, you climbed out of your bed to pry open the window. You were met with a slight gust of cool night air and a few sirens sounding off across New York City.

It was only when the silhouette of Spiderman crawled his way through the new opening to your apartment when you felt at peace. He, despite his grace and abilities, crumpled to the ground. Even with his tumble, still held tightly in his hands of a box of Martino’s pizza. The aroma of tomato sauce and perfectly melted cheese hit you nose, making you ever the more grateful for Peter’s night-time intrusion.

“Hey,” Peter greeted when he was finally on his feet once more. A gloved hand reached up and plucked the mask from his face. His chestnut colored hair seemed unaffected by the original blue and red suit tight fit, as the curls seemingly bounced back into place.

“Martino’s?” You ask, gesturing towards the box with saliva pooling in your mouth. The pizza was a welcome distraction from noisy neighbors and the pounding of your heart at the sight of Peter. Little did you best friend know, these random midnight rendezvous held a very special place in your heart that beat only for Peter Parker himself.

“Right to business, huh?” Peter asked teasingly, the deep smile that bloomed on his lips made you blush furiously.

“Well you don’t usually bring a midnight snack with you,” you counter, trying to regain some composure. “It’s about time that Spiderman did something worthwhile.”

Your teasing coaxes a ruckus laugh from Peter as he closes the window. “Worthwhile? You mean saving a lady’s purse and her buying him a pizza is worthy but saving the world isn’t? Wow, I’ve been doing things wrong.”

Smiling, you reach over and mess his hair affectionately. Your eyes catch his brown ones and you swear you see a flash of tenderness in their sparkle. Suddenly feeling too close and too warm, you pull your hand back from his hair. Peter coughs slightly before popping open the pizza box. Eagerly, he pulls a slice out, the cheese stretching out deliciously. Mouthwatering at the sight, you too grab a slice.

“So a lady you saved bought you this pizza?” You questioned between bites. Peter nodded and swallowed before answering. His brown eyes lit up as he retold the tale. The joy he had for helping people never failed to make your heart ache with happiness. You were happy for Peter and wished that, one day, you could be happy with him.

“Well, actually, I saved her purse. Some guy ran up and took it from her,” he smiled again, “she was really nice.” You watched as he took a bite of the ‘thank-you’ pizza, marveling at how something so valiant could roll off his tongue as if it were a simple spot of normalcy.

“That’s cool, Peter,” you said softly, “you’re making our little corner of the world safer. Plus, you have a fancy suit.” Your teasing prompted Peter to laugh, nearly choking on his bite of pizza.

“You sound like a proud parent,” Peter jabs back, but you can see that he appreciates your words. His cheeks are dusted in light pink, a timid smile on his lips.

“It’s true though. This city is messy enough, so you trying to clean it up is really awesome.” Peter’s brow furrowed at your words that were laced with a bitterness all too felt.

“Y/N, it’s not that bad here….right?” His eyes were wide as he waited for your reply, mouth slightly parted with audible worry. Your gaze traced over his face, the face of your longest lasting friend. The face of the one you had grown to love with your whole heart.

“It’s not so much as bad as it is lonely,” you murmur, pulling your eyes from his bashfully. Despite your averted gaze, you could still feel Peter’s eyes on you.

“Lonely? How? You have-”

“Everyone around me has someone, even if they’re fighting or being annoying. They’re together.” You throw your arms in the air, gesturing to the walls of your bedroom and, through the walls, to your loud neighbors. Peter cocked his head in slight confusion and you let out a shaking sigh. He couldn’t understand, not really.

Peter had Aunt May who was glued to his side since you were both little kids. Ned and MJ tried to include you but, no matter what they did, you left like you were intruding. It seemed that you were alone when it came to the end of the day. Everyone around you left, retired, and slept until the next, leaving you lonesome. That is why these nightly visits from Peter gave you butterflies and hope. He would never leave you for very long, even if he was perplexed by your thoughts; you would savor the time explaining to him.

“I mean, look, even the older woman who shares this wall with me,” you point to the wall your bed rests against, “she has her son at the end of the day. Even if they do fight, there’s still love. I guess I….I just want something like that.”

“Someone to share home with?” Peter asks, his voice soft and high in question. It is then you meet his gaze, peering back into his brown eyes that are full of light despite the darkness of night filtering through your window. You only nod in response and tackle the tears that threaten to spill over your cheeks.

“Y-Yeah,” you whisper, letting your gaze fall to the floor you both were sitting on. The pizza box between you was a little more forgotten now.

“In what way?” Peter’s tone shifts with the question, it’s colder, more serious. You spare a glance up at where he sits and met his eyes.

“What do you mean?” “In what way do you want to share a home with someone?” Peter clarifies, his eyes boring into yours with an intensity you have never seen from him before.

“I think you know what I mean, Peter,” you say, much too shy to admit that you wanted him at the end of the day to hold you closer than friends normally do. Your friend remains silent, but you can almost see his mind working over your words. His mouth opens but if Peter says anything you don’t hear it. The sound of your heart beating was now roaring in your ears at Peter leans closer to you. You could now smell the sweat on his skin mixed with the cologne he rarely wore. When he does actually speak, his words steal the breath from your lungs.

“You make me feel less lonely, Y/N,” he admits in a slight whisper. You scan over his face in search of any tell of a lie. Without finding any sign, you let yourself lean ever more close to Peter. You could feel the heat of his body licking your own and you could only guess how flushed your cheeks were now.

The warmed tension was gathering between your bodies, pushing aside what was left of the pizza. Your mind was turned elsewhere now. All your focus was centered around Peter. Not even the loneliness nipping at your heels could turn your eyes away. Your lips were a mere inch or so away from Peter’s now. Unable to hold back, you reach up and brush a brown curl away from his face.

“You make me feel less lonely too, Peter,” you breath out, prompting Peter to smile boyishly at you. The moment you can first detect his lips skirting against your own, a loud crash sounds in one of the apartments neighboring your own. You jumped back, heart pounding in your chest for a different reason. A woman’s shriek sounded and you looked back at Peter. He was already donning his mask and heading towards the window.

“I-I’ll be right back, Y/N! Hold on,” he shouted as he clambered out your window and back into the night. You watched as he ran off you save yet another lonely soul tonight. Smiling to yourself and your ‘almost kiss’, you felt that, tonight, your late night would be a little less lonely than usual.

[staylovehearts]

The not so life-changing effect of life-changing words

Han Jisung x Reader

Word Count ~2.4k

Summary: You have noticed that Jisung has been behaving a little... odd around you lately.

Tags: and they were roommates, friends to lovers, confession of love, fluff, discussion of pineapple on pizza

"Hey, what do you want to do for dinner this weekend? I think we'll need to go shopping if we actually want to eat proper food for once. Or we'll just have to order take-out... again."

You raise your head from the tiny kitchen table that is crammed against a wall. You can barely push back your chair because you're stuck between the table and the wall behind you. But the tiny kitchen – if you even want to call it that – didn't really have a better place to cram that table into. Your roommate Jisung, with whom you currently share this ridiculously small apartment, is raiding all the little cabinets and any other cupboard in the kitchen to pile up all the leftover food items onto the already messy counter right next to the sink which is once again overflowing with dirty dishes. Who's turn to wash up is it again? You've kinda lost track of that. You know there is a small calendar pinned to the fridge with an assortment of mismatched magnets, but there is no telling whether that plan is still up to date. It might as well be from last month. Or the month before that. But you are sure that you have done the dishes... at some point.

"So I guess that is everything", Jisung explains. You have almost forgotten about the initial question already, getting distracted with the messy state of the kitchen. Maybe you should really take some time to clean up around here again. But you were busy with exams and writing term papers for the last few weeks that you couldn't really focus on anything else. Actually, you were so out of it that you didn't even start stress cleaning or baking. And with Jisung having been equally as busy everything just became a little unhinged. You have lived the last few weeks on a diet of cafeteria food and instant noodles.

You take a look at the small stack of leftover noodle packages and the sad assortment of other things Jisung managed to find in the kitchen. There are maybe three or four packages of noodles, half a bag of kimchi, some spices and sauces – including three different types of hot sauce and two soy sauce bottles, both of them half-empty – and some not so fresh-looking vegetables.

"So basically noodles again or we'll have to go shopping, how are you with money?", you ask. You actually haven't checked your own bank account in a while but there should be enough left to get some groceries at least. To be fully honest you are getting somewhat sick of having noodles for dinner every night. No matter how you try to spice it up or upgrade your meal by adding some kimchi or vegetables or whatever else you can find, in the end, it's still just instant noodles.

"I don't know exactly, but I think there's actually surprisingly much left for being almost end of the month. Probably cause we didn't go out much during exams. So getting groceries should be fine. Or even some take-out in case you don't want to like go through the trouble of cleaning the kitchen and all that."

You ponder the situation for a moment while letting your eyes wander across the room. There is no denying that you should clean this place up either way, but is the joy of a homecooked meal actually worth getting it dirty again right away. Maybe take-out is fine after all. If you can both afford it that is. Then again, you both worked really hard over the past few weeks or so, shouldn't you be allowed to celebrate a little? Do something nice for yourselves, enjoy a calm evening at home? Maybe even go out together just for fun. Or...

"We haven't had a pizza night in forever", you mutter. Jisung, who has been playing around with the small stack of noodle packages, looks up at you with wide eyes.

"You mean we should order pizza together?", he asks. He sounds almost shy. You're not sure if it's the light or the generally kinda high temperature in the stuffy room but his cheeks seem to glow slightly red. You decide to not think about it for now.

"No, I meant make our own pizza. Well, maybe not everything from scratch, but we could get one of those premade dough things and slap some cool stuff on it and then maybe turn on a movie or something. Remember when we used to do this when we first moved in together back when stuff was less stressful and we had more time to just kinda hang around? I miss that, we should do that more when we can."

Now you're definitely sure that Jisung is blushing. He's scratching his neck awkwardly while grinning at you.

"Well, let's make a shopping list then."

Of course, you are not completely dense. You have noticed that Jisung has been behaving... oddly around you lately. Well, at least you started noticing it lately, it has probably been a longer progress of him starting to change his behaviour. But you notice how he has been getting flustered when you suddenly talk to him while he seems lost in thought. You've noticed how he flinches and freezes for a second every time you lean against him when you are sitting together on that tiny ragged couch. You have noticed all these little signs and put them together to arrive at the most logical conclusion. And you have decided to ignore the obvious for a little longer. Turn a blind eye to the elephant in the room. Because as soon as you acknowledge to yourself that Jisung might have feelings for you, you will have to start thinking about your own feelings. And maybe you'll come to the conclusion that you don't mind him liking you. That maybe you kind of like him back. And that's dangerous. Because if you allow these feelings to become something more you also risk fucking it up somehow. And Jisung is your roommate. And he will still be your roommate after you've fucked it up. And that will make everything awkward and complicated.

So maybe it's fine to be oblivious a little more. Maybe it's fine to just enjoy being close friends. Because being with Jisung is so easy. He makes you laugh all the time and he can make even the most mundane things entertaining.

You giggle all the time while you two make your shopping list because he keeps suggesting silly options for pizza toppings and then tries to debate you on them. He puts pineapple down on the list four separate times and you cross it out again every time, saying that it is the one thing you will not allow in this shared space. It takes you a good thirty minutes just to come up with a shopping list and another ten or so to actually get ready to go out because neither of you can find your keys. Of course, it would technically be enough to just send one person to the store and let the other stay behind to start working on the dishes. But you have decided that it's much more fun to do everything together. Even if it takes longer.

People at the grocery store around the corner shoots you a few weird looks when they see you almost yelling at each other across the aisles, arguing about which snacks to get for later. At least neither of you have attempted to climb into the shopping cart and demand to have the other push you around. Yet.

Once you finally arrive back at your small shared apartment you get to work on cleaning the kitchen. Or at least making it clean enough to start making pizza. Jisung puts the stuff he piled up on the counter earlier back into the cupboards while you collect all the dirty dishes you can find and pile them into the sink. You're pretty sure that there is still something left somewhere. A glass or empty coffeecup one of you have put down on some table at some point and then forgot about. One shameful plate hidden under a bed from that one time you ate on your bed. There is always some forgotten dish, but you can at least wash the ones you have. Jisung grabs a towel and gets ready to dry up without you having to ask. He stands next to you in the small kitchen while you hand him dripping wet plates and jokingly spray warm soapy water onto him. He smacks your behind with the towel. Not hard but you still make sure to yell Ouch and complain loudly until he apologises in a fit of laughter. You pout and go back to washing up. Your wet, wrinkly fingers brush his warm hand the next time you hand him a plate and maybe it's okay to pretend.

It takes you roughly an hour just to get the kitchen cleaned up and then dirty again while you prepare your pizza. By the end, there is tomato sauce over both of your hands and cheese scattered onto the floor. Why did you even bother cleaning in advance? But at least the food is finally in the oven and should be good to eat in about twenty or thirty minutes. Just enough time to fight over what to watch.

Actually settling on a genre already proves as a bit of a challenge. You spend almost ten minutes arguing back and forth about whether to go for a horror movie or a romantic comedy before finally picking action as compromise. But not all action movies are equal. There are superheroes, spies, car racing stuff, opportunities are endless and by the time Jisung and you have managed to narrow down your choices onto something you can both agree on the pizza is a little more than done. Good thing at least one of you remembered to set a timer.

With your pizza cut up into more or less equal squares you get comfortable on the small couch, legs touching because there is barely enough room for two people. And even if there was you'd probably still snuggle up to Jisung. There is just something so calming about his presence. Something about him just makes you want to wrap a blanket around the two of you and spend hours just sitting together. Laughing and talking and letting each other try bites of your weird unique pizza combinations.

"Hey, can I say something kind of stupid real quick?", Jisung asks. The credits are rolling over the screen and somehow you feel like you have missed half of the movie. How is it over already? You were just getting cosy, head leaned against Jisung's shoulder.

"Isn't that all you ever do, since when do you need my permission to say stupid stuff?", you ask back. You can feel his body vibrate with the small laugh that comes in response to your teasing. Being so close to him you can feel him talk as much as you can hear the words. You can sense the way his shoulders slightly rise and fall with every time his chest expands with a deep inhale, every little shift in his body when he shuffles around to get comfortable again after sitting in the same spot for too long.

"Yeah, but this is different. It's serious, but also kind of really stupid."

You sit up straight so you can look Jisung in the eyes. There it is again. That blush colouring his cheeks red. The way he is avoiding to look directly at your face. You have a feeling you know what this is about. And you know there is no ignoring it anymore. Time to face it.

"Go ahead", you whisper. Jisung takes a deep breath and then suddenly looks you straight in the eyes. God, he has such pretty eyes. So lovely and calm. And yet they are so stern and full of determination right now.

"I'm so happy that we got to do this today. Because I really like spending time with you. And I want to do this more. But... you know, maybe as more than just good friends. What I'm trying to get at is that I... really like you. A lot. And I guess I'm trying to ask you to be with me as my... you know."

"I knew you were going to say this", you mumble. The second the words leave your mouth you know that you messed up. Is there a worse response to I like you then yeah, I know? Maybe, but this one is still rather awful. And you can tell that Jisung is hurt. You quickly reach for his hands, take both of them in between yours and hold them while you wreck your brain for words that can fix this somehow.

"I mean, I had a feeling that you... you know. But I didn't really want to bring it up because I'm scared. That we'll dive headfirst into something and then it won't work out and we'll ruin everything. I like you. I really do. But I'm not sure if I'm ready for things to change. I feel so comfortable with you. And I don't want to lose this."

"I get that", Jisung says. "But we don't really have to change, right? I mean people pretty much already assume that we're dating. We can take this slow, one pizza night at a time."

You giggle, leaning against him once more. As you always do. As you have done for so long. Maybe he's right. Maybe this is already what couples do. Maybe the difference between couples and close friends is just the feelings you share. And well, some physical stuff that can definitely wait a little longer. Jisung carefully puts one arm around you.

"Is this okay for a first pizza night date?", he asks. You make sure to press yourself even more into his side before you reply.

"Sure."

[heungtanbts]

Surprises

jungkook x reader

2.5k

fluff

Being in a relationship with Jungkook means there’s always something new. Every day you spend with him means one surprise after another, simply because the man is unpredictable. Not in a way that makes you doubt his word or faithfulness to you – he’s rock solid in that respect, thankfully. But he’s unpredictable in a way that makes you excited to see him every time, all the time, whereas with most other people, you’d have to see them in doses and then spend some time away from them.

That’s not the case with Jungkook. He’s the first person you’ve ever felt like you could spend every second with and not get sick of. He truly is the light in your life, and he always keeps things interesting. It isn’t like the man is flying you out to Paris on the weekends for lunch or buying you surprise gifts left and right, but with Jungkook it’s always the new little things you learn about him that makes spending time with him so easy, so wonderful. He makes you incredibly happy, and there’s just never a dull moment with him.

He loves to make you smile, and does it so effortlessly. Goofy, unfiltered energy and happiness is just engrained in the fibers of his being. All he has to do is be himself and that’s enough to cause the most belly aching laughter to spill from your lips, the biggest grin to tear at your cheeks, and for your heart to be so warm and full to the brim. All the little comments he makes, the way he sees things so differently from other people and is so unafraid to be himself just keeps the surprises coming, and you’re amazed that he can still catch you so off guard even after all this time.

This time, as you walk through the front door of your shared apartment, it shocks you to see that he’s home early. But you honestly don’t know if that’s what’s more surprising, or if it’s the fact that he’s standing in the kitchen, willingly, dressed in red basketball shorts, your pink hello kitty apron draped across his naked chest, with a bright purple headband pulling back his long wavy hair, all while fanning at billowing black smoke with a bunny slipper.

Seriously, never a dull day.

“Jungkook,” you say as you kick your foot back to shut the door before strolling into the kitchen. “What in the world are you doing?” His eyes widen comically and he stops fanning for a split second, the bunny’s floppy ears coming to a standstill.

“Uhh, science experiment?” You can barely stifle a snort at his comment.

“I see.” You hum and set your bag down, unalarmed as you peek over into the pot of bubbling, unidentifiable, charred black bits. “Let me guess, either you’ve truly binged too many episodes of Breaking Bad, or you’ve somehow gone way off course with my spicy sausage spaghetti recipe.”

Jungkook scrunches his nose at that, a pout forming on his lips as he lets go of the bunny slipper so it drops onto the floor, stuffing his foot into it more aggressively than necessary. “Welp, that’s the first and last time I ever try surprising you by cooking dinner.” He huffs disgruntledly before glaring at the bubbling black pot, chucking the wooden spoon into it. He reaches behind his head, about to undo the knot of the apron and quite literally throw in the towel when you bring your hands to his arms and lower them, biting back a smile.

“I’m sorry babe, I didn’t mean to make you upset. It’s just,” the grin fully pulls back at the corners of your lips, “you literally never set foot in the kitchen unless it’s to get frozen pizza out of the oven or bug me while I’m cooking for us. I’m just shocked that you’re even in here in the first place.”

His face softens a fraction at that and he lowers his arms, hello kitty remaining untouched as he offers a small shrug. “There’s a higher chance of winning the lottery than me ever getting out of work early, so I figured I’d take the opportunity and try to do something nice for you for once.” Jungkook glances at the pot and raises an eyebrow, “which actually, now that I think about it, I don’t think I’ve totally screwed up.” You tilt your head to show him the puzzled look on your face. Although, you’re glad he’s not beating himself up for messing up the recipe, like he sometimes does when he can’t get something right.

“We can sell this toxin to the government to use as chemical warfare and make bank.”

That has you properly snorting and Jungkook grins victoriously at your response, wiggling his eyebrows playfully in the way that is so endearingly Jungkook. Of course he can’t respond like a normal person, that would be just so – not Jungkook.

Shaking your head, you lift the pot and place it into the sink, turning on the water to let the burnt contents soak and bringing a newly filled pot on your way back to the stove. Rolling up your sleeves, you turn to Jungkook with a determined look on your face.

“Well then, let’s have our last meal as common folk before we sell this shit and become millionaires, shall we?” Shooting him a wink, you get an even more dramatic, cheesy one in return, his mouth open and everything, causing you to giggle as you drop a handful of uncooked noodles into the new pot of water. Side by side with your meme man looking like hello kitty threw up on him in some revenge plot of some sort, you walk with him through each step of your special homemade recipe.

“You know,” Jungkook pipes up after a few minutes of silent ingredient prepping, watching you as you skillfully mince a few garlic cloves into tiny pieces, “I love garlic but it’s no wonder why that spicy pungent shit repels even vampires. Gives you hella death breath.”

You roll your eyes playfully, “So what, you won’t kiss me if I eat a bunch of garlic? Is that what you’re saying?” You tilt your head to the side and expect Jungkook, who you’ve come to learn cannot seem to get enough of your lips, to reply with something like whoaa hang on a second, I never said that, babe. But he just leisurely grabs another bulb of garlic and tosses it up and down casually, wearing that trademark smirk of his.

“Since you love it so much, you should eat this entire bulb of garlic – raw.”

Rather than fight back, you give him a half shrug, looking completely unbothered. “That’s fine, I’ll eat this bulb and you can eat the other two. Sound good?”

Jungkook bites his lower lip, still looking like the peak of devastation even though he just lost at his own game. You know you have him there – the man who willingly chooses to sky dive three times in a row, isn’t scared of any horror movie, and lifts weights nearly five times a week for fun, can’t handle spicy very well.

As dinner slowly comes together, it seems as though Jungkook has forgotten he ever made a mistake in the first place. He’s too busy helping you throw ingredients into the boiling pot and making you double over in laughter when he suddenly throws a sausage up in the air, catching it and playfully jabbing it in your sides like a fencing sword, yelling “en garde!” all the while. You also catch him staring into the holes of an empty bulb of garlic, muttering something about trypophobia and “nasty devil holes” under his breath.

Once you both fall into another bout of comfortable silence, he suddenly becomes serious, stirring the simmering pot of sauce like his life depends on it. You watch his side profile as his tongue pokes out of the corner of his lips in concentration, his gaze firmly set on the little popping air bubbles on the surface. He’s so determined, hell bent even, to make sure the sauce isn’t ruined this time. You can see it in the way his eyes quickly flit over to the stove clock and then back to the sauce, back and forth and back and forth, as if taking his eyes off of the sauce for even one second will allow it to change from mouthwatering, spicy goodness to another newly concocted black-market poison that’s ready to kill. He keeps mumbling “2 more minutes, then low heat. 2 more minutes” under his breath, gently stirring the contents while his other hand death grips the handle of the pot.

Even though he loves to joke and mess around, you can tell now that Jungkook’s really trying, and that he really does feel bad for “ruining” this surprise for you. You’ll have to let him know before the evening ends that he hasn’t ruined anything at all. In fact, he’s completely made your day, like he always does. It’s these little moments, little things like this that have you falling deeper and harder for this goofball of a man – your caring and hardworking, wannabe mad scientist. So what if he isn’t the greatest chef out there? You wouldn’t change a single thing about him.

Still admiring his face, you body reacts before your mind can as you reach a hand up to cup his chiseled jaw. His response is automatic and he turns his cheek into your warm palm, nuzzling into it a bit as he continues to stir, those large doe eyes still watching the clock like a hawk. Gently, you thumb at his jawline, admiring his sharp and yet also soft facial features, including the barely noticeable scar on his left cheek and unconsciously, your touch and undivided attention causes a small smile to grow on Jungkook’s face.

“If I was an insanely genius druggie scientist on Breaking Bad, I’d be a pretty hot one, wouldn’t I?” Jungkook comments, his bare chest puffing up beneath the giant hello kitty face. You can’t help but laugh at the sight as you slip your arms under the apron and around his waist, pressing your body into his warmth.

“Only if you wear this hello kitty apron, then yes. You’d be absolutely smokin’.”

He wriggles his eyebrows again. “You know what they say – the kitty maketh the man.”

Before you know it, 2 minutes are up, as Jungkook has perfectly timed, and the sauce is ready to be plated over the noodles. As you set the plates of hot spaghetti down on the table, you turn to look at Jungkook who has sat down in one of the chairs, hello kitty present as well, and is not smiling anymore. He’s staring at the dishes of warm noodles with steaming red cream sauce on top with such distaste, and you know it’s not because he doesn’t find the food appetizing. The sight of him has you automatically reaching over to rake your fingers through his hair, almost accidentally pushing the purple nike headband off his head.

“Jungkook, stop it. It’s fine, love, really.”

His lips pull down into a grim line. “I just really wanted to surprise you and make dinner for you for once… You’re always cooking for us.” Giving a strand of his hair a tug, he finally looks up at you with now sad doe eyes, like he’s truly disappointed in himself. That’s when you realize you were wrong – he’s probably been silently beating himself up this whole time and cracking more jokes than usual to try and make up for all of this. Even though there really isn’t any reason to.

Scooting his chair back, you settle into his lap and wrap your arms around his shoulders, pressing a warm kiss to his forehead before backing away to look at him. Luckily, the frown on his face has softened dramatically and his eyes are lighting up more than just a moment ago.

“You putting in all this effort for me is more than enough, Kook-ah. You finally got off work early for the first time in like, a hundred ninety years, and you decided to use that time to surprise me?” You shake your head in disbelief, “I don’t deserve you, really. Thank you.”

Without giving you even a moment to breathe, Jungkook abruptly pulls you closer to him, pressing his lips against yours urgently but gently, his large, warm hands holding your hips securely and molded against his body. A flick of his tongue against your bottom lip grants him access as you sigh into him, hands making their way up his shoulders, neck, and finally curling into his dark locks. He switches between gentle bites and caressing touches that have you feeling weak, and you’re thankful you chose to sit in his lap or else your knees might’ve given out by now. With every brush of his soft flesh against yours, you can hear everything he wants to but isn’t able to say easily with words – I’m sorry, but thank you, I love you. And it’s all more than enough for you, he’s more than enough for you.

Just as a knot of warmth starts to form in your stomach, he pulls away, a little bit breathless and flushed but looking so much more content and at peace than before. Thumbs stroke at his warm cheeks as fingers run up and down your back absentmindedly, the air between you quiet but not unnerving. He just makes you feel loved, so loved. Another moment to add to your endless list of “reasons to love Jungkook” list.

Tilting his head to the side, Jungkook gives you a small smile, the tips of his bunny teeth making an appearance. “I can make pretty a bomb ass chili.” Genuinely surprised, you raise your eyebrows at him. Such a Jungkook thing to say in a moment like this.

“Can you now?” You play along, tucking a loose strand of hair behind his ear. He nods eagerly before giving you a pointed look.

“But only mild chili, nothing flavored like the devil’s asshole or whatever insane spicy level you usually like.” A laugh rings clearly from your lips that has him wearing a bright grin, and his hands reflexively tighten on your hips.

“I’m good with that,” you say with another lingering laugh, grinning right back at him, “next time?”

Jungkook kisses the tip of your nose before resting his forehead against yours, and you swear you feel your heart hiccup for a second. His kisses will always do that to you. His little quirks will always catch you off guard in the most pleasant way possible. Jungkook’s presence will always make you feel like you’re truly living your best life, because it’s Jungkook – and you are too far head over heels for him.

“Next time for sure.”

[buns-with-a-book]

Deflowered

A sequel to Flowers of White, completely spicy. So much spice. Includes SDT spice. 

There’s two poems in this fic. The second one was written by furyeclipse

Fandom: Devil May Cry Characters: OC/Vergil, Dante  Tags: @nimnox @furyeclipse @synchronmurmurs @harlot-of-oblivion @queenmuzz

Summary:  Vergil despises the scent of another man, of Draco, on the person he considers his. The scent infuriates him, enough to make him act on more base desires.

Days after they crashed her ‘wedding’, he can still smell him on her.

His demonic blood gave him heightened senses, hearing and smell and speed. It usually was a blessing but, in this moment, it was a curse. He can smell that scum, the scent of silver and sage and too-expensive cologne, still lingering around her. A part of him, a deep base beast that he sometimes wishes would just quiet down, snarls every time she passed by him before promptly filling him with shame for snarling at her when the whole affair was no fault of her own.  

How dare Draco, a pathetic excuse of a man who had shown nothing but disapproval and dismissal, believe himself worthy of Cassandra? Cassandra was nothing short of extraordinary, the blood of a warrior-saint in her veins. A part of him was always in awe of how she maneuvered herself on the battlefield, brave and bold and unafraid of the demons they faced. That fool would never know the joy that burned in those deep green eyes of hers when they got paid for exterminating demons, the determination when they clashed in the training room, the way they sparkled with amusement at whatever foolery Dante got into. Draco would never know that and he was certain he didn’t care.

Cassandra was far more than just her ancestor, far more than just the daughter of a warrior-saint. She was a queen. A queen that Draco would never respect, would never appreciate, never be worthy of. (And, if he was honest with himself, he wondered if he himself was worthy of her as well).

“Verge? Earth to Verge?”

Vergil blinked, seeing Dante’s hand waving in front of his face. He was sitting on the couch in Devil May Cry, the setting sun casting long shadows across the shop. Dante was hovering next to him, a curious but playful smile on his face.

“Dante, I’m right here.” Vergil slapped his brother’s hand away from his face.

“Yeah, sure you were.” He smiled and sat down, the couch dipping as he settled next to his twin. “I know that look of yours when you’re thinking really hard. What’s stewin?”

“The best way to get rid of you.” Vergil replied dryly, a spectral sword appearing by his will and pointed at Dante. Dante laughed, of course he would laugh.

“Nah, I feel like trying my luck.”

“Your very horrible luck, you mean.” Vergil raised an eyebrow. Despite his mild irritation, it wasn’t enough to skewer him yet. “I believe even Lady can attest to how rotten it can be.”  

“I can be lucky every once in a while!”

“Like a broken clock can be right twice a day.” Vergil snapped his book shut, finally admitting defeat. “I’m...afraid my mind still wanders back to the day we crashed Draco’s wedding. I can still smell him and it infuriates me, like an unwelcome stench that refuses to leave.”

“Yeah, I understand.” Dante hummed. “You two should go on a date.” Vergil could feel heat rising in his cheeks.

“A...date?”

“Yeah! Get your mind off the whole wedding shit.” Dante waved his hand. Vergil closed his eyes in thought.

“Perhaps star-gazing. It’s nice and relaxing, a reprieve we need from...that event.” Even mentioning it left a foul taste in his mouth, Vergil thought with a scowl. Dante let out a soft chuckle, seemingly unaware of Vergil’s inner turmoil...but Vergil noticed the mischievous glimmer in his eyes.  

“Well, there’s this nice forest outside of Red Grave. You can hike to the top and maybe get some ac- OOF!” Vergil promptly whacked him upside the head. “OW! Jeez, I’m trying to help...”

“Your idea of help is not actually help.”

“Look, I know what’s going on with you. You’re pissy another dude touched Cass when that’s your job. God Verge, you’re so easy to read when you’re angry.” Dante crossed his arms. Vergil just stared at him, not sure what to say. On one hand, Dante wasn’t wrong: the thought of Draco touching Cassandra in any capacity infuriated him to no end. On the other hand...did he have to say it so brazenly?! It always infuriated him that Dante had no shame. While Cassandra was more than willing to encourage him in his shamelessness (because she found it hilarious when that very shamelessness got him in trouble), Vergil had to draw the line somewhere.

“...if she consents.” Vergil said, standing up stiffly. “I will ask about...a date.”

“If you don’t run away from being awk-” And that was when the sword slammed down into the floor, barely missing Dante’s knee. “Hey!” Vergil ignored his exclamation as he made his way into the kitchen, where he saw Cassandra enter. Sliding his book into his jacket, he entered the kitchen to see Cassandra hard at work. A savory scent wafted through the kitchen as Cassandra stirred up waffle batter for baking. Aside her stirring bowl was cheese, tomato sauce, and herbs. He smirked, knowing that tonight’s dinner was pizza waffles.

“Hi Vergil.” Cassandra said quickly. “What do you need? As long as it’s not pestering me to finish up din-”

“No, no, it’s not that.” Vergil shook his head, earning a confused noise from her. “I would like to know if you would like to go on a date with me.”

“You sound like you’re trying to ask me out for the first time.” Cassandra said with a soft chuckle. Before he could object, she continued. “I’d love to go on a date. A nice simple date, maybe we can go stargazing on the roof.”

“On the roof of Devil May Cry?” He asked.

“Not in the mood to go anywhere for a bit. If we can stay home, I’d go for it.” A part of him, that hungry beast inside him, purred appreciatively at the idea. He watched her work on dinner.

“As you wish.” A faint smile crept on his face as he watched her work. It seemed like that little affair was nothing more than a bad memory, a memory that was rapidly fading. As she poured the finished batter into the waffle-maker, Vergil’s eyes fluttered closed as he leaned against the doorframe. The sound of her making dinner was...surprisingly soothing. The fact that he could indulge in domestic scenarios like this was a feeling he couldn’t quite describe. He could only barely remember the last time he was this peaceful, the feeling of contentment with his life being foreign to him. If he had to recall, it would be back in his childhood, before the attack that changed his fate forever. But now, he had that...peace in his life. Reunited with his brother, slowly bonding over the son he only recently found out existed, and with a woman who cared about Nero just as much as he did (but more openly. Vergil being open with his emotions remained a struggle that he tried hard to work through), he was just...happy.  

He opened his eyes, watching as Cassandra finished with the waffles. She drizzled tomato sauce, cheese, and basil all over them. Setting the plate on the table, she walked past him. His nose caught her scent, of herbs and morning mist and too-expensive colog-

No. That was Draco. The beast roiled at the scent. He flinched, thankful that Cassandra wasn’t nearby to notice it.

“Dante! Dinner!” She called before slipping back into the kitchen, followed by Dante padding his way after her call. He rounded around Vergil, pausing next to his brother.

“Did you ask her out?” He asked, ice blue eyes glimmering mischievously.

“Yes.”

“Did she say yes?”

“Of course I did Dante.” Cassandra huffed. “We’re gonna go stargazing on the roof of Devil May Cry in the future.”

“How romantic.” Dante hummed. “I mean, aside from the whole ‘sitting on the roof’-”

“I’m sure it’ll be romantic somehow. Vergil’s very good at reciting poetry.” Cassandra said as she prepared a second plate of pizza waffles. She ignored the sound of Dante gagging. “Yeah yeah, you keep gagging all you want mister ‘has rotten luck with the ladies’.”

“Ow!” Dante whined. “That huuurts.”

“It hurts because it’s true.” Vergil added.

“Beating up on your own brother…” He sighed in mock defeat. “You two are mean.”

“That’s our job.” Cassandra winked at Dante before handing Vergil the plate of pizza waffles. Vergil took the plate and the fork Cassandra offered before sitting down next to Dante. Cassandra made one last plate of pizza waffles for herself, humming softly as the waffle-maker did it’s work. Vergil closed his eyes, quietly eating what she had served. He remembered the first time she made this meal, and how quickly he made his distaste known until he actually tried it. It was this very dish that made him only occasionally question what Cassandra made (most of the time, as he had come to understand it, some of her more stranger options was just to get Dante to eat more than just pizza and sundaes).

His mind moved away from that memory, to that promised date. If the devil within decided to behave, perhaps it would be just a gentle and loving affair, as she deserved after such tribulation. But it all hinged on if the devil inside him behaved. And if even the slightest hint of that scum’s scent sent it into a huffy rage…

He wasn’t too sure how he would deal with that.

---

The skies of Red Grave City were clear, the summer stars shining brightly above them. As most of Red Grave had been ripped apart, the light pollution was not as strong as it used to be, providing one with a clear view of the stars above. Normally, every reminder of the destruction of the city stung Vergil’s heart with guilt, even if he wasn’t in the right mind when he did stab himself with Yamato.

It was here, on the roof of Devil May Cry, that Vergil found Cassandra. In his hand were three books of poetry, one of Shakespearean Sonnets, his prized book of Blake, and a small notebook he kept in his coat pocket. Cassandra had given it to him on his birthday (a day he usually forgot). He had taken that notebook and tried his own hand at poetry. It’s quality was...questionable but, according to Nero, it was passable. Cassandra was busy smoothing out a large plush blanket on the floor of the roof. Not too far away was a basket, full of sweet and savory snacks to pass the time. Very faintly, in the far distance, he swore he heard a piano playing. Returning his gaze to Cassandra, her attire was a simple deep blue dress, the thin linen fluttering with her movements.

He was right, he thought with a soft smirk. Blue did look good on her.  

“Vergil, I can feel you staring.” Her words, accented with a tease, made his heart jump. He hid his brief surprise as he strode to her, sitting down on the blanket next to her. She smiled to him, laying herself down on the soft blanket. Vergil shed his coat, setting it next to the blasket of food. He set the books down on his coat. She laid down on the blanket, Vergil settling himself next to her as he took out his book of Shakespearean sonnets.

“Shakespear?” She asked, staring at the beautifully decorated book curiously.

“Why not?” He asked in turn. Cassandra laughed.

“You got me there, Mr. Poetry.” She pecked his cheek before laying down. Vergil settled down next to her and opened the book, flipping through the sonnets until he found an acceptable one. With that, he began to read.

Take all my loves, my love, yea take them all; What hast thou then more than thou hadst before? No love, my love, that thou mayst true love call; All mine was thine, before thou hadst this more. Then if for my love thou my love receivest, I cannot blame thee, for my love thou usest; But yet be blam'd, if thou thyself deceivest By wilful taste of what thyself refusest. I do forgive thy robbery, gentle thief, Although thou steal thee all my poverty; And yet, love knows, it is a greater grief To bear love's wrong, than hate's known injury.    Lascivious grace, in whom all ill well shows,    Kill me with spites, yet we must not be foes.

Cassandra hummed thoughtfully as he finished reading. “That’s not 18, is it?”

“No. Too overdone. This one is his fortieth sonnet.” Vergil explained.

“Hm. 18 is a classic for a reason.” She hummed.

“Every man woos their lover with 18.” He countered. “But you are no ordinary woman, Cassandra.”

“I’m the only one that’s knocked you on your ass.” She said proudly, earning a chuckle from him.

“I believe that was because you pulled a cheap tactic on me.”

“That was one time Vergil!” Cassandra playfully whacked his shoulder. Vergil sat up, placing the book of Shakespere away. His hand took his small notebook, to which Cassandra raised an eyebrow at. “What’s that for?”

“...I’ve been practicing poetry myself.” He admitted, flipping through the pages. “It’s a hobby I’ve been working on when I am not busy.”

“Aww…” She smiled, retaking her place at his side. She rest her head on his shoulder. “Which one are you going to read?”

“Reclaim. My 78th poem.”

“78!? You either have a lot of downtime or you have a lot of ideas to immortalize in poetic form.”

“A little of both.” He smiled at her surprise. “Shall I begin?”

“Yes, please.” She rested a hand on his chest. He wrapped his arm around her, his hand resting on her back, and began to read.

The rightful queen came home today. She came back with her head high, Proudly bringing the slain man's head for all to see. The dress of white was gifted to the winds and carried away. It's shameful imitation of fabric no longer touched her. Now she's taken back her rightful crown, The light basked in her glory as she came to her knight.

She tilted her head, just a little, and suddenly that scent came back to him. Caught off guard, he let go of the book. It landed on his face rather ungracefully, earning a surprised gasp from Cassandra.

“Vergil?”

“I...I’m fine.” He grumbled.

“I doubt it. You’ve been...stiff ever since we came back from Rothes.” She sat up a little. “What’s going on?” Vergil lifted the notebook off his face, meeting her dark green eyes. They were searching him, trying to find out the answer to his state. He let out a sigh, setting the notebook back with his books. He sat up, helping her into a sitting up position, and turned to her.

“That man...Draco, his stench clings to you. It infuriates the devil inside me. It is of no fault of your own. You did what you had to do to save Nero and I am grateful for your bravery.” He paused, taking in a breath. “It still does not change the fact that Draco dared to touch you, dared to be in your presence when he is not worthy of it…”

“You’re jealous.” And there it was, that simple succinct phrase. “Does that mean your devil considers me a mate or something?”

“Along that line, yes.” He sighed.

“So…” Cassandra’s eyes were closed, the spellblade warrior deep in thought. “Your devil considers me as a mate and Draco’s shit caused them to get jealous and see Draco as competition. Does that sound right?” She opened her eyes, seeing Vergil’s confirmation. He nodded. “Ok, so, how do we deal with this problem?” There was a quiet that fell between them, Vergil’s eyes fluttering closed to think. He could feel Cassandra’s gaze on him, intense and searching for an answer to the predicament. Vergil knew the answer but his pride refused to let him say it. “Is it sex.”

“What?” He blinked.    

“If it wasn’t something like that, then you would’ve said it by now.” Vergil looked away, a blush on his face. “What? I’m not wrong. You never mince words about what needs to be done to solve a problem unless it’s salacious.” And indeed, she wasn’t wrong. Vergil let out a sigh.

“You are...correct. Specifically, it involves scenting.” He could feel his face burn as he spoke. “It’s...messy.”

“We have a bath. And we paid the water bill for the month.” Cassandra said. “Are you afraid I won’t like it? Or I won’t like what will happen.”

“No. It is the fact that all this was born out of a desire to possess you. And you deserve more than someone who refuses to let go.” Cassandra mulled over his words.

“Earthmother help me, you’re such a gentleman deep down.” She said with a smile. She gently took Vergil’s chin, guiding him to face her. “If you’re worried about me consenting, then don’t worry. Of course I’d consent. I know you know your strength and I trust you to not break me too much.” Her hand moved down to take his hands. “You wield Yamato so skillfully, after all. I’m sure you can control yourself or drive me mad with pleasure.” She glanced up and gave him a wink. “I’ll be fine.”

“You’re insatiable.” He breathed.    

“I know.” With that, she leaned forward to kiss him. Her hand rested on his hip, the other threading through his silvery-white hair. She gently nipped at his lips, earning a soft surprised gasp. She slid her tongue inside quickly, taking advantage of his surprise to establish her dominance. He chuckled into the kiss, slowly tipping her back onto the blanket. The hand on his hip moved to rub his groin, earning a low groan from the half-devil above her. He pulled back, earning a soft gasp from her. He leaned back, pulling the dress off her. She aided him in the effort, pulling the soft fabric off her. He leaned back, carefully pulling off his vest. He could see the hunger and appreciation in her eyes, she didn’t even try to hide it. Placing the vest next to her dress, he worked on sliding his pants off. His eyes flicked to Cassandra, who was reaching back to undo her bra. He took in a soft breath, watching as it fell away. He pulled off his pants, noticing how Cassandra’s gaze flicked down to his groin and thighs.

“Yes?”

“Lace underwear, huh?” Cassandra asked, quite obviously amused. He tensed for a moment.

“The other options chafe. It’s distracting.”

“I like it.” She leaned forward, pulling the waistband of his underwear and pulling it back and down, exposing his cock. “And it makes your dick look that much more appetizing.” She smirked at his blushing face, pulling him out of his underwear. “And those thighs? To die for.”

“Are you going to spend the rest of the night showering me with compliments?”

“I might.” She winked. “But I’m not wrong.” She reached down, stroking Vergil’s cock. He let out a grunt, eyes fluttering closed. “That’s a look…” She murmured.

“You drive me mad.” She felt his hand grab her hair. “You insatiable harlot.” She grinned at him, meeting his smirk. Before she could reply, he forced her down onto her back. He presented his cock to her. Quickly getting the hint, she took the tip into her mouth and sucked, swirling her tongue around the slit. He let out a grunt, his hand gripping just a little tighter on her hair. He remained still, groaning softly as she leaned forward, bobbing her head on his cock. Vergil groaned as she worked, her hands moving up to massage his thighs, the very part of him she praised to high heavens.

Well, not that hers were lacking in any manner. But that was neither here nor there. His more immediate focus was on Cassandra, his ice blue eyes meeting her dark green. That half-lidded sultry look made him shiver, a look that shot down his spine and made his cock throb. That deep base beast rumbled with approval at the sight...and it wanted more.  Despite his attempts to stay in control, the beast within refused. He could feel his body shift and change, slowly as his control loosened. He growled as his load poured down her throat. With the last of his control, he moved back. In moments, he transformed with a burst of demonic energy.

Cassandra stared at the now transformed devil hovering over her, wings flared out behind him. The chill of the oncoming night was gone, replaced by the warmth that radiated from the very devil she was admiring. The devil let out a slow exhale, blue meeting green. She looked up and down the devil’s armored body, the deep blue that pulsated like a glowing heart from his chest to his flared wings. She could hear his tail swaying slowly behind him, faintly seeing the sharpened tip from behind his wings. He shifted back a little, as if he was worried that he had startled her.

“Wow...hot.” Cassandra said, earning an amused rumble from the devil hovering above her. Cassandra sat up, her hand reaching up to cup the side of his face. The devil leaned into her hand, warm against her skin. She smiled at the sight. “What? You thought I would be running for my life at the sight of you?”

“...a little.” He rumbled, voice warped from the demonic energy. “From the shock of my transformation.”

“You’re such a gentleman.” She took his hand and gave the warm palm a kiss. With a pleased rumble, he slowly moved his way down to her thighs. He pushed her thighs apart, noticing Cassandra shiver at the claws that pressed into her skin. Vergil leaned forward, his tongue rubbing slowly against her cunt. It rubbed up and down her slick folds, occasionally rolling around her clit, before moving down to push inside her. She gasped out, her hand reaching down to grab his horn. She pulled him closer to her, wanting to feel more of his tongue against her. Her body shook as he gave her more of what she wanted, his tongue lapping up her juices. Cassandra began to grind her hips against his mouth, shivering at the sensations.

He pulled back, letting out a pleased rumble. Cassandra lifted herself up a little by her elbows, looking down to Vergil’s groin. The carapace protecting his cock had split open, revealing a girthy slick blue cock. The bulbous head was slightly larger than the ridged shaft and, at what she presumed was at the base of his sac, was a knot. The scent that reached her made her shiver, a wave of arousal washing over her.

“Shit…” She panted. What was it about the heady scent that just seemed to make her wetter? She was certain Vergil could tell she was more than aroused, more than ready for him, but he restrained himself. “Veergill…” She whined.

“Yes, my love?”

“Nnn...please, just fuck me.” She panted. She could barely think, the heat at her core was almost overwhelming.  She faintly heard a soft but warm hum before the tip of his cock rubbed at her entrance. Her body burned with unbridled lust at the contact, a cry of pleasure ripped from her. The devil pushed the tip into her, earning breathy moans from his writhing mate. With the tip inside her, he paused and looked at her. Even with only the tip inside, he could sense her trying to pull him in. He leaned down, resting his forehead against hers. She reached up, holding tight onto his scaled body. She let out a whine as he pushed forward, sinking more of his cock into her. He could feel her walls squeeze and ripple around him, a sensation that made it difficult to not start thrusting right then and there. The devil let out a slow exhale, trying to not thrust with wild abandon, not yet.

Until she pulled him close, pressing her lips against his fangs. It did him in.

With an aroused growl, the devil began to thrust hard. He felt her legs hoist around his armored midsection. In the back of his mind, he knew she would come out of this scratched up. He would take care of that later, his mind too focused on the unbridled lust that was spurred on by her moans and cries of pleasure. His wings dug into the blanket below, growling as he thrust into her shaking form. The warmth that surrounded them felt as if it was pooling in his core, his thrusts devolving into short harsh movements. He panted as the knot at the base of his cock began to swell and with it, the oncoming orgasm.

“Vergil! I-I’m close!” He heard Cassandra pant. He could feel it, it was so close. With a final thrust, he pushed the knot into her and roared, warm seed pouring into her. With him, he heard her cry out and tense up around his knot, body shaking as her orgasm finally hit her. After a few tense moments, he felt her body go lax. He looked down, seeing her breathing heavily underneath him. His gaze moved down her body to her stomach, slightly swollen from the seed that he poured into her. If he was capable of blushing, he would be doing it. He stayed there for what felt like hours, the knot slowly deswelling. He pulled out, letting out a soft groan. Settling himself next to her, the devil disappeared with a flash of blue, revealing an exhausted flushed Vergil. She turned to him, reaching out to pull him into a brief kiss.

“Cassandra…” Vergil murmured. “I apologize-”

“Don’t.” She smiled at him. “That was...phew, that was something.”

“I could have hurt you.”

“Not much more than sore hips and some scratches, which isn’t a bad thing.” Cassandra slowly sat up, letting out a hiss. “Oof...can you go run a bath? I think I’ll be here for a bit…”

“And leave you alone? Never.” He swiftly picked her up, earning a hiss from her.

“Yowch! Jeez, rail my brains out and all that gentleman behavior goes out the window.”

“You were all for it.” He pointed out. She noticed the hint of a playful smile on his lips.

“Yeah yeah…” Cassandra waved her hand as he slipped back into the shop. Stepping into the bathroom, he laid her in the bathtub. He turned on the water, letting cool water pour from the faucet into the tub. “So, uh…” Vergil glanced at her. “Do I still smell of Draco?”

“No, thankfully.” Vergil sighed.

“Good. I’d rather smell of you than of an old bully.” Vergil wondered if she knew the implication of her words. He turned off the faucet. “I’ll be ok here, you should go get everything up on the roof.”

“Are you sure? It would be remiss if I left you her-”

“Vergil. I’ll be fine. I can bathe myself. You should get that basket of snacks and put it next to our bed so we can munch on those before dozing off.” Cassandra told him firmly. Vergil sighed and stood.

“As you wish.” He left the room. Cassandra went to work on bathing herself, humming softly. She swore she heard swift footsteps, perhaps Vergil pulling on some unknown demon ability. Super speed or something, she didn’t worry herself with it. She continued to wash her body.

“It’s done.” Cassandra jumped and looked up, seeing Vergil back by her side in pants. She stared at him, still shocked at his sudden appearance.

“...fucking hell.” She ran her hand through her damp hair. “I love you Vergil but there’s just some things that surprise me about you.” He chuckled at her mild frustration. Cassandra finished bathing and stepped out of the tub, right into a towel Vergil had for her. She leaned into his strong arms as he dried her body, relaxing. When her body was dry, she leaned against the wall as he drained the tub. As the tub drained, he picked her up bridal style and carried her to their bedroom.

“Would you like me to read to you?” He asked, setting her down on their shared bed.

“Of course.” She smiled at him. “But I’d like to hear some of your works.” Vergil blinked at her before nodding, sliding into bed next to her. He pulled out the notebook and allowed her to cuddle up against his side.

“As you wish, my wild rose.”

[battlemaiden13]

another 2 questions for bros from UT, US, HT, UF, SFR, Gastertale, MT, UL, and StoryShift Papyrus - 1. What games, board-games, video games, or card games might these skeletons play? 2. What is their favorite foods, or the foods they eat the most?

13: this turned out to be a bit longer than I thought it’d be, whoops. I’ve included a brief description of the games I figured most people wouldn’t of heard about to so you should be able to understand most of them. 

SansPulling pranks and being a pain aren’t really games you can tell people you enjoy although if they were that’s what he’d say. Instead he tells you his favourite game is questions only. It’s an improvisation game played between two people were they are only allowed to talk in questions. If someone manages to say something that isn’t a question than they’re out and the other person wins the round. He likes this game because he doesn’t necessarily need to stand up to play and there’s no set up. Of course he’s favourite food is obviously ketchup especially if he can have fries with them.

PapyrusWhy stop at a simple game? Being out of the underground Papyrus has discovered the wonders of escape rooms. Not only are they rooms filled with multiple puzzles but most are intended for more than one player making them the perfect bonding opportunity. Escape rooms are by fair his first choice of games if he could pick but he’s basically willing to try any puzzle based game from the digital game portal to just literal puzzles. Of course his favourite food is spaghetti.

RedReally likes RPG video games, his favourite though is the Persona series. They are a mix of RPG, logical thinking, fighting and strategy.  He enjoys other RPG’s to but this series is the one he keeps coming back to over and over again. He particularly enjoys the aesthetic of 5. Red’s favourite food to go along with his mustard is greasy cheeseburgers.

EdgeLikes games of subtle manipulation and control, his favourite of which is the board game series Munchkin. It’s a game where you have to work together in order to move forward but if you help out the others to much they will pull ahead and win the whole game. You have to figure out what alliances to keep and when to break them in order to best benefit yourself. Edge enjoys Lasagna, there are so many different ways to make it that he finds the whole thing very enjoyable.

BlueOne of his favourite games is Double memory! Of course you could also convince him to just play regular memory but double memory is way funnier in his opinion. Double memory is played with two decks of cards laying face down on a table, the joker cards are removed. With two decks you have to match both the number on the card and the suit where as with regular memory you just have to get the number because it’s played with a single deck. If you get a pair on your turn you get to go again, the person with the most matches at the end wins. Blues favourite food is tacos although he isn’t that great at cooking them he likes the different flavours you can get from a single bite from them.

OrangeLikes shooter video games, his favourite of which is borderlands. Not only is it a fast pace shooter but he really enjoys the style in the game and he adores the humour. First time he picked it up he wasn’t expecting it to be funny but it’s got him a few times and he was hooked. Orange has such a big sweet tooth anything to do with desserts he will love, that’s why he drinks honey. If he had to choose one thing though he’d definitely go with donuts.

LordLikes games that let’s him install fear in others usually done with contraptions he’s made himself. One such game he’s created is a game of chicken involving a finger guillotine. Players put their finger in the respective slot and take turns cutting a string. One of these strings will release sharp blade cutting off the players fingers. If you remove your hand you lose although losing a finger might not be the best option for any winner. Lord likes gyro’s and is convinced that they are the superior food.

MuttHe doesn’t really get to play games too often but if he had to pick one it would the card/ board game codenames. The game is played in teams, 12 tiles with different pictures are placed in front of you, the speaker has a card showing the locations of the different agents. The speaker gives the players a number and a word and the players have to try and connect the words to the pictures on the board. The number stated indicates how many agents could be hidden with that word.  The winners are the first team to find all their agents. Mutt likes it because you have to think about what your team or speaker would connect with each word in order to find the agents. Mutt also has a sweet tooth but prefers things a little bit sour. He could eat a ton of sour gummy worms along with the sour cream he always seems to be eating.

AxeHis memory makes it hard to concentrate on most games so it either has to be something he can leave and come back to or something that’s over pretty quickly. He does enjoy backgammon, he knows were his own pieces need to go and he doesn’t really need to concentrate when its the other players turn. He simple needs to role his dice and move his own pieces according to the numbers shown. He finds it easy to pay attention for these short times when it’s his turn and likes the logic and luck behind the game. Also loves ketchup but he will say that his favourite food is fruit. There wasn’t really a chance to get fresh fruit underground so now he really enjoys it.

CrooksLikes classic puzzles. Like puzzles, puzzles, you know the ones with pieces that fit together to show an image. That! The more pieces the better in his opinion and he finds the 3D ones just as fun. Over the years above ground he’s accumulated quite the collection of different puzzles. Like he has a wall in his house with a bookshelf covered in boxes of puzzles.  His favourite food is also spaghetti, he thinks it tastes best if made with rabbit meat or deer.

GGames aren’t really his thing but he has been known to play Tarot Cards of Fate.  The game is played in 3 rounds using a deck of Tarot cards. The cards are placed face-down on a table and the game is played by flipping them up one by one. Cards are assigned a score equal to their number shown on them i.e. The World being XXI is assigned 21 points. This score is awarded only to one of the players. Cards score also depends on their position when flipped up, if they are facing upwards the player is awarded positive points, if they are reversed they award a negative score. The sole exception to this rule is The Fool which serves as the game’s “Joker”. If The Fool is face up it is an instant-win for the score player, if reversed it is an instant loss regardless of any score. Although G does enjoy drinking Hot Sauce his favourite food is curry, the spicier the better.

GreenHe enjoys doing Sudoku puzzles. It’s something he picked up from his Gaster half and with his Papyrus half already enjoying puzzles there really wasn’t much argument about it. He’s filled in so many of those puzzle books that you’re sure it could fill a library. Green doesn’t really have a favourite food but he will indulge himself with different chocolates every now and then.

RouletteChoice poker is his favourite game. Any gambling he enjoys but he finds choices poker really raises the stakes. It has the same rules with common poker, five of a kind being the strongest hand and high card being the weakest hand. You are allowed to exchange your card only once. (You can exchange one to five cards). This game is also played with the joker and it is considered the strongest card instead of the ace. However, having the strongest hand doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll win, the higher bidder of chips in the betting round is given the choice to select whether the stronger or weaker hand will win that round. This means the bets are usually pretty high which makes for an exciting game. His favourite food is potato cakes alongside tomato sauce, he finds the flavour less sweet than normal ketchup although he’ll drink that two if it’s available.

SniperFavourite game is Duel Clash Poker. The game is played with a special deck, two pairs of players against each other. Each player has eight different cards: numbered card from 1 to 7 and one Joker. The player who plays the stronger card wins. However, if two players use the same card, they will cancel each other and the winner will be the person who played the next highest number. For example, when the chosen cards are two 7s, a 4, and a 2, the person who played 4 is considered the winner. The strongest card in the game is the Joker. Jokers can also cancel each other, though. The pair who manages to win four rounds first wins the game. Snipers favourite food is also pasta but he prefers them with white sauces.

LustAlso likes RPG’s his favourite currently being Skyrim because he has install all the horny mods, the same can be seen on his sims saves. He doesn’t play games to often but if and when he does you better believe his favourite things are the sexual mods that other creators have made for them. Lust favourite food is pizza mainly because he can argue it has veggies on it.

CharmPlays dating sims. Not only does he find them fun but he can use them as a training resource or as a way to test his skills. He doesn’t really have a particular favourite title as he’s basically willing to try any title in the genre and he’s actually pretty good at them. Charms favourite food is actually sushi, he finds it more romantic than pasta for some reason.

PoppyHis favourite game is actually Tetris. The other papyrus personalities don’t tend to enjoy video games but Poppy adores this fast paced puzzle game. A game of skill and quick logical thinking what could be better? You don’t think you’ve ever seen him lose unless he was super distracted. Just like the others have a tendency to though Poppy also really likes pasta. He doesn’t have a specific dish he enjoys more but he always seems to enjoy pasta.

[firesidefantasy]

so last night i realised i had almost hit 500 posts on this account. and then i had the brilliant, genius idea to make a post with 500 facts about monster house for my 500th post.

this was not a genius idea in any way shape or form.

i am not a genius.

but i did it anyway, so now i present to you:

five-hundred-fucking-facts about monster house

enjoy. 

KENZI

1) Kenzi was abandoned as a baby 2) She was adopted by Monster House 3) She does not know when her birthday is 4) Her best friend growing up was Toby 5) Kenzi thought she was a vampire when she was a kid 6) She went around biting people’s necks for weeks 7) Kenzi loves photography, Instagram, and modelling 8) She has ran four marathons and six 10ks 9) She has been dying her hair since she was 14 10) Kenzi’s favourite chocolate brand is Cadbury’s 11) She loves cooking and hosting parties 12) She hates being human and wishes she was a monster too 13) She is almost fluent in French 14) Kenzi has no idea what she wants to be when she’s older 15) She never wants to leave Monster House 16) Kenzi is always chewing gum

HARLOW 17) Harlow dyes her hair black 18) She plays drums because her dad told her it was for boys 19) She plays basketball because her dad told her it was for boys 20) Her mum died three years ago and Harlow has never got over it 21) She lives with her dad, their relationship is recovering 22) Harlow won’t leave the house without a beanie 23) She loves video games like overwatch and call of duty 24) She is absolutely shit at video games 25) Doritos are her favourite snack 26) Harlow has lost count of how many cousins she has 27) If she could be any monster, she’d be a vampire 28) She’s in a college band called ‘4am’ 29) They’ve played three actual gigs so far 30) Harlow wants to be in a famous band 31) Harlow does NOT want to ever get a real job 32) She writes a lot of songs 33) Nobody will ever see these songs 34) She hates the beach 35) The only thing she hates more than the beach is spelling errors 36) She also hates vegetables and weather over 20 degrees C 37) She loves the sound of rain and thunder 38) She hoards TV boxsets and prefers them over Netflix 39) She loves antique stores and charity shops 40) She has an impressive vinyl collection

TOBY 41) Toby is bisexual but prefers guy 42) He’s known he was bisexual since discovering Tom Holland 43) His favourite superhero is Iron Man 44) Spider man is a close second 45) Toby wanted to be a superhero when he was a kid 46) Now he wants to be a super villain (#edgyteen) 47) He’s enrolled in school part time 48) Avoiding sunlight makes school difficult 49) The kids at school joke that he’s a vampire because of this 50) They don’t know why that’s so funny 51) He plays bass guitar but never lets anyone else listen 52) Except Matty. Sometimes he joins in with the ‘drums’ 53) Toby loves going to the skate park at night 54) He once wrote a 500 word essay on why the moon is better than the sun 55) He knows every constellation and loves stargazing 56) He loves sitting on his dad’s balcony and watching the stars 57) Toby doesn’t know who his mum is 58) Metal and rock music is his favourite 59) He chews on his finger to satisfy his desire to bite things 60) Sometimes he’s tempted to see if he could bite his finger off 61) He never has 62) Toby loves tomato ketchup 63) Immortality intimidates him 64) He only wears band tee shirts 65) He starts wearing beanies everywhere after meeting Harlow 66) Toby idolises Harlow 67) His favourite food is pancakes with chocolate sauce 68) Kenzi makes him pancakes to apologise after they fight 69) Toby buys her bars of chocolate to apologise 70) Kenzi and Toby bicker a lot 71) They are also best friends 72) Toby’s favourite period of history is the Roman emperors 73) Caligula was his favourite emperor 74) Toby almost turned Kenzi when they were 14 75) He despises pop music 76) Kenzi and Toby fight over nothing more often than pop music 77) Custard makes him want to throw up

KAI 78) Kai has six older sisters 79) He is one of two guys in the witches coven 80) He speaks French and Italian (almost) fluently 81) He volunteers at the local animal shelter 82) He does not get along with his family 83) Kai tries to fit in but he isn’t very good at it 84) He gets very upset if his hair doesn’t look right 85) He struggles with dysphoria but his parents won’t let him get T 86) Kai loves doing jigsaws and watching reality shows 87) He listens to music to drown out his parents arguments 88) His oldest sister Natalia is his favourite 89) She cut his hair and bought him guys clothes after he came out 90) Natalia plays board games with him and helps with homework 91) Kai loves baking - especially banana bread 92) He hates bananas but could eat banana bread all day 93) Being a witch is hard and he’s really really bad at it 94) Kai once turned a dining room chair into a frog 95) He also turned his mother’s earrings into a donkey 96) They never let him keep the animals 97) Pop music and indie rock are his favourites 98) Kai is scared of the dark 99) Science and maths make no sense to him 100) He plans on leaving the witches coven when he’s 18

PHILLIP 101) Philip is a history professor at Seabrooke University 102) He was born in 1893 under the reign of Queen Victoria 103) He campaigned with the suffragettes - and even broke a window once 104) He is a hardcore liberal and despises the conservative party 105) He attended the 1908 summer Olympics held in London 106) He once had a fling with a maid of George V’s 107) Phillip had entered a competition to be on the titanic 108) He was an engineer during world war 2 109) His nose was broken at a protest for women to be given degrees 110) Phillip has been married three times 111) The first died, the second left him for another man 112) The third was a Vegas marriage about 30 years prior 113) Phillip is straight - but he’s experimented extensively in the past 114) He does the newspaper crossword puzzle every morning 115) He bans TV until after 3pm 116) Phillip moved to Monster House in the 70’s 117) He despises the movie ‘Twilight’ above all else 118) He is the one who decided to adopt Kenzi 119) Phillip is essentially in charge of Monster House 120) He adores barbecues with his family 121) He hates Russia, incorrect grammar, and coffee

MATTY 122) Toby brought a stray dog in one day 123) The next morning, a toddler was asleep in their living room 124) Phillip decided to keep him 125) His hobbies include chewing people’s shoes and phone chargers 126) He has broken exactly seven bones 127) There is no soul clumsier than Matty 128) His face is full of freckles and his cheeks are always red 129) He runs everywhere 130) He wants to be a footballer or an astronaut when he’s older 131) Matty breaks Phillip’s morning TV ban so he can watch cartoons 132) His favourite game is fetch 133) Toby created a machine for him that throws a ball over and over 134) Matty hates it - he likes playing with an actual person 135) His wolf form is small, fluffy and a little too blonde 136) Phillip has been assured that he will get less blonde as he grows up 137) Toby once tried to enter him in a dog competition 138) They won £20 and bought the biggest ice creams they could 139) Matty loves porridge almost as much as he loves shoes and Toby 140) He has an imaginary friend called Boris who he blames for everything

CALLIE 141) Callie is half fae and half human 142) Her full name is Calypso, but everybody calls her Callie 143) She cannot tell lies, but is excellent at talking around the truth 144) She’s introverted and shy - but also amazing at public speaking 145) She wants to be a legal aid barrister 146) Her hair is naturally brown but she dyes it red 147) She plays acoustic guitar in 4am - the same band as Harlow 148) Her roommate is a werewolf but she doesn’t know about it yet 149) She has travelled to France and Italy 150) But she wants to travel the world 151) Her bedroom walls are covered in maps 152) She has an emergency supply of snacks in a room at all times 153) Her biggest dream is to have her own library room once day 154) With a secret bookshelf door, of course 155) Her lava lamp and beanbags are her prized possessions 156) She does not have a good relationship with her parents 157) She struggles with insomnia and rarely sleeps 158) Coffee is her one true love 159) She adores long car rides and she adores driving 160) She works part time at a coffee shop 161) Her car is her other prized possession 162) Callie can devour bags of skittles in an instant 163) She forgets everything in her personal life 164) And remembers everything in her academic life 165) She loves fire and will sit and stare at it for hours 166) Sometimes she goes to the local aquarium to study 167) Change is her worst enemy - everything needs to be consistent 168) She has been a straight A student all her life 169) She goes for a long walk every Saturday afternoon 170) Callie writes songs when she’s feeling bad

MILO 171) Hiding antlers in public is the bane of his existence 172) He is part of a group who want to tell humans about monsters 173) Milo does not particularly like humans 174) He has curly blonde hair that is usually a mess 175) One of his eyes is darker blue than the other 176) He loves blanket forts and fairy lights and hot chocolate 177) He has a part time job delivering pizzas 178) This means he gets a discount on pizzas, which he takes advantage of 179) Percy Jackson is the main reason he’s doing a classics degree 180) He enjoys writing fantasy books in his free time 181) He is reasonably fluent in Ancient Greek and Latin 182) ‘Out of Bounds’ signs are a welcoming invitation to Milo 183) He will explore everything and anything 184) Milo wants to travel to South America the most 185) He has two mums 186) They both adore Callie 187) He goes rock climbing in his free time 188) This is so he can climb trees, fences, and monuments better 189) He claims he’s climbed several mountains 190) Callie does not believe this claim 191) He was not raised in Seabrooke and had few monster friends as a kid 192) Milo is a nymph 193) His father is one of his mother’s best friends - also a nymph 194) His ‘father’ taught him to garden and to bake 195) Milo never called him dad - he was always Uncle Barney 196) He loves growing his own flowers 197) Nymph magic allows him to grow the most beautiful plants and flowers 198) It also allows him to bake exceptional cakes and cookies 199) He adores his younger brother and sister 200) He is double jointed and left handed

KENZI AND HARLOW 201) Making out is their favourite pastime 202) Harlow spends most of her free time at Monster House 203) They enjoy joking about how ‘platonic’ their relationship is 204) Kenzi loves cooking for Harlow 205) They spend a lot of time watching TV shows together 206) Stranger Things and Friends were their last binge-watches 207) Harlow is always invited round for Friday Board Game Night 208) Kenzi constantly steals Harlow’s clothes 209) Harlow loves playing with Kenzi’s hair 210) Harlow loves holding Kenzi’s hand 211) Harlow just loves touching Kenzi as much as possible 212) They both have a years pass to the local petting zoo 213) Kenzi goes to all of Harlow’s band gigs and basketball games 214) She wants to set up a cheer leading squad for the basketball team 215) Harlow just wants to see Kenzi in a cheerleader costume 216) Harlow asked Kenzi to be her girlfriend 217) Kenzi said I love you first 218) They’re planning on getting an apartment together after graduating 219) Also a dog 220) Harlow adores getting Kenzi to play (and fail at) video games 221) Kenzi is a massive flirt - Harlow does not appreciate it 222) Harlow once stabbed Kenzi on the hand whilst cooking together 223) Kenzi and Harlow do not cook together 224) They bicker a lot 225) But Harlow adores Kenzi more than anything else, and vice versa

TOBY AND KAI 226) Toby only got the guts to ask Kai out because his dad made him 227) They are polar opposites in just about every way 228) Toby didn’t know what being transgender meant before meeting Kai 229) Toby calls Kai ‘sunshine’ 230) Kai calls Toby ‘grumpy guts’ for the most part 231) They fall asleep on the phone together a lot 232) They also fall asleep in the same bed a lot 232) Kai’s parents do not like vampires so they don’t know about Toby 233) They met through the Monster House toddler group when they were kids 234) They both went to the Monster House study group as kids/teenagers 234) Nowadays, they ‘study’ in Toby’s room instead 235) Kai drove Toby mad up until very recently 236) It wasn’t exactly love at first site 237) Toby threw up on Kai - the hatred only grew from there 238) Over time, Toby developed a soft spot for Kai 239) Nowadays, Kai still drives him crazy, but in a good sorta way 240) They have every intention of moving in together after school ends 241) Kai has a drawer of clothes at Toby’s place 242) Toby has punched six people in defence of Kai 243) One was an eleven year old. He has no regrets 244) Toby frequently takes Kai stargazing 245) Toby also taught him how to skate 246) Kai speaks French to Toby and he loves it 247) Sometimes Kai takes Toby to volunteer at the animal shelter with him 248) Their biggest fights are over pop music and science 249) They plan on getting a turtle when they move in together 250) Kai loves sitting on Toby’s lap 251) He also loves stealing his sweaters 252) He also loves fixing his hair 253) He frequently picks flowers for Toby and spends hours arranging them 254) Kai also loves falling asleep on Toby 255) Toby kisses Kai’s cheek a lot 256) Toby adores Kai, but he rarely admits to it 257) He took Kai to a Troye Sivan concert in February 2019 258) Kai sends Toby selfies a lot throughout the day 259) Toby saves every single one to his phone - but won’t admit to it 260) Toby’s dad r e a l l y wants him to marry Kai

CALLIE AND MILO 261) They met when they were both searching an abandoned church 262) They thought the other was a ghost 263) For the longest time, Callie was ‘ghost girl’ in Milo’s phone 264) Their first date was in Starbucks 265) But they tell people it was back in that abandoned church 266) They are both too terrified to ever go back to that church 267) They have plants to travel the world together 268) Callie’s phone background is Milo and his messy bed head 269) Milo’s background is Callie in one of his sweaters 270) Callie hoards Milo’s sweaters 271) Milo practically lives at Callie’s apartment so he doesn’t mind 272) Callie only really sleeps when she’s with Milo 273) Milo likes playing with her hair while she reads out loud 274) The sound of her voice calms his anxiety 275) Callie frequently plays guitar and sings for Milo 276) He considers himself her number one fan 277) Callie likes listening to him ramble about history and classics 278) She often falls asleep while he talks - he never seems to notice 279) Callie drives Milo everywhere 280) Milo always makes the best road trip playlists and snacks 281) Milo’s mum’s adore Callie 282) They go for family dinner every other Sunday 283) They are going to Greece together over the summer holidays 284) Their opinions on monster politics differ wildly 285) Callie enjoys teaching Milo how to play guitar 286) Milo grows his own flowers to give Callie 287) He also enjoys cooking for her 288) Sometimes he brings her breakfast in bed 289) He usually gets a blowjob in exchange for this 290) They make a game out of fucking in as many places as they can 291) This has included: the grocery store, a church, the forest 292) Milo’s parents frequently bring up marriage 293) They’re both quite content with how things are 294) One day, they’d both like a small wedding in Europe somewhere 295) Zoos, petting farms, and aquariums are their favourite dates 296) Milo is basically Callie’s pillow 297) Callie writes songs for Milo 298) Her parents do not approve of her dating a Nymph 299) Callie’s roommates adore Milo and love that he basically lives there 300) They fight about how much wardrobe space Milo takes up frequently

BACKGROUND CHARACTERS 301) Callie’s roommate is a werewolf 302) She doesn’t know that Callie isn’t human and vice versa 303) Werewolf roommate (Arya)’s family is originally from India 304) Arya loves escape rooms 305) Callie loves petting Arya in wolf form 306) Milo is the only one who questions why there’s a wolf in the kitchen 307) But Milo still feeds Arya-in-wolf-form blueberry muffins 308) Bruce the Minotaur has lived in Monster House forever 309) Nobody really knows where or when Bruce came from 310) He has a very distinctive Greek accent 311) Bruce makes the best waffles 312) And he knits a damn good scarf and woolly socks 313) Which is incidentally what everybody gets for their birthday 314) Sheryl the Siren is like a crazy aunt to the kids in Monster House 315) She auditioned for X Factor once - she didn’t get in 316) Her vocal inspirations are beyonce and mariah carey 317) Sheryl is married to Mary-Anne the Mermaid 318) Mary-Anne lives in the coves behind Monster House 319) Sheryl loves singing for Mary-Anne 320) Maybe it’s the water-clogged ears, but Mary-Anne enjoys the singing 321) They had a beautiful beach wedding twelve years ago 322) Kenzi was a flower girl, Toby was a page boy 323) There is a ghost living in the attic of Monster House 324) It never seems to come out 325) Bruce sits outside the attic door each night to keep it company 326) Sometimes it likes to play drums with pots and pans 327) Nobody really has a name - it’s just ‘the ghost in the attic’ 328) They leave cookies for it at Christmas - they always get eaten 329) Sometimes Matty gets there first 330) Grace the Gorgon is an interior designer 331) She wears a veil-like head cover to hide the snake hair 332) Most humans just assume the head cover/snake hair is a new trend 333) Grace constantly redecorates Monster House 334) The house usually puts everything back overnight 335) Monster House does not like change 336) Grace is a wanted felon for the murder of a man named Perseus 337) Humans seem to be destined to forever walk past Monster House 338) Thus, Grace has never been caught 339) It is rumoured that she was once called Penelope 340) Nobody quite knows what Perseus did to warrant murder 341) Nobody quite trusts Grace with a knife, either

SEABROOKE 342) Seabrooke is a small, sleepy seaside town in southern England 343) It is the suburban hot spot for Monster life 344) Seabrooke has a population of 4,500 345) Around 250 of these are monsters 346) For some reason, Seabrooke has it’s own university 347) Nobody really knows why - it’s possible Phillip had a role in this 348) Seabrooke has two primary schools, a secondary, and a sixth form 349) It gets a lot of tourists during the summer 350) Everybody hates the tourists - especially Monsters

WITCHES COVEN 351) When Bruce the Minotaur gets sick - he can’t be taken to the doctors 352) The Witches Coven is the main place Monsters go when they’re sick 353) Witches are difficult creatures and the Coven are no different 354) If you get on their bad side, they’ll refuse you service 355) The Witches Coven therefore practically run the town 356) There are three families that make up the Coven 357) Admittance is only to witches with the blood of prestigious families 358) Kai is part of the Witches Coven 359) Kai’s family practically runs the Witches Coven 360) There is a lot of tension between the Witches and Phillip 361) Largely because they both have a lot of influence over Seabrooke 362) Regardless, Phillip still genuinely likes Kai 363) The Witches tend to be high maintenance and spoilt 364) The parents are like the worst white suburban soccer mums ever 365) Regardless, they are excellent at healing magic 366) But also excellent at ruining your life 367) They have definitely killed a few monsters - but it cannot be proved

LOCAL NEWSPAPER 368) The Daily Seabrooke is ran by shapeshifters 369) Nobody remembers when the TDS was started 370) Philip adores it for the crosswords 371) Apparently the crosswords are ‘out of this world’ 372) TDS is ran by a group of crazy looking students 373) Of course, they’re shapeshifters, so they’re probably all 1000+ 374) The shapeshifters behind TDS don’t mingle with other monsters 375) At least not as themselves 376) They report on human politics and news as well 377) Only monsters are sold the copies with monster news included 378) Half of TDS is gossip about the people in Seabrooke 379) Nobody is really safe from their snooping 380) Their methods include being a literal fly on the wall 381) Most breakups, Witches Coven drama, and Vamp/Wolf fights are put in 382) TDS is extremely controversial amongst Monsters in Seabrooke 383) Kenzi thinks it’s fucking hilarious

SEABROOKE UNIVERSITY 384) The University is crawling with monster life 385) Several professors are monsters 386) Most notably are Phillip and Steven 387) Phillip teaches Modern History 388) Steven teaches Medieval History 389) Phillip is a Vampire, Steven is a Werewolf 390) They have a competition for who gets History Professor Of The Year 391) This competition frequently gets out of hand 392) Everybody knows about their rivalry, few knows why 393) Nobody knows how long the two have worked there - most say forever 394) That wouldn’t be far from the truth 395) Steven happens to be Arya (Callie’s Roommate)’s father

MONSTER HOUSE 396) Monster House is practically alive 397) It constantly expands and shrinks 398) There are always exactly as many rooms as are necessary 399) Only the first floor can be seen by passersby 400) And they often walk straight past it 401) Ordering pizza is a nightmare 402) It’s like the human brain cannot comprehend where it is 403) Even though it’s in an incredibly obvious location 404) When they do see it, they see only a normal house 405) The construction of the house makes no sense 406) There are rooms hanging over nothing and stairs leading to nowhere 407) Sometimes bedrooms move and finding them is a nightmare 408) The living room and kitchen like to switch places 409) On Monday’s the kitchen is green and nobody knows why 410) It is black and white the rest of the time 411) It is almost impossible to paint or decorate Monster House 412) It prefers to do that itself 413) Somehow the bedrooms always look exactly how they are wanted 414) At least they save on paint - that shit is expensive 415) Unfortunately, Monster House doesn’t clean itself 416) Toby has registered several complaints about this

LULU 417) Lulu’s full name is Lucifer 418) It has been living in the basement since the beginning 419) It has only been seen by four people 420) Phillip and Kenzi are two of those 421) They call it Lulu because Kenzi couldn’t pronounce Lucifer as a kid 422) The nickname kinda stuck 423) Lulu gets fed raw fish every morning 424) They just dump a bucket full down the hatch in the kitchen 425) Sometimes Toby threatens to feed Matty to Lulu 426) This causes Matty to have nightmares and sleep in Toby’s bed 427) So that one kinda backfired on Toby 428) Nobody actually knows what kind of creature Lulu is

MISC. FACTS 429) Harlow’s favourite song is ‘Lights Down Low’ by Max 430) Seabrooke is not on any map - nobody knows why 431) I really regret this 432) Never ever try to write 500 facts it will not be fun 433) Callie’s favourite kind of law is criminal law 434) Particularly fatal offences 435) She also likes land law because she’s fucking weird 436) Kai got into reality TV because of his sisters 437) One of the arcades in Seabrooke is monster themed 438) Toby works there on Saturdays - always taking the night shifts 439) Kai really wants to own his own bakery one day 440) He tried to get the local bakery to hire him but he’s too young 441) Kai also wants to live in France or Italy 442) He also wants to be on reality shows and get a fake tan 443) (Okay. Toby is pretty sure he was joking about that) 444) Kai always has to wish on a lucky star 445) Milo wants to be a published author one day 446) Kai has tried to run away from home twice 447) His parents put a tracking spell on him and found him too fast 448) Toby wishes he could skate at the park with the other kids 449) But he also secretly likes that everyone finds him mysterious 450) Toby used to have a (massive) crush on Kenzi 451) Now they’re both pretty gay 452) Everyone is gay tbh 453) Monsters have no concept of heteronormativity 454) Kenzi’s favourite colour is pink 455) Callie’s favourite animal is an octopus 456) Kai has a picture of him and Toby stuck on his bedroom wall 457) Kai has had a crush on Toby since they were kids 458) Coming out as trans wrecked Kai’s relationship with his parents 459) It is seen as a disgrace for witches to have male sons 460) Men are submissive in witch culture 461) Kai’s parents frequently misname and misgender him 462) The kids at school are much more accepting 463) Kai came out when he was 14 464) Toby has actually been one of his biggest supporters 465) Natalia has been his main supporter as well 466) Toby likes Kai a lot more since he came out 467) Kai feels more real to him now - and irritates him less 468) Toby doesn’t know how long Kai has liked him for 469) Kai is pretty open about being trans 470) Seabrooke is quite accepting, even if his parents aren’t 471) Kenzi is terrified of being rejected by the monster community 472) She really wants Toby to turn her so she can be an actual monster 473) She wears contact lenses so her eyes look purple 474) She doesn’t really like school and puts the bare minimum effort in 475) Harlow is taking four a levels - a difficult thing to do 476) Fuck this was the worst idea 478) Harlow channels her anger out through drumming 479) It’s therapist mandated so her dad cannot stop her 480) Even though he very very much wants to 481) Harlow’s favourite video game is overwatch 482) Her mains are lucio, junk rat, bastion and rein 483) Harlow despises spelling and grammar errors 484) Matty likes stealing Toby’s tee shirts 485) Between Matty & Kai, Toby barely has any clothes left 486) Which is fine as far as Kai’s concerned 487) Matty is like a little brother to Kai 488) Originally, Callie & Arya were part of a polygamous relationship 489) I cut that out, though, because I couldn’t think of a third girl 490) Seabrooke tends to have mild weather 491) During the summer, the heat can spike to 25-30 C max 492) It rarely snows, but it does rain a lot, and there’s a lot of wind 493) Most of the houses in Seabrooke were built 100ish years ago 494) It has a train station - nobody knows why - it’s the last stop 495) There is a Seabrooke museum ran by a vampire and a Fae 496) There is a secret monster section in the back 497) Idle Town by Conan Gray reminds me of Seabrooke 498) As does This Town by Neil Horan (I think that’s the name idk) 499) Fuck you to @livvywrites for not stopping me 500) I am never doing this again

tag list: @livingthelovelylife, @commasinsidequotes, @4kidsopfan, @thatworldinverted, @livvywrites @ravenpuffwriter @the-writer-turned-procrastinor @livingthelovelylife  (ask to be added or removed more likely after this shit)

[annefraid]

you want what you can't give

They were at Giovanni's place, the five of them, it was friday evening, and they were already drunk. 

Nobody had the energy to go out tonight, "it's way too cold", and with no parents here, they were sprawled out on the large sofa and some chairs with more pizza than they could possibly eat. Only he was still reasonably sober, since someone should be able to get Marti home safely.

"No, I'm serious!" Luca called out, a little too loud but it was swallowed by the eruptive outbreak of laughter from the others. "I read about this new study that says you still grow in your twenties, so I have time."

Elia was the first one to calm down enough to comment. "But how do we smuggle you then, if you don't fit in a suitcase?" 

Niccolò's laugh shrunk down to a confused smile. Right next to him Marti lifted his hand to point at Elia across the table, agreeing loudly. 

"Wait, I don't know what that's about."

Gio looked at Nico. "Bro, you don't know about the suitcase?" With a mischievous sparkle in his eyes his hand shot up dramatically to request silence, preparing everyone for an epic story.

"It all began when we met Luchino," he started, barely able to contain his own laughter, but dedicated to the anecdote. He was usually a great storyteller, but now the boys kept interrupting him by throwing in comments only they understood, the alcohol and euphoric narrative made him leave out parts of sentences, but Nico got the gist. At the end they were all laughing, watching Luca fake-complain about left out details.

"So you went to Greece together?"

"Yes, last summer!"

"Man, I wish we weren't stuck in school right now, I want to go back."

"Those were the days, my friends."

"It was the best," Martino sighed.

"Yeah, what did you do?" he asked him.

"We, you know, just relaxed," Giovanni answered instead and gave Marti a meaningful look before he burst out laughing again.

Marti giggled and slid down even more, partly leaning against Nico's left arm, with his feet on the coffee table, crossed at the ankles. 

Niccolo knew he was a jealous person. He also knew it wasn't fair, because he was the one who needed space, who couln't always give his full attention, who shut people out.

But seeing parts of Martino that only other people experienced stung in his chest. To want what you can't give, that was the problem. It was how he saw himself, a puzzle made of creativity and struggles and love and darkness. A mix of all the pieces coming out depending on the people he was around. Never able to offer himself without the pain. Rarely presenting everything. But Martino was another story. He wanted every part of Martino.

Pausing his conversation with Gio, Marti leaned his head on Nico's shoulder, trying to look at him, then brought his beer bottle up to Nico's lips, nudging playfully. His wide grin was definitely a product of alcohol, and the sight made Nico decide to completely give up on his own drink. 

"I think somebody has to play the adult here."

"You deserve to relax too. Come on, a little fun?" Marti suggested.

"I can already see us sleeping in some bushes later, because we got lost on the way."

"Or we could just..." Marti closed his eyes and pretended to snore. Nico knew they could. He knew Giovanni wouldn't even bat an eye if they stayed here for the night.

Marti sat up, taking his feet off the table this time, and a second later he was already in the middle of a new topic with Gio.

When Niccolò had joined the group only a few months ago, all of the guys had welcomed him with open arms, teasing and including him like they've known each other for years. He loved them for that, he really did. 

He was also aware that Marti loved them all, but from the first moment he joined, he knew Giovanni was different. He probably could have figured it out even before that, maybe when he gave Marti his headphones back, actually Giovanni's headphones. Or when Gio eyed him suspiciously, as if he was looking into his soul, searching for his true intentions with his best friend.

Nico didn't fully understand their connection, maybe because he's never had someone like that. A friend who was easy to talk to and equally understanding about issues. Somebody who knew everything about you, and still stayed.. He could see it in every look they shared, every time they were checking in with each other, just synchronizing their lives. He saw it every time they grinned like nine year olds who were plotting some genius prank, at least in their eyes, other times they had entire silent conversations with serious faces, or if it concerned one of their friends, then it was quick glances and determined nods.

Nico didn't want to interfere, but he couldn't shake the feeling that a part of Marti was taken from him.

----

One week later they were hanging out again. Except this time there was no alcohol and they were in Martino's apartment.

Niccolò was standing in front of the open fridge with his mother's voice in mind, to not "leave it open for such a long time, decide what you want beforehand." He looked over the spices and sauces, smiled at the red bottle in sentiment and took the cheese.

Closing the fridge, he turned back to the counter, realizing Giovanni had joined him and was looking around, searching for something. Nico opened a drawer and took out a knife.

"What are you making?" Gio asked as he took two glasses from the cupboard.

"A sandwich. Do you also want one?"

He raised his eyebrows. "But we already ordered food, it should be here in half an hour."

"I know, I just couldn't wait any longer." 

Gio nodded and reached for a bottle of water, letting a few seconds pass in silence.

"Everything good?" he asked casually and Nico couldn't help but smile. It was such a familiar tone from him, one that made people feel comfortable, giving space when it's needed, asking when he felt something was off, but always genuine. It was a rare trait.

"Yeah, everything's good," he answered. Gio nodded again and turned to leave, playfully bumping Nico’s shoulder with the bottle in passing.

Elia and Luca were sitting at the dinner table, hunched over a phone to watch funny videos, judging by their laughter. He returned to his food, thinking about adding something, when quiet footsteps approached from behind and two arms wrapped around his waist.

"Hey," Marti murmured, putting his chin on his shoulder.

"Hey yourself," he said, leaning into the embrace for a moment.

"What's that?"

"Sandwich." 

"You're not eating with us?" He could hear the concern, but somehow Marti has found a way that worked for both of them, a voice which took the pressure off, but still allowed Marti to ask. Nico took it as confirmation, proof that this was working out.

"Maybe later, if there's still something left after you guys." He giggled as he took a piece of the cheese and waved it in front of Marti's face, pretending to feed it to him, only to pull back at the last second and put it in his own mouth. Marti only hummed in response and Nico felt warmth spreading in his body, maybe because of the hug, maybe because of how easy this was.

"Wait, did Gio tell you to check up on me?"

"I don't know what you're talking about." He felt a soft kiss on the back of his neck, and then Marti released him and walked out of the kitchen.

He finished his creation and turned around to lean against the counter, eating. Marti was back on the couch, a box full of video games on his lap, picking out some to read the cover. Gio was kneeling in front of the tv, setting up the gamepads they would use later.

Nico hasn't stopped thinking about them all week and seeing them work together again like this unlocked all the memories he had. When he started dating Martino, he quickly picked up on how Marti talked about Giovanni, like he was a constant in his life, a person deeply rooted in his past and present. He was a source of warmth, and Nico knew it was what Marti needed: someone warm, someone comfortable, someone who shined as bright as Marti.

Nico saw how much Gio cared about Marti in every interaction, in every look. And even if he was blind he would have known, because Marti told him, mentioned it in passing once. How Gio had been there for him, through all of it and when nobody else was. And Nico knew, nothing about that statement was casual, it was a truth, so well thought out and genuine that Nico couldn’t help but feel grateful that Marti found someone who has taken care of him all these years. And also, he thought, feeling a slight stab in the chest, all the times Nico has made him miserable.

Gio turned his head to look at Marti over his shoulder, pointing at something. Marti looked up and just nodded, watching him take out a jar from the shelf. Gio inspected it from all sides, turning it in his hand, as if the transparent glass could hide something, but Nico knew that the jar only contained one red thread, bundled together.

The boys at the table were so loud he couldn’t hear their words, he only saw Marti saying something, smiling brightly and Gio focusing again on the jar, before his face formed one of his own content smiles, Nico recognized it even from afar. He carefully placed it on the shelf again and went back to his efforts at the tv. And just like that, Nico knew.

He knew that both of them would take care of him, that Nico was also a part of this now. And maybe he couldn't give Marti all he wanted to, but he also didn't need to. There were other people, and that didn’t mean he wasn’t enought for Martino.

He knew that he didn't have to share him, that Marti was a whole person, a person who’s relationships were the most important things in his life. He had to let him breathe, let him grow and expand and keep as many people close as he needed. His relationships were a part of him, fundamentally ingrained into his being. He cared so much about them, that was why people loved him and that was why Nico loved him. And Nico knew he would do anything to keep him happy.

[cmarionthewilkid-blog]

C.O.N.S.U.M.E.D

What happens when we consume more than we need? What happens when our choices are influenced by societal pressures of how things should be? Part 1 of my reflective journal will aim to provide a glimpse at two weeks of a working mom, head of a house of five, who also coincidentally adds event planner often to her job tasks. 

Day 1: I specifically started my consumption journal on Friday, October 25. The day before a large case competition I was hosting on campus. Day 1 starts like most every other day of my life. The 20 minute drive to daycare, followed by the usual ice cap pit stop at Tim Horton’s. This day is special though, with the pressures of ensuring everything was just right for our judges and sponsors. I stroll off to Ferme Beaulieu to spend $328 on gifts. I am thinking that at least I am buying local products (honey, herbs, ketchup aux fruits) and feel pretty great about that. But why do I feel obliged to buy gifts at all? Wouldn’t a sincere thank you be enough? I guess according to Jonathan Porritt (2011), I have fallen victim to consumerism at its best. Somehow, I feel OK about it though. 

 A quick stop at Dollarama for gift bags, disposable coffee cups (cringe!), and plastic plastic trays. Finally, a $148 trip to Provigo for snacks for the case competitors and coaches. Oops, did I mention the trip to the t-shirt printer to pick up the 60 red printed competition momentos. Let’s add the 250+ pages I printed that day! As I sit here and reflect on the necessities (needs) of running a case competition versus expectations (and wants), I come to the realization that most of what I have purchased is simply there to enhance image. 

Day 2 (October 26): Tim’s ice cap (check!). 60 Donuts, 60 pre-packed lunches, 24 cans of Perrier, 60 cans of soft drinks, 40 coffees in disposable cups, 100 plastic glasses of wine. Today, I am completely influenced by materialism and keeping the “image”. Let’s keep in mind that I work for a business school and that comes with some rather large assumptions around how things are supposed to look and be. Not to mention, I am hosting five people from the company who is sponsoring the event, so I need to keep them happy and ensure the event lives up to their expectations. I am reminded of Amitai Etzioni, (2012) and his sentiments about “keeping up with the Jones’”. It is true, when one party sets a certain expectation, we all rise to meet, or better, exceed them.

Today; however, my biggest disappointment was food waste. The boxed lunches were good, but about 25% of people didn’t eat all their meal. Almost 100% of the people didn’t eat the dessert included. We don’t have access to compost, so it went to the trash. Above the clear environmental impact of my event, I am reminded of the fact that one fifth of the world’s richest people consume 45% of all the meat and fish (Shah, 2014). Despite the company providing compostable cutlery and cups, I feel guilty that I sent so many things to the landfill today. To top it all off, Sodexo served a less than stellar menu at the Gala dinner (veal sous-vide). I swear I wanted to eat it, but alas, two bites in and I am done. More to the trash. Exhausted and mentally drained, I wonder to myself where the balance between convenience and waste needs to come into play. Why can’t we have compost stations on campus?

Day 3 (October 27): But first, my ice cap! A friend’s child’s birthday party today so I scramble to get things together. I run to Provigo to grab stuff for mini pizzas to share (forgot my grocery bags, so plastic it is). My friend insisted on no gifts at the party, which I wanted to accept, but quite frankly couldn’t. I’m glad I didn’t because apparently no one else respected it either. I think about this social obligation more deeply (Goodwin, Smith, & Spiggle, 1990). I try my best to make a compromise, we opt for a movie day among friends instead of a traditional gift. I am hoping this small intrinsically motivated action may decrease future landfill waste in the future. Nonetheless, we are filled with waxed juice cups and plates. Back to the Provigo to grab something for the family for supper. I grab peppers in a plastic bag, sausages in a styrofoam package, pasta sauce in a glass bottle, cheese in plastic packaging and pasta in a cardboard box. Nothing much to compost or recycle unfortunately. 

Day 4 (October 28): Monday and back to work. Ice cap, yup! I am starting to get quite the collection in my office recycling bin. My boss just commented on it. I guess it is a bit of an eye sore..haha! 

Two trips to Provigo today. One at lunch to grab George’s bread, deli ham, Coaticook cheese, carrots and dip. Next stop on the way home from work for supper, chicken, baby potatoes and stuffing. 

Day 5 (October 29): If you haven’t guessed by now, ice cap time! Today, my brother (who lives with us) did a fridge clean up. Sigh! I can’t believe how much stuff we threw away. Past date, wilted vegetables, moldy fruits. Why don’t I just throw money directly into the garbage can? Is it normal that the first thing I think about is wasted money? According to a study  by Graham-Rowe, Jessop, and Sparks (2014),  wasting money is indeed a major motivator to minimize food waste. Inspired by this revelation, I am determined to have leftovers for lunch and transform the chicken salad sandwiches tonight for supper. I don’t even have to stop at Provigo today! WOW!

Day 6 (October 30): IC (that’s all I will say). Wednesdays are always tricky because I am running around and teach a class at night. It is one of those days. I grab lunch at Subway (steak sub, chips and a drink) -> garbage.

Run to Provigo after work and grab steak, carrots, potatoes and gravy from Provigo and throw it in pot to cook. I also realize that I haven’t really bought any candy for Halloween for my students in case class. $65.30 later and we have meat and candies! I’ve also been putting out chocolates outside my office door for students. 

Day 7 (October 31): Another ice cap to go please. I don’t even eat lunch today. Now I realize we have no candy for the kids. Drive to Walmart and $68.03, we’ve got goodies. No lunch again, and we go to a friend’s for supper. Off with the 4 year old trick or treating in the rain. She gets a pail of treats, we have 2 boxes of stuff leftover.

Day 8 (November 1): Day of the dead? I think so! Actually order breakfast with my ice cap at Timmy’s this morning. No lunch today. We decide to go shopping after work today as my brother has a 40% discount at L’Equipeur. $218.58 later, my husband enjoys new shoes, jeans, sport jacket, t-shirts, and a pair of sneakers for my mom for Christmas. Oh wait! Marlee needs new winter boots, so $86.22 later, we have new winter boots for her. I also see the cutest dress boots at Marshall’s (fake baby Uggs). I suppose these is what the marketers are hoping for. Top it all off with super for the family at Guido’s. (Wow! I have really been eating like crap!) Day 8 hurt the bank account!  Day 9 (November 2): Maybe I should actually buy some groceries for my empty fridge. I sludge off to Provigo early Saturday morning to spent near $200. At least I have meat, veggies, fruits, and some of the other basics for my family to actually live on. Stop at Tim’s on the way home for the usual. 

Day 10 (November 3): Beautiful breakfast with family (and an ice cap). Spent the day making food (soup, roasted chicken, pasta sauce, etc....). Trying to cut down on the restaurant stops this week. End up at the library with some dear colleagues from GSE503, so I think another ice cap is in order to stay awake (and leftover Halloween Candy). 

Day 11 (November 4): Check that thought. Day went to hell, running late, dead tired, no breakfast, grabbed Rima for supper. Fridge full, but I don’t even care at this point. 

Day 12 (November 5): Today is a new day! I started making iced coffee at home! No Tim’s! I actually did not spend $1 today! Why do I feel so great? Apparently it is something referred to as perceived consumer effectiveness (PCE). When is comes to sustainable buying practices, this PCE is influenced directly by guilt and pride. This becomes important because it means that as a consumer,  my behaviours could be modified by using emotions (Antonetti, & Maklan, 2014).

Day 13 (November 6): Another no spending kind of day! Feeling all pride and no guilt! Maybe Atonetti and Maklan are on to something!

Day 14 (November 7): Last day of recording! No ice caps and going strong.  My husband and I are feeling like we need a little extra family time, so we go out for supper at Mike’s with Marlee. We follow it up by a little Chocolat Favoris. I asked myself why we went to Mike’s again? What a waste!   A quick stop by Provigo to grab snacks for my basketball girls. I make an orzo salad plus pull together fruits, yogurt, cheese and granola bars.

Stay tuned for Part 2 to see if I actually made some changes and what this whole process has meant for me. Until then, I leave you on this note: Waiting on the World to Change

REFERENCES

Antonetti, P., & Maklan, S. (2014). Feelings that make a difference: How guilt and pride convince consumers of the effectiveness of sustainable consumption choices. Journal of Business Ethics, 124(1), 117-134. Retrieved from www.jstor.org/stable/24033218

Etzioni, A. (2012). You Don’t need to Buy This. Retrieved from https://youtu.be/FN3z8gtDUFE

Goodwin, C., Smith, K.L., & Spiggle, S. (1990). Gift giving: Consumer motivation and the gift purchase process. In NA - Advances in Consumer Research. 17, eds. Marvin E. Goldberg, Gerald Gorn, and Richard W. Pollay, Provo, UT : Association for Consumer Research, 690-698. Retrieved from http://acrwebsite.org/volumes/7086/volumes/v17/NA-17

Graham-Rowe, E., Jessop, D.C., & Sparks, P. (2014). Identifying motivations and barriers to minimising household food wasteby. Resources, Conservation & Recycling, 84, 15-23. doi: 10.1016/j.resconrec.2013.12.005

Porritt, J. (2011). The trap of materialism. Retrieved from https://youtu.be/DtwXryPNciM

Shah, A. (2014). Consumption and Consumerism: Global Issues. Retrieved from http://www.globalissues.org/issue/235/consumption-and-consumerism

[chibalein]

Harmony Magazine Vol.6 - Recommendations for Wakana ~ Translation

So, in January, fanclub members could submit recommendations for restaurants and other interesting places located in the prefectures that Wakana will visit during her upcoming spring tour. These are the selected entries. Every entry (except for Wakana’s own recommendations) includes the member number, the nickname of the user that submitted the recommendation and a comment of him/her about the place, but I will only translate the comment. I also put links of every location in the titles. My personal notes will be in [...].

Anyway, some of these entries seem like very cool insider tips. Japan offers so many regional or local specialities that outsiders, let alone foreigners, might never know about. So if you happen to be at those places, no matter if it’s for Wakana’s concert or not, go ahead and try them, because you will never get the chance otherwise.

Celebrating the domestic spring tour!! Recommendations for Wakana!! This shop, that shop!  

Wakana will hold her spring live tour in 7 major cities starting from April. So we hurriedly asked fanclub members via a questionnaire to tell us their recommendations! Will there be places that Wakana finds interesting as expected!?

Thanks to everyone who submitted their suggestions!

1. April 4th: Hanno City Civic Hall (Saitama)

Ôsato Main Shop “Hanno’s famous sweet Shirimochi”

Since I spent my elementary and middle school years in Hanno City, I have so many things I would like to tell you about it, but I really want you to try this treat. It’s called “Hanno’s famous sweet Shirimochi”! This treat is moderately sweet with puffy and soft red bean paste filling wrapped in mochi. But it’s sold in only three places in Hanno and with the best-by date being so short, only people of Hanno know about this - so it’s a treat only well-known to the few. They are often sold out by afternoon, but since Hanno City Civic Hall is only five minutes away by car, please try it!

Wakana’s comment:

It looks like a very soft mochi. It’s so simple and honest, wonderful! It’s also great that this shop is only a 5-minute car ride away! After buying merchandise, you can buy shirimochi, eat them, and bring them to the venue, in this order *laughs*. Great! I am sure they are also delicious after putting them into a toaster!

2. April 6th: NHK Osaka Hall (Osaka)

Botechaya “Okonomiyaki set meal” [it’s a chain, I put a link to the Dotonbori store]

This combination is distinctive for people from Kansai who eat okonomiyaki as a side dish of rice *laughs*. The dough is firm, but once you take a bite you get the proper softness. By eating the strongish sauce and rice alternately, if you gives just the right flavor - on this photo it may look small, but it has a good amount of volume.

Wakana’s comment:

After all, I love dishes made of flour! There are no “Okonomiyaki set meals” in other prefectures. Very Osaka-like! But, this is “normal” to Osaka people, right!? Is it like common practice? A side dish to rice… Yes, the flavor is strong, so it surely is delicious with white rice! I think it’s very compatible! *laughs*

3. May 4th: Fukuoka Convention Center (Fukuoka)

Henn-na Hotel Fukuoka Hakata

This is a hotel in Wakana’s home prefecture Fukuoka! Opened recently in January 2019, it’s not strange at all [the “hen” in the hotel name means “strange” or “weird” in Japanese]. It’s a fantastic hotel. The receptionists are velociraptors! I will say the most important thing once more - velociraptors do the reception! It’s such a dream-like hotel. How about staying in this hotel and resting after the concert where Wakana’s beloved raptors are?

Wakana’s comment:

Velociraptors are so cool! I got excited the moment I saw this. I wonder whether they can talk? *laughs* Of course I knew about the very first hotel in Huis Ten Bosch in Nagasaki [a big theme park in Sasebo City modeling Holland in the Middle Ages]. I want dinosaurs to be in the rooms, too! The hotel prices also seem reasonable! Since it opened recently and is close to the venue, I want everyone to meet and fall in love with velociraptors <3

4. Wakana’s recommendation!

West Udon Izakaya

“West” is a famous udon chain in Fukuoka, but they have various things like “West Yakiniku”. One of these stores is the “West Udon Izakaya”, the menu prices are around 200 Yen, 300 Yen, 400 Yen! Motsunabe for one person costs 300 Yen! But it’s really delicious! My recommendations are “Yamaimo Teppan” [japanese yam in a hot iron plate] and “Gobôten Udon” [fried burdock udon]. There are also stores that operate 24 hours. They have hot pot, snacks and alcohol and at the end udon… Getting drunk and sleeping with a good mood, it’s easy-going after all. It’s such a restaurant.

5. April 14th: Sapporo City Education and Culture Hall (Hokkaido)

Seicomart

This convenience store started in Hokkaido. It’s trademark is the orange signboard. Seicomart’s “Hot Chef” [it’s like a fast food corner inside the stores, you can get handmade dishes there] is pretty delicious. During summer, Hokkaido’s melon soft ice is super yummy.

Wakana’s comment:

When I went to Hokkaido, Seicomart was always taking care of me! Whenever I went there, I felt like it’s always full of rice or side dishes. But I didn’t know about “Hot Chef”! Next time I’ll try to go there just for the “Hot Chef”! As for the soft ice, I think there weren’t any other ice varieties after all. The melon soft ice looks so delicious~! The Sapporo live will be in April, so it’s just about the right time to challenge ice cream, right? I will look for it!

6. Wakana’s recommendation!

Rokkatei “Ôhirahara”

This yellow, fluffy cake is something I got from a friend from Hokkaido! The backside of the wrapping says “Please warm it up in the microwave for 10 seconds”, and after warming it up, it tastes so much more delicious! My friend said “Eh! I didn’t know that! You have to warm it up?” *laughs*. When she/he tried it, she/he got so excited and said “Wow, delicious!”. I want everyone to know that Hokkaido doesn’t only have “shiroi koibito” [a super damn delicious cookie Hokkaido is famous for]. Please bring this back as a souvenir!

7. April 20th: Sendai Gigs (Miyagi)

Ankoya

Normally, dorayaki [traditional pancake-like confection filled with red bean paste] are round, but this bakery makes them square. Inside it’s densely packed with red bean paste, it’s a filling food. You can enjoy different and seasonal flavors. Many people come to the bakery in the morning, so you should come early. Please try it!

Wakana’s comment:

So cute~! So there are also season-limited flavors. The idea that dorayaki are delicious even if they are not round is great. When buying it, I feel like they will be beautifully put inside the box. Seems like there is also “butter dorayaki”~, it looks so delicious! Butter wrapped in red bean paste, it feels like it’s connected with “Nagoya”. Ah, but it’s Sendai! *laughs* If they are sold out before noon, then they must be popular. Anyway, I want to try that butter dorayaki!

8. May 12th: NTK Hall Nagoya (Aichi)

[Just a comment from my side: in the magazine it actually says “glaboal”, however the store website states it as “global”, the Japanese address says “global” and Google Maps also says “global”, so I suppose that’s correct. I am pretty sure that neither the member who submitted the info nor the magazine editor have checked the correct spelling and/or don’t have enough English skills to notice this mistake. Anyway, in my translation I will stick to “global”].

garage (GLOBAL GATE store)

The “GLOBAL GATE” store (in the building in front of Zepp Nagoya) is a florist/gardening store located in the 3rd and 4th floor. I recommend this to Wakana since she loves plants! Please go there!

Waah, I just want to live there! *laughs* This seems like a store where the staff will talk to each customer about plants. Awesome! It must be like that! Just like people, plants also have unique personalities. That’s why it’s the same with having a pet~ I think it’s very good when employees can talk to the customers one-to-one! And there are also some crafting seminars~ Some day I want to learn how to repot plants!

9. April 26th: Nakano Sun Plaza (Tokyo)

Bonjour Bon

I would like to recommend this bakery located in Tokyo’s Nakano ward called “Bonjour Bon”. In this bakery you can find many, a bit different types of bread, and I also recommend the fried calzone margarita pizza bread. The balance between tomato and cheese is exquisite, so please try it, Wakana-san.

Wakana’s comment:

This bakery looks like a “Japanese bakery”, right? That’s great~. Sometimes I really crave bread, so I go out in the morning to buy it. I prefer rather salty over sweet bread. A so-called side dish bread. Therefore the calzone margarita sounds delicious! I also love “katsu sandwich” [katsu refers to fried pork chop] and croquettes. To be honest, I have never walked around the vicinity of Nakano Sun Plaza before…. This time I will try to go there!

[paleorecipecookbook]

Clean Eating Made Easy with Better Product Choices & Substitutions

This year on the blog I want to give you as many tools as possible to continue to make better choices in your own life. I want to show you that you can have a healthy relationship with food, a long term relationship with exercise, and that getting in shape doesn’t have to be expensive. So today I wanted to talk about ways to improve your health long term with just a few simple changes. I think whenever people think about paleo, they think of some drastic change that is close to impossible. At least that’s how I felt when I first thought about implementing paleo into my own life. But like any other habit, a few small changes can make a big impact with time.

Today I want to show you some of my favorite products that I purchase regularly from Thrive Market that help me make better choices with my diet, day in and day out. By making some of these small changes, you’ll be instantly making a difference in your own health, especially long term. That means a happier life with less health issues, doctor visits, and most of all, less health-related bills. And the best part about Thrive Market is that you can find all of these products for up to 30% below traditional retail prices. One thing that throws people off when it comes to healthier food choices is often the price. But Thrive Market removes that issue all together. Everything you’ll see me talking about today is going to have a price tag lower than MSRP. That means money stays in your pocket so you can use it towards better things! Like living a hella fun life, every single day.

So let’s get in to it! And let’s kick it off with condiments, because condiments can easily become a downfall when trying to make better choices with what you eat.

If you like dipping your sweet potato fries in ketchup or dunking your cauliflower pizza in ranch, well that doesn’t have to change! Primal Kitchen has tons of amazing products including Ranch, Ketchup, a ton of other dressing, AND they also have avocado oil spray with no other added ingredients or fillers. If you take a look at most normal ranch brands out there, you’ll find ingredients like modified food starch, monosodium glutamate, artificial flavors, disodium phosphate, sorbic acid and calcium disodium. How sketchy is that? Primal Kitchen uses all organic ingredients. And you can actually pronounce everything on the label. And at Thrive Market, you can get the ketchup for 17% off MSRP, the ranch for 25% off, and the avocado oil spray for 28% off!! How amazing is that?!

I also always purchase Rao’s Arrabbiata Sauce and Thrive Market Coconut Aminos. If you start looking at ingredients on the products you’re purchasing, you’ll quickly find that there is added sugar is EVERYTHING, especially marinara. But not in Rao’s. And it’s the best sauce you will EVER taste. And for when I’m cooking anything that requires Asian ingredients, I always turn to coconut aminos instead of soy sauce since soy is so incredibly processed. And Thrive Market label provides the most affordable coconut aminos on the market!

Now I have all kinds of pantry staples for you to stock up on!

I ALWAYS keep bone broth in my freezer as well as my pantry. And the Thrive Market Bone Broth is great for keeping in your pantry at all times. It’s made with all clean, organic ingredients and you can get it for up to 42% off!

Spices and spice blends are so important for full, flavorful meals every day to keep you interested in your healthy food. But many spice blends include fillers such as cornstarch or they add sugar to it. And they usually are never organic. But Primal Palate Spices uses all organic ingredients to create the most delicious spice blends EVER. Their Steak Seasonings blend is a must in any kitchen!

And I’m about to throw you a curve ball with a non-paleo item. But since so many people love pasta and have a hard time giving it up, I wanted to share my favorite pasta brand that includes veggies in it. Cybele’s Free to Eat Superfood Green Rotini Pasta includes only green lentil, kale, spinach, and broccoli, and it’s damn good! It’s such a better option than most pastas on the market, plus it’s 20% off MSRP!

And if you’re anything like me, meaning you love to bake and snack, well Thrive Market has all the options for you. And they make it super simple to search! You can easily search ‘Paleo’ in the search tab then choose your category whether it’s baking, chocolate, snacks, candy, and more. They make finding your exact brand super easy and finding a brand new company you’ve never seen before, easier than ever!

If you like a crunchy snack and find yourself turning to chips on a regular basis, especially chips like ranch Doritos, well start looking at their label and thinking twice. They use ingredients like canola oil, multiple kinds of sugar, and other sketchy ingredients like sodium caseinate, disodium inosinate, and disodium guanylate. Do you know what those ingredients are? I don’t. But I do know that Siete Chips ranch tortilla chips only uses ingredients that I can pronounce and that I use in my own recipes on a regular basis. And you can get all of their different kinds of chips for 20% off!

Now if you’re a granola lover and have it for breakfast every single day, it may be time to switch it up to a brand that won’t irritate the gut as much as popular brands on the market can. Many of those brands include soy lecithin, excess sugar, and different flours and oils. But Paleonola has a ton of different flavors to choose from and includes absolutely no extra sugar in their Chocolate Fix flavor! Just clean, wholesome ingredients!

Now when it comes to baking, paleo has really made it’s stamp in the flour and sugar world. Instead of only having white and brown sugar to choose from, and white and wheat flour to take home, there are now a ton of unprocessed sugars and clean ingredient flours to use! I personally love Bob’s Red Mill Paleo Baking Flour and Coomb’s Organic Maple Sugar, and both are over 20% off MSRP. Both of these substitutions are so much better on the gut and better for blood sugar!

And let’s end this with some of my favorite snacks and treats. Because let’s face it – if you’re going to stick with any sort of diet or lifestyle change, it has to feel like you’re not missing out. And when I first started paleo, I was desperately scared of giving up treats. While I do believe treats have their place and shouldn’t be consumed daily, I do think making better choices with those treats is super important.

If you’ve been looking for some snacks to throw in your purse or car for after a workout or in between running errands, two of my favorite brands I always keep on hand include Primal Kitchen Peanut Butter Protein Bars and Wild Zora Meat & Veggies Bars. The protein bars only have a handful of ingredients and the protein comes from egg whites. And the meat and veggie bars are so much better than the normal jerky on the market. Each bar contains grass-fed meat, multiple types of veggies and is sweetened by natural dried fruit! And you can find both for 20-25% off MSRP.

If you’re a chocolate lover, Thrive Market has so many different items to choose from. Whether you like a solid a 100% cacao bar or you just want some chocolate chip cookies, they got yo’ back. I personally love having Alter Eco Coconut Clusters on hand for a sweet and salty crunchy snack. I also love having Eating Evolved Coconut Butter Cups for whenever I have a sweet craving and need a little extra fat to keep me full and satisfied, instead of just reaching for more. And last but definitely not least, Simple Mills Crunchy Chocolate Chip Cookies. I don’t know how they make the most delicious cookies with such clean ingredients, but they do. Go look at the ingredients list in most cookies on the market and prepare yourself to be appalled. But not with Simple Mills. Stop feeding yourself or your children cookies that have ingredients you’ve never even heard of! And when you can get all these treats for up to 25% off MSRP, you really have no excuses!!

All these brands through Thrive Market make eating clean easier than ever. And that’s why I love Thrive Market. Their whole mission is to make healthy living easy and affordable for everyone. Whether you’re trying to eat keto or vegan or gluten-free or you just want to find items that are fair-trade certified, Thrive Market makes it so incredibly quick and easy. Plus now they even offer the highest quality meat and seafood! Now you barely have to even go to the grocery store. Everything is quickly delivered to you in packaging that is completely recyclable, which means 100% zero waste!

Eating healthy and feeling your best all comes from small choices that become bigger with time. Making small choices like changing the ketchup in your house to learning to use a new baking flour will make a huge difference later on. It’s time to be more aware of what you are putting into your body and understanding the differences between different products on the market. And Thrive Market will help you make that happen. If you haven’t tried out Thrive Market yet, not only will you get up to 30% off your Thrive Market’s prices, but today you can get an EXTRA 25% off your first order + free 30 day trial! That’s savings on top of savings! And you know what the best part is? I’ve put all my favorite products together in a PaleOMG Kit! So instead of writing all of these down or having to go back and fourth between tabs, it’s all in one kit! All you have to do is sign up for your free 30 day trial to check it out! And if you’re already a Thrive Market member, all you have to do is click ‘claim offer’ to check it out! 

I hope this post gets you excited to continue on your own health journey. Just because it’s February doesn’t mean your clean eating habits should change. Keep with it, continue making small changes in your life, and you’ll quickly see how much better you can feel. We should be forever grateful for the bodies we were given and we should take care of them, one better choice at a time.

___________

This post is brought to you by Thrive Market. It contains some affiliate links and I may be compensated for this post, but all opinions are my own. This compensation helps with expenses to keep this blog up and running! Thank you for all your support!

The post Clean Eating Made Easy with Better Product Choices & Substitutions appeared first on PaleOMG - Paleo Recipes.

Sourse of this article: http://paleomg.com/

[backtothestart02]

Fallen Star - 11/?

A/N: I’m pretty pleased with how this chap turned out. It was almost much angstier, so y’all can credit @westallen94 with inspiring me to make it a little more bittersweet than pure pain. lol.

*This chap goes out to @itzvickilou. Girl is so patient in between updates of this fic. And she did wait so long for this one. I hope this installment is one you end up loving, dear!

*Many thanks to @valeriemperez for beta’ing. :)

Chapter 11 -

The door firmly shut behind her, Linda did her very best to put Barry Allen out of her mind. If she started acting weird, Iris would know something was up. She didn’t know how much wine her friend had consumed, but even after several drinks, Iris had a tendency to sense when something was being hidden from her.

Unfortunately for Linda, when she looked over at Iris, she saw her friend had not barely taken a sip out of her wine glass, and the bottle beside it was still very full.

So much for hoping that she was on her second glass, she mused, then scolded herself. Iris hadn’t wanted to get drunk tonight. She should be thrilled that despite her last-minute push for alcohol, Iris still maintained her sobriety.

“Pizza’s here!” Linda announced, promptly dropping the pizza box on the table in front of Iris.

Miraculously, the wine only swished a little in the glass and bottle.

Resigned, Iris switched her gaze from the blank wall in front of her to the pizza box Linda was opening.

“I’m not really hungry…” she began, her growling stomach promptly interrupting her.

Her face heating up, she met Linda’s gaze sheepishly, earning her a snort in return.

“Oh, yeah, I can tell.”

Still flustered, Iris accepted the inevitable and propped herself up so that she was sitting with her back against the arm of the couch.

“All right, well, what did you get?” she asked.

“Your favorite!” Linda cheered.

That intrigued her. “Oh, yeah?” She turned the now open pizza box toward her, then frowned.

“What?” she demanded. “It’s got all your favorites: red peppers, green peppers, onions, hot peppers, jalapeno peppers, mushrooms, and olives. I even made sure they added in that extra spicy sauce not included on the menu.”

“So, your favorite,” Iris concluded.

“What? No-” But it dawned on her then just how she knew about that sauce. A brief fling with a guy that worked there roughly five years prior. “Oh.”

Iris shook her head. “Don’t worry. It’s fine. I’ll just pick stuff off.” She reached for a slice.

“But the sauce!” Linda warned, but it was too late – for both of them.

Iris thought she could handle her spice pretty well, but this was hotter than anything she’d ever tasted. She downed her whole wine glass in a single gulp and took the ice-cold glass of water Linda handed to her before she had time to down the wine bottle in its entirety.

“Wow.”

Linda laughed nervously. “Yeah…”

“Never again.” Iris pointed a finger accusingly at her best friend.

“Understood.”

Linda grabbed a slice for herself and plopped down on the couch beside Iris, eating the pizza as if it wasn’t setting her entire mouth ablaze and making her eyes water. She turned to see Iris staring at her, shock and disbelief on her face.

“Wha-?” she asked around a mouth full of food.

“I just…” Iris shook her head. “Nothing. You do you, girl,” she said, and poured her wine glass up halfway again.

“So, what are you gonna eat?” Linda asked after she’d downed her first slice and was reaching for another.

“That is an excellent question,” Iris said.

Linda winced. “I could order another pizza.”

She laughed. “How about I just make the brownies now, get high, and forget all about needing actual food in my system to get through the night?”

Linda’s eyes widened, panic setting off all her nerve endings.

“Right.” She swallowed. “Pot brownies.”

Iris had stood up and was about to head towards the kitchen, when she turned to look over her shoulder and saw the panicked look on her best friend’s face.

“I’m kidding.”

Linda blinked and looked up at her. “You are?”

She laughed and sat back down. “Yeah. That’s crime evidence. My dad’s a cop, but there’s only so many lines he’ll cross for his baby girl.” She took another sip of her wine.

Linda’s lips parted; her jaw dropped after what Iris said next.

“It’s just a good thing Barry figured out what was up and came over to demand the drugs. Would’ve been awfully embarrassing for me to have to return to the precinct with it, tail between my legs as I snuck it back to where it came from.”

The smack came on suddenly and had Iris rubbing at her arm and nearly spilling her wine.

“What the hell, West?” Linda demanded, but she was starting to laugh. “You could’ve let me in on your clever secret.”

She shrugged and sank back into the couch, cradling the wine glass in her hand.

“It wouldn’t have sold the same with Barry. And I needed him to actually show up.”

Linda’s brows furrowed.

“Why?”

Iris sunk into herself a little.

“So, I could see him,” she murmured to herself.

Linda’s heart broke.

“Oh, honey.” She took the wine glass from Iris’ hand, set it on the table, and pulled her best friend close, pressing a kiss to the top of her head before sinking back into the couch. “You miss him that bad, huh?”

She knew she did. It was a foolish question. But she still asked it because for how crushed she’d appeared in the short period since their break-up, she was the rawest now, the most honest with her feelings.

“It’s like I can’t breathe, Lin. I feel like I’m suffocating every day, knowing I’m not going to be able to see him or talk to him…”

“I’m sure that’ll pass eventually, in time,” she offered. “It’s not like you won’t be a part of each other’s lives forever. You’re family. You’ll be friends again. It’s just…too soon.”

“I don’t know…I don’t know if I can go back to being just friends, Lin. And what about his threat to prevent me from going through with investigating any story that has even a hint of danger to it? If he follows through on that…I think I might just go crazy.”

“So, what are you saying? You’re not going to do that kind of story anymore?”

Iris scoffed. “No, of course not. I love those more than all the rest. They always have the biggest impact. They change lives.” She sighed.

Linda swallowed. “So, then…?”

“Maybe I just won’t be aggressive in searching for one.”

Her brows furrowed. “What do you mean?”

Iris pulled back to look into her friend’s eyes.

“I mean…I think I was refusing the simpler stories simply because everyone was getting on my case to not do the more dangerous ones. Maybe the best way to transition is to not do that.”

“I hate to say it…but that may give your ex the impression that you’ve given up. That’s kind of letting him win.”

“It’s not a game, Linda.”

“No, I know it’s not. And I don’t like seeing you in danger, even if I understand why you do run straight into it something, but-”

“It’s okay, Linda. I get it. I’m not going to avoid the stories. I’ll just…take them as they come. And if I get bored of the mundane, which I most certainly will, those criminals will have something coming to them they wish they hadn’t.”

“And that is?”

She smiled mischievously. “Iris West.”

…

 A week and a half later, Iris sat at her desk at CCPN and congratulated herself on her progress. She hadn’t gone out for drinks with Linda for at least three days. She slept at her own apartment in her own bed. She was getting work done instead of stalling endlessly, unable to get Barry and their break-up out of her mind.

While she hadn’t been handed a story that would give her a high simply by imagining the potential of it, the stories she was researching, interviewing, writing for were still quality stories. No interrupted robbery, stalled kidnapping, or attempted prison break should go untold, especially when it was the Flash who was stopping these terrible crimes.

And who didn’t love hearing about the Flash’s latest save? Central City citizens loved the Flash. They loved learning about his latest exploits and how great he was. The Flash was good press. Who didn’t want good press? Especially in a newspaper, driving to keep people buying the tangible paper instead of just browsing online.

That was what she’d been hired for initially anyway. Her blog about the Flash.

Her mind came to an abrupt stop when those thoughts registered. She leaned back in her chair and scoffed, disgusted with herself.

“The you from two years ago would have been so disappointed.” She frowned, her nose scrunching up.

She was more than a Flash fangirl. She wanted to write about stories that mattered. They didn’t have to be life or death, but anyone could write about the Flash’s everyday saves. Especially now that she didn’t really have an in with him anymore. She wasn’t at STAR Labs. She wasn’t interacting with anyone there except her dad and brother. And really, they mostly avoided the topic when she saw them. She preferred it that way. So, why the hell was she writing recaps on the Flash’s saves when all she was seeing was what any other citizen on the street could see?

She was supposed to be an Insider. Interviewing people who had been eye witnesses didn’t make her an insider. It made her an interviewer who could transfer words to paper. Which of course was a desirable trait in the industry, but nothing to make her a stand out. Nothing that would save lives. The Flash saved lives every day. Why shouldn’t she?

She pushed herself up out of her chair and walked out of her office down the hall to her editor’s.

“I need to speak with you,” she announced on entry.

Scott lifted his eyes up from the paperwork littering his desk and considered her with a look.

“Miss West, how can I help you?”

“I need you to know that I’m not gonna be your Flash girl anymore.”

He raised his eyebrows. “You’re not?”

“No.”

“You really seem to have a knack for it, though. And you’ve been choosing those stories over literally anything else out there for the past week.”

“I know.”

“And wasn’t that what you were initially hired for?”

She ground her teeth.

“Initially. And I didn’t know it until I got here and found out I wasn’t allowed to write anything else.”

“All right. I’ll bite.” He relaxed in his seat. “What do you want to write, Iris?”

“Something…exciting. Something that matters. Something that will make me work a little. I want to live on the edge.”

He smirked in a way she knew she could have found attractive once upon a time. But there was no hint of a flutter in her chest this time around. Just a hopefulness that he would give her what he asked.

“I think I may have something along those lines.” He turned around in his seat and reached for a file hidden among the clutter there. He flipped through the contents before closing it and handing it to her.

“What’s this?” she asked, taking it immediately, greedy for a story that would make her forget all about the Flash.

“All the information I have on a new arms dealer in town with access to sophisticated weaponry like what Plunder used.”

Her eyes flashed. “Plunder.”

“Your most popular piece in the past week. Surely you can’t have forgotten already.”

No. Of course she hadn’t. Jared Morillo, a.k.a. Plunder, had a penchant for expensive jewelry. With the advanced tech on his guns, it took Flash interrupting him mid-theft three times before he was finally caught. That wasn’t emphasized so much though as was the fact that despite how dangerous he was, he was caught, just like all the others Flash had put to a stop.

“Iris?”

She blinked, looking back at Scott.

“Sorry,” she blurted. “I was just remembering.”

“Right.” He eyed her with some concern, but she ignored it. “Well, this guy looks like he might be similar or possibly worse. He could be a copycat, or he could be in line with Plunder and just picking up where he left off.”

She nodded. “Okay.” She paused for a beat then asked the question she knew she had to. “And…the police?”

He folded his hands in his lap. “I don’t know if they know anything. If they do, it’s not their top priority. I know your dad’s a detective, so if you think it’d be better in his han-”

“I’ll take it.” No way was she letting him finish that sentence. “I won’t let you down.”

He smiled a little. “I look forward to your article, Miss West.”

She smiled a little herself, then backed out of the office and retreated to her own. Setting the file on her desk, she closed out the tabs on her computer and opened a new one.

She could feel the blood pumping through her veins again, the adrenaline from taking on an exciting story that few people were even aware of. And it would change lives. She would make a difference.

…

CCPN was in near darkness when Iris left later that night. She’d gotten a lot of research done, but she knew she’d had to do a lot more, as well as interviewing several possibly connected parties before she could move in on the situation. For now, though, she was content.

And hungry. And exhausted.

She half-debated calling up Linda for some food, but her girl had looked more exhausted than she felt now when she left three hours ago. She decided not to bug her. It was a five-block walk to her apartment from here. She knew there was a good chance there was something to eat in her fridge, and with her apartment being as small as it was, her bed wasn’t far away either.

She cut down the same alleyway as always, not paying mind to how quiet it was, even though it was late. She was almost to the end of it when she thought she saw something move in her peripheral vision. She didn’t stop moving, but she turned her head slightly to see if there was anyone behind her or if she’d imagined it. She didn’t see anyone, but she did pull her purse higher up her shoulder.

Please don’t let me be mugged. Please don’t let me be mugged.

She rehearsed the kickboxing moves she hadn’t used in years in her mind, just in case she needed to pull them out at 11:30 at night in a dark alley that she just now was considering maybe wasn’t the best shortcut she could be taking.

She felt a tugging on her purse and spun around just in time to see a gun pointed in her face. Breathing heavily, she held her hands up in the air. Some fancy punches might work in hand-to-hand combat, but they wouldn’t do so well with a speeding bullet. Not when she was alone like this.

“Give me your purse,” the masked man demanded. “Hand it over or I’ll shoot.”

She wanted to retaliate, to talk back, and maybe she’d be able to, but not tonight. Fear was enveloping her in full force, demanding she succumb to it.

“But it matches her coat so nicely,” came the vibrating voice in the distance.

Iris felt the load lift off her shoulders and relief course through her.

The man turned around to see who’d addressed him, and when he did, Iris snatched the gun out of his hand and stuck it in her own purse.

“What the-”

But the Flash had him in CCPD custody before he could question what had become of his gun.

Iris was breathing heavily once she reached her apartment. She loved the thrill of running into a situation, knowing what great things it would do for her readers and those in danger once she came out the other side. But when it was out of her control, even if it was just a simple mugging, it was terrifying.

She’d have it out of her system by morning, she was sure. But as she sat the gun down on the kitchen table and stared at, she experienced again her hairs standing on end, her heart racing as she stared at the barrel intending to end her life.

The knock at the door startled her. She almost didn’t answer it, but then-

“Iris?”

Another sigh of relief.

“Iris, it’s me.”

Taking a deep breath, she picked up the gun, went to the door and opened it. She was greeted by a worried Barry Allen, who looked like he hadn’t slept in a week.

“Come to collect the evidence agai-”

“Are you okay?”

Her tongue suddenly thick and heavy in her mouth, it took her a while to find words.

“Y-yeah,” she rasped. “I’m…I’m okay, Barry.”

He swallowed and nodded, then looked down at the weapon in her hand.

“I…I should probably…”

“Yeah, of course.”

She handed it over to him, and their fingers touched, not moving for the longest time. She could barely breathe.

Barry snapped out of it first, tucking the gun into his pocket before hesitantly looking up at her.

“You handled herself really well out there, Iris.”

Her heart raced. That was the kind of glowing compliment that usually led to sex. Especially because she knew it was genuine.

“I couldn’t have done it without the Flash,” she said softly, kicking herself when she remembered that their estrangement was based on her not needing him to save her.

“You’re really okay?” he asked. That should’ve annoyed her, but the tenderness in his voice was so…

“I’m fine, Barry. I promise.”

He swallowed and nodded. She could see the wheels in his mind working, wanting to say or do something because of how long it had been. Maybe he’d been missing her as much as she’d missed him. Maybe he was using this as an excuse to see her. Hell, maybe he’d coerced the guy into trying to rob her so he could save the day. At the moment, even the latter possibility didn’t bother her.

“Well, then, I guess I should-” He started to back away.

“Are you okay, Barry?” she asked, biting her bottom lip as she leaned against the doorframe.

He stilled and met her eyes. His mouth opened and closed several times, saying everything and nothing, the same as her. She wanted to yell and cry and scream and hug him and kiss him and pull him into her apartment and make love to him just to feel his skin against hers again, hear his racing heartbeat against her ear when she laid her head on his chest.

But of course, none of that happened. It couldn’t.

“Goodnight, Barry,” she said softly, so he wouldn’t have to answer.

He smiled slightly, appreciatively. “Goodnight, Iris.”

And then he was gone. She saw the flash of red as he ran past her window and sighed as she leaned back against her door.

“The man I love is a superhero,” she whispered to herself.

Then her eyes closed, and tears soaked her eyelashes.

So close, but not close enough.

*Also posted on AO3.

[you-guys--are-losers]

Your Selection

Summary: Prom season has finally arrived, and the students at Midtown are not immune to all of the drama and excitement that comes with it. Peter's junior class is thrilled to be attending for the first time. People are pairing off to buy tickets a month in advance, and the ones who are in relationships have a new commitment to make to the dance.

This year, that includes Michelle Jones.

Peter does not know what he feels as he realizes exactly what this means, but as MJ is pulled further away from the trio they worked so hard to form, he knows it feels wrong. What feels even worse is watching MJ change without them for someone who takes her for granted... And then some. But it is not his place to say anything about her relationship. If it makes her happy, then it is his job to respect it.

However, each day brings Midtown closer to prom, and each day mounts tensions higher. How much pressure can Peter and MJ's relationship take until it snaps in two?

Characters: Michelle Jones x Peter Parker

Word Count: 1,498

Warnings: Swearing, Self-Consciousness

@one-way-ride @prettylilparker @transient-transition @nerdofthehighestcalibre

26.5 Days Until Prom

Peter doesn’t know why he feels so good that MJ is coming to movie night tonight. 

The thing on Friday was a one-time thing, he reminds himself, nothing more than a fluke. It was just because of stupid prom, which will be over in a little less than a month, anyway. But Peter is more relieved than he would like to admit that MJ is coming, and he tries to ignore the fact that her decline to come over had spooked him more than he cares to admit. 

When the end of the day comes, Peter is more than ready to go home. Their wood shop class completely numbed up his mind, and he is looking forward to having some stimulating conversation and Star Wars banter to massage his brain back to life. Ned is waiting by his locker at the end of the day, and Peter watches as his best friend’s face light up.

“Hey!” Ned greets cheerfully. “Guess what?” Before Peter has a chance to answer, Ned is rattling forward. Unbothered, Peter opens his locker and slides a few books into their places, leaving his backpack lighter and his books organized. “Betty actually talked to me today. I mean, it was about the project we have due on Friday, but like, she didn’t seem bored. And after she asked me about my shirt! I had to, like, explain basically all of Star Trek for her to get the reference, but you know. She even laughed and stuff!” 

A grin spreads across Peter’s face, and he nods. “That’s great, man!” he exclaims, turning to lean against his locker so that they can wait for MJ. “Hey, at this rate, maybe by the time you’re thirty you’ll actually have asked her out.” 

Ned doesn’t seem bothered by the comment. Rather, he takes on a lofty attitude, saying, “Hey, don’t joke, man. You gotta take your time, make sure that you give her a while to realize she’s into you, then that’s when you make your move-” 

“-and then you wake up and realize that you’re still a nerd with no balls,” MJ’s serene voice finishes from behind Ned. Though her tone is as lofty as ever, both Peter and Ned have learned to tell when she’s joking, and based upon the way that one corner of her mouth is quirked upwards, she doesn’t mean it. Peter doesn’t know why, but he straightens up and tugs lightly at his collar at her approach, and he can’t stop a grin from crossing his face. 

Ned makes a face and shoots her a look. “Come on, man! Is it so hard to believe that I could actually ask someone out?” 

“I would like to be able to say no, but you don’t exactly have to best history with things that put you under pressure,” she replies as she quickly opens her own locker. Peter watches as MJ takes the massive pile of books in her hands and shoves them into the locker, shoving it shut before they can all fall out on her. 

“I don’t know what you’re talking ab-” 

“Last week, you squeaked when the toaster popped and you didn’t expect it. The toaster.” 

Ned’s face turns red, but he tries to look stubborn. “That’s a perfectly legitimate reaction!” 

“Then you unplugged it, and kept doing that every time we went back there for days.” 

Peter lets out a small huff of laughter, and a grudging smile crosses Ned’s lips. “Whatever. Can we just go? I want pizza.” 

“I agree with that sentiment,” MJ pipes up, turning to look at Peter for confirmation. For a moment, her dark gaze catches him off-guard, but he quickly nods. 

“R-right, um, yeah! Yeah, we can order it on the phone on the walk home.” 

“I want sausage,” Ned announces as they begin to walk. “And onions.” 

“And remember,” MJ reminds as she falls into step with Ned. “Half has to be-”

“Mushroom, spinach, and full tomato slices,” Peter finishes as he pulls out his phone, grinning slightly. “I know. You’re not exactly the most unpredictable.” 

MJ looks affronted, but Peter can tell she’s hiding a grin. “Excuse you, I am not predictable.” 

“You wear, like, the same three hoodies on repeat with that jacket thrown in there every once in a while,” he responds, not looking up as he selects the number for the pizza place. 

It is Ned’s turn to let out a little snort of laughter, and Peter hears her mumble of, “Yeah, whatever, loser.” But it’s comfortable, this trio of theirs, and the walk home is relaxed even though Peter spends most of it on the phone while Ned and MJ compete over who can kick an empty beer can farther down the sidewalk. 

The pizza has arrived, the movie is rolling, and the smell of MJ’s hot chai tea is mingling with that of tomato sauce in Peter’s living room, the way that it always does when she is here. Peter shouldn’t be on edge, really. He should be paying attention to Ned’s Jar Jar Binks impression, which is absolutely perfect in every way. Normally, it never fails to get a laugh out of Peter. But today, it isn’t working the way that it normally does, and Peter hates it. 

He knows it’s because MJ has been texting furiously for the last twenty minutes. 

As far as Peter can remember, MJ hasn’t ever so much as looked at her phone during a movie night. She doesn’t particularly like her old Blackberry, and it rarely goes off. She comments every so often that the only person who really texts her is her mom, and only about their schedules and the like. If Peter has to guess, however, he doesn’t think that this is her mom. If it was, MJ would hardly have any reason to be letting out the soft, frustrated puffs of breath that she does whenever the phone buzzes again, normally just after she’s set it down.

After a while, Ned picks up on it, too. He glances over when the phone buzzes, then back at Peter as MJ picks it up and starts to type furiously. She only seems to begetting more and more annoyed, and finally after a particularly long time spent typing she sets down the phone with unnecessary force. 

Ned swallows, glancing at Peter before looking back to MJ. “Hey, uh...” he says slowly, trailing off when MJ’s intense, frustrated gaze fixes on him. “You good?” 

“Of course I’m ‘good,’“ MJ mutters, glancing back to the movie. “Why wouldn’t I be good?” Peter and Ned exchange another look as her phone buzzes at that specific moment, and a soft, frustrated exclamation escapes her lips. 

There is a moment of silence, and for a moment all three of them are just looking at one another. 

“Fine,” she mumbles after a moment, letting a long tuft of hair fall in her face. “It’s... It’s this stupid freaking dance.” 

“You mean prom?” Peter asks, raising an eyebrow. “Stupid, freaking prom?” 

“Stupid, freaking prom,” MJ repeats, nodding. “I just... Ugh.” 

Ned looks slightly concerned. “So what exact stupid, freaking thing happened?” 

MJ glares over at her phone. “Lukas said he was paying for the tickets,” she mutters. “I said I could pay for mine, but he was all like, ‘No, I want to pay for my date!’ And I’m an idiot, so I let him, and I ended up spending a little more on a dress than I would have, since I had that extra money I wasn’t spending on a ticket.” 

Peter nods slowly, trying to ignore the sinking feeling he gets in his chest when she says ‘my date.’ MJ isn’t anybody’s anything, but he doesn’t feel like she wants him to point that out right now. 

“And now, he’s texting me saying he didn’t buy the tickets and used the money to pay for some ‘unexpected thing’ in his stupid tech class, and he’s asking me if I can buy my own ticket.” MJ’s eyes are filled with a peeved irritation, and Peter decides that he is glad he is not on the receiving end of that look. “I wouldn’t have minded, but now I’m going to have to take on extra shifts to pay for it, and--” She breaks off, running an agitated hand through her hair. “Ew. Now I sound like a stupid, whiny girlfriend. Shoot me, Parker.” 

Girlfriend. Peter rather feels like the one who is getting shot. 

“Nah, that sucks, man,” Ned chimes in, glancing at Peter. “I’d be ticked off.” 

“Yeah, well,” MJ sighs, shaking her head and picking up the phone to shove it in her pocket. “It’s dumb. I guess I probably shouldn’t have said anything anyway, so if you tell anyone I’ll murder you. I think I read something about not talking about being pissed at your partner with anyone but your partner, so I should probably just talk to him. But I’ll do it after I’m doing roasting Anakin to a crisp.” 

Ned laughs, and a little grin spreads across Peter’s lips. Still, it’s small and slightly strained... She’s trying so hard, and she should be, of course. But Peter can feel that little bit of worry inching in again, because she’s drawing closer to Lukas and away from them. It’s stupid and childish to feel that way, but Peter can’t help but feeling like if it were anyone else, he wouldn’t have that issue. 

Because MJ deserves more than being used and inconvenienced.