#maples 🍁

[beyourselfchulanmaria]

「旗亭涼宵」Cool evening at a restaurant with a wine flag (1933)

小早川清　Kobayakawa Kiyoshi (1899-1948)

旗亭（きてい）: 它的意思是外頭插有酒旗的酒樓，是日本人常見對酒家的稱呼，也有酒家直接被稱為「酒樓」。也可以說是專門為人烹煮宴會菜肴的廚師（類似總舖師）。

總體而言，日治時期酒家提供的不只是餐飲饗宴之所，更是當時重要的公共領域。大正年間，酒樓逐漸成為市民階層的公共空間，而更多廉價酒樓的出現，也讓更多市井小民能至酒樓享樂。文人雅士來此吟詩作對，談論時事，臺灣本地的仕紳也在這樣的空間，與日人統治階層交流、互動，建立關係。酒樓也就從純粹的大眾娛樂餐飲場所，演變為新時代的社會文化空間。

A restaurant with a wine flag at outside in Japan and Taiwan all have this places for people eating, meeting, dating and listening music with dancing shows. It's a Japanese culture very lively & common.

[razrbladekiss]

MAPLE HAZEL | Joel Miller

SUMMARY: he’s grumpy, and you’ve got enough happiness for the pair of you. you visit joel’s little coffee shop every morning, and he can’t deny that he enjoys the monotony of life with you the other side of his counter.

PAIRING: pre-outbreak!joel miller x f!reader

WORD COUNT: 1.8k

WARNINGS: inspired by lorelai gilmore and luke danes, so with that info do what you will. this is full on golden retriever x black cat realness. fluffy. banter-y. dialogue-y. joel is grumpy but he’s sexy so we don’t mind. enjoy, my besties. not sure if i’ll do a part two, but i’ll let you know in due time, of course.🍁🫶🏻

SERIES MASTERLIST

It’s like he’s moving from muscle memory. Putting down a cinnamon roll and maple hazel latte—with two extra shots of espresso—in front of the third purple stool at his counter, is almost ingrained into his brain. He wonders if one day you’ll ever take him by surprise and order pancakes, or a chai tea.

And you will. Just not today.

“Cinnamon roll, please!” You call from the door as you bumble over the threshold, fighting with the belt loop on your coat that’s gotten stuck on a brassy handle for the third time this morning.

“Already one step ahead of ‘ya.” Joel gestures to the breakfast spread at the wooden bar, and you smile.

Despite being a closed-off, stupid-person-hating, placid-at-times, grumpy old man, you can’t help admitting that you enjoy Joel’s company and general presence in your life.

His shop appeared on Birch Grove one sunny Saturday morning about three years ago, and you haven’t skipped a day since. Aside from Christmas Day, you have religiously sat at Joel’s counter and shared the trials and tribulations of life in Dallas as an overzealous twenty-something every single day.

He’s a great listener. Or, at least, you think that he is. He never interrupts you, or speaks over you. Joel always lends an ear to listen, even if he doesn’t always say all that much in response to whatever it is that you’re elucidating or complaining about.

“Thank you.” Breathlessly, you say. You take a seat and dump your purse onto the counter. “Got a busy day today. I’ve got a meeting, and I’m meeting Maria for lunch, and I’ve got a date—“

Joel’s face heats up. He turns to face you, striving to stay indifferent.

“A date?” Nonchalant, he asks. He slings a dish-cloth over his shoulder, and lifts a brow. “Does this man know that he’s going on a date with you?”

You make a face while stuffing a fork-full of pastry into your mouth. He’s so smug. With his stupid flannel and stupid little hat, you just want to rip the complacency from his lips. But he’s a good man. Just likes to try and take you down a few pegs.

But he can’t. Because you’re stubborn. And a little annoying.

“No, I just thought that I’d show up at his house in the middle of the night—because I’ve followed him home from work a few times and know where he lives—and rip him right out of his bed just like the troll that Danny Devito plays in Its Always Sunny.”

Joel let’s out a little laugh, not bothering to argue that what you had just told him didn’t actually happen in that episode, but finding it funny nonetheless.

He nods his head to you. “What’s his name?”

“Marcus.” Exaggerating your heart-eyed gaze, you tell him. “I met him at Costco—“

“Ah, Costco. Where every great love story starts. First you’re bulk-buying toilet paper, the next you’re sharing a dollar fifty hot dog—“

“Ha ha, Joel, you’re soooo funny.”

“I try.” He says, flippant, pouring coffee into another customer’s cup when they appear at the counter for a refill. He lifts the carafe and gestures to your almost-empty mug. “Want another?”

Your gaze is set on your wristwatch. It’s seven twenty-nine, and you need to be at work for nine thirty. Mentally you strive to figure out how much more time you can spend at the cafe, before you’re having to leave to get there on time.

“Is it maple hazel flavored?”

Joel tilts his head, glaring at you.

You swig the dregs of latte in your mug, and then push the polka-dot ceramic across to him. “Please.” You say, shyly.

Joel busies himself with customers, and general business-owner things for a few minutes while you finish your cinnamon roll and coffee. You can’t help watching him.

Because he’s great. He’s very caring—though extremely stern at times—and you know that if you’re having a bad day, Joel is only a two minute and thirteen second walk away.

He feels the same, too. Kind of. He knows that you’ll be sauntering into his shop at some point every day, and finds himself looking forward to seeing your wide-eyed gaze and larger-than-life smile.

And though he won’t admit it in so many words, Joel has a soft spot for you. It hasn’t always been apparent—he thought that you were utterly insufferable and obsessive when he first met you—but he can’t deny the fact that his life would be very dull without you.

Even if you do have a tendency to try to get underneath his skin.

“Are you dating, Joel?”

He rolls his eyes.

“What? It’s a very normal question to ask somebody that hasn’t been in a serious relationship for an entire twelve months.”

He pulls the cloth from his shoulder and wipes at his hands. “You and I both know that I ain’t got no interest in settlin’ down with anyone. Not yet, anyway.”

“You were willing to with Tess.” Pushing things a little, you say. You lift the coffee mug to your lips when Joel opens his mouth to chastise you, but he can’t.

He can’t because you’re right. He can’t because he wanted to, once upon a time. Before Tess walked out of his life—not long after you started frequenting his shop—he wanted it all. A wife, kids, the white picket fence that his parents had back in Austin when he was a kid.

But it doesn’t always work out that way, and Joel has learned to live with the idea that if it’s too good to be true, then it most likely is.

“I can set you up with someone—“

“Not happening.” He says. “Last time you sent me on a blind date, the girl asked me if I was into pegging.”

You giggle. “Well? Are you—“

Joel says your name, glaring pointedly.

“Sorry.” Instinctively, your lips are set into a straight line. “But I can totally do better, this time. I know this girl—she works at this law firm—and—“

“Not interested.”

“Okay.” You smile, tight-lipped. You lift your mug, striving for your third cup of coffee this morning.

Joel pours the liquid gold into the cup, before he’s telling you that he’s not going to be giving you another for fear of you ricocheting off of each wall in his place.

“You’ll turn into a cup ‘a coffee one day.”

Nodding—with a completely content smile—you say; “least I’ll be happy.”

“You’re always happy.” Joel mithers to himself, turning away. It’s one thing that he admires about you, though loathes at the same time.

Endless optimism and positivity is only something that he can long for, because he’s simply not capable of it. It baffles him how you are, especially when he’s—on occasion—so rude to you. So miserable, and cold, and completely undeserving of your friendship.

He likes that you’re so forgiving. That—even after he accidentally offended you last summer when making a comment about your then boyfriend—you can never hold a grudge, especially when it comes to him.

Because you both hold one another on a pedestal so high, neither can seem to do anything to tear themselves down. And Joel really enjoys your daily routine. That’s why he’s never not in the shop.

“You got any weekend plans?”

“Never do.”

You stretch out your arms—intertwining your fingers as you do to make them click—and offer a small smile when he cringes.

“You wanna catch a movie?” Shirking the idea that you have a date tonight—with a man who you really aren’t all that interested in, you’re just being nice—you propose.

Joel’s heart starts to beat at a tempo that’s noticeably quicker than usual. Not a lot, but it’s certainly faster.

“I think that the theatre downtown is showing the original Beetlejuice, on Saturday.”

He nods, approving. “I—uh—I’ll have to get someone to cover—“

“I’m sure you can ask your brother. Or maybe Maria?”

“I ‘spose.” Reluctant, he says. “But what about Michael? What if he wants a second date?”

“Well, his name is Marcus. And if he wants a second date—which I doubt he will—then he’ll just have to live with the fact that I have plans with a friend on Saturday night.”

He hopes that you can’t see him blush.

“Won’t it be weird?”

“Why?”

“We hardly speak outside of the shop.”

“God, Joel.” You throw your head back, laughing. “We’re the same people wherever we are. And we’re going to the movies—not a lot of talking takes place there, hon.”

His nostrils flare at your sarcasm, but mainly at the little pet name. Joel knows that you’re sweet—that you often use those terms of endearment when speaking with those that you care about—but it does something to him.

Something that he does not like.

“You can either come, or stay here and be miserable because you have no social life, or no girlfriend, or no other friends aside from me, your brother, and your brother’s wife—“

“Alright, fine.” Joel stops your miniature hate-train, and puts his hands against the counter. Your eyes zone in on the veins embellished within tan skin—how prominent they are when he’s fronting irritation—and let out a small sigh.

He’d be a lot more handsome if he smiled more, you think.

“So.” You paw at your purse, pulling it off the wood. “I’ll let you know what time the showing is, and we can make plans around that.”

Joel rounds the island and follows you as you pad toward the door, veritably sweating. “Plans?” He asks. “You never said nothin’ ‘bout plans. I thought we were just gonna catch a movie?”

“We are.” You tell him. “But we need to buy snacks, and grab dinner before we go—“

“Now you’re just describing a date.”

You shake your head. “No, I’m describing hanging out with a friend, Joel.”

“A friend?”

“An acquaintance…?” Testing the waters, you ask. Your eyes squint a bit, awaiting his retort.

But he just smiles.

“A friend.”

You smile back. Bigger.

“Perfect.” Your purse is slinging over your shoulder, and you pull your jacket to close so that the darned loops don’t get stuck on the door handle. Again. “I can’t wait.”

“It’ll be…nice.”

“Jeez, Joel. At least try to sound enthused.”

His hands shoot up in defense. “I am. Just have a hard time showin’ it.”

Your head nods. “I know. I’m only kidding. It’s nobody’s fault that you’re the human equivalent of Oscar The Grouch—“

“Alright, get out.��� He holds open the door for you, smiling tight-lipped as he watches you leave. “Enjoy your meeting. And your lunch. And your date.”

You chuckle, thanking him with another bright smile.

“See you in the morning, Joel.”

“Yeah, yeah.” You step onto the sidewalk—that’s festooned with red and orange leaves as the tree above starts to shed its skin—turning to wave at him. “See ‘ya, kiddo.”

[silverthehedgehoganalysis]

Silver’s desire for peace (as symbolized by maple leaf 🍁 shape to his quills) seems to be fueled by empathy he has for the world and people in it. Silver’s feelings reflect the environment and those around him as it has been noted that:

The blue sky makes Silver feel at peace

He can’t help but smile when he sees smiling faces and wants to become a hero because it means being someone that can protect smiles

Silver denotes his good futures as happy ones or ones where people have a smile

Silver will drop his mission to help those in need, he simply can’t say no to a sad face as he helps Amy and takes a job as a delivery boy because of this

Natural beauty, flourishing environments or just places where people are prospering and living peacefully take his breath away 

Desolate or destroyed environments sadden and upset him 

He cannot stand the suffering of the people in his bad futures

[queenimmadolla]

the tiktok of magnussen’s toddler demanding he go sign a fan’s autograph book and then blowing the fan a kiss when they say thank you is so maple coded, it hurts.

can see her doing that when daddy takes her along after playing a concert or a set and reader is letting her toddle about, watching to make sure she doesn’t stray near the fan barriers where rockstar!eddie and the rest of corroded coffin are signing autographs.

and maple notices daddy and her uncles are on the other side of the crowd now, but there’s a big girl waving around a book where daddy just was!!!!! daddy forgot her!!!

and maple just thinks, that’s okay, i’ll go get daddy for you! 🫡

and she hurries over to her dad, yanking at his pants and pointing over to the fan as she tries to physically pull him over. eddie is so amused with maple, but he knows she’s a demanding girl and he honestly didn’t mean to overlook that fan so he’s righting his wrongs and heading back over to sign her autograph book.

when he leaves, maple trailing after him—and you watching the whole exchange while trying not to squeal into your hands at how cute your little girl is—the fan yells out a thank you to maple, and you’ve taught her to blow kisses whenever she’s waving goodbye, so that’s what she does, blows the fans her kisses and waves her little hands before she’s toddling after daddy with mom right on her heels.

[maxipowell]

mapleleafs: 500 in style 😎

[an-albino-pinetree]

@hootbon YOUUU! YOU TALENTED ARTIST YOU-

[girljeremystrong]

"What we want" by Linda Pastan

What we want

is never simple.

We move among the things

we thought we wanted:

a face, a room, an open book

and these things bear our names—

now they want us.

But what we want appears

in dreams, wearing disguises.

We fall past,

holding out our arms

and in the morning

our arms ache.

We don’t remember the dream,

but the dream remembers us.

It is there all day

as an animal is there

under the table,

as the stars are there

even in full sun.

“What We Want,” by Linda Pastan

[the-joy-team]

Final Flame

*Just behind the small stage where awards were announced was a tall pile of wood, approximately fifteen feet in diameter with a space in the center to conserve wood while still making it wide enough for a large crowd. There were two smaller bonfires to be lit on either side farther away so that if winners wanted to migrate, they could. In the spaces between the three fires were two Joy Team™️ tents that were already handing out s’more making packs, hot dogs and skewers.*

“Okay Terry, time to do your thing!” -🐭

“I- I can’t!” -🐲

“Terry… what do you mean you can’t? We specifically left the lighters at the office because you said you could!” -🐭

“I always sneeze because of Maple’s perfume! I’m allergic to it!” -🐲

“And you couldn’t have told me this an hour ago???” -🐭

“Hey why isn’t there a fire yet-” -✨

“WE’RE WORKING ON IT ELLEN!!” -🐭

“Hey, so Emily was asking what the hold up was, what should we tell her?” -🍁

“Ah- ah- ACHOOOO!” *🔥🔥🔥* -🐲

“Ooooookay that solves that! Thank you!” -🍁

“Maple, how about you go down with Terry and light the other fires, hmm? I need a break.” -🐭

“And a therapist.” -✨

“Sounds good! Go team!” -🍁

[ask-miss-maple-leaf]

You can feel a chill in the air from wherever you’re at, whether it’s slightly windy or not.The sounds of metal were scratching against the ground and you could SWEAR you saw a quick movement of pink at the corner of your eye… A few bolts a distance away start to rattle in their place, but you’d have to get closer to see what was going on. From a distance it seemed like… nothing. Or nobody. Do you go investigate it?

~ @trimalchiooframshackle

maple gets a slight chill that ran down her spine, having a feeling she was being watched. But with nothing else to really do, she took her chances and investigated the source. Or uh-..at least was gonna try to investigate?

[againstthegrainphoto]

Ladies and gentlemen, your top line maple leafs.🍁

[yasmeenz1]

Autumn leaves 🍁 -watercolor painting-

[razrbladekiss]

MAPLE HAZEL | Masterlist

SUMMARY: he’s grumpy, and you’ve got enough happiness for the pair of you. you visit joel’s little coffee shop every morning, and he can’t deny that he enjoys the monotony of life with you the other side of his counter.

PAIRING: no outbreak!joel miller x afab!reader

WARNINGS: MINORS DNI, 18+ CONTENT (eventually). heavily inspired by the lorelai gilmore / luke danes dynamic. plenty of fluffy moments. plenty of lowkey angst, but nothing too dramatic. it’s lighthearted, and reader is dead set on enriching joel’s life every way she can. there’ll be eventual smut. the usual sorta shit, so i’ll tag it when necessary.

🍁 part one

🍁 part two

🍁 part three

[silverthehedgehoganalysis]

Here is a list of traits Silver has shown in the games, Sonic Channel and other Sonic Team made content:

Righteous, has a strong sense of justice and is driven to make things right

Kind-hearted, puts other people’s happiness before his own and will drop his mission to help others, is motivated by his desire to protect smiles, wants to use his powers not for himself, but to help others.

Extremely Determined

Optimistic and Hopeful, believes there’s always a chance as long as you don’t give up, inspires hope in the people he works with in Forces, the final story of Sonic 06 and when he helps Elise through her performance anxiety

Pure, has a “sincere, unpretentious and kind” demeanor and wears his heart on his sleeve, this genuineness and purity gives him an “enduring charm” that is one of the biggest things his friends, particularly Blaze, enjoy about him and makes others want to support him

Forthright, is very direct and frank with people and has a straight to the point mentality, is straightforward in his actions and thinking

Earnest and blunt to the point of naivety, expects people to believe and cooperate with him when he says he’s from the future, hides very little and is so honest that he announces himself when attacking Sonic

Not trusting post 06, doesn’t give Sonic a Chaos Emerald until he proves he’s real in Sonic Generations and is the most suspicious of Dodon Pa

Snide and Sarcastic, sneers at Eggman’s theme park in Sonic Colors and has a snotty attitude towards anyone he can one up, remarks “What am I doing?” when going with Amy

Brash, has rude/informal mannerisms and can be abrasive, particularly to people who are not his allies

Juvenile, described as young and immature by his creator Shun Nakamura, this immaturity ties into many aspects of his character as well as his purity but is also the source of his snotty attitude and rude behavior, supposedly he doesn’t like green peppers which is the Japanese equivalent of children not liking broccoli 

Focused, proactive and practical mindset, seen particularly throughout Sonic Forces

Focused on his goals, Does not care what the plan is called in Forces, only that it works and when asked about his favorite race item he says that he likes Jade Ghost because “It lets him disappear and focus on the race”

Inquisitive and proactive, questioned others about how the world was destroyed in the Iblis future his whole life, fought Iblis to try and clear the sky himself, spent most of Team Sonic Racing cracking down on Dodon Pa and Eggman, reads into “Ancient Wisdom” in the good future

Sharp and intuitive, Figures out how to revive Sonic in 06, sees through Eggman Nega's disguises by noticing small details, does successful detective work in Sonic 06 and Team Sonic Racing, intuits Blaze trying to control great powers when seeing them for the first time, has solved various puzzles and mysteries by himself, “knows a lot” according to Sonic in Silver’s Sonic Channel introduction story

Skilled and Crafty, skillfully accomplishes various tasks during his Town Missions in Sonic 06, turns his fight with Sonic into a race to collect Chao in Sonic Rivals 2, Vector refers to him and Blaze as professionals in the Team Vector Nintendo Dream interview, has had jobs as a delivery boy, a figure skater, a “genius” skating coach and a butler

Trains off-screen and makes steady efforts to improve his abilities, seems to be self-taught in his skills 

Sometimes takes everything on himself

Warrior with a warrior mentality, described as a warrior, enjoys fighting and will fight his friends for fun, fought and struggled for half his life in the Iblis future, values bravery and facing things head on, dislikes cowardice and indirect tactics, can endure “pain beyond description” and is undeterred by injuries (Shadow’s infamous kick to the head only made him mad)

Competitive and proud/confident in his abilities, has a smug attitude about his abilities and can get competitive over something as simple as handling Orbot and Cubot, clashes with Blaze the first time(s) they meet because of this

Headstrong and Confrontational, confronts Infinite alone because of this, gets offended when Blaze she calls him “weak” and treats him like an amateur 

Very Emotional, tends to rush in and deal with things too head-on because of the strength of his feelings and start confrontations because he gets heated, his passion drives him forward but this same passion can cause him to be rash as his actions are dominated by his feelings

Hot Tempered and impatient, can be easily angered and gets frustrated or indignant when things don’t go his way, can get annoyed at things that get in the way or impatient with things that aren’t to the point, his sense of justice causes righteous indignation at great injustices, his temper can be quite similar to Blaze’s

Has Aggressive energy in both his demeanor and body language, generally has confident or determined expressions, often makes fists, punches things when he's frustrated and gets up by punching the ground

Can be Ruthless, has resorted to playing possum, sneaking past Soleanna guards, robbing people and killing to accomplish his goals

Courageous to the point of being Reckless, puts other’s safety before his own, instantly reacts to protect those around him when attacked in Sonic Comic, Instantly battle ready when surprised in Generations, fought against Iblis and its monsters from a very young age growing up in an extremely hazardous devastated future, both values bravery and dislikes cowardice, recklessly went off to face Infinite on his own and is noted to not back down even in the face of his mighty power, will sacrifice himself without a second thought if necessary

His way of life inspires others and makes them want to cheer him on, this even extends to real life as the illustration at the top this post inspired everyone in the office to give him a high five that day

Cannot lie but can change the subject

Doesn’t know how to explain/express himself at times

Scratches his head with his index finger when processing his thoughts

Feels joy and anger loudly but is quiet in sadness and contemplation

Gets rowdy, riled up and puts his all into things he’s feeling but is very low and quiet when something is on his mind or he’s feeling down(He’s totally autistic, this is autistic volume)

Has a mischievous side

Like apples, ate apple flavored rations in the Iblis future

Deeply appreciates peace, prosperity and people‘s smiles, beautiful vistas and people living peacefully leave him breathless

His desire for peace is seemingly driven by strong empathy for both the people and environment around him, blue skies make him feel at peace, natural beauty and people living prosperously takes his breath away, desolate or destroyed areas sadden and upset him, he can’t help but smile when he makes others smile and can’t stand to see the suffering in his destroyed futures

Has a very quiet, introspective and empathetic side (he deeply and quietly reflects on the morality of his mission throughout 06 and quietly takes in everything about Elise’s past)

AB blood type meaning that he's dual natured and adaptable based on the situation

Is a Taurus

[queenimmadolla]

I haven’t mentioned it yet but Jonathan and Nancy have their first born (a girl, Laurie) just before Maple is born and i can’t stop imagining the cute little baby photoshoots Jonathan has for them—whenever Reader and Eddie take the kids back to Indiana—in their poofy little dresses, frilly baby socks with big bows on their heads as the babies fumble around and interact with each other.

It’s the first time Maple is encountering another baby and it’s so obvious they like each other, even though Laurie has to be stopped numerous times when it looks like she’s trying to eat Maple’s face (she’s got no teeth, so it’s harmless), and Maple likes to pull at Laurie’s hair because it’s her new interest, along with anything shiny things (it’s NOT harmless, Laurie wails, you try to stop Maple every time while she’s all :D and Eddie sympathizes with Laurie because he’s had Maple yank enough hair off his head to make a wig with).

[t0bi44]

Maple 🍁 trees are so beautiful this time of year!

Maple leaves turn red in the fall because of anthocyanin, an antioxidant pigment that's produced when chlorophyll breaks down: Weather- Cool nights and warm days create the ideal conditions for anthocyanin production. The cool nights prevent sugars from moving out of the leaves, and the bright light helps the sugars form anthocyanin. As the days get shorter in the fall, chlorophyll production decreases, making other pigments visible.

[caution-we-bite]

Couldn't find a term for this, so I decided to coin a term!

Mortisgenic

Mortisgenic describes a system or headmate that was created as a result of trauma or distress caused by the death of someone close.

Color meanings:

Black – loss of someone close; immediate grief

Purple – grief felt after losing someone close; continued grief

Blue – love you felt for the person you lost

Teal – trauma that was experienced because of losing someone close

Green – new life created by loss

Term

Mors, mortis, f. = death (Latin)

-genic is a suffix that describes origins or how a system formed.