#not to mention i got to eat the tasty treats they keep in the cabinet at her house and bounce on the trampoline in her backyard

[evilmagician430]

another year of school over with ^_^ id specify which year but im not trying two doxx myself here.

[jovialyouthmusic]

Special Delivery 3

I’m going to start with an apology here. This is not great literature, it’s just an exercise in writing about what I know and wrapping it up in a fluffy romance that will never happen. It’s pure self indulgence, but if you’d like to read some fluff with a bit of British culture thrown in for good measure, go ahead and read. If you want me to take you off the tag list, please ask, no offence taken. If any of the words or terms are unfamiliar, please ask, as I make no changes to suit American readers.

Word count 2572

Previous chapters can be found here and here 

Fabio and I visit the local fish and chip shop, and I explain what’s on the menu.

Warning - mentions the death of a parent.

3 Takeaway my heart...

Once parked outside my terraced house, I unlocked the door and Fabricio helped bring our rucksacks in. He left his boots and jacket by the door, which opened straight onto a room that had once been two small rooms, now knocked into one large one with the stairwell exposed. I was looking forward to moving to a place that had a porch where wet and muddy clothes could be left, although I was fond of my cozy little house. I went to the kitchen to unpack the lunch boxes after directing Fabio upstairs to the bathroom. He was soon back downstairs as I let myself sink into the couch by the window that looked out onto the street.

‘You have a nice place.’ he said ‘It’s small, but this room is…’ he searched for words and gave up ‘I like it.’

‘I chose it a few years ago.’ I answered. ‘It was hard making enough money to get a mortgage, but my parents helped’

‘Ah yes. They are - not here any more?’ I shook my head.

‘No, Dad died just after I bought it. If I hadn’t got this place I might have moved in with Mum, but I think we would have driven each other crazy, much as I loved her.’

‘Family is muy importante. Mi madre, mi padre - I love my parents, they have helped me so much.’

‘Me too.’ I smiled ‘Mum passed away a few months ago. I can pay my house off now, and I’m going to rent it out for a little more income’

‘Passed away?’ he asked.

‘Uh - she died.’ 

‘Oh, I’m sorry. You said before. You are sad?’ his expression changed to one of concern.

‘It’s okay Fabio, she was getting older and a little confused. I was just beginning to think of moving in to look after her, but I went to visit one morning and she’d passed away in her sleep – very peaceful.’

‘I think we would all like to go like that.’ he said. ‘Now, you are hungry, yes?’ he patted his stomach.

‘I am.’ I replied ‘Tired and hungry, but I really enjoyed our trip.’

‘Yo Tambien – me too.’ he smiled ‘It is difficult to travel, there are not many busses’

‘It is easier if you have a car.’ I admitted ‘But sometimes it gets very crowded with visitors.’ He nodded.

‘There are some takeaways near here?’ he asked ‘Perhaps we should not have pizza this time.’ he grinned.

‘Yes, there are two fish and chip shops and a couple of Indian curry houses, but we can ring them.’

‘Oh.’ his eyes lit up ‘You can tell me what to order in a fish and chip shop. My friends and workmates are not English.’ I smiled, and the thought of going into my local chippy with him suddenly overcame my aching feet and stiff legs.

‘We can go together’ I suggested ‘Perhaps a cup of tea first, and I’ll be good to go’

Walking along the narrow high street with Fabio got me a few curious and envious glances, and together we walked into my favourite chip shop. I went there sometimes as a treat, but too many visits and I would soon be overweight as just about everything they sold in there was deep fried. The shop was long and narrow, and a high stainless steel counter stretched for about three quarters of the length of the shop, the remainder of it being a normal height counter where customers paid and picked up their orders. The air was warm and humid and smelled of the hot fat and frying chipped potatoes and other savouries. Various pieces of battered and fried fish, sausage and other savouries were on display in the glass cabinet.

We entered at the back of the shop to queue. A young couple were in front of us, waiting for someone to take their order, and an older man sat on a ledge in the front shop window, obviously waiting for his. Fabio looked at the food sitting out for display as one of the shop employees, dressed in a white coat and white hat, got a wire basket of cut potatoes and lowered it into a vat of hot fat. Sizzling sounds filled the air and a great cloud of steam went up as the basket was shaken to get everything evenly distributed. The employee, Chris, looked up at the queue of people waiting as another woman with a small child had come in behind us. Fabio made a silly face at the child, who hid behind his mother’s leg, sticking his thumb in his mouth.

‘We’re just waiting on chips.’ Chris explained as Fabio nodded to the woman behind us.

‘You go first.’ he said ‘I don’t know what to have. It’s my first time.’

‘Oh, thanks.’ the woman smiled warmly, and gave me a wink as she squeezed past us, the child trailing after her and staring up at Fabio with wide eyes. He stuck his tongue out and the little boy grinned self consciously. Fabio looked back at me.

‘He’s just like my sister’s boy.’ he said fondly ‘I miss mi familia’ He nodded his head at the glass cabinet ‘So, tell me what all this is.’

‘Okay, this all cooked in advance – if it’s out here it’s not spoken for – it hasn’t been ordered. You’ll want chips of course; I’ll get a large portion to share…and you need some protein – some fish or chicken or sausage, and maybe a salad.’ I pointedly looked at his belly ‘You’ll need to work it off afterwards.’ He laughed, the corners of his eyes crinkling.

‘You look okay.’ he said, looking me up and down, making me wobbly legged again. ‘Do you eat here a lot?’

‘Oh no!’ I said I’d be the size of a bus if I had chips all the time. I just have it as a treat every now and again.’ He laughed.

‘Size of a bus?’

‘It’s just a saying’ I explained sheepishly. ‘I do use a lot of them, sorry if it’s confusing.’

‘No no, is good to hear things like that.’ he insisted. Again he looked at what was on offer. A huge board behind the counter formed a menu with prices clearly marked.

‘Okay, not all chip shops serve the same – here they serve not just fish, but sausage, pies, chicken, burgers and patties. It’s all fried apart from the chili con carne, which is probably the closest you’ll get to the sort of thing you eat at home – I think.’

‘What are you having?’ he asked.

‘I’ll have cod, if it’s big we can share it. I love curry sauce but it doesn’t really go with fish.’ I noticed he was frowning in concentration ‘Perhaps if you have a piece of chicken?’ I suggested. ‘You might like chicken breast, or you could try the sausage’

‘Okay, Chicken breast, and we share’ he decided

‘Right, we can have a side of salad or baked beans, or mushy peas’ He looked even more confused, and I had to suppress a laugh ‘Okay, I don’t like mushy peas or beans with chips anyway. Salad it is. Oh, we can have the curry sauce on the side and dip our chips…’ This time I couldn’t help chuckling as he looked completely lost. ‘Don’t worry, I know just what to get.’ I said reassuringly.

When I ordered the food, Steve told me it would take an extra ten minutes to get the chicken ready, so I took my visitor to the off licence a few doors down to look at the beer and wine available. I picked a couple of bottles of real ale for him to taste, and he chose a bottle of white wine, pleased that they stocked a passable bottle of Argentinian Sauvignon Blanc. I wondered if he would be walking back to his flat that night when he had eaten and drunk what we had bought.

It wasn’t long before we walked out of the chip shop with one bag that clinked and another full of food, heavy and fragrant with the scent of oil and potato and fish. We got back and set out the boxes and packets on the table. I heated up some plates, got out some knifes and forks, and Fabio started opening up the boxes. I put out the chips, and divided up the fish and chicken. He looked at it askance.

‘This is a lot of food.’ he said.

‘I know’ I sighed ‘Chris was very generous with the chips, and the fish and chicken…’ I patted my stomach, recalling the way Chris had shovelled chips into the polystyrene tray and wrapped it up in paper. ‘We don’t have to eat it all, you can take some home.’ He sat up straight and seized his fork, his expression grave.

‘Okay, let’s do this.’ He started to attack the meal, and I did too.

‘Mmm the fish is good.’ he said with relish ‘This is – batter?’

‘Just flour and water. They dip the fish in batter before frying it. It goes crispy and keeps the fish hot. You saw them doing it, remember?’

‘Mmm’ he said, swallowing, and took a gulp of the beer I’d bought ‘Deliciosa – tell me some words you would use.’

‘Okay – you can say the fish is tasty, or delicious – or yummy, or scrumptious.’

‘Scrumptious? I like this word.’ he said before trying the chips.

‘You can put all sorts of sauces on the chips’ I explained ‘Hold on, you can try some’ I went out to the kitchen and returned with some bottles ‘Now I like their curry sauce’ I opened a pot they had given me, and dipped one into the pale brown substance, and held it out to him with my fingers. He took a bite and rolledit around his mouth appraisingly.

‘Not so bad.’ he said. I showed him the tomato ketchup and the brown sauce, and offered him vinegar.

‘Lots of people like to have vinegar put on the chips straight away’ I said ‘but I think it makes them go soggy. I like them crisp.’

‘I like this.’ he pointed to the brown sauce when he had sampled them all ‘It’s spicy but not too much. It’s yummy.’ I nodded.

‘Your English is good’ I said ‘You just mix up the order a little, but I suppose I’d do the same if I tried to learn Spanish. He grinned.

‘I teach you’

‘You should say I will teach you or I’ll teach you’

‘I will teach you, Lisa.’ He waved a chip in the air ‘Say after me Fabio es muy guapo’ I narrowed my eyes at him.

‘That’s a word I see a lot on your Instagram feed in the comments’

‘Say it’ he challenged me. I sighed.

‘Okay, Fabio es muy guapo.’ He laughed, flashing his white toothed smile.

‘Is it a rude word?’

‘Nooo.’ he laughed. ‘It means you think I’m handsome.’ I rolled my eyes.

‘Fabio, you’re a model, of course you’re handsome.’ I tapped away on my phone ‘Okay then – Fabio me engañó, él es travieso’ He laughed harder, shaking his head.

‘Yes senora, I tricked you and I am’ he furrowed his brow, then tapped the word into his phone ‘Naughty - that is a strange word in English. Did I say it right?’

‘Almost perfect, but I went for ‘mischievous’, it means the same.’ I replied. ‘How about me – is my Spanish good?’ He put his hand palm down in mid air and waggled it from side to side.

‘A little not good.’ 

‘Not so good, or so-so’ I corrected him. ‘We’re close to France here, so at school we learn French – I know in the USA they learn Spanish rather than French, so I don’t know a lot. A lot of British people go to Spain on holiday, but I haven’t.’

‘My parents made sure I learned English.’ he explained ‘It has been useful for work – around the world many people speak it, but British English is different to American English.’

‘Our cultures are very different too, but American culture is taking over a little.’ I said. ‘It’s sad some things are changing or getting lost.’

‘You can show me what is different.’ he smiled ‘If you like – if you have time.’

‘Of course, though moving house is going to be difficult. I’ve taken time off my classes.’ He looked at me in query. ‘I teach Yoga.’ I explained ‘I drive to villages and take classes. It doesn’t pay a lot, but I enjoy it, and I manage. My parents helped me out, and they’ve left me the house and some money, so I can relax for a while. Renting this house will help too, and I might have enough to buy a flat too.’

‘I help you move.’ he frowned and corrected himself. ‘I will help you move – is that right?’

‘Yes, you’re learning fast.’ I said. We carried on eating until Fabio declared he couldn’t eat any more. We hadn’t managed to eat everything, but to do so would have been painful. I heard the catflap slam shut and my ginger tomcat came in to investigate the smell of fish.

‘Ah, el gato!’ Fabio exclaimed. ‘He is yours?’

‘Hello there Ginger, about time you showed up.’ I greeted him. He froze in alarm and stared at my guest, who leaned down, flicking his fingers and making little kissy sounds. After a cautious sniff, Ginger decided he wasn’t too much of a threat and approached him. When Fabio reached out and scratched his ears, he had a new best friend as Ginger melted, just like I had, and fell at his feet, rolling over and exposing his belly.

‘He’s cute.’ he smiled. ‘Ginger.’ he made more clucking noises and carefully stroked the cat’s belly. Ginger writhed on the floor, completely under Fabricio’s spell, but like the typical cat he was, he suddenly decided he’d had enough and leapt to his feet, shaking himself. Fabio took his hand back swiftly.

‘It’s okay, he doesn’t scratch or bite – or hardly ever.’ I said. ‘Come on Ginge, let’s see what’s left in your dish.’ I went through to the kitchen and gave him a fresh dish and a handful of kitty kibble. He set to eating it, noisily crunching, and I straightened up with a groan, my full belly announcing its discomfort. Fabricio stood in the doorway.

‘I will go home.’ he said.

‘You can find your way? I’m sorry, I’ve drunk too much to drive.’

‘Is okay, is not far and the walk will be good.’ he replied. There was an awkward silence and I remembered his promise not to touch me with some small regret. He shifted uncomfortably. ‘Thankyou Lisa, I’ve had a very English day.’ My heart skipped a beat as he leaned forward and kissed me on the cheek. As I blushed, he stepped back ‘Like a brother.’ he said gravely. I took a shaky breath and followed him to the front door.

‘See you tomorrow.’ I said as I opened it and he stepped out onto the street. He made a mock salute.

‘Hasta mañana, Lisa.’ he grinned, and walked off to his digs.

[theritualofourexistence]

Holiday Travel, 2018.

I mentioned briefly in my last post that I was anxious about our holiday travel plans. Having successfully completed our Holiday Whirlwind Tour 2018, I thought it might help me digest the adventure by writing about it.

---

12/22

For me, the holiday travel started on Saturday, December 22nd with a trip to Malvern to meet my dad and brother. For my dad’s (60th!) birthday we went to Philly to catch both a Flyers game and a 76ers game. I drove from State College to Malvern that morning where we shared surprise cake with my Aunt Michelle and cousins Morgan, Danny, and Erin.

Now, my dad, my brother, and I have an ongoing bit featuring an old Happy Meal figurine of Dash from the Incredibles. For over ten years we’ve been taking turns hiding the toy in someone else’s stuff. In college once I forgot my sneakers at home and had my parents ship them. When I unwrapped the package, I found Dash jammed into one of my shoes. There was also a time someone found Dash suspended over the toilet with duct tape. Pete hid Dash in my medicine cabinet back in July and I had been scheming for months trying to come up with a spectacular way to pass Dash on to my Dad.

So, I put Dash into my Dad’s 60th birthday cake. The cake is a lemon cake with lemon buttercream, lemon curd filling, shortbread and Biscoff cookie crumbles, and vanilla mascarpone rosettes. And a plastic toy inside, of course.

The big reveal went about as well as I could’ve hoped and even though it wasn’t a long visit, it was a treat to get some time with my Aunt Michelle and cousins as well.

From their home in Malvern we went in to the city to catch the Flyers game. They didn’t win but it was still fun and hey, we got to see a fight too!

After the Flyers game we took the Broad Street Line into the city to get cheesesteaks from Pat’s. Along the way we passed a very cool glass mural on the outside of a museum. It was cold but nothing warms this Philly girl’s soul quite like a famous cheesesteak.

We trained back to the stadium for the 76ers game… it was excellent to see a close game and even better to end our evening with a win!

Then back to Malvern where we parted ways for the night, Dad and Pete heading home and me stopping at a hotel in York for the night.

Daily miles driven: 313. Total miles: 313.

12/23

On Sunday the 23rd we were up and moving early to get our family Christmas tree! Ever since I was a kid, we’ve gone to cut down our own real tree for Christmas. We met at our go-to place, Tuckaway Tree Farm, and found the perfect tree. Then back to Huntingdon to decorate and share a family dinner. After one of our family faves, turkey pot pie, and LOTS of Christmas cookies, I headed home for one beloved sleep in my own bed before the chaos really began.

Daily miles driven: 153. Total miles: 466.

12/24

Family Christmas! My mom, my dad, my brother and I unwrapped our family gifts in Huntingdon and upheld our tradition of reading both “The Night Before Christmas” and “The Polar Express.” My dad made eggs benedict and beignets for breakfast before we parted ways… Dad heading to Richmond, and mom, Pete, and I heading to visit our Grammy and Pap-Pap in Elizabethtown.

We had a lovely visit with Grammy and Pap-pap, opening more presents and having another family dinner. Then we hit the road again, stopping at a hotel in Lancaster for the night.

Daily miles driven: 171. Total miles: 637.

12/25

Huddell Christmas! We woke up to peanut butter waffles before continuing our trip to see mom’s family, the Huddell clan in Glenolden. We’ve been going to Glenolden for Christmas for almost my whole life… though there were a few years when we gathered elsewhere, Christmas at Glenolden will always be a very special thing for me.

I got lots of good chats with my aunts and uncles and cousins and cousins’ spouses and kids. One of my cousins showed up in his Christmas pjs, a Pikachu onesie. One of my uncles showed up in David Pumpkins-esque Christmas suit. I got to sit with my Grandmom for a bit while my uncle shared the good news that another of my cousins is pregnant with her first child. We cram a lot of people into a small space for a few hours in Glenolden every year and I wouldn’t trade it for the world… so much love in such a small space! Then a tasty lunch buffet of meatballs and more Christmas cookies gave us the fuel to keep driving.

We finished Christmas day driving south to our hotel in Emporia on the way to our next destination.

Daily miles driven: 378. Total miles: 1,015.

12/26

Finished our drive and arrived in North Myrtle Beach in time for family dinner! The celebration for my Nana and Grandpa’s 50th wedding anniversary began with ham and cheesy potatoes and homemade applesauce, which we shared with more aunts, uncles, cousins, and close family friends. We hung out in their condo laughing and eating and swapping stories in the warmth of the glow from the Christmas decorations. After a final nightcap we headed to our hotel for the night.

I am very anxious during travel but when I’m greeted with such a beautiful ocean view, it’s hard to be too grumpy.

Daily miles driven: 265. Total miles: 1,280.

12/27

Party day!

Pete and I started our day by meeting my dad, Nancy, and cousin Lee for mini-golf. The course we played at had a cute little train to the top of the course which my party-pooper brother refused to ride. The game was close- Dad and Pete tied for first and I was just one stroke behind. Pete, Lee, and I hung out for a second round of golf despite the steadily increasing threat of rain. We ended up soaked but ya gotta get your mini-golf fix when you can and I’m glad we stayed for that second game and some extra cousin time!

Back to the hotel to get ready for the party before meeting up with the rest of the group for a tasty Italian dinner and three different types of cheesecake! Though we spent a lot of time in the car to get there, I am so so glad that I was able to share the time with my family and celebrate my Nana and Grandpa!

Daily miles driven: 20. Total miles: 1,300.

12/28

We woke up to get breakfast with Nana and Grandpa at Friendly’s before starting our saga back north. It was a tough goodbye… I feel very strongly that I don’t get enough time with my Nana and Grandpa but that’s one of those problems that doesn’t have an easy fix.

After a long, long drive through the rain we arrived in Fredericksburg for the night.

Daily miles driven: 371. Total miles: 1,671.

12/29

Family tattoo adventure!

After an emergency trip to purchase shorts and a late-night email exchange, we started the second to last leg of our journey to Key City Tattoo in Frederick, Maryland. Pete had previously made an appointment with Antonio Roque and I managed to secure a spot with one of my favorite tattooers, Vinny Morris. My mom snagged a walk-in spot with Nate Sprenkle and we all ended up under the needle.

A few hours and three beautiful pieces of artwork later, we started the trip home with a quick stop for Five Guys on the way.

Daily miles driven: 280. Total miles: 1,951.

---

This is basically a captain’s log. Being in the car is hard for me but I find it slightly more manageable if I’m driving, so despite plenty of offers from my mom and my brother to take turns at the wheel, I drove every one of those 2,000 miles. Even if driving helps, I still am anxious enough that I need to stop often. If you add up all the miles traveled and all the extra miles for stops in that long, long seven-day span, I’m sure we drove at least 2,000 miles.

I’m endlessly grateful for my family’s patience with my need to stop and truly blessed to have spent so much time with my family this holiday season.

What you don’t see in this mile count is a laugh count or a smile count or a family dinner count. Though the weight of those miles was heavy, the scales are undeniably tipped in favor of the plentiful blessings I collected along the way. I got to see Pete for the first time since July. I got to see cousins I haven’t seen in years. I got to see all five of my living grandparents. I got to prove to myself that even if the trip wasn’t easy and didn’t exactly go super smoothly, I was still able to do it safely.

I finished the trip with a Roald Dahl reminder to “row on.” 

I started 2019 by printing and hanging new pictures in my room. This year was a big one and I am so grateful for all the victories I collected along the way, both big and small, with the help of my friends and family.

[yoshimickster]

Rwby Volume 6 episode 5 “The Coming Storm” Micksterecap: The Not-much-Happening(spoilers)

Hey everybody, hope you had a happy Turkey day! I did, despite the MASSIVE mess I had to clean up, EITHER WEITHER-let’s GET to the Micksterecap!

We start out with Cinder returning to Little Miss Mauve (I know its malachite, but malachites are naturally GREEN dammit) who tells her that Team RWBYJNORQ was headed to Argus, and through the most BASIC of basic ass deductions realizes they were going to Atlas.

With that, Cinder than walks out of their with noooooooooooo catc-

LilMiss: You know you turned out to be quite the interesting customer *DRAMATIC PAUSE OF DRAMATICISM* Cinder.

Oooooooooooooh crap she knows who she is, well that’s okay its not like she told anyone who might want to kill her for leading an attack that got their boss/implied lover kill-

2:42 Oooooooooooooh boy, BUST OUT THAT MAGIC CINDY-its fightnin’ time!

2:49 LilMiss: Maybe put away the GOOD glasses.

Chaps:...wait if we knew the mute ice cream lady was gonna try and kill the skeleton handed burnt face lady in a HUGE scuffle...why’d we leave the good glasses out at all?

LilMiss: THAT’S WHAT I’M SAYING-whoever the hell our busboy is they are SO getting a stern talking to!

Neo starts it out with a classic SMASH AND SHATTER-

Neo than hits left, hits right, while Cinder blocks every other hit, making Neo pull the EVER FAMOUS-

BOWL TOSS MANEUVER!

LilMiss: Okay seriously, who left my nice glass bowls out for these bitches to smash? THIS IS A BUSINESS!

Cinder strikes punches, Neo umbrellas away AND THEN CINDER REMEMBERS-

3:38

Cinder: OH YEAH-i have magical superpowers, the FUCK was I doing?!

But all good bar fights come to a close as Lil Miss tells them to take it outside-

3:47 

LilMiss: Please take this outside or my...associates will force you to.

Cinder:...w...wait, why should I be threatened by you and your gang of mooks? I have the powers of ancient magic and she’s got some OP unexplained mirror quirk, why the hell should EITHER of us be threatened by you?

LilMiss: Because the plot SAYS SO!

Cinder:...EH-I’m easy! TOSS ME NEO!

3:52 SMASH!

LilMiss: Okay everyone, let’s treat this as a learning experience, when setting up meetings between two people who want to kill each other, do NOT make the meeting in your bar full of breakable glass.

Chaps: Yeah we could’ve set this up WAY better, now we’re gonna have to call the cleaning guy for just ONE stupid meeting, not to mention we’re gonna have to patch that window-UGH-mondays.

Outside Neo pulls a QUICK DODGE-but Cinder’s too smart for that, as she AUTOMATICALLY blasts a fireball at Neo’s umbrella,  UNDER WHICH REVEALS-

4:08

GAH ROMAN’S HAT ITS ROMAN’S HAT...wait, where the hell was she keeping that thing? Was she using her illusion powers on JUST her head and her tattered clothes for this whole fight, JUST to remind Cinder that her boss/boyfriend died in that attack? There’s EXTRA, and then there’s Neopolitan folks!

After a brief and pointless sword on umbrella fight-

-heh, love those swords, Cinder ONCE AGAIN remembers-

4:39

Cinder: Oh yeah, I have superpowers...fuck, where IS my head today?

Cinder than calmly tells Neo that they both have a common enemy in Ruby, and decide to start a BLOODPACT to kill her, RIGHT before this scene

Cinder: Okay then, let’s talk.

Cinder:...right.

Jesus Cinder, forgetting you have powers, forgetting your co-worker’s a mute(CANON), where the FUCK is your head today?

A. THEN. CUT. TOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO-

5:11 Brunswick farms, formerly a BUSTLING agricultural scene, now a (possibly literal) ghost town where team RWBYQOM(pronounced Ruby Com for you filthy casuals who didn’t know) is staying for the night!

After Ruby briefly wanders why the a completely intact town wasn’t ravished or incomplete like MOST villages. The team busts inside a locked house where ITS REVEALED-

5:54 NOTHING! 

Qrow: Aw dammit, no bad guys? Busted down a door for nothing. Ah well-WHERE’S THE BOOZE?

After Maria rightfully tells them to shut the door they broke, Ruby than looks at-A PHOTO!

6:42 HOO boy, if “A series of Unfortunate Events” has taught me anything, its that the people in a mysterious group photo are either all dead, part of a secret society, or BOTH!

Weiss: *SCREAMS*

7:03 CALLED IT!

After blanketing a LOGICALLY traumatized Weiss-

7:21 How the hell can a screen shot look so cozy and so terrified all at the same time?

-Qrow than comes in telling everybody that EVERYONE in the village is dead, and because of the heavy snow they can’t leave. Yo Qrow, do that have a Semblance equivalent of Meta-cuffs yet, like from the Flash? Because your Misfortune power is getting a LITTLE irksome to our main cast.

Making the best they got, everybody decides that no-one besides Qrow goes out alone while looking for supplies, and BLAKE-

8:22

Blake: Yang and I can go search for other vehicles.

-capitalizes on a chance to get back on Yang’s good side, which LOGICALLY-

-either Yang sees RIGHT through it, or is STILL logically mad at her high school love interest for abandoning her. MAN am I glad I’m not these kids.

Ruby than takes-

-her OBVIOUSLY still traumatized potential girlfriend on a food search. Look at her, she looks like one of those victims on a cop show. THUS LEAVING OSCAR-

9:10 -left alone with a totally not mysterious old lady, whose totally not gonna tell a story that in NO WAY ties into anything in the plot...totally.

Blake and Yang continue their not-date of looking for vehicles in one of the sheds-WHERE THEY FIND-

10:18 A CART-that they can put Yang’s now-useless motorcycle on if and when they find a car with snow tires! Well that’s nice, I’m sure Yang isn’t gonna see anything els-

10:22 GAH-possibly real, possibly just trauma Adam-RUN!

After realizing it was just a PTSD flashback(OR WAS IT) Yang mentions how that attack still effected her, and I’m SURE Blake wouldn’t make her mad by comforting Yang wron-

11:21 Blake: I’ll protect you.

Yang:...what?!

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOH-bad move on Blake folks, she starts out strong by saying she’ll be by her side but then FUMBLES at the last minute implying that Yang isn’t someone who can take care of herself and needs protection. I don’t know HOW Blake will come out on top this season, but we still got half-way to go.

After that Yangsty scene where they decide to hook the flatbed...TO Bumblebee instead of putting said cycle ON the flatbed with a vehicle behind it-HA THEN CUT TO-

11:50-Ruby and Weiss(who ISN’T wearing a blanket, continuity, WHAT’S that?), who lucky for them find a FULLY stocked liquor cabinet and bar, which I’m sure Ruby has NO problem with at al-

Ruby: On second thought, maybe we should keep this room closed. I’m just...not sure how well my uncle’s taking all of this.

Weiss:...Oh.

God DAMN this is a bad day of discoveries for Weiss, first she sees TWO dead bodies, THAN realizes that Ruby has negative feelings about her uncle’s drinking problem. BUT MORE THAN THAT-the show FINALLY addresses that Qrow’s drinking problem...is a problem, instead of just “TEE HEE-he’s drunk!”

After that, bla bla bla, serious conversation about still going to Atlas given the fact that Salem is an immortal killing machine and their quest may be ultimately fruitless, going into a room with a spooky door that obviously holds Satan-BUT ENOUGH ABOUT THAT-

13:20 FUCK YEAH-Three Brothers Beans, SHRIMP flavored! Because when you wanna start a barbecue and only got enough cash for either beans OR shrimp, Three Brothers got your back with a great combination. Three Brothers, available at all Just Rites close to abandoned villages.

After Weiss begrudgingly agrees to eat poor people food, CLOSE IT OUT-

*CREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEAK* *SLAM!*

Weiss: Hey Ruby, did you just hear a door slam just now?

Ruby: All I hear is how mother-flippin’ TASTY these shrimp-beans are gonna be! 

So yeah while it had a cool opening fight scene, YET another build-up episode to this season’s big bad Grimm, and I guess its fine but I just want more scenes of the team KICKING ASS y’know? Either way, an okay mostly expository ep but I hope next week is better. SEE YA NEXT TIME on Micksterecap! And if you wanna donate to my Paypal or Kofi, just ask me first! I’d put the links up but this recap is two hours late as is.

[charonic]

Little Red Riding Rabbit and Mr Wolf (Chapter 1)

Lavi has always had a penchant for anything that's not from the human realm. When his friends warned him to stay out of the woods because of a rumoured "werewolf", he didn't exactly heed their advice. All the books that he's ever read about on faefolks didn't prepare him for who he met in those woods. 

Chapter 1

The Beginning Of Winter Is Always Solemn But Interesting

Since he was a child, Lavi has always had this fascination with fae folks and their legends. Anything that doesn't belong in the human realm is sure to catch his attention, any tale that speaks of supernatural phenomenon never fails to have him listen intently, you can practically see his eyes shimmer with awe whenever he does.

His love for strange tales and stranger beings never ceased as he grew older. Most teenagers his age would wave off folklore as childish nonsense that's only meant to serve as bedtime stories for little kids, but with Lavi he still soughs out for any new reading materials that he can get his hands on.

Problem with the town he's living in as of now is, the library and bookshops don't have any books that he hasn't read yet.

"Lavi, come on!"

Allen's voice rang pass his ears and his eye caught sight of a blurry shade of white run past him. The commotion managed to bring Lavi back down from the clouds, but the abruptness of it had the red head almost drop his newest book on Selkies into the fountain.

Allen was already a few good metres away from where Lavi was, his body half turned towards his red haired companion.

"Let's go, Lena and Kanda are waiting!"

There was a faint sheen of sweat on Allen's forehead, the boy likely ran all the way from his house to the centre of town for that to happen. Lavi's lips curled into a smile as he placed his book back into his satchel before getting off the fountain's stone edge. He watched Allen bounce on his heels ever so subtlety as he made his way to the younger teen.

"I swear you're only rushing me because Lenalee made rice cakes for us today."

He was met with Allen's wide grin in return. "Can you blame me? They're just that good."

"You're addicted." Lavi snorted with a slight roll of his eye. His smile took on a cheekier edge as he leaned down close to Allen. "Pretty sure all that glutton is bad for you." He poked at Allen's stomach, yet again amazed that there was only a slight pudgy middle. The kid eats so much yet never gains much weight (if at all), lucky brat.

When Allen smacked his hand away, Lavi had to snicker. Both at Allen's displeased huff and his impatience when food is involved.

Lavi can't help but think it was a mistake to introduce rice cakes into Allen's life, then again no one knew he would come to love the treat so much.

His stomach gave out a quiet rumble, all this food talk has made Lavi wonder what kind of rice cake the Lee family has prepared for them (Allen) today. He glanced at his satchel for a moment, there was only a few pages left on his book, he could finish it when he's at Lenalee's place. Or after he's done with Bookman's work, whichever one works.

"Lavi, let's go!" Allen hollered from afar, the boy was already way ahead of the redhead.

Yes, a mistake indeed.

-.-.-.-

They got puffed rice cakes. Not Lavi's favourite, but still tasty nonetheless.

After helping the Lee siblings bring in heavy wooden crates of empty glass vials-plus unpacking, cleaning them individually, placing them in the storeroom, checking for any ill-fitted corks-they finally settled down in the small dining area, tired but satisfied with the rice cakes Lenalee provided them.

Lavi sat across where a large wooden cabinet was, the panels were made from glass and he can see some of the vials that Kanda had arranged inside. It won't be long until they're all filled to the brim with Komui as their owner. He wondered what weird new concoction Komui was going make this time round, hopefully nothing too disastrous.

Lenalee's elder brother, Komui, is one of the town's doctors. The townsfolk trust him and his vast medical knowledge despite his method being mostly unheard of in this region. He's known to be quite the eccentric fellow by everyone because of his tendency to experiment around with herbs. He's probably the only guy around this part of the land who's still learning and trying to create new alternative cures using methods that were deemed ineffective by renowned researchers.

Doctor by day; 'mad scientist' by night, or so Lenalee once said.

"Thank you so much for helping us with the moving." Komui said with a grateful smile. "It would've taken me hours had it only been me doing the work."

"No biggie, we're glad we could help!" Lavi answered, his smile just as wide and genuine.

Beside him, Kanda grunted what sounded like an agreement. And Allen nodding vigorously next to him with a mouth full of rice cakes. The three very different responses made Komui laugh a bit.

"I'm still glad you were about to lend a hand. I couldn't let my dear Lena do it, I'd rather bear the back pain myself."

"Brother..." Lenalee murmured, looking both peeved and embarrassed at her brother, who in turn flashed her toothy grin, but stopped his gushing regardless.

Allen and Lavi shared a wryly smile with each other at how oblivious Komui is when it comes to his sister's physical strength. He would've loved to mention how she managed to lift Allen up off the ground this one time, but that would be sending his friend and himself into an u painful death.

"Is there anything else?" Kanda asked.

"No, that's about all that needs to be done. I've troubled you all enough today." Komui gave them another smile before turning to leave for the kitchen. "Eat up! You'll need the energy after all that hard labour."

And with that, the man went off to prepare food for dinner, leaving Lenalee and the others in the dining area. The silence wasn't uncomfortable between them, but the mountainous pile of rice cakes set in the middle of the table felt... overbearing.

There was a few hours to spare before dinner time, but Lavi didn't want to spoil his appetite from overstuffing himself, he still ate a few blocks of the puffed rice cakes though.

He sat there twirling what's left of his rice cake chunk while watching his friends talk about mundane things. Usually he'd be joining in with the chat, adding a joke here, a pun there, some informative stuff that he's read about. Today he decided to let the others' voices fill the room, only nodding and giving a small laugh whenever Kanda said something snarky.

Maybe it's the seasonal change that's making him feel so quiet, even when he's among his friends. Winter was never his favourite season.

Some time passed and before they knew it, the sun was beginning to leave them of its light and warmth. The darkening sky meant it was about time Lavi left to find Bookman. He sighed, a guy can't even eat some rice cakes with his friends without worrying about more work.

He popped the remaining bit of rice cake into his mouth and grabbed his satchel before getting up. The squeaking noise his chair made got the others' attention, Lena was the first to ask.

"You're leaving already?"

Lavi forced a smile, it came out looking apologetic and sheepish. "Sorry guys, I have to help gramps with his work."

He wasn't too fond with the silence that came after that, nor stares that he was being given.

"Being Bookman's apprentice doesn't come with days off, huh?" Allen spoke up with a mouth full of chewed rice cakes.

"Hey, that's not true! I get to fool around plenty, and it's not like gramps keeps me on a tight leash or anything."

While his voice was full of lighthearted jest, Lavi's eyes didn't quite meet with the smile he was flashing.

Allen was right though... Bookman always gives him tons of work, and just as much books to read and memorize. He does get a break from time to time, but as of late Bookman has been giving more assignments than usual. And Lavi can't help but think it's probably because his grandfather planned on passing down his position soon.

He's getting old after all, Lavi mused.

Not to mention he's turning nineteen in a few months, there was a good chance Bookman will want him to succeed his title when that time comes. He didn't realize his smile slipped off some time ago, his face now sporting a tired frown, one that the others could see.

"You guys know where to find me, so drop by whenever you're free this weekend."

He heard Kanda's exasperated sigh and looked up.

"Bookman's house is on the other side of the woods." He said, giving Lavi a pointed look. "It takes an hour more or less to get there on foot. I'm not about to waste precious time just to see your dumb face, rabbit brat."

Good ol' Kanda.

Somehow the less than warm response lifted Lavi's mood a bit.

"You know I wonder why Bookman doesn't want to move into town... I mean, he is getting old and wouldn't you be able to keep a better eye on him if he lived closer?" Allen asked. Lavi noted how there were crumbs around his face, and the way Kanda was looking at him with mild disgust.

"He's a stubborn old panda," Lavi said, a snort followed after. "Man if I call him old in front of him again he'll throw another book at my head."

A pause, then, "And! You can actually reach his house under twenty minutes if you walk through the woods." Lavi finished with a proud huff, his eye closed and his smile wide like he'd won an argument.

His friends don't share the same sentiment, in fact all three of them looked at Lavi with a mixture of shock, bewilderment and worry. Of course the red head didn't sense the tense air in the room when he's too busy being surrounded by his own imaginary victory.

"Lavi, the woods are dangerous to walk through. Especially alone." Lenalee's voice was unusually hushed. Kanda whipped his head to look at Lena, then back to Lavi.

"Wait, don't tell me the rabbit brat's been taking that route-" Oh dear here we go.

"Only recently!" Lavi loud retort managed to at least stop Kanda from giving him an earful, he only wished it would help him with the looks he was being given from his friends. He hung his head and let out a dejected sigh, shuffling his feet ever so slightly under their stares.

"I mean, I only did it once or twice..." The red head murmured, "I was carrying a lot of stuff and my feet were hurting and there was still a long distance to go before I could get there so I cut through the forest..."

None of his friends seem pleased with this newly discovered information, especially Lenalee. She found it fitting to be the one who breaks the news first.

"Lavi, haven't you heard? About the rumours."

That got his attention.

"What rumours?" Lavi asked.

He saw how Lenalee's throat seemed to tighten up before she went on, her voice even lower than before. "There are wolves there."

Kanda rolled his eyes when Lavi's face remained unfazed. Of course the rabbit brat doesn't think wolves are a big deal. "Not just normal grey wolves, idiot."

"Werewolves." Lena finished.

"I wouldn't call them werewolves per say." Allen piped in, and Kanda shot him a levelled look for interrupting that the younger boy ignored. "Not sure of the term but, they're more like shape shifters. Think Selkies like in the book you're reading, but like, wolf and not seal."

Another moment of tense silence fell between them, Lavi looked at his friends with a look that can only be described as incredulous and surprise, his mouth slighty ajar from what Allen had said.

"You guys... believe in those things?"

"Oh please, like you're one to talk." Kanda scoffed as he crossed his arms over the front of his shirt. Allen and Lenalee stifled a laugh beside him, the former failing to suppress his laughter when Lavi fumed with cheeks pink and puffy.

"Ugh, whatever." Lavi used his free hand to pull his red cloak off the chair before stepping away from the table. His friends were still staring at him, they were giving him the same unimpressed paternal look.

"...Alright fine, I'll stop taking the short cut."

That finally got them to stop, in an instant their faces morphed back into the default expressions they have on all the time. Lenalee with her golden sunshine smile, same with Allen, and Yu with his grumpy stink face.

When had his friends become as overbearing as that stack of rice cake from earlier?

While in amidst of his pouting, Lenalee had taken a few pieces of the leftover rice cakes off the plate and wrapped them in a linen cloth.

"Here, take some back with you. If Bookman can't eat them, well, more snacks at night for you!"

Lavi didn't miss the jab about gramp's old man teeth, he grinned at the cheeky remark and reached for the wrapped treat.

"See you guys in a few days."

Kanda emitted a grunt as he bit into his partially eaten piece whilst Lenalee waved him goodbye at the door.

"Bye, Lavi. Remember to stay on the path!" Allen called out from behind him, waving both hands at the red head's turned back.

Lavi returned the gesture with a lazy wave of his hand over his cloaked shoulder before he shut the door closed.

To Be Continued

((You can find the fic on AO3 too))