#some appreciation for common food fish!

[chubby-bun-bun]

untitled (part 4)

The man you stumbled into is bleeding out. And he's distractingly pretty.

nav: one, two, three, four (current), five, six or: read on ao3

tags: sylus x reader, an au where you're an average citizen, slow burn, mentions of blood, fluff, you panic bc of his lethal face card, valid reaction tbh, 10/10 would do the same

Interacting directly with a beautiful man reduces you to an idiot, you realize.

You’ve met attractive men before—had crushes on such men. They weren’t necessarily easy on the eyes, but there was always something they said, did, or had that made you feel some type of way about them. The seventh-grade classmate who shushed your chattering peers during your presentation. The corner store clerk with pretty hands. The college senior who made you feel welcome at your acquaintance party. The tall guy who unknowingly saved you from getting squished by the sardine-packed commuters on the train.

Sure, your next interactions with them made you hyper-aware of their presence for a time—hanging on to their every word and unknowingly seeking them out in the room. But you think you remained fairly casual and blasé with them, as you do with most things.

Unlike right now.

As your mind begins to clear, you register that you’re stripped down to just your base layer. In the middle of winter. Your puffer jacket lies damp on the ground, and your sweater—now sporting huge splotches of blood—is folded haphazardly against the man’s abdomen. (You try not to let the sight of the dark liquid summon the remains of your dinner.)

Your gaze flickers between his ruined shirt and your clasped hands, cupped by his much larger, warmer ones. When you look up, you’re taken aback to find his intense garnet eyes already locked on you.

“Are you alright?” he asks, the deep, velvety timbre of his voice compelling you to straighten up unconsciously.

“Yes,” you splutter, air barely making it past your throat. Then, your eyes widen. “Are you alright?” you stress, gesturing wildly to the concerning state of his abdominal area.

He chuckles. “Never been better.”

You gape at him. “But you’re bleeding!”

He glances down at his bloodied clothes. “It appears so.”

You like to think you have a good head on your shoulders. You always stay on the correct side of the sidewalk. You tidy up your table as much as you can at food joints. You try to abide by city recycling guidelines to make life easier for sanitation workers. And you’re decently vigilant, thanks to the countless true crime documentaries you’ve crammed into your brain.

But alas, it seems a beautiful man is all it takes for common sense to call it a day.

“Okay, so I actually won some groceries earlier, and I think I have some first-aid supplies in there,” you babble, missing the knowing glint in his eyes. “My house is just a little further down the street. If you want, I can treat your wound there?”

He’s still holding your hands. You realize your palms must be clammy from cold sweat—and his blood. You politely pull your hands back with a laugh you hope sounds natural. (It doesn’t.)

“Oh wait, you probably need a hospital,” you blurt, mentally berating yourself for not considering this first. You start fishing for your phone in your jeans pocket. “I can call the emergency hotline for Akso Hospital. I work there. Um, I can even ride with you in the ambulance if you’d like?”

The man laughs, his eyes crinkling in amusement.

“I appreciate the help, sweetie, but you shouldn’t be so quick to give out personal information to people you just met.”

Heat creeps up your neck. He’s right. You’re basically handing him a free pass to rob your place. What if he’s a serial killer?

As you feel yourself spiraling further, he begins to stand, grabbing your dropped jacket as he rises. You instinctively lean back, mouth agape at his towering height and the fact that he just stood up—quite gracefully—despite clutching his wound mere moments ago.

“I’ll have your sweater washed and dry-cleaned,” he says, folding the soiled fabrics neatly into compact squares. “Know that your assistance back there is much appreciated.”

“Oh—! It was nothing. I’m just glad you’re okay.”

A single snowflake lands on your face and you blink, nose twitching at the gentle melting sensation. Looking up, you notice the sky is now a beautiful backdrop of powdery snow, falling softly around you.

“It’s getting late,” he observes, also gazing up at the scenery. “Let me walk you home.”

Before you can protest, he drapes his coat over your shoulders. You’re immediately overwhelmed by the scent of fresh linen and something distinctly masculine that has you instinctively relaxing into the warm confines of the comically oversized garment.

“But aren’t you cold?” you ask, unknowingly tucking yourself further into his coat.

“No,” he responds with a hint of laughter, pressing a hand to your back to gently guide you toward the park entrance.

The short walk to your house is surprisingly comfortable. Aside from occasionally fumbling over your words and avoiding his gaze (his face is distractingly handsome, and his impressive height and physique make you strangely self-conscious), you manage a decent conversation.

You learn he was taking a casual stroll when he had a “squabble” with some old business partners. You can only stare at the back of his head at this revelation. What kind of squabble leads to a wound like that? And how is he acting so fine now? If it weren’t for the bloodstain on his expensive-looking high-neck top, you’d think you hallucinated the whole thing.

You also learn he’s visiting the city on a business trip. After hearing this, the rest of the walk is filled with you recommending your favorite places: the food spots you’re yet to use your lifetime vouchers for, the cat café with the snooty caracal you love petting, and the old arcade where you’ve won most of your plushie collection. (You make sure to share with him a few secret tricks for mastering the darn two-pronged claw machine.)

Belatedly, it dawns on you that such activities might hold little interest for a man like him. Flustered, you open your mouth to undo the torrent of nonsense you’ve been spouting, when he suddenly stops and turns to face you.

“Your recommendations are duly noted,” he says, eyes glowing with amusement. “I’ll be sure to try them sometime.”

You’ve arrived at your house. You're surprised by the unexpected pang of disappointment you feel.

“Thank you for walking me home,” you murmur, suddenly feeling shy.

He hands over your now-drier puffer jacket. “It was my pleasure. Now go inside before you turn into an icicle.”

“Oh—your coat,” you exclaim, beginning to shrug it off. But he stops you with a raised hand.

“Keep it,” he tells you. “I’ll get it back when I return your sweater.”

You hesitate. “Are you sure?”

“Of course.” Then, as if recalling a secret you’re not privy to, he smiles softly. “I trust it’ll be in safe hands. You seem exceptional at caring for things.”

Before you can unpack his words, he turns and starts walking toward the main road.

“Wait! What’s your name?” You can't believe you haven't asked till now.

He pauses before glancing over his shoulder.

“Sylus,” he finally says.

“Sylus,” you repeat, liking the way it rolls off your tongue. “It’s a pretty name.”

Your hand flies to your mouth, eyes widening in horror. Why not tell him he’s hot while you’re at it, doofus?

As you fumble for an apology and prepare to sentence yourself to a blabbermouth timeout, he chuckles.

“Indeed it is.”

You can’t quite put your finger on it, but there’s a trace of melancholy in his voice that stays with you.

With a wave, he walks into the snowy dark, his figure gradually fading.

And that’s when it hits you.

How did he know which house was yours?

note: seeing the love this series has gotten has been surprising! the comments, reblog captions, and tags you leave are honestly hilarious and i had a blast reading through them 💞

nav: one, two, three, four (current), five, six or: read on ao3

tag list: @thepotatoislost, @xxfaithlynxx, @browneyedgirl22, @vorfreudevortex

check out my other works!

[atlaculture]

Favorite Foods: Zuko

Whereas everyone else's favorite foods required research and conjecture, Zuko's post mostly builds off what we see in the show. The foods Zuko likes are inspired by multiple real-life cultures. Links to recipes will be included.

Larou (臘肉) - Also called Lap Yuk in Cantonese, it's cured pork belly aka bacon. According to the old Nickelodeon ATLA page, sizzle-crisps appear to be the Fire Nation's version of bacon bits. And, according to the official Avatar cookbook, sizzle-crisps are Zuko's favorite snack. He likes their long shelf-life and versatility, which are necessities for food meant to be stored on a ship. He not only eats them on their own as a snack, but uses them as seasoning for any dishes he considers under-seasoned and bland, which is most non-Fire Nation food. As such, he always carries around a bag of "sizzle crisps", like how some people always have hot sauce on their person. He likes his larou extra peppery.

Shaved Ice - A popular summer treat in many parts of the world, Asia included. In its most basic form, shaved ice is frozen water or milk, topped with a sweet syrup. Shaved ice brings back bittersweet memories for Zuko, reminding him of the fun times spent at Ember Island with his family. Zuko's favorite flavors are guava and watermelon. He normally eats a pretty basic version in public, but will go all out with toppings when no one's watching.

Jook - Jook is the Cantonese name for rice porridge and the term Iroh uses when serving it to Zuko. Considering Zuko's tendency to push himself too hard, it's likely that the prince had a good number of bed-rest days during his banishment. As such, I think Iroh is quite used to preparing jook for his nephew. While Zuko initially didn't appreciate being "babied" (from his perspective), he comes to associate jook with his uncle's love for him. Rice porridge is eaten all over Asia.

Inihaw Na Bangus - Tagolog for "Grilled Milkfish", this is a popular fish dish in the Philippines. The milkfish is stuffed with flavorful ingredients, scored, and grilled over a fire. During the book 1 episode, "The Warriors of Kyoshi", Zuko is shown being served what looks to be this dish by his ship's cook. I feel that Zuko would have a love-hate relationship with this meal. He genuinely loves eating it, but it was also served to him very often, due to the availability of the fish while out at sea. Thus, Zuko went through cycles of eating it constantly, and then not even wanting to see it for months at a time. After the war, it became a meal he'd have about once a week.

Sea cucumber sashimi - As I mentioned in a previous post, "sea slug" is a more antiquated name for the sea cucumber. In ATLA, smoked sea slug is served as commoner's food, while parts of the sea slug are served raw to the wealthy. In real life, sea slug/cucumber is actually an expensive delicacy that's served raw in Japan and Korea. Considering Zuko's willingness to steal good quality food in Book 2, I always felt that he probably has a rather refined palette. "Sea slug" sashimi was probably the dish he missed most from the FN palace.

Tea - I'm sure we all saw this coming. Under Iroh's influence, Zuko comes to appreciate tea. While not the connoisseur that his uncle is, he does enjoy winding down with a mellow jasmine tea at the end of the day.

Also, I think we can all agree that Zuko would never eat a turtle-duck. ^_^

[justpoliteconversations]

Apple Merchant [BOTW!Link x Isekai!Reader] (Part 5)

You spend more money. And Link becomes a local legend.

I was intending on working on a different piece tonight, but the continuous notifications for Apple Merchant keeps reminding me of how much I want to write on it. And then the self-indulgent whispers start seeping into my brain and here we are. Enjoy your ill-gotten gains, Lurkers.

Part 1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 / 6

Alternate Extras: Embrace

Masterlist

TW: Choosing not to display warnings. Read at your own discretion.

Disclaimer: Don't own The Legend of Zelda franchise.

---

Lurelin village. A beautiful little coastal town southwest of Hateno with just the right amount of sun and water to make any would-be visitor green with envy. Except no one ever mentioned the humidity (enough to drown someone in their sleep, you swear by it), the lizalfos infestation (something the game got right in concept, but wrong in scale) and the sand. The Goddess forsaken sand. The damned (neverending, grit in your teeth, tears in your eyes, gravel in your lungs) sand that got into everything.

So, no, Lurelin was beautiful and you'd thought once that maybe you'd get a house there (or maybe just plan a vacation). But you'd quickly been rid of the notion the moment you'd stepped foot onto the warm, picturesque beachfront property. Taken a deep, appreciative breath of the fresh, salty air. And then was promptly tackled out of the way of an oncoming spear by Skims (bless that man) as Adino put a pair of arrows into a lizalfos' hissing, gaping maul.

The face full of sand you'd gotten after being pile-driven into the ground just added to the experience. In the worst way possible. It had taken days for your mouth to feel clean of the unpleasant grit of sand grains and your eyes to stop tearing and burning in irritation. If not for Skim's constant care and Adino forcibly holding your hands away from your face when the pain became too much, you could have walked away with far worse than bad memories and a new distaste for sand.

That was the day you decided Lurelin would not be a place you'd be spending any significant amount of time in. No matter how friendly the locals or tasty the food or beautiful the ocean views. It just wasn't worth it. Not to you, at least. Maybe in another lifetime, it would have been a dream to strive towards. But not here. Not now.

You still had moments of unease when you think of what could have happened had Skim's not been so close (as he's always been, and as you'll hopefully always have him). And those moments were more potent when you were in the small village. Keeping you ever on edge and always within sight of your trusted guards.

So, one might ask why you'd chosen to go to that very village when you could go anywhere in southern Hyrule. In fact, (in those whispering moments of weakness) you'd ask yourself that very same question. Especially as you trudged miserably through the thick, muggy afternoon heat with Adino at your back and Skims on point (who knows where Red went. but it wasn't your business and so you dismissed the thought entirely).

The answer? Shock arrows. An unholy amount of shock arrows. Enough to break the purse of the average merchant three times over. And possibly put their children in debt too. And possibly their horse.

It's a good thing you weren't a common merchant.

"Good afternoon, Ms. Mubs." You called in friendly greeting as you set foot onto the dock, casting away your (unease) irritation and slipping into your business persona effortlessly. "Fair weather on the seas I hope?"

Pleasantries were exchanged, the latest information traded (Adino was feigning irritation as he eavesdropped, but you could see the way his eyes and ears flickered with amusement and surprise at the appropriate times. Skims was window shopping, eyeing some of the more exotic fish with open curiosity) and you ended up selling several thousand rupees worth of product to the woman. Fresh produce mostly, but also quite a few ores. Such things were always in high demand in Lurelin. Ores especially, as most coastal deposits were notoriously difficult to mine with the lizalfos infestation so prominent.

More workers died mining along the beach than to storms out at sea. And that's a very unsettling thought, given the ratio of miners to sailors in a seafaring village (of all places). Crunch the numbers, and becoming a miner in Lurelin was equivalent to a death sentence. And the general population knew that.

(It explained why crime rates were so low in Lurelin, when mining was the manual labor criminals were made to do.)

Passing off the last of Mubs' purchase to her, you waited patiently for the woman to finish storing away her newly acquired goods before speaking. "I have a large order request." You said, letting a small, costumer service smile slip onto your lips. And maybe that kind of smile was something that transcended worlds, or maybe Mubs just knew you, but she immediately looked wary (by the way she narrowed her eyes, it was probably the former. maybe).

She gestured for you to continue, and you did with cool (pained) confidence. "I need as many shock arrows as you can afford to part with." She started to gesture towards her arrow display, but you shook your head and she paused. "I need below deck inventory. Everything you've got."

Her brows shot to her hairline, incredulous as she cautioned. "Quite the order. Surely not even The Apple Merchant would part with so much rupee." You kept your smile (even and blank and you were quietly screaming inside), and she sighed. "'Course you would." She sighed again, harder, wiping the sweat from her brow before gesturing for you to follow. "Come on then. Lets see if we can't break yer infamous smile a bit, ya?"

You kept that smile. All through the walk across the rickety old docks, the bustling harbor and straight down into the musty bowels of a weathered looking ship. One guarded by no less than five full grown men. All through the talks with the big boss you kept your lips steadily pleasant and upturned. Right on through the exchange of rupees (even Mubs looked ill at the quoted amount, casting you a questioning, pitying glance as she clicked her teeth), and all the way back to shore.

Right up until the moment you collapsed into your (extra, super soft, not for you Adino you prickly jerk) inn bed, rolled over so your back was to Adino and Skims (who looked expectant and amused and far too smug for your liking) and stared at the wall with that same smiling, blank expression.

And then, slowly. You put your face into the sinfully soft pillow. And screamed.

"Damnit Link! Why do you cost me so much money when you're not even here?"

Skims laughed with his entire belly at your outburst, and Adino smirked, hiding his face to the side as a few rouge chuckles escaped him.

A wordless, muffled bellow was all they got back in exchange.

---

Link stared at the truly mind-boggling number of shock arrows that'd appeared in his inventory. 6800, to be exact. Which to some may not seem like an especially outrageous number, but to Link (who usually found items in the single digits) it was a truly unfathomable number to comprehend, let alone contend with. But that didn't mean he wasn't going to take full advantage of his (thoughtful, kind, wond-) generous AM's meticulous foresight to destroy the local monster population. With feeling (so much intense, pent up feeling).

He'd take every ounce of his frustration (his blood boiling, fist clenching, teeth grinding anger) and pour it all into destroying his enemies. His worry at AM's absence from his side. His displeasure at Ms. Blue's condescending and secretive (and kind too, for all she was withholding information from him. information he'd bleed for) smiles.

And especially his rage at those Goddess forsaken, Ganon worshipping, traitorous Yiga who ruined his chance to thank AM properly for their presence in his life (because he doesn't know where he'd be if not for them. and honestly, he never wants to find out).

He'd take all those emotions and channel it into something productive. Something beneficially destructive.

So, destroy the monster population he did. And how generous of the Goddesses, to have brought him to a land of eternal rain to begin his crash course in violence-fueled stress relief. With shock arrows.

It is said amongst the general Zora population (the more outspoken poetic ones at least) that when the Returned Hero of Hyrule made his ascendance through the Domain, night became day and the land was cleansed of all things foul that would stand before him. A miracle in the flesh. He who brings the light and sun to the land of rain.

And really, they weren't wrong. For the most part.

But for those who saw this supposed miracle for themselves. They all had but one thought.

'Thank the Goddesses it's not me he's pissed at.'

---

Back to the shadows to rest.

[bethanythebogwitch]

Wet Beast Wednesday: krill

The ocean is a huge place and food can be sparse. While the ocean receives plenty of energy in the form of sunlight, that energy needs to be converted into a form animals can consume. This is a job that krill have adopted with gusto. These little shrimpy critters live all over the world and play a vital role in the cycling of energy and nutrients. Krill are among the most common and important marine species, but many people overlook them or think of them as nothing but whale food. let's take a dive into the world of krill to show you that there's more there to appreciate.

(Image: a side view of an antarctic krill. It is a shrimp-like animal divided into a solid cephalothorax and flexible abdomen. On one end of the cephalothorax are the eyes and antennae and on the underside are multiple pairs of thin, feathery legs and gills. Along the segmented abdomen are paddle-like appendages. The tail is fanned out. The body is translucent with spots of red pigment. The cephalothorax looks green due to the presence of algae in the stomach. End ID)

There are 86 known species of krill in the order Euphausiacea. While they look a lot like shrimp or prawns, Euphausiacea is actually a sister group to Decapoda, which contains the shrimp, prawns, and most other crustaceans you've heard of. Krill can be distinguished from shrimp by the gills and number and anatomy of the limbs. Krill are zooplankton, a description which makes many people think they must be microscopic. In fact, plankton just means an organism is carried around by currents and cannot swim against them and has nothing to do with size. Most krill reach 1 to 2 centimeters as adults, but some species can get larger. The largest species, Thysanopoda cornuta, can reach 9.5 cm (3.75 in).

(Image: a swarm of krill in the ocean with so many members, it makes the water look red. End ID)

Krill anatomy is very similar to that of shrimp. Their bodies are divided into a cephalothorax, flexible abdomen, and tail fan. The cephalothorax is a fusion of the head (cephalon) and thorax. On the head are compound eyes, mouth, and antennae. Emerging from the thorax are legs. These legs are alternatively called pereiopods thoracopods, or thoracic legs. This is one of the key areas where krill are different from decapods. Decapods always have 5 pairs of thoracic legs and at least some of them are adapted for moving around on the ocean floor. Krill have a varying number of these legs and none are adapted for seafloor life. Krill spend their entire lives in the water column. Behind the legs are the gills, which are exposed to the water. The abdomen is long and flexible and has appendages called pleopods or swimmeretes that are used to assist in swimming and moving water over the gills. Decapods also have these. Finally is the tail fan, which is used in swimming and is also found in decapods. Krill exoskeletons are typically transparent with a bit of pigment on the top. All but one species of krill are bioluminescent, though its possible that the bioluminescence comes from their food. Krill have gills that are exposed to the water while Decapod gills are inside of their exoskeletons.

(Image: an anatomical diagram of a krill, with different external and internal body parts labeled. End ID. Source)

Krill are primarily filter-feeders that live in all oceans and in the shallow and deep seas. Most species feed on phytoplankton, especially diatoms, while other are omnivores or carnivores that hunt zooplankton and larval fish. The thoracic legs are covered in filamentous structures and will be held out in a formation called the feeding basket. Plankton passing through the basket will get caught and transferred to the mouth. Krill have a simple digestive tract with a two-chambered gut. The first chamber acts as a mill, crushing the hard shells of the diatoms to make digestion easier. Most krill practice diel vertical migration, a common ocean strategy where animals will remain at depth during the day and move closer to the surface at night. Some species remain in the deep sea all their lives. As krill feed, they become heavier and more sluggish and will sink, allowing the hungrier krill. Krill swim and feed in massive swarms.

(Image: an antarctic krill balanced on a human finger, to show its size. It is barely longer than the first segment of the finger. End ID)

Krill are a vital part of ocean ecology. Energy is introduced to phytoplankton by the sun and used to produce the energy-storing molecule ATP. Krill eat the phytoplankton and convert that energy into a form larger animals can consume and digest. Whales can't gain energy from phytoplankton, but they can get that energy from krill. Krill are a vital food source for baleen whales, seals and sea lions, fish, squid, and other animals. By eating phytoplankton and then being eaten themselves, krill allow that energy to move through the entire food web. Krill also play a role in moving nutrients and carbon through the ocean. Carbon enters the ocean through runoff and carbon dioxide from the atmosphere entering the surface waters. Phytoplankton take in the carbon dioxide and covert it into forms of carbon that other organisms can use. The krill then eat the plankton, taking the carbon into themselves. Through feces, molted exoskeletons, and dead krill, that carbon can sink into the deep sea, where it can become sequestered in the sea floor. Similarly, nutrients can pass from krill to their predators or into the deep sea through feces and remains. Without krill and other animals filling similar roles, carbon and nutrients would have a much harder time reaching the deep ocean and larger animals wouldn't be able to access the energy stored in phytoplankton.

(Image: a diagram showing the highly complex process by which krill assist in moving carbon through the ocean. End ID. Source)

Being animals with exoskeletons, krill have to molt when they outgrow their current shells. Generally speaking, young krill will molt more often than older ones. Most crustaceans will slow down as they age, with each molt occurring further and further apart. This is not the case with krill, which keep molting at a relatively consistent rate through their lives. some species of krill can also get smaller after a molt instead of always getting bigger. This is used when food is unavailable, reducing the amount of energy the animal needs. Some species have been observed going 9 months between meals. Some species can spontaneously molt as a reaction to threats, leaving behind the empty exoskeleton as a decoy for predators.

(Image: a northern krill. It is similar to the antarctic krill, but with a different arrangement of pigment. End ID)

Krill typically mate seasonally, though some tropical species can mate year-round. A female can produce thousands of eggs, which can make up a third of her body weight during mating season. Being a major prey animal, krill need to reproduce rapidly to keep their populations up. Most species will mate and produce eggs multiple times per mating season. Males approach females and deposit sacs of sperm into their genital openings. The females then produce eggs which can be treated in two ways. Most species will release their eggs into the water column and provide no further care. 29 species instead attach their eggs to a sac held by the rearmost thoracic legs and carry them until the eggs hatch. Some of these species hatch at a more mature stage. Once the eggs hatch, they have to swim upwards to reach the photic zone of the ocean, where photosynthesis can take place. Larvae progress through several developmental stages. Like other crustaceans, they start as a napulus larva, though some sac-brooders will hatvch at the more advanced pseudometanapulus stage. Either way, they progress then to the metanapulus stage. At this stage, they can lo longer subside on yolk and must reach the photic zone and metamorphose into the calyptosis stage, the first stage with a mouth, before starving. The final larval stage is called the furcilia, which passes through a number of molts. During each molt, the abdomen will grow another segment and pair of swimmeretes. After the final furcilia stage, the krill will resemble a small adult. Krill life spans vary baes on species, from less than a year to 10 years, with species in colder water usually living longer. Relatively few krill will die of old age. In the antarctic krill, Euphausia superba, over half the population is eaten every year.

(Image: several stages of krill development form egg to napulus to more advanced larval stages that look like the adult. End ID. Source)

Krill conservation needs vary by species, but in general, they are highly abundant and in little danger of extinction. Krill are among the most abundant animals in the world, with antarctic krill having one of the largest total biomass of any animal. Monitoring the krill population is extremely important because of their importance to the global ecosystem. Krill have been fished commercially for centuries, used as food, bait, supplements, animal feed, and for shrimp paste and fish oil. Most krill fishing takes place around Antarctica as the krill there are highly abundant and seen as cleaner. As the krill fishery grows, more studies need to be done on the impact on the population and the other species that rely on them. Krill are also impacted by global climate change, ocean acidification, and pollution. Krill can ingest microplastics, which can then be passed onto whatever eats them. Krill are keystone species, meaning they are crucial to the health of their environments. If they go, massive parts of the ocean ecosystem will collapse.

(Image: someone holding a pile of dozens of krill in their hands. End ID)

[onenicebugperday]

hatred towards mosquitos is obviously super common but is there any reason why they're not as bad as theyre portrayed ? do they have any benefits like controlling another species overpopulation or being a large part of a certain animals diet ? would they happen to help in forensic entomology at all ? i just know that you like a lot of different bugs and maybe could give a different perspective on mosquitos :0

I would say try not to judge an animal based only on its usefulness. All animals are beautiful and interesting in their own right and not just because they're beneficial to us or to another animal or whatever else. I think this is one of the first steps in appreciating all animals, even the ones that can be harmful or irritating.

With that said, I realize it's easier to start appreciating them if you know more about their role in the ecosystem. There are thousands (3500+) of species of mosquito worldwide, and not all of them are blood feeders. And of the ones that do feed on blood, only the females do. Males are nectar feeders, and mosquitoes are pollinators. Look at the mosquitoes you see closely - males will have fuzzy little antennae and they're harmless.

Lots of animals feed on mosquitoes including dragonflies, spiders, bats, birds, frogs, and fish. Mosquito larvae are aquatic, so they provide food for lots of animals both in that form and then in their adult form.

Since some species are disease vectors and disease is a form of population control, yes, they do that as well. Some organisms require mosquitoes as part of their own life cycle (usually other parasites - heartworms come to mind. Let's not judge their lifestyle). And since you asked, mosquitoes can indeed be used in a forensic investigation.

Also...they can be pretty :)

Blue-banner mosquito, Sabetes sp.

Photo by Art Anker - posted with permission // all rights reserved

P. S. - Anyone who makes negative comments on this post will be blocked :)

[muekyn]

cabin boy eren <3

the solitude of living in a cabin significantly improved eren’s life. he became calmer, much more level headed. of course, he still had moments. bursts of rage and pure passion upon thinking about the circumstances you two were in, the cruelty of the world. but moments like these became farther and fewer in between. he could smile more, love more, live more.

the two of you have to work together in order to get resources like food and water, so you’re in each other’s presence very often. and eren wouldn’t want it any other way. he’s so delighted to spend his days with you.

eren had to cut his hair. although he prefers the way he looks with longer hair, it kept getting in the way(and he kept losing his hair ties), so he figured cutting it would be best. he cut it himself, needing your help halfway through. it came out slightly uneven.

eren always insists on doing the more labor-intensive tasks, so you don’t have to lift a finger. if it means you can relax more, eren is willing to put in extra effort. unless you want to, eren takes it upon himself to carry heavy logs and jugs of water back to the cabin.

he enjoys gathering firewood. once a week he gathers it, and always comes back with just the right amount of firewood. but it takes him a while to do it every time, since he insists on checking the wood for the right “moisture” of bark.

brings back cool things he finds whenever he goes out. whether that’s a colorful rock, or some pretty flowers, he always stuffs something in his pocket to bring back to you. it’s rather endearing that he’s thinking of you even while he’s gone, but you have to remind him not to touch any flowers or plants, since they might be poisonous. not that he listens though

there’s a serene garden in your backyard, full of different kinds of fruits and vegetables. though you tend to the garden more, eren will occasionally do the parts of gardening that you don’t enjoy as much, like pulling out weeds or warding off bugs.

collects little worms and caterpillars while he’s doing his part of gardening. whenever you come up to eren, asking him how he’s doing, he’s got a little circle of bugs next to him, an ecstatic grin on his face as he shows you a massive worm he dug up. and of course, he has different names for each of the bugs.

loves to cook for you. although eren isn’t the greatest cook, he tries his best. typically, he spends extra time in the kitchen, sometimes extra hours, just second guessing himself. he’s slightly panicking as he throws together spices, questioning if everything, at the very least, is acceptable. there’s a sense of pride that flushes through him whenever you enjoy his cooking. the dish he’s the most confident in is his stew, since you seem to genuinely love it.

there’s a small lake by the cabin you two live in. both of you happily spend your time there, either absentmindedly fishing or simply appreciating the way the breeze feels, the way you two can simply be in each other’s presence. cuddled naps are very common by the lake. the area is also perfect for spotting deer and other wildlife that happen to scramble by.

one of eren’s favorite ways to spend time with you is setting up a fire in the backyard area. watching the dusk slowly slip into night, while the stars begin to illuminate the darkness outside, is overwhelmingly calming for him. and having you there with him, your gentle smile and your soft touch, convinces eren that he doesn’t need anything else. just you.

[bonefall]

what are the main prey animals that Shadowclan eat in better bones? because in my rewrite, i can only find like 5 british marshland birds, the frogs like canon, and a common lizard, while the other clans have dozens of prey species. I don't think 7 prey species can feed 50 cats for the generations i need them to, yknow?

This is hard to find out because of the unfortunate reality that wetlands are an "unpopular" natural biome. It's hell out there. No one appreciates their local swamps and marshes </3

But I'M here, NUMBER 1 GOO FAN. Quickie on some of the most common species ShadowClan will be hunting, in an English wetland. 5 for your convenience.

Small intro/recap to BB!ShadowClan's food culture; For a mixture of several reasons, including early collaboration and trade with WindClan, living in an area heavily affected by seasonal changes, and cultural pride in being able to eat anything, ShadowClan has one of the most varied diets of any Clan. Mammals, fish, birds, if they can get their mouth on it, they will eat it.

(Yes. This means predators as well. Other Clans will avoid eating predators for culture and taste reasons. ShadowClan finds it offensive to just let good meat rot.)

The most important reason in that list must be stressed; winter is CRUEL to ShadowClan. The RiverClan river is a moving source of water which rarely completely ices over, most animals in ThunderClan don't hibernate, WindClan's rabbits are active in the snow. For most Clans, they will not feel the "bite" of winter until towards the end, when the prey populations crash. ShadowClan feels it immediately.

That's a problem because Prey Item Number 1 Will Surprise you. The most popular prey in ShadowClan is...

1: Ducks.

And with the most common species, mallards, at about 2 pounds on average (with males being slightly larger) you're looking at 5,442 calories each. Enough to feed 15 warriors for a day.

(Note: This estimate is low; actual value would probably be higher. This measurement is taken from this chart which measured whole carcasses and caloric value rounded from 5.9 to 6, and this particular duck was "dressed"-- so its organs, the most valuable part of the animal, were already removed.)

Ducks are SO valuable as prey it's hard to oversell them. They're huge, they're highly nutritious (thiamin, vitamin a, vitamin b, iron), and they're PACKED with fats. They also lay eggs, TONS of them, which ShadowClan will happily snatch from inattentive hens.

The problem with ducks is, they don't stick around in the winter. Mallards might stay if the weather is mild, but if the water starts freezing, they're a-leaving.

That means that right when ShadowClan needs them the most, they'll vanish. If the marsh freezes, which is VERY likely because it's stillwater, they can't access ANYTHING under the ice. So Prey Animal Number 2 ALSO becomes an issue;

2: Carp

Their size and weight varies immensely, but the european carp is a species that AVERAGES 6 - 15 pounds. Using our rough estimation numbers and only a 6 pound fish, that's 10,884 calories. That's a whole Clan fed, if it's rationed perfectly.

Many carp are larger and heavier than cats. Here is a picture of a human fisher with two 5-pound bass so you can get a feel for just how big fish are

The biggest problem with carp, aside from the fact that icy winter conditions will block access to catching them, is that their gallbladders are poisonous. Carp bile is the only dangerous type of bile Clan cats encounter (that I know about so far). When being eaten, Clan cats must take care to gut them gently and remove the organ without spilling toxic green slime everywhere.

(ShadowClan actually collects and uses this bile for other purposes. Dried and diluted, it can be used as a medicine for treating parasites, and wet and mixed into a poultice it can be used to dress wounds. If gargled, it can also dissolve and loosen stuck bones in the throat, VERY important for unknowing kittens who tried to eat cooked bird bones.)

These two are the most common animals in the highly varied ShadowClan diet. Hunt in the shallow marsh, and you're bound to bump into either a duck or a carp at some point.

But when winter rolls in, they start to rely on mammalian prey.

3: Rats

While some rats can breach 2 pounds (SHOUT OUT TO ALL MY NEW YORKERS) most of them only clock in at about half a pound-- 250 grams. That's 1,250 calories. About 3 cats fed.

(NOTE: These estimations of how MANY cats they feed assumes that these bites are being distributed evenly, such as if the animal was being put into a soup or meticulously portioned. It's more likely that a single rat is eaten alone or only shared between two warriors who then bulk up. The sensation of "fullness" is determined by weight rather than caloric value.)

Rats are highly adaptable omnivores, but most of their diet is actually plants! Humans associate them with garbage and filth, and yes, the rats from carrionplace would certainly taste awful. But most of the rats ShadowClan catches would be living in natural conditions, eating nuts, fruits, and smaller animals. So it doesn't make sense that canon sees ALL rats as dirty-- they should actually be a HUGE part of a warrior's diet!

Especially in ShadowClan, where the invasive brown rat has all but eliminated the native black rat population. Brown rats are huge, thick-tailed, excellent swimmers who stick around in the winter and find themselves right at home in a marsh or swamp.

In fact, ShadowClan thinks hunting them is a two-way blessing. A cat stays fed through the winter, and more resources are freed up for the rarer, but more delicious water vole. ThunderClan isn't the only Clan that understands population management.

And speaking of...

4: Squirrels

Significantly smaller than carp and ducks, gray squirrels are usually about 500 grams. I've heard it said that they triple in mass over the winter, but since I'm not sure if that means they triple in weight, I'll simply rule that a wintertime gray squirrel is 1000 grams. Which means about 5,000 calories, enough to feed 14 cats.

...but also. don't underestimate how big a squirrel is. You are a 200-pound bipedal ape, these are 10 pound cats. They are also eating all the organs you, a human, would usually toss.

The general term, wetland, refers to all land that is... take a guess... wet. The difference between a marsh and a swamp is that a swamp is wooded land, which means squirrels can live there!

ShadowClan often finds itself in conflict with ThunderClan over squirrels. The native, endangered red squirrel is a cultural icon to ThunderClan and they believe it's important to protect it at all costs by killing gray squirrels whenever possible. ShadowClan, meanwhile, agrees red squirrels are beautiful, but isn't willing to be aggressive with gray squirrel populations to protect them.

5: Cheating

In true ShadowClan fashion I do what I want and use number 5 to babble about several animals they turn into grub

And SPEAKING of grubs, they love to forage for larval treats. They regularly make snacks out of chafer grubs, stag beetle larvae, cutworms, and if they can manage it, baby honeybees. Chafer grubs are their absolute favorite, which is another reason why WindClan is so passionate about maintaining their moorland; when it turns into grassland, ShadowClan is energized to fight for grub foraging space.

The "problem" with the meat of predators is that it's said to be tough and taste strong and unpalatable. ShadowClan doesn't entirely mind it, but if they end up with a predator in spring and summer, they like to use the seasonal stream (called a syke) that cuts across ThunderClan to soak the meat in running water for a few days.

Not to mention that they really will just grab at any animal, in addition to those lizards and frogs they're notorious for. Hedgehogs, crayfish, waterbirds, snails. There's all sorts of spices they'll use to try to season a strange meat, between mushrooms, pellitory, juniper, rosemary, so on.

It's harder to find something they WON'T eat.

[inkedaway]

Hot and Cold (Dandadan)

Title: Hot and Cold

Notes: I don't often post fanfiction but man, something about this show grabbed me, so here I go. This is just me having a lot of speculative thoughts about Okarun's Turbo form and me just wanting to put them down on paper. This is a what if scenario - what if it took time for him to calm down instead of returning back to normal immediately?

Pairing: Momo/Okarun romantic undertones, this is fluff

Rating: G

Summary:  But the one thing she did remember from her several few ordeals with him so far in his new form, was the strange attitude shift, and the fact that he curiously, ran cold. Temperature wise. Temperament wise… everything, really, but specifically, to the touch. She clearly recalled the first time she'd gripped his hand, and he'd closed it around hers, and how the surprise had been only just glazing the shallow parts of her brain that oh, he was quite a few degrees colder than he'd been just a few moments ago, and wasn't that interesting? Ao3 link: Here Can also be read under the read more here.

Momo hadn't really realized that she hadn't spent a lot of time observing Okarun's newer form. Every single time he'd used it, she'd had, metaphorically speaking, much bigger fish to fry, and hadn't managed more than the cursory surprise the first time, and just plain acceptance that this was, indeed, just a thing now.

Not once had events slowed down enough for her to actually pause and process what she was seeing, or what he was really doing beyond the surface level. In her defense, it was quite hard to think on her feet, while running away from potentially life and death situations, and also take a moment to appreciate the changes her new friend had gone through. She could not be blamed for it, really, but the one thing she did remember from her several few ordeals with him so far, was the strange attitude shift, and the fact that he curiously, ran cold.

Temperature wise. Temperament wise... everything, really, but specifically, to the touch. She clearly recalled the first time she'd gripped his hand, and he'd closed it around hers, and how the surprise had been only just glazing the shallow parts of her brain that oh, he was quite a few degrees colder than he'd been just a few moments ago, and wasn't that interesting?

Still, like with everything in those situations, it had been swiftly and efficiently shoved to the back part of her brain, in favor of focusing on figuring out how they were both going to get the fuck out of their current situation with at least (most) of their parts still firmly attached.

This wasn't to say she hadn't thought of his form, or the boy in general. She had.

Unfortunately, it had become a common occurrence for her thoughts to stray to him throughout the day. Sometimes, she wouldn't even begin the moment by thinking about him, and then her train of thought would veer right and into a mountain side, as she got entirely distracted by some stray notion, landing back on Okarun.

Despite this, she hadn't really given that form... much thought outside the obvious. Which was, perhaps, why she was so surprised when the door to exit the school roof opened, and rather than the hunched over, geek boy she'd been expecting to join her for lunch, it was the other form that practically dragged itself over.

He looked tired.

But then, he always looked tired like this, and for a moment, she remain quiet as the boy walked over and then, just... allowed himself to flop on the ground near her feet, like a marionette whose strings had been cut, boneless, lifeless, "What happened to you, anyways?" she asked between bites of food as she angled her head to look down at him, "What's with all... this?" she gestured vaguely at him, from head to toe, waving the food she'd been holding on one hand at him.

For a moment, all she got was a grunt, or perhaps a sigh, it was hard to tell like this. His position remain flopped on the ground, both eyes having closed, before one opened and settled on her. Red, unblinking and strangely reminding her of a large cat, "Got mad," this explained absolutely nothing to her, and must have been obvious from the way she stared at him, because he let out a long, soul wrenching sigh as he closed his one eye again, "Can't change. No idea why. Not that it matters."

Granted, he wasn't entirely wrong; most students couldn't see the difference like she could. There was little danger in him being in that form at the current moment in time, "Uh...huh," she said as she ate, "You still mad?"

She got no response this time, just a small flick of a large hand that she interpreted as a vague negative, but otherwise he remain stretched on the floor, near her legs.

It was then the notion came to her; he reminded her of a sunning lion, too lazy to move in the heat of the day, but still dangerous enough that he could spring into action at any given moment, "Cool," another bite of food and soon enough, her sandwich was finished, and Momo scrunched the paper it'd come in within her hands, "So, just a thought but... every time to use your powers, you tend to go back to normal. That likely hasn't changed. Give it a go maybe?"

A whine exited his mouth, or... his mask, without it moving. Heavy, mournful, like she'd just asked him to give up his first born or something equally ridiculous, "I don't wanna move, Momo... I don't wanna do anything, just leave me here."

"For the love of-" Momo rolled her eyes and swiftly decided this just would not do, "Get up. C'mon, up, up, up!" her hand reached out and began to move him, pushing his shoulder several times, to no avail, "If we tire you out, you'll stop this downer bs thing you got going."

Despite her best efforts, the most she got out of him was another small sound, the one eye reopening to fix back on her, "Nooo... what if I need to use those full bursts later? I ain't gonna do that," and, well, he did have a point, not that she wanted to concede that to him. As such she continue shoving on his shoulder, until one of his hands shot out, lightning fast, grabbed her arm, destabilized her, and forced her to crash half on top of him awkwardly.

"Okarun!!" her first reaction was mild panic, swiftly followed by severe annoyance as she hovered over him. He was still looking at her, almost languidly, from that one open eye. And perhaps Momo had misrepresented him; less of a lion, more of an overgrown, lazy dog, flopped over, refusing to move. She lifted a hand, and gave his shoulder one last smack before she righted herself back so she was sitting beside him once more, instead of partially over him. A huff of breath escaped her lips before she looked at him out the corner of an eye, "Were you aware you run cold in this form?"

"Is that why you won't lay down with me, Momo?"

There was zero innuendo in the question, no sort of implication to the words, just curiosity, and perhaps, melancholy there. She turned her head fully to watch him then, "No, you idiot, of course not," rather than actually responding to his question and following that very dangerous train of thought to its inevitable conclusion, instead she frowned down at him, "You're cold, but not uncomfortable. Also, why do you only call me Momo while you're like this, anyways?"

Both his eyes opened then, and strangely enough did a full on blink, "Momo is Momo," as if this were any sort of explanation. When all the response he got out of her was a clearly confused look, he apparently gave up explaining himself and closed his eyes again, "I'm tired..."

"You've literally done nothing today, it's noon, Okarun. You can not be tired," The small huff of sound he made, like an upset, annoyed dog seemed to contradict her, but since he didn't really use his words, Momo let out a sigh and rolled her eyes at him, "You plan on returning to class like that?" another sound, this one sad almost melancholic, like he couldn't be arsed to even begin thinking about class at the current moment, nor any moment in the near future.

Lifting her phone out of her pocket, she looked at the time; there was a bit more than half hour before they'd have to leave, which gave them, hopefully, enough time to fix their current predicament, though Momo guessed it couldn't be that bad. Worst case he'd just flop on his desk and no one would pay him any mind.

Given her previous thoughts, she turned her head and simply watched him for a while, taking note of the way his spiritual energy merged with his hair and his clothes, specifically, making both look almost engulfed in flames. From her own experience when she'd held onto him, neither hair nor clothes were heated whatsoever, though then again, she hadn't really paid it that much mind, what with the killer crab chasing them at the time.

Before she even knew what she was doing, her hand had lifted and reached out towards his hair, curiosity taking her. Her own movement didn't register until he apparently sensed the hand and both eyes opened to settle on it, before they slowly moved to fix on her own, languid and unblinking, but a clear question there, "Oh, sorry, just..." there was zero judgement in his gaze, if anything, a vague curiosity there, "Your hair," his expression did not change, not even an eyebrow twitch, though he did offer her a very slow, once again, almost feline like blink, and given he did absolutely nothing to stop her, she moved her hand in the direction of his hair.

Momo wasn't someone that kept herself from doing or saying the things she wanted to often, and besides, she was more than well aware that had he wanted no contact, she would have never even been able to get close to him. He may have been still at the present moment, but he'd demonstrated twice already that he was more than cognizant of the world around him, "It looks like fire, Okarun. I was wondering why it also runs cold, is all. Do you mind?" her hand had stopped only a few scant inches away from his strands, and she waited for him to make a noncommittal sound before she lowered it into the white mass, sweeping her fingers like they were a brush.

She watched him close his eyes against her ministrations, and once again, the animal like comparison returned in her mind, "C'mere," she said after a few moments, and slowly moved herself and him, fully aware that the only reason she was managing to move him, was because he was allowing it. He remain mostly dead weight but he did nothing more than make a vaguely whine like sound at losing contact with her hand in his hair.

"Momoooooooo..."

She grabbed at his shoulders and he offered no resistance to her when she pulled his head on her lap, "Maybe if you fall asleep, you'll change back," no response other than a small huff, but his eyes didn't close again until one hand returned to sink in his hair, moving carefully through it. It felt, to the touch, much like normal hair would, and if she closed her eyes, and blocked out his looks, she was certain she would not have noticed the difference.

Idly, it made her wonder if she would ever manage to get the boy to lay down like this while not in this form, and would the texture of his hair be any different. She focused her attention on the phone she had clutched in her free hand, and as she petted him, her mind drifted, her thoughts discombobulated while she scrolled through her phone. On instinct, she knew it was still a while before the bell rung and they'd be forced to move anyways.

Her attention only returned back to him when she heard a soft snuffle like sound, her eyes tracking down to see her hand now moving through black, unruly hair, which interestingly enough, did indeed feel the same, the boy having actually managed to fall into a light sleep in place, his form having returned to normal.

Less of a dangerous predator in this form, more of a lap dog, cute and vulnerable, she thought, but her hand did not stop its movement.

She still had five or ten minutes left after all.

[selfaware-bungou-stray-dogs]

So.. I have no idea if this request is suitable.. I am a fan of crossovers related to the reader. I hope you can do it.

GN!Adult!Reader who is from Teyvat(what was originally an isekai in Teyvat, with a phone, manga and other things of our world), and takes the role of Harbingers (replacement for Scaramouche). The reader has the Electrovision and Pyrodelusion.

And also, what if the reader will be called "Brigella", "Guardian"? I would like the reaction of the characters themselves to Teyvat, the title of the reader and Fatui to slip through there more. Also... the reader's version of the delusion was similar to Shibusawa's. But the reader had three dragon tails, two horns, and claws.

P.s. I didn't originally plan to do it, but I wondered how they would react to it. Thank you for giving me your attention, I hope the idea is not absurd.

The Fifth Descender, The Sixth Descender, The Seventh... Where did you all came from?

Self-Aware! BSD Characters x GN! Sixth Harbinger! Reader

Genshin Impact x Bungou Stray Dogs Crossover

Description: Teyvat never had that many Descenders in one time period.

There is a long-ish background on how Reader became Harbinger.

Warning: OOC. English is my second language.

🐾 Even if someone threaten to post your embarrassing child picture online, demanding answers, you can't tell, how you got in Teyvat.

🐾 One day you simply woke up in the Mondstadt. You had your phone with you, and, thankfully, your clothes do fit to run in the wilderness. But, there were few huge problems.

🐾 First, instead of waking up under Statue of the Seven/Starfell Valley/Venessa's tree/Stormbearer Coast, you woke up in Dadaupa Gorge. Not far away from Forgotten Sword Cemetery. And really close to hilichurls' tribes.

🐾 Second, you have no idea, if you can understand people of Teyvat and if they can understand you. It took Paimon three months to teach Traveler Teyvat's language. So, there was a chance, that the language wasn't similar to the languages you knew.

🐾 Third, you had no idea, what to do next. You were confused and lost. Should you stay in the wilderness? But how long you can do it? Yes, there were no season changes in the game, but, you were sure, that there were seasons. And, you don't think you could travel to Sumeru to stay in the warm climate.

🐾 Should you go to the Mondstadt? But, once again, what if there is a language barrier?

🐾 You made a little breathing exercise, trying to calm down. Perhaps, you should think about something positive.

🐾 Well, you are alive and healthy. You check your phone.

🐾 Surprisingly, your battery had an infinite symbol near it. And, what you really appreciate, you had an Internet connection.

🐾 Well, at least you will be entertained.

🐾 Now, you should think, what to do next.

🐾 You try to stand up and feel something cold under your fingers. That something immediately became warm under your fingers. And the warmth was calming. You check, what it was.

🐾 An Electro Vision. Your Electro Vision🐾 The situation became more and more complicated.

🐾 You decide to explore a little.

🐾 With vision in hand, you carefully start moving.

_____

🐾 Your search was lucky. First, you found a bunch of sunsetias and few apples. You also manage to find a common chest, that gift you some mora, two pieces of Berserker chest and Fillet Blade.

🐾 Now you have a weapon and some money.

🐾 You tried to use your new electric power.

🐾 By 'trying' you mean 'try to infuse sword with Electro and hit '

🐾 It was hard, to infuse the sword with Electro, but, at least, you manage to catch a boar and few fishes.

🐾 Okay, you are (kind of) protected and have food. Now, you should find a place to sleep.

🐾 During your search, you decide to stay in the wilderness for some time. At least, until you will be sure, that others can understand you.

🐾 But, where should you stay? You don't remember any abandoned tents or caves (except the one with Cryo Regisvine). And, you don't want to sleep in the open air.

🐾 You almost changed your decision, when a weird idea came to you. You were near camps of three hilichurls' tribes. Should you…?

🐾 Quick Internet search and you have a Hilichurlian dictionary. After spending time with rehearsing, you start carrying the boar to the Sleepy Tribe Camp.

🐾 If you fail... Well, you will haunt Ella Musk.

_____

🐾 You were sitting before the campfire, enjoying sunsetias and grilled fish. Hilichurls, that you spent a few days with, were either dancing, sleeping or eating.

🐾 You manage to have a deal. You share part of the meat or fish you manage to get and, in return, you could stay in the camp, sleep in one of the huts and use a cooking pot.

🐾 Hilichurls were... surprisingly good camp-mates. They didn't bother you and were fine with any share of the food you brought. Doesn't matter, if today you gave them a whole boar or two fishes. And, they respected your sleeping place and don't try to steal the belongings you had.

🐾 You explore the wilderness, practicing your Electro Vision.

🐾 You tried to use different kinds of weapons. Thanks to hilichurls, that, apparently, keep some trophies, you manage to get the rest of the in-game weapons.

🐾 Your swords skills wasn't professional in any way. Good for hunting, but, when few Whopperflowers try to attack you, you mostly relied on your Vision.

🐾 Claymore was too heavy for you. The spear wasn't very comfortable to use. Elemental arrows were unstable, and your aim wasn't that good. But, with catalyst, you feel like fish in the water.

🐾 For letting you have the catalyst, you gave hilichurls all meat you got that day. Plus, remembering Venti's story quest, you sang them a few folk songs from your world.

🐾 Now, your life have some kind of stability. The next step - Teyvat's language.

🐾 According to hilichurls', whose language you manage to start understanding better and better each day, your human speech doesn't sound too different from others people's.

🐾 Still, you need more to prove. Thankfully, you were currently in Mondstadt. The land of wind, poetry and alcohol.

_____

It was nighttime, and you were planning to take a walk near Springvale. You weren't planning to look at familiar places from the game. You were waiting for Draff to appear.

You mentally apologized to Diona. Because you hoped, that Draff is drunk today. And that he will be a talkative drunk. So, you can hear Teyvat's language without being noticed.

But, before you could take another step, you heard a loud splash. Then someone start screaming for help.

You bolted to that direction.

You didn't expect to see a Pyro Fatui Skirmisher drowning in Cider Lake.

Without thinking, you jumped into the water.

_______

🐾 His name was Mikhail. He was from House of Hearth and recently became a Fatui. Mikhail became eighteen only month ago and was doing some courier work. He accidentally slipped into the water, when he got too close to the edge.

🐾 And he was grateful for your saving his life. He offered to give you anything you want.

🐾 For you, Mikhail became a treasure chest with information.

🐾 Now, you knew, that Traveler already was in Sumeru (Mikhail didn't know much about travel. Just standard Blondie with Flying Food Can). And Scaramouche has already erased himself.

🐾 At first, you want only information from Mikhail. But he insisted on giving you something more... materialistic.

🐾 After some thinking, you asked, if Mikhail can give you some warm clothes, hairbrush, paper, pen, any book he can bring and bag.

🐾 The next day, he brought not only that, but a tent and a blanket on top of that. Perhaps, you shouldn't have told him about sleeping on the ground.

🐾 There was a problem with coat and tent having Fatui's sigh, but, beggars can't be choosers.

🐾 With Mikhail's book (it was a Teyvat's fairy tales book), you manage to prove, that can read Teyvat's language.

_____

🐾 Now, the last problem remains. What to do next. You... need a job. While hilichurls were nice company and there were enough food in the wilderness, you wanted to travel and see the rest of the Teyvat. Talk to humans. Make friends.

🐾 And, yes, you need to find a way to earn mora.

🐾 You made a list of what you can do Next.

🐾 You decide not to seek for the Traveler for now. They have enough on their plate, and don't need you, who still have much to learn about combat. Yet, you were planning to find a way to contact them. In case, if you wanted to leave Teyvat. So they, after reuniting with their sibling, could take you with them and, maybe, take you back to Earth.

🐾 You also decide not to go to Natlan. There were only bits of information about this region, and you don't want to feel like a blind kitten.

🐾 Adventure Guild seems like a good choice. They pay enough, and, if you are lucky, you will have enough for having a normal life here.

🐾 There was one thing you decide to do only, if situation became too dire. Go to Inazuma and sell light novels from your world to Yae publishing house. You hopped, it won't came to this.

🐾 As for Fatui... You decide to think about this later.

🐾 So, Adventuring Guild it is.

🐾 You say goodbye to hilichurls and finally went to the Mondstadt city.

_____

You were traveling between Mondstadt and Liyue.

The life was going great. You finally allowed yourself to relax and read manga, play games and watch anime from your phone.

You also discovered two things.

First, Genshin Impact app now allows you to level up yourself, storage your belongings, ascend your weapon and see Teyvat's map.

Second, Teyvat's kids didn't have survivor instinct. Every day you had to save someone from hilichurls, or falling down the cliff, or getting lost.

And every time they thanked 'Nice Fatui'. Because of the coat Mikhail gave you.

You get tired of correcting them, so, you simply rolled with it.

You didn't know what it will lead to.

_____

You were staring at the envelope, Mikhail gave you. Your... friend fond in Liyue. And he had a message for you. From Her Majesty Tsaritsa.

Apparently, you accidentally became a PR Department for Fatui. Person, dressed in Fatui's clothes and who sleeps in Fatui's tent, going around saving people. Liyue and Mondstadt people start looking at Fatui more friendly, than before.

And... Tsaritsa liked it. Cryo Archon was confused at first, but, Mikhail, who add two and two, told her about you.

And Tsaritsa offers you to join the Fatui. Having kind and brave you in Fatui were beneficial for organization. You gave Fatui good publicity and Fatui can use diplomatic approach more often, then before.

Tsaritsa... didn't threaten you. Moreover, she stated multiple times, that you can say no without the consequences.

Cryo Archon simply offered you a paid job.

You re-read the letter and looked at Mikhail.

You... were thinking about joining Fatui. They were a questionable group. But... What if one day you will get on Celestia's hit list? Besides, what if you could... help others, by being a Fatui? They have resources. You have knowledge.

"Can I... met her?"

______

🐾 Zapolyarny Palace was a breathtaking sigh.

🐾 And Cryo Archon, sitting on her throne, looked like a force of nature.

🐾 The talk was long.

🐾 Fatui already suspect, that you were the Fifth Descender. You admitted, that you were from the other word.

🐾 And you have an information.

______

🐾 Medication, new food, new technology...

🐾 You gave Fatui this knowledge. And, because you and Tsaritsa manage to came to an agreement, most of the inventions were introduced to other nations.

🐾 Then, came social reforms.

🐾 After you (with help) create CPA, you were called "The Guardian" for the first time.

🐾 People of Teyvat wanted to see you on diplomatic meetings with Fatui.

🐾 At the end of the year, Tsaritsa gave you the place of Sixth Harbinger. And Pierro pinned a Pyro Delusion on your chest.

🐾 Now you were called Six Harbinger Brighella "The Guardian".

🐾 You manage to manage your time between work and relaxation.

🐾 The Internet in Teyvat was fast. Especially, for games.

🐾 BSD Mayoi was working especially fast.

______

In The BSD World.

______

🐾 They didn't know all the details, but, it seems, you were called "The Guardian" on your workplace. And BSD Cast were proud of you. They thought, that you were a doctor, or firefighter, or a police officer.

🐾 But, they still can't explain "Brighella" title. Do you have some connection with "Commedia dell'arte"?

🐾 And Fatui... You were mentioning, that you have done an impossible, by making them work on something peaceful. Were you in danger?

🐾 Well, soon they will see for themselves. Soon, they will meet you.

____

The Aeonblight Drake, already heavily damaged, was soaring above you. You breathe through your teeth and active your Delusion.

Sumeru had problems with this machine, so, they asked for help.

And Guardian can't leave people in danger.

Suddenly, something in your bag, that you left outside the area, start glowing.

And soon, BSD Characters were on the battle area floor.

The Aeonblight Drake charge, finding new targets.

And you charge the machine in return.

The infused Pyro/Electro attack tear The Aeonblight Drake apart.

______

🐾 BSD Cast didn't expect to come face to face with the flying giant robot.

🐾 They also didn't expect to see a figure with draconic features. That destroyed the robot in one attack.

🐾 When dust settles, they had a clear look at the figure. At you...

🐾 You had two dragon horns, clawed hands and three dragon tails.

🐾 Sparks of electricity and fire fell from your claws.

🐾 And you looked gorgeous.

🐾 Kids tried to hug your tails.

🐾 It takes time, but you manage to explain, about Teyvat, Harbingers and your position. And, immediately, BSD Cast were ready to help you.

🐾 And, they really want to see Teyvat.

_________________________________

You were waiting for Pierro to sigh your permission to have a long vacation. Well, partly vacation, partly work trip.

Director looked at you.

"Her Majesty allows you to go on a trip through all Seven Nations, but, she... all of us are wondering. Why do you want to move to a warmer region? You never complain before The Flood of Descenders?"

You scratch your cheek.

"Um... Let's just say... Two extremes have appeared in my home, and both are frightening me. A warmer climate will fix everything."

A room, full of blankets, heaters and roaring fireplace. A huge mountain of blankets and coats moved closer to the fireplace. It was the only sigh you get, that Rimbaud is still alive.

From the outside, you can hear laughter. Nikolai and Pushkin, with no hats, with no scarfs, with open coats, were having a snowball fight.

Fyodor was observing them, taking generous bites from his ice cream.

In the distance, you can hear Ivan taking a dive in an ice hole.

Pierro raised an eyebrow, but didn't question further.

"Fine. Pantalone gave you enough money, right?"

Pierro writes something.

You nodded. The Ninth worked with you, but refused to talk. It happened in the beginning of your work for Fatui, before you became a Harbinger. Pantalone refused to fund the Protection from Domestic Abuse Program, you trained that seal to steal from him. At the end, you get the money, but he was avoiding you.

"And Dottore knew about your departure, right? You do work quite closely."

You nodded again. Dottore also wasn't talking to you outside the businesses. Because you named the Thief Seal Sealtorre. You saw a chance to make a reference to that one comic, and you used it.

You still don't know where Sealtorre is. You had a feeling, that Tsaritsa took him as her pet. Otherwise, you can't explain seal cries you can hear in the palace.

Nevertheless, you finally can show your new friends Teyvat.

_______________

🐾 The loved Mondstadt. Music, Wind Gliders, History.

🐾 Nikolai immediately got the Wind Gliding license. He loved Mondstadt more, than the others.

🐾 When it was time to go to Liyue, each of BSD Cast have little souvenirs. Someone bought Mondstadt wine.

🐾 At the end of your stay, while leaving, you and Dazai had to carry Gogol, holding his hands and legs. He wanted to stay in Mondstadt.

🐾 They liked Liyue. All this culture.

🐾 You were in Liyue for one hour, and Fitzgerald already started the businesses. Successful.

🐾 Fukuzawa and Fyodor spent most of their time in tea houses, listening to stories and drinking tea.

🐾 Somehow, Yosano met Baizhu. You don't know what she has done, but you now have a limitless discount on medical herbs.

🐾 Port Mafia and SDA feel like at home in Inazuma.

🐾 You had to constantly look after Ranpo and Poe. They have learned about Heizou and tried to challenge him to a detective fight.

🐾 Your bags full of kimono's and light novels.

🐾 Oda and Natsume gave some harsh criticism to Junkichi. Shigeru are ready to cheer for them.

🐾 Rimbaud loves Sumeru. You are afraid, that this time, you and Dazai had to carry Arthur to the next nation.

🐾 You are constantly watching over Dazai. Because he always tried to sneak to the Academia and mess with students.

🐾 Kaveh got a request from Fitzgerald. To build a new house. You were thankful, that Fitzgerald had his own mora. Otherwise, Pantalone would eat you alive, despite you being a valuable member of the Fatui.

🐾 Kunikida is thinking of rolling in the Academia. Still, it just thoughts.

🐾 Favorite nation of Paul Verlaine and Arthur Rimbaud. Reminds them of home.

🐾 Dazai hate it here. Because of all dogs in fancy hats.

🐾 Fukuzawa almost had a heart attack from cuteness overdose after seeing Melusines and Blubberbeasts.

🐾 Kyouka want to bring sea hare with her.

So far, the trip was nice, but, a little bit chaotic. But all of you enjoy your stay in Teyvat.

______

¹ Link

[whencyclopedia]

Food & Drink in the Elizabethan Era

Food and drink in the Elizabethan era was remarkably diverse with much more meat and many more varieties of it being eaten by those who could afford it than is the case today. Storage of food was still a problem and so fresh produce was grown at home or regularly acquired at local markets. Thick sauces with strong flavours were popular and made even more varied as ingredients became more readily available from Asia. Pastries, cakes, and other sweet goodies of all kinds were greatly appreciated and often eaten between the savoury courses. A healthy distrust of water meant that ale and beer were the most popular drinks, with wine a welcome addition for the better off. While some commoners struggled, as ever, to feed their families, especially in the long winters of the 16th century CE, foreign visitors did often remark on how well-fed the Elizabethan peasantry was and how overfed the rich were compared to their continental neighbours.

Cooking & Storage

Most Elizabethan cooking was done at home but there were communal ovens in many parishes for people to take their prepared dough and have it baked into bread or to have a stew (pottage) slowly cooked. Those who could afford servants also had cooks, usually women but including men, too, at the great houses. Even the humblest of kitchens would have had such indispensable cooking and preparation aids as a large brass pot and iron pan, a spit for roasting over the fire, a milk pail and sundry containers, utensils and serving dishes for food made of wood, clay or pewter. Most cooking was done over an open fire of wood or charcoal with a large pot either stood on legs actually in the fire or suspended over it using chains. The main methods of cooking were boiling, roasting, and frying. The fourth method was baking and involved putting the dish inside a closed oven made of clay or brick much like a wood-burning pizza oven today.

Larger households stored food in giant meal chests which were airtight and used to keep such goods as grain and preserved meat and fish. In contrast, hutches ('pantries') were boxes with air-holes for keeping fresh food like cheeses. In households with a staff of servants, these chests were often kept locked to prevent unauthorised nibbling. The vast majority of the population still worked in agriculture and often had their own small plot of land for their own personal needs. Indeed, even artisans who specialised in such activities as weaving and making clothes still kept a patch of land for their vegetable garden and some poultry. Local markets supplied everything else but the larger estates would have been more self-sufficient producing their own bread, milk, cheese, meat, and fish on site.

Continue reading...

[fuckyeahchinesefashion]

You've poated Jade corn ornaments twice now (maybe more, and I've missed it). Why are they a thing? They seem to be really well done, and I had always viewed Jade as being a gem with cultural significance.

　

During the Ming and Qing dynasties in China it was popular to carve jade into vegetable- or fruit-shaped ornaments, the most famous artwork being the 翠玉白菜Jadeite Cabbage and 东坡肉形石Dongpo Meat-shaped Stone, 白菜baicai/cabbage is a common carving subject because of its resonance with '菜cài=财cái=wealth' in the Chinese context. Chinese call these ornaments 文玩wenwan in general, meaning fine collectible traditional handicrafts, especially suitable for playing and appreciating in the hand. I feel like the contemporary jade or other gemstone ornaments continues this tradition with further innovation. Young people prefer ornaments made in richer mineral materials and brighter colors (light colors are more popular), and the themes are also diverse, not limited to traditional ones. I guess in young peoples' aesthetic, the jade corn is lovely in shape and roasted corn is a popular street food in china. Other contemporary pieces that young people like to collect include various other shapes, such as jade rabbits, 貔貅pixiu(mythical creature that brings fortune and wards off evil), 龙long(chinese dragon),  calabash, grape, fish, butterfly, crabs, flowers, guanyin, metteyya, the twelve shengxiao, and so on, some more traditional, some more contemporary. It's quite fun.

In addition, the Chinese believe that 玉yù/jade is spiritual(the Chinese word 玉yù actually refers to more than just jade, it can refer to jade-like stones in general but let's put it this way), so the Chinese have the habit of "nurturing jade", meaning that if you wear and play with your jade jewellery/ornaments by hand for a long time (the act of playing with it is called "盘pán"), it will become smoother and accumulate more lustre, bringing you a good energy field in daily life, thus you will have more luck. The Chinese also consider that if the jade ornament has been 开光kāi guāng (blessed by eminent 道士daoshi/daoist priest or blessed by eminent bhiksu or bhikkhunī/buddhist monks or nuns, usually with ceremonial process of chantting/intoning incantations), they will also help to protect you from mishaps and even disasters. Many Chinese women have the habit of wearing jade bracelets or red string weaved jade ornaments (jade bracelets are the type of smooth circular or beads bracelets).

翠玉白菜Jadeite Cabbage and 东坡肉形石Dongpo Meat-shaped Stone are as follows.

[thatsmzbitchtoyou]

Stranded Chapter 3

Summary:  Tossed overboard and lost at sea, Bucky washes up on an uninhabited island.  Injured, lost and scared, with little to no wilderness training, he fights to survive.  But is he really alone?

Warnings: bodily injury, mentions of sexual harassment/assault, eventual smut

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They were able to get into a rhythm with each other as time passed.  Y/N showed Bucky all the ins and outs of the island, where to find fresh water to drink versus to bathe, where most of the food could be found, and taught him how to fish the ocean around them so they could have more than just fruit to eat and how to cook it properly so he wouldn’t get sick.  His chest injury slowly healed, leaving a gnarly scar that spread across his pectorals.  

Y/N still had some things left over from when the plane crashed like a few books she and the others had, and Bucky took to reading them on the beach after cooking up a fish for dinner.  He could almost always guarantee that he would hear a song being sung throughout the day as Y/N went about doing the daily survival chores.  He had always thought she had a nice voice when he’d heard her songs on the radio years before, so getting to hear her in person was a nice soundtrack to his daily routine.  

The days turned to weeks and then months.  Y/N had already done all the things he’d thought of to try to attract attention from nearby ships or planes or even satellites flying above them, and within the four or so years she had been here nothing had worked.  He contemplated ways that maybe they hadn’t thought of, things that could possibly work, but so far had come up empty.

They had talked extensively and learned a lot about each other.  She quickly became one of the best friends he’d ever had in his life, not just because they were stuck with each other for the foreseeable future.  Bucky could tell that he was getting into dangerous territory as his feelings toward her changed to something more romantic.  He did some introspection to see if it was a case of Nightingale Syndrome: falling in love with someone who saves them.  As much as he was appreciative of that, he felt that wasn’t it.  He loved her voice and getting to hear her sing everyday.  He loved her smile and how much wider it became as the months went on.  He loved making her laugh, and how loud and boisterous she laughed.  He loved how determined she was and how calm and collected she could be in high pressure situations, and that even with all she had been through she could still find it in herself to be soft and kind.  

They shared the bed every night and more often than not woke up entangled in each other’s arms, and it was turning into more of a common routine now for them to cuddle together as they fell asleep, rather than doing it by chance overnight.  As Bucky’s hair grew Y/N started to hold him to her chest and run her fingers through his hair, humming or softly singing a song she loved called “Nature Boy” that lulled him to sleep without fail.  If there was ever a night where she happened to not do it he would have a fitful sleep.  

As the winter season started to set in, the nights became colder, making it so sleeping was difficult without being completely snuggled against each other for warmth.  On one such night Y/N couldn’t stop shivering, even with Bucky behind her and the blankets cocooned around them, the windows blocked with clothes and other things to keep the cold out.  

“Y/N, for God’s sake,” Bucky sighed as he rubbed her arms, her feet freezing against his shins.

“I’m s-s-sorry,” Y/N whined, her arms tight against her chest.  “I don’t know w-w-w-what’s wrong with m-m-meee…”

Bucky tried shifting her so she was facing him, tucking her cold nose against his chest, making him gasp.  “Jesus Christ, you’re freezing.”  Y/N nodded slightly, her fingers diving under his shirt and slotting under his armpits.  “FUCK!  Okay, we gotta figure something else out,” Bucky said as rubbed her back and made sure she was tucked in by the blankets well enough.  He had a fleeting thought as her fingers warmed under his armpits that made him tense.  Something about how body heat is the best way to make sure people don’t freeze…

“W-w-what?” Y/N asked, looking up at him as he tensed.

“Um…there’s something that might help,” Bucky said quietly, trying to calm his frantic heart.  

“I-I-I’ll do anything…my whole body hurts,” Y/N whispered, her face burying into his neck.

Bucky was becoming genuinely afraid now.  He did not want to wake up to a dead woman next to him, especially the love of his life.  “We need to take our clothes off,” he said urgently, starting to pull his shirt off.

“Wait…what?” Y/N now tensed, her wide eyes staring at him.

“Sharing body heat will keep us both warm,” he explained as he shifted and took his pants off.  Y/N was dumbfounded.  “Come on, lovey, or else you’ll freeze to death.”

Y/N exhaled sharply then started pulling her shirt off.  Once they were both naked he held her close to him again, desperately ignoring the fact that her breasts were against his stomach and one of her legs was tucked between his, making his cock rest on her thigh.  Her cold limbs more than made up for the awkwardness as he rubbed her arms and legs, trying to get her to warm up faster.  She tucked her face back into his neck, her hands against his chest slightly tracing his scar as she tried to breathe normally.

Bucky could feel her warming up within a few minutes and it made him sigh in relief.  Her fingers no longer felt like popsicles, her feet moving against his legs and not making him flinch away.  She sighed heavily as her nose warmed up against him and her breathing evened out.  The shivering eventually died down and she wrapped her arm around his back, making her body flush with his.

“Thank you, Buck,” Y/N whispered, her lips moving against his jaw.

“Don’t mention it,” Bucky huffed a laugh, kissing her forehead.

Y/N froze at that.  As much as they had cuddled and were now in this crazy predicament, they had never done anything intimate like kissing, even in very neutral parts of the body like on the forehead or the hand or anything else.  Bucky waited for her to calm down, but she didn’t.  “What happened?” he asked quietly.

“Nothing,” Y/N rushed out.  

“Was that not okay?  I’m sorry–”

“No, it was okay, I was just surprised,” she said.  Her voice was giving off an air of nonchalance but her body was still tense.

“Sure, and I’m not hugging a statue,” Bucky snorted.

Y/N laughed at that, her body shaking at his joke.  Bucky laughed along with her.  “It…it was just nice, is all,” Y/N said, still giggling.

“Oh you liked it, huh?” Bucky teased her, his hands slipping to tickle her sides.  Y/N squealed and twisted in his hold, her hands pushing against his chest to get away.  He moved up so he was hovering over her and tickled her neck.  Through their movements they found themselves within an inch of each other’s faces, catching their breaths and staring at each other.  Bucky’s eyes blinked rapidly as they flicked between her eyes and down to her mouth.  Y/N did the same to him.  He leaned down and kissed the tip of her nose softly, making her smile.  “This is…dangerous,” he whispered as he stared at her lips.

“Yes,” Y/N agreed.  “We should probably stop.”

“Probably,” Bucky nodded but didn’t move away.  

Y/N took the initiative and pushed away from him again.  “Let’s, uh, get some sleep,” she said, disappointment laced in her tone.

“…okay,” Bucky said, feeling dejected but knowing it was probably for the best.

They awkwardly lay close together again, letting the warmth envelop them and eventually dozing off to sleep.

[ofc-vi-writes-too]

a continuation of things that i think happen in my favorite fucked up silly little city (gotham)

• In hosptials in Gotham there’s another wing dedicated to super villain attacks Like how theres the ED, NICU, L&D, ICU, etc., theres another branch called Excessive Villain Attack Department (for) Emergencies. Also known as EVADE for short. it’s a brag to say you work in EVADE for doctors/nurses because A. the pay is ridiculously good, and B. how much extra stuff you had to learn to work there. People who work in EVADE have to go through weekly psych evaluations as well as physical testing to make sure they are still fit for duty.

• there are EVADE pop ups all around gotham so it’s citizens ares never more than 5 minutes away from medical attention. You have to work at a pop up before you’re allowed to work in EVADE in a real hosptial. People say working the pop ups is a lot harder and a lot nore stressfull, because people can come to you in really any condition out there.

• Similar to how kids in some areas cant wear certain colors like red or blue to school because of gang affiliation, gothamite students cannot wear anything superhero, vigilante or villain adjacent. No birds, bats, clowns, etc. Its a way for schools to try and stop kids from being targetted by their peers/ crazy adults who will attack them for supporting a specific person or party. Hero or otherwise.

• A lot of mom and pop diners/townie bars have foods named after vigilantes and specialty drinks named after villains. Some examples are:

Red Hoods Hot Chicken and Mac: bufallo mac and chicken with house hot sauce, so hot and tasty it will bring tears to your eyes! (this is true. jason tried it and he literally couldn’t feel his face. He couldn’t tell if he was blinking or not. Dick swears up and down he wasn’t.)

Nightwings: boneless chicken wings with a honey barbecue dry rub, with bleu cheese dipping sauce and chips and a blue corn dip. Dick can and will order 4 and eat them all by himself in one sitting.

Robins Eggs Breakfast combo: 2 sunny side up eggs, strawberry french toast, vegetarian sausage, house salad and an OJ. They tried to make it vegan but no one in Gotham wants breakfast without eggs. Robin said he appreciates the thought anyway. He is very smug and protective of his meal and the restaurant that made it. When he has the day shft he stops by there for breakfast, which isn’t often but still.

Signal soup: a classic squash soup, house focaccia and a garden salad. Its a seasonal meal that comes around every fall, and sells out almost every day for the entire season.

The Scarecrow: literally a long island iced tea with black liqueur in a martini glass with 3 olives. It tastes fucking horrible but will get you beyond hammered

Poison Ivy: shot of pochteca lime liqueur and pink whitney. Very tasty.

Regulator: its a blue margarita with coconut milk in it. Its a little sweet but its yummy. It’s common to black out on these because you cant taste the alch and by the time it hits you its too late and its the next morning and your naked in a strangers bed. Darn those regulators for a night you wont remember! at least the guy is handsome…

• See also the Condiment King challenge: A pint size glass of equal parts ketchup, mustard, pickle relish, mayonnaise, hot sauce, soy sauce, honey mustard, sweet and sour, bbq, salsa, fish sauce, vinegar, ranch, and wasabi. Hell in a cup! If you can drink it within 10 minutes without throwing up, you eat free at the dinner for a month and you get a t shirt that says “I completed the Condiment King challenge at Jimbo’s Dinner!” With a poorly drawn picture of condiment king on it. There has only been one winner: Timothy Drake. Jason dared him to try it after he hadnt slept in 3 days. Tim didnt puke, but Jason did. There were threats of violence if Tim ever told anyone that. Tim didn’t believe him, told Dick and magically ended up with a broken finger. “No AlfredI have NOOOOOO idea how it happened! Must’ve had a bad fall on patrol :3”

• taxes in gotham are shit-your-pants-when-you-see-it-the-first-time high. Gotham has to be able to pay for all the damages somehow, despite Bruce Wayne paying for about 15% of those damages out of pocket, its still not enough to stop prices from skyrocketing. To try and combat this, there is a Gala held anually for the top 10% of Gotham to fundraise for emergency city repairs. It helps a lot but doesn’t solve the problem.

[ovobawrites]

𝐵𝑒𝒶𝒸𝒽: 𝐸𝓅𝒾𝓈𝑜𝒹𝑒 𝒯𝒽𝓇𝑒𝑒 ♡ 𝐹𝒷𝑜𝓎𝓈 𝒜𝓃𝑜𝓃𝓎𝓂𝑜𝓊𝓈

disclaimer: this has already been posted on ao3 and quotev, i'm just reposting this beach episode special as a promo for the fic. after this is all my previous author notes.

this is a fem!reader and also a half chinese!reader insert.

previous ♡ next

You hung limply over Jade's shoulder as he brought you over to the table. He set you down gently and handed you a plate with a polite smile, before quickly snapping up the food he wanted. Thankfully, Jade was quick enough for you to be able to grab a sandwich you actually wanted to eat. There's no way in the cold, wet hells[1] that you'd eat any large meal before swimming. Stomachaches were already a common occurrence for you due to the curse of menstruation, why go through even more unnecessary pain? 

Sadly, the boys had a completely different philosophy. Ruggie had piled a plate sky-high with varying meats and seafood, all while fiercely guarding a gourmet steak for Leona. Floyd and Jade, with you stuck between them, had also taken a large amount of food. At least they were planning on eating vegetables. Meanwhile, Riddle, Azul, Vil and Rook seemed to have prepared meals with the 'perfect' caloric intake.

And even then, they're eating so much! Though I guess the minimum calories are higher for guys? And they are younger...[2]

Leona slowly stalked over to the table, hair a mess from his nap and snatched his plate from Ruggie, sitting next to the hyena. Idia eventually got up from the pancake he made on the ground, mostly by Ortho's prompting. A plate stacked with healthy foods was handed to him by his brother and he was forced in a seat next to Silver. The Diasomnia first year had a plate with similarly healthy foods, though Idia had a smaller portion in comparison... It didn't help that every so often, Lilia would add a vegetable or cut of meat to Silver's plate. 

Malleus ate silently at the head of the table with a contemplative frown, Lilia smirking and whispering in his ear while Silver just ate in silence. Trey smiled sheepishly in conversation with Cater and Riddle, the three of them seemingly somewhat pleased with their meals. Kalim and Jamil ate next to each other, food already tested for poison and picked out to be a perfect lunch.

"Koi fish~" Floyd started, leaning over your shoulder. "is that seriously all you're gonna eat?"

"Ah- well..." You trailed off. "I'm not exactly a 'growing girl' so to speak."

"Still," Jade chimed in, mirroring Floyd. "that isn't a lot of food. Are you sure you don't need to eat anymore?"

Are they... planning something? It's not my fault you boys all eat like beasts!

Trey silently spooned some pasta onto Riddle's plate. Suddenly, everyone at the table seemed extremely invested in your private conversation. 

You sighed. "Yes, I'm sure."

Who are they? My mom? Please. She'd never be so smothering.

"You're already skin and bones." Leona chimed in, "A herbivore like you definitely needs to eat more. Else you'll end up like Riddle."

"WHAT'S THAT SUPPOSED TO MEAN!" The redhead snapped at Leona, face matching the colour of his hair. "Though you definitely should eat more, it doesn't seem like enough food for the day." He looked over at you, now cool as a cucumber. 

"I agree, I don't think a sandwich is enough for a day in the sun." Trey frowned in concern, Cater nodding emphatically next to him.

"Yeah! How are we supposed to post cute beach pics if you're fainting from a lack of food!"

Can the peanut gallery PLEASE stop offering their opinions?

You took a small bite out of your sandwich, resisting the urge to roll your eyes. A posture of steel, not a crumb falling nor a hair out of place. The essence of perfection you were taught to be. Too bad the boys were too busy worrying over your lunch to properly appreciate it. 

"Are you really fine with only eating that much?" Kalim tilted his head in concern. "Shouldn't she eat more, Jamil?"

"Eh?" His vice dormleader looked over, pretending to be unaware of the conversation. "...Yes, she should be eating more."

Lilia nodded his head with a frown and a shrug. "She definitely should, humans are sooo fragile~"

Vil and Rook looked over at what you were eating, looks of disapproval obvious.

"Don't tell me you've bought into diet culture," Vil lectured, "it's been proven to be a scam that hardly works and even then-"

"Diet culture is a scam?!" Azul looked shell shocked. 

"Obviously? Pressuring people into restricting what they eat so much and guilting them for even barely straying from an un-nutritious and unfulfilling diet is a binge-eating disaster waiting to happen!" 

"...You guys are binge-eating?" Ruggie looked over, half a chicken wing in his mouth, curious.

Floyd poked your cheek, then attempted to place more food on your plate. A serving of calamari clashed against a spearing of mushrooms. Twins glared and started to war a silent fight while you polished off your lunch. There was no way you were gonna deal with this in-fighting when you could just find Crewel and go swimming. You put your plate in the sink and cleaned it up. 

Quiet as a mouse, you left the room, boys none the wiser. Grabbing your bag off of the couch, you bid Crewel adieu and went out to the beach. Shimmering waves against the gleaming, blinding white sand enamored you as you placed your bag and towel in the shade.

A warding talisman and the removal of your sundress left you free to explore the shore to your heart's content. Wandering around, you gathered bone-bleached shells and smoothed down shards of colourful sea glass. By the time you reached rocky cliff, you had left a trail of footprints and a floating pile of your treasures following you. You smiled and took in the relaxing atmosphere.

A crash and the loud slam of the door. 

A swarm of boys rushing down the hill towards the sandy beach. 

"(Y/NNNNN)!!!" Floyd called out, arms waving around wildly, giant grin on his face.

Ruggie and Leona waved from where Ruggie was setting up a throne room for the king of naps. Malleus and Lilia curiously observing while being blasted with horrific UV rays. Rook had already helped Vil set up a UV-proof zone and the two were slathering on reef-safe suncream, glancing at-

Did Idia just eat sand and die?

You smiled ruefully, your boys were so stupid. And there goes Idia rolling over! Knocking over Riddle, Trey, Cater and-

Like dominoes, Idia's fall started a chain reaction ending in a dog-pile of half-naked, sweaty, flushed men. Disgusting. 

You glided over gracefully, faked concern appearing on your face like a well-worn mask.

"Are you guys okay?" You asked, leaning over, hands on your knees. 

For whatever reason, the boys just went even more red. You think Riddle let out a muffled shriek. The momentary confusion was replaced by disappointment.

They were looking at your cleavage. The pigs.

Yeah. There's no way you were going to go near them. You acted confused, tilting your head before walking past in a decisive moment towards Vil and Rook. 

How do I bleach a memory from my brain?!

No matter. You sat in the UV-safe zone with Rook and Vil. The hunter offered you a bottle of water. 

"Ah- no, thank you." With a snap of your fingers, your bag appeared next to you. "I brought my own."

A sip of water and then you gathered up the things you collected from beach-combing. 

"Was that what you were doing while we had that..." Vil paused. "discussion?"

You beamed. "Yep!" That reminds you... "I founded a shell that was like you!" You told Vil with a blinding smile, rummaging through the piles for it.

You pulled out a large conch shell, spiky with streaks of purple. A shy look in your eyes and you offered it to him.

"If I remember correctly... conches follow the golden ratio, right? And well... you're the most perfect person I know, so..."

Vil sniffed and took the shell from your hands like a merciful god. "I suppose it's... nice."

"Vil, mon cher Roi du Poison, I can always take it from your hands if you do not want it!" Rook stated with a wink and a grin. "I always delight in a gift from our Reine des Cygnes[3]!"

Rook reached his hand out only to have it slapped away, Vil tucking the conch protectively into his arms.

"No, it's mine. She gave it to me, so hands off!"

You fretted over the slight fight, feeling the sparks flying between the two. Vil with a stone cold expression and Rook with his ever-present smile. 

"Oh- uhm, I also brought something for you, Rook!"

It wasn't a lie, you did find a piece of glass that reminded you of your classmate, but...

"You did?!" Rook took your hands in his, stars in his eyes. "I shall cherish this for every year that goes by, ma chouette!"

...You just knew Rook was gonna get weird about it. Too late to save yourself now. 

"Ah- here." You tugged your hands out of Rook's grasp and handed him an arrow-shaped shard of indigo sea glass. It sparkled against the sun, uncannily reminiscent of the shine in Rook's eyes.

"Thank you so much ma chère!" He quickly took it, handling it with the reverence of a man with an idol of his god.

"It was no problem at all..." You flushed slightly at the praise.

"No, you took the time to search for these and then give them to us." Vil gazed at you with ardent warmth. "Thank you for taking the time to find these."

You suddenly wished for a fan, hands covering your face while it rapidly heated up. You couldn't handle this! Both Vil and Rook in their purple swimwear, decorative open shirts framing their bodies with such elegance... it was too much! 

A chuckle. Vil covered his laugh up with a hand over his mouth. Rook simply stayed smiling with a knowing look in his eyes. The Pomefiore Housewarden leaned in closer to you, hands brushing, as he opened his mouth to whisper something but-

"Ey, (Y/N), come here!" Leona beckoned you over and with a frown and a curious glance, you followed. 

Vil looked awfully put out, but Rook seemed to be even more pleased by this outcome, taking out a pair of sun-proofed binoculars from who knows where. 

You walked over to the two Savanaclaw members, Leona now lazing on a towel-bed while Ruggie set up portable fans to cool the lion down. 

"Heard you were giving out gifts." Leona said with a twitch of his ears. "Where's mine?"

You fumbled for a second in slight shock, but with a quick recovery, gave him one half of an oyster shell, coated in mother of pearl. 

He raised an eyebrow. "Where's the other half?"

"It's for Ruggie!" You smiled. "Who else?"

The hyena, with a bashful turn of his head, took the other half from your hands. "Wait- I can probably make a lot of money with this... Thank you!"

"Isn't it rude to sell a gift?"

"I gave it to him since I knew he probably would sell it!" You snapped back in reply. 

"I don't get either of you." And with a huff, Leona lied down and took another nap. 

"...Is he already asleep?" You asked Ruggie, head leaning against your hand as you watched him finish up the nap-fort. 

The hyena glanced at Leona. "Probably, yeah."

"He's really good at this..." You sighed. "Now if only he'd apply this effort to his studies..."

A bark of laughter. 

"Like he'd ever! Leona isn't Leona if he spends all his time studying!"

A fond grin and a burst of yellow roses in your heart. "Yeah... you're right."

After a while of chatting with Ruggie and a quick re-application of suncream, you went over to the waves. Floyd and Jade waved at you from where they were (most likely) torturing poor Riddle, who was fuming once again. Trey and Cater tried their best to calm him but it was a lost cause. Meanwhile, Idia was carefully watching Ortho's movements in the water, taking notes on a floating tablet. Kalim was splashing around while Jamil stayed on guard by the shore, resolutely ignoring Azul trying to talk to him. 

"Koi fish! You gonna swim?" Floyd asked with a bright grin, cheeks flushing.

"Why else would I be by the waves?" You teased. 

Riddle went bright red at your entrance, eyes darting to your chest and then to your face before he quickly whipped his head away from you. If he wasn't so endearing you'd have punted him into the sun already. 

"Oh, (Y/N)!" Kalim waved you over. "Wanna play a game with us?"

"Sure!" You beamed. "What is it?"

Jade held a hand to his chest, a smirk on his face. "We're playing 'save the princess'. Would you like to play the part? The heroes have to rescue you from us, if they get to that tree with you, they win."

At some point I am going to murder these men. Is he seriously asking me to play the damsel in distress?

You looked at both Floyd and Jade, the two, in their true forms, were practically vibrating with excitement. You guessed they would be your captors... and even then you doubt that they'd let you go. 

A sigh. "I guess..."

Floyd smiled wide and grabbed you by the waist in a second. Clawed hands almost fondling your sides. 

"I've got Koi fishie~ let's swim away, Jade!" He laughed in childish glee as he quickly darted off.

"Wait, we're starting now?" Kalim called out. "Oh, then, Jamil! Help me catch those dastardly villains!"

A tilt to his head and a proud smile on his face, Kalim fell into his role as the knight-prince, your supposed saviour.

"If sea snake's joining then I want Azul!" Floyd pouted as Jade simply smiled. "Azul! Join us!"

Their Housewarden sighed, getting up from his place in the sand along with Jamil as they entered the water. For whatever reason, Azul stayed in his two-legged form, yet he still could quickly swim over. 

"If we are to win," Jade said, "we should make sure to split up. Toss (Y/N) over to the person who is unswarmed by these heroes."

"But I want to spend time with (Y/N)!" Floyd frowned, hands twitching around your waist while you let him carry you, limp. 

And I wanted to play a fun game of tag, but I guess we don't always get what we want!

"I agree with Jade." Azul pushed his glasses up. "We should make sure to keep (Y/N) away from these heroes."

Your captors had migrated over to the deeper waters in the ocean, powerful tails (and legs) allowing them to tread the water with ease. You shifted in Floyd's grasp, turning chest-to-chest, to peer over at your supposed heroes. The merman chirped with glee and held you even tighter to him in a pseudo-hug while he continued to discuss tactics with his dormmates. 

Surprisingly, Riddle, Cater and Trey were participating in this game as well. By the looks of things, it seems they had managed to recruit Ortho too. The 'knights' were similarly congregating, thinking up a game plan. While their numbers trumped your captors, you're sure that they are the ones with the advantage. 

Seriously, why are the teams like this. There's no way Kalim's team is winning against this sea-beasts.

In a flash, Azul, Jade and Floyd swam off in different directions. Floyd's powerful tail pushed the both of you through the water at a near-alarming speed, making you laugh in an adrenaline-fueled manner. You looked over Floyd's shoulder to see most of the hero team swimming towards you both at a much slower rate. Floyd soon stopped and started to float in the water, guarding you in his arms like a precious treasure.

"You'll never take Koi fishie from me!" He growled out, baring his teeth with a laugh.

"Are you sure about that?" Riddle smirked. "You're surrounded."

In a flash, Riddle, Trey, Cater and Kalim had encircled Floyd, slowly drawing closer with no escape. It's too bad that your 'captors' had planned for this. Floyd smiled even wider, lifting you up by the hips, and called out to Jade. With strong arms, he tossed you over to his brother, who caught you gently with steel cable-like arms. As you flew through the air, you couldn't help but laugh at the 'heroes' shocked faces. 

"It seems you're stuck with me now." Jade smiled, quickly swimming off with Jamil and Ortho giving chase. 

The merman was holding you in a bridal-style carry, whipping his tail through the water, dodging Ortho and Jamil's tries to grab and save you.

You waved lazily at them. "Oh no. I've been caught. Dear heroes, please save me." You spoke, completely deadpan. 

You could hear Jade's chest vibrate from a chuckle as he continued to race through the water. A glance towards his back showed Azul setting up for a catch while Floyd taunted poor Riddle. Trey and Cater were quickly swimming over to help Jamil and Ortho, who were quickly catching up.

So they're handicapping themselves for this. Probably 'cause it wouldn't be as fun.

"Don't worry (Y/N), I'll save you!" Ortho called out, his motors whirring as he started to speed up, nearly brushing your hand as Jade quickly dodged.

"It's not polite to lie, Ortho." Jade called out as you braced yourself for another toss. "There's simply no way for you to win."

In a quick, smooth motion, you flew through the air once more to be caught by Azul. You laughed and ruffled his hair in joy, undeniably pleased from all this throwing. For whatever reason, being tossed through the air filled you with pinks and yellows of a childish happiness, making you giggle, adrenaline-drunk, with glee.

"Please don't mess up my hair." Azul sighed, resigned. He shifted you around in his arms for a better ease of movement as Riddle drew in near with a dangerous glare.

The position he landed on was you, held by the waist in one arm as you were slung over his shoulder. He then took off, not as fast as Jade or Floyd, but still faster than your supposed future saviours. Soon enough, he let them catch up, then threw you through the air to Floyd. 

And so the cycle continued, you happily being thrown in the air while the hero team eventually slowed down, exhausted. Not ones' to lose, they congregated into a circle on the shore to discuss plans, while you stayed fixed in Floyd's arms. Jade and Azul soon joining you as you all watched the hero team plan. 

"I wonder how they'll approach us this time." Jade simpered with an everpresent smile.

Azul scoffed. "This is such a stupid game. How on earth are they going to win?"

Unfortunately for them, Azul just jinxed the 'villain' team. Malleus, Lilia and Silver, returning from a beach combing exploration, went over to the hero team. Kalim waved his hands around and suddenly, it seemed that the Diasomnia boys joined the hero team. Their discussion continued with even more fervor, a dark shadow appearing over their group as they started to scheme.

"Wow. You really just screwed yourself over, Azul." You deadpanned, unbothered by any of this. 

Floyd hugged you closer to him in glee. "Now it's gonna be super fun! Too bad none of them will steal you from me..."

A dark chuckle. "No. They won't win against us, right Azul?"

His glasses flashed. "I think it's time to think of a different plan."

You laughed as Floyd darted through the waves, waving at Malleus, Silver and Lilia who were closing in on you. Sadly for them, Floyd picked up even more speed. Beads of water flew through the air as the waves splashed into the Diasomnia group. Meanwhile, Jade tried to shake off a persistent group of Heartslabyul boys, Azul facing the same problem with Kalim and Jamil. 

"Return (Y/N) to us, mortal, and your punishment will be lessened." Malleus glared, picking up speed.

"There's no way for you to win, Floyd, so just give up." Lilia added with a chuckle. 

Silver stayed silent, a dark look on his face as he swam even faster, nearly managing to grab you off of Floyd. Floyd laughed in amusement and quickly changed directions. Jade and Azul started swimming towards the center of the ocean alongside you and Floyd. Though you were, of course, a limp spectator in this competition. Still, it was fun to move so quickly through the water, you giggled as Floyd started to go even faster.

The three of them met in the middle, the others not far behind. Azul scowled as Jade grabbed you from Floyd, manhandling you into his arms.

"Ready?" Azul asked, "They're closing in."

True to his statement, the group of 'heroes' were quickly getting closer. Riddle looked triumphant, while Trey and Cater's eyes shone with determination to 'save' you.

I guess it's time for my plan to come into action, too. 

There was no way you were playing damsel in distress. No matter how fun it was to go fast and be thrown around, this objectification was too much to bear. Thank god for Idia, who had seen your rapid signing and silently gathered Ruggie and Rook to the shore. You smiled to yourself. This rescue plan was going to work.

"Hand (Y/N) over, criminals! We're here to save her, there's no escape!" Malleus boomed with a smirk. 

"Isn't there?" Jade smiled in reply, "It seems you weren't paying enough attention."

In that quick amount of time, Azul and Floyd had tied up their legs in the seaweed from the ocean floor. They struggled, shocked. 

And now it was your time to shine. 

"Yeah. There's no need for you heroes!" You smiled, a steely look in your eyes. "I can save myself just fine, thanks."

In one quick motion, you grabbed Jade's arms, throwing him over your shoulder by using his body weight. The eel barreled into Floyd and Azul, knocking them out. Whip-quick, you swam off, darting through the waves with a laugh as you approached the shore. 

A look over your shoulder, the boys were catching up. Floyd, Jade and Azul were closest, but the others were pulling on them to slow them down. It soon turned into an all-out war as they fought to get near to you, either to 'save' or 'capture' you. Too bad.

With a smile and a wave, you ran onto the shore. Idia and Ruggie grinned and guarded you as you approached the win-point. You hit the tree with your hand and beamed. 

"I win!" You said in a sing-song tone. 

The boys were stunned.

Trey laughed first. "Yeah, you did! Well done."

The others joined in, heaping you with praise as your heart fluttered in joy. Butterflies in your stomach as you all started to chat about your plan and your win. Ruggie ruffled your hair while Idia gave you a smile in support. 

It was a fun day.

[1] Chinese hell is cold, dark and damp. Basically the opposite to traditional perception of Christian hell. And there are multiple hells! Lovely ^^ [2] Generally, Chinese eating tendencies is that the best and most food goes to children, then the elderly, then the adults. Portion sizes also tend to be quite small for adults/teens, at least compared to US portion sizes. MC is exaggerating when calling the boys younger tho... it's the innate mom instinct lmao [3] Queen of Swans... get it.... cuz MC's so graceful but can also be very fierce? Also cuz swans = romance and Rook is definitely noticing the reverse harem shenangians

Just a fun fact, kids/babies get so happy from being thrown because it helps strengthen their bodies against gravity. It also strengthens a kid's sense of balance and motion. I wonder why MC likes it now uwu

and here is the third part of the beach ep. if you'd like to read the rest of the fic, you can read it on ao3 here, and on quotev here.

[keiaoi811]

Cooking your hates / Aquarium adventure

Jouno Saigiku x Reader / Tecchou Suehiro x Reader

Fluff

Drabble, headcanons? Idk how to name it

Just some short thing in subpoints

Jouno

•Jouno, our beloved mean gremlin

((ﾐ´ω`ﾐ)), i kinda love the headcanons about him being good in kitchen [while me, the best i can do is tea and scrambled eggs- mastechef is not title for me]

•But what if you have things you don't like? For example mushrooms, raisins, broccoli [kind of 'wink' towards me, heh]

•Will Jouno makes things without them or.....try his best to hides them in dish to hear your displeased noise when you find out? I think, you know the answer, dear reader ~

•Leaving Jouno for five seconds alone is the worst you can do. His disability won't stop him to sneak, "the worst things on the world" a'ka foods you don't like, into the soon dinner.

•A grin, this one, annoying one, that always appears when he did something. 'A proud cat, who just broke your favorite cup, because he found it not suitable on the table'; type of smile.

•You look at the dish before you, with suspicious sight, guard on. You really like his cooking, really, just this smile; it's very disturbing.

•-"It's gonna be cold, eat up"- Jouno said simple, continues to enjoy his own portion, listening with huge anticipation, to your heartbeat. Ah, teasing you is his favorite hobby after long and tiresome work week.

•Finally, you try his creation with surprise for you. It wasn't bad, entirely opposite, it was delicious.

-"Taste good?"

-"A lot, you never ending to surprise me, Sai."

You said with great appreciation towards the white hair man. This moment, however didn't last long.

•Oh, your heartbeat changed, giving signal to Jouno that his small "gift" got discovered.

-"Something wrong, dear?~"- He asked, like he had no idea, what makes your face frowning in small disgust.

-"You add something."

-"I added a of lot things, this is what cooking is, after all."

-"Sai, you know what i mean"

-"Oh, do i?~"

•Jouno playing dumb and you swallowing the piece of food like it was "poison".

Then you begins to complain, filling his ears with the pleasure he was expecting.

•-"You acting like some kid, who don't want to eat their veggies."- Jouno huffed nonchalantly and the grin on his face get only bigger.

•Maybe cooking with him gonna be better option to avoid eating the "humanity poison". While Jouno gets annoyed by your "guarding". It is nice to have your help, but having you to observe what his hands do without a blink, was getting on his nerve.

•Payback Jouno ((ﾐ´ω`ﾐ)) But in the end of the day, nothing can be avoid completely and maybe a compromise would be better.

Tecchou

•We all know, that this man can watch ants for eight, straight hours, right? Mostly for their teamwork and etc.

•But what if, take him to Aquarium? It sounds like a very nice date idea, pretty common too.

•All the colorful fishes, gracefully drifting behind the glass wall, a blue light filling every edge, very calming and beautiful view....until standing in one place for too long.

•Tecchou was like a frozen statue, observing all the fishes and other creatures behavior, like some kind of oceanologist.

•You were happy that he seemed to like this place, but you also wouldn't mind if he move a little....even slightly. We love you but please ಥ⌣ಥ

•Idea pop off in your mind and decided to test it. You walk away from Tecchou, to see what will happened but also to see other parts of Aquarium.

•Gone for hour or two, only to come back to your human like rock, who didn't even badge a step. At this point, you don't know if better laugh or cry. Also some other visitors was getting confused when passing by Tecchou.

•-"It's mannequin? Some kind part of the exhibition?"- whispers flows into your ears.

For gym or clothing shop, Tecchou would be a perfect mannequin; you joke in thoughts.

•-"Hiro, are you there?"- You said when approaching this "statue" and waving hand before his eyes. A small shocked expression sneak on his face when Tecchou finally turn his head towards you.

-"Yes? Something wrong? Tired?"

-"I feel like i should be the one asking this."

A chuckle left your lips, while Tecchou looked at you slightly lost.

•Two of you chat a little, asking him what he discovered from all the observation he made. Tecchou apologized when you tell him you were walking around, alone for one or two hours.

•Everything begins to be sweet and nice again when, suddenly a big fish eats the smaller one.

•Tecchou and you had a little open mouths in shock, dazed at what you just guys witness. It's not that was scary or something that would never happen, the natural food chain and etc., but fishes eating each other wasn't in yours to-do date list....

•-"Hiro....what do you say, for change the scenery? I think i saw a booth with ice cream somewhere."

-"It's sounds great to me, love."

Let the fishes enjoy their "dinner" without you and distract themselves with something cold.

•Except that one moment, date end up great. Tecchou shared with his thoughts about how great would the ice creams taste with shichimi or wasabi....well.

•But memory of his focused, amber eyes on the glass wall, brings you smile and a faint rosy color on the cheeks.

[diddlesanddoodles]

"The Uphill River"

A small little blurb from chapter ten of the rewrite. Yes I am still writing it.

The next task she was put to was pulling stems of apples for Quinn and Kol as they worked on the list of the Queen’s pastries. Yale assisted in gathering whatever ingredients needed for their work, dashing to and from cold storage to fetch various dried and fresh fruits and herbs. And a crock of butter almost as tall as Nenani. She walked around it, eyes wide in wonder, battling the very real urge to stick her finger into it. Without even looking away from the list in his hands, Yale reached over to lay his fingers on her shoulders and gently turned her away from the butter. He pointed to a spot closer to him in a wordless command and another bowl of apples needing their stems plucked for the Ibronian pastries they were making.   

Nenani knew a little of Ibronian cooking, only due to having lived in fair proximity to the Ibronain sailors and dock workers littering the port. They liked their wine sweet and liberally applied anywhere there was room. The apples Nenani prepared were lightly crushed, only to break them open, and put aside to macerate in wine as the dough came together.   

“Are ye sure it doesn’t say anything about butter in this recipe? Even at the end?” Kol asked as he pressed the shaggy dough into a pile and drive the ball of his fist into the center.

“I’m sure,” Quin replied, reading over the recipe one more time. “No butter. The next recipe looks like it uses a good bit, but not for this one.”

“Don’t seem right not to have butter in the dough. It’ll be flavorless.”

Quinn flicked Kol’s ear as he passed him with the bowl of apples and wine. “If you add butter and we get torn into because ye broke some sacred Ibrinaian pastry law, I’m shaving yer head after we’re released from the stockades.”  

“Fine, I won’t add any butter,” Kol replied with a petulant frown. “Just don’t see how it’ll taste very good. Would make a nicer crumb.”

They stopped their work briefly to eat a small meal. Bowls from one the large cauldrons that Yale called “the perpetual brew” were doled out to everyone. It was a dark colored stew not unlike forever pottage, but instead of a thick soup of grains and barely, there were root vegetables, various bits of meat, and several types of beans.

As Nenani ate her portion, she fished something odd from the bottom of her bowl. It was as long as her finger and looked very much like a stick. She tried to bite into it and grimaced. It was a stick. When she showed Yale, he and the bakers all burst into laughter.

“Must be a bit of sweet pine,” Quinn said.   

“I forget sometimes Humans don’t really eat trees, eh? Supposed yer teeth are too soft for it,” said Yale.

“What? You eat trees?” Nenani asked.

“Sometimes,” Yale explained. “It’s more common to eat them in winter when stores run low. Ye cut down a few in spring when they’re sweetest and store them in the cellar for winter. Grind it up for bread. It’s not as nice as wheat, but it’s food. Mostly folks pop a few branches into soup for the flavor. Like ye were saying about the bay laurel.”

“And if ye can’t afford sugar or honey, lots of folks use a spoon carved from sweet pine and use it to stir tea and it’ll sweeten it a bit,” Kol added in. “Not as much as sugar or honey, but it works well enough.”    

Nenani observed the stick held between her fingers with equal measures of curiosity and revulsion. It had softened somewhat from its time spent boiling in the stew. But it was still unmistakenly a stick. She could not decide if they were trying to trick her or not. Looking between the three of them, they seemed sincere enough. She put it back into her mouth and chewed on it. The fibers broke apart and she could taste a faint sweetness. “It’s a little sweet.”

“Told ye,” said Yale.

She removed it from her mouth. “But it’s still a stick.”

“Ah, yer teeth are just too soft to fully appreciate sweet pine,” Yale replied. He fished a piece of sweet pine from his own bowl and ate it, chewing happily as Nenani made a face at him.   

  Quinn laughed and added, “Don’t tell her about pinecone jam.”