#the first one I drank was brown sugar milk tea and as much as I am a woman with a sweet tooth

[yawansomecheekinlad]

I hate to be that person but boba is the most disgusting thing I've ever drank :(

[ravenmichaelisstuff]

I imagine that Soap worked /hard/ to figure out how Ghost likes his tea.

Ghost wouldn't just tell him because he enjoyed seeing the sergeant becoming more and more frustrated with the fact that he couldn't get it right.

But Soap wasn't planning on giving up, when he is sets his mind on something he will eventually achieve it. He tried every single type and flavor of tea he found, he tried making it with milk and without it. Soap tried adding lemon. Ghost looked at him in disgust when he noticed a slice of citrus in his tea. Soap changed the sugar from normal to brown, he tried several types of honey.

Ghost was adamant saying that he still had it wrong.

One day Soap sat on Ghost's desk when the Lieutenant worked on some paperwork work. Ghost had his mask pulled up, sipping on his perfectly made tea. Soap talked to Ghost about the call he got from his sister, filling the office with noise.

Ghost pretended to be annoyed, but he appreciated Soap's company, his closeness. It was actually helping him with getting through the work faster since his mind wasn't occupied by all his unpleasant thoughts. Soap filled his mind with stories from his day, funny or not so funny attempts at jokes and his family drama.

Ghost was sure that he knew way to much about the MacTavish household than someone who was never a part of it should. Sometimes he wished he could be a part of it, to meet all the people Johnny spoke so highly about.

Soap looked at the cup of tea, scanning it like it held some big secret.

"You won't get it right just from looking at it, Johnny."

"I am painfully aware, Lt."

"Giving up, already?"

"Ohh, It's not at all what I said. I have a plan to make your tea better than how you make it."

Ghost crossed his arms and leaned back in his chair. "I would love to see that, Johnny."

Soap looked determinated but his fingers were tapping the desk in a frantic rythm- clearly stressed.

"Yeah?"

"You can go make it now, my cup is almost empty."

"Sure thing." But Soap didn't move, he grabbed Ghost's cup and drank the rest of the tea.

"Wha-" Suddenly Ghost was being yanked up from his chair by his collar. Their lips connected.

And oh yeah, Ghost could taste tea on Soap's lips but it wasn't what he was focused on. He could taste Johnny, Johnny's hand was caressing his cheek and God did the constant pulling on his collar do things to him.

Soap was the first to pull away- only a little bit so their noses still brushed against each other. Ghost's eyes were closed, lost in feeling. He could feel Soap's breath on his lips.

"Was it good enough, Simon?"

"Never had better, Johnny." Whispered Ghost.

"Ye can get more, if ye want." Soap smiled brightly, putting his hand on Ghost's chin to make him look up.

"Yes, please."

+ bonus

"So... Will you tell me now how you really drink your tea?"

"You made it perfect the forth time you tried. I just enjoyed your struggle."

"Ah, go 'n' bile yer heid!"

I am sorry for any mistakes, I read it two times but my dyslexia is not helping 👀 I hope you like it ❤️

[tackyink]

So! Thanks so much @sanzos for asking, I would never pass up an opportunity to bring a snippet of my daily idiocy to your dashboards.

There's a cafeteria where I work. A cafeteria where it's universally acknowledged (except by the owner, maybe?) that its coffee tastes like ass. The pastries and sandwiches are good, but for months I've been hearing the coffee is bad bad. When the IT guys and the Marketing girls to go a nearby coffee shop they tell me "hey, we're going to the coffee shop, do you want a good coffee?" Nobody likes it.

Thing is, I'm a tea person. The first day I got there, I asked for tea. It was disgusting. The next day I asked for a different one. It was worse. Undrinkable levels of bad, which was very weird because the brand of their tea bags is fairly good. I did not understand what was happening, nor did I care to because I was busy enough trying to adjust to the new job. I just drank water all day every day.

Weeks went by, summer heat kicked in, and I have a ten minute walk uphill every morning to my workplace, so one day I asked for an iced coffee. Because the point of iced coffee is not to get good coffee, but something watery brown and cold to sip on and cool down, this became my new normal. I tried not to think about what I'd do when the heat relented, but this week I've had to face the music at last.

An important factor in this story is that I never sweeten tea or coffee.

One of the last days I asked for an iced coffee in the morning, my supervisor brought me a latte unprompted. He's very nice. I don't like lattes, but I decided to drink it anyway because I wanted to be nice too. Now, admitedly, the last time I drank one I was maybe 18 and it destroyed my GI tract for half a day, and last year I took a sip from one wrong order, so when I drank some of that one and I thought the taste was off, I thought maybe it was just me. I just don't know how lattes taste. I would have assumed that they didn't have a slightly rancid, cured cheese aftertaste, but who am I to judge the tastebuds of milk drinkers.

I lasted three sips before I snuck to the toilet to throw it away. I also had a fizzy sensation in my stomach for an hour because that's what lattes do to the body that's been thrust upon me in this lifetime.

Another day went by, and I decided to try the chai latte the cafeteria lady had recommended me. It tasted good, though it was extremely sweet, and I'd asked for oat milk, which made it sweeter. I looked up the brand they were using and the composition of the mix, and found out it's mostly sugar with added chai aroma (???!?!!!?) and brown coloring and tea extract instead of tea (WHY). Not something I wanted to drink every day.

I bit the bullet this Tuesday at last, figured that maybe they'd just had a bad tea day a few months ago and ordered one.

It was vomit-inducing disgusting. My brain couldn't stop torturing me with the taste for the remainder of the day. It was extremely bitter, without any distinctive tea flavor, and somehow salty. It went down the toilet too.

Okay, I thought, they've clearly burned the tea. They pour boiling water and toss the tea bag in right away. Next day I'll try again, ask that they give me the teabag to go so I could wait for the water to cool down a bit.

The second morning arrives and I wait. I think about sipping on the plain hot water just in case, but I get distracted, promptly forget about it and put the tea bag inside. That's fine. I take a sip.

It's not bitter anymore! Win! They were burning the tea!

Unfortunately, it was still salty with an undescribable flavor of depression room and unwashed pile of clothes.

At this point, I'm 2.30 euros in and sunk cost fallacy, well, sinks in. I'm inordinately invested in this. Why are people at this workplace living like this? How the fuck is this possible. I refuse to accept this. Is the water funky? The drinking fountains are fine. The water cannot be contaminated, there are chemistry labs here, they would've noticed if something was wrong with the water supply. Dad, former bartender, suggests that the coffee machine may not have been properly cleaned. After all, they use salt to descale it. That could explain the cheesy latte.

Today was the third day, and I came in with a plan and my own tea bag from home. The idea was to ask for tea in the same way as the day before, take the tea from the cafeteria home, and use my own tea there with their water. This way I could find out where the problem was.

But also, today I remembered to take a sip after letting the water cool down a bit.

IT WAS FUCKING RANCID.

Guys, I could smell it before I drank it. It was slightly salty and had a rank taste, like something way past expiry date. Either our water supply is fucked, or the coffee machine is. Just to complete the experiment, I sacrifice my tea bag to make a potion of nope that, you guessed it, went down the toilet as well.

I had told my supervisor about my predicament the previous days, and today I told him that I had in fact confirmed that the problem was the water, most likely a coffee machine with bad filters. He said he'd try to find a way to delicately rely it to the owner of the cafeteria.

At noon he drops by my desk, thoughtful, with a latte in hand. He says that now that I've told him, he realizes that that was it. That there's an odd aftertaste to the coffee, but since he adds milk and sweetener to it, he never minded it much, and most people do the same. Since I take everything plain, I was hit with the full brunt of it from the first day. He then says that everybody had assumed that the coffee was bad quality, but nobody had thought about water being the issue. Now I've cursed him with Knowledge that God never intended for humans to have, and as Adam did before him, he now has to live with the consequences of acts that he didn't even set in motion. As an unrelated aside, I was born on the year of the Snake. Anyway.

He seems resolute to look into it (it's part of his job, technically). On my part, I now feel compelled to investigate the water quality of the different areas of the campus, because the cafeteria is in a sort of middle ground and as unlikely as it is, it could be that one of the buildings has nasty water and it's not the coffee machine's fault.

So, to sum up my last three days:

PS: The brand that makes the chai mix also makes a matcha one. It's 80% sugar and 20% tea. It sounds awful, so next Monday I'm going to get a matcha latte for shits and giggles.

PSS: I brought the cafeteria tea bag home and brewed a cup with it. As I said, it's a pretty decent brand, much better than what I have at home, so I was happy. Then I took a sip. It tasted nothing like it's supposed to. It barely had any taste at all, in fact. It was also permeated by a faint odor of peppermint that went down my throat and came back up to my nose every time I took a gulp. What. the. fuck.

[grimoiregradient]

Rest And Rejuvenation: A two part bath spell

Feeling tired? Have you slept 8 hours, 12 hours, napped, drank coffee, slammed red bulls, but you just… can’t keep going on? I know I am. And I don't just want energy, or a buzz. I need real rest and real vitality. These baths will help promote that!

Part one - Rest

Exfoliating sugar scrub

Brown sugar

Ground oats - not instant

Shea butter or coconut oil

Bath Mix

2 drops Lavender oil

2 cups milk (let it come to room temperature, but don’t leave it out long!)

4 tablespoons honey

Half a cup chamomile loose leaf tea

Optional - Melatonin bubble bath or melatonin spray

Quickly wash your body/hair, exfoliate using the scrub and rinse. Then enjoy a nice relaxing bath! If you have music you usually use to fall asleep, listen to it. I personally lit candles and turned the lights off. It was very relaxing. Just soak for a while. Enjoy it.

Ideally the first bath will be done at night before bed. Then, in the morning, take the rejuvenating bath.

Part 2 - Rejuvenation 

Hang fresh eucalyptus above your shower head, and run the shower as hot as possible to steam up the bathroom before filling the tub. Play a good morning or feel good playlist, maybe open a window if you can to get some fresh air.

Bath Mix

Full Moon Water, as much as you have 

1 drop lemon oil

1 drop bergamot oil

Epsom Salt

A bath bomb! Preferably a fresh scent or peppermint bomb, no chamomile or lavender

[karasimpno]

milk and sugar

Levi wouldn’t care for the way I take my tea at first. 

All he’s ever drank is black tea, and sometimes I would humor him in taking it that way with him, but wouldn’t it be a little better with some milk and sugar? 

He rolls his eyes and continues to take it black.

Of course whenever he makes a cup for me, he’ll add milk and sugar. Sometimes a little less milk and a little less sugar, an ongoing half-joke that he can wean me off of it and drink “real” tea, “unadulterated” by additions, but I can always tell when he does that. I don’t mind; I think it’s funny. Tea is tea, no matter how you prepare it, and for him to go out of his way to make tea for me is sweet enough to appreciate it regardless.

But then I take him home one time. He loves my mom and loves how much she loves me. But I tend to gatekeep her tea. So when he wakes up at the buttcrack of dawn and makes good ole black tea for himself, he’s being honest when she offers to make tea for us both and he says he’s alright. But one morning we sleep in a little, maybe after a night of covert hanky-panky, and I rouse to his sleep-tousled hair, still in bed as he snoozes. My mom wakes up pretty early too, so I slip out of bed to go spend some one on one time with her before he wakes.

When he finally shuffles in, still wearing pajamas and uncharacteristically unkempt (the way we prefer it in my moms’ house), my mom’s eyes light up with a “good morning!” and a “can I make you two some tea?” I accept with a grin, always ecstatic to drink the nectar that is her way of preparing tea. Without thinking he mumbles an appreciative thanks and accepts as well, neglecting in his exhaustion to specify he takes it black. 

I hardly even think about it in my excitement to get my own, but when my mom comes back with two mugs of creamy-brown liquid, after gratefully taking one from her, Levi just stares at it. He’s too polite to decline it, and has already thanked her for it, so he supposes he only has one option. Tentatively, he raises the mug to his lips. It smells heavenly, he has to admit. My mom and I are still engaged in full conversation when he takes his first sip and has something of a religious experience in his own little world.

He’s halfway through the drink before he thinks to look up at my mom for the superior tea she’s prepared.

“Is it alright?” she would ask. Suddenly I’d come back to my senses, realizing he hadn’t taken it black, and I would start to apologize on both their behalves, “oh, I’m sorry, he-”

“It’s incredible,” he’d say so directly to her. I’d whip my head towards him.

“Wha-”

“It’s the best tea I’ve ever tasted. I understand why she’s always going on about this now,” he’d say with the utmost seriousness. “Thank you.” 

When I bust out laughing, I’d fill my mom in on the whole thing and we’d laugh about it together. Needless to say, he would drink it the way she prepared it for the rest of the visit, and though the way I make it isn’t quite as good as hers, and he would still often take it black, every so often he’d ask for milk and sugar :)

[crymeariveronceagain]

d, f, g

d - drink you last had

I just chugged a bunch of water because im about to go to bed and this is HOW WE FIGHT DEHYDRATION, RIGHT? We drink a lot of water at the end of the day to cope with how little we drank throughout? this is normal and fine.

All joking aside the last interesting drink I had was my first ever Boba Tea at an authentic Boba Shop that my sister was determined to take me to. I had some sort of Brown Sugar Milk Tea with brown sugar tapioca boba, and I really enjoyed it. It was so good. I wanted to get another one, but I am, sadly, broke af rn.

f - favorite song

VERY off brand for me, right now, but I guess I'm currently really enjoying Sean Paul's "Get Busy". It's very much a dancing song, and it's not one I would listen to unless my dad and mom had both introduced it to me, but they did, back when I was a very small child, and they reminded me of it over the holiday, and now. It's just. There. Playing on repeat in my head. Lmao.

g - ghosts, are they real

uh yeah 100%. Not because I've ever seen one that I've been able to confirm was a ghost and not a demon, but on account of how I believe in the immortality of souls. If that's the case, and the spiritual world is real, how in the world could I not believe that souls could get stuck in the world they grew too attached to? However, I am deeply and completely unafraid of ghosts. They're not going to hurt me, just weird me out a bit, if I ever encounter one, and if it tries to scare me, I'm dealing with something very dangerously different than a ghost. I'm not afraid of dark forces, either, but I'm especially not afraid of ghosts. What're they gonna do? Kill me? That's just plain old awkward for 'em, when we're both chilling in the afterlife. Also, I firmly believe that ghosts need help, so why hurting me would do nothing to help them achieve their goal of receiving help.

Also, my best friend has seen a ghost. Messed with her phone a bunch, opening apps and playing songs she didn't pick. She prayed for the repose of the soul of the ghost, and it stopped.

So yeah. Ghosts are real.

[haik-choo]

karasuno boys as boyfriends

a/n: im just basically astral projecting myself into these situations; ALSO if you want more detailed ones, just ask, and you shall receive! (also this is my first post i’ve written on here! but if you want plenty of kpop content i’m @hyucksong where i’ve been writing and I am still active! :))

---

[KARASUNO BOYS AS BOYFRIENDS HEADCANNONS]

-tsukishima, yamaguchi, hinata, kageyama, tanaka, nishinoya, sugawara, daichi, and asahi

---

tsukishima kei.

the type to look you straight in your eyes when you ask for a hug and say “no, who do you think i am, your boyfriend?”

runs his hands through your hair from the front and then when his hand reaches the back of your head he pulls you into him and kisses you either on the forehead or the lips <3

in order to be in a relationship with him you HAVE to have the same type of humor.

i don’t think he could date someone who doesn’t make fun of people with him

you guys are like best friends who make fun of each other and. make out a little every once in a while

he’ll hold your hand and hug you in public but he will NEVER do anything else, especially not in front of the boys

he thinks the blush that ignites on your kissable cheeks should be for his eyes only

he gave you a keychain that had a cute little strawberry shortcake on it. and it’s your most prized possession 

will shoot a glare at anyone who watches you too closely. like no. don’t get googly eyed over MY girlfriend. 

and you don’t have a problem with that ;) 

yamaguchi tadashi.

he likes to watch you when you’re not looking to pick out the little habits you do

he thinks that knowing someone’s little hardly noticeable habits is one of the most intimate things on mother earth

he knows that you stir the milk in the bowl three times before you pour the cereal in to check for chunks because you accidentally drank spoiled milk when you were younger

NEVER has an issue getting you a gift for any occasion. he ALWAYS knows what you’re looking at and what you want and you lowkey think he can read your mind but in reality he just pays attention <3

you’re either just as shy as him to bring out his more assertive side or more assertive than he is to bring out his more timid side -- both are good

kisses you on the forehead and holds your hand in public -- he loves PDA because he can show you off :’)

yes. he kisses the back of your nape in public. so what. 

YES. HE CLOSES HIS EYES WHEN HE DOES IT AND ACCIDENTALLY INHALES YOUR SCENT AND WHISPERS IN YOUR EAR THAT YOU SMELL GOOD. IDC IF YOU THINK THAT’S CREEPY. IT’S CUTE. YES. HE GIVES YOU THAT LOOK THAT SAYS HE’S CRAZILY IN LOVE WITH YOU. SO WHAT.

kageyama tobio.

he probably fell in love with you because you were just as passionate about something else as he is about volleyball; music, drawing, writing, math, science, reading -- whatever

i see this relationship as being one that’s like...accelerated friends. like,,, you act like him and hinata except you kiss sometimes and he can see you at the end of the wedding aisle

DEFINITELY reads cosmopolitans once you start dating because he wants to be a good boyfriend for you <3

PDA is literally little to NONe,,, not because he doesn’t like it...it’s just because he doesn’t realize that he’s not showing you affection lololol

like in one arm he has his athletic duffel bag and the other he has a volleyball

he doesn’t mean to neglect you he just does AGAGAG

realized he liked you when he thought about you when he was drinking his milk and mindlessly bought you one too

the first time y’all kissed. he literally stared at you so intensely for a SOLID ten minutes debating in his head whether or not he should just go for it or wait or just smash his face into yours and hope your lips connect

he chose to cross his fingers and ended up smashing his forehead and nose into yours 

it was cute tho <3

hinata shoyo.

YALL HAVE DATES WHERE YOU BABYSIT HIS SISTER. WTF SO CUTE

when yall cuddle and you’re the little spoon he likes to put his head on your shoulder/between your neck and watch as you scroll through tiktok or instagram and just mindlessly talk about his day 

the type of boyfriend where neither of you can cook and you both confusedly look at recipes on google like: ????? wtf is the difference between brown sugar and regular sugar

it’s his INSTINCT to hold your hand. no matter what. his hand just...gravitates to yous.

AND HIS LIPS JUST FIND YOUR CHEEK??? like it’s so natural to him to kiss your cheek when he sees you, even in public. it’s so adorable i--

THE TYPE OF GUY TO WIPE OFF FOOD FROM THE CORNER OF YOUR MOUTH AND STILL EAT IT AND SAY “you taste good!~” AND NOT EVEN REALIZE WHAT HE SAID. BUT WHEN YOU DO IT TO HIM HE BLOWS A FUSE

he loves to tickle you. like you’ll be vibing, drinking whatever you drink in the morning and he’ll come up to you all casually and kiss you cheek...and then he’ll pounce 

he holds you close to his chest when he tickles you, partally because he likes feeling your laugh vibrate on his chest, and partially because it’s easier to not get tickled if he’s right behind you

his sister LOVes you and it just. makes him so happy

tanaka ryuunosuke.

you CANNOT remove his hand from your ass. it is permanently glued there. it is attached to you. yes, even in public.

number 1 hypeman! he will always support you, no matter what! you could be in a competition to raise the biggest beetle and he’ll be there rooting you on and staying up late with you as you rear your award-winning beetle

you two lay next to each other on the couch/on his bed and he’ll have his arm around you and you’ll lay your head on his chest as you watch netflix shows

YOU, NISHINOYA, AND TANAKA? UNSTOPPABLE TRIO. POWER TRIPLET. 

i don’t imagine him being shy when he first kisses you; the first time he kissed you, you were literally just. existing and he literally just...couldn’t hold it in...and he just went for it

literally CATAPULTS himself into you and kisses you senseless

yes you and saeko are besties she gives you ALL the tea about young tanaka

the type to take off his shirt more during practice if you’re there watching, and literally BURN red if you mention anything about his muscles

you once traced a vein in his arm and commented on how hot it was and he literally short-circuited 

kiss his biceps. kiss his abs. kiss his cheek. please. it’s all he wants. he’s touch-starved

nishinoya yuu.

SUCH an excited boyfriend

like he seriously gets so hype doing ANYTHING with you pleaSE give this man an award. you’ll be at the amusement park and the line to get into a ride will be three hours and he’ll be like

“I get to spend three hours with you?!! fucking sick! absolutely radical!” 

he’s bold in public, but only because he wants to rub you in his teammates faces, but his ears will be Red

at home, he’s calmer :) he just loves to spend time with you, even if you’re sitting on a bench watching him practice receives for five hours straight in the blazing sun. 

he just treasures your time so much, you treats you like a precious gem -- he will NEVER treat you wrong. deadass has no problem admitting when he’s wrong -- but if he thinks he’s right then he WILL stand his ground

he’s a passionate man, who loves just as passionately.

his favorite time to kiss you is after you’ve taken a sip of a soda because he likes the taste of the syrup and the burn of the carbonation, but most of all because he likes the taste of your lips in combination with all of them

NIPS AT YOUR EAR. DEADASS JUST LOOKS AT YOU BRUSH A PIECE OF HAIR BACK WHEN YOU’RE DOING HOMEWORK AND IS LIKE “free real estate” AND C H O MPS

the day nishinoya told everyone yall were dating, kiyoko stopped you in the hallway and deadass got on her knees and thanked you LITERALLY she was like “i’ll buy you anything. give the word and it’ll be yours.” 

sugawara koushi.

would kiss you on the first date. deadass. he’ll just drop you off at your doorstep and you’re still high on adrenaline, and you’re lowkey hoping he’ll kiss you and you get  little disappointed when he doesn’t and then when you least expect it. bam. his lips on yours

his smell oh god, he literally smells like fresh sugar cookies. it’s like as soon as you get anywhere near him his smell just invades you nose and. you’re powerless. you just wanna hug him

never smells bad. try me, bitch. NEVER.

his hugs are literally god’s gifts. he loves hugging you. he just completely envelopes you with his pretty setter arms and his smell takes up all the space in your head and nothing else exists for that moment, just you two

loves tucking your hair behind your ears or just moving it out of your face; doing homework and your bangs are in the way? not for long because he’ll clip them up for you <3

he’s pretty mischievous and will playfully put his hand next to your head and lean down with such a HOT look in his eyes 

and he’ll say some shit like “i wanna devour you” and then he’ll laugh afterwards and give you a kiss on the forehead and you’re standing there. like -.- o.o -.- o.o

whenever he feels insecure about his position on the team, you’re always there to comfort him and he’ll just lay between your legs and rest his face on your stomach as you comb your fingers through his hair and scroll through tiktok

PDA? yes please. uh huh. mhmm. he doesn’t care who sees his love for you he just wants to love on you baby. kisses you on the lips, no problemo

daichi sawamura.

you and suga are the only ones who can scare him when yall are mad lol

boyfriend where you’ve dated for like a year but it feel like 50 have already passed. in a good way!

this relationship is so ungodly domestic. like from the first day it’s just pure comfort and he’s like your rock and you’re his anchor

you two bicker a lot but it’s lighthearted and you just feel so secure with him that poking fun at him and at yourself is just natural

daichi. gives. god. hugs. he does. it’s fact. 

his arms are just so big and he has so much body warmth and he probably smells like some bullshit cologne like “smoldering woods” and it’s just so. daichi

you two spend the night at each other’s house so often it’s like you already live with each other and people always forget that you don’t lolol

totally sleeps with his shirt off and only with underwear. isn’t awkward about it either;  when he wakes up he puts on sweats but still remains topless (not that you’re complaining)

you two are like. the strict parental couple, when you walk together whether it be down the street or in the hallways, you just look so right for each other it’s. mind blowing

doesn’t mind kissing you a little in public but really thinks that stuff should be for private; so normally he just kisses your temple and always has an arm either around your shoulder or around your waist

WHEN THE TEAM SEES YOU KISS ON THE LIPS THEY GO “EW” EVEN SUGA AND ASAHI AFIEFHEWIF

asahi azumane.

literal fucking teddy bear. god please cuddle him. please kith him. please comb through his hair with your fingers and kiss his nape and kiss the back of his head. please i beg of you.

did NOT ask you out first. he wrote love letter to you and then waiting behind the gym because he thought being near the volleyball gym would give him some luck and them you got in front of him and he was. deer in the headlights

needless to say you asked him out and kissed his cheek. he DIED

even once yall are comfortable in the relationship he still needs reassurance every once in a while because he’s a little insecure, not that you’ll leave him for someone else, but that he’s not good enough

his PDA skill are. subpar. he usually just holds your hand and that’s it, but sometimes kisses the corner of your eye or nose and you just combust

OH RIOGEH TOTALLY DOES BUTTERFLY AND BUNNY KISSES. YES GOD YESSSSS

when yall cuddle he doesn’t like spooning. he likes to be able to see your face and the expressions you make, so doesn’t like being the little or big spoon; yall face each other and just lets your head lay on his arm even tho it’s numb. im: soft

kisses are so sweet, slow, and hesitant. he doesn’t really kiss you often because he has terrible timing but...when he does it’s like the whole world just becomes still in that moment and nothing matters but his hands on your waist and yours in his hair 

[howlinchickhowl]

Hey Howl! As someone who knows things about coffee, do you think you could make me like it? Because I now dream of going to cute little coffee shops but cups of hot water and prepackaged tea bags aren't worth it😭

Also I love seeing you round here and look forward to more of your writing💖

Arrow! Thank you for dropping by, I am so happy any time I get to be around for a little bit! I was just saying to Jessie today, I love that the world is opening back up and we are getting to go out and do our fun things and see our friends and stuff again, but I do resent that doing those things eats into my hanging out on tumblr time! I love being here and seeing all the pals and it's my favourite thing to just be here and do interactions with everyone. Thank you for facilitating me in that regard on this fine evening! Now, as for coffee. Under a cut because I wrote you a whole damn essay and I don't even know if that was a real question, so, feel free to not read any of the rest of this 😆

An interesting prospect, can I make you like coffee? Well, I don't know what you dislike about coffee so I'm not sure I'll hit a winner on the first go, but I can tell you how I came to like coffee, and the reasons I like it now. Because growing up I did not care for it.

My dad drank coffee fairly exclusively and the smell of it around the house, in the dishwasher and on our spoons and on his clothes and in the car on long trips where we'd have a flask of coffee and a flask of tea, I could not abide. And sometimes when I smell instant coffee in particular situations, my reaction to the sense memory of it is not positive.

But when I had my first boyfriend and we were doing cute things like going out to restaurants as grown ups, I started getting a double espresso with my dessert, because I thought that was a cool and sophisticated thing to do. And you know, the difference between a cup of hastily made instant Nescafe Gold Blend, and a double espresso with a half teaspoon of brown sugar stirred in enjoyed with ice cream or a brownie or a crème brulée, is so astronomical you wouldn't believe. I loved it. So for a few years I only drank coffee in restaurants, after dinner, with dessert.

And then I went to Italy on vacation with my best friend's family, and the villa we stayed in had a stovetop mokkapot, a Bialetti type thing, and I fell in love with the process of making the coffee. And that really became the thing that drew me down the coffee loving path. I'm a tea drinker, generally, 98% of the time I'm having a hot drink it is tea, tea is my fuel, my fire, my comfort. Coffee (made at home, at least) is much more of a meditative practice, I love the way it is made. I enjoy filling my little steamer and clicking the stove on and listening to it bubble through, heating milk in this little copper gravy jug I took from my uncle's house before we sold it. I love setting up the french press and then pushing the plunger and feeling the resistance and pouring from a height. I love my small ceramic coffee mugs that I would never drink tea out of (not enough tea) but that are perfect for coffee. It is soothing to me. And of course I do enjoy to buy a coffee from a place and walk around like a cool girl with my coffee cup in my hand looking busy and under caffeinated like any self-respecting lorelai gilmore fan would, but that stuff varies from place to place, and nothing compares to coffee made at home. So if you want to like coffee, I suggest first of all, don't try to like instant. I don't even know if you guys really have instant coffee? But it's not the one. Second I would suggest, if you're going to the cute little coffee shop, try it with a flavour you know you like. A Mocha? Or Hazelnut latte? Something to temper the strength of the flavour while you acquire it. And then third, if you're planning on staying at the coffee shop a while to write and do cute things, maybe don't have more than one espresso drink, as a few of those can really give you the jitters, and a small batch drip coffee if you can get it, or even a pourover is much more of a sustainable choice ✌️.

[trashyswitch]

Janus and Patton's Vintage Tea Party

Janus set up a vintage tea party and decided to invite Patton since they still needed to get to know each other. The tea party turns out less traditional, and more fun! Like a party's supposed to be.

I hope you enjoy! This was an idea that came in mind when I was listening to vintage music.

For @kennabelee

It was a day that filled the ground with buckets and buckets of rain. The rain just refused to stop, forcing everyone to be stuck inside. Most of the sides were bored. Even Patton was growing bored! And Patton LOVED the rain! The only one that hadn’t been bored for a second and actually loved the rain, was Janus.

Janus had been trying on old fashioned dresses and outfits. But his favorite dress was the long, black dress he was currently wearing with a large hat, a shawl and a pair of high heels. He looked perfect and very formal and prideful! He was even gonna tell the truth: he looked really good! And he even felt like dancing!

Not only that, but Janus invited Patton to come over in his nice attire so they could dance together if they so pleased! And no person in their right passes up an opportunity to dance!

And Patton would never pass up an opportunity like this! Patton was ready at the door with a navy suit, a light blue shirt underneath and a cute little kitten bowtie! Even though he swayed away from the ‘old fashioned’ aspect a little, he most definitely looked cute as a button!

Patton walked to Janus’s room with a bouquet of pretty red lilies. He knocked on the door and was greeted by the gorgeous sight of Janus in his dress. “Good morning Patton, and welcome to my humble abode.” Janus greeted.

Patton giggled. “Thank you!” Patton was welcomed in. “I brought you flowers!” Patton told him, showing him the lilies.

“My goodness they’re very pretty.” Janus reacted genuinely. “Red lilies!”

Patton smiled. “They’re actually called “Janus’s”, if you would believe!” Patton told him. “They’re a hybrid of Asiatic Lilies, and Chimera’s!” Patton explained.

Janus widened his eyes. “Janus’s?” He asked, taking them from him gently. “I was unaware there were flowers named after me.” He admitted. “Thank you so much, Patton. I shall put them into a vase.” Janus said as he grabbed a vase from the china cabinet. “Make yourself at home, my friend. Me casa es su casa.” Janus told him, speaking a little spanish.

Patton smiled and looked around the room. Wow! The room was spectacularly...Victorian era!

“Oh...I didn’t exactly dress Victorian…” Patton admitted.

“Blueberry bun, your outfit suits you perfectly. Putting yourself down however, doesn’t suit you in the slightest.” Janus ordered him calmly.

Patton widened his eyes and blushed a little. “I...thank you.”

Janus picked up a teacup. “Tea? Or coffee?” Janus asked.

“Coffee!” Patton sat down and started gently kicking in his chair.

Janus giggled at this and poured him a cup of coffee. Patton put in the cream and ample amounts of sugar, before drinking it. “Mmmmm! Coffee!” Patton reacted.

Janus chuckled. “Coffee? More like sugar milk.” Janus teased.

“Oh hush, mr. Dark-Roast.” Patton teased with a smirk.

Janus smirked. “I see you brought more than just your giggles to the tea party.” Janus teased.

Patton giggled and nodded. “Of course I did! I brought the whoooole package~” Patton joked.

Janus wheezed and leaned over. He bursted out laughing, completely losing his calm composure, and covered his mouth with his fist.

Patton smiled and drank his coffee, feeling quite proud of himself.

Janus turned on some vintage music and offered Patton his hand. “Care to dance?” Janus asked.

Patton nodded and grabbed it. “Of course!”

Patton and Janus started to dance together, swaying and moving to the 40’s and 50’s music that played in the background. It felt so nice! It wasn’t too soothing that it could put you to sleep, but it wasn’t too quick that slow dancing wasn’t possible. It was just the right tempo. It was the perfect dancing music for a tea party.

Patton was holding onto Janus’s hip with one hand, and holding onto Janus’s hand with the other. Janus’s left hand was intertwined with Patton’s, while his other hand was holding onto Patton’s shoulder. The music was slow with the violin mostly holding the tune while the voice sang its melody.

Suddenly a bunch of jazzy trumpets and saxophones started playing a quick tune!

Janus groaned and mentally cursed at the computer that the music was coming from, while Patton laughed and giggled at the sudden change of pace. Feeling all groovy and ready to swing, Patton started showing off his charleston dance! “Look, Janus! I learned the Charleston just for this dance!” Patton declared.

Janus giggled and joined in. He started doing the duet parts of the Charleston with him, which made it even better! Patton squealed and whooed through the whole thing, expressing all his excitement!

“Not bad, not bad Patton!” Janus reacted.

“Thank you Jay Jay!” Patton replied.

“Don’t call me Jay Jay.” Janus ordered calmly.

“Okay...Jay jay.” Patton teased.

Janus sighed as he lifted Patton up and gave his sides a quick squeeze. “Patton squealed at the squeeze and lifted his knees up to his chest. “HEhehey! That tickles, Jay!” Patton giggled.

Janus squeezed his side again, earning another squeal. “Keep calling me Jay or Jay Jay, and I might just keep tickling you.” Janus warned.

Patton smirked and started poking his side. “You wouldn’t, would you? Would you really, Jay Jay? Huh? Huh? Huh huh huh?” Patton kept going.

Janus finally lifted Patton into his arms and started skittering and squeezing all over his belly and sides. “No, I totally wouldn’t!”

Patton bursted out laughing and squirmed in his arms. “NAHAHAHAHA! JAHAHAHAY- JAHAHAHAN!” Patton laughed.

“Ooooh! You just LOOOVE cruisin’ for a bruisin’, huh?” Janus teased before blowing a raspberry on his neck.

Patton bursted out in fits of cackles as the music started changing to something different.

“Now: Are you done being a wet rag?” Janus asked as he dipped him. “Cause I can do this aaaaall night.” Janus added.

In response to that: Patton poked right near his belly button. “Nope!”

Janus jumped and just about dropped Patton. “oOHOHOHOHO! That was close!” Patton reacted.

Janus narrowed his eyes at Patton as he gave him an evil, playful smirk. He started clawing at Patton’s belly while Patton was still dipped in his arm. Patton bursted out laughing and squirmed around in Janus’s arm. “EEEEHEHEHEHEHEHEHE! NUUUHUHUHUHUHU!”

“Nooooo what? No more tickle tickle tickles? But why? I think you waaaant them!” Janus teased. “Am I right? Or am I right?” Janus asked.

Patton snorted and covered his mouth. “MM MM! MMMMM-HMHMHMHMHM!” Patton hummed cutely into his hand.

“Ooooh! What’s so delicious? Are you hungry for le chocolat gateau avec le creme chocolat?” Janus asked, speaking french while spinning the curly mustache he lacked.

Patton laughed at his cute little sense of humor and nodded. “Okay!”

Janus lifted the boy up, placed him into a chair and grabbed the cake from the fridge while the music continued to play. “I am very happy to announce that I managed to nail the recipe on the second try.” Janus told him as he placed the cake holder into the middle of the table.

WHOA...the cake made Patton’s mouth water within the first glance! The cake looked delicious! And it had strawberries on top, which added to the light brown color!

‘Mmmmm! Gimme some of that!’ Patton thought.

Janus sawed a clean cut into the cake and lifted it out. Gosh, even the inner spongy cake looked scrumptious! Janus had placed the cake onto its side on the plate, when he looked up and snickered at Patton’s face. His mouth was open, and drooling like a tap from the look of the cake. “Now now…” Janus handed him a napkin. “That’s not very manly of you~” Janus teased.

Patton closed his mouth and took the napkin. “Sorry. It just looks…” Patton’s mouth opened as his eyes dilated like a cat’s eyes. “-Delicious.” Patton said in a mesmerized voice.

Janus giggled and handed him the cake piece and picked up some access cream with his fork. “Open wide~”

Patton nodded and allowed Janus to put the cream into his mouth. Patton hummed and just about melted into a puddle from pure happiness. The taste was even better than it looked! HOW?! How was Janus able to pull this off so well?! Patton hummed and smiled brightly. “That cream is so good!”

Janus smiled proudly. “Thank you! Telling by your reaction, I think I may have a piece of cake myself.” Janus decided. Janus cut himself some chocolate gateau and placed it onto a floral glass dessert plate. Janus grabbed a dessert fork, picked up some cake and cream, and put it into his own mouth.

WHOA...He didn’t expect that much sweetness! It tasted amazing but...It was so rich! Almost sickeningly rich!

But Janus took one look at Patton and just about choked on his cake. “Pahahahat! You have cream everywhere!” Janus reacted.

Patton looked up, revealing his coated chin and jaw. “Huh?”

Janus wheezed at this and handed him a napkin. “Good heavens…”

Patton stuck his crumb-covered tongue out and cleaned his face off. “Heaven is definitely a word to describe this cake!” Patton declared.

Janus smiled and picked up Patton. “Would you describe this as heavenly too?” Janus laid Patton onto the bed and started squeezing and tickling his ribs. “Tickle tickle tickle tickle tickle!”

Patton giggled and snorted as he squirmed in his grip. “HEEhehehHEHEhehehe! AHAHAHA- YEHEHehehehess! Tihihihickles are heheavenlyyyyYYY!” Patton declared.

Janus smiled brightly. “Awwww, that’s so cute!” Janus stopped for a moment. “No wonder everyone loves you. They can’t take their thoughts off your cuteness!” Janus added.

Patton giggled into his own hands. He wrapped his hands around Janus’s neck...he leaned in and…

Blew a BIG raspberry onto his neck! “PAYBACK!”

Janus squealed and tried to back up out of his grip. But Patton only followed him and wrapped his hands around his belly. “I’m gonna do it! IIIIII’m gonna do it!” Patton teased.

“No! NO! Anywhere but there!” Janus begged.

“Too baaaad~” Patton singsonged as he leaned in. He blew a few short little raspberries onto Janus’s belly and took in another deep breath.

“AAAH! Pahahahahahahaha! Wahahait- NO! NOT ANOTHER!” Janus begged.

Patton ignored his pleas and blew about a dozen separate raspberries all over Janus’s belly. “A tickle tickle tickle tickle tickle! Jay Jay!” Patton teased, using the same teasing method that got the tickle fight started in the first place.

“Are you asking to be wrecked?” Janus asked.

Patton looked away with a huge smile on his face. “Mmmmmaaaaaaybe~”

Janus didn’t waste a second. He picked up Patton by his waist, lifted him up, and started squeezing his sides as he was lifted.

Instinctually, Patton started squirming around. But Janus stopped his tickle attack. “I have a challenge for you:” Janus grabbed his waist and started swaying back and forth with Patton’s back against his chest. “If you cover up the fact that I’m tickling you while we’re dancing,” Janus gave his sides a squeeze, making Patton jump before continuing, “Then I’ll give you another piece of chocolate gateau.” Janus offered.

Patton widened his eyes and smiled triumphantly. He was surely up for a challenge! “Bring it on, Janus!”

Janus smiled at this reaction and turned on some more slow dancing vintage music. Patton swayed with Janus, feeling calm and content, yet adrenaline-filled as he knew, Janus could strike at any moment.

As the chorus started, Janus dug his finger into his hip. Patton squealed and doubled over instinctively, but got right back up. For the cake, for the cake, for the cake!

Janus lifted Patton up once, and didn’t tickle him at all. As he danced, Patton would fall into a mesmerizing rhythm. But his focus would be paused by Janus’s surprise squeezes and surprise tickles. There was just no getting into a rhythm with this guy!

Patton would giggle and jump, but he would never squirm around for fear of losing his privilege of cake. He was gonna do anything for that cake. Even suppress his need to laugh loudly.

Janus had the ultimate upper hand. He was the one that could decide when Patton would be tickled and when Patton would be given breaks. It was great for Janus and almost torturous for Patton. But boy, did Patton love the feeling of not knowing! It exhilarated him! Kept him going!

Patton squealed as Janus squeezed his sides one last time. And when the song ended…

Janus dipped Patton and blew a raspberry onto his belly as a grand finale.

Patton bursted out in cackles and finally allowed himself to squirm and wiggle himself about. He had finally made it and this was the last one. He minus well let it all out!

Janus finally stopped and poured Patton a glass of water from a pitcher. Patton slowly got himself up and walked to the table, where Janus placed the glass of water at Patton’s side of the table. “There you go. Drink up Patton.” Janus ordered softly.

Patton nodded and took the glass. “Thank you!”

“And for your participation in the silliness:” Janus handed him a precut piece of chocolate gateau. “Another slice of cake. You are getting utterly spoiled by Ms. Janny over here.” Janus said.

Patton giggled and clapped his hands before taking the cake. “Thank you!” Patton started digging into the cake almost immediately…

Not without giving Janus a kiss on the cheek. “Thank you so much Janus!” Patton told him. “Welcome to the loved sides!”

Janus smiled. “It’s awful already.” Janus said, smiling to show he was joking around.

Patton chuckled at that. Yes...certainly so awful.

[eldridgecandell]

Send in 👁‍🗨 for my Muse’s First Impression Of Yours (Eryis)

The  Idyllia was always busy now, with an influx of travelers of the other realms (alive and dead) it seemed the broker run cantina was finally back to normal.  Thrumming with the power of anima, the energy based proprietors of the tavern flitted among the tables as they dished out food and drinks to the passersby of the great city of Oribios.  The dimly lit blue lights of the transdimensional beings was a more grounded pair of beings though neither seemed out of place now  in the grand city of the afterlife. 

“Tea?”  Came the grim voice of the witch hunter, Eldridge Candell, his blue eyes weary but hands firm and strong in the face of his time beyond the veil.  The colors of the Order of Embers still showed, worn but still in repair though bits of his armor had been replaced to the aesthetics of the faewilds in Ardenweald.

“Please,” the airy musical reply slipped forth so easily to mingle in this waystation of death, the bright blue of Eyris Dawnbreaker’s eyes matching to the energy of the busy brokers.  Dressed simply for the elven life within Quelthalas, the Sin’dorei still managed to stand out among the eclectic patrons of the cantina.

Eld rose from his spot, pouring the tea with practiced ease.  Steam rose in the wake of his gentle pour announcing the light brown liquid that fell into a pair of fine phaedrum cups, each swirling with purples and oranges from the anima all around them.  The inquisitor lowered the tea pot down before bringing forward a small sugar bowl.  “Sugar?”

“Honey?”

“I’m afraid bees are in short supply beyond the veil, Madam Dawnbreaker,” Eld brought the bowl back and offered the milk to her instead to which she politely refused as well.  The witch hunter sat down as well with creak of his stool, raising his cup to the elf who in turn did the same before they both basked in the warmth of the drink.

“I’m surprised tea is so readily available here,” Eryis question as she let her tea cup rest on the fine silk of the table cloth.  Her finger idly ran along the threads as she marveled the suppleness of the fabric, the very threads seemed to come to life from her touch.

The witch hunter nodded softly as he set his own cup down.  “Indeed, it seems that there is one universal truth beyond death.  A good cup of tea is never an impossibility.”

Eyris nodded again as she folded her hands on the tablecloth and drank in the older human.  She had been apprehensive about meeting a human like this but the request had been surprisingly well written and polite, especially for a member of the Alliance.  The dark browns and symbol of this so called Order of Embers was not unknown to her and she had heard their war was less with the Horde and more with the very darkness that crept in those Kul Tiran highlands.  Now she was taking tea with an inquisitor and waiting for what he had to show.  He wasn’t ugly by any means, but he looked like a man of war and bore both the scars outside and inside.  They were not unfamiliar.  

“Shall we get down to business, Inquisitor Candell.”

“I understand, Madam Dawnbreaker that you are quite familiar with the workings of the fel,” Eld spoke softly as he leaned to one side and began to rummage through a pack beneath the table.  Eyris grimaced hearing him speak of her own wound that she had worked so hard to be rid of, she didn’t particularly like how this had turned so quickly to such a touchy business.

“The last I had checked, fel magic isn’t exactly the style of the times here within the Shadowlands.”

Eld nodded softly as he pulled a cloth wrapped item up to the table, setting it down to gently before pushing the tea set to the side piece by piece.  Eyris’s eyes looked at  the mysterious item and followed them back up to the witch hunter as her curiosity began to sate her aggravation.  Eld had finished with the cutlery and now was setting the dark cloth wrapped item between them, his calm face grimmer now as he pulled his hands back.

“No, it is not,” Eld answered, folding his hands before him as he lifted his eyes to watch the curious magi regard his parcel.  “But there is a magic that is growing in strength within the Ardenweald which is likely known to you but perhaps not as experienced with.”

“So why come to me?”

“Because I hope that you might be able to help me in figuring a counter measure or way of reversing the power of this magic,” Eld spoke softly before reaching to pull back the cloth to reveal a wooden mask.  Twisted and warped, the strange item was a darken ash color as stretching limbs of a horned tree set above it’s wide brow much unto like a stag.  The grotesque item wound about itself and despite it’s darkened eye sockets a sinister thrum of dark energy would radiate from staring at it for too long.  A pull of need and dark promises, whispers of a power beyond life that only need be touched to full experience and use as to one’s heart.  Or rather the will of the Gorak.

Eyris knew these promises well, and they did not end well.

“You’re brave to carry that,” Eyris said softly as she eyed the wooden fetish.

Eld nodded softly as he pulled the cloth back over the soulless gaze and eyed the magister again as he folded his hands before him again.  “Brave isn’t in my wheelhouse.  I do what I must and get the job done.”

“And what job involves such a dark item?” Eyris asked again as she looked into the blue eyes of the inquisitor.

“The kind that breaks this curse,” Eld replied as he stared back at her.

Eyris let out a slow sigh from her nose, lifting her tea again to take a short sip of the near cold tea.  Her face placid as she swallowed and nodded.  “How can I be of assistance?”

“I thought you’d never ask.”  Eld found himself breaking into a weak smile as he began to pull out rolls of parchment and a few books. 

@felmage

[cup-of-teas]

All tea asks 😄😄😄😄☺️☺️☺️☺️

Okay! 😂 you should answer as well

earl grey: how do you take your tea? - It depends on the tea! But usually two spoonfuls of sugar and a glug of soy milk.

lady grey: favourite outfit? - I’m not sure! I usually wear skirts

black tea: where are you from? - California

irish breakfast: what country do you want to visit? - Ahh so many. The one I’d like to go to right now is England. However, the one I want to visit most is probably Japan. (But Japan is a very expensive trip).

turkish tea: where have you travelled? - ohh that may be a long list! I’ve visited the islands Maui, Kauai, O’ahu, Lanai, and the big island of Hawaii. I’ve been to New York, Pennsylvania, Oregon, Nevada, Arizona, and Utah. I’ve passed through New Jersey lol, but it was brief. And I’ve been to Vancouver, Canada!

white tea: occupation/career aspirations - Attorney

rooiboos: 3 facts about my family - I’ll try to pick interesting/fun ones. My great grandfather was a speechwriter for the last king of Korea. My mother and all my aunts have incorrect legal birthdays because my grandmother wasn’t sure of the months in English, so when she gave their birthdays apparently she just picked at random? My grandmother continued to have children until she had at a son, hence the 5 daughters and the 1 son. 

matcha: favourite book? - The Glass Castle

blooming tea: favourite flower? - Ohh I like lavender and roses

chamomile: comfort movie? - any Harry Potter movie

peppermint: what’s your favourite holiday and why? - Christmas, I love the holiday spirit that comes with it. 

milk: do you have any allergies? - No 

sugar: tell me about your first crush - I had a crush when I was 6 years old on a boy in my class. He had brown hair and glasses, not much to tell! Except, he dated a girl all throughout high school (She was really nice and I obviously didn’t like him anymore) and he cheated on her, soo he seems pretty trash. 

honey: type out the last text you sent - “Oh wait it arrives today technically since it’s already Wednesday lol” 

ginger: favourite colour(s)? - Cool colors, I like greys, blues, greens

green tea: where do you feel most at peace? - nature

bubble tea: what ride would you pick at an amusement park? - Something odd, like a fun house with the weird mirrors. 

mug: when/where do you normally drink tea? - At home and whenever, there’s no specific time.

teacup: last tea party? - Honestly like a week ago. It wasn’t really a party, but we all sat around and drank tea lol. 

teapot: music preference? - Alternative rock/alternative/indie

chai: what do you order at starbucks? - It depends on my mood!

oolong: ideal romantic partner? - understanding, nice, honest

darjeeling: a hobby? - Art

pu-erh: 3 random facts about myself - uhh I’ll just pick easy ones. I have quite a few ear piercings, I love swimming, and I’m double jointed.

herbal: post a selfie - ohh goodness, I’ll make a separate post for one later lol, this post is already so long.

coffee: surprise coffee ask! how do you take your coffee? - Black!

[yeetingmyfeeling]

A Rose Tattoo

Chapter Six

“Peter are you good to close the shop up?” Sirius asked his friend.

“Yes Padfoot, I am capable of doing it,” Peter said, rolling his eyes.

“Sorry,” Sirius rolled his eyes then turned to his customer. He was doing a large tattoo on someone's back. It was a blossom tree with a grave at the bottom. He was just doing an outline today.

Once he finished, he wrapped the girl up and booked her next appointment. He cleaned up his workstation then headed to the bathroom to clean up a little. 

He walked back out and did one last check to make sure everything was fine. He said goodbye to Alyce and Peter as he grabbed his stuff. He slid his jacket and helmet on, jumping on his bike to drive to the coffee shop, even though it wasn’t that far away. He parked his bike and walked in the shop.

“Sirius!” A voice called. “Good to see you,”

Sirius looked and saw Arthur weasley coming towards him, arms stretched. He is twenty-six. Taller than him, standing at five foot eleven. He was decently fit. Green eyes and straight ginger hair. He always wore a friendly smile. 

Sirius hugged his friend, the two giving a good pat on the back before pulling away.

“God Arthur, you have a job to do. Should you be hugging people?” A feminine voice inquired.

Molly Prewett, now Weasley, age twenty-five. Quite short, at five foot three. She is in the middle of losing weight after just having her third child. She has bright brown eyes with short red curly hair. Molly has a smile matching her husbands.

“Who’s looking after the boys?” Sirius asked.

“Frank and Alice are today,” Molly answered. “Would you like a sandwich? I’ve closed the kitchen but I can make you one. Arthur, make Sirius a coffee!”

“No no it’s okay,” Sirius shook his head. “I’m waiting for someone,”

“A date!”

“A date?” Arthur gasped. “Even I wouldn’t take my wife out on a simple coffee date looking like that,”

“Okay, that hurts a little,” Sirius mumbled. “But, it’s work related,” Molly just nodded with a smirk.

Sirius shook his head and went to go sit at his favourite table. It was one up against a window in the front corner of the shop. He pulled out his phone, going through his notifications. He sent a quick text to James, telling him to tell him everything when he gets home. 

 He heard the door open and locked up, guessing the person who just walked in was Remus, as the figure did start walking towards him. Sirius stood up and shoved his phone in his pocket. He looked at the person, who he really hoped was Remus.

He was tall, taller than Sirius. He was very skinny, almost unhealthily, but it suited his lankiness. He had very fluffy light brown hair, that would be great to run his hands through. His eyes were like brown puppy dog eyes, and he could see little flakes of green in them. He had a shy face, that just happened to have scars across it. That confused Sirius, but at a later date he will ask. The boy wore a dark brown sweater that stopped just before mid-thigh and went past his hands. Now that was cute, Sirius thought. Crazy for the heat, but cute. He also wore loose fitting blue jeans and black Doc Martens. He carried a worn out looking satchel. The way he stood was awkward, but just suited his body. Sirius hopped his personality was the same.

“You must be Sirius?” He asked. Oh, he had such a deep, rich voice, like caramel. “I’m Remus Lupin.”

“Yep! Sirius Black,” Sirius grinned, and they shook hands. Sirius sat back down where he was sitting, and Remus sat opposite of him. “Would you like anything to drink? It’s on me.”

“Oh no, that’s okay, I can pay for myself,” Remus smiled appreciatively. Oh, he’s a good boy.

Molly approached the two boys, a sticky notepad in one hand and a pen in the other. “What can I get you boys?”

“The usual, large long black with milk on the side please,” Sirius grinned. “And could I get a blueberry muffin, please?”

“Just an english breakfast tea please,” Remus asked. 

Molly wrote the orders with a nod then walked away. There was a quiet yell of “Hurry up Arthur! Stop reading the news, Sirius needs his coffee.”

Sirius chuckled quietly.

“Do you know them?” Remus asked curiously.

“Yeah,” Sirius confirmed. “Sort of through family, mainly just from getting my shop here,” Remus just nodded, listening.

 “So, what we came here for. As you know, I’m the owner of Black’s Tatt’s, and the place is just full of edgy stuff, and I just want something a little softer, also sometimes flowers can be inspiring, for customers planning a tattoo and us sketching them up. One of my workers just so happens to be in love with one of your workers. I had been thinking for a while about something to do with the shop, but when I found out Lily worked at a florist, that gave me an idea. Which is to get flowers in weekly.”

Sirius felt bad because he did just say a whole lot at once, but it is business so you sort of have to, and get straight to the point. Remus just sat there, looking at Sirius with his gently puppy dog eyes, and listening. 

“Uh, what do you think?” Sirius asked with an awkward chuckle.

Before Remus could reply, Arthur and Molly came over. Arthur put Sirius’ mug and milk jug down, and Molly put Remus’ tea and pot down. Molly went to the counter then came back with the blueberry muffin. “Enjoy,” She said and winked at Sirius before the couple walked away.

“Well, if you think it would be good for your shop, and help, then sure,” Remus spoke as he began pouring his tea, adding three sugars into it. Sirius was impressed. “But, flowers are expensive, especially every week. What kind of flowers are you thinking of?”

Sirius put his one sugar in his coffee and a dash of milk. “Say, two bunches that I can just put into vases on the counter? At least, that’s what I was thinking.”

Remus nodded. “Generally, depending on the flowers, they can cost up to twenty or thirty dollars, for one bunch,” Remus sipped his tea. “A you're a business, I’m sure I could take five or so off, which isn’t much but it’s something.”

Sirius grinned. “That all sounds perfect! When can I get the first bunch?”

Remus laughed. “When you order them,” He reached into his satchel and pulled out a notebook and handed it to Sirius. “Look through that.”

Sirius flipped through the book while they sat in silence, drinking their drinks. While Remus was talking, he did try hard, but he kept staring at the scars on his face. He noticed some on his hands, and saw a bandage peeking out from beneath his sweater. Maybe the soft boy is a fighter.

“How many weeks in advance do I need to order?” Sirius asked.

“You can just order for the next five weeks, and at the end of the fourth week order for the next five,” Remus answered. “We will be able to get some for you next week as I’m doing a late order,”

“Okay, well, I think I know the five ones I want,” Sirius said. Remus nodded and brought out his phone. “First week, Roses. Second, Apple Blossoms. Third, Statice’s. Fourth, Aster’s. And fifth, Cypress’.”

Remus typed this all in his phone, nodding after Sirius said each flower. He then put his phone down. “Alright, I will order those and the Rose’s will be in on Monday.”

“Do you do deliveries?” Sirius asked.

“Occasionally,” Remus offered. “Since you are just across the road, we can deliver them to you.”

“Great! Make sure it’s you delivering them please,” Sirius smiled. 

“Oh,” Remus blushed. Sirius silently cheered. “Okay.”

They continued drinking their drinks. Sirius almost forgot about his muffin. He cut it in half, and after figuring out which the larger piece was, offered the smaller one to Remus. Remus shook his head, but Sirius insisted, so Remus caved in.

“Could I have your number?” God, Sirius is so smooth today. “So it’s easier to contact?”

It seemed as if Remus was thinking very hard. He knows you don’t give out your personal number for customers, but Sirius is not going to be a regular customer. Remus nodded, and after unlocking his phone, handed it over to Sirius. Sirius put in his contact information then sent himself a text. He handed the phone back and grabbed out his own, replying to the text and saving Remus’ number.

Sirius smiled at the boy sitting across from him. Remus looked up, feeling a pair of eyes on him and looked at Sirius. He just smiled back awkwardly.

“I’ve gotta go,” Remus apologized. “Need to put in the order,” He drank the rest of his tea and finished his blueberry muffin.

“Oh, alright,” Sirius was mildly disappointed. “I’ll see you monday then with my delivery?” Remus nodded with a smile. “Also, Remus i’m paying.”

Remus looked like he was going to argue but didn’t. Probably a good thing. “Thank you, See you Monday,” He waved goodbye and quickly scurried out.

Sirius finished up and Mary came over to collect his plates. “He seems wonderful,”

“Doesn’t he?” Sirius asked rhetorically. “I wish I got to spend more time with him.”

“Well you were going to get kicked out anyway,” Molly shrugged. “Also, he left his notebook.”

Sirius looked down and the table and smiled. Remus’ notebook laid open on the table on the last flower Sirius had chosen. He picked it up and paid for the drinks, Molly said he was family and didn’t have to pay for the muffin. He got on his bike and drove home.

~~~

“Padfoot!” James yelled as soon as Sirius walked through the door. “Sirius fucking Black!! I did it! I asked Lily Evans out and did not get killed!”

Sirius closed the door behind him. “Okay, but did you get rejected?”

“No!” James laughed. “We are going on a date tomorrow night!”

Sirius will never admit it but he squealed like a girl, then proceeded to tackle hug his best friend. “You did it mate! You bloody did it!”

James accepted his fate of being pinned by Sirius. “I am so happy I could cry.”

“Don’t, you need to tell me what happened,”

“Right,”

The two sat up on the floor and James started telling his tale.

“So as you know we had history together. This time I decided to sit away from her because I was way too nervous. I could have shat myself. I had no idea what was going on in that history lesson, I think they were debating about a World War Three-”

“James I just want the important stuff,”

“Okay yeah. So after class, you showed up, and even though you said you didn’t have a class-”

“I have been asking this one professor for help and she said she had some free time,”

“So you practically threw the flowers at me, but they were fine. Lily walked out and I had to hide them behind me back. She was with a friend so that made this entire thing more awkward. But i went up to her and asked if I could talk to her for a moment, she just nodded and her friend stepped away. Then I told her how I felt,”

“How you loved her ever since you laid eyes on her?”

“No, shut up. I told her that I’ve liked her for some time now, and I knew that I tended to come off very strong but if she would consider going out on a date with me. She looked unsure and that was when I handed her the flowers, I was supposed to before but I forgot they were in my hands. Anyway, she looked so shocked and happy, I hope. Then she ended up saying yes.”

“Merlin prongs, you actually did it.”

“I know, I’m in shock. Literally, I think i’m dreaming. We are going for dinner at a pub tomorrow night.”

“You’ll do great mate,”

“You’re helping me,”

“I figured. But I got you, you are going to be such a sexy beast she will never be able to resist you.”

[jiminsfault]

50 questions tag

I got tagged by @yoongs-jeontae ! Thank you💖

What colors is your hairbrush? It’s like a brown-ish shimmery color? Idk o.o

What food would you never eat? I probably would never be able to eat the meat of rabbits or deers, sheep and that kind of stuff

Are you usually hot or cold? I’m always a cozy crispy amount of warmth under my blanket. But when I’m outside I go from both extremes because I’m super sensitive so, spring/summer: always hot, autumn/winter: always cold. There is no inbetween

What did you do 45 minutes ago? I was in an online class and got math tutoring🤠 it was horrible thanks for asking my brain is fried

Favorite chocolate? The really dark kind. It’s the only chocolate I’ll ever really crave. I can bear milk chocolate if I have to

Have you ever been to a professional sports event? I hAve actually omg! It was a handball game and super boring, I didn’t know whats going on ever and only clapped when everyone else did🤡 (I was forced by my ex to tag along I absolutely hate sports)

What was the last thing you said out loud? “Oh my god, that was horrible” right after I ended the call with my teacher skckjs

Favorite ice cream flavor? Brownie fudge? Is that what it’s called? The chocolate ice cream with brownie pieces in it, it’s so fUcking gOOD sorry for cursing it’s necessary

What was the last thing you drank? Some nice crispy wAter

What kind of wallet do you have? A small black one because I didn’t think about practicality when buying it. Currently looking for a bigger one.

What was the last thing you ate? I actually have no clue if that’s the english word for it but kebab? IT’S DÖNER IN GERMAN

Did you buy clothes last weekend? I haven’t bought clothes in months actually omg

What was the last sports event you saw? I watched the soccer game that’s like a really big thing back in 2018 🤠🤠

Who was the last person you texted? My mom cus she’s out buying groceries and asked me what kind of ice cream I want kekdjejd

Do you like camping? I despise camping with my entire being. When I was little my mom always forced me to go on 500 camping trips a year and I feel the biggest rage in me when I think about all the bugs and uncomfortable nights I- will not continue talking about this now.

Do you eat vitamins? No, like not at all. Not one vitamin has entered my body in a few weeks. I used to have these tablets that disappear in water but I stopped drinking that because I only take them bc of my muscles and currently I’m not leaving the house so,,, don’t need them >:)

When was the last time you traveled? The last time I full on traveled like outside of the country was in 2018 when my class went to italy because of our graduation 🤠 trauma

Do you like sunbathing? I can’t really answer that because if I sunbathe I will burn. Like literally I’m getting a sunburn just from walking to the train on a sunny day if I don’t have the strongest suncream on??? My skin is very🤡 so yeah idk if I like it? Never tried

Asian or Italian food? Asian food absolutely. I’m not sure about italian food because I just don’t know anything about italian kitchen but I dO knOw that theres so much variety with asian food? And so far I’ve loved every asian dish I’ve tried so,,

Do you drink soda? Nope. I stopped drinking soda four years ago I think because my skin was sO bad and I gained weight so quickly without eating a lot so I stopped drinking soda and tada! Barely getting pimples now😎 also it’s just tastier like my mouth doesn’t stick anymore and I don’t literally feel the sugar on my teeth?? (Although I do sometimes sip on a bit of coke but only on special occasions)

What color socks are you wearing now? White with a very,, aqua? blue stripe? And the name of the brand in the same color🤠 fashion

When was the last time you were speeding? I don’t drive🤡😔

What are you afraid of? Everything pretty much. Commitment, people leaving me, talking to people, failing, succeeding, should I continue?

What can you see if you turn left? A lot? It’s inside my room (my bed is in the right corner) but first thing would be my switch cus she laying next to me

What kind of housework you like the least? I actually love housework? At least the things that I do. Like I never mow the lawn because that’s not my job yknow? But I like emptying and filling the dish washer, cleaning pans in the sink, doing the laundry, wiping the floor. Maybe I should become a maid?

What is the first thing you think of when you hear someone talking in a language you don’t know? I try to hear what language it is, like I try guessing at least. Of course I don’t know what every language sounds like but it’s a fun little game I have for myself when I’m bored in public transpo

Do you sleep on your back or side? On my right side towards the wall. At least at night, when I take a nap I sleep on my left side towards the room. Idk why pls don’t ask me, I can’t fall asleep otherwise.

You crave fast food, where do you go? So around where I live there aren’t a lot of options? Also in germany in general we don’t have the fast food fest that america has, so I always go for either Mcdonald’s or Subway.

What is your lucky number? 5. I don’t know when it became my favorite/lucky number but somehow at some point in time it’s become the number I always use when someone wants me to guess or answer a question, I use it for picking things and all that🤡🤠 maybe it’s because it sounds rly funny in german

Who was the last person you talked to? In person my mom cus she’s the only one I see nowadays. On the phone would be two of my friends and I also talked to my tutoring teacher through discord so? Pick👁👁

Do you eat meat? I would say no if I wouldn’t sometimes do slip some meat in. It’s very rare and a small amount when I do. Idk how this developed because I used to eat meat multiple times a week but at some point I started only eating chicken and only in smaller amounts and sometimes not even once in two weeks. I eat fish tho? Does that count?

What was the last song you listened to? “Love without tragedy/mother mary” by rihanna because I was feeling the 10’s last night at 5am🤠

Last book? I actually just tried to find the english title of it but I can’t find any sign of it being translated so,, “der Totenzeichner” by Veit Etzold. I read this book twice, once in 9th grade and once just recently and I will not get enough of it. Another one of his books “Final cut” is laying on my bedside table waiting for me to start it. He’s an iconic author.

What is your favourite day of the week? If we were speaking from when it’s a regular routine and I would go to uni, I’d say Monday. I know I sound like a psycho but saying friday or saturday is my favorite day is basic because obviously everyone loves the weekend. Monday is a great day usually because my day starts in third period and does still go 6 classes like regular days but it feels nice to go into uni later in the day so I always appreciate it. (Tho saturday do be hitting different)

Do you know the alphabet song backwards? I don’t even know it forwards 🤡😔

Favorite coffee/tea? I don’t drink coffee but my favorite tea is probably fennel tea, everyone I know hates it, especially without sugar but I love it :(

Favourite shoes? From the ones I personally own I’d say my nike zoom 2ks because they look good and are super comfortable. Shoes that I wish I would have would be Dr. Martens but I’m pOor🤡 I am absolutely a whore for sneakers so I won’t even start listing all the sneakers I love

When do you usually go to sleep? If I’m on schedule around 11-12pm of actually going into the bed physically and falling asleep 30/40 minutes later. While I’m now constantly at home I do still physically get into bed at the same time but I stay up from 2-7am depending on how fun people are, if I play a game, if I read/draw, have a series or movie to watch. I’m insane I am aware🤡

When do you usually wake up? Again, when I’m on schEdule I wake up mondays and tuesdays at 6.30am, from wednesday to friday at 6.10am, on the weekend around 10am. Right now? It’s a surprise everyday. Sometimes I’m up at 4pm, sometimes I’m up at 10am, today I was actually super early with 9.30 so😎

Sunrise or sunset? That’s actually so hard because I do see the sunset a lot more than rise since I have my rOllÄdEn down so I don’t actually remember what a sunrise looks like. Because I have no other choice I say sunset. With doubt.

Do you like your bed soft or hard?  I thINK my bed is hard? I once laid on a friend’s bed that was super soft and I’m pretty sure I didn’t like it

Describe the plate you are eating from? They’re from ikea. They’re white with like blue swirls idk my mom bought them I didn’t make the decisions

Your favorite type of alcohol? Currently I don’t really drink alcohol (mainly because of the lack of opportunities) bUt when I do drink I really like sweet sparkling wine (I googled this I’m not sure if that’s the right word idkd)

Do you like board games? Depending on which people I play with. If a person is getting angry that they’re losing it makes the game absolutely suck and since I’m surrounded by those people I haven’t made good memories with board games kcjdjs,,, if the company is fun I like the games too tho

If you had a car, what kind would it be? Unrealisticly I’d love to own a Lamborghini Aventador or Urus because those cars are just mouth-watering to me. Since I most likely won’t ever be able to afford either of those, I’d love to have a Fiat 500. I fell in love with this car like,,, it’s so cute and the inside is pretty too so everything fits for me the way I want it to. I’ll have to settle for a way less nice car tho once I get a license, at least for a while🤡

Do you know how to change car tires? In theory yes

Dream country? Like to live in? Damn idk. I’d love to live in a country with like,, cULTURE you know? Something exciting and cool to look at, less stuck up people almans be really boring 🤡 so maybe something like spain or italy, maybe america if yall vote for a different president. Japan or Korea would be super cool too I- the whole world ma’am? I couldn’t live in countries like idk hawaii or sumn because of the heat so I’ll just mfing stay in germany😔😔

If you could choose from any jobs in the world, what would you like to do? If I would have the chance I’d love to become an actor because that just seems super cool. But like I’m not nearly attractive enough for people to want to look at me on a scEen so nO

What would you like to try to do? I’m pretty set on trying to learn how to dance like that’s probably not as exciting as other things I could do but :/ yeh idk

And what is stopping you? Literally just me being lazy and talking myself into believing I won’t be good without even trying nsncjsks (also yes I seperated these questions because otherwise it wouldn’t be 50)

thIs was sO mUch omg sjjcjs I’m literally exhausted from all these questions😩😩

I’m tagginggg @gallhali @shadowsremedy if u wanna!

[withabackpackandcamera]

February 17th, 2020

Day 3: Food Hunting and Sightseeing On My Last Day In Singapore

Because today was my last day in Singapore, I knew that I had to make the most of it and try as many foods and drinks as my belly could tolerate. So, instead of doing free breakfast at the hostel, I went out in search of web-recommended foods.  

For brunch, I decided that the must-try dish of the morning would be Char Kway Teow at Outram Park Fried Kway Teow Mee, one of the many stalls listed on the 2019 Michelin Bib Gourmand List of restaurants. Once I made it to the hawker center, I worked my way around the complex until I found the stall I was looking for. Luckily, no line yet. I guess it’s because char kway teow is a pretty heavy noodle dish that I wouldn’t think people would turn to so early in the morning (by this point, it was probably mid-morning for me). Anyhow, I bought their famous dish for $4 and sat at a table nearby, thoroughly enjoying the flavorful noodles for brunch while watching people line up to get their share of char kway teow for brunch. I guess it isn’t all that uncommon to get noodles this early.

Once I was done with my brunch, I explored a bit of Chinatown since I had skipped it (for the most part) the last couple of days. I stopped by the Sri Mariamman Hindu Temple, where I got my first experience with the widely-used forehead temperature gun. After this temple, I made another quick stop to check out the Buddha Tooth Relic Temple. Because I was in the vicinity of another Michelin Bib Gourmand hawker stall, I decided that I had enough room in my stomach to stomach more food. So I made a quick detour to check out J2 Crispy Curry Puff at Amoy Street Food Centre, the same complex I went to get my kaya toast yesterday. The crispy curry puff with potatoes and chicken was pretty good. A good flaky texture for the puff pastry and warm potatoes on the inside. I didn’t really taste the meat that was supposedly in there. Hm. But it was good nevertheless and worth trying out.  

After stuffing myself, I went back to the hostel to check out and store my bags for the day. I also used this opportunity to take a quick breather and plan the rest of my day. Before too long, I was up and at it again, this time taking the MRT to the Lavender stop on the East-West Line to check out the Muslim neighborhood of town in Kampong Glam.  

It took a little bit before I actually ran into anything while walking through Kampong Glam. But once I actually hit Haji Lane and Arab Road, that was when things became colorful and lively. The streets were lined with restaurants serving all types of middle eastern foods, as well as Thai and Vietnamese food. There were tons of little shops selling all sorts of colorful things, like fabrics, carpets, etc. And a cool looking mosque as well. I strolled through the shaded small streets, one by one, checking things out, until I made my way over to the Bugis area to continue my exploration. Because I needed a little bit more cash for the rest of the day’s adventures and needed some souvenirs, I wandered around the area trying to find an ATM and some souvenir shops. While looking for an ATM, I checked out the nice, expensive mall, as well as the cheap market right across the way from it. There were no good souvenir shops to be found but I did eventually find an ATM for some cash. 

By this point, I was getting hungry. So instead of taking a lunch break in Orchard as I had originally thought of doing, I took a detour and routed myself back to Chinatown for the meal of the day at Hawker Chan Soya Sauce Chicken Rice and Noodle, one of the cheapest, if not the cheapest, Michelin-starred restaurant in the world (it renewed its one Michelin star in 2019), located in Complex Market and Food Centre (this was the original location before it expanded to a location right outside of the hawker center). As I got to the stall, I was fortunate enough to find that there were very few people in line at the time I had arrived. Thank goodness. After a short wait, I ordered their signature soya sauce chicken rice for $2! SO CHEAP! And my first Michelin starred meal! And the plate was quickly in my hands right after. I took a seat at a nearby table and quickly devoured my plate of soy sauce chicken on top of white rice. It was delicious! The chicken was moist and super flavorful. The only sad parts about it: the bones and not enough chicken. But overall, a great choice and experience for lunch.

Before leaving for the Orchard area of Singapore, I dropped by another stall, 02-164, for a sugar cane drink and quickly downed it before heading to the closest MRT station. Once in Orchard, I strolled around the big shopping district, again, looking for souvenirs. I looked around and, for the most part, didn’t find much of anything worth buying. After walking through much of the area (and through some buildings and shopping centers), I went back to my hostel to grab my camera bag and tripod before heading back to the marina for sunset photos. 

I got to the marina earlier than I intended and ended up sitting around waiting for an exciting sunset to appear before my eyes and over the marina. Nope, that never happened. I took a couple shots here and there but ultimately, sunset and the evening skies were a dud and I didn’t get any photo worth showing off. Disappointing. I ended up staying for a while to see if the sky would get better or if the photo opps would improve... but nope, nothing. Also, I stayed back even longer because I wanted to make sure I didn’t miss the lights and water show in the marina if it, by any tiny chance, surprisingly occurred. Despite seeing some water streams and lights being messed with (I thought it might have been a warm up for a surprise main event), ultimately, there was no show and I ended up waiting way too long and wasting more time than I should have.

With little time left before I had to make my way to the airport for my red eye flight to Cebu, I rushed back toward my hostel with hopes of finding some food place along the way. Ultimately, I didn’t end up getting any food (I stopped by Teok Market briefly but there wasn’t anything there worth buying) but decided instead to take a quick detour to Chinatown to try out a boba place call LiHo that I had heard about and didn’t yet have a chance to try and to find some postcards to take home. So I took the MRT to Chinatown again, got off, walked quickly in one big circle and found boba (I got their signature standard boba, which I think was brown sugar milk tea, which was pretty good) at LiHo and some postcards at a nearby convenience store before boarding the train for the hostel.  

The turnaround time from the time I left the train station, walked 1km to the hostel, got my bags, drank my drink, and got back on a train to the airport was probably around 15 mins! What a rush! I barely had time to finish my boba and enjoy it! So exhausting. But once on the train, I chilled and relaxed and ended up getting to the airport a little earlier than I expected. Luckily, the check-in process was seamless and I was able to make it to the lounge, take a quick shower, eat a little bit of hot food, and even buy another postcard and keychain before making it to my gate, boarding my flight, and finding that I had an entire row of seats to myself for a relatively empty four hour flight to Cebu. Whew, what a whirlwind last few moments in Singapore! But glad I fit it all in before leaving!

5 Things I Learned Today:

1. As far as I know, there are two hawker stalls in Singapore that have earned a Michelin star either currently or in the past: Hawker Chan and Hill Street Tai Hwa Pork Noodle. 

2. Kampong Glam is the Muslim/Middle Eastern-influenced neighborhood of Singapore. There, you can find different types of shops, stores, and restaurants with Middle Eastern tastes. You have Lebanese and Malaysian foods, Persian rugs, silk shops, etc. 

3. One boba drink can cost WAY more than a Michelin-starred meal at a hawker stall in Singapore. It’s crazy how prices can be so different between items, whether it’s street food, a dessert, a novelty, etc. 

4. In Singapore, there are temperature checkpoints everywhere. Airports. Expensive housing buildings. High-end hotels. Temples. 

5. Unlike other countries I’ve visited, Singapore doesn’t seem to have as many cookie-cutter-type souvenir shops selling a lot of cookie-cutter-type souvenirs. It was really hard to find postcards and keychains in the places I went to and that’s pretty unusual when I travel.

[dogbearinggifts]

Little Tyrants, Chapter Three: No Other Superstar

Rating: Teen and up

Summary: When Vanya was four, Reginald Hargreeves visited her cell. But not to take her powers away. Just to let her know he could. Just to prove, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that her powers were a privilege he could rescind should she ever choose not to fall in line.

Years later, the old man is dead—and the last sibling Vanya wants to see has reappeared in the Academy courtyard.

This work is also available on AO3. 

Author’s Note: If you’d like to read the asks that inspired this story, you can find them here and here. Follow-up asks can be found under the tags “vanya keeps her powers au” and “five returns as a kid au.”

The title of this chapter is taken from Lady Gaga’s “Paparazzi.” 

Prologue  Chapter One  Chapter Two

********** 

Leonard had never been overly fond of coffee.

He drank it when it was in front of him, drained the mug and didn’t complain. To call it a show of strength would be overstating the issue—were that the case, his fellow inmates would have hosted more coffee-drinking contests than brawls, and Leonard could have risen to the top simply by forcing more and more of the stuff down his throat. No, there was something else to the ritual, something less dire yet more crucial. Drinking coffee, drinking it hot and bitter with no sugar or milk to make the experience somewhat pleasant, wasn’t proof of one’s strength, but denial of one’s weakness.

The thought brought a smile as he watched Vanya shake cocoa powder over a pile of whipped cream.

“What?”

“Nothing.” He allowed his smile to remain. “Just the way you take your coffee, is all.”

The whipped cream, a perfectly formed swirl of white, was nearly covered in a layer of soft brown, like the last patches of snow clinging to a mound of dirt. “Sugar and coffee with more sugar on top. If you’ve got a better way to toast my dad, let’s hear it.”

Leonard covered a flash of irritation with a chuckle. He’d learned a lot about Sir Reginald Hargreeves from the man’s daughter. For their first few dates, he’d taken her into or past various coffee shops around town, hoping to jog her memory of the incident that had, by some miraculous failure of the justice system, not landed her in prison. He’d expected a monologue about her restraining order or the woes of anger management; instead, he’d been treated to long lectures on Sir Reginald Hargreeves’ views of sweets and caffeinated beverages. Coffee. Coffee with sugar, coffee with creamer, coffee with nothing. Tea with milk added. Tea with dried fruit mixed in. Tea from the furthest reaches of the globe, tea from the local supermarket. He approved of none and had once spent thirty minutes tearing into the poor courier who mistakenly left a canister of ground coffee on the back step with the rest of the groceries. Harold Jenkins would have snatched up Reginald’s hardline stance on decaf and stowed it away in his collection of Umbrella Academy trivia. Leonard Peabody had been left with no choice but to smile and nod and wait for her to whine about something he could put to use.

Vanya could have launched into another diatribe, but instead she lifted her mug and sipped, leaving a dollop of whipped cream on her nose. On another girl, Leonard might have found it cute. “You’ve got a…”

“Oh!” She fumbled for a napkin, then wiped it away. “Thanks.”

“How was the service?”

“You mean the one we postponed?”

Leonard’s spirits gave a small leap. “Aw, you’re kidding!”

“Nope.” She sighed. “Apparently, when some brother comes back, you suddenly can’t have a funeral anymore.”

“Brother…which brother? The druggie?”

“No, Klaus was there already. I mean, he was in rehab, but he wasn’t the one who came back.”

Leonard filed that bit of information away, though he didn’t spy an immediate use for it. “The Moon guy?”

She shook her head over another sip of coffee, one that left no trace of whipped cream behind. “That’s Luther. Five’s the one who came back.”

“Five.”  The boy had been given a name at some point, but the papers and magazines and comics had never introduced him as anything other than Number Five. For a time, Leonard had tried to work up the courage to ask his classmates to call him Number Eight, but that desire was long since dead. “Didn’t he leave when you were—what? Thirteen?” 

“Yep. Just ran out the door and never came back.” The bitterness that worked its way into her tone was slow, growing slightly with each word. “Well. Until yesterday.”

“Damn. Must’ve been weird seeing him.” 

“That’s an understatement.” 

“He try to shred your mask again?”

He said it with a smile, but Vanya’s expression darkened. Leonard couldn’t say what about moping could rouse her anger, but whatever it was, he’d take it. “Nah. Just moped around the house until I left.”

Leonard tried to reconcile that image with the prankster he’d once admired, the one whose smile always hinted at an amusing secret. The two meshed about as well as oil and water. “What’s he got to be sad about? Came home, didn’t he?”

“I know, right?” Vanya took a bite of her bagel. Leonard had stood by as she followed the barista around the counter, watching her slice it and place it in a toaster oven and then a bag. The barista had managed to complete the task without error, despite her frequent glances toward the phone and its promise of a speedy response from the police. “He pops back in after sixteen years and he’s all anybody can think about.”

“That’s weird.” If Vanya didn’t intend to explain Five’s drastic change in personality, it would be pointless to ask. “I mean, it seems like they’d want to get your dad’s funeral over with.”

“God, you’re not kidding. I told ‘em we should just have it then, and Allison’s all ‘Oh, well, we really should wait, Five’s upset and we’ve got to wait for him to get better.’” She rolled her eyes, letting the bagel fall to her plate. “Come on. How long does it take to go outside and dump some ashes on the ground?”

“I dunno. The Sir Reginald Hargreeves, dead?” Leonard nearly added at last and caught himself just in time. “Maybe they want to be in the right frame of mind.”

“What frame of mind? High? That’s what Klaus’ll be. Everyone else’ll just be bored.” She lifted her bagel again and talked around her next bite. “Don’t know why they keep dragging it out.”

“Nobody wants to be there, huh?”

“Nope.”

“So why’re they staying? Couldn’t you all just say nope, no funeral for you and move on?”

Vanya sighed again. “I guess there’s something in his will about how he needs a real funeral with all his kids there. Can’t leave until we get the service over with, but you know. Nobody in my family knows how to do things the easy way.”

“Or the smart way.” From the way Vanya spoke, he’d figured a family reunion would be about as welcome as a family case of scabies, and the sooner they could all leave the Academy and return to their lives, the better. That probably still held true, but if the five of them—six now—were legally obligated to carry out a memorial service which they’d chosen to postpone, then it bought Leonard some time, though he couldn’t say how much. 

She sniffed. “You think my family’s ever done anything the smart way?”

*******

Number Five. An odd name, but not the oddest Hazel had found waiting for him in a Commission file. 

Much of it followed standard Commission format: a photograph, a location, a handful of scattered facts. Sometimes the latter came in handy, sometimes they didn’t. Learning that Zoya Popova had a bit of a sweet tooth hadn’t aided in her death, though the tidbit stuck with Hazel long after her body had cooled. 

It was the photograph, in this case, that held his attention. Dark hair, dirty and dulled. Pale skin clinging to cheekbones more prominent than they ought to be.  Whoever had snapped the photo had cropped out his surroundings, leaving only his face, dominated by wide dark eyes averted from a camera they hadn’t seen. Most targets didn’t smile in their file photos, and Number Five was no exception. 

“What’re you looking at?” 

Fifty or sixty jobs ago, Hazel might have told her he was studying the target, seeking out any additional information that might help them carry out the job as quickly and cleanly as possible. Staring down yet another night on a mattress that should’ve been thrown out five years back with the smell of cat piss in his nostrils, Hazel couldn’t muster up a single reason to lie. 

“Target. Number Five. How old d’you think he is?” 

“I dunno. Twelve. Fifteen, maybe.” Cha-Cha opened the closet door, peered into the shallow space, and moved on to the restroom. “Should be easier than the last guy.” 

That was Hazel’s cue to offer a few words of agreement, maybe crack a joke before letting the matter drop; but Cha-Cha had nudged aside the curtain now. She might as well have grabbed a handful of his hair and given one good yank, for all the good that rustle did his aching head. “What the hell are you doing?” 

“I’m making sure we have enough space to do what we’ve gotta.” 

Hazel let himself fall onto the nearest bed, the creak masking his sigh. “Run in, shoot the kid, run out. You really think we need another plan?” 

“If this one goes the way that job in Guadalajara did, yeah.” She closed the bathroom door behind her and moved past him to check the front window. “Should’ve had a backup plan for that one.” 

“Still did it on time.” 

“Doesn’t mean we did it well.” She pressed herself against the wall, leaning back to inspect the window without opening the curtains. “You heard what the Handler said.” 

He’d heard. And heard, and heard. The Commission was lucky they had all the time in the world at their command, considering their managers spent so much of it lecturing agents for perceived failures and slights. “Long as we get it done.” 

“You know that’s not how it works, asshole.” 

Hazel sighed. Working for the Commission wasn’t like delivering the mail or washing dishes in the backroom. Completing the task on schedule was never enough—no, they wanted flair. Nothing too noticeable, nothing that might be traced back to them, but speed alone wasn’t enough. Professionalism. Style. A body that left few clues for the authorities and enough questions to keep the case in their minds long after it had gone cold. One of those things on its own might earn a nod of approval; it took all three of them together to gain the Handler’s praise. 

Her inspection concluded, Cha-Cha turned from the window, but her foot snagged on the briefcase, sending her stumbling across the floor, nearly falling onto Hazel’s bed. 

“Shit!” Cha-Cha caught herself, arms braced against the bed, and pushed her way to her feet. “Why the hell’d you leave that thing on the floor? You know we’re supposed to carry it!” 

“I was sitting down! You expect me to carry it while I’m sitting here?” 

“I expect you to not leave it in the middle of the goddamn floor!” 

“Well, maybe you wouldn’t have tripped over it if you’d watched where you were—” 

“It’s not about me tripping, it’s about you leaving the goddamn briefcase out where anybody can grab it!” 

“Oh, like we’ll have the whole city walkin’ on through while we’re here.” 

“Just put it somewhere safe, will you?” 

Hazel could have tugged it closer to his bed, shoved it as far under as the boards would allow. That was the response she expected, the one she wanted. It would have been easier, ended the whole exchange on a somewhat peaceful note and made it less eligible to become the topic of a later argument. 

In one swift motion, he was on his feet. A few steps took him to a large grate set into the wall, and a few twists of the screwdriver attachment in his pocketknife had the screws in his hand and then on the table. 

“Oh, no. You are not putting it in there.” 

“You told me to put it somewhere safe.” He hefted the briefcase into the mouth of the shaft with a clanking thud. “And there it is. Somewhere safe.” 

“The Handbook says we’ve gotta carry it at all times.” 

“Well, then you carry it.” 

He watched her, grate in his hands. After a moment, she scoffed, rolled her eyes, and turned away. 

“Well, all right, then.” 

Hazel put the grate back in place, reached for the screws, and realized it would be more prudent to leave the grate unattached to the wall. Of all the things to land him in hot water with the Commission, not being able to reach the briefcase in time because he’d sealed it inside the wall seemed like one of the dumbest. 

When he got to his feet, she was now the one with the file open. Number Five’s photograph sat off to one side, the left edge of his face obscured by her thumb as she read what scant details the Commission had provided. “Any idea where to start with this kid?” 

“Should probably find him first.” 

“Thanks, dumbass. Couldn’t have guessed that.” 

“You asked.” 

Cha-Cha tapped a forefinger against the page. “Says his name’s Number Five. Can’t be that many kids in one city named after numbers.” 

“Probably not the only kid here with a shitty name.” 

She dropped her arm and the file with it. “Now why the hell would you think that?” 

“Oh, come on. With our luck, they probably sent us to the one city where every kid’s got some bullshit name. If there’s a kid named Number Five, there’s gotta be one named Gas Station Bathroom or That Year I Washed Dishes With a Man Named Hank.” 

“Well, if that’s what we’re dealing with, then we should still be able to ask around and find a kid named Number Five.” 

That tone, so purposefully even and intentionally calm, set Hazel on edge. He’d agreed to travel with a partner, not a parent. He’d agreed to work alongside her, not submit to extended lectures and constant condescension. “You know it’s not gonna be that easy.” 

“Doesn’t matter if it’s easy or not.” She hefted their package onto the bed. “As long as it gets done.” 

*******

Vanya didn’t discuss her family when she played the violin.

After their months together, in whatever one might call their semblance of a relationship, Leonard still hadn’t decided how he felt about that. No talking meant no endless litany of woes caused by a family she hadn’t seen in years or a court system that had decided a slap on the wrist was too harsh for what she’d done. It also meant a halt to tidbits about that family, snippets of information Leonard could commit to memory and scribble down later. There was a silver lining to every cloud, as he’d heard, but in this case he couldn't be sure which was which.

The comics had gotten her power wrong. Those writers, those artists—they’d understood her capabilities. They’d known how easily she could bend sound to her will, how she could magnify footsteps and rustling newspapers into a force ready to smash an entire wall to bits or toss robbers and kidnappers about like dishrags. All of those things had made it onto the page, though absent the blood and screams Vanya mentioned as matter-of-factly as she mentioned the time of day. 

Her violin changed things.

It didn’t rob her powers of their destructive potential. He knew as much long before the first strains of Tchaikovsky sent the curtains dancing as though in a gale and set her lampshade swaying back and forth, before the force of it hit him like a drumbeat blared through speakers placed too close. And it would be a mistake to say she had less control without her music. He’d seen and heard enough to know otherwise.

But there was a distinction. Without her violin, her power was a hurricane barreling down the coast, ripping trees up by their roots and tearing homes to pieces before tossing them aside. When she played, it was like an army marching in columns, guns at the ready and every step synchronized. Both were under her command, yet the difference between them was the difference between a man with a pistol demanding money in a back alley, and a man in a tuxedo demanding compliance from behind a revolver. After six months, Leonard still couldn’t say which he preferred her family surrender to. 

The final notes faded; the ripples through her apartment quieted. Vanya gave a small bow as Leonard clapped. 

“Was that okay? I felt like the middle was a little shaky.”

“No, it was great.” The sheer level of power she packed into a simple string of notes was enough to give him chills. Were that power intentional—had she infused the music with the full brunt of her fury—she could have easily brought the complex crashing down around their ears. 

She set her violin and bow in their case before returning to the sheet music, frowning over pages filled with notes she herself had arranged. “Something’s just not working there. Not sure what it is.”

Both her playing and composing held flaws, but Leonard knew so only from her habit of calling attention to them. Had he spent his teen years learning violin under the watch of Sir Reginald Hargreeves rather than waiting to be shuffled from juvenile hall to prison, he might have been able to spot them more readily than she did, point them out before she realized what she’d done, show her precisely which holes they created in the overall quality of her piece and tug at those holes until the whole production lay in shreds at her feet.

Instead, he kissed her cheek. She’d tensed at his first attempt months prior, but an apology, a frank discussion, and a pointed avoidance of similar acts for weeks afterward, had kept her from slamming the door in his face. Now, she relaxed at the touch. “It sounds fine to me.”

Her smile was genuine, soft and grateful. Almost charming. “Glad you like it. I’m still kinda new to this whole composing thing.”

It wasn’t enough that she could play music—oh no, she had to compose it too. Even with his limited knowledge, he could tell her efforts were nowhere near as complex as those of the composers she admired, but they sounded good. Pleasant. Had he not known the composer to be one of the Hargreeves, he could have enjoyed it. Here she was, writing her own music and playing the greats onstage, while he refurbished antiques for doddering old women and young people who thought themselves the first human beings in history to discover treasures in the past.

“Ever, uh….” The words were clear in his mind, the question more of a demand than anything; but he’d learned that the more uncertain his tone, the longer he hesitated before questions, the more it put her at ease. “Ever think of playing that for your family?”

“You’re kidding, right?” She stacked the pages together and slid them back into a folder, then stepped out of his grip as she snapped her violin case closed. “You know how many concerts of mine they’ve been to? None. Not a single one.”

It was amazing, he thought, how quickly bitterness could replace the uncertainty in her tone, take her smile and turn it into a scowl. Not every mention of her family did that, but those that did needed to be remembered, placed together and compared until commonalities emerged. “Aw, come on. I’m sure they’d listen to that.”

“Maybe if you tied ‘em up first.”

Leonard had considered the notion back when his plan was still an idea, when his dates with Vanya were still awkward and suffused with the sort of tension one might expect from international negotiations; but it had never progressed beyond that. A plan that took out Klaus and perhaps Diego before running afoul of Allison and Luther was no better than a plan that had him walk into the Academy unarmed and announce his intent to see none of them leave alive. “I’m sure it’d go better than you think.”

Her expression, never to be mistaken for one of joy and harmony, darkened even further. “Not with Five there.” 

“He doesn’t like violin?” 

“He doesn’t like me playing violin. I tell you he replaced all the strings once?”

“No.”

“Yeah. Changed ‘em out for yarn right before Dad wanted to hear me play.” Her jaw clenched. “Took me forever to find the strings.” 

“Couldn’t your dad just buy you some new ones?” 

“That’d make the most sense, wouldn’t it?” 

She didn’t elaborate further, and Leonard knew better than to wait for more of the story.  It could be difficult to predict when she’d launch into a longer tale and when the line or two she gave him was the story itself, but he preferred the option that didn’t compel him to listen and offer sympathy for minutes at a stretch. 

Vanya took her own composition back to where she kept sheet music for the orchestra separate from sheet music for her lessons. While her back was turned, Leonard cast a few quick glances about her apartment in search of some tool to turn the conversation back toward her family. As far as he could tell, she’d brought nothing back from the Academy, and kept nothing at hand to remind her of the eventual service in her father’s honor.

She glanced at the clock. “I’ve still got a while before I need to head to my next lesson. Want to walk around downtown for a while?”

Leonard would have sooner returned to prison, but she wanted to spend time with him. That was what mattered. He’d learned what she wanted, paid a little above asking price, and begun his investment. The more loyalty he gave her, the more kisses and hand-holding and rants about the unfairness of a world that bowed to her power he endured, the more trust she would reward him with.

He smiled. “Sounds great.”

********

Noon came and went. Hazel’s first year as a field agent had taught him not to expect meals at regular hours or intervals, that the job came first and his needs came second, if they placed at all. Combined with the jet lag he only managed to shake on jobs that lasted longer than they should have and the confusion that came with jumping from to day to night and back again, and Hazel had learned that mealtime was whenever he could set aside a few minutes to wolf down a bite. 

Even so, he was hungry by noon, so that seemed as good a time as any to start the usual argument. 

“Now? We’re this close to finding that kid.” 

“No we’re not.” 

“We’ve just gotta look a little longer.” 

“Look for what? It’s the middle of a school day. Even if we find out where he’s going, we’re not gonna get him. Should just wait until school lets out.” 

“If the Handler’d wanted us to do that, she’d have dropped us off right in the afternoon.” 

Hazel watched a red sports car pull slowly into the parking lot of a burger joint, then join a line of cars at the drive-thru. Sitting the way he did, elbow propped up near the window with his chin in his hand as though they were on a sightseeing venture and not a business trip, never failed to annoy his partner, but he couldn’t find it in him to care. “Just more shitty planning on her part.” 

“Shitty—” Only the motion of the car, it seemed, kept Cha-Cha from whirling in her seat. “They monitor time, Hazel. They know what they’re doing when they send somebody out first thing in the morning.” 

“Yeah. Right when they can’t even nab the kid they’re going after.” He shifted a little, trying in vain to relieve some of the pressure on his back. “God. Hate chasing down kids.” 

“How would you know? Number Five’s the first main target who���s not old enough for a driver’s license.”  

“Yeah, well, I hate it already.” 

Rather than launch into another lecture, Cha-Cha sighed, her shoulders sagging a little. “Yeah, me too. Been a bitch to find him.” 

That wasn't the reason Hazel would have chosen, but he didn’t offer one of his own. “You’d think they’d give us a little more information.” 

“They’re doing the best they can.” 

She had no proof they were, and Hazel had no proof they weren’t. As management styles went, the Handler’s was about as transparent as a soot-covered brick wall. She gave orders, and those orders were followed. Explanations were for those higher up the food chain. Questions were for those in charge. If Hazel broke into headquarters and found extensive profiles of past targets complete with facts that could have ended a job in minutes rather than hours, he wouldn’t even blink. 

He said nothing as Cha-Cha eased the car into a drive-thru. His stomach turned at the thought of another greasy burger, but searches for a target often placed her in a strange state of mind. If hours passed with no sign of the target, she’d push comforts aside. No glances toward scenery, no comments on the sights they prowled. No sitting down to rest. No water until her voice cracked or coughing set in. Most often it was Hazel who urged her to take a break for lunch, and then she’d complain about the smallest wait, try to sneak ahead in line when no one was looking. If she’d chosen to stop for lunch all on her own, hunger must have made it impossible for her to think of anything but. He tried to enjoy the anomaly for what it was, but his mind drifted toward a real, sit-down meal in an actual restaurant with table linens and napkins, a plate of manicotti that wasn’t warmed in a microwave beside a basket of garlic bread and a salad with housemade dressing and fresh croutons….

“Hey. Asshole.” 

Cha-Cha’s hand against his shoulder shook his thoughts away. Cool spring air floated through her open window; behind her sat a speaker and a menu. Faded letters on a backlit piece of yellowing plastic spelled out the names of simple meals. This place must have had the shortest wait, and it didn’t take a genius to guess why. 

“Just…uh…” The restaurant didn’t offer burgers, as he’d expected, but sandwiches. A nice tuna sub from a place like this would probably leave him flat on his back in the motel room, but the threat of hospitalization was enough to set him on a different course. The Commission didn’t take kindly to agents who brought their identities to the brink of discovery. “Roast beef is fine. Provolone cheese.” 

She repeated his order to the speaker, then pulled forward. Hazel half-expected her to snap at him, to remind him to get his head in the game because this job needed the both of them, but she kept her gaze forward. One forefinger tapped the steering wheel. 

“Number Five.” He couldn’t tell if she said to him or only herself. “Who the hell names their kid Number Five?” 

“Maybe they only wanted one kid and didn’t bother naming the rest.” 

“Why not just give ‘em all names that start with the same letter or something?” She passed a few bills to the cashier, took the change, and drummed her finger again. “There’s gotta be something else. Commission always gives us a couple clues, right?” 

He scoffed. “You call those clues?” 

“Well, they help.” 

“Since when?” 

“Beijing, 1411?” She didn’t give Hazel a chance to call that the fluke it had been. “That name. Number Five. Name that weird’s gotta be a clue.” 

“You didn’t say that when we went after Polly Esther Slack.” 

“We found her in—what? Two hours? Don’t need a real big clue for a girl who spends every Wednesday night and Sunday morning in the same damn place.”

“Well, far as we know, Number Five’s not spending his time anywhere.” 

“He’s somewhere, and somebody’s seen him.” 

She was right, but Hazel wasn’t about to admit as much. Not aloud. “So what’re we missing here?” 

She accepted the bag from the window and handed it off. Hazel took his sandwich and handed Cha-Cha hers. 

“I dunno,” she said. “But we’re missing something.” 

Hazel unwrapped his sandwich. Pale bread, suspiciously cold toward the center. Bits of dry beef stuck out from all sides, and a flash of yellow fought to tear his attention from the wilted lettuce. Part of him wanted to swear. Part of him wanted to demand they return to that godawful place and demand a redo. 

The rest of him lacked the energy for a fight with no chance of victory. 

He took a bite. The bread, at least, had been thawed enough for that, but not enough to conceal its origins. That was what held most of his attention—but it distracted him from the dry beef and processed cheese, so he followed that bite with another, and another. Cha-Cha didn’t touch her food. She drove in silence, pausing at stop signs but otherwise not deviating from whatever course the road set. 

In an instant, his sandwich was nearly pitched out of his hands as Cha-Cha slammed on the brakes. 

“Cha!” His hand snagged the grab handle and he clung to it. “What the hell—” 

She executed the fastest three-point turn he’d ever seen, one that left him glancing all around in search of police lights. None appeared. 

“We’re going downtown,” she said, as if that explained everything. “I know how to find this kid.” 

[1776countrygirl]

Sorting the Guardians into Hogwarts Houses

So to sum up this one shot, Katherine (Mother Goose) decides to read Harry Potter and sorts every last Guardian into their Hogwarts houses with the help from Jaime Bennet.  This was originally posted on Fanfiction.net but I decided I would rather have that be where my full fics go and this blog where my one shots and fluff goes.

Word Count: 1942 

Katherine loved books, always was going on about Ombric's library in Santoff Claussen., until she saw my library that is. Considering it was tree branches all formed into bookshelves with a thick layer of leaves to keep the books safe from the weather that occasionally hit my empire. I had a copy of every book that Ombric had and more, and it expanded every time a new book was published. Katherine began adding books that she found as well, books that peaked her interests more than mine, as well as those that she would write herself.

She had the Lord of the Rings, The Chronicles of Narnia and so many more. In 1997 she found the Harry Potter books…and I had to deal with all of the crying, and there was a lot of crying. She found herself wondering which house she would be sorted into at Hogwarts. She thought herself a Ravenclaw, but she also thought Gryffindor, none of this made sense to me and it was quickly forgotten in the shuffle of recent events.

Unfortunately now that everything was calm again it meant that she had time to yet again pick up reading, she only picked up Harry Potter again because Jaime was getting to the point where he was beginning to love books and of course wanted suggestions about what to read. Katherine squealed in delight and gave him all seven books.

She said that she and Jamie had something that they wanted to say at the next Guardian’s meeting, well at least Katherine was going to say it, she was going to ask North for permission to bring Jamie to the pole.

The Guardians were meeting far more often, every month in fact, and things were rather orderly, since I decided I would preside over the meetings to make sure that everyone got heard. We rotated where we met also, and it was always between the Warren, the Pole, my Empire, or the Tooth Palace. We tried to meet at Sandy's Island and my Father's "lair" but those were not good times for anyone. Phil the yeti catered these events, making all of the food that everyone liked, except he couldn't get the drinks quite right, so I had to take that over from him.

It was January the first of a new year we were meeting at the pole, because despite it being a mess before and around Christmas, North's yetis cleaned it all up nicely. I walked past the elves, they were getting themselves tangled in the Christmas lights again, typical. I was one of the first to arrive, and I headed toward the Kitchen where Phil was busily preparing various tarts and cookies.

"Hello Phil," I said

He yelled at me in the yeti language, "Put your hair back, can't have hair in the food."

"Yes sir," I said with a laugh as the Northeast wind braided my hair back. I speak every language on the planet, ranging from the tiniest bug to the eagles that soar through the sky. It's how I get updates about the weather. and of course my seasonal spirits. The northeast wind was being very helpful today allowing me to get each of the mugs down from the cupboards. I had gave my seasonal each one of the four winds to take charge of, Rowan as the Summer seasonal got the South wind, Ash as Autumn got the West, Willow as Spring got East and Jack of course had the North. I got the odd winds which were much calmer than the pure directional winds, but still had a fury that could be deadly.

I got to work with the drinks, each one of the Guardians liked something different. For Bunnymund, he liked Herbal tea, and once Phil accidently added some chocolate to it, that was a disaster, hence why I took over getting the drinks ready. North liked a good cup of Hot Chocolate, with peppermint flavor, lots of marshmallows and a hint of cinnamon. Tooth drank either water or green tea, she wouldn't drink anything that had sugar in it, when Phil did that she nearly had a heart attack. Nightlight really started liking Pink Lemonade with Strawberries, I think because it reminds him of Katherine when she was younger. Katherine likes a White Mocha with extra whipped cream and caramel flavor. Sandy likes warm milk and honey, as long as he doesn't fall asleep because of it he's fine. My father took a liking to Dark Roast Coffee with a little bit of chocolate and cream. Jack oddly like Iced Sweet Tea with strawberries, and lemon, he said that it reminds him of my smile. I like sun tea with mint leaves, Katherine asked why once and I told her the mint reminded me of Jack's eyes, both the brown and the blue, her response was a very long and drawn out awwwwwww….I really wanted to smite her but I restrained myself.

I heard arguing from the globe room and sighed, "Phil, the drinks are done, I better go settle a dispute"

I stepped out into the chaos of a snowball fight, "Jack Frost, clean up this snow right now," I said stopping a snowball from hitting my face by raising my hand up.

"Aw but we were having fun," said the boy from the rafters.

North was buried in snow and cursing like a, well like a Cossack, and Bunnymund was holding his feet, Katherine's convincing to bring Jamie must have worked cause they were both sitting on top of a snow slide laughing their heads off.

"Clean this up now Jack, otherwise no causing any snow days for a month,"

"Awwww," said Jamie "That's no fun."

Jack laughed, "I can't melt snow that's the other guy's jobs, I just create it."

I raised my hands and the snowflakes obediently all went flying out into the white vast space of the North Pole. "Never start a snowball fight indoors again Jack,” I glared at him, but not as sternly as I could have, “Shall we get started with the meeting?" I said walking over to the table.

The guardians all walked over to the table, and my father stepped out of the shadows, where had he been?

"Alright so for old business, North how was Christmas?"

"It was tight schedule but we managed, minor weather delays caused slightly late deliveries in some areas of the southern hemisphere."

"That's Rowan's zone this time of year, I will have to follow up on that, thank you North. Is there any other old business?" there was silence, "Alright how about New business, Bunny how's Easter looking?"

"On track to be a record year."

"Will you need help this year?"

"Unless there are weather disruptions we should be on track," He said looking at Jack who began whistling

"Excellent, any other new business before we get to announcements?"

"I have something," my father said, standing from his chair, he'd only been a Guardian for less than a year but considering the odds that were against him he was doing an excellent job.

"Yes?"

"It seems that not all of the Fearlings and Dream Pirates were banished back to their dark planet, I have discovered some roaming, too weak to try anything, but they are there."

"Good to know, thank you, Nightlight I want to keep an eye out, but everyone should be ready at a moment's notice to assist in battle."

Everyone nodded, "Alright, is that everything for new business?" Nobody said anything Katherine and Jamie were getting anxious. "Alright now for some announcements from Katherine and Jaime, go ahead you two,"

I sat down and Katherine stood up with Jamie, Jamie had a list in his hand, Katherine pulled all of the Harry Potter Books out from her bag.

"So as you all know I've been reading these books that Katherine let me borrow, well I was thinking and she agreed, what if the Guardians went to Hogwarts? What houses would you guys be in. So we did thinking and made a list so we will go around the table and tell you what we think and why."

I inwardly groaned, why did I agree to this?

"North, you would be in Gryffindor, you are brave, selfless, and chivalrous." Katherine said, handing him a badge with a lion emblazoned in red and gold. He beamed with pride even though I was certain he didn’t understand it.

"Bunny, you would be in Slytherin, you are ambitious, and a strong leader when the time arises." Jamie said handing him a badge with a snake in emerald green and silver.

"Nightlight, you're a Hufflepuff, you are loyal and honest, you are very patient," Katherine handed Nightlight the badge of a badger in yellow and black, before kissing him lightly on the cheek.

"Tooth, we had a hard time with you, it was between Hufflepuff and Gryffindor, and we decided on Hufflepuff, you are dedicated to your fairies, and to the children, you work hard to protect the children's memories, and you have a kind heart." Jamie said handing Tooth the same badge as Nightlight.

"Sandy you are also a Hufflepuff, you embody all of the traits, you are dedicated, you work hard, your fair, and patient, kind and tolerant, and you are loyal to your friends both old and new," Katherine said, giving him again another yellow and black badge.

"Jack, you are a Gryffindor, like Sandy embodies all of Hufflepuff, you also embody all of the traits of a Gryffindor, you are brave, are chivalrous, you have the most courage of anyone I've ever met, and you are very daring." Jamie said handing Jack the Gryffindor badge.

"Even though Ombric lives in the moments between he is a Ravenclaw full of intelligence and wisdom beyond all compare." Katherine said

"Katherine would be in Gryffindor, she's courageous, daring, and brave, she made me sort her because she didn't trust her own judgement," Jamie said handing Katherine her badge.

"Pitch, you would be in Ravenclaw, you are intelligent, and you've accepted who you were and who you are," Katherine said handing my father a badge with an Eagle in Blue and Bronze colors.

"The Man in the Moon would be in Slytherin, he's ambitious, he's resourceful, and is quite clever." Jamie said

"Now Mother Nature, you would be in Ravenclaw, you are intelligent, you are witty and wise, creative and original, you praise the original ideas of your seasonals and are proud of how different they are. You have also accepted your flaws and made them your own," Katherine said handing me the badge with the Eagle. I stared at it for a few moments, I might not understand everything about Harry Potter or these Hogwarts houses but I definitely knew that Katherine and Jaime got everyone spot on.

"Alright that's all we've got for now, I might have something later if I'm allowed back to one of these meetings,"

"Of course, you will be allowed back Jamie, the next meeting will be held in the Warren," I said, "This meeting is dismissed, go enjoy the food and drinks in the kitchen."

I smiled as I stared back down at the badge in my hand, Father walked over to me,

"I was expecting to be put in Slytherin," He said

"And why is that?" I asked a bit surprised he would know about these.

"From what I've gathered that's supposed to be the house for villains,"

"You are not that person anymore, and you never will be again," I said walking with him toward the kitchen to grab food and our drinks.