#the thing is I do not actually want bread. what I want is endless crackers. | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

seihun · 4 years ago

Text

can i be your boyfriend? — a bbh social media au

ϟ prev ◂ part 15B ▸ next

ϟ pairings: byun baekhyun + oc:reader

ϟ word count: not too long, hopefully, because this is supposed to be a social media au (2.6k)

ϟ notes: hello! look at me, writing things out on this fake text blog, and updating before midnight. i don’t usually do this, but somethings are better said in incoherent paragraphs than in screenshots, plus it’s hard to convey the in-between steps of a relationship through just texts, so i hope you enjoy this insight into their budding relationship �� more notes at the end!!

MONDAY.

“How exactly is it that you started working at Buzzfeed?” you question, reaching over a pillow to dip your bread in olive oil.

Baekhyun watches with amusement as you whine audibly when some runny oil drips from the bread onto your jeans. The indoor picnic he’d set up is pretty damn great if he does say so himself—blankets, pillows, and enough Italian food to feed a small army; and you, of course.

It’s another one of his many, many dates with you—or at least, he’s pretty certain they’ve been dates. Hearing you confirm that you like him was definitely a confidence booster, and reassuring, to say the least, but if Baekhyun’s being completely honest, he’s not sure where to go from here.

He likes you, he knows that much. He likes you a lot; a lot, a lot—(“You’re halfway in love with her, call it what it is,” Minseok said, before getting his ear pinched by Maize)—and he definitely loves spending time with you, and if you asked him, he’d say you’re dating casually, but would you agree?

It’s not like he would know, this is his first serious sort-of-relationship, after all. Baekhyun was never exactly the most suave kid back in high school; more clumsy and awkward than anything with anyone who wasn’t Kyungsoo. He’s not a complete novice; he’s been on dates, gone out, even had a few one night stands in his freshman year, but nothing close to this—whatever it is he has with you—so sue him for basically winging everything for these past two months.

“Honestly,” he recounts, “I did what you did. I complained publicly about one of their posts, and someone DMed, and eventually offered me a job, and here I am.”

“Wait, that’s not fair!” you whine, “Nobody wanted to pay me for my complaint tweets!”

“Well you should have tagged the VP of the company, not me.”

Baekhyun laughs while you pout, toothy smile diminishes into a closed lip one, as his eyes glaze over and flutter between your eyes and your lips. He finds himself leaning in after you, a nervous kind of excitement taking over him as you grow closer. And it’s just barely after his lips have grazed yours that you’re both interrupted by the buzzing and ringing of a cellphone.

You seem to know that it’s your phone, if the crinkling of your eyebrows and embarrassed exhale are anything to go by. Baekhyun simply chuckles, gently presses his index finger to the tip of your nose, and pulls away with a smile.

He watches you fetch your phone, and reluctantly answer the call—which, appears to be a FaceTime judging by the noise and the distance with which you hold your phone from your face.

“Chanyeol, if you’re trying to let Sehun win best friend of the year, you’re succeeding,” are your first words, and Baekhyun can’t help the audible laughter that leaves his mouth.

It doesn’t go unnoticed by you, or Chanyeol. “Who’s laughing, are you—is it the Buzzfeed boy? Oh, is this is a date? Baekhyun are you listening! Hello! My name’s Chanyeol, and I’m—”

“I’m going to hang up on you, what do you want!” you hiss.

Baekhyun finds himself smiling throughout the rest of your conversation. He likes that you’re comfortable enough to answer Chanyeol in front of him; he thinks that if Maize or Kyungsoo or Minseok called him, he’d pick it up in front of too. He’s not too sure about Junmyeon, though, he’s more likely to embarrass him.

Baekhyun hopes he can stick around long enough to meet the rest of your friends—from what you’ve told him about them, they sound like just the kind of people he likes having around. And after hearing how long you’ve been friends with them, namely Sehun, he finds himself even more understanding of your dynamics.

Not many people get just how deep a friendship can run, so when he tells people he’s known Kyungsoo for as long as Kyungsoo’s been alive, their reactions are surface level at best. But you get it, because Sehun is your Kyungsoo; or, rather, you’re Sehun’s Kyungsoo. Baekhyun shakes his head at the thought—the point is, you’re both similar in that respect, and he likes it. He likes you.

“Anyway,” he tunes back into to hear Chanyeol sighing, “I just wanted to let you know I burned the bear, so our apartment smells like smoke, which makes Sehun and I homeless for the evening, so we’re at your place, please bring dinner.”

“What do you mean you burned it! Chan—”

“You know, as in we lit it on fire. Sehun also wanted to throw it off the roof, but Chungha stopped him, so we just did it our living room, and now she’s being a meanie and saying she can’t help refuge us because she has a ‘group project’ meeting at her place in an hour, which I think is a lie. Baekhyun, if you’re still listening, I want you to know that I’m not a pyromaniac—”

“—Debatable—”

“I’m not. Anyways, bring food when you’re done flirting, Sehun and I are hungry, and Chungs is leaving us foodless, as per usual.”

“Then buy food.”

“Do I look rich to you?”

“Yes, actually—”

“Hyung—oh, hey, is that _____?” Sehun’s voice asks, “Hey, Chanyeol finished the gummy worms, can you—”

“I’m hanging up!”

Baekhyun watches with light in his eyes as you hurriedly end the call, then sheepishly turn back to him. “I am… so sorry they’re like this,” you apologize, putting your phone back face down on the blanket and composing yourself.

Baekhyun shakes his head, “Don’t worry, my friends are much worse.”

“Your friends are smart,” you reason, “And quiet, and don’t break into my apartment at their earliest convenience.”

“Actually, Junmyeon has done that last one,” Baekhyun hums, scooting a bit closer to you, “Except, it wasn’t my apartment, he broke into Minseok’s. Let’s just say it didn’t end well for him.”

Baekhyun thinks the embarrassing anectode was worthwhile to hear you laugh, even if it was at Junmyeon’s expense. It’s fine, what he doesn’t know won’t hurt him.

“So, does Chanyeol normally light things on fire or was this a one time thing?”

“You’d be surprised by the amount of things he’s accidentally set on fire since I’ve known him, actually,” you laugh, “But no—well, you know the bear I told you about? The one, um, Jongin gave to me when I saw him on Sunday?”

Baekhyun nods. Of course.

“Well, I also told my idiot friends about it, and that’s what Chanyeol burned,” you tell him. Baekhyun bites his bottom lip, trying not to laugh, but the temptation is written all over his face—or, evidently, so, as you chime in with, “It’s okay, you can laugh.”

Thank god, because Baekhyun wasn’t sure he could keep a straight face (or hide his blatant happiness). He decides right there that he likes Chanyeol. You have good friends.

Admittedly, after hearing you tell him about your history with Jongin as both a friend and a boyfriend, Baekhyun can’t say that he’s exactly fond of the guy. Junmyeon tells him to never judge a book by its cover, but seeing as you gave him the summary, he thinks he can fairly conclude that Jongin isn’t… the best person in the world. And the way he treated you and your friends is enough to make Baekhyun weary about him as a person.

Still, Baekhyun doesn’t judge you for talking to him. He’s not exactly jealous; he’s confident in your feelings for him and his for you, and above all, he trusts that you’re being honest with him. Quite frankly, Baekhyun doesn’t consider your ex boyfriend to be a threat.

Baekhyun knows you clearly just want to be a good friend, or at the very least, a good person to Jongin; and after knowing him for almost a decade—even if things got a bit bumpy—Baekhyun thinks you’re more than justified in that. You clearly see something in Jongin that you think can be helped, and Baekhyun trusts your judgement; you did pick him, too, after all.

Does he like that Jongin gives you gifts, and is very clearly still into you even tho you can’t see it, and don’t want any part in it? No, not exactly. But, on the bright side, Baekhyun’s the one that has your attention, and that counts for more than something.

(Not to mention you have a couple of guys who are both rooting for him and willing to beat up your ex at moments notice, so, he’d say he’s in a pretty good boat).

The only thing Jongin has ever had that Baekhyun wants is the opportunity to call you his. But he thinks he’s getting there. Hopefully. Is it weird to ask the ex of the girl you’re interested in how he got her to be his girlfriend in the first place? Do you even want to be his girlfriend? He hopes so.

He doesn’t know if sharing cheese and crackers and pasta and bread is any indication that you want to be his girlfriend, but he’d like to think it is. Because that’s what the next half hour consists of—you and Baekhyun, sharing food over smiles and stories and endless laughter.

Baekhyun finds himself laughing so hard at a story you tell him about Chanyeol and Chungha pranking Sehun, that he might as well be laughing over you. His hand ends up on your shoulder in his fit of giggles, and yours just barely above his knee. Neither of you comment on it, but you don’t pull away, either.

He’s about to chip in with a story about his childhood self, when he’s interrupted by notification noises again. Baekhyun grins at your exasperated exhale and tightly closed eyes. “It’s fine, they’ll be fine,” you tell him, silencing the ringer, and turning back to him in an attempt to continue your conversation.

Baekhyun’s about to tell you that it’s okay, that you should check your phone in case it’s an emergency or something, but he doesn’t have to; because it starts buzzing again and again and again and eventually is back to ringing.

“Answer it,” Baekhyun smiles, “Seriously, I wouldn’t want you to have to face Sehun’s wrath for ignoring him.”

It’s silent for a minute, while you scroll through your messages, and thumb a response. Baekhyun watches as your expression changes from annoyed, to vaguely amused, to concerned, to borderline unhappy. It makes his own eyebrows draw together when he sees the frown start to form on your lips.

“Everything okay?”

“Uh… I don’t think so,” you sigh, locking the screen and looking up at him, “I think I gotta head home, Sehun might have broken smoke detector and Chanyeol got… something stuck to the ceiling trying to fix it.”

Baekhyun can’t help the laugh that escapes him. You have really good friends.

“Fuck, Baek, I’m so sorry, this is—you did all of this, and my idiot friends—”

Baekhyun takes one of your flailing hands into his, effectively calming your stature and forcing to you make eye contact with him. “Hey, it’s fine, I promise,” he reassures you, “Really, it’s okay. If I got stuck to the ceiling I would hope Kyungsoo would come rescue me, too.”

“You don’t have to say that just because—”

“I’m not just saying anything,” he laughs through his words because the look on your face is nothing short of adorable, “I mean it. I had fun on our—I, I had fun, today. It’s fine, really, I promise.”

And so, you smile, demeanor significantly calmer, “I… should call a car,” you tell him, his eyes traveling down your enveloped hands, which he releases slowly, embarrassed; but then you grin again, tapping away at your phone, “I had fun on our date, too, Baekhyun.”

(So these were dates! Nice, cool, cool, keep it cool. He doesn’t; he grins like a blushing fool).

Baekhyun helps you gather your things, and moves the food around so that neither of you step on it; walks you to the door when your car says it’s arriving shortly. He waits with you on the doorstep, pretending to look out for a white sonata, when he’s really stealing glances at you through your small talk.

“Would you, uh… I mean, you’re probably already going, so,” you cut yourself off with slow exhale, turning your body towards his, “There’s this showcase, presentation type thing, for some students to, uh, present about their research coming up soon. You might already know about it, since Kyungsoo is giving one about his summer internship, I think—and it might be a little boring, and that you’re not a science guy, so it’s okay if you don’t want to—”

Baekhyun cuts you off by calling your name, a wide smile playing on his lips. “I’d love to go,” he tells you, earnestly, “I was going to go, to see Soo anyway, but I wanna support my new favorite biochem student, too.”

“Really?” You reach out and grab his hand, an action that almost seems lost on your in your flurry of excitement or flattery—or both—but, not on Baekhyun, whose palm suddenly feels warm. You must have been able to tell you flustered him, because your eyes widen, looking down at your hands, then promptly pulling them away.

“You, I mean, I want you to come, but only if you want—”

Baekhyun doesn’t know what moves him to take a leap, step a little more into your space, and take both of your hands in his with unwavering intention, but he’s glad for it; because you don’t pull away, and the look you give him kind of makes him never want to look away.

“I want to go,” he says slowly, dipping his head down the slightest, close enough to see the rings of your irises, even in the dim lighting of his porch, “I want to be there for you.”

There’s an almost inaudible “okay,” that leaves your lips, the letters rolling off your tongue with a shy smile that Baekhyun finds himself mimicking. His eyes flutter away, just for a moment, to your hands, then back to your face, before he slowly lets them go, only to rest them against your jaw again.

Baekhyun might be using the “taking things slow” mantra as an excuse for his complete lack of experience on how to navigate a real relationship, but this, right here, he’s sure of. That he likes you, that he wants you, that he—

“Can… can I kiss you?” he asks, just above a whisper.

His eyes are frantic, looking for an answer in yours, but instead he gets them from your lips; a soft, “Yes,” accompanied by a softer nod that Baekhyun would have missed if not for having your head in his hands.

When he leans forward, you meet him halfway, lips pursed together—and Baekhyun thinks that, yeah, if being in a relationship with you meant he got to do this, all day, then he would have to figure out how to be your boyfriend sooner, rather than later.

One kiss turns into two, then three, then four with smiles, and giggles in-between, and the only thing that seems to pull you away from each other is the honking of a car horn. Flustered, Baekhyun lowers his hand, bites on his bottom lip as you fumble to check the license plates on the car to those on your phone.

“I think that’s my car,” you tell him, and maybe it’s wishful thinking, but he swears there’s slightest twinge of disappointment in your voice, too, “I—I had fun, Baek, really. So, thank you, again.”

“Me too,” he says, words on autopilot, brain still stuck in the moment before.

He smiles, daystruck as he walks you to the curb, before you cross the street. He’s about to wish you well again, before you turn to him, and give him the smallest, barely there peck on the lips.

“Goodnight, Baekhyun.”

He doesn’t even know if he responds audibly, he’s processing you in fragments, watching your silhouette as you cross the street, and head into the backseat of the car. He swears he catches the smallest wave from you through the window, but for all he knows that could have been his imagination.

Your goodnight kiss lingers on his lips, on his mind, and it’s only when he’s back inside that he lets himself break out into the foolish grin he’s been hiding all night. He’s going to have to figure out how to do that boyfriend-girlfriend thing. As soon as possible.

ϟ tag list: @artfulbarnes @bat-shark-repellant @baek-byunies @baeklooming-day @bbh-kji @cosmins @coffee-prince-kyungsoo @etsjusoa @exuwu @elyxion1485 @fifiaaaaaa @haechanspudu @honeyboocal @httpschoisan @junkfoodwriting @just-a-sad-writer @j-pping @kkpoptrashhh @littleflowercrown13 @loeytingz @marina-del-rey98 @mangobaek @miraculyfe @mochahyuck @oasissehun @ohwosehun @p-polaroid @peachesyeol @peacherparker @penguinsoo-l @rikachusworld @sakura-uji @shesdreaminginoverdose @sekshi-namjas @smolpeyy @strawberrychannie @takoyakkun @to-all-the-stories-i-love @vaiva @writingindaisies @xiutingmyself @yourexotextplus

ϟ more notes: more smoochies!! they have kissed a few times (maybe once or twice) since their first kiss a few parts ago, but i had no way of showing that to you guys so here you go!! they’re in a weird stage where they kiss each other goodbye and go on dates and like each other but it’s not exactly... dating?

i hope this gives some insight into baekhyun’s thoughts, as well. some things are harder to get across through just texts, but i wanted to show his feelings beyond his overexcited, adorable messages 🥺 he’s still a whole babie, but he has complex thoughts!!

i’ll finish rambling now, but there is an intended part 15C (which I know, sounds like it should just be part 16 at this point, but in a perfect world, I’d have been able to fit everything into one post but i digress). maybe it’ll be part 16 anyway, but it’ll likely include some writing because the xiuchen drama is back!! 🤗

266 notes · View notes

stereksecretsanta · 4 years ago

Text

Merry Christmas, kevaaronday!

For @kevaaronday. I tried to use all the tropes you liked, though I played a bit with the coffee shop!AU request. It ended up being pretty long, but I hope it pleases. Enjoy and Merry Christmas!

Read On AO3

*****

Food, Drinks, and Pings

Stiles just wanted to clear things up—he did not work for Hale Corp, and he certainly did not work for said company’s inhouse café, The Family Bean. He was a writer, who just so happened to have been roped into the gig because he was best friends with the soulmate-fiancée of the best friend of one of the sons of the company’s owners.

See, one of Stiles’ best friends from high school was Erica Reyes, blonde, vivacious, and both crazy and powerful enough to castrate someone with her fingernails. She might look like she just stepped off the catwalk, with her hourglass figure, fluffy hair, and red lips, but she had a knack for business that led to a scholarship at a reputable business school. Stiles, on the other hand, took to writing like a duck to water, thanks to his overactive imagination and ability to turn a phrase. He could write anything and so he did—news pieces, articles, blogs, reviews, as well as a modestly famous soulmate series published under a pseudonym.

Erica’s soon-to-be husband and soulmate was Vernon Boyd III, a tall, dark, and delicious drink of chocolate, who was so fit he could bench press a baby elephant without breaking a sweat. He was the perfect picture of seriousness and silence, that Stiles used to wonder how he functioned as Hale Corp’s Director of Operations. After getting to know him better, he realized just how smart and charismatic Boyd really was.

Boyd’s best friend from childhood was Derek Hale, one of the sons from the famous and powerful Hale Family, owners and leaders of the mass media company, Hale Corp.

Stiles knew of the Hale Family, and who didn’t? You’d be hard-pressed to find someone who didn’t know the famous family of business tycoons and titans, a family so rich they could buy a person’s soul even. Nor would someone fail to hear about one of the most powerful love stories that rocked the world.

Talia Hale was the eldest child of the main branch of the Hale family and was poised to take over the world. Desmond Fitzgerald, in contrast, was the only child of elderly parents, and they lived at a shabby, squat house with no electricity, scraping by each and every day.

Talia’s father, the late and great Everett Hale, had visited the local community college as part of their charity program. Talia had tagged along, nineteen and already learning the ropes, and had tripped over the custodian who had been on his hands and knees straightening the welcome carpet.

Take a guess who the janitor was.

An accidental brush of skin, the burning of a Mark, and that was it.

Talia and Desmond turned out to be soulmates, and their Marks, her howling wolf and his crescent moon, had become one of the most romantic symbols of their time.

Now, where did Stiles and The Family Bean came in, you ask?

Aside from writing, Stiles knew his way around a kitchen. His mother had passed away when he was seven, and he had grown up with a Sheriff father who only knew the basics. Stiles had to learn how to cook a meal or risk them subsisting on fried everything and endless takeout orders.

So yes, Stiles knew how a kitchen worked. The thing was, Erica didn’t, and had spent high school eating Stiles’ meals and hanging around his kitchen. Nothing soothed her viciousness and temper like one of his desserts.

So whenever Erica was close to breaking someone’s jaw and risking a lawsuit, she’d invite Stiles over and he would come and work his magic at The Family Bean. It wasn’t like it was such a hardship. The place had a gorgeous kitchen, a full pantry, and a really comfy setup with cozy booths and colorful tables and chairs.

It wasn’t only Erica who benefited. Stiles often found inspiration at the tail end of a whisk or in between beating a dough into submission while listening to Erica’s gossip. He had come to depend on her brand of sass whenever he was suffering from writer’s block, or dealing with annoying clients, or avoiding his editor, Danny Mahealani.

It got to the point that Erica had HR make him a permanent guest entry pass—written down for Stiles S, Food Guy—and everyone knew him by name, the security, the delivery boys, the café’s actual employees, and some of Hale Corp’s employees.

That was what he meant by his original statement: He did not work for Hale Corp or The Family Bean. He was just Erica’s food guy and personal chef. Just another title to add to personal punching bag, platonic soulmate, best friend, and partner-in-crime, among others.

Boyd was surprisingly calm about the guy constantly hanging around his soulmate. Then again, no one would choose Stiles’ skinny ass for Boyd’s lusciousness, so Stiles could understand that he wasn’t much of a threat. Erica said that Boyd knew they were a package deal, and it helped that Boyd had been won over by Stiles’ banana bread. Either way, Boyd was cool and didn’t punch Stiles in the face for his and Erica’s weird platonic love affair.

So, in the end, that was Stiles’ life—work, his Dad, Erica, and his other friends.

Then the Hales happened.

It all started on a fine Monday morning with Kira Yukimura. She was pretty and petite, and the goddess who was actually the one in charge of The Family Bean’s kitchen. She wore floral dresses with studded combat boots, and held katana wielding lessons on Saturdays and a kids’ kitchen workshop on Sundays. Stiles adored her.

So when he walked in that day—after spending the entirety of the weekend not writing, because his protagonists, Peter and Wade, were being idiots—only to hear Kira’s cries for help, he was more than happy to tag in.

“I’m not crying.” She glared at him from where she was assembling sandwich orders, her gaze as sharp as her swords.

“But you still need help,” Stiles said. He put his laptop bag in one of the employee lockers, rolled up the sleeves of his red sweater, and put on an apron. “Erica wants to do lunch, but I decided to come in early.”

Kira nodded towards the window. “All right, because I got a purple ticket for you.”

Stiles jumped up. “Ooh, cool! I’ve never handled a purple ticket before!”

Kira gave him a relieved smile. “Well, today’s your lucky day. One of my employees called in sick, another is late, and I’ve got five packed tickets from different departments, three of them being rush orders, not to mention today’s purple ticket is a little too vague. I’m both swamped and stumped.”

“I’ve got your back, K.” Stiles gave her a salute and bounced over to the ticket tacked up on the holder.

Purple tickets were orders sent straight from the Wolf’s Den. It was the codename for the top floors occupied by the Hale Family and their closest associates. Boyd and Erica’s office were there, too. Stiles had only ever seen it through photos. There was a lot of security posted there, as if guarding the gates of heaven.

Anyway, purple tickets meant VVVVIP orders, note the number of ‘very’s. Kira usually handled those, but she obviously needed help now.

“Now, what do the Lords and Ladies want?” Stiles murmured to himself.

The Family Bean:

MH: hot chocolate

CC: pancakes

SHB: waffles

VHB: dirty chai

LH: anything

“You know who’s who?” Kira called out.

“Yep, I got it,” Stiles replied. He learned about this from Erica.

MH was Matthew Hale, the firstborn son and heir to the kingdom. CC was his seven-year-old daughter, who everyone called by her nickname. SHB was five-year-old Spencer, and VHB was his mother Valerie Hale-Barone, the firstborn daughter, second eldest, and the lawyer of the family. LH was Laura Hale, the third eldest and the maverick of the family. She was the only one not directly working for Hale Corp, and was more involved their side projects.

“Purple tickets are usually like that,” Kira said, looking at him with amusement. Stiles realized he had been frowning in confusion. “Despite being insanely rich people, they’re surprisingly not very picky about what they eat. Laura, in particular, will eat anything. It’s just difficult to give them variety or find a balance between upscale and too simple.”

“And now you want me to take a crack at it?” Stiles asked.

“Sure. It’ll be in my name anyway, and I don’t mind if you go wild,” Kira said encouragingly. It made Stiles grin. Most would be horrified at handing over their precious menu to someone who wasn’t a baker, much less someone who wasn’t a legitimate employee. But Kira had always been a rebel.

Under Kira’s guidance, Stiles filled up a purple delivery bag for the Hales. The dirty chai latte was pretty straightforward, though he didn’t know how Kira usually made it, so he went with his own style. He also made a raspberry hot chocolate, strawberry cheesecake pancakes, mixed berry waffles, and, for the anything portion of the ticket, a berry breakfast parfait made of yoghurt and fruits and graham crackers.

“Tastes awesome and looks pretty as a picture too,” Kira said, nibbling on her own waffle as she sat atop the counter, swinging her legs to and fro. Stiles could see a hint of her soulmate Mark under her dress just on the outside of her thigh. “I still believe you should have been a baker rather than a writer.”

Stiles grinned as he hung up his apron. “I’m both, but one pays the bills and the other’s a hobby. It’s surprising how most people would think one’s the other.”

“Kira?” a voice called out.

Kira perked up and immediately slid off the counter. She straightened her skirt and stepped out the door of the kitchen.

“Good morning, Derek,” she greeted.

Stiles peeked out unashamedly through the service window.

Tall, dark, and incredibly handsome, DH or Derek Hale was the middle child of the family. He was the Chief Financial Officer, and was said to be shyer and quieter compared to his more unruly and flashy siblings. It made sense why he was childhood friends with Boyd. The two seemed to share a calm, quiet demeanor.

Stiles had always thought that Derek was quite handsome in an already attractive family, and every once in a while, he would get front row seats—or the view through the service window—to the man in the three-piece suit with the godly shoulder to waist to ass ratio. It was quite inspiring.

“I heard Val and the others had a purple ticket sent down,” Derek was saying to Kira. “I’m on my way up and I thought I’d bring it along and save you a trip.”

“Oh, thanks, Derek. I’ll get it from the back,” Kira replied. “How about you? Do you want anything?”

Derek thought about it. “Just a drink. Anything you want to make me.”

“So long as it’s sweet?” Kira teased, which made the man chuckle.

It was like a bulb lit up in Stiles’ head.

He met Kira at the door when she walked back in, and it said so much about how awesome she was because she immediately said, “Yes, Stiles, you can make whatever you want. I mean, you’ve already tried your hard at the purple ticket. Might as well go all the way.”

“Thanks, K. You’re a goddess.” Stiles bounced off to the machines. He had always liked a challenge.

In the end, Stiles added his specially made ‘very merry berry frappe’ into the bag. He made sure to put it in a cup cozy to hide the purple color. He wasn’t sure if Derek would mind, but it just wouldn’t do for one of the bosses to be seen with a colorful drink. He let Kira whisk the bag away and they watched Derek exit The Family Bean.

“I hate to see you go, but I love to watch you leave,” Stiles murmured, eyeing the man’s backside.

“I’ll drink to that.” Kira giggled, clinking her extra glass of frappe against his. “And you’re teaching me the recipe by the way.”

“Not on your life.”

It took eight days before Stiles could once again visit The Family Bean. He had had a burst of inspiration following his last visit and had locked himself up in his apartment. His Dad John and his editor Danny were used to these binges, so they had taken turns visiting him to make sure he was alive and eating actual food rather than inhaling takeout, junk food, and soda.

He had sent off the first few chapters to Danny yesterday and had then slept for about eighteen hours, before Erica had barged in to make sure he hadn’t died. She had been pissed at him last week, annoyed that she hadn’t sampled Stiles’ berry-filled menu, but she’d gotten over it and had even brought groceries before dragging Stiles to The Family Bean for some fresh air and free lunch.

And if that wasn’t enough to perk Stiles up, she and Kira proceeded to tell him how well-received his menu was.

“The kids absolutely loved it, and Laura practically licked her parfait cup clean,” Kira said as they sat around the table for lunch. She had prepared honey sesame chicken, egg rolls, and sweet potato salad. She definitely had Stiles beat when it came to savory meals.

“Valerie was surprised that her dirty chai tasted great. She wasn’t biting people’s heads off more than usual,” Erica shared. She was running her fingers idly over her soulmate Mark, the three claw marks that spanned across her forearm.

Stiles felt pleased at the compliment, but he couldn’t help sending Kira an apologetic look. He didn’t want to usurp her clients and her kitchen.

Kira just laughed. “It’s fine. I know it’s due to your magic fingers and secret recipes. Just teach me how you do Valerie’s dirty chai and we’re good.”

“Sure thing, but it’s nothing special” Stiles said. “I did bring dessert, as thanks for letting me play around last time.”

Kira bounced on her seat. “Tomato pie?”

“With extra bacon and jalapeños, just how you like it.” Stiles grinned and showed her the pie, making Kira squeal.

“You gals eat up. I’ll mix us up some lattes, if you want anything,” he offered.

Stiles went to the kitchen to fix up Erica’s usual iced cinnamon honey latte and Kira’s vanilla almond. He was in the middle of finishing them up when he heard voices out at the main area. He recognized Boyd’s low voice and decided to make him a cup of blond roast with soy milk. He paused when he heard unfamiliar voices and took a peek out the service window. He instantly recognized the small group that had joined Kira and Erica.

There was Boyd, who immediately sat down beside Erica and kissed her cheek. His soulmate Mark was obvious, a rose on the back of his left hand. Stiles liked their marks, very beauty and the beast.

Having come in with Boyd was Derek, who looked just as handsome as he always did in a fetching dark blue suit. With him were his younger siblings, twins Cora and Cameron Hale, the artists of the family, who made music and art, played a bevy of instruments, and also drew and painted. Stiles was only two years older than the twins, but they had more talent in their pinkies than Stiles had in his whole body.

The twins’ Marks were one of the most popular, not just because the two were celebrities, but also because they were incredibly visible. Even from a distance, Stiles could see the compass between Cora’s collarbones and the lighthouse that popped up over Cameron’s collar at the left side of his neck.

Suddenly feeling shy, Stiles stayed in the kitchen and watched and listened.

“Nice spread, Kira. Is that for us?” Cameron asked.

“No, you Hales have your own food upstairs,” Kira said. “I heard Wild Flour Italian sent lunch over.”

Cora rolled her eyes. “Jennifer Blake owns that joint. She’s been trying to get us to come over. No doubt she’ll just use it as some sort of advertisement. I’d rather take a bite of this.” She pointed at their table.

“That pie looks good,” Cameron said. “Can I have a bite?”

Stiles saw the gleam in Erica’s eye.

“Go on,” she said. “They’re good.”

Stiles watched as Erica and Kira offered the Hales a slice each. For some reason, he felt anxious to hear about how his food will be received. It had been nice to hear the rave reviews from Kira and Erica, but it was different seeing their reactions in person.

Cora let out yum-yum noises, which buoyed Stiles’ spirit.

“Okay, that’s pretty tasty. I love the caramelized bacon.”

“Wait, is this tomato in pie? Like a tomato pie?” Cameron asked, inspecting his plate. He took a large bite.

Kira bounced on her seat in excitement. “Yes, isn’t it good?”

“Who made this?” Derek asked. He didn’t look displeased, but he didn’t look happy either. He had a really good poker face. It might be good for business, but it was hard for Stiles to interpret. Stiles noted that he kept on eating the pie though.

“My Food Guy,” Erica said with a smug grin.

“Her Food Guy’s the one who made the berry-eautiful purple ticket that received quite the sensational reviews,” Kira added. She glanced at the service window and Stiles knew she saw him hiding there.

“The one who made my drink, too?” Derek asked.

Kira nodded. “The same one.”

“Spence went gaga for those waffles,” Cameron said. “And Mattie couldn’t believe someone got CC to eat fruit.”

A loud ring cut through their conversation and everyone started pulling out phones to check. It was Derek’s.

“Mom’s calling. Time to go,” he said, standing up.

In reply, Cameron started shoving the rest of the pie in his mouth and also popped in a couple of egg rolls.

“Where’s the Food Guy, though?” Cora asked, head turning to the kitchen. Stiles ducked down behind the counter. “If he makes stuff like this, I wanna meet him.”

“You can order a purple ticket if you want, but he’s not here all the time,” Erica said, and Stiles glared at her in his mind.

“He works part-time?” Derek asked.

“Not quite,” Kira said. “He’s—”

They were interrupted once more by a ringing phone, and this time Boyd spoke.

“Talia wants you all upstairs. Now.”

Stiles peeked out again. Cameron attempted to bring the entire pie tin, but settled for polishing his slice off. He then joined Cora in writing up a purple ticket order. After a moment, Derek put an order in too. The Hales left in a hurry and Stiles leaned right out of the service window just as Kira came bouncing towards it.

“There’s the man of the hour,” Boyd said, with a smirk.

Kira giggled. “Order up, Food Guy. You got a purple ticket.”

“I’m so proud.” Erica mockingly wiped a tear away. “Stiles, my Food Guy, charming the Hales off through the power of food.”

“Oh, fuck you all.” Stiles glared, ducking back into the kitchen.

At the last minute, he reached out and grabbed the purple ticket from Kira, ignoring the others’ laughter.

Over the next three weeks, Stiles prepared four more purple tickets. According to Kira, his drinks and desserts had become quite attractive to the Hales, both because of the taste and the mystery.

“At this point, they don’t even want me handling the tickets. They always ask if The Food Guy is around before they send their orders down,” Kira said. This time, she was the one helping Stiles prepare and pack.

The Wolf’s Den was going to be holding meetings nonstop, so Stiles had to prepare a variety of drinks and snacks. It would have been easy if they had simple requests, but the Hales were a mix of eclectic and frustrating.

“I’m glad you’re cool about this, but the Hales are bound to find out that the one making all their desserts isn’t even an employee,” Stiles said, as he added an extra shot of syrup in Laura’s honey and milk iced coffee. Just like her usual orders, she had asked for ‘any drink that’s sweet’ which was such a large ballpark that Stiles wanted to clock someone over the head, maybe her.

“I’m more surprised that you keep making these for free,” Kira said.

Stiles shrugged. “It’s a challenge, and I like challenges.”

“Really, just for the challenge?” Kira asked. “Stiles, Valerie fell in love with your version of her dirty chai. I did it the exact same way you did, but she insists that it tastes different. Same with Cameron’s favorite spiced coconut coffee. Same with all the desserts you made for the kids…”

Her face turned serious. “Don’t you think there’s more to this? Don’t you think it’s a ping—”

“It’s just for fun, Kira. It’s nothing,” Stiles said, heart rabbiting in his chest. He pushed it down firmly. “Plus, it’s surprisingly inspiring for my stories. Right now, I’m writing a new story for my spy series and I’m trying to solve this thing going on between James and Quentin.”

Kira’s face fell but she smiled, if a bit awkwardly. “Ah, well. Whatever you say, Food Guy. I’m just happy I get free labor out of it.”

“So you’re the Food Guy?”

The two of them jumped up in surprise and they turned around to see that someone had come in through the kitchen doors.

“Nathan, hello!” Kira greeted. “We didn’t hear you come in.”

Nathaniel Hale was the youngest of the brood at nineteen, and with his dark hair and piercing blue eyes, he was quite the heartthrob in an already beautiful family. If that wasn’t enough, he was an athlete and a rising star in soccer.

Stiles didn’t really care at the moment, too busy wondering if the kid had heard what Kira had been saying.

Nathan leaned against the counter. “Everyone was arguing over who was going to pick up the ticket this time. I walked out while Laura was arm wrestling with Cam.”

Kira laughed while Stiles looked away, suddenly awkward.

“Uh, that’s cool and all, but I’m not remotely interesting enough to warrant an arm wrestle.”

Nathan shrugged. “Your stuff tastes amazing.” He smiled at Kira. “No offense, Kira. You’re still queen. But you… you’re interesting.” He gave Stiles a look. “You know, I’ve been ordering the same caramel vanilla iced coffee from The Family Bean for years now. You made it once and now everything else tastes different.”

Stiles couldn’t help flinching. Oh yeah. Nathan had definitely heard Kira.

But Nathan turned to Kira, breaking the stare. “Anyway, is the ticket ready? Can I take it up?”

Kira smiled and handed over the bag. “You just want to lord your victory over the others.”

“Of course. That’s what having siblings is all about.” Nathan scoffed, but grinned. “Anyway, thanks.”

Kira smiled. “Enjoy your meal.”

Stiles watched Nathan leave and rubbed his left shoulder. He had a weird feeling about all this.

A single touch was all it took to find someone’s soulmate. However, people couldn’t just go around touching one another. Some did, but there were laws against touching people without their consent. So Nature, in all its wisdom, gave people the capability to locate their soulmates by following a trail.

The best trail was through family members. Take for example one other famous Hale love story, that of Valerie. Her husband, the Italian magnate Piero Barone, was from a family of vintners. During Talia and Desmond’s trip to Italy, they met Piero at a wine tasting event and immediately felt what Mark experts called a ‘ping,’ a connection between them that hinted at the identity of Piero’s soulmate. Piero followed the Hales to America, met the family—all of which gave off similar pings—was finally allowed a Touch Test with Valerie, and the rest was history.

There were other kinds of trails, like what happened between Boyd and Erica. They both attended the same university, though Boyd had graduated several years earlier. However, even without knowing Boyd, Erica inadvertently joined the same groups and organizations that he had, and even lived at the same apartment that he had rented when he had been a student. Then after Erica graduated, she decided to take a year off to travel. Months later, when Boyd went on sabbatical, he ended up following almost the exact same itinerary. They finally met by chance during an alumni event and got to talking, which revealed all of the things they had in common. Before the event was even halfway through, they had done a Touch Test and found their match.

Stiles’ favorite trail story was of his parents’. John and Claudia met when they were children. Having no siblings, they didn’t have the benefit of a family trail, and being young meant there weren’t a lot of experiences that could link them. However, they had always known there was something special about one another. They grew up together, grew apart, and met later on in life. They still didn’t have the same life experiences—she was a librarian, he was a deputy—but the moment they saw one another again, they just knew.

Sometimes people just knew.

“Well, well, well. I didn’t know we were serving twink in the menu.”

Ordinarily, that comment would have had Stiles lashing out with his sharp tongue, but upon looking up, he hesitated. First of all, the other person was clearly drunk and it was only, Stiles checked his watch, three-forty-seven in the afternoon. Second, the other person was none other than the infamous Peter Hale, Talia’s younger brother.

The eternal bachelor, he was called, well known for his many dalliances and relationships. He was also the Hale with the most well-known Mark, not because it was at a visible spot, but mostly because he tended to flaunt the large image of a bird in flight that was across his chest via his tendency of wearing unbuttoned shirts.

In Stiles’ opinion, Peter reminded him of one of his book characters—the rich and powerful Anthony, who, underneath all the bravado, was desperately looking for his soulmate, only to find it in the fair-haired, gentle-hearted Steven, who wouldn’t take his crap. He wondered who Peter’s soulmate was.

“Oh, for god’s sake. Uncle, come back here!”

Stiles looked up to see Derek jogging over to them, looking both pissed and worried at the man leaning against The Family Bean’s pristine counter.

Peter ignored him. “Oh, lay off, Derek. I want a drink, and this twink is going to make me one.”

Derek turned to Stiles. “Peter, do not call—” He paused, dark eyes widening.

Stiles felt his heart jerk in his chest and his left shoulder burn. He felt like he had been hit in the head, so did Derek going by his gaping.

Peter suddenly tilted sideways, interrupting their stare down. Neither Stiles nor Derek were able to catch the man before he ended up sprawled across the counter. The sight of him had Stiles dredging up some semblance of control. He sighed.

“You are very rude, and also very drunk, but because I feel sorry for you, Mr. Hale, I’ll make you a free drink.”

Derek let out a gurgle and then a cough, obviously holding back laughter. Peter propped himself up on wobbly elbows.

“You feel sorry for me? Don’t you know who I am, kid?”

Stiles was both annoyed by Peter and buoyed by Derek’s reaction. It was probably what sharpened his tongue.

“You’re Talia Hale’s younger brother, but between the supposed—ahh, what was it—Big Bad Wolf of Media and this so-called twink, I’m not the one nursing a hangover at this time of the afternoon.”

Stiles shook his head and walked off, ignoring Peter’s angry, garbled words and the sudden chuckle from Derek. The latter made Stiles’ shoulder ache.

Stiles ignored that and prepared a quick takeout bag. He could hear Peter and Derek arguing out on the main area. It was the work of minutes to prepare a quick smoothie and throw in some crackers and fruits. He walked back out and handed the bag to Derek, but then quickly tucked his hands to himself. The other man’s piercing stare was making him sweat.

Peter grabbed his drink and took a gulp of the smoothie, before asking, “What’s your name, kid?”

Stiles rolled his eyes. Not even a thank you. How rude.

“Not a kid, and there’s no need to know my name since you’re just going to forget it.”

Peter smirked lasciviously. “Oh, that mouth on you.”

“I’m also not into geriatrics,” Stiles was quick to bite back.

Peter’s jaw dropped. “Geria—”

Derek suddenly burst into laughter and the sound of it seemed to fill Stiles’ heart and mind, making his face flush and his body warm. Derek smiled at him and Stiles felt warmth bloom in his chest.

Stiles cleared his throat, trying to will the blush away. He rubbed his shoulder. “Well, anyway, I’m happy to help. I’ll tell Kira you guys dropped by. See you around.” He glanced at Peter. “Not you. Drop dead.” He stepped back.

“Wait!” Derek lurched forward, startling Stiles and also Peter, who, true to Stiles’ words, slid off the counter to the floor. They ignored him.

Derek leaned forward over the counter. “I’m sorry if I’m forward, but are you—”

Stiles shook his head vigorously. “I’m sorry. I have to go.”

He ducked back into the kitchen, ignoring Derek’s calls and Peter’s drunken warbling. He leaned against the door and slid down until he could curl up into a ball. He placed a hand over his burning shoulder.

Sometimes people just knew.

Stiles was tempted to stay away from The Family Bean after that. He really wanted to. But it was hard to stay away.

Even harder to stay away from a ping.

Stiles wasn’t stupid enough to let that slip away.

Still, it was hard to face up to it and admit that he had a soulmate.

So for the next two weeks, Stiles stayed away from the front of house, always hiding in the safety of the kitchen. He kept on making purple tickets whenever they came, but he avoided coming out for any reason, especially after Derek started coming by nearly every day. Sometimes he even brought his work over just so that he could stay as long as possible.

It confused Kira and Erica, but they assumed Derek just liked the food. The other Hales also started coming by and many times, Stiles could hear them asking Derek why he was hanging around The Family Bean instead of working in his office. Always, Derek kept mum.

Because as it turned out, Derek hadn’t told anyone about the ping.

In fact, Stiles had a feeling that the only person in the Hale family who knew was Nathan. Maybe because he had already been suspicious of it. Out of all the Hales, he was the only one who didn’t ask Derek about why he kept hanging around the café.

The other one who knew was Boyd.

Derek had been called to a meeting one day, so Stiles had felt it safe to come out and work at one of the booths. He had already fallen so far behind on his writing commitments. After a few minutes, Boyd had dropped by and had joined him. Stiles knew he was typing gibberish on his laptop, but he kept on as an excuse not to look at Boyd, who was looking at him intently.

Finally, he spoke, “Looking back, I guess it wasn’t just your banana bread that won me over.”

Stiles jerked, sending a series of characters across the screen.

Boyd kept on. “I always had a good feeling about you from Erica’s stories, but when we met, that was definitely a ping.”

Stiles bit his lip. “Does Erica know?”

Boyd shook his head. “I love her, but Erica would have thrown a party if she knew.”

Stiles sighed, both in relief and in trepidation for the moment Erica find out.

Boyd studied him. “Derek’s a good guy, you know.”

“I know I got that impression from all the stories you and Erica had of him,” Stiles said. “I always thought it was surprising considering he could afford not to be a nice guy.”

Boyd studied him, making Stiles shift in his seat. “Is that the reason you won’t meet with him? Or do a Touch Test? Because he’s a Hale?”

Stiles almost protested, but he deflated. “…I don’t know.”

Boyd hummed under his breath. “Well, you’ve always played your cards close to the chest when it comes to soulmates, but I know you’ll figure it out.” He stood up. “But you better make it soon. Erica and the rest of the Hales are bound to figure it out.”

Stiles groaned and sank down on his seat.

“Noted.”

The day after that, a still-conflicted Stiles was once again at The Family Bean. Kira had gone up to the Wolf’s Den to deliver the latest purple ticket, so he had to stay and man the counter.

The door let out a little tinkle, and Stiles froze the moment he saw the woman entering the café.

He’d know Talia Hale anywhere.

Stiles almost panicked, but then he remembered that she didn’t know who he was. He took a deep breath.

“Um, good afternoon, Mrs. Hale. What can I get you?”

The woman smiled, quite warm and friendly despite her fierce reputation. “Just some tea, please. And are there any new desserts?”

It had been a moment of weakness, but Stiles had actually brought over some peanut butter stuffed cookies and added it to the purple ticket in the hopes that a certain Hale would like them. He still had a few cookies left, but he wasn’t sure if he should offer them to her.

“I smell cookies,” Talia said pointedly. “I’ll have some of those.”

Stiles gulped. “Ah, we have some peanut butter stuffed cookies. Let me get those for you.”

He swallowed his nerves and served the woman, who took a sip of tea and a bite of the cookie right there on the counter.

She smiled, studying the cookies. “Very tasty.”

“Thank you, ma’am.” Stiles smiled politely. He turned away to leave and maybe gather his strength in the privacy of the kitchen.

“When we started hearing about The Food Guy, I admit I was quite intrigued. It’s very rare for someone to grab the attention of my entire family.”

Stiles paused and turned to her.

He should have known.

Stiles nodded stiffly. “Nice to meet you, ma’am.”

Talia smiled, sharp and knowing. “And you, Food Guy.”

“Any reason for the visit?” Stiles asked, shifting on his feet.

“I wanted to meet you,” Talia said, taking another bite of her cookie.

Stiles frowned. “That’s all?”

“Were you expecting anything else?”

“Uh, well, I…”

Talia shrugged and sipped his tea. “I don’t blame you for any misgivings you might have should you prove to be soulmates with my son. I’m well aware of the reputation of my family. My late father, Everett, embodied the might of the Hale name better than anyone. You should have seen him back in the days.”

Stiles held up his hands. He couldn’t help the feeling that he had to explain.

“It’s not that there’s a problem with Derek or your family. Being a Hale isn’t the problem… not entirely…” he hesitated, but then plunged on, urged by the ping he could feel inside him and the desire to make someone understand. “My mom passed away when I was seven. She was soulmates with my father. He was—I was—we were never the same after.”

A heavy silence fell, and Stiles was both nervous and intrigued. Talia’s face changed. Something in her eyes darkened and she pursed her lips.

“Forgive my sudden melancholy, but I was just reminded of something.” She sipped her tea. “I was reminded of my youth. My father, Peter, and I had never been the same after mother walked away.”

“Walked away?” Stiles was taken aback. It was rare to hear any mention of Talia’s mother, but everyone had chalked it up to grief at her passing. “But you all said she died—”

Talia interrupted him delicately. “People think of Marks as the be all and end all where the only answer is yes. But even soulmates are a choice…”

“Desmond grew up without a penny to his name, so he rejected me as he could only see himself as an embarrassment to the Hale family. My opinionated father had, unfortunately, been a contributing factor to that line of thinking. I grew up with a rather jaded view of Marks and pings, and I had seen his rejection as a challenge and not a privilege. Desmond and I, our story had been tempestuous, quite unlike the romanticizing people had done.”

She finished the last of her tea. “If I may be allowed to request one thing, all I ask is that you make a choice so that Derek can do the same. No one in this family will certainly blame you for it.”

Talia pushed her empty cup and plate towards Stiles, and smiled. “Have a good day, Food Guy.”

Stiles watched Talia walk away.

He had some thinking to do.

Stiles took a deep breath and tried not to crush the boxes in his hands. He was nervous and his left shoulder was throbbing.

“Ready?” Kira asked him. She was carrying the other delivery boxes.

“As I’ll ever be,” Stiles replied.

Kira smiled, both encouraging and proud, and nodded to the guard on duty. The man held open the double doors for them, and Stiles was instantly met with a wall of sound.

“Purple ticket delivery,” Kira called out, leading Stiles inside.

The office was spacious, as it should be if it was going to accommodate all of the Hales, and all of them were there. There was a long table at one end where Talia, Matthew, and Boyd were talking and laughing. Desmond was on one couch, talking to Piero and Erica. Laura and Cora were seated on armchairs and were arguing loudly about something. Peter was egging them on. CC and Spencer, were seated in front of a television at a kids’ play area set up in the corner. Cameron was with them, all of them singing along to whatever cartoon was playing. Derek, Valerie, and Nathan were huddled around a table, looking at blueprints.

“Oh, yes! The food’s here!” Cameron cheered, which sent the children shouting as well.

Kira navigated the area like a champ, while Stiles slowly shuffled after. “You guys ordered a lot. I had to ask for help. This is Stiles.”

Stiles didn’t miss the way Derek’s head suddenly jolted in his direction, nor Talia’s proud smile, nor Erica’s sudden screech of “Stiles!” which had everyone else turning their way. Stiles winced. He was going to get his ass kicked later for not telling Erica about this.

“Well, well…” Peter grinned. “Hello there, twink.”

Stiles shuddered. “Still not into creepy old geezers.”

“Oh, wait, wait! Is he the guy who called you a geriatric?” Laura asked, before shrieking in laughter.

“And the one who said Peter should drop dead,” Cora added, cackling.

Laughter rang around over Peter’s protests, and it made Stiles’ heart stutter. He felt warm all over, like the pings going off in his head were doubly delighted at the Hales. He glanced at Derek, who was smiling warmly.

Stiles winced when he caught Erica’s gaze though. She looked between him and Derek and her eyes widened. But Boyd was suddenly there, hand over her mouth and whispering to her.

Stiles helped Kira take out all of the food and the ravenous Hales were quickly upon them.

“Food Guy’s stuff tastes awesome,” Nathan said, licking his cupcake’s icing. He waggled knowing eyebrows at Stiles, who bit back a grin. Cheeky kid.

“Please pass our compliments to the chef, Kira,” Desmond said, reaching for his drink.

Kira giggled. “You can thank him yourself.” She waved at Stiles with a flourish.

Stiles felt a little like a deer in headlights when all their gazes alighted on him.

“You’re Food Guy?” and other iterations of the exclamation rang around the room.

Stiles flushed. “I’m glad to hear you all like what I’ve been making.”

“Oh, wow! How wonderful!” Piero piped up. “I haven’t felt a ping in such a long time. How nostalgic, don’t you think, dear?” He turned to Valerie.

“That’s a ping?” Matthew asked, confused, before his face cleared and he rubbed his chest. “Oh, hell, this is a ping.”

“Is that the tingly feeling here, Uncle Mattie?” Spencer asked, pointing at his tummy.

Erica finally managed to get out from under Boyd. “Stiles, did you ping with Derek? Is that why you’ve both been hanging around The Family Bean? You’ve both been pining over each other!”

Stiles groaned, while gasps and shouts suddenly rang around the room.

Kira sighed. “Way to ruin it, Erica.”

“You mean I was pinged through a tomato pie?” Cameron was asking, wide-eyed.

Cora started laughing. “Oh my god! Uncle Peter flirted with Derek’s soulmate!”

“That’s Uncle Derek’s soulmate?” CC asked.

“Yes, he is.” Nathan looked like he was immensely enjoying all this, and Stiles was starting to realize that he was a little shit.

Derek stepped towards Stiles. His face was a little red, but he was smiling and Stiles thought he was the handsomest man he had ever seen.

“My family’s a mess. Please ignore them,” Derek said, ignoring the protests from his siblings.

Stiles chuckled. “At least they keep things interesting. It’s just me, my Dad, and her.” He jerked a thumb at Erica.

“Oh, fu—dge you!” Erica said, glancing at the kids. She turned to Boyd. “And I can’t believe you didn’t tell me!”

Boyd rolled his eyes. “I was giving him space to process things.”

Stiles ignored them and turned to Derek. He only had one chance to do this.

“Ah, sorry, it took a while. I was figuring stuff out, but I thought we should get to know one another first.”

“Of course,” Derek said immediately. He reached out a hand. “I’m looking forward to getting to know you, Stiles.”

Stiles glanced at Talia, who was whispering to her husband. She winked at Stiles.

“Soulmates are a choice.”

Stiles smiled at Derek. He could feel his Mark tingling in anticipation.

“Me too, Derek.”

He reached out and took his hand.

#kevaaronday #stereksanta20 #*fic20 #*gifts20

17 notes · View notes

fanfic-inator795 · 6 years ago

Text

RotTMNT Oneshot: Enough

I know I’ve said before no more fanfics buuuut my confidence in my original writing took a bit of a dive today, and I’ve had this scene in my head for forever so, here we go. Just to prove that I can still write something decent. Please like/reblog/comment if you can.

As the bright full moon rose towards its peak, a lone hunter made his way back to his underground sanctuary.

...Well, maybe ‘hunting’ was a bit generous. Really it was more like ‘dumpster diving grocery shopping’ with the occasional swipe from an unguarded truck.

Even so, Splinter was satisfied with his haul. Lots of canned food, their dented containers thankfully unopened, as well a couple frozen pizzas and boxes of crackers that he managed to grab from a delivery van stopping at a nearby bodega. Yes, they would eat very well, at least until the next ‘shopping’ trip. They still had plenty of ramen cups and slightly stale bread from the last trip, but Splinter always took a special sort of pride in bringing his sons something truly yummy to eat.

And speaking of his sons... Tucking his spoils under an arm, picking whatever wouldn’t fit up with his long tail, he moved the makeshift door to the side with his other arm and walked into his humble home. “Oh boyyyyyys!” Splinter called out, just as he always did. He would make his return known, and his sons would rush him for hugs, usually sneaking a peek inside whatever bags and boxes their father brought home.

This time however, there was no stampede of little turtle feet. Not even a reply to his call.

Splinter frowned. “Boys!” he said, a bit louder now. He had begun to worry when he heard his oldest finally reply.

“Hey Pop! We’re in the living ro-” The snapper was quickly cut off by hollers and cheers from his brothers.

“Huh...” Were they playing some game? Or maybe they found an interesting comic book floating through the murky tunnels. Curious, Splinter worked quickly to put their groceries away before making his way to the center of their home. “What are you four doing?” he asked as he poked his head through the doorway-

“HOT SOUUUUUUUP!”

Splinter froze.

...No. Not Splinter. Not in that moment, at least. Lou Jitsu froze. The small silhouettes of his boys were blurred, the warm light from the old machine and its all encompassing projection shining brightly on the stone wall. Lou could only stare as he watched his reflection - younger, taller and certainly more foolish - kick a couple extras off-screen, his grin as cocky as ever.

“Leo an’ me found it!” he heard Mikey explain, his usual bright grin (along with the occasional crayon or paint streak) present on his face despite his rat dad’s shocked silence, “An’ Donnie figured out how to make it work and how to put the movie wheel in and everything! And this one is about this guy named Lou Jitsu! Isn’t it cool?!”

“Actually it was Leo’s idea to mess with it, sooooo-” Donnie added, feigning innocence in case their father was angry with him for snooping through the boxes he kept in his corner of their home - the boxes he had grabbed from a storage unit several months ago, though hadn’t shared with the boys what was in them.

This action also earned him an indignant squawk from his twin. “Nuh uh, you’re the one who wanted to see if you could make it work!” the slider argued. As the two began to argue and Raph stepped in to make sure the fight didn’t escalate, Lou just continued to stare at the screen.

It was like looking through one of those time portal things from a Jupiter Jim movie he remembered watching long ago. Remembering... He remembered the hum of the cameras, the heat of the set lights, the undying praise of the film crew and nearby fans alike. He remembered how good and right it felt to be in his own body, his epic martial arts moves as familiar as breathing.

Lou clenched his fists tightly, a dull ache now in his furry chest. His head nearly felt numb, old memories continuing to swirl beside with bittersweet emotions like stirring cheap margarita mix with cough syrup. And yet, his eyes refused to look away from the screen. He wasn’t sure when his feet started moving on their own, his body close enough to cast a shadow over the film. Close enough to touch history.

His double continued to fight and make cheesy one liners without a care in the world, his sunglasses catching the light perfectly. He seemed invincible, back then... Funny how life likes to prove you wrong in the most devastating ways.

What had he been thinking back then? What had he been thinking when he had shot his last film, not knowing then that it WOULD be his last film? Lou wasn’t sure, though he could bet it was something about finishing the current scene as soon as possible so he could make it to some party or street race or a date with whatever beautiful starlet or hollywood hunk that was willing.

Those times had been fun, really REALLY fun... But Lou still couldn’t help but resent his younger self for not appreciating those moments of movie magic more. If only he knew back then that he was actually going to end up missing those long days and seemingly endless retakes along with the premieres and the fame and the cheers.

But that life was gone, wasn’t it? Existing only in pictures and memories and old rolls of film...

“...Papa?”

A small voice finally pulled Lou out of his thoughts, his eyes blinking for the first time in what seemed like ages as he managed to look away from the movie, though the projected frames still danced across the side of his head, only stopping when it hit his shadow.

Small eyes filled with innocent concern and half-framed with red met his gaze. “What’s wrong?” Leo asked, tilting his head a bit, “This is a good movie! A really good one! So, how come you look so sad?”

Lou felt himself take a small step back, another sort of ache hitting his chest. The eyes of not just his second youngest but all of his children continued to stay directly on him, curious and a bit confused.

How come you look so sad?

Letting a moment pass, Lou swallowed... and then smiled as hard as he could.

“Aha, Papa just- really REALLY likes this movie! It- It is one of my favorites, actually!” The rat then feigned a scowl. “And you would watch your father’s favorite movie without him? Shame on you all!”

“Aww, it’s okay, Pop! We can just start it over,” Raph told him, “and then we can all watch it together!” The snapper paused. “...We can start it over, right Donnie?”

“Uh huh, it’s easy!” Donnie nodded, allowing a bit of pride slip into his voice as he began moving towards the aging device.

His brothers grinned, nowhere near annoyed at having to sit through scenes again. “I wanna watch it again anyway,” Leo told them, “There’s this one part where the Lou Jitsu guy throws these two mean guys right into their bowls of soup!”

Despite himself, Lou let out a small chuckle. “Wow, sounds exciting. Well then, let’s get this show... rolling, hm?” he said as he gestured to the projector. Leo giggled while his other three sons groaned.

Once the film was rewound and the credits began flashing across the stone wall, his boys didn’t hesitate to cuddle up next to him in his plush chair. Raph on his lap, Leo and Donnie by his sides, and Mikey sitting comfortably on top of his furry head, the only one of his children still small enough to do so.

“This is gonna be great!” Mikey grinned, nuzzling his father’s hair before cheering, “Hot souuuuuup!”

“HOT SOUUUUUUP!” his brothers echoed. Lou - no, Splinter chuckled again, his yellow eyes now burning slightly, but his smile never faltering.

His movie star days were long behind him, there was no denying that. No studio would hire a short, fat rat to star in a kung fu movie, and even if they did, Splinter wouldn’t risk it. After all, he had far more to lose these days, things more important than his reputation or a few handfuls of cash. Much, much more important...

The past would forever be the past, but he could still share it with his sons, even if he swore to himself to never let them know the full truth. And, as he listened to his children’s cheers and awe inspired comments as the opening fight scene played on, their small bodies snuggling closer to him as all five of them settled in, Splinter decided that that really was enough for him.

“...I wanna be a cool an’ strong hero like Lou Jitsu,” he heard Raphael say as said hero leapt off his motorcycle and punched two on-coming enemies right in the jaw.

Splinter hummed. “Maybe... When you’re all grown up, of course.”

“Awwww.”

THE END

#rottmnt #rise of the tmnt #splinter tmnt #lou jitsu #lou and his boys #my writing #oneshot #fanfiction

166 notes · View notes

jungshookz · 6 years ago

Note

Hey hi um I was wondering how about one where Jiminie had been silently pining over you forever and vice versa but y'all are clueless morons and it's driving the boys mad so they hatch a plan to get you both to kiss under the mistletoe?? Perhaps with a dash of clingybaby!chimchim??? Also je t'aime 💜💜

🎄 pairing: park jimin x reader

🎄 genre: warning this is SICKENINGLY fluffy pls contact ur doctor before proceeding, u and jimin are a pair of shy babies

🎄 wordcount: 3.7k these are getting very long i apologize

note: je t’aime beaucoup!!! this seems to be a very popular request because like eight of u asked for this very specific drabble but u know what i LOVE the enthusiasm also i’m sorry this is a lil late!!

let’s get to the main focus of this

you’ve had the faTTest crush on jimin for like a year now

you two have only known each other for like two-ish years?? you were introduced to him through kook

anyways

it’s just

it’s so eaSy to fall in love with park jimin

his adorable smile

his twinkly laugh

those oh so pillowy lips of his

face of an angel and body of a greek god

the best of both worlds!!

also

he’s very intelligent

very well-spoken

he’s sweet and caring and funny and uGH he’s just the perFect package

and u bet he has the perfect package too ;-)

bonUS point he’s an amazing dancer and you bust a nut every time you see him do a body roll

ahem

you’re at jin’s annual holiday party and so far things are going great

you’re hanging in the kitchen with kook and the others because there really isn’t anywhere else to go and also the kitchen is where the fOOD is

you’re in the middle of shovelling chips and dip into your mouth and scrolling through your instagram feed while the boys are just chit chatting with each other

yoongi glances over at you and sees that you’re completely entranced by your phone which is certainly noT party behaviour and you promised him you’d try to be a little more social this time around

so he takes action

“y/n” yoongi clears his throat and leans against the counter

“mhm” you look up at him across the table before looking back down at your phone

“oh look it’s jimin” yoongi points to over your shoulder and you immediately scramble to the other side of the counter where he is and duCK down “jeSus y/n i was kidding” he laughs lightly and yanks you back up

at least you’re not on your phone anymore

“don’t do that!!” you hiss and smooth down your sweater before looking to where he pointed and triple checking that jimin’s not actually there

“what’s the matter with you?? you always get so jumpy whenever i mention jimin” he teases and pokes your arm “is it because you have a faTASS crush on him?”

“i don’t- i don’T Have a crush on him!!” you scowl and decide to distract yourself by making a drink

the thing is

whenever you have a crush on someone you like to keep it to yourself

you don’t even tell kook about your crushes because you know you’d have to face endless teasing and you’re just not about that lifestyle

but when someone accuses you of crushing on someone you immediately get all defensive and you’re like pshHHShshs mE? no. no crush. love is dead. i am ro bot. good bye.

but like

c’mon

it’s pretty damn obvious u have a thing for jimin

the longing gaze filled with love that you only give to him is a dead giveaway

“you gonna talk to him tonight?” yoongi nudges your side and your cheeks flare up immediately

just the thought of having to talk to jimin is making you piss yourself

he’s obviously part of the friend group and he’s known the boys longer than u have and he’s one of the bros but he just..,,. he makes u sO nerVous

you can’t look him in the eye for more than three seconds without blushing and looking away

“what are we talking about?” tae pops up next to yoongi clutching a bottle of beer

“we’re talking about how much y/n loves jimin” yoongi smirks and you whack his arm before scowling

“oOH i loVe talking about th- you guYS WE’RE TALKING ABOUT Y/N AND JIMIN-“

“no doN’T-“

but it’s too late

soon enough you’re surrounded by six idiots who are all making kissy noises and teasing you about your crush on jimin that you keep deNYING

“how about that thing she does where she feeds him a bite of her food like all the time but she nEver gives it to us unless we ask”

“one time she purposely threw out her umbrella so that they had to shAre an umbrella when it was raining”

“my umbrella was broken!!!!!”

“mmmmmm sure it was”

“she always aLways helps him with his homework and all his projects and of course he passes with flying colours”

“i’ve caught her staring at his lips like more than ten times now”

“to be fair his lips are thiCC and juiCY”

“ew tae don’t be weird”

“oH MY go- u know what i’m done with you people i’m going uPstairs” you grumble and shove past the boys and head towards the staircase

all of the boys exchange glances

“how have they not gotten together yet??” kook groans in frustration and pinches the bridge of his nose

all of the boys have been actively trying to get u two together but nothing seems to be working

because you aren’t making a move

jimin isn’t making a move

you two are aduLTs and you’re acting like three year olds

u know what that’s not accurate because a couple of three year olds are probably more ballsy than u and jimin

“hey guys!! sorry i’m late!!” everyone looks up to see jimin

he shivers and shakes some snow off the top of his head

“we were just talking about you” jin hums and pops a cracker into his mouth

“oh yeah? what about?” jimin shrugs his jacket off and puts it on a chair

“we were talking about how wimpy you and y/- mMP” namjoon slaps a hand over hoseok’s mouth

“do you want a drink or anything?? a beer or some punch?” tae clears his throat and gestures over to the ice bucket

“eh it’s alright i’ll get something later”

yoongi purses his lips

he’s going to conduct a little experiment

“oh look it’s y/n” yoongi points to over jimin’s shoulder and jimin juMps and immediately falls to the ground

his hair is a mess you can’t sEE HIM LIKE THIS

yoongi blinks down at a crouching jimin

god

you two really are meant for each other

match made in heaven

“god help me” yoongi grumbles to himself and yanks jimin up to his feet “what’s the matter?? slip on a wet patch??”

“hyung- why do you do that????” jimin reaches up to fix his hair and he scowls at yoongi

yoongi wants to shove jimin’s face into the punch bowl and tell him to just aSK Y/N OUT U WIMP

it’s so infuriating

literally everyone knows about how you and jimin like each other

everyone knows

except for you and jimin

okay listen

jimin’s liked you for like?? maybe a year maybe a little bit more than that

you’re just so….,,. you’re sucH a y/n

you’re so kind to everyone you talk to and you have a great sense of humour and your smile is so cute and that little snort that escapes you when you’re laughing really loudly at something is SO endearing

and you’re so pretty and he thinks you’re so cute when you have your reading glasses on because u look a lil dorky and he loves that

aND not to be that guy but you have a great ass

he likes you so much

he wants to hold your hand and kiss your cheeks and kiss yOu and hug u and snuggle w u and he definITELY wants to- [statement redacted]

“you like her, don’t you?” yoongi nudges jimin and he shrugs casually before heading over to the punch bowl

“so what if i do?” jimin grumbles

jimin’s more open with his feelings than you are so all the boys know how he feels about you

but he’s still pretty shy about it and he gets all weird when someone brings it up

he hates talking about this because he’s pretty sure you don’t feel the same way about him and he doesn’t need the reminder thank u very much

you guys are good friends and he knows for a fact u only see him as a friend

he’s also pretty sure you have a thing for yoongi

you’re always hanging around him n stuff and maybe ur just into older guys

jimin could totally pull off the whole bad boy thing like yoongi

he looks down at his flowy white dress shirt and sensible blue jeans and looks over at yoongi and his loose black tee tucked into a pair of very ripped skinny jeans

.,., ok maybe he can’t

he lets out a breath and looks into his cup

well

now he’s kind of depressed

gr8

speaking of u

where even are you

“just, um, just out of curiosity, where’s y/n?”

“who wants to know?” hoseok wiggles his brows

“oh! i love this game! jimin! jimin wants to know where y/n-“ kook flaiLs his arm a little too aggressively in jimin’s direction and ends up whacking his hand making jimin toSs punch all over his WHITE SHIRT “…oops”

“jungkook! this shirt was new!!!!!!” jimin groans and grabs some napkins to try and dab the punch off

“u should go find y/n and ask her to help u clean it she’s real good with stains” jungkook offers sheepishly

jimin gives the younger boy a pointed look and jungkook shrugs

what it’s true

you’re great at doing laundry!!!

“i’m gonna go clean this mess up” jimin mutters and leaves the kitchen to go find the washroom

“good diversion kook” hoseok pats jungkook’s back and jungkook’s like ?? binch that was an accident i didn’t do it on purpose “i have a plan”

“what kind of plan?”

“a plan of romance”

“is this going to be like that time u put jimin and y/n in the closet for seven minutes in heaven hoping they’d make out but when we opened the door they were just looking at puppies on instagram together”

“well i guarantee this plan is completely fool-proof!!!!!” okay - this is what i’m thinking.” hoseok slams his hands down on the kitchen counter and everyone leans in

commence operation set y/n and jimin up

bit of a lengthy title but hobi will come up with something better laTER

you’re in the middle of a very interesting buzzfeed quiz (pick these items from urban outfitters and we’ll tell u what kind of bread u r) you notice a shadow blocking the hallway light and you look up slowly to see hoseok and jungkook’s smiling faces

hoseok’s holding a blindfold

okay

this is slightly disturbing

“i have pepper spray in my purse” you warn and kook rolls his eyes

“why are you hiding in the hallway?”

“i’m not hiding in the hallway i just needed some peace and quiet and moSt of the rooms are occupied” you mutter and return your attention back to the quiz

“well, stand up! we’re playing a christmas game and you’re not allowed to leave this house until you play one game”

“what kind of game is this?” you ask suspiciously and narrow your eyes before putting your phone down

jungkook and hoseok exchange glances and hobi shrugs

jungkook smiles widely and looks down at you

“it’s a christmas game! we, uh, we blindfold you and you have to guess where you are and, uh.. if you guess correctly you get to… um..,,.”

“you get a prize!” hoseok cuts in and nudges kook out of the way

you furrow your brows and cross your arms

okay

this kinda shady

“what kind of prize?”

“that’s for us to know and you to find out. now, c’mon! up on your feet. let me blindfold ya” he grins and wiggles his brows

you let out a sigh

you know for a fact they’re not going to leave you alone if you say no so you don’t really have a choice right now

“what happens if i don’t guess correctly?” you wonder out loud as hoseok puts the blindfold on you

you feel hands grasp you and kook starts walking you out to the living room

“watch your step- well, if you don’t guess correctly.,., you.,.,., uh.,, we kiLL YOU”

..,.,.kook’s never been good at improvising

“i’ll kill you before you get a chance to kill me” you mutter and blindly elbow kook in the stomach

he groans in pain before playfully pinching the back of your arm

namjoon and tae have taken a different approach with jimin

“ow- oW OKAY I’M COMING” jimin stumbles over his feet because namjoon literally poPPED OUT of a bedroom with a blindfold and tae grabbed jimin’s arm from behind so he couldn’t sprint away

“why do you have to blindfold me now???”

“that’s the point of the game weren’t you listening??”

jimin stubs his toe into the wall and curses loudly and both namjoon and tae hiss in pain on behalf of him

“i don’t like this gaME” jimin scowls and bends down to cradle his toe but tae yanks him back up

he feels like he’s about to be executed that’s what this game feels like

and it seems like the game has started because namjoon and tae set him down in one spot and let go of him

“i-“

“alright! blindfolds off in three, two, one-!”

it takes a second for your eyes to adjust in the light and you blink rapidly before-

“j-jimin?” you choke and he looks just as surprised to see you

“y/n! h-hey.,., hi..” he chuckles and scratches the back of his neck

the two of you turn and look at the croWd of people that are all staring at you

wha,,.,.., what kind of game is this..,,.,.

you feel your cheeks starting to burn up because jimin is literally like onE step away from you

you have no idea what the heck is going on this is a very confusing game

“wait hold on we didn’t get a chance to guess where we were because u ripped the blindfold off before-“

“oh no we just made that up to get the two of you here” jin deadpans and both you and jimin are like ?????

“look. let’s get to the chase. everyone in this room - everyone -“ jungkook emphasises and you look around the room at the faces of some of your classmates and acquaintances “is fully aware that you like jimin-“

jimin whips his head back around to look at you like :00000 but your eyes are glued on kook because it’s taking a second for the mortification of this situation to kick in

you’re going to slaughter jungkook

“-and jimin likes you.”

wait what

wait

what

WAIT WHAT

your heart starts racing in your chest and you feel the butterflies in your stomach

jimin likes you??? he likes you back???

JIMIN LIKES U BACK

“if you pay attention to your surroundings, you’ll notice something very special…” namjoon points out and his eyes flicker upwards before he looks back at you with a knowing smile

“what are you guys talking abou-“ you look up and your heart drops to your stomach when you see it

mistletoe

miSTLEtOE

you are standing under MISTLETOE with park jimin

your heart is racing in your chest and you want nothing more than for the ground to just open up and swallow you whole because this entire situation is just overwhELming like u juSt found out the guy you’ve been crushing on forever likes you back and now you have to kiss him in front of all of your friends and classmates

“c’mon, you two - you know the rules!!! kiss, kiss, kiss-“ taheyung starts chanting and soon enough everyone else joins in and the whole room is just chanting KISS KISS KISS KISS

“we don’t have to- if you’re uncomfortable?” jimin reaches out quickly and his hand brushes over your arm

“i’m- i’m not uncomfortable b-but like if yoU’re uncomfortable than we totally don’t-“

“well i don’t mind! i don’t mind! and like…, i’d hate to break the rules and stuff.,.,” he jokes and the two of you look up at the mistletoe again that just seems to be mocking you guys

“c’mon! just do it you wussies!!!!!!” yoongi groans loudly and you scowl playfully when he tosses some popcorn in your guys’ direction

“like, i, uh… i’d very much like to kiss you if you’d like to kiss me…?” jimin clears his throat

his heart is about to explode and his face is on fire

his ears are burning he can feeL it “BuT idk i don’t wanna pressure you into- mmph!”

jimin’s eyes flutter shut the moment he feels you plant your lips against his and everyone else erupts into victorious cheers and hoots

F I NALLY

FINALLLLLLLLLLLLYYYYYYY

and as cheesy as it is

it feels like time slows down

oh god

you’re in heaven

his lips are so soft and he tastes like sugar cookies

he instinctively reaches out and pulls you closer and his arms snake around your waist

you pull away far too soon for his liking and jimin finds himself chasing after your lips and you can’t help but giggle

he leans down and presses his forehead against yours and he can’t fight the wide smile on his face

your hands are still cupping his cheeks and you lean in to give him another tiny smooch and his heart flutters in his chest

his tongue pokes out and he runs it over his bottom lip before taking his bottom lip in between his teeth

“okAy okay we said kiss under the mistletoe not have mouth sex under it” jungkook clamours over the couch and grabs you and yaNks you away from jimin because even tho he loves u both it’s weird to stand here and watch u make out w each other

you spend the rest of the christmas party snuggled up to jimin on the couch while you and the others listen to another one of kook’s wild stories

truth be told you and jimin aren’t really paying attention to him because you’re so infatuated with each other and jimin keeps peppering kisses on your forehead and your cheeks and your nose and especiALLy your mouth

at one point it gets a little spicy because you guys are sure no one��s paying attention to you

jimin’s cupping your jaw and you have your hand resting on his chest and the two of u are 110% undoubtedly making out on the couch right now

you nip on his bottom lip gently and the arm that’s wrapped around your waist tightens a little bit

“naughty” he pulls away with a dopey grin and nudges his nose against yours and you’re about to lean back in to kiss him again

“ahem.”

you turn to look over your shoulder and you want to shrivel up and die when you see everyOne staring at the two of you and you’re about to profusely apologise because what else do u do in this situation

jimin on the other hand

this cocky motherfucker

“can we help you?” he raises a brow and reaches up to run a hand through his hair

“i’m starting to regret setting the two of u up” kook raises a brow and the two of you blush and shoot everyone sheepish grins

“oh, leave them alone! they’re in loooooove” jin wiggles his brows

you pull away from jimin and sit up properly

“uh, what are we, what game are we playing?” you clear your throat

“we weren’t playing a game. we’re taking turns telling stories and it’s supposed to be your turn but obviously you’re a little occupied you hoRN-dogs”

whoopsies

at one point u head to the kitchen to grab some drinks for u and jimin

jimin wraps his arms around you from behind and props his chin up on your shoulder

“heY i told you to stay put” you turn and give him a quick kiss on the cheek

“i know but i missed u” he hums and buries his face into the crook of your neck “also you’re awful at mixing drinks so i came to save the day”

“wha- i’m great at mixing drinks!” you pout and look at the concoction you’ve made in your cup

it’s like 96% vodka and 4% peach juice

jimin peers into the cup and wrinkles his nose “how much vodka did you put in- are you trying to kill me?”

“i don’t wanna kill u i like u too much” you murmur shyly and jimin uWus and he can’t help but grAB you and squeeze you in a tight hug while peppering kisses all over your face

“why are you so damn cUTE” he groans in between kisses and you giggle when he smooshes a big fat kiSS on your cheek

he lets out a sigh and nudges his nose against yours gently

wow

he finally got the girl

his girl

“i like u too much too”

🎄the twelve drabbles of christmas! 🎄

❄️do you have a special christmas request? ❄️

487 notes · View notes

ittybittywaterlily · 6 years ago

Text

Moving Out

(YAY, my first fic! I tried my best and honestly, I think it turned out pretty good. So basically, when I see fics involving Borrowers leaving, I haven’t seen a single fic describe exactly what a Borrower does when they move to a different location. I don’t wanna take up most of your time reading my thoughts, so I’ll continue my little drabble in the tags. Enjoy!)

Your stubborn mind had finally decided that it was too unsafe to stay in the human’s house any longer. Actually, you were surprised you had managed to stay alive for this long. You had been seen almost a week ago, after all.

It all began when you were out on a borrowing session. It was just a regular Thursday night, which meant the human had gone to bed early, leaving the whole house to yourself for at least a couple of hours.

So far it had been going pretty well, since you managed to snag a whole packet of salt crackers. A whole packet of those things would barely be filling to a human, but for you? One cracker alone would be a whole meal! And even better, you didn’t have to worry about the human noticing, because they only touched plain snacks like this when there was absolutely nothing else available.

You were in the process of getting a paper towel (it worked wonders for spills, dirty dishes, messes in general, or if needed, cleaning up blood) then, and the moments that followed were clear in your mind: At long last, you managed to rip off the paper towel, and were well on your way home, thoughts of another successful borrowing in your head.

You would’ve been fine had the human bean not come downstairs for a glass of water. The two of you made eye contact for a full second before your mind screamed for you to book it.

Your legs moved as if they had a mind of their own, and everything felt like they were nothing but a blur as you ran. You finally, finally disappear from view after jumping down the space between the refrigerator and the wall. This all happened in the span of about five seconds.

The first thing you did wasn’t panicking. You released a breath you didn’t even know you were holding, and your hands released themselves from their viselike grip on your pack.

Your heart pounding behind the fridge, a million scenarios begin playing out in your head. Stuck in a jar, exterminated, or caught in a mouse trap, the possibilities were endless. But either you were always somewhat optimistic, or your mind was in a crazy state of denial that you were seen. Maybe the human bean would pass it off as a result of interrupted sleep (they had gotten up at an ungodly hour in human standards, after all) or something like that. Trick of the light, hallucinations, anything but actually being seen! But then again, they didn’t do anything to capture you, so you figured it was still somewhat safe, as long as you took more care in staying hidden.

But it definitely didn’t seem like it was safe now. Too conveniently placed pieces of cereal or bread on a napkin proved it. So did when human’s free time seemed to fall right on your usual borrowing hours on weekends. And just yesterday, you had a too-close call right where you had been seen that fateful night. They were desperate to get you.

This was bad. This was really, truly, definitely bad. If you stayed any longer, you’d most definitely be seen again sooner or later, your existence confirmed, and snap crackle pop, just like that, your days as a Borrower are over, for better or (more likely) worse. You had to leave.

But how?

This was something you had never had to do before. Your parents (rest their souls) never brought the subject up, in fear of jinxing all of your lives. So what did Borrowers have to do to make it seem like they’ve never been there?

You had to get rid of the furniture. That much was obvious. Most of your morning was spent breaking makeshift chairs in half, scattering your fabric pile (which was your sorry excuse for a bed), and the general disposing of evrything you couldn’t bring, that could give the human any hint of suspicion, like beads or “lost” playing cards, be it by tossing it out a window or returning it somewhere inconspicuous, so that they’d find it the next time they spring cleaned. By the time you were finished, you were tired and sweating despite the chilling December air, your lovely hideaway now resembling a mouse’s nest.

Next came the packing. Much to your disappointment, you had spent the last of your rations five minutes after demolishing your formerly cozy abode, meaning you wouldn’t have any food for the long trip to a new life, unless you got some on the way out. On the bright side, you didn’t have to bring as much stuff... but what stuff did you need to pack?

So you’d bring your grapple, of course, can’t go without that, and... of course you’d need your clothes and personal belongings, in the bag that goes... maybe it wouldn’t hurt to bring the “broken” pocket watch the human tossed out (it was really just out of batteries, how’d they not notice?!) and oh! The thimbles and bottle caps for cooking and eating, matches were a problem for another day, and... the broken scissors. For defense. And... that was it? Wow, you expected to bring much more. Well, the lesser the better, you figured.

And, taking one final glance at what you would be leaving behind, you exited your home for the last time.

You figured it was around three in the afternoon, because the human still hadn’t come back from work. Which was good. You needed all the time you could get. Your planned escape route was up on the counter, scale the wall, and out the kitchen window you’d go. The human always kept that window open a bit while they were at work.

Climbing the hand-and-footholds you had carved into the wooden back of the counter would be a challenge with your pack. But somehow, you manage to make it up with only three available limbs. You throw your pack of belongings onto the counter before hoisting yourself up. That took a little more energy than you expected, you think as you catch your breath. You decide it’s best if you tie your pack to your grapple if you want to save energy. Next would be to toss your curtain hook-and-thread equipment onto the windowsill, so you could climb.

After making it to the top, you pull your luggage up. Yeah, much easier this way. The last obstacle in your way was the window. You look outside, at the world so much bigger than anything you’d ever seen.

Out there were more dangers, more humans... maybe... maybe even more Borrowers like you.

It was a chance at a new beginning.

The feeling was... you don’t know how to describe it. Was it nervousness? Excitement? Or fear of the unknown? You were leaving behind everything you knew, after all. But you didn’t have much of a choice now, did you? It was a unspoken rule of people like you: If the humans know, you have to go.

Well, you couldn’t stay contemplating your desicion for the rest of the afternoon. The human bean would be home soon. With a final look at the place that had been your home, you push open the window and let yourself be introduced to the outdoor world.

#g/t #alright where was i #so I know that moving took up like a fourth of Arietty #but then the Clock’s house was partially destroyed by Haru if I remember correctly #so yeah #I might continue this #the lily writes

17 notes · View notes

thepatricktreestump · 6 years ago

Text

I Love Her Anyway: Chapter 6

A/N: holy guacamole! my stats are alive, my inbox is popping, i have new followers, and people are actually reading my writing??? i feel like my blog just got revived, thank you! thank you! thank you!

tag list: @un-amoosed-padalecki @mtb04308 @dragonqueendany @cupcakesweetness @kitykatnumber @svintsandghosts @greatheromuffinpalace @echoloki @geekybeauty8793 @jigglypuff1999 @timisnotmontydlc @galaxy-moon @lugialagia @pageoftheclouds

All day, you couldn’t help but wait for the time when you’d be in his car, him driving you home. You tried not to give yourself any expectations, but you couldn’t help it. All night you were imagining giant chandeliers and a gorgeous ballroom, four stories with elevators and butlers and maids, lavish furniture and an indoor swimming pool, a golf course in the backyard along with a private lake. After all, he was the richest businessman in the town. Your father was lucky enough to work for him, much less you. Just the thought of stepping into his home made your heart skip a beat. As you entered his office that morning, you tried to contain your excitement, but couldn’t help it. As soon as you set both of your coffees down, you wrap him up in an embrace and bury your face in his chest as you giggled with glee.

“Someone’s rather excited today, hmm?” he can’t help but laugh himself. God, you loved him so much. You were terrified to ever tell him though.

“Just can’t wait for tonight,” you admit, blushing. “I hope what I’m wearing is okay.”

“What you wearing is just perfect, darling,” he reassures. You’ve picked out a blush colored blouse with a floral skirt and you spun around for him, making his smile widen. “It’s almost just as cute as you are.”

“Whatever,” you roll your eyes. “So what do you have planned for me today?”

“Before we begin, I just want you to know that packages came in last night,” he gestures to several bags that are waiting on the sofa for you along with a box which you assume the dress is folded in. “However, I think we should wait until tonight to open them.”

“Thank you,” you beam.

“Today both of us have a lot going on,” he returns to the subject. “We have a business conference across town. That’s why I had planned dinner for us tonight as a celebration for sitting through an entire day of boredom.”

“W-wait,” you stammer out. “I’m coming with you, sir?”

“Why of course,” he replies. “I need a secretary to take notes over the information we discuss. There will be food and drinks there, along with several presentations, a meeting, and speakers. It’s about the San Antonio project, the one with the four-lane bridge.”

“Oh yes,” you nod, although you’ve emailed so many projects in just the past three days this one doesn’t seem to stand out in your mind.

“We’ll be leaving in fifteen minutes and stay there until the end of the day, but we will come back here to gather our things and then leave from this location,” he explains.

“Hold up,” you stop him. “Fifteen minutes?”

“Why yes, darling. There’s no time to lose. You’ll need to bring your laptop and several files,” he instructs. He says it so casually and calm you have to check the clock to make sure he’s not making this up. You’ve just walked into his office, you can’t believe he didn’t tell you to arrive earlier. Then again, you’re dependable when it comes to showing up on time and never disappointing. You pride yourself in this conclusion.

In just a couple minutes, you find yourself in the backseat of a taxi with him with a briefcase on the ground. There’s tinted windows and the driver seems to be distracted, so you don’t feel too bad when he reaches for your hand in the back and lets you lean on his shoulder. You feel so strange, being out of the office with him, sitting in the back of a cab, being able to touch him. If you had told yourself several weeks ago that this would be happening, you wouldn’t have believed it at all. You notice him squeeze your hand and then move it towards your thigh, making your breath hitch. The driver switches the radio station and turns up the song playing and you close your eyes as you feel his hand move farther up your thigh. Why would he being doing this here? In the back of a taxi? Wasn’t he just as afraid of getting caught as you were? Even if there wasn’t an age difference, you still shouldn’t be doing this!

“Brendon,” you hiss. “Cut it out.”

“What?” he whispers, glancing at you and making your insides squirm. “You don’t want to have a little fun?”

“I do,” you whine softly. “But what if he sees us?”

“He won’t,” he reassures, then travels his fingers underneath your skirt, making you bite down hard on your lower lip as not to moan. “Is this okay?”

You nod your head several times, your legs already trembling as he reaches to drag his fingers across your panties. You want it so bad. He shouldn’t be surprised that you’re already wet, but he still lets out a small hum as he begins to move your panties aside and drags his fingertips against your folds. You’re dripping for him. He slides a finger up and down before pushing it in slowly, your head tilted back and your legs instinctively closing together shut, and he has to take his other hand and pry them open before slowly working it in and out of you. He’s about to add another when the driver takes a rough turn, making his finger press deeper and causing you to yelp aloud. He instantly retracts his hand in his lap and you shove your skirt back down to your knees.

“Everything alright back there?” the driver wonders. “I know a hit a bump on that turn, sorry about that.”

“It’s o-okay,” you clear your throat, still shaken up by the prior events, nervously straightening out your skirt, legs still trembling. “D-don’t worry about it.”

“Just wait until later,” Brendon whispers in your ear, and you melt as you watch him stick his finger in his mouth and suck your juices off of it. It only makes you even more wet.

The following minutes until you arrive at your location, Brendon stares out the window. You assume it’s for the same reason he had once kept his eyes glued to his computer screen, because if he takes so much as one look at you, he won’t be able to control himself. When the cab stops, you thank the driver, Brendon hands him a tip, and then he helps you out of the cab and carries the briefcase for you, helping you onto the sidewalk. You don’t get very far.

“Mr. Urie!” a reporter rushes towards him, catching him by surprise. “Before you go, can we please ask you some questions about the conference?”

“I’d be honored,” he smiles. “First let me introduce you to my newest secretary, Miss y/n Jackson.”

“Lovely to meet you,” the reporter eagerly shakes your hand.

They ask him all sorts of questions about the upcoming project, things about how the architectural culture has shifted throughout the years, what kinds of collaborations he’s looking forward to, and even presses him on some touchy subjects as to how much money he’s made the last year or why he hasn’t reached out to a certain company in the past few months. You stand there, perfectly poised, glued on smile and false attentiveness. You aren’t listening to anything he’s saying, but rather just focusing on his voice, the highs and lows and the different tones. You wish you could just record him and put him on an endless loop. It’s like music to your ears.

Before you know it, it’s time to go, and so he ushers you into the building where there’s thousands of other men dressed identical to him, along with their secretaries and assistants and other coworkers. It’s a bit breathtaking, seeing so many people in one place, all dressed up in suits and blazers and ties and heels. You take a seat towards the stage and Brendon gives an apologetic smile towards you as if saying sorry for taking you along. You tell yourself it can’t possibly be as boring as he says, and even if it is, nothing could ever come close to your old algebra class from last semester. Much less, you’ll be sitting right beside him, and if you ever get bored, you can just stare at him. In fact, you silently tell yourself that’s honestly what you’ll probably be doing the entire time you’re here.

When the speaker opens up the power point presentation and begins to speak, you pretend to act interested, opening up your laptop and taking a skeleton of notes. However, you’re only taking glances at the man sitting just a couple feet away from you. You make note of the stubble covering his chin and cheeks, the way his plump lips press together in thought, how he furrows his brow. You look at the different shades of brown found in his eyes, the chestnut and mocha, tan and honeycomb, burgundy and cocoa. His hair is done up effortlessly each time, strands in a perfect swoop upwards only to fall down, styled somehow both messily and flawlessly at the same time. You’re so fucking infatuated with him it’s ridiculous.

“Hey,” he nudges you, waking you up from your daydream. You’ve lost track of what had been happening. “It’s time to move. Come on, we’ve got a luncheon to go to.”

“Right,” you nod, staggering up from your seat and following him. There’s a massive ballroom filled with tables and chairs, waiters running around pouring glasses of wine to each table and placing baskets of bread rolls down as well. You take a seat alongside him and some others do as well. As soon as they’re served the soups and salads, they instantly chatting about prices of piling, which doesn’t seem the most interesting of topics to you.

After poking your salad around with your fork, the waiters clear the table and begin to set down a variety of appetizers including raspberry jam drizzled brie, caviar on crackers, toasted ravioli, and onion blossoms. The second they are set down on the table, your eyes grow wide. “Eat up,” Brendon chuckles at your reaction, reaching for several petals of the onion blossom and dipping it into the sauce before taking a bite. The food is absolutely gorgeous. All of it.

The rest of the meal consists of plenty of other delicacies you wouldn’t even dream of. Steamed lobster, veal chops, roasted lamb, and slices of salmon are displayed upon the table and you don’t even know what to go for first. You sip on your Shirley Temple and slowly pick up a plate of your choosing before going to work. It tastes absolutely divine. You’re just glad nobody’s talking to you so you have time to devote simply to scarfing down food. This has to be the best thing you’ve ever tasted in your entire life. Well, other than Brendon’s lips. You chuckle to yourself at the thought. If any of the people at this table had known the kinds of things you two had been up to… God, you would hate to know what would happen.

Dessert comes next, which you can’t even begin to describe. You would’ve eaten more but you’re already stuffed and can only manage to grab a couple bites of tiramisu and a small serving of Sakura jelly, along with a handful of macaroons. “Enjoying yourself?” Brendon smirks at the way you stare at your empty plate with complete awe. “You look kind of stunned.”

“I am,” you confess. “That has to be hands down the best meal of my life.”

“I’m glad,” he beams. “Sorry I can’t give you all my attention, I promise I’ll make up for it tonight.”

“Don’t worry about that,” you narrow your eyes. “You’re at a conference right now, you have other things to attend to, people to talk to, a reputation to keep up. There’s no need to babysit your little secretary.”

“Thanks for your understanding,” he sighs. “I’m sorry, I promise it will be over soon.”

When you walk back into the hall, there’s more speakers and meetings, and at one point, you almost even doze off. He was right, it was quite boring. By the end of the day when you get back in the taxi, you find yourself falling asleep on his shoulder. You dream of being at the meeting and him tugging you towards the bathroom in the middle of one of the speakers, locking you both in a stall and making out with you, pressing you up against the back of the door and- he shakes you awake. “S-sorry,” you quickly stammer out, getting up from him.

“It’s okay,” he insists. “I know you were tired, it’s alright. But we’re here. It’s over now.”

You try to shake the thoughts from your dream out of your mind as he helps you out of the vehicle, pays the driver, and then you both enter the elevator together. It’s just you two, and as soon as the door closes, you wrap your arms around his waist. “I was having quite an interesting dream before you woke me up,” you murmur, glancing up at him.

“Were you now?” he raises an eyebrow, amused by your sudden behavior.

“It involved you and me skipping one of the talks at the conference to have a little naughty fun in a bathroom stall,” you confess, a smirk tugging at the edge of your lips. “A shame it didn’t happen, really.”

“I hope you know you’re far too precious to fuck in a bathroom stall,” he narrows his eyes. “Or this elevator for that matter. You deserve nothing but a bed full of satin sheets and red rose petals, my love.”

“I don’t care where I am as long as it’s with you,” you argue and he sighs, kissing your lips. His tongue is about to slip into your mouth when you hear the elevator ding and you immediately back away from each other, swallowing your nervousness as several workers file into the elevator beside you. Some greet Mr. Urie while others simply check the time on their watches, glad to be out for the day.

That’s when the thing you least expected to happen, happened. Your dad got into the elevator, eyes lighting up upon seeing you. “Y/n!” he grins. “How’d work go today? I think I overheard someone say you left with Mr. Urie for the big San Antonio conference? Fun stuff, huh?”

“Y-yeah,” you nod awkwardly. If only he knew you had just kissed your boss. Well, technically his boss too. Fuck.

“I hope she’s behaving for you. I told her your expectations remain quite high,” he jokes with Mr. Urie and Brendon simply laughs. Behaving would be the last word you’d use to describe how you’ve been handling your new job. More like misbehaving thanks to Brendon.

“She’s exceeded my expectations, really. Truly exceptional, your daughter,” he gives a polite smile. “Mr. Jackson, I cannot tell you just how glad I am to have her working for me. She took plenty of notes and learned quite a lot today. I’m sure in a few weeks she’ll know this job like the back of her hand.”

“Beautiful,” your father beams. “Y/n, you said you were going to the mall with your friends after work? Will you need a ride?”

“No, I got one,” you reassure. “Thanks for asking though.”

“She might get home late,” Mr. Urie warns, making you tense up at his comment. “She’s been telling me about how excited she is to go see this movie with her friends afterwards, but the showing doesn’t begin until eleven and they might not even get out until one.”

“Oh, that’d be just fine,” your father waves off. “Just make sure you have a ride and you’re able to wake up early for work the next day.”

“Perfect,” you give a fake grin, secretly wondering where the hell Brendon’s going with this. Why would he need you to stay later? Much less, as late as possibly one in the morning? Not that you were complaining, but he was making you a little bit nervous.

As soon as you got out of the elevator and reached the floor, you and Brendon stepped out and walked into the office. “Ready for tonight?” he wonders. “Thanks to that little conversation with your dad, we’ll have plenty of time.”

“About that…” you stare at him strangely. “Why?”

“Why I would want to spend more time with you? That seems like a ridiculous question,” he says flatly. “You know I’ve always wished we had more time together.”

“No,” you shake your head. “Why so late?”

“Guess you’ll find out tonight,” he winks, picking up the bags and the box from the floor and then pressing a kiss to your forehead. “But you’ve got to get there first to find out.”

“Right,” you draw the word out, picking up your purse and drawstring bag with your clothes inside.

His car is luxurious, a fancy black Bugatti Chiron with electric blue trim. You’re almost afraid to even touch it. Getting inside only has you twice as amazed, and he can’t help but chuckle at your reaction to all of this. First at the luncheon and now in his car, he must think that you’ve never seen anything in your life compared to him. He lived and breathed money, and while your dad worked for his company as an accountant too, your lifestyle didn’t amount nearly enough to his. Yeah, you had a pretty great life, you got three meals and your own bedroom along with a closet full of clothes and your own cellphone, but you weren’t spoiled either. You worked your own job and paid for your own hobbies and interests, plus your parents taught you to be humble and keep your head on straight. Brendon on the other hand, didn’t even have to say a single word to become a show off. Just his possessions spoke millions for him already.

“You can relax,” he laughs, starting down the street and making note of the way you haven’t been able to exhale as soon as you’ve sat down.

“I’m just a little awestruck, that’s all,” you admit, forcing yourself to ease into your seat. You look at him smiling back at you.

“This thing can reach 260mph,” he says casually, and you instantly shake your head.

“Please don’t fucking show me,” you beg, only making him burst into chuckles.

“I promise I won’t,” he insists with a laugh. “Just sharing a fun fact.”

“I think I’d vomit if I ever heard the price of this thing,” you confess. “Jesus, I knew you were rich but holy shit. I think I might pass out when we roll up to your house.”

“Probably,” he teases, reaching out to hold your hand. You quickly take it, squeezing his hand as he sped up a little bit once you hit the highway. “But don’t worry, I’m right here beside you.”

“It’s just a lot,” you sigh. “God, I still can’t believe this is real.”

“Well you better believe it baby,” he grins. “Cause it’s only going to get more unbelievable from here.”

“Trust me,” you smirk, giving a laugh of your own at this point. “I don’t think you need to tell me for me to know.”

#i love her anyway #miss jackson #panic! at the disco fanfiction #brendon urie fanfiction #panic! at the disco imagines #brendon urie imagines #panic! at the disco x reader #brendon urie x reader #tagging is for losers

97 notes · View notes

captusmomentum · 7 years ago

Text

@theladypirate @feynites

Okay so! Here’s the Immediate wedding day stuff fic, though I did kinda leave some of it a bit vague so it could get spotlighted more later on if people wanted that for whatever reason and you know, keeping it from being Monstrous in length.

Finally finished this since I ended up avoiding as much dialogue as I could B) apparently me and dialogue are not friends rn hahahaah weEPS.

Inanallas’s older sisters, Imshi and Eth’Menala, and Keeper Durgenara are the ones who see to their clothing, styling and dressing them for the wedding. Their sisters are both very good at sewing and had done the bulk of the work to make it themselves, making sure it was just so, making sure that no one would mistake where they came from. Among the clans, Clan Anurlal was unique, having settled the furthest south on the mountains above the dwarves where little magic or comfort was found, and down in the basin the mountains concealed. Their clothing spoke of hard climates and practically, usually involving fur and many layers. Even this, one of the most elaborate things they’d ever seen was simple in structure but richly embroidered with patterns, symbols and pictures of important to the clan and that spoke distinctly to them and their achievements. The short overcoat was almost like a ornamental chainmail— cloth with hundreds of metal medallions sewn into it that combined with the large necklace, silver bracers and headpiece was the most jewelry they had ever worn.

Durgenara braids their hair after their sisters are done manhandling them into their clothing like a child, somehow the old woman manages to get all their fly away ends to stay slick to their head— secret ancient magic they assume, what else could managed that. When she is done and the veil has been placed on their head, covering said braid and rendering all that work pointless, they finally hazard a glance at themselves in a mirror.

It’s an odd sight. The headpiece covers their forehead completely, it’s beaded threads cover the side of their face, masking much of their tattoos and in doing so makes them look much softer, which they suppose is good, they don’t really want to look menacing. The surcoat is long but still short enough to hint at the other skirt and pants underneath and show their leather boots, also embroidered. The overall look…….. Somehow makes them look more mature and like a baby at the same time, though maybe that’s just them. They certainly feel like a child right now, with everyone doing everything for them as they get ready for something someone else is making them do.

The spirit of Dignity who had been so kind as to agree to handle the brunt of this debacle however is very pleased, and thinks they both look very fine and appropriate for the occasion. So there’s that.

The wedding itself is a mix of Elvhenan and Free Elf customs, mainly their own since it is their wedding. But overall there is not too much difference between all parties when it comes to weddings, at least structurally, once you got to everything that surrounded the spells and such things varied intensely. It does help in the planning of it all at least, that they can get the most important parts agreed upon fairly painlessly then stress over all the more decorative elements instead.

They let Dignity take the wheel with increasing frequency as they get closer to the wedding. By the time they’re finally relevant in the whole event itself Dignity is in complete control while Inan only has about a foot inside themself, the rest of them looking for just about anywhere else to focus than what’s going on around their physical body.

They can’t help but peek though, to see who on earth they’re actually marrying. They know they are marrying two people instead of just one, which was even more horrible in their opinion even if it was something clever politically. They knew the basics about them but had never actually looked into them because it was just too terrifying a prospect. Now, they were filled with a sort of morbid curiosity, like if they looked at them they’d die instantly but hey you know, that’s life.

The first one they see when they turn their gaze back to reality is the red one, drawn in by Dignity’s noting that while armor was not incorrect fashion for such an event it was also not the most mood appropriate choice. It is at least, very fine, ornate armor so that placates the spirit on that front. The person in the armor is not too much taller than Inanallas herself which is oddly comforting for no logical reason. Their face is very striking, very sharp —like a hawk turned into a person, or a knife in disguise— and marked with Andruil’s symbol in intense red. So this is Uthvir then. They don’t see it so much as feel it, like an anxious ball of vibration in their solar plexus that keys them to the fact they’re not the only one who has a spirit inside them, though they get the sense that the hunter’s is more permanent. Fear, they think, or something similar from the feel of it. Not their first choice of a roommate but it’s not any of their business.

They’re not so bad— ominous, scary looking hunters Inanallas could deal with, old hat really. They’d met tons of people in spiky armor who stabbed things. Even if this time they’d be marrying them and not fighting or arguing with them. It was totally fine, really. That meant by process of elimination the other one was Thenvunin. Dignity seemed infinitely more enamored with him, having already turned its attention there, so Inanallas followed Dignity’s lead and —

Oh.

OH.

OH NO.

Instantly they panic from their little bolthole blessedly tucked dimensionally or some such away from this dark carnival of endless misery.

Thenvunin is just as gorgeous as Uthvir only in a different, more refined way. Tall with perfect flowing blonde hair done perfectly and what looked like a body so close to the ideal it was comical under a stunningly gorgeous gown. It would be a tyrannical slaving empire that would have the resources to make an outfit so impossibly perfect, but the extravagance that would normally rankle them they can forgive when it’s on him. He seems made for opulence, and not in a vain, terrible way like greedy little egotist, but because he was someone who was regal looking and had fine tastes, —or something like that.

He did, sincerely look like the perfect example of a shining prince all dressed in glimmering silver accented by blue and green, like something out of a very high end dream. Almost surreal for how flawless he was.

In other words Inanallas’s worst nightmare.

If she thought she could handle Uthvir without at least looking like a complete fuck up she was already dead in the water with Thenvunin. He was clearly nothing like them and there was definitely nothing in common between them. They hadn’t even actually met yet and Inanallas felt tongue-tied, wrong footed and small comparatively. And they were getting married, so that was for the rest of their life. Doomed to an eternity of being married to someone they could talk about exclusively hunting with if they were lucky and another who made them want to go and live with the Children of the Stone never to return just on sight and also just die here instantly to escape. And that was the best case, that wasn’t even going in to the possible ways they could be terrible, terrible people or how this was all a loveless sham marriage for politics.

They essentially black out then for a while, actively shutting off much of their exposure to their senses as they try to beat down the hysterics now wracking them. When Dignity pulls at them for the vows and binding spells she comes back just enough to make sure it’s Inanallas who’s bound and not poor Dignity before retreating again for a while to marshal themselves again.

Inanallas is officially back and at least sharing the load with Dignity once the revelry and feasting start up. They’re seated between Thenvunin and Uthvir which is harrowing but they’ve moved so far past terror they’re almost fine and just fucking rolling with it, like a burn victim who’s nerves are just completely dead so they can’t feel the pain anymore. The first course that’s served is some of the food the clans eat done up as appetizers, which makes sense to them as they look over the array of fruits —dried and fresh, dried and pickled meats and vegetables, spreads of all kinds, crackers, breads, and whatnot.

Deciding to be a good host— and they suppose numbly, spouse— they move quickly to make up little plates of some of the better choices for the other two to make this easier for them. Uthvir takes their with no complaint and actually eats a bit with vague interest and then the average amount you’d expect for food which, they think is good. Thenvunin looks as dubious as someone can while working to look regal (as if he has to) at first but upon seeing that Uthvir doesn’t die or spit it out he tries it as well and seems to deem it tolerable at least, they’re not sure but regardless it’s Something right?

As the feast goes on and they transition more to food from Elvhenan Thenvunin decides to take it upon himself to guide them through the courses like they had for him for which they’re very grateful, there’s a lot going on with some of these dishes and some of them are so ornate Inanallas isn’t sure they’re even meant to be eaten. However, it’s Uthvir who finally gets them out of the polite small talk realms.

“Inanallas, I haven’t had much of a chance to learn much about your people — my people now as well I suppose, which is a pity I think. Spouses should know at least that much about each other I think.”

Inan chokes a little on their wine. “Well, to start we’re one of the few more stationary clans, we settled in the far south in the mountains —“

“The mountains?!” Thenvunin gasps.

“In them? Or at the base? I imagine that must be difficult with magic so thin.” Uthvir does not miss a beat.

“No, in them. Empire people wouldn’t be bothered by traveling or living around the bottom of them but no one wants to go up them except for the children of the stone and they’re not exactly best friends with your people so even if we run into them it’s unlikely they’d give us away.”

Uthvir smirked. “True. Was that why you chose to settle there?”

Inan shrugs. “Most likely it was a factor. We’d had a campsite there or in the area so we already knew about the conditions and it was where the Keeper took the clan when we escaped an assault, but they died shortly after getting us there. Durgenara was their First so after that she decided we would stay there—it’s defensible, remote and ignored so it was really the best choice.”

“Durgenara seems like a very wise woman.”

Inanallas barks out a short involuntary laugh they stifle quietly with a hand, tinging a little pink. “Terrifyingly so.”

“But surely you could have found a less hostile environment to live in after the clan recuperated? Or continued moving as I’ve heard other clans did.” Thenvunin asked, fingering his glass’s stem nervously.

“True, but that has it’s own risks as well. You can get spotted and attacked while moving from camp to camp. Or have your sites discovered and find an ambush waiting for you. Even the clans who found work arounds to those problems like Malarenan’s clan still has to deal with all kinds of potential environmental disasters, her clan especially, since they’re sea faring. At least in the mountains we have some consistency and a strong position in case of an attack.”

“I suppose that is practical, but it must be so cold—“

They can’t help but smile a little. “It is, but that’s what spells and warm cloths are for.”

Thenvunin pouts a little, brows furrowing. “I suppose.”

She smiles at him, he’s handsome even when disapproving. They slip one of the little fancy cakes onto the pretty painted plate in front of him, one of the fanciest ones with all the decorations the baker could cram onto it.

“You’re very sweet to be so concerned, you know. I do appreciate it.”

Thenvunin flushes very prettily, it makes him a bit less scary. They can see some of the fact that he’s just a man now— a very handsome, very proper, very fancy man but still.

Eventually they all have to dance together for everyone in attendance, it’s some kind of imperial thing and deeply terrifying, if it weren’t for Dignity Inanallas would be locked in place and they’d have to move them around like a board. But as it goes they manage to not embarrass themselves, Uthvir dances with both of them for as short an amount of time as they can manage without looking rude then quickly redirects them into dancing with each other which goes on for much longer. Partially as Inanallas uses it to cover for Uthvir —just in case that’s needed they have nooooo idea— and partially because Thenvunin seems to enjoy dancing and it seems like the spousely thing to do to dance more because your partner likes it.

The whole first day of the celebrations, with all the actually important bits, feels like it goes on for for-fucking-ever and is mostly just a series of obstacles in the shape of things that’d be fun if there was less of it or less pressure to look like they were enjoying themselves. Eventually Inanallas decides to call it a night, there’s only so much stress and cake they can take in one day and they can feel Uthvir flagging beside them, tiny hints of physical discomfort starting to show, while Thenvunin is tipsy working on drunk— or just drunk, they have no idea how to gauge his drunkness yet. They’re worried about whatever might be wrong with Uthvir and if Thenvunin has anymore fun they’re worried he might not be able to walk out of here under his own power.

So Inanallas begins the extraction process which is much more full of “wedding night” comments then they’d ever wanted to even know of in their life and a lot of very unpleasant, creepy looks from Andruil that crawl over Uthvir and then get turned to them where they get all triumphant and smug, which are excellent for making them even more worried about whatever the fuck is going on there then they already had been. They’re about to act on a plan to all but manhandle their spouses out of there before Andruil gets a chance to keep over and seal the fucking deal on being a creepy fuck when they catch eyes with Féwena who proceeds to sit down in the seat next to the huntress and be her blessedly implacable self.

They’d get her some good booze or knives or something for that.

Mythal has been kind enough to supply Inanallas and Uthvir quarters in her palace for this whole fiasco close to Thenvunin’s own, though there’s an ominous assumption that they’ll all be in Inanallas’s tonight at least.

Yeah. No.

They all make it out of the worst of the crowd fine but Thenvunin begins to have real trouble walking as the alcohol and exhaustion begin to mix full force then they get to the quieter, more sedate living quarter levels, so Inanallas decides to just carry him the rest of the way to be safe. He’s surprised at first and makes a very indignant sound while turning a bright red, Uthvir chuckles beside them.

“How romantic,” They tease. “Very fitting to carry your husband to your wedding bed, I feel a bit left out.”

“Well then climb on. I’ll carry both of you up.”

Uthvir cackles at that. “Now that’d be a sight!”

“No! Don’t!” Thenvunin hisses, clutching on to Inan. “ If you do they’ll topple over! I’m already heavy enough as it is…”

His protest trails off into a murmur as he frowns, looking down at himself unhappily. Inanallas doesn’t like it one bit, Thenvunin is very pretty and shouldn’t feel bad about being made of bones and things that have physical mass. They give him a bit of a squeeze, holding him closer.

“Nonsense, you weigh as much as an armful of roses.”

“No I don’t…”

“Really, I’m carrying right now and I can tell, as light as flowers.”

“Our new spouse is right, I’ve never found you to be challenge to lift.”

“Th-that is because you are a horrible lecherous brute who gains strength from their libido!” Thenvunin sputters, shifting in their grasp and nearly elbowing them in the face. Sweet creators.

Uthvir has to really struggle to keep it together at that one.

“Hm. Possibly, but it could also be because you’re a pleasure to hold.”

“Wh-why you! That’s— I mean of course I am!— but not for you to hold! You savage! I’m sure you love this! Now that you have me trapped in your clutches!”

Uthvir’s resolve shatters and they can’t help but laugh as Thenvunin seems to forget to consider the poor elf keeping him up as he tries to turn to face Uthvir properly in their straining arms. Inanallas gives them a long suffering look that’s lost as their face is crushed into Thenvunin’s side. Uthvir almost feels bad for them. Almost.

“I will admit, it was pleasant to hear that you would be one of my future spouses.”

“So you admit it! You admit your devious schemes to claim me as your own!”

“ I admit I find you very attractive and exceedingly interesting and am not distraught to be wedded to you.”

“Of course you do! I am very handsome and charming and a wonderful husband!”

“Naturally. Perhaps even the most handsome and charming, and certainly the best husband I’d ever had. ”

Thenvunin seems a bit lost on how to make a good comeback to that at the moment and instead harrumphs and settles back into Inanallas’s arms. He’s somehow even redder, every inch of him blushing from Uthvir’s teasing.

“Well… Good.”

Inanallas’s face finally reappears looking highly amused and confused, they give Uthvir a look, ‘is he always like this?’. They return with a smirk and a cocked brow, ‘pretty much’.

They all make it to their rooms and Uthvir helps Inanallas bring Thenvunin into his, which they’re incredibly thankful for once it becomes clear Thenvunin thinks they’re actually going to do some of the things in the “wedding night” comments. Even if he weren’t drunk Inanallas would jump out of her skin at the idea, it’s about a thousand years too soon for that shit.

Uthvir also seems to not really be in the mood and has clearly interacted enough with Thenvunin in situations like this to distract him from trying to seduce them or whatever and keep his feathers from getting ruffled or feelings hurt. While Uthvir keeps Thenvunin on task, Inan sets to finding something for him to sleep in (which is Shockingly difficult, what even counts as what in here???), divesting him of all his jewelry and letting down his hair which greatly helps to keep things from getting awkward as once they start massaging, carding and piecing his hair for braiding Thenvunin gets significantly sleepier and more pliant.

Between the two of them they easily maneuver the drowsy elf out of his lovely gown, revealing some equally lovely lingerie in the process (…something to keep in mind for Later, hopefully…), and get him nicely in his sleepwear, then all tucked up in his bed safe as can be. It only take a little more soothing talk before he’s out like a light. Bless.

Inanallas sighs heavily, resting their hands on their hips and turns to look at Uthvir who gives them about the same look back.

“Welp, Good night.”

The hunter nods slightly. “Good night.”

They both head for their own rooms, happy to be done with it all, for today at least. But once inside Inanallas starts to worry, will Thenvunin feel bad waking up alone from his wedding night? They got the sense Uthvir was about as eager as them to get some rest but maybe Thenvunin wanted some kind of magical, romanticy wedding night— they certainly wouldn’t blame him for wanting one or hoping he might still manage one even with all the fuckery of this marriage. It’s the kind of thing marriages are supposed to have. He should want it. Will he feel unwanted if he wakes up and neither of them is even there?

It’s a deeply worrying thought that eats that them as they work at removing the veil and headpiece in front of the mirror. They couldn’t stay dressed like this even if they did stay with him, it would all get ruined and be very uncomfortable. First things first is to change into something comfortable, then decide on what to do.

At first, they resolve to be there when he wakes in the morning with a lovely breakfast in bed just for him. But what if he wakes up in the middle of the night, realizes he’s all alone on his wedding night and stays up crying? What if he’s heartbroken over it for days? Weeks? Years? What if it sets the course for him being miserable for the entirety of their marriage. Inanallas’s heart sinks and explodes in panic at the thought. No. It’s just too horrible, they can’t do that to him. They leave their room and head quietly back into his, dithering just past the threshold of his bedroom, not sure of what to do.

They don’t want to get into —or even on— his bed without his permission. It just feels awkward and wrong, but they do want to be somewhere where he can see them when he gets up so they can’t sleep out in the sitting room. There’s a settee with a pretty blanket or shawl or scarf or something elegantly draped on it to the side that looks like they could curl up on just fine. Quietly they slip over to it, remove the fancy cloth and cover themself with it as they lay down to sleep.

They wake up to the feel of cold metal claws gently carding through their hair. Blearily they look up to see Uthvir, standing over them carrying a tray of breakfast looking over at Thenvunin. Feeling Inan stir they look back down at them, smirking a little. Which might be their regular expression, they drowsily muse.

“Did you sleep there the whole night?”

Inanallas sits up, their potentially makeshift blanket—and another actual blanket?— falling down. Huh.

“Yup.”

There’s something in Uthvir’s expression they can’t quite parse. They smirk wider, showing rows of sharp teeth.

“How dutiful a spouse you are, better than a hound I dare say, you didn’t even get mud on the covers.”

Inan sniggers. “I always make sure to clean my paws before I get on fancy things. But really, I worried about how he’d react to waking up alone so…”

They shrug as Uthvir hums knowingly. “I had a similar thought, that’s why I came with this.” They lift the tray slightly.

Inanallas gets up and stretches a little before snagging little chunk of fruit from the spread.

“Truly you are wise and mighty.”

Uthvir grins boardly.

#my writing #arranged tanzanite au #tanzanite trio #uthvir #thenvunin #inanallas #god idk why but dialogue is just such a nightmare for me rn it's Hell #i feel like it's stunting some of these bc i just /cannot/ muster the Good Sentences that dont sound like the atla movie script #so Fuck It Yolo whatever that's what reworking shit later is for #tAKE IT AND ENJOY #TAKE IT FROM THESE LANDS SO I MIGHT BE FREE ONCE MORE

7 notes · View notes

dontbethatshank · 7 years ago

Text

Hidden Beauties (part one)

A/N: yet again I found an amazing plot.request/plot that I fell in love with but I can’t find the original blogger, ah! I need to start writing these down I’m so sorry. Anyways, the plot isn’t my original idea but the entire writing is, so enjoy my lovely little shanks! P.S. I will bee posting another part to this with Minho and Alby next~ Imagine: You’re the only girl in the glade but the boys find you weird or odd. Most are afraid of you or just don’t know how to interact with you. So they mostly avoid you.

Newt: Coming up in the box was confusing enough. Being surrounded by only guys was even more confusing. But what was the most confusing, and the most hurtful as well, was that the Gladers found you to be... odd. When you came up, you made no commotion. You were led around, and you accepted it. You were told you were trapped and what was outside of the walls, and your only comment was,”Thank God for these walls. We’re lucky to be in here.” The boys were all confused. You were too calm, too accepting. Even Alby was turned off from your calmness. The truth was, you don’t remember your life before, but you know that it was a bad one. When you got changed or took a shower, you saw these long, dark scars on your thighs and hips, you had noticed later on you had some on your back near your shoulders. You didn’t remember what happened, but when you touched them, a rush of emotion came with them. Your body felt hot and sluggish, you felt drained and stuck in space. So, yes, you loved the Glade. You were given a job on the farm, mostly because it was simple and you were away from most of the boys. You made a couple of friends with the Slicers, but not even they could get close to you. You felt so alone and far away from everyone else. you greeted each day with a smile and joy, but they met it with tiredness and hope for an escape. Your only friend seemed to be Newt, and you thought it to be from guilt or pity. But you accepted it. He would sometimes come to the farm and sit ith you and eat his meals with you. He teased you about that fact that you would share your food with the animals. You guys had gotten baby pigs last month and you fell in love with the tiny runt. You named him and shared your food with him, giving him some of your stew, potatoes, some bread, even some grapes or strawberries whenever you got some. Newt loved how happy you were. You seemed to have endless joy and care for others. You were surprised that he enjoyed being around you so much. He would even hold your pig and he even would give the little guy some of his own food and laugh, as the pig got excited, oinking and squirming. You loved the animals, you loved the Glade - you just sought the best in this whole predicament. Newt once told you he believed you were sent up to be their hope. That you were their reminder of the good the boys still had in their lives. One day, during lunch, you were quiet. you had heard the builders talking about you. Gally made joke after joke, and his friends supplied the encouragement with their laughter. He talked about how overly happy you were, “I swear, she has to be on drugs,” he had claimed. Or about how you loved the animals too much and how you treated the food like pets. Gally just kept at it. But you could handle that, what you couldn’t handle was the Slicers. You had gone in earlier than usual today and overheard the Slicers that morning also, the boys who you had talked with and though you had made friends with were making fun of you. It hurt. “Are you okay, love?” Newt asked. You nodded quietly. “No, no... what’s wrong?” Newt said, pulling you to look at him. You looked down and shook your head. “I don’t fit in here,” you mumbled, “no one likes me. They all use me as their personal jokes... I’m just a joke.” Newt rubbed your arm quietly and you laid your head on his shoulder, sighing. “I like you,” Newt muttered. You smiled softly up at Newt. “I like you a lot,” Newt whispered, looking down into your eyes. You smiled at him, not processing just how much he was leaning into you. But then his lips touched yours. You were shocked, but smiled, closing your eyes as he leaned into the kiss more. And that was the first time in awhile you felt you belonged somewhere in the Glade. Even if it was a small place, it was a place. And that was enough for you.

Gally: First arriving in the Glade was one of the worst days of your life. When you came up, you were the first girls but not only that, you were the first one with piercings, with dyed hair, and the first one with tattoos. The boys all looked at you as if you were a creation from the depths of the darkness. You came up in the box, long green hair, nose, and ears pierced, tattoos on your arms, one on your back and another on your ankle. You were an obscurity. You were assigned to be a builder. The other boys asked Alby to not work with you - most were intimidated by you more than anything. When asked, Gally shrugged his shoulders. “Will she do her shucking work?” was his only response to being asked if he would take you on as a builder. So here you were. The boys all but ignored your very existence so you could get away with wearing whatever you wanted and saying whatever you wanted for the most part. They also avoided you so showers were nice and you got your own little corner with your hammock for sleeping. “You getting your work done, shanks?” Gally asked as he plopped himself down on a small wooden bench next to you. You had sweat dripping down your face and back as you hammered away, working on attaching the roof to the extension on the barn. Gally held up a plate of food towards you. It had a sandwich, a handful of grapes, some crackers smeared with peanut butter, and he also managed to bring over a tin full of water for you both. With a sigh, you dropped your hammer and set down the handful of nails you had in your pocket. You grabbed the plate and sat with Gally, leaning back into the shade and resting your back against the side of the barn where the animals stayed. Biting into your sandwich you sighed quietly. “gally?” you asked, without looking at him. “Hm?” he hummed back, popping grapes into his mouth as he looked over the Glade. “why do you eat with me? The other builders go to the benches outside the kitchen. all your friends eat there. But you eat lunch with me here and you normally eat dinner with me outside the deadheads every night. How come?” you questioned the tall boy sitting next to you. With a shrug, he took another bite and swallowed it before speaking. “I don’t shuckin’ know. You don’t talk to anyone else; even Chuck is afraid to sit with you long,” he replied and you shrugged back. You had grown used to the loneliness and silence. “I figured everyone needs a friend of the sorts. Even I have some and I know I’m a shuckface,” he grinned at you, turning to look next to you. You finished your lunch and drank some water, sitting in a peaceful silence. Gally sat with you, both of you enjoying your break. “Y/N?” Gally asked, and you hummed in response, looking at him after a couple seconds, cocking an eyebrow. “Just so you know, I like you,” Gally said, then looked at you, “I like your hair... and your piercings, and those little... ink things you have randomly. I like them.. it all suits you.” You smiled at Gally and leaned over, kissing his cheek. He blushed lightly and smiled back. “I like you too,” you responded. “Actually...” Gally said, shifting to look at you full on and biting his lip, “I like you, not just because I like your hair and stuff, but because I like you. You’re.. you’re my favorite person.” You grinned widely and watched Gally as he squirmed under your eye as you stayed quiet. He looked at you, getting annoyed slowly, and as he opened his lips to say something, you leaned forward and kissed him. After a short, brief kiss, you leaned forwards more and whispered in his ear, “I like you too... and not just because of your hair or your eyebrows.” You leaned back and bit your lip, laughing quietly. Gally rolled his eyes and grabbed your waist pulling you close. “Shut up, Greenie,” he smirked, glancing at your hair, and kissing you again. You may not have much, but you had Gally, green hair, and a handful of piercings. And that’s all you needed to be happy in this place.

#tmr #the mazerunner #the maze runner #mazerunner #maze runner #tmr imagines #tmr preferences #imagines #preferences #imagine #preference #gally #newt #alby #minho #thomas #awkward #dating #glade

51 notes · View notes

bigtinyworldtravel · 6 years ago

Text

Guess what?? We have hit 100 posts on our site! Can you believe it? To mark the occasion, we thought we would share with you 100 things we love about traveling.

Food

You know the truth. We really only travel for the food! We can’t wait to eat our way around the world. Until then, our mouths still water at the thought of these favorites.

Real ramen

Goat cheese and crackers for breakfast

Ryokan meals

Blind dining

Sourdough bread animals

Batidos

Actually decent convenience store food

Amazing street food

Make-it-yourself takoyaki

All-you-can-eat resort buffets

Japanese food in Canada

Crepes

Gooey deep-dish pizza – true Chicago-style

People

We have met so many people in our travels, and they’ve all made a mark on our lives. We are excited to meet more on our journeys!

Amazingly friendly Couchsurfing hosts

A tour boat captain delighted by our Canadian patriotism

Friends made while learning Japanese then invited to dinner when we visit them in Osaka

The coolest cat (ok, not really a person…)

Rico

All the random visitors who stopped to talk to us in Vancouver

Friends who stayed with us while visiting the U.S. who flew to Tokyo for a night of karaoke

Rose, our blind server whose name I’ll always remember thanks to the Titanic reference

The Canadians who shared our BnB in Costa Rica

The kind mechanic who gave up his weekend to help us out when we got stuck in Idaho

The crazy boat captain who taunted a crocodile

Our Couchsurfers

The Tokyo boat tour host (one of only two other people on that boat who spoke English)

The friends with whom we travel

Each other – at our most enthralled and our most grumpy, stressed, hungry, etc.

Wildlife

A place is also marked by the wildlife that inhabit it. Just as the cultures and climates differ from place to place, so, too, does the local fauna. We loved meeting these.

Bears

Crocodiles

Goats

A boar

Sea turtles

Poisonous frogs

Ferral cats

Whales

Surprise mountain goats

Sealions

Monkeys

Places

There is so much to discover in a new location, including the things that make a place unique.

Norway’s incredible architecture

Massive cities

Waterfalls

Artistic statues

Unexpected tropical ruins

Vending machine restaurants

Cool hotel rooms

Shinkansen

Vastly different climates

Shrines

Glaciers

Reliable public transportation

A glass elevator

Insane throngs of people

Scenery

And what kind of photographers/videographers would we be if we couldn’t appreciate the local scenes? We’re in it for the media, after all!

Crazy beautiful landscapes

Reflections

Unbelievable geology

Perfectly dappled sunlight

Cityscapes

Fjords

Hoodoos

Tropical sunsets

Fireworks

An observatory high above the clouds

Underwater greetings

The sun sets over a Hawaiian “puka” – a water hole that spouts seawater – just south of Kona Airport.

Culture

Culture is one of the most fascinating elements to traveling. We want to experience cultures all around the world and learn a few new things that we can adopt into our lifestyles.

Integrity when we forgot a bag at a restaurant

Never handling the local currency

Using only cash the entire trip

Sleeping on a lanai

Adorable elevator recordings

youtube

Open camping anywhere

Ridiculously packed stores

Canada Day

Clever packaging

Public bathhouses

Plastic food

Abundance of English

Extreme consideration for others

Light festivals

Kids fascinated by foreigners

Experiences

Photos are merely a placeholder for the amazing experiences we have while abroad. They serve as reminders for these unforgettable memories.

Going to a cafe to hang out with cats

The fight for (and remarkably rewarding payoff of) a desert sunrise

Zip-lining

Dancing robots

Hiking (and photographing) in the rain

Petting a crocodile

Making someone’s day when I could spout a simple Japanese phrase

Scaling a wild rock in Utah with only chains to keep us from certain death

Playing the silly tourist

Jet boats in the pouring rain

Endless daylight

Drinking sake and watching bad Japanese music videos

Growing beyond our comfort zones

Discovering something new

A cat is quite comfortable at Cafe Jalala Cat Cafe in Tokyo, Japan.

Lessons

Exposing ourselves to varying cultures inevitably imbues us with lessons we internalize, bring back with us, and share with others. These help us grow into ultimately better people.

Learning cultural nuances through language

Learning the right way to drink

Not all bicycles are created equal

Fun doesn’t have to include alcohol

Language barriers don’t have to be so scary

People around the world aren’t so different from us

Internal change is possible (and good)

What do you love most about traveling?

If you like this post, please help us grow by liking it and sharing it on social media. We also welcome your comments below – we would love to hear from you!

Don’t miss out on new posts! Follow our blog for new posts every week.

Add pin image URL and move to the top

We now have over 100 posts! See 100 things we love about #travel here! #internationaltravel #travelcouple Guess what?? We have hit 100 posts on our site! Can you believe it? To mark the occasion, we thought we would share with you 100 things we love about traveling.

#Inspiration #international travel #Travel #travel couple #world travel

0 notes

jimdsmith34 · 7 years ago

Text

40 Genius Recipes With Three Ingredients or Less That ANYONE Can Make

How many times have you looked at a recipe and thought it looked great only to discover that the list of ingredients was a mile long and would cause even an Iron Chef to roll their eyes and stick a frozen pizza in the oven? Exactly.

Cooking doesnt have to be complicated and it can be delicious with only three ingredients or less. Now, were not talking about peanut butter and jelly or a bowl of cereal with milk although theres nothing wrong with those but rather more innovative creations like Nutella cake, jalapeno poppers, pulled pork, and ice cream.

Youll wonder, Why didnt I think of that?

One Ingredient Banana Soft Serve

Via: The Kitchn

The recipe that has been sweeping the Internet for the past couple of years is so simple its not even a recipe.

Its actually frozen bananas thrown in the food processor until they reach the consistency of soft serve ice cream. Seriously.

Its really that good, and the possibilities for modifications are endless peanut butter, cookies, other fruit, and so many other things.

Youre welcome.

Shells and White Cheddar

Via: She Makes and Bakes

Forget the blue box. Make thisstovetop version in which you slowly cook the pasta right in the milk, so it gets super creamy. Then just stir in cheese and the sauce makes itself.

Salted Caramel Truffle and Chocolate Fudge Brownie Pie

Via: Chelseas Messy Apron

This looks complicated, but it really only requires a graham cracker crust, a tub of chocolate and caramel ice cream, and toppings. You. Are. Welcome.

Three Ingredient Tomato Soup

Via: Enjoy Tribute

Soup with just tomatoes, onions or peppers, and olive oil. It doesnt get any simpler than that.

Peanut Butter Waffle Sandwiches

Via: Crazy for Crust

If you have a waffle maker, Pillsbury biscuit dough, and peanut butter (and optional syrup or honey)youre ready to make this mealthat can be frozen for easy treats later.

Slow Cooker Cocktail Meatballs

Via: Mom on a Timeout

Whether youre gearing up for a big game, a potluck, or just a quick dinner, all you need are meatballs, grape jelly, and chili sauce.

Two Ingredient Flourless Nutella Cake

Via: Kirbie’s Cravings

Do you have Nutella? Of course you do. Do you have eggs? Lets hope so, because after 25 minutes of baking you have a decadent dessertand happiness.

BBQ Chicken Stuffed Sweet Potatoes

Via: The Comfort of Cooking

Just three ingredients and 30 minutes give you tender sweet potatoes stuffed with shredded BBQ chicken and an easy weeknight meal.

Two Ingredient Pizza Dough

Via: The Slow Roasted Italian

Its not delivery, its Greek yogurt and flour coming together to make everything from pizza dough to variations such as garlic bread and calzones.

Oreo Bark

Via: Bakers Royale

Need a quick treat to bring somewhere? Try this two ingredient, sweet and simple dessert filled with Oreo goodness thats ready in 20 minutes and probably devoured in 20 seconds.

Two Ingredient Cheese Crisps

Via: Celebrations at Home

These cheese crisps are little bites of heaven. They makegreat snacks for the kids,appetizerswith a glass of wine, or an accompaniment with a salad.

Three Ingredient Peanut Butter Cookies

Via: Barefeet In the Kitchen

This recipe is a classic with just eggs, peanut butter, and sugar, which means youre just minutes away from satisfying your craving for a delicious treat.

Coca-Cola Chicken

Via: When East Meets West

Boil the chicken, replace the water with Coca-Cola and add in soy sauce to create a meal thats literally done in minutes.

Two Ingredient Chocolate Mousse

Via: Oh Lady Cakes

The only thing standing between you and thisdecadent treat is chocolate, your milk of choice, and whatever toppings you want to go nuts with including, well, nuts.

Two Ingredient Healthy Pancakes

Via: Top With Cinnamon

While there are a few modifications and pinches of things here and there, thisrecipe basically consists of two things eggs and bananas. Thats it. Im not kidding. Get your pancake on.

Super Easy Mozzarella Sticks

Via: Mommy Savers

Why are they super easy? Because they only require egg roll wrappers, string cheese and an egg. Of course you have to have sauce for dipping, but were not counting that.

No Churn Coconut Ice Cream

Via: Dessert Now, Dinner Later

If your tastes lean more towards coconut than banana, as mentioned above, this ice cream recipes comes together with two ingredients and no ice cream maker required.

Sinfully Easy Chocolate Croissants

Via: Inspired Taste

No, theyre not real croissants, but cheating is totally recommended when all you need is puff pastry, chocolate chips, and one egg to make these treats.

Roasted Fennel, Red Onion, and Orange Salad

Via: Food52

Yes, you have to roast the three ingredients, but its a salad that dresses itself.

Three Ingredient Flourless Peanut Butter Cake

Via: Kirbie Cravings

Eggs, peanut butter, and sugar are all you need to make a cake thats both light and dense, sweet and delicious.

Pretzel Coated Honey Mustard Chicken Tenders

Via: Cooking With Cakes

Juicy, moist chicken tenders, a crunchy crispy crust, and the sweet taste of honey mustard all done with three ingredients.

Kiss Pies

Via: Picky Palate

Hershey Kisses + refrigerated pie crust + 1 egg white = perfect little pies filled with your Hershey Kiss flavor of choice.

Perfect Tomato Sauce

Via: Food52

Once called the most famous tomato sauce on the Internet, this recipe from Marcella Hazan’sEssentials of Classic Italian Cooking requires only tomatoes (canned or fresh)butter and onion. Bon apptit!

Three Ingredient Peanut Butter Cups

Via: Leeves and Berries

Chocolate chips? Check. Peanut butter? Check. Sea salt? Check.

Betterthan those store-bought treats you spend money on? Check and checkmate.

Bacon-Wrapped Jalapeno Poppers

Via: Betty Crocker

This technically calls for chives and cream cheese as two separate ingredients, but you can get chive-flavored cream cheese, so yes, there are still just three ingredients and they make a perfect appetizer.

Frozen Mint Chocolate Chip Pie

Via: Thirty Homemade Days

Whoever said money cant buy happiness didnt know you can buy an Oreo pie crust, a tub of ice cream and Cool Whip to create this.

The best part? Any flavor of ice cream will work.

Two Ingredient Biscuits

Via: The Kitchn

If you thought a biscuit recipe had to include Bisquick, youre wrong. This one requires only flour, buttermilk, and optional sugar and butter.

No Bake Salted Caramel Slice

Via: Big Man’s World

Crispbread crackers, caramel sauce, and chocolate sauce are all that you need for this twist on a childhood favorite.

New England Baked Haddock

Via: Bowl of Delicious

If cooking fish intimidates you, this is a great place to start cooking it. Why? All you need is the fish, bread crumbs, and butter.

Two Ingredient Nutella Brownies

Via: Diethood

The tasteand texture are similar to a fudgy brownie and require only two ingredientsNutella and eggs.

Cookies and Cream Icebox Cake

Via: Food52

While any cookies could be used and combined with just whipped cream, the classicuses chocolate wafers.

Three Ingredient Pulled Pork

Via: Tablespoon

The only things standing in your way of moist, flavorful pulled porkthat can be prepared in minutes and cooked in a slow cooker are pork, root beer, and BBQ sauce.

Flourless Chocolate Cake

Via: Gimme Some Oven

A decadent, gluten-free flourless chocolate cake recipewith no added sugar necessary. Plus, it just looks super fancy.

Tostones with Spicy Coleslaw and Avocado

Via: Mommyhood’s Diary

Basically,tostonesare fried plantains, pounded flat and then fried again to create a delicious plantain slices.

And guess what? You can top them with whatever you like, such as spicy coleslaw and avocado.

Two Ingredient Maple Souffle

Via: Sugar Laws

It sounds weird to pair eggs with maple syrup, but eggs insoufflsare essentially an invisible ingredient they give structure and density to something that otherwise tastes like flavored air. So in this creation, maple flavor for the win!

Three Ingredient Chili

Via: I Heart Naptime

Mix the meat, beans, and tomatoes together in large pot, bring it to a boil, and then simmer for about 30 minutes. Then you can top it with whatever you want, but the base is only three ingredients.

Iced Coffee Milkshakes

Via: The Nerd’s Wife

Forget those expensive blended drinks from the coffee shop. All you need for a quick pick-me-up is iced flavored coffee, chocolate chips, ice, and whipped cream to top.

Individual Parmesan Hash Brown Cups

Via: The Yummy Life

Crispy on the outside, moist on the inside, and made in muffin tins, these easily come together with shredded potatoes, parmesan, and scallions.

Three Ingredient Hazelnut Cookies

Via: Easy As Apple Pie

Also called Ugly But Good cookies because they dont look too attractive but vanish off the serving plate in minutes, they only require three things hazelnuts, sugar, and egg white.

Cheddar Broccoli Egg Muffins

Via: Fit Mama, Real Food

Cheddar broccoli soup is delicious. Broccoli topped with cheddar cheese sauce is genius. These egg muffins? Right up there with those, but so much easier.

See? As easy as 1, 2…and sometimes 3.

source http://allofbeer.com/40-genius-recipes-with-three-ingredients-or-less-that-anyone-can-make/ from All of Beer http://allofbeer.blogspot.com/2018/02/40-genius-recipes-with-three.html

0 notes

allofbeercom · 7 years ago

Text

40 Genius Recipes With Three Ingredients or Less That ANYONE Can Make

Youll wonder, Why didnt I think of that?

One Ingredient Banana Soft Serve

Via: The Kitchn

The recipe that has been sweeping the Internet for the past couple of years is so simple its not even a recipe.

Its actually frozen bananas thrown in the food processor until they reach the consistency of soft serve ice cream. Seriously.

Its really that good, and the possibilities for modifications are endless peanut butter, cookies, other fruit, and so many other things.

Youre welcome.

Shells and White Cheddar

Via: She Makes and Bakes

Forget the blue box. Make thisstovetop version in which you slowly cook the pasta right in the milk, so it gets super creamy. Then just stir in cheese and the sauce makes itself.

Salted Caramel Truffle and Chocolate Fudge Brownie Pie

Via: Chelseas Messy Apron

This looks complicated, but it really only requires a graham cracker crust, a tub of chocolate and caramel ice cream, and toppings. You. Are. Welcome.

Three Ingredient Tomato Soup

Via: Enjoy Tribute

Soup with just tomatoes, onions or peppers, and olive oil. It doesnt get any simpler than that.

Peanut Butter Waffle Sandwiches

Via: Crazy for Crust

If you have a waffle maker, Pillsbury biscuit dough, and peanut butter (and optional syrup or honey)youre ready to make this mealthat can be frozen for easy treats later.

Slow Cooker Cocktail Meatballs

Via: Mom on a Timeout

Whether youre gearing up for a big game, a potluck, or just a quick dinner, all you need are meatballs, grape jelly, and chili sauce.

Two Ingredient Flourless Nutella Cake

Via: Kirbie’s Cravings

Do you have Nutella? Of course you do. Do you have eggs? Lets hope so, because after 25 minutes of baking you have a decadent dessertand happiness.

BBQ Chicken Stuffed Sweet Potatoes

Via: The Comfort of Cooking

Just three ingredients and 30 minutes give you tender sweet potatoes stuffed with shredded BBQ chicken and an easy weeknight meal.

Two Ingredient Pizza Dough

Via: The Slow Roasted Italian

Its not delivery, its Greek yogurt and flour coming together to make everything from pizza dough to variations such as garlic bread and calzones.

Oreo Bark

Via: Bakers Royale

Need a quick treat to bring somewhere? Try this two ingredient, sweet and simple dessert filled with Oreo goodness thats ready in 20 minutes and probably devoured in 20 seconds.

Two Ingredient Cheese Crisps

Via: Celebrations at Home

These cheese crisps are little bites of heaven. They makegreat snacks for the kids,appetizerswith a glass of wine, or an accompaniment with a salad.

Three Ingredient Peanut Butter Cookies

Via: Barefeet In the Kitchen

This recipe is a classic with just eggs, peanut butter, and sugar, which means youre just minutes away from satisfying your craving for a delicious treat.

Coca-Cola Chicken

Via: When East Meets West

Boil the chicken, replace the water with Coca-Cola and add in soy sauce to create a meal thats literally done in minutes.

Two Ingredient Chocolate Mousse

Via: Oh Lady Cakes

The only thing standing between you and thisdecadent treat is chocolate, your milk of choice, and whatever toppings you want to go nuts with including, well, nuts.

Two Ingredient Healthy Pancakes

Via: Top With Cinnamon

While there are a few modifications and pinches of things here and there, thisrecipe basically consists of two things eggs and bananas. Thats it. Im not kidding. Get your pancake on.

Super Easy Mozzarella Sticks

Via: Mommy Savers

Why are they super easy? Because they only require egg roll wrappers, string cheese and an egg. Of course you have to have sauce for dipping, but were not counting that.

No Churn Coconut Ice Cream

Via: Dessert Now, Dinner Later

If your tastes lean more towards coconut than banana, as mentioned above, this ice cream recipes comes together with two ingredients and no ice cream maker required.

Sinfully Easy Chocolate Croissants

Via: Inspired Taste

No, theyre not real croissants, but cheating is totally recommended when all you need is puff pastry, chocolate chips, and one egg to make these treats.

Roasted Fennel, Red Onion, and Orange Salad

Via: Food52

Yes, you have to roast the three ingredients, but its a salad that dresses itself.

Three Ingredient Flourless Peanut Butter Cake

Via: Kirbie Cravings

Eggs, peanut butter, and sugar are all you need to make a cake thats both light and dense, sweet and delicious.

Pretzel Coated Honey Mustard Chicken Tenders

Via: Cooking With Cakes

Juicy, moist chicken tenders, a crunchy crispy crust, and the sweet taste of honey mustard all done with three ingredients.

Kiss Pies

Via: Picky Palate

Hershey Kisses + refrigerated pie crust + 1 egg white = perfect little pies filled with your Hershey Kiss flavor of choice.

Perfect Tomato Sauce

Via: Food52

Three Ingredient Peanut Butter Cups

Via: Leeves and Berries

Chocolate chips? Check. Peanut butter? Check. Sea salt? Check.

Betterthan those store-bought treats you spend money on? Check and checkmate.

Bacon-Wrapped Jalapeno Poppers

Via: Betty Crocker

Frozen Mint Chocolate Chip Pie

Via: Thirty Homemade Days

Whoever said money cant buy happiness didnt know you can buy an Oreo pie crust, a tub of ice cream and Cool Whip to create this.

The best part? Any flavor of ice cream will work.

Two Ingredient Biscuits

Via: The Kitchn

If you thought a biscuit recipe had to include Bisquick, youre wrong. This one requires only flour, buttermilk, and optional sugar and butter.

No Bake Salted Caramel Slice

Via: Big Man’s World

Crispbread crackers, caramel sauce, and chocolate sauce are all that you need for this twist on a childhood favorite.

New England Baked Haddock

Via: Bowl of Delicious

If cooking fish intimidates you, this is a great place to start cooking it. Why? All you need is the fish, bread crumbs, and butter.

Two Ingredient Nutella Brownies

Via: Diethood

The tasteand texture are similar to a fudgy brownie and require only two ingredientsNutella and eggs.

Cookies and Cream Icebox Cake

Via: Food52

While any cookies could be used and combined with just whipped cream, the classicuses chocolate wafers.

Three Ingredient Pulled Pork

Via: Tablespoon

The only things standing in your way of moist, flavorful pulled porkthat can be prepared in minutes and cooked in a slow cooker are pork, root beer, and BBQ sauce.

Flourless Chocolate Cake

Via: Gimme Some Oven

A decadent, gluten-free flourless chocolate cake recipewith no added sugar necessary. Plus, it just looks super fancy.

Tostones with Spicy Coleslaw and Avocado

Via: Mommyhood’s Diary

Basically,tostonesare fried plantains, pounded flat and then fried again to create a delicious plantain slices.

And guess what? You can top them with whatever you like, such as spicy coleslaw and avocado.

Two Ingredient Maple Souffle

Via: Sugar Laws

Three Ingredient Chili

Via: I Heart Naptime

Mix the meat, beans, and tomatoes together in large pot, bring it to a boil, and then simmer for about 30 minutes. Then you can top it with whatever you want, but the base is only three ingredients.

Iced Coffee Milkshakes

Via: The Nerd’s Wife

Forget those expensive blended drinks from the coffee shop. All you need for a quick pick-me-up is iced flavored coffee, chocolate chips, ice, and whipped cream to top.

Individual Parmesan Hash Brown Cups

Via: The Yummy Life

Crispy on the outside, moist on the inside, and made in muffin tins, these easily come together with shredded potatoes, parmesan, and scallions.

Three Ingredient Hazelnut Cookies

Via: Easy As Apple Pie

Also called Ugly But Good cookies because they dont look too attractive but vanish off the serving plate in minutes, they only require three things hazelnuts, sugar, and egg white.

Cheddar Broccoli Egg Muffins

Via: Fit Mama, Real Food

Cheddar broccoli soup is delicious. Broccoli topped with cheddar cheese sauce is genius. These egg muffins? Right up there with those, but so much easier.

See? As easy as 1, 2…and sometimes 3.

from All Of Beer http://allofbeer.com/40-genius-recipes-with-three-ingredients-or-less-that-anyone-can-make/

0 notes

mgjansen81 · 7 years ago

Text

LCHF Diet - Getting Started

New Post has been published on https://makesomethingtasty.com/lchf-diet-getting-started/

LCHF Diet - Getting Started

GETTING STARTED ON LCHF – PART 1: CLEAN OUT DAY

By far and away the most email, comments and questions we get are around how to start LCHF, what a LCHF whole food eating plan looks like, whether its doable for the average person, and how you know what success looks like. We’ll address this in a series of posts but here are the first three steps……

By Helen Kilding and Grant Schofield

Back in April of last year, Grant talked about what he and his family eat, but let’s go a step further and look at how you might adapt your current menu to achieve a Low Carb High Fat (LCHF) lifestyle, that delivers all the nutrients your body needs, in the quantities required. Note I say lifestyle, not diet, as an LCHF way of eating can be as beneficial and enjoyable for people who don’t need to lose weight as for those who do.

First there are two things you need to get over….your fear of fat and your fear of missing carbs. We often ask people, “What is it about a burger that you most enjoy?” Inevitably it’s not the tasteless bread roll that is used to hold it. Top a nice juicy burger, two even, with cheese, avocado, tomato and mayonnaise, wrap it in a big fresh iceberg lettuce leaf and see if you miss the bun. Ditto lasagne….replace the pasta sheets with strips of eggplant and see if you even notice. One proviso, make these switches without increasing how much good fat you eat and you do risk missing the carbs. You’ll possibly lose weight, but because of calorie restriction, not an increase in fat burning, which should be the ultimate goal. And as with all calorie restricted diets, you’ll likely regain the weight, and then some.

When you take out carbohydrate you must increase fat….protein should stay about the same. Far from fat making you fat, as Grant has spoken about at length, dietary fat and body fat are two completely different things. To encourage your body to burn fat, you need to deprive it of alternative fuel sources (i.e. sugar/carbohydrate) so that it’s only option is to use fat. When you eat fat, so long as there is no sugar around, there is little or no impact on the hormone insulin (the fat storage hormone) and also no blocking of the hormone leptin. It is leptin that tells the brain you’re full. You need fat to feel satisfied, plus it tastes great and makes the food you add it to taste great.

So what exactly should you eat? Here are some tips and tricks from someone who is not a great cook, who is preparing meals for a young family and who also enjoys eating out. None of which provides any barrier to an LCHF lifestyle. For a better cook, or someone with more time on their hands, the possibilities are endless.

Step 1: Ditch these carbs

Understand which foods are out for you and then clear them all out of your fridge and cupboards. Having a defined “start day” or “clean out day” is the “cold turkey” approach, which may leave you feeling a bit rubbish for a few days, as your metabolism adjusts the way it fuels your body, but after that you’re away. It’s our preferred method but we’ll explore more gradual methods later.

The following items are out (left), with some replacements on the right:

OUT IN

Breakfast cereals of all kinds Nuts and seeds or No grainola Rice Faux rice Potato and all other starchy vegetables Faux potato and heaps of non-starchy, low carb veggies Spaghetti and pasta Courgetti (courgette ribbons) or eggplant slices Sugar in all forms (includes honey, agave) Bread of all kinds Big iceberg lettuce leaves or Oopsie rolls Cracker, biscuits, and cakes Seed crackers

Step 2: Oil change

Boost your good fat component. We need plenty of fat but not too much of the Omega 6 fats which can cause inflammation. Remove the manufactured seed oils, like sunflower, peanut, safflower and canola, and replace them with:

Coconut oil

Olive oil

Butter

Cream

Cheese

Avocado

Coconut milk/cream

The fat/skin on meat and fish

Step 3: Step away from the packages

Ditch all processed foods – these are likely to be high in sugar, other carbs, and Omega 6 fats. Make sauces and dressings from scratch wherever possible. This doesn’t have to mean hours slaving over a stove but if you really must use a jar of curry sauce (because throwing some spices and a can of coconut milk in a pan is so hard!), at least check that the carbohydrate content is no more than 10 g per 100 g and ideally less than 5 g.

Load up on things that will rot in a few days – in season vegetables, meat, fish, etc and you won’t go far wrong.

Follow these three steps and the end result will be a plate/dish that is nutrient dense and packed with natural flavour. You’ll feel satisfied (full) but not bloated full.

A weekly menu

Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday Breakfast Yoghurt, cream, berries, nuts and seeds (YCBNS) Cheesy scrambled egg YCBNS YCBNS YCBNS

Whatever

Bacon, eggs, creamy mushrooms and spinach Lunch Chicken Super Salad Seed crackers and platter Leftover Bolognese with salad and cheese Left over frittata Tuna Super Salad Dinner Salmon fillet, pumpkin mash and Asian veggies Courgetti Bolognese Asparagus and feta frittata Burger with all the trimmings Chicken curry and faux rice BBQ (meat, fish, salad/veggies) or Roast Dinner (no potato) Extras 10 almonds3 squares of dark chocolate Apple slices and nut butter 10 almondsGlass of wine 3 squares of dark chocolate Apple slices and nut butterGlass of wine Seed crackers and dips[1]

Other Breakfast Ideas

Greek yoghurt with No Grainola

Eggs and bacon

Omelette

Creamy mushrooms on spinach

Coconut cream smoothie

Super Salads

I wish I could come up with a different word to describe an LCHF salad (Mark Sisson calls them “Big Ass salads”), as to me the word salad says deprivation, sacrifice, boring, unsatisfying. But in the absence of anything better, I’m going to call them Super Salads. Yes they may and should include plenty of greenery, but what else goes in is only limited by your imagination. Favourites of ours are Chicken, Cos lettuce, hard boiled eggs, shaved parmesan, walnuts and plenty of creamy Caesar dressing, or Canned tuna, with green beans, rocket, cherry tomatoes, pumpkin seeds, avocado and lots and lots of olive oil.

Extras

An LCHF lifestyle that includes enough fat usually results in little or no hunger between meals. If hunger does strike, first make a mental note to ensure fat and protein intake are both adequate in future. Second, check you’re actually hungry and not just bored or thirsty. And third, have the following on hand: nuts such as almonds, macadamias, walnuts and brazils; an apple and some nut butter; hard boiled eggs; seed crackers.

And at night, especially if weight loss is not such a priority, a few squares of good dark chocolate and/or a glass of wine can be nicely accommodated in an LCHF lifestyle.

The “Whatever” day

The “Whatever” day might be LCHF or it might not. The jury is out on whether having the odd ‘treat’ or a weekly blow out delays adaptation to an LCHF lifestyle. It’s something we plan to study in the near future. You might find that you don’t want or need it, especially as the benefits of LCHF start kicking in, but knowing that it’s there as an option can be just what some people need to make the whole concept more appealing/achievable and enable them to give it a go. If you’re physically active, a re-feed of “better” carbohydrates once a week (perhaps on a heavy training day) may also be beneficial.

So there it is….an LCHF lifestyle is a long-term decision to fuel your body in the way it was designed to be fuelled – to make it a more efficient fat burner rather than a carb dependent sugar burner. In an upcoming post we’ll look at the nutritional content of a menu like the one above and compare it to a typical Standard American Diet (SAD) and a low-fat, whole grains one. In the meantime, all we can say is give it a try. Never has the old adage “Don’t knock it till you’ve tried it” been so appropriate.

Summary of Foods to eat:[2]

Meat – grass fed (which is fortunately most meat in New Zealand)

Fish – fresh and canned

Vegetables – especially those grown over ground (cauliflower, broccoli, zucchini, spinach, mushrooms, eggplant, cucumber, lettuce, capsicum, etc)

Coconut oil and coconut cream

Butter

Eggs

Cream, sour cream and full fat Greek yoghurt

Olive oil

Cheese

Nuts and seeds – especially almonds, walnuts, macadamia and brazil nuts, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds and linseed

Seasonal fruit in moderation

Summary of Foods to avoid:

Bread, pasta, cereals

Pastries, cakes, biscuits and desserts

Sugar in all its forms – plain sugar, castor sugar, maple syrup, golden syrup, honey

Jam and other preserves

Sweetened yoghurt

Lollies and chocolate

Beans and legumes

Dried fruit

Fruit juice

Beer, cider and liqueurs

[1] Make your own guacamole, pesto, salsa or sour cream dips or choose ones with as few ingredients as possible and less than 5 g of carbohydrate per 100 g

[2] For certain individuals, some of these foods may not be advisable. This list is a starting point which is proving effective for a large proportion of people. By experimenting, you can find the carbohydrate intake that works for you – it might be <50g a day, 50-100g or up to 150g – and the foods that your body tolerates well and not so well.

#lchf diet #Low Carb #low carb high fat diet

0 notes

tales0fthenugget · 7 years ago

Text

Asian Food (part 1)

I am a proud Asian for a lot of reasons. One of which is cheap yummy food!!! Yes, three exclamation points as just the thought of it already makes me excited. The rich and endless variety of flavor and spices will never disappoint. It's nothing new actually as history also tells us about Westerners expeditions to the East to find spices, right? And the bonus here is that it's not expensive and it's pretty common.

I've been in most of the east Asian countries. When I started to travel, I didn't think too much about food. I was too thin in college and all I knew to eat was rice (screaming Asian!) and sweets. So imagine my happiness when I discovered food and eating as part of travel. And again since I like lists, let me share memorable food in each of the Asian countries I visited. I didn't say yummiest or unique in the place but memorable a.k.a. my favorites, hehe. It would probably be my go-to food should I go back to these countries. Btw, I would exclude the Philippines in this list as I spent my life living here. My list would never end if I include it ;) Please also excuse how I try to describe the food's taste. I am so bad at it because I'm not used to writing about food. I only want to eat!! Haha. I hope the pictures and my memories/adventures that go with it could compensate.

THAILAND (5)

My first ever out of the country trip was Thailand. It was my parents' graduation gift to me after college. I had no concept then of eating local food. I was with my sister who was on a business trip. We would only eat at restaurants. I've only tasted street food once, which was when she was working and I was left alone to roam around and eat. I didn't know then that I missed a lot! Very fortunately for me, I've had four more trips to Thailand after the first one. I think this is actually the country I've returned to the most. Since the second trip, which was backpacking - naturally means hostel and street food for me, I've had more chance of eating local food. Limiting my list to four is a huge challenge. But here it goes.

1. Pad thai from the streets near Ratchathewi BTS station. My sisters like pad thai so much that we would order pad thai in almost every meal we eat. I've tasted so much variety in Bangkok alone but this one's the yummiest! The oilyness is just right. This i.e. oily in particular is my issue in pad thais sold in a cart. It was so good that my sister tried to find the cart again before we leave going to the airport.

2. 7-11 drinks i.e. Ovaltine, milk tea and coffee. I'm not new to living off the ever so reliable 7-11. I lived away from home in college and I'm a really bad cook, 7-11 became one of my best friends for cheap food. But I like Thailand 7-11 most for the drinks I mentioned which should not be a surprise as Thailand is known for these drinks (except perhaps Ovaltine - this is just a personal preference). The cart versions are a little cheaper and just as yummy. But the 7-11 version is more accessible and maybe cleaner? Haha, I think.

3. Fried chicken soup in Chatuchak weekend market was a late discovery. All my trips we went to Chatuchak. I am not very fond of shopping so I usually end up eating to nearby carts/hawker from where my siblings or friends were buying. It was super yummmmmmyyyyyyy! I think this is already my favorite food in Bangkok! And do you see that little green thing? I have no idea what you call it or what it's made of but we liked that a lot. I tried to look for this in shops to buy and bring home but I didn't find any. :( Despite being in Chatuchak for five times, I still look forward to going there for this.

4. Khao Soi is my favorite from Chiang Mai. This one from Khao Soi Kun Yai is one of the most recommended place to eat this Northern Thailand coconut curry noodle soup! Oh and I ordered this with the longgan juice.

SINGAPORE (4)

If you personally know me, you wouldn't expect that Singapore is my second most visited country following Thailand. You won't hear me talking about my trip nor you'll see me post photos in social media. That's because all my trips to Singapore are work-related. That's why I also have limited experience eating in hawkers and I only have one photo of my memorable food. Most of my meals are with business partners so I felt a little shy to start taking photos of our food before eating. So the only photo I have below is when I ate alone.

1. Chili crab tops my list. I like seafood so this is not a surprise. The first time I had it from a restaurant I already forgot but it's near Mandarin and along the Marina boardwalk(?). So that was the most memorable. The crab was served with yummy fried mantao bread which I enjoyed munching together with the chili sauce. Plus we ordered prawn cereals too. The crab was of really good quality, but I had difficulty eating because again I was too shy because I ate clumsily. Lol! I didn't know how to use chopsticks - I made sure I learn better next time. Because I was too proud to just ask for spoon and fork. The shell was relatively soft but I was also not used to using crab cracker and uhm, chopsticks. I was itching to use my hands, hahahahaha. That's how I do it back home. But of course, I didn't. It was only my fourth month in my first work out of college, and I went on a business trip with one of the bosses. He's really nice but we weren't really close so I had to behave. Hehe.

2. Kaya toast with two soft-boiled eggs (and milk tea, of course) had been my staple food during my first business trip. I was there for two weeks. I would buy these for morning or afternoon (or both) snack.

3. Cedele soups from our old office in Novena square. I am a soup person! My previous boss recommended that place to me. I would order soup plus a small sandwich or chocolate bar to go with it. Haha, it has become my go to place when I have to eat alone and too lazy to go somewhere and eat.

TAIWAN (3)

Another place which I associate to work is Taiwan. This used to be a country I've been to the longest in terms of total number of days until my Canada trip in 2015. Similar to Singapore, I have limited hawker/streetfood experience. And the two trips had also been a little stressful for work because of language barrier. But that doesn't mean I didn't enjoy the food, the tea, and ice cream/milkshake from Coldstone whose store I always passby on my way home to the hotel. But third time's the charm! My latest out of the country trip was Taipei - a personal trip, for the first time :) I still had to work but the food trip experience is so much better! Because we have enough time (6 days), we did not hesitate to take our time eating and lining-up for food. Like Thailand, it's so hard to limit my list into four.

1. Black Pepper Pork Bun from Raohe night market invites a long line throughout the night. It was worth it - freshly cooked I.e. super hot, and with generous pork servings at TWD 50. The black pepper flavor adds just the right spice popping inside your mouth. Oh and I looooove the bread!!! I'm already thinking of going back. Lol!

2. Prince Cheese Potato! We love cheese! We love potato! It's perfect. We love it so much, we bought it every night we spent in Taipei city. Available in night markets - I've seen this in Ximending and the one in Shilin also has long line. Imagine mashed potato, wrapped in crispy and freshly cooked golden brown breading, sliced, topped with your other favorite ingredients like corn or bacon, and finally cheese sauce all over. Whew.

3. Fuhang Soy Milk place has insane line, but never mind. I’m even planning to go back next time I’m in town. Best soy milk ever!! I also love the bread and egg - as in they bake their own bread, huhuhu. Lastly,t here’s this salty soy which I found weird at the beginning. I’m used to eating taho since my childhood. Taho is also soy but usually with sugar syrup. So this explains why the savory version with shrimp flavor is so weird for me but I eventually found super yummy.

Yes, this one looks like bread on bread. Lol!!!

Salty Soy!

4. Ay Chung flour rice noodle, which in my country is called misua. I thought it’s boring, plain noodles. I never thought that there’s a version that is not boring and plain! It’s flavorful and the noodles - I don’t know how to describe it but think of al dente for pasta. Lol! Similar to the others, there’s a long line but service was quick. And of course, it’s worth it.

Okay, so I have to stop for now because my phone note app is not allowing me to type some more. I’ll resume with part 2 next time. And I’m getting hungry too!

#Thailand #Singapore #Taiwan #Bangkok #Taipei #ChiangMai

0 notes

ourhealthyfoodblog-blog · 8 years ago

Text

New Post has been published on Healthy Food and Remedies

New Post has been published on http://healthyfoodandremedies.com/2017/04/22/buy-food-psychology-supermarket/

How to Buy Food: The Psychology of the Supermarket

This is the first part of a two-part series on how to get the most of your supermarket-shopping experience. Part One discusses how supermarkets try to get you to spend more time and money than you originally wanted. Part Two, to come later, will lead you step by step through a supermarket trip, and give you tips on how to buy food the right way.

The simple fact of the matter is that going grocery shopping isn’t—and never was—as simple as you imagined, whether you’re on your own for the first time, or you’ve been shopping for a family of eight for 20 years.

Sometimes it seems less like you’re going out to buy milk and bread than you’re buffeted by endless marketing, too many choices, and not enough information. Does the perky green label mean that this box of cereal is good for me? Are there certain expiration dates that are less important than others? Am I a bad mom if I buy frozen spinach for dinner? How do I know what kind of fish to buy? Am I right to be a little scared of the butcher? And how did I end up spending $150 if all I went in for was some milk and bread?

Even professional food writers and editors ask these questions. (Butchers’ cleavers look scary!) But if you really want to learn how to do something right, you have to put aside your ego, go back to the basics, and approach everything you thought you knew as if you were a newborn—or maybe a freshman in college whose every previous meal had come from Mom, McDonald’s, or the lunch ladies at school.

And who better to teach these lessons than five experts who could deconstruct a basic trip to “make groceries” (as they say in New Orleans) from five different angles? In this case, they were BA senior food editor Dawn Perry; environmental psychologist and author of What Women Want: The Science of Female Shopping Paco Underhill; architect and supermarket designer Kevin Kelley, of the firm Shook Kelley; the director of the graduate nutrition program at the Institute of Human Nutrition at Columbia University, Sharon Akabas; and efficiency expert Gwynnae Byrd.

And they had a lot of wisdom to impart—so much, in fact, that it’s best to tackle this topic in two parts. In the second part, to come later, the experts will lead you through the basics of getting the most out of your supermarket shopping, step by step, from the parking lot to checkout.

In this part, they talk about how the supermarket gets you to spend your time and money. From the lighting to the little old lady handing out cheese on crackers, everything inside the store has been plotted out to make you buy more, more, more. And if you’re going to be a conscientious—even conscious—shopper, you should know what you’re up against.

The average supermarket sells 64,000 different products. Photo: Whole Foods

Whole Foods Market

Psychological Warfare

Going to the supermarket is never as simple as popping in for a carton of milk.

“Upward of 50 percent of what we buy in a supermarket we had no intention of buying as we walked in the door,” psychologist Underhill says.

Supermarkets aren’t faring too well these days, getting by on razor-thin margins and facing increased competition from bargain markets like Aldi, natural- and organic-themed markets like Whole Foods, and big-box stores like Wal-Mart and Target. They’re even feeling threatened by farmers’ markets, food co-ops, CSAs, and backyard gardeners. So you can’t blame them for doing what they need to do to survive.

And what the supermarkets know they do best—and what no farmers’ market, food co-op, CSA, or backyard gardener can match—is saturate you with options. The average supermarket has 64,000 products—sixty-four thousand, meaning that you’d have to eat or use more than 175 different products every day for a year before you tried everything once. That variety is a supermarket’s greatest strength—and its biggest threat to shoppers. When you’re surrounded by tens of thousands of possible breakfasts, lunches, dinners, and desserts, it’s hard for the human brain to say “no” to just one more thing to buy.

“The biggest enemy to efficiency is the paralysis we experience from the overwhelming amount of choices,” efficiency expert Byrd says. “So you go in there to get two items and come out with 20. Marketers are really good at getting us to buy stuff we don’t need.”

But sometimes people go the other way—their brains are so overloaded with possibilities that they freeze and fall back on old habits, taking refuge in ruts. That’s when shoppers are vulnerable to the siren call of that rotisserie chicken or premade lasagna.

“It’s the seduction of ease,” supermarket designer Kelley says. “People should be trying to be more consciously aware of the seduction going on around them, because it’s easy to fall into the rut of ‘eating out’ at the grocery store—and they’re paying a premium for that.” ____

The position of everything in your supermarket has been carefully planned out. Photo: Whole Foods

The Layout

Though the people who commission, design, and build it would be loath to call it a trap, almost every aspect of a supermarket has a primary goal in mind: to subtly convince shoppers to spend more time inside, thus giving products more opportunities to all but leap into their carts. That’s why, much as in a casino, you’re not likely to see many indicators of the time, like clocks, skylights, or even windows. (Though newer and more energy-conscious supermarket designs, like the ones Whole Foods uses, have begun to embrace skylights.)

“In the modern 21st-century grocery store, someone has thought through everything about it in every way, shape, manner or form,” Underhill says. “The basic layout hasn’t changed much in almost 80 years: I walk in, produce tends to be up front and to the right, meat and seafood tend to be back and to the right, dairy is generally in the back left-hand corner—the deepest section of the store. The reason why is that virtually everyone who walks in has some dairy product on their list.”

Think about your usual supermarket routine. Chances are, if your market is designed like the majority in the U.S., you start shopping at the right side of the store and work your way around the outer rim of the supermarket—with occasional forays into certain aisles, but generally sticking to a counterclockwise route till you get to the register.

Now you may wonder, Why do I always choose to go that way?

The answer is, you don’t. Whoever designed the supermarket chose that path for you, and for a particular reason: About nine in ten people are right-handed, and a counterclockwise route makes it easier for right-handed people to put stuff in their carts.

“Most stores work better with a counterclockwise circulation pattern because you tend to push your cart with your left hand and pick things up with your right hand,” Underhill says.

So supermarkets are usually designed with their most alluring sensations—the bright colors of the floral or produce sections, or the tantalizing smells of the bakery—to the right and front of the store, drawing shoppers into a preplanned route that takes them around the building in exactly the order that the supermarket wants.

Most shoppers see the produce section first, because the bright colors and enticing fragrances are meant to draw them in.

Whole Foods Market

And the subtle persuasion doesn’t stop there. Supermarkets make their most money off of sections on the perimeter, especially produce (but whether people actually use the produce they buy, of course, is another matter—but more on that in Part Two). Supermarkets make the least profit in the center aisles—the worst sellers being those that contain products you can also get at the drugstore or corner store, like mouthwash, garbage bags, paper towels, or carbonated beverages. Of every ten people who walk through the entrance, only one will go down the soda aisle, Underhill says. So supermarkets appeal to shoppers’ subconscious to linger in these aisles, often by literally slowing them down with bumpier or tackier floor surfaces.

“It’s the reason there are often changes in texture under your feet—if you’re in fourth gear in the parking lot, they would like you to downshift to third or second,” Underhill says.

The Perimeter Rule Is Dead

Not too long ago, nutritionists gave a simple rule of thumb to supermarket shoppers: Stick to the perimeter, where the healthier, unprocessed options tend to be.

Well, the perimeter rule is dead. (Sorry, Michael Pollan.)

“You used to be able to stay on the perimeter of the supermarket, but that’s no longer the case,” nutritionist Akabas says. “The treats have invaded the healthful foods.”

In other words, Akabas says, the supermarkets and food makers figured out that people were obeying the perimeter rule, and started subverting it, infiltrating the once-safe space with foods that they tout as healthy—Power Bars! Granola bars! Breakfast bars!—but are really just candy bars for adults. In this case, the perimeter rule dovetailed nicely with the fact that the outer ring is where shoppers already tend to be the most vulnerable to marketing suggestions.

“If you’re shopping at the perimeter of the store, where the fresh, not-shelf-stable stuff is, it activates your senses,” Kelley says. “You’re very impulsive there, not thinking rationally. People there buy what stimulates them.”

When you’re trying to determine whether a product is actually healthy for you, try to be aware of what Cornell University marketing professor Brian Wansink calls the “health-halo effect.” That’s when people tend to assume that, if one aspect of a food is touted as good for you—say, it’s high in omega-3s—the food must be healthy as a whole, ignoring the fact that it also has 100 grams of sugar, two days’ worth of saturated fats, and enough salt to parch Lake Michigan. So you’ll see cheery, often green-accented packaging, signs, and pop-outs that will try to convince you that what your diet really needs is that low-fat, gluten-free yogurt (that, oh, happens to be packing lots of calories of pure sugar per serving).

Identity Politics

Supermarkets and food manufacturers try to take advantage of a fundamental fact of why we buy groceries–and it’s not necessarily to get food.

“When people buy products, it’s about personal identity, social-context issues, vanity, how they look in front of friends,” Kelley says. “If your friend are animal-cruelty-conscious Whole Foods customers and you show up to the party with a live lobster, it’s a faux pas.”

In other words, when most people shop, it’s not just about fulfilling their weekly quota of calories and nutrients—it’s equally about reconfirming their sense of who they are and what they’re about to themselves and their friends: You’re not buying food, you’re buying an identity. Supermarkets, food manufacturers, and marketers know this, and take advantage of it at every turn, implicitly promising you that, when you buy that pouch of manly beef jerky, or ethically harvested dry-roast coffee, you’re going to feel better about yourself and win esteem from your friends and colleagues. So when you find yourself tempted to buy something you didn’t want when you walked in the store, it’s a good idea to ask yourself: “Am I buying this because I actually need it? Or am I buying this because someone just convinced me that it’ll impress people?”

The list of psychological tricks in a supermarket goes on and on. Do you think it’s a coincidence that that brightly colored, sugar-laden cereal with the tie-in to the new kiddie-cartoon craze is on the shelf at about your mid-thigh? It’s not a great height for an adult to notice it, but it’s in perfect line of sight for a six-year-old kid.

Notice how the cheapest, generic boxes and cans tend to be on the lowest shelves? Most people think of themselves as the kind of go-getters who’d be fine with stooping a little rather than essentially paying the market an extra dollar not to have to bend their knees—but decades of research suggest otherwise. You pay more for items that are within easy reach.

And the products that hold those prime positions at the ends of the aisles, facing the perimeter? People tend to assume that they’re there because they’re involved with a special promotion. Not so. They’re there to appeal to our laziness.

“The end caps are sold to different manufacturers, and the fact that they’re there has nothing to do with being on sale,” Underhill says. “It means that someone has paid for the privilege of being there—the end caps are shortcuts for someone to buy off of so they don’t have to physically walk down the aisle.”

In fact, the placement of everything on every shelf in the store has been meticulously negotiated between the supermarket and the manufacturers, with certain brands willing to pay more because they know that shoppers tend to gravitate toward products at eye level.

“Looking down and looking up is where you find your bargains,” Underhill says.

Beware the free samples! Photo: U.S. Navy

United States Navy

The Hunger Games

You know how there’s that always that old lady giving out free samples of kielbasa on toothpicks at the grocery store? And how guilty you feel about eating one (or two) and then not buying any kielbasa?

Well, stop feeling guilty. Because as soon as you ate that little bit of sausage, the little old lady had already accomplished her mission. In fact, she did her job as soon as the savory aroma of spiced pork wafted into your nostrils.

The point of those bite-sized—always bite-sized—portions of food is not to get you to buy a particular product. It’s to trick your body into thinking it’s hungry.

“Those people handing out samples are there not to get you to buy what they’re selling, but to get your salivary glands working,” Underhill says.

If if you think about it, you’ll notice that the little old ladies handing out samples are always stationed on the perimeter—that supermarket highway everyone travels on—and often near the openings of aisles that might generate more traffic if someone, y’know, gave shoppers just a little nudge. Consider yourself nudged.

“If they can tantalize your taste buds but not satisfy your hunger, you become a less disciplined shopper—just by way of smell,” Underhill says.

We’d tell you to be wary of little old ladies bearing gifts, but by the time you run into her, you’ve already been partially brainwashed. Remember what we said about how the bakery, produce section, or floral department are usually toward the front and right of a store as you walk in, beckoning you onto the counterclockwise Yellow Brick Road around the store?

“As soon as you step over the threshold of the supermarket, the first thing that happens is you’re assaulted by smells—from the produce, the bakery, or the floral section up front,” Underhill says. “All to get your salivary glands working.”

And you know how the veggies and fruit you buy at the store never look as good in your fridge or on your kitchen table? The lighting in the produce section has been carefully chosen and placed to make everything look as enticing as possible, both to convince you that, yes, this is the week to finally try making something with chayote, and to get your brain thinking that maybe, just maybe, it is feeling a tad peckish, as you begin your stroll toward the consumerist version of Oz.

So, now that you know what kind of subliminal trickery you’re up against, how exactly do you walk out of the store with healthy and cost-effective options that won’t eat up your entire day? We’ll lead you through that next time—that is, if you’re hungry for more.

#Supermarket

0 notes