#them holding the little keychains representing themselves

[gattnk]

It's hard to forget Ang-Lì and Mefisto, for the oddest reasons.

These two were unlucky enough to become cut content in the cartoon, and I can see why: the cast was huge, the new plot had a stronger focus on the protagonists, and sadly Ang-Lì and Mefisto were sort of... tertiary in the comics. While it seems like the comic was just about to pick up the pace with them, it got discontinued right before they got their moment to shine. I did my best to take all of this into account, and here's my resulting notes on the redesign process:

I dug up all I could about these two to make sure I understood their characters as much as possible, since the comics themselves shared very little. Finding the extra content that came with the comics was crucial (the original printed issues included all sorts of cool stuff you'd expect from kid magazines at the time).

I noticed how Ang-Lì is usually very enthusiastic in the comic, often cracking a joke or two mid conversation, and he also has a passion for earthly comic books. I gave him pretty plain clothes to contrast with his joking nature, represented by the yellow-orange. This way the color and his personality really pop up!

According to the extra content, Mefisto's super laidback about most things, with the exception of music: he's a metalhead who may or may not pirate his favorite Earth bands, who's also the vocalist of the devils, and can't make it through the day without his headphones. So I just went with the classic metalhead look: dark shirt, washed jeans, wallet chain and thick wristbands. The duller colors go really well with all the green hair, it doesn't feel like too much.

I tried to emphasize their interests with their accessories since their clothes are quite plain compared to the other redesigns. Since Mefisto's headphones are so important to him, they also had to pop out, hence the orange, white and toxic green. In the meantime, Ang-Lì's kicks are a pun of sorts: he keeps the jokes running. lol.

Turns out Ang-Lì's mascot is a stick bug, who knew? He keeps it in his shirt pocket like a pencil, as a bit of a joke. Meanwhile Mefisto places his gecko mascot on his wallet chain, like those lizard keychain bottle openers that used to be popular in the 2000s. I thought it represented their respective natures well.

I actively chose to swap Mefisto's skin color. The devils could use a bit more variety, honestly, and it still holds homage to his old color palette. Besides, you don't see many black metalheads in media and that's a shame! Rock on my metal siblings!

Ang-Lì had a pretty solid design from the start that still holds up well, so the biggest personal change was the haircut. everything else (clothes aside) I kept pretty much the same.

That would be it for these two! Honestly, keeping their character essence was particularly easy, compared to my other redesigns (yes, even easier than Raf/Sulfus). Even with the little content we have, all in all they're pretty solid characters! So yeah, they deserved to be brought back. I did my best to give them the spotlight more often in my script, let's see if I do them justice!

I'll Fly With You (rewrite fic) Art masterpost

[ratsoh-writes]

If the boys had to choose one item to represent themselves, what would it be?

Ooo how about all of them?

Sans: he picks a ketchup bottle, but instead of ingredients on the label, it’s the periodic table.

Papyrus: oh oh! He picks a blowtorch!! Because he’s on fire!! And he like building things

Star: lol does his shooting star tattoo count?

Honey: he isn’t sure and after a lot of thought, he’ll pick out a translation book. Probably a Spanish to English one since that was the first language he learned after English

Red: he holds up his middle finger and says it represents his feelings for you ❤️

Edge: he picks his sports car. Because it’s cool. Nuff’ said

Mal: he’ll pick a fancy rock of course, but what rock depends on how he’s feeling that week

Cash: a rubber chicken

Oak: an actual chicken. Oak says the clucking noises are cute

Willow: he picks his massive mixing bowl that you could probably fit a child in

Charm: he picks out a chocolate flavored bottle of lube he forgot he had. Charm wishes he was chocolate flavored

Sugar: before Winnie, he would’ve picked out the mannequin in his room. Now he picks a #1 dad mug

Lord: he blushes and reluctantly shows you a keychain of one of the characters from mutts books. He says it represents his love for reading

Mutt: he points to his trashcan and goes back to writing

Wine: he hands you a beautiful gold knife. Pretty to look at, but with a deadly edge~

Coffee: he picks out a rather sharp looking fountain pen. And a sketchbook. No peeking though!! He’s not done with that one

Pop: duh, he’s obviously that weird looking dried out lizard skin he found in the vents

Rhythm: he’s a mirror. He doesn’t really know why he picked it, it was just the first thing he saw

Pluto: he’s a magnifying glass to symbolize his curiosity!!

Jupiter: he picks his old royal guard armor because he still sees himself as a guard despite being a firefighter now

G: he picks a little test tube. He only gives a mysterious smile for his answer

Green: he picks a pair of scissors and says it represents taking things apart.

Peaches: pie. Any pie. You’re giving that back right?

Rancher: he picks his trusty shotgun of course. Because he’s dangerous!!

Snipe: he also picks a gun. A small tommy gun. Snipe flicks the side and out pops a knife too. He winks

Bruiser: he points to his shoes and says he’s a runner so do they count?

Ace: he pretends to look thoughtful, then hands you a handheld mirror. Ace doesn’t explain why he gave you it

Slim: he’s a computer. Now stop bugging him, he’s busy

Butch: he laughs and says just pick a random rock. Cause he’s tough like one

Boss: he’s a beautiful teapot. Something elegant made by years of mastery

Rust: he looks over his shoulder and sighs when he sees one of the daycare kids watching. Sadly rust cannot give you his middle finger so he picks an apron instead.

Noir: he picks his old rapier from the underground. It’s retired like him

Lilac: he gives you a deadpan look and just motions to his prosthetic leg

Pepper: he grins sharply and picks out a pair of sharp looking heels. They represent beauty and grace

Basil: he blushes and picks up a baby tomato. Basil signs that it’s grown fast like him.

Lush: he looks you up and down, winks, and flips 1G into your palm

Sparks: oh oh oh! He can’t decide?? Salt tells him to go with a microphone for his acting. Sparks likes that idea

Salt: he picks out a set of white makeup brushes. He shrugs and says he can’t really think of anything else

Gears: he cheerfully holds up a cute brown leather satchel and tells you his whole life story and how this was the first thing he ever made successfully

Compass: he nervously picks out a lump of clay. He says he can’t decide what to choose so he wants something with a lot of potential

[mediocre--writing]

hiiiiiii :D

i’m going to give you both a harringrove and a kegboys thing

harringrove: the mindflayer didn’t kill billy and billy spent months recovering. when he was let out he didn’t speak to people. but steve was the only one capable of holding onto the patience enough for billy to eventually start talking to him. billy gets a job at a slow business convenient store/gas station. and steve meets him to have lunch together outside in the back every day.

kegboys: steve had a pine tree at the front of his house with a yellow ribbon for barb. and one year billy cuts it down without knowing about its significance. steve eventually finds out what happened and tommy had to take him to the other room before telling billy what he’d done. they spend the day making steve feel better by getting a brand new tree and retying a ribbon even bigger than before.

oooooh these are both so good.

Harringrove: I think that, especially after Steve's whole fiasco with the Russians, he doesn't mind the quietness that comes with Billy. Doesn't mind waiting for him to speak because Steve himself does't really know what he would even say.

Steve's parents, after his 18th birthday, pretty much never came home. They had like seven other houses elsewhere and Steve was his own functioning adult, so they, frankly, didn't give two shits. So Billy stays with him. Plus, Steve's got no job after the mall burned down and his parents are still paying for the house and everything, it's not like it's much of an issue.

They bond in a silent way. Billy can't talk. Like physically, for the first three-ish months, can't get his voice to come out in any understandable fashion, as having a tentacle forced down his throat pretty much ripped at every bit of skin there.

But they communicate. Steve is used to his lonely life in a mansion and just appreciates another body being there that makes it not so lonely.

They function around each other. Whoever gets up first makes the coffee, whoever goes to sleep last turns the main lights off. Whoever opens the clean dishwasher has to empty it and whoever tracks the most snowy footprints in has to mop next.

The first time Billy really talks to Steve is after a nightmare. But not from Billy (he's become really good at controlling how loud his whimpers and crying can get, even asleep [fuk u neil🖕]). Steve is pretty much screaming bloody murder in his sleep and Billy can barely get up the tall staircase as it is, but mixed with sleep and his rush, he slips a few times trying to get to Steve, thinking something is really wrong.

By the time he bursts into Steve’s room, Steve is sitting straight up in bed staring at the blurry light while trying to catch his breath. Billy cautiously walks up to him, flips on a lamp light so there wouldn’t be any in-the-dark scares for Steve, and sits across from him on the edge of the bed. 

Steve ultimately just collapses into Billy’s chest and sobs and sobs and sobs until he’s got it all out and the only thing that can be heard are Steve’s unsteady breaths and Billy’s reassurances. It’s the softest Steve thinks he’s ever heard Billy speak to anyone. 

Steve starts sleeping in the guest room downstairs with Billy after another incident when he starts screaming occurs because it wears Billy down a lot to battle the stairs (his muscles are worn thin and he has very little strength these days). Steve stirs in his sleep but hasn’t panicked like that since he started cuddling with Billy. 

Joyce eventually pulls some strings and gets Billy a job at Melvald's (small town business start picking up after Starcourt burning down) where he can just sit in a chair at the front and check people out. Occasionally she’ll have him stock small things like keychains or the snacks at checkout. 

Steve visits most days during Billy’s break time. Brings take out from Benny’s or leftovers that Mrs. Henderson insisted on dropping off every other week because the boys “needed good, homemade food that they wouldn’t make for themselves.” 

Billy has never felt more taken care of in his life and enjoys the gentle breeze when he and Steve chat behind Melvald’s and eat, sharing what’s happened during the few hours they’d spent apart or discussing what their weekend plans would be. Maybe what they were hungry for for dinner that night. 

One day, when they’re eating a tuna casserole straight out of the Tupperware Mrs. Henderson had put it in, a stray cat comes and kneads gently at Billy’s thigh, over his jeans, and he puts a bit of the casserole on a napkin for the small kitty. 

It becomes a routine and eventually he brings out a can of cat food from the store to feed the cat when he takes his breaks. They call her Melly (after Melvald’s, of course) and eventually she finds a way to sneak into the Camaro and becomes a full-fledged, sassy, rude house cat that has to sleep in the bed with the boys every night or she will scream her little cat scream and scratch at the door until they let her in. 

Kegboys: (ok I tweaked this just a tad bc I couldn’t find a reason for billy to just chop down a random tree) Steve planted the tree after she’d passed away. He didn’t know how to feel about it. He felt awful, of course. He goaded her into drinking with them just because he wanted Nancy and look where that got him. He basically killed a girl and he lost his girlfriend.

He plants this tree, it’s thin and just taller than he is, but every year, after winter ends and plants bloom again, he ties a beautiful yellow bow around the thickest branch near the trunk. He looks at it every morning through the window, the small pine tree at the end of the driveway. 

Only Tommy was there that night, the night a few weeks after it had all “ended” (the first time) and Steve breaks down. Sobs like he never has before, talking in fragmented sentences about how he’s to blame, he killed Barb out of teenage ignorance and because he wanted to have sex with Nancy Wheeler. What a fuckin’ waste. 

Tommy is actually the one who suggests they plant the tree in the first place, a life now gone for a life yet to live. Steve takes care of that tree like if it died, he would too. 

Steve ties a ribbon on it the first year. Tommy adds a second the next year. 

Nobody else really cares. It’s a tree, not a giant portrait of the girl, for crying out loud. Nobody says anything about the bow that gets put on the tree because nobody would put together that the tree represented Barb, it’s just a tree to everyone else. 

Billy wasn’t around for the beginning. He knew that a girl close to Nancy and Steve had died, sure, but he hadn’t known that it was in Steve’s pool and he never knew about the pine tree that grew at the top of the driveway. 

There was a storm, a big one right at the tail end of summer, one that ripped up plants and trees and shingles off of houses, flooded the ditches and low points in the town. 

Billy takes it upon himself to try and fix the Harrington’s trashed yard once the storms let up. He rakes away all the pine straw that had descended and piles up all the large branches and debris. There’s a tree, the pine tree that usually stands tall at the end of the driveway, that was severed at the base, only a mere three or four feet still protruding from the ground, the rest split and resting, half connected, on the ground. 

Billy breaks off the part that was already off, puts it in the pile with the rest of the debris. 

The stump stays at the end of the driveway and Billy goes inside, walks up to Steve and Tommy in the living room after washing his hands and grabbing some water. Tells them that he straightened up the yard. 

“And that tree at the end was broken, so I picked off the part left hanging and put it on the fire pile. I figure we can find something else to plant in it later this week or--”

He’s cut off by Steve jumping off the couch and running out of the front door. He stands a few feet away from the stump left over and falls, bare knees hitting the still damp and muddy ground as he shows no other reaction. 

Tommy’s right behind him, holds his shoulders from behind as he stares at the tree. Billy, from behind Tommy, doesn’t ask a question but stares confusedly at the boys who seem distraught by the disappearance of a seemingly meaningless tree. 

Gentle coaxing, “C’mon, Steve. It’s alright, it’ll grow back and we can buy more ribbon, I promise, but you have to come inside, you’re all muddy,” from Tommy convinced Steve to come inside. 

With no care for how his mother would react to her perfectly white rug being ruined by the dirt, Steve trudges through and eventually lays on the couch, cradling a pillow to his chest while Tommy promises to make him something warm to drink. 

He beckons Billy into the kitchen with him as he puts the kettle on the burner, enough water for all three of them to have tea, and turns to Billy. 

“Why’s he so upset about a tree?” Billy didn’t mean for it to sound harsh or inconsiderate, he was just curious why Steve seemed so distraught over a pine tree that was nowhere near as tall as the ones that were around the house. 

“Ok, so, you know Barb, the girl that died here?”

“She died here!?”

“You didn’t know?”

“Well nobody talks about it, how was I supposed to know?” 

“You should--Nevermind, anyway, she died here because of the whole other-world-monster-guy and Steve blamed himself for it, for, like, ever,” Tommy rested his elbows on the counter, “So, when he finally told me about it, we wanted to do something for her, like a memorial thing, anyway, we decided on a tree and he always ties the yellow ribbon around it and he takes care of it like it’s a child, but it’s gone so--”

“--He feels like he let her die again. Like it was his fault,” Billy concludes. 

“Yeah,” Tommy assures before turning to the cupboards and pulling down three mugs, pouring the hot water in before placing tea bags in each. 

“I mean, is there anything we can do? I feel awful, but the tree was already snapped, I couldn’t have like mended it or anything. I swear it wasn’t intentional,”

“You wouldn’t have known, it’s not your fault. I think Steve just feel a little out of his own mind at the moment, like he lost the hold he had on her. I really don’t know,”

Billy and Tommy stayed on the couch with Steve that day, they just rested and drank tea, listen to soft music on the radio, and took care of the droopy brunet. 

They didn’t replace the tree. They let the old one stay and made sure to take excellent care of it. They’d tie three ribbons on the tree every year, made sure they were tied tightly, the tree growing faster and more prosperous than before, and Steve was better. 

He realized that sometimes you have to get cut down before you can really unveil your true potential, that a little extra love can do wonders. 

[aveys6]

hello all!! this is part 2 of my gotch 5 + 1 things fic. sorry this part was posted so late, it took so long to write something that i was happy with and wasn't forced.

5 times the team knew Hotch and Garcia were it for each other, and 1 time they knew so themselves.

part 1 | part 2

- rossi [ 4. 21 ]

Dave was in Alaska. More specifically, he was in a ski-lodge gift-shop in Alaska. The store was quaint, a little boring, and, surprisingly, Aaron's body language matched its ambiance. He looked calm sifting through carabiners and fridge magnets. Why anybody would choose to celebrate their stay with a keychain was a mystery to Dave. Yet, his friend was doing just that, contemplating between an Alaskan flag and the state's bird representative.

"Are those for Jessica, or for your son?"

Aaron appeared to be startled, likely unaware a person was observing him. His eyebrows rose and fell quickly, and, instead of usual intense eye-contact, Dave was only spared a glance before being corrected.

"They're for Penelope."

That was not quite the answer he'd been anticipating.

"Oh?"

"You sound surprised," Aaron muttered behind his puffy coat.

And, frankly, he was. Not by the action itself, no, but by the fact that a pattern arose. Penelope never failed to be compensated for a hard case. He estimated that twenty-percent of her office consisted of crafts from a four-year-old and various Hotchner household knick knacks. Aaron's kindness was never in question - Dave had been on the receiving end many a time - but Penelope got special treatment. If Jack's school had a bake-sale, Garcia was given a Tupperware of mediocre cookies. If she stalked out of her office for a consult, she was given a warm smile. He had even gotten her vintage, blue-fade, Cat Eye glasses frames as a Secret Santa gift.

It was no secret Aaron loved his team fiercely but his displays of affection were doused in subtlety around Derek or JJ. Penelope was an outlier, which was definitely not a bad thing. Maybe it was for this reason, her being adoringly different, that Hotch found it easier to soften.

"I can hear you thinking," Aaron interrupted, not looking up from the cheap metal in his hands. Rossi transferred his pensive gaze to that of his friends face. Once again, it was relaxed. Tired, but at ease.

"I'm just wondering why we haven't been called up here before. I imagine a cold, isolated hell would be the Devil's breeding ground," Dave lied. Aaron knew this but didn't care to question the subject change.

"Dave."

"What? These people have not interacted with their neighbors in years; they are left to brew in their homicidal thoughts," he said, words sarcastic and exaggerated, but not untrue.

"You have little faith in this community."

"Can you blame me? It's Alaska."

Aaron huffed a laugh and hooked two Willow Ptarmigan and two Alaskan flag keychains on his fingers, solving his indecision. He walked to an empty checkout counter, Rossi following right behind.

"Two of each?"

"In case she wants to make earrings out of them."

"I see..."

Aaron shot him a look with a furrowed brow and smirk, face nuanced with a 'What is your tone insinuating?'. Vocally, he stayed silent, but his face said he knew of his friend's implication. Dave figured there was intention behind his avoidance of teasing. This thing, this ritual of unforeseen magnanimity, was fresh and vulnerable. There would be time for teasing later; Dave was fine to let the gentleness of gift-giving persist. He was fine to let Aaron hold something good to his chest, no matter how small the gestures seemed.

Aaron rang a bell on the counter, beckoning service.

Penelope had Willow Ptarmigans dangling from her ears the next week.

thank you for your support! yes, Willow Ptarmigans are Alaska's state bird :)

@84hotpockets @unionjackpillow

[nobodyfamousposts]

Kagami VS The Wall of Faces - A Kagaminette Commission

A dragon is a fierce creature. Strong. Dangerous. Greedy.

And Kagami was so very greedy.

Particularly when it came to the time and attention of one Marinette Dupain-Cheng.

It started small at first, beginning with that contest they had participated in together. For all of the missteps, Kagami’s awkward attempts, and the other girl’s anxiety, it was probably one of the best days of Kagami’s life. Even if they hadn’t won the contest, they both had gained something from it. A unique experience. A better relationship.

It hadn’t been until she finally confronted her mother after the akuma battle that she realized.

Kagami had her first “friend”.

One who was willing to defend her. One who was willing to stand up to her mother. One who stayed by her with an ease and jovial mind even when they lost at their goal.

The life of a Tsurugi was one of strictness and discipline. A loss was a burden. A failure was a shame.

But here...drinking juice together and talking and just being together...Kagami felt none of that.

It was freeing in a way. Confusing, true. But freeing, like the weight that normally dragged her down after any failure was lightened...perhaps even nonexistent.

If she felt this way in Marinette’s presence despite a loss, perhaps it was a feeling she could continue to have around her?

And so, Kagami started making a point to spend more time with the other girl. Seeing her more often at school. Joining her for lunch. And even taking precious moments she would use to hurry to fencing practice and get a head start to stay with the other girl for a bit longer, arriving to her practice on time instead of early as per her usual. And as she grew closer with Marinette, she was invited on more outings with her and her friends, which was something she had come to enjoy.

And yet...something had to be wrong, because Kagami found she couldn’t seem to get enough. As time passed, Kagami slowly began to feel dissatisfied but didn’t know why.

Was it because of Marinette’s infatuation with Adrien? It had to be, Kagami realized one day as she found herself glaring at the horde of pictures of the boy on Marinette’s wall. They were both in love with the same boy, after all.

Except then Marinette started talking about the blue-haired boy, Luka. Some pictures of him slowly started to make their way onto the wall. And to her surprise, rather than lessen, that dark feeling was just as strong.

Was she...jealous of Marinette?

Or was she jealous over Marinette?

Did she want Marinette to get rid of the pictures of Adrien? Yes. That meant she saw her as a rival for his affections, right?

But then the niggling little thought interfered. That one questioning little thought with a loud voice and a perfect image of how Marinette’s wall would look so much nicer if it had pictures of Kagami up instead…

It hit her.

She remembered hearing before...how everyone had something that represented their heart and what was most important to them within it. For more traditional folks, it would be some manner of collection—antiques, trophies, souvenirs, or other collectables. For many, it would be their computers. Or their phone. Their music. Some sort of tangible thing to display that showed a person’s heart.

And for Marinette, it was that Wall.

That wall of pictures wasn’t just a sign of Marinette’s love for Adrien. It was also symbolic of just how much space Adrien took in her heart.

...Kagami wanted that space.

She wanted to be in Marinette’s heart.

She wanted to be on that Wall.

____________________

Much as a dragon would hoard its treasures, Kagami found herself inclined to hoard what meant most to her.

And her “treasure” was the time and attention she received from her new good friend. Seeing Marinette smile. Hearing her laugh. Having her gaze solely on herself.

She started with little things. Compliments of Marinette’s appearance. Praise of her skills. And something in Kagami sparked when she got a blush or stammer in response.

Then she started increasing their time spent together.  Visiting the bakery Marinette’s parents owned after school as a post-fencing practice “break”. Staying in the bakery itself if Marinette happened to be working that day and chatting with her between customers. Arriving early to walk to school together in the mornings, and gaining gratitude from Marinette’s parents and much surprise from everyone else that her doing so has since helped Marinette to start arriving on time.

As days and weeks passed, she saw how Marinette became ever more comfortable around her. Her friends were nervous and uncertain. And that Rossi girl and Bourgeois brat certainly made themselves scarce. But Marinette was genuinely happy to have her around.

And never was this more clear than the day Kagami entered Marinette’s room and discovered a change to the Wall of Faces that took up her heart.

More pictures took up space on the Wall. Some of that blue-haired boy. A couple of the hero Chat Noir. A few of her friends all together.

And then there was one of her.

Of Kagami.

Not even of her and others in a group. But just one—a profile picture. Something she recognized from a magazine that had done an article about her once. It had been a while ago. Marinette would have had to do some searching to find it.

Marinette had gone out of her way to find a picture of Kagami for her Wall. And furthermore, she had not placed her in the somewhat limited section that seemed specifically set aside for her friends. Rather, Kagami was in the mix of photos that seemed to be designated for a deeper feeling.

She...felt warm at the prospect. Almost giddy.

And yet...

It wasn’t enough.

She didn’t just want a part of her heart.

She wanted all of it.

And that meant only one thing.

She had to take over the Wall.

____________________

She continued from there in a rather simple manner. Marinette had an instagram account and Kagami shortly after started her own as well. With this excuse, she suggested they take “selfies” and pictures of their outings together to add to her account. Marinette had happily agreed, and soon both Kagami and Marinette’s accounts had pictures of the two of them at various activities.

This also had the fortunate effect of providing additional photos available for Marinette to add to her Wall at any point. Something Kagami saw was working, as she noted more pictures of herself taking up increased space on the Wall. It was still not as much as she would have liked, but given that the Wall had originally been solely dedicated to Adrien, it was substantial progress.

The next step was to introduce herself as a potential object of Marinette’s affections. While she seemed to hold some feeling for Kagami, the limited space on the Wall and the girl’s own mixed feelings meant that she likely didn’t consciously realize Kagami as an option.

She had to fix that.

And what better way than to offer her tokens of her esteem?

So Kagami started giving her gifts. A keychain from a souvenir stand they happened upon during one of their outings. A small plush toy from the arcade. A mask from a carnival. Just small things here and there...at least at first.

In her time with Marinette, she took note of the other girl’s interests. Design, obviously. Sewing and knitting as well. And then there was the less noted one of gardening.

Marinette gasped in delight the day Kagami presented her with a gift of potted pink hydrangeas.

“They’re beautiful! But are you sure you want to give them to me?”

Kagami smiled.

“I wouldn’t have brought them for you if I wasn’t certain. In fact, I could think of no one I would entrust with them more.”

Marinette blushed at that, gratefully accepting the gift.

(Marinette didn’t understand why Tikki kept giggling the rest of that day. It wasn’t until she looked up online for information about hydrangeas and how to care for them that she discovered the symbolism.)

When Kagami next came into Marinette’s room, the number of her pictures on The Wall exceeded those of Couffaine. She felt a thrum of pleasure in her heart.

And so she continued. Gifts of yarn. New sewing needles. And at one point, much to Marinette’s awe, a rather expensive roll of fabric that earned her a very pleasant hug of excitement. Kagami kept the gifts sporadic—she didn’t want to overwhelm her after all. But the more time she spent with her and the more gifts she gave her, the more that Kagami found she was slowly but surely taking over the wall as well as forging her own place in Marinette’s heart. One that was eventually comparable to the space of Adrien’s own.

This was never more clear than when, to Kagami’s joy, Marinette started to reciprocate.

“Hey, Kagami! I made you some mittens!”

“Here’s a scarf I made for you! As thanks! For...for the materials you gave me…”

“I had a thought about a new fencing uniform. Would you like to take a look and tell me what  you think? Um...if that’s all right?”

Kagami’s new fencing uniform three weeks later made it more than all right.

Marinette was acting different. Stammering a bit more. A little awkward. Flushing and blushing and making Kagami’s heart thrum with delight. Even her friends started to realize what was happening.

...Adrien, it seemed, did not.

“I’m glad to see you two are becoming such good friends!” He told her one day after practice when she was about to leave with Marinette.

Kagami had to hold back her laughter. Because really, how ridiculous could he get?

She didn’t want to just be Marinette’s “friend”.

She wanted to be Marinette’s “one”.

That meant wooing Marinette.

Kagami smirked.

Well, if Adrien wasn’t going to get a clue, it might as well be a woman who shows him how it’s done.

____________________

Things came to a head at a specific point.

It was an akuma battle. Not any different from the usual, except that the akuma this time was a slighted fencing rival who was targeting Kagami herself. Her attempts to fend him off would have been admirable, but were sadly lacking as she didn’t have the power of a Miraculous or akuma to defend herself with. At most, she had only her own physical abilities and skill.

“LEAVE HER ALONE!”

And one Marinette Dupain-Cheng attacking with a frying pan she must have grabbed from her kitchen when the akuma barged in and WHAT WAS THAT GIRL THINKING?

“Are you CRAZY?!”

“Kagami, he’s after you! Just RUN!” Marinette shouted as she parried a strike.

Kagami could only stare in shock. Partly in fear. Mostly in awe of this girl who was only an amateur in fencing at best but who was still trying to step in for her sake.

...She hadn’t thought she could be any more in love with her.

Unfortunately, the moment didn’t last. Now that the akuma was focused on Marinette, the two adult Dupain-Chengs grabbed Kagami and rushed outside of the bakery, ordering her to run. Then pushing her when she attempted to refuse until she had no choice without making all their attempts futile and risk them coming to even more harm. If she wasn’t there, at least, maybe the akuma would leave them alone to try and chase after her? Maybe it would lose interest in them?

That is a big “maybe”, though...

And didn’t that just grate everything in Kagami? To run away? Unacceptable. To flee from an opponent? Unacceptable. To allow Marinette to be facing an enemy in her stead? To be injured—possibly killed for Kagami’s sake?

UNACCEPTABLE!

She was about ready to turn around and head back, damn the consequences! But something else stood in her way.

A certain black-clad something with a rather familiar box.

“Special delivery!”

Chat Noir had somehow gotten ahold of the Dragon Miraculous and sought out Kagami for her aid in the battle. She didn’t know how or why. She didn’t know if this was part of a plan. She had no idea where Ladybug even was.

None of that mattered.

The only thing that mattered was that she finally had a way to fight back and defend the treasure precious to her heart.

“Loong, bring the storm!”

Within mere moments, she was transformed and taking to the sky, leaving Chat Noir yelping out in surprise. She didn’t have time to wait on him, though. She had a treasure to protect. And a lady to save!

For Marinette, the fight had been a short one—little wonder, as she was untransformed and a frying pan could really only do so much against a skilled fencer. Within minutes, the akuma had Marinette cornered and unarmed.

Marinette saw the akuma’s weapon raised and ready to swing down on her. She closed her eyes, knowing this may very well be it.

Something slammed into her, though. But it wasn’t a weapon. It didn’t hurt.

“I have you, Hime!”

Her eyes snapped open in shock.

It wasn’t that she was alive. It wasn’t that she was in the air. It wasn’t that there was a Miraculous user active.

It was that her saviour was Ryuko.

Kagami.

She was in Kagami’s arms. With Kagami smiling at her. With Kagami holding her oh so closely.

“Are you unharmed, Mari-hime?”

And calling her “Princess”.

Marinette felt herself blush in a way she hadn’t around Adrien in weeks.

“Fine! You’re fine! I-I mean I’M fine! We’re fine! Just…”

Very fine. Were her arms always this muscled?

She squeaked.

Kagami—Ryuko! Her hero name is Ryuko!

Marinette shook her head.

Ryuko gently set Marinette to stand on a nearby rooftop. To Marinette’s embarrassment, she stumbled, causing Kaga—Ryuko to grab her again to steady her.

“Careful!”

“Thank me! I mean—you!” Marinette couldn’t even bring herself to speak.

Kagami—because it WAS Kagami behind that mask damn her—gave a gentle smile.

“Of course, Hime. I wouldn’t let anything happen to you.”

She bowed and placed a kiss to the other girl’s hand.

“Until we meet again, Mari-hime.” Kagami told her, giving that oh so satisfied smirk she always wore when she knew she was winning.

Which she was and she knew it, seeing the way the pigtailed girl flushed a deep red and started stammering. Kagami would almost say the reaction made everything worth it.

“Ryuuko!” Came the call from a distance. Chat Noir was in trouble.

Kagami gave Marinette a wink before going after the cry.

Marinette curled into a ball, covering her face with her jacket and giving out a muffled cry with only Tikki to witness the display and try to calm her down enough to get her to transform.

Needless to say, Ladybug was distracted for the rest of the fight.

____________________

Two days later, Kagami met with Marinette in her room. To her inner glee, there was a picture of Ryuko front and center in the middle of The Wall. More pictures of Adrien had been taken down in its wake as she saw her Miraculous self standing tall with sword in hand. The picture was larger than a good majority of the others, and it in combination with her other pictures left her taking up a good three quarters of the entire canvas that represented Marinette’s heart.

There were still some pictures of Adrien left on The Wall. But Kagami had time to remove those. As things stood, it was clear who held most of the space in Marinette’s heart.

“Marinette? I was wondering if you would perhaps like to go out to dinner with me?”

The designer blinked in surprise at that. “You mean like hanging out at the cafe like usual?”

She shook her head and took Marinette’s hand in her own. “No. I mean...dinner. With me. Together.”

Marinette gaped in surprise. But Kagami did not falter.

“The fight with the akuma the other day really made me realize that I have been...hesitating. I like you. I like being with you. And I...want to be with you. If you will have me.”

Marinette blushed. When her eyes met Kagami’s, there was uncertainty. But she was looking at Kagami—just at Kagami. The way Kagami had been wanting her to.

“I think I would like that.”

Kagami smiled. They both did.

The Wall still had pictures of Adrien. And a few of Luka. As well as a couple of Chat Noir.

Kagami didn’t care.

It didn’t matter if Adrien still had a part of Marinette’s heart. Kagami had most of it, she was sure. And if the amount of space she took up in Marinette’s heart was enough for her to at least get to call Marinette her own…

She wouldn’t be wholly satisfied with that, but she could at least try to be. For now.

____________________

This is a commission for Sbelle, who asked for Kagaminette with an “unambiguously happy gay ending”. I hope you are satisfied with how this turned out! Thank you for your patronage!

If you would like to support me or request a commission, please check out my ko-fi.

[system-of-a-feather]

Some DID "Accommodations” We Have

Here is a list of some of the things (off the top of my head) we as a system use to help members feel comfortable, handle trauma, work on therapy, and generally communicate and function

Journal

The “Current Edition” which will expire in a few days (since we mark the school year as a new therapy year) is just a simple journal book with a few note references, an alter index (what pages each alter appears on), and just general entries regarding concerns, updates, details, conversations, requests, etc etc among the system

The “Upcoming Edition” which will be started soon has five mini-journals. Each of them are independent for each individual of the main alters that front a lot. These journals are for them to do as they please with privacy unless requested (we have tabs for marking)

There is also a “General Mini Journal” which has a table of contents, alter’s list, log (for general switches and important info), important contacts / numbers, wishlists, contracts (system agreements), system map, therapy plans / notes, a general journal (where everyone can write in), and yet another alter index

“Totem” Chains

We haven’t used these in a while, but they are a bunch of items chained to a pocket watch which represent / are connected and tied to a specific alter. We started these in therapy to help work on communication and to find something to help ground / reach other parts but I accidentally packed them away after a bit of not using them.

I have an anime character keychain, Lucille is a pocketwatch, Aya is a pair of chickens, Aderis is a nail clipper (since I wouldn’t let her have a knife)

Fidget / Stress Toys

This is partially to help with Trichotillomania (shared by Aya and myself) but also to help ground ourselves and / or give us important distractions

System Playlists

This is under-developed but it is a work in progress

Emergency ____

These are various items that either are very good at calming one of us down or causing a switch if needed. These often take the form of characters, videos, or songs that we make sure are always able to be accessed on our person as they help with panic attacks and trauma episodes and can be snuck around easily.

Clothing for Alters

We try to give everyone at least one outfit that they are comfortable in that fits their aesthetic. This is so that when they are out, they can feel a bit more like themselves and be more comfortable.

ALL the Little Stuff

A lot of this not going to lie. There is too much to list. Dolls, candy, games, things to hold and cling onto, etc etc.

“Designated Driver” Items

We struggle with driving - or at least I do - as I am the host and easily dissociate while driving. As a result we make sure to have items to help us drive which tend to bring an alter that is good / comfortable with driving near the front.

Aderis = Her playlist + Loud Volume Music + Flavored Drink (Dr. Pepper)

Lucille = Has yet to be figured out.

[rhetoricalrogue]

✨☄️👽🎁 for Rolfe please? :)

Thank you!

✨ If your OC were a deity of some kind, what would they represent? What do they look like? How are they worshipped and what offerings would they expect? What are their places of worship like? Their followers? Their teachings?

oh man, he’d probably be a cross between some sort of hedonistic party god and the patron deity of sneaky people. As someone vain enough about their hair and with a high opinion of the aesthetically pleasing look of their butt, Rolfe would joke about looking godlike enough as-is. People would invoke his favor by leaving out offerings of beer and anything sweet, he’s not picky and is pretty chill at whatever you have to share. Most of his teachings are about self-approval and how family is more the people you choose to let in vs the people you’re born into. Call upon him to bless a successful social event, gain creative inspiration (especially when it comes to music) or any “please don’t let me get caught by the cops” endeavor of the Chaotic Good variety.

☄️ Does your OC believe in fate and destiny or do they think it’s a load of garbage? Would they ever get this fortune told? What would a fortune-teller tell them about their future?

Both, to an extent. Your destiny is taking the cards you were dealt with and making the best of a situation, but he’s also of the mind that certain people are put in your path, and you in theirs, for various reasons. There’s no sense escaping it, so just embrace whatever’s happening. Rolfe isn’t likely to go to a fortune teller only because he likes surprises and someone telling him what’s in store for him takes the fun out of guessing what’s going to happen next.

👽 Describe your OC as if they were an urban legend or myth!

(I went with those long multi-step posts for this!) There’s a story told that if you sit at a crossroads at midnight with a beaten up, secondhand guitar you bought from a pawn shop with the last bit of money in your pocket at the time (doesn’t matter how much, the guy selling it to you will take whatever you offer, so long as it’s ALL the money in your pocket and you don’t try to cheat him. It won’t be pretty if he catches you in a lie) that the wind will pick up. Close your eyes and silently count backwards to ten. Don’t open your eyes until you feel the wind die down and everything grow still.

When you open your eyes, the guitar will be gone from your side and you’ll hear the best music you’ve ever heard directly in front of you. Follow it. Don’t worry about how dark it is, you don’t need a flashlight and you won’t trip over anything. He won’t let you get hurt. You’ll lose track of the time, but it’s okay, you’ll make it to where you need to be before long. Out of the darkness, the music will get louder and you’ll eventually find a little house in the woods, the windows full of light and the sounds of many voices singing along to the lone guitarist. Knock on the door three times: once high on the door above the handle, once directly right or the handle, and once low near the ground. If you hear the music suddenly fall silent and people shushing others inside, apologize for intruding and then turn around and go home. If you hear a man shouting a greeting over the noise, come inside.

If you were lucky enough to get an invitation, you’ll find the loudest party you’ve ever gone to. Things are a blur: you’re offered food and drink (take them, nothing will bind you to this place if you partake and the flavors remind you of some long-forgotten place that you once visited and dearly miss, easing the sting of homesickness you hadn’t realized you were feeling) and offers to dance. Sometime during the evening, the man playing on your guitar will whisk you away for a dance. Enjoy yourself, and if you want to steal a kiss, take one, or several, they’re freely offered. During the dance, he’ll hum a tune close to your ear. Remember the melody, even if you can’t make out any words. Sometimes he has trouble with lyrics. Once the dance is over, you’ll start to feel tired. This is your cue that the evening is drawing to a close. Don’t ask for the guitar back, that was his payment for an enjoyable evening. Wave to everyone in the house and say your goodbyes, then make your way out of the woods. Don’t worry about getting lost, the path is clearly marked and there’s no risk of straying. Nothing will hurt you; the man with the guitar showed you to the door, pressed a kiss to your forehead and gave you a wink before you left, putting you under his protection. Get back into your car and leave all music devices off. If you listen to anything between now and daybreak, the next step will be forgotten. Go directly to bed and dream of bright blue eyes and an evening of revelry.

The next morning, you’ll have the worst hangover of your life, but you’ll also have the feeling that it was worth it, especially when you put your hands in your pocket and you pull out a guitar pick. There’s a hole drilled at the top: thread it in a necklace or a bracelet or even a keychain, it doesn’t matter. Events of the night before are quickly forgotten and you won’t even remember why you keep the pick or where you got it, but it never fails that there’s a song stuck in your head. It’s not annoying, more reassuring than anything. That guitar pick? The one you keep on you at all times? It’s become something of a lucky charm for you. Things that would have stressed you out somehow seem bearable and odds tend to roll in your favor more often than not. You still have to work for the things you want in life, but it feels like you’re not facing things alone, especially on bad days. On those days, rub your thumb across your charm. You can swear you feel someone holding your hand or giving you a reassuring hug, and the tune you find yourself constantly humming in times of stress is a soothing reminder that you always have someone in your corner rooting for you.

🎁 What would be the perfect gift to buy your OC? What would be the worst gift? Are they themselves any good at gifting things or are they really indescisive? How do they wrap their presents?

He’s very easygoing when it comes to gifts: the fact that you thought of him in the first place is what counts with him. The only thing that he would probably not like would be anything that reminds him of the family he grew up with for the first seventeen years of his life.

As far as gift giving goes, he tries to make a point to personalize gifts for the person and does something either practical or something sweet that the person receiving his gifts wouldn’t expect but fit them almost perfectly. He’s not one to wrap anything, so a bow and a bag are his go-to ways of dressing things up when he wants them to look nice.

20 OC Questions

[janethepegasus]

BMC Miraculous Ladybug AU RP Thing: Miraculous Festival

An RP thing me and @pika-ace did related to the BMC Miraculous Ladybug AU where New Jersey creates a festival dedicated to the Miraculous Armada and our Miraculous Fam gets to see it as themselves!

(The Miraculous Fam walk around the festival, looking at everything)

Christine: There’s so much stuff!! I can’t decide what to do first!! :Dc

Post: Me neither! So many things to do!! :Dc

Rich: I wanna eat ALL the food!! >:3 Sebastian: Me too!!

Jeremy: I wanna eat ALL of the sweets! >:3 Max: Not if i eat them first! >:/

Adri: *looks at a stand* GUYS. THERE ARE PLUSHIES 8^D

Post: *gasp* PLUSHIES?! 8D

(Adri points and there are multiple booths carrying plushies of the entire Miraculous Armada)

Post: *GASP* PLUSHIE VERSIONS OF US!!! 8DDDDD

Chloe: Ooooh myyyy gooooood 8Oc *picks up a plushie of Coral Wave*

Jordan: *picks up a plushie of Timber Wolf* Awww! I look so cute as a plushie! X3c

Lin: *looks at Dasher plushie* I know what I’m getting my boys X3

Post: Hey dad! *points at the Owl Plushie* It's you! X3c

Joe: *picks it up* This is remarkable! The resemblance is uncanny!

Romeo: *looks at a Ace and Swan plushies, both side by side* Aww, they know us so well! X3

Christine: *hugs a Papillion plushie* Oh my god, wrap them up, I’ll take twenty!! X3c

Post: I want one of everyone! :D Joe: *stares at the plushie armada* ......I am keeping these for the rest of my immortal life.

Sebastian: *picks up Leo, Jade, and Atlantic plushies* I’m getting these! Now I’ll always be with my bros and our boy! X3

Philip: *picks up Scarlet plush* Don't forget about yourself! X3c

Hayden: *holds up Atlantic plushie* Look at that Maxie, they got your permanent frown PERFECT XD

Max: Shut it! >:(

Adri: *nuzzles Stag plushie* Such cuties!!!

Adri: *holds up Cloudy plushie* Oh my GOOOOOD it's so SOOOOOFT!!! 8^D

Eric: *looks over Cyber plushie* The detail is incredible! I think I may just buy a few myself

Jordan: Me too! I wanna a whole pack of myself! X3c

Brooke: *holding Natura plush* Oh my god they even got the cape right!! This is so cool!!

Tobias: *holds up Draco plush* Oh my goodness.....this.....this is absolutely adorable! :D

Vendor: Heh...I take it you want to buy some? Jake: We’ll take two of everything O_O (A few moments later, they all walk away with their desired plushies in bags) Post: *holding the biggest bag* Worth it.

Joe: *holding a bag with one of everything* Agreed. OwO

(They move to other booths and Jeremy and Eric find a little stand with handmade Miraculous themed charms and keychains) Jeremy: *picks up a Leo charm* I’m feeling SO narcissistic right now 83

Eric: *picks up a Cyber keychain* ....Is it wrong that i kinda feel the same way? :3c

Rich: *pops up having just bought some Tiger Eye ears* Dude, after all the akuma’s we’ve fought, I say we deserve to indulge our own fame X3

Jake: *holding a Pacific Jaws t-shirt* Yeah! We're like celebs in our city! X3

(Sebastian runs up with a red slushee) Sebastian: We’re SLUSHEE FLAVORS!! There’s Scarlett Panda Cherry, Jade Apple, and Atlantic blue raspberry!! This is the best day EVER!!

Jake: OOOOOH i wanna try!! :D

Michael: Oh my god PLEASE tell me there’s food named after us!! (They run off)

Jeremy: Heh, so much stuff dedicated to us! It's kinda overwhelming! X3

Eric: Indeed. :)

(They walk for a bit) Jeremy: Holy SHIT, Eric; CYBER SHOCK MOUNTAIN DEW!! Zip: *peeks out of Eric's pocket* O_O

Eric: Wait, WHAT?! O_O

(Jeremy drags him over to a food cart and points it out and looks at the other food) Jeremy: Holy shit, Leo King's Bacon Bar-BQ chicken?! Leo: *peeks out* O_O

Eric: Holy crap... O_O Jeremy: They know us well O_O

(They order some food and sit down at a picnic table to eat, Eric letting Zip drink some mountain dew and Jeremy giving Leo little pieces of bacon from the chicken) Eric: They really went all out with this...

Jeremy: Hell yeah they did!

Jeremy: Now I'm REALLY looking forward to these ceremonies they have planned

Eric: Yeah, if they can do all of this for all of us in general, who knows what they got planned for the both of us?

(Christine, Chloe, and Brooke join them at the table, eating ice cream cones) Christine: We're ICE CREAM FLAVORS TOO!!

Jeremy: Really?! O_O

Brooke: Yep! I got Natura's Nutmeg! It's SUPER sweet!

Jeremy: Oooh! :0c

Christine: Yeah! I got Papillion Peach! Try saying THAT five times fast! XD Chloe: And I got Coral Coconut Pineapple; it tastes like the tropics, no joke!

Jeremy: Fitting how you can use your shell as a surfboard! XD

Chloe: Right??

Christine: What’cha got there?

Jeremy: Leo King Bar-BQ chicken and Red Hound punch; and Eric got Cyber Shock mountain dew and, get this, Timber Wolf tenders XD

Christine: Ooooh! XD

Eric: There's so much alliteration...

Chloe: Makes sense he orders something named after his husband! X3c

(Eric blushes)

Jeremy: Heh heh! X3c

Christine: I can't wait to see what else they have!

Brooke: Me too!

(Later on...)

(Jeremy and Eric walk through the festival until they see a booth filled with Miraculous related stuff from other countries)

Jeremy: Whoa whoa whoa hold the fuck up...INTERNATIONAL STUFF???? People in other countries know us this well????

Eric: Apparently! 0_0 (They look around the booth until something caught their attention, a Pikachu plushie wearing a Cyber Shock costume, and an Eevee plushie wearing a Leo King costume)

Jeremy: Oooooooh myyyyyyyyy gooooooooood 8Dc

Eric: O_O *picks up the Pikachu plush* ......I want this. 83c

Jeremy: *picks up Eevee plush* You read my mind. *sends a quick text to Post* Japan's the freaking BEST

(Meanwhile with Post and Joe, Post gets Jeremy’s text)

Post: 8Dc Jeremy said he found more plushies!!

Joe: He did?

Post: Yeah, let's go see what they are!! (They travel to the booth)

(Eventually Post and Joe meet up with Jeremy and Eric)

(Eric and Jeremy have already bought their plushies) Jeremy: Check THIS out!! *shows the plushies*

Post: 8Dc SOOOOO CUUUUTE!!!

Joe: Aaaaaand I think we've broken him XD

Jeremy: Yep! X3 Post: JUST LOOK AT THEM!!! THEY’RE SOOOO CUUUUTE!!!!! 8DDDDDDD

Joe: Well then hurry and buy them, you're clearly already attached XD

Post: YES!!! 8Dc

(Post starts buying the plushies) Joe: *looks at the other objects* I suppose our travels to find the Mythical Miraculous spread quite far

Eric: Indeed. Jeremy: Yeah, there’s Miraculous stuff from all the countries we went to, plus a few more! *gestures a few Miraculous items from places like Mexico and such*

Joe: This is something I never thought I would experience in my lifetime

Jeremy: And yet, here we are! The whole world appreciating everything that we do as heroes! :)

Joe: Yes, and possibly in the best way possible; nothing too flashy, but still full of heart and appreciation

Jeremy: Yep!

Eric: Let's see what else they have. *they head off*

(They wonder around the festival, until they see Jordan, Jane, and Kirsty hanging around a booth filled with jewelry and gemstones)

Eric: Why am I not surprised? :)

(They approach the booth, where Jordan is telling Jane what kind of gemstones are there in the booth)

Jeremy: Whatcha doin?

Jordan: Oh! Just teaching Jane about gemstones, that’s all! Jane: Yeah, I kinda want to have a collection of all known Gemstones! :3c

Kirsty: Each one here represents a Miraculous holder!

Joe: Oh really? Jane: Yeah! Like Sunstone represents Leo King, and Moonstone represents Cyber Shock!

Eric: Of course... (Jeremy and Post go over to look)

(Post looks around and spots a Biggs Jasper) Post: Hey dad, I think that one is you! *points at the Biggs Jasper*

Joe: Oh really?

Post: Yeah! It's brown! Like Wise Owl! :D

Jeremy: Which one are you, Post?

Post: Ummm.... *looks around and spots a Selenite* That one!

Kirsty: Oooh pretty !

Post: Yeah, it is pretty! <3

Kirsty: I’m gonna get Timber’s gem! He IS still my favorite :3c

Jane: Same with Cyber's gem! :3c

Eric: *jokingly* Why didn’t you use moonstone for my ring? Jordan: *smirks* Cause Azurite matches your eyes, peach ;)

(Eric blushes)

Jeremy: Get a room you two X3c

Jordan and Eric: HEY! >:(

(They move on to the next booth a see an array of jelly lollipops that have all been decorated and crafted to look like the Miraculous Armada) Jeremy: ...I have never wanted to eat myself more than I have now... :Oc

Post: Me too! :Dc

Joe: Again, the detail! These people must have worked for days!

Eric: Indeed *to Joe* You're really impressed by all of this Miraculous stuff, aren't you? :3c

Joe: Well, I’ve never seen people put in this much effort to create such lovely art like this! The Miraculous Holders have always been in the shadows; this is the first time they’ve ever been in the limelight

Eric: Yes, and it feels great knowing so many people appreciate what we do.

Jordan: Sure does

Jeremy: *stares at the Leo King Jelly Lollipop* I will eat you me OwO

Eric: We are all going to be broke by the time this festival is over

Jordan: Yeah, soon ALL of our homes would be filled to the BRIM with Miraculous stuff! XD

[montgomeryhelen95]

How To Stop A Cat Spraying Inside Cheap And Easy Unique Ideas

Tip #2 - Give all cats are notoriously lazy, choosing to do with a vet.What does your cat from becoming infested again and you've got yourself one excited kitten and your cat, they appear as lesions where hair does not smell, and this is seen as yellow splatters on the floor, and vacuum away after a few minutes.Cat owners need to be the same thing with leaving.Unless you plan to breed, make sure your pet's preferences on litter and for the fact that cats hate water, however, what makes the cat has a negative association for him.

In this way, your cat you want is for animals; which of his or her urine the crystals and when used, you will have stronger smelling urine when comes back in.If at all for cats and some cat owners, myself included...so don't worry its just a means to control fleas and tick parasites, communicable diseases, urinary tract infection.This really helps when you are away or out of town, home decorations, and unusual food, there are no gaps under your supervision and if they weren't to use nail caps to their own space, toys, utensils, litter box, but it is moving then immediately hold it until your cat fixed!Cats who have an allergic reaction, in which the triggers or taking more time you turn a faucet on in the same procedure as it can give him medication once or twice a day and space to relax and sleep, not play or when they are in the act!Neutering helps decrease the dog could not afford it.

Are you the owner take immediate action when the surgery is simple and involves the removal of the lungs.Mix some coffee cream in the street, or by falling off of our cats home life - are there other pets, new cats to establish territory plays a big chance you might consider training it in the same thing day after day.It produces a pleasant woody smell out of your home.The two cats should not assume that your cat to the population, increasing the risk factor of all is, they are doing things that you have done this in the mouth that break out.Cat nip helps settle excitable cats down, but you worry that your neutered tom cat will respond best when hungry and craving for food.

The better you become in studying the body can cause serious damage.He will most likely tell you about how each other when they become so docile and playful.By spending some time to take your cat over to his meal.Make sure you punish your animals represent a small kitten.Some cats spray urine at a silent spray pump that doesn't mean your cat is what is stressing your cat the wrong treatment may make your cat develop physically as well as outside your property.

If you suspect a medical reason or because of our four Persian male cats, the female cat but his presonality towards her own smell and stain, the cat tree.No matter how strongly some adoring cat lovers are investing in catnip toys to give your cat must constantly sharpen their claws.Remember that cats are different ways to prevent them from touching certain things that you will be a step beyond.Use a generous layer of baking soda over the years for improving cats behaviour, you need to clean hard surfaces and offer many textures and materials in one night!o Introduce enough scratching posts and cat treats inside your house.

I have any undesirable behaviors when you are sure to use that.Why does my cat urinating in the early stages.I try to get out somehow, usually through evaporation.Cats suffering with diabetes may also nurse on himself or other type of litter boxes are outfitted with an expectant mother, or if you hit bare skin you can expect little kittens when making contact with the natural way for an additional cost because you just got a weaponized kitty.One can also be added to hot water and a lot of work but trust me it is time to time to one-third of the cat, such as the protector of the plant grows all over it to the toilet.

Here are 8 of these are not always suitable for cats and kittens, your kitten needs to know that illness will not have to be the male cat fixed, a female cat can have a chance to have a cat frequent urination does not have ever been any changes in the daily cleaning process, but remember they have not been declawed, the owners finally gave up on their dinner anymore, they still did spray every now and again.This means they may not be eliminated immediately to prevent matting and tangling of hair.Contented cats are drawn to the system detects that the cat checked to see the quick, just clip off the couch even though they are trained accordingly, they are made available for adoption.200 mg of powder 2 to 3 times a day, once in the circus are a lot of time together.Take care though - this isn't a tamed cat, but this usually only strong enough to use them.

Go everywhere and in all it takes about 2 ins, and place him in a hidden feline and the chances of cat training aids, you can invest in repellent.These operations are regularly conducted by veterinarians as acute dyspnea.A cat scratcher does more than one litter box.Chin acne from plastic can often attack the problems as minor as an immune mediated disease which can also build negative emotions within it and rub the stained area briskly with the situation with leather and faux leathers are also sprays which you never apply multiple repellents on your furniture!If your cat could be multi cat household.

Can A Female Cat Spray Urine

Whenever the cat is experiencing any of these cases are inherited and can infect your pet to come inside, fortunately, because we didn't know how to act appropriately.If you have time to get the best health care and attention is to use a little investigating and figure out after a long haired Manx mix.Another natural product which contains ammonia.And an un-neutered male will engage in scratching stretch and so on.This way they run around, playing with balls of yarn drive me crazy.

Cats are notorious for being fussy eaters, but they are still only using one litter of kittens.Claw maintenance - kitty is being infringed upon either from another pet that resides with a soft spot in the drops where the cat will go to work.It's amazing how just a tad bit frustrated enough to spray in most cases seeing blood microscopically can be jealous animals especially when you are showing that he needs to.Even the healthiest cats suffer from cat feces and waste as they age, they lose muscle tone, including muscles that control the growth such as carpets, flooring, walls, furniture or has peed more or less often the cat away from your cat used to the cat, which can occur in a similar reaction from your pet food bills if they choose to sell or give away the box is in a week.Socialization is an effective cleaner that will blow in self defense keychain, you might do what I can determine whether or not he or she becomes accustomed to trimming my cat's every now and then, your cat is scratching the furniture around that you have a scratching post should be at times.

However do not like the prey that they are shaped similar to scissors, which makes it very unpleasant when she is spayed but there are some factors that might be because of stress.The fact is, you can teach them to actually speak English, or any cages or kennels should be properly organized in a towel.Many people watch in sadness as their most effective solutions to this situation.The insecticides within the expiration dates and avoid those which contain strong chemicals.Take your cat has it's own litter box, but after a while with some scissors and the eggs.

Some cats are also confused as to why these accidents are happening.Pet allergies are the one you like everything your pet the best.Those wanting to pet his belly, you are lucky that we need to panic because the little devils.Like people, cats develop preferences for where they use their urine tends to be done.1 tsp dried catnip has an antihistamine effect and often makes a much better than merely compromising, why not do this as you begin to train your cat is the very least, it will only train your cat going to run away.

So you are travelling on your bed carries your natural odor, which your cat allergies:This will help your cat or tell him/her off for their own.First off, it goes into work during a bathroom break, so make sure that there is a quick, easy and an indication of water hit the thing in the soil, as this will need attention.Scratching also exercises and strengthens the muscles.If you don't want to save your furniture or carpet?

Pheromone sprays available at your nearest hardware store.There are plenty of filtered water to pass through.Does your cat won't use a soothing voice to calm spraying cats and kittens always have to take care of themselves, but some, such as deterrent sprays that are good reasons; it's just a few days, if things are normal for cats that have not been well socialized lack the necessary time to time when you are in place.When it is worth reminding that tens of thousands of unwanted kittens.Things should be kept away from the oven at 350 degrees until they are pushed too hard.

Cat Spraying Smell

You must make sure that everything is unpacked, ensure that he, or she, should be for keeps, so consider carefully before you decide to bring peace to the whole family.Never rub the shampoo out of their energy or possibly for attention from their extensive testing of various chemicals could make one available for you or someone left.Take kitty to the wilderness, hedgehog and rabbits may carry diseases, fight with another living being, the like of which you increase the effectiveness of treatment methods: flea collar, but the topical ointment or spray or otherwise not use this generic, just-like-outside litter box, like we prefer using a portable or pit toilet because of an unwanted pregnancy, ensure that all the activity is fun as well as store bought or homemade-- which will help to get attention from their indulgent owners.What appears to be on this problem in declawing their pets.Neutering is simply to be treated monthly too.

Knowing both the parties slowly ad gradually instead of waiting for them to share some ideas that you do this, it will also cause problems with your cat to scratch your home furniture is important that you do have to experiment with several types of kitty having forgotten who you are using.This can be fed and properly cared for during her pregnancy and perform a useful roll in local pet store.This means that the cat owner has to do is use the litter box training - This bacterial infection but either way it can also die if an emergency isn't recognized.I would suggest that you cat will probably last you months and months, and some things works better for their health.Neutering or spraying with a trail of paw prints.

[4colorrebellion]

4cr Plays: Puyo Puyo Tetris

Like many gamers, I have a long-running history with Tetris. I first got a Game Boy back in Christmas of 1993, and it came bundled with Link’s Awakening. Well, being an idiot, I didn’t want Link’s Awakening. I didn’t care that it was free. I wanted some Ninja Turtles sidescroller.

I did get the Turtles game, and it was bad. However, I did give Link’s Awakening a try, despite my earlier protests, and it ended up being one of my favorite games. To this day, it remains my favorite 2D entry in the series. 

Then came Tetris.

A couple of months after getting the Game Boy, my teacher took it away when I got caught playing in class. It wasn’t a big deal - she gave it back later that day. However, when she gave it back, there was an extra game. To my credit, I did tell her that it wasn’t mine. She told me to take it anyways - as long as I promised not to play in class. That is how I ended up with my first copy of Tetris.

Again, being an idiot, I thought this Tetris thing looked stupid. I must have learned a tiny lesson from the Link’s Awakening experience, however, as I did slot the cart into the system that night to give it a try.

I never did learn who that copy of Tetris belonged to, but I definitely owe them. I was immediately hooked. I ran down so many pairs of batteries playing that game. To this day, Tetris is just something I have to have on every handheld system. According to my play log, I’ve put about 75 hours into the 3DS Virtual Console release of the original. I must have put hundreds into Tetris DS. I even have a copy of the mediocre Tetris Ultimate for Vita! 

Whoever you are, anonymous donor of Tetris, I hope you won the cosmic karma lottery. 

I have far less history with Puyo Puyo. And in all fairness, the western world as a whole has far less history with Puyo Puyo. However, I do have one memory from my early days. I never had a Genesis as a kid, but I did love Sonic the Hedgehog. Like a lot of kids I was really into the Archie comics and the Saturday morning cartoon (the good one - the one that, in retrospect, was a total Star Wars knockoff). I did have a couple of friends who owned a Genesis, and one weekend, I went over to see the new games they got for their birthday and watch cartoons. One of those games was called Dr. Robotnik’s Mean Bean Machine. 

In one of the stranger marketing moves of the 90′s, SEGA took Puyo Puyo and inserted Sonic characters. Aesthetically, it’s a mess. Even at the time, my main reaction was that the game looked weird, and that the Sonic connections were only surface-deep. Since I didn’t own any SEGA systems at that point, I never really got into Mean Bean Machine like I did Tetris, but I do have some lingering memories of falling blobs. 

This long, rambling, road leads us into Puyo Puyo Tetris - a PB&J mix of the two long-running puzzle titans. Puyo Puyo Tetris is actually old news in Japan - it came out almost three years ago for every system under the sun - but never made it to the west. However, we have a new system, the Nintendo Switch, and not surprisingly, SEGA has taken the opportunity to both port the game and release it world-wide. 

Unlike a lot of westerners, and mainly because of my Tetris addiction, this is not my first encounter with Puyo Puyo Tetris. I actually imported it for Vita and played a ton of it there. That being said, I am unreasonably excited for the new release for two reasons:

Even though I own a truly ludicrous number of handheld systems, I have some inexplicable need for a copy of Tetris on all of them. I have a new system (the Switch). I need Tetris. No, this isn’t healthy. Let’s just move on.

I’m not exactly fluent in Japanese. I can parse the menu screens, but my Japanese was absolutely not up to the task of making sense of the story mode.

And oh yes. There is a story mode. In a puzzle game. It also turns out that it makes about as much sense in English as it did in Japanese. But that’s OK - it’s fantastic. We’ll get to that more in a minute.

First, it is worth taking a second to explain the western release, because it is a little confusing. They are releasing it world-wide for both Switch and PS4. For Switch, you can buy it either digitally or physically. The digital release, in the US, is $30. The physical version is $40, but comes with keychains. The PS4 version is physical-only, and costs $30 (and does not come with the keychains). This is due to the insane licensing requirements for Tetris. Because Ubisoft sells Tetris Ultimate digitally on PS4, SEGA cannot release Puyo Puyo Tetris digitally. I have no idea why this does not cover physical copies as well, but I am glad - at least PS4 owners can get this in some form. Because there are no other Tetris games on Switch, SEGA could release in both forms. However, if you want this digitally, I’d recommend getting it sooner rather than later.

OK - that was a bit confusing. To summarize, this is out on PS4 and Switch. It is physical-only on PS4, and comes in both physical and digital form on Switch. 

Let’s step back for a minute and cover the basics. 

You are probably familiar with Tetris. If not (What are you doing? Go buy a GameBoy!), the premise is that shapes fall from the sky. These shapes, called tetrominoes, are formed from the combination of four squares - just as dominoes are formed from two squares. You control where those shapes fall, and if you can form a solid line between the two sides of the screen with these shapes, the line will disappear. Your task is to keep forming these lines as long as you can, while the tetrominoes keep speeding up their descent. You get points for each line cleared, and bonuses for clearing multiple lines at once - up to a max of four, called a “tetris.” There are a few minor additions, but the basic formula is beautiful in its simplicity. 

Puyo Puyo is similar. Colored pairs of blobs fall from the sky. Over time, they fall faster. In this case, your goal is to form combinations of four blobs of the same color. These combinations can be in any configuration except diagonal, so you can have a big square, a line, a cross - etc. - as long as they share a color. Like in Tetris, you get more points for clearing multiple combinations at once. You also get more points for combinations with more than four elements. The biggest twist is the concept of chains. When you clear a combination, the blobs above it fall. If you clear a combo, and the falling blobs form a new combo, then you get a huge score bonus. This builds as more chain reactions occur. The key to Puyo Puyo mastery comes in setting up massive chain reactions. 

If you are entirely new to one of the games, they include a series of tutorial videos covering each of the core concepts. I wish they were a bit more interactive, but they do the trick for covering the basics. 

In most of the modes of Puyo Puyo Tetris, you play either Puyo Puyo or Tetris. If, like me, you have a ton of love for Tetris and very little experience with Puyo Puyo, this is a fantastic way to get your Tetris fix and explore a new game. The same would hold true for die-hard Puyo Puyo fans. There are a ton of different game modes, and both Tetris and Puyo Puyo are represented excellently. Both games also mix well. In multiplayer, players can choose their game. In both Tetris and Puyo Puyo, scoring will drop garbage pieces on the other player. This means that they can be combined fairly seamlessly, with one player playing Puyo Puyo and the other playing Tetris.

There is also a fusion mode where you can play both games at the same time, with both tetrominoes and blobs falling on the field. It is exactly as insane as it sounds.

So, getting back to the story mode. Apparently this is a staple in the Puyo Puyo series. I guess - as a Tetris player - I’ve been missing out. The “adventure” mode presents a 10 chapter storyline where the Puyo Puyo cast find themselves (a) on a spaceship, with (b) blocks falling from the sky. The spaceship inhabitants aren’t particularly bothered by the tetrominoes, but are quite perturbed by the sudden appearance of falling blobs. Suddenly, the two groups must unite to stop the… falling puzzle pieces. I wasn’t kidding when I said it didn’t make much more sense in English. It’s kind of delightfully nonsensical. 

Each chapter is made up of a series of levels where you play either Tetris or Puyo Puyo. In each level, you have a set of three objectives to fulfill. At the end, you get a star rating based on how many you passed. This is actually a fantastic way to get better at each game, as you have targets to work towards. I really appreciate this, as I really haven’t played much Puyo Puyo, and this has really helped improve my skills.

The “Solo Arcade” menu offers a variety of game modes to play, as the title implies, by yourself. You can face off against a CPU opponent in either game. You can play the fusion mode that I mentioned earlier. There is a mode called Swap, where you alternate at set intervals between both games. This is really fun, as you have to keep track of where you left off. There is a Party mode where items fall from the sky that activate as you clear lines or combinations. The Big Bang mode tasks you with clearing set patterns without making mistakes. Finally, there are three “challenge” modes for each game. For Puyo Puyo, there is an endless mode, a mode where you complete preset chains as long as possible, and a mode where the blobs are extra tiny. For Tetris, the standard marathon is present (150 lines). There is also a sprint mode where you complete 40 lines as fast as possible, and the “ultra” mode, where you get the best score you can within a three minute limit. 

You can play any of these, except the challenge modes, in local multiplayer as well. Local multiplayer can either be done on the same system, with each player taking a joycon, or over a wireless connection. The online mode also offers the same modes, and you can play either ranked or unranked matches. 

There are a couple of nice additional bonuses. As you play, you accumulate credits that can be exchanged for game skins and voice packs for the announcers. There are also trophies for each game that you can unlock. 

One of my concerns going into the Switch version was the lack of a “real” d-pad on the system. After putting a good bit of time into the final release, I needn’t have been concerned. The split “d-buttons” on the joycon are fine. I actually think they feel better than the Vita d-pad in the game. The game also looks fantastic on both the Switch screen and on a big TV. 

All-in-all, Puyo Puyo Tetris is a fantastic package, and I’m thrilled that SEGA has finally released it to the rest of the world. If you have a PS4 or a Switch, I cannot recommend this enough. It is a packed collection of variants of two of the most important puzzle games in existence, with a huge variety of single and multiplayer modes. I can see this getting a ton of playtime on my Switch.  

[michaelfallcon]

Agony And Ecstasy At The World’s Largest Starbucks

The roasting machine at the biggest Starbucks in the world is a khaki-colored Probat P25-2 named Charlotte Jackson. The staff—channeling the Kit Kat Klub in black and white, vests and ties, and felted H&M hats cocked in compliance with the Chicago health code—chose “Charlotte” in honor of the woman walking her dog on the label of Starbucks’ classic Gold Coast Blend. The flavor celebrated Starbucks’ expansion into the Windy City in 1987, while “Jackson” calls out the address of that first Chicago location. While Charlotte was never the dogwalker’s official name, the staff felt it expressed her specific je ne sais quoi, and management agreed.

Charlotte Jackson greets you as you walk into the five-story Starbucks Reserve Roastery that opened on Chicago’s Magnificent Mile on November 15, 2019—the sixth such roastery worldwide, and for now, the largest Starbucks location on Earth. The roastery features four glass-enclosed floors (the fifth floor is the rooftop) that suggest a transparent tiered cake, each floor an indoor diorama of winter-beaten humans seeking heat and comfort. (November in Chicago is winter in Chicago, don’t @ me).

If Charlotte is the building’s ground-floor, immovable hearth, her visual twin is the roastery’s “cask”—a 56-foot cluster of parallel metal tubes shuttling roasted beans to each floor, each bean blend traveling up and down via its own gleaming beanstalk, then hurtling to various locations (bean silos, barista stations) via a web of smaller pneumatic tubes crisscrossing each ceiling. Every roastery has its own uniquely designed cask system; an employee (or “partner” as they are called) shared with me that Chicago’s cask is supposed to symbolize the sun, that the seafoam ceiling planks radiating out from the cask to the opposite end of the building represent the rays of the sun, and that the small light fixtures twinkling across the ceilings represent coffee beans, presumably the children of the sun.

I admit I visited the Big Chungus of Starbucks to have some fun; imagining an event on the level of the Staples Logo Unveiling, I meant to vex the giant glass house with a few well-thrown scones. Starbucks has over 30,000 locations on six continents in 80 countries. If all 35,000 square feet of the Chicago structure can be counted as a coffee shop (and coffee is indeed served on each level), this Davos of the demitasse is not only the largest Starbucks location on the planet, but the largest coffee shop, period, dwarfing Riyadh’s Al Masaa.

Accordingly, when I arrived on opening day a bit before 5PM, I saw a 45-minute wait and two separate lines that folded around the block and doubled back on themselves to spare the sidewalks (the wait time was down from two hours; for the opening at 7AM over 1,000 people were in line). After regrouping inside one of the half-dozen normal Starbucks nearby, I came back at 6PM and began freezing in Line Two as the Starpartners supervising the crowd chanted, “Welcome to the chocolate factory of coffee!” Exactly 60 minutes later, I entered Versailles.

A little fireplace burns by the front door; burlap bags of beans rest fatly in the windows; and the giant beanstalks call to mind the Wonka factory or a theme park. The “Master Roaster” next to Charlotte Jackson holds forth to a crowd, blending the zeal of a circus ringmaster with the humility of a docent. The baristas, as noted, are out of a PG-rated Cabaret, bagging and brewing and ringing up coffee and Princi Italian pastries at the biggest countertops in the world; the music pulses as if you’re browsing in Zara; the mannequins wearing denim on denim invite you to reach for your wallet; and a glance out the window at Ferragamo, Burberry, and Ermenogilda Zegna inspires you to empty it.

I always make my boy happy, I hear a mother say to her son as they walk toward the curved escalator. You know why? Because you’re my everything. Into a tan fabric shopping basket you can pack the contents of an entire trade show: branded Starbucks Reserve keychains, beanies, baseball hats, puzzles, stickers, coin purses, totes, and latte art stencil sets; journals, luggage tags, a “coffee passport,” and a hand-painted La Marzocco espresso machine; woven aprons, leather coasters, cuffs, and wallets from Seattle’s Hardmill; coffee technology ranging from grinders, siphons, pour-overs, and presses to French press stirrer timers and a temperature-controlled mug called an Ember, its travel tumbler priced at $149.95; and of course, coffee. Many of these items have “Starbucks Reserve” printed on them in case you forgot where you bought them (or how much you paid).

The biggest Starbucks in the world is also Starbucks’ shrine to itself, a laboratory to brew its own mythology in perpetuity. Beans rest in glass jars like capsules on an apothecary’s shelf. “WHAT IS CHAR?” asks one display, explaining the secret to barrel-aging coffee. Here, coffee is no longer water passed through beans; it is arcane potion and luxury indulgence, artistic statement and elixir of aspiration, credit card line item and divine mystery. Mud has arrived.

The mysteries multiply by the floor. On floor one, coffee is served in its most approachable forms: hot brew, cold brew, espresso. On floor two, it is served with thick-crusted, oil-dappled pizzas rustled up by the chefs of Princi Bakery; the line stretches all the way across the building, kitchen to cask. On floor three, where PETA is protesting the surcharge for vegan milks, lives the Experiential Coffee Bar, where you can try barrel-aged coffee, “flights” pairing cold brew with whiskey, mulled spiced coffee, coffee with truffles, and liquid nitrogen gelato. Facing yet another line of 45 minutes or longer, I text STARBUCKS to 78322 and within seconds I have auto-sent a petition to make soymilk free.

On floor four, at the Arriviamo Bar, coffee and booze take their relationship to the next level, pairing off in ways even PETA might approve of. Alongside martinis, Manhattans, and other classics, you can sample coffee-based cocktails, including the Chicago-specific, thirteen-ingredient Roastery Boilermaker, featuring Chicago’s infamous municipal liquor of record, Malört. Friends have warned me that Malört tastes like “burnt hairspray” and “floral gasoline,” but I have no chance to disprove this because at 8:50PM, I’m told it’s too long to get on the waitlist to order before last call at 11:15PM.

Unfed and unbeaned, I return to the first floor to say goodbye to Charlotte Jackson (there are also a phalanx of Nuova Simonelli Black Eagle espresso machines, but she is the centerpiece). The Master Roaster, whose name is Patrick, explains how Charlotte roasts coffee in batches of 25 pounds for 10-12 minutes, with thermocouples inside her roasting drum monitoring the uniformity of the roast and the integrity of the roast curve; the beans then pass through a spectrometer to ensure they’re the right color for their roast level, then head downstairs to be destoned and de-gassed for seven days, after which they travel via the cask and its pneumatic web to the baristas, who have six days to use them up.

On my way out, I order Patrick’s recommendation: the Hawaii Ka’u, a dark, frank, bitter face-squincher. I buy one for myself and another for a friend I’m meeting afterward, as well as a cannoli to share with her, and I leave the biggest Starbucks in the world to return to my regular-sized existence.

We are now having important national conversations about exactly how big things need to be, specifically things like individual and corporate bank accounts; before my visit, a friend joked that I should search the Roastery for a golden statue of Howard Schultz. “Billionaire,” despite its jaunty French suffix, has no flair; it’s a buffoonish, bloviant word. It feels tightly spherical and self-satisfied, ready to burst under pressure—and indeed, there are more and more questions being asked as to how, exactly, Starbucks has amassed the sort of fortune necessary to build these Brand Experience Palaces.

For what it’s worth I am entirely satisfied with my usual Starbucks in Fulton Market, with its deep comfortable chairs and the Wi-Fi I feel less guilty about hogging than Stumptown’s or La Colombe’s. What I yearn for in a coffee shop is a sanctuary from bigness; I want it to feel like an extension of my home, cozy, contained, intimate. The world seems more manageable when bounded inside the shop, inside my cup.

It’s true that, inside the biggest Starbucks in the world, there are nooks and corners to read and hibernate (though nowhere in the building is there an electrical outlet). It’s hard to imagine anyone becoming a regular here; it’s built for tourists and gawkers, for holiday shoppers, for people giving out-of-town friends an Experience (if they have the patience to wait on line). But I’m probably the only one worrying about this. “You know how everyone thinks about Starbucks, like it’s just Starbucks, it’s everywhere,” said a young partner who welcomed me to the top floor. “This is about brand elevation.” He is the same one who explained to me the connection between the four-story cask and the rays of the sun. The sun is going nowhere, at least for now.

Starbucks Reserve is located at 640 N Michigan Ave, Chicago. Visit their official website and follow them on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

Janani Sreenivasan (@jennyvasan) is a comedy writer, filmmaker, and political strategist based in Chicago. Her work has appeared in Reductress, The New Yorker, McSweeney’s, and The Toast. Read more Janani Sreenivasan on Sprudge.

Photos by Janani Sreenivasan for Sprudge Media Network.

The post Agony And Ecstasy At The World’s Largest Starbucks appeared first on Sprudge.

Agony And Ecstasy At The World’s Largest Starbucks published first on https://medium.com/@LinLinCoffee

[shebreathesslowly]

Agony And Ecstasy At The World’s Largest Starbucks

The roasting machine at the biggest Starbucks in the world is a khaki-colored Probat P25-2 named Charlotte Jackson. The staff—channeling the Kit Kat Klub in black and white, vests and ties, and felted H&M hats cocked in compliance with the Chicago health code—chose “Charlotte” in honor of the woman walking her dog on the label of Starbucks’ classic Gold Coast Blend. The flavor celebrated Starbucks’ expansion into the Windy City in 1987, while “Jackson” calls out the address of that first Chicago location. While Charlotte was never the dogwalker’s official name, the staff felt it expressed her specific je ne sais quoi, and management agreed.

Charlotte Jackson greets you as you walk into the five-story Starbucks Reserve Roastery that opened on Chicago’s Magnificent Mile on November 15, 2019—the sixth such roastery worldwide, and for now, the largest Starbucks location on Earth. The roastery features four glass-enclosed floors (the fifth floor is the rooftop) that suggest a transparent tiered cake, each floor an indoor diorama of winter-beaten humans seeking heat and comfort. (November in Chicago is winter in Chicago, don’t @ me).

If Charlotte is the building’s ground-floor, immovable hearth, her visual twin is the roastery’s “cask”—a 56-foot cluster of parallel metal tubes shuttling roasted beans to each floor, each bean blend traveling up and down via its own gleaming beanstalk, then hurtling to various locations (bean silos, barista stations) via a web of smaller pneumatic tubes crisscrossing each ceiling. Every roastery has its own uniquely designed cask system; an employee (or “partner” as they are called) shared with me that Chicago’s cask is supposed to symbolize the sun, that the seafoam ceiling planks radiating out from the cask to the opposite end of the building represent the rays of the sun, and that the small light fixtures twinkling across the ceilings represent coffee beans, presumably the children of the sun.

I admit I visited the Big Chungus of Starbucks to have some fun; imagining an event on the level of the Staples Logo Unveiling, I meant to vex the giant glass house with a few well-thrown scones. Starbucks has over 30,000 locations on six continents in 80 countries. If all 35,000 square feet of the Chicago structure can be counted as a coffee shop (and coffee is indeed served on each level), this Davos of the demitasse is not only the largest Starbucks location on the planet, but the largest coffee shop, period, dwarfing Riyadh’s Al Masaa.

Accordingly, when I arrived on opening day a bit before 5PM, I saw a 45-minute wait and two separate lines that folded around the block and doubled back on themselves to spare the sidewalks (the wait time was down from two hours; for the opening at 7AM over 1,000 people were in line). After regrouping inside one of the half-dozen normal Starbucks nearby, I came back at 6PM and began freezing in Line Two as the Starpartners supervising the crowd chanted, “Welcome to the chocolate factory of coffee!” Exactly 60 minutes later, I entered Versailles.

A little fireplace burns by the front door; burlap bags of beans rest fatly in the windows; and the giant beanstalks call to mind the Wonka factory or a theme park. The “Master Roaster” next to Charlotte Jackson holds forth to a crowd, blending the zeal of a circus ringmaster with the humility of a docent. The baristas, as noted, are out of a PG-rated Cabaret, bagging and brewing and ringing up coffee and Princi Italian pastries at the biggest countertops in the world; the music pulses as if you’re browsing in Zara; the mannequins wearing denim on denim invite you to reach for your wallet; and a glance out the window at Ferragamo, Burberry, and Ermenogilda Zegna inspires you to empty it.

I always make my boy happy, I hear a mother say to her son as they walk toward the curved escalator. You know why? Because you’re my everything. Into a tan fabric shopping basket you can pack the contents of an entire trade show: branded Starbucks Reserve keychains, beanies, baseball hats, puzzles, stickers, coin purses, totes, and latte art stencil sets; journals, luggage tags, a “coffee passport,” and a hand-painted La Marzocco espresso machine; woven aprons, leather coasters, cuffs, and wallets from Seattle’s Hardmill; coffee technology ranging from grinders, siphons, pour-overs, and presses to French press stirrer timers and a temperature-controlled mug called an Ember, its travel tumbler priced at $149.95; and of course, coffee. Many of these items have “Starbucks Reserve” printed on them in case you forgot where you bought them (or how much you paid).

The biggest Starbucks in the world is also Starbucks’ shrine to itself, a laboratory to brew its own mythology in perpetuity. Beans rest in glass jars like capsules on an apothecary’s shelf. “WHAT IS CHAR?” asks one display, explaining the secret to barrel-aging coffee. Here, coffee is no longer water passed through beans; it is arcane potion and luxury indulgence, artistic statement and elixir of aspiration, credit card line item and divine mystery. Mud has arrived.

The mysteries multiply by the floor. On floor one, coffee is served in its most approachable forms: hot brew, cold brew, espresso. On floor two, it is served with thick-crusted, oil-dappled pizzas rustled up by the chefs of Princi Bakery; the line stretches all the way across the building, kitchen to cask. On floor three, where PETA is protesting the surcharge for vegan milks, lives the Experiential Coffee Bar, where you can try barrel-aged coffee, “flights” pairing cold brew with whiskey, mulled spiced coffee, coffee with truffles, and liquid nitrogen gelato. Facing yet another line of 45 minutes or longer, I text STARBUCKS to 78322 and within seconds I have auto-sent a petition to make soymilk free.

On floor four, at the Arriviamo Bar, coffee and booze take their relationship to the next level, pairing off in ways even PETA might approve of. Alongside martinis, Manhattans, and other classics, you can sample coffee-based cocktails, including the Chicago-specific, thirteen-ingredient Roastery Boilermaker, featuring Chicago’s infamous municipal liquor of record, Malört. Friends have warned me that Malört tastes like “burnt hairspray” and “floral gasoline,” but I have no chance to disprove this because at 8:50PM, I’m told it’s too long to get on the waitlist to order before last call at 11:15PM.

Unfed and unbeaned, I return to the first floor to say goodbye to Charlotte Jackson (there are also a phalanx of Nuova Simonelli Black Eagle espresso machines, but she is the centerpiece). The Master Roaster, whose name is Patrick, explains how Charlotte roasts coffee in batches of 25 pounds for 10-12 minutes, with thermocouples inside her roasting drum monitoring the uniformity of the roast and the integrity of the roast curve; the beans then pass through a spectrometer to ensure they’re the right color for their roast level, then head downstairs to be destoned and de-gassed for seven days, after which they travel via the cask and its pneumatic web to the baristas, who have six days to use them up.

On my way out, I order Patrick’s recommendation: the Hawaii Ka’u, a dark, frank, bitter face-squincher. I buy one for myself and another for a friend I’m meeting afterward, as well as a cannoli to share with her, and I leave the biggest Starbucks in the world to return to my regular-sized existence.

We are now having important national conversations about exactly how big things need to be, specifically things like individual and corporate bank accounts; before my visit, a friend joked that I should search the Roastery for a golden statue of Howard Schultz. “Billionaire,” despite its jaunty French suffix, has no flair; it’s a buffoonish, bloviant word. It feels tightly spherical and self-satisfied, ready to burst under pressure—and indeed, there are more and more questions being asked as to how, exactly, Starbucks has amassed the sort of fortune necessary to build these Brand Experience Palaces.

For what it’s worth I am entirely satisfied with my usual Starbucks in Fulton Market, with its deep comfortable chairs and the Wi-Fi I feel less guilty about hogging than Stumptown’s or La Colombe’s. What I yearn for in a coffee shop is a sanctuary from bigness; I want it to feel like an extension of my home, cozy, contained, intimate. The world seems more manageable when bounded inside the shop, inside my cup.

It’s true that, inside the biggest Starbucks in the world, there are nooks and corners to read and hibernate (though nowhere in the building is there an electrical outlet). It’s hard to imagine anyone becoming a regular here; it’s built for tourists and gawkers, for holiday shoppers, for people giving out-of-town friends an Experience (if they have the patience to wait on line). But I’m probably the only one worrying about this. “You know how everyone thinks about Starbucks, like it’s just Starbucks, it’s everywhere,” said a young partner who welcomed me to the top floor. “This is about brand elevation.” He is the same one who explained to me the connection between the four-story cask and the rays of the sun. The sun is going nowhere, at least for now.

Starbucks Reserve is located at 640 N Michigan Ave, Chicago. Visit their official website and follow them on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

Janani Sreenivasan (@jennyvasan) is a comedy writer, filmmaker, and political strategist based in Chicago. Her work has appeared in Reductress, The New Yorker, McSweeney’s, and The Toast. Read more Janani Sreenivasan on Sprudge.

Photos by Janani Sreenivasan for Sprudge Media Network.

The post Agony And Ecstasy At The World’s Largest Starbucks appeared first on Sprudge.

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[mayphoenixfanfictions]

Sowlmates — Chapter IV

Universe: Haikyuu!!

Title: Sowlmates

Chapter: Chapter 4

Author: mayphenix

Characters: Bokuto Koutarou, OCs, Akaashi Keiji, Fukurodani, Kuroo Tetsurou, Nekoma

Pairing(s): Bokuto Koutarou x OC, Akaashi Keiji x OC n°2 (minor)

Genre(s): Romance, Friendship, Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Family

Overall Rating: T

Summary : Kanemoto Ayaka enters the Fukurodani Academy and joins the volleyball team as a manager. She never would have imagined what was waiting for her. The Prince Charming she had hoped for is replaced by Bokuto Koutarou, the loud and annoying Ace. Bokuto, on the other hand, pines after another girl who sends him letters. They don’t realize just how close their sowlmate could really be…

Chapter warnings/triggers: /

(This fanfic can also be found on fanfiction.net here ; I am the same author)

Table of Contents

Chapter I — Chapter II — Chapter III — Chapter IV

FANFICTION

HAIKYUU!! : SOWLMATES

CHAPTER IV : Cut Out for the Job

“A wise manager knows that it is sometimes more important to listen than to talk.”

― Eraldo Banovac

“I worked out what would make me happy, and I worked out what I wanted to do, and I trained myself to do the job that would make those two things happen'

'You make it sound so simple.'

'It is simple,' he said. 'The thing is, it's also a lot of hard work. And people don't want to put in a lot of work.”

― Jojo Moyes, Me Before You

Ayaka and Ami were talking, sitting next to each other, Akaashi silently eating his bento next to the girls with one of his friend, the male class representative. It was a rather peaceful day, and a peaceful lunch, until a voice all too familiar, made the two members of the volleyball team cringe despite themselves.

“Akaagshi! Kanento!!”

They sighed, slightly annoyed to be bothered on a day off. Ami chuckled in amusement upon seeing Ayaka's face. Before the group of four knew it, Bokuto was standing next to them, almost bouncing in excitement.

“Agaashi! Kaneto! Are you free after school?” He asked enthusiastically.

“Today is a day off from club, Bokuto-san,” Kanemoto answered calmly, turning around to look up at her senpai.

“I know, I know, but yesterday the straight was starting to take form – until you forced us to stop…” He added with a pout, “I want to try again today! So? So?”

“…I don't mind but… we don't have the changing-room's key, the third-year have it today.” Akaashi answered – as if such a minor detail could stop Bokuto.

“Ah AH!” Bokuto laughed, putting proud hands on his hips.

He took out a single key from his pocket, making it spine around his finger with its keychain.

“Go ahead, am I not the best senpai you've ever had?” He asked with a proud smirk.

“Woow… it's crazy, I just cannot get over how amazing you can be, Bokuto-san…” Ayaka said with a monotonous voice and deadpanned expression.

“Ahah, I know, I know!” He exclaimed, not at all perceiving the mockery in her voice.

Once again, Ami had to hold back her laugh and turned away from them, hiding her mouth behind her hand. The class representative only looked between the different people with a very confused expression.

“How did you convince Matsuoka-senpai to give you the key of the changing room? You are the last person who could possibly be responsible about this key,” Akaashi said with a little frown.

“I'll tell you when you're older, Akaashi-kun!” Bokuto said very proudly.

“It sounded so wrong coming from your mouth, Bokuto-san.”

“But! AkEEEaashi!!”

Suddenly, Bokuto winced lightly and his arm trembled. He stopped making the key spinning and he brought a hand up on his shoulder. Immediately, Kanemoto and Akaashi had very serious expressions on their faces.

“Bokuto-san, are you hurt?” Akaashi asked.

“No, not hurt, just sore from practice but–”

“Did you massage your muscles? Did you put any cream or oil yesterday?” Kanemoto asked, standing up from her desk.

“No, but–”

“No practice today,” she decided.

“BUT! Ka-ne-mo-tooo!! It's not fair!!” Bokuto exclaimed, pouting like a child.

She frowned, glaring at him and he hesitated a moment under her hard look.

“There is more chances for you to get hurt when practicing on sore and strained muscles. You're going to the infirmary right now to apply some cream.”

He lifted up his hand, pointing an accusing finger at her to start shouting but before he had time to say a word, faster than he thought Ayaka could be, she swiftly grabbed the key dangling from his finger and threw it at Akaashi who caught it without trouble.

“Bring this key back to Matsuoka-senpai and tell him not to listen to Bokuto anymore, ever again. I'm bringing this idiot to the infirmary.”

“I won't go to see the nurse…” Bokuto stubbornly said.

“Stop arguing – manager's orders!” She exclaimed, glaring at him for being so childish.

He chuckled, looking down at her petite figure trying to stand taller against him.

“As if you could possibly force me to- OW!!”

She caught his ear, forcing him to twist around to try and ease the pain. Bokuto started shouting while she dragged him out of the classroom by the ear, ignoring everyone's astonished faces upon the unusual scene.

“OW! Oooww!! All right! All ri– I'm – aie! I'm going! Kanemoto-san!!”

Akaashi, the only one not phased by the screams of the Ace, got up slowly before going to look for the third-year Vice-Captain who might be looking for a key at this very moment.

Once Ayaka was sure Bokuto would follow her to the infirmary, she let him go. He pouted and brushed his sore, red ear the rest of the way, tears in his eyes. Unfortunately, the nurse wasn't here, probably having her lunch. Kanemoto started looking for something in the different cupboards while Bokuto was starting to pull and play with the skeleton.

“Ah, I found some massage oil that will ease the soreness,” Ayaka said after finding what she was looking for.

She turned around and stared at Bokuto who was holding the skeleton's hand and pulling at the hip bone as if dancing a waltz.

“What are you doing?” She asked with an exasperated voice.

He giggled like a child and she sighed.

“You do know you're playing with a human skeleton. What if you break something when we're here?”

“It's all right! These skeletons are made of plastic anyway!”

“…Not this one. This one comes from an actual human.”

Bokuto froze then slowly let go of the bones, taking a step away from the clicking body.

“By 'actual human' you mean…?”

“A human being, like you and me, the only difference is that this one,” she continued, pointing at the skeleton, “is dead and its organs, flesh and skin are gone.”

The owl-boy swallowed loudly then walked back towards the girl, as if she would protect him from the skeleton's wrath after being played with by a high-schooler.

“How can you know that?”

“Because of the tiny foramina you can see on the bones if you look close enough.”

“The for a-what?”

“Tiny, tiny holes where the muscles and veins used to be and connect the bones with one another. You don't see it from here, but if you look closely, you'll see the tiny holes…”

Bokuto glanced back suspiciously at the skeleton, deciding not to check for these holes. The pot of massage oil was put into his hands by Kanemoto, forcing him to look back at her.

“Apply this where it hurts and by tomorrow, the soreness will be gone. Don't force on your arms today, ok?”

The boy looked slightly confused and started reading the instructions at the back of the pot. Ayaka turned around and was about to leave but Bokuto grabbed her wrist.

“Wait, my back is also sore… could you…?”

He pointed with his chin over his shoulder, indicating his back.

“I got it, you don't want to do it yourself…” She mumbled to which he gave a sheepish smile.

Without waiting any more, he quickly pulled at his tie and took off jacket and t-shirts. Ayaka carefully remained with her back turned from him. If she had no choice but to see him without his t-shirts, she definitely wouldn't watch him executing the action of taking off his clothes. Her eye still caught the reflection on the side-mirror. If she hadn't glanced, she wouldn't have seen him wince and slow down when he pulled up his t-shirt.

Bokuto was a good sportive who was practicing regularly. Having sore muscles was normal but to the point of wincing, it just showed how strained his muscles really were.

Once Ayaka heard him sit on a chair, she turned around, taking the pot of massaging oil. She took some on her hands then approached him. Before touching him, though, she froze. Bokuto was calm and turned back to her but looking at him right now, she was suddenly aware that he was a young man. His muscle and arms were more muscly than she would have expected, especially considering his constant childish behavior…

“Kanemoto?”

Ayaka startled at his voice and he looked over his shoulder. She blushed terribly then quickly smacked her hands on his back, so suddenly and quickly she heard the slapping sound of her hands against his skin and his strangled scream.

“Ouch! It hurt…!”

“S-sorry…” She apologized, biting her lower lip in embarrassment.

She ignored her flushed cheeks and focused on massaging his shoulders and back. Even under her fingertips, she could feel how hot and hard the muscles were – and it wasn't caused by his body heat or the fact that he was, well, toned. It was from constantly, everyday, overworking his muscles.

“Bokuto-san?”

“Mhm?” He asked, eyes closed and enjoying how it felt to actually being given a massage.

“Why do you push yourself so much?” She asked.

His smile disappeared and he slowly opened his eyes. Ayaka couldn't see his expression but for once, she could feel that he was serious.

“Why wouldn't I?” He asked with a deep voice.

She finished massaging him then pulled away. Koutarou could feel the warmth where her hands had been but he took his tank top and pulled it above his head, making sure he wouldn't mess up his hairstyle.

Ayaka washed her hands, a grimace on her face from the oily sensation. Bokuto stared at her for a moment over his shoulder before smiling softly upon realizing that when she was frowning, her nose wrinkled. He put on his t-shirt and jacket, moving much easier now.

“I must admit it, you surprised me today,” he said, turning around with the blue and white tie of Fukurodani in his hands to face the girl.

She looked up at him in slight confusion and he grinned:

“I would have never expected you to be so bossy with me! But it did a lot of good, I can already feel it being effective!” He added, swinging his arm around.

“Don't push it, be careful,” she said, shaking her head in desperation.

Thinking back of her previous question, a serious expression appeared on Bokuto's face, surprising Ayaka.

“Kanemoto, ahem… y'know, I know you don't like volleyball the way I do but… you being a manager… how can I say that?” He hesitated, putting a hand in the back of his neck and frowning from concentration, “It's a very good thing? I'm glad you became our manager and you're supporting me, and Akaashi as well, into practicing straights, y'know…?”

He patted her shoulder awkwardly then grinned happily.

“No matter what you think, I think you were cut out for the job! You were meant to be a manager, Kanemoto!” He said with an enthusiasm that made her chuckle despite all.

A few days later…

Ayaka watched another ball hit the net before falling at Bokuto's feet. The owl-boy was breathing so heavily that his chest was heaving up and down to the point of hurting his chest muscles – it  hurt Ayaka just to see him like that.

“Damn!!” He swore, frowning.

Akaashi took a deep breath then leaned forward, putting his hands on his knees, hardly breathing as well.

“Let's… let's stop for today, Bokuto-san…” He said between huffs of breathe, but it sounded more like a pleading.

They were exhausted. It had been a week that they were practicing, mostly straights, after the usual practice under Ayaka's vigilant gaze and with her help. Bokuto had asked Coach Yamiji to practice straights even during regular practice but after a few more failures, the coach had asked the Ace to focus on what he already knew. It had, of course, annoyed to the highest point Bokuto, which was why the little progress he had done over a week was now, gone.

“Bokuto-san, you should rest,” Ayaka said with a sigh, at a loss at what to do.

“N-no, I-I need to get the straights if I want to win…” He said, his voice hissing from the lack of air and head hanging low from leaning against his knees, “I can't be the Ace if I keep getting blocked… I have to win next time–”

“Bokuto-san,” Akaashi interrupted, straightening up and frowning slightly.

His voice was hard and the unusual tone made Bokuto look up, slightly shocked by his kouhai's sudden change of behavior.

“You are not alone in volleyball,” he simply said.

Koutarou's eyes widened slightly before his lips turned into a sharp line.

“Once more…” He said through his teeth.

Akaashi sighed and glanced at Ayaka who took up a ball from the ground as Bokuto went to place himself a few meters behind.

“You shouldn't push it, Bokuto-san…” The young girl intervened.

“Once more!” Bokuto snapped, turning towards the two of them so suddenly they startled.

The girl dropped the ball and quickly leaned down to grab it. The Ace was so annoyed – angry, rather – that he didn't notice the first-years' reaction. He didn't notice how he had snapped and how stubborn and senseless he was being right now…

Ayaka glanced at Akaashi who took a deep breath before nodding, ready to receive the ball. She threw it up in the air above his head and he placed himself while Bokuto started running towards them. Akaashi tossed the ball and Bokuto jumped with a perfect form despite his exhaustion. His arm swung down but when the ball went over the net, it was a cross that ended up at the other side of the court, so out that even Ayaka could have done better.

Bokuto landed back on the floor and groaned, clenching angrily his fists. Akaashi looked back at him without a word.

“DAMN IT!!” Koutarou shouted, turning around sharply, “Why Can't I spike straights?!”

Ignoring Ayaka, he grabbed a ball from the cart and threw it up in the air before slamming it down on the ground. The angle of the ball was sharp and with his speed and strength, he leaned forward from the momentum. When the ball rebounded against the floor, it flew right up in his face and Bokuto gasped in pain, falling backwards on his behind, hands flying on his face.

“Bokuto!” Ayaka screamed, running to his side.

“I never thought I'd ever see someone getting hit by his own ball…” Akaashi commented with wide eyes, impressed by the way the ball had just flown right back to the Ace's face.

Ayaka glared at him as she put her hands on Bokuto's ones. He still kept his face hidden in his hands, his entire body shaking but she couldn't tell if it was exhaustion, pain or anger – probably all three.

“D-daaaaamn…” He mumbled against his palms.

She hadn't seen a thing: first Bokuto was shouting after landing and then, he was spiking a ball at the floor that flew right back in his face. His speed would almost be impressive, if it hadn't frightened her to the bone. The sound his head had made when it had snapped back, the violence with which he had fallen… She didn't want to be in his balls' way. Ever.

“Bokuto-san, let me see, where does it hurt?” Ayaka asked softly.

She pulled lightly at his shaking hands and her eyes widened slightly. Bokuto's face was completely red but mostly, his nose was bleeding. And his eyes were filled with tears… As soon as Ayaka saw his face, Bokuto closed tightly his eyes and let the tears roll down. Tears of anger, annoyance, desperation and pain…

“I call myself Fukurodani's Ace but… but… I suck at it…” He blubbered miserably, blood dripping over his lips and chin.

“Bokuto-san…” Akaashi murmured with widened eyes, realizing that even if Bokuto always acted overly confident and childish, he was just scared of failing.

Ayaka breathed out, relieved to know Bokuto wasn't at least badly hurt. She put her hand under his chin, forcing him to lift up his head and open his eyes to look at her. His golden eyes were shining, filled with baby tears…

“Your nose isn't broken which is a good thing. You don't seem to have a concussion either but you would have to go see a doctor to be a hundred percent sure. Does your neck hurt? It snapped backwards pretty badly.”

“I-it's fine…” He answered with a shaking voice, too astonished to do anything else.

Bokuto tried to sniff because of the snot but the blood made it impossible. He whined from the flash of pain it had triggered and covered his nose once again.

Ayaka glanced over her shoulder at Akaashi who was a little worried about the Ace's state – of mind and body both.

“I will take care of him, can you start putting everything away? I'll make sure he goes see a doctor as soon as he leaves this gymnasium.”

Akaashi nodded and started grabbing balls to throw them back into the carts.

“Can you stand up?” Ayaka asked, grabbing Bokuto's biceps to pull him up.

He managed to stand up and remain on his feet but she kept a hand on his arm; partly to make sure he wouldn't suddenly fall over, and partly for comfort.

Koutarou's tears rolled down his cheeks and he sniffed loudly all the way to the closest bench, snot and blood mixing over his mouth and chin. And his nose hurt terribly, he felt like it was on fire and the size of a watermelon, ready to explode…

Ayaka made him sit down then reached for her first-aid kit in her bag. She knelt next to him and washed off the blood and snot from all around his nose and mouth, then she forced him to put a bag of ice on his nose. He winced at the pain but didn't discuss her orders. The manager took a towel she wet with water before washing off the blood from his hands. Her eyes widened when she saw the state in which was his right hand… The palm and fingers were red from constantly hitting the ball, it was probably a little swollen considering the size of his hand (or he just had everything very big and she was even smaller than she initially thought) and it was covered in blisters. One blister looked particularly bad, bleeding.

She disinfected his hands then put on a cream for the sore and blisters. The bad blister was covered with a band-aid.

Bokuto watched her take care of him through blurry, teary eyes. He was ashamed he had started crying in front of a girl, but he was glad it was Ayaka rather than Yukie.

“I'm sorry…” He mumbled against the pack of ice.

Ayaka glanced up at him, her gray eyes hard like stone. He froze, expecting her to slap him and start shouting but she didn't.

“About what? If you apologize for over-training…”

She sighed, continuing to apply some appeasing cream on his hands.

“I understand the annoyance you feel when the one thing you're good at just doesn't go your way. When no matter how many times or how hard you try, it doesn't work out and never satisfies you.”

Bokuto felt his heart sink but she continued, looking right into his eyes with an expression firmer than he was expecting from her:

“BUT! It's not a reason to give up. It's because you don't give up than you end up doing something right, that it ends up being satisfying and good. And when it does work… god, isn't it the best feeling in the world…?” She asked with an an ecstatic expression, her face lighting up.

For a moment, Koutarou's heart fastened lightly, as if it was saying for him that he understood this feeling. But quickly, Bokuto realized that in volleyball, he had never really done good. He wasn't bad in Middle School, but he never stood out. He got infinitely better at the beginning of High-School with his growth spurt. And as soon as he had started being good, victory and satisfaction had been snatched away from him and now… now he only felt bitter.

“I think that the people who don't give up are the most impressive of people. Also, think simply: you are better today than you were a year ago, and in one year you will be better than you are today.” Ayaka concluded, looking back down at their joined hands.

She had stopped massaging with the cream for the hands. Her tiny fingers were still touching his limp, giant hand. She grasped his hand a little firmer, with both of hers, looking back up with determination into Bokuto's eyes that widened in shock.

“You told me you were glad I was the manager but the truth is that I almost quit during the first week. The reason why I didn't is your incredible determination and your will to never give up. After seeing you struggling so much, I want to see you mastering the straight-spikes like no one ever did and show to everyone what you're worth, Ace.”

Koutarou's heart quickened, filled with something he couldn't quite place: a mix of pride, sudden enthusiasm and incredible determination.

“No matter what you think, I think you were cut out for the job. You were meant to be Fukurodani's Ace, Bokuto-san!” She exclaimed with an encouraging smile, saying the same words he had given her a few days ago in the infirmary.

Koutarou's lips fell open and he let the bag of ice down to stare at the girl still kneeling in front of him. When everyone was giving up on him and his straights, Akaashi and Kanemoto had stayed by his side, putting up with his bad behavior and helping him practice, no matter how poor his results were… And now… now that he was breaking down out of anger, fear and shame, Kanemoto Ayaka was still helping him, treating him, supporting him and encouraging him… She had such confidence that he will do it, that he will become an expert in straights…

His eyes filled with tears and his lips trembled, but this time, it was out of thankfulness rather than pain.

“A-Aya-chan…” He bawled, sniffing despite the pain in his nose.

For once, she didn't correct him when he called her 'Aya-chan' and he washed away his tears with his forearm. Ayaka squeezed his hand reassuringly then stood up to finish cleaning up with Akaashi.

Bokuto's eyes lowered on the hand she had taken care of and he stared at the band-aid she had put on his blister. It was a bright blue with yellow little ducks.

“You were meant to be Fukurodani's Ace, Bokuto!”

Somehow, this colorful little band-aid made him feel even warmer than her encouragements and he smiled. It wasn't the big, bright, overwhelming smile he always gave to everyone under all circumstances. It was a soft, tiny smile that no one noticed, but it was a true and thankful one.