#they are not diet croissants. they are for the woman who has been good all week

[phantomdimension]

I hate you diet culture I hate you recipe blogs that harp on dieting I hate you diet ads that come after viewing recipe blogs I hate you diet discussion in recipe blog stories I h

[sisterofiris]

Everyday life in the Hittite empire

Have you ever wondered what your life would have been like if you had been born in central Anatolia 3500 years ago? No? Now that I’ve brought it up, are you curious to find out?

Well you’re in luck, because that’s just what this post is about. So sit back, close your eyes, and imagine yourself in Anatolia - that is, modern Turkey. Are you ready? Can you see the mountains, the red river and the towering buildings of your capital, Ḫattuša? Can you hear the chariots driving up the road? Can you feel the electric brewing of a storm in the distance?

Then let’s go.

(With a brief disclaimer: while I study Hittitology, this is not intended as an academic-level post. It was written to give general, approachable insights into Hittite culture and can be used as writing inspiration or to titillate curious history nerds around you, but if you’re writing an academic paper on the subject, I would recommend you check out the bibliography instead.)

About you

First things first, are you older than five? If so, congratulations on being alive. Child mortality in this place and time is very high, so you’re one of the luckier ones among your siblings. You probably have at least a couple of those; you may even have as many as six or seven, especially if you come from a well-to-do family with access to good healthcare. When you were little, your parents might have told you the tale of Zalpa, in which the queen of Neša gives birth to thirty sons then thirty daughters who marry each other, but you know this only happens in the stories - not to normal people.

When you were born, your parents rejoiced regardless of your sex, as sons and daughters are equally valued in your society (albeit for different reasons). Your father took you on his knee and gave you a good Hittite name: maybe Armawiya, Ḫarapšili, Kilušḫepa or Šiwanaḫšušar for a girl, or Anuwanza, Kantuzili, Muwaziti or Tarḫuzalma for a boy. Gender-neutral names, such as Anna, Muwa and Šummiri, would also have been an option. Many people around you have Hurrian or Luwian names, even if they are not ethnically Hurrian or Luwian themselves. (This is comparable to the modern popularity of Hispanic names like Diego, or French names like Isabelle.)

It’s hard to say what you would have done during childhood. While your earliest years would have been spent playing and babbling in grammatically incorrect Hittite, by the age of six or seven you may well have already started training in the family profession. If a girl, you would have been taught to weave by your mother; if a boy, you might have helped your father out on the farm, tried your hand at making pottery, or spent long hours learning cuneiform. (There may have been careers requiring gender non-conformity, as there was in Mesopotamia, but as far as I am aware this has not been proven.) You know that even the noblest children are given responsibilities - king Ḫattušili himself was once a stable boy.

Now, as an adult, you are a working professional contributing directly to Hittite society. You look the very portrait of a Hittite: as a woman, you have long, dark hair that you probably keep veiled, and as a man, your hair is around shoulder-length and your face clean-shaven. Ethnically, though, you are likely a mixture of Hittite, Luwian, Hurrian, Hattian, and depending on when and where exactly you live, maybe Assyrian, Canaanite or even Greek. There’s a fair chance Hittite might not actually be your native language. Still, you consider yourself a Hittite, and a subject of the Hittite king.

Well, now you know who you are, let’s get along with your day!

Your home and environment

Your day begins the way most people’s days do: you wake up at home, in your bed. As an average Hittite, you probably sleep on the floor rather than on elevated furniture. Your floor is either paved or of beaten earth, and your house itself has stone foundations and mud brick walls, with a flat roof supported by timber beams. Windows are scarce and small, to keep the indoor temperature stable.

Outside, the rest of the settlement is waking up too. Statistically, you live in a village or small town, surrounded by forest and mountains. Summers here are hot and dry, and winters cold and snowy, with spring and autumn being marked by thunderstorms. Most inhabitants work as farmers, relying on the weather for their survival. Contagious illnesses are a constant threat - under king Muršili II, the land suffered a deadly plague for twenty years - as are enemy invasions. If you live within the bend of the red river, in the Hittite heartland, consider yourself lucky; if not, your settlement could well be shifting from one kingdom’s property to another and falling prey to both sides’ raids on a yearly basis.

Admitting no enemy forces are in the area today, you take your time to get up. You might tiredly stumble to the outhouse to go pee. Eventually, you’ll want to get dressed.

Clothing

As a man, your clothes comprise of a kilt or sleeved tunic, with a belt of cloth or leather. As a woman, you wear a long dress and, if you are married, a veil. All clothing is made from wool or linen, and a variety of dyes exist: red, yellow, blue, green, black and white are all colours mentioned in texts. If you are rich enough, you may be able to import purple-dyed fabric from Lazpa (Greek Lesbos) or the Levant. You will also want to flaunt your wealth with jewellery, regardless of gender.

Of course, your shoes have upturned ends in the Hittite style. Historians will tease you for this. Don’t listen to them. You look awesome.

Mealtime!

It’s now time for one of your two daily meals (the other will take place in the evening, after your work for the day is done). This will be prepared at the hearth, a vital element of every home, and which is likely connected to an oven. The staple of your diet is bread; in fact, it is so common that “bread”, in cuneiform texts, is used as a general term for food. It is usually made from wheat or barley, but can also be made from beans or lentils.

Worried you’ll get bored of it? You needn’t be: your society has enough types of bread that you could eat a different one each day for a whole season. Fig bread, sour bread, flat bread and honey bread are just some of your options, along with spear bread and moon bread... yes, in other words, baguettes and croissants. (Something tells me the Hittites and the French would have a lot to talk about.)

You also have various fruits and vegetables available: cucumber, leek, carrots, peas, chickpeas, lentils, beans, olives, figs, dates, grapes, pomegranates, onions, garlic, and more. Your diet is completed by animal products, including cheese, milk, butter, and meat, mainly from sheep and goats but also cows and wild game. Honey, too, is common.

These ingredients can be combined into all sorts of dishes. Porridge is popular, as are stews, both vegetarian and meat-based. Meat can also be broiled and quite possibly skewered onto kebabs. And of course, food would be boring without spices, so you have a variety of those to choose from too: coriander are cumin are just two of them.

As for drinks, you can have beer, wine, beer-wine (good luck figuring out what that is), milk or water. If you’re well-to-do enough, you may own a rhyton, a drinking vessel shaped like an animal such as a stag or bull. Don’t forget to libate to the Gods before drinking your share.

Daily work

The next thing on your plate, after food, is work. What you do depends on your social status and gender, and most likely, you do the same work as your parents did before you. You could be something well-known like a king, priest, scribe, merchant, farmer or slave, but don’t assume those are all the possibilities; you could also be, for example, a gardener, doctor, ritual practitioner, potter, weaver, tavern keeper, or perfume maker.

It’s impossible to go into detail on every career option you would have in Hittite society, so for the sake of brevity, let’s just discuss four - two male-dominated, and two female-specific.

Farmer

As a farmer, you are the backbone of your society. You and your peers are responsible for putting food on the plates of Hittites everywhere, thus ensuring the survival of the empire.

Like many farmers, you live on a small estate, most likely with both crops (or an orchard) and livestock to take care of. You may own cows, sheep, goats, pigs, horses, donkeys, and/or ducks. Your daily routine and tools aren’t that different from other pre-industrial cultures, though you have it a little rougher than most due to the Anatolian mountain terrain. If you have the means, you hire seasonal workers - both male and female - to help out as farmhands, and you may own a few slaves.

You get up early to milk the cows, and at the onset of summer, you or a hired herdsman may lead your livestock up to mountain pastures to graze. Depending on the season and the work that needs to be done, you may spend your day ploughing the fields, harvesting grain or fruit, tending livestock, shearing sheep, birthing a calf, repairing the barn, or various other tasks. Make sure to take proper care of everything: new animals are expensive, and losing one could get you into a precarious situation. In particular, you’ll want to keep an eye out for bears, wolves, foxes, and even lions and leopards.

Scribe

Few people are literate in Hittite society, and you are one of the lucky ones. You have been learning to read and write in three languages (Sumerian, Akkadian and Hittite) since childhood, and after long years of copying lexical lists and ancient myths, your education is now complete.

As a scribe, you are the dreaded bureaucrat. In a small town, you likely work alongside the town administrator, recording tax collections and enemy sightings as well as corresponding with other towns, and with the capital. You and your peers are the go-to people for officialising marriage agreements and divorces, drawing up work contracts, and creating sales receipts. If not in the town administration, you could also work in a temple, recording the results of oracles, cross-checking the correct procedures for a ritual, and making sure everything necessary for a festival is available. If you are particularly lucky, you may be employed by the nobility or even the palace, and be entrusted with such confidential tasks as writing the king’s annals or drafting an international treaty.

Regardless of where you are, two things are essential to your job: a stylus and a tablet. You may be a “scribe of the clay tablets”, in which case you will need to carry around a bit of clay wherever you go (and some water to moisten it). Otherwise, you are a “scribe of the wooden tablets”, in which case you use a wax tablet in a wooden frame, which requires less maintenance. It’s unclear whether these types of tablet are used for different purposes.

Fun fact: you likely have a few pen pals around the Hittite empire. After corresponding with other scribes for so long, you’ve started writing each other messages at the bottom of your tablets, asking each other how you’re doing and to say hi to each other’s families. Your employers needn’t know.

Weaver

Weaving, to a Hittite like you, is the quintessential female activity, along with textile-making in general. Like farming, this is a backbone of your society: without weaving, there would be no clothes, and without clothes, well, you can’t do much.

As a weaver, you produce textiles for your family and in many cases also for sale. You work in an atelier within your home, along with the other women of the household, keeping an eye on your smallest children as they play nearby. While your husband, brothers or sons may transport and sell your handiwork, you are the head of your own business.

You are skilled in multiple weaving techniques, and can do embroidery and sew fabric into various shapes (including sleeves - take that, Classical Greeks). You create clothing for all sorts of occasions, including rituals and festivals, outdoor work, and winter weather, and if you are lucky enough to be commissioned by the nobility, you put your best efforts into clothing that will show off their status. Don’t try to cheat anyone out of their money, though; prices are fixed by law.

Old Woman

Contrary to what you might expect, you don’t need to be old to be an Old Woman - this is a career just like any other, though it probably does require a certain amount of life experience and earned respect. As an Old Woman, you are a trained ritual practitioner and active in all sorts of cultic, divinatory and magical ceremonies.

Most commonly, you are hired for rituals protecting against or removing evil. Your services may solve domestic quarrels, cure a sick child, or shield someone from sorcery (a constant threat in your society). This is done through symbolic acts like cutting pieces of string, breaking objects, and sacrificing and burning animals, which are of course accompanied by incantations - sometimes in Hittite, sometimes in other languages, like Hurrian.

Far from a village witch, you are high-placed in Hittite society and trusted by the royal family itself. You have taken part in major rituals and festivals, including funerals, and you perform divinatory oracles too. This last responsibility gives you a large amount of influence over the king and queen; if you establish that something should be done, then it almost certainly will be. Use this power well... or not.

Your loved ones

After a long day ploughing fields, writing tablets, weaving clothes or reciting incantations, it’s finally time to reunite with your loved ones. For adults, these likely - but not necessarily! - include a spouse and children. You may just live with your nuclear family, but living with extended family is also common, and there may be as many as twenty people in your household. Siblings, aunts and uncles, parents, grandparents, children and babies all share the evening meal with you, and some nights, you might gather afterwards to sing and dance, tell stories, and play games.

You also have relationships outside of home. Friendship is valued by Hittite society, with close friends calling each other “brother” and sister”. You might meet up with them regularly at the local tavern for a beer and a bit of fun. Someone there might even catch your eye... Interestingly, there are no laws against that person being of the same gender as you. So, same or different gender, why not try your luck tonight?

Greater powers

It’s impossible to spend a day in the Hittite empire without encountering religion. The Land of a Thousand Gods is aptly named: Gods are in everything, from the sun to the mountains to the stream at the back of your house to fire to a chair. You should always be conscious of their power, and treat them with respect. Though there are few traces of it, you may have a household shrine where you make libations or offer a portion of your meal. Your Gods may be represented by anthropomorphic statues, by animals such as a bull, by symbols such as gold disks, or even by a stone. Either way, treat these objects well; the divine is literally present in them.

You should also be wary of sorcery. Never make clay figures of someone, or kill a snake while speaking someone’s name, or you will face the death penalty. Likewise, always dispose of impurities carefully, especially those left over from a purification ritual (such as mud, ashes, or body hair). Never toss them onto someone else’s property. Has misfortune suddenly struck your household? Is your family or livestock getting sick and dying? These are signs that someone has bewitched you.

Some days are more sacred than others. You participate in over a hundred festivals every year, some lasting less than a day, some lasting a month, some local, some celebrated by the entire Hittite empire. The most important of these are the crocus festival and the purulli festival in spring, the festival of haste in autumn, and the gate-house festival, possibly also in autumn. The statues of the Gods are brought out of the temples, great feasts are held, and entertainment is provided through music, dance and sports contests. Depending on how important your town is, the king, queen or a prince might even be in attendance. All this excitement is a nice break from your regular work!

Sleep and dreams

Phew, what a busy day it’s been. The sun, snared in the trees’ branches, has set on the Hittite land, and you are ready for bed. Time to wrap yourself snugly in blankets and go to sleep.

You may dream, in which case, try to remember as much as you can. Dreams can be a vehicle for omens. Maybe, if the Gods are kind, you might catch a glimpse of what the next days, months and years hold in store for you.

Good night!

Bibliography

Beckman, Gary, “Birth and Motherhood among the Hittites”, in Budin, Stephanie Lynn, Macintosh Turfa, Jean, Women in Antiquity: Real Women across the Ancient World, Abingdon 2016 (pp. 319-328).

Bryce, Trevor, Life and Society in the Hittite World, Oxford 2002.

Bryce, Trevor, “The Role and Status of Women in Hittite Society”, in Budin, Stephanie Lynn, Macintosh Turfa, Jean, Women in Antiquity: Real Women across the Ancient World, Abingdon 2016 (pp. 303-318).

Golec-Islam, Joanna, The Food of Gods and Humans in the Hittite World, BA thesis, Warszawa 2016.

Hoffner, Harry A., “Birth and name-giving in Hittite texts”, Journal of Near Eastern Studies 27/3 (1968), pp. 198-203.

Hoffner, Harry A., “Daily life among the Hittites”, in Averbeck, Richard E., Chavalas, Marc W., Weisberg, David B., Life and Culture in the Ancient Near East, Bethesda 2003 (pp. 95-118).

Marcuson, Hannah, “Word of the Old Woman”: Studies in Female Ritual Practice in Hittite Anatolia, PhD thesis, Chicago 2016.

Wilhelm, Gernot, “Demographic Data from Hittite Land Donation Tablets”, in Pecchioli Daddi, Franca, Torri, Giulia, Corti, Carlo, Central-North Anatolia in the Hittite Period: New Perspectives in Light of Recent Research, Roma 2009 (pp. 223-233).

[charlietheepicwriter7]

Hey, Little Songbird

Chapter 3 - AO3

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The place Dupain-Cheng took him to was a small bakery not far from the school. Stepping inside, the smell of fresh baked bread assaulted his nose. In the display case, dozens of macaroons in all colors lined parchment paper next to croissants and cream-stuffed pastries. Felix expected Dupain-Cheng to get in line to order; instead, the girl skipped the line, approaching the woman at the register directly. "Hi, Maman," Dupain-Cheng greeted. 

Felix wanted to scoff as he watched mother and daughter hug. Of course, she'd take him to her family bakery! She wouldn't be able to afford any of the places his pallet was used to. But... despite his first instinct, the establishment did have a rather... warm feel to it, further embellished y the downpour outside. And the food did look impeccable. Not his usual fare, certainly, but one day off his diet wouldn't hurt him. 

"Welcome home, Marinette," her mother greeted. Her eyes met his and furrowed with confusion before her expression smoothed out. "Who's your friend? He's never dropped by before." 

So she could tell him and Adrien apart. Good. 

"Ah! Maman, this is -" 

"Felix Graham de Vanily," Felix cut in smoothly, smiling charmingly. "I'm new in class and your daughter has been kind enough to help me gain my barrings at Fransis-Depoint. It's a pleasure to meet you, Mme. Cheng." He bowed at the waist, eyes lowered. He wanted to make a good impression - 

"It's nice to to meet you too, Felix," Mme. Cheng nodded, seemingly amused. "Why don't you two grab something from the back and eat upstairs." She glanced at the line, which had only grown in number since they arrived. "It seems like it's about to get full down here."

"Thanks, Maman." Dupain-Cheng pressed a kiss to her mother's cheek. "Come on, back here."

Felix followed her behind the counter and into the kitchen beyond where an extremely large man, presumably her father, was icing a particularly tall wedding cake. "Hey, Dad! Felix and I are just grabbing some food before going upstairs."

The father smiled, surprisingly calm about his daughter arriving with a strange boy in his shop. "Go right ahead! There's some fresh chicken salad and cold cuts in the fridge if either of  you want them."

They each loaded up their plates, but when Dupain-Cheng started to ascend the stairs, Felix hesitated. He looked back at M. Dupain. "Sir... Forgive me, but how do I pay for this?" Father and daughter exchanged a shocked glance. "I didn't get a chance to properly observe the menu, so otherwise I'd-"

"Don't worry about it!" M. Dupain laughed. "No friend of Marinette has to pay! Consider it the 'friends and family' discount." 

Felix frowned. He didn't really consider them friends yet; acquaintances, yes, but not friends. Though, if the quality of his classmates refused to improve, she might end up being the only person he could stand talking to on a regular basis. "Sir, I must insist-"

"They're not going to let you pay, trust me," Dupain-Cheng said. "You're not the first person to try, nor are you going to be the last. Just come on." She went upstairs and Felix reluctantly followed. He wasn't used to other people doing favors for him. Usually people wanted favors, thinking he'd be naive enough to allow them to ride off the Graham de Vanily family coat tails. Felix never allowed that mentality to stick around him long; no one had ever been stupid enough to try more than once. 

The familial part of the home looked nothing like the elegant, cold entry hall of his family's manor, nor did the connecting living room resemble any parlor or sitting room that he's ever been in. It looked well-used, lacking the meticulous housekeeping that the maids kept, with a blanket crumpled up on the couch and a video game console pushed to the side, like someone had finished playing in a hurry. He could see into the open kitchen from the living room and noticed that although it looked clean, there were dishes stacked in the skin. Was this how commoners lived? Clearly despite their beloved establishment, the Dupain-Chengs weren't nearly as well off as some of the other members of their school, like himself, Adrien, and Chloe. So how did they attend? The tuition was rather costly; did she get in on scholarship? 

Of course, Felix had enough sense not to ask her about her family's financial status.  Things simply weren't done in polite society, and while Felix often didn't feel the need to follow those unspoken rules, there was no need to insult someone in their own home. 

Dupain-Cheng sat on the couch while Felix took the love seat nearby, sitting gingerly upon it as though it could bite him. Despite the home being so banal, Felix found himself... liking it. It was warm, much like how the bakery below was warm, with a lingering sense of comfort radiating from every square centimeter of the home. He found himself sinking into the plush of the chair without meaning to. 

To distract his mind, he tucked into lunch, only to find his meal delicious. He paused after a single mouthful. Somehow, the simple meal was able to rival those made by the professional chefs in his family's employ. Good work deserves to be complimented, so Felix told Dupain-Cheng so and she flushed. "T-Thanks. I'm sure my parents appreciate it," she said with a cough, having swallowed some of her food wrong. "Would you like to go over where we are in the curriculum now?"

"Yes, that would be quite useful."

She showed him her notes for their classes and just as he thought, he was already ahead in most subjects. The only exception was literature, but only because his school had focused more on British authors than French. Still, it wouldn't take for him to catch up. But there was still one thing about the day that bothered him and since Dupain-Cheng volunteered her service, he asked, "I am unsure if this falls under you assisting me around the school, but could you explain what that Lila girl was trying to do today?"

Dupain-Cheng set down her utensils and exhaled heavily. "What has she lied about this time?"

"Apparently I pushed her after a greeting. Which is odd because I had no idea she existed before class." Not that Felix really cared. But saying he pushed her was a step too far; he has far more subtly than direct physical assault. At least be clever when you try to slander him!

"Huh, so she's directly attacking you already? That's weird, I could have sworn she'd make up some lie about forgiving you and promising to help you meet your favorite celebrity if you promised to be nice."

He scoffed, but Dupain-Cheng made no similar noise. Like... she was serious. Oh God, she was serious. "Are you telling me people actually believe that swill?" 

"Most of our class, Mme Bustier, and our principal. Fortunately she hasn't started working on making the people in other classes believe her yet, but there are a handful there too." It seemed as though speaking about it unleashed a dam inside the girl. "And it doesn't make any sense because most of her lies can be disproven with either an internet search or a phone call! She claimed that she saved Jagged Stone's cat from an airplane, but was there any media coverage from it? None at all! She claims to go on all these expensive vacations, but either her photos got damaged on the way back or she just shows the class stock images of generic tourist stuff. And the volunteer work! Sure, I can understand charities not advertising who their workers are, but all you'd have to do is call them and every charity she's mentioned ends up saying that a Lila Rossi never worked with their organization. I just... I don't understand how they can keep falling for this stuff! None of them even bother to consider that she could be lying!" Her chest heaved after her rant, but she looked relieved, like she'd finally been able to get it off her chest. "They... none of them even think that I'm telling the truth," she continued in a small voice. "They all think that poorly of me."

Their... classmates, as much as Felix hated to admit any relation to those morons, had really done a number on her. He found empathy to be distasteful, especially with his plan to become a ruthless business man later in life, but he could help but pity her. Not that he'd ever admit it. Perhaps he could change the subject? Or at least lighten the mood. 

"I'm going to be surrounded by idiots then. Lovely." She shot him a hurt look. "Well, not you. Obviously. Though seeing past such a clear liar isn't really a point towards you as it is a negative three against the others."

"You rate people on a point scale?" Her eyes were starting to lighten, brighten. 

"Only when I need to inform others of how lowly I consider them." He sniffed haughtily. 

"Does that mean you think better of me than them?" she teased, a small smile lifting the corners of her mouth.

"No need to get a big head now; it's not that you're better, but rather that you're less awful." He smirked in return, hopefully letting her know that he was returning her tease. At least, he thought that's what he was doing. He never really understood how to communicate with his peers in a fashion that reflected well on him. 

"I'm pretty sure that's the definition of better though." 

"Well, if you're so desperate to claim the title, you could always prove it." Felix folded his hands under his chin. "Prove that you, Marinette Dupain-Cheng, are worthy of my time."

She rolled her eyes. "I'm not sure if I want it now."

He frowned in disappointment, but inside he was triumphant. "Truly a shame; and here I wanted to get to know the real Dupain-Cheng... But alas I fear that knowledge will forever be out of reach." 

"Who says 'alas' anymore?"

"Well!" he huffed, "Just because you're unused to refined vocabulary doesn't mean you have to insult me, Mademoiselle!"

The verbal sparring went back and forth for a while and as rapier wit battled rapier wit, Felix found it hard to keep a smile off his face.

Taglist: @graduatedmelon @novicevoice @dur55 @kris-pines04 @18-fandoms-unite-08 @moonlightstar64 @bee-a-garbage-shipper @sol-o-shade @kittyotakunoir666 @tinyterror333 @allieoftheenemy @marichat00 @xgxmxtx

[fancifulrealist]

The Memory of Yesterday’s Romance

Pairing: Wonwoo x Reader

Genre: Past Life AU, Fantasy, Romance, Reincarnation 

Please Read: I don’t have numerous experiences in writing such things like these. Actually, I was just starting to learn English by now so I’m utterly sorry for the flaws in the story. Some scenes might be cliche but I strive really hard to improve my plot-thinking skills. This is all that I can do for now :(( 

Word Count: 3, 039

Reminders: Y/N - Your Name. 

Y/P/N - Your Name in the Past (or you could just use your name it’s just a little thingy to add a little flavor to the story) 

Present Events will be in the first person perspective (The “I” perspective) 

Past Events will be in the third person perspective and italics. 

Enjoy! 

  A bolt of luminous lightning emerged throughout the sky along with the deafening sound of thunder clapping. The trees bend to let the whirling wind pass as leaves fly freely away from its branches. The look of the sky became more sorrowful, causing my heart to wrench.

Just as I was about to look up, the rain touched my skin. The cold, tiny droplets are causing me to shiver and startle me at the same time. I untied my jacket that was just wrapped around my waist and wore it, casually running to a waiting shed.

I fumbled with the things in my handbag as I fish for my phone. I dramatically raised it up, relieved that it was not wet from the rain.

“Hello?” I sighed when my sister answered after a few rings.

“Could you pick me up from the stop? I didn’t have money left because I bought the expensive croissant I’ve been babbling about for days. I regret it, really.” I told her in almost a form of whimper.

“Y/N! I told you not to break our cost cutting pledge to each other. We need to observe a healthier lifestyle. Fruits only cost like one half of that croissant you bought which will just vanish forever when you consume it.” She half shouted from the other line.

“I know, I know. I’ll hit the gym up when the weather’s great enough. Don’t ask me to walk home please.” I pleaded once again.

“Okay. Wait for me.” She ended the call.

As I put my phone back in its original place, I noticed a strange man walking on the subway with an umbrella. I studied him and I furrowed my eyebrows when I realized that he was… familiar.

He was wearing a royal blue hoodie with some Harry-Potter-looking specs. Although he wasn’t turning his head to my direction, I still held on to the littlest of hope that he did so that I can have a clearer view of his face.

I don’t know why I’m going all crazy over this stranger.. or is he? I have no assurance at all. Everything in the atmosphere right now gives me the feeling that I’ve already met him before. In this same place but I have no idea when.

 “New sets of tea will be delivered later in the afternoon. Can’t wait to down them in my little porcelain cups.” Her sister’s words seemed inaudible to her as she was staring into a distance, to a boy carrying loads of blocks on his shoulder.

“Hello? Earth to Y/P/N?” Y/P/N was caught off guard by a hand waving vigorously in front of her face. Her sister then followed her gaze to see a—not too muscular but not skinny as well boy, panting behind the beautiful smile he flashed.

“A little bit of eye candy there, huh?” Her sister smirked, forgetting that they are actually the princesses of a kingdom.

“What eye candy? I was just looking at what they’re building.” Y/P/N scoffed, making her sister laugh in amusement.

“You know, father is not a picky type of guy when it comes to our relationship. As long as he can fight for you and is a really good man, that’s enough. Well, that’s based on my observation.”

The younger rolled her eyes. Her older sister always loved teasing her every chance she gets. Conversely, she loathed it to bits.

  “Y/N! Did your soul fly somewhere else?”  I thought that there was a thunderbolt that occurred when it fact it was just my sister’s deafening voice.

“Oh you’re here.” I deadpanned.

“Yes! I’ve been watching you staring blankly to a distance and it’s already creeping me out. Don’t tell me you are some kind of a possession medium of ghosts here or you sell your soul  to hell because I’d despise you no matter how we are related girl.” She reacted, hinting a terrified look on her face.

I laughed at my sibling’s overreaction, “Relax. I just felt something odd, like a déjà vu. And who the heck would sell their soul to Satan?”

“You obviously.” She rolled her eyes on me.

Before this girl inflicts further argument in this shed under the bad weather, I voluntarily pulled her into her car, wanting to go home as soon as possible. I still have to take some rest. My schedule at the café is too packed, I almost gave in to the urge of cutting myself into pieces to do different tasks in one body. What can I do? I need money to live.

As we went back home, I plopped myself on my fluffy bed. Funny how a simple furniture could monopolize my whole being and wipe off all the tension in my body. This really is indeed, my querencia.

 The next morning I woke up to the ray of sunshine hitting me directly in the face. This sounds cliché but I never thought it would happen to me. If it wasn’t for the biggest star and my pounding alarm I wouldn’t have been woken up from my deep slumber.

I got in my work uniform. It’s a simple barista uniform to be honest, like what most people would imagine it to look like. A beige blouse within a brown jumper and a name tag pinned on it. I almost looked identical to a cappuccino with my outfit. I guess that’s the point of this job anyways. Ironic but is a great marketing strategy.

I walked my way to work. It’s not that far away from home but I’d rather not consider walking alone at night with the distance. My sister is also working at a magazine company.  I don’t have that much information about her job.

As I enter the shop, the staff greeted me with their welcoming smiles. That’s why I don’t feel pressured when working here, although the tasks to do are a lot, they respect each other and really try not to fuel up their stresses more.

“You’ll be in charge of the counter for today. I know it has been hard for you to adjust so I decided to give each of you a 1 week break after this week. More people, especially teens applied and they’re taking over first.” Manager said, making me smile in return.

“Thank you, boss. You’re the best.” I hugged him. Despite the short time I’ve been working in, I was able to build a close relationship with boss. He pushed me out of my inner shell and let me discover the real, massive world that I live in. I am a quiet person, but he is always the one I go to whenever I need to voice out.

I went straight onto the counter casually doing my job. I pretty much mastered all the things that are done here though it could still be a little hassle to bake pastries for me, I usually help my co-workers out with the proper measure of ingredients. A little math could go a long way.

“Do you have like, a gluten free frappe?” I stared up to a redhead in front of me. It looks like she’s on a strict diet as she was holding a burger with lettuces as the buns itself.

“I-I’m sorry ma’am but we don’t sell anything dietary here.” I said honestly. She grimaced as if she wasn’t hearing anything right about my statement.

“You don’t have? Sugar free coffee? Detox shake?” I shook my head and pursed my lips. “We only sell coffee here, ma’am. I deeply apologize for this inconvenience” I answered.

“This place is a nightmare!” She exclaimed and stormed out. Well, that was unexpected. Happenings like these don’t usually happen in this place and this is surprisingly the first one, with a girl on a very strict diet.

“That must be really hard to deal with.” A deep voice was heard.

I nodded, eyes still fixed on the monitor in front of me, “Yes. I’m surprised I handled it properly. What can I say? Introverts do have a lot of patience.” I answered.

“I’m an introvert too. I’m glad that I’m able to encounter someone like me around the city.” He answered.

I looked up to the guy I was conversing with and I almost lashed out around the place. He was the same guy I saw walking on the rain with the hoodie and Harry Potter eyeglasses.  He was the oddly familiar stranger.

I felt a pang of piercing pain shoot through my heart. I felt like I wanted to tear up but I just can’t. I just don’t know why it hurts. It feels like my soul is in the wrong body and I’m starting to feel things I shouldn’t be feeling.

I saw his smile fade too as I sense the same feeling in his small eyes. As we stare at each other, there was an unusual connection between us. I know he can feel it too. I just wanted to come up to him and hug him very tight like we’ve never seen each other in so long.

He tore his gaze away from me and said his order. My fingers were shaking as I click the item on the monitor.

Once he got his order, he went out. But as he faced his back on my direction, a blue light shaped like a lightning glowed on his back, almost blinding me up as welled up tears already escape from my eyes. I felt vertiginous and completely blacked out.

  “But I love him! I’d do anything just please.. please set me free. Let me stay with him.”  She cried out holding on her father’s knees, begging for dear life and love.

“I don’t care about the feelings you share! I want you to grow up as a prosperous woman. Who’s going to feed your kids when we are gone? You are the oldest among your sisters! Think things through Y/P/N. You’ll be the next queen and you’ll go around marrying a man from the poor?” The king shouted back, scaring her off.

“Father, you don’t understand—“

“I do understand! And what I’m doing right now is correcting your selfish decisions. We’re going out of here to a very faraway place. You’re marrying a wealthy man and you’ll have a perfect life together.” He took her arms and gently pulled her away from him.

“How can I marry someone who doesn’t hold a space in my heart? I don’t want a forced life, father! I don’t want to be manipulated especially to a person whom I can share the rest of my life with. Please consider that all. I’m your daughter!”

She felt drained every second that passes by, losing hope and being driven by despair. She was becoming numb as she feels the chances of her staying fading away from her.. from them.

“I care for you. Stop talking to me already. Once I said it, I mean it and it’s definitely happening. Pack your things up because we’re going away later. You better do it.” The king stated for the last time, leaving Y/P/N crying on the floor.

Before they leave the place, Y/P/N requested to go to a wishing fountain. Surrounded by the armed guards, she sat on the side, tears flowing in unison with the flowing water on the center.

She grabbed a coin from her purse and closed her eyes, speaking her final wish to this place.

“I hope somewhere in time, fate will let us cross our paths again. The time where we are already happy and nothing will stop us. The life where we will share a firm relationship that even a numerous storms couldn’t stop us. I hope in another life, nothing will be built except love, sincerity, and unbreakable promises.” She tossed the coin as she watch the water plop.

They lived in a new home, new people,  and a new atmosphere. Everything in the place was new, except Y/P/N endless melancholy which was built more up when she found out that Wonwoo was hit by a lightning while waiting for her on the fountain where she left her wishes from.

She was pensive, dull, and soulless after the news. She barely ate which resulted to more lectures from her father. She didn’t have the strength to do almost anything. Losing a loved one is like losing half of her being. She blamed herself for all these miserable happenings that occurred. Her beloved was killed by a love that she didn’t deserve.

She continued living by the days of her life, constantly wishing that in another life, events like these won’t ever happen. She often talked to the stars in the night, wishing her beloved to be at peace wherever he is and repeatedly assured him that he’s the only one who holds her heart.

  “She’s awake.” I heard a series of muffled noises surrounding me. I looked around as my vision gets clearer by seconds. My co-workers were surrounding me but were sure to leave me a space to breathe.

I touched my forehead and it was sweaty, “What happened?” I perplexedly asked everyone.

“You suddenly passed out, Y/N. Are you sick? You shouldn’t have attended today if you were ill. We were so worried about you. I—“

“No, no. I was completely fine and stable earlier when I entered. I-I don’t know why this happened.” I replied cutting them off.

It felt like I was brought back to the past.. my past life. Everything was so real. The pain is still in my heart and my tears are still running over my cheeks. I was blinded from the reality.

After the incident, they let me out for me to take a rest. Honestly though, I don’t think I need it. I wasn’t sick when I greeted our boss. I wasn’t feeling drowsy when I dealt with the angry, dieting costumer. It all just happened when I saw that boy.

The boy whom I loved.

Instead of going home, I stopped by the fountain that was I think the same place where I made my wishes in. As I get closer to the structure, I felt a rush of nostalgia flow through me. Everything felt like I was witnessing them. Everything seemed… true.

When I sat on the ceramic side of the fountain, it magically rained. This time, I wasn’t frantic about the weather. In fact, I really want to melt right here, right now and let the droplets bring me back to where I used to be.

As I venture in this heavy weather, a boy passed by my sight. Despite the water falling from the sky, everything around became clear. It was Wonwoo in the same place as me. It was always him.

“W-Wonwoo!” I gathered all my strength to call him out with tears brimming in my eyes.

With no hesitations, we ran towards each other crashing into a very long hug. His arms were home to me. Regardless of the rain, I felt his warmth through me that I wasn’t even given a chance to experience and indulge.

“Here we are again.” He said and let out a chuckle despite the visible tears in his eyes.

“I know and I’m not surprised. Damn you. I saw you yesterday on the street and you left me thinking about how you were familiar to me all day. Turns out you were an old love,” I paused for a bit “That’s a bit cheesy but that’s true. ” I said.

He fished for something in his pockets until he grabbed a blue, velvet box. He led me to a shed where there is enough protection for the both of us from the rain.

“I guess this moment works best in this weather because two people of opposite sex in love in the rain is considered romantic. Thanks to The Notebook.” He opened the box and it revealed a ring with a heart engraved in the center of it.

“I kept this in hopes of seeing her again and I’m downright glad I did.” He looked at me with a genuine smile creeping up his face.

“Are you proposing to me?” I jokingly asked as he shook his head slowly.

“No, no. It’s too soon for that but I do know and I’m sure it will happen in time. I just wanted to give you this for.. a promise to keep. I promise to never let you go again. Never in a million years. This ring will signify a love bounded to be made forever. In another life, in another century this will be given to a woman who deserves nothing but freedom, happiness and true love. For now, we’ll be playing this part. We’ll never be gone, Y/N. Our story will just repeat unceasingly in the future.”

I lend him my hand and he pushed the ring on my finger. I looked at it, taking a few seconds to admire the mesmerizing gleam of the diamond.

“I promise to never leave you alone again and speak out for what is right. I’m sorry for everything. Just please.. don’t wait for me because now, I’ll never go and will never even think of doing so. Don’t risk your own life waiting for me, please. I apologize from the bottom of my heart that I—“

“It all happened already and it’s in the past. It’s already done, okay? And as soon as now, we’ll change fate. We’ll change everything. And remember,” He held my hand, “You’re worth risking for.”

With tears still flowing, I embraced him again. I’m happy that fate has let us cross our paths again this time. This is a living proof that the skies listened to my desires and my hopeful words to the wind were fulfilled even in a very long time.

This, The Memory of Yesterday’s Love will never cease and will continue to unfold with different stories and events. This love was destiny’s masterpiece and it still is as it keeps on going. Now and forever there will be.

[human-redesigned-rp]

Lost In Translation

Rory/Mai

While exploring the pastries available at the UCL coffee shop, Rory rubs Mai the wrong way.

Of the planets he's been to so far, the food on Earth was definitely Rory's favorite. And that was just in England. During his short time on this little planet, he learned that each country has their own special cuisine, and it only made him want to explore more. He overheard a student in his class, a female from a country called America, gush over how easy it was to bounce from country to country in Europe. Typically, only a few hours on a train. The temptation to take a weekend trip was there, but Rory was fairly certain he couldn't get away with it, unless he found a way to connect the trip to his mission.

He would just have to keep working his way through the British cuisine. So far, his favorites were the sweets. Pastries, in particular. There was a cafe on campus that the students frequented for coffee before their next class or to work on their assignments. It was Rory's favorite place to go after he finished his classes. Currently, he was peering through the glass case displaying all the delicious pastries, trying to remember which ones he already tried and which were his favorite. He stood out like a sore thumb in the crowd, though he didn't notice. His outfit of the day was a lavender jumper with a pair of tight black jeans that were littered with holes, and a floral scarf tied around his curls. He liked human clothes. They didn't make any sense, which was what made them fun. He was also wearing sunglasses in doors to protect his sensitive Eastern eyes. According to the other students, it wasn't usually this sunny during the season called "Winter," and Rory was suffering for it. It made him want to hide indoors, and spending hours in the cafe seemed like a good idea.

"I'll take a," Rory paused as he squinted at the title cards in front of the different pastries, delayed by the translator in his head. His English was decent, but specific names were hard for him to remember. "An almond croissant, a cheese danish, and a cranberry scone or is it scone?" So far, he heard multiple pronunciations of that word, and he still wasn't sure if was scahn or scohne. He turned to the person standing in line behind him, raising a brow, "Which do you think it is?"

~*~*~*~

Mai sighed miserably at the long line at the cafe. She should have just brewed her own coffee in the shared kitchen at her dorm, it would have been faster. This is what she deserved for being lazy.

She took the momentary wait as an opportunity to tie her streaky blue hair up in a bushy bun on top of her head. In front of her, a man dressed in flamboyant colors mused about pastries. She crossed her arms over her black fishnet shirt and grey flannel and leaned over to shift her weight onto one hip. When he turned to ask her about scones, her pink lips pulled into a flat line. She shrugged.

“I don’t know. Just give the man his pastry. Some of us need caffeine,” she growled at the cashier. Her sharp eyebrows peaked in surprise as they bagged up baked goodie after baked goodie. “Damn, you must have incredible metabolism. That’s like a thousand calories.”

~*~*~*~

The woman behind him said a lot of things that even his translator couldn't communicate to him, but it all sounded very scientific. Rory decided against asking for clarification, in case metabolisms and calories were inherent human knowledge. They were undercover, after all. "Yes," He replied simply with a too big grin and a quick nod.

Even though his food was ready, he didn't immediately turn back to the cashier, something about the woman distracting him. Her hair had streaks of blue in it, and Rory wondered if it was like that naturally or if humans had the power to change their hair color. Centaurians had the technology to change their appearance drastically, but he was pretty sure humans didn't.

"Your hair is beautiful," Rory mused. He reached a hand to poke at it, but then he remembered he learned very quickly that humans liked personal space and let his hand drop before he could start inspecting the blue streaks. "I think I'd like to have colors in my hair too. Maybe green." It would match their eyes nicely.

~*~*~*~

Mai blinked at the smiling stranger. A dagger-sharp eyebrow arched upward in morbid curiosity. Who the hell was this wacky space cadet? And why the hell is he staring at me?! Her rosy lips pursed into an aggravated frown. She adjusted her bag on her shoulder. On instinct, her mind went to her camera in the pouch. Her fingers itched with that old familiar urge to film.

Finally, he said something. It didn't make Mai feel any less uncomfortable. She stepped back from the man in the pastel jumper. Her dark eyes squinted with suspicion. She was not in the mood to be flirted with, even by a potentially gay pastry lover. It wasn't until he mentioned dying his own hair green that her cold, standoffish expression melted away. "Oh, green dye doesn't stick so well. I've done it a few times. It washes right out after a few showers. You have to go blue, then the blue fades out to green when it washes out. It'll last longer than going with green first." She didn't know why she was giving hair dye advice to this weird stranger when all she wanted was her coffee and a quiet corner to edit yesterday's video takes. Maybe because this weird stranger seemed like they really needed the help. I mean, who dyes their hair green for their first color? Clueless newbie.

She nodded her pointed chin toward the counter. "Your food is ready." She adjusted her bag again. Her fingers had yet to decide whether this guy was worthy of the battery power and memory space. "Some of us would like to get our coffee before the day ends," she continued to harass him, gentler this time. Maybe he was just the local crazy, every town had one. She was just shocked that it had taken her so long to bump into this one after living on campus for two years. Perhaps she'd been more elusive than she thought.

~*~*~*~

Rory nodded along to her explanation, frowning slightly as he tried to keep up with the translator in his head. It didn't help him understand what exactly she was talking about that though. He didn't know how a shower washed out a person's hair color. If he took enough showers would the brown wash out of his hair? What if he wanted to change his hair to different color like pink or purple? Were there rules for those colors too?

Rory had a lot of follow up questions, but didn't have a chance to ask any before she was ushering him towards his food. He wasn't put off by her impatience though, much too excited to finally get his hands on all those sweets. Grinning, he took the bag of pastries from the barista and handed her a lump of notes that he didn't bother to count beforehand. He knew it wasn't the right way to pay as soon as he saw the look on her face, but he was still getting used to the whole human money thing.

The barista huffed in annoyance and counted out the correct amount before handing Rory his change. "Thank you!" He grinned before looking at his new friend. "Do you want to sit with me? I might have ordered too much food, and I want to hear more about turning your hair different colors."

~*~*~*~

The man in pastel collected his bag of pastries with the enthusiasm of a child at a candy store. He handed over a wad of cash and strained smile on the face of the girl behind the counter told everyone in line that they would still be waiting longer. “Ohmygod,” Mai groaned. She rolled her eyes in utter disbelief. Never had she met someone so utterly oblivious to social cues.

When he turned back to her, hands stuffed with baked goods and loose change, he gave her a sunny grin and an unexpected invitation. Mai nearly choked on her surprise. Blinking in shock, she held up one finger to him. “Hold on a minute.” Coffee first, before all decisions comes coffee. She stepped up to the counter and in one breath ordered her large dark roast with soy milk. The barista swiped her credit card, handed her the cup of black liquid, and away she went. She waved for the strange man to follow as she weaved through the tables to her regular table in the back corner.

“Thanks, but no thanks, I can’t eat any sweets. I’m on a diet.” She finally replied to his friendly offer. As she set her laptop out on the table and slid into her seat she asked, “What’s your name?” Her fingers tapped her password in with sharp key strokes before she looked up expectantly. “You from around here?”

~*~*~*~

Rory stepped out of the way of the line, already digging into the bag for his first pastry and taking a bite. It was the cranberry scone, and it was delicious--a little dry, but it would go perfectly with his coffee. Humans did a good job of pairing food and drinks, he thought as he took another experimental bite. He was already half way through when the girl returned with her coffee, waving for him to follow.

Placing his bag of sweets on the table, he took a seat across from her, pausing to take a sip of the warm coffee. A diet, he remembered this one. The humans went on those when they wanted to be healthier or lose weight. She didn't look like she needed to lose any weight, but Rory hadn't thought that about anyone yet. "Rory," He answered with a dimply grin. At first, it was hard for him to remember to answer with his human name and not his real one, but now he was finding that he much preferred the one given to him for his mission.

"I'm from...France," He said slowly. It was the back story he was told. Born in France but moved to England at some point in his childhood. He wasn't sure why they made it so complicated, but he was having too much fun making up stories about his past to care. "And you?"

~*~*~*~

Mai's dark eyes darted up from her screen to eye the cheerful man called Rory. "France," she repeated back with a skeptical lift of a sharp eyebrow. Sure, he had a funky accent, but it didn't sound quite like French to her. She wasn't intimately familiar with the language, though. She'd only been to France once, as a child, when her father was still alive. They'd visited the South of France on holiday together. She'd played on the beaches and ate rich French foods for a week with her mum and dad. Her thin eyes narrowed with suspicion. Rory, from France. Maybe she had stumbled the local crazy after all.

"I'm a local," she replied vaguely. She tapped the icons for her video library and editing program before leaning over to tug her camera out of its case. She plugged it in to the laptop. "Name's Mai." The download began, a little loading bar cycling on her screen while flickering images of girls in ghoulish makeup and greasy hair flickered across the screen. Mai frowned at it and took a gulp of her coffee. The heat buzzed in her stomach, slowly radiating out to her fingers.

"Have you ever been in a film before?" The question came without warning while she watched her download lurching across the screen. She must be interested in filming him, she realized, otherwise she wouldn't have bothered to ask. The ideas were starting to take shape already. Pretty Rory and his pretty smile, dressed in his soft pastel colors, juxtaposed against something brutal and dark. The pretty face we put on to cover up our failures as a culture. Mai clicked over to her editing program and opened a new file. "I don't mean like on the telly. I mean a real film," she clarified, just in case he thought he might pretend to know a thing or two about cinema.

~*~*~*~

"Mai," Rory repeated slowly. It was a short name, but he still wanted to get it right. He wasn't sure what humans considered an unusual name, but it wasn't one he heard yet, and he liked it. "Nice to meet you," He added, remembering that was part of the whole manners thing he was still learning.

He watched as she setup her laptop as he took another bite of his scone, washing it down with the coffee. He wondered what she was working on. So far, his assignments included a lot of writing and reading about the country he was supposed to be from in a large, very heavy book. Mai's sudden question broke Rory from his thoughts, and it took him a second to respond, relying heavily on his translator and his knowledge on human things so far. He's seen a few films, since his time on earth, and he liked them. He never realized he could be in one himself.

"No," Rory shook his head, curls bouncing with the movement. "Should I try? Are they fun? To be in, I mean?" He asked.

~*~*~*~

She glanced over the top of her screen at his pleasant introduction. Her eyebrows arched upward as if to say, really? She doubted it was really all that nice to meet her, but this guy also seemed to be immune to her anti-social hinting, so maybe he was being honest after all. Either way, Mai gave him the same critical stare before turning back to her screen.

She clicked through a few files before pulling up a scene she was working on cropping and fitting together into a rough draft of the final film. She smirked at the look of sheer terror on the actress’ face as she hung helplessly with the demon monster approaching. Mai let the video clip play silently as she scanned through the still frames for the perfect place to cut.

“Umm...” She debated her reply as she cropped the video and replayed it again. “That depends how much of a masochist you are.” She spun the laptop around to show Rory the clip of the girl, wide-eyed and screaming, dangling from her ankles. “I made poor Ally hang there for over half an hour as we shot this scene from four angles. She’s still narked at me for that one.”

~*~*~*~

Rory tilted his head curiously as she played a clip for him from her laptop. So far, the films he saw so far were more in the fantasy genre, according to the humans. The sight of a girl screaming in horror was something Rory had yet to see, and he couldn't help but furrow his eyebrows in confusion, wondering why humans would want to watch other humans be scared.

Then Mai said something that really confused him. Rory never stopped to think about how films came to be, he assumed they just...existed. Like maybe the television made them itself, but from what they've seen the humans aren't technologically advanced enough for that.

"You...shot this?" Rory asked slowly. He had a lot of questions. How did she hang there for over half an hour when the scene was just a few minutes long? Was Ally okay? And what does "shot" mean? The translator in his head kept was talking about guns and syringes, but neither of those seemed right. "You created it?" He asked again, hoping he was getting closer without completely giving himself away.

~*~*~*~

“Yup.” Mai spun the screen around. She clicked a couple of buttons, cropped the shot down to only a few seconds long, and then moved on to the next shot. The axe murderer in his playful mask limped toward her with menacing slowness. Mai clicked around to find a length she liked flr the shot, then turned her computer to show Rory again.

“This is my sick and twisted brainchild. It’s not done, so no, you can’t watch it, and no I’m not going to tell you the plot because then you’ll go write a book and say it was your idea or something stupid. Creative confidentiality sorry.” She smirked proudly as the axe murderer raised his weapon and then the screen went black.

Mai flipped the laptop back around. “And cut to the gore effects,” she muttered to herself. “Corn syrup, foam organs, and latex makeup, the best part of making a movie.”

~*~*~*~

Rory removed his sunglasses and rubbed at his sensitive eyes, adjusting to the lighting inside the cafe. Mai was saying so many things that Rory didn't understand, and it felt like it would take him years to catch up. His translator was working frantically in his head, unable to translate certain words like "foam organs."  Admittedly, he was still trying to comprehend what she meant by stealing her idea and writing a book, rather than the other strange words.

Blinking, he watched clip Mai showed him, wondering where the man got his mask. He kind of wanted one for himself. "Making a movie sounds like a lot of work," Rory commented wearily.

"So, all that blood you see in a film is fake?" He asked slowly. It probably wasn't a question a human would ask, but he needed to know these things if he was going to blend in. It would probably look a little odd if he watched a film with another student and got horrendously disturbed during a murder scene, because he thought it was real.

~*~*~*~

Leaning back in her chair, Mai crossed her arms over her chest and shot Rory a curious look. At this rate, she wasn't going to get much editing done this morning, not with this dingus questioning every step of the process. She'd just have to save it for later, when she had some peace and quiet. She lifted her coffee to her lips, still staring at the weirdo in the soft colored jumper. She needed more caffeine before she could handle any more idiotic questions.

"Yeah, it is work," she replied curtly. She took another deep gulp, before she added with a sigh, "It takes a couple of years to make anything of length and quality. It's not all fun and games. Most of it is spent at the computer stitching it all together one tiny piece at a time." Long pale fingers tapped on the save icon and began to shut down programs.

Her sharp winged eyes flickered up over the screen of her laptop to give him a long stare. Are you serious? She wanted to ask. Without looking down, she slowly folded the laptop shut. "Yeah..." She started slowly, shocked that she had to really explain this. "Most of the time it's colored syrup. If you get a real intense director, sometimes they use pig's blood, but that's pretty controversial." Looking down at the table, she sipped her coffee again, her eyes loudly announcing 'I can't believe this dumbarse' to nobody in particular.

"Hey listen," she finally ventured. "Where are you from, really? Because it sure as hell isn't France, not unless you grew up under France's most rural rock. Seriously."

~*~*~*~

Rory tried to keep his expression calm as he panicked internally. His mission was to blend in and gather information on Ara’or-vezz. Drawing attention to himself might ruin his cover and warn Ara’or that the Centauri were watching. So far, he wasn't doing a good job of either, but he wasn't really trying. Earth was a massive, exciting planet, and he would rather learn all he could about it than stalk a fugitive doctor he honestly didn't care that much about. Why focus on that when he could talk to Mai and find out how films are made?

What if he just told her the truth? From the few conversations he had with humans about space, they didn't believe beings from other planets existed. So the likelihood of her putting much value into him admitting he was, as the humans called, an "alien" was low. Still, it was better to be safe.

"Yes, I grew up under France's most rural rock," He confirmed with a cheeky grin. "My parents taught me at home and didn't believe in technology."

~*~*~*~

Okay, what the fuck? The moment she called him out on his BS, the guy turned white as a sheet. The silence between them lingered like a toxic fog of awkwardness, infecting everything around it with its anxious anticipation. Mai fidgeted with the paper sleeve on her cup of coffee, dagger-sharp eyes dissecting his every slight change in expression. Something didn't feel right, and it wasn't her editing choices. Rory was a filthy liar.

Him agreeing with her exact statement only proved her suspicions. His grin was bitter with mischief. She squints at him, a disapproving scowl turning her fair features. "Alright, cool." She dismissed the conversation with a wave of her hand. Without another word, she set to packing away her laptop and gathering her things to leave.

[poztstilanin1981-blog]

I also met Jkissa at that same IMATS and this was before she got big. She was very cool, spent at least 20 minutes talking to my friend and I and was genuinely interested in getting to know us. We showed her our outfits we had planned for our evening out after IMATS and she loved them haha. I did it the hard way. It took about a month to adjust from washing 5 6 times a week to 2 times a week. I can even get away with once a week if I don't go to the gym/work out. Mine is when people return things for somewhat petty reasons. If it burned your eyes or caused you an allergic reaction in some way, by all means, return that shit. But reasons like "the shades just weren as pigmented" or "the formula wasn my favorite" just seem like suuuuch a petty reason to throw something in a landfill. Usernames of non public figures (those who are NOT BGs, brand owners and reps, other influencers and social media personalities, or celebrities) must be obscured in screenshots. She has watched some of Mel videos with me. When I told my husband he didn get why I cared so much. (Privacy Policy)MavenThis supports the Maven widget and search functionality. (Privacy Policy)MarketingGoogle AdSenseThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)Google DoubleClickGoogle provides ad serving technology and runs an ad network. My personal favorite: the 김천출장안마 woman that so desperate to be alpha and jive with the dudes, the only way she thinks she can do so is by showing dominance over the other women in the workplace. This manifests itself in several ways, ranging from passive aggressive condensation to undercutting one another professionally. I encounter the former rather than the later more often than not.. His dog should always be the ONLY animal in a home. Your BF is a bad dog owner and is continually setting his dog up for failure by not acknowledging his dog's limitations. That dog might have been fine with a responsible owner but with someone like your BF it's only a matter of time before that dog attacks the wrong dog and it will be put down due to your BF's willful ignorance.. So this talk session was dominated by lower the prices of books At first, they were ignored. Anyone raising their hand, called on, and asking these questions was just ignored and another person picked. Eventually it came to a point where 김천출장안마 literally every question was this, and the president had a freak out.. That being said we have tried many things anti microbial shampoos (pretty great), diet changes to novel proteins like goat or rabbit, 100% raw food. It's hard to diagnose allergies. They can turn into a never ending battle!. I answered. You questioned my answer, so I elaborated.The only concept of intuitive eating that makes any sense in my experience is when you crave something healthy. Like, if you suddenly crave seafood when it not normally your favorite, you might need Vitamin D or omegas 3s.That said, 80% of the time cravings are my animal brain telling me how good a bacon cheeseburger would be, or that pizza would be the best right now, or that a chocolate croissant would be just amazing. What a boring, meaningless life one must have to deny the awesomeness of learning about the universe and exploring space, instead believing. What, it all smoke and mirrors somehow? People like that are no better than cavemen. Worse even, since they don have the excuse of not having access to education and loads of information showing how wrong they are.

[pingou7]

Nous allons enfin nous régaler! (Tell me what you eat and I will tell you who you are)

the food travel au 

3 ½ month film schedule. 31 countries. 24 episodes.

2 people who might just fall in love along the way. 

                        Chapter 3: France : Paris-Lille

Author: 

@pingou7

(Read on AO3)

They arrive in France on schedule and thankfully the whole crew has pretty much recovered from their stomach bug by then. Shara Bey looks a bit queasy in the morning perhaps, but everyone is still curious about what their short trip to the country of Haute Cuisine will entail.

Everyone but Jyn that is, and despite his growing anxiety — because this was France, people! — Cassian can’t help but notice that she has grown more subdued since they’ve picked out their luggage at the airport.

Okay, she’s in a mood and her French is infinitely better than what he personally recalled from High School. It’s true what they say about French being bad at languages, by the way: It’s not that people don’t bother, exactly, it’s more than they’d best not to, their accent makes it hard to understand.

Honestly, he just gives directions in Spanish and there the taxi driver gets it, easier for everyone. Until Jyn stops looking by the window and engages the conversation!

“Nous ne sommes pas en vacances. On est une équipe de tournage."

The driver seems ridiculously overjoyed to hear her speak his language and grins at her in the rear-view mirror.

"Vraiment? Pour le cinéma?"

"Non, la télévision, c'est un programme culinaire."

"You speak French?" Draven interrupts, interest picked. "I didn't know that, it wasn't on your resume."

"Now you do," she shrugs, turning back her attention on the driver.

"La cuisine française est la meilleure du monde, vous aurez de quoi filmer!"

"C'est l'idée. Mais la France n'est pas notre seule destination, on visite plusieurs pays."

Okay, all of this is so quick and fluid that Cassian can't follow. But he can see Draven's brain gear turning as he insists:

"What did you say?"

"Nothing important, I'm not disclosing anything, don't worry. We're doing a food show for TV, we do several countries. Our friend here thinks French food is the best, obviously, and that we're gonna have a lot to cover."

"It's a given," Cassian smiles, impressed by her proficiency, "it's nice of you to speak up, though. Might facilitate the dialogue, too."

"It's nothing to get excited over," Jyn grumbles, sighing, "I've been to France before and have a knack for language, this is just idle chat anyway."

He can’t explain why but there’s something unsettling for her, that has nothing to do with food poisoning. He's curious, but drops the matter when they make a mandatory stop in a boulangerie, where Cassian marvels about the variety of breads and pastries offered, not to mention the cakes...

Mothma actually volunteers, Luke is already taking out his smartphone and since Jyn has already proven her ability to speak French, she too is put to contribution. The two other cars choose to proceed however, waiting at the hotel.

Cassian, Mothma Jyn and Luke are originally sent to get some crusty golden baguettes, of course, their white crumb, thick and soft. Yet a man before them prefers a boule de campagne, round shaped and thicker still, browner and earthier too.

Fascinating.

Honestly Cassian feels perplexed yet eager to order and the seller is amiable and smiling has she suggests viennoiseries.

"We have to take at least a croissant and a pain au chocolat each for everyone," Jyn declares immediately, strangely bossy all of sudden.

"Can we get a brioche too?" Luke asks, eyeing the one in the counter with barely concealed longing.

"Sure, if you want," she agrees easily, translating the order.

"Oh, there's chouquettes too," Mothma exclaims delightfully, legit clapping like a little girl. Thus a small bag of choux buns with sugar pearls joins the order.

Like she was on a mission, Jyn finally asks for different types of croissants too:

"The regular type is made of fresh butter," Jyn explains, "but we will take the almond version too."

"Would you like some of our savoury version," the seller asks helpfully, "it's with cheese and ham."

While in English he'd known the pains au chocolat to be called chocolate croissant — even if the chocolate is hidden within — he gets primly chastised by Jyn:

"Contrary to popular belief, it's not the same thing."

"Sorry, I had no idea. How do you all even know this?"

"My sister Leia likes posh bakeries," Luke says as only explanation.

"Me too, though it's been years since I've had chouquettes," Mothma adds.

But to his frustration, Jyn doesn't say anything has she asks for the total. He commits as much information as he can to memory and Mothma actually has to chime in with a few Euros of her own since she, Jyn and Luke kept adding some douceurs to taste. Clearly they are more familiar with French pastries than they’d let on, but he doesn’t mind being educated on the subject!

In fact Cassian grins wilder as the demeanor of other clients goes from neutral to slightly amused. He even catches something akin to respect on the face of an old lady behind them, as she glances at the pile of sweetness.

Unfortunately, it’s an improvised stop and they can’t film on a whim right now — photos will have to do. That’s a shame, for Monica Mothma isn’t a woman prone to expansiveness and it would have been nice to catch this unscripted madness, even if just for themselves.

Eventually they buy enough to feed an army or for everyone to develop diabetes, at the very least. It’s all for the greater good of the show, of course... They actually film a tiny clip back at their hotel and post a few candids on Instagram.

Kes teases them for their sweet tooth, saying he should have come with just to protect the bakery’s supplies and Draven rolls his eyes, but both are getting their faces stuffed with croissants and pains au chocolat so... Though far from constituting a balanced diet, their purchases become the entirety of their evening meal.

To be fair, who knew there was so much type of stuffed viennoiseries to begin with? It’s almost maddening!

Rationally he knows he shouldn’t indulge so much on the first day but the bread is crispy, the brioche is sweet but light... choosing is a lost cause and truthfully nobody seems to care.

Jyn is seated across from him though and a tiny speck of chocolate stays struck at the corner of her plush lips. He starts to ogles her mouth and reflexively licks his own — just in case a crumb of his own is there, too — but thankfully she doesn’t pay much attention to the people next to her.

Instead, she keeps staring at an invisible point in her plate. No pastry deserves to be looked at with such sadness unless it got prematurely rotten, and he says as much, eliciting a chuckle from the guys. She momentarily meets his gaze as she bites in her pain au chocolat again but her spirits have not lifted. Failed attempt then... He hopes his heated cheeks are the result of the two glasses of red wine he had before dessert, he’s not usually this awkward.

But she intrigues him, he wants to know her better! She’s unpredictable too and rather enticing. She proves to be an asset to the show and not just as a Camera Operator. But of course there is no way he’s going to say it. Besides it’s wine and sugar load talking and they have to focus on the French schedule within the next hour.

"Last time I was here, I was 15," she finally reveals, "but there's water under bridge."

If he weren't focused on her, he might have missed it, but like a private oath, she whispers next: "Saw has no place on this job, nor in my life. Paris doesn’t change that."

He's the only one to catch that, but before Cassian can figure out the meaning of this comment, everybody’s head snaps up at hearing Draven clearing his throat:

“By public demand, we will be setting this episode slightly freelance, as we go up North. About the capital, Cassian has an appointment at “Au Doux Raisin” tomorrow. It proposes a panel of traditional French dishes that would be interesting to foreign viewers.”

Draven enumerates this in a flat voice, looking bored as usual, yet Cassian starts to freak out internally: France was renowned for its Cuisine. He even follows French cooking shows in his spare time! How is he supposed to do his own thing despite the legions of stuff available?

“Sorry to interrupt Sir, but how are we supposed to squeeze several sets in so little time? As far as I know, most traditional French recipes involve spending quite a bit of time if not the whole day over the stove.”

“Don’t fret Andor,” the Director retorts impatiently, “it��s not like you’re be the one doing the cooking, right? So spare me the nerves. Thanks to our split filming teams, most material will be easily covered too. You just have to taste and judge, not really a hardship for you, I suspect.”

No, perhaps not. But Cassian doesn’t like the way his Director is handling things tonight. Tension increases a bit in the room but he keeps his trap shut, not wanting to spark things off on their first night here. The traveling show was already bumpy enough as far as he’s concerned so better not add to the man’s frustration.

“I wanted to see the sights a bit. It’s the city of lights, it’s every lover’s dream,” Kes mumbles.

Unfortunately, it seems that he's not discreet enough.

“Dameron, if you want to play the tourist, plan a romantic vacation for your fiancée AFTER the rush. We’ve got no time for that and moreover, I don’t care for your personal life,” Draven chastises in a clipped tone.

Cassian suppresses a sigh but the case is closed, crew eventually dismissed for the night. He’s pretty sure Draven was a military at some point before going into production or he is one in an alternate universe, with the way he’s usually behaving...

The next day, the crew did some sightseeing before their appointment — they could not be here and not pause in front of the Eiffel Tower, couldn’t they?

"Come on, we gotta have a picture with all of us! It's Paris guys, you can't be more French than that!"

"We won't all fit on a single one," Wedge Antilles says.

"You already had me posing in London, Skywalker, I'm not doing this again. Besides, Cassian is the one that should feature, he's the face of the show."

"Please Jyn, it'd be a group pic, not just you this time. A memento. Don't you want to show this to your friend Bodhi?"

Damn Luke and his boyishness... Everyone caves, elbows and shoulders squeezed together awkwardly. As Kes and Shara are the only couple, they also strike a cheesy pose for prosperity, likely adding some "romance" to the collection.

They ignore people seeking them for money or whatever petition they wanted to get a signature for though... Some details must be glossed over.

"We're not airing on a discovery channel," Draven says, already checking his watch, "most of the tedious editing falls on Kay’s team anyway. Let's get going."

Of course, for professional purposes Cassian forgoes lunch, preferring to nimble on a sandwich so he’d be famished when the time to shoot arrives.

And arrive it does.

A van comes to pick them up and their materials for the intended point of rendezvous between the Jardin du Luxembourg and the Jardin Des Plantes, in the 5th Arrondissement. Quite a pretty place and Luke already mumbles about some hashtags and photos he’d like to take afterwards.

When they finally enter the brasserie called “Au Doux Raisin”  (At the sweet grapefruit) — a little before the opening, obviously, for the team has to settle — they instantly find themselves in a typical homey Parisian environment. From the very first second Cassian knows why the production chose this establishment in particular:

The meals offered represent just as many potential discoveries, yet not always the cheapest — within reasonable price range nonetheless. The brasserie sets a real atmosphere with portraits in black and white of old famous actors, an old-fashioned counter and something in the air so uniquely French that he’s surprised the staff doesn’t wear berets with white striped shirts.

Truthfully, everyone is excited, including Jyn who looks oddly happy to be there.

“We’re somewhere straight out of the movie Les Tontons flingueurs,” she says, watching their surroundings with sparkling eyes. At the lack of response she gets, she prompts: “You know, Crooks in Clover, also known as Monsieur Gangster? Ring a bell?”

To be honest the actors look familiar, Jean Gabin and Lino Ventura most of all, but nobody shares her excitement and she automatically returns to her defensive stance:

“What? I’m a cinephile and actually did study film making, you know? These actors are legendary among French cinema, you must have at least heard of some of them!”

“Somewhat. I'm more interested in the fact that this is the first time that I've caught you smiling since we’ve left England.”

Cassian only wished to put her out of her misery as they prepared the set. He gets a bit jittery before the beginning of each filming session so he likes to see people enjoying themselves, it calms him down. Yet somehow it was the wrong thing to say and her lit-up face turns stony as she replies:

“Yeah, well, let’s get this done.”

Smooth, Andor, well done, he thinks sarcastically as Draven yells action and a waiter gives him the menu. Most of the crew will stick to plates of charcuterie and cheese but he has a few possibilities to consider. Of course the list has been communicated beforehand, but ultimately Cassian always has the final choice, to stay as genuine as possible and because he prefers to eat whatever strikes his fancy. It’s more digestible in case of several takes.

Finally he chooses a “Bourguignon meal”: traditional snails then beef and wine stew, a plate of cheese and some crème brûlée to finish. Plentiful but really appetizing. Of course, if it weren’t for the show, he’d just stick with some of the various grâtins and be done with it, but the place calls for gluttony and as a presenter he has to make sure viewers will be satisfied.

If the French can stomach as much in one sitting, so will he.

(Still, he’s thankful Kay’s not currently with him or he’d be sure to get an earful...)

The preliminary speech done in a single take, the first course comes quickly. Famous escargots, classic of the French to eat snails, so the occasion was too good to pass on.

Cassian already had some experience tasting snails in the French way, had enjoyed it so he thought he didn’t have to mask his facial expressions.

He was wrong.

The promised “Gros Escargots de Bourgogne” come in front of him and truth be told they look appealing enough. But what the heck is he supposed to make of the... unusual cutlery... that the waiter brought along? It looks more like a surgical instrument than anything Cassian has ever used.

This entrée should come with warnings, explanatory note and step by step tutorial included.

For a split second Cassian blinks owlishly at the camera then he recovers, a consummate professional. Should be easily enough, really, right? A circular plate with six stuffed snails in their shells... a tiny fork with two tines... and pliers of some kind? It has a spring with a round extremity, obviously meant to keep the shell in place while with the fork he’s supposed to stab what’s inside.

Alright, I’ve got it, he reflects after a few nano seconds  of appraisal.

He doesn’t bother with explaining his course of action yet, focused on the task at hand while he states that the snails are cooked with a butter mixed with chopped garlic and parsley.

He looms over the snail closest to him, lift it slowly from his dedicated hole in the plate... but he hasn’t got the chance to use the fork. The damned thing escapes from the contraption and literally flies several feet away from his stunned face.

Nobody moves, not even Draven says cut, yet Cassian stares dumbly at the ruined snail on the floor, hidden two tables away from his. From the way Jyn angles the camera, he guesses she’s zooming on it too...

Fucking French!

It takes three tries for him to master the so called “pince à escargots” — to the utter delight of the crew around him, as they personally try some pâté de lapin à l’ancienne, saucisson sec or saucisson à l’ail and smelly cheese like Camembert or Roquefort.

By the time the Bœuf Bourguignon is served, he feels oddly proud to have won against the perfidy of posh Gastronomie, despite his bruised ego. Thankfully the beef stew is not as challenging, with a regular, universal and most of all reliable knife. Not that he really needs to cut anything, mind you: from what he knows of the process, the beef has macerated in red wine for hours to get this tender. The serving is pretty generous too, and it comes with boiled potatoes, mushrooms, onions and carrots. Thyme and laurel too, to perfume the whole.

He’s full when the four types of cheese come next but he explains the different milks each of them were made of. He actually has flash cards ready on his knees like a cheating schoolboy but their filming time turning short calls for desperate measures. At the dessert he struggles to get through. It’s delicious, it’s just that he reached the peak of his sugary intake. After a few spoonfuls immortalized on film, he hands the rest to Shara’s extended hands.

Overall, good stuff, really. Two glasses of red wine to complete the meal and footage aside, Cassian is more than satisfied with his Parisian trip.

They wrap it up, shake a few hands but take their time calling it a night. Paris is bewitching in the evening and the company is boisterous as they go along the shores of the Seine. Cassian uses it to his advantage, walking his meal off and doing his best to ignore the taunts made over the snail incident.

"I couldn't believe the famous Cassian Andor got bested by a snail. One that was already dead and cooked too," Jyn teases.

"Hey, I succeeded eventually, and it's not the snail as much as the tool that's to blame."

"Still, I thought you'd have more dexterity."

"Sorry to disappoint you, I'll do better next time."

It’s all in good sports really, but while Jyn snorts, Antilles sniggers and Luke stumbles, slamming against his back, blushing inexplicably. What has gotten into them? But she's still smiling as they drive back to the hotel and suddenly he doesn’t mind the French and their peculiarities so much. The production duo have still a decent amount of work before going to bed, but everyone else goes to sleep.

(Maybe Kes and Shara got MIA along the way but the contract doesn’t bind them to a curfew and Mothma turns a blind eye).

Cassian only wishes he had that much freedom as the so called star of the show. But it has been a long day and he would have nobody to share a nightly tryst. Cassian Andor is reasonable, professional and single to boot, so it doesn’t cost him much.

His dreams are fitful and slightly disturbing though. Jolting awake only five hours later, the only image that stays with him is of Jyn, replacing Nicole Kidman’s part in the Moulin Rouge! movie. She looked tantalizing in his subconscious and very not herself: less pragmatic and more eerily sexy.

He shakes the feeling away as he dresses himself. He has a long day ahead and can’t afford to fantasize about the only unattached woman in his crew. She’s a pretty thing and kinda mysterious too, but he is awake now and the dreamy bullshit has no incidence on his job.

He decides to tiptoe in the free area, seeking a cup of herbal tea. Whether mint or ginger should help with the food overload from the night before, surely such things could be found on the table set for self service?

He forgets all about beverages the instant he sees Jyn awake over an hotplate, her back to him. As her name stumbles from his lips, disbelieving, she stiffens visibly and spins slowly around.

Her voice is still sleepy and his annoyingly raspy as they greet each other. In November, the sun isn’t up so early and won’t be for quite some time, unfortunately and the bleached out white neon lights accentuate the exhaustion on her face. Very far from a dreamy cabaret dancer, his mind evaluates worriedly. Has she even slept? She’s dressed in her usual clothes already and ignores the elephant in the room as she asks why he too is already awake.

“I ate too much,” he answers.

“Well of course you did, not everyone can eat as much as the French do just before going to bed. Stomachache?”

“No, just energy of the calories pumping through my veins.”

“How do you plan to work it out then?”

He represses a smirk. With her velvet morning voice, it sounded a lot like an opening for innuendo. She realizes this a second too late and just purses her lips. They are not yet close enough to tease each other, so he throws her a lifeline and gestures to the food he interrupted.

“Isn’t it what you’re doing in the kitchen Jyn?”

“I wish. It’s just... I needed an outlet and I thought I’d best do something useful. Couldn’t wake my best friend.”

He wanted to ask her about what she needed an outlet for, yet people keep appearing and she visibly closes off. Obviously Cassian isn’t the only one awake as the self-service kitchen fills in slowly with the rest of the team. Fat chance, again. He sits, rubbing the back of his neck and mutters a hello.

“What’s the delicious smell I can sniff?” Luke asks, entering the room, nose upturned and honest to God sniffing the air like the human puppy he usually personifies.

“The bread and brioche won’t keep for much longer. So I’m making pain perdu,” Jyn answers, sending a fleeting smile in his direction.

“Lost bread,” Kes translates confusedly, eyeing the slices browning slowly browning in the pan, “what is lost about it?”

“Dunno, it’s just the name,” she sighs, repeating the process to make enough for everybody.

Or maybe the food isn’t the lost thing here, Cassian muses, she is, her tired eyes and forlorn attitude hinting as much. Then, realizing how stupid his thoughts are, he mentally slaps himself and hands the coffee pot to Wedge Antilles, who is blindly reaching for it, like a drowning man and a lifebelt, a junkie and his fix.

Seriously, besides Luke and himself, Cassian wonders how these people can do this work and NOT be morning people. Like, never ever. Kay has complained he had to put with them grumping and groaning until the clock reached 8 AM in the past, but at the time, he thought his friend was being his usual pessimistic self. But as he considers the bunch of sleepyheads around, he has to admit there was some truth to it.

When a plate arrives in front of him, with icing sugar or cinnamon for him to add on if he so wishes, he’s pleasantly surprised.

“You told me you didn’t how to cook,” he says, mildly accusatory.

He leaves the first slice bare, adds sugar on the second and cinnamon on the third, to have the full tasting range. As soon as he tries the first, the goodness dissolves on his tongue, creamy and buttery, the two variations making a perfect combination between sweetness and a tad spicy. He knows various ways to save stale bread, but somehow this tastes different. Besides them Luke was already helping himself with a second serving, grinning.

“Please, this isn't cooking Cassian,” Jyn shrugs. “I’m sure it’s not the first time you’ve had this.”

“Not like that, though, this is unique. How did you do it?”

Most of all he wants to know what prompted her to fix this at six in the morning. But even if he had the nerve to ask, she likely wouldn’t answer. So, asking for her recipe was as close as he was willing to go.

“I made the slices my own way. More often than not people use eggs where I used milk. Once the slices suck up all the milk, getting slightly spongy again, I put them in a salt-buttered pan. Easy, not haute cuisine.”

Easy perhaps, but her wistful tone speaks of something more. He knows preparing food can reveal a lot about a person — hell, that was the reason he got enrolled in all this cooking stuff in the first place… — and… well, he remembers their stunt at the Lahmu Restaurant in London. Clearly her relationship to food is… personal.

God, why Kay isn’t here to smack the corniness out of his head?! He almost feels like using a pan on his own skull if that could just stop his brain from overanalyzing a mere breakfast plate.

He doesn’t even have time for this, with the shooting schedule they have to maintain. After all, he might envy other people’s low functioning brains, they are saved much trouble.  

Draven announces their Parisian Interlude is over and satisfactory — praise the Lord for that — but he still has a surprise in store...

“A… bus?”

“Yes,” Draven confirms, ”we should be grateful, it’s fully furbished too, functional, and a bit cheaper.”

“Whatever spares us a flight,” Dameron says in relief.

“You don’t like flying?” Jyn asks, surprised.

“If I have to take hop on a plane, I will. It’s way quicker, after all. But yeah, if I have to choose, road’s better. Plus, we can build team spirit or whatever. It’d be like a school trip.”

“Oh yeah,” Luke cheers, absurdly enticed with the idea, “I’m sure our followers would dig that kind of thing, you know?”

“I wouldn’t know,” Jyn shrugs, “I never went on school trips, or I was so young I don’t remember. It’s weird.”

“It’ll be a new experience for you then,” Cassian encourages.

“I guess, but why do you care so much?”

(Good question.)

“We’re all in the same train wreck, we gotta stick together.”

(What was that nonsense... for sure if Kay ever heard him talk like that, he would deck him so hard his face wouldn’t be filmed for weeks!)

They take the A1 highway up North, chatting, napping, playing on phones... and yes, to Draven’s utter dismay, there are stupid songs involved at some point. Dameron started, Cassian picked up, and soon everyone was at least humming along. Perhaps because the driver couldn’t take it anymore, they stop in a rest area about midway until they reach Lille, the northern city that ends the French episode. As if the crew’s sugary consumption weren’t already high, they picked sweets again, albeit regional:

Two metal boxes, one with some minty ones called the Bêtises de Cambrai and the other containing toffee-like Babeluttes du Nord, to have a foretaste of their next local cuisine.

If they’re still alive to document it because Cassian swears he’s gonna die of hyperglycemia before they reach Amsterdam!

They have just one day left to shoot in France when they arrive in Lille two hours later, but they make it work. The city, nicknamed “the capital of Flanders” is picturesque in a different way than Paris, of course, but just as pretty. Places with fountains, houses made of red bricks and old cobbled streets, it’s nice.

As they have little time to spare — yet again — the rushes get more hectic than in Paris. It’s much less representative after all.

The people there talk pretty funny, with words even Jyn has a hard time deciphering, but all are very accommodating and helpful. A few wave at the camera and suggest a dish to try. It’s much more easygoing and Cassian relaxes pretty soon.

Not wanting to spoil any Belgian discovery by choosing a dish similar to what can be offered further North, he decides to try « a Welsh ». Like its name implies, this is not originally a French recipe but it became one of the easiest specialty to eat in Lille:

It is a sandwich composed of bread soaked with beer, cheddar cheese and mustard, covered with a slice of ham, dipped into a cream of cheddar cheese, heated in the oven in a ramekin. Not the most elaborate of the establishment they picked’ but it works perfectly with their thematic for the French episode and their lack of time.

Indeed, La Chicorée (The Chicory) is a brasserie like the one in Paris. Except it’s actually an hundred-year-old brewery, not just for the fancy name, and it’s open pretty late, until 4:30 AM. They are told it’s renowned, too, and Cassian can believe that easily.

For dessert, because apparently the mad guys around him have an insane tolerance for sugary treats, or really want him to die on the job, they have some stuffed waffles with cassonade. This version is thin, thankfully, crunchy, though the garnish of vanilla and brown sugar is most likely rich.

“I hadn’t had those in ages,” Jyn says drowsily, waiting for the Lille-Amsterdam flight a while later. “I bought some for my best friend, but I’m not sure I’ll resist the temptation for long. I’ll have to send them to him.”

“Really? How come? It’s good, but it’s not like it’s so addicting,” Cassian asks, because he still feels curious — perhaps sleepy Jyn is more inclined to share anecdotes?

“Wrong, they are addicting. I loved them as a young girl. I’ve spent some time in France over the years, but none so much as northern France. We were British, after all, so crossing the Chanel was easy and Saw... I mean, I’d known an old lady, Louise, who did such waffles for me.”

Yep, oversharing, he thinks with a smile, and there she is talking about a Saw again. More like eluding but it’s more talk than he ever heard from her. The schedule must take its toll on her, same as anyone else.

"You’ve spent holidays in France then, growing up?"

"My guardian actually had a job in France for a time. He was stationed not so very far from here for about a year, before we moved again."

"So the wanderlust goes way back? It explains why you took on the travelling show."

"Maybe. Saw and I never stuck around for long anywhere, but I've been happy there, it brings good memories for once."

At her conflicted expression, he guesses such good memories are far in between. He recalls her enigmatic whisper from a few days ago and surmises she must have had a falling out with her guardian. Cassian doesn't pry further though when she doesn't elaborate, but he stores the information for later.  

He’s almost snoozing when Draven — no human has the right to be this operative at 3AM... — hands him his phone, mouthing Kay’s name:

“Hello, Kay?”

“Cassian, did I wake you?”

“No, but that was close. Not everyone can be focused on the show 24/7, like Draven, or you. I feel like I’m slowly losing my soul to the cause.”

“Forgive me if I don’t shed a tear. And you’re as dedicated as the rest of us, you’re just being unusually whiny.”

“Well, you’re not here yet to keep me in check so I can be as petty as I want. I’ll feel better after we leave the country and get some sleep.”

“I’ve seen the first French rushes, actually, to see if they could be easily edited with ours. I have to say it’s fairly entertaining to witness your culinary struggles, Cassian. Especially the snail fetching.”

“Thanks a lot, Kay,”

“I’m serious, honestly it should make the final cut.”

“Did your illness kill your brain cells? What part of the first try should be included? The moment the snail flew across the room or the framing on my butt as I had to get on my knees under the table to retrieve it?”

“Well, I’ll leave it for Draven to decide,” his soon-to-be former friend replies wryly. “But just so you know, it could bring in more female viewers.”

“You’re insane.”

“I’m realistic Cassian, you have a very nice bottom apparently and judging from the people’s enthusiastic reaction on social media, you’d better use it.”

“I... don’t even know what to say to that. Do you even hear yourself?”

“I’m referring to the show’s ratings, not your sex life Cassian Jerón Andor! You know what, we will speak later, once you’ve put your mind out of the gutter!”

“I love you too man,” Cassian smirks.

Only the dial answers him.

[marklandfinancial]

Two Habits walk into a bar...

During this pandemic, as many of us have, I have had many hours to fill. I have found that podcasts have been a great filler that keep my attention as well as actually contribute something to my life; I have been exposed to many new ideas, thoughts, systems, and people , none of which are available to me on a regular basis. One of my favorite podcasts is the Armchair Expert, starring Dax Shepard, not because of anything particularly ground breaking, but he usually has interesting guests on and they delve into topics not normally covered. One expert he had on really struck a chord with me; B.J. Fogg, a Stanford professor whose expertise lies in habits. Specifically, how they form, good or bad which, when you come to think about it, is a very useful bit of info for a human to have. Essentially, his thesis is that a habit becomes a habit when you have a repetitive action that (emphasis mine) HAS POSITIVE EMOTIONAL FEEDBACK. Are you a woman who loves new shoes? It could be that, as a child, every time you got a new pair of shoes, your family, friends and strangers would compliment you on them. You liked the compliments and attention (POSITIVE EMOTIONAL FEEDBACK) and BAM! you are addicted to Nordstrom's shoe floor and there 2x a week. How about a guy who was the funniest guy in the room after a few beers? Why wouldn't you love to go to happy hour and tell jokes when everyone laughs and feels good being around you? See how that works? So if you have a bad habit that you want to break, try and figure out how it affects you emotionally and you are on your way to breaking it (with some hard work as well, this isn't magic). Conversely, do you want a new habit? Make sure you get praise (either from others or yourself) when you do it. Working out? After you do that, make sure to give yourself a mental high five or have a workout buddy who tells you "great job!". That positive feedback will start a fly-wheel affect and can lead to knock on effects later!

So, in my new found fascination with habits, I search out information that can help me create better habits as well. So listen up, I just found a game changer this AM. Hopefully, it will do the same for you. And, this isn't my research or my information, let me be clear. I want to share what I have found from other sources and give them all the credit!

The source of this info is an article I read on the Ascent, a site I frequent, and the author of the article cites Gretchen Rubin and her book Better than Before. Believe you me when I tell you I will be procuring a copy of this but wanted to give you the short version as this as mentally unlocked so many things for me in around 5 hours. Habits and habit forming does involve emotion but they also need to "recognize the basic aspects of our personal nature". What the hell does that mean? It means that diet that is generally a good idea doesn't work for you, it isn't because there are faults with you or the diet. You just have to customize the diet or whatever new habit it is to you. The author has a few Vs. that are illustrative and that have already helped me identify why some ideas work or don't work for me.

The first is Moderation Vs. Abstinence. The prime example of this would be booze; if you are truly an alcoholic, you can't moderate. You must abstain 100%; it is a binary decision for them. The same can be true for us with other decisions. Is it better to have a cheat meal or is it better to avoid that all together? If you are a moderator, cheat meals can be a pleasure. If you are an abstainer, cheat meals can lead to cheat days lead to cheat weeks and well, you get the drift. Which one are you? I have already figured out I am an abstainer and that will change my diet henceforth.

The second is Lark vs. Owl, which is essentially morning person or night owl. KNOWING that about yourself helps you design your day appropriately. If you are an owl, good luck getting up to work out; same thing with working out after work if you are a Lark. Don't try and fit the habits to what you WANT ("it would be so nice to have the workout done by 7am!"), fit it to REALITY

Third is Marathoner vs. Sprinter. Think about a school project; would you rather start day 1 and have it done the last day of the semester? OR do you need the urgency of knowing you only have 2 days left and haven't even started? This will help you understand the importance of deadlines and how they related to you.

Fourth- Simplicity versus Abundance. Again, another simple way to look at this; would you rather have a beautiful croissant with fresh butter and a glass of fresh OJ for breakfast? OR do you get excited by the thought of an amazing breakfast buffet, overflowing with options from omlette's and bacon to French toast and pancakes? It helps to understand your leanings when designing the habit; to lose weight, do you just want to do a 5 mile run every morning? Or do you need a gym and all the myriad classes and machines to motivate you?

Fifth- Familiar vs. Novel- do you love routines? Or do you really enjoy the challenge of something different every day (somewhat like the Simplicity versus abundance but slightly different)

Finally, there is Promotion vs. Prevention. Do you think "I don't want to get fat and unhealthy, so I shouldn't eat that" (prevention?). Or do you say, "I want to look great at the beach!" (promotion). Again, not right or wrong, but understanding yourself and how you view the world can help you build habits that easily align with you and your values and personality. You will have a lot better chance of losing weight if you pick a diet that includes carbs if you love pasta.

[parkersenses]

All of the want to know me asks!

bro,,, i literally said in the tagsfdjkdsjk,, it’s alright let’s do this

1: My name?

Ellie

2: Do I have any nicknames?

technically Ellie is my nickname 

3: Zodiac sign?

sagittarius 

4: Video game I play to chill, not to win?

spyro: year of the dragon

5: Book/series I reread?

carry on by rainbow rowell

6: Aliens or ghosts?

both??

7: Writer I trust enough to read whatever they write?

rainbow rowell and victoria aveyard

8: Favourite radio station?

depends on my mood

9: Favourite flavour of anything?

strawberry maybe??

10: The word that I use all the time to describe something great?

“wild”

11: Favourite song?

doN’T EVEN ASK

12: The question you ask new friends to get to know them better?

me?? making new friends?? never heard of it

13: Favourite word?

“fucking”

14: The last person who hurt me, did I forgive them?

ehh that’s a complicated question

15: Last song I listened to?

meant to be by bebe rexha/florida georgia line

16: TV show I always recommend?

lost

17: Pirates or ninjas?

ninjas 

18: Movie I watch when I’m feeling down?

i don’t really have one??

19: Song that I always start my shuffle with/wake-up song/always-on-a-loop song?

don’t have one eitherdjsj

20: Favourite video games?

SPYRO: YEAR OF THE DRAGON

21: What am I most afraid of?

s o c i a l i n t e r a c t i o n  

22: A good quality of mine?

i’m honest

23: A bad quality of mine?

i don’t sugarcoat things (which could also be good but)

24: Cats or dogs?

dogs

25: Actor/actress you trust enough to watch whatever they’re in?

tom holland

26: Favourite season?

winter

27: Am I in a relationship?

nope

28: Something I miss?

not having to worry about my grades

29: My best friend?

i’ve got a few

30: Eye color?

blue

31: Hair color?

brown to dirty blonde-ish ombre

32: Someone I love?

Niall Horan

33: Someone I trust?

Niall Horan

34: Someone I always think about?

Niall Horan

35: Am I excited about anything?

TO SEE BLACK PANTHER ON TUESDAY LETS GO

36: My current obsession?

B L A C K P A N T H E R 

37: Favourite TV shows as a child?

House of Anubis was my shit 

38: Do I have someone of the opposite sex that I can tell everything to?

Nope

39: Am I superstitious?

Depends for what

40: What do I think about most?

the fact that i don’t want to go to school

41: Do I have any strange phobias?

veins

42: Do I prefer to be in front of the camera or behind it?

behind it

43: Favourite hobbies?

writing and reading 

44: Last book I read?

The Woman in Cabin 10 by Ruth Ware

45: Last film I watched?

it’s been awhile i don’t remember 

46: Do I play any instruments?

nope 

47: Favourite animal?

dogs??

48: Top 5 blogs on Tumblr that I follow?

@thumper-darling x5

49: Superpower I wish I could have?

to fly

50: How do I destress?

blast music or read a book

51: Do I like confrontation?

hmm it depends on the situation but usually no

52: When do I feel most at peace?

when listening to music while reading

53: What makes me smile?

one direction and marvel

54: Do I sleep with the lights on or off?

off

55: Play any sports?

lmao no

56: What is my song of the week?

it was just released but boss by nct u

57: Favourite drink?

caffeine free diet coke

58: When did I last send a handwritten letter to somebody?

a few years ago,, to santa,,,

59: Afraid of heights?

kind of

60: Pet peeve?

i’ve got so many don’t even

61: What was the last concert I went to see?

Niall Horan

62: Am I vegetarian/vegan/pescatarian?

N O 

63: What occupation did I want to do when I was younger?

air traffic controller 

64: Have I ever had a friend turn enemy?

yes

65: What fictional universe would I like to be a part of?

MCU

66: Something I worry about?

my grades

67: Scared of the dark?

kind of

68: Who are my best friends?

i’ve got a few 

69: What do I admire most about others?

i don’tsdjs

70: Can I sing?

i like to sing but i don’t really have a good voice

71: Something I wish I could do?

s i n g

72: If I won the lottery, what would I do?

donate a lot to charity and help my family, and treat myself a little bit

73: Have I ever skipped school?

yes

74: Favourite place on the planet?

my bedroom 

75: Where do I want to live?

New York or Boston

76: Do I have any pets?

nope

77: What is my current desktop picture?

it’s a painting of blue smears

78: Early bird or night owl?

night owl

79: Sunsets or sunrise?

sunsets

80: Can I drive?

nope

81: Story behind my last kiss?

never had one

82: Earphones or headphones?

earphones 

83: Have I ever had braces?

yep

84: Story behind one of my scars?

when i was little i kept picking at my mosquito bites

85: Favourite genre of music?

don’t have one

86: Who is my hero?

don’t have one

87: Favourite comic book character?

Peter Parker or Deadpool

88: What makes me really angry?

anything political 

89: Kindle or real book?

real book

90: Favourite sporty activity?

don’t have one

91: What is one thing that isn’t tight in schools that should be?

girls’ dress code and encouragement to express your opinions 

92: What was my favourite subject at school?

english

93: Siblings?

two of ‘em

94: What was the last thing I bought?

coffee and a croissant 

95: How tall am I?

5′ 4″

96: Can I cook?

some things 

97: Can I bake?

if it comes from a box then yes

98: 3 things I love?

writing

reading

one direction

99: 3 things I hate?

gun violence 

racists

homophobes

100: Do I have more girl friends or boy friends?

girl

101: Who do I get on with better, girls or boys?

girls

102: Where was I born?

in a hospital ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) 

103: Sexual orientation?

queer

104: Where do I currently live?

on the east coast

105: Last person I texted?

my friend

106: Last time I cried?

when rewatching the finale of lost

107: Guilty pleasure?

oof i can’t think of one

108: Favourite Youtuber?

i don’t really watch youtube anymore

109: A photo of myself.

nope

110: Do I like selfies?

nope

111: Favourite game app?

subway surfers

112: My relationship with my parents?

it’s good i guess

113: Favourite accents?

british and irish and australian and scottish

114: A place I have not been but wish to visit?

new york and london

115: Favourite number?

2

116: Can I juggle?

nope

117: Am I religious?

yes

118: Do I like space?

y e s 

119: Do I like the deep ocean?

no

120: Am I much of a daredevil?

no

121: Am I allergic to anything?

i have seasonal allergies and i’m low-key ehh with corn

122: Can I curl my tongue?

yes

123: Can I wiggle my ears?

no

124: Do I like clowns?

n o 

125: The Beatles or Elvis?

neither

126: My current project?

,,,,,,,

127: Am I a bad loser?

totally 

128: Do I admit when I wrong?

i’m never wrong

IM JUST KIDDING YES USUALLY 

129: Forest or beach?

beach

130: Favourite piece of advice?

hmm idk

131: Am I a good liar?

yes

132: Hogwarts house / Divergent faction / Hunger Games district?

slytherin, erudite i think, and i don’t know about my district 

133: Do I talk to myself?

no

134: Am I very social?

no

135: Do I like gossip?

kind of,,

136: Do I keep a journal/diary?

yeah but not in a traditional way

137: Have I ever hopelessly failed a test?

yes

138: Do I believe in second chances?

depends

139: If I found a wallet full of cash on the ground, what would I do?

see if there was id inside

140: Do I believe people are capable of change?

maybe

141: Have I ever been underweight?

yeah

142: Am I ticklish?

yes

143: Have I ever been in a submarine?

no

144: Have I ever been on a plane?

yes

145: In a film about my life, who would I cast as myself, friends and family?

THIS IS SUCH A HARD QUESTION I DONT KNOWDJKDS

146: Have I ever been overweight?

no

147: Do I have any piercings?

yes my ears

148: Which fictional character do I wish was real?

Peter Parker,,

149: Do I have any tattoos?

nope

150: What is the best decision I have made in life so far?

to kick a boy out of my life tbh

151: Do I believe in Karma?

no

152: Do I wear glasses or contacts?

glasses

153: What was my first car?

never had my own car

154: Do I want children?

maybe

155: Who is the most intelligent person I know?

myself?? IMDJSKAK

156: My most embarrassing memory?

don’t even make me think of one

157: What makes me nostalgic?

the smell of sweat pea hand sanitizer from bath and body works

158: Have I ever pulled an all-nighter?

yes

159: Which do I value more in others, brains or beauty?

brains i think

160: What colour mostly dominates my wardrobe?

black

161: Have I ever had a paranormal experience?

i don’t think so

162: What do I hate most about myself?

my lazy eye and my double chin

163: What do I love most about myself?

i can read a book quickly 

164: Do I like adventure?

ehhh

165: Do I believe in fate?

ehhh

166: Favourite animal?

dog (didn’t we already go over this??)

167: Have I ever been on radio?

no

168: Have I ever been on TV?

yes

169: How old am I?

16

170: One of my favourite quotes?

“go confidently in the direction of your dreams”

171: Do I hold grudges?

yes

172: Do I trust easily?

no

173: Have I learnt from my mistakes?

yes

174: Best gift I’ve ever received?

one direction tickets and autographs 

175: Do I dream?

yes

176: Have I ever had a night terror?

yes

177: Do I remember my dreams, and what is one that comes to mind?

yeah there’s a few that stick out

178: An experience that has made me stronger?

the whole of 2017

179: If I were immortal, what would I do?

that’s,,,,

180: Do I like shopping?

yes

181: If I could get away with a crime, what would I choose to do?

rob a bank

182: What does “family” mean to me?

,,,,,

183: What is my spirit animal?

whatever is really lazy

184: How do I want to be remembered?

,,,,,,,

185: If I could master one skill, what would I choose?

writing

186: What is my greatest failure?

a great question 

187: What is my greatest achievement?

a g r e a t q u e s t i o n 

188: Love or money?

love

189: Love or career?

hmmm depends

190: If I could time travel, where and when would I want to go?

stay in my area and go back to the 90s maybe??

191: What makes me the happiest?

reading

192: What is “home” to me?

my bedroomksddsm

193: What motivates me?

competition 

194: If I could choose my last words, what would they be?

“play one direction at my funeral”

195: Would I ever want to encounter aliens?

hm i don’t think so 

196: A movie that scared me as a child?

didn’t have one

197: Something I hated as a child that I like now?

moussaka

198: Zombies or vampires?

vampires

199: Live in the city or suburbs?

city

200: Dragons or wizards?

wizards

201: A nightmare that has stayed with me?

oof

202: How do I define love?

never experienced it so i wouldn’t really know 

203: Do I judge a book by its cover?

yes

204: Have I ever had my heart broken?

no

205: Do I like my handwriting?

no

206: Sweet or savory?

both

207: Worst job I’ve had?

never had a job

208: Do I collect anything?

snow globes and pop figures 

209: Item of clothing or jewellery you’ll never see me without?

bracelet and ring

210: What is on my bucket list?

go to london

211: How do I handle anger?

sometimes i start crying or i go on tumblr and blast music

212: Was I named after anyone?

my grandfather 

213: Do I use sarcasm a lot?

so much oh my god

214: What TV character am I most like?

Charlie from Lost

215: What is the weirdest talent I have?

don’t have one

216: Favourite fictional character?

Peter Parker,,, you’re the one🎶🎶

[dork-empress]

AUvember Day 13 Miraculous Ladybug--Roleswap

This kinda ended up being a roleswap version of the Bubbler, but with talking about dieting culture, and if I had more time I might have switched things around differently, but instead I went with the obvious of switching out Marinette and Adrien. Oh well. 

“I saw her!” Alya said that morning, “ I SAW Chat Noir!”

Marinette smiled kindly, fiddling with the ring in her bag, “Oh? Was there an Akuma attack this morning?”

“No, no, she was just jumping through the streets!” Alya said, “Look, I got a picture for my blog!”

Marinette nodded again, looking at it, “That’s very interesting, Alya, I wonder what she was doing?” Marinette of course new exactly what Chat Noir was doing that morning. She had been late for class and it was easier to jump around Paris in a catsuit than face the early morning traffic.

“Probably something really cool like saving a kitten out of a tree or something,” Alya said, “Or maybe she was out on a date with the Ladybug?”

Marinette chuckled, “She wishes.” She did wish. The Ladybug was so cool, so calm and collected, and kind and was always there to save the day. He was her own personal hero, even though as they fought beside one another as friends, he wouldn’t normally give her the time of day.

“H-Hey, Marinette!” Marinette looked up to see Adrien approaching. “Um, My dad made too many muffins at the bakery, do you…do you want one?” He offered it sheepishly.

She smiled, “Sure, that sounds delicious.” Marinette said, reaching for one, only to be grunted at. She turned behind her. Her mother’s assistant was standing there, after somehow catching up with her that morning, and shaking her head. How’d she get here so fast. “Um, actually, Adrien, I don’t think I can accept. Thank you, though,” She smiled.

“I’ll take one! Alya said happily.

Adrien sighed in defeat, handing the nearly empty box to Alya and then walking away. “Hey, what was that about?” Alya asked, “Adrien’s muffins are really good and he’s really nice. Why didn’t you want one?”

Marinette sighed as she went into the school, “My mother has me on a diet. She’s worried if I eat too much I’ll lose my figure.”

“Your FIGURE?!” Alya said, shocked, “But—you’re already skinny! What more does she want?”

Marinette shrugged, “To stay skinny, I guess.”

Alya gaped, horrified, “That’s…that’s TERRIBLE!” she said, “You’re only 14, that’s UNHEALTHY. You should be able to eat what you want!”

“Honestly, it’s not so bad,” Marinette said, “And I like salads.”

Alya scoffed, “It’s wrong…It’s just…It’s plain wrong. You know, Marinette, I don’t…I don’t want to step out of line here, but oh god sometimes your mother…UGH she just makes me so mad!”

“Alya, calm down,” Marinette said, “It’s not a big deal, lets just get to class.”

Marinette could tell Alya was still unhappy throughout the day. When they broke for lunch, Alya pulled her aside and into an abandoned classroom. “Alya, what—“

“Shh!” Alya said, looking both ways. “Okay, coast is clear,” She closed the door and the blinds leaving them in partial darkness, if it wasn’t for the open window. She reached into her bag and pulled out Adrien’s muffin from that morning wrapped in a napkin. It was crumbling a bit, but still more or less whole. “Here, It’s a crime not being able to try these.”

“Alya, I don’t know, that seems like—“

“Shhh,” Alya said, “What your mother doesn’t know won’t hurt her.”

Marinette smiled and took the muffin, biting into it. “Oh my god,” she said, “This…this is amazing!”

“I know, right!”

Marinette dug into it, crumbs flying everywhere. “Thanks Al,” She said, “Now, I have to head out, Mom’s assistant’s picking me up for Lunch!”

“Alright! Enjoy your single crouton!” Alya waved as she left. Marinette rolled her eyes.

Upon reaching the limosine, Marinette was ready to jump in, “Wait!” the assistant said, pause right there.”

Marinette froze in horror as the assistant leaned down and plucked a stray crumb from her shirt. “Marinette Agreste. WHAT have you been eating?!”

Marinette hunched her shoulders, “It…it was just a little muffin…”

“A MUFFIN?!” the assistant said, appalled, “Do you KNOW how many calories are in something like that? Do you WANT to get fat?” Marinette winced, shaking her head.

“Hey!” If she was horrified before, she was even more so at hearing Alya’s voice, “Don’t say that to her! Stop it with the fatshaming! She’s still a kid, let her be a kid!”

The assistant looked down her glasses at her. “Sorry, girl, but YOU’RE not her parent. Get in the car, Marinette, you can do your homework as you’ve already eaten your lunch.”

“WHAT?!” Alya called at them, but Marinette was hunched over, getting into the car and the limosine drove away, “WHAT?! NO! THAT’S! THAT’S STARVATION! CHILD CRUELTY! YOU CAN’T DO SOMETHING LIKE THAT!”

The limosine was already gone, and all she got were stares. She kicked a trash can in anger.

“Alya Lahiffe,” she heard a voice say, “You want to fight for justice of those who have been wronged. I will give you the power to do so, and all I ask in return is for you to bring me Chat Noir and Ladybug’s Miraculous.”

“I will do anything to right the wrongs here.”

Far away, Marinette was sulking. The muffin had been good, but she was still hungry. She tried to focus on doing her work instead. She was allowed a glass of water, and that…helped.

The glass of water shook. The ground rumbled. Marinette watched. The water shook again. She looked out her window.

A woman on candy cane stilts was walking towards her, “And YOU get a treat!” She said, “And YOU get a treat! Everyone gets a treat from Queen Candy!!”

“Alya?” She asked, watching the woman in brightly colored clothes walk a direct line to the mansion.

“Oh, Marineeeette,” Alya sung, “I have your lunch for you! It’s muffins, croissants, a chocolate fountain, ALL YOU CAN EAT!! Come get it!

Marinette took her hand out of her pocket, but Alya was too close. “Alya, stop!” She said, “This…this is too much!”

“It’s not too much! You deserve it! Come get a nice treat!” She said at Marinette’s window.

“It’s just…it’s too much!” Marinette said as her room was filled with candy galore.

“What is happening here?” Her assistant came into the room and gasped at all of the sweets, “What in the name—get all of this out of here at once!”

“Oh, you don’t get a treat, scary lady!” Queen Candy said, “No, no, instead, you get, a TRICK!”

She pointed her candy gun at the assistant and fired. Instead of showering her in candy as the weapon had done to everyone else, the assistant was frozen in a block of chocolate.

[davidarc]

An Alternative Author Interview

TCL’s Countdown Questions

My fellow blogger Jill Doyle has a lovely thing on her blog called “Five on Friday” where she asks authors five questions that each require five answers. I thought this was really great, mostly because I’ve never done an author interview myself – at least not a good one. I mean, I’ve asked authors for guest posts, but so far, I’ve only given them one question to answer. That’s not really an interview. So, I thought that if I could come up with a set of fun questions to ask authors, maybe I’d do it myself. After quite a bit of thinking, I came up with the following:

If you could visit five (5) places you’ve never been, where would you go and why?

Name four (4) foods or dishes that you enjoy so much that they’ve practically become part of your personality.

There is the past, the present, and the future – if you could choose, which of these three (3) would you prefer to live in, and why?

Best and worst – you choose which – name two (2) of either your best moments of your life, worst moments of your life, or one of each.

Name one (1) book you’ve read in the past year (or so) that you wish you had written, and why.

This week, I’d like to introduce you to the award-winning author Jane Davis.

Don’t let anyone tell you that indie authors are any less talented than the big name writers putting out their work through high profile publishers, because Jane Davis proves that to be totally wrong. The first of Jane Davis’ novels I read was her 2014 novel “I Stopped Time.” This novel straddled both contemporary and historical fiction, and drew me in completely. That’s what led me to read two of her subsequent novels “An Unknown Woman,” and “Smash all the Windows.” But that wasn’t enough for me, so I went out and bought a few of her earlier works. So far, I’ve read and adored her 2016 novel “My Counterfeit Self,” which quickly became my favorite of her books! (By the way, I think Jane has the absolute most beautiful book cover art I’ve ever seen, bar none! See below.) Enough about me; let’s see how Jane answers my countdown questions!

If you could visit five (5) places you’ve never been, where would you go and why?

I’ve made personal commitment not to fly unless there’s no alternative, so I’ve been deliberate about making sure all my choices are in the United Kingdom. I’m a keen walker so I like to think that I know my home country pretty well, but it’s amazing how you get into the habit of falling back on ‘old favourites’ rather than trying somewhere new.

I’ll start with what looks like the most achievable of my goals, Eltham Palace. It’s hard to say why I’ve never been because (a) it’s been on my radar for some time and (b) it’s within easy reach of London. Eltham Palace was Henry VIII’s childhood home. Living so close to Carew Manor, the site of Nonsuch Palace and Hampton Court, I feel an immediate connection with it. However, Eltham Palace is somewhere that is not entirely as it seems. In the 1930’s, Stephen and Virginia Courtauld leased the property, then in a state of neglect, and transformed its interior into an Art Deco lover’s dream.

Eltham Palace Art Deco Room!

Another prime example of staying within my comfort zone. I adore North Wales, but don’t usually get past Snowdonia and Anglesey. Only a little further around the coast is Portmeirion, described here as ‘an Italian village in North Wales.’ A must for a person who loves places that are trapped in their own time capsule.

My third choice is a bit of author confession. I’ve written about Northumberland, but I’ve never actually been. And there are so many reasons to go! It has the one of the lowest levels of light pollution in the UK, which makes it one of the best places to study the night sky. I want to walk the walk to Bamburgh Castle that Maggie describes in Smash all the Windows, a kind of retrospective pilgrimage. It’s home to Barter Bookshops. And, of course, puffins!

I want to make it up to Local Hero country. And yes, I know Ferness is fictional – an amalgamation of several different locations – so the best thing to do may be to follow the North coastal road. Just to make sure I don’t miss anything.

My final choice is a bit of a cheat because it takes in so many places along the way, but also a long-held ambition of mine. I’d like to walk the ley line known as the St Michael Alignment, starting in Cornwall and ending in Hopton. It’s the kind of trip that will involve more holiday time than I can justify, but perhaps one day…

Name four (4) foods or dishes that you enjoy so much that they’ve practically become part of your personality.

This is a toughie for me as I’m actually in a transitional stage in terms of diet. A couple of years ago my answer would have been fillet steak and dauphinoise potato or a slow-cooked shoulder of lamb, but then Matt and I switched to the World Health Organisation diet. This means that we eat meat no more than once a week, and then only a limited amount. (We don’t miss it half as much as we thought we would.) This has taken some of the things we used to love to eat off the menu. It has also led to some fairly experimental never-to-be-repeated and not-to-be mentioned cookery.

So, can I justify including Thai Green Chicken Curry? Yes, I think I can.

And what about Crispy Duck pancake rolls? Why the hell not?

A term I appear to have coined is ‘breakfast cake’. This is leftover cake or pudding (or occasionally cold caramelised apple crumble) that you eat in lieu of breakfast. Can you tell that I grew up in the era of zero tolerance for food waste and diet replacement meals?

I seem to need quite a lot to eat in the morning and then can forego lunch, but I do quite often have ‘second breakfast’ in honour of Winnie the Pooh. My favourite second breakfast is crumpets. I think they may be a peculiarly English thing. While a croissant can fall short of expectations, a crumpet never disappoints.

I see myself as more of a host than a cook. If you come to dinner at our house, what you will usually be served as a starter is a huge platter of buffalo mozzarella, tomatoes (fresh and semi-dried), olives, marinated grilled vegetables, perhaps some of those sweet chilli peppers stuffed with cheese and focaccia with plenty of oil and balsamic vinegar for dipping. I am often asked if I am ‘doing that thing’. I tend to call it ‘picky bits.’

There is the past, the present, and the future – if you could choose, which of these three (3) would you prefer to live in, and why?

There are decades in the past I could look at think, ‘Then, for the glamour’ (see book choice, below), but to squeeze in a whole lifetime missing wars, plagues, subordination and shacklement?

I’m afraid that, to me, the future seems such an uncertain time-limited thing.

The present is far from perfect, but already I’ve managed to achieve more than I ever thought possible for someone from my background and education, and few of the things I have wasted so much time and energy worrying about have happened. I think I’ll stick with what I know.

Best and worst – you choose which – name two (2) of either your best moments of your life, worst moments of your life, or one of each.

This is one of those questions when you don’t want to lie, but the truth is deeply personal and so the detail has to be vague because your story never belongs to you alone.

The worst? I will say that the first time you lose a friend who was your own age is life-changing in so many ways.

The best? A summer camp spent at Fairfield Manor with the girl guides came pretty close to being perfect. The freedom of being away from home, possibly the only year when I didn’t have an older or younger Davis sister with me (no offence, but it is nice to escape once in a while), the exceptionally attractive archery instructor, discovering I was good at physical things after years of being the last to be picked for sports teams, Geno (Dexy’s Midnight Runners) in the charts…

But then so was the first time I ever climbed a mountain. I remember being eighteen, driven by my then boyfriend to Snowdon up through the Black Mountains, which was the most magical landscape I have ever seen. And when he pointed out the peak we were to climb the next day – the highest of them all – saying, “What, we’re going up there?” I remember the burn in my muscles, the way that the body refuses to do something but then seems to accept it has to, and then the elation of standing on top of the world. I recommend it to anyone.

Courtesy of Pixabay

Name one (1) book you’ve read in the past year (or so) that you wish you had written, and why.

This one is simple. I don’t need to hesitate. Swan Song by Kelleigh Greenberg-Jephcott. My goodness, what an achievement. When I see adverts on Facebook that say, ‘I hate to break it to you but you’re wasting your life if you spend months writing a book’ I get so riled, I can’t always think of a sensible arguments to counter such absolute drivel. Now I only need to refer to this book. It represents ten years of commitment, and not a moment of those ten years was wasted. The subject of the book – Truman Capote – is someone I’ve always been fascinated with, but other books I’ve read or films I’ve seen have focused on his relationship with Harper Lee, or the murderer, Perry Smith. The narrator of Swan Song is unidentified, but is clearly one of his ‘swans’, the group of influential and fascinating socialites (CZ Guest, Babe Paley, Marella Agnelli, Slim Keith, Lee Radziwill, Gloria Guiness) he befriended and then – in their opinion – betrayed. The tone is confiding and gossipy, so that you’re drawn deep inside their clique, which means that, spared none of the detail, you get to decide what you think about Truman. And it’s a debut novel!

Thanks, Jane! (I’ve actually climbed Snowdon, but a sudden, heavy fog ruined our view from the summit. Maybe we should try again someday!)

Hailed by The Bookseller as ‘One to Watch’, Jane Davis is the author of eight novels (so far), and she is a member of The Alliance of Independent Authors. Jane spent her twenties and the first part of her thirties chasing promotions at work, but when she achieved what she’d set out to do, she discovered that it wasn’t what she wanted after all. It was then that she turned to writing.

Her debut, Half-truths & White Lies, won the Daily Mail First Novel Award 2008. Of her subsequent three novels, Compulsion Reads wrote, ‘Davis is a phenomenal writer, whose ability to create well-rounded characters that are easy to relate to feels effortless’. Her 2015 novel, An Unknown Woman, was Writing Magazine’s Self-published Book of the Year 2016 and was shortlisted for two further awards. In 2019, her last novel, Smash All the Windows won inaugural Selfies Award, sponsored by IngramSpark and run in association with The London Book Fair and Bookollective.

Jane lives in Carshalton, Surrey with her Formula 1 obsessed, star-gazing, beer-brewing partner, surrounded by growing piles of paperbacks, CDs and general chaos. When she isn’t writing, you may spot her disappearing up a mountain with a camera in hand. Her favourite description of fiction is ‘made-up truth’.

Website: https://jane-davis.co.uk Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/JaneDavisAuthorPage Twitter: https://twitter.com/janedavisauthor Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/janeeleanordavi/boards/ Press enquiries: janerossdale@btinternet.com

TCL’s Countdown Questions #5: Author Jane Davis. Wow... this is wonderful @janedavisauthor! Thanks! An Alternative Author Interview TCL’s Countdown Questions My fellow blogger Jill Doyle has a lovely thing on her blog called “

[felixvalleur]

                       FELIX VALLEUR CHARACTER SHEET

BASIC INFORMATION

FULL NAME: Felix Ellis Valleur PRONUNCIATION: Listen here. MEANING: Felix: Lucky or successful in Latin. Ellis: God is salvation. REASONING: Named after his mother’s father and given his father’s name as his middle name.  NICKNAME(S): Fe PREFERRED NAME(S): Felix BIRTH DATE: March 30, 1640 AGE: 379 ZODIAC: Aries GENDER: Male PRONOUNS: He/His ROMANTIC ORIENTATION: Hetero-romantic SEXUAL ORIENTATION: Heterosexual NATIONALITY: Currently living in America, was born at sea.  ETHNICITY: Caucasian.  CURRENT LOCATION: Thornridge. LIVING CONDITIONS: Well off, lives in a nice condo with little light and frequents the home shared by the clan.  TITLE(S): Councilman

BACKGROUND

BIRTH PLACE: The Atlantic Ocean. HOMETOWN: N/A SOCIAL CLASS: Grew up in a transient lifestyle with little to his or his family’s name, better off now. EDUCATION LEVEL: No formal education. FATHER: Ellis Valleur MOTHER: Catherine Barden SIBLING(S): Ellis Valleur (II), Ellen Valleur BIRTH ORDER: Ellis Valleur (II), Felix Valleur, Ellen Valleur CHILDREN: N/A PET(S): N/A OTHER IMPORTANT RELATIVES: None that are alive. He was not close to his relatives when they were alive.  PREVIOUS RELATIONSHIPS: Felix has had a number of past relationships, some more serious than others. His last true love was over a century ago and ended with the woman’s death.  ARRESTS?: He’s been busted a few times at brothels in recent history. He thinks people are becoming annoyingly prudish.  PRISON TIME?: N/A

OCCUPATION & INCOME

PRIMARY SOURCE OF INCOME: Council position. SECONDARY SOURCE OF INCOME: The hotel/brothel in Thornridge. TERTIARY SOURCE(S) OF INCOME: Savings from the past one hundred or so years. CONTENT WITH THEIR JOB (OR LACK THERE OF)?: At the moment, yes. Felix is incredibly pleased with his position on the council, as he thinks it will serve the vampires well. He thinks of himself as an advocate for their true rights. He enjoys the hotel because he gets to meet all of the people that come through town for business, plus he gets to keep an eye on who wants pleasure. PAST JOB(S): He’s had a slew of occupations and changes his job depending on where he’s living. In the past, he’s been a thief, a traveling merchant, run nightlife establishments, worked a brief stint as a pimp, and kept books for his old clan’s business. SPENDING HABITS: He spends what he wants when he wants. While he thinks about savings for the future, living forever gives him the peace of mind that he will be able to make more money somehow, some way. Generally, he doesn’t purchase gaudy, unnecessary items, but he might splurge on occasion.  MOST VALUABLE POSSESSION: His Tesla.

SKILLS & ABILITIES

PHYSICAL STRENGTH: Typical vampire strength.  OFFENSE: Not usually the first one to physically attack, though he’ll play mental games all day. DEFENSE: Better at physical defense than offense.  SPEED: Typical vampire speed. INTELLIGENCE: Felix was not formally educated. Up until his turn, he couldn’t even read. Once he was a vampire and had the means to travel and explore the world, he learned from others. Now, he’s of average intelligence but is thirsty for knowledge. ACCURACY: Fairly accurate considering his abilities. AGILITY:  Above average agility.  STAMINA: Above average stamina so long as he isn’t full of bloodlust. TEAMWORK:  Works well in teams with similar mindsets and ideals, but he has a hard time working with people who oppose him.  TALENTS: A good mediator, great at constructing a persuasive argument, safe driver, fantastic piano player, surprisingly good bookkeeper.  SHORTCOMINGS: He’s power driven and sometimes loses sight of the people around him if he’s in a position to take a step up, even his group orientated nature is selfish as well (i.e.. vampires should do what they want, regardless of consequences to humans), still has no idea what the point of most human technology is.  LANGUAGE(S) SPOKEN: Spanish, Italian, English DRIVE?: Yes JUMP-START A CAR?: Can do it, not his favorite. CHANGE A FLAT TIRE?: Can do it, would rather someone else do it. RIDE A BICYCLE?: Can’t do it.  SWIM?: Can do it. PLAY AN INSTRUMENT?: Piano. PLAY CHESS?: Yes. BRAID HAIR?:  No. TIE A TIE?: Yes. PICK A LOCK?: Yes.

PHYSICAL APPEARANCE & CHARACTERISTICS

FACE CLAIM: Milo Ventimiglia EYE COLOR: Light Brown HAIR COLOR: Dark Brown HAIR TYPE/STYLE: Medium to long in length, wavy, very thick. Usually messy in a purposeful way, slicked back for important occasions.  GLASSES/CONTACTS?:  N/A DOMINANT HAND: Right HEIGHT: 180 lb WEIGHT:  5′9″ BUILD:  Lean and toned. EXERCISE HABITS: Occasionally runs, but it’s more of a habit than for exercise purposes. It helps him clear his mind.  SKIN TONE: Light. TATTOOS: N/A PIERCINGS: N/A MARKS/SCARS: Bite marks from his turn. NOTABLE FEATURES: Prominent facial angles. USUAL EXPRESSION: Easy, slight smirk. CLOTHING STYLE: Business casual. You’ll rarely see Felix in a pair of jeans or a t-shirt. He prefers clothes with a bit more structure and that gives off an impression of dominance or importance.  JEWELRY: When he was young, he wore a cross around his neck. He’s long since abandoned that. ALLERGIES: N/A BODY TEMPERATURE: Cool. DIET: Mostly blood from willing humans, occasionally supplements with animal blood, and does dine on regular food for social gatherings. PHYSICAL AILMENTS: Just the vampirism. 

PSYCHOLOGY

JUNG TYPE: Extravert (81%) Intuitive (34%) Feeling (9%) Perceiving (6%) ENNEAGRAM TYPE: Competitive Achiever MORAL ALIGNMENT: Lawful Evil TEMPERAMENT: Sanguine ELEMENT: Fire PRIMARY INTELLIGENCE TYPE: Interpersonal APPROXIMATE IQ: 105 MENTAL CONDITIONS/DISORDERS: N/A SOCIABILITY: Enterprising EMOTIONAL STABILITY: Fairly Stable OBSESSION(S): Vampire rights  COMPULSION(S): N/A PHOBIA(S): No actual phobias, though he is skeptical of airplanes.  ADDICTION(S): Besides blood? None. DRUG USE: Social.  ALCOHOL USE: Social.  PRONE TO VIOLENCE?: It’s not his first response, but he isn’t afraid to get violent. 

MANNERISMS

SPEECH STYLE: Colloquial and personable.  ACCENT: Depending on where he lives, he picks up a bit of a different accent. Right now it’s a general American accent.  QUIRKS: Dislikes animal blood, tries very hard to only drink from feeder humans.  HOBBIES: Running, mentoring new clan members, recruiting clan members, drawing up ideas for new vampire run businesses HABITS: Clicks his tongue, taps his fingers, almost always wakes up and goes to sleep at the same time NERVOUS TICKS: Tapping his fingers on any hard surface, biting through his bottom lip, grinding his teeth.  DRIVES/MOTIVATIONS: Freedom for vampires closest to him, to amass a following, to be remembered FEARS:  Death, Being Forgotten POSITIVE TRAITS: Persuasive, Decisive NEGATIVE TRAITS: Spiteful, Power-Hungry SENSE OF HUMOR: Very cheesy, though he does enjoy sarcasm DO THEY CURSE OFTEN?: Not particularly, unless he’s intoxicated or blood thirsty. CATCHPHRASE(S): “Are you here for business or pleasure?”

FAVORITES

ACTIVITY: He truly enjoys spending time with the rest of the clan at the brothel. Getting to know everyone in a place where almost anything goes? That’s Felix’s idea of fun.  ANIMAL: He used to really enjoy animals (though he mostly encountered mice and fish), but now he doesn’t care for any of them. For hunting purposes, he enjoys bigger game. A nice cougar, for instance.  BEVERAGE: This seems pretty obvious - blood. BOOK: He absolutely adores his classical copy of old Christmas stories. He brings weathered copy with him every time he moves. COLOR: Deep red FOOD: His favorite normal, human food is a croissant - who doesn’t love flaky bread? FLOWER: Poppy GEM: Sapphire  HOLIDAY:  Christmas MODE OF TRANSPORTATION: His car MOVIE: Miracle on 34th Street MUSICAL ARTIST: Def Leppard QUOTE/SAYING: “To achieve greatness, one should live as if they will never die.” SCENERY: Felix loves the waterfront, but it’s dangerous because of the sun, so he isn’t able to spend a lot of time in those places.  SCENT: Vanilla.  SPORT: He doesn’t enjoy playing any particular sport, but he does enjoy watching hockey.  SPORTS TEAM: N/A TELEVISION SHOW: He loves What We Do in the Shadows.  WEATHER: He used to love a nice, breezy day on the water. Now, he just hopes it’s cloudy even at night.  VACATION DESTINATION: Somewhere sunny and warm - that has a good nightlife scene. 

ATTITUDES

GREATEST DREAM: To be an Elder Vampire. GREATEST FEAR: To die and be forgotten. MOST AT EASE WHEN: He is surrounded by people who trust him or at least are listening to him.  LEAST AT EASE WHEN:  He is alone or with someone who clearly distrusts him.  WORST POSSIBLE THING THAT COULD HAPPEN: Being banished to a place with no other vampires, or being punished and being forced to starve for any amount of time.  BIGGEST ACHIEVEMENT: During this century, his council position. BIGGEST REGRET: Not challenging the Elder before moving to Thornridge. MOST EMBARRASSING MOMENT: In recent history, being caught in his lie about what was happening in Thornridge.  BIGGEST SECRET: His desire to eventually take power.  TOP PRIORITIES: Make sure the clan feels safe and welcomed in town, whether by politics or by force, and to get the mayor off their back. 

Credit xx

[thethirstisoutthere]

(kismet)

Paper Clip Post-Ep fic for @txf-fic-chicks challenge Rating: PG angst/fluff. Length: just under 2000 words Summary: Scully cleans Melissa’s apartment, with Mulder’s help. Spoilers: Paper Clip, allusions to season 4 & 7 Author: Me, @thethirstisoutthere, who hasn’t posted a fic on tumblr ever. Thanks to @kateyes224 for saying “why don’t you write a fic, Mel?”

Scully stood alone in Melissa's home, packing up the remnants of her sister's short life. It had been two weeks since the funeral, and Scully still couldn't believe that her free-spirited sister had been buried in D.C. The city didn't suit Melissa at all, but Scully knew why she had returned to it. After years of being on the road, hopping from boyfriend to girlfriend to job to city to religion to diet and everything in between, Melissa wanted to be with her family — to be close to her mother and her only sister. Scully wiped a tear from her eye, grateful that Melissa had spent her last few years in this staid, studio apartment in Georgetown. As Scully pulled another book from the shelves, she wondered if Melissa had known (she was so intuitive, after all) that her time on this planet would be short. But it was too morbid a thought, so Scully shook it aside.

It was the only way that Scully could get through her grief: she compartmentalized her feelings in the same way as she was left to organize Melissa's things. She made piles: to throw away, to donate, to keep. Scully had made the choice to forgive herself for her sister's death, to focus on the good memories and not the bullet that was meant for her. It was the only way she could go on living, and it was what Melissa would have wanted, anyway. She would have given Scully all of the bohemian advice in the known universe to calm her nerves.

Take deep breaths. Think positive thoughts. Choose joy.

Would she ever feel joy again?

It felt... impossible.

Scully slid into the dark place. The book fell from her hand. She collapsed to her knees. And wept.

***

Scully didn't know how long she had been lying on the floor of Melissa's apartment when she heard the knock at the door. The gentle rapping woke her and she felt a flush of embarrassment. She unravelled from her fetal position, dug her palms into the handwoven rug, and slowly, painfully, began to push herself up to stand.

Why did every simple movement feel like such a struggle?

As she rolled up vertebrae by vertebrae, Scully heard another knock. "Just a minute."

"It's only me. Take your time."

Mulder.

Had she mentioned to him that she would be at Melissa's? Maybe, in a haze... but she didn't expect him to join her. She walked to the door and unlocked it to reveal his half-smiling face.

Her partner.

She looked at him and felt something that she hadn't felt in a long time. She couldn't pinpoint the feeling. Was it relief? She didn't know whether to laugh or cry, but whatever the surge of emotion, she managed to suppress it.

Mulder held two coffees in a takeaway container in one hand, a bag of pastries in the other.

"I thought you could probably use a boost." He entered the small, sunlit apartment, walked to the round dining table, and set down the coffee and food. "Croissant?"

"Not hungry. I'll take a coffee, though. Thanks."

"You're welcome."

Scully crossed over to him and lifted the coffee to her lips. They stood across from each other at the table, sipped their drinks, and said nothing. They could have taken a seat at the table, but they didn't. Because Scully knew that if she sat with Mulder, she'd fall apart. And Mulder sensed it, ever in tune with her needs.

After a few minutes, Mulder started to pace around Melissa's apartment, taking it in. The crystals, the plants, the dreamcatchers. The bead curtain separating her bed from the open floor plan. Books on yoga, witchcraft, Hinduism. Melissa's Reiki certification, in a frame hanging askew on the wall.

Mulder noticed the piles. "So... you got a system?"

"Yeah. Garbage. Donate. Keep," Scully pointed.

Mulder pulled a book from the cardboard box next to the shelves. "Ahh... Spiritual Astrology. I guess it's safe for me to assume that this is getting donated?"

"You would be correct."

"Scully, you're a Pisces, right? Aren't they interested in escaping reality?"

"How else could I have worked on The X-Files for so long?"

"Ha. Touché. And here I was thinking that the only thing keeping you around was my winning personality."

Scully shot Mulder a slight smile, and felt a lightness for the first time in an eternity. It surprised her, how having Mulder in the apartment brought levity to the whole situation.

"You know," Mulder said, "I'm about as open-minded as they come, but some of the books on these shelves are making me feel like a skeptic. This must be what it feels like to be around me most of the time, huh?"

"Most of the time," Scully grinned.

"It's good to know you haven't lost your sense of humour."

"Mulder, thank you."

"For what?"

"Being here." Scully felt her voice crack and stopped herself just short of crying.

Mulder sensed a need to keep the mood light. "Well, these books aren't going to donate themselves. Do you want me to just pack 'em?"

"Sure, go ahead. I can start working on the dishes. I think some of them belonged to my grandmother — my mom might want them."

"How is your mom?"

"She..." Scully took a breath before continuing, "she still has a hard time being here. So... that's why I'm flying solo. Bill is shipping out to Japan on Thursday and Charlie is... being Charlie."

Ahh, the mysterious, estranged brother. Mulder knew that their relationship was a touchy subject and felt it best not to press.

"Hey Scully - do you think the Salvation Army will even accept this book or do they draw the line at the Occult?" He held up a black book with a pentagram on the cover.

"Someone will take them, just not me."

"You sure you don't want any of these books? Imagine how good they'd look sitting next to your medical textbooks."

"Mulder - "

"Crystal Enlightenment next to Applied Physiology in Intensive Care Medicine? Gives me chills!"

"They'd revoke my licence."

"It would certainly scare off any potential mates."

"Oh, yes," Scully rolled her eyes, "for my revolving door of suitors. You do realize that you're the only man that's entered my home in the last four years?"

Mulder smiled. He was happy to hear it. But he wouldn't tell her that. Not yet.

"You know, Melvin Frohike is also single and very interested," he said instead.

"Mulder - this china may be an heirloom but don't think I won't throw it at you."

Mulder chuckled. He continued to pack the books from the shelves into boxes, while Scully worked away in the kitchen cupboards.

***

They spent the rest of the day sorting Melissa's things, mostly in silence. Mulder checked in with Scully occasionally, but only when he was unsure of where to place something. Having Mulder around kept Scully from retreating into her grief, and she was thankful for it. Hours had passed and they had accomplished more together than Scully had on her own in a week. This is what their partnership was like —  easy, safe, comfortable. They complemented each other, worked well together, even in the darkest times.

Scully stood in the tiny bathroom, packing up toiletries. Never one to waste, she resolved to take whatever she could use at home, but drew the line at crystal deodorant. At least Melissa's soaps were nice.

The bathroom door was wide open, giving Scully full view of Mulder across the apartment. He was standing in the light of the bay window, carefully placing small potted plants in milk crates. Focused on the task, his eyes were clear and sharp and earnest. Scully felt a pang in her heart as she watched this soulful man. He had become such a fixture in her life over the last three years. Her thoughts turned back to Melissa, and how she was really the only member of Scully's family who supported her decision to join the FBI.

It wasn't about the work, Melissa had said, but about the people she'd meet.

"I can sense these things, Dana. You're being drawn from medicine for a higher purpose, and it's not just because you'll be fulfilled by the work. You're destined to meet someone very special at the bureau. They're going to change your entire life."

At the time, Scully rolled her eyes — she was used to Melissa's unsolicited psychic readings and didn't give them much weight.

But looking at Mulder across the apartment, Scully knew that her sister had been right. Her relationship with Mulder, though platonic, was the deepest she had ever experienced with another person. Maybe it would turn romantic someday — but for now, Scully was content to simply have Mulder be the constant in her life.

And Melissa really liked him. That counted for something.

"Hey Scully - check this out!" Mulder reached behind the pot of a large philodendron and lifted a small Buddha statue. "What do you think he's doing back here?"

Scully placed the last of Melissa's toiletries in the small cardboard box and walked over to meet Mulder at the bay window.

"Was your sister Buddhist?" he asked.

"I think she believed in a lot of things."

"Hmm. It's weird that she'd have it stashed behind a plant. You'd think it be on display somewhere. I'm not super familiar with Buddhism but I'm pretty certain that you're supposed to keep the statue elevated."

Scully raised her eyebrow.

"You know, for maximum protection."

"Well... maybe you were supposed to find him, Mulder. I think you should keep it."

"You don't want it?"

"I'd feel like I'd be living a lie having it in my house, and there's no way anyone else in my family would take it. Besides, I think Melissa would want you to have something of hers. To thank you. For being here. For me."

Mulder didn't feel like arguing with a grieving woman, least of all Scully.

"I think it's kismet, Mulder."

"Since when do you believe in fate?"

Scully shrugged. "I just have a feeling that the Buddha is meant for you."

They shared a smile.

"Scully, do you feel like eating now? We're making good progress. I say we call it a day, grab some dinner, and pick everything up tomorrow. You in? I'm buying."

"Sure. But take the Buddha now so it doesn't get mixed up with everything else."

"I'm not leaving without him. You Buddha believe it, Scully!"

"Shut up, Mulder."

They grabbed their coats, walked out the door, and decided on pizza.

***

Melissa's Buddha statue sat in Mulder's car for the next few weeks. When Mulder re-discovered him during a routine car clean-up, he felt guilty for having abandoned him. He gingerly pulled the statue out of the trunk and carried him home. Not being a practicing Buddhist, Mulder felt weird about having the statue on display, but he still wanted to keep it as a memento — of Melissa, of Scully, of everything they'd been through together. The only square inch of his apartment that wasn't obvious (but still respectful, he thought) was underneath the fish tank. He made sure the statue was elevated, and faced him east. Mulder admired the Buddha's peaceful countenance in the warm green glow of the aquarium for a moment, but then he went to sleep and forgot about it.

It was there that Melissa's Buddha statue stayed for many years, out of sight and out of mind, but nonetheless keeping a watchful gaze on the comings and goings of Fox Mulder. He was there when Mulder faked his own death, and when Teena Mulder took her own life. And he was there on that fateful night when two lost and beautiful souls finally joined, consummating their relationship.

And from that moment, Mulder and Scully's lives changed forever. They were soulmates — just as Melissa Scully had predicted.

[thesimplyluxuriouslife]

20 Ways to Incorporate Your Love for the French Culture into Your Everyday

~The Simple Sophisticate, episode #144

~Subscribe to The Simple Sophisticate: iTunes | Stitcher | iHeartRadio

Recently a good friend of mine who is learning French as well, and inspires me with her advanced abilities, asked how my learning was progressing. Disappointed even to say it out loud, I stated I haven't been studying regularly. And while that is entirely true, I find myself playing with the little bit of the language I do know unconsciously throughout my days and in conversations and activities spent with those who know the language. I continue to share and be enticed by French-themed posts, articles and books, and have shared much of what I find on my Twitter feed, but it became glaringly apparent that I haven't written a Francophile post/episode in quite some time. However, as my recent daily schedule has shifted ever-so-slightly to make time for a special individual in my life, I am even more appreciative of the simply luxurious approach to living. In fact, it is the approach I write about here on TSLL and share on the podcast that enable me to let go, appreciate, and savor the everyday moments and unexpected extraordinary moments in the ordinary routine. The realization of the approach of letting go of the unnecessary and focusing on the necessary being the key to easily flexing with life has inspired me to ardently protect and cultivate further these aspects, many of which are inspired by what I appreciate about the French, and some would argue western-European culture. 1. Depend on flavors from herbs, spices and ordinary cooking staples to enhance the flavor of food After a recent conversation with an acquaintance from Belgium, I was reminded of the flavorful approach the French and other European countries take to cooking. First of all, they cook, they play with the food and the flavors and they don't bury their food in thick, sugar-laden sauces. The simple sautéing of garlic and shallots in olive oil to provide a flavorful base or finishing with lemon to maximize the flavor. How about adding some thyme or rosemary and don't forget the salt and pepper while you are cooking. 2. Discover the pleasure of thoughtful conversation, let go of small talk Part of being a good conversationalist is caring about what your fellow-converser is saying. Secondly, it requires of both to let go of where the conversation might lead. This is not easy for goal-driven, busy Americans. We want to accomplish something, complete it and move on. However, deeper, more intimate relationships cannot be built on demand. Slow down, relax and let the conversation flow naturally. Forget looking at the clock and just enjoy the moment. 3. Cook at home unless a restaurant can do it better Stock and prepare a kitchen that lends itself well to cooking whatever may be in the refrigerator on any given night. Make sure your Épicerie is properly stocked and the necessary cooking utensils are at the ready. Then, begin to experiment. Initially, this can be intimating, but with advice from those who know how, observation and practice, you will be whipping up delicious, simple, satiating meals Monday through Sunday if you so desire. (Learn more about how to become a cook in your kitchen here and here.) 4. Reexamine your diet. Eat flavorful, satiating food rather than empty calories. Eating well involves an appreciation of the food your are eating as well as respecting your body. We shouldn't have to swear off the delicious in order to tend to our cholesterol, etc. Moderation is the key and that requires of each of us knowledge about how the foods we eat affect our bodies. While eating is necessary, doing so mindlessly shouldn't be part of our approach. For example, reduce the soda intake and increase the fruit and vegetable consumption. 5. Savor a glass of wine with a home cooked meal, any day of the week To complement, not to cloud. Wine with dinner, a beautifully thoughtful dinner carefully prepared and presented deserves a savory partner in the form of a glass of wine. Sip, nibble, slow down and savor the culinary moment in front of you. 6. Reduce refined sugar White sugar, white flour, packaged, processed foods with additives. In other words, know what you are putting into your body and what those ingredients do to you body. (Read more here about my January - one month resolution to reduce or eliminate refined sugar.) 7. Think for yourself Have an opinion grounded in fact. Take the time to be aware of the world around you and refrain from rash assumptions. Being tactful in your approach and being aware of your audience reduces the need to be politically correct. Rather be honest, thoughtful and open to discussion. 8. Fall in love with daily rituals From my morning ritual breakfast of steel oats to my Friday evening unwind that begins with a long walk with the boys, cultivating daily, even weekly and monthly rituals gives us something to look forward to regularly. As someone who loves to step into the kitchen and prepare a meal, this daily ritual is something I enjoy beyond measure. Maybe for you it is your weekly yoga class or sitting down with the newspaper or a new magazine. Whatever your rituals are, protect them and cherish them. 9. Hydrate, hydrate, hydrate In #11 below, skincare will be discussed and part of an effective skincare routine is drinking water. Keep the consumption of alcohol and sugar drinks low and making water your drink of choice. 10. Treasure the dining experience Sit down for meals, set the table, turn off the television, converse, slow down. Add some flowers to the table to make it inviting even when not in use. Create a space that beckons to guests, asking them to sit down and enjoy a memorable moment. 11. Master a skincare routine Last month I shared with you eight of my favorite skincare products. Some items are inexpensive and some are an investment. However, the attention we pay to our skin is not a vain task. It is a task modeling respect for ourselves and the visage and therefore the woman we present to the world. Figuring out the skincare routine that will work best for your skin and age will take time and will in some aspects be an ever evolving process, but most items you discover that work for you, will work for you throughout your lifetime. Go, explore and then, pamper yourself each day. 12. Embrace the capsule approach to style Less is more and simple, well curated style speaks volumes, beautiful, powerful volumes, about the woman wearing the clothes. Learn more about the capsule wardrobe approach here. 13. Reserve social media for what inspires you The reason I follow the Instagram accounts I do is to tap into inspiration, beauty and a reminder of all that is full of goodness, diversity and unexpected magnificence in simplicity that surrounds us each day. Rarely do the accounts I follow include selfies, but rather city and nature scapes, a creative fashion combination, books, museum exhibits and vignettes of my favorite places around the world. Why not share with the world what inspires you and never know who will be moved. 14. Let go of trying too hard and begin to trust yourself Last Monday morning I woke up to sunshine and blue skies in Bend, Oregon. The birds were beginning to chirp and the snow was gradually melting. I looked outside and I just smiled. Sometimes, we get in our own way of savoring the gift that is life. In all of its simplicity, for some reason we think it has to be hard, and if it's not, we make it so by over-analyzing, doubting, sabotaging and over-extending ourselves. Life and how we exist in it is simple and it begins with being present, savoring the everyday, listening to yourself and adjusting to let go of what doesn't serve you and seek out what does and how you can contribute positively to the world. The everydays are the best part. And while it is a grand and necessary task to set goals, set them and then focus on what can be done today, allowing the unexpected to occur and dance with the days as they unfold. 15. Savor a piece of dark chocolate regularly Whenever I share my daily ritual of eating a dark chocolate truffle with a cup of hot tea each evening I do not partake in dessert, some nod their head and contemplate adding it to their routine and others chuckle at its either decadence or simplicity. Either way, I love this daily ritual and have been incorporating into my life since near the blog's commencement. The powers of dark chocolate are subtle, yet powerful and the flavor is magnificent. 16. Keep your Sundays sacred Speaking of rituals, one of my favorite rituals takes place on Sunday (last week it took place on Monday due to my schedule, but I made sure to savor it all the same - see below). The Sunday newspapers arrive (three in total), the hot tea is poured after a long walk with the boys and a croissant is often part of the moment as well. Hours can pass before I've made it through all of the intriguing articles. No matter how you prefer to spend your Sunday, protect, guard it and remember that doing so is an investment in the quality of your life and specifically in the kicking off of the week to come, ensuring it has its best chance possible to be a week to enjoy. 17. Think critically A few years ago I shared a post inspired by a book titled The Thinking Life: How to Thrive in the Age of Distraction . And in sharing and in teaching rhetoric in my second job that isn't blogging, I continue to be more convinced that the thinking life is the best way to live. Taking in all that we are exposed to can be overwhelming, but knowing how to do so effectively will enable us to live well. By applying the tools of rhetoric established by Aristotle to examine any piece of information that we come across, we can make sure we are not being led around by the nose and are indeed thinking for ourselves. 18. Revel and appreciate your uniqueness America is a self-help culture, and while there is absolutely nothing wrong with continuing to grow (see #19), not believing we are enough or not accepting ourselves for who we are in this moment, right now, is not easy for many of us. After all, if we could just lose those last few pounds, if we could just earn a slightly larger paycheck, if we could just fix our relationship status, focusing entirely, constantly on these "small" changes robs us of the now. And who you are right now, however flawed, is a beautiful thing. 19. Invest in Intellectual Wealth Make learning one of your favorite pastimes. Whether it is learning how to skate ski (as I did this winter season for the first time), learning how the three branches of the U.S. government work regarding checks and balances, or learning how to cook Sole Meunière. Tickle your mind and follow your curiosity and you will always find youth to be alive within you. 20. Quality over Quantity in all things The following 19 ways to incorporate the French culture into your everyday life, at their core, involve appreciating the experience and allowing what works well to exist without the excess. Quality, quality, quality. Above all else quality. And what works well for you may not be what works well for someone else, so what each of us chooses to invest in will indeed be different. But if your goal is to build a life that enables you to enjoy the everyday, and not constantly be dreaming about tomorrow, then your tomorrows need not to be worried about for you are ensuring now, today, in this moment, that they will be magnificent as well. ~SIMILAR POSTS YOU MIGHT ENJOY FROM THE ARCHIVES:

~Why Not . . . Be Fascinated by the French Culture?

~8 Ways to Master the French Mystique

~The French Way: How to Create a Luxurious Everyday Life (podcast #23)

  ~Petit Plaisir

~The Good Fight on CBS All Access

https://youtu.be/2c1LihE9kFw    

Image: source

Tune in to the latest episode of The Simple Sophisticate podcast

[peyton-takes-europe-blog]

1/8/16 to 1/15/16 Paris, Nice, Monaco and Cannes France

Bonjour family, friends and loved ones. I am writing this blog on all the new customs, cultures, food and incredible sites that I see during my study abroad and European experience. There are not enough pictures nor words to do the places that I visit justice but by writing about the most interesting/unique/beautiful/ect. things, I hope to share my incredible experience with my family, friends and loved ones as well as remember them myself for a lifetime. Some of the blogs may just be about trips I take during my time abroad, some about culture that I am immersed in or some could only be about food!!! Who knows! Some may be long and some short but all will have pictures from around Europe and the experiences I am enjoying.

My European adventure started in the best way …..a VACATIONNN! My mom accompanied me on this pre-study abroad vacation as she thought this would be the perfect excuse to travel. We began our travel in Paris. Here we had the pleasure to stay with one of my best friends Lena and her family. This was extra special because we got to see how true French people are in their homes and life besides being with one of my closest friends for 5 days.

This first blog may be a bit different (and longer) than the rest of them because it’s more about my vacation vs living in Salamanca. In this blog, I will be talking about the culture, food and sites from our experiences in Paris and the French Rivera. 

Day 1- Chicago to Paris

Once we landed in the gorgeous city of Paris, Lena and her Father Philippe greeted us. Lena had planned many activities and so we wouldn’t get sleepy and could combat our jet lag. This was extremely helpful during the day but the minute we sat down back at her apartment I felt like I was going to pass out from tiredness. We first ate lunch at Lena’s brother’s restaurant, a typical French restaurant, where we tried escargot and croque madame. Both very delicious and special dishes in France. I was surprised that I liked the snail! During the day we saw sights such as the Mayor of Paris’ house, outside and inside of Notre Dame and the famous lock bridge. We also rediscovered my moms love with big doors! After our day of activities we returned to Len’s house. Here we had Champagne with her wonderful parents! Lens dad explained that in France some people drink champagne like Americans drink soda (I like that <3).  Lens Dad prepared a wonderful fish dinner.

Day 2 – Paris

Our second day, little less jet lagged, began with a traditional French breakfast of coffee, fresh bread and chocolate croissants.  Len and her Mom showed us how to properly eat the croissants by dipping the pastry into your coffee or hot chocolate and then eat it. This was strange at first but I tried it and enjoyed the taste! Speaking of coffee American coffee is nowhere close to French coffee. French coffee is less watery and much stronger. Typically drunk black with no international delight Girl Scout cookie flavoring available. This is harder for me to get use to since I mostly enjoy coffee with syrups, creamers or flavoring. In the afternoon of our second day we enjoyed Macaroons at the very famous restaurant, Laduree. These were the very best macaroons. The ones that melt in your mouth. They were phenomenal. We then saw many national monuments around Paris and learned how all of the important buildings are all situated on the river La Seine. Back at Lena’s house we enjoyed Philippe’s tremendous homemade lasagna dinner. After dinner we tried French cheeses. Coming from Wisconsin I thought we knew everything about cheese but little did we know that was false … haha. We learned how French cheese is not pasteurized like Wisconsin cheese, which allows for a richer taste. French people often eat cheese after dinner like we eat desserts after dinner.  Then we had Laurence’s homemade tiramisu

Every single type and bite of food we had was FANOMAL in France. However my mom and I pointed out many many times, that French stay so skinny with all the delicious breads, pastries, chesses and desserts they eat! Len explained that although the French eat all this delicious and filling foods they don’t snack in-between and their food is all real, not changed nor preservatives added. Also most people from France rarely eat meat.  A seafood diet is more common and overall healthier for people to do. Also because of the abundant amount of public transportation people walk everywhere burning off all those fabulous foods.

Day 3 - Paris

On the third day we went to the city of Versailles (originally I thought this was just the castle but there is actually a whole city surrounding the castle). It is a very quaint town with more families and older people. We then went back to Lena’s house where Laurence, Len’s Mother, made fabulous homemade crepes with Nutella .They were wonderful! During the night of the third day we also went to the Eiffel Tower (pounced Tour Hey-Fell (no H)) and took super touristy pictures. Len explained that the Eiffel Tower was originally built for the world’s fair held in Paris in 1889; however, it was liked so much that the city decided to keep it. The Eiffel Tower is now one of the most recognizable monuments ever.

For dinner Len and her mom surprised us and took us on a riverboat dinner cruise. This cruise was phenomenal because all the important buildings in France are on the river. So during the cruise we saw all the buildings we had seen on our walking tour and more.  The food was also very good. As an appetizer we tried foie gras, which is a delicacy in France. It is made from the liver of a duck … not our favorite but at least we tried it. And French delicious chocolate for dessert.

Day 4 - Paris

On our last full day in Paris we went to China town of Paris and had sushi for lunch. As appose to Deklab’s Fushi Yami. Sushi here is simpler but very fresh. Also, had fun shopping and pizza for dinner.

Day 5 – Travel Day: Paris to Nice

Our travel day from Paris to Nice consisted of very stressful but funny experiences. For all travelers do not take Easy Jet if you are traveling heavy … this is meant for weekend travel with one small, small suitcase in tow…. Ops this was not us! So as a result, we were those people with our suitcases and stuff sprawled out all across the airport floor trying to shove more items in one suitcase and make the other suite case lighter.  Those crazy Americans.  After rearranging, finding out moms bag was too big, re-rearranging and $50 later, we were finally all checked in and ready for Nice, France and the amazing French Rivera.

Day 6 – Nice

Day one in Nice we walked along the Promedade, a long walk that goes from tip to tip of Nice right along the Mediterranean Sea. In the center of Nice there is an old fort that you can walk up and has now been turned into a park and walking trails on top. The view from the top of this fort was stunning. It seemed like you could see all of Nice, France and miles on miles of sea. Next we headed on the main street in Nice, Av. Jean Medecin. On this street are tons of shops, restaurants and coffee shops. In France they only have retail sales twice a year. One at the end of summer and one at the end of winter to get rid of winter/summer clothes. The winter sale is happening now! How tremendous for a shopping lover like me.  Unfortunately, I have zerooo room in my suitcase. For dinner we went to a local restaurant that serves a favorite of Nice called Daube. Its like beef stew with ravioli.  We arrived at 7:00pm (on the later side for Americans to eat) and were the ONLY people in the restaurant for about 20 mines. We were laughing at ourselves for thinking 7:00pm is late!

Day 7 – Nice

Day two in Nice we did a tour of the major cities and sites in the French Rivera. The first city we stopped in was Eze (mountain top picture). This town is situated into the side of the mountain. It is a very small town. On our way up the mountain we passed an older woman, our tour guide said she was 90 years old and walked up and down this hill every day. There are only 25 homes in this town, a church, some restaurants and small shops. At the top of the city is a garden of Cacti, this was strange to us because normally cacti are in dry/hot climates but Eze is on the sea (aka not dry). The view at the top of this city was incredible. After the city of Eze we drove to Monaco, which we learned is a country! It is the 2nd smallest county in the world and its size is ½ the size of Central Park in New York. We learned many different facts about Monaco and the rich of the rich who live or own there.

-       In Monaco 93% of the population don’t work

-       For a super small home/apartment it costs at minimum 1 million dollars

-       Only about 8000 people are citizens; however, 27,000 people have visas in Monaco and interesting how you can get a visa

-       The country has no taxes so much money laundering, hiding money, goes on

-       There is 1 policeman for every 15 people in the country of Monaco! Veryyyy safe, 0 crime rate.

In Monaco we saw changing of the guards in front of the prince of Monaco’s castle, drank $8 coffee at Café de Paris in Monte – Carlo and saw the formula racetrack around the country of Monaco.  Also, saw Grace Kelly’s grave. After we went to Cannes, which is the city that holds a famous annual film festival every year.  Next we drove through some small towns; La Californie, Gofe Juan and finally stopped in a town called Antibes. In this town famous artists such as Pablo Picasso got their great art start. The town is filled with little cobblestone streets and stores.

For dinner we found an Italian place close to our hotel that was open and had pasta there. It was hard to find this place to eat as in France most shops and restaurants are completely closed on Sundays! This was surprising to us. We had pasta, dessert and wine. After eating we asked for the bill and our waiter (who we think was the owner of the restaurant) brought us two glasses that were the size of a shot glass and smelled lemony and didn’t say anything about them. We looked at each other in confusion and then my mom took her drink like a shot. However, I had remembered having an after dinner drink at Lens and it was served in a shot glass but you were suppose to sip it. Len told us that they’ve had friends over who instantly take it like a shot and always shocks her mom because it’s a good drink and suppose to be sipped. So thinking maybeeee this was the same situation I sipped mine. We don’t know who is right but hey we at least had a 50/50?!?

**Pictures in the next post I wrote too much this time!

[jessicakehoe]

Talking Science and Skincare with Valmont CEO Sophie Guillon

I meet Sophie Guillon in her oceanfront suite at the Montage Laguna Beach. She’s sipping a Diet Coke and taking bites of a croissant between interviews. “You’ll have to help me with this,” she says, motioning to the spread of pastries the hotel has laid out. There’s little formality with the mother of three and CEO of Valmont—the Swiss skincare brand she has run since 2000 alongside her husband Didier—who exudes an off-the-cuff charm. Today, she’s spreading the word about the brand’s new Elixir des Glaciers foundation, Teint Majestueux Essence of Bees. Designed to function like a hybrid between skincare and makeup, combining the line’s signature DNA-based anti-aging formula with sheer colour for a dewy finish, it’s a product Guillon personally put a good deal of love and care into. Here’s what she had to say about Valmont’s latest launch—available this month in stores and online—and how the brand is adapting to an ever-shifting industry.

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L'Elixir des Glaciers combines Swiss skincare know-how and color with a perfect formula for every occasion with Teint Majestueux, Poudre de Teint Précieuse and Teint Précieux. What's your Elixir? #MyElixir #ElixirDesGlaciers #Valmont #New

A post shared by Valmont Cosmetics (@valmontnorthamerica) on Sep 16, 2019 at 12:10pm PDT

Tell us a bit about the new Elixir des Glaciers foundation.

I went to Japan because I consider them to be the best manufacturers. I told my supplier, “I want to make a foundation that brings light and radiance into your skin.” You have your base and then you can add active ingredients. I chose DNA, which costs €3500 Euros per kilo. We put this full anti-aging ingredient—the same concentration we have in our Prime Renewing Pack or our Prime 24 Hour cream—so it would allow for smoothness of the formula and a nice compatibility. After 2 o’clock in the afternoon, which is the worst time for foundation—we call it the sebum peak time—most foundation starts to separate on your skin. It blurs out. This won’t do that. The key is the DNA, which is very compatible with the skin and which the skin recognizes. Little by little, it will digest it. It also has an interlamellar reflection system, which gives it a satin effect. Nowadays, people want dewy skin that reflects the light. It conveys a fresh, healthy look. It’s also about how you apply it since it’s layerable, depending on whether you want something lighter or more full coverage. We spend so much time putting all these beautiful creams on our faces, it’s a shame to then cover it with a mask of foundation.

How would you describe Valmont as a company?

A scientific brand of cosmetics with a soul. We are concerned about womens’ needs, the evolution of the conditions in which we are living, and the temporary phenomenons that are going to impact how we manufacture cosmetics.

There are elements of natural beauty in Valmont’s products, but you still use some chemicals. What’s your take on the clean beauty movement?

It takes time to change. There’s the common sense of what has always been working in the past, and where we are going if we take on new elements or new ingredients to be clean or organic or proper or the way we should be. We have to measure the polemics with what is really necessary. For a long time I fought against the removal of parabens. In any drug you take, you have parabens to preserve the chemicals. It is something the industry has been using for years and it has proven its efficacy. The battle that came out against parabens was because one scientist couldn’t prove that it was bad for the health. It was taken in reverse: “oh, you can’t prove it so it might be bad.” The beauty industry is a pleasure industry—it’s non-essential, so it’s very easy to attack. The law eventually came into place forbidding one kind of paraben and putting a maximum rate on another paraben. Today, we’re actually developing without parabens. I held out until the last minute, but I can’t go against social sense. Though I still believe that parabens are not bad for the health.

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We are introducing the new Valmont Magazine, by Sophie Guillon! A tailor-made blog for the contemporary woman: inspiring, executive, busy, funny, pretty, motherly. Join her backstage and share her vision, beauty tips and passion for art. Read more with our link in bio. #ValmontMagazine #Blog #SkincareTips

A post shared by Valmont Cosmetics (@valmontnorthamerica) on Mar 30, 2019 at 1:25pm PDT

What about vegan beauty?

We believe that natural ingredients work: beeswax, propolis, royal jelly—this is the food for the queen. We also deserve food for the queen. It’s from Mother Nature, so it should be good for us. In my view that’s clean beauty, but it’s not vegan. I will never be vegan. We are doing clean beauty our way.

What makes Valmont products different from other brands, when it comes to the intersection of science and beauty?

I never stay in the box. Sometimes I go and see a supplier and they’ll say, “it’s following this trend.” I hate that word. I see an ingredient and try to think what I can combine it with for a specific result. If you’re manufacturing this wonderful ingredient for volumizing the lips, everybody is going to use it for the lips. I’ll try it in a neck cream instead. On the neck, this is where your age is going to show. If this ingredient works on the lips, it should work on the neck.  You have plenty of brands doing the same thing, but for us it’s about having creativity and imagination and playing with the ingredients.

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Happy September! Working on new formulas, I already love this fall 🤗. Everything to make you look beautiful, always.

A post shared by Sophie Guillon (@sophie.guillon) on Sep 1, 2019 at 11:45pm PDT

What does your daily skincare routine consist of?

Are you ready? It’s really long. I use the Prime Renewing Pack in the morning and leave it on for five minutes while I take my coffee. Then, I wipe it off with a damp tissue. I don’t wash it off entirely. Then, I use the Moisturizing Booster, which I love, followed by Moisturizing With a Cream, and a primer from Charlotte Tilbury. If I have time, I’ll do a collagen mask two or three times a week. Nowadays, it’s once a week because I’m never home. At night, I use Wonder Falls, which I love because it’s very substantive. I wipe it off with a damp cloth and always double-cleanse, so I use Bubble Falls. It’s a sulfate-free foaming wash but it’s very dense—almost like a barber’s shaving foam. After that, Vital Falls toner, the V-Filling Cream and the Eye-C Gel. Sometimes I’ll use the Smoothing Eye Patch, too.

What’s the one product you’re most proud of to date?

Time Master. It took me four years to develop, because it’s a nano-emulsion and it’s around 500 nanometres. It’s so delicate and the balance was so uncertain, so it broke down all the time. When we finally succeeded, it was a big day for us. We’re doing very well with it today. It goes right to the centre of your skin, and you can really feel it working right away.

The post Talking Science and Skincare with Valmont CEO Sophie Guillon appeared first on FASHION Magazine.

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