#they sell a Lot of gelato

[coco-loco-nut]

Book Club - Part 9

pairing: grid x reader

summary: you just got your wisdom teeth out, just in time for winter break fun with headcanons

a/n: thanks for the request, I missed the club❤️ ALSO! the original post just hit 1,500 notes??? like guys🥹 ilysm, you don’t even know. you are still reading my silly little writings, and i appreciate that more than you know. every like, comment, and reblog is the reason we are here 9 parts later (seriously you should see how happy i am when i see comments)

requests open masterlist

——————

- You didn’t tell anyone else on the grid other than Lance, obviously

- They were all surprised when it was announced that you were going to be missing Abu Dahbi

- Your oral surgeon only had that Wednesday free before Christmas

- …and let’s be real, your seat was secure, you weren’t going to win the WDC, and the constructors championship was locked in

- You would raise hell if you couldn’t enjoy the food around the holidays, so missing the last race it was

- You were exhausted from the season and appreciated the early break

- Lance just let it slip to the drivers on Friday a couple of hours after he got there

- You were sitting at home with Kimi, swollen and in pain all Friday

- “What do you mean she won’t be here? We have our presents for her” Fernando pouts

- Charles one day ships you cases of his gelato with a note telling you to feel better, he’s trying to get into the club for the gossip

- Lance gets invited to the club meeting to his surprise

- He assumes that they want to check in on you, despite them blowing up your phone

- No, he was VERY wrong

- Lance got roped into showing them videos of you on drugs

- Their favorite was the one of you when you first came out from being under

- “I’m married? Oh my god, I married Nico Hülkenberg? This is the best day of my life”

- You were sobbing tears of joy

- Nico was sent the video immediately, you gave him permission via text to post it the next day

- The second favorite was your favorite to laugh at

- You went on a massive rant about how Susie Wolff is a MILF and how you hoped Toto could fight because the female driver was your woman crush and you WILL have her

- Susie loved the video (George and Lewis sent it in the Mercedes family gc), Toto… not as much but he was amused

- You got a lot of fussing drivers on Facetime during the meeting

- You were loopy af from the painkillers and general exhaustion during it, it wasn’t your fault they called you late

- Kimi forced them to shut up and hang up so you could sleep

- Carlos joked about being relieved that there wasn’t another race for you to follow his trend during an interview

- You won the first race the next year

- Your phone started blowing up with messages on social media wishing you a quick recovery

- Most of the book club showed up to your home after Abu Dahbi, wanting to make a quick stop to check in before the break

- “Hello, wife,” Nico greets you when he sees you

- You joked you were about to file for divorce from Lance, who just sighed and went to get you a carton of LEC

- You had to film you opening your secret santa gift and send it to the F1 social team

- You got a quilt blanket that had a square for each book you read with the club since it started

- You actually started sobbing (you blamed the meds, even if you were actually crying)

- Lewis got the biggest hug ever, he enlisted help from Valtteri for all the books

- You forced them to cut the parts of you crying out of the video

- You got Logan an old iPod full of popular music (you hacked into his phone to check the genres he liked) from his childhood and now

- Obviously you added headphones and a couple chargers

- Logan used it all the time, he called you immediately to thank you

- You had the honors of choosing the first book over winter break

- You chose an F1 romance novel

- Boy oh boy were those meetings fun, just tearing up the book for its inaccuracy

- Daniel vowed to write an accurate one and sell it

- Spoiler Alert: he never did

- But Fernando did

- It was an international bestseller

[aayakashii]

Wait, since we were robbed of having an episode about Samhain and seeing them in a festival, let's indulge in headcanonery (?) rn

Inspired by @rottenzombrainz 's slice of life headcanons, I'm giving a huge kiss to your brain rn

What each house would prepare for a school festival – headcanons

Frostheim

Hhhmm, maybe they'd be responsible for the play! Frostheimers are the ones that are super cultured and fancy since they're all rich lol I think they'd have all the resources needed to buy beautiful costumes and props. Maybe they'd do some Shakespeare play like Hamlet, but I wouldn't put it past them to do a musical too, like The Phantom of the Opera, complete with a huge chandelier falling down :0

Vagastrom

They would be the ones responsible for the games!! All of those festival games like card flipping (menko), shooting, throwing, ball scooping, fishing yoyo, garapon (lottery machine) and other puzzles. I think Vagastrom students would have a lot of fun challenging festival-goers even if it's not a physical challenge lol. The whole place would be filled with the sounds of people having fun! Btw, Sho would probably open a little booth with snacks ofc hehe

Jabberwock

A safari exhibition, obviously. What better moment to sell tickets for a tour around the dorm than during a festival? I'm pretty sure they would go all out, though. Maybe the tour could be done at night (if the anomalies agree lol) and everything could be lit by fairylights. The caves would have ambient music, there would be wind chimes everywhere, and bubbles would be flying around to reflect the lights (courtesy of Towa). It'd be like a true fantasy experience for anyone who decided to participate!

Sinostra

They would run a cafe for sure. Romeo would NOT pass up on the opportunity to make some money. Also, it's not like Sinostra would care that much about the festival, so it'd be best to participate by doing something they're already used to. Since a lot of people would flock to Darkwick due to the festival, including kids, they wouldn't be able to sell booze nor anything of the sort, but they'd have great food, including a little bit of Italian cuisine – pizza, carbonara, lasagne, candied fruits, gelato, torrone, espresso... people would leave with the belly full and wallets empty.

Hotarubi

They would do plenty of presentations!! Odori, taiko, koto, shamisen – everything that's related to japanese traditional culture, they'd give a huuuuge show. A lot of people would flock to Hotarubi to watch Subaru give a little snippet of his abilities as a kabuki actor too, and it'd probably be one of the most visited dorms in the whole campus! I think they'd also give a few mini workshops of tea ceremony, ikebana, puppet theatre, and origami.

Obscuary

A huge, beautiful and extremely creepy haunted mansion/labyrinth!! Obscuary is literally the perfect place for a haunted attraction. The Victorian-esque visuals of the dorm would attract a lot of people who want to test their courage, especially with all the rumors about a real werewolf and a real vampire living in that place. The mansion would be eerily silent, just the sound of creaking wood and the whoosh of "ghosts" flying around to have people on their toes, so the jumpscares would be even more efficient.

Mortkranken

They would 1000000% do an interactive medical exhibition. The students could guide the visitors throughout a day in the life of a scientist/doctor! Showing them which instruments they use for surgery (even teaching how to suture wounds); which meds are useful for certain diseases; how to measure blood pressure and auscultate heart and lung sounds and so on and so forth... a little LARPing as a doctor for an afternoon hehe

[ms-snape]

Hi, i see that request are open.

What if Severus survived the war but didn't tell anyone. He moved far away, to another country (maybe Italy). But at home, his wife was waiting for him and she was his biggest support during the war. She refused to believe he is dead. And a few years later she would find out by accident when she bumped into him on the street hand in hand with someone else. Lots of angst. I mean….. lots of angst. 🙂

Title: Moving On

Request: Finally a request I've been waiting for one for like days.... REQUESTS ARE OPENED

Summary: I don't think I can give a better summary than the request so...

Warning: angst.... sad ending...

Word Count: 2305

Masterlist

---

In the heart of Italy, where the sun-drenched landscapes mingled with the whisper of ancient cobblestone streets, YN felt a certain heaviness. It was a weight she carried not just in her suitcase, filled with clothes and hopes for a brighter future, but in her heart, where the memory of Severus Snape lingered like a ghost. The world believed him dead, a casualty of a war that had torn apart the very fabric of their lives, but YN had never accepted that finality. She could not bring herself to mourn him as everyone else had; instead, she clung to the thread of hope that wove through her despair.

YN had been broken when the news of his death reached her—a jagged dagger that pierced her soul and left her hollow. The days that followed were a blur of grief and longing. She had wandered through her life like a specter, lost in the memories of their time together, each moment spent with Severus replaying in her mind like a shattered record. She remembered his quiet intensity, the way his dark eyes would soften when he looked at her, the sound of his voice as he spoke of potions and spells, of love and loss. It was as if he had taken a part of her with him when he vanished from the world.

Ella, her best friend, had insisted on this trip—an attempt to pull YN from the depths of her sorrow. They ventured to the quaint coastal town of Positano, with its colorful cliffside houses and azure waters, where laughter echoed around them like a distant memory. But even in the midst of beauty, YN felt numb. The sun could not warm the chill that resided in her heart. Every breathtaking view of the Italian coast felt tainted by the absence of the one person she could not forget.

As Ella tried to engage YN in conversation, pointing out the charm of the local markets and the deliciousness of the gelato, YN’s mind drifted elsewhere. She found herself staring out at the sea, imagining it was Severus standing there, his silhouette framed against the horizon, waiting for her to join him. The thought was both comforting and torturous, a bittersweet reminder of love that once was.

“YN, you can’t keep doing this to yourself,” Ella said one evening as they sat on a balcony overlooking the sunset. “You need to let him go. It’s been years.He's gone and you need to accept it”

But how could she? How could she dismiss the love they had shared, the promises whispered in the dark? Each time YN closed her eyes, she could see Severus—his furrowed brow, the way his lips curled into a half-smile when she teased him. The memories were too vivid, too real. They were the only thing that anchored her to the world, the only thing that kept the shadows at bay.

The days passed, and YN felt the ache in her heart deepen. She wandered through the streets of Positano, searching for something she could not name. Perhaps it was closure, or maybe just a sign that Severus was still alive. She explored the narrow alleys, the vibrant shops, and the azure beaches, all while carrying the weight of her unyielding hope.

Then, on a seemingly ordinary afternoon, everything changed. YN had taken to wandering alone, her heart heavy with the memories that haunted her. She meandered through the bustling market square, the colors and sounds swirling around her like a kaleidoscope of life. She paused by a stall selling handmade jewelry, absentmindedly running her fingers over the delicate pieces. The sun dipped lower in the sky, casting a golden hue over everything, and for a moment, she allowed herself to breathe.

But then, as she turned to leave the stall, she collided with someone. The force of the impact sent her stumbling back, and she looked up, ready to apologize to the stranger. But then time seemed to freeze. There, standing before her, was Severus Snape—alive, breathing, and somehow more real than the memories she had clung to for so long.

Her heart raced, a wild tempest of disbelief and hope. But as her eyes traveled down to his hand, the world shattered around her. He was holding the hand of another woman—a stunning brunette with an easy smile and laughter that danced in the air between them. YN felt her heart plummet, the fragile thread of hope she had carried for years snapping in an instant.

Severus looked at her, confusion etched across his features. The moment stretched, the bustling market fading into silence. YN’s breath hitched in her throat, a mix of joy and agony tearing her apart. She wanted to rush into his arms, to feel his warmth envelop her again, but the sight of the other woman kept her rooted to the spot, paralyzed by the pain of betrayal.

“Severus?” The word slipped from her lips like a prayer, a desperate plea for him to explain, to make sense of the scene before her.

The smile faded from his face, replaced by a flicker of guilt. “YN… I���”

But she couldn’t hear him. The world felt as if it were collapsing around her. She had spent years believing he was dead, clinging to the hope that he would one day return to her, and now here he was, a living ghost of her past, with another woman at his side. The anger bubbled within her, mingling with the heartbreak that consumed her.

“Is this why you never came back?” YN’s voice trembled, laced with a hurt that cut deeper than any spell. “You were alive all this time and didn't even come back to me, you wife? Did you choose to leave me behind?”

Severus’s eyes darkened with regret, but YN couldn’t bear to see it. The anguish she felt was all-consuming, a tidal wave of emotions crashing against the fragile dam she had built around her heart. “I waited for you, Severus. I never stopped believing you were out there, that you would come back to me. And now… this?”

“YN, please, it’s not what you think,” he said, stepping toward her, but she recoiled, the distance between them stretching like an unbridgeable chasm.

“Not what I think?” The bitterness in her voice cut through the air, sharp and biting. “You were supposed to be dead! I mourned you! I grieved for the life we could have had, for the love we shared. And now you’re here, holding her hand like I never existed?”

The woman beside him looked between them, confusion evident in her eyes, but YN couldn’t spare her a glance. Her world had narrowed to just Severus, the man she had loved with every fiber of her being, the man who had shattered her heart without a word.

“YN, I had my reasons—”

“Reasons?” She interrupted, her anger boiling over. “Was it worth it? Was it worth leaving me in the dark while you built a new life without me? I thought you loved me.”

“I did love you!” Severus’s voice rose, desperation lacing his words. “And I never stopped loving you or thinking about you, but I had to survive. The war… it changed everything. I thought you were safe, that you could move on without me.”

“Move on?” YN’s laugh was hollow, devoid of humor. “You think I could just forget? You think I could just pretend that you didn’t mean the world to me? You left me with nothing but the ghosts of what we could have been, and now you stand here, alive, with someone else?”

The bitterness spilled from her lips, a torrent of pain that had been building for years. She felt raw and exposed, like a wound that had never healed, and now it was laid bare for him to see. The anguish in her heart felt like a physical weight, pressing down on her chest, suffocating her.

Severus’s expression twisted with regret, his dark eyes brimming with unshed tears. “I never wanted to hurt you. I thought you’d be better off without me. I thought I was protecting you.”

“Protecting me?” YN’s voice cracked, the pain evident in every syllable. “You didn’t protect me; you abandoned me. I was left to pick up the pieces of my shattered heart while you… you moved on.You found someone else...”

The silence that followed was deafening. Around them, the world continued to buzz with life—laughter, music, the distant sound of waves crashing against the shore—but for YN, everything had come to a standstill. She felt as if she were standing on the edge of a precipice, staring down into an abyss of despair.

“I thought you were dead,” she whispered, her voice barely audible above the noise. “I thought I had lost you forever.”

“And I thought you moved on,” Severus replied, his voice heavy with regret. “I never meant for this to happen.”

“But it did happen, Severus.” The tears she had held back for so long began to spill over, a torrent of grief and rage. “You’re here, with.... her, while I was left to drown in my sorrow. You can’t just waltz back into my life and expect me to forget the pain you caused.”

Severus’s expression faltered, a mixture of guilt and longing etched across his features. The woman beside him shifted uncomfortably, the weight of the moment pressing down on them. YN felt the heat of anger mixing with the chill of betrayal, a volatile concoction that threatened to consume her.

“I can’t change the past,” he said, his voice low, almost pleading. “But please, YN, don’t push me away. I still care for you. I always have.”

The words hung in the air, heavy with unspoken promises and memories that felt like a lifetime ago. YN looked at him, at the man she had loved fiercely, and felt the ache in her heart deepen. She wanted to believe him, to reach out and bridge the gap that had grown between them. But the reality was too painful, too raw.

“And what about her?” YN’s voice trembled, the bitterness creeping back in. “What am I supposed to do with that? You’ve built a life without me, Severus. It feels impossible to reconcile that with the love we once shared.”

“I never meant for any of this to happen,” he said, anguish etched in every line of his face. “I was lost, and I thought I was doing what was best for you and me.”

YN shook her head, tears streaming down her cheeks. “You think abandoning me was what was best? You think I wanted to live in a world where you weren’t there? I was lost too, Severus. I was lost without you.We made a vow, we promised to laways be there for each other, but apparently it meant nothing to you”

The hurt between them was palpable, a chasm that felt insurmountable. YN’s heart ached with the weight of memories that threatened to drown her. She wanted to scream, to rage against the universe that had torn them apart, but all she could do was stand there, feeling the walls close in around her.

As the sun began to set, casting a warm glow over the cobblestones, YN felt the flicker of hope extinguish. The world around her was beautiful, but in that moment, it felt like a cruel joke. She had come to Italy seeking solace, but instead, she found herself face-to-face with the man who had become both her salvation and her tormentor.

“I can’t do this,” YN whispered, her voice breaking. “I can’t pretend that everything’s okay when it’s not. I loved you more than anything, but I have to let you go. I have to move on, even if it breaks me... I wish you a really happy life... perhaps better than the one you once had with me....”

With that, she turned away, an instinctive reaction to shield herself from the pain. She couldn’t bear to see him with her, the woman who had become the embodiment of all her fears. It felt like a betrayal—a cruel twist of fate that had stolen her love and replaced it with a bitter reminder of what she had lost.

As she walked away, the tears streamed down her face, each step feeling heavier than the last. The streets of Positano, once vibrant and full of life, felt suffocating, closing in around her as she retreated from the scene that had shattered her world anew.

Behind her, Severus called her name, desperation lacing his voice, but YN didn’t look back. She couldn’t. She had given him everything, only to be left with nothing but the echoes of what once was. The colors of Italy faded into a blur, and as she walked away from the man she had loved, she felt the weight of her heart breaking all over again.

As she reached the edge of the market, the sounds of laughter and joy faded away, replaced by the haunting silence that had become her constant companion. YN had come to Italy to escape her pain, to find a semblance of peace, but instead, she was reminded of the love she had lost and the life that would never be.

In that moment, as she stood alone in a foreign land, she realized that some shadows lingered long after the light had faded. And as the sun dipped below the horizon, casting the world into darkness, YN felt the weight of her despair settle heavily upon her shoulders, an unshakeable burden that would follow her wherever she went. She was lost, and the echoes of Severus Snape would forever haunt her heart, a bittersweet reminder of a love that had been both her greatest joy and her deepest sorrow.

[kurishiri]

02 . . . happy birthday, darius! ˗ˏˋ🪽´ˎ˗

— this translation may not be 100% accurate or may contain creative liberties for characterization or narrative flow purposes. if you enjoy, please consider reblogging, but don’t repost or claim these as your own!

— cw: none, things are getting interesting though ..

Kate: The scones in that shop over there are really good.

Darius: I happen to dislike foods that leave a lot of crumbs though.

Kate: Then what about the gelato over there?

Darius: I’ll pass — I’m not in the mood.

Kate: T-then, how about those sausages? They were imported straight from Germany!

Darius: All they did was throw it on a grill though, right?

(Oh, right... Darius does lean more toward foods that seem difficult to make or take a lot of time.)

In direct contrast to the way I was racking my brain, Darius wore a calm expression as he stopped in his tracks.

Darius: Hmm, as I thought, there doesn’t seem to be anything that really stands out to me...

D: Do you have any other recommendations up your sleeve?

I was searching around for places we could have a slightly belated lunch, but there didn’t seem to be anything that caught his eye.

(Could it be that Darius is actually quite selfish...?)

It was as though my repertoire was practically nonexistent.

Darius: But I am feeling hungry now. And to think you would leave guests all the way from Germany with nothing...

Kate: I-I’ll take you somewhere, right now!

(At this rate it might really become an international problem...)

As I thought hard, I remembered the menu of a certain restaurant.

(It is a bit on the pricey end, but their dishes all take quite a lot of time to make, and it may have things that he’s more familiar with.)

Kate: Actually, I just remembered a place that sells some time-consuming dishes!

K: Since we’re all the way out here already anyway, why don’t we pay that place a visit?

Darius: Hehe, sure thing. I’m looking forward to it.

With him in a merry mood, we headed for the restaurant——

Darius: You choose.

And having been told so, I felt anxiety wash over me as I placed the order.

Darius: ...Oh, is this goulash?

Goulash was a German dish where beef tendons and a variety of vegetables were put in and boiled together.

Kate: This place lets their goulash boil for a whole two days.

K: And besides, they only serve ten of these at any given day.

K: Well, don’t you think it’s fitting to call it a time-consuming dish?

(When I first ate here, I remembered it was so good that I felt my cheeks relax.)

At my words, his hands, which were on his chin, reached out for the cutlery——

Darius: Indeed, it does sound like something I’d be taken to.

He started to eat with a smile, and I felt relief wash over me——

Or, that’s how it should have been.

Kate: Wha...

Splat.

Seeing him grab the meat with his hands and carrying it like that to his mouth, I felt myself stiffen.

Kate: U-um...

Around his mouth was stained, and he licked the soup that had dripped down his wrist.

It was a bit hard to call him the ‘leader of Vogel,’ even as flattery...

Darius: What is it, did something happen?

The way he held his cutlery was strange, to say the least, and he held the knife in an underhand grip.

Kate: Ah, uhm, it’s just that I didn’t expect you to, well...

(Especially seeing that, at the dinner party that was held to deepen our relationship, you weren’t eating then like you are now.)

For how much he looked like an angel, his way of eating seemed like he was pulling a practical prank, and all words escaped me then.

Darius: You didn’t?

While wiping his mouth, he calmly spun the knife.

Darius: I was being considerate at the dinner party, but humans can be a bit troublesome, you know.

D: Just what’s so wrong with defining on your own what ‘table manners’ and eating the way you like?

His cold eyes then turned to the food on the plate.

His answer had me a bit taken aback, and I remembered a certain memory.

Kate: Before, William had also told me that he wouldn’t mind me eating the way I’d like to, without worry.

Darius: There, see?

Kate: But still, I wanted to get along with many people, so I had him teach me manners in the end.

K: Just like how we remember the words the people we want to get along with use,

K: I was thinking if I could learn manners, I could get along with someone else over a meal.

Darius: ...Ho-oh?

With his eyes turned to me, his hands stopped.

Kate: At that time, I could easily follow his teachings, and...

Darius: And how did he teach you?

Kate: Huh?

He set the knife down as he cut off my words, giving off a bit of an eager air.

Darius: I’d love it if I could receive a lesson or two on manners from William.

He now seemed like a different person from before, and while I felt a bit perplexed at that, I nonetheless straightened my posture.

Kate: So first, he——

—— Time skip ——

Darius: So something like this?

Kate: Just like that. It’s like I’m looking at William right now.

His manners had emulated William’s so perfectly that it was as though William was the one eating.

(So, in reality, he is proficient in table manners... but he chooses not to use them.)

The way his eyes would sparkle whenever the topic was on William stood out to me, and so I opened my mouth.

Kate: You really respect William, don’t you, Darius?

Darius: Well, there isn’t another person who holds as wonderful of an ability as him.

D: That is, he is wonderful as a Cursed one.

(As a Cursed one...?)

Darius: Anyway, thanks for the meal. Where should we go next?

The moment I tilted my head at those words that seemed to instill some sense of discomfort in me, he quickly changed the topic.

Kate: How about we choose a present next then?

Darius: Oh, I like that. Do choose something you think will make me happy.

And so, we went around to many different shops, but...

(There’s nothing around that Darius likes...)

We had gone here and there until the sun set, but there was nothing that seemed like something he would want.

Darius: Some things just can’t be helped. You can get me a present next time.

Kate: ...I will keep mulling on it though.

Darius: Then I’ll look forward to it.

I was pretty exhausted as he pulled me along, but then he suddenly stopped.

Kate: What is... ah—

Before our eyes was a man on his knees before a lady with a surprised expression, holding a bouquet of flowers.

Man holding a bouquet: I promise to make you happy for life, so please marry me!

The lady, her eyes wet with tears, nodded, and the crowd around them cheered.

Kate: Oh, it looks like the proposal went well!

Looking at someone who was handing the crying lady a handkerchief,

I then turned to look at him, when——

Darius: People really are unbelievable.

to be continued…

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full masterlist 🪽🍰 ╱ ko-fi

[raven-at-the-writing-desk]

diasomnia ice-cream parlor au doodles

[Referencing this post!]

Hello, yes, I’ve been thinking about the Diasomnia ice-cream parlor AU again 🍨🍦 I guess I must have been really hungry lately www

I see them as offering not just ice-cream, bur also variants like gelato, shaved ice, milkshakes, etc. (They can afford it with support from the Draconia royal family’s funds 😂) The focus here will be ice-cream though, just because that’s Malleus’s favorite.

Imagine walking in and not knowing what to order (there’s so much to choose from!), so you ask the staff to pick something for you… (Yes, I’ve thought about this way too much and now I’m going to shovel this at you—)

Malleus strikes me as a very traditional and old-fashioned guy, so I’d see him falling back on ol’ reliable. You can’t go wrong with a classic sugar cone and a healthy scoop on top!

He recommends mint chocolate chip because it adds an additional pleasant cooling sensation to the actual coldness of ice-cream. Malleus is fond of the flavor himself; it’s great for cooling down a mouth that’s hot from breathing flames!

You’re brave if you accept anything Lilia hands you… You ask him what this is (the ice-cream looks… discolored in some places, and there’s all this weird stuff jutting out from it; is that a piece of lettuce???). He just winks at you and calls it “Lilia-chan’s Super Cute ⭐️ Special”, featuring a bunch of “unique” flavors he created himself.

It comes served in a cup because it’s easier to eat it while walking that way. For Lilia, who is a well-seasoned traveler, foods that are able to be eaten on the go are a plus!

Silver picks out a waffle bowl (it resembles a sturdy bird’s nest) and encourages you to try a lot of different things. It’ll help you to gain an appreciation for the new and unfamiliar! With how wide the waffle bowl is and how many flavors and toppings are in there, this can be good for sharing with friends from all over.

The particular version featured in the doodle has three kinds of ice-cream, each one representing one of the three Good Fairies. A pink flavor, a blue flavor, and a green flavor—maybe rose or strawberry, blueberry or cotton candy, and pistachio? It’s a very naturey palate.

His animal friends have helped with the ingredients; there’s honey drizzled on top, as well as crushed nuts. Freshly picked berries and edible flowers garnish the bowl too—oh, and we can’t forget a generous chunk of honeycomb!

… I don’t know much about Kingdom Hearts, but I’ve heard that Silver resembles Riku from KH?? So maybe Silver can offer some sea salt ice-cream too as a throwback 😂

… Was anyone surprised by this? No? No.

Sebek chose a tall parfait glass for serving so that the dessert can be as tall as possible. It’s a matcha and ube soft serve, swirled high. The green is Diasomnia’s color, and the purple is meant to be the color of the underside of Malleus’s cape. (Sebek wanted to include black ice-cream to for the Draconia royal color, but couldn’t find a good flavor.)

Art isn’t his forte, but Sebek did his best to “recreate the imposing, elegant image of wakasama” in his dessert. The cherry on top, flanked by two conical chocolate pieces, are meant to be Malleus and his horns. The wafer poking out is supposed to “enhance the young master’s presence”. All the other things are extra details in an effort to make the ice-cream larger than life: candied fruit peels arranged in a line (to resemble the spines on a dragon’s tail), mochi balls (“magestones”) piled to one side, and a chocolate biscuit stick + wafer that, together, look like Malleus’s staff.

Sebek tried really hard! … He will aggressively try to sell you on this item.

If you’re really hungry or with a large group, why not go for the Diasomnia Family Fundae? It’s their take on a sundae, served in a glass boat. There’s a whole banana, chocolate syrup, whipped cream, and three maraschino cherries! The bramble is made of dark chocolate.

Each student is represented by one scoop and a little candy or chocolate that helps to characterize the boy (horns, bat wings, lightning bolt, or sword). Sebek is a lemon-like sherbet, befitting of his loud, in-your-face personality. Lilia is a bright red berry flavor (strawberries, cherries, cranberries, etc.), like his favorite red juices, deep and complex. Silver is vanilla bean, pure, simple, and earnest. (He could also be a subtle lavender flavor, since that's a flower known to ease you into sleep.) And Malleus… well, that scoop is a pitch black, but the flavor is something you can’t quite place your tongue on. It’s a mystery, just like he is! (Maybe the shop changes the flavor every now and again. They can run a promo where if you guess the right flavor combo for that particular week’s Malleus scoop, they give you a discount or a free cone.)

A lot of chocolate sauce is dripping down from the Malleus scoop; this is because the sauce is supposed to be his “blot”. The bottom three scoops—Lilia, Sebek, and Silver—are blanketed by the chocolate thorns as a reference to how those three were sentenced to sleep.

[goodluckclove]

hey clove ! long fucking ask wow i apologize. this is just me rambling so conserve your brain if you wanna

i was thinking a lot about fancy foods today and had some interesting thoughts . i work at my local mall selling frozen macarons/chocolates/gelato and other pastries etc at a little kiosk in the middle of the food court for "luxury" prices (like almost 4 dollars per macaron). everything in the display cases is visually enticing - the macarons are brightly colored, the chocolates are in different shapes and colors and textures, the gelato is, ,, well you know how cute gelato is it's pretty damn cute. and the kiosk is white and generally pretty spotless as well, and the decor is french-themed cus that's the genre of stuff we sell. overalll it's marketing toward the WASPs of the area and their young kids. but something i've realized is that while everything we sell might be super yummy to look at, it's not really that yummy to eat. the macarons largely taste the same, and that flavor is mostly just almond. the colors are just colors, they're like froot loops. the gelato - which i've only recently properly tried - tastes pretty damn good (we sell a praline hazelnut one - OH BABYYYYY. i will be embalmed in that stuff when i die) - but the texture is just way, way off. it's grainy and just not like gelato at all. it feels like a scam or a multi level marketing scheme. its advertised as being super high end and bougie but it's really not.

compare that to the other restaurants in the food court. they're not glamorous. there's only a few chain restaurants; the rest have generic names, have fast-talking employees with beautifully diverse accents, have graphics with three different logo iterations and menus with low-quality photos. today i bought an egg and mozzarella crepe from one of these restaurants, and watched it being made while the employees threw friendly jabs at each other in a language i didn't recognize as an icon of the virgin mary gazed at them from the wall. the crepe wasn't pretty or brightly colored or aesthetically packaged. it cost me ten dollars with a tip and it was more food than i could ever eat. i sat crammed next to the sink in the kiosk using our big rubbermaid freezer cart as a table and tried not to cut the aluminum foil and styrofoam container along with the crepe. that thing made me so nostalgic and calm; the flavors were so familiar and comforting.

there's bigger nuances here than just "pretty food bad, unpretty food good", but it was a really interesting observation for me. i already knew my job was lowkey scam-ish, but to see real food actually being made without much fretting over how visually good it is to focus on how good for the eater it is - it was cool. i'm quitting my job soon. who knows, i might apply to the pancake place they're putting in.

anyway this was just a neat day, and i thought you might find it interesting. i hope you're doing well, and congrats again on blind trust !

God I loved reading this. Your descriptions of these two conflicting environments ring so true in my head. I'm gonna go ahead and drop a read more because I do have some food thoughts related to this and I'm also feeling like rambling.

Because we've all been there, right? The type of fancy bakery that sells a cake for like six dollars that looks amazing but is mostly moose or like stale almond cake. Macaroons are so enticing in theory, but because of the effort it takes to actually make them in the way they're intended they're surprisingly difficult to do right. You have a good macaroon and it's fucking worth 4 dollars, though. The combination of the crisp outer shell with the plush meringue and thick frosting. Plus they come in fun flavors - rose, lavender, earl grey. Yum yum. But a bad one just turns into paste in your mouth.

One of my favorite things in the world is what I call a medium-fancy dessert. It's usually a cake for me, although gelato would also suffice. It's something that feels fancy without losing that base level of quality and satisfaction. There's a bakery in Portland that stocks a 24-hour vending machine with their cakes (I know man it's crazy), and they're a pretty solid source of medium-fancy treats. They look pretty, but they have a ratio of soft, moist cake to quality frosting that really gives you a filling experience.

If that's not accessible, tiramisu works nearly every time for me. Plus it's not usually that more expensive than other cakes.

Compare that to smaller, usually immigrant-run restaurants that sometimes choose to let the quality of their food speak over the aesthetics of the storefront. What comes to mind when I imagine that is Sivalai Thai Restaurant, which is my favorite place for Thai food in my part of Portland. That's saying a lot too, since there are a TON of Thai places here for some reason.

Riley and I order from there a lot, and the portions are really good. The Thai Iced Tea is delicious. But I'm always impressed by the little touches the owners add - mainly how they always throw in a free portion of mango sticky rice, but also that they don't mind packaging a container of their Prik Nam Pla, which is like my favorite Asian condiment ever. It's Thai chilis and green onion in fish sauce and it is this insane mixture of sweet tanginess and sharp, fresh spice. I just learned how to make a vegan version from scratch and it's changed my life.

What I've loved to do in food service is combine these two experiences. I worked at Zupan's which is a boutique grocery store here in the Pacific Northwest, and one of my favorite things to do was provide an extra homey quality to the place that is otherwise asking you to pay like seven dollars for a bag of Doritos.

We had a different meat special at the deli every day, and on Sunday (I think) it was prime rib. Like, actual prime rib - very good, very expensive. A serving for one person would be like thirty bucks. We were allowed to give out samples though, so I'd summon like everyone I saw and invite them to try it.

They'd all love it, of course. It was fucking spectacular. Crispy, but with the perfect amount of rich fat and meat. Delectably salty. Rubbed with herbs and spices that would char as it smoked on the grills outside the store. It was truly remarkable stuff - but I'm not about to push cooked meat that's like sixty bucks a pound, maybe more.

What I would say, though, is that while Sunday is our prime rib roast day, we cut the ribs off in advance and cook them up for people to buy on Monday. So you can essentially get the deliciousness of the prime rib for like a forth of the price. People always seemed to like to hear that.

Food takes care of people, you know? And the people that serve food also take care of people. And I've always found that to be an incredibly important thing. If I am ever in a situation where I have to go back to a conventional full-time job, I'm far more likely to go back to food service than copywriting. I feel like I did much more good waiting tables at a Denny's than I did writing pest control websites for my bullshit media job.

[jinanreona]

@muraenide sent:

slurps up ten 5 litre jugs of gelato in front of him at the cafeteria. after he downed the food like it was nothing, Jade gracefully picks up a napkin to dab the side of his mouth.

Leona hadn't even realized the cafeteria had so much gelato, much less that the chefs would willingly sell a bulk amount to just one guy. Then again... a certain dragon fae would have probably bought off all the gelato himself if he knew it was an option....

Perhaps Jade was aware of this fact. It's the only explanation Leona can come up with for the other emptying the jugs like an animal desperate to keep its meal from competition.

He merely makes a face as Jade dabs away any signs of the meal, meeting the other's gaze when the eel looks towards him. He shakes his head in disapproval (much to the other's glee no doubt), "You and that lizard have a lot in common, y'know?" It's meant as an insult though with Jade, who knows if the guy would actually take it as such.

[charaznablescanontoyota]

hello fans of fullmetal alchemist do you like alphonse elric. do you like fma:b post-canon alphonse content. i am here to tell you that i play fma:b post-canon alphonse on an actual play podcast where he goes on a teen angst character development journey aboard the infinity train (from infinity train) with several other fictional teens

some things he does on this podcast include: getting strong-armed into selling gelato, playing baseball, meeting shadow the hedgehog, and learning what gushers are

you can listen to it by searching 'riley hopkins and their amazing friends' in your podcast app of choice or on spotify and starting from episode 1 of Infinity. ok thank you for your time enjoy the art i have a lot of it

[miha-english]

Live with Pikmin

I like Pikmin the game made by Nintendo.

I drew the fanarts of Pikmin at many times.

And finally, the new game Pikmin4 was released last week!

I’m so satisfied with it because it is so much fun!!

I wanna play it a lot every day but I don’t wanna finish it quickly.

It’s my problem now.

I wanna introduce you the merch of Pikmin that I bought recently.

It’s more of a boast than introduction.

They are merch collaborate with Gelato Pique!

I had been warried if I could buy all I want because it was like a war when Gelato Pique collaborated with Animal Crossing.

So I imagined that which shop I should go and what time I should arrive at the shop.

As a result, I was able to buy all I want and Nintendo Osaka had so many stocks that I could buy more merch.

I wonder if I bought too much...

Anyway, everything looks cute and useful for me. I’m satisfied.

My favorite is the cardigan.

It’s fluffy and cozy, and the longer sleeves and length look like one-piece dress.

The buttons are like colorful shiny nectars.

The back print is also cute.

I wanna put on it when autumn will come.

For the tissue pouch.

Surprisingly, it has large capacity because the pockets for tissue and other items

are separated.

The pattern of inside of the pouch is so cute.

And the charm for zipper looks like a nectar. It’s cute!

The embroidery is also cute.

When it’s cold, I put room shoes on every day.

But the shoes get worn out because I put same shoes on in the season.

Then I bought three room shoes.

I wanna put the different shoes on every day and keep ussing them for the rest of my life.

For the T-shirts and short pants, I wanna put them on when I sleep over.

And a many hot day that I don’t wanna put on neat clothes.

I don’t have a habit of wearing a loungewear and I always wear pajamas made with silk.

I’m wearing the outfits that let me go outside.

But the loungewear of Pikmin is cute and I wanna make the chance to wear it.

I bought two hair bands.

I had used a hair band bought from 100-yen shop and it was loose to hold my hair.

This hair band of Pikmin can hold my hair. That’s nice!

The part of flower is a little obstacle for washing my face but it’s not problem because of the cuteness!

By the way, my favorite Pikmin is yellow.

So I bought the room shoes and hair band of Yellow Pikmin first.

They are soooo cute!!!

I didn’t want the blanket especially but I bought it because it was big and looks useful than I expected and fluffy!

It’s not too much thin and thick. Just right.

The glass was also out of my plan but I bought two glasses because they were big and cute.

It has no handle and can sway.

I think it looks nice if I pour ice cream or fruits in it instead of drink.

Aside to that, Nintendo Osaka gave me a lot of stickers for giveaway.

I was surprised to receive them.

I feel free to use them because of these stocks.

Thanks!

I live in Kansai in Japan.

I feel I’m lucky because I can go to Nintendo Osaka any time I want.

It sells a lot of merch of Pikmin!

I live happily every day because there are many Pikmin in my house.

I never expected that Nintendo made so much merch of Pikmin.

It’s pleasure.

I don’t know that Pikmin is popular in other countries.

Do you like Pikmin?

Do you play Pikmin4?

I think it is so much fun and cute.

So I would like you to play it! Let’s fun!

[definegodliness]

Once we had ice cream

I’m from a small rural village. To put you in my shoes: just imagine you can’t order sushi anywhere, but you can get fresh produce within walking distance. It’s charmingly medieval. Travelling merchants. The fish-dude’s produce scent marks the entire town square every Tuesday, and, boy, will you crave his beer-battered fried cod-bits. It is quite frankly a test of character, with a lot of inner dialogue involved. It’s so good, but as an inborn glutton, I have learned to keep my whims in check. 

Luckily, today is a Friday.

Today is the cheese-guy’s day. And I dread the line in front of his stall. I’m always the seventh in line waiting, and everyone in front of me is treated like a human being; offered casual chitchat, tastings, and being persuaded into buying specific new cheeses, because, ‘I know you’re gonna love this’. 

The cheese-guy and I are text-based acquaintances. I order stuff to speed up the process. Then, I stand in line and when it’s my turn, it’s: 

“Number 37.” 

“Number 37? Oh, Mark! You needn’t say.”

I get my order, in a white paper bag with not the number 37, but my name on it. I pay. I leave. Efficiently. — Epiphany: I really have become too citified after having spent the majority of my adult life in them. I should get back to giving people the time of day. Embrace rurality. —

I digress. 

Either way, you’re in my shoes now.

I’m from a small rural village. I have the basics: a fish-dude, a cheese-guy, some poulterers, a butcher, bakeries, and a farm shop selling all kinds of local produce. No sushi. Goddammit. If it wasn’t for forests, I’d choose seas above rivers. However, and so, among all those basics, imagine, I, once, in my rural village, had an Italian Italian ice-cream maker. Gennaro. 

Gennaro was a true gelato craftsman, with recipes handed down to him transgenerationally. His pistachio was as smooth as setting sails. His amarena cherry was the ruby centerpiece on the sparkling crown of biblical queens. People swarmed, each summer, to get a taste of whatever Gennaro was offering. His only two-ingredient ice-cream being stracciatella. The rest was pure taste; a distillation of the core ingredient into creamy and cool satisfaction. But, then, at the height of his popularity, he vanished. Homesick. Gennaro always went back home during winter, but this one time he simply never came back.

Gennaro went, and I saw all kinds of industries trying to make his central town square placed accommodation successful. They all failed.

Last year we got a Domino’s.

I hate this.

I’m not even exaggerating. I find it sacrilegious. Everything that’s wrong with this world is distilled into seeing this what once was a shrine of life altering craftsmanship, tainted by the epitome of taste-bud-assailing excessiveness in consumerist crap. You hadn’t had ice cream, until you tasted Gennaro’s. You still haven’t had pizza, after eating Domino’s. 

This world, being as miserable as it is, surely will have made matters worse. There is no end to its corruption of all things sacred. I just know that somewhere in Italy, Gennaro’s grandson is working in some city-based shack, selling overpriced tubs of Ben & Jerry’s to tourists. 

“Cookie Dough is my favourite”, he tells them, gleefully. Horridly honestly. And the tourists resoundingly agree:

“Can’t get any better than that!”

Excuse me, I gotta lie down for a while.

My stomach’s churning.

[okeylokiyuh]

TAG, YOU ARE IT! — WANNA KNOW YOU BETTER

rules: answer the questions and tag nine people you want to know better or catch up with!

last song listened to? rock me by one direction, it's my therapy song apparently 🤓

currently reading? i haven't read much in a while, but i do wanna start reading the king of sins series by ana huang bc it has a lot of hype and i'm a curious gal. but the last series i read was the a court of thorns and roses series by sarah j maas

currently watching? money heist: korea. i'm watching it for the plot, and um, don't come for me but the plot is denver and denver only 👀

currently obsessed with:

the expendables. started watching the movies bc i remembered literally every man in my family watching it and i wanna see what the hype is about. so far, i just realised i have terrible daddy issues bc my taste in men (mainly their age) is terribly concerning

these submarine sandwiches from a gelato place nearby. ik what you are thinking, subs in a gelato place 🤨 but trust me, they are so much better than any place that sells subs

jason todd. i'm a marvel girlie, but smth about that man istg just has me on my knees like sir just say the word and i will do it

tagged by : @rum-gone-why (thanks for the tag, daddy thaththi 🫶)

tagging : @haechanhues @nyukyujs @ethereal-engene @bbybearcubbs @liliansun @kyufilms @jaesvelvet @boba-beom @heeracha + anyone, really <3 (feel free to ignore, no pressure)

[senjuushi]

Event Translation — Brand New Journey ~Italy Expedition Volume~

Episode 2: Land of Beauty and Sunshine

—Piazza del Plebiscito, on the coast of the Gulf of Naples.

Cutlery: Mmm~! What great weather! Both the sea and the sky are bright blue... it’s really kinda pretty...! 

Marks: Master, I’ve researched sightseeing spots for you! The Collosuem, cathedrals, and Giotto's Camaderie​ are all famous! And after that, we can ride a boat on the canals. Let’s do all of it! 

Cutlery: Hahh... you’re too stupid. The Colosseum is in Rome... the most famous cathedral is in Milan, I think. It’s Giotto’s Campanile, not Camaderie, and that’s in Florence, anyway. 

Cutlery: Venice is probably gonna be the last place we go, right? All of that is in the North, and the cities are scattered all over, anyway, so there’s no way you can go to all of them. 

Marks: What did you say...!

Cutlery: Come on, (Player Name). Forget about this guy, and come get something to eat with me. After that, it’ll be sightseeing in the South.

Cutlery: We handled the Outragers right after we got here, so we can take it easy from here on out, yeah?

*flashback begins*

—a few hours earlier. After the group arrived at the airport, they had to find a taxi. 

Cutlery: So this is Italy, huh... Even the atmosphere feels different than in England. 

Marks: Master, it seems that there are a lot of pickpockets targeting tourists in this area. Please, be careful. There may be the mafia here as well, so I’ll remain vigilant of our surroundings. 

Civilian: KYAAAAH!!

Cutlery: Eh!? That was a scream—

Outrager: Kill... destroy, it all... 

Marks: Outragers! 

Cutlery: So suddenly...! 

Marks: Who cares! Let’s take ‘em out! 

*flashback ends*

Cutlery: Who would have thought we’d run into the Outragers just after leaving the airport? Now, there’s still a few days until we’re supposed to go back. 

Master: 

More of them might appear, so we should be careful.

We can relax, but we also have to stay vigilant. 

Cutlery: Yeah, you’re right.

Marks: Ah, Master! It’s an ice cream stand! 

Cutlery: That’s not ice cream. It’s gelato. It’s a specialty of Italy, and there are well-known shops selling it everywhere. 

Cutlery: C’mon, let’s go get some! 

*the scene changes to a bridge by the waterfront* 

While they sat on a bench and ate their gelato, the three looked over a tourist book to decide on their next destination. 

Cutlery: What about here? San Carlo Theatre! I remember Charlotte saying that she saw “Gianni Schicchi”​ there once, and really enjoyed it. 

Marks: What? Who’s Gianki Steak?* That sounds tasty, so it might not be bad.

Cutlery: Gianni! Schicchi​! It’s a one-act opera, where he plays the—

Civilian 1: Kyaaahh!!

Cutlery: What is it this time...!?

Civilian 2: Help! A car crashed, and it fell into the ocean! 

Master: 

We have to help! 

The driver is still inside! 

Marks: Wait, Master! I’ll come with you! 

Marks: Cutlery, hold onto our guns! 

Cutlery: H-Huh, wait...! 

(Player Name) and Marks jump into the ocean. 

The driver had managed to get out of the car, but had fallen unconscious. (Player Name) pulled him to the water’s surface, where Marks and the other two haul him back onto dry land. 

Cutlery: Are you two okay...!?

Marks: *cough*, I’m fine...! Master, did you inhale any water!? 

Master: 

I’m alright! 

Nope, I’m good! 

Master: 

Are you okay?!

Hang in there! 

Rescued Man: Uh... *cough*, *cough*...

Rescued Man: ...ed, I’m saved! 

Rescued Man: I was distracted by a gorgeous lady by the roadside and looked away, and that was it! Ahhh, I really messed up! Gahahaha!

Cutlery: What’s up with this guy? He’s way too perky. ...he doesn’t need any help. 

Benetta: ......

Carcanore: ......tch.

Rescued Man: You’re my saviors! Grazie infinite!

Master:

I’m glad you’re not hurt. 

Be more careful, next time.

(CHOICE 1) Rescued Man: Haha, you’re pretty impressive, you know that? By the way, you all are...?

(CHOICE 2) Rescued Man: Ahh, I’m really regretting not doing better about that! By the way, you all are...?

Rescued Man: Judging by your accents... are you British? You must be here for sightseeing, then! Welcome to Naples! 

Bonito: I’m Bonito! I’d like to show you my thanks properly... but everything I have is in the sea right now.

Bonito: Ah, I know! I still had a map in my pocket! You’re welcome to take it, if you’d like. I’m truly grateful! 

Master:

Y-Yes... 

(What a rough handshake...!)

Marks: Hey, don’t swing Master’s hand around like that!

Bonito: Well then, let’s hope we meet again someday! Ciao!!

Cutlery: Eh, h-hold on...! 

Carcanore: Yo, I see you got out unscathed! 

Bonito: ...ngh!

Carcanore: Grazie! For saving this guy and all. We’re really grateful. 

Benetta: Indeed. Thank you for your efforts. 

Bonito: Y-You two...! Hey, what a coincidence to meet you here!!

Marks: What, are they friends of yours?

Bonito: Ahh, that’s right. This guy is Carcanore, and the one beside him is Benetta. 

Master: 

(Those are both the names of Italian guns)

(There shouldn’t be any Musketeers in Italy, though...?)

Carcanore: Ahh~ah, you guys are soaking wet. We’re close to where I live, so how about you shower off there? 

Carcanore: Let’s go, ‘kay! 

Marks: *pant*... *pant*...! 

Cutlery: Hey, what are you doing?

Marks: The seawater got in my nose...! 

Cutlery: C’mon... don’t blow snot out of your nose in public. Here, use a handkerchief. 

(Player Name) and the others got into the car belonging to Bonito’s friends, to drive with them.

Notes:

*Here, Marks misunderstands “ジャンキーステーキ (jyankii suteiki)” as “ジャンニ・スキッキ (jyanni sukikki)”. “ステーキ” means “steak”, so he assumes Cutlery is talking about food.

[raincitygirl76]

So, the CBC posted a rather poorly written article about the archived video you can play at the link below. But they also posted a news segment from the CBC Vancouver TV station in 1993. As in, thirty years ago. All about the trendy new (in 1993) craze for cappuccino rather than ordinary coffee. A craze that was then sweeping North America, including Vancouver.

The 1993-era manager at Bridges (an iconic Vancouver restaurant that was open from 1980 to 2021) is interviewed by the reporter. He reveals they sell many cappuccinos since they installed their espresso machine, and sell them for $2.75 a pop. The way the restaurant manager says “$2.75” makes it clear he knows most viewers of the 6 o’clock news will think that’s a crazy amount of money for anyone to spend on a beverage.

There’s been a lot of inflation between 1993 and 2023. $2.75 CAD could probably get you an ordinary drip coffee at Starbucks in 2023. But a fancy drink with espresso, steamed milk, etc would probably run you closer to $6 CAD with tax. Maybe more, if you want a big size.

The segment also shows the Robson Street intersection in downtown Vancouver that, in 1993, had the highest coffee consumption in North America. Mainly because the street-level businesses on 3 of the 4 sides of that intersection were all fancy coffee shops selling espresso-based beverages.

No idea if they still have 3 coffee bars at that intersection. I know for a long time there were 2 Starbucks kitty corner across from each other at that intersection. Don’t know if it’s still true, as I haven’t been to Robson in years. Robson Street is chock-a-block full of tourists any time of year.

It’s also cool because it talks about Commercial Drive, which was (kinda sorta still is) Vancouver’s Little Italy.* My apartment building is 2 blocks from Commercial Drive. Below I’ve posted the Instagram profile and Yelp page for Caffe Calabria, Vancouver’s oldest continually operating coffee bar. Which I believe may still be family owned. Caffe Calabria is 4 blocks from me, and the decor inside is wild! Hence me linking to both Yelp and Insta, so you can check out the photos.

In my opinion, the coffee itself is actually better across the street at Continental Coffee (another longtime Commercial Drive standby, and also Italian, despite the bland name). But Calabria also does lovely grilled paninis, desserts and gelato, and has more space. Continental Coffee I go there strictly for the espresso-based beverages, not for a meal and a look at all the (mostly full-sized) reproductions of famous Italian statues. Those line the walls at Caffe Calabria, and it’s fun.

https://instagram.com/caffe.calabria?igshid=NTc4MTIwNjQ2YQ==

I found these photos from Café Calabria that you should check out https://yelp.to/t8NRz9frW4

Weird thinking that until probably the mid-to-late late 1980s, Commercial Drive was the only place in Vancouver you could buy espresso-based beverages. I’m a bit fuzzy as to when exactly the fancy coffee craze took off, as I was only born in 1976. Judging by the CBC News segment, it was well underway by 1993. I can’t really remember a time when fancy coffee bars weren’t around, although I admit they were not as ubiquitous when I was a teenager as they are now. But I don’t think I drank coffee of any kind, ever, until I was at least 16. And I didn’t turn 16 until October 1992.

* Commercial Drive is still called LIttle Italy, and it certainly still has an unusually high proportion of Italian coffee bars, restaurants, delis, and places where you can buy fresh (not dried) pasta and other Italian food. But nowadays you can’t throw a rock on Commercial without also hitting restaurants serving Ethiopian, Japanese, Indian, Jamaican, Lebanese, Vietnamese, Salvadorean cuisine, etc.

And the population of the surrounding houses and apartment buildings hasn’t been primarily Italian for a very long time. I moved to the area in 2002, and it was already extremely multicultural, multiracial, and multilingual. Every continent represented except Antarctica!

But every time the Italy men’s football soccer in Canada and the US) team is playing in either the World Cup or the Euros, the Italian-Canadian diaspora (normally scattered all over the Greater Vancouver area) converges on Commercial Drive. They watch the games on the big TVs in the Italian restaurants and coffee houses here, and whenever Italy wins a match, they spill out onto the street and stop the traffic, waving little Italian flags. Or sometimes big Italian flags. Even though most of them are third or fourth generation Canadian by now and no longer speak the language.

I think that happens partly because Canada’s men’s national soccer team was always dreadful until only 2 or 3 years ago. Canada was never playing in the World Cup or the Euros, because it never qualified. So people cheered for the countries their grandparents or great grandparents immigrated from instead. Which, for people of Italian descent, meant trips to Commercial Drive.

The same situation does not happen whenever the Women’s World Cup is held. But Canada has an excellent national team in women’s football/soccer (or was, until very recently), and it’s usually a contender. Its unforeseen, humiliating, and headline-generating early departure from the 2023 Women’s World Cup notwithstanding. Italy’s national women’s team has a much less distinguished history. In my experience, most Italian-Canadians, like most human beings, want to cheer on the country they think will have at least a chance at winning the tournament (Canada), not the country that rarely even qualifies for said tournament (Italy).

It’s the same reason Italian-Canadians usually cheer for Italy rather than Canada in the men’s World Cup and Euros. At the men’s World Cup in 2022, Canada qualified for the first time since 1986. While Italy shocked the world by not qualifying. All the Italian restaurants and coffee bars that usually fly Italian flag bunting quickly switched to maple leaf bunting in 2022 to bring in World Cup customers. Many fewer than usual, because the Italian diaspora had no need to descend on Commercial Drive from the suburbs, with Italy missing the tournament.

[indyflanery]

Types Of People: Cities (Part II)

*Repost don't reblog

Rome:

Sandals, gelato, can pull off white, history buff, throws coins into wishing wells, gold jewellery, perfectly roasted coffee beans, tucking their hair behind their ear only to have it fall into their face a few second later, distinctive style of sunglasses, walks everywhere, the epitome of someone who “stops to smell the roses”, oriental floral perfume, thick hair.

Prague:

Really into architecture, photogenic but hates having their picture taken, may seem a little distant, defensive, strong connection to their roots, likes cold weather, faux fur coats, bitter coffee, Slytherin vibes, knows what they want out of life, Villanelle from Killing Eve, long kept secrets, monochromatic outfits, snowflakes in their hair, cat like eyes, hands in their pockets.

Tokyo:

Watches anime religiously, aesthetic fairy lights in their bedroom, cute tech accessories, energetic, probably has a seemingly out of character emo playlist, vibrant outfits, collects quirky stickers and clothing pins, changes their hair style/colour a lot, neon signs, stuffed toy collection, watches movies that no one has heard of, sweet tooth, Disney obsessed.

Los Angeles:

Sun bleached hair, palm trees, a little bit naive, their favourite colour is turquoise, rollerskating, big eyes, sheltered, always looks on the bright side of life, thinks a trip to the beach can cure depression, social media generation, instagram filters, Lana Del Rey, sells their art on Etsy, loves reality TV, converse shoes, burns sage to banish bad vibes.

Dubai:

Conflicting personality traits, strong spiritual beliefs, wind swept hair, probably comes from money, family values, mosaic tiles, loves lounging by the pool, the view outside a plane window, billowing skirts/dresses, pebble gardens, statement earrings, hand tattoos, expensive tastes, doesn’t take selfies because they make whoever they’re with take full body shots.

[libraryofjoy]

Milk was $1.50 per gallon at Kroger this week instead of its recent $3.19 per gallon , so I bought two gallons, which is more than I can consume before I start to feel uncomfortable several days before the expiration date. To ameliorate this situation, I made ice cream! (It was made from whole milk and not heavy cream, but I'm not selling it so I won't call it "frozen dairy dessert" like store brands have to).

H has a hand-cranked ice cream maker and gave me a recipe for dark chocolate gelato. In honor of the already exhausted meme, I used four times the quantity of vanilla the recipe called for. The result tasted very rich and had a good texture--we'll see how it holds up after a few hours sitting in the freezer!

If anyone has particularly good milk recipes, feel free to send them my way! This one was good but it only used two cups of milk, so I have a lot to use up.

[anonsally]

Day 2 in Rome

Our second day in Rome went, overall, better than our first. It was also a very full day, as the in-laws were flying home the next day and wanted to squeeze a lot in.

There was a transit strike that day, but we fortunately knew that ahead of time. We got up early and walked to the Pantheon, arriving about 10 minutes after they had opened... only to find lines even longer than they were the previous afternoon. I nearly cried.

But there were 3 lines, with no guidance as to what each was for, so I went up to ask the employees near the front of the Pantheon. It turned out that one line was to buy tickets with cash, but if you did that, you would have to wait in a second line to enter. The third line was for paying by credit card, and if you did that you would not have to wait in a second line to enter. We all agreed that sounded better. What wasn't clear was whether we needed to buy the ticket online in advance, or if you could pay with the credit card at the front of the line, so I figured we should get them online to be safe. There didn't seem to be a way to order a ticket for entry so I reserved us the audioguide, which was 10euro each. Some of the others went to get a coffee granita while waiting. I stood in line. It took about 45 minutes, but we did get in--though it also turned out we had not paid for entry and had to do that separately at the entrance anyway. But the audioguide did actually contain (in addition to rather more Catholic propaganda than I was in the mood for) some information that was new to me. We stayed in there for an hour, and I still felt moved by it, but I knew we wouldn't go back in on this trip. I wonder if they will ever improve the logistics. Why don't they just sell timed tickets like most museums do?

Afterwards, I got a coffee granita with whipped cream. Then we visited Bernini's little elephant statue and went into the church in that piazza (Santa Maria Sopra Minerva), which was actually built over a temple to Isis, not Minerva. The outside is plain, but the inside is very ornate.

It was getting very hot, so our next activity was a gloriously air-conditioned museum with an exhibition of hyperrealism: mainly sculptures of humans, though sometimes not the whole body and sometimes on a different size scale. It was pretty interesting. My favorite was a series of self-portrait works by an artist named Valter Adam Casotto, in which he made enlarged but extremely realistic sculptures of various parts of his own body (lips and chin; elbow; etc.) and then "tattooed" them with his childhood drawings.

After that, we ate in the museum cafe, which was slow, but I liked my food. Then we had a very hot walk down via dei Fori Imperiali past the Roman Forum and toward the Coliseum. After that we walked up the hill through a park. It was unbearably hot by then, but we stumbled upon a church and went in and then discovered they had excavations underneath it of previous structures, so we got to go down below ground where it was considerably cooler. That was lovely!

After that we went to get an aperitivo (I had a frozen strawberry daiquiri) and snacks before a brief shower and rest at the hotel, and then out to dinner. I had a nice pizza, followed by a gelato I regretted as I was already too full and the gelato wasn't that great.