#vino contains

[queen-of-deans-booty]

I'll Always Choose You

Pairing: Jensen Ackles x Female!Reader

Word Count: ~2.8k

Warnings: car accident, injured!reader, bitchy girlfriend, angst, fluff at the end

Request by @jessicalynnann: I’m requesting another one lol. Can I get a request where the reader and Jensen are best friends and Jensen is falling in love with her but his gf is really rude to her and makes him choose. Well the reader hears and distances herself… well Jensen realizes it is too late and the best friend is the one that makes him happy but the reader gets into an bad accident. You decided the ending. Thanks.!!! 

Summary: Jensen is back in town with his new girlfriend and is hosting a barbecue to get together with everyone and catch up. This is the first time you're meeting her, and she doesn't take you to as kindly as she leads everyone to believe she is.

Square Filled: in vino veritas (2021) for @spndeanbingo

Author’s Note: any and all comments are appreciated <3

x

Jensen hasn’t even been back for more than a week and he’s already having a barbecue at his cabin in the mountains. He rents the place out every summer and invites everyone he knows to stay with him for the weekend. The place is big enough to house two dozen people and Jensen knows a lot of people. It’s been a few months since Jensen has been home since he’s traveling with his new girlfriend. You haven’t met her yet but you have talked to Jensen about her. He seems to be crazy about her so you’re not going to ruin what they have.

Yes, you have a crush on him. Yes, you love him. Yes, you’d do anything to make him happy. Yes, he is your best friend. No, you won’t do anything about it because he seems to be happy. What kind of friend would you be if you took that away from him?

Once you finish getting ready into a summer flowy dress, you grab the food you cooked and pile into your car. The cabin is located in the mountains up north so it takes you an hour to get there. There are already a bunch of people there but you don’t mind being later than everyone else. You pull into the driveway and see Jared’s car indicating that him and his wife are already here.

You let yourself into the house and enter the kitchen to place your food there when you see a young and beautiful woman. She must be Denise, Jensen’s girlfriend. You recognize her from the photos he’s sent you.

“Oh, hi. Denise?”

She looks you up and down as if she’s judging you.

“Yeah. You must be Y/N.”

“It’s nice to meet you,” you smile.

“You have such a cute dress on. Don’t let the drinks ruin it.”

It’s the way she says this that makes ou suspicious. She seems a bit passive-aggressive like she doesn't like you. Instead of giving you a chance, she’s already decided that she doesn’t like you. You’re not going to let her ruin your night because you came here for one thing and one thing only.

“I can handle myself. Where is Jensen?”

Speaking of, your best friend walks inside the kitchen using the back door with containers of food in his hands. He looks at you and a big smile breaks out on his face.

“Y/N! You came!” He sets down the food and scoops you into his arms. You don’t miss the way Denise is glaring at you two. “I’ve missed you.”

“I’ve missed you, too.”

“Baby, you promised you’d show me around,” Denise says and pulls her boyfriend away from you. “Remember? You said you’d do it when you got done outside.”

“Yeah, you’re right.” He turns to you. “I’ll be right back. Jared and Gen are outside.”

“Okay,” you nod.

Denise practically drags him away, leaving you all alone. You shake off this bad feeling you’re getting and join the others outside. Jared is talking to some guys off to the side while Gen is heping prep the table for the food. Joshua, Jensen’s brother, is using the grill to make his famous chicken on the other side of the backyard.

“Y/N!” Jared says a bit too loudly.

“Whoa, are you okay?” you chuckle and hug him.

“Yeah, I’m great.”

Jared has always been a light weight despite how tall he is. He definitely has the weight to keep the effects of alcohol away but he acts like he’s a hundred pounds when he drinks. It only takes a few drinks to really get him going.

“What number of drink is that?”

“Three?”

“You drink any more, you’ll bring out Doug. Do you really want to do that?”

“Probably not,” he chuckles.

You have fond memories of Jared’s alter ego coming out after he’s had too many to drink. The night usually ends in the cops being called but it’s memories you love to think about.

“So, I met Denise.”

Jared starts laughing at the tone of your voice.

“Yeah, everyone has that same reaction when they first meet her.”

“What is her problem?”

“I don’t know. She’s not the best person to be around but no one says anything because it seems like Jensen is happy. They’ve only been dating for a few months but they seem happy together.”

Jensen and Denise come back from the self-tour and you watch as she clings to his side even though he wants to go over to his friends and converse. He has a smile on his face that doesn’t quite reach his ears. He might be happy but it’s not true happiness.

“You don’t know him like I do.”

You leave Jared’s side to join Jensen’s. He has yet to tell you about his trip and now’s the perfect time to do that. It’s been so long since you’ve seen him, you just want to be around him. However, Denise sees you walking over to them and she tugs on Jensen’s arm to grab his attention. She leans in and whispers something in his ear that causes him to chuckle.

“Sure,” he nods.

They both walk off before you can get to them, and Denise looks back at you to gauge your reaction. You pretend like you weren't walking to them and veer to the right where Gen is. She says something to you but you’re not paying attention. You stare at the couple until they disappear around the corner of the house. Jensen didn’t even see you coming toward him.

You push down your feelings and enjoy the company of everyone else until dinner is served. Jensen took the seat next to you before Denise could pull him away so she is forced to take the other side of him. Everyone digs into the delicious food immediately and the conversation somehow gets on the topic of how stupid Jensen has been in his past.

“Once Jared told me I couldn't do it, I had to prove him wrong. I climbed up to the roof  and got ready to jump into the pool.”

“I told him not to do it but he wouldn’t listen,” you chuckle.

“Yeah, so I got a running head start and jumped off into the pool. I made it in but it was shallower than I thought, and I broke my arm on the side of the pool.”

“You were a big cry baby,” you laugh and lean on his arm in laughter. “I held your hand the entire way to the hospital.”

“That you did,” he smiles down at you.

Denise’s jaw ticks in annoyance and jealously. She grabs her alcoholic drink and walks past you as if she is going to get a refil. However, she “trips” and she spills her entire drink all over your new dress. You gasp from how cold it is and stand up in shock.

“Oh, I am so sorry!” Denise apologizes.

“Shit, that’s cold!”

You look down at your dress to see the alcohol already staining your dress. You look at Denise and see the malicious intent in her eyes. She might be faking an apology but you know she couldn’t care less about this. She did this on purpose.

“Here, come with me. Let me clean this up before the stain sets.”

“Do you need me to come with you?” Jensen asks.

“No, I got this,” Denise chuckles.

She takes you into the cabin before you have  achance to say anything. As soon as the door is closed, she becomes a whole other person. She drops the nice girl act and shows her true colors.

“I don’t know what your problem is, but stay away from my boyfriend.”

“My problem? What are you talking about?”

You grab some napkins to dab your dress without her help.

“You can play games all you want but he’s mine, and I’ll make your life miserable if you keep doing what you’re doing.”

“I don’t want him,” you lie.

“Please,” she scoffs and rolls her eyes, “I saw the way you were looking at him the entire night. Stay away from him or I’ll do more than pour alcohol down your dress.” She walks back to the door but pauses because she’s not done talking. “I am better than you in every way. You might be the best friend but I’m his girlfriend, and I always get what I want.” She gives you a sweet smile as if she didn’t just threaten you. “It’s nice to meet you though. Sorry about the dress.”

As soon as she leaves the kitchen, tears roll down your cheeks. You can’t go back out there looking like a mess so you dry your cheeks and your dress as much as possible before going back outside. Everyone is mostly done with dinner so they��re standing around instead of sitting. Jensen immediately walks over to you with a look of concern on his face.

“Hey, are you okay? I can pay for the dry cleaning.”

You look at Denise who is watching you with careful eyes. Jensen might genuinely be happy with her so you can’t take that away from him and tell him how rotten his girlfriend is. Plus, would he even believe you? Yes, you’re his best friend but would he believe you over his girlfriend?

“No, it’s okay. It was a misunderstanding,” you sigh.

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah.”

You excuse yourself and walk over to Jared who has been watching you three the entire night. He had two glasses of water at dinner so he’s sobered up some more. He sees the look of defeat on your face and nudges you arm.

“They won’t last.”

“What?”

“I don’t see them lasting another month.”

“Why would I care?”

“Come on,” Jared chuckles. “We all know you’re in love with him.”

“Shut your mouth, Jared,” you snap.

“What, am I wrong?”

You look at Jensen and Denise who are all over each other. She has her arms wrapped around his neck and his hands are low on her hips. You have to hold back your tears.

“It doesn’t matter how I feel. She clearly doesn’t want me around.”

“Give it time.”

Jensen and Denise walk into the cabin to do God only knows what, and you decide it’s best if you leave now. You don’t want to spend the night and have to hear them through the walls.

“As much fun as this whole thing has been, I should go now.”

You give Jared a side hug so you don’t get the alcohol on him.

“Good luck.”

You can’t leave this party without saying goodbye to Jensen. You’ll steal a couple of minutes and leave and that will be that. You don’t even have to give him a hug goodbye . You walk inside the house in search of your best friend. You walk past the kitchen into the living room where you overhear Denise and Jensen talking.

“What’s wrong? You were fine when we showed up.”

“I don’t like that you spend so much time with her. I’m your girlfriend who loves you.”

“She’s my best friend.” Great, they’re talking about you. How can you go in there now? It’ll only be awkward and you’ll give away that you’ve been listening. “We grew up together.”

“You’re with me now. Y/N needs to find someone she loves and leave us alone. I don’t want to be rude but it’s obvious she wants you.”

You can’t see Jensen’s face from where you’re at but you can only imagine what it looks like.

“You’re overreacting.”

“Do you have feelings for her? Is that why you’re being this way?”

You hold your breath and wait for his answer.

“Be this way? What are you talking about?”

“It’s me or her. Pick one. You can’t have both.”

You can’t bear the thought of hearing his answer because there is a chance that he might choose her. You quickly leave the room without hearing his answer and escape to your car. You shouldn’t have come. He has been with Denise for months across the world. He probably has a lot more fun with her than he does with you. He’s found someone to replace you with. You can’t fault him for choosing her. She can give him everything you can’t.

You peel out of the driveway and start the journey back home. Tears are flowing down your cheeks making it harder to see the road in front of you. It’s a particularly windy day so your car is slightly shaking; nothing you can’t control. It doesn’t help you’re driving in the mountains with no light except for that of your headlights. Through your tears, you don’t see the car on the other side of the roading coming straight at you.

You hit him going seventy miles an hour head on, and you’re thrown from the windshield and onto the groound. You left in such a hurry that you forgot to put your seatbelt on. The car you hit is a much bigger car than yours so it doesn’t have nearly as much damage as yours. The car slams on its break before slowly driving off, leaving you on the ground outside.

You gasp in pain and stare at the starry sky above you. Blood runs down your body and pools on the ground. You never took time to admire how pretty the night sky is. Your entire body is in pain but there is a certain peace that comes with being on the brink of death. You close your eyes to get some sleep when you hear someone calling your name off in the distance.

How much time has passed? It seems like minutes but could have been for much longer.

“Y/N!” Jensen gasps and slides on the ground when he gets to you. You open your eyes and see red and blue lights flashing off his face. “I’m right here. You’re going to be okay. Just hang on for me, okay? Please be okay.”

“Sir, you need to move.”

Jensen is pulled back so the paramedics can come in and do their job. You close your eyes because you’re so fucking tired. You feel yourself being lifted off the ground and onto something softer than the ground. You’re wheeled on a gurney into the ambulance with Jensen following closely behind.

“Sir, only family are allowed inside.”

“I’m her husband,” Jensen shouts and pushes past the paramedics.

They allow him to sit inside and be with you until they get to the hospital. Jensen grabs your bloody hand just as you roll your head to the side. You barely squeeze his hand to let him knwo you’re with him and not going toward the light no matter how tempting it might be.

“I’m right here, sweetheart. I’m holding your hand.”

The next time you open your eyes, you’re confronted with blinding white lights. Is this what Heaven is like? Did you die? You blink a few times to correct your vision and see you’re not in Heaven but a hospital room. You groan softly and look to your right where Jensen is. He is holding your hand with his head lowered like he’s praying. When he hears your painful groan, his head snaps up.

“Sweetheart. Hey, I’m right here.”

“Jensen?” you croak.

“Do you need some water?” You nod and he grabs a small cup of water. He helps you drink before setting the cup down. “How are you feeling?”

“What happened?”

“You collided with another car. The bastard left instead of staying but cops found him near where the cabin is. There’s only one road going in and out of town so it wasn’t hard to spot the truck with bumper damage. Your car is totaled though.”

Oh, yeah. The reason why you didn't see the other car is because you had tears flowing out of your eyes the entire time. Why were you crying? Right. Jensen was going to choose Denise over you. You take your hand away from his when you remember this and shift further from him.

“Where is Denise?”

“Gone.” Your eyes snap to his. “I broke up with her.”

“What? Why?”

“She made me choose. Anyone who makes me choose isn’t good enough to be with me.”

“What did she make you choose?” you ask even though you know the answer.

“It was either you or her, and you should know by now I will always choose you.”

“You shouldn’t have had to do that.”

“I’m glad she did.” He grabs your good hand and kisses the back of it. “I was blind to who was by my side my entire life.”

You smile and run your thumb on the back of his hand.

“What does this mean?”

“First, you get better. Then, I’m going to show you just how much I love you.”

“Deal,” you smile shyly.

x

Follow my library blog @aqueenslibrary​​​​​​​​​​​​ where I reblog all my stories, so you can put notifications on there without the extra stuff :)

[pinkslipxox]

could you write something about miko not knowing that you know some spanish until you answer something she asks perfectly, or you just randomly say a sentence in spanish to her? thank you 😊

hey my love! Yes ofc here’s something short and sweet 🥹❤️

——————————————————————————

You and Miko are cuddled up on the couch, watching a movie, when it pops into your mind. After debating whether or not to tell the joke, you kiss Miko’s cheek, grabbing her attention, and she smiles. Then you clear your throat.

“Vicky?” you hum, trying to keep a straight face.

“Yes, my love?” Miko purrs, her blue eyes meeting yours.

“¿Cual es el vino más amargo?” you muse with a smile tugging on your lips. Miko’s eyes widen slightly.

“Wait, wait. Qué?” Miko laughs.

“¿Cual es el vino más amargo?” you repeat, giggling, hardly containing your smile anymore. After a beat of silence, you reveal the answer, “Vino la suegra!”

Miko bursts out with laughter, she clutches her stomach, the sound echoing throughout the house. Even little tears roll down her face. She shakes her head fondly at you and pulls you to her lap.

“Mi amor, no sabía que hablabas español!” Miko says as she recovers from her laughter.

“Lo entiendo perfectamente,” you confess with a sheepish smile. “But I can’t speak it as well as I should.”

“No hay problema, mi amor. I’ll teach you everything you need to know,” Miko chuckles softly and kisses your forehead lovingly.

[eleadore]

rec list: hannibal/will 5-10k

none of my recs contain mcd or unhappy endings. everything else is fair game & may not be tagged for.

hannibal/will <5k

my whole existence is flawed by lovetincture (m, 5.1k) ♥️ dub-con, choking, breathplay, s2

After the ortolans, Hannibal invites Will to participate in a trust exercise. Will accepts. Things spiral out of control fairly quickly.

in vino veritas by lovetincture (nc-17, 5.2k) dub-con, post-fall

Will has a drinking problem. Hannibal makes it better, but first he makes it much worse.

simple by tei (nc-27, 5.3k) ♥️ will wants to fuck the ripper, s1

When Will meets Hannibal Lecter, he realizes that Hannibal might be the best thing to ever happen to his career: because Will is finally, finally having sexual fantasies about something other than the killers he catches.

at first meeting by emungere (t, 5.3k) groundhog day, s1

Will relives the day he met Hannibal.

price by emungere (nc-17, 5.4k) ♥️ escort AU

Prompt: Enter Will Graham, escort in D.C. providing the powerful men of Capitol Hill what they need because he knows them better than they could know themselves.

holomorphic by tei (nc-17, 5.6k) ♥️ bdsm, asexuality, post-fall

Hannibal takes what he wants from Will, and Will takes what he wants from Hannibal.

to welcome in the year by coloredink (t, 5.6k) magical realism, s1-s2 AU

Dr. Hannibal Lecter can control time in small, localized ways, but he no longer uses it in surgery; Will Graham can repair small objects, but he works for the FBI. It has been winter for as long as anyone can remember. That's how the story begins.

daylight savings by thebeespatella (nc-17, 6.1k) asphyxiation, s01e08

He’s getting close enough to tie the strings on Will’s wrists and ankles, and then, perhaps, under Hannibal’s marionette hand, he could be glorious...If Will resisted, disappointed—well. There is nothing wrong with a good demi-glacé. A post-Fromage missing scene.

fight the hurricane by spqr (nc-17, 6.6k) pacific rim AU

“He’s the best Jaeger pilot we have,” Jack says, grimly. “The last person who tried to drift with him slit her wrists. The one before that walked off the top of the Hatteras Shatterdome. We trained him before we knew what he was, and now we can’t afford to get rid of him.”

a particular affinity by louise_lux (m, 6.7k) getting together, s1

Will discovers that Hannibal has an olfactory disorder. Hyperosmia: noun - an abnormally acute sense of smell.

haarlem by spqr (m, 6.8k) telepath AU

“Hannibal,” he thinks he says. He gets told later that he doesn’t really say it at all, but that the entire police station—most of which is waiting outside in the rainy parking lot—hears his voice clattering around inside their skulls like someone standing on a roof banging pots and pans and screaming at the top of his lungs: HANNIBAL, HANNIBAL, HANNIBAL.

more a question of feeling by stereobone (nc-17, 7k) s2 compliant

Will lets it slip that he saw Hannibal when he had sex with Margot. Well, Hannibal isn't about to let that one go so easily.

pressure valve by spqr (nc-17, 7.4k) ♥️ D/s, s1

“I believe I understand,” Hannibal says. “You were at the club tonight because you could not sleep. Because you could not stop your brilliant mind from tearing itself to shreds. You needed someone else to stop it for you. Am I wrong?” Will shakes his head, then manages – croaky – “No. You’re not wrong.” “And you imagined someone in that – establishment – might be capable of taking care of you,” Hannibal continues, and Will doesn’t think he imagines the disdain in his voice, the banked fury in his expression. He knows he doesn’t, actually; he just doesn’t understand what it means.

the curious incident of the cucumber in the nighttime by tei (nc-17, 7.4k) getting together, pre-s1 to s1

PT: WILLIAM GRAHAM, 26 YEAR OLD MALE DX: FOREIGN BODY, RECTUM

softly, sweetly by thecountessolivia (nc-17, 7.5k) getting together, first time, erectile dysfunction, post-fall

After the fall, Will can't get it up. As far as Hannibal is concerned, this is not a problem.

oh, to be the life and soul will be the death of me by serindrana (nc-17, 7.8k) will finds out, knifeplay, s1

The third time Hannibal Lecter invites Will to a dinner party, he says yes.

every color at hand by ranstad (nc-17, 7.8k) first time, s1

Will has long been familiar with Hannibal's expertise in the kitchen, but he isn't aware Hannibal applies himself with similar fastidiousness to the finer arts—until the day Hannibal asks him to sit for a portrait.

a good fisherman by tei (nc-17, 8.3k) ♥️ getting together, pre-s1

Hannibal Lecter is in a new country, learning a new specialty. Now he just needs to become fluent enough in English to practice psychiatry-- and to manipulate. Will Graham is finally getting his life together: he's off the beat and into the lab, and settling into the house of his dreams in the middle of the woods. Far away from everyone and everything. It's just, he is a little lonely.

sangservi by tei (nc-17, 9.2k) ♥️ vampire AU

Will's got plenty of perfectly good blood in the fridge, but he orders takeout anyway.

gates of ivory, gates of horn by borevidal (nc-17, 9.7k) getting together, angst, s3 AU

“I miss my dogs. I’m not going to miss you. I’m not going to find you. I’m not going to look for you. I don’t want to know where you are or what you do. I don’t want to think about you anymore.” But dreams are another matter. Will and Hannibal’s relationship plays out in a world where people can send each other dreams. Mid-Season 3 AU.

the here trilogy by petronia (nc-17, 9.8k) ♥️ getting together, post-fall

Hannibal and Will sail across the Atlantic, and slip into further physical intimacies.

sleeping on a leash by mikapim (nc-17, 9.8k) ♥️ rough sex, au

"Wealthy Sadist Kidnaps Fifty People to Hunt for Sport in Oregon Woods" "Humans Hunted in Oregon- One Survivor" "The REAL LIFE Most Dangerous Game" "Man Survives Brutal Mass Murder" For Will, the headlines blur together into an offensive amalgamation of guilt and irritation and despair- his concerns with them being both that they say too much, and they don't say enough.

[lunamagicablu]

“Faërie contiene molte cose oltre agli elfi e alle fate, e oltre ai nani, alle streghe, ai troll, ai giganti o ai draghi; contiene i mari, il sole, la luna, il cielo; e la terra, e tutte le cose che sono in essa: alberi e uccelli, acqua e pietra, vino e pane, e noi stessi, uomini mortali, quando siamo incantati.” JRR Tolkien, Tolkien sulle fiabe art by_0buzz_ ******************** “Faërie contains many things besides elves and fairies, and besides dwarves, witches, trolls, giants, or dragons; it contains the seas, the sun, the moon, the sky; and the earth, and all the things that are in it: trees and birds, water and stone, wine and bread, and ourselves, mortal men, when we are enchanted.” JRR Tolkien, Tolkien on Fairy-Stories art by_0buzz_ 

[e-ste-tica]

ieri sera festa nel container rosso del co-housing/spazio culturale in cui vive Ka per il compleanno di un suo coinquilino. abbiamo ballato in gruppo fino allo sfinimento, schiena a schiena, culo a culo, lanciandoci palloncini e ridendo. usciamo e incontriamo una ragazza che ha appena staccato il turno alla taverna, davanti a noi l'orto e nel naso l'odore che fa il verde la notte. mi sono accorto di essere ubriaco quando ho pisciato nudo davanti a Ka dicendogli di non guardarmi perché ero un verme brutto. Sei un verme bello - mi ha risposto. tutte quelle persone sorridenti tra pile e altri abbigliamenti da fricchettoni, tutta quell'energia quando senti la stanza piena di persone della tua età che nella vita cercano di creare strade alternative, sentirle parlare tra una focaccia e un bicchiere di vino dei loro impegni e sogni per un futuro diverso, e poi liberarsi senza posa né giudizio in balli scomposti e sgraziati. abbracciarsi tanto dicendosi grazie, buonanotte, baci baci, portate su i dolci avanzati? sì li prendiamo noi! che bello stare sotto le coperte insieme. ma M dove ha dormito ché nel letto non c'è? vuoi del caffè? che mal di testa. dopo gli ultimi giorni grigi mi serviva questo: ricordarmi che il mondo è tanto grande e popolato, che si può sperare, che per quanto le cose siano tristi si può sempre mettere su un po' di musica con qualche sconosciuto e per una sera lasciar andare il dolore. grazie vita, grazie corpo.

[kingtry]

a worried man (with a worried mind)

Author: UnfortunatelyObsessed Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Fandom: Monk Relationships: Adrian Monk/Leland Stottlemeyer, Leland Stottelmeyer/Karen Stottlemeyer Language: English Stats: 1 Chapter (Completed)

Summary:

"You can kiss him if you want."

Leland doesn't move, takeout container still in his hand, trash lid open. He stares at the contents under the pedal lid: banana peel, yesterday's newspaper, egg shell. "Huh?" he finally manages around the weird feeling in his throat.

"Adrian. You can kiss him if you want to." Karen puts her wine bottle back in the fridge because she likes them cold. "It won't bother me."

Autor: UnfortunatelyObsessed Clasificación: Audiencias adolescentes y mayores Fandom: Monk Relaciones: Adrian Monk/Leland Stottlemeyer, Leland Stottelmeyer/Karen Stottlemeyer Idioma: English Estado: 1 Capítulo (Terminada)

Resumen:

"Puedes besarlo si quieres".

Leland no se mueve, con el contenedor de comida para llevar aún en la mano y la tapa de la basura abierta. Se queda mirando el contenido bajo la tapa de pedal: cáscara de plátano, el periódico de ayer, cáscara de huevo. «¿Eh?», se las arregla finalmente con una extraña sensación en la garganta.

«Adrian. Puedes besarlo si quieres". Karen vuelve a meter su botella de vino en la nevera porque le gustan fríos. "No me molestará".

Divisores de  cafekitsune

[https-furina]

omnes una manet nox. | ii. in vino veritas.

cw. always refer to the masterlist. this chapter contains alcohol, blood, character death. wc. 1.7k words.

7:00pm.

a mere hour into the event and the kamisato siblings' guests have settled contently. there's the putrid smell of wine and various other alcohols in the air, hanging heavy on ones' breaths as they laugh at each other's jokes. guests from the various different countries are mingling, enjoying the likes of yun jin and barbara's respective performances. for a brief moment, the parties from mondstadt and liyue throw out words of competitive intentions into the atmosphere, grinning coyly at each other. kaveh's hazy eyes turn to the redhead beside him from where he'd be watching yun jin's opera performance, a drink in his hand that alhaitham keeps glancing at wearily.

"nilou, why don't you give them a performance?" he grins, nudging her gently with his elbow when her pale cheeks flush a rosy hue and she looks away, waving the intoxicated man off with her hand, "you could easily prove them all that sumeru is better when it comes to the performance arts."

collei cuddles up to nilou's side, having overheard the conversation from where she'd been tiredly listening to tighnari's lectures - it's an event, she ponders to herself as he makes her note down information on a mushroom variant, slipping away from the moment cyno gets her an opportunity. - there's a sweet smile on the innocent young girl's face and nilou wonders if she is here to save nilou from the embarrassment or throw oil onto the fire.

"come on, nilou!" the green haired girl giggles excitedly, hands grasping at one of nilou's colder hands in an attempt to tug her from the couch, "i'm sure you'll do fine!"

the stern eyes of a particular redhead watch from across the room, a glass of grape juice in his calloused hands as he sips it, flickering his gaze elsewhere. he finds himself watching the way his brother and mondstadt's very own archon are cuddled up, laughing out in volumes uncontrollable as the alcohol douses their worries away. diluc considers where the kamisato clan get their wine from. was it imported or perhaps was it inazuman made? his eyes fall to the glass of grape juice in his hands, wishing for a moment that his brother was coherent enough to give his thoughts on the vibrant red liquid when diluc ushers his thoughts away from the temptation to try it himself, a scowl on his otherwise emotionless face.

thoma frowns as he looks around the gathering in search of ayaka, wondering possibly where the young girl could have disappeared to during her own event that she so heavily begged ayato to give her permission over. turning around, he notices that his lord is in the midst of heavy talks with liyue's tianquan, an honour for the both of them during this occasion. at lady ningguang's sides are the quiet ganyu, who keeps sending momentary glances at captain beidou. ganyu has lost count of the amount of glasses beidou has chugged, yet the brunette's façade does not appear be faltering. thoma gives the infamous captain her dues mentally for how well she can hold her liquid.

"where's that sweet sister of yours?" ningguang muses, her eyes disappearing into creases when she sends the tall male a polite smile before she glances around the room, "i hear she's quite heavily liked by inazuma's people."

ayato lets out a firm chuckle, standing proud of his sister's reputation as he raises a nearly empty glass of wine to his plump lips, letting the bitter red liquid tingle against his tongue before he swallows. he too begins to look around the room, quite relaxed despite mentions of his sister's absence.

"oh, she could be anywhere. she's been fussing over this event for weeks now," he admits, giving ningguang an ever so present smile back in return, "she's probably making sure it's all running smoothly with the staff, celestia forbid anything goes wrong in the slightest."

it is as though the girl was summoned by mentions of her behaviour, hands clasped behind her back as she presses up against her taller brother lovingly, a sweet smile decorating her face as ayato wraps a familiar arm around her waist.

"dear brother, you've left your glass get empty," ayaka pouts her lower lip, perfect and innocent in a way that makes ningguang grin in sheer amusement, "here, i'll go refill it, okay?"

the smaller girl grasps at his empty wine glass, giving ayato no time to refuse her offer as she twirls around, disappearing out of the room once more. ayato can only chuckle, shaking his head in mere disbelief that his sister's actions.

"did you train her to do that? she's more willing to refill a glass than my damned crew are." beidou jokes lightly, swirling the deep liquid in her glass as her eyes watch ayaka's form leave the bustle of her guests socialising once more. another chuckle forms from ayato's chest, deep and rumbling ever-so-slightly as he folds his arms across his chest.

"she's showing off in front of guests, i swear." he studies with a content sigh, entertained by ayaka's appearances but equally as confused to why she was not sticking around her guests for long. he reckons that possibly his sister got nervous seeing everyone actually turn up - but that had never been a problem before.

itto and shinobu watch as ayaka hurries with an empty glass in hand to the kitchen, a content, sickeningly sweet smile decorating her face. they share a glance before their gazes turn to where yanfei is applauding the sumeru redhead's dance, a wide grin spreading across her features as she splutters numerous praises that have nilou's cheeks a shade of red that could rival the tresses of blood orange that fall down her shoulders. charlotte grins, her kamera in her hands as she excitedly snaps photos of the diverse range of emotions being displayed throughout the event.

"collei," alhaitham catches the young girl's attention quietly from where she stands, gossiping fervently with the brunette from mondstadt - alhaitham doesn't quite remember catching her name nor will he entirely care after tonight, "just.. keep an eye on kaveh, will you? i'm losing count of how many glasses he's had."

collei giggles, nodding as she grabs amber's hand and tugs her over to where kaveh is slurring words to xinyan and kaeya, who both seem thoroughly amused with the enthusiastic blond's tales - whether they're truth or not.

minutes begin to pass, ayato glances in the direction of the kitchen before a blood curdling scream echoes throughout the kamisato estate, shocking everyone in the vicinity. the tall male shares worried looks with thoma before they hurry towards ayaka's last known location, their footsteps heavy on wooden floorboards as a crowd of guests follow in their wake, the heavy scent of alcohol following the bunch - yet many of them begin to sober up, their eyes wide as they whisper amongst themselves in horror.

ayaka stands in the middle of the kitchen, pale hands clasped over her mouth as she chokes on sobs, her pupils dilated in fear as she stares down at the body of the bard, venti. at first glance, it appears that the man with known alcoholic tendencies is passed out, drawing exasperated sighs from kaeya and diluc as they shuffle their way through the crowd - they feel a mild case of responsibility for the bard, even if that thought makes diluc shudder at the concept of being the guardian for his own archon. ayato is quick to wrap his slender arms around the shaking form of his sister, letting out a relieved sigh that nothing terrible had happened.

"h-he was just drinking when i came in here," ayaka struggles to form her words coherently, tears spilling down her cheeks in precious, glittering waterfalls, "but not long after he started choking and spluttering on his words before he collapsed on the ground - i thought he'd just blacked out, y'know? he's being drinking wine the whole time it's been available but…" ayaka cries out momentarily, burying her face into ayato's chest, "t-there's blood.. from his mouth.. it's coming out and it hasn't stopped.."

the mere use of the word sends everyone into hysterics, diluc's eyes dilate as he rushes to the bard's side. he almost chokes on his air, catching sight of a pool of red that decorates the floor beneath venti's head. it trickles from the corner of his mouth, smeared against the plush skin of his cheek. he raises a large hand close to his nose, patiently waiting for the touch of venti's warm breath but nothing comes of it. he sends a knowing look in ayato's direction.

"take him to one of the guest bedrooms - the first one on the left, we can't have the youngest here seeing such a thing," ayato orders, his voice firm as his arms wrap tighter around ayaka, who has not stopped wailing, "we'll reconvene in the main hall to discuss what to do."

thoma steps forward as the guests filter out, tighnari and cyno respectively covering the eyes of collei and amber whilst ganyu has maintained efforts to shield barbara's innocent gaze, disregarding her lack of acquaintance to the blonde girl. kaeya steps closer to the red haired male, who shares a grim look with his brother when venti's head rolls onto kaeya's shoulder, smudging blood against his clothing. diluc holds onto venti's legs gently, holding his breath as a million thoughts run through his head. the bard's body is limp now - was this truly the end of venti? he considers that he never thought he'd hold a dead archon in his lifetime. the familiar turquoise that he was so used to glaring at was gone, his eyes sunken back into his head and leaving nothing but veiny whites behind.

kaeya grimaces, venti is almost cold to touch now. how long had this taken? what was the process of rigor mortis? he shakes his head mentally. he does not wish to know the answers, he does not wish to know the truth behind his drinking partner's death. as thoma leads the two mondstadt men out of the kitchen, unbeknownst to everyone but diluc that they were carrying their own archon's body, kaeya vows to find a new passion to drown his sorrows in, his eyes falling to a smashed wine glass on the kitchen floor.

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open - send an ask to be added. @blue-b3rries @maehemthemisfit

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[sevenish-spheres]

Ephrosia, The Carnal Gyre

Image Source

Returning again to the cheery domains of Pandorum, we now find ourselves in the windswept mountains of Ephrosia, the Second Circle!

Overview

The second of Pandorum’s layers, Ephrosia is the first specifically designed with the punishment and metamorphosis of the damned in mind, and is considered by many scholars to be the first layer of Hell proper. Ephrosia is officially ruled by Archduke Dispater, although his rival and occasional lover Belial represents a major threat to the throne, and it is Belial who governs much of Ephrosia outside of the great hanging city of Dis.

Ephrosia is a gargantuan, pitch-black cavern lit only by the light of the rare chasms that connect it to Avernas above it. It is dominated by hundreds of spire-like mountain ranges, several of which reach and connect to the layer’s ceiling, forming massive stalactites. However, Ephrosia also contains many huge plateaus and ink-black deserts, alongside abyssal oceans which even the devils avoid. The entire layer is constantly wracked by vicious winds and hurricanes that, alongside carrying the layer’s population of sinners aloft mean that very few structures survive for long, with only the magically protected keeps and skyships of the devils surviving, alongside the rare ruins that litter the layer’s lower depths.

Ephrosia is the layer dominated by the sin of lust, which being (at least in Asmodeus’ mind) the least despicable of mortal sins, has the least destructive punishment. The sinners condemned to Ephrosia are forever buffeted by its howling winds, smashing into its many spires and, as they do so, slowly transforming into the various winged devils that inhabit the layer. Of course, the presence of lust within Hell has prompted many a mortal priest and templar to proclaim that clearly acts they deem morally unacceptable are punished by the universe itself. However, this is untrue, as those who end up in Ephrosia by contract tend to be those who exploit others for power, and moreover Asmodeus detests all mortals for their ability to procreate and produce more of themselves. Hence, Ephrosia reflects this hatred of new life, and therefore outside its main cities the layer is almost completely devoid of it.

Story Hooks in Ephrosia

As it is the main gateway between Avernas and Ephrosia, the city of Dis unsurprisingly sees a lot of traffic. Because of this, it is one of the few places in all of Hell where traders frequently operate. One example of this is the famed Derleth Trade Company, one of the main exporters of goods from the corpse-city of Leng within the Dreamlands to the rest of the cosmos. More specifically, the Company trades in dreams stolen from sleeping mortals, which can serve as valuable spell ingredients and even delicacies among certain devils. However, recent attempts have been made by the local infernal Magnator, Rekestis Vino, to nationalise the company, resulting in the company increasingly resorting to smuggling, and in turn the forces of the devilish noble to grow increasingly brazen in their attempts to take control of the enterprise.

Whilst worship of gods is strictly forbidden within the bounds of Hell, it is perhaps unsurprising that few of the worshippers of Aspara have infiltrated the Dis. Here, they run some of the city's more reputable brothels, but in an unusual move for the followers of the Heartstealer, have begun to smuggle damned souls out of the city.

Dis is Ephrosia’s largest city, and easily its busiest. Here, the myriad Preta devils that walk the Pale Roads of Avernas converge and are judged within the great Contrapasso Vestibules that ring the city’s edge. They arrive along the great chains that tether the city between the nine great peaks that surround it and connect up to Avernas above, and which are maintained by roving gangs of strange, metal-skinned gargoyles supposedly created by a dwarven artificer imprisoned somewhere within Dis’ many prisons.

Beyond Dis lies relatively little, but a few creatures prowl the desolate wastes, preying on those unfortunate sinners and travellers who become impaled upon Ephrosia’s many outcroppings of obsidian. Some of the most feared of these are the Hunters of the Flayed Tapestry, strange creatures that prey on sinner and devil alike, and which weave the skin and tendons of their victims into great cloaks which grant them myriad terrifying powers, such as teleportation and invisibility. Alongside this, they are capable of conjuring powerful weapons of black fire, which they use alongside their many sets of vicious claws. Perhaps most notably, however, is the fact that the Hunters are completely silent, speaking only through the reanimated heads some carry at their belt.

Among the deep canyons of Ephrosia, it is said a decrepit castle can be found, illuminated by hundreds of gibbets full of burning, reanimated corpses. This is the dwelling place of the feared Mahr Yaga Erichtho, a feared necromancer known to work alongside devils, Outsiders and even the aforementioned Hunters of the Flayed Tapestry. Like most Yaga, their motive is unclear, but they are known to have ties to many of Ephrosia’s nobles, alongside supposedly Dispater himself. Most notably, however, is the Yaga’s surprisingly warlike past, as they once supposedly fought alongside the former Archduke of Avernas, Allocer, but were defeated by the servants of Sathariel. Now, some believe Erichtho plots their return, and the fact that they have begun to seek out vast numbers of corpses and magical poisons would support this idea.

While Dispater rules over Dis and the regions around it, many would consider Belial to be the true ruler of Ephrosia. Belial rules over the city of Akrasia, a floating city suspended by a great series of soul-balloons and sails that drifts lazily through the constant gale that surrounds it. Where Dispater busies himself with the judgement of souls, Belial is wholly dedicated to the acquisition of lustful souls, and as such the entire city of Akrasia is designed to make mortals who seek audience with them more likely to give in. Akrasia is a maddening place constantly blanketed by a thin mist, and is a frequent meeting ground of Daevisti devils alongside asuras, succubi and incubi. Despite this, Akrasia is seldom visited by those who don’t seek it out, and much to Belial’s chagrin, many souls still beseech Dispater instead of him when seeking power over others’ lust.

Many question how Dispater came to rule Ephrosia, especially since his seeming lack of care for the acquisition of its souls. Instead, Dispater seems to focus himself on the judgement of souls that have already entered Pandorum. Many suggest he may in fact hail from the seventh circle, an idea supported by his frequent (largely irritated) interactions with Titivilus, Hell’s preeminent scribe. Whilst his true past is unknown, one thing is the common subject of courtly gossip; Dispater’s name is found nowhere within the ledgers of Hell, suggesting that either it was excised, that his current identity is a falsehood, or most chillingly of all, that Dispater predates the formation of the current infernal bureaucracy, and may even be its progenitor. Certainly, it is known that the Judge of Hell’s usual form of a goateed devil whose skin is covered in places with piercing red eyes is not his true one, and that it is especially bad luck to fall within his vast, many-limbed shadow that often moves of its own accord.

[mirrorbuns]

El compartir parte de nuestra cultura siempre ha sido un deleite y como el año pasado, este mes se tratará de más vestidos tradicionales mexicanos Empezaremos con Aguascalientes: A este traje típico se le llama vestido mestizo, contiene bordados de uvas los cuales son un elemento decorativo del estado por su gran producción de uvas y vinos. También este vestido usa una técnica llamada "Deshilado de Aguascalientes" que crea patrones y diseños deshilando la tela, se dice que llegó en el siglo XIX, hace mucho tiempo! Qué vestido tan maravilloso!

Sharing part of our culture has always been a delight and like last year, this month we will be talking about more traditional Mexican dresses We will start with Aguascalientes: This dress is called a mestizo dress, it contains embroidery of grapes which is a decorative element of the state due to its large production of grapes and wines. This dress also uses a technique called "Deshilado de Aguascalientes" which creates patterns and designs by unraveling the fabric, it is said that it arrived in the 19th century, a long time ago! What a wonderful dress!

[ginnyw-potter-archive]

Trope/ pairing

In vino veritas

And Second love for Hinny

-Dobnny Anon

WAIT WAIT WHAT'S THE DOBNNY ANON DOING IN MY INBOX. @takearisk-ao3 @corneliaavenue-ao3 your anon has breached containment. Please come collect them I am kidding, hi!

Harry and Ginny have been friends for a long time, so during one night out together, all of their friends have snuck off at some point or are out dancing. This is not an issue, they can talk together, they get along. Ginny doesn't know what went wrong in Harry's relationship but after asking about his relationship status casually, suddenly the words come streaming out. Ginny makes it her goal to show him what real love looks like, and that he deserves all of it.

For Fanfiction trope mash-up (send me 2 tropes and a ship!)

[thequeenshunter]

. I See You ~ Arrow Afar .

(ooc introduction under the cut! but do mind that person behind this account is a minor)

Salut!

Hello Monsieurs, Madams, and Trickers alike.  Le Chasseur D'Armour is making an Entrance onto the scene! My Name, is Rook Hunt. Though I'm sure if you've found me you've heard it before. Its Merveilleux to be able to Meet each of you, but before we interact I must set some ground rules.

Identity!

Pour Moi, you can use any pronouns you like! Even xeno or neo pronouns. I personally don’t quite care what gender you view me as, and I dont particularly have a preference when it comes to romance either, after all all people hold beauty! But I am asexual!

Rules!

Now, as a Vice-Housewarden, i have to keep at least a touch of dignity. so these rules are in place to make sure no one becomes uncomfortable or things get out of control. 1. No Nsfw Interactions Although this character is 18, the person running this account is not and asexual. so, not exactly comfortable with that type of stuff! i do not mind in roleplay flirting but that said, if you do plan on such i'd prefer if the person behind the account is also a minor. 2. Homophobia, Racism, Ableism, and the like won't be tolerated If this account receives any asks regarding or containing content or speech against minorities, the ask will be deleted as soon as i get it and if the person who sent it decided to not ask anonymously, they will be blocked from all of my accounts.

Ships!

Although i (the person behind the account) am a minor, if you are too i dont mind shipping or romantic stuff in rp. so here are a list of my personal favorites

RookVil/VilRook

TreyRook/RookTrey

Honestly im a multishipper so i dont mind most ships with rook aslong as they're not with the first years

Tags!

honestly I saw some other blogs do this and I thought it would be fun to have some of my own

🏹ArrowAfar💘 ~ Conversations with ocs 🦚ISeeYou❤️ ~ Conversations with in game characters ♟WellYouSee✨ ~ Answering Asks 🦉HuntersThoughts🏹 ~ Thoughts of my own/Text Posts 🧸PlushHunt💘 ~ Ive become a plush 🥜WoobleHunt💘 ~ Description N/A 🎁Surprise!🎉 ~ Posts saying happy holidays, or celebrating something

More tags may be added!

Au Revior!

Très bien! You’ve made it to the end of my little introduction, feel free to send in asks, now have a pleasent day Tricksters!

Now it’s time for the OOC stuff!

I go by the names ghost, rook, omi, and vino! My main account is @omi-the-zombi, I also run @pomefiorestudent-a, and uhhh.. well I use he/hunt pronouns, I tend to not do too well with tones trough text so tone tags are a huge help! Rook is literally my favorite character, I kin him a ton, he was my first cosplay, and the first character I bought merch of outside of Pokémon Ofc.

[p5x-theories]

Tag Masterlist

(last updated 1/25/25!)

As a general rule: posts will be tagged with their content, what beta they're from (one of the tests, or the open beta, possibly with a version number), and characters. Ship content will also be tagged by ship name (or character x character if there's no ship name yet).

Asks are also tagged with the asker's username (or anonymous), and submissions are tagged with the submitter's username (or anonymous) plus submissions. Responses to replies are not tagged with a username.

Posts containing potential story spoilers revealed via datamine will also be tagged p5x spoilers, so those who don't want to know in advance can filter them. Once something is in the game, it will no longer be tagged as spoilers.

This is meant to be an exhaustive list of tags used, so it's long and will get longer over time. Tumblr also has a link limit, so some of the less important/newer tags will no longer be linked on this post, though it's simple enough to visit them by going to https://p5x-theories.tumblr.com/tagged/[tag] , replacing "[tag]" with whatever tag you'd like.

Tags for Content

Game info

Game content

Character info

Official art

Wonder outfits (any of Wonder's wearable outfits)

Trailers (any promotional videos go here)

Gifs

Portraits

Weapons

Music

Translations

Marthym Tasks

Fanart

Fanfiction

Memes

Analysis

Theories

Headcanons

Protagonist names (tag for names people send in for Wonder)

Leaks (for potential, unverified leaks)

Outdated (tag for posts with outdated information in some way)

Tags for Beta

First beta

Second beta

Third beta

Open beta (previously "fourth beta"; all posts were retagged, but some may still mention this)

- Version 1.3.1

- Version 1.3.2

- Version 1.3.3

- Version 1.4

- Version 2.0

- Version 2.1.1

- Version 2.1.2

- Version 2.1.3

- Version 2.2

- Version 2.3.1

- Version 2.3.2

- Version 2.3.3

- Version 2.3.4

- Version 3.0.1

- Version 3.0.2

- Version 3.1 (may be broken into separate updates, in which case this tag will be updated)

- Version 3.2

JP News (for news/etc. specifically related to the official Japanese release)

Tags for Ships

Preestablished ones for other Persona games' ships will be used as applicable; this list is for new P5X-related ones.

Tomoha (Tomoko Noge and Motoha Arai)

Rikoha (Riko Tanemura and Motoha Arai)

Reoseiji (Reo Kamiyama and Seiji Shiratori)

Shun x Wonder

Wonder x Joker (possibly Woker?)

Ichiyumi (Ichiko Ohya and Yuumi Shiina)

Wonder x Seiji

Shuyoshi (Wonder and Kiyoshi Kurotani)

Shunha (Shun Kanou and Motoha Arai)

Yaokimi (Yaoling Li and Yukimi Fujikawa)

Tae x Messa

Wonder x Cherish

Yaotone (Yaoling Li and Kotone Montagne)

Tags for Characters

Generally: playable new P5X characters are tagged by codename; everyone else uses their confirmed full name, or a nickname. Characters introduced in a Persona game other than P5X will not be included in this list for the sake of brevity, but are all tagged by full name (this includes Personas, and shadows such as Jack Frost).

Wonder, separate tag for Janosik

Cattle (Ruferu), separate tag for Rob Roy

Closer (Motoha Arai), separate tag for Awilda

Soy (Shun Kanou), separate tag for Mandrin

Wind (Riko Tanemura), separate tag for Chiyome

Fleuret (Seiji Shiratori), separate tag for Leucothea

Yuki (Yukimi Fujikawa), separate tag for Styx

Mont (Kotone Montagne), separate tag for Terpsichore

Moko (Tomoko Noge), separate tag for Prosymna

Key (Kiyoshi Kurotani), separate tag for Syke

Okyann (Kayo Tomiyama), separate tag for Cleodora

Rin (Yaoling Li), separate tag for Meng Po

Leon (Reo Kamiyama), separate tag for Erytheia

Bui (YUI/Musubi Matsukata), separate tag for Apseudes

Riddle (Haruna Nishimori), separate tag for Daeira

Sepia (Toshiya Sumi), separate tag for Gorgyra

Puppet (Miyu Sahara), separate tag for Nemertes

Marian (Minami Miyashita), separate tag for Thalia

Vino (Chizuko Nagao), separate tag for Ampelos

Phoebe (Yuumi Shiina), separate tag for Urania

Chord (Ayaka Sakai), separate tag for Calliope

Messa (Kira Kitazato), separate tag for Harpy

Cherish (Masaki Ashiya), separate tag for Amalthea

Howler (Runa Dogenzaka), separate tag for Aura

Polter (Aran)

Enco (Ikenami)

Lume (Narumi Nashimoto)

Jitianzhudai (Tamayo Yoshida)

Lailizetuomei (Takumi Serizawa)

Ange (Manaka Nagao)

Luce

Matoi

Turbo

Fucha

Pegasus

Merope

Marthym

Magatsukami (person running the phantoms site)

Takeyuki Kiuchi

Hiromu Miyazawa

Kumi Katayama

Kei Akashi

Yamanashi (Dean of Student Affairs)

Mr. Hakozaki (Science teacher)

Mr. Shimonuma (Civics teacher)

Mr. Endo (English teacher)

Ms. Taniyama (World History teacher)

Mr. Nagara (Literature teacher)

Yamagoshi (owner of Toraiken and Ashouken)

Masa (man in charge of Ashouken)

Raga (final boss of the Castle Chapter, resembles Kamoshida)

Dvesha (final boss of the Museum Chapter, resembles Madarame)

Pratigha (final boss of the Bank Chapter, resembles Kaneshiro)

Moha (final boss of the Pyramid Chapter, resembles Cognitive Wakaba; final boss of the Spaceship Chapter shares its name, and resembles Okumura)

Other Characters

"Music girl" (side quest girl who runs music club)

"Soccer boy" (side quest boy on soccer team)

"Sports girl" (side quest girl who likes running)

"Office worker" (side quest clumsy office worker)

Anderson (side quest gym guy)

"Yakitori vendor" (side quest yakitori vendor)

"Orange cat" (side quest cat)

"Calligraphy lady" (side quest elderly calligraphy teacher)

"Photographer" (side quest photographer)

"Coffee lady" (side quest coffee barista)

John Harris (side quest foreign man)

"Tour Guide" (side quest tour guide)

Kazuhiko Tsuda (side quest schoolboy detective)

"Animals girl" (side quest little girl in beta test)

"Blonde guy" (side quest Shinjuku man)

Shichi-kun (Shibuya mascot, side quest in beta test)

"Cat cultist" (side quest member of a cat-worshipping group)

"Unlucky businessman" (side quest business owner)

Shinta Ezaki (side quest researcher)

Saki Shirai (side quest reporter)

"Unnamed characters" (catch-all tag for characters we know nothing about)

[lizzybeth1986]

Batalla del Vino

Book: The Royal Romance

Pairing: Kiara x Hana

Rating: PG

Summary: It's the Haro Wine Festival! Kiara and Hana spend a day in La Rioja, Spain, getting into a messy wine fight of epic proportions!

Word Count: 1, 505 words

Tagging @choicesficwriterscreations for FoTW, @kiaratheronappreciationweek and @sazanes for KTAW Day 1: Wine, and @choices-february2023 for February, Day 14.

Monthly Challenge Day 14: 14. Valentine's Day | Chocolates | I Honestly Love You (Olivia Newton John)

A/N: Kiara proposes to Hana 6 months after Liam and Esther's wedding. This trip takes place shortly after she proposes to Hana.

Céleste is Kiara's cousin from her maternal side. She is the eldest daughter of Joëlle's sister Jeanette, and is 2 years Kiara's senior. They are best friends.

The sun is shining bright on Spain this June morning - on the trees, on the pristine white stone of the San Felices de Bilibio Chapel, on the purple banner placed by the Síndico Regidor, on the highest rock of the city. Kiara smirks at the shadows on the dull tar road. By evening this path will be so drenched in wine you may just about see the reflection of the setting sun on it.

Hana grabs her hand with the freedom of a woman who doesn't care who sees. Kiara can see the glow of sunlight again, this time in the tiny rainbow splinters on the diamonds of Hana's engagement ring, as she brushes a stray strand away from her face.

She's wearing an old white t-shirt of Kiara's, one she'd thrown at Hana in horror when she'd found out that she wasn't exactly allowed to wear t-shirts or jeans until she'd come to Cordonia. Kiara makes a mental note of taking Hana shopping before they leave Spain.

Mon Dieu, how long has this woman been starved of casual fashion? Or casual anything?

In the distance, a rocket is fired, marking the beginnings of the battle that is to erupt here.

"This one's going to get ruined by the end of the day, won't it...?" Hana says ruefully, nervously picking at the edges of the shirt as the crowd begins to disperse from the chapel.

The last time Kiara wore this particular one, it hung a little looser. She'd lost weight back then and had rarely worn it since, so seeing its contours mould themselves more fully to Hana's curves...seeing fabric that once belonged to her cling even more lovingly to Hana's skin than to her own, sends a kind of secret thrill through her. It makes her want to leave the festival, grab Hana by the hand and -

Kiara stifles a shiver, lifting the two large plastic containers they'd brought just to distract her very fertile mind. "Of course it will! That's the whole point."

Hana touches the faded old wrap on Kiara's head lightly. "But I'm glad you put this on. Hair like yours is far too beautiful to get ruined by alcohol."

"Mmm," Kiara says, smiling slightly. "I learn from my mistakes."

The first time she'd come to La Rioja, it had been with Céleste, her cousin from Loire. Kiara was nineteen and never liked being told what to do. So when Céleste and Tatie Jeanette begged her to cover her hair before setting out to the festival, she'd "hmph"ed and pretended she wanted to get her curls drenched in wine.

"Tiens, tiens!" Céleste had said, leaning against the door of Kiara's hotel bedroom three days later. Crossing her arms and smirking as she struggled with her hairbrush, her older cousin looked quite a bit like the cat that got the cream. "Qu'est-ce que je t'avais dit?"

Kiara had raised her chin in defiance, ignoring the tangled mess that were her curls now. She was never one to back down, not even in front of her favourite cousin.

"Hmph," she'd said, her voice squeaking slightly from the strain of lying to Céleste, "I like it this way."

Céleste's yell of laughter could be heard all the way from the top floor.

The onslaught of alcohol starts small, as it usually does. With tiny squirts from brightly-coloured, toy guns, spraying dots and Rorschach blots over the white canvas of their shirts. With a hose that doesn't spare anyone in the crowd. With random droplets raining down on them from directions they can no longer keep track of. All until a stranger laughingly tips over a whole carton of box wine over Hana's head, and Hana - never one to be bested - unleashes a cloudburst of Castelserraillan's very best Nebbiolo Red over the culprit's shirt and shorts, her voice rising in a wild, delighted guffaw as she wipes the wine from her eyes.

"Well!" Hana says, turning to an equally winesoaked Kiara. "I believe that's a very good way of getting the world to sample our 1980 collection."

Kiara splashes some more wine on Hana and a passing stranger for emphasis. "Funny enough, Maman had said quite the same thing five years ago."

She'd expected Maman to be more disappointed about her use of produce from their lovingly-cultivated grapes, but somehow the only gripe she seemed to have was about the packaging.

"Plastic!!!" she'd hissed all along the roads to Haro. "Zut alors, we're parading around award-winning wine...in plastic!"

"Yes, Maman, because glass bottles are so safe to carry in such a huge crowd," Kiara replied with a snort. "Besides, you never heard Tatie Jeanette complaining, and you two practically grew up around vineyards!"

Maman rolled her eyes. Secretly, she was enjoying the experience - never ducking from the sprays of wine that came their way, and giving back as good as she got so that only half an hour into the festival they were almost out of wine to spill. But she was never going to admit that to her daughter in words - just in very pursed, privately amused smiles and a ravenous appetite for a lunch of snails and pork chops later.

"Well," Maman said, her chin high in the air, her voice comically airy, "no one here can complain we didn't bathe them in some quality wine, can they, doudou!"

Hana's hair whips around her face now in rats' tails as she laughs, every inch of her stained a bright mauve. Kiara fights the impulse to kiss her right then and there in front of everyone, including a group of older women gossiping in rapid Spanish. No one but her will know what it took Hana to get to this point. She'd heard enough - not from Hana. From Maxwell, from Esther, from Liam - about the jitters her wonderful bride would face everytime her friends tried to involve her in a food fight. How hesitant she'd been the first time they got her to try a Sloppy Joe. How she'd shifted from foot to foot when Maxwell had suggested a food fight at her lovingly-planned chocolate fondue party, the night of Madeleine's awful bachelorette. How even now she tries to eat barbequed pork delicately, with the tips of her fingers.

Every time she engaged in these activities, her face was a kaleidoscope of conflicting emotions - pleasure at the Dionysian decadence of it all, guilt at stepping so far out of who she was supposed to be. When Hana had picked so nervously at her (their?) shirt today, Kiara was almost afraid she'd regret this experience, regret coming to Spain with her.

To the world her beloved's giggles may sound jarring coming from the mouth of one so delicate - but to Kiara it is the first fierce burst of sunlight, spilling in rainbow splinters, emerging after several days of rain.

It is half-past-ten by the time the crowd wraps up the festivities, heading down glistening winesoaked tar roads towards the buses that will take them back to their hotels. They've got enough time to bathe, change and take a small siesta before they head out for lunch, a game of wine-pong and an afternoon of bullfights.

Kiara pulls Hana behind a tree before they reach the bus, swallowing Hana's gasp in a brief but still searing kiss. "I've been wanting to do that all morning," she whispers as she samples with her tongue every cheap wine Hana had unknowingly tasted these few hours. Their tongues and teeth clash as if gearing for battle. The very best kind of battle.

"Will there be enough time for...more than a shower and dressing up, do you think?" Hana laughs, a little breathless, their hips almost glued together. Kiara has no idea how her fiancée's eyes can both glow and darken at the same time, but in this moment they do.

She savours the taste of that kiss as she teasingly pretends to think. Like wine and mint and fulfillment. It must be the world's best flavour.

"Mm," she says, smiling wickedly, "but most times you like it when I make you wait, cherie!"

Hana throws her head back and laughs. Before Kiara lets her go, she peppers her jaw with a line of desperate kisses. "I can assure you, qīn’ài de, this isn't one of them!"

Hana's arms are wound around Kiara's waist as they head back to the bus, and Kiara's hand floats lightly over Hana's spine. They can barely take their eyes off of each other, and almost bump into three people along the way.

But no matter. As the two women walk down a wet shining road, all they know is that this wait for what the rest of the day has in store has in store for them will be absolutely worth it.

They can already tell. This wait will be particularly...delicious.

--

The Haro Wine Festival is celebrated every year from the 28th to 30th of June. It began historically with territorial disputes over the region of Haro at La Rioja, Spain, where purple banners would establish ownership of the region...but over the years and centuries it evolved into the fun wine battles we know of today. Learn more about the Haro Wine Festival here and you can see a video of it here.

Batalla del Vino - Spanish for "Battle of Wine", which is what the Haro Wine Festival is often called. It takes place on 29th June, St Peter's Day.

Síndico Regidor - In this context, the city mayor.

Tatie - Auntie

Tiens, Tiens - can mean different things, including "well, well" or "oh my!". Usually meant to denote surprise but in this context Céleste uses it sarcastically.

Qu'est-ce que je t'avais dit? - Didn't I tell you so?

Doudou - Endearment that can mean "stuffed toy" or "blankie".

Qīn’ài de - Mandarin Chinese for "darling" or "dearest". Gender-neutral endearment used both by unmarried and married couples.

A/N2: Since Hana and Kiara are newly engaged in this fic, I really did want to explore them as this giddy couple, while still exploring Kiara's family and Hana getting used to enjoying mess 😄

[mslanna]

Poll time again.

(I'll post the fic once I'm back home. Promise.🥰)

The fic with the wobbly ending is gone from the list. You now have a 1:3 chance to guess correctly which fic contains Haarlep. No Tavs were hurt in the writing of any of the fics. (I used a stunt double, promise.)

[fwl22]

Autumn Letter, 2004

Outside the rain falls in sheets, waving in the wind like sails over a blustery ocean, like mist moving over a mountain pass.  It is cold just to look at the steel gray sky and the dark shadows in the forest.  The season seeps into the house through the cracks and spaces around the windows and doors.  We go on fire watch to keep the embers glowing in the salone upstairs.  It’s for the guests we say, but since there are no guests these dark autumn days it is clear that we just want to keep the house warm.

The weather moved through the year like a giant descending stairs.  Summer lingered into October before we dropped off into a mild fall and now we plunge unceremoniously into winter.  Three weeks ago we were in shirt sleeves in the garden and today the winter coats are out and buttoned up against the unrelenting rain. 

The olive oil production is in full swing.  The frantoio has been in motion day and night as the freshly picked olives have to go into the mill as soon as possible.  The 24 hour work will continue for almost another 3 weeks.  There is a good chance that after a break for Christmas the work will continue into the new year.  The olives this year are small but the oil production is normal by weight, and the olives are plentiful, so output is high.  My brother in law Giovanni has had to purchase a number of extra containers to hold the oil.

The grapes this year were beautiful, and the wine also has a lovely color.  We harvested the first Sunday in October and people are drinking the vino novello this week.  The young wine is a traditional thing here, a process probably related somehow to the Beaujolais noveau.  But here at Canneto there is no forced fermentation, just a regular fermentation in a warmer climate, thus the process goes a bit faster than in more northern climes.  And the wine is not a true novello but rather just “new”.  While most wine has an alcohol level of 12.5% to 14% by volume, at Canneto the level is usually around 11% or 12% maximum.  This results, as one guest so aptly put it, in the “reedy” taste – a distinctive thinness and light aroma.  

Last year, when the weather was so hot and dry, the grape harvest was very small, but those grapes were full of natural sugars, and the concentration of the juice produced the best wine ever made at Canneto, with an alcohol level of 13% and slightly higher.  In the end there was probably less than 700 liters of 2003 vintage wine produced, while in 2004 the amount is more than 2000 liters.

There is a wonderful verb in Italian intendere, which in its intransitive form means to be knowledgeable or to be an expert.  So most everyone begins their comments on wine or olive oil here with Non mi intendo…. or I’m not an expert….  Speaking to the straniero (foreigner) though, brings out a lot of the experience and local knowledge of the men and women who grew up on and have worked the land.

So it was on a Sunday a week or so ago that our babysitter Bruna had me pick some mushrooms that were growing under the olive trees.  There were only 3 or 4, but she prepared them for my dinner.  “It would be shame to leave them,” she said, and Paolo and I shared the freshness and the taste of the musty earth (sautéed in delicious olive oil, of course).

The truth is that Canneto has always been a place known for making olive oil while the wine has historically been pretty awful.  Part of this has to do with the geography – Canneto sits on the northeastern slope of the Val Bisenzio and thus get very little morning sun.  The afternoon sun, then, seems more filtered and less direct than the morning light.  Nothing is irrigated here.  If it is a wet year then the vines are over watered, if it is dry they suffer.  (Last year (2003) was so dry that many of the large vineyards and farms had to water their crops to save the plants and the harvest.)

By asking, one discovers that Canneto became the property of Paolo Rucellai, the second son of the first Rucellai owner, Giovanni.  Giovanni’s mother brought the property to the family as part of her wedding dowry in 1759.  Paolo was a gentleman farmer and a bachelor uncle.  Canneto was then a working farm with at least three tenant families.  When Paolo was not hanging out at the seaside, at the palazzo in Florence, he would be with his fattore or foreman dealing with the business of running the large estate.  The villa here, as was the villa in Campi Bisenzio at the time, was not a place to live for long periods of time, and certainly not hospitable in the winter.  It was a summer residence or even a spring and autumn residence, and a kind of hunting lodge.  

When he reached the age when he no longer wanted to take care of the place Paolo announced to the family that he would sell the place.  The property was his retirement fund.  Paolo’s younger brother Cosimo and his wife, Editta, had come to love Canneto, and they arranged to buy the estate with annual installments beginning in 1906.  Paolo, seen in photographs from the time appears as either the slightly unrefined farmer uncle, or a kind of druid old man, in bathrobe with a long beard while at the beach at Forte dei Marmi.

Cosimo and Editta, or Edith as she was christened in Newport, Rhode Island in 1861, began to spend time here in the first decade of the 20th century.  After assuming ownership Edith began to transform the Villa into a more hospitable residence and its gardens into a more modern style, probably something between Edwardian and Tuscan.  

One has to remember that this was a very progressive period, although we don’t commonly think of it as such.  Edith Bronson was the daughter of very wealthy American parents who had spent all of her youth traveling between the US and Europe, settling with her mother in Venice where she really grew up.  Her father died in a sanitarium in France from tuberculosis and other malaties and is recalled as a loving, but somewhat sickly figure that remained at the edges of his wife and daughter’s life.  His family was an important one from New York and his father was a congressman, a US senator, and finally the postmaster general of the state for 25 years.  A Civil War officer, he kept his life and his title of Colonel.  Edith’s mother was Katherine DeKay Bronson, also from an old New York family with close ties back to the old country in Holland.  The Bronson’s had a house at Castle Hill in Newport, Rhode Island and had sold it long before the Vanderbilts and Rockefellers had built their mansions.  A painting of that house in Newport is on the wall in the dining room at Canneto as part of the wall paintings commissioned by Edith.  Katherine De Kay was a Victorian woman, definitely a powerful and well educated woman, and she is perhaps best remembered for having been one of Robert Browning’s closest acquaintances in the years after the death of his wife, Elizabeth Barrett Browning.  She rented a palazzo in Venice where she was part of the expatriate artist social scene of the city, hosting parties and guests with famous names – writers, composers, painters, poets, singers, and the generally famous people who would make the Grand Tour.  As the daughter of an outgoing, social woman, Edith was considered quiet and reserved.

Cosimo Rucellai for his part was the son of Giovanni, the eldest son of the original Rucellai owner of Canneto.  Cosimo was the primary assistant to the admiral in command of the Venetian naval base and met Edith through the intermingling of the high society of Venice with the high society of the American and English society in Venice.  Edith was fluent not only in Italian, French, German and a little Dutch, but she also spoke and wrote in the Venetian dialect which she had learned along with her mother.  The elders on either side of the couple were skeptical of the match, and letters of Henry James to Katherine De Kay reveal the period as the couple convinced everyone that they were in love.  

After the marriage, Cosimo was awarded command of a ship in the Adriatic.  He was first stationed in Taranto in Puglia, and then at Ancona.  Edith stayed, first in Venice and then in Ancona with their daughter, Nannina, born in 1896, and first son Bencivenni, born in 1897. Edith suffered through the mumps in Ancona, and when later she became pregnant with second son Bernardo, they decided to go back to Florence and be together.  Cosimo resigned his commission and turned his attentions to the work of a gentleman farmer. 

Ultimately the family moved into the villa in Campi Bisenzio, at that point a mostly abandoned house on a large farm that Cosimo’s father referred to as “frog infested”.  Cosimo and Edith threw themselves into making the place modern, livable and helping the neighboring contadini, or tenant farmers to improve their lives.  They built a school and a medical clinic and they established a number of workshops for training people in the local arts and crafts, such as basket weaving, tool making and embroidery work.  It is no wonder that the family was instrumental 3 generations later in creating a museum to honor the straw weaving which became so famous – making the original “panama” hat and countless other items in a tight weave – in the neighboring town of Signa.  The Villa was modernized and the family, now with four kids as of 1903, spent most of the year in Campi, just a 40 minute to an hour carriage ride to the Palazzo Rucellai in Florence.

Cosimo studied modern farming methods and worked hard to introduce new ideas to the very traditional contadini at Campi.  With the acquisition of Canneto, he immediately brought his fattore from Campi Bisenzio to help organize the work of the land at Canneto.  This man was an expert in trees and especially fruit trees, and he is responsible for much of the planting of fruit trees on the property.  This man and his son continued to work as fattore for Cosimo’s youngest son (born in 1903) Giangiulio at Canneto and retired here, where his granddaughter still lives, next to the Villa in the village of Canneto.  It is easy to see the signature of their work by comparing the trees at the Villa in Campi Bisenzio to those at Canneto.  The same trees surround both houses.  This is also the reason there are so many pear, cherry, fig, apricot, plum and persimmon trees.

Antonio Mori, the original foreman’s son was not interested in wine or grapes, he was paid to take care of olive trees, and so the small vineyard at Canneto received the minimum care, and the local farmers made the wine in the traditional methods.  My father in law Paolo tells how when he began to come to Canneto in the late 1940s it was well known that one should carry his own wine because the vino locale was undrinkable.

In the late 1970’s Paolo Piqué’s sons Giovanni and Lorenzo began to replant the vineyard, which represents less than an acre of land.  The ancient and sick vines were replaced with two local varietals that tend to do well in the regional climate – Sangiovese, the red or nero grape, and Trebbiano, the white grape.  There is also a small percentage of a vine called Uva fragola, or strawberry grape, a vine that produces both red and white grapes together that have a distinct aroma of strawberry.  The new plantings gained steam after 1985 when a terrible and long freeze destroyed a huge number of vines and olive trees.  Now these 15 to 20 year old vines are beginning to show a great improvement in the quality of the wine produced.

As part of the agricultural association of Prato the farm has access to expert advice and the enologist and vinicultural counselor (my term) upon tasting the 2003 wine (a man who knows the vineyard, this is) recommended to my brothers in law to put the wine away and not drink it.  “This way,” he continued, “if in the future anyone ever wants to know if you can produce good wine here, you can open a bottle of this.”  And, in fact, we put away all of this small production for the family.

Luckily the production for 2004 is normal and the grapes were lovely and healthy.  While we do not thin the fruit in the summer to give room for larger, more robust grapes, Giovanni has been improving the vines and taking better control of the pests (wild boar, deer, hare and pheasants more than bugs) and the quality of the harvest is definitely improving along with the maturity of the plants.  The 2004 wine has aspects that would seem to bode well for improvement over time, a statement in and of itself that seems amazing to make about wine from Canneto.

The fact is that the really awful but large harvest of 2002 (a wet, wet year with lots of ugly grapes) has produced a wine that after 14 months or so is a very mellow and delightful table wine, just perfect for our purposes of drinking everyday with lunch.  I don’t pretend to know anymore than the fact that this was an intolerable wine throughout all of 2003 and most of 2004, but now I actually like it.  Or maybe it has killed my taste buds…  The other fact to note is that Cannetani wine is typically low in alcohol, around 11% by volume.  The 2003 comes in around 12% while the 2002 is about 10.5%.  When you drink a bottle of wine made elsewhere, one must be aware of the consequences.

Tuscany has an area the size of Death Valley National Park, and every little area in Tuscany is full of still very fresh local knowledge of the land, the geography and how nature interacts with weather and season.  Many people have told me this year how traditionally, in the past generation, the time for picking the olives did not begin until the first days of December.  Now the picking can begin as early as the first week of October and the oil making can begin shortly after.  Still the idea is to pick the olives when there is a good mix between the dark, mature olives and the green immature olives in order to produce a well balanced oil.

The terrible freeze of 1985 lasted for three weeks with a low temperature of -22°C during one long overnight that killed hundreds of trees.  The olives all over Tuscany suffered dreadfully, and one can still see where the dead trees have come back to life in the form of three or four new trunks growing out of the “dead” stump.  But many trees were completely lost, and at Canneto hundreds of new trees were planted.  Now there are over 1000 trees on the property, but this is still very small for production standards, and certainly far fewer trees than are encompassed by the confines of what used to make up the estate.

Of the huge estate that Cosimo and Edith purchased almost 100 years ago, only 40 hectares remain, or about 100 acres.  By 1909 they had moved the family to the palazzo in Florence as their principal home, maintaining the villas in Campi and Canneto, and in 1915 bought a house in Forte dei Marmi that they had long rented for the summers.  Cosimo occupied himself with the farms and the farm families and Edith continued in a tireless series of progressive works to create organizations to help pregnant women, educate poor and underprivileged children and provide health care and education to contadini in Canneto and Campi Bisenzio.  Their oldest son died of Spanish fever in 1917 while serving as an ambulance driver in the Italian Army in the Great War.  The property passed to their youngest son, Giovanni Giulio (Giangiulo) (the middle son, Bernardo or Nado, inherited the title of Count and the Villa in Campi).  Nado also served in the Great War and was wounded on the northern front, and most likely forever scarred by the tremendous suffering and cruelty he had witnessed. Giangiulio married Teresa Higginson of Lennox, Massachusetts in 1925.  They eventually moved to Canneto and completed the work begun by Cosimo and Edith of making the house into a home.

Over 1000 olive trees grow on the various terraces of the 4 or so acres that is the orchard or olivetto.  The orchard is divided into sections that are tended by men with whom the family divides the oil produced from the trees in that section.  The oil is measured by weight.  My chemist wife reminds me that oil is lighter than water, therefore 5 liters of oil is less than 5 kilograms.  If a man harvests 40 quintali (20 metric tons, or 20,000 kilos) of olives, and the olives produce oil at a rate of 13% of their weight, the result is 2600 kilos of oil.  In the wet year of 2002, the family’s 50% take of oil was about 4500 kilos, while in 2003, the result was way less than a fourth of that.

The term extra virgin olive oil refers to oil that has less than 0.5% acidity.  Virgin olive oil refers to oil with less than 1% acidity.  Anything else, by the laws in Italy, is referred to as “olive oil”.  In Italy, after olive oil, there is not a large selection of other oils to be found for cooking or dressing foods.  What in the US is labeled as vegetable oil is referred to as “seed oil”.  Sunflower seeds are the main ingredient in seed oil.  In addition, the designation of “first pressing” or “second pressing” seem to be inventions of marketing people as in the frantoio the olives are ground up and then crushed by the big stone wheels (“pressed”) and then a large centrifuge and many filters extract the oil from the “other stuff”.  The other stuff (sansa) is then taken away where if treated with chemicals can produce more oil for industrial purposes.  The two things that damage and spoil the oil are air and heat.  Thus comes the term “cold press” indicating that very little heat is used to improve the amount of oil extracted.  While the press itself is cold, the temperature in the centrifuge is carefully controlled and regulated by law to give certain distinctions and classifications.  In general, in Italy, there is extra virgin olive oil and then there is everything else.  New oil is used for conditioning food, old oil is used for cooking.  Seed oil is used for deep frying.

After the dry year of 2003 the real recovery was in the fruit trees.  The work of the old fattore still goes on in the form of any number of pear, apricot, plum, cherry, fig and lemon trees.  The pears were plentiful this year, and we had to work hard to clean up after the birds.  After we could pick our fill, the birds came and cleared out the rest.  The plums were small buy many this year, and the apricots were delicious after having not produced any last year.  We canned apricot preserves as well as plum and fig.

There was a lot of attention focused on the elections in the US.  The accepted truth here is that the President of the United States is, in effect, president of everyone, or, at least, is the commander-in-chief of the largest and best outfitted military force in the world.  And, as is the case throughout the world, there is a lot of anger and disillusionment about a man and a government that could have so forcefully and precipitously, with bullying, lying, and bravado, led us into a very ugly war in the name of making the world safer, etc.  Many, many times conversations were begun with, “well, after there is a new president….” and I had to correct that Mr. Bush’s re-election would not be based much on foreign policy.  But the vagaries of politics, or the continuing demolition of politics in the United States aside, the strong public opinion remains that this was a referendum on the war.

To the contrary, the vote was a referendum on the United States and its people.  Typically citizens in other lands recognize that our political leaders seldom reflect who we are entirely.  And in a place like Italy, the locals often are able to get a clear impression of what various foreign people are like by being able to meet them and talk with them.  Tourists in Tuscany, while fewer than ever in the past 20 years, are still many, and it is common for the locals to have impressions based on these kinds of interactions.  In general, Americans are known for kindness, generosity and ingenuity.  On a negative side they are often considered to be ignorant of culture and arrogant of customs and insensitive to local ways.  But the point would be that traditionally the Americans have managed to get rid of leaders who are seen to be bad.

This year, however, the worm has turned, and to be American is no longer viewed as a good thing.  The re-election of the President has only confirmed that Europe cannot trust the American people to do what they (Europe) view as the right thing.  While European journalists have long been pointing out to their readers in very popular journals the corrupt nature of the Bush administration, the American press spends far more time on the dangers of the low-carb diet.  While Europeans seem to be able to vote their popular opinions into action, the Americans do not (Mr. Berlusconi notwithstanding).

Therefore it is not too surprising to see institutions and organizations in Europe that have had the name “American” in their title changing their names or removing the offending word.  The American International School of Florence is now called the International School.  The American Language Institute becomes the Foreign Language Institute.

Of course, more worrisome is the decline of the US dollar.  While this remains something that doesn’t affect many in the US itself, it is a source of great concern for the rest of the world.  You have seen gas prices rise.  But does anyone notice how no one is investing in the US?  It is certainly obvious that the President is not worried about this trend, but the negative effects for many sectors of the US economy, not to mention the economies of South America, Europe and parts of Asia are scary.  

But as somebody said the other day, it always seems that the US government can make the markets move like a puppeteer with his puppets, and when they want the dollar to be stronger, when it no longer serves them that it is weak, they will make it rise.  What can one believe?

In the end we will survive this.  Even if the world markets collapse and depression ensues, we will survive.  It won’t be as much fun, and we’ll finally have to give up those sport utility vehicles (perhaps cars altogether), but we’ll make it.  After all we survived eight years of Ronald Reagan and company followed by 4 years of Bush the father.  The “scandals” of Mr. Clinton didn’t ruin us.  Somewhere in history there was a President Taft and a President Harding.  There was a President Grant, too.

Tommaso only complains that he wants to go outside and ride his bike.  No matter that it might be dark and raining and freezing cold.  No matter that the frantoio is busy and the trucks and cars drive the narrow road churning up the gravel and mud.  The steam collects on the window in front of the big pot of water boiling for the pasta.  Perhaps some soup tonight instead for me.  Then a bath for the kids and we can fall asleep to the sound of men’s voices and olives falling by the bushel into the stainless steel scale, a sound like a hard rain on a tin roof, and wake up to the rumble of the stone wheels grinding the pulp and pits into an oily paste.

Canneto, November, 2004

[semprelibera]

the idiot on that post who doesn't know about cacio e pepe, white pizza, and countless other dishes...

but you know what's funny. they just sound mad europeans managed to also make iconic use of 'their' ingredients. well do better yourself then !

I KNOW like, my point was that what the world considers iconic “Italian” dishes are actually Italian-American or Italian-inspired American (heavy in tomato sauce), while to us Italians, as well as people who are familiar with real Italian cuisine, the dishes which we’d consider iconic are actually older than the Columbian exchange or only use “Old World” ingredients...

I mean, if I had to say what the most iconic (as in the ones that everyone knows and can find outside of their region) dishes which do not contain American ingredients are, I’d say:

Ferratelle, castagnole, focaccia, piadina, arancini/e, Sicilian cassata, Sicilian cannoli, crostoli/frappe/chiacchere/cenci/galani/lattughe*, Neapolitan pastiera, carbonara, gricia, cacio e e pepe, fegato alla veneziana, castagnaccio, panforte, seadas, cornetto, basil pesto, maritozzo, torrone, zeppole, Maraschino cherries, bruschetta, struffoli, granita, gelato, erbazzone, porchetta, cotognata, frutta di Martorana, nacatole, torta della nonna, taralli/tarallini/tarallucci, grissini, savoiardi/pistokkeddos, ciambelline al vino, farinata, fregula, risotto alla milanese, pizza bianca, tortellini in brodo, crostata, babà, baicoli, budino di riso, ciambellone, biscotti del Lagaccio, cantucci, cotoletta alla milanese, biancomangiare, panettone, gubana, canestrelli, brasato al Barolo, brigidini, pasta con le sarde, canederli, ravioli ricotta e spinaci, pere al vino, cannoncino, pane carasau and guttiau, casatiello, gnocchi alla bava, chnéffléné, coda d’aragosta, bomba/bombolone, crema fritta, tigella/crescentina, delizia al limone, frìtołe, gelo di melone, krumiri, mandorlato, malfatti, meringa, necci, saltimbocca alla romana, mostaccioli, pasta di mandorle, ribollita, panelle, pasta e ceci/fagioli/lenticchie/fave, pasticciotto, polenta, risotto alla marinara, torta pasqualina, frisella, focaccia di Recco, agnolotti, gnocco fritto, sbrisolona, zabajone, vitello tonnato, passatelli in brodo, mozzarella in carrozza, amaretti, ciambella, brioscia, plenty of pizze including the original Marinara which is way better than the one people call Marinara today...

*No campanilismi here 🇮🇹

While I’d say that the most iconic Italian dishes which do contain American ingredients are:

Gnocchi di patate, graffa, crocchè (potato); pizza Margherita, pizza alla marinara, pappa al pomodoro, lasagne alla bolognese, lasagne alla napoletana, parmigiana di melanzane, insalata caprese, sfincione, timballo, sun-dried tomatoes, caponata (tomato); tortelli di zucca, gnocchi di zucca (pumpkin); ‘nduja, pasta all’arrabbiata (hot chilies); tiramisù, gianduja, baci di dama, salame di cioccolato, cuneesi al rhum, zuppa inglese, setteveli, zuccotto, Modica chocolate (cocoa); corn polenta, pan meino (maize); pandoro, panna cotta (vanilla); peperonata (bell peppers); zucchine alla scapece, pasta alla nerano (courgettes).

So yes, while the Columbian exchange did influence Italian cuisine, either by leading to the evolution of pre-existing dishes (EG.: pangiallo was invented over 2000 years ago and nowadays it’s not uncommon to see people add dark chocolate to the recipe; the original pizza alla marinara did not contain tomato sauce and was made with anchovies, capers, garlic, black Gaeta olives, oregano and olive oil - all of which are very Mediterranean ingredients) or to the creation of new ones, but claiming that New World ingredients-based dishes are all there is to Italian cuisine, or that its most iconic dishes are made with them is factually wrong and the reason why this stereotype exists in the first place is due to Italian-American culture/US stereotypes of Italy and Italians being passed off as authentic Italian and its spread outside of the US is a direct result of US cultural imperialism.

I also find it ironic how they all conveniently ignore that Asian, African and other European cuisines outside of Italy’s also use American ingredients... I have yet to see someone claim that shahi paneer is not Indian or that paprikás csirke is not Hungarian while I have seen plenty of Americans claim that pizza Margherita (which they believe is the only kind of pizza there is) is actually American just because tomatoes are not native to Italy.