#where can I purchase a sushi

[etherrreal]

weeb purchases under the cut (also a hand reveal lol)!

[felinefractious]

i really dont know much about maine coons but they look super cool, what are the "maine coon features" you mention in your post about people thinking their longhairs are maine coons?

The appearance of the Maine Coon is supposed to be a well-balanced. The head and muzzle should be squared with a clear stop. Ear tufts should be distinctly present.

For the sake of showing the Maine Coon is classified as a “semi-longhair,” so they aren’t supposed to be a giant puffball like the Persian or British Longhair.

I’m having a hard time explaining it in a way that I feel makes sense.

The French registry LOOF has some excellent illustrated standards for some of their breeds. Cedarseed has also put together an excellent visual guide to various breeds available for purchase as an e-book or physical copy.

It’s an awesome, huge resource that I can’t recommend enough both for the feline artist - be it big cats, other wild cats or our domestic buddies - or the purebred snob afficiando likes myself.

On the left we have Honey Sushi, a Domestic Longhair available for adoption mis-labeled as a Maine Coon mix and on the right we have Tigerfeet Billie Holiday the Maine Coon.

Honey’s ears are too wide-set and rounded, he lacks the characteristic ear tufts and his muzzle is not well-defined. His whisker pads kind of just blend into the rest of his face as an entire unit compared to Billie distinct muzzle that leaves no question where no question as to where it starts and ends. Billie also has the squared head of the breed while Honey does not.

Tallulah Gin is listed as a Maine Coon x Persian mix, although she is most likely a Domestic Longhair. Her coat is an excellent example of what a Maine Coon’s coat shouldn’t look like - not that anything is wrong with her beautiful fur, it’s just not Maine Coon fur.

Compared to this Maine Coon from The Opal Temple. You can see that the topline is smooth and “short” but the fur gets gradually longer towards the belly and pants where it achieves maximum fluff. Also note that the Maine Coon’s head doesn’t disappear into a Lion King worthy mane, the ruff is more moderate and follows the same pattern as the rest of the coat of being short up top flowing downward into the longer part of the coat.

There are random-bred cats with one or more of these “Maine Coon” features, and there are Maine Coon’s which are more moderate or more extreme and don’t meet the standard to a T.

I can show you pedigree Maine Coon’s with wide forehead, tall ears, insubstantial ear tufts, proportions not well-balanced or however many faults you want to list.

I can also show you random-bred cats with squared heads and muzzles, well-spaced ears, a coat that’s short in the right places and long in the right places and falls just so.

I’ve met cats where I’ve been told they’re a Maine Coon mix and I don’t go “Oh obviously” but “Yeah, I can see that.” This isn’t commonplace, but it’s happened a few times where the cat has been passable as a poorly bred Maine Coon or mix.

But what gets me is so often I see people - online and in person - who say their cat is a Maine Coon or Maine Coon mix, they sweat up down and sideways that it must be true because the cat looks so much like a Maine Coon…

And then the cat is the moggiest moggy to have ever moggied. Not a single Maine Coon feature in sight, unless you include long fur - and some of them don’t even have that! Is the resemblance that they’re both cats? Is that what you’re seeing?

If you’re going to try to sell me on your cat being a Maine Coon or mix at least show me you have a basic understanding of the breed’s conformation and show me what features make you feel that way about your cat that don’t include “big” and “fluffy.”

[meowzfordayz]

how they care for you — sanemi, giyuu

Author’s Note: to whoever needs to be reminded… YOU CAN DO THIS! 😤🤗

how they care for you — sanemi, giyuu

Shinazugawa Sanemi x Reader, Tomioka Giyuu x Reader

Word Count: ~400

CW: depression

Emergency Request Fulfilled: ​​hi!! i feel kinda awkward making an emergency request bc I've never done this before but I've been struggling a lot lately and your writing is so comfy. 😭 could you write about how giyuu & sanemi would react or comfort a disabled s/o who has bad bouts of depression bc she can't do as much as she wants to? if this isn't something you're not comfy writing please don't feel like you have to!!

(p.s I lov your work and it always makes me happy when your writing shows up on my dash 🥺)

~faqs~

Does his best to bring places to you

Wish you could go to the museum and stare at pretty paintings? 🖼 He’ll say, “Gimme an hour,” and turn the living room into your own museum (nvm that his art isn’t ~the greatest 🥴)

Craving a stroll in the local park? He’ll say, “Gimme an hour,” and return w/ a duck for your entertainment (don’t scold him too hard, he just wanted to see you smile 😅) 🦆

Feeling wistful bc you can’t go out to eat? 🍜 He’ll become your host, waiter, and chef (mind you, if you don’t tip him 🤑, then he will pretend to pick a fight w/ you)

Cooks or orders you whatever food you want to eat

If he wants a burrito and you want pizza, then he wants pizza too 🍕

If he wants pad Thai and you want sushi, then he wants sushi too 🍣

Etc 😂

That being said, he does gently encourage you to eat fruits and veggies along w/ whatever else you’re craving, bc he knows eating well helps you feel well too 🍓🥕

11/10 makes the cutest charcuterie boards for you complete w/ fancy cheeses, meats, freshly cut fruits, veggies, dips, and jams 😋

Randomly springs Spa Day™️ on you

Muscles sore? Feeling exhausted? Unsure where to start? Have no fear! Giyuu has an entire itinerary for you

Complete w/ a full body massage, flower bath, complementary fruit and cheese platters, and naptime, you’re sure to feel a lil better 🛁  (if not physically, then at least in spirit)

Plucking flower petals off you and then patting you dry is his fave part 🥺🥰

Talks about The Future™️ w/ you, and tries to make Things™️ happen

That trip you wish you could go on, but feels impossible?

He’ll make some adjustments, and surprise you w/ a weekend away ☀️

Those clothes you wish you could buy, but haven’t had the time or energy to?

He’ll purchase everything in multiple sizes, so all you have to worry about is trying it all on — he’ll take care of any necessary returns 👕

That movie you wish you could watch, but can’t fathom being stuck in a theater for?

He’ll rent it asap, and ensure he has a free evening to enjoy it w/ you 🎬

[my-plastic-life]

New doll diorama is up! This one took a while because there are lots of props, plus I had to decide on the perfect design. :D

Have you ever been to a themed cafe? They're very common in Japan, ranging from anime to video games to role play. Some are permanent, others are pop up (temporary). The interiors are always completely decorated in the theme, and the food is also designed in accordance with the theme. Most of these places also have gift shops where you can purchase exclusive items ranging from stationary to clothes to figures to plushies, all revolving around the cafe's theme. So fun!

I tend to always do things in themes, so this was right up my alley. I just knew I wanted to make my own Japanese themed cafe diorama. There is no shortage of options, but I decided on a Gudetama cafe. Gudetama is a Sanrio character, and his name literally means "lazy egg." This adorable little egg can be seen in a variety of scenarios, usually being prodded to not be lazy. It's quite amusing! I looked up actual Gudetama cafes so I could make my design as authentic as possible. Almost all of them featured bright yellow walls in a variety of patterns with huge wall decals of the star character on them. Smaller wall art was also common, and the wood floors even had a yellowish hue to them to finish off the look. Statues and figures were also prominent, so I placed a white cube shelf in the scene to hold some of my mini Gudetama items I've had for a long time (didn't even have to buy new stuff for this scene!), as well as the menus and place mats that I made. I also painted all the chairs yellow (they were originally purple) and painted the table base white (they were pink). The booth is borrowed from the Licca-chan revolving sushi set.

So here we have a group of dolls enjoying the themed goodies! All the food items are from Re-Ment, and the sets included a lot more - I just couldn't fit any more dolls in there LOL. And of course, this being Japanese themed, I had to use my Azone dolls. They're a better fit for these chairs and tables anyway since they're not as tall as Barbie, so they fit her size furniture better than she does LOL. Plus - interchangeable hands! YES!

Overview of the diorama showing all the wall art and designs:

Left plate: Curry. Right plate: Ramen.

Curry:

Ramen:

Of course ani-ME is on the dessert :D

Left plate: Cake & ice cream. Right plate: Parfait.

Cake & ice cream:

Parfait:

Left plate: Hot cakes (aka pancakes). Right plate: Kanitama (crab omelet).

Hot cakes (aka pancakes):

Kanitama (crab omelet):

Left plate: Ramen, fried egg, & salad. Right plate: Butatamadon (pork rice bowl).

Butatamadon (pork rice bowl):

Ramen, fried egg, & salad:

Cube with various Gudetama figures/merchandise, plus the menus and place mats I made:

Menu (two-sided) Fun fact: Every single item on the menu is a genuine Re-Ment Gudetama product. I don't have every set, but I included them on the menu anyway:

[smolalienbee]

And a Silver Sixpence in His Shoe

Day 1: Something Unexpected

good omens // aziraphale/crowley // a human AU childhood friends fic // rated T // chapter 1/6

At age 15, Aziraphale made a Promise. At age 25, he had an Earth-shattering fight with his childhood - and closest - friend. At age 35, that same friend shows up at his doorstep and suddenly, Aziraphale’s entire world is thrown upside down. A story of something unexpected, something old, something yellow, something stolen, something new and something promised. (It’s going to be a long week.)

read full chapter on AO3 here!

“Azira.”

Anthony calls for him from his peculiar perch on Aziraphale’s bed - sprawled out on his back, with his head hanging off the edge, long hair flowing down to the floor. He stares ahead at a wall; his eyes are still reddened. It’s been a long day.

“Yeah?” Aziraphale responds. His attention, the whole of it, is now on the other boy.

He is - has always been - Anthony’s complete opposite. It shows, quite clearly, in everything about the two of them. Even how Aziraphale sits is a complete contrast to his friend - cross-legged, hands folded neatly in his lap, stiff where Anthony is loose, like liquid. He feels an urge to rock himself back and forth, and he knows Anthony won’t mind, but still, he resists it, straightens his back instead. He listens; just as his parents have taught him - ‘if you care, Aziraphale, you will not move a muscle’.

He needs Anthony to know that he cares.

“Let’s make a promise,” Anthony says. He shoots up like a spring unfurled and before Aziraphale can even blink, Anthony is in front of him, nearly-yellow eyes peering directly into his. Aziraphale doesn’t startle. He stares right back, head cocked to the side.

“What about?”

“Well…” Anthony mirrors him, cocking his head in much the same way. He clicks his tongue. “Let’s promise that… if…”

He’s dragging it out on purpose. Aziraphale knows him. He waits, patient.

“...by the time we’re… hm. By the time we’re 35…”

He leans in. So does Aziraphale. Their foreheads bump and they grin. It’s the first time Anthony has smiled that day.

“...if, by the time we’re 35, we don’t have a - wife or a husband or a girlfriend or boyfriend or anyone, we’ll marry each other. Okay?”

There is no hesitation.

“Okay.”

“Promise?”

“I promise, Anthony.”

If there is one thing to be said about Aziraphale Z. Fell is that he leads an ordinary, quiet life.

He lives in Soho, London, above an old bookshop that he’s been fortunate enough to inherit in his late twenties. He likes sushi and good wine. He has a few friends - like Nina, who works at the coffee shop across the street; or Maggie, who runs the record store that he takes an absolute pleasure in frequently purchasing from.

(He’s lonely. Terribly so. He’s been lonely for about ten years now, since - he does not want to think about that.)

Today is his 35th birthday.

That fact in of itself may be shocking to some people - people’s first impressions of Aziraphale tend to be that he’s awfully, gleefully gay; that he’s extremely eccentric (with his speech, his mannerisms and the whole of his being); and that he’s at least 45. He never corrects them.

He’s planned for today to be another ordinary, quiet day. He has, rather firmly, refused his family’s invitation to a big birthday dinner - they’ve been inviting him, repeatedly and unsuccessfully, for the last five or so years. Perhaps that is one thing that he’s kept from Anthony - this sudden, unwavering confidence that everything will be okay, even when it feels like the world around him is shattering whenever he has to say no to his family.

In any case, his plans for his birthday are simple and painstakingly ordinary. First, he’ll go out to his favourite sushi restaurant and have a perfectly ordinary meal there. He may even, if the fancy strikes him so, buy enough sushi so that he can take some of it back home and treat himself to a breakfast sushi the following morning. It is his birthday, after all!

Then, once he’s full of sushi and sated, he’ll stop by Maggie’s store and buy a new record. A record that he most definitely doesn’t need, considering the rather extensive collection he’s already in possession of, but, well. Birthday!

By the end of the day, nothing will have changed. Much as he’s woken up, Aziraphale Z. Fell, an ordinary bookseller, he will, too, go to sleep as Aziraphale Z. Fell, an ordinary, lonely bookseller. There is not even a second when he entertains the possibility that something unexpected might happen today. Not one. Not a moment.

(He’s turning 35.)

That is until, not long after he’s had breakfast and came downstairs to the main shop floor, there’s a knock on the front door. Aziraphale huffs - his bookshop is most definitely closed today - and then makes a beeline to the door, purely for the satisfaction of shooing away whoever has dared to bother him on his birthday.

(He’s turning 35 and he doesn’t hope.)

He opens the door. He knows, even before his brain has the time to register what’s in front of him. Or who, rather.

“Hey, angel. Been a while.”

read full chapter on AO3 here!

[sisteradelaide]

My thoughts on Palia

I've been playing the game since the closed beta and I've really been enjoying it. There are a few things I would like to see changed, just for ease of play.

Get rid of the repair tick - At least on the watering can. The only way to make money in this game is to farm or annihilate whole herds of sernuk. Just let me water my damn plants in peace.

Disspell Arrows one shot all creatures in the game - It's a magic arrow that uses rare/hard to find materials. The fact that it doesn't insta-eliminate everything is disappointing. This to me feels like the most wasteful thing in the game. Unless you're all about hunting the magic creatures for the achievements, there's very little point to them.

Adjusted spawn rates for flora, fishing, and bugs - I swear I'll see an epic once before I'm dead, but I'm not too sure. I understand commons are meant to be exactly that, but it's disheartening to use twenty worms for fishing and maybe get a single rare out of the lot. If you're going to tie missions to hard to find items, then maybe make them slightly easier to find or catch. If anything make the common and uncommon available for the regular worms and the rare and epics available for the glow worms.

All recipes are available for purchase. - I'm tired of wasting glow worms trying to find the sushi recipe. Just let me buy it ffs.

Provide better ways to get Palium & Flow - Considering how difficult it can be to acquire either of these, the amount of stuff we have to build with them is just crazy. It would be cool for a future updates to get a mining sluice type device where we can process stone and get the more precious items out of it. Same type of concept for flow, except we can infuse wood with it.

Allow us to sell unwanted furniture pieces or recycle the materials in them for something else - My storage is full of furniture that I have no use for. I refuse to destroy it because the amount of materials in them is insane. Nothing would make me happier than to recycle the industrial stuff I had to make for Tish and get the iron bars back.

Recipe prices - Prices on things in general, but 2k - 5k gold FOR THE RECIPE. Not the item, the recipe to make it. Then I have to find the stuff to make it and then I have to maintain it because it has a health tick. Then I have to REBUILD it if I don't repair it.

Make character shops accessible when the characters are not available. - Please. There's cash registers. There's the other shops. Worst case, have Ashura/Jel/Kenyatta run a side business where they sell everyone's stuff because they're the only ones up at 2am. The other way is to adjust the general shop where everything is in one place.

Remove the cost for teleporting - You can spend gold or you can walk feels way too real world for me. I'm already choosing between sacrificing my tools for the sake of my house or vice versa. Can I have something useful that doesn't require me to spend money? Please.

Blueprints for structures - Once I spend money on the Blueprint for rooms and hallways, I feel like I should get to use it in perpetuity. Especially since the cost INCREASES every time you buy one.

Second floor for houses - This is not in the game, but I would like to see it go in at some point.

Cosmetic updates - Expanded cosmetics would be nice. They've said there is more stuff coming, but I would like to be able to do simple things like change wall or roof colors without the need for a wallpaper or purchasable cosmetic. Along this same line, please remove the furniture modification kit requirement and just let us adjust furniture as we want. It's a level of tedious that doesn't need to be there.

[luke-r-gillespie]

May 18 - Akihabara / Sanja Festival (Freeday) + Academic Reflection

Freewriting

Today I woke up at 9 (which is the best part about free days) before packing all of my clothes back into my suitcase to send off to Kyoto. As today was my final day in Tokyo, I wanted to do everything that I hadn't yet gotten a chance to do. So for an early lunch, I walked into Akihabara with Zachary where we ate gyoza and fries (unsurprisingly delicious.)

After lunch, we walked around Akihabara and looked in some cool stores, my favorite of which sold extremely rare and high end Pokémon cards (obviously no purchases were made.) Our last stop in Akihabara was a 7 story arcade where we played the rhythm game MaiMai which involves hitting buttons on and around a large circle screen on beats that coincide with the selected song. It was a lot of fun but I kept losing to Zachary by only a few points so I'll just have to lock in next time we play.

Leaving the arcade, we caught a train to Asakusa from Suehirocho station. We met up with Ren at a Starbucks just outside of Asakusa Kannon Sensoji (the massive temple that we had previously visited on our first day in Tokyo.) I came here today to attend the Sanja Festival, which takes place over the course of three days at Asakusa Kannon Sensoji. This is one of the most popular annual festivals in Tokyo, brining in around two million people over the course of the three day event. The entire city of Asakusa was lively and dressed for the occasion. It was a really cool thing to be able to experience while here and I even got to see large groups parading carts (carts are large and heavy portable shrines) through the streets.

Seeing the community of Asakusa come together in this way to celebrate the three founders of Sensoji temple was amazing. After spending a little over an hour participating in the festivities, Zachary and I walked around Asakusa, stopping to look in some stores. I bought a new pair of earrings (sorry mom) before we stopped at a cat cafe for ten minutes which absolutely lived up to the hype (spiritually healing experience.) Our last stop in Asakusa was a local sushi place which was both delicious and very affordable.

After leaving Asakusa, I returned to the hotel to rest up before our journey to Kyoto tomorrow but I think I will be leaving to go to Round 1 soon with the lads (Round 1 is an entertainment chain that has an arcade/ bowling/ batting cage/ and everything else you could want!)

Independent Excursion: Academic Reflection (Sanja Matsuri)

For my final free day in Tokyo, I returned to Asakusa to attend the 2024 Sanja Matsuri (Matsuri meaning festival). The Sanja Matsuri has been held annually in Asakusa since the Edo period and is an extremely well known event throughout all of Japan. The Sanja Matsuri is held to honor the "three men" who founded Senso-ji temple (Sanja directly translates to three people.) The three founders are two fisherman brothers, named Hamanari Hinokuma and Takenari Hinokuma and a village cheif, named Nakatomo Hajino.

In order to learn more about Sanja Matsuri for my academic reflection, I selected and analyzed the reading, Script and Score: Revisiting Nelson Goodman at Sanja Matsuri - Japan by Ray Lucas. This reading is a section from Architecture, Festival and the City with an emphasis on the architectural and anthropological factors of Sanja Matsuri in relation to the festival's traditions and history.

Within the reading, Lucas discusses the "collapse of various strata of social and spiritual life into the space of the city" in relation to the culture surrounding Sanja Matsuri. Lucas is referencing how diverse the cast of participants and practitioners of the Sanja Matsuri can be. Within the reading, he points this out by mentioning how the Tengu (Japanese mountain goblin) walks around Asakusa alongside priests and geishas, who can be seen with blue collar workers (such as fisherman and carpenters.) These are aspects of Japanese society that typically see little to no overlap, but at the Sanja Matsuri everyone comes together as equals to celebrate the annual festival and the founders of Senso-ji (Senso temple.) This was not something that I had realized while at the festival, but in hindsight this diversity and intermingling of different facets of Japanese society was definitely present. For example, the parishioners carrying the portable shrines were of all different ages and walks of life. However, they were all equally involved and invested in the festival. Additionally, there were even smaller portable shrines being carried around by kids, assisted by an adult when needed (it was really cute.) This level of across the board involvement is what Lucas was referencing in the selected reading.

Within the reading, Lucas gets this point across by employing a number of different methods. By utilizing maps, drawings and photographs, Lucas is able to drive his point home in an effective and convincing manner. One area that I felt Lucas did a really great job explaining with these methods was the outfits worn by those involved in the festival. The outfits are described as stiff or rigid and Lucas challenges this based on some of the poses depicted in historic drawings of the festival. I found this reading to be very interesting and it enhanced my enjoyment of the festival after the fact.

Lucas, Ray. “Script and Score Revisiting Nelson Goodman at Sanja Matsuri – Japan .” Essay. In Architecture, Festival and the City, 81–96. London, United Kingdom: Routledge, 2019.

[kyndaris]

Scrambling Across Shibuya

Shibuya. Known for its 109 building, the Hachiko statue out the front of the JR station and its busy crossing, the district is a popular area for tourists and locals alike. It is often described as the heart and soul of the bustling city that is Tokyo and is known for its nightlife and fashionable youth culture. What's more, it has appeared in several anime an games - leaving a strong impression on anyone who wishes to travel to Japan.

For me, this came in the form of The World Ends With You and Ghostwire Tokyo. And let's be honest, it was mostly The World Ends With You, as well as its sequel: NEO: The World Ends With You that sold me on Shibuya. Especially when it came to the iconic places in and around the area like Tower Records and the MODI shopping mall. You could also duck into Udagawacho in the game as well.

And with the trailer of Kingdom Hearts 4 showing Sora in a world featuring the 104 building - the variation of the 109 building in The World Ends With You, I'm sure you can understand my excitement.

Still, it wasn't all that long ago I visited Shibuya with my family. Eight years after my first visit, I was back there again, this time accompanied by bleachpanda as we caught up with two other friends from Australia for some much needed retail therapy as a reward for a long and arduous trip.

As was tradition, I arranged to catch-up with my two other friends by meeting near the statue of Hachiko. Mostly because it was a common meet-up spot and secondly, I didn't want to spend the day chasing after my friend as they moved from crossing to cafe to bookstore. After all, I'd already accidentally taken the wrong line to get to Shibuya Station and had to divert via bus.

Not a good start to the day.

Once we had caught up, it was off to the closest shop. From Uniqlo to Sanrio to Loft, we had a look at what was available. Despite the fact bleachpanda and I had been overseas for nigh on three weeks, this was the first time we had stopped to buy clothing for ourselves. And Loft was also a surprise. Especially when it came to souvenirs or gifts for friends.

In my defence, I wasn't in Japan for shopping and had left a lot of the research with regards to shopping for bleachpanda as I knew there were places she wanted to visit, whereas I was fine to simply look and stare at Pokemon and Disney. Which, by the way, we also visited after having some yakiniku. This also included another Capcom Store, Nintendo, a local Jump! store and a few other places to feed my need to purchase merchandise and delightful goodies to add to my ever-growing collection of things I probably wouldn't need.

While many of the things I bought are presents and souvenirs for friends, there is still a hefty amount of stuffed toys and cute items I bought that were for me alone. Bleachpanda, too, couldn't resist the chance to indulge as she bought a mountain of things while at Uniqlo and had to lug it with her as we continued on our shopping spree in Shibuya.

With evening soon upon us, my other friends had to depart earlier. They'd arranged to meet with a few other people they knew for dinner on the other side of Tokyo. Bleachpanda and I headed down to Harajuku, enjoying the brisk walk, to try out some crepes she had seen on Instagram. And to be honest, Marion Crepes was much better than the Harajuku crepes in Sydney - from the flavour to the diversity of choices, and even to the price.

And while it wasn't the in-depth walk through of Harajuku I enjoyed eight years ago with my mum, after we had toured the nearby shrine, it was still a good quick look at one of the most bustling places in Tokyo.

Afterwards, bleachpanda and I returned to our hotel in Shinjuku. Along the way, we stopped at the Disney Flagship store and had dinner at a conveyor belt sushi restaurant where we once again munched down on some lovely fatty tuna and salmon.

But though our time was ending in Japan, we still had so much more to do in Japan!

Oh, and before I forget, bleachpanda also stopped by the local Don Quijote (the day before) and bought herself a second suitcase to bring back all her goodies and to give my poor suitcase a reprieve from all the things she had bought. The two of us now had a total of four suitcases to stow all the things we wanted to buy and even then, it was a near thing trying to shove it all together.

[minosimu]

Majestic Valley Recap 3

A few peeks at what's happened during winter-spring of year two.

It was collecting as usual for Henrietta Beaufort. However, she was able to purchase the collection helper, giving her a HUGE haul for the day.

The Grovehurst's have been struggling with money. Given her mother's enormous loot for the day, Victoria was kind enough to give Mary Grovehurst one of her family's most valuable gems to sell.

Despite the cold winter months, Victoria has been warming up to Cèlestin. She wanted to get to know him a bit more...

Despite their previous conflict, Cèlestin invited Victoria over for Sushi where she explained why she was such a brat to him when they first met as teenagers. Having to share a room with three younger sisters would put anyone in an awful mood.

Cèlestin was clearly forgiving.

Over at the Fanaan's, Lina's been trying to concentrate on her painting skill, but after realising she's pregnant, her energy levels have tanked and she can barely make it out of her pajamas.

Her son, Riyad, happily let her know what he thought of her latest painting attempt...

The Huntington's had a visit from the Grim Reaper. Big Ears' time came to an end.

The Scriven's moved in! Meredith was the first to greet them.

Where she adopted one of their kittens and named them sooty. Can you tell that the Scriven's new foal, Henry, is an aggressive little shit?

I will never wonder why Riyad has no friends. Here he is making fun of Trapper for being upset about his dog's passing.

There's been some wandering eyes in the settlement lately. Xiang and Dale realised each other's chemistry.

Something came over Lina and she surprised Fowler, a happily married man, with a big smooch.

But he was quick to retort.

[tamiveldura]

Questions for Tami

How many books have you written?

This is a fair question. Any new reader who finds my work on a store isn’t going to immediately know that I have other pennames, or that I frequently publish short stories in magazines. The reader who stumbles over my fanfiction on AO3 isn’t going to know I have flash fiction on Tumblr or even a website.

To keep track of all my work, I have a spreadsheet that notes the title, what penname, when I finished it, how long it is, and where I’ve first published it. It has more details, but the important part is I can open that spreadsheet and scroll down and down and tell you…

I have written 116 things.

These things are a mix of novels, novellas, and short stories. They don’t include my fanfiction or flash fiction. Most of these things are available for purchase—although a few are on submission or just waiting in line to be published.

It has been on my to-do list for some time to make a complete reading list available for download on the website and I just haven’t gotten to it yet. Now is as good a time as any, right? Here’s a list: https://www.tamiveldura.com/biblio/

An Act Of Piracy (Historical PNR) Blood In The Water Ruin & Will How Santa Stole Crampus The Mermaid King The Hunger Of The Deep

Queenships (Scifi) Perihelion What The Sun Sees Ice Dragon Queen Wedding

Hellhounds (Urban Fantasy) That’s Princess Hellhound, To You

HORNETS (Mil Scifi) The Last Flight Of The Hornets Space Sushi Solvarg Pursues The Moon The Queen Is Dead, Long Live The Queen Revenge With A Side of Power Armor A Message From The Gods

Jumperverse (Sci Fantasy) Chasing Dragons Tentacle Awareness Attack of the Space Vampires

Leviathanverse (Scifi) Flight of the Sunbird Test of the Judgment

Maj And The Outlaws (Scifi) Murder Is A Family Business The Trinordia Dragon The Right Genes For Robbery Trafficking in Killers and Clones It Takes A Village To Feed A Dragon Life Is A Hallucination

The Bone Witch (Urban Fantasy) The Call of the Grim How Not To Raise The Dead Taco’s Tuesday Playground Monitor Summoning Trouble Blind Date With a Hellhound

Tidewater (Contemp M/M) Dawn Patrol Remaking Josh Rough Recall Wild Untouched

Zodiac Forces (Mil Scifi) Closer Than Touch Spring Tide Running With Bulls Smuggler’s Dispatch Smart Birthday

Black Trans Fairy Tales (YA Fairy Tale Retellings) Cinder Ella Mer Made Beauty’s Beast

Powyrworld (M/F PNR) Dragon Star Dragon Solstice Rescued By The Dragon Assassin

Ether City (M/M PNR) Fated To The Wolf A Valentine’s Omega The Dragon Heir’s Omega The Dragon Heir’s Secret Wedding

Dragon Fire Soulmates (M/M PNR) Heartfire Ignited Red Stars Crossed

Stand Alone Novels Zero Day Exploit (M/M contemp)

Stand Alone Novellas Beauty Makes A Beast (F/f Fantasy) Serenity (M/M contemp) Deathwatch (YA Fantasy)

Stand Alone Short Stories A Brand New Day (scifi) Afterglow (fantasy) A Gift From The Muse (horror) A Gift Of Family (M/M contemp) Between The Shade (fantasy) Border Planet (scifi) Carrot Cake (horror) Catch A Tiger (scifi) Colors of Resistance (contemp) Dreamers (M/M fantasy) En Memoriam (M/M PNR) Glitterflies (fantasy) Infestation (Mil Scifi) Jinniyo (fantasy) Living City (scifi) Mansion GetAway (Mil scifi) Mech Vs. Aliens (scifi) Occult Awakening (paranormal) Personal Best (contemp) #PixiePocolypse (fantasy) Problem Child (fantasy) Professor Polter In The Computer Lab With The Banshee (YA GameLit) Simulation (scifi) Sovereign Inheritance (PNR) Tea Ceremony (fantasy) The Art of Magic (Fantasy) The Best Dragonrider (fantasy) The City At The Bottom Of The Lake (Fantasy) The Eminent God (urban fantasy) The King’s Fortune (fantasy) The Law of the Jungle (F/F … ? Contemp?) The Light of Shiva (urban fantasy) The Wolf and the King (PNR) To Heaven And Back Again (fantasy) To Light A Bonfire (PNR) Tree Day (mystery) True Night (fantasy) U And Me In Summer (F/F Contemp) What We Do For Love (fantasy)

Collections Fanged (M/M Vampire) Natural Adaptation Master Aviator An Executioner’s Absolution Mile High The Catch

Enchanted (YA Fantasy) Pale Horse Final Wishes Once Upon A Harvest Afterlife Clytemnestra The Forever Storm The Summer Rite Dark Mirror The Whole Truth What The Redwood Sees Double Vision The Queen’s Offering

[fruitsparty]

for no particular reason i'm just gonna text dump about my life as it currently stands as of nov 12 2023

things are going fairly well. i've been working at my library for the past two years and earlier this year i became full-time so things feel steady. it's not amazing money by any means, but it's the most i've made in my life. i have the best coworkers i could ask for and i count myself lucky for that, and can only hope to keep them in my life for as long as possible. the city that i'm employed by does some bullshit sometimes but it's never been malicious or anything like that. as far as careers are concerned, libraries were never on my radar, but this gig was a happy accident that i am content with. i still don't know if it's something i want to do for a long time, as i have never been particularly interested in the field, but maybe it's something i will learn to love.

i finally bought my first car at the very end of september, and the process of acquiring it fucking sucked, but it's all behind me now and i can enjoy not having a piece of shit for a vehicle. i never liked the idea of owing anybody anything, so it hurt a lot to spend half of my savings towards the car and still have years of payments to make on it in a time where rates are higher than before. still, it's kind of nice slowly building a life piece by expensive-ass piece with purchases like that. i'm trying to be a financially responsible person with what i have while keeping in mind that life is short and sometimes getting sushi or going to the movies is nice.

i've started going to the gym back in July, and it was the natural next step towards bettering my health and body image as i age. i took up running back in 2021 because of my lovely girlfriend and it went from being enjoyable to obligatory as time went on, although i still enjoy it in some capacity. the gym was both a way for me to keep things interesting as well as to get physically stronger. i'm still learning, but i know more about making the most out of my time in and out of the gym while still trying to be casual about it. part of me wishes that i took up this kinda stuff a long time ago, but as they say, better late than never.

as for what i have to look forward to, Jenny and I will be going to see Anamanaguchi in LA this Friday, and it's gonna be a blast. I've wanted to see them in concert since i was in high school, so this will be very fulfilling for my old teenage desires. i don't really draw much anymore, which is kind of sad, but also there's just so much going on in my personal and professional life that leaves little left for much else. i still doodle on occasion, but i think i have long abandoned any sort of artistic pursuit.

otherwise, i am just going to keep doing what i'm doing and try to keep my head above water. as a person who has been very aimless since 18, with no credentials or accolades or higher education to his name, with little to no ambition for anything, and with a body and mind that feel at odds with the world and its demands, i think i'm finally doing okay, and that feels good. i still have a long way to go, but maybe life isn't so bad after all

[spicykaraage]

Tenipuri Complete Character Profile - Takashi Kawamura

[PROFILE]

Birthday: November 18th (Scorpio)

Blood Type: A

Relatives: Father, Mother, Younger Sister

Father’s Occupation: Self-Employed (sushi shop)

Elementary School: Saitama Fourth Elementary School

Middle School: Seishun Academy Junior High School

Grade & Class: Third Year | Class 3-4 | Seat 5

Club: Tennis Club (Regular)

Committee: Beautification Committee

Strong Subjects: Math

Weak Subjects: World History

Frequently Visited Spot at School: Rooftop

Favorite Motto: “Nothing ventured, nothing gained.”

Daily Routines: Helping prepare the sushi shop, cleaning up after dinner service

Hobbies: Monopoly [removed], sharpening knives (for training), preparing rice for sushi [TP]

Favorite Color: Light Blue

Favorite Music: Tokyo Ondo songs

Favorite Movie: Action films

Favorite Book: Cookbooks

Favorite Food: Matsutake dobin mushi, raw ikuradon, kinmedai nitsuke (splendid alfonsino simmered in soy sauce) [TP]

Favorite Anniversary: New Year’s Day

Preferred Type: A nice girl with good style (he also likes slender figures) ➜ A strong-willed person [TP]

Ideal Date Spot: Shopping mall ➜ A seafood market [23.5]

His Gift for a Special Person: “I hope you’ll get to eat sushi made by me someday.”

Where He Wants to Travel: He’d love to see the sunrise on Mount Fuji

Thing He Wants Most Right Now: His own knife set

Dislikes: Heights ➜ Ferris wheels, rollercoasters [TP]

Skills Outside of Tennis: Preparing kanpyo, making sushi rolls [23.5]

Spends Allowance On: Eating and studying sushi

Routine During the World Cup: Testing his California rolls

[DATA]

Height: 180cm

Weight: 65kg ➜ 70kg [23.5]

Shoe Size: 27.5cm

Dominant Arm: Right

Vision: 1.5 Left | 1.2 Right

Play Style: Aggressive Baseliner

Signature Moves: Burning Serve (when he changes), Hadoukyuu, One-Handed Hadoukyuu, Dash Hadoukyuu, 108th Level Hadoukyuu

Muscle Mass: 40kg

Years of Karate Experience: 6 years

Favorite Brands:

Racquet: DUNLOP (RIMBREED XL)

Shoes: ASICS (GELSTROKE)

Fitness Test Results:

Sidesteps: 54

Shuttle Run: 101

Back Strength: 155kg

Grip Strength: 60.5kg

Backbend: 67cm

Seated Forward Bend: 50.6cm

50m Run: 7.25 seconds

Standing Long Jump: 196cm

Handball Throw: 52m

Endurance Run (1500m): 5:01

Overall Rating: Speed: 2 / Power: 5 / Stamina: 3 / Mental: 3 / Technique: 2 / Total: 15

Kurobe Memo: “In all sense of the term, he is a straightforward player. Stubbornness can sometimes be a good weapon, but it can also hinder him from reaching the top. If only he were more willing to be flexible with tennis…” [RB]

[POSSESSIONS]

What’s in His Bedroom [10.5]:

Monopoly // The English language version he bought at a flea market when he was in elementary school, he gets fired up playing it with the other Seigaku members. The name “Shuusuke” is written on the back of it…

Kawamura Sushi curtains // Curtains made by his mother from reusing the sushi shop curtains

Game consoles // Two game consoles (a Sega Dreamcast and Sony PlayStation 1) he purchased a while back, he has a lot of games he can play with others

Chabudai (low tea table) // An antique low tea table that’s been passed down his family from father to son for two generations. He also uses it as a study desk

Zabuton (floor cushions) // A stack of seven floor cushions for when there’s company. He has four more kept in his closet

Karate gi // The karate gi he wore when he was in elementary school. He has not worn it since joining the tennis club

School uniforms // He hangs them on the wall when he comes home from school to prevent wrinkling

What’s in His Bag [10.5]:

Karate book // A remnant of his karate days. He occasionally reads it and reminisces

Tenugui handkerchief // From Kawamura Sushi, he uses it instead of an actual handkerchief

Weekly Shounen Jump // An issue of Weekly Shounen Jump with The Prince of Tennis on the cover. He buys it at a nearby store every Tuesday, and takes turns reading it with his classmates

Pen case

English learning materials // He studies English on his days off. So he’s actually not good at English…?

Furoshiki cloth // A furoshiki wrapping cloth he keeps just in case

Nutritional drink // Yunker brand. He drinks it after reverting from his Burning state to restore energy

Hand grippers // 200kg grippers

[TRIVIA]

The Prince of Tennis 10.5 Fanbook | Publication Date: 11/02/2001

He has two states: his normal state, and his aggressive Burning state he enters when holding a racquet. In his normal state, he is described as being kind and gentle

He likes to invite his friends over to his house to play Monopoly or other games. He also tends to enter his Burning state while playing Monopoly

He developed his Burning state from his father

Konomi came up with his “burning” catchphrase since the phrase was popular at the time and to imply that Kawamura knows little English

He used to attend karate classes, but stopped after starting tennis. He was considered a formidable fighter, but would get too nervous during matches and was unable to yield results

Konomi was inspired to have him change into his Burning state from cases of feeble-minded people driving violently once they’re behind the wheel of a car

He and Fuji are doubles partners since they are the only two in Seigaku besides Oishi and Kikumaru that have the disposition to help each other in doubles matches

He is close with Akutsu’s mother, Yuuki

He states him shouting “burning” has no meaning

He states he does not know why his personality changes when he holds a racquet

When asked if his normal or Burning state is his true personality, he responds that both of them are

He is a fan of Lupin III and has nicknamed Fuji “Fujiko” after Fujiko Mine, the heroine of the series

When asked if he’s going to take over his father’s sushi shop, he states that he hasn’t thought about it

He is aware of his actions when he’s in his Burning state

His personality is described as someone who should understand their other side more to let their charms blossom

Konomi describes him as a “character you won’t dislike”. He wanted to have a player with a dual personality and with Kawamura being the last member he created, he wanted him to be someone no one would dislike

The Prince of Tennis 20.5 Fanbook | Publication Date: 12/04/2003

He keeps his room clean and actually tends to be meticulous

He has a strong sense of duty, humanity and highly values his friends

He is described to be family-oriented and have many different sides to him

He likes high-end ingredients such as Matsutake mushrooms and salmon roe

He has a tendency to be reckless when he’s determined to win

His secondary sport would be judo

The Prince of Tennis 40.5 Fanbook | Publication Date: 12/04/2007

He is described to be passionate, devoted and the type to love only one woman with all of his heart

In Genius 249, his training in the mountains with Momoshiro greatly increased his natural muscle mass. An old man who resided there had mistook him for an ogre

Konomi had wanted to depict his match against Ishida as the last match he would ever play

[mamapyjnommer]

Paella with octopus and chicken

I used to make this all the time with one of those bags of frozen seafood but it fell out of rotation for some reason. Then my husband came home with a whole octopus for absolutely no reason and we also had leftover roast chicken. We did not, however, have any paella rice. I used sushi rice and it worked absolutely fine!

I sautéd frozen chopped carrot, onion and celery mix with chopped peppers, stirred in the dry rice, smoked paprika and saffron strands until it was all yellow, then added S&P, a fish stock cube and enough water to just cover it.

Once it was bubbling nicely I chopped in the octopus that my husband had helpfully blanched and roasted (that’s lemon zest on it). If you don’t have a partner who impulsively purchases and prepares cephalopods for you, you can use any fresh or frozen seafood here—I like prawns, mussels, clams, squid rings etc.

I pulled some roast chicken off the bone and stirred that in, then just let it bubble until the stock had mostly disappeared and the rice wasn’t hard anymore. To do it authentically you’re not supposed to stir paella at all but I did poke it a bit as our gas ring has a habit of fusing food to pans. In the end it was a bit stuck but in the tasty, deliberate way.

I squeezed lemon all over it, chopped a few tomatoes for freshness and lamented my current lack of parsley and/or rocket (arugula). Where’s the green?!

[thessalian]

Thess vs Farming Sims

Was up most of the night because ow, woke up far too early. Exhausted but can’t sleep. This seems to be a theme. At least the pain’s a bit better now. Though I’m going to have to go out later to pick up some bits and pieces.

So anyway, I’ve been sliiiiiiiightly whittling down my wish list lately. One of the games I picked up was Wylde Flowers, which was named A Witchy Life Story when I picked up the demo (I guess they didn’t want to give the game away too soon with the title). It’s ... I mean, okay, it’s basically Stardew Valley with the magical elements from various Sims games, but it’s ... a lot more than that, in ways I did not expect. So here’s the bullet points.

It’s honestly a good thing that most of Those Gamers (TM) wouldn’t look twice at a farming sim because “it’s not REAL GAMING”, because those same Those Gamers (TM) would biiiiiiiiiitch about this one. They’d yell about “forced diversity” and “SJW CUCKS” or whatever they call it when there’s, like, more than one POC or LGBTQAI+ individual in a game. As a for-instance, just attended an in-game wedding between a gentleman who’s definitely got some Scottish in the family woodpile and a gentleman of Mexican descent. Which was nice. (I was originally going to have the player character, Tara, go for the classy Iranian doctor lady but the really sweet Black dude from South Africa who runs the local bar kinda got there first and he was adorkable and I figured Tara was high-strung enough to want someone a bit more laid back so I went there instead. He calls Tara ‘kitten’. It’s adorable. Anyway, we also have a lady of Russian descent as the local blacksmith, an Indian lady from London doing meteorological studies, a Native American dude running a farm down the road, a native Hawaiian surfer dude running an exotic luxury goods stall, a family whose origins begin in Italy, a somewhat ... interesting Polish gentleman who I think has some serious shit in his past and is older than he looks, and a non-binary individual who’s originally from Japan who runs a butcher shop. (Their reaction to being given sushi, one of their favourite foods, is hilarious and adorable. Maybe I should have held out for Kai, romantically. Ah well, maybe if I do another playthrough.)

We also have Mayor of Smarm and I hate him. His wife’s probably okay, though.

Also there’s the “faith leader”. Basically this place has Scientologists by any other name. I don’t like him much either, and I am not happy about how many people follow this faith. At least one of them is a little less ... devout, if you can call it that? ... than the others. Just faith groups like that creep me out because of a lot of childhood baggage.

Then again ... in case you thought the witchy thing was just a sideline ... oh gods NO. There are there the quests that basically send you into the Fade (they call it the Gloaming, but whatever) and some Fae creatures. And even those are diverse as fuck. We have a fairy and a goblin (I have purchased farming bots from this lovely individual), and a werewolf originally from Alaska who comes by the nonbinary individual’s butcher shop for an epic amount of meat twice a week ... and then we have a curupira. They dug out an old Brazilian mythological creature for this, and did it right - backwards feet and a thing for mischief. I am impressed. Especially since animating backwards feet is probably a bitch.

Oh, and did I mention the witch hunt? I should probably mention the witch hunt. See, this faith group has ... views. Like, “We hate the Summer Festival that’s really just about promoting community bonding and unity because PAGAN”. And “There are ‘witches’ but we don’t use that term; we call them Malcontents and they are DANGEROUS”. There was a whole thing where something escaped from the not-Fade and possessed the blacksmith and she went around accusing poor single mom diner-lady of being a witch and we had to gather a whole bunch of stuff to do a (very quiet, very stealthy, very non-contact) exorcism just as possessed-blacksmith was about to give testimony at a literal, actual, everyone-in-town-must-attend witch trial. Funnily, no one has actually pointed a finger at an actual witch yet. The coven includes our Tara, the cute bar owner guy, the lovely lady who runs the general store, the local florist lady (not sure where she’s from but also not white), the classy doctor lady and the old gentleman from probably-Poland. But the entity possessing the blacksmith shouts ‘WITCH’ at the lady who runs the diner, who was only out after curfew to look for her wander-happy daughter who was out past curfew. (Oh, yeah, apparently we have a curfew and a Neighbourhood Watch set up to catch people wandering into the forest at night. Joke’s on you motherfuckers; I have a broomstick and can fly right over your bigoted judgemental asses. And by the way, witches - by which I mean me - ENDED THE DROUGHT YOU HAD OVER THE SUMMER, so you can fuck all the way off.) Apparently this is going to get dumber at some point.

I think that’s the thing - you can get a little bored with the average farming sim after awhile, but this one has plot, and that plot is ... fairly wild, all things considered. Deals with themes of intolerance and persecution while still being diverse, does its homework about other cultures, and while there are fetch quests of a kind, they’re spaced out with enough fairly meaty and occasionally time-sensitive quests that there’s more investment than just “you know, crops”. Though I am currently celebrating as how I finally got enough compost together for rich soil to have a hay field, so I won’t have to rely on smarmy grifter dude for my animal feed anymore.

Also some of the farm animals have weird favourite treats. WHY THE FUCK DOES A SHEEP WANT TO EAT A LEMON?!? WHY DOES A CHICKEN WANT TO, FOR THAT MATTER?!?

Eh, I should probably throw clothes on and head out for a bit. See if I can nap after some time spent on a bus and a trawl through a grocery store. Might see if I can pick up the fixings for one of the dishes from my Baking Dish cookbook. I’ve been a bit too wiped to do anything this week - for which I entirely blame being stuck with more of the long typing than is feasible because of the combination of Scruffman, Temp, and Violet. At least I booked myself some time off in the not-too-distant future. Fine, it’s in like three weeks, but I can manage.

[theflyingfeeling]

I was being so brave and dived head first in your blog to search the domestic prompts like I was trying to find a treasure from the bottom of the ocean. And I was succesful 😎

Can I have Niko/Olli and

we buy another blanket to stop you from hogging the one we do have, but next morning i still somehow find you all snuggled up in mine

🥺❤️

That was very brave of you indeed! 🥰💗

This is the last one of my domestic prompts and probably the last prompt fic one I'll do for a while, so it's time to thank everyone who sent in their requests 🌹 However, please know my askbox is always open for literally anything, and while I may not be reblogging "prompt posts", feel free to send me your ideas still and I'll see what I can do (or just pop in to say hi, I'd love that too <3)

You can find all the domestic prompts in this tag and all the other ficlets I've written on a pinned post on my blog 😘

(1066 words)

Niko smiled as he watched Olli hugging the new blanket (still wrapped up in plastic) to his chest while they queued for the cash register. If he had known it would make his boyfriend so delighted, he would have taken him duvet shopping in their local Ikea ages ago, even if they had accidentally ended up spending well almost 200 euros on new tableware, a rug for their renovated balcony, a floor lamp to replace the one Rommi knocked over, some decorative cushions for the living room sofa where they liked to nap together, and a frame for that picture Aleksi had secretly taken of them at Midsummer last year and gifted to them as a sizeable print for Christmas. However, Niko had only barely managed to rip the giant Blåhaj out of Olli’s hands under the pretext of claiming they had “no room in our tiny apartment for such an enormous thing, and besides, aren’t you a little too old for stuffed toys?”

Niko’s heart broke when he saw the disappointment and hurt on Olli’s face, but how else was he supposed to cover the fact he had already bought one months ago and was planning on giving it to Olli for his next birthday? (That is, if Tommi would take as good care of the fluffy blorb as he had promised he would.)

Eventually Olli had given in and said goodbye to the shark with a seemingly heavy heart and went on about their shopping spree, but when he heard Olli sigh wistfully as a small child walked past them with a Blåhaj in her tiny arms, Niko’s smile faded.

“Wanna grab some sushi and ice cream on our way home?” Niko nudged Olli’s shoulder. The man turned to nod and smile at him faintly, which wasn’t the reaction Niko was looking for, but he supposed it was what he deserved in that moment for being the cold-hearted bitch who didn’t let Olli walk out of the store carrying a huge stuffed toy in his arms like that lucky little girl who skipped along after her parents. 

Niko’s only hope for the evening to not end in tears was that the new eiderdown they had bought would be worth the money and guarantee them both a good night’s sleep with no fighting over the only blanket in the bed any more.

~

“Ahh, best purchase ever!” Olli hummed as he snuggled himself under his brand new duvet so that only his blissful face was showing from under it. Niko grinned as he helped Olli tuck himself in even tighter and mentally crossed his fingers for the thickest and fluffiest duvet they had found to keep Olli warm enough to prevent him from stealing Niko’s again, knowing Olli got cold more easily than anyone Niko knew. He still remembered the time they had been spending the last weekend of August at Niko’s parents’ summer cottage with the guys and how everyone had stayed on the porch drinking and playing card games in their shorts and t-shirts until about one in the morning, while Olli had been curled up in front of the fireplace, having buried himself under all the blankets he could find, chattering his teeth until Niko eventually joined him with an old pair of woolly socks for him to put on.

Of course Niko didn’t wish for Olli to be cold ever – in fact, he had made it his personal mission to keep his boyfriend warm and comfortable at all times – but he did find it ridiculously endearing whenever Olli huddled closer to him to seek warmth, whether it was while lying on the sofa watching a movie or at the metro station after having had dinner downtown. Niko loved it when Olli rested his head on Niko’s shoulder and made these adorable small noises, the tone of which varied depending on whether Olli was more chilly or tired, and Niko could spend forever with Olli’s hands fumbling on his body, looking for a pocket or a crook for him to slip his chilly fingers in until they became as warm as Niko’s own skin. 

There were few downsides to it, honestly; however, one of them was definitely the fact Niko himself often woke up cold and uncovered in the morning, only to find Olli holding on to the duvet they shared as if it was a lifejacket keeping him on the surface of a raging ocean.

“Sleep well, sweetie,” Niko said as he left a soft kiss on Olli’s lips that seemed to be stuck in a satisfied smile.

Already half asleep (or so Niko assumed), Olli only responded with a content humm, wiggling under the duvet a few more times before settling. Niko marvelled at the sleeping figure next to him for a little while, listening to his calm inhales and exhales and memorising each sweet curve of his face before turning off the bedside lamp.

~

When Niko cracked his eyes open at 7 AM, his skin was in goosebumps and his feet felt like icicles, which explained why he had dreamed of it being winter in the middle of late July. 

And when he looked to his side, he understood the reason for his shivers.

Niko could not imagine freeing his duvet from Olli’s grip, not only because it seemed physically impossible due to how firmly Olli was pressing it against his bare chest, but also because he didn’t dare disturb the man’s slumber, not when he was smiling like a child that had fallen asleep on Christmas Day while clutching his new favourite toy in his arms. 

The duvet they had bought had been kicked on the floor, by accident or purpose, Niko could only guess. At that moment, he didn’t know what he had expected.

It was obvious Niko couldn’t have both – a satisfied boyfriend and something to cover himself with in bed at night – so he contented himself with what he currently had and shuffled to meet Olli’s body in the middle of the bed. He touched their noses together, careful not to wake Olli up (even though it would take at least half of an apocalypse for that to happen most mornings), and wrapped an arm around the sleeping man. If Niko had to, he’d happily be the Jack to Olli’s Rose and freeze his ass if that’s what it took to keep Olli’s warm and safe.

[rygoespop]

Thomas and Friends: Tales from Sodor (Story 23): Emily's Sushi Delivery

Narrator: Emily's Sushi Delivery

Scene opens with Emily, pulling Freight cars of Cream Churns, through the Nagano Countryside

Narrator: While working with her friends on the Japanese Railway, Emily was delivering Cream to the Ice Cream Factory

Scene transitions to Emily, puffing into Tokyo, where she sees a Chef

Narrator: One day, as Emily arrived in Tokyo, she sees a chef

Emily: Hello, my name is Emily! Who are you?

Chef: I am Chef Kaito Igawa, I am one of the renowned chefs in all of Japan! I have recently opened my Restaurant

Emily: Well Mr. Igawa, it's nice to meet you, so what do you do?

Chef Igawa: I'm glad you asked, I namely serve up some good sushi, here, maybe your crew would like this *he offers Emily's Driver and Fireman, a plate of Maki Rolls*

Emily's Driver and Fireman both took a piece of Maki Rolls and ate them

Chef Igawa: Well?

Emily's Driver and Fireman gave it a thumbs-up

Emily: Well that's surprise

Chef Igawa: I wish the rest of Japan would try my sushi, I'm making a new variant, the Fruity Rolls, Maki Rolls filled with Fruit

Emily: Yes, I agree

Narrator: Then suddenly, Emily had an idea

Emily: Mr. Igawa, what if I were to help you serve the Fruity Rolls around Japan, by a Special Coach

Chef Igawa: A Special coach? I'm interested, tell me about

Emily: Well, back on Sodor, one of the Narrow Gauge engines, Peter Sam, he helped the Refreshment Lady by converting an old coach into a Tea Shop on wheels

Chef Igawa: I see, well lets do it

Scene transitions to Emily, puffing down the line of Nagoya, now pulling a special coach which now serves as Chef Igawa's Restaurant on wheels

Narrator: As soon as Emily's idea came true, Emily is now helping Chef Igawa, by pulling a special coach, which has been converted into a Sushi Restaurant on wheels

Emily: First stop, Nagoya! *she puffs into Nagoya*

Chef Igawa: Fruity Rolls, a Thousand Yen per customer

The customers lined up, and they purchased a pack of Fruity Maki Rolls

Narrator: Soon, the customers began to buy a pack of Fruity Rolls

Chef Igawa: It's working Emily, they are enjoying it! Next stop, Osaka!

Emily: Right! *she blew her whistle and puffs off to Osaka*

Scene transitions to Emily, puffing into Osaka with the Sushi Stand, James was there with 2 Oigawa Express Coaches

Narrator: As soon as Emily arrived to Osaka, she saw James

Emily: Oh, hello James!

James: Hello Emily! What are you doing?

Emily: Oh, I'm helping Chef Igawa with his Sushi Business, so I'm pulling the Sushi Stand

Passenger 1: That's a good idea, we are a bit hungry!

Chef Igawa: Then the sushi stand is here!

All of James's Passengers, even his Driver and Fireman, all got out and walked to the Sushi Stand

Chef Igawa: Fruity Rolls, only a thousand Yen!

The Passengers, along with James's Driver and Fireman, all gave Chef Igawa a thousand Yen and they got their sushi, and had a nice picnic

James: My, they sure are hungry

Emily: Yes, and I'm surprised by that!

Chef Igawa: Alright, next up is Oigawa!

Emily: I got to go, bye James! *she blew her whistle and puffs off to Oigawa*

Scene transitions to Emily, arriving at Oigawa, Percy and Molly were there

Narrator: As soon as Emily arrived at Oigawa, Percy and Molly were there, they were delivering freight cars of Fish and Fruit

Emily: Hello Percy, hello Molly

Percy: Oh, hello Emily!

Molly: Hello Emily, what are you doing?

Emily: I'm helping Chef Igawa with his sushi restaurant, by delivering Sushi on the rails

Chef Igawa: By a stand on wheels! Who's hungry?

Percy's Driver and Fireman, and Molly's Driver and Fireman got out and walk over to the Sushi Stand

Chef Igawa: Here you got, fresh Fruity Rolls *he gives Fruity Rolls to Percy's Crew and Molly's crew*

Percy's Crew and Molly's Crew had a nice picnic break

Emily: Say, Percy and Molly, do you think I can borrow some of the fruit and fish?

Percy: Of course!

Molly: That's what Friends do

Scene transitions to Emily's Driver and Fireman, taking some of the fruit and fish from Percy and Molly's freight cars, and in the Sushi Stand

Narrator: Soon, Emily's Driver and Fireman took some of the fruit and fish from Percy and Molly's freight cars, and add them in the Sushi Stand

Emily: Thank you Percy, and thank you Molly

Percy: Your welcome

Molly: Where are you off to next?

Chef Igawa: Nara!

Emily: Nara is the next stop! Goodbye Percy, Goodbye Molly! *she blew her whistle and puffs off to Nara*

Scene transitions to Nara, where Thomas and Rosie are there, there was a Sumo Practice going on, evenly Kyo Yamashiro was drawing for a new Manga

Narrator: Meanwhile at Nara, Thomas and Rosie were busy with the Sumo Practice, they brought freight cars of salt for wrestlers

Thomas: It's crazy how much salt is needed for them to purify the ring

Rosie: I know! *she got an idea* Hey Thomas, let's have one of our own

Thomas: Your on!

Kyo Yamashiro: I sense a new manga idea! *he quickly begins to draw Thomas and Rosie, as Humans in Swimwear, and Sumo Attire as well*

Rosie: Dosukoi! *she biffs a Freight Car of Salt to Thomas*

Thomas: Heh heh! Dosukoi! *he biffs the Salt Car back to Rosie*

Rosie: Get ready for the counter! *she biffs it back to Thomas, unknown to them, the car was diverted*

Emily: *sees Nara* I see Nara! Now we can make this delivery and- Whoa! *she bashes into the salt car, and she was covered in salt*

Thomas: Oops! Sorry Emily!

Rosie: We didn't know it was heading to you!

Emily: It's alright, maybe a nice wash will do

Thomas: *sees Chef Igawa in the Sushi Stand* Oh, hello there? Who are you?

Emily: Thomas, Rosie! Meet Chef Kaito Igawa, he's one of the chefs in Japan, I'm helping him with Sushi Deliveries by pulling a Sushi Stand

Thomas: Oh, like the Refreshment Lady's Tea Shop that Peter Sam told me back on Sodor

Emily: Well, yes

Rosie: Ah, I see

Kyo Yamashiro: Well, I finished my new Manga on Thomas and Rosie already, but I sure am hungry! *he walks up to the Sushi Stand*

Thomas's Driver and Fireman, along with Rosie's Driver and Fireman, evenly the Sumo Wrestlers all got in line, and they all got their sushi packs

Chef Igawa: Thank you, for choosing Chef Igawa's Sushi Stand on wheels

Thomas: Wow! I'm surprised everyone is enjoying it!

Rosie: I agree, and we're sorry about the salt car

Emily: It's fine, nothing like a wash can wash it all off

Chef Igawa: Emily, it's time to head back to Tokyo

Emily: Right! I'll see you all back at the Sheds! Goodbye Thomas, goodbye Rosie! *she blew her whistle and puffs off to Tokyo*

Thomas and Rosie: Goodbye Emily!

Scene transitions to Emily, arriving back at Tokyo, where she dropped off Chef Igawa

Narrator: Later, Emily dropped off Chef Igawa back at his restaurant

Chef Igawa: Thank you Emily, you helped me deliver sushi by a stand on wheels *he bows*

Emily: It was no problem Mr. Igawa

Mr. Igawa: I'm offering two gifts, the first one, is the golden sideplate, The Sushi Maiden *he gives the Golden Sideplate, titled The Sushi Maiden to Emily's Driver*

Emily: Oh, thank you

Mr. Igawa: And a Box of Sushi for your crew and the other crew of your friends *he gives a big box of Sushi to Emily's Fireman*

Emily: Thank you, Mr. Igawa *she puffs off to the wash at Tokyo Yards*

Scene transitions to Emily, at Tokyo Yards, getting washed to wash off all the salt

Narrator: As soon as Emily was getting washed, her new golden sideplate was added

Emily: My, this looks very good on me, I wonder anyone back home on Sodor would be surprised by this

Also, in the yards and observing, Mr. Yamashiro was there

Mr. Yamashiro: Ooh, this will be another perfect manga *he begins to draw Emily in Manga Style*

Scene transitions to the next day, Mr. Yamashiro has made 2 Mangas, one of Thomas and Rosie as humans, under the Title Blue and Cherry Sumos, and the recent one is on Emily, depicting Emily as a Human, in an Emerald Kimono and Golden Bow, titled, The Sushi Maiden

Narrator: The next day, Mr. Yamashiro made two new Mangas, and they were a success

Emily: Wow, I'm surprised our adventures yesterday would be turned into popular mangas

Thomas: I'm surprised by that too Emily

Rosie: *giggled* Yeah, me too

Chef Igawa: Oh well, at least they'll have something to read while waiting for Sushi

Hiro: And It's a good idea

Emily, Thomas, Rosie, and Hiro all chuckled as Steam Clouds rolled in

Story End