#which is funny because. i do eat ravioli quite often.

[funsizedcrow]

cant hear the word ravioli anymore. its been ruined for me. first ive spent forever calling revali ravioli and then i found out ravioli is link and ravio's ship name. now the pasta is at the bottom of the list of things i think when i hear "ravioli"

[genesisofsadness]

Farmyard, norwich: ‘for the maximum element, it works’ – restaurant overview

They do drop some catches here, but the commendable ambition makes all of it worthwhile

bistronomy in st benedicts avenue: chef andrew jones (left) at farmyard, norwich. Bistronomy in st benedicts road: chef andrew jones (left) at farmyard, norwich. Photo: chris ridley/the observer farmyard, 23 st benedicts street, norwich nr2 4pf (01603 733 188). Snacks £3. 50, starters £7-£nine, mains £thirteen-£26, cakes £7, wines from £19. 50

farmyard in norwich is the form of restaurant that brings out the maternal in me. Reading the menu makes me feel like one of those dad and mom status in the wings all through the auditions for britain’s got skills, watching my children, ant and dec’s palms lightly on my shoulders for moral guide. I am determined for the kitchen to prevail. I want to hug them all to my bosom and inform them the whole thing could be ok. I’m additionally terrified they’ll drop the capture. It's far for eating place goers who are glad to provide the kitchen permission to try only a little harder that is a grossly patronising issue to say to a team of skilled cooks. However the menu is so ambitiously everywhere in the area, is any such random, swooping series of dishes, i'm able to’t pretty help myself. It’s no longer a lot stressed as at the run. Say hello to cooking which attracts its thought from mexico or japan, north africa or spain, and a gaggle of locations in-among. It demands so many competencies, so much know-how of the way various techniques, spices and dishes sit inside a way of life, that misfires seem almost guaranteed. A number of it is actually down to the language used. On the menu they describe what they do as “bistronomy”, a venerable word first coined in paris inside the early 90s with the aid of professional chefs bored with the puckered and stiff atmosphere within the city’s grandest garlanded gastro palaces. They desired to retain being creative, adventurous cooks, however inside the body of a comfy bistro, with the encouraging pricing that suggests. This brilliant and secure area with its business ducted ceiling, strand board floors, and partly open white tiled kitchen, in reality can't be accused of pretension. For the proctologically challenged, be aware: there are padded banquettes.

‘the chips preserve plenty of their bite’: ham, egg and chips. Facebooktwitterpinterest ‘the chips keep lots in their chunk’: ham, egg and chips. Image: chris ridley/the observer the menu language is a little greater trying. A wonton as served here is really just a dumpling or folded piece of pasta by means of every other misused call? A beetroot “wine gum” is honestly a piece of partially dehydrated beetroot. You may determine to be profoundly irritated through this mangling of the lexicon, or you may decide the meals at the plate. I’m going with the latter due to the fact, for the most element, it works. There are misfires. The batter of salt and pepper squid, from the part of the menu headed “snacks”, doesn’t appear particularly interested by staying attached to its host. However it handiest costs £3. 50 so it’s hard to roll your eyes for lengthy. Those beetroot “wine gums”, candy and chewy, are served with a dollop of horseradish cream to drag them through. They depart strawberry-colored ribbons via the dulux whiteness, and are lots better. A few dish names are a gentle funny story constructed round understatement. Ham, egg and chips are lumps of smoky, salty, collapsing ham hock, with a cured egg yolk and a massive knot of deep-fried, spiralised potato. The latter seems at the beginning a touch difficult and underneath cooked, but there is a limpid hammy broth at the lowest of the bowl. The “chips” maintain a great deal in their bite as they shatter into it with a whack of the fork.

“highly spiced carrot wonton” are, as i recommended, simply any other word for folded-over ravioli, and not specifically highly spiced. However there's a thick celeriac purée here, and some roasted carrots to preserve the interest. It may not quite match as much as its billing, however it’s a solid and dependable little bit of cooking. As is a £sixteen important route of a roasted hen leg, with a boneless, breaded and deep-fried wing, on a thick truffle purée and fowl jus. 1/2 a roasted leek, singed in various places, slumps across it, languorously. It’s a roast fowl dinner that has polished its shoes and combed its hair. To head along we have a bowl of shredded brassicas, thru which both toasted almonds and a pokey salsa verde have been spooned. It’s a cheery act of interest to detail. A potato “terrine” is some other model of spuds sliced and pressed and cooked, then cut into rectangles and deep fried, which, at bubala some months back, were described erroneously as latkes. Regardless of the call, they may be usually welcome.

‘no longer particularly spicy’: spicy carrot wonton. A vegetable ramen is a dish i discover myself nodding at admiringly, in preference to adoring. There's a effective intensity to the broth, and the dozens of toasted barley buried in its steaming depths along a load of different veg, make certain no person will pass hungry. But the noodles are replaced through spiralised carrot. It’s an unusual call. That is partially due to the fact the usage of noodles could not have impacted the meat-unfastened nature of the dish. They could have introduced a little extra starch to the broth and might additionally have justified calling it a ramen. But more often than not it’s an bizarre name because it makes it appear as if proudly owning a spiralizer is an entirely affordable existence preference, when of path they're implements that deserve to be pointed and laughed at with such malice that they subsequently throw themselves into the bin out of embarrassment. Even bearing in mind the unevenness of that dish i ought to consider myself back here trying their version of a multi-layered mole poblano with bbq lamb and blue corn tacos, simply to look whether or not they may without a doubt pull it off, or the roast hake with paprika chickpea stew. This farmyard is decided to fatten up its residents. Cakes turn among the outrageous and the outrageously comforting. The former is defined as a “white chocolate bar”. It’s a sizable block of smooth, sticky white chocolate ganache. It would be teeth-achingly sweet were it no longer for the bold saltiness of the miso caramel slathered across the pinnacle, the scattering of peanuts and the intense dark chocolate sorbet. It’s a re-engineered snickers bar, possibly with the aid of a person who lately kicked a first-rate crystal meth addiction and is now searching out a socially suited manner by way of which to get off their face. With the aid of contrast a steamed ginger pudding, perched on earrings of gently spiced pineapple with a coconut sorbet is a gentle all-in-one hug and back rub.

‘re-engineered snickers’: white chocolate-miso bar. Facebooktwitterpinterest ‘re-engineered snickers’: white chocolate-miso bar. Photo: chris ridley/the observer right here at farmyard they may now not usually gain every one among their goals. Some of those catches really are dropped. However on foot lower back along the norwich lane it calls domestic, exceeded unremarkable pizzerias and dependable looking bistros and cocktail bars designed for a friday night time, the area of interest it fills became apparent. It's miles for restaurant goers who're happy to offer the kitchen permission to try just a little harder and strive only a little extra. And honestly, couldn’t we all do with a eating place like that? Information bites

proper now you may now not be thinking about travelling restaurants, but you may accomplish that once more. In the spirit of assist for the eating place quarter, this column will retain making tips. Simply over at the norfolk coast from farmyard isn't any 1 cromer, which belongs to chef galton blackiston of morston hall. Downstairs it’s a first-rate carpenter and ice cream bar. Upstairs, there’s a globe-trotting bistro which takes in the whole thing from fish tacos to hoisin duck pancakes, tandoori fowl naan and a massaman vegan curry. It’s bold but, usually it works (no1cromer. Com). Till the cease of april heston blumenthal’s three michelin celebrity fats duck in bray is reducing the price of its menu by using £seventy five. It’s nevertheless a stonking £250 with the cut price. At time of writing there are some lunchtime tables to be had within the moderately spaced eating room. This will be the instant to strive it (thefatduck. Co. Uk). Oisin rogers, who's the nearest factor london has to a celeb publican, is to take a second boozer underneath his wing, alongside the guinea grill in mayfair, famed for its beefy menu of steaks and claret. He’s revamping the close by windmill, and bringing in dishes together with pork cheek and oyster pie, and excellent fish and chips. Our journalism is open for all… … and could continue to be so. Now extra than ever, the father or mother is dedicated to delivering first-rate, responsible journalism each and every day. In those terrific instances, when anxiety and uncertainty abound, the guardian’s measured, authoritative reporting has never been so important. We will stay with you, turning in exceptional journalism so we can all make critical choices approximately our lives, health and protection – based on fact, no longer fiction. We believe every one folks deserves equal access to accurate news and calm clarification. So, not like many others, we made a specific choice: to keep father or mother journalism open for all, regardless of wherein they stay or what they can find the money for to pay. This would now not be viable with out the generosity of readers, who now assist our work from one hundred eighty nations around the sector. We have upheld our editorial independence inside the face of the disintegration of traditional media – with social systems giving rise to incorrect information, the seemingly unstoppable upward thrust of massive tech and independent voices being squashed by commercial possession. The mother or father’s independence method we are able to set our personal agenda and voice our personal evaluations. Our journalism is free from industrial and political bias – in no way inspired by using billionaire owners or shareholders. This makes us exceptional. It manner we will task the effective with out worry and provide a voice to the ones less heard. Your financial support has intended we can preserve investigating, disentangling and interrogating. It has covered our independence, which has by no means been so crucial. We're so grateful.

[necropsittacus]

for the ask thing, all the ones you have an interesting answer for

this is extremely long because I Love Oversharing so under a cut. thanks britta!!!

4: how do you take your coffee/tea?tea, black; i've tried putting extra spices in it but i think i'm not doing it right bc it gets grainy and weird? i don't drink coffee anymore for "hey maybe we should stop consuming this thing that makes us feel like we're actually about to die" reasons but when i did it was with a fuckton of cream5. are you self-conscious of your smile?yeah; less so since i actually brush my teeth semi routinely now, so they're less awful, but i still have a slight overbite and a residual habit of covering my mouth with my hand if i open it very much 8: what artistic medium do you use to express your feelings?either weird vent fanfiction that i never end up finishing, drawing in my notebooks, or i try to make the overly dramatic/pretentious thoughts that pop into my head into poetry (which i never end up finishing, go figure).9: do you like singing/humming to yourself?used to, but it's like. even besides insecurity about my voice and the fear that i'll be Too Loud and bother someone. the same internal barrier that makes it hard to speak out loud, especially if i'm not directly prompted to, applies to singing10: do you sleep on your back, side, or stomach?usually side, and in the fetal position. occasionally back though13: what’s something that made you smile today?saw a chickadee!14: if you were to live with your best friend in an old flat in a big city, what would it look like?god i don't know that's like. that's the fucking dream, for the future, but i hadn't gotten as far as daydreaming about *decoration* or anything of that sort. at the moment i tend towards covering things in movie posters and little trinkets i accumulate and toys and that sort of thing. i know i couldn't do sharing a room with someone else long term, it'd get stressy, so at least two bedrooms (or a bedroom and a pull out couch in the living room, that'd work), a little kitchen. no minimalism, but i might like having primary responsibility for Housecleaning sorts of things for my loved ones, or keeping things reasonably neat. just. something that feels like a proper home. safe. 16: what’s your favorite pasta dish?i am extremely boring and usually just do fettuccine alfredo. that said, cheese ravioli and pesto products are also very good. i just don't like super complicated foods with ingredients i don't recognize, or red sauce. red sauce is Sensory Bad.  17: what color do you really want to dye your hair?i mean i've been dyeing mine black since i was like 17 to the point that people think that's the natural color and i just let them, and honestly i'm very happy with thatred looked good on me, and i definitely like the way a lot of those super bright unnatural purples, blues, etc look on other people but it doesn't feel like "yes this is Correct this is what i'm Supposed to Look Like, this is the color it was *supposed* to be all along" in the same way, it just feels like i'm dyeing it a weird color for fun18: tell us about something dumb/funny you did that has since gone down in history between you and your friends and is always brought up."mola mola isn't a slur, right?"20: what’s your favorite eye color?idk about "favorite" but dark brown eyes are really pretty22: are you a morning person?i tend to be more productive and (assuming at least like five or six hours of sleep) more cheerful in the morning, but getting out of bed is a horrible struggle bc executive dysfunction and anxiety23: what’s your favorite thing to do on lazy days where you have 0 obligations?tbh i HATE having those days, i don't like being super busy Either but i get really like bored/restless/I Am Going to Rip My Skin Off to Have Something to Do Please Let Me Out of the House if i genuinely don't have anything scheduled for a day? so i usually *make* obligations for myself, writing projects or something like that, if i don't have anything externally enforced. and go to the library or a cafe or something bc i feel more alive if i don't stay in my room all day24: is there someone out there you would trust with every single one of your secrets?yeah26: what are the shoes you’ve had for forever and wear with every single outfit?i mean i've only had them for like a year bc it turns out that wearing the same pair of shoes almost every day wears through them pretty fast, who would have thought? but black combat boots28: sunrise or sunset?sunset31: what is your opinion of socks? do you like wearing weird socks? do you sleep with socks? do you confine yourself to white sock hell? really, just talk about socks.they hurt but i p much only wear boots so i have to wear them all the time. also my feet are weird and fucked up and i don’t especially like looking at them. and then i forget to take them off to sleep so i just. wear them all the time except to shower. i like weird socks with like animal pictures or whatever but then i feel bad abt wearing them bc i wear out socks really fast for unclear reasons34: tell us about the stuffed animal you kept as a kid. what is it called? what does it look like? do you still keep it?ooh i had a lot!! most of them were sea mammals, a couple sharks i think? i had a couple rabbits when i was Really small but i don't remember them as clearlyi can't remember most of their names but they had whole like imagined stories and relationships to each other and shit, i definitely remember there was one stuffed orca that was almost as big as kindergartener me35: do you like stationary and pretty pens and so on? do you use them often?oh absolutely!! i write mostly in pencil for ease of corrections and so it doesn't bleed through the paper, but i accumulate pens/weird ink colors/etc37: do you like keeping your room messy or clean?see i *prefer* having my room be clean but it literally never is 39: what color do you wear the most?black. combination of "trying to be low effort goth" and that idk how to coordinate colors so all my outfits are either all black or like. black + one other color + possibly grey, bc i figure there's no way that could end up clashing horribly. also i only HAVE black pants anyway so like. 41: what’s the last book you remember really, really loving?mm i know accident by christa wolf hit me pretty hard in some emotions, and that was recent44: when was the last time you remember feeling completely serene and at peace with everything?i'm not sure that's an emotion i have tbhwhen i'm happy there's this kind of anxious edge to it, not necessarily in a bad way, but "at peace" is. an odd concept for me. the closest i get is this sort of quiet not-exactly-negative melancholy if i'm not behind on anything and it's raining and everything's just sort of soft yknow? 47: what food do you think should be banned from the universe?marinara sauce. i hate that shit. i'll eat it on pizza or if i literally have to in order to get a meal and i can't physically handle not having one, but that's about it. also tomatoes more generally! i like ketchup but that's it. why do yall insist on putting tomatoes on everything all the time i Don't Like Them50: what’s an odd thing you collect?i keep all the toys i get out of kinder eggs and stuff like that. also i just have hyperempathy about inanimate objects and animals (and basically no empathy for humans most of the time, weirdly enough) and it's frequently difficult for me to throw things away because "well i'll be hurting it!" so uh. i just accumulate objects. i still have my old toothbrush somewhere55: what’s the most dramatic thing you’ve ever done to prove a point?i straight up tried to kill myself to win an argument with mom once in high school. and i'm not talking like a mini fakeout attempt that wasn't supposed/expected to work, either, i did regret it but i was straight up prepared to die to get her to believe me 56: what are some things you find endearing in people?rambling/talking about your interests, emotional openness. if you like. send me things that reminded you of me/you thought i'd like, or initiate physical contact so i don't have to feel so weird/guilty about it, that's a very fast path to my affections. just being weird as shit. lots of little things, really. depends on the person a lot, though; either "person is Soft and Good and i feel like it's my responsibility to protect them" or "person is Kind of Scary/Edgy and i will attach myself to them and remain loyal no matter what and they appreciate it" are pretty consistent things, but those are a long way from the Only paths to my affection58: who’s the wine mom and who’s the vodka aunt in your group of friends? why?awfully bold of you to assume i have a friend group and not just a disparate group of friends who mostly don't talk to each other. i AM semi consistently the weird vodka uncle though. 59: what’s your favorite myth?LOTS. that's not quite a fair question i can't pick one favoritethe volsunga saga does come to mind, though60: do you like poetry? what are some of your faves?i do!!! i thought i didn't because turns out the things they make you read in high school english are often Not Terribly Emotionally Resonant for me, funnily enough, but when i started reading russian poetry in college, and more mental illness focused stuff tbh, it was like Oh Shit This Is Really Cool. i really like vladimir mayakovsky!61: what’s the stupidest gift you’ve ever given? the stupidest one you’ve ever received?when i was really small i gave my dad a  care bears coloring book for his birthday because for some reason i didn't process that other people didn't have exactly the same interests as me??62: do you drink juice in the morning? which kind?i drink either unsweetened green tea or monster energy drinks in the morning. depends how much of a disaster i'm being on that particular day. 63: are you fussy about your books and music? do you keep them meticulously organized or kinda leave them be?all my music is online or haphazardly downloaded to my phone so there's. not really any way to organize that if i wanted to tbh. i make a lot of character or ship playlists that i'd put more effort into organizing if i ever got around to showing them to other people, but Also anything that isn't too embarrassing to risk anyone else seeing just gets put in one folder. i DO organize my books, though. i usually *forget* to put them back where they're supposed to go, but there is a proper order (everything from one author or franchise together, stuff like star wars or tolkien is together and in in-universe chronological order, stuff like that), and i get upset if people fuck with it67: how do gloomy days where the sky is dark and the world is misty make you feel?nice. it's very calming, and also bright sunlight hurts my eyes fjgshtf68: what’s winter like where you live?not very different from fall most of the time. climate change is making it more midwest-y, which i'm not sure if i'm happy about or not (snow nice, but summer is also progressing in that direction, which is unfortunate). somewhere between the 30's and 50's (fahrenheit), mostly pretty grey, it rains sometimes. it's not cold enough that i need to have a real coat, usually sweater+leather jacket is enough. my hands always hurt, though70: have you ever used a ouija board?yeah i used to do it with my brother sometimes. nothing ever happened tho76: is there anything you should be doing right now but aren’t?i need to write my paper proposal for nuclear lit and also draw some stuff for people that i've been putting off because my brain hates me and Catching Up On Everything I Should Have Been Doing a While Ago Is Scary77: pink or yellow lemonade?both? both is good78: are you in the minion hateclub or fanclub?i have no real feelings on minions one way or the other but i have no interest in them and don't like seeing them all the time79: what’s one of the cutest things someone has ever done for you?someone i used to know was going to move away from their abusers and get a job and such, partly or mostly For Me, so we could run away and start things over together after i graduated. and then things blew up but. it was very sweet and sometimes i get emotional about the concept of that still 80: what color are your bedroom walls? did you choose that color? if so, why?three white, one blue. i didn't choose it, it came with the dorm room. my bedroom in my parents house has really dark blue walls, which i DID choose bc i wanted a dark color and my brother already had red ones and i wanted to distinguish myself from him. 82: are/were you good in school?mmm more or less, yes i'm terrible at certain kinds of projects and at getting stuff done without pretty much devastating my physical ability to function pushing myself at the last minute. that said, i'm very good at tests, good at papers, good at language learning and bullshit analysis. it's just like. PLEASE don't give me "fun creative projects!!!" or start with the "oh well tests aren't a good way of measuring learning, here's some other stuff that will be easier for you!" thing. i *like* tests. tests make sense and it's just sit down for an hour and you're done. it's the other stuff that's hard also i'm so used to my mother's ridiculous standards that it's like. yes i am good at school, in that my professors keep telling me i am Very Smart and things of that nature. but also i am terrible at taking care of myself while i have school because me being good at school is to some extent reliant on my brain's false insistence that Everybody Else Has Perfect Grades and Is Killing Themselves Slowly To Be The Best, so clearly we need to do that too! and any sacrifice is worth it! so eventually i just collapse84: are you planning on getting tattoos? which ones?yeah definitely, at some point. there's other things that are more pressing to spend my limited amount of non-parent-controlled money on right now, but i know i want like. some manner of thing referencing my chronic turin turambar (self dx) status, probably his grave inscription or a sword (or both eventually!). probably also a bird of some sort85: do you read comics? what are your faves?see i'll happily read comics if there's a franchise i'm already interested in that has comics as part of it, but i'm not like a Comics Fan per se. i tend to find them kind of overwhelming because there's just So Much content and i don't know where to start and i usually get distracted before i finish. i did really enjoy mtmte and the tdc creation myths comics89: are you close to your parents?nope! i send my dad animal pictures, and vice versa, and that's about the extent of it when i'm not staying with them for breaks. mom's...Difficult(TM) and dad i get along with fine but i don't really know how to text him 92: are you a person who drowns their pasta in cheese or a person who barely sprinkles a pinch?drowns. i want to be able to actually taste it.93: what’s the hairstyle you wear the most?my hair is too short to really have Different Styles. i just keep it combed pretty neatly bc that's the only thing i know how to do afngjdsgf94: who was the last person you know to have a birthday?my friend emma @autisticsansamaybe people i care less about had them more recently but tbh if we aren't friends i don't know when your birthday is without being told96: do you install your computer updates really quickly or do you procrastinate on them a lot?i have literally never updated this laptop because it does not have space for an update. this isn't even my fault. i have deleted *every single thing on it that is not important to make it actually run* in order to have enough space to update, and it STILL doesn't. 100: if you were presented with two buttons, one that allows you to go 5 years into the past, the other 5 years into the future, which one would you press? why?a few months ago i would have said 5 years into the past, because i Desperately missed aspects of how my life was at that part of high school--mostly having people i loved and who loved me, who wanted a future with me, and the certainty of that, that i wouldn't just be On My Own Forever post educational system--but now? future. high school fucking *sucked* in a lot of ways, and also i was a terrible person and i don't especially want to go back to that version of me. future is like...scary because yeah there is a decent possibility i'll just be pretty much totally alone and having to work a job i hate to keep up, but like. there is also a possibility that i'll have the things i wanted all along in a more stable context, yknow?

[welcometophu]

Not Your Love Song: Chapter 36

Marked Book 2: Not Your Love Song

Chapter 36

[ Previous | First | Next ]

They have the entire back room of Minnisale's to themselves.

When they ask for the reservation for Whitman, Rory expects to be led to one of the long tables set up for a group. However, the smiling hostess leads them down a hallway and into a back room where a single long table is set up in the center of the room, and another against the wall to the side of the door. There are stacks of chairs and tables leaning the wall at the back of the room. Rory’s fairly certain it’s supposed to be a banquet room.

The center table holds several pitchers and empty glasses, as well as a salad bowl on top of two plates at each place. Two big bowls of salad and small carafes of dressing are already on the table.

“I’ll have them start bringing in your starters shortly,” the hostess informs Jonathan, who nods in response.

Kit squeezes Rory’s hand, leaning in to whisper, “This is not meeting at a restaurant. This is using money to have a miniature feast.”

Rory whispers back, “As long as he remembered vegetarian options, I’m not arguing if he’s footing the bill. We are college students. Seize the opportunity.”

“You have a point.” Kit squeezes his hand one more time, then lets go so they can separate as they head into the room.

Darrik is already there, sitting at the table with Shane. Jess is talking to Ally, and Jonathan turns back to them after the hostess leaves.

Their groups have intermingled. Ally glances over and smiles slightly, then turns back when Jess touches her arm to get her attention.

“Why don’t we sit down and have salad,” Jonathan calls out, nudging the girls toward the table. Once they’re settled, two waiters bring in plates of appetizers for the side table. From the looks of it, either Jonathan expects more people, or he thinks they’ll be here a while.

They do have an entire ritual to plan out. It could take time.

“Shane,” Kit says as he sits, waiting for Shane to look over. “We saw Pels the other night. Tuesday, after Coven.”

Jess tugs out the seat on Shane’s other side, dropping into it. “I had lunch with her on Tuesday. I told her that maybe talking to you guys or Ángel and Hayley might help her understand what’s going on when she asked about the mark.”

“She lives on my floor, so she hunted us down,” Rory says. He hasn’t really thought about it since then—there’s been a lot going on—and he realizes that he’s not sure how much of what Pels said that she wants to be public knowledge.

On the other hand, he gets the feeling that Shane and Jess are going to know it soon enough.

“She asked about the marks.” Kit’s hand motion seems to imply of course. “And she let us see hers.”

“She did? She wouldn’t let me see it.” Jess leans forward, looking at Kit as if she’s somehow going to see Pels’s mark there. “What did it look like?”

“A mountain—hang on.” Kit grabs for his bag, digs his notebook out. Rory offers a hand, and when Kit nods, he tangles their fingers together, letting magic flow from himself into Kit while Kit draws.

The picture, when it’s done, is a perfect replica of the clouded shading on one half of Pels’s mark, and the mountain on the other side.

“That mountain is very triangular.” Ally leans into Kit’s space, traces the lines up the center. “It’s like half a crossbow.”

“A right angle,” Kit says. “Or as Pels put it, it’s mathy.”

He pushes the sketch toward Jess, and pulls his hand back quickly, drops it into his lap. He grips Rory’s hand tightly, entire body stiff.

“What?” Rory whispers.

“I think I just figured it out.” Kit’s voice is low. Wary. Rory’s a little worried what it is that Kit thinks he understands, because he doesn’t think Kit likes it.

Jess nudges the notebook back toward him. “Enlighten us. Please.”

“You’re the mountain,” Kit blurts out.

Ally swallows laughter, while Jonathan looks flat out shocked. Both of Darrik’s eyebrows rise, and Shane puts a hand on Jess as if to keep her from launching herself across the table.

She doesn’t move. “I’m what?” she says slowly.

“You have earth energy,” Kit tries to explain. “You’re not magical, but you’re grounded. Solid. The first time I met you, I thought mountain. And the funny part is that in the Tarot, the earth element is pentacles or coins. They’re practical. But they’re also magical. It’s—you’re as solid as the earth around us, and as necessary. You’re probably a grounding energy in whatever that relationship might be.” He pauses, frowning. “Pels is probably air. Or water. I don’t think I know yet.”

Jess raises her hands slowly, wrists out. Both are smooth-skinned aside from a few freckles, and unmarked. “I don’t have ink. Shane does. And before you go where I think you might be going—I’m not into guys. Shane’s my best friend, and yes, we do share a bed on occasion, but I think everyone at this table has at some point platonically puppy piled.”

“Often,” Rory deadpans.

“Clan,” Darrik points out. “Even if I’m not a shapeshifter myself, it’s still my heritage.”

“Noah,” Ally says, and Jonathan nods with her as she continues, “He was the kind of guy who just drew you in and created piles out of people for cuddling purposes. Which is impressive considering I grew up in a very don’t-touch-me family, and Jonathan is prickly.”

Jonathan scowls. “I cuddle,” he mutters. “When I have to.”

Ally gestures at him like he’s made her point.

They’ve all made Jess’s point, though, not that Rory needed convincing. Bed sharing can be perfectly platonic.

“Right, but what if she’s both of your soulmates,” Kit says slowly. “What if her touching Shane activated the mark, but she pulled away too fast for it to finish? So her mark should be a blend of Jess and Shane in the end. And there’s nothing saying that you can’t be platonic soulmates. It’s not about romanticism, is it? The original ritual was, but everything turned upside down and sideways. Why not that, too?”

“I think Kit’s trying to tell you that your crush on Pels might not be as insane as the rest of us think it is,” Shane murmurs. He grunts, as if Jess kicked him under the table.

Rory’s just relieved that no one goes back to describing Jess as a mountain.

Shane looks down at his still clouded wrist. “I want to say that everything’s going to be okay. Ángel’s happy with Tony. You guys seem to fit together. But then Pels scowls at me and yells at the air when she passes me on the Quad and now you seem to think that my lesbian best friend is also my soulmate, and I just—this seems to be going about as well as everything else in my life. It’s something else to break.”

“If it weren’t for bad luck,” Jess murmurs, and Shane grumbles his agreement.

“We should eat,” Jonathan says, and when Rory looks over, the side table is laden with seven different kinds of appetizers. Jonathan holds up one of the large bowls of salad, offering to pass it along, and the conversation fades for a time.

They eat in a mix of family style with plates on the table and the rest set up as a buffet. Big bowls of pasta, with the meat in separate bowls, as well as a big dish of stuffed shells, and some eggplant parmesan are laid on the table. Rory barely has time to finish eating toasted ravioli before he has a plate full of eggplant and pasta. A second table is set up and a cloth put over it, next to the first, and as they slow eating, the serving dishes are placed there.

They don’t even come close to finishing the food. They’ll either have plenty of leftovers, or they’ll be able to keep eating as they work through the night. Or quite possibly both.

When the plate of cannoli and cookies is set at the center of the table, Darrik nudges it toward everyone else. He pulls on the sleeves of his sweater, tugging them down over his hands. “We should get started,” he says.

The mood shifts rapidly.

Ally and Jess both rise, clearing the food away from the table with Jonathan’s help. They have the minimum left in the way—Kit declares the cannoli a requirement and won’t let them take the plate. Jonathan seats himself at the end of the table, furthest from the cluster, as Shane, Kit, Rory, and Jess all pull out their notes.

“I’ve spoken to Sunnyview, and if we want to try again on Wednesday, we can,” Darrik says. “But we need to have a plan.”

“Lora’s parents don’t want anything to do with it.” Jonathan’s tone is flat, his arms crossed over his chest. “They don’t believe it’ll work, and they don’t want to risk hoping that it will.”

“I don’t blame them,” Ally says. “Hope hurts.”

“It does, and if it doesn’t work this time, we’re done.” Darrik’s tone is definite. He’s staring at the table, at the notes strewn across. His elbows rest on the table, his shoulders hunched as he leans forward. “I miss Noah,” he says quietly. “And I think that helping bring Lora out of her coma will go a long way toward helping all of us heal. Because it’s something we have the potential to fix. But if we keep trying, and it keeps failing, it’s just going to keep us grieving longer. So this is it. Either you reach her and she wakes up, or we let it go.”

“I’m not going to stop visiting her just because you need to step back,” Ally says quietly. She has her hand on a necklace, twisting her fingers in the chain.

Darrik shakes his head. “I’m not asking you to. But I need to stop waking up every day and thinking what can I do to change things and I need to start thinking I can move forward. I’m not saying we should forget about Lora. But there’s a difference between spending time with her, and thinking we can fix the situation. She’s been seen by Healers, and they say nothing’s physically wrong with her. There’s no reason for her to be under, not medically. But she is in a coma.”

“I can reach her,” Kit says, and Rory drops his hand to Kit’s back.

“I know you think you can,” Darrik says gently. “And I appreciate that you’re trying. I’m just saying this is it. This is the last time.”

“Then we need to be absolutely certain that we’re as exacting as possible,” Shane says, smoothing the papers in front of him. “Jess’s formulas, and Kit’s art, and Rory’s….” He trails off, brow furrowed.

Right, there are some things they all need to be caught up on. Rory pats Kit’s back, and when Kit looks at him, Rory cocks his head. Kit motions with his hand, and Rory takes that as permission to explain everything.

“We have a few new details to add to the planning.” Rory grabs a piece of paper so he can list them out. “One—Kit’s art is a magical Talent. Not the art itself; those are just really nice pictures. But his ability to create the art is magical. Two—my Talent really likes Kit. Like a lot.” He can feel the warmth in his cheeks, and he can imagine how everyone interprets that statement. “I know I’ve been struggling with feeding energy to other people, but with Kit it just flows. It’s like my magic recognizes his, and it wants to mingle.”

“So you can supercharge him for this ritual,” Jess mutters, making notes of her own.

“Something like that, yes.” Rory glances at Shane. “Have you figured out a way to stabilize Shane’s chaos? Or use it in a productive way? Because I really don’t want this failing because someone falls over again.”

Jess makes an erasing motion in the air. “Handled. Go on. Is there anything else we need to take into account?”

“Back in high school, we had a ritual go wrong, and a friend of ours was trapped in a dreamscape.” Kit’s voice is tight, and Rory flattens his hand against his back, lets their magic seep together in a way he hopes is soothing. “Carolyn and Del rescued him by literally going into the dreamscape, and taking me and another friend with them, and bringing his mind back out.”

“Do you think that’s what we need to do with Lora? Repeat that same ritual?” Jess asks, looking up from her paper, pen paused mid-motion.

“Where is Del?” Ally looks down the table as if there should be a computer there.

“We talked about it, and we left her out on purpose,” Rory says. “After what happened with Sam—Kit’s friend—we think she’d be a liability.”

“Lora’s not in the same state as Sam was,” Kit explains. “I think we need to reach her mentally, not physically. If we include Del, we run the risk of catapulting all of us into a place that wasn’t hospitable at all. We were chased by shadows. We had to find a way to escape, and half the paths led to places we really didn’t want to go.”

“What if it is the same?” Ally snaps. “What if you’re taking the best option off the table before we even begin?”

“Then we’ll find out Wednesday and I’ll leave it up to you what you want to do,” Kit says. He holds his ground, expression even. “I’m not going back into the dreaming, Ally. If that’s the issue, then you need to get Del involved, and you need to handle it. But that’s not for me or for Rory. The thing is, Lora’s in a coma. Sam’s been up and around physically, but not coherent mentally. Different symptoms. Different mental locations. Wherever Lora is, it may be deeper and far less physical than what happened to Sam.”

Darrik’s expression is pinched. “Fine.”

“If we don’t touch on the dreamscape, we don’t disrupt—or attract the attention of—the shadows,” Kit says.

Which reminds Rory. “I had an idea for another variable we might want to introduce. For stability,” he says. He hesitates before speaking because he knows no one is going to like it, and he doesn’t blame them. At all.

In the silence, Darrik stares at the table, and Ally glares at them. Jonathan snaps first. “What? Out with it. It can’t be that bad.”

“I think that if we include Mattie, I might be able to channel her specific Talent into the ritual, through Kit,” Rory says slowly. “We know that Mattie was a part of what knocked Lora out in the first place. There were two there—I think she attacked Lora, and the other attacked Darrik after Noah. But my point is, Mattie’s not like that anymore, but she is still a Shadowwalker. And her Talent might reach into whatever place Lora’s gone. Especially if that Talent is what sent her there in the first place.”

By the time he finishes talking, everyone’s silent. Jess stares at him with wide eyes, and Shane looks thoughtful. Kit twists away from Rory’s touch so he can take his hand instead, bringing it up to kiss the backs of his fingertips before keeping their fingers laced together in his lap.

Ally glares murderously at Rory, her brow furrowed. She taps on the table, twists the cloth napkin into a rope, and Rory hopes she isn’t thinking about strangling him with it. She jerks away when Jonathan touches her shoulder.

“I think he’s right.” Darrik stares at the table, shoulders hunched and tone resigned. “I was there, and I don’t want to see a Shadowwalker ever again. But the reasoning is sound. So I say let’s do it.”

Kit grabs a cannoli from the plate, offers it across the table by putting it in Darrik’s field of vision.

Darrik straightens, almost smiles as he takes the cannoli from Kit. He doesn’t say anything, just takes a small bite and nods.

Kit takes his own cannoli, and it breaks the ice. Sweets are passed around, and everyone takes a moment to let sugar flow through their system.

Jess sets her cookie aside half-eaten. “I’m going to have to redo all the calculations,” she mutters.

“I’m bringing a short-range crossbow,” Ally says. “And I’m not afraid to use it.”

“I need more information about Lora.” Kit pulls out a sketchbook and a set of pens and colored pencils. “I know you’ve got pictures of her, and I need those, too. But I also need to know more about what she’s like. Tell me stories while I’m drawing.”

“Here’s what we’re going to do.” Shane spreads his hands, as if pushing them into two groups. “Jess and I are going to work on the actual ritual, laying out a stable design with all the variables in place. Kit’s going to do his art, with Rory doing his thing,” Shane wiggles his fingers, “to help him, while you all share stories about Lora. Down there.” He points at the end of the table where Jonathan sits.

“The main dining room closes at eleven tonight, but I’ve booked this room for as long as we need it,” Jonathan says. “The owner’s a distant cousin, and he’ll be in and out to check on us. If we need more food—”

“More food?” Kit asks.

“Magic makes people hungry,” Jonathan mutters. “I’m just trying to make sure you have everything you need to keep going as long as you need to keep going. So we can get this right.”

Ally scritches the top of Jonathan’s head. “See, he’s prickly, but he really does care.”

“The point is,” Jonathan says loudly, “we can go all night if we need to. So let’s get started.”

It probably is going to be a long night, but Rory’s ready for it. He looks at Darrik, Ally, and Jonathan and he sees resignation in their body language, but a tiny bit of hope lighting their expressions. There’s an ease, and a hint of excitement.

He wants to make sure it’s worth it this time. They have to make this work.

He lays his hand on Kit’s shoulder and settles into the feel of their magic intertwining. As the others speak, telling stories about Lora, Kit begins to draw.

[ Previous | First | Next ]

[exileoblivion]

all of them for you too buddy

alrighty, here goes!!1: when you have cereal, do you have more milk than cereal or more cereal than milk? I try to make it equal, but I always end up with more milk than cereal

2: do you like the feeling of cold air on your cheeks on a wintery day? For the most part, yes. Unless I’m not feeling well or whatever

3: what random objects do you use to bookmark your books? Whatever’s close at hand that’s flat and small, lol

4: how do you take your coffee/tea? My coffee has to have a LOT of creamer and/or sugar. My tea depends; for the most part, it HAS to have at least a little bit of sugar, but there’s some that I don’t mind not having sugar in, just depends

5: are you self-conscious of your smile? YES.

6: do you keep plants? No

7: do you name your plants?No

8: what artistic medium do you use to express your feelings? Either writing or drawing

9: do you like singing/humming to yourself? Yup!

10: do you sleep on your back, side, or stomach? Mainly my sides, but I’ll lay on my back when I’m sick or hurt

11: what’s an inner joke you have with your friends? …oh god…my one friend and I have one that deals with DMMD, and I am SO not talking about that here pppfffttttttt

12: what’s your favorite planet? I don’t really have one

13: what’s something that made you smile today? I WATCHED THE LEGO BATMAN MOVIE, AND IT WAS SO DAMN CUTE ALSDKFJELAKJSDF

14: if you were to live with your best friend in an old flat in a big city, what would it look like? Dorky AF. Probably a lot of purple/shades of purple for the colors

15: go google a weird space fact and tell us what it is! Space smells like burnt meat and metal, or something like that? I remember hearing that a while back

16: what’s your favorite pasta dish? Chicken alfredo, or Mushroom Ravioli alskdjfalskjdf

17: what color do you really want to dye your hair? I REEEALLLLYYYYYY want to dye the right side of my hair pastel pink

18: tell us about something dumb/funny you did that has since gone down in history between you and your friends and is always brought up. that same inside joke about DMMD omfg alskdjf

19: do you keep a journal? what do you write/draw/ in it? a writing journal? No. I do have a TON of sketchbooks though, which have random doodles in them.

20: what’s your favorite eye color? Blue. BRIGHT blue. I’ve also lately REALLLYYYY been loving shades of brown that almost look red. 

21: talk about your favorite bag, the one that’s been to hell and back with you and that you love to pieces. I recently bought a Castiel bag from Hot Topic, and while it’s not old, it has gone on a few adventures through the woods with me, and went with me to my last job quite a lot. I’m going to be using it a TON when I get my fursuit partial in 2018.

22: are you a morning person? Depends on if I get enough sleep, and wake up in a good mood

23: what’s your favorite thing to do on lazy days where you have 0 obligations? Laying in “bed” curled up in a few blankets with snacks and watch youtube vids

24: is there someone out there you would trust with every single one of your secrets? In the past, yeah. I haven’t had someone I could trust that much in a looonnnggggg time though

25: what’s the weirdest place you’ve ever broken into? Technically it wasn’t breaking in to, but I went to explore my old abandoned house and it was SO cool, omfg. 

26: what are the shoes you’ve had for forever and wear with every single outfit? Lately it’s either my red converse or my gray winter boots

27: what’s your favorite bubblegum flavor? Man, I haven’t chewed gum in YEARS…I dunno?

28: sunrise or sunset? Sunset

29: what’s something really cute that one of your friends does and is totally endearing? i can’t think of an answer to this one

30: think of it: have you ever been truly scared? OF COURSE

31: what is your opinion of socks? do you like wearing weird socks? do you sleep with socks? do you confine yourself to white sock hell? really, just talk about socks. I love them in the winter! I love the ones with patterns, or things on them. The plain colored ones are so boring, tbh. I loooveeee the ones that go up to my knees, or the super fuzzy ones. I also super love slippers asldkfj 

32: tell us a story of something that happened to you after 3AM when you were with friends. I can’t stop thinking about that damn DMMD joke between my one friend and I alskdjfalkds that happened WELL after 3am when we were both super tired to the point of delirium, and it’s just so funny alskjf

33: what’s your fave pastry? It’s a tie between pie and cinnamon buns/rolls

34: tell us about the stuffed animal you kept as a kid. what is it called? what does it look like? do you still keep it? I had this plush cat that my one grandma gave me for christmas like…a year or so before she died? I named her Jellybean, and I took her EVERYWHERE with me. I should still have her…at least I did when we moved here when I was like 15…but I haven’t checked…she could be ruined for all I know ughhhhhhh

35: do you like stationary and pretty pens and so on? do you use them often? Yeah! I use stuff like that on rare occasions.

36: which band’s sound would fit your mood right now? STARSET!!!!!

37: do you like keeping your room messy or clean? I don’t have a room, and have way too much stuff in all different areas to keep anything organized. I HATE it :”D

38: tell us about your pet peeves! I CAN NOT FUCKING STAND THE SOUNDS OF PEOPLE EATING. IT DOESN’T MATTER WHAT IT IS, I CAN ALWAYS HEAR PEOPLE EATING. I HATE IT. I HATE IT. I FUCKING HATE IT ALSKDJFALSKDJFLAKSJDFUUGHHHHHHHHHHHH. No, but seriously. I can NOT be around people that are eating. I HAVE to have headphones in. Like, no offense…I have sensitive hearing, and chewing ((honestly, any kind of mouth noise other than talking)) noises make me gag and spiral into a HUGE anxiety attack and it’s so bad alsdkjfalskdjf 

39: what color do you wear the most? Black

40: think of a piece of jewelry you own: what’s it’s story? does it have any meaning to you? Okay, so since I keep mentioning DMMD; I got an Industrial piercing in my left ear just like Noiz. It was the last piercing I got, and my first one from a PROPER piercer. The whole experience was awesome, and I loved it. It was back when our group was still 4 people, and we made a day of it. The piercer was SUPER nice, talked me through everything he was doing, being calm and reassuring, and just super sweet in general? Afterwards, he gave me a box of apple juice to help with my blood sugar, and I loved that idea so much, that to this day after I get tattoos or piercings, I always make sure to have apple juice as a tradition. I got my last piercing because 1.) I thought it looked HELLA cool, 2.) I reallllyyyyyy wanna cosplay Noiz, and 3.) Noiz’s character has a TON of meaning and stuff with me. Up next I’m gonna start stretching my lobes like him. Maybe it’ll be soon! 

41: what’s the last book you remember really, really loving? Another Note: The Los Angeles BB Murder cases

42: do you have a favorite coffee shop? describe it! Sadly, no. If I did, it’d probably be a Starbucks or a Crazy Mocha

43: who was the last person you gazed at the stars with? Like, actually laid out with a blanket and watched them for a long period of time? When I was a little kid with my brothers, watching a meteor shower

44: when was the last time you remember feeling completely serene and at peace with everything? n-e-v-e-r~

45: do you trust your instincts a lot? sometimes

46: tell us the worst pun you can think of  for the life of me, I can’t think of any at the moment alskdjfalskdjfleakjsef

.47: what food do you think should be banned from the universe? BLACK LICORICE

48: what was your biggest fear as a kid? is it the same today? I think it may have been the dark…? And I mean…I do suffer from sleep paralysis…so…sometimes, kinda…..bllleeecchhhhhh

49: do you like buying CDs and records? what was the last one you bought? YES! The last two that I bought myself was  Gorillaz’s Demon Days and Plastic Beach 

50: what’s an odd thing you collect? Do stuffed plushes/animals count…? Cuz…ya boi has a bad addiction with buying stuffed things

51: think of a person. what song do you associate with them? The only ones that I can think of are all sad/depressing/triggering…

52: what are your favorite memes of the year so far? What in tarnation dog…I don’t get the whole babadook being a gay icon one, but it is funny af for some reason??? distracted boyfriend….is the “BITCH I WON’T HESITATE’ considered a meme at this point, cuz I LOVE that one even if it isn’t

53: have you ever watched the rocky horror picture show? heathers? beetlejuice? pulp fiction? what do you think of them? I will NEVER watch or listen to that shit, get it out of here. Not yet, but maybe someday. HATE IT. Never seen it.

54: who’s the last person you saw with a true look of sadness on their face? IRL…? no clue lmao

55: what’s the most dramatic thing you’ve ever done to prove a point? God…I have no clue….probably like, raise my voice…?

56: what are some things you find endearing in people? …I really need to start paying attention to people more…I can’t think of anything…

57: go listen to bohemian rhapsody. how did it make you feel? did you dramatically reenact the lyrics? Unpopular opinion…I hate that song. 

58: who’s the wine mom and who’s the vodka aunt in your group of friends? why? I don’t have enough friends to apply this to anyone oops

59: what’s your favorite myth? I don’t have a favorite myth, but can we talk about conspiracy theories and stuff like that???? cuz, holy hell…my eyes are finally open to them and some of them are GLORIOUS

60: do you like poetry? what are some of your faves? Poetry’s okay, I don’t have any faves

61: what’s the stupidest gift you’ve ever given? the stupidest one you’ve ever received? Probably like everything I ever give people. I can’t think of any

62: do you drink juice in the morning? which kind? If I have apple juice, I WILL DRINK THAT EVERY MORNING ALSKFJLSKEJF

63: are you fussy about your books and music? do you keep them meticulously organized or kinda leave them be? I kinda just leave them be. As long as they don’t get ruined

64: what color is the sky where you are right now? It looks black?

65: is there anyone you haven’t seen in a long time who you’d love to hang out with? convention friends. I also used to have a lot of online friends who have all pretty much disappeared that I miss terribly…

66: what would your ideal flower crown look like? It’d be made of golden flowers. because reasons.

67: how do gloomy days where the sky is dark and the world is misty make you feel? ALIVE alskdfjaslkdfj

68: what’s winter like where you live? It’s all over the freaking place. Sometimes it’s super cold, snowy, windy….other time’s it’s kinda cold, no snow, we’ve had a few where it’s practically spring weather?!???!?!?! 

69: what are your favorite board games? I love CAH, and other kinds of adult humored games like those alskdfj

70: have you ever used a ouija board? Not an Ouija board, but I have used a pendulum thingy with a sheet of paper that almost represented an Ouija board

71: what’s your favorite kind of tea? I love ALL kinds of tea. I have so many faves, I can’t pick just one alskdjfalskdfj

72: are you a person who needs to note everything down or else you’ll forget it? Sorta, yeah

73: what are some of your worst habits? Whew boy, just about everything I do anymore is bad lmao

74: describe a good friend of yours without using their name or gendered pronouns. um…they’re…human?

75: tell us about your pets! I don’t have any

76: is there anything you should be doing right now but aren’t? sleeping lmao

77: pink or yellow lemonade? yellow

78: are you in the minion hateclub or fanclub? HATECLUB

79: what’s one of the cutest things someone has ever done for you? no one’s done anything cute for me in years thx

80: what color are your bedroom walls? did you choose that color? if so, why? The area that I sleep in has white walls. It’s the color that was here when we moved in.

81: describe one of your friend’s eyes using the most abstract imagery you can think of. …it just occurred to me…that I have no idea what color eyes my friends have…WELP

82: are/were you good in school? Nope lmao

83: what’s some of your favorite album art? I think the art for Plastic Beach is pretty neat

84: are you planning on getting tattoos? which ones? YES!!!! I have my Bill Cipher one all drawn up, just need to get it done. And then, I’m thinking of getting the seal of Metatron from the SH series done on my other rib, and then….I have SOOOOOOoooooOOoOOOoOoO many more ideas for tattoos, it’s ridiculous, lmao.

85: do you read comics? what are your faves? I don’t read comics, but I do read manga lol. I LOVE Deadman Wonderland, I just got the complete series of MARS which was the first manga series I ever read through, Alice 19th is SO GOOD, of course my unhealthy love for Killing Stalking, Blood Bank…um…I can’t think of anymore atm

86: do you like concept albums? which ones? I honestly don’t know what that means….? But, it’s possible…?

87: what are some movies you think everyone should watch at least once in their lives? Nightmare Before Christmas, Inception, Shutter, the original Halloween movies, Guardians of the Galaxy, The Lost Boys, Queen of the Damned, Ironman 3

88: are there any artistic movements you particularly enjoy? Not really

89: are you close to your parents? nope

90: talk about your one of you favorite cities. Okay, so…I’ve only ever been to D.C. once so far, but it’s REALLY beautiful alskdfj I can’t wait for next Otakon, and hopefully be able to explore it more. There’s such a surreal charm to it. You can reallllllyyyyy feel the history everywhere you go there. Just. Damn. 

91: where do you plan on traveling this year? I WANT TO VISIT CENTRALIA SO GOD DAMN BADLY WHILE I’M STILL THE SAME AGE AS JAMES SUNDERLAND, AND I’M RUNNING OUT OF TIMEASLDKJFALSKEJFLAKSJFLKJ

92: are you a person who drowns their pasta in cheese or a person who barely sprinkles a pinch? no cheese plz

93: what’s the hairstyle you wear the most? messy buns or ponytails

94: who was the last person you know to have a birthday?…one of my brothers…???

95: what are your plans for this weekend? celebrate Thanksgiving, make a dessert for our dartball tournament…hope to hell I don’t get dragged to it…and hopefully write or play games. Maybe also clean too….

96: do you install your computer updates really quickly or do you procrastinate on them a lot? I tend to let them go for awhile before updating

97: myer briggs type, zodiac sign, and hogwarts house? INFP, Aquarius, Slytherin

98: when’s the last time you went hiking? did you enjoy it? too long!!! and, I think so?

99: list some songs that resonate to your soul whenever you hear them. Hiro no Tsuki/Melfina’s song, Is there Somewhere and Control by Halsey, just about the whole Undertale soundtrack, the sountracks to both Portal 1, and 2, ESPECIALLY Exile Vilify by The National, All of Me by John Legend,JUST ABOUT EVERYTHING BY STARSET, I know there’s a ton….but those are all of the ones I can think of at the moment

100: if you were presented with two buttons, one that allows you to go 5 years into the past, the other 5 years into the future, which one would you press? why? 5 years into the future. 5 years ago was TERRIBLE, and I never want to relive it again.

[iwastoldthisisgoodforme]

7.9.19

Class. Felt a bit jipped since I was placed with lower level people so the exercise ended quite early.

Was planning to head to Lentils but Lorraine texted me after class (she had been sent downstairs with Dave so I thought she already left) and asked if I wanted to chill. I had to jump off the train since she wasn’t even at the station and waited for her. She asked what I wanted to do and I said I was hungry so she said we should go to Town Hall. She asked if I had anything going on later and I said nothing so she teased me for being a loner. On the train she gave me shit for wearing sunglasses since I looked like a douche but I told her my eyes are sensitive to light and I pointed out the old Asian people wearing sunglasses so she said I look like a FOB which I said is fine but I’m still not a douche. We discussed class since she went down with David and his teaching style but also talked about Libby. We said that she’s pretty nice but she is pretty insecure and doesn’t seem to realize it. When we got off at Town Hall I mentioned to her how Libby one time asked if I knew what’s been going on with her the past few months and when I said yes, she asked how I knew and I said that she always mentions it in her circs.

Lorraine suggested some food places including Pepper Lunch but we ended up going to the udon place that I ate at with Mina and Hyejin.  While walking there she mentioned how Libby likes someone at the Pulse but she wouldn’t say who although she gave me his initials C.C. which I thought was Chris Combes especially when I asked if he’s a dancer.

She asked me how long I planned to stay at the Pulse and I had to fess up to her that this would likely be my last term. She seemed visibly upset about it and asked if there were any alternatives and I told her the deal with the farm work and trying to get a sponsored job. I also told her about how I had no idea what I’m going to do back in the US and explained to her how I can’t just hold a part time job in the US like I did here in Australia. I also was telling her how I was scared I would end up like my cousins who are single and not really going anywhere but she reminded me that I am not like them because I don’t want to live comfortably and I want do something more. I started telling her how I think a lot of what is holding me down lately is just being exhausted and being tired of trying so hard all the time only for me to fail like my struggles with engineering and relationships.

She asked me if I wanted to head to Tomntoms coffee and chill there. It was like a Korean starbucks from what she told me so I said I’m down, I’m always down. I think we started talking about people dating each other at the Pulse and I mentioned Zac and how he mentioned there was something going on with another girl. I said he never told me who it is and she asked me who I think it is and since I didn’t know her initials I just said she was in today’s class and she immediately guessed Courtney. I asked her why she though Courtney and she said that Courtney just has that personality that she thinks guys would like. I also brought up how Anna said something along the lines of “I want you Chris, I haven’t had you in so long” and how nobody seemed to be laughing at that except me but Lorraine said her and Amandine were trying to keep their laughter in.

After ordering coffee, Lorraine said she was going to use the bathroom and I realized Yuna had called me to my surprise. She apologized for bailing on me last night and she sounded sincere but I told her if I knew she was working so long, I would’ve picked another day. She was asking if I was free that night. I was having a bit of trouble hearing her so I stepped outside but went back in. She said she had some training to do but would be free later so she’d text me when she finished. Lorraine was laughing at me and said I was talking with an accent and asked if I was speaking another language.

When we settled in a little bit, she told me she was going through some things too. She said she had been second guessing her relationship because she doesn’t really put priority into it since she’s always busy with work or acting. She often gets home late. I asked her if this is because she’s just so busy and she wants to put in effort or if she just really doesn’t see him as a priority and she said it’s the latter. She doesn't really put in any effort to see him and said that he loves her more than she loves him and actually said she loves him but isn’t in love with him. But she did tell me she could see herself marrying him and that he was perfect in the sense that he was very accommodating in that he’s patient in letting her follow her dreams and that he would be willing to move to the US in 2-3 years like she wants. She told me James said it sounded like she’s breaking up with him but she said that she was just voicing how she thought and that she didn’t think it was fair to him. He told her she should talk to her high school friends about it since they knew her best. So she was planning to meet up with them later but she said she knew what they were going to say. I told her how I felt, especially about being with someone out of convenience.

She told me she shouldn’t been in a relationship because she’s selfish and she’s used to having things go her way. I asked her if she didn’t want to be in relationship but she said she did.

We eneded up bitching about the Pulse like the prices and how unstructured it is and how they make us figure out a lot of things for ourselves. Not only does it waste our time, it’s misdirectional and we’re wasting money. We talked about Tony’s activity earlier that day and how he had no idea what he was doing to make a good activity and yet he had already done a few yet still didn’t know what he needed to do. Not only that when Chris was questioning him about it, it didn’t seem like Tony really understand the point Chris was trying to make.

Yuna texted me and called saying she finished but I missed her call so I called her back. She asked where I was and when I said at a cafe near Town Hall she said she could be there in about 30 minutes so she would text me when she arrives.

Lorraine and I talked more for a bit but then she started fighting with her boyfriend over text so we didn’t talk so much after that. Yuna called me to tell me she’s in front of the woolies so I went to meet her. When I went to say goodbye to Lorraine, she hugged me tighter and longer than usual.

I saw Yuna sitting down waiting for me. She was facing towards the Woolies so she didn’t see me come from behind. She was quite excited to see me and gave me a big hug. She asked if I was hungry (I wasn’t that hungry because of the coffee but I could eat) and so we went to get food. I asked her what kind of training she had to do at work and she said crime training against robberies which surprised me. We passed by the hotel where Clara and I had drinks so I mentioned that place has a good happy hour so she said let’s go afterwards. I noticed while we were walking she would stay fairly close to me and our hands would brush up against each other sometimes. She wanted Japanese food so we eneded up going to the rice bowl place next to Marukame udon. She got a teriyaki chicken bowl while I got a curry plate (I realized I accidentally ordered one without meat). She gave me some of her food and I let her try my curry as well. She likes spicy food and added more spice to her food. I got her some water and showed her some pics from Hawaii and the wedding. She seemed a little bit reserved when we were eating at first but started to open up a little more as we kept eating. She asked about where I work and I showed her Kintaro’s work location. Yuna also asked if US was cheaper or Australia and I said living and working in Australia is more expensive. I asked if she missed Misaki and she said of course and I said she lost her cooking partner and she showed me some of the food she made in her apartment with Misaki and some of their classmates. She asked me if I had to exchange money when I came to Australia and I said I did and she asked why since we both used dollars. She asked what color and I said green, everything green. She asked if even the coins are green and I said no, silver except for pennies which are copper but she didn't know what that is.

Afterwards, we went to the Albion Hotel although we passed it. We ended up buying a pitcher of Sapporo and she was so excited to see Japanese beer that she took a picture. It was the first time she saw Japanese beer in an Australian pub. She said it was better to share and I know she can drink quite a lot so I knew we should get a pitcher. She said she’d get the next round. We ended up sitting at the same place Clara and I sat. 

I asked if she likes sake but she said not really. I told her I started to like sake after working at Kintaro and told her about junmai, ginjo and daiginjo but she just started laughing because I knew more about it than her.

I told her that in the US we need to drive and showed her a picture of my car which she found cool. She didn’t have a car in Kanagawa but her parents did.

Vaguely remember talking to her about pasta and showing her ravioli. She likes Attack on Titan like me. Her favorite is Levi and Mikasa and I agreed but I told her I like Sasha because she’s so funny.

I told her about how we call raccoons trash pandas and how Aussies call the ibis, bin chickens, which she found amusing. I showed her the pet birds I had.

I asked if she did any sports and she said yes and showed me pictures of a skiing trip she went on here in Australia with her classmates.

I taught her a bit of english since she told me about the difficulty she had with lashes and rashes. She showed me some of the beer they have at the pub. I asked if she worked as a bartender before but she hadn’t. She asked me if there’s any words she can use besides cute and I told her adorable (I also said Yuna is adorable as an example). At some point I also told her how certain English words mean different things like tension, which is a good thing in Japanese (excitement) but is generally bad in English unless it is something like sexual tension.

At one point, she showed me some pictures from when she visited Hawaii and I was actually surprised since the picture of her looked quite different from how she looks now. I said she she is still cute but in Japanese which I guess sounded weird so I had to tell her in English that she looks pretty in both pictures. She also showed me a picture of her parents. Her dad is quite tall, even taller than me by but 1 or 2 cm.

She showed me the screenshots she took of her crime training and was saying how she didn’t understand it and asked if I understood but I said I didn’t without the background info. Her phone wallpaper was some Japanese model. She also told me that when she was younger she wanted to either work with animals or learn English but learning English was more practical so she picked that. She also showed me her dog. Her favorite animals are dogs and dolphins and we talked about how smart dolphins are. She told me the cafe she works at, Komma, is fairly new but all the employees are Asian. She said they’re nice but she likes working at the bar more because they’re Australian so she can work on her English.

She had to go to the toilet many times which surprised me since it’s usually me that needs to go. She bought some Carlton Draught for us to try and we liked it.

Yuna was craving ice cream so we walked over to Regent’s place. We saw some cheesecake at Uncle Tetsu’s so Yuna asked if I wanted to share so she bought one and we tried a chocolate one which was pretty good. Afterwards, we went to Matcha and shared the green tea and black sesame. Yuna really liked it because earlier I asked her if she likes dessert and she said she likes ice cream but doesn’t like cake or really sweet things. She kept mentioning how much she loved the dessert. When we sat down to eat it, she actually took a spoonful and fed me so I did the same with her. When we finished, I asked if she wanted to walk around so we went near Mooi and she looked at the earrings. She showed me which ones she liked but said they were expensive. We also tried on some sunnies, some hats, and some headbands with the LINE characters. She was shy about me taking pictures of her.

We walked around more Regent’s like looking at the doriyaki and were going to check out Daiso but it was closed. There was a picture of deer in Nara and I asked if she had been there and she said yes. I asked if she liked deer but she said not as much as dolphins or dogs. I remarked how everything in Australia closes early and how Daiso is expensive there which she agreed. We also checked out the restaurants nearby which I think she had gone to a few. We didn’t know what to do afterwards so we just walked around aimlessly. I asked what she will do tomorrow and she said she will go to a BBQ and invited me but I said I have to work. We passed by a bar she had been to and she said it was nice. I asked if it was expensive and she said not too expensive. We were going to grab just one drink but I got turned away because I was too red. We talked about how crazy that is. In Japan she said everyone is blush and drunk but nobody gets turned away. She asked if I miss the US and I said some things I miss like not being turned away at a bar. I asked if she misses Japan and she said only her family and friends. She also told me that in Australia it is easy to find Japanese food compared to when she lived in Malta. We also passed by her cafe and I told her I would visit her there but she said to visit her when she’s getting off so we can hang out afterwards.

When we passed by a conbini she asked if I like any of the candy there so I said yes and pointed out the sour patch kids and said they have it in the US also. I said they are sour and sweet but not too sweet. She offered to pay for it but I said it was ok. When we opened the bag she took one and fed it to me so I fed some to her too. She really liked them. We were heading towards Darling Harbor and saw a club nearby. She had never been to that club before so we decided to go. On the escalator ride I told her I wanted to try her cooking and she said she would make me a bento and asked what I like. I said anything is fine and she asked what kind of meat I like. When we were trying to find the next escalator we grabbed each others hands and started holding them. On the way down I held her and “Yuna, hontou ni kirei” and she smiled and said thank you. We stood in line for the club and she was trying to hear the music. We took out our IDs but she was shy to show me her passport. When we got in, the cover charge was $25 so we left since it was too expensive. She was really shocked about how expensive it was. When we left, Despacito was playing and she said she liked that song and started singing it. She had a really lovely voice. We mentioned going to karaoke.

We ended up walking around Darling Harbor a bit  and held hands at some points and sitting and talking while feeding each other candy. We looked at the flavors and there was blackcurrant which we don’t have in the US and is apparently illegal. I asked if she liked coffee and she said she did so I said if she goes to Lentils in the daytime, I’ll make her coffee. She asked about Lentils since she forgot the name and said how vegan food is so healthy. We also talked about Thai food and I showed her my favorite, pad see ew. I told her how I get paid tomorrow for the floor manager so she said no wonder I work there. She asked if I’m busy next week and I said just Monday and Wednesday and when she asked why I said I have class. She asked what kind of class and I said acting so she was quite surprised. I asked her what season is her favorite and she said fall (she told me how people in Malta were confused cause Brits call it autumn) because she likes the fall colors and her birthday is in fall. She said she wants to go the beach but when it’s warm so she can wear a bikini and I said let’s go (I really want to see her in a bikini).

We walked back afterwards to the bridge but I told her I would walk her home. At times she would hold my arm and I put my arm around her to keep her warm. She showed me the bar where she works. I commented on how I was surprised that hotels here are bars. There was also the Pyrmont hotel we passed by and she said she had gone there with her roommates a few times and it was a pretty standard bar. We also talked about rent prices and her apartment where she lives on the 9th floor. She asked about renting a car and said she wanted to go to the beach so I said let’s go sometime. When we got to her place, she hugged me tight and thanked me so much and told me to text her and to tell her when I get home. Before I left I asked if I could kiss her and she pulled me against the wall so the guy couldn’t see us and we kissed each other a bit. I wasn’t sure how into me she was but she did kiss me on her own before I left.

[dakotahiggins-blog1]

Having visited for the first time as a high schooler at the ripe age of 17, I can confidently say that I experienced Cabo before Cabo experienced its boom. Well over a decade later, the place looks completely different to my eyes.

When the first hotel, Palmilla, opened in 1956 essentially as a sports club, Cabo San Lucas and its older brother San Jose del Cabo (combined to make Los Cabos) made up a quiet beach paradise…and then Jack Nicklaus came in the 60s for his go-to golf vacays. As time went on, the sleepy fishing village kept bringing in hotel rooms and groomed golf courses. Cut to 2019. The secret was out.

Luxury hotels are definitely keeping up with population growth, and nothing pairs better with a jacuzzi suite than a world-class golf game and a side of guac. I was keen on participating in this renaissance.

Esperanza Resort

Last week I checked into a hotel I’ve heard about many times. Esperanza Resort from the Auberge collection had me at HELLO HOLA HI HEY HOW YA DOIN? Sorry for the caps, but emphasis was necessary. Sometimes you wanna go where everybody knows your name and they’re always glad you came. Esperanza should probs be featured in the Cheers opening credits because it’s exactly that way. “Hola Ms. Murphy! Como estás Mr. Murphy?!” It’s funny because Alex is so often referred to as Mr. Murphy during our travels. I think he’s totally fine with it The many highlights included…

Cocina del Mar

I’m not sure I’ve ever dined at a more beautiful/romantic setting. Maybe so, but it’d take a while to think about and wonder if it truly competed with a setting perched atop cliffs overlooking Esperanza’s two private beaches as waves crash below. The entire resort blends well with the surroundings, almost like it arrived with the land itself. So much soul, so much nature, so much LET ME LIVE HERE PLEASE.

I digress. Order the ravioli and banana soufflé. My mouth is watering just thinking back on it…

Playa Paraiso

This seaside experience centered around a colorful cabana, food, and relaxation nestled in the resort’s private beach where each palapa features a day bed, playful swing, a speaker and private butler service (shoutout Roberto!). We began the day with a yoga class followed by breakfast and then an I’m-really-full-need-to-lounge session. Life was really good in that palapa.

Palapa Room

Room 54 was a masterpiece. Not only designed beautifully with beachy vibes and relaxing hues, but the room came with a massive terrace and jacuzzi AND puppies. Yes, puppies. One blissful afternoon I puppysat Ricky and Rosa, long-haired Chihuahuas from central Mexico who will be the cutest hotel mascot ever created. If you can beat that hotel amenity, let me know. I’ll wait.

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Chileno Bay Resort

I have to be honest. While change is healthy, change is challenging. I did not want to leave Esperanza Resort. I could birth my babies, live out a wonderful life and retire here. I drove up to Chileno Bay for check-in still holding onto this hope. (I was in denial.) I didn’t want to like Chileno Bay. It was a contemporary take on the classic Baja escape with an airy, open aesthetic that blurs the line between indoor and outdoor. Terrible, right? A red cart named “Tony” met us at check-in and gave us a Corona. Okay Tony with the beers. I see you. Chileno Bay was brand spankin’ new with beautiful young palm trees and pops of color and relaxing sounds coming from the pool area. Sounds horrific, right? The room had two showers and a bathtub decked in blue tile alongside an outdoor jacuzzi. So many bodies of water, so little time. The hydrotherapy kicked in and I realized I’d become obsessed with my new home. I think I’m gunna like it here…

Spa

I was told the 7,500-square-foot spa had a healing “ritual” I needed to partake in. Twist my arm, I did just that. The salt room, steam room, ice bath and reflexology pool were quite the highlight indeed alongside the massage and facial I experienced.

Food

The standout of Cabo was hands down the cuisine. I ate WELL and thus, gained 5 pounds, maybe six. Who knows? I don’t believe in scales. The only thing I’m sure about is this: The Auberge chefs are extremely talented and the creativity that went into meal settings was next level. One night we were eating at a spa after a 90-minute massage and then next on a cliff overlooking the sea at Mirador Point. Order the chicken. Don’t ask questions, just DO IT. And then follow up with churros.

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Fitness

I work out so that I can eat well and eat a lot. My relationship with fitness actually goes far deeper than that, but I want everyone to know that you don’t have to skip out on all the local yumminess when traveling. Eat the churro(s). Have the margarita. Just move the next day Your body will appreciate you! Chileno Bay Resort & Residences offers group fitness classes like yoga, Zumba, beach bootcamp and AQUA SPIN where you literally spin on a bike in the water. I KNOW. The only resistance is the water (yay low impact!), and I wish I could do this exercise daily.

Beach

The most desirable beach in Los Cabos resides here, known for its tranquil, swimmable waters and coral reefs where a short venture out to sea unveils an underwater world of tropical fish and sea turtles! With that being said, this beach is not private like Esperanza’s beach (which is rockier). Pros and cons but both beautiful in their own way!

They say third times a charm, and my third trip to Cabo was exactly that. For once, I let a lot of the craziness that I typically do take a backseat. Instead of a jam packed itinerary, I allowed myself to actually lounge and enjoy the scenery as I’ve experienced this town to epic proportions in the past. Cabo was where I was certified to scuba dive. I’ve been whale watching on a boat trip (totally recommend), and a visit to downtown Cabo requires a stop at The Office for margs and Ediths for everything else. Flora Farms is crazy beautiful, almost like Pinterest threw up in the desert of Cabo. I’ve never been one to plan out my wedding, but I left here thinking I could do the damn thing on these grounds.

I adore Cabo and the people in it. To Euanice, Mario Lopez, Lizabeth, Caesar, Javier, Yanni, Marc Rodriguez, Roberto, Miguel, Antonio, Francisco, Raúl, Saira, and Juliana: mil gracias por todo.

This little paradise has overcome hurricanes and tropical storms and cartel violence. 2018 saw a record 2.6 million visitors. I commend its perseverance. While I’d say it’s predictable because you know what you’re going to get…you know what you’re going to get! Lots of people like this and I, too, enjoy the certainty at times – no surprises, lots of sunshine, tequila in abundance and a 2 hour flight from LA. What’s not to love?!

All imagery by Alex Kavanagh, DRONEGEAR Productions

The post The Best Hotels in Cabo San Lucas appeared first on The Road Les Traveled.

[fanfictionbeginagain]

Chapter Twenty-One

The phone rang as I pressed it to my ear, waiting for Richard to answer.

I was already fretting enough about tonight that I stood tapping my foot anxiously.

“Hey.” He said when he answered the phone, “What’s up?”

“Robb’s baby sitter cancelled on me. Is it alright if I bring him tonight?” I asked, wincing regretfully.

“Of course.” He said dismissively, “Don’t worry about it.”

I released a breath I hadn’t realized I’d been holding, “Thanks. I’ll just get him ready and meet you all at the restaurant.” I said.

“Ok. You sound nervous. Are you nervous?” he asked.

“A little.” I revealed.

“Don’t be.” He soothed, “You’ve met my friends before.”

“Yeah but this is different. You’ll be introducing me as your girlfriend and that feels…” I trailed off as I searched for the word.

“Amazing?” he supplied.

“Monumental.” I finally answered.

“Just relax. You’ll be fine.” He assured me.

“Thanks.” I breathed, “I got to go. But I’ll see you soon.”

Hanging up the phone, I attempted to get a brush through Robb’s tangled mess of curly hair into something that didn’t resemble a bird’s nest, which he didn’t appreciate. Attempting to channel my nervous energy I went about making myself at least look presentable.

I grabbed a cream coloured Stella McCartney shirt and paired it with my three-quarter ripped jeans. I thought I looked a little too casual so I grabbed a pair of flesh coloured heels and paired it with a similar coloured envelope bag. Brushing my hair, I was still torn as to whether I should wear it up or not as I grabbed Robb’s hand and we walked out the door.

Sitting on the train, I continued fiddling with my hair, using the reflection in the train window to pull it up. The reason I was so nervous was because I was officially being introduced as ‘the girlfriend’ and with that came judgement. I didn’t want to be open to judgement because there was so much about my life that people could be judgemental of; I had a six-year-old son at the age of twenty-two. I wasn’t married and didn’t own my own home or even a car. I had my own business and that was just a whirlpool of judgement. I wasn’t sure I could handle people peering into my life and knowing that it was about to happen made me beyond nervous.

I wanted to be liked. I wanted his friends to approve of me and my relationship with him.

And I wasn’t just meeting some of Richard’s friends, I was meeting his best friends. Percy Whitmore and his wife Jessica had known Richard since high school and I knew getting their good opinion would help ease our relationship.

I couldn’t even handle the thought of meeting Richard’s parents yet, even though he had met mine.

What on earth was I going to do with my stupid hair?

Deciding there was nothing for it, I decided to leave my hair down. Running an aggravated hand through my hair, I turned to look at Robb, “Are you going to behave tonight?” I asked.

Robb was generally a pretty well behaved kid. He had his moments like every other child but most of the time I considered myself to be quite luck with how well he behaved. I didn’t want him acting like a little brat in front of Richard’s friends. I didn’t want them thinking, on top of everything else wrong with me, that I had a bratty son that I couldn’t control.

A bratty son that I had somehow tricked Richard into helping me raise. This was a disaster.

We were getting dinner at Heliot Steak house. The exterior was a dark wood and the interior was in stark contrast completely red. The walls were draped with red material matching the red carpet.

The tables were square with one chair being black and the other a red couch against the wall that blended in with the red material.

Stepping inside I was automatically greeted by the hostess, “Hi there, do you have a reservation?” she asked.

“Yes, reservation under Madden?” I asked as I tucked a hair behind my ear with my friend hand while the other gripped Robb’s hand tightly.

“Yes, your party is currently at the bar, waiting for you.” She smiled.

Richard was at the bar; typical. Holding Robb by the hand I walked over to the bar where I saw Richard waiting, a beer in his hand talking to a short man with dark curly hair. A tall blonde stood with them, who I assumed was Jessica.

“Richard!” called Robb as we approached.

Turning around to look at us over his shoulder, Richard smiled, “Hey you two.”

“Hey,” I smiled, keeping a firm hold on Robb’s hand so he didn’t run off through the restaurant.

Leaning over Richard placed a quick kiss on my lips before he turned to Robb and messed his hair, he then turned to the two people he was with, “These are my friends Jessica and Percy.”

“Hi.” I smiled as I thrust my hand forward, “I’m Melanie.”

“Hi.” Said Percy, shaking my hand briefly, his eyes gave me a quick once over as he did; so the judging had begun.

I then turned to the girl with him and smiled, “Hi, it’s nice to meet you.” I smiled.

Jessica smiled as she placed her perfectly manicured hand in mine I was suddenly acutely aware that there was dirt underneath my nails from gardening. She didn’t say anything as she shook my hand, simply smiled before she turned to look at Percy expectantly.

“Let’s go to our table.” Said Percy.

As we walked through the restaurant I had Robb’s hand in one and Richard’s hand in the other. So far I wasn’t getting a good vibe from his friends, but I tried to tell myself that I was just being paranoid.

Sitting down at the table, Percy and Jessica sat in the two black chairs while we sat on the bench seat along the wall.

“Do we want to get any entrée’s?” asked Percy as soon as we sat down.

“Eh, no. I don’t think I could eat an entrée and a main.” Said Jessica immediately.

That didn’t surprise me. Jessica looked like the kind of girl that didn’t actually eat or if she did, she didn’t eat that much.

Grabbing the menu, I took a quick once over before I turned to Robb, “Do you want some fish and chips?” I asked him, knowing that it was the easiest to get him something that I knew he would like instead of trying to broaden his pallet.

“Yes please.” Said Robb happily.

“Wow. Such good manners.” I smiled, “For that, you can have a fizzy drink.” I told him.

“Really?”

“Yep!”

“Can I have a coke?”

“Sure.” I smiled as I kissed the top of his head.

“I think it’s really bad for children to have that much sugar.” Interjected Jessica.

I turned to look at her with a smile, “I know. I don’t let him have it very often.” I assured her.

She didn’t seem convinced.

“Aren’t you afraid it’s going to rot his teeth?” asked Percy, peering over the top of his menu at me.

“It won’t rot my teeth. I brush them every night.” Smiled Robb.

“That’s right.” I smiled.

Percy simply turned back to his menu in response.

Having ordered for Robb, I peered at the menu with a little more interest.

“I’m thinking the honey duck breast.” Said Richard as he peered over my shoulder.

“You eat duck?” I asked, turning to look at him in surprise.

“You don’t?” he asked with equal surprise.

“No. As a kid I had pet duck.” I explained.

“Really?” he asked with interest, a smile tugging at his lips.

I nodded, smiling at the old childhood memory, “Yep.”

“What was it called?”

“Ducky.”

“Ducky? That’s creative.”

“Shut up! I was nine!” I smiled.

“Can I have a duck?” asked Robb happily.

“Yeah buddy, we’ll get you a duck.” Smiled Richard.

“If you’re good.” I qualified, though I knew I was already liking the idea of Robb having a pet like a normal kid. I also liked that it had been Richard who had agreed to as well, that he was having an input on how Robb was raised. I just liked the whole moment really, I was able to share something from my childhood with not only Richard but Robb as well.

I turned to Percy and Jessica to see what they thought of the cute little family moment we were having, but the two of them were looking at their menus.

“I’m thinking I’ll get the mushroom ravioli.” I decided.

“Well seeing as Robb is probably getting a duck, it would be in poor taste to eat one. So I think I’ll get the beef rib burger.” Said Richard as he peered over my shoulder at the menu before he leaned over and pressed a quick kiss to my cheek before he leaned back in his seat.

I couldn’t help but smile before I turned to Percy and Jessica, “What are you guys having?” I asked happily.

“Pan friend salmon.” Replied Jessica.

“Spatchcock chicken.” Said Percy.

“It’s funny that we’re at a steak house and none of us actually ordered steak?” I commented, smiling in amusement.

Neither Jessica nor Percy even so much as grinned at my joke as the waitress came over and we all ordered.

“So how long have you guys known each other?” I asked, looking between Richard and Percy.

“We met the first year of high school.” Explained Richard, “And Jess and Perc started dating in the last year of high school?” he asked.

“Second last year.” Corrected Jessica.

“Wow. So a long time.” I smiled.

“Yeah. Rich and I are really good friend.” Said Percy pointedly, “I knew him before all this fame stuff started with Game of Thrones and everything.”

I got the strange feeling that he was pointing that out defensively. Like his friendship with Richard wasn’t just because he was famous. Which, of course, I knew. But was he pointing it out because he thought my relationship with Richard was only because he was famous?

“It’s nice that you guys have been friends for so long.” I smiled.

“Well, I don’t have any brothers so I always considered Percy like my brother.” Said Richard simply.

I smiled, that was really nice. I didn’t have any siblings either so I knew what it was like to become so close with someone that they practically became family, though I hadn’t had that kind of friendship since I was fifteen. Though the way things were going with Bree, we were practically like sisters already.

Bree and I were talking nearly every day and she came into the shop every Monday morning to bring me a coffee and I went around to her house at least once a week to check on her garden. I was really pleased with how well my friendship with her had blossomed.

Though I still had no idea who she was writing the book about.

“So Melanie, did you go to university?” asked Percy politely.

“No. I didn’t even technically finish high school.” I told them.

“Oh wow.” Said Jessica quietly, looking down at her drink with wide eyes.  

“So what do you do with yourself? For like a job?” asked Percy, “You do have a job right?”

I ignored the tone in his voice, “Yes, I have my own flower store. I sell plants.”

“Like a florist?” asked Jessica.

“No, more like a green house. What do you guys do?” I asked politely.

“I’m a lawyer.” Said Percy.

“I’m an accountant.” Said Jessica.

I nodded, that suited them. They were both so business-like that it made sense they would have such serious jobs.

“Mum, can I play games on your phone?” asked Robb as he finished his coke.

“Sure.” I smiled as I reached into my handbag and grabbed out my phone for him.

“Children are so reliant on technology these days.” Said Jessica, eying my phone in Robb’s hand with distaste.

“I agree. I limit his screen time as much as I can because I really believe kids should use their imagination.” I said seriously.

She looked at me as if she didn’t believe me.

I could understand her trepidation, here I was preaching about how I wanted my son to use his imagination but I was giving him my phone. That was because we were in a restaurant and his room for imagination was quite limited. Also, I wanted to keep him quiet so I could talk to Richard’s friends, giving him my phone seemed like the best way to achieve that.

The food was delicious and after I finished my meal I went to the bathroom. I thought I was making an alright impression on Jessica and Percy, I listened to them talk and reminisce about high school and spoke when I felt I could contribute to the conversation but most of the time I just kept an eye on Robb and making sure he wasn’t too bored. He was so well behaved that I was seriously considering getting him that pet duck that he wanted. I was being quiet because I didn’t want to accidentally say the wrong thing around Jessica and Percy and have them not like me.

So far, even though I got a very judgemental vibe from them both, I couldn’t pinpoint anything I had done wrong. Which could only be a good thing. I was feeling quite good when I headed back out to the table and sat down.

The atmosphere when I came back to the table was completely different. Before it had been easy and calm, especially after everyone had just eaten, but now that I was back the environment seemed a little tense.  

Richard was sitting a little to stiffly in his chair and both Percy and Jessica seemed annoyed. Afraid that something had gone wrong while I was away, I turned to Richard, “Is everything ok?”

“Yeah.” He said, his jaw tense, “Fine.”

I didn’t believe him, but before I had time to question him, Robb interrupted me, “Mum, when did you dig coal?”

“What?” I asked, frowning in confusion.

“When where you a coal digger?” he asked.

“I don’t dig coal bud,” I said, still frowning in confusion, where did he get that idea? Was it because I was always playing in the dirt?

“They said you were a coal digger.” He replied, gesturing across the table.

I turned to look at Jessica and Percy, my frown disappearing when I realized that ‘coal digger’ sounded a lot like ‘gold digger’. While I was in the bathroom, Percy and Jessica had obviously called me a gold digger and Robb had overheard them.

I blinked in shock, I had sat here for most of the night enduring their judgemental stares and biting my tongue and they took the first opportunity they could to tell Richard that they thought I was a gold digger.

I felt sick to my stomach; how could they have formed such a wrong and completely insulting opinion of me? I wasn’t with Richard for his money. I had enough money of my own!

“They also said you were gonna trap Richard.” Added Robb, “Is that like with a mouse trap?”

My eyes widened as I realized what exactly had been said while I was in the bathroom. I was a gold digger who was going to trap Richard. That was what Percy and Jessica thought of me. And more than that, they had said all their hurtful and nasty things about me in front of my son.

Unsure of what to do I turned to look at Richard; did he agree with them? Did he think I was a gold digger that was trying to trap him? He had to agree, they were his friends.

But instead of nodding in agreement, Richard was glaring at his two friends, his eyes icy cold and his jaw clenched, he actually shook his head as he glared at them, “I can’t believe you two.” He said coldly.

“It’s a valid question.” Said Percy simply before he turned to me, “What’s in it for you other than the money?”

“Absolutely nothing.” I agreed, “It’s not like Richard is a great guy who my son looks up to. It’s not like he has any other attributes about him that I could want in my life other than his money. You two are completely right.” I said sarcastically.

Jessica looked as if I had slapped her and Percy simply blinked in shock.

“What great friends you two are.” I said pointedly.

It was strange that I wasn’t even mad at Percy and Jessica for insinuating that I was a gold digger. It was more the fact that they thought there could be nothing more for Richard to offer me other than his money. The whole reason I wanted Richard in my life was because I liked him and I liked how he looked after my son.

Turning to Robb, I grabbed my handbag and stood up, “Come on bud. Let’s go home.”

I wasn’t going to stick around one more moment and hear Richard’s so called friend insult not only him but me as well, “It may not matter to you, but I care about Richard.” I told them angrily, “I care about him a lot and I want him in my life.”

Percy looked down at the floor cowardly while Jessica just glared at me as if she didn’t believe a word I said. But it didn’t matter, I had said what I had wanted to say.  But I was so mad, I didn’t even hear what Percy and Jessica were saying to Richard to try and defend themselves as I walked away from the table.

“Just forget it!” said Richard loudly and I turned around just as he rounded the table.

I blinked in shock as I watched him march over to me, I had never, for even a moment, think that he would leave with us. I thought he would try and talk with his friends, that was part of why I was leaving, so they could talk. I never thought he would take my side in the whole debate and leave with me.

But he did. He marched over, grabbed my hand and together we walked out the door.

It only occurred to me later that we stuck Jessica and Percy with the bill.

“Did I do something wrong?” asked Robb as we walked outside.

“No bud, you didn’t do anything wrong.” Said Richard immediately.

Robb hadn’t done anything wrong, but I kind of felt like I had. What had I done that the two of them thought that I was a gold digger? But more than that, I felt sorry for Richard. It couldn’t have been easy for him to have his friends not like me.

“I’m sorry your friends didn’t like me.” I said quietly, giving his hand a light squeeze as we walked.

I really was sorry that they didn’t like me. I knew how much it meant to have the people that you cared about like the other people you cared about. It would be like Robb not liking Richard, it would upset and hurt me and make me question what they didn’t like. But I wasn’t about to change who I was, nor was I going to grovel to get their good opinion of me, from what I saw, it wouldn’t have really mattered what I did. They appeared to have made up their mind about me before I even stepped foot inside the restaurant.  

He shook his head, suddenly seeming mad, “They’re the ones that should be sorry.” He said fiercely.

I didn’t know what to say to that. I didn’t know what to say or even think

“So, you care about me?” he asked suddenly as we walked down the road, Robb skipping ahead of us.

Frowning, I turned to look at him, “What?” I asked curiously.

“Before, at the table. You said you really cared about me.” He said, an almost cheeky smile adorning his features.

I blinked in shock as I realized what he was referring to. I hadn’t realized what I said or how it might have sounded to him, I’d been speaking so passionately and from the heart that I hadn’t thought to edit what I was saying, “Oh um, yeah.” I said, looking down in embarrassment as I tucked my hair behind my ear nervously.

I hadn’t meant to so publically declare my feelings for Richard like that. And certainly not as a way of defence to his two friends that had called me a gold digger.

Tugging on my hand, Richard pulled me to a stop before he stepped in front of me, forcing me to look up at him, “You care about me?” he asked quietly.

“Shut up.” I said as I stared down at my feet, I hated that I had revealed my feelings so early on in our relationship, especially before he had.

“Well, for what it’s worth,” he began as he leaned his forehead against mine, “I care about you too.”

I smiled down at the ground as I felt excited butterflies flap in my stomach, I looked up at him through my lashes. He had already shown me that he cared about me in so many ways, but to have him say the words to me was still unbearably sweet. I felt like it had been confirming something I knew all along.

“So don’t worry about what my stupid friends think.” He said dismissively, “Kit, Bee, Lily and Matt all love you. My mum and sisters already love you.”

“They haven’t even met me yet.” I retorted.

“Yeah but I talk about you all the time.” He explained, “But even if they all hated you, I’d still be here right now, ready to walk you home and give you a kiss goodnight.” He assured me.

I glanced over his shoulder to see Robb was just up the road pulling the petals off a flower on a nearby bush before I turned back to Richard, “You can kiss me now if you like.” I smiled as the tip of my nose touched his.

Smiling he leaned forward and pressed his lips to mine. I immediately wrapped my arms around his neck to pull him close. I wanted to show him just how much I cared and trusted him as I kissed him deeply.

[artificialqueens]

Dina’s Fun Aunt Holiday Bonus Part 2 (Trixya) – Ellen Thwoorp

Summary – Their first day at the resort is a rollercoaster. There’s ups and downs but they come out of it wobbly but happy. Katya makes friends, some she wants, some she doesn’t. But no matter what happens shes happy to end the night with Trixie.

A/N: I’m sorry this is late but I thought I’d finished it, reread it and hated it so it’s had some work done. I hope you enjoy it. Did somebody say 1/3 smut? Because that is factually accurate.

“Have you seen Katya?” Svetlana asked, her jaw set as Dina hung on her arm.

“No, are you guys heading to unpack?” Trixie asked, giving the mother a sympathetic look.

“Yes do you want us to wait for you? Only Dina’s tired and we want to get her to the room.”

“No that’s fine, I’ll go find Katya.” She said with a smiled, picking up her and Katya’s bags and trailing their suitcase behind her. Where on Earth had the other woman gotten to? They’d been at the resort barely half an hour and she’d already disappeared.

She turned a corner and finally spotted her girlfriend sat on a bench with an old man. The pair could not look more contrasting in appearance. While Katya somehow managed to clash with everything with her bright red shorts and crazy sunglasses, the man could not look more ordinary. His white hair, contrasting starkly against his dark skin, was mostly covered by a dull brown hat, matching the tanned brown colour of his jacket. He had his hand rested on a walking stick, an old looking book and a worn duffle bag sat beside him on the bench. Katya was speaking animatedly while the man watched in amusement. Trixie approached, it was quite common for Katya to suddenly strike up friendships with random people, yet this was the most surprising victim of Katya’s madness.

“Trixie.” Katya cried when she spotted her, waving her over enthusiastically. Trixie came to stand beside her, dropping the bags. “What did I tell you Stephen, isn’t she beautiful?” Katya grinned, pulling Trixie into her lap. The teacher let out a surprised laugh as Katya wrapped arms around her.  

“You were right, indeed.” The man spoke, his thick East Londonaccent taking Trixie by surprise. “Miss Mattel, nice to meet you. Dr Stephen Parkhurst at your service.” He said holding his hand out to her.  

“Trixie Mattel, it’s a pleasure.” She replied, shaking his hand with a smile.

“Stephen was an army doctor in World War Two and he’s been travelling the world to find his extended family on his mother’s side.”

“Thank you for your service.”

“It’s fascinating, he used to work as a mechanic and he was just telling me all about the inner workings of a tank!” Katya continued excitedly. The doctor looked at her with a smile. Trixie grinned, only Katya would come up to a veteran in a shirt with the ‘what does the fox say?’ meme on it and sunglasses in the shape of pineapples and be able to talk to him about tanks without batting an eyelid. The older man seems fondly surprised by the woman rather than confused or weirded out. Trixie liked that. She hated it when people treated her like she was actually crazy or too much. She was mad sure, but she didn’t like the idea of her being ostracised for it.

“Wow, you’ve lived quite a life.” Trixie commented, catching the man’s eye knowingly.

“And I hope to continue to do so.” The old man laughed.

“Svetlana suggested we go eat at seven after unpacking." Trixie said, turning to look at her girlfriend.

"Ah, we better go unpack.” Katya sighed as Trixie stood. “I’ll see you soon Stephen, don’t think you’re finished with me yet. I want to hear all your stories.”

“I best find my room too.” Stephen said, clapping his hands together.

“Are you heading our way?” The Doctor nodded. “You don’t need any help do you?” Trixie asked, holding out a hand as the man leant on his stick to stand.

“No thank you Trixie, you are very kind.” He said appreciatively as Katya picked up all their bags and suitcase. Trixie went to take one of them off her but she waved her off, motioning for them to go in front of her. “Katya told me a lot about you. She mentioned that you are teaching your children all sorts about the history of the world. How many do you two have?” Stephen asked as they began to make their way inside.

“Oh, none ourselves I’m a teacher. We’re here with our- um Katya’s niece.” Trixie laughed, blinking in surprise at her own mistake. When had Dina become her niece too?

“Ah, she’d be a good mum that one. Mad as a box of frogs if it’s not impertinent for me to say so." He said in a low voice so Katya couldn’t hear him, jerking his head behind them.

"No, I totally know what you mean."

"Reminds me rather of my wife, god rest her soul. She was wild like her. You’re the sane one aren’t you?”

“I’d hope so.” Trixie smiled.

“Well it has been lovely meeting you both, I’m just down there.” The old man smiled as they came to a split in the corridor. “Good afternoon ladies.” He said, touching the edge of his hat as he made his way down the hallway.

……………

“That waiter is flirting with you.” Trixie grumbled as she seasoned the pasta dish she’d ordered. Katya rolled her eyes.

“No he isn’t. He’s just being nice. You’re just afraid he’ll like Contact too.” Katya snorted, nudging the other woman with her foot. Svetlana laughed. Trixie had been very happy to find out the Svetlana hadn’t been impressed by Contact either.

“Nope, I’m pretty sure it’s just the two of you that like that film.” Trixie insisted, looking at the other couple for back up. Peter laughed, shrugging with a kind of fondness. People did that a lot around Katya. People often had no idea what she was saying but they knew they liked her so they’d just laugh and shrug fondly.

“You’re just jealous because wait staff always like me.”

“It’s true though. Have you noticed that not only does she know half the waiters and waitresses in the area but they all love her?” Svetlana nodded as she sipped her drink, casting a fond look at Katya.

“I always tip twenty percent. More if they were very good.” Katya said matter-of-factly, eating a forkful of ravioli. Trixie snorted as Katya suddenly realised she’d overfilled her mouth. Katya turned to her with a face akin to that of a hamster hiding its food and gave her a tight smile.

“You mean if they tell jokes.” Trixie corrected because when Katya meant good she meant funny. Someone could rob her in the street and if they told a knock knock joke and made a pun while they took all her money she’d give them a five star Yelp review and tell the story fondly for years.

“Have you heard of that restaurant where the wait staff are paid to be mean to you?” Peter asked, leading to a lengthy conversation on just how mean is too mean and the Monty Python argument clinic sketch.

……………..

“That’s a really cool necklace.” The waiter said to Katya as he began to pile their empty plates so he could carry them away. Katya grinned, putting a hand to the necklace Trixie had bought her online. It was made up several small hands and doll arms, each was holing a little book. Each book had the title of a famous piece of gothic literature on. Trixie had known she’d like the necklace the second she saw it and bought it immediately.

“Thank you. It was a gift.” Katy beamed. Trixie chuckled, resting her cheek on her palm. She remembered how excited Katya had been when she opened it.

“A pretty necklace for a pretty girl. He must be really nice to buy you all that stuff.” The waiter laughed, placing their cutlery on top of the plates.

“Who?” Katya asked with a frown.

“Your boyfriend.”

“I don’t have a boyfriend.”

“Oh, interesting. Can I get you guys anything else?” He grinned, pulling out his notebook and pen.

“Can we get a chocolate sundae, a sticky toffee pudding and the cheesecake?” Svetlana ordered, watching him scribble the words down with a small frown. Katya rolled her eyes, no doubt her sister thought flirting in the work place unprofessional.

“Cool. I’ll be right back with your desserts.” The waiter said with a clap of his hands, taking their places away.

“Told you he was flirting with you.” Trixie grumbled, sitting back in her seat and taking a drink of her wine.

“So what?” Katya shrugged.

“So maybe tell him you’re not interested. I’m right here, Katya.” Trixie frowned indignantly. How could she not understand?  “How would you feel if someone was brazenly flirting with me in front of you?”

“It wouldn’t bother me.” Katya replied with a laugh. Her jovial manner only fuelled Trixie’s annoyance.

“That food was really good wasn’t it Sv-“ Peter interjected hoping to curb the argument.

“Oh, it wouldn’t bother you?”

“No because I trust you not to cheat on me with the fucking waiter.” Katya said exasperatedly, throwing her hands up in the air and falling back into her seat.

“Katya!” Svetlana reprimanded, jerking her head towards Dina who was hardly paying attention as she tried to get her doll’s hair to stand up.

“Sorry, fudging. Don’t say that word Dina, its bad.” The Russian amended quickly before turning back to the conversation.

“It’s not about trust, you know it isn’t. Don’t even go there.” Trixie said softly, unable to even look at Katya. The day had been so long and tiring she couldn’t help but be a bit irritable. Part of her brain knew she was probably being a bit unreasonable and quick to anger. Katya often said a tired Trixie was a trying Trixie, which annoyed Trixie both because it was stupid and because it was true.

“Look, it’s none of his business Trix. Let’s just enjoy our food.” Katya sighed, trying to resolve the argument before they actually became seriously angry at each other.

“I can’t enjoy my food when a guy is just flirting with my girlfriend. He should know that you’re mine.”

“Stop being so possessive, it’s not a cute look on you.” Katya snapped, any humour gone from her voice as she looked at Trixie with a serious expression. Her tone was low and flat as she looked at Trixie with hard eyes. It wasn’t often Trixie saw her girlfriend look like that, but she knew it was a very bad sign. Trixie blinked before looking away, taking a sip of her wine. There was an awkwardly long pause where no one spoke.

“I’m sorry.” Trixie said quietly, breaking the silence. “I’m tired. I shouldn’t have-” She tried to explain rubbing her eyes. It had been such a long day and this guy had hit a little close to home. There was always a part of her that was possessive of Katya but that was only because she was afraid of losing her. She was afraid someone else would notice how amazing she was and take her away from her.

“No, I’m sorry. I wasn’t thinking about it from your perspective.” Katya assured her, taking Trixie’s hand in her own and kissing the back of it. They’d talked about this sort of thing briefly before. Katya sometime forgot that Trixie didn’t see everything the way she did. She knew Trixie was sometimes a little insecure in the stability of their relationship. She was a product of her upbringing. She’d told Katya that when she was young if she didn’t hold onto something or fight for it she’d lose it to her sister or parents. “I forgive you.”

“I forgive you too.” Trixie breathed in relief, looking at Katya with bright eyes. “I love you.”

“I love you too. Now cake.” Katya said cheerily as she spotted the waiter heading over to them with two dishes and a tall glass.

“Cake.” Svetlana agreed, glad the conflict was over. She found herself surprised how quickly the pair had made up. She knew relationships were difficult sometimes. Peter and herself had had their fair share of spats too.

“Ok, I have one sundae.” The waiter smiled, placing the sundae in front of Dina as instructed. “One sticky toffee pudding.” He placed the pudding in front of Peter when he raised his hand. “And a slice of cheesecake.” He said finally, looking at the other occupants. Katya nodded.

“Can we have two spoons? My girlfriend likes to say she doesn’t want any but she always does.” Katya asked brightly, waving the hand that was still joined in Trixie’s. He gave their joined hands an odd look as he placed the cake down in front of them.

“Sure.” The waiter replied, his smile not reaching his eyes as he looked between them. He nodded and left to fetch them a spoon.

“Happy?”

“Yeah. I didn’t know I was getting cheesecake too.” Trixie joked, squeezing Katya’s hand as she nudged her with her shoulder. Svetlana and Peter chuckled.

“Oh please, ‘didn’t know’. When was the last time I had a dessert to myself?” Katya snorted, drawing a line down the middle of the slice before cutting it with her spoon.

“You must be special, I’ve never seen Katya share her desserts before.” Svetlana laughed as the waiter came and carelessly handed them another spoon.

……………

“Ok, so Trix and I were stood there in the middle of the mall, covered in ice cream with this Jack Russell eying us up. The baby was crying and clown statue’s head was rolling into one of posh restaurants, we still had no idea what happened to my shoe and this old lady comes over to us and says…” Katya reminisced, turning to Trixie for her to fill in the role of the old lady.

“If this goes viral on the Youtubes, don’t let the fame change you.” Trixie quoted in a poor New Yorker accent. Everyone around the table laughed. Katya shook her head. She wasn’t sure how or why so many mad things happened to them but at least they had fun.

“We looked for the footage but I guess no one caught it on film because we never found it.” Katya laughed, wishing there was footage of the escapades. The waiter came by and place the bill beside Katya on the table. Katya reached for the bill but Trixie stopped her.

“No you don’t, I’ll pay.” Trixie said firmly, picking up the small dish and placing it down in front of her.

“Oh, you don’t need to.” Peter argued as Trixie reached for her handbag.

“Please, you’ve brought me on holiday with you. It’s the least I can do.” Trixie insisted, smiling kindly at the pair. She could pay for every meal they ate here and she doubted she’d have paid them back for the plane tickets.

“We just wanted someone to babysit, Katya.” Svetlana chuckled.

“Hey.” Katya cried in mock outrage, turning to help Dina wipe the chocolate from her face. Trixie laughed picking up the bill.

Katya was so busy helping Dina wipe her face it took her a moment to notice Trixie had suddenly gone quiet.

“Is it more than you expected, kotenok?”

“I’m going to bed.” Trixie’s voice was a little wobbly as she pulled notes from her bag and placed them down on the dish. “Don’t tip him.” She added before standing and walking out of the restaurant.

“What’s wrong with her?” Svetlana asked as Katya picked up the bill to read it. She watched as her sister sighed, putting her hands over her eyes. Svetlana reached out to take the bill from her sister.

“Don’t Lana, don’t read it.” Katya begged as the other woman took it from her.

It read: ‘You could do better, Foxy. Call me when you change your mind, I’ll show you what you’re missing.’ Followed by his phone number and a winky face.

“Oh my God.”

“What does it say?” Dina asked, looking up from her toys as they navigated the table as though it was some kind of assault course.

“Nothing sweetie, adult business. Play your game.” Svetlana assured the child, lowering her voice when she spoke again. “How can he write that?! I’m getting the manager.”

“No, Lana. This-” Katya sighed. “This sort of thing has happened to us before. Sometimes it’s best to just ignore it.”

“Does this stuff happen to you often?”

“Sometimes. The world is full of creeps.” Katya said sadly, looking in the direction Trixie went worriedly. “Look, I’m going to go check on Trixie. It’s probably best just to leave it, Lana. You have to pick your battles.” She stood, pulling her jacket from the back of the chair. “Definitely don’t tip him though.” She added before leaving.

Svetlana scowled as the waiter watched Katya leave the room, still in disbelief as she watched her gave him the finger. She looked at her husband. They sat there having a conversation with their eyes for a few minutes.

Peter raised his hand to the waiter, waving him over. He walked over calmly, smiling at them as though nothing had happened.

“Do this again and we’ll see you manager knows about it.” Svetlana said in the sternest tone she could. The kind she used when Dina was really really naughty.

“And don’t think we won’t. Don’t serve us again.” Peter added, standing and picking up his daughter who was half asleep at the table, Barbie and Pterodactyl in hand.

…………….

Trixie sighed as she looked out at the view from their balcony. She hated that people like that always managed to get to her. Katya was much more used to it than her, having been in more openly gay relationships than Trixie. She always told her just to ‘ignore it’, ‘don’t let it get you’, ‘people are stupid’. While she understood Katya hatred for confrontation, she always wanted to shout. She wanted to scream because it wasn’t fair. Someone shouldn’t be allowed to write something like that. To look them in the eye and be so rude.

She let out a yelp of surprise as someone grabbed her suddenly from behind. A calming breath left her lungs when she saw familiar fingers lace across her stomach.

“Hello my darling.”

“Hi.” Trixie sighed, letting her head rest against Katya’s as it appeared at her shoulder. She fought the laugh that bubbled up her throat as she realised Katya must be on her tiptoes to achieve this position.

“Don’t let it get to you, kotenok.” Katya said softly, kissing her cheek and squeezing her tightly.

“I’m not.” Trixie lied, turning to face her girlfriend.

“Trixie. I know it’s shitty and I probably should have done something about it sooner.”

“No, don’t you apologise for anything that just happened.” The teacher said sternly, rubbing her hand on Katya’s back soothingly.

“Ok.” Katya nodded, pressing a quick kiss to her lips. “Don’t let him ruin it for you, its lovely here.”

She supposed it did seem very nice here, despite the douche who’d served them. The food had been delicious, most of the staff very friendly and the view was absolutely stunning. The rooms were also very nicely laid out and decorated. She and Katya their own room next door to Svetlana and Peters, the two rooms joined by a long balcony. Dina had her own little room attached to her parent’s room, which Trixie was very thankful for. Katya had told her that she normally shared a room with the girl and part of her had feared that would be the case this year too.

“Guess what?” Katya said suddenly, pulling Trixie from her thoughts

“What?”

“I’m a Lebanon.” The Russian grinned as Trixie laughed. “Guess what else?”

“What?” Trixie asked fondly.

“I love you.”

“I love you too. You and your stupid t-shirt.” Trixie snorted, poking the fox as it danced across her boobs. Katya giggled.

“Wait until you see what I’m wearing underneath." Katya said flirtily, swaying the other woman slightly.

"Will I need therapy afterwards?” The teacher quipped, casting a quick look to the sliding doors of the room next to theirs as the lights came on.

“Yes. Your brain will short circuit from sexiness.” Katya replied as Trixie pushed her gently back into their room. She slid the door behind them.

“I bought us something. A twenty seven weeks and three days anniversary present.” Katya said, rummaging in their suitcase. Warmth spread in Trixie chest as she realised Katya counted the days they had been together.

“Tah-dah.” She said holding up a box with a flourish. Trixie sat down on their bed with a curious expression.

“Bend over boyfriend?” Trixie read, taking the box from the other woman as Katya closed the curtains to the balcony.

“Ignore what it says on the box. Straight people and all that jazz.”

“Double ended-oh.” The blonde began to read before suddenly realising just what she was holding. Katya came to kneel behind her, arms draped over the other woman’s shoulders.

“Yeah so, that bit goes in whoever is wearing it and they can fuck the other person with that end.” Katya explained into her ear, pointing at the picture on the back of the box. “No harness.”

“Doesn’t it fall out?”

“Not if you’ve got a good pelvic floor or you’re wearing underwear.” Katya said with a half shrug, resting her cheek against Trixie’s. “Hey I did a bunch of research, read loads of reviews. This is good quality.”

“Was it expensive? Because you’re always complaining about my strap on but there’s really nothing wrong with it.”

“The colour of the harness clashes and it makes my butt look weird.” The Russian complained. “Anyway we haven’t even gotten to the best part.” Katya added excitedly, leaning forward to press the button on the controller. Nothing happened.

“Batteries would be an idea, sweet.”

“Shit yeah.” The Russian cursed, digging back into their suitcase on the end of the bed. Trixie chuckled as she finally found some batteries, tearing into the packet with her teeth. Trixie shuffled a little as she worked her dress over her head, the bed creaking slightly. And yet somehow Katya seemed not to notice as she opened the paper instructions trying to figure out where the batteries went.

Katya let out a soft gasp as Trixie pushed her long hair aside and began to kiss her neck. Trixie’s hands slid around her stomach, sliding up to give her breasts a squeeze.

“I’m trying to concentrate.” Katya sighed in feigned annoyance, leaning back against Trixie despite her words.

“Am I distracting you?” Trixie asked innocently, running her nails gently over the tops of Katya’s thighs. Katya finally managed to place the batteries in the right way around.

“You always distract me.” The Russian said matter-of-factly, clicking the battery cover into place. She let out a triumphant sound, turning to give Trixie a quick kiss. Trixie caught her lips, coaxing her into a longer, deeper kiss. Katya slid her tongue into her lover’s mouth as Trixie’s hand crept inside her t-shirt, the fabric dragging up as she slid her hand higher. She smiled into the kiss at the feel of lace.

“Have you been wearing nice underwear all day?” Trixie asked, pulling Katya to lay on top of her. The Russian followed whilst clumsily trying to work her way out of her t-shirt.

“No.” Katya laughed. “I changed before dinner.”

“Anticipating something were you?” Trixie asked coyly as she helped Katya out of her t-shirt.

“Well, I was hoping to score with the waiter but…” Trixie suddenly went quiet, her face lost its humour as she began to carelessly fold Katya’s t-shirt. “Sorry, it’s too soon to joke about that isn’t it?” Katya said apologetically, looking at Trixie with an anxious expression. Trixie looked away, jaw set with annoyance.

“Hey, Trixie.” Katya called after a moment, shifting a little from her place half on top of her. Trixie rolled her eyes still not looking. “Trixie.”

“What?” She sighed, turning to look at her.

“Who am I?” Katya asked from behind her hair. She’d parted her hair at the crown of her head so it fell down to cover her face. She had Trixie’s sunglasses on over her hair. Katya made garbled chirpy noises in a poor impression of Cousin Itt.

“Oh my god.” The teacher snorted, pushing the other woman’s shoulder as she couldn’t help but laugh. She remembered the first time she’d said Katya looked like Cousin Itt. She’d just come out of the shower and was towel drying her hair, leaving it in a state Trixie could hardly believe, covering her whole face. She’d laughed for such a long time at the confused, naked and faceless Katya before letting her in on the joke.

“You’re such an idiot.” She said fondly, parting the hair beneath Katya’s nose to kiss her. The other woman smiled into the kiss, evidently pleased with herself. Katya never liked to see Trixie unhappy, she’d never considered just how far she’d go just to make the woman laugh but doing stupid stuff seemed to work pretty well so far.

“I love you.” Katya grinned as came to straddle Trixie. “I love you.” She said a little louder, enjoying the crinkled that appeared at the corners of Trixie’s eyes. The teacher laughed. “I l-“ Katya began to shout, hands on either side of her mouth before Trixie shushed her through her own giggles.

“Shut up.” She giggled, pulling the other woman down to the bed.

“Make me.” Katya replied challengingly, sliding a hand around to grope her girlfriend’s ass languidly. Trixie rolled her eyes, leaning down to kiss her. Katya caught her lips eagerly, deepening the kiss as her hands slid to the hooks of Trixie’s bra. The blonde pulled away to pull it off, letting it slip down her arms and casting it onto the floor.

“You packed lube right?” Trixie checked as Katya looked her up and down with hungry eyes.

“Yeah, it’s in the red bag.”

“I’m going to grab it. You best be naked when I get back.” Trixie smirked, chuckling as Katya let out a yelp of laughter as she lightly ran her fingers down the inside of Katya’s thigh. She got off the bed, shedding her underwear as she did so. Katya laughed as she threatened to throw her underwear at her when she wolf whistled.

By the time she returned with the lube Katya was completely naked, a finger already inside herself while her other hand squeezed her breast. She looked up at Trixie through her eyelashes, making soft mewling sounds as she touched herself.

“You’re so bad.” Trixie breathed, coming to sit between her legs. Katya bit her lip and moaned as she added another finger. Trixie could remember the morning they’d discovered that Trixie liked to watch Katya touch herself. They’d had one of their more laid back dates, dinner and television and it had been great. That night Katya had been insatiably horny but it had been Trixie’s time of the month so they hadn’t done anything. The next morning Trixie had woken to the sound of cut off gasps and soft moans.

Katya had at first been worried Trixie would be mad at her or something not wanting to bring up what she wanted because she knew Trixie felt shitty. Annoyance barely made a fleeting visit in her brain when she first saw her. And so now it often worked its way into their foreplay, if Katya really wanted to drive her mad.

“Here, beautiful.” Trixie said breathlessly, holding the lube out to her lover. Katya presented her fingers for Trixie to squirt the lube into. Trixie sighed in content, resting her cheek on Katya’s raised knee as she watched her slid her fingers back in. She pressed a kiss to the inside of her knee as she watched.

“You want me to do you too?” Katya gasped, breath heavy as Trixie licked her finger and pressed it against her clit, rubbing very gently.

“And how are you going to do me?” Trixie chuckled. “Or am I doing you?”

“I want to fuck you so bad.” Her voice was hoarse as she removed the fingers from inside herself to beckon Trixie closer.

“That can be arranged.” Trixie nodded, sighing as Katya’s slick fingers brushed against her. The Russian slid her clever index finger inside her, shortly followed by her middle finger. Trixie moaned, Katya was always so good at this. She soon found herself becoming inpatient with the slow movements. “I can take another.”

“Someone sounds impatient.” Katya smirked, pushing a third finger inside her. Trixie groaned, letting out a desperate sound as Katya lightly touched her clit with a pressure light enough to feel but not hard enough to satisfy.  After a moment of this torture she moved away.

“You wouldn’t be so smug if you could see yourself right now, missy.” Trixie countered, taking the toy from beside them and covering it in lube. Katya snorted. “You ready for this?” Katya nodded.

After the slightly awkward moment of trying to figure out how best to use the toy they ended up with the toy inside her, supported by her underwear. It was a little odd looking although Trixie supposed so were strapons with harnesses. She cast a look to the vibration controls tucked at Katya’s side thoughtfully.

Deciding to leave that for now, Trixie reached forward and gave the toy an experimental tug, noting the way Katya’s breath hitched. “Does that feel good?”

“Yeah.” Katya nodded, seemingly equally impressed.

“How about this?” Trixie asked as she slid forward and pressed herself against the toy, grinding against it. Katya hummed, hands sliding up to rest on Trixie’s hips as they moved. The other woman grinned, raising her hips so that she could sink down onto the toy.

“Wait.” Katya said suddenly, putting a hand on Trixie’s stomach to stop her. “Pick a wall.”

“I’m sorry?”

“I’d like to try it against the wall. I find the idea…” Katya trailed off, shrugging one shoulder as she fidgeted slightly, rolling some of the bedsheet between her fingers. Trixie raised an eyebrow as she slid back down to perch on Katya’s thighs.

“Is this a kink?” She asked curiously, it’s not that she didn’t want to or anything. Katya was always more adventurous in the bedroom, whereas Trixie tended to be perfectly content with the things they already did without wanting to try new things. She certainly wasn’t complaining, the new stuff often ended up being either the most amazing experience or the most meh experience, in which case they didn’t bother again.

“I don’t know, maybe.” Katya shrugged, trailing a finger up Trixie’s stomach and towards her breast, looking up at her from under her eyelashes. Trixie fought the urge to roll her eyes, stage one of Katya’s unbeatable guide to getting her way.

“Alright.” She said with a laugh, Katya had been pulling out all the stops. She had to end it before the sweet talking came along. She enjoyed the sweet talking but she was more interested in other things at the moment.

“Really?” Katya said in surprise, evidently expecting to have to convince Trixie it would be more worthwhile than just riding her to completion. Trixie nodded. “Pick a wall.” Katya repeated, eyes alight with excitement.

“I think that’s the sexiest thing you’ve ever said to me.” Trixie deadpanned, making Katya giggle. “I’ll go with this one since nobody is on the other side of it.” Trixie said, pointing to the wall to her left as she stood.

“The bathroom genie might disagree.” Katya mused, quickly catching up with the other woman and backing her up towards the wall.

“This is weird dirty talk.” Trixie snorted as her back hit the wall softly.

“Oh hush, you love it.”

“Nope I love you, that’s different.” Trixie said, running a hand through Katya’s hair trying to avoid the tangles. The Russian smiled, leaning forwards to kiss her softly.

“You’re going to love this. Ready?” Katya checked, looking very confident in her own abilities. Trixie supposed that confidence was in many ways not unfounded.

“Go on then, wow me.” Trixie sighed in false exasperation. Katya nodded, shoulder squaring as she seemed to take it as a challenge. She stepped forward, closing any space that may have been between them, and kissed Trixie with more vigour than the other woman had been expecting. The teacher sighed into the kiss, putting her arms around Katya’s neck as she took hold of Trixie’s leg and pulled it up.

She let out a surprised moan as Katya pushed up into her. She wasn’t sure what it was about the position that made it feel so different, no doubt it was the angle. Part of her also cursed Katya for being right because this was already better than her old strapon.

Katya began to fuck her, grinding her hips to deliver slow yet purpose filled thrusts. Her breath would stutter each time she moved, leaving her breathless. Trixie let her head fall back against the wall as she looked at Katya with half hooded eyes. She slid her hand down from Katya’s neck to cup her breast.

“Seeing you…” She began before being cut off by a gasp as Katya stepped a little closer, shifting her position for a better angle. The Russian looked up, her cheeks flushed red and her eyes dark. “…Enjoy it.” She choked out through moans as she rolled Katya’s nipple between her fingers. “It’s super hot-ah.” Katya smirked, thrusting harder and faster as her hand gripped Trixie’s leg tightly.

Trixie’s chest heaved as she held onto Katya’s shoulders for dear life. Katya caught her lips but found she couldn’t maintain the kiss for long due to the need to breath. She settled for ghosting heavy breaths over Trixie’s neck, occasionally sucking on her soft skin, no doubt bruising it. Trixie’s toes curled in pleasure as Katya kissed the spot on her neck that always sent a jolt up her spine.

“Oh god you’re going to make me-”

“Hold on.” Katya huffed out, reaching for the controller at her side. The pair almost tumbled as Trixie nearly doubled over at the first feel of vibrations against her. Katya grunted as she managed to maintain her near brutal pace.

It didn’t take long after the vibrations began. Trixie had begun chanting a mantra of 'fuck me, yes, fuck me, oh’ and Katya was happily doing just that.  

Katya bit down on Trixie’s shoulder to muffle her shout as she came, her legs shaking from the stimulation. Trixie pulled Katya’s face to her, kissing her thoroughly. She was quite impressed the woman was still going despite having evidently just experienced as fairly powerful orgasm.

“Just a little mor-Ah.” She began, hoping to reassure Katya that she was almost there. The Russian pushed into her roughly, pressing the vibrations right up against her. She drowned her cry in Katya’s mouth, her whole body shuddering and tensing as she came. She let out a rather strangled sigh before slumping forward against her lover.

Next thing she knew they were on the floor with the loudest commotion she had ever heard. Katya’s legs had given out due to the sudden extra weight and lengthy exertion, leading them to both plummet to the wooden hotel floor. But as if the situation wasn’t bad enough, Katya had reached out to grab something to stop her fall and had managed to pull the bed sheet, sending their suitcase and the contents clattering to the ground.

“You ok?” Trixie asked as Katya groaned. Trixie was sure she was going to get bruises forming on her knees and elbows thanks to that endeavour. You couldn’t get her to regret it if you tried though.

“That wasn’t part of my plan.” Katya said through heavy breaths, pulling the no longer vibrating strapon from inside her and dropping it down beside them before laying back against the ground. With that she turned her face to look at Trixie, catching her eye. There was barely a second of silence before the two burst into giggles.

“Only us.” Trixie snorted, as she settled next to her, momentarily thankful neither of them had hit their faces when they fell. “Would you say that’s the best sex we’ve had?” Trixie wondered, putting her head on Katya’s shoulder.

"Mmm. Everytime is the best time, although if I had to choose it would have to be the first time.” She replied, looking up at the ceiling with a smile. Her breath was heavy and her eyes were bright. Trixie always loved seeing her like that. “You remember that?”

“Of course I do.” Trixie rolled her eyes as Katya shifted, her forearm now beneath Trixie’s head as she loomed over the other woman with a grin.

“That first time I ate you out.” The Russian breathed, pushing her leg between Trixie’s. “You looked so good, all flushed and breathy. Just like you look now.”

“Are you trying to turn me on again?” Trixie tried to laughed, but the words came out croaked. Katya looked at her innocently as she dropping to press an open mouthed kiss to Trixie’s nipple, tongue running along the exposed bud.

“I wonder if you could-” Katya’s victorious look morphed into one of mild horror when a knocking sound came from the balcony window. “Oh my god.” She hissed, turning to catch Trixie’s eye. She hauled herself up, pulling Trixie with her.  Trixie then had to catch her as she legs hadn’t quite recovered.

“Katya? Trixie?” Svetlana called from outside. The pair had never moved so fast in their lives, half miming and half whispering to each other as they pulled on any clothes they could find.

“One second.” Katya called, hopping as she hurriedly tried to pull on pair of Trixie’s shorts that were clearly too big for her. Trixie couldn’t see to help as she was in the process of battling with the first dress she had laid her hands on. Once she’d pulled it on she rushed over to where they’d been laid. Trixie kicked the strapon into the bathroom and shut the door with a nod to Katya who looked put upon. Katya pointed at Trixie before pointing at herself and shaking her head.

“Your sister.” Trixie argued so quietly it seemed more as though she was simply miming the words. Katya put her hands up

“Has to like you, she can give me shit.” She argued, point an accusatory finger.

“Open the door.”

“You do it.”

“For God’s sake.” Trixies sighed, walking over to the door, dragging Katya by the loose waist of her shorts as she did so. Before Katya could complain or argued, she opened the door.

“Hey, Lana. What’s up?” Katya said, trying to lean casually against the door frame.

“Erm, we heard a crash. I wanted to make sure you were ok.” Her older sister replied, looking a cross between concerned and suspicious.

“Katya was doing yoga and she kicked the suitcase off the bed.” Trixie lied, running her hand through her no doubt very messy hair.

“Oh right. Are you guys going out?”

“No why?” The pair asked in unison.

“It’s just you’ve got changed.”

“These are our bedclothes.” Katya supplied, seemingly deciding it was her turn to come up with a lie. Trixie could have kicked her.

“You wear sequins to bed, Trixie?”

“There is no place or time where sequins aren’t appropriate, not even to bed.” Trixie replied as confidently as she could, not quite able to believe the words leaving her mouth.

“What did you do to your arm?” She asked, pointing down to the spot on Trixie’s forearms where Katya had accidentally scratched her as they’d fallen.

“Who do you think you are asking all these questions? Sherlock Holmes?” Katya cried suddenly, eyes wide. Trixie shook her head, Katya was such an awful liar, it was painful to watch. She made a mental note never to let Katya take over in impromptu lying situations, she couldn’t handle the pressure. Trixie would have thought she’d have been quite good at it given how creative she was but nope.

“You’re acting weird and I- oh.”

“What?” Trixie asked quickly.

“I can’t believe I fell for that cockamamy story.” Svetlana snorted. “You were doing something I don’t want to know about in detail and you like fell out of bed or something, didn’t you?”

“Huh?” Katya asked, trying to look confused. Trixie contemplated just going inside and going to bed. The charade was pointless at this point.

“Goodnight you two, try not to wear too many sequins to bed.” The older woman huffed a laugh before turning and heading back into her room.

“How’d she figure us out?” Katya blinked, shutting the sliding door behind her.

“I don’t know, I mean with your lying skills, maybe she is Sherlock Holmes.” Trixie said sarcastically, pulling the sequin dress over her head.

“You have thought we’d have noticed the moustache.” Katya mused, evidently electing to ignore Trixie’s jibe.

“Did Sherlock Holmes have a moustache?” Trixie asked, looking mournfully down at their clothes strewn across the floor.

“I’m not sure, want to sort this it tomorrow?” Katya hummed, appearing beside her.

“What the 'tash debate or the suitcase?” Trixie snorted, letting her head fall to Katya’s shoulder as the other woman slung an arm around her.

"Let’s go to bed.“

[jaredreitzin]

Food preparation - Improv Cooking or perhaps Cooking Without A Internet

Preparing food - Improv Cooking or Cooking Without A World wide web

Events Any loose definition associated with the word improv is actually to invent, compose, as well as perform something extemporaneously. For instance if you've ever found some sort of Woody Allen video, laughed at a sketch on Saturday Nights Reside or heard Kilometers Davis play notes associated with songs not bound with that globe, you've experienced improv in action. As it will be in shows, sketch funny or punk the happiness of improvisational cooking food is in the results in which spring forth from encouraged formation. How do you use a recipe? Do you really follow each step and gauge each ingredient using the accurate of any chemist? Do you nervously meter out the of baking moment of your cupcakes by a tap your ft . to the cadence involving the timer? We conduct this culinary art to please more than all of our stomachs, the reasons too numerous to cover. Whatever the reason we usually method it with recipe on hand. Often times a recipes we all don't understand. Typically the essence of Improv Preparing food, with it's fairly Zen like approach, demands you aren't imagination and intuition to help you solve often the riddle of the formula. The Steps To Improv Cooking Perth venue hire Improvisational cooking is usually not so much reading as well as following a recipe ingredients as it is making use of skills and techniques to be able to require a recipe to a different level or perhaps create a recipe out only a new larder full of ingredients. You have to hold a certain amount regarding skill and understanding before plunging in to any kind of cooking. Enhanc Cooking is no various. It forces you to help rely on your instincts because well. Abide by these seven simple steps and you may before long be free to start the fridge and only start off cooking. #1 Flavor Several Different Styles associated with Cooking as Possible This might be the simplest of almost all the Improv methods to discover and master. Simply eat as many different food preparation styles as you could. The saying is clear-cut. The more you're exposed to, the more imaginative likely to grow to be. Fill your earbuds along with nothing but Britney and it definitely will be difficult to imagine Steve Parker's saxophone. Therefore, take in nothing but the same restaurant or property cooked food constantly and also your cooking vocabulary can reflect it. #2 Understand Basic Fundamental Techniques involving Cooking You can't choose up some sort of trumpet along with expect to be understood as Mls Davis without knowing a couple of things first. I refuses to begin all the issues that could and will probably not work out. I'm sure anyone get the picture. Properly, Improv Cooking follows the same rules. You can't count on to be able to whip away a perfect Coq Au Vin without knowing the actual techniques involved to carry out so. But, the particular advantages will be greater after you do. The following record is more than just the essential fundamentals even though. I've listed all the tactics and methods that subject to be able to the experienced cook. Typically the Oven Group Roasting - Cooking with dry warmth that surrounds the food together with as much primary heat as possible. Pan Roasting - Typically the wary small secret of each professional kitchen area. This is a combined method of starting often the food in a very hot saut� pan then finishing inside a hot range. Broiling - A cousin to grilling, this is primary heat cooking with the temperature source above the particular food instead of under the item. Braising rapid Moist heating cooking usually achieved inside a sealed container just like a Dutch oven, tagine or stoneware crock. Baking - A dry temperature method of cooking commonly talking about breads, pastries and so forth. Typically the Wet Group Hot instructions Cooking in the large quantity connected with chemical, usually water. Steaming -- Cooking in a covered container with a small amount of fluid (usually water but not especially) with the food stopped on the liquid so in which it only comes in contact with the steam vapors. Poaching rapid Best known as a new approach to cook egg, sea food and perhaps chicken. This is cooking inside a hot nonetheless liquid where the liquid never reaches more than a bare simmer. The Frying Group Saut�ing - Preparing food in the hot pan along with little or no fat (butter, necessary oil etc. ) Griddle Baking - Very identical to saut�ing, other than accomplished with more fat. At times enough to almost immerse the food. Stir-Frying -- The Asian method involving cooking within the extremely warm pan, usually a wok, with not much fat even though keeping the meal practically in constant action. Deep-Frying - Cooking simply by totally immersing the food throughout hot fat. The excess fat will the job of food preparation by encircling the meals with high temperature, thereby allowing for it to cook more rapidly sealing in natural drinks and flavors. If done properly it's not typically the health demon most individuals assume it is. Often the Outdoor Group Grilling instructions Cooking over direct warmth with the food commonly maintained a grate associated with some type. This method can easily be performed indoors likewise with the right gear. Smoking : This is actually two sub groups. Hot smoking is cooking food at temperatures that will certainly prepare the food in the same time the item naturel the food with smoke quality. Cold smoking is done using the warmth source separate from the cooking food chamber so the your meals are enveloped in low temperature fumes that will infusion flavor with no cooking. Rotisserie - Such as grilling, this specific method does not automatically have to be performed outdoors for any lucky couple of that have the capacity throughout a well-equipped kitchen. Either way this is cooking along with the food suspended above or next to direct heating and spun via by some mechanised means. Typically the Sauce Party Here's wherever it will get a minor dicey and can separate the cooks from the particular pretenders. Some of all these techniques are best mastered at the elbow of someone having been generally there before. But do not let that will stop you from excavating within and trying with your own. You might feature some pretty dreadful goods, but the try will teach you quite a lot. Stock - A essence of cooking, whether, meat, fish, poultry or organic. A low and gradual preparing food that's meant to be able to draw the true essence regarding flavor into a liquid web form. Brown Gravy - Typically made with beef or veal, but could be produced with any brown share made from roasted bones, flavored with aromatic natural herbs as well as vegetables. Demi-Glace instructions Much like brown sauce simply built without a thickener and reduced to thicken and increase flavors. Bright Sauce - Also acknowledged as B�chamel, made together with dairy and or ointment and thickened with a new roux (flour and spread paste) Veloute : Designed very much like white-colored marinade, except the milk products will be replaced usually by means of a light source colored stock of often meat or even poultry. It is enhanced using egg yolks and butter at completing. The "Aise" Family rapid This includes Hollandaise and all their progeny like b�arnaise, choron etc. and mayonnaise and all sorts of its descendants like aioli, remoulade etc. These usually are almost all emulsion sauces having egg cell bases and the body built mostly connected with oil as well as butter. Different Emulsions - This can range from aiolis or maybe butter sauces to vinaigrettes, to pan sauces which are thickened or finished last minute with butter and or perhaps treatment. Gravy - Any hot sauce recipe in loose words simply. Gravies are typically made with the particular fruit drinks collected from roasted meat or poultry. Often the non-thickened varieties are sometimes identified as "Jus" in modern selection vernacular. The Soup Class The Hearty Family -- This includes all typically the varieties you would like to serve throughout meal-sized bowls like meat stew, chicken breast and dumplings, chili, chowder and guazzabuglio. Bisque -- Usually in addition to intensely distinctive flavored soup gowns been thickened together with almond, potatoes or a flour paste called panade. Purees - Similar to parfaite in nature but generally made along with a single veggie flavoring as well as thickened simply by pureeing the full mass by means of some mechanised or manual means. Quite often these cereal are over with cream. Creams - Any kind of soup, thicker or tiny, where a new significant portion of the actual water is either dairy or product. Broth instructions Often confused with stock, both are liquids this have been flavor along with aromatics. But the basic building block of investment is definitely bones whereas broth is made up from pieces connected with meat creating more collagen. This is the top sticking quality that presents broth its viscous system. Consomm� - A broth that's been clarified with egg cell white wines The Miscellaneous Group It is a hodgepodge of tactics that will give you any little more depth to the creativity. Papillote, Packages and Pouches - This is usually where the meals is draped and closed in report, foil as well as sometimes the natural wrapper just like ingrown toenail husk or clown tea leaf. The packages might be prepared by baking, transfering, cooking or grilling. Dumplings rapid This is a incredibly wide category of meals and techniques that involves many varieties that Now i'm going to break place into 2 families. The particular filled money variety and the nothing but funds variety. The filled money relatives have names just like ravioli, dim sum, kreplach or pierogi. After stuffing, these succulent siblings can be steamed, boiled, baked as well as fried. The nothing but funds relations generally just pass the name "dumpling" but sometimes have often the main flavoring earlier their surname such as apple company or onion. Also with this branch of the forest are usually hush puppies, zeppoli and matzoth balls. Croquettes instructions Usually a melted delicacy, but sometimes cooked. A soft filling of just about any manner of meat, cheese, veg as well as fruit encased throughout a sharp shell. Brining - Extremely popular these times. Besides turkey with Thanksgiving, it's an essential help the process of cigarettes certain foods, just like trout or ham. But will usually stand on its very own inside foods like gravlax or prosciutto. Pat� -- An italian term to express a recipe made with forcemeat (ground) involving innards or any kind involving meats. But the approach occurs in other cuisine and has recently already been flagged to concoctions associated with greens or fruits since well. Cool meatloaf is technically any pate. Charcuterie - Pardon my German, but they does possess a huge influence in the regarding cooking. This kind of term masks all appropriate of chicken making and also preserving regarding meats. The actual Baker's Party This class of techniques is usually everywhere the art of preparing food meets the science involving foodstuff. Precision in description, mix of ingredients and process is essential. Discipline and a strict faith for you to formula must affect the sagging attitude you can give to other areas of preparing. However as in existence, there are no absolutes. Once mastered, these kinds of methods will reveal ways to be able to tweak and extend some sort of recipe to your may. Yeast Breads - These can be savory as well as fairly sweet, loaves, rolls as well as doughnuts. They can always be baked, fried as well as steamed. Quick Breads instructions The "Quick" generally appertains to the productive leavening that's obtained using eggs, baking soda pop, preparing powder, and virtually any collaboration thereof. These might be baked in loaves as well as mugs (then they're referred to as muffins). Or steamed in moulds which will change their very own name to pudding. Pies, Tarts and Cobblers rapid Be they one crust or two, hand held or deeply dish, lotion filled, fruit filled, custard or various meats. The simple construction varies very little. Cakes and Tortes instructions Typically the basic building blocks of flour (usually wheat but could be any variation), sweetener (sugar, honey whatever) and also leavening (very similar for you to quick bread) rarely transform. The differences all are available in the flavoring and final construction. Icings and Frostings etc. - Really a sub group of muffins and tortes, but with regard to this purpose it stands alone. I'm such as in this arena fondant, buttercream, ganache, boiled icing or any the wondrous creations through with pulled sugar. Souffl�s and Mousse- A seemingly daunting hurdle to the novice, nevertheless once the very simple construction of flavoring basic lightened together with egg whites in the case regarding souffl� or whipped product for mousse is learned typically the sky is typically the limit. Custards - Understanding how to manage equally breeds, baked and stir-cooked over heat, opens options for both sweet in addition to savory variations. Puddings instructions A difficult process to help solve because of typically the wide range of food items which might be called puddings. #3 Understand the Relationships involving Aroma, Flavor, Texture in addition to Colour The relationships associated with bouquet, flavor, texture as well as colouring are possibly typically the most important aspect of enhanc cooking. In order intended for just about any dish to always be cooked very well, the food must be entire. That must appeal to almost all the feels completely and with harmony. Webster's Thesaurus describes these elements inside the following way; Aroma : A pleasant characteristic smell Quality - the flavor experience if a savory sauce is obtained into the actual mouth Texture - Typically the distinctive physical composition or maybe structure of something, specifically with respect to the actual size, shape, in addition to option of its pieces. Color - That area of stuff that is caused simply by differing qualities of typically the light mirrored or emitted by these people. To make all of this work inside harmony is no small task. Whether from recipes as well as you're imaginations it's the crux regarding all cooking. To ignore or diminish anyone these elements would result inside a food that's certainly not complete. And by contrast, to enhance or over emphasize everyone of these types of elements as well will result in a meal that is down balance and probably not incredibly appealing. So how carry out you know once you acquire it right? Is there a food or program of measuring these components that can insure all the pieces of the puzzle tend to be in area? No, an individual just know with regards to works. Even though the equilibrium of the elements is important, the right respond to will be up to you. Allow your home go along with become the meal or even as was first mentioned in Caddyshack "Be often the ball! " Let your personal sensory faculties tell you what's happening because pot or perhaps pan. Smell, taste, appearance and even focus on typically the food as it wanna-be cooks. Within the great story to be able to tell if you let that. #4 Learn the Art of Backing Very few things all of us cook stand-alone. Even the actual almost all well-crafted stew or perhaps broth becomes even far more complete in addition to interesting by what it is served with. The gamut involving choices can range via aspect dishes to assaisonnement for you to beverages and even to the personal choice of lighting or music. In reality there are too many alternatives go over in detail. The particular best way to technique this kind of dilemma is to help first be familiar with goal. Due to the fact there are huge locations these as well, a simple lunch break for a pair of suggests a different range of choices from a large family gathering or a good elegant supper. Throw this kind of into the combination along with your own degree of capability or relaxation with particular techniques in addition to dishes as well as well I think you get my point. Perhaps the finest way to be able to approach that step towards Improv Cooking food is to begin along with everything you know, because only as the ideal accompaniments can easily make a meal, a bad ones can just while simply destroy it. #5 Cook With Others "One can acquire everything in solitude other than character. micron Stendhal, About Love, 1822 Unlike jazz music, comedy or perhaps any of the some other improvisational arts, where the act of improv is actually seldom done alone, you actually hardly ever think of preparing as something that can in addition to should be done together with others. Yet there usually are typically the accidental improvisational periods that happen all the time. While building the actual skills of Improv cooking food, you should plan many intentional cooking sessions based on a certain dish as well as meal which two or even more people can prepare together. Cooking with another person can magically open a new door to your imagination. #6 Taste Analytically My partner and i started off cooking because I actually wanted to know the secret behind the food I got eating. Tasting smelling along with analyzing ingredients to understand the effects each can have got within a dish is usually an essential improvisational expertise. The more you accomplish it the easier it can be to unlock the secret of a dish. This expertise as well as a solid comprehension of technique will probably make it possible for you to accomplish great stuff in the kitchen area. #7 Break the laws. With no a sense of search, which is the unmistakable rule breaker, we would have never walked for the moon or experienced Toute derniere Cuisine. The space program made hundreds of current conveniences we like today. However many meals writers in addition to Chefs seem upon Inedite Cuisine with the same disdain as the embarrassingly wide collars and cotton apparel of the day. Insolite Cooking left us along with a legacy of music of pushing the envelope. Unlike some other period in cooking, Cooks were taking the estimated as well as giving us the whole fresh way for you to see it. The foods, approaches and presentations that appeared far out as well as strange then have nowadays become but not only the convention for many Chefs, although a jumping off specify even wilder ways for you to prepare food. Breaking the policies is the rule within many kitchens today. Gustatory gustful strong gamy palatable foams, laser printed ready-to-eat paper, carnival midway treats served in the r�sidence great for cuisine are just simply a few of the techniques rules are staying broken. In case something feels like a principle often the next time you're in the kitchen, subsequently split it. You may produce something inedible, but anyone will learn a valuable lesson. I can't point out enough that once you merge your increased knowledge connected with strategies, flavors and design your own personal imagination will possibly be free to see brand-new avenues to explore. Soon the rules will start disappearing.

[paulmccartneyofficial]

for the ask thing: 1-150 🙂

ok charlie let’s fuckin go

here they ALL are

1. Who was the last person you held hands with?

something tells me its steve rogers boy………

2. Are you outgoing or shy?

outgoing lmao

3. Who are you looking forward to seeing?

christine this summer :-)

4. Are you easy to get along with?

for the most part, but sometimes I Get In A Mood™

5. If you were drunk would the person you like take care of you?

uhhhh i dont really like anyone right now?? um. the last person i liked, possibly, since that’s what i did for him. but uh. the only person i fancy rn is like paul or rumours lindsey and like paul would definitely take care of me but if im drunk and with rumours lindsey then that means lindsey is also drunk and there’s no hope left for either of us

6. What kind of people are you attracted to?

k personality wise, christine says im attracted to “bad boys” which like is probably true??? idk. often artsy and aesthetically pleasing peeps ?? i dont knwo

LOOKS wise, my sister in law has pointed out that every guy i have liked has a square-ish face and has dark features and often times blue eyes, but not always. see: lindsey and sebastian stan. so i guess i have a type ????? lol

7. Do you think you’ll be in a relationship two months from now?

probably not lmao i dont have time 4 that

8. Who from the opposite gender is on your mind?

uh…………..sorry but its lindsey buckingham :/

9. Does talking about sex make you uncomfortable?

not really no lol just uh. nonconsensual sex makes me uncomfortable lmao

10. Who was the last person you had a deep conversation with?

@stevieselectricskillet

11. What does the most recent text that you sent say?

“me: pretends i’m not paul mccartney trash anymore”

12. What are your 5 favorite songs right now?

oohh. uh. stockholm syndrome by one direction, stephanie by buckingham nicks, go insane (live in 1997) by lindsey buckingham, hold me by fleetwood mac, bright by zayn

13. Do you like it when people play with your hair?

i fucking love it

14. Do you believe in luck and miracles?

yes yes yes

15. What good thing happened this summer?

i literally went the entire summer without smoking weed once after smoking like every day of senior year lmao

16. Would you kiss the last person you kissed again?

no

17. Do you think there is life on other planets?

of course?? im not an idiot

18. Do you still talk to your first crush?

we actually reconnected over the summer after like 14 years of no communication but we’re both very different now so we don’t really talk anymore

19. Do you like bubble baths?

i live for them

20. Do you like your neighbors?

yes! i love them all. they make coming home from school wonderful

and as for at school, i only hang out with my neighbors p much

21. What are you bad habits?

i pull out my hair unfortunately. sometimes i’ll pick at my nails if they’ve chip on their own.

22. Where would you like to travel?

england, italy, montreal, los angeles, ireland, lebanon, scotland, ancient greece, turks and caicos, the bahamas, hawaii (solely for the set of lost and jurassic park), and wherever hobbiton is

23. Do you have trust issues?

half of my anxiety is a result from trust issues so ya lmao

24. Favorite part of your daily routine?

my hour long shower that i take because i’m living at school and i am allowed to use as much hot water as i want

25. What part of your body are you most uncomfortable with?

double chin! :)

26. What do you do when you wake up?

check my phone/send snap streaks out/put on whatever song is stuck in my head when i wake up

27. Do you wish your skin was lighter or darker?

i really don’t care about my skin color why is this a question

28. Who are you most comfortable around?

a few people. mary, lexi, and amanda, mostly.

29. Have any of your ex’s told you they regret breaking up?

unfortunately……..

30. Do you ever want to get married?

yes

31. Is your hair long enough for a pony tail?

its currently in one

32. Which celebrities would you have a threesome with?

uhhh…….. i’m not the threesome type .… . if i had to choose two celebs for that particular situation tho, then harry s. and zayn, hands down.

33. Spell your name with your chin.

ww2gffg (egg) / kaeskiu (kaeli)

34. Do you play sports? What sports?

i used to play baseball, but i don’t anymore. however, i, too, boogieboard, like lindsey buckingham does. disclaimer: i have been doing this sport since i was a small kid, thus, i have been doing it longer than i have known about lindsey buckingham. i truly wish we did not have this in common

35. Would you rather live without TV or music?

tv hands down im not dumb

36. Have you ever liked someone and never told them?

of course?? isn’t that part of life

37. What do you say during awkward silences?

i don’t say anything. i just embody an ellipses by crafting a particular look on my face with raised eyebrows and unamused eyes. if nothing comes of it, then i usually let out a sigh and look off to the side like a dramatic bitch. i am a kim k gif

38. Describe your dream girl/guy?

the main male character of my book is sort of my dream guy so there’s that.

he’s got a knack for aestheticism through artistic values, ambition and true passion in the work he does. he’s very sarcastic and funny, yet somehow still sweet with it. wouldn’t hurt a fly. hates trump’s guts and understands that feminism isn’t about him. has his privilege in check. he and i understand each other in a bond that no one else has with us. it is good. it is sweet. i am in a constant state of awe and shock of how in love with him i am. im even continuously falling for him more and more every day.

it is good and we are happy and we know each other better than anyone else.

39. What are your favorite stores to shop in?

lush

40. What do you want to do after high school?

i am out of high school and chillin in college my friends. im gonna do some art

41. Do you believe everyone deserves a second chance?

always. if they can recognize their flaws and truly try to work at them, then yes. they deserve a second chance.

there is always more light for us to see.

42. If you’re being extremely quiet what does it mean?

im either extremely depressed or just salty

43. Do you smile at strangers?

yes, all the time. i believe that a simple smile from anyone can sometimes be enough to change someone’s day.

44. Trip to outer space or bottom of the ocean?

space.

45. What makes you get out of bed in the morning?

either the state of my hair, my bladder, or my stomach.

46. What are you paranoid about?

being secretly hated.

47. Have you ever been high?

yes, too many times

48. Have you ever been drunk?

ya about 9 hours ago to be exact

49. Have you done anything recently that you hope nobody finds out about?

honestly i fuck up so often that ya, i probably have

50. What was the colour of the last hoodie you wore?

black??? i think? wow. i am now realizing that i’ve actually #MovedOn from the hoodie life. tragic

51. Ever wished you were someone else?

i am in a constant state of wishing i were stevie nicks

52. One thing you wish you could change about yourself?

i really wish i had bigger hands so i could play a normal sized guitar

53. Favourite makeup brand?

um im cheap i thought sephora was a brand for like 2 years so that one time i think cover girl had a star wars line?? that was cool i own a few of those lipsticks

54. Favourite store?

its still lush

55. Favourite blog?

@lindseybuckingham

56. Favourite colour?

yellow

57. Favourite food?

ravioli

58. Last thing you ate?

a granola bar i think

59. First thing you ate this morning?

i pulled an all nighter its now 6:30 in the morning and i have yet to eat

60. Ever won a competition? For what?

i’ve gotten gold at a few jazz band and chorus competitions and then one time my DI team won our districts competition but only by default

61. Been suspended/expelled? For what?

hahahaha i was suspended senior year for leaving school early with two of my gal pals to get breakfast at our favorite breakfast joint. we were supposed to have at-home suspension, but our drama club show was that weekend, which meant we’d be kicked out of the show last minute. i look about 12 years old and i have doe eyes with long eye lashes. i cried my way out of that shit and saved both of my two gal pals in doing so, too.

we ended up all having in-school suspension with each other. so essentially, they locked me and my two friends in a room for an entire school day. we could do whatever we wanted.

we actually ended up acting out the entirety of the play, antigone, for our teacher that stayed with us. and then we wrote a song about a turkey named dave.

it was actually one of the best days of my high school career.

62. Been arrested? For what?

no but i cried one time when a police officer pulled me over for having a tail light out.

63. Ever been in love?

unfortunately, yes.

64. Tell us the story of your first kiss?

i was a freshman. his name was alex and he was older than me and he really liked me and he was pretty cool and easy to talk to and stuff but also. he was greasy and did nothing with his life at the time. haha. and then one day, he and his friend, who also liked me, both separately asked me what class i had last. it was history. alex showed up at the door first, and he took my hand. the other boy showed up and was like “oh”. then i kinda just shrugged to his friend and we left him there. i felt like i was on the bachelorette.

then he walked me to my bus and just kissed me. and like we never officially said it but i guess we were dating from that point on?

it was quite exciting at the time.

65. Are you hungry right now?

no i took a medication that sort of ceases hunger.

66. Do you like your tumblr friends more than your real friends?

woah. uh. well some of my real friends are also on tumblr which is cool.

its kind of a weird question. i love them all equally? just in different ways. my real life friends are all people that i hang around constantly. i have deep conversations with them. i do crazy things with them. i love them.

my tumblr friends, however, are all a gift. there’s more of a set bond with them; we’re all friends not because we see each other all the time, but because we all have common interests and similar personalities.

tumblr friends are actually pretty cool. if you can maintain a friendship like that through long distance, then it’s gotta mean something pretty big, right?

i text and communicate with my tumblr friends a lot more than my real life friends, actually. if i’m on my phone when hanging out with my friends, i can guarantee you i’m texting my tumblr friends.

it’s pretty sweet.

67. Facebook or Twitter?

twitter because no one in my family has one except my brother who i tell everything to

68. Twitter or Tumblr?

tumblr, obviously.

69. Are you watching tv right now?

no, i’m making this long ass post.

70. Names of your bestfriends?

irl: mary, lexi, amanda, my sister christine, my brother steven, my sister-to-be jenna, chris, cammi, jack.

tumblr: kate, emilie, ryan, charlie, lola, brooke, james, sophie, ken, erin, pickles, luki, kimber.

71. Craving something? What?

wine

72. What colour are your towels?

grey. all of them. at home, they’re tan.

72. How many pillows do you sleep with?

three normal pillows, one pillow pet, and one angry emoji pillow that i made and now hug because i’m a lonely fuck

73. Do you sleep with stuffed animals?

i have one chewie plush thing and an old bruins bear that i often kick off my bed back at home.

74. How many stuffed animals do you think you have?

those are the only 2 i think

although i currently have the marsh hall monkey from community council that was given to me for one week and i’ve had it for like 3 months because i haven’t bothered to pass it on to someone

75. Favourite animal?

i am a kitty lover

76. What colour is your underwear?

yellow :~)

77. Chocolate or Vanilla?

chocolate

78. Favourite ice cream flavour?

java crunch (its coffee ice cream with chocolate covered coffee beans)

79. What colour shirt are you wearing?

its a black jonas brothers shirt that i got when i was 10. i am often found wearing this shirt

80. What colour pants?

grey sweatpants

81. Favourite tv show?

friends

82. Favourite movie?

i will always be star wars trash

83. Mean Girls or Mean Girls 2?

mean girls ??? if u favor mean girls 2, then ur a sinner

84. Mean Girls or 21 Jump Street?

mean girls, obviously. im not a heathen

85. Favourite character from Mean Girls?

regina’s mom

86. Favourite character from Finding Nemo?

crush

87. First person you talked to today?

amanda, probably

88. Last person you talked to today?

u, charlie

89. Name a person you hate?

eric clapton or liam. i can’t decide

90. Name a person you love?

my birth mother because she is one of the strongest people i know. honest to god, there is not a single person on this planet that i am more proud of than her.

91. Is there anyone you want to punch in the face right now?

myself

92. In a fight with someone?

the boy i Once Loved™

93. How many sweatpants do you have?

way too many, my friend

94. How many sweaters/hoodies do you have?

also way too many. like, at least 5

95. Last movie you watched?

…….new moon…….

96. Favourite actress?

carrie fisher

97. Favourite actor?

robert downey jr.

98. Do you tan a lot?

like go to a tanning salon? no. i’m broke. and i wouldn’t waste my money on that anyway.

in a general sense? yes. i tan very easily. my genes are very kind to me in that i don’t burn when i go out in the sun. except for my nose. :/

99. Have any pets?

i have a little calico kitty named beanie and she is my light.

100. How are you feeling?

well, given that i haven’t slept in 19 hours, i’d say pretty good.

101. Do you type fast?

apparently i type extremely fast and it blows a lot of people away

102. Do you regret anything from your past?

oh, honey. don’t we all?

103. Can you spell well?

yes, but i always have those moments where i second guess myself or have a brain fart on a very common word.

104. Do you miss anyone from your past?

i miss my old best friend, freddy, more than ever now. i haven’t seen him since graduation last year, which isn’t that long, but it’s long enough. he and i were like brother and sister in elementary school and even now. he’s the kind of friend that i have gone years without talking to, but then the moment we finally speak to one another, it’s like nothing ever happened.

he and i were both accepting of each other and supportive of each other in some of the hardest times of our lives. when the other kids bullied him for playing with polly pockets on the playground, i joined him in playing with them. we were inseparable from then on. when my mother came out to me and my parents divorced, he was the one i talked to. when he was coming to terms with his sexuality and discovering who he was as a person, i was always the person he was fully open with.

and after drifting away and not talking to each other for a few years, i went to him after being assaulted. i told him everything. and he believed me–he was the one who listened when i felt like no one else was. he offered me that shoulder. he understood and was there with me, through thick and thin.

and at the end of our senior year, through many tears, we said our goodbyes.

i’ve never felt more empty without someone ever.

(p.s. this made me just text him) 

105. Ever been to a bonfire party?

yes ofc haha

106. Ever broken someone’s heart?

……ya don’t drag me tho. u woulda too

107. Have you ever been on a horse?

a long time ago, yes

108. What should you be doing?

i legit should be asleep and i’m not……

109. Is something irritating you right now?

there’s a sore pain in my left shoulder–probably from knots in the muscle. i can’t do much about it.

110. Have you ever liked someone so much it hurt?

ohhhh, boy. yes.

111. Do you have trust issues?

wasn’t this at the beginning

112. Who was the last person you cried in front of?

amanda that one time we watched that video of stevie and lindsey crying while performing “say goodbye”

113. What was your childhood nickname?

KP, KP Duty, Kales

114. Have you ever been out of your province/state?

yeah thank god

115. Do you play the Wii?

i don’t own one, but when the opportunity presents itself for mariokart or just dance, i’m there

116. Are you listening to music right now?

ya, hey girl by lady gaga ft. florence is on rn

117. Do you like chicken noodle soup?

i don’t eat chicken

118. Do you like Chinese food?

chinese food makes me feel bloated and gassy and it smells that way too even though it smells good so i’ll probably have to decline and say no, i do not really care for it

119. Favourite book?

harry potter and y&b

120. Are you afraid of the dark?

it depends on how dark it is and if im alone or not

121. Are you mean?

everyone’s a little mean

122. Is cheating ever okay?

cheating is wrong, always. but if an instance happens where someone kisses another individual spontaneously, they have two ways they can clear themselves up from it: don’t do it again and tell your partner that it happened. do not get upset if they’re not happy with you/leave you, because you’ve done them wrong. or, if you’ve done it with an individual that you have fallen or are already in love with, then you should leave your partner immediately.

sleeping with someone is not okay. if you have sex with someone else, then you should tell your partner and don’t get mad when they leave you. if you love the other person, then leave your partner for them.

and always tell the truth.

123. Can you keep white shoes clean?

someone asked me this today, actually. bizarre. i’d like to think so. i don’t go through huge measures to keep them clean–i just don’t drag them in the dirt.

124. Do you believe in love at first sight?

yes. of course.

125. Do you believe in true love?

yes. you can fall in love with people. you can always be happily in love multiple times in your life. a true love, however, is the one that meant the most.

paul mccartney? he’s married, but his true love was linda. lindsey buckingham? he’s also married, but his true love is stevie and even he does not deny that. stevie nicks? she’ll deny it all she wants, but we all know, including herself and lindsey, that lindsey is also her true love. troy and gabriella? we all know the answer.

true love is real.

126. Are you currently bored?

clearly since i’ve spent like. three hours working on this jesus fuck

127. What makes you happy?

music, people, family, and life.

128. Would you change your name?

i love my name. it was my mother’s gift to me when she brought me into this little world. i am blessed to have a mother that i love so much and that loves me so much. when i think it, i think of her and her silly story of how she came up with it. i identify with it strongly for this reason–it is a constant connection to my mother.

the only thing i’m actually planning is to add the middle name “jane”, as my mother has always calls me by “kaeli jane”. she wishes she thought of that before she named me, as she loves it so much more now.

129. What your zodiac sign?

capricorn

130. Do you like subway?

this is so vague. the restaurant? the transportation?

i’m don’t particularly care for either one. mixed feelings.

131. Your bestfriend of the opposite sex likes you, what do you do?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W-TE_Ys4iwM

132. Who’s the last person you had a deep conversation with?

this is another repeat

@stevieselectricskillet

133. Favourite lyrics right now?

And he was just like a great dark wingWithin the wings of a stormI think I had met my match

He was singing and undoing the laces

134. Can you count to one million?

what kind of question is this

135. Dumbest lie you ever told?

any post with mclennon that i make is a dumb ass lie

136. Do you sleep with your doors open or closed?

closed

137. How tall are you?

5 feet tall :/

138. Curly or Straight hair?

my hair is normally straight but sometimes some of the front strands just naturally have banana curls and i don’t understand how it happens but also im not complaining

139. Brunette or Blonde?

brunette my friend

140. Summer or Winter?

i always used to say winter and then winter always comes and i always want to die so summer

141. Night or Day?

night

142. Favourite month?

december because im narcissistic and love my birthday month the best

september is also a good month. lots of good songs about it and also a very lucky month for me in the past

143. Are you a vegetarian?

i only eat turkey when i have to eat meats (i.e. being home with my parents for a week, when the vegetarian options at my school are heavily cream based, as i am lactose intolerant, etc.) but i typically choose not to eat meat

144. Dark, milk or white chocolate?

dark chocolate

145. Tea or Coffee?

coffee in the morning and tea at night

146. Was today a good day?

sure, i suppose

147. Mars or Snickers?

mars

148. What’s your favourite quote?

“I take back like half of the exclamation points.....they make me look....eager to please. Which I AM....but I don’t want anyone to KNOW that” - Carrie Fisher

149. Do you believe in ghosts?

yes omg

150. Get the closest book next to you, open it to page 42, what’s the first line on that page?

“The months March, April, May, June, and July should not be abbreviated when used to indicate a specific date.”