#so i’ve been having a lot of noodles to use up the spring onions and coriander | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

plush-rabbit · 3 years

Text

The Brothers + Diavolo Making You Flustered

Request: Hi!hi! The aphrodisiac writing was absolutely *chefs kiss*. I have this habit of when I get embarrassed/flustered I immediately bury my face into the surface in front of me. Like if I’m sitting on the floor I’ll lean over and bury my face on the carpet, sitting at a table I’ll lean over and plant my face on the surface etc. How do you think the brothers (+diavolo if that’s okay) would react to seeing MC do that for the first time when they make them flustered? You’re so talented by the way! ily!

Word Count: 1K each

A/N: I hope you like this!! It was a bit difficult since i didn't want to make everything the same, but yeah!!

Lucifer:

His sleeves are rolled up, flour coating the tips of his fingers and dusting across his apron, and the smell of garlic and onion fills the room. It smells lovely, it smells like a home. You stand beside Lucifer, watching as the water boils, bubbles fizzling out and steam rising. A box of noodles is held in your hands, your eyes peering over to where the bread is held in his hands. Your tongue peeks between your lips- it’s a soft pink, tinged with blue from candy and for a moment, he forgets himself, wanting to taste the candy that rests on your tongue, wishing that he were your lips to feel the gentle caress of your tongue.

“Remind me what we’re making again?” You ask, sniffing at the pot, only to scrunch your nose at the scent. “And why it’s us making it?”

“A Devildom dish,” he responds, giving a side glance. “It’s similar enough to a human cousine, so you needn’t worry about it being anything unsavory.” He turns to you, his smile almost teasing. “And we’re making it because it’s our turn on cooking duty.”

“If you wanted to spend time with me, you could always ask.” While your words are true, he tries to hold his composure, not wanting to reveal that you had hit the nail on its head. “You don’t have to assign us both to cooking duty. It’s pretty sneaky for you, dear Lucifer.” Your hand pats at his back and he promptly turns away from you

Walking away from you, he starts the timer on the oven, the preheat button lights up as the oven begins to glow. “I have no idea what you’re talking about. I drew our names on a complete random.” He turns to you, his smile making you unable to see what he’s really thinking. “Do you not wish to spend time with me?” he asks cooly, walking towards you. Despite the flour on his hands that dusts over his face, and the apron wrapped around him, he still holds an aura of confidence and authority that makes you break away from his gaze first.

“You’re absolutely awful,” you mutter, giving him a grin to let him know that it was a playful insult.

“And yet, you’re still here,” he coos, his grin wicked and cool at the same time. “I must not be totally awful if you still wish to spend time with me.” You groan, shaking your head with a smile on your lips and he turns to hide his more giddy smile, smiling calmly when the oven beeps. The preheat session is done. He opens the oven, a wave of hot air making him knit his brows together for a moment. “There’s no need to be ashamed of being so fond of me. I am Pride, it’s only natural that you would gravitate towards me.” He grabs the rack of bread, carefully slipping it inside the oven and closing the door.

“Well you’re a lot more than Pride to me.” His eyes widen and he turns to you, his body facing towards the oven with his head half-turned. “You’re Lucifer. You’re someone close to me and well, I actually am glad that we got to spend time together. I would love to hear you admit that you simply wanted to spend time with me, but-” you shrug- “you’ve got that stubborn pride that I can’t help but adore.” You turn to him, a cheeky smile on your face that matches the light in your eyes.

It’s silent between the two of you. It’s comforting, one that is welcomed and isn’t making either of you awkward. He watches as you carefully stir the pot, your index skimming under the words of the cookbook. Your brows furrow as you carefully read over the direction, careful to not add the wrong ingredient or wrong measurement. You’re methodical, carefully going about everything, and in the kitchen with Lucifer, he can’t help but smile at you, his smile soft and eyes crinkled as he watches you carefully.

“I know I haven’t told you this enough- or perhaps before-” silverware clinks together as he reaches over from a baking brush, his eyes never leaving yours- “but I’m actually quite proud of you.” He tears his gaze away from you, his smile widening and his chest puffing. “You have this knack about you that makes it so easy for others to fall for you, that I have to admit that even I have fallen victim to you.” The baguettes are painted over with a mixture of garlic and spices, his words never stopping or falling to hesitation as he speaks. “You’re-” he sighs, not knowing how to put what he wants to say into words- “I’ve been Lucifer for such a long time, living and holding power, but I must say, when I’m around you, I feel more me than I ever had in my entire existence.” He turns his body to you, his hands open and knuckles brushing over your cheek, a thin line of white left against your face. “I’m glad that I’ve gotten to meet you.”

His eyes widen, his words finally registering to his ears. He looks up, eyes meeting the stone wall before he turns to you, his mouth agape and hands still holding a baguette, and the baking brush. The garlic and onion sizzle on the stove, the yellow glow of the kitchen and the buzzing sounds of the outside do everything to fill the room, not a single ounce of silence is graced to either of you.

“You can’t just say stuff like that!” You say in a hurried tone, your face hot enough that you can feel sweat start to bead. “It’s- It’s-” you can’t find the proper words, it isn’t embarrassing but it isn’t something that you hear everyday- “Ah!” You decided, burying your face further into the table, your hands cushioning the blow.

His hand claps over your back, slowly rubbing between your shoulder blades in an attempt to soothe you over. “I would have thought you would have enjoyed hearing the truth,” he teases lightly. “Was I wrong about that assumption?” he presses, his elbow nudging against your shoulder where you still lay with your head rested in your hands.

You peer upwards, your face slowly revealed to show a flushed color that makes his chest puff with pride, his smile . “You wanna know why I know that you wanted to spend time with me?” Lucifer raises his brows in confusion. “I hadn’t written down my name yet.” His smile twitches away for a moment. “You called it before I could even write my name down.” You smile at him, your smile gentle. “I still have the paper in my pocket. You really like me, huh Lucifer?”

Mammon:

Textbooks are left open, pencils and pens sprawled over the coffee table as you and Mammon rest on the couch. He talks vividly, and as he’s excited to tell you stories of his past, his mouth works faster, skipping over details and returning to them moments later. Your hands are wrapped tight around his bicep, your face hidden as you try to stifle your laughter. He can feel your hands tighten, the way that you cling to him and even try to push yourself closer to him. “So that was when I decided to just grab all the things I could carry and just book it!” Mammon exclaims, clapping his hands together and extending his right arm forward. “You should’ve seen how angry those witches were, but hell, they deserved it for thinking they could pull one over on me.” He turns to you, his grin wicked, slowly widening as he leans back cautiously to not let you move away from him. “Fuckers should’ve known to not touch my stuff.”

You let out a laugh, shaking your head and leaning onto him. His smile twitches for a second, softening into a gentler smile, watching as you turn your face into his arm, trying to stifle your laughter. It’s loud, infectious and it’s something that reminds him of a spring day that he once spent in the Human Realm. He isn’t sure how to explain it- something about it that screams life and youth, something that sounds so unapologetically like you, that it makes him breathless. When you start to pull away, he lets his grin widen, eager to look at you again.

He’s so close to you, your hand within arm’s reach that if he really wanted to, he could just take it in his. His mouth goes dry, his tongue too invasive in his own mouth and he watches as you adjust your hair, his eyes fixated on how your hair slips through your fingers. There are words stuck in his throat, but no matter what he thinks of to say, he isn’t sure what he should say. He’s at a loss, wondering what would be the perfect way to bring back the mood, to continue the conversation without it being forced, but in all honesty, he’s fine, just sitting here with you. He’s more than fine with just staring at you.

“Hey, Mammon?” He jolts at his name being said, a shock running through his spine. He nods his head, swallowing what little saliva is in his mouth. “I really like hearing your stories, you know?” You smile softly at the book in your hands. He watches you with unblinking eyes, wondering what it is that you’re getting at. “I really just like listening to your voice. I know you were stuck with me at first-” internally he flinches, he doesn’t like to reminisce when you were first put under his charge- “but I’m glad that it was you.” He is left breathless, his muscles tense as you look at him, a smile stretching past your lips and gracing your lips. You look at him for a moment, your eyes darting to where his hand is clenched tightly and you nod to yourself, turning your attention back to the book.

You’re facing away from him, your fingertips tracing over the edge of a page as you try to focus on the words but he can tell from the pout on your lips that you aren’t registering anything from the book. What should he say? What can he say? He knows he has to say something. He knows that he should match your energy or at least attempt to but he can’t. There are so many things he wants to tell you, and they all seem so disorganized. You’re pretty. You’re nice to him and you always let him sneak into your bedroom late at night. You rely on him and as much as you need him, he needs you more. You have such a soft touch that it leaves him tingling all over as if some ghost were the one responsible for it. He lets out a slow breath, his lips parted slightly as he breathes out. “You know,” he says quietly, his fingers twitching and moving to clutch at the end of your shirt, “you got a real nice laugh. It’s nice to spend time with you, ya know?” Once he’s started talking, he’s unable to quiet himself, unable to register the things that he’s saying to you. “I like hanging out with other demons and all, but there’s something about you that I like more. It’s like with you-” his hand waves in the air, eyes glancing around your room- “I get to just feel safe. I get to relax and know that I can count on you. And I want you to know that no matter what, I’ll always be on your side. Forever and ever.” Mammon turns his head, his smile stretched wide and hand going to cover yours. “You turned me into a sap, ya know?’”

The moment is tender as he smiles down at you, only to slowly realize the weight of his words as you stop in your movements, your fingers letting the page fall back to the others, words lost upon themselves as your shoulders rise. His eyes widen and his lips thin. Heat creeps upwards from his chest and scorches its way to mar his features, his face turning into a darker shade as he flushes. His mouth goes dry, unable to produce any type of saliva as he sits beside you. Slowly, his mouth parts, and he’s unable to find the words to deny what he just said, but before he can, you curl in on yourself, burying your way into your hands, your hands spread and fingers parting to cover as much of your face as it can.

“I-” he coughs loudly into the rook of his elbow. You can tell that he wants to resort to his usual denial of feelings but he stops himself before he can even reach the middle of his sentence. “Listen, just because you-” you can feel his eyes on you- “will ya look up at me? I’m not gonna tear your head off or anything, I just don’t want you getting a bigger head than you already have.” You slowly turn to him, watching as he tries to avoid your gaze. “Let’s just go get a bite to eat. We can’t study on empty stomachs or whatever.” He rises quickly, his hand held out to you as he keeps his attention out on the door. “Come on, I’ll pay for ya and everything.”

Your lips thin and you look at his hand. You inhale a sharp breath of air, slowly letting it go. His face is still flushed, a deep color that burns against his skin. “Like a date?” You ask, hoping to see more of his reactions. He stiffens at your question, his brows furrowing to meet each other. He stammers out a response, clearly flustered. You lay your hand on his and he immediately quiets down. You smile at yourself, your heart skipping a beat as you realize that it was you who brought him to such a state. Slowly, his hand curls with yours and he gives a brief nod of his head.

Leviathan:

Leviathan sits alone in his room, a blanket pooled around his lower half, his eyes have begun to burn, tinged with red from lack of sleep as bright colors flash across his pale face. An empty bowl save for kernels that rest at the bottom of the bowl, his fingertips tinged with red and he can feel his mouth heavy with acid and past snacks.

His hands tap against his controller, his fingers already reaching toward a button before he can even register what he should press. His mind is on autopilot, reaching and stiffening when an enemy nears and even so, his character is still killed. He lets out a frustrated groan, careful to throw his controller towards his pillows and not the walls- he can’t risk losing yet another controller; least of all having to patch a hole- or in his case, covering it with a poster. His hands are thrown into the air, fingers outstretched before they are curled into a fist. He arches his back forward, the heels of his hands cushioning his eyes. He tears up slightly, wincing at the sudden realization of burning pain that lingers in his eyes. Slowly, he pulls away just in time to hear his door creak open.

“Password,” he says with a lack of conviction, turning slightly to watch as you enter with a bag in your hand. He raises his brows, his arm stretching outward as he blindly searches for his controller. “What do you have there?” He jerks his chin, returning his attention to the game in front of him.

The light clicks on- something bright that fills the room in a soft blue that stretches around him. He winces at the sudden light, the controller dropped onto his lap as he rubs his eyes vigorously. If it weren’t obvious enough that he kept himself secluded in his room, it was obvious from the way that he rubbed at his eyes, and had to blink multiple times before he could finally look at you without shielding his eyes. You end him a wicked smile that slowly grows until you reveal your teeth, the bag in your hand held slightly tighter. In response, he sticks his tongue out at you, his cheeks tinted with a pale shade of pink.

“I’m surprised it’s taken you so long to defeat the boss,” you say, walking towards the bathtub where he sits. You sit in front of the porcelain, your gaze fixated on a television system that he has set up for a more immersive gameplay experience. When you are met with a lack of response, you turn your head to see him with narrowed eyes. “What? No witty remark?” Once more, you’re met with silence. “Levi?”

He sucks in a sharp breath. “I- Fuck, you know?” This time, he’s met with silence. “First, I can’t get the concert tickets, then I can’t even get the new figure and now, I can’t even defeat this stupid game.” His cheeks fill with air, and he slowly lets the breath go past his lips. “And the concert was going to have passes to meet them behind the stage and the figure was signed and-” his character dies once more and the controller is tossed pitifully onto the pillow. He leans over the tub, his arms crossed under his chin, and his eyes on you. “My luck isn’t usually so bad, you know?”

You pat the floor beside you, your hand meeting the cold tile. “Come on, sit beside me,” you comment, shuffling over a few inches to give him even more space. With a huff, he rises out of the tub, small bits of crumbs falling onto the porcelain. He sits beside you, his arm brushing against yours but neither of you make an effort to move.

“I’m sitting, now what?” He asks, the television blurry as it replays his death with the words “Game Over” in bold letters.

“Well, Levi-” you hand him the bag, with fingers pinched over the handles- “since you’re having such rotten luck, why don’t you open the bag?”

He gives you a narrowed stare, slowly retrieving the bag from you and pulling out the pastel colored tissue paper. At the bottom of the bag sits a box, the words of a favorite anime of his stamped beside with the usual font. His heart skips a beat, as he slowly clasps his hand around the box, his fingers pushing against the plastic and he gaps, reality crashing onto him like a wave.

“It’s-” he doesn’t even finish saying the sentence, your nod is an answer to everything. “The figure that I wanted- I- How?” He asks, looking at the box, so worried that if he were to take his eyes away, the box would vanish.

“Ah, ah-” you wag your finger in the air- “that is a story for another time, my dear Leviathan.” You sound so smug and a smile is already evident in your words.

He bounces in his seat, his legs shaking rapidly, knees softly knocking against each other as he lets his excitement show. His hands flap eagerly, his smile wide and eyes closed. A sharp breath is sucked between his teeth, as he stares at you with bright eyes. You’re startled, your shoulders raising a few centimeters into the air with wide eyes as you stare at him. A nervous smile stretches across your face with him so close to you and looking at you with such eager eyes. If you were to be honest with yourself, you’re a bit flustered with how he looks at you. Your heart races and it beats against your chest, rattling at your ribs and echoing against your body. You nod rapidly, gulping what little moisture you have in your mouth when he grabs your hands tightly in him.

He shouts your name, enthusiasm laced into his word, his hands pulling yours close to his chest. “Ah! You’re the absolute best!” His smile is so wide that it’s almost comical, leaving you smiling both in response to and because of him. “I’m so glad that you’re here! Of course, you’d be my Henry!” He drops your hands and pulls you in for a hug, squeezing tightly around you, his head nuzzled into the curve of your neck. “I don’t know what I would do without you, but I’m just glad that you’re the one that’s with me!” He pulls away, his hands now holding onto your biceps. Deep breaths exhale through him, his chest rising and dipping rhythmically. He calls your name and it’s sweet like honey on his tongue. “You really are the best. I mean,” his tone becomes softer, his smile less eager and more true, “you do so much for me. I couldn't ever imagine my life without you. You mean so much to me.”

“Levi,” you mumble, and when his hands fall from you and return to hold the box, you pull the bag towards your face, hiding away from him. Your neck grows hot, scorching your skin and making you breathless. “I’m glad that you like it,” you manage to squeak out, the bag further pressed towards you.

A few seconds pass until he finally realizes why you’ve pulled the bag to your face. Leviathan stiffens, clearing his throat and turning away, his hand covering his lower half of the face. The figurine sits beside him with a delicate smile plastered on their face. With the air so light and heavy, he reached into the tub, eager to pull out the controller. With a meek cough, he fumbles with the controller, passing it over to you, with his eyes still glued on the figurine. “Would you like a turn? Maybe you’re better than me.” He can feel his chest tighten when his fingertips brush against yours and the hundredth time, the game tune plays in the room.

Satan:

Satan’s eyes narrow unconsciously as he reads over the same page for the tenth time. No matter what, he is unable to focus on the words, the letters and lines meshing into one that nothing fully registers past the first word of the page. If he were to be honest with himself, nothing has registered since the last few pages that he’s read. With a huff, he closes the book, a small gust of air blowing at the hair that rests over his forehead. The book rests on the table beside him, nudging against the lamp that makes the room flicker for a brief moment.

The room is filled with sound, the hum of the air conditioner unit, the distant sounds of footsteps and talk across the house, the demonic animals that roam around outside. He’s sure that if he were to focus, he’d even hear the scratching of a pen. Scratch that- he can now that he thought about it. All the sounds make his skin crawl, uncomfortable and itchy and as he drags his nails across his arm, he’s only offered a second of relief before the feeling returns. He leans against the chair, his neck arched over the back of it, as he lets his eyes flutter to a close, the bright light of the library barely shining through his closed eyelids. It’s not like to be so distracted- especially when it comes to a favorite pastime of his. And yet, his mind is distracted, wandering to images of you where you were talking to others that weren’t him. He isn’t the jealous type- at least, not when he compares himself to his brother, but it seems that you brought out something different for him.

His leg twitches and there’s a burning sensation on his arm that he chooses to ignore. It only intensifies when he hears footsteps approaching. The sensation spreads and becomes sharper, insatiable as it burrows itself in the demon. There is a presence standing beside him and he already knows that it’s you. He can tell by the steps, by the breathing, by your scent. He frowns at the thought. He doesn’t know if it’s romantic or not to know such small details about you.

Something clicks- your knee, perhaps- and your hand rests above his slender one, cupping and still, there are gaps where his skin is unfortunate enough to not to be touched by you. “Satan?” You call out to him in a quiet voice- not quite a whisper but not your usual volume either. “Are you asleep?”

“Is it you wondering or someone else?” He responds, slowly opening his eyes and turning his head, meeting the top of yours. “Is there something that you need?” He makes no effort to move, stuck in his position as he is content just sitting on a chair with your hand over his.

“It’s me,” you answer him, turning your head to meet his eyes. His lips slowly turn into a smile with his eyes slowly growing heavy. “You don’t normally sleep in the library without cause. You okay?” Your hand slips from his and his eyes widen his hand closing into a fist, already missing your touch. But, he is soon reconnected with your hand as it rests on his forehead. You soon look down at him with pursed lips. “I- uh, I can’t tell if you have a fever or not.”

He smiles at you and sits up straight, holding in a moan when his back is already sore, feeling the muscles whine as they had already grown taut. “No- No I just, I have quite a few things on my mind, is all.” He gingerly goes to grab your hand in his, uncaring that your eyes are on him and that the door is open for anyone to walk in and see Wrath so tender. “I’m sorry that I worried you.”

Your hand in his is turned, pulled slightly away but not enough to be taken away from his grasp. You walk from the side of the chair to stand in front of him, and when you meet his eyes, you nod down, gesturing to his lap. He smiles softly, nodding his head and leaning back, humming under his breath when you situate yourself on his lap, your head resting on his shoulder.

“You’re oddly touchy today,” he comments, his hand curved on your lap as the one he held is moved to behind his neck, your fingertips barely touching his collarbone. “Did I do something to deserve this?”

You give a half-hearted hum, and in the corner of his eye, he can tell that you have closed your eyes. “Think of it as a way to make you feel better.” You give him a play tap and he nods, his eyes staring straight ahead, lost against the colorful spines of the books. “So what does have you so worked up?”

Is now his chance? Is he now able to tell you the full extent of his feelings? He has you sitting on his lap, comforting him in a way that few people would ever dare to. There's feelings there, bubbling and forming on both ends and he knows that it’s both ends. It’s you that is on his mind. Filtering in when you shouldn’t, invading every space of his that he has until he’s completely overwhelmed. It’s a strong feeling, something that rivals his own wrath and for the first time, he welcomes it- he doesn’t put up a fight against it. He wants to feel whatever it is that you make him feel. He wants the intensity of it until he’s exhausted, until the wrath that has been boiling inside of him ever since he can remember, can finally evaporate, can finally be extinguished.

You call his name once more and he looks at you, his smile tight and eyes closed for a moment. “How do I tell you that I care for you in a way that says exactly what I’m trying to say without scaring you off?” His eyes close and his hand turns over on your thigh, palm open and empty. “How do I tell you that you’re the thing on my mind? That it’s you that is reducing me into a mess at the simple thought of you.” He turns his head enough, shrugging his shoulder to make sure that you’re looking back at him, your chest still and the hand that you had relaxed, is slowly crawling over to his open one. “The thought of you warps into this- this jealous demon that isn’t exactly something I’m fond of. I you to myself and yet, that I want you to myself and that the thought of you with anyone else, makes me more of wrath than I have ever been.” Your hand closes above his and he nods slowly, clasping his hand over yours. “It’s you, and it’ll always be you.”

With a jolt, his words finally register to him. He turns to face you, but you’re buried into his shoulder, your hand holding tightly onto his, as if he were your lifeline and the one over his shoulder is grasping at his sweater, bunching the knit fabric into a mess. Your heart beats over the sound of the room, the hum of the electricity erased, the steps and chatter muffled under you. He smiles softly, a slow chuckle taking over, until he’s laughing widely, his chest shaking and vibrating under you with every laugh. You moan his name and he can only say the first letters of an apology before his laughter takes over.

“Really, really- I’m not laughing at you,” he says through an attempt at laughter. “I just forgot how different you are. How you always seem to change depending on your mood.” He feels a harsh pat against him, your head shaking as you press further into him. “Please, never change,” he says with a laugh at the end, his head turning, his lips meeting against the side of yours in a quick press.

Asmodeus:

He’s flawless. He has to be. Or, maybe he’s just naturally like that. You are not the best when it comes to reading Asmodeus- too enthralled by him that you can’t seemingly tell when he’s told a joke or not that pertains to his beauty. Very little of it matters to you- you may appreciate that he is quite gorgeous, but you’ve also gotten to know the demon that embodies Lust.

Perhaps it’s because he knows who he is, that he is Lust, that he has to appear the best at all times. He can never make a mistake or it’ll be all that’s talked about- he knows as well as anyone else how easily a reputation can be damaged. However, when he looks at you, he doesn’t have to worry about that. He still wants to look his best for you, but he knows that if he were to slip, you wouldn’t see him any differently than how others see him.

You sleep beside him, nestled under his covers, the blanket pulled a little bit past your lips. Your hair is askew, small strands that stick up or curl around your face. Slowly, he takes a slender finger and softens the hair back to you, smiling when you try to lean into his touch. Your eyes flutter open, and you turn before he can see you, yawning and stretching your arms upwards, the cover crumpling above you. You lie still for a few more seconds and he sits upwards, daring to peek at your face. As if already knowing that he was going to watch you, you run a hand through your hair in an attempt to make yourself look more refined, to fix your appearance before him. You rub your eyes with a knuckle, turning to him and opening your mouth only to have a yawn cut through.

“Did you have a good nap?” Asmodeus asks, watching as you stretch your limbs, your muscles pulled taut as you let out a whine of satisfaction. You nod in response to him. “I’m glad. You know, I do have to tell you that you were right. I try not to ruin my sleep schedule but that nap felt simply divine. I think I feel more rested than I usually do.”

You smile at him, turning over to rest your head on his chest. His hand immediately comes to curve over the back of your head. “I like sleeping with you. You have such a soft bed and you always give such nice hugs.” He laughs in response, his hand lowering to hold near your shoulder. “It’s true. Devildom is still-” you take a brief pause- “different. And somehow, when I’m with you, all my worries are just-” you blow out a gentle puff of air- “gone.”

“I’m here for whenever you need me. All you have to do is just call,” he comments, his hand running past the sleeve of your shirt, his index and middle fingers touching against your warm skin. “I think it’s almost time for dinner. Would you like to accompany me? I’d be more than happy to take you to that little restaurant we found the other day.”

The edge of your sleeve is toyed with, pinched between the fingers and released. His hand returns to where it lay only to be disturbed when you rise, causing his hand to rest beside him. You give him a blinding smile that makes his heart flutter as he looks at you. “I’d be more than happy to, but I would like to get ready before we go out.” He raises a brow at you, tilting his head to encourage you to continue. “I want to look my best for you.” You lean forward and he smiles, fully ready for a kiss, only to have you pull away and kiss his shoulder. He frowns, his lips pushing towards a pout as he looks at you.

“Not even a kiss?” He asks, a tease of playfulness loosely attached to his words. “I have to say that I’m hurt.” He watches as you move, curling your legs underneath you as you watch him with a hint of smile on your face. “After all that I do for you, and yet, you have the gall to deny me a simple kiss?” he lets out a huff, not trying to hide the smile that graces his features and you. “You should be ashamed of yourself. There are demons who would kiss my steps to even look at me.”

“Asmo,” you call to him and he quiets, looking at you with expectant eyes. Despite him being the demon who can be considered one of the strongest- and is- you’re still the one who holds all the power in the relationship. He nods, encouraging you to continue. “Why do you want to go out with me?”

He can’t help the smile that forms, that twists the already playful one into something more bitter. It’s a question that he asked himself the first time he realized his feelings towards you. He could have it all and you’re just a human with minimal magical abilities. He’s met countless lifeforms who were and are beautiful, their beauty forever imprinted and never seeming to age. But, he still chooses you. And he’s content with that. He’s more than happy that he’s with you.

His thumb traces over your bottom lip, his eyes focused on your cupid’s bow. “You know, there are times when I look at you and I wonder if you see yourself the way that I see you.” He knows what to say, it all comes so natural to him when he compliments you. “Your scars and blemishes, the stretch marks around your tummy and how they pale and wrap around you. The little moles that you have are kissed along your sides and cheeks.” His thumb moves down and now his hand holds yours. “I have to be perfect- I have to be loved and admired, but then I see you and I think to myself how as long as I’m loved by you, that’s enough. You really have changed me in a way I never saw myself. Beauty means everything to me- or at least it did. But now I have you, and I have to admit, that I prefer you over anything else in the world.” He leans forward and lets his lips press against the corners of yours. “I want to go out with you, because to me, you’re the best that there will ever be.”

It all happens in a flash, seeing your face darken, feeling the hand slowly shake and then your face is hidden by the covers. He can hear you whine his name, and when his hand touches between your shoulder blades, his nimble fingers reaching above the collar of your shirt and touching your neck, he can feel how hot it is. He laughs as his arms reach around you and pull you close to him, giggling and accepting your odd human behavior.

Beelzebub:

Detention is quiet, save for the ticking of the clock, but other than that it’s silent. The room is occupied by a total of three people- you, Beelzebub, and the unfortunate professor that is stuck to watch over the two of you who scrolls through their D.D.D. while music plays loudly every now and then. You suspect they are on an app similar to one from the Human Realm, complete with word play and aesthetic from Devildom.

You turn over to Beelzebub, quirking your brows when you see him scribbling over a paper with a pen. You peer over, sitting straighter to get a closer look only to find him mindlessly doodling, similar drawings cover the paper in blue ink. As if feeling your stare, he turns to you with slightly wide eyes before relaxing them, sending you a smile and raising his paper, to show you his work. You return the smile, pleased at his cute antics and his boyish smile. You send him a thumbs up, before the professor coughs, catching the attention from the two of you.

They stand up, their tail curling around their leg and with a yawn, they expose their teeth. Their phone is stuffed into their pocket as they slowly walk to the front of the desk. “I’ll be back. I expect the two of you to still be here. You both have an hour left.” With that, they walk to the door, the heels of their shoes clicking, the door creaking before it finally closes leaving you and Beelzebub alone in a room.

Immediately, you turn to Beelzebub, your chair squeaking as you shift it hastily. “Beel,” you say excitedly, patting your hands on your thighs. He answers with a hum, tilting his head to the side to show that he is listening to you. “You have power over the professors, don't you?” You see the corner of his lip twitch upwards. “I mean you're the Avatar of Gluttony, can’t you just get us both out of here?”

The pen is set down and he leans back on his chair, his legs sliding underneath the desk until they are stretched to their full length. He turns to you, his smile lazy and eyes half-lidded. “I don’t feel like getting in trouble anymore than I already have.” His smile is crooked, teeth barely glimpsing from behind his lips.

“But we’re already in trouble,” you try to argue, pushing forward. “Please?” You lean forward, holding onto his bicep, with a pout on your lips. “If I use the pact powers, I’ll probably be the only one in trouble.”

He snickers, crossing his arms and lowering his head to side his smile. “We have an hour.” He looks up at you, a hand coming to cover yours. “Just sit and wait, okay? I’ll treat you out later.” You stick your tongue out at him and he laughs, pulling away from your touch and turning his own chair to face you, his hand resting over the desk, pulling on the tip of the pen until it is pulled underneath his hand. “What makes you want to go home so early anyways?”

“Why don’t you wanna go home?” You shoot back, your arm bent above the desk, with your chin resting on the palm of your hand. He shrugs in response, his attention back to the paper as he starts to bounce the pen between his index finger and thumb. “What are you drawing, anyways?” it doesn’t go unnoticed that he stiffens at your question, his lips pulling into a thin line as his leg starts to bounce. “It’s the same image, right? Like the same character that you’re drawing?” You lean closer, watching as he bounces the pen faster in his hand.

“It’s- It’s for art class,” he responds, clearing his throat. His hands grab at the paper and for a moment you think he’s about to crumble the paper, but instead he slips it between a notebook, careful to not let an edge slip out before it’s stuffed into his bag. “We have to draw-” he hesitates, squirming under your attention- “a thing.”

“I thought sports took care of your electives?” He sucks in a breath through his teeth, turning his attention to the board smeared with chalky remains. “Oh? Are you lying to me?” Your hand flutters to your heart, your voice faux hurt as your slump over in your seat. “Beelzebub, I’m actually hurt. Here I thought we were close and yet-”

“I’m drawing you,” he says, effectively making you stop in your theatrics. You turn to him, your mouth parted. “I wanted to draw you and give it to you as a gift but I can’t get your smile right.”

“Well that didn’t take much probing,” you mutter, scooting your chair closer to him, the toe of your shoe nudging against his backpack.

“I don’t like lying to you,” he states, his body becoming still and eyes returning to where you sit so close to him. Close enough where he can smell your cream. “I just didn’t want you to find out.”

There’s silence between the both of you, your lips pursed as you nod. “My smile?” He nods. “It should be simple, shouldn’t it?” Just a curve and some smaller curves for the lips and boom, you’re done.” You grab his backpack, holding it in your hands, the opening pointed towards him.

“No,” he says with a frown, pulling the same notebook out and slipping out the paper. Upon closer inspection, the images of what appears to be you are roughly scribbled. They aren’t the best but the thought of him drawing something for you and being nervous about you finding out makes the drawing much sweeter. “You have a nice smile. It’s like- like,” you look up at him to see his brows furrowed. “I don’t know how to explain it. Your smile is nice. It’s a lot more than nice. When you smile at me, it’s just nice. I like seeing you happy. You smiling at me makes me feel special and I don’t want to half-ass some drawing of you. I want to make it special because you’re special to me. Your smile makes me feel warm, like I’m being hugged and everytime you smile, it always reaches your eyes and when your eyes crinkle, it’s like you’re just looking at me and that makes me feel so-” he takes a deep sigh and releases it slowly- “so safe.” His words come to a soft close, his face a warm shade of red. He lets out a nervous chuckle. “That sounds dumb, doesn’t it?” When he looks at you, you’ve curled into a ball in your seat, your face buried into his backpack. He calls your name frantically, his hands on your shoulders, only to pull away when you let out a high-pitched whine. “Did I offend you?” His name is muffled between the fabric. “Yeah?”

“You’re really sweet,” you moan pitifully, clutching the bag tighter, hoping that it effectively hides your burning face. “I think I’ll actually die from what you just said.” Your heart beats in your chest, the sweet confession echoing in your ears and when you smile, you can only hide it, not wanting him to see the wide grin that is now plastered across your face. “I’ll take any drawing that you give me.” You hold your hand out, ready to receive the unfinished work, not yet lifting your head.

His hand covers your outstretched one. “Maybe if I can see your smile right now, I’d be able to get it right,” he teases slightly. Your only response is shaking your head, giggling through the fabric as you feebly try to shake his hand away. He laughs widely, holding your hand tighter as he urges for you to look upward at him.

Belphegor:

The room is quiet, no footsteps that echo from above, no noise that travels from the stairs into the room that was once Belphegor’s prison. Beside him, you lay curled on your side, resting against him, your hand playing with a drawstring of his hoodie, playing with the frayed ends at your fingertips.

“I thought being around you would make me sleepy,” you murmur, an ill-placed yawn ruining the validity of your statement.

Even where he lays, he knows that you’re pouting, with your brows knitted together. “It seems that I am already making you quite tired. You only lasted how long?” He’d make a show of checking his nonexistent watch, but he rather not, already too comfortable in his current position to risk moving. You blow a raspberry in response and he lets out a giggle, his hand that is placed underneath you is bent to hold a strand of your hair in between his fingers. “Come on, be nice now. I can also make you unbelievably tired but unable to sleep.”

“You’re so cruel Belphegor,” you say in a whisper, your hand finally still from playing with his drawstring. “You’d take away my sleep for a simple noise? How juvenile,” you tease, nuzzling further into his side, humming when his fingers part through your hair and scratch lightly at your scalp. “Here I am, whisked away from my homework to come and nap beside you. And what do I get in return? Teasing.” The last word slowly drifted off into a simple breath of air that was tickled against his side.

It really hadn’t taken you so long to fall under his own sleeping spell. A part of him is a bit bitter, wanting to spend more time with you where the both of you were conscious and could actually talk, while the other part of him, is simply glad that you’re resting beside him, that you’ve taken time out of your day to lay next to him.

“It’s not like you don’t deserve it,” he says through a smile, twisting your hair around his index. “I mean, out of all the reactions I can get, yours is possibly the best of them.”

“Thank you,” you say, sounding a bit more like a question. “You know, I’m glad that you invited me up here. I haven't been getting the best sleep as of late.”

“You can always come to me,” he’s quick to say, eager so evident in his voice that he’s drowning in it. He wants to be near you, he wants to be with you.

“I don't want to bother you,” you confess with a faint voice.

“You could never bother me.” It’s the truth. He’d crawl to you if it meant even a fraction of your attention would be given to him. He’d do what he could just to hear your voice. You’d never be a bother to him. You’d be his saving grace. It’s silent for a moment, one where he can hear the house come alive under him and feel your breath with even more vigor than before, feeling each and every pause, every gust of air a kiss against his skin that makes him yearn for more. He calls your name, and it’s thick on his tongue- foreign and light, and yet it sounds like he’s said it countless times before, as if he knew the name by heart. You hum in response and he takes a deep breath.

His finger twirls around a small piece of your hair, letting the hair curl around his finger before he releases it, only to do the same thing once more. “I’m always surprised that you let me get so close,” he says in a quiet voice, careful to not ruin the moment but a part of him knows that it might have been ruined already when it alludes to him. He can feel your eyes on him, watching him carefully as your lips part. “I know that I’m not exactly a knight in shining armor or anything and uh-” he lets the strad of your hair go, watching it bounce in freedom- “I just want you to know that I appreciate that you even let me touch you. I really like you, you know? I think you’re a much better person than I’ll ever be.” His lips stretch into a bittersweet smile that soon falls into a frown, twisting his features into something more somber. You say his name and it makes his breath hitch, a hiccup in his throat as his name fills the momentary silence. “I mean it. I think that’s why I- why you mean so much to me. I could never be like you. I can only admire you from afar and want you for myself.” He lets out a breathless puff of air that has humor etched into it. “I just wanted you to know that you mean a lot more to me than I’ll ever be able to put into words.”

With every continuation of his words, you felt your body respond to him. Your stomach twists with butterflies causing a storm inside of you, your chest tight and the sweet relief of air has escaped your lungs, and you’re hot, heat flush against your face and creeping from your chest and upward. You wonder if he could hear every change in your breathing, in your heart that beats, in just you.

He looks at you through half closed eyes and for once, you don’t think that it’s sleep that’s causing his soft smile and tender eyes. You stiffen, your muscles going rigid under his stare. The pillow is cool under your face as you stay hidden from him, gripping at the edges and turning away from his gaze, unable to keep as tight face as a smile creeps across your face.

He laughs as you lower your head, hiding your face from his after the tender words that were shared. “Come on, was it that easy to make you flustered?” He teases, the bed dipping as he moves. His hand tugs on the pillow that is held tightly in your grasp. “Oh come on, just look up,” he whines, weakly tugging at the pillow. “Seriously, you’re so dramatic and for no reason. It shouldn’t be news to you that I like you.” His smile is clear in his voice, light and full of kittenish behavior. “If you don’t pay attention to me, I’m going to continue, you know.” His grin widens when you finally peek at him, and he can’t help but laugh.

Diavolo:

There is chatter in the room, accompanied by the heels of shoes that click against the tiled floor. The room is lit in an orange glow that makes the atmosphere of the room seem almost dream-like. You tug wine glass, pulling it closer to you, careful to not let a drop spill over and stain the pristine white tablecloth. You glance around the room, watching people chat amongst themselves, their own eyes glued to their partners.

You look at the prince before you who takes a sip from his glass, his tongue peeking to wipe at the taste on his lips. “Diavolo?” The glass is set down and he looks at you with slightly widened eyes. “When I said I wanted to go out for dinner, I was fine with just some Akudonalds or ya know-” you glance once more around the room, your gaze focused on the silverware set carefully in front of you- “anything.

“This is anything,” he says, his smile cool and hands resting above the table. “We hardly go out and when we do, the others tend to accompany us. While I enjoy their company, I’d also like to just enjoy yours. So I thought, since this is a rare occasion, we’d make the best of it.” He leans close to you, and you know that there is no malice or hidden intention with him. He is honest, able to tell you what he wants without finding it necessary to hide himself. “If you are uncomfortable with such a restaurant, we can always go somewhere else, next time.”

“It’s not that, it’s just-” you clear your throat, leaning against the table, lowering your voice- “I’ve never been to such a high-end place. I don’t want you to overspend because of me. I’m fine just going somewhere low-key.”

He laughs, shaking his head and his fingers drum against the table. I’m a prince. There’s no such thing as overspending and even if there were, I don’t mind it if it’s you that I’m doting on.” You nod slowly, your fingers running at the edge of the fork handle. “Really, there is no need to worry. I’m just happy that you agreed to join me on this outing.”

You do your best to not shake your legs, mindful of the wine beside you. “‘M glad I was able to join you as well. I- I like spending time with you.” You smile sweetly at him, a hint of nerves tracing against your smile. “I just have to admit that I was taken aback when you invited me out. I know you mentioned how it’s always us with the others, but I don’t know-” you fingers find themselves tracing around the base of the glass- “I guess I always figured you liked me because I was able to get you out of work since you know, I am part of your work. I never would have assumed that you actually wanted to spend time with me.”

For a moment, it’s silent, a brief moment that couldn't even be considered silent, just a short pause but it's enough for him. “May I admit something to you?” Diavolo asks, his hands fiddling with the napkin beside himself. You nod, leaning forward, urging him to continue. “I was always fascinated with humans. I loved humans- they were these beings who had free will and they all lived different lives but in the end they shared the same fate.” He chuckles softly and his hand goes to the stem of the wine glass. “It’s the same for demons, of course. Any life can be taken and for the most part, they have free will, but I think I love humans. Or at least I thought I did.” He looks up at you, his smile faltering for a moment as he struggles to keep it up. “But I think rather than love, I hold admiration for their humanity. For their tenacity, and kindness; their love and warmth that they have with each other. And when I look at you-” his hand leaves the glass and is left open towards you- “I’m reminded of how beautiful humans can be.” His smile turns bitter for a moment, falling and he makes no attempt to keep up the facade. “I’m reminded just how fragile they are. I need you to know that I admire humanity, but I think I love you. I love how you do your best to help those around you, how you adapt to your environment, and just how easily you can make others fall for you.” He lets out a short laugh through his nose. “If I have to be honest, I think I’m also jealous of you. I wish I were the only one who could have the opportunity to fall for you.” His hand is still held out towards you, vacant without yours.

Throughout his monologue your body has been on fire, pooling in your stomach and against your back. You stare at his empty hand, trying to will yourself to hold it but the most that you can do is lay your head on the table, silverware clicking together and a dull thud heard. You want to let out a whine but you’re sure you’ve already called attention to yourself and- oh dear. What will people think of when they see Lord Diavolo with a human who has planted their face against a table. Your thoughts race, clouding your mind as the silence in the room is deafening, echoing in your ears as you rest with your face down.

“Is this a human custom?” Diavolo asks, his voice full of genuine wonderment. “Should I also be doing it?”

“Dia,” you mumble, your body slowly squeezing against itself in order to make yourself smaller. “You can’t confess so nonchalant,” you say in a hushed whisper, wanting to let out any type of noise that is slowly building up inside of you. “It’s- It’s too much for me,” you whine, slowly raising your head to peer at him.

“Well, I am a prince- a demon one at that. I suppose you can say that there are different customs for us as well.” His smile is jovial, and he reaches across the table, his hand open and this time you take it. Unable to look him in the eye, you resort to watching as his hand slowly threads to intertwine himself with you. “I must say, if that’s the response I were to get, I might as well continue it. I rather liked whatever it was that you did.” He’s so honest, looking at you with a wide grin that shows his pointed teeth and you can’t help but bury your face once more, grinning when you hear him let out a small laugh, his hand closing around yours.

2K notes · View notes

rainbowpacifiers · 3 years

Text

Sakuma Sakuya R card: Last Planet - Spring Troupe’s croquette making (A3! backstage story)

Part 1: Sakuya: Um... the ingredients are sausages, bell peppers, onions. What else should I put in?... Omi: What are you up to, Sakuya? Sakuya: Ah, Omi-san! Sakuya: During the day, the Director and us from the Spring Troupe happened to see some really tasty-looking croquettes on TV. Sakuya: So it was decided that everyone would bring their preferred ingredients to make croquettes for tomorrow's lunch. Sakuya: I thought it might taste good if I added Napolitan, so I was just about to make preparations for it. Omi: Wow, croquettes with Napolitan? Seems like a good match. Sakuya: Do you think so? Hearing this from you gives me confidence. Sakuya: I know! If it's alright with you, won't you make the croquettes with us tomorrow? Omi: Ah.... I would like to join you very much, but I've got work tomorrow. But I can help you make the Napolitan. Sakuya: Thank you! I was just thinking about which ingredients to put into the Napolitan... Omi: If you're making croquettes, it might be better to not use too many ingredients. It might not keep together if you're using too many. Sakuya: This much would be okay then, right? Omi: Yeah, I think so. Omi: If I'm not wrong, we should have some thick pasta that seems like it'd go well with Napolitan on this shelf...here. Omi: If you season the fried ingredients with ketchup and mix them with this [pasta], you can probably make some delicious Napolitan. Sakuya: That's Omi-san for you! As reliable as a chef. Omi: Haha, you think so? Well, let's get cooking then. I will help you cut up the ingredients.

Sakuya: ...Alright, done! Omi: We managed some delicious-looking Napolitan there. Sakuya: It smells good...at this rate, I'll end up wanting to eat this. Omi: Should we do a taste test? Sakuya: Yes! Sakuya: ...it's tasty! Omi: Yeah, this is good. Since we seasoned it somewhat strong, I feel like it'll go well with croquettes, too. Sakuya: It seems like I'll be able to make some delicious Napolitan croquettes! Sakuya: It's all thanks to your help, Omi-san. Thank you! Omi: I hope everything goes well. Sakuya: Yeah! When it's ready, please give it a try as well! Omi: Gotcha. I'm looking forward to it.

Part 2: Izumi: Alright, shall we begin making the croquettes? Citron: I'm excited to see what kind of croquettes will be made! Citron: What kind of croquettes will you make, Masumi? Masumi: I will make curry croquettes for the Director. Izumi: Curry croquettes? Sounds delicious! Masumi: I will make you eat the tastiest croquettes in the universe. Citron: As expected of Masumi - not even croquette making will slake you. Itaru: Shake, you mean. Tsuzuru: What ingredients have you decided on, Itaru-san? Itaru: Me? I will use this. Izumi: That's... instant ramen? Itaru: I will smash the noodles and put them into the croquettes. Titled, ramen croquettes. Sakuya: H, how novel! Masumi: Sounds bad. Chikage: Sure enough, I don't think we should get our hopes up. Izumi: As for Tsuzuru-kun... pumpkin and cheese? Tsuzuru: Yes. I figured pumpkin alone would be too simple, so I tried adding cheese. Chikage: A solid combination that screams Tsuzuru. Tsuzuru: You mean it's no fun, huh?... Izumi: Not at all! I think it's a great combination! Chikage: It's a whole lot better than the ingredients a certain somebody plans to add. Itaru: What is the senpai saying so holding there in his hand? Chikage: This? It's just Japanese pepper kernels. Itaru: Don't tell me you're planning on adding them to the croquettes! Chikage: Why would I bring something I wasn't going to add? Citron: This is bad! Chikage is planning on making Russian croquettes! Chikage: Don't worry, I will adjust it to a level of pepperiness that everyone will be able to eat. Izumi: Seems like it'll make for some spicy croquettes! Masumi: I won't lose when it comes to spiciness, either. Citron: I will make prawn croquettes. Tsuzuru: Another novel ingredient has been chosen... Anyway, aren't those prawns way too big? Tsuzuru: Don't say that you plan on putting the prawns in whole!? Citron: Of course I am! Citron: When I thought of adding my favorite sweet shrimp, Guy said that they would be confused with potatoes. Citron: That's why I bought some extra large prawns! Full marks for being frilling! Tsuzuru: It does seem to be filling, but that's basically fried prawns now... Chikage: What have you prepared, Sakuya? Sakuya: I brought this! Izumi: Napolitan? Itaru: Oh, looks delicious. Sakuya: I prepared this last night with help from Omi-san. Chikage: I look forward to seeing the finished thing. Izumi: Guys, when you've made the croquettes' forms round, let's swiftly fry them one after the other.

Izumi: Wow....we managed to make a lot...! Sakuya: I've never seen such a heap of croquettes before...! Itaru: You can't tell which ones are whose except for Citron's prawn croquettes. Tsuzuru: Citron-san's croquettes are easy to tell apart because the prawn tails are protruding. Masumi: My curry croquettes are gathered around this area. Tsuzuru: How can you tell, when they don't look any different from the others? Masumi: I didn't lose sight of them for even 1 second, from the instant they were fried to the moment the food was arranged. Itaru: What tremendous tenacity. Masumi: Director, eat my curry croquettes first. Izumi: O-, okay, you got it. Chikage: Shall we have some while they're still hot? Izumi: Let's do that. Then-- Spring Troupe: Bon appetit! Sakuya: This is Tsuzuru-kun's croquette! The combination of pumpkin and cheese is super delicious! Tsuzuru: I'm glad. ....I've got Chikage-san's pepper croquette. It's spicy and good. It's great that they're not too hot. Chikage: They could work as snacks for drinks, right? Chikage: ...This is Chigasaki's croquette. It's not as bad as I thought. Since the smashed ramen noodles are snack-like, it's a style that kids would seemingly enjoy. Itaru: Right?! Do you understand the unbeaten instant ramen theory now? Masumi: Citron's croquette is hard to eat because the tail is in the way. Citron: I hope you will crunch on the whole tail! Izumi: Oh, this is... a Napolitan croquette. ....Yup, this is good! Chikage: It’s a 5 for unexpectedness, and 5 for deliciousness. Itaru: This is somehow kind of addictive. Masumi: ...I want to eat it again. Tsuzuru: It's delicious, Sakuya. Sakuya: I'm glad that you all like it. I will make them again!

35 notes · View notes

kyotakumrau · 3 years

Text

2020.12.21 The World You Live In at Zepp Tokyo, 2nd event report

Fujieda again started with greetings, introduced himself and Takabayashi and then asked for applause for the band members.

And we got quite a surprise!

Kaoru and Toshiya came on stage!

Thus making Tokyo the only place where band members changed for each slot/session. As much as I'd love to see Kyo again I was happy as my friend only went to Tokyo and she's Toshiya's fan😊

F: please introduce yourself.

Kaoru: you already did lol. I'm Kaoru.

T: I'm Toshiya.

F: the last video you just watched was different from other sessions. The trailer for the concert film screenings that will start from February. It's something only you know right now. As you can imagine from the title it will be something similar to this, with the band members coming for the talk after.

K talked a bit about the situation as well.

T: it's still difficult to hold concerts, but this is something we can do. So I hope you will look forward to it.

Next F started the 'merch items introduction corner', he passed the items to the members.

K: I was watching the 1st slot and we talked about them in Osaka, too. (he talked more about the items and what members said)

F: yes, everything can fit in the pouch so it's a very useful item. You can buy all merch items and put then in the pouch and take home like that. Let's look at Toshiya's big pick key chains (he pronunced that very carefully😂)

They talked about members signs and company logos when suddenly K requested to have to lights in the venue set brighter so he could see everyone.

After that F announced they wil start with questions from the fans, passed the part of papers to others, but K gave his to F saying it's better if he chooses.

T: ok, I have a good one! 'It was Die's birthday yesterday, did you send him a birthday message? And are there any memorable presents you've received in the past?'

T: I got a bicycle. I was really happy at first, but then it was stolen from the parking area.

F: when was it?

T (I didn't catch it but from the context it must have been quite early on in their career)

F: during the tour?

T: yeah, we were always giving each other something for our birthdays, every year, but as years passed it got more difficult to choose something good and we then just stopped.

F: how about you, K?

K: I got a Mickey Mouse, about this size (he showed us with his hand, about 1m tall).

F: 'how do you deal with feeling tired?'

K: I go for a massage.

F: only during the tour?

K: anytime.

F: when the most? When writing songs?

K (laughing): but we're always writing songs

T: for me it's sauna.

F: do you often go when just staying at home?

T: for example after the gym

Ta: 'what did you eat most often during the stay at home period?'

K: ...what did I eat, what about you, Tooru?

Ta: sausages.

The whole venue kinda rotfled 🤣🤣🤣

F: that's cute😆

Ta: it's something I can usually only eat at home.

K: ...something I was really into...(still thinking)....(thinking)

F: for me it was Jiro-ken ramen.

T: at home?! So you weren't really staying at home?

F: I gained some weight after the overseas tour. I started to diet then, and one day a week, a cheat day, I could eat whatever I wanted. My cheat choice was Jiro, either at the restaurants or to take away.

K: ...what was it for me...

F: maybe nabe you talked about before? (in Osaka)

K wasn't impressed 😆

T: canned mackerel for me.

F: for when you drink etc? No, just like that?

They all laughed here a bit.

Suddenly K jumped in with a new topic.

K: in Osaka you talked about the theme behind Kyo's outfit, you said it was pink but he pointed his green hair as the main point.

F: that was difficult.

K: tbh I also thought the main idea was pink (he also talked about Kyo's use of Kansai dialect)

T: 'what were you able to do after becoming an adult?'

F: there's a lot of food people start eating when they grow up.

T: food topic again? 😆

F: for example for me it was raisins.

T: as I get older I can drink more. When we just debuted I couldn't drink at all.

F: drinking wine?

T: おっさんだから・'cause I'm an old guy.

K started talking about the food he couldn't handle when he was small but the next question kinda made me forget it 😅

' 'wet cat food is actually quite good, have you ever tried?'

F: I have a cat and sometimes when I give my cat wet food some will get on my fingers. I'd just lick it. You know some of it, the mackerel or tuna, it looks so good.

T: please send me a video when you eat cat food next time.

😂

(but to be fair most of canned cat food in Japan is 100% fish🤷‍♀️)

K: 'when you can tour again what local specialities do you want to eat?'

F: motsunabe in Fukuoka

T: miso type?

F: of course (if not Shinya would kill him)

K: what did you eat in Sendai?

F: bento

K: in Nagoya?

F: nothing special

T: we had normal bento, but it was miso katsu (Nagoya's style cutlet)

F: but if it's not in a restaurant it's not the same. Anything you want to eat, T?

T: Beki soba from Niigata.

F: have you tried it before?

T: when we went there on a tour, I really like soba.

They talked but more about food, tare katsu, okonomiyaki from Hiro and Jiro again.

T: is Jiro really that good?

F: 😍

K: I've tried it before, but it's (just) okay.

F: it's all about how the noodles taste (type of flour etc)

(more food talk, choosing between salt and tare options)

K: 'what's your favorite onigiri (rice ball)?'

F: how about you, K?

K: I don't eat onigiri.

T: Me also, but if I have to choose it's sujiko/salted salmon roe.

K (about not eating onigiri much): right, you only eat soba.

T then told us the story how much he loved salmon roe even as a child. When he was quite small he went shopping to the local supermarket with his grandmother. When he saw salmon roe in the shop he just started eating it directly from the shelf/container. Of course when his grandmother and supermarket staff found out it got very noisy, but because he was so young it was forgiven.

(back to onigiri topic)

Ta: salmon for me.

F: oh that is nice, I love the most tamago-kake-gohan rice ball (TKG is a very simple, traditional Japanese breakfast dish - just rice with a raw egg eaten with soy sauce, sometimes other toppings), the Newdays chain is selling them

K: the chain operates only in this area, no?

F explained that there are Newdays in other places too, fe Sendai. He also really got into explaining all pros incl the tasty gooey filling inside of the rice ball.

K (imitating F) oh that's nice 😂

F: 'it got so cold recently, what's your favourite season?'

T: spring or fall, I don't hate winter but I definitely don't like summer.

K: fall. (he said as this year wasn't too cold he could go out a bit during breaks)

F: so 2~3 weeks ago was your fav time.

K: here in Tokyo at least.

F: 'as we're staying home much more now do you have a recommended tv series or a channel?' (not just a movie)

K: Cobra kai.

F: ah, you tweeted about it.

K: it will be on Netflix next month, the 3rd season.

K talked about The Karate Kid (Japanese title 'Best Kid').

F: I don't know it.

Ta: me too.

K (shocked): you're serious???

T: I know, of course.

F: 'Best Kid'? 'Best Fit?'

T: just stop it🙃

F: how about your recommendation, T?

T: The BOYS on Prime.

K: I haven't seen it, but it seems interesting.

T: it is! I also like BOSCH. I'm just watching like after work and so on.

After that K talked about how cinema with the capacity reduced by half was nice because you could put your bag on the seat next to you etc, but recently came back to the full house (Demon Slayer did that...)

F: 'how do you feel being in front of people first time in a while?'

T: I'm sorry it has to be done this way

F: don't say that😆

(missed K's reply)

T: it's tiring to be in front of people.

F: but we do it in an interesting way.

T: yeah.

T: 'what's your favourite game? Even including older ones like famicon?'

K: games?

T: Spelunker on Amicon😆

T/K in agreement: where you die so quickly

K: PS5 is so popular, I didn't win.

F: it seems Kyo won once but the information he submitted had a mistake.

K: I applied for Sony's lottery and Big Camera's.

F: you don't want PS5, T?

T: recently I don't play.

K: what about the... what was it Tsushima?

They all reacted with 'ah'

F: what kind of game is it?

K: don't ask me😅 but it looks interesting.

T: it seems to be very popular abroad.

F: 'what's your favourite way to eat ozoni?'

(A new year soup with rice cakes)

Ta: the soy sauce based soup, with grilled mochi.

F: but what ingredients do you add?

K: isn't that way too detailed??

Ta (tries): spring onion etc

K listed grilled mochi, spinach, carrot etc. Then he told us about his family tradition to properly make rice cakes for New year, pounding was so loud even if you wanted to watch tv, you couldn't. But then they had enough for a month.

T: soy sauce style.

F: with miso or?

T: I said soy sauce.

F: what ingredients?

T: rice cakes, spinach, and what is that... (he started to make circles with his hand) ...?

F: naruto?

T (yeah that/nods)

F: in my family we do soy sauce, rice cakes, carrot, fish cakes etc.

K (ignoring F comment that they should finish now, in a teasing way): what about osechi, which dishes do you like?

F: konbu maki or kurikinton.

K: how about you, T?

T: that egg dish that is kinda like this (he gestured the shape again)?

Ta: tatemaki?

F: datemaki!

T: I think it's datemaki.

K: I like that beef roll with carrot and green beans inside (its 牛肉の八幡巻き)

F (making very dreamy face): Aaaaaaah that😍 green beans are so good.

F: ok, thank you all.

K: what about Tooru (Ta)?

F: it's time, sorry.

Last comments.

Toshiya: thank you all for gathering here despite the COVID situation. It's difficult to do concerts now so we tried doing film screenings. In difficult times like this it's not only about the band members, there's our staff and also the venues. I'd love to play concerts again, please wait for us.

Kaoru: it is a difficult situation to share my personal opinion... if we can't do the concerts in a way everyone can enjoy... enjoy, it will affect our relationship of mutual trust. I think this (COVID) situation will continue for some time still, so I think it's better to go with the film screening events. But we will keep checking the situation. Please stay healthy and I hope all of you will come to watch it.

#dir en grey #the world you live in #kaoru #toshiya #薫 #zepp tokyo #fujieda #takabayashi

100 notes · View notes

foodileadventures · 2 years

Photo

It’s been a hard finals season, and I’m still going at it. Sometimes, it’s good to just take a break and do something else! I realized last week that I had a lot of ingredients that could work well in an Ashe Reshteh. In particular, something I find to be a must-have in this dish is some kind of leafy greens- parsley, cilantro, spinach, and/or celery leaves, but I usually don’t get those because when I buy them at the supermarket they go back too quickly.

What is Ashe Reshteh? This dish comes from the Persian kitchen, and it’s known among many as a comfort food or a holiday food. It’s a bit beyond being a thick and creamy soup- right up to being a full meal, with many greens and legumes, and best of all, noodles!

Here are two recipes I found that I’ve looked at for a ballpark reference: https://iran-cuisine.com/recipe/ashe-reshteh-iranian-soup/ https://turmericsaffron.blogspot.com/search?q=ash+reshteh

I made a less traditional version of it, but nonetheless a very good one.

The ingredients: - Pearl Barley (pre-soaked overnight) - Black Beluga Lentils (pre-soaked overnight) - Cabbage (I used the harder inside which is always left for soups) - Celery leaves- the whole bunch’s worth - Celery Stalk - Broccoli (I used only the stem) - Onion - Spring Onion - Reshteh (the thin noodles) - Butter - Chicken-flavor stock

Even with this version, which is relatively simple and fast, it ends up taking some time and energy, especially to chop everything separately and by hand. I wish I had a bigger pot, so that at least it can last longer.

#vegetarian #persian #noodles #vegetables #legumes #comfort food #vegan adaptable

2 notes · View notes

hollyxqx · 4 years

Text

lover, leaver // jimin // 02

↪ PAIRING: Reader/Park Jimin (initally reader/Jungkook) ↪ SUMMARY: There’s only so much cheating you can take from your boyfriend when he’s on tour before you take matters in to your own hands. ↪ WORD COUNT: 8.2k

01 | 02 | 03 | 04 | 05 | FINAL

Despite the uneasy feeling that gnaws away at your gut, you have a nice time with Jungkook and the boys. They drink a lot at the after party - held in an exclusive rock and roll bar that's adorned with records on the walls and pictures of some of its famous guests. Jungkook is at your side all night but you don't fail to notice the girls that hover around.

Hoseok ensures everyone gets back to the hotel in one piece and you're pleased all the boys go to bed alone. Jungkook's already kissing the back of your neck as you try to unlock the room door, since you're the more sober one of the two of you.

"Jungkook," You squirm away from him. "We're too drunk."

"Nuh-uh." He's tugging off his clothes and you're almost impressed at how fast he's able to strip down to his boxers, a very obvious bulge forming already. He manoeuvres the two of you to the bed as best he can in this state. "I need you."

As he hovers over you, pressing his hardness into you, you can't stop the images of Namjoon in that girl flashing in your mind, except the more you think about the more you realise it isn't Namjoon's face you're picturing it's Jungkook's.

"Baby, why are you crying?" He asks, looking at you, tilting his head like a puppy. You hadn't even realised you had been. The alcohol had definitely lowered your inhibitions. He wipes away a tear with a thumb.

"Sorry," You mumble.

"Do you want me to stop?" He asks. "Is it me?"

You don't want him to stop. You want him to desire you like Jimin does. You want him to want you and nobody else. You want to prove to him he doesn't need anyone else but you. "No." You whimper.

Jungkook gives you a moment before he continues. It doesn't take long for him to be thrusting into you, lips attacking your neck. Jungkook cums but you don't, unable to get into that headspace. If he notices he doesn't say anything. Instead he just rolls over next to you. You mentally note that's the first time you've ever not reached your peak during sex with him. It feels unusual.

"Love you baby," Falls sleepily from his lips.

"Jungkook?" You ask, hoping he isn't unconscious yet. He hums next to you in acknowledgement. "What if Namjoon had had sex with that girl?"

"You want to talk about that now?" He groans. "So fucking what if he did? I told you not to worry about it. Besides it was just a blowjob."

"That's what you said before." You sigh.

"Baby," Jungkook sits up on one elbow to look at you, using his free hand to turn your face towards his. "If Namjoon wants to act like an idiot, let him. Don't waste time worrying about him."

"I worry about you." You say just above a whisper.

"You don't need to. You're the only girl I want."

He kisses you one more time before pulling you into his arms again. Sleep evades you for an unmeasurable amount of time, the lie your boyfriend told you on loop in your head.

***

The next morning at breakfast Namjoon can barely make eye contact with you. He has bags under his eyes, his skin is sallow and he's unshaven. Jungkook mutters to you that Namjoon is coming down from god knows what he took the night before. He's quiet as he eats.

Jungkook rests a hand on yoru knee as the two of you enjoy your own breakfast. Your mind wanders to Jimin, wondering what he's up to. Korea is eight hours ahead, so by now he's probably finishing work. Sometimes you think about how you'd feel if you found out Jimin was dating. The thought doesn't sting like it does with Jungkook but it doesn't exactly make you want to jump for joy either.

Your eyes flitter to your boyfriend. On the outside he's still the same Jungkook you'd always known and grown to love. He has more tattoos, longer hair and physically he's as big as he's ever been but more or less it's him. On the inside is a different story.

He's more famous now than when you met. With that came lots of good things - money, success, respect - but also some bad. Jungkook always had an addictive personality and having unlimited access to alcohol, drugs and women isn't good for someone like him. You weren't surprised when he indulged, however much it pained you.

When you first got together he was sweet, always playful and always making you laugh. He still has those elements but the toll of the other things are wearing on you. You love him, so you stay but if you're truly honest with yourself you don't know how long love can keep you afloat.

"What time is your flight again? I want to take you to the airport." Jungkook asks, breaking your train of concentration.

"9pm." You answer.

"Okay, well until then I'm spending as much time with my girl as possible."

***

You're so busy with studying for the exam you have in a few days that it takes Jimin banging on your front door as well as calling your phone to get your attention. As soon as you'd arrived back in Korea you had dove straight back in to your routine to make up for the few days you'd been away.

"What are you doing here?" You ask as the two of you stand facing each other. Another steadfast rule you had for hooking up with Jimin was to never fool around at your place.

"I haven't heard from you since you got back." Is all Jimin says.

"I've been busy, I'm sorry. I've got exams soon, so all I've been doing is studying."

"Have you eaten?" He asks, throwing you off guard.

"Uh, no."

"You can keep studying or doing whatever you need to do and I'll cook for you." He says pragmatically. "I won't get in your way."

"What? Jimin you don't have to. I'm busy and you'll be bored."

"Trust me I won't be. I just wanted to hang out with you."

You're a mixture of bewildered and astonished as you let him into your apartment. The fact that that he wants to do something for you with no ulterior motive is unexpected, but you're tired and could use a break. Plus you recall how well he can cook.

Jimin is more than familiar with the layout of your home and heads straight to the kitchen, meanwhile you resume your place on the sofa surrounded by scattered papers and books. "What are you making me?" You call out, peeking a glimpse at him through the breakfast bar.

"It's a surprise." He gives you a grin before resuming before getting started. As you try to concentrate you find yourself unable to, the sounds of pots and cutlery clanging in the kitchen. You bite back a smile thinking about what he might prepare.

Thirty minutes later Jimin is walking in to the room, a bowl in each hand. "I did my best with what you have, but the cupboards are pretty bare."

"Yeah we eat takeout a lot." You admit. He places the dishes down on the coffee table and sits cross legged ready to eat. "Aw Jimin, this looks amazing."

It's simple ramyeon but Jimin has added some pork, an egg and spring onion and god knows what else that's making it smell amazing. "Eat." He insists. You get up from the couch and join him on the floor.

"Thank you." You say gently, touching his arm briefly. He shrugs.

"I like cooking. I like you. It's no big deal."

"You're the kind of guy people write books about Park Jimin." You joke, slurping your noodles. He blushes adorably.

After the meal is finished he washes the dishes and you can't quite believe he's going out of his way like this. Just for you. You, who is unavailable, dating his friend and generally just not good enough for someone this sweet. When he's done he joins you once more, except this time on the sofa. His arm slides along the back of the cushion behind your back.

"Have you got a lot of work left?" He asks.

"I'm ready for a study break." You tell him, stretching forward to dump the books on the table. Jimin shifts closer when you lean back, thoroughly in his arms at this point. A hand slowly caresses your face, his thumb brushes the spot on your neck where Jungkook left a hickey in London and you can't help but flinch a little.

"How was London?" He asks quietly.

"A disaster." You tell him. He raises his eyebrows in surprise. "I caught Namjoon... with a girl. He got pissed with me, Jungkook got pissed with me for being upset. Let's just say I'm happy I'm home."

"Why was Jungkook mad at you for that?"

"He doesn't think it was a big deal." You sigh, Jungkook's words echoing in your mind. "Jungkook basically said it doesn't count because it was a fucking blowjob." You snort.

"What? How can it not be? Namjoon has a girlfriend."

In that moment you feel so fond for Jimin it overwhelms you for a second. Maybe it's because Jimin is older, more settled that you share the same view. "Yeah, I know. She's nice too."

"Sorry you had to witness that."

"Jimin," You say tentatively after a moment. "I'm not stupid, I know Jungkook does stuff like that too while he's away."

Jimin gulps and says dryly - "Yeah."

"Do you have anyone that you date or see? Obviously it's completely ok and I'm not upset but I was just wonder-"

"No." He interjects your rambling.

"Jimin, seriously it's ok if you do." You coax.

"I know." He stresses. "But it's the truth. I don't."

"Why?" You ask and he shrugs again. "You deserve to have someone."

Jimin sighs. "I have you."

The shame and remorse of your current situation threatens to consume you and try your best to fight it. Hearing those words from him makes it hard not to feel as if you're stringing him along, especially when the two of you act like you're in a relationship. Once again you ignore those ugly feelings and press your lips to his. His mouth welcomes yours gladly and he parts his lips as your tongue darts inside.

One hand moves smoothly up his chest to his neck before settling in the thick strands of his hair. Your fingernails scratch at his nape, something you've learned from experience Jimin loves. He lets out a breathy moan as he drags your bottom lip between his teeth. "I really didn't come here for this." He exhales in a deep breathy tone.

"Hmm," Is all you say, attaching yourself to his lips once more. As you kiss you gently nudge him so he's leaning back, lean body pressed into the cushion. He watches you with intent as you slip down on to the floor, kneeling between his legs. "Maybe I just wanna make you feel good."

"As if I would say no." He says with a half cocked smile.

You push his shirt up and relish in how his stomach tenses as you plant soft kisses on his abdomen. You work your way up to his nipple, tongue slipping over the pink bud. Once again you use your nails, dragging them down his sides. He sucks a sharp intake of breath at the contact. You move to his other untouched nipple, running a tongue over it, except this time you suck harder. He jolts underneath you. You really do enjoy the way he reacts to your touch.

Hands make quick work of his clothing, Jimin helps by lifting his hips up so you can push his jeans down. You pepper kisses on his neck as you stroke his half hard cock through his boxers. What his cock lacks in length it more than makes up for in girth, and you grip it in your small hand feeling it grow fully hard. His eyes meet yours as you work him, if you didn't know better you would think he looks awe-struck.

"I wanna suck your cock Jimin." You whisper huskily in his ear, lips touching the skin there. "Please?"

A breathy wine escapes him as he nods. "Fuck yeah."

You resume your original position on your knees as you gently peel away his underwear to free his hard cock. You can't help but lick your lips at the sight of it. You grip the base of him as you run a tongue up the underside of his shaft, all the way to the tip where you swirl your tongue around the engorged head. A spurt of precum leaks out at the contact. Jimin moans.

You love to tease but you don't want to waste anymore time. You slowly let a glob of spit drip from your mouth to his cock, getting it nice and wet for your mouth before you engulf the head of him fully. "Fuck." He whispers at the sight of you inching him in bit by bit.

Slowly, you start to suck and lick as you bob your head. Jimin's thighs tense and he fists the couch cushion beneath him. When you deep throat him fully he moans loudly and throws his head back. You fight the urge to smirk.

"So fucking good little butterfly." He groans. "So pretty with my dick in your mouth."

Your hands find his and you guide them to the back of your head. He easily gets the hint and pushes your head down so you gag a little, groaning at the sensation of his cock hitting the back of your throat. Even you can't help but moan a little at him being rough with you.

Jimin fucks your face faster, grip tightening in your hair. "Fuck, fuck, fuck." He gasps in time with his hip thrusts. You know he's close. Your cheeks hollow as you go for one final push, sucking as hard as you can. "Y/N - Y/N - I'm gonna cum."

His hips jolt off the sofa as he cums down the back of your throat. He lets out a guttural sound that comes from his chest before collapsing, spent. You swallow what he gave you, sucking around his cock to get anything you missed. Your eyes meet again and his plump lips are still hanging open, slack with pleasure. He looks completely and utterly satisfied. His lips curve into a dreamy smile and he lets out a breathy laugh. "God, you're amazing."

You almost want to take a picture to show Jungkook that yes, blow jobs are a big deal.

***

Jimin stays a few more hours but he doesn't stay the night. It's unspoken between you that it would be inappropriate for him to sleep in the bed you share with Jungkook. Even adulterers have to draw the line somewhere.

You're studying when you receive a text from Hyerin. The message makes your heart sink so low you feel as if it's reached the floor beneath your feet.

from kim hyerin: hi babe, how was london? I really need to talk to you. It's about namjoon. Call me!!!

Your thumb hesitates over the green call button. You want to call her, it sounds like she needs someone to talk to but you also don't want to lie. You've done enough of that over the last few months, your conscience can't handle anymore. Fate, however decides for you.

"Hey." You answer Hyerin's phone call after three rings. "How are you? Everything alright?"

"Y/N, hey. Yeah I'm good." Hyerin sounds anything but. "Things aren't alright, no."

"Talk. Tell me. Tell me everything."

Hyerin takes a deep breath. "I haven't heard from Namjoon since you went to London. He's avoiding me."

"What?"

"That's not all." She sighs. "I think I might be pregnant."

"Oh my god." You gasp. That - you had not seen coming. Namjoon and Hyerin had not been dating very long at all, there is no way they would have planned this. Naturally you assume they were just being as reckless as you had with Jimin. "That is...a lot to take in in just a few seconds."

"I'm trying not to freak out y/n but it's hard."

"Ok, ok. Don't freak out." You instruct. You take a moment to gather your thoughts, trying to formulate some kind of solution for your friend. "First of all, have you taken a test?"

"No."

"Okay that's number one on the list. Secondly, did you and Namjoon fight? Maybe he lost his phone?"

"No, we didn't fight. The last conversation we had was...weird though. He was being evasive and distant which isn't like him." She explains. You can't help but feel responsible. If you knew Namjoon like you thought you did he was feeling guilty and paranoid that you'd told Hyerin what you caught him doing. "Have you heard from Jungkook?"

"Yeah." You say quietly.

"Fuck. I think something's happened. I think he's cheated on me. Why else would he be acting like this?"

"You don't know that for sure." You assure feeling like the worst person in the world. "Let me speak to Jungkook and see if I can figure out what's going on with him."

"Thank you." Hyerin lets out a shaky breath.

You say your goodbye's - thankful you can use studying as an excuse - and hang up. You hadn't meant to be untruthful and you feel shitty. You're not sure whether or not you'll actually bring up the topic to Jungkook knowing he'll only chastise you for getting involved in someone else's relationship. With a sigh you get ready for bed, wanting to forget the world for a few hours.

***

You somehow find yourself confiding in Jimin two days later. It feels right, like it makes sense. He knows both Namjoon and Hyerin, he knows Namjoon cheated and he's easy to talk to because of his calm demeanour. It just happens before you can think about it.

"Honestly?" He runs a hand through his hair as he lays shirtless on his bed. You haven't had sex, the two of you have just been lounging around at his place after work. "I'd try and just be there for her. If you tell her about Namjoon she might direct that anger at you and you don't deserve that."

"I never thought about that." You muse. "I hope she takes that pregnancy test soon."

"Namjoon is not ready to be a father."

"You are right about that." You sigh. "I feel crappy. I'm a bad person."

"Come here." Jimin demands. He holds his arms open for you and you move from your cross legged position at the foot of the bed into his embrace. His soft, bare skin always feels so nice. "You're not bad. It's a bad situation."

"They're back in two days, Namjoon is going to have to see her." His grip tightens at your mention of Jungkook returning because then he knows he can't have you anymore. "Anyway, enough about that. I need a break. Tell me how work is going."

"Good. I've got a few projects commissioned this week." He was an artist, a painter and from what you had seen Jimin was extremely talented. "A client asked me to paint their daschund. In a bow tie and top hat." He laughs. "It instantly made me think of you."

"Oh my god." You laughed. "I need to see this when it's finished."

"I'll bring you to my studio when it's done."

"More people need to dress their pets in formal wear." You say and he laughs. The two of you fall quiet. Jimin strokes your hair and you end up falling asleep on him.

***

"What is this?" Jungkook is smiling like a cheshire cat as he lifts up a piece of black, lacy, transparent material. It's hooked on his forefinger as he wiggles it at you, eyebrows raising in question. Your heart hammers in your chest as you realise he's holding the lingerie you bought for Jimin. You curse yourself for not hiding it before he returned from tour.

At least it was clean.

"I-It's underwear." You stammer.

"I know that." Jungkook rolls his eyes. "It's new. You get this to wear for me?"

"It was supposed to be a surprise." You lie, snatching the flimsy material from him, marching back to the dressing table where you sat getting ready. You throw it in a random draw.

"Well I'm ready to be surprised whenever you want baby." He walks over to the closet you share to select some clothes. Tonight you're going to dinner with everyone to celebrate Yoongi's birthday. You're anticipating Jimin being there and it's creating a bubble of nerves in your stomach. "Maybe you should wear it under your dress tonight."

"Maybe." You hum with no intention of doing that. Somehow it feels wrong.

"Maybe if you do I won't be able to control myself and fuck you in the restaurant bathroom."

"Yoongi would love that."

You both finish getting ready, you in a black dress that shows off your curves and Jungkook in a black leather jacket with a black vest that dips low enough to show off his tattoos. Even you can see that you look good together. He drives you both to the restaurant. You're happy because it means he'll stay sober.

When you arrive it's only Jimin and Namjoon at the table, everyone else appears to be running late. Hyerin is nowhere to be found. Talk about awkward. You greet them both as normally as you can, although Namjoon's eyes skirt your gaze. You sit opposite Jimin as Jungkook slings a protective arm over the back of your chair.

"Hyerin's not coming?" You ask Namjoon. You're assuming they're still together - you haven't heard from her - so you act innocent.

"Uh, no." He coughs. "She's working."

"Ah."

Before any awkward tension can truly take hold Jungkook speaks. "Yah, Jimin-hyung, is no one coming with you?"

"No." Jimin replies curtly.

"One day, if you're really lucky you'll get a girl drunk enough to want you." Jungkook teases. You slap him on the chest.

"Hey! Don't be rude." You scold, shooting Jimin apologetic eyes.

"He knows I'm joking."

"The joke didn't bother me the first time he told it. It certainly doesn't bother me the 500th time." Jimin mutters. Jungkook just grins.

Yoongi arrives as if on cue, Seokjin, Hoseok and a girl you've never met before in tow. She's introduced to you as Lisa and described as a 'friend' of Yoongi's. You know that means she's just the flavour of the month, however she seems pleasant enough.

The conversation flows much more naturally now that more people have joined in. You all order your food and wait for it to arrive. As the waitress brings the food to the table you notice her place a beer in front of Jungkook. "You're driving." You utter under your breath at him but he rolls his eyes.

"It's just beer, babe."

You ignore him and continue eating. He uses your silence as an opportunity to fall into conversation with Yoongi about some track they're producing. Your eyes drift to Jimin at the same time as he looks up from his plate. He smiles.

"Is your dog painting finished yet?" You ask before you can stop yourself. You're allowed to talk to Jimin but you always feel guilty doing so, like Jungkook will realise if you so much as exchange more than polite hello's.

Jimin shakes his head. "Not yet. Almost."

Next to you Jungkook is ordering another round of drinks. He offers the table but only you and Jimin decline. You feel silly, you should have anticipated that Jungkook didn't need a lot of convincing to get drunk. You sigh as you realise this means you'll have to drive home tonight. Jimin looks at you with knowing eyes as if he can read your mind.

Jungkook arranged earlier for Yoongi to have a birthday cake. He must have conspired with the restaurant because the cake that arrives is clearly for a toddler and it causes him to roar with laughter. Yoongi just shakes his head with a grin.

By the time the cake is cut and eaten you can tell the boys are tipsy. They're getting louder with each conversation and you're trying not to get irritated by it. "Baby," Jungkook says, voice already a little slurry. "We're all going to a bar, you coming?"

"Jungkook, your car." You remind him.

"So? You're sober. You can take it. Or you can do some shots with me." He quirks a brow at you, hand sliding him your thigh. It disappears beneath the hem of your dress. He always gets so handsy when he's drunk.

"You should come, y/n. I need another sober person to help me with these idiots." Jimin's voice interrupts your interaction with Jungkook. You look between him and Jungkook, sighing.

"Fine."

"Yes!" Jungkook cheers and plants a sloppy kiss on your lips while Jimin looks away awkwardly.

***

The bar seems even louder when you're sober. You sip on a lemonade, next to Jimin in the booth. Yoongi and his girlfriend are talking so closely and intimately you almost feel a little jealous, wishing Jungkook wanted to be doing that with you. He's at the bar with Namjoon doing shots. They're talking to a group of people and you notice there's a blonde getting very cosy next to Jungkook.

"I want to go home." You say through gritted teeth to Jimin. He follows your gaze and even over the background music and people talking you hear him sigh.

"I know. Me too." He squeezes your thigh affectionately under the table. Not that Yoongi would have noticed anyway.

"Jungkook is being an ass tonight."

"I know. I'm sorry."

It's almost as if Jungkook is still in 'tour' mode you think, wild and partying. You used to enjoy going out with him in the early days - the days before you knew about the women - but now it leaves you feeling a pit in your stomach. You turn away from Jimin to find Jungkook has disappeared. So has the blonde. And you don't know how long it's been.

"Fuck," You mumble, a coil of dread beginning to stir in your stomach. "He's disappeared Jimin. I'm going to go look for him."

Jimin lets you slip out of the booth and you storm over to Namjoon. A hand reaches out to harshly grip his shoulder, literally tearing him from his conversation. Namjoon looks half stunned, half annoyed. "Where is he?" You demand.

"I dunno." Namjoon shrugs, giving you an agitated look. "Bathroom I think."

Your heart is hammering in your chest as you stalk off to the bathroom, weaving through the various patrons. You locate the door marked 'Toilets' and enter to be faced with your worst nightmare. In the foyer that separates the men's and women's bathrooms there's Jungkook and he's not alone.

His back is against the wall (although he's swaying on his feet because he's wasted) and the blonde from earlier is attached to his neck, one hand already fumbling with his button. There's a drowsy smile on his face.

"Jungkook," You choke out. He's so drunk it takes a minute for him to register you standing there. The instant he does he literally shoves the blonde off of him. She stumbles, a confused look on her face. The fact that she's not even that pretty stings. "Really? While I'm here? While you're home?"

The tears are welling instantly. It's one thing him fucking around in another city, country, continent - you can detach yourself from it. But right infront of your eyes is a different story. "Baby, it's not what it looks like."

"Your fly is undone." You spit. He has the decency to look ashamed of himself as he fumbles with the zipper, doing it back up. "I'm fucking leaving."

You turn on your heel, ignoring him calling your name. Tears are running down your face but you don't care. You blaze past Namjoon again on your way back to the table. The instant Jimin spots your face his features soften, knowing what's happened without you even having to say it.

"Jimin, I'm going home." You sob barely able to get the words out.

"Let me take you." He offers.

"What about them?" You gesture vaguely to Yoongi and Lisa.

"I don't care, they can find their own way home."

Jimin walks you out of the bar and arm on the small of your back. You look over your shoulder to see Jungkook watching you leave.

***

By the time you arrive at Jimin's house you've stopped crying, but the anger hasn't left you. Neither of you had said a word on the drive over, though occasionally he would shoot you a worried glance. You numbly follow him inside and before you can decide which room you want to face plant and scream into a pillow in, Jimin is wrapping you in his arms. You bury your face in his chest.

"I'm so glad I have you Jimin." You mumble.

"Come on," He says as you pull away. "Lets sit."

He pushes you to the living room and you flop onto the sofa. Jimin sits next to you and grabs your hand. "What happens now?" You ask.

"What do you mean?"

"What do I do now? I've always know he fucked around. He never used to do it at home, let alone while I'm there. How am I supposed to go back to that?"

Jimin lets out a heavy sigh as he stares at your joined hands. "You don't have to go back. That's an option too." He says in a small voice.

"I do, I live with him."

"I mean to him. Not to your house."

Your quiet for a few heavy moments as you let Jimin's words sink in. You've never really thought about actually being with Jimin, you were too focused on fixing Jungkook. This entire tryst started out of retribution to your boyfriend's infidelity. It was only recently, when you had grown more comfortable with Jimin that the dynamic had started to shift.

"I never understood why you go back." Jimin speaks again when you don't reply.

"I love him."

"Do you?"

"Yes." You say but even you can tell how unsure your voice sounds. Jimin lets out yet another sigh as he stands up. Thankfully he drops the subject.

"Do you want to stay here tonight to cool off?" He asks.

"Please."

Your phone rings as you traipse to his bedroom with him. The caller ID is exactly who you feared it might be. Jungkook. Jimin peers at you as you silence the call. "You're not going to answer?" You shake your head no. The calls continue as Jimin searches for a shirt for you to sleep in. He turns around to hand it to you, watching as you strip to your underwear.

"Jimin," You exhale as you press into him wrapping your arms around his neck. Your lips meet in a heated kiss as his hands snake around to your bare waist. You press your body in to him as he cups your ask. Your intentions are clear, you want him, need him in this moment. But to your surprise he pulls away.

"Do you actually want me or are you just mad at him?" He presses his forehead against yours and your noses touch.

"I want you." You breathe.

"I can't do this if you don't want me."

"Right now Jimin I need you."

He walks you backwards to the bed, undoing your bra as he goes, tossing it unceremoniously away. His eyes are fixated on your breasts as you lean back on the mattress and kick off your own panties. His clothes follow and join your heap on the floor.

You take two of his fingers in your mouth, slickening them with your saliva. Jimin gets the hint and presses them inside of you while his pink tongue swirls over one nipple. Your phone rings again and it seems to only encourage the man, fingers fucking into you faster like he has something to prove to Jungkook.

A thumb rubs your clit and the combination of fingers and tongue have you cumming quickly, your ringing phone long forgotten. "Ride me, butterfly. Show me how much you need me." He whispers, hot breath tickling your ear.

He situates himself by the headboard and beckons you to him. You sink down on his length slowly and his mouth is everywhere, your breasts, collarbone, neck - it's like he can't get enough of you. You rock your hips against him, gripping the headboard to stabilize you. "Jimminie, you're so perfect." You whine. You don't just mean the sex either.

He spanks your ass with one hand and grips it tightly, groaning. "I love watching you like this." He pants as he rolls the two of you over. "But I want to make you cum again."

You're on your back in seconds and he drives into you with such force the headboard is thumping off the wall. His neighbours must hate it when you're over. "Fuck Jimin." You moan, feeling another orgasm looming. "Don't stop."

He rests back on his haunches, the new angle has you seeing stars. "I'm going to cum in you, butterfly." He grunted. You didn't say anything as you rubbed your clit, too angry at Jungkook to care. "I'm close. So close. God I love seeing you get fucked by me. I fucking love you." You barely hear the words as your orgasm takes over, thighs trembling around Jimin's narrow hips. "Fuck, I'm cum - I'm cumming. Cum with me beautiful."

He bottoms out letting out a heavy breath as he slows his thrusting to a stop. As your brain starts to re-enter a semi normal state your stomach lurches at his confession. Did he just say he loves you?

No. He got caught up in the moment and probably got tongue tied. Maybe he meant to say I love fucking you.

Neither of you mention it as you clean up and get ready for bed.

***

You tug anxiously on the hem of Jimin's t-shirt as you make your way to the apartment. Regrettably you have to work today and your work uniform is folded neatly on the pile of clean laundry in your bedroom. Obviously you never planned on spending a night away.

Quietly you unlock the door and slip inside. The apartment is so silent a librarian would be proud. Praying you don't find the same blonde from the night before naked in your bed you tip-toe to the bedroom. You don't know what you'd do if that was the case. However when you open the door the reality you're presented with is a shirtless Jungkook sleeping face down, one arm falling off the edge of the bed.

Even though you're beyond pissed his peaceful face makes your heart melt.

You spot your clothes and as quietly as you can you reach for them. However, as if by divine intervention, you receive a text and your phone dings loudly. Jungkook stirs. "Baby?" He croaks, voice thick with sleep. "s'that you?"

You hope if you remain silent he will fall back asleep but fate isn't feeling kind today. He sits up and squints at you in the morning light of the room. "You're home." He yawns. "I was worried."

"Not for long." You mutter. You ignore him as you grab some toiletries and underwear, as well as another change of clothes. They get stuffed in to a bag and you're ready to go. Jimin had kindly allowed you to stay at his place until you had to work.

"Wait."

You don't. You're at the bedroom door, ready to leave when Jungkook is up surprisingly fast for someone who has just woken up, your wrist in his grasp.

"Let go."

"Please can we talk?" He begs.

"What's the point?" You mumble, finally daring to look at him. He looks rough, like he hasn't slept in days even though it's only been a few hours and his eyes are sad.

"The point is I love you."

It's pathetic how easily the walls you've put up crumble at those three words. You drop the bag as he yanks you into his arms, though you don't reciprocate. His chin rests on top of your head as you breathe him in. He smells like home.

"Kook," You say as you separate, swallowing thickly. "There's nothing to talk about."

"There is! It wasn't what it looked like!" He protests you instantly.

"It was exactly what it looked like." Before he can open his mouth you're cutting him off. "I'm not an idiot Kookie," You say sadly. "I've known for a long time what you get up to."

"I don - "

"Save it. You're not exactly good at hiding it." You feel a tear hit your cheek and you swipe at it quickly. "God knows how many girls you've fucked since we've been together. But I took it Jungkook. I took it because I loved - love - you. Fuck I don't even know."

"I've never slept with anyone apart from you." He says defiantly. You let out a puff of laughter.

"Sure."

"I'm fucking serious."

"Jungkook I've literally found women's underwear amongst your things. Don't lie to my face like that. How do you know you haven't slept with anyone when you get so fucked up every night?"

He lets out a long sigh and cards a tattooed hand through his long dark locks. "Can we sit?" He asks. You find yourself nodding and both of you perch on the edge of the bed. He reaches for your hand but you move it away. "I won't lie to you then. There has been girls."

You feel sick.

"But baby, you have to believe me. None of them meant anything to me. I couldn't even tell you one girl's name."

"Wow, that makes it all okay. Carry on then." You spit.

"Sometimes on tour we'd just get so fucked up and girls would sometimes...do things. I barely even touched anyone. Pretty certain I never even kissed anyone either."

"Hang on - " You almost want to laugh. "So you cheated on me, multiple times, because you couldn't be bothered to jerk off?"

"No, it's not like that! These girls are so eager, you've seen them. I just would take advantage. All the guys did."

"Why am I not enough for you?" You ask in a small voice. "I thought - I thought I was special to you."

"Baby," He cups your face with both hands, affectionate thumbs rub at your cheeks. "You are enough. You are so special to me. There's a reason why I always come home to you."

"It's not enough anymore Jungkook. I can't handle it anymore. I haven't been handling it. Why do you think I got so upset about Namjoon?" Jungkook looks down in shame at your words and his hands fall back to his lap.

"What are you saying?" He asks, avoiding your gaze.

"I don't know."

"Did Jimin convince you to do this? Break up with me?" He asks out of nowhere, taking you by surprise. "Spend all night talking shit about me?"

"Why would Jimin try and convince me to break up with you?"

"He's been practically obsessed with you since the day I introduced you." Jungkook scoffs. "I once found a painting he did of you and some drawings. Fucking creepy."

"No..." You breathe, vision tunnelling. Jimin was a fling, he didn't obsess about you. "You're lying."

"Nope." He says boldly.

Suddenly a lot of Jimin's behaviour makes sense. The doting on you even though you're taken, acting like your boyfriend even though he's not, the 'I fucking love you' comment from the night before...You need to speak to him.

"Kook I need to tell you something." You say tentatively. You don't want to do this, you really don't but Jungkook was honest with you and it's only fair. He looks at you, an eyebrow arched in intrigue. "I stayed at Jimin's last night."

"I know...?"

"No, listen." You take a deep breath. "We slept together."

"What the fuck? I'll fucking kill him." Jungkook hisses.

"It was my fault too." You point out.

"No," He shakes his head slowly. "No, no, no, y/n. He took advantage of you."

You close your eyes for a moment in an attempt to summon some courage. A lone tear slips down your cheek. It's like the weight of the last few months are crushing you and you can barely breathe. The realization that you might be the worse one in the relationship hits you like a ton of bricks.

"He didn't take advantage of me. This has been happening for three months." Your voice chokes at the end of your confession.

"You are fucking joking." Jungkook deadpans.

"No." You're crying now. The guilt constricts around your throat like a cobra and it's tight when you inhale. "I was angry at you, and I was in so much pain Kook. I just turned to him as a friend and it led to that. I'm truly sorry."

He rubs at his face with the heels of his palms and a shaky breathe escapes his lips. He lets out a mocking laugh that sounds almost cruel. "Unbelievable." He mutters. "I don't know who I'm more pissed at, him or you."

"What do we do now?" You ask with some hesitation.

"Well seeing as you're wearing Jimin's clothes why don't you fuck off back to your boyfriend for a bit while I figure how I'm not going to murder him." Jungkook seethes. His eyes flash with fury. You reluctantly gather the things you had dropped and make for the door.

"You know Jungkook, when you're 'figuring things out' remember this - I apologised to you. I've yet to hear one sorry from you."

You don't wait for a reply, opting to leave instead.

***

You didn't go back to Jimin's. As you were leaving the apartment you had checked to see what the text message you received was, the one that had incidentally woken up Jungkook. It was from Hyerin.

from: kim hyerin: I really need your help. Can you come over? I'm home all day, phone me!!!

It's a welcome interruption into your day, frankly. The idea of going to face Jimin right now doesn't seem as appealing as it was twenty four hours ago. You have no idea what you'd even begin to say to him. 'Hey, so are you in love with me?' doesn't exactly roll off of the tongue. You push that to the back of your mind for now as you ring Hyerin's doorbell.

When she answers, the first thing you immediately notice is how tired she looks, totally unlike the composed pretty girl you'd become so accustomed to. "Jesus, you look like hell." You exclaim.

"Yeah, well I just got back." She utters dryly. "Come in."

You follow her inside and she leads you her living room. It's the first time you've ever been to her place. It's surprisingly girly, you had expected her to have a much more minimalistic taste. She offers you some water which you readily accept with a thank you. You wait for her to get comfortable on the opposite chair before you speak. "What's going on babe?" You ask gently.

Hyerin looks at you for a moment. "I'm pregnant." She says bluntly. You swear out loud.

"Does Namjoon know?" You ask. She shakes her head. "Have you been to the doctor yet?"

"No. I'm going this week."

"I can go with you if you want?" You offer.

"I'd really appreciate that." She says quietly.

"How are things with Namjoon now?" You ask rather hesitantly.

"Well, we're talking again. He gave me some bullshit excuse for the reason why he was ignoring me." She rolls her eyes. "Still not great though."

"It might improve now that he's home again."

"Yeah." She says with no emotion whatsoever. "It's still such a new relationship. I don't know if I want it to."

The two of you silent for a few moments, a lingering sort of sadness hangs between you. "I caught Jungkook cheating on me last night." You say bluntly, the desire to talk to anyone that's not involved with your situation too great.

"I'm so sorry, y/n." Hyerin says and it sounds genuine.

"Everything is so fucked right now isn't it?" You give a humourless laugh and slump down further on the sofa cushions. A large part of you wishes you could just hide at Hyerin's forever. "Do you mind if I hang out here until I have to work?"

"Not at all." She replies. "Let's stay and here and talk shit about boys until then." It's the first time you've laughed in nearly two days.

***

from: park jimin: where are you?? I thought you were heading back here...is everything ok? from: park jimin :i'm worried butterfly... (6) missed calls: park jimin (2) missed calls: min yoongi from: min yoongi: have you seen jk??? dude has vanished (1) missed calls: jungkook<3 from: kim namjoon: have u murdered kook? he's gone awol. Panic starts to rise as you check your phone for the first time during your shift at work. It'd had only been three hours since you last looked, the amount of time relatively short compared to the absurd amount of notifications you returned to. Immediately you dial Jungkook's number.

It goes straight to voicemail. God, you hope he hasn't done anything reckless.

The next person on your list is Jimin. You dial him but it just rings out. You try two more times but are yielded with the same result. "Fuck!" You cry out loud in frustration to yourself. "Why does everyone have phones if they don't use them?!" Thankfully you're alone in the staff room without anyone to witness your slight meltdown.

You text Jimin anyway, assuring him you're fine and asking if he's okay/heard from Jungkook. You try to phone Jungkook one more time before the end of your break but again it goes straight to voicemail. Stomach knotting with anxiety you have no choice other than return to work.

The remaining three hours of your shift seems to crawl by. You practically run to Jimin's house the second you clock out, trying not to come across too frantic to your co-workers. When you eventually arrive at his place you observe his car in the lot, surely he must be home.

You hammer on his front door. "Jimin!"

Silence.

"Jimin, I know you're home! Please open the door!" You call out, still pounding on the wood. It's silent for what feels like an eternity until you hear some shuffling inside. Nothing could have truly prepared you for what was on the other side. The door creaked open slowly, and even in the darkness of his apartment you could pick out a very bruised and broken looking Jimin.

"What do you want?" His voice was hoarse, worn.

"What the hell happened to you?!" You try to step forward for a better look but he closed the door slightly, acting as a barrier to keep you out.

"You told Jungkook."

You're silent as you take in his injuries. His lip is split and his eye is swollen. You would bet that that's only the tip of the iceberg knowing Jungkook. "He's responsible? I'm sorry, I never thought he'd do this..."

"What did you expect?" He sighs. "I think you should go."

"I just wanted to make sure you're ok." You tell him, voice small and defeated.

"I'm clearly not." He mutters. "Goodnight, y/n."

"Wait - " He pauses as he starts to shut the door. "Where is he? Everyone's been trying to get a hold of me because he's unreachable. I'm worried he's going to do something stupid. Something else stupid..." You add on, referring to Jimin's injuries.

Jimin tongues the inside of his cheek. He looks as if he wants to tell you to go fuck yourself. "I don't know. He was drunk out of his mind when he was here. He could be anywhere."

"Thanks Jimin. Truly, I'm sorry..." You feel silly, you know a mere apology isn't enough. He just nods. "Can I come by later on? I really think we should talk."

Jimin nods. You take a risk and gently push the door open, which he reluctantly allows you to do. You pull him into your arms as gently as possible, his limbs automatically wrapping around you. You mumble how sorry you are over and over while you hold him, willing yourself not to cry. This entire situation is your fault, you're not allowed that luxury right now.

"Can I do anything for you?" You ask as you detach yourself from him, eyes searching his, a determined look on your face. "Anything."

"I just need to rest." He averts your gaze.

"Call me if you need anything."

masterlist

#bts fanfic #bts ff #bts smut #bts smut and angst #jimin smut #jimin ff #jimin fanfic #jungkook fanfic #jungkook smut

283 notes · View notes

skaashis · 3 years

Text

hunger.

➤ you are miya osamu

wc: 2.7k

warnings: food, op is hungry, miya osamu centric, manga & anime spoilers

note: I'm 1-2 days late to the funeral/party but pls accept this really short miya osamu character study (kind of. barely. There was hardly any studying as i’ve allowed the spirit of writing take hold of my hands for a solid two hours.) as my elegy/offering to haikyuu season 4’s finale and the 40 tabs of poetry & fics that crashed on me earlier this evening.

You are Miya Osamu, seven years old, and eating in the new ramen restaurant that just opened up for dinner. The place was apparently highly-anticipated as it’s apparently the first Hyogo Branch for an infamous ramen chain that's apparently rated with two Michelin stars. The interior is traditional and neat. The walls, floor, and furniture are of finished wood in varying shades. The staff look old, the chefs look older. You, Atsumu, Pa, and Ma are seated with menus and gurgling stomachs, and walk out with takeout. Hands chained together, you all walk towards the parking lot and Ma lets out a squeal of satisfaction saying, “that was real good wasn't it, Atsumu, Osamu?”

Atsumu being the dimwit brat he is, nods viciously as if his eyes aren't already drooping as a sign of an incoming food coma. He proceeds to say he’s reaaaaaaaal full! And how he really liked how soft the noodles were and how rich the broth was and how soft the noodles were. Ma hums in a smile then looks down to face you, asking you for your own opinion. You only shrug and say, “I’m full. Just not satisfied”

Ma looks at you, mortified. Pa guffaws his lungs out and manages to wheeze out how you better be thankful that you’re out of the restaurant's vicinity for you might have gotten your first lawsuit at seven! You don't completely understand what he means but knows it's something bad. In the car ride back home, you stare out the window and wonder why.

You are Miya Osamu and think that Aran Ojiro is hella cool. He’s got a hella cool name, hella cool physique, and hella cool lunch he brings to school one day. They’re pancakes. Not really the ideal lunch meal, but hella cool either way because they’re nop ordinary pancakes. They’re corn pancakes, except, as Tsumu (his new name that you both proclaimed post-meeting Aran-kun) says after taking a bite, there’s no corn in it. It just tastes like corn. You pull out your own plastic chopsticks from your bento to take a taste as Aran explains. He says there’s something his mom puts that called ‘cornmeal’. Before you could take a piece, Aran halts you and shuffles for something in his lunchbag, only to pull out a mini tupperware of freshly chopped green onions. With glimmering eyes, he recommends that you try it out with the green onions garnished above before you take a bite. You nod, take his advice, and your mouth explodes with colors. It’s beyond sweet or savory or spicy or umami. Pancakes have always been either flat or fluffy alone, never so interesting and flavorful until now.

Ma picks you and Tsumu up later that day and you ask her to buy some cornmeal and extra green onions the next time she goes to the market to buy groceries.

You are Miya Osamu and it's New Year’s. You’re also yelling at Tsumu too keep it up, who in return, is also yelling at you to keep it up. Ojiisan is chortling in endearment, Obaasan is cackling her lungs out. When the Mochi is finally done, you and Tsumu exchange glares with your arms folded in a huff. Tsumu mutters how you, Samu, is so stupid and dumb and slow, when you know for a fact that HE’s the one who’s stupid and dumb and slow. Obaasan, being the ever observant granny she is, hitches a brow teasingly and asks if her precious grandsons have changed their precious names into something else. You and (a)Tsumu splutter up a string of apologies and excuses, only for her to cackle once again, this time simultaneously hitting you both on the back as she does so. Ojiisan is the one to tell your Obaasan to calm down now as he distributes the mochi.

Obaasan smiles with the softening of her eyes after taking a bite of the mochi and says it's good. Both your and (a)Tsumu’s hearts swell in pride. She then smiles with her dentures flashed in a wide, cheshire grin, adding how it could’ve used a little more oomph! She says it’s good because food is always good when you’re happy. And you’re happy when you make decisions for yourselves. And when you’re making decisions for yourself, you’re supposed to make a decision that you think will make you happy. You and Tsumu nod while reaching out for your own mochi and she’s right, it’s too soft.

But you think, huh. It does taste a lot better.

You are Miya Osamu and firmly believe your brother is a curse. Or perhaps it’s the other way around. You’re the curse. Ma never told you who’s older or younger, and probably (likely.) (definitely.) for the best. Though, you’re also one half of the newly infamous Miya Twins™ (synonymous with: chaos incarnate) who have recently shaken the ground of the volleyball world. The other half of the Miya Twins™ is Atsumu, who puked in the bus before the first game in your first nationals that no one, everyone, would have expected you’d win. Of course, you only reach the semi-finals, but that alone is a feat in itself. Still, on the bus ride back to Hyogo, while your eyes aren’t swelling with tears anymore, they’re mapped with veins and your heart’s the one doing the swelling, but with distraught and a promise to give it your all until the very end as one half of the Miya Twins™.

You are Miya Osamu and the team that stands before you across the net is Karasuno. Whom no one, everyone, would have expected would come this far. They’re an amalgamation of rookies, geniuses, and straight up monsters. They’re an odd bunch but so is your team. You’re both standing in the court, in Tokyo, match being ingrained into the minds of every person watching whether live or through National Television that'll either last forever for them to talk to their grandkids about or just fleet away the next day. Either way, the memory of such alone is proof that they’ve come this far. So are the jerseys being drenched in sweat, bruises blooming on their forearms, and the muscles being more and more conditioned as each three centimeters of a second passes by.

“Hey ‘samu? I’m startin’ to feel hungry.”

“Me too, ‘tsumu.”

You are Miya Osamu, scarfing down on the third best gyudon you’ve had in your life. It’s served in the Tokyo branch of a well known gyudon chain and only the third best ‘cuz Ma’s is and will always be the best, and yours will be the second best because you’re seventeen and self-proclaimed one hell of a home cook. It’s third best probably because of the garnish or the beef’s quality or how well-cooked the rice is. Or the fact that you’re eating it right after a loss. Food is always better when it's used as comfort or a coping mechanism. If it’s decent and you’re feeling like shit, your brain always registers it as the best thing in the world for at least the next few days. But you’re smarter than Gin who’s ordering his third bowl because it's the best gyudon he’s ever had in his life. But also, food is always better when you’re happy, when you make a decision for yourself that you deem would make you happy. You’re not happy, but you’ve decided that you’re gonna be the junior Kita-san’s forever gonna brag about.

You are Miya Osamu and practice the next day is grueling. Even fiercer and vicious than the already fierce and vicious practices your body had been accustomed to pre-nationals. Not completely by coach’s order, rather by the hunger born as an aftermath from yesterday's events. It’s also a water break. The mere three minutes your body is given to repair its own muscles before another set of serves. Riseki mentions how yesterday, Kita went on another one of his strange speeches in the midst of the match. He reiterates how Kita believed everyone on court were monsters and all, that's really the bare minimum Riseki’s pea brain, in comparison to Kita-san’s argentinosaurus of a brain, was able to absorb. You nod and hum in acknowledgement, after all, you thought the same too at one point of the match. But now-

Your gaze shifts over to ‘tsumu who’s across the gym and trying to create a heimlich by punching his chest. God knows what he’s choked himself up on again this time.

-your face twists into nonchalance. Even from the other side of the gym, you feel tsumu giving you the stink eye as Aran’s obligatorily assisting him. It's probably the twin senses. The guy’s no monster. Even if he was, monsters are supposed to be terrifying. Like the ones scaring you from under your bed. Or crawling up from a well and out of the TV screen. Or dipping fingers along with a french fry into a ramekin of ketchup in a team outing, like what Tsumu doe— Ah.

(Later that night, he does it again. He’s no monster, just a stupid fuckin idiot.)

(A disgrace to humanity.)

You are Miya Osamu, it’s the week after the last Spring High National Tournament, 1AM, and you should be asleep. Instead, you’re googling: what the fuck do retired athletes do when they’re retired. Your back isn’t aching and you dont smell funny yet, but you’re a teenager and tired and your brain whirrs in the strangest of times. The search results are blurry as like does a black hole, sleep succumbs and swallows you into itself.

You are Miya Osamu, holding your brother in a headlock. The catalyst to the impromptu wrestling match in the gym was you admitting to Atsumu that you’re no longer playing volleyball after highschool. Some delusional part of yourself hoped for some kind of peaceful talk. Y’know, with puffy gowns and smiles and chamomile tea. But Tsumu’s childish and you’re apparently a FUCKIN’ [REDACTED] [REDACTED] HORSE-CRAP-LOOKIN’ [REDACTED] BITCHASS [REDACTED] [REDACTED] SHITTY SCRUB. As per usual, you throw each other, yells (Communication between the Miya Twins™ was either inarticulate yelling or twin telepathy alone and nothing in between.), and punches around. There’s no real winner or loser in your quarrels as either Ma’, the coach, or Kita-san is always quick to end it. This time, when Tsumu yells at you that when you’re in your deathbeds, he’s gonna say that lived a happier life, you grin fierce, proud, in pain, and attempt to keep tears from streaming down your eyes. There’s no winner or loser to this fight as it doesn’t, and will never end until you’re on your deathbeds trying to deem who lived a happier life.

You are Miya Osamu, sweating profoundly, and the touch of the ball your brother set to you barely quarter a second ago is faint. The Twin Quick Attack, Minus Tempo. He gives you a look that says “are ya still thinkin’ about quittin’?” You slam the ball down along with returning a look that says “fuck yeah.” The ball creates a deafening echo as it ricochets off the ground. 2014 Spring High National Tournament: Inarizaki High School vs Karasuno High School (2:1)

You are Miya Osamu, swearing you’re about to go blind because of the continuous flashes of cameras being sent your way in your graduation. Ma’ and Pa’ are in tears, so are a few of your classmates and teammates and juniors. Some people say that they wished highschool would never end but that’s a load of bullshit. Highschool sucked. Calculus sucked. Everyone many Some people sucked. ‘Tsumu definitely sucked. Playing volleyball— didn’t suck. It never sucked.

You are Miya Osamu and adult-ing sucks. Taxes, landlords, income— Never have been fond of economics and likely never will. They said that when you become an adult, you’re finally gonna be thrusted into the world of freedom and happiness. Freedom is for everyone, children and adults alike. Happiness on the other hand, is temporary and reserved for times like a good lunch, and only permanent for people swimming in bills and coins and gucci. You? You’re just some guy making equilateral riceballs for a living. The food industry is always a gamble. To make a name for yourself, you’ve gotta keep thriving. To keep thriving you require consistency in improvement. That means more branches, more flavors, and more investment while making sure the quality never drops. It's difficult and mentally taxing. It also makes the whirring of the ceiling fan seem louder than it should be, making you feel smaller, more alone, than you should feel. You take another piece of manchego and narrow your eyes into the list of potential new flavors you could sell. A high-pitched DING! from your phone causes you to lose the staring contest you’ve had with the sheet of paper in front of you.

From: Kita-san

I’ve prepared the rice for pickup. See you tomorrow, Osamu.

You grin at the notification and text him a quick thanks. You stand up and flip the paper around in order to get read for bed. Something tells you you’ll figure it out somehow and soon.

(you do. Spicy pickled cucumber onigiri is fresh and a well selling item in Onigiri Miya the moment its introduced.)

You are Miya Osamu and firmly believe your brother is a menace, but also a nuisance. Yet here he is, likely (definitely) unaware of the splatter of soy sauce his cheek is smushed upon that you weren’t able to clean up from the former customer as he’s too immersed in his own personal venting. He’s whining on and on about how he can’t seem to perfect this new special serve he’s been working on for a while now. You’re familiar with this co called “special” serve he’s trying to pull off as it’s been the only thing he’s been texting you daily about. Because you’ve heard of it a hundred-or-so times and you were also supposed to close up ages ago, until he came waltzing in with that stupid pout and blonde hair of his. He’s a menace and nuisance but also your brother, so you offer him your own two cents and fresh onigiri. The night goes on with you both talking about Kita-san and life and the time Bokkun got his hand stuck in the pipe system back over in the MSBY dormitories. As you close up the shop and part ways, Tsumu yells at you saying he hasn’t figured out the serve yet, you yell back at him that he’ll figure it out somehow.

(he does. he debuts the new menacing northpaw serve, entitled the “hybrid serve” the next match the MSBY have.)

You are Miya Osamu and formally meet Akaashi Keiji for the first time. You recall him as one of the setters for Fukurodani, the highschool that often appeared in lists of participatory schools in the nationals as well as the former abode of your brother’s teammate, Bokuto “Bokkun” Koutaro. The dude’s nice. Probably needs more sleep, but generally nice. Seeing him and so many other people from highschool all gather up in Sendai for the match fortifies its already well-established significance. The crowd quivers and roars in awe as the MSBY win, some of shock, others of pride, many over at the Adlers side in goodbye to the sum of money they’ve pooled into bets. You quiver and roar in a grin, proud of your brother and the incoming flock of hungry customers coming over to your stand.

You are Miya Atsumu and your brother is Miya Osamu. No surprise he’s 60+ and still making those stupid equilateral riceballs of his. Probably because he’s got his life up together. Definately because he’s a FUCKIN’ [REDACTED] [REDACTED] HORSE-CRAP-LOOKIN’ [REDACTED] BITCHASS [REDACTED] [REDACTED] SHITTY SCRUB. You enter the shop and the doorway is no longer one you’d have to duck for in order to enter. The place is really neat. Sumiko-chan (16, working part time) welcomes you back and says Osamu-jiisan’s break is still in an hour or so. You wave her off saying you’re just gonna get a minced tuna and spring onion onigiris to go. She nods and tells you to wait for five minutes. You do so and in those five minutes, you watch ‘Samu smile as he’s heartily making those stupid equilateral riceballs of his out of rice and love and whatever the fuck each flavor requires.

He’s probably happy. You're probably happier. But he’s definitely happy.

#miya osamu #haikyuu!!

6 notes · View notes

sophieakatz · 3 years

Text

Thursday Thoughts: Cute Asks

I’m in a funk today, so this week’s Thursday Thoughts is responses to questions from this ask post.

1: When you have cereal, do you have more milk than cereal or more cereal than milk?

I’ve been eating cereal dry for a while now, so, much more cereal than milk, because there is no milk.

2: Do you like the feeling of cold air on your cheeks on a wintery day?

Nope! I have loved wearing this facemask all winter!

5: Are you self-conscious of your smile?

Nah. I used to be, but I grew out of it. I have a darn cute smile.

8: What artistic medium do you use to express your feelings?

Hi, my name is Sophie, and I’m a writer!

9: Do you like singing/humming to yourself?

Incessantly!

10: Do you sleep on your back, side, or stomach?

I usually fall asleep on my left side, but I often wake up on my stomach.

11: What’s an inner joke you have with your friends?

You know that bit in Phantom of the Opera, during “Down Once More,” where the Phantom says, “Down a path into darkness deep as HEEEEEEEELL!”

If I’m chatting with two of my best friends, and I say something thoughtful/philosophical (again, hi, my name is Sophie, and I’m a writer), they’ll sing that line at me. “Deep as HEEEEEEEELL!”

12: What’s your favorite planet?

Earth. It’s the only one with chocolate.

13: What’s something that made you smile today?

The weather got cold again today and so there were lots of little kids at work in teddy bear onesies.

15: Go google a weird space fact and tell us what it is!

One million Earths could fit inside the Sun.

Of course we shouldn’t put one million Earths into the Sun, because then all the chocolate would melt.

16: What’s your favorite pasta dish?

Tuna noodle casserole. Tuna, macaroni, a heck of a lot of shredded cheese, and onion soup. Bake at 350 for 20-30 min. Mmmmmm.

19: Do you keep a journal? What do you write/draw/ in it?

I do. Since middle school, I’ve rarely gone without a notebook on me somewhere. I write everything in it - random thoughts, what happened that day, bits of stories or poems or things that will turn into stories or poems, random math problems when I need to multiply something... I also put stickers in it, because I want to keep them.

22: Are you a morning person?

Absolutely not.

23: What’s your favorite thing to do on lazy days where you have 0 obligations?

A day with zero obligations? What’s that? If I had it, though, I would read a book!

24: Is there someone out there you would trust with every single one of your secrets?

Yes. My mom and dad. I trust them with everything.

30: Think of it: Have you ever been truly scared?

Yes. And someday, when everyone involved is far enough away from it, I might write about it.

32: Tell us a story of something that happened to you after 3AM when you were with friends.

I don’t think it was quite to 3am yet, but it was very late at night, and I was at Steak n’ Shake with high school friends (some of whom were a year older and in college already; the high schoolers of us had gone to their campus to see one of them in a play), and I was very tired and had become very silly, and I remember one of my friends telling me, “Sophie, you will never need to get drunk.”

40: Think of a piece of jewelry you own: What’s it’s story? Does it have any meaning to you?

I have a little silver elephant necklace. It was a present from my mom. She bought it off of a friend of hers. That friend got a silver elephant necklace from her boyfriend, and then she went to the gym and lost the necklace, but she didn’t want to tell her boyfriend that she’d lost it, so she bought a new one that looked just like it, and then the people at the gym found the necklace and gave it back to her, so she fessed up to the boyfriend about getting a duplicate necklace, and my mom bought the necklace off of her and gave it to me, because I love elephants. I’ve been wearing it for years, and if I were allowed to wear jewelry at work, I would.

56: What are some things you find endearing in people?

If they get wholeheartedly enthusiastic about something they love. It doesn’t matter if I know anything about the thing. I just love watching and listening to people’s passion.

Also, if they remember things about me. I’m ridiculously bad at remembering things about real people (but story details are locked into my brain forever), so it means a lot to me when someone remembers something I said.

60: Do you like poetry? What are some of your faves?

“I’m nobody! Who are you?” by Emily Dickinson. Also “I have a bird in Spring” by Emily Dickinson. I really like Emily Dickinson.

65: Is there anyone you haven’t seen in a long time who you’d love to hang out with?

Everyone... Thanks, COVID-19.

72: Are you a person who needs to note everything down or else you’ll forget it?

I don’t trust memory. I took too many psychology classes in undergrad to trust memory. It’s all a reconstruction of what we think must have happened. But if I write it down, then I remember!

73: What are some of your worst habits?

I pick at my skin on my fingers, my face, my shoulders, and my chest. And I stay up too late.

79: What’s one of the cutest things someone has ever done for you?

For my birthday this year, my family filmed themselves singing parody versions of “Bella Notte,” “Baby Mine,” “Do You Want To Build A Snowman,” and “Part of Your World,” with lyrics about me and my life, with baby pictures of me interspersed throughout the video. They made me cry. It was great.

80: What color are your bedroom walls? Did you choose that color? If so, why?

They’re white, and no, I didn’t. It’s a rental.

87: What are some movies you think everyone should watch at least once in their lives?

Hello have you heard of our lord and savior WALL-E?

89: Are you close to your parents?

I am! I’ve gotten closer to them as I’ve gotten older and come to understand them more. We fought a lot when I was little, ‘cause I was a stubborn brat, but they’ve had my back my whole life.

92: Are you a person who drowns their pasta in cheese or a person who barely sprinkles a pinch?

What is pasta if not a vehicle for cheese? A yummy, yummy vehicle...

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?

I wouldn’t, unless I knew for sure that I could get back to the present again. I’d like to go five years into the past and give twenty-year-old Sophie a hug.

#thursday thoughts #about me #ask memes #cute asks

1 note · View note

a-spoonful-of-home · 4 years

Text

My Top 17 Foods To Eat In Chengdu

Szechuan cold spicy noodles 四川涼面

These are hands down my favourite food to get in Chengdu. Sitting down in the heat outside with some cold spicy noodles (and a beer - of course) is the best way to spend a hot summers day here. It’s a great mixture of garlic, spring onions, ginger, and lots of chilli oil. I think I prefer cold noodles over hot noodles because it takes the heat down a level. Just writing about these noodles is making me want to go for a walk down to the noodle joint near our complex! An absolute staple of Szechuan cuisine - 10/10!

Steamed buns 包子

Steamed buns, or baozi, kept me alive when we first arrived in Chengdu and were running round trying to get all our documents sorted. They’re so convenient and you can really get them everywhere. I love the snacking culture here in China because it means you’re never very far away from some tasty street food. Steamed buns, sweet or savoury, never break the bank and you can pick one up normally for around 20p/30p. Steamed pork buns are my favourite bun but it’s always fun to try new ones - like the custard buns that you can poke with a chopstick and squeeze all the custard out… granted it can look a little disturbing but it’s still fun!

Dumplings in chilli sauce 红油抄手

Another classic here. I wasn’t a huge fan of these the first time I tried them but now I can’t get enough of them. I think I’ve really worked up my heat tolerance since moving here and now there’s nothing better to me than a big bowl of pork dumplings covered in spicy chilli sauce! It’s the intensely aromatic sauce they’re coated with, made with vinegar, garlic, and roasted chilli oil, that makes these dumplings so irresistible. You can also get dumplings in soup but I prefer the dry dumplings with chilli sauce.

There are lots of different types of dumplings in Sichuan and China as a whole, but Zhong dumplings are named for the family who first made these in Chengdu around 100 years ago - and now they’re recognised officially as one of Szechuan’s most famous street foods! They’re a simple dumpling with sweet soy sauce and chilli oil and they’re great for beginners. James and myself were actually lucky enough to get to go on a dumpling making course when we first arrived - it was really fun!

Roast pork 烤猪肉

This isn’t a Szechuan specialty but it’s still very much available here in Chengdu. My favourite way of eating pork here so far has been where the pork is served on a sizzling plate with a sweet sauce and peanuts. Normally the server will pour the hot sauce over the pork in front of you and it’s great to watch it sizzle. I love it when meals feel more interactive like that. It’s super sticky and sweet and is everything that roast pork should really be!

Hotpot 火锅

I think it would be a sin to come to Szechuan and not try hotpot at least once. Unfortunately, I’m not the biggest fan of hotpot with red oil but I do quite like the version of hotpot at a restaurant near us that uses what I think is some kind of chicken stock/soup to boil the ingredients. This restaurant is Hong Kong themed so it’s not typical Szechuan food. When the food is cooked you dip it in a sauce that you can put together yourself - this is chillis, garlic, soy sauce, and spring onions. There are a few different types of hotpot but some of the most popular here are chuan chuan 串串 (where you get your food on long sticks and place it in the pot) and huo guo 火锅 (where you place the food directly into the pot and scoop it out when it’s ready).

It’s a really fun way to eat though because at most restaurants you start by going around a fridge section of the restaurant with a basket and get to choose what you’d like to boil, then take it back to your table and cook it in the pot with your friends. Chinese style eating is quite different to the UK because typically you share food more instead of ordering just for yourself and I really prefer it like that - it just means you get to try more things and don’t have to worry about ordering something you won’t like! It’s a much more sociable way of dining and it’s just so much more fun.

Eating with friends

It’s always so much more fun to share your cooking with your friends - especially when you all come from different parts of the world. I really love the other teachers in my class and so I decided to cook them some ‘traditional British food’ because Tina, one of the teachers, really loves trying new food. It was also a bit of a thank you for how welcoming they’d been and how much easier the job is working in our team. Of course, being the welcoming people they always are, they came to the dinner with Szechuan food for us to try too! They made us kung pow chicken, fried chicken wings, and mapo dofu (silken tofu in a spicy sauce) and we shared with them a cottage pie, potato and broccoli soup, Hellmann’s egg mayonnaise sandwiches, biscuits with brie, and a steamed syrup pudding - the best of both worlds!

Dan dan mian 担担面

Dan dan mian (noodles) are so called because historically the walking street vendors who sold the dish would have a type of carrying pole (dan dan) that they carried over their shoulder with two baskets containing the noodles and sauce at either end. The name of these noodles is literally translated to noodles carried on a pole. They’re another Szechuan staple food and one of my favourite things to pick up when I’m walking around Chengdu. They're served hot with minced pork in a spicy sauce. They’re also served with preserved vegetables like zha cai 榨菜 (lower enlarged mustard stems) and ya cai 芽菜 (upper mustard stems). Living in Chengdu has meant that I’m a lot more into preserved vegetables than I was in the UK!

Xiaolongbao 小笼包

Now this is definitely not a Szechuan food but you can still get it in some places in Chengdu. It’s associated with Wuxi and Shanghai so I’m really excited to try some more when we move cities! It is a steamed dumpling with broth inside that's typically made from chicken or pork. You eat them using a soup spoon and a pair of chopsticks and bite into the dumpling on the spoon then suck out the soup. There’s a restaurant called ‘Modern China’ that we’ve been to a fair few times. It’s got a huge menu but recently I’ve been ordering just xiaolongbao and calling that my dinner. It’s been wonderful!

Roast Duck 北京烤鸭

Some of the best roast duck that we’ve had in China (so far!) was when we went to Hongyadong 洪崖洞 in Chongqing - which was once the site of the earliest and most developed pier in ancient China. It has since become a popular destination for visitors to experience Bayu culture and houses a large-scale stilt house complex built along the bank of the Jialing River. It was full of food vendors and we ended up going for a dinner roast duck which was skilfully carved in front of us. Again - I just love food where you get to see the chef or servers work with it! The restaurant we visited is called Quanjude and it’s a restaurant famous in China for its roast duck and longstanding culinary heritage since it was established in Beijing in 1864. There’s no way that we’re going to be able to live in Shanghai without at least one trip on the bullet train to Beijing now!

There’s also a restaurant called Bao Bao Ding just near our apartment and they sell really great roast pork and duck with rice. It’s not hard to find and I’ve never found it to be anything other than delicious! James also swears by the spicy duck neck snacks that you can get here but I think they’re still too spicy for me!

BBQ 烧烤

One of the first restaurants that James and I went to near our new apartment was a BBQ joint just across the street and I fell in love with this area! I’m a big kid and I just love getting involved in cooking the food myself so I really enjoy going for BBQ here. You’re supposed to dip the cooked meat in chopped peanuts and spices when you’ve cooked it on the grill and it’s so good. Unfortunately, I went to a different BBQ joint in the city and ended up getting food poisoning (I don’t think that I cooked the chicken enough) and so I’ve got off BBQ for the moment but I’m sure I’ll be able to get back on it!

Sweet water noodles 甜水面

I love these noodles so much - they’re always the star of the show. Most famously, you can get them from the Wenshu temple area where there are plenty of vendors selling this street-side snack. They’re quite different to the other noodles in this list because they’re made using a much thicker, square-cut noodle and are served in a sweet-and-spicy sauce. They're served cold and are very chewy with a rough surface to help them grab every bit of the sugary sauce that they're served in. I really love both the chunky look of these noodles and their mouthfeel and I think they’re always going to be something that distinctively reminds me of our wonderful times in Chengdu.

Pastries 蛋糕

Although I do miss a good Greggs sausage roll - Chinese pastries really are off the hook. We live by a bakery called Holiland which opened in the mid 90’s and became the biggest chain bakery in China. I think that’s fantastic news because we won’t have to go without our Holiland fix in Shanghai! Chinese pastries and breads are typically a lot sweeter and lighter than those in the UK and always seem to be much more creative in their presentation - maybe it’s just because they’re new to me but I really find them to be so beautiful. Some of my favourite pastries here are the hotdog pastries (literally just a hotdog in sweet bread) and the half baked cheese (which is sort of like a cheesecake with no base). It’s a very dangerous shop!

Bubble tea 珍珠奶茶

I really love just how readily available bubble tea is everywhere you go here. Every famous western fast food company that’s come over to China has their own bubble tea (McDonalds is the best one) and there are so many other chains (like HeyTeaGo and Fresh One More Time) which sell some really amazing teas. It’s really going to be one of the things I miss the most when we do eventually move back to the UK. One of the best teas you can get is a watermelon tea with a cheese foam topping. There’s a lot of cheese flavoured things here (like cheese flavoured yoghurt) which I’m really into. It’s not so much a hard cheddar cheese and is more like a cream cheese/mascarpone flavouring (if that). I’m really obsessed.

Vegetarian food at temples

I really like visiting temples. I think they’re such beautiful places that offer a calm that you don’t seem to find in many other places in the city. They also often have vegetarian restaurants nearby and the food is super tasty and affordable. When we went to visit the Leshan Buddha with my parents, we went to a restaurant near the temple there and had a lovely meal overlooking the square. I’m just really into these vegetarian restaurants and love what they’re about.

Cake at the kindergarten

We always bake a cake with the little ones whenever its one of their birthdays at the kindergarten. There’s a great mini kitchen downstairs and they’re so precious in the tiny chefs hats and aprons. The cake itself isn’t the most delicious cake I’ve ever had because we don’t put any sugar in it, so it’s more like a bread with fruit on top, but it’s so much fun to share it with so many excited four year olds. It’s great for them to get to bake the cake and then eat it together. I love birthdays at the kindergarten.

Street food 路边小吃

The best part of living in China is the abundance of street food. There have been so many new things I’ve had the opportunity to try from vendors in the road. It also keeps our cost of living down because they’re never that expensive and can be quite filling! I love just picking up some noodles when I’m out and about, or grabbing some Guo Kui 锅魁 (deep fried meat pie) which tastes a little bit like a sausage roll with lots of Szechuan spices.

Liang Gao (Glutinous Rice Curd) 凉糕

Liang gao is a sweet summer dessert which roughly means 'cold cake' (although it's more like cold tofu thing). It's served with sweet molasses and has a texture like jelly pudding but is just mildly sweet without the sauce. I first had it at the noodle shop near our first apartment and it was a great accompaniment to our noodle feast that we had!

Variety of crisps

China has some really out there crisp flavours. I’m not sure if they’re just novelty or if people really like them but I guess they wouldn’t sell if people weren’t buying them! The most interesting flavours I’ve seen have been lychee sparkling drink flavour and yoghurt drink flavour. Some of the flavours like spicy crab and hotpot flavour are really good but I think I’ll be avoiding the yoghurt for a while longer!

Sugar people 糖人

Sugar people is a form of traditional Chinese folk art using hot liquid sugar to create beautiful shapes and animals. This isn’t really something that is particularly delicious to eat - just because it’s made purely of hardened sugar but it really is beautiful. The reason I love it so much is because I think it’s such an amazing art form and it’s handmade and blown in front of you. I really enjoyed this pig candy because I got to blow it up myself (which a lot of help from the vendor). It’s kind of like glass blowing but you get to eat the finished product (highly recommend not doing this with actual glass).

#china #szechuan #sichuan #chengdu #food

10 notes · View notes

missguomeiyun · 4 years

Text

Homecookings [August ed.]

Is summer over yet........ ?! Seriously. I really dislike summer. .. I just dislike heat & sun, in general. Not that I overheat easily but it doesn’t feel good, you know what I mean? I am sooooo looking to fall! & then during the winter months, I’ll be looking forward to spring.

As you know from the individual posts, I went to Hmart for the 1st time since this whole thing started & I on like a shopping spree. I went on a wknd to the U of A location of Hmart, & bcos of other errands, I only had ~30mins in there. I did “speed shopping” in there & didn’t revisit any aisles more than once lol it was so much fun! But other than that, I had some night shifts this month, which occurred during the hottest days -.-” so I mean, it was nice bcos the commute to work was rather cool (midnight to 0800h), but trying to sleep mid-day was a struggle, like it always has been for me; however, it was worse bcos it was so hot! So yes, I didn’t sleep for a few days. At all. Like maybe 3 hrs over 3.5 days ish. It’s baaaaaad, I know.

Anyway, let’s move onto the food; you’ll see what kinda of stuff I eat when I’m doing night shifts :P

I started doing this thing where I add kim mari (deep fried seaweed rolls that contain glass noodles inside) to my ddeokbokki’s. I love the extra crunch/texture it brings to the dish!

Due to the heat, salad rolls became my family’s primary choice for “lazy dinners”. We’ve tried diff ingredients, just to switch it up. Like obviously we’ve had the ‘traditional’ kinds that contain Thai basil, shrimp, lettuce, pickled carrots etc.. but we also had chicken & basa fish as ingredients. Oh! & we also stuffed some home-grown basil into the rolls too.

Post-night shift meal that was eaten ~0900h. .. so I guess this was my breakfast. Had leftover salad roll with kimchi, pan-seared tofu with cucumber & soy sauce, & hard boiled egg with this new sauce I discovered in my fridge. It’s a Chinese condiment that has small mushroom pieces marinated in a specialty soy sauce lol can be used for cooking or simply topped on rice. It’s pretty good actually!

Another post-night shift meal. .. kimchi jjigae that has tofu, kimchi, & napa cabbage. I ate it with small ciabatta bun & fried egg bcos I LOVE eggs! I never wanna eat anything too heavy when I’m working night shifts bcos I eat 6 ‘meals’ over the course of 24 hrs... so essentially I’m consistently eating. I still don’t really have a coping mechanism or some sort of system that would allow me to be not hungry & can sleep. Maybe eating so much is why I can’t sleep...? But then I get hungry, which also doesn’t allow me to sleep.. . I don’t know. I DON’T KNOW!

Been into this recently - daily berry blend. I usually prefer my fruits ‘fresh’ but there’s a few bags of frozen fruits in the freezer so I’ve been making this. It contains honey, water, frozen home-grown cherries from summer(s) ago, frozen berry blend (blueberry, blackberry, cherry, & raspberry), & a small handful of frozen avocado cubes. TBH, I don’t like the frozen avocado. It has this lemon-y/lime-y flavour to it; it may have been added to prevent the avocado from blackening *shrugs* I am not even sure if it’s lemon/lime, but it has a sourness to it (& no, it’s not expired). So then I started adding some to this drink (just to get rid of the frozen avocados).

Bought these for my niece but I think I enjoy it the most! It is a large Pepero stick, but the fun part is that the chocolate part contains pop rocks so you get 3 different textures! The biscuit stick, smooth chocolate, & the poppin’ rocks~

Cold noodles with a chicken + mushroom + celery + cabbage stirfry using the package-included bibim sauce. Spicyyyy!!!

Scallion & baby mussel pancake with soy sauce. Such a nice, little appetizer! This was actually my 1st time adding baby mussels to the pancakes. Even though the mussels were small, I still cut them up into smaller pieces. I just find that the distribution is better this way!

...Sad moment in my life: I have finished my last pack of these banana almonds. Where can I get more in Edmonton?!

Beef brisket with fat & flat rice noodles. This was such a hearty meal... I have a thing for noodles soups. The broth was made from beef brisket & bones that’s used for brewing soup. My brother put in daikon radish, some spices, & cane sugar. It was light but amazing!

Bulgogi x ddeokbokki ??? haha there was a lot of beef brisket leftovers.. . so I shredded some & made a simple bulgogi consisting of only beef, cabbage, & carrot (no onion, green onion, garlic etc). I stir-fried it with (frozen) cylindrical rice cakes. Then added some water, bulgogi sauce, a small bit of gochujang, & .. . the rice syrup!

^This is an old photo that I have posted before but posting for you as a reminder :P I used this in traditional spicy ddeokbokki. Yes, it made a sweet & spicy ddeokbokki - I neither liked nor disliked it. It was just a different flavour. Just like how every place has their own recipe for it. But for bulgogi, I can honestly say it made a difference with a small teaspoon amount. Bulgogi sauce is already sweet, but this enhanced it & made it even sweeter. I am probably going to use MOST of this syrup for bulgogi instead of for what I had originally purchased it for (ddeokbokki).

Trying this coffee bean for the 1st time. I got this as a gift last yr.. . slowly working my way thru my beans :D it comes in whole beans in the bag, & then I used my electric coffee grinder to grind a small jar of it. I usually grind a whole bag like this & then just . .. brew it till it is all done. Trying to grind in smaller batches & thus not letting the ground beans sit out for too long this time.

BONUS photo: my backyard.

#homemade #homecooking #food #healthy #cooking #cook #summer

4 notes · View notes

icannotreadcursive · 4 years

Text

Avengers PSAs: On the COVID-19 Pandemic 5: Food!

Clint was leaning back against the kitchen island in purple argyle pajama pants and a black T-shirt.

“Hey,” he said, making the salute-like ASL sign for hello as he did. “Clint Barton, AKA Hawkeye or 'that random guy with the bow an arrow who hangs out with the Avengers' here to talk about grocery shopping and cooking during these quaran-times.”

He grinned at his own pun, then continued, signing to the camera to follow him. He pushed off from the island and walked over to the pantry and the two large refrigerators that flanked it. “Whether you're ordering your groceries for delivery or suiting up in your mask and gloves to brave the stores, you need to shop according to what kind of storage you have and you preferences as far as what you'll actually cook and what you'll actually enjoy eating.

“Now what I mean by shopping according to your storage is things like, if you have a lot of freezer space—maybe you have a freezer chest in the garage because you hunt, or you have a minifridge leftover from college that you can set cold enough to use as a freezer—then stocking up on frozen food is a good idea. If you don't have a lot of freezer space, then you can't stock up as much on frozen food and need to focus more on shelf-stable things like dry good and canned goods.

“The point is to be able to have enough food in your home that you can make three meals a day for your whole household for at least a week without having to go shopping and without things going bad before you can eat them. That kind of big stock-up grocery run gets expensive fast, and a lot of people aren't working right now or have their hours cut, so it can be hard to afford the kind of stocking up we all need to be doing. To help mitigate that and make things easier for others in your community, if you can afford to buy the more expensive versions of some foods, do so. Leave the less expensive options on the shelves for the people who can't afford anything else.”

He moved farther into the pantry and he segued subjects a little. “If you're not much of a cook or if you're particularly busy right now—working in essential industries, working from home, trying to homeschool your kids, whatever—then you need to focus more on prefab food, stuff you can just shove in the oven or the microwave or stick on the stove for a minute and be done. If you do like to cook or you've decided your quarantine activity is gonna be learning to cook and you have more time, then you should focus more on getting ingredients for cooking from scratch. Everyone should have a mix of both, though, and there are certain stables everyone oughta have on hand.”

He grabbed a box off a shelf, tossed it over his shoulder, caught it as he turned around, and held it out for the camera to see. “Noodles. You want noodles. It doesn't really matter what noodles. Dry pasta is great because it's extremely shelf stable, it keeps forever. I've eaten pasta that was a year past the date on the box and it was fine.

“I know a lot of stores are running low on boxed pasta, so maybe now's the time to try that lentil based pasta you've been eyeing suspiciously for a while, or get some tiny pasta like orzo, stelini, or even couscous that you usually avoid because they're not really noodles.” He put the box of pasta back on the shelf. “You can even make your own pasta if you really want to or you're really desperate. But if you have noodles—or pasta, same difference—you have a meal. Cook a whole batch to eat with sauce for spaghetti night, then save the leftover noodles, fry them up in a pan with some butter, scrambled eggs, and cheese tomorrow for lunch.

“On that note, you want eggs unless you're allergic—or vegan, I guess—and you want your dairy staples: butter, cheese, and milk. Butter and cheese both keep a long time in the fridge, especially hard dry cheeses, but milk is iffier. You canfreeze milk to make it last longer, just shake it up real good when you thaw it out, but you can also get UHT milk—ultra high temperature—that's been heat-treated so you don't have to refrigerate it at all until it's opened so you can keep it on the counter or in the pantry.” He looked around a little. “I don't think we have any UHT milk for me to show you or I would. Stark's bankrolling us, as usually, and we're doing what I mentioned earlier about buying the more expensive stuff if you can afford it, and, well, Tony can afford anything, so we've been getting direct delivery from a local dairy farm once a week—it's in glass bottles, Steve and Buck are thrilled, it's cute. Anyway, another thing you can do is buy a gallon of milk, buy some powdered milk, once you've used half of that gallon, mix up half a gallon worth of that powdered milk with cold water, add it to the half gallon you had left. Boom, whole gallon of milk again, and I promise it's not weird and watery seeming like if you just reconstitute powdered milk by itself. It's good.

“You also want rice, shelf-stable protein like canned tuna, or these funky little packets,” he held up a pouch of lemon-pepper flavored tuna, “stuff to snack on like crackers and whatever you like on crackers, and bread—which is something else you can make yourself, seriously buy some flour and get your bake on, kneading bread is a great way to work out your frustrations.” He smacked a large bag of flour, caught it as it threatened to fall off the shelf, resettled it, and flashed a thumbs up.

It cut back to Clint in the kitchen, sitting at the island now. “For the sake of your own sanity, it's also important to make it where feeding yourself isn't just a chore and you actually enjoy your food. There's a lot of little things you can do that will help with that a lot even if you're not up to much more than throwing some ramen in the microwave.”

A package of Yaki Soba slid quickly across the counter right past Clint—a slivery blur flashed behind him, kicking up a breeze that ruffled his hair, and Pietro caught the package before is skidded right off the end of the island. “Sorry,” Pietro grinned sheepishly as he handed the Yaki Soba to Clint, “my bad.”

“I knew I should have asked your sister,” Clint teased. He rolled his eyes as Pietro ducked back out of frame, then held up the Yaki Soba for the camera. “If you're gonna have one of these, take two seconds before you make it, dig through your fridge, add a little soy sauce or teriyaki sauce to the water before you cook it, give it some flavor. Toss some shredded carrots, coleslaw mix, or even canned chicken in there. Make this stuff be real food instead of I'm-trying-to-feed-myself-in-my-dormroom sadness with minimal effort.”

He tossed the Yaki Soba out of frame, presumably to Pietro, and a plushy hotdog got tossed back to him. He caught it easily. “Hot dogs are great, easy and fast to fry up in a pan, but kinda meh on their own, so have some potato chips or shove fries or tater tots in the oven. Make some chili and have chili dogs.

“Speaking of chili….” He tossed the plushy back and a jar of Prego pasta sauce slid to him—it stopped a little short and he leaned forward to grab it. “We should have practiced this. Anyway. Jarred pasta sauce is totally fine, but you can use it as a spring board for excellent homemade sauce. Brown some ground meat in the bottom of a pot, put some onion through a food processor, cook it in a big pan, add some garlic, process some more veggies, any veggies, add them and some wine to the onions, once that's cooked down, add it all in with the meat, pour in some store bought sauce, feast like a god. I'm not even kidding, Thor loves this stuff, I made a whole vat of it last week. It's easier to do in bulk and it freezes well. Andyou can split some off, add beans and spices, make yourself some damn good chili. I'll post a recipe with actual measurements and stuff.”

He slid the jar of sauce back and caught a box of dry noodle soup mix that had been thrown directly at his face. “Make this stuff with more noodles—if your extra noodles take more than 5 minutes to cook, put them in the water first, then add the soup mix when ther's five minutes to go. When it's almost done cooking, like a minute left, pour in a scrampled egg or three. You've got egg drop soup, white people style.”

He tossed the soup box back and Pietro threw a pack of premade pizza crusts to him like a frisbee. Clint fumbled it a little but didn't drop it. “Make your own pizza! You can get these flatbread rounds to use as crust, or you can make your own dough—if you have a bread machine, it will make the dough for you. Then, put whatever you want on your pizza. You can go traditional with red sauce, cheese, and pepperoni, or you can get feta, pre-cooked grilled chicken, olives and artichoke hearts—Tony likes that.” He gestured off camera. “The wonder twins over here like carrots on their pizza; I'm not gonna question it. Natasha made herself a bacon mac'n'cheese pizza for breakfast today.”

He flung the pizza rounds away and, judging by the thwap sound, no one caught them. “Just, think about your food. Have fun, experiment, sing while you cook, plan before you go shopping, don't feel like you have to settle for spaghetti-o's and cereal just because you're stuck at home. And, hey, tell me what you're cooking, what you like on pizza. Stay home, stay safe, stay well fed. From me, and Pietro, and the rest of the Avengers—thank you.”

He signed thank you as well and waved before the video went black.

#PSA #Avengers #Marvel #coronavirus #covid19 #covid-19 #covid_19 #clint barton #HOH!Clint #hawkeye #food #cooking #quarantine #quarantimes #advice

1 note · View note

pandemicspring · 4 years

Text

Hello From Yesterday That Carried Into Tomorrow Morning

I want to say a little bit about my last post. It was more than anything, an angry letter to myself, so I want to begin by relinquishing the pride and extending compassion to my peers who live a variety lf different lives. This virus has been overwhelmingly tragic enough to throw each of us off regardless of the situation.

It has been incredibly warm outside. At 70 degrees today it got 20 degrees higher than it ever usually does in April. This is evidenced by the foam rising up in my jar (pictured above) that my professor informed me today is yeast action enabled by the warm temperatures. I fell asleep in the sun and got a sunburn that will last through some of the incoming cold front. God bless really because it’s one of my favorite feelings.

I noticed today that my journals which are usually pages and pages of “I’m tired” “I’m tired.” “Sooooo sleepy” “Just want to go to sleep : ( “ haven’t been filled with those things at all for a while now. I say today, but it’s 3am so I mean yesterday. I actually haven’t been able to sleep for 2 days now. It’s nice because my brain feels awake (highly underrated feeling), but also bad because I need sleep to be sharp enough to do my assignments cohesively. I haven’t done my assignments. I keep telling myself I can do them after I’ve gotten some sleep.

Today I couldn’t hardly figure out what to eat at all. Breakfast was easy. A potato, an egg, 2 grape tomatoes, and a lot of beans. All cooked in oil together. For dinner I really wasn’t sure. I sauted an onion in butter, salt and pepper. Then 2 mushrooms added in. I’ve never cooked with tofu before but we had some so I diced and threw in half a block of silken tofu. I threw all that over boiled macaroni noodles and then poured over the half jar of spaghetti sauce. It was actually really good. I also had a breakfast dog in between the two meals. The only struggle is that my microwave crapped out when I put it in. I haven’t been able to figure out how to fix it. I ended up putting my breakfast dog in the oven. It’d be nice if it was working tomorrow so that I can microwave my macaroni & tofu.

Even though I haven’t been doing my assignments necessarily, my professors have been cool. I’m still loving, living, and breathing the material- so we do have things to talk about. I really love learning, I just struggle with the formal manner of turning things in.

We had our first KYDSA meeting of the spring today. I forgot how much I had missed those homies. I couldn’t stop cheesing when I got on call. I do worry that I talked too much. I usually always have that worry. We talked about what organizing could look like for the spring and our thoughts on the presidential election. Bernie Sanders suspended his campaign today. Biden and Trump are the same candidate which is why I don’t believe in electoral politics, but what we built while working on them together really was beautiful.

I’m reading Almanac of the Dead as well as Marx’s Capital. I love these books. I’m starting to really feel accepting of the present. I’m feeling the will to write a lot more. I’m looking forward to the future again, or at least what I loosely imagine it to be. I imagine joining quarantine with two very good friends of mine. I imagine I read and continue writing. I imagine I get new housemates for the summer and we start out as strangers but over time develop really sweet and warm relationships. I imagine my grant money comes through and I get to go visit a dear friend who has just moved to France. These are all just dreams, but it does feel good to dream.

Good morning, goodnight(?) team. I hope things the moon shines brightly for each one of you.

#good morning

1 note · View note

aoibaratraveler · 5 years

Text

UK Road Trip Week 5

Day 29:

Had a really easy morning and took our time leaving because we really wanted to savour having a bed and a room a bit longer before hitting the road again. Don’t get me wrong, we weren’t dreading getting back onto the road to continue our adventure, we just wanted to make sure we were fully charged up and ready to go. Before setting off we made sure to play with the host’s dogs some more. We stopped at Lidl for some snacks…that we really shouldn’t have bought in retrospect, we’ve been eating a lot of junk on this trip. We set off to Stirling from there. During the drive I noticed that I had a mosquito bite on my face, I had been so successful so far in avoiding those damn things but somehow it got my face and now I have a horribly itchy spot that looks like a pimple, it’s pretty annoying but oh well. We only really just quickly drove through Stirling which I thought wasn’t so bad, it was really crowded and raining, after all, we were able to get a good look at Stirling castle which was interesting. It was a very odd old looking castle. The walls were that of a regular castle but the actual building looks like an old manor of some sort. We drove straight to Loch Lomond after Stirling as per what we had originally planned but when we got there we realized that was kind of senseless and that it would make more sense to drive straight up to in Inverness so as to do the North Coast 500 road tour for the next 7 days and then just explore Loch Lomond on our way back down through Scotland. We drove through a pretty spectacular motorway on the A9 road to get up to Inverness which I recommend to anyone that wants to do a road tour of Scotland; such glorious sights, it was a stunning mountain and was very reminiscent of my home province of British Columbia, Canada. We were even lucky enough to see a rainbow going over the mountains. It made me wish that we could live in Scotland so that we could do this sort of drive on the regular. We chose to stop in a retail business park just outside of Inverness to relax and stretch our legs after having just done a 3.5-hour drive straight. Scotland really does seem much more laid back about things in general in comparison to England. For instance, if you’re in literally any place other than a big city in Scotland then pretty much every car park is free which is amazing when you want to just leave the car and go explore. We thought for sure that the car park at Loch Lomond National Park would cost money but nope, free. Another awesome thing about Scotland is that you can pitch up your tent almost anywhere in the wilderness as long as there are no cows or sheep around and not have to pay a thing. It can only be for a period of 2 or 3 days but that works just great for us since we won’t be in any one place for too long. There was a cinema in the retail business park showing any movie for £4.99 so since it was still only 8 and the movies were so cheap, we thought why not. We saw Once Upon A Time in Hollywood, which I recommend. Afterward, we drove to a lay by out near Loch Ness and parked up and pitched up with the rain coming down horribly.

Day 30:

Woke up to the bf wiping the windows, when you sleep in a car, a lot of condensation forms on the windows if you’ve had them closed all night. I had actually slept in till 9 which is unusual for having slept in the car. We had breakfast and organized the car and I decided to read the last couple of chapters of Harry Potter book 5 when suddenly the car made an alarming beeeeeep! The car battery had gone flat. We tried to flag a few cars down to help us jump-start the battery but then resigned to calling AA. The bf has a membership with them anyway but we figured it would take them a while to get there. While we waited for them to come we went down to the lakeside/lochside of Loch Ness to explore for a bit. It’s quite sad that Scotland has opened its country for people to camp anywhere they like and yet people still litter everywhere. On the lakeside/lochside we saw several littered disposable barbecues, a shopping bag, and a bucket. Well, we didn’t finish with the AA until about 1:30. From Loch Ness, we drove into Inverness to the tourist info centre to see if we could get a map of some sort. Once that was dealt with we began the drive of the North coast 500 but counter-clockwise, just because we felt that suited us more. There are so many small-town/villages along the route, it’s quite funny how small they are - we were able to drive-through some, in and out, in under a minute. We stopped at Dingwall and had some instant noodles for a late lunch. Through the course of this trip, I’ve gotten the bf to actually enjoy and crave instant noodles and afternoon tea (of course he still doesn’t like to drink tea). He used to always avoid noodles in a soup because he’s not much of a soup person but will now eat them with me so I feel quite happy about that. From Dingwall, we drove through Loch Fleet National nature reserve, past the gorgeous, tropical-looking beach of Embo by Carn Laith, a remnant of the iron age, and finally arrived in Helmsdale where we would pitch up at a high off lay by with a beautiful view of the sea for the night. We didn’t cover as much road as I thought we would but I feel pretty content with our 1st day of route 500 ….

Day 31:

Have you ever woken up randomly, early in the morning but then realized you were still really tired so you went back to sleep and told yourself that whatever you want to do can wait until later? That’s me every day recently but what’s unfortunate this time was when I woke up randomly I saw the sunrise peeking out through the window. I thought “Oh how pretty…I’m just gonna sleep in a bit more and watch it later”. Well, when I woke up later I realized what I had done and felt like crap especially since it was the last time we were going to be on the east coast and in such an opportune spot for a little while. That’s fine, I’ll make it my mission to wake up in a good spot for the sunrise soon enough, mark my words. Anyway, today we managed to cover a lot of ground although I didn’t feel like we did. That’s because although it’s a beautiful drive there are not many points of interest for us to stop at on the east side of the NC500. We left Helmsdale and drove to just outside of Lybster to a place called “Hill O’Many Stanes”, which is a historical landmark. Many hundreds or thousands of years ago, it is not for certain why but maybe 30 to 50 stones the size of footballs were planted on a Hill and dotted around in a circle. There are a few theories why like they were possibly put there as memorials of the dead. I don’t know what it is about the UK and their historical landmarks surrounding stones. First, there was Stonehenge in England, and now this and I’m sure there’s another landmark coming up on this trip to do with stones being erected on the ground. Actually, now that I think about it, there is a place similar to Stonehenge on the Isle of Portland, but it certainly isn’t as heavily regarded and I’m not sure if it has a name. After admiring these stones for a bit, we then parked up down the hill and made some coffee. We then drove to the Castle of Old Wick just outside of Wick, where we saw the spectacular view of a cliffside and a horrifyingly scary view of how far the sea was below and then we walked around and imagined what it would have been like back then for people to have built a castle on the edge of a cliff. From there, we drove to Duncansby Head and John O’Groats, the most northern tip of mainland UK. This is also a very small town but because of what it is known as it was very crowded with tourists from all over. It was pretty cool though because we could see some of the Orkney islands from there and to be honest, it looked mostly like it is farmland, barely inhabited. After a few obligatory photos, we set off to somewhere in between John O’Groats and Dunnet Bay, where we parked up at a nearby Tesco and had instant noodles for lunch while listening to the Abroad in Japan podcast. We then checked out Dunnet Bay, we fooled around a bit there, skipped stones in the water and just had a good time. I love beaches, especially deserted ones, they’re relaxing and even better when there is the view of mountains in the background. This was probably 1 of 3 beaches that we stopped throughout the day just to explore and walk around. I found a really pretty shell at one of them too. I think the other beaches we stopped at were Strathy Bay and Torrisdale Bay. From there we drove without stopping too long to Durness, where we parked up and made a sort of spaghetti soup for dinner. The drive there was - you know I’ve been saying it a lot, so from now on when I talk about something, you just gotta assume it’s pretty freakin awesome! We drove around lush valleys and lochs, it felt more like we were somewhere in Iceland or something. I honestly thoroughly recommend this drive to anyone and everyone to do in the future. This part of Scotland actually reminded me a lot of Canada as well,l which makes sense because an info sign along the route said that Scotland was its own island for a while and joined up with Wales and England about 430 million years ago but before then it is thought to have been a broken-off bit of land from North America! That’s definitely something. I’ll never forget this drive and I only hope some of the footage I have taken has captured even 10% of its beauty.

Day 32:

Soon after waking up and driving somewhere to freshen up, the bf and I both seemed to be craving chocolate and we were in luck because there happened to be a popular albeit expensive chocolate cafe nearby called “Cocoa Mountain”. The bf and I both ordered a large hot chocolate that was simply delectable and probably the best hot chocolate I’ve ever had. We accompanied our drinks with two treats; a chocolate fudgy brownie and a cheese and spring onion tart that were also very good. Once we were done savouring that little treat, we went to the heavily populated with tourists Smoo Cave. We had visited caves in Wales but this cave was huge! It really had a mysterious vibe to it and even had a waterfall in it. It was very cool and well worth a visit again, I just wish there weren’t so many people. Apparently, on good weather, they do inner cave tours on a boat, but after so much rainfall, the waterfall and stream were too strong to venture further in. Later on, we drove to Oldshoremore beach. We stopped a lot along the way for photos though. The NC 500 is very scenic drive and I wouldn’t mind driving it again but next time it will be when we’re sure the weather will be good and if and when we have a camper van. All the beaches along the route were just so beautiful and I loved stopping at them. We walked for a bit along the water but I accidentally stepped too close and got my boots soaked. My Salomons are supposed to be waterproof but I put them in the washing machine once and I forgot why but that may have damaged the integrity of the waterproof material. Anyway, we went back to the car park to clean my boots and apply more waterproof spray and then made instant noodles for lunch. From there we drove to two more viewpoints called the Assynt and Drumbeg viewpoints. They were similar in that they both had a view of lochs, mountains, and the surrounding small islands, but the atmosphere at them was different from one another. We had overcast at one and sunny skies at the other so that could have been part of it, but it was also the quality of nature. One was more lush and green than the other but they were still just as breathtakingly sunning. My blog entries come out after I’ve posted photos of the places we’ve been to on Instagram, so please do give those a look. On the way to our final nature stop of the day, we chanced upon a herd of Highland cows that were just gorgeous and there were two that were just pleasantly sitting right next to each other so I had to grab a photo of that. They were so lovely. Afterward, we drove to Clashnessie Falls which was a magnificently big waterfall, but because it had been raining in that area, the river leading up to it had overflowed its banks which made the path to it muddy and hard to walk in and since my boots were still drying I was walking in my sandals. We figured it was for the best to just admire it from afar, although it would have been an amazing shot up close. We ended the day by stopping in Ullapool where we would grab some reduced dinner from Tesco’s (wasn’t the best idea) and pitching up just outside of the town for the night.

Day 33:

Today we had a load of gorgeous and scenic stops and the weather was on our side for most of the day, yay! We started off our day by taking in the sights of the Loch Broom which the town of Ullapool was situated next to. It was a great way to start the day because you had the sun shining brightly and all these gorgeous mountains in the background. From Ullapool, we began the penultimate leg of the route. This route will probably take us 6 days although online they say it should take you anywhere from 7 to 10 days if you really want to explore and do a bunch of hikes and stay longer in some places. Some people even think doing it in 12 to 14 days is better, if you have the money and time to do all the islands off the mainland as optional detours of the route, but we neither have the time money nor the transport (this route would have been way better with a camper van or RV, but we only decided to do it last minute while doing our main road trip. As I said before, we had many stops today and took so many photos on our way to Kyle of Lochalsh, where we would be ending today’s leg. I can say for certain that this portion of the route is absolutely the most scenic but I probably also feel that way because it was sunny most of the day, albeit cold (too cold for August if you ask me, but we are up north). First, we stopped at the Corrieshalloch Gorge and national nature reserve. There was a very cool suspension bridge there, but the gorge was indeed pretty far down so my fear of heights was activated a bit. There we also had a view of lovely, big waterfalls called the Falls of Measach. I’m surprised at the number of tourist areas that are free, well actually pretty much all of the spots along this route have been free whereas in Vancouver you can be sure that you’d be charged an arm and a leg to enter them. After seeing the falls, we made some coffee and then set off. I felt like every couple of minutes we were stopping and getting out of the car. To be honest I felt a twinge of annoyance about it but couldn’t really complain because there were just that many gorgeous and breathtaking sights to behold whether it was the lochs or the mountains. I don’t know what to tell you. If you haven’t got time to do the whole 5 to 7 days of the route than just spare one day to drive the stretch from Ullapool the Kyle of Lochalsh and you won’t regret it. Especially on a sunny day. Of course, you’d need to get up to a Ullapool first… but seriously we stopped so many times that I’m not even sure where exactly we stopped because the whole stretch made our jaws drop. I mean the days leading up to today we also saw a lot of amazing sights on the NC500 so I’m not selling those short by any means but I guess even though the rain did give those views a cool atmosphere, I didn’t enjoy them as much I enjoyed the views today because we had the luck of having the sun on our side. After the gorge, the plan was to stop at Ardessie Falls, Mellon Udrigle, Fire more beach, Gairloch then Redpoint and then Sheildag and Torridon and finally end off in Kyle of Lochalsh because those were the tour suggestions that I found online but for the most part we made our own stops along the route and it was awesome. I mean we did drive-through most of them. We made a detour through Torridon village, then stopped at a viewpoint in Shieldag and had lunch but finally, after a very eventful day at so many sites we got dinner in Kyle of Lochalsh and found a lay by to pitch up for the night.

Day 34:

Today didn’t really go as planned. Overall this trip has had a bunch of highlights and I’m so thankful to the BF to have been able to do this. I’m also thankful to his friend T, and my friend V, for being able to make this trip great. This trip isn’t over yet with 10 more days to go, but it’s just a shame that ever since we left the South coast of England our days have been heavily influenced by the rain. Today is one of those days. It still turned out alright though and the bf and I had a laugh. So originally the plan was for us to take a detour from the NC500 and spend the day in the Isle of Skye. I had been really looking forward to this as I had heard many good things. But from the moment we woke up the winds were so strong and the sky was heavy with overcast. Very foreboding. Actually, it made me wish I was back in Cambridge, at home, enjoying the sunny weather. Nevertheless, we drove across the long bridge from Kyle of Lochalsh to the Isle of Skye and what awaited us there were torrential rain and heavy winds. Our first stop was supposed to be a place called “The Storr”. Which is a 674 m tall landslip with a rocky face on one side and a grassy slope on the other, it was supposed to be a very dramatic sight, but because of the low cloud and rain, you couldn’t see a thing. Didn’t stop a bunch of tourists from getting out and trying to take photos, but we carried on since we didn’t think it seemed worth getting wet for. After that, we drove by another tourist stop that I hadn’t accounted for, at a waterfall called Kealt Falls. We thought about carrying on but the bf though the weather might add some drama to the falls. Since I was the only one with boots on and what I thought was a decent rain jacket (it’s old and worn), I went off on my own to see if it was worth both of us getting out for. Big mistake. The rain and winds were cruel and it felt like I was being blown away. The view was pretty but not really worth getting thoroughly soaked for. I went back to the car and I was shivering and had a headache from the cold winds. I am glad I tried though because now I know that I don’t want to be out in that weather. We spent the rest of the day in the car which wasn’t so great for our legs. They were both swollen and achy by the end of it. At least I learned from this experience that I need a new rain jacket and should definitely buy some waterproof trousers. We didn’t stop anywhere else in Skye unfortunately so I would like to think I would go back one day. We drove to the northernmost part of the island and then all the way back down to Kyle of Lochalsh while enjoying the views of the dramatic weather over the dramatic mountains. On the drive back down to Kyle, we saw two beautifully pronounced rainbows that were really quite the sight. Once back, we got Chinese takeaway and then agreed to leave early and drive to the next village of Strathcarron and stay there for the night. Except that didn’t happen. The bf and I were so into our conversation about tons of random crap that I hadn’t been paying attention to the map and he missed the turnoff on the road. We were so deep in conversation and that an hour had passed and neither of us noticed! The drive was only supposed to take 30 minutes, I thought it felt like a long 30 minutes….xD we weren’t even at the end of the NC 500 route anymore. He had taken a southbound road that would still get us back to Inverness, but on a completely different route. It so wasn’t so bad though, we were essentially driving through Woodland forests that took us along the other side of Loch Ness that we were originally on before we started the NC500 route. This side had all the Loch Ness monster tourist stuff; I was wondering where they all were! Eventually, we got back to the same retail business park we had begun this mini-adventure, and then the bf got out to stretch his legs while I stayed inside to keep warm and write. By the time we found a layby we were both exhausted and ready to call it a day.

Day 35:

Had a day off from traveling today. We both needed it and our legs were swollen from spending all day the day before sitting in the car so we spent some time aimlessly walking through Inverness and playing pokemon go.

2 notes · View notes