#Aztec Cooking

[dragon-queen-database]

Nothing like describing more Aztec meals that Richter eats with Olrox. ⚜️🩸

[ometochtli2rabbit]

13.0.12.5.9

oxlajun[13] MULUK/TOJ[water] - kalajun[12] PAX

galactic tone: ascension/ universal movement

sun sign: OFFERING| shark/red/east

offer appreciation for all creation - MAYA

mahtlactli-onei[13] - ATL [water]

Citlalicue | Xiuhtecuhtli

toznene {parrot]

lord of the night: Tlazolteotl

trecena [13]: Tlazolteotl

"The Great Wave off Kanagawa" by Hokusai, 1831

The earth itself shakes: the ills created by shock can sometimes only be cured by greater shock. - www.azteccalendar.com

as today is the last day of the trecena that started 13 days ago on 1-OLLIN [movement] and is a double Tlazolteotl day, here are some songs that feature the word SHAKE:

The Cars: Shake it Up

Taylor Swift: Shake it Off

Michael Jackson: Shake You Body Down to the Ground

Bill Haley and the Comets: Shake, Rattle and Roll

The Isley Brothers: Twist and Shout

K.C. and the Sunshine Band: Shake Your Booty

Robbie Robertson: Shake This Town

Florence + The Machine: Shake it Out

U2: Salome

Lady Gaga: Shake Your Kitty

Bad Company: Shake It Up

Oasis: Shakermaker

Little Richard: Shake A Hand

Bonnie Raitt: Shakin' Shakin' Shakes

Motley Crue: Rattlesnake Shake

Commodores: Brick House

Eddie Money: Shakin'

Mariah Carey: Shake it Off

The Time: Shake!

PJ Harvey: Let England Shake

Coverdale/Page: Shake My Tree

INXS: Shake the Tree

Quatro: Shake My Sugar

B.B. King: Shake it Up and Go

The Animals: Shake

Otis Redding: Shake

Kris Kristofferson: Shake Hands with the Devil

Rod Stewart: Shake

Debbie Gibson: Shake Your Love

Stevie Ray Vaughan: Shake N Bake

The Four Tops: Shake Me, Wake Me When It's Over

AC/DC: Shake A Leg & Shake Your Foundations

Peaches and Herb: Shake Your Groove Thing

Fleetwood Mac: Shake Your Moneymaker

Funkadelic: Can't Shake It Loose

Bob Dylan: Shake Shake Mama

Jerry Lee Lewis: Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On

The Rolling Stones: Shake Your Hips

The Supremes: Shake

Sam Cooke: Shake

The Cure: Shiver and Shake & Shake Dog Shake

Ray Charles: Shake A Tail Feather

Howlin' Wolf: Shake for Me

David Bowie: Shake It

The Beatles: Hippy Hippy Shake & Twist and Shout

[valarhalla]

Ok tumblr friends. I’m trying to spend less time on the internet these days, and I LOVE reading non-fiction books, but trying to find recommendations for new books is a nightmare. Any time I try to look up good new non-fiction books the results are all like “would you like to read an autobiography of Paul Newman or New Reasons We’re All Doomed” and that just. Doesn’t Work for Me. So I’m asking for recs here. I’m open to books about literally any field or topic. Only caveats are that hard sciences have to be on a level I can understand as a humanities person, and medical stuff can’t be too gory (ie I loved Siddhartha Mukherjee’s The Gene and The Song of the Cell, but can’t stomach The Mother of all Maladies). And nothing TOO miserable, but I have a fairly high tolerance for historical stuff. I’m particularly fond of micro-history and books that delve into multiple overlapping topics.

As a sampling, here are some books I’ve read and particularly enjoyed in the last two years:

Prairie Fires: The American Dreams of Laura Ingalls Wilder by Caroline Fraser

The Cooking Gene by Michael Twitty

The Gene: An Intimate History by Siddhartha Mukherjee

Song of the Cell by Siddhartha Mukherjee

On Savage Shores: How Indigenous Americans Discovered Europe by Caroline Pennock

Fifth Sun: A New History of the Aztecs by Camilla Townsend

The Five: The Untold Lives of the Victims of Jack the Ripper by Hallie Rubenhold

The Last Days of the Incas by Kim McQuarrie 

The Dream and the Nightmare: The Story of the Syrians who Boarded the Titanic by Leila Salloum Elias

Life on a Young Planet: The First Three Billion Yeats by Andrew Knoll

Salt: A World History by Mark Kurlansky

The Food of a Younger Land by Mark Kurlansky

Mastering the Art of Soviet Cooking by Anya von Bremzen

Jesus and John Wayne by Kristine Kobes du Mez

Kingdom of Characters: The Language Revolution that made China Modern by JIng Tsu

The Last Island: Discovery, Defiance, and the Most Elusive Tribe on Earth by Adam Goodheart

Entangled Life by Merlin Sheldrake

National Dish: Around the World in Search of Food, History, and the Meaning of Home by Anya von Bremzen

The Horse, the Wheel, and Language: How Bronze-Age Riders from the Eurasian Steppes Shaped the Modern World by David W. Anthony

The Wager: A Tale of Shipwreck, Mutiny, and Murder by David Grann

Fire away!

[mooki3-bear]

Care for me (Paige bueckers x black!fem!reader)

Summary: You want to give Paige a peaceful self-care day, but it doesn't go how you thought it would

“Babe, is it supposed to burn” Paige fans her face as the green mask burns her skin. “Yes! That means it’s working” you said applying some to your face after putting your island twists into a ponytail. Paige had been stressed because of her big game, and you thought having a self-care day would be a good idea to ease her nerves. “Baby, it hurts so bad! Help me” Paige says, running around to the bathroom. You start to laugh as you stop her and grab her face. You made the split-second decision to blow on her face to try and ease the pain. “Did that help” you asked, trying to stifle your laugh. “Barely…but thanks” she says with a laugh, giving you a quick peck.

After you both wipe the Aztec mask from your skin, you attempt to make a healthy meal together. “I think this is what it’s supposed to look like” You look at the Pinterest inspiration picture and then back at the meal you tried to make. A weird green mess made the apartment smell like smoke and another unknown scent. “This looks awful…what was this even supposed to be,” Paige says, poking at the meal. “I don't know man….it was supposed to be this cute keto meal to give you energy and like, clean your gut or something” A wave of disappointment came over your body as you picked up the plate and threw it in the trash. Paige notices the change in your demeanor and comes behind you to hold your waist. “How about I order us some Chipotle and we can just sit and finish our little self-care day after, hm” Paige says kissing your neck. “I guess…we should learn how to cook though,” You say as Paige laughs behind you.

You ordered Chipotle and spent most of the night watching Netflix. Even though you were having a good time, you still felt guilty that you couldn’t give your wonderful girlfriend the self-help day she truly deserved. You were both sat on the couch when paige noticed your mood has changed yet again. “Whats wrong, I thought you werent upset about the food anymore” she said, tilting your chin up with your fingers tp look at her. “Im not just mad about that,” you said getting up from your seat. “It’s the whole day! I accidentally burned your face, I made trash food that made the apartment smell like burning shit, and now were just sitting here bored as hell watching new girl for the fifth time” you rambled on until paige took your hand while laughing. “Babe, I had so much fun today, regardless of all that, just being here with you helped me relieve my stress” she kissed your forehead before looking into your eyes. “Aw, that was really corny paige, but also very sweet” You said while paige rolled her eyes. 

All of a sudden you remembered one thing you still had planned. You pushed Paige out of the way leaving her confused. You then came back into the room with a flower Lego set. “I completely forgot about this” You said jumping you and down. Paige’s eyes lit up as you ran to her with the set. You then spent the rest of the night in your pajamas building the set in your bedroom. “This was so worth getting my face burned for” Paige says as finishes the final piece of the bouquet. She looks over at you for approval, only to see you fast asleep in your purple bonnet and her sweatshirt. She looks at you fondly before pulling the covers over you and giving you a kiss goodnight. Paige soon slipped in next to you after proudly putting the plastic project on your nightstand, hoping you will tell her how beautiful it is in the morning.

Hope yall liked this one! This was actually so much fun to write <3

[pangur-and-grim]

okay one last saw rant, this one contains GROSS BLOODY STUFF so its under a readmore

I dont think mr jig saw has a good understanding of modern medicine. bc in the new film he's like "in front of you is a rusty spoon.......scoop your own brain into a jar, it'll dissolve the enzymes and lower the key.........but don't worry you'll be totally fine I promise, you don't actually need your full brain, there is historical precedence. it'll just rewire, you'll be totally fine, please don't worry"

BUT MR SAW!!!!!!!!!!!!!! those cases you speak of! are of people getting brain surgery in a sterilized environment, this guy is self-scooping with something he got off the floor!!! and he's also going from top to bottom like he's hollowing out a pumpkin, like that's definitely not good for him!!! he won't be okay afterward!!!

but also the movie does sorta present mr. saw as being correct in that having your brain scooped out with a rusty spoon is actually fine and not a medical problem, because the guy doesn't really experience any badness while he's scooping, like he's totally fine and normal.

AND THEN!!! AND THEN!!!! he doesn't even melonball out enough brain to fill the jar before the timer gets off, so this elaborate aztec mask with heating strips on the inside closes around his face, and he gets face-cooked to death. which is also like........that's such a complex custom thing to build in a short period of time!! because he made all these traps in 2-3 weeks, canonically. like I don't care if you're a civil engineer, mr. saw, how did you do the metalworking for all this stuff so fast. I don't believe you could have made that aztec-sauna-death-mask, I am sorry.

AND ALSO ALSO the guy put so much of his brain into the jar, he should have gotten the key???? it seems like a very flawed jar. and then mr. saw is like "well, guess he didn't want to live hard enough lmao", like NO!!!! FUCK OFF!!!!! he literally filled the jar and dissolved the enzymes!! god.

sorry I just don't think mr. saw should have done all that. like maybe it was wrong.

[raymurata]

Just scroll (or go ahead and block my #dav critical tag) if you don't wanna read me whining abt Bellara's Archive choice again, but I'm not done with the salt.

What bugs me isn't that the choice to destroy the archive exists, it's that the game frames it, through its UI (which is the closest thing we have to a nonbiased narrator in this medium), as equally weighted against the opposite choice.

If they had worded it like this:

"Free the archive (the knowledge will be lost)" x "Keep the archive (the knowledge will be kept)"

With no extra commentary, then that would be better. If you got to be openly racist against the Dalish or openly in favor of the Dalish, period. Just like in previous games.

Bellara says "(the archive would help us) get back what made us who we were," and "With it, we could be that again."

Which is funny because... People don't study history to return to the past. It's fine if Bellara is idealistic and saying whatever unrealistic, grandiose dreams she and Cyrian had, but the Dalish would never (could never) become like the ancient elves again. For starters there is a Veil now. So what it would in fact do is help them understand where they come from, what they've been through, and trace the changes in their culture.

Of course our modern historians and scientists have tried to reclaim lost technology, too. They've figured out how the Romans made their extra sturdy concrete, and scientists in Brazil have long been trying to replicate the extra fertile Terra Preta from indigenous peoples that lived in the Amazon basin, and several South American historians would love to know how exactly the Inca used the quipu as a writing system aside from counting tool, etc... And that's super cool!!! And maybe (but that's a big maybe) the Archive could give the Dalish a technological edge to carve a corner of the world for themselves without the constant struggle with Tevinter trying to enslave them or Andrastians trying to subjugate them.

But I personally don't think anyone's reading Aztec accounts of human sacrifices to replicate the same practices in modern cults, or that there is an army out there utilizing Roman decimation as a method of discipline. We're using different horrific methods of control now, lol.

But let's say a modern general does decide that the best way to punish a battalion for one man's insurgence is to force every group of ten soldiers to violently murder the 10th man.... Do you really think that the fault would lie with the historian who unearthed that information and put it on Wikipedia? Or the insane general that decided to do this? Would modern morality and laws allow for that punishment to be executed? Do you think that the existence of that article online is inherently dangerous and controversial, and that it should be taken down? Do you think this general would have been a good and non-violent general if he hadn't ever read about Decimation? Or is it clear to you that violence and ingenuity are both inherent to mortals as a whole and can't be so easily blamed on the spread of knowledge?

Because it's not clear to DAV. The game (not Bellara, not Varric) words it very unambiguously as a dichotomy: The only safe way to deal with this Archive is to destroy it. Keeping it is inherently dangerous because the knowledge could fall in "the wrong hands."

What Bellara says is "Cyrian is gone because of what that thing knew," and "what about the bad side, the other things we did?" and "We stole the dwarves' dreams."

Again, she gets to say whatever she wants because she's a character and she's an anxious, idealistic mess. Love her for it. I like that she feels guilt here too because she has been established (through her way of dealing with Cyrian's first death) as someone who takes the blame for mistakes she didn't even commit (She certainly isn't responsible for Solas' actions). She's someone who drives herself sick cooking up the most horrific scenarios in her mind, and she's so compassionate she can't stand the thought of being the one perpetrating violence against innocents. Her misplaced guilt and dread are the emotions that lead her to consider destroying the Archive.

But no matter how guilty a young german may feel about the holocaust, destroying knowledge about gas chambers is not what will prevent other genocides from happening around the world. Individual guilt is barely productive.

Furthermore, Corinne Bursche says that DAV gives you a choice between "destroying" or "sharing" elven knowledge, which is not how the game worded it. But the point still stands even if the Veil Jumpers, for some condescending plot reason, completely lost control of this knowledge, or were so flippant as to put everything on Thedas' wikipedia without curing it at all.

Let's accept, too, that the Archive contains knowledge of how to build something equivalent to nuclear weapons, which one could argue is in fact truly dangerous, but... Well. Do you think it's fair that the countries that have nuclear arsenals are some of the most vocal about the dangers of other countries ever developing their own?

Because that's what it feels like, to me, when the game calls elven knowledge dangerous without ever allowing you to question -- what about Tevinter rituals and magic? Tevinter's millennium of slavery, still in practice at present day? Should we destroy all their libraries too to keep the world safe from dangerous magics? Why do we only get to tell the Dalish, the nomad nations severely subjugated in present Thedas (If you ever played the previous games and have the context, at least, since this game that happens in Tevinter somehow manages to completely gloss over racism against elves as if it never existed) to destroy a one-of-a-kind, ancient trove of knowledge? And have it be framed as good and safe? As "moving forward"?

If you choose to free the archive, Rook says "The elves deserve the chance to chart their own course" to which Bellara answers "Right. Define ourselves by who we are, not who we were," but once again that writing just makes me question Bioware -- Do they not understand the point of history at all? Do they think indigenous peoples are monoliths stuck in the past if they choose to study the history they lost to colonialism? What purpose do they think that keeping that history and culture extinct serves? Who do they think it benefits?

If you step outside of what the game is telling you as fact and think for yourself, with the context of the other DA games in mind, do you still agree that it's inherently dangerous to keep the Archive? Do you still think these are equally morally weighted choices?

Or would you agree that DAV has to subtly convince you, out of character, that keeping this knowledge is inherently dangerous to make this dichotomy make sense?

Again. This wouldn't bug me if they just owned up to the fact your protagonist can, once again, genocide elves/their culture, just like in previous games. And scapegoat present elves too for the sins of their thousand-years-old tyrants, now suddenly returned (it would make so much sense for characters in the narrative to scapegoat the elves, and for us as heroes to fight against that. But no, they don't even go there except through Bellara's guilt.). It's just bizarre to have an elven historian guiltily agreeing with destroying the Archive and then telling us "The Evanuris broke us and kept us broken" without anyone, either Rook or her, ever mentioning a thousand years of Tevinter slavery and several centuries of Andrastian persecution and subjugation.

No. The Evanuris are the be-all and end-all of evil and everything bad that ever happened in Thedas, ever, can be traced back to them.

[literaryvein-reblogs]

Writing Reference: Winter Drinks

Glögg and Mulled Wine

Mulled wine is a hot or warm red wine with spices and sometimes raisins.

It is alcoholic, though you can get a non-alcoholic version.

Glögg is a potent drink and is sort of like mulled wine, but in Sweden they load it up with aquavit or vodka. To top things off, add some dried fruit and nuts to eat with a spoon.

Agua Dulce

A popular treat in Costa Rica.

Take unbleached and unrefined whole sugarcane and dissolve into hot water.

Xocolatl

Pronounced “show-co-lat-til.”

From The Grapevine touts this “rich drink of the Aztecs” as the “original hot chocolate,” and it’s made with cocoa and a chili pepper.

Anijsmelk

Just soak aniseed in milk for this Dutch favorite.

The drink is commonly made with anjisblokjes, or anise sugar cubes, which are then stirred into warm milk.

Wattlecino

A unique twist on traditional coffee, is a quintessentially Australian creation that has garnered popularity for its distinctive flavour profile.

Bustle says this is a “coffee substitute made with roasted and ground wattleseed instead of coffee beans that tastes kind of hazelnutty.”

Blend of hazelnut, cinnamon, coffee, chocolate, and a hint of honey.

Rooibos Tea

Fine Dining Lovers calls this “a caffeine free alternative to black tea. Rooibos only grows in the Cederberg mountains in the southwestern part of South Africa.”

In South Africa, it’s not just a drink. It’s used for cooking and baking and is also in some cosmetics and hair color.

The word rooibos literally means “red bush.”

Colada

An Ecuadorian favorite.

Sometimes made with brown sugar and orange, it includes dry oats, which are soaked and then boiled in water with orange. Strain, then enjoy.

Sicak Sarap

Turkey’s version of mulled wine.

A cherished winter treat, especially during festive occasions.

Made by simmering red wine with spices like cinnamon, cloves, and star anise.

Often sweetened with fruits and sugar.

Sources: 1 2 ⚜ More: Notes & References ⚜ Writing Resources PDFs

[ignisgalaxia]

With the release of Prodigy season 2, the Trek fandom finally has an answer to what Chakotay's native ancestry is. He's Nicarao, a tribe from the western region of Nicaragua who actually share a common ancestry with the Nahua Aztecs of Mexico. The show even mentions the island of Ometepe specifically, which is the largest island in Lake Nicaragua made up of two volcanoes.

The reason this is so important to me is because my dad and his family are from Nicaragua. I’ve been getting more in touch with those roots over the last year or so, and I’ve found it very frustrating how there seems to be no Nica representation in media, at least not in the mainstream. But when I found out that Chakotay was a fellow Nica, I was literally bouncing off the walls. To think, one of my favorite characters has the same ancestry as me (well, almost, but I’ll get to that later)! When I told my dad, he laughed so hard because he never would’ve imagined.

But I haven’t seen a lot of people talking about this aspect. I get it, it’s a minuscule part of the wild ride that was season 2. But I’d really like us as a fandom to discuss this more. I mean, we literally don’t have to guess what tribe he’s from anymore!

So since nobody else has come forward, I am going to claim myself as the only member of the Voyager-Prodigy fandom with actual Nicaraguan ancestry, and am making this post to give firsthand information about the Nicarao and the nation as a whole.

Firstly, some context. My dad was born in Managua, the capital of Nicaragua, and lived there with his family until he was 7. Then they fled the country due to the Contra War that was going on. My grandfather was born and raised in Bluefields, a city on the country's Carribean coast, then went to college in Mexico where he met my grandmother. Neither of them are Nicarao, and are in fact very European (the DNA tests proved it). However, when they were all living in Managua, my grandparents had a handful of maids that worked for them (they had six kids they needed some help), and a couple of them were Nicarao. Specifically, they were natives from a village in the nearby mountains. So while I don't have info on natives from Ometepe, I do have some on the people in general.

The maids lived with my dad's family during the week and would go home to their village on the weekends. They primarily spoke Spanish, but he would occasionally catch them speaking in their native tongue which I assume is Nahua.

My dad recounted a time when the maids invited the family to their village for a day trip. He said they were living in Adobe houses and had lots of livestock (cattle, chickens, goats, etc) as well as horses, which he apparently rode for the first time there. He also said most of the natives had two primary weapons: a machete to cut crops and other vegetation, and a 22 single shot rifle. They used the rifles to shoot iguanas off trees. Iguanas and iguana eggs are a delicacy in Nicaragua that the natives are experts at making.

This is a direct quote from my grandmother when I asked her about what she remembered of them:

The people I knew, they were good and hard working people. Smart, happy, funny… they really are sociable, like to talk and say jokes invented with their mind and history. The women were skillful, knew how to survive. They cooked, cleaned, planted crops and vegetables. Good merchants, they really knew how to sell and buy.

I wish I had more info to share, but unfortunately season 2 could not have been released at a worse time because my grandfather has recently begun developing Alzheimer's or some other form of dementia and has been losing his memory over the last few months. Even when my dad and I were with him in May and I asked him to recount his earlier life, he repeated himself a few times since he evidently had forgotten he'd already told us those parts. If I had known how fast he’d be deteriorating, I would’ve started my work sooner.

If I do end up learning anything more from my relatives, I’ll update the post. For now, I hope this is of some use to people. And if anyone has questions about Nicaraguan culture in general, I’ll be happy to pass them along to my dad.

[lowkeyrobin]

Hii do you have like general dating headcanons for Quackity?? And like man idk I’m just starved of Quackity contend (especially in the xreader scene)

sure yeah! ; hope you don't mind that I use the same format for this on everyone I do cause it makes my life easier but... ; but yeah that's understandable, mcyt aren't really a "hit topic" atm and I've definitely seen a decrease for mcyt requests, quackity specifically lol ; thank you for requesting! hope you enjoy :)

QUACKITY ; dating shenanigans

summary ; general dating shit w alex

warnings ; language

word count ; 360

masterlist

you both indulge in each other's hobbies regularly

and there's a lot of cooking for each other

you both gift give a lot too

there's very little hate given from your audiences, they absolutely love ur relationship 💔

soooooo many edits omg

it's either yeat or some cute ass love song

it's not a complete week if you don't try something new

whether it's trying new food, picking up slash trying a new hobby, trying to DIY something, etc

you both have troll Facebook accounts and love streaming together while doing shit on them

you met through a mini minecraft comp hosted by a mutual friend

basically mcc but not really

like hypixel w ppl you know and open vc

and you hit it off well

a million build battles later, you'd developed a little crush on each other

you spent more time together after that, streaming, even just playing games together off camera

ppl began editing you two a lot, your best / cutest moments etc

you moved in together after a couple years bc you'd both benefit from it and trusted each other enough

so you delivered a LOT of irl streams

you were the first to confess

you took him on a little road trip to see a waterfall

and you could walk underneath it

you made it into a vlog

and while you were walking underneath, you turned to him, the camera resting in your hand at your side and just said it

"Alex, I like you"

he was honestly speechless at first

queue cute waterfall kiss

he's like a 3/10 on pda

he'll give you little kisses and hold ur hand but he's a private guy

he's also not that jealous

like 2/10

he couldn't care less, cause he trusts you and will mostly only step in to back you up

he physically can't go from a 0-10 unless it's serious

and finally, songs that kinda fit the vibe

12 notes ; alec benjamin

somewhere in my heart ; aztec camera

orange show speedway ; lizzy mcalpine

light it up ; luke bryan

detour ; maren morris

him ; tokio hotel

when we were younger ; tokio hotel

[whencyclopedia]

Xiuhtecuhtli

Xiuhtecuhtli or 'Turquoise Lord' was the Aztec god of fire and also closely associated with young warriors and rulers. To the Maya he was known as Chac Xiutei. Xiuhtecuhtli was the patron of the day Atl (water) and the trecena period 1 Coatl (Snake). He was the 1st Aztec Lord of the Night and 1st of the Lords of the Day. His nagual or animal spirit was Xiuhcóatl or the Fire Serpent and his special number was three because in traditional Mesoamerican homes there were three hearths. In Mesoamerican mythology the fundamental element of fire was thought to run through the entire universe and wherever there was fire, so too was Xiuhtecuhtli.

The name of the god derives from the Nahuatl word for turquoise xihuitl, which also means 'year' suggesting the god also represented time. Xiuhtecuhtli was often identified or equated with the older god of fire Huehueteotl (usually portrayed in stark contrast to the youthful Xiuhtecuhtli as a wrinkled old man with no teeth) who was himself a possible reincarnation of the still older Olmec God I. The equivalent fire deity for the Otomί was Otontecuhtli.

Toxiuhmolpilia

One of Xiuhtecuhtli's most important roles was as overseer of the Toxiuhmolpilia festival or New Fire Ceremony (also called Binding of the Years). Held once every 52 years on the completion of one full cycle of the Aztec calendar (xiuhmolpilli), the primary function of the festival was to ensure the successful renewal (or re-occurrence) of the sun.

During the festival all fires, from temples to household hearths, were symbolically extinguished and idols were cleansed with water, streets swept and old cooking implements and hearth stones thrown away. Then, atop Mt. Uixachtecatl (or Citlaltepec), near the Aztec capital of Tenochtitlán, priests gathered at midnight and awaited a precise alignment of the stars. Only when the Tianquiztli (Pleiades) reached the zenith and the Yohualtecuhtli star shone brightly in the very centre of the sky was a sacrifice made to Xiuhtecuhtli by cutting out the heart of a sacrificial victim. Fire was then kindled inside the open chest cavity and if the fire lit successfully then all was well and the fire was taken to re-light all of the city's fires. If the flame had not lit successfully then it was believed to signal the coming of terrible monsters, the Tzitzimime, who would roam the darkness eating all mankind.

Continue reading...

[laraine654]

My first post! Yay!

What if some of the Castlevania vampire boys comforted you during a storm.

Alucard-

Alucard was walking down the hallway as the lightning illuminated him as he walked; that was until he heard whimpers as the next clash of thunder sounded through the castle. Alucard sped to you, as soon as he opened the door to your bedroom he saw you huddled in the corner with your knees to your chest. Alucard walked in and shut the door gently as to not scare you further. He slowly walked to you seeing how you jumped and shook as another clash of thunder scared you. Alucard knelt down and hugged your shaking frame, "It's ok. I'm right here" Alucard felt your arms quickly wrap around him. Alucard picked you up and sat on the bed as you kept hugging. After about 20 minutes you fell asleep on Alucard.

Dracula- Dracula looked up when the door to his study opened. He smiled as you closed the door already in your sleepwear; his smile fell when he saw you jump and run over to him when the thunder clashed. He set down his book and placed you in his lap as you kept shuddering. He rubbed your back soothingly being mindful of his nails, "why does the storm frighten you my love?" Dracula asked in a calm tone. "T..the thunder is so loud" you hugged him tighter as you heard another clash of thunder. Dracula grabbed his book and started reading it to you. His voice soothing you more and more as he read to you, until you feel asleep leaning against him.

Olrox- As Olrox is getting things situated on the counter to cook he feels his beautiful mate wrap their arms around his midsection. He smiles until he feels their arms tighten around him as thunder clashes nearly shaking the house. Olrox turns around picks you up and sits you down on the counter that hes not using, he than gets in the freezer and grabs something you can't see it because he's hiding it. After he gets something from the drawer he turns around and gives you a pint of Aztec chocolate ice cream, you look up at him shocked "before dinner?" He nods and kisses your cheek "you deserve it dear."

[ometochtli2rabbit]

13.0.12.2.7

ox[3] MANIK'/KIEJ [deer]- lajun[10] MAC

galactic tone: action/rhythm

sun sign: deer/black/west

be of service to others - MAYA

yei[3] - MAZATL[deer]

Chalchihuitlicue | Tlaloc

huactli[falcon]

lord of the night: Tepeyollotl

trecena[3]: Xiuhtecuhtli

x: nahui[4] - tozoztontli - NAHUA

Potential Negative Traits:

Angry, bothersome, addictive, opportunistic, foolish, and demanding. Causes trouble and sorrow for others. - [www.mayan-calendar.com]

for those born on these days, these are potential traits to avoid. and as a service to others, i'm trying to reduce my own sadness. so, some songs with SAD in them:

Elton John: Sad Songs (Say So Much) & Sad

Halsey: You Should Be Sad

Robert John: Sad Eyes

Roy Orbison: Sad Eyes

Taylor Swift: Sad Beautiful Tragic

FKA Twigs: Sad Day

Bruce Springsteen: Sad Eyes

Alicia Keys: Why Do I Feel So Sad

Elvis Costello: Sad About Girls

Sheryl Crow: Sad Sad World

Metallica: Sad But True

David Byrne: Sad Song

Billy Ocean: There'll Be Sad Songs (To Make You Cry)

Bebe Rexha: Sad

Oasis: Sad Song

Deer Tick: The Sad Sun

The Pixies: The Sad Punk

The Cars: Sad Song

Christina Perri: Sad Song

The Velvet Underground: Sad Song

Kacey Musgraves: Happy and Sad

Ronnie Milsap: Nobody Likes Sad Songs

No Doubt: Sad For Me

Buck Owens: Let the Sad Songs Roll On

Bob Dylan: Sad-Eyed Lady of the Lowlands

England Dan and John Ford Coley: It's Sad to Belong

Toni Braxton: Another Sad Love Song

Marvin Gaye: Sad Souvenir

Roberta Flack: Ballad of the Sad Young Men

Pearl Jam: Sad

The Jam: So Sad About Us

Eagles: The Sad Cafe

Fleetwood Mac: Sad Angel

Tate McRae: Don't Be Sad

Humble Pie: The Sad Bag of Shaky Jake

Buffalo Springfield: Sad Memory

The Rolling Stones: Sad Sad Sad

Sam Cooke: Sad Mood

The Everly Brothers: So Sad (To Watch Good Love Go Bad)

Lana Del Rey: Summertime Sadness & Sad Girl

Muddy Waters: Sad, Sad Day

George Harrison: So Sad

[dread-dragoona]

Wip Infinite design for a Sonic Au im cooking up,

Basically it takes place 3000 years in the past just before the Knuckles tribe falls apart. Since the Knuckles tribe represented the Inca empire, i thought to make a Jackal tribe to represent the Aztecs - and to showcase the conflicts and conquests that Pachacamac led against the neighboring tribes.

Infinite is not a normal being in this Au.

Before he became "Infinite", he was a warrior by the name of Xolotl (or Xolo) who was killed during a raid by Pachacamac and his men. Shortly after, the dead body is possessed by the soul of a primordial being that overrides and takes Xolo's place. The spirit walks the earth as an immortal Jackal, constantly changing names, hunting and killing bloodthirsty war-mongers over history and eventually becoming the "Ultimate Mercenary" known in the present.

Ive got a lot more planned but i gotta sketch them out before i go into too much detail. Also wanna delve more into the Knuckles tribe, Tikal's dynamic with Pachacamac and also her Grandma - im cooking up a design for her too since shes only mentioned but never seen.

[fiddles-ifs]

drinks i can do. full recipes under the cut

FIDDLES' MEZCAL OLD FASHIONED

2 oz mezcal (i like El Silencio Espadin)

1 bar spoon of agave syrup (mix .25:1 ratio of agave and hot water -- stir until pourable)

4 dashes orange bitters

2 dashes Aztec chocolate bitters

2 dashes Angosturra bitters

1 pinch salt

Stir over ice

Peel and express an orange peel

PUMPKIN JACK

1 oz Case One rum (only made in Maryland -- a similar aged rum will do, but Case One has a butterscotch-y taste that lends itself well to dessert drinks)

.5 oz Amaretto of choice (i prefer Disaronno)

2 oz fresh poured espresso

Top with hot water

Float pumpkin whipped cream (cook down one can of 1:1:2 can of pumpkin puree:granulated sugar:water until thickened. Strain through a chamois or cheesecloth. Add pumpkin syrup 1:2 parts heavy whipping cream and shake until pourable consistency)

Grate fresh nutmeg

Served in an Irish coffee or cone glass.

DRUMS OF AUTUMN

1.5 oz Hennessey VS

.5 oz Cherry Heering

.5 oz Drambuie liqueur

1 oz St. George spiced pear liqueur

Stir over ice

Garnish with Luxardo cherry and dehydrated orange peel

Served in a double rocks glass

DEWAR'S DECIBEL

1.5 oz Dewar's scotch

.5 hazelnut syrup

1 oz velvet falernum

.25 lemon juice

Shake and dump into tall Collins glass

Top with soda water

Garnish with dehydrated lemon and edible flowers

GOLDEN HOUR

1.5 oz McClintock Forager gin (also only made in Maryland. Wild foraged gin preferred)

1 oz sage tincture (add 1/4 quart/.25 liters fresh sage to container. cover with vodka or neutral grain spirit. Let steep for 24 hours, then strain through chamois or cheesecloth)

.5 oz blanc vermouth

2 dashes cardamom bitters

1 dash lemon bitters

Served in a martini or coup glass

Garnish with lemon peel and edible flowers

LAST DAY OF SUMMER

This is a difficult cocktail because it requires a dehydrator (or an oven set to a very low temperature, and a few extra steps. First: make dehydrated brown sugar pineapples.

Either cut pineapples into wheels, or remove pineapple wheels from cans. Coat with brown sugar, then arrange onto a baking sheet (if you're dehydrating in an oven, place another baking sheet underneath). Place in dehydrator or oven set to the lowest setting and dehydrate. The brown sugar will turn syrupy and thick. Reserve pineapple brown sugar syrup.)

.75 oz bourbon

.5 oz lemon juice

.5 oz Ancho Reyes chili liqueur

.75 pineapple brown sugar

Shake and dump into double rocks glass

Garnish with dehydrated pineapple

[flowerishness]

Helianthus annuus (sunflower)

Sunflowers were first domesticated in the southeastern US about five thousand years ago. A thousand years later they were being grown as a food crop from South America to southern Canada. Many indigenous peoples used the sunflower as a symbol of the solar deity. The Aztecs in Mexico and the Incas in Peru often represented sunflowers as stone motifs in their temples.

Sunflowers arrived in Europe in 1510 and they were an instant sensation. Nowadays Russia and the Ukraine are the largest producers of sunflowers in the world, grown mostly for cooking oil. However as per usual, plant breeders have produced umpteen cultivars and the Royal Horticultural Society has given the Award of Garden Merit to no less than 46 different varieties of sunflowers.

These particular sunflowers are a horse of a different color. They seem to challenge my concept of what a sunflower should look like. After all, isn't a sunflower supposed to be yellow? You know, like the sun.

[la-femme-au-collier-vert]

The History of Blood in Food

Watching s2, I fell in love with Louis’ little doubled walled glass bowl of forbidden soup (what panache, what style!) which got me thinking about what a vampire might eat to feel “normal” or human, like Louis, and decided to share a few of the recipes I found from the Night + Market cookbook by Garrett Snyder & Kris Yenbamroong, as well as Tasting History by Max Miller & Ann Volkwein. In researching this topic I discovered that historically, traditional cooking all over the world typically incorporates the fatty bits of animals for flavor. As such, much like chef Kris Yenbamroog, I’d like to caution against exoticism. The foods presented below are in some cases American, in some developed for religions just as deserving of respect as Christian faiths, and run the gamut from ancient to contemporary, European to Asian and Latin American.

From Night + Market here’s a recipe for Luu Suk, or a Thai-American cooked dish based upon Luu, a traditional Thai pork blood dish consumed with alcohol. Once you learn the base it can be modified as desired:

Melas Zomos, or Spartan Black Broth is an ancient example, that in its day was (probably unfairly and with political intent) maligned by Ancient Athenians. Here’s the recipe from Max Miller’s Tasting History from Ancient Sparta:

Aztecs included human blood as an ingredient in ritual pozole, tamales, and chocolate. Pre-conquest chocolate was a ritual drink, often consumed by nobles, associated with human sacrifice. When blood from a living sacrifice wasn't available, achiote chili could be added to dye it red. I imagine it would be possible to add cooked pork blood as a substitute, if desired, for research purposes.

As previously mentioned these recipes are all products of chemistry and their various cultures that shouldn’t be exoticized and are (at least in the case of Luu according to Anthony Bourdain beginning at the 10:20 mark) quite tasty. Here’s a last recipe for Thai “tamales” with pork blood:

Gif credit: @fascinationstreetmp3