#aquavit

[vintersoldistillery]

the best thing about working in a distillery is getting the tasty spirits to enjoy with the spring flowers in the garden.

the worst thing is trying to take a good photo that expresses that.

[cocktailcatalog]

The Fixer

[adtothebone]

Tonight’s weather outside calls for Gamle Ode Holiday Aquavit inside.

[frankveda]

Und zu guter Letzt : Kartoffeln gebrannt !

Mehrfach gebrannt und verdünnt als Wodka und Aquavit verkauft, oder als Basis für Schnäpse und Liköre verwendet.

Viel Spaß mit #veda_food !

[engquimicasantossp]

Processo de produção da aquavita

Mergulhe na rica história e produção da aquavit, um destilado intrigante que captura a alma das terras escandinavas.

Origens e Significado:

O nome "aquavit" deriva do latim "aqua vitae", que significa "água da vida", ecoando a crença em suas propriedades medicinais. Curiosamente, o conhaque e o uísque também possuem etimologias semelhantes, evidenciando a importância dos destilados na história.

A criação da aquavit remonta ao século XVI, com a alcarávia, uma das principais especiarias utilizadas, sendo apreciada por suas propriedades digestivas e utilizada para aliviar desconfortos estomacais.

Um Pai para a Aquavit:

No século XVIII, Christopher Blix Hammer, figura crucial na história da bebida, ganhou o título de "Pai da Aquavit". Seu papel fundamental foi o incentivo ao cultivo de batatas na região, impulsionando a produção local do destilado.

Produção:

A jornada da aquavit começa com a destilação de grãos ou batatas, criando a base alcoólica pura.

Em seguida, a magia acontece: a base alcoólica se transforma em um elixir aromático através da infusão com diversas ervas, especiarias e frutas.

Canela, coentro, endro e outros ingredientes secretos se unem em um processo meticuloso, conferindo à aquavit seu perfil sensorial único e complexo.

Para ler o texto completo acesse:

https://www.engquimicasantossp.com.br/2023/10/processo-de-producao-da-aquavita.html

[victoriagregorystyling]

Cranberry Aquavit Cocktail

[barthess]

Cranberry Aquavit Cocktail

[kraniumet]

I love this gif so much I love that it works entierly without any context

[redarmyscreaming]

Last time I drank Aquavit, I got blackout drunk, got into a sword fight and had to puke my way across the Golden Gate bridge to get home on my bicycle.

There's a whiskey maker called Jefferson Reserve which makes a bourbon called "Ocean Aged". Basically during the aging process the barrels are loaded on to a ship which travels the ocean across different latitudes, longitudes, and climates. Wanted to try it but

Oh well, I do know the Tres Hombres Rum, but it is only transported by the sailing vessel, not aged, but also costs around 130 euros.

[cocktailcatalog]

Norwegian Wood

[llenodealegria]

Pear cider with a berry compote, I think tweaked with other things would work very well!

[itsnothingbutluck]

Malteser Kreuz Aquavit Mit Manfred Krug (1988)

Der Malteser Kreuz Aquavit, der seit 1924 auf dem Markt ist, wurde 1988 von Manfred Krug in einer bekannten Werbekampagne beworben. Der Slogan der Kampagne lautete „Man gönnt sich ja sonst nichts“, was perfekt zu Krugs charismatischem Image passte. Die Werbung zielte darauf ab, den Aquavit als Premium-Spirituose zu positionieren, die mit Genuss und Exklusivität verbunden ist. Diese Kampagne war Teil einer größeren Strategie, die prominente Persönlichkeiten nutzte, um das Produkt bekannter zu machen.

Malteser Kreuz Aquavit wurde ursprünglich von der Danske Spritfabrikker in Berlin produziert, da der Import des dänischen Aalborg Aquavit aufgrund von Zollproblemen schwierig war. Später wurde das Produkt von verschiedenen Unternehmen weitergeführt, darunter Pernod Ricard und seit 2013 die ArcusGruppen. Auch heute ist Malteser Kreuz Aquavit in Deutschland erhältlich.

[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

[starkenobi]

Demonic Domination | chapter two: nuns on cocaine.

masterlist — demonic domination masterlist

Pairings: Natasha Romanoff x Reder; Bucky Barnes x Reader; Matt Murdock x Reader.

Summary: Y/N doesn’t classify herself as a vigilante or, as people on the internet say, an antihero. No, she’s just an occult detective with a fucking amnesia trying to create a new life beyond her secret mutant status. At first, she really tried to keep a normal civilian life, but it’s difficult when you’re rescued from a dark place by a man dressed as a mummy ninja calling himself Moon Knight. So, anyway, working as an occult detective makes her travel around the world, and it’s cool because it gives her a lot of stories… Until her feet touch New York grounds. It’s all downhill from there.

chapter warnings: description of violence, blood, death.

In the eerie silence of the night stood a silhouette, right in front of the abandoned mansion.

No one of the town's people dared to get closer to the property. Cursed family, cursed ground, they whispered. But she knew better. She could see clearly what happened there without summoning.

A broken family, so much despair and hopelessness.

The town did it. Ten years ago. And the younger generations weren't proud of it, and didn't want to keep hiding under the rug. Of course, it wasn't about doing the right thing. Oh no. They were scared because the spirits, after waiting for some type of repentance that never came, were finally collecting the souls that wronged them.

The town's people were receiving their punishments.

“Just sixteen more, Miss Constantine,” a small voice whispered in her ear. “Just the older generation, the adults with blood on their hands.”

“Alright, I can work with that,” she answered, unbothered, lighting a cigarette and taking a long drag. “Take what you need to take, but make it seem like an accident, though. They'll be all together in one place tomorrow.”

“Thank you, Miss Constantine.”

Without saying a word, she left the mansion and walked the road back to downtown. Reaching the only hotel of the town, she ignored the notice board with the poster announcing the sunday’s great mass. The town’s people were going to pray for protection and injustice against evil spirits. Kind of ironic, or even offensive, when you think about the real victims.

When the cases were some injustice resulting in death… This part of her work was never easy.

But there were cases where she was offered money to solve something that the living considered to be a problem, these were the most fun. They’d spit out nonsense, swearing about being innocente. She always had a blast disturbing their minds.

She worked with the living, but she worked for the dead and the unknown. In the end, she only answered to one being: Death.

Well.

Sometimes.

They haven't been on speaking terms for a while.

Anyway.

Another night in a town in the middle of nowhere in Norway. She hated the cold, at least there was aquavit. The alcohol helped to keep her drunk enough to feel a tad bit warmer.

And to sleep.

She really hated the cold. Even without the white covering the floor, it felt like she was surrounded by snow.

So, after taking a long shower and drinking half a bottle of aquavit, Y/N fell asleep quickly. Only waking up hours later with banging on her hotel room’s door.

“Demologist! The church is burning down!” the voice yelled with a shrill voice, the banging non stop. “Demologist!”

Y/N huffed, getting out of bed a little unsteadily and opening the door roughly. She glanced to the man standing there with panic painting his face. “I’ll be there.”

Closing the door on his face, she quickly put on her boots and grabbed everything she’d need. She sighed heavily, it seemed that she wouldn’t have time for coffee. At least she developed a routine of always sleeping ready for an emergency while she’s working on a case.

“What happened?” Y/N asked to the priest as she approached the burning church, ignoring the people screaming and crying across the lawn.

The priest, an old bald man, sighed in dismay. “Astrid, the matriarch of the Lars family, she locked everyone of her generation in the main hall and set fire to the church.”

“Damn.” she said, observing the civilians trying to help the city's small group of firefighters put out the fire, but it was in vain. “Tell them to stop, there’s no life to save.”

“What?” the priest muttered, eyes wide.

“They’re all dead, sir,” Y/N stated. Noticing that the priest was too stunned to order the crowd, she whistled loudly to get everyone's attention. “Let the fire burn! It will help their souls!”

A young woman with a middle aged man approached aggressively, the woman's face was contorted in a mixture of fury and sadness. “You promised to save them! You’ve lied to us! Their deaths are in your hands!”

“I said that to be saved, they needed to be true to their hearts,” she answered unbothered, wagging a finger. “Truly regret, because there’s no lying to spirits.”

The silence was deafening, the town’s people looked from her to the church still burning. It’d take hours for the fire to burn out. So she gave a prayer written on a piece of paper for the priest, and ordered everyone to repeat the words while kneeling with their foreheads on the ground. They didn't know it, but they’d be praying for the souls of the spirits of the family ruined by the town.

Leaving the people behind, Y/N stalked to the abandoned mansion. Waiting for her on the front porch was the Arud family, the parents and three children. The youngest daughter left her parents and two brothers’ side to run to her. A beautiful smile missing a tooth.

“Thank you, Miss Constantine.” her small voice sounded better than the night before, there was light beaming around her.

“I didn’t do anything, darling.” Y/N said, offering a smile in return.

The little girl shook her head. “You helped us, taught us how to do things. Now we can finally go.”

“So what are you waiting? Go, darling, your parents are calling you.” she couldn't keep the affection out of her voice, kids were one of her weak spots.

“Good-bye, Miss Constantine!” the kid chirped, running back to the porch where the door was wide open. Her brothers long gone, only her parents waiting for her to cross the border. With one last wave of her little hand, they were gone.

Then Y/N burned the mansion to the ground to secure the family's spirits’ peace.

No one else in that town would disturb that family anymore.

Opening the flask she carried in the pocket of her coat, she took a long sip of aquavit. “Cheers for another case getting closed.”

Without waiting any longer, Y/N grabbed her things in the hotel and headed to the nearest big city. She didn’t bother going back to the burned church, her real mission was done. She had a plane to catch.

Some hours later, she decided to take a look at her phone. There was an absurd amount of messages that she ignored, favoring to call the only number that mattered. After three rings, the call was picked.

“Hey, Mummy!” She singsong sarcastically.

“Hello, kid.” Marc huffed in amusement. “How you doin’?”

“Finished here in Norway, I'm going to stop by Italy and then go to Germany… Again.” Y/N answered, taking a long sip of her vodka before sighing. “How are things in the stolen lands?”

“Good, we decided to settle in Brooklyn,” Marc hummed after a moment in silence. She knew he wanted to give his opinion on her travels, but he couldn't criticize her work when he had his own missions. “Steven's still trying to learn how to act like someone with money, Jake got a taxi to call his own.”

“What about you, oldie?”

Ignoring her question, Marc stated softly, “There's a room for you here, we brought your things with us.”

She hesitates for a moment. “Marc, we've already discussed this.”

“It's been four years, kid,” the words hit her hard even though Marc spoke them softly. “There are cases here for you, New York is a huge state.”

“Traveling around the world solving cases and dealing with cryptids isn't that bad, Marc.” Y/N said, trying to keep her voice light. “It’s quite fun actually, maybe I'll even write a book about it.”

Marc sighed defeated, like the others times he tried to persuade her. “Alright, but you know there’s a place where you can call it home.”

“Thank you, Marc.”

And she meant it.

—

Stopping by Lipari was more a spur of the moment than work, a little treat for herself after some months just solving cases without any break for pleasure. The sun tanning her skin was a wonderful feeling after so many days of freezing her poor body.

The sexy bartender kept bringing her delicious drinks and kept her well fed, and at one point during the day he even offered to reapply her sunscreen. Of course she asked him to enjoy the night with her, and then to visit her hotel room.

He was a sweet boy, green eyes and a beautiful smile. Singing praises on her skin and trying to keep up with her. They talked dirty and gossiped about island stories. A delightful welcome party.

Three days later she went to to the other side of Lipari, having fun in her scooter and flirting with beautiful women, indulging in the opportunity to finally know the love of an italian woman.

On the eleventh night she found the sea nymph she was looking for.

A little pretty bluish thing that took her breath away.

And it promptly brought a chill down her spine when their eyes met.

“I came to help.” Y/N said evenly, without looking away. “Name’s Constantine. Occult detective, saving pretty beings in the spare time.”

The nymph opens her mouth, then closes it. Trembling bluish hands reaching for her own neck. There were scarred angry red marks on her skin. Something terrible crossed Y/N’s mind. They took away her voice.

“Got it,” Y/N nodded, coming closer to take a look at the glass cage. She felt the spark of weak dark magic. “Alright, I can work with this shit. Darling, step to the other side and shield your eyes.”

Rolling up the shirt sleeves to the elbows, Y/N rubbed her hands and hummed. Clapping her palms together once, before rubbing them together again and then clapping once more but with force. In a snap, her hands were engulfed in fire. And when she touched the glass, it shattered into several pieces before turning to dust at her feet.

“Well, that was so anti-climatic,” she muttered to herself. Clicking her tongue, she crossed the cage and offered a hand to the nymph that now watched her with interest.

The nymph took a step closer, but was stopped mid second step by Y/N after noticing the bare bluish feet. Without saying a word, she came closer and took the nymph in her arms.

“Let’s get out of here, darling. Your friends are waiting for you at Porticello.”

Y/N walked with no worries, crossing the room slowly towards the bar on the front. The nymph looked surprised at the bodies scattered around the place, all the men that took her and tortured her. There was blood everywhere, evidence that the men initially considered fighting whoever dared to enter there, but then tried to escape when they realized they were going to die.

“Not my finest work,” Y/N said when they finally were out, coming closer to a car with the passenger door open. The nymph settled down and shrugged with a tiny smile on her lips. “Just one second, darling.”

Y/N closed the car door, then jogged back to the bar. She lit up a cigarette, taking a long drag before throwing through the bar's entrance. In seconds the place was engulfed by fire. Returning to the car, Y/N drove in silence and without worries. Soon it wasn't possible to see the burning bar, nor the flames trying to touch the night sky.

The drive ended only when they finally arrived at Porticello.

A small group of nymphs emerged from the darkness of the beach when Y/N’s feet touched the sand with the pretty bluish nymph on her arms.

“Thank you, Constantine.” Rosa, a nymph with long red hair said, coming closer to leave a kiss at the corner of her mouth.

“Always at your disposal, love.” Y/N whispered entranced, a soft smirk on her lips. Letting the nymphs take the rescued one, Y/N took the opportunity to hug Rosa one last time. “Our time was amazing, it was the least I could do.”

The nymph closed the small distance and gave her a long kiss, biting Y/N's bottom lip lightly. “Take care, Constantine.”

“See you around, yeah? You know how to call me.” Y/N said, kissing Rosa one last time before watching her disappear into the waves.

“Well, fuck, Marc will never believe me.”

—

She hated Germany. That’s it.

Not even the northern countries with all the cold and the days that turned into night were in the top ten on her ‘I hate it here’ list. Not that she would say it out loud. She’d never be able to explain it, and would say something stupid like it’s the vibes.

Limburg Abbey. A convent near Bad Dürkheim, at the edge of the Palatinate Forest.

The instructions weren't clear. So at first, she had to act in the shadows, gathering information to know exactly what to do. The convent wasn't only a spiritual place for women that decided to become nuns and dedicate their lives to God.

It was something darker.

Something ville.

Something only men could do.

Experiments.

But, of course, not any simple medical experiment. No. They were fucking with the occult using scientific shit. It never ends well.

She made her presence known on a Wednesday's afternoon. Her important belongings were hidden in the forest, so she could get another time later. Wearing a dress she'd stolen and mascara running down her face, she played the role of a helpless homeless girl in need of God's help. Too well, it seems, or they really needed new flesh.

“Don't worry, my child. You're safe here.” one of the oldest nuns said in german, a benevolent expression on her face. “I'll show you to your room, and give you proper clothes. Tomorrow you'll be officially a servant of God.”

The proper clothes in the end were a skirt that reached the ankle, a long white shirt, a sweater and a headscarf. Everything a mix of shades of black and white. Well, at least she could hide shit with all that fabric, and it was easier to blend in.

Most of the women there wore the same clothes as her, the ones that didn’t were the ones with a position of power. And they were secretly acting for the bad guys on command. The scientists and the rich. All men, of course. It made her skin crawl.

It took two months pretending to be a pathetic and insignificant woman, with no one to look for her and that didn’t understand german well. Fools. Two months passing their tests, pretending she didn’t know what was happening. Doing everything without questions and always saying a broken thank you like they were her salvation.

Pretending she was easy prey like the rest of the women there that were really looking for help.

In the fourth month, the superiors nuns brought her to an examination room with another five women.

After several days undergoing various basic health exams, they were brought to another side of the convent. A place with big and small machines, wires, vials and tubes. Gotcha. But not really yet.

And then, she was with twelve women sitting on shit chairs. Something strange was being injected into the arm. It didn't take long for her to realize it was cocaine. They were being drugged.

That was a surprise right there. She thought about a lot of other substances but not cocaine.

Y/N pretended to have the same reactions the other women were having. The drug couldn't hurt her, she felt the sting and then it was gone. No alcohol or drugs stayed too long in her system. So, faking it until she makes it.

After pumping a lot of cocaine on them, they were dragged to another room and connected to machines. The room was bigger, but darker. She eyed suspiciously at the dark corner.

“Let's start the experiment.” the older nun ordered and everyone got in position.

A bright light made them close their eyes.

A scream.

A splash of something.

A gurgle.

She forced herself to open her eyes, ignoring her retinas burning.

And right there outside the dark corner was a corpse.

Something not dead but not alive either.

Something that resembled a big dog.

With horns.

And wings.

She closed her eyes when she understood what's happening.

They were using humans as sacrifices, trying to wake up a dragon's fossil.

A fucking dragon.

They were extinct for over a millenia.

Their experiment didn't make any sense.

It's just pure cruelty and craziness.

Fucking fucked fuck.

A corpse fell by her side. She closed her eyes again, feeling nauseous because of the light. She was blinded by the lights and needed to wait to get better.

“Still not working.” a man sneered.

“We'll find the right calculation soon, sir.” someone answered quietly.

“Give those nuns more cocaine, clean them and this mess.”

And, then, it was like it never happened. The nuns would never really remember, brain full of cocaine and trauma. The two women that died there, forgotten. Only a month later would they dare to take the group again for another experiment.

For Y/N, all the waiting was torture. She didn’t born to be a nun for sure. Surprisingly, she couldn't see any spirits around the covent. So no gossip ghosts to help her. At least she was prepared and knew what's waiting for them inside that place.

To take down the convent, she needed to understand how deep the system and experiment went. How far their power reached around the world. She'd need to kill everyone who was involved.

Unfortunately, her plans blew up in her face.

Literally.

First it was some stupid tremors, but then a blast threw her far enough to reach across the room. A huge flaming hole was torn in the wall of the convent.

Through the hole she was able to see outside, the gardens and the forest.

A fucking battle was happening.

What. The. Fuck.

Looking around herself, she noticed that everyone was dead, including the nuns.

Hell, she should be dead too, taking into account the exposed fracture in her chest and her legs. But it was already healing, so she grabbed a cigar inside her bloody sweater. Making a happy sound when she found one cigar that didn’t get blood. Smoking really helped to pass time, and she's been craving for a week. Who'd thought that it's hard to smoke inside a convent?

When she felt that it was fine to get back on her feet, she was moving quickly.

The battle was still happening outside, but she could hear that something was already happening inside too.

Taking a shortcut, she came closer to another hole -this time on the corridor- and jumped from the third floor. Ignoring the little crack when she landed, Y/N walked down the garden. The convent soldiers didn't even blink in her direction, but the people blowing up the place stopped on their tracks.

“What the fuck you morons think you're doing here?” Y/N yelled, waving her cigarette for emphasis.

And then she saw Captain fucking America and Iron Man.

She wasn't stupid, when she was bored she liked to read gossip and watch funny videos on tiktok.

What. The. Fuck. Were. They. Doing.

“Dammit, you guys fucked up all my case!” Y/N stopped screaming abruptly, her eyes going towards the city after noticing fire and smoke in the distance. She growled. “Stop blowing the fucking place!”

“Who the hell are you?” Tony demanded, palm up with a blaster in her direction.

Taking the last drag of her cigarette, she smiled menacingly, all blood and teeth. “Detective Y/N Constantine. A displeasure to meet ya, idiot.”

“What are you doing here?” Captain America asked, trying to intimidate with his voice and size.

“Well, after the shit you've pulled?” She opened her arms to show around them, the fighting still happening. “None of your damn business.”

“You-” Captain took a step foard.

Y/N smirked. “Fuck you.”

And in the blink of an eye, she was gone.

“What?” Tony screamed, surprised by her sudden disappearance.

Back inside, where she was before the explosion. Y/N searched for the fossil.

The dragon was under the rubble, a little destroyed but still could be used. She closed her eyes, praying for forgiveness. Grabbing an iron bar from the rubble, she hit the dragon again and again, until it was only dust.

To finish, she set fire to what was left of the room. A final touch, so no one could get anything there to keep the experiments. She wouldn't find every fucker as she planned, but she hoped at least to prevent the knowledge to spread.

And no fucking dragon.

She was enjoying the fire consuming everything when she heard the click of a gun behind her.

“Who the hell are you?”

Slowly turning, she came face to face with the former Winter Soldier, if she could take a guess.

Ok, fine, the arm gave it away.

“Well, you're being rude.” Y/N retorted, rolling her eyes. When he didn’t react, she sighed before bowing mockingly. “I'm Constantine, Y/N Constantine. Detective of Unknown.”

“What?” He frowned, still looking at her suspiciously.

“You're cute, but not that dumb, right?” Mirroring his frown, she completely ignored the gun pointing at her and started walking past him. “Gotta go, cutie. Fucking hate Germany and you guys ruined my case.”

“Stop right there, or I'm going to shoot.”

His threat made her laugh.

“No you won't, cause your little friends told you so.” Looking over her shoulder, she winked at him. “Nice to meet ya, cutie. Tell the others I said bye.”

Noticing that she wouldn’t stop when she reached the end of the corridor, Bucky started to run after her.

But there was no one to catch.

She was gone.

Again.

He could swear he heard laughter in the distance. It was like she was a ghost.

Meanwhile in the woods, or at least in a part that seemed to resist the chaos that the Avengers brought with them, Y/N walked slowly with another cigarette - no one needed to know she got it from a dead soldier.

Fuck them.

She discarded the bloody and destroyed nun clothes, sighing in contentment after finally dressing her own. It took some minutes to pass through the forest and when she reached the town, she rolled her eyes with all the destruction left behind.

Idiots.

She could still hear the chaos at the top of the mountain.

She could still see the chaos even after she got a motorcycle and followed the road out of town.

She could still see the convent engulfed in fire miles away.

Well, it was officially the Avengers mess, after ruining her plans. If she knew right, maybe the case involved Hydra. So, yeah, her part of the job was done.

She wasn't a fucking super hero, that's none of her business.

There was no more dragon.

Fuck, how would she tell Mark that she was probably on the Avengers’ naughty list now?

comments, reblogs and likes are welcomed and appreciated! thank you for reading and supporting my writing 💜

follow the tag #demonicdomination to keep up with all updates and posts!

[frangipanilove]

This is not a drill; the kissy episode is the most Bethyl episode ever😱😱😱

And Greenland = Green(e)land CONFIRMED

(Massive spoilers for TBOC 2X2 below, proceed with caution)

Guys! As we all know by now, Paramount+ France accidentally released all the episodes at once, and naturally the internet did what it does best, meaning it preserved them for eternity. They’re floating around out there, and I’ve watched 2x2. That’s the dreaded episode with the D@rabelle kiss, and guys! It’s literally the most Bethyl episode I’ve ever seen. I’ve written in other posts how I expect season 2 to be full of Beth callbacks and dialogue parallels, and boy howdy did 2x2 ever deliver!

First, for some context, I wrote a speculation-post a few days ago about Carol and Ash making a stopover in Greenland, or Green(e)land as I’ll demand it be called from now on. Read that for full context, because I can’t be bothered repeating myself. Let's just say my speculation was rather precise on this particular occasion.

I expected to hear Beth dialogue parallels and see Beth callbacks, and that’s exactly what we got. The Greenland stopover was nothing but a long series of dialogue callbacks to 4x12 Still and 4x13 Alone! In one of the reviews that came out before the premiere, it was described as "bizarre", and that caught my attention, because that normally means it does nothing to drive the narrative forward, which usually means it is included purely for symbolism purposes. And that's exactly what we got. A truly bizarre story, with crazy amounts of symbolism.

So, in episode 1, we saw Carol and Ash plan on making a stopover in Greenland, to switch out the ethanol tanks.

Ethanol/alcohol is a metaphor for a cure/resurrection in TWDU, and I’ve written countless posts on it, here's my latest. One of the reasons I refuse to leave it alone is because Beth is right in the center of this symbolism due to episode 4x12 Still, in which “Still” is a reference to “distillery” a place for the production of ethanol/alcohol.

Also, Beth is known to enjoy a drink or two, and she made getting drunk her entire purpose for living in Still. The girl is pretty much the queen of alcohol/ethanol at this point, and remember in TWDU, that’s a good thing, as it is directly tied to a cure/resurrection. It represents surviving.

Ok, back to Carol and Ash. They land on Greenland/Green(e)land, having some issues with a fuel leak. It needs to be fixed. They immediately run into two survivors, climate scientists, who have been stuck there since the fall of civilization, and one can safely say the isolation hasn’t done them any good. A bit on the crazy side, both of them.

Ash and Carol return with them to their research station, and from there on out it’s absolutely MAYHEM in terms of Beth callbacks and dialogue parallels. The French subtitles are in white, the red is my English translation as the dialogue was spoken in the episode:

Right off the bat; "home sweet home".

In 4x12 Still, which is a reference to a "distillery", meaning a place for the production of alcohol/ethanol, Daryl explained that his father used to have his own moonshine distillery. And interestingly, so did the crazy scientists on Green(e)land:

The Greenland scientist explain that they distill their own Aquavite (and for anyone who is still undecided on the hypothesis that alcohol represents a cure/resurrection, "Aquavite" is a Norwegian/Scandinavian liqueur, the name translates to "water of life"):

Then we immediately turn to drinking, as you do:

...they pour drinks...

Carol likes Aquavite about as much as Beth likes moonshine, meaning not at all...

They start off amicable, and say "skål" which means "cheers" in Norwegian...

There are references to games...

...then things start to go slightly sideways...

Meanwhile, Ash is on his way back to the plane with Crazy Scientist #2. There's a reference to something or someone "nuts"...

...and something or someone beautiful:

In the beginning of the episode we see Laurent gift Daryl a hand carved dog he has made. Dogs are Sirius symbolism and represent resurrection/return/coming back (I've written tons of posts on why it is so, but long story short; it refers to Sirius the Dog Star that disappears from the nightsky only to return some time later):

Later, we hear this:

Carol insists on going looking for Sophia (meaning Daryl) alone, and demands Ash stay in place to watch the plane. If she's not back in two weeks he should leave without her, she says. Ash's response:

Guys! I know we aren’t thrilled about the kiss. I’ll briefly give you my interpretation of it, perhaps it can be of help, although of course this is just my subjective meaning.

The kiss makes a little more sense in its full context of the episode actually, at least to me. My interpretation is that this is very much also about Laurent. Daryl is shown to be seriously bonding with Laurent, and I’m not saying he doesn’t also like Isabelle, but it’s definitely a package deal for him. Daryl is drawn to the three of them as a family unit, more than just to Isabelle as an individual, in my opinion.

I think he’s just desperate for companionship and a healthy relationship with a decent kind adult. And I’m not saying that to minimize Isabelle in any way, but that’s the vibe I’m getting. They’re not star crossed lovers, they’re two lonely adults who desperately seek some kind of meaningful connection. And I don’t want to ridicule or minimize that, that’s a perfectly valid motivation for a relationship, and I believe it can work out wonderfully. But yeah, it’s not primarily about love and lust, imho.

And think about it! This is Daryl’s first onscreen kiss! TPTB absolutely knew it was going to break the internet as well as people’s hearts. They knew this episode would be scrutinized under a microscope! Why in gods name would they throw in all these super specific Beth callbacks and dialogue parallels in such a massively important episode for Daryl, the episode they knew EVERYONE was always going to absolutely ruthlessly dissect?

It’s because Beth’s the real story here. And I keep saying, that whatever happens between Daryl and Isabelle, it is always on some level commentary on Bethyl. I wrote about it here, and we see it more than ever in this episode. I wrote that I expect the Beth-proxyness (which I maintain is totally a word) of Isabelle is going to be turned up a couple of notches this season, and that is truly what we're seeing.

I’ve only talked about Green(e)land and the Carol/Ash storyline in this post, but I could easily do a similar one where I point out all of Daryl and Isabelle’s Beth callbacks and dialogue parallels, because there were tons of them.

Cheer up, friends, I think this season is going to be fun for us!

[youregunnabemine]

CHAPTER THREE; "Awkward is an understatement."

{Y/N} flinched back slightly, eyes widening. Mr. Larkson was staring straight at her now. The two made eye contact, interest on his scarred face. She kept her eyes trained on him, furrowing her eyebrows slightly. After a minute or two of intense eye contact, {Y/N} looked away, swallowing thickly. 'It.. doesn't matter. Not gonna talk to him if I have any say in it.' she thought to herself firmly, stalking off to one of the other patrons. Almost half an hour had passed, and {Y/N} had forgotten all about the mobster sitting a few tables away, busying herself with preparing drinks. That was until she looked over slightly, and saw him sitting at a bar stool. She swore her heart stopped. When did he even get there? Soon though, she felt annoyance bubble to the surface. One thing. She wanted one thing - to avoid him. And now he was somewhere she couldn't ignore him. Begrudgingly, {Y/N} made her way slowly to him. She didn't want to, but she'd never hear the end of it from her boss if she ignored a patron. So, once she had found herself in front of the man, she offered her best smile. "What'll it be?" She asked in an almost chipper tone, though all she wanted to do was get the fuck out of there.

The man took one last drag on his cigar, before snuffing it out on the pub table in front of him. When he finally spoke, {Y/N} wished he had kept his mouth shut. His voice was rasped, gruff. It sounded almost guttural. She assumed the reason for his disturbing voice was all the scars - made her wonder how he had gotten such a bad injury. "You got Aquavit?" He had asked, leaning forward across the counter slightly. ..Aquavit? Okay, now that was something {Y/N} was sure they didn't have. {Y/N} shook her head, "Eh.. no, I don't think so." For a moment or two, his face went sour, "Well.. whatever." A small grin spread on his face, "Y'know, you're quite the sight," he mused, raising his eyebrows, "Got a name?" In that moment, every red-flag went off in {Y/n}'s mind. She didn't want this murderer knowing her name! But she wasn't stupid, and knew it was much easier to answer his question. "..{Y/N}, I'm {Y/N} {L/N}." He whistled appreciatorily, "{Y/N} {L/N}, eyh? Gorgeous." He chuckled. Truth be told; {Y/N} wanted to get the fuck out of here. Perhaps to Tord, he was having the time of his life, finally able to talk to his little lady. But {Y/N}? This was horrifying. She didn't want to be associated with some murderer