#aside from that I just use the recipe from Better Homes and Gardens

[mathmusic8]

Behold!

Biscuits

aka happiness on a plate <3

[solarmorrigan]

Warm Me Up

For the @steddie-spooktober day 21 prompt: "It's warm in here..." Rated: T | Words: 610 | CW: None | Tags: established relationship, modern AU, homeowners steddie, unfortunately they have a HOA, they are also disgustingly in love, fluff Divider credit: @steddiecameraroll-graphics

“It is unreasonably cold for October,” Eddie declares as he comes banging in through the front door, the redness in his nose and cheeks lending credibility to his claim. “Why did I have to rake the leaves today?”

Steve watches with amusement as Eddie sets about staggering out of his boots and shedding his numerous outer layers. It’s all well and good for Steve; today is his day off, and he’s been enjoying it to the fullest – that is, he’s been lying on the couch all afternoon with a blanket and the fall issue of Better Homes & Gardens (shut up, they have good recipes). Eddie, meanwhile–

��Someone had to rake them up before the HOA came after us,” Steve ignores Eddie’s reflexive hiss at the mention of their neighborhood Homeowner’s Association, “and you lost the coin toss.”

“I still think you cheated,” Eddie grumbles, hanging his coat on the coatrack and stomping over towards the couch in his sock feet and sweater.

“How?” Steve asks.

“Somehow,” Eddie decides, before tugging at the blanket spread over Steve’s legs. “Now let me in.”

Indulgently, Steve puts aside his magazine and lifts the blanket so Eddie can lay down on top of him, tucking the blanket back in around them both when he’s settled.

“Owning a house is for the birds,” Eddie says, his face buried in Steve’s chest.

“That’s not what you were saying when we first moved in,” Steve reminds him with a smirk. “If I remember, you were very excited to own a house. And christen just about every surface in it.”

Eddie harumphs into the fabric of Steve’s sweatshirt before looking up at him, chin balanced on Steve’s sternum. “I like you. Anywhere I get to be with you is a place I’m excited to be.”

“Not when you have to rake the leaves, though,” Steve says, because if he melted every time Eddie made a sweet, sweeping declaration of love like that, he’d never get anything done.

“Not when I have to rake the fucking leaves,” Eddie agrees vehemently. “I’m still cold.”

Steve’s intended reply—a pat on the head and a coo of “poor baby”—is lost when Eddie abruptly scooches downwards and disappears beneath the blanket.

“What’re you– hey!” Steve yelps as the hem of his sweatshirt is lifted and Eddie unceremoniously shoves his head in. “Will you get out of there? You’re– ohmygodyournoseiscold!”

From beneath Steve’s sweatshirt, where he’s just pressed the cold tip of his nose into the soft stretch of skin above Steve’s bellybutton, Eddie cackles. Steve smacks the vague shape of his head.

“Get out of there!”

“Nooo, don’t make me go,” Eddie whines, wrapping his arms around Steve’s hips and scooting a little further up under his shirt. “It’s warm in here.”

Steve huffs. “You’re stretching out my sweatshirt.”

“I’ll buy you a new one. I’ll buy you ten new ones. I’m cozy,” Eddie insists, nuzzling in against Steve’s sternum; his nose has warmed a bit by now, but the fan of his breath against his skin still makes Steve shiver.

Then, with a sigh and a roll of his eyes, Steve reaches up and tugs at the neck of his sweatshirt, scooting down until the fabric has gone up and over his head and he’s face to face with Eddie in the warm, shadowed space inside his shirt.

“Hi.” Eddie grins.

“Hi.” Steve can’t help but smile back.

Eddie closes the scant space between them, pressing his lips to Steve’s. “Fancy meeting you here,” he says as he pulls back.

“Well, I had to see for myself, but you’re right,” Steve admits, still smiling. “It is warm in here.”

[password-door-lock]

Saeran comes in from the garden just as you’re adding the pasta to the water you’ve set to boil. “Is there anything I can do to help you, my love?” His gentle voice carries across the kitchen as he takes care to shut the door behind him. 

You turn to face your husband. You’re delighted— though not at all surprised— to see the flower in his hand. “You can chop the parsley for me, if you want.” You step away from your cooking to rummage through the dish cupboard for a vase to hold the flower. “What did you bring me?” Though you’re getting better at identifying the flowers Saeran grows in his garden, you still haven’t mastered the art. You certainly don’t know half as much as he does about the flower language and lore surrounding the blooms he cares for. 

“It’s a Dahlia,” Saeran explains, placing the pink flower into the strangely-shaped vase. “It’s got several meanings in the language of flowers, like beauty and confidence. But it also means ‘forever thine,’ and it symbolizes elegance.” 

“It’s lovely,” you beam at him. You don’t need Saeran to explain why he chose this flower in particular for your candlelit dinner. Obviously, it’s going to be a very elegant affair, even if it’s taking place in the same dining room where you and Saeran share all of your meals. “Did you pick out a candle?” 

“Mhm.” Per the tradition that you and Saeran established when you first moved in together, it’s his turn to choose the candle and your turn to cook. 

As Saeran busies himself with searching for the candle, you turn around to add the garlic and oil to your saucepan on the stove. Saeran doesn’t tend to like too much garlic in his food, so you use a bit less than the recipe calls for. It goes without saying that you hold the red pepper flakes. You can add those to your own plate after you’re finished cooking. 

After a few moments, you feel your husband’s arms around you as he envelops you in a soft hug. He sets the candle on the counter beside the stove. “Vanilla cashmere,” he reads the name of the scent. 

“It… smells like a sweater?” You don’t know how that could be possible. 

Saeran chuckles. “It smells like a candle.” 

“Well, I would hope so,” you stir the garlic gently. The kitchen fills with the aroma of the sauce on the stove. “But I trust your judgment. I’m sure it’ll smell great.” 

Saeran releases you from the hug and makes his way to the empty counter on the other side of the stove. “I’ll chop the parsley like you said.” He finds a knife and a cutting board. “Did you wash it already?” 

“No,” you admit, “I was too busy setting the table. Did you see the placemats?” 

“They’re very nice,” Saeran nods, appraising your table setting-skills as he brings the parsley to the sink. “But my love… I got the same ones from the home goods store when I was choosing our candle.” 

“Oh no.” Your hand flies to your mouth to stifle your laughter. “Not again. Maybe we should just go shopping together so we don’t buy any more duplicates.” 

Saeran shrugs, setting to work chopping the parsley. “We think the same even when we’re not together— that means we’re connected.” 

“Okay, sure,” you concede with a laugh, “And I’ll admit, that’s very romantic. But it also means we have two sets of the same placemats, two of the same area rug, and three of the same wall hanging.” Granted, the third identical wall hanging was a gift from Saeyoung, who thought the story behind the first two was hilarious and evidently wanted to join in the fun. 

“I see your point, my darling.” Saeran finds you again, wrapping his arms around you and swaying slightly as you stir the pasta in the pot. It’s just about ready to mix with the sauce. You turn the heat down, reserving some of the water and setting it aside as you maneuver over to the sink. Saeran continues to cling to you, planting gentle kisses on your neck and making you giggle as you locate the strainer. “What flavor ice cream did you get?” 

“Pumpkin spice,” you admit. 

“Already?” Saeran asks, holding the colander for you as you dump out the pasta. 

“The store had it, so I bought it.” You and Saeran shuffle strangely back over to the stove so you can add the pasta and reserved water to the sauce. “What’s so funny?” But you’re laughing too, just because Saeran is laughing. 

“It's just that I had the same idea.” You can hear his grin in his voice. “I got the pumpkin spice ice cream as soon as the store started selling it, but I wanted to surprise you, so I hid it in the downstairs freezer.” 

You howl with laughter. God, the two of you really are the perfect couple. “Next time, let’s just go to the store together.” 

“Of course,” says Saeran, “I love spending time with you.” 

[siyurikspakvariisis]

Today's lunch: a cheesy pasta bake.

But not just any pasta bake: a very BG3 one.

Spoilers for the Shadowheart origin run's epilogue to follow.

If you save Shadowheart's parents during her origin run, you get a letter from each of them. Emmeline's letter contains a recipe for a pasta bake.

[ID: two screenshots from Baldur's Gate 3, showing a letter from Emmeline Hallowleaf. It reads:

"My dear Shadowheart,

Here's the recipe I mentioned the other day. I wanted to write it down for you just in case it slipped my mind again. I can show you myself once you're home. Enjoy your party, and pass on my best to all your friends.

Love,

Your Mother

X

Feast Day Cheese Bake

For the filling:

One small onion, sliced

Half pound of mushrooms, quartered

Red pepper, diced small

Half pound of greens - spinach, peas, courgette, or whatever is in season in the garden - steamed or boiled

Quarter pound of streaky bacon, chorizo or similar. Fried and diced

Half pound of pasta

For the sauce:

Two tablespoons of butter

Two tablespoons of plain flour

One teaspoon of mild mustard from Cormyr. More if you are daring or congested

Ten fluid ounces of milk

Half pound of mature cheddar cheese, grated

A goodly fistful of breadcrumbs

Method:

Soften the onion in some oil, then add the mushrooms and pepper, and saute over a high flame. Combine with the cooked greens and meat, and set aside. Add pasta to a pot of boiling water.

Melt the butter in a saucepan, then add the flour and whisk over a high flame for one minute. Add the milk, whisking until boiling, then add the grated cheese and remove from flame.

Drain the cooked pasta and add into the cheese sauce, along with the cooked vegetables and meat if used. Combine, and pour into an oven-worthy dish (the square stoneware one with the floral pattern should do nicely). Add the breadcrumbs on top, ad well as some extra cheese if you are feeling wicked (your father often is).

Bake unil the top layer is bubbling and golden, or your loved ones are hungrily loitering about in the kitchen.

PS - if you do not salt the pasta water, you can save it to feed to the plants in your garden."

End ID.]

Today I made it with the following modifications:

I don't want anyone's nonna to slap me so I salted my pasta water.

I also undercooked the noodles - after all, they'd finish cooking in the oven.

I used some vegan sausage I had lying around as the meat. I think the one I used was a bit too dry and bland - a more flavorful and fatty, chorizo-like sausage, would have been a better option.

I used spinach as the greens, and instead of cooking them aside of the sauteed veggies, I wilted the spinach with them. If you do so, watch out! The veggies can become watery, as the spinach releases all its water. I was careful to not dump all that water in the stoneware dish when incorporating the ingredients and it all worked well on my end.

Of course I was feeling wicked and topped the dish with extra cheese :3c

Because most of the cooking has happened outside of the oven, I baked the pasta for 15 minutes at 175 degrees Celsius, plus an extra 5 minutes under the broiler. This is the part I'm less sure about - I'm not a great cook, I just follow recipes. I'd be grateful to hear your input here!

The result: a filling, cheesy, savory, veggie-loaded pasta bake. Next time I'll be more generous with the salt in the filling, though.

[fatedreamsend]

The journal of Anise Greenleaf, entry #1

[Side note from Anise's player: I started this as a writing experiment waaay back near the start of the campaign as a way to try to explore Anise's character a little and give her some backstory from before the started. I hand wrote it in an actual journal because I thought it would be fun. These are scans of the first two pages.]

Transcription below the cut:

11/15/2002:

Well, Auntie gave me this as a parting gift, so I suppose I should actually use it. I've never been one for writing things down aside from spells & recipes, though I suppose it's never too late to start.

Hello, my name is Anise Greenleaf. I've just turned 20, and I am on my way to London from my home in Nottingham. My family has lived in the Sherwood Forest for many generations. Yes, that Sherwood Forest. We predate the legend of Robin Hood. I for one do not think he ever existed, personally. All I know is that bloody stupid tourists are always buggering about in Edwinstowe and getting lost in the forest. My folks are always saving them. At least they can't get into the gardens or the heart of the forest.

I'm off subject. I'm on my way to London to take over the my grandpap's old workshop. The old guy finally got old enough and sick enough to agree that he couldn't can't run it any more. He's going back out ot the farm and as the oldest grandkid I'm inheriting the old workshop from him. I can't say I'm exactly thrilled, I despise London, but having my own place is also very exciting. It's a mixed bag. London smells dreadful and it's so loud and so hard to breathe. No wonder grandpap got sick. But there are so many shops and eateries around, and I'll have my own allowance income if I can sell potions. But well, I'm on my way. I'm spending one last night in Sherwood camping before I get on a train tomorrow. I'm going to miss Sherwood so dearly. I know all of the animals and plants here, and they are so much more friendly than those in London, not to mention the people. I know all the shopkeeps in Edwindstowe, but in London I'll have to learn all new people. But I do suppose they'll have a much better selection of books in London, won't they? And then of course there is him. His family hasn't been around for a few years anyway, so I guess chances are I'll never see him again anyway, whether I'm in London or not. Or, who knows, maybe I'll run into him in London by chance. Or meet someone else. Things have been a bit difficult in America as of late, haven't they? Or so I've heard. Dreadful business with those towers and whatnot. At least I know he's safe, he doesn't live anywhere near New York. Well, unless he moved there? I don't want to think about that. Enough about him. Perhaps I'll meet a charming foreigner in London. I suppose this is as good a place as any to stop writing. Um. Cheers?

On to Entry #2

[slifarianhawk]

Chapter 13: being myself?

{Normal P.O.V}

Once we arrived at the lodge, I had calmed down and had collected my thoughts. As much as I hated the thought of umbrellas money being used to create the Pheonix Corps as well as the lodge, at least it was now making a difference and helping humanity rather than creating weapons of mass destruction.  My thoughts on the Wesker situation were less than resolved though. I had to come over that bridge when I got to it. 

Archer helped us unload the car and placed the multiple attache cases and the few suitcases with clothes for Irving and Steve on a bell cart. When Irving stepped out he looked stunned. This didn't surprise me in the slightest. The grounds of the lodge were well maintained with multiple local specimens of berry bushes as well as shrubs, various flowers, and fruit trees. The natural beauty was being heightened by the moonlight and the forest sounds were making the place seem peaceful.

"This place is quite gorgeous Mr. Archer. I'm surprised a hunting lodge is this well kept." Ricardo said looking over the grounds. 

"Thank you, Mr. Irving,  maintenance and landscaping take a lot of pride in making sure Tabitha's gardens are well taken care of. She planted most of these herself as well as a vegetable patch past the orchard. She was always on who believed in garden-fresh quality is better tasting and more enjoyable for patrons." Archer spoke. 

"Wesker's wife did this? It's incredible, to think a guy who is so good at destroying life was married to someone capable of creating a natural beauty like this." Steve said helping Archer with the bell cart. 

I chuckle at the remark Steve made, "Yea, although if I remember her body count is around five hundred give or take, due to her being in the U.B.C.S. but she always had a soft spot for gardening. She told me on one of our missions to France the reason why is she got into gardening was that she didn't want to pay the forty dollars for a pound of lavender. "

"Really? Flowers were that expensive?" Irving asked holding the door open.

"Yes, it's a hit at the farmers market we host once the month we sell it at six dollars a pound and we turn a profit on the culinary lavender we grow here." Archer said smiling, "Our dessert bar is mostly comprised of Madam Tabitha recipes, her lavender macarons are often requested to be sold separately in a bakery type setting however we are unfortunately running on the lodges appeal to hunters as they are our main financial support. Unfortunately, our other activities support either the grounds or what happens three stories below leaving little financial gain for our employees. Thankfully we have roughly three thousand five hundred fifty acres of land with two hundred fifty set aside separate from the total just for our employees."

"They live on campus? The utilities must be a fortune with all the land allotments on the same stretch of land." Steve stated.

"That's one thing my teacher thought about. She had a hydroelectric dam built to supply energy due to the runoff of snow and nearby rivers. It supplies electricity to the lodge and employees but allows for a tax break as well." I started cringing remembering the cost to start everything.

Irving let the door staring in shock, "It sounds like Mrs. Wesker was one hell of a businesswoman.".

"Indeed she was Mr. Irving and with that, I welcome you and Mr. burnside to the Phoenix Core Lodge, Ms. Lancaster welcome home." Archer swung the door open and the deep wooden tones of the lobby shone ceremoniously in the light of the antique chandelier. 

The smell of pine and cedar wafted out of the door completing the ambiance. The dark leather sofas surrounding a black marble mantlepiece the white streaks faintly speckling in the light created a homely feeling. The check-in desk was made of nice mahogany and an ebony top piece. The path of the entry was tiled with a red marble that let up to the desk.

 "Wow, this place is gorgeous!" Steve exclaimed excitedly, "It does honestly have a slight Umbrella feel to it but safer if that makes sense?".

"Teach did say she did use some old designs Spencer had set aside for a mountainside retreat in Russia she found in the Arkley mansion. She just altered them for her gain... at least that's what I understand from  what she told me." I said pushing the bell carts through the massive wood doors. 

"She had a good eye for design. I would kill to have furnishings like this in our African location. Who is the lady in the painting?" Irving asked looking at the portrait that was made by Archer's brother. It depicted me sitting cross-legged wearing a black tank top and red jeans staring off to the side, my U.S.B.Cs tattoo on my shoulder on full display.

"That is Lady Tabitha before she was killed. My elder brother painted it as a favor for me after she passed. It's here to help honor her memory." Archer said walking out with a guest book, "I have you and in Mr. burnside in separate suites. Even though we are a hunting lodge, we act as a hotel would mostly mainly for room documentation." 

"Well, that's great in all but what about Alistar? She needs a place to sleep." Steve asked concerned.

"Hahaha, I appreciate the worry Steve but I have a permanent room here thanks to my teacher. I stayed here before tracking down Wesker. If you need me at all I will be in the room marked 748. Archer, please make sure they are well taken care of. I need a shower."  with that, I quickly unloaded my gear from the cart and marched to my room.

(time skip 2 A.M.)

 With a deep sigh, I stepped from the bathroom and stared in the mirror stroking a massive scar on my right shoulder. I paid one hundred and fifty bucks to get Surgeis mark on me removed however the guy botched it and the wound got infected and it scarred my shoulder badly. The picture always made me want to see if that awful tattoo was gone. It was a lovely picture but it reminded me of the past when I want to focus on the present.

KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK

"Come in," I shouted and stood in front of my dresser in the corner of the room.  

"It seems our guests are enjoying themselves," Archer said walking in the to living space of the room, "Tell me, T, when will this be over?"

"I don't understand what you mean June? The most Mr. Burnside and I will be is a week and Mr. Irving a few days." I started avoiding the question.

"Cut the bullshit, Tabitha! You know I mean your game with Vladimir and Spencer. You could've stayed here and helped the people harmed by them and your damn husband. BUT NO YOU ARE NOW AIDING A TERRORIST POSSIBLY DISTORY THE WORLD! ALL BECAUSE YOU CAN'T LET GO OF WHAT UMBRELLA DID!!! WHEN ARE YOU GOING TO FINALLY BE THE PERSON I KNOW YOU AS WHO WANTS TO HELP THE WORLD!!!" Arjuna stopped shouting when he saw me starting to cry, "Not to doom it. When will I have my closest friend back? The one who saved me from  Umbrellas testing in India and to me of a place where those who hate Umbrella can fight. The one who puts the word Pheonix in the Pheonix core. We need a leader and the lady standing in front of me isn't her. "

"I'M NOT SUPPOSED TO BE! I'M A NOBODY! I am no one's leader Archer. I'm a hell of a captain and I could be a hell of a commander if needed. However, until I can look at my brother and sister in the eye and not see a monster in their eyes. I can't be considered a Pheonix, just an ember of a past I cant move on from. The Pheonix Corps deserves someone who embraces the motto, 'to embrace the past and strength from surviving adversity becoming a new person that will shine like a sun'.  I'm not that June, not yet, and at this rate, I'll never be." I glared into his eyes.

"You have a funny way of showing it, your eyes are even saying you are your self, not Alistar. Your contacts are gone and all I see is a shadow of the person you truly are, Tabitha" He said pointing into the mirror. 

I turned toward the mirror and saw that my contacts had dissolved again "They're gone, they were brand new not too long ago. ".

Archer came up from behind and hugged me. I went rigid and broke down. Tears just started flooding my eyes and I fell to my knees. It dawned on me I have to be more forceful in my plan or I'll never be able to accept what happened to me. I was running out of time I may have a few years but I had been infiltrated over six months and I haven't even gained his trust. I need to be more like myself. I never expected I would realize this thanks to the one person who hates who they were to.

"Arjuna...." I whispered. 

"Yes T?" he dropped to his knees.

I wrapped my arm around him, "You are right, I do need to be more like myself. If I can't accept the past how will Albert? I know you don't approve of this but thank you for being here for me."

"Sigh.... sometimes  I swear I'm the older one of the two of us." archer smiled shaking his head.

"Ha maybe... Archer after all this we will find your brother. The connections won't be able to hide if both me and Wesker are on the case. " he wrapped his arms around mine.

"Thank you but first thing first get dressed. As much I care for you I see you more as a mother and I don't want to see the tits." he coughed turning away.

"Oh right, sorry." I quickly threw on a white T-shirt, black basketball shorts, and pulled my hair back, "I'm dressed now June." 

"Good, ahem but down to business the guys who were causing a scene left into the forest shortly before you landed. They took their weapons and packed up their trucks. The leader said they are going to go past the boundaries." 

"Oh no.... this isn't good I heard a pack of Cerberus earlier tonight!" I shouted grabbing my I.D. badge. 

"You're going!?!" Archer looked shocked.

" Yes, I'm going to mobilize the Wolf Pack too.  It's time they get some action."  I walk over to my closet which had a hidden keypad and entered the code that brought up my elevator. "You were right this world needs me not my shell." The wall opened and stepping onto the platform,  I scanned the badge. 

"I'll man the desk up here T. Welcome back." He stood at attention.

"At ease, it's business as usual just keep your com on," I said as the doors closed and I put on my com necklace, "No one will die tonight. "

The elevator roared to life and started descending.  I had to make this a quick mission as the mission for Wesker starts after we eat lunch tomorrow but if these idiots die we would have a major problem. I don't need negative press or worse the B.S.A.A sticking their neck in something that could destroy the Pheonix Corps. reputation. 

"Welcome back Lady Tabitha."  a mechanical female voice echoed in the elevator.

"Glad to be back, White Queen," I stated as the doors opened revealing a massive underground lab, "I take it everything is running smoothly." 

"Yes mam, all operations are running at full capacity and your gear has been stored and sustained in your office." the AI spoke through my com. 

"Good, are Lupo and Beltway en route to my office?" I asked opening a sliver door with a black emblem with a blue snake on it. 

"Yes, the wolf pack is mobilizing. Lupo and her demolitions expert will be with you shortly,"  she said manifesting from a hologram projector in the ceiling. 

"Alright," I said getting in my U.S.B.C uniform and my compound bow from storage, "I want you to activate the sirens that are near the old umbrella lab in the woods using the alternate wail option. Play a message saying they are in a quarantined area and they need to return to the lodge immediately. That way we can at least get a warning out to them and try to locate them."

"Understood." She said and faded out.

I opened my med cache on my belt and took a light green tablet. I was going to help out Wolfpack. It had been to long since I had been on a mission and I was itching for action. This  is  where the monster comes out. Where I am myself.

[jaskiersvalley]

What's Cooking Good Looking?

A/O/B ahead with omega mpreg.

Moving into a new neighbourhood was a little nerve-wracking, especially when two alphas were shacking up without an omega to act as a buffer. It wasn't that Lambert and Aiden were an oddity but, despite society being progressive it was still unusual for two alphas to be together. They wouldn't have turned their noses up at each other if one or both of them had been an omega but, as luck would have it, they fell in love with each other. So they took the plunge, found a house in a quiet cul-de-sac that they liked and moved in.

All in all, it was a lovely area, close enough to town to be convenient but out of the way enough to be secluded and peaceful. The people living around them all seemed decent and kept to themselves. It wasn't that Lambert and Aiden wanted to be reclusive but between unpacking, work and decorating they didn't have the time to go make friends with the people around them. That would come with time. So they focused on making the house a home, starting with the kitchen. Cooking was one of the things they enjoyed to do together, moving around each other with such natural ease and creating something together that they could enjoy. Music playing, pots bubbling away and kisses being traded while leaning against the counter, the doorbell ringing was an unwelcome distraction.

"I'll get it," Lambert grumbled and moved to deal with the idiot who dared interrupt their lovely evening.

Though Lambert liked to think of himself as non-judgemental and openminded, he still found himself stalling when he opened the door to an obviously pregnant omega on their doorstep. One who was very much not bonded. Of old, it used to be that an umated omega was only pregnant by misfortune or nefarious reasons, never for their own good. Even now, an unbonded omega with a child was looked down on. Lambert bristled a little, worried that he was about to get pulled into a welfare case.

"Can I help you?" he asked, somewhat cold and not too kind.

In the doorway the omega shifted from foot to foot. "Hi, sorry to bother. I'm Cahir, your neighbour." Licking his lips, Cahir looked nervous all of a sudden. "This might be a really weird thing to ask but what are you cooking? I caught scent of it and it smells so good." Unconsciously, he ran a hand over his bump. "Any chance you'd be willing to share the recipe?"

It was a ridiculous ask and Lambert couldn't help but smile. Despite his reluctance to get involved, instinct still have him wanting to protect and provide for a pregnant omega. So he stepped aside and gestured in.

"I can do one better, why don't you come in and try it? It's almost ready."

Eyes wide with hope and gratitude, Cahir smiled. "Let me just leave a note for Eskel. He'll be back soon and might wonder where I've got to."

While Cahir ambled back next door, Lambert gave Aiden a quiet heads up about their unexpected guest. All too soon though, the three of them were at the table, Cahir trying not to look too keen but was visibly struggling to conceal it.

"Why don't you try a small portion first, to make sure you like it?"

"Thank you," Cahir said and helped himself to a sample. "I've had it before where something smelled incredible but was such a disappointment to eat." Sitting down, to didn't waste any time in popping a forkful into his mouth and moaning around it in delight. "Fuck me this is amazing."

Chuckling, Lambert watched before glancing over to Aiden who looked equally charmed as this stranger took such obvious pleasure in their cooking.

"As you know, we've just moved to the area, what's it really like?" Aiden asked, much more adept at conversation and small talk than Lambert ever was.

"It's nice. Quiet. People don't ask questions." The last bit was added softly, a hand gravitating towards his bump. He didn't look sad though and Lambert was hard pressed to not ask questions to sate his curiosity. In the silence Cahir looked up at them with a smile. "I like it here and hopefully you'll be really happy too."

The doorbell went again and Lambert moved to answer. He suspected it was Cahir's Eskel but he didn't expect to come face to face with a rugged alpha holding a box of chocolates and a card.

"Hello, I'm Eskel. Cahir left a note to say he's popped over?"

It only felt right to have Eskel sit at the table with them and eat, there was enough food for four. Usually, Lambert and Aiden cooked enough to have dinner and lunch the next day. So it wasn't difficult to make sure all four of them had a good meal, lunch the next day could be something else.

Any concerns Lambert may have had about Cahir and his relationship with Eskel evaporated the moment he saw the two of them interact. The pure joy on Cahir's face was echoed so tenderly in Eskel's that it was impossible to fake. It was reassuring and heart-warming at the same time. Especially when, after everyone finished eating and they were chatting, Cahir started yawning. Without even thinking about it, Eskel wrapped an arm around Cahir's shoulders and helped him snuggle in.

"Shall we get you home, sleepy?" he rumbled, dropping a kiss to the top of Cahir's head.

"Please."

Waving them off, Lambert closed the door and stared at Aiden with wide eyes. "Tell me I'm not alone in these feelings."

"You and me both."

They were invited to dinner the following week and had quite the most wonderful evening. So much so that they gave Cahir permission to come along whenever he wanted if he smelled food that appealed to him, he just had to knock and they'd have enough for him to enjoy too.

Sure enough, Cahir took them up on their generous offer, often bringing dessert with him in exchange.

"Thank you," he said out of the blue one evening. "For being so welcoming and kind."

"As opposed to?" Aiden asked.

A hand rubbed at where the bonding bite ought to be on Cahir's neck. "I know it's not very socially acceptable to be expecting when not bonded." It felt like all of Lambert's unasked questions were about to be answered. "Eskel and I, we don't want to bond. Don't want that tie, that exclusivity. Don't get me wrong, we love each other but we don't want to be just a couple, it wouldn't be fair if we meet someone else."

"Someone else?" Lambert didn't squeak but it was close.

"Our hearts are plenty big." The shrug from Cahir almost felt nonchalant. "We don't want to limit ourselves and our love. It wouldn't be right to be bonded when it's not just the two of us in a relationship."

That evening Lambert curled around Aiden, thinking about what Cahir had said.

"It's a lot to process," Aiden murmured. "But it's something to mull over. See if there's something there."

Lambert had never loved Aiden more than in that moment for his understanding and acceptance. There wasn't an overnight change. Just because Lambert and Aiden agreed that they might be interested in exploring the possibility of more with Cahir and Eskel didn't mean they were going to barge into things without thought or care. Their joined dinners became more frequent, they got pillows for a chair to make Cahir more comfortable. It wasn't unheard of that Cahir would drop by during the day and quietly read while Aiden worked on his laptop. The gentle company was really appreciated.

The feelings they had talked about exploring had seeped in without their express permission. Friendship, fondness, tender care, they all bubbled up piece by piece. Despite the talks, the preparation for what if scenarios, it wasn't Lambert or Aiden who took the plunge. They were in Eskel and Cahir's garden, a fire was flickering away. While Cahir was trying to make smores, Aiden was next to him, a hand on the small of his back and smiling. Next to Lambert, Eskel sighed happily. Their eyes met and it all just felt right.

"What would you do if I kissed you?" Eskel asked in a low voice, breath warm on Lambert's face. There was only one answer Lambert had, he leaned in and slotted their lips together.

[pixieungerstories]

Quarantine - 2

There was no sign the house had any other occupants for days.  I hadn’t been able to drag the mattress out of the room where he had put it.  It was heavy and I couldn’t compress it enough to get it through the door.

I went back to working from home.  The conference calls helped me feel sane.  After a while it was easy to pretend the whole thing was some fever dream.  I was pretending, though.  I still hadn’t tried to open the closet.  Grocery delivery was set on a rotation so that once a week they arrived at the gate.  My neighbours had theirs brought right up to the house.  Mine were always left at the gate of the picket fence that surrounded the front yard.

I used the hedge trimmers to shape the lilac bushes that the neighbours on each side had planted to obscure their view of my house.  I weeded and mowed the lawn wishing for grass seed before just giving up and calling it a meadow.  Some of the flowers were even pretty.  I chuckled with my friends about how much drywall I was going to need when this was over.  We laughed about how it was lucky I was alone instead of having a roommate watching me through the holes in the walls.

Well, they laughed.  I sort of more chuckled nervously.

I kept an eye on my laptop battery and there weren’t any unexplained power outages.  Everything seemed normal.

Until I was cleaning out the basement and found the wine room.  I don’t know wine, but there was a lot of it and the newest bottle that I could find was pre world war two.

I wasn’t expecting it to still be good.  It was.  It felt ridiculous drinking a hundred year old bottle of red wine with a frozen dinner. I did it anyway.

“Are you still here?” I demanded as I was getting ready for bed.

There was no answer.

I found the box that had my vibrator in it and fell asleep in a sweaty puddle.

I woke up a little hung over and found my vibe squeaky clean on the bathroom sink when I went to brush my teeth.  My stomach dropped.

“Were you watching me?” I hissed.  I don’t know what sort of reply I was expecting, but I didn’t get one.

Once again, I tried to move the mattress to another room.  Once again, I failed.  I spent the night wrapped in a blanket, sitting on the floor in the other bedroom, with my laptop plugged in and netflix running to keep me company.

I screamed and stood up when he said from the doorway, “I get lonely too.”

“Jesus Christ!”

He chuckled, “Not even close.”  There was a moment of silence as I strained my eyes to see something, anything, in the dark.  “I can’t leave either,” he whispered.  I stood there shaking in the light from my laptop screen. “Sleep in the bed.  I will not bother you.”

I didn’t move.  He had just sounded sad when he said it.  

“Why can’t I ever see you?”  I asked.

“I live in the shadows, you can only see me in darkness.”

I blinked at that.  “But you are always here.”

“Yes.”

“And I can’t see in the dark,” I pointed out.

“I know.”

I didn’t know how to respond to that, so I changed the subject.  “What do you want from me?”

“When you first arrived, you slept in the garden.  If you had started by sleeping in the house, I would have run you off.  But you were fixing things, so I let you stay.  I got used to you being around.  Then you got sick and it would have been so easy to just let you die.  I would have gone back to being on my own.  I no longer want to be on my own but I hadn’t considered the weight of you being unable to leave.  I do not like the idea of you being scared of me and trapped here.”

“But I am,” I mumbled.

“Yes.  So take care of yourself.  Sleep in the bed.  Care for the house.  I will stay out of your way.”

I licked my lips.  I didn’t want to ask but I had to know.  “What were you doing with my vibrator?”

There was no answer.  I waited for what felt like an eternity before I continued.  “Look, it isn’t a good idea to share sex toys, so depending on where it’s been, I might need to throw it out.  I can’t exactly get a new one just now.  Please just tell me.”

It was the barest whisper, “I wanted to taste you.”

I froze feeling like a deer in the headlights, completely unsure how to respond to that.

“I have not touched you since you asked me not to,” he argued.  

Except for when I almost fell, I thought.  You caught me then.  And my laptop.  I wouldn’t have been able to get a new one of those either.  I wondered if soap and water would do it or if I was going to end up with some shadow monster disease.  How do you even ask that?

“Ok,” I mumbled.  I stood there in the dark and silence.  The house was silent.  I realized I hadn’t heard rattles or banging or hissing since I learned he was here.  “Nyctophobia,” I blurted out.

“I don’t understand,” he replied.

I shifted awkwardly.  “Can I call you Nick?”

The silence continued.  Then, “Why?”

“Nameless things are more scary.  It isn’t as bad having a roommate named Nick.”

He never did answer.  Eventually, I sat back down on the floor and wrapped the blanket more tightly around myself.  I wasn’t brave enough to walk through a pitch dark house, past a staircase, to get to the room where there was a monster in the closet.  

----

There was coffee waiting for me when I got up, and the smell of cinnamon buns baking in the oven.   The oven timer said there was 10 minutes left.  I peeked inside to find the tiniest pan of monkey bread baking.  I recognized the recipe and pulled out the cookbook it came from.  Sure enough, in Nick’s careful handwriting was notations about scaling the recipe down to one sixth of how it had been published.

He had used pencil.

“Is this a peace offering?” I asked.

I didn’t get a response, but he did the dishes while I had my bath that morning.

When my groceries were delivered, popcorn had been added to my order.

I didn’t see him.  Well, I mean, I never see him, but the only signs of him were things being done and left obviously done while I was bathing or getting dressed.  Aside from how nice it was to not do the dishes I appreciated the signs that he was not watching me.

It came as a surprise when I went to put the popcorn in the microwave and the power went out.  

“Nick?  What are you doing?”

“This isn’t me,” he hissed.

I was lifted and carried squirming through the dark before being pushed into a space and having the door locked behind me.  I panicked as I thought I might be in his closet before I realized I was in the wine cellar.  Flashes of Edgar Allen Poe stories ran through my mind.

I have no idea how long I was in there, in the dark with my heart pounding as I tried to get the door to open.  Eventually, it did.

“All better now,” he assured me, breathing down the back of my neck.

There were a lot of cop cars outside on the street.

“What happened?” I asked.  There wasn’t any answer.

A uniformed officer rang my bell, then politely stepped back from my door the requisite six feet.

“Did you hear or see anything unusual last night, Ma’am?” he asked after identifying himself.

Yeah, all the time, I thought.  There was still no way to say that and sound sane.  I went with a modified version of the truth.  “The power went out around 10pm and I ended up stuck in the basement since I couldn’t see the stairs.”

He frowned at me.  “Have you noticed anything missing?  Any signs of a break in?”

“No?  Should I have?”

He appeared to consider this, then stepped further back to look at the state of my house.  “There were break-ins all down this street last night.  This place might not have been a target.”

“Is everyone OK?” I asked.

“It’s an ongoing investigation,” replied walking towards me again.  “I can not disclose anything further, ma’am.”

I swallowed, “That sounds like a no.”

“Do you mind if I come in and have a look around?”

I considered this, “Do you generally advise that women living alone let strange men into their houses?  If you are coming to search, I want my lawyer here as a witness.”

He was already peering in around me.  The house isn’t that big and the walls were all gone.  He could see the whole main floor whether he came in or not.

“Doing some renovations I see.”

No shit Sherlock.  “My building permit is posted in my window.  I haven’t been able to get trades people out in months but-”

“I'm sure everything is in order with that.  Good day.”   Then he left.  Standing on the porch I could hear him telling the other officers what a shit hole my house was.  He thought it should be condemned.

I mean, he was right, still you never like to hear that.  And it didn’t need to be condemned.  I had the structural engineer’s report to prove it.

I went to work while keeping an eye on the news sites.

It wasn’t break ins.  It was looters.  The house next to me and the four next to it, all the way to the corner, had been hit.  The owners had been found tied up at best and dead at worst with a variety of options in between.

It has escalated all the way down the street.

Then stopped before my house.

“Nick?  What did you do?”

He wasn’t talking to me yet.

----

I sat on my bed and waited for the sun to go down.  My laptop was in the kitchen.  My phone was next to me but set to do not disturb.   I waited, straining my ears for any noise.

“Are you there?”

Nothing was said but I was sure I could feel him watching me.

“Please tell me what happened.”

“No one comes into my house,” he snarled.

I swallowed and fought down my fear.  “I did.”

“You are different.  You are helping.”

I considered that.  He had walls before I got here, now he didn’t.

“Am I safe from you?”

“Yes.”  It would have been more comforting if he hadn’t growled it.

That was the point where I started to cry.  I had made it through everything life had thrown at me without turning into a weepy woman, but that did it.  I’m going to blame it on a night of panicking in the wine cellar combined with news reports detailing what had happened to my neighbours.

“Please don’t,” he whispered.

I sniffled.  “Fuck.  Why don’t I have kleenex?”

A roll of toilet paper was pressed into my hands.  I ripped off a length and blew my nose in a way that women in the movies never do, then I jumped as he stroked my cheek with a cool finger, catching my tears.  His hand was gone an instant later.

“What if they come back tonight?”

“They won’t,” he said firmly.  I don’t think he was talking about the ongoing police presence on the street. 

“What did you do?” I sniffled.

“I defended my home.  That includes you now.”

I didn’t know how to respond to that.  I wasn’t sure that I couldn’t catch glimpses of him as the lights on the street kept flashing.  Red, blue, huge black shadow.

“I don’t want to be alone right now,” I whispered.

The bed dipped but when I reached my arm out in that direction all I could find was a long fingered hand to hold mine.  “You won’t be.”

I felt him tug at the blankets underneath me and I slid over so he could turn them back.  Even in the dark I could find my sleep shirt under my pillow.  I stood up next to the bed, stripped and pulled it over my head.  Under the covers looking at the ceiling.  Red, blue, shadow, red, blue shadow.

“Are you .. human shaped?”

“I can be.”

I snorted, “What kind of answer is that?” 

“An honest one.”

I rolled on to my side so that my back was to him, or at least to where I thought he was.

“I can go.”

“Can you stay?”

The weight on the bed changed.  “Don’t try to look at me, you will only give yourself nightmares.”

“You said you’ve read Blue Beard?”

“Yes.”

“Have you read Cupid and Psyche?”

He just snickered.

“I’ll take that as a yes.  Does any of that apply here?”

“Are you going to try to burn me with an oil lamp?” he teased.

“Are you going to get me pregnant then cast me out into the wilds?”  I countered.

He hissed at that, “Never.”

“Never get me pregnant or -”

“I’m not human.  We can’t procreate.  I can’t make you sick.  You can’t make me sick.  We can drive each other insane and you will be able to escape someday.  I can not leave.”

“Why not?”

“You need to rest.  Don’t ask questions with scary answers.”

“How am I supposed to know they are scary?”

“Because you are asking a monster.  Now, go to sleep.”

That was the most ridiculous thing but I wasn’t up to arguing about it.  Not while there was still an active crime scene next door.

I fell asleep to the feeling of him stroking my back.

----

The only furniture in the bed room was the bed and a few boxes of random stuff I had moved in.  I woke to find one of them had been used as a table and was holding breakfast for me.  Or at least a travel mug of coffee and a plate of toast.  I sat in bed, drank my coffee, ate my toast and read the thirty seven emails from everyone I knew asking what the fuck happened next door.

I ended up posting a blanket statement on facebook that I was fine.  I was still in my house.  I had no idea what had happened other than what I had seen on the news.  Then I posted a picture of the three squad cars I could still see out my bedroom window.  

My boss emailed me to ask when he could expect the report I had been assigned, so that took up the rest of my day.  It was getting dark when I realized I hadn’t eaten all day.  Another freezer meal, some salad and I was raiding the wine cellar again, god damn it!

As I was pouring wine into a coffee mug, he asked me, “Are you drinking alone?”

I got up, took another mug out of the cupboard, poured a second drink and turned off the kitchen light.  “Nope.  I’m not alone.  You’re here.”

He didn’t answer, as I ate my dinner by the light of the street lights outside.  The porch light was outside the kitchen window, so I turned it on to wash the dishes then turned it off to go upstairs.  It would have been better if I hadn’t stubbed my toe on the bottom step.  I swore.  Nick picked me up and carried me up the stairs.

“I didn’t have that much to drink!” I protested.

“No, but you can’t see in the dark.”  He tucked me safely into bed.

“Did you change the sheets?”  I asked.  He didn’t answer.  “You did, didn’t you?”

My laptop opened and his body blocked the screen for a few moments.  Then Brooklyn 99 came on and it was set next to me.

“Why are you doing this?”

“We need a distraction.  Call Penny.”

“We need a distraction?  We?”

“Yes.”

I hesitated.  “Do you need me to move out and camp in the backyard for a few days?”

His reply was a nonverbal roar that rattled the windows and set off a car alarm outside.  

There was a commotion then the cops were knocking on my door.  I sighed and turned on the lights.  I decided to be proactive this time.  I flung open the door and demanded “What the hell are you doing out here?”

The cops on my porch blinked.  

“I’m trying to sleep!  Can you keep the noise down?  Please?  I know whatever you are doing is important but can you just do it a little quieter?”

“That wasn’t us!” the youngest protested.

“Then can you find out who it was and make them stop?”

To my delight, they left.

I closed the door, smiled to myself and bounced off a wall of darkness that caught me before I rebounded against the door.

“I do not want you sleeping outside!” he growled in my ear.

There were one set of arms around my shoulders and another holding my hips and back.  I tried to think of a ‘what big arms you have Mr Wolf’ quip but it died on my lips and the touch was gone in an instant.

“Nick?  Can you help me not trip on things on my way to the stairs?”

Hands on my hips, pushing me gently forward and steering me around boxes. Another hand guiding mine to the banister.  Then nothing.  I carefully inched my way upstairs.  I did that awkward thing at the top where you think there is still one more step but there isn’t so your leg falls through nothing and you stumble.  To my right was the bedroom, still lit by the flickering screen of my computer.

I climbed into bed and closed it.

Then I opened it, stared at the browser for a moment, then closed it again.

“What’s wrong?”

I considered this.  I really had no secrets from him anymore.  “I’m anxious and keyed up.  I need … some ‘alone time’ but it’s weird if you are watching.”

“Would it be better if I was helping?” he teased.

“I don’t know,” I admitted.  “I don’t know what you are working with.  But I feel lonely.”

Gentle fingers took my hand and raised it.  The lips that kissed and the tongue that laved were not human.  I turned my hand to stroke his face but he leaned away.

That stung.  I let my hand fall to the bed.  “It isn’t fair that you get to touch me but I can’t touch you.”

He didn’t say anything to that.  A car drove past and the headlights lit the room for an instant.  Long enough for me to see four glittering eyes watching me, two forward facing and two further to the sides.  Not human, I reminded myself.  In the darkness, a hand cupped my face, thick lips caught mine and as I kissed him a tentacle like tongue licked at my lips before darting briefly down my throat.

“I can do better than that toy,” he promised, “but you can not see me.”

I nodded.  Four hands stroking me over my clothes.  A mouth kissing and licking at my neck. I was expecting him to peel me out of my clothes, instead his touch was so feathery gentle.  Hands cupped my face as he nuzzled my hair.  I strained my eyes trying to see him, but I could catch only the faintest outline.  Any time I reached out for him he pulled away.  Finally, he got frustrated with that and pinned my hands over my head.

I panicked and pulled my hands away and just like that he was gone.

“Nick?”

I don’t know why I was expecting an answer.  I groaned and pressed both palms to my face covering my eyes.  I jumped when he caressed my calf, but I didn’t move my hands.

“What are you doing, little girl?”

“Damned if I know,” I admitted.  “It’s been … I don’t even know anymore… how long have I been stuck in this house?  Weeks?  Months?  None of this seems real anymore.  Sometimes I don’t know if I’m real anymore either.  I just need …  something.”

“Someone,” he whispered.

“Yeah.  Someone to make me feel like I’m real.  Just to make me feel.”

“Humans need other humans to be human,” he muttered. “You should have just called your friend.”

My eyes prickled again and tears splashed against my hands.  “How long have you been here?”

“There was an accident shortly after the house was built.  I came because of that.”

That raised a lot of questions, but my immediate one was, “How long have you been here alone?”

“On and off since then.  Most people don’t last much more than a month or two.  Normally, construction crews are the advance party before they move in.  It’s easy enough to get rid of the new owners.  You were just too stupid to leave.”

I snorted, “Were you really trying to make me go?  Because living here was creepy but not anywhere close to the scariest place I’ve ever lived.”

“My heart wasn’t in it.  I need you to finish fixing the place first.  Sooner or later someone would have built one of those ridiculous houses on the lot.”  He started to massage my calf as he spoke.

“The house is more than a hundred years old.  That’s a long time to be alone,” I pointed out.

“Enough time to get good at it,” he countered.

I moved my hands then and sat up to look at him.  I thought I could see a pool of shifting darkness.  “What are you?  Are you a ghost?  Did someone die here and -”

“Many people have died here. I am not one of them.”

I thought about that for a moment.  “Am I?”

“What?”

“Am I some dead woman who is all alone here making excuses for why I can’t leave?”

He laughed at me then, not a jolly laugh, an odd howling laugh.  “How did you come up with that ridiculous idea?”

It stung a little, “It’s a popular plot point in a number of movies.  And I can’t help but notice you didn’t answer the question.”

He stopped laughing when he realized I was serious and said flatly, “You aren’t dead.”

[zeetasposts]

Mochi Madness

Pairings: Vlad x Reader

Words: 2200+

Comments: Eeeeeeeek! Once more HAPPY BIRTHDAY NEEEMOOO! ❤☺hehe I bet we have all become far better at making mochi than we were with the first attempt lol,☺😳😳😳😳 Eeeek I'm super excited to see how our cheesecakes and brownies are going to turn out! whoooop whoooop even more excited to spend the day with ya ! hehe, hope you had a wonderful day neemo filled with all the candy, all the sunshine and all the sweetness! Sending ya infinity catbus hugs! hehe love ya lots! ❤❤😳😳

.*:・’ﾟ:｡.*:ﾟ･’ﾟﾟ:。’ .*:・’ﾟ:｡.*:ﾟ･’ﾟﾟ:。’･ﾟ｡.*:・’ﾟ: ｡.*:・’ﾟ:｡.*:ﾟ･’ﾟﾟ:。’ .*:・’ﾟ:｡.*:ﾟ

The month of July was not a particularly special time of the year for you, but for Vlad, it meant the world, for it was the birth month of his dearest flower. You had insisted multiple times to the man not to make a big deal out of the day of your birth, and after a bit of back and forth, a compromise was made. A morning spent making some delightful birthday treats followed by tea in the garden was the suggestion and one that seemed like an appropriate way to spend your birthday. Not too grand, yet intimate and memorable.

It was the early afternoon of your birthday, a perfect time to make some treats for tea. You were the first to arrive in the kitchen, so you decided to prepare yourself for the mountain to climb. You tied the pink apron around your waist, washed your hands and gathered the ingredients for the battle that was about to commence. Your kitchen had become a war zone, so to say, more so because of your severe lack of cooking abilities.

Your comrade—companion in arms— arrived in due time to lend support and as such, marked the start of the great birthday battle.

Vlad strode through the kitchen doors, taking soft steps as he carried a basket of precious cargo close to him. “Ah, just in time, did you manage to get enough strawberries from the garden,” you asked curiously, shooting a happy smile over your shoulder.

He returned your smile with a gentle one of his own, coming up beside you to place the heavy basket down, pulling the cloth off to reveal a mountain of strawberries. You let go of a gasp in awe. “I think we have enough strawberries to feed an army,” you jested with a playful elbow jab to Vlad’s side.

“I have no intention of sharing these with an army, only with you, my love,” came the light chuckled response from Vlad as he reached over to grab hold of a matching pink apron. It was the cutest apron, littered with bunches of tiny bright red strawberries— a gift from his last birthday— one which he cherished very much for the feature of his favourite food. Despite the airy response, you knew he was dead serious, especially when it came to his beloved strawberries. You shook your head with a smile, memories of past castle shenanigans flashing in your mind— of Faust and Charles stealing Vlad secret stash of berries and the severe punishment that awaited them for their crimes.

Your eyes drifted down to the recipe— it was one you had come across a few weeks ago while searching the library for a book to read. Mochi, it was called; you remembered researching the dish after it had been mentioned in a favourite book of yours. You were always curious about the dish. However, after the main character described the soft, chewy texture, you knew you just had to try the treat for yourself. Hells, you were so excited about wanting to try it out, that you had immediately sought Vlad out in his garden to share the discovery and to find out if in all his years on earth if he had ever come across such a dish.

With a shake of the head and a fond smile shot your way, he suggested that the treat be included as part of your birthday picnic.

It took a bit of searching and lots of researching, but thankfully, with Vlad’s help, the two of you managed to find a small recipe book that featured the soft, chewy dessert.

“Okay, first things first, we need to mix the rice flour and water,” you stated, tapping the recipe in thought as you read a little further to gauge the next few steps to follow.

Meanwhile, Vlad reached out to pick up the two bags of powdery substances laying on the table, crimson eyes scrutinizing the labels. He then turned to you, concern painted over his face, “What’s the difference?” he asked.

Your first obstacle had just arrived; you knew it was one that would come back to haunt you as even after you had found the recipe, one of the ingredients had never been heard of before. You and Vlad hunted far and wide for the rice flour when finally, one day when Vlad was on his way home from the flower shop, he spotted the very flour you required for the baking battle. The only problem was that that shop housed two types of rice flour. So Vlad did what any reasonable person would, he bought them both. It was a problem for future Vlad to deal with.

You looked over at him in confusion, which only seemed to grow when you investigated the labels yourself. “Surely glutinous rice flour and rice flour are the exact same thing,” you stated, stroking your chin and wracking your mind for any differences between the two.

“Let’s see what the recipe says?” Vlad suggested, moving to take a closer look at the book.

“Sweet rice flour,” he read aloud with widened eyes. How was there a third type of rice flour? You tried to decipher the labels for any indication, even going as far as to look at the sugar content hoping that one of them would be higher, as surely that would dub it as sweet rice flour? More sugar equals sweet, right? RIGHT?

After a moment of pondering, and investigating you smiled over at the man with a carefree shrug, “there is only one way to decide which to use.” Vlad looked over at you curiously, raising a brow as he waited for you to reveal your master plan.

”Cover your eyes,” you said with a widening smile and a hint of mischief, carefully taking the two bags from his hands and putting them behind your back.

Once his eyes were closed, you brought the bags forward and placed them down on the counter, keeping a cautious eye on Vlad to make sure he wasn’t peeking. With a satisfied nod, you quickly started shuffling the bags around until even you were unsure which was which.

With a tender smile scattered across his face, Vlad’s eyes twitched to open ever so slightly, if only to catch a glimpse of what you were up to. Unfortunately for him, you had eyes at the back of your head and caught him in the act trying to steal a glance, “Nuh uh, I see you peeking,” you squealed out, quickly rushing behind him and bringing your small hands up to block his vision further.

He tilted his head to the side, puzzled as to just what antics you were up to. As if reading his thoughts, you finally revealed your ingenious plan. “Since neither of us knows the difference between all these flours, we shall let fate do the deciding for us!”

He chuckled, shaking his head in amusement, hands extended out in front of him to feel around the counter until finally, they hit one of the bags. After a moment of patting around for the second bag, he randomly picked one up, “this one,” he smiled, turning to lock eyes with you.

You clapped your hands together happily, letting out a gleeful hum, “perfect! Okay, let’s mix it with some water!”

Without care for quantities, you eyeballed the amount of water thrown into the bowl with a satisfied smirk— you never were in the habit of measuring ingredients out accurately, much rather opting to follow your gut.

After the two ingredients were combined in a bowl, you cooked it in a saucepan until a blob of sticky goo formed. You removed it from the heat and set it aside to read the next set of instructions. “Knead,” you stated simply.

Vlad looked at the pot of goo dubiously, giving it a little poke, “is it supposed to be this sticky,” he asked with a troubled expression. Cooking had never really been his strong suit either, despite the years spent on the earth.

“I mean, the recipe didn’t say it shouldn’t look like this, “you responded with a confident shrug and an easy smile. You tried tipping the pot out onto the counter, only for the goo-like substance to remain firmly stuck to the bottom, causing an amused snort to come from Vlad.

“Interesting,” the white-haired man mused, using the spoon to help the goo from the pot to flop onto the counter. He split the mixture in half and gestured for you to knead one half while he took care of the first.

“Here goes nothing,” you said, apprehensive, not entirely sure what kind of end product to expect— as things stood, the pile of goo was neither light nor fluffy, just a sticky mass.

After several moments of trying to knead the glob, you finally broke into laughter, “this is not working,” you looked down at the ‘dough’, most of it being stuck to your hands, the other half stuck to the board.

Your gaze shifted over to Vlad, who seemed to be having about as much luck as you with the dough, but instead of kneading, he was playing with it like goop between his hands, “I bet Johann would like this, reminds me of one of his experiments,” he said with eyes lit up in childlike wonder.

Continuing on your crusade, somehow, you and Vad managed to get the sticky mass of goo into a semi doughlike blob. Left to chill for 30 minutes beneath a heap of cornstarch, you moved onto the next feat, ganache...

Easy enough, you thought scanning the recipe— how wrong you were— how very wrong indeed, as it was anything but simple. You glanced around the kitchen and gulped; Charles was going to kill you when he got home.

The mixing of the chocolate and cream was easy enough, but the shaping of the dark chocolate substance into balls? Now that was a separate feat on its own. After letting the ganache sit in the fridge for a few moments, you were ready to make up and fill your mochi.

A strawberry centre with a chocolate ganache covering. That was the goal, and truly the recipe made it sound so simple. Just make a ball out of the ganache and press the strawberry to the centre, covering it entirely with the chocolate, it said— it will be fun it said, freakin nope! What the recipe didn’t account for was warm hands and sticky chocolate melting and making a giant mess.

Even though the once-pristine kitchen turned warzone from the hurricane that was your and Vlad’s cooking, a smile never left Vlad’s face.

You had to laugh at your pureblood lover covered in chocolate, brows furrowed together as he tried his hardest to wrap the mochi dough around the ever melting chocolate covered strawberry. At some point, to motivate himself between mochi’s, he would pop the ‘flopped strawberries’ into his mouth, you know, to taste test and make sure they were still good.

After 5 successful ish attempts, the two of you decided to call it quits! With a wide grin, you snuck a glance over at Vlad, who finally managed to seal his first chocolate delight in the mochi skin. You clapped your hands and praised him with a ‘bravo.’

After carefully putting your newly made treat into the picnic basket, you turned to Vlad with an impish glimmer in your eyes. “You have a little chocolate right here,” you gestured to the man, startings of a cunning smile falling across your lips.

With a thoughtful hum, he brought his knuckle up to wipe the spot on his cheek, but it was of little use as you simply giggled and shook your head.

“Did I get it?” he asked, crimson eyes looking down at you with nothing but pure love and affection.

Your smile widened, turning Cheshire as you reached your tiny hand covered in chocolate to his face, to leave a playful smear, “nope, it’s right here,” you said, biting back the laughter that threatened to spill from your chest.

“A cunning one, I see,” came his response, with eyes lit up. Before you could jump back, he dipped his fingers in the bowl of chocolate and swiped them across your cheek with a smear to match.

Chimelike laughter filled the kitchen as you and Vlad continued to worsen its state with the third natural disaster of the day, this time in the form of chocolate finger painting. The end of the new battle was marked when Vlad leaned down to steal a kiss from your lips mid-attack. “Sweet,” he remarked with a twinkle in his eye, hand moving from your check to delicate take hold of yours.

“Happy birthday, Draga mea,” the words befell his lips, followed by another tender kiss on the forehead. You responded in kind by giving his hand a squeeze,” shall we go out and have that picnic in the garden? I am rather excited to try these mochis.”

“Anything for you, my love,” he spoke with an affectionate squeeze of the hand, leading you to your favourite spot in the garden.

[wri0thesley]

Hello! Same anon who sent the 'Risotto retiring from Passion then became a househusband' ask. It's absolutely adorable that Risotto would be into gardening. Riceman probs grows his own veggies that he uses while cooking, aside growing vegetables he also grows few types of flowers (always gotta have some flowers ready to give to s/o). The neighborhood grandmas probably adore him, giving him secret recepies and techniques for cooking.

i think he’d like gardening a lot because he can do it alone, peacefully, and use his strength to grow beautiful delicate things - him growing his own vegetables is SO CUTE. i know i always headcanon prosciutto as the ‘cook’ of la squadra but i think risotto is very capable of cooking, he just doesn’t because he’s too stressed to stop and concentrate on making a meal - but now, he’s got ample time to experiment. coming home after work to your big husband in an apron brandishing a wooden spoon, lowly saying; “try it, the neighbour gave me the recipe--”. . . oh, could there be anything better.

he tends to your windowboxes with careful precision and sometimes you hear him whispering encouragement to the flowers that are slow to bloom. if you notice that the neighbourhood ladies (and a couple of the men) do always seem to be walking by when risotto is half-dressed and sweaty in the garden doing the yard chores, you choose not to say anything about it. after all, you’re watching him yourself with a pitcher of lemonade ready to pour him a nice cold drink from--

[nneefa]

RinShi for the ask thing: 1, 18, 29, 33, and 36 (trying not to add too many haha always love seeing your thoughts on them)

1. How do they fall asleep? Wake up? Any rituals?

It actually doesn't take much for Rin to fall asleep; give him a soft pillow and warm comforter set, and he's out like a light, but man, does it take forever to wake him up. Neither does it take much for Shiemi to fall asleep, though it's much easier for her to wake up, especially since she owned/owns a garden; you have to be an early riser in order to tend to one.

In a domestic/cohabiting relationship, there'd be lots of cuddling. Rin sometimes likes to put on a bit of a light show with his flames for Shiemi, showcasing his (lack of) talent when it comes to forming shapes/things, but really, it's because his flames are warm and he knows it's the quickest way for Shiemi to snuggle closer to him. I feel like Shiemi takes up reading as a hobby, especially before bed. Sometimes, she'll read aloud if Rin asks her what she's reading, but then he winds up falling asleep to the sound of her voice. When she reads to herself, she also likes to trace soft circles into his hair/scalp, which also puts him to sleep instantly. But then, there are times where she'd get really immersed in whatever it is she's reading up into the wee hours of the morning until Kuro finally takes it upon himself to jump on her lap to get her to finally go to sleep. And even still, she's overcome with a buzz to keep going, but then she winds up watching Rin's sleeping face, his half-opened eyes and the tiny trail of drool dribbling down the corner of his mouth, and eventually falls asleep (but not without laughing at him).

Shiemi almost always wakes up before Rin because he sleeps like a log, so the task of getting him to wake up falls to her. Sometimes, she shakes him awake; sometimes, she softly calls his name softly between peppering his face with kisses (she realizes that he likes this method the most even if it's not the most successful); and sometimes, she leaves the task to Kuro, who either shapeshifts on top of him, sits on his face, or pushes him onto the floor. Smelling salts work too, lol, but it's not something Shiemi does often.

18. What are their dates like? How long do/did they date? Do they ever feel the need to take a break from each other?

Their dates, at first, are awkward, because while they've been friends for so long, dating is something neither of them are familiar with and trying to navigate what that means for both of them comes with a challenge. Heck, Rin never thought in a million years that Shiemi would ever return his feelings, so he's still reeling from that. I feel like Shiemi would not only consult Izumo and Paku - because she's the only one with any dating experience, besides Shima, but no one's asking him anything, much to his dismay - but she'd put her shoujo manga to good use, as well as any dating magazines/books that Izumo would recommend.

They definitely make do on their date at the amusement park like they promised. It's like, the first date they ever have and it's also the one that sets the stage/tone for their relationship, because not only is it super awkward because they feel like there's a rulebook they must follow, especially Shiemi, but their friends end up crashing their date; however, it's thanks to that that the tension dissipates and they realize that they don't have to try so hard; that they should just be themselves and whatever tricky bits they encounter, they'll deal with it accordingly. They'd have study and at-home dates at each others' residences, and missions where they're partners would wound up as dates. Like, so long as they're together and having fun, that's a date to them, but they'd also go out for fun too, like to the park or out to eat (which isn't often because Rin is poor af thanks to Mephy). They definitely take advantage of their out-of-town missions, because then they'd go sightseeing, food sampling, etc.

Their relationship is ever-lasting. I mean, it's my hope that Shiemi lives as long as Rin does, given that he's a half-demon and he'll outlive all of his friends, including his brother (I really hope that's not the case), so yeah. I don't think they ever feel the need to take a break, because they were friends with their own lives prior to dating each other. They'll still do their own thing despite this because Rin and Shiemi respect the hell out of each other and their boundaries.

29. How do they handle disasters or emergencies? Minor injuries? Sickness?

They're opposites when it comes to this. Shiemi is a doctor and tamer. Disaster preparedness is her shtick, so she handles this kind of thing with relative ease. She's collected, if not a little emotional, but for the most part, she's got her bearings together. It's Rin, Mr. I Like to Use My Body as a Punching Bag and Action Now, Consequences Later that makes everything difficult.

Rin's body doesn't sustain injuries. He heals well within a hour or two, depending on the type of injury, but Shiemi insists - is downright forceful actually - on applying first aid, not just because it's her job as a doctor/healer to heal, but because she doesn't like to see Rin get hurt. He tells her that she doesn't need to do it, but Shiemi's not having any of it, and Rin can appreciate the sentiment, because even though he knows he'll never keep a scar or bruise, the thought the Shiemi would go out of her way to take care of him means a lot to him. He even likes to keep the bandaid/gauze on too, as a reminder of this. (Shipping aside, I feel like Rin feels this way about Yukio too). Shiemi has callouses for days, literal farmer hands, and she's handles her own injuries like a champ. Rin, of course, panics when she gets hurt, and he doesn't like the idea of her being in danger, but he also knows that Shiemi is perfectly capable of taking care of herself.

As for sickness, again, Rin doesn't get sick, but if he did, Rin would frickin' hate it, lmao. Like, on one hand, Shiemi taking care of him? 👌🏽 But, Shiemi's cooking? Yeah, no, thank the high heavens he doesn't have to suffer through another helping of grass and herbs. Rin dotes on Shiemi whenever she gets sick, not that she's a fan of being coddled, but the meals that come with being sick are to die for and having him take care of her warms her heart. Rin has experience taking care of sick people, because Yukio used to get sick a lot, so this would definitely transfer over to Shiemi.

33. What kind presents do they get each other? Do they only do it on special occasions?

Shiemi would put a lot of thought into gifts for Rin, not that he wouldn't, but like, Shiemi freaking loves this kind of thing. She gives him flowers - and I'm gonna headcanon that she knows the language of flowers, so it's extra special - and at one point, she even makes him one of her homemade hair accessories to help him clip his bangs back. She gives him bags of her special tea blends, and herbs and seeds to use in his recipes too. Rin knows that Shiemi really loves his cooking, so he'd make her a really good meal, especially with the ingredients she gives him as a thank you. Rin would buy her hair accessories and ornaments, little knickknacks and handicrafts because he knows she's super into that stuff. It's not relegated to special occasions, but sometimes just because they were thinking about each other while looking at something that reminded them of one another.

36. What's their greatest strength as a couple? Their weakness?

God, there's much to choose from: the fact that they confide in each other their insecurities; that they're a source of comfort for one another; that they're so protective and attentive of each other; or that they're such a deep source of encouragement and inspiration for one another. I really feel like all of that is tied together, because within each of those instances, they were doing all of those things! Argh! Grace, why would you ask me this hard ass question?! 🤣

Okay, so I'll go with how protective/attentive they are of each other as their greatest strength, and the fact that they still keep secrets from each other as their weakness. The fact that they pay so much attention to one another means that they know what makes the other tick; they know precisely what to say, what to ask and do that'll prick each other's consciousness to be a better them (which, again, is tied to how they're a huge source of encouragement for each other), like how Rin thought of Shiemi when controlling his flames in Kyoto against the Impure King or just the fact that Rin literally broke Shiemi out of her self-contained prison to pursue exorcism for herself. I'll go on forever if I talk about this, but they're such good friends to each other!

As for their weakness, I think they have of habit of trying to tackle issues on their own instead of learning how to rely on each other fully. They keep secrets from each other to their detriment. Like, Rin has had so many close calls with Demon!Rin because he doesn't want to accept and face his insecurites, and I can't quite shake the feeling that Shiemi's going to be in a world of trouble with "The Beautiful People" cult that could possibly be avoided had she told someone where she was going and what was happening. I mean, I know she was sworn to secrecy, but at the same time, it reminds me of what happened in the beginning of the manga, where Rin had to keep the fact that he was the Son of Satan a secret, and how it blew up into an awful mess because he didn't tell anyone. I feel like Shiemi will experience something similar had she confided in someone about it too.

[hanbintms]

            it  is  eye  ,  kofi  ,  back  on  your  dash  with  my  newest  child  !  as  a  reminder  :  i’m  twenty4  ,  prefer  she / her  or  they / them  pronouns  ,  and  i  reside  in  the  est  timezone  !  the  muse  that  i  have  flowing  for  hanbin  is  truly  unmatched  even  though  i  literally  came  up  with  him  within  like  . . .  three  hours  ,  no  kidding  .  that  being  said  ,  he’s  a  brand  new  muse  and  i  can’t  wait  to  plot  with  everyone  once  again  (  or  for  the  first  time  !  )  i  won’t  talk  your  ears  off  as  i  know  this  intro  might  get  a  little  long  ,  but  aside  from  that  ,  can’t  wait  to  write  hanbin  with  ya’ll  !

            (  SONG  KANG , THIRTY , CIS  MAN , HE / HIM  )  *  hey  ,  i’m  looking  for  the  office  of  HANBIN  KOO  .  they’re  the  EMPLOYEE  /  IN - HOUSE  CHEF  who’s  known  around  the  office  as  THE  EPICURE  ,  if  that  helps  ?  not  to  be  a  gossip  ,  but  i’ve  heard  that  they’re  AFFABLE  but  UNCOUTH  ,  is  that  true  ?  i  also  heard  that  they’re  the  one  who  THREW  ICED  TEA  AT  HIS  EX  IN  THE  LOBBY  .  anyways  ,  here’s  the  coffee  they  ordered  .

statistics.

            name  :  koo  hanbin  .  nicknames  :  han  ,  hannie  ,  hanbinie  ,  +  binnie  .  age  +  date  of  birth  :  thirty  +  january  9th,  1991  .  zodiac  :  capricorn  .  moral  alignment  :  true  neutral  .  gender  +  pronouns  :  cis  man  +  he / him / his .  place  of  birth  :  busan  ,  south  korea  .  place  of  residence  :  west  village  ,  new  york  city  ,  new  york  .  orientation  :  bisexual  biromantic  .  occupation  :  in  house  chef  and  internet  personality  .  nationality  :  korean  (  holds  american  citizenship  )  .  ethnicity  :  korean  .  language(s)  spoken  :  korean  ,  english  ,  conversational  italian  ,  and  conversational  japanese  .

background.

            koo  hanbin’s  life  was  relatively  normal  when  he  was  born  .  his  mom  ,  koo  seonghwa  ,  worked  as  a  nurse  in  the  pediatric  department  of  a  local  hospital  in  busan  while  his  father  ,  koo  kyuchul  ,  was  an  office  worker  .  they  weren’t  the  richest  family  ,  nowhere  near  it  ,  but  the  koo  family  made  it  work  .  hanbin  has  more  memories  of  being  with  his  grandparents  more  often  than  his  parents  simply  because  of  their  demanding  careers ,  but  that’s  not  to  say  that  they  weren’t  loving  and  attentive  parents  when  they  had  time  to  be  with  their  only  son  .  

             however  ,  life  began  to  change  for  him  when  was  six  years  old  .  suddenly  ,  the  money  began  to  dwindle  as  quickly  as  it  was  brought  in  .  the  refrigerator  wasn’t  full  unless  seonghwa’s  mother  would  make  some  things  for  them  ,  and  kyuchul  was  coming  home  later  and  later  .  seonghwa  began  to  work  harder  in  an  attempt  to  break  even  ,  but  she  never  seemed  to  get  her  head  above  water  .  she’d  confront  her  husband  about  the  large  sums  of  money  that  would  disappear  from  their  account  ,  but  he  always  blamed  it  on  higher  bills  ,  raised  rent  ,  or  sudden  payments  that  he  had  to  make  .  it  never  made  any  sense  ,  but  seonghwa  started  a  separate  account  to  ensure  their  son  could  at  least  have  food  on  the  table  and  clothes  for  school  .

            the  next  couple  of  years  go  by  and  the  money  situation  worsens  ,  with  seonghwa  getting  to  her  wits  end  .  she  spends  more  time  with  hanbin  at  her  parents’  place  ,  sleeping  with  her  son  in  her  old  bedroom  and  hoping  he  doesn’t  hear  her  cry  at  night  .  she  struggles  to  understand  why  her  husband  is  keeping  secrets  from  her  ,  especially  as  they’ve  been  married  happily  for  the  last  eleven  years  ,  but  it  takes  some  tough  love  from  her  mother  to  get  seonghwa  to  pick  herself  up  .  so  ,  she  decides  to  confront  her  husband  one  night  when  she  finds  out  his  location  from  one  of  his  co - workers  ,  and  she’s  devastated  .  seonghwa  finds  kyuchul  with  a  younger  woman  ,  gambling  away  her  hard  earned  money  .  like  a  scene  out  of  a  drama  ,  seonghwa  kicks  her  husband  where  the  sun  doesn’t  shine  and  promptly  dragged  the  other  woman  outside  to  wack  her  upside  the  head  with  her  purse  .  seonghwa  was  hurt  ,  but  she  had  finally  gotten  answers  ,  and  she  wasn’t  going  to  be  embarrassed  like  this  ever  again  .

            so  ,  seonghwa  and  hanbin  permanently  move  in  with  her  parents  ,  and  it  takes  some  time  for  seonghwa  to  get  over  kyuchul  .  she  focuses  on  her  child  and  her  job  .  from  the  age  of  ten  ,  hanbin  began  spending  more  time  with  his  grandparents  in  their  small  ,  but  popular  barbecue  meat  restaurant  .  when  he  finishes  his  homework  ,  he  helps  his  grandparents  take  orders  ,  and  he  slowly  begins  to  work  the  kitchen  as  he  gets  older  .  his  grandparents  soon  leave  the  kitchen  work  to  him  as  they  get  up  in  age  ,  and  hanbin  runs  the  kitchen  as  if  he’d  been  doing  it  for  over  twenty  years  .  however  ,  when  he  graduates  from  high  school  ,  hanbin  decides  to  spread  his  wings  .  over  the  last  twelve  years  or  so  ,  hanbin  honed  his  cooking  skills  from  his  grandfather  and  spent  most  of  his  childhood  in  the  kitchen  ,  so  his  grandparents  passed  their  restaurant  down  to  seonghwa’s  brother  ,  and  hanbin  left  for  new  york  .

            eighteen  years  old  and  with  only  enough  money  to  get  a  small  sublet  ,  he  knew  he  needed  to  find  a  job  pronto  .  without  formal  kitchen  training  ,  hanbin  would  often  get  turned  away  from  jobs  (  because  he  was  better  than  a  busboy  !  )  and  eventually  ,  the  fates  was  on  his  side  .  he  forced  his  way  into  the  kitchen  of  a  popular  italian  restaurant  ,  immediately  snagging  the  title  of  junior  chef  .  hanbin  ,  a  fast  learner  with  even  faster  knife  skills  ,  easily  works  his  way  up  the  ranks  within  the  restaurant  .  within  six  years  ,  hanbin  becomes  head  chef  and  is  a  force  to  be  reckoned  with  in  the  kitchen  .  although  his  income  changes  significantly  ,  hanbin  starts  a  youtube  channel  in  hopes  of  sharing  his  love  for  food  and  cooking  .  within  a  year  ,  his  following  grows  substantially  ,  and  he’s  approached  to  broaden  his  efforts  by  working  at  masters  international  .

at masters.

hanbin  has  been  at  masters  for  five  years  .  he  started  working  here  after  his  youtube  channel  expanded  ,  and  he  was  approached  to  create  his  own  cooking  content  for  masters’  youtube  channel  .  

basically  ,  he  has  his  own  version  of  test  kitchen  ,  but  it’s  not  really  the  same  thing  .  he  makes  recipes  for  holidays  ,  celebrations  ,  and  is  constantly  showing  how  to  make  traditional  korean  dishes  (  would  not  be  surprised  if  he  has  a  ‘  cooking  with  my  mom  !  ’  type  series  )  .

gives  food  tips  too  like  which  wines  pair  best  with  certain  foods  or  how  to  make  the  most  out  of  your  first  hosting  gig  .  probably  has  a  video  where  he  shares  his  cooking  playlist  because  he  wants  you  to  get  in  the  mood  😌  .

probably  came  up  with  the  special  lunch  for  Daddy  Masters™  but  gets  ticked  when  he’s  asked  to  cook  it  because  does  that  man  know  a  schedule  ?  probably  not  .  [  ‘  we  were  on  a  break  !  ’  specifically  ,  hanbin2   was  on  his  lunch  break  .  ] 

is  it  true  that  he  threw  an  iced  tea  in  his  ex’s  face  ?  absolutely  ,  and  he  has  no  problem  admitting  it  lmao  .  who  was  said  ex  ?  i  guess  we’ll  never  know  [  this  a  number  one  champion  sound  ]  .

probably  well  received  around  the  office  but  i  wouldn’t  be  surprised  if  people  disliked  him  .  it  could  be  his  off  putting  persona  or  honestly  the  simple  fact  that  he’s  got  a  lot  of  sass  and  no  ass  .

headcanons.

you  can  read  a  full  list  of  headcanons  HERE  ;  below  is  an  abridged  version  .

has  a  gyeongsang  dialect  from  living  in  busan  ,  and  honestly  . . .  that’s  hot  .  so  ,  when  he  speaks  in  korean  it’s  rather  strong  and  aggressive  /  pitch  is  vastly  different  from  other  parts  of  korea  .  

i  literally  have  no  idea  how  to  explain  his  personality  other  than  by  using  his  moral  alignment  :  true  neutral  .  he’s  kinda  that  guy  who  knows  everything  but  won’t  tell  you  that  he  does  ?  did  he  eavesdrop  ?  maybe  ,  but  he  won’t  tell  you  that  .  he’s  largely  indifferent  to  a  lot  of  what  happens  around  masters  and  maybe  it’s  because  he’s  been  here  for  half  a  decade  ;  he’ll  just  make  sure  you  drink  water  if  you’re  drunk  and  crying  .

a  Dog  Father™  to  a  little  re:  big  goldendoodle  named  duri  .  he  is  most  definitely  judging  you  and  can  often  be  found  sunbathing  in  that  solarium  .  

a  very  simple  man  when  it  comes  to  his  coffee  :  caffè  americano  or  an  espresso  macchiato  please  .  and  don’t  forget  the  butter  croissant  !

mostly  expressionless  . . .  like  i  really  have  no  idea  how  to  explain  how  he  looks  at  people  because  i  feel  that  stoic  is  too  harsh  of  a  word  .  if  you  wanna  know  how  he  feels  though  ,  he  has  extremely  expressive  eyes  .

he  won’t  admit  it  but  he  loves  hosting  .  office  potluck  ?  he’s  your  guy  .  having  a  conference  ?  he’ll  make  your  snacks  .  if  you’re  coming  over  he’ll  make  a  charcuterie  board  and  will  lie  saying  he  made  it  with  some  stuff  he  had  on  hand  (  but  that’s  a  lie  ,  he  went  to  the  grocery  store  and  obsessed  over  it  for  a  solid  three  hours  )  .

finds  joy  in  the  mundane  .  some  people  might  think  he’s  weird  because  he  loves  grocery  shopping  ,  and  heavily  judges  people’s  carts  because  processed  food  ?  yuck  !  he  won’t  say  that  to  your  face  though  he’ll  just  be  like  ‘  are  you  sure  you  wanna  buy  that  ?  ’  and  will  sneakily  replace  your  frozen  pizza  with  pizza  ingredients  hehe  .

that  being  said  don’t  take  him  grocery  shopping  with  you  NFUDNSFDS  .  he  gets  ticked  about  food  waste  ,  and  those  who  don’t  use  reusable  bags  .   probably  has  a  lil  garden  at  his  place  and  composts  !  is  angry  about  people  calling  a  chunk  of  cauliflower  a  steak  (  in  other  words  ,  don’t  to  it  )  !

wanted connections.

DISCLAIMER  :  i  will  not  be  plotting  anything  romantic  with  characters  under  the  age  of  twenty - five  due  to  his  age  !

ONE  TRUE  LOVE  :  this  is  open  to  literally  anyone  ,  preferably  like  ,  28  to  30  but  we  can  talk  details  .  truly  ,  they’re  his  one  true  love  as  the  title  states  ,  and  i  like  to  believe  that  they  were  a  really  happy  couple  who  had  a  meet - cute  .  they  moved  in  together  and  things  were  great  ,  but  they  broke  up  when  they  felt  a  mutual  dissolve  in  their  relationship  .  that  being  said  ,  they’re  good  friends  now  !

BEST  FRIEND  :  who  wouldn’t  love  a  best  friend  .  basically  ,  they  get  along  well  ,  and  they  are  used  to  sung’s  non - verbal  communication  NVJCNXJV  .  it’d  be  really  fun  if  they  had  totally  different  personalities  but  somehow  they  managed  to  click  .  TAKEN  BY  GRIFFIN  OLSON  .

TASTE  TESTER  :  someone  who  he  calls  on  to  often  try  his  food  at  the  office  .  they  possibly  will  appear  in  his  videos  on  masters’  youtube  channel  ,  so  i  think  a  relationship  based  around  food  would  be  really  fun  !  TAKEN  BY  KENNEDY  CRAWFORD  /  SORAYA  HATHAWAY  .

HORN  DOGS  (  DEROGATORY  )  :  i  have  no  other  name  for  this  plot  but  i’m  thinking  two  people  who  cannot  keep  their  hands  off  of  one  another  .  i’m  talking  sneaky  touches  in  the  elevator  ,  secret  hook  ups  in  the  seventh  floor  bathroom  ,  quick  makeouts  and  nearly  getting  caught  .  bonus  points  if  people  around  the  office  don’t  believe  they’re  Banging™  because  their  personalities  are  so  different  .  

CRUSH  :  also  known  as  ,  someone  having  a  crush  on  him  ,  but  he  sees  them  as  a  friend  (  or  even  worse  ,  like  a  younger  sibling  )  .  TAKEN  BY  AYLIN  SAHIN  .

PLATONIC  SOULMATE  :  best  friends  ,  but  make  it  sentimental  .  they  are  thicker  than  thieves  ,  get  on  each  other’s  nerves  ,  but  they  don’t  know  what  they’d  do  without  the  other  .  finish  each  other’s  sentences  (  and  sandwiches  .  sung  will  finish  it  )  and  are  borderline  like  an  old  married  couple  with  the  way  they  act  .

that’s  all  i  got  now  but  i’ve  reblogged  some  posts  that  can  be  found  HERE  and  i’m  down  to  fill  any  wcs  that  you  may  have  as  well  !

[noaltbruh]

Bucci gang and Christmas time!

Do I know we're in the middle of Summer? Yes.

Is that going to stop me from writing headcanons about my favourite characters celebrating my favourite Holiday? No.

(Just a side note: most of the headcanons I write take place in an 'Everyone survives universe', keep this particularly in mind while reading this post)

Enjoy! 🎄

Giorno! 🐞

-Giorno has never celebrated Christian once in his entire life. To be honest...He almost feels a sense of spite thinking about this Holiday, because his parents used to neglect him even more during this time of the year. They would spend entire days out, going party with their friends, buying presents for other people, and wouldn't bother in the slightest to decorate the house with a single light

-For a long time, all he could think about when this festivity came into his mind was the dull plate of cold food his parents would leave him to heat in the microwave, but that wasn't nearly as freezing as the feeling of sorrow that filled his heart. He would sit by the window, watching other people having fun together, while he was all alone in that gloomy, small apartment.

-Can you even imagine how he felt when he first celebrated Christmas with the gang?

-He failed to understand why pretty much everyone was so exited, most of them weren't even Christian. He thought he didn't even deserve to participate, not after all the 'morally questionable' things he does as the Don of Passione

-But it didn't take much for the gang to realize how Giorno felt about Christmas, and they were determined to prove him that he had gotten the wrong idea about this Holiday

-When he noticed that he others were trying to drag him in the 'Christmas spirit', he immediately protested, claiming that he had too many errands to attend to

-Needless to say, they didn't buy it

-Eventually, he gave up, accepting to give this festivity a chance, if that would have made them happy. After all, they've been trying so hard to lift his spirit, he would have felt ungrateful rejecting them even now

-He helped with the preparations in any way he could, from decorating the house to buying gifts for everyone.

-What he hadn't realized, is how much effort and care he was putting in everything he was doing. It wasn't something he agreed to solely to please them, he was genuinely enjoying it, he wanted to be a part of this, even though he failed to fully understand it.

-His favourite part was filling the house and the back garden with lights and any other sort of decorations: candles, wreaths, festoons, music boxes, or just other ornaments in general

-When the 25th of December finally arrived, Giorno was ecstatic. Seeing his entire family having so much fun together, opening presents, admiring the lights, watching cheesy Christmas movies while wrapped up in warm blankets, it felt so...Simple, but so reassuring, he couldn't even put into words how he felt

-His favourite present was a huge encyclopedia about nature. He always reads it before going to bed, it helps him fall asleep faster and more peacefully

-Like I mentioned in my previous post, I think Giorno really likes anything that tastes even slightly sweet, so he absolutely adores Christmas treats! Pandori, panettoni, tronchetti, hot chocolate...He loves all of them!

-He can't deny that he felt really bad when they had to take off all the decorations, and while he wouldn't openly say it, he wishes for Christmas to come back again as soon as possible

Bruno! 🤐

-Bruno is the second most exited in the gang for Christmas! (Can you already tell who's the first? :) ) He's the only one, however, that cares about the religious aspect of it, which is particularly important in a country like Italy.

-It's his favourite Holiday, and it was considered the most important festivity in his family, since all of his relatives were Christians. Besides, he had always been personally attached to it, as it was one of the very few times where he could see his mom, which used to spoil him in whatever way she could

-He goes to Church either very early on Christmas Morning, while everyone is still asleep, or at exactly midnight between the 24th and the 25th. Most of the people that go at times like these are old grannies, but Bruno doesn't care, he thinks it's cute actually ^^

-As he was raised in a relatively humble environment, having the chance to celebrate Christmas in quite the...Extravagant way, after joining Passione, almost felt out of place for him

-That doesn't mean, however, that he doesn't care about the 'materialistic' part of the Festivity, because he sees it as a way to rest his head for a while and spend some quality time with the ones he cares about

-His role as the mom of the group is also remarkably present during the preparations. Bruno is the one that mostly takes care of cooking for everyone, and he enjoys it a lot! His favourite part is preparing sweets of any kind, because they allow him to experiment a lot and always try new recipes

-Every member of the gang has to participate in one way or another to the preparations, and Bruno is the one that coordinates the whole thing

-Bucciarati always gets everyone the best presents. He starts thinking about what to get for them a month before the others, so that he never finds himself in a rush and can take all the time he needs to find the perfect gift

-He also LOVES making and receiving hand-made presents, he can feel all the effort and love that was put into them, and it just feels more thoughtful than something that was bought, no matter how expensive it may have been

-Bruno is that sort of person that prefers to spend Christmas without doing anything particularly exciting, just enjoying the calm and warm atmosphere that fills the house

-However, Bucciarati also loves to go for a long walk down the streets, admiring the lights all around the town, bringing along anyone in the gang that wishes to join him

Mista! 🔫

-While the manga states that Mista believes in a 'God', I don't think he believes in Jesus, Holy Mary, and the rest. He used to go to Church when he was little, but mostly because his parents forced him to, he didn't actually care

-Because of this, he sees Christmas as a materialistic Festivity, but that doesn't mean he's not excited for it. He thinks that it's the perfect excuse for everyone to just chill for a little while and have fun

-Unlike Bruno and Giorno, who prefer to just relax at home without doing anything that requires a lot of energy, Mista is always looking forward to something exiting to do during this time of the year

-Do you want an example? Ice skating! This boy is incredibly good at skating, and he constantly flexes on the entire gang how good he is

-He's that type of person that forgets to buy presents for the gang, and only remembers at the last minute. He's lost count of how many times he had to fight with another costumer because they wanted to buy the same thing, and there was only one left

-Once, a dude was so insistent that he had to pull out his gun to scare him away. Guess what? It worked. Nobody in that shop ever dared to argue with him again

-"Get your damn hands off this videogame, I have a seventeen years old little brother that won't talk to me for two weeks if I don't buy this for him!"

-Aside from getting gifts for Narancia, Trish and the rest, he also gives something to each one of the sex pistols. It's mostly food, but they don't really seem to mind

-Even in this time of the year, Mista is still hot. While everyone is wearing sweaters, long trousers and coats, this madman is still wearing shorts. Trish constantly complains about it, saying that he's going to catch a bad cold, if not worse, if he keeps on dressing like this. He never actually listens to her though

-Like I mentioned early, everyone in the gang has to take care of the preparations in different ways. Mista, together with Fugo, has to buy all the ingredients Bruno needs. It may seem like an easy task, but it isn't; friendly reminder that they have to buy enough stuff for seven people, most of them with very different tastes

-He often gets fed up with waiting in line, and just takes everything he needs and leave without paying. Nobody has the courage to complain, they know better than messing around with a guy like that

-He will most likely steal some of Abbacchio's wine and get drunk. He usually doesn't like alcohol very much, but damn does Abba have good taste in wines

Narancia! 🍊

-You won't find anyone that loves Christmas more than this cute little bundle of sunshine!

-His mother always loved Christmas, and wanted her child to appreciate this Festivity as much as her. Since his parents weren't particularly rich, he always celebrated in a relatively simple way, but his mamma always managed to find a way to make every Christmas different and unique. His father never complained about Mela's excitement, but he barely ever participated in whatever the two of them were organizing. Still, Nari didn't mind, the woman's excitement and joy were successfully passed to her kid

-After she died, for a couple of years, he stopped celebrating Christmas. Not because he didn't want to, he just...Couldn't. His father and him were strangers at this point, and his 'friends' didn't care about it either, they actually thought that it was a stupid thing

-When he finally had the chance to celebrate again after joining Passione, Narancia swore that he wouldn't have let anything, and I say ANYTHING, stop him from enjoying every moment of this Holiday ever again

-Since there are a couple of 'Grinches' in the house, Narancia thinks it's his duty to cheer everyone up, showing them why he loves Christmas so much

-"Nobody's gonna be left out, nope, not on my watch! We're all gonna have a great time, whether you want it or not!"

-Nari already starts to get exited for this Festivity in the moment November arrives, there's nothing he looks forward to more, not even his birthday

-When Bruno finally mentions that it's time to start organizing everything, Narancia jumps from his seat, and it's one of the very few occasions where he listens carefully without spacing out

-Just like Giorno, this baby boy loves decorating the house, they make an awesome team together!

-"Giorno! Look look look...You gotta see this!" "What is it, Narancia?" "THIS SNOW GLOBE! ISN'T IT JUST SOOOOOOOO CUTE?" -"Hehe...I suppose so"

-You may think that, similar to Mista, he forgets to buy presents, but that's not the case! Narancia wants to surprise the entire gang with his awesome gifts, and when they think he can't find anything better...Boom! He slaps an even more amazing present in their faces (not literally, of course)

-Even though he can't cook, he's more than willing to help Bruno with decorating the sweets, filling them with frosting, cream, small fruits, chocolate chips...Anything Bucciarati says he can use, really

-He also loves to go admiring the lights with the latter, always pointing out everything he sees

-"GAAAAASP...AN ENTIRE TREE MADE OF LIGHTS? AM I DREAMING?" "I'd say it's real, would you like to take a picture next to it?" "Yes, please!"

-Every year he wishes for the city to finally be covered in snow, but sadly, when you live in a hot country like Italy, that's most likely going to remain a fantasy

-He really likes wearing those oversized, horrible Christmas-themed sweaters, and genuinely thinks they're cute. He hopes for someone to wear them with him, but nobody ever seems to accept

-He tried convincing Fugo once, it uhm...Didn't go too well. But one of these years, he's going to get Giorno to wear one, he's sure of it!

-Nari still believes in Santa, and Bruno will personally ari the crap out of anyone who dares to tell him that he's not real. He leaves some cookies and milk in front of the tree in the living room, saying that he's going to stay awake the entire night to finally see him. He always ends up falling asleep...So one of the members of the gang has to carry him over to bed

-During Christmas lunch, he will 100% sure overeat, to the point where he can barely stand up from the chair, but still denying verything and acting like his stomach isn't about to explode

Fugo! 🍓

-Similar to Giorno, Fugo doesn't have any particular happy memories of Christmas from his childhood

-His entire family used to reunite to celebrate together. At first sight, it seemed like nothing was wrong: everyone was having fun with their loved ones, but for Fugo...It just felt so fake

-He knew that in the moment his relatives left, his parents would have gone back to their strict and distant behavior. Even during this time of the year, they still pressured him, just in a softer way. They wouldn't let him rest until he finished all the homework his teachers gave for Christmas Holidays, they wouldn't let him play with his other cousins, saying that he was too mature, and the list went on

-The only thing that comforted him was his grandmother, whom the rest of the family only invited for pity. She was the only one that would actually give Fugo something a child would genuinely like, like a puzzle or a plushie

-He was the first member to join Bucciarati's squad, so I'm guessing that they must have spent one Christmas together, just the two of them

-At first, the blonde tried to convince Bruno to just leave him alone, inviting him to celebrate with his relatives, saying that he would have been okay on his own

-Obviously, a good mom would never leave his child, so he declined his propose. For some reason...The man's behavior reminded Fugo a lot of his grandmother, and that was the first Christmas this Strawberry boy cherished in his heart

-While they mostly kept it to something simple, when the others arrived things started to get more and more loud, especially with Narancia

-Even though he would rather just spend the day relaxing at home with something warm to drink, he always ends up being dragged into whatever Nari and Mista are planning on doing. He fell like...10 times when they went ice skating together

-Fugo still acts kinda moody towards this time of the year, as his pride is too high for him to admit that he likes something so 'sentimental'

-He's also super done with having to go shopping with Mista to buy groceries, but he has to help in one way or another

-"Alright...Mista, Fugo, you two will buy all the ingredients I'm going to need"

"Urgh...It's cold outside, and I don't want to wait in line...Do I really have to?"

"Oh? Would you rather setting up the decorations with Giorno and Narancia?"

Cut to Nari already covered in lights while giggling like a kid

"...Just give me the list already"

"Wow, rude"

-Speaking of which, Fugo's immune system is not uhm...The best, and this means that he's always super scared of catching a cold in this period. While he doesn't show it, it'd pain him a lot to ruin everyone else's fun with his sickness

-He constantly wears super heavy clothes, even when they're at home, with all the windows closed and the wood burning in the fire place

-He always looks like a potato sack in the photos, but that doesn't really bother him a lot

-He isn't very good when it comes to making presents. He tries, and remembers to buy them on time, but he's not a particularly creative boy. He's that kind of person that would mostly just buy clothes or relatively 'simple' things, not that I can really blame him...That's pretty much all he received when he was a child

Abbacchio! ⏮️

-Oh boy...OH BOY! The Grinch himself, the Christmas hunter, the gloomy Lord in person

-I like to think that Abbacchio was one of the very few very people in the gang that actually grew up with a loving family, so he was more than happy to celebrate Christmas when he was a child

-One year, his parents gave him a police officer hat as a present, and he refused to take it off for days, even though it was obviously too big for him

-This means that unlike Giorno and Fugo, whose reason for disliking Christmas goes back to this childhood, his hate towards it is much more recent and somewhat less 'justified'

-After the loss of his colleague, he became apathetic to almost everything around him, and this Holiday was not spared. It was quite the opposite, to be honest

-He can't stand the whole cheerful and happy atmosphere, he thinks it's suffocating and makes him sick. Plus, "having a bunch of brats jumping up and down, singing lame carols and decorating the house like it's some birthday party" doesn't help

-Despite Narancia's efforts, the only one who can really get him out of this mood (pun intended) is Bucciarati

-"Just stop it already, Bruno. Go have fun with the children, how many times do I have to tell you that I don't care about any of this?"

-"And how many times do I have to tell you that you're not going to get rid of me that easily?"

-"...Whatever"

-Honestly, what he likes the most about this festivity is that he has an excuse for getting drunk af without anyone complaining. He takes the fanciest and most expensive bottle of wine he has and drinks all of it in less than 10 minutes

-The gang even bets money on how long it's going to take him to finish the whole thing, either Mista or Narancia usually win, since the others tend to underestimate Abbacchio's alcoholic "abilities"

-He puts minimal effort, mostly just because he's forced to, in buying presents for the squad. He's also super biased and obviously plays favourites, even though he would never admit it

-He'd buy something super special for Bruno, try a bit harder to pick up something for Narancia and Trish and take the first thing he sees for Fugo and Mista. As for Giorno...He literally just buys some coal, writes 'Buon Natale' on a piece of paper and slaps it on the carbon

-He has a relatively simple job regarding the preparations for Holiday time, which is...

-"Very well, Abbacchio...You have to pick up the tree from the basement and bring it to the living room"

"Why me? That thing is so fu***ng heavy"

"Exactly, do you want somebody else to lift it up and break their spine? I'd rather not spend Christmas night at the hospital"

-"Sigh...Alright, just because YOU ask"

-Slowly, but surely, he's learning to love Christmas again, though he will still keep on acting grumpy and complain every time he has the chance to

Trish! 🎙

-This girl is ready to brighten up all the festivities! When it's time to have fun, Trish doesn't hesitate even for a moment!

-Similar to Narancia and Bruno, her mother couldn't afford anything super expensive or exciting during this time of the year (taking care of a child on your own is no easy job), but Trish never dared to complain. She was aware of the sacrifices her mother was making to make sure that her child had everything she needed, she wouldn't have thrown a tantrum for something superficial

-Donatella would always give her a new doll as a present, and she would play with it for entire hours without getting tired. Her favourite one was, of course, a blonde doll dressed up as a pop star

-Just like her daughter, she was extraordinarily good when it came to choosing what to wear, which means that when Trish entered her 'teen phase', the woman would gift her a dress instead. Needless to say, the girl loved it every time!

-Speaking of which, after becoming part of the gang, her favourite "Christmas activity", if it counts, was going shopping! I mean...Do you think a person like her would miss out on the Sales? Please

-She doesn't like going on his own though, and brings along somebody with her. That 'somebody's ends up being Mista most of the times, which is literally just DRAGGED out of his room to the shopping centre

-Trish is that sort of person (I mean...I don't know if that's a thing in other countries, but it's pretty much a meme here in Italy) who insists that she's on a diet even during the Holiday season, but every single time someone offers something to eat, she replies with "Whatever, I'll just start next week" or "I'll start after New Year".

-Before she knows, it's the 8th of January and she hasn't been on a diet even for a day.

-One day, she'd like to travel around the world and see how they celebrate this Festivity in other countries. As you can already tell, she valued the materialistic part of Christmas than the 'spiritual' one, and she knows that in a lot of places it isn't considered a religious Holiday in the first place

-One thing she dislikes is how she's forced to wear super heavy and long clothes, she hates them and insists that they make her look fat (which is absolutely not true)

-She LOVES taking pictures of everything! Food? Yes. Decorations? Yes. Gifts? Yes. Just photos in general where the seven of them are together? Y E S!

-Some of them try to run away when they realize that Trish is about to start a freaking photoshoot, but their struggles are always vain, especially since she has Bruno's support

-"Come oooooon, just one last picture!" "Trish, for the love of God, the lasagna is getting cold" "So what? Microwaves exist for a reason" "We are NOT going to ruin all this food by putting it in the Microwave!"

-Being the singer of the group, she takes any opportunity she has to sing a Christmas-themed song, both Carols and modern/pop songs like 'All I want for Christmas'. Half of the times she doesn't even understand the lyrics, but that's not going to stop her for sure

-She definitely doesn't forget to buy presents for the others. After she goes shopping so much, how could she? Most people think it's lame to receive a clothes as a present, but we're taking about Trish here!

-She knows very well how every member likes to dress, and she surely doesn't have problems with her budget. She will pick something for each one of her companions even better than what they would take for themselves

-Lastly, her 'task' is to decorate the tree, which is one of the longest assignments that also require a lot of attention and precision. Why, you may ask? Because that thing is freaking huge, that's why. Giorno and Narancia will probably help her out once they're done with their own decorations, the three of them have a lot of fun together!

[balkanradfem]

Winter garden food

The sun is born anew, and the new gardening season is close; I'm already getting ready to plant some early tomato varieties, even though there's hardly enough light. In the meantime, I discovered a cool new winter crop! Let me tell a story about it.

I was helping the plant lady dig out and re-plant berry bushes, she has this field where she grows lots of berries, and she was neglecting it for the last year so it got pretty wild. While scouring it, we found some kind of tall, dried flower stalks, and she recognizes it as a 'Jerusalem artichoke'. I don't even know what that is, but she pulls the stalks out and we find a full bag of little tubers that look like ginger! She gave them all to me, and told me I can eat them raw, and I'm super excited because, it's a new thing I've never tried, it was growing in completely wild environment, with zero effort, it must have re-planted itself! And it's possible to harvest it fresh in winter. Now thats a cool crop to have growing!

At home I reserached them and found out they're a type of sunflower that grows tubers, very cool, and they can be eaten raw and cooked. I tried grating one and eating it raw; it tastes sweet, but also, wrong, because the taste is excatly inbetween an apple and a raw potato. It doesn't seem like there should be something inbetween an apple and potato; yet here we are. I didn't like any of the online recipes, so I proceeded with the easiest thing I know. I pan fried some.

It only took two times of eating it that way for me to get used to it, it's so good! I decided I adore them and will absolutely grow some in the future, plant lady warned me 'I wont be able to get rid of them once planted' and as a person looking for a winter food source, sounds perfect. Sustainable wild food is what I'm all about.

Another story I want to tell is about carrots, it's a 'I do everything I've been told not to do, and succeed' so it's very pleasurable for me to speak it. I've been stubborn in my decision to collect my own seed from everything, and all other gardeners told me not to bother with carrots, and 'just buy the seed'. Instead, I had a carrot go to seed, even tho it takes 2 years, I managed, and collected just a huge amount of seed, like a full box. I was then told 'it wouldn't germinate' and I tested that, and it germinated within 5 days. Store-bought carrot seed takes 11-16 days to germinate. So I'm feeling super smug, but then I get told, that it's actually impossible for these to be good carrots, because all carrots in the garden inevitably cross-pollinate with wild carrots, and aren't edible as a result. Now this actually got me anxious, I knew the carrot whose seeds I took was already a hybrid, if it also cross-polinated, it could end up.. small and tasteless. And maybe the insane germination rate was because it was now a wild carrot?

But, I leave it growing, hell if we got this far, I'm going to try that goddamn carrot. I only got the seed late in the fall, and even tho I planted it immediately, it didn't have time to grow, so they're all very small and I'd have to wait until spring to actually grow a decent one. But today, I was in the garden looking for some roots for a soup, and I decided to take a few tiny carrots, just to see if they're good.

They've mysteriously grown into white carrots, even tho the original carrot I took seeds from was orange. Wild carrots are also white, so thats a bad omen. But, there was a possibility the original hybrid was made from a white and an orange carrot, and white genes prevailed. I keep that hope in mind and go home, wash my little carrots, and put them aside for soup making. When it was their turn to be cut, I grab one and bite into it.

And I'm completely stunned. It was sweet like SUGAR. I immediately stuffed the entire carrot in my mouth, because I was eating actual carrot candy, I have never in my life tasted a carrot so delicious or so sweet, I had to put in effort not to swallow them all so that some got to be in the soup. It might be because it's been growing in the winter but I don't believe for a second that this could be inedible carrot at any season. It's literally the best carrot.

So... my ego took a big rise out of this, not only I get to rub this in everyone's face but I also have a big box of seed that makes crazy tasty white carrots, and they germinate faster than store-bought and in better rates. Capitalism took a hit today... I will not be buying carrot seeds.

[whereflowersbloom]

Alfred’s farewell

The sky had begun gloomy since even before the sun had the chance to rise. Mist was overshadowing the city of Gotham, and drops of dew are still littering every surface. The birds were unusually quiet, nestling safely under the warmth of their nest. A large group of grey clouds lingering above the place, promising unpleasant weather to deal with later on. Lighting crackled in the grey sky and snatched away any hope of a golden day. Only songs of sadness spread around, feeling the sorrow taking place. Even the world is holding its breath and everything is still, the earth seemed to be mourning as well the unexpected loss. The atmosphere was exceptionally dark and lifeless, each face filled with silent and bitter grief and regret. Tears do not fall, there’s a blackhole forming in place of his heart. This date…this date would be burned into his soul for the rest of his existence, it would be a permanent reminder to himself of how foolish he was, how everything…could change in matter of seconds. Seconds only a few more seconds would have made the difference. The tree that was once full of life, the one Alfred looked after kindly, because he planted it himself after coming to work for Thomas and Martha Wayne, was now barren as the weather grew colder and the icy wind blew the leaves away.

There’s people gathering, familiar faces and unknown ones. The solemn mode had settled between them, and soon the ceremony comes to an end. It’s time to say farewell.

Will I always, from now on, be this cold? Was Pennyworth really gone? He didn’t dare to pronounce his name. He discerned the sounds of footsteps slowly fading away and all that was heard afterwards was the thud of knees hitting the ground. Grayson. Even Dick was so lost and crushed, the man who always looked so high-spirited and brave, so even-tempered and filled with honor, seemed so weak now.

“Alfred, I am so sorry…” Richard whispered with a low-pitched and desperate sob as he caressed the stone with his trembling hand. His face, marred for life, had an even more painful expression plastered on his face as tears started to fall slowly onto the dirt. But it’s not your fault. Damian wanted to let him know. He wasn’t there to stop it. Unlike you his mind whispered.

Jason Todd remained silent. Todd had always been quick to emotion in general, to tears when someone else was sad, to contagious laughter when their siblings were smiling, quick-tempered, choleric when provoked. Surprisingly an empathetic sensitive soul, spent many years alone, hungry for tenderness and familial ties. And yet he was wearing an expressionless mask, but his body betrayed his affliction, shaking so badly that Tim had to grasp tightly at his arms to prevent him from going down. Drake. Tim was clearly having so much invisible burden on his shoulders. His curved jaw clenching tight, and his dark blue eyes cast downwards and unblinking. He didn’t have his daily cup of black coffee. No, he didn’t have a single drop of his precious caffeine today. He kept his head low the entire ceremony, maybe he didn’t have the heart to look up at the crying mess everyone was. Perhaps he thought somebody had to tough it out, specially considering Father’s absence.

Stephanie standing close to him, blonde curls dancing with the autumn wind, biting her lips the entire time. Stephanie who tried to be strong and now, after holding in for too long, the tears break out like a leaking dam. She was devastated and weeped openly, clinging to Tim’s coat as if her life depended on it, as if she were drowning, the sight made the hole in Damian’s chest squeeze around his heart. Guilt. Distress.

Cassandra was hardly moving from her spot. She had a deep crease on her brow, and face as hard as rock. She hugged herself in the arms, shielding her frame from the icy wind, when Duke swiftly placed his Armani cashmere coat on her shoulders, her hands were going cold, and the moment Duke noticed the way she shivers with small movements. He considerately held them between his, providing temporary warmth, trying to find some kind of comfort in each other, but Cassandra avoided making eye contact with anyone, her mind was really blank as a void. Possibly still attempting to process the reality. Duke Thomas, the only one that hasn’t lost his mind amid this consequent emotional instability, drops of tears still hanging from the corner of his eyes, while the rests were slowly drying on his cheeks. Damian wasn’t exactly close to Duke but he wondered how he managed to carry on. Where did he find the strength to persist? Damian walked closer to the tombstone, feeling resignation seep into his bones.

Alfred Thaddeus Crane Pennyworth, beloved father, grandfather, mentor, friend, heroic veteran, a talented cook, a man of family, with a great big heart. Alfred Pennyworth had been a man with many facets. He brought balance to this dysfunctional family, he was the peace and voice of reason. Alfred who made Dick stay in bed when he was badly injured and encouraged him to eat proper meals, lectured Jason for his vulgar language, introduced Jason into the culinary arts, trusting him with the top secret Pennyworth recipes, who secretly switched Tim’s coffee for decaffeinated when he had too much, who prepared Stephanie waffles after a night out patrolling, didn’t say a word of the nights she sneaked out with Kara, who enjoyed the company of Cassandra lurking around the manor, when she’s having a bad day he used to watch the stars with her, listening to Cass make up stories about each star, Alfred who never had to fix anything Duke broke because Thomas instantly apologized and offered to fix it himself, Alfred that found intriguing sudden Duke’s interest in gardening. Alfred... who who spend each and every Damian’s birthdays with him ‘every birthday is special and must be celebrated Master Damian’, gifted him a cat because it made him think of him, offered him a cup of hot chocolate or tea sleepless nights. Alfred, who told him he was proud of him. Alfred, who raised him and loved him wholeheartedly until his last breath.

Damian ran his hand down a large polished stone, ‘Wayne’ carved into it expertly. He sighed wearily and stood beside a gravestone, right next to the family stone, he absentmindedly ran his fingertips along the engraved letters.

‘Alfred Thaddeus Crane Pennyworth’

August 16, 1943

-

October 10, 2019

‘The light of our household is gone. Leaving only haunting echoes lingering in this home. A place is vacant in our hearts, which will never be filled.’

It was indeed fitting. Their light was Alfred and he was gone for good. For good the words echoed in his head like an incessant prayer. He felt a pang of pain surge through him as he recalled his last moments with the man who raised him. It felt as if his life was torn apart just yesterday.

‘I miss him already.’ Cassandra gestured in sign language, a single tear rolling down her cheeks. Damian didn’t know if she was saying it to him or his siblings, maybe she just wished to get the weight off her chest, when he didn’t think it could, his heart broke even more.

“Fuck.” Jason swore with pained voice, his turquoise eyes blurring with angry tears that he wiped away roughly. Not particularly at his siblings but himself. For not being able to protect the man who offered a ray of kindness to him, who nurtured his severely malnourished body to health. He didn’t blame Bruce or the others. He was supposed to be better, strong enough to defend his father. Dick was a fucking mess in the dirt,embracing the tombstone with all his strength, like it would somehow bring the dead man back to life. Steph wouldn’t stop crying. Tim was silently punishing himself in his own way, and Cass had been in a mental limbo until a a minute ago. Bruce wouldn’t leave his room for Pete’s sake. He isolated himself from everything and everyone, he simply existed in his bedroom. Not surprised. He should be here, saying goodbye to Alfred, who dedicate his entire life to help him, instead of retreating to a dark room and lying in bed, brooding over his problems. Damian. Damian was so young, he looked like hell, devastated as everyone else. Jason could detect the shadow of regret in his green eyes. He’s seen it before because he experienced it and he saw it every day in Bruce’s eyes. But at least Damian was here, dealing with the crude reality and his anguish.

It felt unreal, like this was only a horrible slow-motion nightmare and they would wake up any minute, a sharp knife that bore a hole through their hearts yet they kept on standing still.

Perhaps it was time to fulfill Alfred’s wishes. He wanted Bruce to set his thirst for justice aside and find happiness, maybe a companion, spend quality time with the children, who clearly weren’t children anymore. The youngest being Damian, who just turned fifteen a couple of months ago. He wanted Richard to start a family of his own with Barbara. He wanted Jason to come back home and stop fighting with a Bruce. He wanted a Tim to seek professional help, see a counselor, quit drinking that damned coffee in excess. Stephanie to stop denying her feelings for Tim and give their relationship a chance. Cassandra constantly suppressing her emotions, fearing to get attached, she was human not a machine trained to commit murder when ordered. Duke should leave behind any doubts to forge his own path and accept he was loved by their family. Damian who Alfred loved like his own grandchild, no matter what he did or what type of person he decided to become, Alfred would always be proud of Damian. ‘In the end, you makes you. No one else, Master Damian.’

“How are you holding up, shortstack?” Jason asked him unexpectedly, snapping out of it, he didn’t know how long his mind had been replaying fond memories with Alfred, he felt the weight of Jason’s hand falling on his shoulder, wearing a genuinely concerned expression.

A cold wind passed by, gracing the leaves and making some brief sounds. The wind leaving with a trail in the form of chilly, close to freezing air. Damian weighted the question in his head. There was only ever-growing emptiness in his chest. After a long moment he spoke.

“I will live.” Damian answered softly, eyes completely fixed on the stone. “I’ll miss him, too...brother.” The young Robin unreservedly confessed, Jason looked slightly taken aback at the words Damian muttered. Damian’s emotions were expressed with snarky comments, throwing daggers and knives, making deadly threats and intimidating stares. He had an aggressive and confrontational demeanor. Damian has never called Jason brother, but it made his lips curl into a small smile. Yes, he was his brother.

Damian was vaguely aware of Jason’s body heat now at his side, followed by Richard who was helped by Tim to stand up, his chest sore from sobbing, black suit covered in dirt but he didn’t seem to care. Meaningless material assets, nothing compared to the irreparable loss they suffered hours ago. Steph took a couple of steps closer to them, her eyes, twins pools of sadness, red and swollen, soon the Wayne siblings gathered around their youngest brother. Embracing tightly the teenager into a group hug.

They shared the same deep numbing pain, but it's more agonizing for Damian because he had been there when it happened, they all knew Damian was suffering so much. The feeling ate him inside, consuming and breaking every part of him miserably. But he isn’t alone anymore, he has his family with him. Damian’s tears are hot and travel down his tanned cheeks, he didn’t want to cry but he couldn’t hold it in any longer, the heartache, the loss, agony, guilt, everything was hitting him all at once. It hurt so much knowing full well that Alfred won't wake up ever again from this neverending deep sleep, buried under the ground lonely and cold and breathless. His grandfather.

It'll be just the the eight of them and it is frightening to accept the truth, that Alfred wouldn’t be around anymore to look after them like he did after all these years. Ever since he first set foot in the Wayne manor. He would me missed every single day. Rchard’s heart broke at the sight of Damian in such crumbling state, his characteristic composure fallen and so alien after living together so many years. Damian was broken too. Dick did the only thing he could think of, patted him affectionately on the back, rubbing it soothingly, mumbling quietly “We are here, Dami.” Letting him know they were all there for him in every possible way. They would try to carry our Alfred’s last wish, for them to get along, integrate, be an harmonious family. Be true siblings. Always Alfred’s children. Together they sang farewell to Alfred with broken chords.

I am not sure if I want to edit this later but here s the progress. I might add Bruce’s part later or tomorrow. My tribute to Alfred 💜❤️❤️❤️

@sofiii @chromium7sky @deep-in-mind67

[concrete-paver-molds-blog]

How To Minimize Concrete Paver Molds On A Winding Path

This could be an important factor to assume about since you're considering of doing the project slightly bit at a time. I even have that very same mould and used it for a sidewalk years in the past. I have a 16x16 foot deck at our present house and used the mould for a sidewalk on two sides. It has held up good aside from the filler between the stones concrete paver molds.

Use a leftover scrap to make a single mold, or buy a benderboard roll and make a quantity of molds at once. Benderboard is often overlapped and secured with screws, however this will depart an impression within the paver, so you'll find a way to simply tape the ends collectively. First brush inner mildew surface with mould launch, making use of with a cheap paintbrush. Remove excess oil with a paper towel or dry paintbrush. Next, measure out dry concrete or mortar mix in a wheelbarrow or utility tub.

While you'll have the ability to definitely choose interesting and beautiful ready-made concrete pavers, making your personal provides a inventive dimension that appeals to many gardeners. Install a paver patio or walkway to add both visual attraction and performance to your landscaping. Pavers assist define a garden’s type while also bettering entry to it and including outdoor dwelling area. Ready-made pavers, although, may be cost-prohibitive for many concrete paver molds homeowners.

Many people are turning to paver molds to create floors for patio areas. Rather than fussing with laying large blocks of stone, they're using the molds to make beautiful patterned areas for out of doors entertaining. In at present's world of big box home and garden stores and smaller specialty backyard centers, you might surprise why utilizing a mold to make concrete pavers is better than buying ready-made pavers. Find a flat, level place on the bottom or a piece of plywood the place you'll find a way to lay your type once it is able to obtain the moist concrete. Pour 2-3 inches of sand on the flat spot, and degree the sand.

If you employ the best concrete paver molds recipe, it can be as sturdy as cement, and quite a bit cheaper; in my case, I basically mixed cement with the clay I dug out of my yard. Bend the benderboard items to form a circle with the two ends butted towards each other. Follow the pure curve because of the board being in a roll.

You additionally could have plenty of time to regulate the color as you're working on them. You don’t need to end up having to buy expensive stains or dyes, together with etching products and sealants, to appropriate the colour if the color isn’t what you have been going for. Let these take a look at items remedy a minimum of three days -a week is better. You don’t need to use your vinyl straps, just plop your wet combination onto the ground where your stones will go and make them into any shape. Just bear in mind that when the cement is wet, it appears quite darkish, however will cure to quite a light-weight shade of gray that nearly appears white. With my vinyl straps, I was limited to creating solely three molds at a time.

Return tackle isn't the company address on Jaxpety web site. Our customer service will provide you a return handle after return approved. All NON-seller mistake returns for refund are subject to 10% re-stocking payment and purchaser will be liable for the return shipping charge. We need you to be utterly satisfied together with your buy on Wish. Return all products inside 30 days of delivery if they don't seem to be as a lot as your satisfaction. According to the structural design of the concrete ditch, there are notches on the 2 ends of the facet to facilitate the inspection of the ditch blockage.

Concrete Success options all kinds of mould shapes to create interlocking patio stones as well as stones for backyard paths. With so many molds to choose from, you're certain to search out one that matches your backyard. Since including stones and pavers takes time and effort, and the results aren't easily moved once they're put in, take your time to select the right look and feel on your backyard. Be positive the concrete is filled to the top of the shape and is leveled and smoothed.

Mainly prefabricated concrete edge blocks for urban roads. If you do find yourself with leaf stains, a stress washer and some OxiClean, or maybe tsp will help remove them. You need a mix that permits for the biggest dimension stone you propose to make and can meet the thickness you need. Otherwise, good ole fashioned hand mixing with a hoe and extensive bin will work. Here are two different fun tutorials where I used concrete to make a stone formed planter and in addition to make a rock shaped planter. I had my concrete covered because it was the height of pollen season and I didn’t need the yellow pollen staining the stones.

I think you'd be better off with sand or screenings between them rather than mortar unless you'll have the ability to put a concrete base underneath the pavers, you then could be OK with mortar between them. A couple of things I wish to point out earlier than I get onto my question. The first is that the mildew creates particular person stones, this isn't a stamp. Once the mold is removed, they are utterly separated pieces. The mortar is swept in dry, then sprayed with water to create a bond between all the blocks / stones. The second thing is that the finished cement is 2 inches thick.

At my customer's insistance, I did a flagstone patio dry laid on a tamped mattress of stone over fabric & upper layer of screenings. We did everything we may to roll water off the patio. We used mortar joints between the flagstones and so they popped some joints. The key's to make sure you begin with good, quality molds and that you combine constant batches of concrete.

I truly have 225sqft I'm going to be putting in pavers on so roughly $500 or so for normal formed pavers. My spouse is wanting different designs so if this methodology is cheaper it might be a good route. In common, customers are extremely glad with the functionality and usefulness of the Pathmate random stone mould.

The very first thing you have to determine is whether the "completely different designs" your wife needs may be satisfied through the use of molds, or by alternating the design of pavers . Also understand that the finished molded concrete pavers will crack (ideally alongside their "grout" traces, which isn't an issue), and can respond to frost heave less properly than pavers. Spray the inside of the paver mould with nonstick cooking spray to make it easy to release the concrete.

Concrete Countertop Molds And Edge Molds

As well, you should spray down the stroll maker form after each couple of uses- this helps it launch easier. Wash the Poly PVA Solution off the unique stepping stone mannequin with water after which place the original stepping stone and reproduced stepping stones into the walkway. Apply Pol-Ease® 2300 Release Agent to the stepping stone, mold box walls and mildew box bottom board after which brush it out with a dry brush to encourage even coverage. We left zero.75″ of house between the stepping stone and mold field walls to create 0.75″ thick mildew walls. Some gardeners may be intimidated on the thought of making their own concrete pavers. If you might make a cake, you can even make concrete pavers and stepping stones.

If you have a very porous mannequin, like the one on this tutorial, you might have to use more than one coat of Poly PVA Solution. We applied two coats of this sealer, waiting for it to dry (~ 1 hour) in between coats and earlier than moving on to the following steps. Select essentially the most intact stepping stone from the walkway.

There are extra choices than you assume in relation to the molds needed to type stepping stones.

The best part is that once the pavers are laid and vibrated in, the project is done and usable IMMEDIATELY.

This helps to take away any air bubbles that could show up within the stone.

Since I'm in no rush and have loads of time I want to hear from someone who has really tried this technique earlier than.

Dampen the Sand Mix with a nice mist of water (do not over-wet).

If you have the actual DIY spirit, or are simply looking to save money in your next hardscaping project, contemplate making your own concrete pavers. A reference value is offered by the vendor of the merchandise . Percentage off and savings quantities are based on the vendor's reference worth. The reference value can give you a sign of the value of the product butsome shops may sell the merchandise for lower than the reference worth. If you feel a reference price is inaccurate or deceptive please report it with the URL for the itemizing to report-

My concern with massive concrete slabs is the 10x10 that is already there has cracked in several locations and just does not look good. The identical settling in a paver setup could make them slightly off degree in a certain spot, but that is much easier to treatment and look good than a cracked slab. Home made high quality control might attain the extent of crappy 2x2 slabs however not of commercially produced patio/driveway pavers. An interesting aspect observe, was talking to my brother yesterday and talked about I was thinking of getting slightly concrete mixer. He bought a garage and it has a industrial concrete mixer in it with a new electric motor.

Our concrete molds are designed to final, and you must use one p ath maker many occasions. The only cause why one could contemplate shopping for another concrete p ath mould is to make the process even quicker. You could fill in the second brick paver mildew while the primary one is getting dry. But for some purpose, when I made these concrete stepping stones, I didn’t suppose the colour of the pavers would turn out gentle -like the bowl in my exams did. Make natural looking DIY concrete stepping stones or pavers. Color the concrete and mould it into the form of real fieldstones or flagstones.

We actually have 1000's of great products in all product categories. Whether you’re in search of high-end labels or low-cost, economic system bulk purchases, we assure that it’s here on AliExpress. Each order comes with easy to use mold instructions to create ornamental wanting ornamental pieces for your house or garden. • Avoid vigorous tapping when eradicating air bubbles; this can trigger cracks within the plastic. Should a crack develop in the mildew, fill it with epoxy or Bondo, found at any ironmongery store. Apply these adhesives to the outer surface of the mildew.

How To Minimize Pavers On A Winding Path

The Pathmate Paving Stone Mold offers an ideal method to mildew a walkway in a yard with pace and effectivity. It's constructed of a plastic materials that is out there in black shade. This paving stone mildew features varied shapes and sizes so you could get creative along with your pavers. It may additionally be reused after cleansing so you can make as many as you need. This concrete paver mold allows you to design your own path with numerous colors and designs.

Add any desired imprints or elaborations, corresponding to mosaic tile, immediately before the floor begins to set. Using a hose and spray nozzle, clean the concrete residue off the mould earlier than it dries if you finish up finished using it. Gradually add water to the concrete mix based on the directions on the package deal. Stir the water into the concrete with the hoe as you go.

All of the center sections can be accomplished as fast as you can drop them into place. You can estimate approx $2.50/sq ft for the finishing supplies and somewhat bit extra for the gravel/base mix and a few sand to prime it off. The best part is that once the pavers are laid and vibrated in, the project is finished and usable IMMEDIATELY. It is easily repairable and may easily assist automobile and truck traffic. Again, the price just isn't as much as you would suppose becase the pavers are fashioned from very high energy concrete and colored through. To duplicate this, you would wish to buy the most costly type of bagged mix and if you have not priced the dye/coloring combine, you might be in for a suprise.

I can color the concrete to my likening and I get to work at my own tempo and budget. A couple pics of another person's work may be discovered right here and here. Since I did most of this project by myself, I discovered it was best to go combine one other batch and arrange the following mold, pour it and frivolously stage it. This technique made it straightforward to see that I would have a mixture of 5 giant stones and a number of other small stones – again, which if combined, would make 9 giant stepping stones. Also, many people wish to make ornamental stepping stones like garden mosaic stepping stones. They are usually made by including mosaic glass or different embeddable materials into the concrete.

I'm seeking to put a garden shed on some this summer time. Seem like most the stuff I discover on there is leftovers. 225sqft doesn't sound like a lot but if you break it down by pieces I would wish over x8 pavers or x12 pavers.