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mdzs-owns-my-ass-i-guess · 5 months ago

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Nothing in the world belongs to me (but my love, mine, all mine)

This started off as a silly conversation I had with @yuzanrath on Discord and now it's a whole thing.

Part 2 might be a bit (a lot) nsfw

For now, there's angst.

Enjoy!

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From the day she learned that her son had locked Wei Wuxian out of his room after Jiang Fengmian had seemingly offered the new arrival more attention, Madam Yu decided Wei Wuxian was to move in to a room of his own. A favor, one might think, giving the orphan boy a place of his own in the Jiang family compound and, perhaps, even in the family itself.

However, that had been far from the truth. After all, Madam Yu had never shown true kindness to the young boy and it would have been too good of a dream to come true that she might have finally accepted him – or, heavens forbid, even grown affectionate of him – enough to care about his comfort. Rather, it was more of her way to slap her husband in the face, kicking out the son of his subordinate and rumored affair to a backroom somewhere he would not bother anybody, sharing a building with the rest of the servants as she believed he should.

And though Wei Wuxian was still little, barely above ten years old, he knew. He knew that Madam Yu did not want him around and thought lowly of him – not just because of her behavior, but because she told him to his face often how much of a burden he was. Uncle Jiang had taught him not to mind her, to let her words sweep him by as she was quick to anger and violence and did not mean what she said, but Wei Wuxian was still a child, a blank canvas for the adults in his life to leave their mark on.

And so, Madam Yu’s words and behavior did affect him, her obstinate refusal to even be polite with him stinging like salt on an open wound. He had often wondered what it was that he was missing, what he was doing wrong – and no matter how hard he studied, how diligently he trained, how much he tried to prove himself, she always found fault with him and belittled even the most valiant of his efforts.

So, to hear that she allowed him his own room filled Wei Wuxian with great hope, a budding thing, beautiful and fragile, that perhaps she had changed her mind about him – shattered as soon as he was led by the then Jiang head disciple (the replacement of his father, he sadly noted) into the servants’ quarters, up a short flight of stairs, into a small attic.

“You will temporarily live here.” The man had said, trying to make it sound less like the permanent place Wei Wuxian already knew he would occupy. “It’s not much, but you should have everything you need.”

And he did – there was a bed, a desk, a chair and a small wardrobe, as well as two small shelves. Granted, they looked rather old and worn, like they had been stored into the attic long before Wei Wuxian’s arrival. But he had never been one to complain about such things, infinitely grateful to even have a place to stay at all – so he bowed in thanks to the head disciple and began putting away the few things in the chest he had dragged from the room he shared with Jiang Cheng to his new one.

If there was anything good about that place though, it was the one window above the bed that allowed Wei Wuxian a breathtaking view of Lotus Lake and the markets of Yunmeng, flickering lights from stalls and fireflies mingling together like stars fallen off the night sky. He decided he was happy with that, overriding the dust and the smell of mildew of the attic with the beauty of the scenery outside.

Of course, there was much needed to be done to make Wei Wuxian’s makeshift room livable – the corners bore thick blankets of spider cobwebs and many spider eggs nestled into soft silk; a thick layer of dust enveloped the room, often making it difficult to breathe but far too easy to sneeze; and black dots covered spots in the ceiling like ink blots, black mold festering in the wood.

But what was worse than the spiders (and other critters that scurried around the floor away from candlelight and human presence), the dust and the mold was the dark hole in one of the room’s corners, a human-sized hole that the Jiang head disciple had explained away as necessary for building maintenance. It was covered by a makeshift lid when not in use, but Wei Wuxian knew it hadn’t been just his imagination when he felt like something lived in that space, like he was sharing the room with some kind of entity that others could not, for some reason, sense, despite being skilled cultivators.

The first night Wei Wuxian had to sleep in his new room, he could not stop feeling like he was being watched, like there was something unseen in the attic, peering at him through places not even candlelight could reach, observing him.

In the morning, the first thing he did after he had awoken from the fitful few hours of sleep he had managed to get, was to drag his two small shelves over the lid of that so-called maintenance hole, thinking, in his childish, fear-addled mind that whatever lived there would not be able to get out if the exit to its home was closed off.

Jiang Yanli helped him clean up secretly, doing away with the dust and the spider webs, and placing perfumed herbs around the room to scare off the insects dwelling there as well as freshen the air. She had one of her trusted servants wipe away at the stains on the ceiling and apply the same concoction used to ward off mold in the main family’s household, leaving the room much cleaner and homely than it had been before.

She promised that she would sew him a small curtain for his window and brought him a few of the decorative china figurines she had in her room, trying to make the lonely attic seem less like Wei Wuxian’s banishment house and more like his safe space.

It had worked, it seemed, because after all the work was finished and the day came to an end, Wei Wuxian slept peacefully, no longer feeling like something malevolent was trying to drive him away.

It still lived there, though, that much was obvious – but Wei Wuxian decided to let it be, as long as it was not hostile. After all, it had stayed there long before Wei Wuxian did, so it felt unfair to him to have uncle Jiang drive it away, especially as he sometimes heard it cry at night, when he drifted off in the plane between dreaming and being awake. This being, whatever it was, seemed to carry great sorrow, and Wei Wuxian felt pitiful of it in a way that he could not explain – perhaps because he too could understand loneliness and grief.

And so, Wei Wuxian had grown used to the strange presence in his attic-turned-bedchamber, sharing the space with whatever lived with him with less and less fear every day. Sometimes, it would ruffle the small, white curtain that Jiang Yanli hung at his window when there was no wind, or flick through discarded pieces of talisman paper and calligraphy notes at night, almost as if assessing Wei Wuxian’s work. It was not rare to find blots of ink scattered across corners of parchment paper as if trying to copy the writing there.

Though these instances had frightened Wei Wuxian at the start, he felt nothing malicious in any of these strange gestures, not even when he began finding rocks and strange plants by his bed or on his desk that he had not put there.

He smiled, jokingly praising the entity for attempting to pay rent, and even talked to it about his day when there was nobody else to listen – because, in truth, Madam Yu’s plan had worked, the new room isolating Wei Wuxian from Jiang Cheng and many of his other comrades. The building was tucked in a far corner of the Jiang family compound, the very last structure of the lavish estate before the territory stretched into endless towns and villages, and none of Wei Wuxian’s friends lived there. Madam Yu did not allow Jiang Cheng to visit often, and Wei Wuxian could spend time with him and the others for a short while before he had to adhere to curfew – the servants locked the building early at night for fear of robbers.

And som all the companionship Wei Wuxian was left with was the strange entity in his room that he sometimes even doubted actually existed. Surely, he had seen the signs of its presence often, but in his loneliest days, he wondered whether he had not imagined the thing to exist so he would bear the loneliness easier.

He became certain of its existence one day, the very first day he had found himself the receiving end of Madam Yu’s violence and her wrathful Zidian. She had not hit him with it until then, but something he had done (it didn’t even matter what it had been, how small and insignificant) set her off to the point that she dragged him to his room in the attic and whipped him until her anger dissipated into exhaustion.

There were two things Wei Wuxian understood that day: one, that Madam Yu would always resent him; the second, that she had no qualms hurting him about it now. And where there had only been harsh words and ridiculous punishments, she now added violence to its most direct form.

It was hard to say what hurt more, the welts throbbing on his back or this knowledge.

But as soft sobs echoed through the room, the darkness morphed into something soft, almost comforting, a phantom feeling of somebody trying to soothe him. It was faint, barely there as Wei Wuxian struggled between sleep and being awake – but it made a small smile appear on his face, a confirmation that there was at least somebody (or, rather, something) that cared for him.

So, it had not been just two things that Wei Wuxian learned that day, but three – the third, that he truly was not alone.

He would come to learn the fourth thing years later – that he was loved.

The next time Madam Yu dragged him off for a whipping (she never did it in public places, either because she did not want others to know how cruel she was to her sect’s head disciple or just to drive it home how little she thought of Wei Wuxian, punishing him in the servants’ house he lived in), something unusual happened, so unusual it frightened the woman into forgoing the punishment.

Zidian did not sparkle to life.

Try as she might, her spiritual powers did not materialize into the purple lightning whip she wielded so fiercely, the ring useless on her hand. It was as though something was blocking it off from manifesting, something as powerful as it was angry. She felt it, a strange presence that exuded so much anger that it made the hair on the back of her head raise – and for a brief moment, she feared for her life. Defenseless against something unseen, something that so obviously wanted her dead.

(Wei Wuxian had spoken into his empty-but-not-quite room about Madam Yu and her punishments – sometimes with frustration, indignant of her unfairness, other times sorrowful, nursing wounds. And so, the entity in his room knew who she was and the kind of treatment Wei Wuxian had to endure, growing resentful of her and protective of him.)

Madam Yu could feel it, the danger of the entity haunting the attic, and she realized she did not want to risk its wrathfaster than she had the time to wonder what it even was or why Wei Wuxian did not seem scared. So, she stormed out of the room, muttering curses, nervously fiddling with her unresponsive spiritual weapon.

In the attic, the atmosphere remained tense – not with fear, but with a strange sort of uncertainty. Wei Wuxian looked over the room, trying to spot any signs of the entity’s presence, and found the lid to the maintenance hole askew, as if the thing had burrowed there in shame after standing up to Madam Yu.

“Did you do that?” Wei Wuxian asked softly, crouching over the side of the dark hole, “Were you the one that stopped Madam Yu from whipping me?”

There was no answer, but Wei Wuxian couldn’t help a small, grateful smile from curling on his lips, speaking a soft, quiet “thank you” into the darkness of the hole as he fixed the lid over it with gentle hands. If the thing had revealed itself, Wei Wuxian thought, he would have hugged it.

Madam Yu attempted to punish him a second time after that incident, intent on using the discipline whip on him for some other minor slight she thought monumental. Wei Wuxian had grown used to her inclinations and did not bother to argue or defend himself, not only because he knew it useless, but also because he had his own pride as a man that didn’t allow him to grovel at her feet anymore.

He had grown tired of trying to do that anyway, after so many years and countless failed attempts to invoke her kindness.

Though Wei Wuxian knew that the scars of the discipline whip would never fade and he would bear the mark of Madam Yu’s cruelty for life, he did not find it in himself to be afraid, even knowing the searing pain that would follow. His expression gave away a quiet, tired resignation, as if what would be happening to him was the natural progression of Madam Yu’s hatred of him.

However, just as unexpected as last time, the pain never came, the skin on Wei Wuxian’s back unmarred despite Madam Yu’s attempts. But, unlike that time, it was not just a presence she could feel – rather, as her hand rose, building momentum for the strike, the lid covering the maintenance hole nearly flew off its hinges, a dark smoke rushing out of it and into the room, enveloping Madam Yu’s hand in translucent wisps. Though they appeared light and soft as feathers, she felt them as though lead had encased her bones, a painful, crushing pressure causing her fingers to uncoil from the discipline whip, the item falling helplessly from her hand.

She tried to scream, but no sound came out, and her struggling had not yielded fruit – but as amazed as Wei Wuxian was to finally lay eyes onto the entity that he had shared the past ten years with as a roommate, it became apparent to him that it was intending to kill Madam Yu, dark wisps curled around her neck like hungry vipers.

Terror could be read in her eyes, wide and tearful as air slowly became more and more of a luxury that the wrathful spirit would not allow her – and Wei Wuxian had to save her, despite her abuse and her violent nature, despite knowing that, on a karmic level, she deserved to die this way.

So, with a slight tremor to his hand, he reached for one of the wisps that curled onto the floor, ready to strike Madam Yu alongside the others, gently touching the formless creature as if to pet it. It startled, frozen in place, all the other wisps around Madam Yu stilling, as if shocked by the sudden contact – none as shocked as Madam Yu herself.

“You…are you doing this?!” She asked, anger sparking in her eyes among all the fear. “You monst-“

One of the wisps curled around her mouth, leaving her lips sealed.

Wei Wuxian felt immensely grateful for that, though he never said it. Instead, he leaned down and caressed the now rigid wisp of smoke, speaking to it softly: “That’s enough… you’ve done enough, let her go now…”

It shivered against his fingers, in protest, a low, gravely voice replying, in broken words, “…hurt…Wei Ying…”

“I’m not hurt, though.” He continued, reassuringly, patting the end of the wisp as if it was an unruly child.

“…protect…Wei Ying…”

“You’ve protected me, haven’t you? I’m not hurt at all. So, you’ve done what you said, you can let her go.”

The wisp curled around his hand, both protective and possessive. “Mine…”

Wei Wuxian startled at that, not knowing what to make of it or how to reply to that declaration, the intensity of it echoing into some untapped part of his heart. Had the creature become attached to him throughout the years? Had it mistakenly thought Wei Wuxian as some kind of…partner?

What would that mean for him now?

“Let her go, please. I don’t want her to die.” He decided to say, ignoring the entity’s previous statement.

It shivered around Wei Wuxian’s hand, unhappy to listen to him, but it yielded nevertheless, dropping Madam Yu to the floor. She had long become unconscious, with the fear and the lack of proper air, her arm bruised where the entity attacked her first.

“You didn’t need to do that.” He chided the creature, “How will I explain this away now?”

It coiled tighter around Wei Wuxian’s wrist, as the gravely voice from before replied in his ears. “…protect…”

The tiniest of smiles appeared on his lips, “I know. Thank you for that. But now I’m going to be in even more trouble…”

“…she will not speak…” the voice echoed into his head again. “…do not worry…”

And as unlikely as that seemed to him, Wei Wuxian believed it. Perhaps whatever this thing was, whatever it thought Wei Wuxian was to him, it really did only ever want to help him and it would protect him, no matter what. In fact, if he were to consider it, this creature had been his only friend in many senses of the word, and he had spoken to it more openly than he had to anyone.

Would it have been so unusual for it to have developed a sense of attachment to him? If Wei Wuxian were a ghost trapped in some kind of hole in a house, would he not also grow fond of the person that acknowledged him and treated him kindly?

“What is your name?”

The creature slithered up to him, formless and dark, coiling around his limbs like bracelets.

“…Lan…Lan Zhan…”

“Lan Zhan.” He repeated the name, the syllables soft on his tongue. “You’re living in that hole over there, aren’t you?”

“Yes.”

Wei Wuxian huffs a surprisingly fond breath, “So then, all this time, it’s been you I’ve shared this room with…” He mindlessly pats at the wisps around his wrists as he speaks, “why are you here of all places, hm?”

The voice replies in his ears, “Home…”

Wei Wuxian’s gaze softened. “This was your home?”

The voice grew quieter, almost sorrowful, as it replied, “No… looking for home.”

“You found your home here then?” He asks again, soothing over the creature’s limbs. “Just like I did?”

“Yes.”

There was a pause, the creature curling tighter around Wei Wuxian, seeking comfort. He continued caressing it, the formless smoke taking the vague shape of hands. “Why were you wandering, Lan Zhan?”

It did not reply for a long time and Wei Wuxian did not speak again until it did, its voice soft, almost vulnerable. “Lost…”

“You lost your home?”

The vaguely shaped hands squeezed tighter at Wei Wuxian’s fingers and he knew that had been the case. He did not want to ask for details, because he could tell it made the creature sorrowful to speak of it, so he muttered, gently, “You have a home now.”

“…You…” the voice echoed in his mind, and Wei Wuxian could not find it in himself to be afraid this time, strangely comforted with the creature’s presence and its words. It was not unexpected or unusual – this spirit clung onto him after it lost its home and found this attic to dwell in, with a companion to boot. Wei Wuxian had unknowingly become its family, just as it had become his.

#mdzs #mo dao zu shi #wangxian #writing attempts

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caleohateclub · 7 months ago

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My fav random details from TTC:

Chiron wears curlers in his tail

Artemis doesn't like when her hunters "Grow up" or "get too silly"

Grover got a black eye trying to help the hunters into their cabin.

The Hunters have a silver flag for CTF!

The Hunters have won CTF 56 times in a row

Grover camped outside the Hunters' cabin at night "Just to be near them."

All the Hunters' skin glow like they've been "taking showers in liquid moonlight"

Bianca's eyes vaguely remind Percy of someone famous but he couldn't think of who

Percy was gonna give Poseidon a seashell patterned tie for fathers day

Percy was planning on using riptide to write Christmas cards

Anytime Percy is near a beach, hippocampi will ask him to help them with their problems

Percy can see the heat of living forms and the cold of the currents when he's deep underwater

Camp sells orange thermal underwear at the store

Luke's hair was pretty grey and his scar was an ugly red as if it had recently been re-opened

Percy has always been a pretty good pitcher (but he's not really a baseball guy)

"Many mortals will fight for any cause as long as they are paid"

Grover played "race car driver" when sitting in a Lamborghini

Percy had a "The White Stripes" CD that sally loved because they reminded her of Led Zeppelin

Apollo's fake name of choice is "Fred"

Percy got freaked out talking to Bianca when the thought of her looking 12 for years after he died came into his brain.

Bianca only felt comfortable leaving Nico at camp because she figured he would be safe if there were people like Percy there

Percy really liked talking to Bianca

Bianca, after finding out how long she'd been trapped in the Lotus Casino, checked her hands to make sure they weren't wrinkled

Bianca wanted to take a hair clip shaped like a moon that turned into a Hunter's bow she found

Percy found an electric guitar shaped like Apollo's lyre

Bianca's last words were "Get it to raise its foot!"

Zoe has ancient beef with naiads

Rachel's hair is "Reddish-Brownish"

Zoe got bored and started shooting arrows at billboards and Target store signs as she was flying

Zoe dressed Percy up in a ragged flannel shirt, jeans three sizes too big, bright red sneakers, and a floppy rainbow hat

As Percy was fighting Nereus, he waved to a crowd of tourists "Yeah, we do this every day here in San Francisco".

Percy wanted to ask Nereus about Annabeth because "that's what he cared about most"

The Ophiotaurus is 500 pounds

Dionysus's blessing cause the sun to be tinted with purple, and the air to smell like wine

A guard bit his gun like it was a sword and ran around on all fours like a dog

Percy was basically about to confess that he liked Annabeth on Olympus

#the titan's cure #ttc #percy jackson #the hunters of artemis #hunters of artemis #pjo #percy jackson and the olympians #nico di angelo #annabeth chase #bianca di angelo #zoe nightshade

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najia-cooks · 2 years ago

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[ID: Five large, enclosed bao piled on a plate. The topmost bao has been opened to show a bread-like dough texture and a vegetable filling. The bao are garnished with chopped chives. End ID]

Bánh bao chay (Vietnamese vegetable dumplings)

Bánh bao are an iteration on the Chinese da bao (大包) brought to Vietnam by Cantonese immigrants. Like da bao, bánh bao are commonly filled with some combination of minced meat, Chinese sausage, and hard-boiled eggs; however, some versions of bánh bao are also made with Vietnamese vegetables, herbs, and flavorings. Vegetarian bánh bao (bánh bao chay) may have no filling, a filling consisting of a variety of vegetables, or a filling of sweetened beans or sweet potato.

This recipe combines Vietnamese vegetables, herbs, spices, and sauces with Vietnamese meat substitutes to make a well-rounded filling that's equal parts umami and fresh. The yeasted, enriched dough is tasty, fluffy, and light, but still has enough structure to hold up against the filling.

Recipe under the cut!

Patreon | Tip jar

Makes 16-20; serves 6.

Ingredients:

For the dough:

4 cups + 2 Tbsp (500g) all-purpose flour

2 tsp (7g) active dry yeast

7 Tbsp (90g) granulated sugar

1/2 tsp salt

2 tsp (10g) baking powder (optional)

2 Tbsp (16g) cornstarch (optional)

1 - 1 1/4 cup (135-295 mL) lukewarm soy or oat milk, or water

1 Tbsp cooking oil

The basic components of this dough are flour, yeast, sugar, salt, oil, and milk. The baking powder is added to help with leavening; the cornstarch works to create a light, fluffy dough that will not become soggy when filling is added.

For the filling:

1 large carrot (100g)

4-inch piece (120g) cassava root / yuca

1 cup (100g) shiitake or wood-ear mushrooms, diced

4 large pieces (50g) sườn non chay, or 1/2 cup diced or crumbled chả lụa chay

1/2 cup water + 1/2 tsp vegetarian 'chicken' broth concentrate (optional)

50g tofu skin (đậu hủ ky)

1 red onion, minced

5 cloves garlic, chopped

4-5 chives or scallions, finely chopped

1 tsp freshly ground black pepper

1/2 tsp sugar, or to taste

1/2 tsp salt, or to taste

2 tsp bột nêm chay, ground to a powder (optional)

1 1/2 tsp fermented bean paste + 1/2 tsp light soy sauce (or 2 tsp vegetarian fish sauce)

2 tsp vegetarian oyster sauce

1/4 cup soybean oil, peanut oil, or other cooking oil, divided

Sườn non chay (roughly, “vegetarian ribs”) is a meat replacement made of textured soy protein. It may be found in bags online or in the pantry / dried goods section at your local Asian grocery store—the bags will be labelled “sườn non chay” as well as “vegan meat slice,” “textured soy bean protein,” “vegetarian food,” or “vegan food.” Most sườn non chay are large and pale in color, but they sometimes come in "beef" or "pork" styles—the difference is not the flavoring but rather the size, shape, and coloring of the pieces. In my experience, the "beef" ones are more darkly colored, and both "beef" and "pork" styles are smaller in size and thinner in shape than the non-specific ones, which I often use to replace chicken.

Chả lụa chay is a vegetarian version of a Vietnamese pork sausage. It can be found in the form of a large loaf in the refrigerator section of a Vietnamese or Asian grocery store. It will be labelled "chả lụa chay" or "gio lụa chay," as well as "vegetarian pork roll," "wheat meat," or "vegetarian food."

Đậu hủ ky, or tofu skin, is prepared by taking the film off of a batch of tofu as it sets. Tofu skin may be purchased fresh or dried, in sheets or in sticks: for the purposes of this recipe, any kind will work! Chinese tofu skin produced for sale abroad may be labelled "dried beancurd sticks."

Bột nêm is a Vietnamese seasoning sold in powder or granule form. Vegetarian ("chay") versions of the seasoning may contain shiitake mushroom, lotus seeds, carrots, tomatoes, and kohlrabi, as well as salt and MSG. It can be purchased in pouches or boxes from an Asian grocery store, or you can use any other vegetable stock powder.

Fish sauce and oyster sauce are common inclusions in pork fillings for bánh bao but are often simply omitted from vegetarian ones. I've used vegetarian substitutes for these ingredients—if you don't have vegetarian imitation fish or oyster sauce, just increase the amount of salt, sugar, and bột nêm to taste.

Instructions:

For the dough:

1. Heat 1 cup (135mL) non-dairy milk to lukewarm in a saucepan or in the microwave. Stir in the yeast to dissolve. if you’re not sure your yeast is alive, proof it by allowing to stand for 10 minutes—it should foam.

2. Add the baking powder, sugar, and salt and whisk to dissolve.

3. In a large bowl, whisk together flour and cornstarch. Pour in the milk mixture and mix well to combine. Add additional milk 1 tsp at a time if it remains too dry to combine. The dough should be slightly tacky but not sticky.

3. Add oil and knead by hand until dough is smooth and elastic, about 10 minutes. Cover with plastic wrap and allow to rise in a warm place for about 3 hours until doubled in size. If you live in a cold climate and don't have a proofing drawer, heat your oven on the lowest setting for a few minutes, turn it off, and then proof the dough in the oven.

For the filling:

1. Prepare the proteins. Soak the tofu skin (if you're using dried) and sườn non chay in cool water for about half an hour until rehydrated (or simmer them for a shorter amount of time). They are fully hydrated once flexible and a couple shades lighter. Gently squeeze the water out. Dice tofu skin; rip sườn non chay into small pieces lengthwise and then dice widthwise.

2. Prepare the vegetables. Peel cassava root and carrot. Cut both into a fine julienne, or grate them. Dice the mushrooms; mince the red onion; chop the garlic.

3. Cook the filling. Heat oil in a large skillet on medium. Add the garlic and sauté until fragrant.

4. Add the red onion and continue to sauté until fragrant and slightly softened. Add black pepper, bột nêm, and salt and allow to cook another 30 seconds.

5. Add carrot, cassava, mushrooms, chả lụa chay (if using), and tofu skin and stir to combine. Reduce heat to low and cook, stirring often, until tender. Remove from pan.

6. If using sườn non chay: in the same pan, fry sườn non chay in 3 Tbsp of cooking oil on medium until they’ve absorbed the oil. Whisk 'chicken' stock concentrate into a small amount of hot water, then add the stock into the pan. Cook until mostly dry.

Soaking in water, deep frying in oil, then simmering in a flavored broth is the typical Vietnamese preparation of sườn non chay. The simmering in stock could potentially be skipped if you're including vegetarian oyster and/or fish sauce, but personally I find that dried soy products benefit from being soaked or simmered in something other than water.

7. Mix sườn non chay in with other filling ingredients, salt, sugar, sauces, and chives.

To assemble:

1. Turn dough out from its proofing bowl and gently divide into two even parts. Cover the half you're not using and gently roll the other out into a log of even width. Use a dough cutter or sharp knife to divide the log into 8 or 10 even pieces.

2. Place each disc of dough on its side and roll it out into a circle about 5" (13cm) in diameter. The edges of the circle should be much thinner than the center, since the edges will be bundled up and folded together.

3. The folding method is the same as for baozi and momos. Hold a wrapper in the palm of your non-dominant hand and add a couple tablespoons of filling (if you’re not experienced with making dumplings, it may be easier to add less). While pressing the filling down with your non-dominant thumb, use your other hand to pinch pleated folds in the dough all the way around the circle of the wrapper. Remove your thumb and make one last fold to close the bao. Pinch firmly at the place where all the pleats come together (where the drawstring would be if it were a drawstring pouch) and give a small twist to seal.

4. Set each finished bao on a small square of parchment paper on a baking sheet or in a steamer and lightly cover with plastic wrap or a light kitchen towel. Continue folding until you have formed all of the bao.

To steam:

1. Place a bamboo steamer in the bottom of a wok or large pot, and fill the wok with enough cool water to cover the bottom rim of the steamer by ½". If you've added baking powder to your dough, you may add a splash of vinegar to the water to help neutralise the dough's pH and combat yellowing of the dough.

If you’re using a metal steamer, tie a kitchen towel around its lid to prevent condensation from dipping back down onto the dumplings. Carefully place the bao, along with their parchment paper squares, into the steamer, leaving an inch or so between each one. They will expand as they steam!

If you don’t have a steamer, place a small bowl in the bottom of a wok or large, deep pan or pot. Place the dumplings, with their parchment paper squares, on a plate and place the plate on top of the bowl–the plate should fit inside your pot. Make sure that you can cover the plate and dumplings with a lid. If your lid is domed, there is no need for a kitchen towel, since the condensation will run down towards the outer rim. If your lid is flat, tie a tea towel around it just as you would with a metal steamer. Fill your cooking vessel with 2 or so centimeters of cool water.

2. Raise the heat to high and allow the water to come to a boil. Once boiling, lower the heat to medium-low and cover your steamer or pot. Steam the dumplings for about 8 minutes, until the dough is tender and cooked through. Keep finished bao warm in a covered casserole dish in an oven on low while you steam the others.

#vegetarian recipes #recipes #vegan recipes #Vietnamese #dumplings #carrots #cassava root #tofu skin #mushrooms #sườn non chay #chả lụa chay #fish sauce #chives

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ame-kobayashi · 16 days ago

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- C R E D I T S -

• Hair: NOT FOUND & DOUX.

• Make-Up: JACK SPOON.

• Earrings: BLACK LOTUS/ Calipso Earrings (Fatpack) / NOW! IN ASTROPHE EVENT.

• Tattoo: BOLSON.

• Top: CYNFUL/ Zipper Top (Fatpack) (UPDATE 2024)/ NOW! IN CYNFUL MAINSTORE.

• Body: LEGACY PERKY.

#secondlife #sl #slmoments #sl avi #sl blogger #sl art #secondlifeblog #secondlifephotography #secondlifefashion #slblogging #slfashion #cynfulstore #cynful #black lotus sl #black lotus store #black lotus #astropheevent

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tick-clock · 11 days ago

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Welcome to Gold Choco Cuff Cookie's Workshop that he ripped out from the Technology Development Division.

He took a random chunk of the ground to the void and placed his Workshop on it, now it'll float here indefinitely.

He also started picking a few local flora around Earthbread and planted them here. How are they alive? Don't ask me but he's gonna add more in the future.

Go to my blog's introduction (this is where most of my oc's lore and art are)

--- (What I added from new to old) ⬇️

15-11-2024

An entire sign from the Sandwich Store

Started with (top to bottom, left to right):

I've changed the size of the canvas and the position of Gold Choco Cuff Cookie

A giant blueberry bush from the forest around Hollyberry Kingdom

Pastry Peonies

Volcanic Succulent (it's on the table)

Vanilla Beans

Sour Sugar Rafflesia

Cheese Papyrus

String Cheese Grass

Special Stuff that he stole:

Black Velvet Cookie's Helmet (@bloomycali)

11-11-2024

Started with (top to bottom, left to right):

Sleeping Vanilla Orchid White Lily

Jelly Cube Bougainvillea

Star Jelly Flower

Choco Bamboo

Edam Cheese Lotus

Siu Mai Flower

Meat Mandu Flower

Sugar Stick

Tanghulu Flower

Butterfly Flower

#cookie run ovenbreak #cookie run kingdom #cookie run #crk #crob #oc #Gold Choco Cuff Cookie

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apoemaday · 2 years ago

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Meditations in an Emergency

by Frank O’Hara

Am I to become profligate as if I were a blonde? Or religious as if I were French? Each time my heart is broken it makes me feel more adventurous (and how the same names keep recurring on that interminable list!), but one of these days there’ll be nothing left with which to venture forth. Why should I share you? Why don’t you get rid of someone else for a change? I am the least difficult of men. All I want is boundless love. Even trees understand me! Good heavens, I lie under them, too, don’t I? I’m just like a pile of leaves. However, I have never clogged myself with the praises of pastoral life, nor with nostalgia for an innocent past of perverted acts in pastures. No. One need never leave the confines of New York to get all the greenery one wishes—I can’t even enjoy a blade of grass unless I know there’s a subway handy, or a record store or some other sign that people do not totally regret life. It is more important to affirm the least sincere; the clouds get enough attention as it is and even they continue to pass. Do they know what they’re missing? Uh huh. My eyes are vague blue, like the sky, and change all the time; they are indiscriminate but fleeting, entirely specific and disloyal, so that no one trusts me. I am always looking away. Or again at something after it has given me up. It makes me restless and that makes me unhappy, but I cannot keep them still. If only I had grey, green, black, brown, yellow eyes; I would stay at home and do something. It’s not that I am curious. On the contrary, I am bored but it’s my duty to be attentive, I am needed by things as the sky must be above the earth. And lately, so great has their anxiety become, I can spare myself little sleep. Now there is only one man I love to kiss when he is unshaven. Heterosexuality! you are inexorably approaching. (How discourage her?) St. Serapion, I wrap myself in the robes of your whiteness which is like midnight in Dostoevsky. How am I to become a legend, my dear? I’ve tried love, but that hides you in the bosom of another and I am always springing forth from it like the lotus—the ecstasy of always bursting forth! (but one must not be distracted by it!) or like a hyacinth, “to keep the filth of life away,” yes, there, even in the heart, where the filth is pumped in and courses and slanders and pollutes and determines. I will my will, though I may become famous for a mysterious vacancy in that department, that greenhouse. Destroy yourself, if you don’t know! It is easy to be beautiful; it is difficult to appear so. I admire you, beloved, for the trap you’ve set. It’s like a final chapter no one reads because the plot is over. “Fanny Brown is run away—scampered off with a Cornet of Horse; I do love that little Minx, & hope She may be happy, tho’ She has vexed me by this Exploit a little too. —Poor silly Cecchina! or F:B: as we used to call her. —I wish She had a good Whipping and 10,000 pounds.” —Mrs. Thrale. I’ve got to get out of here. I choose a piece of shawl and my dirtiest suntans. I’ll be back, I’ll re-emerge, defeated, from the valley; you don’t want me to go where you go, so I go where you don’t want me to. It’s only afternoon, there’s a lot ahead. There won’t be any mail downstairs. Turning, I spit in the lock and the knob turns.

#poetry #frank o'hara #meditations in an emergency

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orionsstory · 1 month ago

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that kind of devotion | anarcia (8)

warnings for fire and general distress/threats in this chapter! as always you can check out the chapter on ao3 as well! I'd like to apologize in advance poor anetra goes through it

"Where are we going again?"

"Some bar my girlfriend and her friends are at." Aura called back, her eyes glued to the directions on her phone.

"Right. What's the occasion again?"

"Uhm...I think a promotion or something."

Anetra chuckled as they paused on the corner of the street, Aura looking intently at the two directions before them. She hesitated for a moment before leading them left.

"Are you sure you don't want me to do it?"

Aura waved her off. "No, no, it's okay- I got it. We're not gonna get lost like last time."

They did in fact get lost. Just like last time.

Anetra ended up taking the phone from Aura and correctly guiding them in the right direction. It may have taken an extra thirty minutes, but they finally arrived. Aura led them inside the club, weaving through the groups of people until her eyes lit up as she spotted a group. Her girlfriend practically lit up when she spotted the two, tossing herself into Aura's arms.

Anetra had to admit, they were cute. Aura had been going on and on about Robin for the past few weeks, so it was nice to put a face to a name. Her thoughts were interrupted when Aura introduced her to the others, elbowing the other girl at her comment. Was her resting bitch face really that bad?

She drew her attention to the other girls. She didn't recognize the one with curly blonde hair, but the other two seemed familiar. She couldn't place her finger on where until the club lights flashed, illuminating the girl with the straight blonde hair.

Marcia.

She felt panic flair up in her chest before she calmed herself down, panicking would only attract more attention to herself- maybe Marcia didn't even recognize her.

Marcia looked as if she was about to speak to say something to Anetra, but before that Aura pulled her away to grab drinks for the group. Aura, her saving grace. Temporarily, but that was better than nothing. They got to the bar, Aura repeated the drink orders to the bartender before turning her attention back to Anetra. They talked for a moment before her phone started to ring, she told Aura she'd be right back before heading out back to answer the call.

"Hello?" She answered, leaning back on the brick wall.

"Lotus, it's an emergency." Detective Barnes' voice echoed over the phone. "There's a fire at a store on 12th, it's believed to be linked to the perp."

"I'm on my way."

Anetra had to pretend to be calm as she made her way back inside, telling Aura there was an emergency and she had to leave. She rushed through the club, making her way to an empty alleyway before she jetted off to her apartment to change.

Now in her hero costume, she whipped through the air faster than she had ever flown before. The pit in her stomach only grew as she got closer, she began to see the smoke wafting up from the buildings. She quickly touched down onto the street- the fire was burning bright, engulfing almost the whole building. This was like nothing she had ever seen.

"Well, Lotus, it's nice to finally meet you in person." A voice giggled from above. Anetra lifted her head to see a figure standing in the sky. She had big, curly blonde hair and a red and black suit, a long cape flowing behind her. She could make out a red devil mask covering her eyes.

"You!" She spat out, readying herself to kick off before a noise interrupted her.

A weak call for help came from the burning building. Anetra's eyes widened at the realization.

"Make your choice, Lotus."

But Anetra didn't even hear the end of her sentence, already kicking out the glass in the window and making her way into the inferno.

The building was hot, even for her. Because of her fire powers, her body temperature was higher than regular people's, allowing her to better deal with high temperatures. But she could feel herself starting to sweat, which meant the person stuck here must be burning up.

"Where are you?" She called out as she began to search the premises, quickly clearing out all the rooms on the first floor. She heard a bump from upstairs, rushing up the burning stairs. She spotted a figure curled up in the corner of the room, hurriedly making her way over.

It was an old man, Anetra could tell he was still breathing but he was definitely in a fragile state. She kicked out the closest window, clearing the glass around the frame before picking up the old man. She cleared the window, careful not to cut the man with the glass before touching down on the other side of the street, gently laying him down on the ground.

She heard sirens approaching in the distance, looking up towards the sky- the woman was gone, Anetra cursed beneath her breath as she turned her attention back to the old man. She had some small bandages stored on her, getting to work on patching up his smaller cuts. He was starting to come back to consciousness, so Anetra helped him sit up as the ambulance rounded the corner.

"Are you okay, sir?"

"Y-yes ma'am, thank you."

Anetra helped the medics load the man into the ambulance, filling them in on the situation before they headed to the hospital. The fire department had extinguished the building by that point and was currently looking around inside for any evidence. She spotted Detective Barnes waving her over.

"Nice job, Lotus."

She sighed, running her hand through her hair. "I don't know. She got away."

Anetra felt a pang of guilt as she looked back at the charred building. Maybe if she had been quick enough, she could've caught up with the perp. Oh well- there was no use dwelling on it now. She and Barnes briefed each other on their accounts, Anetra describing the villain to him and Barnes explaining he believed the call came from her. That puzzled Anetra, why would she call in her own crime?

"Why would she do that? Did she...want to be caught?"

Barnes shook his head, "I don't think so. I think it might be an ego thing."

"Like she's taunting us?"

"Exactly that. She called from a burner phone, we found the smashed remains a few feet away from the building."

Anetra sighed, "She's smart, I'll give her that."

Another officer approached sheepishly, handing a note to Anetra. She groaned, already knowing what it was. The other officer beckoned Barnes to follow him, leaving Anetra alone. That was certainly odd, but whatever. She didn't think this one would be much different from the others.

She unfolded the paper, her eyes scanning over the words. She froze, a lump forming in her throat. That couldn't be right. She re-read the letter again and again, her heartbeat increasing each time.

There, in pretty cursive handwriting, was Anetra's full name and address.

She spent the next three hours patrolling, her mind racing and in full panic mode. Had her files been breached? It wasn't impossible, she knew it'd happened before, but who would risk their job over such a low-ranking hero? The more likely scenario in her mind was that she had been sloppy, that this villain had been keeping track of her moves and used it to find out where she lived. She cursed herself for being so careless.

Her phone ringing jolted her out of her trance, Sasha's photo lighting up her screen.

"Hello?" She croaked out. God, she hadn't realized how tired she was.

"Stop patrolling and go to bed. You sound awful."

She sighed, touching down on top of a building. She stumbled a bit as she sat, her body exhausted. She knew Sasha was right, her body was screaming for her to rest, but she couldn't.

"I can't, Sash."

"What happened?"

Anetra took a deep breath before spitting everything out- the fire, actually seeing the villain, and the note. She felt chills run up her body as she recounted it to Sasha, her voice tired and weak. Sasha, as patient as ever, listened to her rambling that she was certain didn't make sense. She couldn't stop kicking herself for not only putting herself but also Sasha in the path of danger.

"Neech, baby. Listen to me. I'm okay and so are you. She might have the address, but there's no way she's getting into that building. It's one of the most secure in the city. So please, go home and get some rest. I'll be back in three days, okay?"

"But-"

"No buts. She hasn't even tried to fight you, she knows you're stronger than her. You'd beat her ass in an instant. There's no way she's coming close to the building."

Anetra took a shaky breath. "Yeah. Yeah...you're right."

"Of course I am. I love you, Neech. We'll be okay. I'll get extra security if that'll reassure you."

"It would. Thank you, Sash. I love you too."

Sasha stayed on the phone with her as she made her way back to the apartment, her eyes scanning the area for the blonde villain. She was on high alert, only letting her guard down once she had searched every corner of the apartment for a bug or wiretap. Once she was sure, she passed out, clinging onto Mr. Quack.

She had that dream again. That nightmare. Sasha's screams and Marcia's blood-stained body. She woke with a start, finding it nearly impossible to get the image out of her mind. It took her a while to drift back off again, but her sleep remained restless. She tossed and turned, still feeling exhausted when she woke up.

She tried to focus on things she enjoyed, she took a walk in the park and watched the ducks, and she went to the gym to work some of the stress off, but none of it seemed to help. She found it hard to find joy in any of the activities, instead, she was constantly watching her back. Her mind was an anxious swirl of dark thoughts and dread, she could feel herself becoming overwhelmed by the emotions.

It only worsened the day after, the ring of her cell phone interrupting the first decent sleep she had been able to have. She groggily sat up, her eyes narrowing on the unknown number. She reasoned it might be a client, so she sighed as she clicked the answer button.

"Hello?"

"Anetra, how are you?"

That voice. It was her- the villain. She bolted to attention, already texting Barnes about the situation. If they could track the call, they may be able to find her and capture her.

"Who are you?"

"Right to business, hm? People have no manners these days." She hears the girl cackle over the phone, "You don't need to know who I am. Not yet."

"What do you want?"

"Just wanted to talk. Figured you were probably quite stressed after last night." Anetra scowled as the girl giggled.

"You could have killed that man, you know."

"Please, I figured you'd save him. But if you didn't...well, I wouldn't have been too upset."

"You're disgusting."

"Careful there. You may have been able to save this one, but you may not be so lucky in the future."

"Is that a threat?"

"Perhaps...maybe you should keep an eye on that blonde girl...what's her name again?"

Anetra felt her blood run cold and a pit building up in her stomach. She stayed silent as she listened to the woman on the other line humming.

"Oh, that's right- Marcia."

Anetra felt her fear turn into rage, her fists clenched around the bed sheets.

"Leave her alone." She spat.

"Strikes a nerve, does it? Good to know..."

"Fuck with me all you want, but leave her out of this. She doesn't know anything."

"Are you sure about that? Well, I have to run anyway. Nice try, but I know you sent your little police officers after me. Ta-ta, Anetra."

The phone clicked off, leaving Anetra there with her thoughts. If she wasn't stressed out before, she was now. The idea that some villain might be stalking Marcia, that she might hurt her, scared Anetra to no end. She tossed her phone aside, staring up at the ceiling in an attempt to calm herself down.

Sasha came home two days later and immediately noticed something was wrong.

"Have you been eating?"

Anetra avoided her gaze as Sasha dropped her bags down beside the couch. She had tried to fix her appearance so as not to worry her, but it was obvious that hadn't worked. Ever since the call from that morning, Anetra had spent most of her free time patrolling. She hadn't exactly been taking care of herself, but she didn't think Sasha would have picked up on it that easily.

"Neech...what happened?"

Anetra took a shaky breath, "I got another call...she...she brought up Marcia."

Sasha took a seat beside her, rubbing her back soothingly. "Oh, baby...so you've been working yourself to death, hm?"

Anetra nodded, practically collapsing into Sasha's arms.

"I'm so mad at myself. She doesn't deserve this. Fuck, how could I be so careless?"

"It's not like this is a common occurrence. This is pretty unheard of, even for more famous heroes." Sasha comforted her, rubbing circles into her back. "Have you told Marcia?"

It hadn't even crossed her mind. She felt guilty about it, of course, but she was also worried. She was worried that Marcia wouldn't trust her anymore. She wouldn't blame her- she didn't deserve to be stalked because Anetra liked her. It's why she hadn't talked to her in three days.

"Is that a no?"

Anetra nodded, groaning. "I haven't talked to her since...all that happened. I'm scared, Sasha."

"I understand, but you need to tell her."

"I know...I'm just...scared she'll hate me."

"Neech, she's not going to hate you. But still, for her safety, you need to tell her. Ignoring her won't make her safer."

"Fuck...you're right. God, how am I going to tell her?"

"You should be honest. You'd do anything to keep her safe, right?"

"Of course."

"Then tell her that too. She trusts you a lot, I promise it'll go better than you think."

Anetra nods, sniffling. She opens up her phone, her screen filled with missed texts and calls from Marcia. She opens up the text thread, her eyes landing on the last message sent that morning.

Marcia🎀 is everything okay? you haven't answered me in a while...

She felt a pang of guilt as she read the message. Her fingers hovered over the keyboard before she typed out a response.

I'm sorry. Can I talk to you tonight?

Marcia🎀 of course.

Anetra felt a slight sense of relief flow through her. She just hoped Marcia would understand.

She spent the rest of the day with Sasha who helped snap her out of her funk. She was grateful, she felt less anxious than she had the past few days. She still felt a bit shaky, but it was an improvement nonetheless.

As their meeting time drew closer, Anetra began to rehearse what she would say to Marcia. She ran through all of the scenarios that might happen, preparing herself for all of them. Finally, it came time to leave. She nervously suited up, taking a deep breath in to try and calm herself.

She flew a bit slower than she usually did, her nerves spiking as she grew closer. Eventually, she reached Marcia's apartment. She hesitated for a moment, glancing around before gently knocking three times on Marcia's window. She heard some pacing in the room before the pink curtain drew back, Marcia now in front of her. She gently pushed the window open, looking up at her.

"Hi."

"Come in."

Anetra's heart stung at the words, so dull compared to Marcia's usual cheer. She gently swung herself into the room, closing the window behind her. Marcia was sat on the bed, looking at her expectantly. She hesitated, sitting on the windowsill.

"You can sit on the bed, you know."

Anetra shakily got up, taking a seat a few feet away from Marcia. Marcia frowned when she sat down before looking back up toward her. Anetra opened her mouth to speak, feeling her words catching in her mouth.

"I-"

She grimaced as she felt her throat go dry, unable to speak. Marcia noticed, speaking up instead.

"Did I do something wrong?"

"What? No, no, of course not."

Marcia's words took Anetra by surprise, she looked up towards the girl. She felt a pang of guilt go through her as she looked at Marcia's face, a mix of hurt and confusion.

"Then what is it, Lotus? You've been ignoring me for three days..."

"It's not your fault...it's...it's..."

She tried to spit out what she had rehearsed. But in that moment, all the words she had put so much thought into had disappeared. She felt tears prick the corners of her eyes. She tried to steady her breathing as Marcia put a concerned hand on her shoulder. She then burst into tears.

That wasn't what she had planned.

She felt Marcia envelop her in a hug, Anetra burying her head in the blonde's neck as she sobbed. The stress had broken her. She felt embarrassed, she was supposed to be a hero- she wasn't supposed to cry. She was supposed to smile and put on a brave face, to beat the villain. But she couldn't.

"Lotus...talk to me, what's going on?" Marcia held her gently, as if she might break. Anetra gently raised her head, Marcia wiping away a stray tear making its way down her left cheek.

"I-I got a call from that villain..." she choked out, her voice hoarse.

"The one from that big case?" Marcia handed her a bottle of water. Anetra nodded, taking the water with shaky hands.

"Y-yeah...she called me and...well...she threatened you." She finally said, her gaze avoiding Marcia.

"Threatened me how?" Marcia's voice was softer than she expected, she had expected her to be angry with her.

"She...she just insinuated that I might not be able to save you. That she might...hurt you."

"What? How'd she even call you in the first place?"

"She left a note with my name and address. I'm assuming she found my phone number too."

"Lotus..." Marcia spoke softly, running a hand through Anetra's hair.

"I'm so sorry. I'm so fucking sorry. You shouldn't be dealing with any of this."

She sighed, "I wish you would have told me sooner instead of ignoring me."

"I thought if I ignored you...I thought she might leave you alone. I'm sorry, I just...haven't been thinking straight lately."

"I'm not angry," Marcia guided Anetra's head to look up at her, "I know you're worried about me. But just...talk to me about it, okay?"

Anetra nodded, "I will. And I'll do everything I can to protect you. I promise. I'm not going to let her hurt you."

"I know you won't."

"Just...stay extra vigilant until this whole thing blows over, please? You should be with someone at all times, especially at night." Anetra worried, taking Marcia's hands into her own and squeezing them.

"I will. I know you'll catch her." Marcia moved one of her hands up to cup Anetra's face, giving her a soft smile before kissing her cheek.

Anetra softly smiled, feeling herself relax for the first time in days. She leaned into Marcia's touch, allowing herself to feel safe. She was grateful Marcia believed in her, she just hoped she was right.

#thatkindofdevotion #rpdr fanfiction #rpdr #drag race #rupauls drag race #marcia marcia marcia #marcia x3 #anetra #anarcia #rpdr 15

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plantainblood · 2 months ago

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favorite poems?

Meditations in an Emergency - Frank O’Hara

Am I to become profligate as if I were a blonde? Or religious as if I were French?

Each time my heart is broken it makes me feel more adventurous (and how the same names keep recurring on that interminable list!), but one of these days there’ll be nothing left with which to venture forth.

Why should I share you? Why don’t you get rid of someone else for a change?

I am the least difficult of men. All I want is boundless love.

Even trees understand me! Good heavens, I lie under them, too, don’t I? I’m just like a pile of leaves.

However, I have never clogged myself with the praises of pastoral life, nor with nostalgia for an innocent past of perverted acts in pastures. No. One need never leave the confines of New York to get all the greenery one wishes—I can’t even enjoy a blade of grass unless I know there’s a subway handy, or a record store or some other sign that people do not totally regret life. It is more important to affirm the least sincere; the clouds get enough attention as it is and even they continue to pass. Do they know what they’re missing? Uh huh.

My eyes are vague blue, like the sky, and change all the time; they are indiscriminate but fleeting, entirely specific and disloyal, so that no one trusts me. I am always looking away. Or again at something after it has given me up. It makes me restless and that makes me unhappy, but I cannot keep them still. If only I had grey, green, black, brown, yellow eyes; I would stay at home and do something. It’s not that I am curious. On the contrary, I am bored but it’s my duty to be attentive, I am needed by things as the sky must be above the earth. And lately, so great has their anxiety become, I can spare myself little sleep.

Now there is only one man I love to kiss when he is unshaven. Heterosexuality! you are inexorably approaching. (How discourage her?)

St. Serapion, I wrap myself in the robes of your whiteness which is like midnight in Dostoevsky. How am I to become a legend, my dear? I’ve tried love, but that hides you in the bosom of another and I am always springing forth from it like the lotus—the ecstasy of always bursting forth! (but one must not be distracted by it!) or like a hyacinth, “to keep the filth of life away,” yes, there, even in the heart, where the filth is pumped in and courses and slanders and pollutes and determines. I will my will, though I may become famous for a mysterious vacancy in that department, that greenhouse.

Destroy yourself, if you don’t know!

It is easy to be beautiful; it is difficult to appear so. I admire you, beloved, for the trap you’ve set. It's like a final chapter no one reads because the plot is over.

“Fanny Brown is run away—scampered off with a Cornet of Horse; I do love that little Minx, & hope She may be happy, tho’ She has vexed me by this Exploit a little too. —Poor silly Cecchina! or F:B: as we used to call her. —I wish She had a good Whipping and 10,000 pounds.” —Mrs. Thrale.

I’ve got to get out of here. I choose a piece of shawl and my dirtiest suntans. I’ll be back, I'll re-emerge, defeated, from the valley; you don’t want me to go where you go, so I go where you don’t want me to. It’s only afternoon, there’s a lot ahead. There won’t be any mail downstairs. Turning, I spit in the lock and the knob turns.

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elsa-rain-world-stuff · 8 months ago

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What got you into rainworld?

OHHOHHHOHOHOHOHO

It's been 2020, middle of autumn, i tired from playing same 3 games on repeat (hollow knight, sundered and undertale (? i'm not sure)) and looked in my steam library, in search for something i haven't played. I had i think 3 games i bought and never played, and Rain World was one of them. I had no fucking clue what is this game, i didn't even remember how i got it (i got it same year spring with 80% off, as my purchase history says). So i downloaded it and jumped right into, without watching any trailers or rewievs.

It was... something. I didn't expect anything, but i was surprised anyway. I had no idea you could pick different character, i didn't know you supposed to play as white slugcat, so i started as Monk.

First thing that surprised me is how HEAVY slugcat felt. Compare to Hollow Kinght where you can jump 10 times your height... yeahh. And second thing - controls, which i changed immediately, because i ain't playing on arrows! ALSO at the beginning i had a thought for a moment that maybe i'll get some upgrades, but even then i felt like it's not gonna happen

And after that i lost track of time. And when i woke up, it was 5 am and i was in shoreline. Then i was stuck in the first room of subterranean with centipedes killing me all the fucking time and i thought that i can't go back through the gates lol

I also remember miros birds breaking my overseer in meme crypts and how i thought that it was gone forever

This is my very first rain world screenshot (i didn't understand what to do with this flower and overseer seemed to point on it (at least it what i thought)

under cut there's a tonn of screenshots and some of messeges with my friend while i was playing. I had a friend, who helped me in the beginning. They played just a bit, but knew a lot about the game

october 10, 2020

Elsa Fogen 22:57 : Oh you can store food for the next day to spend all the time for exploration, neat Elsa Fogen 23:02 : So i was grabbed by that thing, that pretended to be a pole, but i managed to escape and it grabbed a lizard instead october 11, 2020 Elsa Fogen 6:57 : Fuuck, it's 5 am and i've been playing Rain all this time [Friend name here] 6:29 : How did you... Elsa Fogen 6:29 : I'm in the location with green wamter Elsa Fogen 6:31 : I was fucking flooded 3 times Elsa Fogen 16:13 : I'm fucking tired of these monkies They don't let me go through Fuckers

october 12, 2020

Elsa Fogen 18:11 : AAAAAAAAAAAHH FUCKING ELECTRICAL CENTIPEDES, I HATE YOU SO MUCH Elsa Fogen 18:14 : just fucking look how many times i died in the same room because of these fucking creatures

[Friend name here] 18:15 : Oh. Which location this is? Elsa Fogen 18:24 : trins where [Friend name here] 18:25 : no fucking way... Wait. WHY ARE YOU GOING THERE IT'S TOO EARLY Or wait. You have already been at Five Pebbles?!?! Elsa Fogen 18:27 : where???? I can't go back anyway......... [Friend name here] 18:27 : fuck... it's too early to go there/ Too early. Why can't you return? Elsa Fogen 18:33 : door was closed................... okay i get it all over again [Friend name here] 18:34 : nononno NO NO NO!!!! WAIT FUCK STOP WAIT WAAAAAAAIT DON'T RESTART LOTUS MOTHERFUCKER (lotus was kinda my roleplay nickname lol) DON'T YOU DARE Elsa Fogen 18:37 : wha how then [Friend name here] 18:34 : You talking about gates with karma? Elsa Fogen 18:38 : yes [Friend name here] 18:38 : Fuf... there... look. So you went through. You sleep one time. And you can go once again. Elsa Fogen 18:38 : 🤔

-----

Elsa Fogen 18:53 : Should i look for this thing?

Elsa Fogen 19:54 : What should i do here?

[Friend name here] 20:03 : GO TO SLEEP THEN YOU GO THROUGH HORRIBLE LOCATION TO THE WORSE Don't touch the flies Elsa Fogen 20:23 : And what if i touched them Elsa Fogen 21:43 : Damn it's so dark here

Elsa Fogen 21:54 : Damn there creepy creatures mechanical Elsa Fogen 22:40 : FUCK I SAW AN ART WHERE BROKEN VESSEL HAD THIS FUCKING BLACK-BLUE THING IN THE HEAD

[Friend name here] 23:01 : btw, you're ahead of me xD I just... i need to recover my nerves Elsa Fogen 23:05 : btw this thing that leads you can it be killed? [Friend name here] 23:05 : Yes. Elsa Fogen 23:05 : Fuck) I think mine was killed Elsa Fogen 23:10 : So what should i do if my thing was killed...... Elsa Fogen 23:15 : Are these things dangerous?

Elsa Fogen 23:24 : What a creepy fuckig thing

but it's neat i love their design so much i saw same things in the location with pile of monkies these fucking things annlyed me so much there was a lake and two of these fuckers lived there Elsa Fogen 23:56 : Fuck, can i kill this thing? It's sitting there and that's it............

[Friend name here] 23:56 : You can but.... MANY SPEARS. VERY MUCH. Elsa Fogen 23:59 : OMG OVERSEER, MY SUNSHINE

october 13, 2020

Elsa Fogen 00:00 : OH YES I MADE IT TO THE NEST [shelter] And i understood why the fuck these things for [grapple worms] Elsa Fogen 00:23 : THERE'S 3 OF THEM

Elsa Fogen 00:28 : That's what i call TOTAL FUCK UP

Elsa Fogen 00:31 : i lived Elsa Fogen 00:31 : is that a fucking infection

Elsa Fogen 01:03 : i n f e c t i o n

Elsa Fogen 01:23 : fUCK

Elsa Fogen 01:28 : ....how many spears i need to kill this you say?

[Friend name here] 01:28 : More than 10. :) Elsa Fogen 01:29 : too loose a concept "more than 10" more than 10 can be and 11 and 100 well, two already there ahaha....... [Friend name here] 01:28 : Well.... Hm...... Not 11... Well maybe 20 or more. Elsa Fogen 01:30 : now this sounds as threat of avengers level [Friend name here] 01:30 : One moment. I'll look up their hp. Ha.... Ha.... 200 hp.... Elsa Fogen 01:34 : ................... and how much damage spear does?? [Friend name here] 01:36 : ... [RW wiki screenshot saying how much damage deals every slugcat per spear throw] Elsa Fogen 01:34 : *HYSTERICAL LAUGH* okay i died already around ten times BY JUST FALLING IN THE FUCKING PIT

Elsa Fogen 01:34 : infected snot

Elsa Fogen 01:34 : f UCK i found the door, but it needs the highest karma AND I'M WITH THE LOWEST BECAUSE OF ALL THOSE DEATHS FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCK Elsa Fogen 02:19 : FINALLY FINALLY YES I WENT FURTHER OH MY FUCKING GOD I'M SO TIRED OF THIS PIT Elsa Fogen 02:21 : WAIT WHAT WHERE DID I FLY

IS IT BECAUSE I ATE TOO MUCH INFECTION? [Friend name here] 02:22 : Well it's... It's... If short, there's troubles with gravitation and... THERE'S MANY DADDY LONG LEGS ON THE WAY But first you have to bring around 4 flies to Moon)))) YES YES YOU'LL HAVE TO GO BACK BRING 2 FOR NOW There will be more further Elsa Fogen 02:25 : ah. these?

Elsa Fogen 21:11 : fuck this shit....

[Friend name here] 21:12 : ))))))) YOU'LL HAVE TO))))) Elsa Fogen 21:12 : no i'm leaving ahupzhvalvva [Friend name here] 21:12 : YEEEEES)))) YOU NEED THIS TO COMPLETE THE GAME By the way Moon quest is not necessary Elsa Fogen 21:14 : thank god

october 16, 2020

Elsa Fogen 20:59 : these fucking tentacles discourage all desire to play rain 🙁

Finding and translating all this takes fucking forever and after this point i moved to another chat and i don't know which one so let me know if you want to see more of this!!!!!!

LIKE REBLOG AND SUBSCRIBE FOR PART 2!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

#rain world #rw monk #rain world monk #monk #the monk #rain world game #rain world screenshot

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monstersinthecosmos · 11 months ago

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Okay so like your fics about Armand pegging Daniel are my Roman Empire and Armand just shows up with the strap right. But I GOTTA KNOW what was Armand’s experience like shopping for that item, how many stores did he go to, did he do research, did he ask the clerks weirdo questions??? How did he settle on the item, did he deliberate over realistic veiny dildos vs simple colorful silicone???

Inquiring minds need your headcanons!!! 🥸

fdfjhsDGA what an honor omg

So!!!!!!! Pardon this obnoxious little break down of where this shows up in my fics but I have some behind the scenes knowledge I can share that I carried between stories LOL. Okay so there are 4 fics that revolve around the first time they used a strap on, and the idea is planted in my FIRST FIC ON AO3 Moon Above, Sun Below where it’s literally just the last paragraph of the fic, they’re taking a walk, Armand sees a sex shop, and he’s like OMG!!!!! :D

Down Below is the DIRECT sequel to that moment, it picks up with Daniel’s POV immediately knowing that Armand IS going to be asking weirdo questions! And he’s like, oh my christ I can’t do this lol, and he goes to wait outside.

The cashier asked me if I knew what to do with them. He told me to be ‘Safe, Sane, & Consensual.’ It was on a sign at the register.” Daniel chuckled a little. “Why did he say this to me?”

LIKE WHO KNOWS WHAT ALL HE FUCKIN TALKED ABOUT IN THERE, I just always imagined him doing his Armand thing, wanting to catalog everything and learn everything and see and touch everything. The answer is yes, he did ask a million questions, yes, the cashier was a little freaked out, because even when we all like to say that no one can be weird in NYC, I think Armand was very fucking weird and uncanny in a way that actually did stick out to people.

And then the MAIN EVENT if you will is The Lotus Eater/Dust of the Saturn which contain the alternate POVs of the same scene. In The Lotus Eater, I tried to create a timeline and imply that this is one of Armand’s Things for a while that he’s interested in, like he wants to go to different shops and see things and buy things. They play with cuffs and restraints earlier in the fic because Armand wanted to play with them, and then later on Armand wants to WATCH ALL THE PORN, and he gets the strap on idea from seeing how Daniel reacts to it when they watch a video, so he goes out to find one.

I don’t think I said so in the fics but I imagined that Armand wanted to find one that was like the one in the video, so there was possibly a very odd Armand-eseque interrogation of the retail worker. LOL. Probably him describing it in an Armand way and the guy is like “……. Uh????????????? You mean a dildo? Like a black dildo? Okay?”

I wish I still had my notes and stuff because I know I had a few photos I had used for reference to describe it and I can’t find them now. I do know that I searched like 1980s sex toys/dildos/strap-ons pretty extensively because I wanted to make it historically accurate. I looked up pictures of sex shops to get an idea of how different they are from today and what the selection was like. I also had been looking up vintage lesbian porn to see strap ons because I was curious how the harness technology was different, like if they looked different, if they were sturdy, if they seemed weird and floppy, etc. So if I recall, the one I described in the fic was just like one I’d seen in an actual porno LOL, and so I want to submit that idea forward to say that Armand was trying to find one like the one int he video.

It says this in The Lotus Eater, too:

The man at the register wanted to see Armand’s ID to make sure he was old enough before engaging in conversation. He explained how to affix the implement to the harness, and told Armand how he should “start with something smaller” and tell his “girlfriend” to be “careful” the first few times. But no, no, the size is fine, don’t worry, we’re experienced, it isn’t a problem, thank you, no thank you we don’t need condoms, yes I’m sure.

Cause like does ARMAND KNOW THAT HE ASKS WEIRDO QUESTIONS?? Did that guy think Armand was the weirdest customer he had all week and Armand didn’t even register it? Lol. This is, after all!!!, a story about Armand re-entering human society and learning how to People.

So yeah I like to think he was picky, but he was looking for the one in the video, which is the one I saw in a video LOL and also that like, from my research at the time I don’t think sex shops were like the glittery COCK EMPORIUMS of today, so like some of these decisions like what color it was or how veiny it was might have not really been a huge decision because there might not have been a huge selection. And I think like, in this situation in particular, even though Armand has been trolling Daniel for a while and fucking with him, I think this is one of the big moments for them (in the Usherverse anyway lol) when he starts like being a little more serious about his feelings and seeing Daniel in a new way, and curious about how this will feel for himself as well, so I don’t think it was appropriate to go with like a monster dong or ones with bumps or anything wild like that, I think he went simple. They got into all the other weird ones later! :D

Here's some photos from the early 80s I found that helped me make all these decisions and sculpt my mental images, for your Devil's Minion needs!

Also these links have some really cool photos of SEEDY RAUNCHY 80S NYC that I think about constantly and tbh maybe I've exposed a plot hole that HOW DID ARMAND HANGOUT IN NEW YORK AT ALL WITHOUT SEEING THIS BECAUSE THEY WERE EVERYWHERE but we'll pretend he was so hyperfocused on Daniel & his own lil hobbies that he had tunnel vision lol don't @ me

#!!!!! :D #stuff i wrote #the usher #armand/daniel

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