#how to prepare barley water

[diabetes-health-corner]

Barley Water: Benefits, Side effects & Its Recipe

Barley Water is a healthy, cooling drink loaded with nutrients. It is very nutritious and rich in minerals, vitamins, fiber, phosphorus, calcium, manganese, magnesium and copper, vitamin B12, iron, and protein, and is very low in fat, cholesterol, and sugar content.

Read more to know all benefits: https://www.freedomfromdiabetes.org/blog/post/barley-water-benefits-side-effects-&-its-recipe/1425

[diabetesreversalprograminindia]

Barley Water: Benefits, Side effects & Its Recipe

This article is originally published on Freedom from Diabetes website, available here. Barley water is a healthy, cooling drink loaded with nutrients. Its available over world. This water keep our body hydrate and cool in the summer. Do you know barley is used in beer and whiskey production. But very few people know that there is something like a simple recipe that is very effective in health and very good for diabetics, and can help in Diabetes Reversal.

Jau is very nutritious. It is rich in minerals, vitamins, fiber, phosphorus, calcium, manganese, magnesium and copper, vitamin B12, iron, and protein, and is very low in fat, cholesterol, and sugar content.

How to make Barley water?

Take 3/4 cup barley, 2 lemons (zest and juice), 6 cups water, Rock Salt optional.

Method:

Rinse barley under cold water until clear.

Place barley, grated lemon peel, and 5-6 cups of water in a pan.

Bring to a boil, then simmer for 10 minutes.

Strain into a bowl and discard the barley.

Stir in lemon juice and let cool to room temperature.

Pour into bottles and refrigerate. Store for up to 1 week

Now lets understand the benefits of Barley water:

Barley water help to lower BP and cholesterol.

It can help in effective weight loss, take 2 to 3 glasses per day.

Barley water has great healing properties.

Good for healthy bones and teeth and boosting immunity.

Helps combat diabetes and good cardiovascular health.

Improves digestion and constipation.

Cures impotence.

Reduces your risk of cancer, symptoms of arthritis,

Improves skin elasticity, brightens the skin tone, hair growth.

But you have to remember this, Barley water is safe for most people but for few, it can cause Side effects of bloating gas or a feeling of fullness. Barley can also cause an allergic reaction in some people. And People with high potassium and renal patients should avoid the use of lemon or lemon peel in barley water.

The best thing about barley water is we can prepare it in large quantity and store it in the refrigerator. It can be had any time and to get maximum barley water benefits one should drink it two times a day.

So what are you waiting for? Start having barley water.

To read more, click here. Also please connect with me on my website, Facebook page, and YouTube if you want to stay in touch or give me any feedback!

[spencerreidsreads]

What am I going to do with you?

Aaron Hotchner x gn!reader

Summary: You and Aaron share a cute moment in the kitchen

Genre: Fluff

Word count: 850 (just a short little one)

*based on THIS request*

AN: Just a short request today. I hope you enjoy! :)

“Ow ow ow”

Your moans of pain are the first thing Aaron hears when he walks through the door of your shared apartment after a long day at work.

As he shuffles further into your living space, he notices the smell of his favourite home cooked food and hears the sound of water running.

He approaches the kitchen where he heard you curse in pain and he sees you bent over the sink, holding your left index finger in your right hand and holding it under the stream of water of the tap.

You hadn’t noticed him yet, he takes a look around the kitchen and sees a variety of foods dotted around the counters. You had been preparing dinner for the pair of you.

“You ok sweetheart?” Aaron asks with sincerity in his voice. He knew based off of your facial expressions that you weren’t injured too badly. But Aaron doesn’t like seeing you in any pain whatsoever, no matter how big or small. So he can’t help but be concerned.

You turn around in surprise, having not heard him enter the apartment. A small smile makes its way onto your face, hiding the slight grimace you previously wore.

“I burned my finger on the pan” you exclaimed, inspecting the barley there burn on your finger.

Aaron walks over, gently prying your finger out of your other hand and placing it within his own. He lowered down to your height and squinted his eyes slightly to get a good look at your finger. It was red and he could tell it would be painful, but nothing too bad. And not much could really be done about it, running it under the tap and being gentle with it would work just fine.

He brought your hand up to his mouth, placing a slight kiss just below the burn, not wanting to hurt you more by touching it.

“Again?” he asked cheekily. This wasn’t the first time Aaron has caught you cursing to yourself over a kitchen based injury, you’ve burnt yourself several times. You’re simply just clumsy in the kitchen.

“It’s not my fault the stupid pans are too hot” you respond with a slight pout on your face, not liking being called out for your clumsiness.

Aaron laughs lightly at this, he thinks you’re adorable. Clumsy, but adorable.

He brings you into a tight embrace, both from having missed you whilst he worked today, and to show he meant no harm with his teasing.

Aaron slowly rocked you both side to side as he held one hand around your lower back, and the other gently stroking your hair on the back of your head.

After a short moment of indulging in you, he pulled back and looked lovingly into your eyes.

“What am I going to do with you?” he sighed teasingly, placing a kiss on your forehead.

“Maybe you can do the cooking for the rest of the week. I’m too injured to do anymore” you dramatically reply as you hold up your ‘injured’ finger, a smirk on your face.

“Oh of course, honey. I couldn’t possibly expect you to carry on with such an injury. Why don’t you go sit down while I finish plating up the food?” He questions, playing along with your dramatics.

You eagerly nod your head and rush to sit at the table. Aaron watches you go, his heart filled with so much love for you.

Once the food is all plated up he sets everything down on the table and sits to join you.

“Thank you for dinner sweetheart, everything looks great” Aaron tells you.

“You’re welcome” you respond. “I missed you”

“I missed you too. But I’m home now and should have the weekend off, so you have me all to yourself for a couple days.” Aaron is truly happy about this, he values every single minute he gets to spend with you. An entire weekend will be bliss. “What do you wanna do over the weekend?”

You thought about it for a second, there was plenty you had been wanting to do with Aaron for a while. Date nights out, museum visits and more. But honestly, you just wanted this weekend to be you and him with no disturbances. And nothing sounded better than staying in all weekend, with no one but each other. Cosy mornings and soft touches, movies and takeout, that sounded like bliss.

“Well… since I’m so terribly injured…”

You once again showed the burn on your finger (that had already practically disappeared)

…”I think we’ll have to stay in and watch movies and eat takeout all weekend”

Aaron truly couldn’t think of anything better. God he loved you so much.

“That sounds perfect, though I guess I’ll have to nurse you back to full health” he suggested with an eyebrow raise and a smirk.

You knew his suggestive intentions with that comment. He was going to take good care of you.

You smiled back, both of your eyes beginning to gloss over with lust.

This was going to be a fun weekend.

[atlaculture]

Favorite Foods: Katara

Since Katara was forced to take on a traditionally maternal role at an early age, I'd like to think her favorite Water Tribe dishes are the ones that are quick and easy to prepare. I also feel that Katara would be fond of the few fruits and edible greens available in the arctic, as it brings back fond memories of foraging with her mother and grandmother during the warmer seasons.

Sea Prunes (Entire 1st Row)- Katara doesn't express many food preferences in the show, but she seemed pretty enthusiastic about eating sea prunes, so I assume it's a meat she enjoys. Sea prune is another name for the black katy chiton, a type of mollusk. Their shells are dark and leathery, earning them nicknames like "sea prune" and "gumboot". Sea prunes are a traditional protein source for many indigenous peoples in Alaska and western coastal Canada. I think Katara would enjoy them sauteed with Chinese (Earth Kingdom) five-spice or tossed with seal oil in a kelp salad.

Suaasat - A Greenlandic Inuit soup. It traditionally consists of a thick broth made of seal meat, barley, onions, and potatoes. I'd like to think that she likes any dish where you can just throw all the ingredients in a pot and feed a lot of people fast.

Boiled Crab - She likes crabs because they're relatively easy to catch and even easier to cook. You just boil them and crack them open!

Pitsik - Dried Arctic Char. Like crab, she enjoys the simplicity of preparing it. You simply fillet the fish with its skin on, score and salt the flesh, hang the char to let the arctic winds airdry it, and you have a delicious jerky-like snack! They are also rather visually striking when you hang them up.

Akutaq - Meaning "mixed together" in Inupiat and Yupik, this dish is traditionally made with whipped fat, boiled fish, and berries. Commonly used berries include cranberries, lingonberries, cloudberries, bearberries, and crowberries. A sweet and savory meal that Katara and her mother probably used to make together.

Suvalik - If akutaq is “Arctic Ice Cream”, then suvalik is “Arctic Fruit Salad”. It’s traditionally comprised of emulsified fish eggs and seal oil mixed with berries. It’s described as creamy and sweet. This dish is known in Yupik culture as qerpertaq.

Bannock - Also called palauga in some Inuit dialects and alatiq in Yupik. Bannock is an unleavened flatbread found throughout North American indigenous culture. Since the flour has to be imported all the way from the Earth Kingdom, it was a rare treat for Katara growing up. She also likes how easy it is to make.

For more Water Tribe dishes, check out my Cultural Cuisine tag.

Like what I’m doing? Tips always appreciated, never expected. ^_^

https://ko-fi.com/atlaculture

[cuteandhughesy]

A Wonderful Christmas Time | William Nylander

summary: you and william living through the christmas eve traditions with your kids - as well as frantically preparing for santa's arrival. (dad!willy)

3.1k

warnings: SFW! pre-established relationship | children | dad!willy | mom!reader | christmas eve shenanigans | suggestive comments

a/n: based off this request! merry christmas eve!! my present to you is another highly requested willy fic 🥰 also there’s 360 of you now, which is insane…I love you all omg <3 I’ll see you guys on new years for a quinny fic

───────── ౨ৎ ─────────

"honey you can't play with the ornaments." your tone is warning but gentle, gathering the attention of your daughter, lennon.

she giggles, plopping down in her diaper covered butt beside the tree. lennon smiles her two toothed grin, big round eyes looking at you with nothing but joy.

you smile from the couch. "yeah i'm talking to you lenny baby."

the 1 year old laughs again—that adorable baby belly laugh than never fails in making you join in. she's not long out of the bathtub, with damp blonde hair flat against her head and wrapped up in her candy cane onsie. lennon grabs onto her toes through the soft material, rocking forward slightly. "ma." she gurgles, reaching towards you.

that is all it takes for you to get up, making your way towards the christmas tree—decorated in various coloured and homemade ornaments—and pick lennon up under her arms, pulling her against your chest. you kiss your daughters chubby cheek three quick times, igniting another round of baby giggles from her tiny body. "should we see what daddy and lukey are up to? should we go see?"

she snuggles into your neck, smiling at the mention of her dad and older brother. you bring yourself up the stairs, bare feet barley padding on the carpeted flooring. you reach the landing and the familiar sound of your husbands voice, followed by your sons sweet laughter ring in your ears.

rounding into the warm and blueberry soap scented bathroom, your smile widens even further. luke reaches towards william, the water just merely missing the side of the bath tub as he bounces up. he covers your husbands face in scented suds, creating the illusion of a big white beard—very fitting for the day.

"you look like santa daddy." he laughs, small hands continuing to pile more bubbles on top of william's already full beard.

"ho ho ho." your husbands mimics father christmas's deep rumbling slogan, leaning further over the the edge of the grand bath tub to nuzzle your sons neck, transferring the bubbly mess to luke.

you watch with an amused expression as luke's laughter increases, squirming away from the bubbles and the scratchy feeling of william's beard. then his bright blue eyes find you standing against the door frame, and instantly he's distracted. "mummy!"

william looks over his shoulder, and the sight of you and lennon has him grinning wildly. "hey you two."

"hello my boys," you hum, walking further into the vintaged decorated bathroom. "how's bath time coming along? you getting clean lukey baby?"

"i'm not a baby mummy." your 4 year old is ever the sassy one, crossing his slippery arms over his tiny chest. "i'm a grown up." although his attitude drives you up the wall slightly, his little lisp and side eye makes it a little more on the cute side.

you snicker. "oh are you now?"

"yeah. i'm the grown up and lennon is the baby." luke points a finger in your daughters direction, and with that momentary attention on her, lennon squeals happily, fisting your pyjama top in her chubby hand.

william quirks a brow in luke's direction. "santa doesn't come to grown ups lukey."

he gasps loudly, eyes widening to a comical state at his dads words. "okay, Im a baby!"

it seems that lennon has realized her dad is crouched by the tub in front of her older brother, and she instantly starts whining, her chunky little arms stretched out as she asks for william.

"mummy, when's santa coming?" luke questions.

you put lennon down between your bare feet, sitting her on her bum. she doesn't stay, immediately crawling towards your husband while babbling his name happily.

"not until you're sleeping, bub."

he pouts, "but what if I want to see him?"

"that's not how it works buddy." william sighs gently, scooping lennon into his arms. "his magic will go away if you see him."

luke gasps, eyes wide with panic and unshed emotion. "I don't want his magic to go away daddy!"

you coo, joining your husband and daughter infront of the tub, getting down to your knees. you mimic your sons pout, reaching out to run a hand over luke's wet, curly hair. "it's okay bub."

he leans into your touch, blinking up at you with his wet eyelashes. luke's always looked identical to his father, meaning it's always been hard for you to be mad it him—but you're working on it. "we just gotta make sure we get into bed soon! so santa can come and bring you and lenny some presents."

that seems to do the trick, and a smile pulls at his tiny rosebud lips. "okay mumma."

you help luke get out of the bath and wrap him in his favourite blue dinosaur towel, holding him in your arms as you help dry him off, as well as keep him warm. taking baths in the nylander house was never such an event, but as soon as luke turned 4, he decided that you and lennon could no longer share bath time with him.

you really weren't going to argue with him about something so insignificant—so separate bath times it's been.

"you've such a good boy this year, lukey." you mumble into your sons chubby cheek, pressing two kisses against the flushed skin. "I love you."

"I love you too mummy, but we have to put the cookies out now." his serious deadpan stare up at you has you giggling, and you nod quickly.

you get luke dressed in his matching candy cane pyjamas before taking him downstairs—joining william and your sleepy daughter who'd previously slipped back to the fire lit family room.

"baby do think santa wants chocolate chip or oatmeal? what should we leave out?" you eye luke from across the kitchen island, an empty santa plate between you.

"I think santa wants chocolate chip." william says enthusiastically, holding lennon in his strong arms. she's practically asleep now, blinking dangerously slow against his chest.

you send your husband a warning look, to which he sends you a quick wink.

you look back at luke, who is leaning on the counter top with a thoughtful finger to his chin—something you often do that's he's adorably picked up on. "mhmmm..can we ask uncle alex?"

"why do you want to ask uncle alex?" you question with amusement, brows pulled together tightly.

"because he's smart." luke says matter of factly, looking at you with a curious expression.

william snickers. "that's going to inflate his ego."

you shake your head, a gentle smile pulling at your lips—you already know your brother-in-law will absolutely eat up his nephew's statement.

"lukey, uncle alex is sleeping right now. but I think you're smart too and you should pick the cookies."

"okay," luke chirps, "chocolate mummy!”

william leans down and presses a firm kiss against his sons damp hair, clearly feeling at peace with luke's cookie choice. "good pick baby."

you help luke put two cookies on the plate, reminding him multiple times to not eat the cookies himself, especially before bed, which proves to be a bit of a broken record—but you get there eventually. luke takes the plate and glass of almond milk over to the coffee table, barley keeping the milk from spilling over the rim as he roughly places them down.

right before finally getting luke to head in the direction of the stairs, he turns back towards you and william with wide eyes. "daddy! we have to put out the reindeer food!"

aryne tavares had seen the cutest DIY reindeer food craft on pinterest a few days ago, and the two of you got a bunch of the leafs kiddos together to make some before santa and the reindeers arrival. luke's been so excited for days about the damn glitter oatmeal concoction, and you're surprised he's only just remembering it.

you look towards your husband. "yeah daddy, you gotta put the reindeer food out."

after william bares the freezing cold christmas eve temperature and sprinkles the magic food mixture on your front step, you finally get luke into bed. your read him a holiday book while william gets the rest of the unwrapped christmas gifts from your linen closet, bringing them to the living room for your last minute wrapping session.

as you finish the last line of the book, you watch luke's eyes flicker closed, some much needed sleep taking over as he goes limp against the lightning mcqueen pillow.

you slip out of the dark room and tiptoe down the stairs, joining william and the rather large pile of gifts by the couch. you exhale loudly, hands on your hips as you asses everything. "you're on tape duty."

he groans. "I hate tape duty."

your pout is exaggerated, walking towards him and wrapping your arms around his sweater covered waist. "awh baby, you'll be okay."

30 minutes later and what feels like a hundred presents later, william groans for the 10th time, falling backwards against the shaggy rug beneath you. "ugh my back is killing me." he peeks over at you. "how do you do this every year?"

you slide the scissors down the holly printed wrapping paper. "i'm very flexible."

a boyish grin tugs at his lips. "yeah you are."

you look away from the present and over towards your dramatic husband. despite your cheeks burning red at his insinuation, your give him a deadpanned stare. "willy."

"I think we should take a break." he hums.

you sigh gently, folding the paper over a box full of ella nylander's favourite sephora pieces. "honestly as much as I'd love a break, it's quite literally christmas eve, babe. these presents gotta be wrapped."

he pushes up to his elbows, looking at you pointedly. "my family doesn't need their gifts wrapped."

you laugh. "yes, they do."

"fine—but if I strain my back and can't play...i'm giving staff your number." he teases you, sitting back into a proper position, fingers fiddling with some bows spewn across the rug.

"yeah yeah, pass me the damn ribbon."

thankfully you're only wrapping gifts for another 20 minutes, wrapping a beautiful velvet ribbon over every single one. you're sure your limbs will punish you for the extra ribbon work tomorrow morning, but the perfectionist in you doesn't care about that with how aesthetically pleasing the gifts look.

you make william drag out the bags full of presents for luke and lennon, passing them to you while you put them next to the christmas tree, ready for the morning.

you've definitely spoiled your two kids for another christmas now, but you and william can't help it—this time of year is so special and magical, and your kids are so well behaved that it's hard not to get them lots of things to celebrate another year.

hours after you would've liked to go to sleep, you're finally walking up the stairs, william hot on your trail, when you suddenly stop, a low groan rumbling through your chest. "the cookies."

his head hits your butt in exhaustion and defeat. "fuck me."

—

"santa came!" the shrill squeal of luke is the first thing you can register, tired eyes blinking open in the dim room.

beside you, willy groans, rolling onto your side of the bed under the warm covers.

luke pushes open your bedroom door, bare feet smacking against the hardwood as he runs towards your bed. "mummy! daddy! santa came." he slaps his hands on the side of the bed, a command that he wants up.

usually you'd work on his method of asking, but not today, his haste much understood. you gasp loudly, sitting up so you're able to lift him onto your and william's shared bed. "what? are you sure?"

he giggles, crawling into your lap. "yes!" subconsciously he starts playing with the buttons on your pyjama top, something he used to do when he was a baby.

"oh my goodness." you grin, gently tickling his sides. "well should we get up and head downstairs?"

he squeals again, and the sound is like gold—instantly walking you up. "yes mummy!"

beside you, william sighs sleepily, pushing up on the mattress into a sitting position. his smile is lazy, hand pushing back luke's crazy hair.

"daddy, it's christmas!" you're quickly forgotten about, luke sneaking over to william's lap and cuddling into his shirtless chest.

"I know buddy." he smiles, kissing his head.

"let's get your sister first, lukey. and then we will go downstairs." you chime gently, already pulling the covers back to slip out of bed. luke follows suit, sliding belly first off the tall mattress.

lennon is already awake when you open her door, holding onto the crib railing as she bounces on the mattress. she makes an adorable cooing noise as you greet her, gummy smile making an appearance as you get closer.

as soon as you all make it downstairs, chaos ensues. it's a mess of ribbon, bows and teared  wrapping paper as luke quickly opens all his presents. although the mess is a bit overwhelming, it's overshadowed by the joy of watching your sons face full of excitement.

at every present, luke will stop and bound over to your husband, gift clutched in his hand. "daddy can you open this one?" or "look at this one daddy!"

and everytime william shows the most enthusiasm, making that christmas magic linger as long as humanly possible.

"look daddy I have a hockey stick just like you!" luke jumps up and down in one spot, practically vibrating with excitement as he holds up his brand new hockey stick from santa.

he'd been begging for a 'big boy stick' for almost a year, and william thought this christmas would be the perfect opportunity to wrap up his sons newest obsession.

you hold lennon on your knees, letting her play with the velvety green ribbon from her gift. like usual, you watch luke waltz up to william, displaying his new hockey stick like his life depended on it.

"wow!" william beams, "you're very lucky lukey."

your son nods with enthusiasm, eyes still tranced on the stick. "now I can come play with you and uncle mitchy."

"that's right baby."

you make them pose for a photo after that. william tucks luke into his side, a smile on both of your babies faces as luke holds the stick out. you make sure to send it to steph marner, followed by how excited he is to play with mitch. it's all so cute, and you're so in love with your little family.

luke plays with his toys while you and william make breakfast, lennon gurgling happily in her high chair, sucking on a strawberry while she waits for her food.

eventually you get him to stop playing and come get his serving of eggs, bacon and toast—although he does bring the hockey stick to the table, but you didn't expect anything else.

it's when william is tidying up the dishes and you're just getting lennon out of the high chair, william's family arrives, walking through the front door in a flurry of snow and presents, smiles on their faces.

"merry christmas!"

luke's tiny gasp is almost humorous, and he drops the hockey stick and runs towards his grandparents, tiny feet smacking against the floor. "papa! nana!"

"oh my goodness!" camila greets warmly, dropping her bag to embrace her grandson. "hello my baby." william's mom kisses luke's face multiple times, which sends the toddler into a fit of giggles.

"and here's the other little baby." michael smiles gently, reaching towards your daughter, running his index finger along her soft cheek. "hello lenny bear! merry christmas sweet girl." she smiles, shying away from her grandfathers tickle.

his parents greet you both briefly, but their too wrapped up in the magic of christmas with their first set of grand babies that you're not even mad about the hasty greeting.

"lukey!" ella looks down at her nephew, arms open expectantly. "do I get a hug?"

"yes auntie ella!" he runs into her arms, squeezing william's sister as tight as he can manage.

she pulls back, looking down at luke with sparkling eyes. "did you open your presents from santa?"

"yes," luke beams, blinking up at his aunt warmly. "and he got me a hockey stick!"

"what?! you're so lucky." ella relates the words he's heard a million times today, running her palm flat over his unruly head of hair. "I bet uncle alex will want to see it!"

at the mention of his favourite person in the world (besides his father of course), luke gasps so hard you think his little lungs might explode. he catches sight of alex in the kitchen, chatting with you while he plays with lennon's tiny toes affectionately.

"uncle alex" luke giggles, running over to his uncle.

at the sound of his name, the second eldest nylander sibling looks over just in time for luke to run at his legs. alex smiles, grabbing your son under the arms and swinging him to his chest. "hey dude."

luke immediately lays his head on his shoulder, rubbing his cheek on the soft fabric of alex's hoodie. it's a rather sweet sight, and you're instantly feeling emotional about it.

you clear your throat, adjusting lennon on your hip. "lukey, wanna tell uncle alex what you said last night?"

your son nods gently. "you are smart."

alex gasps happily, pulling down luke's pyjama shirt from where it's ridden up against his sweater.

"he wanted to call you and ask what cookies santa would like because you're smart." you continue, adding a bit more context to the story.

alex nods triumphantly, "you're right lukey I am smart." he kisses your sons cheek once, a loud smacking noise that has lukey laughing, trying to squirm away from the tickle of alex's beard—something he's used to with william.

you'll never get tired of the holiday season, and seeing your family so content and happy with one another just adds to the festive atmosphere and pure joy of christmas.

you feel your husbands arms wrap around your waist from behind, william gently kissing the side of your face as he greets you. "merry christmas, babe."

lennon gurgles happily as she catches sight of william, reaching over you to touch his face, fingers raking through his grown-out facial hair and running over his lips. william nips her tiny hands gently, making her squeal with laughter.

you smile warmly, watching with loving eyes. "merry christmas willy."

[devoutekuna]

100%

Includes- Toji, Sukuna, Nanami, Gojo, Geto

A/N: sorry for the delay

Sukuna-

His daughter 100% inherits most of his traits compared to yours, despite being the king of curses, the man could sleep anywhere as long as he had nobody watching him. Fortunately for him his daughter inherited that which was a pleasure for him as she just needed to put her head on something soft to pass out. "Get up" poking at the little girl, she was fast asleep on his chest, her whole body curled up in the fetal position as she slept, maybe it was comforting for her? Kissing his teeth at the fact that he now couldn't move from this position since he would wake her with so much movement.

Nanami-

He couldn't understand why his daughter was so sucked into the art of shadow puppets, after camping she discarded her love for cartoons and moved on. Now he's got to do a silly play atleast once a day so that she could fall asleep, though it never lasted long since she was always asleep 3 minutes into it. Walking back home just to find your husband and daughter fast asleep Infront of the flashlight, his hands still in the same position to make a bird, fortunately that meant you didn't need to try and put her to bed.

Geto-

Despite how much he hates having to wash his hair and maintain in, he refuses to cut it as it was a signature look of his and he couldn't imagine himself having a different style. That's why he always opts for it in a bun or braids whenever he's at home working or cooking. He never wants to braid it though, so he always asks his girls for help.

"Do you want bows daddy?" Peeking into the corner of his eye as she held onto the few strands of hair. "Do what you want baby" allowing the twins to have full control. He just hoped that they didn't mess up his hair.

Gojo-

Preparing a bath wasn't the hard part, it was the fact that he got so carried away and got in himself and now too comfortable to leave the tub. Resulting in him fall asleep, fortunately for him, his son was on guard, resulting in the toddler jumping into the bathtub to scare him. "Cannon ball!" The backsplash of water hitting his face, instantly waking the man up.

Toji-

Toji 100% volunteers to go grocery shopping just so he can buy his favourite treats for him and his girls, mainly himself though as he barley got to eat his junk food since he married you. Taking his baby girl into the store with him as he held her, keeping her from running away. Unfortunately for him she was very persistent when it came to getting things she wanted, this time she wanted to go see the toys, forcing herself out of her father's arms as she ran towards the aisle. Soon after finalizing his checkout, he was already leaving with the food. Arriving back home with the goods only to be bombarded with questions from you. Succumbing to his thoughts as he remembered his poor baby girl left at the store, fortunately for him his daughter was too immersed into the toys to even realise half an hour passed.

[katerinaaqu]

Circe's Potion

So no one is going to talk about how Circe's "potion" is not really a potion at all (like just a liquid) but that it was practically a type of broth? No? Then I guess that I have to do it so you can make it at home hahahaha and enchant all your guests or maybe make them fear you! Hahahhahahaha your choice!

And then she mixed cheese and barley and golden honey and stirred them with Pramnian wine.

(Translation by me)

So her potion is not really a pure drink but a broth! A salt-sweet broth given the ingredients. The name of the drink or rather the notion of it seems to be also appearing in the Iliad as a healing potion given to Machaon (and ironically is yet another time a female character to make it). The name seems to be Κυκεών / Kykeon which simply translates as "potion" from the verb κυκάω which means "to stir"

The honey is mentioned as χλωρό that also means "greenish" of color or greenish gold. If you are like Circe may I suggest wild flower honey or eucalyptus honey or potentially herbal honey such as thyme or bush honey. Plants typically found in the wilderness and also known for their healing properties.

Barley if raw might need some preparation to be soft enough to be consumed unless you do not mind some crunchiness XD otherwise it can be boiled or turned to dust beforehand I guess! If you have a mortar or a blender!

For cheese I would suggest white cheese as it would be more common in antiquity. Goat cheese is preferable hahaha! Just probably not too salty!

Both main ingredients (barley and wine) are associated with gods that have to do with life and death Demeter and Dionysus

As a result this type of drinks were associated with Eleusinian Mysteries

Which consequently I find very interesting given how Odysseus drinks this and then descends to the underworld! Odysseus is basically doing LITERALLY the Eleusinian mysteries!

In fact the whole thing seems to be somehow related to the travel on the underworld. Odysseus meets Hermes who assists him through (Hermes who passes the dead in the underworld) he drinks a potion related to Eleusinian Mysteries he travels to the Underworld and he comes back!

Pramnian wine was probably made of resin grapes (although the actual making process is mostly unknown) therefore it was very thick and heavy to drink without watering or preparing and ancient writers thought it was reserved for its healing properties

Maybe this is why the Greeks drank her potion! Maybe they thought she wanted to heal them! Oh Circe you are good!

So basically Circe's potion is yet another example of the word φάρμακον which in ancient Greek meant both "medicine" and "poison" Hahahaha! And speaking on "poison" see this HILARIOUS artist make it! And the rather encouraging reaction when he tries it! XD

I love his videos by the way because he does very good research on ancient recipes and gives you also the information that I gave you very briefly in more detail and in a very fun way!

Honestly if anyone makes this reblog me with their experience! Hahahahaha! But really one probably must add more honey and perhaps boil it more or make the barley in fine powder if they do not want to end up with a barley breakfast (which now I think I wanna make for one morning! XD)

So there you go! Now you can be Circe! Try not to turn anyone into pigs with weird drugs guys! XD

[a-certain-romance]

She can hardly wait

Characters/Ships: Yae Miko x fem!reader & Dehya x fem!reader

Synopsis:

Warnings: Smut written by a minor, a/b/o dynamics (both) possessive tendencies (Miko), biting (Miko), fangs (Miko), mentions of blood (Miko), Praise (Dehya), Riding (Deyha)

In actuality, you had nothing against not wanting Miko to help you through your heat. But you couldn’t help but be somewhat wary of the person she would become when the cycle gets to her.

So when your heat came around the corner and you avoided her as best as you could, this sly fox decides to make no interference whatsoever. If you really think you can handle it alone, so be it. She won’t stop you. Miko knows you’ll need her eventually. It’s only a matter of time until you come crawling to her with tears in your eyes.

In fact, she’ll do things to purposely tease the shit out of you. Showing off her legs more, whispering in your ear with a breathy voice, lingering touches too close for comfort. “I’m sure you must have a good reason to keep this from me. But dear, wouldn’t your rather let me take it from here, hmm?”

She wants you to beg for it. Her favorite part about this whole process is how weak and willing you would undoubtedly become. Miko can smell your desire from a mile away so it’s only a matter of time. She finds this whole idea laughable. What am I going to do, break you? She’s debating it.

It’s all fun and games to her. That is until, your scent starts to attract the attention of others. Left and right, men & women approach you more often, offering their their “assistance” to help satisfy their your needs.

And it ticked Miko off. Tch, like they can do any better. Perhaps she spent too much watching you tremble and not enough time doing anything about it. It’s about time she gives you what you’ve been aching for.

“My, you are desperate little thing” her index finger slides slowly down your stomach. “Tell me. Would you have said yes to them? Those faceless scoundrels who don’t know you like I do.”

“Never, Miko—“

“That’s right, because you’re mine. I’m the only one who can make you feel this good” She taps her finger firmly at your entrance in a familiar pattern. Three, two, one…one, two, three.

“Alright, I believe I’ve teased you long enough. It’s about time to let the world know who you belong to, don’t you think?”

Her pointed teeth pierce the skin right above your collarbone. At the same time, Miko slides the end of her cock past your folds. With that, every sensation becomes heightened. Even though it’s only the tip, you arch yourself close to her.

“Well aren’t you needy” She swipes a bit of blood off her pointed fangs as she smirks down at you. “It’s only just the tip. I’ve barley touched you yet.” Miko leans down to lick your wound clean.

“There. If anyone should dare to defy this mark, they shall answer to me. Now let’s finish this, shall we?”

Dehya on the otherhand is the polar opposite of Miko. She would drop everything to be with you if you called for her. She’s on you in seconds the minute she smells you flare up. Deyha’s managed to keep track of the time of your cycles so she can prepare accordingly. She’s been with you long enough to know the signs: flushed cheeks paired with a stronger scent and a little bit of extra clinginess. It makes her wonder why you’re hiding this time around.

Deyha brings a bag of overnight clothes to your place where you’ve been isolating yourself. She finds you huddled in a pile of blankets, sweating profusely. Only this time it wasn’t because of Sumeru’s intense weather.

“Missed me?”

You mumble out a response to which she shakes her head at. Before tending to your sexual needs, she forces you to drink a cup of water and removes a few blankets from your bed so they won’t get in the way later. You explain afterwards how Dehya’s involvement with Sumeru’s chaos lead to you decide to go through this one on your own since she seemed preoccupied with other matters. She lightly scolds you for not mentioning this sooner. Dehya doesn’t stay mad for too long though. Now that she’s here, she’s going to make you spend your day and night working through your heat.

“That’s it..that’s my girl. Think you can take it all the way?” Dehya opens your legs wider around her waist and pulls you close to her chest. It never fails to shock you how she can go from pampering you to pounding you at a moment’s notice.

She groans into your neck when she bottoms out. “You’re taking my cock so well baby”. Her hand caresses your cheek, “I’ll make you feel so good. I’m gonna start thrusting now, okay?”

Her stokes are languid as you get used to the position. But your intoxicating scent triggers a rut of her own. Her breath hitches. A new feeling suddenly being awoken. She brazenly pulls you you closer by the hips to meet her thrusts. The closer you are, the further she fucks her shaft into you.

“Nnh, please just hold still for me, like a good girl would” Dehya changes the angle to hit deeper than before. The way her cock drags against your walls feels heavenly. Despite this being your heat, she’s a whimpering mess trying to please the both of you.

“Baby, you feel so good,” she whispers close to your ear, “Such a good girl. I need to—“

Her the throbbing head repeatedly knocks against your cervix. She swells, pulls out, and shoots her load on your stomach. Your slick still continues to drip from between your legs; your satisfaction not entirely met. You still need Dehya’s help. And that means you’re going to let her take you however she wants, right?

[mindless-existence1]

Rottmnt Brothers Sick Fics

This is the second part in the Rottmnt Sick Fic serise. Leo was done first, find it on my masterlist, enjoy.

REQUESTS OPEN PLS SEND! REQUESTS OPEN FOR FLUFF AND KINKTOBER AS WELL!

Authors note: I understand that there's 7 stages of the flu in cannon rottmnt but for fic purposes that doesn't exist. This is slightly aged up so then it works out reader has their own apartment. Also this is for my boo boo bear hope you enjoy😚😚😚😚

When your boyfriend came over for your movie date you didn't think something would be wrong. But the second you opened the door and were meet with a sneezing and coughing terrapin you knew he wasn't ok. "Hey hun."

He greets you with a sweet voice that is groggy and slurred. "What's wrong babe?" Worry is evident in your voice while you help him into your apartment. "Oh nothing don't worry about it, Raph's fine."

He stumbles a bit going through the door and you just barely are able to hold him up. "Are you sick?" The question is slightly rhetorical since you already know the answer. Raph goes into a coughing fit, he nods his head while his face is in his elbow.

"Think I got it from pops." Your mind goes back to a few days ago when Splinter had gotten the flu. You knew how hard it had hit your boyfriends father-having first hand experience since you helped the brothers out- so you just hoped it was better for Raph.

"You didn't have to come today, you should be resting and taking medicine." Your worry is evident in every word. Raph just shakes his head, "Raph is fine, it's just a little flu nothing serious. Didn't want to miss our movie date."

You sigh, leading him towards your living room to lay him on the couch. "I would understand if we had to cancel." Your tone is soft as you lay him onto your couch that barley fits him. He sneezes into his elbow and sniffles.

"I dont like canceling plans plus I wanted to see you." He seems to be on the verge of sleep, just barely keeping himself from drifting now that he's laying down. You walk towards your kitchen that connects to the living room, "Do you want tea or anything to eat?"

He seems to think for a minute before shaking his head, "You don't have to take care of me, Raph's fine. Let's just pick a movie." He reaches for some napkins and loudly blows his nose while you go to your cupboard.

"I want to take care of you because you're sick. Now do you want tea? I also have a can or chicken noodle that you should have. It'll make you feel better." You start to grab the ingredients you need. Raphs coughs make you turn.

"Honey I swear I'm fine, can we please just start a movie?" Raphs actions defy his words. He slumps back into the couch and clears his scratchy throat.

"We can watch something when I get over there, after I make soup and tea." You cut him off before he can object. "And before you complain I'm hungry too so this isn't just for you."

Your voice is stern while you start the stove and find a pot and kettle. "Y/n?" Raphs voice is horse and quiet. "Yeah?" You don't turn to answer as you drop in two cans of chicken noodle soup.

"Thank you for helping me, Raph loves you." Your heart melts at the loving words. You can hear how exhausted he sounds, always having to take care of his brothers means always being tired. He never let himself be the one getting taken care of.

"I love you to." You hear him shuffle on the couch. After a few minutes of heating up the soup and tea water you prepare to give it to Raph. Two bowls get filled with steaming soup along with two mugs of tea.

It takes two trips to get everything to your coffee table. You notice how Raph seems to be sleeping peacefully on his side covered in a large blanket. After finding his favorite Jupiter Jim movie you decide to wake him up before his meal gets cold.

With a kiss on his forehead and a slight shake of his shoulders you wake up the large terrapin. He slowly pushes himself into a sitting position so he can eat easily.

You reach for the remote across the table and turn on the movie. As the opening credits role you say, "I'm guessing you haven't had any medicine."

You speak in-between bites of hot soup (pun intended). He shakes his head. "No, took some before coming over." He takes a sip of tea. "Didn't want to get you sick." He mumbles before shoving the spoon into his mouth.

You smile but don't say anything since the first scene of your movie starts to play. Half way through you finish your soup and rest your head onto Raphs large spiky shoulder.

You are careful not to hurt yourself on his sharp scales. You feel Raph flinch when he feels your head touch him, he slowly starts to relax. He has always been hesitant when it comes to physical touch. Always conscious of his larger size.

After a few minutes you start to fall asleep, once your breathing evens out Raph looks down towards you. He can feel himself slowly drifting so he carefully- very carefully- moves around the couch so you are laying ontop of him.

Soon you both are cuddling eachother to sleep, Raph can feel himself feeling better already. With one last look down towards you, Raph lulls into a deep slumber with you tightly in his arms.

[lilibethdrawsreylo]

For my fellow Cullen-enjoyers, here's his POV from the first chapter of the fic I'm working on.

Water in the shaving bowl had frozen solid overnight. Over his years away from Ferelden, Cullen had forgotten how treacherous the weather in the mountains could be, even in spring. He’d have to see that his soldiers had extra heating runes to go between them, be it that Cullen himself was waking up drenched in sweat most mornings. He hadn’t touched lyrium since he came to command the late Divine’s forces and had a few months still before its song would become all-consuming. He only heard it in his dreams for now, boiling slowly like a frog. Foregoing the armor for a leather doublet for the time being, Cullen yanked aside the waxed flap of his tent. The camp under Haven’s logged walls remained quiet save for distant calls of watchmen, but the village’s lakeside gates were already ajar, with tavern folk going to-and-fro in preparation for the day’s first meal. Unnoticed without the steel and his red cloak, the Commander walked past bubbling cauldrons of barley tended to by yawning kitchen boys. He was soon stepping through snow that hadn’t yet been trampled on nor melted by bonfires. Cullen lowered himself to one knee near the lake shore, cupped the pristine snow in his ungloved hands, and put his face into it. For a blissful moment, the memory of lyrium’s blue humm was banished from his mind. He rubbed his palms down his cheeks as droplets of water trickled along his wrists. Before him, the black expanse of ice was starting to turn gray; as the dawn finally broke, he saw her. Cullen had watched her in the war room and when demons were falling from the sky, but it was like he’d never seen her before, the fine halo of hair aglow with the sun, blooming like a snowdrop between a fir’s raised roots. The Herald of Andraste. He understood it now. How he ended up near her, Maker knew, although those were Cullen’s boots that left tracks in the icy crust. He came to his senses upon approaching the lone tree she was sitting by, at the shore’s very edge. She’d been crying, Cullen could clearly tell, and now sat perched on a protruding root with her knees to her chest, letting the cold bite her reddened face. She gasped as she noticed his intrusion, and Cullen sighed to himself. Trust him to act like an oaf. “Forgive me, Lady Trevelyan,” he said, “I didn’t mean to disturb you.” “That’s alright,” she replied after a moment’s pause. “I was about to go back.” The lady looked up at him expectantly, and Cullen guessed to offer her his hand. He shivered when they touched. Were her fingers that chilled, or did his skin run too hot? As their hands parted again, Cullen reached for the clasp of his cloak—the cloak that was still in his tent. He… couldn’t very well present her with his doublet, could he? He wouldn’t dare. As they set out toward Haven, the lady kept her jaw tight lest her teeth begin to chatter.  “I thought I’d keep it to myself,” she eventually spoke, “but being called ‘Lady Trevelyan’ is about as odd as ‘Herald.’ My mother’s Lady Trevelyan.” “Oh. Lady Evelyn, then?” Cullen suggested, but she shook her head, small as a snowdrop beneath the green-tinged heavens. “I’d much rather just be Evelyn.”

As always, I plan to write the whole thing before posting to AO3. This one is most likely going to be long, so I can't tell when that will be - but I'm excited to share small excerpts here. :D

[sgiandubh]

Whisky, gin and beer

It was always going to be about beer, too - not only whisky and gin. And it was probably designed to be a simultaneous project, that might have been postponed for various reasons: funny how all those intelligent people across the street forget everything about COVID, when it does not fit their agendas. And by COVID, I do not mean only the prolonged lockdowns, but first and foremost the worldwide logistics crisis, with compromised supply chains and overall a huge blow on the transports' sector.

In fact, looking at those trademark websites, it becomes evident that first (now abandoned) trademark application for beer was filed in at the same time as the one for whisky, on December 28, 2018:

Separate categories, as per US regulations, need separate filings, of course. And beer is a brilliant, simple idea, with high quality local ingredients (it's really barley, water, hops and yeast) relatively easy to source. Well, spare perhaps for the hops, but that is not really a problem, anymore:

(Source: the James Hutton Institute's booklet Hops in Scotland, 2018 - well, then. The institute is based in Dundee, by the way, so I think they know exactly what they are talking about, especially after a four year long feasibility study with encouraging results: https://www.hutton.ac.uk/news/scottish-hops-viable-commercial-crop-hutton-research-finds)

As I always make a point of reminding anyone, this page does not deal in fantasy and empty, meaningless scouring of social media accounts. And cackle to your heart's content, Mordor, but S seems to have a genuine, informed interest in the industry, as shown above.

This is a different business plan and a different marketing model, based on affordable production costs and yield/volume (as compared to successive, 'limited batches' of tequila or whisky, where the accent is placed on the excellence of the product and know-how, as reflected in the final price tag). You can bottle that beer or you can sell it on tap, partnering with local bars and pubs first, then progressively extending that network. And I bet the farm it is going to be a premium, artisanal beer first, with options open for a more democratic product, once brand awareness is properly built: beer is versatile, like that.

Whisky and gin were expensive, carefully curated pet projects. Beer is a fun, easy and lucrative one, with a wider clientele and fast growing potential. And this is how that unknown, struggling Scottish actor who once was the face of Tennent's has a fair opportunity to strike it big. To be followed, which I might do. And this is also how his products could cover the entire price range, from luxury to affordable.

It is also always disheartening to see how all those bitter women congregating on certain Tumblr pages feel the need to dismiss anything he does. As I always said and I always will, many of them have no idea about the very basics of business and trade, no exposure to that world and, to be honest, no particular intellectual acuity. Plus I bet the farm many of them lie about their own circumstances: it's easy to pretend, on the Internet and always sexier (and lame, of course) to introduce yourself as a corporate whatever than a secretary. But I wonder how would they feel, in the unlikely situation they would be running their own lemonade stand, if passers by started cackling and bitching about their trade, out of the blue.

So, all in all, we seem to be dealing with some careful preparation, portfolio diversification and yes, taking much needed strides away from McGrandma. To be continued, of course...

PS: FMN Gin, still crickets? Ahhh...

[iwanty0uu]

Hey guys change of plans. my mom just pissed me off and i wanna run away in my backyard and hide in my dad’s car trunk so imma take it out on yall rn.

Growing Pains

I loudly slammed the door, gasping as I came to my senses.. “shit..” I should know better than to slam a door in my Jamaican mother’s household.

Before she could even start cursing, you opened it wide and yelled, “MOMMY I APOLOGIZE I NEVER DID MEAN TO MAKE THE DOOR SLAM LIKE THAT”,

I mentally sanded my eardrums, preparing for the hurricane of curses and insults that would flood from her mouth, “OH SO YOU MOVE TO FOREIGN AND THINK YOU’RE ONE OF THEM AMERICANS HUH? I WILL SEND YOU BACK TO YOUR GRANNY, GIRL.”

Being the daughter of two immigrants was hard enough, and considering you were one yourself made it even more irritating. Your mom decided it would be a great idea to ship you off to the land of the free, alone at fifteen, and send you to live with your aunt in a literal plantation in the city..New York.

The amount of paper colored faces that crossed your path at the airport was enough to send you into a frenzy, so after begging for 3 years (mostly because you would go to the Columbia University this school year and she wanted to brag about you on whatsapp) mommy dearest decided to pack up, take your dad and little brother to New York until you finished college, and explore.

Your brother was only a year younger than you, and always complained about how you got to do more than him, even though the fact that his girlfriend could sleep over anytime he wanted (with the door closed) was enough to prove how subconsciously sexist your parents could be, but whatever, you’re eighteen, homesick, and doing your baby bro who you dearly missed a favor.

But times like these, when your words wouldn’t even go through one of your mom’s ears much less the both of them always made you regret begging. Your words probably deflated and fell to the floor like some cartoon animation the second they came out of your mouth.

But that was how useless they were, and you always felt angry about it.. but you were a big girl and you should be trusted more. You didn’t smoke in the house or barley at all, you hated alcohol, and was still a virgin..mostly! But she still argued, and as usual, it made the tears well in your eyes, and your father attempting to mediate the dispute, and your brother trying his hardest to comfort you, even though he knows that he will never fully understand.

But little did she know..those tears watered the seed of rebellion that grew roots in your stomach and around your torso, sucking and squeezing until there was nothing left but long, smooth dips. The roots twisted and wrapped around your pelvis, making them grow full and round like the mounds on your chest and the one behind you.

Your hair full and thick, sunlight hardly passing through the thick leaf-like coils, and the beauty on your face, as beautiful as a forbidden fruit, the forbidden fruit. The fruit that led to the destruction of mankind.

Her words played in my mind like a record on repeat, I could never hate her, but if she didn’t want to understand me, then why bother be everything she couldn’t be?….

᪥᪥᪥

I loved writing this maybe ill make a pt 2! tell me if ya want it fr this was not planned negl I was on the bus making this but I’ll see yall again tmr!! (yes this is gonna be an aot fic🙄)

~𝓁ℯ𝓁ℯ！

[gumnut-logic]

Okay

Have a little FishTank with a background of pissed off Scotty.

Many thanks to the amazing @onereyofstarlight for all her help on this and for putting up with my crazy as usual :D

It was supposed to be something and this is what happened. I hope you enjoy it anyway.

-o-o-o-

Virgil rolled his shoulders as he stepped out of the elevator and into the comms room. He wasn’t surprised to find Scott’s commander persona firmly and concisely flaying someone via hologram at the main desk. Virgil had no doubt that several heads would roll after this incident.

But he would field Scott later. Besides it was fair to let the person responsible reap their rewards.

A pissed off Commander Scott Tracy was a weapon of precise destruction.

For the moment, Virgil had two aims. He rolled his shoulders again. Maybe three. Some paracetamol wouldn’t hurt alongside the coffee.

Both would be needed to tackle his main priority.

His little brother Gordon.

Those four words made it hurt even more.

Because Gordon was his little brother and when some asshole threatened the Fish - no matter how adult his brother would ever be, he would always be their Little Fish - and then had the nerve to physically assault Gordon…

Virgil beat down his anger. Anger wasn’t what he needed right now. Scott had enough to cover the entire family and then some. What Virgil needed was to be calm and centred so he could be there for Gords.

Because despite having the military background, the tough exterior, and a strength of will that continued to stun Virgil with its ferocity, Gordon was…

Hell, he was Virgil’s little brother and while Scott eviscerated those responsible, Virgil had to make sure he was okay.

Beyond the obvious physical injuries.

The anger had to be stomped on again.

He jogged down the kitchen stairs and grabbed the paracetamol out of the medical kit stashed under the sink. He chugged it down with some coffee, probably hotter than it should be for the meds, but he needed both so that’s what he worked with.

Gords was lying on one of the loungers by the pool. It was odd to see him out there but not actually in the water. The sling holding a broken arm, the concussion, and black eye, hidden by convenient sunglasses, were reason enough.

As with all of Gordon’s injuries in the field, Virgil was fully prepared to find a way to enable his brother to get back into the pool as soon as possible.

It was a survival instinct, after all. A Fish out of water tended to be flammable and explosive - Virgil liked their villa in one piece and minus the pranks born of boredom or frustration.

But it would be a couple of days at least before Gordon could be let into the pool this time. The broken arm was fine, it was the head injuries that weren’t conducive to swimming.

Virgil stared out at his little brother a moment while downing the remains of his coffee. Food was likely out of the question, but Gords might be able to manage a light drink, get some simple sugars and energy into him.

Turning back to the kitchen, he rustled up some tropical fruit juices, coconut cream and ice, dropping a splash of cranberry into the mostly yellow and orange concoction. A small smile and Virgil dug out one of his brother’s little cocktail umbrellas to give it the Gordon-pizazz it required.

He even made one for himself, put both of them on a tray, along with a small bowl of brightly coloured barley sugars.

Holding the tray steady, Virgil stepped softly out onto the patio and bee-lined casually in his brother’s direction.

The dark sunglasses glanced up. “Virg, I’m fine.”

Virgil ignored him, sliding the tray onto the small table next to Gordon. Not saying anything at all, Virgil grabbed the nearest empty lounger and dragged it over, dumping himself into it with a sigh.

He claimed his drink and fiddled with the umbrella. They reminded him of his fish brother, they really did.

And the drink was cool on his coffee-blasted throat.

Nothing was said for a long moment.

“Scott toasting the GDF?” Gordon didn’t even look at Virgil.

“More like roasting, after skinning and gutting.”

“Perhaps we should put warning labels on our uniforms. Warning: Commander will go medieval on your ass if you ever lay a finger on any member of International Rescue.”

“Family.”

Gordon groaned. “Way to serious a perfectly good pun, bro.”

Virgil shrugged and his shoulders ached. “It was a serious incident.”

“Yeah.” The word was mostly breath and ever so resigned. His brother looked away, out towards the sea.

“How are you feeling?”

A sigh. “As I said, I’m fine.”

Virgil sipped at his drink. “You don’t look fine.”

Gordon shifted where he sat. “What do you expect?”

“No expectations.”

His brother scoffed and turned back to looking at the ocean. There was nothing but breeze, birds and the waves for a very long moment.

“No, I didn’t expect it all.”

“Expect what?”

“The good guy to be such an asshole.”

Virgil didn’t comment, sipping his drink and waiting…

“They are supposed to help us. Supposed to be us. I didn’t expect him to do that. I would never put my life above so many. I’m in this because I believe in what we do!” Gordon’s uninjured arm was pointing and gesticulating not unlike their biggest brother inside. Virgil was often struck by how Scott and Gordon were so similar, yet so different. “We are the ones with the skills, the equipment and the vow to do everything we can to help people out of dangerous situations. There were families, Virg! Little kids! And he was willing to sacrifice them all.”

“You did good, Gords, you know that.”

“I should have done better.” Gordon’s good hand balled into a fist. “I should have seen it coming. Should have seen beyond the uniform. Should have hit him harder!”

Virgil turned on the lounger and let his feet touch the concrete so he could reach over and place a hand on Gordon’s leg. “You did everything you possibly could. None of us expected betrayal, much less from the GDF.” He drew in a breath. “It will be fixed.”

Gordon scoffed. “Of course, it will be fixed. With both Scott and John on their asses, they’ll be lucky there is any GDF left by the time they’re finished.” Gordon wilted just a little. “I hate it when you guys have to do that. Scott doesn’t need any more grey hairs, and Johnny shouldn’t have to skirt the law. I should have handled it better.”

Virgil stared at his little brother. “What John does with the law is not your responsibility.” Though Virgil would need to check on his space brother. John was as pissed as Scott. Maybe they should have a movie night tonight with all the junk food to go with it. Drag John down, corner Scott, and get the lot of them to sit down and take a breather. A few hugs would definitely not go astray either. Some reassurance that Gords was still here. “And Scott is going to kick ass regardless. That GDF officer had no right to intervene on our rescue and then to put his life above all the others he was meant to save…” Virgil let the sentence hang and he fought down his rage and outrage again. He swallowed. “You did what you always do, Gordon.” His eyes latched onto those dark sunglasses. “You did us proud.”

The sunglasses stared at him a moment. “You okay?”

“I will be.” Once his brothers were okay.

“Virg?”

Virgil slid off the lounger and onto his knees, holding his arms out a little. “C’mere.”

Gordon rolled his eyes, but smiled as Virgil enveloped him in a hug.

It was for Virgil as much as Gordon.

To find a GDF officer on the train carriage had been a blessing at first. The man had taken charge, liaised with IR, and set people at ease. But once IR made it onto the scene and Gordon, and the rescue rig, arrived to start getting people out, the man has changed.

Sure, it was a perilous situation and yes, the train could have dropped any moment despite Two securing it with grapples. But nothing excused the man’s conduct.

He had thrown fellow passengers aside and demanded to be rescued first. Gordon, of course, said no. IR had its priorities and not only was the man a trained GDF officer, but fit and healthy, and, if the emergency became more dire, he would be more likely to survive a more physical rescue attempt. Unlike the elderly and the children on that train.

And hell, the man had taken a pledge to serve and protect.

None of them had expected anger from the man, much less physical violence. He grappled with Gordon, determined to board the rescue rig first.

Gordon was well trained and an expert in self defence. However, the dynamics changed when you were hanging over an empty chasm that ended in certain death.

Gordon was thrown from the train and it was one of the worst moments in Virgil’s life. Yes, his brother was tethered, thank god, but the carriage was precarious, moving with the sudden change in weight distribution, and tangling with the safety line. Both Gordon and the rig had been dragged down with the train, forcing Two to compensate. Alerts screamed as the grapples securing the carriage strained with the sudden shift.

Virgil’s voice still ached from his yelling his brother’s name.

And the lack of an answer.

It had been Virgil who shimmied down the rescue rig cable, desperate to locate Gordon with John worrying in his ears.

He had found his brother upside down with a massive dent in the side of his helmet, faceplate cracked, unconscious.

Virgil retrieved and secured him in the rescue rig.

Then it was Virgil who had to face the rogue GDF officer. Virgil, who was considered the gentle giant who wouldn’t hurt a soul.

Virgil, who physically picked up the yelling man and, despite his struggles, strapped him into the rescue rig in a very specific unable-to-move way. Hence the aching shoulders and the bruises.

Twenty people were rescued from that train, the very last barely making it out as gravity and wind finally took their toll and John was forced to release Two, or lose them all.

Most of them were injured in some way, but none as much as his little brother.

The GDF officer spent the rest of the ride strapped in the rescue rig in Module Two.

Virgil managed to not say a single word to the man the entire time.

Gordon woke up swearing, halfway to the hospital, and didn’t let up until the doctors let him go under Virgil’s supervision several hours later.

Debrief had been explosive. Scott livid, John tight lipped and furious, Virgil…

He pulled his little brother in just that little bit tighter.

“Oof, Virg, I’m okay.” But Gordon didn’t let go.

Virgil released him a little, but rested his head on his brother’s non-injured shoulder and closed his eyes.

And tried to convince himself of Gordon’s words.

-o-o-o-

[scourge-lover]

Peaches and Marrow

I haven't written any WoW work recently. So here. Wrathion invites Sapphire to a special meal prepared for the both of them.

When Wrathion invited Sapphire to dinner, she had expected to see Anduin with him. Both of them were staying at the Tavern of the Mists. Yet when she entered the tavern, it was just the Black Prince sitting at his usual reserved table. As always he had a smug look on his face, red eyes focusing on Sapphire as soon as he spied her unique appearance.

As a sign of respect, he got to his feet and put a hand to his chest.

"I'm so glad you decided to come," Wrathion purred happily. He held out a hand, which Sapphire took uncertainly. He led her to the table, which was set with fresh candles and fresh barley tea still steaming. None of Wrathion's research or missives obscured the beautiful deep mahogany wood and intricate carvings.

"I can't turn down food!" Sapphire said eagerly with a smile.

Wrathion politely poured her some tea. She glanced around, expecting one of Wrathion's ever present guards to be seen. But neither one lurked in any corner as far as she could tell.

"Left and Right are strategically placed outside, if you are so curious. I thought it would be nice to be alone, except for Tong and his cooking assistants."

Sapphire sipped her tea appreciatively. "Is this some special occasion?"

Wrathion leaned back against the wall comfortably. "We just have never had time to ourselves, except for that little brief disagreement."

"You mean when I beat you up?"

"It was an impasse as I was holding back," Wrathion sniffed dismissively. "But yes, since then we have been surrounded by others."

One of the chefs came by to bring a starter course, steaming bamboo baskets filled with dumplings.

"You know my weakness," Sapphire said, mouth watering.

She did not bother with her rudimentary manners. Wrathion was different than Anduin. He knew the truth of her. She did not feel the need to hide anything out of shame and fear. Sapphire ate the dumplings with her hands, while Wrathion was a far more delicate and refined eater.

"Yes, your determination to consume as much food as possible is quite an impressionable characteristic."

Sapphire did try to eat slowly and not gorge herself. She decided one way to keep herself from eating fast was to talk.

"Thank you for those Pandaren plants by the way! I know it was you who sent those."

"I did not try to hide my influence," Wrathion replied smoothly.

Her greenhouse back home was filling out nicely with the new additions. The bloodblooms, dreadshade, and spiderroot were all interestingly to the Scourge's apothecaries. Sapphire just liked how nice the bamboo, snow lilies and lotuses all looked in her little paradise in the cold heartless Citadel.

"Well I felt like I needed to give you something in return so," Sapphire went to reach into the bag she brought. Wrathion sat up as she pulled out the various minerals and crystals.

"I did not know what you would like the most, so I got a little of everything. Crystals that grow directly under the Citadel, various metals, and rocks from around Northrend.

The Pandaren cooks brought over a delicious array of various vegetables and rice dishes that appealed more to Sapphire than to Wrathion's more carnivorous nature. The soy and fish sauces tempted him however and as he ate, Wrathion sorted through them, eyes glowing bright with curiousity. He held up a whitish soft clump.

"Find this in the Borean Tundra did you?"

"How did you know?" Sapphire gasped, curious.

"It is magnesium sulfate heptahydrate. Those steam springs found there often have it lining them. The local steam springs here have it as well. Good for baths. I shall have to keep this particular specimen very dry."

"So you like it?" Sapphire asked.

Wrathion put it aside. "Not necessarily for its rarity, but it is who gave it to me that gives it importance. Thank you."

Finally, the main dish of the night, came on beautiful porcelain. Golden brown roasted bones lay with marrow side up in a delicate sauce, circled by grilled slices of peaches topped with little flakes of truffle and honey drizzled over.

Sapphire stared at the bones. "This...Is this like a joke? Because of who I am?"

Wrathion blinked, confused.

"What? No. Wait. I did not mean offense. I...I thought you would enjoy it."

"Because I live with undead?" She snapped, getting up.

Before she could leave, Wrathion got up and held out his hands openly without threat. "I thought you would find it amusing. My sincere apologies. It is a dish I found in an old tome for dragons. Dragons like roasted bone marrow. And peaches apparently."

The fact that he apologized moved Sapphire. Wrathion rarely acknowledged when he was in the wrong. That meant he truly meant it. Her hostility drained out of her immediately and she felt bad. "Oh. I see. I'm sorry. You know, I'm still a little sensitive about you knowing who I am."

He inclined his head, not bothered at all. "Understood. I genuinely thought you would find it fun to eat bone marrow. It is quite delicious mind you."

Sapphire sat back down, eyeing the marrow hungrily. This time she did eat with utensils, scooping up the marrow, noticing how soft it was. She emulated Wrathion, who spread it on bread like butter and put a slice of peach on top with the sauce dripping off it.

As soon as Sapphire put it in her mouth, she was in love. Creamy and salty, the marrow complemented the sweet peaches. Honey and truffle just heightened it all. In the sauce there was the flavor of cooling mint and warm caraway.

The moan she let out was loud and startled Wrathion. She did not scarf it down like everything else. Sapphire savored every single swallow of food.

As soon as Sapphire recovered enough to speak, she gave Wrathion a appreciative smile. "Do you...do you think I could have the recipe?"

[akehoshimystar]

Urara SSR

DELIGHT

Part 1

Roka: The event was a huge success ☆

Takeru: I'm relieved to see our customers leave the store satisfied. 

Urara: Tch….

I couldn't care less about their satisfaction or whatsoever, but one thing for sure, I don’t enjoy being dragged to this tedious event one bit. All I wanted to say now was, “Just let me finish cleaning and leave already.”

Akehoshi: I'll put new garbage bags here~

Then... Should I clean the counter?

Roka: Oh, Urara already did that! Hasn’t it become so sparkly?

Akehoshi: Oh, you're right. Urara-kun's cleaning technique is still as fast and thorough as ever.

Urara: You guys are just too damn slow.

Roka: True, if we worked a little faster, everyone could go home early and be happy.

Let me help you!

Urara: Hold it. Roka, don't move even an inch. You’ll just give me extra work.

Roka: Fufufu. Even I can wipe a table.

Now, check out my elegant art of table-wiping!

Roka getting all worked up gave me a bad feeling.

Takeru: Ah, be carefu-

Roka: Wahhhhh!!!

Sure enough, he knocked over the glass on the table and splashed water in every single direction.

Urara: Tch…………………..

Roka: I'm really sorry, Urara……

Takeru: I’m saying this for your own good, but Roka, you should listen to Urara and behave yourself.

Roka: Now I’m sad...

Urara: (What kind of reaction is that?)

Once Roka had quieted down, the work went smoothly without a hitch.

Akehoshi: It's finally over.

Roka: Good job, guys. It looks even prettier than before the event!

So, how about we all go grab something to eat after this?

Akehoshi: So it’s your treat?

Roka: That goes without saying!

Urara: …….

Takeru: Oh. Urara, are you heading back now?

If you're not in a hurry, come join us. It's getting late. Aren’t you hungry?

Urara: ...Who the hell's gonna go with you?

(Leave me out of it if you’re just gonna play around.)

Roka: It’ll be even more fun if you come with us.

Akehoshi: Well, you can come again whenever you want.

Ignoring the murmuring I could hear behind my back, I left the store.

Part 2

Urara: (Now, what to eat...)

As soon as I got back, I took out the leftovers from the bento shop from the refrigerator. I had initially planned to eat this yesterday in place of the meal provided, but….. It was left like this until now because Roka just had to bring an extra-large gift while we were preparing for the cafe event.

Urara: (Is it nearing the expiry date?)

…………

But even so, if I think it is edible, then it is edible. So I popped it in the microwave. I put the warmed side dish in my mouth along with white rice from the packet. However, the flavor of the fermented side dishes only added to the unsatisfying taste. 

The next day—. After a longer run than usual, I decided to buy a drink from the first vending machine I saw to hydrate myself.

Urara: (...I prefer barley tea over water….. Or maybe I should go for a sports drink.)

(Should I try the one that said it contained BCAA...)

Child: Ughh... I'm thirsty...

Urara: ……

I turned around to the sound of weeping and saw a mother holding her child, coming this way in a panic.

Mother: Alrighty, just wait a moment, okay?

Urara: ……

I put away the coins I had taken out and left. Not long after, they arrived at the vending machine and bought a drink without any hesitation.

Mother: Here, apple juice. Let's go sit on the bench and drink it.

Child: Okay.

Urara: (.....The coast is clear.)

After watching them leave, I went back to buy a drink.

Urara: (BCAA.)

……….

(Jackpot, I get a freebie.)

Since I got lucky today, I chose a PET plastic bottle of tea, and shoved it into my pocket.

Urara: Hmm…..

(it's kind of troublesome to run with this in my pocket.) 

Part 3

On the way home after a run.

Urara: (Still got nothing to eat. I should go grab something.)

The bento shop I know is just a stone's throw away. Just when I thought of going there….

A sprinkle of rain started to fall.

Urara: (Huh? It’s not in the forecast, is it?)

Bento shop employee: Welcome.

Urara: …….

As I entered the porch, the familiar voice of a familiar employee called out. I looked up at the sky, and the rain had already let up, almost as if it had never happened.

Urara: (So it came and went, just like that?)

I compared the bento sample with the daily menu written behind the cash register.

Urara: (The manager's recommendation is “Pork shabu with plum shiso sauce.”)

(For the daily special, it’s "Mackerel Nanban Bento")

……..

Mackerel Nanban Bento with tartar sauce.

Bento shop employee: Right away!

Bento shop employee: Sorry to keep you waiting. Here, your Mackerel Nanban Bento.

I put the money and point card on the counter.

Bento shop employee: If you come when it rains, you get double points. Here. 

Urara: ...The rain’s already stopping.

Bento shop employee: Fufu. Even if it’s just for a brief moment, a rainy day is a rainy day at the end of the day.

…...Oh, you've saved up some points already. Want to exchange them for some freebie croquettes?

Urara: If that’s all right….

Bento shop employee: All right, I'll put some freshly fried ones in your bag.

I took my meal and turned away.

Bento shop employee: Please come again~

Urara: ……

I placed the bento I bought, along with, and the croquettes and tea I had unexpectedly gotten on the table.

Urara: (Should I eat the croquettes before they get cold?)

It’s good.

The balance between the batter and the potatoes made me unconsciously let out a voice.

Ring Ring

Urara: ……Kamiya?

Kamiya: "Oh, hello, Urara. We're having some drinks at the dorm after this, do you want to join?"

Urara: Not a chance.

Kamiya: "Huh? Did something good happen?"

Urara: Where did that come from?

Kamiya: "Hmm. Just a hunch?"

Urara: "Shut your trap.”

Urara: …….

I put my phone down and took another bite. Though it had started to cool, it was still delicious.

TL Note: BBCA = Branched Chain Amino Acid, PET = Polyethylene terephthalate

[nothankyou543]

Leo Valdez x child of Poseidon pt 2

As Leo was walking back to his cabin still grinning from ear to ear he realized that he was going on a quest that week that he had completely forgotten about

it made him sad that he was leaving tomorrow because he wouldn’t get to see you

he then had an amazing idea

he ran back to your door and knocked on it

you were still in pajamas with your hair being a mess but he didn’t care

” get ready I have something I need to show you”

you were a little surprised but got ready and went with him

he led you to the forest talking about anything and everything on the way

thats how he learned you like f/c (favorite candy), loves f/m (favorite movie), and that you love f/b (favorite band) this would help him for future reference

you walked up to a door. A BIG door

Leo LIT HIS HAND ON FIRE and it opened

“welcome to bunker 9” he said as your mouth hung open

as the doors opened a DRAGON was inside

but it was bronze not a regular dragon

”this is Festus he’s our ride on the quest, I haven’t shown him to anyone yet”

“ so why are you showing him to me?”

“ because we might find Percy on this quest and I wanted to show you that we have a reliable ride”

”thanks it makes me feel a lot better that you you all will be safe even if I barley know you

just then Festus walked up to you and nuzzled your chest

you laughed as Leo said “ he likes you…hey do you want to go for a ride with me?”

you say yes and you both hop on Festus

the feeling of soaring through the sky is amazing

he gets close enough to the water that you can touch it and you do

your sitting in front of Leo and you can feel him behind you

it makes you feel safe

You start to feel a little lightheaded from exhaustion since you haven’t eaten anything and you’ve been a little overwhelmed

suddenly you blackout and the last thing you think is I just fell backwards onto Leo’s chest

leo is freaking out because you just passed out

you land back at bunker 9 and he get you down

hes carrying you bridal style and he walks back to camp like that with you in his arms

hes still freaking out as he takes you to the infermery passing annabeth and piper on the way

they look at each other in surprise as they see what’s going on and from then on they know you guys like eachother

leo walks into the infermery and finds Kayla

“ she passed out I don’t know what to do” he is still freaking out

Kalyan tells him to lay you on a cot while she does an assessment

Leo sits with you the entire time

piper and Annebeth walk in to see what is going on as they’re walking over Kayla say to Leo “ she passed out from exhaustion but it she doesn’t look healthy. I think she’s been starving herself”

Annebeth says “ y/n I knew you were skipping breakfast but I didn’t know it was this bad”

piper turns to Leo and says with a smile “ why were you guys together?”

leos face goes red “ no reason, just hanging out.”

Piper leaves to prepare for the quest

You Wake up about 10 minutes later and immediately Annebeth is looking at you saying “y/n why have you not been eating?”

you look shocked that she found out and hoped that she hadn’t found out other things to

Leo is there to

” I’m just not really hungry anymore”

Leo pipes up “ it’s not healthy to skip meals please promise me you’ll eat more”

”ok”

you walk out of the infermery and Annebeth pulls you to the side

convo goes as follows

“what’s up with you and Leo ”

Blushing “nothing he was just showing me something he found in the woods”

”it sure seems like you like him”

” ok maybe a little but what’s wrong with that”

” there’s nothing wrong with it but I don’t want you getting hurt”

you go back to your cabin and see something else on you door step

you pick it up and realize that it’s a few f/f tied together with a note attached

dear y/n, I hope these make you a little happier because you deserve that. - secret admirer

you smile and walk back into your cabin

Ok I’m gonna have to do a part 3 I’ll post it later