#i am small i contain chocolate milk

[theeartuaist]

Love Etiquette 101: A Beginner’s Guide on How to Care for Your One and Only

By Anonymous

PREFACE

So you've found them.

That one person who makes your heart race, your hands shake, and your world tilt just a little to the left. The one who makes your heart's beat becomes thunder in your ears, drowning out all else.

Where others might crush and move on, you've begun to orbit your love like a planet circling a dying sun, pulling closer with each revolution. Accept this about yourself. The heart wants what it wants. And yours wants everything.

Welcome, newborn. Welcome to the first day of your new existence.

Finding "the one" isn't easy in this day and age. But love—true, pure, soul-gnawing love—is worth everything.

I still remember the first time I saw mine. The way the fluorescent lights of the convenience store caught their profile as they reached for that carton of milk. The universe contracted to a single point. That moment has been seared into my memory ever since, like a brand on cattle—permanent, painful, and oh-so-necessary.

Today, I will help you navigate this journey ahead with ease and teach you everything I know.

CHAPTER 1: FIRST STEPS

First Impressions Matter

Nothing says "I'm a well-adjusted individual worthy of your affection," like appearing completely normal. Keep your breathing steady. Maintain eye contact, but not for more than three seconds at a time—I've timed it. Practice your smile in the mirror until the muscles in your face ache. It should reach your eyes, but not too much. Too much, and they'll notice it and be off-put by you.

Be Present, Always

Every newcomers first instinct is to watch. To learn. To absorb every detail of your Darling's existence like a sponge soaking up bathwater.

There's an art to this.

Start small. A casual glance at their schedule. A memorized route home. The contacts in their phone, names alphabetized in your midnight notes.

Remember: three hours outside their bedroom window is devotion. Four is where the neighbors start to notice.

Rotate your locations to avoid... complications — the coffee shop they frequent, the gym they visit, the route they take home that passes by that charming little park with the dense shrubbery perfect for observational purposes.

Remember, don't be obvious about it. Coincidences happen all the time. Lightning strikes. Meteors fall. And you just happen to be shopping for groceries at 11:17 p.m. on a Wednesday, just like them. The universe works in mysterious ways.

Document everything in your journal, but keep it analog. Digital leaves traces, and traces lead to restraining orders. Write in code if possible. Personally, I use invisible ink. The truly dedicated people have been known to memorize everything and keep it locked in the basement of their minds.

Thoughtful Gestures

Everyone appreciates thoughtfulness. Its in our nature.

We, especially wants to shower our person of interest with evidence of pur devotion. A lock of hair. A handmade doll with button eyes that match theirs exactly. A sixty-page manifesto of your future together.

Resist.

Begin with conventional tokens that won't send them running for the nearest exit. Store-bought chocolates, not homemade ones containing your tears. Flowers purchased from a shop, not stolen from their neighbor's garden at 3 AM.

Save the handmade shrine for your own private worship. They're not ready to see how deeply you care. Not yet.

CHAPTER 2: Distractions

Remove Distractions

Their life is cluttered with people who don't appreciate them like you do.

That coworker who makes them laugh? A temporary obstacle. The childhood friend who "knows the real them"? A relic of the past. That attractive neighbour who gets a little too friendly? A threat that needs... addressing.

Your blood will boil. Your vision will narrow to a pinpoint of rage. This is normal. What separates the amateur from the professional is restraint. Kitchen knives are traceable. Hair-cutting incidents make the local news. Acid is messy and leaves evidence.

Instead, try:

• Subtle social sabotage

• Anonymous warnings

• Rumours and character assassination

Creativity is key. Like that time, I arranged for my beloved to find those "accidentally" sent texts on her ex's phone. He's gone now. And my darling needed a shoulder to cry on. Convenient, wasn't it?

Remember: if your Darling chooses them despite your interventions, you haven't loved hard enough. Or quietly enough.

Contingencies - Rivals

Sometimes, despite your best efforts, a rival proves particularly stubborn. Like a tick buried under the skin, they cling to your Darling with disgusting tenacity. The occasional rumours and social manipulation haven't worked. They persist, like a cancer that refuses treatment.

Always develops contingencies.

First, information is your greatest weapon. The persistent rival has weaknesses. Everyone does. Perhaps it's an embarrassing medical condition. A family secret. Academic fraud. Financial troubles.

Digital dust is impossible to erase fully. Find what they've tried to hide and understand where to apply pressure.

Second, recognize what you are dealing with and adjust. Are they a childhood friend (most dangerous, entrenched)? Someone in their workplace or a classmate (proximity advantage)? An Ex Who Won't Disappear (emotional leverage)? Or a new flame (fresh, must be extinguished quickly)?

Each requires different tactics. The childhood friend must be gradually discredited over months, not days. The Ex can be reminded why they're an Ex. The New Flame hasn't had time to build defences.

For particularly entrenched rivals, consider befriending them, gaining their trust, then position yourself as their confidant about your Darling. You become the bridge between them, controlling information flow like a dam operator decides which valley floods. Other alternatives include geographical solution. Distance does what confrontation cannot.

Contingencies - Risk Management

Sometimes, despite your elaborate precautions, someone notices. Perhaps it's the school librarian who sees you checking out the same books as your Darling week after week. The barista who realizes you've memorized your Darling's coffee order and schedule. The neighbour who spots you during your nightly vigil.

Or worse: the friend who glimpses your shrine. The parent who finds your journal. The classmate who connects your multiple accounts.

These are what I call Potential Exposers—ordinary people who've accidentally stepped through the veil separating your two worlds. They see fragments of your devotion and, in their pedestrian minds, mistake it for something sinister.

First rule of exposure: deny, deny, deny. Do not panic—that confirms suspicion and creates poor decisions you will have to clean up later.

Be calm and deny, "Me? Following anyone? What a strange thing to say." Laugh it off with just the right touch of confusion. This is when your practice in the mirror from chapter one comes in.

When digital evidence threatens you, remember the power of alternative explanations. Your seventeen accounts following your Darling? "Oh, I'm doing a social media project on engagement metrics." Your detailed logs of their movements? "I'm learning time management by observing successful people." The shrine? "It's a visualization board for my photography class."

Develop cover stories for everything. Then develop backup cover stories when the first ones falter.

For the particularly dangerous Exposer—the one who knows too much and cannot be misdirected—consider the preemptive strike. Before they can tell your Darling what they've seen, tell your Darling first—but frame it differently. "I'm worried about Sam—they've been saying some really strange things about me stalking you or something? I think they might be jealous of our friendship."

Plant the seed of doubt before the Exposer can.

To avoid situations like this or having multiple people suspicious, develop a carefully crafted persona of absolute averageness. Average interests. Average schedule. Average social media presence. This cloak makes any accusation seem implausible by contrast.

If all else fails, permanent resolution can be used. Sparingly. It is difficult to undo what things when your hands get dirty. But that is for another blog post.

CHAPTER 3: Digital Footprints and Research

Research Shows Interest

Knowledge is power, and love demands power.

Learn everything. Their middle name. Their childhood pets. Their blood type. The name of their teacher who once told them they'd never amount to anything.

In this modern age, the internet is both your greatest ally and potential downfall.

DO create a finsta to follow their accounts.

DON'T like their Instagram post from three years ago at 2:17 AM.

DO learn their friends' names and interests.

DON'T create fifteen sockpuppet accounts to infiltrate their Discord server.

Remember: stalking is just reconnaissance without permission. And the best reconnaissance goes undetected.

When creating shrine folders on your computer, use encrypted drives. Name them something mundane, like "Tax Returns 2017" or "AP Chemistry Notes." No one looks in those folders. No one.

Social media is your friend if used well, but don't stop there. Public records exist for a reason. So do binoculars and telephoto lenses. Information is just sitting there, waiting to be harvested like ripe fruit ready to burst.

The Art of the "Chance" Encounter

Fate needs a helping hand sometimes.

Once you cleared the distractions, got your act right, and studied their schedule until it became your own heartbeat, you are now finally ready. Know when they'll turn that corner, enter that elevator, reach for that last box of cereal at the store. And then be there—casual, surprised, meant-to-be.

FINAL THOUGHTS:

They are your life now, not just a phase. Their happiness is paramount—even if they don't understand what makes them happy yet. But they will - oh, they will.

Protect them. Love them. Obsess quietly.

Love finds a way. It always does.

After all, they're not truly yours until they have nowhere else to go.

And if all else fails, there's always chloroform and tranquillizers. But that will another blog, another chapter for another day.

______

[Editor's note: The publisher disclaims any responsibility for actions taken based on this satirical work of fiction. Please seek professional help if you identify with the narrator of this guide. This is satire.]

[deafeningfanlight23]

NOT SO IMPORTANT QUESTION BUT I LIKE CLICKBAIT SO THE MOST IMPORTANT QUESTION OF MY LIFE 🤭

Y'all should I finally continue to work on my TSAMS AU which is a FanFic on WATTPAD (🤢) that I REALLLYYYY wanna work on but I am too lazy to do it 😔

LIKE HERE A SMALL DESCRIPTION OF THE AU AND YES TOO LATE TO RETURN BACK NOW HEAR ME YAPPING >:D

"[THIS BOOK DOESN'T CONTAIN ANY ROMANCE OR SUGGESTIVE THEMES, the only romantic thing is how my milk chocolate be winking at me when I am on a diet 🥰🤩]

Eclipse, their life-long enemy who caused crippling trauma and utter destruction, shares a home with the Celestial Family now after one particular sun-themed and moon-themed animatronic found him near a forest. However, nothing is as it seems - Because the Celestial Family is not as perfect as they think, and Eclipse, caught in a spiral of purposeless and uncertainty, sees the cracks. While the Celestial is caught up in their own issues that grow and grow, try to find out why Eclipse is so obsessed with stars all of a sudden and who those entities are Eclipse always talks about, Eclipse himself also has to navigate a complex spider web he weaves himself - One of manipulation, trickery, and deception. Because someone called him one day, entities, whose presence and eyes he has always felt since he woke up. They offer him a deal that he can't quite ignore. But what does the deal entail? And what complications will it bring when he accepts it? See how the once all-mighty Eclipse starts to crumble as he tries to reach out to the stars and is confronted with the idea that he, in fact, can't stay bitter and angry forever.

[The book is about family dysfunction, trauma, toxic family dynamics, domestic abuse/violence, mental health and ESPECIALLY with Eclipse: Redemption and existential questioning.]"

Y'ALL I KNOW SOME OF Y'ALL DIDN'T READ THIS CUZ OF YOUR ATTENTION SPANS 😭 But I can't judge y'all, I can't sit still for ten minutes fr 😔

[captain-lessship]

Candy Corn

A/n: and so it begins. Enjoy and forgive me when I undeniably post the rest not on my schedule I have in my head <3

Even after years of running your candy shop, You were not a sweets person. There was also a theory that you were not a sweet person.

You specifically hated chocolates. Whether they were dark, milk or white, even if they had nuts or dried fruit, you simply did not like it.

But of course, the cocoa based bars followed you where ever you went because everyone else in the world seemed to like it and you liked the money, who wouldn’t?

Yet each time you recognized your dislike of candy, you couldn’t help but think about a few interesting interactions you had seven years ago.

You sighed as you heard the bell to the shop ding, “Hello, Welcome to the House of Haroldson Chocolates, what can I do for you!” You didn’t lift your eyes from the book you were reading until a pair of shoes approached the counter.

You looked up and saw a very odd looking individual. A lanky man with brown hair and greenish eyes that was dressed in odd pattern combinations was standing there, slightly smiling at you.

“Hello! I was just planning on looking around but since you asked, what is your most popular chocolate?”

You looked him up and down, “Well, I guess it would be our dark chocolate with hazelnuts and white chocolate drizzle.”

You were still trying to figure out why he was dressed like that when he spoke again, “What’s your favorite?”

Your favorite? None. But you knew that your dad, who was the owner and therefore your boss, wouldn’t be happy if you said that.

“I’m not really a chocolate person. I prefer these.” You turned around and plucked a random jar from the wall. The jar had pink and yellow striped squares and were very shiny. “These are Strawberry Shortcake Drops.”

“Can I taste one?” He asked, you thought about it before slipping on a glove on one hand and opening the jar with the other. You plucked one of the squares from the container and gave it to the man.

He popped it into his mouth, eyes turning from joyful to very deep in thought, as if he was trying to taste every single grain of sugar and drop of flavoring. He was entertaining to say the least. You couldn’t help but take one yourself and eat it, trying to see if there was something wrong.

Nope. Vanilla. Strawberry. It was right.

“Is this really your favorite? You don’t seem to like it.” He asked.

“If I am being honest, I do not like chocolate or candy.”

He looked surprised at this, “Why?” He couldn’t fathom that someone dressed as fun in a pale pink dress shirt, striped tie and white pants as you were could dislike candy. It just didn’t seem right.

You shrugged, “Just isn’t my thing. But do you like them?”

His brain was temporarily fried over the fact that someone could dislike sweets. “They’re good. Could I get a small bag of them and a bar of the dark chocolate you talked about earlier?”

You nodded as you began getting his order together. He watched you intently as you pulled a bar of chocolate from the case and filled a bag with the candies, noting the care you took with each part of the order.

As you handed it to him and took the money from him, he smiled at you, “I will find a chocolate you’ll like.”

You rolled your eyes playfully, “I don’t like chocolate Mister…”

“Willy Wonka.” He said. He then stole a glance at your name tag. It was a nice name.

“Mister Willy Wonka.” You smiled.

[ruinix]

Thank you for the tags, @ajuice-matts plus from march @zzbubblegumbitchzz , @onlyquinns (sorry for being late coz I fear my last shows are...questionable 😟)

Doing this again coz this game is so fun plus there are a couole of different prompts. It makes me (with my little memory) focus what my last things are. But now, I got a few notes.

last song: sex money feelings die by Lykke Li (while thinking about Quinn)

favorite color: blue and golden yellow

last tv show: Kian's Bizzare B&B (I honestly just clicked on it coz I saw Jin (BTS member) and I stayed because it's so funny 🤣; now I am waiting for more episodes coming out this Apr 22)

last movie: Ballerina (2023) (a Korean movie. I fear I am trying to contain myself so much.)

last book: Burned Dreams by Neva Altaj (Forbidden Bodyguard Romance) [i rate it....3.5 out of 5. It felt rush at the end (it's just 21 chapters) but I definitely enjoyed it. I read it as a break from Golden Son by Pierce Brown]

favorite flavor: this specific chocolate of this carabao milk ice cream, biscoff, caramel (but in small amounts coz too sweet...)

tea or coffee: Coffee (i need my caffeine. Caffeine in tea is not enough anymore)

relationship status: single (drought is real, i fear 🫠🫠🫠. I need Quinn. I blame Quinn.)

currently working on: a few fics...it's not going well...plus something big irl that I cannot say 😳

last thing i googled: quinn hughes smiles...(google has let me down)

looking forward to: life, scrumptious fics, blind box figures and keychains that I checked out, arrival of Quinn pictures I had printed out--

current obsession: Quinn (it's not even funny anymore. Heavy Quinn withdrawals rn)

No pressure tags: @finnesse @ahopelessromantic @mrshelenhoran @arty-anon @softsunnyy @stormsies @jo-speaks @kawhh @quinniferhughesenthusiast

[piko-rose]

Under the Moonlight - Part 1 - Legend of Dark Gaia

WHO'S HUNGRY FOR SOME WACHOWSKI HALLOWEEN STORIES?? (I am at least XD)

THIS STORY IS VERY LONG BUT WILL BE IN PARTS SO DON'T WORRY ABOUT IT.

Quick note: This story takes place before the sequel. Any Sonic Movie story I write like this one will be a pre-sequel story.

After a long, fun night of trick or treating, Sonic was about to head home, but came across an old friend. He thought he wanted to get some ghost stories out of him, but he was not expecting to hear something so... Nightmarish.

-

Orange, red and yellow of the leaves slowly rain down to the neighborhood in Green Hills. Sundown is completely gone, all is left is the light of the moon in the dark sky, lurking behind the almost leaf-free trees.

Children and teens of all kinds ran down the sidewalks, most on the roads, to hurry to the next houses for more of the sweet, sugary goodness that is Halloween candy.

The best kind of candy.

One group of kids come across a small house, the front lawn decorated with fake tombstones and funny looking skeletons, which appeared to be dancing by the tree.

And the door already greets them with such a, not-so threatening message: "Knock, if you dare."

One younger kid, who is dressed up as a cowgirl, rings the doorbell, and raises her small blue pumpkin bucket up high before the door opens. So did the rest of the group.

One other kid in the center of the group comes up front, the kid being Sonic, wearing a black cape with worn out gloves with "blood stains" on the tips of his fingers. He was sporting fake fangs and has red makeup drizzled down from his mouth.

He thought a vampire was the best choice for his first Halloween costume.

The door opens, revealing a young man holding an purple bowl, with drawings of spider webs going around it. The bowl was half empty, but it contained chocolates of all kinds, from milk chocolate, to peanut butter, to caramel.

"Trick or treat!" The group exclaimed, holding out their buckets and bags full of candy. "Hey, cool costumes, you guys!" They said, grabbing handfuls of chocolates and gave them to each kid.

"You guys look reeeaaal spooky, tonight. Especially you, Johnny, super scary!" They chuckled, complimenting the young boy wearing an iconic Pennywise outfit.

"What about me?" Sonic asked, being handed with a few candy bars. "Do I look spooky too?"

"Oh, yeah! You look spooky, alright! Awesome costume, Sonic!" They said.

Sonic slightly pumps his fists and quietly exclaimed, "Yes!"

In no time, all the kids got their chocolates and walked off, waving goodbye to the man. "Happy Halloween!" They all said.

Sonic also waved goodbye before leaving. "Thank you! And Happy Halloweeeeeeeeen!" He said in a spooky tone, clawing his hands before almost dropping his bucket. He giggled and ran off. "You too!" They said before closing the door.

Sonic approached Tom, with a huge smile on his face. "This night is AWESOME! I got SO much candy so far! Check it out!" He then shows off his pumpkin shaped bucket which was filled to the brim with lots of different candies.

"I got chocolates candies, sour candies, even bubble gum! And that's not even half of what I got!" He shrieked with joy, looking inside his bucket. "I know I said this a hundred times already, but, I LOVE HALLOWEEN!!"

"I know." The sheriff said, also smiling. He couldn't get enough of seeing this small hedgehog being happy over this night. "And you actually said it 17 times tonight."

"You counted?"

"Of course I did."

"...Nah, it wasn't too much."

"Right."

The vampire hedgehog then switched his bucket to his other hand, as his fingers were getting sore from the heavy bucket. "Ouch..." He then moved his fingers a little bit to give them more circulation.

"Alright! On to the next house!" He said, as he was about to run off when suddenly the Donut Lord held him by the arm. "Whoa, there! Hang on." He spoke.

"What, what? What is it? Why are we stopping?" Sonic said, getting eager and a little bit impatient to wait before heading to another house. Even his knees were bouncing non stop.

"It's almost eight o'clock." Tom looked at his phone. The clock was just a few minutes until eight. "And??" Sonic placed his gloved hand on his hip.

"It's getting late, and the day is almost over. It's time for us to head home, bud." Tom said, almost regretting saying that, considering how much fun Sonic has been having.

And he called it, as Sonic's ears flopped down and he just looked almost devastated. "What? Already?! Aw, come on!" He whined, kicking the ground. "Halloween can't be over yet! Can we go trick or treating for a few more minutes?? Please????" He cupped his hands together, pleading.

"Sorry, but we can't stay out here too late. Halloween is over til next year." He patted his head, hoping that information will calm him down.

He knew it wouldn't work, but it was worth a shot.

"I can't wait until next year. This is my first ever Halloween with you, Tom." He said sadly, looking at the ground. "I was having so much fun..."

"Hey, it's alright. Don't be sad because it's over. Be happy that it happened!" Tom placed his hand on Sonic's shoulder. "I was having fun too, and trust me, next year will be even more fun, and even more spooooookyyyyy!" Tom wiggled his fingers at the hedgehog, trying to look intimidating, but Sonic laughed at the sight.

At least that cheered him up.

"Haha! You're right! Next year will be even better than this one! I already have plans for my next costume!" He said, giggling, and looking all better already.

"Well, that was fast." Tom said, walking along with Sonic. "Duh, that's what I'm known for." Sonic jokingly boasted, catching up to him.

"I'll give you a hint: BRRAAAAIINNS!!" Sonic roared, reaching his hands out and walking slowly and weakly like a zombie.

"Oh, boy. I wonder what it could be..." Tom taps his chin with his finger, pretending to think really hard on what this costume could be.

"I'm gonna go all out on that costume next year! Just you wait!" He beamed up a confident smile, thinking on how his zombie costume will look.

Maddie was the one who helped out his costume, and even buying an extra pair of gloves to make it look better. He knows that she can make a great zombie costume.

"Why not a zombot? That's more iconic."

"Ehhhh, I'm good." He chuckled nervously. "I'll just stick to old school, thank you very much."

Sonic cringed at the memory of his first horror movie night with Tom, Maddie and Wade. It was just gonna be the three of them, but the moment Sonic over heard them say "horror," he couldn't take no for an answer.

He wished he did though. He wasn't expecting Night of The Zombots to be so... Gory.

At least Nicholas Cage looked pretty badass in the film.

"And I thought Poltergeist was freaking scary..." He mumbled to himself.

"I heard that."

"The movie wasn't that scary! Besides, you can tell the CGI was fake even from the first viewing!" He crossed his arms, trying to act tough.

"It was from the 2000s, it was the first Visual Effects movie Studiopolis Productions worked on." Tom stated.

"Whatever."

"You should see the remake. It's twice as scary." Tom teased.

"Oh, God, there's a remake?!" Sonic squealed with concern.

And he blinked. "Uh, I mean, I bet that movie also sucked."

"Hey, now." Donut Lord said, kneeling down to Sonic's level. "Don't hide the fact that the movie made you feel uncomfortable, alright? You even admitted it yourself that night."

"I'm just not used to expressing myself, dude. You know that."

"I do know that, but I'm here to remind that your feelings matter, okay?"

"...I knew that." He smile crept on his muzzle.

"Okay, let's head home." Tom continued walking off with Sonic alongside, bucket still in his hand. Sonic watched all the kids and teens in different costumes roaming the streets. He felt sad at first, but smiled once again knowing that he'll be able to do this all over again next year.

He really does love Halloween.

-

"Finally, we made it home." Tom sighed, happy to see his house. Sonic didn't even knew that the house was close by cause his mind was elsewhere. "Already? Geez."

"What's up, buddy?"

"Didn't you see that one house that was covered in egg yolk a few minutes ago??" He points behind him.

"Ahh, must've been Karen and Issac's little trick." Tom barked slightly. The young teens are pretty rebellious, and not in a good way. They get in trouble in school more times than anyone else in town, and sometimes draw nasty messages on buildings.

And to make them worse, they despise Sonic, even though he saved the town not too long ago.

They always call him dumb nicknames like "man-hog" or "blue rat." Sonic always hated "man-hog" the most.

But he brushed them off, he knew they were just jealous because he's the one who saved the town from Robotnik. But, of course, Issac and Karen are a total pain to not just Sonic, but to the majority of Green Hills.

Especially Wade.

"...Oh." Sonic just now realized who that house belonged to. "Poor Wade..."

"That's the third Halloween in a row." Tom shook his head.

"I hope it's easy to clean off."

"Trust me, it was not." He knew from experience.

Sonic was able to see his house from a distance, and he can already see his own fake tombstones and other spooky decorations and fake webs swaying in the gentle wind.

He smiled, excited to show Maddie all the candy he got tonight.

He was about to move forward but then suddenly notice a bright light from within the forest far from the house. It drove his attention away from the house and idea of heading back home.

What was that just now? He thought, looking behind him and looking closely into the woods.

Nothing else was happening. The light didn't even appear again. Maybe it was just his imagination?

"Hmm..."

"Buddy?" Tom called out, just realizing that Sonic stopped walking and is now ahead of him. "I, uh... I'll be right back." Sonic said, zooming straight into the forest, along with his bucket of candy.

"Sonic?!" Tom cried out. "Where are you going??" Sonic was already gone by the time he finished his question.

-

Sonic continued walking through the woods searching for the source of the light that went by earlier. He had ideas on what that was.

A car driving by? Perhaps.

Some guy wearing a super bright costume? Maybe...

A firefly? ...Yeah, no. That's not it.

"Hello?" Sonic called out. "Anybody out here?"

There was no response, but he kept searching anyway.

He came to a halt however, when he suddenly saw the light peaking through the trees. It's the same one from before. He found it!

Sonic zipped straight to the source, only to find...

"An RV?" Sonic looked around it, realizing how familiar it looked. "Hey... This is-"

"Blue Devil!"

A voice cried out, making Sonic jumped and dropped his bucket, pouring out candy onto the ground. "My candy!" He panicked, grabbing them back to the bucket quickly. "Nonononono..."

"Ahh, didn't mean to frighten ya." The voice spoke from close by. Sonic, while he was still putting candy back, looked up to see none other than Carl putting away his things into the RV. It was hard to tell, but he had a small smile behind that bushy beard of his.

"Crazy Carl! it's been a while, old pal! I thought you were at Spring Valley?" Sonic said, picking back up his bucket, all the candy back inside.

"Ah just wanna pay a little visit before ah head back." He spoke. "Maybe sometime the next day I should give the sheriff a good ol' visit and-" Carl was then distracted by Sonic's costume. "That's a... Interesting outfit ya have there."

"Like it? I'm a vampire!" Sonic said, clawing his gloved hands, looking spooky. "BLEECH!"

Carl was unamused. "Ya call that scary? How is a vampire scary?"

"You don't like it? ...Rude."

"It's called an 'honest opinion,' ya Blue Devil. Ah've seen scarier things than a vampire out of all things."

"Oh?" Sonic raised a brow from that statement. "Knowing you, and considering the time of year," Sonic's smile grew wider, in love with the sudden idea that just popped into his head. "Perhaps maybe you should... Oh, I don't know..."

"What? Spit it out, already." Carl demanded calmly.

"Heheh." This is gonna be good.

"Carl, you must've seen and heard about a lot of interesting stories in your life. I would love to know these stories and why they are so much more scarier than vampires." Sonic placed down his bucket on the ground in front of his feet.

"Well now, you better be takin' these stories seriously. These aren't just like those phony ghost stories the children often tell." Carl began. "These are real. Very much real." He said, in the coldest tone possible.

"In that case, enough stalling. What story do you have in mind, buddy ol' pal?" He crossed his arms, ready to hear some of Crazy Carl's tales. "Please, make me shudder in fear." He "pleaded."

"If that's what ya truly want..."

Sonic then grabbed his bucket closer to him as he sat down to the closest log. He kicked his feet slightly, eager to hear this spooky story.

"Now, this tale is even older than I am. Passed down from generation to generation in this very part of the woods. It's well known back in Spring Valley, but most parts of your town was effected by it as well." He began.

"'It?' Who, or what, is 'it?'"

"Dark Gaia."

The hedgehog's eyes grew with fascination. "Dark Gaia? You mean like... Gaia as in Earth? I think Maddie taught me about that one-"

"Blue Devil, don't interrupt."

"Sorry, haha. I'll stay quiet."

"Anyways," Carl continued his story.

"The legend of Dark Gaia came from an incident that happened a few hundred years ago, just after Green Hills was founded. Dark Gaia itself was a large, dark being unlike any creature. Horror beyond comprehension."

"Like a being from hell."

"Sheesh..." Sonic said to himself. He continued to listen to Carl's story.

"The creature never dares to come out from the Earth, only it's energy and it's vile minions called Nightmares. It's Dark Gaia energy is an, almost invisible like smoke, that roams the woods, searching for their new Nightmare for the Dark Gaia."

"The Nightmares are big beings, their bodies have glowing auras that even the blindest of critters can see. They have blue and red marking on their shoulders and face, and their number one priority? Consume a living, breathing being's soul, to help them become stronger."

The hedgehog is super intrigued, if not, creeped out. Maybe it's both.

"You ever come across a Nightmare, that's it. You can't escape 'em. The moment they see you, that's the end of your story. Never to be seen or heard of again. Thankfully, it's been too long since a Nightmare has been spotted, but the Dark Gaia's energy still roams about the forest of Spring Valley and most of Green Hills."

Sonic looked around a bit, searching for anything strange like the energy Carl was talking about, but he continued listening.

"Three young men wanted to explore Spring Valley, and perhaps find something valuable along the way. It was a full moon that night. Just like tonight."

Sonic looked up at the dark sky, and there it was. The moon, full and bright. He felt a cold sweat. He looked back at Carl.

"Dark Gaia's energy, including the Nightmares, only appears during a full moon. They can't roam around in broad daylight, and only appear during the midnight hour. The moon will glow a light shade of purple once the time comes, and the young men made a grim mistake that faithful night."

"Dark Gaia energy sometimes seeks through the ground, escaping the Earth to finds it's new minion. Once it does, you better get your butt out of there woods, unfortunately for the men, they didn't follow that rule."

"One fella felt strange just after a few minutes of being in the woods. He ignored the raging feeling of Dark Gaia's energy, infesting his brain with feral thoughts, thoughts filled with rage and hunger."

"It wasn't too long before his friends come across him on the ground, in pain, the Dark Gaia energy unleashing from his body, completely transforming him into something awful."

"He was partiality a Dark Gaia creature, fur purple, with a hint of a darker blue. He was bigger, and more muscle than he was before. He's grown sharp claws, and his teeth have grown sharper as well. He's was a half complete monster."

Sonic lets out a small gasp.

"He was still himself, but the feral thoughts kept trying to reach out, begging him to rip his friends to shreds and join Dark Gaia. Legends also says however, that there is a way to rid of the Dark Gaia's energy from your body, and bring you back."

"It was the Light Gaia's bracelet, hidden somewhere in Green Hills. But from where they are, Green Hills was too far, and the moment they reached their destination, it was too late. His feral instincts took over and one of his friends... Never made it alive."

Sonic's eyes grew in horror. "Wh... What about-?"

"The other was fine. ...For a while. When the infested friend attacked him, some of Dark Gaia's energy went inside of him. When the sun came up, the beast disappeared into the woods and was ascended into the Earth, forever one with Dark Gaia, never to be cured."

"And soon will be his friend the next full moon. For now, it was just him and his inner thoughts haunting him for days. No one in town believed him when he told them everything. Some folks venture into the woods to see what the commotion was about."

"Last mistake they ever made in their lives..."

Sonic covered his mouth slightly.

"Dark Gaia's energy is still out here somewhere, hundreds and hundreds of years later. It's been a long time since the Dark Gaia found it's new minions, but I highly doubt Dark Gaia will give up."

Crazy Carl lets out a long exhausted sigh.

"I believe it is impossible to avoid Dark Gaia, but that doesn't mean it's impossible to rid of it. That is, if Light Gaia's bracelet is found, of course. Many folks were unlucky to come across a Nightmare, but becoming one is the worst of all."

"No one knows, not even Dark Gaia itself, knows who the next victim will be. I might be the town's sheriff."

Sonic's eyes grew more.

"Or maybe the deputy, Whipple."

They grew again.

"Or maybe even me."

Sonic held his own hand, wanting Carl to stop talking already.

Carl's brow furrowed. "Or maybe..." Carl then stared right at the blue hedgehog. "Maybe..."

Sonic gasped again.

"It might..."

Sonic felt a cold chill in the air.

"Be..."

Could it be...?

"Sonic??" A voice called out.

"NOOOOOOOOOOO!!!"

Both Tom and Crazy Carl both jumped at Sonic's sudden cry of terror. He breathed rather quickly, his mind still on the Dark Gaia story. Carl was slightly surprised to see Sonic like that.

"Ya didn't have to take it that seriously."

Tom looked over to see Carl. It all makes sense now. "Ah... Carl. It's been a while." He spoke flatly. "What are you doing out here?"

"Visiting." He responded. "Your Blue Devil here come up out here wanting to say 'hi.'"

Tom looked to see the hedgehog turning around to see his best friend. "Tom!" He cried and ran up to him, jumping up to give him a big hug. "I was looking all over for you, buddy! Why'd you run off?"

"My lights caught his attention."

"Carl, what did you do?" Tom looked back at Crazy Carl, with a stern look in his eyes.

"Reminding him about Dark Gaia. Remember, Wachowski, it's a full moon tonight." Carl warned quietly. "Keep that kid of yours safe. From it."

"...What?"

"Alright, I'm off. Nice seein' ya, ya Blue Devil! You too, sheriff!" He exclaimed before walking back inside the RV. Tom shook his head, not standing the audacity of that guy.

"Ooookay, I'm not sure what the heck just happened, but we're heading back home. Maddie's waiting for us." Tom said, carrying the shaking hedgehog back to the house.

"But Tom! Dark Gaia! What if it's out here?!" Sonic said, looking around the forest frantically. Tom groaned. "Sonic, there's no such thing as Dark Gaia. It's just a silly story made up by some kids a long time ago."

"But Crazy Carl said the story was real!"

"Carl tends to believe in a lot of stupid crap. That's his style. Now don't worry about it."

"Oh, yeah? How about that time when he told you guys about the 'Blue Devil,' which turned out to be real, who by the way, is ME??"

"Well- I- That's different."

"HOW IS THAT DIFFERENT?!"

"Sonic, please, just calm down. Okay? There is no Dark Gaia energy coming to get you. You hear me? You're fine. There is no Dark Gaia energy." Tom reassured, looking at the hedgehog.

Sonic sighed, looking at the ground. "Okay... Fine. I believe you."

"Okay. Good. ...Hey, where's your-?"

"MY BUCKET!"

Sonic jumped back on the ground, looking for his Halloween bucket. "Buddy," Tom spoke. "it's over there." He pointed to the bucket next to the log.

"Uhhh..." Sonic looked at the bucket, then into the abyss that is the woods, where possibly Nightmares and Dark Gaia energy are lurking. "You get it, I'm not going back there."

"For the love of..." Tom massaged the bridge of his nose. "Sonic, there's no Dark Gaia, okay? It's fine, go get your bucket. It'll take you about 0.4 seconds to grab it and head home."

"R-Right. I knew that. I'll just..." Sonic takes one small step. Then stopped.

"...Sonic."

"Right, right, Sorry. I'll get my bucket and..."

He took another step.

And another.

And another.

"Sonic, I promise you, you're okay." Tom said softly.

Sonic inhaled...

Then exhaled.

"I'm not scared. I am not scared.

He quickly grabbed his bucket and ran off screaming, leaving trails of candy behind.

"...Well, that was easy." Tom said to himself.

He began picking up the pieces of candy as he follows down the trail Sonic ran off to.

-

To be continued...

-

[maggyme13]

Moving above the Underworld (1/?)

Ellie just moved into a new flat. Introducing herself to her downstairs neighbor with a cake she did not realize what the future held for her and him. And what had an asshole coworker to do with it?

AN: I never saw Sand Castle and only know about Captain Syverson because of the Henry Cavill Character Rabbithole of Fanfiction. But I thought he would fit the best (visually), so I chose him.

Don´t like-> Don´t Read Minors DNI

Warning: asshole Coworkers, This Series WILL contain dubcon! Wordcount: Around 2k

Masterlist Series-Masterlist

„Finally, the last box is empty. Only took me- what- a month?“, the young woman groaned. Her back was hurting from lifting too much heavy lumber at work. “Now, I gotta get food in the oven and take my hard owned shower. And why am I talking to myself again? If he hears me, he won´t look at me all grumpy but as I am crazy as well. Gotta tone it down, Ellie.” Stripping her dusty work clothes, she made her way into the small bathroom of her apartment. It had dark gray tiles on the floor, with Creme-colored walls, a toilet, a bathtub with a shower, and a sink with a mirrored cabinet above it. Her washing machine and dryer were in a small adjoined room next door. “Still got to introduce myself to my neighbor properly. Now that he is back from his holidays. Guess I could bake something. What do I have in the pantry? What do I have… Flour, sugar, eggs, milk, chocolate, baking powder. Mhm...”, she continued thinking out loud while washing her longish dark-blonde hair and face, “I could make some Straciatella cake with chocolate topping and split one dough into two servings. I could do with something sweet for my breaks.” Ellie fought getting some dried varnish off her arms. “Tomorrow is Friday. That means he should be home when I get off work, right? I still can leave it at his door with a note either way.” Dressed in some of her most comfortable clothes and with her hair up in a towel Ellie ate her Pizza while also preparing the cake dough. If she sat down to eat, she knew she would never be able to get back up and get her shit done. “Note to myself: Get more painkillers at the pharmacy tomorrow.”, she groaned again when a sting of pain spread through her spine, “Would only be half this bad if the idiot would have helped me instead of taking like ten smoke breaks.” She had just placed the pan in the oven when the sound of a door closing and being locked reached her ears; her neighbor was leaving it seemed. He was always gone at strange and unscheduled times, and the woodworker wondered what his job was that he had no schedule. But she was too shy to ask. Not that it was any of her business. “Forty minutes to wait. Hope this works out.” ___

Before she left her flat, she quickly the molten chocolate over the cakes so it would be ready once she returned late that afternoon. “Let´s see if I can even move tonight. Would be nice though.”, she wondered aloud after one last stretch. Just when she wanted to open the front door it was opened from the outside. Her neighbor had returned. He was a giant of a man. Nearly two meters in height with shaved hair, a short full beard, and muscles. His arms were close to the width of her lower legs, his torso as wide as an old beer keg, and his legs fit the rest of that body. When Ellie had seen him the first time she had believed a god stood before her. Cheesy, she knew, but that was the first thought that had crossed her mind. As usual, he was wearing all black: Black shirt, trousers, and shoes. That showed off his tattoo-covered arms and the crook of his neck. He was no one she wanted to cross paths with when he was angry or in a dark alleyway. “G-Good morning.”, she greeted as usual with a small smile on her lips. “´Morning.”, he rumbled back, not cold but tired sounding. Listening to her music, Ellie made her way to the nearby subway station that would bring her to her workplace. Each day she traveled one hour to and from work. And whenever she had to make overtime, she hated it even more.

___

“G-Good evening, Sir. I am sure- cut that- I know you know I moved into the flat a-above you a few weeks back. I- I had no time to introduce myself properly so here I am. Name´s Ellie Miller. I am a skilled Woodworker. Please let me know if I am too loud or do something wrong. And I can leave my number in case something happens.”, she stumbled over her words. Far too shy and nervous standing in front of her neighbor. “Mhrmm.”, he answered quirking one of his eyebrows. His gray eyes staring right into her soul it seems. “Oh- I. I made a cake as an introductory gift. I hope you are not allergic to anything.”, Ellie handed him the box with the cake, “I will leave you to it then. Ha- Have a nice evening.” Fighting the urge to bow (whichever), the woman turned and walked back up to her apartment, feeling his eyes on her back until she closed the door behind her. “That was scary.”, she breathed out, her back pressed against the closed door. The box was returned to her the next Monday morning, clean and with a note that stated: ´Thank you. Welcome to the house.´ The grateful smile that danced around her lips after reading those words only left when she stepped into the workshop and was met by her favorite coworker. He was in his early forties, friends with the boss, and believed women belonged behind a counter and not a band- or circular saw. But he could not get rid of her. Both her work ethic and the results of her work were perfect and not once a customer complained about her. “Boss wants to have a word with you.”, he sneered and Ellie sighed. What had she done now? “You wanted to see me, Sir?”, she asked once stepped into the office. “Your new tasks. Make sure not to mess them up this time. And no more leaving early. Now back to work!”, her Boss told her without looking at her at all. “Yes, Sir.”, she mumbled, taking the binders with her. She had three weeks to build a whole (though small) kitchen, one bedroom interior, one sideboard beneath a sink, and an office table. “Oh joy, over time. Again.”, she groaned, her head hitting the top of her workstation, “At least the table and bedroom are made of oak. We have enough of that lying around. Let´s get that done, I guess. No moving tonight again. Yayy.”

____

It was the Saturday after she had finished the given tasks (with high praises from the customers) and was finally able to relax a bit. And that usually meant doing nothing (productive) all day long, wearing her most comfortable clothes (or sleepwear), maybe some baking, and reading. This time her choice fell on a simple but delicious apple cake with cinnamon-sugar crumbles, and so she got to work. “This one will taste incredible with some fresh whipped cream.”, Ellie hummed. She had last made it a few months back and she yearned for it now that she smelled it again. Her kitchen was clean, she grabbed a cup of tea and launched herself into her couch with the book she was reading at that moment in time. “DAMN. It smells like a bakery in here! I am getting hungry just standing here.”, a man exclaimed in the hallway. He seemed to have a Latin-American accent,” Didn´t know you could use a kitchen without blowing it up.” “My neighbor. She tends to do it often.”, her neighbor answered in a neutral tone. “Think I could ask for some?”, the first man asked and Ellie perked up. “We have shit to do.”, now her neighbor sounded slightly annoyed. “Spoilsport.”, that last mumble of the foreigner made her chuckle, and decided to put some cake and whipped cream in a container and hang it on her neighbor's doorknob. A whole sheet was far too much for one person to eat. Even though when that person was a bit chubby. Two hours later, she did just that, with a small note attached that read: ´I overheard you earlier. Sorry for listening in. I made far too much for one person, so please enjoy it. I hope it was okay that I placed it on your doorknob. I did not want to interrupt whatever you were doing ~ Ellie.´ From that day on, whenever she made something, she would put it in a container on a little stool she placed next to the stairs leading up to her apartment. And every time the container would be empty and clean the coming day. She did not do that because she wanted something in return, but because she loved to bake and share (it). Around that time Ellie started to feel like she was being followed whenever she left the house. No matter where she went. If it was to work, on the way to customers, shopping for groceries, or simply for a walk through the neighborhood. At first, the feeling was only sporadic and every other day, but once she had realized the feeling. She got more and more aware of it, but whenever she was to look around, no one was there that looked suspicious. Up to a point where she had anxiety attacks only thinking about leaving through her door. Two months into that situation Ellie almost knocked out one of the Coworkers she liked with a piece of wood when he had startled her at work. She apologized profusely and promised baked goods as an apology. He declined. But asked if she was alright. She told him yes, that she was simply overworked and ready for her days off the upcoming week. But of course, it should not be that easy for her. The last Customer was screaming to her, that she was a failure and knew nothing about what she was doing. That she should quit and be a housewife like a real woman would. It took everything for within her to not start to cry, and because she had managed to do just that, she treated herself to a ´feel-good´ hot chocolate. Again, the dreaded feeling of being under surveillance crept up her spine and she hurried home to order some food from a local Italian restaurant. With how her day had been, she needed her favorite comfort food. Exited for a calm(er) evening with incredible food, she opened the door for the delivery guy. Who was in his mid-thirties, with oily skin, unruly hair, and some dirt on his uniform. He smelled of booze, but that could be caused by the large stain on his shirt. It seemed like someone had dumped his beer on him. Not being one to judge someone who was looking the way he was, anyone had a bad day once in a while. Heck, she just had one THAT day. Her friendly demeanor left though when the man whistled lewdly and

started to make inappropriate comments. “Thank you, for your delivery, Sir.”, she smiled, trying to close the door on him. He put his hand between the door and frame to stop her from doing so and pushed the door open again. “What are you doing tomorrow? Say at 6 pm.”, he grinned. “Nothing of your concern. Now have a nice evening.”, she tried again but he did not budge. “Go on a date with me and I´ll leave.” Ellie just wanted to tell him off again when the main door opened again. “Your Car is blocking my spot.”, her neighbor stated after a second he needed to take in the scene before him,” Get it moving or I´ll call your boss.” “Sorry, Sir. Think about it Sweetheart.”, the man winked before finally leaving. “No thank you.”, the woman whispered more to herself than anything else, before addressing her savior, “Thank you for that. H-he did not take No for an answer.” “You good?”, he asked, his eyes roaming over her like he was looking for any injuries. “Yes, Thank you again.”, and with that, she returned to her kitchen to hopefully be able to relax. Part 2

AN: Thank you for reading! Reblogs and Comments are always appreciated!:)

[copy-trolls]

☕ onirii gets a white chocolate mocha :)

ONIRII: ah. i never drank one, but i have seen this in a picture book before. this is a cup containing a type of coffee, or a 'cup of joe' as they call it.

ONIRII: which i do not comprehend, because there is no 'joe' in the cup itself. from what i recall, it is made through grinding beans into a liquid, not 'joes', unless the beans are called 'joe beans'...and i do not think they are.

ONIRII: ...in fact, this makes me wonder...

ONIRII: is coffee just a bean soup?

ONIRII: ...

ONIRII: i have a feeling i am getting sidetracked once again. nevertheless, thank you for the beverage.

Onirii proceeds to bring the coffee up to her lips, taking a small sip of it. Thankfully, the drink had been cooled down a little before hand, just so it isn't too hot to incinerate her tongue.

After the first sip, she softly hummed and took another.

ONIRII: it is warm..theres a tiny hint of bitterness but it is mostly sweet, very sweet. it feels like drinking a sweetened warm glass of milk with chocolate before going to sleep.

ONIRII: it is nice.

After drinking the whole cup. Onirii found out the hard way that caffeine isn't the best sleeping aid. She swore off drinking coffee after this.

[fireintheflames]

Some General Low Energy Cooking Ideas Pt 1

As we head towards fall here in Michigan, I'm gonna start losing my summer energy, so I thought I'd put together a list of relatively low energy meals/snacks now so when the big annual winter depression hits I don't have to think about it and I eat less delivery! I've also labeled which ones don't need a fridge, because my fridge is like a weird cursed location where if it goes in, it doesn't come out. This is a multi-part series, since I will probably run out of space!

Pt 1: No Cooking/No Dishes/Minimal Clean-up These meals require the bare minimum of effort. No heating, no dishes, most only have a wrapper as trash. Downside is a lot of these can be expensive for what you get. Breakfast: -High Cost:Cliff/Granola/Protein Bars. I keep a box around at all times for breakfast, I really like the caffeinated ones because I hate making coffee in the morning! A nice, easy treat! Can be expensive, but you pay for convenience I guess. (No fridge required) -Gummi vitamins! No calories, but a little treat to start the day! I do a multivitamin, vitamin D, and fiber chews. (No fridge required) -No prep fruits, like grapes. I keep a bowl full of whatever was on sale (apples, plums, ect.) on my counter to eat, and always have bananas (more on those later). (No fridge if you buy small amounts and eat it consistently, fridge is necessary for bulk storage of most fresh fruits) -Pre-cut fruits, like the kind fruit trays have. Same concept, more refrigeration, more likely to contain watermelon (I suck at hydrating, watermelon is my friend) (Fridge absolutely required, these will get nasty fast if left out). -Dried fruits, especially craisins/raisins. Just bare fist those straight out of the container. (No fridge required) Can be combined with the below: -Cereal out of the bag! Works best with cereal with big chunks and no powders, think like Kix or captain crunch. Avoid cinnamon toast crunch and similar beasts, your hands get coated and sticky. (No fridge required) -Small yogurt drinks, like yakult or kafir. Single serve milk or juice cartons can also fill this niche, but I've only got one fridge and I am more likely to drink the yogurt. (Please keep yogurt and milk in the fridge. Juice boxes are usually shelf stable, but always check!) -Trail mix. Kars is the best, pick your flavor. Or you can make your own in advance and live off that! (No fridge required) -UCC canned coffee. This stuff is the bomb if you can find it. It's like the only non-sweet coffee drink out there. (No fridge required, but definitely best when cold. Can in theory be heated in a mug, but that's cooking adjacent for me) -High Cost: Soylent drink/meal replacement shakes/drinks. An absolute last resort, usually expensive and bad tasting, but damn if they don't replace a meal. This is specifically referring to the pre-made ones, not the powder. The coffee mocha Soylent is tolerable, otherwise pick your poison between weirdly powdery chocolate milks. (Don't get the ones that need refrigeration unless you like them. I don't, this is my desperation food and does not deserve a place in my fridge).

Lunch/Dinner: -Snack pack tuna kits. My go to for lunch, usually comes with crackers, a tuna salad can, the big ones have cookies and fruit! Run usually between $1.00 and $3.00, depending on size and brand! I like the Rosemary and Garlic ones from bumblebee. You can also make your own with tuna pouches/cans and crackers, but that does require a spoon. (No fridge required) -Lunchables. Pizza lunchables. Get the kind with the juice box when they are on sale, off brand works just as well! (Should be kept in a fridge, but probably fine for a day or two if you forget) -Baby carrots/snap peas/tiny tomatos. Get some veggies in ya! Best when fresh picked, but this is winter in MI, so more likely bought from meijer.(Fridge recommended if you don't want them to dry out, or if you don't eat the whole bag at once. Fresh picked during summer should be eaten straight off the plant, as nature intended (or rinsed for safety)) -Cheese sticks and meat, I usually go with pepperoni or beef jerky, but in theory any pre-cooked non-heated meat works. (Fridge highly recommended) -Pita bread and pre-made tabbouleh. This shit is the bomb. No need for a plate, that's what the pita's for! (Refrigerate the tabbouleh, if any survives. I will eat a container of tabbouleh in one go. It's so good! You can sub hummus, I just don't like the texture) -Chips and salsa. I just dip straight into the jar, but I understand that is both bad form and not always feasible. Tostitos scoops work best for this maneuver. Can also be done with cheese dips and pretzels, queso in jars, and any other sort of pre-made dip. (Some dips require a fridge, some don't. Chips and pretzels do not). -High cost: Shrimp cocktail platter. Remember to thaw, then eat. Best when paired with veggies. (Freezer/Fridge Required)

Deserts/Snacks (obviously there are whole aisles dedicated to this at most American grocery stores. I'm just gonna list my favorites that have some form of built in portions. You will note that I like crunchy textures.): -Strawberry wafer cookies. Even the low sugar ones are good! Nice and crunchy. Pirouettes and similar also fall in this category(No fridge required) -Fig newtons! Apple newtons! Most neutigrain bars! Date bars Give me some fruit filling!(No fridge required) -Cherry poptarts, frosted. Pretty much any "breakfast pastry" works better as a desert for me. Many granola bars fall in this category as well (looking at you, peanut butter chewy dippers). If it's marketed to kids, it's a dessert for me! (No fridge required, but General Mills Chewy Dipeprs are best cold.) -Fruit snacks, especially the fruit veggie snacks. Individual packs are good for me, because these things are the bomb!(No fridge required) -Any of the Kalbee baked snacks. Pea pods, shrimp chips, weird crab flavored things my beloved. They stab you when you eat them, thus preventing me from eating them all!(No fridge required) -Salt and vinegar chips. They prevent you from eating too many by being physically painful. Kettle chipped increases both the damage and delight.(No fridge required) -High Cost:Ice cream novelties~ Popsicles! Orangesicles! Klondike bars! I really like Coconut Outshine bars, they are expensive but so good!! (Freezer required)

[agent-flyingfox]

Hello there sir! I am Buggy, one of the agents from the agency! I have a small question for you, or two actually

What is your favorite candy?

And what is your least favorite food? Not like allergic but just something you think tastes horrible

Not asking because of any halloween tricks or treats of anything im just curious yep no schemes at all!

"Oh! What a fun question.

I haven't thought of my favourite sweets in a long time. Not since I was a teenager, I think. Very nostalgic.

I remember the White Rabbit milk lollies. They have a nice edible rice paper wrapper. Gula-Gula Udang is similar in that sense. Not sure if either is my favourite though... there's too much to choose from. I always liked the cartoons on Kandos Chocolates...and Hawthorn Flakes were always quite fun.

Hm... But Iced Gem Biscuits were the best. I don't really know if they count as a "Candy" since they're half biscuit. But I always ate the meringe icing first - sometimes throwing the the biscuit away entirely. Surely that counts!

If Halloween is anything like Hari Raya, well, I know what I'd look forward to. Food for thought for our handouts too. I'll be happy to share these Singaporean Sweets with you all!

As for my least favourite food. That's far easier.

The Meat Pie. Of the British or Australian/New Zealand type, doesn't matter. They're the same to me.

What a sorry excuse for a pastry. The gravy is thick with nothing but fat. Where's the flavour? The seasoning? I can't even detect what kind of animal I am putting in my mouth. And that texture...like ground up rubber lathered in some sort of meaty butter, and sprinkles of vague and dubious bone. Crunching into something that you don't even know and having to swallow it with fear of being rude. The soggy, slimy pastry that tries to contain the filling while it oozes out of the corners? It does nothing to save this food. No structural integrity, no flavour, horrible texture, I can't imagine anything worse than this. The nerve that the Australians have, putting tomato sauce on it as if that makes anything better.

I say, just have an Epok-Epok. That does everything a meat pie could ever wish to do. I know I got heated up there. I have every right to be angry about this. I appreciate that you've invited me to talk about this as it's bothered me for years.

I'm sure you won't use any of this information for schemes or mischief of any sort. Absolutely."

Kind regards,

Agent Flying Fox

[biscuitsobisco]

How to Choose the Best Biscuits for Snacking

When it comes to quick bites or evening tea-time, biscuits are one of the most loved snack options. But with so many varieties on store shelves, choosing the right one can be a little confusing. Here’s a simple guide to help you pick the best snacks biscuit for your taste, health, and mood.

1. Know Your Purpose

Before you grab a packet, ask yourself: Why am I eating this biscuit? Are you looking for a light snack, a healthy bite, or something to satisfy your sweet tooth?

For tea-time: Go for light, crisp biscuits like Marie or digestive biscuits.

For cravings: Chocolate-filled or cream biscuits might do the trick.

For health: Choose high-fiber, low-sugar options made with oats or whole wheat.

2. Check the Ingredients

Always read the label. A good snacks biscuit should have:

Less sugar and salt

No trans fats

Simple, natural ingredients

Avoid biscuits that have too many chemicals or artificial flavors. The simpler, the better.

3. Look at the Nutritional Value

This step is important if you’re eating biscuits daily. Look for:

Low calorie per serving

More fiber

Lower saturated fat

Healthy snacks biscuit options often have oats, ragi, or multigrain base. These keep you full longer and are better for digestion.

4. Think About Taste and Texture

Sometimes, health isn’t the only thing that matters. If you’re snacking for fun or to share with friends, taste is king.

Crunchy biscuits are great with tea.

Cream or sandwich biscuits are fun and sweet.

Salty or masala biscuits work well for evening hunger pangs.

Pick the one that matches your mood and time of day.

5. Don’t Ignore the Brand

Not all biscuits are made the same. Trusted brands often maintain better quality and hygiene. Also, they usually have more options for different needs—from diabetic-friendly to kid-friendly snacks.

Try a few and stick to the ones that taste good and feel light.

6. Watch the Portion Size

Even the best snacks biscuit isn’t good if you eat too many. Always control your portion. Most packs mention how many biscuits equal one serving. It’s a good habit to read that before you open the packet.

7. Consider Dietary Needs

Not everyone can eat the same kind of biscuits. Some people may have food allergies or follow a special diet. If you or someone in your family has specific needs, check for:

Gluten-free biscuits if you're allergic to wheat

Sugar-free or low-sugar options for diabetics

Vegan biscuits with no milk, eggs, or honey

Nut-free snacks biscuit options for kids or schools

These special biscuits are now easily available in stores and online. Just make sure to check the label and look for trusted certifications.

8. Try Local and Homemade Options

While big brands are popular, don’t ignore local or homemade biscuits. Many small bakeries or home businesses offer biscuits made with fresh ingredients and fewer preservatives.

Homemade biscuits often taste better and feel lighter.

Local bakeries might offer unique flavors like jeera, ajwain, or coconut.

Supporting local also means you’re helping small businesses grow—plus, you get a fresh take on your everyday snacks biscuit.

9. Storage Matters Too

Once you buy biscuits, keeping them fresh is just as important. If not stored properly, they can lose their crunch and taste.

Always keep biscuits in an airtight container after opening.

Avoid moisture, heat, and direct sunlight.

Check the expiry date before buying and after opening.

Fresh biscuits not only taste better but are also safer to eat.

10. Explore New Flavors—But Slowly

It’s fun to explore new biscuit flavors—especially when brands launch something new. But don’t buy a big pack unless you’re sure you’ll like it.

Start with small or trial packs.

Read online reviews if you're unsure.

Don’t shy away from trying international biscuits—some of them are surprisingly good!

Finding your perfect snacks biscuit can be a journey, so enjoy the process and take your time.

Final Thoughts

Snacking is a part of our daily life, and biscuits are one of the easiest go-to options. But that doesn’t mean you have to settle for just anything. By following these simple tips, you can pick a snacks biscuit that tastes great and fits your needs.

Whether you're looking for a healthy nibble, a sweet treat, or something to enjoy with your chai—there’s always a biscuit out there for you.

So next time you’re in the snack aisle, take a closer look, read the pack, and choose biscuits that make your snack time more satisfying.

[meditating-dog-lover]

Health update

Today was a productive day.

I booked an appointment for a mineral scan, requested my dental xrays and gum charting copies, and am in the process of scheduling an appointment for a psychiatric evaluation. I can't wait to have that booked because I know it will help me.

I broke my fast at 9:30 with a coffee, banana, some dark chocolate and walnuts.

They had Panera catering at work today. So lots of sandwiches, salad, bread cookies, and juice. I had some Caesar salad with some dressing and bread. I am pretty hungry today so I'm happy they brought that. And even though I am trying to eat "anti-inflammatory" some bread and Caesar dressing is not going to do anything, especially when the bulk of my diet is anti-inflammatory. But I did not feel like a sandwich (I didn't like any of the options they had and I'm tired of white bread) or a cookie. I've been craving less sweet stuff. So I'm also tired of baked goods and milk chocolates.

I do like to treat myself here and there, but want to do it where I don't feel not well or like I ate too much junk and sweets after that. I had one of those small milk caramel blocks from Whole Foods the other day and it was too sweet. Same with the brownies my mom and I had last week. It just doesn't hit the same. It's too "sugary".

I've also been eating less white bread. I had some today and I liked it, but I don't want to have way too much. But at the end of the day, I'll let myself have some junk here and there, as long as the bulk of my diet is healthy and diverse and anti-inflammatory.

I'm sick and tired of taking supplements. The only real need I think supplements have are to fill nutrient gaps. Most of us do not get enough D3/K2 or omega-3 and magnesium from diet alone. So I do supplement with these. However, for more gut health-focused supplements, I really do think diet is the better solution. For probiotics - Greek yogurt (the yogurt I have has the bacteria species names written on the container, and they're similar to the ones in probiotic supplements). For gut lining and anti-microbial effects - aloe juice. And for digestion - ginger (I am doing more research on this and I'm not a huge fan of ginger. Tropical fruit are also a good source of enzymes, but I also don't like those and prefer berries).

Even for hormone balance, correctly cycling my food and fasting, as well as managing my stress, will work better than any supplement. As I said I am tempted to return those 2 hormone balancing supplements I purchased).

I am drinking aloe juice because I would rather have the actual natural aloe vera food source rather than a gut support powder that tastes like old black licorice or fake orange (these contain aloe combined with other gut support ingredients). But I am on the lookout for a food/drink that is a good source of natural enzymes that support digestion.

I'm doing blood work and an h pylori breath test in a few days. I hope my blood sugar and thyroid hormones are within good range. I've been taking a multivitamin that contains plenty of absorbable iodine and chromium. Although I don't think gut issues is the source of my skin inflammation, I hope the h pylori has been killed off because that does cause a lot of issues, including inflammation, stomach cancer, and reducing stomach acid levels which can negatively impact digestion. I know something like lemon juice and apple cider vinegar help with that, but I'm not a fan of either and they're bad for teeth.

I'm looking forward to my blood work, h pylori breath test, my mineral scan and psychiatric evaluation. I hope my breath test is negative and my mineral scan looks good, because this will show that I'm finally able to properly digest and absorb nutrients.

My skin is much better. My hands are still a bit inflamed, so I applied a hint of steroid cream to them last night and this morning. I applied some petroleum jelly too. But they're looking better.

I'm trying to add in more healthy foods to my diet. I'm a picky eater. I added broccoli as a calciferous vegetable source. I'm looking into ginger. I switched to an anti-inflammatory spicy may condiment that has avocado oil rather than canola oil. Next I'm looking into an anti-inflammatory crunchy snack I can have when I go to therapy (those are long days and I get hungry). It doesn't have to be perfectly anti-inflammatory and healthy since it's not something I have everyday. But I can look around.

[inorganicpixie]

I don’t know if I will like what the scale says tomorrow morning. But I feel like I did pretty good today without tracking. Just choosing “healthy options” might not be deficit I could be in for faster progress but I’m still happy with not binging.

Breakfast was 2 cups of coffee and unsweetened almond milk.

For lunch had some left over sweet potato chocolate pudding a co worker gave me two days ago (probably about 1/3 of a cup size), one carrot and some cucumber slices with a 0% fat plain greek yogurt-serving size with serving size of everything bagel hummus, and half of a small container of beet and feta salad from work.

For snack I had the rest of the beet salad, collagen supplement with unsweetened almond milk and an orange.

For dinner I had a salad with blue cheese, a teaspoon each of flax, hemp hearts and chia seeds, two teaspoons of sunflower seeds and a hummus and vinegar dressing I made and a few cubes of watermelon.

Then after for dessert my family and I went and got smoothies and I got a Green smoothie with green apple, orange juice (I asked for half the juice half water), pineapple, spinach, kale, banana and mango.

Oh and I had half of a packet of a hazelnut almond butter thing.

For lunch my guess is going to be I had about 500, snack was probably about 250, dinner probably 600, hazelnut almond butter bite was 100, then smoothie I’m going to guess around 400(?).

So I’m going to roughly estimate my intake today around 1,850.

For exercise I jogged a mile and then worked for 8hrs and then walked home and then went on another short walk with our smoothies and I’m about to do a 20 min yoga video.

I didn’t track cals on my phone app but mfp says I burned about 130 cal today.

So maybe total was around 1,750 rounded up.

Ik this isn’t going to make fast progress. But I am still hoping for like idk, even just a smidge closer to 144 tomorrow morning.

[tookishcombeferre]

Sorry. I had this started earlier, but I've been running around like a headless chicken. My toddler has also decided that 1 AM is the best time for chocolate milk and cheese crackers ... I think I now live with Cheese from Foster's Home For Imaginary Friends ...

I love the idea that that was supposed to be her birthday gift in Season 4. So much. I totally accept this headcanon. 1,000%.

I also have ton of feelings about the rubies in general.

So, one of my favorite tropes in fantasy literature is the one where a magic user can siphon bits and pieces of their magic off into objects of significance to make themselves stronger/ heal themselves later.

In one of my favorite fantasy series, a mage everyone considers weaker than all of the other "noble" and high powered mages picks up pieces of other mages' "gifts" that they just leave lying in the universe. "Gifts" are what the author refers to as mages' magic and stores it in threads. He later uses these threads to do something totally epic. (Love him.)

[Though, as an aside, there is one quartet in the series ("The Immortals") that I liked well enough when I was younger that I cannot stand as an adultier-adult. However, most of the other quartets hold up really well. And, one of the quartets in the series (Protector of the Small) is literally my favorite series of fantasy books, outside of Lord of the Rings, ever written. I listen to it every summer. However, do yourself a favor, skip The Immortals. The characters are fine on their own. But, the ending. The ending destroys everything you thought you loved. You get most of the best characters from that quartet (but better written, less squicky, and without all the trash parts) in Protector of the Small. - You can in fact read any of the quartets on their own, and I highly recommend Protector of the Small as a stand alone series. The ending is straight up haunting, in the best way. Protector of the Small is a masterpiece.]

Anyway, I'm getting WAY off track, please excuse the sleep deprived parent brain. My ADHD is strong today, apparently.

It's hard to see in the animation how many rubies are actually in the tiara Cedric made, but in the merch there's 10. (Yes. I did look this up.)

In the episode "Cedric's Apprentice," Sofia makes Cedric approximately twelve rubies. (Yes. I also looked this up.)

Cedric strikes me as someone who saves things.

Like, he's the person who has stored *every* picture Calista ever drew him. He likely has a whole bunch of random stuff from his and Roland's childhood. He probably even has some stuff of random significance from his teacher(s) at Hexley and Winifred. He probably even has a Hexley pennant somewhere that's pressed and folded. You know, that kind of stuff.

He's sentimental in ways people probably wouldn't expect.

Therefore, I like to think there's one, just one, little ruby left in his office with all the other things in his life of significance.

Because, the way I hc sorcerer ... ... biology? ... is biology the word I'm looking for in this case? I think it is? Maybe physiology is closer? I don't know.

I'm tired.

So, anyway, the way I hc that sorcerer magic interacts with their physical form is that they *need* magic to live as much as blood or air. So, if they deplete themselves of magic too much, it would be like holding their breath too long or giving over too much blood to a blood bank.

And, while I think sorcerer bodies would accept other sorcerer's magic as "okay" to receive, I doubt anything would be quite the same/ as strong as your own magic. You know?

Thus, siphoning off magic into objects to "replenish" themselves later can be kind of a smart move. However, how many of them know or think to do this is another story.

However, the way I play Cedric in my fics is as a Restoration sorcerer. He *would* know.

So, I feel like, because sorcery magic in the StF universe seems to be highly connected to emotion, a sorcerers magic would bond best (and last longest) contained in things to which the sorcerer had a deep connection.

Hence, Cedric's thought to keep one of the rubies in his little collection of emergency magical storage items.

One of the things I'm playing with, lore wise, right now is how that siphoning works:

When can it happen? (Still deciding.)

Is there ritual involved? (Yes. Have not decided what.)

How long *can* magic last outside the body without being "updated?" (Still don't know. Probably depends on what you put it in. Gems last longer than paper. Sentimental objects last longer than things without sentiment, etc.)

Does it work better when there are objects of significance involved? (Yes. This I've decided is for sure.)

Can those objects be "hidden" or made to appear like non-magical objects? (Yes. Cedric disguises his as a literal box of rocks. I've already decided this. Roland is totally amused by it. They only transform back into the object they were *after* the magic is taken from them, and/or after being given a command by the sorcerer in question.)

How do those objects look once magic has been siphoned into them vs. after magic has been siphoned out of them? (They glow vs. don't glow. Have not decided more than that.)

Does every sorcerer have a unique *color* of magic that then radiates off the object? (Yes. Have not decided more than that.)

This ends up playing a hugely important role later on in, at least, two of my fics.

So, this something I've been toying with a lot lately.

I think I'm coming to most of the conclusions I like and need. So, this all will be fully featured pretty soon. As always, thanks for waiting on my pixie dust. :D

I hc the tiara Cedric proudly and lovingly gifted Sofia with on her graduation day in the finale (and the symbolism of it having the same rubies she once conjured for him as a mark of her friendship still makes me cry, because it was her friendship and support that ultimately saved him, and 'Cedric's Apprentice' was only the start of his growth and character arc) was what he originally planned to give her as a birthday gift in that s4 episode, but he still felt too ashamed and guilty from his betrayal of her in 'Day of the Sorcerers'.

@tookishcombeferre @sweetmariihs2

[202310271]

Facebook 1

I find how I get grumpy, not having anything like "sweets" or dessert, soda pop, treats, candy, "fat..." If I have like none my body doesn't work as well. I even read you need food that tastes good to keep your ability to digest and have an appetite. I was like 15 when I read that, maybe, if not 17 or almost 17 maybe.

I also found I can't live on just heavy "sweets" and base rudimentary crude food. Like, I got chicken, turkey, ham, pork chops, and beef, but I didn't do much. The only special thing I did was toast my bread in the oven with butter and slice my cheese myself, both cheap and fresh. The meat is in the freezer except for some already cut slices of ham, think I ran outta that. Just have 1 1/2 chickens, a turkey, a tray of pork chops, and a tray of cut beef, the cheapest. It's all in my freezer, with my 7 1/2 bell peppers, maybe 7 tomatos, and maybe 3 1/2 heads of broccoli. All I did was fry in the oven or deep fry and put salt and pepper on the stuff in the oven, which is broccoli and fries I made from potatos. So! I ordered Chinese for like $15 if you count the DoorDash fee. I also woke up very sore.

I also get my overnight oats jars in the mail tomorrow, 16 oz or like 4-5 inches. Have my 3+ large mostly containers of oats, 2 gallons of milk for now and more after of course, coco powder a large container of Hershey's no sugar I read?, large container of honey store brand, and a more large container of vanilla extract replacement store brand. I just mix up the ingredients other than oats and then mix it with milk and I think fill the cup halfway or maybe more and put it in overnight or like 6 hours. I saved like 10 recipes of overnight oats on Pinterest. If I got 3 today it'd be $89, though. I can pick up something cheaper walking to my grocery store close to home, used Instacart+ though as mostly now.

I like carbonated sweet drinks, too, ATM. Slushes might work, get another ice tray or whatever and blend it with the rest of the liquid. Diet drinks are probably worse in excess. I like candy but don't eat it much. A lotta them are real sour now. Lemon Heads are "hard to come by," but I dunno if you suck on them the whole time. A lotta times, I want chocolate milk, but it's expensive when you pass by at the store. I wonder how the chocolate overnight oats will satisfy. 6 cheap gars. I got 2 for $4 and then 4 for like $12. $2 and $3 each I see. Interesting, but oh well. I don't have much money.

Tomorrow "Pork Lo Mein" and an Egg Roll for $12-$13 + DashPass with small fee/s. I dunno what to make, but if I made Chinese I'd have like the same thing every day or buy more ingredients for more. I need more soda pop to wash down if I get that sauce covered chicken again. I am almost finishing this whole 2 Liter, today, and had a can earlier, Orange, which is what I usually, almost always, yet. I'm feeling better and may walk to a store. I know I also need hand lotion. I'm on my last little tube. I have a list of things, though, don't have to buy it all at Amazon since I can leave the home if I need to, now, reliably enough.

[actual-corpse]

Bruh... I live in America and I'm starting to refuse that it really exists and is not, in fact, a shitty dystopian YA novel.

[jewreallythinkthat]

Ok so 2 things

1. I hope I haven't made anyone think I'm bilingual. I am learning Hebrew, and as a cook, food stuffs are some of the first things I learnt and I was super excited to be able to reply to a note in Hebrew with something I actually knew! (I have had to Google translate much of the other notes lol because only half the words are things I have covered

2. Poppyseed propaganda time:

A. Poppy seeds in hamantaschen should be in the form of a thick poppyseed custard (made from milk, honey, egg and ground poppy seeds) where the starches from the seeds have thickened the custard. They should never just be dry poppyseeds in the hamantaschen, if that's what you're used to, please try and find a good recipe for a mohn filling - I'm happy to send my personal one if needed.

B. Poppy seeds are a huge byproduct of the licit morphine industry so if you want painkillers for the hospital, you'll naturally get mass poppy seed production so basically you can say that your food is sustainable or something, you make the argument work

C. Poppy seeds actually contain a small amount of opioids - enough that if you have a bunch of poppy seeds hamantaschen, you would fail a drug test (so do not have them before doing a major sporting event lol). They opioids won't affect you as there isn't enough for that, but there is still a measurable amount. It's cool. This is cool.

D. Because of the multiple crystal formations of cocoa butter, straight up chocolate in your hamantaschen gets a weird texture that some of us just can't be dealing with once it cools after being baked. Also, milk chocolate's high sugar content means its likely to burn if you're not careful with the baking.

E. I used to hate poppy seeds when I was young but as an adult, they are my favourite by far. This isn't a "oh you'll grow up" situation, but literally palates change as you age so if you're young, just give it a few years and try again with this one because they're so so good.

I love you Jews in my phone ♥️

I am gently kissing you all on the foreheads and telling you it will be ok; I am feeding you challah and chicken soup, and hamantaschen