#i am small i contain chocolate milk

[finalgirllx]

self-indulgent fluff because I live somewhere cold as fuck and consume an absurd amount of hot chocolate. enjoy! 1k words | slytherin reader | sickeningly sweet | not edited | forgoes the rules in hogwarts kitchens

"Bloody hell, my dicks s'bout to freeze off," Enzo grunted, plopping down beside you as you wrapped yourself in a cocoon of blankets on one of the green-tufted leather couches that adorned the Slytherin common room.

While your home base exuded an air of regal antiquity that you had grown to appreciate throughout your years attending Hogwarts, its stellar placement in the school's dungeons meant that some evenings were more than chilly, sometimes downright freezing. While the crackling fireplaces scattered about did wonders to keep students from succumbing to frostbite during the coldest winter months, they weren't always sufficient on particularly wintry nights, especially around the holidays.

"That's certainly a visual, Enz, thanks," you responded with a small snort at his crude greeting. He shot you an unamused glance followed by an eye roll, appearing just as grumpy from the cold as you were.

"These dungeons might as well be the Arctic tonight. Can you blame me for feeling a tad paranoid?" Enzo countered, inching closer to you than usual for warmth. A fiery spark ignited in your stomach at his proximity, but you quickly dismissed it, seeing as you were merely a cozy blanket to him at the moment.

"There has to be something we could do," he lamented, clearly more agitated than you already thought. He gestured to you as you sat swathed in blankets with a mix of worry and exasperation, "Just look at you all bundled up, for blimey's sake. Cute, but damn concerning."

He called you cute. The chill could excuse the blush on your cheeks, right? Still, you wanted to pacify Enzo before he threw a fit at someone who wouldn't take so kindly to his attitude.

Thinking quickly, you brightened, an idea forming in your mind.

"A warm beverage might help. We could go make some hot cocoa?"

The way Enzo's eyes bugged out momentarily was rather amusing, as if your proposition was utterly absurd. It was, but you couldn't resist the chance to cozy up more with the Slytherin golden boy. You worried he might protest, so you used your best pleading face. His pretty brown eyes softened, and a faint smirk tugged at his lips—the first sign of warmth from him in an otherwise frosty evening.

"Yeah, sure, we can do that." ------------------------------

"I'm hardly sophisticated enough to be melting chocolate bars or anything like that. We're sticking to packets, and you'll enjoy it," you teased Enzo lightly as the saucepan warmed milk on the stove.

"Who do you think I am, the hot cocoa critic?" Enzo quipped back, retrieving two oversized mugs from a nearby cabinet. "I demand mine at precisely so-and-so degrees, with an exact 80% sweetness," he joked, earning an eye roll from you to mirror the one he had given earlier on the couch.

"I'll water yours down," you threatened, feigning annoyance though secretly reveling in the presence of the cute boy who seemed to have thawed out with your company. His slight pout quickly melted your resolve, and you dropped two cocoa packets into each mug for an extra chocolatey taste. His ability to summon a puppy-dog look with those full lips and gold-speckled eyes was a true talent.

Once the milk reached the right temperature, Enzo beat you to lift the pan and pour the steaming liquid into the mugs. You noticed he poured more into yours, so you nudged his side with a raised eyebrow as soon as he set the pan down.

"Hey, this was your idea, and you seemed even colder than me back in the common room. We're prioritizing you," Enzo justified, to which you nervously smiled, contemplating how to return his sweetness.

You rummaged the same cabinets for a container of mini marshmallows, returning with it and generously topping each mug. You made a show of adding far more marshmallows to his mug, causing Enzo to chuckle in surprise.

"That's more marshmallow than cocoa at this point!" he protested, grinning widely.

"You gave me more cocoa, so you get more marshmallows. It's only fair," you said with a nonchalant shrug, implying it couldn't be helped despite being the one to pile them on.

You both gripped the handles of your mugs and brought them to your lips, sharing a surprisingly intimate moment as your eyes met. Was drinking hot chocolate supposed to feel this tense?

After blowing on your beverage for a few seconds, you took your first sip, relishing in the immediate warmth that flooded your senses. Enzo also sighed contentedly, and you beamed at his approval. He glanced at you again, his brow furrowing momentarily before his expression shifted, his focus turning to something else. He set his mug down before raising his thumb to brush over your top lip. You froze, the flush on your face intensifying after his touch.

"Little cocoa on your lip, sorry," he muttered, his voice cracking for a moment before he then brought his thumb to his mouth, tasting the remnants he had wiped off yours. Your brain was broken for the moment. It was as if you were watching these last few instances from an outside perspective. Was he as nervous as you? Seemed impossible for someone as charismatic and cool as him.

"I, uh…," you stammered while gathering your bearings.

"Just trying to be helpful," Enzo tried to brush off his actions, his free hand rubbing the back of his neck. The way his gaze never left your lips betrayed his true feelings.

Suddenly, you snapped back to reality. You couldn't let the moment slip away. This was your opportunity. Setting your mug down, you turned to face him with a shaky breath, grasping the collar of his shirt and pulling his face down to meet yours. He understood right away, meeting your lips with his without hesitation. His hands cupped your face, and though the kiss lasted only a few seconds, the passion behind it was enough to keep you both warm for the rest of the night.

As you pulled away, both stunned yet excited, Enzo mused with a satisfied grin, "I think that might have been the key to evading the cold."

You teased, "Don't underestimate the power of cocoa," to which he relented, shaking his head.

"Never, darling. Although, I might need another kiss if we're going to survive," he added with a cheeky smirk.

You smiled and leaned in for that second kiss. This evening's venture had proved to be the right decision in more ways than one, and you couldn't be more fulfilled.

[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.

[piko-power]

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!:)

[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

[theveganroadierecipes]

Cranberry Pistachio Biscotti

This is the last in the #12treatsofchristmas series. This is one of the original treats from the list that actually got cut from the list halfway through to make room for a peppermint bark cheesecake. Well, the cheesecake was a bit of a flop on my end. While I’m perfecting the cheesecake, I turned back to the biscotti, I’m so glad I did! I am a little obsessed with these! In a way they are a less sweet variation of the cranberry bliss bar. Crunchy and delicate, these festive biscotti will go great with the perfect cup of coffee on Christmas morning. 

Cranberry Pistachio Biscotti

Makes: 16 Biscotti

Serving Size: 1 Biscotti

3 tablespoons flax meal

6 tablespoons water

¾ cup organic cane sugar

½ cup canola oil

1 teaspoon almond extract

½ teaspoon orange extract, optional

1 ¾ all purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

½ teaspoon sea salt

½ teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/2 cup raw unsalted unroasted unshelled pistachios, chopped

½ cup dried cranberries, chopped

2 tablespoons unsweetened soy or almond milk

1 tablespoon maple syrup

Optional White Chocolate Coating:

1 cup vegan white chocolate chips

1 teaspoon refined coconut oil

Preheat the oven to 325 F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Add the flax meal and water to a bowl, whisk to combine and set aside for 5 minutes to thicken.

Add the sugar, oil, almond extract, and orange extract (if using), to the bowl of a stand mixer and cream everything together with a paddle attachment until combined. Add the flax mixture and mix to combine.

Add the flour, baking powder, salt, and nutmeg to a bowl and whisk to combine. Add half of the flour mixture to the wet mixture and mix to combine, add the other half and mix until everything is incorporated, do not overmix.  Fold in the cranberries and pistachios.

Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface, split the dough in half. With lightly floured hands roll each half of dough into a log about 6 inches long, gently flatten the logs so they are 3 inches wide. Place the logs at least 3 inches apart on the prepared baking sheet.

Add the milk and maple syrup to a small bowl and whisk until well combined, this is a plant based vegan egg wash. Brush each log with the vegan egg wash. Bake the logs for 35 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool for 15-20 minutes, until you are able to easily handle them.

Transfer logs to a cutting board and use a serrated knife, cut the rounded ends off of each log.  Cut the logs into biscotti size pieces, about  ¾ inch thick, you'll get 8 pieces from each log. Arrange the biscotti pieces, cut sides down on the baking sheet and bake for 10 minutes, flip all the pieces and bake an additional 10 minutes, until they are golden brown. Transfer to a cooling rack and let cool completely. They will firm up more as they cool.

Option with white chocolate coating: Melt the chips in the microwave or double boiler. Add the coconut oil, stir to combine. Place melted mixture in a shallow bowl and dip the bottom quarter inch of each biscotti into the chocolate, shake off excess chocolate and transfer to a parchment lined baking sheet, set biscotti on its side until chocolate seizes. Alternatively, instead of dipping the bottoms you can drizzle the chocolate over the biscotti’s or dip partially in the chocolate and sprinkle with chopped cranberries and pistachios.

Biscotti last up to two weeks when stored in an airtight container.

[musaics]

After finding out through Tenten-san that Li-san’s birthday was approaching, Hinata found herself thinking on what to get him. After spending time recalling her time with him, she couldn’t pull anything from their interactions that could help. That realization triggered a small nugget of guilt within her. She needed to be better, especially with all he’s been helping her with.

She sought Tenten-san to see if she could give more insight to Li-san’s personal interests. Their meeting bore the idea to prepare a dish for him. She’s always enjoyed cooking, especially for others. Despite having little experience in preparing spicy dishes she’s decided to try!

Keeping in mind the food preference Tenten mentioned, she prepared a savory vegetable stir fry for lunch. Then packed her best attempt of a spicy curry for dinner. She finished off her gift by preparing a sweet strawberry milk for him.

Everything packed into a lunch basket, she heads off to deliver it to them. At the hospital she requests for him.

“Li-san,” she greets with sweet smile and little nervousness,” h-happy birthday. I made this for you. I hope you enjoy these dishes….” She hands him the basket of food.

Happy birthday Li!

“Oh!”  Li shouts as Hinata enters his small office.  He also hurriedly stands, thighs noisily smacking into the top of his desk and causing the solid woodtop to give a little rock.  His lamp wobbles but he manages to grab it before it tips over.  “Ah— Hi, Hinata-san!” 

As he strides over to retrieve her goodie basket, Li pats down his pristine white uniform.  There was no dirt on it, of course, but he was a shinobi before he was a medic and was often used to having dusty, dirty shinobi gear on.  Or perhaps he was just nervous and wanted to look his best when being presented with something so thoughtful.

“You did not have to go through so much trouble for me.”  Li says in a tone that was uncharacteristically shy for him.  Warmth spreads over him at the gesture, his insides feeling like a warm, gooey chocolate chip cookie.  “This is very kind of you.”  

He dives into Hinata’s basket as if it were a wrapped present, bright eyes hungrily ingesting the image of each container of food.  He can tell she’s made him curry before he even gets to that container; He can smell the spices. He wriggles his nose with delight. 

“There’s curry in here!” He announces in a child-like way, like Hinata didn’t already know what she had packed in there.  “Everything smells delicious and I very much appreciate your efforts.  It is not often that I have a homemade meal at the office.”

Li sets her basket aside before turning back to her, his warm gaze finally taking in her sweet demeanor.  Her smile was kind and her eyes shine with what looked like gratitude with a hint of nervousness.  It was endearing and Li finds himself returning her smile.  

Li has a strong urge to engulf the woman in a big hug, but fears such a gesture may be too intense for someone that was already obviously nervous.  So Li performs a deep bow instead.

“Thank you, Hinata-san.  I will say it for what seems the hundredth time: I am very appreciative of you and your efforts.  I hope you will share this meal with me.”

[iliketrainmen]

Okay okay I have very strong opinions on these so I am allowing myself to express them just this once. There are probably one or two hot takes in here.

Candy corn: I don't understand why it's so hated. Is it a meme? Some sort of sick joke? I don't know, but they're beyond underrated because of it. They have just the right amount of squish, making it satisfying but not difficult or painful to bite into. The texture is phenomenal and there's just the right amount of sweetness. They're also just small enough to let you choose how many you eat without pressuring you to eat a lot within one bite. A little bit of personal bias here due to the fact that they don't contain milk which I'm grateful for because I'm lactose intolerant. What I'm not grateful for is that they're almost entirely sugar, which I am not grateful for as a sugar intolerant. However, the fact that they're small enough for me to control how much I eat mostly negates lost points from that. 10/10 (I've never had a problem with candy corn before and I'm almost convinced people hate it for the bit.)

Licorice: If you have an entire genre of licorice known for being... controversial in taste, I don't think that's a good sign for your entire overall brand. Either way, I suppose I should've taken the "black licorice bad" take as foreshadowing because I actually hate these elongated, over-sweetened mockeries of fusillini. Their taste is horrid, they're way too chewy for my liking, and they're far too long. Just one of these is enough to make me sick for an hour or two. The only redeeming part about them is their texture, which is almost okay enough to justify the taste. 4/10. It would've been a two but I remembered my dad likes these and so I'll give it pity points.

Peanut butter + chocolate: I will never stop eating these, no matter how ill they make me. Like, seriously, its a problem; I get near bed-ridden sick from the sugar and lactose intolerance hitting me at the same time at full force, but I— for some reason— deem it worth it. They're like a match made in heaven for candies. The nuttiness and savor of the peanut butter mixed with the sweetness of chocolate is a gift from the gods I'd reckon. An apology for making humans sentient. The worst practical joke ever played on me by the universe. I feel so bad for people who cannot have these; these rank high if not the highest on my list of candy types. Absolutely heaven. 9/10 (the fact that they melt so easily is a bummer. I hate having stuff left behind on my hands.)

Mint-chocolate: This one is incredibly decisive for me. On one hand: rarely have I ever had a mint-chocolate candy taste good for me. On the other hand: mint chocolate ice cream exists and is my favorite flavor. The candies are just... way too minty and overshadow the chocolate aspect far too much for any enjoyment; if I wanted this much minty I would've gone and drank a cup of mouthwash. The textures of the mint and chocolate don't go together well at all for me; it causes me to writhe whenever I am reminded of it. However, the ice cream variant (and the girl scout cookies. God those are so good) make up for the horrors of the candies. So, I am relatively indifferent here. It entirely depends on the form of the mint and chocolate you're eating. 6/10 (ice cream and girls scouts hard carried this one.)

Sour candies: I don't hate them, but I don't love them. Occasionally I'm in the mood for sour candy or I'm not, the latter being more common. However, I will give sour candy credit, they're very good at the job they do, especially the chewy variants. They have a strong taste of sour that makes your eyes water. They're chewy enough to where you've probably sucked all of the sour out once you've finished chewing. They're small enough to give you a strong hit of sour, but not too much to overwhelm you. They serve a specific purpose in the candy world and I can respect them for that, even if I only rarely enjoy them. (8/10. Only because if you eat way too many you can make your mouth bleed. Not a problem most people will encounter, but I'm docking points nonetheless.)

candy discourse, reblog w/ your opinions on

• candy corn • licorice • peanut butter + chocolate • mint + chocolate • sour candies

[murasaki-sama]

I am so jealous of people who like black coffee as is, with no sugar or cream or anything. Or even black coffee with a tiny bit of sugar or cream.

I mean think about it. This drink comes in unlimited free refills, is available at most restaurants, is socially acceptable to order all year round and at most times of the day or night.

I am warm drink enjoyer (all warm drinks) and none of the others get a teeny tiny bit of that treatment.

Hot chocolate? expensive, one cup per purchase, comes over sugared with whip cream, made with water mostly (never with milk), only socially acceptable to order during the fall and winter.

Tea? here in america, even at Tea Shops or whatever, the best you can get is hot leave juice, and the worst you can get is a disgrace. went to a Chinese restaurant yesterday and what I got when I ordered green tea and my sister ordered Jasmine was just... bad.

Most people don't even know what Wassail is, so good like finding that and ordering it.

Apple cider or any other fruit cider probably isn't available either, not even in the fall. the best you might get is apple juice, in a small class, one cup per purchase and oddly expensive per cup too.

And if one does like coffee, but a bit doctored up with sugar and cream, all you get are tiny sugar bags and small cream cups, and it takes like six of one and half a dozen of the other to fix a single cup, so even with unlimited refills you spend half of you meal time opening containers and mixing them in your coffee. and then there is the caffeine thing, which many other warm drinks do not have.

so yeah, i really envy people who just order coffee, black, and drink it as is. lucky bastards.

[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.

[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.

[emmetrain]

She holds out a box containing white and milk chocolates, "Happy Luvdisc Day Mr. Emmet!"

"Miss Celeste!!! Hi!!" Ah! Emmet did not expect a gift--he was pleasantly surprised! "This is for me? The colors too--I am verrry grateful!! That reminds me..."

Emmet offers a box of Pecha-Berry-flavored macaroons, and a small gift box he carefully wrapped with fun, shiny Lotus Blue paper, with a plush key-chain of a Minccino.

"Happy Luvdisc Day, Miss Celeste! Hope the day will help you reach the stop called Love, Trust and Joy!!"

[missguomeiyun]

Homecooking [Dec ed]

This should have been uploaded last night but you know. .. I’m behind! I blame my laptop- I seriously need a new one but I keep putting it off.

Anyway, hope your new yrs eve --> new yr was spent beautifully =]

Arugula fried rice haha of course, arugula wasn’t the main ingredient but I had leftover arugula (from one of those salad mixes but it only contained arugula). It was interesting. I actually left the arugula in the frying pan long enough that it was all cooked. For those who don’t prefer arugula bcos of its bitter taste, I recommend this. The bitterness was almost non-existent.

Jjambbong with boiled egg & bokchoy. Super uninteresting. .. But I love the jjambbong noodles & the sauce.

Spaghetti with mushroom, leftover chicken & some honey ham shreds. I used my smoked salt & smoked wood olive oil for this. It was plain but had a kick, you know what I mean?

A sad lunch. For several days, I had like a blister on the left side of my mouth. It was very uncomfortable =/ so I stayed away from crunchy/spicy foods for a few days.

Another sad meal lol this was for dinner.. . udon noodles with bokchoy, soup seaweed, & dried seaweed.

I know it’s very unlike me to be eating meat-less meals but . .. stupid blister. At least in this noodle soup, I added some spice :’)

Seaweed soup with rice

Kimchi pancakes (yes, the frozen ones I posted about before) & a small ‘appy’-sized vermicelli bowl with napa cabbage & beef.

Noodles after a hotpot dinner - which means the toppings used were leftover hotpot ingredients haha cabbage, tofu, & fish balls.

Oyster pancake

Quick ra-bokki. Can you tell that bokchoy is like the vegetable of the month? lol

Have you guys tried this? It’s a brand called Chicecream, & this is a box of 3 ice cream-sicles (milk, milk + cocoa, cocoa) from T&T.

Chicecream is a premium/luxury ice cream brand that’s based in China. Long story short, it’s the Chinese version of Haagen Dazs.

I’ll be completely honest like I always have. .. I don’t like this. It’s very obvious that’s tailored for the Chinese(/Asian) palette. The ice cream is very smooth, silky, & light. It’s like a cross between ice cream & frozen yogurt. It’s not ‘thick fluffy’ like ice cream. It has more liquid-factor than cream factor, you know what I mean? So that’s the texture. As for the taste. .. =/ the cocoa was not very cocoa. So mild & again, LIGHT. I love my western ice cream ... the rich, decadent chocolate flavour.

Steak~

Christmas dinner at my bro’s

Another dinner at my bro’s but this as for my younger niece’s birthday. The chicken fingers were from scratch, made by my sister-in-law. So good! They were better than restaurant ones, IMHO.

That’s it for now~ More posts coming. I AM SORRY!!!

[helenfletcher]

Dulce de Leche is an easily made filling of sweetened condensed milk that has been heated in the oven until thick, creamy, and deeply browned. It is perfect for these buttery pecan shortbread sandwich cookies. These melt in your mouth cookies don't even have to be rolled out. While looking like they might be a challenge, they are easily made.I've provided several ways to finish the cookies from simple to extravagant - all elegant looking as if they came from a bakery. I am using the recipe from David Lebovitz Dulce de Leche. I tested several methods and this seems to be the fastest and the best. Ingredients Pecan Cookies Left to Right. Back Row: Flour, Toasted Pecans. Middle Row: Butter, Powdered Sugar. Front Row: salt, vanilla. Cookie Finishes Left to Right: Back Row: Chocolate, Sanding sugar. Front Row: Shortening and Toasted Pecans. Pecans are toasted to bring out their maximum flavor. Be sure to cool them before processing. Unsalted butter is used for the purest flavor. Powdered sugar gives a softer texture to the cookie than would granulated sugar. Cookies made with powdered sugar have that melt-in-your-mouth quality. See recipe card for quantities. Instructions Dulce de Leche There are differences between sweetened condensed milk. Some are thicker, some thinner so the time it takes to caramelize the milk may take longer or shorter. You'll judge when it's done by the color and thickness. The really neat thing is if it isn't thick enough to use as a filling after it's cooled just put it back in the oven with the waterbath and bake it some more. Step 1. Different brands of condensed milk have different thicknesses. Eagle brand is consistently thicker than most so I use it for this. If a thinner condensed milk is used, the baking time will increase. Step 2. Pour a 12 ounce can of sweetened condensed milk into an oven-proof bowl. Step 3. Place the bowl with the condense milk into a larger, ovenproof container to make a waterbath. Step 4. The water bath will get very hot. For ease of moving and for safety, place the water bath on a rimmed baking sheet. Step 5. Cover the bowl tightly with aluminum foil to keep the condensed milk cream while it thickens. Fill the container with hot water at least halfway up the bowl. Bake for 2 hours or more until dark and very thick. Step 6. Dark brown Dulce-de-leche cooked down to a thick consistency.. Cool completely before using. Pecan Shortbread Cookies Step 1. Place the toasted pecans and flour in the bowl of the food processor. Step 2. Process the nuts and flour until the nuts are very finely chopped. Step 3. Add the powdered sugar and salt to the processor. Step 4. Process to mix the powdered sugar and salt into the flour/pecan mix. Step 5. Place the softened butter and vanilla in a mixing bowl. Step 6. The butter and vanilla are beaten until very creamy and smooth. Step 7. Add the flour mixture to the butter in the mixing bowl. Step 8. Mix until the dough comes together. Step 9. Divide the dough in half. Step 10. Roll each half of the dough into a log. Step 11. The logs are wrapped in plastic wrap and placed on a tray to be refrigerated or frozen. Step 12. To more evenly cut the rolls, place your finger where you want the cut and cut straight down. Step 13. A Tray of unbaked cookies ready for the oven. Finishing the Cookies Step 1. Combine the sugar and chopped pecans in a small bowl. Set aside. Step 2. Combine the milk chocolate and shortening. Microwave on half power to melt together or place over simmering water. Stir to blend together. Step 3. Melt the chocolate and shortening in a small bowl to maximize the depth

Step 4. Pair the cookies for size. Dip the tops in chocolate. Leave plain, top with a pecan half or with the sugar-pecan mix. Step 5. Pipe the dulche de leche on the bottom of the cookies. Place the tops on and press down lightly to evenly distribute the filling. Step 6. Tray of all the finished cookies. Left to right: With sanding sugar, plain, chocolate and pecan, plain chocolate and with the sugar-pecans. Variations A salted version can be made by adding sea salt to taste to the sanding sugar and pecans. Salt can also be added to the plain cookie finished with sanding sugar. Storage These may be held at room temperature for several days. Top Tips If, after the dulce de leche cools, it is not thick enough to stay put between the cookies, just bake it some more following the original instructions. Make this several days ahead so it is ready when you need it. As I have made them the cookies are small because they are so rich. If you want bigger cookies, just make the cookie roll larger in size. The cookies don't spread much in the oven so they will be just a bit bigger than the size of roll. Piping the dulce de leche onto the cookie makes it much easier. I used a #3 plain tip. Lacking a pastry bag, cut the corner off of a heavy plastic bag and use that. When dipping the top of the cookies, make sure the bowl the chocolate small and narrow so the chocolate remains deep and not spread out.