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dwellordream · 4 years ago

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“...Where the show had sensibly added yurts and merely forgot to have any way to move them, Martin has the Dothraki live in “palaces of woven grass” (AGoT, 83) which I assume the show did not replicate because the moment someone described doing that everyone realized what a bad idea it was and moved on to something more sensible like a yurt covered in leather. Grass and reeds, of course, can be woven. However, as anyone who has done so will tell you, the idea of trying to weave what is essentially a grass basket the size of a tent in a single day is not an enviable – or remotely possible – task.

Trying to move such a giant grass basket without it coming apart or developing tears and gaps is hardly better. And at the end, a woven-grass structure wouldn’t even really be particularly good at controlling temperature, which is its entire purpose! It is rather ironic, given that unlike the show’s Dothraki, Martin’s Dothraki do seem to use at least some carts, because Viserys is forced to ride in one (AGoT, 323) and so could bring yurts with them. They just don’t.

More to the point, it is very clear that Martin imagines the Dothraki subsistence system to consist almost entirely of horses. The Dothraki ride horses, they eat horses, they drink fermented mare’s milk. The Dothraki – as in the show – are presented as eating almost entirely horsemeat. They eat horsemeat at the wedding (AGoT, 84), and Daenerys’ attendants are surprised that she asks for any kind of meat other than horse (AGoT, 129), although Daenerys herself seems to have access to a more agrarian diet (AGoT, 198) and other characters observe that the Dothraki prefer horsemeat to anything else (AGoT, 272). There is no mention of herds of anything except people and horses moving with the khalasaar.

There is also no sense that the Dothraki are hunting big game like one would in the Great Plains; Drogo kills a hrakkar – a sort of lion, apparently – as a display of bravery (AGoT, 495) but there is nothing that would suggest the kind of bison-based subsistence system (at the very least, if that was the system, Daenerys would be well aware of it, because the camp would be awash in bison-products). I found no references to larger game and the Wiki only offers, “packs of wild dogs, herds of free-ranging horses, and rare hrakkar” which is, needless to say, not enough to make up for the absence of large herds of bison, especially for trying to feed Drogo’s camp of perhaps a hundred thousand people (or more!).

They clearly do not herd sheep. This becomes painfully obvious with the raid on the Lhazareen village. The Dothraki – Khal Ogo’s men – in raiding a sedentary pastoralist settlement, kill all of the sheep and leave them to rot. Dany sees them “thousands of them, black with flies, arrow shafts bristling from each carcass” and only knows that this isn’t Drogo’s work because he would have killed the shepherds first (AGoT, 555). And we are told that the people there “the Dothraki called them haesh rakhi, the Lamb Men….Khal Drogo said they belong south of the river bend. The grass of the Dothraki sea was not meant for sheep” (AGoT, 556).

We are told that the Dothraki have “vast herds” but this can only mean herds of horses, given that they apparently take offense at any other animal being grazed on the Dothraki and look down at shepherds in general (AGoT, 83). To be clear, for a nomadic people moving over vast grassland to spurn the opportunity to capture vast herds of sheep would be extraordinarily stupid. At the very least, thousands of sheep are valuable trade goods that can literally walk themselves to the point of sale (we’ll get to this idea that the Dothraki also don’t understand commerce a little later, but it is also intense rubbish; horse nomads in both the New World and the Old understood trade networks quite well and utilized them adroitly). But more broadly, as I hope we’ve laid out, sheep are extremely valuable for subsistence in Steppe terrain.

But Martin does not even do horse-string logistics right. While Daenerys eats cheese (AGoT, 198), we never hear of the Dothraki doing so. The Dothraki do have an equivalent to qumis, but no qulut, no yogurt. Even the frankly badass bit about drinking the horse’s blood as a source of nourishment does not appear. The horses themselves are also wrong. First, Daenerys and Drogo each have one horse they use, seemingly to the exclusion of all others. If you have been reading this long, you know that is nonsense: they ought to both (and Jorah too, if he intends to keep up) be shifting between multiple horses to avoid riding any of them into the ground. Moreover, Martin has imported a European custom about horses – that men ride stallions and women ride mares – into a context where it makes no sense. Drogo’s horse is clearly noted as a red stallion (AGoT, 88) while Daenerys’ horse is a silver filly (AGoT, 87). But of course the logistics of Steppe raiding revolves around mares; in trying to give Drogo the ultimate manly-man horse, he has actually given him the equivalent of a broken down beater – a horse only able to fulfill a slim parts of its role.

Finally, the group size here is wildly off. For comparison, Timothy May estimates that, in 1206, when Temujin he took the name Chinggis Khan and thus became the Great Khan, ruling the entire eastern half of the Eurasian Steppe, that the Mongol army “probably numbered less than a hundred thousand men” (May, The Mongols, (2019), 43), though by that point his army included not merely Mongols, but other ethnically distinct groups of steppe nomads, Merkits, Naimans, Keraites, Uyghurs and the Tatars (the last of which Chinggis had essentially exterminated – next time, we’ll get to the nonsense of the Dothraki being a single ethnic group).

That is, to be clear, compared to the armies of sedentary empires of similar size (which is to say, huge) a fairly small number! We’re going to come back to this next week, but the strength of Steppe nomads was never in numbers. Pastoralism is a low density subsistence strategy, so the steppe nomads were almost always outnumbered by their sedentary opponents (Chinggis himself overcomes this problem by folding sedentary armies into his own, giving him agrarian numbers, backed by the fearsome fighting skills of his steppe nomads).

Khal Drogo’s khalasaar, which moves as a single unit, supposedly has 40,000 riders (AGoT, 325-6); Drogo is perhaps the strongest Khal, but still only one of many. With 40,000 riders, we have to imagine an entire khalasaar of at least 120,000 Dothraki (plus all the slaves they seem to have – put a pin in that for later; also that number is a low-ball because violent mortality is clearly very high among the Dothraki, which would increase the proportion of women and children) and probably something like 300,000 horses. At least. Of course no grassland could support those numbers without herds of sheep or other cattle. As noted above, Isenberg’s figures suggest much lower density in the absence of herding – just under 70,000 nomadic Native Americans on the Great Plains in 1780 (and less than 40,000 in 1877), including women and children! But more to the point, no assemblage of animals and people that large could stay together for any length of time without depleting the grass stocks.

Even if we ignore that problem and even if we assume that the Dothraki have Mongol-style pastoral logistics to enable higher population density on the Dothraki Sea, my sense is that the numbers still don’t work. Even before Drogo dies, we meet quite a few other independent Khals with their on khalasaars – Moro, Jommo, Ogo, Zekko and Motho at least and it is implied that there are more. Drogo’s numbers suggests he should be roughly at the stage Chinggis Khan was in 1201 or so – with Chinggis controlling roughly half of the Mongolian Steppe, and his old friend and rival Jamukha the other half. But Khal Drogo has evidently at least a half-dozen rivals, probably more. It is hard to say with any certainty, but the numbers generally seem too high. Having that entire group concentrated, moving together for at least nine months (long enough for Daenerys to become pregnant and give birth) would be simply impossible inside of a grazing-based subsistence system, sheep or no sheep.

In short, no part of this subsistence system works, either from a North American or a Eurasian perspective. This isn’t actually much of a surprise. Martin has been pretty clear that he doesn’t like the kind of history we’re doing here. As he states: I am not looking for academic tomes about changing patterns of land use, but anecdotal history rich in details of battles, betrayals, love affairs, murders, and similar juicy stuff.

That’s an odd position for an author who critiques other authors for being insufficiently clear about their characters’ tax policy (what does he think they are taxing, other than agricultural land use?). Now, I won’t begrudge anyone their pleasure reading, whatever it may be. But what I hope the proceeding analysis has already made clear is that it simply isn’t possible to say any fictional culture is ‘an amalgam’ of a historical culture if you haven’t even bothered to understand how that culture functions. And it should also be very clear at this point that George R. R. Martin does not have a firm grasp on how any of these cultures function.”

- Bret Devereaux, “That Dothraki Horde, Part II: Subsistence on the Hoof.”

#the dothraki #grrm critical #bret devereaux #history

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mhdiaries · 5 years ago

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Classroom Cleo de Nile & Ghoulia Yelps Mad Science Class Journal

Today was the dreaded “Choosing of Partners for Group Projects” although it could just be me that dreads it. I guess it is because there always seems to be a fight to see who gets to be my partner. I suppose that is an arrogant thing to write but it is true. In some ways it is flattering in other ways, not so much. Even Manny Taur goes out of his way to be nice to me. He is not exactly good at it, but he does try. Mr. Hackington decided this year to try and mitigate the chaos by putting all our names into a skull and drawing them out two at a time. There was some complaining about this new development until he finally said, “You get what you gets and you don’t pitch a fit!” My parents used to tell me that when I was a little ghoul, well probably not the way Mr. Hackington said it but he got his point across. Regardless, at least it keeps me from having to say “yes” to one classmate and “no�� to the rest.

Cleo complained the loudest about the new system until our names got pulled as partners... sigh... I love Cleo and she is my beast friend ever but I was really hoping for... well it does not matter. He got paired up with Frankie and I am sure they will do just fine. Normally having Cleo as a partner means... it means the extra credit work I usually do when I am working on a project by myself seems to be enough for both of us to an “A”. Cleo’s main functions include reminding me to do things I have already done and calling Deuce to bring us lunch or lattes. Not that I complain too much about that, and Deuce does have a way of keeping Cleo focused. She also insists on giving the final presentation, which usually goes well since she does command attention. This time though our assignment is to research the Science of Perfume, and then our final project will be to create our very own fragrance. I must say that I was completely surprised by Cleo’s enthusiasm for the project. I am not sure whether to be excited or frightened by this development.

Finally a project worthy of my royal attention! I must say on past projects I have allowed Ghoulia to do the dragon’s share of the work but this is something I can really get my bandages wrapped around. When we still lived in Egypt, before “the difficulties”, one of my jobs was to oversee the royal perfumers. Nefera used to tell me that it was a job reserved for “a princess who would never become queen” but I didn’t care. While Nefera was in some dreadfully boring meeting about how much grain would be harvested for the year or where to build the next royal monument, I would go down and meet the trade caravans. They would be loaded with spices, oils and exotic flowers from the South and East, and the air was always filled with their fragrance. The royal perfumers and I would choose the best of everything to be had, then they would take the ingredients back to their perfumery and work their magic. I always wanted to join them as they cooked, ground and mixed the different ingredients to make perfume and scented oils, but this was looked upon as a task beneath a princess, so I could only watch. Now that I have a chance to get my hands dirty, so to speak, I can’t wait to get started.

I have been pleasantly surprised by Cleo’s contributions to our project. She has really taken the dragon by the horns and unlike past projects together, I have had to “run” to keep up with her. Her enthusiasm and deadication to the project are quite refreshing and she has filled my in box with recipes and suggestions. So for the first time in, well, ever, I am feeling like the “weak link” in an academic setting. I find myself not entirely liking it, which makes me feel just a tiny bit selfish and unneeded. Yes, I know that this is completely illogical, but what if it becomes a habit? Will I lose my place in the group if my brainpower is no longer needed?... #DepressingThought

Ghoulia seems to be off her game lately. Usually she’s the zombie equivalent to a ball of energy when it comes to these projects, but lately she’s gone completely passive on me. It’s starting to scare me, and not in a good way. I admit to being more than a bit self-absorbed, but I can always tell when something is really wrong with one of my friends. I asked her what was wrong, and she said she was fine. I know better than to press her on it, or she’ll just retreat into her brain’s fortress of solitude and not come out for days. I suppose I’ll just wait until she’s ready to talk, but I really want her input. She’s my beast friend, and I want us to have fun together on this project.

I told my mom I did not feel well today and stayed home from school. It was not a lie, but it was not because of a physical ailment, either. Cleo called me several times, but I chose not to answer my iCoffin. I mostly stayed in bed and then I thought maybe I really was getting sick since I did not feel like eating and could not generate enough excitement to read the newest issue of Dead Fast. Apparently my absence was noted, and the cavalry descended on my house after school. I heard the doorbell ring and then I heard the front door open. The voices of Cleo, Frankie, Lagoona, Draculaura and Clawdeen all called out to my mother, “We’re here!” I could smell the aroma of baking cookies drifting out of the kitchen - I thought she gave in to my request to stay home a little too easily. They all headed to the kitchen except for Cleo. I heard her heading down the hall toward my room - I knew it was Cleo because she has a very distinctive gait. She got to my door, knocked once and walked in. “All right, ghoul friend, what, in the name of Bast’s cats is going on with you?” I said nothing was wrong with me but Cleo was in one of her “royal moods”, and I could tell by the tone in her voice that she was going to pester me until I gave her an answer, so I did. I told her how I felt about my role on the project and how I was afraid that my intellectual abilities were the only reason that she and the rest of the ghouls wanted me around. Cleo just stood there staring at me with the strangest look in her eyes.

For a moment I could not decide if she was on the verge of being angry or sad. Then she simply spun on a heel, stepped to my door and yelled down the hall, “Ghoulia’s room - NOW!” The ghouls got to my room in a blink albeit with mouths full of freshly baked cookies. Cleo pointed at Frankie whose mouth seemed to be less full of cookie than the others, “Quickly, when you think of Ghoulia what’s the first thing that comes to mind?” Frankie sparked and said, “She’s kind and helpful!” Then Lagoona said I was “trustworthy and sincere”, Draculaura said I was “funny and sweet” and Clawdeen said I was “brave and determined.” Finally Cleo looked at me and said, “Notice anything in those descriptions that was missing?” I hung my head, a little embarrassed and a lot encouraged. “Now we are going back to the kitchen to eat more cookies, you could join us if you’re feeling up to it... oh and you better be in class tomorrow. We have a lot of work to do.” It turns out that my mother’s cookies are a miracle cure. Who knew?

Now that Ghoulia is out of her funk, we’ve been able to make some progress. I found several trunks at home filled with jars of oils, extracts and spices. Nearly all of them are still labeled. Probably should be careful with the ones that are not... I seem to remember some were rather volatile when mixed with certain other ingredients. Unfortunately, I could not find any of my old recipes, so this will truly require real experimentation.

Experiment Notes

Batch #1

Top notes of leather - old gym shoe leather - with a sweaty angst-like finish. It is a smell reminiscent of the odor that emanates from the boys’ locker room after summer football practices. FAIL

Batch #2

Complex floral notes of troll cabbage and broccoli with none too subtle undertones on burnt microwave popcorn. It was quite... breathtaking and also Mr. Hackington’s favorite. FAIL

Batch #3

It smelled like cheese at first then spoiled milk. Disgusting. FAIL

Batch #4

A frightfully woodsy scent, mysterious yet approachable and our favorite by far. It also hardened in the beaker like cement. We may have discovered a way to create scented construction material but as a perfume - FAIL

Batch #5

Eau de Pit of Goblin Arm. FAIL

Batch #6

Two words - wet werewolf. FAIL

Batch #8

We used an unmarked bottle from Cleo’s collection. It was an odorless black elixir but when we mixed it with vanilla, juniper berry and patchouli oil it opened a portal to another dimension that sucked in half of our experiments before we could put a stopper in the beaker. Cleo blamed the patchouli. FAIL

BATCH #13

Lovely top, middle and base notes - check.

Accentuates rather than overopowers - check, check

Would we wear it ourselves? - check, check, check

Perfection!

Final Grade - A+

Best. Lab project. Ever.

#monster high #monster high diary #Ghoulia Yelps #Cleo de Nile #mad science #monster high journal

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quinezsvision · 4 years ago

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I asked my father once, "Why do you spend so much money on expensive delicacies when you could for once purchase something else for yourself?"

"Food provides me something that things cannot. It can even be destroyed easily when not properly inspected. Will you gain sudden contentment and meaning to it? no", he simply replied.

1.7 million years ago, we were hunters known as homo-sapiens, survival was our only goal, most of the time, populations are found in the wild searching for edible plants and animals to anchor ourselves from supplementing our diet and extinction.

When humans discovered the presence of fire and understood how to generate and manipulate it – this is how civilization began.

All these years, food was our ally.

The distribution of food in principle has a plethora of options. Aside from the fact that food became the medium for religious practices, taxation, and even education, we also need to eat in order to assist the body to obtain sufficient oxygen, and the cells within our bodies to function significantly. In other words, nutrients provide information to the human body. If neglected, diseases and conditions including obesity/malnutrition, arthritis, diabetes, and heart disease may arise. Food became the medium for religious practices, taxation, and even education.

Due to my dietary restrictions, I don't typically eat in the morning, but today, May 28 2021, is an exception.

The taste of Japanese cuisine has always been exquisite in my palate. The degree of tastes and boundless elements that are combined only to produce a dish that will make you want to inculcate the cuisine is remarkable. To be completely honest with my readers, I was not alone when preparing the sashimi; beside to me was Analiza Duran, my aunt - the most influential person I know in my whole existence, famed for her cooking capabilities and managing households. Because it is not the standard homemade craving that is well recognized in our country, we are willing to offer our own experience, for a Filipino basic style preparation, which are some instructions you may follow below:

[✓] The style in choosing your fish depends on the length of preservation and freshness, there are a variety of sashimi you can ponder from such as tuna, salmon, scallop, squid, and more. Smaller ones are usually best devoured as soon as they are served. On the other hand, larger ones must be kept on ice for a few hours to allow their muscles to calm.

[✓] It's fine if you don't master the art of cutting, but just do your hardest to make it as thin as possible. In comparison to others, we usually add a sprite to it before completion.

[✓] The arrangement of sashimi to the platter depends on your likeness, it's not like you're trying to serve in a restaurant. Add the finishing condiments, such as soy sauce with matching calamansi and wasabi.

Indeed, a good morning for me & hoping hindi kita nabudol!

I'm always fascinated about how simple type of food, like "lumpia" known as "spring roll" in other countries, can be regarded as a classic and valuable delicacy that you can often see at every celebration in the Philippines.

As you can see, this is merely an indication that not only will feast's instagrammable photographs and breathtaking flavors be remembered, but the sentiments we've all cherished will live on in our hearts, minds and history eternally.

Our adaptation of lumpia, due to developing trends, is identical in form and structure in which its foundation comes from the Chinese who made a meal with the use of fresh vegetables accessible in spring after a winter of largely ingesting foods that are preserved. This cuisine is thought to have been introduced to Southeast Asia by Chinese immigrants from the Fujian region, and then became famous afterward. However, let's not forget about palabok, a somewhat salty sort of noodle that will undoubtedly fulfill your hunger with its variety of toppings.

My family opted to catch up around this time of day; we are using this practice to reconcile with one other after being diverted by work and personal selves. Even though my mother was often away from us, serving in Kuwait, I always took the initiative of reaching her via messenger.

If you are able to read this nanay, we miss you.

Without a doubt, I admire and even support all sorts of consumable products available on the market, from small local businesses to relatively known fast-food chains.

It's impressive how everyone has their own techniques for surviving the pandemic, and how people has shown diverse ways of improving food choices to make it unique in the minds of the public. And I'm the sort of person that gets dragged into these expenses. The dish seen above is known as takoyaki, another Japanese delicacy derived usually from octopus; depending on the quantity of ingredients used, it is generally salty and chewy. A flavor combination of kewpie mayo and takoyaki sauce is used to conceal the bland taste of the dough. In this restaurant, there was a variety of takoyaki options to satisfy your appetites, including octobits, shrimp meat, veggie style, baby octo, bacon bits, and each with a cheese bomb. If you purchase one, I recommend pairing it with matching boba milk tea.

The only drawback to ordering this food is that my sister rejects it.

"It seems strange to me as a kid, the external element of the meal isn't my vibe." – Kristine Joy Agustin

So, readers, don't become like my sister; you were born into this world to love all of the treasures that God has bestowed on us. Create provision for discovery rather than disappointing yourself in the latter because you won't attempt at all.

Support your kapwa Filipino: Ay!!! Takoyaki Atbp. Philippians St

The aroma of grilling and heating ramen noodles soup always reaches to me, and I never complain regardless of the fact that it goes all over my clothing.

You can be very flexible when devouring this asian cuisine because there are no set guidelines on what you may combine with one another. Personally, I choose samgyup as one of my top preferences because of the extensive meat assortment, which includes distinct slices of plain pork and beef slices. Alongside from the broad meat range, we like that the seller does not skimp on the grade of their meat, ensuring that it is still fresh and delicious. More dips to experiment with are also recommended; salt and pepper, gochujang, and cheese are some of my top picks. If you truly want to compete with samgyupsal establishments, you may go all out with side dishes like lettuce, rice, steamed egg, kimchi, and more.

Truly, There are a number of businesses that provide reasonable pricing, or you may simply do it in the comfort of your own home.

To end, the beauty of food speaks for itself; without it, we would not be alive to create amazing experiences. It serves as a reminder that as long as we have food to eat, we are fortunate, and as such, we should learn to return the favor to those in need. A huge gratification to those who are working their tails and brains off simply to feed their family and the world – beloved farmers and parents.

“Cooking is all about people. Food is maybe the only universal thing that really has the power to bring everyone together. No matter what culture, everywhere around the world, people get together to eat.” – Guy Fieri

How about you, what's your food journey?

#food blogs

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i-dream-of-twilight-sparkle · 4 years ago

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Chapter 7 - Good Mourning, Fluttershy

When Fluttershy left the castle, she decided she’d take her time for a bit before heading out to invite who she wants to. Besides, she had animals to feed both at the sanctuary near her cottage and in her home first. She shopped at the markets in Ponyville for vegetables and other kinds of pet food. Even visiting a fish store that while Ponies did not eat fish, they’re still sold as food for many ponies who have pets with carnivore diets. While fish are animals too, and Fluttershy enjoys seeing fishes when she’s swimming. She understands that she can’t force the carnivores to become herbivores. Depriving dogs, cats, bears, etc. of the diet they’re naturally attuned to would be wrong even if Fluttershy feels bad for the poor fish.

To be a nature lover like Fluttershy. you sometimes just have to understand that nature isn’t always kind. Even as the element of kindness, she can’t bend nature to her will. Though perhaps to the comfort of Fluttershy, for many of the fish that are sold as pet food, the very nature of those species is to be so plentiful as to allow the ones that avoid being caught or eaten survive to eventually give birth to more.

After finishing up her shopping, she flies over to the sanctuary and gives all animals she come across food to eat, to all kinds currently in her sanctuary. From amphibians, to birds, to insects, to mammals, and reptiles. The sanctuary gives Fluttershy a way to observe the animals she loves as they should be out in the wild rather then being confined to her home or for some of them, risking having to trek the Everfree in order to see them. Though Fluttershy still lets many of the smaller animals take shelter in her home, as many parts of her cottage include birdhouses, mouse holes, etc. She moved most animals she had to the sanctuary, but she still very much has her own little animal neighborhood to come home to whenever she walked in. Speaking of which, it was time to head in to her cottage to feed said little neighborhood.

She heads to the front door of her cottage, and opens the door to greet her many, many, small roommates.

Fluttershy: Goooooood morning! I have fresh treats for all of you.

Many animals comes out of their hiding places and approach Fluttershy to receive food and/or care from the loving pegasus that has let them seek shelter in her home. Suddenly she gets a few pokes on her flank from what definitely is an impatient bunny rabbit.

Fluttershy: Oh don’t worry Angel, I didn’t forget about you. Here’s a nice bowl of carrots for you.

Fluttershy leaves the bowl of carrots, and the feisty little bunny starts munching. Fluttershy gives a generally pleased look as a good majority of her animals are fed. Though she does notice a rather odd absence of a certain group in her household.

Fluttershy: Say, I don’t suppose any of you have seen any sign of Mr. Mousey or anyone in his family have you?

The animals listening to her either shrug or shake their head from side-to-side. Mr. Mousey is one of the ol’ veteran animals that’s been in the house around for years and barely ever missed feeding time even when he’s confined to a tiny wheelchair. Either his wife or his child who has grown up now helping him when it was time. Fluttershy walks on over to the mouse hole she knows Mr. Mousey and his family lives.

Fluttershy: Mr. Mousey? Are you doing alright? You’re starting to worr- *peeks into the hole* GAAAAASSSSSSSSP

Fluttershy screams, in the hole is… Mr. Mousey slumped in his chair having passed away in his old age, his light-grey wife Mrs. Mousey covering her eyes with her tiny claws and crying. Their grown-up white son holding on to his old mother in comfort and mutual grief for the death of his father.

Fluttershy: MISTER MOUSSSEEEEEEEEEYYYYYYYYYYYYYY NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

Fluttershy averts her eyes from the hole . Lays down on the ground and just starts tearing up heavily. Once again, a beloved animal resident has died in her home. Fluttershy’s been through this many times as an animal caretaker. But it never really gets any easier to see, she can never be numb to the death of an animal she raised in the house.

The other animals seeing the grieving Fluttershy immediately come to her to comfort her as best they can.

Fluttershy: t-t-Thank y-you a-a-all… *sniff* It’s j-just s-still s-so -s-sad… Mr. Mousey’s life was just a little bit longer then the friendship with my other friends here for the exception of Rainbow Dash! *sniff* I-i-i remember when h-he… w-was just a k-kid m-m-mouse that was looking for f-food… I-i-i gave him a piece of cheese… a-and t-then he started c-coming back for m-more. In time s-showing up one time with a m-mate. A-and t-that’s when I d-decided to g-give them a m-mouse hole h-home… had their c-child h-ere and e-e-e-everything *sniff*

Fluttershy putting her face back on the ground and continues sobbing. Eventually she’s going to have to pick herself up. Put the body of Mr. Mousey in a nice box and bury him in an area near the edge of the everfree where Fluttershy buries all her deceased pets. She’s wobbly and still weak in the knees from the sheer sadness she feels. But she proceeds to start to do so. She finds a box, pulls out some cotton floof from her pillows, puts it in the box and leaves it just outside the hole. Signaling Mr. Mousey’s family to bring the wheelchair out of the hole for the last time to bring his body for Fluttershy to put in the box. Fluttershy carefully holds the body and lays him to rest in the cushioned box that now serves as a coffin for her beloved old mouse pet. She takes one last look at the body of Mr. Mousey, noticeably she actually sees that Mr. Mousey has a smile on his face. Sort of actually comforting Fluttershy, as she at least views that he lived quite abnormally long for a mouse, and he died happy. Fluttershy closes the box and ties a ribbon around it. Meanwhile, Mrs. Mousey and her son get up onto Fluttershy’s back using their claws to climb Fluttershy’s long tail to take part in the funeral.

It was now time to take the long walk to her pet cemetery again.

((Story continues after the break))

Moments later, Fluttershy reaches the cemetery of all her pets of the past, she reaches for a shovel she leaves there, and makes a small hole big enough to bury Mr. Mousey. She places the box down, and proceeds to bury the box. Once that’s done, Fluttershy, Mrs. Mousey, and Mr. Mousey’s son put their hooves/claws together in a praying position. Paying their last respects for the old mouse.

A few minutes later, suddenly Fluttershy feels what seems to be rain.

Fluttershy: Is it starting to rain? I didn’t think the weather patrol had rain scheduled today… but I guess perhaps even the planet is crying for Mr. Mousey...

But then Fluttershy see something a little odd about the rain, it was brown, and when she gave it a lick it tasted like… chocolate milk! Fluttershy looks above her is a big pink cotton candy cloud. Cotton candy clouds and chocolate rain could only be the work of…

Fluttershy: Discord, I know that’s you up there…

Sure enough a neck cranes down from the side of the cloud and goes down to Fluttershy’s level on the ground.

Discord: Hello dear, Fluttershy, How are things with you today?

Fluttershy: I’m not sure I’ll be in any mood for your antics today, Discord. Mr. Mousey h-has.. p-passed a-away… you happened to interrupt during my f-funeral for him...

Discord: Mr. Mousey kicked the bucket today? Shoot, he made one heck of a cup of tea.

Fluttershy: Wait, you’ve drank tea with Mr. Mousey?

Discord: Yes, I actually taught him how, and then he proceeded to make better tea then I ever could. Granted he can’t make a lot of tea given he was a mouse. Though it certainly feels like more then it is, when I’ve shrunken myself.

Fluttershy: I wish I knew that sooner, I would of liked to shrink myself with you to Mr. Mousey’s hole at least one time… *sniff*

Discord: Well I think thankfully his wife knows how to make tea as well, so there’s always that some other time.

Fluttershy: I suppose that’s true, but it also would of been neat to be at Mr. Mousey’s size as equals for once before he passed.

Fluttershy briefly goes back into a praying position. Discord ponders for a little bit before proposing something to Fluttershy.

Discord: You know Fluttershy, I COULD probably revive Mr. Mousey and the other pets in this cemetery if you wante-

Fluttershy: NO ABSOLUTELY NOT!

Discord: You didn’t even let me fin-

Fluttershy: Discord, I know how your chaos magic works by now. I’m not letting you turn all my beloved pets from my entire life as an animal caretaker become a zombie army that ravages through Ponyville!

Fluttershy wasn’t quite giving Discord “The Stare” but she nonetheless was not having any tolerance for Discord’s suggestion

Discord: What? It’d be an exciting episode of this sh-

A ringtone rings.

Discord: Hold on, I think that’s my agent

Fluttershy: ...Your what now?

Discord picks up the phone

Discord: Yes….?

Wait, what do you mean the show ended after the 9th season?! I didn’t even get to have a chance to make up for what I was written to do in the finale! Apparently some hated that...

Well what am I doing here then?!

Oh? I’m in a blog or website fan fiction that continues where things left off?

Bleh, this is just going to be full of namby-pamby dramatic twists & reveals, and chock full of the emotional drivel that fans like to call “feels”.

I’ll stick around, but you better be taking calls for some better gigs right now!

Fluttershy just stands there confused

Discord: Ok Fluttershy, now I know what we’re in. What direction do you want to go in? Should we share a sob story each of what life we had with Mr. Mousey, perhaps an arc about his little son picking up the mantle? or perhaps... a plot twist that Mr. Mousey was actually murdered and we look for suspects!

Fluttershy: …I have no idea what you’re talking about

Discord: Really Fluttershy, it us all so simpl-

Fluttershy: DISCORD! Enough shenanigans, a dear pet to me just died and you’re making things worse when you’re like this as I’m grieving…

Discord: Oh… I guess you’re right, Fluttershy. I’m sorry, let me do something to try to make it up to you.

Discord makes a grave that’s ‘like 100x larger then the actual burial spot where Mr. Mousey’s body is. Fluttershy takes a close look and reads the epitaph “Here lies Mr. Mousey, a husband, a father, and the kindest, best tea-making, wheel-chair bound mouse who shall forever be eating his favorite cheeses to his heart content up in the sky”. She admits that it was at least a little touching.

Fluttershy: Thank you Discord, that’s much better.

Discord: You’re welcome, Fluttershy.

Fluttershy: I think I’m ready to get back home, wanna go with m- whaaaaaa!

Discord snapped his claw hand, and him, Fluttershy, along with what’s left of the mouse family are already teleported back in the living room.

Discord: Why walk, when you have me!

Fluttershy: Well maybe it could of been a nice stroll, you know? But oh well… I have something to ask you Discord.

Discord: Oh no, is this the moment of the fan fiction you confess your love to me and ask me on a date? And does the author of this want me to be happy about that or not?

Fluttershy: What? No, I was inviting you to a royal ball!

Discord: Where’ll we end up dancing in the ballroom together singing a song like a certain romantic fairy tale. Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know the drill.

Fluttershy: *facehoofs* Ugh, you’re impossible sometimes. I’m offering an invite to you just as one of my friends to take to Saddle Arabia.

Discord: Saddle Arabia? Wasn’t that the place you and the others almost were killed by an insane stallion who mind controlled Twilight?! Perhaps, I should actually come just for your security…

Fluttershy: Well, Twilight and the royal family there are taking extra precautions. But if you feel you could provide more security for us you’re free to.

Discord: Perhaps, though say what was the name of the bad person you girls defeated there?

Fluttershy: Zathir

Discord: Yes, I could also come over there to haunt Zathir’s dreams for daring to try to harm a single feather on you.

Discord suddenly wearing a black hat, red and green striped hat, and gloves with sharp knives protruding from them

Discord: This… is Chaos

Fluttershy: Heh, it wasn’t so funny at the time given it was a life or death situation. But I was the one that ultimately brought him down because I knocked the lamp down as he was battling with Spike.

Discord: Ah yes, perfect! I can have him replay that moment of his life over-and-over again. Mua hahahaha!

Fluttershy: *giggles* Well, anyway just to be sure. You DO want to go, right?

Discord: Of course.

Fluttershy: Good, now I can go find a few more friends to get here. I can use my gum portals to…

Discord: Why bother? You got me, tell me who you plan to invite and I can just snap them here, and snap them back once they’ve said yes.

Fluttershy: That sounds kinda rude… but uh if say I came across Bulk Biceps in Ponyville…

*SNAP*

Bulk Biceps: YEEAAAAAA- Oof

Bulk Biceps lands on the floor of the cottage.

Fluttershy: Uh hi Bulk, sorry for that. But I guess I get to invite you Saddle Arabia for a royal ball. You want to go?

Bulk Biceps: YEEEEAAAAA-

*SNAP*

Bulk Biceps is teleported back to where he was

Fluttershy: Um, Discord if you’re going to teleport my invitees here at least allow me some time to talk to them.

Discord: I mean, to be fair it’s his gag that YEAAAAA is all he says. So I’m not sure the conversation was going to be much anyway…

Fluttershy: Anyway… next is my parents and my brother.

*SNAP*

Fluttershy’s parents and Zephyr Breeze are teleported to the cottage.

Posey Shy (Fluttershy’s Mother): Whoa!

Gentle Breeze (Fluttershy’s Father): Huh? What are we doing in Fluttershy’s cottage?

Zephyr Breeze: Sis, just what in the name of Celestia is happening?

Fluttershy: Sorry, all of you. I’m inviting friends and family to an event I’m going to, and I guess Discord wants to speed things up a bit by simply bringing who I want to bring here. Don’t worry, he’ll bring you right back to whatever you were doing before.

Posey Shy: Where are you going?

Fluttershy: There will be a royal ball in Saddle Arabia all my friends are bringing their families as well as some of their own friends they’ve met around the world. You don’t have to go if you don’t want to, just thought I’d offer.

Gentle Breeze: Well sure, I suppose. A nice trip to somewhere new could be nice.

Posey Shy: I’m interested

Zephyr Breeze: I’ll gladly go, another chance to make my move on a certain wonderbolt friend of yours… *wiggles his eyebrow*

Fluttershy rolls her eyes, she’s going to enjoy the moment Rainbow Dash bucks him in the face again.

Fluttershy: Ok thanks, all of you! I’ll see you later! Discord, you can take them back now.

*SNAP*

Fluttershy’s family disappears and are sent back to their home in Cloudsdale.

Fluttershy: Ok, now there’s only only one more invitee, Discord. I need you to get Tree Hugger here.

Discord: Heh, with her coming at least I get to say I was invited before her this time.

*SNAP*

Tree Hugger is brought to the cottage but it seems she was in deep meditation where she was, because she seems to have not noticed.

Fluttershy: Um, Tree Hugger?

Tree Hugger hears a familiar voice and breaks out of her meditation trance.

Tree Hugger: Whhoooooooaaaaaaa dude, did my meditation give me such enlightenment that I can travel the world now?

Fluttershy: No it wasn’t your meditation, Tree Hugger. That was Discord that brought you here.

Tree Hugger: Oh hey, yeah I remember you. You… sent me to some weird sock puppet dimension…

Discord: No hard feelings?

Tree Hugger: Nah, I ain’t mad, dude. That’s not my style, though I at least hope all your bad vibes from your jealousy are gone.

Discord: Nah I’m good, besides. Fluttershy invited me first!

Tree Hugger: Ah, so you don’t have bad vibes of jealousy this time. But now you have some pouring from a big ego.

Discord deadpans and crosses his arms. Fluttershy giggles.

Fluttershy: Anyway, Tree Hugger would you like to come with me, Discord, and many of my other friends to Saddle Arabia for a Royal Ball?

Tree Hugger: Sure thing Flutterdude, I’ve heard Saddle Arabia has some nice meditation techniques that I can see firsthand.

Fluttershy: Great! I’ll see you there! Discord, go ahead and get her back home.

Tree Hugger ohms and goes back into meditation just before Discord sends her back

Fluttershy: Ok that takes care of every pony, I guess thank you, Discord. Even if this method was a little forceful…

Discord: Hey, if it moves the story about. So what do we do now.

Fluttershy: We just wait for the others to finish.

Discord: Wait, you’re saying that like we’re not even the main characters of this fiction?!

Fluttershy: Wat

Discord: Hold on, I need to call my agent back…

Fluttershy: …….

Confuzzling as always, Fluttershy and Discord now simply await word for when the ball starts

UP NEXT: Chapter 8: The Pink Pony Party Preperations

#Secrets Of The Dragon's Tear #Fluttershy #Angel Bunny #Mr. Mousey #Discord #Bulk Biceps #Posey Shy #Gentle Breeze #Mr. Shy #Mrs. Shy #Zephyr Breeze #Tree Hugger

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babbushka · 5 years ago

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I totally get that! Everyone’s experience(s) with their faith (or maybe their life without) is individual to each person! I guess I was curious if there were certain things (like foods) that were reserved for certain days or... okay, I can’t think of what the term would be, but Catholics don’t eat meat on Friday’s during Lent in fasting, or how it’s haram to eat pork in the Muslim faith. (If you don’t feel comfortable answering, I completely understand, and I’m so sorry if that’s the case!)

Oh yes we have that, it’s called keeping Kosher! There’s a whole long list of rules and regulations on what we’re allowed to eat and more importantly the foods we’re allowed to eat together.

The word “kosher” itself is derived from the Hebrew word “kashér,” which means to be pure or good for consumption. The long list of rules is also referred to as kashrut, and are found in the Torah, which is our Big Book Of Sacred texts lol.

Among these rules are things like no pork and no shellfish any day of week, and no combining meat and dairy ever.

Kosher breaks foods down into three categories: meat (fleishig) which are mammals and birds INCLUDING the things you can get from them, like bones and broth; dairy (milchig) which are things like milk, cheese, butter, and yogurt; and then parave, which is all the other food lol

Traditionally speaking, the combination of meat and dairy is so forbidden that even the utensils pots pans plates and even the sinks where they’re washed must be kept separate. The way my home was built, we have two sets of cabinets for everything, even two silverware drawers -- one for the meat products and one for the dairy. You even have to wait a certain amount of time (depending on which Jewish group you’re a part of) after eating meat before you can eat dairy. It’s very very strict.

Generally speaking, it’s kind of confusing as to what meats and foods are considered Kosher, and what aren’t. There are 6 guidelines to follow when trying to determine if meat is kosher (please forgive me if there are more, I only remember 6 lol):

The meat must come from a ruminant anil with split hooves -- such as cows, sheep, goats, lamb, deer, etc. (pigs, horses, rabbits, etc are Not kosher)

Within those animals, the only cuts of meat that are kosher come from the forequarters of the animal (so no sirloin, short loin, flank, shank, or round steaks!)

Birds are alright lol they get a free pass (except predatory and scavenger birds like eagles or hawks but also maybe don’t eat eagles anyway)

In order for the meat to officially be considered kosher it has to be slaughtered by a shochet (that’s just a special jewish butcher -- go support your kosher butcher shops and delis! even if you aren’t someone who keeps kosher!)

The meat must be properly cleaned before serving

And like I said before only utensils designated for meat can be used to prepare or serve the meat

Fish is also kinda interesting because it’s only allowed to be from an animal that fins and scales, which is why the no shellfish rule exists. But unlike meat or dairy, fish is doesn’t have to have its own separate set of utensils.

And for all my vegetarian friends out there, plant-based foods can be mixed with dairy with no problems! As long as they’re not processed with the same utensils as those used for meat, it’s all good :)

HOWEVER, things are different for Passover (which I strangely saw advertised already even though this year it isn’t until April) where leavened grain products are also forbidden in addition to all the guidelines and rules above. This is why we eat matzo!

TLDR; At the end of it all though, the only big thing to remember is this: if you’re following the rules of Kosher just don’t ever eat pork, and don’t mix your meat and dairy. We live in an age where a lot of people are free to pick and choose how strict they want to follow the kashrut, or if they want to follow it at all! Some people (like myself) only keep kosher in its fullest form during the holidays, and are more lax about it during the rest of the year (although I don’t eat pork). Other people follow it 24/7/365. It all just depends on your personal preference and lifestyle!

#thank you for coming to my ted talk lol #judiasm #jewish things #keeping kosher #i hope this was helpful!#warbound-starchild #cowboy answers

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imagineredwood · 6 years ago

Photo

Request: “Happy with a latina reader (preferably for us with dark hair and eyes) about their homelife and how they are with each other only at home. Emphasis on the cultural aspect of latin home life”

Pairing: Happy Lowman x latina reader

Warnings: None

Word Count: 1,234

“Wake up, corazón.”

Happy grunted but made no move to wake up, his eyes still closed and his arms still tucked under his pillow. You pressed another kiss to his cheek, then one more to his shoulder, rubbing your hands along his back.

“You gotta get up, Hap. You have church at 11. I’ve already got breakfast going.”

He didn’t stir but opened one eye, looking over at you. He sniffed softly, smelling the cinnamon in the air and squinted.

“Crema?”

You nodded with a sly smile, knowing that would get him up.

“De maíz.”

The Son groaned and slipped his eyes closed once more before turning over and sitting up, running his hands over the growing stubble on his head. You leaned over and pressed a kiss to his forehead before standing up from the bed and leaving the room, heading back to the kitchen.

“Hurry up. I’ll start serving you.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Happy walked into the kitchen just as you poured the last of it into his plate. You reached over and grabbed a spoon for him, picking up the plate just as he walked up to the dining room table and took his seat. You plated the steaming plate down in front of him, putting the spoon into his hand.

“Thank you, baby.”

He reached up and wove his right hand into your hair, the inky locks twisting between his fingers. He looked up at you and pulled you down softly, pressing his lips to yours. You smiled against his lips the way you always did and pulled back to go and grab his milk. He started to eat as you walked, grabbing a glass and placing it on the counter before pulling open the fridge. Happy began to talk in between mouthfuls as you poured his milk.

“Gemma is gonna do a dinner cookout tomorrow. She’s got plans Sunday so she’s not doing the usual family dinner we have. Jax and Opie are gonna grill up some burgers and hotdogs, Gem is doing potato salad, I think Donna is doing macaroni and cheese. The others are doing other stuff, I don’t remember, but Gemma said that you have to bring the Tres Leches that you did last time. She said that if you don’t bring it, you ain’t coming through the door.”

You laughed and rolled your eyes as you gave Happy his glass of milk, sitting down beside him and grabbing your own spoon to begin eating.

“When is she gonna let me pick what I want to bring?”

Happy shrugged and shoveled another spoon of the maizena into his mouth.

“I’m sure she’d be cool with you bringing something else, but the Tres Leche is your ticket into the door. And I got money that I gotta get from Tig for our bet so you’re gonna have to do the cake.”

You threw your napkin at him from across the table and he swatted it away with a smirk.

“Plus, then I get to see you in your baking zone, and you know how much I fucking love that.”

He didn’t miss the flash of pride in your onyx eyes. It didn’t matter how long the two of you had been together, he always made it a point to compliment you and make sure you knew how drop-dead stunning he thought you were. He was your biggest fan. He appreciated the love and support you gave him. The way you cared for him, both in physical ways and emotional. You were always there to keep him on track and in check. You looked out for him, protected him, and in return, he did the same for you. He thought you were the most beautiful person with a heart of gold. Your outside was just as beautiful as your inside to him though. Your eyes were deep and dark, just like the silky strands that flowed from your head. The color of our eyes and hair brought a warmth to you, an element of mystery that at times could make you seem intimidating but like a nurturing goddess at the same time. The only person that could’ve loved you any more than him was his mother.

She was also one of your biggest fans. She thought you were a blessing, an angel sent to take care of her baby boy now that she couldn’t. She loved having you around. Loved that Happy would have a woman that could give him the life he was used to and deserved. That understood the culture he came from and the traditions because you shared many of the same ones. She loved when you would come over and cook with her, sharing old family recipes of latino meals passed on from generation to generation. As simple as it was, it made her happy that he would have you to make the same foods he had grown up on. You were her favorite of all of Happy’s girls, one of the few that had ever made it home to meet her.

You knew the privilege that was and had known the moment he’d asked you to come home to Bakersfield with him to see her that things were serious. From then on, you’d been in for the long haul. That alone had been enough for him and he too knew that it was all or nothing with you. Once the two of you had realized that, the rest was history. The two of you were unbreakable now, pure love and loyalty for each other. Domestic life was pretty simple for the two of you, a sharp contrast to the chaos of the club life. The two of you were like any other couple, simple arguments here, date nights there. You moved around the house in panties cooking and baking, like many women and like many men, Happy never seemed to be able to keep his hands to himself. Today was no exception.

Happy washed his and your plate as you began to pull the ingredients for the Tres Leche, bending over to move the rack inside the oven. It didn’t take long for you to feel his hand slide over your ass before squeezing it roughly, his thumb reaching between your legs.

“Happy! I gotta get this cake done. Chill.”

He grumbled behind you incoherently and landed a swift spank before removing his hand. He waited semi-patiently behind you until you finished moving the rack and closed the oven door, pressing the buttons to start preheating it. He wrapped his arms around you from behind, lips pressed to the side of your neck as he squeezed you.

“I’m gonna go get dressed then head out. Do you want me to come home and get you or just meet you at Gemma’s?”

Turning in his arms, you wrapped your arms around him as well, both of your eyes locking. Leaning forward, you pressed a kiss to his bare, tattooed chest.

“I’ll drive myself. That way if you drink too much I can bring us home.”

At that, he smiled and nodded, taking your chin into his hand and bringing your face up to press his lips against yours.

“Ok, little girl. I’ll see you there.”

He pulled away from you and headed back towards the bedroom to finish getting ready, calling out to you from there.

“Make sure you put an extra cherry on my corner piece.”

#happy lowman #sons of anarchy #imagines #SAMCRO #happy x reader #sons of anarchy imagine #latina reader

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twistednuns · 5 years ago

Text

February 2020

I managed to use my iPad as a second monitor for my computer. So tech savvy. Yay me!

Joking about developing a sex-based cardio programme with Manu. Powerfucking! Might help against aggression as well.

A late night phone call with Tom. Not saying much.

Making a huge pot of my grandmother’s signature veggie stew.

More Bon Appétit test kitchen videos. Chris recreating tacos. Claire making Ben&Jerry’s. Priya making her mum’s Indian curries.

Writing a letter to Lena. Drawing upside down bats (which makes them look like they’re having a wicked dance-off). Just the act of writing. I thoroughly enjoy looking at my handwriting.

Using the Salted Coconut handscrub by Lush. Especially now that I wash my hands so often when we’re working with clay at school. I feel like the peeling triggers some pressure points on my palms.

That Saturday productivity high. Cooking and preparing heaps of stuff, cleaning the windows, doing laundry.

Painting my nails like an expressionist artist.

Some portrait studies. Accidentally drawing Sirius Black.

Being really motivated to improve my Spanish. Working with Lorena, the Duolingo app and even starting my own grammar/vocabulary book.

This ultra quirky ASMR video. Also: watching videos with Erin an her boyfriend Chris. It’s amazing how well they work together. How you can almost feel their connection, how similar they are.

Carrot cake oats.

Seeing the The Darkness live again, this time with Margit. Justin’s outfit and personality, singing along, especially to Time of my Life, the band’s traditional first song after the show.

Meeting Chris. Having a Bramblette cocktail at Pusser’s. I like that place. Feels very old-timey with a rowing boat right under the ceiling. We made out in front of a tiger slide in a toy store window on our way to the next bar.

Peeling fresh carrots.

Pickling onions and making kimchi. My fermentation game is strong these days!

Looking through Dominik’s sketchbook. I loved the tree whose bark resembled a mole burrow with its underground tunnel system.

The flu. Yes, really. Fewer pupils at school. Quiet times. I’m actually surprisingly healthy. I’d guess my probiotics must play a role here… Who knows.

More sourdough experiments. Writing about it (DELICACY - a haiku. Oven-warm sourdough / salted butter, alpine cheese / and a strawberry).

Finding a really interesting list of SanFran hippie era book recommendations at the end of Robin Sloan’s Ajax Penumbra: 1969. In the mood to read Maya Angelou, Tom Wolfe, Jack Kerouac, Richard Brautigan.

Even more beautiful books: I really enjoyed Die weiße Stadt by Karolina Ramqvist, a feminist author from Sweden, and the graphic novel version of To Kill a Mockingbird. But two books that literally (well, figuratively obviously) blew my mind were Circe by Madeline Miller (mythology, loneliness, animals and plants, magic and monsters, some desperate kind of feminism, independence and strength) and Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo (magical realms, university setting, psychological depth, unexpected twists and turns). I haven’t read anything comparable in a very long time and I desperately hope that there’s more to come from these authors.

A beach collecting all the world’s single socks in The Magicians. Oh and of course seeing them break the moon. What a sight. The show is super confusing, obnoxious and absolutely fabulous at the same time. Best example: the Freaky Friday szene in which Margo and Eliot switch bodies. I love how the actors took on each other’s speech patterns and behaviour.

A new addition to my colour vocabular: celadon (a greyish green; there is a type of ceramics you’ll only see in this colour which is not surprising since the shade provides such an interesting contrast to the the earthy, rusty orange of burnt clay.)

Manu telling me that he had rarely seen people with more joy in their eyes than me (“Ich habe schon Freude in deinen Augen gesehen! So ein Leuchten kann man nicht simulieren.”) after complaining about being bored and lifeless. / Making curry with or, well, for him the other night. Drinking Liqueur 43 with cinnamon and milk. Playing the Jackbox party games for which you can use your phone as a controller.

Finding myself in a well-known sitation from the past. Lying in Frank’s bed in the early morning hours, not that tired yet, when he starts talking about his life and his depression. In English, obviously, because that’s our emotional filter. Relating, since I feel quite similar. Coming up with a suggestion for a reciprocal support system. Let’s see what we can do for each other.

Looking at travel photographs. The sea, the cenotes. Longing to go back to Mexico or Australia. Diving. Taking it all in.

Dreaming of my grandmother talking about her biggest regrets in life. Weirdly she was in a little bundle under a coffee table, much like Voldemort in the last Harry Potter movie.

My weird, weird brain. How both pleasure and pain enhance my sense of smell and increase my brain activity, almost causing hallucinations and fixations on ideas. Like geometric shapes in gloomy off-colours and a beige silicon-like surface the other night. All I could think of was a benchscraper.

Blue eyeliner.

Brainstorming three-letter-words with Frank since I’m thinking of getting personalised Nike Blazers. Sad cat. Yes but. Dat ass. Why tho.

Flying squirrels. Watching them wobble through the air. How they look like cute exhibitionist when they’re extending their limbs and thus stretching their, well, let’s just call it wings.

The fact that red cabbage has an intricate pattern like brain convolutions when you cut it open.

Talking to Sonja for the first time in over two years. What a strange person. Interesting, too. At least in homeopathic doses.

Ripe strawberries and nectarines. Oh my god. I love fruit.

Meeting Eve at Pub Quiz. She identifies as female, loves swing dance, used to be an animator and I love her style. Also, I realised that really like Betty. And Dennis wasn’t mean to me for once. I love my nerd friends <3 And I learned that Starbucks was named after the first mate in Moby Dick! Also, coincidentally they asked a question about the city where To Kill a Mockingbird takes place (Maycombe, Alabama) after I had read it the week before.

Inviting Lorena to the Botanical Gardens. I always feel very happy and very much myself when I’m there. I sometimes wish I was a gardener. Lorena was late so I walked along the Spring Path outside and it might have been the first time I’ve seen a brussels sprouts plant. Inside I learned lots of Spanish words and marveled at the incredible butterflies. The huge yellow one right behind the entrance was my favourite. Its delicate feelers were fascinating.

Washing my hands at the Keg’s bathroom. Looking into the mirror. Suddenly thinking of the perfect karaoke song… Rescue Me by Bell Book and Candle! I kept singing it for days on repeat. My neighbour must hate me (nothing new here) especially since my voice is too low for the chorus.

It isn’t hard to see how such attachment patterns can undermine mental health. Both anxious and avoidant coping have been linked to a heightened risk of anxiety, depression, loneliness, eating and conduct disorders, alcohol dependence, substance abuse and hostility. The way to treat these problems, say attachment theorists, is in and through a new relationship. On this view, the good therapist becomes a temporary attachment figure, assuming the functions of a nurturing mother, repairing lost trust, restoring security, and instilling two of the key skills engendered by a normal childhood: the regulation of emotions and a healthy intimacy. // An interesting article on attachment styles and why theraphy works; it makes me want to learn more about attachment theory. This School of Life video is a nice addition as well.

That dream. About a book shop modeled after my picture of Penumbra’s 24-hour bookstore. There was an old man in a very narrow but high-ceilinged room full of books. There was no light source except for moonlight or some street lights. There were loads of stairs, very steep, leading to the back of the house. Upstairs the man would set out cat food and on the rooftop there was an old sailing boat. One day the man decided to open the door to the roof and let visitors see the ship, much like a museum; perhaps to attract customers. However, in the next night a cat-shaped ghost appeared who reminded me quite a lot of Kot Behemoth character in Mikhail Bulgakov’s The Master and Margarita. The ghost was not amused about the old man’s decision and took away his key, a big golden one adorned with a red ribbon.

Toasted sesame makes pretty much every dish so much better.

Watching High Fidelity with gorgeous Zoe Kravitz (I adore her effortless style and her outfits), getting in the mood for making a playlist and listening to more music in general. There are all these great songs out there I forgot about.

Remembering the xkcd storm chaser comics.

Making a wicked good batch of Pho for Tom.

Spending a nice evening with Alex at Shamrock. Singing along to American Boy by Estelle. Confirming the hypothesis that the nerdy, quiet ones usually have a freak streak. That moment in the morning. Eye contact and kegel exercises.

Karaoke with Margit and Betty. Meeting Manu’s doppelganger. Same type, looks, voice. Eerie.

Making a BA Gourmet Makes meme for Steffen after he had passed his law examps. Strangely Gaby kinda looked like him after I was done with it.

Saturday morning in bed. Reading comics and graphic novels. Fresh bedclothes, surrounded by books. Since it was February 29 I thought about leap years and asked a few friends what their inner seven-year-old would have done that day (based on the thought experiment that your birthday was on February 29 and you’d age in 4-year-steps which would divide your age by 4 obviously).

I came up with: visiting grandma / eating Cini-Minis / falling asleep with my face buried in a cat / beating my neighbour Anna at Memory / drawing while listening to a Bibi Blocksberg cassette.

Alex said he’d have been outside all day, building a snow igloo. Not noticing his mum telling him to come to dinner. If the weather had been bad he would have played with his dinosaur collection. His inner 7-year-old was a hopeless dreamer who got agitated whenever his parents had a fight. Who came home late from school every day because he forgot about time when he was talking to his friend next to a hedge with thorns that looked like tiny airplanes.

Lena said she would have been outside all day long, playing in the mud with the neighbours’ kids. Of course.

#things i love #present perfect #personal #february 2020 #february #2020

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7deadlycinderellas · 5 years ago

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The Starks at War, ch4

AO3 Link

Only Robb manages to get home for the memorial.

He manages to grab a leave pass when what has happened becomes known. Jon isn’t as lucky, “not immediate family”, apparently.

It’s small, it has to be. There are too many who have died to take up all the time with theirs. It’s not like they even have his remains to bury, just a stone with a name. There are lots of well-wishers who come to Winterfell though. Even though the Stark family hadn’t owned land outside Winterfell in generations, Ned had a reputation for generosity, for integrity, and most of all, for his friendship.

Bran and Catelyn had sobbed openly. Robb had raged, angry at the Germans, angry at the RAF for not letting Jon be here, angry at the bomb. Arya had simply sat silently, seemingly numb.

Robb hadn’t even been able to stay the night. The RAF needed him back, trying to keep up with the Luftwaffe bombers.

Sansa had jumped on a train as soon as she could after the headmistress had come up to the door holding the telegram with a grim face.

It had been no good. The bombs had badly damaged the tracks outside London. She had slept in the train station for three days until it could be cleared up. When she finally got home, the memorial had already finished, so she simply pays her respects, stops to hug her mother, and again departs.

On the train ride back, she reads about the City of Benares. It had been on the way to Canada, carrying nearly a hundred children being evacuated, when it had been torpedoed. Such is the world now.

And the bombings continue.

The coast has begun to receive a bit of a break now that the Germans seemed to focused so wholly on London.

Letters pile up. Jon’s are extensive, he sends notes to everyone, all written separately.

He tells Arya that the RAF are doing everything they can to avenge Ned’s death.

He tries to distract Bran with anecdotes about his plane.

He tells Sansa of the English Channel from above, how it looks so blue from a distance, as smooth as glass, except when it’s not, when the tides and waves kick up so much it looks as though it could swallow a ship whole.

He apologizes to Catelyn over and over. She’s never been cruel to him, but she’s never been entirely able to treat him entirely as her own. The little things, that he’s sure she doesn’t realize. But he tells her again and again, how good Ned was to him, how much he appreciates the two of them having taken him in, for all they’ve done for him.

Meera’s letters are incredibly heartfelt, but also sound like they were written under pressure. While the coast has gotten a bit of a break, the bombs haven’t stopped falling and her days drag on and on.

And of course, right before the bombings started, was when the government added tea to the list of foods being rationed. As if bacon, butter, meat, milk, cheese, sugar, cooking oil and sweets weren’t enough.

Catelyn didn’t feel like her nerves would ever settle, but when the sky awoke with a roar that drowned out the empty echo in her heart, she would have appreciated a cup of tea.

One of the cooks at Sansa’s school grows mint leaves in the window, dries and grinds them up before steeping them in water. It somewhat, somehow, resembles tea. It’s something.

Something to keep Sansa from feeling even more alone.

Margaery finished school last spring. Sansa had thought she would still be at Highgarden, just over the hill, but in July, Margaery had received a job offer from a friend of her grandmother’s, working with someone in the war office in London, doing translations.

London is in a state, I’ve never seen anything like it. Every day I walk to work past some other building that won’t be there the next day. Even the theaters, the department stores, the museums. Things that were once such a source of beauty are now dour and gray. I know you love the countryside as I do, but cities are something special, and I so hate to see this happen to London.

My work place is in a small office on Baker Street. I can’t imagine what Sherlock Holmes would think of it now. Christmas comes, though it hardly feels like it. Sansa can’t make it home again, and deep down, she’s not sure she would be able to make herself anyway. She walks to the Tyrells’ on Christmas Eve, to say hello to Olenna. And to try and sate the loneliness that has come over her.

She has good timing. Margaery’s managed to visit for Christmas, but only for two days, before she must return to London. Her dark curls are limp and her smile looks pulled tight, but she hugs Sansa all the same.

“I was so scared that when I came home something else would have been destroyed, “ she admits.

“We see planes fly over here all the time,” Sansa tells her, “And the fields are full of debris from the fights. There have been a few fires, but-”

She doesn’t have to say it. There’s not much out here for the Germans to want to destroy.

“When you finish your leaving certificate, you should write me in London,” Margaery tells her as she walks her to the train station on Boxing Day. “One of the men in my office’s ears perked up when I mentioned your name.”

“My name?” Sansa asks confused. She knows that the Starks are an old family, but she’s certainly never encountered anyone who wished to speak to her solely because of who she was.

“Next time you right your mother, ask her if she remembers a Petyr Baelish.”

Christmas comes to Winterfell too.

The Reed’s pond doesn’t freeze over in December, so for Christmas, Jojen rows out and manages to fish up three small cod. Hot Pie hoards his egg rations three weeks in a row, and together with some potatoes from the Stark’s garden, manages to live up to his name and produce a somewhat respectable stargazy pie. He insists it doesn’t taste right without bacon. Bran and Gilly eye it with suspicion, not entirely sure about eating something that looks back at them.

The bombs still fall, even over Christmas. In November, Coventry had nearly been wiped off the map, and letters from Robb and Jon say Manchester and Liverpool have been taking the brunt leading up to the holiday.

They set up the tree, though there are no bells on Christmas morning, and only handmade gifts. On Christmas morning, Arya and Bran sit beside the tree, read aloud to Rickon and Weasel, and miss their father terribly.

Arya doesn’t even notice when she turns sixteen. It rains heavily that day, she spends it inside, knitting what must be the world’s ugliest socks.

Bran has insisted that Gilly and Catelyn teach him to knit as well, so that he can be of some practical use when they’re all stuck in the cellar. His socks are nearly as ugly as Arya’s.

Robb and Jon assure both of them in their letters that the socks are appreciated. Even Arya’s, Jon jests, could be handy as impromptu bandages. Meera just asks why the women’s services never seem to get any of those piles of socks knitted by housewives.

“I don’t understand how you haven’t gone mad,” Arya comments one day. Bran has just celebrated making his first sock with no weird bumps.

“Knitting isn’t that awful,” Bran says, poking her with a needle. “Mother taught you when you were seven.”

Arya looks down at her lap at her own needles.

“And somehow, you’re still better at it than me. And it’s not the knitting. I’m going mad enough not being out there, beside Jon and Robb. Fighting the enemy, avenging Father, helping all of this be over.”

“I didn’t think you wanted to leave home.”

Arya squeezes her eyes shut, willing the tears to remain inside. She still hasn’t honestly apologized to Sansa for what she said. Their letters are cool and impersonal.

“I can’t sit still. If I try to be still, it makes my mind run wild. Winterfell won’t be truly home again until everyone is back and okay. Until then…”

She trails off.

“I would join the services if I could.”

“You’re only sixteen.”

Arya crosses her arms and presses the tips of her fingernails into her arms, just hard enough to leave a mark.

“I could join up now with parents permission.”

“Mother would never let you.”

Arya laughs roughly, fingers gently soothing the half-moon shapes she’s scratched into her skin.

“I wish she would. I’d give anything for her to. But why should she? She’s just lost her husband, her eldest son is out risking his life, why would she let her rash, angry, uncontrollable youngest daughter run off and risk hers too?”

The two of them are quiet for a long time.

“You asked me how I could stand it,” Bran starts quietly, “I didn’t have a choice. The day I fell, all my dreams suddenly fell too. I couldn’t be a pilot, I couldn’t even climb a tree anymore. You think I wanted to end up sitting in a cellar knitting socks? There was nothing I could do about it. I had to find other dreams. The books you brought me always helped.”

Arya smiles.

“The adventures we would never have.”

“Remember years ago before Father sold Dancer and built the garage where the stables were? When we used to play knights and ladies?”

“And Father told us knights didn’t ride through the wilds of America and ladies didn’t secretly carry rifles under their skirts?”

“I think it would be more fun if they did,” Bran admits. “I think maybe that’s my dream now, to come up with all the impossible things, and write them down for others. The way Jon writes to us about flying, I almost feel like I’ve been up there myself.”

“You could write books, you could write all the books from where you are. You draw a bunch, you could do comics. Or host radio shows.”

They both laugh a bit.

“You should come with me to the first aid station with the guides next week, it’s just the one in the village. It would give you something to do outside the house. And it really does do good for people.”

The station in the village mostly deals with children. While no bombs have detonated over the village, there have been mines and munitions, dropped as if rubbish, doting the entire countryside. Every once and awhile, a child will play too close, or decide to poke one with a stick.

Bran’s first patient is a little boy who decided to do just that, and suffered burns over his entire right arm. Truly, he was lucky it was just that, Arya thought. Last week, the ambulance crew had had to go out and scrape up the remains of a boy who hadn’t been so lucky.

Bran wonders if Arya said something to their mother about him feeling trapped, because sometime after, Catelyn calls him into the study and insists on showing him all the important papers and ledgers and accounts.

“With Robb gone, it may fall to you to act as the heir.”

Heir? That’s not a word Bran has ever given any thought to whatsoever. Cripple aside, he’s only fourteen years old. But Catelyn insists.

She’s spent so much time on the phone since September, keeping up with Robert and making sure he doesn’t, through malice or negligence, end up cutting them out of what the factory produces. It’s taken so much out of her, but she must endure. All of them must.

When spring comes, and her final exams looming, Sansa stops to consider her future.

Every bone in her body longs to return home, but she cannot. Seems strange that in the beginning of the school year she so desperately wanted to leave. She thinks of Winterfell, without Jon or Robb, or Father, and it just doesn’t seem like her home anymore.

She clutches the letter she’d just received from her mother in one hand. Petyr Baelish was a childhood friend, back home in Suffolk. I’m afraid I haven’t spoken to him in years, though if he thinks his office may have work for you, I should remedy that. This time two years ago, Sansa had hoped to appeal to her parents. She hoped she would be able to have a Season, to be introduced to society. To go to great parties and meet important people. To be allowed the opportunity to meet a man and fall in love and marry and have a wonderful life.

That was what was supposed to be happening to her. Now she was hoping to be allowed to take a job, in an office far from home, doing god’s knows what. But here she is.

The bombing raids finally start to slow in May, following Sansa’s eighteenth birthday.

Meera’s letters start coming more often again. It was a break enough when the day raids slowed first. I’m not sure how long it will be until I can sleep normal hours again. I’m not on guns anymore though. I can’t talk about what I’m doing now though, it’s seriously top secret. Lets just say, make sure to eat your carrots. Well at least that parts not hard. Every single week it seems like something more is rationed, or something that’s not rationed is nowhere to be found. The garden is flowering again, and invaluable.

One afternoon, around a pot of carrot soup, the conversation has somehow turned to the first thing everyone wants to eat the most when this is all over.

“I’m going to make myself a chicken pie. All white meat, cooked until it just falls apart in your mouth. Veggies super tender, and only the thickest gravy.” Hot Pie is the first to respond.

“I miss bacon and eggs the most,” Bran admits.

“Even toast with jam would be amazing now,” Jojen interjects.

“A slice of cake, one of those soft lemon ones Cook used to always make for Sansa’s birthday. And a glass of milk with it,” is Arya’s answer.

“We never had much in London,” Gilly admits, “But sometimes on Sunday, I could whip up a good beef stew.”

“And tea with everything,” Hot Pie adds. They can all agree to that.

Sansa returns home for only a week before she’s set to head back for London. She doesn’t look like Bran and Arya remember her really. Her hair is still cut short, tucked neatly under her hat. She has shed both her school uniform and the pastel frocks she’d favored as a child. The day she leaves she’s dressed in a neat dark blue suit underneath her dark green wool overcoat. She’s kept everything in perfect shape. Even clothing is being rationed now.

The last night before she leaves, she finds Arya at one end of the dinner table reading a letter. Bran is at the other end, helping Gilly write a letter, they’re both far enough away to not easily hear what the two of them are saying.

“From Gendry?” Sansa asks softly.

Arya nods in return.

“What’s he got to say?”

Arya eyes her, before turning her attention back to the paper and reading. Something’s big happened. One day we were just doing the usual, looking for and shooting U-boats, when suddenly we capture one and everyone goes nuts. I don’t know what’s up, but I wouldn’t be able to tell you anyway. Sometimes I think the military just enjoys keeping people in the dark for the fun of it, but I think this one might be serious.

We all had 24 hours shore leave the day we got back to port. It’s been so long on that ship that my sea legs feel like my real legs and I stumbled when they hit the ground. The other men had a go at me for it of course, they always do. Some of them are alright most of the time, but I’m not sure I would call any of them friends. I’m too stubborn I guess, you always told me that. And when we have leave, they always take off in search of local girls. I ended up finding a cinema in town that was showing a Chaplin film, so at least the day wasn’t a total wash.

I wonder what being in a submarine is like. We’ve torpedoed so many of them I just have to think about it. I don’t think I could reread 20,000 Leagues after all of this. When Arya finishes, she notices Sansa looking at her oddly.

“What?”

“Nothing.”

The two sit in silence for a while. They try not to eavesdrop on Bran and Gilly, who is apparently writing to a Sam. She has only mentioned him offhand before, but he must important to her if she named Little Sam for him.

“Do you know what you’ll be doing in London?” Arya finally asks.

“Margaery says its mostly typing and checking other people’s translations, but men come by and ask everyone weird questions a lot.”

Arya nods solemnly.

“You know, “ Sansa starts before her voice breaks and she has to try again. “You know Winterfell is where I came from. I would never abandon it.”

Arya looks at her, not in a way she’d expect, but says.

“That’s good to know.”

The next morning, Sansa leaves, and neither sister is quite sure what to make of the other anymore.

Later in the summer, everyone at Winterfell is woken by a telegram.

Telegrams, in a time of war, are a thing to be feared.

Not Robb, Arya thinks. Not Jon either.

And it’s not.

Arya joins her mother on the bus to the hospital over the county line in Dorset.

“Why were we even informed? Shouldn’t the telegram have gone to his father?”

“Balon Greyjoy died last year.” Catelyn replies, her lips tight, “I never really knew what Theon thought of us, especially since he left Winterfell as soon as he could...but I guess he thought enough of us.”

“Does he have any other family left?”

“His sister Asha. Robb called her as soon as he heard. She’s already there, she got word before the official notification was sent. Injuries don’t get the same priority as deaths.”

Arya has grown used to the gray curtains of the first aid stations she has frequented, and the sounds and smells that go along with them; blood and disinfectant. The hospital is more of the same, with the addition of solid walls and the sounds of squeaky linen cart wheels and the injured presence of someone she knows.

Arya has vague memories of Asha Greyjoy, who had visited her brother a few times over the years. Still thin and narrow-faced, sitting beside her brother’s bed, she looks much the same as Arya remembers, though with a few fewer pimples.

And Theon…

Theon had been in North Africa. It hadn’t been much, just a single mine…

They’d had to amputate both his feet. The burns were more extensive, covering most of his lower body. His hand too are burned, though not as bad. The nurse says it’s likely from him attempting to grab something that had burned. The flesh was wrapped in bandages, but with the edges, pink, leathered, just peeking out. He doesn’t speak, Asha tells them he’s still pretty doped up with morphine.

It’s bad enough that they’re transferring him to a nursing home that day, one that specializes in burn care. He’ll be stuck there, with only the nurses and the other men with the same sort of injuries. Arya stays to help, but Catelyn says that she has business to attend to before she leaves the building to catch up with them.

“I’m going to go talk to the matron. I need contact information for the WVS chapter from this hospital. The one from Hampshire should be merging now that the coast isn’t being roughed up so much.”

“Has...has he woken up at all?” Arya asks, when she helps Asha and the nurse transfer Theon into the wheelchair and they begin to push it outside to where the facility transfer shuttle is.

She’s never been close to Theon. Despite his presence at Winterfell, he was really only Robb’s friend. Even Jon often found his brash, vulgar nature off-putting. But seeing him like this...he’s a shell of himself. He barely seems at all the boy Arya knew before.

“Only a little,” Asha tells her, “And he didn’t say much, it was mostly yelling and cursing.”

“There usually is.”

“Thinking of going into nursing?”

Arya laughs. “The Girl Guides do lots of first aid. I don’t think I’d have the patience to do it professionally.”

And she’s not sure the smell and sound would ever let her sleep again, if she was around it day-in, day-out, she thinks to herself.

“You should think about what you want to do, they’ve been talking about conscripting women soon too.”

Conscripting. Arya’s brain stutters wildly.

“I-I would have actually joined up by now, the WAAF most likely, but I’m not even seventeen, Mother would never give me permission.”

The stop where the van shuttle leaves is nearly a half mile down the hill. There’s another nurse who helps them get Theon into the back, and strap him in while still in the chair. Arya knows the motions, having helped Bran get into Father’s car on occasion, but having to avoid even brushing Theon’s other injuries is difficult.

“The military? Really? Can’t say you ever struck me as the kind for chanting and marching and ranks. Unless you’ve really come a long way from the tree-climber with selective hearing.”

Arya feels her pride, such as it was, prickle upwards in her chest.

“Well what will you be doing to do your part?”

Asha pulls a card from her pocketbook and hands it to her.

“My father used to have men working ferrying coal up north. I apparently couldn’t be trusted to inherit the mine, that went to my uncle, but I got his barges. I’ve been striking a deal to move everything, coal, steel, all kinds of supplies, up and down the canals. Everywhere, Birmingham, London, Manchester. The roads are blocked all the time, the railways eat coal. Someone has to keep the power on. I just need crew.”

She reaches out and squeezes Arya’s upper arm.

“I need girls of a strong constitution, none of these soft city girls who have never done a day’s work. Crewing a barge takes strength. You could join us. Help us keep the country running and the lights on.”

Arya’s head is swimming, swimming with possibilities. She was strong, she could row, it would be-

She freezes, hearing a tinny sound, like a bee buzzing in her ear, but so far off...

Then there’s an explosion, and the ground shakes beneath her.

She stumbles to the ground. She must have hit something, because blood drips down one of her cheeks. The shock wave have been enough that the windows of the shuttle van have blown out. She hears the nurse checking Theon over inside, and feels Asha grab her by the arm and pull her to her feet.

She knows the hospital is on fire before she even turns around. Her nose now pricks at even the slightest smell of smoke.

When she pulls away from Asha and turns to run, is when she sees. The top of the building has caved in, a ragged hole where it used to be. She hears a voice screaming.

The tiny conscious part of her mind thinks, I knew it was a stupid idea to mark hospital roofs. Why would the Germans care if they were targeting innocents?

The rest of her mind is screaming. A dull part of her realizes the screams she hears is herself.

Mother, is the first word she consciously can make herself say. It comes out soft, like a prayer.

#game of thrones #a song of ice and fire #gendrya #breera #sansaery #fic

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shelbywanders · 6 years ago

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Less than $100/wk on groceries?!

If you’re anything like me, you don’t like wasting your money. You have to get your money’s worth, or it’s not worth it at all. One of my biggest struggles was grocery shopping. I HATED spending so much money on food that would just be gone in a couple of days! Dropping $200 on food a week was NOT my cup of tea, but hey, you have to eat! And grocery stores are just so tempting...

Right now, it’s just me & my fiance that eat the food. We have a four-month-old who is exclusively breastfed, and we also use cloth diapers, so we literally don’t spend any money on her when it comes to groceries! I know, love it while it lasts, right?! Even though it’s just the two of us, we were still spending way too much for my liking on groceries. But now I’ve gone from paying almost $200 a week on groceries to less than $100. And when I mean groceries, that includes all household items and toiletries. So really, I spend about $50-$60 on just food a week! How do I do it? Well honestly, there’s not a lot of tricks to it!

First things first, what are we eating this week? That’s the first question I ask myself when I go to make my grocery shopping list. Wait, back up. You don’t make a list? There’s your first problem!

Lists are VITAL to spending less money at the grocery store. Lists aren’t just great to remember things that you need to get. They serve other purposes too! I easily spend 50 bucks over my budget if I go into the store without a list prepared so now I won’t be caught dead without one. You might think that it’s silly to need such a thing, I mean come on. You’re an adult. Lists are for children. No! Listen, lists help keep my life together! When we go to the store, our eyes wander everywhere. They land on things that tempt us. You really didn’t plan on buying donuts at the store, but you spotted some, and they look soooo good..now you want them! When you write down only the things that you need, it’s easier to bypass the things that tempt you in the store. When you’re shopping from a list, your attention is focusing on the things on the paper. Therefore, you spend money on only the things you need this week and less on random items that just catch your attention when you don’t know exactly what you need. It might seem crazy that just a simple task like making a list can save you money, but you would be surprised! If you currently don’t make a list before you shop, I highly suggest to try it out and see how it goes for you!

So now we know we need to make a list. But what goes on it? It’s time to make a menu! It’s easy to forget things when we just make a list out of thin air. This is where Pinterest comes in so handy. Pinterest is a social media platform where people share recipes, home decoration ideas, inspiration for crafts and so much more. The first thing I do is get on over to Pinterest to help come up with new and easy recipes for dinners. I plan out my days and decide on what we’re going to have each day.

I am a sucker for cheap and easy meals. I mean, I have a baby, and I don’t have time to cook a dinner that takes an hour to prep and then another hour to cook. I have come up with so many dinners that are less than $10, and pretty much all of them take less than 30 minutes to make from start to finish. Some dishes take an hour to cook, but only a few minutes to prep. Those types of meals are my favorites! The only reason why I suggest Pinterest is because if you’re like me, I am not creative in the kitchen. I can cook just about anything, but if I don’t have a recipe, I have no idea where to start! I also hate having the same things over and over again, it just gets boring! It’s so easy for me to go onto Pinterest, search cheap dinner recipes and find so many different recipes to try out that don’t break the bank and help switch it up a bit to keep things fun and exciting in the kitchen!

Once I find my 7 dinner meals, I go to each one of them, and that’s how I form my list. I figure out what I need for each meal, take out what I already have at home and configure a shopping list from that. This way, I’m not just buying random things that I think I might or might not use this week. After I make my list from the recipes, I go back and add the rest of the foods I know we’ll need and then all the rest like household items and toiletries. Things that I usually add for example would be like eggs, milk, and bread. Cereal for breakfasts and lunch meat for lunches. You know, things that we use every week and that I know I need to buy no matter what the menu is.

I do realize that many people do this with their shopping lists. They know what they want to make, so people make a list of things that they need to get so that they can make it. It’s not unheard of! I used to do this too, but I would never make an actual menu for the whole week and plan my entire day out foodwise. Until I started to do that, I was still spending more money than what I wanted.

Making your menu

It doesn’t stop there! When I make my menu for the week, not only do I try to find cheap and easy recipes to follow, I try to find things that the items that I buy for one recipe will be used in another recipe too. For example, if I plan on making chili one night and I need to buy say, tomatoes, onions, and ground beef for it, I know I want to also make tacos another night so that I can use half of the tomatoes, onions and ground beef that I bought for chili for tacos too! I can buy one bigger can of tomatoes for .89 cents and split it and use it for two different meals. It’s all about looking at different recipes and seeing how you can save yourself a couple of bucks by buying bigger packages of items but using them for multiple meals.

Doing your shopping

Stores are different around the world. In my city, the biggest grocery stores that we have are Walmart, Kroger, Meijer and Aldi’s. I have shopped at all of them to compare them, and I always come back to Kroger and Aldi’s. When I do my shopping, I buy everything except protein (all the meats) at Kroger and I buy my protein at Aldi’s. Why? Because have you been to Aldi’s before?! Their protein is super cheap! Sure, it might sound annoying having to go to two different places for groceries, but I save $50 bucks easily by getting my protein at Aldi’s rather than just getting them at Kroger. So don’t be afraid to check out other grocery stores in your area and compare and contrast the prices! It might be worth it to go to two different places if you’re saving money! It is to me.

When I shop, I always buy the generic version as they are pretty much always the cheaper option. I know, the word generic sounds ugly. But honestly, most of the generic versions are still basically the same as the fancy name brand stuff! Besides, I just can’t get myself to buy something that is X amount of money when I know there’s a cheaper option available. But that’s just me! I mentioned earlier that I don’t do any couponing. Every now and then, I’ll have a coupon that I’ll use but other than that I don’t use any. Should I? Probably! But what I do pay attention to is sales. Sales! Sales! Sales! Kroger has a lot of great deals which helps my budget a lot. Never ignore the sales!

Getting home

Wait, you mean there’s more to saving money after the shopping is done? Yes! You’ve done your shopping, you’re tired, you’re ready for a bath & some wine, but you have more money saving things to do! When I used to grocery shop, I would buy one of those big things of chicken breasts (you know, the ones that look like this)

And I would just keep it like that. It wasn’t until I started portioning out my meats (therefore portioning all my meals out) that I started saving a lot of money. Not only do I portion all my meats out, but I also cut them in half. I mean those chicken breasts are HUGE! I buy the big thing of chicken, take each chicken breast and slice em in half and make twice as many meals as leaving them whole! And trust me, they are still big enough for a meal! I portion them out for two in a freezer bag. When we need to buy pork, we always buy a pork loin and then I cut them into chops if I need them or just leave it as a loin. I do the same thing when I portion them. Each meal gets its own bag. With a pork loin that costs 5-10 bucks (depending on the sale that week), you can make 3-4 meals out of it! When I need to buy ground beef, I buy the big 5 lb rolls and cut them in thirds or in half, depending on what I am using the beef for. These are just some examples of what I do with the meats I buy!

The last time I went to Aldi’s, I spent $11 on a pack of chicken breasts. They are huge, so we cut them in half, and after portioning them out, we had 11 meals! 11 meals for $11?! Yes, please! Not only does portioning the meals out help save you money, but it also makes thawing and preparing meals a lot easier too because all you have to do is take a bag out the freezer and into the fridge to thaw. No sorting out your meals or having to think about how much of what you’ll need.

So there it is! How I spend less than $100 a week on groceries! No tricks or couponing. Just planning and organizing your week makes such a difference in the money that you’re spending! To end this blog off, I wanted to include an example menu & list that I would use at my house to give you all a visual.

Mon- Oven Baked Meatball Sandwiches

Tues- Creamy Swiss Chicken Bake w Buttered Noddles

Wed- Garlic Rosemary Pork Loin w Green Beans & Mashed Potatoes

Thurs- Chili

Fri- Chicken Enchiladas w White Sour Cream Sauce

Sat- Pulled Pork Sandwiches

Sun- Lemon Buttered Tilapia over Rice

List

Bread for subs, pasta sauce, mozzarella, ground beef. Noodles, butter, mayo, parm cheese, sour cream, swiss cheese, chicken. Garlic, rosemary leaves, green beans, mashed potatoes (instant), pork loin. Tomatoes, onion, tomato sauce, ground beef, cheddar cheese, chili seasoning packet. Chicken broth, green chilies, tortillas, butter, mozzarella, sour cream, chicken. Hamburger buns, bbq, Worcestershire sauce, onion, chicken broth, garlic, brown sugar, pork. Lemon juice, butter, rice, tilapia.

As you can see, there are several items for each recipe that repeats itself. I’ll use the big ground beef for both meatball sandwiches and chili. I’ll use sour cream in the swiss chicken and chicken enchiladas, also use the mozzarella with the meatball sandwiches and enchiladas, also the butter in a ton of dishes... you get the picture! All these recipes are very different from each other yet contain a lot of the same ingredients that you can use for multiple purposes.

I’ll add on any extras like cereal, milk, eggs, bread, and other drinks. Add the household things that I might need like laundry or dish detergent and then toiletries, like shampoo, toothpaste, deodorant. And then there’s my list! This was actually my grocery shopping list a few weeks ago. I spent less than $100 on it all!

Other comments & tips!

I realize that many people have bigger families to feed, but that’s okay! All of this can still help you. Most of the meals that I make, while there are only 2 of us, they could definitely feed more like 4 people. I make a lot so that I have leftovers that I can quickly heat up for lunch the next day!

The thing I like the most about making lists from menus is that it is super customizable. If your budget is $200 a week, you can make a more extravagant list. If you have time in your life to make more time-consuming recipes, you can change up your menu with more ingredients too! Just because I personally like to stick with simple but tasty and fast recipes, doesn’t mean you have to!

While I tend to buy generic items, there are plenty of ways to spice them up! I almost always buy instant mashed potatoes (I know some will cringe at this) but just add some salt & pepper, butter, garlic & sour cream & a tiny bit of cream cheese, you would think it was homemade! I buy the $1 jars of pasta sauce, add some garlic, Italian seasoning, parmesan cheese & bam! So much tastier and it’s so easy to do!

If you’re interested in the recipes that I love to make (All under $10 and 30 minutes or less to cook!) make sure to follow me on my Pinterest to see what I pin!

https://www.pinterest.com/shelbywanders

Thank you so much for reading! I love saving money and love to help other people do it too! After all, saving money = happy life!

#saving money #grocery savings #grocery shopping #mommy hacks #food recipes #easy food recipes #cheap food recipes #mommyblogger #mommy blog #money #money savings #savings #organization #happy #happy life #frugal living #pinterest

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middletuna7-blog · 6 years ago

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Chocolate Chip Pecan Cinnamon Rolls #BrunchWeek

Chocolate Chip Pecan Cinnamon Rolls – That’s right, flaky baked cinnamon rolls filled with warm melting chocolate chips, everyone’s favorite hazelnut spread, and crunchy pecans. Read: the best cinnamon rolls ever.

This post is sponsored in conjunction with #BrunchWeek. I received product samples from sponsor companies to aid in the creation of the #Brunchweek recipes. All opinions are mine alone.

The good, the bad, and the baked goods.

I owe the world an apology. I am have taken time to become selfish. I took some much needed time to step back and sort out some things and put my feet back under me. And you know what? It felt great. And now I am back – and ready to speak with that voice I lost along the way and show you guys those crazy travels and mouth-watering recipes that keep me grounded and excited to create!

We can get into those details later, you know, a little girl talk with cocktails. But for now, let’s roll into BRUNCH WEEK! It’s an event that’s been going on a few years and I am finally saddling up and joining in. A week-long party for crazy delicious eats centered around everyone’s favorite meal.

See, there’s something about brunch that works. It’s my favorite meal out, something about the sneaky act of not cooking and sipping something slow out and about or taking the morning slow and lazy and finally setting something crazy good (like these Chocolate Chip Pecan Cinnamon Rolls – hint hint wink wink) down on the table. So now, without further ramblings….

Welcome to #BrunchWeek 2018 hosted by Love and Confections and A Kitchen Hoor’s Adventures! This year is even bigger and better than ever! Thirty-eight bloggers from around the country are showcasing their best brunch dishes. We have so many delicious recipes for you to enjoy throughout the week (over 150!!) including cocktails, appetizers, pastries, tarts, main courses, and plenty of desserts! Our BrunchWeek Sponsors are helping us give away some great prizes. Thank you so much, Sponsors, for your generosity. We have an incredible giveaway below and we’d love if you would take a moment to read about it and what you can win!

Prize #1 Dixie Crystals is giving one winner a 6-Quart Instant Pot 7-in-1 Multi-Use Programmable Pressure Cooker, Slow Cooker, Rice Cooker, Steamer, Sauté, Yogurt Maker and Warmer and a case of Dixie Crystals Extra Fine Granulated Sugar

Since 1917, Dixie Crystals® has been the South’s choice for high-quality sugar and sweeteners. For generations, Dixie Crystals has been at the heart of family traditions and celebrations. Our pure cane, non-GMO sugar products guarantee that treasured family recipes will turn out right every time. Bake with love and Dixie Crystals.

Prize #2 Cabot Creamery Co-operative is giving one winner a Cheese Board Set, including a slate cheese board, Boska cheese knife, Legacy Collection Cabot Cheddars, Founders 1919 Collection Cheddars, Waxed Private Stock, Waxed Vintage Choice, and 3 Year Artisan cheeses.

Cabot Creamery Co-operative, makers of naturally aged, award-winning cheeses and dairy products is owned by 1,000 dairy farm families in New England and New York.

Prize #3 LorAnn Oils and Flavors is giving one winner A Baking and Candy Making Prize package. The package includes: ceramic serving platter, a collection of 5 LorAnn Bakery Emulsions, one each of LorAnn Madagascar vanilla extract and Madagascar vanilla bean paste, Lollipop cookbook along with re-usable candy mold, candy packaging accessories, candy thermometer, and a pack of 3 LorAnn super-strength candy oils.

Our flavors. Your creations. For over 50 years, LorAnn Oils has been supplying professionals and home chefs with the finest quality candy and baking flavors, essential oils, and specialty ingredients. Visit us at www.LorAnnOils.com to shop, learn, and discover new recipe ideas.

Prize #4 Cal-Organic Farms is giving one winner a Cal-Organic prize package complete with kitchen supplies, a portable cooler bag and branded apparel—everything you need to take your delicious #BrunchWeek recipes on-the-go! The package includes a custom-made Tilit apron, cooler bag, kitchen knife, vegetable peeler, t-shirt, hat, notepad and pen.

Cal-Organic Farms is the largest organic vegetable producer in the United States. Supplying more than 65 year-round and seasonal varieties, we are proud to grow 100% of our produce on family-owned acreage in California.

Prize #5 Michigan Asparagus is giving one winner $100 cash gift card.

Michigan Asparagus is known for its hand snapped fresh asparagus. It is available May – June and grown mostly in Oceana County along the shores of Lake Michigan. Remember to buy U.S. for the freshest of the fresh.

Prize #6 Eggland’s Best is giving one winner an Eggland’s Best Kitchen Essential Prize Package that included 1 month of free Eggland’s Best Eggs along with Hard-Cooked Peeled Egg coupons, a freezer bag to carry your groceries, kitchen essentials, (whisk, spatula, pot holders, cutting board, frying pan), Eggland’s Best brand new cookbook, and a plush Eggland’s Best egg.

Eggland’s Best eggs have more of the delicious, farm-fresh taste you and your family love – any way you cook them. Plus, Eggland’s Best provides superior nutrition such as 6x more vitamin D, 10x more vitamin E, and double the omega 3s compared to ordinary eggs so why settle for less?

Prize #7 Cento Fine Foods is giving one winner a Cento Classico gift basket, which contains imported products from Cento and their family of brands.

Cento Fine Foods, the premier Italian food distributor, importer and producer in the United States, presents a distinctive line of more than 1,000 authentic Italian style products produced from only the finest ingredients. A family owned and operated company spanning three generations, Cento continues to provide premium quality, exceptional products at the best consumer value. Taste the difference quality makes and see why you can “Trust Your Family With Our Family Ò”.

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Chocolate Chip Pecan Cinnamon Rolls

Ingredients

For the Rolls

2 1/4 oz packages active dry yeast

1 cup buttermilk, warmed to 110 degrees F

1/2 cup butter, melted and cooled

1/3 cup sugar

1 teas salt

2 eggs

3 1/2 - 4 cups flour

For the Filling

1/2 cup peacans

1 cup nutella, warmed but not hot

1 teas cinnamon

1/2 cup chocolate chips (I used dark chocolate chips)

For the Glaze

3 oz cream cheese, softened

1 tbsp powered sugar

1 tbsp buttermilk

1/4 teas hazelnut bakery emulsion

1/2 teas cinnamon

Preparation

For the Rolls

Mix the yeast in a mixing cup with the warmed buttermilk and allow to sit for 5 minutes until foamy.

Meanwhile, whisk the butter, sugar, salt, and eggs in a large bowl.

In the bowl of your stand mixer, fitted with the paddle attachment, add 2 cups of the flour and make a well in the center for the buttermilk. Pour the buttermilk-yeast mixture and the butter-egg mix and start mixing slowly adding in the remaining 1 1/2 cups flour, 1/2 cup at a time.

Knead on low for 5 to 10 minutes until the dough forms a ball. Add the remaining 1/2 cup if the dough is not coming together.

Transfer the dough to a grease bowl, cover and allow to rest in a warm dry area, until doubled in size, about 1 1/2 hours.

Turn the dough out onto a clean working surface sprinkled with a bit of flour. Divide in half and roll out into a large rectangle

For the Filling

Toast the pecans in a preheated oven at 400 for 5 to 7 minutes, until fragrant. Remove, allow to cool, and chop.

Spread the nutella filling evenly over the rolled out dough., leaving an inch on a long end to roll. Sprinkle with cinnamon and chopped toasted pecans.

Tightly roll towards the edge that has been left clear, and cut into equal portions.

Arrange the rolls in a grease baking dish, cut side down, and cover.

Allow to rest, 45 minutes to 1 hour, until risen again.

To Make the Chocolate chip Pecan Cinnamon Rolls

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Bake the cinnamon rolls for 25 to 30 minutes, until golden and cooked through.

Remove from oven to cool

Make the Glaze

While the chocolate chip pecan cinnamon rolls are cooling, whisk the softened cream cheese with the powdered sugar, buttermilk, hazelnut bakery emulsion and cinnamon. Spread over the cooled (but still warm) rolls and sprinkle with more toasted chopped pecans for serving.

Adapted From

Alternatively, you can line a cast iron pan with parchment and bake the rolls in cast iron.

3.1

https://passthesushi.com/chocolate-chip-pecan-cinnamon-rolls/

Take a look at what the #BrunchWeek Bloggers are creating today!

BrunchWeek Beverages:

Cà Phê Trứng (Vietnamese Egg Coffee) from Tara’s Multicultural Table.

Cold Brew with Hazelnut Simple Syrup from The Barbee Housewife.

Hazelnut Milk Punch from Culinary Adventures with Camilla.

Irish Coffee from My Catholic Kitchen.

Strawberry Frosé from Love and Confections.

BrunchWeek Appetizers:

Everything Bagel Dip from Rants From My Crazy Kitchen.

Breakfast Oatmeal Thumbprint Cookies from The Spiffy Cookie.

Brown Sugar Cinnamon Coffeecake from It Bakes Me Happy.

Chocolate Coffee Maple Cupcakes from The PinterTest Kitchen.

Thank you to #BrunchWeek Sponsors: Dixie Crystals, Cabot Cheese, LorAnn Oils and Flavors, Cento Fine Foods, Michigan Asparagus, Cal-Organic and Eggland’s Best for providing the prizes free of charge. These companies also provided the bloggers with samples and product to use for #BrunchWeek recipes. All opinions are my own. The #BrunchWeek giveaway is open to U.S. residents, age 18 & up. All entries for the winner will be checked and verified. By entering you give the right to use your name and likeness. The number of entries received determines the odds of winning. Seven (7) winners will be selected. The prize packages will be sent directly from the giveaway sponsors. The #BrunchWeek Bloggers are not responsible for the fulfillment or delivery of the prize packages. Bloggers hosting this giveaway and their immediate family members in their household cannot enter or win the giveaway. No purchase necessary. Void where prohibited by law. This promotion is in no way sponsored, endorsed or administered by, or associated with Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, Twitter or any other social channel mentioned in the #Brunchweek posts or entry.

Source: https://passthesushi.com/chocolate-chip-pecan-cinnamon-rolls/

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aurianneor · 6 years ago

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"And there's goat cheese..."

“What kind?” “Pélardon... Yes, please. Two thanks.”

They weren't pélardons, They didn't even look like them, The crust cracked too much, The color was cream Instead of the brightful white of milk And it was melting too much And besides, the taste was bland. Or maybe it was just a poorly prepared pélardon?

This cheese dates from Antiquity Its crafting has been preserved from generation to generation, In the Cevennes with chestnut trees It survives those who make it through human’s oral culture Farmers pass by, cheeses stay It is very specific The copies are bad.

She didn't have the chance Like Proust To be able to remember A childhood memory From a taste Preciously kept by a family member.

“Oh, lucky me, I didn't know it was your favourite cheese! » What a liar, according to her memories, she had already told him on at least three occasions. Her host was only asking again for this magnificent story where her neighbour in the Cevennes made the best pélardons she had ever tasted. “I was a child, sometimes I drew milk from goats, I went with her to keep the herd. We ate dandelions and picked chestnuts. » Her host didn't even listen to the end of the story. Discussions had resumed. And she concluded, speaking to herself, "she had a rustic cellar; with pélardons of different refinement; from soft to hard, from white to spotted blue. »

He had asked her again this story as if he didn't know it, Just to make her swallow a cheese with no taste and no character.

“It’s very good,” she concluded, quite forced because everyone had watched her eat it. She felt like Howard Hughes, played by Leonardo Di Caprio in the film The Aviator, who was served an animal with his head in a plate that inspired disgust.

Moreover, earlier, her host had insisted on cutting off the capon's head in front of her. All she could say was that it was obvious he had intentions. What did he want when he expressed himself through food?

Her host was none other than Gérard, her mother's new companion. And yes! At Christmas, we meet people... There are also cousins who appear and disappear forever, disputes that make it necessary to reserve a year for one and a year for the other, divorces, people who can no longer even find words to designate their family ties (for example, I am the son of his mother's companion, no blood ties) ... That we may or may not see the other years again. This is what family reunions are like, it's like being in a pub.

Speaking of the pub, Gérard had an open kitchen with bar stools. He was perched on one of them. He explained the menu very nicely to her. There were supposed to be 25 dishes. “Are you sure we need all this? I'd prefer: starter, main course, dessert.” “Come on! It's Christmas!” “Yes, well, I'm celebrating it like this.” “Come and have a glass of punch.”

“Thank you. See, I think we should make either smoked salmon or foie gras, it's too much if not...” She was trying to avoid wasting money. “You know, I went to the market to find the best products. I fought to book the capon. Christmas shopping is not easy.” “Did you take salad to digest all this?” “No, why?” “Two days ago, you asked me to write the menu with you and I suggested just a starter, main course and dessert and a salad to go with it?” “Oh, I'm confused, I forgot the salad.” “Basically, you're asking me for my opinion just so you can say I agree with what you're doing when you haven't even listened to me... good initial impression,” Joëlle thought.

Joëlle's mother broke into the room: “I heard "salad” and look what happens!” She was turning a salad over her head. She had thought about it. Well, that's not all, but there's work to be done....

Gérard took the capon and cut off his head. Victorious, he parried with the beheaded head of the animal. He then took the chestnut stuffing and introduced it into the animal. They peeled the potatoes together. Once this work done, which he considered delicate, required someone who knew how to do it, he went to join the drunks on the terrace after shouting instructions about the rest of the cooking operations and then writing them down because he thought his mother and Joëlle would not remember everything.

It was then Uncle Robert's turn, who decided on his own that he was the most qualified to open the oysters. He was quite jovial and told a succession of jokes, thinking that it was the only means of communication at hand to address them. He ended up talking about his son. “You know, he lives in New ahha ahha ahha hhahhahaha!!” “Ahhahahhh! Bloody Mary! He cut himself when opening the oysters! Quick, I'm calling an ambulance!”“No, no, I'll drive him,” objected Cousin Vladimir.

After they left, her mother went out on the terrace to bring clean glasses.

A supersonic “What” boomed. “He drank the whole bottle of vodka”?? Her mother was much more worried about the potential car accident than the blood-soaked cut. When they returned three hours later, she was surprised to find them alive.

Jöelle's mother was happy to be with her daughter and to be able to be “girls only” in the kitchen. Fortunately she liked it, because they stayed there all evening. Barely enough time to kiss the children to bed.

As she was about to eat, Joëlle began to sit down as usual, but Gérard ordered, “No, no, no, no, women, near the kitchen. It'll be more convenient!” Auntie Odile was 86 years old but she still had to comply with the rule; just like the children... At least this year, she wouldn't spend Christmas alone. Who had been all alone at Christmas this year? Uncle John had not come because it was too expensive for him to come. Granny at the retirement home was no longer able to get out. Of course, the drug addict had no interest in showing up; Joëlle thought he was probably going to get one more dose and stay on his mattress... no way he was missing a dose. She was thinking of her neighbour who was celebrating Christmas alone but whom the rest of the family had refused to invite. This year, the homosexual family was accepted for the first time, the two babies and the two mothers.

They had eluded talking politics to avoid the fist fights that usually followed. Fortunately, they had shared on WhatsApp the latest Christmas Survival Guide. It is just that the family pub, had a permit to deliver alcohol only to men (including minors) and that the other side of the table gave on the terrace where all the bottles were stored. The children had a buffet in the next room. A debate on compost had begun among her cousins and she took the opportunity to gather some tips on how to better use her own. Gérard spoke above her. According to his own judgment, there was obviously only him who had interesting things to say. In any case, he was the only one who was rude enough to share with the whole table the stupid jokes that only Joëlle's husband was laughing at. The rest of the table was starting to use their arms to support themselves and were looking forward to the end. At least the kids next door were having fun.

Very quickly, Joëlle did not recognize her husband anymore. Drunk, he went much further than Gérard in misogyny and racism. He had even made a "joke" about her, the meat, was supposedly overcooked, because his wife was still not able to use an oven that had been there for three years. It really didn't look like him. Joëlle was sweet and calm as usual. A little summary of what she had been doing all evening and a little pat on the head came out in defensive reflex. It had calmed her husband down a little bit, who continued his jokes but not on her. On the other hand, Gérard looked at her with shiny eyes. Whatever his intentions, he considered he had won the first set. Joelle didn't let him win the second one. Having already lost for the kitchen, she decided it was as if she was working for the “restos du cœur” one evening. Except that she would have preferred to do this for the poor rather than for Gérard and her mother who spent "such a good time with her in the kitchen". Cooking for drunks... you only see them every other year. At least the gargantuan remains, her husband would take them to the food bank the next day.

The next day, Christmas, presents! Joëlle and her husband watched the children open the presents. What a great idea to just be in a nuclear family for once. We could read them books, start playing some games.

“Ding Dong” “Your dream was too big; your mother wants to see her daughter and grandchildren. Maybe she'll learn my name one day. She'll need it to write it on my grave after she murdered me...” “Kids, come on, Mami Ceselha is coming!” Joëlle was still in her pjs. “Hello, darling, I'm not disturbing...” “Not at all Mom,” Joëlle lied, “Oh! Hello Gérard” “Hello.” “You don't know, darling, about the young Kevin… After you left, we were all in bed, he made a bet with Jean-Pierre. They made a contest for the one who would climb the tree the highest. Kevin's father helped him, so they went too high and they ended up in the emergency room too and it was full, they waited until late in the morning.” “They have a cast up to above the knee. One on the right, and the other on the left... Completely broken, Kevin...” “Also, it was silly giving alcohol to minors,” concluded Joëlle.

A few noisy and joyful gift openings and after some explanations about Santa Claus so agile that he could do a contortionist tour at the Cirque du Soleil, Joëlle found her husband in the room and let the older generation sympathize with the younger ones. “They're going to invite themselves to lunch...” “I think we should go to the restaurant. I promise you, I don't drink alcohol anymore in my life. And then I think Gérard will want to pay the bill. We'll at least see you...... Eventually, he'll give you a small salary for yesterday.” “And the other times...” “The other times, we'll see if he's there. Anyway, thank you, you're the only one who kept track. Your mother is blinded with love, I had drunk too much and I got carried away by this guy; the others crashed, they were almost all flattened on the table. You're the only one kept track.” “And Gérard, who derailed and brought some wagons with him. How are we gonna see Mommy alone? You remember, before he was in a relationship with Mom, he almost convinced us to buy a house on credit. He kept rushing us to make a hasty decision... on a house purchase, it's a big deal there! You are the one who introduced him to Mom; but imagine if at work, if he leads you into the kind of behaviour you had yesterday. You can lose it... We won't be able to make ends meet on my salary alone!” “Yes, it's enough to resell all the toys the children had for Christmas, I mean the 90% they're not interested in, and sell them on the Internet. The princess kit will go first. It will be a pleasure...” “So, that, you see, I don't understand. They know you can't get away with it, even if you work together. Zero help. They don't even look after them, they don't take them on vacation. Same thing from the four grandparents. And I'm not asking them anything, that's not the point. And then they offer expensive presents to kids who won't even play them.”

Joëlle was working internationally, and she had noticed that regardless of nationality, people were going to the end of the year holidays in small steps and returning at a brisk pace. When she asked afterwards, “how was the holidays” the grimace was much worse than the one that replied to “Are you going to spend the holidays with your family?”

It's really time for each family to take back the Christmas and New Year celebrations; Otherwise, we're all going to become chess nuts...

Aurianne Or

Pour lire cette histoire en français: https://aurianneor.tumblr.com/post/181424135970/et-là-il-y-a-du-chèvre

Would it really be Christmas without a family meltdown? I hope to find out - The Guardian: https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/dec/23/christmas-family-argument-row

Pélardon: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pélardon

The Aviator - Lunch scene: https://youtu.be/FRM0G1wfXoM

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ijustfeelokay · 3 years ago

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Entry August 4 2021

I don’t even know where to start with this one. I’m listening to a song that puts me back into a time two years ago during the winter exam season when my parents went on vacation and my lab PI was expecting the absolute most out of me. And yet I still had a multitude of other club responsibilities in addition to classes. At the time I knew I had to practically give up any sense and reason of social or rec activities and just work. I remember it was such a dark time because I had no weay of getting out except to keep working just to barely get by. I’m actually going through my “gratitude” notebook that I barely even used. I made a couple of pages but it really did help. The goal with it was to write something that I was grateful for at least once or twice a week. I had read in various places on the internet that one of the biggest correlations in prediction happiness was simply one’s gratitude, so I gave it a shot. I feel like it helped at the time but only because it forced me to step away from all the work and to give time to myself and to think about anything I wanted to. Thankfully it was only positive thoughts as well.

Five days ago I asked HK out through the most convoluted plan possible. I was at a barbecue with friends from highschool the week prior on June 24, which lasted the entire day and night. I was really happy to see MC doing well, since he had a very rough patch at the beginning of uni. And then I lost touch with him for most of uni after second year. I don’t remember how the topic came up but the boys found out that I couldn’t exactly talk to any new girls since I was already talking to someone, and they just had to know the details. I really tried to reveal as little as possible, but one of my closest high school best friends that I kept in touch with throughout all of uni, SH, punched me on the shoulder and told me that I needed to ask her out. I was trying to explain that I was GONNA DO IT EVENTUALLY ANYWAY but I was getting extremely pressured to do it literally the next time I see K. …So I sort of did, except the Monday afterwards was only a short visit in Brampton. I looked at which day had the best weather, which was conveniently the Friday, which I also had nothing to do the whole day except workout in the morning with T at his condo. After the barbecue on Saturday, I woke up on Sunday already trying to figure out plans. I was talking to K and I originally planned to ask her out at High Park, since I guess it would be cool if High Park is where we first met (in person) then it would be cute if that’s also where I asked her out. The day prior to the highschool friends barbecue, I was visiting friends of my VSA on June 23, and we were playing a card game “The And”. It consists of prompts on each card that are designed to help the players get to know each other better. Considering that VSA members are always required to be able to discuss heavy topics due to our focus on inclusion, mental health, and generational obstacles faced as second generation Vietnamese Canadians, it was really fun for all of us. I enjoyed it. Answering these questions also came so naturally to me. I still remember MY perspective of playing whatever that whiteboard game is called with K while I was on edibles and I feel like half the game was just me looking like a doofus and neither of us were saying anything. K would obviously describe her perspective of that night differently haha. But since The And was so fun I figured it would be such a great way for me to actually help K get to know me better since I realized these questions came to me really naturally to answer.

…So that was Friday night, when I decided to borrow the card game.

And then it was on Saturday, that I was pressured into and deciding to ask K out.

Then it was on Sunday when my doltish plan simply clicked into place. Since I know that I can cram up, my plan was to ask her out by surprise while playing The And. I realized that the game had (only a few) wild cards, where you could ask any question you want. I thought this was amazing. My picture was us sitting on a hill at highpark with K’s trusty picnic blanket from Indigo, and we’d be playing the game after Chako. And then when she least expects it, when the game is almost over and I have the last wild card, instead of asking something not-deep like the previous wild cards (that would have/should have been played) I would just be like “do you wanna go out as my girlfriend” and that would be that. HOWEVER. The plan quickly evolved into something even better, and the night turned out even more amazing that I could have even thought.

I was on Instagram and I scrolled past an ad for Terra Lumina which I direly wanted to go to three years ago, but since I didn’t have anyone to go with or didn’t know who I’d ask to go on something like that with me I never ended up seeing it. I mentioned it to K and she said that she’s interested in seeing it too. That made me really happy inside. I asked if she would want to go on Friday as well, in addition to our other plans and we agreed to it. To make the travel easier for us we moved our plans from High Park to Scarborough Bluffs, which is also amazing because we’ve been meaning to go the Bluffs for a while now as well. I kept going through the itinerary because I wanted to make sure everything would go to plan, and that we’d have enough time for everything before Terra Lumina. We agreed together to arrive to the Bluffs and bike/hike around the trails in the morning, and then eat a packed lunch and snacks. I brought condensed milk and hot water in a thermos because I was surprised to hear that she’s never mixed the two and drank it before. I’ve always done it as a kid so I thought it was normal. I asked some friends later about it and they said they’ve seen or heard about it too. She thought it was good, but not that good I guess because we were drinking it with cottage cheese, salsa, and chips. Since she was used to soy milk it was a bit underwhelming in terms of taste and it was mostly just sweet-tasting. Which, really that’s all it is haha and that’s why I like it. Anyway, the plan after the hiking and biking was for us to take a nap and in my head the nap would have been somewhere under a tree or in the car but we ended up trying to have my nap at the beach. It ended up not going so great because the sun was directly above us, and we didn’t have much to cover us from the sun. The umbrella wasn’t able to block the sun and sand for some reason kept blowing onto us. I guess it was a windy day. Either way, let’s just say the nap was a bit of a failure and I ended up just laying there while I got sand everywhere.

After the attempted nap we went back to the car to get our swimming gear and headed back to the beach, with pool noodles! She brought four of them because they were supplies for her mirror frame. Since I couldn’t float, she placed noodles under my leg, back, and neck, and floated me around in the water. It was pretty fun, although the water getting in my ears and occasionally my mouth would momentarily break up my zen moments. We dropped off the noodles with our beach stuff and walked around in the water. The water started feeling cold to us so we couldn’t really swim around as much. I must say though, the water at scarborough bluffs is really clean for a beach. I also gave her a piggyback for a little bit to zero-gravity K. When we went back to our stuff we noticed all our pool noodles flew away, and we could only find three of the four. We walked around to see if it was nearby but we eventually gave up looking for it. We brought all our stuff back to the car and I guess once we left the water another wave of sleepiness was hitting me and I was ready to nap on the ground, so we ended up going to the park area at one of the peninsulas. K brought her surface and my USB stick and watched some episodes of Demon Slayer while I napped. The most vivid memory of my napping is some weird honking noise, since it kept playing while I was dreaming as well. Though, I don’t even remember what I was dreaming about. They were short naps. I basically slept during the episodes that K watched. I think she only watched two episodes.

When I woke up after the second nap I realized we were a bit late from our plan to get to Chako by 5, since I think it was already 5:30, so we’d get to Chako by about 6. When we arrived, I was a little concerned and shocked to find out that there would be an hour wait until we could get a table inside. There would have been little time for us to play after Chako’s so K suggested we play while we wait. We also walked into the Home Depot Gardening section and I found out K likes “different looking plants”. Still not sure what her criteria are that would make her like a plant or not though lol. We played The And, and when I first opened the box I was frantically going through the cards to make sure we wouldn’t go through the wild cards because I reallyyy wasn’t trying to waste them in the parking lot. After about twenty minutes of playing we received a call from Chako’s, finding out that there was a table available. They asked if sitting outside was okay and immediately I know that was A SCAM and I suggested K to ask if there were inside seats, and they said that there would be one available if we waited an extra five minutes. Eventually when we were seated inside. I started to get desparate though because if I couldn’t ask her out before Chako’s, when am I going to do it? Right after we finish eating we’re going to have to head to Terra Lumina. I was thinking maybe we play in the car after we eat. I even suggested we bring the cards with us into Chako’s in case we’d somehow get the opportunity to play while we eat. ..And that definitely didn’t happen because cooking and eating took up all our time. I was very full. Also the bill was so expensive. Chako’s used to be much more affordable I’m pretty sure… we basically paid premium Gyubee prices so that was a bit regretful. I’m glad I was able to have Kelen experience the AYCE Korean Barbacue experience though, even though I wouldn’t recommend it again for those prices haha. I practically grew up in highschool with my close friends going to Chako’s so it was such a nice feeling to share this experience with K. I was really excited for that.

After we ate, we headed back to the car and headed straight to the Toronto Zoo. It was dark by then, and we were met with winding roads at night. There were parts of the drive where the bridge was only wide enough for one lane of cars, and there were stop lights on both sides. When we arrived, we accidentally took the wrong right turn at zoo Rd. which we later realized was the exit of Zoo Rd. When we eventually found the correct ramp to get onto Zoo Rd., which was also a right turn…. K suggested we bring The And with us, in case we found time to play. I quite literally have no clue how I was going to ask K out if she didn’t bring those cards with us. Throughout the exhibit, we would bring the cards to the light and ask each other questions as we enjoyed the exhibits. I noticed her hands were a little cold. She brought a hoodie but was still in shorts. I hope she wasn’t feeling cold.

The entire exhibit, I was a) trying to figure out how many wild cards could be in the deck and how much time we had, and b) rehearsing the same damn question over and over again. K took a small deck of cards earlier and when she finished them I asked if I could take the box so I could take a pile, since I knew where the discard cards were. That was a lie because we ended up playing a bunch of cards we already played earlier in the parking lot haha. But I got ahold of the box so I could strategically place four wild cards into a large stack of cards that we could go through, and leave the rest in the box, in her purse. The plan again was to prime K into recognizing the wild cards and getting used to me asking questions on the wild cards. But every time a wild card came up, I would watch her immediately skip it without even a second thought. And worst part is that it was always her turn with the wild cards!!!! At the back of my mind I was severely starting to feel the sweat and massive desperation. Meanwhile, there were parts of Terra Lumina that I felt were just absolutely beautiful. Many of the light exhibits were incorporated into the actual Zoo exhibits. The way they incorporated lights into the trees and paths was also just stunning, with the music as well. I felt walking doing many of the paths was a little romantic with K as well. Not that romantic though because I was mostly freaking out of my mind that my plan is literally about to fail. I figured the exhibit was almost over so I had to make some sort of move soon.

On the next wild card she pulled, it was actually my turn. AND YET SHE HAD THE AUDACITY TO NEARLY SKIP IT AGAIN. I went straight for the card, grabbed it, and said that I’ll think of a question. I just held on to it though. The moment I had my hands on the card, I realized in that moment that the time that I was waiting all week for, had finally come. The moment that I was frantically trying to get to during all of Terra Lumina. I couldn’t say it. Do I say it while we’re walking? Are people going to hear us? Is this the right time? I really couldn’t. We ended up finishing the exhibit and we went to the washroom. At that point I was again feeling frantic, but for a completely different reason. I was still cramming up. I have this habit of pacing when I need to think, and we quite literally walked back and forth at least twice in the lobby of the Toronto zoo, until I decided that walking was the complete opposite of what I needed to do. So I suggested we sit down at a bench.

We sat a bench far from the main entrance and traffic of people exiting the zoo. Kelen went on top of my lap, and I held her close as I tried as hard as I could to just clear my head. At this point, she knew exactly what was coming. I asked her if she knew how I felt when we first matched on Tinder. I mentioned that I thought it was so odd how all of this started, after a 6AM morning conversation. I saved the sappy talk though and kept it to a minimum, and then eventually I just took a deep breath

I forget the exact words I used.

I asked her out, and she said yes. She gave a small forehead kiss, and I would have turned towards her but we both still had our masks on so I felt that would’ve been a little unproductive. I was holding her tight as we sat there a little longer until we saw a skunk run by and realized that sitting there was the exact opposite we needed to do, so we left and went back to the car. We drove home afterwards. All the tension was gone as well, after.

That god damn wild card.

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realtalk-princeton · 4 years ago

Note

How do you only spend $20-30/week on food. Do you cook for the full week? Chicken breasts alone are like $10 at my grocery store, and then you have to buy fruits, vegetables, etc.

Response from TNTina:

okay yeah i’m also gonna @ soupcat here because i’m also really curious. i can make a soup out of just veggies/the cheapest ingredients i can find and it’ll still be like 6 bucks at least and last me at most 4 meals. i feel like if i just ate various forms of seasoned potatoes for every single meal of the week i might reach like $20 but if i want any protein whatsoever it’s gonna triple, quadruple, quintuple that. i probably spend at least $50 a week on food, and that only pays for like 2/3 of my meals (my parents cover the rest). chicken breasts at my grocery store are also like 10 bucks, i never buy red meat but i do spend a decent amount on dairy/eggs. i’d say people spending less probably have access to cheaper food shopping places, unfortunately i live in a bougie ass suburb of nyc so outside of ‘normal’ retail grocery stores we only have whole foods, kings, trader joes n shit in terms of variety, which is p bad for my wallet

Response from Aspen:

here’s what I generally buy for 2 weeks:

one bag of doritos or other junk, a couple different forms of vegetables, bulk polenta and quinoa, boxes of couscous, eggs, vegetarian sausage, pretzels, bulk peanut butter, canned garbanzo and pinto beans, big bag of oranges, hummus, cold brew, and maybe some other vegetarian thing so i can make chicken sandwiches

once I buy something I usually eat nearly exclusively that for a couple days, so I make lots of curry, fried rice, bean based meals, eggs, cous cous straight for dinner etc.

(I also buy a block of cheese and a carton of oat milk to last me a month or so, but I mostly eat easy quick meals for lunch/dinner unless I have the patience to do something else)

Response from Soup Cat:

lol the biggest thing prob is just cheap stores but here's some general cheap-assery from me

1) shop seasonally/flexibly (eg kale/collard greens/chard are p much interchangeable, spinach frequently works depending on the recipe). i use recipes as inspiration but don't follow them super strictly - substitute ingredients, amounts, seasonings, etc as needed (just follow the broad categories of salt, fat, acid, heat and the specifics don't matter too much)

2) protein: i don't eat meat (ethical+environmental reasons but it's also a good money saver). eggs are one of the cheapest protein sources available (i get the cheap eggs, not the $6 bougie free-range organic brown eggs bc those are all just meaningless industry buzzwords. all eggs in the US suck ass). bulk beans/lentils are good too (dried is cheaper than canned). cottage cheese is also gr8 (much cheaper than greek yogurt, nutritionally on par). also in general full fat dairy is a good bang for your buck (helps with satiety, high protein and calcium, sometimes cheaper than reduced fat and usually yummier, plus fat is good for ur brain and ur organs lol)

3) make sure to use up all your food and not let leftover ingredients go to waste. this doesn't have to get boring/repetitive though, there's lots of ways to creatively throw a few simple ingredients together in different ways

4) i just don't buy lots of prepackaged stuff (with the exception of ramen lmao i could def live off samyang and indomie if i let myself) - more expensive and usually not as yummy as homemade (also sidenote STOP BUYING BROTH/STOCK JUST MAKE UR OWN OR USE WATER PPL)

5) google and reddit have lots of yummy cheap recipes hehe

0 notes

snappedsky · 7 years ago

Text

Fanatics 66.1

Zim, Dib, Pepito, and Squee's class go on a camping trip for the weekend. Previous! Next!

Camping Trip of Doom Part One

Squee sighs heavily as he flaps the opening of his sweater. “Man, I’m hot.” “Maybe if you weren’t in jeans and a sweater,” Dib points out, who’s wearing just shorts, a t-shirt, and sandals.

“The day I go outside in anything less than full body clothing is the day I die,” Squee grunts.

“So is that what you’re gonna wear all weekend?”

“No, Devi and Tenna packed me a punch of shorts,” Squee groans, “that’s why I’m convinced I’m gonna die on this trip.” “Oh, don’t be so dramatic,” Dib smiles, “look, even Zim is wearing camping clothes…er, kind of.”

Zim is wearing shorts and a tank top. But underneath he’s in a skin tight black suit, along with his usual boots and gloves.

The tenth grades are waiting outside the Skool for their bus. From Friday to Monday morning, they’ll be at a nearby lake, called Lake Grim, for a camping trip. They’ll all be doing camping activities, sleeping in cabins, and chilling around the lake.

“The bus is gonna be here soon,” Dib says as he looks around. “Where’s Pepito?” “He texted me that he’ll be running a little late,” Squee replies, “slept in.” “Figures,” Zim grunts.

As if on cue, they spot Pepito squeezing through the crowd of their classmates. He’s dressed in summer clothes too along with a baseball cap with holes cut just above the lid for his horns to poke through.

“Hey, guys,” he chimes. He eyes Zim judgementally. “Zim, what the hell are you wearing?” “I refuse to show off as much skin as the rest of you,” he scoffs.

“Then why wear shorts and a tank at all?” Pepito asks.

“It’s the usual human convention.” He smiles wearily. “Well, at least you got the spirit.”

The bus arrives not long after. Everyone files on and takes their seats. Zim, Dib, Pepito, and Squee make their way to the back of the bus when Pepito gets tugged back.

“Pepito, sit with us,” Jessica chimes as she and the other popular girls tug him to their seats.

“Uh, well, I was-.” He tries to argue.

“Come on, you don’t really wanna sit with those losers,” Sara scoffs. They force him onto their seat and start coddling him.

Squee glares at them with annoyance as he sits down at the back of the bus, next to Dib and Zim.

“Wow, that’s annoying,” Dib comments, “he should just tell them off.” “He won’t. He’s too nice for that,” Squee says then mutters, “even if they do deserve it. Bunch of harpies…” Dib looks at him with surprise then starts snickering.

“What?” Squee questions.

“Sorry, it’s just there’s not much that really ruffles you,” Dib says, “not like this anyway. Are you jealous?”

Squee flinches with surprise.

“Not that there’s anything wrong with that,” he adds, “you have every right to be. He is your boyfriend after all, even if nobody else knows that.” “It’s fine,” Squee grunts, “Pepito’s nice, good-looking, fun. Of course he’d be popular. But he would never cheat on me. I have nothing to be jealous about.” “Except for those girls stealing all of his attention,” Zim points out.

He shrugs. “I get his attention all the time. I can go one weekend without it.” “I suppose you’re right,” he nods, “Pepito is super clingy. This will probably be a good break for you.” Squee doesn’t say anything in reply. He just stares out the window silently as the bus takes off.

The drive is long but uneventful. Most of the kids keep to their own groups, listen to music, play games, or read books.

Squee tries to write a story in one of his notebooks, but every so often he’ll glance over the seats and spot Pepito acting chummy with the girls. He tries to ignore them but despite his best efforts, it still has him fuming.

Zim and Dib can see it bothering him, and while it’s amusing on a lot of levels, it’s also slightly concerning.

“Hey, Squee,” Dib says, catching his attention. “Did you know that the lake we’re going to is home to a monster?”

“Really? What kind?” Squee asks.

“It’s a water monster that dwells deep within the lake,” he explains as he opens something on his cellphone and shows it to Squee. It’s a screenshot of a grainy photo that shows some kind of silhouette floating on water in the distance.

Squee stares at it then glances at Dib incredulously. “This looks like those fake photos of the Loch Ness Monster.”

“No way, this is totally real,” he insists, “I mean Nessy is real too of course. But ours is called the Lake Grim Monster.”

“Ugh, that is such a rehash. Is there any proof? I mean good proof.”

“Not yet. But that’s why I’m so excited to go. We’ll find some good proof.”

“Can’t we just leave it alone?” Squee asks wearily, “if this monster is real, it probably just wants to keep to itself.”

“But what if it’s dangerous?” Dib questions.

“Has there been any proof that it’s dangerous?”

“Actually, about twenty years ago, lots of people would disappear in the northern part of the lake. Everyone assumed they were drowning or something so that part of the lake has been deemed off limits and nobody’s gone out there since.”

“Great, so it’s blocked off. We’ll never get over there on a Skool trip.” “Oh, that part will be easy,” Dib scoffs, “the hard part will be finding the monster’s lair. I couldn’t sneak on any scuba gear so I hope you’re a good swimmer.”

Squee winces and looks away awkwardly.

“Well, count me out,” Zim grunts, “no way am I setting foot near that much water.”

“Then why come on the trip in the first place?” Dib asks.

“Usual human convention.”

The rest of trip Dib chats with Squee about the monster, the activities they’ll have to do, and generally just tries to keep him distracted. It works, and Squee doesn’t spend the majority of the trip fuming in jealousy.

They finally arrive to the lake by the afternoon. Everyone files off the bus and lines up in front of the teachers: Mr. Garland, Mrs. Tell, and Miss Sweeties.

“Okay, who’s ready for a fun weekend in the woods?” Miss Sweeties chimes.

Most of the students groan apathetically. Squee sighs and leans closer to Dib.

“Why does Miss Sweeties have to chaperone us? Honestly I would’ve preferred Ms. Bitters,” he whispers.

“I don’t think Ms. Bitters can be out in the sun too long,” Dib whispers back.

“Everyone follow us and we’ll show you around,” Miss Sweeties orders.

The kids follow the teachers into the campground and Miss Sweeties explains where everything is. The biggest building is the mess hall, where all the meals will be held. Across from that is the rec center, where a lot of the students will be doing activities, along with the washrooms. Beside that is the lake which is surrounded by forests except for the sandy beach connected to the campground. And further in are seven cabins and a chalet.

“So first you’ll drop off your stuff in your assigned cabins,” Miss Sweeties explains, “and then we’ll meet at the mess hall for lunch. And break!”

The students split off into their groups and head to the cabins with their luggage. Zim, Dib, and Squee look around for Pepito and spot him still being coddled by the girls. He’s smiling awkwardly and trying to back away but he’s not trying too hard.

“Let’s just go,” Zim grunts, “he’ll catch up.”

Zim and Dib walk off. Squee lingers a second longer, glowering irritably, before following.

They find their assigned cabin and let themselves in. It’s rather small with three bunkbeds, one against each side wall and one against the far wall. The only windows are two small ones on either side of the door.

“I call a top bunk,” Dib exclaims as he races inside.

“You can take it,” Squee grunts, “I will never sleep on a top bunk.”

“Zim deserves nothing less than top,” Zim states.

They drop off their stuff and set up their beds, claiming their territory.

Squee takes off his sweater and changes from jeans to board shorts. His discomfort is clear on his face.

“Nice knees, Squee,” Dib comments.

“I hate showing this much skin,” he grumbles.

“You should wear a body suit like me,” Zim suggests.

“Mmmm nah.”

As they’re finishing up, the door flies open and Pepito falls through. He slams the door closed and leans up against it, panting.

“Look who decided to show up,” Zim grunts.

“Sorry,” Pepito sighs, “those girls are driving me nuts.” “Just tell them off,” Dib says.

He groans uncertainly but doesn’t give a proper reply as he drops his bag on the top bunk over Squee. He hangs his head, sighing, and glances at Squee. His face lights up immediately.

“Wow, Squee, you’re in shorts!” he exclaims.

“Yeah,” Squee groans. “Devi and Tenna wouldn’t let me pack pants.”

“They look good,” he comments.

Squee smiles bashfully.

They leave the cabin and head to the mess hall together. The students are lined up outside the doors. After a couple minutes, the doors open and everyone files inside.

“Go ahead and pick what you want for lunch,” Miss Sweeties demands. Across the room is a buffet table with a big pot of hot soup, premade sandwiches, and assorted crackers and cheeses along with milk and different juices.

Everybody grabs a tray and starts filing along the table, gathering what food they want.

“At least this stuff looks better than the cafeteria food,” Dib comments.

“Still human food though,” Zim grumbles, “fortunately I brought some actually good food to eat later.”

“You mean Irken food,” Pepito says.

“Same thing.” They start to head to a table when Jessica and Sara pop in from out of nowhere and scoop Pepito’s arms.

“Come sit with us,” Jessica chirps.

“Yeah, come on, Pepito,” Sara chimes.

He stammers uncertainly but doesn’t try to argue as they pull him away. Zim, Dib, and Squee watch him leave and Squee glowers irritably.

They sit a table, away from anyone else and start eating. Well, Dib and Squee eat while Zim sort of just picks at his food.

“Hey.”

They look up at Kat- Tak’s human disguise- standing beside them. They blink with surprise.

“Tak-I mean, Kat,” Dib says as she sits down with them. “How long have you been here?” “The whole time,” she replies like it’s obvious.

“We didn’t notice,” Squee says.

“That’s by design because my disguise is actually good,” she states.

Zim scoffs. “I prefer to stand out.”

“I’ve noticed,” she grunts, “so where’s Pepito?”

Dib hooks a thumb across the room to where Pepito is being swarmed by the popular girls.

“Hm,” Kat muses and looks at Squee. “That doesn’t bother you?”

He just shrugs dismissively. “He can sit where he wants.” “Yeah, but-,” she starts to argue but Zim kicks her underneath the table. She flinches and glares at him. He glares back and subtly shakes his head. Kat blinks curiously.

After lunch, the students gather in the middle of the campground while Miss Sweeties and the other teachers address them.

“We’re gonna be going for a walk around the lake,” she explains, “it’s a long walk so be sure to take some water with you. And go to the bathroom if you have to because we won’t be back until evening.”

Once everybody’s ready, they take off down a trail leading into the trees. All the kids walk in their own groups- Zim, Dib, Squee, and Kat walk together. Pepito is still be crowded by the popular girls. They’re not even giving him an inch.

The walk is peaceful and beautiful. The bright sun streams through the branches overhead while a breeze rustles the leaves. Birds are chirping in the distance while the lake lapping against the shores can be heard nearby.

They reach a spot where the trees thin out and the lake can be seen clearly. It’s only a couple feet from their trail.

“Be careful here,” Miss Sweeties orders, “the water level really rose last spring so stay in the middle of the trail.”

Dib grabs Squee’s shoulder, stopping him.

“This is the northern part of the lake,” he says excitedly, “where the Lake Grim Monster lives.”

“The what?” Kat asks.

“It’s a monster that lives in the lake, Kat,” Dib groans, “keep up.”

Squee looks off in the distance. “It’s blocked off by buoys. That’s effective,” he comments sarcastically. “I wonder if I can see it’s lair from here,” Dib says excitedly as he inches closer to the water.

“The water’s way too dark to see anything,” Squee points out, “come on, Dib, let’s just-.”

Before he can finish, Dib’s foot slips in the mud and he slides right into the water.

“Dib!” Zim, Squee, and Kat cry out.

Dib gasps as he pops out of the water and crawls back onto the ground. “I’m okay.”

“What happened?” Miss Sweeties asks worriedly as she hurries over.

“Dib fell in the water,” Squee replies as he, Zim, and Kat help him up.

“Oh, Dib,” she sighs, “I said to be careful. Go back to the camp and dry off.” “We’ll go with him,” Zim states and the four of them head back down the trail.

They laugh amongst each other as they walk away. Behind them, the other students are laughing for different reasons.

“What a loser,” Jessica comments while the other girls giggle meanly.

“Totally,” Sara nods, “right, Pepito?”

Their laughter falls on deaf ears as Pepito watches his friends walk away, a forlorn expression on his face.

#Invader Zim #Invader Zim fanfiction #Johnny the Homicidal Maniac #Johnny the Homicidal Maniac fanfiction #IZ JtHM crossover #my art #my ocs

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