#kidovna the woman you are

[chimugukuru]

Thank you to THE @kidovna for the gorgeous art of my kiddo Ushi!

She captured Ushi's very essence and was so awesome to collaborate with! I can't say enough good things about the experience and their art in general (seriously, if you haven't seen her work, go check it out!).

Image description in ALT and under the cut.

A young Uchinaanchu (indigenous Okinawan) woman stands in front of a light green background. Her hair is shoulder length, brown-black, and wavy-curly. She is wearing large clear plastic square-framed glasses showcasing her dark brown eyes. She has a serene smile on her face. Her light-medium skin has a slight yellow undertone. She wears a warm yellow sweater with a red crew neck collar, turquoise cuffs, a two strips across the torso. One is narrow and the same red as the collar, and the other is wide and the same turquoise as the cuffs. Her cutoff, Bermuda-length jean shorts are held up by a dark blue belt with red hatching symbols common in Ryukyu textiles. Her crew length socks have turquoise and white stripes, and she is wearing high-top converse-like shoes. End description.

[j-nipper-95]

WIP Wednesday

Peep that new banner though (feat. art by the incredibly talented @artsyunderstudy ! Ashton, you’re seriously the best, and I can’t wait to properly share these pieces with the internet!!)

So yeah, I’m back, hello, hi. This blog is alive, and not just a SnowBaz fanatics paradise. There is actually writerly stuff going on amongst the fangirling. Today, I’m sharing a snippet of something I’m working on for Patreon that’ll go up either tonight or tomorrow (depending on how tired I am after I finish work, shift work is killer!). If you’re interested, you can sign up to my £2 and up tiers to get full access to the longer extract this snippet is from. Tags under the cut.

Side note: this takes place just before a big action scene, sort of middle of the book, much drama, very (potentially) stabby.

“Dad!” Aira was hanging onto the doorframe with a white-knuckled grip, but she didn’t come any closer. 

“Aira, run,” Marcus grunted, trying to throw Lauren off him again.

She pressed in closer with her knife hand, careful not to break the skin. “Marcus, please, I need you to remain calm.”

“Go to hell,” he spat.

“Need I remind you that I have a very sharp knife against your throat,” Lauren chided. “It’s in your best interest to listen to what I have to say.”

Always listen to a woman with a knife to your throat, folks. It’s just the smart thing to do. For the full extract (coming tonight or tomorrow) you can check out my Patreon here: https://www.patreon.com/JessNipper 

@captain-aralias @stardustasincocaine @writer-nori-bard @vkelleyart @aristocratic-otter @letraspal @fatalfangirl @erzbethluna @mostlymaudlin @hushed-chorus​ @confused-bi-queer​ @bookish-bogwitch​ @prettylightsbigcity​ @kidovna​ @wardenalenko​

[here-is-thegreatmoon]

Blissember- 13. BAKING

My contribution for @girlwithacrown and @kidovna 's great Blissember 2020!

Thank you for this initiative, it's great to read and see all the entries and art!

Sunrise

Remus woke up to the smell of something sweet and low, mellow tunes coming from the kitchen.

It was still quite early, the sun rays filtered gently through the window panes. He was still sore from the moon of that night but curiosity won over tiredness this time and he got out of bed. As soon as he reached the stairs he recognised the smell as chocolate and smiled.

Merlin knows what Sirius might have come up with, this time.

When he entered the kitchen, he found Sirius humming to the music, bent over the oven. The kitchen was in the state of disarray and confusion that meant Sirius cooking, which he did well, luckily.

"Pads, what-"

"Moony!- Sirius turned, oven mitts and a small cake tin in his hands- you're already up?"

"I smelt chocolate," he replied, eyeing the cake tin. Sirius smiled.

"I shoul have known... Well, I wanted to bake you a surprise."

He put down the tin and opened the ring.

It was a small chocolate cake with pears on top.

"Well, you did! After a night out I thought you would sleep till late."

"Had an adrenaline rush... And I felt creative."

Sirius smiled and pushed the plate with the cake towards him. It looked delicious.

Another scent caught Remus attention.

"Is there cinnamon in this?"

"Oh yes..."

"And...- Remus leaned closer to smell- rum?"

"Hell yeah!"

Remus' eyes lit up. Sirius smiled, then stood still. They exchanged a long, fond look. The golden light of the morning was flooding the kitchen now, the only sound was the velvety voice of the woman singing from the radio.

Sirius's smile doubled and turned into a low chuckle.

"So, was this a good surprise?" He asked.

"Very! But I hope you didn't drink too much of my rum..." Remus eyed a stained glass, next to half a cup of coffee.

"The cake asked for more"

"Yes, the cake..." Remus repeated, vaguely.

Sirius grinned and reached over the kitchen counter to pull him in a kiss. He tasted rum and chocolate. Feeling both giddy and turned on, Remus vaguely registered the woman singing about surprises and mornings and time that never passed, as Sirius rounded the counter and pushed him to sit on it, standing in the space between his legs. Remus let himself forget about the night and welcome the sunrise and the smell of cinnamon in Sirius's hair.

Sunrise Surprise Cake

Wolfstar inspired baking session for Blissember 2020

Ingredients for a 18 cm large cake tin (for larger tins, double the quantity of each ingredient.

100 gr flour

100 gr dark chocolate

70 gr butter (use margarine for dairy free version)

70 gr sugar

2 eggs

1 pear (the Kaiser kind works better but any not too ripe pear will work)

2 tbsp rum (if you don’t like the taste or don’t want alcohol, skip this or use a vial of rum flavour.)

8 gr baking powder

ground cinnamon

Put on a nice, chill playlist.

(Sirius’ tip: “Listen, everything is better with music in background. And I mean: everything. *wink*)

Cut the pear in thin slices, soak them in rum and half a teaspoon of cinnamon and leave them soak.

(Sirius’ tip: “Don’t soak the pear in the rum flavour if you chose to keep it alcohol free. Just cut the slice and sprinkle them with cinnamon.)

Melt the chocolate and the butter on very low heat, stirring until you have a smooth cream. Then let it cool down.

(Sirius’ tip: “Do not boil it, don’t burn it. Also try not to taste too much of it. I know it’s hard but you need it for the cake!”)

Beat the eggs ad the sugar until fluffy. Add the cool melted chocolate cream and stir. 

(Sirius’ tip: ”The chocolate cream must be at least lukewarm, but not hot or it will cook the eggs... trust me, I know...”)

Sift in flour, then baking powder and two pinches of cinnamon. Drain the pear slices in a cup and pour the rum and cinnamon in the dough. Stir to mix it well.

(Sirius’ tip: “If you chose the alcohol free version, this is the time to add the vial of rum flavour. If you used real rum, now pour yourself a glass and Remus get away from my recipe!!!

Remus: I’ll lock the b*****y cabinet, that’s my rum!

(Sirius’ tip: “Unlock the cabinet and pour yourself a glass, you are almost done and deserve one also get your pirate boyfriend away from your notes”)

Pour the dough in a 18 cm large tin that you have previously greased. 

Decorate it with the slices of pear, gently pushing them down on the dough. Do not submerge them. 

Cook for 30-40 minutes in convection/fan oven at 175°C/347°F. For conventional ovens do 40 minutes at 180°C/356°F. Let it cool a bit before slicing it. 

(Sirius’ tip: “Check it with a toothpick, if it comes out clean the cake is ready, otherwise, leave it 5 minutes longer and check regularly.)

ENJOY!! ✨

If you bake this, let me know how it goes!

[inthewild-flowers]

today’s prompt for @girlwithacrown and @kidovna‘s blissember prompts was rom com! I tried and failed to come up with a way to fit that into the fic I’m writing for these prompts, so I’ve spent today working on a short little fic bc I do like the prompt very much! enjoy :)

adventures pertaining to love actually (and also shrek)

The bell above the door rang out as someone walked in, and Dorcas looked up from her book. She smiled at the customer, a regular who would often spend hours in one of the armchairs at the back of the store with the art history books, then continued reading. She was uninterrupted for just long enough to get to a particularly exciting part of her book, and then the bell rang again. Mildly irritated this time, Dorcas looked up, her best customer service smile plastered on her face.

The customer pushed her hood back, and stamped the snow off her boots, then hesitantly approached Dorcas at the desk. Dorcas held back a sigh and put her book down on the counter.

“What can I do for you?”

“I’m looking for something for my niece, she’s just turned three and she absolutely adores picture books.”

Dorcas blinked, and gave the woman directions to the children’s section, because apparently she couldn’t look for it herself. With a sigh, Dorcas picked up her book and continued reading, only to be interrupted again as she heard someone approach the desk.

I swear to fuck, she thought, if that woman still hasn’t managed to find the children’s section––

“Hi!”

It was not the woman. It was, in fact, a regular customer. Not the one from earlier, but a different one. Dorcas smiled at her, and tried not to stare as the woman slid her books across the counter.

“Hey! How are you?” She scanned the books and glanced up at the woman, who was digging through her coat and looked up with a bright grin on her face.

“I’m great, and you?”

“I’m good. Looking forward to Christmas.”

The woman’s face lit up, and as she leaned over to pick up her books, one of her long braids fell over her shoulder and brushed the desk. “Me too! I’m actually planning on watching Love Actually tonight!”

Dorcas held out the debit machine, and the woman tapped her card. “I haven’t actually seen that,” Dorcas told her. The woman raised her eyebrows.