#so there's one source of protein i have open to me again

[eddis-not-eeddis]

Last year I finally gained enough weight that a lot of health problems ceased to trouble me. For instance, I am no longer chronically anemic.

However, it also completely changed my tastes. I don't really crave meat anymore, whereas last year I had an almost insatiable lust for blood...I mean rare steak and liver. I'd almost be willing to go vegetarian if the logistics weren't so difficult to work out.

[ancha-aus]

RealAgeAU - Breakfast

Okay! So. I know this isn't the one you guys were probably expecting.

BUT I HAD AN IDEA! :D

and because this whole drabble serie is loosely hanging together with just my pure power of will I am adding it! :D

First Drabble here (with special thanks to @spotaus for the original prompt which sparked this all) Prev drabble here Next Drabble

As always we have no beta and zero editing, just me and my fast typing and dyslectic ass trying her best.

Also... Enjoy Crop's thoughts :D

*----------------*

Crop hangs up the phone as he sighs next to the chicken coop. The chickens are still mostly asleep as the sun hasn't risen but with his new guests Crop figured it was best to get his chores out of the way early.

And collect a few fresh eggs.

He slowly moves through the coop to carefully grab the eggs from his very sweet chickens. They always work with him and he is very lucky with all these ladies.

As he goes over his mental list as he collects the eggs. He made sure to call his brother to both warn him and to ask him to get extra supplies. He is going to call the local doctor after breakfast.

Either way, his brother knows they have quests and the most basic of explanations. He is bringing more food and general things for them to use and will tell people in town today as he does their shopping.

Crop just... needs to make sure they are comfortable.

Crop chuckles as he holds the basket with eggs in one arm as he pulls out his phone and finds the picture he took this morning.

So he may have sneaked a look at his guests before he went to do his work. He just wanted to be sure they were comfortable and not bothered by anything. He remembered how souldeep tired all of them had looked and how tense most of them had been. He just wanted to be sure that they were actually comfortable resting.

What he foudn as one pile of skeletons all locked together and sound asleep. Little Nightmare in the middle being held close and protectively by Killer. Dust pretty much plastered to the two of them on Nightmare's other side. Cross had layed on Killer's side, squeezed right between Killer and the wall. Horror had been laying by Dust's side. All of them completely out as the open window let in the fresh summer air.

Crop had silently snapped a picture before leaving again. Oh! That is what he should do! He quickly texts Papyrus to also buy a picture frame and to print the picture for it. After which Crop send the picture and Papyrus replied with a message that he will get it done.

Crop figures they will want to make the attic a bit more theirs.

Crop knows they won't stay forever. He knew that when Horror first visited and he knew that when he and Dust visited together. It is just... the farm gets lonely and it is nice to have friendly faces around!

He walks down the dirt path back towards his farmhouse. It looks peaceful and Crop prays this really is what they needed. Even if it is just for a little while. He makes sure to try and be quiet as he enters the house again but the door still creeks.

Crop waits for a moment but hears nothing from upstairs and closes the door again. He goes to the kitchen and thinks it over as he prepares coffee for himself. As it brews he looks around the kitchen.

What to make. What to make.

Maybe omelettes? those are usually a good go. Eggs themselves are an amazing source of protein and together with some fresh vegatables...

Crop nods and starts taking out the right ingredients. He takes out a few extra eggs as he has quite a few mouths to feed today and he gets to work on cutting up vegatables. Crop is just considering turning on the radio just to get the silence to be less pressing when he sees a shadow out of the corner of his socket.

He turns and freezes. Because that is a very tiny six year old staring at him. Crop manages to keep in the coo as he takes in the sight of Nightmare in an oversized t-shirt.

Crop smiles "Sorry if i woke you."

Nightmare tilts his skull a tiny bit before answering, his voice is soft spoken but it is clear as a bell, "You didn't wake me." his mouth and teeth pitch a little bit up "I am what Killer calls 'one of those cursed morning people'. Usually I get up with Cross and Horror but both were tired."

Crop nods as he turns back to continue his chopping "I see. Well. YOu will be happy to note I am also a monring person." he finishes chopping up a few onions before moving over to the peppers "I am sitll working on breakfast. Do you have any preferences for your breakfast."

A light hum that sounds a bit closer before he answers "Not really. Is it okay if I sit here?"

Crop wants to just lay his face on his counter because he is so wellmannered it is so cute! Crop remains strong however and shoots him a grin, silently noting that Ngihtmare had somehow moved himself into a chair without making a single sound.

Crop nods "of course. Happy to have you keep me company." he takes a sip of his coffee before turning back to Nightmare with a frown "Do you want anything to drink? I have some orange juice."

Nightmare tilts his skull and nods "orange juice is fine..." he does eye the coffee wishfully.

Crop looks at his own mug before grinning "Are you allowed coffee or will that get your four friends all mad at me?"

Ngihtmare blinks before looking a bit happier "It should be fine. It never harmed me before."

Crop nods and grabs another mug, one with little goats on it, and fills it with some coffee. He turns to Nightmare "How do you take it?"

Ngihtmare smiles a bit more sheepish "Lots of milk and sugar..."

Crop chuckles and nods as he prepares it "Much like my brother than. Says if he doesn't add those things it just tastes like regret." he finishes the mug and puts it by Nightmare's arm. Nightmare watches him for a moment longer before taking it and taking a sip.

Crop grins and goes back to preparing the omelettes and just knowing that someone is nearby makes the silence much more bareable.

"Don't I bother you?"

Crop pauses for a moment before snorting "If you being in the kitchen with me while i cooked bothered me i would have requested you go to the living room. It is fine Ngihtmare."

a small sigh before he speaks again "No. I mean me in general."

Crop blinks and looks over "Why would it?"

Nightmare frowns at him before shrugging as he looks back to his coffee.

The silence returns but Nightmare doesn't ask anymore questions. aparently the ltitle thing that Crop said was enough. Crop hopes that he didn't leave a bad first impression.

Crop starts with cooking the first egg and vegetable mixture.

He watches it before he can't help it anymore "Nightmare... I was wondering something... and it is fine to not answer..."

Nightmare hums and waits.

Crop frowns but speaks "Doesn't it bother you to be here?"

Nightmare is silent for a bit longer before humming questioningly.

Crop keeps looking at the eggs "It is just... you don't know me... or any of this place... doesn't it bother you to be here?"

Nightmare is silent for a while before answering "I don't have to be worried. I am not alone."

Crop stops and turns to Nightmare "Huh?"

Ngihtmare looks at him and continues to speak "They won't let anything happen to me. I don't have to worry." he speaks with such a certainty.

and Crop can't help but be curious "really?" he leans on the table "I don't mean this in anyway negatively or to make you doubt yourself... it is just... they left right? Horror said as much, and immediantly said he regretted it!" it feels important to reinforce that! "and well... he showed me... the book of dreamtale...."

Nightmare doesn't blink at the comment of being left alone but he does look bothered with the dreamtale comment. he looks at the coffee with a frown "oh...."

Crop frowns "It is just... how... how are you still able to trust people after that?" he chuckles and rubs his neck "I know that i would have a hard time being willling to trust others if all those things happened to me..."

Horror frowns as he looks at his mug before shrugging.

Crop nods and chuckles "right... sorry... that is a very personal and loaded questions..." he quickly turns back to the safe area which is preparing breakfast.

The silence continues before Nightmare speaks just barely above a whisper "they came back..." more silence before even softer "no one ever did that... that is how i knew they were different...."

Crop feels his soul just break at that... how terrified this poor babybones would ahve been. had still been.

crop froces his voice to speak. He needs to make sure that the young child knows he was heard and understood "I see. that would make them much more trustworthy."

a soft hum of acknowledgement.

Crop can't help but wonder why Nightmare would tell him. Is it just that... Ngihtmare now as a six year old just doesn't have the same mental view on things? That he doesn't see the same boundries for topics as he saw before? Or... is it because there is someone acutlaly listening to him? Crop doesn't know and he doesn't dare to ask. He doesn't want to question his motives and make him question them.

Crop nods and thinks for a moment before speaking again "So... other subject... do you still have to do the whole god of negativity job still? Because that just seems rude and illegal... Do gods have a rule against child labor?" Crop desperately tries to find another subject and figures this would work.

A light giggle and Crop can't help but stare because nightmare giggling to hismelf is adorable. Ngihtmare shakes his skull lightly "No... I don't think I sitll got that job..." he looks thoughtful "Maybe this is part of being fired? I am not sure..." he then shoots him a look, a small eye brow raised and he looks very sassy and smug "Also, I am not a god of negativity, or well I never was."

Crop blinks and tilts his skull "you weren't?"

Ngihtmare shakes his skull "I was a god of balance. I just decided to also be the guardian of negativity. It fit with the powers i had gained and it was needed."

Crop finishes another omelette as he asks "Why negativity? If you had the choice why not pick positivity?"

Nightmare blinks at him with wide sockets before he speaks "Because positivity doesn't need a guardian but negativity does." he rolls his sockets nad mutters softly "don't get why dream did what he did...."

Crop frowns "What do you mean? Why does negativity need a guardian but positivity not?"

Ngihtmare tilts hsi skull and looks amused "Because everyone wants to be happy. Everyone chases the positive things in life... wlel not everyone but most people." he traces the mug "negativity gets pushed aside for positivity... but negativity is needed... i mean... you can't exactly just be happy about the death of someone you care about. you need negativity, that is how you can grieve and move forwards. Anger is needed when you are hurt or see injustice..." he looks down "people will try to chase positivity. but if you just feel positivity.... well... you can't appreciate the good without being aware of the bad."

Crop blinks and speaks "You can't have light without shadows... you cna't have day without night..."

Ngihtmare looks up and nods "So i decided to guard the negativity, helps a lot with mental health and progressing trauma." and he shrugs before snorting "not that it matters anymore. I am not that anymore."

Crop chuckles "how are you so sure about that?" Ngihtmare shrugs again and crop figures that is a question he won't answer for him.

Crop tilts his skull "Was there a favourite feeling for you? Like as god of emotions and stuff? Something you enjoyed to feel form others?" it sounded weird to ask but Nightmare acutally looks thoughtful.

Nightmare nods to himself "I think amazement... it is just... nice... i like how those work and felt for others."

Crop nods and thinks for a moment "I think my favorite is contentment." is that an emotions? Maybe.

Nightmare tilts hsi skull but ends up nodding "Because it is a bit more humble but still what you need?"

Crop blinks but nods "kinda."

Nightmar elooks smug to have figured it out before turning back to his mug "eggs are burning."

Crop blinks before cursing and turning back to safe the food. He manges to do it and pants as it lays a bit darker than it should be on the plate.

Crop freezes and looks over his shoulder "don't tlel them i cursed in front of you please."

Nightmare hums "I won't. Not that it matters as they do it too sometimes. would make them hypocrits."

Crop laughs as he nods-

A smash from upstairs and a panicked voice calls out for nightmare. Nightmare looks unsurprised as he continues to drink his coffee.

Crop raises his voice slightly "he is in the kitchen! We are making breakfast."

Silence before rushed steps and crop laughs as he turns back to the stoof.

It is amazing to have more people in the house again.

*---------------*

First Drabble here Prev drabble here Next Drabble

hihihihihi i like crop. he is so curious and down to earth :3 He is just a sweet guy! :D

[vessels-two-front-teeth]

In The Low Light- Chapter 2

Photo credit and source unknown

Notes: tumblr is fucking testing my patience with this. This will be about the 6th time I’ve tried to make this post, so if the formatting is weird I am going to break something. Quality control by @365granitegirlx thank you Professor Wolfie, you’re a saint and a lifesaver. Anywhoozle, this one has me allllll up in my feels. Enjoy!

Masterlist (please read first)

Chapter 1

Chapter 3

Tags/warnings/etc: Biker!IV x Fem!OC, disordered eating habits but you have to squint, smoking, aggressive words of affirmation, sweet sugary fluff that’ll make you diabetic

Word count: 2368

Summary: IV takes some time over the week to show Sadie that she can trust him, he drives her home from work, and he asks her on a date.

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

The following day I found myself replaying the interactions with Mr. Numerals. He was clearly no stranger to dangerous situations and was not to be toyed with. He was about to offer to walk me home or something. Why was he so concerned with my safety? And my biggest question: why was he being so kind to me? He was obviously wanting to get something out of this for himself, but I was lost as to what. He didn’t act like a starving animal drooling over a piece of meat. He said it himself, he may be a criminal, but he isn’t a monster. Maybe he’s just genuinely being nice for the sake of being nice… I’m pulled from my conflicted thoughts by the sound of a customer obnoxiously clearing their throat at the pharmacy counter. I spend entirely too much time explaining to the senior gentleman that he didn’t have any refills left. When he finally leaves with a dramatic huff of frustration and a few colourful metaphors, I tell the pharmacist that I’m going on a smoke break. I take my name tag off, grab my cigarettes and lighter, and head for the front doors.

As I walk along the side of the building, my gaze focuses on the sight of a familiar looking motorcycle, the rider leaning against the seat. He’s wearing the exact same thing as yesterday—helmet on, the visor pulled down. In his hands is a cheap flip phone, and his fingers move deftly across the buttons. I bring my cigarette to my mouth and light it, inhaling deeply before speaking. “I thought I told you not to follow me.” I blow the smoke from my lungs and shiver as a cold breeze blows across the parking lot.

His obstructed face turns towards me and he reaches up to pull off his helmet. Underneath is the same mask as yesterday. “I’m not following you. I swear I had no idea you worked here.” Surprise colours his voice, and his eyes reflect this. I almost believe him.

“Mmhmm…” I walk to the wall of the building and lean against it, taking another drag off my smoke. My eyes catch on his, and I hold his gaze for a few seconds. “I’d tell you I believe you, but I’d be lying.”

He chuckles slightly and breaks eye contact first. “I don’t blame you for not trusting me, however I am being honest. I’m here to make a business deal. I didn’t know you worked here.” He brings his eyes back up to mine, and I see no deception in them.

I struggle to find something to say, and before I can, my stomach growls loudly enough for him to hear it, even from several feet away. I wrap my arms around myself as another icy breeze hits my skin.

“Have you eaten anything yet?” Before I can answer, he turns to the back of his bike, opens a large compartment, and begins searching through it. He seems to find what he’s looking for and turns, walking closer until he’s in front of me. He holds his hand out, one of those high calorie protein bars in his palm, though it’s a brand I don’t recognize.

“I’ll be fine.” I shake my head no at him. My stomach growls again in protest.

“Please, I insist.” He pushes his hand even closer. “You need to eat.”

I sigh, reaching out and taking the bar from his grasp, a small smile playing at the edges of my mouth. “Thank you.” I rip open the wrapper and take a bite. It’s chocolate and some kind of dried fruit. It’s absolutely delicious. My eyes shut of their own accord as I enjoy the taste. “Oh my god…”

I hear a deep chuckle from him and feel a flush in my cheeks. I open my eyes and find him watching me, his eyes crinkled at the edges from the unseen smile on his face. I pull my eyes away and look at my feet, the warmth in my face burning even hotter now. I take another bite.

I hear a faint buzz, and he pulls his phone out of his pocket. “Unfortunately, I need to cut this short. Enjoy the last few bites, princess.” He gives me a small nod, and turns back to his bike. He picks up his helmet, but turns to look at me before he puts it on. “I like it when you smile. Your whole face lights up. It’s a beautiful sight.” With that he pushes the helmet over his head, settles into the seat, and the engine roars to life. He backs out of the parking spot, and drives away leaving me reeling from his compliment.

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

The next day happens much the same. Only this time when I walk outside, his helmet is off and in his hands are a to-go cup from the coffee shop across the lot and another protein bar. He hands me both when I get close enough, our fingers brushing for a second before he pulls away.

“I didn’t know what you’d like, so I got peppermint tea with a little bit of honey. And another one of those bars.” His voice is soft, with a touch of uncertainty. His eyes avoid mine, and his fingers twitch.

He’s so charming. This thought flies through my mind, catching me off guard. “Uhm- Thank you, you didn’t have to get me anything.” My voice is hushed. “It’s too kind of you.” I step away, moving to stand against the building. A harsh cold wind blows over the parking lot, and I hold the cup close to my chest to absorb the warmth. I shiver hard and my teeth chatter together.

“Actually,” he rummages through the compartment on the back of the bike again, this time pulling out a small throw blanket. “I think I did. I wanted to make sure you had something to eat, and a hot drink.” He shakes out the blanket and walks toward me. He stops directly in front of me, and holds the blanket out with an expectant look in his eyes. “May I?” I hesitate for a second before timidly nodding and pulling away from the cold wall behind me. He drapes the blanket around my shoulders, pulling the corners across my chest and I tuck them under my arms. His fingers land on my shoulders and trace down my arms lightly, and I glance up to find his eyes on me.

A few moments pass before the words tumble out of my mouth. “Why are you being so kind to me? You don’t owe me anything. And besides, you said it yourself: you don’t need to clean up someone else’s mess.” I pause as I flick my gaze between his eyes. “What do you want from me?”

His hands drop from my arms and he lets out a small exasperated laugh; he shakes his head slightly and looks up at the gray sky. “Princess, I don’t want anything from you…it’s what I want for you. And that’s your safety. As for why? Well, I feel obligated to take care of you. Lastly,” he turns his eyes on mine, and I’m captivated by the intensity there. “You are a person deserving of kindness. You are not a mess that needs to be cleaned up. Do not take what I say to a couple of idiots for what I think about you. You would be sorely mistaken.” There’s a stern tone to his voice that makes me feel like a child in trouble. “Am I understood?”

I swallow heavily and nod, my eyes glued to his.

“Words, please, princess.” His eyes are still drilling into mine, and his voice borders on frustration.

“Yes, I understand.” My voice is quiet, and I can breathe again when he finally releases my gaze from his. I study my shoes, and I hear him heave a sigh.

“I should go. Keep the blanket, you need it more than I do. I’ll see you soon.” He puts his helmet on, and starts the engine, quickly pulling out of his spot and driving away. Once again, I’m left standing playing his words over in my mind.

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

For the rest of the week, the pattern repeats. He hands me a hot cup of tea and a protein bar, and I pull the blanket around my shoulders. We talk about nothing special for a few minutes. He never stays for long, five minutes at most. I don’t question his motives, and I accept his offerings without hesitation. He makes kind gestures to me, and we share a few touches here and there that linger for just long enough. He never pushes any further than that.

Until Friday that is. “If you’re comfortable with it, I’d like to drive you home today. I don’t like the thought of you walking alone in the cold on such a busy street.” He’s leaning against the wall beside me this time. Today he has his own cup, and when the breeze blows just right, I’m greeted by the aroma of decadent hot chocolate.

I’m halfway through my tea, and swallow the last bite of the bar before I answer. “Sure, on one condition.” He looks at me with an odd combination of disbelief and curiosity. I hold his gaze with my own. “Tell me your name.”

He drops his eyes to the ground and laughs softly. “For now,” He looks back at me, and reaches up to his left shoulder and taps his finger on the numerals. “You can call me four. And yours?”

A small smile washes over my face. “Sadie. It’s nice to meet you IV.”

After a few more minutes of easy banter, he finishes his drink and makes for his bike, pausing and turning back to face me. “What time are you off?”

“I finish at 5:30”

He nods, and gets on his bike. “I’ll see you then.” He puts his helmet on and pulls out of the lot.

When my shift ends, I find myself filled with a strange excitement. I put on my warmer layers, and head outside to the usual spot.

He’s there waiting, an extra helmet under his arm. When I stop in front of him, he stands and flicks his visor up. “Ok, first off, you’ll have to take your hat off. It won’t fit under the helmet.” I take the woolen hat off, and stuff it into my pocket. “Now, you’ll have to tie your hair back. Or it’ll all push into your face and you won’t be able to see anything.” I pull my hair back into a low ponytail and look at him expectantly. “Perfect. This is going to feel a little tight at first, but it’s supposed to fit a bit snug. We don’t want it to come off too easily.” He places the helmet on the top of my head and gently pushes it down. Once fully on, he leans his forehead against mine, his eyes holding mine. “How’s that feel?”

“Good. A bit snug, but good.” My eyes flick between his eyes. They’re so pretty. I could look into them for hours. They crinkle at the edges with a hidden smile.

“Good.” He drops a wink at me, and leans back. His deft hands reach for the chin strap, fastening it under my jaw. Lastly he reaches up and pulls my visor down, then his own. “And we are good to go. Ready?”

I nod, “ready.”

He gets on first, and I climb on behind him. He shows me where to rest my feet, and I hesitantly hold onto his sides, suddenly overtaken by shyness. He turns his head towards me. “You’ll want to hold on tight, love. Don’t worry, I don’t bite.” I can hear the smile in his voice. I slide my arms around his middle and lean further into him. I catch a little of his cologne, and the heady scent leaves me breathless. I feel one of his hands come to rest on my forearm for a moment.

He asks me my address, and I freeze for a moment. Anxious thoughts flit through my mind but I push them down before answering him. The engine roars to life and we pull out of the lot.

The ride is short, much shorter than it would be to walk. When we pull into the parking lot of my apartment building, I feel a little disappointed that it’s over so quickly. We climb off the bike, and he takes off my helmet for me. I can’t stop the wide grin that consumes my face, and my cheeks hurt. It’s been a long time since I’ve smiled this much.

He takes his own helmet off, and his eyes have those little crinkles at the edges again, and my fingers twitch with the desire to gently brush over them. He’s so beautiful. “I’d like to take you on a proper date sometime. I hope that’s not too fast.”

My cheeks flush, and my eyes drop to the ground for a second before flicking back to his. “No, that’s not too fast. And I’d love to.” My face still hurts from the smile plastered across it.

He places a hand over his heart, closes his eyes and tilts his head back, while releasing a relieved sigh. His knees bend slightly before straightening again. “You just made me the happiest man alive, princess. How does tomorrow night, 7 pm sound? I’ll pick you up here?” He looks down at me, and his eyes are sparkling.

“That sounds perfect, I’m counting down the seconds.” He nods at this, and I take it as my cue to head inside.

As I go to walk past him, he catches my hand in his. I look at him, surprised by the prolonged presence of his skin on mine. His eyes lock onto mine, and he pulls my hand up to the mouth of his mask, pressing the hard material into my knuckles. I can hear the soft kiss behind his mask. “Goodnight, Sadie.”

My breath shudders a little, and my response comes out as a whisper. “Goodnight, IV.”

[barschter000]

(this is my main blog I am @euporie-art)

hi I am sorry 2 bother you but whenever you reblog my art you always put very nice tags on it and it makes me quite happy

I am thinking. about vampire benbaro. do you have any thoughts on them.

Hello!!!!! You're no bother at all, I'm actually very happy to hear from you again!! :D

I'm glad my silly reblog tag ramblings can make you happy! :)

I actually (and unfortunately) don't have that many thoughts on them (edit from the future: yeah sure buddy) because I don't think about Vampire AUs very often even though it's a classic and it works great with them. Generally, I absolutely agree that Albert should be the vampire because that is 100% the funnier option. Otherwise, my thoughts overlap with this post and are as follows:

Albert has a tapetum lucidum on his eyes, the thing animals with improved night vision have that makes their eyes glow when hit by light. I'm always a big fan of Albert being a little weird and freaky.

Since bats eat fruit and insects too and Albert is pretty constantly low on food (see linked post), he has eaten bugs. He regrets it sometimes but they are a good source for protein.

For funsies, I like to imagine him being able to walk up walls Hotel Transylvania-style because he is definitely the type of guy to start pacing while thinking and so he ends up on the ceiling.

I am consultung old Discord messages about this for this answer and past me said that apparently bats are colorblind (though it might not be all of them) and so Albert is too!

Absolute favorite of mine: BATS CAN PURR!! ALBERT CAN PURR!!!

Here are some more or less useful biting places: The most useful and sensible one is of course the vein in the crook of Barok's arm which isn't very romantic but practical. The jugular veins in the throat are of course a classic among vampire enthusiasts but because there is so much blood flowing through it, it would definitely require medical attention afterwards. But one can alter reality in fiction, as a treat. Also there is the femoral artery that runs through the thigh and aside from it being hard to access (especially since Barok's legs are so muscular), I think Barok would die and not only from bloodloss. Other than that, the saliva of vampire bats contains anticoagulants that prevent blood from clotting, so that's in Albert's saliva too.

Albert can communicate with the bats in Barok's office. (In my world, Barok named them all after female characters from operas because he doesn't know which bat is male or female but he noticed they were reproducing, so he just gave them female names. Perhaps Albert can clear up the mystery.)

Since Albert doesn't really have blood unless he feeds, he doesn't really have body heat but when he's fed, he is also able to blush and I think seeing your boy best friend blushing with your own blood inside his cheeks would also kill Barok.

As I mentioned in our previous benbaro thought exchange, I take Barok as having been a huge vampire nerd, so having a vampire boyfriend is like a dream come true to him. It also opens new possibilities of taking care of and protecting Albert which he likes doing because it's an easier way for him to express that he cares about him.

Also here is a meme I made because I think Albert would travel most safely in daylight as a bat and to not lose him in the busy streets of London, Barok puts him in his breastpocket.

On a final note, here is my favorite vampire!Albert fic!

Pray forgive the discourtesy of this being more ben than baro or benbaro throughts, I hope me loving to think about the logistics of non-human stuff was still entertaining. I'd love to hear your vampire benbaro thoughts!! :)

[spandexinspace]

@radioactive-earthshine Gave the birthday boy a protein shake. 🫡

Happy -938 birthday to him!

_______________________________________________

"Here." Ayla trusts one of two identical transparent cups into Querl’s hands. It’s cool to the touch, though less so than how most humans appear to prefer their beverages, and contains a white, viscous liquid with an almost imperceptible pink tint, punctuated by small, dark dots.

"What is this?" Querl asks, eyeing the substance sceptically. He’s not made a habit out of trusting unidentified liquids his teammates hand to him, since many of them have demonstrated an interest in regularly consuming nearly or slightly toxic substances for no justifiable reason. It might not even be consumable at all, for all he knows.

"Protein shake. Contains fancy seeds and stuff, Tenzil says it has benefits." She grins at him and leans back against the railing, turning her back towards the biosphere below as the contents of her own cup lap dangerously high up the container’s walls and threaten to spill over them at any moment..

"Benefits?" Another thing his teammates seem to have their own ideas about. No surprise that Tenzil is the source of this mystery liquid though.

"Oh, you know, some stuff,” she says nonchalantly, her lips still curled into the type of grin that says it’s not.

"Ayla, elaborate." 

"Tenz said he got it from some ancient human records called P-ins that said it's supposed to give you energy." Ayla leans closer, lowering her voice to a conspiratorial whisper. "Sexual energy." 

“Grief,” he says, drawing out the word to empathise his disbelief. "That seems highly unlikely; The replicators are not configured to provide medical grade products. And even if they were there'd be no guarantee it would have the same impact on either of our biologies as it would have had on a human a thousand years ago." Despite himself Querl can feel the tip of his ears and cheeks heat up, undoubtedly turning a treacherous dark green even as he tries his best to remain unbothered.

"Yeah, yeah, science. Can't hurt to try it though, can it?" As Ayla leans back again, as relaxed as ever, Querl studies her expression for a sign of, well, anything. She’s more open than most, but he is quite frankly awful at reading people and she knows that.

"It definitely could. But you don't actually think this will work, do you?"

"Only one way to find out." She takes a big gulp of the drink and then pauses for a moment, as if to savour it, her face a mask of exaggerated contemplation. "But nah, I think Tenz is full of nass on this one. He'd believe any recipe he found in any old record. Helps being able to eat all the weird stuff they used to eat back then, I guess. This ones’s not too bad though, doesn’t even taste like chems." She wipes the back of her hand across her lips.

Querl raises his cup and slowly rotates it, watches as the thick liquid lazily swirls in the cup and the black dots bob up and down in it like miniature buoys. There is a notable lack of a chemical smell to it, replaced instead by a weak, earthy scent not unlike some of the things they ate while stuck in the 20th century. Very unlike the so-called pizza they ate there, but not unlike certain other things they ate. Its appearance still fails to bring him comfort.

"You do know you don't have to bring me food," he says, glancing over at Ayla. Stalling, if only a little.

"I know, but I get worried about you sometimes. Lyle does too, judging by what Salu says he’s told her.”

"And what has he told Salu?" He narrows his eyes, running through the options in his head.

"She didn’t say exactly what he said, just that he gets worried about you sometimes. I think he mentioned something about it while they were on a mission with the squad ‘cause they’d been away for a while?”

“He... does that.” Querl sighs. ”I’ve already explained that he shouldn’t be concerned, I clearly survived just fine before him.”

“Not really how it works, my guy. Look, I don't really know what's up with you and I ain't going to dig if you don't want me to, but you should take care of yourself. You're not helping anyone by not taking care of yourself and we'd all be pissed if you died or something. It was bad enough the last time around." Ayla takes another drink from her cup, her gaze seemingly fixed on something very far away. Or perhaps nothing at all.

"It's fine. I'll be fine."

"Good. Now try the sprocking thing before it becomes even warmer." 

Querl takes a last look at the liquid in the cup, then brings it to his lips and takes a small drink. It’s smooth and still slightly cold, the texture only broken up by the black dots, which somehow manage to be both gelatinous and hard at once and feel oddly large and uncomfortable in his mouth. It’s not too dissimilar to the awful, pungent "milkshakes" Lyle seems to have a thing for, but unlike those it's not heavy with the kind of artificial sweetness that lays itself like a thick coat over one’s tongue and teeth. It's still sweet, but the taste is less pronounced, tinged with a bitter and earthy note. It’s a strange and unfamiliar taste, but not a wholly repulsive one.

"So, what do you think?"

"It's acceptable."

"Uhu, feeling any energy yet?"

"Grief, Ayla." He rolls his eyes and she lets out a bark of laughter, whatever shadow that came over her before now gone. 

"Just checking," she says, before taking yet another sip from her own cup. "It is pretty good actually. A lot of food here tastes so fake, but this could actually have some real nuts in it."

“And here I thought you didn’t know anything about nuts.” Ayla reaches over to swat at his shoulder with the back of her hand, but her touch is light and there’s a clear, contagious bemusement in her expression.

“Oh, and I thought we were being proper today,” she says.

“There is nothing improper about discussing commonly farmed crops. You of all people should know that.”

Ayla snorts. “Nasshead. Nuts aren’t even common crops back home. Most of it’s just grains and even then we sell most of that.”

"Hm, yes, I suppose that’s true. Most food on Colu originates from Winathian grain producers, though as far as I know it’s processed off planet." 

"That weird bread you-all eat?" 

"It's not bread. It's super-processed grain infused with vitamins, proteins and mineral additives. It’s a nutritionally complete food and makes use of as much of the grain as possible, thereby reducing waste and ensuring our survival." 

"Thanks for the lecture. Kinda tastes like nass though." Ayla grimaces in mock disgust.

"Flavour is perhaps not its main benefit.” It, in truth, doesn’t taste like much of anything at all. He’s still not decided if he prefers that to all varied, unexpected and often disgusting tastes of alien food. “It's very efficient though, both to transport and to eat, and you don’t need to eat anything else to fulfil your nutritional needs.”

"I just can't imagine not having other options though. Even when we have bad years back home we usually have some options. Buncha different recipes and conserves. My grandmas all knew probably about a hundred different things to do with mixed grains and not much else."

"Perhaps it's different for other people. My family constellation wasn't ideal for being immersed in our culinary traditions." Querl shrugs half-heartedly. It’s not like he ever would have had a choice even if he had wanted to.

"Nass, sorry, I didn't mean it like that."

"It's alright." It is. It doesn’t hurt like it did before, in particular not when it’s her saying it. Unlike some her words aren’t laced with ill will and Ayla is, for as boisterous and loud she can be, surprisingly easy to get along with. Surprisingly easy to just be around. 

They fall into a comfortable silence after that, continuing to sip at their drinks as they slowly turn room temperatured. It’s strangely filling for a drink, though Querl supposes that has something to do with the – by the name implied – added protein and perhaps the partially soft black things. He makes a mental note to research the matter further later, perhaps even by talking to his worrier of a boyfriend.

The cup is mostly empty by the time he breaks the silence.

"Thank you. For the drink. It’s not as disgusting as it first seemed." Tilting the cup back and forth he watches as the now thinned out liquid and a few stray dots flow along the bottom of it, trying to keep up with its movements.

"Any time. Gotta keep you going so I can keep kicking your ass in training." 

"How altruistic of you. Perhaps you would be better off fighting someone who can match your enthusiasm?”

"And risk losing? Don't think so, beans." Ayla eyes him, her eyebrows knitting together in either a frown or thoughtfulness. “I mean, unless you want to.”

“I don’t. And even if I did, someone would inevitably lecture me about the physical demands of our field of work and demand I train with Val, again.” Querl waves a hand dismissively in her direction, then crosses his arms. “Besides… I do appreciate your company. Even with the absurd nicknames.”

“Aw. Maybe someday I’ll teach you how to make up nicknames too.” She reaches over and ruffles his hair. If he makes an indignant noise in response it’s nothing short of her fault.

[lathalea]

good day my king, it’s jaybird again. i was wondering if you could share any recipes of bombur’s, namely one with potatoes and hearty protein (i know how dwarves favor a carnivorous diet). i’m in need of suggestions for an important dinner i am to cook for some dear friends of mine, and many reliable sources tell me how savory his cooking always is. i hope you’re having a restful day, it’s probably getting very cold around the mountain now. stay warm!

sincerely, jaybird

🍪

Dear Lady Jaybird,

It is a rare honour to receive your letter. I hope the raven I am sending to you with my reply arrives on time and in good health. During the last two weeks we have had three large snowstorms and only today the weather has cleared sufficiently to allow Rawk to travel. If you would be so kind as to ensure that he is warm, well-fed and sufficiently rested before he embarks on the return trip, I would be endlessly grateful.

As you can perhaps imagine, this has been a busy time for Bombur, but as soon as he heard that you are in search of a fitting meal for your friends, he provided me with one of his favourite recipes. He asks your forgiveness since he is not familiar with the units of measurement or volume you prefer nor is he aware of your food preferences or allergies (if any). Please feel free to adjust the recipe as you see fit.

Bombur’s Hearty Winter Casserole

INGREDIENTS 4.5 lbs /2 kgs potatoes 2.5 lbs/1 kg smoked sausage 0.7 lb/300 g smoked bacon 4 onions 4 carrots 0.9 lbs / 400 g green peas (canned green peas work well too) Shredded cheese of your choice (as much as you like) Salt, pepper

METHOD

1. Peel and boil the potatoes until they are still a bit hard. "We do not want them to turn into a mush!" Bombur says.

2. Peel and slice the carrots and onions. When the potatoes have cooled down, slice them too. The slices should not be too thin. 

3. Grease a cast-iron pot (Bofur’s favourite!) or a casserole with oil. Preheat the oven to 350*F/180*C. You can also prepare it on a stovetop or over a fire if you happen to find yourself in wilderness. In that case, you can add half a cup of water at the end and cover the pot with a lid.

3. Slice the sausage and bacon and then fry until golden brown. Bombur says that a bit thicker slices work very well here.

4. Put a layer of smoked bacon on the bottom of the casserole.

5. The next layer should contain potato, carrot and onion slices on top of the bacon. Add some green peas. Season the layer with salt and pepper.

6. Layer the sausage on top of the vegetables.

7. Repeat layers as many times as you need.

8. Put a few slices of bacon on top as the last layer.

9.  Bake for about 30 minutes.

10. Open the oven, sprinkle with shredded cheese.

11. Bake for around 15 minutes more or until the cheese melts nicely.

12. Time to eat! 

Attached to this letter you will find a picture of this fine meal made by the talented Ori.

Both Bombur and I hope that you and your friends will find this meal to your liking!

Your humble servant,

👑 Thorin Oakenshield

[obsessivevoidkitten]

*cracks knuckles* I literally did crack my knuckles right before I started to type this. I can literally ramble about my garden and gardening in general, you have just opened up a giant post. The thing I am most excited about this year is strawberries, very excited they are a new addition this year and I pre-ordered some red and some white ones. They spread via runners so within a year or so I will have a nice huge patch of them. Strawberries are both the cheapest and easiest berry to grow, though not technically a berry. Another new addition is peanuts! I wanted something with a long storage capability as well as something high in protein, while also not being too difficult to grow, peanuts fit the bill. I am also going to try sweet potatoes in a larger quantity this year, last year I just had one to plant that had been donated by the food pantry and I just could not produce much with it and it was also crowded with normal potatoes. I am still growing potatoes this year, I saved some potatoes from my fall harvest and they are going to be good to plant towards the later half of March. I am excited to replant my purple viking variety but I also got my hands on the all mighty kennebec. Perfect ratio of starch to make a good soup potato or a good fryer, also high yields!! I also plant to grow carrots, cosmic purple and lunar white. Radishes are going to make a return but I am adding a yellow variety instead of just de 18 jours radish. Everyone who knows me knows I will be attempting corn again, we had such a good result last year and it gave us a lot of food, I would like to triple production to donate excess to the senior center. I am growing moonshine, glass gem, and of course the ever amazing and personally endorsed damaun ks super sweet corn. I had so much success with tomatoes that I am branching into new varieties. Yellow, purple, orange, everything but red really. Going to go with some micro dwarf varieties like orange hat and patio choice yellow, the regular sized plant cherries I will be growing include yellow pear and bosque blue bumblebee, regular size slicers will be sart roloise, and kentucky beefsteak. Last year I grew many many many extra tomatoes and donated them by the bucketful to the senior center, family, and neighbors. And I was only growing a couple varieties last year. Pumpkins will be planted again, moranga, Rouge Vif D' Etampes, and of course the flat white boer pumpkin. I grew a crap ton of the white boers last year and they were a wonderful food source and the extras I gifted to people for decorations. I would like to try burdock root if possible. I have plans to grow a bibb lettuce mix, little gem lettuce, and merlot. For cabbage I am just trying one variety, a faster growing one good for early in the year so I can start gardening sooner, red acre cabbage. I failed with beets last year but now armed with more experience I hope to tackle the mammoth red mangel beet, it can literally grow to sizes larger than a toddler. If I can grow these I will be able to feed many many people beyond just me and the elderly lady I care for. Seriously though, google them, they are H U G E. I also want to grow some much smaller albino beets. For squash, other than pumpkins, I am growing yellow crookneck, candy roaster, honeynut, lemon squash, and golden zucchini. Hopefully I can fend off SQUASH VINE BORER. I would have had a lot more success with squash last year had it not been for SQUASH VINE BORER. In my gardening, I have many powerful enemies. The squash bugs that resemble stink bugs, and have the same stink power, the swarming Japanese Beetle, cucumber beetles, tomato.... horn... worms... the ceaseless devourer, but only one is my arch-nemesis and that one is SQUASH. VINE. BORER. And, my absolute favorite veggie, the sturdy and vigorous veggie that never lets me down, the cucumber. Varieties this year include poona kheera, dragon's egg, and pick-a-bushel. With this wonderful variety I shall grow many pounds of cucumbers, especially the high yielding pick-a-bushel. I hope to donate many of these. Now, for flowers, we don't have too many, but we do have a few. They are essential in attracting and supporting local pollinator populations but also in feeding birds. I am growing a few different types of sunflowers, the birds and pollinators go nuts for them. Chocolate cherry, russian mammoth, short stuff, and double sunking. If you are a novice gardener I cannot recommend sunflowers enough they can take some serious neglect and bad weather, droughts, storms, heat. They are so great, the senior center took some cut blooms for decoration and I still had enough for the birds and enough to save many seeds. I am also growing marigolds again and nasturtiums, which are also edible. I also was gifted some celosia seeds to try. For green beans I am growing two bush varieties, cantare and jade II green beans, they have excellent rust resistance which was a big issue for me last year. For onions I am only really going to try one variety and that is borettana, it grows fast and somewhat small, good for a beginner. Sadly I cannot actually grow any root vegetables in my clay soil, so all the potatoes/tubers/peanuts/carrots/radishes/beets cannot actually be cultivated here. The clay soil is hard and compacted and I dont have compost and soil to soften it up. I wanted to grow them in tubs, and I have a friend helping me get some to grow in, but I still have to raise over 100 dollars to get enough soil and mulch to fill them all. I also still have to get the cabbage, onion, some of the corn, some of the sunflower, and some of the tomato seeds. I do have two tubs filled so I can at least plant several potatoes. I am going to grow as much as possible and exhaust myself in the garden because I have a lot of people that get food from me and I cannot let them down. Anyway I hope that answers your question, may have over answered, lol. I hope you have a nice day too.

[meariluna]

I really wish I wouldn’t get told that a decision I make is wrong due to common beliefs that have not been deeply researched.

I recently went on a mostly fruit diet with no animal products because I want to heal my rosacea, which I discovered is linked to many autoimmune diseases, one of the most prevalent in my family is type 2 diabetes.

Upon doing research about skin problems and why they manifest, I came across information about the kidneys and poor filtration through the liver which leads to waste being taken out on the skin if your organs are not working together to remove the waste normally.

I did my research to understand what could work to finally heal my rosacea since it is so deeply misunderstood and judged. All my life I’ve been criticized because of it until I got older and stopped caring so much. But more than just aesthetic purposes, I want to heal my body from the inside out and it causes so much anger for me at times when I open up about these choices I’m making to better myself and I get told I’m not consuming enough protein or that I need to eat meat or eggs or whatever it may be that common media shares.

Our biology closely resembles frugivores, not carnivores. The only way we “safely” consume meat and animal products is by cooking, pasteurizing, or doing some sort of process to make it edible. That, to me, doesn’t make any sense. We get told to eat fruits and vegetables when we’re sick because they heal so wouldn’t it make sense to consume food we know to be healing most of the time?

How can we use it as medicine and then turn around and say “oh you can’t eat too much fruit because of the sugar” as if simple fruit sugar is equivalent to processed refined sugar… also, all our cells need sugar. Our body runs on glucose… which is sugar. Literally everything we consume gets transformed into glucose. Insulin gets released into the bloodstream to help transport glucose to our organs so we have energy and can function. So even foods that are low in sugar get turned into glucose… which again, is sugar. Processed sugar, like any processed food, is bad for you. It is not the same as eating raw fruit - the food the Earth created for us to consume. (Is it really that surprising that the food we can naturally consume is the most healing food for us? It’s almost as if our biology, which resembles frugivores in nature, is made for the consumptions of fruits. Amazing.)

This whole idea that protein is everything was not emphasized until the last 1000 years or so. Protein was not emphasized as the most important source of sustenance for all time. Fruits and vegetables were. There are entire cultures that thrive off of fruits and vegetables and do not struggle with the same level of disease as we do.

It’s so annoying that veganism or any sort of diet with a strong focus on fruits and vegetables gets criticized so much. I’m not pushing my choices on anyone and I wish their choices didn’t get pushed on me, especially coming from people who are currently struggling with health issues and are trying multiple protocols that are not working. It doesn’t make sense to take advice from someone else who is trying to figure it out and is not succeeding yet I’m being criticized personally for taking advice from sources who have healed themselves and others.

No one will know my body better than me. I have tried to get assistance from doctors and dermatologists. None of them have helped. Some have even made things worse by giving me medications that suppressed my symptoms for a few weeks only for them to come back stronger and then I got prescribed a more intense medication with tons of side effects. If I cannot trust in myself and intuitively listen to my body, then I will never heal. My body is my own. My choices are my own. Feel free to judge them when I am not around but keep your negativity to yourself. I’ve only being doing this for two days and I feel so much better, my digestion is better, and my rosacea is not flaring up. That cannot be a coincidence. Please stop listening to mass media and do your own research to heal your body and mind.

[kaddyssammlung]

Telomeres – Analysis

Taken from Dr. Bruce Lipton

“...built into everyone of our cells is the Fountain of youth. It's something called Telomeres. They are special parts of the DNA. So When you open up the nucleus of the cell the chromosomes come out an there are 46 chromosomes. 23 from your mother and 23 from your father. A chromosome is a sleeve of protein wrapped around a double helix of DNA. And the significance about this is the telomeres are at the ends of the chromosome. A telomere is extensions of DNA after the genes. It's a part of the DNA that doesn't program anything it's just extended DNA. Why is this important. When DNA reproduces: first there comes an enzyme when it's time to reproduce the DNA and that enzyme is called the “Helicase”. It's an enzyme that breaks the helix. As the helicase moves down the DNA it splits it into two separate strands. But at the end of the DNA there are different little marks and this is where the telomere is. The telomeres are an extra extension of the DNA.

When the enzyme comes in that copies the DNA called a polymerase it's like a train that lands on the DNA as the tracks and as the polymerase moves down the track it leaves behind it in awake a copy of the DNA that it was riding on. So as the train is moving down the DNA strand it creates a duplicate piece of DNA behind it. This is how the DNA is reproduced. But the serious part is this: when the enzyme gets to the end of the strand guess what it cannot copy the piece of the DNA that it's sitting on because the next move that train will fall of the track. The reproduced DNA is shorter then the one before.

It was believed that the length of the telomeres determined how long we lived.

Then the scientist Elizabeth Blackburn discovered something.

Telomerase is an enzyme that ads extensions to the telomere.

There is just one problem with that!

Idk how to tie this to the lyrics XD

“You guide me in to safety and silence as you breathe me out I drink you in”

That strange images of eating/swallowing etc. again. It still has me thinking about what he did to meet Sleep or if this had anything to do with it.

I tend to think about alchemy as some sort of aid in order to achieve this because it's something that I'm familiar with but there are other substances, too. I still don't really know what to make of these topics.

(I put the link to the ED related analysis in here because it fits)

“And we go beyond the farthest reaches where the light bends and wraps beneath us”

I really like this. This is how far they go :)

Edit: so....a few days ago I did a course, you can best describe it with energy work, and I feel like I went to that place that he describes in here. It's all so weird. I mean beautiful but it's weird how so many things just fit to the lyrics. But that's just how they work.

“And I know as you collapse into me this is the start of something”

Like stars collapese?!

"When massive stars die, they don't just fade away. Their lives end in the most spectacular and most luminous explosions that we know. For weeks they can become nearly as bright as a whole galaxy."

(source)

source

That's what you can see after stars collapsed?! That looks cool!

“Rivers and oceans we could beckon, no your eyes and your limbs are instruments to pic apart the distance within”

This just sounds so nice.

But all I ever do lately is pic apart my food in a strange way again.

I don't know how eyes and limbs can be instruments to pic apart the distance within. I also don't know what he could mean. Telemores is a bit of a weird one for me.

“the past, the future through death my arms are open”

What stands out to me here is the phrase: through death. Maybe he means Ego death? Or real death? I have no idea. And also for some reason I have this connected to reincarnation again.

A weird one XD Either deep dive into it and spend days resarching things and maybe come up with something or leave it a peace for now. I go with leaving it at peace for now.

If someone is interested in more stuff...idk...I guess that's a good book?! I watched so many videos from him but I don't remember much. Maybe someone is interested in finding out more...

[lunawish]

HEADCANON : edelgard & food

i’ve compiled a list of dishes she likes, is neutral to, and dislikes from the dining hall (after going through each dish… one by one) and i’ve noticed some pretty interesting trends!  (2023 gany here: it was fucking wild that I did this before the datamined shit was out ... fuck)

in general, edelgard likes food with a sweet flavour profile. she likes vegetables, and she likes fish. the one exception is the “sautéed pheasant and eggs” dish. this dish is interesting because the description says:  “thin slices of bird meat and shredded cabbage, mixed with scrambled eggs and sautéed with spices. invention of a certain noble. ” this is the only non-vegetarian, non-fish, and non-dessert dish edelgard likes (not neutral to, but likes). coincidentally, it’s the only dish that her, ferdinand, and hubert all like collectively. thus, it is fair to deduce that edelgard invented this dish. 

the commonality of her non-vegetarian favourite dishes is that they’re all, somewhat, vegetable heavy still. this entails that edelgard doesn’t actually like meat. she likes fish and that makes sense given the fact she spent most of her time in enbarr, which is by the coast as shown in this figure: 

naturally, she would take a liking to the taste of fish. and what’s interesting is that she also likes the “sweet bun trio”, “fish and bean soup” and “onion gratin soup.” and i think all three of those is to reflect the time that she spent in faerghus given that the sweet bun trio is a “traditional pastr[y] from faerghus”. the latter two are soups, which are essential to keeping yourself warm during harsh winters like in faerghus and given how south adrestia is, and given the fact that petra is from brigid and hates the cold, it is more than safe to say that in adrestia, you do not need to drink soup to keep yourselves warm during winter. 

in her neutral foods, it is predominantly fish dishes with a few pheasant dishes and the jerky from the monastery. let’s address jerky first. jerky is… ambiguous. the description for the “sautéed jerky” dish doesn’t list what type it is, so for all we know, it could come in an abundance of different types of meat. and we know the fishing pond is rife with different types of fish, so it is safe to assume that the majority of the jerkies served at the monastery are fish jerkies. 

now with pheasants – it was difficult for me to come up with ‘why’ she would like it or not mind it. the truth is, i think in moments of scarcity she’s eaten it to sustain herself. after all, her life hadn’t always been glamourous. we know in “our world” pheasants are across north america, europe, parts of northeastern asia, and the middle east. thus, it is fair to assume that once again, she was introduced to pheasant meat during her time at fhirdiad. to her pheasants and poultry can be comforting in terms of taste, but just because an item of food is comforting doesn’t mean you have to find it delicious and that is the case with edelgard and poultry. 

now onto what she dislikes. all the food she dislikes are meat centric dishes. most of them are described as “tasting like the wilderness” or something along those lines. from this we can easily deduce that edelgard doesn’t like meat, which i have theorized before. most of those meat are also very heavy in their flavour profiles such as the pickled rabbit meat skewers, which are described as “hunks of rabbit meat are pickled in bacchus, skewered, and roasted over an open flame to create this flavourful dish.” most of the meats she dislikes are typically associated with game meat such as rabbit, fox, and the beast meat used in the “beast meat teppanyaki” dish. 

now what is there to be drawn from this analysis? 

edelgard by choice is a pescatarian with heavy preferences towards vegetables. fish is her main source of hearty protein and it is what’s available the most, thus, she makes good use of the resources around her. she has a very heavy sweet tooth and prefers sweet, light, and sour flavour profiles. if needed, she would eat meat as well but mostly in the forms of birds / pheasants for they are easier to hunt, and more efficient for sources of energy. she loathes the taste of meat despite the fact that eating meat is a luxury and associated with the nobility. 

[zuckarr]

1 year as a vegan 🌱 an honest overview

I'm a 30 year old woman, and I decided to go vegan in April 2022. I was never a vegetarian. I switched from an omnivorous diet to a plant-based diet overnight, and I have strictly adhered to the latter, with the only few exceptions being accidents.

I would like to write down how my journey as a vegan has been so far, what pros and cons I encountered and how my overall health was impacted. I intend to talk with my heart on my sleeve about everything and I am totally open to questions or clarifications. This post is nothing more than my own subjective, unique experience as a relatively new vegan person. However I won't be talking about the morality of veganism, nor the reasons why I decided to go vegan. I want to give voice to the bodily and mental changes I am going through instead, plus a few personal final thoughts.

I'd like to begin by stating that:

I have been taking several blood tests during the last year in order to keep track of the changes.

I have been taking vitamin B12 supplements as strongly recommended by every single doctor and veganism related website/source.

I have no prior sickness of any kind.

HEADACHES.

Headaches used to permeate my days before going vegan - so much that I had stopped noticing them (when bearable). During my first week as a vegan, the sudden disappearance of my headaches felt like a miracle. I would've never anticipated how life-changing that was. I was so used to my head pounding that the absence of the pain couldn't have gone unnoticed. I figured out I am intolerant to dairy, as countless others are, and yet I used to munch on cheese as my go-to comfort food... as countless others do.

BLOATING.

Bloating was probably also caused by my daily ingestion of dairy products, and was one of my body's cries for help. I did not feel bloated anymore once I started eating plant-based. The skin on my belly was softer at the touch and not as tense as before. People around me began asking if I had lost weight. I hadn't. It was just me deflating, lol.

SLEEP.

This is one of the most unexpected changes: I noticed I've been sleeping less, but better. I started waking up an hour or two earlier than usual, feeling well rested. Thanks to that, my days got longer, my mind got clearer, and my mood improved almost instantly.

ENERGY.

During the first weeks, I felt very energised. Must've been all of the vitamins suddenly filling my body! Who needs to get high when you can get the iron rush from a bunch of spinach, like good old Popeye taught us? Nevertheless, the energy sort of dissipated over time and I've been feeling pretty normal ever since.

POOP.

Oh no, it's poop talk! Fend yourselves, because I am not scared of being descriptive here. Long story short, I used to have frequent diarrhea before going vegan. Once again, my dairy intolerance most likely contributed to creating funny looking brown stuff. If I asked you how's your poop looking, what would you answer (assuming you wouldn't slap me)? And would you know what a healthy poop is supposed to look like? Welp, let's just say I've been proud of my toilet appointments since going vegan, because all I see are Pacha meme worthy sausages. Going to the loo is a happy time now, in comparison to the long minutes of agony spent with stomachache and funky smells.

FLATULENCE.

Can't have booty talk without mentioning the #1 cause of laughter among kids since the beginning of time! Farting is funny, but it is first and foremost the sign of a healthy gut. It takes a quick Google search to find out what farts truly are and why our bodies need to produce them. I confirm one of the most innocent prejudices against vegans - yes, we fart more than usual! But if you read into it, you'll only wish to do the same. Still, it is a largely acceptable change, and has not caused me any discomfort or unfortunate situations whatsoever.

CHOLESTEROL, IRON, PROTEIN, ETC.

Before going vegan, I had high cholesterol, high fibrinogen, low hemoglobin, low albumin, and a few other things that weren't importantly unbalanced. As aforementioned, I've taken several blood tests during the last year which showed ALL of the highs & lows quickly going back to normal. When I saw my cholesterol lower for the first time, I cried. I haven't had normal cholesterol for years, so, seeing that was nothing less than a miracle for me. As for my iron and protein, they increased! My fibrinogen was REALLY high, which could've resulted in a heart attack due to a vascular occlusion, but I don't risk that anymore. I cannot express how ecstatic I am to be considered medically healthy now. I wish somebody had told me earlier about the health benefits of a plant-based diet.

COOKING AND GROCERY SHOPPING.

I was never a big fan of cooking, because I was mostly just hungry all the time and I couldn't be bothered to prep meals or to even chop up vegetables. As a vegan though, I was kind of forced to look at recipes in the beginning - I was pretty lost and didn't know what to cook! Well, vegan cooking turned out to be much easier than I thought. I remember my first vegan grocery shopping experience: a whole new world opened up in the mall. I had never looked at the veggies and fruits and legumes and seeds and cereals section properly before! It was ENORMOUS! Boxes and bags and baskets of wonderfully colored food, most of it really cheap (especially legumes); with half of the money that I used to spend on cheese and meat, I had double the amount of food in my shopping cart and I was so ready to start cooking. The more I cooked, the quicker my cooking skills drastically improved and I have so much fucking fun in the kitchen now! I made countless vegan meals and cakes, loved by everybody (non-vegans asked for recipes more than once!), even by my mother! She used to slaughter chickens and had never baked a cake without eggs before, and yet, she admitted that this way of eating is fantastic and convenient. After a few months, she praised my hair and skin because it looks brighter and healthier. As a matter of fact, I feel nourished and full most of the time. Most importantly, I began to feel grateful and to think of food as a way of loving myself and nurturing my body, rather than a mere matter of taste.

SOCIETY.

The problem with being a vegan in a human society is... other people. It is always, undoubtedly other people who will come @ me with their weird, uncalled for, and rude anti-vegan claims as soon as somebody ELSE reveals that I am a vegan. I swear to god. I have no idea where we picked up the scenario of the 'annoying vegan' because the truth is actually the opposite... it is others who annoy ME... whenever they asked questions, I was happy to answer and explain stuff, because I genuinely thought that they were interested and would have liked learning something new, just like I would've felt if they had talked to me about something that they are passionate about. But nope, the real reason why most people asked me questions was to 'debunk' what I would say and feel like they won the argument. Even though it wasn't an argument at all. It wasn't long before I started noticing the patterns, the same old questions asked, the same rebuttals, over and over, in an endless cycle of going nowhere. So I simply learned how to differentiate the 'gotchas' from the rare, decent people who truly want to know more about veganism. As for going out and eating out, it wasn't as hard nor as expensive as I anticipated. We now live in a very vegan friendly time, there are vegan alternatives to basically everything. I feel extremely lucky to be a vegan now, because I can't even begin to imagine how hard it would've been years before.

PEACE OF MIND.

There is a duck pond nearby and I often take walks through it. Sometimes I sit on a bench, look at the beautiful birds and their dreamy plumage, and I... appreciate them. Not for their meat, like I used to. I can't even fathom seeing those creatures as food now. I appreciate them as individuals, who dream, love, dance, think, sleep, bond with their kin... I feel at peace with animals and nature on a whole other level. I realized how wrong it felt to eat a steak and then pet my dog. I learned so much about animal agriculture, nutrition, human rights, environmentalism… and I have so much more to learn yet. It takes one heartfelt glance into an animal's eyes, to be reminded that we are all the same. I am honored to get to choose not to be cruel to them.

[whatsjenniupto]

Nazaré, a town of ups and downs

After my freezing cold walk through Ericeira, I was hesitant about my stay in Nazaré. I was even more hesitant after sitting outside my guesthouse, messaging the owner on the booking app, whatsapping all posted phone numbers on the door, and scrounging around my bags for every snack source available while waiting for entry.

Eventually, the owner's aunt came along, let me in, and gave me a tour of the place in German because that was our lingua franca. It had taken me so long to gain access to the guesthouse that I was now starving in the middle of the day when all the restaurants are closed. Great.

I decided to do a loop around town, but knew I was going to end up at a grocery store buying packs of chicken and cheese before I fell over from hunger. My guesthouse was conveniently located just off one of the main roads, easily walkable to all parts of the city -- which is completely why I picked it even though every single review mentioned how frustrating gaining access to the place was. My review agreed, but the guesthouse did exactly what I wanted it to: allow me to quickly get to the beach -- where I almost immediately decided to instead duck down shaded streets because Nazaré and Ericeira have completely different climates.

Nazaré was sweltering under the midday sun. It was so bright, I could barely keep my eyes open. I could feel the Death Valley Badwater Basin loopy effect starting to hit me and knew I needed some electrolytes ASAP. I went straight back to the Spar, bought my protein and salt sources, and headed back indoors. Where I stayed until 6pm, shortly before restaurants opened again for dinner.

Ericeira has a microclimate with a northern wind. It's frequently much colder than you think it should be and more humid (hence my not so enjoyable damp, frigid afternoon). Nazaré has much more of a Mediterranean climate with an east/southeast wind that provides warmer and drier temperatures. Ergo, Nazaré is basically perfect at the end of July as long as you avoid the midday sun. Although, if you are the type of person who enjoys swimming in the ocean, you likely will enjoy those hours as well. As I reside ten minutes away from an angry purple sunburn, I was spending from when I finished lunch until when I could get dinner inside.

Nazaré is divided into an upper town and a lower town, connected by a very, very worth it funicular. There is also a slippery staired path that connects the two, but I feared my life climbing down to the swing and deigned to go no further. (If you look to the right of the funicular, there's a wooden arch in the middle of the hill. That's actually a swing.) I also lost my patience after about three groups of people grabbed the swing while I was waiting for it to empty. All I wanted was an empty swing photo. All I got was annoyed that I had nearly fallen all the way down and now had to pull myself up using the railing since apparently my shoes felt they were on ice rather than hot, middle of the day, worn down stones. Or maybe those two are basically the same thing....

The streets at the base of the funicular in the lower town are tightly packed multi-level homes that make up the Fishermen's District. The streets gradually get wider and new construction is easily seen surrounding the area. Older women in traditional skirts sit on chairs at the end of streets all day holding up signs offering lodging, many rooms located in those newly constructed buildings. Nazaré is changing. It's no longer a quiet fishing village. It's trying its best to capitalize on tourism. With beautiful beaches, the biggest waves I've ever seen, and incredible restaurants, it's easy to see the draw.

The iconic boats are also located on the beach in the lower town. Just behind the boats in the top photo are stands where fish is dried and then available for purchase -- unfortunately they were pretty much empty when I was there. I think there was one stand of drying fish. The beach has an accessible boardwalk, allowing wheelchairs to get midway down to the ocean with relative ease. A great addition to any seaside town.

O Sitio, the upper town, boasts sweeping views over the lower town as well as coast. While there might be a slightly higher concentration in restaurants in the lower town along the beachfront, there are plenty of delicious choices up top. I opted for a grilled fish restaurant as I had one goal after finally connecting that barnacles aren't in season in July because they're spawning -- like most seafood. While disappointed that this trip wasn't going to allow me to try gooseneck barnacles, it was sardine season. And I was pretty excited to try me some sardines.

[yunnathearcher]

Deep & heavenly sleep, pothos in my dreams

Let’s get this day started

Me & this tree, this tree & I.

You may never know what a person is going through or been through so maybe don’t go out the way to give each other a hard time.

Love getting ideas

A little goes a long way. You don’t have to do everything, start anywhere.

Me 2 me, per usual

There’s so many ways

Last Sunday of the month is tomorrow.

Altar cleansed, decks rotated, vibe reset.

While I love the warmth and life giving force of the Sun sometimes I do loathe going outside in the daytime.

The smell of this comforter is really doing it for me.

Florida water and lavender essential oil in the diffuser.

Remember nothing ventured, nothing gained.

They’ll be a long vine, whole vine just smooth no growth and then boom a leaf blossoms right at the end

Life is beautiful insanity

Wild ting yeah

Sometimes Source will tell me no and I just be like okay, cool. Sometimes Source tells me yes and it will seemingly look like a no in the physical realm and then with time it becomes one of the most pivotal yeses of my life. That’s Source.

“You still taking care of people?” Damn.

Open that heart, free your mind.

In chaos & entropy there is still order

8x8x8’s

Horsepower. Goatpower. Lionhearted. All that

Tried something new today. It felt great. Try new things beautiful people.

Says the tree in motion.

She wasn’t mine, she wasn’t anyone’s and maybe that’s what I liked most about her. Was fond of her then and even more so in my mind now.

You come into consciousness and you know, it’s painful because you realize how much you turned a blind eye to what was right in front of you. There’s anger too but mostly just sadness. In time your suffering becomes beautiful, poetic.

And then you learn. More. You see, more and you seek, more. And you realize you are not the only one. No.

Ask what do you feel is needed, start there.

And when your Venus comes to you, don’t let no one trick you out your Venus. None of the planetary archetypes honestly, but we are specifically speaking on Venus rn. This life is already bitter enough.

This is gender neutral.

Protein shake then we in motion

Meet Lilith once, know Lilith forever

Again, gender neutral

Lilith ain’t get us kicked out the garden IJS

Love this moment.

[funkforbreakfast]

Rainbow Pickles

During Superbowl weekend, I opened my fridge to discover a bag of rainbow carrots and Persian cucumbers that were going bad — quickly. Food waste is a big source of guilt for me, so when I am faced with the loss of perishables… well, I try to make them less perishable. For these, I submerged them in an at home mystery brine and hoped for the best.

They definitely did not mold (yay!) but the result was a tart and salty snack. I refused to add dill due to my own aversion to the taste, so these julienned slices were a great veggie topping for most meals (very similar to the ones I prepared for my vegetarian bibimbap). 

The rainbow color of the carrots leached into the juice and stained it a gorgeous pink. I was starstruck at how beautiful these carrots were!

That was, until they sat in my fridge for a month.

People with PCOS often take hormonal medications to manage their symptoms (cough cough, birth control). The way that birth control works is by introducing your body to hormones, which will stop the system from producing their own. This is great when your body is bad at regulating hormones on its own — which is the case for people with PCOS. By taking birth control, my menstrual cycle, emotions, acne, and many many other things are kept in check — which is perfect as unmedicated PCOS often makes me feel so disconnected from my body. Like I am stuck in a vessel that is constantly hurting itself. Most of this can be remedied with a daily dose of progesterone. With the recent talk about birth control in the United States, it is important to note that these pills are life changing for so many people who take them — whether that be mitigating the symptoms of a chronic health issue or by allowing them to continue living their life according to their own goals (either with or without a baby). 

This past January, I started birth control again — this was actually the fifth or sixth time I had started taking the pill; however, this dose was a little different — it was an entirely progesterone pill. This came about after this ad libbed interaction (but the doctor did mention strokes with a lot of fear):

Doctor: So it says on here that you have a history of migraines, right?

Me: Yep, they run in my family

Doctor: And you’ve taken estrogen birth control pills since you were fourteen — even when experiencing migraines

Me: Yeah, and they got worse during that period but they said it was probably stress

Doctor (face of shock): You could have had a stroke.

Not sure how estrogen and migraines mix, but apparently they don’t mix at all! So instead, my doctor put me onto progesterone, which is not much different except my body will not absorb it unless taken almost exactly at the same time every day  — which is very difficult for anyone, let alone a college student. I’ve noticed little to no side effects, except a pretty intense food aversion during my period. Which means food grosses me out, as in the smell of any food will make me nauseous. Which is not fun.

Shortly after making rainbow pickles, I was hit with this huge wave of nausea for a week. All I ate was banana chocolate protein shakes and goghurts — notably not the pickled carrots. And I let them sit in their tub for days and days and weeks and weeks, until I was clearing out the fridge a while later. They looked beautiful in their pink brine, a gorgeous hue for the kitchen. But their time had passed, and they reminded me of my stomach qualms more than anything else. So I chucked them. 

Pickles at Home

I definitely do not eat enough veggies, but have found pickling an amazing solution to add vinegary toppings to most meals. This brine

Prep: 30 min Brine time: 3 hours to a few days Yields: many servings

Allergens/restrictions

Alium

Ingredients:

½ cup water

½ cup rice vinegar

1 ½ tbsp sugar

1 ½ tsp table salt

1 tbsp minced garlic

What I put into my brine:

Julienned rainbow carrots

Thin cucumber slices

Instructions

Measure liquids into a quart containers and mix. Add subjects of your brining. Leave for at least an hour but up to several weeks.

[storytellerofhorror]

The Isolated Villain

I start my day with he scheduled protein diet. First is his shake blinded with fruits and vegetables, ten raw eggs swallowed down, and two fresh meat packs eaten. I get up from the table sighing when I hear the girls screaming. "These girls are retarded." I said as I slowly slid the gun off the table and tucked it into the back of my pants. I walked down the long hallway to the door, I unlock the door where they are. The secret company had ten girls in the room. five was for food and two were for his abuse addiction and the three in the corner was his permanent personal sexual partners. "Aye! Shut up! Don’t you get tired of that?" I yell as I opened the door. First thing I see is one of the food sources is laying on the ground surrounded by the other girls but the three stay in the corner. I shut the door behind me and walked closer to the girl on the floor. She was jerking and jolting uncontrollably. "Mmm she's having a seizures again." I watched her for a moment "Someone get a pillow." The girls looked at each other knowing there's no pillow in the room.

"um... sir... there isn't a pillow in here..." She said weakly she was about to cry knowing they wasn't supposed to talk.

I looked up at the one who spoke. "Go to the living room you know where that is." She stood there at the escape door a moment before going she was thinking about escaping but if she tried that the alarms in the house would go off because of the house arrest anklets they all wore. Besides that it would shock her badly enough to kill her. She took a long time just staring at the front door, a tear fell knowing she was going to die here by torture. She's seen it three times now, forced to watch as the man that had her beaten. She grabbed the pillow off the couch quickly and jogged back to the room.

"I-i-i got the pillow" she stampered over her words out of fear as she saw my gun pointing at her.

I glared at her "What took you so long, huh?" I readied my gun. "TELL ME!" I said shaking my gun at her she didn't say anything. I growled and shot the gun at a wall inches away from her. She jumped.

"I was I was using the restroom..." She choked out

"YOU WENT TO THE BATHROOM WHEN ONE OF YOUR FRIENDS IS LITERALLY SLOWLY DYING FROM SEIZURES? WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU?" I snapped "GET OVER HERE AND HELP HER!" she jumped again she was crying now she ran over and put the pillow under her friends head. "Good... now I need to go somewhere now to help her. You- you- and you" I was speaking to the three in the corner " you know what to do if someone acts out." I drive to a store that was the closest to me and parked. I got things for the girl at the house. After about an hour of shopping getting everything I was walking back out. I jumped into my car and got back home quickly.

I busted through the door where the girls were and rushed over with the things I needed for the girl. "Move! Move! Move!" I crouched down over the girl she was conscious but disoriented she looked up at me and blinked a few times trying to set up. "No no no no no... lay down I'm here to help you." The other girls hasn't seen me so gentle and caring about one of the girls before. They was sort of weirded out about it to see me like that. "Okay, Jessica, see this?" She looked up and it was a huge serialized syringe with some kind of liquid in it. She looked scared and she was fighting me away. "Calm down honey, listen to me, okay?" She looked at me so confused that I was being so nice. "This syringe holds the key to you not having another seizure in 16 years. Would you like not to have them anymore?" She nods "okay, now as I stick this into your arm you have to be calm and your muscles loose okay? Now count to three with me. One.... two.... three... now take a deep breath through your nose. Done." All the girls was amazed of what I did for her, They all thanked me. "Now all of you watch over her the rest of the day."

[alexaloraetheris]

@headspace-hotel @impulsivelycontentious

Hi, I'll do my best to answer your questions!

I'm a real life biologist, and I've worked on a couple projects involving horizontal gene transfer in both yeast (which is also an Ascomycota fungus) and bacteria (for GFP protein and insulin, respectively) at my university. My job was to make plates, test for sucess and transfer the sucessful strains. And while it's not my area of expertise, I listened to several classes on wine production, which relies heavily on growing specific strains of yeast and bacteria and fermenting them in large tanks (which is why I mentioned you'd need a brewery and an alchemist) and how to prevent unwanted contaminants. There probably ARE microbiologists on this site who are more qualified for this than me (and have probably already spotted the two mistakes I made on the original recipe, I'l correct them in the update) but I think they will agree my methodology is largely sound.

Regarding specific strains: funnily enough, the most potent penicilin strain found was just a random one growing on a cantaloupe that one of the research assistant brought to the lab one day. They were testing all kinds of strains to find the most potent ones back then, so onto the plate it went and they got lucky. That's unfortunately what a lot of this experiment comes down to: luck. It's why I said you need to up your chances by having as many plates and strains as you can, and pick the one with the widest ZOI. The ones with the most potent production are the ones that tend to prevail, luckily, but you need to gamble a lot. This stuff WAS hard to figure out initially, but we're not figuring it out from scratch, we are trying to recreate the already perfect method, so we're skipping a lot of steps the original team had to figure out. Every scientist stands on the shoulders of giants after all.

Regarding fermentation: humans have been fermenting stuff for a long-ass time, and we have gotten very, very good at it surprisingly quickly. The deep tank fermentation method used in the begining of commercial production of penicilin was, in essence, a modified wine fermentation tank. That's why I said you need to find a microbrewery and preferably someone who is already well-practiced in growing yeast in large quantities. Stainless steel tanks might not be available, but as long as you get a tank that's not made of metal with an oligodynamic effect (destroys cell membranes of single-celled organisms) the fermentation step is relatively simple. Or at least researched well enough that your biggest hurdle will be the tank-borrowing part.

The hard part is the filtration, which I'm still working on.

Regarding materials for plates: they don't need to be glass! The ones we use in the lab are actually mostly plastic. I'm aware that's a material that definitely wouldn't have been available, but they really can be made of any material you can pour hot water into! Glass and plastic are used because they're transparent, so you can check the growth of your colonies without opening them and exposing them to potential contaminats, but the mold itself doesn't care. You need two plates to close it to minimize contamination but still allow airflow in, but that's it.

But you've also given me an idea I'd have to research further. The mold you want grows on the agar, and doesn't touch the plates themselves, so you could potentially have them made of copper, brass or silver, all of which kill bacteria and other microorganisms that touch them. In a non-sterile enviroment that would be ideal, but I don't know if the agar itself would absorb any of the metal ions and kill the mold we want too. Again, further research is required, but if anyone has the answer to that please tell me!

EDIT: I just saw the question by @otteroflore and I could have smacked myself.

Milk is the old-timey source of high concentrations of lactose, which Penicillium loves, and seemed like a relatively easy thing to get, but if you're involving a cheesemaker you could get sweet whey (the liquid left when milk is curdled with rennet) which has most of lactose and vitamins from milk and much much fewer phosphoproteins. I said corn steep liquor would be best, but looking at the molecular composition sweet whey would be a close second. Thank you!♥♥♥♥

I can understand how "modern person thrown into the past gets by pretending to be a healer/doctor" is as surprisingly common of a trope as it is. I mean I'm fluent enough at bullshitting to be pretty sure I could pull it off to impersonate a doctor in any time pre-1800s. If I have no idea what something is or how to treat it, I could just get the opinion of the other whatever-passes-as-medical-professionals around, but if their suggestions sound like bullshit I'm not doing it. And I'll beat the shit out of anyone suggesting bloodletting or mercury. With my healing stick. I've tied little bells on it, that jingle comically with every smack.

The awesome curative powers of my healing stick come from two separate sources: Placebo, and me using it to beat anyone trying to give my patients mercury.