#so today i added another eggie

[icannotgetoverbirds]

made beanut butter cookie dough. hell yeah

[thedisneychef]

What Recipes Use a Lot of Eggs? Delicious and Creative Ideas

Hi everyone! Today I'm going to be talking about recipes that use a lot of eggs. Eggs are such an essential ingredient in so many dishes, and they can make any meal more special. Whether you're looking for breakfast ideas or something new for dinner, this article will have some great suggestions. So let's get started and explore what delicious recipes we can create with lots of eggs! Quiche I love making egg pies and casseroles when I want a hearty meal that's packed with protein. Quiche is one of my favorite recipes because it uses a lot of eggs to create the perfect custard-like texture. Plus, there are so many ways to customize it! You can use whatever cheese you have on hand, add veggies like spinach or mushrooms, and even switch up the type of crust. It's a great way to use ingredients from your fridge in an easy yet delicious dish. The key to quiche is getting the ratio of eggs and milk just right for that creamy center. Most recipes call for about 4-6 large eggs per 9" pie pan. To ensure enough liquid for the filling, add 1 cup of whole milk or half-and-half as well as some butter or cream cheese for richness. Play around with different ratios until you get exactly what you're looking for - whether that's more eggy flavor or lighter fluffiness. Once everything is combined properly, bake at 375°F (190°C) until golden brown on top and set in the middle - usually 30 minutes or so depending on how thick your quiche is. Serve warm with your favorite sides and enjoy this comforting classic! Frittata Moving on from quiche, another popular dish that uses a lot of eggs is frittata. Frittata is an Italian dish similar to an omelette but with additional ingredients like cheese, vegetables and often times meat added in the mix. It’s cooked slowly over low heat until it becomes firm yet still soft and creamy. Unlike quiche which involves rolling dough into a pie pan, frittata requires no crust or pastry shell so it takes less time to prepare. For those who are looking for something even simpler than frittata, egg fried rice is a delicious way to use up extra eggs while creating a flavorful meal. This traditional Chinese dish consists of stir-fried rice mixed with scrambled eggs and other ingredients such as diced vegetables and ham or chicken making it the perfect comfort food. Another classic recipe using lots of eggs is deviled eggs. These make for great appetizers during holiday gatherings or weekend dinners because they can be prepared ahead of time and served cold or at room temperature. They consist of boiled egg whites filled with yolk combined with mayonnaise, mustard, salt and pepper before being sprinkled with paprika for garnish. Deliciously simple! Egg Salad I love egg salad sandwiches! They're my go-to lunch option. I always start with a dozen of large eggs, boiled until they're just cooked through and cooled down before peeling them carefully. Then, I mash the eggs in a bowl and season them with salt and pepper for an added flavor kick. To complete the egg salad sandwich filling, I mix in some mayonnaise, diced celery, minced onion, and a few squirts of mustard. It's delicious on its own but you can also get creative by adding other ingredients like pickles or grated cheese to make it even more flavorful. Deviled eggs are another great way to use up extra eggs. They take minimal effort yet they look fancy enough as hors d'oeuvres at parties or potlucks. All you need to do is halve the boiled eggs lengthwise before scooping out the yolks into a separate bowl. The creamy yolk mixture then gets seasoned with spices such as paprika or cumin and mixed with condiments like mayo and mustard for extra tanginess. And finally, spoon the luscious deviled egg mixture back into each of the whites halves for presentation before serving them cold – so quick and easy! Eggs offer endless possibilities when it comes to cooking recipes that require lots of them – from breakfast scrambles to savory quiches or fluffy cakes! Whether you prefer classic dishes or something more inventive, there's no doubt that using lots of eggs will give your meal an added boost of nutrition while satisfying everyone's appetite along the way. Omelets I absolutely love omelets, especially when they’re filled with delicious ingredients and topped off with cheese. I mean, there’s nothing better than a simple egg-based dish that can be as fancy or as basic as you want it to be! Omelets are one of my favorite recipes because they use a lot of eggs and require minimal effort to make. First, you crack however many eggs your recipe calls for into a bowl and whisk them together until they become almost frothy. Then you add in some butter (or oil) onto the pan over medium heat and pour in the egg mixture. As the edges begin to crisp up, you can start adding in whatever toppings or fillings you like - from meat and veggies to cheese or even scrambled eggs if desired. Finally, fold the sides of the omelet over itself to form an envelope shape before flipping it once again for additional cooking time. Omelets are also great for using up leftovers; all sorts of ingredients such as ham, bacon bits, mushrooms or peppers work well inside an omelet. Or try getting creative by making deviled eggs out of hard boiled egg whites stuffed with tangy mayonnaise filling - yum! The possibilities are endless when it comes to creating flavorful combinations with this versatile breakfast staple. So next time you have a bunch of eggs at home that need to be used up – don't hesitate: whip up a tasty omelet! Baked Eggs I love making creative dishes with eggs, and there are two recipes I think everyone should try! The first is a classic egg dish - sunny side up. It is super simple to make - all you have to do is heat oil in a skillet over medium-high heat and crack your desired number of eggs into the pan. As soon as the whites start to set, reduce the heat to low and cover with a lid until the yolks reach your desired level of doneness. Serve them on toast for an easy but delicious meal! My other favorite egg recipe is a savory breakfast casserole. To make it, preheat your oven to 350 degrees F (176 C). Grease a baking dish with oil or butter and layer cubed bread at the bottom. Top that off with cooked sausage, mushrooms, bell peppers, spinach or any other vegetables you'd like! Then pour in whisked eggs mixed with cream or milk. Sprinkle cheese on top before baking for 25 minutes or until golden brown. This hearty casserole will definitely be a hit at brunch time! Eggs can be used in so many ways beyond these two recipes – they're such versatile ingredients perfect for breakfast, lunch, dinner – even dessert if you’re feeling adventurous enough! So why not get cracking today? Frequently Asked Questions What Is The Best Type Of Egg For These Recipes? When it comes to the best type of egg for recipes, it's important to consider both egg quality and nutrition. An egg with a higher grade will have firmer whites, brighter yolks and less watery whites. For better nutritional value, look for eggs labeled as omega-3 or organic which contain more healthy fatty acids than regular eggs. Ultimately, you'll need to decide what is best for your recipe but these tips should help guide you in making the right choice! What Other Ingredients Can I Add To Make The Recipes More Flavorful? When it comes to making recipes with a lot of eggs more flavorful, spices, herbs and seasonings are the way to go! Adding these ingredients can really take your dish from bland to bold. Depending on what type of recipe you're using, some great options for adding flavor include garlic powder, onion powder, paprika or cayenne pepper. Herbs like oregano, thyme or basil also work well in many egg-based dishes. Add any combination of these ingredients to make sure your final product is packed with flavor! How Can I Ensure The Eggs Are Cooked Properly? Cooking eggs properly is key to any recipe that calls for a lot of them. If you're pan frying, make sure the oil or butter is hot before adding your egg and keep an eye on it until it's fully cooked. Boiling eggs can be trickier - if they sit in boiling water too long, they become rubbery, so timing is everything! Set a timer when boiling and check the doneness with a spoon - gently press against the side of the egg to see how firm it is. With some practice, you'll get perfect boiled eggs every time! Are There Any Health Benefits To Eating These Egg Recipes? Yes! Eating egg recipes can be incredibly beneficial for your health. Egg substitutes are an excellent source of protein and contain essential vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants that support heart health, brain function, and muscle growth. Plus, eggs are low in calories and cholesterol-free making them a great choice for those looking to maintain or lose weight. For added nutritional benefits, opt for organic or free-range varieties of eggs whenever possible. How Long Can I Store These Egg Recipes In The Refrigerator? Storing egg recipes can be tricky if you're not sure how long they last in the fridge. Generally speaking, you should use any egg-based dishes within three to four days of cooking them. This is because raw eggs have a higher risk of containing salmonella and other bacteria that could make you sick. If your recipe uses only cooked eggs, then it's safe to store for up to seven days as long as it's kept cold. When in doubt, always check with your local health department or food safety organization for more information on storing egg recipes safely. Conclusion Egg recipes are a great way to get creative in the kitchen. With so many possibilities, you can experiment with different ingredients and flavors to craft your own unique dish. Whether it’s breakfast, lunch or dinner, eggs are an incredibly versatile ingredient that can be used to make delicious meals for any occasion. Plus, they offer some health benefits too! So next time you’re looking for something new to cook up in the kitchen, why not try out one of these egg recipes? You won't regret it! Read the full article

[twotangledsisters]

Cheap Meals

So, I've got to shopping today because my fridge is literally empty. And I googled cheap meals to kind of inspire me and try not to buy the same five things every single week.

But whenever I do this I'm reminded how the word "cheap" is not always the same. And how often times cheap also means extremely high effort which isn't compatible with many lifestyles as well as people struggling with mental illness or physical illness...

So here are the meals that got me through some really difficult times (these meals aren't all healthy, they are simply healthier than skipping meals constantly which is what I did for a long time):

1.- Popcorn, where I live three bags cost one euro, that's 33 cents a meal that is hot, has flavour and just needs throwing in the microwave. Perfect to stop yourself from skipping a meal.

2.- Humus. A cheap blender, preferably the type uses for making juice is honestly the best thing ever. For humus you just throw chickpeas (I always use jarred) into said blender with whatever spices you like (I usually do salt, pepper, comino and curry powder), you blend and done! It can be eaten with nachos, on toast, or just on it's own. Takes five minutes is super cheap.

3.- Eggy bread, (basically French toast without the cinnamon) you just throw some egs in a bowl, mix them, add spices, dip the bread in and throw onto the pan. Takes barely any time, good hot meal, cheapest thing ever.

4.- Toast, obviously, having just some jam at home that can be spread onto some toast is another good way to avoid skipping a meal.

5.- Porridge, oats are super cheap, you just mix them with some milk, throw in the microwave and ta-dah! I add honey because honey is super cheap here but I know some areas it's more expensive, I've also added bananas when they're in season.

6.- Roasted vegetables, the other day pumpkins were cheap so I grabbed one, cut it in half threw it in the oven and that's that. Three meals ready to go. You can do a bunch of different vegetables, add spices or don't, do whatever works for you. Fried vegetables is also good but that requires a tiny bit more attention.

7.- Salad. People underestimate salad, at home you have full control, the other day I had glass noodles with cucumber and soy sauce. It was easier to make than pot-ramen and super healthy and tasted great. Sometimes I do pasta salad by making the pasta the day before and leaving it in the fridge (usually I make a pasta meal and just set some aside), russian salad is also amazing and super cheap.

8.- Vegetarian wraps, I just buy the frozen already chopped peppers form my supermarket, I fry them with a seasoner for burritos and then throw them into some wraps, cheap quick and delicious.

9.- Cereal, this is within the toast and popcorn area, just worth having around for when depression is high.

10.- Ramen but not ramen? Obviously, the pots of ramen are really expensive if you are dirt poor, but most supermarket sell noodles and chicken broth wich is the same thing. You just boil the noodle in the broth, I usually do this until their is no broth so it's not really ramen but to each their own. Make it extra amazing by adding a few more spices and an egg. Cheap, five minutes, delicious.

11.- Carbonara or bolognaise: just spaghetti (or any other pasta it doesn't really matter), for bolognaise I do tinned tomato, some onion, some garlic (depended on the season it'll be fresh or frozen), and if I have a bit of extra cash I add meat, but mostly my meals are vegetarian. For carbonara (this isn't proper carbonara but it works) I just do cooking cream, mushrooms, sometimes onion and again, if I have the money, bacon.

12.- Pizza bread, or pizza really. Just throw some tomato, cheese and ham on a piece of bread and put it in the oven. You can add or remove ingredients. If you have the time, flour and water makes dough to do proper pizza but you need to leave it to raise and I know I rarely think that far ahead.

13.- Toad in the whole, basically you mix water, flower and egg to make a pancake like batter, add some salt, put it in an oven friendly bowl or whatever, throw in some sausages (though I've done this without the sausages plenty of times), you get a bread, pancake, kinda thing and if you added sausages the juices make it taste extra good.

BONUS DESSERT: Cartwheels, basically you buy a pack of digestive biscuits and a bad of marshmallows, you put one marshmallow on one biscuit, put in the microwave for literally 10 seconds or less, when the marshmallow expands you place the other biscuit on top and voila! Super fast, cheap because you get lots of them out of those packs, warm.

Also, if you's feeling a bit depressed hot beverages are the cheapest treat I consistently get myself, like nice teas if you count the price per cup is super cheap but makes me happy. I also have like a pot of instant caramel cappuccino and some nice hot cholate powder.

Anyway, if you're struggling right now, good luck, the world is a mess right now and we just kind of have to trudge through that mess. Feel free to add anything that helped you through hard times because everybody has their own experience.

And again, most of these are not healthy, but sometimes you're just surviving and trust me, this is so much better than fainting because you haven't eaten in too long.

Good luck.

[tiannasfanfic]

Catharsis: Chapter 3

Adrian Chase/Vigilante x Reader

Story Summary: Based on true events, a reader insert story. An abusive relationship has finally ended for reader, but the ex soon turns into a stalker. While you're trying to deal with it on your own, your coworkers can tell something is up.

Author Notes: I am posting Chapter 3 and Chapter 4 at the same time so it doesn't leave you all on an anxiety inducing cliffhanger. It gets heavy in these two chapters.

Chapter Word Count: 2,345 (Not sure how I managed that one.😆)

Tag List (comment to be added): @pansinspace @uncle-eggy

CW: Psychological abuse and stalking.

Chapter 3: (Crossposted to AO3)

It was a free weekend for the team. The last mission went off without a hitch and had wrapped up nicely, so no overtime to do additional paperwork had been needed. The debrief on the new mission wasn’t for another week, provided nothing came up between now and then. It was a rare occurrence, a free weekend followed by an easy week. Rather than make any plans together, everyone decided to do their own thing. Most Saturday evenings, the team usually went out together to their favorite hangout, O’Rourke’s Sports Bar. You hadn’t started going with them yet since the breakup, though you did plan on it once everything with your ex was finally done and settled. You didn’t go before the breakup because…well, the one time you did go, you learned it was just easier to stay at home. You ex preferred you to be at home so he could ignore you rather than you go out and possibly have fun.

On weekends when there was no team outing, everyone ended up posting to the group chat frequently throughout the day. After your first ninety days were up and you hadn’t run away screaming yet, Harcourt had added you to the 11th Street Kids chat. John explained the significance of it to you since that was before your time with them had started. That was your official herald that you were now a part of the team. Usually, you contributed to chat just as much as anyone else did. Not today though. You had been up ever since 3am that morning due to your ex texting you. Since you were technically always on call, you couldn’t put your phone on silent. He knew this and abused this knowledge. The difference this morning was, he immediately started in about getting his stuff. Not to set a day or time, though. No, of course not. Now it was, if you didn’t let him get his stuff, he would bring out the sheriff to make you give it back. He was working the angle with you now, not just to your friends, that it was YOU keeping him from getting his stuff, not the fact he just flat out would not do it. You spent several hours fighting with him over text about the whole thing. By the time the group chat started getting active as everyone was going about their day, you were silent.

Adrian noticed this. Adrian noticed a lot more than people gave him credit for and he liked to keep it that way. He had been watching you closer ever since that morning at your apartment. He didn’t know what his gut was trying to tell him, but something was off, way off, and he didn’t like it. One day, he had noticed Harcourt watching you closely, too. Harcourt had also noticed him noticing her watching you and gave a small shake of her head in his direction. He took that to mean “just keep an eye on Y/N” and gave Harcourt a thumbs up showing he understood. He had already planned on that anyway. In all reality, Harcourt actually thought Adrian was about to go bug you and was telling him not to. This ended up being a very good miscommunication later on.

After Leota sent some cute pictures of her dogs to everyone late that morning and it got absolutely no reaction from you, Adrian knew for sure something was wrong. You always, ALWAYS responded to pictures of the fur babies and the feathery baby. By the time he clocked out from his mid shift at Fennel Fields, there was still nothing from you in there. So, he sent you a text directly.

Meanwhile, you had managed to fall back asleep around eleven and slept until midafternoon. You still were living mostly upstairs aside from when you slept. That extra security of being on the couch and knowing you would instantly hear it if someone tried to get in was the only way you were getting any sleep now. Though, it had finally dawned on you that you could move your PS4 downstairs to your big TV. You could start enjoying your living room again. But, before you did that, you wanted to clean first. Plus, if your ex really did decide to show up with the sheriff, you figured it would look better for you if the house was clean.

Starting around the tv, you got through the stacks of mail that had piled up easily enough. This was a leftover of your ex’s habits. For whatever reason, he’d drop the mail on the entertainment center and wouldn’t touch it again, yet would gripe if you tried to go through it. You couldn’t even see the glass top anymore, there was so much mail piled on it. So, anything with your ex’s name got thrown away, along with any junk mail. That took care of the bulk of it. The rest of the living room, on the other hand, was a disaster you didn’t even know existed.

When you had started picking up the trash your ex had left around on the tables, you discovered hidden piles of it shoved under the couches. It was an accidental discovery. You had knocked an empty soda bottle off the table, and it went under the couch. That’s when you actually felt under the couch and realized it wasn’t the only thing under there. Empty cans, bottles, snack food packages, even bits of rotting food. No wonder the roaches had been so bad downstairs. While all apartments had roaches and yours was no exception, they had been particularly bad in the living room for months. Your ex had always blamed the neighbors. And it also explained the nasty smell you had been complaining about downstairs for months, the smell your ex also blamed on the neighbors. But no, as it turned out, the neighbors were innocent. You had just been living with a pig this entire time and didn’t realize exactly how trashy he was until now.

It was too much. Too much hit all at once.

You were laying on your bed with your eyes closed when Adrian’s text came in. Your eyes and head hurt after angry crying over the discovery. You no idea how long you had been crying for, but now you were tense and so tired. At first, you were just going to ignore the text, not knowing who it was since it was your generic text tone. Outside of group chat, you rarely texted with any of them one on one enough to merit their own tones. You didn’t especially feel like talking to anybody and intended on possibly laying there until you went back to sleep. While you didn’t like being so far away from the front door, being in the living room disgusted you now. Then another text came in. Then another. You finally looked at your phone out of curiosity and blinked, seeing another one come in, followed quickly by the last one.

“Hey Y/N! I just wanted to see if you were okay since you’ve been really quiet in chat today. You’re usually way more talkative.”

“Not like I was waiting for you to send messages to us or react to anything, which I wasn’t.”

“And I hope you didn’t take Chris seriously the other day. I totally wasn’t hitting on you! I didn’t even know you were single until he said that.”

“Sorry!”

And then the last one was three of the merman emoji. It made you crack a small smile. You let your fingers do the talking without putting any thought into what you were saying. You were too tired to lie.

“I’m not really. It’s been a bad day.”

His reply came within seconds.

“I just got off work. Do you need me to come over???”

Being alone for the evening didn’t sound appealing anymore. Not after your breakdown, at least. You missed just hanging out with people. You had way fewer friends now thanks to all of this unnecessary drama, but it was easy to think at that point you didn’t have any at all. So, you hadn’t even thought to reach out to anyone. But here was someone who still wanted to be around you. For right now, at least. Adrian didn’t think you were a terrible person or some kind of monster yet, so might as well enjoy his company while he still liked you. At this point, your mind was so beaten down you thought that would be the inevitable conclusion. All the good people leave, so you were also starting to think your ex was right and you didn’t deserve to have good people in your life. There was no doubt in your mind that Adrian was a good man. He fell into a dark gray area of morality, yes, but he was fundamentally good. And that just naturally meant he wouldn’t stick around you for too long.

You got up off the bed as you typed your response.

“Yes.”

“Be there in about an hour.”

While you waited on him, you finally went back downstairs and resumed picking up. You hadn’t gotten very far when your breakdown hit, but it seemed easier now that you knew someone was coming over. Your body went on cleaning autopilot. You had one trash bag almost full by the time Adrian got there. It is worth noting at this point that you didn’t use normal kitchen trash bags. While you had a standard sized kitchen trash can, you hated the trash bags that were the correct size. You liked the extra room and durability lawn bags provided better. So, these were the heavy duty, thirty-gallon trash bags you normally see people use while doing yard work. And you had one filled with the trash your ex had had shoved under ONE of your two couches.

Once Adrian arrived, you saw why it took him an hour to get there. Fennel Fields was only about fifteen minutes away from your place, depending on traffic. But he had stopped by his house to change out of his Fennel Fields uniform and grab his Vigilante Bag, plus he also stopped by Little Caesars. The smell of pizza and Crazy Bread reminded you that you hadn’t eaten at all that day.

“Why the Vigilante Bag?” you asked, eyeing it as he was setting the pizza down.

Adrian shrugged. “I’d rather have it and not need it than need it and not have it.”

It was sound logic. And you can’t say it didn’t add an extra layer to your relief that his presence currently brought. You knew it wasn’t only his uniform he had in that bag.

“What happened in there?” he gestured out to the living room.

“Leftovers of my ex, apparently,” you said, bitterly. “Guess he thought there was a trash can under the couch.”

Adrian got a very confused look on his face. “That’s a weird place to keep a trash can. Why would he think that?”

“No, not literally,” you said, with a small chuckle. “But he shoved all of his trash under there like there was one. I’ve found all sorts of shit under there. Candy wrappers, cans, food. Everything. Even a half-eaten taco in a Taco Bell wrapper.”

“That’s fucking disgusting,” Adrian said, wrinkling his nose.

While the two of you ate at the table, he told you about his day at the restaurant. It sounded like an average Saturday, but he told you everything in a way that made you laugh. Between that and just his company in general, the stress of the day didn’t seem so bad anymore. When Adrian asked about your day, you glossed over the argument with your ex that morning, focusing on how you were planning on cleaning, getting rid of his bad energy, and retaking back your living room. You were excited at the idea of getting to play games on your nice TV again.

Once you both had finished eating, Adrian wouldn’t take no for an answer when it came to helping you clean. You didn’t protest this time. At that point you were just ready for it to be done, no matter who did it. A little bit before ten, the trash was all bagged and in the dumpster. Between the living room, kitchen, and the downstairs half bathroom, you both had taken three and a half garbage bags of trash out of your house. And that was all trash your ex had just shoved or set in random places rather than throwing it away.

“Headed out soon for patrol?” you asked after you had vacuumed and he helped you move the last of your furniture back where it went. Except the recliner, of course.

“Nah,” he said. “I’m off tomorrow, so I planned on hanging out for a while.”

“Wanna get drunk and watch bad horror movies then?” you grinned. "I kinda want to. You can crash on my couch.”

“Sure!” Adrian seemed excited by the idea.

There wasn’t any alcohol in your house currently, so the two of you walked to the small convenience store on the corner just down the street from your place. It was a nice night, which was why you suggested walking. You used to walk up there all the time prior to being stalked. It was nice getting to do that again, just meandering around outside with no particular hurry to get anywhere. The most either of you could afford was a case of the really cheap beer, but it would still get the job done. Adrian carried it on the way back.

When you both got back to the parking lot outside our place, you noticed a white truck parked two spaces away from the Sebring. When the door of the truck opened and the person inside got out, everything suddenly clicked. You realized what you were seeing, and everything was suddenly in slow motion as your stomach felt like it hit the ground,

It was your ex getting out of the truck, and he was looking at the two of you with a look of pure, unadulterated rage.

[maine-writes]

Vonvon's Time Vacation: Part III, Winter Wonderland

Every travel brochure that features a beautiful hotel in the midst of an idyllic alpine paradise always like to emphasize the majesty of the great outdoors, the serenity of being far away from the chaos of metropolis, but all without leaving behind the conveniences and modernizations of today. Imagine taking a vacation in a tropical paradise, ostensibly to live the "island way", but with high-speed internet, cable, and a nearby familiar fast-food joint or coffee shop.

But always seem to fail to mention very obvious limitations and risks.

Such as weather.

Or the ever so rare "Trapped in a the middle of nowhere with a madman" situation that only really applies to hotels in the middle of nowhere and Airbnb.

Vonvon hurriedly scurried down a twisting hallway, flanked by storage cages made of slats of wood, locked by simply latches and a padlock. Their shoes squeaked on the cold concrete floors as they clumsily ran, occasionally glancing back down toward the other end of the hall. The grey lights of the hall flickered and buzzed, some dying entirely.

"Oh, Vonvoooonnn..." hissed a low, raspy voice. "Where are youuu?"

The child ducked around a corner, their back against the wood, clasping their mouth shut with their hand as they struggled to catch their breath. In their eyes, the dim glimmer of absolute fear.

As they peeked around the corner, peering down the hall, they saw a form slither out from the edge of the far turn.

It was a googly-eyed sock puppet, a demented smile scribbled on with red marker.

"I see you Vonnie," said the puppet, "You can't hide from me. I can hear your breath. I can smell your fear."

Vonvon scrambled to get away, running deeper into the darkest bowels of the basement. But how did they end up in this situation? How did a crazed killer get into the hotel?

It was around three in the afternoon, everyone had returned to a banquet room adjacent to the ballroom, where a staff of servers worked tirelessly to deliver their meals to them. Tonight, they were served a plate of beef bourguignon on top of garlic mashed potatoes. For dessert, they had an eggy flan with a topping of sweet, sticky caramel. Interestingly, the staff were rather short, a squat team of mostly identical looking oddballs who all seemed to be a bit dim. One notable server wore an eyepatch.

Vonvon looked around at all the empty tables, realizing that their party were the only guests in that evening. A troubling revelation when vacation.

They were just about halfway through their dessert when the lights suddenly died, only the dim afternoon light from the windows illuminating the room.

"I'm sorry, ladies and gentlemen." Said the tall front desk agent as she walked through the door. "It seems the storm has knocked out our electricity. We have a backup generator on standby, but until main power is back online, we will have to limit electrical use."

With a groan, Vonvon's party dragged their feet back to their rooms.

Vonvon flipped through the channels in their room's television set, all with the same program: static.

"Von, they said we need to limit electric use." Connie said, turning off the TV. "I'd rather not lose power to the lights early. Or heat."

"Yeah, I guess you're right." Vonvon groaned. "Some vacation this is turning out to be."

"I'm sure they'll get the power back on soon."

Then there was a knock at the door. It was Sour Cream, peeking his head in.

"Hey, you guys seen my brother?"

Another instance of Onion wandering off to stave off the boredom. Another problem to add onto the load. To help in the search, Buck, Sadie, Jenny, and Lars joined him, and now to see if either Connie or Vonvon were up for it.

"We'll stay with Steven." Connie said, "Where is he?"

"He's in his room." Jenny replied, "I think he's a bit down."

"Ok, good luck guys."

As the group went down the hall, ready for the arduous task of searching for Onion, Connie and Vonvon gathered some blankets and pillows to take to Steven's room.

"You really think a pillow fort will cheer him up?" Vonvon inquired, a stack of pillows in hand.

"Are you kidding?" Connie laughed, "He'll love it!"

"Anything to get his mind off of it, huh?"

But as Connie raised her hand to knock, the door slowly creaked open, revealing a darkness within, illuminated by the flickering light of the TV set.

"Steven?" Connie said, finding no sign of him anywhere. "We brought pillows and blankets, thought we'd make a fort."

But the only thing in the room was a sock puppet, googly-eyes glued on, lying in front of the TV.

"Ok, this is weird." Vonvon said.

"Yeah, you stay here. I'll go find him."

Vonvon was now alone in a cold, dark room, accompanied only by a sock puppet. Nothing good can come of this.

Creeped out by the noise of the static, they turned off the TV and reached for the light switch. But when the lights flipped on, they were not greeted by a warm glow, but by sinister, blood-red light. They looked around the room in horror as they saw the mad rabblings of a crazed psychopath scribbed on the walls, revealed by the crimson glow.

No play makes a boy bored.

No play makes a boy bored.

No play makes a boy bored.

Written again and again and again and again and again and again on every surface, on the mirror, on the painting, on the mattress, and spiraling on the ceiling.

As Vonvon recoiled in horror, they looked at the TV, realizing that the sock puppet that was once there, was there no longer.

"Vonvon..." hissed a voice in the walls. "Want to play a game?"

And that's how they ended up in the basement, running for their life.

"Ok, obviously Dad is stressed out." Vonvon said to themself, "Maybe he just needs a hug."

"Vonnie..." said the sinister sock. "I plan to get under your skin..."

"No hug, no hug!"

Then they came upon a fork in the hall, one leading to darkness, the other to a doorway. They chose to risk it with the door.

As they slammed the door behind them, they turned to find themself trapped in the laundry room. On the far wall, there were large machines, baskets of linen and uniforms, and a cart of cleaning supplies. Above it were a series of windows, but too small for them to crawl through.

"Vonnieeeeee..."

Vonvon pressed their ear against the wooden door, listening as heavy footsteps drifted away. A sigh of relief escaped their lungs.

Then came a loud bang against the door, shaking its hinges, and Vonvon's sigh turned into a scream.

Then came another, and another, with each strike, the child screamed in fear.

"This door's pretty solid." panted the madman, gasping for air.

"I think it's oak." Vonvon sobbed.

"Then I guess I'll just have to huff and puff on this one then."

Vonvon could hear their pursuer take a step back, winding up for a mighty swing. They withdrew from the door as an axehead chopped through the wood, screaming in terror.

Peering in through the door was the puppet, an axe beside it.

"HERE'S COOKY!"

The child backed up toward the washing machines, pulling down tables and throwing baskets of clothes and fabrics on the floor in a vain attempt to make some sort of barrier or obstruction.

They then looked up at the windows, seeing the Garnet lookalike talking on a cellphone.

"Garnet!" Vonvon screamed, "Help me! Help me!"

But all she did, seeing the child waving their arms in distress, was wave back with a smile and return to her call.

Then Vonvon remembered that they had a cellphone.

"Right, stupid scared brain!"

They quickly went through their contacts, finding Pearl's cellphone number and called.

"Pearl's phone, Garnet speaking." responded a familiar voice.

"Garnet!" Vonvon screamed, "Get down here! Your disguises suck and Dad's gone berserk! Why'd you build a whole fountain with badly disguised statues?!"

"We're in the Caribbean." Garnet stated to Vonvon's disbelief. "We thought since you guys are on vacation, we should go on one too. Amethyst rode a shark."

Vonvon looked up through the window, watching the Garnet lookalike finish up her call before walking off.

"Tell Steven we said hi." Said Garnet, Lapis and Peridot laughing loudly in the background. "And don't forget, little kids shouldn't play in laundry rooms. There are exactly 47 ways to die in those rooms."

"Yeah, and I'm in Number 47!" Vonvon yelled into the phone, "Killed by crazed Dad!"

"Vonvon, don't be silly." Garnet said. "47 is Killed by Angry Ghost. Crazed Dad is number 4."

Then she hung up.

Out of options and out of luck, Vonvon threw their phone aside, brandishing a nearby brush as a weapon.

"Back off!" Vonvon yelled, failing to be intimidating, "I have a deadly brush!"

With one final push, the door came crashing down, splintering as it hit the concrete floor. Standing in the doorway was Vonvon's relentless pursuer; Onion, the sock puppet in hand.

"ONION!!!"

"He's such a handful sometimes, isn't he?" Jenny said. "Wandering off like that."

"Sour Cream thought he went to the maze out there and got lost." Buck added, pointing at a shivering Sour Cream wrapped in bundles of blankets, his feet soaking in a bucket of warm water. "Took hours for us to find him."

"Why didn't you come to the pool?" Steven asked, "One of the staff came by after you left and said they were going to keep it heated for us if we wanted to use it."

"Hey, I want to go to the pool." Sadie said.

"That sounds like a fun time." Lars agreed, "I think we can get bathing suits through my head if Lion's with the Gems."

Vonvon was tired. They sipped quietly at a juicebox, reflecting on the traumatic events that transpired. To think, this is what Onion was like as a child. The mild mannered young man they know in the future is the exact opposite of this strange boy.

"So Vonvon," Connie began, "What do you want to do now?"

The child thought about it, not for long though. There was one thing on their mind since the time they thought they were going to die.

"Think the kitchen can make me a burger?"

@artsycooky13

[great-jenna-bake-off]

Season 3 Episode 9: Fraisier Cake

I thought working from (and spending literally all my time at) home would give me more time to bake, but then I got a puppy and my life got turned upside down. She's very cute, but man does she take up a lot of time that I could otherwise be spending baking. Or eating. So maybe it's for the best that I got a puppy.

Anyway, I finally managed to get my act together long enough to make my next bake: a Fraisier cake. We're getting toward the end of the season, so the technical bakes are getting harder and more esoteric. I have certainly never heard of a Fraisier cake, let alone eaten one, but at first glance it didn't look... that hard? It's basically a sponge cake with some creme patissiere, decorated with fresh strawberries and marzipan. How hard could that be? (Famous last words...)

https://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/fraisier_cake_75507

The first step was to make the actual cake portion of the Fraisier cake. The recipe calls for "self-raising flour", and after a few recent improvisations with less than ideal results, I decided to just shell out for the actual ingredient. However, this new strategy hit a speed bump when the recipe called for an "electric hand whisk", which, as mentioned previously, I do not own. No matter; surely I could kick it old-school and rely on my own brute strength to mix the cake ingredients by hand as they heated on the stove top.

This will definitely not create any problems for me down the line...

Editor’s Note: If you’re thinking to yourself, some of these pictures seem smaller than usual, you would be correct. If you’re also thinking to yourself, Jenna is probably too lazy to figure out how to resize them and make them consistent, you are also correct. 

According to the recipe, I would be done when the mixture had doubled in volume and was pale in color.

Looks pale to me?

Next, it was time to add the all-important self raising flour.

Gently folded in as to keep in the air that I painstakingly whipped up by hand.

And voila; cake batter was ready to go into the oven.

Looks good so far!

I thought I was off to a good start, but as soon as my cake came out of the oven, I realized I was in trouble. The recipe specifies that the cake should be about 2 inches in height, as you need to slice it in half to make two layers. Mine was... not.

It's like... half an inch, maybe?

Uh oh. Maybe that hand whisking didn't do the trick after all. Still, the cake looked reasonably tasty, so I decided to just move on and start my creme patissiere. First, I had to boil my milk and vanilla pod.

This smelled really nice.

Then it was time for some more whisking: this time of eggs, cornflour, sugar, and kirsch, which is a cherry-flavored brandy.

Fun fact: kirsch is pretty disgusting on its own. Wilson volunteered to drink what I didn't use in this recipe, which was fine by me as it tasted like nail polish remover. Do not recommend.

Finally, I had to whisk the egg mixture and the hot milk together.

My whisking arm is getting a workout today.

Then, I needed to put the mixture back on the stove and watch it very carefully, as in about four minutes the mixture would thicken very quickly. Well, four minutes came and went, and nothing happened. I diligently kept my eye on it, but it definitely did not appear to be approaching a texture that was "thick enough to pipe", per the recipe.

Nothing happening yet...

So finally, I committed a cardinal GBBO sin. I took my eye off the stove for JUST A MINUTE to wash the dishes. And when I came back, my creme patissiere had turned into this:

Uh oh.

I have never made a creme patissiere before. But I have eaten it, and I know it's not supposed to be THIS thick. It's supposed to be velvety and creamy and delicious, while this was more of an... eggy gloop? But hey, it was certainly thick enough to pipe. Maybe the next step of adding butter would help.

Spoiler alert: it didn’t!

So my creme patissiere looked like mashed potatoes. If I were on the show, this is where I would realize I had gone horribly wrong and would toss this creme in the bin before starting over. But, given that I would not actually be serving my food to Paul and Mary, I decided to soldier on. After all, at least my creme was thick enough to pipe. Maybe this was what I was supposed to do after all? So I stuck the creme patissiere in the fridge to cool and crossed my fingers that I would somehow have a delicious, smooth creme when it came out.

Maybe this doesn’t look so bad??

The final step before assembly was to make a lemon syrup, which thankfully was pretty simple after all the missteps I’d already made in this recipe. However, I soon found myself facing another problem: I needed to roll out a layer of marzipan to put on top of my cake, but I had left my rolling pin at Wilson’s house (we made a chicken pie). Luckily, I had a substitute:

When in doubt, break out the wine.

And hey, it actually did the trick.

Who needs a rolling pin?

Finally, it was time to put my cake together. First, I faced the problem of slicing my extremely thin sponge into to layers. I took a deep breath and hoped for the best...

Not actually that terrible.

With some creative construction work, I was able to get two fairly even layers.

No one will ever know.

And now, it was time to stack. In an ideal world, I would have had a strip of acetate plastic to line my springform pan with and had a beautiful, clean surface to work on. But I didn’t even have a rolling pin handy; obviously I don’t have acetate lining around. So plastic wrap would have to do.

If it works, it works.

Then it was time to turn my attention to my strawberries. I picked out the prettiest, most evenly sized ones I could find, and halved them.

At least these turned out pretty. 

And then, it was construction time. First, I put in a layer of cake, brushed it with lemon syrup (my pastry brush was also at Wilson’s, so really I spooned on the syrup), and then added a “little crown of strawberries”, as per the recipe.

Regal.

Next, it was time to see if my creme patissiere had magically transformed into the right texture in the fridge.

Nope, still lumpy. But at least it was pretty solid...?

I added some more chopped strawberries on top.

At least the strawberries will taste good.

Then it was time for the rest of my “creme patissiere”, if you can even call it that at this point.

So lumpy. 

And then finally, I put on the other half of the cake, spooned over some more syrup, and topped it off with my marzipan. The recipe specified that I should melt some chocolate and make “pretty” decorations, and honestly I kind of wanted to call it a day given all my struggles and just forgo the chocolate. But in the spirit of the competition, I gave it a go anyway:

There is no design to this chocolate, this is the epitome of winging it.

I left the whole godforsaken mess to cool in the fridge overnight. In the meantime, it was time to check in with the bakers to see if they’d fare any better than I did with this Fraisier cake.

***

Mel starts off by referring to a Fraisier cake as a well-known celebration cake, which is certainly news to me.

Must be more popular in the UK, I guess.

The bakers start off by making a genoise sponge, and surprisingly, James chooses to whisk his by hand as well.

Dedication.

However, after seeing Dani’s batter, I can see that I have clearly not even come close to whipping mine for long enough.

This explains the lack of volume in my cake, I guess.

Dani struggles with the creme patissiere, though - she says that hers has “cellulite”.

It’s lumpy like mine, but I never thought to sieve it. 

As always, James seems to know exactly what to do.

Such smooth creme. 

All the bakers, however, struggle with setting up the acetate.

This makes me feel better about my plastic wrapped cake.

When it comes time to assemble, I can see that my creme is indeed thicker than the bakers’, even Dani’s.

Much more pipeable.

However, this may not be such a bad thing after all - Dani’s cake starts falling apart as soon as she takes it out of the pan, as the creme isn’t set.

Melty cake is never a positive.

In the end, James takes home the gold in yet another technical, with a perfectly risen sponge and a nicely set creme patissiere. 

That does look pretty celebratory.

***

It was time for the grand unveiling of my own cake. Would my thin cakes and lumpy creme prove to be my downfall?

First, here’s Mary’s perfect Fraisier:

And here’s mine, complete with chocolate decor:

You can definitely see that the creme isn’t the perfect smooth texture, and my bottom cake especially is a little narrow. But maybe it’s not quite so far off? As always, my judges would be the final arbiters. 

***

Matt’s Review: I get the sense that, as time goes on, the bakes are getting harder and harder to transport. So upon Jenna’s arrival I was already impressed that the cake was holding together as well as it did. And that turned out to be important, because the pairing of the layers was the key to this one. I’m always impressed when a food can take a flavor I normally don’t like and recontextualize it in such a way that I become a fan. In this case, that flavor is almond. I really struggle with that flavor normally, and this bake doesn’t disguise it at all. Instead, it pairs it perfectly with the other layers. I think Jenna did an excellent job with all the ratios — this could easily have become a “dislike” for me, but instead it was a joy to eat. All in all, two thumbs up. The cake, and Jenna, made my quarantine a little sweeter. 

Wilson’s Review: Well, the consistency is a little off on the creme patissiere. That can be a bit tricky, but the cake is a bit flat, looks like something went wrong with the mixing. Really should be past those kind of errors by now. I like strawberries, and the chocolate added an element of richness that contrasted brilliantly. As for the sponge, while not the prettiest I’ve ever seen, it does taste good - nice and airy. Overall a nice treat for a mid summer snack, once one gets past the first impression.

***

Final Thoughts: The creme patissiere was definitely a bit eggy, which was less than ideal. But all in all, this cake tasted pretty good and looked pretty fancy. The cake layers still felt airy and yummy even though they were thin, and the fresh fruit made for a nice treat. I will absolutely need to practice my creme patissiere though, and remember to NEVER take my eye off the stove. Rookie mistake. 

[keelywolfe]

FIC: Can’t Go On, Thinking Nothing’s Wrong

Summary:  Rus’s sparkle is becoming a firecracker, the Fell Brothers still aren’t talking, and Red is a Grand High Poobah. Just another day in Rus’s life since he got knocked up.

Tags: Spicyhoney, Brotherly Relationships, Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Pregnancy

Notes: Why does this happen to me? Guess it’s a series now, here we go. 

Just quick, thank you SO much for all your comments everyone. I’m going to reply to them eventually, but I’m having some pain issues right now. I can reply to comments or I can write, and I went with write. So, I SUPER appreciate them and I love them, and I will reply when I can. ^_^

Warning: There is what could possibly be a discussion about miscarriage but nothing like that actually happens.

What Will Be, Will Be

Something To Say, But Nothing Comes

~~*~~

Read it on AO3

or

Read it here!

~~*~~

Not that long ago, Rus would’ve said he knew what tired felt like. Tired was always dogging after him, dragging him down into impromptu naps and through exhausted days while his piddling HP soaked up any rest it could, keeping him afloat.

But the past few weeks had taught him a new definition of the word and the only good thing about it was that this time, no one was griping at him to get his lazy butt out of bed.

Oh, yeah, and there was gonna be a baby eventually, that was nice, too.

Rus had a sneaking suspicion that the tired wasn’t gonna end with the skitten putting in an appearance. Probably learn a new definition of it, though.

Anyway, there was also the added perk that his brother no longer came in to wake him up in the morning for sentry duty. Alphys was a tough chickie, but she had a soft, gooey center for baby Monsters, skitten or otherwise. She immediately put him off work until the baby decided to show up before putting in a demand for some babysitting time. The way things were going, Rus was gonna have to come up with a duty log or something if he ever wanted a chance to hold his own kid.

Behind Rus, the mattress creaked as the bed shifted and, oh, right. That was another change, wasn’t it. For starters, his mattress had been upgraded to a bed frame scavenged from the dump. Not so much for the skitten, but because Edge refused to keep sleeping on the floor, like a no-account vagabond, was how he put it.

Rus sort of thought he should be offended by that, but, eh, the new bed came with perks. Namely, it usually came with an Edge included in the nighttime hours, big and cozy warm, and a helluva lot more cuddly than their previous visits led Rus to believe.

It was just a damn shame that morning came so early when Edge stayed over,

The bed creaked again. “I need to go.”

“mm hmm,” Rus mumbled. He wasn’t ready to commit to actually being awake, but he had enough going for him to be sleepily waiting for what came next. He was not disappointed.

First, a kiss on top of his skull. Very soft, a butterfly’s breath of a touch. Hesitant, not really sure of its welcome, but every morning that it wasn’t rejected upped the odds that tomorrow might bring another one.

Next came the one right over his sternum and this one was more confident, sure. Today Edge added a new layer, murmuring softly, “Be good, baby.”

Yeah, okay, Monsters didn’t exactly get hormones when they were knocked up, but Rus was just about to weep at how precious that was. Better to pretend he somehow didn’t notice. Edge got all flustered and blushy when Rus teased him and as cute as that was, Rus also didn’t want him to stop.

He didn’t want to say that upcoming parenthood was softening Edge up in seriously unexpected ways, but damn if it wasn’t. Hell, he’d pretty much accepted that Edge was giving all he could before with the occasional one-night stand, and that was okay, you know? Rus didn’t take it personal, was what it was. He’d gotten a few glimpses of Underhell...er...Fell, he saw where Edge and Red were coming from and if part of him desperately craved more, then that was his problem because Edge never promised him anything but orgasms.

Turned out that beneath that hard, boney shell Edge had a gooey center of his own and with a little spark to smooth the way, Edge was becoming the best sort of cuddle Monster.

Yeah, Rus could get used to this. He kinda hoped he’d have the chance and it wouldn’t dry up once the kid was here.

The sound of the bedroom door quietly closing was a sign that it was time to go back to sleep and when Rus woke up again, he could see the bright, artificial light coming around the curtains.

His phone buzzed again; that was what woke him up the first time, and Rus groaned loudly, not bothering to look at the text. He already knew who it was from and he also knew they were turning him into a crazy person because they were from a crazy person who was probably already inside the house.

In the end, he looked at it anyway because he couldn’t not look at it. It said exactly the same thing as yesterday. And the day before. And the day before that.

need to get down here and eat

Yeah, Captain Obvious, it was about the time his hunger started warring with the whole tired thing, he didn’t really need a wakeup call. But since he had one, Rus went ahead and gave in, kicking the blankets to the end of the bed and hauling himself upright.

He yanked on his bathrobe over his pajamas, leaving it hanging open as he wandered downstairs. The gargoyle currently slouched on his sofa was getting to be a common sight, too.

“morning,” Red didn’t look up from his phone. “your bro left breakfast for you on the table.”

Even Red’s grouchy mug wasn’t enough to dim his appetite and Rus’s shuffle got a bit of a lift as he headed over to the covered plate. Toast soaked in butter, richly browned sausages, glistening eggs. Even a bowl of oatmeal swimming with a generous amount of honey, with a tall glass of orange juice to wash it down. Twice and then some what he would’ve eaten before and Rus dug in as if it might make a break for it if he looked away.

He piled most of it on a toast slice in a messy sort of sandwich and took a happy bite. Around a mouthful of eggy toast, Rus mumbled, “you know, you don’t need to come over every day.”

Blue and Edge woulda had some words to say about his manners, some more profane than others. Red was his sort of guy and spoke ‘full mouth’ fluently. His pissiness, on the other hand, was more a character flaw than anything Rus did to earn wrath.

“yeah, and you don’t need to tell me what to do but here we are,” Red grumbled. “boss’s gotta patrol. your bro has training. i’m the only one who can hang around.”

“uh huh.” Telling him that Rus didn’t need anyone hanging around probably wasn’t gonna go over well, or it least it wasn’t gonna do much good. Red had assigned himself as the Grand Poobah of Overprotectiveness and Rus was gonna have to roll with it.

Probably wouldn’t be too much longer, anyway. The little spark was growing quickly. Already it had gone from a twinkling to a firecracker, much faster than expected. He’d always had an overabundance of magic and according to Undyne, the souling was happily gorging on it. That was why he was so damned sleepy and right now he’d nod off about anywhere. Which, okay, he did that before but these days Blue only shook his head indulgently and sometimes tucked a blanket around him.

For some reason he was feeling a little more energized today, so after he dumped his plate in the sink, then went back to rinse it off so he didn’t get ‘The Lecture, Now In Stereo’, Rus went upstairs and put on actual clothes instead of standing by his previous declaration that pajamas were good for all occasions.

That was enough of a program change to get Red to look up from his Candy Crush or whatever the hell he was engrossed in. “what are you doing?”

“going for a walk.” Rus told him as he stepped into his untied shoes. Then, more grudgingly, “you coming?”

The answer was obviously some version of yes, but the expected bitching and moaning didn't come. Red only hopped up and put on his shoes, double-knotting the laces before he went over and did the same to Rus’s sneakers, ignoring his exasperated sigh.

Red didn’t ask before practically leaping in front of Rus to make sure he was first out the door. He looked around like he was expecting a sneak attack from the garage or maybe an ambush from the Librarby, books lunging out with nefarious deeds already written on their pages.

When neither of those scenarios manifested, Red seemed to decide it was safe enough for a stroll. Rus pushed past him impatiently and headed for Waterfall.

“your bro is out in the woods,” Red puffed out, jogging to catch up with Rus’s long legs.

“yep. which is why i’m taking a walk in waterfall. got a problem with that?” Because if he did, Rus’s easygoing attitude was about to bypass the lighthouse and crash into the rocks.

Red only shrugged. “nah. some exercise is good for the kidlet.”

“Kidlet?” Rus made a face, “i was gonna stick with skitten.”

Red stopped in his tracks, horror flitting over his expression, “skitten?”

“yeah, you know. skeleton kitten. a skitten.”

Red scrubbed a hand over his face and shook his head as he started trudging after Rus again. “i tried to tell the boss something was wrong with you.”

“i bet you did.” Rus said agreeably. “i mean, there are, so many things. probably hard to pick one.” It was true. He had a list.

But if Red was gonna drag that out of the shadows and into the light of day, Rus would like to point out that whatever was wrong with him wasn’t as bad as what was currently wrong with the Fell brothers. Didn’t take a genius to notice that as soon as Edge came back to Underswap from patrol or training, Red took off, usually with a grunt for Rus or Blue, but always without a word to Edge. It was like as soon as Red passed the little souling torch over to his brother, Red was out.

Rus was starting to feel like the ball in the Underground’s most boring game of ping pong.

Of course, it was really their business, not Rus’s at all. Like he was up to giving any advice about relationships, considering he and Edge hadn’t even gotten around to slapping a label on theirs? Right. He should stay out of it and let them work it out.

Except, Rus didn’t give two hurty squirty shits about that because it was really starting to get on his nerves. Edge was supposed to show up here and spend his time looking all adorable about upcoming parenthood, possibly (hopefully) tossing a promising look at Rus from time to time. He was not supposed to be moping around soulbruised because his brother was a dick. Which, okay, Red was always a dick, but he could be less of one.

Around the path, the snowdrifts began to trail away, the air around them slowly warming as it shifted to a gentle trickle of constant rain. A change of scenery called for a change of conversation, and fuck it, Rus was up for a challenge. “so, you ever gonna stop being pissy with edge?”

“no.”

Well, at least Red wasn’t going to pretend everything was a-ho k-ho. “it’s because of the kid, isn’t it.”

Okay, yeah, he probably deserved that particular derisive snort.

The damp was starting to creep in through his shoes, making them squeak against his bony feet. “you aren’t pissy with me,” Rus pointed out. “why? takes two to jitterbug, yeah?”

“yeah, but he’s not supposed to be the stupid one.”

It took a second for that to click. “…hey!”

Rus reached out and gave Red a shove, cause he might as well enjoy it while Red wouldn’t push him back. “seriously, though, he’s really upset about it, i can tell, you should--”

“stay in your lane, honey bun.” The words were gently said, but the warning in it was clear.

Welp, he’d tried. Mark that notch on the board and maybe tomorrow would be a better day.

“kinda hard right now, feel like i’m swerving all over the place.” Up ahead was one of the larger pools of water and Rus stopped at the edge and sat on the damp ground. After a fierce struggle with Red’s knots, he pulled off his shoes and rolled up his pant legs, scooting up to dip his feet into the cool water.

Next to him, Red did the same thing, tucking his socks deeply into his sneakers before sitting next to Rus. Their height difference wasn’t quite as obvious sitting down since Rus lost the advantage of his gangly legs.

Rus gave Red’s foot a nudge under the water with his toes and asked slyly, “how are you gonna protect me from the cave ninjas in your bare feet?”

Because he was a shit, Red scowled deeply and started to stand. Rus grabbed his arm to keep him still.

“stay put, you pine cone. we both know you could probably murder someone while you were bareass. Not that you’re gonna need to, thanks.”

“be a hell of a last sight before ya dusted, though.”

“thanks, i was looking for a good excuse to bleach my mind.”

The cool water felt good, soothing. His joints were a little achy lately, especially in his feet. From the magic drain, according to Undyne. Thinking of...“i’m supposed to see undyne tomorrow for another checkup. she wants to measure the souling, see if she can give me a guess-tament on when it’ll descend.”

Red grunted, noncommittal. Rude. Rus was trying to give him a heads up on the agenda for tomorrow. Chances were Edge would want to tag along, but if he couldn’t, he didn’t want Red grumbling about having to take a trip to hotland. Though he probably wouldn’t anyway, Red was being weird about all of this, everything, and Rus didn’t much want to guess at why.

But the silence was drawing out and at last, Rus went ahead and asked the question that'd been bugging him most. “do you want to see it?”

“see what?”

“my tits,” Rus said exasperatedly. “the souling, what else?”

Because for all his protectiveness, Red was the only person who knew that hadn’t asked for a quick peek. Not that Rus minded; he was perfectly happy to show off his little spark and now that it was bigger, it was starting to look like an actual soul, not a little blob of light. Edge was practically trying to commune with it on a daily basis, cuddling up close so he could stare through Rus’s rib cage or pressing his skull against Rus’s sternum and listening to its quick-quick little throb, barely audible over the pulse of his own soul.

Red seemed to be giving the question a lot more consideration than Rus thought should be necessary for a quick glimpse at a souling. The legs of his shorts were too close to the water and they were getting soaked, made worse when he kicked his feet and sent a little wave to splash back at them.

At last, Red gave a little shrug and said, “nah.”

Hm. Rus didn’t press, lifting a foot out of the water and watched the trickles fall from his boney metatarsals. Not far away were a few echo flowers, their words unintelligible, but their glow lighting the walls with an almost eerie blue.

Rus was about to suggest they head back to see if lunch miraculously appeared while they were gone when Red asked, low, “can you feel it yet?”

“feel it?” Rus asked dubiously. He rubbed his fingertips over his sternum, right above where his soul hovered with his own little echo circling around it. “maybe? sometimes it does feel warmer in there--”

“no,” Red shook his head and his words were tight, grated out, “when it gets close to descending, you should kinda feel it. it’s a full soul right next to your own, ain’t it? but not like soul joining, there’s no real thoughts or anything. just emotions. like...like getting touched with happiness.”

“not yet,” Rus said softly. His voice reverberated faintly, and he wondered if the echo flowers would claim it. “must be too small still.”

Red nodded jerkily and fell silent.

There was a fuckton of questions springing up around that, but Rus didn’t ask any of them. They sat there a while longer together, and if the silence wasn't exactly comfortable, it wasn’t bad, either. Eventually, Rus flopped back to lay in the cool grass, still paddling softly with his feet. The water dripping down into his sockets was weird but not unpleasant. He didn’t remember falling asleep, didn’t know how he got back home to be lying on their sofa, and he definitely didn’t want to know how he ended up in fresh, dry clothes.

What he did know was that Edge was in the living room with him, still pulling off his boots, and Red was nowhere to be seen.

“you look tired,” Rus said. Which, was the truth, but he winced a little belatedly at having said it like that. He was always a little off his game when he woke up and lately, that seemed like always.

Edge replied, curtly. “Today was...difficult.”

He didn’t elaborate and Rus didn’t ask.

“well, hey, come lay down until dinner is ready.” The sounds coming from the kitchen were a pretty good sign that Blue was already in there, whipping up something delicious. And when it looked like Edge was going to argue, because of course he would think he needed to toss on a chef’s hat after an already long day, Rus said lightly. “undyne was just telling me that frequent proximity of the other soulsharer is good for the little firecracker.”

Sure, that was a blatant lie, but Rus thought it was for a good cause. Edge faltered, his eye lights straying to the kitchen, but in the end, it was too much of a good thing to resist. Edge settled down next to him, moving immediately and unashamedly into Rus’s personal space, already prepared to start trying to commune with their little spark. Talking to it, humming little songs, even summoning his own soul so that he could offer a taste of the emotions bubbling in him and yeah, that overflowing love wasn’t for Rus, but feeling it so close to his soul brought tears to his sockets, maybe someday...maybe…?

Almost, Rus thought he might have felt something, a tiny, sweet little echo of emotion, but he couldn’t be sure.

Soon, it’d be soon. He hoped. Rus was really looking forward to getting touched with a little happiness.

tbc

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[27snakesinatrenchcoat]

I decided to give Luna a break from the epsom salt while I changed her diet. Today I gave her another soak and she pooped! Its white but not stringy, actually pretty chunky. I fed her a bit of pea to help flush anything else out and she's slowly getting better at eating the daphnia, even though I have to net her. I'm hoping the color will come back once I start adding the protein (pellets and bloodworms) back in. She's been on a daphnia diet with just a bit of flake for protein for about a week, and I gave her one little pellet today after her bath.

At this point I think she is definitely eggy and suffering from a bit of constipation on top of it. I'm a bit worried about the egg part, mainly because there's nothing I can do and I really don't want to see her get sick from holding them and not reabsorbing. She's still in good spirits and is eager to eat so thats a good sign. I did notice she was resting a bit more that usual today so I'm keeping an eye on her in case she suddenly takes a turn for the worse :(

Fingers crossed that she'll bounce back and lose that bloat soon.

[thisbitchinthecorner]

1980 Day 14- Eggnog

It’s getting real between our angel and demon!! For @drawlight

1980

Crowley had grown his hair long again, not as long as it had been in the past, but long enough where it swept his shoulders when he turned his head and shook when he laughed; strands of vibrant crimson that fluttered like feathers in the wind as he walked down the street.

Aziraphale had always found Crowley’s hair lovely, but never more beautiful than how the long locks framed his angles of face. So when that telltale flash of red caught his eye as it entered the bookshop, he couldn’t help but smile.

“Hello angel! Closing early again today?” Crowley flashed a devilish grin as he locked the doors behind him with a snap.

“Suppose I am now.” Aziraphale rolled his eyes. “You’ve changed your hair again.”

“You don’t like it?”

“I didn’t say that! I rather like your hair long, it was that ridiculous mustache that was just ghastly. Made you look like one of those..” Aziraphale fumbled for words. “Patrons of that shop next door.”

“Yes, well at least I change my appearance to keep up with the times. Think I would discorporate on sight if you were to grow out your hair.”

“What’s wrong with the way my hair is now? Too much fuss for me to change it.”

“Too much fuss for you?” Crowley laughed. “You’re the fussiest being that has ever existed. Anyway, I brought you an early Christmas present. How do you feel about some spiced rum?” The demon didn’t wait for a response before opening the bottle and grabbing 2 cups from the sitting table in the center of the shop.

“That will pair well with the eggnog I purchased from the market. Been waiting for an occasion to drink it.”

“Make mine with more rum than nog. Not a fan of that frothy eggy mess.”

“Would it help if I added more cinnamon, my dear?”

“Sounds delicious angel.” Crowley snapped his fingers and the sounds of the latest New Wave band filled the space.

“You know full well that I don’t care for that bebop.” Aziraphale snapped his fingers and

Tchaikovsky’s score to The Nutcracker replaced the modern music.

“Feeling sentimental?” Crowley turned away quickly, blushing with the memory of the last time they watched the ballet together.

“I am glad you’re here though, there is a small matter I’ve been meaning to discuss with you.”

Aziraphale said as he passed the demon his drink.

“Oh?”

“Seems I’m meant to go to Greece soon and persuade them to join this new European group thingy. Seeing how my last go round in Greece ended in, well...”

“A huge fire and the downfall of an emperor?”

“Oh come now! That wasn’t all my fault. I mean, how was I to know that telling Nero to build a house of God would lead to him setting damn near everything on fire.”

“It does when I told him to build a house of gold instead.” Crowley muttered under his breath.

“I was hoping you might, you know.” Aziraphale pouted, his eyes widened as he pursed his lips; knowing full well that Crowley would never say no to him.

“Alright. I’ll do this one for you. But you owe me.”

“Oh thank you.” The angel smiled warmly, his eyes glancing at the demon.

“Bah! Just pour me another glass of rum, angel.”

They continued to drink, when something outside caught their attention. Some manner of fight had broken out in the street, and a group of boys were kicking and punching a young man.

“Oy! That’s enough!” Crowley hollered from the bookshop’s doorway.

“Piss off!” One of the younger boys shouted back.

Crowley straighten his back as he took a step on to the sidewalk. Aziraphale grabbed his shoulder, holding him back.

“I say, leave that man alone.” Aziraphale called to them, and the boys stopped.

There were 3 of them; the elder stood up and shouted. “Next time, I’m coming for you, you fat fucking pansy!” His dark eyes filled with a hateful malice, despite being no older than 15, there was already a darkness surrounding his soul. A darkness that gave Crowley, demon of Hell, cause to fear. A shudder ran down his spine as he locked eyes with the boy.

Don’t ever threaten my angel, it will be the last thing you do.

Aziraphale looked at Crowley with confusion. “Fat? Pansy?” But he wasn’t concerned with the kids, his only concern was for the battered man lying in the street. Aziraphale ran to him, and helped him up slowly, he was bleeding from a wound to his head. Aziraphale snapped his fingers, and the young man was healed, no longer unsteady on his feet and no longer bleeding. “There, there, no real damage. You hurry home now.” The angel said softly as the man ran away.

“What do you suppose that was all about?” Aziraphale asked with genuine curiosity.

“Evil lurks in this world, angel. Those boys are trouble. Best watch yourself, he did just threaten you.”

“Lots of people have threatened me, Crowley. That never works out well them.” Aziraphale chided, but the demon was not swayed from his concern.

“I mean it, I don’t like how those kids looked at you. Promise me you will be careful.” Crowley pleaded.

Something in Crowley’s voice told him that the demon was frightened, an emotion that Crowley rarely ever showed.

“I’ll make sure I keep my eyes open, dear.” He soothed. “Crowley, are you alright?”

“I don’t want anything to happen to you.” Crowley whispered, surprised by his own reaction to the threat.

Aziraphale stood up and walked over to the demon, he carefully removed his glasses. “Crowley, look at me. I will be fine. No kids are going to hurt me, believe me, I can handle myself.”

Crowley said nothing, he continued to stare into the angel’s eyes; soft, pale blue eyes filled with light. Aziraphale did something most unexpected, he wrapped his arms around him, pulling him close, against his body and holding him tightly. The angel rested his head on his shoulder, and he allowed himself to relax; to return the embrace, to revel in the soft curves of the angel’s stomach and breathe in his scent. This was the closest they had ever been, standing together in a warm embrace.

Just as quickly as it began, it was over. Aziraphale pulled away first, his fingers fidgeted nervously as he waited for the demon to say something- anything.

Neither had words, the swell of the music filled the room; the Grande Pas de Deux began and both released a sigh of delight.

“Do you remember the night we went to this ballet?” Aziraphale asked quietly.

“Yes.” Crowley replied.

“It was a beautiful night. Wasn’t it?”

“It was, angel. It was.”

“Crowley,” Aziraphale began to speak, what he wanted to ask was on the tip of his tongue; the words were so close to spilling out of him, and he knew with certainty that all he needed to do was ask, and the demon would accept. What harm could one dance do? He thought to himself. As soon as the thought entered his mind, the grip of fear took root. Harm would most certainly happen, harm would come to Crowley, and he simply could not allow that to happen.

“Yes, angel?”

“Care for another drink?” He sighed, noting how the demon’s shoulders fell a bit.

“Of course.”

They sat in silence, neither able to say what they truly wanted, neither knowing how far to push the issue and neither wanting to cause the other harm.

“I suppose I’m feeling sentimental tonight too.” Crowley said as he set his drink down on the table. “Perhaps it’s the alcohol.”

“You could stay, if you’d like. Rest here, sleep off the rum and leave in the morning.” Aziraphale offered before he considered the consequences.

Crowley wanted to accept, but he knew better. They had already gotten closer than they had ever been before, that alone filled him with unbridled joy and crippling fear. “I’m afraid I can’t. Lots of work to do tomorrow. Temptations and such. Plus, I’ll have to make a trip to Greece, and that’s always nice this time of year.”

Aziraphale felt both relieved and disappointed. “Very well, but before you go, I have a little something for you.” The angel headed to his desk and produced a brightly wrapped box. “It’s not much, but....”

“Aziraphale, I told you not to doubt yourself.” Crowley smiled as he unwrapped the gift: a golden hair clip in the form of a snake, with a ruby for an eye.

“It was a pin, but I asked the jeweler to make it so you can wear it in your hair, seeing how it’s long again, seems I made the right choice.” Aziraphale said sweetly.

“I love it.” Crowley was heartfelt in his reply. “Truly, I do.”

“Mind how you go, my dear.” Aziraphale handed him his coat, trying not to show that he was reluctant to see the demon leave.

“Happy Christmas Aziraphale.”

“Happy Christmas Crowley.”

“And angel, please be careful.” Crowley turned and walked towards the Bentley. He sat in the car and attempted to process everything that had transpired that evening. A threat, a hug, an offer and a gift. He could scarcely start the car due to his trembling hands. He held me. Closer than we have ever been. He reached for me, and he held me.

He could hardly contain himself as he made his way home. The pallid light of his flat was a stark contrast against the illuminating glow of the bookshop. Crowley made his way to his bedroom and opened the chest where he kept his greatest treasures; he looked at all the times inside, and smiled. He held the serpent hair pin to his lips and pressed a kiss against the golden gift. Someday, I will share all of this with you. He says to himself. That day is coming soon. He pins the serpent clip into his hair and admirers it in the mirror. Soon, my love, soon.

[maneaterwithtail]

I was answered TWICE in this Q&A

Helps also put in perspective their production, aims, and the influences

Helps as really unpacking along with @pirateshenani and @cartoonemotion the influence and differences and aims with the adaptation

Thanks to all the Toonzone Forum Members for submitting questions to the Fangbone! Fan Q&A! Your questions were awesome and so were the creators’ answers! We hope you enjoy reading through the answers as much as we did. Participating in the Answers portion of the Fangbone! Q&A were the creator and book series writer, Michael Rex and the tv showrunners Simon Racioppa and Richard Elliott. (Editor’s Note: Questions asked were edited for brevity and clarity.) Will Fangbone! be renewed for Season 2? (superkeegan9100 and SparkleMan) Simon Racioppa and Richard Elliott: By Grom’s bottomless dimples, it shall be so! (we hope) Michael Rex: Fingers crossed! --- Will Fangbone! air on any additional countries, networks and in other languages? (Ryan, RandomMe, NeoplanDan, I.R. Shokew) Simon Racioppa and Richard Elliott: Absolutely. Fangbone! will appear across the world in a multitude of tongues in a multitude of places – that are too numerous for us to list (or remember). Perhaps one of our many traveling salespeople who criss-cross the world with a suitcase full of Fangbone! might chime in here… In all seriousness, Fangbone! Distributor DHX Media, has currently sold the series into Disney XD US, South East Asia, Taiwan, and Latin America. Hope to announce additional countries in the near future. Stay posted. Will the books be translated into other languages? In what other languages/regions can we expect to see the books published? (RandomMe) Michael Rex:Right now, there are no plans for translating the books. I’m hoping as the show starts playing in different countries, the publisher, Putnam, will solicit the books to foreign markets. --- If you could be one of the characters on the show, who would you be? (D-nice is the man) Simon Racioppa: Drool’s giant badger monster. He’s clearly just misunderstood and trying his best every day for an unappreciative master… Richard Elliott: I would definitely be a Shadowstepper – skulking in the shadows and outwitting barbarians sounds like a good time to me. Michael Rex:I’ve always thought of myself as Bill. At the end of 3rd grade, my school closed down, and I was sent to a new school. Literally all of my closest friends went to another school. So, when 4th grade started, I was very lonely and desperate for a best friend. Eventually, a boy named Mark moved into my hometown in New Jersey, and we became great friends. He was fun, and a bit wild, and had long black hair. We’re still friends today. Will Fangbone! have Christmas and Halloween episodes? (Ryan) Simon Racioppa and Richard Elliott: Skullbanians don’t celebrate Christmas or Halloween. But they do have many other holidays – like Troll-smasher’s Eve and The Feast of Stoneback’s Feast. Endless possibilities for fun and adventure as you look at, compare and try to understand how Skullbanian’s celebrate versus how we do things here on Earth. What would Fangbone! think of Halloween? What would a Holiday Tree look like in Skullbania? Stay tuned. --- Does Fangbone! have parents? (Eggy) Simon Racioppa and Richard Elliott: He has the mightiest of parents! But they are away in far off lands on an epic quest. However, those of you with the eyes of a blood-eagle may catch a glimpse of them in an upcoming episode. If you do not have the eyes of a blood-eagle, they nest on sharp mountain peaks. But be careful – they peck! Michael Rex:Yes. They’re on a great quest somewhere in Skullbania. Also, how did Venomous Drool become Fangbone! and Bill's worst enemy? (Eggy) Simon Racioppa and Richard Elliott: If someone was keeping your detached big toe from you and wouldn’t give it back, you probably wouldn’t be pals with them either… Michael Rex:They’ve got his toe, and he needs it back. And, they keep beating him, and they’re only kids. It drives him nuts. --- How do you take an episode from concept to it airing? (martikhoras) Simon Racioppa and Richard Elliott: Let us explain… No, there is too much. Let us sum up. First, five or six NERDS gather in a small room and try to imagine what insanity could happen to Fangbone! this week. They argue and fight and cry and hiss at each other until the showrunners (that’s us!) are satisfied they’ve worked their butts off to come up with the best of all possible stories in the universe and beyond. They’re sent away to dank dark holes to write their scripts, which are then torn apart by the rest of the nerds and reassembled until they’re so full of adventure and comedy that they leak all over the floor. Then trumpets are sounded and ACTORS assembled in a recording studio – where they ACT with such passion it drives everyone to tears (of joy). At the same time, ARTISTS design all the new locations, characters, and props that the writers say they desperately need (liars!) to make their script work. Then trumpets are sounded again and the finished script, designs, and recorded actors are handed over to a story-bored artist… Sorry, story BOARD artist – who listens to the writers explain how amazing their script is, then drinks enormous amounts of coffee and draws PANELS from the script one by one, matching the recorded actors and making that ‘amazing’ ‘script’ and ‘amazing’ ‘acting’ even better. Those panels go to the DIRECTOR, who along with an EDITOR, assemble it into an animated and voiced storyboard that we call a LEICA on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays, and an ANIMATIC on Tuesdays, Fridays, and the weekend. When the animatic/leica makes everyone giddy with excitement, it moves onto ANIMATION, where thousands (twenty-five) animators fight each other to animate the most exiting scenes – matching the animatic as closely as possible. The episode gets a few more passes to make it even better (fix all the mistakes) and then moves on to the real stars of the show – sound effects and music – who make everything approximately one million and a half times better. Then it’s a final pass for last minute mistakes and TA-DA! One finished Fangbone! episode ready for people to share for free on the Internet (please don’t share it for free on the Internet). What are your favorite parts of the show’s creative process? (Harley) Simon Racioppa and Richard Elliott: Seeing a goofy idea that started in the writers’ room as a “what if…” become a real finished episode. Also, the creative process of deciding what to order for lunch. Then the creative process of regretting what we ordered for lunch. --- As a fan of the tv show, how familiar will jumping into the book series feel? (jfoley85) Simon Racioppa and Richard Elliott: As familiar as traveling to an alternate reality where everything’s kinda the same but your parents are snakes. So mostly familiar with some specific differences. Michael Rex:They’re actually pretty close. One of the things that I am most happy with about the show is that it IS the books. While the stories in the books are a bit more involved than an 11-minute episode, the entirety of season 1 goes much deeper than the books. On the down side, the books don’t have a cool song at the beginning. Every adaptation is a challenge from visuals, to performers depictions, and direction and framing. I'm noticing some changes from the two GNs (1st and 3rd) I've read to the episodes I've seen (pretty much up to Back of Stone). What would you say has been added, changed, or dropped and what is the purpose of these changes? (martikhoras) Simon Racioppa and Richard Elliott:While the books are wonderful gateways into imagination, there’s only three of them. The television series is a hungry monster that requires more. Always more... MORE characters. MORE stories. MORE episodes. MORE human sacrifices to GROM! Michael Rex:Everything that has been added was done to open up the show, and allow for more varied stories. Skullbania doesn’t get much time in the books, but the creative team felt that it needed to be a big part of the show. Twinklestick was created as a way for Fangbone! to stay a bit more connected to his home world. Drool was greatly expanded on as well. He only lurks in the background in the books. Even though his actions are constantly felt, he doesn’t really get to do much. --- What did you read and watch as a kid? What were the inspirations for Fangbone! and Skullbania?(martikhoras) Michael Rex:Growing up the early 70’s, “Planet of the Apes” was everywhere. 5 movies, a TV show, and an action figure line made it easy to get wrapped up in. “Star Wars” came out in 1977 and it affected me deeply. Like many others in my generation, it felt like my 9 year-old imagination had been transported directly to the screen. I started reading about movie making, and I tried to understand the mythology Lucas was using in his films. (As a 10 year old, Joseph Campbell was a tough slog, but I tried.) Fangbone! is directly inspired by the 1982 film, “Conan The Barbarian,” which I saw in 8th grade. It was funny, gritty, violent, and exciting and I just loved it. Conan had always been around when I was younger, I’d see his comics and cheap paperbacks in drugstores, but I didn’t know much about him until the film came out. When I was older, I eventually got around to reading the Conan books by Robert E. Howard. As I was gearing up to write the first Fangbone! book, I devoured a huge pile of Marvel’s “Savage Sword of Conan.” Oddly, now that I think about it, Skullbania’s vast deserts and rocky vistas are probably inspired by “Planet of the Apes.” It’s hard to escape those early influences.

[thedisneychef]

What Recipes Use a Lot of Eggs? Delicious and Creative Ideas

Hi everyone! Today I'm going to be talking about recipes that use a lot of eggs. Eggs are such an essential ingredient in so many dishes, and they can make any meal more special. Whether you're looking for breakfast ideas or something new for dinner, this article will have some great suggestions. So let's get started and explore what delicious recipes we can create with lots of eggs! Quiche I love making egg pies and casseroles when I want a hearty meal that's packed with protein. Quiche is one of my favorite recipes because it uses a lot of eggs to create the perfect custard-like texture. Plus, there are so many ways to customize it! You can use whatever cheese you have on hand, add veggies like spinach or mushrooms, and even switch up the type of crust. It's a great way to use ingredients from your fridge in an easy yet delicious dish. The key to quiche is getting the ratio of eggs and milk just right for that creamy center. Most recipes call for about 4-6 large eggs per 9" pie pan. To ensure enough liquid for the filling, add 1 cup of whole milk or half-and-half as well as some butter or cream cheese for richness. Play around with different ratios until you get exactly what you're looking for - whether that's more eggy flavor or lighter fluffiness. Once everything is combined properly, bake at 375°F (190°C) until golden brown on top and set in the middle - usually 30 minutes or so depending on how thick your quiche is. Serve warm with your favorite sides and enjoy this comforting classic! Frittata Moving on from quiche, another popular dish that uses a lot of eggs is frittata. Frittata is an Italian dish similar to an omelette but with additional ingredients like cheese, vegetables and often times meat added in the mix. It’s cooked slowly over low heat until it becomes firm yet still soft and creamy. Unlike quiche which involves rolling dough into a pie pan, frittata requires no crust or pastry shell so it takes less time to prepare. For those who are looking for something even simpler than frittata, egg fried rice is a delicious way to use up extra eggs while creating a flavorful meal. This traditional Chinese dish consists of stir-fried rice mixed with scrambled eggs and other ingredients such as diced vegetables and ham or chicken making it the perfect comfort food. Another classic recipe using lots of eggs is deviled eggs. These make for great appetizers during holiday gatherings or weekend dinners because they can be prepared ahead of time and served cold or at room temperature. They consist of boiled egg whites filled with yolk combined with mayonnaise, mustard, salt and pepper before being sprinkled with paprika for garnish. Deliciously simple! Egg Salad I love egg salad sandwiches! They're my go-to lunch option. I always start with a dozen of large eggs, boiled until they're just cooked through and cooled down before peeling them carefully. Then, I mash the eggs in a bowl and season them with salt and pepper for an added flavor kick. To complete the egg salad sandwich filling, I mix in some mayonnaise, diced celery, minced onion, and a few squirts of mustard. It's delicious on its own but you can also get creative by adding other ingredients like pickles or grated cheese to make it even more flavorful. Deviled eggs are another great way to use up extra eggs. They take minimal effort yet they look fancy enough as hors d'oeuvres at parties or potlucks. All you need to do is halve the boiled eggs lengthwise before scooping out the yolks into a separate bowl. The creamy yolk mixture then gets seasoned with spices such as paprika or cumin and mixed with condiments like mayo and mustard for extra tanginess. And finally, spoon the luscious deviled egg mixture back into each of the whites halves for presentation before serving them cold – so quick and easy! Eggs offer endless possibilities when it comes to cooking recipes that require lots of them – from breakfast scrambles to savory quiches or fluffy cakes! Whether you prefer classic dishes or something more inventive, there's no doubt that using lots of eggs will give your meal an added boost of nutrition while satisfying everyone's appetite along the way. Omelets I absolutely love omelets, especially when they’re filled with delicious ingredients and topped off with cheese. I mean, there’s nothing better than a simple egg-based dish that can be as fancy or as basic as you want it to be! Omelets are one of my favorite recipes because they use a lot of eggs and require minimal effort to make. First, you crack however many eggs your recipe calls for into a bowl and whisk them together until they become almost frothy. Then you add in some butter (or oil) onto the pan over medium heat and pour in the egg mixture. As the edges begin to crisp up, you can start adding in whatever toppings or fillings you like - from meat and veggies to cheese or even scrambled eggs if desired. Finally, fold the sides of the omelet over itself to form an envelope shape before flipping it once again for additional cooking time. Omelets are also great for using up leftovers; all sorts of ingredients such as ham, bacon bits, mushrooms or peppers work well inside an omelet. Or try getting creative by making deviled eggs out of hard boiled egg whites stuffed with tangy mayonnaise filling - yum! The possibilities are endless when it comes to creating flavorful combinations with this versatile breakfast staple. So next time you have a bunch of eggs at home that need to be used up – don't hesitate: whip up a tasty omelet! Baked Eggs I love making creative dishes with eggs, and there are two recipes I think everyone should try! The first is a classic egg dish - sunny side up. It is super simple to make - all you have to do is heat oil in a skillet over medium-high heat and crack your desired number of eggs into the pan. As soon as the whites start to set, reduce the heat to low and cover with a lid until the yolks reach your desired level of doneness. Serve them on toast for an easy but delicious meal! My other favorite egg recipe is a savory breakfast casserole. To make it, preheat your oven to 350 degrees F (176 C). Grease a baking dish with oil or butter and layer cubed bread at the bottom. Top that off with cooked sausage, mushrooms, bell peppers, spinach or any other vegetables you'd like! Then pour in whisked eggs mixed with cream or milk. Sprinkle cheese on top before baking for 25 minutes or until golden brown. This hearty casserole will definitely be a hit at brunch time! Eggs can be used in so many ways beyond these two recipes – they're such versatile ingredients perfect for breakfast, lunch, dinner – even dessert if you’re feeling adventurous enough! So why not get cracking today? Frequently Asked Questions What Is The Best Type Of Egg For These Recipes? When it comes to the best type of egg for recipes, it's important to consider both egg quality and nutrition. An egg with a higher grade will have firmer whites, brighter yolks and less watery whites. For better nutritional value, look for eggs labeled as omega-3 or organic which contain more healthy fatty acids than regular eggs. Ultimately, you'll need to decide what is best for your recipe but these tips should help guide you in making the right choice! What Other Ingredients Can I Add To Make The Recipes More Flavorful? When it comes to making recipes with a lot of eggs more flavorful, spices, herbs and seasonings are the way to go! Adding these ingredients can really take your dish from bland to bold. Depending on what type of recipe you're using, some great options for adding flavor include garlic powder, onion powder, paprika or cayenne pepper. Herbs like oregano, thyme or basil also work well in many egg-based dishes. Add any combination of these ingredients to make sure your final product is packed with flavor! How Can I Ensure The Eggs Are Cooked Properly? Cooking eggs properly is key to any recipe that calls for a lot of them. If you're pan frying, make sure the oil or butter is hot before adding your egg and keep an eye on it until it's fully cooked. Boiling eggs can be trickier - if they sit in boiling water too long, they become rubbery, so timing is everything! Set a timer when boiling and check the doneness with a spoon - gently press against the side of the egg to see how firm it is. With some practice, you'll get perfect boiled eggs every time! Are There Any Health Benefits To Eating These Egg Recipes? Yes! Eating egg recipes can be incredibly beneficial for your health. Egg substitutes are an excellent source of protein and contain essential vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants that support heart health, brain function, and muscle growth. Plus, eggs are low in calories and cholesterol-free making them a great choice for those looking to maintain or lose weight. For added nutritional benefits, opt for organic or free-range varieties of eggs whenever possible. How Long Can I Store These Egg Recipes In The Refrigerator? Storing egg recipes can be tricky if you're not sure how long they last in the fridge. Generally speaking, you should use any egg-based dishes within three to four days of cooking them. This is because raw eggs have a higher risk of containing salmonella and other bacteria that could make you sick. If your recipe uses only cooked eggs, then it's safe to store for up to seven days as long as it's kept cold. When in doubt, always check with your local health department or food safety organization for more information on storing egg recipes safely. Conclusion Egg recipes are a great way to get creative in the kitchen. With so many possibilities, you can experiment with different ingredients and flavors to craft your own unique dish. Whether it’s breakfast, lunch or dinner, eggs are an incredibly versatile ingredient that can be used to make delicious meals for any occasion. Plus, they offer some health benefits too! So next time you’re looking for something new to cook up in the kitchen, why not try out one of these egg recipes? You won't regret it! Read the full article

[josephkitchen0]

List: The Best Chicken Names — A to Z

Dreaming up the perfect baby chick names is one of the most exciting parts of starting or adding to a flock.

If you need inspiration, our readers and fans are here to help. Take a look at these good chicken name suggestions!

If you’ve got your own list of good chicken names, share your fun ideas in the comments below and we’ll add them here.

  GOOD CHICKEN NAMES (in alphabetical order):

• Abby • Abednego • Adele • Aflac • Albert  • Amelia Egghart • Angel • Angelica • Anna • Annie • Antonina • April • Astrid • Aurora • Autumn • Ava Chanel • Avaleach • Bandit • Batgirl • Beaky • Beakster • Bean • Beatrice • Beethoven “Lil Miss B” • Bella • Belle • Belmont• Benipe • Benny & Joon • Bernice • Betsy • Birdie • Billie Jean • Biscuit • Black Beauty • Blanche • Black Betty • Blue • Bluebelle • Bob, Not Bob & Robert • Bongo • Boomer • Bread & Butter • Breakfast • Brownie • Buck • Buffalo Wings • Buffy • Burger • Buttercup • Butterfinger • Buffy • Bunny • Cammi • Caribou • Carl • Caruso • Cecelia • Charlie • Charlotte • Cheek Cheek • Cheeky • Che r• Chickeel O’Neil • Chicken Patty • Chipmunk Extra Toes • Chippy • Chips & Cheese • Cholula • Cinnamon • Cinnamon & Sugar • Clairetta • Clarabelle • Clarisse • Clover • Cockadoodledoo • Coco • Coconut • Colton • Cookie • Cookie & Cream • Cookies & Cream • Copper • Cornbread Jones • Cotton • Cowie • Cracker • Crooked Toes • Crossy Road • Crow • Cupcake • Cutie Pie • Daisy • Daliah • Daisy Duck • Delta • Dixie • Dolly • Dorothy • Dory • Dottie Kay • Drumstick • Duck Duck • Duckie Momo • Duckiegirl • Duke • Dusty & Bunny • Earth, Wind & Fire • Easter • Edith • Edna & Elle • Egger • Eggy Sue • Elphaba • Ella • Elsa • Elvis • Emily • Ena • Ester • Esther • Ethel • Etta-leghorn • Eugene • Fancy Boy • Fancy Feet • Farrah • Featherfluff, Featherball, & Featherywhite • Fiesta • Flash • Fleeker • Fleur • Flo • Floyd Frizzles • Fluff • Fluffy • Fluffy Butt • Flutters • Former Penguin, The • Franchesca • Francine • Frank • Franny • Freckles • Gabrielle • Ginger • Girlie • Gladys & The Peeps • Glenda • Goldiboks • Goldie • Gossie • Gracie • Grace• Grey • Gumdrop • Handsome • Happy Feet • Hartley-Rose • Hay Hay • Heddy • Henny & Penny • Henny Penny • Henrietta • Henry • Honey & Butter • Hoot • Hope • Huey, Duey, & Louie • Inky • Iris • Jacqueline • Jasper • Jewel • Jo • Joan • Jolene • Juan • Judy B Jones • Junebug • Junior • Kate • Katie Scarlet • Katy • Ken • Kiev • Kira • Lady • Ladybug • Larry, Moe & Curly • Lash • Laverne • Layla • Lay Verne • Lemon • Leonie • Lil’ Peeper • Lime • Little Maggie • Littles • Livean • Liza • Logan • Lola • Lorettie • Louise • Lucille • Lucille Ball • Lucy • Lulu • LuluBocko Brahma • Luna & Star • Madea • Madison • Mae • Maggie May • Maisy & Daisy • Maple • Margarita • Marge • Marigold • Marsala • Mary Ann • Mary Poopins • Matilda • May • Meg • Melissa • Memphis • Merecy • Meshach • Michelle • Midnight • Millicent �� Millie Justice • Minnie • Miss Prissy • Mohawk • Mohawk Extra Toes • Molly • Moo Shu • Mother Clucker • Mrs. Hughes • Ms. Speck • Muffin • Muffs • Mumble • Meena, Myna & Moe • Nani • Napoleon • Nebucadnezzar • Netty • Nightstorm • Nilly • Nugget • Nutmeg • Nellie Anne • Oakley • Olive • Olivia • Omelet • Opal • Ophelia • Owlette • Pancho & Cisco • Panda • Parmesan • Paula Dean • Peach • Peanuts • Pearl • Pebbles • Pecky • Peckster • Pee Wee • Peep • Peeper • Penelope • Penny • Penguin, The • Petite • Phoebe • Phoenix • Piccata • Picket • Pinecone • Pinky Pie • Pipsqueak • Polka & Dot • Popcorn • Posey • Potpie • Princess Leia • Puff • Pup • Qawi • Reba • Red Wing • Reese & Puff • Remington • Rene • Rhonda • Roberta • Robin • Rose • Rosey • Rosie • RosieLilly • Roxanne • Ruby • Ruffie • Ruggles • Ruth Layer-Hensberg • Salt & Pepper • Samantha • Sand Piper • Sassy • Scarlet • Seven • Shadow • Shadrach • Shirlay • Silky Boy • Skitters • Skittles • Smalls • Snicker & Doodle • Snooki • Snow White • Snowy • Sophie • Spangler • Speedy 1 & 2 • Spitzy • Spice • Spike • Squirt • Star • Stella • Strider • Sugar • Summer • Sunny • Sunshine • Susie Q (Curly) • Sweet Pea • Sweetie • Tamar • Tetrazzini • Three Amigos • Tikka • Tillie • Tinsy • Tips • Tom & Jerry • Toto • Tulip • Thomas Train Engines: Annie, Clarabell, Emily, Henrietta, and Rosie • Vanilla • Velvet • Vera • Veronica • Vigorous • Vinny • Violet • Wickles • Wilhelmina • Wilma & Betty • Winny • Winston • Xana the Warrior • Yeti • Yeti & Yoda • Zigster • Zippy

Fun Comments About Good Chicken Names: 

• My hens will be named after famous chicken dishes: Marsala, Piccata (or Peckata ), Tikka, and Potpie. If I get a rooster, he would be named Kiev. — Evie Kuran Dieck

• We had three chicks hatch a week and a half before Easter, so we call them the Three Amigos. They made for fun pictures of my granddaughter & niece for Easter also. — Jamie N Ryan Debons

The Three Amigos — Jaime N Ryan Debons

  Novalynn, Jadelyn, and The Three Amigos — Jamie and Ryan Debons

• I have about 35 but started naming the most friendly. Right now we have Dempsey, she was injured at birth by another brood hen. Then Dottie, our blue splash Marans. This one pictured is Opal, our little Aloha hen. We also have: Spike, Bongo, Wickles, Velvet, Daisy, Pearl, Peanuts, Violet, Skitters, Ruffie, Puff, Mohawk, Nilly, Fancy Feet, and Littles. — Sheila Bishop

Opal — Sheila Bishop

• Three of the first four I got were named after the Schuyler sisters in Hamilton … Angelica, Eliza, and Pecky (Pecky is a play on the actual name of the 3rd sister, Peggy) and the 4th was named Dawn by my daughter, the next two were named after the Patil twins in Harry Potter … Padma and Parvati, but Parvati was soon found out to be a cockerel, so his name changed to Pavarotti; the next two were named Velma and Daphne from Scooby Doo, but sadly we lost Daphne to a hawk. I’m getting 4 more this Spring to complete my backyard flock and I’m hoping to stick to literary names! — Jessica Lancaster

• I’ve got 13! Amelia, Beatrice, Lucy, Ethel, Mrs. Hughes, Ms. Speck, Dorothy, Blanche, Rose. The other four I’m letting friends and family name and they haven’t decided yet. I’m about to name them after some favorite book characters if they don’t get with it! — Lori Worcester

• Out of 12 we have named a few. We have a Rhode Island Red named Lucy, after Lucile Ball of I Love Lucy, another Rhode Island Red named Ginger who is best buds with a Plymouth Barred Rock named Mary Ann, both named after the lovely characters of Gilligan’s Island. Then there is Nugget, he “or” she is an Ameracauna. — Eduardo Cabello

• Two Light Brahmas named Salt & Pepper. One Black Cochin and one White Cochin named Glenda (the white one) and Elphaba (black one). My Easter Eggers names will be Dorothy and Toto. — Tina Rogers-Higgins

• Chicken Patty, Henny Penny, Mary Poopins, Edith, Edna and Elle. — Corice Boyer

• Princess Leia. She doesn’t lay many eggs but hangs around the nest boxes a lot keeping order so her nickname is “The Janitor.” — Steve Tomashek

Princess Leia — Steve Tomashek

• My dinosaur obsessed five year old named our new three Blue, Charlie, and Delta. He calls them his pack of raptors. — Sarah Goodwin

• This year our new chicks are Shadow, Nightstorm, Angel, Summer, Ginger, Rosie, Bandit, Jewel, Pearl, Ruby, and Franchesca. Last year’s survivors are Anna (Elsa was killed by a neighbor’s dog), Thorn, Blackbeard, and two Barred Rocks with no/super fluid names. Our original flock are Prudence, Goldilocks, Snow White, Perry, Lulu, Henrietta, Napoleon. And roosters are Drumstick and Mr. Wattles. Can you tell I have kids? Ha Ha — Malissa Cline

• Roberta (after my husband), Henrietta, Ruby, April, Amelia, Ophelia, Clairetta, Red Wing, and Matilda who turned into Matthew once we learned he is a rooster! — Jamie Frazier-Olson

• Carl, Samantha, Juan, and Aflac! Juan is in the front. (The only one we can tell apart because of the light beak) Also, Juan might be Juanita! Started to hear quack sounds today. — Ashley Marie Rettig

Carl, Samantha, Juan, and Aflac — Ashley Marie Rettig

• I have three roosters named Bob, Not Bob, and Robert. Only two of the girls have names, Red (my Rhode Island Red) and Black Betty (Barred Rock) all the others are just Hey “Ladies.” — Heather Herendeen

• We have Benny & Joon, Wilma and Betty, Stella, Lola, Miss Prissy, Pj’s, Coffee, Teeth (the last 3 were named by our 5 year old), Yeller and Whitey (both named by our 3 year old). — Desi Becht

• Only named one of the 8 so far. Turns out she is blind. I named her Tillie. — Kelley Jane Kloub

Tillie — Kelley Jane Kloub

• Phoebe, Molly, Dixie, Penelope, Grace, Charlotte, Amelia, Coco, Olivia, Kate, Sophie. — Kathy Hansen Mulready

• My four kids ages 11, 9, 7, and 4 named ours: Vigorous, Peckster, Pep, Pipsqueak, Vinny, Cross Road,  Picket,  Freckles,  Cockadoodledoo,  Tips,  Beakster,  Robin,  Beaky,  Scarlet,  Ruby,  Cowie,  Cheeky, Pebbles, Drumstick, Clover, Mae, Penny, Tinsy, Zippy, Smalls, Merecy, Zigster, And our ducks: Duckie, Momo, Daisy Duck. — Amber Marie Wert

• Ken and Seven (# of toes!) Pictures here. Not seen are Gumdrop, Posey, Muffs, and Belle. — Meg McCreary Youngblood

Ken and Seven —Meg McCreary Youngblood

• Our ducks are Duck Duck and Ginger. Our chicks are Pup, Pinky Pie, Sweetie, Brownie, Sugar, and Spice. Named by my five and six year olds. — Kelly Hughes

• Buff Orpingtons are Bread and Butter. Light Brahmas are Vera and Francine. With my other hens the flock is known as Gladys and the Peeps. — Lucille Gardner

• Fluff, Emily (my 4 year old’s idea), Dorothy, Blanche, Popcorn and Moo Shu. — Emily Powell

• Cookie and Cream, Henny and Penny, Minnie, Daisy, and Clarebelle. — Sharon Krouse Miller

• Snicker and Doodle, Salt and Pepper, Dusty and Bunny, Luna and Star, Honey and Butter, Cinnamon and Sugar, and Sunny … we got a little carried away. — Sherri Grant

• Our Buff Orpington is Sunshine; Blue Ameracauna is Bluebelle; others are Sweetpea & Ladybug. — Gaylene Taylor Davidson

• Napoleon is my rooster, than Xena the warrior, she steals worms from the others, Katy, Gabrielle, Omelet, Annie, Oakley, Laverne and Petite. — Diane Zapka Christensen

• Vanilla, Cinnamon, Nutmeg and Ginger. — Irma Hladek

Vanilla, Cinnamon, Nutmeg and Ginger.

• Judy B Jones and Cupcake, named by my daughter. — Britni Davidson

• We have: Joan, Iris, Ester, Lucille, Ruby, Roxanne, Avaleach, Melissa, and Rosey. — Brenna Nicole

Joan, Iris, Ester, Lucille, Ruby, Roxanne, Avaleach, Melissa, and Rosey. — Brenna Nicole

• My current girls are Ethyl, Veronica, and Buffy. Previously: Biscuit (Leghorn), Cholula, Fiesta, Margarita, (Aracaunas), and Penny (Rhode Island Red)

• My kids named the buff Elvis and the leghorns are Huey, Duey, and Louie.

• My Red Star is Ruby. I have two Buff Orpingtons named Birdie and Betsy. My Four white Plywood Rocks are Ashley, Abby, Madison and Ruth Layer-Hensberg. — Rebecca Joy

• We got two adding to the group. Our first rooster we named Henry and Etta-leghorns (like Henrietta). — Dana Alexander-Brown

• We have speedy 1&2, we also have happy feet (chick was born with a deformed leg) and several others we have not named yet. — Jennifer Thompson

• We just got a Katie Scarlet, BlueBelle, Millie Justice, Effie Mae, and a Liberty Belle. — Shannon Briles Kana

• Dunkin (The Yorkie), Nugget (Top), Gossie (Left) and Bean (Right)! — Nicole Contos

Dunkin, Nugget, Gossie (Left) and Bean — Nicole Contos

• I have Panda, Cheek Cheek (my two year old named her), Nani, Goldiboks, Reese and Puff, and Dory. — Jessica Ogle

• I have four chicks named Jo, Meg, Rhonda, and Clarisse. Our granddaughter loves them! — Julie Sorenson

Jo, Meg, Rhonda, and Clarisse — Julie Sorenson

• Michelle, Junior and Belmont — Suzanne Morrell Crutcher

Michelle, Junior and Belmont — Suzanne Morrell Crutcher

• Miss Prissy, Peepers, Lucy, Sunshine, and Scarlet. We love them. — Glenda Szoka

• I quit naming after the first year. When I have nearly 100 birds… there is no keeping that straight. — Smantha Martin

• Cracker, Muffin, Cookies and Cream, Memphis, Phoenix, Ruffles, Hartley-Rose, Snowy, Black Beauty, GC, and BB. — Alyson Jayne

• Dottie Kay, Nellie Anne, and Ava Chanel (Ava cuz I love my truck – avalanche and both are black). — Robyn Smith-Demeuse

• Named my girls after my great, great aunts… Henrietta (Rhetta), Sophia (Hia), Matilda (Tilda) and Wilhelmina (Mina). — Heidi G. Malin

• Franny, Netty, Junebug, Bella, Winny, Snooki, Chippy and Jacqueline. The whole family got in on the naming process. — Bonnie Rolfes Duffy

Franny, Netty, Junebug, Bella, Winny, Snooki, Chippy and Jacqueline. — Bonnie Rolfes Duffy

• Amiga, Crazy Dot, lil’Peeper, Squirt, and the Barney’s. Who knows if they will stick. — Jody Eubanks

• My son named ours the bantam is flash the RIR is Supergirl and our Plymouth is Batgirl. — Kimberly Flenory

Batgirl and Supergirl — Kimberly Flenory

• Adele…. because she never stopped chirpin. — Aimee McGlinchey

• Amelia, my Cuckoo Maran. — Kathy Hansen Mulready

Amelia — Kathy Hansen-Mulready

• Anna and Elsa…guess who has a  granddaughter! — Rivkah B’racha

Anna and Elsa — Rivkah B’racha

• We have 10 girls, most have boy names though. Our girls are Nebucadnezzar, Shadrach, Meshach, Abednego, Strider, Hay Hay, Benipe, Hope, Charlotte, and Marge. — Tricia Sengul

• My boys named our Silkie/Sultan X’s (from back to front) Yeti, Cotton, and Lash. Lash had buff colored fluff over eyes at birth. — Jennifer Fox-Malechikos

Silkie/Sultan X’s (from back to front), Yeti, Cotton, and Lash — Jennifer Fox-Malechikos

• Lacey the Golden Lace Wyndotte; Goldie the Buff Orpington; Pearl the Silver Grey Dorking; Easter the Cream Legbar; Chickaletta the Silver Laced Cochrin. — Sarah Haly

• I named each batch of new arrivals out of new friends I had made! But roosters were always Handsome. — Cecile Jordan

• Buttercup and Fluffy Butt, named by a 3 year old. — Linda Terrell Nunes

• Copper, Edith, Bernice, Aurora (after Shirley McLaine’s character in Terms of Endearment), Ella, Pepper, Henry, Olive, and Antonina — Anna Atwell

• My girls are Minnie, Daisy, Clarabelle, Owlette, Dorothy, Rose & Blanche. — Miranda Craig

• Crooked Toes, Chipmunk Extra Toes, Mohawk Extra Toes, The Penguin, and The Former Penguin — Jes Marie Stark

• Rosie and Ginger, RIRs; Summer and Autumn, Wellsummers; Stormy and Puff (Cochins) — Lauren Linares

Rosie, Ginger, Summer, Autumn, Stormy, and Puff — Lauren Linares

• Mary Poopins — Spruce Ledge Farms

• Caruso (may or may not be a pullet), Rene, Leonie and Kira. Have one more opera singer to go! — Judy Biller

• Sam and Ella. (Y’know, “samanella”) — Christie Fletcher Munsell

• Jasper and Cammi — Jim Desjardins

• Sweet Pea — Dana Adkins

Sweet Pea — Dana Adkins

• Belle — Miranda Holland

Belle — Miranda Holland

• We named her Hoot. — Cheryl Foster

• Louise — Jodi Vaske

• Susie Q (Curly) — Eliza Hoffman

Susie Q (Curly) — Eliza Hoffman

• Penelope, Daliah, Marigold and Beatrice — Lindsay Mc

• Chickel O’Neill, Bocko Brahma, Omelet — Sarah Spiegel

• Fleeker, Boomer, Flo, Chips and Cheese — Ang Joh

• Caden’s duckling is named Frank! — Sue McNaughton

• Hens: [Australorp] Madea; [Buff Orph] Girlie; [3 Red Sex Links] Lucille Ball; [Random brown dotted hen] Pinecone; [White something] Snow White; [Bantam Chick ] Cher; [female mallard duck] Duckiegirl; [indian runner duckling pair] Pancho & Cisco. — Carie Jarrell

• Albert

Albert — Nichole Langmeyer

• Our last lot were named Burger, Tikka & Nugget. — Melinda Maclay-Ross

• Inky, Heddy, Cotton & Blue. — Robyn Grace Jennings

• Polka and Dot, Maisy and Daisy, Pearl, Buck, Lorettie, Dolly — Billie Jo Maedke

• My Easter Egger is named Bunny. — Linda Marie

• Mother Clucker, Ruby, Mumble, and Flutters. — Amanda Bland

• My kids named ours Featherfluff, Featherball, and Featherywhite. — Sarah Ritchie

• Olive, Ginger, Sunny, Lulu, Cookie, Gracie, Pearl — Ana Crowley

• Fluffy — Karen Atteberry

• Layla, Jolene, Cecelia, Maggie May, Billie Jean and Roxanne — Jen Next

• Tom, Jerry, Egger, Midnight, Yedi and Yoda — DeeDee Bricker

• My four chicks are, Ena, Meena, Myna and Moe. — Loretta Aranha

• Cecila, Floyd Frizzles — Deborah Young

• Esther, Tamar, and May — Kimberly Gunlock Walter

• Stella, Crow, LuLu, and Clover — Mandy Hopper

• Farrah, Sassy, Spike, and Pee Wee. — Kathy Barnett

• Larry, Moe, and Curly — Donna Grayson

Larry, Moe, and Curly — Donna Grayson

• Maple — Jennifer Orme

Maple — Jennifer Orme

• The Chicken Nuggets: Amelia Egghart, Eggy Sue, and Henrietta. — Emily Samms

Amelia Egghart, Eggy Sue, and Henrietta — Emily Samms

• Chica Poo Poo’s: Dolly, Reba, Lucy, Bella, Violet, Winston, Remington, Caribou, Ruby — Teri Foster

Dolly, Reba, Lucy, Bella,Violet, Winston , Remington, Caribou, and Ruby. — Teri Foster

• First play date outside. Penelope. — Erin Carlson

Penelope — Erin Carlson

• Iris — Angelina Turnbull

Iris — Angelina Turnbull

• Our boys love Thomas the train so our girls are all Thomas the Train engines: Annie, Clarabell, Emily, Henrietta, and Rosie. — Deanna Poehlman

Annie, Clarabell, Emily, Henrietta, and Rosie — Deanna Poehlman

• My 3 girls named Buttercup, Tulip, & Violet.

Buttercup, Tulip, & Violet

• Pekin babies named Little Maggie, and Panda. — Jane Germain

Little Maggie and Panda — Jane Germain

• Easter Eggers for Easter named Sunshine and Lady. Sunshine is the lighter yellow and Lady is the one with her eye liner on, her roots done and her Beak is always yapping! — Stephanie Klein

Sunshine and Lady — Stephanie Klein

• The Newcomers: Eugene a Silkie, Logan a Silkie, Livean a Belgian Mille Fleur, Fleur a B. Mille Fleur, Millicent a B. Mille Fleur, and Spangler a Silver Sebright. — Esther Grummet

• Arg Matey! Bethoven, “Lil Miss B.” — Jamie Schreck

• Owl or chick??!! Meet Hoot. We thought she looked so much like an owl we named her Hoot. — Rachel Lindsey

Hoot — Rachel Lindsey

• Skittles — Brittany Sullivan

Skittles — Brittany Sullivan

Do you have good chicken names? Share them in the comments below!

List: The Best Chicken Names — A to Z was originally posted by All About Chickens

[imagines-from-inside-my-head]

Fears

Fandom: Kingsman

Pairing: Merlin x reader

Characters: Merlin, (y/n), Eggsy, mention of Harry

Summary: (y/n) is an agent but has always been terrified of water. What happens when she has to swim away from her enemies? 

Author´s note: I hate water, okay? I don´t know if I represented the shock after accurately, but I tried... Oh, and sorry, I can´t write accents, so I don´t. But anyway, enjoy

“I can´t do this Eggsy. I just can´t.“ (y/n) said while looking at the deep water under them. It was a necessary short cut to get out of the place alive. The tunnel in front of them was about 6,5 feet wide and about 19 feet long. It curved down and up again, where their escape route was. The stone bank made the water look like a lake in a cave, but it narrowed down to the quite small tunnel. Eggsy just looked at her and furrowed his brows in confusion. “Wha- ? It´s not that far, we´ll be out in a minute.” He started descending into the water, but (y/n) couldn´t move. “She´s scared of water Galahad, you need to help her. Agent Guinevere, you have to get out of there as quickly as possible.” She heard through her earpiece. “Merlin, you know I can´t. The water – I – I cannot -...” She said starting to panic. “You have to (y/n)! Now!” He almost shouted into the mic. “(y/n) come on.” Eggsy said urgently, the water up to his waist already. There were footsteps approaching quickly to them. Eggsy ran back to her almost dragging her into the water. She knew she had to do it, but the fear buried inside her was too much to bear right now. Water was always a difficult element for (y/n). She could swim, but not too well and when it came to diving, she just couldn´t do it. The feeling of the surrounding water, as if trying to suffocate her, was something she has never been really able to cope with. Not being able to breathe, to move properly, actually seeing the imaginary vault door instead of the water surface – all those things combined into one experience was a thing of the worst nightmares to her throughout all her live. And now, once again, she was supposed to disappear into the cold water against her own will. “Deep breaths now, (y/n), okay?” Eggsy said holding her by her elbows and leading her deeper into the water. She couldn´t say anything, but tried to breathe evenly. The fear and panic was extremely visible on her face.  But she knew she had to do it. There was no other way.

Merlin could see how terrified she was on his monitor through Eggsy´s specs. He knew that water scared her more than anything else in the world. The first test of the training program had almost made him believe she would give up her candidacy all those years ago. Of course she hadn´t done well on that one. She had been very lucky another girl had been able to get her to the toilets for air. Back then Merlin had thought she would be gone the next week, not being able to compete again. But she had kept her determination and hadn´t thought back to the horrible night. Eventually she had been so much better than the other candidates that she had joined their agency. After a few months of their relationship (y/n) eventually had admitted that she had woken up crying from nightmares in the middle of the night after the event many, many times

“(y/n), concentrate on Eggsy, listen to him. But you have to get out of there.” Merlin said trying to stay calm. The water was by her neck now. “You can do this. I know you can. You´ve got to go first, so I can help you if something goes wrong, okay?” Eggsy said smiling at her. “Okay.” She whispered, her throat tight. “You need to keep your eyes open, you hear me?” Eggsy said a little bit more nervously now as they both could hear the voices of the approaching enemies. That made her move. (y/n) took a deep breath and started swimming down. After a few meters she felt as if she would explode. She persuaded herself that she cannot panic now or she would drown. Her lungs were hurting and so were her eyes, her ears and nose. She wanted to take a breath so much. But she was only half way through the tunnel. Eggsy saw her slowing down and swam closer to her as much as the narrow space allowed. She couldn´t take it anymore. The panic returned combined with the realization of how narrow the tunnel actually was. She wasn´t claustrophobic, but when it came to water, things changed. She let out the last breath which she tried to hold in. Eggsy was quick enough to notice that she could drown if he didn´t do something. He grabbed her arm and swam for both of them, reaching the place where the tunnel bended up and taking them to the surface as quickly as he was able to, before the valve in the tunnel closed behind them.

If Merlin had any hair he would be ripping them off right at that moment. She couldn´t hear him underwater and he couldn´t do anything to help her. All he could do was just to sit there and wait while his heart was beating faster than ever before. He knew Eggsy would help her, but right at the moment it did not calm him down.

(y/n) felt absolutely numb, but she managed to kick her feet strongly enough to keep moving. If she breathed in she would drown – that was the only thing going through her mind. She didn´t even realize that Eggsy´s hand was probably going to leave a bruise from his tight grip. The water seemed soft around her, almost soothing and yet her chest was burning. And suddenly that frighteningly surrealistic feeling stopped. It just stopped. Instead of cold water, freezing air surrounded her, but she was afraid to take a breath. Eggsy´s coughing was what made her open her eyes properly, realizing what had just happened. She also started coughing and quickly got out of the water, her breaths short and uneven, coughing every time she breathed in. Eggsy quickly followed her. She sat down on the ground shaking violently. It wasn´t cold, it was a nice spring evening, but (y/n) felt as if she would freeze. “(y/n), you´re out of there, now try to calm down.” Merlin said trying to get her out of the trans, speaking slowly. Eggsy wasn´t sure what was happening. (y/n) has always been one of the best agents, rarely scared of anything, always there to help others. This wasn´t like her at all. “Eggsy, she´s in shock. You need to keep her warm and get back to the HQ.” Merlin announced. His heart has not slowed down but the imminent terror he felt was gone. The cab was waiting for them nearby and they would head to the HQ safely.

(y/n) couldn´t hear anything at the moment, her head spinning and hurting. Her breathing calmed down a little, but she was still shaking, sitting on the dirty ground. “(y/n), can you stand up?” Eggsy tried and she looked at him not sure of what he wanted. “Come on love. You can do this.” Merlin´s voice rang in her ear suddenly. “Merlin?” she murmured quietly. “Yeah, your Scotsman is waiting for you back at the HQ, so what do you say we get back there?” Eggsy suggested and helped (y/n) on her feet. “I´m here love. Everything´s alright.” Merlin spoke again. Eggsy led her to the cab, taking her dark blue suit jacket off and wrapping her in a blanket. She didn´t say anything during the whole time. “Merlin, what´s wrong with her?” Eggsy asked when he went to the driver´s seat. “She´ll be okay, it´s the shock. Just keep her warm.” Merlin answered frustrated. “I mean what happened? She´s never like this – never ever.” Eggsy pushed, trying to get answers. “We can talk about it later, Eggsy. Now get her here” Merlin said with a sigh.

Eggys felt confused. (y/n) was always calm and brave, but most importantly she became a great friend of his as they clicked very well with each other. They usually made jokes and laughed on their way to the HQ after a successful mission. But today all of this happened so quickly and now she was sitting in the back of the cab, eyes watery as if she was about to cry, still shaking and absolutely silent. Her specs and her earpiece were laying on the seat next to her. Could a simple fear really do that to a person? Just as Eggsy was about to say something and took a breath to do so, Merlin stopped him. “Don´t Eggsy, she won´t answer you right now. She´ll start talking on her own, give her a minute.” He said and waited impatiently for them to arrive.

Merlin has been through this with her before. Only once, but he learned from that. It was also a mission and (y/n) fell into a river, deep but fortunately not moving very fast. Back then it was Harry who pulled her out of the water, but it was Merlin who immediately came to help her and comfort her after. It was a shock and maybe a panic attack caused by her fear of water. It was the same now as it was before, only this time probably not as bad, because she was able to cooperate with Eggsy.

Eggsy pulled the cab over in front of the mansion and before he could run out to get (y/n), he heard her weak voice. “I´m so terribly sorry Eggsy.” She was on the verge of tears still looking out of the window. Before Eggsy could say anything Merlin basically sprinted out of the door and opened the back of the cab where (y/n) was sitting, curled up in the blanket. “Merlin?��� She whispered as if surprised to see him. “I´m right here, my love.” Merlin said and picked her up as if she was a feather. She cuddled to him instantly, quiet sobs already coming from her. “She´ll be alright?” Eggsy asked and looked from (y/n) to Merlin. “Absolutely. Don´t worry Eggsy. I think we can leave the debriefing for tomorrow.” Merlin said, his face unreadable as ever when it suddenly changed and Eggsy could see the relief and worry mixed into one. “Thank you for bringing her back.” Merlin added. Eggsy felt relived too, even though he was still a bit confused. Merlin knew what was happening and (y/n) evidently wanted or even needed his company right now. They would talk about this later and for this moment, Eggsy was glad that his friend and colleague was in good hands. And with that he headed home.

(y/n) was sobbing into Merlin´s chest, her eyes closed tight and the grip of her hand on his sweater much weaker than usual. Merlin sat them near the fireplace and he had her in his lap, stroking her hair slowly, trying to calm her with his voice, repeating “it´s okay” and “You´re safe now” and “I´m here” over and over again. It took about twenty minutes before (y/n) stopped shaking and the tears ceased to roll out. There was silence for a while, only the cracking fire making any sounds. “I almost got us both killed.” She whispered. “That´s not true. Your instincts kicked in, you went underwater on your own accord. That´s a great progress.” Merlin said quietly, his deep voice calming her with every word. “But still... They were so close... And then I freaked out...” She sighed and buried her head even deeper into him. “But you both made it unharmed. Eggsy wouldn´t let you drown or leave you there even if you refused to dive. But you didn´t and you made it.” Merlin said his lips touching her hair. “I need to apologize to him. I was acting so stupid and I only scared you both and you tried to help me and I just ignored it and -“ Merlin stopped her before she could continue and lifted her head with his finger under her chin. He looked at her for a while, studying her face and suddenly his soft lips were on hers in a short sweet kiss. “Yeah, you scared me shitless.” He said, but he was calm, enjoying that she was coming from the panic attack so quickly. “I´m so sorry darling.” She said looking at him so sadly as she caressed his cheek slightly. “I should´ve overcome this stupid fear a long time ago.” (y/n) sighed. “We can work on that.” Merlin nodded, still looking at her. “But everyone is scared of something.” He added and looked into the fire. “You´re not.” (y/n) said and her eyes stayed fixed on his face. “I am.” He argued and looked down at her with a playfully serious expression. She looked at him with a questioning face. “Aye, I´m terrified of bears and I run away from bugs.” He said with a little smirk on his face. “You´re lying.” (y/n) said, doubting his statement, smile forming on her lips. “I´m not.” Merlin said, pretending to be offended by her accusation.(y/n) laughed at the face he made. It was a quiet and sweet chuckle and Merlin was never happier to hear it then at that very moment. It was a sign that she was no longer dwelling on the event. She will remember it again tomorrow, when she´ll talk to Eggsy about it, but that will only help her get over it better.(y/n) laid her head down on his chest again, whispering a quiet “thank you” to him and fell asleep quickly after. Merlin sat with her for a little longer caressing her hair. After a while he picked her up again. (y/n) didn´t even flinch, sleeping very deeply. He smiled at her and took her to bed, hoping she would have pleasant dreams tonight. She did.

[asfeedin]

Turn Vegetable Greens and Herb Scraps Into Flavorful Pestos

[Photograph: Vicky Wasik]

In my old, pre-coronavirus life, I aspired not to waste food, but I’ll admit, I wasted a fair amount anyway. I may have intended to use up the rest of that ginger, or those herbs leftover from that recipe I made a few nights ago, or the bag of limes I was sure I needed for daiquiris that I ended up being too tired to actually make. I may have had noble intentions, but life often got in the way and eventually I’d have to toss my shriveled scraps in the compost.

Today is different. Almost overnight, quarantine living has forced me to become a more efficient home cook. It’s also made it easier to be efficient—I’m home and I’m cooking every meal so I have every opportunity to make the most of what I’ve bought.

As I’ve detailed before, one of the main strategies I’m leaning on at home is what I’m calling “component cooking.” I’m not really following too many fully fleshed-out recipes, but instead am building components: blanched or roasted or pickled vegetables; poached or roasted meats; cooked beans; and condiments aplenty. Then I’m mixing and matching them in as many ways as I can dream up, which keeps meals varied and interesting.

One very easy component we can all make with ingredients we probably have in our fridges are herb sauces in the style of pesto or chimichurri. They’re endlessly variable and versatile.

Fennel-frond pesto. [Photograph: Daniel Gritzer]

Here’s an example: This fennel frond “pesto” I made using the tops of four bulbs of fennel I’d bought. The bulbs themselves ended up in a rich bean stew. The fronds went back in the fridge. In my old life I would have found them there a week later, wilted and yellowing. But in this new existence I actually managed to do something with them before they went bad.

I picked the fronds and got about a quart’s worth. Then I added some garlic cloves, some lemon juice and zest, a dollop of Dijon mustard, and a number of anchovies that almost bordered on being obscene. I topped everything off with a big glug of olive oil and blended it until I had more than two cups of sauce. Was it “pesto”? No, not really, but it had that kind of vibe.

It was bright and herbaceous and salty, and it was great spooned over the fennel and bean stew I made. It also made a really good pasta sauce, and was delicious swirled into fresh ricotta cheese as a snack. It was even better as a dressing for a salad of roasted carrots, fresh parsley, and sliced red onions. I didn’t start out with a plan for how to use it, but it’s been easy to find ways. It would’ve been killer tossed with a plain bowl of beans, but I’m all out now, so I’ll have to try that with whatever herbal concoction and pot of beans I whip up next time.

For one dinner, I tossed sliced roasted carrots, parsley, and red onions with my fennel-frond pesto, then mounded them on top of a potato cake with thinly sliced roasted lamb. This wasn’t a recipe, it was just a creative way to combine components I’d whipped up. [Photograph: Daniel Gritzer]

Here are a few tips for making your own herb sauces with whatever you have on hand, whether during quarantine or any other time.

How to Invent Your Own “Pesto” Sauce

Not every green herb sauce is pesto, but you get the point. [Photograph: Vicky Wasik]

“Pesto” is in quotes here because not every herb purée is a pesto, just like not every soup is chicken noodle. But as a shorthand, it’s probably the most widely understood way to talk about puréed, oil-based herb sauces.

Be Open to “Herbal” Possibilities

[Photograph: Vicky Wasik]

When it comes to choosing herbs to turn into pesto, of course there are the obvious options like basil, parsley, and cilantro, but don’t stop there. Chives, scallions, tarragon, and mint would all be great additions, as are fennel fronds and even carrot tops.

You can lean on softer herbs more fully without worry, like parsley or basil or fennel fronds. Others may be a little too assertive to be the only vegetal component. Woodsy herbs like oregano and sage could be tasty in moderation, but they might come across too aggressively on their own. Ditto for oniony scallions and chives. It of course depends how you use it, but it’s often smart to cut very bold herbs and vegetables with more mild ones. Parsley, spinach, and even kale are all good picks for diluting a more pungent herb’s flavor.

Alternatively, you could go all in on the bolder greens, but then be sure add less of the sauce to your food, or cut it another way (see eggs and nuts below).

One more trick that might come in handy is softening and taming the raw flavor of the greens or herbs by quickly blanching them in boiling water before shocking them in ice water and then puréeing (it even works for basil). You can blanch and blend most any herb or vegetable, but it’s especially useful for tougher, fibrous ones like kale that can seem gritty when processed raw.

Go Nuts (Or Don’t)

Mortar and pestle not required. [Photograph: Vicky Wasik]

True Genovese pesto wouldn’t be pesto without pine nuts, and while you certainly don’t need nuts for a flavorful herb sauce, they’re an ingredient worth considering for their fatty richness and thickening abilities.

If you do add nuts, there’s no need to limit yourself to pine nuts. Pistachios, almonds, cashews, walnuts, pecans, and more can work well. One thing to remember is that roasted nuts tend to be drier and may not blend up quite as smoothly as plump raw ones do.

Cheese Ain’t a Bad Idea

[Photograph: Vicky Wasik]

Once again, classic Genovese pesto serves as a template and its inclusion of finely grated hard cheeses like Pecorino and Parmigiano-Reggiano is another option worth considering. Cheeses add yet more richness and fattiness, but they also add complexity and their own form of tang, thanks to their lactic acid content.

Must you add cheese? No. But you probably won’t regret it either. If you do, it’s better to stick to harder grating cheese like Parm, though you may be able to purée in a soft and spreadable cheese like chèvre with good results. Just skip the semi-soft ones like cheddar and the soft-rind ones like brie.

Don’t Sleep on Eggs

Pesto, pesto, pesto. I know, enough with the pesto. So let’s look at another Italian classic: salsa verde from the Northwestern region of Piedmont. It’s a parsley-based sauce that’s served with many things, including bollito misto, a feast of boiled meats.

There’s a lot that’s great about salsa verde, from its salty and herbal capers to briny, funky anchovies. But perhaps coolest of all is the hard-boiled egg that often gets blended in. Sure, it gives the sauce a subtle eggy quality, but it’s not obvious and I’d wager most blind tasters wouldn’t pick it out. What it really does is help thicken and emulsify the sauce for creamier results.

Punch Up the Flavor

[Photograph: Vicky Wasik]

There’s no way to list all the ingredients one might decide to add to a sauce like this, so I’ll just rattle off a bunch off the top of my head. I’m sure you can think of more.

Citrus juice and zest (in particular, lemons and limes)

Capers and caper berries

Olives

Anchovies and tuna, or even a splash of fish sauce

Spices (black pepper, coriander seed, cumin, fennel, etc.)

Garlic and other alliums like shallots

Mustard

Chili peppers (fresh, dried, pastes, or pickled)

Some fresh or roasted tomatoes or bell peppers or rehydrated dried peppers (see romesco and pesto alla Trapanese for ideas)

Ginger

Watch Out for Acid

Acid in the form of lemon juice or vinegar can brighten up a bright green oil-based sauce. I added lemon juice in the fennel frond pesto I made. Do watch out, though, because heavier doses of acidic ingredients can turn bright green vegetables a duller army-green color, and you may lose some of that vibrant, fresh green flavor too.

Speaking of Oil

Olive oil is the real star in these sauces, its grassy green flavor pairing perfectly with whatever herbs and vegetables you’re using in your sauce. But if you don’t have olive oil, a fresh neutral oil (read: don’t use that old sticky bottle you’ve been slowly drawing down for months) like canola, grape seed, or vegetable oil can all work. They won’t add much flavor of their own to the sauce, but if you add enough other flavorful ingredients, that’s just fine.

Get Creative

Sicilian Trapanese pesto has tomatoes mashed in. It’s still a type of pesto! [Photograph: Vicky Wasik]

Don’t be afraid to experiment. Have an eggplant you don’t know what to do with? Maybe roast it, scoop out the flesh, and mash that into your pureed herb sauce as well. It will be a totally different creation, but… why not?

Wondering if some green tomatillos might find a home in your sauce? Well it works in Mexico, so there’s a decent chance you’ll come up with something good.

Point is, take the time to look through your fridge and pantry, think about what you have and what it might taste like as part of your sauce. Really try to imagine the flavors and textures and how they might go together. You have better instincts than you may suspect, so take the risk. You may stumble on a genius idea.

It’s Okay to Use a Blender

I have a history of blathering on and on about the wonders of the mortar and pestle, and I believe it as much today as I always have. But I’m also a very pragmatic cook, and it’s important to remember that we’re not always trying to create the absolute best-possible thing. Often all we really need is something tasty that we can use to make our meals more pleasurable while using up ingredients that might otherwise go to waste. If using a blender is the difference between you actually doing it and just thinking about it, please plug that sucker in and blend away.

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Tags: Flavorful, Greens, Herb, Pestos, Scraps, Turn, vegetable

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[opepin]

nov: week two

13: 5/6 pto day~ it was pretty gloomy outside so i felt a bit gloomy on the inside. kevin went to work and i woke up before he left. i ate another cinnamon raisin english muffin for bfast and then i hopped on my computer to update my tumblr. until i get my new gratitude journal, i am going to continue writing about my day, but i might change it up so that it’s bullet points again. we’ll see. i was pretty productive today. i finally decided on a gratitude journal to try it out and ordered it on amazon. then i chilled and watched some youtube videos and caught up on anime while eating lunch. after lunch, i digested a bit and then hit the gym. i thought i was going to spend it all in the yoga studio but i ended up needing to go to the fitness center so after glute activation exercises, i went across and did sumo squats and deadlifts. my legs felt so weak today. it could have been my form as well because my mind was scattered from going back and forth to the fitness center and yoga studio @_@; i managed to get through all the weighted exercises and then went back to the studio to do a burn out and hip dip exercises. i might have scared off someone in the studio, but i was in the zone so... ahha...

i came back, cooled off and stretched, and then showered and made myself a smoothie. i started prepping dinner and then kevin told me he left the office late so i just made dinner tonight. i made our spicy kale coconut fried rice and it came out pretty good (: i’m so happy with the outcome haha. kevin was also real happy to come home to a hot meal. it was nice. before cooking, i spent some time looking for my chocolate molds. they disappeared somewhere. i don’t know where they are :( i looked in all the small places as well as the storage room and no dice. kevin even looked with me after we ate :( sigh. i’m sad but i hope it will turn up somewhere. we asked the front to check our old apartment to see if we forgot it. i mean, it is transparent right? kevin went for a run after helping me look and i just continued looking until it was time to sleep. i was really bummed so i slept early. lol. 

14: i got up at 7:45 am and then did my 30 minutes of stretching. it was nice and quiet in the morning and i felt like doing something but not cardio or anything of the sort. then i changed and made my smoothie for breakfast, said goodbye to kevin, and left for work. only john and haowei were in the office today. cole was waiting for a furniture delivery so he wasn’t in. mmm the moment i got on the train, i felt really sleepy. when i got into the office, i felt pretty kjsfnbkjsdf. i don’t know if it’s the heating, lack of people, etc. but i wanted to go home asap. there wasn’t much for me to do in the morning so i did some testing. then at around 11:50 pm, i ate my lunch and then packed up and headed to a chinatown market to get a carrot for our slaw tonight. i waited 10+ minutes to buy one carrot for 46 cents because the people in front of me chose to buy soy sauce that wasn’t entered into the system yet -____<” i mean it’s not their fault but the two other lines started moving faster after i was boxed into this line...

i got out and then rushed over to south station to get on my train. i waited 7 minutes for my train because it probably had left before i got to the station :( luckily, i got back at 1 pm and phil didn’t ping me about our meeting until i asked him if he was ready at 1:06 pm. we talked about next steps and upcoming sessions and then he went into a meeting and i continued to work while watching an episode of ‘jane the virgin.’ i got my blender bottle in the mail today! i washed the dishes as soon as i could so i could use it after my workout today. i also got kevin a ‘pre xmas’ gift! i saw that there was a christmas caroling and hot chocolate boat cruise so i got tickets for us because last year, he went on a team outing instead of the jazz cruise i booked for us (i took hillary instead because it made sense and we had funn!). so i thought it would be nice if he actually went this time~ hehe. kevin went climbing so after work, i cut up the carrot and cabbage and let it wilt with salt for about an hour while working out. i felt like doing a few cardio hip hop routines, standing abs, abs on a mat, and then ending everything with hip dip / bodyweight butt exercises. it was a good and fun workout. i finished seasoning the slaw after my workout and used my blender bottle to mix my protein with cashew milk. lol, the lid wasn’t locked in properly so i spilled a bit of my expensive af protein on the rice cooker and counter T___T on the bright side, everything was blended perfectly! tomorrow, i’ll try putting in some honey to see if it will mix well or not.

as i finished up with the slaw, kevin came back. we showered and then toasted burger buns, heated up the leftover pulled chicken, and ate small burgers for dinner. we were still hungry and i got an idea to make “curry buns.” i flattened out one burger bun, put leftover curry inside, sandwiched the curry inside and sealed the bread by pinching the outsides, and then pan fried it in butter. well, i did the stuffing and kevin did the pan frying. if we heated up the curry before pan frying it, i think it would have tasted better but it was fun cooking on the spot with kevin :3 <3 we split one and then i had a bite of kevin’s guava strudel while we watched the latest foodwishes video. we want to make his new soup video as well as his hasselback turkey breast video when we come back from thanksgiving. we cleaned up a little and then beat battleblock theater! omg the last few levels are so hard lmao. the ending was trololol but i think there will be a sequel. it was challenging and fun playing with kevin. :) we half-planned what to get our families for christmas (gift baskets for each of us visiting our families from harry and david). 

then he gamed and i got ready for bed. this night, i was on my phone later than usual because i was chatting with daniel about working out with him when i get back, michelle about daylight savings dahkness, and chewy about us missing each other and i want to see her and i want to visit her so badly but ticket prices are so expensive from coast to coast T__T and then i did the thing where i stayed up on my phone doing nothing productive. if i got a new phone, i think i would spend more time on it, which is bad. lol. my oneplus one is my longest tech relationship with a screen (lol): 3 years and still going strong (well, my phone’s body is chipping).

15: i’ve been working out when i actually feel like it so i didn’t work out this morning and slept in :) i’m getting back to 7 hours of sleep now (more than once or twice a week)! kevin headed out for work and then i made my breakfast smoothie and started work. i’ve been craving warmer foods because it is colder now but my protein won’t taste as good if i put it in oatmeal or something. hmm, maybe i could just blend milk and protein and then eat an english muffin with pb and bananas on it. it’s a bigger breakfast but if it’s hot, i don’t think i would mind at all :) work has been chill this week because it is nearing thanksgiving and things are winding down for now. this day is a bit of a blur for me. i’m not sure what i did. i stayed at my computer for the most part until kevin got back home. i did talk to phil for a bit and then signed off and hurried to get the chicken thighs into the slow cooker. i didn’t realize it would take 4 hours for the slow cooker recipe. so i chopped up onions and garlic, put in the sauces and spices, and turned on the slow cooker. kevin got back early-ish but it he was in a heated argument with jon about sentencing. -___- this debate went on even after i went to sleep...

i snacked on edamame while kevin angrily typed away at his keyboard and waited for him to go to the gym with me. i knew it would take him more time to stop so i just left and did arms and back. i lifted mostly with 8s and 10s and took it slower this session. my arms are pretty flimsy and i still think my form is a bit off. i’m gonna check with daniel when i come back to chicago. after my workout, kevin was still debating. so i forced him to stop and go run and then i showered and added cornstarch to the thighs before it was done cooking 30 minutes later. i was pretty hungry by the time we ate. while kevin showered and cooked celery, i watched the beginning of season 5 of ‘mind of chef’ featuring ludo. lol kevin could see how excited i was and i kept gushing. i have 2-3 favorite chefs: david chang, ludo lefebvre, and christina tosi. i go nuts when i watch documentaries about them. lol. i now want to go to LA just to try all of ludo’s restaurants. instead of opening a big fancy restaurant, he went for a bit grungier strip malls in LA, which is fascinating. lol ok i’ll stop fangirling. we managed to get in a few games of helldivers before i rq’d and went to sleep because kevin would not stop debating with jon. i slept pretty late at 1 am (my phone dammit). i wrote in my gratitude journal that i just got as well. i want to think more positively. i think after this week, i’m going to stop updating my tumblr for a bit and just write in my gratitude journal.

16: i got up to go to work but after eating breakfast and changing my outfit twice, i really didn’t feel like going. so i changed back into my sleep clothes and worked from home. when it rains and looks gloomy and i’m not sure if my team is in the office, it makes me want to stay home. kevin got out of bed a bit later than usual so he went to work straight away. then i did a bit of work and phil pinged me with a new thing to do so i hopped on that. i worked on that until lunch time. then i ate lunch while watching youtube videos and downloading videos and movies to watch on my flight tuesday morning to chicagooo. after lunch, i anxiously waited for the eggie season ii drop. when it happened, i got a password screen and then all the items slowly came loading in. tbh, i wasn’t impressed :( mindy and i looked at the same time and she said she kind wanted the blur tee and i kind of wanted the oo dang long sleeve but $7 shipping is not worth for two shirts that are a bit pricey. we decided to wait for the next drop and bundle the shirts later. yeah, i had really high expectations. the season is inspired by the 2000s fashion, which i’m not a huge fan of, so maybe that’s why?

after that anti-climatic moment, daniel talked me into trying to bypass the $20 guest pass fee for his gym by live chatting someone for a free pass on his gym’s website. what he didn’t tell me is that they would call me and ask more and try to sell me their membership... man, i can’t lie. i feel so bad about it. :( i’m not gonna pick up sigh. i feel guilty for lying. anyway, i hopped on stand up and finished with the assignment phil gave me. the stand up took longer than i expected but after, i took a break to do some internet errands and stretches while watching more mind of the chef ft. ludo <3 after work, i made rice and chicken thighs for dinner. kevin came home and he made some chinese broccoli. hm i think today, i was feeling pretty moody. i watched some anime probably and some youtube videos while walking around the apartment. kevin went ahead and gamed with the guys. i think it was a pretty typical evening for us. we watched more ludo <3 while eating dinner and i continued watching after. hehe. i love this season.

17: today, i had a stressful day because of work. i didn’t work out in the morning but i ate my breakfast and then asked phil some questions and at the end of the conversation, i felt overwhelmed with the amount of videos i had to remake because of our monthly releases... so right after our talk, i hit the yoga studio. i started out with kickboxing with weights and then into hiit and a bit of legs. i ended up working out for over an hour. then i went back, drank a protein smoothie, showered, and ate lunch. i tried starting on my massive pile of work by figuring out how to streamline this process so that this won’t happen again. i like doing video tutorials but not when i am told i have to redo all the ones i’ve done because of small navigational changes... so i googled, researched, thought, brainstormed, etc about ways i can make this process easier for me and maybe for someone else in the future. i did this for a while alone until i decided to ask winston, kevin, and vivian for their ideas. winston actually video chatted with me for a while and it was nice catching up with him even though no solid solution came up. vivian gave me her best answer, which was plausible but not in the long run. kevin came back home and gave me two interesting ideas, but in the end, i had it in my mind that i had to remake all of them. oh well. it was the end of a week, so i set my mind to rest.

kevin brought me back sliders from his friday happy hour and we ate that while playing pokemon ultra sun and moon! i could have not worked a bit more and started playing but i wanted to start with kevin. we played a bit and then kevin went out for a run and then for dinner, reheated some broth to make korean rice cake soup. we watched ‘mind of a chef’ until i realized, that ludo’s season was only half of the season’s episodes... i forgot that this is how it was laid out after david chang in season 1. so we started watching the ‘best of’ episodes while eating. we ate the rest of our pomelo for dessert. we gamed for the rest of the night happily. we obviously, stayed up and gamed lol.

18: oh yes, we woke up late and we played pokemon in bed until we got hungry. then we decided to be responsible and went to do a quick grocery run. we just got edamame and bananas from bj’s because that’s what i eat on a daily basis lol. we got some ingredients to make caldo verde with the leftover kale in our fridge as well. kevin got me a slice of chocolate cake and some dark chocolate because i’ve been craving it like crazy. i know it’s going to be my time of month when i have a craving for rich dense chocolate cake lol. we also picked up chocolate covered wavy lays chips -- it’s a no. i ate it all but i would not buy again. lol. i would suggest getting ferrero roche instead. well, we got back and kevin felt like going climbing. i think we put everything away and then played more pokemon for a bit and then kevin went out. i tidied up a bit and got myself in the mood for working out. i wasn’t sure what i was going to do but i went to the yoga studio anyway. there was a girl facetiming someone in there... i felt awkward but i just did my thang in the corner while she did that. i don’t think she meant to go into the yoga studio for just that purpose because i heard her saying that he was interrupting her workout session. she left like 10 minutes after i started working out lmao.

i did full body strength today because i won’t have access to weights for most of next week. it was a good workout! i got back, made myself a smoothie, cut the potatoes and onion, and then washed some dishes. kevin got back, we showered, and he got to cooking caldo verde. i was pretty munchy at this point so i kept picking off the sausages lol. the soup turned out delicious! i think we ended up playing pokemon for the rest of the night. well, at least i did. i think kevin stopped and played hots before going to sleep. zzz.

19: today will be the last post before my gratitude journal break. we were bums again :P we played pokemon in the morning and then i was getting cramps and feeling out of it. i think we kept gaming for a while... ryan asked us if we wanted to game with him and terence and we ended up playing gauntlet together. after that, i started cleaning to be productive. at some point, i think kevin went for a run and then i worked out as well. we showered and then kevin made us fried rice with leftovers for dinner. after dinner, we digested a bit and then... hmm, maybe we ate then digested and then worked out, showered, and then cleaned the kitchen. lol. i am updating this on the 21st (when i stayed up to catch my flight to chicago) so i’m a bit out of it and 3 days ago is a lot @_@; anyway, it ended up being a really productive night. we cleaned everything and i got to rest a bit with my cramping and stuff. i tried going to sleep a bit earlier than we’ve been going to sleep because i needed to check in for southwest and get up to see the gymshark sales as well as take a call from kristen. yup. it didn’t feel like tomorrow was going to be a start to a new week aka work. i loved the way we spent this weekend just chilling and enjoying each other’s company. :)

20/21: okay, so that’ll be it for a bit. yesterday and today has been crazy. we spent monday working. i actually came up with a great game plan for the videos currently and worked a bit longer than i expected to -- i was on a grind though! we gamed together after eating dinner and when we left, we thought we had everything down, but when i got to chicago, i realized we didn’t take out the garbage... so i hope i don’t see a million fruit flies when i come back T__T i’m a bit worried but we’ll see! anyway, i stayed up yesterday because kevin’s flight to china left at 1 am and i wanted to go to the airport with him even though my flight left at 5 am. so after he went through security, i headed back to my terminal, brushed my teeth, and found a place to charge my phone. i started watching ‘psycho pass’ and i did stay up for the entire aiport process. i ko’d when i got on the plane. now it’s 10 pm and i am getting a bit sleepy. not sure if i want to do 10-15 minutes of abs anymore and/or play pokemon. i’m kind of ready to sleep. well, talk to you later, tumblr! thanks for being there for me and helping me document my life from sophomore year of high school until a year / two years after college graduation. it’s been real. i’ll be back in some way! <3

[thetomorrowshow]

Mutually Beneficial Ch. xxxii

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Recommended listening: Shawn James - Burn The Witch

Tw: Villain!Deceit, thoughts of death, mild suicidal thoughts (more like lack of objection to dying)

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Deceit woke suddenly. Something was wrong. If he wasn't mistaken, that something was . . . Logic. Logic had nearly died. There were only two ways that could have happened—something had been illogical that Logan had believed it, or some other being had coaxed Logic into fading. He was inclined to believe the latter. Whatever it was, it had come very close to breaking him.

What could break Logan?

Remus.

Yes, let's kill him.

Shut up, it's too early for this.

Deceit threw himself out of bed and fairly flew from the room, not even bothering to fix his hair, snapping his clothes on as he ran. Where would Remus be at this hour? He could be anywhere! Remus seemed to rarely sleep in his own room—Deceit had seen him crawl out of cupboards in the morning, come in through the kitchen window (his favorite entrance in the house, so Deceit always kept it unlatched), slide out from under the couch, sing his presence as he danced in from the Imagination. Several times, he'd slunk in quietly from the Subconscious. Half the time, he didn't turn up all day! There was no way of knowing where he was. What if he was still with Logan—or Logan was still with him? Could Deceit get him away from the dark nightmares Remus must have induced, for Logan to have such a vehement reaction as death?

Then Deceit stopped. He reached as far back into his mind as possible—back into that shadowy corner, the one with darkness so tangible it was dripping.

How?

Deceit slowly retraced his steps, stopping outside of the room with yellow light seeping under the doorway. Virgil was still within, still unconscious, he discovered upon opening the door, but the chest—

The chest was gone.

Finally. Finally.

Get. It. Back. Hurry!

Had his protective measures really nearly killed Logic? It felt absurd, but something about the defenses had worked far better than he'd intended. Perhaps Logan would really have been so stupid as to have tried to pull the chains off by himself, but Deceit couldn't believe that.

At least the chains had stopped them. If Logan almost dying was anything to go off of, they hadn't been able to get it open.

But they were certainly mad at him, he'd bet.

Who knew? Perhaps they'd force his own defenses on him, make him fade. Deceit, surprising even himself, found that he didn't care all too much. As long as his mission was complete.

As long as Virgil fades as well.

Deceit looked down at Virgil. His mist still wrapped him like a hazy halo, shimmering slightly. Perhaps it was the odd yellow light, but the Side looked ghostly pale, and was that—were Virgil's fingers translucent?

They were. He was close—just a few more days, another week at most. His time was limited, as they'd found the chest, but that just meant no more waking Virgil, no matter how much he wanted him to hurt. He hadn't killed a Side like this in a long time, and, at the time, he'd never wanted to do it again, but this felt good. In a bad way. Sort of?

Stop. This hurts to think about.

What would they do to him?

He'd almost killed Logan—well, not Deceit personally, but the defenses he'd designed—which would clearly be a cause for retaliation.

They would want to kill him. They probably already did.

Deceit could picture it—Roman, sharpening his sword in the flickering firelight, occasionally sending a dark glare his way. Logan, pulling tight some contrivance of ropes that would make it impossible for Deceit to move. Patton, giving him that simpering smile, while pulling his hands down to the chest, forcing his fingers to one of the chains. . . .

He felt no fear at that scenario. Before he'd been close, he might've been scared.

Deceit had the vague feeling that his lack of objection to death should be worrying, but couldn't muster the strength to care. He enjoyed his job, but on bad days (and today was definitely shaping up to be one of those), he'd rather be gone than alive. He was so tired of pushing on. After Virgil was gone though? Everything would be right. He'd want to live every day, not just on the good ones. Or the Light Sides would kill him, and he wouldn't have to think about it anymore.

I don't want to die.

Oh, sure, die! Never get to see the fruits of your labors! Yes, you should definitely just give up!

Were the two parts of him agreeing? That was a first.

It didn't matter. They either were going to kill him, or they weren't—they were probably going to kill him, though. It was almost heavy, the silence that spoke of end. His end.

They'd never understand.

Let them kill him, then. His mission would be complete.

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