#varieties of cocoa powder

[pjakes]

Exploring the Powder of Cocoa

Cooking with cocoa powder is a delightful way to add rich, chocolatey flavor to various dishes. Here are the main types of cocoa powder and four delicious recipes to get you started: Types 1. **Natural Cocoa Powder**: This is the most common type, made from roasted cocoa beans. It has a strong, slightly acidic flavor, is the lightest in color, and is often used in baking. Most of these types…

[urhoneycombwitch]

common tongue of you lovin' me

Eddie Munson x Reader loverboy smut of the touchstarved variety.

foreword: based on THIS anon everyone say THANKS anon. R and Eddie are in their early 20’s, R is on a gap year from college (so me), they’re in a new relationship with each other, I’m writing this while blasted on edibles idk what else to say 0_o

cw: nervous Eddie, touchstarved R, smut, dry humping (is it actually dry if they’re both wet…?), cumming in pants, one (1) use of the word “daddy”, light use of the miscommunication trope

wc: 2.5k 

____

By nature, Eddie Munson is not a shy person.

Even though his dark reputation in Hawkins hasn’t been completely erased, he still manages to make friends wherever he goes through sheer force of personality. It’s like a magic trick, one that you never get tired of- he’ll pause in the middle of grocery stores to make faces at a baby in a stroller, getting belly laughs out of a stranger’s kid in less than ten seconds while still holding your hand down the aisle. One second he’s right behind you in the record store, looking over your shoulder as you browsed, and the next he’ll be on one knee charming a elementary school-aged kid into getting the latest Dio album.

You’ve seen him flirt his way out of speeding tickets with Hopper, for christ’s sake. 

Eddie isn’t shy by any stretch of the imagination, so after three months of nothing but chaste kisses and quiet hand-holding, you’re left to assume he actually wants to take things slow with you.

He’s been nothing but a gentleman, in these early days of dating- the most action you’ve gotten from him was unintentional. On your third date, a dollop of his ice cream landed on your lap when he used the cone to gesture, which led him to manically grabbing napkins out of his dashboard to wipe at your skirt while you laughed it off. The second he’d brushed against your bare thigh he snapped his hands back like he’d touched a live wire, hastily heaping on apologies, leaving you to allay his nerves while wiping at the stain yourself.  

Which, whatever. It’s fine. It’s not like you’re complaining about him being respectful, per se, it’s just that it’s getting harder and harder (hah) to pretend like you don’t wanna fuck him. The feeling between your thighs only seems to increase in intensity when he gives you one of those precious little hand kisses at the end of a date, or a closed-mouth peck before he drives off into the night. 

Unfortunately for you and your wet dreams, Eddie Munson has the most edible body you’ve ever seen. Biceps bulging through those form-fitting tees he likes to wear, rounded nose and strong jaw outlined by that cloud of soft black hair, those lithe hips…

Hips that you’re openly staring at from across the room as you sit quietly on Eddie’s couch. He’s reaching up to grab a mug from the cabinet, his Metallica tee pulling up out of his dark denim at the motion, flashing a stripe of his pale lower back.  

You feel like a Victorian maid seeing ankle for the first time. You subtly press your thighs together under your short tartan skirt as Eddie moves around the kitchen, talking animatedly about the start of his upcoming campaign.

“I haven’t decided yet if I’m gonna go easy on the little shits or not,” he says, metal spoon clinking against ceramic as he mixes hot chocolate powder. “It’s Max’s first session as an official player, and I don’t wanna scare her off but I do have a reputation to uphold.”

“Yeah,” you agree, giving him a knowing smile as he crosses the room to pass you your mug- “You’re a DM most fearsome. Can’t let them off the hook too easily.”

Eddie blooms under your praise, wiggling his eyebrows with familiar cockiness as he settles on the cushion beside you. “Gotta keep Hawkins' finest in line. It’s a tough gig but I did swear an oath, after all.”

You smile around a sip of hot cocoa, then reach over to set your mug on the coffee table. Eddie has been sat in his usual manner (knees far enough apart to be taking up his whole seat, arm draped casually on the back of the couch) but the second your knee knocks against his, he adjusts himself stiffly, drawing his arm back with a nervous throat-clearing and a murmured “sorry”.

Normally you’d let it go, not wanting to push the issue past the point of his comfortability. But it’s been Three. Months. Of this. And you wanna test the waters, just a little.

“Sorry for what?” You ask, rotating to face him, your shoulders almost-but-not-quite touching.

He’d doing an uncanny impression of a deer caught in headlights, blinking at you with those doey brown eyes, stuttering his way through a weak explanation- “Uh… uh. Sorry for being- f-for touching you?”

There’s a lift at the end of his sentence, one that you mirror with a tilt of your own brow, a playful challenge. “You don’t have to apologize for touching me, Eddie. I’m your girlfriend.”

He chuckles, a nervous edge bleeding around the sound. The curls around his face dance with the head shake he gives. “No, of course, yeah, I know that.”

“Do you?” You scoot closer, a kick of assertiveness giving you the courage to press your leg against his. 

“Uh huh.” He’s gazing openly now at the bare skin of your thigh, like he’s waiting to see if it'll burn a hole into his denim. 

When you gently lift his hand and place it on the skin that he’s looking at, you hear him gulp, audibly. 

So he does want to touch you. Interesting.  

You know for a fact Eddie’s not a virgin. Back in high school, you’d both dated around your respective circles, gossip surrounding escapades in the Munson Van circulating back to you through mutual friends. When he’d asked you out a few months previous, you’d happily accepted, wanting to take full advantage of your interim gap year from college. For the first few weeks, you’d chalked his near-celibate behavior up to nerves.

But now, you’ve got him squirming with just a thigh touch. So maybe… he’s waiting for you to make the first move?

Fuck testing the waters- you’re gonna dive in head-first. 

You swing your leg over his lap, kneeling on the outside of his hips. His hands automatically go to your waist, and he lets out a little “Oh” as you rest your arms around his shoulders.

“You gonna kiss your girlfriend?” you whisper, forehead crushing into his bangs as you wrap a hand around the back of his neck.

Eddie looks up at you like he’s seeing a full moon for the first time, eyes sparkling with want. “Yeah,” he rasps, angling his face up to kiss you.

It’s soft, at first, like it always has been. His plush lips softly move against yours, breaking for air once, twice; when he kisses you with that same softness for a third time you press your tongue to the seam between his lips.

He lets you in with a little noise, low in the back of his throat as you lick into his mouth. His hands twitch on your hips as your tongues twine, slight movements in his own hips creating a ripple effect.

When the hard seam of his jeans bumps against the warmth of your cunt, you both gasp, your hand at the back of his neck tightening. 

“We should probably, um-” he’s panting against your mouth, grip flexing between hard and soft- “I mean, if you wanna stop…”

“I don’t wanna stop. Do you wanna stop?” you ask, equally out of breath.

“Fuck no,” he rasps again, in that smoke-salt voice, and this time when he kisses you it’s with one hand at the back of your head and the other pulling your hips to meet his.

The noises from the wet slide of your mouths are turning you on more than you care to admit, and you’re sure he can feel the damp patch that’s soaking through your panties as the crotch of his jeans make contact again. Which normally would make you feel really self-conscious, if it weren’t for the fact that Eddie’s hard as a rock underneath you, the bulge in his pants thickening with each roll of your hips.

You drop your kisses down, exploring where you haven’t been able to before: against his cheek, his jaw, stopping just behind his ear. Unable to help yourself, you graze your teeth against the velvet skin there, and he jolts beneath you with a small yelp.

“Sorry,” you whisper, still a touch mirthful but soothing your tongue over the mark.

Eddie brushes his thumb across the back of your neck as you continue your path down the column of his throat. “Now who’s sayin’ sorry for no reason. Baby, I’m begging you to do that again.”

So you do, this time at the junction where his neck and shoulder meet, grinning against his skin when he groans and bucks his hips up. 

Around your hickey-making, he’s choking out words that you just manage to string together. “I wanna… make you feel- christ, sweetheart- good too, wanna make it good for you-”

When you sit up to see his face, he looks absolutely wrecked- rosy flush in his cheeks, lips swollen and kiss-bitten, pupils blown so big his eyes are nearly black with lust.

“You are making me feel good,” you assure him, pulling the hand he’s got on your neck down to where the end of your skirt sits, pausing before your next move. “You want me to prove it?”

He nods, and you guide him into the warmth of your thighs, letting his fingers graze the stickiness that’s been steadily soaking through the fabric.

Eddie inhales sharply, moans out, “Fuck, honey”, and when his thumb finds your clit you sink down into his touch, stomach tightening with the shock of arousal coursing through you.

He’s watching your face intently as he slowly circles your clit, gauging your reactions, pressing in a bit harder and faster when the pace change makes you cry out.

Feeling doubly exposed with his eye contact and hand against your core, you try making a joke to diffuse some of the tension as the pad of his finger moves against you in steady rhythm. “Still thinkin’ about stopping?”

“A train could crash through that wall and it wouldn’t stop me for a second,” Eddie says, resolute and getting a little braver, kissing his own path across your throat, nibbling at a spot that makes your clit pulse beneath his fingertip and your cunt clench around nothing. 

Goddamn, he’s a quick learner. In less than two minutes he’s got you so close to the edge, squirming around his touch, that you have to grab his wrist and still his fingers between your thighs.

“What’s wrong?” he asks. You can feel his breath punching up down up, your breasts pushed up against his chest from the way your body was trying to coil in on itself.

“Nothing,” you assure him, and now it’s your turn to falter around your words. “I just- maybe can I… I wanna get o-off at the same time. If you want. And I’m really, really close.”

Eddie’s head falls back against the couch with a thunk, eyes scrunching shut as if in concentration, a strung-out whine leaving his throat. “Hang on. Give me a second.”

He’s still got his hand on your clothed pussy, and you can’t help but giggle once he blinks back to the present, dazed- “Christ. You can’t say shit like that, baby, I almost came in my jeans.”

You give him a condescending little pout, accented with another twist of your hips. “Well maybe that’s what I want.”

“Give you anything,” Eddie replies, unabashedly babbling now as you adjust yourself in his lap. “Anything you want, sweetheart. It’s yours. All yours.”

He helps you maneuver into a new angle: now, your drenched core can rub freely against his thigh, while your knee in the socket of his hip means he can rut his cock along the flat of your leg.

When you move experimentally in shallow circles on his thigh, the newly-gained friction lights up your throbbing clit. Soon, all pretenses melt away as you both find your rhythm again, little grunts and pants filling the air.

“Feel good, angel? That’s it,” Eddie encourages, slipping his hand under your skirt to grope at the meat of your ass, helping your movements along as he chases his own pleasure with a rocking grind against your leg. “Take what you need. Lemme get you there. Please, please…”

His whines spur you on, one of your hands shooting out to clutch at the back of the couch beside his head while the other anchors itself on his opposing bicep. “Fuck, Eddie, keep talking like that, ‘m so close…”

“Talk to you all day,” he heaves out, “you make me so fucking hard, princess. You feel how hard I am for you? God, you’re so wet, that’s so fucking hot…”

You should have expected that bravado and charm you’ve seen these last few years to naturally be carried over into his sex life, but god, not in your wettest of dreams could you have imagined the mouth on him. 

The combination of his dirty talk and thigh between your legs is bringing you right up to that edge again, toes curling in anticipation, cunt starting to flutter erratically with every thrust.

“Fuck, baby, I’m gonna come…” your head rolls back on its hinge, eyes flickering shut as Eddie fumbles to catch at your clit again, movements becoming sloppy. 

“C’mon, pretty baby, let go.” He’s sucking another mark into your neck between his praises, teeth catching- “Let me see you come, honey, be a good girl for daddy…”

“Jesus FUCKING christ” is all you manage to grit out before you’re tipping over the edge into orgasm, all your muscles bearing down into the bright point of pleasure, high sob winding its way from your throat. 

Eddie keeps kneading at your spasming clit as you ride it out on his thigh, even as he lets out a series of short, keening whimpers, even as his cock jerks against your leg into his own release. 

You sag into his waiting arms, tittering lightly against his neck as you both work on catching your collective breaths. 

“Holy shit, and I was really starting to think you actually didn’t want to fuck me.” You laugh in relief.

His hand pauses mid-stroke up the slope of your back, sounding genuinely aghast when he asks “Why the fuck would you think that?”

You straighten in his arms with an incredulous stare. “Uh, maybe because you acted like a monk that I was corrupting every time I even breathed near you?”

Eddie covers his eyes with his hands, heels to sockets, groaning- “Fuck, honey, I was tryn’a be respectful. You’re telling me we could’ve been doing this sooner?”

You reach to soothe your palms over the length of his forearms, equally fond and serious when you say “I’m telling you I absolutely would have slept with you on the first date.”

He makes a strangled, pained noise before you continue- “You described to me in detail the entire mating cycle of a bat, and then walked directly into a trash can by accident. How did you expect me to wait on jumping your bones?”

He lets you take his hands, enveloping them in your own and bringing them to your chest, pressing your lips affectionately to each ring.

He whispers, “Can I ask you something?” 

When you look up at him again, he says, with sincerity, “Can I see your tits next time?”

You hide your laughter into the crook of his neck. 

________

guys i cannot stress how high I am is this even any good plz perceive me 

[theambitiouswoman]

Superfoods you should incorporate in your diet:

Superfoods are nutrient-dense foods that are considered beneficial for your health due to their high concentration of vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, and other beneficial compounds.

Combine these superfoods with a variety of other whole foods to ensure you're getting a wide range of nutrients. Also, be mindful of portion sizes and any individual dietary restrictions or allergies you may have.

Berries: Blueberries, strawberries, raspberries, and other berries are rich in antioxidants, fiber, and vitamins.

Leafy greens: Spinach, kale, Swiss chard, and other leafy greens are packed with vitamins, minerals, and fiber. They are low in calories and provide important nutrients like vitamin K, vitamin C, and folate.

Cruciferous vegetables: Broccoli, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, and cabbage are part of the cruciferous vegetable family. They contain compounds that may help reduce the risk of certain cancers.

Nuts and seeds: Almonds, walnuts, chia seeds, flaxseeds, and hemp seeds are excellent sources of healthy fats, protein, fiber, and various vitamins and minerals.

Fish: Fatty fish like salmon, sardines, and mackerel are rich in omega-3 fatty acids, which are beneficial for heart health and brain function.

Whole grains: Quinoa, brown rice, oats, and whole wheat are examples of whole grains that provide fiber, vitamins, and minerals.

Legumes: Beans, lentils, chickpeas, and other legumes are high in fiber, protein, and various nutrients. They are also a good source of plant-based protein.

Turmeric: This spice contains curcumin, a compound with potent anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties.

Green tea: Green tea is rich in antioxidants called catechins and is believed to have various health benefits, including improved brain function and a lower risk of certain diseases.

Dark chocolate: Dark chocolate with a high cocoa content (70% or higher) is a source of antioxidants and may have positive effects on heart health and mood.

Avocado: Avocados are rich in healthy fats, fiber, and various vitamins and minerals. They also provide a good source of potassium.

Greek yogurt: Greek yogurt is a protein-rich food that also contains beneficial probiotics, calcium, and vitamin B12.

Sweet potatoes: Sweet potatoes are packed with vitamins, minerals, and fiber. They are an excellent source of beta-carotene, which is converted into vitamin A in the body.

Garlic: Garlic contains sulfur compounds that have been associated with potential health benefits, including immune support and cardiovascular health.

Ginger: Ginger has anti-inflammatory properties and is commonly used to aid digestion and relieve nausea.

Seaweed: Seaweed, such as nori, kelp, and spirulina, is a rich source of minerals like iodine, as well as antioxidants and omega-3 fatty acids.

Pomegranate: Pomegranates are packed with antioxidants and are believed to have anti-inflammatory properties. They are also a good source of vitamin C and fiber.

Cacao: Raw cacao is the purest form of chocolate and is rich in antioxidants, flavonoids, and minerals. It can be enjoyed as nibs, powder, or in dark chocolate form.

Quinoa: Quinoa is a gluten-free grain that provides a complete source of protein, along with fiber, vitamins, and minerals.

Extra virgin olive oil: Olive oil is a healthy fat option, particularly extra virgin olive oil, which is high in monounsaturated fats and antioxidants.

Chia seeds: Chia seeds are a great source of fiber, omega-3 fatty acids, and antioxidants. They can be added to smoothies, yogurt, or used as an egg substitute in recipes.

Beets: Beets are rich in antioxidants and are known for their vibrant color. They also contain nitrates, which have been shown to have beneficial effects on blood pressure and exercise performance.

Matcha: Matcha is a powdered form of green tea and is known for its high concentration of antioxidants. It provides a calm energy boost and can be enjoyed as a tea or added to smoothies and baked goods.

Algae: Algae, such as spirulina and chlorella, are nutrient-dense foods that are rich in protein, vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants. They are often consumed in powdered or supplement form.

Fermented foods: Fermented foods like sauerkraut, kimchi, kefir, and kombucha are rich in beneficial probiotics that support gut health and digestion.

Maca: Maca is a root vegetable native to the Andes and is often consumed in powdered form. It is known for its potential hormone-balancing properties and is commonly used as an adaptogen.

Goji berries: Goji berries are small red berries that are rich in antioxidants, vitamins, and minerals. They can be enjoyed as a snack or added to smoothies and oatmeal.

Hemp seeds: Hemp seeds are a great source of plant-based protein, healthy fats, and minerals like magnesium and iron. They can be sprinkled on salads, yogurt, or blended into smoothies.

Moringa: Moringa is a nutrient-dense plant that is rich in vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants. It is often consumed as a powder or used in tea.

Mushrooms: Certain mushrooms, such as shiitake, reishi, and maitake, have immune-boosting properties and are rich in antioxidants. They can be cooked and added to various dishes.

[literaryvein-reblogs]

hello i love your word lists and i was wondering if i could request one specifically for baking! i need title inspo for a story i'm writing :)

Some Baking Vocabulary

Aeration - the treatment of batter or dough by charging with air to produce increase in volume

Ancient grains - all whole grains are considered ancient because we are able to trace their roots back to the beginning of time

Caramelization - cooking sugar until it’s brown or golden

Chocolate - from the Aztec word xocolatl, meaning "bitter water"; a food derived from the cacao bean fermented, dried, roasted, ground and processed into cocoa powder; a liquor used to make a variety of chocolate products

Citron - the sweetened rind of a fruit

Clarify - to make a substance clear or pure

Courverture chocolate - high quality chocolate used for tempering and glossy coating

Crescent rolls - crescent-shaped bread rolls having a flaky texture

Crushing - formation of dry crust on surface of doughs due to evaporation of water from the surface

Currant - the acidulous berry of a shrub, usually dried and dark in colour

Essences - aromatic compounds used for flavouring confectionery; can be natural or synthetic, or blends of both

Ganache - a rich, smooth mixture of chocolate and cream is used as a filling, frosting, or glaze

Genaese - fatless sponge cake used as base in decorated cakes

Glaze - coat a dessert with a liquid, like melted chocolate, mirror glaze, sugar glaze, etc.

Hearth bread - yeast bread baked in round, oval or free form on hot, flat baking surfaces in an oven

Liqueur - spirits sweetened with sugar and flavoured with essences, fruit juice, or essential oils

Macerate - to soak the fruit in liquid, often sugar or alcohol, to soften it and enhance its flavor

Marble - creating a swirl effect by incorporating two doughs or batters of different colors or flavors together

Mise en Place - a French term meaning “everything in its place,” referring to the preparation and organization of ingredients before baking

Molasses - light to dark brown syrup obtained in making cane sugar

Old dough - yeast dough that is overproofed; dough may have tripled in volume and fallen

Oven spring - the rapid rise of bread dough during the first few minutes of baking due to the expansion of gas bubbles; critical for achieving a good loaf volume and a light, airy crumb

Petit fours - small fancy cakes that can be placed in the mouth in one piece

Plaiting - the weaving of one or more ropes of dough into an ordered design

Ramekin - a small dish made of glass or ceramic that is used for serving baked goods like custards, cakes, souffles, and more

Sources: 1 2 3 4 5 ⚜ More: Word Lists

So glad to hear this, thank you! Hope this helps with your search. Would love to read your work if it does. Otherwise, you could go through the sources, perhaps I wasn't able to include the right word/phrase for you. Also have more food-related posts here :)

[pixelfoodie]

Advocaat or advocatenborrel is a traditional Dutch alcoholic beverage made from eggs, sugar, and brandy. The rich and creamy drink has a smooth, custard-like consistency. the original thick variety, i.e. without albumen, is used as a waffle, pancake or poffertjes topping, as an ingredient for ice cream, custards, pastries and similar desserts, or as an apéritif or digestif. The latter, possibly topped with whipped cream and then occasionally sprinkled with a touch of cocoa powder, is served in a very tiny bowl or small glass from which it is eaten by use of a teaspoon. In Belgian restaurants and taverns, it may be a complementary accompaniment to a coffee. cr: Rinsky, Laura Halpin; Glenn Rinsky (2009). The Pastry Chef's Companion: A Comprehensive Resource Guide for the Baking and Pastry Professional. Hoboken, N.J.: John Wiley & Sons, Wikipedia ref photo.: https://alushlifemanual.com/snowball-cocktail-recipe

[sunny-mercya]

Ordinary Godly

Apollo x Male Reader

Fandom -> Percy Jackson Series

Masterlist

Percy Jackson, who has fought a variety of Monsters and argued—even battled at some point—with the Godly deities of the mighty Olympus, had expected everything—when stepping into the home of Jason and Will, with the rest of his little friends troop—but nothing like this.

Seeing you, the deity of tranquility and slumber—another brother of Hypnos—for the very first time in actuality—was a weird experience of meeting for Percy.

»THERE YOU ARE! MY TWO PRECIOUS SUMMER BOYS! OH, NICO! I GREET YOU TOO, COME HERE!«

You had emerged from the Kitchen, baggy clothes—consisted of a large tee with the print of some band name and lyrics quote and pyjama pants—covered in what seemed to be flour and cocoa powder.

Your voice was loud, filled with thrilling excitement of joyfulness. Taking Jason and Will into your arms, hugging them tightly against you and giving each of them more than just a few kisses to the cheeks and head. Nico had been pulled into this as well, suffering through much affection as well.

You're radiating more hyperactivity energy and child like behaviour off, than the emotions you're meant to send out.

Walking into a home, in which Jason and Will had grown up with their two godly parents, which looked so damn mundane humane—that Percy had to take a double check on that Cookie Tin-can, filled with sewing stuff.

It confused him. If they all had learned one thing of being Demigods—half children of godly blessings, which sometimes could be seen as a curse though—that none of the gods and goddesses—their other parentally half—live like a ordinary human.

Always exotic enormously flashy, expensive, but never dare to boring and dull—than a god whose dull and pathetic unnoticeable, could not be worthy for eternity of mighty existence.

Yet, Percy thought, both the house and you are a stark contrast to what they have been told. Simple and ordinary.

»Are we sure this is really a deity?« asked Percy in a hushed whisper, leaning down to Annabeths ear and elbowing her in the side.

»I haven't seen Demosonos personally, but I highly doubt Jason and Will wouldn't recognised their parent.« she whispered back, keeping wary glances at them—some Gods can't be trusted.

Nico who had managed to free himself from the suffocating hug of love, stepped back to them and hissed in the same hushing voice of whispers;

»Do you two have any death wishes? Don't upset them.«

I mean, Percy thought—letting his gaze wander back to you—if we do so, what would happen? Ares, Zeus, Hades, Athena and his own father—Poseidon—are much more scarily and worthy of being called merciless fighters.

You on the other hand, looked—truthfully—weak. Percy could for sure, probably, take you down in seconds.

After all, from what he could gather, you're more than just a minor god—even less than minor, a subcategory inside a subcategory—unworthy to be mention with the same breath of saying Nxy, Hypnos and all the way to Morpheus.

Still, Percy is after all confused to why their Prophecy and Quest is, to seek you out and ask for your help.

Lesser Gods aren't helpful, they're more a nuisance.

~~~

»And this must be your other friends? Right? Perseus and Annabeth?« the question was more towards your sons.

You stepped towards the two teens, Will had already pulled Nico away to the Sofa and Jason had gone to the Kitchen, greeting loudly his other dad.

Percy and Annabeth felt both a bit uncomfortable with your vacant stare and the friendly smile on your lips.

»Uhh, It's Percy actually, I don't liked to be called Perseus« Percy didn't know, why of all the things he could say, decided to say this—but he did, mouth being faster than his brain again—and Annabeth elbowed him hard in the rips, a tiny gaps of breath intake left her lips.

The friendly smile never wavered from your lips, nodding at them—they couldn't tell if you had even listen properly, vacant glint still in your eyes—head dropping a bit to the side.

»Aah! You want some tea and Sweets? C'mon, c'mon, now don't be shy you two, take a seat. Will be a dear and help me« clapping your hands, you ushered the two teens to the Sofa, skipping already to the Kitchen.

»I will explain later a bit,« with that being said, Will stood up as well.

Neither of the three said anything, looking around the living room with more interest than addressing the current situation—or more issues perhaps?

»I thought you knew what he is like Nico....I mean with you being Wills boyfriend, you are prone to meet his parents«

»Hey hey, don't come at me now Chase. I only have met Mr. [Surname] like three times and that was in the city.«

»Small tip of advice, don't be so stiff. Relax a little or Pa's gonna worry again« they hadn't noticed Jason, who have come back from the kitchen with a tray of Tea cups and Kettle.

Will following soon after with a Tray of sweets and pastries, setting it down on the coffee table. They both getting comfortable on the sofas—Jason on the main big one, while Will had sat with Nico on the right mini sofa and Percy and Annabeth on the left—again.

Nico instantly following Jasons advice, relaxing his body and sliding just a bit down.

When Apollo had entered the living room, Annabeth and Percy gasped loudly in surprise. Standing up they bow their head or more like, Annabeth forced Percy to do as well.

»Lord Apollo!«

»Since when did you become a Lord? Aren't you a God?« you asked in amused surprise, taking a seat as well.

»Apparently just now, love« Apollo shrugged, Will started to laugh and Jason sighed in disappointment, shaking his head—so much for giving advice to his friend, to not be so formally stiff and causing tension.

~~~

The hours passed and Percy and Annabeth had relaxed over the times. Coming to the conclusion that you aren't one of the tricky gods—like Ares—who likes to use them as soldiers.

You asked them various questions, be it about the quest or some daily things; like what's your favourite TV-Show.

It wasn't long till you slumped, actually passing out from something akin to exhaustion and sleep, body leaning against Apollo—who had long wrapped an arm around you in a protective manner.

Jason stood up, taking your legs and moving them onto the couch. Getting a blanket from the footstool—where are tower of them was stacked—and covering you a bit to the hips with it.

Percy couldn't help himself but to stare at the marks—he first took notice of them when you handing him a gummy-bear—which covers your arms, starting from your wrist and ending somewhere at your neck or collarbone.

He had seen these types of Marks before. Racking his brain for the information he had read about or being told from.

Oh.

Percy jumped up, snapping his fingers and pointing—accusingly—at you. Head turning to Annabeth and again his mouth had been faster than his brain.

»That's THE DEMON OF OLYMPUS!« he had shouted it so loud, that your body jerked up—stirring awake is what you begun, already mumbling something sleepily out of context.

Apollo moved you quickly into his arms, shushing you gently back to the dreamlands and humming a little tune of it.

A mess had started to erupt between them all.

»I know! It's still highly disrespectful to point that out, seaweed brain!« Annabeth slapped him hard against the shoulder.

»Do you have a death wish, Jackson? Do you want us get killed?« hissed Nico, giving a glare, sitting uptight again and body going absolutely rigid stiff.

The worst part for Percy was probably the disbelieving disappointment frown on both, Jasons and Apollos—though his frown looked more like concealed bubbling anger—face.

Apollon stood up with you in his arms, ready to walk out. Will was about to stand up as well, wanting to go with his father.

»I'll take it from here boys. I expect from you two to inform your friends properly now, to ensure that such outrageous behaviour won't happen again.«

»Wow, way to go Percy. Upsetting one of the kinder gods in just one go.« Will wanted to laugh, to make it seem that it wasn't that bad, but his laugh came more like a strangled cry out.

»How many times did we, did I, told you to keep your mouth shut in more than just one occasion?!« chastised Annabeth, giving him another shoulder slap.

»No, honestly Percy, be fucking glad Pa had another slumber episode of his or you would....I don't know, but it wouldn't be nice.«

»But he's the Demon of Olympus! Isn't he not? The marks of Zeus's banning are a clear sign of it. I don't get why we need help from an evil deity who also deceives everyone to believe he's being known as a lesser god«

»Even for you Perseus, that's a new personal low! How dare you to say such horrible things about my Pa.« Jason stomped off, the anger radiating off and his face slightly red from it.

Will had decided to inform Percy properly about his dad's complete and historical story. He didn't want his parents to be offended—or feel upset and angered—after all they need their help and support for the upcoming—already starting—quest.

You're the brother, a child from Nyx, of Hypnos. It is true, your actual deity personality, form and power is akin to one of chaos—you're a personification of weather—raging storms to be exact—and a sneer of demonic vileness petty violence.

During a darker time in history, Zeus had strikes you with lightning—sealing your actuality, banning them for a balance—and splitting you into what you are now; god of tranquility and slumber.

The splitting had also caused a turn in personality itself. Making you more childish, airhead and forgetful. Kindness from you, comes not completely naturally—feeling more forced without meaning to, though you do love and this was a genuine one.

»Yeah okay, but why is Demosonos—uh, [Name], with your father, Will?«

»They're married?«

»Why?«

»You're officially demoted from Seaweed brain to dumbweed brain.« muttered Nico, pinching the bridge of his nose.

»They married for like years and that's because out of actual love and I'm not gonna tell you their sappy love story.«

»Still I don't get how like Lord Apollo, who blends like the sun, is being married freely to someone like him, a actual demonic person«

»I–oh my fucking god, Percy. My dads are married because they love one another, completely smitten they are, how hard is that to understand?!« Will groaned in desperation, taking a handful of biscuits again—had he almost eaten the whole bowl.

And Nico thought, how a great way to upset a God and already dooming their quest in the very beginning.

~~~

Jason felt hesitant, as if he were five again and didn't wanted to disrupt his parents sleeps because he had a nightmare, to step into the bedroom.

Respectfully he knocked a few times on the door, before opening it and stepping inside.

The bedroom was almost shrouded in complete darkness, except for the dimmed nightshade next to the bed.

Apollo had acknowledged his son, didn't say anything though—to occupied to lay in bed next to you, hand supporting his head as he drove his fingers through your hair.

A cooled washcloth was placed over your face. You hadn't started to sweat, sign of upcoming fever, but Apollon didn't wanted to risk it—doing a prevention beforehand.

What most, be it his own kind or humans, didn't know is that Zeus lightning strike to you has caused more than just a split personality—created a rift in your health, leaving you vulnerable and weak and prone to sickness.

Apollo couldn't do much about it. Not even with his powers of healing, leaving him a pit of despair and self-hatred whenever you got sick.

»Do you know the actual, not that stupidly outrageous idea of us gods being unfaithful, I mean some truly are, reason, why we have decided to let you and Will and all your other siblings been born from Humans?«

»No,« Jason shook his head, debating with himself if he should sit or lay down next to you, in the end he chose a mix of both.

Jason had sometimes wonders why it always had been that way—being born from humans and a deity—even though gods and goddesses could bear children just as well.

When he had been younger, wasn't all that long ago in his early teen years—memory still fresh in mind and sometimes upsetting him—he had accused his father, they had another argument that day, he never had loved dad in the beginning and being unfaithful to him—cheating with woman's and only seeing you as some kind of trophy.

That day was the only day and time where Jason had seen Apollo with actual anger on his face. The kind of anger which bubbles in you till it turns into hatred and pettiness.

»It's because your dad wouldn't survive the procedure of giving birth and I mind you, the whole explanatory of the aspect itself of how we gods and goddesses giving birth and the many various ways to do so, is chaotic complexing on its own.«

»You mean, dad would die? But you are immortals and immortals aren't meant to die«

»Yes and no. Even though we're immortals of eternity, there are still ways—ancient barbaric ones—to kills us or at least in a sense of us being dead. No, no, Jay, the reason isn't death, he just wouldn't survive.«

Jason furrowed his brows, not understanding what his father meant or trying to tell him.

»You well aware of what happened to your dad, his history. Zeus had strike him down, leaving him in the few hours of unconsciousness—which had caused a spurt of utterly violent storms throughout the land—vulnerable and unable to defend himself against any sort of danger and hostile.«

»Are you trying to tell me that, Zeus had, you know—with dad?«

»Dear lord! Jason! Absolutely not! Don't ever think of such disgusting scenarios and manners again.«

Apollo sighed deeply, not having expected his Son to come to such conclusions. You stirred again, your hand coming up to your face and taking the washcloth off.

Bleary you opened your eyes, trying to make out where you are and who you are.

Apollo, praying silent apologies already, leaning down to you—pressing a soft kiss onto your lips and with a quick whisper of humming lullaby, brought you back into the grips of slumber. Unconscious you rolled onto your side, over to him and into his arms.

»You put him into force sleep! Didn't you told us to never use our powers of sleep in such forceful ways? It's a rule number one!«

Apollo raised a brow at his son, who looked absolutely mortified for a good minute and turned into distasteful disappointment.

»Now now, my son, don't give me such gaze. I too am not proud of what I did, but it had to be done. It's still a sensitive topic and I don't want to cause a distress, disturbance or even distrust perhaps. Now, where was I? Aah yes—«

»So like I said, during the hours of unconsciousness, a wave of sickness rolled over—custody of Pandora's box being opened—and infected painfully your dad. Leaving him, once he had woke up, in a whimpering withering anxiety filled mess.«

»And that's how you meet Dad then, right?«

»That's a story for another, but yes. Anyways, to what I'm trying to say is, your dad is still too vulnerable and weak—sickness prone, to be able to handle the whole procedure of giving birth. I mean we tried it once and only, but.....let's just say, dad still has scars from it. And thus the reason why we and perhaps most of us gods, decided to let our children been born from humans.«

Jason gulped, trying to not choke on his tighten up throat. He hadn't been aware of it, how the true story had happened, but it all makes so much sense now.

The times you got so bedridden, unable to do anything but sleep, that Will cried for days and nights thinking you're about to die from incurable illness.

Or when Will had been still a child, having gotten a nasty flu and you had to take care of Will and him—Jason himself had been in some bad mood the whole week to even consider to help you out as he was the older brother after all—all on your own, because his father had been away for business trips—and you looked so exhausted and ready to pass out any minute, that Jason hadn't even question back then why you took pills after pills and chugged cups of coffee.

Jason understands so much better now, why you never got angry—like he had been, when founding out—when Apollo had intercourse with yet another woman.

He understood why you're so prone to sudden collapse of exhaustion and slumbering sleep during the day or in the middle of doing something.

And then he felt a rush of rage through his blood.

You didn't deserve to be treated like this, to be frowned upon down or with that false kindness the other deities treated you with.

You didn't deserve to either called a demonic being or naively dumbling of airy forgetfulness.

Jason hated it. Hated them, the ones above and those below. How dare they to make you feel so unwanted and filling you with seeds of self-hatred and anxiety—when you give nothing but pure love to him and his siblings.

Jason wasn't blind, his father neither—though the man chose to completely ignore it, when you once again had puffy red rimmed eyes—when you had cried in the bathroom during nights and mumbling things to yourself, Jason didn't want to repeat.

Jason decided, this prophecy wasn't worth it to bring you once again pain and remind you of the haunting past.

If it meant to sabotage the quest, he would do. After all his loyalty and love belongs to only you and not to the greater ones above, who hadn't even the slightest fuck to give about their children.

[jadeshifting]

🫀 SHIFTMAS

day 13. WHAT FESTIVE FILMS ARE YOU WATCHING IN YOUR DR? do you go for classics like it’s a wonderful life, home alone or the holiday? cheesy rom-coms? or something indie and arthouse to match your dr aesthetic? 

˚　　　　✦　　　.　　. 　 ˚　.　　　　　 . ✦　　　 　˚　　　　 . ★⋆. ࿐࿔

the holiday movie night in the Slytherin common room (though, begrudgingly there are a couple students from other houses there because some of the Slytherins brought dates) (not you, Luna, love you !!) (glaring at the Gryffindors) is a carefully curated lineup that’s dripping in drama, humor, and just the right touch of magic

EVERGREENS, a wizarding romcom where star-crossed lovers accidentally cast a spell that traps them in a snow globe—everyone calls it cheesy, but nobody turns it off

afterwards is THE HOLLY HEX, a moody Christmas drama about a cursed family heirloom and a powdered winter manor—Pansy cries every time, but she hides her face like we can’t hear her

we sprinkle in a few muggle gems for variety, like THE HOLIDAY, which Theo and Daphne mock mercilessly like they don’t love it

the real gem of the evening is an ancient wizarding classic FROST AND FOLLY, a black-and-white holiday tale about a mischievous ghost and a lonely shopkeeper—Draco insists it’s “a masterpiece,” and nobody argues with him.

wrapped in blankets, peppermint cocoa in hand, we snicker, gasp, and make snide commentary, turning movie night into a triple-or-quadruple feature event

˚　　　　✦　　　.　　. 　 ˚　.　　　　　 . ✦　　　 　˚　　　　 . ★⋆. ࿐࿔

[almond-lebkuchen]

Happy Valentine's day folks!

I decided to post a quick fanfic for Faust, the reason I got dragged back into this fandom. I've been so busy, and hadn't been able to write creatively in a good long while so I was half afraid I wouldn't be able to write this at all. So I'm quite glad to have actually finished one of my WIPs for once, and on time too, even if I am very rusty.

A Chocolate Temptation

Summary

It's almost Valentine's day, and you are looking to get the perfect chocolates for Faust as a surprise gift. Unfortunately for you, he runs into you just as you get your gift. (I'm bad at summaries)

Content warnings: None, just fluff with a little spice at the end, (nothing explicit though), and some vampiric biting.

archiveofourown link here.

The smell of flowers and chocolate seemed to fill the morning air as eager townsfolk bought gifts of affection for their lovers. Pink and red hearts and chubby cherubs adorned shop windows, perfectly decorated to entice customers. People chattered happily with each other, all smiles and laughs over the excitement for the romantic holiday. 

All except you it seems. Your stomach churned, anxiety forming unpleasant knots inside you as you made your way towards the marketplace. Valentine’s day was tomorrow and despite your efforts, you still weren’t ready for it.

So far nothing had gone as planned. You had decided to borrow the mansion’s kitchen to surprise Faust with some homemade chocolates, but it seems like this week cursed you with baking disaster after baking disaster. First you mistakenly bought the wrong kind of chocolate powder, and they came out dry and very bitter. You tried to compensate by adding more sugar to your next batch but apparently you put in too much, as they came out disgustingly over-sweet. Plus the lack of access to a modern refrigerator or electric oven gave you a whole new set of difficulties to navigate as well. You either burned or under cooked them, and you were having trouble getting them to set properly. 

You let out a small groan, rubbing at your forehead. Already you could feel a headache forming just thinking of all the mistakes and wasted ingredients. Not to mention the late nights you spent cleaning up.

So here you were now, giving up and buying some from the store. Faust had mentioned that he was going out today, so you decided to take advantage of his absence and visit a rather popular confectionery that everyone was talking about. It wasn't the romantic personally crafted gift you had envisioned, but you were running out of time. Besides, you could see that Sebastian was starting to lose his patience after your last batch accidentally ended up on the floor thanks to a certain writer’s dog had started barking around your heels. 

The tantalizing aroma of rich cocoa filled your senses immediately as you walked in, the smell mouth watering. Your eyes wandered over to the display cases, where a variety of beautifully arrayed artisan chocolates of all shapes, colours and flavours were proudly showcased. You sighed in relief, as you had been half afraid they would already be sold out by other last minute buyers. You clearly came at a good time, especially since the shop wasn’t too busy either; only a few lingering customers that were finishing up their purchase.

You examined their products carefully in deliberation, while the shopkeeper happily gave you some recommendations. You weren’t entirely sure which would be best, so you eventually settled for a combination of different ones you thought Faust would enjoy the most. The shopkeeper wrapped them up in a decorative box and placed them in a lovely bag. You paid for them, and headed back to the castle, feeling a bit better than earlier. While you were still a little disappointed, maybe it was for the best. You couldn’t possibly measure up to something professionally made, and at the very least, perhaps he would appreciate being able to experiment with the different flavours. You struggled enough trying to get one right. 

You had almost reached the castle gates when you heard a voice call out your name. You cursed your luck, recognizing it immediately. Faust. 

Of all people to run into. Didn’t he say he was visiting the orphanage? Maybe I could pretend I didn’t hear him. I’m almost at the doors after all, I could make it if I hurry. 

Before you could plot your escape, Faust’s stern face popped into your view, giving you a mini heart attack. You quickly tried to hide the bag subtly behind your back and hoped he didn’t notice. 

“Faust! Sorry, I uh, didn’t expect to see you back yet. I thought you were going to see the children?” You tried to smile brightly at him as you tried to compose yourself. 

“I did. I finished up a little early, I only needed to drop off some medicine.” 

He gazed down at you, a small frown gracing his features as he crossed his arms in disapproval. “I don’t recall you notifying me that you were going out today.”

You laughed nervously, trying to act cool. “I just had some small errands I suddenly had to run, that's all.”

“Hmm, is that so? Is it related to whatever you have behind your back?”

“No, that’s nothing important!” 

You cringed slightly at the panicked edge in your voice and scrambled to come up with an excuse

“What I mean is, it’s just a little something I picked up from my errands…you don’t worry about it”

You groaned internally at how flimsy your excuse sounded. Great, super convincing.

He narrowed his eyes at your words, as he studied you suspiciously. Feeling guilty, you couldn’t help but look away as his stare burned into you, clutching the handle of the bag even tighter. 

“You’re hiding something.” He stepped closer, and you couldn’t help but squirm a little at his words.

You inched away from him, trying to put some space between you. “I’m not hiding anything, you’re just imagining things” you protested weakly. 

His frown deepened, and reached his hand out to pinch your cheek.

“Hey!”

He ignored your indignant exclamation, his fingers moving down to your chin to lift your face up back towards him.  

“I’m imagining things? You’ve been avoiding me lately, and disappearing without warning for hours on end without word of where you’ve been. I don’t like it when my guinea pig isn’t within my sight or not knowing where you are.”

You winced a little at his words. So much for your plan. You genuinely did feel a little bad about your evasive actions leaving him in the dark for the last week, even if they were for good reasons. 

He raised an eyebrow at your silence. 

“No answer? Hm, then shall I open up your chest and examine it like a guinea pig’s?”

Ugh, he’s so stubborn.

You couldn’t help but glare at him for messing up the surprise. You let out an irritated sigh, having no choice but to fess up since you knew he wouldn’t let this go so easily. 

You bitterly averted your eyes in frustration, your answer coming out more huffy than intended. “You really are the worst sometimes you know that? I was trying to surprise you by making some chocolates for you, but it was a total failure and I ended up getting some from a store.”

You grumpily removed the gift hidden behind your back. “I wasn’t sure what would suit you so I got you a variety to experiment with”

He blinked, caught off guard by your forceful reply before laughing, which only made you more annoyed. 

“Heheh, such an angry way to deliver such a romantic sentiment don’t you think?”

He looked down at you smugly as you pouted.

“I wanted this to go differently. It’s all your fault that it came out like this, it was supposed to be for tomorrow!”

He laughed again to your chagrin, but before you could argue further, he swept you off your feet and into his arms in one quick move. He chuckled at your startled cry as you scrambled to hold onto him without dropping the gift.  

“Ah, your efforts to surprise me are admirable, but I think my favorite sweet is right here. Besides…”

He buried his face against your neck, his breathy sighs against your skin sending a small shiver through your body. 

“I think we can celebrate a little early. As your lover, it’s only right that I give you a gift of my own.”

Grinning widely, he headed towards the castle and to the bedroom, where he set aside the chocolates on the nearby night table before kissing you again. He pushed you down on the bed, covering your body with his own.  

He yanked open your shirt, peppering kisses across your collarbone, gleeful at your embarrassed expression. Still, you didn’t fight him, and in the end you sighed, a mixture of defeat and happiness at his amorous affections. You wrapped your arms around him, a rush of pleasure running through your body as he leaned in and sank his teeth into your neck.

Maybe celebrating a little early isn’t too bad after all. 

~~~

You don’t know when you dozed off after being with Faust, but when you woke up, the sun was just starting to set, casting its soft yellow and orange hues through the windows. A pleasant floral scent enveloped the room, and you sat up, the smell piquing your curiosity. You glanced around, Faust nowhere in sight. Your eyes landed on a stunning bouquet of your favorite flowers, meticulously arranged and tied off with a decorative lacy ribbon on the nightstand by the chocolates. A small red envelope addressed to you in Faust’s handwriting lay right next to it. Reaching over you, you gently opened it and read the contents. 

To my most precious lover,

Thank you for the chocolates, your efforts are appreciated. I do hope you aren’t still upset about earlier. I’ll admit, you still managed to surprise me in the end, and it pleases me to know you cared enough to get me something, even if you were unhappy with how it resulted. But know this: I’m interested in anything you make, whether you discount it as a failure or not.

Do you know what drives the heart to beat?

Truth be told, I could go on about how the heart rate is dictated by the electrical impulses of the sinoatrial node of the right atrium, but truth be told, none of these reasons hold a candle to you, the real driving force behind my still beating heart. 

And each beat belongs to you alone, my beloved Versuchkaninchen. 

But these mere words are not enough to truly capture how much I love you, nor completely convey my feelings for you. My need for you forever grows stronger with each passing day, and I won’t rest until I make sure that your heart is entirely in my grasp. I wanted to give you these flowers tomorrow, but considering the circumstances, I think it's only fair to give them to you now. I hope you will accept them, as a symbol of that promise.

You may blame me as you like, but you must take responsibility for capturing my heart and soul, and for that, I will never let you go.

Happy Valentine’s day,

Johann Georg Faust

[captainsirenescence]

Indulge in a guilt-free, gluten-free dessert with this delicious Chocolate Chia Pudding recipe. It's paleo and vegan-friendly, making it suitable for a variety of dietary preferences.

Ingredients: 1/4 cup chia seeds. 1 cup almond milk. 2 tablespoons cocoa powder. 2 tablespoons maple syrup. 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract. Pinch of salt. Fresh berries and shredded coconut for garnish.

Instructions: Put chia seeds, cocoa powder, and salt in a bowl and mix them together. Put in the vanilla extract, maple syrup, and almond milk. Mix well. Put the bowl in the fridge with the lid on for at least two hours, or overnight for the best results. After 30 minutes, stir the mixture to keep it from getting lumpy. Serve the pudding in cups or jars for each person once it has thickened. Add fresh berries and shredded coconut on top. If you don't have gluten, enjoy your Chocolate Chia Pudding!

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 0 minutes

Alex Cooks

[ispyspookymansion]

i don’t know why you’re collecting recipes but here’s one of mine

Really good brownies I came up with at 1 am

Preheat oven to 375 F. Line a METAL square or rectangle baking sheet with parchment paper. I used my 12x7 metal sheet, but anything of a similar size would work.

In a bowl, add 250g of granulated sugar and one stick of butter, melted. Mix, then let cool so you don't scramble your eggs. Add 2 large eggs plus two eggs yolks, vanilla extract, and mix. Then add 75g unsweetened cocoa powder, and 1/3 cup butter (or oil)

And 60-70g of whatever flour you want, I used rice. I would say a lighter flour for better texture, like rice, a pinch of salt if using unsalted butter, pinch of baking soda, tablespoon of corn starch. Corn starch is important. Stir in however much chocolate chips you want. The only acceptable variety is semisweet.

Spread batter evenly into pan. Bake for 25-30 minutes, it took me 25 but a smaller pan would take longer, check it however you wish. Wait until completely cool to cut or you will end up with brownie dust. Brownie dust, while delicious, is not what you came here for.

AW HELL YES. im collecting them to write out in the new little recipe book i got because i love stuff i can hold in my hands and protect from losing online. you wouldnt download a recipe …. (to get away from a million ads)

THAT BEING SAID what can i put for whose recipe it is? :]

[duskkodesh]

I've had rats for years at this point now and finally want to put down the best tips I've learned. This won't work for everyone, some are very conditional to me, but maybe some of these will help someone. Fleece hammocks: Boo. Microplastics and too warming. Canvas hammocks: Yes, please. Highly washable. Far more tough. I wish they were easier to find. Coiled rope baskets are also a godsend. I hang them by the handles in the cage, they love them way more than anything marketed to rats. Bottles are nice but some rats wanna splash and have a place to wash their little hands. Fresh in pod peas are by the pound at my supermarket. I usually spend 70 cents on the amount for several treat sessions. All my frozen peas end up getting freezer burnt by the time I get halfway through the bag. Antibiotics will be needed if you keep rats. Do not give antibiotics with dairy, many classes of antibiotics bond to calcium thereby making them far less effective. Speaking of, antibiotics seem to have the hardest taste to cover up. Ground meat baby food, Hershey simply five syrup (Just a little), peanut powder (No added sugar, oils), fruit compote/jam/jelly, small absorbent bread snacks/cereal, smushed pasta, cream of wheat, are all options to get meds into rats. You can call exotic vets and ask for an estimate on a basic rat exam. Do it, the prices vary WILDLY. We had a vet who charged us 35$ to see three rats at once and one who quoted us 200$ to look at one. You're gonna notice a trend if you call vets in higher class/rich areas. Fuck em'. Also ask your vet if you can keep a supply of meds on hand just in case. If they last at room temp you can buy some preemptively. Things like doxycycline you can get from human pharmacies.

Zip ties are god. All hail zip ties. Same with swivel clasps. Between them both you can cage mount anything your heart desires.

Leave bedding in a hot car or freezing conditions for a night. Warehouses get mites. Mites are a dick to deal with. Kill em' all.

Give them a variety of fresh things while they're young. Not always but sometimes I'd get an older gent rescue who had no idea what to do with berries or tomatoes and would refuse them. They learn better what is safe when young. At some point you will have an emergency. Make sure you know where an emergency vet is and that they keep night/weekend hours. Keep funds on hand for that day.

Rats hide pain well. When they age you may need to start pain management if you notice them moving differently even if they don't show their pain blatantly. Just start with low doses and see if they act like their old selves again. Research your breeders. Get recommendations from other rat people. Check and see if there are rat rescues in your area. Also the Humane Society sometimes takes in rodents.

Controversial take: You will encounter people in ratkeeping who say buying feeders is a sin. It's not. Feeder supply will exist whether or not every rat fancier boycotts them. We are far far fewer in number than snake/lizard people. Wherever you got your rats it's valid so long as you give them healthcare, good nutritious food, love, and mental stimulation. A lot of the 'foods to avoid, foods to include' lists are not researched. I've seen lists that ban chocolate. Rats freaking love chocolate they just need to take it easy on fats and sugars but cocoa powder can be a good mix in and can help ratty blood flow. I've seen people ban mango. if you read the study that led to this they gave rats an obscene amount of D-limonene to trigger cancer and small amounts had no side effects at all. Read the studies, look for sources.

[loominggaia]

UEKORAN CUISINE

OVERVIEW

Uekoro is a Matuzan territory located in the Midland Jungle. This jungle is bountiful with resources, including a diverse variety of meat and forage that the ancient Uekorans cobbled together into delicious recipes. These recipes were passed down over many generations and are still enjoyed today. The Uekoran palette prefers intense sweet and spicy flavors.

BONANCHI

A bonanchi consists of honey and a slice of banana sandwiched between two crispy millet wafers. The top wafer usually has chocolate frosting and coconut shavings on it, but the wafers themselves may be either plain or chocolate flavored. They may be eaten cold, but are traditionally toasted. These little sandwich cookies are a popular snack for children, as they’re sweet and simple to make.

FOWL AND SPINACH

The Midland Jungle is home to many species of colorful birds, and all of them are as tasty as they are beautiful! The Uekoran people are not picky about the fowl they eat, but parrots are historically the most common bird on their plates. They prefer to roast these birds over a rotisserie for several hours, then serve them with spinach leaves, beans, and some kind of grain–usually millet or rice. Sweet pineapple sauce is a common glaze.

SKROBA

Skroba is made by boiling millet starch with goat’s milk and sugar, then stirring until it has a thick liquid consistency. It is a sweet and filling drink that is popular with all Uekorans. Sometimes cocoa powder is added to give it a chocolatey flavor. Skroba can be fermented into an alcoholic version called “Skrobaki”.

KUKULU

A kukulu is a boiled plantain leaf stuffed with minced meat, beans, chunks of pineapple and plantain, and flavored with spicy chilies. Kukulus are a popular staple of Uekoran cuisine, but only for the poor and working class. Upper classes consider them “peasant food”, as they are hard to eat without making a mess. Most Uekorans, however, are willing to suffer a few minutes of looking undignified to taste this delicious dish.

EKUMELA FOLD-OVER

A flat, floppy piece of bread flavored with cinnamon and chocolate, folded over to contain a gooey filling of honey and ekumela chunks. Fold-overs are a popular dessert all over Matuzu Kingdom, but this ekumela filling is what gives this version its unique Uekoran flavor. Like kukulu, fold-overs are another dish that Uekoran upper classes tend to avoid because of its messiness, which makes them appear “undignified” as they eat it. It is so delicious, however, that many nobles eat them in secret.

COCONANA

Simple coconut water is not enough to satisfy the Uekoran tongue, so they prefer to mix it with blended bananas, pineapples, and limes to make a powerfully flavorful smoothie. This drink is packed with electrolytes, which are essential in such a hot and humid place as Uekoro. It is traditionally drunk from a coconut shell.

RED SOUP AND OFO

A common comfort food of the Uekoran people. Red soup is a blood broth containing chunks of tomato, yam, and the meaty drumstick of a fowl. This dish is usually accompanied by starchy rolls called ofo, which are made by pounding plantains, yams, and spices into a sticky meal, rolling the meal into balls, and then baking them. Red soup and ofo is enjoyed by peoples of all classes, found in the hands of peasants and also on the tables of royalty.

WAIRUNTU EGGS

Its name translates to “irresistable eggs” in the local language of Galsungi, and for good reason! These hard-boiled eggs are marinated in a sauce made from fish, chilies, and tomatoes, then glazed with honey and served over rice. This dish is known for its intense flavor, but some find it too rich. Wairuntu is associated more with upper classes than the common folk. It is traditionally eaten with a special golden fork, which is said to enhance its flavor even more.

MILLET CHIPS AND HOT YAM DIP

Uekorans make a lot of things from millet, and one of those things is crunchy chips. They taste good on their own, but they’re even better served with hot yam dip, which is simply mashed yams spiced up with hot chilies. This dish is simple yet addictive, and massively popular in Uekoro and beyond. Uekorans especially like to eat this while watching sports games at their local arena.

OTHER DISHES

Ekumela pie and setsiki brain soup are also traditional Uekoran dishes. You can read about them in the Matuzan Cuisine article.

SEE ALSO

Cuisine Masterpost

Ask - Cuisine

Ask - Uekoro

*

Questions/Comments?

Lore Masterpost

Read the Series

[ourrecipebook]

Easy Chocolate Mousse

Serving: 2 1/2 cups

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream

1/4 cup cocoa powder (dutch preferred), sifted, use 1/3 cup for dark chocolate flavor

1/2 cup powdered sugar (use 1/4 cup for dark chocolate flavor)

1/4 teaspoon almond extract, optional

Directions

In a chilled mixing bowl, begin whipping cream.  Whip until frothy and slightly thicken.

Add powdered sugar and cocoa powder. Carefully mix until soft peaks form.

Add almond extract if desired. Whip until stiff peaks form.

Spoon into plastic bag or piping bag with piping tip. Pip into serving bowls or glasses.

Enjoy immediately or refrigerate until ready to serve.

Notes

Chilling your mixing bowl will help the cream whip more easily.

Sift cocoa powder to avoid dark flecks in mousse.

Add 1/4 cup powdered sugar to start.  If you'd like a sweeter mousse, additional sugar up to an additional 1/2 cup. You can use a zero calorie sugar substitute for a sugar free or low carb version. Use a 1:1 sugar substitute. For best results, use powdered variety such as Swerve powdered sugar substitute.

(Source)

[blinddreams24]

Hot Drinks

With Horror

Masterlist

Next

You sat between Horror and Dust with your arms resting over the back of the couch. Everyone but Nightmare was there as they watched a cheesy action movie. Cross sat on the bean bag on your right, occasionally throwing his hands in the air as he berated the actor’s form in battle. Killer, being Killer, kept playing devil’s advocate and driving Cross insane from the floor.

“Woooooow” Killer exaggerated, smirking at Cross’s exasperated expression. “You see that perfect form, Horror?” You held in your laughter at the look of pure mischief of Killer’s face.

Ignoring Cross’s offended gasp, Horror grunted assent at Killer. You started shaking slightly as you tried not to break the moment with your laughter. Dust shook so subtly that you almost missed it.

“No!” Cross snapped, jumping out of the bean bag. “That. Is. The. WORST. FORM. I HAVE EVER SEEN!!! HOW CAN YOU SAY THAT LOOKS GOOD????” He thrust his hands forward at the offending screen.

Your laughter finally forced its way out, startling an offended skele. Cross flushed slightly as he noticed everyone’s eyes on him. He glared at Killer.

Killer chuckled while propping his chin on his hands. “You’re looking at me like it’s my fault Y/N laughed at you.”

“IT IS!” Cross said, throwing his hands in the air.

“Girls, you’re both pretty.” You said, standing up as Dust shifted at the lack of weight on the couch. You turned back to Horror. “Mind if I grab a drink from the kitchen?”

Horror stared at you, processing. You waited patiently. Horror had a hard time voicing his thoughts. No one told you why but you figured it had to do with the gaping hole in the side of his head. Honestly though, with a wound like that, he really shouldn’t be alive let alone able to speak. But despite logic, Horror managed. You respected him for that. Whatever happened to him to get that scar, he pushed through and made it. He might be slower to talk than anyone else but stars he was light on his feet. You’ve been startled multiple times by him just appearing behind you.

“I… help.” Horror finally said. You nodded. He practically owned the kitchen. Whatever happened there was his business. Besides, he really seems to enjoy keeping everyone well nourished. He was also much quicker to speak while cooking for some reason.

You both left Dust with the commotion and entered the kitchen. You opened the fridge with Horror at your side. There were a few varieties of drinks but nothing gained you attention. Much to Horror’s confusion, you closed the fridge without grabbing anything. The calendar on the door caught your attention. It had a picture of some humans huddled together on a couch with steaming mugs in their hands. Following the idea you suddenly had at the sight, you walked into the pantry. Horror didn’t follow you, mostly confused as to why you didn’t grab what you came for when you had the chance. Your voice carried out of the pantry.

“Horror, do we have any cocoa powder?”

“. . . What?”

“Cocoa powder- Oh! Found some!”

A moment later, you came out of the pantry victorious. A box of cocoa powder packets in your hands as you passed an even more confused Horror. You set the box by the electric kettle and reach into the cabinet for a couple mugs, knowing Horror will want some if you’re having any.

“What…”

You heard Horror start behind you. You paused and turned to him, waiting for him to continue.

He worked through his words a moment longer. “Came for… drink?” You nodded at him which seemed to puzzle him more. He gestured at the box. “. . . Powder?”

You tipped your head at him. “Yeah. For hot chocolate.” You gently shook the mugs in your hands.

His brow bones scrunched together. “. . . Hot chocolate . . ?” He asked.

Something clicked in your head as you pieced together his reaction. “Have you not had hot chocolate before? The recipe is on the box.” You handed him the box.

He took it. “Didn’t get . . . good look.” He paused, reading the instructions. “Had to hide . . . from Cross.”

You snorted at that. “Yeah! He might literally inhale it!”

Horror chuckled at that, handing you the box. He pointed at a part of the recipe and you leaned in to see what it was. He was pointing at a single word.

“Marshmallows!! Oh my gosh, I forgot!” You started towards the pantry again. “Can’t have hot chocolate without marshmallows!”

Horror chuckled again as you moved past him.

By the time you came back with marshmallows, Horror had already made a cup and was gently stirring it with a spoon.

“So.” You said, opening the bag of mellows. “You haven’t had hot chocolate before? Like ever?”

He shook his head, tapping the spoon on the mug. His eye light didn’t leave the swirling drink as you handed him six marshmallows.

Horror watched them bob as he dropped them in before slowly sliding it across the counter to you. You shook your head and pushed it back.

“You made this one. And you haven’t had one before. So you get it. I can wait.” You assured him.

Normally, he’d take rejecting his gift harshly but he was too focused on the drink to mind. Horror stirred the drink again before taking a tentative sip. His eye dilated and suddenly he was pulling four more mugs from the cabinet, including Nightmare’s.

You laughed as he refilled the kettle and shooed you out of the kitchen mumbling that he’d get you your drink. You went back to the drama that was still happening in the living room even though the movie was paused.

“He left himself WIDE OPEN!!!”

“That’s your opinion, C.”

“NO, IT’S FACT!!!!”

You greeted Dust as you took your previous seat. He didn’t seem to hear you for a second before his eye lights lit up, looked at you, at the doorway, then back at you.

“Horror?” He asked quietly.

You smirked. “He’s making everyone drinks~” That caught Killer’s attention.

“Drinks, huh?” He asked raising his brows and leaning forward. “What kinda drinks?”

You grinned at him. “Non-alcoholic.”

Killer sighed and let his head fall to the ground. “That was one time.”

“One time too many if you ask me.” Cross said, crossing his arms.

“No one did, C.” Killer mumbled.

Cross froze and stared directly at the open doorway to that hallway.

“Y/N.”

“Hmm?” You looked up innocently.

“What exactly is Horror making?”

“Ohh~” You said playfully. “Something us humans enjoy in the winter~”

Killer looked up in time to see Cross sniffing the air. The scent hit him, too, widening his eyes. He pounced on Cross who yelped at the sudden attack.

“Wh- Killer!” Cross fought back. “Get off!”

“Not happening, Crossy! Horror made everyone some and I’m getting my fair share!!” Killer yelled as he tried to pin the guards arms and legs.

“But it’s CHOCOLATE!!!!” Cross growled, getting an arm loose.

“I don’t give a damn if it’s holy water and you’re dying! YOU. ARE. NOT. GETTING. MINE!!!”

Horror entered at that moment with his arms full of mugs. How he managed to carry them all without spilling, no one questioned anymore. Horror grinned at Cross’s whine as he turned to hand you and Dust your drinks. Dust peered at his suspiciously as you sipped yours. Wow, it was better than you remembered.

Killer started struggling. “Horror?” He pleaded.

Horror chuckled softly as he held one of the mugs in front of Cross’s face. The skeleton’s eye lights never left the steaming mug as he finally broke away from a panicked Killer. Horror moved the mug to the side and let Cross snatch it from him before handing Killer his. Killer calmed down but kept Cross in his line of sight just in case. Still chuckling, Horror gestured at Dust with Nightmare’s mug and left after Dust nodded acknowledgment.

You sipped on the hot drink slowly but watched as Cross didn’t hesitate to down his, eyeing Killer’s hungrily.

Killer’s sockets narrowed. “Nooooo.” He growled.

Cross seemed to deflate rather than pursue the chocolate at the moment as he started fishing the remaining marshmallows out of his mug. Killer moved to stand behind the couch, effectively using you and Dust as a blockade.

Horror came back soon after and playfully shoved Cross’s head as he passed.

“Hey!”

Horror smiled as he sat, turning to Y/N. You could tell he wanted to speak so you gave him your full attention even as Dust started the movie back up. “. . . Was good . . . drink.” He said. “Thanks for . . . sharing.”

You smiled back. “Any time, Horror.”

You all then finished the movie while occasionally swatting Cross away from your drinks.

[onyxbird]

I Am the Greatest Date-Planner in This Apartment

Summary: Eliot wins date night after he gets a recommendation of a sci-fi movie his “geeky friend” might enjoy and gets carried away with a movie evening complete with a themed meal. Fortunately, despite all Eliot's fears to the contrary, both of his partners are just the type of people to appreciate those elaborate efforts.

AO3 link here.

...

The first time Eliot Spencer really knocked “date night” out of the park, it wasn't even his idea.

The old army buddy he'd helped out a few weekends before had managed to draw out some (carefully vague) information about Eliot's current colleagues, including his geeky “friend” who was always into a new video game or superhero that Eliot knew nothing about, and he'd left Eliot with a suggestion. It took a few weeks to implement, not because the film was hard to obtain, but mostly because Eliot kept second-guessing his choice.

What if Eliot hated it as much as Hardison's comic-book movies? What if Hardison hated it? What if Parker was bored? What if they thought the themed dinner was stupid?

Eliot restlessly double-checked the array of toppings laid out on the counter against his mental list. Baked potatoes were almost done—they'd be ready by the time Parker and Hardison were scheduled to arrive.

Dessert would feature little pouches of freeze-dried ice cream, because Parker would expect it, alongside the main feature: a tiramisu dusted with red cocoa powder and garnished with carefully spaced upright sprigs of mint. A variety of homemade chocolate truffles, formed in silicone molds that were the one thing Eliot had to order for this project, completed the dessert assortment.

He'd been wrestling with himself about the truffles all week. They were important, because he wasn't sure how much his sugar-loving partners would love the tiramisu, but also terrifying, because they were, by far, the most overt theming of the entire meal.

The loaded baked potatoes could be justified as just a good, hearty, simple meal; the tiramisu was classic; the ice cream was a low-effort token to Parker's quirks. But there was no hand-waving the truffles.

He glanced at the clock again. No more than 90 seconds had passed.

At this rate, he might not survive the wait to die of embarrassment.

…

Parker and Hardison arrived at the appointed time, on the dot.

Eliot didn't mention that he'd seen them park Lucille 17 minutes ago, or that he'd watched them emerge 5 minutes ago for the less than 90-second walk up to his apartment.

In the absence of any information except for “dinner and movie night,” Hardison had hedged his bets on formality: Nice jeans, a dark gray sports coat, and a blue button down featuring a subtle pattern of tiny TARDISes. Parker, on the other hand, had simply topped a typical head-to-toe black ensemble with an unbuttoned royal-blue shirt. A very familiar one.

“…Is that my shirt?”

“Yup!” said Parker, cheerfully.

“Parker, I was looking for that!” (Technically, turning his closet inside-out wondering how the evening was already going wrong.)

“Oh.” She considered, tugging absently at the bottom hem. “Do you want to trade?”

“No, I don't want to—! Why do you have my clothes?!”

“We're having a date. I wanted to look nice.”

“Which you both do,” interjected Hardison firmly, pausing to rake his eyes conspicuously over Eliot's own dark-red button down and jeans and lingering on the larger-than-usual collection of bracelets on his left wrist. “So, uh, can we come in, or are we banned on grounds of clothes-stealing? Which, for the record, I have not participated in. I am wearing all my own clothes, which you can probably tell by the fact that they fit my long-ass body and have TARDISes on them.”

Eliot belatedly stepped back to allow them into the apartment.

“These are for you,” said Parker, shoving a bouquet of a half-dozen red roses and as many stalks of orange and yellow snapdragons into his hands.

Eliot's brain stopped functioning for the second time since he'd opened the door.

“Uh…”

Parker frowned at his lack of response and elbowed Hardison sharply in the ribs, eliciting an “ow!”: “You said adding the snapdragons would be fine. Maybe we should have stuck with traditional.”

“I don't think it's the snapdragons, babe. Give him a minute.”

Eliot figured out how to form words again, blinking rapidly. “Thanks, Parker. These are nice.” He stared at the flowers, aware that there had to be a next step he was blanking on.

“You got a vase or something we can put those in for you?” said Hardison, with the very deliberate sincerity characteristic of him either grifting or trying not to laugh. “Don't want to interrupt…” He gestured vaguely at the apartment. “…whatever it is you're preparing for the evening.”

“Right! I, uh…” Eliot moved towards the kitchen on autopilot, trailed by the others. He didn't think he had an actual vase—that wasn't something that generally came up for him—but a quick rummage in the cupboard produced a weizen glass as a passable substitute.

Parker and Hardison eyed the baked potato fixings as Eliot's brain scraped together the remnants of his thoroughly derailed explanation, acutely aware of the heat crawling up his face. This wasn't how the evening was supposed to go.

“So, we've got, uh, baked potatoes for dinner that you can fix however you like.”

Why had he thought this was a good idea?

“I thought we could eat while we watch the movie. It's all set up in the living room. There's dessert, too, that I was going to put out in the living room when we're ready so you can help yourselves without having to stop the movie…”

Maybe he could cut his losses and just not pull out the ice cream and the truffles? But then he had nothing as backup if Parker or Hardison didn't like the tiramisu, and just baked potatoes and tiramisu was kind of a skimpy as a date-night dinner—

“Sounds great!” said Hardison, as Parker made concurring noises. “What's the movie?”

“Well… we have options. We can watch whatever you guys want! I got one that sounded like you might like it from what I'd heard, but if you don't like it or have already seen it, that's—”

The others exchanged glances.

“OK,” Parker broke in, “but what is the movie you picked?”

“…It's called The Martian.”

Parker's head tilted quizzically without recognition, but Hardison's eyes widened.

“You got us The Martian to watch?! That's—Wait, is that why we're having potatoes? Did you theme dinner? Oh my god.” Hardison's voice caught. “Oh my god, I can't wait to see dessert. I don't even know what that would be for The Martian.”

“Oh, I, uh…” None of Eliot's planning had accounted for an actual enthusiastic reaction. “I'll get it out, then. Why don't y'all fix your potatoes?”

He'd just finished placing the plate of truffles and the packets of “astronaut ice cream” on either side of the tiramisu when Hardison and Parker emerged with their plates. Parker leaned over to study the spread avidly, nimble fingers scooping up an ice cream packet. “Hmm, not a little-green-man Martian, then?”

“That's—” Hardison eyes were fixed on the red-cocoa-covered tiramisu. “That's the Martian potato field.”

Eliot gave a hesitant nod.

“And—” He took a closer look at the truffles. “Are those Mars rover chocolates?”

Eliot shrugged sheepishly.

“And freeze-dried ice cream. Freeze-dried space ice cream! I would not have dared to bring such an item into your kitchen.”

“If we're gonna watch an astronaut movie, then Parker was gonna want—”

Eliot's explanation was cut off by a tight hug.

“This is amazing, man. I can't believe you did all this.”

Eliot slowly sagged into the embrace, still reeling from the fact that this had actually worked.

After a moment, they were interrupted by a gentle poke to each of their ribcages.

“Hey,” said Parker, “Eliot, go get your food. I want to actually watch the movie so I know what all of this food is about.”

[secretlythepits]

Coffee and Oncology

If you haven’t been around cancer, let me tell you, you can judge how serious your situation is by the coffee availability. Regular doctors don’t have coffee machines for patients, but once you’re in the cancer world, they do. When you’re waiting in general areas, like where patients go for labs, the coffee machines are hit and miss. Generic pods. Lipton tea. Expect powdered creamer. On a good day you might find a packet of cocoa, but not two so the caregiver gives it to the patient who takes it but only drinks a sip.

The radiation waiting room has fancy coffee pods. You can choose your roast or a delightful tea. The creamer is liquid.

The specialist oncologist’s waiting room has top notch coffee, your choice of creamer and a variety of brews. All specialty.

The new oncologist literally has a Starbucks coffee machine. Choose your roast; it freshly grinds it for you. Or press the button for a steamy chai latte. It was glorious coffee and it will be mine every three weeks for who knows how long.

I always get a coffee, because first of all I am an accepter of beverages. I always say yes. But also, I feel like I deserve a little treat on these crap days and it’s nice to sip something and not have to pack and clean a travel mug. Another cancer luxury: free valet parking.

Ah, the perks of malignancy!

I like the new oncologist. He is my favorite so far and my husband loves him too. He is extremely careful with his words. He wants patients to feel hopeful and positive. It would be easy to gloss over his painstakingly choreographed phrasing and forget anything is wrong. This is good for my husband. My legal eagle brain, trained on 2 decades of Law and Order, noticed the sidesteps and avoidance of promises. I notice how he said “some” patients instead of most, or all, or you.

The doctor met with me privately afterwards, at his suggestion and with my husband’s permission, to answer the more realistic caregiver concerns. I like that he prioritizes the mental well-being of his patient. It is very hard to ask direct questions when the answers would be painful to my husband. I got the distinct impression that he likes to drip information. I told him it’s hard to tell my husband he needs to get financial matters in order because he takes it as a blow of negativity, so his doctor told me that he would talk to him at the next appointment. Such a load off my shoulders. He also told me that he doesn’t push treatment once quality of life is compromised. Another relief. I left the appointment feeling freer. A wonderful surprise.

So now it’s what I expected: immunotherapy with or without a gentler chemo (depending on labs). We just see if it works in a few months. Then we see how long it works and we hope the adverse effects don’t make treatment infeasible. Most likely, this treatment will be much less horrific and painful than the first time around, and the schedule seems doable. I think the next few months should be pretty even keel.

All of this is for now.

Drip.

Drip.

Drip.

This coffee is too damn good.