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givemethatgold · 4 years ago

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Fix’er Upper - Part Twelve

Pairing: Frankie Morales x F!Reader Warnings: Mentions of sex, swearing, mentions of drug use, fluff, smidge of angst? Length: 1.7k Notes: Managed to whip up this bad boy during a quiet moment today and should probably make y’all wait for it but I don’t really do posting schedules (as you’ve noticed) so enjoy. Not beta’d, not proof read, I’ll die on this messy hill.

Series Masterlist

Surprisingly, life didn't change too much after that night. Frankie continued to run his acreage and oversee the making of this year's cider. With some encouragement and support from you, he was starting to expand the business and already had a few pubs in the closest city clamouring to have his product on tap.

Meanwhile, the improvements on the house were nearing an end, for the indoors list anyways. The first thing Frankie had helped you do was to install your new soaker tub, immediately followed by christening it by making soft, slow love to you inside of it.

There hadn't even been any water, your impatience to be close to each other wouldn't allow for that. You had just stripped out of your coveralls, convenient work-wear for people who fucked like rabbits you had to admit, and sat in his lap with your arms and legs wrapped around him. His hands guiding your hips in a slow rocking motion, breathing each other's air as your open mouths hovered in a not-quite kiss, only breaking eye contact when you threw your head back as you came.

Autumn passed quickly and Winter had gripped Vermont, cloaking the countryside in a heavy blanket of white. Christmas was a cozy affair, you and Frankie had been asked to join Jacquie and Mark in their family's merriment. It had stirred something inside of you, watching a functional family laugh, sing, argue, eat, and love with such abandon.

It was everything you'd dreamt, initially, for your future with Brad. Now? Now you were starting to picture that future with Frankie's face as the patriarch, you just haven't built up the nerve to broach the subject yet.

You'd started working at the bakery, enjoying the early mornings surrounded by rising dough and sculling back coffees with the adorable older ladies who ran the place. You'd also begun doing the books for Morales Acres and Catfish Brewery. Frankie was a veritable genius but he claimed he had no patience for keeping receipts and tracking numbers.

You had a sneaking suspicion he was playing dumb in an effort to give you more time together but you really didn't mind. Your break-of-dawn mornings at the bakery had you tired, but after a full day of renovating or bookkeeping, you were downright exhausted and ready for bed by eight pm. This, mixed with Frankie monitoring the brewing, bottling, and distribution of his cider and networking at bars and pubs throughout the state meant the two of you rarely saw each other.

All of your hard work in your own house had made you a popular friend to call when someone needed decorating advice, or a helping hand once they realized they couldn't tile their kitchen backsplash solo. You never charged for your time, although payment had initially been offered until work had got around that you preferred a good meal and conversation over money. I mean, sure, you could use the cash but it just didn't seem right. And you loved helping people and making deeper connections with the town you now truly felt you belonged in.

Tuesday evenings had become an unofficial date night for the two of you. The bakery was closed on Wednesdays and bar owners tended to be less interested in business halfway through the week, something to do with the rush of the previous weekend having worn off and the worry of setting up for another one starting to grow.

This meant you could stay up late, enjoy a proper homemade dinner, maybe even watch a movie or share a bottle of wine while soaking in your big ass tub. It usually ended as a sleepover, your house being the preferred location; Frankie's loft was perfectly fine but it did lack a certain homey appeal.

This pattern, this life, that you'd created for yourself was making you happier than you'd ever been in your entire life. You weren't one hundred percent content, not yet anyway, but the path to getting there was on a direct trajectory. You still wanted to finish your college degree, maybe switch it over to horticulture. Building a greenhouse and selling flowers was still a pipe dream but something your heart truly longed for, something that Frankie was constantly encouraging you to do.

"Look, hun," he had called out to you a few weeks ago while supposedly researching the new line of bottles. "There's an auction next county over and they have all this confiscated stuff from a grow op that got busted!"

"What?" You'd made a face and laughed at the absurdity of it all. "What on earth would you use from a pot farm?"

He just gave you a salacious wink as an answer.

Frankie had been open about his past drug abuse and while some recovering addicts may want all mention of it banned from a conversation, Frankie found levity in treating the topic like any other person would.

It had taken you a couple of hours to realize why he'd brought up the auction. It had hit you with a jolt, knowing that he’d remembered your rambling from on top of the Ferris wheel. You didn't realize he'd been listening when you'd told him about your idea of taking over the flower stand at the market once the current couple retired.

Your heart had swelled and there was a concerted effort to prevent the sudden onset of tears from running down your face. God, you loved this man, maybe one of these days you should tell him...

This particular routine was working well for the two of you. It gave each of you your own space to relax, destress, enjoy the shitty tv shows you were too embarrassed to watch in front of another living person. It also forced the two of you to take your relationship slowly, communication being a constant learning curve. You were both really good and telling each other when you needed time alone, when you were feeling stressed or sad. You each had learned the tells for when the other was angry or just hungry, if it was hormones or if there was something that was actually pissing you off.

The thing you each seemed to struggle with was expressing the softer side of the relationship. Neither of you appeared to have the Words of Affirmation love language skill, yet you both craved to hear it. You showed how much you cared for Frankie with your acts of service; helping him with the boring side of the business, baking, deep cleaning the loft, even scrubbing out the massive fermenter in the Catfish Cider warehouse.

Frankie, on the other hand, showed his love through physical touch. At first, you had assumed it was a staking-his-claim kind of thing but then you noticed how he'd do it all the time. A hand on your lower back while walking, caressing your hand with his thumb when driving in the truck, carding his fingers through your hair while you watched tv.

This week's date night found you at his place, relaxing in the loft after a busy workday. You were making dinner while he 'helped' by sneaking bites of the prepped ingredients, arm slung around you with a hand in your back pocket.

"What're you looking for?" He asked, taking advantage of your distracted searching through his cupboards to sneak a few more pinches of grated cheese.

"A can opener!" You replied, exasperation raising your voice an octave. "I could have sworn I saw a white one around here somewhere..."

“No, pretty sure that one's yours. I don't think I have one?"

"Frankie," you deadpanned "how did you survive as a bachelor without canned food?"

"I ate a lot of take-out?" He looked indignant at your laughter, "Yeah, yeah, laugh it up. Can you stop judging me long enough to eat some burritos?"

Smoothing his playful scowl with a kiss, you sat down at the counter and enjoyed your first meal together of the week.

An idea was formulating in the back of your mind, though, and you barely tasted anything. As the evening progressed, the idea grew and you were liking it more and more. The final straw was you not having a toothbrush in his bathroom anymore, having forgotten that it had fallen off the counter and into the trashcan the last time you'd spent the night.

Using his, with a strange mixture of distaste and nonchalance, before making your way over to the bed, you began to plan how the conversation could go:

Hey Frankie, so you know how I have a big house all to myself? Yeah... And it had everything we need in it? Yeah... And there's more than enough room for two adults to store all of their things? Yeah... And I wouldn't have to use your toothbrush ever again? Yea- wait what? I think you should move in with me.

It wasn't very romantic but it was the most likely, considering your dynamic. Just as you were crawling into bed and snuggling under the arm he'd raised to allow you to get closer, his cell phone rang.

"Hello? - This is he. - Yeah, biological. - Oh god, when?"

The immediate change in his tone from questioning to horrified caught your attention, sitting up to face him you grabbed his free hand, silently letting him know you were there for support.

His eyes were out of focus and a panicked expression was slowly morphing his face as the conversation went on, but he gave your hand a squeeze back in acknowledgement.

"Yes, in Vermont. Do you have my address? - Okay, good, good...okay - When? - I'll have something ready. Umm... does she... does she remember me? - Oh. Okay, thank you."

Slowly lowering the phone from his ear, Frankie sat staring into nothingness for what felt like hours. His side of the conversation and the way he was reacting had you rattled. You could guess as to what was happening but weren't sure if now was the right time to pry.

"Babe? Is, is everything okay?"

Silence.

Gripping his hand tighter and rubbing his back you sat with him for a few more minutes before trying again. You didn’t want to push him but your heart was constricting in your chest from nervousness and concern for him.

"Can I get you anything? What do you need?"

His hand was now completely dead in yours; eventually, he turned his head towards you, eyes never fully focusing, and shook his head.

"I- she- fuck... I think you should go.”

Part Thirteen

#Frankie Morales x F!Reader #Frankie Morales x Fem!Reader #Frankie Catfish Morales x F!Reader #Frankie Catfish Morales x Fem!Reader #Francisco Morales x F!Reader #Francisco Catfish Morales x Fem!Reader #Frankie Morales x Reader #Frankie Morales x you

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tastesoftamriel · 3 years ago

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Hello, Talviel! First of all, I LOVE your work - thank you for sharing the fruits (ha!) of your labor with avid readers like myself.

Now to the meat of my correspondence: I have recently developed a ravenous appetite for the pickled red onions one often sees garnishing delicacies in both Skyrim and Morrowind. Sweet, sour, salty, and crunchy… delicious!

If you have the time and the will, I would SO appreciate any recipes you might have for delicious pickled foods! I know you are always busy researching and writing splendid new texts, so please don’t let my request weigh too heavily on your shoulders.

With much appreciation,

J. T. of Shornhelm

Dearest J.T.,

I'm about to make a shocking confession: I am impartial to pickles. The very word fills me with dread, as I look back upon a childhood spent gulping down buckets of pickled fish from the Riften fishery. I will, for you, consider picking up the pickling jar once more, but for now I shall leave you with a nice list of various sour, preserved foods from across Tamriel.

Altmer

As I have mentioned many times in the past, the Altmer simply cannot abide by preserved foods. However, there is one exception: pickled ginger. This punchy, crunchy treat is served alongside raw fish, with a ponzu dipping sauce and wasabi root mousse. Delicate, but still guaranteed to deliver some zest.

Argonians

The climate of Black Marsh makes pickling an ideal form of food preservation, and it's used on everything from fruits to snails. I can't say say much about the pickled snails as I managed to avoid this delicacy by coming down with a case of swamp flu, but I can confirm that Argonian pickled palm fruit is delicious. It is often served as part of dessert, but is also had as a side dish, or stuffed into fish and roasted.

Bosmer

Before you can scream about the horrors of pickled meat, I'm going to have to stop you there, as Bosmer pickles aren't always as dreadful as they sound (I'm being diplomatic here. We don't talk about pickled eyeballs). A fermented saltwater shrimp paste that's a common feature in both Bosmeri and Khajiiti cooking is produced in Valenwood, and it smells absolutely rancid. It does, however, taste excellent with a twist of lime and fresh chili paste, so be sure to give it a go if you dare!

Bretons

I don't know why, but Bretons love pickling their walnuts for some perplexing reason, turning perfectly good food into a bizarre party snack. Once pickled, the walnuts achieve a soft, tender texture that isn't half bad until you bite into it. It tastes absolutely nothing like walnuts; it is more akin to a sad, round gherkin. However, they are almost edible on crackers with a good amount of caramelised onion jam.

Dunmer

The Dunmer are quite partial to a good pickle, and make them in every form, for every occasion. Comberry pickles are probably one of the most common food staples in the Dunmer kitchen, which pack a distinct sweet and bitter flavour with a good amount of crunch. They go on almost every food, hot or cold, and some comberry enthusiasts enjoy munching on them straight from the jar too. Think of it as the cocktail onions of Vvardenfell!

Imperials

Cyrodiil has an enormous range of pickles to choose from, but my favourite would be pickled roast paprika. These beauties come in slivers that are perfectly roasted to bring out that sweet, smoky flavour before being pickled with balsamic vinegar for a week. They're an excellent finishing touch to any meat or vegetable dish that looks and tastes vibrant!

Khajiit

Pickled mango is probably my favourite on this list, which is eaten in slices that are sweet, sour, and spicy (some Khajiit also enjoy them with a pinch of salt). It's usually eaten with rice or flatbread, and is sometimes served minced with garlic, shallots, and moon sugar. It's a flavour explosion, so this is definitely one for the more adventurous eaters.

Nords

Aside from our pickled fish, Nords also enjoy a slightly curious snack: pickled honeycomb. It's exactly as it sounds, where fresh honeycomb bursting with honey is pickled in apple cider vinegar when the moons are at their fullest. Once the moons begin to wane, the honeycombs are ready for eating. The sweetness of the honey pops against the tart apple cider vinegar, infusing the wax with a curious flavour that makes it excellent to chew on.

Orcs

The stereotype of radish-loving Orcs absolutely extends to pickles, and by the Nine, there are many of them. Variants beyond the simple pickled radish slices that adorn every slice of bread, meat, and more radishes. For example, a spicy fermented root vegetable pickle is made in clay or glass jars, heavily featuring radishes, carrots, cabbage, and several handfuls of fresh chili. The end product is a fiery, crunchy starter dish that is also fried into pancakes or rice.

Redguards

The Redguards absolutely love their pickled Alik'r cactus, which packs a peculiar sweet and sour flavour. The cactus either comes in slices or as a mince, and is used especially with sweet and spicy dishes like curries and tagines. It's said that a spoonful is also good for indigestion, but I prefer yoghurt myself.

#Asks #Pickles #Tes #The Elder Scrolls #World building #Worldbuilding #Food

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dizzydancingdreamer · 4 years ago

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The Servant and The Prince | Five

Wow wow wow this is late but I hope with it being late that I have had the extra time needed to make it good. Please do enjoy lovelies-- and expect big things for the next chapter!

Description: This is very much a Cinderella trope because I cannot help myself and I am in love with Loki, chapter five

Pairing: Loki x Female!Reader, third person as I may adapt eventually with an OC

Warnings: anger, mention of bruises / abuse

Tags: angst, fluff

Word count: 6.6k (consider this my apology for the late chapter)

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Master List

“On the balcony,” Frigga calls back, brushing her blonde hair over her shoulders. “We have company!” She adds, seemingly as an after thought— she is too busy pouring wine from a glass feeder into a beautifully ornate cup.

At least, Y/n thinks it is wine. She can smell the fermented berries— sweet and tangy and warming her nose as all wines she has encountered before have— only this wine is a pale violet shade. It is not an opaque rouge, not a barely there chartreuse. Nothing like what she has ever been able to get her hands on by way of bartering or shared celebration. Weddings and births. She takes a seat in one of the golden chairs, trying not to think about how out of her element she truly is. The little details are starting to show though. Not just extravagant pools and marble hallways. Even the food here is luxurious.

The Queen presses the cup into her fingers. She is not expecting the weight of it— the way her hand drops a fraction before she thinks to tense her wrist— she has never held pure gold before, not this much of it all at once. “Drink, dear. It will return some of the color to your face.”

She nods at Frigga, hoping her small smile will convey her thanks in lieu of her absent tongue. Speechless does not even begin to cover the way she feels.

“She is right—” the smooth, deep voice interrupts, his words coated with mirth— “it is what I do.”

Heavy footsteps fall behind her, thundering through the quiet chamber. She hears the water in the pool slosh lightly, the rose oil swirling out to the balcony. It makes her feel woozy— like she is already intoxicated despite not having touched her wine.

“No what you do is something else entirely,” Frigga giggles, raising her own chalice to her lips.

That is what these are called, right? Cup seems like too plain a word for something as extravagant. Chalice is luxurious— foreign to her daily life which makes it perfect. She raises her chalice too, taking the first sip of her violet liquid. Her eyes blow wide as she does so, a tarte berry sweetness bursting across her tongue. She almost chokes from how rapidly it takes over her senses, almost painting her vision in a matching purple hue. The liquid is warm as it trickles down her throat and blossoms that same warmth through her chest. It is magnificent— it is new— it makes the racing thoughts in her head slow to a honey crawl. She has to force herself not to down the whole cup immediately, wanting nothing more than to make them stop completely.

“If you say so, mother.” His laugh is almost as booming as his footsteps— it is how she pictures a giant’s laugh would sound, all heavy and dense, weighing across her shoulders like a wet blanket. It is less uncomfortable than that though. It makes her smile. That could just be the wine though.

She takes another sip, as the man finally emerges from behind her, his large body stepping into the sunlight like he is stepping into a second skin. In that moment she is grateful for the warmth in her chest and the way the wine adds a layer of lead to her bones for without it she would surely topple out of her chair in fright. The wine is like a barrier, though, stopping her common sense from leaking through. It makes sense, now, why she had pictured a giant— he is one.

She has to crane her neck to meet his blue eyes. When she finally does she decides that they match his mother’s. So does his blonde hair but it is a little more honey, a little less golden. Just as soft looking. His skin is golden though. It looks like he spends every waking hour in sunlight— no, it looks like he is sunlight. If sunlight was a person it would be this man. His mouth cracks open in a wide grin, his ivory teeth sparkling, as though he can hear her thoughts and agrees.

Frigga rolls her crystal eyes, an action so out of place alongside her more gentle movements. “Do introduce yourself before our guest starts to believe that I have not taught you manners.”

“I was getting there,” the giant insists to his mother. He bends at the waist, reaching for her hand which he engulfs in his surprisingly soft hands. He brings her knuckles to his lips— which are also soft but less surprisingly so— kissing them gently. “I am Thor, Odin’s Son, welcome to my home.”

Again, if it were not for the wine she would surely topple out of her chair. “Thank you. I am Y/n.”

Her voice sounds so small compared to his. Meek. She feels like a mouse sitting next to a lion. Perhaps it does not help that he is standing but she doubts that him sitting down will do much to remedy the difference. Spare a growth potion there is nothing she can do to match his build.

“How fitting—” he takes a seat in the chair across from her, squeezing his mother’s shoulder as he does so. Frigga smiles at him, a glint in her eyes— “a beautiful name for a beautiful lady.”

Y/n’s cheeks fill with heat. Beautiful? Her? No certainly not. He must say that to all the women he meets. She steals another tiny glance at him while he speaks quietly with his mother. His skin looks even more golden in the light. His honey hair looks sweet enough to catch flies. Or women. Probably more so women. She drops her gaze back to the table, her fingers teasing the cool metal of her chalice. He definitely knows his way around the ladies. Still, she tucks the comment into the back of her mind for a later time. It is nice to be complimented, even if it is perhaps less than authentic.

Frigga turns away from her son, her eyes softening once more. “Tell me about yourself, my dear. Have you come all this way for the ball? That was quite a few bags you brought with you earlier.”

Much like her cheeks, her ears flood with heat as well. Unlike a moment ago, however, it is not the soft kind of embarrassment. Her blush is not a kind one. She would rather dig herself into the ground then explain that she is a servant. Her stomach fills with butterflies. Their wings beat with a vengeance, absorbing the heat of the berry wine like nectar— like fuel.

“Well, no, not exactly, your High—” She stops herself this time, taking a sip of the traitorous wine in an attempt to cull the fluttering in her chest. “Frigga. Those were not all mine. I do not think I will be attending the ball actually.”

She tries to say it casually— perhaps if she feigns indifference then it will sound as though it is her choice. Frigga narrows her brows, lifting a dark violet berry to her lips. Like a candle sparking into flame, it dawns on her what she has been consuming. Blackberries. Her eyes dart back down to the table. She tries not to let her jaw drop when she sees the magnificent spread of food that was not there only moments ago. Sliced meats and cheeses, fluffy white bread— all she has back home is the tough, grainy kind— and so many fruits she cannot even name them all. Most of all, though, there are heaps upon heaps of blackberries.

Frigga drags one of her delicate fingers across the corner of her lips where some of the dark juice has stained her otherwise immaculate skin. “Well certainly you must attend.”

Her ears burn hotter, her mouth filling once more with cotton. How is she supposed to explain to the Queen that she agrees but that she also cannot go.

“I agree,” Thor’s deep voice joins the conversation as he swallows a bite of that fluffy bread. “You must come! There will be dancing and food.” He throws a hand up when he mentions the food and she lets a small smile free wondering how much it takes to feed someone as massive as him. “I hear there will even be some suitable bachelors. I assure you— it will be a splendid evening, Milady.”

Her ears skip over the jest about the bachelors, hightailing right to his very last word. Milady. The butterflies consume the word faster than they do the wine. They are addicted to it. She thinks that she might be as well. It repeats in her head, bounding around in her mind, crashing into her skull. Milady, Milady, milady. She has never been called milady before. The more it echoes around her brain, the more disorientated it sounds. It blurs together, the vowels folding in on themselves. The butterflies do not seem to care though— they consume the fuel just the same. And the more they consume, the more she wants to throw them all up.

The line between Frigga’s brows deepens, her crystal eyes attentive. They seem to catch her every movement, down to the little shakes in her fingers as she closes them around her cup again. She does not take another sip— she is more than warm enough now— she just needs something to still her hands.

“Thor is right, dear. You would have a wonderful time.” She tilts her head, some of the crinkle returning to her eyes. “Besides, even if it is not for my sons you must go for me.”

Y/n nods— perhaps lying is the best course of action here. “For you, then.”

She pops a blackberry into her mouth for good measure.

Good measure or to keep from spilling the truth. Either way the berry is not as sweet as she would have thought it would be.

* * * * * * * * * *

The rest of the conversation passes easily after that, filled with Thor’s booming laughter and Frigga’s loving eye rolls. She does not speak that much, offering her input when asked directly or when goaded, but the royals do not seem to mind. It is a welcome reprieve from her usual days— the ones where she is yelled at for speaking and slapped for not speaking and insulted for everything else. Here she can laugh when she pleases, eat when she pleases, and exist how she pleases. She does quite a lot of the first two. The tangy berries grow on her. So does the wine. Honestly, the wine is probably the cause of her new fondness for the berries. It sweetens everything that touches her tongue. Before long her belly is full, her eyelids are heavy, and her tangy lips hurt from how much she has been smiling.

Thor takes his leave soon after the three of them finish eating, laying another of the knee weakening kisses to her knuckles and reminding her that he will be expecting to see her at the ball two nights hence. He also calls her Milady again, as though trying his hardest to slip it in there are many times as possible. Maybe he is trying to give her a heart attack. She would not mind that much if he was— she would not have to return to her tiresome, damaging life if she had a heart attack.

After Thor leaves, Y/n stands, her hands lingering on the solid golden chair, her chest getting increasingly heavier as the moments pass. “Thank you so much for your kindness, Frigga. This afternoon was wonderful.”

The blonde woman smiles, standing as well and stretching her arms gracefully over her head. “Oh, it was nothing. Are you leaving so soon, my dear?”

“I must,” Y/n tries to replicate the Queen’s smile despite the weight on her shoulders. “I have already taken too much of your time. You must be a very busy woman.”

Frigga laughs. “I am only busy when I want the Kingdom to run smoothly.” Her eyes flit to the waning sun, shaking her head slightly. Y/n wonders if she is supposed to see the small action. It seems personal. “I fear that unfortunately means you are correct.”

She nods, pulling away from the chair. “Then I will leave you to the Kingdom— it is certainly more important than I.”

Her words are airy, the smile on her face glued in place by sheer will. She likes the Queen so she will hold her carefree exterior to keep her from worrying. She does not need to ask to know that the Queen would worry— she is a mother. Her own mother would worry as well and she would feign the same calm to keep her from worrying the same way she is now. No matter how calm she looks on the outside, though, her stomach topples, like the churning waves she had passed earlier. The bile that she swallows is foamy. Salty.

She could cry.

Before she can, though, the Queen’s warm fingers curl around her icy wrist, the contrast making a shiver crest down her spine. How long has she been cold for?

“Dear you mustn’t leave until you try the pool. Really, I implore you, you will love it. I really must go but I will tell my maids to ensure that no one comes in here to disturb you. Only if you would like, of course?”

It feels like a dream, or maybe an extension of the dream she is currently in, but for a moment her leaden lungs expand enough to drag in a healthy amount of air. It is like a light in the darkness— another log to ensure the fire keeps burning for a little bit longer— and she is not about to let it pass her by. What is a few more hours anyway— she is already going to be crawling away from the next meeting with her step mother.

She hopes the relief is not too distinguishable in her voice and eyes when she answers. “Are you sure, Frigga? I would not want to impose on your hospitality.”

Frigga does not answer— not at first. Not before her slender arms wrap around Y/n and she pulls her into her flowery chest. For a moment she is frozen, her arms hanging limp at her sides. She does not even breath— she does not know if she can. The warmth that seeps into her skin is both painfully familiar and unfamiliar at the same time. It makes her ten again. She is no longer standing in the Queen of Asgard’s chambers but in her little wooden house.

And she is not alone.

“My little dove come here will you?” Her mother calls to her from the kitchen. Perhaps she needs help icing the little cakes. Y/n hopes so— licking the icing spoon afterwards is her favourite thing.

She hurries into the warm room, the smell of cooked strawberries and sweet icing sugar wrapping around her bare arms. She had been fishing with her father earlier in the day and her cardigan had become dirty so she had stripped and left it to hang on the line outside before coming in for the evening.

“Would you like to help me?” Her mother’s eyes sparkle like two diamonds, crinking at the corners as she holds a spoon out.

She takes the spoon eagerly, stepping up to the table where a dozen of her favourite little cakes are layed out. She closes her eyes, breathing in the sugar. It is perhaps her favourite smell in the world. Her favourite smell doing her favourite thing with her favourite person. Well, spare her father of course, but he does not much care for baking.

“Little dove you know how much I love you right?”

She sneaks a lick of the icing spoon, giggling when her mother tickles under her chin. “I know, mama.”

Her mother grabs another spoon and one of the little cakes, setting to work as well. “How much do I love you?”

“To Midgard and back!” Y/n giggles. She does not quite know what it means but her mother has been telling her that for as long as she can remember.

Her mother nods, some of the hair spilling out of the braids along the side of her head and curling across her brows. Her smile is so bright that Y/n wonders if they even need the gas lamp. Surely her mother could light up the room fine on her own.

“That’s right, to Midgard and back.” Her mother presses a kiss to her forehead. “And back and back and back!”

She lifts her head, blinking the fog from her vision and clearing away the memory. When her senses return to her she finds her arms wrapped around the Queen’s waist so tight it feels as though she might break the tiny woman. She lets go immediately, taking a few steps back, her eyes shooting wide. She can still feel the heavy warmth of her mother’s kitchen on her skin— still smell the cooked strawberries— and her chest jolts painfully. If only her ten year old self had known that would be one of the last moments her mother would truly be herself again then maybe she would have kissed her forehead too.

“I am sorry, Frigga. I think I am just tired from the journey here.” She sputters out. The words sound mushy and garbled, her throat closing around each syllable, trying to swallow them before they can push past her lips.

The tears she had wanted to let out before rise so quickly to her eyes that she does not know what to do but look at the stone under her feet and hope Frigga does not notice. It must be her lucky day because all the Queen does is place her hand on her shoulder. She does not try to seek out her eyes.

“There is nothing to be sorry for. My sons do not hug me nearly as much as they used to—” Y/n tries to keep her shoulders from shaking as Frigga’s voice washes over her, soft and gentle like her mother’s used to, watching as the stone becomes wet and darkens. “I think a bath would help you greatly— warm water always helps clear my mind. Maybe you will find something you are looking for in the process.”

Y/n nods, her chin dipping against her throat. The Queen squeezes her shoulder once, leaning down to press a kiss to the top of her head. She has to hold her breath to keep from sobbing. It fights against her lungs though and she is sure Frigga can feel the way her chest jerks, fighting her from the inside. Frigga sighs and she watches as her feet leave her line of sight, her heels clicking on the marble as she goes to leave. It is only when she hears the heavy wooden door thunk closed does she move, the scream ripping from her throat so loudly she does not doubt that the Queen— no, the whole castle— hears it.

* * * * * * * * * *

Loki looks everywhere. Everywhere. Every corridor, every entrance, every dining room. He knocks on every damn chamber door. He never knocks— he never has to— but this time he does. The amount of faces he encounters is endless, most of them women, all of them speechless. He is not surprised to see so many women— nor is he surprised when they scramble to put sentences together in his presence, stuttering through their answers. To be fair, he does not really ask them anything. He knocks on the doors, looks at the stunned faces, and then, after feeling none of the warmth he is looking for— none of the sparks— he nods at them and continues his search.

As his search deepens, the minutes dissolving quickly into hours, his chest begins to feel like it is caving in on itself. The cavern walls of his lungs shift closer and closer together, beared on by a sourceless weight. It is invisible and it is heavy and it makes his head sting. By the time he gets to the last door he is pretty sure his lungs are incapable of filling completely. He fights to draw in a breath but the pressure is so intense that he has to throw a hand against the stone wall to keep from sinking to his knees. He is drowning in oxygen and yet cannot seem to suck in a single drop.

By the time he reaches the final door his head is foggy and his chest is burning. The remaining air that he has managed to hold onto turns on him more with every step, forming a mutiny and staging a siege in his body. The air fights against his lungs, banging on his windpipe, demanding to be let free. In what manner it wants to escape, he does not know. Probably loudly. He has never wanted to scream more than he does in this very moment— to let every building tension in his body free until his throat is raw. He can practically taste the metal on his tongue. The anger.

The blood.

Loki swallows hard, the action more painful than he would have ever thought, and blinks a few times before raising a fist of steel to the final door and knocking twice. He steps back after he does, giving whoever is inside room to speak to him. He hears a commotion, the hushed and quick murmurs of people, and scurried footsteps. Barely a second passes before the heavy wood slides open and reveals two women.

One of them is a scrawny blonde. Her limbs and face are boney, her fingers long and slender. Her hair drapes down her back, tangling with the ribbons that are keeping her corset tied so tight he wonders if she— like he— is finding it hard to breathe. Obviously it would be for opposite reasons. She is clearly choosing to be breathless— not being crushed under the weight of being so close and yet so far from her soulmate. He narrows his eyes at the girl, lingering on the sharpness to her. There is not a single soft feature about her— he strongly doubts she is hiding a pair of magic thighs underneath her dress. Definitely not her.

The blonde cowers slightly, her eyes flashing with recognition as her thin shoulders drawing into a tight point as she bows her head. He sighs— he does not have time for this. He almost forgot about the ridiculous ball and the actual reason why there were so many young women in his castle right now. Some of them had not recognized him— he is not his brother, after all. Thor would have been recognized in a heartbeat. Him, though, not so much. As much as it would make his blood boil any other time, right now he dreads the thought of enduring the conversation to come. He does not care to speak to hundreds of women; he is too busy trying to locate one.

He cringes when another woman joins, this one older than the blonde, her hair a dulling shade of red and her eyes are lined with wrinkles. Her mother, he assumes. She, too, sinks into a curtsey, the heavy jewels on her throat clinking as she does so. He can hear the gears turning in her head— see the same recognition as her daughter mingled with something else— something vaguely sinister— and the weight on his chest presses harder into him. So does the anger.

Odin, he does not have time for this!

The older woman rises first, her smile slick with the same slyness that clouds her eyes. “Your highness! How gracious of you to greet us before the ball.”

The anger grows— hot, heavy, and blinding— and he has to squeeze his fists to keep from baring his teeth at the woman. It surprises him, his instant hatred for her. He is not someone who makes friends easily— a choice he makes happily— but he is also not someone who wishes to kill people within seconds of encountering them— especially not women. There is something about this woman though that makes his vision tint black at the edges.

“It is nothing, madame.” He nods, his tone an icy, flat bite.

Much to his disappointment, the woman does not flinch. Her daughter does, the blonde’s shoulders catching like they have been snagged from behind, her neck remaining dropped in a bow. At least one of them is smart. Her mother does not seem to agree, her red heel sliding across the marble to jolt into her ankle. Loki squeezes his fists. How much longer must this go on?

“Anna—” the dull redhead’s voice is pinched as though she is trying to conceal her frustration— “do you have anything to say to the Prince.”

The blonde flinches at the contact, her head drawing up, her eyes clouded over with panic. He does not know who she is more afraid of in that moment— him or her mother. His chest still does not warm for her though, fear or no fear.

“Thank you.” She chokes out and he nods again— he does not want to kill her the same way he does her mother but the lines are getting hazy from the lack of oxygen he is breathing.

“Thank you is right.” The redhead’s wicked smile widens and his vision flashes.

He takes another step back, biting his tongue. The mutiny continues to rage in his chest, climbing up his sternum, stabbing holes in his jaw. He cannot hold it back for much longer— he does not really want to. But he is a Prince and he must, if not for him than for his mother. An image of Frigga flashes through his mind and, moments later, a plan. With both in his mind he is able to suck in half a breath. It stuns the insurrection inside him for a moment and hardens his resolve— he has to get to her.

He straightens his shoulders, lifting his chin higher, revelling in the way the redhead finally shrinks away from him. “If you will kindly excuse me.”

Loki does not waste time waiting for their responses, he only spins on his heel and struts away. The walk to his mother’s chambers is quick. Usually he would linger, skimming his fingers over the marble banister and peering out towards the sea. He has spent many days locked in a staring contest with the waves. Usually he wins— they are always blinking their foamy eyes at him. Today he does not spare them a glance. They will be there tomorrow. She might not be.

He turns the corner quickly. Too quickly. He honestly is not aware of how fast he is moving until his body slams into something small but strong. He grunts, shuffling backwards until he glimpses at blonde hair and two familiar crystal eyes. He chooses to ignore the half-hearted fury in them, opting instead to grab his mother’s shoulders.

Frigga curls her hands over her son's arms, the fury melting to something more concerned. “Loki what on Asgard are you doing—”

“Mother, I need you to tell me where she is.” He pleads— breathes— not waiting for the end of her sentence to tilt into a question like he knows it will.

Her shoulders drop under her palms in a sigh that he senses coming. “I have already told you all that I can— all that I know. Even if I did know more you know that I could not tell you without putting you and her—” she pauses, raising a golden brow in what he assumes is an attempt to make him listen. It only serves to make his chest squeeze— “in danger.”

He squeezes his eyes closed, his eyelids crushing together the same way his teeth do as he grits his answer out. “I can protect us both, mother, I just need—”

The rest of his sentence is drowned by a scream that rips through every fibre in his being. For a moment it even feels as though it is coming from him, burning like bile up his throat and tearing like knives through his eardrums. It stings so much— how could it not be his scream? But then he closes his mouth, slamming his hands against his ears, and he can still hear the feral wails slicing at him through the barrier of his skin. He peels his eyes open, searching for the source of the noise but coming up empty— the only other person around remains his mother whose mouth— while drawn into a deep frown— is also closed.

“Faen!” He curses, not sure if it is as quiet as it seems to his own ears or if he just cannot hear his own voice over the violent screams. “Mother I— It hurts I—”

“Loki?” Frigga’s voice barely cuts through the howling but he can still decipher the worry in her tone.

For the second time in less than a week’s cycle, his knees touch the ground. It is a sight that has even his mother lost for words, her mouth falling open at her usually proud son forced into a bow. Loki never kneels. Now he has kneeled twice for a woman he has yet to even properly meet. Something familiar prickles against the back of his neck, right where the top of his spine meets his skull— right where the wails zero on him. Somewhere in the fever pitch he finds the very thing that has been haunting him for an entire sun cycle. Please Surtr. With the realization his own screams claw at his chest, begging to join in with their match.

It is her.

Loki rises, pushing off the marble floor and staggering forward. It is not an easy task, he feels like everything around him is fighting against his movements, pushing on his limbs until each step feels like he is fighting through waves. He is drowning but not in oxygen this time. He is a child again and the sea is crashing over him so violently that he is not sure if this time he will survive. He has never actually stopped to ask himself whether or not he can die this way— by drowning. He had always assumed the answer was no, he could not. But now he is not so sure. Now he feels like he might die on the precipice of everything important to him— quite literally on the threshold of the rest of his damn life.

The hell he will.

His hand curls around the iron handle, his teeth sinking into his bottom lip as he uses the last of his power to shove the heavy wood open. He can barely hear his mother’s protests— they are more a feeling if anything. Loki, that is not proper you cannot go in there. Does it look like he cares right now? He ignores her— there is nothing else he can do. The light from the room trickles over him, mingled with a heady, flowery aroma. He lets the door fall closed behind him. It is thick and warm, mingling with the heat rolling off his mother’s bathing pool and creating a fog that should make it hard to breathe.

Should.

The opposite is true though. The thick air is anything but hard to breathe. Rather he feels as though he is breathing for the first time all day. Like magic it works against the pressure on his chest, lulling the storm inside him. For a moment he cannot hear the wailing, the peace soaking into his skin enough to silence the agony. As soon as the calm comes, however, it is gone, torn away by the hiccups of a small form that is huddled against the jeweled tub. Loki’s heart stops— at least it feels like it does.

She lifts her eyes and— while half hidden by the fallen strands of her hair— he can still see the way they are banded in strands of silver that seem to go on forever. They draw him in, pulling him under the surf of her eyes but this time he is not drowning— he is floating. It is her. He is pretty sure he takes a step forward because she is now a few feet closer to him but if he does then he does not feel it. Floating. She freezes, her chest stilling, her rose petal lips peeling apart. No sound comes out. Gods how he wishes she would say something.

But then she sucks in a breath, her chest rising, and the veins under what he knows to be the softest skin in all of Asgard glow, illuminating a pattern of lightning strikes across her flesh. Just like that, he is officially a goner. Officially hers. He would do anything she asked of him. Anything to keep her. How the hell did he get so damn lucky? He cannot tear his eyes away from her, drinking in as much of her skin as possible. The sleeves of her dress hang off her shoulders, baring her flesh to him, and he can see from her hunched form that the first few buttons of her dress are open. She was undressing? Now he cannot breathe again.

He follows the pattern under her flesh intricately, taking another step, his whole body shuddering when she breathes in again and makes the scattered glow of her veins shift. The lighting strikes continue over her shoulders, mingling with the silky strands of her hair. He is suddenly envious of the strands— why does it get the privilege of touching this Valhalla made woman?

He traces her sparking veins over the crest of her shoulders and down her spine. He can feel her silver eyes on him, watching as his own eyes flick over her skin. It is exhilarating— it makes him feel alive. Was he even living before this moment? Walking and speaking and experiencing? Or is it only now that he realizes that was all a dream? Is this what it feels like to actually be alive? Odin, he was missing out.

His eyes crease over the arch of her back, drawn to the mountains and valleys of her spine. Her skin is like another world, one he would give anything to forage through— to explore for hours on end. For the rest of his life. There is not a doubt in his mind that he could be happy getting lost in her for the rest of eternity. His eyes skim the ridges of her shoulder blades, trying to decide where to even begin, and it is only then when he sees it— when his heart actually stops.

At first he does not know what he is seeing. Of course he has seen bruises before— he has fought alongside his brother as a warrior countless times. He has seen both his own skin and Thor’s turn violet and blue. This, though, is different. He has never seen anything close to the deep black bruises on her back. Her lightning veins are more muted underneath them, still crackling but instead of silver light they glow a sickening shade of scarlet. Where the lighting webs he can see her blood shifting, clinging to her injuries and flowing like lava— molten.

He can feel the heat from where her body is trying to mend itself back together. Any other time he would want to sink into it— feel her warmth against him and try to steal some of it for himself. Usually he feels so cold. Not right now. Right now all he feels is fire— fire from her lava, lightning skin, fire from the embers heating the pool next to him, fire from his own, burning anger— and he can feel the flames leaking into his eyes as he kneels for the third time.

Once he is on the floor as well her scent strengthens, wrapping around him and clinging to him. He does not know much about flowers but he can smell the Dhalia’s now, clear and sharp, just like in the castle gardens. He does not remember the castle gardens being this intoxicating though.

And nobody stomps on the Dhalia’s in the castle gardens the way someone clearly has with this one.

His chest squeezes, the flames flaring out again. Like the bruises, Loki has longed for vengeance before— many times, actually— but never like this. It has never consumed him so completely. He has never had to teeter between two impossible choices like this— impossible not because they are undoable but because he has to do both and he does not know which to do first. Engulf the shaking girl or seek out whoever thought it wise to mar her soft skin?

He meets her silver eyes, watching them crackle and flood with more tears. He has to swallow hard to stop his own, his throat burning too now. Being this close to her he can make out her features— the special curve to her nose and the dip of her cupid's bow and the little marks on her skin— everything that makes her special. He wishes more than anything in this moment that the circumstances were not as they are so that he could spend an hour memorizing every little detail.

Her hands twitch and his gaze darts to where they curl around her elbows. He wonders for a moment if they shake because of him. Gods, he hopes not. Being who he is— a prince and a feared warrior— he is used to people cowering away from him. He has grown to crave it— if they are going to keep doing it then why not embrace it? He likes when they fear him. With her, though, he wants anything but. It becomes clear which choice he has to make in that moment— and that there was never really a choice at all.

He flicks his eyes back to her, hunching his shoulders in an attempt to sink closer to her height, trying to make himself appear smaller. Before this moment he never thought himself large. He is taller than his mother, yes, but not by too much. He is nowhere near as big as Thor. Hell, even Heimdall is bigger than him. He has always been the sleek one— agile, fast, lean. He is made for stealth— not at all used to towering over another person. But here he is, all of a sudden feeling like he did when he was a kid hitting a growth spurt again, all awkward and lanky. He tucks his elbows into his sides, his chin to his chest, his vision filtered through his lashes due to the tricky bow he squishes himself into. It is not enough but it is a start.

For a moment they just stare at each other. Loki has no idea what to say to her. It is not like he has been thinking about it for an entire sun cycle or anything, mulling over everything he could possibly tell her. Anything he could say he has surely thought of— he has played through every rendition of every conversation. Thousands of words and thoughts and feelings, all of which have evaporated into the vacuum of his mind the moment he needs to use them. Again, some silver tongue he is.

Thankfully, though, he does not need to figure out what to say to his soulmate— she figures it out first.

“Are you real?”

___________

Tag List: @crystal-siren @cari1bunny @breethememe @tapismyforte @atashi-no-yuuki

#loki #loki x y/n #loki x reader #loki fic #loki laufeyson #loki laufeyson x reader #Loki laufeyson x y/n #loki laufeyson fic #The Servant and The Prince #mcu #mcu fic #marvel cinematic universe #marvel #marvel fic #marvel cinematic universe fic

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knchins · 4 years ago

Text

The Sacrificial Lamb - Chisaki Kai

Summary: The Vampire Chisaki has been searching everywhere for the one, but when he finally finds her she is taken by the League of Villains. He strikes a deal with them in order to get her back.

Pairing: Vampire!Overhaul x Fem!Human!Reader

Rating: E+

Word Count: 6.7k

Server Collab: BNHAREM - Fantasy AU

Warnings: Virgin/Virginity Kink, Blood, Extreme Dubcon, Mysophobia, Kidnapping, Implied Sexual Slavery, Noncon Choking, Biting, Pelvic Examination, Virginity Testing, Mentioned Necrophilia, Marking, Bondage/Restraints, Hair Pulling, Condom Usage, Overstimulation, Vaginal Fingering, Vaginal Sex, Cunnilingus, Mild Aftercare

Notes: Please heed the warnings listed above. I classify this as a dark fic and want readers to take care while reading. <3 My first ever collab with this server and I’m super hype about it! I hope you enjoy!

All over the world, over the past few decades, vampirism had spread across the land like a rampant disease. Once mortal humans were turned into eternal monsters with powers unique only to their kind. The media tended to call them quirks, hoping that a lighthearted term would quell the fear of what the gifts truly were. An abomination, a curse among mankind, and weapons of mass destruction.

Of course, there were a select few (really, a rare few these days) that used their vampirism for good. They fed only on donated blood, vowed never to take human life, and even protected mortals against others of their kind that were not as righteous as they were. Truly it was a world made up of heroes, villains, and powerless bystanders that were often victims.

In relation to eternity, Chisaki Kai was rather young. He had only spent his life as a gifted fanged menace for about two decades now, but that didn’t make things any easier. Chisaki has had mysophobia for as long as he could remember. It plagued him as a human long before he was turned by the former leader of the Shie Hassaikai.

Vampirism had always been nothing but a curse to him. While it was true that his quirk was extremely powerful and was capable of great destruction, the fact that he had to drink blood in order to survive was pure hell. The only blood he could bring himself to consume was that of young virgins, those who had never been tainted with drugs, alcohol, or even sex.

Members of Shie Hassaikai would kidnap victims for him, but Kai would never feed on them outright. No, touching their commoner skin with his mouth just seemed completely out of the question. He very rarely sank his teeth into anyone. Instead he’d keep them captive, draining a few pints every few weeks until eventually bleeding them dry when he grew bored of them.

The blood would be stored and consumed as needed by their leader, a small portion of it would be meshed with grapes and fermented into wine. A delicacy that many vampires enjoyed and was graded on both the source and taste. Naturally he only drank that of the highest grade as that ensured there were few (if any) impurities.

The issue Chisaki was starting to face however was that his food source was dwindling. In this day and age it was difficult to find people that haven't spent time poisoning their bodies. Everyone seemed to enjoy living in filth and he really just did not understand. He was half tempted to start breeding his own livestock to drain, but that would just be too costly at this point. The organization was struggling to get back on top, and while he was a fearsome and ruthless leader, there were still connections that needed to be made.

As of now he had a...tentative (but tumultuous) relationship with a group of vampires that liked to call themselves the League of Villains. The leader, Shigaraki Tomura, wanted to be equal to Kai however Kai felt that he was equal to no one. He was above all of them, his power to destroy or create on a whim was better than anyone quirk that the league could offer. Negotiations were still being made and every time they took one step forward, they seemed to take two steps back.

Shigaraki was about the same age as he was and he too was capable of mass destruction. If the two worked together, they could bring down all of Tokyo with ease. Perhaps this would help with Chisaki’s lack of food situation. With the entire city under his thumb he could easily create some sort of facility to house and breed the purest of humans. He’d no longer have to limit himself as he did now.

Presently he was waiting to hear back from his most faithful underling and assistant, Kurono. He was out looking for what would be Chisaki’s next meal, though it had been a few hours since he departed. When his phone began to chime, he half expected to hear that he had been unsuccessful in finding someone to suit his boss’s tastes. However, it was quite the opposite.

“I have found a girl you would no doubt enjoy.” Kurono said in a cold tone that portrayed no noticeable emotion. “However, there is a situation.”

Chisaki was almost always cool headed. He very rarely lost his temper, though when he did it could be quite murderous. “What is it?” He asked monotonously.

“The League of Villains has taken her for themselves.” He said, and while true he could just find someone else. He had a feeling that his boss would particularly love the sweet little thing he had found. “I believe she may be the one.”

The One. Chisaki had been searching high and low for a delicate creature to treat as his live in blood source. One that he would control one hundred percent. What she ate, what she wore, when she slept. He had so many plans for this one woman, if she were to ever be found. Hearing that Kurono may have found the one and had lost her to none other than that foul Shigaraki was almost enough to boil his black blood. Almost.

“She’s pure?” He asked cryptically, though he knew that if she had been selected already then Kurono had already vetted that information himself. He heard his subordinate give him a quick affirmative. Chisaki let his thoughts process for a moment longer, “come back. I will call Tomura and see what he has to say for himself.”

Clearly this was a ploy to get Chisaki to formally align with him. That much was obvious. However without seeing the girl first it may as well be pointless. He’d need to look over her with a fine toothed comb to determine whether or not she was indeed the one he could make his blood bride or not. A human companion for him to divulge in at any time. If Kurono knew him as well as the thought he did, then he would be correct in thinking that she was special enough to keep around.

He ended the call with Kurono and looked for the number he had for the league of villains. He pressed it, letting the phone dial the numbers itself before waiting for an answer. A moment later, an annoying but familiar voice cut in. “Overhaul. I was wondering when you’d call.” There was clear devious intent that made Chisaki question again what he could possibly be up to. “I have something I think you’ll just love to sink your teeth into.”

Kai didn’t appreciate the joke. Shigaraki knew very well that Kai didn’t drink directly from humans. He drank blood through plastic straws because he didn’t even want his lips to touch it unless he wanted to break out in hives. “What do you want for her?” Kai asked, getting straight to the point. “I have plenty that you could have.”

It was true. Shigaraiki needed to bolster his numbers and with Kai’s help then he could easily achieve that goal.All he needed to supersede the arduous negotiations between them was a little leverage. Leverage Tomura now had in his possession. “You know what I want, Chisaki.” Shigaraki said in the smug voice that grated the yakuza leader’s last nerve.

But what Shigaraki wanted most was to have Chisaki and his gang of men to work under him. To have control over the small legion of vampires that was ruled by Chisaki’s hand. Of course, Kai could always agree to the negotiation and cut ties as soon as he had what he wanted (if she was indeed the one). Though there was no telling for sure of that now.

“I’ll need to inspect her first. Bring her to the compound for a thorough examination.” He instructed hoping that Shigaraki would at least agree to that. “Do not touch her with those filthy hands of yours until then. If you defile her then the deal will be off.”

Shigaraki tutted into the receiver of the phone, “So picky. You want to see this little wallflower so badly? Alright, I’ll bring her in an hour. Be ready for us then, would you? Maybe have some of the delicious blood wine of yours ready to celebrate our long awaited union. Until then I’ll have all of my people keep their roaming fingers to themselves. Does that sound like a suitable arrangement?”

Chisaki sat back in his chair. While Shigaraki couldn’t truly be trusted, he saw no other choice than to agree to this. “One hour. Don’t be late.” He hung up before the petulant man could say anything else, He let out a long sigh before standing. He had a lot of preparations to do before his visitors arrived.

An hour later, Chisaki had just picked out one of his finer bottles of wine when a subordinate brought in his guests. Shigaraki was alone with a girl bound in rope standing next to him. She had a cloth gag tied around her mouth to keep her from talking, something Chisaki thought was a little barbaric but it wasn’t that surprising given who her captor was.

Despite her bindings, he could already tell just how beautiful she was and more than that she smelled absolutely divine. Chisaki felt his mouth water, hunger panging in his stomach. This visceral reaction was incredibly rare for him. The urge to sink his fangs into the tender flesh of her delicate neck roared in his brain, yet he did his best to silence it. Outwardly his masked face remained the same, though his mouth twitched into an unseen smile.

He held his hand out, but Tomura hesitated before handing over the rope leash. “You break our deal then I’ll snap her pretty little neck. Got it?” He asked, putting a gloved hand on the back of her neck and squeezing lightly for emphasis. Chisaki’s eyes narrowed, already he knew that no one would ever be taking her away from him. Shigaraki just didn’t know who he was dealing with.

“If she passes the examination, then we will have a deal.” Chisaki reminded him, “if I find that she is unclean, then you can do what you wish with her. I do not care.” Though the words came out bitter and assured, deep down he knew that that was untrue. Something about her was so captivating already. He didn’t want to dwell on the possibility of her not being the one. Kurono had seemed so sure of himself when they spoke last.

The young yakuza leader led his potential pet into a back room that was made specifically for examining humans. He had it built shortly after he took over in order to sort out his cattle in any way he saw fit.

After ushering her inside, he cut on the harsh bright lights that nearly blinded her. Shigaraki chose to perch on a stool in the corner while Chisaki untied the ropes that bound the girl’s arms and then the gag. He let the thick braids fall unceremoniously to the floor, noticing how she shook with each brush of his fingertips. Scared already? Well, they always did taste better when they had adrenaline coursing through their veins.

“Take off your clothes and get on the table.” He ordered, watching her eyes dart to a table adorned with stirrups. It was similar to one you might find at a gynecologist's office. With much hesitation, his new subject began to disrobe. Her clothes puddled around her feet as she grew more and more embarrassed with each less layer covering her sensitive skin. An odd heat was pooling between her legs as she clenched her thighs together.

Chisaki was taken off guard by her arousal. He had been assured that she was a virgin, however if stipping down before two vampires was turning her on then certainly that wasn’t the case. Both he and Shigaraki could smell the slick that was accumulating within her folds. His sharp eyes cut to the snickering vampire in the corner who was nothing but amused by this turn of events.

After she finished undressing, she climbed up onto the steel table that had minimal cushioning. Chisaki changed his gloves out to a fresh pair, wanting to make sure that any dirt he found wasn’t something that had already been on the ones he had been wearing previously. A fresh slate was needed for this examination.

“Put your feet in the stirrups.” He said coldly, his doubts beginning to overwhelm him internally, though his face did not show it. Even if it did, the lower half was still obstructed by his black face mask. How could this girl possibly be the one if she enjoyed disrobing in front of two murderous vampires? Was she one of those that got off on fantasizing about creatures of the night? The thought disgusted him.

Her knees were shaking, causing the metal arms of the stirrups to rattle. Even curiouser she was this nervous while also being excited? What a peculiar creature indeed.

His eyes swept over her seemingly frail mortal body. There were no bruises, no cuts. There wasn’t even a scar on the flesh he could see. Hair was all neatly landscaped. Her outward appearance was up to par with his wishes, but it was time to check the inside of her to make sure.

Chisaki gently spread the moistened folds to see if that thin sliver of tissue was still intact. While true, it wasn’t uncommon for girls to rupture their hymen through activities other than sex, he still found it to be a great indicator. If it was torn then he would have to check another way.

To the vampire’s pleasure, there was the tiny half moon membrane just a centimeter into the vaginal canal. This was all he needed to see in order to believe that she was, in fact, a virgin and that he wouldn’t need to probe any further in order to find any inconsistencies that disputed that fact.

He delicately checked over the rest of her sex, searching for any indication that she wasn’t as pure as she seemed to be. Again he was thoroughly pleased to find none. He took a step away from her, walking around the table to closer examine her nude form. His sharp eyes moved over every last inch of visible skin, trying to detect any kind of abnormal marking or sign of dirt or grime.

The stirrups were still rattling with the tremors of her lower limbs, a tinny sound that bounced off the walls of the small room. Her eyes were shut tightly, afraid to look at the man looming over her. What the two villains in the room didn’t know was that she had been saving herself specifically for this sort of situation. Since she came of age she longed to be some vampire’s little fuck toy to use and abuse. Despite her pure body, her mind was anything but. Upon learning of the League of Villain’s intentions with her, she hadn’t been able to stop the grotesquely loud thumping of her heart within her chest.

She didn’t know exactly who the vampire they referred to as Overhaul was, but she could tell that he was especially gifted and powerful. The way he commanded a room was enough to make her weak in the knees. She kept herself meticulously well kept and it seemed as though all her work had been for something much greater than she could have ever anticipated.

“Put your legs down and roll over.” He ordered in that monotonous and apathetic voice that only made her shutter even more. She obliged, removing her feet from the pads of the stirrups and rolling onto her stomach after scooting back up onto the steel table a little more so that she could be more comfortable.

Shigaraki was watching with mild intrigue. He had never seen Chisaki look over a potential meal before. It was quite entertaining how thought out his observations appeared to be.

He inspected the areas that he could not see before, again finding nothing out of the ordinary. He even inspected her hair, looking for any signs of lice or debris. Nothing. Every item on the list within his mind checked off one by one. She was intact. She was clean. She was pure. And she would be his and his alone.

Chisaki left her side to order an underling to bring him a fresh clean robe for her to wear. In the corner of the room was a glass shower that he instructed her to go to in order for her to scrub herself down even further. He assured her that when she was finished he would have something for her to put on and to not worry about the rags she had been wearing.

After she had stepped into the clear shower and began to wash as per his instructions, Chisaki made his way to a nearby sink. He removed the gloves that had been soiled with her arousal and threw them in the bin to his right before scrubbing his hands clean and putting on a new pair. Once he was finished he made his way back to Shigaraki. “We have a deal.” He said plainly, not wanting to show how very important this girl was to him now. If he let on how great of a find this truly was, then there was no telling what his adversary would ask for in return. So far the exchange they had worked out was simple enough. He didn’t need for it to become any more complicated.

He couldn’t see the twisted grin on Shigaraki’s face due to the false hand mask obscuring it, however he could tell that it was there simply due to the way the seated man’s eyes creased with sick glee. “Let us toast to this new alliance then.” Shigaraki drawled as he stood from the wooden stool he had been sitting on.

Kurono stepped in to deal with the little lamb that was his boss’s new plaything as the two leaders left for the kitchen where Chisaki had prepped the dry blood wine. A servant poured them both a glass of the viscous burgundy liquid before handing it to them with a slight bow.

Both men removed the masks they were wearing, through they stood a good six feet apart. Chisaki was not about to breath in whatever sin Shigaraki exhaled. It was the first time Tomura had seen his full face and immediately thought that he looked even younger than he was. He waited for Chisaki to drink the wine first to make sure it hadn’t been tainted.

Chisaki took the first sip with an apathetic look on his face. Only once he had swallowed did Shigaraki follow suit. Both of them revelled in the bitter and metallic taste. Only once the glasses were half empty was a word spoken. “We will be making our next move soon.” Shigaraki said, “make sure you and your men are ready for my command.”

“Don’t worry about us not being ready.” He replied simply, “we are always prepared for anything.”

Shigaraki chose not to comment, knowing that there was an allusion to his own gang’s sometimes lack of preparedness. It could be hard controlling a group of particularly talented vampires. While he too had great power and they did listen to him, some of his subordinates could get out of control at times.

He threw back the rest of his wine, letting it flood his senses for a moment as it ran down his throat. He replaced the white hand over his face before standing. “And Chisaki, do not forget my warning. If you do not hold up your end of the bargain, then that delicious specimen will be all mine and your dick won’t be the only one that has been buried into that cute little cunt of hers.”

Chisaki finished his own glass before slipping the black cloth back over his mouth and nose. His eyes were fixated on his new partner, clearly irate to the thought of someone else having his new most beloved pet. He said nothing, letting his gaze say it all as Shigaraki took his leave finally, wanting to get out before his welcome was possibly overstayed. They’d talk more about the future of their alliance later. Now it was time for Chisaki to see just how great of a gift had just been bestowed upon him.

By now she was finished with her shower and Kurono had showed her to her new living quarters where she had been locked inside. Inside it looked similar to a medium sized hotel room. She had her own private bathroom, a closet full of clothes that certainly weren’t hers before but would be hers from now on. A full bed that was made with soft sheets and a thick duvet. The only thing she would have liked was a window, however there was nothing to suggest that she was even on the ground floor. It was much more plausible that she had been taken underground instead.

She was wearing nothing but a silk robe and the man who had brought her here had told her not to put anything on that his boss would be there in a moment. She took a seat on the foot of the bed, wondering if this was to be her life from now on. A slave to a vampire. Would it be everything she had ever dreamed of? If it wasn’t...would there be any way to escape? She had a sickening feeling that her fate was sealed either way. She could either please her new master or die at his hands. There were no other alternatives.

Being a living blood bag was not a conventional kink to say the least. Maybe it would be enough to keep her alive in this turbulent world.

The door opened and the leader of the Shie Hassaikai walked into the room, closing it behind her. His golden olive-toned eyes were fixated onto her, a thin inhale caused the black cloth mask to momentarily press against his nostrils. Hunger throbbed in his stomach and he felt himself aching to do something that he never dreamt of doing. Saliva pooled into his mouth as his gaze fixated on the untouched skin of her neck. He could see her pulse fluttering in her jugular, strong and healthy.

He was pleased to find her in the white robe he had chosen for her. An obvious symbol of what she was to him. The sacrificial lamb. Fuck, he’d drain every lost drop of that sweet innocent life force without a second thought. Sure he had come to make her his but his sudden need to feed was definitely making that difficult. Of course he could still do that even if she were dead. Though a compliant corpse wasn’t quite as much fun.

He shrugged off his green jacket, setting it on the back of a nearby chair. “What is your name?” He asked, though he already had the intent of giving her a new name already. He still wanted to know what it was.

She told it to him, voice wavering with anticipation. Was tonight the night she’d finally experience sex for the first time? The thought alone had her gushing again and the smell caused Chisaki to quirk an eyebrow with curiosity. He had only asked her her name, why did that make her so aroused?

He loosened his tie before taking it off completely, “Take off your robe.” He ordered as he stepped closer to the bed. She stood up and untied it from around her waist, letting it fall open before she shrugged it off of her shoulders. The white silk fell to the floor and immediately her hands moved to cross over her exposed chest in order to attempt some form of modesty. Even though he had already stripped her and examined her most intimate parts, it was still awkward to simply be nude in front of her new master. She did have some morals afterall.

Chisaki grabbed her arms and unfolded them before forcing them behind her back. He wrapped the fabric of his tie around her wrists tightly before weaving a knot into the bindings to keep her from getting out of it. Her shoulders pulled to accommodate the new position, causing her chest to lift and breasts to bounce in protest of his sudden and rough movements.

He observed the wince of pain that crossed her face and the look caused his cock to twitch inside of his pants, begging to be freed. “If you struggle too much, Angel, it’s only going to hurt you more in the long run.” He said, voice edged with a thinly veiled threat. She immediately stopped pulling at the tie and became still before him, eyes too afraid to look at his face as she felt the skin of her cheeks heat painfully with embarrassment.

He took off his shirt and unbuckled his belt, trying to decide whether or not he wanted to wrap it around her fragile throat. If he did so then he’d been obscured from possibly savoring it for himself, though the thought of that caused a sudden wave of nausea. His stomach urged him to tear open the flesh of her jugular while his brain protested at the mess it would make.

Chisaki decided to remove the black mask from his face and placed it on a nearby table where it would not get soiled. He heard her inhale sharply at the sight of his unblocked face. He was much more handsome than she had originally thought, and while all vampires had some denotation of enhanced beauty, his was truly magnificent.

His mouth opened and she saw the glinting white fangs inside of it. Both the canines and lateral incisors were pointed sharp, though the later was a fraction shorter than the other. Truly he could reduce her into nothing in seconds if he wanted to, all with the quick use of his dangerous mouth. She couldn’t help another wave of slick from coating her sex at the thought of what all he could do with it.

He didn’t bother to take off his pants just yet as he leaned in to gently sniff the flesh of her throat right above the pulse point. She felt a droplet of something wet hit her collarbone and instantly she knew it was saliva.

“P-Please,” She stuttered for him, “bite me.” She practically moaned the order and he growled at the distastefulness of it. He didn’t want her so willing. Not for the first time. He wanted this to hurt. She heard the small hiss that came out from between his teeth, felt the small puff of air against her neck. Instantly she knew she had made a mistake as his gloved hand wrapped around her throat and began to squeeze.

She gasped for air, typing to break free from her ties once more but was unsuccessful once again. Her vision blurred around the edges, dark black spots blobbing before her eyes randomly as she struggled for air. Now this was a sight for sore eyes, Chisaki thought. He could easily see the life in her eyes fighting to stay lit. If he held his grip for a few more minutes then she’d lose consciousness completely. Even longer and she’d die.

He released his hold on her suddenly and she inhaled sharply and painfully. Her lungs expanded fully as she gulped in the clean crisp air of the room. The vampire watched her closely, looking for any sign of long lasting damage. He didn’t even need to command her to not say another word. She got the point loud and clear by his actions alone.

It was then that he decided that it was better off if he marked her as his own. While it wasn’t a very common practice (his cattle literally got branded with an iron in the shape of the family’s crest), it was something that vampires did to protect humans that they were particularly fond of. While fondness wasn’t the right choice of words here, he did want it to be known that she was for him and him only.

The best part is that it would hurt. He wanted it to hurt, through fear he could have complete subordination. He wanted a helpless lamb, not a conniving wolf. The only downside was that it would require him to bite her. Though truthfully he could use his quirk to do it, he knew it wouldn’t have quite the same effect.

Without warning, Kai suddenly sank his teeth into her shoulder, around her right collarbone. His sharpened fangs easily tore through the soft flesh, sweet rich blood pouring into his mouth as she let out the most deliciously pained cry. She tried to shy away from him, tried to get him off, but his hold was vice.

Pain ripped through her entire body, not just her shoulder. Some sort of dark magic was pulling at her skin, making it hot with fever. Her forehead broke out into a sweat as large tears rolled down her cheeks and onto her neck. She had never known such pain before and she thought she may pass out at any moment.

He was pulling the blood from her, making her feel lightheaded and almost weightless. The taste was almost too much for him. The thought of just taking every last drop flooding into his mind at such an alarming rate that he was almost unable to stop himself from pulling away at last. Her eyes connected with his bloody mouth, a thick trail of blood seeping down his chin and dripping down onto her bare chest.

Unfortunately for her he could not use his healing quirk on this particular wound. He needed it to heal naturally in order for the mark to leave a scar. If he healed it completely then it would be all for naught.

He quickly disappeared into the private bathroom and scrubbed his face and lips clean, though wasting even a drop of her blood made him rage. The good thing about humans was that they could produce more. It wasn’t a finite source. He had to remind himself of that as he willed the hives that had crept up his neck to disappear. Nausea turned his newly full stomach. A glance in the mirror at his now clean face caused the urge to vomit to recede. He grabbed a hand towel and some medical supplies. He had to take good care of his little lamb if he wanted her to last.

Once back in the bedroom he began to clean the wound. Thankfully the blood hadn’t made it to the bedspread. He cleaned the wound with a surprising amount of gentleness, being sure not to hurt her as he bandaged it up with gauze and medical tape. Once the square of white material was firmly in place he took off his clothes and retreated back into the bathroom to wash his hands.

After drying them he returned into the bedroom to see her looking at him, her legs quaking beneath her shuddering frame. “Lay down on your stomach,” He said monotonously, watching as she struggled to get onto the bed without the use of her arms and lay down for him. Chisaki put on a new pair of gloves and grabbed a condom from the box that had been placed in the room. They had been specially made to hold up during the certain amount of zeal he tended to have in the bedroom, though he rarely found a specimen good enough for his tastes. Typically after he soiled them he discarded them, but this time would be different. Now she was marked, the skin of her shoulder still burning with pain.

Chisaki dropped his pants and underwear, watching her thighs continue to shake. “Up on your knees.” He instructed and she did just that, keeping her chest on the mattress with her arms tied behind her back. The view was absolutely magnificent. Her wet folds now on display for him, the tiny whines that came from her throat. How could a virgin be so fucking needy? He didn’t know and didn’t care, somehow her being more willing than he expected was a good thing. Going in dry could be painful and he detested the stickiness of lube.

He rolled the condom onto his hard cock, a thrill tingling up his spine at the thought of what he was about to do. He’d fix her up nice and good after working her over. Even if she was aroused, this was still going to hurt.

He positioned his tip at her entrance, looking over her shuddering form. Honestly he had never seen such a beautiful site before. All the virgins he’d taken before were nothing like this one. He kept one gloved hand on her lower back while his other guided his twitching member into her.

He wasn’t slow or gentle. In fact, he pushed his way in with brute force, knowing that it would be ripping that delicate hymen of hers. He could smell the blood spilling onto the bed and once more his mouth filled with saliva. His little lamb cried out in pain because there was no pleasure to be had here yet. It was much too soon for that.

Chisaki held back a curse at how tight she was, her pussy clamping down on his cock in a vice grip that had him wanting to blow his load already. He did allow her a moment to adjust to the new feeling of him stretching her out, though it wasn’t long before he dragged himself out and slammed back into her once more.

Another cry of pain, she wanted to beg him to stop and give her time. Let her get acclimated more before he moved, but she feared what kind of punishment she might receive for such an outburst. Her cries though were music to his ears and he wouldn’t let up, not when he could hear that precious sound over and over again.

The pain didn’t last forever. Not like she had feared it might. Which each powerful thrust it dulled more and more, until her screams of agony became moans of pleasure. Chisaki wasn’t sure which he liked more, they were both so sweet in their own way. Feeling her body relax, her walls loosening ever so slightly so that it was easier for him to move, did make the act much more enjoyable. He could increase his pace, pounding into her with relentless force that had her toes curling with delight.

She felt an odd pressurized sensation welling in the pit of her abdomen. It was so foreign and tense that she was at first worried something may be wrong with her. Chisaki grabbed a fistfull of her hair and yanked it backwards, pain searing into her scalp as her walls tightened around him enough to make him let out a groan.

He pulled her upwards more by her locks, making it so he was entering her at a new angle, one that had her feeling dizzy with ecstasy. The coil tightened even more and she felt like she was going to shatter into pieces if he didn’t stop. One more good thrust and it snapped completely, her first orgasm blossoming and overtaking her in waves. Her already dripping cunt flooded around him and the feeling of her juices on his upper thighs had him breaking out all over again.

Chisaki let out a grunt at the feeling of her coming undone around him. Her walls pulsating and fluttering had him unable to hold back as he hit his peak. His thrusts became incredibly shallow and without rhythm as he pumped white cum into the latex condom.

He released his hold on her hair, making her fall forward onto her face. She was in too much of a state of bliss to move as she caught her breath. He slowly pulled out of her, allowing her hips to fall onto the bed next. He observed the mix of blood and cum that dripped down her legs and onto the bedspread. Again the sight and smell of the ruby liquid was too much for him to hold back from. Besides, his little angel did so good for him. She deserved a little treat too for taking his dick so well for the first time.

He untied the tie in order to give her shoulders a break, though they hung limply as she was still dazed from the ordeal. He gently guided her to roll over onto her back, letting her get into a comfortable position as he moved his face between her legs. His nose was practically inside her as he inhaled her natural perfume, his tongue licking at the droplets of blood on her lips. His little lamb shuddered, too tired to make any sort of noise. She was still so incredibly sensitive that his probing tongue had tears leaking from her eyes.

Chisaki devoured every drop of spilled blood that hadn’t made it to the duvet. Tiny nips of his teeth over her femoral artery had a new wave of arousal building within her. She had no idea that she could feel so much at once. It was maddening already and only became worse when his mouth latched onto her engorged clit suddenly and sucked powerfully.

She let out a weak cry of protest, the overstimulation simply too much. How could someone want something and not want it so much at the same time? There was an ache between her legs from how much he had stretched out her innocent little hole and now his tongue swirling around her clit had her seeing stars.

Unable to stop herself, she rutted her hips against him, whimpering through her tears as his eyes snapped up to watch her squirm. Two gloved fingers snaked their way into her pussy, curling with her natural curve before coming back out. He repeated the process, forming a speedy rhythm of fingers and tongue until she was screaming for more. More, more, please, and she was cumming again in no time at all.

Chisaki removed himself from her, disappearing into the bathroom to clean up his face and take off his soiled gloves and condom. He washed his hands and penis though the hives were still taking over the edges of his face. He’d have to take a full on shower after he was done cleaning her up.

He came back out with a warm wet towel and a dry one. First he placed a hand on her belly, using his quirk to heal her lower half so that she would no longer be in any pain. He also took the time to repair her hymen so he could deflower her all over again sometime soon.

Her heavy breathing slowed as the pain dissipated. Though exhaustion was setting in, his delicate healing touch had her feeling warm. He wiped her clean, drying her off before discarding the dirty towels. “Can you sit up, Angel?” He asked in a soft voice that she had no idea he was even capable of. “I need to replace the duvet.”

She nodded, scrambling to the head of the bed so that he could pull the bloody blanket out from under her. “Get under the sheets.” He said, though it was an order it didn’t sound as cold as his previous orders had. She managed to get under the silken sheets, eyes growing heavy as she rested her head on the pillow. She had been too scared to sleep since she’d been captured by the other gang of vampires. Now the events of the day were making it very difficult to keep her eyes open.

Chisaki grabbed a spare blanket from the closet and put it over her so that she would not be cold. He observed her tired, frail face. “Sleep, little lamb. I’ll have food waiting for you when you wake.”

She didn��t even have the energy to nod, simply falling into a much needed state of slumber before he could say anything else. As he observed her, Chisaki couldn’t help but think to himself that Kurono had been right. She was definitely the one.

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#allygoesdark #overhaul #bnha #chisaki kai #overhaul x reader #chisaki kai x reader #overhaul smut #chisaki smut #kai chisaki #bnha smut #bnha imagine #overhaul imagine #dubcontw #chisaki imagine #overhaul x you #chisaki x reader #bnharem collab #mha

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whatifxwereyou · 3 years ago

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Ashes Chapter 8: Hollywood

Pairing: Liu Kang x Reader

Finally, some air to breathe that isn't from Liu Kang. Maybe a little peace before some angst? But only maybe.

A/N: Had some fun writing Cole Young. Angst everywhere though. Sorry I don't have much to say today. Bad day. Hope you are all doing great though. Sending good vibes all around. Smooches.

First Chapter << Previous Chapter Next Chapter >> Chapter Index

When you’d got tired of the beach you’d gone to the hotel where Liu had told you that the others had been staying while they dealt with Johnny Cage, a B-Movie action star with an ego the size of a washed-up A-list star from twenty years ago.

You’d said goodnight and the next morning you showered and readied yourself for the day. This place was nicer than the motel you’d shared and you had some privacy.

Johnny Cage wasn’t easy to get a hold of, which had been a huge part of the problem. Apparently, they’d had to dance around agents and security and had gotten themselves thrown off of a movie set. Somehow, they had managed to convince him to meet with you the next morning and have an actual conversation about why you were there. You guessed that wasn’t going to go well after all you’d learned.

It also meant that you had some free time, a thing you had grown to hate over the years. Without Kung Lao you were left to your own devices and it almost never went well. Now you had a thousand more horrible things to think about.

You’d stopped Liu that morning after you’d decided you would play tourist. You and Kung Lao had always joked about going to Hollywood and you remembered a few of the places he’d said he’d wanted to see. With your sudden passion for taking photographs, you thought it would appropriate. But Liu was in a mood again and you weren’t about to ask him why.

You’d woken up feeling relatively okay that morning and weren’t about to change that.

If Liu needed to be alone to get out of his mood, then you would let him. Every time he’d been in a mood like that, you had wound up yelling at each other and you were not emotionally prepared to handle his frustration. You were both too volatile.

So, you went sight-seeing. The Hollywood sign had been far less remarkable than you’d expected but you took pictures anyway. The La Brea Tarpits had been nice but you wished you hadn’t been alone. You’d tried to think of how Kung Lao would have reacted but it only served to make you sad. You supposed that alone was your new state of being and you’d have to get used to it. There had been a time where alone was all you’d known, and you had been more than comfortable with it.

It would take a long time to get back to that if you ever managed to. You took to imagining that maybe you would show these pictures to Kung Lao someday. You knew that wasn’t possible, but he would have wanted to see them and hear all about your adventures. That was heartbreaking in and of itself, but it did give you a new purpose as you traveled throughout Hollywood. It wasn’t often that you got to play tourist in new places. you had always talked about going there together just to see the Chinese Theater and the Walk of Fame. He’d wanted to take a picture with Bruce Lee’s star.

Then you sat and people watched on Hollywood Boulevard, wondering what their lives must be like. Some were obvious tourists. You liked to think that their visiting the Walk of Fame was a fulfillment of a lifelong dream. Others were on their way to work or just living their lives, not bothering with the star-studded walkway as though it were nothing more than a gateway from where they were to where they were going. None of them were wrong but it was nice to focus on the lives of others rather than the mess that was yours.

You browsed through the photos that you’d taken that morning. You’d asked a stranger to take a picture of you next to Bruce Lee’s star and smiled at the photograph. Kung Lao would have loved that.

You’d both been fans of old martial arts films and no one was more iconic than Bruce Lee.

After dating for a few months, you and Kung Lao had taken to sneaking out to the closest towns and renting rooms in motels and inns just so you could watch those movies together. You’d continued that tradition throughout the entirety of your relationship up until the last six months. Things had gotten sticky and confusing then. You’d both been busy and had fought more than usual. You’d been thinking about suggesting a weekend away after you’d gotten back from your trip so that you could touch base and figure things out.

So much for that.

You should have suggested it earlier.

The past was the past, you reminded yourself.

You couldn’t let it get to you no matter how it felt like a dagger twisting in your chest each time you thought about what you should have done. Rubbing your sore and tired eyes, you put the phone into your bag and closed your eyes, listening to the monotony of humanity passing by.

In one of those hotels was where you and Kung Lao had your first time. You’d been watching Enter the Dragon, discussing the importance of the role, and your experiences first seeing the movie in your childhood. You still remembered how his lips felt- soft and sticky, sweet and fermented with the flavor of the plum wine you’d been sharing.

You’d ignored the movie and made out instead, like giddy teenagers. You’d been the one to push him further. Kung Lao had asked you if you were certain which had been sweet. It had broken the floodgates.

He had certainly tried before then- many times. He’d never been subtle about it and he’d never pushed you beyond your limit though he did try to push his luck. When you told him no, he always listened and had never once made you feel guilty about it. You had been grateful for his patience then. Holding your head in your hands you sighed.

Even your fondest memories of him were tainted with sadness. You wondered if there would ever only be fondness and no sorrow attached to thoughts of him. Realistically you knew that there would be but for now it felt improbable. The photos you’d taken that day brought you a little peace. It had been kind of cathartic to do something in Kung Lao’s honor rather than fixating on the only piece of him you had left while drenched in guilt for a thousand different reasons.

Sleeping with his best friend was at the very top of that list.

At least you hadn’t done it while you’d been dating. What a tiny, tiny sad silver lining that was on your sad, shitty story.

“Y/N? Is that you?” An unfamiliar voice called your name so you sat alert. That was upsetting. To be called out by a voice you had never heard in the middle of your contemplation. A tall, well-built, handsome man approached you. He had a kind smile and what you could only describe as 90s protagonist hair. “This must be weird. Sorry. I’m Cole Young.” He held his hand out to introduce himself and you shook it but were cautious. As if sensing that you didn’t trust him, he pulled down the collar of his shirt to show you the dragon marking on his chest. That was proof enough.

“Sorry, you startled me. I was lost in my own little world.” You offered for him to take the seat across from you at the table you’d been occupying at a little bistro. You’d bought food but had given it away. Your appetite hadn’t been the best the past few days. Thinking about Kung Lao or Liu Kang for extended periods did away with any hunger you had. “It’s nice to meet you finally. I will be honest and say I haven’t heard much about you. I don’t think many personal stories were swapped with the company I keep. I did hear, however, that you are a nice enough man.”

“That’s the best I can hope for. I didn’t hear much about you either. Raiden showed me what you looked like and I knew you and Liu were supposed to arrive soon.” He took the seat you offered and for a time you swapped pleasantries. He was nice, as advertised, but you hadn’t been expecting socialization so you felt awkward. “What brings you to this part of town, Y/N?” He asked when things fell silent. You’d expected him to say that it had been nice to meet you and go on his way. Instead, he insisted upon more small talk. He seemed bored.

“Doing some sightseeing. Taking some pictures for a friend.” You weren’t sure why you felt the need to justify your motives but you’d been instantly defensive. Liu Kang had made you defensive about everything. Kung Lao would have called you out on it and you smiled at the memory. “What about you?”

“Sightseeing with the family. Allison and Emily are doing some window shopping. I spotted you and was tired of shopping so I figured I’d say hi.” He laughed. Presumably, Allison and Emily were his wife and child. He hadn’t clarified but you’d been told he had family. “Thanks for the escape.” That explained why he’d seemed bored.

“Anytime.” Silence again. You were terrible at conversation right now. You felt outside of yourself. You weren’t ready to talk casually about nothing. “It’s nice to finally meet you. You’re as lovely as everyone said you were. Well, Raiden didn’t use those words exactly but I’ve been around him long enough to understand what he meant.”

“He has a way about him, Raiden.” Cole chuckled, leaning back in his chair. The breeze felt nice and the silence less awkward. “Is the friend you’re taking pictures for Kung Lao?”

You stiffened up and were sure that your expression was suddenly unpleasant. It was too late to hide your gut reaction- tongue over your bottom teeth, lips turned in a frown, eyes closed in frustration. Not an attractive look and definitely not one that would disguise how off guard you’d been taken by the question and how inappropriately personal it was.

He’d known Kung Lao too. The scar on his arm was from his hat. You’d been told in detail much of Kung Lao’s last few days thanks to Raiden.

“Too personal??” Cole winced apologetically.

“It’s okay.”

“He seemed like the kind of guy who would enjoy this.”

“He was. And yes, I was taking pictures for him. He would have wanted to see it.” He would have wanted to be there with you was what you meant, but you were sure Cole got that. He seemed like a smart enough guy. He nodded and silence fell again.

“I’m sorry.” He was avoiding your eyes this time.

“For what?”

“I feel responsible. He was protecting me. He was safe. Gone. He came back to protect me.” Cole had proven to you quickly that he was, in fact, a good man.

“No, Cole.” You scooted to the end of your seat. “Kung Lao made a choice to protect you. He wouldn’t want you to take the blame for what happened.”

“Liu Kang said the same thing.”

“I’m not surprised.” Exhaustion washed over you like a cold wave, tingling down your spine. Grief weighed heavily on your shoulders.

“How are you holding up? With all of this?” Cole gestured to nothing in particular. “It’s not easy to get back to normal after this. Even for me.”

“You seem like a nice guy, Cole, but I don’t know you and this is a very intimate conversation you’ve started.” You began to let him down gently. You weren’t comfortable talking about this with people you’d known for years so you definitely weren’t comfortable talking to a complete stranger about it.

“I get it. I just… wanted to check in.”

“I’m okay.” You assured him and when he didn’t seem to believe you, you smiled and continued. “I’ll be honest and vague. I’ll tell you what I tell everyone who asks me about it. It doesn’t get easier. I carry it better some days than others. People keep telling me that time brings distance but I’m not there yet. Despite that, I’m okay. Really.”

“I’m sorry.” He really did seem like a nice guy. “It’s hard to lose someone you care about.”

“It is.” You weren’t going to talk about it with him. You didn’t want to talk about it with anyone. You were tired of thinking about it. You thought about it constantly. “Can you fill me in on what’s going on with this actor?” A change of subject had to help.

“Oh, yeah.” Cole rolled his eyes and you laughed in surprise. “The only reason he’s even agreed to meet with us is because Sonya pinned one of his bodyguards when he tried to have us removed. He had a very brief conversation with us that was mostly inappropriate comments at Sonya’s expense. When I tried to explain to him what the dragon mark meant he said something about being a weird pitch for a movie. Still, he’s agreed to meet with us again so that’s something.” Cole sighed as though this had been a long and frustrating process. “I’m hoping that Liu can be more convincing. His arcana is impressive and might get him listening.”

“He’s good at that.” You considered that he hadn’t been over the last week. “I can help if need be. I can make a pretty dramatic first impression if I need to.”

“No one told me about your arcana.” Cole rested his elbows on his knees, hands clasped together. This was a much more comfortable and relaxed conversation. Far less awkward, thankfully. “I asked Liu this morning when I ran into him but he was touchy when I brought it up.”

“Not surprised by that.”

“Yeah?” Cole’s curiosity was funny. You were reminded of a few of your monk friends back at Raiden’s Temple. When you’d first arrived there had been nothing but gossip. He was just making polite conversation, but it was still a little funny.

“Nothing you need to worry about.”

“What’s your arcana, then?”

“It’s easier to show you. Everyone gets the wrong impression when I tell them. And to show you? I need privacy.” You gestured down the block. “Is that okay?”

“Sure. Allison’s going to call me when they’re done.” Cole stood. You left a tip with the server and then walked with Cole down the street and into an alleyway between shops. You were still at risk of being seen but you would be careful. No one would believe what they saw anyway. “So?”

“Now I just need you to promise not to panic.” You laughed and backed a little bit away from him so you were facing toward the street and could keep an eye out for passersby.

“Why would I panic?”

You decided it was better to just show him than explain. It rarely made sense without showing it off anyway. You stepped back and studied Cole which elicited an eyebrow raise from him. Then you gestured with your index finger from the ground up. You created an ink copy of Cole. He stepped back from it in surprise so you made the clone mimic his movements.

These clones were easy enough to create but, in the beginning, it had been mostly on accident of either Kung Lao or Liu Kang since that was who you had spent the most time with. One of your first fights with Kung Lao had been about how your arcana always became Liu Kang when you panicked. There hadn’t ever been any resolution to it. The mimicked ‘drawings’ as you referred to them behaved in ways that you were familiar with but not knowing Cole, you studied him and copied his current motions.

The drawings drained you faster than creating inanimate objects would which was why you didn’t do it very often. But this trick was easy enough to give Cole an idea of what you could do. He looked to you for affirmation and you nodded. He then readied his stance for a fight so you mimicked him. Then he laughed and jumped from foot to foot and pointed at the ink version of him doing the same. “You can just do that? With anyone?”

“Among other things. This is the trick that freaks people out the most though.”

“So, your arcana is what? Cloning?

“Ink.” You corrected and with a snap of your fingers the drawing was gone and instead you used your forefinger to write his name in Chinese in the air. “It was Liu’s ideas to use it for mimicry. Kung Lao suggested weapons. Both have been pretty useful but keeping up the… for lack of a better word, puppets, is much more work. Liu would make things out of flame and I would mimic it with my ink until one day I accidentally mimicked him.”

“Accidentally?”

“Yeah. I’d gotten so familiar with him during training that instead of the fire, the ink became Liu Kang. After that we focused on drawing more specific things.” You drew a jian with a simple slap of your palms together. The weapons and shadows had once dripped with ink. You’d been using them for years now and so they didn’t look like ink anymore. They looked more like black crystal. “I’m pretty good at it these days.”

“I’d say.” Cole laughed and then pulled his phone from his pocket as if he’d gotten a message. “Well, if Liu can’t convince this guy to take us seriously then you can have him kick his own ass.”

“Guess I’m going to have to watch one of his movies so I can be familiar with him.” Maybe you’d do that tonight at the hotel.

“Hey, Ally and Emily want to grab a bite to eat. Do you want to join us? You’re welcome to.” Cole gestured back out to the street and you followed him. Your instinct was to say no. To go back to your hotel room and isolate yourself but that was your sadness talking. This was an opportunity. A choice. You could go back to your room and wallow in your misery or you could join Cole and his family and get to know them a bit better.

Distance yourself a little from the misery.

“I’d like that.” You decided and Cole smiled brightly.

“Good!” You followed Cole down the street to meet up with his wife and daughter. Every bit of your brain was objecting to the fact that you’d agreed but you knew it was the right thing to do. Kung Lao would have never let you wallow the way that you were. He would have dragged you out of bed and either tried to fix what was bothering you or distract you. There was nothing Kung Lao or anyone could do to fix this but if you at least tried to get out of your head then you might just help yourself.

Next Chapter >>

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stygiantarot · 4 years ago

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Autumn Kitchen Witchcraft

(Originally taught on The Alexandria Archives 10/26/2019) Witchcraft in the kitchen is the art of combining a food or drink process and magical intention and correspondences. Whether it be by stirring, cutting, heating, kneading, or even chilling! Anything you make can be imbued with intention by deliberate actions or the combination of flavors you add. Correspondences doesn’t have to mean a specific ingredient; it just needs to be a specific association.

Ways of doing this:

spices, herbs: adding ones that have specific correspondences to what your intention is

stirring energy in or out: drawing and banishing with your own motions and personal energy

kneading energy into dough

cutting or brushing on sigils

letting an element do the energy work: the heat of a stove top or oven, the chilling of a fridge or freezer, the brewing of a kettle or crockpot

When it comes to Autumn it’s about the celebration of harvest and the warmth you bring into the house in dishes rather than outside temperature. There are a lot of ways to do this and many intentions can be focused on: health, prosperity, creativity, luck, love, etc.

The best way to incorporate the energies of Autumn is to think about what the season means to you in the kitchen. Is it about the rich warmth of stews and soups? The umami flavors of root vegetables? The scent of spices like cinnamon, clove, nutmeg, cardamom? The texture of caramelized apples, onions, or squash? Is it about certain drinks like cider or mulled wine?

And even if you don’t have memories of specific Autumn associations or you live in an area that doesn’t have a classic sort of change into a fall season; build your own! What helps you sort of wind down for the day? What gives you comfort and peace? That is the sort of food you should be focusing on. Much like spring and summer are about light, energizing and crisp foods; fall and winter are about those richer, unctuous and warming flavors. Foods that you want to curl up with and be lazy; enjoy at a slow pace while Netflix babbles in the background. Pair with a movie marathon and the company of a loved one or pet.

Easy Autumn kitchen witchcraft:

Carving a pumpkin and roasting the seeds (toss with salt, pepper, olive oil, garlic or paprika powder and a touch of Worcestershire sauce)

Mulling cider or wine (use a coffee filter for the mulling spices for easy cleanup!)

Crockpot stews and soups

Spiced cookies like molasses or gingersnaps

Herbed (or pumpkin or apple!) butter with a simple loaf of homemade bread

Roasted fall veggies like potatoes, squash, pumpkin, onions, eggplant, cauliflower, broccoli, Brussels sprouts

When it comes to more elaborately planned Autumn kitchen witchcraft, you might plan a special multi-course meal on a specific day where you have extra time to spend in the kitchen. It doesn’t have to be Master Chef level- even just a simple starter of homemade bread with a spread and pasta with homemade sauce (or “jazzed up” jarred sauce- no shame!) and cupcakes for dessert counts!

Don’t discount the chemical changes! Think about the intention you are going for and what would be the best method to achieve that, element-wise. I wouldn’t make a frozen dessert to bring luck or wealth into your life- you’re more likely to freeze it in its tracks! But if you’re looking to freeze an illness or soothe grief or a heartbreak- a chilly dessert is just the thing. I wouldn’t use a stew or soup for banishing or cleansing; those flavors have to meld and heat low and slow and draw everything together. Think about the action of the dish and the action of your intention and plan accordingly!

Let’s not discount the emotional feel of a dish either. Food is love; food is memory; food is home; food is the soul and heart and head all wrapped up. It can be a complicated relationship for sure. But it can also be a rewarding one if you approach it from the direction you most need.Feel free to start with teas that have a more Autumn flavor. Build into simple raw snacks like apples, pears, salads, nuts, seeds. Feel how the season gives light and love to your body as it fuels it. You don’t need to create a decadent high calorie meal in order to reap the feelings of fall.

Autumn is also a great time to try out some fermentation sided witchcraft. The life cycle of nature is winding down- mushrooms are rampant in forests, fallen trees soften and feed the ground. You could begin a bread starter, a mead or beer, or make some pickles! Or of course; there’s always fire cider! ( https://blog.mountainroseherbs.com/fire-cider ). Preparing to avoid illness and discomfort during the colder months is an inherent part of the shift in kitchen witchcraft as well.

Don’t push yourself too much; often cooler temps and less sunlight makes the desire to spend a lot of time in the kitchen mixed at best. That’s okay. It isn’t a competition or a race. A simple cup of tea or even a glass of water can be set in the windowsill for a moment to charge with the fall energy before drinking. Still counts! A piece of toast or a bowl of cereal can have honey swirled onto it with intent (think about making an infused honey with spices or herbs!). Still counts. As I say; you are the Witch, you are the Power, you are the Magic.

The rest is just the plating presentation of what’s already a fantastic meal.

(Fall fruits and vegetables list: https://www.thespruceeats.com/fall-fruits-and-vegetables-2217704)

#kitchen witchcraft #TAA #witchcraft lessons #autumn witchcraft #witchblr #witchcraft #fall witchcraft

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i-am-a-meat-popcicle · 4 years ago

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Gross Awful Things on Pandora

The following will be a list of the most horrible headcanons I can come up with.

Special thanks to @claptraprights and @queerzubat for some inspiration. Although I’ve been planing on writing up this group of headcanons for a long time, I just didn’t have enough for a decent post just recently.

Content warning: unsanitary, gore, violence, illness, generally disturbing themes

When some bandits come across an animal that has been dead for some time and visibly bloated, they’ll string it up from a tree and hit it with a stick, causing rotten flesh to explode everywhere.

It is called a meat pinata.

Sometimes caravans will come across a dead rakkhive without knowing and drive over it. Sometimes it’ll look like just a regular hill because it’ll be covered up by lose dirt and sand. driving over it will cause the exposed portion of the rakkhive to explode, often overturning the vehicle. Always covering everything in rotten blood and guts. Will also form a small crater rot and decay that said vehicle can also fall into.

Bandits have to swim out of a deep pool of rotten rakkhive innards and may have to fight of some scythids that were eating those innards.

Scythids are attracted to the smell of fermented material, alchohol, and general decay. Their high pitched squeal will attract more scythids.

Most of rust commons smells like iron, rust, rotting biomass, petrol, chemicals, burning flesh. It has this weird undertone of something sweet, and acidic.

Eridium blight smells somewhat similar but with the smell of ash, and sulfur. The acidic smell is higher.

Slag tastes metallic and like mechanical oil. It’s viscous and burns when it touches the skin. The fumes are also somewhat poisonous. Extended exposure can cause such side effects as: dizziness, migraine, lungs feel like they’re burning, and nausea. Serious side effects to slag exposure can include reduced circulation in some parts of the body, such as the eyes and tongue.

Sometimes a bandit will take a skag (yes skags will have bladders, it’s for the sake of marking territory) or stalker bladder and fill it with either blood or urine, tie it up, then use it in a sort of messed up game of water balloon game.

Bandits will often try and steal eggs from a rakk hive. They’ll have to dig their hands inside of the holes the rakks had already dug out for themselves. they kinda have to go all the way up to the shoulder to get to the eggs.

Smells like pus and other fluids. None of them good.

They boil the eggs in urine. (By the way this is based on a real thing that some people in certain cultures do. Sadly I can’t remember the name. I think it was done because of harsh droughts left them with little water or something. The effect is that the egg white turns yellow and the yolk turns green.)

They’ll eat these eggs with thresher steak (not recommended, very poisonous) and call it “green eggs and ham”. (thanks to my bestie for ruining my childhood when I told her about the urine eggs by making this reference.)

Bandits will sometimes bottle up a mixture of skag, rakk, and their own piss and dump it out in a few areas around their camps to keep away other animals.

It is very challenging to get the urine and often involves walking around with a funnel and a jar.

Bandits sometimes bottle it up in booze bottles and will sometimes accidentally drink the urine.

Sometimes they can’t tell the difference.

No one really wants to know what Rakk ale is actually made out of, but it involves a certain animal’s secretion.

Cleanser but still might be considered gross:

Interesting thought about Skag pearls.

Remember when I mentioned that Skags have a gizzard like a bird? Well, birds sometimes swallow rocks to help with digestions. Skags do something similar. Even though they have teeth for tearing and shredding meat, they still need some extra help in breaking down food thanks to a lack of grinding teeth. Usually the rocks come right back out when they vomit/dedicate, but not all rocks always come out. Swallowed pebbles remain in the gizzard for too long will eventually cause it to form into a pearl.

You’ll also sometimes come across some polished stones when you kill a skag.

They’re pretty and can sell for a somewhat decent amount of money.

#Hello I'm Kris and welcome to my documentary #borderlands headcanons #borderlands headcanon #cw illness #cw unsanitary #cw violence #cw gore #borderlands #borderlands 2 #borderlands bandits #skags #I'm beginning to think that my mind is a fucked up place.#I badly wanna nitpick about skrakk but I want to save that for another post on skags.#I wanted to save the skag pearl idea for a secondary skag post but I really needed something to clean my brain.

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cuisinedupark · 5 years ago

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Fermentation of Winter Kimchi

My Chosen Food : Dong-chi-mi(동치미)

Finally, it’s time to ferment something and I am from the country with all kinds of fermented foods. The problem is, one of the most popular fermented food, kimchi, is too obvious and other types of jut-ggal(Fermented Seafood) is really hard to make anywhere because of typical smell during the process of fermentation. So, I thought about what I should make for a few days and that was the time when the weather started to get chilly. And there is a type of kimchi eaten during the wintertime called Dong-Chi-Mi which means ‘kimchi of winter’.

A quick menu quiz related to Dong-chi-mi during winter time. What is the best way to enjoy Dong-chi-mi during winter?? 1. Just eat it with rice as side dish. 2. Have it with baked yams. 3. Use the juice as a base stock for winter cold noodles. 4. All of above.

The answer is at the end of the post.

[ Yam with Dong-chi-mi, Photo by chan_hero, blog.naver.com/chan_hero ]

[ Cold Dong-chi-mi Noodles. Photo by 또띠랑, http://kehee04.blog.me ]

My Fermentation Method with Documentation

I could say basic method of Dong-chi-mi fermentation is quite typical, but each region in Korea has its own way of adding ingredients. I started off with a book called “Royal Cuisine from Joseon Dynasty(14C~19C)” which I got from “Institute of Korea Royal Cuisine” last year because I wanted to introduce something that is not widely known outside of Korea. However, after reading the recipe of Dong-chi-mi made in palace, I gave up for 2 reasons. First reason was, there were several ingredients which I did not understand even in Korean and I had no clue what they were. Second reason was that even if I knew what it was, they are not easy to find here in Canada. However, I could use this recipe as a base and mix with other recipes from different recipe books.

I thought of asking my mom for my family’s recipe but then, I remembered that even though Dong-chi-mi is very common in Korea, my family enjoyed more of white version of kimchi rather than Dong-chi-mi. So, I decided to search the National Folk Museum of Korea and luckily, they did have some more explanation about Dong-chi-mi. They summarized the definition of Dong-chi-mi as follows-“Dong-chi-mi (동치미) is a type of kimchi made from large pieces of white radish matured inside a full jar of salted water. In the section on the eleventh lunar month in the “Dongguk Sesigi (동국세시기, A Record of Seasonal Customs in Korea, 1849), the dish is listed under the name dong-chim, or kimchi made with small radish roots.” (Information from National Folk Museum of Korea, http://folkency.nfm.go.kr/en/topic/detail/3655 )

Dong-chi-mi is known as one of basic figure of kimchi and its record goes back to 5~6 century during Shilla dynasty(BC 1C ~ AD 10C). So, let’s bring up some ancient flavour of Korea back here in Canada!!

[ Dong-chi-mi. photo by Encyclopedia of Korean Culture. http://folkency.nfm.go.kr/kr/dic/61/picture/75756 ]

Dong-chi-mi Recipe & Processes

Ingredients

Process

1. Get a batch of white radish.

2. Take off all the stems and wash the radish clean.

3. You would not want to eat something hairy. Trim ends and cut off whiskers.

4. Get a stainless steel or plastic bowl and pour salt in. Roll radish side to side and let it sit for 6 hours.

5. After a few hours, waters will drain out from the radishes. Take them out and have them ready aside. To confess what had happened, I fell asleep that night and all the radishes had sat in the salt water for overnight!! (Hope it is not too salty...)

6. Have other ingredients ready. I just made carrot to flower cuts to look better.

7. Place radish in a big sized container over 6 Litre.

8. Cut pears in 1/8 size.

9. Pears in.

10. Cut apples in 1/8 size and place them in.

11. Cut lemon in 1/8 size and place them in.

12. Cut green onions in angles. Looking back from now, I think it would be better to add 2~3 more green onions or 6~7 chives.

13. Place green onion, carrots, garlic, ginger into the container add water. Some people use light salt water but I used fresh water this time.

14. We are in Canada!! I could have used Sprite but I added Ginger Ale for just a bit of sweetness.

15. Wrap it with plastic and put it away in your refrigerator or kimchi refrigerator if you have one.

After One Month of Fermentation in Refrigerator

After one month of fermentation(Oct. 22nd - Nov. 19th), I wanted to check and see how it was going. So, here’s what I have found out.

- To my surprise, nothing much is seen from the dong-chi-mi. - Dong-chi-mi is a type of kimchi which you drink the juice(or broth) with the radish and if the juice is too salty, usually you add more water before serving.

- Let’s take a look at the radish.

- Slice them.

- Have a bite!! and ooh~!! it is still not ready to eat!! It has good flavour but the juice and the radish is quite salty. I think it will be much better in December or January.

- But we cannot wait too long. Let’s try to make the clock go a bit faster. - Get those sliced ones in a small container with a 1/4 piece of pear and apple and add fresh water of 200 ml.

- Seal the container and I will put it in ordinary refrigerator. - Let’s see the result this weekend!!

Review of Dong-chi-mi

As I had said earlier, my recipe is combination of 3 to 4 recipes including royal cuisine recipe found in the book. Even considering the fact that you cannot get every ingredients ready here in Canada, I think it would have been even better with some more ingredients added. From the tasting 2 nights ago, I could say 3 things should be considered for the better taste next time.

1. Fermentation time takes longer than expected. Thinking the fact that kimchi is a food to eat for over a year, it may need a bit of more time to be served. Or maybe I should not put it in the refrigerator right after they are done.

2. Add more water for the base or maybe even use cold vegetable stock. I used 4 litre of fresh water and to me, it is still a bit salty. Dong-chi-mi is supposed to give the person freshness of cool radish juice, I think I could add some more water for the better taste.

3. I should add some more ingredients such as, - chilli pepper : it could give a bit of spiciness and better looks. + you can eat it - green onion : I should add more and give more flavour into it.

I could not do the exact sensory evaluation because it is not ready to eat yet. But I could finish it In short for the radish and the broth from 2 night ago. - Smell : It was still fresh but had a bit of kimchi odour, - Texture(Touch) : Firm but good enough to chew. - Colour : Colours have not faded away yet. - Taste : Can sense the good flavour but not ready to be serve and a bit salty. - Sound : Very crunchy chewing sound, thanks to the texture.

I really want to try dong-chi-mi with yam and cold noodles which I have not had a chance to for over a decade. Oh, so the answer from the first quiz is #4, all of above. I guess most of you might have figured it out already.

Now...How should I eat this dong-chi-mi??

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ladyhaesoo · 6 years ago

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idk what this is, @aparnasworld gave me the idea though and then I had to write it! this isn’t exactly comforting, but that didn’t quite go with the scene I thought of. maybe i’ll add just another scene onto this later? here we are though

Hina’s ear was only half-trained on the television as she worked on her crossword, trying to think of a seven letter word for clown. One of the couples at the inn had left it on some sort of media news channel, and it was cycling through news of various idols and actresses—newly breaking scandals, announcements of confirmation for a new show or film, sales news. Jester? That was only six letters. Apparently, famous actress Noh Gyehyang was getting a divorce from her financier husband after rumours of fraud sent his company sinking. Comedian? No, that was eight...

“Korean-American rockstar, Eugene Choi, has announced additional dates to his Asian tour, adding Osaka, Kyoto, Busan, and others to the list of cities visited by Choi. The last time—”

Hina looked up at that, the pictures of Eugene Choi onstage flashing across the screens. Coming back to Korea, was he? Eugene was famous for avoiding Korean locations, though he had toured through Asia several times across his career. It was quite the mystery. Hina had to admit she was curious to the why of it, and she didn’t ordinarily care in the least for celebrity news beyond where it concerned her work.

“—being asked if he would be performing in Seoul, Choi said—”

“Turn it off.”

The drawl came from the next room. “If someone wants to change the channel, they’re welcome to do it themselves,” she called back, rolling her eyes. From behind her, there came a huff.

Gu Dongmae. Gu Dongmae...

When the chef had been booked in at the Glory for the very first time, Hina, and much of her staff, had been quite curious. Dongmae was famous for being a recluse; he rarely made public appearances, he never did competitions as either a contestant or judge; he was only ever seen at his restaurant and his show, where he taught mainly Korean and Japanese recipes—and the occasional fusion—gave terrifying advice to young chefs, and the occasional scathing restaurant review (well, the occasional review, but all his were scathing. Hina had once heard him called the Korean Gordon Ramsay).

Back then, most of the girls had been terribly excited (he was also famous for his good looks). Everyone had been uniformly curious, as all celebrities but especially the reclusive ones invited; what was Gu Dongmae like in real life?

The ordinary answer was: just like any other guest, but with a sense of humour that just matched Hina’s. But that was the ordinary answer. On this visit, so far, he had mostly been a pain in Hina’s neck.

He had arrived, two days ago, looking glum, which Hina, and most of the staff, had quickly discovered made him very, very irritable. His mood was so foul it infected the other guests, and every time he was in a room people became keen to leave it. Fortunately, it hadn’t seemed to have hurt her business yet, because she would hate to kick him out—at least before taking yet another commemorative photo captioned Chef Gu Dongmae was here (again)! to paste on her website—but the attitude was really, truly, getting to her. Especially as he was someone she would ordinarily almost consider a friend.

It wasn’t entirely bad, though. His presence always inspired her head chef to do her best, and all the guests were praising the food, even more than usual.

And, irritable or not, he was also (she thought as he marched into the TV room, only a robe tied around his waist) pretty easy on the eyes.

“Choi and his wife, Hallyu actress Go Aeshin of Aegissi fame, were last seen together soon after tying the knot at—”

Hina caught sight of a picture of Go Aeshin (in a beautiful velour coat) and Eugene Choi holding hands at an event before the TV blinked off. Dongmae turned around and glared at her. His chest was gleaming with sweat for some reason. Had he been in the sauna earlier? Hina looked at her crossword. Where had she been again?

“Is this the kind of welcome Glory shows its guests, Miss Owner?”

He called her Miss Owner whenever he was irritated or amused with her since the day she had been cut off during her original introduction, interrupted before she could get past I’m Glory Inn’s Owner. (That had been an interesting occasion. He had checked in just as an American couple were leaving for the kimchi making class, and he had rolled his eyes as the woman told him in excited English peppered with Korean words learned from dramas that she was super excited to be here and try all these cool, like, Korean traditional activities! It’ll be daebak!

Once they had left, Hina had handed him the pamphlets for the activities they offered. “We have some tie-ups with tourism companies and tour buses you can take if you want, but there are also special activities we would encourage for a full experience.” His face was completely flat, devoid of interest or joy. Hina continued. “You can enjoy a traditional tea ceremony, or have a professional photograph you in authentic royal robes from the Joseon period. You can also take a traditional pottery lesson, visit a fermentation farm... or learn how to make kimchi.” Gu Dongmae, Korean celebrity chef, gave her the single most unimpressed look she had received in all her time as the owner of Glory.

He said only, "Can I have my room keys?”)

(They didn’t do keys at Glory—it didn’t match the concept.)

(She still made sure to drop a pamphlet of the kimchi-making class in his room whenever he stayed.)

She raised an eyebrow at him, gesturing to her paper. “If you have any sincere complaints about the hospitality here, I’m happy to listen. We also have a suggestion box, both here and online.”

“Your guest asked you to turn off the TV.”

She made a show of looking around. “Oh, is there no one here? I thought someone else might be watching. As you can see, I’m doing a puzzle. Do you know a good seven-letter English word for clown? It isn’t pierrot.”

He scoffed. “You don’t seem very worried I’ll give you a bad review.”

She cocked her head. “Should I be afraid? Has Glory not met upto Gu Dongmae’s infamously high standards? I thought perhaps since he was here for the fourth time, he might like it.”

Dongmae crossed his arms over his chest, shaking his head disapprovingly. “The food is good, but the hospitality seems to have worsened. Especially the owner. I’ve never known her to be so impolite to guests before.”

“I’ve never had guests order me around before.” That was a lie, and she was pretty sure he knew it, too. “And you know, I don’t have much patience for people who are rude to my staff.”

Dongmae was a chef before he was a celebrity; his main focus, show or no show, was his restaurant. He knew just what it was like to have his staff insulted. “She was in the wrong.”

Hina narrowed her eyes. “Maybe, but you were too harsh. You can sulk over her all you want and you can even do it here, but you’re not going to take it out on my inn or my staff.” He squared his jaw, looking a touch murderous at the mention of her. Hina looked back at her crossword. Based on her past experiences with him, based on everything she knew about him, she would not have guessed that Dongmae would be this sensitive over an ex. “You’re lucky I haven’t kicked you out already.”

Dongmae shrugged, walking out of the room and leaving her line of sight. “Why haven’t you, then?”

“I’m going to take another photo of you for Glory’s Instagram. I just need you to stop scowling for a minute. Once I’ve got that, I’ll throw you out.”

Dongmae had apparently stopped just over her shoulder, looking down at her. “Eleven across is infuse.”

She checked the clue. Add flavour to a liquid by soaking. It worked with the rest of her results too, and added a letter to her search for clown. Buffoon?

That sounded right.

#mister sunshine #mr sunshine #kdramanetwork #kdrama fanfiction #maehwa #mine #minefic #ms fanfic #gu dongmae #kudo hina

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paleorecipecookbook · 6 years ago

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The Carnivore Diet: Is It Really Healthy?

In my recent debate on the Joe Rogan Experience with Dr. Joel Kahn, I touched briefly on the carnivore diet. I’m a huge believer that meat is an essential part of a healthy diet, but eating an all-meat diet is an entirely different subject, and I think we need to be very careful about assuming that an intervention that works well in the short term will also be safe and effective in the long term.

In this article, I’ll discuss the diets of ancestral populations, how the carnivore diet affects the body, my concerns about the potential consequences of such a restrictive diet in the long term, and alternative dietary approaches that might offer the same benefits without having to go pure carnivore.

Are you considering going carnivore? The all-meat diet is trending, but completely dropping plant-based food off your plate could have a significant impact on your health. Check out this article for a breakdown on the strengths and weaknesses of the carnivore diet. #chriskresser

What Is the Carnivore Diet?

The carnivore diet is pretty straightforward: eat only animal foods and stay away from all plant foods. This means that you are primarily getting your energy from protein and fat and are consuming close to zero carbohydrates.

Many people who have adopted the carnivore diet report faster weight loss, improved mental clarity, healthier digestion, and even improved athletic performance. I certainly don’t doubt the anecdotal reports of people that have found remarkable relief from debilitating chronic health problems with this diet. For many of these people, nothing else they had tried worked.

However, when considering the health of a dietary or lifestyle intervention, I’ve long believed that we should look at the big picture: historical evidence from other populations, plausible mechanisms that explain its effect on our bodies, and scientific data regarding outcomes.

Were Any Ancestral Populations Carnivores?

Let’s start with a brief look at the diets of some supposedly “carnivorous” ancestral populations. Indeed, many ancestral groups thrived on large quantities of animal products. However, every single one of these groups also took advantage of plant foods when they were available:

The nomads of Mongolia nourished themselves on meat and dairy products, but also gained nutrients from their consumption of wild onions and garlic, tubers and roots, seeds, and berries. (1)

Gaucho Brazilians consumed mostly beef, but they supplemented their diet with yerba mate, an herbal infusion rich in vitamins, minerals, and phytonutrients. (2)

The Maasai, Rendille, and Samburu from East Africa primarily ate meat, milk, and blood. Young men almost exclusively ate these animal products but also occasionally consumed herbs and tree barks. Women and older men consumed fruit, tubers, and honey. (3)

The Russian Arctic Chukotka subsisted on fish, caribou, and marine animals but always ate them with local roots, leafy greens, berries, or seaweed. (4)

The Sioux of South Dakota ate great amounts of buffalo meat, but they also ate wild fruit, nuts, and seeds that they found as they followed the buffalo herds. (5)

The Canadian Inuit lived primarily on walrus, whale meat, seal, and fish, but they also went to great lengths to forage wild berries, lichens, and sea vegetables. They even fermented some of these plant foods as a way of preserving them. (6)

Every culture we know of that has been studied ate some combination of animal and plant foods. This does not necessarily mean that animal or plant foods are required to remain healthy, but it does speak to the ancestral wisdom of these cultures.

Five Reasons Why the Carnivore Diet Works

When any diet, drug, or other intervention “works,” it’s important to try to understand the mechanism behind it. In the case of the carnivore diet, there are several reasons that might explain the benefits people report.

1. The Carnivore Diet Can Restrict Calories and Mimics Fasting

Ever felt stuffed after you ate a huge steak? Protein is very satiating, meaning it fills you up and sends signals to your brain that you’ve consumed enough food. It’s no surprise that people report not feeling very hungry and start eating less frequently when they adopt an all-meat diet.

Food habituation may also play a role here. When you eat the same thing day after day, your brain doesn’t get as much reward value from food, so you start to eat less food overall—even if the food is usually something you find rewarding, like a big juicy steak.

The ultimate result is unintentional caloric restriction. Caloric restriction sets off a number of changes. When caloric intake drops, the concentration of insulin, insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1), and growth hormone are significantly reduced. This condition triggers autophagy, which literally means “self-eating”—an internal process of cleaning up old cells and repairing damaged ones. Autophagy is also induced during fasting.

This may be why caloric restriction is so effective at reducing inflammation and alleviating symptoms of autoimmune disease. (7) Of course, caloric restriction also results in weight loss. These are arguably the two primary reasons that people seem to be drawn to the carnivore way of eating, but these effects might also be achieved through simple caloric restriction.

2. The Carnivore Diet Is a Low-Residue Diet

“Residue” is essentially undigested food that makes up stool. A low-residue diet is a diet that limits high-fiber foods like whole grains, nuts, seeds, fruits, and vegetables. It is often prescribed for people with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) or irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) to alleviate symptoms like diarrhea, bloating, gas, and abdominal pain. (8)

Meat is made primarily of protein and fat, which are absorbed high up in the GI tract, leaving little residue leftover to irritate or inflame the gut. In other words, an all-meat diet is effectively a very low-residue diet and gives the gut a rest.

3. The Carnivore Diet Is Often Ketogenic

If you’re eating large amounts of meat but are only eating once or twice a day and adding extra fat to the meat, your diet is likely ketogenic. A ketogenic diet is a high-fat, moderate-protein diet, with:

60 to 70 percent of energy from fat

20 to 30 percent of energy from protein

5 to 10 percent of energy from carbohydrates

While the carnivore diet has no such macronutrient ratios, it’s likely that some of the benefits that come with eating meat alone are due to the body being in a state of ketosis.

Ketogenic diets have been shown to be helpful for a wide variety of conditions, including multiple sclerosis, diabetes, and neurological conditions like Parkinson’s disease and Alzheimer’s. (9, 10)

4. The Carnivore Diet Changes the Gut Microbiota

Switching to an all-meat diet can also rapidly alter the gut microbiota. A 2014 study found that putting healthy human volunteers on an animal-based diet resulted in significant changes to the gut microbiota in less than 48 hours. (11) The animal-based diet increased the abundance of bile-tolerant organisms and decreased the levels of microbes known to metabolize different plant fibers.

The gut microbiota has been linked to virtually every chronic inflammatory disease that has been studied, so it’s no surprise that an intervention that drastically changes the gut microbiota could have significant implications for health. (12)

The Biggest Potential Problem with This Diet: Nutrient Deficiencies

Now that we’ve established some of the mechanisms involved, the big question is: is the carnivore diet safe?

The short answer is that we really don’t know, since there are no long-term studies that have tracked large groups of individuals on carnivore diets for any significant length of time. One of my chief concerns about it is that it lacks several nutrients that are crucial for health.

There are four micronutrients that are especially difficult to obtain on a meat-only diet. Based on a typical carnivore diet and the Dietary Reference Intakes (DRIs) established by the Institute of Medicine, these include:

Vitamin C: An antioxidant that boosts immune cell function and is important for stimulating collagen synthesis

Vitamin E: An antioxidant that prevents the oxidation of lipids and lipoproteins

Vitamin K2: A fat-soluble vitamin that reduces the calcification of blood vessels

Calcium: A mineral required for healthy bones, muscle contraction, and nerve transmission

If dairy is included in the diet, this will cover vitamin K2 and calcium. However, if you don’t like organ meats, the number of potential micronutrient deficiencies increases significantly. In that case, you can add to the list:

Vitamin A: A fat-soluble vitamin important for proper vision and maintaining immune defenses

Folate: A B vitamin important for cell growth, metabolism, and methylation

Manganese: A trace mineral needed for the proper function of the nervous system, collagen formation, and protection against oxidative stress

Magnesium: A mineral that supports more than 300 biochemical reactions, including energy production, DNA repair, and muscle contraction

It’s also important to note that vitamin C is extremely heat sensitive, so only fresh or very gently cooked organ meats will have appreciable amounts.

Many carnivore dieters claim that the nutrient requirements for the general population simply don’t apply to them. Anecdotally, I know of several individuals who have consumed a carnivore diet for three or more years without any overt signs of nutrient deficiencies.

Still, we’re lacking data. Currently, the DRIs are the best we have to go off of, and I don’t think we have enough evidence to unequivocally say that this diet has no risk of producing nutrient deficiencies in the general population.

Should We Be Aiming Higher Than the Daily Recommended Intake?

Even if the carnivore diet were sufficient to prevent outright deficiency, we should also consider metabolic reserve. Metabolic reserve is the capacity of cells, tissues, and organ systems to withstand repeated changes to physiological needs. In other words, it’s having enough nutrients “in the bank” to be able to deal with a major stressor, injury, or environmental exposure. (13) So if an all-meat dieter manages to meet a recommended nutrient intake, it still may not be enough for optimal health.

Other Reasons an All-Meat Diet May Not Be Healthy

It Lacks Beneficial Phytonutrients

Phytonutrients are chemicals that are produced by plants to protect against environmental threats, such as attacks from insects and disease. They can also have major benefits for our health. Curcumin, beta-carotene, quercetin, and resveratrol are all examples of common phytonutrients.

Some proponents of the carnivore diet suggest that phytonutrients are toxic to humans, and that it’s best to eliminate them completely from our diet. However, many of these “toxins” act as acute stressors that actually make us stronger through a process called hormesis.

Much like resistance training is an acute stressor that leads our muscles to adapt and get stronger, exposure to small amounts of phytonutrients is a hormetic stressor that activates several different pathways in the body, ultimately serving to reduce inflammation, enhance immunity, improve cellular communication, repair DNA damage, and even detoxify potential carcinogens. (14, 15)

It Might Affect Hormones, Fertility, and Thyroid Function

We have zero long-term data about how an all-meat diet impacts hormones, thyroid function, and fertility. I have written before about why carbohydrates are particularly important for female fertility and why very-low-carb diets may not be the best choice during pregnancy.

Carbohydrates are particularly important for supporting thyroid function since insulin stimulates the conversion of inactive thyroid hormone T4 to active T3. In fact, traditional cultures that ate largely animal products and had little access to plant foods often went to great lengths to support fertility, including eating the thyroid glands of the animals they hunted. (16)

My guess is that most modern “carnivores” are not consuming the thyroid glands of animals and are therefore at risk for suboptimal thyroid function and (at least temporary) infertility.

It Could Overtax Your Liver (If You’re Eating Lean Meat)

When you don’t eat sufficient carbohydrates and fat, your liver can make glucose from protein via a process called gluconeogenesis. This process creates nitrogen waste, which must be converted to urea and disposed of through the kidneys.

While this is a normal process that occurs in every human being, there is a limit to how much protein the liver can cope with safely. More than 35 to 40 percent of total calories as protein can overwhelm the urea cycle, leading to nausea, diarrhea, wasting, and, potentially, death. For pregnant women, this threshold may be as low as 25 percent of total calories. (17)

Interestingly, anthropological evidence suggests that hunters throughout history avoided consuming excess protein, even discarding animals low in fat when food was scarce. (18)

In short: When eating meat, it’s important to have a good amount of healthy fats or quality carbohydrates as well.

Is the Carnivore Diet the Ideal Human Diet?

In the last section, I outlined several potential concerns with the carnivore diet. But this leads me to another important question: even if the carnivore diet is safe, is it really the best diet for optimal health?

While you might be able to get away with a vegetarian or carnivorous diet for a short while, the evidence suggests that the ideal diet includes both animal and plant foods. Dr. Sarah Ballantyne broke this down in part three of her series “The Diet We’re Meant to Eat: How Much Meat versus Veggies.”

While you can theoretically get all of your nutrients from one group alone (and potentially supplement with any missing nutrients from the other group), we need both sets of nutrients to be optimally healthy, and consuming animal and plant foods in their whole form is the best way to accomplish this.

Five Alternatives to the Carnivore Diet

Here are some options that might provide the same therapeutic benefits that the carnivore diet can offer—but without as much potential risk.

1. A Low-Carb Paleo Diet

Some people trying a carnivore diet are going straight from the Standard American Diet to pure carnivore. Oftentimes, a low-carbohydrate Paleo template might provide some of the same benefits, including weight loss, improved insulin sensitivity, and an alleviation in autoimmune symptoms. (19, 20, 21)

2. A Fasting Mimicking Diet

A fasting mimicking diet can reverse type 1 and type 2 diabetes, alleviate age-dependent impairments in cognitive performance, and protect against cancer and aging in mice. (22, 23, 24) In humans, the fasting mimicking diet was found to significantly reduce body weight, improve cardiovascular risk markers, lower inflammation, and potentially improve symptoms of multiple sclerosis. (25, 26)

3. Periodic Prolonged Fasting

Undergoing a 72-hour fasting once every few months could also achieve many of the benefits boasted by the carnivore diet. Prolonged fasting causes organs to shrink and then be rejuvenated as damaged cells are cleared out and stem cell pathways are activated. (27)

4. A Ketogenic Diet

The ketogenic diet has been very well studied and has documented benefits for epilepsy, neurodegenerative disease, and autoimmune disease. Ketones themselves are potent anti-inflammatories. (28, 29)

5. Addressing Gut Pathologies

If a healthy lifestyle coupled with the dietary approaches above is insufficient to control your symptoms, consider working with a Functional Medicine practitioner who is knowledgeable about gut health. If you’re thinking about becoming a strict carnivore because you’re experiencing adverse reactions to even very small amounts of plant foods, that’s likely a sign of an underlying gut infection that should be addressed.

Share this with friends and family who might be considering an all-meat diet, and be sure to leave your thoughts in the comments below.

The post The Carnivore Diet: Is It Really Healthy? appeared first on Chris Kresser.

Source: http://chriskresser.com February 06, 2019 at 01:31AM

#paleo #recipe #food #delicious #healthy #yum #diet

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dizzydancingdreamer · 4 years ago

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could we get as an easter egg the 5th chapter of ur beautiful cinderella story pretty please

🥺

👉👈

we need more of that in our life❤️❤️❤️

Oh this is a wonderful idea— thank you all for being so patient with me it means more than you all know 🥺

Here is a peak at chapter five my lovelies:

The Queen presses the cup into her fingers. She is not expecting the weight of it— the way her wrist drops a fraction before she thinks to tense her wrist— she has never held pure gold before, not this much of it all at once. “Drink, dear. It will return some of the color to your face.”

She nods at Frigga, hoping her small smile will convey her thanks in lieu of her absent tongue. Speechless does not even begin to cover the way she feels.

“She is right—” the smooth, deep voice interrupts, his words coated with mirth— “it is what I do.”

“No what you do is something else entirely,” Frigga giggles, raising her own chalice to her lips.

She takes another sip, as the man finally emerges from behind her, his large body stepping into the sunlight like a second skin. In that moment she is grateful for the warmth in her chest and the way the wine adds a layer of lead to her bones for without it she would surely topple out of her chair in fright. The wine is like a barrier, though, stopping her common sense from leaking through. It makes sense, now, why she had pictured a giant— he is one.

She has to crane her neck to meet his blue eyes. When she finally does she decides that they match his mother’s. So does his blonde hair but it is a little more honey, a little less golden. Just as soft. His skin is golden though. It looks like he spends every waking hour in sunlight— no, it looks like he is sunlight. If sunlight was a person it would be this man. His mouth cracks open in a wide grin, his ivory teeth sparkling, as though he can hear her thoughts and agrees.

Frigga rolls her crystal eyes, an action so out of place alongside her more gentle movements. “Do introduce yourself before our guest starts to believe that I have not taught you manners.”

“I was getting there,” the giant insists to his mother. He bends at the waist, reaching for her hand which he engulfs in his surprisingly soft hands. He brings her knuckles to his lips— which are also soft but less surprisingly so— kissing them softly. “I am Thor, Odin’s Son, welcome to my home.”

Again, if it were not for the wine she would surely topple out of her chair. “I am Y/n.”

“How fitting—” he takes a seat in the chair across from her, squeezing his mother’s shoulder gently as he does so. Frigga smiles at him, a glint in her eyes— “a beautiful name for a beautiful lady.”

Y/n’s cheeks fill with heat. Beautiful? Her? No certainly not. He must say that to all the women he meets. She steals another tiny glance at him while he speaks quietly with his mother. His skin looks even more golden in the light— molten. His honey hair looks sweet enough to catch flies. Or women. Probably more so women. She drops her gaze back to the table, her fingers teasing the cool metal of her chalice. He definitely knows his way around the ladies. Still, she tucks the comment into the back of her mind for a later time. It is still nice to be complimented, even if it is less than authentic.

Frigga turns away from her son, her eyes softening once more. “Tell me about yourself, my dear. Have you come all this way for the ball? That was quite a few bags you brought with you earlier.”

“Well, no, not exactly, your High—” She stops herself this time, taking a sip of the traitorous wine in an attempt to cull the fluttering in her chest. “Frigga. I do not think I will be attending the ball actually.”

Frigga drags one of her delicate fingers across the corner of her lips where some of the dark juice has stained her otherwise immaculate skin. “Well certainly you must attend.”

Her ears burn hotter, her mouth filling once more with cotton. How is she supposed to explain to the Queen that she agrees but that she also cannot go.

Her ears skip over the jest about the bachelors, hightailing right to his very last word. Milady. The butterflies consume the words faster than they do the wine. They are addicted to it. She thinks that she might be as well. It repeats in her head, bounding around in her mind, crashing into her skull. Milady, Milady, milady. She has never been called milady before. The more it echoes around her brain, the more disorientated it sounds. It blurs together, the vowels folding in on themselves. The butterflies do not seem to care though— they consume the fuel just the same. And the more they consume, the more she wants to throw them all up.

“Thor is right, dear. You would have a wonderful time.” She tilts her head, some of the crinkle returning to her eyes. “Besides, even if it is not for my sons you must go for me.”

Y/n nods— perhaps lying is the best course of action here. “For you, then.”

She pops a blackberry into her mouth for good measure.

Good measure or to keep from spilling the truth. Either way the berry is not as sweet as she would have thought it would be.

Thank you all again so much for your patience and support!!!

Tag list: @crystal-siren @cari1bunny @breethememe @tapismyforte @atashi-no-yuuki

#the servant and the prince #sneak peak for chapter five

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neural-nett-and-link · 3 years ago

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Prompt: “- Today we're gonna be fartin' in bags. - Let's talk about that.”

- Today we're gonna be fartin' in bags. - Let's talk about that. 9 14 858 Will It Vegetables? Taste Test - Today we ask the age-old question. - Will it vegetables? - Let's talk about that. (upbeat music) Good Mythical Morning. - Mythical beasts, thank you for making us a part of your daily routine and for watching, subscribing, and sharing our videos with your mythcracking buddies. And don't forget to check out our new channel, Mythical. - Thank you for making us a part of your daily routine. - It's time to serve you! (mildly wacky music) - The Mythical crew, we're back, and we're back on the show. Now, Mythical Beasts, we know you are eager to see us as Mythical Beasts. You may have seen us in your weekly or daily Youtube videos or news articles and Facebook posts, and you may also have seen us on the show on the Amazon Unlimited Video app, but you may not have seen us on the show. We're back on the show, and we're bringing in brand new episodes, we're bringing in our own podcast, and we're bringing in special guest hosts. - Yes. - And we're bringing in some new show ideas. But I've never heard of you when we did that. So what we're gonna do is we're going to be thrust into the middle of the mythosphere, to see if we can answer the question, Will It Vegetables?, and if we can, we're giving out prizes to the Mythical Beasts who can best identify the fruit or vegetable that we think is most likely to be in the edible mood of the Mythical Beasts. (upbeat music) - In the first round, we've got prize food. So in other words, the snack that we're gonna be eating today. - Okay, so I'm gonna take the blueberry, I'm gonna take the strawberry, and I'm gonna take the apple. - Yeah, and I'm gonna give it a tasty bite. And I'm not gonna give it the normal bite that we give out. - I'm gonna give it a little bite. - Give it an apple bite. - I don't care if it's red. It's not gonna taste bad. - It's gonna taste really good. And, I feel like I've been very intentional about trying to guess what the fruit or vegetable is. But by the end, I'm going to give it a straight up bite, and that's the food. - Is it chicken or duck? - It's not chicken. - It's not duck. - No, it's not. It's chicken. - Is it ischio nuts? - What if? - Is it spinach or is it carrot? - What if? - Are they spinach or carrot? - No, they're ischio nuts. - Are they sure? - Yeah. - What if they're a little bit like carrot powder and a little bit like chicken? Who cares? - Oh, okay. - Let's slice. - Okay. - (chuckling) I feel like I'm going through my dookie. Now, I'm not gonna eat all the strawberries right off the vine. - Okay, I'm not gonna eat all of them, but I'm gonna try. You know? - It's not as healthy for us to have a steak in our mouths. - It's not healthy either. - Because it's been cooked in a marinade, which is loaded up with vitamin C. So you can really get the vitamins in there, and then just give it a bite. - Get the vitamin, Rhett. - But there's such a thing as a vitamin red all the way through. So I would say that this is just kind of a spinach-heavy black-eyed peas. - Yeah, they're explained on the website. - And it's got a corn and beans thing going on. So you have to take it in it is what I think. But I'm going to me the real winner is the veg. - I think it's a veg. - Nah, I think that's a turkey or a Russian broccoli joint. I think it's an orange pepper. - I think it's a tomato. - It's a red bell pepper. - What do you think is called the veg this one? - (chuckling) It's not a veg, it's just a tomato. - It's a Tom Kha's. - I think it's a red zucchini. - (exaggerating voice) That's a red zucchini. - It's a red zucchini. - It's not a veg. I think it's a bell pepper. It's tomatoes or veg. - Okay, so this is gonna be a very difficult tie. - To veg. - ==================== - Today we're gonna be fartin' in bags. - Let's talk about that. 4 39 373 Haute Cuisine: In short, is it American Street Food, or French Cuisine? (GAME) - Today we're gonna be discussing the androgyne. - It's time for, to the, Haute Cuisine. - To the, in, haute cuisine, I mean, all kinds of dishes. - Right. Adding to that list, is it American Street Food, or French Cuisine? - "American Street Food." - That's right. Yes. - So let's be real. We're just gonna be trying to guess, exactly which kind of brick in a street corner is American Street Food, and, in this game, I feel like we're going to be enjoying some fairly practical advice for that. First of all, it's time to get pinched. (alarm rings) - Bzz bzz bzz! - (laughs) Oh, hm. Yeah, yeah. You know, this is my problem, is that I have so many pins in my hands that I can't actually move at all. - Yeah. - So, for this particular game, I'm going to just give you some advice, and then point you towards the pin that you think you're winning. You keep the tip of the finger near the tip of the pin, and I can't tell you whether to go first. But I will tell you if you put your finger near the tip of the pin, and then... Oh, I feel like I'm in the bag. - Oh, gosh. This is. There's more brick in the bag. I'm definitely carrying the bag. - Up. Yep, but maybe I just put my finger right where it makes the most sense for me. - (both yelling) What do you-- - Kiss? Yeah, kiss. I'm gonna-- Oh, gosh. It's in the bag. - Oh. - Man, I'm not kissing you, but I'm kissing my cousin. - (laughing) I'm kissing my cousin. (whispers) Oh, gosh, it's in the bag. You can touch it another place. A little touch on the shoulder. Ooh, looks like you're really getting into it. I'm gonna grab it. I'm gonna do this all the way. You can't get a grip on it. I'm just gonna continue pulling. Oh, gosh. - (stutters) Oh, gosh, how does that happen? - You just put a little finger in there. - Yeah, oh, it's pretty hard. - It's hard. - I'm reaching in here. I'm just pulling. Oh, it's so hard. - (Link sighs) Oh, as if you really wanted this to happen. It's like you're trying, but it's just not happening. ♪♪ (theme music) ♪ ♪ (sermon urging you to save money) ♪ ♪ (music playing) ♪ - ♪ (offscreen confetti) ♪ - ♪ ♪ A ♪ Booth. ♪ - ♪ ♪ A ♪ While you're here, you can buy your own coffee. ♪ ♪ (recording and background music) ♪ You've been a Jimmy John's guy a long time. So you probably know that there's a pretty fancy, boutique coffee shop close to the HQ. But did you know that just a couple of years ago, they started brewing up their own batches of organic, coffee from the ground? - Yeah. - Look at that. - Boiled, roasted, fermented, and then then dried, and ground; coffee from the ground. And so do the chestnuts. - Those are, right. - That is coffee, right? - I mean, I don't know. It's a little tricky-- I'm not gonna judge it though. - I absolutely understand. So it's, - It's like we're in the coffee field. - Mhm. Those are pretty much just perfectly, in uniform. And fresh. I mean, where else can you get coffee that's like, once it's dried, ground, and ground, it just tastes totally different. I don't know if that's what I'm thinking about. A little, a little bit of brown in my cup, and some chunks of coffee, - That's what I would like to happen. - Ooh, I like chunks of coffee. But I like coffee that-- I'm not really thinking about coffee these days. Mhm. Ugh. You know what I'm saying? I've got a little shrimp. (laughing) It's a good thing to have around listening to catchy rap music. - You know. - Oh, I'm crying, Link. [Music] (dubstep music) - ♪ ( ==================== - Today we're gonna be fartin' in bags. - Let's talk about that. 14 1 13 Buddy System Habanero Taste Test - Today we are going to get into the Habanero. - It's time for... - Okay, here I am. I got a Habanero. What? - So this is a hybrid in a couple of ways. It's got a cactus type of taste, but it's got a hint of spice too. - Right. I just think it's one of those things, I'm diggin' in there. - These are tomato seeds? - Yeah. - That's what I thought. - Yeah, that's what I've got right now, right? - It's tomato seeds-- - Yeah, tomato seeds, it's tomato seeds. - Yeah tomato seeds. - It's got a sweet, sweet pepper, garlic, a little habanero chili spice, it tastes like a tomato and I think that's a good thing. - It is a good thing. - Yeah, it really does. And it's a big bag. If I had this thing, and it were this big, I would be able to suck it. - I don't know, this is a little bit, I think I might just just start pouring it. - I'll give it a little shot. - You might get a little taste of the honey, sir. (Bridge and crew laugh) It's a honey tasting bag. It's got the tomato seeds. Just a little taste, it's habanero hot, I think, like this, right, but I don't think it will like that. - I think I might like that very, very, very much, a little bit. Maybe it does like it. This is a hot. You got a red hot tomato seeds, like a hot tomato. - Yeah like a hot tomato on a stick? - Ugh, I've been eating this. - I've been eating this tomato seeds, so I sort of put the tomato seeds in my mouth. It tastes like a tomato. - Yeah, it's got a tomato-ness to it. You're ready? - Yeah. - You feel it? - No, not really. - No, not really. - Yeah, I feel it and it's not-- - It's like, it's like you have a hot tomato in your mouth, I think. - It's like tomato hot tomato. - Yeah. - I think, it's almost like a tomato hot tomato. (Rhett laughs) - You know, I think this is like tomato hot tomato. Like tomato hot tomato? You know what I'm saying? - Tomato hot tomato. Tomato hot tomato. Tomato hot tomato. - Yeah. It's, like tomato hot tomato. - Tomato hot tomato. - Tomato hot tomato, I would say it's tomato hot tomato. - Tomato hot tomato. Which I think is a better descriptor, tomato hot tomato. - (Rhett) You could say raw tomato hot tomato. So, it's tomato hot tomato. - I'm telling you right now. - Tomato hot tomato. It's tasted like tomato hot tomato, tomato hot tomato. I like tomato hot tomato. - Yeah. And I like tomato hot tomato. - But tomato hot tomato. I am thinking tomato hot tomato. - "I like tomato Hot tomato." - "I like tomato Hot Tomato." - (offscreen laughter) - (suspense music) - (Rhett) So tomato hot tomato. - I like tomato hot tomato. - (Rhett) Tomato hot tomato. - Oh, tomato hot tomato. - You're smiling like a girl. - And I'm smiling like a girl. - Are you on a date? - Yeah. - Think of yourself as the man who just likes tomato hot tomato. - You got a tomato hot tomato. There's a tomato hot tomato on your lips. (Rhett laughs) - You're a boy. - No, I'm a girl. - Who does this secret sauce for a boyfriend? - That was a good but it's not tomato hot tomato. (both laugh) - It's not tomato hot tomato. - It's tomato hot tomato. - But tomato hot tomato. Who does this secret sauce that a boyfriend puts on his girlfriend's saucy muffin? - Oh-- - Oh, tomato hot tomato. - Yeah, I'm going to be making, you know, a tomato hot tomato in my mouth. Rich tomato hot tomato. So you're ready? - Yes. - Okay, here we go. Mhmm. There's your tomato hot tomato. - (Link) Mhmm. - It's so ripe. (Rhett gags) Oh! - She's using herself. - (Link) Dang! - (Rhett) Oh! - (Link) Oh! - It's so ripe. - (Rhett laughs) - There's a ==================== - Today we're gonna be fartin' in bags. - Let's talk about that. 10 7 1135 Why We Like Anais Reviver. - Let's talk about that. ♪ (theme music) � ♪ - Good Mythical Morning. - We're off to a great start right off the bat with So You Think You Can Fly, which is thus far the most successful video game on the internet. - Hold on, do we have to go to the official site? - You know, it's not like it's something you go to your local library and just read books on. It's like a book club. It's like, "I'm going to play this video game so you will know about it, and I will let you know about it." So it's in here right now. - So you have not gone to the official website yet? - Okay. - Look, we've got another trailer right here. - Oh gosh. - Yeah, I'm gonna go first. I'm gonna take a look at it. You see any of these things? Oh, oh. - No. - You noticed a certain thing? - You've got a certain thing. Right here. You're very familiar with this. This is Amazon. It's a new ebook version. - Something I never saw in it. - Oh, it's... - It's a little disorienting. I mean, look at this. - Well, look, look. You can see the pressure points. - It says, "This fan-made audiobook inspired by the Amazon video game, SteamWorld Heist, will speak for itself." - On Amazon. - Right. - I got a little thrill from that one. - Oh gosh. - It's just like, "Cool, I got to try it." - You know, in 2012-- - Yeah. - And they got to train me to be able to hear what they're saying. Now I've done a lot of research. And I've done a lot of research. - So-- - And I've tried to be 150 years old. - I've watched a lot of video games. - And especially in the past twenty years. And the first game I ever played was Call of Duty. It was like, "Oh, I really have to think this thing." I mean, I would have bought it on the spot. This was, this is a game that you made right there in the middle of the night and it would just keep you up all night. - Yeah, that's right. Okay. - Yeah, that's right. I was about to buy it. - And I was like, don't buy it. - Yeah, I'm just gonna let you make fun of it. - And you know, there's a certain part of your brain that's like, this is-- - To escape, I think. - You know, we're talking about guys going in where the Bear Charts is. - You make "Bear Charts," are they bear charts? I think so. - Yeah, they're really good. And so I think I'm right here. - Bear Charts is the oldest game. - And it was very ridiculous, if you'll remember. Like, what were you thinking? What was-- - Mhm. I dunno. It was, you know, crazy. - Crazy? - Crazy. I mean, it was like, "Oh, I gotta get that bear chart." You gotta get the bear outta the way. - It's weird because it's a bear game. I mean, what I've done in the past is I've taken a look at all the games that I've played in my life and what-- - It's weird. - and enjoyed them. - And I have tried, in my own temples. I have tried to win those. - I've tried, it's a good way. I've tried to win two of them. - Right, okay. - One of them. And I've tried to win-- - I've tried to win one of them. Let's do that. - Okay. (affirmative dance) ♪ (theme music) ♪ - Okay, so you're getting a little inspiration from another video game that I played in childhood. - So you're trying to be 150, right? - Yeah, I'm trying to win all of them. - Yeah. - Yeah. Okay, look at that. - Yeah. - Well, you know, the grand prize is the most popular video game, so-- - Okay. - If you don't have all these, don't worry. So we have a little little game, as you can see I'm playing for you to help you out the best that you can. So, if you have one of them, this is for you. - Yeah. - And if you don't have one, we're just playing to help you out. - ==================== - Today we're gonna be fartin' in bags. - Let's talk about that. 12 4 1153 Farting in Bags (GAME) - Today we fart in bags. - Let's talk about that. ♪ (theme music) ♪ - Good Mythical Morning! - Thank you for driving your Mythical beasts to rest! - I hope that you're all safe and sound, I'm sorry. - Thanks for making this a part of your daily routine. - Okay, I know that you are, because today we're gonna be farting in a different bag. That's right, it's time for we fart in bags. - Let's do this. - Oh, hey. You gotta let that happen. - You, you can't do that. - Yeah, I'm afraid to. - (shouting) I'm afraid. - Alright, here we are. - (beep) It's time! Farting in bags! - Okay, I'm gonna tell you. You know what, I'm just gonna keep going this way. - Assume it's just kids. - I could just be a big kid. (laughing) - Just, when I fart, I been doing it a long time. That's the worst part of it. - (laughing) Like, what starts some some people off to farting and others off to farting. - But to my surprise, I have not farted in my very own bag. - Okay, let's just make it fair for everybody. - Okay. (laughing) - (laughing) - It's almost as if I'm in a straight jacket. - You know what? You can keep the top thing down. - Rhett, I know you're feeling a bit. - Oh, yeah, I'm feeling a lot. - It's been a while. Did you do that? - I did it, it is good, and it's good. I guess the truth is, I feel like I'm really baked in the middle for this one. It's time for a little farting in a bag. - (laughing) - I've been hearing that hoodoo a lot lately. Well I am, but we're not gonna let it get us down, we're gonna let it take us back home. - Okay, you told the dealer that you needed to buy a bag for farting in a bag, so, here's the deal. You can buy a bag or not buy a bag, if you wish. - A bag for farting in a bag. - You can fart in it. What does it feel like? - Is it a good thing that I fart in a bag? - It's pretty good, it's like, it's different. It kind of reminds me of farting in a little sack that you can put your dog in. - No, no. - Well, as a dog, it's got a sack for a bag. - A dog might fart in a sack, it's just a question of what kind of bag will fart inside. - (laughing) - (laughing) It's a tough one. - Right, it's a tough one. Now it's gonna be fun, and I'm not doing this for you, I'm doing it for you. Yeah, it's gonna be a great thing. You're gonna be because I'm turning you into a dog. Let's do it. - (Shovels Off) ♪ (chime-confetti) ♪ Here's the deal. - I'm not doing this for you, I'm doing it for you. - Yeah, I'm doing it for you. You're gonna be a dog if you fart next to me, but I'm not gonna tell you how to fart. You're gonna be a dog if you fart next to me. So just give me a break. Wait. There it is. Yeah. - Right there. - You're good, you're good. - Yeah. You're okay? - Just go ahead and fart while this is happening. Okay, here we are. - (laughing) - We're playing ball. - (laughing) - Balls and balls. - Alright, I think it's a lot like when you first fart in a bag. Let me take you through. - One thing's for certain, I'm not going to hold my breath for you. So, I've connected your women. I can't say that you're pregnant, but I think it's time for a little fartin' in a bag. We got some laundry. - (laughing) - He's crazy. - Well, I'm tired. So, I'm doing this for you, I think I'm walking him down. Alright, I got one. I'm doing this for you, I think you're walking down the hallway, right? - (laughing) - Well. ====================

#gmm #good mythical morning #rhett and link #neural network #gpt-2

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albanabennett · 4 years ago

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15 Best Air Fryer Toaster Oven Reviews in 2021 You Should Buy

An air fryer toaster oven is the best system to do everything, with the extra advantage of cutting calories simply by using less oil to fry our favorites. But, it’s actually difficult to think of the ideal choice when there are so various kinds of merchandise available on the marketplace. So, In the following guide, I’ll dive right into what I think are a few of the best air fryer toaster ovens in the marketplace nowadays, and I’ll also aid you on the best way to decide on the best air fryer toaster oven 2021. List of 15 Best Air Fryer Toaster Oven Reviews 1. Cuisinart TOA-65 Digital Convection Toaster Oven Airfryer Buy From Amazon Shaped like a miniature oven, as its name implies, the Cuisinart Toaster Ovens does not have the normal form of electric fryers. A bonus that lets you lay food level in its extensive, shallow basket. So more air moves through the meals for exceptionally even browning and crisping without dumping or vibrating the basket. In accordance with Cuisinart, the version is ideal for households, holding around 2 pounds of chips or 4-pounds of poultry. There’s not any need to preheat, as well as the controllers are devoid of buttons, so the air fryer toaster oven is simple to use. Only turn the dials to set the temperature and cooking time. All components, nevertheless, must be hand cleaned. Most countertop convection ovens at their price range are electronic, but this unit is still analog. It constitutes the gap by nixing the demand for extra appliances, consequently space efficiency. The preferences provide you the choice to inhale, inhale, air dispenser and toast your own favorites. Based on the way you feel, bake a 12-inch pizza, air fry 3-pounds of chicken wings, roast 4-pounds of fish, or toast six slices of bread simultaneously. If you do not have toaster ovens, then you get two big countertop appliances together with the flexibility of a single using these toaster ovens. If this fryer arrived initially, I was doubtful and wondering just how much power it might use and how much space it would take on the countertop. After making a few fried chips and wings to get a games night, we had been ignored, and everybody present set outside to purchase an air fryer. It’s an extensive array of warmth from 45 degrees to 450 degrees. Even though there’s some sound, it’s not quite as much it might perturb you. The window is amazing, and all elements of the air fryer are extremely easily washed. 2. Instant Pot Omni Plus 11-in-1 Toaster Oven – Air Fry Buy From Amazon The Instant Omni Plus Air Fryer Toaster Ovens are a go-to for anybody seeking to have a toaster oven with ample cooking capability. This kitchen appliance generates crispier, equally fried food which many air fryers on the market can not match. Essentially, this cooking appliance is a toaster oven comprising an air fryer combo, enabling users to enjoy the very best of both worlds. The Instant Omni Plus Air Fryer Toaster Ovens circulate heat evenly around the meals without drying your chips out. That is not all: that oven is great for dehydrating fresh fruits, baking biscuits, and preparing toast. It includes 11 preset functions to remove any downtime. Additionally, it’s easy to use thanks to the one-touch button layout on the controller panel. This item lets users adjust the cooking temperature and time-dependent on the recipe to make sure that an endless cooking potential. In comparison to other goods in its budget, the Instant Omni Plus Air Fryer Toaster Ovens work and provides better outcomes. Not only that, but it supplies a sizable 26-liter capacity which needs to be sufficient to hold 18 chicken wings, a 12-inch pizza, 2lbs of french fries, or even six toast pieces. Its large cooking capability accommodates two cooking trays once to permit you to cook a number of meals in 1 go and readily reach bigger cooking jobs. 3. Breville BOV900BSSUSC The Smart Toaster Oven Buy From Amazon The Breville Convection Toaster Oven Air Fryers are an all-rounder device with several presets, a strong engine, a superior heating system, and a smart user-friendly controller. Though the ovens are compact enough to match the countertop, it has a substantial one cubic feet capacity. It’s possible for you to match a 14-pound turkey, nine pieces of bread, and match a 12-cup muffin tray. What’s more, it provides you total flexibility in the kitchen. It’s 13 presets, including bake, toast, bagel, broil, warm, roast, pizza, reheat, biscuits, slow cook, dehydrate, evidence, and air dispenser. An LCD will give you smart, simple access to various functions, letting you place your desired presets as well as fever. Breville has also added handy oven lighting, which may even turn on automatically following every cook. Besides all this, its super convection technology contains a two-speed convection fan that provides an incredible temperature controller. You receive a larger quantity of airflow within the air fryer toaster oven, which can help disperse heat evenly on all corners and then reduce cooking time by 30%. Moreover, the Breville Convection Ovens include a PID temperature controller and an Element IQ. They utilize six separate quartz heating elements to give warmth were required the most, making certain you get equally cooked meals each moment. Last, the air fryer toaster oven has a non-stick coating, which makes it a lot easier to clean up. 4. Emeril Lagasse Power AirFryer 360 Better Than Convection Ovens Hot Air Fryer Oven Buy From Amazon The Emeril LagassePower Air 360 is an amazing air fryer and toaster ovens. It’s well made, feels as though it ought to be more costly than it is, and manages a lot of different cooking functions easily. In addition to all that, it is competitively priced and will not break your bank. From the box, I knew I was going to enjoy the Emeril Lagasse Power Air 360. It’s a user-friendly digital display, using a straightforward controller panel. The whole air fryer toaster oven feels just like a luxury part of cooking equipment, everything fits together nicely, and the outside consists of thicker gauge steel than I struck on additional machines. The brushed stainless steel exterior, bright interior lighting, and several oven rack places created this oven a pleasure to use. A few other versions just came with just one air fryer toaster oven rack place so that even in the event that you’ve got ample inner space, you will never be able to alter the space between the heating elements along with your meals. Not with the Emeril 360. Among the characteristics that make this air fryer stick out from the remainder of the listing is that the rotisserie oven operates. While most of the ovens on this listing may manage roasting a chicken and just a turkey sometimes, this was one of 2 versions to come equipped with a rotisserie that will be ideal not just for roasting chicken but for producing pork butt or prime rib. It took me a time to find out, however with the support of a wonderful video connection contained in the air fryer user’s guide; I received my chicken prepared and packed with little without situation. 5. COSORI CO130-AO Countertop Dehydrator for Chicken Buy From Amazon The COSORI CO130-AO 12-in-1 Air Fryer Toaster Oven Combo includes 12 preset choices, letting you produce healthy meals. It includes a stainless steel exterior with a double-layer glass doorway and a vast handlebar for simple access. The electronic display with four buttons and two knobs can be on the left side. Both knobs allow you to adjust the purpose and time/temperature, whereas the buttons signify fan, light, and begin choices. You are able to find three detachable metallic cooking racks which could easily be repositioned inside to match high food things. The four heating components are in charge of evenly disperse warm air around the food to ensure consistent cooking. It includes 12 essential cooking purposes, including toast, broil, bagel, roast, bake, keep heat, air fry, biscuits, pizza, ferment, rotisserie, and dehydrate. These multifunctional air fryer toaster ovens contain a cookbook, crumb tray, food tray, cable rack, fry basket, and rotisserie attachments. 6. Cuisinart TOA-60 Convection Toaster Oven Airfryer Buy From Amazon These large-capacity air fryer toaster ovens provide multiple attributes their peers do not. Just take the instance of its own pre-programmed functions. They allow you to bake bread, roast a whole grain, air fry French Fries, or cook a lasagna. Also available is an adjustable thermostat using a 60-min timer. Then there’s that auto-shutoff function. This feature keeps you protected by not permitting the cooking chamber’s pressure to exceed a safe limit. It does that via its built-in detector, which automatically shuts off the entire unit if something goes bankrupt. Equally deserving of your attention would be the dials that control its performance. The initial two dials on the left-hand let you trigger a timer and set temperature within the cooking chamber, respectively. It’s possible to rotate the next dial to roast, bake, broil, warm, toast, and air fry your meals. Cuisinart has loaded this version’s package with attachments. They comprise an air fryer rack, baking pan, along with a toaster rack. The America-based manufacturer provides this unit using a 3-year guarantee — the most extended guarantee you would get on almost any air fryer toaster oven presently in the marketplace. 7. Ninja SP101 Foodi 8-in-1 Digital Air Fry, Large Toaster Oven Buy From Amazon The next “candidate” on our record is your Ninja Foodi Digital Air Fryer Toaster Ovens , ideal for a small or moderate household. It’s a fairly slick and trendy air fryer with a brushed stainless steel exterior finish to match your kitchen inside. Additionally, Ninja is called a leader in technology and innovation in its own kitchen goods for decades. It has an electronic control panel on the ideal side, letting you run it effortlessly. Unlike conventional toasters, the handlebar is present on one side of this doorway. It is fairly uncommon, and it can take you some time to become accustomed to the new layout. The remarkable thing is you could consume 50 percent less space simply by turning up the air fryer toaster oven and off to wash and save. With large capacity together with 8-in-1 performance, it lets you air fry, air roast, air broil, bake, bagel, toast, dehydrate, and maintain warmth in one strong 1800-watt appliance. It’s a ponderable appliance with a special layout that boosts rate and even cooking results, such as 60-second preheat and family-sized foods in no more than 20 minutes. 8. Geek Chef Convection Air Fryer Toaster Oven Buy From Amazon Should you will need a budget-friendly strategy, this may just be the choice for you. This is roughly half of the cost as a number of the large brands on the market but includes a lot of high ratings and positive attributes too. If you are worried about paying too much, this is a fantastic option! This is exceptional as it’s developed to have a more compact design complete, but it’s a fairly large capacity dimension. These air fryer toaster ovens may hold around 10.5 quarts, which will be quite similar to other versions. The timer is flexible, and also the temperature warms up to 450 degrees. This operates on 1500 watts. It’s strong and durable overall. It’s also quite simple to operate with a few basic knobs, which are clearly indicated. This air fryer permits you to grill, air fry, toast, bake, and dehydrate, all into a very simple unit. It includes a basket, a wire rack, plus a skillet. The brand also makes bigger capacities too. 9. Cuisinart AFR-25, Airfryer Buy From Amazon Cuisinart does not typically create pocket-friendly appliances, but the AFR-25 demonstrates they can provide quality on a budget. The engine and fan with this unit are designed to operate in tandem and guide heated air exactly where it is required to receive your food fast and evenly cooked. Now, the ability is reasonable, and it is possible to consume up to 2.5 lbs of food in one session. The space-saving footprint takes up very little space on the countertops. It is possible to keep your eye on events throughout the window, although the durable stainless casing ensures you will receive an impressive lifespan though this air fryer is economical. You may think this powerful cooker could be noisy, but it runs surprisingly quietly. While we value you are not purchasing kitchenware primarily on appearances, the understated aesthetic of the air fryer belies the budget price point. If you’re searching for an excellent air fryer toaster oven combo that plays strongly across the board without breaking the ground, the Cuisinart AFR-25 is worth popping you’re shortlisted. 10. Yedi Total Package Air Fryer Oven XL Buy From Amazon Unlike the majority of the other people on our listing, the Yedi Total Package is much better as an air fryer than as a toaster oven. Should you make absolutely certain to throw or flip over food during cooking, then you receive fantastic air frying outcomes. Just like the majority of air fryers, frozen foods come out browner and crisper than those ready from scratch. While the Yedi includes a toast feature, it is not actually a toaster. It is essentially baking your bread, and it will this unevenly. After pressing on the Toast button, the machine enables you to lift or reduce the air fryer toaster oven temperature however does not permit you to decide on the number of pieces or occasions for various levels of doneness. You are going to need to work out for yourself just how long and at what temperature to bake your bread to have it toasted for your liking. Biscuits came out quite unevenly browned on top and hardly colored on the floor. After we baked a cake from a cake mix, it was nearly burnt with a massive dome and a lot of cracks. One of the huge benefits of this Yedi is the fact that it’s a rotisserie. As soon as it’s a little bit of a hassle to install, in only 40 minutes that the rotisserie delivered a moist chicken using a golden-brown crackling skin. Instead of it is broad, the Yedi does not occupy as much space as a normal toaster oven, but it is not so tall that it will not fit under a cupboard. It’s an electronic control panel, but it takes a number of actions to choose your setting. The manufacturer recommends hand washing each of the components, which is not simply thanks to plenty of cracks requiring some detail work to receive spotlessly. The sole exception is that the drip pan, which includes a nonstick finish. Together with the Yedi, along with an air blower basket and a baking dish, you also get two mesh trays such as dehydrating, an air skillet, a rotisserie, and contraptions for cooking beef and skewers. Meaning there are a whole lot of pieces, a number of them little, to shop for. Alas, the guide, which includes the Yedi, isn’t quite as useful as it might be. 11. Black+Decker TO3265XSSD Extra Wide Crisp ‘N Bake Air Fry Toaster Oven Buy From Amazon The TO3265XSSD is a cheap toaster oven with an integrated air fryer . That implies, beyond baking, broiling, and toasting, in addition, it enables you to air bake, even just a sizable 4-pound chicken, directly within the oven. For this affordable cost, the oven includes all you want to make healthily fried and baked recipes in the home. It is a choice that makes owning a flexible air fryer toaster oven easier for people with limited budgets. In comparison with the best selection, this device is a lot more affordable but still comprises essential capabilities. It is accompanied by an air fry basket, bake/broil pan, and stand, and an outside crumb tray that could slide in and out for simple cleaning. It preheats in moments; this way, you will have the ability to save time and reduce energy use. While its air skillet provides you with a deep-fried taste with no fat, the four additional purposes (bake, toast, broil, and keep heat ) should give you infinite cooking chances. It is 21.5 inches tall, 23 inches wide, and 11.2 inches deep. It is big enough to fit a 9″x13″ pan with packs, 8 pieces of bread, or even a 12″ pizza. It includes 1,000 watts of cooking power, which can be powerful enough to roast a whole grain. Its 60-minute timer is a traditional guide timer that may be used to get a vast array of cooking jobs. The timer is helpful, exact, and simple to use. There are not any instructions about the best way best to use this machine. They are not even on the business’s site, either. Many users claimed they needed a hell of a time getting the air skillet to operate correctly. 12. Instant Pot Vortex Plus 10 Quart 7-in-1 Multi-Use Air Fryer Buy From Amazon From the manufacturers of this Instant Pot, these air fryer toaster ovens are, in fact, the best of both worlds, condensing all of the best areas of the air fryers to a leading convection oven. With seven built-in smart apps, you can create numerous dishes simultaneously together with all the baking, broiling, and rotisserie preferences. It’s a whopping 10-quart capability, which lets you cook both trays simultaneously but may not be good if the counter area is an issue. But that is a small price to cover cook moment: with small to no preheating required; Instant Pot boasts you can whip up dinner at half the time of a traditional oven. It comes with a fairly nifty rotating rotisserie basket which you may utilize to”tumble-fry” or roast beef 360 degrees. The brightly lit touchscreen is slick and contemporary, offering 14 easy touch controls. The Instant Vortex also comprises Overheat Protection, which lessens the danger of you burning off the meal you worked hard (although not so difficult ) to create. The Instant Vortex Plus demonstrates that whatever your typical air fryer can perform, this toaster can perform better. 13. Ninja DT251 Foodi 10-in-1 Smart Air Fry Digital Countertop Convection Toaster Oven Buy From Amazon The Ninja DT251 Foodi is just another wise oven with approximately ten times the convection energy of a conventional oven to get succulent, crispy, and quicker results. Like our best option, this toaster oven provides impressive flexibility. With this countertop appliance, you are able to air roast, air fryer, bagel, dehydrate, toast, and pizza. This 1800-watt air fryer toaster oven cook using the ideal doneness. In addition, it includes an integrated meals smart thermometer to carry the guesswork out and make sure you are cooking at the exact temperature. It only takes approximately 90 minutes to preheat and cooks 30% quicker compared to a classic full-size convection oven — an ideal go-to for producing fast family meals. Additionally, its buttery cooking capability offers two degrees of cooking without needing spinning. This huge cooking area can accommodate a sheet pan of veggies, a 12-pound turkey, two 12-inch pizzas, plus 5 pounds of chicken. The Ninja DT251 Foodi promotes healthy cooking with less fat in comparison with a conventional skillet. 14. Chefman Air Fryer Toaster Oven Buy From Amazon The Chefman Air Fryer Toaster Ovens are an analog-style oven using a top-mounted control panel. It’s a front-loading door with two oven racks and will hold around 25l, placing it directly in the center of the pack concerning capacity. These ovens include 7 distinct modes and using a very simple analog port; it takes very little effort to get this up and running. One particularly wonderful feature about these ovens are the simple fact that the removable bits such as the oven rack and skillet are dishwasher safe. While I regularly recommend handwashing your accessories where the potential to prolong their useful lifetime, it’s wonderful to know that at a pinch, you can just throw them in the dishwasher and then walk off. Price-wise this version is slightly more affordable than a few of the versions on this listing, and if you’re interested in finding an easy, easy-to-use analog air fryer/toaster oven, then this is certainly the version for you. But if you’re searching for something a bit more appealing or full-featured, then among the other versions on this listing will likely work out somewhat better. 15. Hamilton Beach Countertop Toaster Oven Buy From Amazon The Hamilton Beach countertop toaster oven has been designed with user convenience in mind. It’s possible to guess that on your own by taking a look in its cooking room. It stands lower compared to those of different versions within this review and so provides you simple access to your meals. Similar is true for its own door/viewing window. It moves upward and from the way of this room when you are putting into or taking food out from the air fryer toaster oven. This permits the door to steer well clear of drips and messy spills through the loading/unloading of meals. It is possible to use the 3 dials found on the side to bake, broil, and toast your meals. They also allow you to set the time that you would like to cook your foods and also the temperature where you would like to cook them. And also, the simple fact they’re contoured means that the dials are a breeze to move. Within the cooking room, you’ll be able to match six pieces of toast simultaneously. The compartment is spacious enough to maintain a 12-inches pizza or 9″ x 11″ bake pan. Hamilton Beach further sweetens the deal by creating this device’s crumb tray detachable for simple cleaning. How To Choose The Best Air Fryer Toaster Ovens Size & Capacity Generally, air fryer toaster ovens can be found in two standard sizes: large and medium. By experience, I will tell you that bigger toaster ovens are frequently more flexible due to the excess surface area they’ve. A medium-sized air fryer toaster oven can hold between four to six pieces of toast. A huge toaster oven may generally hold eight or longer. If you intend to mainly be cooking only for yourself or on the spouse/partner, a medium-sized air fryer oven ought to be adequate. For households or larger parties, a bigger-sized one is significantly preferable. Analog vs Digital controls Analog controls: There are 3 particular benefits in air fryers using analog controls. They’re available at a low price, are quite simple to use (even for the older ), and include a dial that lets you place their temperature and time. That’s the point. Since these devices don’t have LED displays, preset programs, and lots of cooking purposes, they’re not quite as intuitive to the consumer as electronic devices. Digital controls: The vast majority of the air toaster ovens you see in this review come equipped with electronic controls. You would like to know the reason why? Since only then are they in a position to offer you all the characteristics that the gastronomic enjoys. Examples of these attributes include touch controls which permit you to bake, bake, air-toast, toast, and inhale, and an LCD screen using a control panel using more cooking purposes than you can utilize. Accessories At a minimum, all toaster ovens must include a minimum of one rack and a single broiling/baking pan. Air fryer toaster ovens normally incorporate an extra basket or stand for air frying. The baskets typically sit the baking/broiling pan and supply secure cooking at high temperatures in addition to simple maneuverability and cleanup. If the basket can’t match on the bowl, a bowl can ordinarily be set in the place beneath the air skillet; this fashion makes it harder to take the air skillet out of the air fryer toaster oven to test meals or eliminate without dripping dirt everywhere. Some air fryer toaster ovens give a choice to buy more air fryer racks (which may also be utilized for dehydrating in the majority of instances ) to use in precisely the exact same time, and a few include a rotisserie attachment. Ease of Use For an appliance that is so flexible, you will want to know you are getting the most from it. Each of the automated presets might be fantastic, but you do not wish the educational guide or configurations to be this complex; you will not need to cook whatever. Clean-up can be important also so that your removable racks and baskets must be dishwasher-safe. Heat Distribution When you settle in an air fryer toaster oven, then you may want it to have even heat distribution. There’s nothing worse than seeing your things get dim and overcooked about the borders of the shelf while the items from the center are still chilly. Pay careful attention to the detail and also watch for things that provide even heat distribution so that you can hopefully prevent this matter with your new apparatus. Conclusion The continuing global pandemic means everybody is spending more time in your home. What better way to utilize that time compared to expand your cooking thing while at precisely the exact same time enjoying healthy meals? Having an air fryer toaster oven , you are able to certainly do that. Air fryer toaster ovens can certainly allow you to prevent excess weight reduction and make healthy eating habits. They can also save you a good deal of cooking time, effort, and energy intake, providing you a better approach to boost your culinary experience. Thus, we’ve reviewed the best air fryer toaster oven that will assist you in discovering the best one for your needs. Read More: https://montanastrailhouse.com/air-fryer-toaster-oven/ Website: https://montanastrailhouse.com

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toddlazarski · 4 years ago

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Last Suppers Vol. 2

Shepherd Express

In the days B.C.(Before Covid), when normal life, and more importantly, sports, proliferated and dotted the rote landscape of daily routine, I held a superstition with any of my real or fantasy teams: they wouldn’t play well if I actually watched. It was best I averted my eyes, distanced my associative bad juju. Nowadays, I do the same, except with the only statistical options: infection rates and confirmed cases and total deaths. I don’t look at virus numbers all day, then, when the house is quiet, the dishwasher humming, the lights half-off, I sit at the tiny kitchen table with a spoon and a pint of something chocolatey and my desperation and my phone and the giddy anxiety dread of a fresh-inked boxscore. It’s like I’m an immunologist with a gambling problem. Some combination of the ultimate-stakes card game scene in Casino Royale and the uncontrollable absurdity of Kramer betting on which flight lands first at Laguardia. Come the eventual loss, and then the shoulder-shrugged resigned finger-stabbing, the desperate working of the back triangle, the scrolling down, there is always a path to the only spot of hope in any news source today: an updated list of open restaurants and takeout offerings.

This is how I eventually stumbled on MobCraft, or, rather, remembered it was there, barely safely social distanced outside my once-normal morning cycle of coffee and work, just another place before, another option, yet another in a too long list of new breweries, one I didn’t know how to take seriously before all this because I have a middle-aged mistrust of anything “crowdsourced.” In my mind it suddenly began burgeoning like a lighthouse, with the irresistible notion that homemade craft beer, and nearly equally curated pizza, could be brought to my car as I idled with my Spotify playlist and the safe removal of the other half. There are plenty of places to get either, there are plenty within blocks—Fixture has better pizza, Indeed has better beer—but here is both. Two birds, one stone. Or, as the day-appropriate analogy runs: two vices, half the infection chance.

Later, as I ignored common sense to waste ever-precious paper towel squares on wiping down the rectangular boxes, I noticed the packages are ink-branded: ‘Hidden Kitchen.’ How apt. In the age of hearth-cooking and HGTV-backed open concepting, how hidden they’ve suddenly all become. Though here I wouldn’t really know, as I’ve still never set foot even on the curb outside. And, really, you’d think no one has, judging from the streets on a recent beer and pizza run evening. There was a couple with matching face masks at the corner of 5th and Bruce, and one guy on a bike, also in a mask that maybe you could convince yourself was a scarf, if you wanted to make it all seem less Cormac McCarthy, which I often struggle to do, telling myself the usual: “Well, it’s Sunday.” You could also just blame the weather—there’s still time in the season for that. Everyone just wants to be inside, sure. Or maybe he is, maybe they are—maybe we’re all—bank robbers. But getting off the Hoan at the Lakefront, circling up Clybourn and through the Third Ward, by the shell of the Public Market, a cold Colectivo, the only sign of life or movement is generally the streetcar, empty, running like a phantom reminder of how petty all our social media grievances once were. The city looks like a darkened backstage set, waiting. It feels recently completed, clean, ready, an up-and-comer, Cream City brick and Rustbelt charm and hints of the river rubbing against new development, Shake Shack and West Elm framed by turn-of-the-last-century port city industriousness. It’s an attractive potential leading man, wizened but spruced, primed for today, for a turn in the spotlight. To play part, the setting and co-star both, in the historic naming of someone—whomever!—to lead us out of this national nightmare. Now tumbleweeds blow down Water. 1st Street’s major pulse is two just-hanging-on taco trucks. Instead of simply taking the bikes away, Bublr has placed plastic bags over each individual docking station, they billow in the wind like a line of waiting ghosts, emphatic in doom declaration. Steny’s, empty, makes it feel like it’s too early. Anodyne, empty, like it’s too late. The expectation, the possibility here, is only for pizza and beer to take back to your little abode that by now feels half sanctuary, part jail.

And once you are home, hands washed, boxes washed too, psyche shaken of the jarring urban emptiness, distracted just enough by HBO or Netflix, what is there but to eat and drink and discuss said eats and drinks? Yet, first, as a collective, writers, judgers, hall monitors and such, very clearly, as a commandment or some other kind of religious term, should agree: objectivity is rightly dead. There should currently exist no pretense of criticism. Any words spent on food or drink should simply be a celebration that we are still around, have health and funds enough to still eat and drink. Every meal is worth only the comfort it brings. My recent birthday dinner selection was Pizza Shuttle, and was met not with laughs, scoffs, but gentle understanding nods. This is for your soul, not your tongue, forget your mind. None of us are seeing our doctors for normally scheduled tire-kicking and blood death panels anytime soon anyways. In that spirit, Mobcraft might be the greatest restaurant in the world right now.

Opening the boxes reveals a sort of paradigm of the flat bread-y, happy hour shareable brewpub pizza. It is in some way reminiscent of those things we are all missing the most: where you don’t feel like going out after a long day, then you go out anyways, and have something hoppy and local and loosen up, and unexpected alliances are formed by ABV, and there are ‘nother ones, and excuses made to selves and to significant others, and the coming weekend seems suddenly endless, eternal, what, in hindsight, feels almost, yes, maybe, blessed. And there is the realm of “one more” and somebody orders something from the bar to share, and everybody gets a wedge and pulls without cootie and corona paranoia, and the collective cheese pull is beautiful, pizza delivery commercial Instagrammable. The soft, deep, focaccia-like layers house typically creative topping combos: mac n’ cheese with pulled pork, a pungent gyro number with shaved lamb, a reuben pie with sauerkraut for those that prefer to sleep alone. Or there are more standard takes—pleasing marinara and pepperoni, with stretchy, blankety mozz, pleasant dusty crust flour fallout that snows softly down on the sweat pants and couch, lovingly sprinkled oregano flecks, cheese and edges just going brown toward crisp, but everything immeasurably pillowy, like a salty, saucy padding to smooth life’s edges just a bit. The “Pollo” has become an overnight favorite, featuring chicken chunks, the underutilized brotherly punch-in-the-arm of poblanos, bacon bits, velvety, guilt-inducing Alfredo sauce. It’s neither Italian or Mexican, craft or common. It is simply a feel, that of comfort pizza done with deft touch, a happy taste experience, now especially, arriving on the nostalgia spectrum somewhere between a Grandma slice from a Brooklyn street corner, whatever doughy carb-and-sauce bomb you used to get way too late at night in college, and elementary school cafeteria pizza day square.

But you also can’t leave a palate sodium-parched. So there is the accompanying, expected microbrew tome of types and tastes—a cranberry farmhouse ale, a coffee brown brew, things fermented in barrels, limited offerings of ideas pitched by the public and then voted on by any Joe Six Pack with the internet, the flavor winner then brewed in house—most any to be jogged to your car in the ultimate “this is more like it” lesson we can take away from pandemic times. But it is mostly the distinct, pungent mouthfeel of a hazy IPA—”Squeezin’ Juice,” dry-hopped and 6.7% potent—that acts as total counterpoint to the state of existence right now. There is something of a citrus dance, a zest, a subsequent scrunched-up-face of bitterness showing reaction, any kind of reaction really indicating a defiant act of living. Even if it comes from a sip taken sitting on the couch, in the basement, solo cheersing another year gone by, alone, knowing everyone in the world is mostly doing the same, is in some state of either worrying, or sleeping, or dying. This is probably why even the fizzy astringency of kombucha tastes good to me right now. And probably why the thought of a crowdsourced brewery, whatever that really means, is totally fine.

By the time the pizza is done and the ice cream too, once the music and news of the day has been faced, when the blindfold is ready for donning, it’s like the next year wish all sports fans know too well. Tomorrow, for sure. The numbers will tumble with lead boots-weight in the right direction, a vax will appear imminent, a treatment will truly show promise. If not, there will be some leftover pizza. And maybe one juicy IPA to sink down with.

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