#writing reference: Food

[exhausted-archivist]

General Culinary Themes of Thedas

Just a little over view of the clear draw of culinary reference for the nations of Thedas. This is based on the provided dishes through out all of the franchise's media. I'm only covering nations we have clear food descriptions on, as well as cultural influence. Which unfortunately means that the Anderfels, Nevarra, the Qun, Rivain, and Tevinter are mostly lacking in clear reference points. But I will touch on them below and elaborate where I can.

Antiva

This one is pretty cut and dry, all the culinary references we have for Antiva are Italian. Thanks to Tevinter Nights with the cacio e pepe, mentioning the traditional ten courses, and the mention of ammazzacaffe in the short story As We Fly. However they have markings for Spanish practices where evening meals typically be eaten at late hours. But overall the current food inspo from media seems to be Italian focused.

Ferelden

Ferelden and by extention their ancestors (Alamarri) and cultural cousins (Avvar and Chasind) are known for its soups, stews, pickled eggs, pickled krone, mutton, roasts, cheese, and Fluffy Mackerel Pie.

Overall the food inspiration for Ferelden is more English in leaning but also surprisingly more modern in reference than other countries in Thedas.

Avvar focus more on long storage foods which leads to a lot of smoked, dried, and pickled foods. Their cuisine seems to echo those of hunter gather cultures in the Arctic circle as their food preparations are with the "long dark" or winter in mind. They forage for things such as fiddleheads and snails, and cook their fish in pungent leaves and clay on banked coals. Utility is the prevailing method, but even with the preference for stews and slow cooking, they highly value spices in which they trade for; Antivan cord-seed, peppercorns, and powdered mustard.

Chasind seemingly have much the same preference and cook style as Fereldans, able to farm and hunt nearly year round. The food we know they have aligns with Ferelden in the fact it is mostly roasts, stews, grains, and the like. Chasind, like Fereldans have a reliance on a protein rich grain called ryott. A fickle crop with a small growing area, but it is used to make a drink called "Wildwine".

Free Marches

Free Marches as a whole are a variety of regions but specifically pull from British, American, and other cultures with overlapping dishes. Examples featuring animals that originate from the Americas like roast turkey being standard across the Free Marches, to dishes like jellied pork feet (various cultures) and Starkhaven Fish and Egg Pie (British, specifically Cornish recipe).

Orlais

French. It is just pulling directly from French food while also putting a fantasy French name on British and American dishes. As we see with Eggs a la Val Foret being a rendition of eggs benedict. Butter soup, which seems to be derived from Northern Franch cuisine. Mad Bernard's Gift of Flesh seems to reference Grimod de La Reyni's "roast without equal", though it is noted that the Romans also created similar nesting roasts.

Orzammar

Orzammar seems more British in concept but also distinctly fantasy based. Given the lore sets them up as heavy importers and most of their domestic food sources being unique to Thedas; giant spiders, brontos, nugs, deep mushrooms, deepstalkers, ect. It is hard to pinpoint a source of inspiration. Their food is steeped in alcohol and most known dishes are ones that overlap across cultures or seem more modern in concept: nug-lets for example call to mind of nuggets.

I would venture to say the reference point is merely fantasy hodgepodge of Europe. Touching on universal dishes, and likely being influenced by the cultures they're importing their goods from - primarily Orlais.

Notes on the Other Nations

Anderfels

We only really have one landmark dish on this so far. Nordbotten Fruit Stew, a dish where you revitalize dried fruit with honey, water, and/or liquor. It is described to be a common and popular dish in the Anderfels. It is also said that very little grows there nor does it grow well, so the small, bitter, and sour fruits they do have are sweetened with vast amounts of honey.

There is no clear culture to pull this from, at least not to my knowledge. This combined with the Anderfels love of ham, that may or may not taste of despair, and the fact that the creature called "the wandering hills" is a delicacy there, I would say there is little concrete reference to go on.

Dalish

Dalish Deep Forest Comfort, is a dish made with string squash, mushrooms, elfroot (spinach), tomatoes, garlic, red peppers, parsley, cheese, edible wildflowers, pine nuts, and butter. A dish with ingredients primary sourced from the Americas and when looking at food history, finding its roots in the indigenous hunting and gathering cultures. Something that is echoed through out the other dishes and ingredients we know they have; halla milk/butter, hearth cakes, and primarily foraged ingredients.

Nevarra

Ambiguous as the only named foods we have with any real world standing aren't easy to pinpoint nor are they isolated to a specific region. The unnamed blueberry pastries that Cassandra ate with her brother, candied fruits (universal), and roasted chestnuts (common in Chinese, Korean, Italian, Portuguese, Spain, Austria, the North American Indigenous, and later American food history).

The Qun

While Origins gave the impression of bland food that focused on utility over flavor, we know that there is more variety than that. They have some degree of sweet bread, savory porridge, and some degree of alcohol for consumption.

Rivain

There are only two dishes we know of from Rivain: Llomerryn red, a spiced red sauce used to be served on a variety of things such as fried or roasted potatoes and fresh oysters. And the Raider Queen's Bread of Many Tongues (bannana bread).

Tevinter

Tevinter is a weird one. While Dorian will mention grapes, and Tevinter Nights describes dates, the depiction of food in the comics is a bit conflicting. In Deception we see depictions of something similar to stuffed grape leaves (dolmas), in Mage Killer we see that the elite dine on cupcakes, donuts, macaroons, candy canes, and other very modern and American foods. We cannot say whether those foods originated in Tevinter or somewhere else and are simply a luxury import. It would make more sense for them to originate in either Orlais or the Free Marches, but as the only place we've seen them is Tevinter, I place them here with a grain of salt.

Sources

World of Thedas Vol. 1 & 2 Dragon Age Origins + DLC Dragon Age 2 + DLC Dragon Age Inquisition + DLC The Last Court Dragon Age Tabletop RPG The Official Cookbook: Tastes of Thedas - Sample Pages

Novels: The Stolen Throne The Calling The Masked Empire Last Flight Tevinter Nights

Comics: Magekiller Knight Errant Deception

[literaryvein-reblogs]

Topics List: Sweets

Word lists may be helpful for some people to overcome writer's block.

CAKES

CANDY

CHOCOLATE

CONFECTIONS

COOKIES

Source ⚜ More: Word Lists ⚜ Topics Lists ⚜ Part 2

[feelo-fick]

it can't be too hard right?

it's easy not to think about things, he tells me i don't think all the time! wait...

—

a scene from a fic that i have no clue if ill finish, let alone post, but look i made fanart of my own thing that doesnt even exist :D

[crabsnpersimmons]

Sun! Sun! MaKe mE SpRiNg RoLlS PlEaSE

‐hungry anon-

oooh springs rolls sound yum! what kind of spring rolls are your favourite?

[souenkun]

Larry's random conversarion lines 🍙

Pokémon Masters EX spoilers ahead!

Random conversation 1:

Ever since I met a certain individual, I now find myself gazing up at the sky every once in a while. There's scenery you'll never even notice if you stick to flat, well-trodden paths. Just something I've observed. I don't dislike the vast, clear sky... But I don't think I can reach it. It's nice to know that there's something like that out there, though.

Random conversation 2:

Pasio seems to have many good restaurants. Ah, I'm not asking for specific recommendations, though... I actually enjoy walking around and looking for a place I might like. That's part of the experience. I seek the exceptional only when it comes to food. Pasio has a variety of cuisines to choose from, so it's hard to stick to just one.

Random conversation 3:

(Player), which do you tend to favor: the exceptional or the average? I was thinking of inviting you to have a meal sometime. Casually figuring out your client's preferences is a special skill that you learn as a salaried employee.

Random conversation 4:

Lunchtime is one of the few things that a salaried employee like me can look forward to at work... We can decide whether to spend that precious time eating something familiar or trying out a new restaurant. It's not just about the meal. The decision-making process leading up to it is also something to look forward to.

Random conversation 5:

People, Pokémon... There's no need to overcomplicate things. Nowadays people only seem to want a shock factor. Something weird, something bizarre. When all's said and done, simplicity is strongest.

Random conversation 6:

You don't necessarily have to follow every instruction from your boss. But I pretend to follow them, at least, so I can avoid hassles later on. That's a technique you can use to get by in the workplace. Keep it in mind.

Random conversation 7:

I'm here in this famous tourist spot, but I can't really spread my wings while my boss has her eye on me. I guess I'll do what I usually do on my lunch break and find a spot to Roost...

[macgyvermedical]

Food Consistency

My wife (who has gastroparesis and frequently needs to go on liquid diets) was watching some tiktoks about people on liquid diets.

People in both the videos and the comments had extremely different (and often startlingly wrong) ideas of what a liquid diet is.

So I figured I would do a post to clarify for anyone who might be confused, and maybe save you from having a surgery rescheduled due to eating the wrong things.

Clear Liquid Diet:

A clear liquid diet is a diet where ONLY liquids you can see through are permitted. That means no other solid food (that won't turn into a clear liquid in your stomach), no chunks, and no milk. If you're prepping for a surgery or colonoscopy there might also be limits on what food colorings are permitted as well (usually red and purple). A clear liquid diet includes:

Water

Flavored drinks (sports drinks, soft drinks, Kool Aid, etc...)

Broth/stock (vegetable, chicken, beef, etc...)

Popsicles/italian ice

Fruit juices (no pulp)

Gelatin

Coffee/Tea

Specialty clear liquid protein shakes

Full Liquid Diet:

A full liquid diet is a diet where ONLY clear liquids and cloudy/opaque "full" liquids are consumed. No other solid foods and no chunks are permitted. A full liquid diet includes:

Everything on the clear liquid list

Milk and milkshakes

Yogurt (no chunks)

Ice cream (no chunks)

Pudding

Custard

Blended Diet:

A blended diet is a regular diet in which the food has been blended with water. Usually, this is the consistency necessary for a gastric feeding tube.

Everything on the full liquid list

Smoothies

Blended soups (no chunks)

Applesauce

Literally anything as long as it's been put in a blender and is now liquid-y

Pureed Diet:

A pureed diet is a diet in which the food has been mashed into a very fine mash. It can be thicker and drier than a blended diet and the food can be "molded" into shapes that resemble the original food on a plate. This is good for people who have few to no teeth or pain with chewing.

Everything on the blended list

Mashed potatoes (no chunks)

Anything the consistency of mashed potatoes

Mechanical Soft Diet:

A mechanical soft diet is one that is easy to chew. Unlike pureed, there can be small chunks. Examples include:

Everything on the pureed list

Oatmeal/cream of wheat/cream of rice

Very well cooked vegetables

Ground and finely chopped meats

Poached or soft boiled eggs

Cottage cheese

[fatedroses]

When a test of a prince's taste backfires horribly. Or, how Alisaie gave herself psychic damage for not realizing this man may not act like how she imagines and she's suddenly being thanked for giving the worst food on the star to him.

(or, even, indirectly giving Meteor and Tsukiko psychic damage as Meteor refuses to let Zenos eat that god forsaken bread and has to hold him back like a misbehaving cat away from it.)

[cyanocophrenic]

Sweets (1/?)

The snugness was barely tolerable. She had overestimated herself. She looked surreptitiously over her shoulder and ducked around a corner. The only thing following her were her bad decisions, but she felt chased all the same.

Okay. Calm down. Breathe (but not too deep). Evaluate the situation. What are your options? Can you loosen anything?

She looked down at herself. Past her swollen breasts, past a fluffy roll of upper belly, she examined her waistline. Nope. The button was the only thing keeping the zipper together, and vice versa. For the millionth time, she lamented her morning. What a bright idea, interviewing for a job with a snack company. She was very well aware of how sweets affected her.

Could she find somewhere discrete to wait out her... little metabolic mishap? She looked around for a discrete nook to accommodate her fresh bulk.

The little atrium she had found had a series of plush benches around the walls. She sighed and headed for the one in the corner. She sucked in as best she could and sat down. Some horny little corner of her mind made note of how it felt as her tight belly shifted against her puffy thighs.

Sitting like this, only barely upright lest bending too far compromise her jeans, she couldn't ignore how her waistband was trying to cut her in half. She thought back to how she had done this to herself. The lovely HR manager had very explicitly pointed out the basket of the company's sugary offerings there in the middle of interview table. The woman had been insistent that she try at least one of each, gushing like any good salesperson about their rich flavors and subtle textures, occasionally even peeling one out of its wrapper and handing it to her.

How could she have done anything but eat what was offered to her? And by a beautiful woman, no less. She knew how her body reacted to food like this, but she had been desperate to make a good impression, to look good and eager and employable. A good girl. She ignored that last thought, and the accompanying shiver through her frazzled tummy.

She closed her eyes and tried to steady herself. Breathe in through the nose and out through the mouth (but not too deeply). All she had to do was calm down, and give her body a chance to do the same. Then she could find a back door to sneak out of, go home and hope that somehow that she hadn't blown the interview.

She opened her eyes again and caught sight of herself in a mirror across the room. Holy crap, she was huge. She had been her normal, narrow self, and her outfit had fit very very normally, when she had arrived. But now? Now it looked positively painted onto her. Her breasts were trying to spill out of her tastefully exposed bra and over the lapel of her blouse. She was more balloon than woman at this point. She ignored another tingle.

As she watched herself in the mirror, she noticed something change. Slowly but surely, the last wrinkle in her blouse smoothed out. Uh oh. That meant... she was still filling out. Panic. She tingled again.

No. No. Calm. Breathe (but not too deep). She closed her eyes again, and could feel her plump body quietly grow. Crap.

Panic. Calm. Breathe (but not too deep). Calm.

Maybe if she didn't look, it would go away. That had never worked before, sure, but there's a first time for everything, right?

As she rationalized to herself, she noticed the sound of heels clacking towards her hiding spot. Panic!

Maybe their owner would pass and not notice her?

No such luck.

The woman who had interviewed her rounded the corner.

"There you are!"

She struggled to stand. So tight.

"You left your purse upstairs. I get it, though. Interviews can be pretty stressful, huh?"

Like nothing had changed. Did this woman not notice that she was currently three times the size she was when she had shown up? Could this woman not hear every seam in her clothes creaking in harmony? Could the woman not see how wide and deep and round she was becoming?

"It's such a beautiful handbag, I almost wanted to keep it for myself!" The woman laughed. "Oh well."

She took the bag from the woman. "O-oh! Thank you!" Leapt out of her.

"Listen," said the woman, "technically I have to review a few other candidates, but I think you're a shoo-in for the position." The woman moved closer. "No one else has shown so much... enthusiasm." Closer still. She basked in the smell of the woman's musky perfume.

"Oh... that's great!" she managed to squeak out.

"In fact," the woman continued, "if you'd like to come back upstairs, we can have you fill out the onboarding paperwork now, so you don't have to come back just to fill out some forms if... when we give you the job." So close now.

"Um! Okay!" What.

The woman placed a gentle hand on the side of her massive, tight, growing belly. "Listen, between you and me, that passion you showed today will take you far with us. Do you feel like the offer is fair? We can negotiate further if you need." The woman's eyes were so sincere.

What was going on here? She could barely think.

The woman placed her other hand on top of her belly, well hidden by her burgeoning breasts. "I do hope you'll say yes."

"Um..."

There was a pop. Her button pinged away across the room from her overburdened jeans. It made a little thwack sound as it hit the far wall. Her zipper flew down, zizzing audibly. Her belly erupted through the breach. Her blouse retreated upwards. The tingling became a roar. All the while, the woman, as though no tectonic shifts were happening right there and then, continued to implore with borderline puppydog eyes.

The world held its breath with her. How had this woman not reacted to any of that?! What? Was the woman still waiting for an answer?

"...okay?" She tried. She wasn't sure if her brain was still working. "Sure?" Best to stick to small sentences.

"Yay!" cheered the woman, "I really think you'll love it here!" The woman launched in for a quick hug around her exposed belly. The woman's arms didn't go even halfway around her. And still the woman didn't seem to notice that anything was wrong.

"Well! If you'll follow me back to the elevators, we can at least get the formalities out of the way."

The woman took her by the hand and pulled, still gentle. She followed, mutely. Even the horniest, shamiest corners of her mind were silent, waiting with bated breath.

As they reached the elevators, the woman pushed the up button and stood to the side. "Please," said the woman, "after you!"

On autopilot now, she stepped into the elevator and... wedged into the door. Stuck. What. Panic? Calm? The elevator dinged again as if to say "I'm waiting!"

The cold of the elevator doors brought her back to reality. She put a hand on either side of herself and tried to pull herself in. As though this were somehow normal, the woman chirped "Oh, here, let me help!"

She felt a gentle pair of hands press into her oceanic bottom. Her horny brain thrilled again. She clamped down on those thoughts. No time to be a pervert.

Between the two of them, they muscled her into the elevator. She turned to face the doors in time to watch the woman press into her in order to let the doors close. Normally equipped for eight full-sized human adults, due to her immensity, it very barely fit two.

"We need floor thirty," said the woman into her barely contained cleavage. She tried to reach for the panel of buttons, but by now there was simply too much of her in the way.

"I've got it," said the woman, reaching behind her without looking.

They rode the thirty floors quietly. She could feel herself still widening, pressing towards the walls of the elevator car. Her embarrassment had burnt out, leaving only a kind of stunned peace in her mind. She tried to will her body away from the woman, but where else could it really go?

By the time they reached their destination, the woman was firmly pressed against the doors, still showing no indication of the extra-ordinariness of the situation.

As the doors opened, the woman stepped back, grabbed her hands, and pulled as she tried to wiggle through the door. Eventually she floomped through, and they set off toward the HR suite.

Full-on waddling now, she felt an inner tension release. She had stopped growing. Relief. If nothing else, at least things had stopped getting worse. Sure, she was almost round enough to roll. Tingle. Sure, her clothing had been reduced to barely covering her... rude areas. Tingle. Sure, a beautiful woman was acting as though this was all perfectly normal. Tingle tingle tingle. But hey, at least it finally wasn't getting worse.

The woman pushed open the double doors to the HR suite and welcomed her in with another glittering smile. They seemed to be the only ones there. The woman led her, patiently, to the front desk area. The woman ducked behind the desk, looking for something.

"Hmm, it looks like I'll need to go print off more some more copies of the forms. Shouldn't take more than a minute or two." Finally she'd have a moment to collect herself.

Then the woman produced a basket, laden with various goodies, from underneath the desk. "Here! Help yourself, sorry to make you wait." Uh.

"Oh, here, allow me," said the woman, picking out a chocolate confection, peeling it, and pressing it into her mouth. "I'll be right back!"

She chewed and swallowed the treat.

Uh oh.

[dungeons-and-dragon-age]

yknow despite all the cute downtime interactions and despite her trying So So Hard to pay attention to and bond with everyone, there's something oddly lonely about Ylva.. Harding's got magic powers now that make her feel alienated even though they got on well. Bellara goes to Emmrich to talk about spirit related things now even though Ylva is also a Watcher. Neve says it's fine but it's obviously not, and Ylva has let her down not once but twice now. They started a book club without her. She even had that whole talk with Harding about how people in the Inquisition would have code names, but when they hung out they were just regular people who called each other their first names. And, well. She is just Rook, all the time.

[chaoswarfare]

dp x dc prompt #23

Danny gets summoned by the justice league, but he’s tired, just finished a ghost fight, missed his morning coffee, is running late on several college assignments, and has been summoned multiple times this week.

Or- Danny screams at the justice league for summoning him until someone offers to help with his rogues and homework, not that they really know what they’re offering to do. The summoning is wrapped up, the big bad is defeated, and Danny gets to go home. Too bad that one of the heroes is absolutely infatuated.

[ichverdurstehier]

What is a non spicy Chinese food that is sepereate ? Autism friendly pls? Ideas, I am writing a story. What does the lan sect eat?

[ahsokathegray]

TBB S3 E10 & 11 Concept Art

Caraad

Ailish’s home

Bayrn

Imperial Orbit Space Station

Tantiss Vault

Moon Spaceport

Pabu Festival, food, alley, & dock

Bonus:

[literaryvein-reblogs]

Writing Reference: A Historical Menu

Origin — Food — Drink

1900 — tacos, quiche, schwarma, pizza, osso bucco, paella, tuna, goulash, hamburger, mousse, borscht, grapefruit, éclair, chips, bouillabaisse, mayonnaise, ravioli, crêpes, consommé — Coca Cola, soda water, riesling

1800 — spaghetti, soufflé, bechamel, ice cream, kipper, chowder, sandwich, jam, meringue, hors d‘oeuvre, welsh rabbit — tequila, seltzer, whisky

1700 — avocado, paté, muffin, vanilla, mincemeat, pasta, salmagundi, yoghurt, kedgeree — gin, port, champagne, brandy, sherbet

1600 — omelette, litchi, tomato, curry, chocolate, banana, macaroni, caviar, pilav, anchovy, maize, potato, turkey, artichoke, scone — tea, sherry, coffee, sillabub

1500 — marchpane (marzipan), whiting, offal, melon, pineapple, mushroom, salmon, partridge

Middle English — venison, pheasant, crisp, cream, bacon, biscuit, oyster, toast, pastry, jelly, ham, veal, mustard, beef, mutton, brawn, sauce, potage, broth, herring, meat, cheese — muscatel, rhenish (rhine wine), claret, ale

Old English — cucumber, mussel, butter, fish, bread — beer, wine, water

The evolution of terms for food and drink is an interesting reflection of the history of cultural contact between English-speaking countries and the rest of the world (G. Hughes, 1988).

Source ⚜ Food History ⚜ Writing Notes & References ⚜ Word Lists

[fridayiminlovemp3]

that weird ass fucking lifetime christmas movie that’s thinly veiled fan fiction about taylor swift and travis kelce makes me so uncomfortable like that is FREAK behaviour, making that a real movie is FREAK BEHAVIOUR. i can’t even watch the trailer for it it just freaks me out

[luv-again]

I only wrote just over 100 words last night, which is not rly progress, but I did write it all in clever metaphor relating to the sin in particular so - progress ??

[songofstrawhats]

One thing that doesn't come up a lot is how Luffy is basically immune to poison

I think it would be really hilarious for there to be a scenario where someone offers Luffy this great feast, and they think they're so slick because it's SUPER poisoned only for Luffy to eat the whole thing without issue and pledge his undying gratitude

And like, what do you do from there??? 'hey i tried to kill u why didn't it take?' Nope, Luffy believes in you now, and that's the sort of thing you have to live up to. You're besties with the (future?) pirate king this is just your life now