2023 CHARACTER WRAPPED

top 9 characters I loved in 2023:

I decided to highlight the new ones, the new faves that I added to my never-ending long list of husbandos 💖from left to right: Yamada Asaemon Shion (Jigokuraku) , Rei Suwa (Buddy Daddies) , Itoshi Sae (Blue Lock) , Itoshi Rin (Blue Lock) , Hayakawa Aki (Chainsaw man) , Kiyoka Kudo (my happy Marriage) , Himuro-kun (the ice guy and his cool female colleague) , Takayuki Mima (cool doji dhanshi) , Noah Wynknight (the reason why raeliana ended up at the duke's mansion)

I was tagged by @queenrojpag Thank you very much! 💕 I loved your 9 characters and I always adore your red gifsets!

I tag: @gojosattoru , @hayakaws , @apparently-artless , @taohs , @hokusu , @kyojuuros , @okkottsus , @inahochi , @yuujies , @sattosugu , @rubydragon16 , @ashiromina , @homuras , @smol-ackerman , @koushuwu , @inosukz , @silversoulsociety , @incepstla , and everyone else who would like to do it!

and in case you are wondering... this is the list that has been growing for the past 15 years... and I still need to add more hahaha

𝐍𝐎. 𝟐 (𝟐/𝟐)   ❛ 𝐡𝐨𝐭 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐟𝐚𝐬𝐭 ❜   |   ZUYATL HOUSE, APRIL 1991

❧  𝐝𝐢𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲  /  𝐛𝐞𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠  /  𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐨𝐮𝐬  /  𝐧𝐞𝐱𝐭.

   ❛  Once the cake had been cut—always an elaborate act of skill and expertise that Olalla performed while her relatives oohed and ahhed—the party resumed its relaxed atmosphere of casual conversation. The night had a scheduled end, but it had gone well enough to ensure everyone would trickle out slowly, in pairs or one-by-one, well into the late hours. Matias ate his cake slowly, taking small bites even once everyone else had left the table to converse elsewhere. He had retired himself to a more comfortable chair in the corner when Arnaut, having just finished a winding conversation with Olalla about the cake, approached.

❧ i wish i hadn't had to split it up into two posts, but !!!! in any case. spent the entire time paranoid about mixing up the two mats here ksdfds name diversity is for schmucks smh

𝐬𝐜𝐞𝐧𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐮𝐞𝐝 & 𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐜𝐫𝐢𝐩𝐭 ↓

“Happy birthday, Papa,” he offered by way of greeting. 

Matias, pulled from his thoughts, glanced up. “Thank you.”

“Wrong flavor cake?”

“What?” 

Arnaut exhaled, not quite a sigh as much as a resignation. “It was a joke,” he offered, deflated. “You look disappointed, so.” 

“Birthdays become bittersweet at a certain point.” Matias rarely regarded anyone with anything except soft openness, but Arnaut felt especially exposed as his father gazed up at him, adding, “Sit down. Let’s hear it.”

He chuckled, which was more of a self-deprecating delay than a sincere sign of amusement. “No poker face whatsoever, huh?”

Arnaut sank heavily into the other chair. This was a well-established routine, albeit one that had been subjected to the disembodiment of telephone calls until recently. Forty years on, Arnaut still wasn’t sure what tells always gave it away. Matias would have told him, had he asked, that it was easy to tell when untroubled minds were burdened. It wasn’t an indictment. Arnaut had always been easygoing, carefree, disturbed only in the fleeting way skipped stones did a lake’s surface. When he was truly beset by a problem, it was unmistakable. Liars did so naturally; for those accustomed to carrying burdens, it was the same. 

“Zifar is very unhappy with me,” Arnaut huffed. “We've been arguing all week.” The particulars didn’t matter, so he restrained himself from launching into an extended complaint about the petty conflicts over filing systems and paper trails and forms of address for people whose jobs Arnaut hadn’t known existed until he was being asked to involve himself in them. 

Matias crossed an ankle over his knee. “Well,” he began, pausing as if reasoning his way to a conclusion. “You know what they say about chiefs of staff: usually single-use, quick expiration date.”

Instead of a humoring chuckle, Arnaut stared at the tiles of the floor and insisted, “I can make it work. I just don’t know how yet.”

“Maybe it’s worth saying you don’t have to ‘make it work,’” Matias offered. “The idea, I believe, was that keeping him on could help with the transition. If that’s not the case—” 

Arnaut imagined himself firing Zifar. He would enter his office and find him there already, laying out neatly typed briefings in colored-coded folders. It was a system Safya had devised nearly two decades earlier, and Zifar must have learned it when she hired him in 1981. It was difficult for Arnaut to appreciate. He wanted Zifar to just explain the highlights to him. He wanted him to condense five pages of summary, itself condensed from fifty or five hundred, into a couple minutes of easy listening. Better yet, he wanted simple the assurance Zifar would inform him on the fly—that he didn’t need to prepare or memorize anything because Zifar would be there, aiding him as they went, a ventriloquist of sorts. So, there would be something rich in interrupt him to explain this system was no longer necessary. Zifar and the collection of byzantine practices he represented would no longer be necessary. 

The satisfaction of that imaginary scene made him feel guilty, and Armaut interrupted Matias as a reflexive response. 

“He’s trying,” Arnaut insisted, raising a hand, all too eager to defend the man whose job he entertained imperiling moments before. “He’s doing everything right.”

Matias cocked his head to the side. “What’s the problem then?” 

“I’m not there yet.” 

It went without saying. With more effort, more time, perhaps more patience, Arnaut could learn the system. He could muddle his way through the processes and mechanisms that Safya had devised, or otherwise inherited herself, to make work manageable. Although lacking the power of the Crown itself, this office of theirs unfurled from Arnaut’s desk into various units and projects and employees, all connected to each other and the rest of the government in ways that boggled the mind. Some people were meant for bureaucracy. They thrived in it. Every day, evidence mounted that Arnaut was not among them. He was not the most devout but, if he had been, he would believe his divine role was to set Uspana back a century through his personal failings. That was a crushing notion—that Safya’s death was not just tragic in and of itself but rather because it was the first domino in a greater series of losses.  It was this idea, or the fact that Arnaut couldn’t stomach it, which forced him to conclude he could change. There was no other option. 

Matias had other ideas, although his primary concern in this moment was soothing his son’s nerves. He was floundering, already in need of a lifeline that didn’t appear to exist. 

“It’s not a defeat to hire someone who meshes better,” he said, assuming Arnaut needed permission, perhaps simply in the tacit form of a gentle suggestion. 

Arnaut was quiet, and Matias allowed the moment to extend as long as he needed. He watched Arnaut’s features, seeing the effort he put into thinking through the proposition. For some time, Arnaut furrowed his brow and chewed his lip, Matias observed this, and the party continued apace around them. 

Finally, Arnaut said, “It would be, I think.” 

Matias had suspicions, but he understood that it wasn’t a capricious or unreasonable position to take. More than that, he knew Arnaut was a person propelled by emotions, including a fierce sense of loyalty. His decisions, insofar as they rested on reason, were always doomed or fated to half-hearted execution if they weren’t underwritten by some kind of passion. Arnaut’s motivations were not abstract concepts or aspirational virtues. His motivations were flesh and blood; they had names and faces. It wasn’t hard for Matias to imagine what led Arnaut to believe he had to keep this way of doing things alive, even at the expense of himself. 

“Stick it out then, if that’s what you believe is best,” Matias replied, his tone gentle and without judgment.

As Matias and Arnaut talked, Leonor was down the hall within the house, changing her clothes in a guest bathroom. She had shoved her gown into a garment bag, and now she stood in front of the mirror in her underwear. A pair of slacks and a tee shirt waited, stacked on a chair nearby. She turned this way and that, frowning. Earlier, Olalla had shoved a plate stacked with cake into her hands—thick icing, four layers, moist cake with a delightful crumb. Leonor praised it enthusiastically to distract her aunt from the fact that she had mostly mashed it with her fork and eaten just a single bite. 

With a sigh, she hurriedly put on her clothes, ran her fingers through her hair, and threw the door open. She planned to leave discreetly, headed for a party whose start coincided with a respectable time to depart the family gathering. Matias wouldn’t mind. She assured herself that her grandfather understood her life was busy; he would be grateful she had stayed through dinner, and he would be grateful for the matching tie and pocket handkerchief she gifted him. Her mind wasn’t on him but rather on the time, unknown because she lacked a watch, as she hustled out of the bathroom.

“Are you leaving?”

Mateo’s voice startled her. Leonor scowled at him once she had recovered and whipped around to see him lingering in the hallway. She replied, “I have plans.”

Hoping that would suffice but knowing it never did, she began walking. Mateo, retorting, “But this is our plan,”  followed her. 

Leonor stopped abruptly, and Mateo stumbled to avoid running into her. She sighed. 

“Can you give me a break?”

“You know what?” Mateo said, quickly walking around to face her. “No, I can’t. I need to talk to you, and you just walk off every time I see you.” He paused, frowning, then tacked on, “Which isn’t often, by the way.”

“You’re going to have to elaborate because I don’t—” Leonor stopped herself. She shook her head, then started walking once more. “Actually, no. I have to go, and I’m not going to get sucked into ... whatever this is with you.”

Still, Mateo followed her. “Why are you being like this?” he demanded.

He imagined himself to be on the verge of a sobering adult conversation, but Leonor heard everything he said in the cadence of a whining child.  Needful. Their mother had called him that once, speaking to Leonor in an offhanded way as they did a task at home. Once, her mother’s willingness to talk to her like a friend had been a great source of pride for her. Safya would share little anecdotes and opinions as they kneaded dough or cleaned paintbrushes or put on their shoes for work. Being the oldest child, and being her quiet companion throughout the day, Leonor was allowed small glimpses into her mother’s relationship to others. That included her own siblings from time to time. Needful seemed to ring true. Leonor, perhaps twelve at the time, recalled in part when Mateo had been born. She was not quite five that year, which meant she had been old enough to be enthusiastic about there being a baby at home but too young to appreciate what it meant. Her earliest memory was exactly how needy her infant brother was. Greedy and demanding, he clung to their mother and ate up the time that belonged to Leonor. Even when he was asleep or in someone else’s arms, it felt like there was less of Safya left for her. 

Leonor knew on some level that her mind had, as she grew older, magnified those emotions and deepened them. As a soon-to-be five year old, she hadn’t resented her brother. She didn’t know the word “needy”; she would have thought about the problem in terms like “mine” or “now” instead, self-centered and impatient as all little kids were inclined to be. Even that would have been momentary. Her mother’s kisses and attention blotted away the dissatisfaction. So, too, did pridefully carrying around this living baby doll—kissing his soft head, making him laugh, helping Safya hold his bottle. Nonetheless, that was what she magnified now, the idea that Mateo had not outgrown the clinginess of infanthood and that, in fact, her mother had understood this. It didn’t matter that Safya and Mateo maintained a special relationship—that she called him needful because she wanted him, needed one of her children, to need her. 

Leonor and Gil each had an independent streak. For her, it was a product of responsibility. It could have been the people-eater in her, too. Not so with the middle child. Mateo and Safya were, in more ways than Leonor had ever cared to count, cut from the same cloth. 

Mateo was willing to wait for an answer, and Leonor had scrunched her face up in a way that suggested she had one. Finally, she did respond to him. 

“... I don’t know what you want from me,” she began. There was a callousness to how she said the words. There was no frustration. It was matter-of-fact, inarguably so. “I don’t want to be your mama, if that’s what you’re getting at. You don’t need me. I didn’t need anyone when I was your age. Time to grow up. Go drink some wine and dance with Aunt Prissy.”

Taken aback, Mateo blinked a few times before mouthing, “What ... ?

Leonor rolled her eyes. “You’re being childish,” she said, aiming to clarify. With a handwave, she added, “Hanging around. Interrogating me.” 

Mateo’s disbelief was palpable, but Leonor remained unaffected. She could have addressed the truth head on. Like Beatriz, she knew what this conversation was supposed to be. She knew what Mateo wanted to say to her, and she knew that she wasn’t ready—wasn’t willing—to engage with it. When he did finally shake his head and speak again, she had already made up her mind to disregard him and resume her plans for the night.

“You’re my sister, Leonor,” he pleaded. It wasn’t meant to sound that way. He had hoped it would be a strong, persuasive statement. Instead, it came out as a quiet, wavering appeal. “I just want to feel like we’re family. I never see you anymore, and I don’t get it. I just feel like Mama would—”

Leonor cut him off, shrugging,“I don’t know what to tell you, Mat.” 

She was walking again before he could devise another tack to take. Weaving around him, she called back, “It’s not that serious. I’m going to be late.”

TRANSCRIPT:

ARNAUT | Happy birthday, Papa. MATIAS | Thank you. ARNAUT | Wrong flavor cake? MATIAS | What? ARNAUT | [Exhales] It was a joke. You look disappointed, so.

MATIAS | Birthdays become bittersweet at a certain point. Sit down. Let’s hear it. ARNAUT | [Chuckles] No poker face whatsoever, huh?

ARNAUT | Zifar is very unhappy with me. We’ve been arguing all week.

MATIAS | You know what they say about chiefs of staff: usually single-use, quick expiration date.

ARNAUT | I can make it work. I just don’t know how yet. MATIAS | Maybe it’s worth saying you don’t have to “make it work.” The idea, I believe, was that keeping him on could help with the transition. If that’s not the case—

ARNAUT | He’s trying. He’s doing everything right. MATIAS | What’s the problem, then? ARNAUT | I’m not there yet. MATIAS | It’s not a defeat to hire someone who meshes better.

ARNAUT | It would be, I think. MATIAS | Stick it out then, if that’s what you believe is best.

[Leonor sighs]

MATEO | Are you leaving?

LEONOR | I have plans.

MATEO | But this is our plan.

LEONOR | Can you give me a break? MATEO | You know what?

MATEO | No, I can’t. I need to talk to you, and you just walk off every time I see you—which isn’t often, by the way. LEONOR | You’re going to have to elaborate because I don’t—

LEONOR | Actually, no. I have to go, and I’m not going to get sucked into … whatever this is with you.

MATEO | Why are you being like this?

LEONOR | … I don’t know what you want from me. I don’t want to be your mama, if that’s what you’re getting at. You don’t need me. I didn’t need anyone when I was your age. Time to grow up. Go drink some wine and dance with Aunt Prissy.

MATEO | What … ? LEONOR | You’re being childish. Hanging around. Interrogating me.

MATEO | You’re my sister, Leonor. I just want to feel like we’re family. I never see you anymore, and I don’t get it. I just feel like Mama would— LEONOR | I don’t know what to tell you, Mat.

LEONOR | It’s not that serious. I’m going to be late.

Wines Inspired by Characters Henry Oak from Dungeons and Daddies [FULL EXPLANATION]

Starting off the series with one of my favorite characters from the podcast here's some notes I've written down for the wine.

Grape Type: So Henry having a vegetarian/vegan diet I wanted something that would pair nicely with this. There were mentions of foods like Trail Mix, Nuts, Mushrooms and dried oats and a few wines fit perfectly with this but since Chardonnay is known for it's buttery taste due to it's fermentation in OAK Barrels the choice was a bit obvious.

Dry or Sweet? Plus, this type of wine is known for being either sweet or dry depending on the temperature it was grown in. I feel like this reflects Henry's personality as he's both super sweet caring and very much a pacifist but also dry, angry and stressed.

Body So, the body reflects not only on the amount of alcohol the wine has but also, it's acidity, color and tannins.

Acidity is sour and makes your mouth water but tannins dry your mouth. That being said, medium body just means that there is a balance between both tannins and acidity and that it's within a 12.5%-13.5% alcohol level. Oaked Chardonnays are known for this.

The alcohol level is reflected on the amount of natural sugar the grapes have which can vary by the soil type, climate and variant. This does NOT reflect on the overall sweetness of the wine. Sweet wines usually have lower alcohol levels than bold wine since most of the glucose is broken up and fermented during the process there for making more alcohol.

Flavors and Aromas: Several sommeliers have explained that flavors and Aromas AND will vary depending on the pallet. There are a few that are more noticeable to several but others that aren't. That is part of the magic and art of wine tasting. That being said for Henry's Inspired wine I did use some fruits mentioned in his dialog during season 1. More specifically this quote:

What the freakin ding dang, gosh darn, dilly willy, heckin' shark tooth, banana chicanery, rootin' tootin', raspberry freaking FUCK are you two doing here?! -Henry Oak (Dungeons and Daddies Season 1)

Although banana and shark tooth aren't main notes for this wine, I feel like Henry would use these terms to describe it. Raspberry on the other hand WOULD be a nice main note, alongside the classic vanilla and Oak combo from classic chardonnay with a hint of green apple, Jazmin and general minerals. Those last three I feel reflect Oakville a lot beside the obvious OAK.

Bottle Design The main label reflects the physical appearance of the character both in its podcast cover and in the character's intro from Will Campos.

"Henry Oak is the Birkenstock rocking, crunchy, munchy, hippie, nature druid dad of the group."

Wanted to stick with the colors from the Cover art but with a more neutral tone so that it matches the colors and hue of this hypothetical wine.

Having the iconic Berkenstocks in the background on a rocky stone grown with vines growing around it, just felt like the perfect vision for Henry. And as a little homage to on of the several dadfacts I added a Trilobite insignia on the top of the wine cap.

Finally, I added the important info such as where it would have been produced, by what bodega and when. Obviously, Oakville in the Forgotten Realms would have been an interesting place to grow grapes. Bodega Daddies because it sounds both funny and well fitted and finally it's from 2019 because that's when Henry Oak first appeared in the first episode of that same year.

And I think that just about does it!!!

Thank you so much for reading and I'll be following up with the next wine of the series. Which character should I make a wine for next?

You said you used to be a barista? Any headcanons on how our darlings at PPTH take their hot cocoa?<3

I did used to be a barista indeed!! <3 Oh this is such a good question, I'm much more of a hot cocoa than a coffee person myself so I absolutely love it.

These are based more on vibes than anything else:

House: With a near obscene amount of mini marshmallows sprinkled in, and a very healthy spiral of whipped cream on top of that. Like, tall enough that it looks like it might tip over. Half the time he probably makes it that big just to be obnoxious/see the ducklings' reactions lol

Wilson: Either normal hot chocolate (homemade though, not the powder/instant mix kind. Only ever homemade! Probably chides House whenever he sees him going for the hot cocoa powder and then stops him, takes over, and makes a big batch of luxurious homemade hot chocolate. (little does he know that was house's master plan all along.)), or he goes like... super indulgent and enjoys something like salted caramel hot cocoa every once in a while. If such a recipe exists.

Cuddy: Let's be real, it most likely wouldn't be a hot chocolate, it would be a mocha. That caffeine fuels her through her day. Unless she's at home with Rachel for a snow day or something. Then it's the good ol' swiss miss they keep a box of in the pantry. Rachel likes to put rainbow sprinkles on top with her mini marshmallows, and somehow there's always a little handful of them that end up in Cuddy's mug, too.

Cameron: Peppermint hot chocolate, one thousand percent! I wrote a post about coffee orders a while ago and I mentioned that Cameron totally seems like a peppermint mocha girl to me. The same carries over for hot chocolate, too. She'd be happy drinking peppermint hot chocolate any time of year, no matter the weather! (And I love her for it). I think it would be a total comfort drink for her. Very grounding. <3

Chase: Similar to the coffee orders, I think Cameron introduces him to peppermint hot chocolate, and he ends up really enjoying it. I think he'd also enjoy just plain hot chocolate with a small layer of whipped cream on top. (I'm picturing that it's the kind where the whip is about even with the rim of the glass, so that when you drink the first couple sips, you usually end up getting a whipped cream mustache). ALSO? Bailey's hot chocolate (hot cocoa recipe spiked w/Bailey's Irish Cream liqueur). Great nightcap on a cold winter night.

Foreman: Like I said, a lot of these are based on vibes alone. My man is really giving me "Hot cocoa with Nutella stirred in" vibes rn. Or something else that'll give it a nice, rich hazelnut flavor alongside the chocolate. Anything that adds more depth to the flavor instead of stacking on the sweetness. I can see him liking a dark chocolate hot cocoa with some dark cherry extract added in, too!

Kutner: Hot chocolate infused with orange extract, from a recipe specially made so that it tastes like you're drinking the equivalent of one of those chocolate oranges. Everyone thinks he's nuts until he convinces them to try it, and then they're all absolutely hooked.

Thirteen: I have two thoughts in my mind. One: I think she'd like both white hot chocolate and milk chocolate hot cocoa. Two: She strikes me as the type of person who would get a craving for hot chocolate in the summer, but absolutely NOT want the sensory feel of a hot drink when it's hot out. So she takes hot chocolate powder and mini marshmallows and mixes them into a glass of cold milk. House calls her out on it and is like "you're just drinking glorified chocolate milk at this point." Kutner immediately jumps to her defense and says "it's not chocolate milk, it's cold chocolate." (Then he makes himself a glass of "cold chocolate" and is like "This is actually pretty good!" and then orders an iced mocha with no espresso in it every day for the next week)

Taub: Dark chocolate hot cocoa. Something that's not too, too sweet, but still has a good cocoa flavor. Maybe this part is because I'm POTS-y/probable EDS and need way more salt than average (and thus fucking LOVE salt), but I feel like he'd enjoy sprinkling little sea salt crystals on top. Then it tastes like one of those fancy dark chocolate candy bars you can get at trader joe's.

Bonus Amber, just like in the coffee questions: Homemade chocolate infused with pure raspberry extract. And just a little bit of whipped cream on top (probably also homemade). (I adore her)

This was so much fun to think about! Thank you for the ask, anon! <3

A Letter to Myself ~ Chapter 1

Series Description: A 1st person POV Isekai Ikemen Prince adventure told by me, your narrator. Not all true stories are believable, and not all true stories are real. I have changed my name and the names of anyone who inspired these characters.

Chapter Description: Liliana goes to sleep after another disappointing experience with love, and wakes up inside a very strange dream.

Chapter Title: Dream Truths

Triggers: Negative self talk; vague mention of fatphobia

There are few things in this world I love more than singing, sleeping, and daydreaming. They’re the three things that can always reset my anxious mind, and push out all forms of mental clutter, if only long enough for me to focus on the task at hand. That particular evening, the task at hand was wishing that my situationship (who, after I admitted I had feelings for earlier that day, told me he didn’t actually feel that way about me, and saw me only as a friend) had instead been one of the dashing princes in my favorite otome game. I think everyone could agree that they would never. But the quiet of the night threatened to envelop me nonetheless; this wasn’t the first time I’ve been fooled by pretty words and flirtatious kindness. It wasn’t even the second or third, and I’ve begun to wonder who the real problem is. Am I simply misinterpreting this behavior? Was my perception truly that terrible? I didn’t think so, since I could usually nail down just about anyone I met: what their struggles were, why they acted the way they did, and so on and so forth. In fact, it was one of the things I was known for in my friend circles - being a mind reader. 

But for some reason, when love was involved, my radar was off; or broken; or just flat out missing altogether. It was something I’ve wanted for as long as I can remember; to be loved the way I love, but fate seemed to stand against me in that regard. What if I just wasn't meant to have my own love story? My heart clenched at the thought that plagued me over and over. It was no mystery that my body type was not one that was so popularly celebrated in many circles, and I'd experienced my fair share of backlash over it through the years. And while, thankfully, many women in this day and age were standing up and speaking out about it, I still received far too many judgmental eyes on me when I dared to eat in public; didn't matter if it was 4pm and it was the first thing I'd eaten since I woke up at 7am. 

So it should come as no surprise that the little voice in my head - that damn goblin - often added "overweight" to the list of qualities that left men… wanting, in regards to myself. But the laundry list was miles long by now, and not even the newest Whirlpool could scrub it clean. Besides, who could afford that much laundry detergent? Certainly not me. Not in this economy. 

Usually, I could stir up some comforting scenario with the handsome first prince and lull myself to sleep in his imaginary arms, but the trick wasn't working tonight. God, of course it wasn't. I had to be up in around 4 hours to go to rehearsal, and sleep had been evading me almost as much as men did. "Is sleep a man?" I pondered aloud to my quiet bedroom. "Would make a hell of a lot of sense." I grumbled under my breath as I reached for the Melatonin gummies on my nightstand. I popped two in my mouth and chewed begrudgingly until the almost-fruit tang flavor was gone from my mouth, then let my head fall unceremoniously back onto my pillow with a dull thud. 

Now my neck hurts. Of course it does.

I tossed and turned for awhile longer, praying the Melatonin would do its work, and at last, I felt the gentle tug of sleep calling the deep recesses of my brain. Thank God, now I can go see Jin. It was the last coherent thought I had before diving under, my subconscious brain taking over, my desires in tow. 

…

…..

…….

Birds. 

I was hearing birds. Is this a dream? Those birds don't sound like the birds outside my window normally do. Those sound like… what the hell is that? A weed wacker? It isn't Friday. Is it? This has to be a dream, there's no way I missed two days; I've slept for long periods of time, but never 48 hours straight, long. That's like, coma long. God, I hope I haven't peed the bed. 

I cracked one eye open slowly, noting the lack of crust around it. Thank God, I'm finally re-hydrated. I'd been dehydrated for pretty much my entire life, through no one's fault but my own, and I'd always wanted to be one of those girls who could tote around a cute water bottle the size of a milk jug and drink it all in one day. But alas, God had other plans when he made me. Maybe he was distracted, I don't know. But I had been trying to take better care of myself lately, so I guess it finally paid off! Hopefully this means no more headaches, and-

I opened my other eye to stare up at my ceiling. I wonder what ti- wait. "M'kaaaay, maybe I do have eye crust." I mumbled, rubbing my eyes with my index fingers. Cause that's not my ceiling. Have I gone blind? Oh God, am I blind?

I opened my eyes again and flicked my gaze around the room quickly. Okay, not blind. A relieved sigh petered out of my lungs, but it only lasted a second before I cast my eyes around the room again, in earnest this time. This is not my room. My head swiveled left; right; left again. Okay, so I'm dreaming. Damn it, I probably still have eye crust. I shook my head in disappointment as I sat up in bed. The room I was in was small; tiny, even in comparison to mine, which was saying something. There was a single painting on the wall perpendicular to my right, hung precariously on the dusty beige wall. It looked like a lush green forest with a river running through the center. Pretty. 

My eyes continued their journey right and landed on a small, rustic looking side table with an oil lamp on it, along with a well-worn book. On impulse, I picked up the book and stroked its spine while I read the words on the cover. "Liliana's Adventures" Funny. That's my name. Could my brain really not come up with anything better than this for a title? Jeez, and I call myself a writer. A sound between a scoff and a laugh escaped my lips as I set the book back down on the side table and turned my head to the left. 

There was a small table with two rickety wooden chairs and what looked like a sewing project neatly folded on the tabletop. Okay, is my brain trying to tell me to pick up a new hobby or something, or did I watch too much Lord of the Rings last night? I noticed that there was a simple mirror on the wall across from me that reflected the bland beige wall above my head, the door to the tiny room, and a single window, notched in the downward slope of the ceiling to my left. I didn't understand. Why did my subconscious bring me here of all places? And where even is here? I mean, it has to be a dream. I just "woke up" and the inside of my mouth doesn't even feel gross, and there's no way that's real. 

I pulled myself out of the small, stiff bed and padded over to the window, my feet bare on the chilly wooden panels. The most beautiful garden I had ever seen in my life sprawled out before my eyes way down below. Bursts of yellow, white, pink, and red lined a maze of pathways through the middle, and showcased the gorgeous flowers in bloom. Most of them looked like roses. Wow… now I understand the weed wacker. 

I could get lost tracing each walkway with my eyes, and apparently I did, because I didn't hear the angry footsteps stomping up to the door of my room until it burst open and an irate woman screeched through it. "Leisel, quit your dawdling, we are due in the kitchen in five minutes!" The door slammed shut just as suddenly as it had opened and I jumped hard, nearly knocking my head on the sloped ceiling in the process.  "Who the hell is Leisel?"

~

Tags for the Lovelies: @aquagirl1978 @rhodolitesroseforclavis @ikehoe @queengiuliettafirstlady @maries-gallery @nightghoul381 @judejazza @xbalayage @kissmetwicekissmedeadly @alvieeru @aria-chikage @tele86

The cooking project - Crêpes

If yesterday's post was probably one of my most-made recipe cards, this might be my most-made recipe in my binder, which is sort of a Binder of Theseus. My sister made me a binder full of typed-out recipes as a gift when I was a sophomore in college, and I still have the section separators, which were collages of images cut from magazines, and I have some (most? all?) of those typed recipes, though the binder itself has been replaced. And of course I've added many more recipes, printed from the internet or sent to me by email or clipped from magazines. (I had a subscription to Sunset for a while in the late 00s!)

This recipe, though, was copied from a webpage into probably a Word document and then printed out, and dates from March 15 2003. The URL in the image no longer works, but the contents can be found in the Wayback Machine (ctrl+f, "crepes"). It was posted as part of the author's "French Week" as sort of an oblique protest of the impending Iraq War. In any case, I have been making it since then.

Because this can be found in the Wayback Machine, and because the instructions are hilariously long, I am not going to retype the whole thing here.

My only personal notations are combining "whole wheat flour" and "white flour" into a single line (I've literally never made these as savory crepes in 20 years), and a note that 1 egg approximately equals 3 crepes.

Making the batter

One of the things I love about this recipe is that it scales really well: one egg to 1/4 cup flour. The sugar ratio is weird and I usually have to do a rough approximation, because 1/4 cup sugar is 4 tablespoons, but also it's a very forgiving recipe that way.

I have learned over the years to beat the eggs first and THEN add the flour/sugar/salt, much less lumps that way. (ironically, 20 years and I just noticed he never says when to add the salt, altho clearly it's with the flour)

I have literally no idea how much milk I use. I mix in a bit at a time until it looks like the right texture/color. It's all vibes, baby.

I don't think I've ever let it sit two whole hours but it definitely does change texture a bit, for the better, if left to sit at least a half an hour. (I have also never drunk a glass of red wine while waiting for the batter.)

Below is: just after mixing in the flour/sugar/salt, then after some milk, all the milk, and after sitting for idk half an hour? 45 minutes?

Jam! Eating while making!

As I said, I've literally never made them savory, altho the last time I had them with a little bit of local whipped goat cheese and strawberry jam, and that was FUCKING TIGHT.

My usual is to take out whatever jams I have (today: strawberry and raspberry freezer jam that I made in 2020 and 2021 respectively, quince jam that a friend made, and marmalade) and just alternate flavors as I make them. I usually end up eating some while I'm making them. (As the guy says, bachelor mode™️.)

Two eggs' worth did in fact make about six crepes, I think, which is kind of a lot for dessert but I guess I had dessert for dinner, it's fine.

(Oh, and I think I've tried flipping them without a spatula exactly once, I am just not that bold.)

In any case, this continues to be one of my favorite recipes of all time, I will make it for anyone at any time for any reason. (The longest stretch I ever went without making it was after Ryn died, and I finally had eggs and milk and enough energy...and found BUGS IN MY FLOUR and about lost my damn mind. But I have made them a couple of times since then.)

Fanfiction bonus content!

So if you are reading my fic for the benefit of all the broken hearts, and you have already read chapter 16, then you know why I posted this today. If you are reading it and have not yet read the new chapter, consider this a teaser.

If you are not reading it: for the benefit of all the broken hearts is a fix-it fic for Water Flowing Underground, a very strange beautiful fic that blurs the line between Actor AU and RPF, that plays with questions of identity and choice and intention and also what we are even doing with fanfiction. My fic picks up from the end of that fic, from the point of view of a character who is dismissed by the narrative of the original, and who finds a way out of the wreckage. (it's the weirdest goddamn thing I've ever written, and yes, I think that includes the Bigfoot fic, and also I think my best writing ever. Certainly the most work I've ever put into any writing in any medium.)

And also there are crepes.

I remember when the gameplay trailer for payday 3 came out you kinda vague posted about disliking it, did you ever elaborate on what you disliked?

@metalgeara-10cii-arc-210 sorry for the delay but here it is

Basically I've seen footage of the beta since then and some things aren't as bad as I thought but I still see a lot being wrong with it, some of my thoughts about it are below (tl;dr at the bottom)

The UI is worse, they had a perfect coop hud in payday 2, all it needed was to fit indicators for some of the new mechanics and it would have been fine, now you have to play a guessing game of which health bar is yours while going cross eyes because all you ammo and equipment stats are on the other side of the screen, and they got rid of the interaction circle for some reason, so instead of having a very clear indicator of how long an action takes, now you have to squint to look at a tiny square filling up (also they added a crosshair for filthy casuals)

I still have gripes with the gazillion particle effects on some things because unreal engine move, especially the grenades, turns out the flashbang also blinds you by making you not know what the fuck you're looking at thanks to patented Nvidia PhysX™ drivers

I still hate the new look of all the characters, heisters look unnaturally lanky (and the devs getting rid of the suits as the default outfit), all the SWAT guys look the same, all blue uniform black tacticool gear, which is a big departure from 2 where you could always easily tell SWAT tiers and types apart (even on normal the heavy SWATs had a distinctive white helmet and yellow shoulder pads), plus the new special enemy designs sucks, the bulldozer went from a bulky green (or full black) EOD guy that easily stood out in a crowd to basically a blue SWAT guy but bulkier, the Taser went from having a different silhouette and color palette to just another blue SWAT with a couple of yellow bits glued on him, the new grenadier is the same, same base color, just muted red bit, a gasmask (same color as balaclavas) and grenades on his chest to tell him apart, they also made the cloaker go from a stealthy ambusher that punished going around alone and rewarded watching your teammates' backs to a fast walljumping ninja

I also hate the new look of equipment, in the first two game all your equipment had this jury-rigged-with-hardware-store-parts look, medic bags were just that, a bag filled with pharmacy first aid supplies, the ammo bag was a bag full of gun store ammo boxes (before being a rucksack full of magazines), the old look of the turrets was and MP5 rigged to a raspberry pi with 2 motors inside of a tool case, now we have this futuristic self deploying milspec futuristic turret, or clean cases of kevlar plates, it really took away quite a bit of the aesthetic (like how the first hideout was a laundromat's basement)

Then there's mechanics like being able to shoot through a shield's viewport, which completely nullifies their purpose of rewarding teamplay by making someone need to flank them, and they're completely cheapened as an obstacle since you can just slide to stagger them (instead of breaking your leg by sliding on asphalt into a level 4 shield being held by SWAT operator wearing 30 pounds of gear), besides we already had an enemy invincible from the front unless you took an accurate shot, it was call a tan SWAT

Speaking of sliding, there's all the trend chasing flavor of the year mechanics, the sliding being one of them, there's the power meter that you fill with kills they stole from RAID:WW2 so you can pull a more powerful weapon out of your ass, sure some weapons in payday 2 were silly like that, but grenade launchers were usually balanced out by a poor ammo economy

Also now your armor doesn't automatically regenerate apparently (unless I'm getting this wrong), I really don't see the point of having two healthbars that don't regenerate on their own, I always thought the point of it was to allow you to pop out of cover and to reward some risk, now I don't know what they're trying to do

I'm also not a fan of the new skills system, basically they replaced the old one, which promoted teamplay with different trees/roles all bringing different things that helped the team, now it's closer to an ARPG, with 3 different effects that trigger buffs depending on conditions, effects that can stack and chain together etc, it's all very min-max-y, because ARPG mechanics is exactly what I wanted in my Heat (1995) simulator

Speaking of trend chasing, they seem to be copying the Modern Warfare reboots for this one, by both having the same tacticool animations as everyone else (especially the grenade throw) and by making the guns wildly shake from left to right because that's how recoil works apparently

Another domain they're emulating the MW reboot in is the sound, with guns that sound muffled and completely lack punch and bass like a sewing machine, whereas Payday 2's weapons sounded great, this might be due to Simon Viklund leaving, which also brings me to my next point:

No Bain = no buy, I know Simon hated doing the voice, and I'd have easily settled for Locke, but instead of a professional, experienced criminal mastermind or an Afrikaner veteran mercenary, we now have an irritating, sarcastic, quippy, annoying mission control

This also applies to the music, half of Payday was the fantastic soundtrack by Viklund and with him gone, I'm not sure I want to hear whatever they replaced him with

After audible pain, I can talk about a visual one, and the fact that even in the beta there's also eyepopping oversaturated CS:GO tier weapon skins plus weapon charms and stickers, which also shows their priority, I hated the weapon skins in Payday 2 since day 1, 95% of them looked terrible and I don't expect it to get any better, which also brings me to my final point

When I saw the menus for Payday 3, it was clear to me that they wouldn't be caught lacking a second time monetization wise. When Payday 2 released, it was never meant to have weapon skins or purchasable outfits, and those menus reflected that, but not in Payday 3, everything is already ready for it to be a live service game with all the gazillion DLC cosmetics you could imagine, the menus are all already set up to be filled with purchasable items down the line, leaks already showed "payday credits" so I have a feeling that we're already headed down microtransaction road, even with the cope of "muh it's just for cosmetics!", especially knowing their publisher Starbreeze (the same one that made them break their promise of never putting in microtransations in 2, they made that promise for the last game, yet now they're already implementing the framework for them before it got out of the beta)

TL;DR: Just like in many other cases, Payday started out as an indie franchise with a unique and interesting premise, then the sequel got popular and monetized, the studio grew, and now the latest entry is nearly unrecognizable from the original, completely diluted by time and the core studio founders leaving, they used to be a stone standing out of the river, now time has made them a grain of sand going with the current

Payday went from Heat (1995): The Videogame to Just Another Modern Shooter (Cops & Robbers flavor)

I might end up getting it much later down the line but I'll be real with you, I loved Payday since 1, I slowly watched it move further and further away from what it was and for this one, I'm not hyped at all

HALESTORM's LZZY HALE Says It's 'A Beautiful Thing' To Be Asked By So Many Other Artists To Guest On Their Recordings

HALESTORM frontwoman Lzzy Hale, who has made a number of guest appearances in recent years alongside such artists as DAUGHTRY, APOCALYPTICA, THE HU, Eric Church, Lindsey Stirling, SHINEDOWN, Machine Gun Kelly, BLACK STONE CHERRY, SEETHER, ADRENALINE MOB and STONE SOUR, was asked in an interview with The SDR Show how her collaborations usually come about. She responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "I'm requested, and I either say yes or no. It's a lot more yeses than it is nos, obviously. But I was just thinking about that the other day, 'cause I still have two on my plate that I have to record this month. And I'm, like, 'Man, people are gonna be just so sick of me by the end of this year.'

"It's interesting, 'cause I remember when we were coming up in the scene how that was Corey Taylor [SLIPKNOT, STONE SOUR] for a couple of years, where it's, like, Corey Taylor was on everything," she continued. "And I remember thinking, I'm, like, 'Man, it would be cool to be wanted that much.' So I'm very grateful for it. It's a beautiful thing. And it's fun. You get to do stuff with the people that you love. And sometimes you get to just kind of put a different flavor on it. Especially with some of the collabs that I've been doing that are outside of rock. What I realized — 'cause they all give me the same speech; they're, like, 'We don't want you to cater to…' If it's country, 'We don't want you to cater to country. You're here to rock. This is what you do.' And what I realized is that it doesn't matter whether you're a pop star or a rap star or a country star, everybody wants to be a rock star. Everyone wants to put on a leather jacket and do that. So it's kind of great being able to represent the genre as well."

Back in 2014, Hale spoke about her penchant for collaborating with other artists during an interview with Carnival Of Madness. Asked whom she would like to work with that she hadn't yet, Lzzy said: "I'm a very 'do what I want, when I want, with whoever I want' type of gal. If I believe or admire someone, regardless of the genre, I will be very happy to work with them.

"Lindsey [Stirling] is a shredder," she added. "She's the real deal, and even when everyone said she'd never make it, she moved forward and did it anyway. I have a responsibility as a musician and a girl to support that. Next, I'd love to work with Eminem and I'd love to bring P!nk to the dark side."

This past December, HALESTORM released a deluxe edition of its latest album, "Back From The Dead". "Back From The Dead: Deluxe Edition" includes seven previously unreleased B-sides, including "Mine", a 1980s-inspired rocker. "Back From The Dead: Deluxe Edition" is available digitally, on CD, and cassette tape, marking the first time that the album has been offered in those physical formats.

Lzzy and her brother Arejay (drums) formed HALESTORM in 1998 while in middle school. Guitarist Joe Hottinger joined the group in 2003, followed by bassist Josh Smith in 2004.

In December 2018, HALESTORM was nominated for a "Best Rock Performance" Grammy Award for its song "Uncomfortable". Six years earlier, the band won its first Grammy in the category of "Best Hard Rock/ Metal Performance" for "Love Bites (So Do I)".

In a recent interview with Troy Culpan of May The Rock Be With You, Lzzy expressed her hope that she and her bandmates will have "a new record — kind of — set and figured out" by the end of 2023. And "maybe [even] done," Joe said, adding that "the gears are" turning with regard to writing the follow-up to "Back From The Dead".

I was coered to adding Maria from The Lost Boys (she's in two scenes (one is deleted) and she has no lines and no screen time but she's my OC now) so let me write down some thoughts!

Warning for mentions of abuse, self-harm, and suicide So we got nothing about Maria so I have freedom to do whatever I want SO What we do know is Maria says when she came to Santa Carla, she… didn’t look good and it was only because of Max she was able to turn her life around, so. She was probably a runaway. Gonna say definitely was! In my mind, Maria’s father was a massive alcoholic and her mother self-medicated with drugs. Her father was... an angry drunk, very abusive, so she ended up running away from her home at 16. While her parents were passed out, she packed up what she could carry, stole what money she could from home and fled. She would move from shelter to shelter (when she could, of course. Shelters are first come, first serve usually, and not all of them are good. She still experienced a lot of distrust and abuse here too) and would try to find odd jobs she could in order to keep moving across the country. She came to Santa Carla when she was 18, where she soon met Max one night on the Boardwalk when she was attempting to find a place to work, or even just sleep/eat. Somehow Max takes interest in her since it seems like he approached her based on what she said? (Max tends to like? Manners and kindness, so she probably did something that kinda showed off her character, either giving away some food to some other homeless kids younger than her or something like that). He offers her a job and she accepts. She’s been working there for about a year and a half before the movie starts, so she’s 19 going on 20. Unlike Max, she actually likes the Lost Boys. She thinks they’re funny for the most part. She gives the Lost Boys lollipops or whatever other candy Max has in the store. Sometimes she'll even give them discounts in the store if they want a movie or just invites them to watch one with her in the store. She likes horror movies but since Max seems to prefer to keep his place “family friendly” he probably doesn’t let them play on the TV, so on nights she works alone she’ll put them on to watch while she takes care of customers. She thinks Max is nice and very generous (save her)

Maria suffers from depression due to her history and when she was 18, she did, unfortunately, contemplate death and attempted suicide. She didn't succeed, of course, and she's thankful she didn't Maria doesn't really have any support in her personal life. She never really has, especially considering her parents did not like her. Her parents did not actually look for her for long. There's no missing posters any more and, even if there was, she'd be assumed dead by now due to her being gone for three years. Maria is also over 18, so she would refuse to return home anyway. Her biggest fear is her parents and them, somehow, finding her. Sometimes she worries they might actually be looking for her and doesn't know what would happen if they actually found her. Maria hasn't told anyone about her life before Santa Carla, much. She won't hide the fact she was homeless, but any mentions of her family are brief or nonexistent.

Maria doesn't often get intimidated, hence why the Lost Boys don't come off as someone to be afraid of. She's been on her own for basically all her life and homeless since 16. She's met all types of people, dealt and suffered through them, and she's still come out on the other side. She's usually cool-headed and doesn't crack easily under pressure. Maria has some scars on her body. She doesn't talk about where she got them. Maria's favorite lollipop flavor is cherry. She smokes, but due to her inability to really take any smoke breaks, she uses them to give her mouth something to do and keep her mind off it.

Maria can't drive, so she'll walk or take buses if she has the spare cash.

Maria's good at running.

Elevated Railways - Ch 11

Ingo has been in Hisui for two years when two children fall from the sky - with wings like his. Did they come from the same place he did?

CW: mentions of eating disorders

Word Count: ~2400

Ingo had retrieved a couple more blankets from the Pearl Camp as he was showing Emmet around the Icelands. He laid them out in his tent now, listening to Emmet ramble in short sentences about his preferences in take-out for dinner. Ingo pulled out a deep pot, setting it on the fire outside and lighting it so that he could make something to eat. He pulled out some meat, vegetables, and some spices and began to cut them up, tossing them into the stew. Emmet sat next to him, chatting about home. He watched Ingo work with a practiced hand. 

The sun dipped below the horizon. The fire was their only light, so Ingo tossed out Magnezone, which lit the area with its electricity. “I wish our Pokemon had come through the portal with me,” Emmet lamented. “I am verrry excited for you to see them again. They miss you.”

“What are they like? Our Pokemon. I remember having a partner, vaguely. It was able to wield flames, but they were not orange. They were purple. I have not encountered a Pokemon like that in Hisui.” Ingo stoked the fire, getting the water to boil. He stirred the stew with a spoon. 

“That would be your ace, Chandelure. She is a fire/ghost type and she loves following you around. She is verrry gentle. She was your second Pokemon you found.” 

“What was the first?”

“We both acquired Klink for our birthday. They are now fully evolved Klinklang. Yours is more mischievous than mine is and always tries to purposefully block doorways for a laugh. They get along well.” 

“What others are there?” 

“On your team specifically, there is Garbodor, Excadrill, and Crustle. We share Haxorus, she was a present from our Uncle Drayden when we began our first Pokemon journey. He raises dragon-types and gave us an egg. Garbodor was your fourth Pokemon. You found her digging in the trash behind our house. She is a big sweetheart. I call her your trash baby. Excadrill you found as a Drilbur when we were in Chargestone Cave. He is verrry responsible and keeps the others in line. Crustle was your last one. You caught it when we became Depot Agents. He likes to sleep.”

“What about your Pokemon?” The stew was cooking now, steam wafting off of it. 

“My team is my ace, Eelektross, Archeops, Galvantula, and Durant. Eelektross was my second as well, I caught it as a Tynamo the same day you got your Litwick. It is verrry cuddly. Archeops I found as a fossil in Chargestone Cave when we were young. I tripped over the rock and broke my lip open. We went and revived him the next week. Galvantula, I bred myself. I was searching for a Joltik with an Adamant nature that could learn Cross-Poison. She is rather spoiled. Durant, I found on our Pokemon journey. It is more independent but likes to take care of the Joltik.” 

“Joltik?”

“Electric/bug types. I still breed Joltik, mostly to give to younger trainers. If I deem a young challenger worthy, I will offer up one of my babies. We always have a few in the apartment and on the Subway. I love them verrry much. They are adorable.” Emmet smiled softly. Ingo nodded as he tapped the spoon against the side of the pot before he took out a spoonful and tasted it. It was a little bland. He added some more ground pecha and leppa to it. 

“I believe it may be ready to be consumed. Be warned, it is not great. In my time in Hisui, cooking was not one of the skills I excelled at.”

“You were not a great cook in Unova either. I usually cooked.” Emmet scooted closer to the pot as Ingo pulled out two hand-carved bowls, spooning a bit of the concoction into them. 

“I hope it is not too bland for your liking, Emmet. I do not recall which flavors you prefer, and was afraid to add spice.” 

Emmet spooned some into his mouth. “I love spicy food. You prefer sweet foods.” He continued to eat. “This is not bad. It is not the best meal ever, but it is more edible than things you made back home.” 

Ingo huffed in amusement as he took up his own bowl. “It seems I have learned something about cooking, then, in my time here.” 

They fell silent as they ate, enjoying the cooling night air and the warm soup in their bellies. 

Footsteps approached. Ingo called out, “Rei, Akari, care to join us for some food? It is not like the mochi at the Wallflower, but it is sustenance.” 

“Yes please!” Akari bounded out of the woods, her cheek splotched with mud and her hair containing a stick from a tree. Ingo knitted his brows at her. 

“Miss Akari, what did you get into?”

“We were in the Mirelands. Alpha Tangrowth. You know how it is,” Rei filled in as the two children sat down and eagerly took some bowls, filling them with the stew. 

“It may be a bit bland. I apologize.”

“I’m sure it’s okay, Uncle Ingo!” Akari took a spoonful. “Yeah, it’s not that bad. The vegetables are all a decent texture and the meat seems cooked enough.” Rei nodded as well, his mouth full. 

“Why, thank you. It seems my cooking skills have improved in Hisui.�� Ingo polished off his bowl, setting it down and sighing to himself as he stretched. Emmet was not far behind him. 

“What did you do all day?” Rei asked the adults. 

“I took Emmet on a tour of the Highlands and he told me about our homeland. We have an uncle! And we live in a city with trains.” His voice grew softer and filled with longing. “He described trains to me again. Oh, how I wish to see one.” 

“Soon, you can! We just have to get about twenty more entries, and Volo said he’d help.”

“What did you do today?” Emmet asked them. 

“We went to Cogita’s house first and met up with Volo there. He took us different places around Hisui to try to get us to find these weird rocks.” Rei held one up. 

“Plates,” Akari corrected.  

“Whatever. Anyway, we found a few of them. He says we just need a couple more? He seems really excited about it, so we said we’d finish helping him in the morning.” 

Ingo nodded. He still did not like the merchant, but he did have to admit, he seemed to get along well with the twins. They were also old enough that they could handle themselves, for the most part. “Inform me if you two need anything. Please drive safely out there tomorrow.”

“We will!” they chorused. They set down their bowls. 

“Now,” Ingo said as he stood. “How about you two take yourselves and the dishes to the lake to clean up and Emmet and I can set up the preening oil before bed. We must ensure all feathers are properly cared for nightly!” 

Akari groaned. Rei stood and gathered their bowls. “Come on, it won’t take that long.” He prodded her with his boot and smirked. “Besides, you stink anyway.” 

“Not as bad as you! At least I use something other than rainwater to bathe!” Rei rubbed some mud from his boot onto her arm and ran off, forcing her to give chase. “YOU COME BACK HERE!” she screamed as they scrambled off. Ingo pulled Emmet up, making sure to put out the fire as they entered the tent. Ingo motioned for Emmet to sit as he pulled out his oil and lit the lamps inside his room, illuminating the area. He removed his cap and coat, allowing his wings out yet again. They fluttered to life. He bent over and rummaged through his trunk for some extra clothing for Emmet to wear, as he was still wearing his stiff shirt and tie. He found an extra Pearl Clan tunic. 

“Here, Emmet. This will likely be more comfortable than that shirt.” He handed his brother the cloth, along with a fresh set of soft pants. “These are built for rugged terrain, and they conserve heat. I have already cut slits in the back for your wings.” Emmet shrugged off his coat, unbuttoning his shirt and loosening his tie. Ingo busied himself with other things and pulled out a carving, about to ask Emmet about it-

He stared. Every single one of Emmet’s ribs was on full display. Ingo could have counted them. His flesh clung to his skeleton like a form-fitting suit. Emmet did not notice him looking as he shrugged the Pearl Clan tunic on, adjusting it like Ingo had it. He stood and changed pants. His legs were incredibly thin, his skin extremely pale. He looked at Ingo to check and ensure that he had it right when he noticed Ingo staring at him. “Ingo? What is the matter?” He cocked his head, his grin now confused and concerned. 

“Emmet.” Ingo closed the difference between them, hugging Emmet around the shoulders. “You are so thin. What happened to you?” 

Emmet was quiet in Ingo’s hold.Ingo pulled away, keeping his hands on Emmet’s shoulders. His mouth was still smiling, but his eyes seemed… panicked? 

“Whatever it is, you can tell me. I will be by your side,” Ingo encouraged. 

Emmet looked away. “Ever since you disappeared, I have lost my desire for fuel. It seemed pointless. So I did not refuel.” 

Ingo considered this. It was quiet for a moment. Then he spoke, his voice strong and soft, “I will make you refuel properly again. No more skipping out on pit stops while I’m around, I will ensure it.”

“Ingo-”

“You do not get to argue this one. You will eat regular portions at regular intervals. I will see to it that you are healthy again.” He met Emmet’s eyes. Emmet shut his mouth with a clack, opting to merely nod at Ingo. He smiled softly. Ingo squeezed his shoulders. 

“Since when could your eyes glow in the dark?” 

“Since I came to Hisui. They came with the wings.” Ingo cocked his head. Open yours wider, I wish to see if yours do, too.” Ingo put a fabric over the lamp and watched Emmet’s eyes. They did, in fact, glow. “Yours do, too. I wonder what caused it.” Emmet shrugged. Ingo took the cloth down and sat right as the children ran in. Akari’s hair was wet. She held two of the bowls and Rei held the two others as she still continued to flick water off her fingers at him. 

“Rotten brother! He pushed me in! Now I’m all wet!” She grumbled as she took off her shoes and scarf and handkerchief by the door. Her main outfit did not seem too wet, thankfully, Ingo noted, until she turned around. Her entire back was soaked. Rei continued giggling as he innocently set his bowls by Ingo’s trunk and sat down. Akari thudded to the ground closer to Ingo, scowling. Her wings were dripping, now that he noticed it. They shuddered as she sat. She was cold. 

“I believe I may have a change of clothes if you would like to leave these out to dry overnight. I would like to dry your wings, as well. Does that sound alright to you?” Akari nodded, still pouting. Ingo pulled out yet another tunic for her. “I have several of these, do not worry about dirtying it. Me and Emmet can leave the tent if you-”

“It’s ok, just turn around. I won’t be long.” Akari stood and walked behind them, where they could not see her. Ingo heard the rustle of fabric as she changed. Within a minute she was back over by them. “I laid them out on the floor, wet side up. They should be dry by morning. Thanks, Uncle Ingo.” 

“Of course, I would hate to see a passenger catch a cold by staying in wet clothes all night. Now, I believe it would be prudent to preen. Akari, would you like me to do yours tonight? They are wet.” 

“And you didn’t push me into the lake,” Akari scoffed. “I can do Rei’s.” 

“Emmet, do you feel comfortable doing mine yet?” Ingo asked. 

“I can try. Tell me if you feel something wrong.” 

“Of course.” 

They sat in a line, each preening someone else. Ingo gave tips to Emmet when he could tell something was wrong or placed incorrectly. He also kept tabs on Akari’s feathers, being sure to get off any water he could. He kept an extra cloth around to suck up any moisture. Akari had her tongue poking out of her mouth as she did Rei’s wings. Ei preened the underside of his wings, making sure to get as close to his back as he could, as Ingo had taught him. They chatted about their days, Pokemon they had seen, and funny happenings that day. Between the methodic moving of Emmet’s hands on his wings and his own on Akari’s, Ingo was beginning to feel drowsy. His eyes drooped. However, he finished her wings and then moved onto the underside of his own. Once Akari had finished with Rei, Rei offered to do Emmet, who agreed wholeheartedly. Rei readjusted to sit behind Emmet and worked his way through his newer feathers. Ingo made sure to preen his sideburns as well. It was important to check over the health of all his feathers! Emmet copied him, if a bit slower. That was alright. He was still learning, after all!

He found himself beginning to doze off sitting up. He was awoken by a tap on the shoulder. “Ingo. Iiiiingo. Go to sleep.” Ingo opened his bleary eyes and saw Emmet. He just nodded. The kids made their way to the nest first, tossing out their warmer, softer Pokemon to cuddle with as Gliscor emerged, settling on Ingo’s spine again in its favorite spot as he flopped down on his stomach, stretching out his wings to cover the others with him. Akari laid next to him tonight, Emmet on his other side as he drifted off, comfortable and warm.

taglist: @ruyi-years

[Start] - [Previous] - [Next]

hey! im noodle, or Ellie, and i was tagged to answer some questions abt myself by the wonderful and very rad @theprocfilesystem, thank you so much!

relationship status: single and not at all looking. i don't know if i ever will be, tbh, mostly just because i don't see myself as the kind of person who would want to. but, since it's late, i'll go ahead and overshare that i do have a regular hookup going with my main gal lliJ (im left handed) that meets my needs for sexual expression quite adequately

favorite color: for a long time it was deep purple! it was my sadboy color for sure. now that im a girl, though, it just feels sad, so i decided my favorite color would be yellow! so, yeah, its yellow :>

favorite food: carne adovada, a New Mexican dish made with Hatch red chile and (usually)pork! red chiles are dried and ground, as opposed to the green variety, which is usually roasted fresh. sauces made with red chile tend to have a very dark, smoky flavor, and have a particularly exquisite spice to them. there are many varieties of a protein in a sauce eaten in/on some carbs, but a carne adovada burrito really stands alone, for me <3

the song stuck in my head: unfortunately, it's 'Hip to Fuck Bees'

the last thing i searched online: i had to start typing in the word 'etiquette' because i couldn't remember how to spell it, but the last actual search i made was 'wired switch controller'(im just gonna get the gamecube style one probs)

the time right now: 11 pm exactly

dream trip: honestly it's less about the location and more about me being somewhere with someone who knows the area and culture well. partially it's because i won't enjoy anything if i don't feel safe, and/or if i feel alone, and partially because i hate being a tourist. i just wanna be there.

something i want: ive wanted to get a PC for awhile, it's been years since i had one. it doesn't have to be super fancy, just something that can handle a half-decent DAW and, like, be able to play my metroidvanias (lone fungus is out now btw and it looks amazing!) cherry on top would be someone to help me get started using linux, bc windows and apple can both go fuck each other.

thanks again for tagging me UwU i appreciate u! i would like to nominate @star-crossed-animals , @spoopyscaryalien , @dominoscarsidedelivery and @zoeadrien but u dont have to if u dont want to! also if u wanna do these kinds of games but no one ever tags u, u always have my permission to say i tagged u :>

in addition i'm adding another question: whats a piece of media(book, movie, show, album/song, etc.) that you feel represents you or an aspect of you that you haven't seen a lot of representation for? i know it's kind of wordy, sorry. but for example, mine is bojack horseman. when i was deep in my dark times, there were so many things about myself i hated. i started watching the show around season two, and i saw some of those parts of me in bojack in a way i'd never really seen before in media. in diane i saw some too, as well as some of the things i'd forgotten i loved about myself, but it was mostly bojack. he is not a good character, or role model, and the fact that i related so much to him was disturbing, sure, but also strangely comforting at the time. as the show continued to air, i grew as a person. i never finished the last season. by the time it came out, my values had diverged so much from his that it was kind of hard to watch. and for all my mistakes, i'm so proud of who i am today compared to that lost, lonely, angry figure slowly torturing himself to death.

like i said, its late so im oversharing lmao anyways ty again and peas and love on planat earf ✌️

These Easy Decorated Shortbread Cookies came about when I was asked to appear on a TV program to decorate Easter cookies. Many years ago when I had my bakery, decorated cookies were all the rage. The trouble was, I have limited talent in this area so came up with the Painted Cookies technique. And easy it is! I used two techniques - the first is painted cookies, either solid colors or the very simple swirly, marbelized ones. The second is even easier since you simply cover the unbaked cookie with colored sugar and bake. That's it. Easy enough for the kids to help and maybe more fun than coloring Easter eggs. For the ins and outs and the easiest way to roll out the cookie dough see Cut Out Cookies Using The Wax Paper Technique. What Makes This Recipe so Intriguing These easy shortbread cookies require only 3 ingredients. The glaze only 2. They are incredibly easy to make and decorate. Packed with flavor under estimates how incredible they are. The butter gives them a rich flavor, especially if you use European type butter. These are definitely show stoppers that will have your family and friends think you bought them at a high end bakery. Recipe Ingredients Shortbread Cookies FRONT ROW: Unsalted European Butter BACK ROW: All-purpose flour, granulated sugar Lemon Glaze LEFT: Lemon Juice RIGHT: Powdered sugar Unsalted European butter such as Kerry Gold or Plugra among other brands gives these cookies a deeper flavor that American butter. However, it is important to use unsalted butter here for maximum taste. Freshly squeezed lemon juice is a must for the glaze. You can squeeze it a day or two ahead and refrigerate it just don't take a shortcut and use bottled lemon juice. I use all lemon juice for a punch of flavor. However, it can be watered down to be less aggressive. It can also be omitted completely and flavored with vanilla, almond or any other extract as your taste dictates. Be sure to see the recipe card below for the exact ingredients and instructions. Step by Step Instructions Step 1. Cut the cold butter into pieces and place over the flour in the processor bowl. Step 2. Process until the butter is indistinguishable. Step 3. Add the sugar to the processor. Step 4. Process until it comes together in large pieces. It most likely will not form a ball, that's fine. Step 5. Gather the dough and knead it together. Flatten it into a round. Step 6. Divide the dough in half and roll one half between wax paper to about 1/4 to 1/3" thick. Step 7. Cut the cookies out, keeping the cutters as close together as possible. Place the cookies, still on the wax paper on a tray and freeze until hard. When frozen, simply push them out or use a pancake turner to lift them off. Freezing the cookies makes it easy to remove them without the cookies losing their shape and with perfectly clean edges. Step 8. Place the frozen cookies on a cookie sheet and keep them frozen until baking. Decorating the Cookies Step 9. Be sure to use gel colors instead of the liquid ones as they usually require a lot more to achieve the same colors as the gel. Step 10. The lemon juice and powdered sugar are mixed. Step 11. Dots of various colors are spaced out on top of the glaze. This collage shows the gel color package, dots of different colors on top of the glaze and the colors swirled int the glaze. Step 12. With a bamboo skewer or toothpick, swirl the colors together. Don't over swirl or the colors will be come murkey after just a few cookies. No two cookies will look alike. Additional color can be added at anytime. For a complete tutorial, see Painted Cookies. Step 13. Dip the top of the cookie into the glaze just deep enough to coat it. Step 14. Let the excess glaze drip back into the bowl. If there is still too much glaze on the cookie, very lightly wipe it against the top of the bowl. Step 15. The finished cookie glazed. Step 16. This is the second and easiest way to decorate a cookie.

Before baking, heavily sprinkle the cookie with colored sugar crystals. Gently pat them in. For the eye of the duck, I used a mini chocolate chip. Place it on the duck before adding the sprinkles. Bake as called for. Recipe FAQS Can another cookie be used? Sure. Sugar or butter cookies are perfect to decorate as long as they hold their shape when baked. Do you need to "glue" sprinkles on cookies before baking? For the cookies above no. Just heavily sprinkle them, pat them very gently onto the cookie and bake. They stick right on. Does a powdered sugar glaze dry hard? Yes but it might take a day or so depending upon the weather. While it might appear dry on the top, it can still be wet underneath. After the glaze has dried, the cookies an be stacked in an airtight container for a week or more. They also ship well. Expert Tips The cookies can be cut out and frozen for months before baking. They can also be baked and held, unpainted in an airtight container for days before decorating. Unsalted European style butter has a higher fat content than American butter and as such, imparts a deeper butter flavor into the cookies. I use this butter whenever I made a butter heavy cookie. Wax paper and freezing the cookies are key to a cookie with clean edges that won't lose their shape. Just cut out the cookies, leave them on the wax paper, place them on a cookie sheet and freeze until hard. Then just pop them out or remove them with a pancake turner and place them on a parchment lined baking sheet. Lemon juice, water or liqueur makes a somewhat harder glaze than does milk. Always us gel colors to impart brighter colors and reduce the amount of liquid added to the glaze. It's necessary to use more liquid coloring to obtain the same bright colors than it is to use gel colors. When swirling the colors for the painted cookies, start with 3 different colors and do not swirl too much in the beginning. Additional colors can be added as you go along. However, at some point, the glaze will become murky looking. At that point start over. The glaze can be broken down into smaller bowls to use when it is no longer useable. Just cover them with wet towels so they don't skin over. We did this at the bakery when we had hundreds of cookies to glaze. Be sure to let the painted cookies dry completely before storing them. The tops may appear dry but they can still be wet underneath. The glaze will usually wrinkle up when picked up and shaken a little if wet underneath. If you have children or grandchildren around let them help. This is a great family project. Just be ready for a bit of a mess that is easily cleaned up. More Great Butter Cookies If you love these Easy Decorated Shortbread Cookies, It would be hugely helpful and so appreciated it if you would take a moment to leave a rating below. Thank you. Easy Decorated Shortbread Cookies I used two techniques - the first is painted cookies, either solid colors or the very simple swirly, marbelized ones. The second is even easier since you simply cover the unbaked cookie with colored sugar and bake. That's it. Easy Shortbread Cookies1 cup unsalted butter, European preferred (225 grams)2 1/4 cups all purpose flour (315 grams)1/2 cup granulated sugar (100 grams)Painted Cookie Glaze2 cups powdered sugar (260 grams)1/4 cup lemon juice or water1 teaspoon almond or vanilla extract if not using lemon juice Easy Shortbread CookiesIf using a processor, butter needs to be cold. If using a mixer, butter needs to be softened. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.Processor MethodThe cold butter needs to be cut into small pieces. Add the flour to the bowl of a processor. Pulse several times to sift. Place the cold, cut up butter in a circle on top of the flour. Process until the butter is indistinguishable. Add the sugar and process until it comes together. It will not form a ball.It will take some time for the dough to come together.

Redistribute the dough in the processor several times to help it along. Using long pulses will help with the mixing. It will form large crumbs that should be poured onto the work surface and kneaded together.  Mixer MethodFor this method, the butter needs to be softened. Combine the butter with the sugar in the bowl of a mixer. Beat until light. Add the flour all at once and beat until it comes together to form a solid mass.Cutting the CookiesDivide the dough in half. Roll half of it between wax paper to a thickness of 1/4 to 1/3 inch. See the post on the Wax Paper Technique for the easiest way. Repeat for the second half. Cut the cookies into the desired shapes. Leaving them on the wax paper, place them in the freezer until hard. Pop them out or use a spatula to remove them to the parchment lined baking sheets. Freeze or refrigerateBake 12 to 15 minutes depending upon the thickness of the cookies until lightly browned. Cool completely before decorating. Painted Cookie TechniqueMake sure the glaze is colored in a bowl just large enough for the largest cookie and your fingers.  You do not want the glaze spread out into a large bowl.Divide the glaze into different bowls. Cover with a wet towel to prevent it from skinning over. Start a new bowl whenever the current one becomes too murky.Dots of color are added around the perimeter of the bowl and in the middle however you wish.  Swirl in a few colors and add more if desired. With a bamboo skewer or toothpick, swirl the colors around in a marbleized fashion.Holding a cookie upside down by the edges of your fingers, dip it into the glaze making sure the entire top is covered. Allow the glaze to drip back into the bowl.  It can drip to one side of the bowl to keep the paint undiluted as long as possible.  Place the cookie on parchment to dry which can take up to a day if it is humid.  After dipping some cookies, more or different colors may be added and swirled in to freshen the paint.  Dry the cookies completely, making sure they are not just dry to the touch and still wet underneath. After drying, drips down the sides can be scraped off with a sharp knife.  Store in an airtight tin with paper between the layers.  Sugared CookiesPrior to baking, heavily cover the cookies with colored sugar and lightly pat into place. Bake as above. The number of cookies will depend upon the cutters you use and the thickness of the cookies. There is always an abundance of photos to guide you in the post above. As always, I recommend using a scale for accuracy and consistency.  Flour, in particular, is difficult to measure by volume.  For my recipes, I use 140 grams per cup of unsifted  all-purpose, bread or whole wheat flour and 125 grams of cake flour. Others may use different weights so use whatever they suggest. ___________________________________________________________ The cookies can be cut out and frozen for months before baking. They can also be baked and held, unpainted in an airtight container for days before decorating. Unsalted European style butter has a higher fat content than American butter and as such, imparts a deeper butter flavor into the cookies. I use this butter whenever I made a butter heavy cookie. Wax paper and freezing the cookies are key to a cookie with clean edges that won't lose their shape. Just cut out the cookies, leave them on the wax paper, place them on a cookie sheet and freeze until hard. Then just pop them out or remove them with a pancake turner and place them on a parchment lined baking sheet. Lemon juice, water or liqueur makes a somewhat harder glaze than does milk. Always us gel colors to impart brighter colors and reduce the amount of liquid added to the glaze. It's necessary to use more liquid coloring to obtain the same bright colors than it is to use gel colors. When swirling the colors for the painted cookies, start with 3 different colors and do not swirl too much in the beginning. Additional colors can be added as you go along. However, at some point, the glaze will become murky looking. At that point start over.

The glaze can be broken down into smaller bowls to use when it is no longer useable. Just cover them with wet towels so they don't skin over. We did this at the bakery when we had hundreds of cookies to glaze. Be sure to let the painted cookies dry completely before storing them. The tops may appear dry but they can still be wet underneath. The glaze will usually wrinkle up when picked up and shaken a little if wet underneath. If you have children or grandchildren around let them help. This is a great family project. Just be ready for a bit of a mess that is easily cleaned up.   CookiesAmericanDecorated Cookies,, Easy Shortbread Cookies,

Texas Trash Pie - A Southern Favorite

I’m calling this recipe for Texas Trash Pie a “Southern Favorite” but this is the first time I’ve ever made it! It’s similar in flavor (and ingredients) to a recipe my mom used to make called Seven Layer Bars. I remember loving the salty sweet flavor of Seven Layer Bars and that’s exactly what I love about Texas Trash Pie. Really, the only difference is the crust which makes it so much easier to make and to eat! The exact recipe is below, but as per usual, I tweaked mine a bit so keep scrolling to find out what I added!

The original recipe calls for caramel bits (still not sure what that is), so when I was looking around on the baking isle, I saw salted caramel chips and got a bag of those as well as a bag of Heath Bar Crunchies! I used the same proportions of chips, but blended in about half and half of the salted salted caramel chips and Heath Bar crunchies and the flavor was amazing. I added some crushed candy cane after the pies had cooled to make them festive. These pies freeze beautifully and the recipe is easily doubled so I would recommend making two and freezing one! I have mine in the freezer ready to pull out for Christmas Eve! My grandsons are going to absolutely love this!

{"image":"https://i.imgur.com/cAjnBne.png","name":"Texas Trash Pie","description":"This delicious pie is creamy and delicious, salty and sweet and it's so easy to make!","yield":"6 - 8","author":{"@type":"Person","name":"Suzanne Smith"},"recipeIngredient":["1 - 10 inch frozen deep dish pie crust","1 cup chocolate chips","1 cup crushed pretzels","1 cup crushed graham crackers","1 cup shredded coconut","1 cup pecan pieces","1 stick unsalted butter, melted","1 - 14 ounce can sweetened condensed milk"],"recipeInstructions":["Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Combine all the filling ingredients in a large bowl and mix until well blended. Pour the entire filling into a frozen piecrust. Bake for 35 minutes or until the pie is set and the top is golden brown. Let the pie cool for 30 minutes before cutting and serving. Makes one pie."],"@context":"http://schema.org","@type":"Recipe"}

I hope you’ve enjoyed this post…it’s a short one, but “tis the season”! I’m off to the grocery store, hoping to beat the crowd today! Christmas really snuck up on me this year! Happy Weekend…I’ll be back one more time before Christmas!

Blues Hog Honey Mustard Sauce Squeeze Bottle

Avoid cross-contamination through the mustard dipping sauces use of a different cutting board for your meat and other components. Make positive you’re cooking to protected temperatures and chilling any leftovers inside two hours. For more food security ideas, visit our Food Safety at Home Section. Coat foil-lined baking sheet with cooking spray, place pork on baking sheet, and cook 18 to twenty minutes, until barely pink in heart.

Use no matter kind of pasta you like - enough for 2 servings. I used tagliatelle, but linguini or fettucine would even be good. Be sure to cook your mushrooms in batches so they are going to be lovely and golden. Salting the finished dish well mustard sauces, will actually convey out the most effective within the mushrooms. The mustard plant itself has a sharp, scorching, pungent taste. Mustard may be added to dishes as a major spice, as is popular in East Indian delicacies.

A trio of flavours that comes collectively to create a superb and distinctive condiment. Sylvie’s do-it-yourself easy hummus recipe is so very versatile, it goes great with just about anything, together with German food! Lots of ideas, hints, tricks for the perfect dish. There's nothing like a warm bowl of soup on a cold winter night time and this creamy vegan potato soup has a rich and creamy base with nourishing greens and potato chunks. Besides adding them to all types of stir-fries, salads, and pasta or noodle dishes for a delicious crunch issue, you could also ... Another favourite way to eat this sauce is blended with rice, edamame, veggies like broccoli and/or cauliflower, and sauerkraut, which tastes delicious hot or cold.

I favor the Dijon type mustard in many of the recipes as a outcome of it's milder, wine-based flavor. With a mix of tangy and candy, it’s a preferred dipping sauce, condiment, and salad dressing. I love to make this with a mixture of mushrooms, so I usually choose up some crimini, button and a few contemporary shiitakes. What’s extra necessary than the sort of mushroom used here, is taking the time to pan saute them to golden goodness. Mustards come in a wide variety of preparations which range within the preparation of the mustard seeds and which other ingredients are included. The mustard seed husks could also be ground with the seeds, or winnowed away after the preliminary crushing.

It can additionally be used as an ingredient in mayonnaise, vinaigrette, marinades, and barbecue sauce. It is also a preferred accompaniment to hot canines, pretzels, and bratwurst. In the Netherlands and northern Belgium, it is commonly used to make mustard soup, which includes mustard, cream, parsley, garlic, and items curry mustard sauce of salted bacon. Mustard as an emulsifier can stabilize a mixture of two or extra immiscible liquids, corresponding to oil and water. Added to Hollandaise sauce, mustard can inhibit curdling. The early use of mustard as a condiment in England is attested from the year 1390 in the guide The Forme of Cury which was written by King Richard II's grasp cooks.

Here is an fascinating article I discovered on The Association for Dressings and Sauces web site. Did you understand a lot of the world's mustard seed is grown in Canada? Check out the next articles for extra info. The taste of the sauce is tremendously enhanced if you mustard bbq sauce use a pan by which your seared pork medallions or hen breast because the pan may have those good brown bits left over. These brown bits will at all times type the muse of a delicious pan sauce.

Please note that your buying cart may be subject to change in accordance with the standing of the shop once you alter the shop. Please tell us if you mustard sauce have any issues concerning the worth. G Hughes Sugar Free Honey Mustard Dipping Sauce provides a candy and savory kick to all of your favourite dishes, guilt free. We have been carrying imported groceries from Europe for 20 years.

Onion Seeds

Onion Seeds

From the sweet and succulent Vidalia onion, to the pungent and spicy Texas sweet onion, our collection includes a variety of unique and flavorful onions to suit any taste preference. Each onion is carefully packed and delivered to your doorstep, ready to be planted and cultivated into a bountiful harvest of delicious and nutritious produce. Transform your garden and culinary experiences with our exceptional collection of organic onions today!

Organic Onions FAQ

What is the best time to plant onion bulbs? Planting onion bulbs is a great way to ensure a plentiful harvest and provide fresh onions for cooking all season long. But to ensure that your crop succeeds, it’s important to know the best time of year to plant onion bulbs. There are several factors that should be taken into consideration when planting onions, but knowing when to plant them is the first step in ensuring their successful growth. When selecting the best time for planting onion bulbs, consider your local climate and weather patterns. Varieties such as yellow storage onions do well in cool climates with shorter days and longer nights, while intermediate day length varieties like sweet Spanish types do better in warmer climates. In most cases, soil temperatures should be at least 45 degrees Fahrenheit before planting begins. Early spring or fall are usually ideal times for beginning an onion crop as both seasons have cooler temperatures and more consistent rainfall than summer months. How deep should I plant onion bulbs? Onion bulbs are a staple in many home gardens, and planting them correctly is essential for producing a healthy harvest. Knowing the right depth to plant onion bulbs can be tricky – too shallow and they might not form properly, while too deep can cause them to rot. Home gardeners should consider several factors when determining how deep to plant onion bulbs. The size of the onion bulb is a major factor: larger bulbs will require more soil coverage than smaller ones. Generally speaking, small onions should be planted about one inch below the surface of the soil, while large varieties should be inserted two inches deep or more. Additionally, sandy soils may require deeper planting for better stability and drainage, as these soils tend to dry out faster than other types of soil. How do I care for onion bulbs? Onions are an essential kitchen staple, adding flavor to all kinds of dishes. As a result, it’s important to know how to care for your onion bulbs properly. The most important step in caring for onion bulbs is proper storage. Onions should be stored in cool, dark, and dry locations with good air circulation. If possible, aim for 55-60 degrees Fahrenheit with 65-70 percent humidity levels. It’s best to store your onions away from other fruits or vegetables because moisture and ethylene gas will cause them to rot quickly. Additionally, make sure that the bulb remains intact and free from bruises or damage when being handled as this can also cause rapid spoilage. Can I use onion bulbs from store-bought onions to grow new onions? Onion bulbs are the underground storage organs of onions, and they can be used to grow new onions. But not all onion bulbs are created equal – those bought from a grocery store may not have the same results as those harvested from a garden. When purchasing an onion bulb in-store, it’s important to make sure that they are still intact and haven’t started sprouting yet. A sprouted bulb is unlikely to produce more than one onion due to its growth being stunted by the lack of nutrients available in a store-bought environment. Additionally, some store-bought onions may have been treated with chemicals that prevent them from growing successfully when replanted. Is it better to start onions from bulbs or transplants? Onions are an essential vegetable for many dishes and growing them at home is a great way to get fresh produce all season long. But when it comes to deciding whether it’s better to start onions from bulbs or transplants, there are some things to consider. One of the main benefits of starting onions from bulbs is that they require minimal maintenance. The bulbs can be planted simply in the soil and will begin to grow without much effort or watering required on the gardener’s part. However, depending on the variety you choose, bulb-started onions may need extra protection from cooler weather as they are not as hardy as other vegetables like tomatoes or peppers. Transplanting onions is also a viable option for gardeners who want a quicker harvest time with less work upfront. How do I harvest and store onion ? Harvesting and storing onions is an important skill for any home gardener. Onions are easy to grow, but require special care when it comes to harvesting and storage. The best time to harvest onions is once the tops have fallen over naturally, signaling that the bulb has matured. Carefully dig around the base of each plant with a garden fork or trowel to loosen the soil before gently lifting out each bulb. To prevent damage, be sure to handle them carefully when removing them from the ground. Once harvested, leave them in a warm location for several days until their skin turns papery and dry.

Click To Grow

Tomato

Cucumber

Pepper

Bean

Greens

Eggplant

Lettuce

Cabbage

Zucchini

Melon

watermelon

Corn

Artichoke

Pumpkin

Squash

Okra

Cauliflower

Berry

Carrot

Broccoli

Herbs

Bok Choy

Spinach

Kale Helps Us Grow - Share If You Like Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest Reddit WhatsApp Read the full article