There are whole treatises on immigrant cooking but it's so interesting to do it in real time.

I wanted some noodles with pickled eggs and immediately started the process.

They use a lot of unsweetened soy sauce. The thing is, sweetened soy sauce, as known in Indonesia, is so much cheaper here. And then there was the sesame oil. I have some sesame seeds, but they're hardly a staple, and my local supermarket did not stock sesame oil at all. And then there was the sesame paste, well, fuck it. I went with peanut butter for that. And no, they did not have white sesame seeds.

Unsweetened soy sauce, very expensive, immediately becomes a luxury, so we're doing this with sweetened soy sauce, omitting the sugar, and black sesame seeds. Also peanut butter and some Indonesian crushed pepper paste (sambal). Was it good? Yes! Did it, at this point, have anything to do with the Japanese version? I don't have money to be all authentic, crikey.

Also, Dutch national cuisine is extremely heavily influenced by not having:

Arable land

The climate to grow anything but cabbage, root vegetables or onions (few herbs). Spices are insanely expensive. We stil say that something is 'dear as pepper' (peperduur).

Do you know what we did have?

Livestock. And dairy. Plus beans and some fruits like apples, pears maybe some cherries and forest fruits.

So Dutch meals can only really be flavoured by meat! Fish is somehow a springtime and summer dish, because you need very soft baby carrots and very fresh vegetables to actually enjoy a meal of plain fish - again not even lemon - plus potatoes and some lettuce.

And oh, what if meat is unavailable?

(Not even bacon?)

There's only one thing for it, you smother it in cheese.

Now of course nowadays, you can buy herbs and spices. But still, our people are very bad at making vegetarian dishes, because if you can't flavour anything with meat or cheese what are you gonna do? Buy cumin?! Who has that kind of cash, traditionally?

So you see a lot of meats seasoned with fruits, or fruit served as a side dish. You see a lot of cabbage and kale mashed through potatoes. Why? It softens the taste; cabbage is quite harsh. You also see people basically give up on dinner, really, and inventing really tasty meat and cheesy bites. That does not a meal make, but they're really really good. It does also create a culture obsessed with desserts. If dinner is a bit of a bland affair, dessert can lift your spirits considerably.

A lot of this "White people can't season their food" comes from traditionally not having learnt non meat-based seasoning. We've tried to get by with fruits and the best cheese we could manage.

And sure. I am very eagerly brushing up on other kitchens, because now we absolutely can buy five spice and lentils and ginger. But I'm so much milder about "bad" cuisine or unauthentic foods. People are trying to do the best with what they have available and indeed what they know. Also, learning a foreign cuisine is hard and can be very expensive.

And I've decided that it's infintely easier to cook Surinamese in the Netherlands and Indian in the UK, so I'll cook Gordon Ramsay recipes when I'm there and sweet soy sauce chicken noodles when at home. Also try finding endive outside of Turkey and Holland. It's no use.

RailRecipe: Your Culinary Companion for Train Travel

Are you tired of settling for bland food in train during your journeys? Say goodbye to tasteless meals and hello to a world of delicious flavors with RailRecipe. We're here to revolutionize your train dining experience with our simple and unique process, ensuring every bite is a delight. From ordering to delivery, let us take you on a culinary adventure like never before.

Step 1: Effortless Ordering Process

Getting tasty food for your train journey has never been easier thanks to RailRecipe. Simply visit our website or download our user-friendly app. Browse through our extensive menu featuring a wide variety of dishes from different cuisines. Whether you're craving spicy Indian curries or comforting continental fare, we have something for everyone. Once you've made your selection, proceed to checkout with just a few clicks.

Step 2: Customize Your Meal

We understand that every traveler has unique preferences, which is why RailRecipe offers customization options to tailor your meal to your liking. Whether you prefer vegetarian options, have dietary restrictions, or like your food extra spicy, we've got you covered. Simply specify your preferences, including spice level, dietary requirements, and portion size, and we'll make sure your meal is prepared just the way you want it.

Step 3: Prompt Delivery to Your Seat

Once you've placed your order, sit back and relax as RailRecipe takes care of the rest. Our dedicated team ensures that your meal is promptly prepared and delivered right to your seat, saving you the hassle of searching for food onboard. Whether you're traveling alone or with companions, our seamless delivery service ensures that you can enjoy your meal without any interruptions.

Step 4: Quality Ingredients, Delicious Results

At RailRecipe, we're committed to serving up only the highest quality meals made with fresh, wholesome ingredients. We partner with trusted restaurants and vendors who share our dedication to excellence, ensuring that every dish is prepared with care and attention to detail. From farm-fresh produce to succulent meats, every bite is bursting with flavor and goodness.

Step 5: Glowing Customer Reviews

But don't just take our word for it—here's what one of our satisfied customers had to say about their experience with RailRecipe:

"I recently tried RailRecipe for the first time during a long train journey, and I was blown away by the quality of the food. Ordering was quick and easy, and my meal was delivered right on time. I opted for the chicken biryani, and it was absolutely delicious—tender chicken, fragrant rice, and just the right amount of spice. It made my journey so much more enjoyable, and I'll definitely be using RailRecipe again in the future!"

In conclusion, RailRecipe is your go-to destination for delicious food on your train journey. With our easy ordering process, customizable meals, prompt delivery, and commitment to quality, we're here to ensure that every journey is a culinary delight.

I was asked about what dishes you should never offer to Daedric Princes by a follower who's probably a little too curious for their own good. Here's an interesting question I certainly have not thought of, because I generally try not to invoke the wrath of Daedric Princes! However, if you really want to potentially bring the punishment of Oblivion down upon yourself, please feel free to try the following...

Mehrunes Dagon

Instead of fiery destruction, I propose something...cute. A classic chilled custard tart topped with warm berry compote and some Hammerfell-style rose-and-vanilla pashmak is bound to melt hearts, just not in the way one of his Dremora would.

Peryite

I love making healthy foods just as much as indulgent dishes, and as the popular adage goes, an apple a day keeps Peryite away! A classic rucola and feta salad with a balsamic and Cyrodiilic olive oil can be made even better with an extra handful of spinach, a sprinkle of fresh pomegranate, halved walnuts, avocado and cucumber slices, and a few diced apple pieces! Simply delectable, and sure to keep scurvy and pestilence at bay.

Molag Bal

What should you not offer the Daedric Prince of domination and creator of vampires? Probably a soft, delicate vegetarian dish. A Breton vegetable quiche with an all-butter crust, goose eggs, sun-dried tomatoes, delicate baby spinach, fresh chanterelle mushrooms, squash, lots of garlic, and a spot of chevre. Mouth-wateringly good, this little beauty makes for an excellent meal at any time of day, and is bound to make Molag Bal sneer.

Namira

I'm going to be a little cheeky here and turn something gross and creepy into something delicious that even the fussiest nobles I've served love: garlic butter snails. Namira's followers are known to chow down on live, raw snails, shells and all, but I prefer mine with a garlicky gratin and a sprinkle of cave-aged West Weald parmesan. Oh, and don't forget to eat them with a fancy silver snail fork like a proper diva!

Boethiah

Plots? Destruction? Snakes? Not with this dish! What you see is what you get with a traditional Nord bread-and-butter pudding! It's a great way to use up your leftover bread scraps and stale butter, and is one of Tamriel's most satisfying desserts in my humble opinion. Served with hot custard and dried snowberries, this pudding is the perfect, least deceptive dish I can imagine.

Hircine

You were spot on with a salad, but let me raise the bar a little. Not just any salad will do, but you'll want all your ingredients to be gently cultivated by hand and farmed, as opposed to wild foraged. Iceberg lettuce and pink pear salad with some crumbled goat cheese and honey hits the spot, but how about topped with some marbled fatty beef? The historic Gweden Farm near Anvil has won countless awards for its pampered cows who are given a daily massage and the best fresh grass and Cyrodiilic grain. Domesticated, happy, and wonderful...unless you're a hunter, that is.

Hermaeus Mora

You'd have to be downright stupid to try a traditional Argonian worm bowl unless you're Saxhleel, and even then, most of them don't want to touch this nasty, wriggling dish. Fresh, live mealworms and kotu gava eggs are drowned in a fermented blood worm sauce, with shredded catapult cabbage and flame-grilled, toxic haj mota flesh. I once commented that it looked a little like Hermaeus Mora himself, before taking a tentative nibble and spending the rest of the day throwing up in the swamp. Please don't try this. It's the dumbest dish in Tamriel, and a pox on whichever Argonian invented it.

Sheogorath

No cheese or strawberry torte here! In fact, the least madness-inducing food I can think of is a nice, mild pistachio ice cream profiterole, dipped in sweet milk chocolate and topped with fresh nuts is the perfect Breton summer treat, yet far too boring for the Prince of Madness to bother with. Which leads us to...

Sanguine

I really dislike coming up with bland, mundane dishes for the occasional fussy eater I come across during my travels. Sanguine, Prince of hedonistic pleasures, probably lurks over my shoulder at the average feast I throw, so I admit I was a bit stumped here...until I remembered my Granny Matilda's chicken noodle soup. As basic as soups come, this simple broth is made by boiling leftover chicken carcasses for a night and a day, and served with plain egg noodles. The perfect food for when you're feeling under the weather, or have the palate of a small Nord child.

Malacath

Altmer cuisine seems like a good way to get Malacath really mad, because it's basically the antithesis of what he stands for. Delicate Quicksilver Lingwe cerviche with a yuzu drizzle and Crystal Hannia caviar, with a light avocado mousse flavoured with apple blossom? A sensory delight, and bound to make any Malacath-respecting Orc gag.

Jyggalag

Fried, hand-pulled buckwheat noodles with a spicy Pellitine-style curry sauce is a good way to make this Prince quite cross with you. Not only is it messy to eat, but your furniture will likely suffer bright orange and yellow stains from the turmeric and tomatoes, and your bowels will also be as tangled as the noodles after consuming a fiery Khajiiti curry.

Vaermina

So mundane and boring, you're definitely not bound to have any dreams or nightmares about a bowl of saltrice porridge with comberry preserves and scrib jerky. The staple food of the common Dunmer, it's tasty enough to eat on a daily basis, but hardly the stuff dreams are made of.

Mephala

This spidery Prince enjoys interfering with us mortals, so it's time to fight back with a dish that'll probably make most other Daedric Princes frown too. Imperial food is famous for its balanced flavours, textures, and fresh ingredients, and a Gold Coat seafood stew is a vibrant dish bursting with the best fresh fish, mussels, lobster, and crabmeat the region has to offer. Mild but but with a tangy punch from the sun-dried tomato based soup and a dash of crisp white wine, this is a dish that both young and old enjoy across Cyrodiil.

Meridia

Charred jerk wild boar stuffed with timber mammoth cheese and a delicious bloody jus-and-honey sauce is sure to make any Bosmer's mouth water! It's definitely dead, it's definitely cooked, and it's definitely bound to disappoint Meridia. Just a warning- try this for a laugh and you'll never be able to get rid of her beacon.

Azura

By Azura, please don't offer this to the Lady of Dawn and Dusk unless you want to irreparably have your race changed! Love and devotion is what this Prince craves, so why not damage yourself with a fiery Dunmeri Vvardenfell fondue, made from scuttle, crab meat, and extremely spicy fire petal blossoms? Enjoyed by the most pain-seeking of Dunmer, my version comes with fried hackle-lo leaf and saltrice-and-wickwheat bread for dipping. It'll have your guts in a twist for days, which is the price to pay for this deliciously hot "cheese" dish. Oh, and did I mention that it's best washed down with a nice cup of Vivec's Gingergreen Chai?

Nocturnal

There's absolutely nothing dark about a Redguard sun-jelly, made with fresh fruits from coastal Hammerfell. Coconut, palm fruit, watermelon, and bananas are the stars of the show in this dessert, set in a chilled agar jelly that keeps the heat at bay. The fanciest Redguards love mixing edible gold flakes into the jelly itself, giving it a delightful luster that is sure to put a smile on your face and chase the shadows away.

Clavicus Vile

You're not going to want to strike any bargain to give up a delicious baked chub loon gratin with echatere cheese, over hasselback potatoes and crispy radish chips. This Orcish delicacy is surprisingly so good it's even tickled the fancy of the fussiest eaters in Tamriel! The chub loon meat is juicy and melts in the mouth, and the echatere cheese melted into the cracks of a hasselback potato are wonderful with radish chips for dipping. Admit it, you're drooling aren't you?

The past week was an absolute slog for me, but I finally did get to finish Ch.35.

It’s time for “Cooking with Wèi Wúxiàn!”

Just a quick edit to add in a Read More cut. Saw this on mobile and realized this was looooong!

Lemme tell ya, the dinginess of the kitchen in the show’s got nothing on the book description.

Lán Sīzhuī followed Wèi Wúxiàn back into the kitchen. As soon as he entered, he was assaulted by a foul stench wafting towards him. Lán Sīzhuī had never smelled anything so terrible in his life and was dizzy for a moment, but he made himself endure and didn’t rush back out. Jīn Líng had also followed after them and jumped back as soon as he was in the doorway, desperately fanning himself, “What the hell is that smell!!! Why are you in here and not thinking of a way to cure the poison!”

Wèi Wúxiàn said, “Huh? You’re just in time. How did you know I was going to call you over? Help us out.”

Jīn Líng said, “I didn’t come here to help out! Gah! Did they kill somebody in here and forget to bury them?!”

Wèi Wúxiàn said, “Little Miss Jīn, are you coming or not? Just come in and help us out. If not, go sit back down and ask somebody else to come over.”

Jīn Líng was instantly furious, “Who is Little Miss Jīn? Be careful with what you say to me!” He pinched his nose for a while to regain his composure, then finally groaned, “I just want to see what the hell you’re actually up to.” He then angrily lifted his robes and charged in. Who knew that Wèi Wúxiàn would open a container with a clang and the precise stench would be coming from inside it. The case had pig haunches and a single chicken sealed up inside it. The red meat had gone green and had given birth to little white maggots writhing around in the green.

It also forced Jīn Líng out of the room. Wèi Wúxiàn lifted the container and handed it over to him, “Throw it away. It doesn’t matter where you toss it, just take it somewhere where we won’t be able to smell it.”

*pukes*

Kinda glad they didn’t show that more graphically on TV! I also do love tsundere!JL.

Jīn Líng said, “What are you cleaning the stove for? It’s not like we need to eat.”

Wèi Wúxiàn said, “Who said we don’t? Eating is precisely what you need to do. Come sweep away the dust and get the spiderwebs off the surface, too.”

He said it in such a righteous and self-assured way, as if it was so matter-of-fact, that Jīn Líng inexplicable found a dustpan stuffed into his hands and he did as instructed while in a daze. The more he swept, the more he got the sense that something wasn’t right. He was just about to check the broom at Wèi Wúxiàn’s head when Wèi Wúxiàn opened up another container. The dismay of it had him dashing outside. Fortunately, they were not assaulted by any stench this time.

WWX continues to roll high charisma stats and keeps bamboozling people into doing what he wants.

Jīn Líng said, “You’re making congee?”

Wèi Wúxiàn, “Yup.”

Jīn Líng threw a dishrag. Wèi Wúxiàn said, “Look at you. You work for a while and then get mad. Now look at Sīzhuī. He’s been working as hard as he can and hasn’t said a word about it. What’s so bad about congee?”

Jīn Líng said, “What’s so good about congee? It’s so bland! That’s not it… You think I’m mad because congee isn’t good?!”

Wèi Wúxiàn said, “It’s also not for you anyway.”

Jīn Líng got even angrier, “What did you say? I did all this and I don’t get my share?!”

Lán Sīzhuī said, “Mò-gōngzǐ, is it possible for congee to cure corpse poisoning?”

LSZ remains a good boy and JL remains a tsundere.

Quite a bit of plotty dialogue and worldbuilding happens that is way too long to post, but this line’s right in the middle of it.

Wèi Wúxiàn used a spatula while mixing the contents of various of bottles and jars into the pot of congee

Uh oh! LOL

Meanwhile, Lán Sīzhuī was crouched down on the ground fanning the firewood while glancing up, “Mò-qiánbèi, the congee seems to be done cooking?”

Wèi Wúxiàn returned to his senses, stopped stirring his spatula, and took a taste from the bowl that Lán Sīzhuī had just washed, “Okay. Go carry it out and give a bowlful to each of the poisoned people to eat.”

Notice something different? LSZ changes how he addresses WWX from Mò-gōngzǐ to Mò-qiánbèi in the middle of this conversation! He’s acknowledging that he’s sees him as not just a another cultivator, but as a more knowledgeable peer for him to learn from. In terms some of you may be more familiar with, it’s kinda like changing from “san” to “senpai.”

However, after it was brought out and having only eaten one mouthful, Lán Jǐngyí sprayed it out, “What is this, more poison?!”

Wèi Wúxiàn said, “What poison? That’s the antidote! It’s sticky rice congee.”

Lán Jǐngyí said, “Why congee is the antidote is not what I’m talking about right now. I’ve never eaten such spicy congee before!”

One by one, all the other people that had tasted it nodded along with watery-looking eyes. Wèi Wúxiàn stroked his chin. He had grown up in Yúnmèng and the people of Yúnmèng were very capable when it came to eating spicy food. Wèi Wúxiàn preferred it to be as hot as possible. But whenever he was given the chance, he would always make it so unbearably spicy that Jiāng Chéng would throw his bowl down and curse at him for making it inedible. He was also eternally incapable of adding ingredients to a pot spoonful by spoonful. It seemed he hadn’t managed to stop himself just now, either. Out of curiosity, Lán Sīzhuī picked up a bowl with both hands and took a sip. His entire face flushed as he choked and tried to keep himself from spraying it. His eyes were red as he thought to himself, This taste is…Actually so horrible that it gives me bit of déjà vu…

LJY continues to be the most un-Lán ever. I love him! And not even fellow Yúnmèng native JC could put up with WWX’s cooking. WWX is the dude that reads a recipe calling for jalapeños and adds Carolina ghost reapers. Meanwhile, LSZ can’t figure out why it’s so horrifyingly familiar...

All the young disciples all went “blech” one after the other to express their disbelief, but they still drank down all their congee with miserable expressions. During the ensuing time, all of their faces glowed red from ear to ear and their brows were beaded with sweat. Every one of them was enduring torment worse than death. Wèi Wúxiàn couldn’t help saying, “Are you kidding me? Hánguāng-Jūn is also a Gūsū native and he’s still rather capable at handling spicy food. Why are all of you like this then?”

Lán Sīzhuī covered his mouth with his hand, “He doesn’t, qianbei. Hánguāng-Jūn prefers really light fare. He never eats spicy food…”

Wèi Wúxiàn was dumbfounded, “Is that right?”

But he remembered, after he rebelled against the Jiāng Sect of Yúnmèng in his previous life, he had still encountered Lán Wàngjī once while in Yílíng. During that time, although Wèi Wúxiàn had been the subject of considerable criticism, it still hadn’t gotten to the point that they were chasing him down. So he had cheekily demanded for Lán Wàngjī to have a meal with him and reminisce about the good old days. Lán Wàngjī had ordered spicy cuisine featuring all sorts of dishes with Sì​chuān peppers, so he had always assumed Lán Wàngjī’s tastes ran rather similar to his own.

Now that he thought about it, he actually couldn’t remember whether or not Lán Wàngjī had reached for those dishes with his chopsticks. Only that before the meal, he had said he would treat him to the meal and that after he ate, he was able to forget about that completely and Lán Wàngjī still paid the bill. It was natural for him to still not remember such details now.

He didn’t know why he suddenly, in the middle of this, strongly and deeply wanted to see Lán Wàngjī’s face.

Gahhhhhh. LWJ wanting to spoil WWX and ordering all his favorite foods! WWX and his spotty memory and not realizing why LWJ would order spicy food if he didn’t like it. ;_;

Also, I can’t imagine why WWX would want to see him so badly all of a sudden.

did this on twitter for hana and bon! i’ll put all their answers under the cut, please enjoy <3

HANA:

1. what's their favorite beverage - alcoholic and/or non-alcoholic? hana likes nice, comforting warm drinks like hot chocolate and apple cider, he hasn't really had experience with alcoholic drinks 2. what's their favorite flavor? (spicy, sweet, sour, etc.) umami tbh, some nice hearty savory stew flavors 3. what's their favorite food? BEEF Clapping hands sign STEW Clapping hands sign he also like sweets, pastries and candies and whatnot 4. breakfast, lunch, dinner, dessert, snacks - which do they look forward to the most? dinner cause he imagines it as a family meal, and also it's the heartiest meal 5. do they have a food or flavor they absolutely hate? bland things like.. boiled green beans.. like.. wet tasteless vegetables.. he is not a fan but who is tbh 6. can they tolerate spicy food? yeah! he likes some good heat in his meals 7. what is their favorite animal? DRAGONS! cause they're cool. also... because baby. 8. what do they wear to bed? boxers or nothing in his own home, in the castle tho he wears like. pj bottoms. 9. what position do they like to sleep in? curled up around a pillow or in a blanket, or flopped on his belly 10. are they a morning person or a night owl? he would like to be a morning person, but he tends to get excited about whatever he's working on and accidentally staying up late, which then makes him sleep in late.. 11. are they a heavy sleeper or do they wake up easily? HEAVY SLEEPER. the boy sleeps like a rock. 12. it's a rainy day, what will they do cooped up inside all day? hana has a WHOLE ROOM of stuff to work on. he tries to get old tech up and running again (with.. limited resources) or to get it to be useful in other ways. 13. do they have a favorite scent or smell? honestly... musty smell of city that was cut off and unused for a thousand years. 14. what do they smell like? do they wear perfume or cologne? a little bit sweaty, a little musty from hanging out in an abandoned city, a little like oil, wood shavings.. he smells like whatever he's been working on. he tries to just smell neutral around other people. 15. baths or showers? BATHS! BUBBLES! RELAX TIME!! taking time just to be hana. nice. 16. how good are they at cooking? it's not gourmet or anything but he can cook a tasty meal. he's worse at baking but he's practicing!! 17. what's their favorite time of year and why? winter!!! pretty snow.. relaxing quiet.. getting to go inside and get all warm and cozy.. nice. 18. do they have a favorite holiday? tbh i dont know what holidays there are in kos world... i oughta think of that.. but anything with people getting together and celebrating together is something he'd like to participate in someday 19. do they prefer buying or receiving gifts? buying!!!! hana loves giving gifts. tbh he doesn't receive a lot of gifts. maybe like.. a jar of jam one time and it made him cry. he kept the jar. 20. how tall are they, and how do they feel about their height? 4' even. he's fine with his height tbh, his insecurities come in when he thinks about what OTHER people think about his height. he definitely recognizes that he looks different than everyone he's been around. 21. can they play any instruments? not really.. he made a guitar once. was NOT good at it. 22. do they have a nice singing voice? NO! cant keep a tune to save his life, but he's the only one (besides baby) who's heard him sing so it really hasn't mattered 23. do they talk to themselves? YES! it could seem like he's talking to baby, but really... she can be asleep or somewhere else and he's just still talking to himself. who else does he have to talk to?! let him live. 24. do they enjoy music? what kind? tbh he probably enjoys "old timey" music he found in the ancient city so like.. synth pop LMAO 25. do they make friends easily? yes! surprisingly, from his popularity in the town. he had a bad first impression whoops. but he's just very charming and sweet and wants to be your friend. 26. surprise birthday party! how do they react? crying. happy crying. but a lot of crying. he won't stop. please stop crying hana. second surprise party would go over better, he'd just cry at the beginning and then have fun at the party. 27. what is their favorite flower, if they have one? hydrangea.. symbolize heartfelt emotions 28. how does your character feel about wearing jewelry? neutral? i like putting him in a lot of jewelry, but it's not something he'd do himself. besides like. his ear and nose piercings (and the other one lol) those are kind of special. he's had those since before he can remember 29. if they wear jewelry, what's their favorite piece? his teal earrings! he was gifted those (one of the like 2 gifts he's received lol) by someone very important to him 30. fashion forward or fashion disaster? fashion neutral? he's definitely not fashionable when he dresses himself (in the clothes he made himself lmao) but he's not like.. offensively disastrous 31. what kind of underwear does your character wear? boxer briefs? for comfort. that's hana's goal picking out his own clothes. comfort. 32. do they wear makeup? what kind? not regularly but he's not against it. he likes looking pretty. he likes eyeliners especially but will sit there and let u put whatever on his face. 33. do they paint their nails? HELL YEAH he paints his toenails since he works with his hands and it'd chip off. after bath nail painting time. paints baby's claws too. 34. are they quick to get haircuts or do they often let it grow out? after his introduction to the townspeople with his hair that had been grown out for years and NOT well taken care of.. he keeps up with haircuts now. he doesn't want to give people reasons to dislike him lmao 35. do they know how to whistle? through the front gap in his fangs yes 36. or how to braid hair? he knows how to braid his own hair for sure. he hasn't had other hair to practice on but he would know how to braid like.. leather cord or stuff for other crafts projects. so i think he'd be good at it. he'd learn like fancy patterns and such 37. are they scared if anything in nature - bugs, snakes, lightning, being on the water, etc.? lightning and storms definitely. he spent his formative years under a mountain, safe from all that, any sort of dangerous weather freaks him out. 38. have they ever thought they were about to die? not that he remembers. but there were times. 39. how do they react to getting sick? a big baby. snuggled up in a thousand blankets with chicken noodle soup and hot teas. 40. are they afraid of blood? not especially? he's been injured before and had to patch himself up. bad injuries tho... lots of blood..... he wouldn't do great with that. 41. how do they earn money? hana builds and repairs stuff for the town mostly in exchange for produce and such. he doesn't really.. have money. 42. are they satisfied with their occupation or long to do something else? he enjoys helping people, so in that way he's satisfied. he'd rather people were more interested in his side job of repairing old tech and making his own tech stuff but... that's not legal. 43. how creative are they? quite creative! he has a number of different crafting hobbies and is always looking for more. he's not great at like.. like if you gave him a paintbrush and were like 'paint' he would just paint whatever was in front of him. not some imagined thing. 44. do they know how to draw? how skilled are they? he's good at like.. accurately drawn schematics? technical drawings. i dont think he would be great at like. portraits tho. like. he could probably draw an accurate face but it'd like completely lifeless. 45. what do they carry around with them during the day (ie in their pockets, a bag, a purse...) 1) a baby 2) his tablet, that's what's with him all the time.. except rn in the story.. when he is without both.. :( 46. do they have a sweet tooth? OH YEAH. he doesn't get a lot of sweets where he is (he's working on learning how to bake them) so he really enjoys good sweets when he gets his hand on them 47. haute cuisine or cheap eats? hana likes good homemade food, i guess cheap eats would be the closer of the two 48. do they know how to swim? HONESTLY.. PROBABLY NOT.. boy has not been around water much 49. do they have any scars? how did they get them? nah! at this point he is more or less scar free. i'm sure he has a few tiny ones from like.. when baby was playing a bit too wildly or something and he got a nasty little scratch but nothing like... big. 50. what kind of handwriting do they have? neat, messy, cursive, MESSY. like a kid who was never really taught how to write. he usually writes on his tablet, which has been taught how to recognize his handwriting and converts it to readable text.

BON:

bon can be hard so on questions where it's not really applicable now (like.. favorite foods and the like), i'll just go with what WOULD have been the case. when he was younger. 1. what's their favorite beverage - alcoholic and/or non-alcoholic? flavored sparkling waters, he likes the bubbles. he likes high alcohol content drinks, so it does its job. 2. what's their favorite flavor? (spicy, sweet, sour, etc.) he likes fresh, citrus-y flavors, whatever category that slots into. 3. what's their favorite food? THE ALL POWERFUL ORANGE, a good orange is a treat for bon 4. breakfast, lunch, dinner, dessert, snacks - which do they look forward to the most? snacks, cause he can generally eat them alone and not be judged 5. do they have a food or flavor they absolutely hate? puddings and yogurts and stuff like that, soft foods 6. can they tolerate spicy food? a fair amount, but he does have limits (he will not admit it) 7. what is their favorite animal? farm animals, especially working animals, they're nice and usually calm, bon likes that 8. what do they wear to bed? either whatever he's wearing at the time he knocks out or nothin 9. what position do they like to sleep in? huddled in a corner 10. are they a morning person or a night owl? BOTH! he's not a sleeper. if you find him sleeping its because he was probably up the past 3+ days and he just knocked out. 11. are they a heavy sleeper or do they wake up easily? if he's sleeping cause he hadn't slept the past week, he doesn't wake up easily, but if it's a purposeful rest he wakes up to a pin dropping. also re: bon sleeping, he technically can go without sleep indefinitely but he has to go into his lava form to kinda.. refresh his stats so to speak 12. it's a rainy day, what will they do cooped up inside all day? pre-incident: read! study! practice magic. post-incident: think about mortality and stare at a wall 13. do they have a favorite scent or smell? fresh air on a cool day. but he's also nostalgic about the stink smell of a tavern. 14. what do they smell like? do they wear perfume or cologne? ash and smoke. and on special days ;) burnt flesh ;) he doesn't wear perfume or cologne, he just smells weird all the time. 15. baths or showers? showers, a quick spray down and then he's out of the water as quick as possible. 16. how good are they at cooking? QUITE! bon can cook and he can cook good. he's stayed with a lot of families over the years and learned a lot of good tricks and recipes, plus what he learned from when he was growing up and would somewhat regularly cook for himself. 17. what's their favorite time of year and why? summer. he does well in the heat. also the days are longest. bon likes it when it's light out. 18. do they have a favorite holiday? bon doesn't like holidays! cause holidays come with traditions. and traditions come with expectations. and expectations come with punishments. 19. do they prefer buying or receiving gifts? giving, i guess? receiving gifts can come with a price. but it's nice to give a gift and know you expect nothing in return. 20. how tall are they, and how do they feel about their height? bonk is 5'9", he's fine with it 21. can they play any instruments? YES!!! he can play a variety, his favorites are harp and fiddle, though he also can play a mean flute, though that was mostly from his upbringing so he doesn't like it all too much 22. do they have a nice singing voice? YES!!!!! he has a most beautiful voice. he can rouse a room with a good folk song or bring a room to tears with a mournful ballad 23. do they talk to themselves? ahahaha yes. we have already seen this in comic. bon struggles with differentiating between reality and his.. imagination i guess. so. that can often lead to him just talking to himself. 24. do they enjoy music? what kind? yes! bon enjoys all sorts of music, but mostly songs you can sing along to. bar songs, shanties, ballads, he enjoys them all. he like songs that have an emotion to them if that makes sense. 25. do they make friends easily? NO. bon is both unfriendly and untrusting. however. if you are nice to him but once........... he Will die for you. and he will die for any child. loves childs. 26. surprise birthday party! how do they react? POORLY. either confused why people thought it would be a fun idea or angry that he was caught off guard. now... if you do it right..... have the surprise just be like.. a cake waiting at home or something.. a quiet night.. he will appreciate it. he Will die for you. 27. what is their favorite flower, if they have one? daffodil.. rebirth.. eternal life.. unrequited love.. perfect 28. how does your character feel about wearing jewelry? he's not a huge fan tbh. makes him feel like someone's shiny show piece. but he does like an earring or two or three 29. if they wear jewelry, what's their favorite piece? he doesn't wear jewelry regularly :( but he likes earrings! he likes little hoops that go on the top of his big ears 30. fashion forward or fashion disaster? more fashion forward than a disaster. he doesn't dress himself like.. super well.. cause his clothing tends to not last super long, but he knows how to look good 31. what kind of underwear does your character wear? NONE he's flying free 32. do they wear makeup? what kind? again, not any regularly, but will rock a good eyeliner if offered 33. do they paint their nails? no lmao good luck painting his lava nails, he'll melt ur brush, oh god and im sure the smell of burning nail polish is just awful 34. are they quick to get haircuts or do they often let it grow out? he cuts his hair pretty frequently (not well) he cuts like.. parts at a time. like 'hm this section looks a lil long' CHOP~ 35. do they know how to whistle? like a got damn bird 36. or how to braid hair? yes! he is good at this. 37. are they scared if anything in nature - bugs, snakes, lightning, being on the water, etc.? not really? he's had a lot of experience living outdoors so things that may have scared him at one point have been dealt with and most things it's like 'well i cant die so it really doesnt matter', cold and rain it's like 'well ill get real hecked up for a while but.. whatever' 38. have they ever thought they were about to die? YES! quite a few times, though not anymore lmao. one of the first times he ran away from home and nearly starved to death, the... incident, and when he was turned into a basbeo, just to name a few 39. how do they react to getting sick? pretending like he's not. pushing himself too hard until he cannot pretend anymore. nowadays tho.. he just turn into lava man and boom. all better. 40. are they afraid of blood? nah, he's seen plenty of it by this point to just not even register it. not even mostly his own! see this isn't a sad answer. 41. how do they earn money? HE DON'T! what use does a dog have for money u feel me 42. are they satisfied with their occupation or long to do something else? bon was basically a travelling bard at one point and oh boy he longs to go back to those days. his current occupation of 'guy who steals, kidnaps, murders and destroys on command' just isn't fulfilling for him. 43. how creative are they? i'd say pretty creative. he's not really doing anything with it right now, but he's a pretty imaginative guy. 44. do they know how to draw? how skilled are they? i think so! i figure that would be part of his lessons when he was younger. so he's probably.. too good at it. opposite of hana, where he's be good at portraiture and like.. pretty scenes. this also makes me think of little bon running around and putting lil devil horns on his mom's portraits 45. what do they carry around with them during the day (ie in their pockets, a bag, a purse...) doesn't really have.. a lot of things.. in the same vein tho, that jacket he wears, he's had for a while, and it's been through a lot now (i.e. the missing bottom) but. it's something he repairs and takes care of. it's special to him. for reasons. 46. do they have a sweet tooth? not especially, he doesn't like Sugar Sweet stuff, but he does like.. apples n stuff. he'll eat a peach croissant and enjoy it. everything in balance. 47. haute cuisine or cheap eats? cheap eats: more food for less 48. do they know how to swim? yes but he doesn't do it anymore cause he'll get too cold and seize up and lava man will just become a rock. he can use like.. hot tubs and very warm baths. he CAN enjoy those. 49. do they have any scars? how did they get them? well! bon had scars previous to his charred limbs (you'll see them soon) from being burned. because of.. reasons. i never know how depressing to get when talking about bon :( anyways, his charred limbs didn't happen immediately after becoming a basbeo. it basically happens when there's like.. a struggle for control between bon, his elemental, and who or whatever (maighstir, priomh, tera, his cuffs, etc.) is trying to control bon's transformation abilities. like either trying to use more power than he's being allowed, or to resist using it at all. they feel weird and crusty and leathery and warm! so the last one is kind of nice. it is unpleasant to hold his hand. 50. what kind of handwriting do they have? neat, messy, cursive, BOY CAN'T WRITE ANYMORE! he used to have really neat cursive handwriting like.. calligraphy style.

Saved - Finn Cole | Titanic AU

a/n: wow. i really love this. this is basically the love story of titanic, without the sinking ship or character death. it’s not written too well bc i was struggling with show not tell, but i think it’s the best it can be :) hope you like it!

warnings: mentions of abusive relationship (bruises, no physical acts), mentions of/hints to sex

•••

The sea breeze whipped through your hair as you gazed out at the dock, tons of people waving goodbye to anyone they could. You couldn’t believe this, you were actually heading to England on a beautiful ship, the first of its kind. The only bad part was the man you were supposed to be marrying.

Your parents were rich, so of course your marriage was sort of arranged by them. Your soon-to-be husband was a fellow business owner’s son, and bringing the two families together with your marriage would be “monumental”, as your father says.

But you weren’t happy. Jonas was a rude man. He didn’t treat you right, he was verbally abusive, and only cared about the business. It was awful being with him, and you tried telling your mother that you didn’t want to marry him, but it was no use.

They were moving with you two to be closer to Jonas’ business in England, which is why they were both on the ship with you. This only made things worse, you felt trapped. That’s why you were trying to spend as much time away from him as possible now.

Unfortunately, you had to spend the morning and afternoon alone, since Jonas was having business meetings with your dad and other colleagues. From the time after breakfast to before lunch, you unpacked all of your things in the luxurious suite, the ornate decorations a bit too gaudy for your taste.

It was beautiful, sure, but you weren’t cut out for the lavish lifestyle. You hated getting dressed up for every single meal when all you want to wear is a natural hairstyle and be free of a corset. But that’s not what your mother wanted.

You hadn’t seen her since boarding, so you guessed that she was with the other wives and women of first class.

“Darling,” that sickly voice calls out from the sitting room. Standing, you make your way out of the bedroom and find Jonas looking through his things.

“What is it?”

“Have you seen my pipe that your father gave me for our engagement?” Sighing, you slightly push him away and unzip the section of the suitcase that it was in.

“Don’t push me like that again,” he spits, storming out of the room and slamming the door. You feel tears form in your eyes, thankful that he didn’t lay a hand on you. You go back to your room and continue unpacking.

Dinner is boring, to say the least. You sit between your fiance and your mother, trying to be as proper as you can be. Your corset is bothering you, though, and the food is too bland. You wanted nothing more than to have a feast with chicken and potatoes and vegetables, not this overly-fancy first class trash; another thing you hated about the lavish lifestyle, the cuisine.

“Honey, are you feeling alright? You haven’t eaten much of your food,” your mother leans over to whisper in your ear.

“I’m not feeling very hungry, I guess.”

“It’s not like you need to eat anyways,” Jonas mumbles under his breath before taking a bite. You hear him clear as day, though. Clearing your throat, you stand, excusing yourself to the bathroom. In reality, you were going to the deck to get some fresh air and alone time.

Tears were streaming down your cheeks, blurring your vision as you run to the farthest deck on the ship. You pick your dress up at the side and before you can register what happens, you crash into someone.

“I’m sorry, I’m so sorry,” you stutter, trying to stand back up. A pair of hands helps you, and when you’re finally to your feet, you come face to face with a beautiful pair of blue eyes and soft features.

He was wearing a white shirt under a pair of suspenders and a green jacket, which was half zipped up. His hair was slightly curled against his forehead and blowing in the wind.

“Are you okay, love?” His sweet voice wonders, his hands keeping a hold on yours to keep you steady.

“Y-yes. I am. I just, I was needing some fresh air and, and-”

“Hey, hey, it’s okay. Is someone following you?” Turning back, terrified of the idea that Jonas was behind you, a sigh of relief escapes your lips and you turn back towards the man.

“No. I was having dinner in the dining hall and I needed some time to myself.”

“Why are you crying?”

“Uh, I don’t-“

“Do you want to take a walk and talk things out? It seems like you could use some company,” he offers with a smile. “I’m Finn.”

“(Y/N), nice to meet you.”

“So, would you like to take a stroll with me?” He sticks his elbow out for you to take, and with a small chuckle, you loop your arm through his and begin to slowly walk.

“Any chance you’ll tell me why we ran into one another?” He asks right away.

“I was having dinner with my mother and fiance and I wasn’t feeling very hungry.”

“Your fiance?” He immediately drops his arm upon hearing that you’re soon-to-be married. He was a gentleman, there was no way he was going to mess with another woman’s relationship.

“Yes, but I don’t want to marry him.” You gaze up at Finn, trying hard to get across the idea that he was not a good man and you were not excited to be going through this.

“Is he the reason you ran off?” You nod in shame, staring down at your shoes as you two come to a stop at a bench right at the end of the ship.

“Unfortunately, yes. He made some comment about how I don’t need to eat, after I said that I wasn’t too hungry.” Finn’s eyebrows raise in surprise and he looks you up and down, making you feel slightly self-conscious.

“I think you look absolutely perfect,” he smiles. A blush rises to your cheeks and you look away from him.

“It’s so tough being with a man who doesn’t care about you at all. He’s so heartless and mean and I just can’t stand him.” Finn’s expression changes to an understanding and sympathetic one.

“Why don’t you leave him?”

“It’s not that easy. I’m bound to marry him because of our parents. They’re business partners and our marriage is supposed to help business increase. Believe me, if I could leave him, I would have left him at the port.” You both share a chuckle.

“You wouldn’t have run into me, then,” he flirts, scooting closer to you just a bit.

“That’s true,” you smile softly.

Later that night, you were sitting at your vanity, combing through your hair when Jonas walks in, an angry look on his face.

“Where the hell were you after dinner?!” He yells. “You never came back!”

“I know. I threw up so I came back here to lay down.” He seems to lay off a little, thankfully, and walks into your room to get undressed.

You don’t see Finn for days after that. But when you do, it’s not under good circumstances.

You were taking a walk on the lower deck, where you met Finn, hoping to find him. Miraculously, you find him lying on a bench smoking a cigarette, staring up at the orange sky. You come to stand right next to his head, making him sit up in excitement. Though that expression changes in a second.

“Holy shit,” he breathes out, throwing his cigarette overboard and moving closer to you. His hand comes to rest on your bruised cheek, checking out the mark that surrounds your left eye and cheekbone.

“He did this?” You nod under his gentle touch, something so different than Jonas’ touch.

“You need to leave him.”

“I can’t! Seriously, I don’t think you understand!”

“What I don’t understand is how you can stand by and let this happen! He’s abusive and awful and you’re still going to marry him?!”

“Excuse me! I’ve told you many times that I don’t want to! I can’t convince my mother to-” Finn is quick to cut you off with a kiss, pulling you by the waist close to him.

You’re taken aback, but melt into the kiss moments later, loving the new feeling. Finn’s lips were so soft and tasted sweet, like mint with a hint of cigarette smoke. Jonas always tasted like bourbon, whiskey, beer, any alcohol that he could get his hands on, and tobacco.

The kiss lasts longer than you were expecting as Finn deepens it, too caught up in the feeling. When he pulls away, you can’t help but smile a genuine smile.

“That was…” you begin, but you can’t seem to complete your sentence.

“It was. Your lips are soft,” he says, caressing your cheek again.

“This looks like it hurts, love.” He’s suddenly very concerned and focused on your injury.

“It does.” He grimaces at the thought of a man laying his hands on you in a violent way. In that moment, he makes a promise to himself to save you from this marriage with all the power he can.

“Do you wanna go somewhere?” There’s a suggestive tone in his voice, exciting you a little.

“Where do you have in mind?” A smirk tugs at the corner of his lips as he takes hold of your hand and begins to run. Your laugh sounds through the halls, continuing to follow him, feeling so free and genuinely happy for the first time in years.

Finn leads you down to third class, then even lower in the ship, to the storage hold. There were so many cars and shipping crates and boxes. As you pass along the rows of vehicles, a familiar one catches your eye.

“Hey, this is my family’s car,” you quietly call out to Finn. He suddenly gets an idea and pulls you inside, laying you down across the seat.

“Want to get back at Jonas for what he did?” He asks. Your eyebrows raise in question. Finn doesn’t say anything, but he leans down to kiss you sweetly. Things eventually escalate as your hands explore each other’s bodies.

Finn can’t help but notice the multitude of bruises all over your body, breaking his heart even more upon knowing that he’s done this many times.

“You don’t deserve this,” he whispers, hurt in his voice, his fingers running across the marks. “You deserve marks of love, not marks of anger.”

“Then mark me up, Finn. Make me yours. Jonas has never given me one before.” Finn’s eyes widen at the idea, and he’s more than happy to. He begins at your neck, biting and sucking lovingly, leaving pink marks all over.

After he’s satisfied with your neck, he moves down your body to the bruises and begins sucking spots right next to them.

“I don’t want you to look at your body and see these awful bruises. I want you to see the love bites I’m giving you,” he mumbles against your skin. A soft moan escapes your lips as he finishes up, moving back up to kiss you deeply.

“Please Finn. I need you,” you whimper. He is more than happy to finally give you what you want, and what you deserve.

Every day that you’re not with Jonas, you’re with Finn, sneaking around and hanging out in the third class level with him. You felt so different when you were with him, you felt real. With Jonas, everything felt fake, like you were putting up this facade for your family's businesses, which was essentially what you were doing. With Finn, you could be yourself and not have a care in the world.

One night, Jonas was with a bunch of other businessmen and your father, gambling, drinking, and smoking, meaning he would be gone until well into the night. So, you invite Finn over since he mentioned he would love to draw you. That was one thing you found out on your secret dates, he’s an artist. And a very good one at that.

He showed up with his sketching kit and sheepishly steps inside, feeling very out of place in the grand room.

“Wow, you really live a pretty fancy life, huh?” He jokes.

“That’s probably the best thing about all of this. We always get the best rooms.” He takes a seat in the chair in the corner of your bedroom, beginning to set his supplies up.

“Would you ever give it up?” His voice is soft and uncertain. You know what he’s basically asking: would you ever want to live without all the perks of coming from a rich family?

“Yes. I hate it sometimes. Everyone cares about money and status. My relationship with Jonas feels fake at this point. It’s all for business. He doesn’t love me, I don’t love him. Even my parents said that our marriage is only for business purposes. I’m being used and I hate it. I would give anything to just, be normal.”

Finn takes in your words and he can hear the hurt in your voice. He wants to save you so bad, he wants to go to your mother and demand that she break the marriage off because you’re not happy. But for now, he pushes those thoughts aside and goes back to sharpening his tools.

After getting ready in the bathroom, you step into the bedroom, catching Finn’s eyes. They roam all over your body, which is covered by a silk robe. You slowly untie it and let it fall to the ground, allowing him to see all of you once again.

“Um, lay on the bed for me,” he murmurs, becoming very flustered at the thought. Smiling, you take a seat on the bed, waiting for him to instruct you on how to lay. He tells you to lay diagonally, on your back but facing him. He ends up placing some pillows behind you to push you up a bit, just so he can get the illusion of you laying on your side even though you’re not.

He fixes your hair just a little so it’s framing your face more, his fingers lingering on your cheek for a little longer. You giggle as he quickly kisses you before taking his seat again and beginning to draw.

You stare at him in awe as he focuses on getting your details just right.

“I love that the marks I put on you last night are more prominent than the bruises that he left days ago,” Finn smirks. You chuckle and run your fingers over a few of them.

“Hey, don’t move, darling,” he chided playfully. The pet name reminds of you of the first day you were on the ship, when Jonas called you by it. His tone was rude and annoyed, compared to the way Finn uses it; it’s much more soft and loving.

“I’ll try not to.”

Finn continues looking between you and his paper, a concentrated look in his beautiful blue eyes. The warm glow of the single light in the room gives off a very romantic feeling, and you could feel yourself becoming aroused. Your meet-ups were never this romantic, besides your first time making love; though that was in the back of a car, not in a real bed.

After an hour and a half or so, Finn finishes, signing his name at the bottom before letting you know that you could move. Sitting up, you wait for him to show you. He moves to take a seat on the bed and you look over his shoulder.

“Wow,” you say in wonder. It looked absolutely beautiful and he of course included all of HIS marks on you. “I love it, Finn.”

“You’re very beautiful, so it was quite easy to embody that.” You blush and lean against his back, wrapping your arms around him.

“Well thank you for making me feel beautiful,” you whisper in his ear. He sighs softly as your hands run down his chest, under his shirt. “Now I want to feel loved.”

This catches his attention and he is quick to place his sketching pad on the ground and join you on the bed, on top of you.

“No problem, sweetheart.” You two spend the rest of your time together under the sheets, entangled in each other’s bodies, making love to each other like it was your last time.

Finn flops beside you, his chest rising and falling with each short breath he takes. Your eyes were shut as the pleasure still coursed through you from your last orgasm. Another thing Finn could do, give you multiple orgasms.

After calming down and cooling off for a little bit, Finn pulls you into his grip, letting you rest against his chest and shoulder. Your head fits perfectly in the crook of his neck, feeling his clammy and sweaty skin against yours, something you had come to love.

“I know we’ve only known each other for a couple weeks, but I think I love you, (Y/N),” Finn’s voice is quiet and hesitant. He has no idea how you’re going to react.

“Really?” You gaze up at him.

“Yeah. I don’t want to force you to say or do anything, but I just need you to know.”

“I love you too, Finn. I thought that was obvious.” You sit up, keeping the covers around your breasts. Finn catches this and tugs it down cheekily, leaving you bare again; he preferred it that way anyways.

“So, where do we go from here?” Thinking for a moment, you try to run through ways to break it to your mother.

“I want to be with you,” you whisper, running your finger along his cheek and lips. “I don’t want to marry Jonas.”

“Good. Because you don’t deserve to be with a guy like him, who’s only going to abuse you and make you unhappy.”

“You make me happy, Finn.” As you were going to kiss him, a knock sounds on the door of your room. Both of your eyes go wide in shock and horror, not knowing who it is.

Quickly throwing on your robe, you instruct Finn to stay put in your room and to lock the door behind you. Taking a deep breath, you open the door and see that your mother is standing there.

“Hi, what did you need?” Your heart was racing as she steps inside of your room.

“Where’s Jonas?” She wonders.

“He’s with dad and a bunch of others in the entertainment room.” She nods and sits on the small couch, looking around.

“Is something wrong, (Y/N)?” Her words make you extremely nervous, which doesn’t pose well for you.

“No. Nothing’s wrong.”

“Because it just seems like you’re hiding something.” Your eyebrows furrow and you can’t help by look to your bedroom door, knowing that Finn is probably pressed up against it.

“No, I’m not.”

“(Y/N), tell me the truth.” She stares at you and in that moment, you know she knows. “Who is it?” Still, you try to make it seem like you have no clue what she’s talking about.

“I don’t-”

“I know you’re seeing another man. It’s obvious. To me, at least.” Sighing deeply, you keep your gaze away from her as you explain.

“I met him our first night on the boat, when I ran out during dinner. I accidentally ran into him and he noticed I was crying. We took a walk to calm me down and it helped. After that, I ran into him again a few days later. It escalated from that point.”

“Meaning?” Closing your eyes, you prepare for how she was going to react.

“We made love for the first time that night. We decided to meet up every night that I wasn't with Jonas. I don’t feel bad for it, honestly.”

“Why not?” You move your robe to show your side, where the bruise from Jonas kneeing you was still healing. She gasps in shock, not having any knowledge of Jonas being violent.

“That’s not it, though. I had bruises everywhere, including my face. Finn is the first man to ever be so gentle with me. When I came to him with the bruise on my face, his touch was so light yet so tender. I never felt so...admired and cared for. He knows how to make me feel loved.”

“Is he rich?” You take a moment before answering.

“No. He’s from third class. But he’s more of a gentleman than Jonas will ever be.” She’s very disappointed with the idea that you’re seeing someone so different than you.

“Are you happy with him?” A huge smile appears on your face, and she sees this change in your attitude right away.

“I am. I’ve never laughed so much, I’ve never smiled so much, I feel free and comfortable with him. I think I love him, mother.”

“Well,” she begins, not knowing how to handle this situation. “Is he going back to wherever for a job?”

“He’s from England, so that’s why he’s on the ship. He’s been stuck in America for years, and now he’s finally going back to his family. He mentioned that he had a job, I forgot what it was, though.”

“Do you want to be with him, (Y/N)?”

“Yes,” you answer right away. There was no doubt in your mind that Finn was the one you were to be with. Just then, Finn emerges from the bedroom, startling both you and your mom. You tried to keep him from coming out, but it was no use.

“Hi Mrs. (Y/L/N). I’m Finn,” he waves to your mother, awkwardly coming to stand behind you. Surprisingly, she’s not upset or disgusted. There’s a very understanding look on her face.

“It’s very nice to meet you, young man. I understand that you’re the one who’s been taking care of my daughter?” A deep blush appears on his cheeks at the wording, though she means in terms of saving you from Jonas.

“Y-yes, I am. I love her very much and seeing her so hurt because of the man she’s supposed to be marrying is very upsetting.” She smiles at him and reaches out to shake his hand.

“Thanks to you, I would not have had any idea that he was doing this. As much as I wish the marriage would go through, I do not want her being abused. Business is not worth that. He can marry a cousin or someone like that.” You and Finn exchange looks of hope with one another.

“So she doesn’t have to marry Jonas?” Your mother smiles and pulls both of you in for hugs.

“No. She says she wants to be with you, and I’ve never heard her speak of a man so highly before. I can now tell that she’s very happy with you. Treat her right, yes?”

“Of course. You don’t have to worry about that. From the moment I met her, I knew she deserved way better than him. And I’m going to make sure I treat her as she should, like a princess.” Finn turns to you after finishing and reaches for your hand.

“I’m glad she now has someone who actually cares for her. And (Y/N),” she looks at you, “I want to apologize for putting business before your happiness.”

“It’s alright. I know that dad can be too persuasive and it’s hard to stop. But, what are you going to tell him? He’s not going to believe that Jonas is awful.”

“I’ll figure something out. For now, why don’t you two stay in bed and relax, knowing that everything is settled.”

“We can always go down to third class. I have a single bed because my roommate found a friend who had a single room. They took our double and I took the single.”

“No. You deserve to stay here for a while. It’s much more comfortable and warm.” Finn smiles thankfully and pulls you close to him.

“What happens when Jonas comes back for his stuff?” You were now terrified of what was going to happen. Finn senses this immediately and tightens his grip, pressing his lips to your forehead. Your mother smiles at this small bit of affection, and that’s the turning point for her.

This is who you belong with.

“I can move everything to the extra room we have. We were saving it for you, in case you wanted to spend a few nights there just because.”

“I’m worried about whether he comes back to hit me or Finn.”

“I’ll tell him that you two are down in third class.” You move out of Finn’s grip to give your mother a huge hug.

“Thank you,” you whisper, trying hard not to cry.

“I want you to be happy, sweetie. I see that Finn is the one who does. Just make sure to keep the doors locked, alright? And if he keeps pestering you, call our room and we’ll have it taken care of.” Nodding, you walk back over to Finn and hug him tightly this time.

“I wish you two the best, sincerely. I know you’ll be the best for her, Finn.” She gives him a final hug as well before leaving with a satisfied look in her eyes.

You know your tears are about to fall as Finn grabs you by the waist and drags you back into grip. That breaks the dam and within seconds, you are sobbing loudly. Finn just holds you and lets you cry, rubbing your back comfortingly.

“It’s okay, you’re safe now, love. You’re safe with me,” he whispers. When you’re well enough to move, he is quick to lock the door, dead bolting it as well. You follow him back into the bedroom, which he locks too. That’s when you breathe out a sigh of relief.

You two crawl back into bed and cuddle up with one another, this time feeling much more different.

You were free from an abusive, controlled relationship.

“I love you so much, Finn,” you whisper.

“I love you too. darling.”

“You saved me,” you smile softly, finally taking in everything that just happened.

“You needed to be saved. And I’m glad that I was here for you.”

“Thank you.” His lips press to yours in a slow, passionate kiss. It’s filled with every emotion in his body.

“Seeing you bruised and beat up was the worst thing in the world. I never want you to go through that again.”

“Well,” you smirk, moving to straddle his lap, “I wouldn’t mind being bruised and marked up by your hands and your lips,” you purr, leaning down to bite the shell of his ear. He chuckles and rests his hands on your hips.

“I wouldn’t mind that either. But we have the rest of our lives to do that. For now, I want to make you feel special.”

“The rest of our lives, eh?” A smile tugs at the corner of his lips and he nods.

“The rest of our lives.”

•••

@peakyxtommy @peakywitch @blueeyedheizer @the-ink-and-salt-club

Arcana Echoes | Day 10: Cuisine 🥥🥘🌴

🌴 For this prompt, it was super hard for me to pin down which dish I wanted to use as the focus point for the fic. So I had to make a moodboard to really dive into what the trio ate during their childhood.🌴

🥥 Some OC flavor profile facts🥥

Kiping’s flavor profile typically includes foods that are salty, sweet, tangy, or a combination of the three. Between Ozy, Khleo and herself, it’s Kip that likes seafood the most. Some of her favorite dishes include tilapia, snapper, saltfish, and fried conch. She loves plantains all ways, all day. She’ll snack on the salty chips in the daytime and eat the softer, sweeter ones with her meals.

Ozy enjoys bold, savory, and meaty flavors, (like oxtail!) but only if he can pair it with something fresh, clean, and acidic (like conch salad). This preference most likely developed in his early years growing up in a wealthy family where it was routine to eat something cold and palate-cleansing before and after the main course.

Khleo tends to go for those uncomplicated, comforting flavors like cheese, bread, beans, and rice. They prefer fish and poultry over red meat. Most of the time, they don’t eat meat because they often find it too overseasoned or overwhelming in flavor. Their idea of indulging in meat is every now and then cooking up some chicken gizzards/hearts to add to their rice.

🥘 Moodboard breakdown🥘

Coconut Tart (Bahamian Style): This is the highlight for today’s fic and Kipling’s absolute favorite dessert. She doesn’t get to eat it that often because it’s kind of a pain to make. Kip enjoys the texture more than anything. The bread around the grated coconut is crumbly and dry, while the center is softer and a lot sweeter.

Black Beans and Rice: All three of them like this as it’s one of the most common side dishes. Khleo definitely eats it the most. They like to switch up the seasonings and vegetables incorporated in the beans.

Ackee and Saltfish (Jamaican Style): Kipling’s favorite dish according to her bio. Fun fact about the ackee fruit is that it’s poisonous if you pick it directly from the tree. It has to fall from the branch on its own before it’s safe to eat!

Curry Goat (Jamaican Style): This is one of Ozy’s favorite dishes. It takes a while to make, but for Ozy, it’s always worth the wait! Kipling is not a fan of goat and Khleo does not care for how deep the flavors go on this dish.

Guava Duff (Bahamian Style): Another heartwarming dessert from Kipling’s childhood. All three children enjoyed indulging in the duff!

Powder Bun (Belizean Style): One of Khleo’s favorite things to eat for breakfast. In fact, if there was enough powder bun left over, Khleo would take as many as they could and eat them over the course of the day.

Boiled Green Banana: Ozy won’t eat it. Even with salt added, there’s a level of blandness there that he can’t get past. Kipling only eats it with her ackee and saltfish. Khleo, however, will happily eat boiled bananas plain, sometimes cut up and mixed in with rice and beans. 

Conch Fritters: All the kids enjoyed this common staple entree. You can pair it with a variety of sides or just eat it as a side or an appetizer!

Do you have any recent recipe recommendations?!

it depends on what you like and how you’re trying to eat!  (forgive me if these are absolute bastardizations of  cultural cuisines. i am simply trying to not eat bland chicken breast)

thai coconut curry soup (made this with chicken & added some mushrooms to it and it was g o o o d) this was so good!

not healthy but sometimes you just need some fuckin chocolate chip cookies my pulled pork tacos are so... Mine/a combination of so many links that i’d have to actually write up the recipe for them. i’d really like to try them with chicken. legitimately my favorite thing is sweet potato fries doused in cajun seasoning blend. also an easy thing to add to eggs for breakfast burritos (we eat a lot of ‘carb balance’ tortillas) : mix together: can of black beans (rinsed), can of rotel, can of corn (rinsed). doused in taco seasoning (pref: your own blend so u can control the salt), cilantro, & a bit of lime. let that sit in the fridge together for a while.

Yautja food headcanons, pretty please? I always imagined their homeworld food to be pretty bland compared to human cuisine. How would they feel about their human s/o who is a very good cook using all those wonderful spices and condiments to add extra flavor to meals. Bonus point: We all know Yautja don't tolerate cold very well. How would they react to icecream or fridge-cold soda? Thanks, dear

Okaaaaay lemme just say that, judging by the way that City Hunter just fuckin munched on uncooked meat from a slaughterhouse every few days, I can tell you that Yautja need HELP in the food department. Show a Yautja some good cookin and he’s gonna have a life-changing epiphany.

You know how to season food like a pro? He’s interested but he’s not terribly fascinated. He doesn’t see the appeal at first of dressing up food with other food when its main purpose is to sustain him. He’ll humor you though and wow. B O Y. Is he glad he did.

Ever seen a shocked Yautja? Dat him. He’s wide eyed, his mandibles go slack, but not long after you have a huge, ravenous alien scarffing down Seasoned chicken/beef/pork, whatever you made, like a rabid lion in your kitchen.

He’s too proud to beg... in fact, he’s never begged for anything in his entire long life, but what he does to try and get you to cook food like that more often is borederline begging. He’s hooked. Yautja food is ruined for him.

If he is still in contact with his clan or goes back to them after staying with you a while, he’s going to ask you to come with him so they can all experience the glory of human food as well.

Cue a bunch of Yautja standing around a makeshift kitchen they scrounged up for you in their clanship by stealing finding some appliances and a stove n’ shit. They’re like a bunch of curious, very hungry children. Even the elder pokes his head in from time to time because whatever your doing smells sooooo good.

As for the ice cream thing, have you ever seen those videos of cats eating ice cream and their little faces contorting? That’s it. That’s a Yautja. There’s no difference. He is okay with ice cream but the cold makes it very hard for him to go very long without siezing up into a terrible brain freeze, just like a cat. The face he makes is hilarious, and depending on his mood he may or may not take your laughter as a challenge to power through it and finish the whole damn tub of it.

Surprisingly, your Yautja likes soda, but he prefers it hot/room temperature (the absolute heathen, I know). He just knocks ‘em back. Catch him in the kitchen at 3am with the pantry wide open, mandibles flared, and he’s pouring a whole can of coke right down his throat.

Hey there! I was wondering about a Sniper/Spy prompt, if that's okay with you. Mundy and Lucien on a romantic, passionate dinner date

Hope that checks out!

Poor him, he was anxious. Sniper had walked in the restaurant and asked for his table. The waiter was surprised to see him half an hour early but the table was free, so he obliged. 

The Australian sat down and looked around him. Clients were sitting here and there enjoying their food while he was paralysed on his seat. 

It was the first time that he came to such a fancy place. The floor was tiled and the walls covered in panes of blue velvet curtains. He had got his old suit from the cupboard for the occasion. It was a beige linen one with matching trousers that he wore with a white polo shirt below the jacket. He realised now that it was his best shot at being elegant, but it clearly wasn't enough...

Hot, it was too hot. He was sweating. A waiter came and he managed to gather enough courage to ask for a glass of water. He removed his jacket, putting it on the back of his chair and his eyes fell on the menu. 

Oh for Christ's sake… 

It was in French. 

Spy parked his car a couple of meters away from there. He stopped the engine and looked at his watch. He had asked Mundy to be there in what would be now in five minutes. Perfect timing. He looked in his inner rear view mirror. The bowtie was straight and his teeth were clean. The Frenchman did one last thing before exiting his car and entering the restaurant. 

Sniper's foot was tapping the floor repeatedly. He should have sat down facing the restaurant door, that way he would have seen his friend arrive…! Or maybe it was better not to see him come from far away, it could be awkward, surely? He wiped his sweaty palms on his trousers and his eyes read the menu again for the thousandth time. 

"Bonsoir." 

His head flashed up from the menu. 

"Hey, uh, I'm sorry this seat's taken, mate." 

"I know, it is taken by me." 

The man in the satin blue suit and matching bowtie sat down in front of the Australian.

"Look mate," The Australian found it slightly offensive that a stranger just came around and took his friend's seat! "I don't know who the hell you think you are but that seat's taken by my friend and that's that. Now go ask for another table 'fore I get angry." 

The man in front of him had salt and pepper hair, impeccably combed back with the exception of a few streak of lighter grey hair falling on his forehead. He shook his head with a smile. 

"Pray describe that friend of yours to me." 

"What?" 

"Evidently you don't see him here so I am not stealing his seat. Let's take those few minutes to have a chat. You have been sitting here all alone. Take this as a distraction."

"For the love of… Ugh, fine… I guess I don't have anythin' else to do." Mundy put the menu down and leaned back in his chair. "He's a man, a foot or so shorter than me, quite slim… Uh, he's French and a bit posh…"

The stranger in front of him kept a smirk on his lips.

"What about his face?"

"Well, don't know much about it. He has to wear a mask for work. But he's got thin lips, a slim nose, a smooth jawline and very light blue eyes." Mundy paused for a split second. "A bit like yours actually…" 

The man on the chair opposite me wiggled his eyebrows. 

"A bit like me?" He repeated. 

Mundy squinted and frowned. 

"Yeah actually he - oh my God, Spook, is that you?!" 

The Frenchman chuckled and took his cigarette case out, lit one up and put it between his lips. 

"Oh I'm sorry I didn't recognise you, you don't have yer mask on!"

Mundy stared more and more, trying to imagine the mask on top of the face he saw. 

"Oui, it is me, Bushman. It took you quite a while to figure it out." 

The Australian was amazed. His colleague looked as handsome as he pretended to be. Of course he knew most of the distinctive features of his face but discovering his hair too was a surprise. He clearly had spent some time to arrange it and it was perfect, absolutely perfect. Even the rebel front tuft falling on his  brow was poetry...

"I'm sorry you just look… Different." 

Spy took the menu and read through it. 

"How so?" He asked, his eyes on the selection of French dishes. "And pray have a look and make your choice." 

"Oh I know what I'm gonna take, I had a look before. But uh, yeah, I don't know, you look more… human?" 

Spy raised an eyebrow and a waiter came. Mundy ordered in English, trying to not butcher the name of the food he was having, and listened carefully as his friend placed his order in French. It took a bit more time.

"More human?" Spy said, as the waiter disappeared.

"Y-yeah I mean… Don't take it the wrong way but with a mask it's harder to see you like a normal bloke."

"Says the professional skull piercer…" 

"Ah, well, yeah, I guess you have a point, sorry Spook." 

"Lucien." 

"Uh?" 

"My name, it's Lucien."

Sniper's jaw dropped. He hadn't expected that.

"Oh, uh, I'm Mundy." 

"I know." He answered but before Mundy could say anything, the waiter came with their food. Another came with the wine, poured some to Lucien. The Frenchman tried it and nodded, which signaled the waiter that he could proceed and serve the both of them. 

"Go ahead, please, dig in and let me know what you think. I took the liberty of choosing the wine too. I hope you will appreciate it."

"Hm! That's delicious! Chicken in cream sauce roight?" 

"Oui, blanquette de poulet. I'm glad you like it." 

"What did you take?" 

"Coq au vin, it's chicken in a wine sauce."

"Oh…" Mundy's eyes were trying to understand what Lucien had in his plate.

"Go ahead, try some." The Frenchman pushed his plate towards his friend slightly. 

"W-what? Nah, mate, c'mon, that's yer food, I don't want to-"

"Mundy," Sniper's ears rang strangely at the mention of his name with that particular accent. "I am inviting you tonight for a French dinner, a taste of my country. So please, go ahead."

"You sure?"

The Frenchman smiled and raised an eyebrow. 

"Am I ever in the habit of hesitating or joking?" 

"Alroight, alroight, don't give me that look…" 

Lucien neatly cut a bit of the chicken and pushed some carrots. Mundy's fork hovered for a split second. He felt awfully close to his friend all of a sudden, as if he was doing something forbidden. He quickly took the bit of food and withdrew to his plate. 

"Hm… That's… Uhm, that's very nice too…!" 

"You see? I'm glad you like it. Some people think that our cuisine is pretentious and bland. I beg to differ. Our traditional dishes are very much a thing that farmers can do. We just managed to make it more… uhm… how did you describe me again? Ah! Posh!"

Mundy blushed slightly as if to apologise. Lucien gave him a smile that made him hot.

"And what do you think of the place?" 

"Well, uh, it goes nicely with ya…" 

"Meaning?" The Frenchman insisted.

"It's uh… posh?"

Lucien rolled his eyes and smiled. 

"No offense, eh?" 

"None taken." 

"Good but uh, yeah it's a very good place I mean… I've never been in a place like this before." 

"Really? Not even once?" 

"Nah. And I look around me and I feel like I'm the weirdo here. I mean, look at all of those blokes wearing super nice suits, look at you! And then look at me…"

Lucien heard the slight shame in Mundy's voice. 

"If your suit is a problem, it can easily be solved." 

"How? You got a spare suit in that cigarette case o'yours?"

Lucien chuckled. 

"You are deliciously ridiculous, Mundy. Non, next time you need a suit, you may ask me. I can lend you one, or we can think about buying something new. I would be glad to offer my help." 

"Ah, thanks. I uh, these are actually my nicest clothes. I don't have anythin' better than that. I wanted to dress up nice but eh… Guess my nice isn't enough next to yours…"

A waiter came and took the empty plates away. 

"Dessert?" 

Lucien and Mundy's eyes crossed. 

"We will share one." The Frenchman answered and Mundy felt the sweat drip from his brow. 

The waiter left the dessert menus and vanished. 

"What do you like, Mundy?" 

"I'm not picky, whatever you like and wanna, uh, share with me, I guess it's fine." 

The Frenchman smiled. A few moments later a waiter came and Lucien placed their order. For what? God only knows, Mundy didn't manage to understand what the Frenchman settled for. 

"What did you choose?" 

"You will see. But let me come back to something you said. Mundy, you look very elegant in this suit and very different from your usual self. I can see the effort that you have made for the occasion and I deeply appreciate it." 

"You say that just to make me feel better." 

"Non." 

Their eyes met and never left each other's. 

"I mean in Mundy. White brings out your skin tone, I like it. And this light beige?" Mundy felt something on his hand, something warm. "It makes your eyes stand out even more. It's such a shame that you wear your glasses all the time. I am sure that what you hide is delightful for the eyes, for my eyes." 

Mundy lowered his head. The blush was getting to him. While doing so, he looked at his hand and silently gasped. The Frenchman's naked fingers were on his. Without adding a word and his head still low, the Australian removed his glasses and put them on the edge of the table. He didn't dare raise his eyes until the waiter came with the dessert. Mundy pulled his hand quickly and blushed in shame. What if the waiter had seen them, hand on hand? Indecent! 

The waiter disappeared.

"It's a dessert based on caramel apples." The Frenchman said, breaking the silence. 

Mundy was still trying to digest to wave of shame that swept across his body. 

"Do you know what we call caramel apples in French?" 

Mundy raised his eyes slowly. Of course he didn't know. 

"Pomme d'amour, do you know what it means?" 

The Australian, his cheeks still red, shook his head. 

"It means apple of love." 

Mundy's face went blank. The Frenchman gave him such a sweet and honest smile. He had never seen that face before and he had never seen that soft smile either.

Lucien opened his palm on the table like a wordless question, his fair blue, almost grey eyes shining and his eyebrows punctuating it like a question mark. 

The Australian sighed. There was no point refusing. He had wanted it himself, a lot. He lifted his hand and placed it on the Frenchman's. 

"Tes yeux sont magnifiques, Mundy."

[Your eyes are magnificent, Mundy.]

Spy closed his hand on Sniper's, his fingers wrapping his friend's to safety and privacy.

"Yours are amazing too, Lucien." 

The Frenchman's eyes opened wide.

"You understood me?" 

"How did you think I managed to choose my food? The menu's in bloody French!"

Top 10 Facts about Chettinad Cuisine

The love for spices is found pan India with different versions of the same dish that have a unique balance of spices. Chettinad cuisine is a must-try for foodies that love the prominence of spices in their food.

1. Chettinad cuisine is a blend of fiery spices that do not burn your taste buds but leave a lasting taste on your palate. The cuisine is known for its aromatic spices and red chilies that yield a dark color to the otherwise pale dishes.

2. Chettinad cuisine hails from the Chettiars community. The people were avid traders and contributed a lot to the trade flow of spices to Burma, Sri Lanka, Mauritius, and Java.

3. The Chettinad cuisine notion is that it is immensely hot and unbearable to the palate, which is not true. On the contrary, the Chettinad cuisine is an amalgamation of spices that aid in digestion while leaving a tad bit of spicy note on the palate.

4. An authentic Chettinad masala mainly consists of a mix of whole spices, namely, stone flower, cardamom, cinnamon, cloves, black peppercorns, carom seeds, coriander seeds, dry red chilies, cumin seeds, fennel seeds, Fenugreek seeds, mace, and poppy seeds. The main takeaway is that every household prepares the Chettinad masala differently and may miss out on one or more spices.

5. The Chettinad masala involves roasting the spices mildly. Mild roasting prevents the spices from burning while extracting the flavor and oil from the whole spices. This process is slow and takes about five to ten minutes. After the spices start crackling, transfer them to a plate. The transfer ensures that the whole spices do not overcook or, in this case, burn. After the spices cool down, they are ground, or the spices lose their aroma.

6. The Chettinad masala is the core of any Chettinad preparation. The masala is usually freshly prepared each time a Chettinad dish is in the works. Chettinad masala has a great shelf life and can last up to 4 months if kept in an airtight container. Spice brands also provide prepackaged pouches, but they lack the freshness of the homemade masala.

7. Chettinad cuisine has a stern way of presenting the meal, which highlights its flavors. Usually served on a plantation leaf in which the dish items can overwhelm you. Each plate consists of salt, pickles, chutneys, vegetables, and rice. You always have the Chettinad sambhar, a rasam, and a curd based gravy along with the dishes. The rice is piled in between and absorbs the gravies, and the vegetables served with it.

8. Famous dishes of the Chettinad cuisine include the Idiyappam, Dosai, Vendakkai Varuval, Kaikari Pirattal, Mutton Chukka, Kada Fry, Nandu Masala, and a few others. Chettinad chicken is the renowned dish emanating from the cuisine that adds punch to the otherwise bland chicken. The original dish is dry and fiery, but it has transformed into a gravy that is eatable with rice, roti, and parottas over the years.

9. Gaithersburg might not be in India but has a crafty food outlet that serves authentic Chettinad cuisine. DosaandChat presents its authentic version of the Chettinad chicken that tastes well with rice and roti. The gravy is dark brown and uses the Chettinad masala, coconut, curry leaves, tomatoes, shallots, and a few secret spices that make it an absolute joy on the palate. Extensively cooked chicken tends to be dry and bland, but the Chettinad chicken at DosaandChat is juicy and retains the curry's taste.

10. The secret is nothing but love and patience with which the dish is prepared at the restaurant. Slowly simmering in its juices, the chicken falls off the bone in the first attempt and is nit rubbery and chewy. Do give the Chettinad chicken at DosaandChat a try and relive the taste of authentic Chettinad cuisine.

Get all Online from DOSA & CHAAT.

Order online - http://bit.ly/dosaandchaatorder or call us @ (301)569-4539

Delightful Dining with RailRecipe on Your Train Adventure

Embarking on a train journey? Say goodbye to boring meals and hello to a feast of flavors with RailRecipe. We're your go-to destination for delicious food in train, offering a hassle-free experience that's sure to leave you satisfied. From our easy ordering process to rave reviews from happy customers, RailRecipe is here to make your journey a culinary delight.

Step 1: Ordering Made Easy

With RailRecipe, ordering food for your train journey is a breeze. Simply hop on our website or download our user-friendly app. Browse through our extensive menu, featuring a mouthwatering selection of dishes spanning various cuisines. From classic Indian favorites to international delights, there's something to suit every palate. Once you've made your selection, just add it to your cart and proceed to checkout—it's that simple!

Step 2: Customize Your Meal

We understand that every traveler has their own tastes and preferences. That's why RailRecipe offers a range of customization options to ensure your meal is just the way you like it. Whether you prefer mild flavors or fiery spices, we've got you covered. Specify your spice level, dietary requirements, and portion size to create a personalized dining experience that's tailor-made for you.

Step 3: Prompt Delivery to Your Seat

Sit back, relax, and let RailRecipe take care of the rest. Our dedicated team ensures that your meal is delivered right to your seat, saving you the hassle of searching for food on board. Whether you're traveling solo or with companions, our seamless delivery service ensures that you can enjoy your meal without any interruptions. With RailRecipe, convenience is always on the menu.

Step 4: Quality You Can Taste

At RailRecipe, we're committed to serving up quality meals made with the freshest ingredients. We partner with trusted restaurants and vendors who share our dedication to excellence. From farm-fresh produce to succulent meats, every dish is prepared with care and attention to detail. With RailRecipe, you can rest assured that every bite is bursting with flavor and goodness.

Step 5: Happy Customers, Happy Journeys

But don't just take our word for it—here's what one of our satisfied customers had to say about their experience with RailRecipe:

"I recently ordered food from RailRecipe for a long train journey, and I was blown away by the quality of the food and service. Ordering was quick and easy, and my meal was delivered right on time. I opted for the chicken biryani, and it was absolutely delicious—tender chicken, fragrant rice, and just the right amount of spice. It made my journey so much more enjoyable, and I'll definitely be using RailRecipe again in the future!"

In conclusion, RailRecipe is your ticket to a flavorful journey during train travel. With our easy ordering process, customizable meals, prompt delivery, and commitment to quality, we're here to ensure that every bite is a delight. So why settle for bland train fare when you can indulge in delicious food with RailRecipe? Hop on board and embark on a culinary adventure that's sure to satisfy your cravings.

The aroma of Best Famous Biryani in Chennai at Kalyana Virundhu Biryani

For any individual who values Indian cuisine, biryani is an extraordinary culinary experience. Notwithstanding mutton and chicken, there is another variable related with beyond what many would consider possible. Assuming you like biryani, the best strategy for spending your time is probably to examine different status methods and inclinations. The Kalyana Virundhu Biryani might be the best biryani in Chennai. The MUTTON BIRYANI, CHICKEN BIRYANI, EGG BIRYANI, KUSHKA BIRYANI, PRAWN BIRYANI, and Can BIRYANI are two or three the various biryani mixes open in Chennai.

Biryani of mutton is extraordinary.

You'll feel engaged and need to endeavor the food as you stroll around Chennai's shorelines. You've always been intrigued by the smell of cooked biryani in stores. The biryani that is served isn't comparable to the ordinary Muslim biryani in many bits of India. Every Muslim wedding includes it, and the guests see a lot of it. Kalyana Virundhu Biryani serves the best top and mutton biryani in Chennai. We serve food that will transform into a piece of your life, brimming with critical flavors.Best Famous Biryani in Chennai

CHICKEN BIRYANI The dish known as biryani was brought to India by the Afghans and Mughals. Muslim biryani from Tamil Nadu never neglects to shock me. The situation, which is coordinated and served, has its own flavor and doesn't seem to share any ascribes. Right when you go to Chennai, you should endeavor to find Kalyana Virundhu Biryani. It might be the best spot in the city for biryani.

In Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu, EGG BIRYANI is a notable dish of comfort food. Everyone worships the key Biryani rice dish for its captivating smell and flavor. The kind of egg biryani is delicious and strong. As you pass a biryani bistro, your nose follows the scent. You begin to cry. In Chennai, the genuine Tamil Nadu biryani can be found at Kalyana Virundhu Biryani.Best Famous Biryani in Chennai

KUSHKA BIRYANI serves the best biryani in Chennai. The greater part of individuals incline in the direction of their biryani with meat, eggs, or prawns, while others favor the rice that capabilities splendidly for biryani that doesn't contain meat. The Kushka Biryani's show is exceptional for its unmistakable game plan. The appetizing Basmati rice is at present receiving additional enhancements and smells. The bigger part picked the bland yet brilliant Best Biryani in Chennai. At Kalyana Virundhu Biryani in Chennai, the onion raita, brinjals, and bread halwa are doubtlessly outstanding.

PRAWN BIRYANI unprecedented for a long time, Afghan and Mughal biryani were served. In Tamil Nadu, the Muslim biryani is absolutely wonderful and delectable. which prepares premium upgrades, warily cooks the delicate prawn tissue, makes the best prawn biryani, and has a fragrant smell.) if you anytime find yourself in Chennai, Kalyana Virundhu Biryani serves one of the city's best shrimp dishes. It is excellent that it was made and permitted given that it has no flavor other than extraordinarily affecting standard taste. The best biryani in Chennai,Kalyana Virundhu Biryani is one of the Best Famous Biryani in Chennai . it creates the temptation like Ummm. Definitely, you will feel and realize the traditional taste of biryani. order now : +91 8939234566 or visit our website : https://www.kalyanavirundhubiryani.com/

Which houses have the best dining halls?

I really like Gillett’s dining hall and I eat there 90% of the time. They serve vegetarian/vegan food and they cook dishes from a variety of regions (Indian, Chinese, Mexican, American, etc). I have several favorite meals from there. Some include the following: their spicy buffalo chickpeas, Sichuan noodles with tofu and daal with naan, rice and mango chutney. I almost forgot their Vegan Chik’n Nuggets! When I first ate those, they tasted like actual chicken to me, but surprisingly they’re not! They’re really good. Also, I love Gillet’s use of spices and seasonings and feel that their food is so flavorful! Especially compared to other dining halls like Cutter-Ziskind, Lamont and Chase. I feel like those houses don’t use as many seasonings so their dishes can turn up a little bland. However, this isn’t always the case. Cutter-Ziskind does Kosher food really well. The dining hall staff allows non-Jewish students access to the Kosher food which is really kind of them. I don’t ever eat in the Quad because I live around the Campus Center area so unfortunately I can’t judge their cuisine. That being said, I do have several friends who lives in the quad so I’ll ask them for their opinion and get back to you on Quad dining halls. In addition, Dawes which is the gluten-free dining hall has absolutely delightful food as well. I’m not gluten-intolerant so I’m not allowed to eat there unless my gluten-intolerant friends bring me as a guest. From the handful of times that I’ve eaten there, I have always wanted to return to eat more meals. They do wonderful things with vegetables and they season their food well too. It feels like I’m in food heaven when I eat there (and in Gillet).

~Thao ‘19

Chicken wings

It was a fine fall friday evening in Massachusetts. I had been there for just a couple of months, a skinny, sweet-faced Indian kid, already missing everything he had left back in India. A fellow American grad student with whom I shared the occupancy of my university lab approached me in earnest. Ever since I had made his acquaintance, he had been the recipient of daily complaints about how American food was so flavorless compared to spicy Indian food. Today, he had decided to expose me to something called “Buffalo chicken wings”. You want spicy, I’ll show you spicy, said my labmate whom I’ll call Burt because that was his name.

“Buffalo chicken wings, huh”, I said. It was the first time I was hearing about this zoological oddity. We took the campus bus to our local mall housing the Ground Round brewing company that was our destination for these wings.

The menu in the Ground Round rated wings from 1 to 5 fire alarms in increasing severity of heat. Since Instagram did not exist at the time, Burt was ready with pad and pencil to sketch my reaction to the heat explosion. The waiter arrived to take our order.

“I’ll do a dozen of the 3-alarm wings”, I said, just to be on the safe side.

Burt was shocked. “Are you sure, these things kick ass”, he said. His concern for my well-being touched me to the very core of my core.

“Okay wait”, I said to the waiter, “I’ll go with the 2-alarm wings instead”. Burt looked relieved.

The wings arrived in due course. I took a tentative bite. Burt was scanning my face for my reaction. My face was blank. The wings were bland. Not spicy at all.

“Burt”, I said, “This is not hitting the spot. They are not even in the same zip code as the spot.”

Burt was confused. “Okay let’s try the 3-alarm wings”, he suggested.

We ordered the 3-alarm wings.

They were less bland but still pretty bland.

We ordered the 4-alarm wings. Nothing. I was getting impatient now. The spice clock in my body was ticking.

We ordered the 5-alarm wings.

When the wings arrived, Burt’s eyes started to water. He was holding the menu between himself and the wings to shield his face from the fumes.

I took a bite. The vinegar fumes were blinding me but I still couldn’t taste the spice. What. The. Fuck.

“This is IT”, I yelled, “I’m done with this”. I jumped out of the booth so hard the wings fell to the floor. “Let’s go, Burt”, I demanded.

“He’s holding a 5-alarm”, whimpered a guy cowering underneath the table next to us.

I pointed a wing at him. “Don’t do anything stupid and no one gets hurt”, I said.

We slowly backed out of the bar and fled to the bus stop to wait for the next bus back to campus.

Chicken wings are America’s “guilty pleasure”, ”finger food”, “watch sports and drink copious amounts of alcohol while eating crap” crap. But chicken wings are also something much better than all these things. Chicken wings are where American cuisine leaves its boring roots, spreads its wings and flirts with the gods of world cuisine watching over us as we try to live out our life on this doomed planet. Chicken wings can be cooked and spiced in a thousand different ways; fried, roasted, mild, hot, buffalo, garlic, parmesan ranch, honey barbecue, tandoori, Sichuan, teriyaki, I could go on forever. Chicken wings are adaptable enough to accommodate every single palate and lifestyle in the world except vegetarian, pescaterian and cannibal.

Every American has their favorite wing joint, a place they will swear by and scamper off to during the zombie apocalypse to spend the remaining few hours of their life in wingful bliss. As part of my ongoing quest to find such a place for myself I visited the Pizza time saloon, a bar near my house. Word on the street was, their wings were the absolute bomb. I hailed the bartender and requested the wings, with the caveat that they be the hottest he could possibly make them.

The bartender stared at my face and said, “Are you Indian”?

“Yes”, I replied, “why?”

He leaned in conspiratorially and whispered into my ear, “Would you like to try…The Indian Special?”

“The Indian Special?”, I said, confused but also mildly aroused.

He gave me the scoop. Apparently quite a few regular patrons of this bar were Indian, employed in the pharmaceutical company next door. One day, frustrated with the blandness of the 40 cent buffalo wings they were being fed during happy hour, they had conducted a peaceful civil disobedience movement in the kitchen until the chef concocted a wing recipe that was spicy and flavorful enough for their tastes.

“So, how about it?” said the bartender.

“Yes please, I’ll have a dozen Indian Specials”, I replied.

When the wings arrived they looked nothing like a typical buffalo wing. The disobedience had certainly paid off. The wings were covered in a chunky dark sauce replete with an ominous amount of red pepper flakes dotting every millimeter of the wing. The scent of garam masala and chilli powder wafted up into the atmosphere. If you closed your eyes you could still hear the buffalo sauce screaming silently in the background but that was all that remained of it. They were garnished with cilantro and it was clear that the blue cheese accompaniment had no idea what the hell was going on.

The flavor was terrific. The spice was just hot enough to make me tear up but not weep profusely like I had done back in college during a theatrical screening of Kabhi Haan Kabhi Naa when the girl I had a crush on presented a rose to someone else on Valentine’s day.

I had found my go-to zombie apocalypse wing place.

A few years later, I was birding with my friend Duck on the grounds of an abandoned psychiatric facility. I apologize for the hard segue but there is a context, wait for it. After a fair bit of peeking into partially broken windows of abandoned buildings hoping to see disenchanted spirits and staring into trees trying to spot yellow warblers and orioles, we realized that we were both ghoulishly hungry and thirsty. Quickly I google mapped the nearest bar. As it so happened, there was one right within these desolate grounds. We drove there and found ourselves standing outside the Shanahan bar and grill. It appeared that once upon a time this establishment used to be a single family home, now converted into a bar with a cozy interior and more importantly, a nice patio area in the back facing the woods. Google had advised me that this place was famous for its hot wings. Confident in our ability to tackle the hottest the Buffalo world had to offer, we ordered the “complete total insanity” wings. The waitress looked us dead in the eyes and said, “Are. you. sure?”

Look, in my defense, I’ve experienced this question in bars and restaurants all across the US. As a person of Indian descent I am offended whenever someone questions my ability to consume the spiciest foods, meats and soups their establishment has to offer. And therefore, staring sternly back at her, I replied, “Yes, ma’am, I am very sure. Please. Bring them on.”

We sat in that scenic patio with a view of the decrepit asylum buildings, drinking our Sam Adams Boston Lager in the early spring sunshine, watching red-bellied woodpeckers tapping on the forest wall and waiting for our wings. When the wings arrived they looked innocuous, even benign. I would even go so far as to call them congenial. When I bent down for a light sniff I did not detect toxic fumes upon my face or nostrils. So Duck and I, we each picked up a wing and took a bite.

Oh, how pernicious, you wing. The sauce was not vinegar-based and that’s why there was a lack of facial assault. But the spice was pure powdered habanero. The wing was fierce. I chewed on gamely and took another bite. Duck coughed gently and excused himself to go to the bathroom. In his absence I began to weep freely. I took another bite. At this point my goal in life was simply to finish this one goddamn wing without dying. What had hell wrought upon us? I finally finished it but my mouth was acres of wildfire, not to mention my fingers and everything they had touched on my face. I went to wash my hands and face in the bathroom. Duck was there, completely drenched, slapping water all over his entire body. Duck was crying. Duck and I, we lay on the floor for a while hugging each other and wishing for death that never came.

I boxed the rest of those wings and took them home. I had a goddamn biological weapon in my possession that I had paid good money for and I fully intended to use it.

Monday, when I got to work, I dispatched the following missive to the company email list:

Gentlemen,

In the fridge, there are 8 chicken wings. These are no ordinary wings. These are wings of death. As you know, I am Indian and we eat, drink and breathe spicy. When we get hurt, we stop the bleeding by sprinkling red pepper flakes on the wound.

But these wings defeated me. I was unable to make it past 1 and it was a near death experience.

Here are the challenges, should you choose to accept them:

Eat 4 of these wings and I will pay you $20.

Consume all 8 and I will pay your surviving next of kin $50.

Who among you is up for this?

Note: You will sign a waiver absolving me of all liability before you embark upon this feat. Also, please make sure you notify your next of kin.

Only serious challengers need apply.

A few minutes after lunch Brian and Tony approached me. Brian is a fresh faced sales guy and Tony was in tech support, a hefty former college football player. They had perused my email, had a quick conference and decided that they would take on my wing challenge as a team. I told them that I would pay them $20 each if they managed to stuff four wings each down their bellies. They agreed to these terms.

The moment the clock struck 5 the entire company began to trickle into the kitchen area. Word had spread all afternoon about Brian and Tony accepting my challenge. The contestants walked in and it was on.

I microwaved the wings for 30 seconds, just to loosen up the sauces and the hurt. They each picked up a wing.

Five years later, the one thing I remember vividly from this day is Brian’s face. Brian is a very attractive dude with a shapely round white face. As I watched his face get redder and redder and eyes start to bulge from their sockets, I remember wondering if his face was going to literally explode. Tony, on the other hand, is a big swarthy Italian guy so his agony was manifest more through choking sounds and tears. I have to give it up to both of them, they plodded through the wings gamely. I cannot begin to imagine what was happening to their body on the inside and on the outside. The moment they were done they ran to the fridge and emptied an entire carton of heavy cream between themselves.

The next day we received an update on what had transpired after they left work. Driving home, Brian had experienced severe acid reflux as never before and had to stop at a pharmacy to purchase antacids that cost more than 20 bucks, thus effectively putting him at a monetary loss. Furthermore, after he reached home he was severely chastised by his wife for his decision to even accept such a death defying challenge in the first place as a married man with familial responsibilities.

On his way home, Tony had to stop multiple times to vomit by the side of the road. He was reticent to describe what had happened after he reached home but I suspect it’s because the college football player within him was loathe to reveal such delicate details to a largely mirthful audience.

So seeing as we have reached the end of my autobiographical chicken wing ruminations, allow me to let you in on my personal recipe for hot wings. Roast the wings in an oven until they’re crispy. The base for your sauce should be vinegar, Frank’s hot sauce, Worcestershire sauce, chopped fresh garlic and most importantly, butter. Heat this stuff together then go wild improvising the spice aspect. A few suggestions: freshly chopped peppers (jalapenos / habaneros / Indian green chillies / literally any hot chilli pepper in the world), powdered heat (cayenne / chipotle / chilli powder / smoked or Hungarian hot paprika / garam masala). Mix it all together with the base sauce and toss the wings in it.

And welcome to wing heaven.

Rediscovering my Culture

Well, I’m from the Philippines, a place famous for it’s excessive patriotism and overseas workers--as ironic as that may sound--and I’ve been a bit xenocentric of my heritage for some time now, making me think of my country as a bad mix of a bunch of other cultures. My analogy for it was the when you mix random colors of paint and get a murky brown (to be honest tho, that’s still how I think of the Ph up until now).

But recently, I’ve been reading about the mythical beings here and I was absolutely captivated. Sure 90% of them were terrifying as hell, but I was happy to find that there was actually a mythology I can read about here! The Philippines has been swallowed by Roman Catholicism (and I’m not saying it’s a bad thing!) ever since the Spaniards came, so much of the Pre-Colonial cultural treasures we used to have either faded away or were forcefully destroyed.

And that’s just sad. My people are replacing these precious heirlooms instead of protecting them, causing them to degrade over time.Take Filipino food for example. I grew up on the stuff and acquired a taste for it, but I wouldn’t hesitate to say that I’m disappointed at what I eat. Sure there are some good dishes like Dinuguan (aka: Blood Stew---what?! It’s a personal favorite!) and Sinigang (aka: Soup with Tamarind paste/extract as a base), but the flavors and presentation are bland overall, unlike the exciting dishes all over Southeast Asia. I know there are some really unique food around the Philippines, but you’ll only find them in a few areas. Most of the time, if you come here, you’ll only get fast-food or lousy variations of it with absolutely no cultural significance whatsoever. 

People here are choosing that over our original dishes. They neglect these culinary heirlooms and buy burgers or whatever for the sake of convenience. And this causes these recipes to cease their innovation (unless the innovation you’re talking about is the influx of instant powdered mixes companies produce nowadays). Food thrives on experimentation, after all. Since no one practices, or dedicates themselves, to authentic (by which I mean using traditional ingredients without MSG/Beef Cubes/etc.) Filipino cooking anymore, all we have now are downgraded versions of our old food. I know it sounds harsh and I know the Fil people are poor, thus not having the time or resources to do what I am suggesting, but that doesn’t change the fact that all these are happening right now--our culinary culture is fading. There aren’t even any decent restaurants that sell traditional dishes anymore! AND I’M FROM THE PROVINCE.

Ahem. Let’s back to the topic at hand. 

So, I found an interest with the Filipino mythical beings and I am determined to get them out into my country’s pop culture more by either writing a story or drawing a webtoon. But it’ll probably take a long time since I don’t even have a graphics tablet (YET! I’m trying to save up for one, but it’s kinda hard when you’re a spendthrift). However, I’m gonna work hard to make this come true. I think that this country of mine has something to offer, and I wanna prove that.

Although I might make a bit of tweaks with the legends, since hey! They’re stories, and stories tend to change with time.  Why not?

Anyways, I think I’ve strayed from what I wanted to say, so I’ll leave it at that. Yes, this is basically a rant/prospect.

PS: I’m not entirely against using the technological innovations on food like the Beef/Pork/Chicken Cubes or the instant Sinigang Mix, since they make life easier and all. I just think that, every now and then, we need to try going back to basics and trying to achieve flavor without relying on them. I mean, the Phiippines used to have LOTS of spices, but why is our food still so bland and repetitive, often varying degrees of askad? Some mothers don’t even know how to use these spices and just add a dash of Magic Sarap to make up for their lack of knowledge [hell, that’s what my grandmother does]. Kids are gonna grow up without any idea of the cultural background of cuisine.

But IDK I’m just a really picky foodie with a growing dissatisfaction of the selection of restaurants I can show to my foreign friend. I mean, it’s legit really difficult suggesting places to eat when almost everywhere has THE SAME MENU OF BURGERS AND FRIES. 

Sigh...