#bast and I shared this basket
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Pork and truffle xiaolongbao for dinner tonight!!! So rich and what a great flavor! The truffle right in the wrapper to make them black made it look so elegant too.
Happy Lunar New Year!!
#food#bast and I shared this basket#they were delivered to us by a robot with a OuO sparkly animated emoji face and kitty ears I’m not kidding#my first time eating xiaolongbao and I did it correctly!#also had pan-fried crispy noodles with chicken & mushrooms
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Jealous Shuri or Riri
I gotchu covered.
Warnings: Angst, baby!!!! Let's goooo!!!
“You’re absolutely beautiful. When you smile at me, sometimes I feel like I’m about to pass out. Your intelligence is very admirable. There is nobody else like you and I hope you know that. Your kindness enhances your aura, Riri. Your selflessness knows no bounds and I can’t help but compare myself to you. How can I be great like her? I find myself asking. Because she’s perfect in every way possible. Sorry about the rambling. What I wrote in this envelope is more concise, but I had to tell you how I feel. I really like you, Riri. More than anybody else. Will you go out with me?”
Riri awkwardly stood in front of the boy as he laid his heart bare to her. She tried to maintain eye-contact with him throughout his confession out of respect, but she couldn’t help her facial expressions. Bast, hopefully they didn’t come across as rude.
Honestly, when he called her to a secluded part of the school after the last bell rang, where it would be just the two of them, she was half-expecting him to bribe her to do his homework or something since he mentioned he was having a hard time in passing. But a love confession was completely off her radar.
The boy, Sipho, had an optimistic countenance as he had a purple envelope in hand, sealed with a yellow heart-shaped sticker. Along with the envelope, he had a bouquet of Lily of the Nile, and a small gift basket that contained, from what Riri could see, chocolate and some cookies.
Bast. Riri felt like absolute shit about what she was about to do. Sipho was a nice boy. He wasn’t ugly or anything. He was well-mannered and funny. He just….wasn’t her type.
“Sipho, look. I appreciate the thought you put into this. Because just looking at all of this,” She gestured to everything he was holding, “You put a lot of heart into it. You really did your thing.”
Riri screwed her eyes shut, feeling like complete and utter crap.
“But I like girls. So it won’t ever work out. I’m sorry.”
Sipho visibly deflated, “Only girls? Not both girls and guys?”
Riri silently shook her head, “Sorry, Sipho. You’re a really nice dude. You’d make a really good boyfriend for a really lucky girl. The girl just ain’t me.”
Sipho silently nodded, “I understand.” He walked up to Riri and handed her the gifts.
“Wait, no, no. I just rejected you. I can’t accept this stuff.”
Sipho shook his head, “No, I insist. They were intended for you anyway. So take it. I’m not angry or anything, don’t worry.” He gave a sullen smile.
Riri silently nodded her head, “Thanks. I’m sure the cookies are nice.”
“Yea. My Umama’s secret recipe. But I gotta go now. Take care, Riri.” Sipho said before he walked off.
Riri looked at the gift basket full of snacks; she could share these with Shuri!
Riri kneeled down to place the stuff in her bag. The envelope caught her attention. Curious, she ripped it open, but before she could read its contents, her beads pinged. Riri dropped the card in her bag and zipped it up.
“Hey, Shuri!” She smiled and stood back up.
“Hi, Riri! Are you still coming over?”
“For sure! I just got caught up with something.”
“Okay, great! The meeting got canceled so you can come straight here.”
“Alright, no biggie. I’ll be at the Citadel in a bit.”
When Riri arrived, Shuri was already at the entrance waiting for her.
“Yo!” Riri greeted.
“Finally! We talked like…almost half an hour ago. What took you so long?” Shuri fell into step with Riri as she walked down the hall.
“I was enjoying the views. Talking to people here and there. Hugging trees. Just enjoying existence, you know?”
Shuri nodded, “Are you adopting the ways of the hippy now?”
“Uh, no. Never.” She laughed.
They both found themselves in Shuri’s room. Riri had immediately gone to the mini-fridge to get herself and Shuri something to drink. Riri flopped herself on a vacant beanbag while sipping on a juice pouch and Shuri hung over her bed, doing the same.
“I have this assignment that’s due for Miss Anagonye. I mean, I already started it and it’s almost done, but ugh, that lady is so picky. I had to change it up like 4 different times because she kept adding shit to the outline. I swear, why doesn’t the school make her retire?”
Shuri sucked on her pouch, “Maybe it is because she is such a legend, having made a lot of contributions to the modern…moderner? Advancements of Wakanda. Plus you know how elders are, always picky with everything.”
“That lady is a dinosaur regardless. She’s probably as old as your ancestor, Bashenga. She’s practically stardust.” Riri snickered.
“You’re so bad, Riri. Academia is her calling.”
“Nah, a grave is calling her.” Riri dodged a pillow that was hurled her way by Shuri.
“Anywaaaaay, what did you do today?”
Shuri sucked on her juice, “I was excited for most of the day because I had my presentations ready for the improvements to the design group. And T’Challa was giving me affirmations and encouragement that I am most definitely ready to take on full responsibility for research and technological advancements of Wakanda.”
Shuri blew a raspberry, “But it was pushed back because the elders wanted to have a council meeting again with my Father, Mother, and T’Challa to make sure that a child is ready to fill such big shoes.”
“Man, this is why old people are still teaching at the school, bruh. Those oldheads just dunno when to let go. I think it’s cuz they ain’t got no purpose in life after they retire. Like yo…you ain’t gotta worry bout making ends meet regardless. What’s the big deal? Us young people are super capable. But again, just cuz they old and have some wisdom they think they know everything.”
“You just have it out for the elders today, eh?” Shuri laughed.
“I’m telling you. I’m gonna do a dance for joy when Miss Anagonye retires.” She sipped from her juice.
“But don’t worry, Shuri. You’re gonna be head of the Design Group and anything else. T’Challa will sweet talk those salty codgers with that honeyed tongue of his. You’re smarter than anybody else they have lined up for the job. They’ll see straight. They have no choice.”
Shuri kicked her feet in the air with a grin, “Thanks Riri. I needed that. Anything else interesting happened at school today?”
Riri shook her head before she occupied herself with turning on Shuri’s gaming system and rifled through the available titles, “Oh right,” She mumbled absentmindedly as she scrolled, “I brought some snacks. It’s in my bag.”
Shuri rolled off the bed, walked over to Riri’s backpack and opened it. She spotted the gift basket full of snacks and took it out, but noticed a card fall open along with it.
Not being able to help herself when she picked it up, her eyes scanned the words.
Riri,
Your eyes remind me so much of the Earth,
Beautifully rich and full of life paired with a laugh that bubbles with mirth.
You move with such grace and elegance
Paired with a mind that harbors unmatched intelligence.
Your smile lights up a room with its brilliance
Coupled with a mindset that embodies resilience
Your heart is kind and pure and gentle
In your presence I can’t help but be sentimental.
You make my heart skip more than one beat
These feelings I harbor- I cannot retreat.
Whether returned in full or never at all
Just know that I love you
No matter the chances how small.
Love, Sipho.
Shuri’s grip on the card tightened as she read through the love confession. She looked at the gift basket that had a tag on it. She flipped it and say that it said ‘To: Riri. Love Sipho.’ This Sipho boy even dotted the ‘i’s’ with hearts.
She looked at the basket and then at the card and then over at Riri who was preoccupied with the game. Did Riri accept his confession? She clearly had to since she had his card and snacks. So this Sipho boy was now her boyfriend? Her eyes caught the bouquet of the Lily of the Nile as well.
Shuri ground her teeth and angrily zipped back up Riri’s bag and shoved it back in the corner.
“Yo, easy on the merchandise.” Riri called after Shuri, though her eyes never left the screen.
Shuri walked over to Riri and borderline threw the basket of snacks into her lap before flopping on the bed. Shuri knew she was behaving outrageous. Riri could have a boyfriend if she so pleased. But she thought she liked girls? Why the sudden switch now? Bast, this was annoying.
A boy?!
Riri paused the game and looked over at Shuri, “Yo, what’s your problem? You didn’t have to throw it at me like that.”
Shuri closed her eyes to roll them, “It’s nothing. Play your stupid game.”
Ugh! Shuri hated how she couldn’t rid herself of the irritation in her voice. Was she too slow to say something? But if she said something, it might ruin the friendship. Dammit!
“Nah, it’s definitely something with you being all pissy like that. Talk. You know I don’t play that shit. If you have something to say, say it.” Riri cracked her knuckle to stave off her irritation. Because what the fuck? One minute Shuri was cool and now she did a complete 180.
Shuri rolled over on the bed with her back to Riri, “I said it’s nothing.”
“I will get the fuck up out your place right now if you don’t tell me what’s up, Shuri. Cuz I’m feeling like shit right now. You always do this crap. I always have to pry you open like a damn clam for you to talk about certain shit. I’m getting tired of it.”
Shuri sat up on the bed and looked over at Riri, “I didn’t think we’d be keeping secrets from each other.”
“Secret? What the hell are you talking about?” Riri shook her head, was Shuri going off the deep end now?
“I ask you about your day and you fail to tell me you have a boyfriend now? You wanted me to find the snacks he gave you and everything as a present? That love confession of a poem? Flowers!” Shuri had to keep her tone in check because Bast, she would never forgive herself if her voice broke.
“I thought you liked girls, anyway?” She mumbled as she cast her eyes downward.
Riri rubbed her head, “Oh my God. I won’t lie. I was tryna forget that happened, okay?”
Shuri didn’t bother with replying.
Riri walked over and joined Shuri on the bed while busting open the clear wrapping of the basket, “I ain’t got no boyfriend. Sipho had a crush on me. And he confessed earlier today. But I did in fact turn him down and let him know it’ll never happen cuz I’m for the girls.”
Shuri looked at the basket and then at Riri, “Then why did you keep his card where he professed his love to you?”
“You read that?” Riri side-eyed her.
“Yea. It fell out of the bag. Why did you keep it anyway if you rejected him? You don’t have to lie-”
“Lie?” Riri stood up, “What do you mean lie? I ain’t lyin’ bout shit. I just told you I rejected him!”
“Then why are you hoarding his love letters?” Shuri angrily pointed at the bag on the floor.
“Why are you going through my shit? I didn’t even read what he said in that letter.”
“You knew it was a confession! Obviously it had his feelings in it, genius!”
“Back the hell up, why are you so mad right now? And putting my sexuality into question? You wrong for that.” Riri paced and took a deep breath. She just wanted to chill from school. Not deal with this bullshit.
“Why didn’t you just throw it away with his other presents if you like girls so much? If you don’t like him, why keep it? It seems you’re confused.” Shuri hated how irrational she was being. But the thought of Riri even entertaining someone else…
“Con- I’m not a heartless bitch, Shuri! The guy wanted me to have the snacks and letter so I just took it out of kindness. I said I woulda shared the snacks with you! Like I’m trying to do right now, but you’re being a fricken jerk!” Riri kicked the rug in front of Shuri’s bed in irritation before kicking it back to its rightful place.
Shuri rubbed the bridge of her nose and bit the inside of her lip. She glared at the gift basket of snacks with displeasure. She didn’t want to eat any of those snacks made from ‘Sipho’s love for Riri. She didn’t even want that on her bed.
“Man, screw this. Talk to me when you get over yourself. I’m going home.” Riri picked up the gift basket and her bag and left the room.
“Bast.” Shuri rubbed a hand over her face and through her braids, “I messed up.”
Shuri found herself in her mother’s chambers, relating what happened.
“And she had the audacity to want to share his cookies with me. I don’t want to eat treats from someone who wants Riri for himself.” Shuri huffed and groaned as she rambled.
Ramonda looked on as her daughter worked herself up, “Shuri, come.” She pat the seat next to her.
Shuri came over and heavily sat down next to her mother.
“Have you stopped to think that you are confusing Riri?” She asked gently.
“Confusing her? How?”
Ramonda took a breath “Well, Shuri, Riri does not know that you like her. So your outburst came to her as a surprise. And she is rightfully confused. And angry.”
Shuri clasped her hands together. That was correct.
“And you questioning her sexuality was also very, very wrong, my child.”
Shuri winced, she knew it was a low blow to do that. “I was just so angry at the thought of her having a boyfriend. I’d definitely be a better match for her.”
Ramonda smiled, "Then why don’t you tell her your feelings?”
Shuri swiftly shook her head, “No, Mother. It would ruin the friendship if the feelings aren’t reciprocated. You know this.”
Ramonda nodded, “Yes, I know this. But would it be any more ruined than it might be now? You said some very hurtful things to your supposedly good friend. To the girl you….love?”
Shuri bounced her legs anxiously.
“And should a boy not confess his feelings next time, but a girl who she so happens to like back. What then? Will you lash out at her for being with the first girl that asked her out?”
Shuri hung her head in her turmoil.
Riri sobbed into Okoye’s neck, “And..and she- she said I must be confused. I tried so hard not to cry right there, Mama.”
Okoye rubbed Riri’s back and supplied her with kisses to help placate her daughter.
Clearly this was Shuri lashing out because of her untold feeling for Riri, but Okoye didn’t voice it. Riri should figure it out eventually. She just continued rubbing soothing circles on Riri’s back.
“Shuri will come to her senses, Riri. Don’t worry.”
“She pissed me off so bad, Mama. I literally felt physically sick when I left. She didn’t even stop me or anything.”
Okoye hugged Riri tighter, “I know it hurts, my love. But you both always make up, right? That’s the great thing about your relationship with her. You can never stay cross for long.”
Riri sniffled and rubbed her forehead, feeling a headache coming on, “I’m gonna go sleep, Mama.”
Okoye gave Riri another kiss, “All right, my Pebble. Rest well.”
Riri walked to her room and slipped under her sheets, falling asleep almost immediately.
Later that evening, Riri saw that she had a few missed calls on her beads from Shuri. She didn’t even return the calls, deciding to deal with that later.
Riri walked outside and smelled dinner. She walked into the kitchen to see if her mother needed any help but paused when she saw Shuri there, plating out the food with her mother.
“What are you doing here?” Riri eyed her wearily.
Shuri set down a plate, “I came to talk to you.”
“Ma, you let her in?”
Okoye gave Riri a look, “Since when have I ever turned her way, child? Come sit and eat.”
Riri sat at the table, opposite Shuri. She decided to stay out of the conversation unless her mother prompted her. And she made sure to avoid eye contact every time Shuri tried to catch her gaze.
Once dinner was over, Shuri offered Okoye to help wash up.
Riri used this time to escape to her room.
Around twenty minutes later, a knock came to her door.
“Come in.” By the power of Bast, maybe it was just her mother and Shuri went home already.
The door slowly opened to reveal Shuri.
“Hey, Riri.”
Riri gazed at the ceiling, “Yo.”
Shuri closed the door and walked further into the room with her hands behind her back, “I came to apologize about my behavior this afternoon.”
Riri just glanced over at Shuri.
“I’m sorry. I’m sorry for making you feel so bad. I am sorry for acting so irrational. I’m sorry for those hurtful things I said.”
Shuri wanted to sit down, but she didn’t want to push the envelope too much.
“Why did you say them in the first place, Shuri? Do you just like making me feel like crap from time to time?” Riri kept her eyes upward to prevent any more tears from falling.
“No, don’t say that. I don’t like making you feel that way.”
“Then why do I feel that way, Shuri?”
Shuri took a hand from behind her back and rubbed it down her face. Should she say it? But what if it ruins them beyond repair? Should she take the risk?
“You’re spacing out on me.”
Shuri looked over at Riri, “Making you hurt is never my intention. I care about you too much for that. I..I..The reason I behaved in such a manner earlier...”
Riri sat up on her elbows, “Yea?”
Shuri took a staggering breath, “I behaved like that because…”
Riri held her breath as her heart hammered in her chest.
“I care about you so much. We’ve been friends for so long and we were two peas in a pod. We are two peas in a pod. I was just…scared. I acted irrationally thinking that you getting a boyfriend…any relationship in general would cause us to drift apart. And you’d forget about me. So I lashed out.”
Shit.
Riri looked at Shuri. Really looked at her before she cracked a smile.
Fuck.
“You know that’d never happen. Nobody could ever replace you.”
She copped out.
Shuri smiled back before pulling out a gift bag from behind her back, “I brought these snacks as a peace offering. I even put some Oreos in there too.”
Riri sat up straighter on the bed and clapped excitedly, “Yes!” She grabbed up the bag and rummaged through it with feral vigor.
Ha. It feels good knowing Sipho could never make her excited like this at least.
“Thanks, Shuri.”
Shuri just smiled.
‘’Get over here!’’ Riri gestured for Shuri to come sit on the bed, which she did.
She enveloped Shuri in a hug, to which she excitedly hugged back.
“I forgive you. Thanks for apologizing.”
“You shouldn’t thank me. It was the proper thing to do.” She rested her chin on Riri’s shoulder.
Riri hugged Shuri tighter as she stared at an imaginary spot on the wall.
Shame on her for assuming Shuri was going to confess. She definitely didn’t like her like that.
Taggies: @somethingcleaverandwhitty @karimwillia @neptoons1998 @pantherheart
#riri williams#princess shuri#shuri udaku#shuriri#shuri x riri#black wlw#black panther#wakanda forever#fanfic#okoye#mama!okoye#daughter!riri#mama okoye and daughter riri
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Egyptians gods: Bastet
Bastet is without a doubt one of the most famous goddesses of Ancient Egypt today.
Everybody heard of the cult and worship Ancient Egyptians dedicated to cats. Cats were sacred animals for them. Originally domesticated around two thousand years before our current era, they were loved due to their habit of hunting, killing and eating rats. When you had cats around, plagues were less likely to break out AND the harvest and fields were safe! Through time, this love took on a religious and sacred aspect, and cats became honored, respected and pampered members of every household. When a pet cat died, the humans that lived in its house had to shave their eyebrows to signify their grief. When the cat of a temple died, the entire town mourned. Each pharaoh had a personal cat, dressed in jewelry and that shared their master’s meal. Cats were mummified, just like humans, and were placed inside a necropolis – showing how important they were for Ancient Egyptians. Egyptians even had a firm belief that when a fire broke out somewhere, cats would just jump in the flames and stop the fire by their sheer power! Cats were a BIG deal in Ancient Egypt.
And the goddess of all cats, the cat-goddess, was Bastet (or Bast), the goddess of the city of Bubastis (a name that means “the house of Bastet”, Per-Bastet in proper Egyptian), in the Delta. However, originally Bastet wasn’t a cat goddess: in her oldest incarnations, Bastet appeared as a woman with the head of a lioness, usually wearing the ankh and a scepter. It was only later that she became a cat – somewhere around the Third Intermediate Period. Sometimes a full cat, wearing jewels or nursing her kittens, other times a cat-headed woman holding a sistrum.
Bastet was, just like several other goddesses (Maat, Hathor, Sekhmet, Tefnut), considered one of the “daughters of Ra” – which meant more than just her having the god as her father. The daughters of Ra were goddesses that embodied the power of the sun, each one reflecting a different side of the sun’s light. Each of them was another identity of the “Eye of Ra”, whose function was to help create and re-create life on Earth, by bringing light and by fighting off the darkness. While sometimes merely depicted as sisters, for many others Bastet and Sekhmet were actually one and the same: a same feline goddess, that when angered or triggered, became the furious lioness embodying the destructive and killing aspect of the sun, while Bastet was rather the benevolent and kind side of the solar light. It was for example written in some texts that Bastet became Sekhmet for the night, to protect ferociously Ra during his journey throughout the dangerous and demon-filled underworld, only to return to being Bastet in the morning. Starting in 2500 BCE, many lioness statues were replaced by cat statues in Sekhmet temples, which with time became Bastet temples. [It is theorized that maybe Sekhmet and Bastet began as one same entity, which was later split into two]
But who was Bastet, by herself, on her own? Bastet was, as I said, the kind and benevolent aspect of the light of the sun. Bastet was the embodiment of sweetness, gentleness and tenderness. People depicted her as calm, peaceful and loving. She was a benevolent and very popular deity associated, just like Hathor, with music and dancing – her rites in Bubastis included musical ceremonies, religious dances and ritualized sex. The festivals of Bastet also included a LOT of alcohol – which was justified by the need to prevent Bastet from becoming Sekhmet, putting the burning lioness to sleep by making her drunk. Bastet also embodied maternal love: she was often depicted taking care of kittens, either breast-feeding them, or keeping them in a basket. She was a goddess prayed to at every birth, so that she would protect the newborn. In fact, Egyptians had the habit of making a small cut in the inside of the elbow of the baby, and place in it a few drops of cat blood – this was to make sure the child would attract the favors of Bastet. Keeper of peace, protectress of the house, Bastet was also believed to prevent the spreading of contagious diseases, and to protect humans from evil spirits. No need to say that her cult was practiced more intensely by women, since Bast was the goddess that helped them give birth and take care of the home.
A fun fact: when the Greeks established a correspondence between their gods and the Egyptian ones, they decided that the goddess corresponding to Bast would be… Artemis! It might be surprising to choose the goddess of the hunt and the wilderness for a goddess of peace, maternity and home, but this is actually easily explained by Bast’s “primitive” form as a lioness goddess, which made the Greeks confuse her with another lion-goddess, Tefnut (who they also identified with Artemis).
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can you do a shuri x riri smut for valentine’s day?
warn; smut jealousy oooo i luv it, porn yall, strength kink, size diff, possessive shuri.
a/n oooo yalll i luvvv this one, ALSO I DIDNT PROOF READ BITCH IM TIRED
JEALOUS
if his bitchass look over here again im going to fucking kill him
needless to say, the night isnt going to play. riri and shuri sit hand in hand, in a booth. the two find themselves at a diner, in chicago for valentines. riri got the invite from instagram.
“ come on shuri please, can we go? plus its a good time since your in town” riri pleaded to shuri.
“oh fine we can go plus i want a good unhealthy american milkshake”.
so here they are slurping on vanilla milkshakes and chewing on a large order of fries. pink and red paper cutouts float all around them. cute hearts and x’s and o’s, placed all over the table. big themed balloons cover the ceiling. and honesty, the night was going so, so well. shuri and riri talk about any and everything. from work and college life to how to eat a milkshake and fries properly.
“no bruh you have to dip the fry in the milkshake” riri reaches to grab the fry from shuri’s hand
“what no i don't want to” she weaves riri’s hand, scooting farther in the booth
“what? why not, it's good!” riri gives up and grabs fries from the basket.
“i don't think thats…right. like who wants soggy fries?”
“girl please here just try it” riri dips the fry and hands it to shuri. the older reluctantly strains her neck. with one more look at riri she bites down on the new food. after a few chews, she chimes in.
“mmmm this is good”
“i knoww” riri claps her hands together, happy that shuri actually liked it.
“ although i can feel the diabetes growing on me”
happiness danced between the two. well, that was until, some guy walked into their sight. he stopped and leaned on the white walls. placing his disgusting eyes of lust on riri.
“ummm” riri begins to shift uncomfortably, shuri speaks up quickly, noticing the change.
“wait, you know him, because what is he looking at?” shuri starts already on defense mode
“wait, chill. chill! if he doesn’t stop, then we can just leave. okay?”
shuri slowly agrees, and she sets her eyes of the man. he quickly turns his head, noticing a man walking up to him. he says something to the random man, seconds pass, and the ugly eyes are on riri again
“okay, his time is up” shuri rises from the booth
“shuri ! shuri sit down” riri leans over the table, a loose grip on shuri’s wrist
“what?” she speaks but doesn’t move her eyes from the new target
“you can’t just go hitting on people! this is america!!!”
“uhhh okay? your point”
“the chicago police will have our ass because you be hitting people”
“ look, i know you're new here but, america’s navy blue gang doesn’t scare me. plus with your criminal history now you decide to be scary ”
“GIRL-okay look shuri, don't. hurt. nobody”
“riri if his bitchass look over here again im going to fucking kill him”
“oh my god”
“bast what, first of all look at him. thats a MAN! YOUR GAY WITH A GIRLFRIEND. ri he doesn’t even view you as a human, looking at you like that. and i don’t share nor like it”
while the two genius pass words, the nightmare of the night walks up to them. shuri jumps up with no hesitation. riri rushe's to grab her top, yanking her back.
“aye aye slime let holler at you-”
“she good” shuri speaks up for riri, hoping this guy would just get the hint.
“tuh! i was talking to shawty with the fat-”
a loud smack is heard throughout the diner. with a blur, riri sees the man’s body fly back. the boy slams into a broken chair. he slumps down on a now broken chair, way pass his original standing point. riri watches and lingers as people gather around the man. slurping pulls her out of the daze, looking over to her right she sees shuri. the royal carries on slurping the vanilla shake.
“ damnit i want the cherry but i can’t get it”
“ bruh you can’t be for real right now”
“i don’t see why you so worried about his ugly ass”
“i’m not worried bout him you just can’t-”
“did he make you feel uncomfy?” riri’s breath gets caught in her throat. he did. and a part of her is happy shuri punched his ass into the wall. riri stammers over her words as shuri sits in the booth.
“oh okay then” shuri says while slurping her straw
riri shakes her head, looking to the right she sees the people walking through the door. two of them, muscled men in blue wrinkly outfits, strutting over to them.
“shuri them people coming, we gotta go” riri grabs the two bags on the table.
“oh okay i’m talking the milkshake, you want the fries tho?”
“no i don’t want no damn fries! let’s go.”
“ooooo aggressive! wait! wait!” riri walks out of the diner, making shuri jogging a bit to catch up with her. shuri sees the tiny girl in a pink top and loose jeans get closer and closer.
“okay slow down! mama slow down!” shuri breathes out and sucks in long breaths
“man bye, stop acting like your tired! im tired. i need a drink after the shit you be pulling”
shuri thinks it's smart to keep quiet as they walk down the chicago streets, looking for a decent bar. soon the two have two drinks each. watermelon and strawberry margaritas. shuri currently chews on her and riri’s pieces of fruit from their drinks.
“no because? what is wrong with you- like we get it your strong as shit but like all that so unnecessary” riri starts wanting to get to the bottom for why shuri acted like that.
“it’s a problem that i don’t like that bitch”
“stop fucking lying, WHY don’t you like him besides the entire creepy? weirdo? part”
“girl, im not lying”
“ …girl? shuri you buzzed a bit?”
“don’t make me feel like that! so are youu”
yeah they most definitely feel it. luckily two drinks are the limit, only to feel a little buzz. and in riri’s case it allows her to shed the nerves and anxiety.
“ i know what your problem is” riri smacks and chews on the ice from the drinks.
“ ri please, it's valentines” shuri joins, gnawing down on the ice.
“ girl hush up- you sooo jealous of everything and everyone”
“that’s not true” shuri calls over the bartending closing out the tab. they still linger, chewing on the ice, still talking.
“oh its not true? ok what is then big head”
“number one, your head is bigger than mine. and im not jealous-”
“ you’re right, it's call delusional i mean possessive”
“ yeahh…. and that’s not a crime! i know what i am do you know what you are?”
“ oh easy a genius!”
hours later, shuri is grabbing riri’s hand and leading her out of the bar.
“where we finna go?” the smaller ask but is meet with silence
“ummm where are you taking me? helloooo answer the question!” riri begins poking the panther's cheeks and tugging their matching clothes.
“ahem ahem! ngangamsha (your majesty) where areth thou taking me”
“ooooo okay you’ve been practicing” shuri breaks the silence, surprised on riri’s improvement
“yeaaa! cuz i’m in the game fr, you know i do this!”
“ but i do have a little surprise. since we had to leave the restaurant because of weirdos”
shuri covers her eyes as she leads her into the further into the airbnb. riri jumps and shakes from excitement.
“ooo okay okay is it food or like something else” riri asks for a hint, while she sticks her hands in the air trying to feel around for the answer.
“i’m not telling you, you’re literally about to see it”
“okay well move your fingers” then she tries to pry shuri’s fingers from her eyes. once the engineer gives up on the method, she starts to duck under the hands.
“slow down” shuri laughs and her antics slow down
“ you are gonna hurt yourself” walking a few steps forward shuri let’s riri’s eyes see the room.
valentines theme food is everywhere. from their favorite fruit, desserts,candy. watermelon, cupcakes, cookies, donuts, big candied grapes, every red and pink candy under the sun. and if it isn’t red or pink, it’s covered in colored chocolate.
“awwww baby this is so cuteee pause. is this our name on the cookies? stawp”
“ yeah since i cut the diner short i thought you would like it”
“like it? i love it ” riri grabs a pink cookie biting into it
“good, i love you” shuri wraps her arms around the smaller’s waist. riri leans her head back on shuri’s chest. she still nibbles on the sweet cookie, eyes full of stars. body working up a nice heat, as shuri rubs up and down. she traces words in her skin and plays with her pink tank top. the smaller twists her body in shuri’s hold. turning to look up at shuri she offers the rest of the cookie. shuri holds on riri as she feeds her the cookie. once shuri has eaten it all, riri brushe's off crumbs and pink sugar pieces with her fingers. soft fingers brush skin around shuri’s lips.
“clean” riri whisperers.
riri doesn’t move her fingers though. she slowly makes her way to rest her limbs on shuri’s shoulders. the two share a look of want and need before moving closer.
“i love you too” riri breathes out before shuri crashe's their lips together. small pants fall out of each other's mouths. they both put in effort to wreck the other. riri bites down on shuri’s bottom lip, knowing it will cause her to lose her shit. in return, shuri swipes riri off the ground and puts her against the wall. placing her veiny hand on riri’s jaw, shuri kisses into her mouth. using her other hand, she holds her up against the wall. riri spreads her legs, welcoming shuri into her. shuri grinds their clothed heats together, causing riri to break the kiss.
“ fuck don't stop” riri sucks on shuri's tongue and laps every part of the older’s mouth. tears swell up in the engineer's eyes. growing restless, shuri holds riri to her chest as she makes her way to the bed.
shuri tightens the hold on riri neck as she dips her long fingers into riri’s pussy. she pumps at a steady pace, curling fingers. riri screams as she plays with the sensitive muscles. she leans down to her lips. using her free hand, she spanks riri’s ass. the recoil doing nothing, but rocking her in the digits even more.
“spread it open” shuri demands. riri recess her grip the sheets and shuri’s hair. she wiggles her hands to gain more feeling. finally, she reaches down to her legs. hands on her thighs, she pulls them apart.
“ummhmmm keep it like that”
while riri holds her legs, shuri pumps her fingers in and out mesmerized. she’s in a loop, brown and pink with slick has her in a trance. the only thing breaking her out is the whimpers from the girl herself. she slowly pulls out, eyes locked with riri’s. shuri only has the tip of her fingers in as she pushe's all the away back in and uses her thumb to circle riri’s clit. riri eyes roll to the back of her head as she throws her head back, hitting the bed
“hhayi (no) get up and look at me” shuri rasps out
on wobbly arms, riri manages to sit back up. shuri again slowly pulls out. she looks at her glistening fingers before offering them riri. as riri tongue swipes over shuri's fingers, the taller allows a long then line of spit to fall over riri’s spread out heat. shuri leans down and kisses riri’s pretty swollen lips. smacking fills the room
“haa haa fuck shuri mmmm” riri let’s the moans spill out her mouth.
“i bet you thought that shit was cute huh” shuri talks while eating
“what are talk- fuck me god”
“can’t nobody touch you like this but me."
“can’t nobody do it like you baby” riri cries out. shuri places her hands on riri’s thighs. she pushe's back on her legs, making her body curve. she can make riri’s body rock, and on her mouth she did. tongue flat she works riri’s body against her. heavy planted up and down her legs go, while shuri's mouth slurps side to side
“fuck baby fuck”
switching it up, she picks up riri from her spread position, and plopping her on her face. above, riri tries to buck away from shuri. griping on to riri’s thighs, shuri continues to eat. juices poop out of the smaller, quickly covering shuri face as they drip down her neck.
“shuri i’m s-s-sh mama i’m so close”
humming, shuri focuses on riri’s clit, she sucks and licks fast. when riri voice cracks, shuri lick her slit. she watches as the tiny girl arches her back with a cry. riri shakes as shuri continues to please her with her fingers.
finally, shuri eased riri back on the bed. the younger still shaking and sniffing her cry’s
“okay so how you want it” with a cracked voice, riri starts up.
“what”
“man don’t be asking dumb questions, i said how you want it?”
“well missy… you can wait a second, don’t want you crying in my shit”
“oh you got jokes!? you think you did yo big one and you DIDN’T” riri raises her voice as she's about to get up. the poor girl didn’t even process shuri moving, but she did. she grabs riri throws her down on the bed again. shuri placed her thumb on her clit, she moved it just a teenie weenie bit
“wait please okay”
“ohh that’s what i thought… and i kinda want you on your knees or something”
“okay” riri slips down off the bed, hitting the tile with haste.
“after you eat a bit” shuri says while passing a plate of fruits and water.
tags @karimwillia @shuri'smainbxtch @shuri'szn @widowmakker @letitias-fav @rxcently @acommonwhor3 @garbagesleepschedule @nightlife-things @sweetalittleselfish-honey @louderfortheback @heartsforjojo @youralphawolf72 @blackqueensforeva
#Queen of Wakanda#dominique thorne#shuri black panther#Shuri#Shuriri#princess shuri#shuri udaku#shuri x riri#riri williams#lgbt pride#Letitia Wright#riri x shuri#black panther#Wakanda forever#shuri fanfiction#shuri fic#shuri fluff#fluff#mcu fluff#MCU fanfiction#mcu smut#lgbtq#lgbt fiction#LGBTQIA#wlw#wlw sapphic#wlw sex#wlw love#sapphic#soft lesbian
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What attracted Ki'to to G'raha and Aymeric?
Yesss, thank you for this question! This might be a long one, but I'll try not to ramble. Too late. xD
In short, it was the millions of tiny things they did that showed their personalities throughout their time together that attracted him. They're so genuine, and Ki'to adores that about them.
Spoiler warnings for those who have not experienced Heavensward or Shadowbringers yet.
To go into why he was attracted to/loves them, I felt I needed to share his thoughts in certain parts of the story, so spoilers abound.
When it comes to Aymeric, though he didn't know if he should trust him at first due to the man being from the only walled-off city to flat-out deny the Scions entry and all of the machinations in the shadows around him, their first meeting put him more at ease. Though he was most concerned with Ishgard and its interests, he was willing to hear them out. It was more than anyone in Coerthas was willing to do at the time besides Haurchefant. Also helped that he was pretty and had a nice voice, but that's besides the point. xD
It was when he, Alphinaud, and Tataru got to Ishgard that he really started to see his future husband in the man though.
Kind, caring, compassionate, loyal, protective, and idealistic to a fault. Yet determined to see those ideals realized, even if he must suffer for it;
He found in him a man he could depend on no matter what. Someone who he could trust not to lie to him, hurt him, or otherwise suffer at the hands of. In a time where everything seemed like it was out to get him, even his own mind, Aymeric was warm and safe. I think he clung to that a bit more than he should honestly, but he was in a vulnerable place.
From post-Heavensward onward, was when he really saw his chances with him. Aymeric is absolutely smitten with the WoL by the end of HW, we all know this, and seeing that peek through and realizing he had an interest in him as well, he knew he only had to wait until Ishgard was no longer threatened to make his move.
And so he did.
After Aymeric's speech upon the ending of the Dragonsong war, Ki'to pulled him aside and asked if he might be interested in a relationship. A proposal all too happily accepted. And some time after they celebrated with wine and a much needed rest. Together.
As for G'raha, while their first meeting was strange and competitive, he proved himself to be a great ally over their time in the Crystal Tower. He had grown rather endeared to his fellow Miqo'te by the end of their time there together, and saw him as a good friend, so when those doors closed and separated them it left a pang in his heart. He didn't realize quite why his heart felt the way it did, or why the memories would rouse him from sleep and fill him with guilt. But they were certainly there.
As I mentioned here, Ki'to attributes voices to people as well as faces. So, when he had heard G'raha's voice in his mind, he knew it was him. And after all that time the pang returned full-force when he realized he was awake. Thus, he shook off the headaches and tried to understand the meaning in his cryptic words. "Throw wide the gate"? What gate?
When he finally returned to the Crystal Tower and found that cog, that "Got you" made it click, and he allowed whatever needed to happen to happen. And when they met again in the First, he could barely contain the joy he felt knowing he was safe.
Seeing what had become of him, mentally and personality-wise anyway, he found himself gravitating towards him. All his years in the First had seen him grow into a wise, gentle, compassionate, loyal, and confident man (when it counted). Though for all his confidence as a leader, he was still endearingly shy in private. A rather adorable trait Ki'to learned over his time there. As well as exceedingly considerate, willing to aid him whenever it was possible, and making sure he was well taken care of (listen, I still have that sandwich basket in my inventory because I'm a sentimental bastard).
He was also exceedingly self-sacrificing... not only in the grand scheme of things when planning to take the light and sacrifice himself, but also giving himself over to the Crystal Tower.
Seeing him shot down right in front of him I think was when he realized "Oh shit, I think I love him". You don't feel that kind of anguish with 'just a friend'. I think in light of that, along with the Lightwarden trying to break through, he was in a fog of trying to figure out his heart on the way to Amaurot as well. That part of his journey was and will ever be a blur. And when things had reached a head, and Hades was no more, Ki'to made sure to sit Raha down and made him promise that any plans he had of self-sacrifice, he would run by everyone first. If only so they could remind him that that's a last resort, if any.
Whereas Ki'to was quick to act on his feelings with Aymeric, it took a little longer with G'raha. In part due to everything happening all at once up until the very end, but also due to Ki'to trying to sort out his emotions. Was he just feeling protective and raw after he knew G'raha's plans? Was it the Lightwarden's influence trying to make him chase after him? His body didn't really feel like his own until Hades was defeated, and even then it still felt like a lingering what-if.
After Elidibus' defeat and entrapment within the tower, there could be no more doubt about what he felt though.
When I say he wept at the feet of G'raha's crystalline form for what seemed like an eternity, I mean it. Sobbed till his eyes stung and his knees ached from kneeling on crystal for hours. How was he to know if he would ever see him again? How was he to know if this would be another love that slipped through his fingers because death claimed them before he confessed?
So when he got back to the Source, he didn't even think, his feet led him straight to the foot of the Crystal Tower. He needed to know.
And when G'raha awoke, memories intact, Ki'to damn near fell to his knees and confessed. There was no way he was going any longer without doing so.
A very long-winded answer to a very simple question, but I couldn't help myself. When I say I love yelling about him and his husbands I really do mean it. xD
Thank you so much for the question, @irisopranta!
#Ki'to#Answerin' asks#He loves both of these men so much#but damn if he didn't have one hell of a winding road with Raha#Also yes that was an allusion to Haurchefant#That man's death stung more because he didn't realize what he felt till it was too late#Having Menphina watch over him as he watches over Ishgard was likely his idea#ffxiv oc#ffxiv wol#ffxiv
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Dear Ms Talviel,
It has been about 4 years since I last delved into the realm of Daggerfall, so I have been unable to check something that has been upon my mind for several weeks now, that perhaps you might be best versed in answering.
As you know, there are multiple Orders of Knights within Daggerfall (and I daresay beyond), each dedicated to a Deity or concept, with their own practices and rituals. What sort of foods and drink could one visiting or joining these Orders expect to see prepared, apart from the standard Breton fare?
I remain,
Knight.
This required a trip to the Synod to pick up some books on Breton history, as I've never really concerned myself with knights (a bit obsessed with honour and all that, no offence). Due to the large number of Orders historically associated with the Iliac Bay region, I will limit this list to some of the more prominent knightly groups in High Rock.
The Knights of the Dragon
The most prominent of knightly Orders, the Knights of the Dragon are known for their unwavering dedication to Daggerfall and martial prowess. As fighters and followers of Kynareth, this Order relies on hearty food to keep them on their toes, like roast beef or lamb with vegetables, creamy barley soup, and all the potatoes they can eat. Being within the cosmopolitan reaches of Daggerfall, the Knights of the Dragon are lucky enough to be able to eat what they want, when they want.
The Knights of the Flame
From the former region of Anticlere in southern High Rock, the Knights of the Flame were said to be gods amongst men, and ate as befitting their station. Due to the region's direct access to the sea, the Order enjoyed their seafood straight from the Iliac Bay. Cheese-baked crab, fish pie, grilled seafood and meat skewers, and seaweed soup with mussels and white wine are just a few delicacies they would have enjoyed.
The Knights of the Owl
Hailing from Glenpoint, a region of High Rock which historically worships Zenithar, the Knights of the Owl were the defenders of the Glenpoint royal family. As followers of Zenithar, Aedra of commerce and hard work, the Knights believe in working for their fair share of food at the end of the day. Fare is a slightly fancier version of food you'd find at any worker's tavern in the Province. Think inland favourites like meat pies, creamy rice porridge with pulled pork, and stuffed roast pheasant with plum-and-brandy gravy.
The Knights of the Rose
Another prominent knightly faction are the Knights of the Rose from the city of Wayrest. Akatosh is the primary deity in the area, and followers in the Order keep their principles of duty and obedience close to heart. Like Daggerfall, Wayrest is a large city and finding imported goods is no problem. Whether it's a humble bowl of oatmeal with maple syrup and walnuts, pear and blue cheese salad on a baguette, or poached perch straight from the Bjoulsae River, food is always healthy and balanced, while not being overly rich.
The Knights of the Raven
From the former barony of Dwynnen by the Iliac Bay, the Knights of the Raven likely ate a good blend of seafood and farmed livestock due to the lay of the land. Followers of Julianos, the Aedra of logic and wisdom, the Order obtained their food from both inland forested areas as well as Iliac Bay seafood. Barbecued venison with a spiced honey baste, fried mixed seafood baskets with lemon pepper, grilled eel with fruit salad, and pheasant braised with perry are just some of the possible dishes they may have eaten.
#the elder scrolls#tes#Daggerfall#Knightly Orders#Food#Cooking#world building#Worldbuilding#Knight#Knights
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Troubled Waters Chapter Four
Hey, yall! Here’s the next chapter of Nia and T’Challa’s journey. I’m super proud of this one (I’m proud of all my work, but still.) With the help of @wordsfromthelivingghost being a bomb ass beta reader, I think this is some of my best work yet. And I’m only gonna get better!
Check out my masterlist to read my other stories (and catch up on this one if you’re new here.) I love when y’all talk to me and share my work so others can discover it, so hit those comment and reblog buttons. Also, be sure to let me know if you want to be tagged in anything. Enjoy!😘
Word count: 8,894
CW: A little blood and cutting but NOT for self-harm reasons. If it bothers you, skip the second half of the scene at Kokou’s temple.
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Nia pressed her cheek to the window, careful not to smudge the thin line of white clay painted down the center of her face. Her eyes were wide, and her mouth hung slightly open as she watched Wakanda zoom by from hundreds of feet in the air. She had always loved seeing what the world looked like from above, but it had been years since she last got to enjoy the view. When she was young, Amare would carry her in his arms as he flew high above the ground to give her a taste of what she so desperately wanted: to feel the wind beneath her nonexistent wings.
T’Challa half-watched Nia from his seat off to the side of the cabin as he flipped through news articles on his kimoyo beads. As they flew over a statue of Bast in her full panther form, he could tell the bright blue light radiating from the tunnel beneath the goddess intrigued her. Her head tilted slightly to the left, and he turned off his beads right as she turned around with a question on her lips.
“That’s Mt. Bashenga,” T’Challa answered prematurely as he stood and made his way over to the window, looking out at his kingdom as Okoye steered the Royal Talon over the Mining province.
“Why’s it glowing?”
“Vibranium.”
“Ohhh.” Nia thought back to the human history books she read as a child that told their story of the founding of Wakanda. Obviously, they had censored the part about aziza, but she still found their revisionist history fascinating. “That’s where the meteorite landed, right?”
T’Challa nodded, impressed by her knowledge.
“Ubaba always said vibranium was ‘the humans’ magic’,” she whispered just loud enough for him to hear.
T’Challa was mildly shocked. He had never considered it that way, but he supposed it was sort of otherworldly what they were able to do with the substance. In comparison to other humans, anyway.
Okoye kept her focus on flying the ship, but T’Challa couldn’t help but spot the slight glow that emanated from Nia’s skin while she ogled the scenery. The king reflected on the description of aziza he had read the day before and remembered that it mentioned their luminous skin. He had noticed that even when she was standoffish towards him, she seemed to radiate light from the inside out, but seeing her literally light up in excitement brought him joy.
When Birnin Zana came into view, Nia’s eyes curiously trailed along the tributaries that moseyed through the metropolis and she was reminded of the magic realm’s big city, Birnin Umlingo. She smiled fondly at how similar they were despite the fact that Birnin Zana was so much bigger. It was nestled between rolling hills and sharp cliffsides, and she was pleasantly surprised to see all the lush greenery dispersed throughout the city. There were small parks everywhere and most of the roofs were topped with well-kept gardens. The skyscrapers and apartment buildings stretched to the sky like the trees that lined the streets, but Nia was almost blinded when the sun bounced off of an impressive structure in the middle of the city. Two almost conical, shining towers spiraled up from an ancient foundation that swirled around the base like the flowing tributary that surrounded most of it like a moat. The towers were connected by a long bridge about a third of the way up and despite her amazement, Nia couldn’t help but wonder why they had to build two towers instead of just one.
“Bast, is that the palace?” She pointed up ahead.
T’Challa smirked proudly. He never tired of seeing the dual vibranium spires that towered over even the tallest skyscrapers throughout the city.
“It is,” he said proudly.
“It’s so big,” she whispered, then turned to look at him. “Does it ever feel empty?”
He furrowed his brows, making a little crease appear between them that Nia found endearing. “How do you mean?”
“Well, it’s just you and your family that live there, right?”
The king nodded.
“Then why do you need so much space? And why two instead of just one? It seems so unnecessary.”
Okoye bit the inside of her lip to keep from snickering at Nia’s sincere inquiries. She wasn’t too keen on Nia and wasn’t quite sure why she was there, but she had worked for T’Challa long enough to know he didn’t like people questioning him.
“I don’t- it’s not just...look.” He pointed back out the window to distract her, and Nia whipped her head around to watch their descent to the landing pad in front of the palace.
The three of them exited the Talon, but instead of entering T’Challa’s gratuitously large home, they made a left and walked through the palace gates and into the bustling streets of Birnin Zana. Nia had been to the big city before when she was young, but it seemed like it had exploded over the last couple of decades. It had always been a busy hub of commerce for the Merchant tribe, but business owners from the other tribes had moved there in droves over the past few years to get a piece of the pie.
The three of them passed through the financial district with ease. Nia kept her neck craned to look up at the tall banks, corporate offices, and massive parking garages filled with hovercars. In the distance, she saw an arena and she wondered what took place there. Did they have many concerts? Sporting events? She made a mental note to ask about that later and continued to take in her surroundings. The maglev trains zooming by high above the street caught her attention, and her eyes widened. She had never been on a train before.
They eventually made it to Three Step Town, the cultural hub of the city and Nia looked on in awe at the various businesses that surrounded them. Once again, she was reminded of Birnin Umlingo as she looked around at the diversity that surrounded her. Most of the older folks were dressed in the traditional clothing of their tribes, but the younger Wakandans seemed to prefer a more modern look. They really were a spectacle. Some people had brightly colored manes and shining vibranium tattoos that decorated their skin, and the sight had Nia’s wheels turning. She had never really experimented much with her look, but they were giving her the inspiration to try something different.
Just as Nia began to ponder what body modification would look good on her, she felt someone grab her and yank her to the side of the street. She began to protest right as a streetcar full of people rolled by. Nia turned to thank her savior, smiling sheepishly when she realized it was Okoye.
“Watch where you’re going,” the general warned harshly and let go of Nia’s arm. The two of them joined T’Challa as he spoke to a snaggletoothed young boy who had proudly shown him the Black Panther action figure that he carried everywhere. The boy’s parents thanked the king for being so polite before they said goodbye and went on their way. Nia’s heart warmed a little at seeing T’Challa be so kind to them. He could have easily ignored the family or had Okoye intervene, but he seemed to enjoy interacting with his people. As the three of them continued on their journey, a small smile pushed up the corners of Nia’s mouth knowing he wasn’t as arrogant as she assumed.
Nia was almost overwhelmed by the many shops they passed by. She could buy anything she wanted: jewelry, instruments, furniture, hats. It seemed like they had everything. However, she came to a halt when they walked by a store with colorful, hand-woven baskets hanging out front. The old lady that ran the shop noticed Nia staring and came forward to help her pick one out, but paused when she saw that the king was standing beside her. She saluted him fondly and turned to face his companion.
“Excuse me, how much for this one?” Nia asked the shopkeep as her fingers ran over the intricate patterns along the sides of a mid-sized sweetgrass basket.
“For you it is free,” the older woman said through a bright smile that crinkled her eyes. Before Nia could protest, she had already taken it down and pushed it into her arms.
“Are you sure? I can pay-”
“Just tell people where you got it,” the woman winked before going back inside to help a customer that was ready to check out.
Nia couldn’t believe how kind the woman had been to give her the gift, but her amazement was cut short by T’Challa leaning in close and ruining the moment.
“Just one of the perks of traveling with the king,” he teased.
Nia rolled her eyes and stepped away from him, continuing down the street with her basket swinging in the crook of her elbow. She had been so caught up in her surroundings that she hadn’t noticed the stares from passersby and began to get a little self-conscious. A few people even snapped a picture or two of the king and his elusive friend, some of which would surely end up on gossip blogs by the end of the day.
Her nervousness was short-lived and quickly got replaced with longing when they turned the corner and walked right through the food district. Not only did the colorful produce stands call to her, but the smells of curries and grilled meats continuously pulled her attention from left to right. However, when a deliciously sweet aroma tickled her nose, she stopped dead in the middle of the road.
“Where is that coming from?” Nia sniffed the air and veered off the main street as she followed the scent to a man that was serving up deep-fried sweet plantain on a stick, drizzled with chocolate. T’Challa kept a close eye on Nia but stayed back and let her wander up to the dessert cart alone. He watched as she engaged the man in conversation and saw her come alive when she tasted the sample he provided her. A small smile crept up the king’s face, but his amusement was cut short by Okoye clearing her throat next to him.
“My king,” she started, and he turned slightly in her direction, nodding for her to continue as he kept his eyes on Nia. “If I may...what exactly is her purpose here with us?”
“Nia is a devotee of Bast, and I believe she may be helpful in our attempts to understand what has happened to her,” he stated matter-of-factly.
Okoye sensed his unwillingness to go further into detail and grew quiet again as Nia damn near skipped back over to them with her hands full.
“Here you go,” Nia sang as she held out two of the desserts for them to take. “He saw I was with the king and gave me three for free!”
Neither of them was hungry, but they just couldn’t say no to her big, childlike eyes.
“Thank you,” T’Challa waved to the man behind the counter and took a bite of the dessert, eyes rolling back in ecstasy. “Mmm”
“See? It’s amazing,” Nia said with a mouth full of plantain. Even Okoye had to agree.
The three of them ate their midmorning snack as they strolled through the streets, eventually making their way to a much quieter section on the outskirts of the busy city center. Just as Nia finished licking the last bit of chocolate from the wooden stick, she came face to face with an ancient-looking stone building that didn’t quite fit the vibe of the modern neighborhood. Her eyes zeroed in on the large statue at the entrance. It was a being with the body of a man and the head of an ibis holding a scroll in one hand and a staff in the other.
“Welcome to the flagship branch of the Wakandan Public Library,” T’Challa said proudly.
While Nia loved a good library, she was a little confused about why they were there. “I thought we were going to a temple.”
T’Challa wiggled his eyebrows as he stepped past her, climbing the steps with Okoye in tow, “This is the temple.”
Nia’s curiosity got the best of her, and she followed behind the king and his general. They threw their sticks away in the trash cans outside of the doors that swished open as they approached. Nia hadn’t expected the building to have such modern technologies based on the look of it, but she surmised the library would have a few more surprises up its sleeves.
“Kumkani wam!”
All three of their heads turned towards the woman behind the large marble desk as she scrambled to salute the king, dropping the small stack of books from her arms. T’Challa quickly rounded the desk and smiled at her as he crouched down to pick the books off of the floor. Before she could stoop down to help him, he had already placed them neatly on the desk.
“T-thank you, my king,” the woman stammered and pushed her glasses up the bridge of her nose. Never in her life had she imagined she would be so close to royalty, much less her biggest crush. “What can I do for you?”
“Well…” he started, trailing off to get her name.
“Fatima, sir.”
“What a beautiful name,” he flirted innocently and leaned on the cool marble as Nia and Okoye both fought their eyes from rolling to the ceiling. Okoye was used to his flirtatious manner making women swoon at his feet, but it still irked her to no end. They had a job to do, and he was wasting time. Nia, however, felt the tiniest tinge of something deep in her gut as she watched him make eyes at the beautiful librarian. She waved it off as annoyance since she still wasn’t the king’s biggest fan. Adding “womanizer” to her list of reasons not to like him certainly tipped the scales further away from him, balancing out his actions from earlier.
Fatima giggled as she struggled to make eye contact with the handsome king, “Thank you, your highness.”
“Please, call me T’Challa,” he implored, resting his hand over his heart and flashing his irresistible smile.
“Oh, no. I couldn’t do that-”
“I insist.”
Okoye cleared her throat, and T’Challa’s eyes reluctantly shot in her direction.
“Anyway, Fatima, we were wondering if Abdu is in today,” T’Challa continued as he straightened up and stood to his full height, making Fatima swoon even more in his presence. Her eyes wandered down to his chest, but she snapped out of it and attempted to look him in the eye. Her knees nearly buckled under the intensity of his gaze, but she stood firm.
“Y-yes, he is, my ki-”
T’Challa reprimanded her with a simple raise of his right eyebrow, and she quickly corrected herself.
“I mean, T’Challa,” Fatima giggled once more. “I’ll go get him for you.”
“Thank you, Fatima,” he smiled down at her, watching as she walked away with a pep in her step and her hips twitching just a little more than usual.
Fatima disappeared behind a green velvet curtain, and when they were sure she was out of earshot, Nia and Okoye both turned to look at the king. They wore matching expressions of disapproval, but, for some reason, it stung to see on Nia’s face.
“What’s wrong?” he asked her.
“Must you flirt with every woman you see?” Okoye butted in, clearly exasperated by his antics.
Nia’s eyebrows jumped as a teasing smirk settled on her lips. “Oh, so this is a common occurrence?”
“You wouldn’t believe how many-”
“General,” T’Challa warned, and Okoye stopped talking.
Nia tried to contain a laugh, but it came out more like a snort than she intended. Just as T’Challa opened his mouth to make fun of her, Fatima appeared from behind the curtain with a heavy-set man with tortoiseshell glasses just a few steps behind her.
“T’Challa, my boy! Oh, excuse me, my king.” The man bowed sarcastically and crossed his arms in a salute. T’Challa waved him off with a smile and a click of his tongue, and the two men embraced each other. Nia had noticed T’Challa wasn’t really one to demand formalities, but the man’s familiarity with the king intrigued her.
“Abdu, how have you been?”
It had been several months since T’Challa last visited the library. Abdu had worked and worshipped there for decades and had watched the king grow into the man before him. Some of T’Challa’s fondest childhood memories consisted of him spending hours curled up in the stacks, flipping through whatever book caught his eye that day. Abdu would bring him story after story for him to get lost in, and the older man never tired of T’Challa’s curiosity. No matter how many questions he threw at him.
“Getting old, but I can’t complain,” the much shorter man said as they pulled apart. He looked around T’Challa and noticed his company. “Okoye, a pleasure to see you as always.”
“You as well, Abdu,” she smiled.
“And who might this lovely creature be?” Abdu asked as his gaze fell on Nia. She bristled at his choice of words but said nothing. Even as a child, she had always been sensitive to the word “creature” and felt it offensive to refer to non-humans as such. She knew he had no idea about her bloodline, though, and since he meant no harm she simply ignored the terminology.
“Nia Olu, sir,” she introduced herself with a nod of her head, and he returned the gesture.
“Ah, a beautiful name for a beautiful woman. And what is it that you do, Nia Olu?”
“I am a healer and a devotee of Bast.”
“A devotee, huh? Well, I think we will get along nicely,” he smiled warmly at her before turning back to the king. “What can I do for you all today?”
“Well, actually, Nia is a big part of why we’re here,” T’Challa began. “It seems Bast has gone missing. Neither of us has been able to contact her as of late.”
“Are you a priestess?” Abdu asked Nia, confused as to why a simple devotee would be partnered with the king for such a task. Okoye felt vindicated by his questioning but stayed quiet.
“No, sir.”
“Then, I must say, I’m a little confused on how you would have a direct connection to her-”
“She is highly favored in the goddess’ eyes,” T’Challa cut in, hoping his vague answer would be enough to dissuade Abdu from asking too many questions. He knew it wouldn’t be easy to hide anything from a priest of the god of wisdom, but he also knew he couldn’t give away Nia’s full identity. “We were wondering if maybe you could see if Thoth knows where she is or why she isn’t answering.”
Abdu could tell there was something else to the story, but decided not to press the subject. He figured that if the king felt it was important enough to keep from him, then he had to trust his judgment.
The priest nodded and motioned for the three of them to follow him. T’Challa winked at Fatima before falling in step with Abdu, and once again, Nia’s and Okoye’s eyes struggled to remain straight ahead as they followed behind the two men.
Nia couldn’t help but stare in awe at the rows and rows of floor-to-ceiling bookshelves they passed as they walked through the centuries-old library. She imagined herself spending hours combing through the texts and soaking up whatever knowledge held, just like she did with the many books Amare provided her with as a child. Her daydreaming was cut short when they passed through the children’s section, and she noticed a display of picture books, one of which caught her eye. There, on the cover, was a colorful illustration of an aziza sitting in a tree, watching over a group of children as they played in the grass below him.
Before she knew it, Nia had grabbed the book and started flipping through the pages, scanning the words and pictures for any sign of historical truth. She found none, but her hope didn’t die out. Maybe, just maybe the library held onto more of the past than the Wakandans realized. She knew magical creatures were relegated to folktales, but she began to wonder how many of those tales were historically accurate, if any. She hadn’t noticed that the others had stopped and were watching her tear through the book like it held the secrets to the universe.
“You like that one? It’s a fairly new release. Very popular with the children,” Abdu said, but his words fell on deaf ears.
“Nia?” the king called out to her.
She jumped and dropped the book, but T’Challa caught it before it could hit the ground.
“Yeah? Sorry, I just…” Nia trailed off, unsure of what to say. All three of them looked at her curiously, but when T’Challa’s eyes graced the cover, he understood why she had been called to it. “Are there many stories like this?”
“Of aziza?” Abdu asked for clarification, and Nia nodded. “Sure! Kids love fantastical creatures. You know, some of them even swear up and down that they’ve seen them in real life.”
T’Challa and Nia shared a quick glance as he set the book back where she found it. Of course, Okoye caught their quick exchange.
“Such wild imaginations,” Nia murmured, and the group continued on their trek. She was quiet for a moment as she tried to figure out the best way to word her next question when she decided to just go for it. “Abdu, is there any mention of, um, species that are no longer around in any of these books?”
T’Challa looked at her knowingly out of the corner of his eye. He knew what she was getting at, and he was curious about Abdu’s answer. After seeing Nia’s book the day before, his mind had begun to wonder about ancient Wakandan texts. She had told him that they coexisted long ago, so there had to be some evidence hidden deep in the bowels of the library. If there was proof anywhere, it was here.
“Of course!” Abdu said excitedly and pointed to the far left wall. “Species naturally go extinct all the time. If that interests you, check out our history section over there.”
Nia and T’Challa both cataloged that information for later and started mentally planning their next visits.
The deeper they traveled into the vast library, a tingling grew in Nia’s stomach. There was great power there, and she could feel it. The tingling intensified as they arrived at a large door with an image of Thoth that had been hand-carved by artisans long ago.
“We’ll take it from here, Okoye,” T’Challa ordered, and the general nodded before standing at attention with her back to the door. Then, his eyes fell to Nia. “Ready?”
“I think…”
“That’ll serve you well here,” Abdu joked as he pushed open the heavy door.
Nia wasn’t quite sure what she was expecting to see, but a winding staircase certainly wasn’t on her list of possibilities. The three of them quietly descended the steps, and all that could be heard was the sounds of their sandals connecting with the stone as they went. After what seemed like forever, Abdu came to a halt at another large door and turned to face his visitors.
“You must enter with pure intentions and a cool head, or he will not answer. Understood?”
Nia and T’Challa answered in unison.
“Yes, sir.”
“Of course.”
“Good,” Abdu smiled at them and reached for the handle, pushing it open and revealing what looked to be a private study. The lamps along the stone walls lit up when they entered, and Nia was once again amazed at how the ancient seemed to flawlessly combine with the modern. As she looked around, she noticed that instead of books, there were scrolls stacked neatly on the shelves. A high-backed chair sat behind a large wooden desk with several scrolls strewn about it, and in the center of the room, there was a stone lectern that looked like it had been there since the dawn of time. Colorful pillows surrounded it on the floor, and next to it stood another statue of Thoth. This time, his hands were out and he was holding a staff that resembled the one from the statue out front, except this one was made of gold. This one was real, and it made the hairs on the back of Nia’s neck stand at attention.
Abdu made his way over to the closest shelf and grabbed a scroll from the top of the stack. He then crossed the room again and stood behind the lectern. When he unrolled the scroll, Nia and T’Challa were both surprised to find that it was blank. They watched with bated breath as he produced a shiny gold pen from his pocket and removed the staff from the statue’s arms.
“You two, come sit down,” Abdu said to them, pointing to the floor pillows.
They obeyed his order, and each grabbed a pillow. T’Challa sat cross-legged while Nia carefully placed her new basket on the floor and tucked her feet under her. They waited patiently while Abdu mumbled a prayer under his breath. Despite T’Challa’s enhanced hearing, he could barely make out what Abdu was saying, but the more he spoke, the colder the room became. The priest continued his prayers for several minutes until the staff began to glow with blinding orange light and his mouth snapped shut tight. A soft breeze blew through the room as his eyes glowed the same color as the staff, and the pen in his left hand started to frantically scribble words onto the formerly blank scroll. His hand moved faster than humanly possible, and Nia recognized what was happening as a possession. She bowed her head in the god’s presence and nudged T’Challa in his side to do the same. He followed suit, but neither of their eyes left Abdu, too curious to look away.
It seemed like forever had come and gone as the two sat in silence, watching in awe while Abdu filled the scroll as he channeled Thoth. The only sound that filled the air was the fast-moving pen on the papyrus and a faint humming from the staff, but suddenly, it all stopped. The staff’s light waned, and Abdu blinked his eyes back to their normal shade of hazel. He carefully placed the staff back in the statue’s hands and read over the words he had been given from his god. A frown appeared on the priest’s face, and Nia made eye contact with T’Challa. Neither one felt good news was coming.
“Well,” Abdu broke the tense silence, “to sum it up, it seems Thoth hasn’t seen or heard from Bast in several weeks. He says that’s very unlike her, as I’m sure you know, T’Challa.”
The king nodded. “Is there anything else? Did he say where she might be?”
“Oh, he said plenty, but not about your question. He can be quite long-winded at times,” Abdu murmured as he scanned the text once more to make sure he wasn’t missing anything. He then looked down at his two visitors with an apology in his eyes. “I wish I could’ve been of more help.”
T’Challa stood from his seated position and reached a hand out to Nia. She swatted it away and stood on her own, straightening out her long, flowing skirt before sending Abdu a warm smile. “Thank you for trying.”
“It was a pleasure, my dear.”
“So,” Nia turned to the king, “where to next?”
--------
The smile never left Okoye’s face as she landed the Talon in an open field and proudly led them to their next destination. They had traveled to Okoye’s hometown in the Mining province, and she nodded at her former neighbors as they waved to get her attention. It wasn’t often that she could return to Birnin Djata, but since she was on duty, she had to remain professional.
The town was much smaller than Birnin Zana, and the walk to the temple was much shorter this time around. A few moderately-sized dwellings lined the road to the temple, and Nia could see the town square in the distance. They passed groups of miners boarding and exiting the trains that took them to and from work, and Nia couldn’t help but wonder what all that vibranium looked like up close.
When they arrived at the temple, Nia was pleasantly surprised that this one actually looked like a place of worship. The wall that surrounded it looked as old as time, but the vibranium door in the center had to be no more than a hundred years old. A strange sound echoed from inside, and although Nia thought she recognized it, she was confused on why it was coming from a temple of all places.
“Is something wrong? What’s going on in there?” she asked with concern, making Okoye’s smile expand and her eyes light up.
“Sparring.”
Nia’s confusion grew, and she turned to T’Challa for clarification.
“Kokou is the god of war. Fighters often train here, and many of his followers go on to become great warriors. Including Okoye,” he explained.
“Ohhh, ok.”
Okoye led them up the temple’s steps, and Nia’s attention was drawn to the rows of fire that lined the walkway. As the party of three got closer to the doors, they slowly parted to grant them access. Loud shouts and grunts came from the right, and Okoye led them down the hallway, directly towards the noise.
Nia watched excitedly as the warriors-in-training sparred with one another. Fists connected with flesh, spears sliced through the air, and fighters seemed to glide across the padded floor. She recognized some of the fighting styles and thought back to her younger days when Amare took it upon himself to teach her some of the combat skills he had to learn for his days as a secret operative. Even though she was a healer, Nia sure was scrappy and could hold her own. It had been a while, though, and she was sure she had forgotten her training over the years.
A bell rang on the other side of the training room, and all of the fighting ceased. Okoye bowed her head in deference as a tall, muscular older woman in red emerged from an observation room and smiled softly in her direction.
“My king,” the woman saluted T’Challa, making all of the fighters whip their heads around and salute him as well. The woman crossed the floor as her trainees stood at attention, and grabbed Okoye’s hands in hers. “Okoye, my dear, it has been too long.”
“Priestess Yaa, how good to see you.”
“And my king, welcome to the Temple of Kokou.”
“Thank you, priestess.”
“What brings you here?” she asked before shooting a sly glance at Okoye. “You never come visit anymore, so I know it must be important.”
“My apologies for keeping her from you,” T’Challa interjected.
“None needed. I knew when Okoye became general that she would have little time for us anymore,” Yaa waved him off and smiled proudly at Okoye before her eyes fell to Nia. “And who is this?”
“Nia Olu,” she respectfully bowed her head.
“And you are a fighter too, no?”
“Um, not exactly. My father taught me how to fight when I was young, but I am a healer and a devotee of Bast.”
This was the first T’Challa had heard of her knowledge of combat, and he wondered what else he didn’t know about her.
“I’m sure it’s still in there somewhere. You have a warrior’s spirit.”
Nia was surprised by the priestess’ comment but thanked her nonetheless.
“Priestess Yaa, we have a problem that you might be able to help us solve,” the king stated.
Yaa nodded and called to her class, “Keep sparring. I’ll be back.”
The room came alive again, and Nia couldn’t help but watch the dozens of bodies moving about with powerful grace as they fought.
Yaa gestured for them to follow her, and she led them around a corner to get away from all the noise. “How can I help you, my king?”
“Bast is missing, and we would like to ask Kokou if he knows where she is,” he cut straight to the point, and Yaa appreciated his brevity.
She gestured again, and the four of them relocated to the other side of the temple. They entered a large, empty room with nothing except a wall of ancient weapons and a huge, raging fire pit in the center.
“This eternal flame was gifted to us by Kokou many millennia ago as a way of contacting him,” Yaa narrated. “In order for him to answer, you will each have to give a sacrifice.”
“I didn’t bring anything to-”
“Blood, dear. You sacrifice blood. He is the god of war, after all,” Yaa chuckled as she glided over to the wall of weapons. Her fingers danced along the flat side of the blade of a vibranium dagger with a red and gold hilt before wrapping her hand firmly around the grip and removing it from its position. Yaa tested the weight of it in her hand as she rejoined the group. Without warning, she sliced her palm open and allowed her blood to drip into the flame. The priestess noticed the look of horror on Nia’s face and attempted to quell her fears. “Don’t worry; you’ll only need a drop or two.”
Okoye was first to step up, pressing the dagger’s tip into her hand and drawing a small amount of blood. She handed the dagger to T’Challa as she made a fist and let her blood droplets fall into the fire pit. The king did the same before passing the dagger to Nia. She looked at it apprehensively, but T’Challa continued to hold it out for her to take.
“Go on, dear,” Yaa urged. “We will heal you up after.”
Nia and T’Challa locked eyes as they were both reminded of the night they became reacquainted with one another. T’Challa’s wound would quickly heal on its own, but she wouldn’t be able to use her powers to heal herself in Yaa’s and Okoye’s presence. She took a deep breath and tried to ignore the feeling of her palm stinging with the memory of alcohol pads. T’Challa knew where her mind had wandered to and took her formerly injured hand in his as he ran his thumb over her palm.
“It won’t be as bad as last time,” he whispered so only Nia could hear him. “Just a little cut, ok?”
Nia’s mouth dried up, and her eyes traveled to Okoye and Yaa. The priestess seemed intrigued by his tenderness towards her, but the irritation on Okoye’s face was clear as day. Nia remembered that he was a serial charmer and removed her hand from his. She reached for the dagger and quickly pricked her finger, squeezing a couple of droplets into the flame.
Yaa set the dagger aside to be cleaned and watched as the flames grew in intensity. All four of them stepped back when the fire surged towards the sky and took the vague shape of a man.
“Kokou,” Yaa fell to her knees, and the others followed her lead. “Thank you for answering our call.”
“Where is the fight?” his voice boomed around the expansive room as what looked to be his head swiveled from side to side taking in the four who summoned him. He had no eyes, but Nia felt his gaze land on her and linger for a moment too long.
“There is no fight this time, but we have an inquiry,” Yaa said as she stood.
“Very well,” Kokou’s voice rang out again, and the flames whipped in T’Challa’s direction. “What is so important that the king requires my assistance? Have you not a god of your own?”
T’Challa looked to Yaa for reassurance as he began to stand, and she nodded for him to continue. “Yes, I do, but she is missing.”
“Missing?! What do you mean missing?”
“She has not spoken to me in weeks, and Thoth has not seen or heard from her either.”
Kokou turned back to Nia. “And you have not heard from her?”
“No, sir,” Nia stood tall as she answered him.
“I am surprised she has not spoken to you of all...people,” he said with a mischievous lilt in his voice. Nia stilled as she realized that he knew what she was. She slyly made eye contact with T’Challa, and though his expression was unreadable, she knew he had to have heard it, too.
“You know, blood can tell you a lot about a person...or being,” Kokou began to pace around the large fire pit. “Who they are, what their lineage is...you, Nia, are very special. But I am sure you know that already, don’t you?”
Nia ignored the confused stares from Yaa and Okoye and stared straight into where she assumed Kokou’s eyes to be. “Yes, sir.”
“Good.”
“Kokou-”
“Patience, your highness,” the god chastised T’Challa, “I was getting to it. I just had to take a little detour first since you brought me such an interesting young lady. Now, to answer your question: sorry to disappoint, but no. I do not know where Bast is. I wish I did, though; she is an excellent sparring partner.”
Nia and T’Challa both deflated a little bit. They had hoped for a better answer than that.
“Thank you, Kokou,” T’Challa spoke with his head bowed to the god. The others did the same, and just as quickly as he had appeared, Kokou was gone.
--------
“Third time’s the charm,” T’Challa mumbled as he held the intricate iron gate open. Nia and Okoye walked through, and the general was blown away by the beauty before them. The botanical gardens sat on a protected stretch of land on the border between the Mining and River provinces, but people from all over the country traveled there to witness its splendor.
Nia, however, was no stranger to the gardens. She made sure to visit a few times a year just to sit and commune with the diverse group of plants, but she never knew it doubled as a place of worship. She liked that the gardens were never full of people, and depending on how deep she veered off the main walkways, she could avoid the public altogether. Except for the delightful presence of one of the attendants, Nia always managed to find solitude and serenity among the plants of the botanical gardens.
“Has this always been Mujaji’s temple?” she asked as the three of them followed the long, winding path that led to the greenhouses in the back of the gardens.
“As far as I’m aware. Why?”
“It’s just that I’ve been here before, and I never knew. I always felt like there was...something here, but I just assumed I was feeling the energy from all of the plants.”
“You can do that?” Okoye asked, and she caught another shared glance between Nia and the king. They had been doing that all day, and she was growing tired of it.
Nia opened her mouth to try to fix her slip-up, but she was saved when a young woman about her age emerged from behind a mango tree and recognized her colorful headwrap.
“Nia?”
“Sukutai!”
Nia ran over to her, and the women embraced. A smile crept up T’Challa’s cheeks at seeing Nia’s faint glow again, but, unfortunately, it seemed that Okoye might have seen it as well. The king ignored her pointed stares and continued to watch Nia and the woman from afar.
“What are you doing here? It’s been months since I saw you last!” Sukutai playfully scolded her before leaning in like she had a secret to tell. “You have to see the new fire lily blooms; I know they’re your favorite.”
“They are,” Nia chuckled, “but I’m here on business today.”
“Business?”
Nia gestured behind her, and Sukutai’s eyes widened in shock as she finally noticed T’Challa and Okoye standing in the distance.
“My apologies, my king,” she quickly saluted him, but he waved her off.
“None needed. Any friend of Nia’s is a friend of mine.”
Sukutai’s eyebrows almost reached her hairline as she turned back to Nia. “I know we don’t know each other very well, but how come you never told me you knew the king?”
“He’s new,” Nia shrugged nonchalantly.
Sukutai shook her head fondly at her friend as T’Challa and Okoye came to stand next to her.
“What brings you to my humble garden, your highness?”
“I would say this is anything but humble, priestess,” he chuckled. This time it was Nia’s turn to be surprised.
“Priestess?!”
“Yeah, I don’t like to advertise it,” Sukutai shrugged.
“Well, I guess we both have our secrets,” Nia teased, making her friend giggle.
“I guess we do.”
“Sukutai, we are here because we need to speak with Mujaji. Bast is missing and-”
“You need to see if he knows where she is.”
“Yes,” T’Challa nodded.
“Right this way,” Sukutai said as she stuck her elbow out for Nia. She wrapped her arm around it, and the two of them took off, chatting about the flora they passed on the way.
Sukutai led them to the back of the botanical gardens towards the greenhouses. There were several smaller ones scattered around that were about the size of Nia’s home, but the very last greenhouse was huge. It stood about two stories tall and expanded across an acre of land.
“How did I miss this?” Nia wondered aloud.
“You weren’t looking for it,” Sukutai winked. “Too distracted by the pretty flowers, as usual.”
“You should really pay more attention to your surroundings, Nia,” T’Challa teased, and she narrowed her eyes at him. Despite the fact that she was still very hesitant to trust Nia, Okoye had to stifle a chuckle at her attitude. It was refreshing for her to see a woman that seemed to be immune to his charms.
The four of them entered the greenhouse, and Nia was amazed at what she saw. Instead of beautiful flowers and lush trees and bushes, there were rows and rows of crops.
“I knew you had some fruit trees, but I didn’t know you grew other foods here, too,” she said with her mouth wide open.
“We have to. Who do you think taught us how to work the land?”
Nia nodded as she soaked up Sukutai’s words. It had never occurred to her that the humans had to learn agriculture from somewhere...or someone. She wondered if aziza had learned from him, too, and if so, why hadn’t she heard about it? Were their history books incomplete, too? Nia’s train of thought was cut short as they arrived at the center of the greenhouse. There was a large patch of soil surrounded by an old stone wall no more than two feet tall. A small plaque near the opening caught the visitors’ eyes, and they crowded around to read it.
“The first garden?” Nia gasped, and her eyes traveled to the rich soil.
Sukutai smiled proudly, “That’s right. This is where Wakandans first learned how to grow sorghum. Mujaji’s magic still inhabits the land, and he allows us to speak to him through it.”
“How does it work?” T’Challa asked, equally in awe of the plot of land that allowed his people to prosper. Yes, they had vibranium, but what use would that be without the ability to feed themselves? Had they remained hunter-gatherers, they never would have gotten to where they are today.
“I’ll show you,” Sukutai said as she untied her shoes. “Nia, would you like to help?”
“M-me?”
“Yes, you, silly. You have the heart and hands of a gardener.”
“What do you need me to do?”
“First thing’s first, shoes off,” Sukutai instructed, and Nia slid out of her sandals. “Now, you see those jars full of seeds over there?”
Sukutai gestured behind them, and they all turned around to follow her line of vision.
“Yes,” Nia’s voice shook as she spoke.
“Don’t worry about what each one is. Just go pick whichever one calls to you.”
Nia nodded and padded her way over to the table covered in glass jars. She felt the power radiating from each one, but she felt compelled to pick up a small jar full of green coffee beans. Her hand instinctively reached out to touch it, but she pulled back and looked to the priestess for permission.
“Go ahead, take one,” Sukutai urged, and Nia carefully screwed the top off. She reached in and grabbed one of the beans, and walked back over to Sukutai.
“Ok, how does this work?”
“We start with a yes or no question. Let’s try ‘Do you know where Bast is?’ and go from there, ok?”
“Ok.”
“Follow me.”
Sukutai stepped onto the sacred land, and Nia did the same. The ground seemed to vibrate, and Nia’s face lit up. The slight glow returned to her skin, and this time Okoye was sure in what her eyes beheld. She quickly turned towards T’Challa, who looked at her out of the corner of his eye but kept quiet. He shifted his weight away from her nervously and continued to watch Nia and Sukutai work.
“You feel it too, huh?” Sukutai asked with a sly smile on her face.
“It feels...it feels like my feet are buzzing.”
Sukutai’s head cocked to the side, and her eyes narrowed as she tried to understand exactly what was happening. Nia obviously wasn’t a priestess of Mujaji, yet his magic spoke to her in some way. That wasn’t normal, and neither was the faint highlight that appeared on her skin.
“Yeah, it does,” she agreed and shook the suspicions out of her head. She knelt to the ground, and Nia followed suit. “Hold the seed in your hands, close to your face- yes, just like that. Now, close your eyes and let it feel your energy. When you are ready, speak to it. Ask your question.”
Nia shut her eyes and focused on the feeling of the seed in her hands. She pictured it growing big and strong, and after a few moments, her mouth was filled with the taste of coffee. It was ready. She brought it closer to her lips and whispered, “Do you know where Bast is?”
When she peeled her eyes open, she saw a huge grin on Sukutai’s face.
“You’re a natural.”
“Thanks,” Nia giggled. “What now?”
“Now you plant it.”
“Anywhere?”
“Wherever you choose.”
Nia studied the ground around her and turned a little to the left. She held the seed in her left hand as she made a small mound in the dirt with her right. She gave the seed one last glance before pushing it into the soil.
“No water?” she asked.
Sukutai shook her head with a mischievous smile, “No need.”
“Ok...so now we wait?”
“It won’t take long. Usually about-” Sukutai’s eyes widened. “Look!”
Four sets of eyes trained on the tiny green sprout that pushed up from the ground.
“It’s never happened that fast before.”
The sprout turned into a seedling, and the seedling matured right before their eyes. Just as hope began to fill the air, it left, and the coffee plant shriveled up. The leaves turned brown, then a murky black before decomposing entirely. Everyone’s shoulders slumped in defeat, and silence descended upon the group. Without even asking, they all knew it was a resounding “no.”
--------
The silence was thick on the ride back to Nia’s. Okoye flew the Talon with a million questions running through her mind, all of which seemed to come back to Nia. Who is she? What is she?
Nia left her position by the window, no longer interested in the ground below, and met T’Challa by his sand table. She watched for a moment as the molecules dispersed and recollected themselves in the shapes of the temples they just visited and the gods they just contacted. He chewed on his lip as he tried to put the pieces together, but there just wasn’t enough information.
“T’Challa?” Nia spoke softly to keep Okoye from hearing.
“Hm?” he grunted without looking up.
“What if the problem isn't in this realm?”
The king tore his eyes away from the table, and the sand fell flat.
“You are suggesting we go to the magic realm?”
“Again with the ‘we,’” she sighed. “No, I’m suggesting I go to the magic realm.”
He stared at her blankly for a moment before calling out to Okoye, “General?”
“Yes, my king?”
“You will travel back to the palace alone-”
“No-” Nia tried to stop him.
“I will be staying with Nia a little while longer. I will call when I need you.”
“Yes, my king.”
Nia dragged her hand down her face, then immediately looked down and noticed the clay that had transferred to her palm. She pinched the bridge of her nose and groaned in frustration, both at the king and at her careless mistake.
“T’Challa, I just said-”
“I know what you said,” he snipped, “but this is my kingdom, and I need to know what’s going on.”
“But-”
“I’m going with you, and that’s final.” He turned away and joined Okoye in the cockpit.
Nia sat off to the side and pouted the rest of the way home. When they arrived, Okoye reluctantly left the king behind and flew off to the palace.
“She could’ve just stayed outside, you know,” Nia fussed as they entered her home. “Now she definitely knows something is up.”
He rolled his eyes, “She knew something was up the moment you started glowing.”
Nia froze and mentally kicked herself for not using the glamor spell her ubaba had taught her. She was in such a rush that morning that it completely slipped her mind. The smug look on T’Challa’s face made her want to slap him, so she stormed down the hall to her bathroom to fix her facepaint. As soon as she finished, Nia heard the king make a strange noise and looked out to see what he had done. A laugh erupted from her belly as she watched the king stand on the couch to get away from Sego. He glared at her, but his eyes promptly fell back on the python that was too close for comfort.
“Call off your snake!”
“Python,” she giggled. “Sego, stop messing with him, please.”
Sego turned her way, and Nia could see the playful look in his eyes. He thoroughly enjoyed messing with the king. T’Challa climbed down from the couch and let out a calming breath as Sego slithered away to the kitchen.
“So the mighty Black Panther is scared of pythons, huh?” she mocked him as she leaned against the doorframe.
“Not scared...I just don’t like them.”
“Mhm. If it makes you feel any better, he’s not fully a python. He’s a shifter.”
“Meaning…”
“Meaning sometimes he’s in his human form, sometimes he’s in his python form.”
T’Challa thought about it for a moment. “Actually, that does make me feel better. Thanks.”
Nia smirked and rolled her eyes.
“So,” T’Challa cleared his throat, “what now?”
“First, we go see my ubaba, then the queen.”
“Ok...how do we, you know, get there?”
“It’s easy,” she bragged as she walked over to him. “Give me your hand, and I’ll show you.”
Nia reached out to him, and when their hands connected, an image of the two of them sharing a feverish kiss popped into her mind. She gasped and pulled back as though she had touched a hot stove.
“What is it?!”
“N-nothing, I just,” she had to think of something quick. “My headwrap. I take it off when I go to the magic realm...to, uh, let my ears breathe, you know?”
“Um, ok.”
Nia hurried from the room and left T’Challa standing there, confused about what just happened. He knew she was lying despite the fact that her excuse had some semblance of truth to it. Thanks to the heart-shaped herb, T’Challa could hear her heartbeat, and something had caused her heart to almost beat out of her chest. His suspicions didn’t last for long, though, because when she came back from her room, his jaw dropped. Of course, he had noticed her beauty the first time, well the second time, he laid eyes on her, but as she came down the hallway fluffing her coils out into an afro that framed her face like an obsidian halo, he felt a knot form in his chest.
“Ready?” she asked, obviously over whatever had been bothering her.
“Yeah,” T’Challa cleared his throat. He was suddenly parched. “Ready.”
“Ok.” She grabbed his hands again, but this time there was no vision. Nia sighed in relief and looked him dead in his eyes as the atmosphere around them began to thicken. “Be cool. Don’t embarrass me.”
Next Chapter
Taglist: @maddeningmayhem, @theblulife, @motheroffae, @love-mesome-me, @toni9, @bribrisback, @dersha89, @impremenior, @ljstraightnochaser, @love--life--passion, @yourstrulybrii
#cecewritessometimes#troubled waters#tchalla x oc#black!oc#black panther fanfic#black panther au#Youtube
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First Time I Saw You / Fred Weasley
Pairing: Prince Fred Weasley x Fem Reader
Warnings: None i think? But please let me know if it should have some, this is my first ever post on tumblr and so i’m new to this. This is not 18+, it’s just fluff, but if i ever write some more of this it might.
Summury: For anyone who’s lost this is gonna be Prince!Fred. I’ve had this idea laying around for a while and i started reading more of Fred and George last year and ever since i’m hooked. This is just really for fun and if no one sees this, oh well :)
Taglist: @manuosorioh @itsbebeyyy
PART 2 PART 3.
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When Fred was born everything was handed to him. Being born into royalty means being born into wealth and gold. His childhood was filled with the most amazing memories, someone could ever dream of.
When Fred was older his father started to plant ideas in his head of what he should become so he could be a good, considerate ruler. It wasn’t difficult Fred was made to rule. With his spiky red hair, tall figure and lanky body combined with a strong very dominant but also kind personality Fred was everything his subjects wished for in a king.
Unfortunately for him with the idea of soon becoming king came the responsibility of marriage. Finding someone fit who could rule beside him. His father had always taught him, from a very young age that a king without a queen was weak and no fit ruler. Fred’s mother was the most amazing person he ever met, she was the one who taught him to be kind and selfless. She was the one who showed him how to be closer to their subjects and listen to them.
But Fred found himself not wanting someone beside him. Fred was never one to follow the rules. So of course, he’s had his fare share of bed sharing. He was no stranger to sex, he loved the idea of no attachments, specially when you belonged to the royal family. That is why the idea of being attached to someone forever scared him the most. No less someone who would also be royalty.
The morning everything changed for him, the day was bright, the sun was high in the sky and there were no clouds on the horizon. It was a rare sight to see, that being everything was always cloudy and rainy. It was very rare they got any good days.
Like always he got up from his bed, naked and very sleepy he stared around for a few seconds trying to adjust to the brightness. Lazily he then moved throughout his chambers until he could find something that could cover his body. When he finally found his boxers and a white large buttoned-down shirt he finally moved to his private bathroom where he tried to make himself look half presentable. Today was an important day to him, he could go down to town and lounge and hang around for a bit since today was one of the only days this week where he didn’t have responsibilities as Prince Fred. Today he would just be Fred. Not born into royalty.
So, he got dressed, and decided to not stop by for breakfast with his family because his dad would most likely advise him not to go to town and would not allow him if he knew he would go by himself. So he sneak out of the castle through the passages he knew so well and made his away to the market in town where he would eat something.
This was something he did since he was very young so people there knew him for his genuine self, Fred, and Fred only. Not The Fred Weasley.
Humming to himself some song he had heard the night before at dinner he made his way through the market waving lazily ate everyone who cared to say something. If his father was there that probably wouldn’t be the casa and everyone would hurry to bow at his arrival, but Fred Weasley was different and had no intention of being made superior. He just wanted to be normal when he was there.
Starting to think of a million other stuff that clearly weren’t related to royalty he didn’t even notice where he was going until something hit against something soft and followed by a not so soft bang and a soft honeyed voice saying “ow”.
Fred immediately stopped in his tracks and his eye line followed the sound that he just heard. His eyes met a young girl, who’s dress was clearly very old and was probably a hand me down from someone in her family. Her hair was now a little messy from her hand rambling through it, probably in pain and she had her eyes slightly closed. “I am so very sorry miss.” Fred said almost quietly not wanting to attract any more attention to the situation happening around him.
“It’s ok, I wasn’t looking where I was going.” Her voice came out in almost a whisper, Fred was sure he was the only one o listened to it. She finally opened her eyes a littler better and looked up to finally face the men who she had bumped to. If it weren’t for the little pain she had from hitting the ground she would be up and bowing in a second. After all the Prince himself was in front of her. “Your Highness… I-“ She stammered a little bit not being able to find the word. She breath in and then out trying to compose herself and finally gave herself a chance at trying to get up.
In a second Fred had his hands stretched out for her, and although it took her a few seconds to grab onto them she eventually did and was soon on her feet again.
“I’m really sorry for what just happened. I clearly didn’t’ see where I was going, I should’ve… but I had…” She stopped mid-sentence when she figured she was just rambling at this point.
“No apologies please, it was my fault I was lost in thought and should’ve paid attention to where I was going. I’m sorry miss…” He was looking straight into her eyes and she felt her knees buckle a little to the simple, but also not so simple fact that she was face to face with the Prince. Soon to be king but she didn’t want to give it much thought or she was sure she would end up on the ground again.
“y/n, your highness” She said in what she would expect not be a small voice. She wanted to keep her true self intact. A strong independent women who although had been born into poverty, was extremely hardworking and was proud of her family for always trying to do what was better. She had started working from a very young age and had accomplished so much (or had much had you could in her place).
“None sense y/n, no your highness. Fred will do just fine” He tried to give her a smile. Not that he didn’t want to, but he was also somehow scared of how to act. He never really found himself in a situation like this. He was always very outgoing and social so this was a first for him. “As an apology please let me help you” He further instructed, his eyes meting the basked that was now one ground, almost everything inside of it was now sprawled on the ground.
“I couldn’t let you. Thank you for the gesture but I should go on my way now” She said, even though the very much knew that she still had to pick everything from the ground. “Your highness should go on your way now, Your day is probably very busy” She tried once again, and as politely as she could, to dismiss him. She didn’t want to sound disrespectful, but he made her nervous. Not only from the fact that he was royalty but also because he was extremely attractive. Could she ever pretend that every girl of her age and not only that was clearly head over heals attracted to him? She was trying right now.
Before he even tried again, Fred was on his knees before her picking everything that had spilled from the basket “Was this for sale?” He asked while picking the objects up and looking for a moment when he saw her kneel beside him to pick up some of the items to.
“Yes. My parents are waiting for me to sell this items. Or well what we can get from the one who are not ruined.” She tried to laugh a little while one of the broken objects was in her hand.
“I will have every item replaced, broken or not. You will lead me to your parents stand where I will apologize personally for the damage I caused. And I promise that by tomorrow they will be replaced. “ Fred’s voice came out in a way where very rarely people heard. It was his command voice, usually only came out in the privacy of his bedroom, but she didn’t need to know that. He wanted to make sure he was clear and that she understood that she should not contradict him.
“That is very, very generous of you and I should not ask, or am I even deserving of such generosity your grace.” With every item finally in the basket she picked it up, also at the same time Fred picked it and she felt the very warm and soft skin of his hands touch hers. She could have sworn that a chill ran down her spine and had made her legs tremble. Imagine if she would’ve fallen again only because the Prince touched her, and he hadn’t done it on purpose.
“You are not asking, I am offering. Now please if you would lead the way.” He said, trying to sound normal but his own voice almost betrayed him, since it trembled a little, because he had also felt her soft touch. His hands left the bast and he stretched one of his arms to give her passage. She almost silently passed trough him and onto the direction she was making twenty minutes ago.
When she approached her parents stand she felt their eyes budge up and almost instantly where the bowing for him. She knew from there that her parents were to say yes to anything he offered. They loved the crown, never had they felt mistreated by it, and they always felt like they did the best they could to give the ones who had nothing a little more. Y/n knew better than that but she never contradicted her parents.
So Fred explained the best he could and trying not to make it tedious what he had done and why was he there to apologize in person. And when her parents went back to work, because customers where approaching they never pressed her to start working, since she was still being watched by the prince.
“Once again I’m really sorry about this.” Fred started but was, he would say rudely, interrupted by the big clock that was now announcing his return to the palace. “I have to go, but I will be back.” Why had he said that? He didn’t really know, but he knew he needed to say it. Somehow he needed her to know that that wouldn’t be the last she would hear of him.
So he left immediately after that and not even letting her respond. She was left there, perplexed, with the smell of Fred Weasley invading her nostrils, and her thoughts consumed by him, his face, his voice, his touch, his sympathy. Everything. She was left to something she never thought she would go through. Figuring out if the small crush the had on the prince wouldn’t be something more. Could it be? He was high up next to the gods, and she was not, nor did she ever thought she would be. She wanted to make her brain know that they would never stand a chance with the future king, but dreaming never hurt anybody right?
#fred weasley x reader#fred weasley imagine#fred weasley imagines#fred weasley#prince!fred#golden#fred weasley one shot
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The Dancer with Golden Earrings (Part 3)
Summary: The three of you arrive at the Spring Festival in Brugge and there’s immediately someone who’s looking for a bard and a dancer service. So that’s it, you will part from each other and go separate ways. Right?
Pairing: Jaskier x Reader;
Word Count: 3k… ops;
Warning: Slow burn, Angst, brief mention of an assault;
A/N: I got carried away with this one, hope you’ll enjoy it! As always, feedback is really appreciated! Love you all, xoxo.
Part 1, Part 2
The strong scent of flowers welcomed you at the city’s gates along with the bustle of people striding across the streets. The last decorations were being put up as the stalls were timing with merchants displaying food, spices, dresses, expensive fabrics coming from all around the Continent, weapons, and jewelry as far as the eye could see. However the stalls were not the main protagonist: Brugge and its Spring Festival were known for their bright, delicate, sweet-smelling flowers spread out in every corner, on every window and wore by every girl for the occasion.
Entering through the gates you and Jaskier instantly felt excited, the hustle and bustle of a Festival was your bread and butter and you loved it.
“This scent is heavenly after days of nothing but horse shit and turnip soup” Jaskier cheerfully commented.
“I doubt I’ll found someone looking for a witcher in all this gaiety” Geralt kept his hand wrapped around the reins as he slowly followed behind you and the bard “and by the way, you love turnip soup”
“Just not for almost a week in a row”
“You would eat it for a month in a row if possible” you chuckled. In that moment you felt a light tugging on your dress. You turned and saw a little girl with a flower crown and a wicker basket filled with colorful petals glaring up at you.
“Hi” she said with a playful smile on her face.
Bending over, you placed your hands on your knees to make better eye contact with her “Hey little one”
“This fo’ you” she took a flower crown from her basket and stood on her tip toes to place it on you head. You melted.
“That’s beautiful, thank you so much! Did you make it?” She proudly nodded “I love it”
The little girl laughed and then walked pass you and approached Jaskier, who had watched the all scene in awe. She looked up at him and then took out a flower necklace ready to gave it to Jaskier. The bard bent as he instantly felt the flowery scent enveloping him.
“Oh thank you so much Little Lady” he bowed exaggeratedly making the girl giggled playfully.
The witcher saw the little girl slowly turning her head toward him. Oh no, he thought.
Oh yes, she thought.
In an instant she ran toward him, regardless his frightening appearance.
“This fo’ you” she said standing in front of Geralt, handing him his flower necklace made with hyacinths.
Geralt hesitated but after seeing the little girl pouting with those big puppy eyes he grumbled and bent over as she happily put on her creations on the witcher.
Jaskier and you shared a look, trying hard not to laugh at the scene in front of you, covering your mouths with your hands.
“Mary? Mary?! Where did you go?”
The man shouting was scanning the area, obviously searching for someone. He jogged as best as he could given his tonnage, as his red face made clear to everyone he was struggling to shout and run at the same time.
The little girl was fixing the necklace when she heard the shouts and ran toward them.
“Ah, here you are!” he exclaimed picking her up “I hope she didn’t bother you”
Now that the man was right in front of you, you noticed he was dressed with quite expensive clothing and had a huge ring on his pinky finger, undoubtedly someone important in the city.
“Just the opposite, she provided quite a memorable scene” Jaskier answered feeling Geralt’s dirty look behind him.
You chuckled at those two. “No absolutely not sir. She was so kind to gift us with these” you said pointing at your flowery accessories.
“Oh very good then” the man said poking playfully the little girl “but never go away like this again, dad was scared”
“Okaaaay”
The man laughed and then looked back at you two. Jaskier noticed how he scanned you both with a questioning look on his face.
“Oh Melitele, is this a miracle?” he suddenly exclaimed. His eyes wide in surprise as he placed his free hand on his forehead.
“Sir, are you ok?” Jaskier asked with a confused look.
“You are Jaskier, the famous bard, isn’t it?”
“Oh yes, indeed” he smiled and bowed a little.
“And if I’m not mistaken, you must be the dancer with golden earrings. Lady Y/n, right?”
“It’s me” you smiled “And, you are?”
“Oh I beg you pardon, Hoxegind Vonnodd, I’m the Festival coordinator. Yesterday night the bard who was hired for the Festival got in a brawl after drinking all the ale he had handy, that bast-” the man stopped, remembering he had his daughter near him “That bad bad guy”
Geralt took the opportunity to subtly remove his necklace and putting on Roach, who snorted and shook her head, making it fall.
“I was desperate” Hoxegind continued “but then destiny brought you here! The best dancer in the whole Continent and the most well-known bard in all four kingdoms!” You and Jaskier smiled while sharing a look with each other.
The man went on, offering free lodging and meals to you and you couldn’t believe your ears.
“Please, could you perform for our people tonight?”
“Sir Vonnodd, we would be honored” you placed your hand on Jaskier’s arm.
“So it’s a deal! Come with me, I’ll show you the inn were you’ll stay”
“Geralt come here! We found a place to stay!” Jaskier called turning toward the witcher.
The inn was the best in town. A soft bed, clean sheets: after days of walking and sleeping on the ground, just the idea of wrapping yourself in warm blankets excited you all. Hoxegind was showing you your rooms and where you could place your bags when he turned toward Geralt.
“Geralt of Rivia, am I right? The witcher.” he asked, an inscrutable expression on his face.
“Indeed” he was ready to receive the usual dirty look as always, instead Hoxegind proposed to follow him in the tavern in order to discuss a possible case of a Kikimora in the forests near the city.
When the two of them left, you and Jaskier took a look at your rooms one more time, in silence. Your room’s door was exactly in front of Jaskier’s one. Both of you turned and glanced at each other, slowly approaching one another. When you both met, in the center of the corridor you maintained eye contact before exploding in excitement.
“Jaskier, what I told you! I had a good feeling about this!” you squealed.
“Some well-deserved rest and free meals, I feel like we have been blessed!” he responded, as much excited as you were.
A sudden bitter sensation washed over you two.
Is this the moment where we part?
Do we go our separate ways?
You asked yourselves the same questions, but you were too scared to find out the answers.
“I… I think I’ll take a bath” you said, the keen tone of your voice was now completely gone.
Jaskier nodded, his expression gloomy “I’ll go to the tavern for a bit”
“Ok, see you later Jaskier”
“See you later Y/n” he answered as you closed your door.
The ale tasted awful but he didn’t care much, he just wanted to get those doubt and thoughts out of his head as soon as possible.
Taking another sip and regretting it afterwards for the tenth time, he placed his mug on the table, sighing.
“I thought they already had kicked a bard out of this place for drinking too much” commented Geralt, sitting next to the bard.
Jaskier scoffed “I hope they kick me in the face and knock me out”
The witcher stayed silent for a bit, occasionally sipping from his mug.
“Tell her” he eventually said with his baritone voice.
Jaskier’s head quickly turned toward the witcher “Tell her?”
“Y/n”
Trying to act like he didn’t know what he was talking about, he asked “Tell her what?”
“That you don’t want to leave for the next city without her”
It was the bard turn to stay silent as he looked the other way. He knew Geralt was right, but he had so many doubts, what if you said no? It would break his heart.
“I quite enjoy her company while traveling. She’s quieter than you”
Jaskier chuckled bitterly.
“Think about it” Geralt placed a comforting hand on the bard’s shoulder, before standing up.
“Where are you going?”
Adjusting the swords behind his back, Geralt looked outside the window “There’s a job for a witcher apparently. Many citizens claim they saw a horrible creature lurking in the lakes near the forests: big fangs, bloody jaws, the usual. Enjoy the Festival Jaskier”
The witcher headed out of the tavern, leaving the bard serious and brooding. It was already time for lunch, but he wasn’t hungry, he kept sipping occasionally at the now almost empty mug in front of him, his expression lost in thought for hours. Never in his life he felt such an intense range of emotions, so many thoughts and incertitude.
The afternoon brought a warmer breeze from the window, Jaskier was sitting there for almost all day, the chair probably had the imprint of his backside on it.
His gloomy expression suddenly faded as realization took its place, he instantly stood up and ran up the stairs where your rooms were.
Checking the water temperature in the tub you sighed for the umpteenth time and let the towel fall on the floor before entering. The warm sensation enveloped your skin as you relaxed immediately, feeling the muscles around your body loosen.
Time went by as you glanced absentmindedly at a random crack in the wall, occasionally creating small waves with your hands on the water’s surface. Shouldn’t you be happy? You had found free lodging and meals, you had found an audience and you would receive a payment. However, you couldn’t feel as pleased as you should have. The worst part of it was that you knew why, but couldn’t do anything about it.
Sighing loudly you stood up and took the towel, wrapping yourself in it and sitting on the bed. You rubbed the towel up and down your body, got dressed and started fixing your hair in front of the mirror.
Deep down you hoped Jaskier would ask you to travel with him and don’t part from each other, but you knew it was just a mere dream, and even if you got along pretty well, Geralt included, they had their life.
However, the same feeling that guided you to think you’d have found a new opportunity in Brugge, made you think this wasn’t the end, that destiny still had something in store for you and your travel companions.
Thinking about the night and the performance, your eyes shined in realization as you sprinted toward the door, almost making the chair fall off. Opening the door, your heart skipped a beat when you found Jaskier’s hand curled in a fist, ready to knock on your door.
“Y/n” he said a little out of breath but smiling.
“Jaskier”
“I have something to ask you” you said at unison. You laughed nervously.
“You first” at unison again.
“I was just thinking maybe, you know…”
“You know I was in the tavern and I thought about some things…”
“...it’s just an idea, you can say no if…”
“...I mean it’s totally fine you disagree…”
“...but it would be a pleasure for me…”
After a good minute of you overlapping each other with confused sentences you finally said it.
“We should work together!” you both exclaimed at the same time.
After few seconds of complete surprise and excitement Jaskier smiled brightly.
“Well, that’s a good idea”
You laughed and playfully poked him in the chest.
The usual darkness that surrounded the city during the night was now completely gone as big fires and candles were lit all around the streets.
Fixing your hair for the last time you stepped outside and knocked at Jaskier’s door. You heard rapid footsteps approaching and eventually the door opened, your heart skipped a beat. Jaskier’s light blue doublet matched perfectly with his eyes, eyes that were fixed on your own, distracting you.
“Umm...Ready?” you stuttered.
The bard kept looking at you with his mouth slightly open, unable to say anything or move. It wasn’t the first time that he saw you wearing a dress before a performance but oh boy. You wore a dress he had never seen before, it was probably a spare one for occasions like these, your hair was nicely up to form a gorgeous updo while your usual golden earrings swung following every movement you made.
“Oh, umm yes, ready” he quickly grabbed his lute.
“I really like this color on you” Did I really said it? Oh Melitele, I did, you thought.
His lips curled into a genuine smile “Thank you Y/n”
Before he had the chance to open his mouth again, Hoxegind appeared in the corridor, panting because of the stairs he had climbed.
“Here you are!” he exhaled sharply “Everyone is waiting for you!”
Both of you shared a look and nodded.
“Let’s do this”
Hoxegind escorted you out the inn and through the city’s streets when you finally arrived. The town square, as every other corner as far as the eye could see, was filled with every kind of flowers, from the tiniest to the largest, wild and exotic, bright or pastel, as their scent spread all around you. Little girls and boys, their parents, old and young couples, adolescents, all gathered around a big fire as they waited for the performance to begin. The crowd was huge, the adrenaline started pumping in your veins.
“I will gladly introduce you, if you’ll let me” Sir Vonnodd asked with a bright smile, clasping his hands in front of him.
“Of course” you said.
“Two minutes and we will start. Good luck”
Bowing a little, Hoxegind left you two as he approached the center of the audience.
“So this is our debut together” Jaskier commented, excitement evident in his voice.
“We didn’t even have the time to try a little before the big premiere” you said glancing up at him.
“The music is perfect, the singer is perfect” you chuckled and rolled your eyes “the dancer is even better. We have nothing to worry about” he affirmed.
“Welcome everybody, ladies and gentlemen. We are honored tonight to introduce you two famous artists” Hoxegind voice resonated through the square as the voices lowered.
“Ok this is it” you checked your dress and your hair one last time and then turned toward Jaskier who was staring at you.
“Wait, something is missing” he placed the lute on the ground and turned on his back. He walked toward something but you couldn’t see it.
“What are you doing?” you asked.
When he turned again and approached you, he had a beautiful flower in his hand, its petals the same color as your dress. Barely managing to not blush, you saw him getting closer to you.
“Can I?” he asked. You simply nodded as he put the flower in your hair. When he finished he looked at you as he lowered his hands.
You didn’t had to chance to say anything because Hoxegind’s voice caught your ears.
“Y/n and Jaskier!”
The crowd exploded in excitement as they applauded cheerfully. Shaking away the emotion you just felt, you shared a look and nodded. Jaskier grabbed the lute from the ground as both of you arrived in the center of the square.
Bowing a little you parted so that you were few feet away from each other. Jaskier’s fingers started moving on the strings as you smiled at him, your arms slowly moved, following the rhythm.
“Oh fishmonger, oh fishmonger
Come quell your daughter's hunger”
The performance had just started when the people blithely began clapping their hands and tamping their feet along to the beat. The audience went in raptures. Flutes and drums played along with Jaskier’s lute as you danced gracefully, elegantly, expressively.
At the beginning they were two ballads, then they became three, then the audience asked for an encore. Twice. At the end you were both exhausted, Jaskier’s fingers were sore as much as your feet, but the reaction of the crowd was worth every aching muscle in your body.
As soon as you finished, all the people gathered around you complimenting or thanking you for the performance, even Hoxegind joined as he took your hand in his and gave it a steady shake.
You were so caught responding to all the kind words, you didn’t notice you slowly lost Jaskier in the crowd as you were pushed away by the audience.
Suddenly you felt a hand wrapping around your own and pulling you out the mass of people, you couldn’t see who it was, guessing it was Jaskier. He wasn’t.
As soon as you were out, you knew something was wrong, the hand holding painfully around your wrist wasn’t Jaskier’s one. Your eyes darted up to meet two small, vicious eyes of a man looking at you with a sinister smirk that made you want to gag.
“Who are you? Let me go!”
“Why going away so early? We’ll have some fun”
With all your force, you tried to break free from his grasp as he pulled toward a dark street as panic quickly clouded your mind but you didn’t let it control you.
“I’ve seen you dancing sensually over there, why don’t you do it for me?”
“Let me go! Help! Help me!” you shouted, digging your nails in his hand, pulling in the opposite direction, but your actions were vain. You were pushed against a wall, your arms pushed back so that the man could look at you with ease, but he was wrong. Using it to your advantage, you kicked him hard in the shins, but before he could react, his head made contact with a fist. A mighty, furious fist.
“Jaskier!” you gasped.
The man fell to the ground but the bard didn’t stop his assault on him, before he could even try to recover after the punch, he already had seized him by the collar and lifted him up against the wall.
“You miserable bastard! Touch her again and I’ll make you regret you were born” he seethed in his face, his tone uncharacteristically low and dangerous.
The man’s nose started bleeding from the impact with Jaskier’s fist. Clouded by anger he struck another blow to his face, this time even more brutal than the first, if possible.
“Go away” Jaskier growled pushing him hard on the ground. The man quickly tried to stand up and ran away, wrapping his hands around his swollen and bloody face.
Unable to move, you watched the scene in front of you with your face journeying from panic to confusion: seeing Jaskier angry was something new for you but he was beyond angry, he was furious. His veins were still bulging when he hurriedly approached you.
“Y/n, are you ok?” he took your hand in his before inspecting them, trying to find a wound or even a small cut, providing a good motive to end that man’s life once and for all.
“No I’m ok, I think” yes you were ok, before noticing your hands were held tightly by Jaskier.
When your eyes met, the anger was completely gone and his eyes were the usual soft and caring but filled with concern.
“This is my fault, I shouldn't have left you, but the crowd-”
He froze in his place when you hugged him tightly, encircling his neck with your arms.
“Thank you” you whispered as you felt his strong arms wrapping around you. Never he had the chance to stand so close to you, relishing in your scent
In that moment you understood.
He knew.
You knew.
He was madly in love with you.
You were madly in love with him.
As the adrenaline wore off you both glanced at one another as you parted, blushing a little. Your faces just few inches away. He could feel your breath on his face.
“Here you were!”
Quickly stepping away from each other you saw Hoxegind smiling brightly “The audience is asking for you, one last time?”
You both sighed.
“My fingers will fell off” Jaskier commented in a low voice.
Chuckling you stuttered a little “O-of course Sir Vonnodd”
Happy with the response, Hoxegind turned on his heels and headed toward the square again.
“May I accompany you, milady?” he asked offering his arm with the most handsome smile you had ever seen.
“It would be a pleasure”
Part 4
TAG LIST: @alyxkbrl @dancingwith-thesunflowers
#jaskier x reader#the witcher fanfic#the witcher imagine#jaskier imagine#joey batey#jaskier#geralt of rivia#jaskier reader insert#the witcher
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Tentacle-Tober, Day 2
A/n - Again, from the Eight Arms to Hold You AU
The drop off was nice, this time of year. Somewhat after the mating season, and most of the seahorses were off, building their shelters for their fry.
Bucky and Tony, with their half dozen babies, all now a year old, were not getting ready for a second spawning, even though many of their friends were.
That Bucky and Tony had babies at all was something of a happy accident, and they had six of them at once, which, as Bucky said, with eight arms, he didn’t have any left over for another baby.
But right now, the drop was nice, because it wasn’t crowded, and because the kelp was thick and protective, and because the oyster beds were lush and full. Bucky and several of his children were harvesting clams, stuffing succulent little globs of meat in their mouths as often -- or maybe even more often -- than they put it in the basket to bring back to Tony, and the three siblings that remained behind at their camp site.
“Don’t get too near the edge,” Bucky cautioned, and it wasn’t the first reminder, but Jaime had a tendency to forget that he’d been warned, especially when something was new and interesting.
“Yes,” a familiar voice said. “You never know when something might reach out and grab you.”
Jaime, Ward, and Win all scuttled back to hide behind Bucky’s tentacles.
(more under the cut)
The octomer who rose out of the drop off was beautiful, with dark red hair and black limbs and tattoos all over her arms and shoulders to show off her lineage and accomplishments. The Black Widow.
“Natasha,” Bucky said, cautiously. “I haven’t seen you in a while.”
“Bucky,” she greeted him. “I see now why my final count was off. How many did you take, how many lived?”
“As you see,” he said, indicating the boys around him, “and three more, back with my mate. They all lived, they’re all very fine fry.”
“I should like to meet this mate of yours,” Natasha said. “The others were born, stayed in the nest for some time, and are now out on their own.”
“We have a different arrangement,” Bucky said. “My mate’s not a ceph, and he enjoys the company of our children. I will bring you to him, if you want.” He wasn’t sure what Natasha wanted; he’d never been sure. They’d met, they’d mated, they’d separated, as was the custom of the cephs. After the spawning, it was likely that Natasha would have killed him, if he’d remained behind. He’d never expected to see her again, but like many male cephs, he’d stolen some of their eggs together.
“I should like to, and to meet my our children,” Natasha said, holding out tentacles to Jaime and the twins.
“They are Tony’s children, and mine,” Bucky said, firmly. “This is Jaime, and the twins, Edwin and Edward. Win, Ward, Jaime, this is Natasha. Your mother.”
The boys kept behind him, even as Bucky squirted his way across the ocean floor, headed back to where Tony and the rest of his family were having their outing.
“You’re slow,” Natasha commented. “Because of your injury?”
“What, this?” Bucky waved his stumps around. “No. I match pace to my mate.”
“Your mate is slow,” Natasha said. “I see.”
“Dad’s quite fast,” Jaime said. “When he needs to be.” Jaime always was the bravest, out of all their spawn.
“And smart,” Ward added. “He made this basket--”
Natasha tipped her head to one side. “What is a bass-baste-- basket?”
“It’s a land-dweller thing,” Bucky said, showing it to her. “We put the foods in it, and we can keep it for longer. We don’t have to forage every day.”
Natasha appeared dubious, but she’d also never had to provide for a whole school of offspring, either. Usually, Octomers were solitary creatures, meeting to mate, and then going their separate ways. The idea of keeping someone else safe, that was not a thought that would have occurred to her, not a need she would have had.
“An’ an’ an,” Win said, “he built our home. Out of rocks and reeds.” Win was very impressed with Tony’s ingenuity. All the children loved him, of course, but Peter and RiRi both mastered Tony’s skills and intellect, and Jaime didn’t always care about creating and thinking. But Win held Tony in the same esteem that most mers held Neptune; some great and mysterious being.
“Sounds like you’ve found yourself a good provider,” Natasha said. “Perhaps there is some benefit to being tied to one mate, one place.”
Tony had already put his weaving down, and while he didn’t exactly have the coral spear in hand, it was close enough by to not be an accident. They’d all learned the hard way that the sea was hard and brutal. “Who’s this?” he asked, pleasantly enough, his tail curling and uncurling with interest.
“This is Natasha,” Bucky said, indicating the red-haired octo-mer. “Natasha, this is Tony, my mate, and the rest of our school, Peter, RiRi, and Winnie.”
Tony’s eyebrow went up; he knew that name, from he and Bucky’s sharing of their histories, and Bucky telling stories of how they’d come to have such a large family, when the seahorse normal sized laying was two at most.
“It’s an honor to meet you,” Tony said, and gave a little formal bow. “I am told that cephs are not one for extended social activity, but you’re welcome to join us for lunch.”
“I’m not adverse,” Natasha said, and she smiled, being charmed by Tony the same way everyone was charmed by Tony. Bucky wasn’t the least bit biased.
Bucky opened the containers that he and the children had gathered and everyone settled out with a few handfuls of delicacies. Natasha seemed particularly enamored of being able to eat more than one thing without having to move and forage elsewhere.
Riri offered Natasha up a few of her woven and shelled bracelets and then had to show her how to wear it. Natasha was a deeper water Octomer and hadn’t spent nearly as much time observing land-dwellers and the man-things that they made as Bucky had. She was reserved, if interested, in the children, but not so interested that Bucky worried that she was planning to steal them back from him.
During their meal, she told them about some of her adventures, and the several dozen brothers and sisters that she’d safely spawned, and then left to their own devices. One of them, a white haired child, had called herself Kobik, and Natasha saw her with some regularity.
“You name yourselves?” Peter asked, astonished.
“Of course,” Natasha said. “I am the one who will hear my name most often in my life. Why would it not be something I chose for myself?”
“And here I think of my name,” Tony said, mildly, “as the very first gift a parent can give their child.”
“An interesting notion,” Natasha said in that voice that meant she didn’t agree in the slightest, but didn’t want to argue about it.
Not long after the food supplies were depleted and everyone had eaten as much as they wanted, Natasha made her farewells. “It was good to see you, safe and content, Bucky. It is not the life I would have chosen for either of us, so it is good that it falls to your lot.”
“You’re welcome to stop by, if you like,” Tony said. “We’d be happy to see you, and I’m sure the children would be happy to get to know you better.”
“We shall see,” Natasha said. “This may be more social time than I’ve had in the last year, and I’m not sure if I need any more anytime soon.”
“Be well, Natasha,” Bucky told her, squeezing one of her many arms with his.
“Goodbye.”
Tony watched until she was out of sight, and then watched a bit longer. Finally, when they were sure that Natasha was well beyond being able to see or hear anything they said -- although it was Natasha, and Bucky would not have put it past her to sneak ‘round them on the other side to listen in -- Tony turned to his mate.
“Well, that was very interesting,” Tony said. “I want you to tell me absolutely everything she said before you brought her to lunch.”
“Jealous, darling?” Bucky wondered, hauling his mate in to a warm embrace with many of his sticky arms involved.
“No,” Tony denied, although he was not objecting to the tentacled embrace. “I know you’re my mate, and you’re not leaving us for her, no matter how many arms she wiggles at you.”
“Was she wiggling at me? I didn’t even notice,” Bucky said. “You’re more than an armful for me.”
Tony made a face like he was going to complain some more, but Bucky kissed him until he melted into it, clinging to Bucky with both hands.
Natasha was right; Bucky was content with his lot, and he wasn’t going anywhere.
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Daenerys and Pomegranate Symbolism
I have seen some discussion in the ASOIAF fandom about pomegranate symbolism, and how it relates to Sansa’s and Jon’s stories. But I don’t think I’ve ever seen a discussion of pomegranates and the myth of Persephone in relation to Dany.
There are different versions for the myth of Persephone. In one of the main versions, Hades kidnaps Persephone and takes her to the Underworld to be his wife. Demeter, her mother, the goddess of agriculture and harvest, grieves for her daughter, and because of this, everything on Earth ceased to grow. So Zeus tells Hades to release Persephone. But Hades tricks Persephone, giving her pomegranate seeds to eat. Because she ate food from the Underworld, she is, from that moment, forced to return to the Underworld during a part of every year (in winter and fall). Only when she leaves the Underworld things are fertile in the world. So pomegranates are symbolic of temptation, deception and traps. Because Persephone falls into temptation and eats the pomegranate seeds, Hades is able to trick her and trap her in a marriage to him.
Pomegranates are mentioned five times in Dany’s chapters. All of these moments are, in my opinion, crucial to her choices and character development.
The first time pomegranates appear in Dany’s story, it’s when she invites Viserys for a meal, to give him Dothraki clothes, hoping that he would forgive her for taking his horse (She took his horse after he had attacked her in the Dothraki sea). She asks Irri to bring food for her to share with her brother:
She brought back a haunch of goat and a basket of fruits and vegetables. Jhiqui roasted the meat with sweetgrass and firepods, basting it with honey as it cooked, and there were melons and pomegranates and plums and some queer eastern fruit Dany did not know. While her handmaids prepared the meal, Dany laid out the clothing she'd had made to her brother's measure: a tunic and leggings of crisp white linen, leather sandals that laced up to the knee, a bronze medallion belt, a leather vest painted with fire-breathing dragons. The Dothraki would respect him more if he looked less a beggar, she hoped, and perhaps he would forgive her for shaming him that day in the grass. He was still her king, after all, and her brother. They were both blood of the dragon. – Daenerys IV AGOT
The pomegranates here represent Dany trapping herself to her abuser. Even after everything Viserys has done to her, she still sees him as her king and hopes for his forgiveness, even though he was the one in the wrong. Just like Persephone was trapped to Hades, Dany felt trapped to Viserys (Note: I’m not saying that victims should be blamed for not standing up to their abusers, I think this kind of mentality is disgusting. I’m just saying that, at this moment in the story, Dany hasn’t found the strength to stand up to Viserys. The pomegranates represent her feeling trapped). And right after this, we see that trying to reconcile with Viserys was indeed a bad choice:
She was arranging the last of his gifts—a sandsilk cloak, green as grass, with a pale grey border that would bring out the silver in his hair—when Viserys arrived, dragging Doreah by the arm. Her eye was red where he'd hit her. "How dare you send this whore to give me commands," he said. He shoved the handmaid roughly to the carpet.
[…]
"No one commands the dragon," Viserys snarled. "I am your king! I should have sent you back her head!"
[…]
"I had Doreah sew it specially for you," she told him, wounded. "These are garments fit for a khal."
"I am the Lord of the Seven Kingdoms, not some grass-stained savage with bells in his hair," Viserys spat back at her. He grabbed her arm. "You forget yourself, slut. Do you think that big belly will protect you if you wake the dragon?"
His fingers dug into her arm painfully and for an instant Dany felt like a child again, quailing in the face of his rage. She reached out with her other hand and grabbed the first thing she touched, the belt she'd hoped to give him, a heavy chain of ornate bronze medallions. She swung it with all her strength.
It caught him full in the face. Viserys let go of her. Blood ran down his cheek where the edge of one of the medallions had sliced it open. "You are the one who forgets himself," Dany said to him. "Didn't you learn anything that day in the grass? Leave me now, before I summon my khas to drag you out. And pray that Khal Drogo does not hear of this, or he will cut open your belly and feed you your own entrails." – Daenerys IV AGOT
Dany tries to reconcile with her brother, and he just abuses her even more. But it’s interesting that in this scene, Dany is starting to stand up to her brother, to metaphorically “reject the pomegranates”, reject being a prisoner of her brother’s abuse.
The next time pomegranates appear, it’s in the feast in Vaes Dothrak, before Viserys dies:
The sounds of drums and horns swirled up into the night. Half-clothed women spun and danced on the low tables, amid joints of meat and platters piled high with plums and dates and pomegranates. – Daenerys V AGOT
And later in the feast, after Ser Jorah tells Dany that Viserys tried to steal her dragon eggs, we get this:
Dany had not known, had not even suspected. "Then … he should have them. He does not need to steal them. He had only to ask. He is my brother … and my true king."
"He is your brother," Ser Jorah acknowledged.
"You do not understand, ser," she said. "My mother died giving me birth, and my father and my brother Rhaegar even before that. I would never have known so much as their names if Viserys had not been there to tell me. He was the only one left. The only one. He is all I have."
"Once," said Ser Jorah. "No longer, Khaleesi. You belong to the Dothraki now. In your womb rides the stallion who mounts the world." – Daenerys V AGOT
It’s very similar to the previous confrontation with Viserys where the pomegranates appeared: Dany says that Viserys is her king, that he’s the only one she has left. She’s afraid of letting go of Viserys, afraid of being on her own, and she doesn’t feel like she truly belongs with the Dothraki. The pomegranates in the beginning of this scene represent the fact how Dany still feels bound to Viserys, and if she doesn’t find the courage to stand up to him, she might be forever a prisoner of this abusive relationship, like Persephone was a prisoner of Hades. But we know what happens next. Viserys enters the fest drunk, Dany still tries to defend him, but after he threats to cut her child out of her, Dany stops trying to save him:
Viserys laughed. "They can't kill us. They can't shed blood here in the sacred city … but I can." He laid the point of his sword between Daenerys's breasts and slid it downward, over the curve of her belly. "I want what I came for," he told her. "I want the crown he promised me. He bought you, but he never paid for you. Tell him I want what I bargained for, or I'm taking you back. You and the eggs both. He can keep his bloody foal. I'll cut the bastard out and leave it for him." The sword point pushed through her silks and pricked at her navel. Viserys was weeping, she saw; weeping and laughing, both at the same time, this man who had once been her brother. – Daenerys V AGOT
The threat to her child finally gives Dany strength to escape the abuse, and she lets go of “this man who had once been her brother”. Dany will still mourn Viserys afterwards, but she’s finally free.
Next, we have another important moment to Dany’s character development where pomegranates are mentioned. Dany is in Qarth, and Xaro is helping her, but we know that what he truly wanted was to marry Dany so that he could claim one of her dragons. He helps Dany get money to bribe the Pureborn in order to get their help and obtain ships. But they trick her, taking her bribe and refusing to help her. And what do we get right after this happens? We get this scene:
"Tell me the words of the Pureborn," prompted Xaro Xhoan Daxos. "Tell me what they said to sadden the queen of my heart."
"They said no." The wine tasted of pomegranates and hot summer days. "They said it with great courtesy, to be sure, but under all the lovely words, it was still no." – Daenerys III ACOK
Dany was tricked by the Pureborn, and lost all of her money, and now she is dependent on Xaro once again. Here we have a very clear example of the pomegranates symbolizing deception. Later in the same conversation, pomegranates appear again:
"I would not need to seek sorcerous help if my friend Xaro Xhoan Daxos would give me what I ask."
"I have given you my home and heart, do they mean nothing to you? I have given you perfume and pomegranates, tumbling monkeys and spitting snakes, scrolls from lost Valyria, an idol's head and a serpent's foot. I have given you this palanquin of ebony and gold, and a matched set of bullocks to bear it, one white as ivory and one black as jet, with horns inlaid with jewels."
"Yes," Dany said. "But it was ships and soldiers I wanted."
"Did I not give you an army, sweetest of women? A thousand knights, each in shining armor."
The armor had been made of silver and gold, the knights of jade and beryl and onyx and tourmaline, of amber and opal and amethyst, each as tall as her little finger. "A thousand lovely knights," she said, "but not the sort my enemies need fear. And my bullocks cannot carry me across the water, I—why are we stopping?" The oxen had slowed notably. – Daenerys III ACOK
This moment is very important to Dany’s character development, and not just because Dany has to escape Xaro’s deception. Qarth is a city filled with splendors: it’s beautiful, it has magic, it’s wealthy. And both Xaro and Pyat Pree are offering them to Dany. If she stays with Pyat Pree, she will have sorceries and magical knowledge at her disposal. If she stays with Xaro, she will be a wealthy woman for the rest of her life. But if she does that, she will have to stay in Qarth forever and will never achieve her true desires, to go home to Westeros. The pomegranates symbolize that, and it’s even more similar to Persephone’s story, because this time, Xaro is trying to deceive Dany and lure her into a marriage. It’s also important to note just how hollow his promises are. Xaro is not giving Dany the real knights that she wants, he’s giving her miniature knights. If she stays with him, he will give her more of the same, but never what she really wants, and she’ll never be happy here. Fortunately, Dany rejects Xaro and escapes Pyat Pree and The House of the Undying. She escapes Qarth’s traps and temptations, and decides that she doesn’t want hollow material wealth, she wants to pursue a greater destiny for herself. This is pivotal for her character.
But the most pivotal moment related to pomegranates is, in my opinion, the last one. During the opening of Daznak’s Pit, after her wedding to Hizdahr, different foods are stocked for Dany and Hizdahr:
Hizdahr had stocked their box with flagons of chilled wine and sweetwater, with figs, dates, melons, and pomegranates, with pecans and peppers and a big bowl of honeyed locusts. Strong Belwas bellowed, "Locusts!" as he seized the bowl and began to crunch them by the handful.
"Those are very tasty," advised Hizdahr. "You ought to try a few yourself, my love. They are rolled in spice before the honey, so they are sweet and hot at once."
"That explains the way Belwas is sweating," Dany said. "I believe I will content myself with figs and dates." – Daenerys IX ADWD
This moment is supposed to be a celebration of Dany’s peace with Yunkai. We don’t really know who put the food there. Dany says it was Hizdahr, but we know that the locusts are poisoned, and there’s a lot of discussion as to who could have tried to poison Dany. But I don’t think it really matters who put the locusts and the pomegranates there. What matters is that the pomegranates and the rest of the food were put there as a celebration of the peace, therefore the pomegranates symbolize the peace. But just like Dany rejects the poisoned locusts, Dany rejects this peace:
The boar buried his snout in Barsena's belly and began rooting out her entrails. The smell was more than the queen could stand. The heat, the flies, the shouts from the crowd … I cannot breathe. She lifted her veil and let it flutter away. She took her tokar off as well. The pearls rattled softly against one another as she unwound the silk.
"Khaleesi?" Irri asked. "What are you doing?"
"Taking off my floppy ears." A dozen men with boar spears came trotting out onto the sand to drive the boar away from the corpse and back to his pen. The pitmaster was with them, a long barbed whip in his hand. As he snapped it at the boar, the queen rose. "Ser Barristan, will you see me safely back to my garden?"
Hizdahr looked confused. "There is more to come. A folly, six old women, and three more matches. Belaquo and Goghor!"
"Belaquo will win," Irri declared. "It is known."
"It is not known," Jhiqui said. "Belaquo will die."
"One will die, or the other will," said Dany. "And the one who lives will die some other day. This was a mistake."
"Strong Belwas ate too many locusts." There was a queasy look on Belwas's broad brown face. "Strong Belwas needs milk."
Hizdahr ignored the eunuch. "Magnificence, the people of Meereen have come to celebrate our union. You heard them cheering you. Do not cast away their love."
"It was my floppy ears they cheered, not me. Take me from this abbatoir, husband." – Daenerys IX ADWD
There’s a lot of symbolism here. Dany takes off the tokar (her “floppy ears”), rejecting the peace and the Meereenese values. Later in the chapter, Drogon returns, which also symbolizes Dany’s rejection of peace and her reconnection with her identity. But I also think the presence of pomegranates is really important, because they represent exactly what’s happening: by accepting the peace, Dany is metaphorically eating the pomegranate seeds like Persephone did, and becoming bound to a marriage. On a personal level, Dany feels like a prisoner and unhappy, because she will have to stay married to a man that she hates, and will be forced to stay in Meereen, when what she really wants is Westeros. But on a political level, Dany has also noble goals: she wants to end slavery and she hates injustice. The pomegranates, in my opinion, show that the peace was not only a personal mistake, but a political mistake as well: it binds Dany to a marriage and limits her agency, because she will have to share power with Hizdahr and bow to the wishes of the slaver class to keep the peace in Meereen, becoming unable to make more changes to build a better life for the slaves. And this unhappiness at having to accept injustice for the sake of peace is something that Dany thinks about throughout the entire book:
"There may be another choice. The Yunkai'i can be persuaded to allow all your freedmen to remain free, I believe, if Your Worship will agree that the Yellow City may trade and train slaves unmolested from this day forth. No more blood need flow."
"Save for the blood of those slaves that the Yunkai'i will trade and train," Dany said, but she recognized the truth in his words even so. It may be that is the best end we can hope for. – Daenerys IV ADWD
"His Grace is dreaming, but I cannot sleep. On the morrow I must bathe in blood. The price of peace." – Daenerys VIII
The Brazen Beasts did as they were bid. Dany watched them at their work. "Those bearers were slaves before I came. I made them free. Yet that palanquin is no lighter."
"True," said Hizdahr, "but those men are paid to bear its weight now. Before you came, that man who fell would have an overseer standing over him, stripping the skin off his back with a whip. Instead he is being given aid."
It was true. A Brazen Beast in a boar mask had offered the litter bearer a skin of water. "I suppose I must be thankful for small victories," the queen said. – Daenerys IX ADWD
They stamped their feet and slapped their bellies and shouted, "Mhysa, Mhysa, Mhysa," until the whole pit seemed to tremble. Dany let the sound wash over her. I am not your mother, she might have shouted, back, I am the mother of your slaves, of every boy who ever died upon these sands whilst you gorged on honeyed locusts. – Daenerys IX ADWD
Is Dany wrong in rejecting the peace? Is she giving in to her “violent and selfish desires”, as the Meereenese Blot suggests? I don’t think so. While there are certainly some selfish desires in there (her desire to go to Westeros), there are also the selfless desire to end slavery. Because let’s look at what the peace cost: she would have to marry Hizdahr, pay an indemnity in gold and gemstones to Yunkai as a compensation for disrupting the slave trade, reopen the fighting pits, and agree that slavery would return outside Meereen. These aren’t really good terms. If people are going to be killed in the name of peace, is it truly peace? If millions of people outside Meereen will continue to be brutalized, raped, mutilated and enslaved, this is no true peace, because millions of people will continue to suffer the violence of slavery. Dany is right in being unhappy with it. This is a poisoned peace, just like the locusts that were offered as a celebration of it. And the pomegranates symbolize the peace, and are symbolic that it was a prison and a mistake. But now that Dany has rejected it, she will finally be able to fight for what she believes to be right. This is a moment in which Dany reclaims her identity. But I don’t really believe in the interpretation that her identity is being a conqueror that does not like peace and compromise. In my opinion, her identity is that of someone who can’t stand by and let injustice happen. Dany shows in ADWD that she is very willing to compromise and make sacrifices for peace, but she is not willing to tolerate an injustice as great as slavery.
All of the moments in which the pomegranates appear are symbolic of some trap for Dany: first, she’s a prisoner of her brother’s abuse; then Xaro tries to deceive her and keep her in Qarth to marry him; and then she is forced to accept the terms of an unjust peace. The fact that Dany overcomes all of this ties into her role as Persephone: the earth only flourishes when Persephone is above ground, not when she’s a prisoner in the Underworld. And the same is true for Dany. If Dany didn’t overcome all of this, she wouldn’t be what she is now, and the world wouldn’t be the same. Because Dany rejected the pomegranates, she will be able to fight slavery, go to Westeros and save the world. Thanks to Dany freeing herself, she can bring positive change to the world, and usher in the spring.
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Bake Off’s Prue Leith has just launched gorgeous Karahi dishes and more at Lakeland
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Prue’s vibrant style has been brightening our screens on the Bake Off for almost four years now. And we’re no less excited by her latest venture, an exclusive range of exotic cookware at Lakeland.
Aptly named Prue’s World, the exclusive collection is inspired by her extensive culinary adventures. It includes an authentic range of global cookware to help home cooks become a little more inventive in the kitchen.
Each piece takes inspiration from Prue’s own kitchen kit, which she’s collected on her travels over many years. She’s worked closely with Lakeland to recreate her own versions of cookware from all corners of the globe. Starting with the colourful Karahi dishes from her trips to India.
Buy now: Prue’s World 25cm Karahi cooking dish with serving basket, £24.99, Lakeland
As well as being practical, the collection also reflects Prue’s creative flair. Attractive crushed bamboo zebra wood, ceramics and durable metals are all accented with her favourite shade of red, like this popping casserole dish.
Buy now: Prue’s World ceramic casserole dish with self-basting lid, £39.99, Lakeland
We wouldn’t mind trying out these light and fluffy traditional Danish aebleskiver made using Prue’s cast iron dumpling tin. The funky protective handle cover only adds to the charm. Yum!
Buy now: Prue’s World Cast Iron Dumpling Pan, £24.99, Lakeland
Prue’s extensive collection also includes this gorgeous three-piece knife set made from Japanese stainless steel. It features zebra wood handles and comes complete with a bespoke knife roll to keep your knives safe.
Buy now: Prue’s World 3-piece knife set with knife roll, £49.99, Lakeland
A stickler for perfection, Prue tested every item herself to make sure it was right. ‘I’ve been a Lakeland customer for probably 30 years,’ she says. ‘I don’t know a cook who isn’t. I want everyone to experience the pleasure and satisfaction of producing food to share with others.’
Related: Best saucepans – the top saucepan sets for all your cooking needs
What’s more, Prue has devised a range of delicious recipes for Lakeland. Try vegetable Momo’s (Tibetan dumplings), classic seafood paellla and chicken karahi, to name but a few.
What will you make first?
The post Bake Off’s Prue Leith has just launched gorgeous Karahi dishes and more at Lakeland appeared first on Ideal Home.
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Arplis - News: Week 23: Farewell to My Fabulous Fifties- The Wabi Sabi Edition
Happy Monday! We are well into Fall and I am happy to be getting into the more “homier” aspects of my bucket list. I’m wrapped in a warm blanket, I’m wearing fuzzy slippers and I’ve got a fall scented candle burning. So let’s dive right into the messy but beautiful leaf pile that makes up life and take a look at this week’s progress.
Kicking it off with a big check-mark on completing that wonderfully complicated puzzle! I have to give a shout out to Mike and Sammi here because they were intrigued enough to join me and together we knocked it out in a couple of days. It was fun, challenging and unique and I would definitely try another puzzle made by this company.
Loved working on this with Mike and Sammi. Fun seeing how the unusually shaped pieces ended up fitting together.
My Duolingo streak continues, currently at level 982 and I have a 794 day streak going. Classes at Alliance De Francais of Detroit continue. I am thoroughly enjoying it and I know I’ve made definite progress. We are ready to advance to the next book soon and the course will have more emphasis on conversation than it has in the past. This is exactly why I took a class in conjunction with my other efforts as, despite being passably familiar with vocabulary, being able to read and understand the simple spoken word, when it comes to conversation, I get stage fright! So send positive vibes my way because I’ll need ’em!
Let’s talk about bucket-list item # 22: Bake a loaf of bread from scratch. I purchased all of the items I’ll need to make bread, according to the book “Flour Water Salt Yeast: Fundamentals of Artisan Bread and Pizza (Deana’s bread bible). Deana so kindly gifted me this book and a proofing basket. I only needed a more detailed set of measuring spoons that included 1/16th tsp, a kitchen scale, a kitchen thermometer, a dutch oven and dough tubs. I was able to obtain all items from Amazon. Looking forward to giving this a try! I know I won’t be getting to this until next week, so I’ll report back in two weeks and let you all know how my first attempt goes.
I chose Lodge for my dutch oven because the handles can stand up to the heat from the oven. I was surprised to see that this book advocates using this to bake bread as opposed to a loaf pan. Excited to see how it all turns out!
We have started another modernization project. As Mike and I are empty nesters now, our back entryway doesn’t serve the same purposes it once did. The fact that the wallpaper was ripping expedited the decision to redo this area. I started by ordering wallpaper samples and selected the one I thought would work best in the space. We are getting rid of the black Pottery Barn locker and replacing it with a storage bench from Grandin Road and more hooks on the wall above. One of my pet peeves is the fact that my husband Mike tends to pile six or seven coats on a single hook. We will be adding more hooks and hopefully limiting our number of items per hook. I need to purge the back closet and get rid of old coats and winter gear long outgrown by my adult daughters. The bench has been ordered and the wallpaper is stripped. Next up is repainting the trim. And no, I haven’t repainted the laundry room yet, but that will be tackled in due time.
Before: The hallway leading to the mudroom.Before: Ready for something different. You can see where we took the door off the hinges leading into the laundry room. We had moved the door to the top of the basement stairs to close it off a few years ago. We still need to repair the woodwork!Wallpaper stripped and ready to go!
I made two great dishes with Noom recipes this week, so I have a couple to pick from. The rosemary marinated pork chops were great, but the recipe I’m going to share was our favorite, Apricot Grilled Shrimp which I served with brown rice.
Apricot Grilled Shrimp
1 cup apricot preserves
1 lemon
4 tsp soy sauce (I used low sodium)
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp black pepper
2 tsp grated fresh ginger
2 pounds large shrimp, peeled and deveined
Place the preserves in a large microwaveable bowl. Microwave on high power for 30 seconds, or until melted. Grate 2 tsp rind from the lemon into the bowl. Cut the lemon in half and squeeze 2 TBSP juice into the bowl. Stir in the soy sauce, garlic, ginger, and pepper. Add the shrimp and toss to coat. Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
Coat a grill rack or broiler-pan rack with cooking spray. Preheat the grill or broiler. (I broiled.)
Remove the shrimp from the marinade; reserve the marinade. Thread the shrimp onto 8 metal skewers, leaving 1/4″ between the pieces. Cook 4″ from the heat, basting often with the marinade, for 2 minutes per side, or until the shrimp are opaque.
Place the remaining marinade in a saucepan and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Cook for 2 minutes. Serve with the shrimp.
208 cal/serving
Apricot Grilled Shrimp, sooo good!
In other ongoing items, Noom continues. I completed week 5 on Friday and am down 6 pounds with 7 1/2 inches lost. I am happy with my progress and plan to continue. I have exceed my 50 book goal. Unlike my other items this one concludes at the end of the year as opposed to my birthday. I have read 61 books so far. I am currently reading “After the Flood” by Kassandra Montag and am really enjoying it. It has been described as a riveting and epic saga set in a post apocalyptic world. It was selected as a Libraries Transform Book Pick. I was not familiar with this initiative, but they make a select book available for download in unlimited quantities. After the Flood is available in unlimited quantities only through today (October 21). Here is a link for more information about this digital bookclub and unique reading opportunity.
Enjoying this great read by an extraordinary new author.
I’ve completed 47 of my 50 workout goal on Nordictrack. This week’s destinations were Bora Bora, Hawaii (again) and my favorite, a walk through New York City which included Central Park, the theatre district and Times Square. It was nice to re-visit NYC, if only virtually! Meditation, affirmation, and yoga all continue, though I’ve not found a convenient studio yoga class yet. I am happy to report we will soon be closing on our Florida home and will be heading down to tend to a few things shortly thereafter. I am grateful for the ability to close remotely. Furniture delivery (at least what’s available) will happen shortly after closing. When we head down, I will be shopping for bed linens, towels and kitchen essentials as well as selecting curtains and bedspreads. We are also doing a little customization after we close, adding a pool, a little custom woodworking, cabinets in the laundry room, new shower doors, and a tile backsplash in the kitchen, among other things. We will be meeting with the trades to get these things underway soon!
Lastly, I am ending with a FAIL. Item #42: Actually take out the jet ski instead of letting it sit in the hoist unused, will remain undone. We pulled out the jet ski on this past Saturday which was a gorgeous day in the mid-sixties here in Michigan. It may be one of the last beautiful weekends here before the chillier temperatures of Fall settle in for good. As my birthday is May 13th, it is unlikely we will have the jet ski back in before that. So I have made peace with the idea that this particular bucket-list item will remain undone. In fact, I am going to embrace the Japanese aesthetic of Wabi Sabi, the aesthetic concept of admiring that which is imperfect. This idea is not unique to Japan. The Navajo also have a concept of leaving an open line in the border of their rugs called a “spirit line.” It makes the border imperfect but it allows the spirit of the weaver to exit the work. As I tend to be a perfectionist, I will take this as a lesson in the beauty to be found imperfection. I am going to see this as my “open line” that allows me to exit my 50’s and enter my 60’s with grace and gratitude.
My sweetie taking one for the team and getting in the not so warm water to pull out the jet ski. And hey, check out those legs. What a fashionista!
Until next week, I hope you are warm, present and taking time to experience everything Fall has to offer. May every blessing be yours.
Summer is officially over for us when the boat and jet ski are both out of the water. Even the kayaks have been stored away for the season. Welcome Beautiful Fall!
Arplis - News
source https://arplis.com/blogs/news/week-23-farewell-to-my-fabulous-fifties-the-wabi-sabi-edition
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This Week at BA: Butter-Basted Mushrooms and Cooki...
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Every Friday morning, Bon Appétit senior editor Alex Beggs shares weekly highlights from the BA office, from awesome new recipes to office drama to restaurant recs, with some weird (food!) stuff she saw on the internet thrown in. It gets better: If you sign up for our newsletter, you’ll get this letter before everyone else.
Cook mushrooms like steak
“‘Tis the season!” I declared, pulling a long-forgotten basket from a drawer in my desk. “PEPPERMINT BARK?” screeched Basically editor Amiel Stanek, rushing around the corner to see what it was. Sorry, Amiel. It was the Halloween-candy sized stash of Emergen-C packets I still have from my very official taste-test. Everyone’s been sniffling and sneezing, so it was time to hit the powder.
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It’s also the season for butter-basted mushrooms In the farmers’ market equivalent of a late-night ASOS shopping spree, I spent way too much money on some impulse mushrooms. The most expensive, hen of the woods aka maitake, are also the most delicious, in my humble opinion. The ONLY recipe I go to now is this one, where you treat the mushrooms like steak, basting them with rosemary (or thyme) browned butter until they’re tender, crispy, and divine.
Photo by Emma Fishman
Where is everybody?
The office was eerily quiet. Last weekend, a handful of BA staffers were in Portland for Feast, and here’s what my eyes and ears on the ground reported back. Editor in chief Adam Rapoport, who was caught drinking prosecco on ice, told deputy editor Julia Kramer that all staff were required to run the Healthyish 5k-ish, “And he made me run alongside him, making small talk, the *entire time,” she said. There was a field trip to a dispensary that looked like a Parisian jewelry store, where one editor picked up some CBD bath salts for his wife. At dinner at Kachka, herring under a fur coat and too many vodka shots were had. Brad was recognized by strangers everywhere he went (“I have so many friends here!” he told associate editor Christina Chaey). People transported via electric scooters. Amiel wore a lilac suit. The Turkey and the Wolf team brought their own McDonald’s plateware and a 12-pack of Pabst. I guess you just had to be there!
Farewell, restaurant
New York readers might have heard that Café Loup closed this week for alleged tax evasion, which is a pretty gangster way to go for an old school spot like that, so I accept this news with a grief and understanding. A few semesters ago, I took a continuing education writing workshop at the New School (never stop learning!), and every Friday after class, I’d meet a friend there for an icy martini—and sidecar—with fries. Everything else on the menu was terrible. It would be 6 p.m., the place mostly empty, and the maitre’d would look at me with disgust and say there were no tables. And then he’d relent, fine, a little spot near the bar, if you must. (I guess I didn’t look enough like Christopher Hitchens.) So farewell, Loup! May you rest in peace in restaurant heaven, where I imagine Florent lives on, 24/7 in our hearts.
Twizzle de doo
Watch Claire make gourmet Twizzlers here!
The way the Christmas cookie crumbles
Despite the lack of peppermint bark tins, we did have three weeks of Christmas cookie testing at the end of the summer. During those three weeks, we filmed a handful of videos–like Molly Baz’s scallops—and in the background, Chris Morocco has his headphones in, blasting the electronica band Timecop1983. “I really needed to go to a different place,” Chris told me about the struggle to think holly-jolly when it’s 90 degrees out. “I needed ambient soundwaves, no singing, none of Brad’s Neil Young, which honestly is how I feel year-’round, but that’s another thing.” I’ll let the Neil Young comment slide. “I thought he was listening to some dorky dad music,” Molly said, “but it’s like, the vibiest music ever.” This was Chris’ first year on Christmas cookie duty for the magazine, which is a big deal in our neck of the woods. “He did a fine job,” said Brad “not really a cookie guy” Leone. “The linzer sandwich thing was dynamite. With a cup of coffee, Beggs, forgettaboutit.” I’m a fan of Chris’ sparkly snickerdoodle 2.0—just wait til you see it (December issue!).
Tara Donne
Unnecessary food feud of the week
All this cookie talk, and a meeting on the theme of the word “crunchy,” got people arguing about what’s better: a soft and chewy chocolate chip cookie, or a crispy one? Video editor Misa Spencer is team Soft ‘n’ Chewy: “I never understood why people liked crispy packaged cookies—they make my mouth dry and sad,” she told me, adding that her mom, apparently a canonized saint, would time her batches of chocolate chip cookies so that they’d come out of the oven right before Misa got home from school. “Crispy cookies belong in icebox cakes and cookie cereal,” said contributor and big ol’ softie Sarah Jampel. Christina Chaey posted an image of Pepperidge Farm’s Sausalito cookies, her favorite of the chewy variety, to which Chris replied: “stop posting things just to upset me.” Others felt a truly perfect cookie is both crispy on the exterior, but soft within. (That answer is a cop-out). But I agree with digital director Carey Polis: “Sometimes you have cookie emergencies and that’s when Tate’s is really there for you.”
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5 Best Stainless Steel Cookware Sets That You Will Ever Need In Your Kitchen
I have talked about stainless steel bakeware in my previous blog. But right now I am going to share with you which is the best stainless steel cookware that you need to get for your kitchen.
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Top 5 Best Stainless Steel Cookware Set Reviews
Cooks Standard 10 Piece Multi-Ply Clad Cookware Set
Cuisinart MCP-12N Pro 12-Piece Cookware Set
Chef’s Star Pro Stainless Steel Grade 17-Piece Cookware Set
T-Fal C836SC 12-Piece Stainless Steel Copper Bottom Cookware Set
Cook & Home 12-Piece Stainless Steel Set
What is Stainless Steel?
Uses of the Stainless Steel Cookware
The Drawbacks of the Stainless Steel Cookware
How to Clean Stainless Steel Cookware
Utmost care
Top 5 Best Stainless Steel Cookware Set Reviews
The reason why we only share these top 5 best stainless steel cookware to you is that we only present you with the most popular ones among many other similar products. We did research over hundreds of the best stainless steel cookware on shopping site like the Amazon, and these TOP 5 are the best based on their star ratings as well as the highest Net Customer Satisfaction (NCS) rates
Cooks Standard 10 Piece Multi-Ply Clad Cookware Set
The Cooks Standard cookware sets are including 1.5-Quart, and 3-Quart covered saucepan, 11-inch 4-Quart Saute Pan with Lid, 8-Quart covered stockpot, universal size steamer inserts with cover fit both 1.5-Quart and 3-Quart sauce pan.
Moreover, all the cookware by Cook Standard is two layers of stainless steel goes all the way to whole cookware body with clad metal and aluminum core in between the layers.
The Cook Standard provides a limited lifetime warranty and all of the products are suitable for induction and are dishwasher-safe. This makes Cooks Standard as one of the best stainless steel cookware brands in the market right now.
Cooks Standard 10 Piece Multi-Ply Clad Cookware Set, Stainless Steel
List Price: $139.34
Price: $120.00
You Save: $19.34
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Cuisinart MCP-12N Pro 12-Piece Cookware Set
The Cuisinart 12-piece cookware set consist of 1 ½ -Quart and 3-Quart covered sauce pans; 8-inch and 10-inch open skillets; 3 ½ -Quart covered saute pan; 8-Quart covered stockpot and a steamer inserts with lid.
This cookware also features cool grip handles secured with stainless steel rivets and self-basting, tight fitting lids.
Covers and the cookware are all dishwashers safe, and Cuisinart provides a lifetime warranty to their customers.
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Cuisinart MCP-12N Multiclad Pro Stainless Steel 12-Piece Cookware Set
List Price: $244.99
Price: $244.99
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Chef’s Star Pro Stainless Steel Grade 17-Piece Cookware Set
The Chef’s Star Pro 17-piece cookware set includes:
8 and 10-inch frying pans
1.6-Quart & 2.5-Quart sauce pans with lids
4.2-Quart casserole pan with lid
8.6-Quart stock pot with lid
5.5-Quart saute pan with helper and lid
Boiler basket
Steamer basket
Three piece kitchen tools: Spoon, slotted spatula, 2-prong fork
All of this cookware is built to last, and they are made with 18/8 commercial grade stainless steel.
Handles are well shaped and have an anti-slip satin finish which provides a maximum durability. Every piece of the cookware is dishwasher safe, freezer safe for food storage and Chef’s Star offers a limited lifetime warranty to their customers.
Chef's Star Professional Grade Stainless Steel 17 Piece Pots & Pans Set - Induction Ready Cookware Set with Impact-bonded Technology
List Price: $599.95
Price: $199.99
You Save: $399.96
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T-Fal C836SC 12-Piece Stainless Steel Copper Bottom Cookware Set
The T-Fal 12-Piece cookware set includes 8 and 10.25-inch frying pan; 12-inch covered frying pan; 1-, 2-, and 3-Quart covered saucepan; 5-Quart covered stew pot and a steamer.
The T-Fal cookware set is:
8/10 stainless steel construction
Compatible with all cooktops including induction
Riveted stainless steel handles ergonomically designed for comfort
Glass lids with stainless steel loop handles help trap in heat, moisture, and nutrients
Oven and dishwasher safe
T-fal C836SC Ultimate Stainless Steel Copper Bottom Cookware Set , 12-Pieces, Silver
List Price: $129.99
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Cook & Home 12-Piece Stainless Steel Set
This product is Amazon’s Choice, but the Cook & Home does not get as many satisfied buyers compare to the rest. However, the price for this cookware set is the cheapest among all. Moreover, there are many good reviews based on these products too! So, if you are on a budget, this set is not bad at all.
The 12-piece cookware set includes 1 ½ -Quart sauce pan with lid; 1 ½ -Quart, 2-Quart and 3-Quart casserole with lid; 5 ½ -Quart stock pot with lid and a 10-inch frying pan with a lid.
Also, the Cook & Home cookware sets are:
Mirror polished stainless steel (inside and outside)
Can be used for all cooking source like electric and gas stove or glass and ceramic
Capsuled bottom with aluminum disc inside for even heating
Stainless handle rivet to body provide durability
Tempered glass lid to clear view while cooking
Cook N Home 12-Piece Stainless Steel Set
List Price: $50.17
Price: $50.17
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Toggle for Related Popular Posts
5 Best Stainless Steel Cookware Sets That You Will Ever Need In Your Kitchen
July 26, 2017
Top 5 Safest Pressure Cooker to Make Cooking Safe and Quick
January 18, 2017
Staub vs Le Creuset: What is the Difference Between These Two Dutch Ovens?
June 14, 2017
Best Stainless Steel Bakeware: Quick Guide and ft. 4 Best Bake and Cookware
June 29, 2017
What is Stainless Steel?
Stainless steel is an iron alloy containing at least 11.5% of chromium. You will often notice the number of 18/8 or 18/10 on your stainless steel cookware; these figures are indicating that the stainless steel is containing 18% of chromium with 8% and with 10% of nickel, respectively.
Stainless steel cookware is one of the top choices due to its properties are resistance to corrosion, scratching, denting and are good with both alkaline and acidic foods. Besides that, stainless steel is durable and reliable, and it can tolerate extreme heat.
The stainless steel cookware is all safe for the oven but if there are parts like handles that are made out of different materials then should follow the instruction to prevent permanent damages to your cookware.
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Uses of the Stainless Steel Cookware
If you are like me who love cooking so much I often enjoy all cooking shows, too, like MasterChef, do you notice that most of the cookware that presented in those cooking shows are mostly stainless steel products?
For most uses, chefs do prefer stainless steel cookware over any other type of cookware. Stainless steel is wrapped around an aluminum or copper core, the heat from the electric or gas stovetops spread evenly on the stainless steel cookware.
The stainless steel cookware is suitable for frying, sautéing, boiling, baking, roasting, casseroles, grilling, steaming, barbecuing, scrambling, braising, and poaching. I cannot deny that the stainless steel cookware does a superior job of browning food and can be used to create delicious sauces.
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The Drawbacks of the Stainless Steel Cookware
Stainless steel still has some drawbacks as these cookware sets are not non-stick. While using the stainless steel cookware, fats or oil are often needed to be added to prevent foods from clinging or sticking onto the cooking surface.
No doubt there is a learning curve to mastering cooking with stainless steel cookware. Because food sticks more easily to stainless steel cookware, hence it can be difficult to clean.
How to Clean Stainless Steel Cookware
Many people often put their stainless steel cookware to cold running water straight from the fire heat. Do you know that this could cause permanent damage to your cookware?
I will recommend that you should use baking soda to clean your stainless steel cookware if there is food burnt and stick onto the cooking surface.
Besides that, you can also fill the cookware (either a pot or pan) with hot, soapy water and let it soak for an hour or more to help cleaning easier.
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Utmost care
Once you have purchased one of these best stainless steel cookware, make sure you take good care of them as they will constantly be “good helper” in your kitchen and they last up to a long time, too. Also, follow my previous blog post about which best kitchen utensils to use on stainless steel cookware.
Until then. Happy cooking!
The post 5 Best Stainless Steel Cookware Sets That You Will Ever Need In Your Kitchen appeared first on Gordan Ladd's Kitchen.
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Yesterday is not Today
As i sit here wondering whats on my mind I seem to think about how i got were im at today. Yesterday was a day of confusion a day of change. As i started the car with a smile that seemed to win. I began to wonder if today would be the day? I turn and grab my bag of colorful plastic. In this bag would there be a star? As the journey continues I start to ponder and worry am i to early will it hold me up can my body take the enjoyment my mind and soul hunger for. through all this worry i find myself at the opening of a new season a fresh start. as i began to russell for $5 dollars to pay the guard shack. Cars pass slowly like the noisy neighbor you wish would just wave or nod as they drove past. But no this day was a day of hope, hope to see a brother that shares the same passion and Sport we love Disc Golf. Driving down the wide curvy down hill path to where brothers and sisters are basting in the anticipation of the kick off to what hopes to be a rewarding year of Disc Golf. Looking around i notice long time friends and new faces hoping to become part of a family. Mingling through the crowd there is conversation of basic catch up talk. While engaging in some pre game shots. The horn sounds its time to start this great game of golf. We split up arms on one side pros on the other. Golfers at this point size each other up who am i going to get for a partner. As me and my partner start this season I feel as though nothing can stop this great moment 60 degrees suns out and im about to throw some plastic. Now i have to describe this game for journal writing in the future. This game is played just like ball golf but with Frisbee. There are tee pads and there are baskets (holes). So name of the game throw the Frisbee the lest amount of times per hole. Par is 3 for every hole. Side note over. as we played the round of disc golf the worry of how this round was going to go sense i had knee surgery less than a month ago. Surprisingly my knee felt great throughout the round. So know that the knee has lasted the 3 1/2 hours of walking running and throwing of this great game. I had to go to work. Work was work it flew by like i was day dreaming. Now that the day is done i begin to wonder will tomorrow be a day like today. Must i say today is a painful reality of why i play the game. In time I will be ready for the tournament play of my dreams.
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