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cadere-art · 1 month

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What’s one food/drink in your world that sounds amazing

Do they have any musical instruments, if so is it based off of any really world stuff?

Tahen cultures have all sorts of taboo around fire. This is taken to an extreme in Ranai, where open fires are completely forbidden and one must own a special permit to tend a cooking fire. As a result, Ranai cuisine is renowned for it's wealth of raw, pickled, and otherwise marinated foods. Bcause Ranai's territory is an archipelago where fish and seafood is the main source of protein, makwa, acid-cooked fish akin to our world's ceviche, is a staple. Real-life ceviche being delicious, it is only logical that fictional ceviche would also be*.

Bird-fish makwa is an ancient traditional meal of the archipelago. It has three main ingredients: gruel of uciwici, an oat-like, distinctively purple grain rich in anthocyanins, dried and salted kelp, and shrimp and crustacean meat marinated in sumac vinegar. Eggs, herbs, and tart fruits are sometimes added as toppings. Bird-fish makwa most salient tastes are tartness from the sumac vinegar with salt and umami from the seafood and kelp, on a base note of mild and nutty sweetness reminiscient of brown rice from the mashed uciwici. The name of this recipe is a mistranslation of the meal's name from Wetki to Ranaite Tahen.

Jimeleu makwa is a classic ceviche which puportedly originates from the town of Jimeleu, where the soils and climate are conducive to the growth of citrus trees. Jimeleu ceviche consists of diced white fish acid-cooked in lime juice with horseradish, white beans, and cold-cooked uciwici grains. The marinade is usually clear, with a green tinge from the lime and horseradish. Common variants add cold fish broth or cream of green peas to water the ceviche into a soup. Jimeleu makwa is sour and spicy, and variants with cream of green peas have a distinctive sweetness.

Cici-Uli makwa is reminiscient of tataki or carpaccio. A large, white-meat fish is cut into filets which are marinated in a mixture of sumac vinegar, oil, and seasonings (including, but not limited to, salt, horseradish, and tart fruits akin to pincherries). The marinated filet is then cut into very thin slices and served with crunchy seeds and sliced sweet onion. Only the external edge of the fish has cooked: the main flavor of Cici-Uli makwa is that of the raw fish itself. This type of makwa requires very fresh fish.

*Note that I have not tried to make these The Most Palatable Possible - especially the first one!

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The answer to the second question is a bit less interesting. In short: yes, they do have music instruments! However, I am profoundly not musically inclined and this (as well as sports) is a thing where I show my biases as an individual: I have done roughly 0 musical worldbuilding, and it is unlikely that I will ever do more than the bare minimum (when I remember that the world should, to feel alive, have some music). About Ranaites, I can say that they have a variety of instruments, especially winds and percussions. Bamboo is an important material for their woodwinds and percussion instruments. A large shell is used as a traditional wind instrument. I imagine they have some sort of relatively simple string instrument, and a slightly more complex one with better acoustic imported by members of the Oumdashen diaspora. Ranaites have inherited a taste for passive music such as windchimes from the archipelago's original inhabitants, the Wetki. Shell windchimes are a popular fixture of gardens throughout the archipelago.

#asks #ask games #worldbuilding #ranai #ranaite #ranaite cuisine #music

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oddclan-askblog · 4 months

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Creatures of the bamboo forest:

Peaceful:

Dwarf Elum> Smaller greener colored Elum that can be picked up and held. Pig size. True Elum> Regular from the games, can be many different colors thanks to Maokon breeding. Shram> Mushroom with ram horns and goat features. Longhorn Yoxen> Water buffalo esc bull cows co-owned by Corvokon and Maokon.

Hostile:

Sleeg> Sleg Fleech cross that primarily feeds on the sligs bellow ground. When it rains they come to the surface where they are a terrifying threat to a mud. Slog> Not native but captured and bred by sligs to have new variants. Blython> Colorful hooded cobras that live in the trees. Messa has a purple one as a pet. They're big enough to hunt mudokons and yoxen at their largest. Giant Frolimite> Mama jumper spider that's a fluffier looking bolimite.

Neutral:

Keye Fish> A dolphin sized koi fish that comes in many colors. They are hunted for food and bred for new scale patterns. Grog> Three eyed tree frog, edible delicacy to the Corvokon. Its cousin the Dart Grog is pretty but poisonous. Brahana> Piranha/ gabit esc fish that feeds on anything that falls in the water. Can also climb onto land to swarm animals too close to the shore. Dwarf Frolimite> Jumping spider parallel that's the same size as a bolimite. Winnow> Small golden colored minnow fish that make up the backbone of the freshwater food chain.

Plant guide:

Beanpole Tree- Bamboo Greenco Leef- Ginkgo Leaves Phink Sakuro Oak- Pink Sakura Tree Grale- Wheat / Kale cross plant Grapez- Grapes Grazons- Raisons Wyne- Wine Ryce- Rice Kalp- Kelp Flornge- Orange

#oddworld #oddtumblr #worldbuilding #fanfiction #adding this to my blog guide so things are less confusing in the future #ill be adding more art to it as I go #oddclan-askblog

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tanuki-kimono · 2 years

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Japanese garden by miniature artist Tatsuya Tanaka, using zundamochi (edamame cake) as bushes, rice as soil, and a chasen (tea whisk) as yukitsuri.

Yukitsuri are bamboo pole+ropes towers placed upon trees to protect them from heavy snowfalls:

(picture source)

#japan #art #craft #miniature #Tatsuya Tanaka #zen garden #japanese garden #zundamochi #chasen #tea whisk #yukitsuri #garden rope #wintering garden

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the-fandom-queenxox · 2 months

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Blaming @sincerely-nines for letting the demons out

Here is the minecraft food update ideas that have been plaguing me fo a very long time:

(Also I know most of what I am about to list off are in many minecraft mods, you don't have to tell me about them, I just wanna yap about things)

(Also also I mainly talked about food we could have with the already existing edible minecraft items)

-First of all WHY DON'T WE HAVE APPLE PIE IN MINECRAFT!!! WE HAVE PUMPKIN PIE SURE BUT WE DESERVE APPLE PIE TOO!! Oh and also golden/enchanted golden apple pie... cause I think it would be funny and I want it

-Continuing the pie train sweet berry pie, glow berry pie, shepherd's pie(we have enough meat options to make it), chicken pot pie and also just learned about this one, fish pie

-Speaking of fish, sushi. "Oh bUt FAndOm yOU neEd riCe AnD SeAwEEd To mAKe sUsHI" no you don't, there are many recipes of sushi without rice in them and you can use the dried kelp as a substitute to seawed

-But also yeah they should add rice too

-Squids, we should be able to eat the squids... both of them(and yes you would get the glow effect if you ate the glow squid)

-Getting back on the pie train for a second for the actual last pie for the list(unless I forgot any that could be made via the limited items we have in minecraft), chorus fruit pie, cause it's funny to think about

-Carrot cake, chocolate cake or even better brownies, sweet berry cake and glow berry cake

-Sugar cookies

-Cheese!!! Which they made cheese in one of the april fools updates, so they infact can code this in, but I want it in a specific way, it is the height of a half slab and it is eaten like a cake... and maybe also cream, butter, yogurt or frosting even, since the one cake we do have seems to already have something like that on the sprite on it... also I think it would be funny if you crafted a whole stick of butter and eat it infront of your friends

-Speaking of "april fools updates" sweet potatoes and mashed potatoes

-Chocolate, just regular chocolate

-Add on from the last point hot chocolate

-French toast, we have all the ingredients for this why can't we have it?!

-Maybe some egg dishes? Like fried eggs, boiled eggs, scrambled eggs...

-Oh it just came to me, eggs benedict! Just replace the english muffin with regular bread, which probably make it count as a sandwich now that I think about it... they should also add sandwiches...

-Maybe also some more dishes with mushrooms? Even though I don't lkke mushrooms irl it's kinda weird to only have one food item with them in it

-I also wouldn't mind if they made more stews or soup

-Puddings! More specifically bread pudding and chocolate pudding

-Caramel

-A lot of trees are actually very safe to eat the bark and seeds of

-Sunflower seeds

-Also apparently if you boil it, you can eat bamboo as well and we have that in minecraft so we should eat it

-Many types of juices!! Some short examples would be carrot juice, melon juice, beetroot juice... etc.

-Kinda going off topic with this one, but I wanna gnaw on the bones we get from the skeletons, mojang let me eat the bones!!! You can make it so if you eat one it gives nausea cause it is actually unhealthy to eat bone as is and can make you seriously sick, but I wanna be a rabid fucking animal damn it and scare off the hoes. Side note here but you can also eat bonemeal and be okay to do so, so yeah that is also an option

Aaannd that's all of them for me, but if any of you have some ideas on what else to add do let me know, I probably missed alot of things

#minecraft #minecraft ideas #minecraft update ideas #minecraft update #<<<not really

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seelanmarket · 1 year

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Bamboo Tree Vietnamese Rice Noodle Small 400g

#Bamboo Tree Vietnamese Rice Noodle Small 400g #bamboo tree vietnamese rice paper #vietnamese rice noodles recipe #seelan market #switzerland #grocery

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nardo-headcanons · 11 months

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Hey, I loved your Naruto headcanon posts, which makes me crave for more. Any thoughts on Uzushio in future?

Hi darling, I'm so glad you enjoy my headcanons! It's kind words like these that motivate me to do more! So, Uzushiogakure. A tricky one, since there's basically nothing we know in canon, but I've tried to make it work. Also I'm in bed with the flu and a fever rn so please excuse any spelling or grammar mistakes.

Uzushiogakure Worldbuilding Headcanon

People and Culture

Since most if not all Uzushio citizens are Uzumakis, its residents are typically known for their temperament and fiery personalities. Their enthusiasm is almost infectious and they're very loyal and will stick by your side no matter what. Although its last leader was a man, its typically run by women. Women are treated with the same respect as men are, and tought the same sealing techniques. Twin birth rates are high and there have been cases of even triplets or quadruplets. The Uzumaki are sharers, they love to share their food, their ninja equipment, and also their knowledge. Seriously, they're great teachers. Their standards for teaching are high, but they 100% stand behind their students. The longevity of the Uzumaki comes with a downside, though. Due to the faster mitosis of their cells, the overall cancer rate is the highest in the shinobi world. Most of the Uzushio citizens weren't actually full fledged shinobi, and they were a peaceful nation. The Uzumaki also used their sealing techniques on food to enhance its shelf life.

Clothing and Cosmetics

The traditional attire of an Uzumaki consists of various kinds of hanfu and other gowns. However, compared to their real world counterpart, the Uzushio garments aren't gendered. When it comes to hair- and skincare, Uzushio citizens gladly use cosmetic products imported from the water realm, but when it comes to acne prevention, they use a special blend of clay to apply topically, although peroral application is also possible. According to Uzumaki aunties, it is a miracle cure for almost anything.

Nature

Flora The climate of Uzushiogakure is mild, characerized by hot, humid summers and cold, snowy winters and colorful falls. Most of the interior countryside is covered in bamboo forests. Bamboo was a sacred plant to the Uzumaki, as they saw it as a symbol of growth and regeneration. Another plant often seen in Uzushiogakure is the ginko tree. During the fall, its leaves are often ejoyed as a tea by the citizens. The coastlines are characterized by rocky beaches. Swimming in the sea however, is not a good idea, as there are whirlpools lurking close to the shore. Since the country is sprinkled by rivers, many citizens commute by boat.

Fauna

In the whirlpool realm, there are a lot of different animals. An animal unique to Uzushiogakure is the big and the red panda. Big pandas are seen as a symbol of good luck by the Uzumaki, while red pandas are seen a symbol of laughter and mischief. In the forests of the whirpool realm you can find foxes, wolves and wild tigers. Another mischievious friend of the Uzumaki is the red squirrel, and they're so beloved by them, it's not a rarity to see squirrels chilling on rooftops or even take the boat together with the Uzumaki.

Food

The national dish of Uzushiogakure is mapo tofu. Enjoyed with rice imported from Kirigakure, it is enjoyed by adults, elders and children. Generally, the Uzumaki have the second highest spice tolerance, coming after Sunagakure. Uzushiogakure is also a paradise when it comes to all things sauces and condiments. The most popular ones are keptjap manis, peri peri, hoisin and miso glaze. Street- and fast food was a big part of Uzumaki culture, as there many food stalls sprinkled throughout the village. Before it was destroyed, Kirigakure Kimchi was a very sought after imported food product.

#naruto headcanons #naruto #naruto shippuden #naruto imagines #naruto scenarios #naruto fanfiction #headcanons #fanfiction #naruto uzumaki #karin uzumaki #kushina headcanons #uzumaki clan #uzushiogakure #naruto meta #naruto worldbuilding

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purpleajisai · 11 months

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Drop your Madara headcannons 🧠 💣

Hi! This is going to be quite a long list. Didn't add every single hc because I'm planning on writing a little fanfic and don't want to spoil some details to you hehe. Anyways, hope you enjoy! Some of these are very oddly specific, this man occupies at least half my brain if not more.

🔥 misc!

* He drinks his tea boiling hot. Burning your tongue? Never heard of it

* Is actually good at cooking and makes the most out of any ingredient available. Growing up in war, he knows how to make meals out of anything.

* Has a pillow to cuddle in bed! The dude is lonely.

* Very elegant and expensive hanko to stamp his documents. A clan leader needs to be fancy sometimes!

* Neat freak. Never has his house messy or his clothes out of place. Even his hair strands are calculated.

* Is actually able to mend/sew his clothes very well if some stitches are damaged during training.

* Sleeps a maximum of 6 hours a day, minimum of 30 minutes. The amount of sleep he gets is like playing a roulette (ever seen the eyebags? yeah)

* Speaking about the eyebags. His eyebags are both sunken and protruding (based on my personal experience of being sleep deprived+stressed) the lower eyelid pops out a little and the dark circles extend more.

* The man is physically unable to go out in social settings during the day. Only has social battery for the night. If he has to do some sort of diplomatic celebration with other clan leaders or kage during the day, he’ll leave the talking to someone better at social gatherings like Hashirama.

* Has houseplants both for decoration and for cooking. We’re talking pretty succulents and mint plants or peach trees.

* The type of guy to wake up and immediately jump out of bed. Things have to be done everyday and he doesn’t trust people to do things the way he likes.

🎀 appearance!

* Shaves to perfection every single morning, no excuses. Takes a little razor to missions, hates the feeling of facial hair growing. Trims his eyebrows as well. The Sharingan needs a pretty frame, right?

* The gloves have 2 purposes: protecting his hands from getting calluses or any form of damage due to the metal handle of the gunbai, kusarigama, etc and to hide burn scars (courtesy of @madaraservingcunt go follow her!)

* Continuing with the gloves, they’re made out of leather or thick cotton. Maybe has several sets of them for different activities.

* Smells like a mix of wood (cedar or pine), soot/ash, aloe and maybe lavender or wild daisy.

* Skincare and haircare? He’s VERY serious about these. Aloe vera facial masks for soothing the itchiness of constant katonjutsu, washes face with caution, rice water to keep his hair shiny, protective hairstyles to not damage the long hair strands, bamboo hairbrush to retain the natural oils, etc.

* Either has thick straight hair or textured and slightly wavy hair, definitely cut in layers. The wavy hair would make more sense as it poofs up when dry but looks rather straight when wet, taking into account the scenes of the battle in the Valley of the End (thank you Indra for the wavy hair and gorgeous mane genetics). Definitely loves his hair, fav part about himself.

* The bandages above his ankles are to keep the pants in place because his calves are thin and not very muscular, a small insecurity when he was a teen.

* Speaking of the terrible teens, he got grumpy whenever he got a breakout, zit, etc.

* Has mixed/dry, sensible skin. Dealt with painful and itchy sores due to lack of skin hydration while in war.

* Is a bit ashamed of his height and body proportions (i.e. wishing he was taller, less lean and more bulky, broader shoulders). These were regular nuisances during his teens but he eventually controlled the insecurities in adulthood, not managing to make them disappear completely nonetheless.

🍡 food!

* The databooks say that his fav food is inarizushi, so I've added that he likes similar things: onigiri, temaki, nigirizushi, tamagoyaki or even gyoza.

* Eats with little pleasure, only to fuel his body or whatever. That changes when Konoha is founded and he can actually enjoy and taste his meals.

* Dislikes greasy foods. Not a fan of ramen or katsudon, gyoza has to be boiled and would never eat tempura or ebi furai.

* Has a sweet tooth. We're talking dango, wagashi, dorayaki and more. However, only Izuna knew about this. Can't have a clan leader that eats candy like a little child.

* Prefers his sake cold and drinks mostly umeshu in informal gatherings.

* Actually likes fruit. I have no reason for believing this but he has the face of a man who likes fresh fruit. Fav fruit is persimmons or apples.

* Was malnourished as a child, giving away his food to his brothers or clansmen. Eventually took a toll on his muscle growth and height.

* Eats very light breakfast (maybe tea and some rice with nori or miso soup with wakame), heavy lunch (meat or fish, rice, more tea and other side dishes), no dinner.

* Favourite tea is jasmine or pu'erh, mostly drinks green tea and actually enjoys a good ceremonial matcha.

Thanks for the fun ask! I legit have a google docs of 4 pages full of hcs 😭 please send more asks about him I need to dump my brainrot

#ask #madara #madara uchiha #uchiha clan #uchiha madara #pro uchiha #naruto #founders era #madara headcanons #yay my first ask!#so happy to share my worringly high amount of headcanons!#if anyone reads this rb with your own hcs #madara 4 president #i want to give him a hair treatment or facial mask uwu

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visualtaehyun · 1 year

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When I started getting interested in Thai not even a year ago, I certainly didn't expect to be reading poetry at this point but here we are now:

มิ่งมิตร (ming mit) - the poem from Be My Favorite EP.11

It's part of a book of poems called ขอบฟ้าขลิบทอง (horizon trimmed in gold) and the author's pen name is อุชเชนี (Eugenie). Since 2017, the year after her passing, there's been a literary contest dedicated to her, the Eugenie Awards (website is in Thai).

I've copied over the entire thing from the end of the episode + the translation from the subs + included screenshots with the exact lines (unless it just shows Pear reading, unrelated to the line).

In Pear's recital there's two lines missing/left out that I tried to translate (=*) to the best of my *cough* limited *cough* abilities.

Anything marked in red is either an annotation of mine or where I felt the translation needed clarification.

I ran out of time so make of all of this what you will. I might come back to this post with some comments or meta before Friday.

Disclaimer: I'm a learner of Thai, not a native speaker, so feel free to correct me on anything 🙏

มิ่งมิตร เธอมีสิทธิ์ที่จะล่องแม่น้ำรื่น Dear Friend, You have the right to sail along and glide (along a river)

ที่จะบุกดงดำกลางค่ำคืน ที่จะชื่นใจหลายกับสายลม To venture into the woods in the dead of night To revel in the joy of a gentle breeze's sway

ที่จะร่ำเพลงเกี่ยวโลมเรียวข้าว ที่จะยิ้มกับดาวพราวผสม To sing your song with the harvested rice To grin (smile) at the stars above shining bright

ที่จะเหม่อมองหญ้าน้ำตาพรม ที่จะขมขื่นลึกโลกหมึกมน To gaze upon the grass with tears in your eyes To absorb as much bitterness as desired (To be deeply bitter, the world inky unmoving)

ที่จะแล่นเริงเล่นเช่นหงษ์ร่อน ที่จะถอนใจทอดกับยอดสน To be cheerful as a swan soaring free To vent it out with the top of the pine tree

ที่จะหว่านสุขไว้กลางใจฅน ที่จะทนทุกข์เข้มเต็มหัวใจ To plant glee in the hearts of people To take in (endure) as much misery (suffering, one of the Four Noble Truths in Buddhism) as you're able

ที่จะเกลาทางกู้สู่ฅนยาก ที่จะจากผมนิ่มปิ้มเส้นไหม *To smooth the path to recovery for someone poor (a way out of being poor) *To leave (?) hair soft almost like silken threads

ที่จะหาญผสานท้านัยน์ตาใคร ที่จะให้สิ่งสิ้นเธอจินต์จง *To boldly unite, to defy the eyes of others *To let things end as you envision

ที่จะอยู่เพื่อฅนที่เธอรัก ที่จะหักพาลแพรกแหลกเป็นผง To live for someone you love dearest To battle until your body turns into ashes (no mention of what turns to dust here as a result of bending, fighting, breaking)

ที่จะมุ่งจุดหมายปรายทะนง ที่จะคงธรรมเที่ยงเคียงโลกา To achieve what you strongly desire To pursue fairness (dharma, justice, truth, virtue) for humankind

เพื่อโค้งเคียวเรียวเดือนและเพื่อนโพ้น เพือไผ่โอนพลิ้วพ้อล้อภูผา For the sickle, the crescent moon, your dear friends For the swaying bamboo trees and the mountains

เพื่อเรืองข้าวพราวแพร้วทั่วแนวนา เพื่อขอบฟ้าขลิบทองรองอรุณ For the abundant rice in the paddy to remain For the golden skyline to come once again (For the horizon trimmed in gold to cradle/prop up the dawn)

#be my favorite the series #be my favorite #thai bl #local woman harps on about linguistics #yup this is a tag now #local woman harps on about bmf

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ranchracoon · 6 months

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Ch 1. The Beginning

A/N: I can already see the comments, so let me clear up: no, everyone is not related. Instead of saying "ma'am" or "sir," everyone is called auntie, uncle, or cousin as a form of respect.

The waves lap against the beach shore as the rising sun sets the entire island and ocean ablaze with oranges and yellows. Fishers tie off their boats from the early morning catches and heave them up the sandy coves to the mainland. Chickens, pigs, and dogs welcome the morning with a symphony of howls, grunts, and clucks while awaiting their own breakfast. Children who have already been awake since before the sun, run amok through the tall trees, banana plants, and orchids while their sleep deprived parents inject themselves with caffeine. At the hub of all activity is the common place kitchen, where everyone cooks, everyone cleans, and everyone shares. The roof is sturdy made from clay and palm leaves to keep out the sun's harsh rays and the frequent downpour of rain. The walls have hanging curtains that are rolled and tied to the roof so that the warm salty air blows through without any obstructions. The mouthwatering aroma of spam wafts through the nearby homes and awakens anyone still trying to linger on last night's dreams. Soon the hub is full of people, some old, some young, some in between but all of them catering to one another while passing around the dishes of spam and rice wrapped with seaweed.

The head chef searches the crowd for one person, knowing this day is one she has been looking forward to; she just doesn't know it yet. Finally she spots them, weaving in and out toward the bar where breakfast awaits but the chef beats her there. The young woman and the chef stare one another down, their eyes locked in a showdown of who will move first. The young woman makes a dash for the nearest plate but the chef is quicker, she holds it away from the young woman. She groans loudly with frustration and annoyance, drawing the attention of a few people nearby who merely chuckle at the altercation. This happens every morning.

"Come on mamá, I'm too tired for this. I even got here early!" The woman whines.

(mom)

"AH! I don't want any attitude from you, okay? Hoy es especial and I need you to help me get things ready. Ahora, go eat and report back here as soon as you are finished." Her mother scolds.

(Today is special. Now,)

"Ugh.." The woman groans.

She takes the plate from her mom and scurries away to the outside of the shelter to the nearby tables and chairs made from bamboo. She settles herself down into a spot and pulls her black hair away from her face to keep it from getting in her food. Only one bite in before three others join her; the first one is her best friend Alo, wearing only baggy shorts, a tank top, and nothing else with their hair clearly sporting the 'just woke up' appeal. The second is her other best friend Diana, she has on a red tank top with high cut shorts and hand-crafted sandals, her brown hair is braided back into a single braid with flowers interwoven. The last is her sister Neyla, two years younger than her and they are exact carbon copies of each other with the same sun kissed brown skin, black hair, and brown eyes.

"Good morning, Alo! Good morning, Diana! Good morning, Carmen!" Neyla announces.

"Morning." They respond simultaneously.

"So, what is your mamá making you do today?" Asks Alo.

"No idea. She just said to report to her when I finish eating. Did she tell you anything?" Carmen responds.

"No, she told me the same thing."

Diana taps her chip in thought, "is it someone's anniversary? Maybe someone found their mate? We didn't forget a birthday, did we?"

The other shrug their shoulders and finish their meals, chatter about the latest drama, clean their places, and report for their chores. There are others gathered with her mom delegating the chores. The tasks are divided by who can do what the best; cooking, cleaning, decorating, but no one tells Carmen about why they are doing this. She tries to overhear conversations, but no one spills anything she can run with. There is one possibility, but it can't be that. She would have been told about it. She approaches her mother and two other women who are currently sharpening utensils behind her.

"Hola aunties." She waves to the two women.

(Hello)

They wave back and return their focus to their task while her mother approaches her and grips her shoulder tightly.

"Carmen, I have a muy importante task for you. We need something to cook. Something big. The biggest you can find ¿bueno?"

(Very important. Okay?)

Carmen beams with excitement, she was only allowed to hunt for very special ceremonies like weddings. Someone must be getting married, but she can't think of anyone recently engaged. Her heart flutters in excitement, it has to be what she's thinking right? Her mother smiles at her and released her shoulder, and she takes off like the start of a race. She dashes from the shelter and makes her way to the edge of the jungle. Carmen is the best hunter on the island; the record for biggest kill used to be held by her great, great, grandfather who killed a 200lb deer. That is, until she beat it by taking down a nearly 235lb jaguar that kept killing pigs. It took her three days of stalking and waiting to capture it.

She breathes in deeply and allows herself to unwind, as she lowers to her hands and knees. The grass tickles between her fingers that enlarge and widen into large paws. Her hair thickens and grows to coat her entire body before shortening to appropriate fur length. Her spinal collum extends behind her backside into a thick but fluffy tail. Everyone on the island can transform into a wolf, just like her. Her senses heighten, she inhales deeply and smells all the creatures within miles and the freshly washed fauna from the rain.

The breeze shakes the tops of the trees, a few birds chirp in the distance, and she listens. The song of her island drawing her in, frogs, cicadas, birds, and then a twig snapping. Her ear twitches in the direction of her desired prey, a Boar grunting in the distance. She barrels through the foliage, vines and plants whip past her as she maneuvers and weaves expertly through. As she approaches, she slows to a steady walk, crouching into the thicket while stalking closer. Her snout and eyes look through the brush to see her prize snorting away at the ground. This will be easy, all she has to do is go for the hind leg, snap the tendon then break the neck.

Carmen stills, her black fur blends with the shadows around giving her the perfect camouflage as the boar snorts the ground. When it stops and proceeds to dig for whatever it found, this is her moment. She leaps from the brush, lands directly behind the boar and slashes her fangs into its hind leg. It barely has time to react before it attempts to dash away only to fail miserably onto the ground and kick its legs wildly. Carmen stalks around the back of the boar, places one paw on its side and her mouth on the neck before jerking upward in a quick motion; the snap of bones echoes through the now silent jungle. Nearby prey scatters to the wind, and the birds fly off through the canopy after being startled by the sound.

She lifts the boar and maneuvers it onto her back, it has to be 160 easy, this should be plenty for the celebration tonight. She trots back at a slower pace so as to not lose her precious catch, stopping every few moments to readjust then proceed. Back at the shelter, her mother and the two women gasp at her catch, they reach their newly sharpened tools and gather some extra hands to remove the boar from her back. Her mother strokes Carmen's ear proudly then tsks upon seeing the state of which she returned.

"Ay mija, look at you! Go wash up and help your cousins with their chores. Be back here tonight."

Carmen twists her head to examine her body, seeing the matted fur with mud, leaves, and blood. She shakes herself only to be scolded by the nearby women and threatened with a chancla (slipper) before she runs off. After returning to her humanoid form, she returns to the comfort of her home to rinse off and change out of her filthy clothes. Then she goes and finds Alo to help them with whatever they were assigned. Everyone takes a break when the sun hits the peak of day, it is too hot to continue so they all take a well-earned swim in the lagoon. The warm water is refreshing on their overheated skin, children splash and play while the aunties serve cold coconut water and finger foods.

Once break time is finished and the sun is on the other side of the island, casting their side in a cool shadow do they return to their work. The shelter beams to life with lanterns and hanging lights, there's ribbons strung from the trees, and of course a roaring bonfire with her boar roasting over it. The bar is flowing with drinks for the adults, fresh mojitos, margaritas, all mixed with spirits and fruit from cultivated from their land. For the niñas and niños, virgin mixes and sodas to fill their sugar crave. Carmen invites Alo to get ready at her home, she puts on her best sleeveless, strapless crop top that she weaved and dyed herself with shorts that stop at her midthigh and her sandals. The final touch is flowers braided into her hair; she does a singular braid that flows over one shoulder. Alo went shirtless with a lei around their neck and on their head with a traditional grass skirt, and their best sandals.

Carmen and Alo walk together to the center of the island, everyone is dressed their best but she sees no distinct pattern so it's not a wedding. People laugh, they drink, Carmen is about two margaritas in when all goes silent except for a bellowing horn that is blown when a ship is approaching. Carmen's heart races once more, she is the first to run toward the bay where she sees an approaching tugger boat that usually brings them imported goods. Only this time, the cargo it wields is much more precious. The others stay back on the beach shore letting her be the only one on the dock, she grabs the rope from the captain and ties the boat off then stands excitedly. The boat rocks as the captain leaps off the side then holds his hand out for another.

The tears blind Carmen's vision as her heart explodes in unrelenting delight, her legs move forward without warning. She leaps into the air and grasps onto the man who steps off the boat, her legs locking around his torso with her arms around his neck. Her head buried into his shoulder as she shakes violently with happy sobs. The man is tall with the same brown skin and black hair as her, with a curly black beard around his chin and upper lip. He spins Carmen around happily, laughing wildly and nearly sending them into the water when he almost loses his balance. She unlocks from him and drops down onto the dock, her hands immediately finding his face as she smiles up at him and he smiles down at her, his eyes also wet with tears.

"Ben." She whimpers.

"Hola hermana." He chokes out.

She lets out a sob ridden laugh as she shakes his face in her hands, "I knew it! No one would tell me anything! I knew it had to be you! Look at you. Look at this beard! Oh my and..." she pauses, she looks him up and down then scowls, "are you wearing insoles?!" She accuses.

His ears turn bright red giving him away as he sputters to try and come up with a lie, Carmen shakes her head and pulls him down by one of them.

"My little brother is not going to be taller than me!" She threatens.

He laughs loudly before Carmen releases him and wipes the tears from her eyes. Five years ago he left to become the person he always felt he was, and now he is back. Him and Carmen exchanged letters every month, he told her everything that was happening and even sent her souvenirs. The last she heard from him was before he was going in because there were some complications with his bottom surgery. She feared the worse, fearing that this boat carried his remains but here he is. She can't help but cover her mouth as tears start to fall again, taking him in. He straightens up and turns his body slightly back toward the boat.

"There's someone I want you to meet." He motions toward the boat where a woman is stepping off.

She has fire-red hair, her skin is white with freckles peppering every inch, especially her face. She gives Carmen a bright, wide smile, her eyes are a dazzling green like the lagoon. She approaches the two of them and stands beside Carmen's brother who wraps his arm around her shoulders.

"Carmen, Clara. Clara, Carmen. She is my mate and also happened to be my surgeon." He chuckles.

"It's a pleasure to meet you. Ben has told me so much about you." She greets.

Carmen opens her arms and hugs Clara, at first the woman is tense but eventually relaxes and hugs Carmen back.

"Welcome Clara." She greets.

The three of them walk together toward the beach where Carmen and Ben's mother happily awaits and drowns Ben in kisses. She also hugs and kisses Clara while welcoming her to the family. The crowd swarms Ben and Clara, bombarding them in questions, excitement, and welcomes. Eventually the crowd wanders back the bonfire where a band strikes up with live music and the drinks flow once more. Carmen tried to give Ben drinks but was quickly told no by Clara due to the medication he is on, so, Carmen got Clara drunk instead. The boar that Carmen caught was devoured until only the bones and fat remained and would be used for other things tomorrow.

The night carried on, children crashed from their sugar highs and were carted away by their parents. The music eventually died down with the embers of the fire as only a few stranglers remained. Carmen sits by the dying fire with her feet outstretched, her face and body warm from the alcohol as she stares into the embers. Ben joins her, groaning loudly as he lowers himself down onto a stump nearby with his virgin drink in hand. His eyes droopy with sleep but he's too happy to be around his family again to fall asleep now. Clara is passed out in Carmen's hut because Ben will need a bigger one to fit him and Clara, and the hundred grandchildren that their mother wants.

They sit together in silence, Ben exhausted from answering all the questions about himself and his mate. Carmen exhausted from the many drinks shes downed that are finally catching up to her. Carmen sighs heavily and leans forward to start undoing her hair, she has a splitting headache and she's unsure if it's from the spinning landscape or her braid. Ben watches her unbraid her hair and toss the flowers aside, he picks one up and examines it thoughtfully.

"How long are you staying?" Carmen whispers sorrowfully.

"What do you mean? You don't think I'm staying?" Ben chuckles.

"You said Clara is a surgeon, and you're still going to school ya?" She replies.

"Ya." He sighs, "It's not permanent though. We agreed that once I'm graduated, we'll move here for good. I already talked to Mrs. Eka about taking over the school and Clara wants to open her own study here.” Ben is silent for a moment, “you should come with me.”

Carmen stops her hands, she fiddles with the bit of hair between her fingers as she digests what Ben suggested, a sudden sobriety washes over her.

“Why?” She asks almost bitterly.

“You said you wanted to find your mate. You said, and I quote, ‘there’s nothing left for me here. I am happy, but I am sick of all the sympathetic looks I get from the elders and aunties. I know they whisper about me.’”

“You don’t need to use my words against me.” Carmen bites.

“I’m just offering.” Ben shifts his glass between his hands, “when is the last time you went up the mountain?” He asks quietly.

The mountain is home to the moon pool where many of their elders go to seek guidance from their goddesses or ancestors. Many go up there when they turn 25 to seek out their one true mate, leading them to a life of fulfillment and happiness. Carmen shields her face away from Ben to hide her expression.

“Not since the first time.” She mumbled.

“So…almost seven years. Maybe you should try again, and no matter what happens, the offer still stands for you to join Clara and I when we leave.”

Ben stood from his seat and wandered off most likely to go to bed while Carmen finished unbraiding her hair and looked up toward the mountain. She sighed defeatedly, maybe he was right. Carmen shifted and started the trek up the mountain, in human form it would take hours to climb all the way up but in her wolf form she cut that down to an hour. Once she was at the top of the mountain she shifted back into her human form, the moon pool glowed even without a full moon present. She wandered around and used some nearby matches to light the incense surrounding the water.

She kneels on the warm volcanic rock beneath her knees as she peers into the clear pool. She closes her eyes and begins to pray. Seeking anyone. Her goddesses, her ancestors, anyone who can answer her. Her prayers are said without failure, she thinks them in her mind then whispers them aloud while focusing on her intention. After her prayers she opens her eyes, the pool swirls and shimmers with life. Carmen leans forward, searching the now cloudy waters for any sort of symbol, sign, anything. The water continues to swirl, growing more and more cloudy until she can’t see through it anymore then it stops. The water remains cloudy but slowly unclouds from the center to the outer edge of the pool. Nothing. Just like when she tried the first time.

#resident evil village #re8 #alcina dimitrescu #lady dimitrescu #mother miranda #mother miranda x female original character #alcina dimitrescu x female original character #alcina x miranda x female OC #fanfiction #wlw fanfic #polyamory #bilingual main character #woman of color MC

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