#bread without oven

[museaway]

what would you take from my room?

I was tagged by @rosemirmir, tysm!! This is adorable. I'm in my kitchen right now so the items are from that room.

tagging anyone who sees this & would like to play!

[raininyourblackeyes]

Being home alone with my dad this weekend is a horror experience because he does not know how to cook a single thing but he insists for me not to do anything because I have a huge exam coming up. So every time I walk into the kitchen I'm hit with an urge to strangle someone

[ajantafoodproduct]

A cozy dish that combines the softness of bread and the richness of custard is this bread custard pudding without oven. It's easy, eggless, and ideal for both adults and children!

[iwatcheditbegin]

So we finally got a new oven, been without an oven since December. I used it twice and it legit doesn’t even heat up properly I want to scream

[the-best-bagel]

finally bit the bullet and bought a cheapo walmart steamer pot and actually this is the best purchase ive made in a while

[yosefgaza122]

In Gaza 🍉 even the queues have disappeared You no longer see the lines of people stretching out at the doors of the takayas or in front of the bakeries Not because hunger has ended, but because the food has run out The flour has disappeared and the bakeries have closed and with it disappeared the last remnants of hope in a loaf of bread to relieve families of the pain of hunger, the pain of accumulated hunger More than 2 million and 4 thousand people are exposed to systematic starvation A complete crime carried out by the occupation through a comprehensive siege and the closure of the crossings for more than 83 days and preventing the entry of food, medicine and fuel 42 days without bread, without ovens, without what satisfies their hunger This is not a shortage, a weapon of starvation and systematic pressure to strangle Gaza until the last breath The queues have not ended, but have turned into silence screaming in the face of the world Save Gaza

Donate for my children and my family so that they may survive 🙏

Donate here:

GoFundMe:Click here

PayPal:Click here

✅️Vetted by @gazavetters, my number verified on the list is ( #591 )✅️

Hospital Security Cameras Captured the Unthinkable. Civilians were thrown into the air from the place or buried inside the missile crater.

And now, orders have been issued to evacuate all hospitals, universities, and schools in Gaza.

This is not war. This is extermination. They are erasing every trace of life, every pillar of society, every safe space and the world is still silent.

If you can help, even a small donation could mean food, water, To my family in Gaza.

Donate here:

GoFundMe: Click here

PayPal: Click here

✅️Vetted by @gazavetters, my number verified on the list is ( #591 )✅️

[jackass-jones]

Literally gonna cry this sandwich tastes really bad 🥺

[thoustve]

god i am craving some fresh baked bread with some butter on it right now

[lesenbyan]

Y'all I did not sleep last night and I do not wanna be at work and my hip keeps giving the fuck out

[rosemaryhoney27]

Ghost of a Chance

Gotham was not a city known for its kindness. Rain slicked the alleyways like a second skin, and shadows crept where sunlight dared not linger. Alfred Pennyworth had seen a great many things in this city. Muggers, monsters, and masked madmen were just part of the nightly routine. What he hadn't expected, however, was to be saved by a ghost.

Or something very much like one.

It was supposed to be a quick errand—a quiet evening walk to clear his head. But halfway down Burnside, three desperate men with more bravado than brains cornered him. Alfred had been ready to disarm the first and disable the second, but he never got the chance. A blur of white and black swooped in, accompanied by the distant, bone-deep hum of unnatural power. The muggers were down in seconds—one frozen to the wall, another knocked out cold, and the third suspended midair by a glowing hand that flickered green.

The boy was there and gone just as fast. Alfred barely had time to register the tattered hoodie, the hollow cheeks, the white hair and green eyes that didn’t seem quite human.

"Wait—!" Alfred had called, but the boy was already gone, melting into the shadows like smoke.

The encounter would’ve ended there—just another strange chapter in Gotham’s nightbook—if it hadn’t kept happening.

Twice more, the mysterious young man appeared. Once to stop a purse snatcher near the theater. Another time to drag a lost child out of a crumbling building during a fire. Always fast, always silent. Always gone before Alfred could properly speak to him.

And always too thin.

It was the kind of thin that spoke of long nights without food. Hollow cheeks, knobby elbows, a belt cinched too tight around jeans that barely stayed up. It reminded Alfred of the early days—of Dick, of Jason, of Tim, of Damian. Of boys who had learned to survive instead of live.

Alfred Pennyworth had a rule: no one went hungry on his watch.

And so began his campaign.

At first, it was subtle. A wrapped sandwich left behind after one of the ghost-boy’s heroic appearances. A thermos of hot tea left conveniently near a rooftop perch. A backpack, clean and durable, filled with protein bars and fresh socks. Most of it vanished, though Alfred never saw it happen.

Then came the note, scrawled in messy, tired handwriting:

“Thanks. You didn’t have to. I’m not sticking around though. It’s safer for you if I don’t.”

The next day, Alfred left a response tucked in the same spot:

“You are not a danger, young man. I’ve seen far worse, and fed far worse. If you insist on continuing your streak of rooftop chivalry, I insist you do so on a full stomach.”

He added a slice of quiche. It was gone by morning.

Bruce raised an eyebrow the first time he caught Alfred baking two loaves of banana bread instead of one. Tim said nothing when the supply order mysteriously included a half dozen extra protein shakes and thermal gloves in medium size. Damian made a snide comment—something about stray ghosts haunting the pantry—but Alfred didn’t dignify it with a reply.

Then came the night it changed.

A patrol gone wrong. Batman caught in a collapsing parking garage. The comms went dead. Nightwing was too far. Red Hood was tracking Penguin. The only one nearby—untraceable, unregistered, and undeniably powerful—was the boy Alfred had been feeding for weeks.

He left the beacon on the rooftop.

“Help him. Please. –A.P.”

Within minutes, Bruce stumbled through the Batcave entrance, soot-smudged and breathing, but alive. Behind him, almost hidden in the shadows, was the boy. White hair. Green eyes. Shivering slightly, but still on his feet.

“I didn’t do it for favors,” the boy said. His voice was hoarse, too young for his haunted face. “I just... couldn’t let him die.”

“I know,” Alfred said gently. “Which is precisely why the offer of dinner still stands.”

“…I shouldn’t.” But his eyes drifted toward the warm lights of the manor beyond the cave, toward the smell of fresh bread and something sweet baking in the oven.

“No one escapes me forever, dear boy,” Alfred said with a small smile. “Not even slippery ghosts.”

The boy stared at him for a long moment. Then finally, like a candle burning out, he sagged.

“…Okay. Just for tonight.”

“Of course,” Alfred said, already turning toward the kitchen. “We’ll start with soup.”

Behind him, the boy whispered a name like an afterthought—like something long buried finally being said aloud.

“Danny. My name’s Danny.”

“Well then, Master Danny,” Alfred said, with the same fondness he reserved for all his wayward sons, “welcome home.”

[bi-writes]

thinking about mob baking simon a cake for his birthday (without his prior knowledge) mm good soup

mail-order bride

"you think he likes chocolate, baby?" you ask the cats. they sit side-by-side at the breakfast counter, being good girls as they sit on their chairs and watch you mix batter. "he totally likes chocolate. big boys like daddy love chocolate, don't they, girls?"

you grease two circular pans, pouring the chocolate cake batter into them. you set them in the oven before getting to work on your chocolate buttercream. you're using the new mixer simon bought you--it's beautiful, stainless steel, heavy. when you saw in the store a few weeks ago, you gushed at it, telling simon you saw someone make cinnamon rolls, bread, cakes, all in this mixer, but when your eyes skimmed over the price, you said nothing more, just smiled up at simon and let him lead you over to where the cast iron pans were (you wanted a real one).

a few weeks later, you noticed it on the kitchen counter. sparkling silver, right there, with the whisk attachment on it just waiting for you. and in the cupboard, ingredients--bread flour, powdered sugar, cornmeal, corn starch, dutch process, baking chocolate, whole wheat flour--all for you to play with. and when you baked him the most decadent triple chocolate coffee cake he had ever had, he bent you over the same table his empty plate sat and ate your cunt out with your apron still on. when you kissed him afterwards, he still tasted like chocolate.

you turn off the mixer, reaching in with a spoon to lick the buttercream off of it. you hum with delight, setting it aside, and when the oven timer dings, you pull the cakes out to let them cool.

you wrap simon's present as everything settles. special order, a favor you called into johnny. it's in a nice wooden box, and you tie a big red bow on it, and when you go back into the kitchen, you level and stack the two pieces of cake between buttercream and use a spoon to make a fancy decoration over the top of it.

the front door sounds as you're putting the finishing touches on the cake. you can hear him coming closer, and you gasp.

"no, no, no, don't come in the kitchen yet!"

"wot?"

"just--wait a little bit in the living room, okay?"

"for wot?"

"simon--" you groan. "please? for me?"

you don't hear anything after that except for the tv turning on. when you finish putting the last candles on the cake, you light them, picking up the plate and coming into the living room.

simon looks surprised. he was concentrating hard on the tv, watching the game, but his face relaxes when he sees you holding the cake. the cats perk up from where they're laid down beside him, and their ears flit as you start to sing happy birthday.

his whole face twitches. he stiffens, his palms flat on his thighs as he grips them tight. you set down the cake on the coffee table in front of him, candles glowing as you take a seat next to him. he's still staring at the cake as you finish the song.

"happy birthday, dear simon...happy birthday to you."

you smile at him, wrapping a hand around his bicep, squeezing it gently. you kiss his shoulder before motioning to the cake.

"you can blow them out now, simon," you say softly. "make a wish."

he doesn't move. he stares straight ahead, his eyes fixated on the flickering candles. you reach down and take his hand in yours, intertwining your fingers and hugging his arm. you sit with him quietly, looking at the cake with him, and after a minute or so, you turn back at him.

"simon?" you whisper.

he's crying. you put a hand on the back of his head, scratching his short hair, and you cup his face gently as you wipe his tears. he's silent. the tears come, but he still doesn't move, still won't meet your eyes. you smile, going over to pick up the cake, and you hold it in front of him.

"here...make a wish, simon," you say softly. he picks up his sleeve and wipes his face, leaning over to blow out the candles. you put down the cake, standing up to go get his gift sitting on the kitchen table. when you sit down next to him again, he's still staring at the cake, still trying to pretend his face isn't wet with tears, but he stops wiping them when you place the box in his lap.

he unravels the bow. when he opens the case, he lets out a little chuckle, smoothing his hand over the foam inside.

there are an array of throwing knives laid before him. perfectly crafted, in different shapes and sizes, and when he picks one up and twirls it around between his fingers, the weight of them and the ease at which they move tells him you only picked out the finest quality. they're beautiful, and it's a thoughtful gift, and when he closes the lid on the box, he still can't meet your eyes.

"i'll cut us some cake," you say softly. you busy yourself getting plates and a cake knife from the kitchen, cutting generous slices before handing him one of the plates. he picks up the fork, and when you notice his hand shakes, you take the plate back from him gently and scoop a bite onto the fork for him. you don't say anything, just hold it up to his mouth, and once he takes a bite, you set the plate down and watch as he chews.

when he swallows, you sit again in silence. you reach over and take simon's hands in your own, squeezing them gently before bringing them up to your mouth to kiss softly. when he finally looks at you, all you do is smile.

he hadn't even remembered it was birthday. he never told you when it was, but he supposes you must have been curious enough to look for yourself. he can't remember the last time someone made him cake. he can't remember when he last received a gift, especially one like this. he doesn't know when he last thought himself happy enough to celebrate anything at all, but there is no other way he would've wanted today to go.

joy. you bring uninhibited, unfiltered, all-consuming joy. the way you're smiling at him--he can already see you in the kitchen in that apron, baking this cake, talking to no one but the cats as you carefully decorate it. the way you're looking at him--he knows you dreamed about this all week, scheduling the day so you could have the cake done as soon as he got home.

and chocolate. his favorite. decadent, sweet chocolate--it's still under his tongue, and he wants another bite already, he cannot wait to devour the slice that waits for him on the table.

"happy birthday, simon," you whisper, and when you lean in to hug him, he cradles the back of your head, tangling a hand into your hair as he presses you to his chest. "i love you."

fuck. fuck, fuck, fuck--

"love you, too, baby."

"what did you wish for?" you mumble into his shoulder. simon snorts a little, shaking his head.

"if i tell ya, it won't come true."

"oh, yeah," you giggle. "keep your secrets then."

he doesn't want more; the only thing he wishes for is more time. more time with you. as much as he can get. to live long enough that he gets to see your face for as long as possible.

that whatever he sees for the last time will be you and you only.

[ajantafoodproduct]

This bread custard pudding without oven is a comforting dessert that brings together the creaminess of custard and the softness of bread. It's simple, eggless, and perfect for kids and adults alike!

[anythingneverythingnstuffs]

neighbor!reader x simon 'ghost' riley pt 6

masterlist

The morning after you had shared a bottle of wine with your mysterious neighbor, Simon, you woke up to a new bottle of wine and your wine glasses, washed, from the night before on your welcome mat. You had expected the glasses, since you had forgotten them at his place after all, but not the wine.

Not that you were going to complain about that.

Wine nights with your neighbor, Simon, didn't become a regular thing. You weren't sure he had any regular things. His schedule was completely irregular, he was in and out at odd times, never following any sort of pattern.

Not that you were paying attention or anything.

You had a day off in the middle of the week, for some reason, and you decided to fill the day with baking, because why not? The weather was getting colder, the days seemed to get shorter, and you just needed something to lift your spirits.

It was just past eleven in the morning. Your Bluetooth speaker was playing absently in the background as you baked. You had already finished a few batches of cookies, making extras of the ones you knew were Simon’s favorites-

Not that you paid attention. Literally. At all.

It wasn’t until you were on your second loaf of chocolate chip bread that you finally looked up, for some reason, and there it was. The biggest spider you had ever seen in your life, right on the ceiling above your oven.

And you let out a scream.

Simon ‘Ghost’ Riley heard that scream.

He immediately knew it was you, and that it had come from your apartment. If his mask hadn’t already been on from when he had run his morning errands, he probably would have forgone it entirely in his haste to get to you, to the source of your cries.

However, he didn’t expect the reason for your scream to be a spider on the ceiling.

“Can’t reach it from down there?” He almost sounded amused. 

You jumped when you heard his gruff voice behind you. “Simon-! How did you get in-?”

“You left the door unlocked. Again. You need to stop doing that,” he chastised you before brushing you aside to get a better look at the beast on the ceiling. “Huh. That’s what made you scream?”

“Maybe…”

“It’s just a spider, love. It won’t hurt you.”

“I don’t like spiders,” you grumbled as you watched him grab the spider with his bare hands without even having to grab a step-stool, get on his tip-toes, or anything. His muscles seemed to bulge through the simple black t-shirt he was wearing with the movement. You couldn’t help but stare, although you tried not to look like you were gawking.

Damn.

“Clearly,” he hummed. “Are you baking again?”

That brought you back to reality, at least a bit more than you were. “Oh-! Yeah, I am,” you replied. You thought about making a joke about how you weren’t baking again, you were baking still, but you decided it wasn’t funny enough of a joke to try out on your neighbor. “Was it the smell that gave it away?”

“That, and the flour on your apron,” he replied gruffly, though you could almost hear a chuckle in there somewhere.

You could feel your cheeks heat up a bit, but you couldn’t tell why. Of course you had flour on you- you were baking, after all. Why were you blushing that he pointed it out?

“What have you been baking this time?” he asked you, still holding the spider in his bare hand. His gaze had shifted to the multitude of baking racks around your kitchen and on your dining room table, mostly filled with cooling baked goods. Cookies, dessert bread, muffins-

“Oh, just a little bit of everything,” you answer absently. “Anything that looks good to you?”

Now, Ghost had a decision here. He could go with the safe choice- picking a dessert that you had made, and you would likely let him have some, if not all of it. That was almost a guarantee, in his mind.

But he could also go with the wild card choice. He could say something that looked good to him that wasn’t something that you had baked that morning. But that was the more risky option. It could go one way or another, and quickly at that.

“Are those snickerdoodles…?”

He went with the safe choice. For now.

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[beloveds-embrace]

Angst duke au where reader ends up running away on her own accord. She’s got a wild spirit on the inside and it can’t be contained any longer. They already pay her no attention, nobody notices she’s left until half a month passes.

She finds a small, small village eventually and lives a cottagecore life collecting mushrooms and being showered in attention by a fellow villager (König) that spoils her rotten

Dukedom au masterlist

It happens without ceremony, just as quietly as you’ve lived these past months. You’ve given it enough thought to know this is what you want, but not so much as to paralyze yourself with doubt. There’s nothing left for you here- no affection, no companionship, no purpose. You’ve tried everything, haven’t you? Every word unsaid, every gesture rebuffed, every quiet hope dashed. If there’s nothing here but loneliness, then it’s time to seek something else. If you stay here any longer, you know you will rot away, unloved and unwanted.

And so, you leave with only a satchel. A plain cloak, a coin pouch, and a few essentials- the duchy’s wealth was never truly yours, and you feel no guilt leaving it behind. The manor is dark when you pass through its cold halls one last time, its silence now strangely soothing.

No one stirs as you open one of the less used back doors, no one watches as you step out into the cool night air. The gravel crunches beneath your feet as you make your way down the long road leading away from the estate, and you don’t look back. Not once.

You don’t keep track of how long you walk, only that the world seems to grow softer, warmer, with every step you take. You hadn’t even noticed how much life had been sucked out of you until you’ve left.

The grand estates and meticulous gardens of the duchy fade into rolling hills and dense forests. Villages dot the landscape here and there, but you don’t linger in any of them. You’re not looking for a crowd or a bustling town. You want quiet. Solitude. A place where you can breathe and exist without being watched or judged or resented.

It’s tiresome weeks before you find it: a tiny village nestled at the foot of a forest. It’s so small you almost miss it, hidden away among the trees and wildflowers, but when you step onto the dirt path leading into the cluster of cottages, you feel something you haven’t felt in years-

Peace.

The villagers are kind in a way that catches you off guard. They greet you with smiles even despite your messy appearance, not because they’re obligated to, but because they seem genuinely pleased to see you.

An older woman tuts at the state of you and offers you warm, fresh bread from her oven, sitting you down in her home. A farmer waves as you pass by. No one stares too long or whispers behind their hands. No one asks intrusive questions. It’s such a sharp contrast to the stifling scrutiny of the duchy, and it makes you realize how much you’ve craved this simplicity.

And so, you finally decide to stay.

You find work with the herbalist, a quiet, weathered man who doesn’t seem to mind your silence. He gives you tasks to complete- gathering herbs, organizing his jars- and pays you a small wage that’s enough to rent a modest little cottage at the edge of the woods. It’s a humble place with a thatched roof and a creaky wooden floor, but it feels like yours. It is yours.

You spend your mornings walking through the forest, learning which mushrooms are safe to pick and which plants have medicinal properties, books always ready to be cracked open, and your evenings curled up in front of the fire, your legs tucked beneath you as the light flickers across the walls. The herbalist and the old woman are friends, unsurprisingly for such a cozy village, and they tell you stories of their lives. Simple lives, yet so precious and fulfilling.

Your body, too, begins to change. The gaunt, hollow look you wore in the duchy fades as your cheeks fill out again, as your muscles grow stronger from the work. Your skin takes on a golden hue from the sun, and your eyes, once dull and lifeless, begin to sparkle with something new- contentment. The old woman even pats your cheeks, priding herself on constantly doing her best to fatten you up.

It’s a lovely life, you truly. And then something quite unexpected happens.

You meet König on one of your forest walks.

You had only heard of him- everyone told you he isn’t one to socialize much even if he is the forester of the village, simply does his job and prefers his solitude. Yet, you still end up meeting him.

He’s crouched among the trees, examining a patch of wildflowers when you almost stumble over him. You let out a startled yelp, and he rises so quickly you take a step back, craning your neck to meet his gaze. He’s huge- taller than any man you’ve ever met, even Duke Riley- with broad shoulders and an intensity that makes him seem more a part of the forest than a mere visitor.

Though perhaps, you think, that could be because of his work?

He speaks softly, his voice low, as he apologizes for startling you. His accent is unfamiliar, his words slightly awkward, as though he’s unused to speaking at all but you don’t mind.

You smile to reassure him, your heart still fluttering in your chest, and the way his blue eyes soften makes something inside you twist. How silly of you, such ridiculous thoughts.

König offers to walk you back to the village as an apology, insists on it, and though you’ve been perfectly fine on your own, you accept. There’s something… soothing about his presence, about the way he towers beside you but keeps a careful distance as if afraid to overwhelm you. When you part ways, you (dejectedly) think it’s the last you’ll see of him, but you’re wrong.

König starts appearing more and more often.

At first, it’s small things: helping you carry a heavy basket, pointing out a hidden patch of mushrooms you might have missed, but it quickly becomes clear to everyone except you that he’s seeking you out on purpose. He’s awkward about it, clearly unused to conversation, but he tries. And every time you see him, he brings something with him.

Never before have you had such attention dotted on you, and you… love it. You adore König, truly, and all the little gifts he brings with him.

A carved figurine of a fox, whittled from wood with painstaking care that you place on your bedside. A bundle of freshly picked berries, their juices staining his hands, a day after you told him you quite like berries. A bouquet of wildflowers that matches your favorites so perfectly you wonder if he’s been watching you.

If he is, you don’t mind.

Truthfully, you tell yourself it’s nothing at first. Just a kind villager being neighborly. But König doesn’t treat anyone else like this and even the herbalist and the old lady say so, hiding their smiles.

It’s only you who he looks at with those soft, steady eyes. Only you he lingers near, his massive frame somehow gentle as he helps you with whatever task you’re doing.

And so to no one’s surprise, over time, the relationship between you deepens into something far more precious and tender:

König listens to you in a way no one ever has. He hangs onto every word as if you’ve hung the stars, his gaze fixed on you as though you’re the most important thing in the world, in his world. He asks about your day, about your thoughts, and eventually, about your life; and when you tell him about the life you left behind, his jaw tightens, and his hands curl into fists. When they loosen, his hands hover for a few seconds before he gently cups your face, callouses thumbs rubbing the soft skin under your eyes.

“You deserve better,” he tells you, his voice quiet but firm. “I hope this… village gives you happiness.”

You don’t respond, but your heart aches with a feeling you can’t quite name. You give me happiness, König. More than anyone ever has.

He spoils you in ways you never thought possible, and gives you the steady, unwavering presence of someone who genuinely cares. It’s overwhelming at first, this constant, undivided attention, but you find yourself softening to it, leaning into it, _craving_ it.

For the first time in years, you feel seen. You feel wanted.

The life you’ve built here is nothing like the one you left behind. It’s smaller, quieter, but it’s yours. You wake each morning to the chirping of birds and fall asleep each night to the distant rustle of trees, and both times, you have warm and secure arms that wrap around you in the coziest embrace. Kisses trailing up the nape of your neck, a soft voice whispering vows of adoration into you skin.

The duchy, John, Kyle, Johnny, Simon- they feel like ghosts now, distant figures from a life that doesn’t belong to you anymore. You don’t know if they’ve noticed your absence, if they’ve felt the sting of your silence, but…

You don’t care. Let them wonder. Let them regret. You’ve found your freedom, your happiness, and you’re never looking back.

To be loved is to exist, and you understand that now.

[seumyo]

ZUKO ✰ 5:36

NOTE. Implied that reader and Zuko are engaged, and reader is a woman in this one!

“Relax,” you whispered, nudging his side. “You’re clenching your jaw.”

“I’m not,” he muttered, though he immediately loosened it. “People are staring.”

“They’re always staring,” you said breezily. “But right now they’re more interested in the fresh chili sesame buns over there, I promise.”

Zuko glanced over and saw a baker pulling golden, round buns from a clay oven, steam curling in the last golden slants of sunlight. His stomach made a small, treacherous sound.

You grinned. “Hungry?”

“I’m fine,” he said.

“You’re lying.”

“I’m managing,” he corrected.

You were already pulling him toward the stall, the ring on your finger cool against his arm. The sensation sends a small flutter to his chest, like a butterfly occupying the space without rent. “You’re getting a bun.”

He opened his mouth to protest, but you had already waved at the vendor. “Hi, Auntie Yin! Two sesame buns, please—and an extra one with chili if they’re still warm?”

The older woman squinted, then lit up with recognition. “[Name], you’re back! And you brought your prince again.”

Auntie Yin's husband cleared his throat. “Isn’t it Firelord, technically—”

“Pfft,” Auntie Mei waved him off with a flour-dusted hand. “Not when you’re standing in my bread line, young man.”

You laughed, leaning into Zuko as you accepted the little bundle of warm bread. “You see why I come back here?”

Just as he was about to hand in some coins, you had stopped his hand mid-way. He looked at you with a small pout, definitely confused.

“Zuko, no.”

“But—“

“We’re going to fight over this, so no.”

“I don’t like arguing with you,” he murmurs.

You pat his hand solemnly. “I know,” you say. “So I’m paying. End of story.”

He didn’t answer anything else until you raised the bun for him to take the first bite. It was crisp on the outside, soft and buttery in the middle, with little black sesame seeds clinging to his lips, the spice just right to not overpower the actual buttery taste. He closed his eyes briefly.

“I remember this,” he said. “I used to sneak out with my uncle, and we’d get these. He used to say—” His voice caught slightly, swallowing with a pleased nod. “—he used to say the best food in the Fire Nation was always on the street, never behind palace walls.”

Your smile softened.

“He was right.”

You wandered deeper into the market, weaving between stalls draped with silks, lanterns, and every kind of fried thing imaginable. People bumped into each other without apology, children shouted as they chased each other with little wooden dragons, and somewhere nearby, a flute player added a gentle melody to the thick scent of roasted peanuts and smoke.

Zuko tilted his head slightly. “You know all of them.”

You shrugged. “Grew up here. Before my family moved to the coast, we lived two blocks down.”

“Wait, really?”

“Mhm. That stall with the yellow lanterns? That used to be where I bought pickled plums on my way home from school. And that guy—” you pointed to a tall man flipping meat over a roaring fire—“used to give me extra sticks if I said please and didn’t rat him out to his wife for snacking while he cooked. Kind guy, really. Just had a habit of snacking, not that I can blame him because they're really good.”

Zuko looked at you with something like awe. “You never told me any of this.”

“I like keeping some mystery,” you teased, passing him a skewer of fire-grilled mushrooms glistening with glaze. “Try this one. You used to like mushrooms, right?”

“I still like mushrooms.”

“Then don’t make that face and eat it.”

He bit into it, reluctantly. The glaze was spicy, sweet, and smoky all at once. He blinked. “Okay, fine. That’s—really good.”

“Told you.”

You two kept walking, you pausing every so often to wave or chat or haggle for something small—an herbal tea, a dumpling wrapped in banana leaf, or dried fruit you tucked into the folds of your sleeve for later. Zuko stayed mostly quiet, watching you, feeling the tension in his chest unwind inch by inch. Your laugh was infectious, the kind that made other people smile without realizing it. More than once, he found himself smiling too, caught off guard by the sound.

At one point, you dragged him over to a table surrounded by children and old men playing tile games.

“[Name], my girl!” one of them called, holding up a tile. “Still cheating at dragon tiles?”

“Only when you let me win,” you said with a wink.

Zuko stood beside you, bemused. “You’ve played dragon tile in public?”

“She won in public,” one of the elders cackled. “Took my whole snack allowance for the week.”

You handed over a few coins with a mock-guilty face. “Here, I owe you for that.”

“Isn’t there a law that states it’s illegal to play mahjong in public?”

...

"I don't know, is there?"

Before he could dwell on the thought for too long, you had already been ushering Zuko to the next stop. “You’ve been in more street fights than I have.”

“You’d be surprised what people will bet when they think a girl in ribbons doesn’t know what she’s doing.”

“I think I married a con artist.”

You gave him a pleased smile. “Took you this long to figure that out?”

You rounded a quieter corner of the market as the last of the sun dipped behind the rooftops. Lanterns glowed in the gathering dusk, and music trickled through the air. You led him to a little bench tucked between two carts, one selling sticky rice and the other spiced nuts. You flopped down with a sigh, tugging him beside you.

For a while, you two just sat.

Zuko leaned back, watching the lanterns sway in the breeze.

“This was… good.”

You bumped your shoulder against his. “You don’t always have to be Firelord, you know.”

“I kind of do,” he said, but it was quiet.

“You kind of don’t. Not with me, at least.”

He turned to look at you. “I don’t think I ever realized how much I missed this kind of quiet.”

You hummed. “That’s what I’m here for. To remind you.”

Zuko hesitated for a moment, then rested his hand on yours, lacing your fingers together, his finger idly playing with the ring on yours. It's nice, he thinks, just being with you like this. The market was bustling around you, but for a moment, it all faded—just a man and his beloved, full of street food and soft lantern light, sharing a bench and a memory and the kind of peace he was still learning to let himself have.

SEUMYO © 2025. PLEASE DO NOT REPOST, PLAGIARIZE, MODIFY OR TRANSLATE.

[beastyeastfreak]

Hey could you do headcanons for the beast cookies with a reader that was created by the witches to be their guide and after they where sealed away the reader was punished by the witches because they believed the reader failed at their purpose so the witches sealed them within a mirror and the beasts hear what became of reader

Ooo i love this, reminds me of Lapis Lazuli! /pos I leaned away from headcanons a wee bit if thats alright :)

Cw and tags: angst, nothing really noteworthy

Written pre silent salt release

Long ago, five ancient heroes were created to provide for cookie kind and nurture civilisation. The witches assigned each one a task, a purpose and to solidify their cause they created souljam. But before they were placed in the oven, one witch chimed in.

“What is power without direction? What is a ship without a lighthouse,” they rasped in the light of the oven fire. After that, more dough was presented, and it was infused with the purpose of guiding the heroes.

The six would soon leave, following the cookie like a beacon as they were led to new lands. With the heroes help, cookie kind grew and learned. Unfortunately, with power comes misuse. As time passed, this guiding light became more of a suggestion. The newly born beasts began to wreak havoc in their own twisted ways and were ultimately trapped within a tree of pure silver.

It was a day of celebration, the beasts were gone and the land could now heal. But you mourned, for you had failed and your friends were no more. Unbothered by your regret, the witches appeared to you.

You were just as guilty, you had failed them, the witches and your fellow cookies. So for that, they transformed your dough into a mirror and trapped you deep within the bowels of beast yeast. You could not speak, you could not weep, you could only watch the walls slowly sink with age. While the beasts were trapped within the tree, you were solitary for their actions while they were unknowing. Surrounded by growing vines and struck with immense guilt, never to be found or comforted.

Of course, peace was only temporary. Soon, they broke from their prison. When their beacon could not be found, they looked harder then found an ancient building withering away. Within it, was a mirror in a shiny sugarglass case and in its reflection was you.

🌾 - Mystic Flour pulled you out of the overgrowth with a small snap. Her hand on the handle, she could see the light reflect and knew it was you. She’ll dust off the glass and open her eyes just a little. Her face once bare of emotions now showed some remorse. Her other hand comes to the side. “How cruel,” she murmurs coldly.

🏜️ - Burning spice snatches you away from her. “Who did this to you! I’ll crumble them!” He shouts and in the reflection the witches are presented. His eyes become fiery. “I will destroy all of earth bread to free you!”

🌷 - Eternal sugar holds you next, trying to calm the enraged beast. “You must have been so lonely… ill keep you company forever, in the garden where you’ll be safe.~” She runs a knuckle over the glass in a calming way.

🃏 - Shadow milk pulls you away, floating above the rest along the ceiling. “Oh please! Y/N doesn’t need company they need entertainment! I was soooo bored in that stupid tree!”

🗡️ - Silent salt reaches up and pulls Shadow Milk down by his leg making him yelp and swat at them. They take the mirror and hold the rim protectively. They say nothing, but perhaps they wish they could have protected you…

The five beasts decide the best course of action is to protect you while they figure out how to give you your body back which may or may not involve laboratories, cookie slaughter and dough experimentation.

Mystic flour keeps you close as she meditates and handles duties, assuring you the time spent in the mirror will be meaningless when you emerge.

Burning Spice is begrudgingly careful with you, he’ll rest the mirror on a silk cushion on the arm rest of his throne, asking you what you think he should do and laugh when you give a less destructive answer.

Eternal sugar will bring you to events with other angels, show you how wonderful her paradise is and that if you want to stay there forever then she’ll let you.

Shadow milk will put on puppet shows for you, or bring you to spy on poor unsuspecting cookies as he puppeteers them to lie.

Silent salt is quiet, they’re not distant but a welcome change from the others. It feels as though theres a sliver of solidarity still beneath that armour for you.