#really good scalloped potatoes

[bonsai-vibe]

Recipe for Leftover Scalloped Potato Soup This is a great soup for using up yesterday's leftovers. Try making my 'Really Good Scalloped Potatoes' recipe, then whip up this soup with the leftovers. A very versatile and easy recipe, add, omit, experiment! Serve with crusty buttered bread. 4 cups leftover scalloped potatoes, 1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese, 1 tablespoon garlic powder, 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese, salt and pepper to taste, 4 cups chicken broth or as needed, 1 cup cubed cooked ham

[charlottecheesenan]

Leftover Scalloped Potato Soup Recipe This is a great soup for using up yesterday's leftovers. Try making my 'Really Good Scalloped Potatoes' recipe, then whip up this soup with the leftovers. A very versatile and easy recipe, add, omit, experiment! Serve with crusty buttered bread.

[stewartcarsen]

Vegetable Soup - Leftover Scalloped Potato Soup This is a great soup for using up yesterday's leftovers. Try making my 'Really Good Scalloped Potatoes' recipe, then whip up this soup with the leftovers. A very versatile and easy recipe, add, omit, experiment! Serve with crusty buttered bread.

[autistic-shaiapouf]

Literally one of the best feelings on earth is moving past a flare up and getting to all the chores I missed

[yatiso]

oh my g-d this nice old lady has been bringin in some stuff for one my bosses to work on and as a token of her appreciation she brought in a full dinner for him… but the missus is cookin tonite so he gave me the dinner… okay i remember why ppl love food

[ataraxixia]

Pink Carnation

[Spoilers for Boothill's backstory]

sypnosis: Boothill spending a nice sunny evening with his family pairings: Boothill x fem!reader tags: established relationship, pre-cyborg Boothill, Boothill snd his adoptive daughter, reader is referred to 'mama' by them, fluff and angst A/N: why is everyone's lives destroyed by the IPC

"Nono, place this finger here, and 'yer other one here..." Boothill placed his daughter's fingers on the strings, and laughed with her as she failed to hold them in place again. He sat on a patch of grass with her on his lap underneath an old tree that has been growing on the farm for many, many years.

As his daughter tried again to play the strings, he remembered why this place- underneath this tree- was so meaningful to him. He met you here, a few years ago. A warm breeze went through his bangs, and an actual nice sound emerged from the guitar, a sound his daughter made. Much better than the last few times, he thought.

Her eyes were filled with light as she turned her little head to him, a wide grin as she raised her arms in joy, "dada! dada!" he laughed loud, raising his daughter high by the arms, the sunlight reflecting her wide smile. "That's some talent 'yer have! Don't become better than me though, 'yer hear?" she squealed in his arms as he engulfed her in his arms. His favourite sound- his daughter's joy.

"Seems like you two are having fun." your voice made Boothill perk his head up, smiling leisurely once he saw you. A low-bun, a white tunic and an orange apron wrapped around your waist- no matter what you wore or how you made your hair, no matter how healthy or how sick you were, you were always perfect in his eyes.

"Would 'yer look at that, pumpkin, mama's here." Boothill poked his daughter's cheek and she squealed again before clumsily trying to get out of his grasp. "mama!" she gasped, and Boothill showed some mercy, letting her go to walk to you.

Her little shuffle was adorable, you thought to yourself, which was to be known, since she just learned to walk. You crouched down to her height level, "hey- you're doing good! Come to mama!" and you spread your arms wide and she was even more determined to reach you. "Mama!" she repeated, but once she was almost in your arms, Boothill suddenly picked her up, placing her on his shoulders.

"ah, 'yer were so close! T'is a shame." she squeaked before laughing again, warming your heart. You giggled softly as you rose up back to your feet, with your lover now in front of you. "You're not very nice, she almost had it" you joked and he simply laughed again, "She learns better this way- I was taught like this." he said, before crouching down a tiny bit to kiss you on the cheek.

"Fine, fine, but don't do it too often. She might feel discouraged." you berated him and he nodded, but it seems like his attention was on the little girl. You shook your head to yourself but were still smiling as you swiftly took Boothill's hat from his head and placed it on your own, giving him a quick wink, to which he smiled. You just loved the two of them so much.

"So, has mama made us some dinner? Would be quite disappointed if she didn't, 'yer agree, pumpkin?" Boothill nudged his daughter softly with his head and she nodded her head profusely. "Dinner!" you could hear her stomach rumbling and nodded yourself. "It's finished! That's the reason I came to get you. Pork chops with Scalloped Potatoes- sound tasty enough?"

"Well, if I ain't dreaming. Another wonderful dish of 'yer mama, you agree?" your daughter clapped her hands in joy and was urging Boothill to go faster, her hunger really couldn't be stopped.

"Oh- wait, the guitar! Walk up ahead, I'll get it." you patted him on the shoulder before running up to the tree again and picking up the guitar your daughter had played with. Once you turned your back again, you saw the two of them standing still in the middle of the farm.

"What 'yer saying, pumpkin? Think mama can catch us with your guitar?" your daughter raised her arms, repeating "yes, yes!" and you sighed to yourself knowing another game of tag would happen. It was almost a daily occurrence, one of you was holding your daughter while the other one chased. Once the game ended, it was truthfully time for dinner.

You laughed as you ran up to them with the guitar in hand while holding the cowboy hat and keeping it in place on your head. Before you touched Boothill, he swiftly moved a hair away, and ran away from you with your daughter bouncing on his shoulders. "You know I always lose!" you shouted, running up behind them. "C'mon sweetie- help mama catch papa!"

"hey! 'yer ain't cheating!" Boothill shouted back as he continued to run from you. He was playing- you knew that. If he wanted to, Boothill could run as fast as he could and you'd be out of breath shortly after. "It's not cheating, dear! It's called cooperation!"

The three of you laughed as you ran to the ranch, the sun setting and the delicious smell of dinner lingering in the air.

-

Terror, anxiety, loneliness, darkness, rage- these feelings didn't dissipate with his physical body, but remained within the mechanical shell in a different manner- and they were even heavier than before.

He heard the call of the dead, smelled the scent of something being charred, the whirl of machinery buzzed around his ears, and the new blue blood flew towards his thirsty heart... Some cruel memories resurfaced as the unforgettable hatred turned into a weak light in the darkness.

he could never forget the sea of flames... the sight of the land scorched in black... and the loss of his loved ones.

The ones he called his family.

[alittlebitofloveliness]

Darry Curtis hc because this day is shit and he's my comfort character

-Does that thing where he kind of dances/shimmies to music unconsciously. Steve made fun of him for it once, and ever since Darry’s tried to tone it down, but never really succeeds. (Steve never bugged him about it again because Sodapop got so mad at him for it)

-Doesn’t laugh often but when he does it’s the kind of laugh that’s completely contagious. Surprisingly Ponyboy’s sarcasm and Johnny’s dry quips end up making him laugh more than any of the rest of the gang’s bawdy or situational humour

-Makes the best scalloped potatoes known to man. Both Soda and Ponyboy practically beg him to make them for their birthdays or special occasions

-Ponyboy went with him to the gym once after windrixville when they were trying to find an activity to bond over and it ended with Ponyboy attempting to keep up with him and Darry having to practically carry him to the car. They decided Darry would teach Pony to drive as a bonding activity instead

-Was up for a promotion to foreman at his job that would have had a decent pay raise and didn’t tell Soda or Ponyboy about it. He made it to the final round of interviews but ultimately didn’t get it and was SUPER crushed. (Same Darry, same)

-His eye twitches when he’s pissed off but trying not to show it

-Sometimes when Ponyboy is out with friends or goes to bed early, Darry and Soda will have a mini conference where they discuss whether they think he’s doing ok because Darry is terrified of messing Pony up and needs the reassurance he’s doing a good job as guardian

-Taught Pony to shave and it was actually a really emotional time for him because their dad had taught both him and Soda how but wasn’t there to teach Ponyboy. It hurt even more because Ponyboy was so excited about the fact he finally HAD enough facial hair to need to shave and Darry was kind of punched in the chest remembering that Ponyboy is only fourteen, and that he’d had so much less time with their parents than he himself had.

-Doesn’t talk about the gang or his brothers at work. Not because he’s ashamed of being greasy or anything (a lot of guys on his work crew are east side guys) but because work is his only escape from being a leader/grown up and having to take care of everyone. In fact, he’s one of the youngest full time guys on the crew, and because of that he gets a lot of ‘shut up and listen to your elders’ kind of jokes from the guys in their thirties and forties, which he finds ironically funny on good days, and gets lowkey pissed off about on bad ones

-Has skipped meals when money is tight so that his brothers have enough food

-Didn’t regret fighting Paul at the rumble even though they’d been good friends in high school, because after the Curtis parents died Paul told him to let Pony and Soda go into care and to look out for himself and not ‘kids who aren’t your problem Darry’ and Darry never forgave him for it

-The gang and his brothers think he doesn’t have time for girls, and he doesn’t, not really, but he goes to the same diner during his lunch break each day to flirt with one of the waitresses there- a girl he went to high school with who was also meant for bigger things but got stuck in Tulsa just like him.     (listen I’m multiship trash who also has a soft spot for tarry but this idea lives rent free in my head ok)

-His way of dealing with issues when he’s unsure is to just ask himself what his dad would do and if he doesn’t know what his dad would do he panics

-Is TERRIFIED of the dentist and so its the only thing he’s kind of lax about with Pony and Soda because he refuses to be a hypocrite and not go when he makes them go, but also…he’s terrified

[what-even-is-thiss]

european here (genuinely curious): in reference to your “american home-cooked food isn’t just fast food, it’s a lot like french/italian food” post, could you give some examples? I don’t know what foods are american home staples, but your post piqued my interest

Well stews and soups for one. When I read recipes for stuff like beef bourguignon it’s quite familiar to me. Less wine perhaps but the principles of the dish are similar.

Italian-American food often also makes for easy quick food on weeknights. Pasta is something that can be just as easy or complicated as you want. You can make it from scratch at every step or just make sauce from canned ingredients and boxed pasta. Tomato paste, flour, pasta, and dried herbs are staples in most kitchens. Pretty much every household has their own way of making pasta sauces.

Roasts are popular during the winter. Both roasted veggies and roasted meat. Potatoes are popular year round but in the summer things like potato salad or fries or bagged chips are more common than stewed, mashed, or boiled potatoes.

Americans commonly cook with butter and olive oil, though canola oil is cheaper. In recent years though there’s been health questions about canola oil and some people only use it for deep frying now.

French cream sauces are pretty similar to American white gravy which we make with cream instead of milk. We do also make white sauce too and will put it on most things. I find it especially good on pizza instead of red sauce. A lot of people also put it on pasta or vegetables.

A lot of the way we eat potatoes is pretty similar to some French dishes. What we call scalloped potatoes is very similar to a French dish called potatoes au gratin. Not identical, but extremely similar.

Stuff like French onion soup and duck a l’orange is also decently popular here even if not everyday food and are things you’d more commonly make yourself than buy from a restaraunt.

French style breads and pastries are also quite popular here. Baguettes are common things to cut up to eat with dip. Croissants with coffee are common things to eat for a small breakfast or an afternoon snack. French style breads both sweet and not are also common breads used for sandwiches. Italian style coffee is also more and more popular these days but that wasn’t true until relatively recently.

A lot of similarities really lie in the ingredients we use. We often cook things in butter for example. Or add flour to stews to thicken them. Or add milk to things. Or use wine to deglaze pans for the flavor.

A lot of home cooking in the US is affected by other immigrant populations. Tacos or curry are staples in my diet for example. But when you get down to more traditional comfort food it’s potatoes, cream sauces, stews, herbs, roasts, and pasta. Stuff that’s not identical to French or Italian cooking but is very heavily influenced by it.

TLDR: It’s butter!

[multiverseworm]

You know what? My current obsession is Master Chef, so… Here is how I picture that would go with the Batfamily.

MasterChef: Batfamily Edition

For obvious reasons - Alfred is the chef judge.

The competition gets one person eliminated each week. They get tested in skills such as chopping, cooking, baking, plating, problem solving, and other miscellaneous events.

There’s 10 participants and each week one gets eliminated from the competition until the master chef remains.

Participants:

Bruce, Dick, Jason, Tim, Damian, Steph, Cass, Barbara, Kate and Duke.

Week 1 - Soups

As we enter the competition, all of the participants are expectant of what their fellow competitors are able to achieve.

The most experienced ones in the kitchen wanted to demonstrate their skills right away and set precedent so everyone else would know who to be afraid of.

Kate, Duke, Barbara and Dick demonstrating great abilities with their different kinds of soups and appetizers. However, seems like the billionaire really can’t have it all, and that includes kitchen skills.

Eliminated: Bruce Wayne.

Week 2 - Sandwiches

Easy enough one would think. Well, Steph and Tim fell out hard in this challenge since they had never made anything that didn’t involve PB&J.

Damian made an excellent comeback from last week’s match and demonstrated an exceptional performance with his cucumber sandwiches (the other participants don’t seem to be happy with this result since it seems favoured enough).

Eliminated: Tim Drake.

Week 3 - All things Eggs

As the weeks start to go by, each challenge starts to get more and more complicated and the participants are feeling it.

Kate and Barbara are still holding strong their top spots in the competition bringing Benedict eggs or a Croque Madam, but this week Jason surprised everyone with a perfect French omelette one could fine at a decent Gotham restaurant.

This week, two contestants had a rough week when they burnt or included cracked egg shells into their food.

Eliminated: Cassandra Cain.

Week 4 - Italian

For this week’s challenge, the contenders were allowed more freedom to choose their dish with the condition it had to be Italian cuisine.

Duke and Damian prepared similar dishes by preparing tomato pesto and basil pesto for their pasta. This caused a timeout imposed by the judge when the youngest Wayne unsheathed his sword. This will retract points from next week’s challenge.

Steph and Jason both prepared pizza but the burnt edges on Steph’s are not a good sign.

As usual, Barbara, Kate and Dick remain on top each with a different type of dish.

Eliminated: Stephanie Brown.

Week 5 - All things Potatoes

So many variations, so many uses. Potatoes were brought by the participants in very creative ways now that we are in the middle of the competition.

Damian won this week’s challenge with an effortless and exquisite scalloped potatoes. Who knew he had this much talent to cook in him?

However, repetitive and boring dishes cost the top to our usual favourites. Only one dish that was presented in the form of French fries left out judge sighing and not in a good way.

Eliminated: Jason Todd.

Week 6 - Bake Off Part 1: Cookies

Baking is the most difficult part of being a chef. And the contestants found out the hard way.

Barbara delivered some ginger cookies she used to bake every Christmas at home, putting her at the top of this week’s challenge.

Kate and Dick barely handled their cookies not crumbling all over the place. But our two last competitors lost track of time: one got the cookies in too early and the other got them out too late. Raw or burnt?

Eliminated: Duke Thomas.

Week 7 - Bake Off Part 2: Dessert

In this week’s challenge, freedom to choose was once again granted. The only condition was to prepare a dessert that needed baking.

Dick’s strawberry cheesecake won over the judge’s palate since this recipe is something he seems to prepare quite often for his partner at home.

Damian had a good week with an Arab recipe for a Harissa, while Barbara’s brownies were out of this world. Kate however, seemed to made the mistake of using salt instead of sugar.

Eliminated: Kate Kane.

Week 8 - Bake Off Part 3: Pastries

Remaining top three in this competition and the first of the last two challenges is here. One of the most if not the biggest challenge for a baker: pastries.

This challenge was met with the best results of the contest so far. All three pastries were made almost to perfection.

Damian decided to go for something simple but effective, a cream puff. While Dick chose a chocolate croissant and Barbara Classic Éclairs.

A minor technicality should about all of this should decide the final two. And that is, the croissant was not bathed with egg wash and therefore lacked glaze.

Eliminated: Dick Grayson.

FINAL WEEK - Worthy of a Gala Dinner

As our two finalists enter the final round of the competition, our judge congratulates all the past participants for their ability to NOT burn his kitchen in the process.

This week’s challenge is meant to be the most exciting and stressful of them all. Our two finalists have to prepare an entree, main course and dessert worthy of a Gala for the Wayne Foundation.

All these weeks have been a preparation for this.

Damian and Barbara went their different directions to get this done. Barbara going for a classic approach and Damian having to adjust his dishes to his vegetarian style.

Here are the final dishes prepared by each participant:

Damian Barbara

Entree Tabbouleh Antipasto platter.

(Middle Eastern salad)

Main Meat-free Moussaka. Creamy salmon with

(Middle Eastern dish) roasted potatoes.

Dessert Lemon Carlota. Tiramisu with ice cream.

Damian’s dishes are a clear result of his heritage, the love he has for it, and discipline to learn new abilities and skills like he was always taught. His start in this competition was bumpy, but after assessing his mistakes he knew what he needed in order to succeed.

Barbara’s dishes are the result of years of helping out around the house when his father had to stay extra hours helping Gotham and learning how to do things on her own. She maintained her top profile throughout the competition, defining how a good and deserving competitor looks like.

Both of them clearly deserve the title.

So, for this time, and this time only, the winner of MasterChef: Batfamily Edition is…

[jo-harrington]

Peak Sales Hours (Eddie Munson x Store Manager!Reader)

Pairing: Eddie Munson x Fem!Reader

Summary: After his first Black Friday, Eddie is exhausted and takes comfort in his new relationship with you.

Previous Part: Promotion

Warnings/Themes: Established friendship/new relationship, fluff, hurt/comfort(?), idk it's a lot of comfort, working in retail hell, Eddie works at Tape World and Reader is the Store Manager at Claire's in Starcourt Mall, angry customers, weariness

Note: So...hi guys. Welcome back to the Store Manager Verse. This little installment is sort of skipping a step. I had a whole thing planned and half-written of Eddie and our favorite SM actually confessing their feelings and being fluffy...and it's still gonna happen I'm just...on day whatever of work and have a big deadline and have had sleep for lunch the past I-don't-know how many days.

And it just took me back to the countless Black Friday and Peak Holiday shifts where all I wanted was to get back home. So here we are.

You can find my masterlist here.

Please do not interact if you are not 18+.

Enjoy!

___

Never, in his entire life, had Eddie Munson felt more akin to the heroes from his favorite fantasy stories.

Long journeys and harrowing battles.

Deep wounds and comrades lost to the beyond.

Hoards of villains and the promise of a better future if only there was hope.

Taran. Aragorn. Luke Skywalker. They had seen it all.

"What's taking so long? I just need a gift receipt!"

But none of them had ever worked Black Friday.

He had experienced Black Friday before, as a shopper.

Thanksgiving hadn't ever been anything magnificent in the Munson household, especially after his mom died. Wayne and Rick had always tried to make it still feel special for Eddie, with hearty midwest comfort foods.

There would always be a full belly and an even fuller heart with his uncle and his almost-step-dad around. Eddie could never complain.

Then after a late afternoon dinner, Wayne would pack up a plate of leftovers to make his shift at the plant that paid time-and-a-half, plus a little something extra from the plant manager, cash in hand. By the time Eddie woke up the next morning, Wayne would pull up with a box of fresh donuts, honk three times, and they would be on their way to the Kmart on Rt 9 and get some steeply discounted goods with Wayne's holiday pay.

It was always a madhouse, but Eddie could swiftly dodge screaming kids, empathize with over-caffeinated employees, and wait in long lines if he and Wayne didn't need to fret about things like work boots and gloves, t-shirts and underwear, and usually one nice little Christmas gift for each of them.

This year, of course, had been a little different. Wayne had been a little disappointed--he would never admit it, but Eddie could tell--that their tradition would be forsaken for Eddie's shift at the mall. But your addition into the Thanksgiving festivities had been a welcome one.

Eddie had extended the invitation weeks ago, when you mentioned you wouldn't be able to make it home to spend the holiday with your family thanks to work.

You, of course, promised to pull your weight--

"It's always really casual," he tried to ease your worries as you began to fret over what kind of dessert Wayne and Rick might like. "You don't even need to dress up. Come in your pajamas. Rick makes a really good pumpkin pie, and I have my mom's old scalloped potato recipe that will literally put you in a food coma."

"What about turkey?" you asked.

"We don't really do turkey." He shrugged. "There's only three of us. So we do different things every year. Rick usually catches some kind of fish if it's warm enough. Wayne has a good recipe for fried chicken. We were thinking of doing meatloaf..."

"I can do the meatloaf!" You perked up immediately.

--only to show up laden with a roasting pan for the meatloaf, a plastic-wrapped gravy boat full of some kind of mushroom gravy, a salad, and a casserole dish overflowing with green beans, cream-of-something soup, and heaps of french fried onions.

Eddie, of course, scolded you as you shuffled through to the kitchen, much like he had the first time you showed up for dinner at his place. But he also placed a soft peck on your lips, which earned him a bashful smile as you shoo'd him away.

That was a new development to your...friendship, if you could even call it that anymore. There really hadn't been time to discuss the logistics between the frenzied makeout session in his van outside of the Hideout this past Tuesday night and Thanksgiving dinner.

Now that he had been trapped at the cash wrap, ringing out ungrateful customers for the past 8 hours, he was almost loathing his past self for wanting to be a little discreet in front of Wayne and Rick. For not...making himself have the "what are we" conversation with you, because your lips had soothed every frazzled nerve he had the other night.

Knowing that at the end of the day that he wasn't going through it alone, that his girlfriend was also in the mall suffering through the mass chaos and that he could go upstairs and steal a kiss whenever he wanted...well it certainly would have done him a world of good to mentally prepare him for this.

For the entirety of his time working at Tape World, he thought he had been doing a pretty good job. Sure there were some hard days, some rude customers. But at the end of the day, an 8-hour shift was an 8-hour shift, and he was only selling tapes. Not...ending world hunger.

"Ah you say that now," Kyle told him on Wednesday as they were putting together cardboard "dump bins" for the discount tapes that would be placed every 10 feet in the store. "But Black Friday is a beast, and Christmas Eve is worse. You're honestly lucky you only work here and not at, like, Radio Shack or something. My buddy Todd has seen some shit.

"Actually, I'm almost regretting scheduling you as a mid but I needed a second key." Kyle rubbed the back of his neck. "Peak Hours. Mid's a rough shift for Black Friday weekend."

"I'll be fine," Eddie scoffed. "I've done mid shifts before. I'm almost excited. How bad could it get?"

Famous. Last. Words.

He had barely been able to squeeze into the store when it was time for his shift, the line for the cash wrap blocked the way to the stockroom door. As soon as people saw his name tag, they started shouting at him to open the other register, how they needed help; he could barely get a word out to explain that he wasn't clocked in yet. They didn't care.

He was no longer Eddie Munson, Tape World Keyholder and your boyfriend, probably, maybe...

He was a body who could unlock the electronics case and ring them out.

He was a husk who said "welcome in" and "thanks have a great day" and smiled until his face started hurting.

And for the first time since he had gotten this job back at the beginning of summer...it really fucked with him.

His legs were cramped from standing at the Cash Wrap for so long, he wasn't sure which of the associates had his keys, his hair was damp with sweat even if he threw it into a some haphazard bun hours ago.

He'd been yelled at by more people than he could count, counted so much change the edges of his fingers were pretty much stained from all the muck and grime on everyone's money, and had made so many returns from people with buyer's remorse that he was sure they had given more money back than they had made in sales today.

Eddie hadn't even gotten a chance to take his lunch out in the mall and pay you a visit like he typically would. He had just collapsed in the little metal folding chair in the break area of the tiny stock room. Kyle had clapped him on the shoulder with a quick "good job kid" as he left for the day and Eddie hadn't even moved.

"Alright Ed," Paulie shuffled over as Eddie wrapped up the last in a long line of transactions and was about to wave the next customer over. "Quitting time."

Eddie sighed and backed against the counter as Paulie counted him down. The adrenaline of the day finally started to wear off as he came to realize that it was all over, and a weariness unlike the one he had been feeling his entire shift settled deep into his bones.

He went through the motions as he went back to the stockroom to grab his jacket and punch out. He wove his way through the still-crowded store and out into the mall, sighing in relief as the cooler mall air hit him.

It was gonna be a mercy once he got out to his van. He'd drive home with the windows down.

His ears rang as he headed towards the employee entrance and he wondered if it would be worth waiting in line at the Orange Julius before he left or if he should just stop through the McDonald's drive thru or something on his way home.

"Eddie."

But then, he didn't really need to stop for anything. There were leftovers from Thanksgiving dinner at home. He could smoke a little bit, make some kind of meatloaf sandwich, and then sink into his bed.

"Eddie."

And sleep until...

Fuck.

He was gonna have to do it all again tomorrow. And the day after that.

He thought back to his favorite fantasy heroes and wondered how they did it. How they put themselves through endless journeys, practically sacrificed themselves time and again.

And he could barely make it through a shift at the Starcourt Mall of all places.

"Eddie!"

He crashed right into your hands as you planted them on his shoulders and prevented him from absolutely barreling into you.

"Jesus are you ok?" you exclaimed and pulled him off to the side of the walkway to get out of the way of foot traffic.

Was he? Probably not.

"Yeah," he shook his head and answered. He finally looked at you, finally actually saw you. Dressed in your Teen Vogue best, as you called it, although a little worse for wear, if the eyeshadow smeared where it definitely shouldn't be and your jewelry all askew was any indicator. "Yeah I'm fine.

"You sure? You looked like you were in a trance," you explained. "I've been calling your name for a little while."

"Oh shit," he sighed and ran a hand over his face. "Yeah, no...it's...It was just a long day."

You didn't hesitate. Your arms immediately wrapped around him and you pulled him in. Pulled him back from whatever precipice he was about to launch himself off of, and straight into the comfort of you.

---

Before long, Eddie found himself in your apartment, fully upside down with his legs propped against the wall as he enjoyed the Blizzard he'd picked up on the way.

"You know just cuz you can hold it upside down, doesn't mean you're supposed to eat it upside down," you laughed as you filled a pot with water and put it on the stove.

"And what are you, the Blizzard expert," Eddie scoffed. "If you'll recall I was the one who took you to Dairy Queen for the first time."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah." You rolled your eyes and turned to grab some cans from the cupboard.

You had offered to make dinner--again--while he vented about his shift. Nothing as spectacular as what you made for Thanksgiving dinner, but it left the leftover meatloaf for Wayne to take for his lunches.

"You're lucky I like your spaghetti sauce," Eddie grumbled, a little sad that he couldn't have his meatloaf sandwich.

So he talked as you ran to your bedroom to rid yourself of the remnants of who you became when you were at Starcourt, and as you emerged the person that, he liked to believe, was reserved especially for him.

He told you about the back to back returns he had dealt with when he came back from lunch as you dropped dried pasta into the boiling water and grated garlic into sizzling oil.

He complained about the man who demanded help from a manager only even though all he wanted was a special edition cassette deck that had all the bells and whistles and anyone with keys could help him. His voice got louder and meaner as he quoted the jackass verbatim, but the sharp strike of your wooden spoon against the side of the pot brought him back down to earth.

And as he finished up his story about having to count Sam's register three times because he forgot that there were large bills under the cash tray, you joined him on the couch with a bowl of steaming hot pasta for each of you.

He righted himself and discarded the empty blizzard cup on your coffee table.

"First Black Friday in the books," you announced and you passed the bowl to him. "I'm proud of you."

"Proud?" Eddie groaned. "Seriously? It was a disaster."

"They always are," you explained sagely.

"You survived," he pointed out.

"So did you."

"Barely."

"So?" you asked and twirled noodles on your fork expertly. "Doesn't that count? This is, like...my 5th Black Friday? My 6th? I count each one as a victory. And so should you."

You leaned over to kiss his cheek, then clinked plates with his in a salute, and then the two of you fell into contented silence as you ate.

As Eddie worked ravenously through the layers of starchy, cheesy, garlicky goodness, he realized that the weariness that had settled within him after his shift had started to alleviate. How he felt more like himself now that he was sitting next to you, basking in the warm glow of your company.

He briefly considered this ritual the two of you had been engaging in for months. The way you shared stories and foods and got closer to one another. He had always been a little worried that things would change if he ever got his wish, if this friendship with you ever became more.

But it was like nothing had changed at all.

He wanted to ask, was tempted to ask, what this was? If this was a date, like all the dates that weren't dates hadn't been before? If you were his girlfriend now?

But then...he recalled the time that you had a bad day and you immediately found relief in him, how he thought that he didn't need to be your knight as long as he could be your home.

And Eddie realized that whatever the two of you decided it would be, whether you were still just his friend, or if you were his girlfriend, or maybe...maybe something else...

You, too, would always be his home at the end of a long battle.

---

Next Part: Disaster Preparedness

Tag List for Store Manager Verse is still temporarily suspended. Thank you for understanding.

[rosen-dovecote]

@autisticslp asked (on the old blog):

So a lot of cooking advice that people tend to give that seems very basic honestly comes from decades of experience; there's a post that floats around Tumblr sometimes, actually, that talks about how a lot of "cooking from intuition" isn't actually intuition at all. It's deeply ingrained memorization about the "laws of cooking" that we've learned over time, that feel like second nature to us to the point where we no longer have to think about it or physically reference recipes or tutorials anymore.

In essence: We're good at "taking what we have on hand and making a meal of it" because we have a lot of practice! We've built up a skill! A skill you're lacking in. And that's not a bad thing! But it also means that you shouldn't be too hard on yourself because you don't know or can't seem to grasp this stuff that seems so "second nature" or "easy" to a lot of the cooks you know. You're still really new at this! And with various disabilities and mental illnesses, cognitive issues, etc? Of course you're going to struggle harder at it than "most" seem to, to you!

As a secondary aside to that, you mentioned growing up on a farm. But farming and gardening, and the various forms of food preservation that frequently comes alongside small family subsistence farms, is a very different skill set! Knowing what's seasonal in your garden doesn't necessarily inherently translate into cooking it, and building a full meal up from scratch unless you also had someone who had that skill as well to teach you that.

I know my Husband's mom sure as hell didn't. He grew up on a farm like that, and she could can all day ... But Lord. She couldn't cook to save her life. She attempted to impart neither of these skills to my Husband, either ... I grew up on one, as well. But where my mom couldn't can or garden to save her life, she was a damned good cook and imparted those skills to me. Now I'm passing them on to my Husband decades later, because his mother failed to.

What you're ultimately missing is a fundamental set of basic skills, and a knowledge set built up over time and practice. And the good news is, those are really simple skills to learn. The bad news is, it does take a while to learn them and to build up that pool of knowledge. Most of it's experimentation, though, and not a lot of it's super difficult.

For basic knowledge of cooking science and spices, I'd recommend The Science of Cooking and The Science of Spice- both by Dr. Stuart Farrimond. I own both and love them dearly. They'll debunk some common myths, and give you a basic understanding of certain food sciences that are honestly really helpful.

When you feel like you're ready to actually sit down and experiment with spices, I love The Encyclopedia of Spices and Herbs: An Essential Guide to the Flavors of the World by Padma Lakshmi. It has information on various spices, tells you their cultural contexts, mentions what they're usually used on in those contexts (vegetables, which meats, etc), and even gives you some common cultural spice blends (though doesn't provide measurements). It's a thick boy, but it's a really fun one to work through if you have no introduction to spices or idea how to use them.

Past that, something you need to build yourself is a well stocked pantry with staple basics. I can't tell you what those are for you. That's something you have to figure out for yourself based on what you cook, how often, etc. But my minimum has always been at least 2 months worth of food in my pantry at any given time, across a broad enough spectrum that I can pick just about anything out of a recipe and only really need to shop for the fresh or immediate-need ingredients each week.

Staple Grains like Rice, Lentils, Cous Cous, and Quinoa.

Pasta Noodles of various types- like Elbow, Rigatoni, Bowtie, Penne, Fettuccini, and Spaghetti

Potatoes in the form of Mashed Potatoes and Scalloped Potatoes both, as well as a "fresh" bag each of Russet, Yellow, and Red Potatoes

Onions. I keep a mesh bag each of Red and Yellow (or White; whichever's cheapest at the time I'm shopping) on hand at all times.

Boxes of Stock (Chicken, Beef, Vegetable, and Protein Broth when I can find it)

Canned items that I use a lot of, like Diced Tomatoes, Tomato Sauce, Tomato Paste, every kind of Bean (Cannellini, Great Northern, Dark Red, Light red, Black, Pinto, etc), and Chickpeas; plus canned fish (Tuna and Salmon, Sardines, etc)

Condensed Creams Of (Chicken and Mushroom are the two we use most often)

Spices. Of every kind. You literally do not want to see my spice box. It's insane. Yes I'm proud of it. But it would make the average person cry with confusion and fear.

Frozen Veggies in the freezer (Green Beans, Brussel Sprouts, Broccoli, Carrots, Squashes, etc; personally I prefer the frozen to the canned)

I'm sure there's stuff I'm forgetting. But ultimately when you have a full pantry and only have to buy your fresh or immediate-need ingredients? It not only massively saves your grocery bill each week, but it also makes it so much easier to "make things with what you have on hand". Because a large part of the trick is, honestly, having things on hand to make stuff with in the first place. And that's really the big secret that goes unspoken in a lot of circles. But it really shouldn't be an unspoken secret, because it holds so many people back.

Another secret is just knowing basic cooking methods. What is chopping vs dicing? How do you pan fry? What's a dry fry vs a wet fry? What about baking? Broiling? Boiling? What happens if you stew an ingredient instead? How big does it have to be for each of these methods? How does it perform with rice as opposed to cous cous? How is it raw- if it can be eaten raw? Other than that, just knowing recipes is really going to be the big key.

Unfortunately I don't have a recommend for learning any of these ones, since I learned all this the hard way. I do see some cook books that could be useful (like Veg-table: Recipes, Techniques, and Plant Science for Big-Flavored Vegetable-Focused Meals by Nik Sharma; or Vegetables: The Ultimate Cookbook Featuring 300+ Delicious Plant-Based Recipes by Laura Sorkin). I can't personally recommend them, however, because I've never read or used them. But there's a lot of information out there on youtube that can be very helpful, especially for methodology since it's a visual medium- which is, I think, the best way to learn some of these skills in particular.

Personally, I did the recipe thing by looking at cuisines from regions where those foods or ingredients were really popular. So take your Eggplant for example. Eggplants feature a lot in Mediterranean, Levantine, and Middle Eastern cuisines. So when you want to learn how to use Eggplant and build up your knowledge about it? Looking at the people in those regions who use this ingredient a lot already is going to be really helpful to you. They know what they're doing with it!

When you've made those dishes a few times, you're going to get an understanding not only of how to prepare Eggplant for various methods of cooking, and how to cook it for those methods. But you're also going to get an understanding of what flavors pair well with it. And after a while of doing that, you're naturally going to start thinking "what if I do x instead?" and start experimenting on your own. Play with them. Get to know the ingredient on the most foundational level. And yeah, throw some herbs on it if you're comfortable! See what meshes with what flavors. What do you like? And yeah, some of those are going to be flops. But by the time you start thinking "what if" your skills are usually further progressed than you'd think to give yourself credit for. Just ask my Husband, ha!

As for the stuff regarding disability, mental illness, and cognitive function, I gotchu, babe! One of the most distressing things for me when I became disabled, started suffering really bad from cognitive decline, and started dealing with memory loss, was looking at the potential of never being able to cook for myself again. And that scared the piss out of me, because cooking is my joy. And so my Husband and I sat down and prioritized cooking and making it disability friendly for me. Here's some of the stuff we did.

First step: Get your butt a stool that's a comfortable height for your counter height. Once acquired, sit as much as you can in the kitchen. It conserves energy and lets you use more of it to focus your head.

Second: Get yourself all those fun little gadgets you think look interesting or helpful. Personally I have a fruit slicer (that works on more than just apples), a slap chopper microplane thingy, and a few others. Mostly I got these because occasionally my body loses my hands and has no idea where they went and it's safer for me. But I can't tell you how nice they are even when my body knows where my hands are, ha; they speed up prep, keep your fingers safe (usually), and leave more room for the brain to do its thing.

Third: Make as many lists as you can! I have a list on the inside of all my pantry doors of the staples that are in that section. When something needs refilling it allows me to put a mark there so I know to put it on the grocery list. But it also provides a quick reference when my brain's tired; it's so much easier for me to read a list than try and decipher box labels with various colors, font sizes, etc. Make lists wherever you need them and always keep them accessible.

Fourth: The recipe box. Yes. A good, old fashioned, classic recipe box. I have mine filled with tried and true recipes that I know for a fact my Husband and I love, that I know we have at least 90% of the ingredients on hand for at any given moment. So if all else fails and I can't think of anything? I can just go pull something out of the box and have him jot down to the store for anything we don't have.

Fifth: Keep easy meals on stock, because some days you really can't cook. Your brain won't let you, and that's ok! That's fine! But you still gotta eat, right? So we keep stuff like bagged Blackened Chicken Alfredo, Dirty Rice, Mongolian Beef, Jambalaya, Broccoli Beef, Red Beans & Rice, etc, on hand in the outdoor fridge. If at any point I just can't do it? We grab some of those instead.

And the good news is, you can spruce up a quick meal! Making Dirty Rice? Throw in some bread and butter, and a side of boiled Green Beans from the garden. Blackened Chicken Alfredo? Throw some Bell Pepper on in there; you can bulk this stuff up easily with your produce, and it takes even less effort most of the time.

As for the Covid sense of taste / smell? Keep trucking. It does get better; I suffered bad from Post-Covid Parosmia for nearly 2 years after I caught Covid the first time- bad enough to the point I couldn't bathe myself because of the smell of our water being nauseating to me; couldn't eat anything with Corn, or Wheat, or Onion, or Garlic in it for a year, either. the second I tried, my body auto rejected it. Bananas tastes like Iris flowers smelt ... I feel your pain so hard.

But it does get better. Your system is just rewiring itself completely from scratch right now. And Lord, it's so unpleasant. But the more you give it to taste, and smell, the better it does and the faster it rewires itself. Don't force yourself to eat things that are nauseating or unpleasant. But do branch out. Experiment. Even if it tastes left of how you remember it, keep going! I can't promise you'll get everything back (Lord knows there's still some things that aren't quite right for me, even 4 years later now). But it gets better!

I hope any of this helps- even if it's not as helpful if you'd like it to be. Hang in there, love.

[hunn1e-bunn1e]

2023 Christmas Special

Just General Headcannons about spending Christmas with Blade

🐇.•°•.🐇.•°•.🐇.•°•.🐇.•°•.🐇.•°•.🐇.•°•.🐇.•°•.🐇.

🎁•♡•🎁•♡•🎁•♡•🎁•♡•🎁•♡•🎁•♡•🎁•♡•🎁

🎄 Right off the bat, let's get this out of the way. Blade won't exactly be filled with holiday spirit. This man has been through some shit and no amount of spiced cider or jolly carolers will make him feel comfortable enough to be carefree. However, that's nothing that your love can't sooth. So grab your Blade and give him some extra tender love and affection this holiday season.

🎄 I don't think that Blade would really see the appeal of Christmas as a whole. In his eyes, the holiday is simply about giving gifts, eating specific foods, decorating your house and wearing ugly clothes. Of course, family is also a major part of Christmas but he doesn't think about that on a once over. But, Blade is a reasonable man, so he's open to letting you explain all the non superficial parts of the holiday.

🎄 Let's start with the tree. Personally, I don't think that Blade has much of an opinion of what kind tree to use. While a fake one would definitely be more convenient, he'd like the to have the full holiday experience for his first Christmas with you; so he'd get a real tree the first year. I don't think he'd cut it down himself, maybe get someone at the tree lot to do it since he's never done it himself before. Blade will make you help him set it up in the house though; now matter if you've got noodle arms or not.

🎄 Okay, I think that the best course of action for decorating your Christmas tree with Blade would be to make homemade ornaments with him. It's hitting three birds with one stone; you get to spend time with him, you can show him a Christmas activity you can do together and you get reusable ornaments. I think his favorite ornaments to make would be any of the one's that you can put little photos on or into. The first ornament that Blade made had a picture of him and you decked out in winter gear and standing in front of your newly bought Christmas tree. As for lights, I think that he would prefer the traditional green and red lights over solid colors and rainbow colors.

🎄 Decorating the house is a bit of a hassle when it's with Blade, the poor guy gets cramps in his sides from raising his arms for so long. Make sure to get a step stool next year, okay? For him? Anyway, I doubt that he'd be willing to decorate anywhere but the living room, so your out of luck when it comes to the yard or the outside of your house. Maybe Blade would get a new welcome mat or hang a wreath but that's it. When it comes to the decorations in question they'd probably just be silver and gold tinsel maybe a few paper snowflakes, but nothing much.

🎄 Christmas sweaters? Christmas sweaters. But the question is; can you convince Blade to wear one? Weeeell, maybe. It really depends on his mood to be honest, though if you catch him in a good one you can get him into a sweater. I think that he'd like one with a simple design instead of something really loud and complex; like a grey sweater with a simple snowflake embroidered into it. The ugly ones though? Absolutely not. Blade may be incredibly touch starved and very depressed, but he still has taste. He will wear Christmas socks though, he really likes those; warm, soft and comfortable.

🎄 Let's talk Christmas dinner! I don't know if it's just me but I feel like Blade can put away quite a bit when he's feeling up for it, so try and make a nice variety for him. I feel like he'd be the type to not let different foods touch and that he'd eat the entirety of one thing first before moving on to another. I don't know, he just gives off that vibe. As for his favorite Christmas dishes? I feel like Blade would really like roastbeef with slow cooked scalloped potatoes. For a side, I think that loaded bacon mac and cheese 1would suit him well and for dessert, a slice of pecan pie and a nice serving of struffoli.

🎄 After dinner, you should show Blade the joy of making cookies and gingerbread houses. I actually think that he would do a pretty good job of baking, and by that I mean kneading the dough. You'll let him help decorate the cookies once they're cooled though, right? And he will decorate them; he'll even frost a little gingerbread person to look like you. Though they may not be perfect, they do smell devine, so don't mind him sneaking a few out of the corner of you eye. Don't call him out either, you have no evidence and he'll never admit it. Blade is actually surprisingly mediocre at building and decorating his gingerbread house; he's too worried about how sticky his fingers are getting and how much icing is in his hair to pay attention to the fact that his gingerbread sheets are crooked and piping is kinda wonky.

🎄 Moving on, let's talk about movies and songs! I firmly believe that a favorite of Blade's movie wise is Home Alone surprisingly enough. I don't know, I just think that he has hidden gremlin energy that only expresses itself when he watches light hearted but violent shit. Also, I think that he'd like that the mc is so clever to think of and set up all the traps and such. As for favorite Christmas songs.... I actually don't think Blade cares for any of them in particular.

🎄 Let's talk gifts! If I'm being completely honest, I doubt that Blade would buy you anything. But! He he would still gift you something. His gift would either be something handmade or something that he found on a mission that reminded him of you. No ifs, ands, buts or in betweens. I believe that Blade would also like something personal and handmade, it would make the gift feel that much more sincere to him. Something like a scarf, gloves or socks would be perfect. You could carve or paint him something. Hell, even a woven bracelet would warm his heart. As long as it was made by you he'd be happy.

🎁•♡•🎁•♡•🎁•♡•🎁•♡•🎁•♡•🎁•♡•🎁•♡•🎁

🐇.•°•.🐇.•°•.🐇.•°•.🐇.•°•.🐇.•°•.🐇.•°•.🐇.•°•.🐇.

Wanna see similar content? Check out my Masterlist!

[brighteyedbushybrowed]

hi hello i see hc requests are open again!!! would you be able to write about the papas with an s/o that likes to cook and is an incredibly good one? idk anymore, but have a good day!! <3

The timing of me doing this is perfect bc I just watched the Celebrity Masterchef final last night and I have been thinking v much about food and cooking <3 so ty for this request!!!

𝐏𝐫𝐢𝐦𝐨

A partner who not only loves cooking, but is also the most talented cook Primo's ever met?

You will never be rid of him. You're stuck with him forever

He's the first to volunteer himself to be the taste tester of new dishes you try out or experiment with

Will supply you with fresh fruit, veg, or herbs he grows in his garden and greenhouse to incorporate into your meals

If you also make cakes, Primo will supply you with edible flowers you can decorate them with

Prior to the two of you getting together, he didn't really each much so now he eats way better because of you

He loves watching you cook and seeing how you prepare food in comparison to his brothers. You have such a passion for what you do that he can't help but be enamored by you

Primo's favourite meal that you've made for him: roasted garlic butternut squash and gnocchi

𝐒𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐝𝐨

Secondo is another man who didn't eat well until you came along

He's more than happy to take a break from his work to eat a home cooked meal that you've lovingly prepared

In fact, bribing him with your latest dish or recipe is the most effective way of getting him to finish his work day on time rather than working overtime or staying late in the office

Likes to help you cook whenever you're willing to let him do so

He's a pretty good cook himself, not that anyone else would actually know that off the bat. It's something he keeps to himself and doesn't like to brag about

If you've been together for a while, he'll share the odd recipe or two with you that his mother used to make for him and his brothers when they were younger

There's no point asking anyone else if they wanna try a bite off your newest recipes because he will immediately jump in and decide that he's going to have the honour of being the first to try your newest dishes

Secondo's favourite meal that you've made for him: seared scallops with salsa verde and capers

𝐓𝐞𝐫𝐳𝐨

When they say "the quickest way to a man's heart is through their stomach", it's Terzo they're talking about

While Secondo keeps his cookery capabilities to himself, Terzo will boast about his own skills in the kitchen and will often try to help out

You have to be firm with him if you want to do a dish on your own, such as a new one you're experimenting with or trying to learn from scratch

There are no leftovers when it comes to the meals you cook for the two of you. Terzo will in fact go back for second and third helpings even if he's not hungry anymore because he loves your cooking so much

He likes to make fresh pasta with you as a bonding activity and he lets you use it in your meals and recipes

Frequently will make trips to the supermarket for you if you unexpectedly run out of ingredients. There's no way he's letting something like that disrupt your fun!!

Has more of a sweet tooth than his brothers, so he will regularly ask him to make puddings or desserts for him (and will bring out the puppy dog eyes to convince you)

Terzo's favourite meal you've made for him: herb crusted rack of lamb with dauphinoise potatoes and a spinach and basil timbale

𝐂𝐨𝐩𝐢𝐚

Copia is a guy who forgets to eat and take care of himself until his stomach is literally in pain (he's me fr)

So having a partner who is a brilliant cook and will spoil him rotten with fantastic food helps him remember to eat when he needs to and not just when his body is hurting

He is a pasta expert, so he's used to spending time in the kitchen

However, he much prefers watching you cook and bustle about the kitchen rather than cooking himself

The passion you display and the pride you take in your recipes makes him fall even harder for you

A lot of your date nights consist of a home cooked meal for two. Copia much prefers staying in with you and enjoying the food you make rather than going out to fancy restaurants

Always tries to sneak a taste of what you're cooking before it's done and he giggles like a mischievous little kid every time you catch him in the act. It's the most adorable thing you've ever seen

Copia's favourite meal you've made for him: capellini pomodoro with freshly made garlic bread

[welldigger62]

I did it!!

For those of you that were paying attention to this morning’s post, I really did make scalloped potatoes with ham, and here it is.

I bet you can’t guess what’s for supper tomorrow night too 🤣 🤣

Chef Billy done good. 😃

[laneynoir]

Legolas x reader

Word count: 1900

Request (that i took way to long to start) for @jaimelamour

- archery practice with Legolas!! cute light-hearted drabble idea:)) reader/legolas getting flustered at the close proximity, fumbling hands, the Pining!!,,,,this idea is so cliche but sooo cute

(Also, I again borrowed a charactor from @sotwk go check out Naneth' s stuff, its truly amazing)

This was not a good idea. This was an awful idea. This was absurd. Who even thought of this?

Ah, yes. Of course.

Honestly sometimes you wish you could pull a Merriadoc and get kidnapped by a tree, just so you could stop making such rediculouse decisions.

A voice calling your name pulls you from your thoughts, leaving a smile to settle at the sight of Sam infront of you. He holds a plate of creamy looking... Something. "Hello Sam, what is it that smells so delightful?"

"Why it's scalloped potatoes Mx. Y/n." He blushes a bit at the compliment, an endearing sight, and one which fills you with a strange feeling of mixed mourning and hope. "I was going to see if you would like some?"

Grining you give him your permission to load up your plate, realizing to late that he is still more accustomed to feeding those with Hobbiton appetite, and you've now got more of the spuds than you could ever manage eat. Still, nothing Samwise has ever cooked could be turned down, and you dig in.

The hardonic taste of garlic, onion, and somthing else that you can't place, bloom on your tounge, sharply reminding you of the lack of prior meal. "Mister Gamgee, you have my heart, soul, sword, and boots. Stake my life on it, this is the most superb meal I've ever had the pleasure to taste!"

Sam shuffles his feet, embarrassed by the kind words. "You can keep your boots please -nasty foot prisons really- tis hardly a meal. I only made enough for appetizers." He nods politly to someone behind you before scurrying off.

You scoop up another fork full the the food, letting out a small moan of appreciation. "Whomever is behind me can take a seat, I dont bite."

A strangely pink faced Legolas sits oposit you, a small smirk as he speaks, "I know for a fact that your words are false, I need not elven eyes to have noticed the sizable chunk you tore from one orc."

"That doesn't count." At his humorously  disbelieving facial expression you shrug. "Fine then, I promise I don't usually bite pretty princesses. Better?"

His only response is a small laugh. "May I purloin some of your potatoes?" You nod, and after a short search you find an extra fork, though not another plate.

His eyes light up in delight when he takes a bite and you smile, staring a bit to long for it to be considered entierly friendly, though thankfully he seems not to notice.

"So... Did you come only to steal my food, or did you have an alternate motive?" Legolas blinks, looking at thr plate with a guilty expression that you wave away.

Shaking his head he answers. "I was intending to ask if you wished to start your lesson, but did not wish to interupt your mealtime."

The mental This Is Still A Bad Idea reminder goes off, but the Prince's hopeful expression is more than enough to hit snooze.

"You're not interrupting, truthfully I was jot even planning on eating before Sam brought these to me. He is truly to sweet for his own good." Your eyes are on the plate before you, so you do not see the crease that apears between Legolas' eyes.

"If you are willing, I have found a suitable range at which to practice, as well as a bow that I believe with suit your draw strength."

"What I can't use your's?" You tease, looking up in time to see a strange flicker in your friend's -for this is what he is, no more- eyes. It is gone almost as quickly as it came, and you do not dwell on it.

"I- I would allow you, of course, but the bows of Lothlórien are meamt for a more expirianced-"

You raise and eyebrow, mouth firmly set into a line so as not to laugh. "Are you saying I am week my prince? If that is the case, I beg you simply get to the point." His eyes are (beautiful, how are eyes allowed to be so-) immediately blown wide, as he turns an interesting shade of sunkissed rose gold.

The blush extends all the way to the tips of his ears, and you have the strangest urge to trace the path of pink with your fingertips. Instead you interupt his sooft panicking, "I was joking, Legolas, I understand that you know much more about your weapon than I can ever hope to, and I trust you completely."

Legolas nods and a small smile appears. "I hold your trust as my most valued prize from this terrible war, I know it is hard won."

His gaze holds yours steadily, so you shoce a bite of potato in your mouth before you do something stupid, like kissing the Prince of Greenwood.

Not long after, you stand at the entrance to a long rectangular courtyard. This is going to be fun, you tell yourself. You're going to learn things, and shoot a bow, amd stop waching Legolas so closely.

Knowing full well that at least half of your thoughts were empty of any hope, you step in to meet the resident blond elf. And for the love of the green lady, does he have to be so perfect? The light of the afternoon sun glints off of his hair, making it look as if it glows, while accepting his figure at the same time. He holds a bow that is smaller than his usual choice, runing his hand along the wood, appraising.

He gestures for you to come closer, which you do of course. You would go spelunking in the ruin of Isengaurd is he asked you to.

"That's where we'll start, if that is okay?"

For a terrifying second, you fear that you've spoken alloud, and this only slightly fades whem you realize that he's been speaking for a time already.

Mentaly shaking yourself, you nod, pleading with your inner monolouge to be quiet and let you focouse. Shockingly, it does not comply.

Legolas shows you the beginner stance, which feels slightly odd after your sword training, but you catch on pretty quickly. The proximity of Legolas to yourself is nonexistent, and there are more than one instances which almost convince you that he is deliberately trying to fluster you.

When he shows you the apropriate hold on the bow, his hands ghost over your own, positioning them to perfection, and nearly causing you to drop the weapon. He steps back after telling you to draw the bow, but cautioning against sharply relising the string, as there is no arrow and it would split the wood.

Legolas nods, satisfied when you slowly relieve pressure from the string. He pauses a moment, seeming unsure, so you tilt you head in silent question. Eyes trailing over your arms, which are bared against the day's bright heat.

"You do not have you vambraces?" The question is more of an acknowledgment, but you incline your head in response regardless. In a second I unties the leather string holding his own in place, loosening then just enough to slide from his forearms.

Avert you eyes spawn of chicken, your brain reminds you.

After pulling both of the simple deep brown articles off he looks at you, raised eyebrow, and gestures for your arm. You hold the bow in one hand, and with nowhere to put it, you extend the other for Legolas.

The leather is warm still from his skin as it slides against your skin, and to prevent a shudder, you say; "You dont have to give me these you know, I'd be fine."

Legolas smiles, softly as always. "Fine perhaps, but few deserve pain, least of all perfection, and if I am in a position to keep you from it I will." The ernesty in his voice suprised you, and you feel a red cross your face, not caused by the heat.

"What do these markings mean?" Legolas' hands still for a breath, freezing from the tightening of laces. Quickly you stumble back from your words. "I do not wish to pry, please forgive-"

"No!" He shakes his head, and the tears in his eyes send a flash of guilt through you. "Please do not apologize. Some of them are mearly ornamentalb but this one," he is tracing an indent. "Is the mark of my... Teacher." Drawing a breath he whispers a name. "Gelir"

You let the silence stretch out, before; "I'm sorry for your loss, was he your..."

Legolas looks up with alarm, and surprisingly, a laugh. "No, Gelir was my brother, and the finest hand with a bow or beast to ever walk the natural earth."

On impulse, you reach out, placing a hand on his cheek. "I feel quite treble now, and not a little embarrassed. Is there anything I can do?"

His smile has returned, and you are glad for it. "I will tell you if I think of anything."

Pulling the second knot tight, Legolas releases your arm, something you are both relived for, and dissapointed. "Now I get to shoot right?" When he nods you take up your position.

Arrow fitted to the string you exhale as you release, frowning when it misses the target entirely. Suddenly there is a presance at your back, shifting your feet slightly, and repositioning your arms.

Legolas remains against you, hands on yours as you draw back again, this time hitting near center.

You turn excitedly to him, foot twisting in the process on an unforseen length of rope that lies half buried in the ground. Legolas catches you before you can fall, and for a brief moment you think he is about to kiss you. But he helps you back to your feet, smirking all the while.

"Of course I fall. This must be a murder attempt." You grump, pleased when he laughs quietly.

"What's this?" You glance to the ground noticing a glint of dark green. You bend down to retrieve it, only to feel you head make contact with another.

Legolas let's out a hissing noise, and the stone is gone from your thoughts. "Legolas?"

"I am fine, though it seems you have caught me."

And you have, as his hair is tangled around the pin on your shoulder. You look to his face, "Only after I fell for you."

His eyes widen, though he makes no sighn of discomfort. "Here is your stone"

You shake your head quickly. "I should like you to keep it, if you will."

Legolas tilts his head to the side. "My best friend married a dwarf, I know what this is."

You tilt your chin defiantly. "Good."

His face is still blank as you reath sharply. "I think I know what you can do for me."

Meet inches away from him you ask, "And what would that be my prince?"

Without a word he closes the gap, kissing you with far more zeel than you could have expected. The hand you'd earlier placed on his cheek now finds it's way to his neck, holding him close when you lips disconnect.

Forhead rested against his, you close his still open hand around the leaf shaped emerald. "I'm afraid you're stuck with me now."

"Well yes," he agrees. "My hair is still caught on your broach."

[lil-shiro]

Food review time oyster happy hour edition!

Like I said earlier, today (Wednesday) is $1 oysters happy hour so we wanted to see if was real worth it + tried some other food too 🦪

They had three different types of oysters all from PEI (Prince Edward Island for the non Canadians)

Oysters (in order)

$1/ea - I actually forget the name of this one oops

$2/ea - Raspberry Point

$2/ea - Lucky Lime

I kind of had low expectations coming into this because how good can $1 oysters really be? But I will have to admit that maybe i've become a snob after eating really good oysters.

$1 option - small and not too much natural flavour. it's fine for the casual eater who doesn't wanna break the bank Raspberry Point - bigger oysters and a mix of salty and sweet flavour Lucky Lime - the winner. has that sweet oyster flavour i like and the biggest of the bunch. still not comparable to the best ive had but pretty good for $2

It's enough to satisfy someone if they had an overwhelming craving for oysters. They were shucked and cleaned very throughly and I had no concerns about freshness. For me it's a 6/10, but their house made hot sauce was great tho!

Other food

In order

Their variation of Patatas bravas - honestly i loved the raw egg mixed in it added a creamy touch to the spicy, garlicky sauce. although i feel like i could make this myself so 6.8/10 Focaccia bread - nicely toasted and seasoned...i mean bread is bread so im not complaining...7.5/10 Pan seared scallops - this was over a corn chowder/sauce with potatoes and mushrooms. best dish of the night, the scallops were cooked perfectly there was zero toughness. and the sauce was light and creamy. i would come back for this 8.5/10.

They have a smaller menu but each dish is quite different from the others. i wish i got the beef tartar to try but maybe next time!

Overall rating: 7/10 Would I eat here again: yes but not too often Vibes: 9/10 really nice staff, great patio, music, and ambiance