#spite cookbook……

[fromtheseventhhell]

New "TWOW announcement is coming soon" rumor to be delusional about just launched, I'm up

[vetinarivimesy]

Okay okay okay. I'm enough of a nerd that yes I own those damned Disney Star Wars themepark cookbooks, and I've been steadily working my way through most of the recipes in them.

Mostly the recipes are a great balance of fun, interesting, and vaguely deliberately shifted around a really solid base to make it just a little unfamiliar so it's 'space' themed. But actually something you'd be willing to cook, without a million and a half rather finnicky steps and a ton of things to wash up before the thing even meets heat.

(With one or two minor SNAFUs caused by ye olde separated by a common language - tomato paste vs tomato puree woops)

But ahem, anyway that 'spicy' Mandalorian stew, ey?

For all of the advertised heat in the thing... You essentially end up with a rather tasty Japanese style curry with couscous in it, rather than rice on the side.

Nice? Yes.

Spicy? No not really. Even compared to other similarly mild curries, and taking spicy to mean spiced not hot. The Japanese style curry this recipe seems to be based around somewhat infamously comes from the bland for the UK-palette generic curry powder of the Victorians...

Sooo. I am spitefully choosing to follow a large chunk of fandom's example and picking bits of Star Wars at random to pick and choose my canon from... I'm now taking that recipe as 'proof' that Mandalorian cooking... really isn't all that hot.

And yes, I made that Pog soup too. Tasty? Yeah sure. Spicy? ...Eh?

And again, spitefully logicking my way through, which culture is always depicted in the films as actually extremely multicultural, and actually allows its members to retain their home traditions from their roots, and actually is based loosely around Asia rather than the old colonising empire building bounty hunters and rogues mashed with Knights Templar thing that is still the bulk of what the Mandos have?

The Jedi.

Who, notably, are absolutely missing any representation whatsoever in either of the two Disney-era Star Wars cookbooks. Since the setting is post the second Jedi genocide in the Skywalker Saga...

So whilst I'm now headcanoning, Mando food as all bark and very little bite, spitefully and based solely off of a very dubious bit of 'canon'.

I can also with impunity go, Sichuan cooking for the Jedi? Yes. Yes. Yes. Genuinely interesting Indian cuisine? Sure why not? Spicy Uzbek style stews? Great! Shakshouka as fiery as you can get it for breakfast? Amazing! Enough spicy kefta to feed fifty ravenous knights? Fabulous!

There's a brisk, and expensive given they're just cheap space-ramen, trade in the Jedi Temple sector of Coruscant of all the numerous flavours of Space-Buldak Chilli Noodles, since the Padawans basically live off of them.

Swimming in chilli already? Well that's not hot enough for old Master Rancisis! Add more! And don't forget the numbing peppercorns, that's Master Sifo-Dyas's favourite part!

Cue a fanfic, with the usual increasingly irritating set-up. Ahahaha, lets laugh at the culture that supposedly eats nothing but the blandest thing on the menu encounter the Manly Men we only eat the Hottest Vindaloo because we're hard! culture... And... Nope, nosiree the Mandos cannot handle it at all, cue much blue milk chugging, and not from the jedi half of the contingent. Despite all their showboating about how spicy they love their spicy spicy stew, they're like the old stereotype about white Brits in an Indian Curry House in Goodness Gracious Me.

(Seriously still far too spitefully amused that the official 'Spicy Mandalorian Stew' recipe produced bland but tasty comfort food in reality.)

[daydreamwhumpinc]

Some of my most favorite Sanji Whump fics. I absolutely adore Sanji, the Strawhats, and One Peiece as a whole (although, I am a bit behind since I'm only starting Egghead arc).

Anyways, here are some of the fics that I reread an ungodly amount of time 😌 Will add more recommendations soon.

IMPORTANT:

Almost all of these fics include heavy spoilers for WHOLE CAKE ISLAND and some small WANO snippets, so please be careful 🦀💛🦀💛

1. take me down easy by chali

(This is a SERIES)

Summary: Exploring the trauma that Sanji experienced at WCI and how that affects him afterwards - because someone has to do it if Oda won’t.

THIS WHOLE SERIES IS SO GOOD! DARE I SAY IT’S MY MOST FAVORITE! ENJOY SO MANY FEELS/HURT/COMFORT/FOUND FAMILY AND EVERYTHING IN BETWEEN!!💛💛

2. Stigma by ZephGale

Summary: ‘They were used to their reputation changing and growing after leaving an island. One doesn’t defeat a few Warlords, Emperors, free kingdoms from tyranny and declare war on the Government without gaining something. But it seemed like they acquired something else after leaving Whole Cake Island, and it was something that was much harder to wear with pride.’

3. Lean On Me [On Us] by curlystrawhat

Summary: “Judge threatened to blow up my hands if I didn’t obey him.” Or in his defense, Sanji really thought he had told them about it. He was sadly mistaken. This is the fallout.

4. trouble is a friend of mine by taizi

Summary: “I don’t buy it,” Pete retorts. “Someone like you? Some cook from East Blue? You’re probably worth a couple hundred thousand bellies at best, maybe a million, if your captain’s somebody.” Sanji tilts his head back so that it rests against the dirty wall behind him. He’s still upright, somehow, through sheer stubbornness or spite. He doesn’t look like someone who only has tonight left to live. In fact, he looks sharp. There’s no better word for it. His expression is still as peaceable as it has been since he arrived, but watching him is like watching a knife slide out of its sheath. He is, abruptly, dangerous. A tool made for cutting. “If you knew where I’ve been, you would be terrified of me,” he says.

5. where nothing hurts and nothing breaks by taizi

Summary: Sanji tries to imagine Yonji carrying anything for him at all just to be nice. The daydream falls apart instantly, because Yonji only ever took things from Sanji to break them. “Do you promise you’ll give it back?” he musters the courage to ask, clinging to the cookbook a kind old woman just sold him, unwilling to let it go without making sure. She had smiled and said she was certain her family’s recipes would be in good hands with him and Sanji doesn’t want to prove her wrong before he gets a chance to even try. “You have to promise.” Zoro gazes down at him with that inscrutable look on his face he’s worn all day. He could probably take the book from Sanji pretty easily but he doesn’t yank it away or twist his wrist until he lets go. They just stand there, sizing each other up. Sanji’s nerves mount with every second but he doesn’t back down. Yonji would have hurt him already and laughed about it. The first mate of the Strawhat crew simply says, after enough time that Sanji knows he’s taken it seriously, “Promise.”

[sunny374940]

Adventures in baking

Rook has a crush on Emmrich. Rook wants to bake him cookies. He has never baked cookies in his life, but what could go wrong? Lucanis is a good friend. 1k words.

..............

“You can do it, Rook, how hard can it be? You killed a dragon, for fucks sake.”

Rook was muttering to himself. There was a crease between his eyebrows, flour on his shirt and he was fighting a losing battle.

He was standing at the counter of the Lighthouse kitchen, poking at a lump of something that wasn't trying very hard to be dough.

He rubbed his forehead, managing to get the offending substance stuck into his hair.

“Shit!” he cursed loudly in frustration.

“Rook, what are you doing?” Lucanis was standing in the pantry doorway, watching him with an arched eyebrow.

“Uhh… making cookies?” Rook offered without much conviction.

Lucanis crossed the room to inspect Rook's creation. It jiggled miserably at his touch.

“Whatever this is, it is not cookie dough. Why didn't you ask me for help?”

He took in the state of the kitchen, which indicated that this wasn't Rook's first attempt.

“I wanted to make them myself.” Rook looked down, frowning. “They were supposed to be for Emmrich.”

“Why?”

“I like him.” The words were out before he could stop himself. He squeezed his eyes shut and pinched the bridge of his nose.

“Just don’t tell anyone, I don't know how he really feels about me. But we visited the Necropolis together and we had tea in the gardens and it almost felt like a date? So I wanted to do something nice for him, but it’s harder than I thought.”

“You are trying to woo the necromancer. With cookies,” Lucanis observed dryly.

Rook blushed and nodded.

“Lucanis, I really, really need your help,” he pleaded. “I've been at it for hours and I don't-”

Lucanis held up a hand to signal him to stop talking.

“Mierda,” he sighed. “Where's your recipe? Let's see where you went wrong.”

“I don't have one,” Rook said.

Lucanis stared at him. “What do you mean you don’t have one? Do you understand how baking works?”

“Well, my mom never used one? She just threw things together and it worked. And no, not a clue,” Rook grinned sheepishly.

“Your mother is either a miracle worker or you didn't pay enough attention. Baking is all about ingredient ratios, you don't just mix stuff randomly.”

Lucanis gave the horrible mass on the counter one last poke. “Now go throw this thing over the edge. If Assan finds it, Davrin is going to kill us. I will find us a cookbook.”

Rook carried the dough out the door and dropped it unceremoniously over the edge, although a good bit managed to keep itself stuck to his fingers.

When he returned after cleaning up, Lucanis was sitting in the kitchen and leafing through a cookbook.

“I think I found a suitable recipe. It is for beginners in the art of baking,” he said, stressing the word beginners with an amused quirk of his lips. “I have never seen anyone fuck up cookies so badly.”

”Yeah, yeah, no need to rub it in,” Rook laughed. “Next time I'm going to pick him some flowers and be done with it,” he grumbled.

“With your luck, you will be jumped by an ogre before you pick a single flower,” chuckled Lucanis. “I will help you romance your necromancer, but Spite says he wants some cookies as payment. With chocolate.”

“I agree to your terms,” Rook bowed to Lucanis with a cheeky smile. “And thank you, I really appreciate your help.”

“Don't mention it. So first we need to get the ingredients and then I will teach you how to measure them.”

They fell into an easy rhythm, Lucanis reading out the instructions and checking Rook's progress. Rook was smiling as he worked, he was finally getting somewhere.

Just as they were pulling the cookies out of the oven, the door opened, startling Rook into almost dropping the tray.

“Hello, Rook, Lucanis,” greeted Emmrich warmly as he entered the kitchen. “Don't mind me, I'm just getting some apples.” He sniffed. “It smells wonderful in here. Have you been baking for Neve again, Lucanis?”

Rook made an attempt to hide the cookies behind his back, but he was thwarted by Spite, who picked exactly the worst moment to appear.

“He. Made you. Cookies. I want. Cookies.”

“Spite, he wanted it to be a surprise,” hissed Lucanis.

But Spite wouldn't be dissuaded. “He. Likes. You.” He added triumphantly.

Rook flushed to the tips of his ears and hid his face in his hands. He didn't notice Emmrich crossing the room, until he was standing right in front of him, forcing him to look up at him between his fingers. Emmrich smiled at Rook and took hold of his hands to bring them down from his face. But even after he'd done that, he showed no intention of letting go. Rook was blushing fiercely, staring up at Emmrich with wide eyes.

“Is Spite telling the truth?” Emmrich asked softly, eyes searching Rook's face.

Rook could only nod.

“Would you care to enjoy the cookies with me, Rook?” Emmrich asked. “Perhaps along with a cup of tea in my quarters?”

“I-” Rook found he had to clear his throat, which had suddenly gone very dry. “I would like that,” he managed to croak out.

“Splendid!”

Emmrich let go of his hands to gather some of the cookies onto a plate, leaving Rook feeling strangely alone. He didn't have much time to wallow in his loneliness however, because Emmrich's hand quickly found its way back into his.

“Shall we?” Emmrich gazed into his eyes, looking for all the world like he had just been offered a candlelit dinner and not a plateful of cookies.

“Lead the way,” Rook smiled, leaning closer to him.

“If you start kissing, I am letting out Spite,” Lucanis threatened, but there was humor in his words. “I know you forgot I'm standing here.”

They started laughing and retreated from the kitchen, taking the plate of cookies with them.

[obligatorygeekery]

First Fanfic Lines

some of you know that I am realog on Ao3, but for those who don't hello! I've been meaning to make a pinned post for fanfic purposes for ages, then I saw someone do this the other day and it seemed like a fun introduction (and conveniently, my go-to summary method is usually just the first lines).

so, for anyone who has ever felt...unsatisfied with the direction taken by the hockey themed web comic Check Please!, and particularly the characters of Jack and Kent, check out the links below, maybe you'll find something you like:

from oldest to newest

glass houses (t)

The first time he sees Parson and Zimmboni talking in some out of the way corner, Jack's shoulders tense while Parson casually slouches against the wall. Alexei wonders if he should go over and do something about it.

(pimms affair in the NHL bubble, because of course they would. fun fact: I was so nervous about posting this that I did it immediately before going to my mom's birthday dinner, so I wouldn't just be obsessively refreshing the page all night. and then the reception ended up being, frankly, beyond my wildest expectations)

everybody talks (t)

When Bittle said he had been approached for another book after the wedding. Jack had hugged him, and congratulated him, and asked what kind of recipes he was going to focus on this time. Bittle had laughed and said it wasn't actually another cookbook. This time another branch of his publisher had approached him about writing something more in line with his twitter and vlog. More like a memoir, focusing on his opinions and thoughts on the whirlwind of the last few years.

(less? fun fact: I started writing this while I was at home. alone. with food poisoning. on christmas. so I really let the spite flow freely on this one. take note if you ever decide to give one half of your romantic pairing addiction issues and a checkered past with the sports media landscape and then make their other half...a youtube diary volgger)

bubble baes (t)

So. Does everyone here know the J+K drama?

(my bitchy groupchat coda to glass houses! even less? fun fact: this was written into the lead up to the 2025 US presidential inauguration. but, it did keep me from doomscrolling too much, and made at least a couple people smile on a very very shitty day)

vacation (all i ever wanted) (e)

In the fall, Kent comes home from a grueling two week long roadie to an invitation for Jack and Bittle's wedding. Tucked in the thick ivory envelope along with it is a handwritten note from Alicia, saying how much they hoped he could attend. That it would mean a lot for him to be there. As Jack's oldest friend.

(fun fact: if I had to call something my magnum opus, it would be this. throwing everyone's (or just my) favorite rom com tropes into a blender (along with whatever 4.19 was) to create the pimms second chance romance of my dreams)

all i dream of lately (can you come a little closer) (m)

It's one of those things that the press likes to hint at because it feels salacious and intrusive, without requiring them to print any salacious or intrusive details that could lead to either a loss of ad revenue or a lawsuit. Which has meant that for every year following the Aces fateful 2010 Cup run, Jack has been treated to at least one exposé about Kent Parson's sex life. Or more specifically, the lack of it, from April to ideally late June.

(fun fact: despite listening to it on repeat for many hours while writing this. I still managed to misremember the lyrics to closer by tegan and sara when typing the title, and didn't catch it for a few days)

give my love a four letter name (e)

"10 minutes, until food arrives." Jack says, placing his phone back down on the coffee table. "I can't." Kent grumbles from where he's propped up against Jack's chest. "I can't unless you get off me. And you already said no to that, so…" Jack lets his words trail off. "Swoops?" Kent asks, still muffled.

(fun fact: my fist foray into pwp! and it's a threesome with the fandom's favorite made up guy, Swoops! I wrote this for an audience of like four people (myself included), so any other interaction is just gravy. sort of an AU jumping off immediately from the end of all i dream)

[egg-bro]

hey!! i love you!!! here are some links to explore in case you are bored or need a distraction <3

hatch some dragons in this adoptables game and share them on your blog

a website art piece to explore (warning for potential bright/flashing imagery)

draw your own adventures

an archive of educational vhs tapes

roingus

my personally curated collection of animal posts if you just want to scroll through animal pics

or my collection of bug posts if you prefer them

play a first-person shooter game from the pov of an egg

guess the word based on its meaning

a game where you play as someone's anxiety

create a song using this website

or create a song as this cat

combine elements to make new things

play scattergories online

create a spotify playlist based on your pet

here is the mcr sweet revenge flash game

work at your cozy bubble tea stand in this google doodle

take a dive in the ocean and see what you find on your way down

a funky rhythm-based game

learn calculus

a youtube playlist of animal videos

or watch an animal livecam

play the impossible quiz

take photos of axolotls in lake xochimilco in this cute google doodle

experience all sorts of illusions

here is a website you can cut up (to help with self harm urges)

create yourself in this avatar creator

take a real-time virtual trip to mars

the spite cookbook, if you haven't decided on dinner yet

some resources for building your own website

and finally, posts on my blog tagged for you to scroll through more posts like these if you need more things to do

[randomeanonjustwatching]

hey hey hey✨

yknow that trend where you crack an egg on your cooking partners head? how do u think the ob boys would react (whichever ones u want to do)??

Ohhh I had to re-search this up a bit

Lucifer wouldn't quite understand it,, is this a sign of affection or were you actually wanting to use his head as a breaker for the egg? Probably stares at you for a long moment and you have to explain what happened.

Mammon would start laughing after realizing what you're doing. My man can't help it, the whole situation felt weird to him and if you explain he'd just kiss your forehead and continue on cooking

Leviathan flushes and immediately runs out of the kitchen. Why would you do that?? Is his hair full of egg gunk now??

If you explain that it's a goofy trend for a couples he calms down a bit. Better play video games with him later!

Satan is another to stare. As he's a person who sticks to following cookbooks, he's confused as to why you cracked the egg on his head rather than against the bowl like the book said. If you explain, he smiles and mildly wonders how it would go with a cat.

Asmodeus giggles and proceed to crack an egg against your head, putting the egg in the bowl and throwing away the shell and smothering you in face kisses.

Beelzebub would ask you if the egg is still edible after doing that. You have to explain that it's a trend going on and that the egg is still edible.

Belphegor probably mumbles something out of spite, no one could quite catch what he says, before ruffling your hair and going back to drowsily cooking. (He just woke up)

[littlemourningstarr]

Do You Mourn the Passing of the Hours?

Former Professor Emmrich Volkarin had spent years settled into a quiet life running a small, quint flower shop in Nevarra. He expected that any excitement was far behind him. Enter, Lucanis Dellamorte. Professional assassin. Antivan Crow. A possessed man. A possible bad decision to take in Lucanis after an assassination goes slightly off kilter, and suddenly Emmrich finds his life is full of far more excitement than he'd ever had. But maybe, for the man who had begun to experience the world through a cloudy window of fascination but never truly partaking, the excitement would remind him what it was like to truly be alive again.

Chapter Eight!

Pairing: Emmrich Volkarin x Lucanis Dellamorte, Emmrich Volkarin x Spite, Emmrich Volkarin x Lucanis Dellamorte x Spite

Read below or on AO3!

Tags: tags to be added as we go, modern AU, flower shop AU, demonology AU, former professor Emmrich, still assassin Lucanis, physical hurt/comfort, scent kink, Spite is a little freak, mentioned/discussed past Viago/Lucanis, background Teia/Viago, pinning, slow burn, hand kink, masturbation, background Bellara/Irelin, biting, hand jobs, blow jobs, anal sex, anal fingering, surprise piercing

Lucanis had a bowl tucked into the crook of his arm, was whisking eggs yolks and sugar, when he heard the doorbell. From the table, Manfred hopped off and trotted for the door, as Lucanis set the bowl down, following the cat.

Finding Bellara at the door wasn't a surprise. Emmrich had mentioned she would be coming for dinner again, and that she might arrive before him. The text had been sent over a delayed few minutes- Emmrich receiving a large order that wasn't allowing him time to even text Lucanis.

Bellara grinned at him, stepped inside as he shut the door, and toed off her shoes. "Oh wow, it smells amazing in here already. You really do have great coffee taste. Professor- I mean, Emmrich, said you might be cooking already. I can help if you'd like!"

Her energy was… infectious, Lucanis couldn't deny that. And he felt guilty, about the way he had first left, the day he'd met her. Spite's sudden spike in jealousy had been so all consuming, he hadn't known what else to do aside of leave.

And maybe he'd felt it a little too, for a moment.

"I've got it under control," Lucanis said, as he headed back for the kitchen. He picked up the bowl, continuing to whisk the egg yolks and sugar. "Do you want coffee?"

"Oh I can make it!" Bellara went for the machine, setting it up with ease- selecting the Orlesian roast again. She definitely had a preference.

"You're at home around that," Lucanis pointed out. Most folks were a bit intimidated by the more complex coffee machine.

"Oh, yeah. My girlfriend really likes coffee and got something like this recently. I wanted to make sure I didn't mess it up when I made some for her!" The machine hissed to life, and Lucanis paused his whisking.

"…Girlfriend?"

Bellara utterly beamed, fishing her phone out of the large pocket of her sweater. "Yes! Here," she turned it around, so Lucanis could see her lock screen- another elf girl, with short dark hair, smiling excitedly as she leaned into a display at what looked like a museum. He couldn't read the tablet behind the glass she was looking at, but it looked to be in Elvish. "Irelin has a complete reversed internal clock and if I want her to be up before eleven I have to bribe her with coffee."

Lucanis nodded, and said, very dumbly, "You have a girlfriend."

Bellara rolled her eyes. "Yes, I do. I'm not here to hit on Professor Volkarin, if that's your concern."

Lucanis lost his hold on the whisk and had to tighten his grip on the bowl. "I wasn't-"

"And you can tell your spirit friend that as well." Bellara looked around. "I know Emmrich can hear him, but you can see him, can't you?" Lucanis nodded. "Wow. That's… really cool, honestly. And maybe a bit freaky."

The coffee machine quieted, and Bellara fixed her coffee, as Lucanis looked over the cookbook left open on the counter, reading the next few steps.

"So what are you making?" Bellara asked, after taking a sip. "Sure doesn't look like dinner. Which is totally fine, by the way! You don't need to cook for me! Professor- gods, Emmrich didn't have to the other night either, although it was really nice…" Lucanis stared at her for a moment, and Bellara sighed. "I'm rambling again."

Lucanis smiled, just slightly. "Your rambling isn't all that bad." He nodded to the cookbook. "I'm getting dessert started first, a hazelnut torte."

Bellara nodded. "This cookbook is old."

"Emmrich said it was his mother's. He used to beg her to make this on his birthday." Lucanis continued on to the next step, oblivious of the way Bellara was staring at him, slightly slack jawed, until he fully turned around to face her. "What?"

"You're making a complex dessert from Prof- Emmrich's mother's cookbook, because he used to ask for it?" Lucanis nodded.

"He said he hadn't had it in years."

Bellara laughed. "Okay, you could just propose, it'd be less work." Lucanis stared at her, unsure why she would jump to such a thing- it was just food. It was just a nice gesture.

He wasn't looking forward to the way it could light up Emmrich's face at all.

Or the way the man would find new words to praise him that made his stomach tie itself in knots.

Or the way he'd look at him, so fondly.

Lucanis felt heat radiating through his cheeks and had to turn away, trying to hide it from Bellara. She leaned into his space though, placing a hand on his arm gently.

"Hey. If it makes you feel any better, he's going to love it." She rubbed gently, and it was- soothing, actually. Like when Teia would do the same thing, when he was exhausted and wound tight. "And maybe you should just, I don't know… drop a less subtle hint. Really a glaringly obvious hint, because I don't think either of you would understand unless someone was waving a flare next to a huge sign that says wow he's into you maybe kiss him."

The sheer notion of Emmrich kissing him shot him back to his first night here, in the shower- and the fact that, perhaps, he'd thought of that again, alone in the dark of his room, his hand around himself as he covered his mouth with the other to stifle all of the noises just thinking of the man made him want to make.

Bellara stepped back, ready to leave Lucanis to his work since he wouldn't take her help, when she added, "I don't think anyone else in the world loves someone enough to separate eight eggs. I'll start planning my outfit for the wedding now. We'll get Manfred a little bow tie!"

Lucanis choked, and she was off like a hurricane, to find aforementioned cat.

*

Dinner could not have gone over better- the moment Emmrich had come home, he'd made his way to the kitchen already announcing how utterly fabulous everything smelled- and Lucanis had had to shoo him away, hands on the man's back and laughing because he knew if Emmrich so much as looked at him for more than ten seconds he was going to lose focus.

What Lucanis hadn't been fully braced for, was the way Emmrich looked at him when he said there was dessert, after dinner- and he presented the hazelnut torte. He'd brewed coffee as well- the rich Trevisan roast- and had offered it to Emmrich sweetened and heavy with cream.

"You've done too much," Emmrich said, as Lucanis set the cup down in front of him, leaning in close and enjoying the hint of the man's cologne. He shook his head, disagreeing, and Emmrich reached out, gently placed his hand on Lucanis's wrist, ringed fingers gripping him gently. "You have. You've no need to go through such lengths. Dinner, dessert-"

"It's nothing," Lucanis managed, his voice feeling a bit thick, catching in his throat. He couldn't tear his eyes away from where Emmrich was touching him, fingers to wrist. He wondered, if he were to shift his hand, bare the soft skin of his wrist before it became palm, would he feel his pulse?

Because it was racing.

"Oh it is absolutely something," Emmrich countered, as he pulled his hand back. Lucanis walked around the table then, offered Bellara the same coffee, who took it with a toothy smile and her thanks. He knew she had noticed the way he hesitated with Emmrich, the lingering stare at the brief connection of flesh.

Emmrich took a sip of his coffee as Lucanis settled down, and let out a contented sigh.

"You know, I must admit, I truly was not a fan of coffee before." He was holding the mug by its handle, his other hand wrapped around it, soaking in the warmth. Lucanis went for his own coffee, needing to keep his hands busy, feeling like he wanted to hide behind it. "Not since my younger years at least," he added, "those late nights hunched over papers…" He trailed off for a moment, and Lucanis saw this flash of almost regret, in his eyes.

It made him pause, mug to his lips.

Emmrich cleared his throat, seeming to put himself back on track. "Anyway- I have to say I think I'm developing a taste for it." He took another sip, and added, "I fear drinking it past dinner though. I'll be up all hours of the night."

Bellara turned her head sharply to Lucanis, staring at him, and he choked as he finally tried to take a sip. He set his mug down, covering his mouth with the back of his hand as he cleared his throat, wanting to kick the woman beneath the table. He knew what that look was insinuating.

And he hadn't- that wasn't-

It wasn't the point of the drink, it paired well with dessert!

Once dessert was done, he and Bellara took their coffee to the living room. As seemed to be the course when Lucanis cooked, Emmrich refused to allow him to clean up in anyway. And Lucanis had to admit, as he sat down on the couch with his coffee, it felt like a years old routine, already.

He couldn't reconcile that with the fact that he'd been in this man's house just over a week. Nor could he deny that it felt like he had been doing this for a lifetime.

Bellara sat on the couch next to him, eyeing the stack of books on the coffee table openly. She leaned forward, picking up one and grinning.

"Oh, I know this book! Emmrich used to lecture on this one all the time." Lucanis leaned into her space, realizing that book had been on the coffee table the entire time he'd been staying at Emmrich's. He wasn't sure if the man had gotten to delve into it much at all.

Somehow it seemed being around Emmrich had distracted him from the desire to have Spite pried from him.

Bellara left the book open on her lap and fished her phone out of her pocket. "Have you seen any of his lectures?" Lucanis gave a single shake of his head, and Bellara was already opening YouTube, searching his name. Lucanis was shocked to see the list that appeared- so many recordings of lectures past, of talks given at events. "Here, this one is my favorite where he discusses the merits of this text!"

Bellara clicked a video and- gods, that was Emmrich, wasn't it? Except years younger. The man speaking on the small screen had the same bone structure, but his hair was mostly dark, only a faint hint of gray. His face lacked so many of the charming lines it had now.

And he held himself slightly differently. Shoulders squared, pacing the area in front of the lecture hall with a confidence that seemed almost overpowering, yet didn't read as arrogance.

Lucanis swallowed thickly, his heart pounding in his temples. Emmrich's voice was much the same, coming from the phone- but Lucanis truly wasn't hearing a word he was saying. He was enraptured just watching him.

"He was the largest supporter of spirits being complex, and more than what we ever thought. That they could learn, grow, and change."

"Well, isn't this a trip down memory lane." Lucanis snapped his head up towards the voice. Emmrich had entered the living room, was watching the two, huddled over Bellara's phone. He had a fond yet sad look in his eyes.

"You said was," Lucanis managed, Bellara's words finally registering. His brain felt slow, his thoughts thick like sickly sweet syrup. Bellara stared at Lucanis, as if he should know this- and then Emmrich gave a sigh.

"That was a long time ago." He crossed the room, settled into an arm chair that was much too far away for Lucanis's liking. He wished Emmrich would squeeze onto the couch with he and Bellara, so their thighs would be forced to press together.

Bellara paused the video on her phone, locking it and setting it on her lap. "You still are," she pointed out, as Emmrich folded his hands carefully in his lap.

"I may be, but as I am considered disgraced by some of the younger life in academia, it does not amount to much." Lucanis frowned- he was confused. Emmrich was obviously an intelligent man, he had decades of teaching behind him- "You're confused, Lucanis."

He hated that he was that readable, to this man. Yet it felt right.

"I assumed you retired," he admitted. Emmrich laughed- one short burst of sound. It was bitter, but not at Lucanis.

"Trust me, no one actually retires from academia. Either you die in the field or you are pushed out by the latest discoveries- and it is up to you if you go with grace or not. I did not choose grace." Emmrich shifted, leaning forward a bit. "Lucanis, do you ever wonder why I refuse to call Spite a demon?"

He had always referred to Spite as a spirit, despite Lucanis using the term. "No," he admitted.

"It's because I don't truly believe demons exist." Emmrich stood up then, paced in front of his bookshelf. "What we know as demons are warped spirits, that have been compressed into the negative emotions we feel on our plane of existence. They are not created as something inherently bad, but become that." Emmrich paused, placed a hand on his bookshelf. "And I believe those spirits can be redeemed, can become what they once were. Their temperaments and dispositions may change, just as our own might. They're not so different from us."

Lucanis felt a warm buzzing, as Spite suddenly appeared, standing next to the couch, looking at Emmrich, enraptured. Manfred ran around the spirit and hopped onto the couch, climbing onto the book in Bellara's lap. She absentmindedly pet him as he settled.

"Spite, for example," Emmrich continued, and the demon perked up at his name. "You call him spite because that is what he embodies, currently. But I believe before he was forced into this union with you, he was something else. And that he can be calmed back into that state." Emmrich shifted, began to fiddle with one of his rings. He seemed confident yet nervous- confident in his beliefs, but…

Nervous, to lay them bare in front of Lucanis?

"There used to be many that agreed with me," Emmrich pointed out, "perhaps not to the extreme of soothing what we know as demons back to spirits, but at least those that agreed on the fact that what are considered demons started as something more and were warped, became a bastardization of what they once embodied. But..." he paused, fully spun one of his rings around his finger. "There was an influx in those that wanted to believe that demons were inherently negative, and had never once been spirits. A push for an extreme black and white view."

Bellara paused her petting of Manfred, glanced at Lucanis. "The Chantry of Light pushes this same idea- it's easier for people to believe in blacks and whites, and not the gray, muddy middle ground that is most likely true."

"Quite right. I do not ever wish to hold one's beliefs against them- but I must admit the push for the idea came from scholars who had firm beliefs in the Chantry." Emmrich cleared his throat. "Regardless, the academic opinion shifted. This area of focus was my passion, and what I had built my research and teachings on. I could have simply offered it as an alternative to the now more popular views, or I could have focused on a different area…"

Lucanis didn't need him to finish. "But you didn't."

Emmrich nodded, looking quite sad. "Correct. I stood firm that these opinions had no basis beyond theological beliefs, and because of it was pushed out of the academic circle. But," his eyes shifted, and for the countless time, Lucanis wondered how he could pinpoint where Spite was, without seeing him. "I still firmly believe in this conviction. Spirits are not inherently bad, and what we believe to be demons can be restored to their former selves."

Spite moved then, directly up to Emmrich. He pressed his spectral hands to Emmrich's chest, splayed his fingers, and leaned into his neck, looking to melt into the man.

You believe. In. Spite.

Emmrich smiled, reached up- cradled exactly where the back of the demon- no, no, the spirit's head was.

"I do indeed," he said softly. Lucanis felt his ribs caving in, poking into his heart, making everything ache. He swore he could feel something in Spite melting as well, breaking- despite the fact that he wasn't sunk into Lucanis's body.

"I agree with the professor," Bellara added, "I've spent years formulating a theory that elves can stem our history back to spirits, to the Fade itself. And if spirits can be inherently bad, doesn't that just mean that elves can be too?"

Lucanis was quiet. It would mean that- yet he couldn't believe it. He'd seen enough of the hate Teia had gotten regarding her heritage, and it had always put a sour taste in his mouth.

"Bellara isn't the first to theorize this," Emmrich added, "but she has spent a considerable amount of time more than others working on it."

"Emmrich's research and work supports my theories." Bellara smiled at the older man. "No matter what the current scholarly opinion is on spirits and demons, I know what I believe. And it's Emmrich's work."

Emmrich moved back to the chair, settling down. Spite followed quickly, perched on the arm rest- and Lucanis watched the spirit drape himself against Emmrich, seeming to refuse to leave the comfort of his warmth.

Gods did he understand. Spite was doing exactly as he wanted to, he had to admit. The spirit was living out his own desires.

Lucanis couldn't even be jealous- because Spite didn't seem like himself, like his name, in that moment. He just seemed like a being who got what he had been so determined for- acceptance.

*

Emmrich left later that evening to drive Bellara back to her hotel. It left Lucanis alone, in an empty house.

Alone with Spite.

The spirit was curled up in the seat Emmrich had taken, clinging to the ghost of his body heat. Lucanis stayed on the couch, feeling that if he were to walk over, he'd intrude, he'd desecrate the space somehow.

"What were you?" he asked, after long moments of silence. Spite leveled his amethyst stare at him. "Before you became… Spite. Before we were forced together."

Spite was quiet for a long moment- so long in fact that Lucanis began to believe the spirit simply wouldn't answer him. But after a long stretch, he admitted I don't know.

And then, after another pause.

I don't remember.

Lucanis nodded- it made sense that, if Spite was an embodiment of emotions, feelings, that whatever he had been before the trauma of being forced into Lucanis's body and soul, might well be forgotten.

But Spite was something. And if Emmrich was right, it meant he could be that again, and not just… a demon.

Lucanis sighed. And for the first time, he admitted, "It wasn't your fault." Spite lifted his head, and Lucanis forced himself to hold the spirit's stare. "You possessing me… it wasn't your fault. You didn't want it either." He took a deep, slow breath, before he added, "And there's nothing to forgive, but… I do. Forgive you."

Slowly, Spite rose from the chair, crossing the room. He bent over Lucanis, spectral hands cradling the Crow's face. Lucanis could feel that static in the air at the touch. He reached up, covered the hands with his own, and Spite openly shivered, offering a little smile. It was the first of its kind that Lucanis had ever seen on his face.

Not our fault. Venatori. Blame them.

Lucanis grinned. "That we absolutely agree on."

We find them. We kill them. We're free.

Lucanis let his hands fall from his own face, and Spite dragged his hands down along the curves of his neck to squeeze his shoulders. Again, the subtle static in the air made Lucanis almost shiver. "Is that what you consider freedom?" Spite was quiet, and Lucanis added, "Or is there more?"

Freedom means they do not hold us down. We are free. If we're unrestrained.

Lucanis sucked at his tongue. This didn't just feel like breaking the chains his abduction seemed to still have wrapped around him. It felt like an overarching canopy over his entire life.

Before he could ask more, he felt his phone vibrating in his pocket. He fished it out, saw Illario's name on the screen. He answered the call quickly, lifting his phone to his ear. "Illario, I was starting to think you'd gotten yourself killed."

He hadn't heard from his cousin since before he'd left for Nevarra.

Lucanis felt Spite sink into him, settling into the notches of his spine, the pockets in his soul that had been hollowed out for the spirit. And it felt… right. Almost comforting.

Illario ignored Lucanis's statement. "Cousin where are you?"

Lucanis frowned. "Caterina didn't tell you?"

There was a pause- a moment too long, before Illario responded. "You know our grandmother doesn't tell me much."

Still, why hadn't she told Illario that Lucanis at least wasn't returning? Had she simply acted as if Lucanis ceased to exist, and told no one where he was? After all, he'd been the one to update Viago and Teia. "I'm still in Nevarra," he admitted.

"Nevarra? Why in all the hells would you be there?"

Lucanis shifted on the couch. The night was exceptionally cold, and idly he hoped that Emmrich would return soon. He didn't want him out in the chill.

"Caterina doesn't believe it is… wise for me to return to Treviso at this moment." He rubbed his hand along his thigh. "Not while I'm still…" he didn't want to say an abomination. That felt wrong, vile in a way. Spite wasn't… Spite wasn't an infection or an illness. He was a sentient being.

He was just a part of Lucanis now.

Instead, Lucanis changed his thought. "She believes someone betrayed me, betrayed our house."

"Who would betray house Dellamorte?" Illario said it barely before Lucanis had finished, his voice rising a bit. "Cousin, what did she tell you?"

"That's the problem. She didn't tell me anything."

Illario scoffed at that. "She tells you everything, Lucanis."

"She does not-"

"She does. You're her successor, you're the next First Talon. She would not keep anything from you."

Lucanis frowned deeply. Inside him, he swore he could feel Spite churning in the pit of his stomach. The spirit didn't care for Illario, and was blatantly annoyed at the way he was speaking to Lucanis.

"Illario, listen to more than one word in ten for once. Caterina told me nothing." Illario made an annoyed noise, but didn't argue. "I'm in Nevarra, and I'm fine. That much I know, and that is all I can tell you."

"Fine." Lucanis heard the sound of a car, pulling into the driveway, and his heart leapt. Emmrich was back.

"Illario, I have to go."

"Be safe, cousin." The call ended and Lucanis set his phone on the coffee table, as the front door unlocked and opened. He heard Emmrich removing his shoes, before the man walked into the living room, was shedding his coat.

"Positively frigid out there," he said, draping the coat on the arm chair and rubbing his hands together. His already pale skin seemed translucent from the chill. He nodded towards Lucanis's phone, on the coffee table. "Did you take a call?" A nod. "One of your friends you've mentioned?

Lucanis had mentioned Viago and Teia a few times, to Emmrich. It had felt impossible to not open up about the good things, back in Treviso.

"My cousin." Lucanis stood up, transfixed by the way Emmrich's fingers moved against each other.

"Oh, splendid. You were concerned about not hearing from him, if I remember correctly. What was his name?"

"Illario."

"Illario, yes. Apologies for my lapse in memory." Lucanis said nothing to that, felt a strange gnawing in his belly. He didn't like hearing Emmrich say Illario's name- for the sheer, asinine reason that right now, he only wanted to hear his name.

It was ridiculous, and yet he couldn't even care.

He took the few steps to Emmrich, before he reached out, very carefully took both of the man's hands in his own. They were indeed cold, but he knew how warm they could be, the memories of them sliding along his jaw, angling it so Emmrich could examine blood on his face.

Lucanis didn't want to bleed for the touch.

He rubbed his thumbs over Emmrich's metacarpals, felt the delicate bone beneath his skin, then over his knuckles. Emmrich studied him as he did so, those eyes that seemed all seeing, all knowing, all consuming.

Inside him, Spite was restless, was clawing inside his bones for Emmrich, wanting to be closer, closer- but not trying to overpower Lucanis. Simply encouraging, as if the spirit wanted him to take this last step on his own.

Lucanis laced their fingers together, pressed his palms to Emmrich's, lifted their hands enough that he could glance at them. They fit so well together, as if Emmrich found the absences within him and filled them to bursting. Like the man found the holes Lucanis hadn't known he'd even had.

"Lucanis," Emmrich said, so softly it was a whisper, a breath, and it was exactly what the Crow wanted to hear. He stepped even closer, head inclined slightly, eyes flicking to Emmrich's lips, before dragging back up.

"Don't make me ask," he managed, his voice thick, sticking in his throat. "Emmrich, just…" Lucanis didn't have the words, didn't think he could make himself speak them, even if he did.

So he did the only thing he could do. The exact thing he should have done countless times before.

Lucanis closed the gap himself and kissed Emmrich.

It was barely a brush, the faintest of caresses, but it had Lucanis feeling dizzy. He leaned back, slightly, so his breath was warm against Emmrich's mouth, and the man released his hands, reached up and cupped Lucanis's face gently, pulling him back in for a true, proper kiss.

Lucanis exhaled, against the glide of Emmrich's lips, let the man deepen the kiss, tilt Lucanis's head more. Lucanis felt the gentle brush of Emmrich's tongue, to his lips, and he felt himself dissolve. He reached up, grasped tightly at the man's arms, mouth opening for him, feeling a tremble rush down his spine.

Inside him, Spite was very nearly purring with delight, sharing in each second of sensation.

Emmrich tasted sweet, like the sugar in the hazelnut torte, and Lucanis just wanted more. He pressed his tongue against Emmrich's, made a little noise over the feeling, before Emmrich was pulling back.

Lucanis tried to chase him, but Emmrich held his face firm. "Lucanis," he said, voice a bit rough, hoarse, "you need to breathe."

He hadn't been, had he? Lucanis realized the room was spinning and he inhaled deeply, which caused Emmrich to smile. At him. Directly at him.

To be the cause of that smile could make him forget to breathe all over again.

Emmrich's thumbs stroked his cheeks, his eyes dancing with the light of the room, seeming to encase the faint, murky stars outside in the night sky within them. They were beautiful.

He said as much, without thinking. Emmrich chuckled at him, before he leaned in, pressed a gentle kiss to his forehead. "My boy," he whispered, "you could make a man forget time exists."

Emmrich slid his hands from Lucanis's cheeks to his shoulders, before his arms wound around him and he pulled him in. Lucanis fit perfectly with his head beneath Emmrich's chin, pressed into him, inhaling his cologne in the same way he'd seen Spite do, countless times.

He got his arms around Emmrich, clutched at the back of his sweater. Inside him there was a jarring tranquil, a peace he hadn't known before.

Spite, completely calm, content to hold and be held, within Lucanis, by Emmrich. The two of them in a perfect equilibrium, for a moment.

Emmrich lifted his chin, kissed Lucanis's hair, before one of his hands slid up, along the back of his neck, before it began to card through his hair. "Is this alright?" he asked, and Lucanis nodded. He tipped his face up, pressed his mouth to Emmrich's neck, kissed his pulse point and enjoyed that his skin was already warming. He flicked his tongue against his skin, felt his heartbeat against the muscle, and shivered himself, as Emmrich tangled his fingers in Lucanis's hair, tightening his hold. He had the urge to drag his teeth against that pulse, wanted to know what sort of sounds Emmrich would make, for him.

His skin felt too tight over his body. Gods he just wanted to live in the marrow of Emmrich's bones.

"Lucanis," the older man managed, voice steadier now. "Can I take you to bed?"

Lucanis choked, his body lighting up, synapses firing and making everything burn inside him. He went rigid, and Emmrich was quick to add,

"Oh hells, that did not come out right. I just meant…" He pulled back, forced Lucanis to straighten, to look at him, "It's cold, and… perhaps you'd like to share my bed tonight. I'd very much like to hold you longer…"

Lucanis nodded, didn't think he had words. But the nod was enough- Emmrich smiled at him, kissed his cheek tenderly, before he took his hand, fingers entwining.

"Come then. It is quite late…"

Lucanis followed Emmrich up the stairs, pulled from his hand only to continue down to the guest room he was staying in to change. By the time he was back in Emmrich's doorway, the man was turning down the covers, stripped of his finer clothing and in a dark button down set.

He was adorable. Lucanis wanted to lift him up in that very moment and simply hold onto him.

Emmrich beckoned Lucanis in with a gently come here motion of his fingers, and the younger man listened, walking around the bed and pulling the heavy blankets back further. He crawled in as Emmrich moved to flip off the light, the room flooding in a calming darkness.

The bed felt like it barely dipped under Emmrich's slight weight, as he climbed back in. In the dark Lucanis could just make out his outline, and he reached for it, got a hand on Emmrich's chest. He splayed it there, and Emmrich reached up, covered it with his own, pressing firmly.

Lucanis slid across the bed, closer, until Emmrich released his hand, slid his arm over him. Lucanis tipped his head back, and Emmrich kissed his chin, had the Crow breathing a laugh, before the man's lips found his own. This time, not reeling into oblivion, Lucanis was able to notice just as soft Emmrich's lips were, how easily he could direct Lucanis's mouth to move.

He followed- it felt like instinct, like second nature. Emmrich pushed his lips open wider and he obeyed- Emmrich tipped his head and Lucanis followed. He grasped at the soft fabric of Emmrich's shirt, wanting him closer, as Emmrich's tongue traced the seam of his mouth.

Lucanis groaned, low in his throat, in his gut, before he held onto Emmrich and rolled them over, pinning himself beneath the spindly man. Emmrich followed the motion with grace, laid along Lucanis and got their hands tangled together, lifting them up and pushing them into the pillows, holding them by Lucanis's head.

Lucanis whimpered, a broken, needy noise he had forgotten he could even make. And Emmrich, oh, he smiled into the kiss, nipped at Lucanis's lower lip playfully. "You put me here," he whispered, and Lucanis fought the urge to buck his hips up. Despite the position, Emmrich seemed content to just kiss him-

And Lucanis thought his mind might need that, to adjust to the fact that this was real. And he'd never…

A kiss. For Spite?

Emmrich arched a brow, as Lucanis realized the spirit was tugging gently at his psyche, not demanding control but asking.

"Lucanis?" Emmrich asked, and Lucanis swallowed, nodded.

"It's alright." For a moment, he couldn't fathom denying Spite the request.

The switch was different, because Lucanis was conscious, present. When Spite took over while he slept, he'd come to without memory of what happened. Here, he just felt himself sink into his body, become a bystander, watching through his own eyes as Spite stared up at Emmrich, lifted his head and eagerly pressed his mouth to the man's.

Emmrich tightened his hold on their hands, and Lucanis could feel it, even if he didn't make his body react. And he could feel Spite's joy, over the touch. The spirit was arching slightly in his body, pressing to every curve and crevice of Emmrich's own. It became blurry, where Lucanis's body ended and Emmrich's even began.

The kiss broke, Emmrich panting slightly, and Spite lifted his head, pressed his mouth to Emmrich's neck, eagerly kissed and licked at his pulse, dragging his canines against the tender skin.

Lucanis could taste the man's skin, felt Spite groan deep in his chest over it.

"Mine," Spite whispered, "ours." He pressed his teeth firmly to Emmrich's skin, bit as if he meant to hold but not damage. Emmrich shuddered against him, pressed Spite's hands harder into the pillows.

The moment Spite pulled back, his head falling back to the pillows, Lucanis felt himself jolted back into his body. He stared up at Emmrich, the man looking down at him with eyes going dark, going needy. Yet when he moved, it was to kiss Lucanis gently.

It was a new sort of agony, to have Emmrich move off of him. But Lucanis gladly accepted being pulled back into his arms, tucking into his chest. The cold of the night was completely forgotten, as Lucanis felt Emmrich's body heat spilling into his own. Deep inside him, Spite was pleased, little noises that ricocheted in Lucanis's mind like a purr letting him know the spirit was happy.

Lucanis shut his eyes against the dark, as Emmrich kissed his temple. "Good night Lucanis," the man whispered, "and Spite."

Lucanis smiled, and in a mingling of voices between himself and Spite, offered, "Goodnight Emmrich."

[niuttuc]

I bequath upon ye mine gal. The goal is to use her ability on a spite damage creature like brash taunter, with a damage multiplier like city on fire in play to one-shot opponents

Ah yes, indigestion as a deck strategy. Mmmmh.

The first suggestion to take a look at depends on how important the fact the damage is done by Asmoranomardicadaistinaculdacar activating her ability. I'll start with a new thing you probably noticed, but also include two older things.

The Ride is a source of damage for your spiteful creatures AND a damage doubler all rolled in one, assuming your deck can enable Delirium fairly well (shouldn't be too hard if you already have discard to be able to cast Asmoranomardicadaistinaculdacar and the Cookbook too.)

Those are just X removals, though they have some more text, the important part is that they come pre-doubled, adding a layer of damage multiplication before you even start!

The next one is more specific to the exact situation your deck aims to engineer, and a bit more niche!

While there are no lessons in commander, Learning still allows you to rummage... Which discards a card and allows you to cast Asmoranomardicadaistinaculdacar. On its own that's pretty meh, but the card is also very useful once on the battlefield, granting lifelink to any of your spite creatures. This causes you to not only gain life when they hit people, but since Asmoranomardicadaistinaculdacar makes them hit themselves, you also gain life for that. A simple activation on a spite creature gains you 12 life, and with a simple damage doubler you immediately go up to 36 life.

While I'll generally assume you know your spite creatures better than me when making this deck, I'll single one of them out because she was easy to miss and a bit misleading...

Donna Noble not only can turn any regular creature into another spite creature (perfect if you initialize with a damage board wipe or similar), but also can keep making more to shoot one at a time as they die, acting a bit like one of the indestructible ones.

Something else that's important about her, is that unlike every other Soulbond creatures, Donna doesn't rely on being soulbonded to have her ability herself. You can just have her out alone and she won't be a vanilla creature. This is very easy to miss given that literally every soulbond creature except for her doesn't do that.

[shivunin]

tysm for the codex list, I'm in love with it <3 if you'd like some for Lenore, perhaps #9: Rook’s shopping list?

Yayy, I'm so glad you enjoy it! It was fun to put together c: Just for you, here is some Lenore/Lucanis fluff.

(And big shout-out to @greypetrel for helping me pick a recipe!!)

(Codex Prompts)

A Shopping List

(Rook Ingellvar/Lucanis) | 314 Words | Fluff | Minor plot spoilers)

A page torn from a notebook. One side looks to be a set of directions to Antiva’s market district, its writing neat and angled. The other is a list written in a different, cramped hand. Many of the items have been crossed off, with addendums and further notes crowding the margins: 

Check recipe quantities!!

Onions, parsley, garlic (lots), lemon, tomato- vendor in corner of marketplace. The nice one 

Mussels, shrimp, scallops, etc. from fish merchant. Per Teia, tell her it’s for risotto in case she has other suggestions. (Ask if they have fish stock. Otherwise, will have to make own. See second list for stock directions) 

White wine—ask for something dry, not sweet if unsure (maybe ask what pairs with meal?? Does he drink wine?? Viago said this like joke. Do Antivans not pair with wine or is the joke that they always pair with wine so I shouldn’t need to ask? Merchant will know.) 

Parmesan (tell merchant Teia sent me. Diff grades of parmesan or for different purposes? How to tell the difference? Must ask later)

Rice (important!!! Not the long grain kind!!!)

Gift— another wyvern dagger     better set of sharpening tools    flowers   rug for his room  lock of hair (BAD. Too early for this!! Likely not Antivan custom!!) Playing cards for Spite and fancy coffee for L (make merchant taste blend per Viago. Probably a poison thing. Not sure if paranoia or Teia bullied him into helping)

“Something nice for the table”. Not sure what this means. Tablecloth? Flowers? Better cutlery? Bad to look through someone’s window to see what theirs looks like? Probably. Will use skylight

Check with book merchant. Books on Antivan courting customs. Or cookbooks. Or just a book in general. Please. 

Two notes follow, one hand matching that on the map, the other written in a fine, slanting hand:

Isn’t she adorable? You owe me five gold.

Do not start with me, Teia. You haven’t won yet.

[mariacallous]

When it comes to Jewish food personalities, there is no one quite like Ina Garten. Her non-fussy approach to entertaining and heart-warming self-deprecating sense of humor has enabled her to sell millions of cookbooks, host award-winning cooking shows and garnered her a rabid multigenerational following. During the pandemic, she won even more hearts with viral videos, especially her DIY recipe for a cosmopolitan. Even mega-celebrities such as Taylor Swift seem starstruck when they meet her.

In spite of her growing fame, wealth and critical accolades, Ina Garten still seems remarkably approachable. And a very important part of her charm, I would argue, is her maternal Jewish vibe.  Hence it comes as no surprise that Garten’s long-awaited memoir, “Be Ready When The Luck Happens,” which chronicles her journey from disgruntled federal government employee to fancy food purveyor and caterer to celebrity chef is peppered with Jewish food moments. Here are my favorites:

[tsukikonikushimi]

Avatar the Official Cookbook of Pandora M.B. Recipe N°9: ZINGY FLASH-FRIED SHRIMP

I would like to apologise for the . . . . . . . . 1 month absence from posting, had a couple of exams and assignments I could't skip and my uni professor is being a little bit of a pain, anyways here is the new recipe! Enjoy, read it and cook it and feel free to send me the picture! (a couple of you did and they looked absolutely delightful)

Message for Zara🦋

[ Zara🦋 ] if you see this: stop spamming my inbox, you've sent me 59 messages to post the new recipe in less than a month and now it's done. The more messages in my inbox from you in particular, the more time I will take to update out of pure spite. I'm gonna stop allowing anonymous messages to my blog just because of you if you keep this up and then when you send the first message I'm gonna block you.

-> 1 message = 1 more day without recipe

⚠️⚠️ I don't know when I will be able to post again! ⚠️⚠️ (Blame assignements and Zara🦋)

The winner from last poll was the ZINGY FLASH-FRIED SHRIMP's recipe.

This is the link with the masterlist of recipes (under the "keep reading" line): Here

OO = Omatikaya Offerings / RDAR = RDA Rations / MB = Metkayina Bounty / CF = Clan Feasts

ZINGY FLASH-FRIED SHRIMP

Little algae

[itgirlgyu]

CUPID'S QUERIES. stray kids, hyung line.

synopsis, what would you answer if cupid asked you what love was?

pairing : librarian! reader x chan, lee know x reader, dance teacher! reader x changbin, and single mom! reader x hyunjin.

genre: fluff. warning: none. wc: 3k+

cupid queries innocently, "WHAT IS LOVE?"

"spending time together." the answer died down in chan's answer when you scoured him with doubt from top to bottom, investigating the means of his arrival on your own despite already asking the question.

"to read a book," chan spun around with a pseud fascination added to his honeyd tone, with an awkward turn of his heel, and finally walking back to your desk where you were supposed to volunteer for four more hours for the day.

you quirked up an accusatory eyebrow.

"ive never even seen you pick up a book."

"im still a student you know-"

"what is your deal," you rested your elbows on the wooden desk, your eyes narrowed with suspicion, drawing your upper body towards the accused, "mr. bang?"

chan remained silent but instead his dimples made the ruling statement, allowing you to freely decide that he had indeed come with no good intentions; and certainly not to read.

"I honestly came here to read!" chan exclaimed, his whiny tone gradually calming down as you widened his eyes notifying him about the establishment you both were standing in. chan glanced all over him to see if anyone had been glaring at him, and only continued after shooting an apologetic smile at the elderly man going through a magazine.

chan placed his palm on the table and leaned forward—his face coming too closer to yours before you leaned away, "i came here to read-"

chan eyes had been desperately looking around for concrete reasoning knowing your tendency to question everything and kept his eyes on the kiosk beside the desk showcasing all the books that had been launched that week. so whilst chan was battling you in the war of reticent lashes, he extended his hand and grabbed a book from there and placed it before his eyes.

"a cook book?" you dead panned. bang chan moved his head to nod before he processed what you had just said—turning the book around to see a friendly looking woman in a chef's hat posing with a spatula on the cover —before meeting your eyes again. you were struggling to keep your quivering lips in check, as it begged to curl upwards in a hearty grin catching your best friend in the act. chan looked like a deer caught in the headlights. his head staggering in a broken up and down motion as he tried to come up with a credible excuse in spite of the fact that bang chan absolutely detested cooking.

"ye-yes!"

"really?" you questioned. the melodious lull meticulously morphing into a trap that you intended to set out to catch him in his web of lies, "what are you trying to make?"

chan's pupils widened for a minuscule moment before blinking a few times to get a hold of his composure and opened up the book with a confident flip of his fingers, acting as though he is well aware of the dish that he wanted to show you despite his sparkly eyes flitted around to avoid your accusatory gaze.

you placed your chin on the end of your palm—minutes melting away, and the agitation in chan's actions gradually making it's unwanted vacillation known, before admitting his defeat and holding up a random page out of the cookbook to you.

it was your turn to widen your eyes as your eyes raked through the page with the image printed in front of it. narrowed gaze scanning top to bottom once more before you cocked your eyes to look at chan.

"a carrot cake?"

"a carrot cake?" you inquired, closing the cooking book. your eyebrows bunched together in confusion as you raised your chin to look over minho's shoulder to assess the ingredients once more.

flour, milk, eggs, grated carrot—your boyfriend truly is preparing to bake a carrot cake but the question still hangs in the air with the air of mystification. as far as you knew your lover, he had not been fond of carrots—you had asked that sheepishly on your third "date" considering he resembled a rabbit out of puerile curiosity, and for the first time you had seen him crack a laugh that wasn't stained in scorn— and baking? he had no interest in baking either as far as you had gotten to know him.

minho hummed as he mixed in the dry ingredients with deft hands. the sleeves proficiently rolled upwards for an easier work experience but to you it served another purpose; something you would not admit to minho even if he tried to threaten it out of you. treacherous eyes taking in the way his veins moved in its own rhythm displaying a rather different, and vivid form of entertainment for you. you certainly weren't complaining about this new found hobby of your boyfriend anytime soon if this is the kind of show you were promised to get each time.

"didn't know my hands could feel so naked." minho sighed, with a hint of teasing tucked away in his playful sing-song tone. you fumbled backwards, not expecting him to comment so bravely about your lewd gaze and his laugh started booming through the expanse of your kitchen.

"i was not staring at your hands." you lied with certainty in your voice—one octave higher than your normal pitch, as you busied yourself by opening the fridge and sticking your head in it to feign some work. it worked great for hiding your face in shame, as well as tending to the redness from the embarrassment of being caught red handed.

"sure babe," you turned around with a bottle of water in hand to swing at him with the makeshift weapon in your hand but calmed yourself down and walked in front of him to face him over the counter.

"why are you making the carrot cake?" you questioned once again. cheeks puffed out, and your pupils followed every little fluttery movement of the man in front of you as he paid no attention to you—immersed in the meticulous art of baking. you stood patiently, knowing he'd reply to you once he has done whatever he has in his hands, which was cracking four eggs in a separate bowl with no egg shells—a very attention demanding task indeed.

minho's honey brown eyes at last gazed upon you, and a smile melted on his supple lips at the appearance of your disheveled naivety, a strange feeling bit into his heart as he looked at you with nothing but adoration swimming in his eyes.

"because i love you."

"hm?" you scrunched up your nose, and tilted your head waiting for him to finish his reasoning, "and i want you to live long."

minho held up the grated carrot cake to your height, "i know how much you love cake—but eating them daily is not that healthy from what i've heard." with his eyes rolled back in fake annoyance and his hands fanning away from his face as if that is just the news of the gossip mill.

"but we can't take a chance now can we?" he asked. your vision was already hindered from the way the apple of your cheeks rose up and you shook your head—agreeing with him.

minho's face lit up in a hundred bulbs of light when he saw your answer and raised his hand for you high five," and that's why we give carrots a chance!" you shook your head vehemently, agreeing with him once more, even though the idea of carrot cake was not that pleasant to you. but your heart was soaring high at the gesture of your boyfriend, and you felt the love meter you had set up for him ringing higher and higher until it bursted you and couldn't stop yourself from lunging at him over the counter top.

minho's pretty laughter filled your ears as he attempted to scare you away with the spatula with the cake batter on it, but you persisted, and even tried to climb on top of the counter. minho closed his eyes as he tried to stop himself from guffawing at your lame attempts of climbing on top and potentially breaking almost all of the ingredients set up on the table.

"you can't scare me away!" you announced gleefully.

"you can't scare me away!" changbin exclaimed, with chest pushed out to appear visually larger than he was. a quick survival he had learned from his adolescence of watching the animal tv but stepped back soon enough when he noticed your nose flaring—a tried, and tested indication of your simmering rage.

you rolled your eyes and stopped pressing the pause button on the remote, halting the steady stream of tango music coming from the blaring speakers set up around your studio—which you had opened up for changbin on one of your off days.

"no one is trying to scare you off!" you chided the younger man—your eyes boring into his agitated ones as you stepped closer in an attempt to make him feel more comfortable rather than scaring him away, " i know this is new territory for you, and i'm sure you really want to win this competition!"

'which is a long shot,' but you bit your tongue on it whilst softening up your gaze even more to relay sympathy to the man before you who—for a better lack of words—was a noob in the field of tango.

" i just want to win," changbin sighed while walking backwards and sliding downwards on the wall. you purse your lips and nodded; a part of you was amazed that he still decided to use the word "win" after the amazing week of class you had done with him, but perhaps you could learn to enjoy an optimistic viewpoint of life from changbin.

"let's unpack that first—" you began, slumping yourself down next to the dejected boy. perhaps a bit too close for him considering he had started to squirm the moment when your warmth radiated onto him, "why do you want to enter this competition? you don't look like you're awfully in love with this dance form either."

changbin winced at the honesty in your tone; if there was something he had successfully gotten into his head from spending three hours with you for a week straight—it had been the fact you were honest to a fault, along with the tell tales of him pushing you a tad bit further than usual. honing a saccharine smile on your face, you wielded the sharp arrow of candor. also the fact you were an apteral angel, with grace spinning from your fingertips to the sole of your feet as you pranced around the building with an agility he had not been able to wrap around his brain yet.

perhaps changbin should adopt the virtue of honesty from you, but the rapid beating of his heart convinced him otherwise. how could he tell you were the reason for him fumbling around the dance floor like a ridiculous freak unable to concentrate on a single move? how could he communicate? the only reason he had decided to even participate in this little competition was because you had handed him the flier with your billion watt smile on a busy subway, and before you knew he was signing up for the class under your tutelage. now if he had thought about it, it was a pretty feasible scam.

changbin scratched his head, coming back to the reality he was forced to participate in the reality he very wanted to escape from, "i just want to try something new?"

it was a lie, he wanted you to notice him.

you sat up in a squatting position, head lolling the side with your palm rested on your cheek. eyes narrowed as you tried to find any semblance of honesty in his sentence, obliviously becoming the cause for changbin's body to heat up like an overworked engine.

"you have some other motive don't you?" you sharply pointed out. there was no malice hidden behind your somber words—not even a drop of disgust. changbin's eyes widened in surprise as his brain scrambled, then short circuited before ultimately diffused in a pathetic attempt to save himself some face before she spilled all the beans of his borderline stalker-ish behavior; although he does not really know if he was fully at fault since you had handed him flier and ardently told him to check the studio out if he had the time.

"i-" changbin stammered.

"i-" hyunjin was befuddled.

standing before him was a man about three inches tall and the brightest, biggest brown eyes he had seen and a little frown etched on his wet, pink lips—a toddler. an adorable little boy who peered at him with his hopeful eyes as if they were hesitating him to ask something very, very important.

"um-" hyunjin shook his head to clear his head and stopped his brain from melting in the presence of a child and jumping into overwhelming conclusions, "are you looking for something?" he questioned.

the little boy nodded slightly. the jutted bottom lip shook ever so slightly as he opened his mouth to answer hyunjin to instinctively lean downwards to hear him better.

"have you seen my mommy?" the kid's voice was soft—mangled into a timber that altered hyunjin so that he could break into a fit of tears anytime soon, along with a heartbreaking pang of fear in his tiny little heart. hyunjin shot back up—the swift movement allowing his bones to pop in revolting manner—snapping his neck from the left to right to catch a glimpse of any disheveled woman around him.

it was a big park and hyunjin had been hanging around the lake when the toddler approached him with hyunjin's biggest fear—well one of them.

"do you know where you came from?" hyunjin asked gently.

the toddler nodded and pointed at a vague distance littered with a few couples having a picnic. there were now some stray tears in the boy's doe eyes, and plump cheeks that had started to redden within moments as the fear began to fester on his little body urging hyunjin to sooth the boy.

"its okay," hyunjin ran his thumb across his chubby cheek now freckled with small pearl, ans wiping them away making hyunjin's heart coo at the pitiful image, "we will find your mommy."

the boy sniffled and jutted his trembling chin upward, as though to look at him up and down brooding whether he should trust the words of the lanky stranger, and finally spoke with soft, slurred words, "you promise?"

with one of his cheeks raised, and a warm smile painted across his lips, hyunjin gives the a bit a hearty nod to appeal his determination, "your mom must be looking for you crazily come let's find her!" he announced excitedly, throwing his open palm for the kid to put his hands on his.

"how does your mom look?"

"pretty." the kid sniffled.

"ah—of course your mom is pretty," hyunjin closed his mouth, nodding to himself, keeping his eyes out to look at any woman looking for someone. of course that's the kind of answer he would be getting from a child of that age, it was honestly on him to even ask those type of questions, thus he decided to take a different approach, "what's the color of the dress she was wearing?"

"orange."

"orange is easy to spot." hyunjin muttered underneath his breath. squinted eyes underneath the harsh sun rays, shielded by a makeshift shade with his free palm, "what's your name?"

"jaewon," hyunjin took small steps while craning his neck all around the park, looking for the woman in orange, "jaewon's mom?!" his voice cracked.

some heads did turn towards him but no one really had a very visceral reaction at the war call—albeit it didn't sound that loud.. hyunjin should have warmed up before yelling, but jaewon yelling for his mom was working wonders to boost his morale and increasing the determination to find the kid's mother.

"JAEWON'S MOTHER!!!"

"JAEWON?!"

hyunjin couldn't tell whether it was a piece of a sun that had broken off and was now chasing him, or the all his misdeeds metamorphosing into fireball and coming to annihilate him, but before he could even register what had happened, jaewon was whisked into the arms of a woman wearing orange clothes—which has to be his mom—now fallen on the ground squeezing the small mass of the toddler into her embrace. a wave of relief washed over hyunjins chest as he watched the reunion between mother and son, although he was yet to catch a glimpse of the woman, for some intractable reason he really wanted to take a look at her.

strands of summery brown webbing on her arms, the sweat acting as evidence of the frenzy the woman had gone through for the little while her son was away from her—hyunjin's stomach sunk once again as noticed the woman shaking slightly, now cradling her crying child in her arms before picking him and finally looking at hyunjin.

hyunjin's pupil dilated once he drank in the appearance of the woman before him—a foreboding etching of something forbidden concocting at the pit of his stomach as he stood there, as did the time. the sweltering summer breeze freezing over bestowing him with a few more moments to gaze upon the most beautiful woman he had seen.

jaewon's statement remained correct.

"thank you so much for taking care of him and helping him find me, I really don't know how I can show my gratitude." you were huffing, the sweat dripping from the seraphic space between your eyebrows to the gentle slope of your nose—tinged slightly rosy.

hyunjin snapped out of his daze, shaking his head immediately to ease you," its okay, im just glad that we found you soon enough!"

"you should hurry, your husband must be panicking as well." hyunjin added. he wasn't sure why he felt the need to mention her husband, perhaps he was hoping she'd deny the fact that she was married.

"oh it's fine i don't have a husband,"

"oh…" hyunjin's reaction was instant. the cheshire cat grin that struggled not to draw itself on his lips and across his cheeks in case he scared you off, but oh my god what a struggle it was, especially when the dark clouds that had began to menacingly circle around his head had been conquered by the bright sun smiling on top of his head. a few dozen flowers blossomed in the garden he had been tending to in his heart, attracting butterflies of so many shades.

"i am so sorry for assuming."

© ITGIRLGYU 2023, feedbacks, and reblogs are always appreciated! PERM. TAGLIST: @impureperhaps @wonioml @forever-in-the-sky2 @1921choi @ox1-lovesick @minhosdaydreamer

[lost-technology]

So, lads, lassies and laird's, I've been watching the Fallout TV series. I'm about halfway through it. The Fallout series are video games that I like a lot - I haven't played them all, but I'm enough of a fan that I've legit made FOOD from The Official Vault-Dweller's Cookbook gifted to me by my late nephew (I was drinking homemade Nuka-Cola yesterday). The super-fans are going to wank and whine about the lore-details, but I take it as its own entry and am enjoying it so far (even though I miss the NCR). I'm actually SURPRISED that a live-action show based on video games is as good as it is. (They usually suck, this is pretty good...) Anyway, just what does this have to do with Trigun (other than both things taking place in post-apocalyptic desert settings)? Well, there is the 200+ year old guy (ghoul) with the long shot up duster which I addressed on this blog before as "Perfect wardrobe - if anyone makes a live action Trigun, pay attention to this). Cooper isn't quite the "Vash" here, though... his morals are more... Wolfwood? Left of Wolfwood? He's actually an excellent study in broken morals as he used to be a very decent guy in his pre-war life... No... it's how main character Lucy is giving me some inspiration. Lucy is the Vault-Dweller. She comes from a sealed underground Vault that her ancestors fled into to escape the bombs. The Vaults, however, were never meant to save anyone. Lucy's Vault currently has a population-problem (everyone's getting incesty), it's connected to two other Vaults and there's a trade-thing going on, including for breeding, but there's definitely something weirder going on that the series is unfolding... And everyone in her Vault is super-idealistic. They're all peaceful people who live by peaceful ways and they have an agriculture-area (NOT AT ALL unlike the Geoplant-room / recreation room of a SEEDS ship!) that is set up to simulate Nebraska. So when Lucy goes out into the outside world in her quest to find her kidnapped father (is stuff that happens in episode 1 really a spoiler???) she's just very... trying to do things peacefully and with good morals in this... wrecked and horrible world. She cites The Golden Rule a lot. But then... she gets quickly and progressively "grittified." She has to do some awful things to survive and carry out her quest, although she actually sticks to her moral code. (So far, I've only seen her directly kill once, in self-defence, and it is arguable that the subject was in the realm of not-human-anymore and death-was-a-mercy) and she was shocked by it. And immediately after, she did a kindness to someone who betrayed her simply because she decided that she was not going to let the world change her. "I will never become you." Reminded me of Vash a bit - Born in a sealed metal spaceship with artificial environs, not unlike a Vault (save that SEEDS was actually meant to save Humanity, not experiment on it, not that...um...experiments didn't happen *tugs collar*). The SEEDS folk that we meet (Rem, Luida, Brad) seem to come from an optimistic, idealistic perspective in contrast to the survival-world of the desert planet. Instead of a world to colonise / recolonise according to a peaceful plan sold to their ancestors, it's a dog-eat-dog nasty world where murder is common. And yet, Vash sticks to his guns and keeps to ideals and doesn't let him change him for the worse by his own hard-won decision, in spite of absolutely everything. This, of course, also has me thinking of my WIP fanfic in which Rem survives and what I was doing in direction in that with her and continued survival having to face a post-Fall world and no longer being a pedestal-figure for Vash, but having to be a real person and surprising him and gaining grit (in a strictly in-character way). So, of course the story of this TV series, being what it is, is jogging my brain.

[yupuffin]

I miss my Genshin Impact hyperfixation

I got excited at work today because a bit in the conversation we were having made me bring up Cyno's description of tahchin, which is pretty niche knowledge that I haven't thought of in a while. And then I thought about how I used to make Genshin-inspired food a lot and now I basically haven't used the Genshin Impact cookbook since I bought it last year

I mean, I made a whole entire 24-page zine/book of my art of my main team of four that I still have a few copies of, which for me was a proud achievement (it came out looking really cool, and I did it partially out of spite since I'd been consecutively rejected from all 35+ of the zines I'd applied to in the preceding ~7 years)

It's not that I don't still love the characters, but I definitely don't feel the same way about them that I used to. Like I just plain didn't feel motivated to do the new interlude quest even though it involved Albedo and was a callback to Shadows Amidst Snowstorms which was probably still my favorite limited event they've ever done in that game

When I played a little bit recently to do the event with Ororon, the returning player survey asked me what about my game experience was different than last time I played and... there was nothing different about the game itself, honestly, just that I don't get the same enjoyment from it that I used to

Obviously it's not like I don't have things that make me happy now, and it's probably more prudent to derive enjoyment from more than one central thing in any case, but I kind of miss Genshin being the one main thing I was passionate about to the point of my life lowkey revolving around it 🤣

All good things must come to an end, I suppose.

[andiv3r]

Posts that are important to remember;

Transmasc lesbians

Wash Clothes (1)

Wash Clothes (2)

Spite Cookbook

Eat Your Veggies

Doctor Who Has "Gone Woke"???

Better Google

Library

I don't exist

Art (Wrist Issues Save)

Gender I Was Called To Be

Minecraft Mob Removal

Trans Lifeline

Intersex

Migraines

I meant yiu're fat

Executive dysfunction

Bodies