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#Sage Duck
conundrumsarepuzzles · 2 months
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Baby boy turned 1 yesterday 🥰🧁🐶♥️✨
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ghostlysage · 10 months
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i am a woman of many fandoms 🤭
for today we have: old puppet show i really liked and i can finally DRAW THEM, gay people… (@/a-cryptid-called-magetha gave the nme salesman the name jin and the rest is history 💗), and then an old show i need to rewatch because the characters slap and kitty is so gnc (MERCHIN IS THE BEST, FIGHT ME)
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lulubeanie · 4 months
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I love to develop my ocs stories when it is the night time and I'm trying to go to sleep
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duckprintspress · 11 months
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“Aim For The Heart” Creator Spotlight: Sage Mooreland
Happy Monday, everyone! We at Duck Prints Press (the fan-writer run indie Press that publishes the original work of fan creators!) celebrating coming off the first weekend of our stellar Kickstarter launch for Aim For The Heart: Queer Fanworks Inspired by Alexandre Dumas’s “The Three Musketeers” – 68% funded in four days! There’s a lot of campaign to go, though – we’re running through July 15th, 2023, and not only are we expecting to hit our initial goal of $8,000, we’re optimistic that, with your help (by backing, by signal boosting, by telling your friends about the campaign, etc.), we might even reach our first stretch goal of $12,000!
Every day between now and the end of the campaign, we’ll be focusing on another contributor. Today, let’s met author Sage Mooreland!
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Glass Hearts by Sage Mooreland
About the Author: Sage Mooreland (they/them) is a city-dwelling gremlin from Chicago. They are embarking on the adventure that is their 40s equipped with three amazing partners, one very ridiculous eighteen-year-old biological offspring, and a fleet of teenagers and twentysomethings that adopted them through work over the last several years. Sage put themselves through the torture of grad school, and now holds a Bachelor’s in English and a Master’s in English and Creative Writing – Fiction, to which they say, “Now I have expensive pieces of paper that make it seem like I know what I’m talking about.”
Sage has been writing since they were wee small, entering their first writing contest in fifth grade/at ten years old. In high school and college, they made small offerings to school literary magazines, and have done eighteen years of National Novel Writing Month. As their writing career grows, they hope to provide stories that are entertaining, caring, inclusive of all, and full of the stuff of which dreams are made.
Story Teasers:
Athos leaned against the wall of the high rise across the street from his destination, trying to catch his breath. He was bleeding from too many places to count—many of the wounds were superficial, but a few were deep and concerning. He had to get them bandaged or he was going to be in serious trouble. Standing across the street from help would be a stupid place to bleed out, even if it would be vaguely satisfying to get blood all over the pavement of one of Chicago’s wealthiest neighborhoods.
He watched a while longer; the lights inside the house created a faint glow he could see even through closed blinds. The occasional shadow told him that someonewas home. He refused to consider that he was looking at a second ambush. They had to be there, safe and sound, or all of this had been for absolutely nothing. Athos took a deep breath. Standing here—well, leaning here—wasn’t getting him anywhere, and he’d watched long enough to be sure he hadn’t been followed. He forced himself upright and carefully crossed the street, climbed the stairs, and rang the bell.
Tags: alcohol use (casual), alternate universe, be gay do crimes, blackmail, car chase, character injury (graphic descriptions), Chicago, established relationship, guns, hacker, m/m, m/m/m (past), modern, past tense, pov third person limited, reunion, teasing, undercover, united states of america, violence (non-graphic descriptions)
Uh oh! Athos is in trouble! What do? Back the campaign, read the story, and find out!
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bug2go · 1 year
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Sage has a collection of duck trinkets and plushies :]
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askwhatsforlunch · 6 months
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Pear Tree Roast Partridge
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When I tell you, my culinary inspirations come from anywhere and everywhere! This one is, I reckon, obvious enough! And if we're far enough from the Twelve Days of Christmas, Autumn is the choice season for game and orchard fruit, and this Pear Tree Roast Partridge, with its crisp skin and juicy, fragrant flesh, makes a delectably seasonal Sunday lunch! Have a good one, friends!
Ingredients (serves 2 to 3):
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
½ tablespoon olive oil
1 large onion
half a dozen leaves Garden Sage 
the soaked Pear quarters used to make Spiced Pear Liqueur, drained
45 grams/1 1/2 ounces day-old Sourdough Bread
1/4 cup Spiced Pear Liqueur
1/4 teaspoon fleur de sel or sea salt flakes
1/4 teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper
1 (840-gram/3.15-pound) partridge
1 1/2 unsalted butter, softened
1/2 teaspoon fleur de sel
½ teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper
2 tablespoons Spiced Pear Liqueur
1/4 cup water
In a medium skillet, melt butter with olive oil over a medium flame on the stove-top.
Peel the onion, and finely chop half of it. Finely chop Garden Sage.
Once the butter is just foaming, add chopped onion and Sage  to the skillet. Cook, about 3 minutes until softened.
Roughly chop half of the soaked Pears, and stir into the skillet.
Cut Sourdough Bread into cubes, and stir into the skillet as well. Cook, a couple of minutes.
Season with fleur de sel and black pepper. Pour in Spiced Pear Liqueur, and cook, stirring well, a couple of minutes more. Remove from the heat, and allow to cool slightly.
Preheat oven to 200°C/395°F.
Cut remaining onion into thick slices, and arrange them at the bottom of a roasting tin.
Season both the inside and the outside of the partridge with fleur de sel and black pepper. Stuff the bird with Pear and bread stuffing, and sit in the tin, onto the onion slices.
Rub softened butter all over the partridge, and pour Spiced Pear Liqueur and  water at the bottom of the tin. Arrange reserved soaked Pear quarters all around the partridge.
Place in the middle of the hot oven and roast, at 200°C/395°F, 1 hour. 
Serve Pear Tree Roast Partridge hot, with Ginger and Spice Roasted Sweet Potatoes and a full-bodied red like a French Ventoux or a Barossa Valley Shiraz.
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sleepless-crows · 1 year
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U remind me of daisy
i'm a little confused hehe which daisy are we talking about
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torterragarden · 1 year
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Quaxly gang rise up
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I, for one, am going to know what to say when the ducks show up. I’ve made a list of phrases, and although I don’t know which one to use yet, they are all good enough in case they showed up tomorrow. Many people won’t know what to say when the ducks show up, but I will. Maybe I’ll say, “Oh ducks, oh ducks, oh ducks,” or just “ducks, wonderful ducks!” I practice these sayings every day, and even though the ducks haven’t come yet, when they do, I’ll know what to say.
Steve Martin, What to Say When the Ducks Show Up
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INTRO POST
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Name: Sage
Species: Sprigatito
Age: 15
Pronouns: She/Her
Sexuality: Bisexual
Sage is a risky, adventurous Sprigatito, and she's not afraid to tell people what she thinks!! Brutal honesty is her fortè, and if you ever need someone to tell a person off, she's the one you need. In spite of all this, she has a warm heart, and enjoys the company of friends!
"Talks like this."
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Name: Atlas
Species: Quaxly
Age: 15
Pronouns: He/Him
Sexuality: Aroace
Atlas is very.. how to put this nicely? He's very vain. He cares quite a lot about his appearance, and wants everyone to consider him as pretty. Despite this, and his biting sarcasm, he's still a kind soul deep down. Just don't be surprised if he starts snarking when he's upset.
"Talks like this."
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Name: Chili
Species: Fuecoco
Age: 17
Pronouns: He/It
Sexuality: Gay
Chili doesn't have a mean bone in its body. He just wants to make friends with as many people as he can! But this friendliness has its drawbacks. It's a bit.. too trusting. This has resulted in a lot of betrayal for him, but in spite of that, he keeps on smiling. How good of him.. please treat him nice this time.
"Talks like this."
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sage-nebula · 1 year
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Neat Lore Bits from 'The Murder of Sonic the Hedgehog'
I just wanted to make a little list of everything I come across as I play through this little April Fool's Day game, because it's super cute and so much fun.
— Tails always carries Sparkle Gelatin as a snack whenever he travels. It's "a sparkly jelly that can melt any jaded heart."
— Sonic is world renowned, but not necessarily recognizable by the average person, even if the average person knows who he is and what he did.
— Amy is a huge fan of true crime podcasts.
— Once when Tails was at the grocery store, he slipped on some spilled juice because there wasn't a wet floor sign. Sonic caught him . . . but then also slipped on the juice because he was running too fast, and they both crashed into an elderly shopper's cart.
— Not lore per se, but both the detective and the journalist can't be the murderer or victim of the murder mystery, and got to hang out together for the hour before the game starts. Amy picked Tails to be the detective to her journalist, meaning she wanted to spend that time with him. Awww, Sunset Squad 4 Life 💖🧡
— Blaze prefers the birthday cake in Sonic's dimension to the cake in her own.
— Amy has multiple Piko Piko Hammers for different uses. She carries a lighter one when she thinks she won't need one for the day.
— Shadow is familiar with Super Monkey Ball, but can't get a very high score on it. Also, he signs high score boards as ULTIM (for Ultimate Life Form)
— Knuckles is not used to receiving compliments; they make him blush.
— Knuckles is a sore loser and breaks game cabinets when he can't get the highest score.
— Omochao is wanted for medical malpractice.
— Eggman has written a combined autobiography and recipe book.
— Tails claims to have never played in casinos and to not know how to play card games despite stating that he is banned from casinos for counting cards in Sonic Heroes. Either Sega has decided to retcon Tails' gambling habits, or Tails doesn't like to share his gambling habits with strangers.
— Amy's favorite band is Hot Honey, and Hot Honey band member Jeremy Bee is her current favorite musician.
— Shadow is not good with computers.
— Espio is fluent in 17 languages.
— Espio once speed-read a book just to spoil the ending for Knuckles.
— Sonic believes in the "salt over the shoulder" superstition.
— Sage the A.I. likes to play with robots.
— Shadow likes chocolate cake.
— Sage the A.I. and Metal Sonic have "let's go dad" t-shirts.
— Eggman has rubber ducks that look like himself and Sonic; they are the angry rubber duck and the happy rubber duck respectively.
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caesium-55 · 2 months
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—seven days. [ iv ]
pairing: max verstappen x manager! reader.
summary: as the third time world champion, max verstappen's manager, you function on the belief that whatever max verstappen wanted, max verstappen shall get. but this time, after four years of working as his manager, you can't give him what he wants anymore and that was to stay.
warning/s: sexual content but it's nothing too explicit. also angst angst angst.
author's note: NOT BETA READ. NOT EDITED. also, lemme know what u guys think!! would love to read it honestly. it was what had been keeping me inspired.
tags: @whatamidoingwithmylife-ramdom @eugene-emt-roe @bellezaycafe @barnestatic @theseerbetweenus @wcnorris @notyouraveragemochii @lpab @vildetry06 @a-beaverhausen @formula1mount @loloekie @alucardsdaddyissues @leclercdream
masterlist.
You have three philosophies in life.
Pussies do not get the good stuff. If you want the good stuff, don't be a pussy.
Hard work will pay off one day. In the meantime, work hard but don't work too hard. You work smart and make it seem like you're working hard so by the time your “hard” work pays off, you’re not too tired from working and still have energy to enjoy your reward, you know? Does that make sense?
Whatever Max Verstappen wanted, Max Verstappen would get.
Now let us focus on philosophy number three. It's a shitty philosophy to have, but when you're working as the manager of Red Bull’s golden boy—after Sebastian Vettel, of course—that philosophy sort of becomes the job description. It's your job to give whatever Max Verstappen wanted, whatever he needed.
When he asks you that question, sounding so innocent as if he hasn't just yanked your entire world off its axis by saying those words, your first reaction is to pull up the middle finger. Fuck you, Max. Max is an asshole for asking you that. Max is an absolute asshole for asking you for a kiss. For the five years you've worked for him, he should already be aware of the power he holds over your head. Should be aware that you'll give anything he'll ask. That's why he should be careful with what he's asking from you.
Said asshole has the audacity to pout. He resembled the pet duck who lived in your Abuelo's farm that you were very fond of in your childhood. Her name was Maria and she was a menace. Your Abuelo even tied a pink bow to the duck’s neck so it could be easily recognizable. A 181-cm tall, broad-shouldered, blond-brown-haired Dutch duck with a blue-eyed gaze that will never fail to make your bones tremble and your heart stutter once you let yourself stare at it. You can put a bow around his neck, too, like what your Abuelo did to that duck. Then, use the bow to choke him in a way that is definitely not sexy or kinky but in a way that screams murder, murder, murder.
“That's not nice.”
“‘M not a nice person.”
“You're a nice person, you just don't do nice things.”
You give him a weird look.
“If you weren't a nice person, you would not be here with me right now,” he continues, in a manner that made him seem like a hundred-old sage imparting wisdom. “But you're here and you're not leaving and you're not hurting me so you're nice.”
His words cause something rotten to bloom in your ribs, “How are you so certain that ‘m not gonna end up hurtin’ you? For all you know, I'm gonna use this billiard stick to make you a human skewer right now.”
He laughs. God. The sound is absolutely beautiful that it terrifies you.
“You're you, [Name]. You would never hurt me.”
In a sense, he's right. You will never hurt him. Not intentionally, at least. If you wanted him to hurt, you'll be leaving right now and flying to Texas the same way Kelly did in Abu Dhabi. Because, for someone like Max, nothing in this world is more painful than to be left alone when all you yearned for is someone to be there for you.
“So……will you?” he asks again. “Will you kiss me?”
He's drunk, your brain reasons. Your fingers gently reach for his jaw—very angular, you belatedly realize—and Max chases the warmth of your skin. He does not know what he's asking, your brain reasons again. You tug him towards you and your mouth meets his, immediately registering the taste of the beer on his tongue. He’s stupid, your brain added. I’m stupid, too, you argue mentally and pushes him against the side of the billiard table and toss your stick to the floor and let yourself take everything from Max Verstappen. Fuck you Max, you think with finality. Your brain replies: You’re also fucked.
He took what he wanted from you. Every day. Every single day. He will ask and you will give. Now, it is your turn to take. One last time before the inevitable goodbye that you know will break both of your hearts.
Anger. Frustration. That's what you feel right now. Anger because this is going to make things more complicated for you and goddammit, why are you making things hard for yourself? Frustrated because you’re not supposed to do this but you cannot fucking stop. Thank fuck you resigned before pulling this shit because this is soooooo unprofessional.
You read somewhere that said something like all people are driven to the point of eating their gods after a time. And is this situation not a perfect demonstration of this? Max is your god. Max was your god. And you are going to devour him—fueled by five years of frustration and anger and a series of why, why, why didn't you talk to Horner? Now it's too late because I'm leaving all because you didn't talk to fucking Horner.
You've forgiven 2021. 2022 made your grudge grow. And you're not stupid to continue staying after his 2023 victory when it's clearly not happening—the dream that will be given to you with Max's power. You will never forgive yourself if you stayed here and be continuously reminded of what you could become, what you failed to become.
Max is surprisingly pliant under your hands. A rare occasion. One would expect Max Verstappen to take the lead because that's what he did in the race tracks. A 20-second lead from everyone else. He's also the type to just do whatever he wanted, you know? And people would let him. Because he's Max Verstappen.
Dominance. Total dominance.
“Wait,” he squeezes your arms and you do not hear him clearly the first time because you're so concentrated on his lips and how it feels and tastes against yours. “Wait, wait. Slow down.”
You pull away and you hear him take a gasp of air, “Somethin’ wrong?”
He looks so beautiful like this. Beneath you. Lips swollen. Blue eyes wide with desire. Hair perfectly messy. Grip on your arm so tight that you're sure will definitely leave a hand-shaped bruise tomorrow.
“Can’t breathe,” he says with a light laugh and you resist the urge to violently bash your head against the billiard table because what the fuck? That's not good for your heart. It's too… too… adorable. Max is not supposed to be an adorable person.
You suck in a breath and lower your head until your forehead meets Max’s firm chest.
“Fuck you,” you mumble.
“Hm?”
“Nothing.”
You raise your head and meet Max’s eyes, the culprit behind your insanity right now.
(Your Abuela said that blue eyes were just blue eyes. Until you fall in love with someone with blue eyes and blue becomes a color that consumed your world whole. You appreciated the sky more because it reminded you of his eyes. You appreciated the color of the seas more because it reminded you of his eyes. Blue became the color of love.)
Now what? Do you continue or…?
“Can you do me a favor?”
“Do you even need to ask?” you deadpan. Max’s hands circle around your waist and he gently guides you away from him. He dusts his shirt once he has fully risen from the billiard table before his hand finds yours. Fingers intertwining together, he leads you out of the entertainment room.
Your heart drums with anticipation. Numerous questions circle around your head but it all disappears in a flash when Max brings you to the room where you found him that morning. You wince when you walk past the broken door.
Yeah…
Making a payment plan will be hell. You're unemployed at the current moment, too. The first thing you have to do when you land in Texas is find a job.
He makes you sit on his bed, the soft mattress dipping down on your weight. You can only stare at him, brows furrowing in confusion and a question sitting on the tip of your tongue that you are yet to voice out. Max makes a beeline to his closet, throwing it open and procuring a box.
A box.
He walks back to you, dropping on his knees and that action makes you panic. Then, Max opens the box, pulling out the most gorgeous pair of five-inch block heels you have ever laid eyes upon and gently slips them onto your feet. The straps have pearls and satin bows and it has tiny white diamonds, elegantly cut, as the centerpiece. Not even the YSL Opyum heels you own can compare to its elegance and beauty.
You almost kick him in the face because you do not expect that he’ll do that.
I bought shoes and they don't fit her. Max has told you. You feel bile rise up your throat.
The shoes. They fit you. Perfectly. As if it was made to be yours. As if it was bought to be yours. As if he was thinking of you, who is nothing but his manager and somewhat friend, when he bought the gorgeous heels instead of Kelly Piquet, his fucking girlfriend of three years whom he had been living with in this fucking penthouse, and parenting little P with.
“They're perfect,” Max whispers and he looks up with that smile playing on his lips. You feel tears sting your eyes and you press your lips into a thin line before moving your gaze away, blinking rapidly.
Max is doing this because he thought you were Kelly.
“They're custom, you know? They're the only pair in the world.”
His words make the taste of bile a hundred times worse. You stare at the shoes on your feet as if it's a sin to have the shoes fit you. No wonder Kelly is mad at Max. If Leo has commissioned custom heels with another woman in mind and got your shoe size wrong after three years of being together, you'll feel hurt, too.
You feel the need to apologize to Kelly. Maybe a quick message to her IG? You also follow each other’s private account.
“You’re thinking,” he says and his voice snaps you out of the rabbit hole known as your thoughts. “What are you thinking?”
“Nothin’,” you lie. The feeling of wanting to puke intensifies so you grab Max by his collar and plant your lips against his to push back the imaginary bile stuck on your throat and from there, the situation escalates to the point that clothes are removed. One by one. When you reach to unstrap the heels, Max grabbed your wrists, almost panicked.
“What are you doin’?” you ask.
“Don't take them off please.”
Whatever Max wanted, Max would get.
Your name built a home in Max’s mouth, the syllables rolling off his tongue with ease at every pleasure he felt, while your fingers explore every inch of Max’s skin. You're only allowed to watch back then. Now, you're allowed to touch.
Hearing his whimpers and little groans and shudders—all done by your hands—you feel nothing but satisfaction. He chants your name like it's a prayer and you're his god and if that is not love then you do not what is.
You wait for Max to utter Kelly’s name midway.
He never did.
“What are you doing?” his voice is groggy with sleep. After doing it, he immediately passes out. Weak ass bitch. You're still waiting for the horror once the realization of what you’ve done sinks into your system. The annoying headache, too. For now, none of them have arrived yet. Probably because you still have enough alcohol in your system to numb things out for you. While waiting, you're on your phone.
Ha, it's past 12 midnight now. You have three days to tell Max before you fly to Texas.
“Talkin' to someone,” you reply cryptically. His brows knit together.
“Who?”
“Just Logan.”
“The American in Williams?”
You roll your eyes, “Yes, the American in Williams.”
You notice how his arms on your waist tighten, pulling you a little closer to him, but you say nothing. This action causes flowers to bloom in your lungs and you hope he hasn't noticed how your breath hitched.
“Why?”
“He’s my friend. Friends talk,” you deadpan.
Logan Sargeant is an absolute sweetheart. He reminds you a lot of your little brother and you both share the same sentiments regarding the feeling of being unwelcomed in Formula One. You suppose he has it worse though. Nobody in the grid really makes an effort to befriend the young racer and you're fifty percent sure that the fact he's American made a contribution to that.
None of the other racers even follow him on Insta.
“Well, what are you two talking about?” Grumpy and bratty Max is back. Welcome back, asshole.
“He’s in Texas right now and he was askin’ if I was back home, too. Said we should grab a drink together. I promised to show him around Austin.”
“You never invited me to Austin.”
“Why would you even go to Austin?” your nose scrunch a little. “You visit your mother for Christmas.”
He rolls his eyes.
“You're befriending too much racers.”
“Excuse me? I only have Logan as a friend. Charles, too, by extension because he's your friend,” you point out. “Checo and Daniel and Yuki and Liam because they work with you.”
“And me.”
“You're not my friend.”
“What am I then? Your dog?”
“I work for you.”
“You work with me, not for me,” he corrects.
You do not know why your heart skipped a beat at that.
“I’m just trynna be a good friend here and you're bein’ unreasonably grumpy,” you try to shift the subject to save your own sanity. “None of you even tried to befriend Logan.”
Max abruptly reaches for his phone on the bedside table and unlocks it. You watch as he opens his Instagram, the public one, and added Logan's account. You gape. He switches to his private account and searches for Logan’s account in your profile's list of followers and adds him, too.
“What the fuck, Max?”
“I’m befriending him,” he says simply. “I’ll invite him over if he ever comes by in Monaco during the off-season.”
You blink.
“Now say goodbye to him and go back to sleep.”
He tosses his phone to the bedside table and turn his back on you in a manner that reminded you of a very petulant child.
You glance at your phone only to see Logan’s freaked out messages.
logan: HE FOLLOWED ME??!? ON BOTH ACCOUNTS???
logan: AM I SEEING THINGS? HAVE I ACCIDENTALLY SNORTED DRUGS??!
logan: maybe it's the texas heat??
logan: *sent a screenshot*
logan: MAX VERSTAPPEN INVITED ME TO HIS PENTHOUSE??
you: congrats child
logan: is this your doing??!?
logan: are you with him now?
logan: wait that's impossible, itd be 2 am in monaco now there's no way youd be together rn
If only he knows.
you: how bout we talk later once the sun rises here in monaco?
you: or maybe once i arrive in the us?
logan: sure sure
you: stay safe out there kid
logan: HE JUST FOLLOWED ME I CAN DIE HAPPY
You toss your phone aside and inch closer to Max, looping your arms around him and falling asleep in his warmth.
Your phone rings and it's not the Max Max Max Super Max Max ringtone. It's the default one.
Mama, the caller ID indicates. 4:31 AM is written on the upper right corner of your phone screen. You press the answer button.
“Your Papa…… It was a dangerous call. He needs to see you before he… He might not make it.”
That alone is enough for you to jump out of bed. You scramble to grab last night’s clothes and slip them on. Fuck, they still smell like alcohol.
“Hey, hey, what's wrong?” Max, who's rudely awakened when you abruptly jumped out of bed, looks so lost and when he sees you run your way out of his bedroom and to the stairs, he panics. The poor man panicked. He falls down the bed and runs after you, having the decency to only grab a towel to cover his lower half. He stops you, grabbing your wrist just as you're at the lowest step of the stairs.
“Wait, where are you going?” his voice is still rough with sleep and he's aggressively rubbing out his grogginess from his eyes. You stop, letting out a breath that you don't realize you're holding before turning around to face him. Then, the guilt rushes in. Max looks so…you don't have the words to describe it. His hair is a mess and he still looks sleepy but he also looks wide awake and kind of panicking and confused.
This is a face that's equally endearing and heartbreaking. You can't believe this will be the last time you'll be seeing him. You're still supposed to have three days left but now it's cut short and you—
You'll miss him.
“Sorry, baby,” you come up a few steps and cup his cheeks, bringing his face down so you can kiss his forehead. His hand comes up to lay on top of yours, eyes fluttering close.
“Where are you going?” he asks again.
“Texas,” you reply. “Dad… he… 'Twas a bad call and I need to see him. I need—I need to go home now.”
This is the reality of being family with a firefighter. You're always in danger of losing your father in one of the calls. And that is happening now.
Max understands because he knows your father's line of work.
“Do you need me to come with you?”
You shake your head.
“Then, I’ll drive you.”
“No,” you shoot him down quickly. “You drank last night. It’s dangerous.”
“I’m not drunk now.”
“Max,” you breathe through your nose to calm yourself down. “I’ll take the next flight available to the US. You stay here.”
“Take my jet.”
“No, Max,” you say. “Thank you for the offer but you’ll use the jet when you visit your mother.”
“I can fly commercial,” he squeezes your hands. “You don't want me to drive you. You don't want me to come with you. At least take the jet.”
You open your mouth to protest.
“Just take the jet, please, [Name].”
Whatever Max wanted, Max would get. So you nod your head slowly because it looks like he'll argue just to get you seated in his jet. And you'll argue with him if it was any other day but not today because you need to leave quickly. Time is becoming too precious. You can lose your Dad any second. You just wish you can see him and talk to him before he went.
“Okay.”
You pull away, whipping around to head to the door but Max doesn't let your wrist go. You turn back to him.
“What is it, Max?”
“Text me when you land in Texas?”
“Of course.”
“One last thing. Wait here.”
He runs back to his room and you tap your foot impatiently, eyes trained on the mismatched shoes that covered your feet. Max returns not even five minutes later and now, he's wearing clothes and he’s carrying the shoe box from last night.
You swallow the lump on your throat.
“Take this with you.”
With shaking hands, you take the box.
“See you around, [Name].”
“Goodbye, Max.”
It's a good thing that you spent the entire morning yesterday packing because this makes everything smoother for you. It is a little past 5 am now and the outside world is still enveloped in total darkness. You gaze at the apartment one last time, three suitcases in tow. The keys feel heavy in your hands as you lock the door behind you.
In the middle of your apartment living room sits a lone shoe box with a letter that says: Sorry, Max. I can't steal more from Kelly.
Beside the box is a folder.
An unfinished guide on becoming Max Verstappen’s manager. (I’ll have the final copy printed, binded, and sent before the 2024 pre-season. Haha, I’m channeling my inner Toto Wolff.)
The first paper you’ll see after you open the folder reads:
Max, I know you’d be the one who’d find this one day. By that time, I’ll be in Texas already. I don't know if I’d have told you that I resigned already. If I didn't, that's because I’m a pussy. Sorry.
Anyways, I will say this as straightforwardly as I can because I think I had been a pussy long enough.
I resigned, Max. I won't be your manager by 2024 and honestly, I am worried. Not for you, of course. You’d win WDC whether I am your manager or not. That's how good you are. I am worried for your future manager. I’m afraid it would take someone with guts like me to work for with someone like you. A powerhouse manager for a powerhouse athlete.
Inside, you can find the following things:
How to bake my abuela’s special cheesecake.
How to make Red Bull vodka
How to make Max’s favorite pasta for lunch
List of Max Verstappen’s favorite places in each city
How to iron Max Verstappen’s clothes
What to do when Max accidentally sets the kitchen on fire
What to do when Max has a bad race
How to protect Max Verstappen from angry Hamilton fans
How to deal with a drunk Max Verstappen
Etc…
I will still be watching your journey, not from the Red Bull garage but from another continent. We worked five amazing years together and now it is time for us to fly on different skies. As much as I liked working with you, you can't be the only one reaching your dreams. Don’t worry, I’ll always reach out.
Thank you, Max. For giving me a home. I’m not talking about the apartment. I don't believe that home are establishments. Home is the people you love and Max, you are someone I love.
In the last page of this folder, you’d see a handmade bracelet tucked inside. It's small and it's made of cheap beads and I do not care if you don't think it's worthy enough to be worn on your wrist. Not even going to be offended. It's dirt compared to the Cartier bracelets you wear everyday. I bought the beads while roaming in Brazil and I just thought I’d make you one.
I cannot give you any gift that you already cannot buy with your money so I went ahead and made this. Money cannot buy anything made by my own hands.
Thank you again, Max.
And I’m so fucking sorry.
Please don't be angry.
I love you.
You watch the sun rise inside Max's jet as you fly over Monaco to Texas.
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lulubeanie · 19 days
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Had a dream about Eliot finding a big abandoned library that a giant spider person has made into their home. the spider person was very not nice and the experience left Eliot afraid of spiders even though normally he likes them (the spider person was also in control of all the normal spiders that lived there or something)
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manicpixiefelix · 4 months
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head, heart, hand. {Felix Catton/Reader/Oliver Quick}
Part 2.
Summary: Felix and Y/N's first year of university means being more open with how close they are, while perhaps growing a little more distant than Felix would like. Also the Catton family have bestowed Y/N their own title, which Felix hates, and Y/N and Farleigh have a moment of connection over Christmas.
{ masterpost }
Need to Know: They/Them. Explicitly NB Reader. FWB!Reader with Felix, Venetia, and Farleigh in this chapter. Reader is from a well off family but has pretty much been adopted by the Cattons.
Warnings: Smut (reader bottoming but their gender is not made explicit), Degrading language (reader is referred to as as dog & pet)
A/N: 3071 words. i definitely meant to get to the start of their second year/first run in with Oli..... but this chapter got long enough, so instead we'll meet Oliver at the start of the next chapter and instead we get Felix and Reader at university, best friends who hook up shenanigans, Venetia being a pot-stirrer because she likes to rile up her brother, and Farleigh and Y/N bonding and boning. i feel like the pacing is a bit strange so id love some feedback <3 ALSO I KNOW NOTHING ABOUT UK COLLEGE CALANDERS IM SO SORRY LOL
Taglist: @strangemaximoff @renaissance-mama @tsach @malscorner @xhoneymoonx134 @yelchinweasleylothbrok @tarriea @florencediet @butitsbetterifyoudoittoem @belladonnadarksshade @fandom-multiamory @snazzynacho @jubileexoxo @soocore @be-lla-vie @nightingale2124 @willow-sages @null4ndv0id @gracieluvthemoon @day2dream @marvellover98 @navixfr @bitxhinthecomments @daintylovers @alesunsets @noturningbacknow @d0llysposts @alilcloudy @callsignwidow @moviequotes23 @325575 @bonnieblue0606 @osoqueen125 @hot-dino-nuggies @darkness-falls-xo
----
To absolutely no-ones surprise, least of all yours, Felix takes to the social aspects of college like a duck to water. Neither of you missed a single day or night of activities during first year orientation, and you both left the various pubs and bars with a different hook up each night.
Felix sees a poster for a band in town, and crows with laughter as he talks about how his mother would hate if he ever got a piercing, but you know the look in his eye too well, and tell him there's a piercing place a block away.
"God I miss Farleigh," you sigh with a smile, watching him size himself up in the mirror of the tattoo parlour where the piercer had drawn approximate dots to mark his soon-to-be eyebrow piercing.
"Oh he'd love this, wouldn't he?" Felix agrees, grinning from ear to ear, catching your gaze in the reflection. Despite the piercer's reassurance that it doesn't actually hurt that bad, Felix plays up the bit of being concerned, insisting that you hold his hand.
It's easier in this environment to be affectionate. Perhaps its the way that all nights liked to blur together, lips and teeth and tongues and hands, and you find yourself invited to parties and into bedrooms and Felix is in the crowd, pupils wide and drugs in his blood and knowing you can take care of yourself.
Fruit flies mistaking his light in the night for the rot they're used to.
That being said, while of course Felix is gorgeous and the life of the party, your own magnetic aura and love features draw in your own crowd of admirers; you proximity to Felix was merely a perk.
You yourself find yourself blooming at college; with a far stronger sense of identity than you'd had for most of your teenage years, you shed many of your adolescent insecurities and begin to embrace yourself and the people around you as more than just Felix's friends.
"I miss you," he teases, eyes shiny and pupils huge, looking at you with that look that made everyone else weak in the knees. The two of you are crammed too close in a booth at a club, everyone else having left to dance or find something interesting to snort in the bathrooms.
"I'm always around, Fi," you murmur, just as high, lips twisted into a bleary smile, your finger beneath his chin to lift his face to you.
"They love you here," he grinned, lips inches from yours, skin glowing with sweat from the adrenaline and high of the night, "knew they would," it's not especially jealous, more proud, and you sigh against his lips with the kind of warm contentment his praise always brings you.
"Don't care if they love me," you say, very tellingly, voice low and flirty. Anyone could see the two of you, but the unspoken rules of high school had fallen away; the rules of college seemed to prioritise a lack of judgement, especially with the people you surrounded yourself with. Felix giggles, flushing red, leaning into your touch, leaning even heavier against you in the little, otherwise empty booth.
"You miss me, Fi?" You prompt, letting his face go as you wrap an arm around him, drawing you in close to him. Despite his height, he folds himself up to lean into you. Felix giggles again, mostly to himself, clearly shitfaced, without answering, he angles his face up to press a kiss to your neck, "we see each other every day, we still fuck around, we -"
"Do you think I could live without you?" He asks suddenly, and surprisingly frankly. His chin is on your shoulder, eyes wide and demanding an answer. It's not a joke, nor some strange attempt at flirting, and your throat turns dry as the lights spin around you both.
"You're drunk," you tell him gently, "and high."
"Why would I ask that?" He frowns, suddenly, sitting up, as if he's talking more to himself than you, "that's a fucked question actually, sorry Y/N, I shouldn't have -"
"I think it's more about how you feel about it." You tell him gently, "we should get water. You sit here, I'll get it."
You're unsteady on your feet when you head to the bar, collecting two cups of water, almost overflowing, from the end, trying not to think about it all. It didn't matter either way, how he thought or felt about it. It was a foolish, drunken question, it doesn't matter. Right?
Except he's bopping back and forth in his seat, tapping the rhythm with surprising success on the table top, eyes shining in the light where all he seems to look at is you. Felix grin wide and bright, thanks already in his smile before the words reach his lips as you sit back down next to him.
You could live without him, but you know you'd never want to, so long as he'd want you around.
"Think I'd rather die than live without you," he says with little prompting, holding the cup with both hands as he downs half in a single gulp. What?
"What?"
He turns those perfect, brown eyes upon you like you don't already live your life in his shape, like he hadn't validated every choice you'd made since you'd met him. He smiles.
"You're my best mate, you're always good to me and help me with shit and never get mad at all the dumb ideas I have and you've made sure I haven't gotten kicked out of any schools, even if I probably deserved it," he rambles and takes another drink, this time choosing to look out at the nauseating crowd of haze and lights and bodies, "I love you, I don't think I could live without you."
"Is that why you miss me?" Your voice is barely audible above the music, but Felix still hears it. Putting his mostly empty cup on the table, he shoves his shoulder against yours, refusing to let up until his full weight is against you, the two of you toppling down in the booth, him draped over you wearing the absolute goofiest grin. It's a good reminder that you're both incredibly drunk.
"Just miss you."
You stumble out of the bar together, and back to the dorms. Felix is insistent that you stay with him.
"No funny business," he mumbles against your ear, breath hot and smirk in his voice, "promise."
"You couldn't get it up if you tried," you snorted, "whiskey dick." Though he tries to protest, you gently elbow him in the ribs and he sulkily admits that you're probably right. Still, in the warmth of his room and the two of you stripped to your underwear, it's kind of irresistible to not make out like teenagers for a good while. You get you both glasses of water to put on the nightstand, and Felix tells you he loves you while on the brink of sleep.
"Love you too, Fi."
"Couldn't live without you, meant it," he hiccups, cracking an eye to smirk up at you from where he's splayed out on the bed, "probably."
"Don't think I could live without you either," you shuffle yourself into the bed beside him, letting him roll over to wrap an arm around you, "even if you are a fucking wanker sometimes," you grin, and hear him laugh into his pillow.
Felix has more game than anyone you've ever met without even trying, stealing and breaking hearts from all areas of the university. You watch it happen with amusement as you find your own slew of pretty guys and girls to keep you company when you feel like it. Still, for all the charisma and charm Felix had been blessed with, his touch-starved nature becomes both a blessing and a curse when he finds himself drunk and tactile and desperate for touch.
A desperate, affection Felix loses all of those carefully-curated social barriers that the two of you had put between yourselves as teenagers in public. Girls are more open and supportive around here; perhaps you should be offended, that many, once they learn he's prone to clinging to you, to kissing you, they end up rationalising it. It doesn't count.
Or perhaps they think they can shift the affection to themselves. Felix always learns to be more affectionate to them, but will find himself with you more often than he's not.
And those girls don't even know about the sex.
"I think about you," he huffs between short, jagged breaths, with you bent over the end of his bed, "is that weird?"
His latest breakup isn't even twelve hours old yet, but when you'd showed up at his room with a six-pack of beers and the offer to let him vent, he'd taken it without hesitation. While they hadn't been going out for long, she'd been pretty, but an apparently lousy fuck. When you'd jokingly offered to remind him what a decent lay was like, Felix had genuinely jumped at the chance.
"A bit - ah," you mused for a moment, hips rocking back to meet his in a pleasant rhythm. He takes a pause to tap one of your ankles with his foot, and you adjust your stance to be a bit wider, "what context? Just in general - fuck, Fi, there," and you find yourself lost for words as he presses his hand against the small of your back. His pace remains steady as he fucks you, and you obliging lean further down; he knows you well, know how to fuck you just the way you both enjoy.
Then you're in his bed, straddling him, riding him with his hands on your hips, your thighs, bouncing as his nails dig pleasantly into your skin.
"Think about me?" You finally continue, breathless, and something about the way he holds you steady, lets you pause as he laughs, flushed cheeks growing even more read, makes you grin too, "you mean like this, don't you?" And you rolled your hips, eliciting a groan from him that was like music to your ears.
"Shut up," he'd laughed, giving you a squeeze, unable to meet your gaze.
"Did you ever call out my name?" You lean down, across him, and for a moment his hands slide up your body to wrap around your neck, bringing you in for a gentle kiss.
"Thankfully not."
"Still, those poor girls," you teased.
"Poor me," Felix argued, "having to try and power through terrible sex while thinking about someone who's not even there, just because I know you're better at it," and he played at pouting for a moment, looking for sympathy.
"You really didn't have to tell me all this," you laughed, sitting back up and setting a gentle pace, smiling down at him, "you're such a perv." When his fingertips trail down your body, a shiver runs down your spine. There's this look in his eyes for just a moment, something knowing, something teasing, something you'd seen on occasion that made you feel so wanted and seen and -
He likes you knowing.
"You gonna give me something to think about?" That tone of voice, the teasing, the faintest hint of authority, like he's pretending like he doesn't know all the ways you'd debauch yourself if only he asked.
Venetia gets you a collar for Christmas, and Farleigh's already been kicked out of several universities by the time your first Winter break had arrived.
"Oh Pet, that's so cute," Elspeth coos at the designer, velvet collar that Venetia had smugly handed over while Felix had scowled, "is that Cartier?" Much to Felix's dismay, Elspeth and Sir James have apparently taken to calling you Pet as a pet name. He blames his sister entirely.
"Pet's easier, sweetheart," Elspeth had tried to argue when you'd sat down at your first breakfast of the Winter break at Saltburn, and she'd asked Duncan 'don't forget about our dear pet'. Naturally Felix had frowned the entire time while arguing with his parents, who insisted it's easier to use Pet than a whole new set of names and pronouns.
"It's been years mum, how have you not adjusted?" He demands, while you have shrunken in your chair and tried to divine life's secrets from your breakfast.
"What do you think, Pet?" Venetia said with a venomous kind of sweetness. Looking up at her, she's wearing this smug kind of smile, directed not at you but at Felix next to you. When you look to him, you see Farleigh across the table trying to hide his amusement in several pieces of toast eaten with no break in between.
"I think," you paused, looking past an annoyed Felix to his mother at the head of the table, "that if you want to call me Pet, you can, I think it's sweet, but please don't expect Felix to refer to me as such," you said with a surprising amount of firmness. Then after a beat of surprise from the rest of the table, you took a deep breath, "and for events and guests, I really wouldn't appreciate being introduced as such."
"Of course," Elspeth quickly amends, adding, "Y/N," for good measure.
"It's a pet name, Pet," Sir James gives an awkward little smile, nodding in agreement. Farleigh met your gaze for a moment, and you could see only the bread was keeping his laughter from spilling out. Beside you, Felix relaxes, and finally you look at him. Dark, serious eyes, with something grateful shining faintly in the morning sun.
Of course you let him throw Venetia's collar gift in the fire in front of her, despite her protests.
You get used to the sweet way the Cattons refer to you as Pet; as much as Felix despised it's connotations when it came from his sister, there was something comforting, something almost secure about the way the whole family had picked it up so easily.
"Was wondering where I'd find you," Farleigh's voice is warm while you're raiding the expansive kitchen for some kind of easy midnight snack. You could have asked one of the many staff members who reside on the property, but you hadn't wanted to bother them over probably some crisps.
"Farleigh!" You light up upon hearing his voice, turning, refrigerator door still open in your hand. He approaches, and you close the refrigerator, hugging him tightly, "oh this is great, it's been so long since it's been just us!"
"Darling pet," he says with a surprising amount of gentleness.
"You should come to Oxford, Fi and I miss you terribly," you tell him, leaning into his touch with a sincere smile as he holds your face gently, while you still hold him is a loose embrace.
"I've already been accepted into another college; you'll be fine without me," and he grins, kissing you on the nose, pressing a kiss to each cheek, "pet." He adds, almost to himself, and your face falls as you think about what he'd said.
"Everything's better with you," you insist, "and you'd love it; we could party like we did that Summer in France, but every weekend -!" Farleigh cuts you off with his lips against yours; you can taste the sweet smile he's wearing before he deepens the kiss.
Later, in Farleigh's bed, bathed in moonlight and the afterglow, you light up a cigarette and open his window.
"Fucking freezing," Farleigh mutters.
"Sorry," but you don't close the window. Silence stretches out between you both. You hope Farleigh enjoyed himself, hope he's happy -
"You don't need them," he says quietly, staring up at the ceiling. After a moment, you breathe out a lungful of smoke and turn to him with a frown, "this family; we all know where you're from. You don't need them." There's something strange about his tone, clearing his throat when he finally looks at you, "but you still want them to love you."
"They're good to me," you finally say, dropping your gaze as you reach back to offer the cigarette, "to us," you tell him, and he hums with the smoke in his lungs. Then, taking back the cigarette, you inhale the sour-sweet smoke and tap off the ash off the window sill.
"I'm not their fucking dog, Farleigh," you mumble, surprising frustration escaping you, anger you hadn't even realised you were holding on to.
"I know, pet," he says softly, pressing a kiss to your bare shoulder, "you'll let them think they have you kept, but you're not their dog, I know."
"I like you, Farleigh," you say with a faint smile, leaning back to see the way he's grinning too, "and I love you a bit as well I think."
"I know, I love you too, Y/N."
"We miss you a lot." There's something about the quiet that follows your words that you know all too well; Farleigh's about to tease you for something. Probably Felix related.
As if on cue;
"Does he know you like being his dog?" Grin widening, Farleigh gives you a slight shove, though the truth of his words has you hiding your own embarrassed smile.
"He thinks it's an insult to me, which is sweet of him," you chuckled, and Farleigh eases the cigarette from your fingers, "but it's like he has no idea the effect he's had on me for over a decade now. Yeah, I'm my own person, I have hobbies and friends outside of him, but -"
"You're a service bottom and desperately in love," Farleigh cuts in with a surprisingly sage tone, nodding like he hadn't absolutely called you out. Shocked with his vulgar kind of accuracy, you practically shove him out of the bed, laughing that he needs to fuck off, and the discussion is left at that.
The next morning, sitting down to breakfast, Duncan quietly informs Sir James that there had been a disturbance during the night. Immediately you throw Farleigh under the bus and declare that it's his fault.
"Hey!" He shouts back, grinning, "it takes two to fuck in the kitchen!" Which has all four of you, Venetia, Felix, Farleigh, and yourself, cracking up with laughter as Elspeth and Sir James were exasperated by your collective antics.
There is so much affection in Felix's eyes in this moment, this simple, strange moment of admitted sexual deviance. Except it's never felt like that to either of you. It's one of the ways you've both shown love, and he loves that you love those closest to him.
And you love to make him happy.
Farleigh was right, not that you'd ever tell him.
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askwhatsforlunch · 1 year
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Thyme Roast Turkey with Boudin Blanc Sage and Onion Stuffing
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The pièce de résistance of our Christmas Day Lunch was this beautiful Thyme Roast Turkey Boudin Blanc Sage and Onion Stuffing! It had been a long time since we’d had turkey for Christmas, and we did love this beautiful bird with its crispy golden skin and juicy and fragrant flesh. And it makes excellent Boxing Day sandwiches, to eat whilst playing Clue or 221B Baker Street with the family, too! A very Happy Christmas to you all, friends!
Ingredients (serves 6):
1 (3-kilogram/6.65-pound) whole turkey
1 lemon
2 fluffy sprigs fresh thyme
1 tablespoon coarse sea salt
1 tablespoon black peppercorns
5 litres/quarts water
1 tablespoon unsalted butter 1 tablespoon olive oil
2 (125-gram/4.40-ounce) boudins blancs (white sausages, preferably with mushrooms)
2 onions
a dozen fresh sage leaves
6 thick slices stale Sourdough or Bloomer Bread
1 cup Fragrant Capon Broth 
a pinch of salt
¼ teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
salt and freshly cracked black pepper, to taste
2 fluffy sprigs fresh thyme
The day before, rinse turkey thoroughly under cold water, and pat dry.
Make the brine: Place turkey in a large pot. Slice lemon into slices, and add to the pot. Place thyme sprigs inside the turkey. Sprinkle the inside and outside of the bird with coarse sea salt and black peppercorns. Cover with water. Cover with the lid, and keep in a cool place overnight.
In a large skillet, melt butter with olive oil over medium heat. Cut boudins blancs into thick slices, and add to the skillet. Cook, about 3 minutes on each side until browned. Transfer to a plate, keeping the fat in the skillet. Set aside.
Finely chop onion, and add to the skillet. Cook, 5 minutes, until softened, stirring often to prevent colouring. Finely chop sage and add to the onion mixture, cook 1 minute more. 
Cut Sourdough slices, into cubes, and stir into the skillet. Return reserved boudin blanc slices, and their resting juices, to the skillet. Pour in Capon Broth all over, and season with salt and black pepper.
Preheat oven to 205°C/400°F. Remove the turkey from the brine and pat dry. Stuff turkey with Boudin Blanc Sage and Onion Stuffing until full.
Sprinkle turkey liberally with salt and black pepper. Sit the turkey in a large roasting dish. Remove thyme leaves from their sprigs, and sprinkle all over the turkey. Spread butter all over turkey.  Add thyme sprigs and a cup of water to the roasting pan.
Roast turkey, at 205°C/400°F,  basting occasionally with pan drippings, about 2 hours. In the last hour, cover with foil. Transfer turkey to a platter and cover with foil. Allow it to rest in a warm place 15 to 30 minutes before carving.
Serve Thyme Roast Turkey with Boudin Blanc Sage and Onion Stuffing hot, with Port Cranberry Sauce, Gravy,Sweet Potato Casserole.
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dduane · 4 months
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Right.
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This thing's not gonna roast itself...
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This is for a Middle Kingdoms recipe (but this approach is also long established on our version of Earth). Pumpkin or butternut squash slices are tossed in olive oil, laid out in the pans and sprinkled with chili flakes and a little salt. Whole peeled garlic cloves get inserted here and there; the whole business then sprinkled with oregano (though in the Kingdoms they'd be more likely to go for sage or thyme). A few thyme sprigs are scattered here and there. Then everything goes into the oven and gets roasted at 200° C / 400° F for about 40 minutes.
Some people like to add small chunks of feta or similar sheep's milk cheese to this. I usually give that a pass, both because I'm not a big feta fan and because I like not to have to take a lactase pill sometimes...
So now the result:
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...And now for dinner. :) (In the background, @petermorwood is making small new-ish potatoes roasted in duck fat. "Well, the oven's hot, why waste the energy...?")
Meanwhile, the other half of the pumpkin remains to be dealt with. Tomorrow, a regional/seasonal Steldene delicacy: pumpkin tarts with hard Teinakh cheese and spiced pumpkin-flour pastry. They're gonna look so weird—pumpkin flour tends to turn things dark, if not positively green—but the flavor...! :)
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