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cordeliawhohung · 5 months

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mafia!ghost learns that shy!reader is a virgin the hard way...

mafia!141 masterlist

Physical touch used to scare you. There was something about the way that someone else’s flesh against yours that made your skin crawl, like they were soaking up every thought and memory you have ever had. Stealing the very essence that made up the fiber of your mussels and the mass of your brain. Maybe that’s what made it so nice; why people enjoyed it. Being vulnerable, allowing someone to behold the soft meat that you hid underneath clothes to never be seen or kissed was liberating.

Things were different when it came to Simon. When he touched you it felt more like your bodies were intertwining together, where nerves knotted into one and blood mixed so violently that it clotted. It was sharing memories, whispering thoughts rather than stealing them. And you craved his touch. Craved the soft brushing of his fingertips against your arm or the way his hands gripped your hips, and you wanted more of it. So much so that you began to dream of it.

You’d dream of what his lips would feel like against your neck, teeth grazing against the tender skin that throbbed with your pulse while his hips grinded into yours. You wanted that pressure, that all encompassing weight to crush you, to grind away at you until you were open and bare for him. And you wanted more. More and more until it was too much, and even then it still wasn’t enough, always close, always teetering, always…

And then you woke up.

It always ended up like that. You would always wake up right before the ending, and you would find yourself laying in bed as a pent up and sweating mess. Usually you would roll over and pick up where your dream left off, taking care of yourself the only way you knew how with your fingers on your clit, but that time you couldn’t. Because you weren’t in your bed, you were in Simon’s.

What had been a night to binge a good TV show turned into a series of just one more episode until both of you were too tired to move. Rather than take you home, he carried you into bed where you spent the entire night with his arms wrapped around your waist and your back pulled into his chest. He wasn’t there when you woke up, but you could hear the distant sound of water hitting tile somewhere down the hallway outside of his room, which meant he wasn’t far.

Surely you could have risked it. Could have dipped your hand into the shorts Simon let you sleep in and made quick work of yourself before he came back, but the idea of him walking in on you like that was repellant enough. Caught with your hands between your thighs like a whore was a risk you weren’t willing to take. So you laid there, scrunched up on your side while your thighs pressed tightly together in an attempt to soothe the throbbing in your cunt. If anything, it only provoked the feeling further, and to make matters worse, you were smothered in the scent of nicotine and Simon’s cologne.

It didn’t take him long to emerge from the shower, and when he entered the room he was half naked and strutting around like he had never heard the word modesty in his entire life. A plain towel hung low on his hips, and the only reason it was even remotely secure was due to the fact he held the knot just below his navel. His hair was still wet and sat in heavy clumps that he attempted to brush out with his fingers as he approached your side of the bed with a smile.

“Mornin’ love,” he hummed. His weight sank into the mattress next to you, pulling you into his gravity while his fingers brushed against your cheek. “Sleep alright?”

You nodded your head and hummed in response, but somehow your voice felt pitchy and nearly whiny. You couldn’t be blamed. Not when each and every one of Simon’s tattoos were on display for you and you were engulfed in the fresh scent of his body wash and shampoo. Warmth radiated from his hand that ignited a fire that ate away at your stomach, and you found your thighs squeezing together once more as you attempted to bury yourself further into the mattress and blankets.

It was just because you had just woken up, surely. Simon had never seen you first thing in the morning like that before, and you prayed he would chalk it up to some early morning quirk of yours. Judging by the smirk that blossomed on his face, you knew he saw right through you. Like he could smell the arousal seeping from your body.

“Yeah?” he prompted, voice purposefully teasing in the most wicked way that made your thighs shift.

He chuckled at your pathetic response, and you wanted to be snarky but the words got caught in your throat the moment his hand slid from your cheek and down to your shoulder. Fingers hooking underneath the blanket, he carefully pulled it down as if he was undressing you, and to make it worse, he didn’t take his eyes off of yours.

“What’s got you all hot and bothered, sweetheart?” he asked, tone purposefully low as he dipped his head closer to yours.

His hand continued to run lower as he moved more of the blanket off of you while he explored your legs. And you tried to reply to him, tried to think of something to say but nothing would form properly in your mouth or your brain, so all you did was stutter. Unforgiving, Simon wasn’t making it easy on you at all as his hands drifted between your legs. Before you could stop them, you found your knees splitting apart, legs opening up as if you had been burnt by his touch.

Inviting himself in, Simon fully hopped up on the bed with you, hips settling between your legs while his arms rested on either side of your head. Spiky clumps of still wet hair rubbed against your cheek as his lips latched onto the side of your neck. Blood gushed through your veins and arteries so powerfully you were certain you’d burst at the seams, but no reaction in your body could distract you from the heavy and firm weight that settled on your lower stomach.

Simon’s towel had come off.

“Words, love,” he said, breath tickling your neck.

With so many emotions and thoughts swirling in your mind they all started to blend into one massive mess. You wanted, needed, something to help get rid of that aching feeling in your cunt, and yet at the same time the pressure inside of you built up so quickly you felt like you would pass out. Torture, that’s what it was. Needing something so terribly bad and not knowing how to ask for it.

“Simon,” you stuttered out, throat tight.

“Me?” he repeated, lips finally tearing away from your neck.

He pushed himself away from you until he was on his knees and sitting back on his haunches. You felt small laying underneath him like that, and your teeth sunk into your bottom lip as you stared up at him, eyes widening at the sight of him. Thick corded muscles in his bicep flexed and pulled as he pumped at himself while the sticky sound of precum accompanied the movement. Looking down between your legs you saw the way he was nestled there, thick thighs spreading yours apart while the leaking tip of his cock threatened to ruin your borrowed shorts.

It was then that you noticed the silvery sheen that decorated his glands. At first you thought it was the trick of the light, some sort of wetness that just reflected back the dim sunlight that peeked through the blinds. Then you realized they were piercings. Several of them, to be in fact, all surrounding the head of his cock like a crown. You sat there in awe for a moment as you watched his fingers lazily twist and tug at his tip, length hardening with each bit of stimulation.

“I’ve got you this worked up?” he teased, which had your attention returning to his face. His free hand rested on your thigh before slowly snaking up to your hip inch by burning inch. He gripped the waistband of your shorts and gently began to pull down, exposing the soft flesh and bone that laid underneath. “Sorry ‘bout that, love. Guess I should do something to make it up to you, huh?”

It wasn’t until the shorts had nearly slipped past your pelvic bone that you realized just exactly what you were getting yourself into. More so, what you were getting Simon into. You had never had sex before, and even more, you hadn’t told him. Should you just stay quiet about it? Would he be upset if you didn’t tell him that he was the one taking your virginity? Did he even want to be with someone so clumsy and inexperienced? Vicious thoughts began to swirl around your head, and before you knew it, your hand reached out and grabbed his wrist, instantly making him cease his movements.

“I’ve never…” you blurted out before the air seemed to leave your lungs. You swallowed hard as you saw the confusion twist onto Simon’s face and you suddenly wished you hadn’t spoken at all. “I’ve never… like… had sex before.”

Simon was silent for what felt like an eternity. He slowly raised your shorts back up over your hip as he wetted his lips with his tongue. Gears started to turn so furiously in his head you feared you had broken him. Any moment he would topple over with nothing but smoke and brain goo pouring out of his ears. Instead, he tilted his head to the side as if a curious dog.

“You’re a virgin?” he said, confirming what you had already told him.

For some reason, him putting it so bluntly was more flustering than the fact you had a naked man hovering over you. Ashamed, your legs began to instinctively close, only to be stopped due to Simon’s body still being in the way.

“Sorry,” you muttered, eyes glancing anywhere in the room but him.

“Sorry?” he repeated with a chuckle. The mattress shook as he began to shift to the side where he removed himself from between your legs before collapsing on the bed next to you. Thick, tattooed arms wrapped around you as he planted a quick and surprisingly soft kiss on your shoulder. “Nothin’ to be sorry ‘bout.”

“I killed the mood,” you retorted with a whine. You wanted to thrash around, kick your legs against the mattress, throw a fit, do something because of how frustrated you were that you, once again, fucked something up. Instead you settled for pressing the palm of your hands against your eyes with a heavy sigh. “Maybe it’s for the best. I’m too dumb and clumsy for this shit anyways.”

“Hey,” Simon said, tone sounding almost like a warning.

Without so much as straining, Simon raised a single hand and grabbed both of your wrists before carefully pulling your hands from your face. He propped himself up on his other arm so that he leaned over you halfway, obscuring your vision so that you had no choice but to look at him.

“Sorry,” you apologized yet again before he had the chance to chastise you further. “I just- I want to, I do. It’s just, I get anxious and start to overthink and just…”

It hadn’t even hit noon and for the millionth time that day your words died before they ever fully formed. His eyes were just so goddamn pretty, and you found it difficult to even think when he looked at you. Couple that with the fact he was naked and pressed against you, you were surprised you even got that much out to begin with.

“Quit puttin’ yourself down, sweetheart. I’ll go slower next time,” he assured you as his hand let go of your wrists. “It’s alright to be nervous. That’s why we talk ‘bout these things, yeah?”

His softness and understanding caught you off guard, though you weren’t sure why it did. Throughout your time together he had been nothing but soft, kind and considerate. An asshole for sure, and cocky as all hell, but maybe that’s what you liked most about him. So you nodded your head in agreement and mustered a quiet smile that had him rewarding you with a quick kiss.

He didn’t fully pull away from the kiss, though. Gentle fingers brushed against the side of your face while his lips ghosted against yours in a smirk. Just like that, he had you falling apart at the seams again.

“Next time, I’ll go so slow you’ll be begging for it.”

consider this my way of edging you guys <3

#mafai!simon #mafia!ghost #mafia!141 #simon riley smut #simon riley x reader #ghost x reader #simon ghost riley x reader #ghost smut

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french-unknown · 5 months

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Hello!! I hope you are having the loveliest week and happy new year! I'd love to see the sleepy!strawhat pirates :) thank u!

𝐖𝐇𝐄𝐍 𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐘'𝐑𝐄 𝐒𝐋𝐄𝐄𝐏𝐘

𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐑𝐀𝐂𝐓𝐄𝐑𝐒: luffy, zoro, nami, usopp, sanji, robin 𝐂/𝐖: fluff 𝐀/𝐍: Hello! I also wish you the loveliest week and happy new year! Have a wonderful year 2024 with the best of health! (-‿◦ ) 𝐖/𝐂: 730+

| m a s t e r l i s t | |

𝐋𝐔𝐅𝐅𝐘

✧ With Luffy, there are two atmospheres.

✧ The first is after grueling fights or if he is poisoned, he is the type to drop like a fly without going through the "sleepy" phase. One moment he is fully conscious, and the next he is so asleep that even a cataclysm will not wake him.

✧ He can also fall asleep at the worst times!

✧ Otherwise, he continues to jump around screaming for meat or his teammates until he no longer has a single atom of energy in his body.

✧ When he is in between awake and asleep, he will become quite childish.

✧ A pro at staying awake as long as possible while moaning "I don't want to sleep" when everyone sees 100 kilometers away that he can no longer keep his eyes open.

✧ When he falls asleep, it will FINALLY be silence.

𝐙𝐎𝐑𝐎

✧ He is used to naps so the habits are there.

✧ You know he is tired when you see him wandering around to find his little corner of the sun where he can do his sleeping beauty with, obviously, always a place to religiously put his swords within reach.

✧ He is a routine man so the corners are always the same on the boat.

✧ He also becomes a lot grumpier. Sanji has no interest in dragging him around.

✧ If you ask him something at that moment, he huffs but he does it. He still drags his feet like a teenager and you don't need a doctorate in archeology to understand that it annoys him. But he likes you so he will still do what you want.

✧ He will fall asleep as soon as he is in place. It's almost automatic.

𝐍𝐀𝐌𝐈

✧ Sleepy Nami is more irritable than usual.

✧ As soon as she gets a chance to go into bed, she will grab it like it's a mountain of berries.

✧ She has trouble falling asleep because of the annoyance.

✧ She may be tired as hell, but she won't be able to relax enough to fall asleep quickly.

✧ At some point, she will be too cold so she covers herself in blankets. Then she will be too hot so she takes off the covers. But she will have discomfort in her back so she changes positions. Except that the music that Franky and Brook have been singing all day will be stuck in her head.

✧ There's no point in speaking to her in these cases otherwise, it's guaranteed death!

✧ She also tends to steal every blanket imaginable in order to make the most comfortable bed possible.

𝐔𝐒𝐎𝐏𝐏

✧ A tired Usopp is much slower than usual. He walks slower, talks slower and thinks slower.

✧ He also complains a lot more.

✧ Expect dramatic “But I want to sleeeeeeeeeep!” as if he was going to die or solemn "Chopper, I don't think I could go any further. Go without me, I will only slow you down" under the panicked cries of the reindeer.

✧ The most significant signal is when he starts jumping at everything and nothing.

✧ At the slightest noise, he jumps several centimeters as if he had just been awakened from micronaps, standing with his eyes open.

✧ He also rubs his eyes more.

𝐒𝐀𝐍𝐉𝐈

✧ To say it gets clingy is an understatement.

✧ Until he finally falls asleep at midnight, he will be stuck to you like a mussel to a rock.

✧ He's constantly hugging you from behind or putting his arm around your shoulders. His arms will look more like chains than human limbs after a while.

✧ He pouts if you move away.

✧ Will beg you to go to bed early with him for cuddles.

✧ The rest is up to you.

✧ If he's having trouble sleeping, running your hand through his hair will work wonders. Really. He would kill for the slightest sign of affection when he is half asleep.

𝐑𝐎𝐁𝐈𝐍

✧ A sleepy Robin doesn't change much compared to usual.

✧ The only signal is that she is slightly more distracted.

✧ If you ask her a question, it will take a few seconds before she looks away from the blank space and turns her confused eyes to you so that you repeat what you said.

✧ She's not really trying to fight sleep.

✧ As soon as she mysteriously disappears without warning from your side, you know where to find her. She will already be comfortably asleep in her bed without waiting for you to arrive.

✧ Pretty sleeper by excellence, by the way.

Wow, you find my 4th Easter Egg! take this ψ lemon meringue pie ψ, it's my favorite pastry

𝐉𝐎𝐈𝐍 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐓𝐀𝐆𝐋𝐈𝐒𝐓 𝐈𝐅 𝐘𝐎𝐔 𝐃𝐎𝐍'𝐓 𝐖𝐀𝐍𝐓 𝐓𝐎 𝐌𝐈𝐒𝐒 𝐀𝐍𝐘 𝐔𝐏𝐃𝐀𝐓𝐄

𝐓𝐀𝐆𝐋𝐈𝐒𝐓: @iheartamora @bontensh0e @opchara @idsmash717 @lys-ada @viscade @parkyrr @yasmiinberkaa @dozcan123 @anotherproblemsos @cellgore @sketchmilk @kai-wifey @clovernumber3 @radiorowrites

#one piece #one piece x reader #luffy #luffy x reader #roronoa zoro #zoro x reader #nami #nami x reader #usopp #usopp x reader #sanji #sanji x reader #nico robin #nico robin x reader

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sotwk · 11 months

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Food and Agriculture in Thranduil's Kingdom

It's unfortunate that Thorin's Company was welcomed as dinner guests in Rivendell but imprisoned as invaders in Mirkwood. Had Thorin just shown King Thranduil just a little bit more respect, they could have been fed a whole lot better by the Silvans. And there would most definitely have been meat!

While the Rivendell elves seem to lean vegetarian, and Lothlorien's culinary specialty is the "one bite" lembas, the elves of Greenwood know more than a thing or two about indulgent feasting. These elves consider themselves permanent residents of their land, and with that outlook comes an attitude of celebrating Middle-earth's bounties.

The Silvans of the Woodland Realm have always been fond of feasting, merry-making, and community and family traditions centered around food. Furthermore, they are ruled by a King and royal family who whole-heartedly support this culture, participate in it themselves, and encourage trade that allows the realm to access food from other lands.

When it comes to food, the Greenwood elves are actually more alike Dwarves and Hobbits than they are the lofty High Elves.

Below the cut are SotWK headcanons regarding Food and Agriculture in the Woodland Realm:

Food, Cuisine, and Agriculture in the Woodland Realm

Prior to the establishment of the Woodland Realm and in the early reign of King Oropher (c. SA 700), the Silvan Elves populating Greenwood lived in smaller communities spread throughout the vast forest, but predominantly in the southwest, closer to their kin in Lorinand. Limited subsistence farming was practiced by a few, but by far most food at this time was obtained through hunting and gathering. The rich and bountiful Greenwood had always provided more than enough resources for its dwellers.

GATHERING

Greenwood Elves happily spend most of their immortal lives within Eryn Galen and the lands of Rhovanion, so they are accustomed to living off solely what the forest produces, and their diet is influenced largely by it.

The most commonly foraged edibles are:

Nuts: hazelnut, pecan, walnut, hickory, beechnut, chestnut

Fruit: plum, apple, grape, persimmon

Berries: mulberry, blackberry, currant, elderberry, raspberry

Wild garlic and ramps

Fungi: mushrooms and truffles of many varieties

Eggs: from various wild birds

Herbs and Spices: fennel, corn mint, dandelions, ground elder, pigweed, cicely, sorrel, hogweed, stinging nettle, watercress, wild carrot, rowan, wood avens, sneezewort

Maple: sourced for sugar and syrup

There are also hundreds of plant species native only to Greenwood and Rhovanion that are valued for their uses in healing. However, the Silvan herbalists of Greenwood are usually the only ones able to effectively extract the curative properties of these plants, indicating a connection between Elves and homeland may be necessary for the healing to work.

Art from Fantasy Flight Games

HUNTING

Greenwood Elves are expert hunters and trackers, with unparalleled mastery within their forest and the lands that surround its borders. With careful consideration and instinctual knowledge of the forest ecosystem, they select their prey according to what's most populous, and rotate as necessary to balance out conservation levels.

Among the animals they hunt regularly for meat consumption are rabbit, squirrel, duck, turkey, quail, weasel, racoon, boar, deer, wild oxen, and elk. On rare or special occasions, they hunt less common game such as lion and bear. They also obtain fish and freshwater mussels, clams, and snails from the Forest River and various streams.

It is illegal in Greenwood to hunt or kill specific animals that are declared a protected species, including the King's Elk (the breed of Thranduil's war elk), the silverwolf, and all species of eagle or falcon.

Any fauna or fauna may also be temporarily decreed off-limits for hunting or gathering, by order of the Elvenking and his council.

Any animal taken in as an elf's pet or familiar may also not be killed, so long as it has been properly tamed and does not pose a risk to others.

Throughout the Second Age, the Woodland Realm's population steadily increased under the wise rule of King Oropher and his court. As the communities and villages that made up the kingdom grew larger and more numerous, the practice of agriculture became more widespread to bolster the realm's food supply.

In the Woodland Realm, farming would always remain secondary to hunting and gathering due to the preference of Silvans for wild game and native vegetation. Farmed products serve primarily to enhance cuisine, supplement large feasts, provide reserves in case of war or famine, and as goods for trade with other realms.

FARMING and LIVESTOCK

Tracts of community farmlands were gradually cultivated in the arable fields between Greenwood's western borders (near the capital of Amon Lanc) and the Anduin River.

In order of output, the food crops most commonly grown are: wheat, barley, oats, potatoes, carrots, tomatoes, lettuce, peppers, and peas.

Fiber crops grown for cloth, paper, and rope include: flax, hemp, and cotton.

Domesticated animals are raised in small numbers solely for their by-products and not their meat. In order of importance, livestock that are raised are:

Sheep: source of wool and milk

Chickens: source of eggs

Cows: source of milk and for birthing calves

Animals raised for labor include:

Horses: highly valued and raised exclusively for transport and mounted cavalry

Oxen: used as beasts of burden (large-scale/community work)

Donkeys: used as beasts of burden (small-scale/family work)

When Prince Thranduil built his own palace of Bar Lasgalen just south of the Old Forest Road (which would later become the new capital upon his ascension to the throne), he helped the Silvans residing in the valleys of the Emyn Duir to initiate small-scale agriculture, which encouraged further migration into that area and northward towards the Grey Mountains.

Elvish historians refer to the first millennium of the Third Age as the "Golden Age of the Woodland Realm". During these years, the kingdom enjoyed an unbroken peace under a wise King and Queen who also had five sons actively involved in the governance of the realm.

Departing from his father's more isolationist leanings, Thranduil encouraged trade with realms across Middle-earth. It included all the races except for Hobbits, since the Shire did not yet exist prior to the darkening of Greenwood.

Sadly, most trade came to a stop by the end of the Third Age, with the exception of the nearby Dale, due to the struggles with Dol Guldur. However, after Erebor was reestablished by King Thorin, trade gradually resumed with the Dwarves. After the War of the Ring and the Cleansing of Dol Guldur, Eryn Lasgalen once again thrived with renewed relations with their trade partners--finally including the Shire!

AGRICULTURAL TRADE

The Woodland Realm's three most valuable exported agricultural products are:

Rare spices

Mushrooms and truffles

Medicinal herbs (extremely valuable but highly controlled to prevent misuse)

Imported goods are considered luxuries and not necessities, and are brought in seasonally for community feasts and celebrations (of which there are many). Everything is meant for the consumption of all the kingdom's citizens, regardless of status; there is never anything reserved as "special" for the royals or nobles.

The top agricultural imports, usually from realms/communities of Men, are:

Wine

Textiles (silk, cotton)

Seafood

Sugar

Cheeses

ARTISAN COOKS and BAKERS

Exposure to outside realms and cultures also resulted in an expansion of the culinary arts within Thranduil's kingdom. Cooking and baking became full-blown, respected and sought-after professions instead of tasks done within individual households. With the King's support, talented Elves were sent to other realms to learn their culinary practices; chefs from other kingdoms were invited to Greenwood as royal guests to do the same.

A few culinary feats and innovations the Woodland Elves became known for:

Use of offal (innards) in recipes that actually taste fantastic, thanks to seasonings and skilled cookery

Using literally every single part of a butchered animal with zero waste

Aphrodisiacs in common food recipes, using plant ingredients (partly responsible for their marriage and birth rates and large families)

Salted game meat (jerky) that is highly nourishing and excellent for travel; essentially a meat version of lembas

The use of whipped egg whites to make essentially a type of meringue--which opened up an entire category of desserts that became staples at feasts

Bonus Fun Headcanons! (as a thank you for reading this far)

Mealtimes in Thranduil's Family

No one can beat Ada in drinking contests, ever; it has been attempted hundreds of times--usually with Dorwinion wine--and Thranduil has never been dethroned by his sons.

The King and every single one of the Princes are all heavy eaters, and everyone, including the Queen, eats meat.

While they all observe formal manners at the table, the Princes can get rowdy when not in the presence of their mother--especially when there's drinking involved. (Not quite as bad as Thorin's Company, but close.)

Breakfast: Taken individually in their own rooms, according to each one's schedule/leisure

Lunch: The most commonly skipped meal; usually taken "on the go", and oftentimes with people outside of the family (e.g. business lunches, lunch with friends)

Dinner: The family meal. Everyone is expected to sit down and eat dinner with the rest of the family, unless traveling or there is a prior commitment that takes precedence.

Random Fun Food Facts with the Thranduilions

The Princes regularly compete to see who can eat the most exotic/"disgusting" food items. Turhir remains champion at this (able and willing to eat literally everything), with Legolas frequently trying (and constantly failing) to unseat him.

They have also competed to see who can eat the riskiest (aka poisonous) food items. Arvellas has somehow proven to be the most impervious to natural poisons, much to Gelir's frustration.

Legolas can go the longest without eating food, but no one really cares to try to beat his record.

Mirion is the heaviest eater, but is also the fastest, and because he has flawless table manners no one really notices.

Gelir can find truffles just using his sense of smell--yes, like a truffle pig. He has successfully trained other similarly gifted Elves to do the same.

For more Thranduil/Mirkwood headcanons: SotWK HC Masterlist

Tolkien Headcanon tag list: @quickslvxr @laneynoir @auttumnsayshi @achromaticerebus @tamryniel @friendofthefellowshipsnerdblog @blueberryrock @aduialel @glassgulls @ladyweaslette @klytemnestra13 @creativity-of-death @heilith @fizzyxcustard @absentmindeduniverse @lathalea @tamurilofrivendell @jordie-your-local-halfling @ladyk8tie @scyllas-revenge @asianbutnotjapanese @conversacomsmaug @lemonivall @ratsys @a-world-of-whimsy-5 @entishramblings @stormchaser819 @freshalmondpandadonut

#sotwk headcanon #thranduil #thranduil headcanon #legolas #mirkwood #mirkwood elves #the elvenking #the hobbit #lord of the rings #tolkien #tolkien headcanons

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thegoatsongs · 7 months

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The Crew and Bulgarian cuisine in Varna

First off, Jonathan. I think he would want to try Shkembe (Bulgarian tripe soup), and love it. Tripe soup isn't common in England, but we know he is open to new experiences and that he is daring. Plus, he used to be poor and it's likely he's been having similar cuts of meat, which was most affordable in England. Tripe soup has variations in Southeastern Europe and the Middle East, but the Bulgarian version adds paprika in particular and, in fact, claims the more paprika, the better. (imo it's up to your spice taste)

Is he trying any in Varna? I say yes. Because tripe soup places are traditionally open all night and morning because they're commonly visited around dawn by graveyard-shift working-class people, sailors, and people who drank the night away. Because it settles the stomach.

After Mina's dawn report, he sometimes goes there to eat, after another night of being up with Mina. He's not been very hungry, but he tries to eat... He needs his strength. He of course asks for extra paprika. He needs to feel somewhat alive.

I see Mina liking fish, and Varna is a sea town. I base this on her surname and her strong affinity with the seashore, mostly. She would really like deep-fried sprats (tsatsa), herring-like fish with lemon and fries. Sort of reminds her of home with its fish and chips. She would like the various Black Sea fishes like shad and goby, and mussels. She avoids going out when she's awake, but Jonathan knows her tastes and brings her seafood.

She tries to eat like a normal human, for him. It gets less and less easier.

Van Helsing may have tried a few Balkan dishes before but I think that he would like local Lozomi Sarmi. Rice/veggie/herb-stuffed grape leaves are a staple starter in the Balkans. I see him in general preferring vegetarian dishes but he'll have some of the ground meat stuffed ones. Dipped in Bulgarian yogurt.

Quincey is a meat lover to me and I can see him loving Meshana Skara, aka assorted meat dish, that includes meatballs, the famous kebapche, steak, and pita. Arthur isn't a lover of the local cuisine but he will try it if his friends are having it. It's what he usually does in their travels. But he eats plenty of Bulgarian yogurt, Kiselo Mlyako. It's sour, and he prefers it that way, than adding honey.

Jack likes trying new things and assessing them, he'll try almost anything once. It's autumn and getting chillier at the seaport, so he opts for warmer food like Gyuvech, a vegetable casserole with beef and potatoes in red sauce.

His insomnia sometimes brings him to overnight restaurants. Sometimes, after dawn, he sees Jonathan there. They sit and eat and smoke together, mostly in silence.

#I have regularly tried all variations of those they are so good #in general balkan and middle eastern cuisine rule #dracula daily #dracula #mina harker #jonathan harker #jack seward #arthur holmwood #quincey morris #abraham van helsing #bulgaria #balkan culture #balkan cuisine

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plaguedocboi · 8 months

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you know how some zoos do “nice animal” and “naughty animal” of the week? i don’t know if your aquarium has any particularly naughty animals (the snails are sinless) but do you think you could pick a few of each for us?

I think our naughtiest animal is probably Neptune the lobster because he escaped and went on a whole adventure in the ocean for a week before we got him back. Other naughty animals are Elvis the lobster (because she’s just full of rage and tries to fight us all the time) and the Big Hermit Crab because he steals the whelk’s food.

Nice animals of the week are Diesel the giant crab because he’s just a very polite boy and Conner the cunner because he ate a mussel and a chunk of herring (and he used to spit out anything that wasn’t Cubed Shrimp Meat but we are trying to diversify his diet)

#asks #best fishes #we should start doing a nice and naughty animal of the week #that would be fun for when we open next summer

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ltwilliammowett · 3 months

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Cooking like a Sailor - New England Clam Chowder

However, a warm savory steam from the kitchen served to belie the apparently cheerless prospect before us. But when that smoking chowder came in, the mystery was delightfully explained. Oh, sweet friends! hearken to me. It was made of small juicy clams, scarcely bigger than hazel nuts, mixed with pounded ship biscuit, and salted pork cut up into little flakes; the whole enriched with butter, and plentifully seasoned with pepper and salt. - Moby Dick

What Herman Meville describes here is a very famous New England dish - the clam chowder. A chowder is "a soup or stew of seafood (such as clams or fish) usually made with milk or tomatoes, salt pork, onions and other vegetables". Whilst there are different types of chowder, clam chowder is undoubtedly the best known. The definition of chowder varies depending on the part of the country, but most contain clams, potatoes, onions and some form of pork. Some use milk or another type of broth, but this type of dish was very popular on board ships where it was cooked and served in different ways. According to Savouring Gotham: A Food Lovers Companion to New York City, it is believed that New England chowder was introduced to the region by French, Nova Scotian or British settlers and became a common dish in the region around 1700. The chowder grew in popularity over the years and, according to What's Cooking America, was served in Boston as early as 1836 at Ye Olde Union Oyster House (the oldest continuously operating restaurant in the country).

But let's get to the recipe so you can cosy up at home with your copy of Moby Dick and enjoy a nice serving of clam chowder.

What do you need: 1 small onion 1 kilogram of salted pork 2 medium potatoes 1 1/2 cups of water 1 tin with about 200 grams of mussels 1 bottle with about 350ml mussel juice

1/8 teaspoon of pepper 1 1/2 cup of milk

To prepare:

cut the meat into pieces of about 2.5c and brown in a pan over a medium heat. Then set aside.

chop the onions and fry them in the pan, in the meantime cut the potatoes into small pieces and add them to the onions, cover with water and cook until the potatoes are soft.

add the mussels and their juice and season with pepper. Cook over a medium heat until they are steaming.

Add 1 1/2 cups of milk. Heat over a medium heat for 5 minutes.

Add the meat and serve. Best eaten with ship's biscuits or fresh bread, if available.

Enjoy your meal.

#naval history #18th century #age of sail #clam chowder #cooking like a sailor

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txaring · 2 months

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Dietary urges. 379 words.

I'll often experience variations in my dietary urges. There are times where I crave to hunt marine life, and others where I crave to hunt terrestrial life. Usually, though, I feel a mix of both, and I crave [raw] fish and meat year-round, but there are times where one prevails over the other. For a long while, this left me puzzled, when the urge to eat meat and hunt terrestrial life prevailed, I wondered if I was an in-land wolf, as well as coastal. With time, and research, I found that's not the case. I'm solely a coastal wolf. But, how did I reach this conclusion?

Well, I knew sea wolves preyed on ungulates, but the strength and frequency in which I craved to eat these animals, as well as their strong importance to my identity, and my year-round urge to eat raw meat, made me feel like there had to be something more to it. That's when I started looking into coastal wolves' hunting habits.

With my research, I found two crucial bits of information: first, is that their diet varies depending on the region the group of wolves is located in, for example, mainland wolves have 10%-25% of their diet consist of marine-life, while inner-island wolves have up to 50%, and outer-island wolves have between 75%-95%; and, second, is that the wolves migrate between those regions throughout the year. Everything clicked into place when I read these. I finally began to understand myself and my dietary urges more.

One thing became clear to me: I am more coastal wolf than I thought.

Another thing I've noticed is that I crave things I don't physically like or that haven't tried before. Mussels and clams are the example that first comes to mind. I don't like them, but the idea of crushing them between my jaws and eating them makes me salivate. I haven't tried deer, elk, or moose, but when I see a predator take them down and feast, I can't help but want to join in.

I find this experience very interesting, especially considering I'm a 'picky-eater', and I struggle with and avoid unfamiliar flavors. I shouldn't have a 'positive' reaction, yet, these foods I'm that aversed towards / dislike / or haven't even tasted make me salivate.

Have you experienced something similar?

#critter's musings #therian #therianthropy #therianthrope #alterhuman #nonhuman #otherkin #canine therian #caninekin #coastal wolf therian #coastal wolf kin #coastal wolfkin #sea wolf therian #sea wolfkin #wolf therian #wolfkin

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