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#the buttery culture
magz · 3 months
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[ Original Twitter Thread by @/beelektra ] - Not by Magz, am not Palestinian
Palestinian Foods. (long post)
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"🧵 Thread of Palestinian desserts I've grown up around and seen A thing I'd like to add is that I just like to share my culture! I do not want to spread the narrative that our culture is dying, I only want people to see our foods and traditions 🇵🇸
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"As mentioned in the last post, we have knafeh (or kunafa), a buttery dessert made with shredded pastry layers such as cheese and other ingredients like pistacho or cream!"
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"Burbara; which comes from Saint Barbara, fun fact! It's a soup dessert that mainly consists of barley, licorice spices, anise, cinnamon, and fennel powder This is a dessert usually many Christian families have to celebrate Saint Barbara, which is December 4th!"
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"Malban, which resembles a fruit jelly! Made from starch and sugar Specifically, it's made with grape molasses, thickened with starch and flavored with rose water, and stuffed with almonds (or other nuts including walnuts, treenuts, and peanuts)"
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"Khabeesa is simply just a pudding made with grapes, but you prepare it by mixing the grape juice with semolina and nuts + seeds."
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"Mtabbak or mtabba, a crispy dough stuffed with crushed walnuts. It also contains cinnamon, sugar, and syrup. Photo credits go to Bartek Kieżun on Instagram"
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"Tamriyeh, a fried pastry filled with semolina pudding, scenter with mastic and orange blossom water, and topped off with powdered sugar"
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"Ka'ak bi Tamer, which are date paste filled cookies with cinnamon! A dessert made for Eid-Alfitr. It's topped with nigella seeds, and the cinnamon-spiced date paste is the most important part of it all– you can eat it on its own or have it with coffee"
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"+ Ka'ak Asawer, another dessert that can be prepared for Eid-Alfitr. It's translated to bracelet cookies, and they use date paste, flour, anise seeds, sugar, ground cinnamon, and olive oil"
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"Muhallebi or mahalabia, a milk pudding that's made with sugar, corn starch, and fragrant flavorings! It's topped off with nuts, pistachos, and almonds and sprinkled with ground cinnamon or shredded coconut"
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"Rice pudding, which is a common dessert in Palestine, and it's your choice to top it off with nuts or not"
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"Stuffed dates, using medjool dates and cracking them open to be stuffed with goat cheese and pistachios– but you're free to add anything else"
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"Ma'amoul, a buttery crisp cookie primarily made of farina and can be stuffed with (spiced) dates, walnuts, or pistachios. This is another Christian dessert made by Palestinian mothers during the week of Easter Sunday."
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"Halawit Smid, a farina based dessert with added sugar and unsalted cheese. It's preferably served fresh"
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"Namoura cake, aka harissa dessert! It's made with semolina or farina flour, and then topped off with syrup once baked"
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"Qatayef, which is eaten during the month of Ramadan. It's made of farina, flour, water, and yeast blended together– the process is pretty similiar to making pancakes, but only one side is cooked"
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"Since I've mentioned using zaatar for a lot of things, I recently just discovered this but– there's also things such as zaatar cookies!! It's just as implied that the cookies are filled with zaatar, I'd be so willing to make this on my own"
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"Baklava, made from phyllo pastry dough, butter, nuts, basil, and a sweet honey syrup"
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"Aish el saraya, arabic version of a bread pudding. It's basically a layered bread, where it starts from the bottom, then covered with a sweet syrup, cream, and crumbled pistachios."
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"Awwami, it's defined as "crisp donut ball" in English. It's a deep fried dough ball coated with sesame seeds, and dipped in cold syrup water."
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"Halawet el Jibn, a sweet cheese dessert rolled with custard, heavy cream, drizzled rose water + syrup, and garnished with nuts."
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"Lastly, I'd like to add watermelon and cheese– for me, it's like,,,, bittersweet!!! You should totally try it and we also have this during Ramadan"
"Well, that's all I can think of for Palestinian desserts! Here's the first part for general foods, I know I did make a promise for part two
I hope you guys liked this thread, and if you have any opinions please feel free to quote tweet anything on here if I made a mistake, feel free to correct me, it's always appreciated P.S if you're a zionist commenting here I really don't care, just scroll, I'm sharing my culture
One LAST thing. if you want any of the recipes from here, check out this website, the creator (Wafa) shares so many wonderful traditional Palestinian dishes."
[End Quote]
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luveline · 8 months
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Hi Jade!! 💛💛 Omg obsessed with soulmate prince Steve au 🥰. Every au you write is perfection Can I request a scenario in which prince Steve actually witnesses someone say something to her about how she’s not good enough for the prince and how he’d react to that/ reassure her?
prince!steve au ♡ fem, 1.2k
Your palatial bedroom is a gem to the eye. You've a huge window from which gauzy orange light seeps, the golden hour of your twentieth day coming to an end. Soon, night will be upon you, and with the night comes Prince Steven. Or, as he prefers, Steve.  
He spends the days battling his overbearing mother and her team of 'professional shitheads' as the wedding fast approaches, advocating for you where you can't. You may be his soul mate, but your lack of royal blood means you've no choice in any of their plans. You hadn't been allowed to choose your dress, your vows, or even your jewellery. 
Well, originally. "It's your wedding," Steve had said, giving your hand a reassuring hold, "not just mine, and definitely not theirs. You'll be allowed to wear, and say, and do whatever you want. I'm lucky you agreed to marry me at all." 
You don't regret agreeing to marry him, but it wasn't what you pictured. He didn't propose, and you aren't in love. Your soul marks assure you that one day you will be. The volume of their light and how restless they become around the other evidences a mutual attraction if nothing else, and the rosy hue they take when you touch spares nothing. 
A mutual crush doesn't normally mean you'd marry someone, though. But it isn't exactly unheard of in your culture either. Soul mates are soul mates —it's on the tin. 
Why wait to get married when you know you'll fall in love for life? 
Maybe because that love is extremely daunting, a little voice says at the back of your head. Because Steve is still a stranger. 
An acquaintance might be more accurate. If he continues to be so dramatically nice you might skip friendship altogether, your stomach a heat at the memory of his hand on your chin and the subtle warmth of his gaze as he laid your doubts to rest. You worried to him that you couldn't be a Princess, and while he hadn't shared the sentiment, others do. 
You leave the haven of your room in hopes of a glass of juice and a tonic for your headache (all you've done for days is grind your teeth), and become turned around looking for the kitchens 
"She is so boringly normal. I thought the Prince would have a special soul mate, is that stupid? I thought she'd be gorgeous, or smart, or talented at something, like piano." The servant hits her racket against the rug with a laugh. "She's just one of us. Lucky bitch." 
Which isn't the worst of it. Not truly offensive. You're nothing special, and if you didn't know it already, finding your soulmate cemented it. 
This bit hurts, though. "She's surprisingly ugly, I thought," says the other servant. "Imagine when they project their engagement photos in the central city. That is not a face you want to see in sixteen k." 
Your head bumps into the alcove wall with surprise as a throat clears. The servants look up in tandem, to your horror, seeing you standing in the shade like a creeper, but they see straight past you. You follow their gaze. 
"That's not fair or appropriate, is it?" Steve asks, in his strange princely tone. "The future princess is just as beautiful as you ladies, but she has a much nicer attitude, yeah?" 
Steve puts his hand on your shoulder and walks you away. You feel like you're in trouble, being marched by the class warden to the principal's office.
He stops you in the cool stone walkway that leads from the garden. You can smell the kitchen you'd been looking for, the buttery smell of capers and brewing edelweiss tea on the breeze. The night dawns, sconces with teal and lime light painting his skin baby blue. 
"Sorry I didn't sanction them. I think that the anxiety that I'm gonna tell on them does more than the actual–" Steve stops short. "Hey, are you crying?" 
You're not crying, but you may be a little sniffly. You turn your head away from him and he pulls it right back, his lips parted in shock. 
"You don't believe them," he says incredulously.
The stress in your life these last few weeks has been akin to a tightrope walker, and the insults (the embarrassment, knowing he heard) are a strong wobble. 
"Sorry," you say, your lips barely parted. You try to look away from him but his hand is steadfast on your cheek. 
It's so odd to be treated with tenderness by someone you don't really know. His soul mark burns a muted pinky-red at the pulse of his wrist. It's genuine affection, even if you feel like you don't deserve it. 
"I'm sorry," he says. "Maybe I should go back and have them do domestic duties for the week."
"No, I'm being stupid. They don't have to think I'm pretty–" 
"Well, they should, but that's not really what happened… Why are you down here? I was looking for you." 
"You were?" you ask. 
"I usually am. I tried to get out of fencing but they wouldn't let me leave," he explains, his hand moving up your face in little grabs, almost as though he's checking you over for injury. Eyes held, Steve smiles at you encouragingly. "Why were you down here?" 
"To get something to drink," you say. 
"And you didn't want to ask one of the ten people waiting desperately for you to need something?" he asks with a laugh, dropping his hand from your face. The phantom of it remains, heat in the shape of his fingers pressed into your cheek.
"It feels weird." 
"You can call for me instead and I could get you a drink. Just until you know where the kitchen is. Or I can make you a map." 
"A map," you say, biting back a smile. 
"Is that funny?" 
"No…" 
Steve curls a hand behind your shoulder. "We're not gonna get along," he says, his tone suggesting wildly otherwise. "I can tell. Let's get you that drink, okay?" 
"Okay. Sorry for, um, getting all emotional on you." 
"'In good times and bad,'" he says. Your heart doesn't leap, it springs from your chest. He's a prince, and he's beautiful, and now he's throwing wedding vows at you like it's nothing? 
You smile at your shoes all the way to the kitchens, where Steve ushers you in front of him to go first, and says in your ear, "For the record, I'm personally super excited to see you on the holo screens, but I don't think it's gonna compare to the real thing." He directs you by the waist gently, a twin of the way he'd held you in your engagement photos. Deft hand nestled against the fat of your hip, blue silk of your ceremonial kissing your thighs. You'd felt really pretty, if only because he touched you without hesitation. "You are the farthest thing from ugly I've ever seen." 
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the-travelling-witch · 6 months
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𝐀 𝐓𝐑𝐈𝐂𝐊𝐘 𝐓𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐓
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summary: the plan was to spend a chill movie night at the castle but when was the last time anything went according to plan in the devildom?
pairing: dragon! barbatos x afab reader (gn/no pronouns used)
warnings: nsfw/ minors dni, dragon! barbatos, dom! barbs , aphrodisiac spit (idc if i made it up, deal with it), double penetration, two cocks, monster + tail fucking, breeding kink, oviposition, cream pie, pool sex, marking, a little bit of possessiveness (as a treat)
a/n: this is part of a low-key collab between @majoliish and me (aka we worked off the same setting and then branched off); i will update this with the link to his fic once he posts dia's part ♡
obey me! masterlist
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The golden gates of the Demon Lord’s Castle swung open, revealing the grand hallway leading you inside. Awaiting you was, of course, none other than the royal butler, Barbatos. You couldn’t help the grin spreading on your lips as you skipped up the last steps to meet him, grateful for the warmth radiating against the frigid night air. 
“Good evening,” Barbatos greeted, slightly bowing, despite how often you told him not to. “It is most fortunate you could meet the Young Master and I for our Halloween movie night. As you are aware, the Young Master wished to spend the night before his grand birthday party learning more about human culture, so we appreciate you making the time for us.”
“No need to make it so formal, Barbatos, you know I’ve been looking forward to seeing you guys. You’re always terribly busy after all,” you laughed as he led you inside. The castle was lit entirely with candles tonight, making your shadows flicker as you walked.
“You are no better in that regard, always trying to reign in those brothers. It cannot be easy either.” When you entered what in other houses might be considered the living room, the smell of buttery popcorn, pumpkin spice and baked goods filled your senses.
“Wow, Barbs, speaking of busy, how many hours did you slave away in the kitchen for this?” You breathed in deeply, savouring the delicious aroma. “I can’t wait to ruin all your hard work by eating it. It smells divine.” 
“Oh please, this was nothing. There  would be no better compliment than enjoying yourself.” With practised ease, Barbatos helped you out of your coat, taking in the costume you were pulling at nervously with his malachite eyes studying you. “I must say, you look lovely tonight, as always. Though I’m afraid to say it is not fear my heart is shaking with.” 
“Thanks,” you stammered out, one hand bashfully rubbing your neck. 
You took this opportunity to take in Barbatos’s appearance as well. On first glance, his costume would pass for an ordinary demon form, however, his normally delicate looking horns had been replaced with ones growing backwards, branching out like sleek corals, and his ears had elongated into translucent fins. Different hues of blue and teal draped around him, the silky texture of his clothes shimmering with every motion and reminding you of the ocean.
Patches of scales were visible on his cheeks and collarbones, shimmering different shades of turquoise and aquamarine as he moved. As a nice surprise he had also removed the gloves he’d usually wear, showcasing claws that looked sharp and were probably sharper. Most intriguing of all, however, was the scaled tail swishing under layers of flowy, wave-like fabric. While it resembled his demon form in colour, the texture was completely different and it reached way further than normal.
“Wow, Barbatos, you look amazing,” you said, in awe at his graceful appearance. He was already a fascinating demon under normal circumstances but on this night it was hard to tear your eyes away from him. 
“Your high praise is ever so delightful, I shall remember it.” Again he bowed politely, the gesture smooth and elegant. “The Young Master and I have settled on the theme of dragons, though we both directed our focus on different kinds. As you can see, I have taken on the appearance of an aquatic dragon.”
Speaking of Diavolo, he met up with you shortly after, sporting a red and golden costume that played into his already dragon-like features and made him look even more impressive than usual. But in typical Diavolo fashion he was nothing but sweet as he greeted you, his joyful laughter bouncing off the wall as he gladly shared his excitement with you.
“Oh right, I almost forgot! I brought some snacks too!” You pulled various treats from your bag, some of them procured from the Human Realm with Solomon’s help but also a pack of chocolates Asmo had given you. “I know they don’t compare to Barbatos’s creations but I didn’t want to show up empty handed.”
“No, this is great!” Diavolo grinned, inspecting the candies from your world. “The purpose of this get-together is to learn about your culture after all.”
“Indeed, these provide a most valuable insight.” Quickly transferring them into various bowls, Barbatos set them up on the table in front of the biggest TV you had ever seen, before turning back to the two of you. “Shall we begin our movie night then?”
“Well, that’s what we’re here for tight?” You laughed as you settled on the couch, Diavolo and Barbatos on each side of you. With a flick of his hand, Barbatos dimmed the flicker of the candles to a dim light, creating the kind of spooky atmosphere expected of a Halloween movie night.
It was nice to see some classic films from your world while trying everything laid out in front of you. Obviously Barbatos’s baking tasted even better than it smelled and you could have eaten every last piece of it, but the chocolates you brought were pretty decent as well, your companions agreeing.
All in all, it was just the kind of relaxing night you didn’t get often around here and which you desperately needed.
Half-way through your second film, you’d noticed Barbatos shift rather often, which was unusual for someone as composed as him, to say the least. He’d assured you everything was alright, that it was just the unfamiliar attire that took some getting used to. Still a little sceptical, you turned back to the movie and tried to trust his judgement.
The heat radiating from both sides was getting harder to justify by the two just being demons and your concerns were proven right when Barbatos, of all demons, excused himself and took an awful amount of time just to never come back.
You apologised to the prince as you got up to search for the butler yourself. Something was definitely wrong and if there was someone who was predestined to uncover it, it would be you. The only problem: the castle was huge and Barbatos was more skilled at appearing and disappearing wherever and whenever he liked.
The halls were eerily silent, making your steps echo loudly in your ears despite the plush carpets. Every few metres you looked over your shoulder when the flicker of your own shadow or the branches moving outside the window caught your attention from the corner of your eye. Whenever a particularly strong gust of wind howled and rattled the windows, your steps hastened just a little bit.
When you had already opened just about every door and checked every room you came across, you were about to give up. Clearly, Barbatos didn’t want to be found, so what were the chances that you could?
You pushed open the heavy door to the palace pools, inhaling the distinguishing smell associated with pools and feeling the humidity in the air. The moon was full and high in the sky as it shone its silver light through the round centre of the all-glass window front and the waves broke the light, reflecting a hypnotising pattern onto the walls.
It might have gone unnoticed under the moonlight but a splash in the water alerted you to the presence in the room. There, in the centre of the pool, teal hair floated through the water, the long flowy fabric of Barbatos’s costume moving around him like the iridescent tentacles of a jellyfish.
“Barbatos!” You exclaimed, already at the edge of the pool by the time his name fully left your lips. Of course, his attention was already on you; he never could have missed you entering the room. “There you are! I was so worried, you know. But it’s an odd time to take a dip… not that I’m judging you or anything.”
“I appreciate the sentiment,” the demon chuckled, a low and melodic sound that had your heart melting. “Although I assure you I would not be here if it was not strictly necessary to my predicament.”
“Your predicament?” You questioned, squatting down to be closer to him. “What’s going on? Are you ill or something?”
“Your concern warms my heart, truly,” he smiled. From up close you could see the scales that looked so realistic glistening with the water drops that dripped from his hair. In the moonlight they looked like they were made of precious gemstones and you couldn’t help but think how good he looked like this. Extending a courteous hand to you, his stunning eyes found yours. “Why don’t you join me and I'll show you what I mean? I promise there’s nothing dangerous about it.”
Without hesitating you put your hand in his, fully trusting him. Then you realised how detailed his costume was. You hadn’t noticed earlier but the colour of his teal nails extended onto his fingers as well, right about to the second knuckle, contrasting the translucent webbing spanning between his fingers. 
Then he pulled you into the water and steadied you by the waist when you jumped because of the chill. You could feel his claws digging into your hips through the wet clothes sticking to your skin. But you hardly had time to think about it as you were already drifting through the water, securely held in Barbatos’s grip, who was cutting through the water as if it was nothing. Sure, he always looked effortless but it was as if he didn’t even need to move his legs.
That was when you felt it. Amongst the tingling sensation of his silky attire wafting around your legs, something strong and scaly brushed against your calf. You of course saw the tail earlier but it was just a costume, surely it shouldn’t be this functional… or this long.
“You seem rather speechless, what is the matter?” Spinning you around as you came to a stop, his chest pressed against your back, your hand still in his grasp. His voice was low as his lips rested near your ear, the vibrations of his voice travelling down your spine. “Imagine my surprise when I found out I had turned into the very thing I was masquerading as this entire evening.”
“W-What?” You stuttered, trying to wrap your head around this new piece of information as Barbatos’s lips attached themselves to the skin behind your ear. “You turned into a dragon? How?”
“Because of you, my dear. Or rather, because of those chocolates you brought. An accident perhaps,” he muttered as his mouth travelled down the side of your neck and lavished the juncture where your neck met your shoulder with attention. “Or perhaps you knew full-well of the effects it had and it was a deliberate move on your part? No matter what is the case, are you ready to face the consequences of the situation you have put me in?”
“The consequences?” You airily asked, focusing on keeping your thoughts in line as Barbatos leaned over you and started trailing kisses all over your jaw. The hand that was on your waist all this time had moved to hold the other side of your face, angling your head the way he pleased. This dominant side of Barbatos made you thank the stars that your knees couldn’t buckle as you melted into his hold.
“Looking at you, I’m certain you are already aware,” the demon said, though he still pressed his hips into your backside for emphasis. The feeling of the big bulge straining against his clothes had you stifling a moan by biting your bottom lip. “If I may be so bold to read your reaction, you want this too, do you not? If not, you should voice it now as I can feel my self-restraint slipping.”
There was no denying it, you had been dreaming of having Barbatos like this since you had gotten to know him. Something about the butler had captivated you and your interest had only grown the more time you spent around him. And though you would never admit it, the image of his skilled fingers doing other things than preparing tea had filled your mind on more nights than one. Even if he wasn’t completely himself right now, you would not be idiotic enough to pass up this chance.
“Barbatos, please,” you all but whimpered, trying to grind your hips back against him in the water, your fingers grazing over the fin on his ear as you reached back for him. His groan sounded like music to your ears and you could feel the arousal starting to pool below your navel. 
“What are you pleading for, my dear?” Barbatos whispered, his lips almost brushing yours now as he pulled you even closer to him. “What are you thinking of? Tell me, so I can make it become reality.”
“Please touch me, Barbatos,” you begged, aware how needy you sounded when he hadn’t even done anything yet. “I need you to.”
“As you wish,” he approved before slotting his lips against yours. They were slippery from the water but still pillowy-soft and soon you were humming against them. As if to swallow your noises, Barbatos parted his mouth and you felt a split tongue flick against the seam of your lips.
You easily granted him access, allowing him to tangle his tongue with yours but you had underestimated his transformation, which granted him an inhumanly long appendage to map your mouth out with. Occasionally, your tongue would bump into the tip of one of his fangs and it sent a shiver down your spine. When you parted to allow oxygen back into your lungs, rather than water, it was your shared saliva coating his lips and connecting you both by a string.
“So soft and obedient…” Babatos groaned as he nipped at your shoulder, sharp fangs grazing the skin but not breaking it. Turning you to face him, he encouraged you to wrap your legs around his waist as he moved you through the pool again. “No wonder demons fall for humans’ temptations so easily. You make it incredibly difficult to control myself.”
Shortly thereafter, the edge of the pool dug into your back as your demon started working on freeing your body from your costume. Uncharacteristically enough, instead of meticulously peeling you out of it, the loud sound of ripped fabric could be heard over the rippling water. Whatever was left of your clothes was carelessly tossed somewhere onto the floor, Barbatos too busy licking and sucking all over your collarbones and chest to care.
As you were stripped bare piece by piece for his eyes to drink up, you rolled your head back when his tongue literally wrapped around one of your pebbled nipples, making you gasp. Threading your hand into his teal locks, you gave them a harsh tug when his mouth closed fully around your areola, no doubt leaving a red ring of imprints around it. To keep you steady as your back arched into his touch, you felt pinpricks of his claws digging into your hips, the pain making you moan out in lust. 
Seemingly drawn in by the noise and determined to coax more of them from you, Barbatos connected your lips again in an open mouthed kiss that felt filthier than the first one as he crowded you against the edge of the pool, pressing his hips into your swivelling ones. The more he kissed you the foggier your mind became, slick starting to ruin your underwear which was clinging to your folds. It also loosened your inhibitions, having you moan freely and making you beg without shame as long as he touched you.
“You are truly magnificent,” he whispered as if it was something only deemed fit for your ears to hear. Goosebumps rose in the wake of his wandering fingers, claws grazing your skin as light as feathers, the ghost of his touch spreading across your entire body. “The finest works of art do not compare to you. It’s my deepest pleasure to have you all to myself and leave my mark on your beauty.”
“More, please, more,” you whimpered and Barbatos would be a fool not to give you exactly what you wanted when you were giving yourself to him so freely.
“Such a good human, already begging me so sweetly,” he crooned against your temple, water droplets from his hair landing on your feverish skin. With a quick swipe of his claws, the restricting fabric of your bottoms and underwear fell away and you sighed at the cool sensation of the water enveloping your heat. “Anything for you.”
You felt weightless as Barbatos lifted you out of the water to settle you on the edge, then swam closer to take his rightful place between your legs. Even if you wanted to close them out of embarrassment, you couldn’t, not with his strong, webbed hands keeping you spread wide open for him as his nails dimpled the fat of your thighs. To steady yourself and avoid keeling over, your fingers found their way back into his hair, this time grabbing hold of the base of his horn.
The tips of his tongue flicked around the inside of your thighs, gradually wandering closer to where you wanted him most but in your opinion he was needlessly drawing it out. By now, your muscles were twitching in need at his sweet torture and your fingers tightened around his horn. In return, a sharp nip into the inside of your thigh jerked your hips and heat shot through your veins.
“Patience, my dear,” he reprimanded, eyes sharp as he looked up at you. You could see his tail flick behind him, the fin and tapered tip breaking the surface of the water every now and then. “I need to prepare you well for what’s to come or you’ll struggle to take all of me.”
In response, you clenched around nothing, something that didn’t go unnoticed by the dragon in front of you. His eyes attentively tracked the way your slick gathered on his fingers as he carefully ran a digit through your slit, careful not to nick you with his claws. Your entire being seized up when he put pressure on your neglected clit which only started pulsing more intensely under his treatment.
The tongue you had grown to love slipped past his lips and lapped your arousal from his own digits making him sigh. “You already smelled delicious but you taste so much more exquisite. I have to get a proper taste if you offer something so sweet to me.”
Just from watching him, an embarrassing amount of slick had started to soil the tiles you were sitting on and you couldn’t remember ever being this worked up before. So it felt like heaven when Barbatos’s tongue finally came into contact with the sensitive skin around your core. For a moment you thought he’d tease you further but he decided to be merciful and drag the appendage through the length of your slit, the tip pressing down on your clit after the delightful reaction you had shown him earlier.
If you thought the butler was already skilled with his fingers you had severely underestimated his oral capabilities. When he’d drenched your core in his spit to his satisfaction, your folds even more susceptible to his every touch now, he wasted no more time diving into your heat.
“Barbatos!” Your gasp of his name echoed around the otherwise empty pool area and you gripped the tiled edge for dear life. The length of his flexible tongue allowed him to easily map out your body and find every last sensitive spot of your velvety walls. “So good! Don’t stop, please!”
Spurred on by your praise, one hand reached up to circle your clit, the movement fast and precise and you simultaneously pushed your hips forward and his head closer to you. Peering down through your lashes with half-lidded eyes, you saw that his striking eyes were already on your face and the sight of him between your legs, his clothing fanned out around him and his scales shimmering under the surface, was almost enough to push you over the edge.
By now, your entire being was so sensitive, the faintest of movements had you twitching and clamping down on his tongue. You didn’t know what was up with you and you didn’t think about it further, the only thought in your head being how much you wanted to cum. 
“You’re almost there aren’t you?” He gently coaxed and was satisfied by the melody of your broken moans mixed with syllables of his name dripping from your lips like the sweetest of nectars. Barely parting from you to speak, his hot breath fanned your lower lips as the pads of his fingers continued the assault on your clit. “Be a good human and show me how well you can cream all over my tongue. I know you want to, so go ahead and give me all of you.”
As if your body had only waited for his approval, you did as you were told and came with a high-pitched moan of his name. Without realising it, you were white-knuckling both the tiles and Barbatos’s hair as pleasure coursed through your veins and pulled you under the waves of ecstasy. Said demon didn’t seem to mind though, instead just diligently keeping up the sinful caress of his fingers until you were trembling in overstimulation like a leaf on a lake. 
When you pushed him away from you, his hands settled on the curve of your hips and gently lifted you back into the water with him, carrying your entire weight as you rested against his chest, relaxing into the hypnotic sensation of his hands wandering all over you and massaging your tired thighs.
“As much as I’d love to let you rest, I’m afraid we are far from done,” he whispered, lovingly kissing the crown of your head, actions betraying his words. The hands that had lovingly taken care of you, wandered to your butt and kneaded the flesh there, all the while grinding his hard erection against you. “This was just the beginning of the pleasure I can show you, after all.”
Finally discarding his clothing as well, he revealed his flawless skin which shined like silver in the moonlight. You slung your arms around his neck as Barbatos curled his heavy tail around your middle, keeping you flush against him so he could grind his hard cock against your soaked folds and coat himself in your release. And suddenly you understood why his bulge had felt so big against you earlier.
Instead of one, two heads kept bumping into your clit.
“Barbatos, I don’t think I can–”
Before you could finish your sentence, your doubts were silenced by his lips on yours and slowly the fear of pain was replaced by the anticipation of a delicious stretch and the feeling of being fuller than you’ve ever felt. 
“Don’t worry, my love,” Barbatos spoke through the mist clouding your brain as he hiked you higher on his waist and wrapped your legs around him, “I won’t hurt you. I’ll make sure you’ll take all of me and that you’ll beg for it.”
You squeezed his hips between your thighs as you sighed into the crook of his neck. “Who knew that you had such a dirty mouth on you under that prim and proper façade?” 
“It is hardly a façade, merely the proper etiquette expected of me by my position.” The end of his sentence already trailed off into a groan as the mushroom head of his bottom cock breached the tight ring of muscles with ease, the stretch facilitated by how worked up you were. Though, the foreign oversensitivity you were experiencing on this night had you clenching hard around him and enveloping every prominent vein. “Under these circumstances, however, it is natural I’ve been released from my royal duties. So right now I’m just the demon Barbatos.”
“You’re always you to me,” you whimpered through the pressure building in your abdomen. “Never just a position, always yourself.”
“No, if I were myself around you,” he bottomed out slowly as you panted against his collarbones while trying to get used to his girth, “I would have given into my urges and made you mine already; would have had you writhing underneath me far earlier than it would be appropriate.”
At his confession, fiery passion blazed through your nerves as you remembered how often you had fantasised about him on quiet nights. To find out he felt the same way made you crave him more, your hand clawing at his shoulder as you did your best to swivel your hips even if all your muscles seemingly turned to jelly with him filling you so deliciously. 
“And I would have let you,” your own admittance was quiet against the heartbeat pulsing in your ears but Barbatos heard you clearly. The sound he let out was the most animalistic yet, barely human anymore and it shot straight between your legs. “Move and– And you can have me any way you want now…”
“All this time spent in the Devildom and you still don’t know when you’re getting yourself in trouble,” Barbatos’s jaw clenched as he slowly pulled out of you, making you feel every vein and ridge against your walls, until only his tip remained inside of you. Then, without warning, he thrust as deep as he could, pulling you back down simultaneously. “You need to watch what you’re saying to a demon such as myself.”
The slow pace he set at the beginning was quickly abandoned in favour of pounding into you, almost using you like a toy with how easily he moved you up and down on him to meet his thrusts. Nevertheless, he never lost his ability to hit your most pleasurable spots dead on, not that he could really miss them with his girth. 
Vaguely, you registered his tail winding around you but you didn’t realise his intentions until something scaly was catching some of your arousal before poking your other hole, making you gasp out his name. Then, his mouth was on yours again and it became harder to hold on to lucidity the more you swallowed around his tongue, your speech becoming even more incoherently slurred as pure lust swirled in your belly.
“It’ll be alright, you can take it. You just need to relax for me,” Barbatos whispered. At this point you didn’t think you had control over your body anymore, instead having your strings pulled by the demon whose arms you were held in. His tail wriggled in further and further, through the thrusts that hadn’t ceased alone, and the pressure against your walls from both sides wound the knot in your stomach impossibly tighter. “There we go, you’re taking it so well. Almost as if you were made for me.”
Somewhere in your mind, you agreed. With the way he was moulding your insides to the shape of his dick you were positive he was currently ruining you for any other man. As your head rolled to the side, you barred the expanse of your neck to him and Barbatos gladly took the invitation to leave more evidence of this night behind, every kiss and lick searing hot against your already feaverish skin.
Just when you thought the pleasure would finally drive you to insanity, Barbatos angled his hips in a particular way and struck gold by having his second dick apply pressure on your clit, immediately drowning you in another orgasm that left you gasping for air. The day after, there’d be vicious red marks decorating his back but neither of you cared right now as you spasmed in his arms, your muscles no longer listening to you. 
Vision hazy, you barely registered the texture of the tiles underneath your torso until your cheek squished against them. Your legs were still submerged as Barbatos repositioned himself behind you. Spreading your ass with his webbed hands, he watched as your glistening holes twitched against the newfound emptiness before he gave you what you were missing.
“I can’t believe you’re still so tight,” he groaned, cursing under his breath as he lined up both of his cocks and bottomed out until his balls slapped against your clit in one smooth trust. The upper one of his dicks wasn’t quite as girthy but still filled you up deliciously until you couldn’t anymore if the stars you were seeing were the real ones behind the window. 
“You look so beautiful, all splayed out for me. And I’m certain you’ll look even more enchanting carrying my clutch,” Barbatos panted, the strain from fucking your brain out finally getting to him as well. “Such a waste that they won’t take like this. You would’ve liked that, wouldn’t you? To carry my eggs around? Oh dear, I can feel you clamping down on me… We’ll leave that for next time, I suppose.”
Only half of what he was saying was registering in your mind but the low, rich timbre of his voice had your own moans rising in cadence and pitch, creating the most sinful symphony. The rhythm of his hips, however, started to falter as the pulsing of your warm walls coaxed him to the peak as well.
Your breasts rubbed against the cold tiles with every thrust, the difference in texture and temperature adding to the stimulation. Despite not being able to see it, you could hear the splash of his tail behind him followed by stray water drops landing on your back. Snaking his hand between your legs, you guessed he truly tried to drive you mad with pleasure as he leaned over you with stuttering hips.
“Barbatos–,” you downright sobbed in warning, “I’m so close.”
“I’m almost there too, just keep sucking me in like this… That’s a good darling,” he groaned out before his fangs sunk into your shoulder.
If you thought you felt full before, you weren’t prepared for the sensation of the first egg being pushed inside of you. You could feel the bottom shaft swell with the oval shape as your muscles stretched further to accommodate for the size. It reminded you of the first time his tip had spread you open, only ten times as intense.
Just when the first one slipped through your tight opening, you came. Hard. And it wouldn’t stop, prolonged by several more of his eggs nestling inside of you. At the same time, your other hole was stuffed to the brim with hot strings of white, leaving you to feel completely stuffed. 
By the time Barbatos pulled out of you, you were still left gasping for air, dripping cum and slick and trembling against the edge of the pool. After admiring the sight in front of him for a little longer, he gently pulled you back against him, letting himself drift backwards in the water. With your back resting against his chest, it was easy for Barbatos to knead the knots out of your sore thighs, hands wandering to stroke over your belly every now and then. Lovingly, he kissed the top of your head as you clung to lucidity, his tail curling around the length of one of your legs. 
“You did so well for me,” he reassured you, stroking along your arms. “And do not fret about the eggs. Since they won’t take like this, they’ll just come back out. Of course, I’ll be there to help you through it. Though I was quite right, you look positively enthralling carrying my clutch.”
“Well, getting to this point felt amazing as well, though I doubt I’ll be moving a single muscle tomorrow,” you admitted, making a chuckle rumble in his chest. Sighing as you shifted in his hold you added, “Guess I’m not so upset I accidentally fed you some magic chocolate if it gave you two dicks. I’ll still get Asmo for it though.”
“Please do.” You could hear the smile in his voice as his fingers traced your body. “Though I must correct you: It was not the transformation that gave me this anatomy.”
“Wait, you always–”, you gulped.
“Naturally. However else could I have promised you to breed you properly in the future?” The teasing tone hiding behind his polite demeanour and closed-eyed- smile did not go unnoticed by you. “That is, of course, if you are willing to help me understand the human body even better.”
“I- I guess I wouldn’t be opposed to that,” you answered bashfully.
“Splendid. Now then, given the nature of the candies I suppose the effect should wear off when Halloween night ends,” Barbatos cleared your next question before you even posed it. “Judging by how high the moon still stands, it appears we still have plenty of time.
“Perhaps we should test your stamina next while we see how many clutches you can carry?”
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rwrbmovie · 8 months
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BTS of #RWRBMovie: Uma Thurman as Ellen Claremont + her accent (under the cut)
>> BTS: Taylor on working with Uma
via Variety:
In McQuiston’s novel, Claremont reads as an alternate reality version of Hillary Clinton, but López strove to differentiate the character from current female politicians. “So many women in politics are asked, it seems, to sacrifice whatever their idea of femininity is in favor of an exchange for power,” he says. “It was so important to me that this was a woman who could hold both things — that she could be a powerful woman who also presented her own femininity in the world without apologies.”
From Gay Times:
For López, it was important to cast an actor who “you would actually vote for president”. “We did a list of all the people that we thought would work in this role and Uma was always at the top of it,” he reveals. “We sent her the script and she wanted to meet with me, which was great for me! I figured, even if she doesn’t do the movie I get to have a Zoom with Uma Thurman.”  Thurman was heavily involved in the creative process from the beginning, arriving at her and Lopez’s first meeting with “so many thoughts about the character”. “She had actually studied the script. We both realised that we were interested in the same thing,” continues Lopez, which was telling the story of a woman who is the president and a mother, “who is powerful but retains her sense of femininity”. The director highlights the harmful trope “in American culture” of women in power being “asked to deny their femininity”. “Both Uma and I were interested in creating a woman on-screen who did not feel like she had to make that sacrifice,” he says. “Once we realised that we wanted the same thing, it became very easy for her to say yes, which I’m grateful for.” 
ML via Collider:
From the day I first encountered her, as a moviegoer, I’ve just loved her. It was a real blessing to have her there with us. She came to this film with the exact same set of desires for the character that I had. We had a lot of conversations about how, in American politics, women in power often have to sacrifice their understanding of their own femininity, in order to attain and hold onto power. What was most important to her and I was that Ellen can both be powerful and maintain her definition of femininity for herself. I included Uma in conversations about costume design, production design, and of the oval office set. When she walked onto the set, I have never encountered a more prepared actor. She understood, implicitly. She already understood why every piece of furniture was chosen for her. She understood why every article of clothing was there. It was a master class in prepared acting. She really rose, and she brought everybody’s game up.
ML via OutSFL:
I adore her [Uma Thurman]. She was so very happy to be in this movie, which was so wonderful. She really understood Ellen. She and I had so many wonderful conversations about her before production. I involved her in a lot of costume design decisions. She was really wanting to understand this woman holistically.
>> UMA'S ACCENT
via Variety:
“Red, White & Royal Blue” was already a few weeks into production in the U.K. when Thurman reached out to Lopéz so the director could hear her perform as Alex’s mother, President Ellen Claremont, for the first time. McQuiston envisioned Claremont as a fiery Democrat from Texas, so Thurman worked with dialect coach Tim Monich on a buttery Texas drawl that has become one of the standout features of the film. “And I was like, ‘Uma, it sounds great,’” López says of their first Zoom conference. “And she says, ‘Are you sure?’ And I’m like, ‘I think so.’ But I was also very distracted. Then she gets on set and I finally listen to her. I’m like, Okay, we’re good, we’re good. We’re very, very good.”
ML via Windy City Times:
Uma came in so prepared and so eager to be there. She was happy to be a part of it and we just had the best time with her. It was a very happy set and that is thanks to Uma in many ways, too. 
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I really love the Sonic movies and their whole found family dynamic❤️❤️❤️❤️ I've seen some great headcanons about them, and I wanted to make some of my own!
Wachowski Family Headcanons: ✨Movie Night✨
Movie night has always been a tradition at the Wachowski house. Tom and Maddie did it, and once they got Sonic it became an even more special time. Now Sonic is super excited to share all his favorite movies with his two new bros.
They have to buy a new TV since Knuckles punched Sonic through their old one when they first met. The whole family goes to the nearest bigger city since Green Hills is too small to have a good electronics store.
Knuckles has no knowledge or interest in technology so Maddie takes him window shopping at the nearby stores
Tails is so excited when they step into Best Buy. He's never seen this much tech in one place! Tom has to remind him not to take anything apart before they buy it.
Sonic immediately runs off to look at all the new video games
The salesman keeps trying to sell Tom the more expensive and "fancier" TVs. Tails is able to see through all the fancy talk, points out the actual specs, and calculates what will give them the best bang for their buck. Tom has no idea what he's talking about but buys the one Tails points to.
They finally get it home and set up. Knuckles is still confused as to what exactly a "TV" even is. It shows things that aren't really there? Is it like a some sort of window? A portal? Tails's in-depth technological explanation does not help. Sonic finally explains it as a "magic wall mural" and he's relatively satisfied.
Time to pick a movie! Sonic wants to watch "Speed" or one of the "Fast and Furious" movies for the millionth time. Knuckles wants to watch an action movie once he hears there's fighting in them. Tom and Maddie are a little worried those might be too much for Tails. Everyone agrees to watch one of the Disney movies Maddie picked up.
They pick Lilo and Stitch (partly because of the ironic parallels of adopting a funny little blue alien with a fear of water, and just getting back from Hawaii after Rachel's wedding)
Everyone curls up on the couch or on blankets on the floor. Even Ozzie comes to join in the fun. Tails and Sonic use him as a pillow.
Maddie brings in some fresh-popped popcorn (and grapes for Knuckles). Tails is a little skeptical of the new snack, but one bite of the buttery goodness and he's obsessed. He and Sonic keep stuffing handfuls in their mouths and throwing kernels at each other. Soon both the couch and the floor is covered. Knuckles tries a few bites. He says it's okay, but swears it's better with grapes.
All the boys love the movie and think it's hilarious, although some of it goes over Tails's and Knuckles's heads due to their limited understanding of Earth culture.
Sonic finds the scene where Stitch almost drowns a little triggering, although he doesn't say anything.
Knuckles's favorite character is Cobra Bubbles. Sonic's is of course Stitch. Tails relates a worrying amount to Jumba the mad scientist.
Tom and Maddie were prepared for Tails to get scared or emotional over the movie, after all, he's still really young. He ends up being fine and really enjoys it, although he points out all the inaccuracies with the spaceships and technology.
But none of them were expecting Knuckles to start choking up at Stitch's "This is my family. I found it all on my own. It's little, and broken, but still good. Yeah, still good." speech. He denies crying and claims he was only sniffing because he got popcorn butter on his nose.
After the movie, everyone stays cozied up in their blankets for a while talking and eating more popcorn. Tails falls asleep and Tom and Maddie decide it's time for bed. They carry Tails up to the boys' shared room in the attic, but Sonic and Knuckles insist on climbing up themselves even though they're both so sleepy they can barely walk.
Sonic falls asleep the moment he hits the bed. Tom puts Tails in bed, and he and Maddie tuck all the boys in. Knuckles actually allows himself to be tucked in for the first time since they got there. Maddie even gives him a little kiss on the forehead. She swears she hears him mumble something about "Ohana means family" before they go downstairs and no she's not crying why would you ask
Thus marks the end of another wonderful Wachowski Family Movie Night!
Alrighty there you go! Thanks for reading!
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mariacallous · 2 months
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Guava rugelach are an edible testament to Jews embracing the new ingredients and cooking techniques that they encountered in the Diaspora. They are also a testament to my mom, a culinary magician who wielded guava like a wand, infusing its sweet tones into our meals.
Brought to Latin America by Eastern European Jews in the early 20th century, cities such as Buenos Aires, Mexico City and Caracas have embraced rugelach. While many versions of the pastry still proudly bear the traditional Ashkenazi flavors of cinnamon, raisins and nuts, that’s far from the whole tale. Rugelach in Buenos Aires or Caracas might contain dulce de leche or cabello de ángel (pumpkin jam), while a stroll into a bakery in Mexico City might reveal rugelach filled with luscious chocolate ganache and aromatic Mexican vanilla.
This rugelach dough is enriched with sour cream, and results in a soft, flakey pastry. The pièce de résistance, though, is the guava filling. 
Originating from Central and South America, “guava” translates to “fruit” in Arawak, the language spoken by the native communities of the Caribbean, where this fruit, similar in size to a passion fruit, grows in abundance. The guava’s tender skin encases a creamy white or orange pulp filled with numerous tiny black seeds. 
As guava is a seasonal fruit and isn’t as widespread as mangoes or papaya, I call for guava paste, due to its unique sour-sweet taste profile. Often referred to as “goiabada,” this paste generally has a lower quotient of added sugars and presents a superior texture for baked products. Unlike runny jams and marmalades, guava paste is sculpted into a dense, sticky block yet remains soft enough to be sliced. 
Growing up, my mom used the vibrant, naturally sweet guava as her secret ingredient, a touch of the tropics that hinted at Caribbean culinary tradition in Venezuela. It turned the simplest family recipe into an exotic treat. This recipe draws inspiration from her traditional guava bread, where history, heritage and affection were kneaded into dough and baked to perfection.
Her guava-infused creations echo loudly in my present, shaping the culinary adventurer in me and reminding me of the vital link between taste and memory. Guava rugelach are not merely a pastry but a narrative of the age-old Jewish practice of reinventing ourselves in the face of new environments. The story of my lineage in the Diaspora, one many fellow Jews can relate to, is etched in the buttery dough and sweet, aromatic filling. Each bite is a reminder of who I am: A fusion of cultures, histories and flavors.
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jester-lover · 10 months
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hi !!! i saw ur hobie x desi reader and im in LOVEE
i saw u had requests open so i was wondering if you could do one for miguel ohara ?? if u do pls tag me !! i need more desi fics and i'd write them but ive been so busy </3
Miguel with a Desi! S/O (headcanons)
cw/ fem! Reader, including multiple desi cultures bc my girlies need all the representation we can get (it’s slim pickings out here) all fluff, mentions of insecurities (sorry I didn't do a lil drabble, I could not think of one)
Hobie version!
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He's obsessed with you!
This man wakes up every morning to bask in your greatness
Miguel often has a hard time understanding his own emotions, so this relationship might start out a bit rocky because of the insecurities he has about starting relationships
(I know very little abt comics! Miguel, but I do know he had many girlfriends, so…)
He loves you in any clothing, but something about seeing you cultural clothing just makes him so happy
If the two of you are going somewhere, he’s making a conscious effort to match whatever traditional clothes you're wearing
Your parents love him, no doubt.
Miguel is a serious, family-oriented man, who cares about you! They love him, he’s part of the family.
He cooks you amazing Mexican food, and you cook him amazing Desi food
The entire spider society is at yalls door each night, fighting tooth and nail for a plate
He especially loves it when you make him more simple, homey dishes, like buttery parathas with achaar, or roti with saag paneer (iykyk)
Look at Miguel’s hair and tell me he doesn’t oil it, you CAN’T
You two most definitely spent Sunday afternoons watching soap operas (Mexican or Desi!) and oiling each others hair 
He takes this ritual very seriously
“Keep your head still, I’m trying to get to the back of your scalp!”
He’s the type to spend time and effort massaging the oil into your scalp and roots
You and Miguel spend hours at the local Asian grocery store, just wandering down the aisle
Even though he swears he’s only gonna go with you for 20 minutes or something
Seeing you enjoy life’s simple pleasures makes him happy too
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iridiss · 8 months
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Laurance sings. Not masterfully by any means, he’d never be well-renowned for the beautifully trained technique of his voice, but he grew up in a bustling trading port town with a constant influx of seafarers, fishermen, even pirates—mariners from all over the planet, from every possible town and culture, and with them they brought their songs. Sea shanties of every breed and variety. And as the Head Guard of Meteli, he would be there to manage all the trades and imports, so he’d be right there on the docks, hearing every song that comes in and out of town and gleefully listening and learning to sing along. He’s a mariner boy, he grew up right by a channel into the sea, he has dozens of sea shanties memorized in-and-out and will sing them regularly, just to entertain himself and others around him. Aphmau, Garroth, and the others grow used to hearing Laurance bust out sea shanties all the time on their travels, like singing 99 Bottles of Beer On The Wall while you’re on a road trip, but like. The medieval equivalent of that
Vylad is in the same boat. After he faked his death, he ran off into the wild world of Ru’aun And Beyond to have a life full of constant adventure, and most of those ended up being overseas. Vylad became a swashbuckler of sorts, a petty thief with egregious debts to the local crime guilds that he never paid, the kind of person who would show up one day for a heist, and completely disappear off the face of the planet the next. Vylad was a pirate. Maybe not a grand or well-known one, maybe only for 7 months out of every year, but he’d stowaway on a number of ships just to get across channels and off to new places. At least a few times, he worked as part of a crew in order to get some coin, and one time, he was Captain—before his ship and the fake identity he took went up in flames only weeks later. Vylad knows a wide list of sea shanties, and he still sings them from time to time. It’s a comforting reminder of his humanity. It keeps him grounded, prevents him from forgetting the past and getting too lost in the chains of being a Shadow Knight.
Zane sings. Very differently from Laurance & Vylad. Zane was a High Priest, which means he held & organized church, regularly. Churches usually have music, and his religion is heavily based off of Catholicism, so it’s very likely that he was the one to arrange the O’khasis church’s liturgical choirs. It’s likely that singing in church was part of the regular routine that everyone present would partake in, including and especially their High Priest. There’s no way he doesn’t know how to sing, very much in that kind of Medieval-Classical-Latin-Catholic Choir vocal technique/style. It has a very different sound from Laurance and Vylad’s more…”free-balling seaman” style, but he was professionally trained on how to sing since he was young, and can sing quite well. (Also, Kestin is a good singer, which is an added bonus)
Zenix could not sing to save his life. His regular speaking voice is already very rough and sandpaper-like, and his singing voice is even worse. He’s tone deaf, if you heard his singing voice, which sounds more like a dying, extremely strained screeching wail, you may never want to hear anything ever again. It’s just a very naturally unpleasant sound. And that’s fine, he’s never really been much of a singer or that musically inclined. He’s more arson-inclined, frankly. However, I can picture him channeling his destructive energy into being a good percussionist, by way of “needing to hit stuff” + getting down a good sense of rhythm = producing a pretty decent beat. Maybe he also beatboxes? Zenix has enough “hyperactive boy” energy to be a beatboxer, that’d suit him well enough.
Gene has a luscious singing voice. Gene could sing lullabies that’d put a rhino to sleep. Gene’s voice is the kind of sexy, buttery-smooth voice you feel reverberating in your core. Gene sounds like he’d sing Frank Sinatra, or old classic Christmas songs for a record that’d make millions. He does it so infrequently though, especially ever since he became a Shadow Knight, and mostly uses it now to lull other people into a trance, or when he’s bored. You can’t exactly pursue a musical career when you’re serving as the General of Hell for the rest of eternity. Zenix and Sasha have both heard him sing, at least a few times. In the past, it relaxed Zenix like no other.
Sasha used to sing. She used to have a very pretty voice that Laurance and Cadenza would stop and listen to at any given opportunity. Cadenza would encourage her to push past her shyness enough to sing for her while she worked on sowing her next design (sapphic sasha x cadenza melodies,,,). But after her death by falling into lava, she sustained a certain level of damage both to her body and to her psyche that made her shut down her love for singing entirely. She has not sung once since she died.
Kiki sings to her animals and to Leona all the time.
If Garroth did sing, he would probably have a very similar vocal technique/style to Zane’s, simply by being raised under the same religious roof as him. I don’t think “learn how to sing in a choir” would be part of the Princely/military training Garte would put him through, though.
Zoe and Levin like to sing together for fun sometimes.
In my main rewrite au, the Shadow Knight Rebellion includes Laurance, Vylad, Zenix, and Zane begrudgingly working together as a team. They like to sing together. Laurance and Vylad connected easily and quickly over their shared love for sea shanties, and eventually the three of them managed to bully, bug, and peer pressure Zane into singing with them, and were surprised by just how well he could sing. Laurance and Vylad asked Zenix to join in. Zenix got through the first three notes before Laurance told him to please stop.
The four of them end up making an unexpectedly merry band together. Laurance and Vylad sing, Zane sings sometimes, and Zenix would provide the accompaniment, like a rag-tag improvised a capella group that formed from the cracks in the pavement. They make an anthem for the Rebellion and teach it to all the hundreds of soldiers that join over time. When the SKR eventually reunite with The Phoenix Alliance, the people of the Phoenix Alliance are very perplexed by the band and their musical connection.
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fallahifag · 3 months
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hello! here are some questions and some preemptive answers from me to share some joy. i hope u wake up happy n refreshed today :)
what kind of breads and sweets are common in palestine ?? i’m a baker and i love trying out new things :D
do you have a thing that will make you stop and think of home no matter where you are? if i see the big dipper i think of my family’s hometown because it doesn’t have much light pollution!
i know group dances r common but are there any partner dances that are common as well? my mom taught me how to samba as a child so now i teach others as an act of love
ummmm… oh! what kind of games did u play as a kid in jenin? i was brought up on uno and spades and blackjack with my family, and with my friends i think it was most often tag and hide and seek. we’d also play this game called statues where one person would walk around and have to catch people moving, and another one called ninja where you would have to chop someone’s arms and get them out lolol
and lastly: what’s your favorite palestinian food to eat when you’re sick? when i don’t feel well i always eat oatmeal with molasses and brown sugar— it’s the way my mom makes it.
blessings and hugs :) be well today <3
breads and sweets: ahhh okay i think i could probably write whole essays on this but i'll keep it short. one of the most common breads in palestine is "taboon" bread and its cooked in a specific type of oven made out of clay. its my favourite type of bread bc its soooo chewy and it tastes so good on its own. there's also a type of bread called "shrak" bread (or markook), which is a very thin flatbread. its often used for dippings or with big meals (like mansaf). as for sweets, knafeh is pretty common, especially for celebrations. its a pastry layered over cheese and served with sweet syrup. there's also ma'moul, which are buttery cookies. theyre usually filled with dates, nuts, or figs and are often served to guests during ramadan/eid.
something that makes me think of home: whenever i hear a group of neighbours laughing at night, i think of home. i also think of home when i hear the athaan. oh and this might be weird, but i also think of home when i see big cans of ghee. when i was a kid and we would run out of hot water (we only had a specific amount every day), my grandmother would heat up water for us on the stove with these large (empty) cans of ghee so we could take showers.
partner dances: im actually not sure about this one. i know we do dances for just the couple at weddings and stuff- but im not sure if theres a specific dance for duos that is ingrained into the culture. palestinians feel free to comment if u know of any!
games i played as a kid: i love this question lol. similar to you, i played a lot of uno and cards (shaddeh in arabic)! we'd play card games like coon cann/hend. its one of my most vivid memories spending nights with my cousins in the backyard gossiping and aggressively slapping cards down lol. i remember playing with marbles a lot too. with friends, i also played tag and hide and seek. and similar to statues (im pretty sure it might even be the exact same game), we had a game called 'thalj w maii' (ice and water), where one person would be ice, and have to catch the people moving (water). we also played a game called corners.
favourite palestinian food to eat when im sick: oooh. i eat lentil soup a lot when im sick. and when i was a kid, my grandfather would feed me flatbread soaked in sour yoghurt whenever i was sick because it was easier to chew. and of course, herbal teas. mostly anise or chamomile
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nardo-headcanons · 2 months
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I wanted a headcanon about Konohagakure so bad!! you are very talented.
thank you so much, dear! Since so much is known about Konoha already, I hope these are what you're looking for
Konohagakure Worldbuilding Headcanon
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People
Generally speaking, people from Konoha are seen as polite and even outgoing, but sometimes a little obnoxious when it comes to their rampant patriotism. As the first shinobi village of its kind, there is only so much propaganda a Konoha shinobi can handle before turning a little cocky. Konoha citizens love gossip and are often looking for the newest gossip to furthen their sense of unity. They are a rather collectivist society with everyone having to do their part, and the public court of opinion is often times brutal, men especially are often expected to just 'suck it up' and 'act like a man'.
Politics
The hokage is seen as the highest authority figure in the village, unlike in some villages the general population's trust in the village leader is high. The hokage's decisions aren't really allowed to be questioned, and unlike Kiri citizens who do it behind closed doors, Konoha citizens don't even dare to do that. Konoha has a mixed economy with quite a lot of the shinobi income going directly to the village. There is some basic healthcare, but only covers the bare necessities, and better, high quality treatments have to be paid out of pocket. The laguage spoken in Konoha and the fire country (Japanese) is the most spoken language and taught in the other villages as the standard foreign language. It is also the reason why the Kage offices in the different villages have the kanji for the different elements in front of them - to make it easier to find for foreigners. As a second foreign language, people often choose the Kumo language.
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Flora
Konoha -and the fire country in general- typically have very bright, warm weather. In the south, there are agonizingly hot summers - snowy winters being a rarity. Konoha is surrounded by dense, lush mixed forest land which serves as a habitat for a wide range of plants and herbs - some of them even having medicinal uses. Although mushrooms are commonly found in the Konoha forests, most of them are poisonous and should not be eaten.
Fauna
The forests are filled to the brim with many different animals, the most commonly found ones being wolves, eagles, deer, boar, pheasants and wild cats. Deer are often hunted and their meat is exported into different coutries as a delicacy. On the rarer side, tigers and bears can be found as well, but they typically stick to themselves. Ever since Konoha has been growing in population, some animals have been pushed out of their habitat and started to coexist with the citizens.
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Food
Meat To secure dinner in Kiri, you can just go fishing. And to secure dinner in Konoha, you can just go hunting. Seriously. Meat, especially venison, is the preferred protein source of Konoha shinobi. However, if you ask a Konoha shinobi what they think of Sungakure and their habit of turning any meat they find into jerky, they would be horrified. Grilling meat is the most preferred method of preparing meat, closely followed by frying it.
Ramen Due to cultural influences from Uzushiogakure, ramen, including instant ramen, have grown in popularity over the decades. Next to rice, wheat is the preferred source of carbs here. Funnily enough, most Konoha shinobi prefer whole grain over white flour. To each their own, I guess.
Baked goods and confectionary
Konoha has quite a few café's and bakeries that offer many little desserts. But I have to warn you: "Buttercream" in Konoha often just means whipped cream - very different compared to the thick and buttery goodness Kumo shinobi are used to. The most popular baked good in Konoha is the Baumkuchen, frequently enjoyed by sweet tooths such as Itachi Uchiha, Hinata Hyuga and Ibiki Morino.
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oneatlatime · 10 months
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Bato of the Water Tribe
Bilingual bonus in the title. Also, completely not kidding, I tried to type Bato and my fingers automatically filled out Baton Rouge.
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Sokka's battle reconstruction abilities reminding me of Count Ruegen's from the Princess Bride.
I'm not seeing any flags or other identification on that ship, so I guess Sokka knows it's from his dad's fleet because he memorised what all the ships in his dad's fleet looked like? That's both sweet and heartbreaking.
That giant mole dog thing just bit through metal. I'm guessing this thing has no pain receptors in its face.
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I'm with Zuko on this one. That lady is too young for Iroh.
Be still my heart!!! Is this going to be a Sokka episode?
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Pretty.
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BABY SOKKA!!!!!! Also his dad has either a very poofy coat or a tiny head.
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Right out the gate, in a scene that can't last more than 30 seconds, we see that the Water Tribe has infinitely superior parenting skills to the Fire Nation. Mr. Firelord could take a couple of lessons from this guy.
Whoever is voicing Bato (thank you avatar writers for putting his name in the title so I can spell it) is doing it absolutely perfectly. Beautiful buttery voice with just a little roughness around the upper and lower edges, and - I won't describe this right - but there's the sound of experience and familiarity in the voice. This is a guy who has lived lots of life, but also lived lots of life with Sokka and Katara. He's really selling their connection and their relationship (which I presume is like those parents' random friends you call uncle and aunt who aren't biologically related - fictive kin).
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Either water tribe growth spurts come late or Bato is stupidly tall. Also loving the toga look. Don't quite know how it's staying up, but it does look comfy.
"After I was wounded, your father carried me to this abbey." HOLD UP WHERE'S THE FANFIC 50K SLOW BURN HURT/COMFORT FRIENDS TO LOVERS GIMMEEEEEE
Sorry Bato, but your boat is a ship. Not a boat. It's ship-sized.
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Katara's like 'Sokka no that's mean!' Bato's like 'oh god there's two of them.' Lovely stealthy worldbuilding here. We've only seen Sokka and Katara's dad in that 30 second flashback, which told us he was loving. Now we know he's also funny. One line, and the writers double the depth.
Aang get off your high horse. We know you're a vegetarian, but Sokka and Katara left home for the first time only a few weeks ago and are probably getting homesick by now so stuff it! Tangent time: can you imagine how happy Sokka and Katara must be at having a familiar face in a place made familiar, who probably has news of their dad? There's no indication that any of the water tribe men have been home on leave since they all (apparently literally ALL) left home years ago. This is like Christmas for them.
Quick lesson to all you youngins out there: one day you may have children. And if you do, unless your children have the upmost loving respect for you, you will lose all ability to make them follow the rules as soon as they learn about the kind of stuff you got up to when you were their age. So don't post it online. Don't brag about it. Don't document it. They will find out. Children have noses like a bloodhound's for yesteryear's parental shenanigans. Also don't stick an octopus on your head under any circumstances.
Seriously though, I'm loving the insight into normal (ie not avatar or war related) water tribe life. Adds depth to the characters and the culture.
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At the end of the episode with the Blue spirit, Aang talked about how he had friends all over the world before the war. During all this global visiting, was he never taught the laws of hospitality? Or basic politeness? Don't touch people's stuff. Learn to sit still for five minutes. It's not always about you.
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I had completely forgotten about Katara's necklace. I didn't enjoy Imrpisoned much, so I guess I blanked that plot point.
"You can come with me, and see your father again" once again Bato's voice actor hitting it out of the park. I felt for a moment like it was two years since I'd seen my father and I was so excited for the chance to see him again.
A surprisingly mature stance from both Sokka and Katara here. Actually, despite Sokka's hinted-at father worship I'm not surprised that he made the mature choice. He's the one who's been keeping them on track the whole time. But I am a bit surprised that Katara was ok with missing out on a chance to see her father. She's been the one chasing after butterflies and that's one heck of a butterfly.
Aang DONT
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Goddamn he did. Aang has no manners and no brain this episode. Come on.
Zuko and company taking us on a world tour. Popping into previous episodes is a cool idea.
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Haybending. Another entry on the list of vaguely defined avatar powers.
Is this ice dodging thing going where I think it's going? Because if so, I am completely on board.
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I finished the fortuneteller episode pretty peeved at the plot in general, but I gotta say I admire the balls on this lady. Only person in the village with a spine (and a brain). Followed up with a pretty banger line from Iroh. If Iroh is looking for some action he should check out this lady rather than the bounty hunter. They could make increasingly cryptic comments over a shared pot of tea and annoy Zuko so much he turns colours.
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The most intense Bar Mitzvah I've ever seen. As a general rule, Bar Mitzvahs don't (usually) involve the possibility of a body count.
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What's on Sokka's face?
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Just going to slip in some sneaky meditation. Seems like a quiet enough spot.
You know, I think Katara's actually in the correct pose for holding the mainsail. Obviously Sokka has nautical knowledge, but I guess Katara sails too.
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Can we talk for a moment about how sweet it is that Sokka finds a way to turn his test of manhood into a group project? To be clear, I think his greater motivation was the glory of greater achievement, but it's so very Sokka to find a way to include his sister.
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That's pretty funny.
Wisdom is appropriate for Sokka. Bravery is appropriate for Katara, mostly because wisdom certainly isn't (*cough* Jet *cough*).
Interesting that it's Sokka who has a Katara-style blow up over the missing map. I definitely buy this. So soon after a very personal and important ritual that both connects them to their people and - by necessity - reminds them of who isn't there at the moment (dad), Sokka and Katara would both be sensitive to anything dad-related. Normally Katara is 100% ride or die for Aang, but pre-existing family is about the only exception I can think of that she would make for that policy.
"I'm an idiot Momo." YEP.
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So the mole dog thing bashed the gate in, to turn in a circle and leave after ten seconds? Was that worth the headache caused by using your head as a battering ram? Especially when the very leapable wall was right there?
Side note, I would pay good money to be able to keep my hair as perfect and my makeup as unsmudged as this bounty hunter lady can, especially while doing extreme sports.
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Lo and behold, he gets it. His dad told him he would get it someday. Kudos to Bato for the stealth teenage wrangling that prompted Sokka's epiphany. Bato didn't have to phrase his explanation of the wolf in a way that so paralleled the situation with Aang, but he chose to for a reason. I think Bato and Iroh should sit down for a drink and exchange stealth teenager wrangling tactics.
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This is so perfect. Bato's not even their dad but he's Dadding so well! Letting them come to their own conclusions (with only a gentle nudge), respecting that decision and affirming that it's the right one by stating that their dad is 100% for sure super proud of what they're doing, then - the cherry on top - giving them a way to BOTH go with Aang AND see their dad if the opportunity presents. And then leaving a message at the rendezvous point as a last bit of long distance dadding.
Side note: I'm hoping Bato's bandages are cosmetic only, otherwise that backpack strap is going to be murder after half an hour.
Side side note: if Bato is walking to the rendezvous point, what happened to his ship?
How does the nun know about the necklace?
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That poor gate gets no respect.
This mole dog thing sure is getting whipped a lot. I don't like that.
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Pro tip: if your opponent has horns the size of a grown man and is looking for a headbutting contest, just walk away. Poor mole dog thing has no eyes, so he tragically can't see the horns and gets thoroughly curb stomped.
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Would Aang really look this worried about fighting Zuko? He's come out on top one way or another in every fight they've had so far.
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Some elements don't mix. Good to know.
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Iroh. Forget about it. Bounty Hunter lady has extreme non-straight energy. Go for the fortuneteller instead.
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Appa showing that he does not subscribe to Aang's pacifist philosophy. If the bounty hunter hadn't dodged she would have been a thin paste on Appa's paw.
I'm seeing lots of parallels in this fight. At one point Aang recycles Zuko's move, after they've switched so that Zuko is in Aang's original place. Neat.
I really know nothing about fight choreography, but this action is followable and entertaining, so I'm calling these fights good.
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This episode's Beat Up Sokka quota is now fulfilled.
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This well set piece is making me giggle.
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You tell him Appa!
I get that they're the bad guys, but that poor mole dog thing can't catch a break. The trick with the perfume must have been distressing, if not also painful.
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Skeezy. Knock it off.
I hope Zuko got a new clasp for that necklace while he had it.
Final Thoughts
Well, I finally got my long-desired Sokka episode. It contained less Sokka than I thought a Sokka episode would have. But I do feel like I have better insight into his character. The somewhat exaggerated attempts at manliness (followed up by a genuinely terrifying need to be the man of the tribe) of the first two episodes now have context. (I could include the Kyoshi Warriors episode in that statement too, but I felt Sokka wasn't in character that episode so I won't)
Sokka was told that he was too young (true) to join the men at war. Sokka being Sokka, what he heard was that he wasn't manly enough rather than wasn't old enough, hence the compensatory manliness at the start of the show. But, and this bit is probably more important now that Sokka is a certified man, Sokka also seems to define himself through serving others, particularly his sister. His dad tells him to protect his sister in the flashback; I think his grandmother said something similar to him when they left the south pole. Having your life's purpose 100% rooted outside of yourself is generally not a great idea. I pointed out a few episodes ago that Sokka has that classic teenage boy combination of soaring ego/crashing self-esteem; I now see why. Whatever his dad's and grandma's intentions in telling Sokka to look after his sister, Sokka has interpreted that request as becoming his sister's human shield, provider, brain/planner, and - if needed - sacrifice. Pretty hard to think too much of yourself when your life's work is to serve and die for another. This also explains why I keep seeing Katara outsourcing her thinking - she's basically been told to, and Sokka believes it's his duty.
I love Bato. I love his design, his voice, his purpose in the narrative. Excellent combination of worldbuilding, character work, and a light-hearted reminder that fun can still be had, even by grown ups who are actively fighting a war. My heart did a funny flip when I realised that I was being introduced to a responsible adult. That's how I know that I'm a proper grown-up: swooning at the notion of our main characters finally getting some caring adult supervision.
I love the family tidbits that Bato gives us. One throwaway line and we know that Sokka and his dad have the same sense of humour. Another half-referenced anecdote and we learn that Sokka's so-genius-it's-stupid manic tendencies, which are excellent at getting them all out of tight spots, are inherited or learned from a father who has similarly outlandish adventures pretty regularly. And it's such an effective story hook! Dangling small tidbits and noodle incidents leaves me wanting more.
Aang. Oh Aang. His problems this episode were self-inflicted, my least favourite type of narrative. I've gone hard in the past on Katara for her self-inflicted problems, so it's only fair I go hard on Aang too. If he had just behaved properly and not gone off in a sulk over being less than the centre of all attention for five whole minutes, he would have heard Sokka and Katara turn down the offer to see their father. But he just had to be an asshole for the first few minutes of the episode, and things snowballed from there.
That being said, all his actions from that point on do make perfect sense. 12 year old whose entire civilisation has been wiped out and who actually discovered his father figure's remains is NOT going to be ok with the idea of his remaining support system deserting him. Especially since the actions he took the last time his support system was threatened (running away) kind of inadvertently caused his support's system's extermination. Of course he's going to be irrational, to cling twice as hard to what he has left, by fair means or foul.
One thing I do like about Aang's otherwise dumbass behaviour is that he knows 100% that's it wrong to hide the map from the moment he does it. No initial self-justifications and gradual creeping doubts. He's doing wrong and he knows it. Shows he has a moral compass.
Zuko's plan of tracking the Avatar by Katara's necklace was solid, and he only lost because he's the villain in a kid's cartoon and is thus contractually obligated to lose. Iroh was not so great this episode.
I adored the Water tribe stuff. The intersecting fights at the end were very good. The Aang stuff was annoying, if understandable. And we'd already learned in previous episodes that Sokka and Katara were ride or die for Aang, which is the ultimate lesson here. It was interesting to learn that the breaking point for that statement is family, but other than that, no new info. I love this episode, but I would have loved it even more if it had more Sokka and Bato and less Aang.
I hope they went back and collected the map.
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millenniumfae · 6 months
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so my white co-worker was complaining about her (community college) field trip last weekend:
for lunch, her school had catered from a Thai restaurant. usually, if a university/school/workplace was covering pack lunches, they'd do sandwiches from Panera, or pasta from Olive Garden, or maaaybe burritos from Chipotle.
Her: I didn't even know the difference between the offered options. I ended up grabbing this weird, peanut-buttery, spicy noodle dish.
this was the most foreign she'd ever ventured with her food. i pointed out that her lunch didn't sound weird to me in the least, and she responded;
Her: So you'd intentionally serve foreign food to a bunch of people, not knowing if they'd like it or not, and it'd be their fault if they happened to find it weird or gross?
me, who grew up eating my homeland's food at home, and then American 'foreign food' every day at school? me, who mostly made friends with other Asian kids, so their parents fed me Vietnamese/Laotian/Burmese/Chinese/Sakha/Turkish food whenever i played over? me, who grew up in an international graduate student housing complex, so potlucks and gifts and Halloween and birthdays were a toss-up between Indian, Trinidadian, Ivorian, Russian, Ashkenazi Jewish, Norwegian, etc and so forth?
i told her that the majority of Americans are very much used to eating food from multiple cultures, especially us younger generations. we grew up eating from multiple cultures every single day, staring blankly every time someone told us that mac-and-cheese is a 'universally loved dish'.
it's fine to have food preferences. like, i personally hate asparagus and pineapple, and i prefer dry thin rice over the wetter, short-grain ones.
but never have i considered any deviation from my cultural cuisine be a huge undertaking. so what that a catered lunch was pad thai instead of turkey sandwiches? so what you came over to someone's house and they dare serve you pig ears instead of meatloaf? so what it's Japanese buckwheat noodles instead of spaghetti? so what you're handed a bowl of rice instead of a slice of bread?
and it's fine if that'd be a huge culinary leap for you. but don't try to convince me that it's humanity's "normal" to expect only (these) cuisines and not (those) at any given time.
(and don't get me started on how many times i'd recommend the mango-dragonfruit refresher to customers, only to be given an awkward smile and a "no thanks, i've never tried mango or dragonfruit".)
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eatmangoesnekkid · 3 months
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Belly Dance Week 45 I honestly have lost track of "time" which doesn't surprise me as I'm not sure if I'm on week 45 or 48, and that's perfect. It means that I have been in my body and not in my head with calculations and configurations. My specific style of Egyptian Belly Dance has a cultural name that I find important to say, "Raqs Sharqi," because in North Africa, where belly dance originates, there is no word that specifically translates as "belly dance." As usual, the western world waters down truth in order for it to be more consumable to bland pallets that are too lazy to learn how to say words that involve the most unused neglected part of the body of native English speakers, the back of the throat where click sounds and other mother tongues stimulate energy to flow up and out. Heaven on earth. Light. No wonder people who speak native languages tend to be smarter. More energy gets to flow from the back of their throats and up into their brains, you see. That's one of many reasons I want to learn a cultural language: Igbo, Afrikaans, Xhosa, or Zulu. I want to learn how to use my whole back throat area for advanced energy and to communicate with indigenous people. What a gift. Kind of a segue, but also health-relevant: Deep throat work is not gross or nasty and we have to get used to threading intelligence about female body health into anything we are talking about and not po*rn-ify anything sensual or sexual. Because female health creates female vitality. Our female vitality not only makes us more aware, intuitive, and magical, it raises the vitality of our lovers, children, and community, all genders because generally, the mother is the first teacher to all. Deep throat connection is not only healing to the brain but also to the vaginal canal and cervix. Oral sex done with a grateful heart, whether sucking your lover's fingers or genitals, favorably changes the quality of your entire female body. In our most recent belly dance class, our soft aim was to bring sensitivity into our movements. "The divine is in the details," my teacher beautifully said, so we worked on recycling our energy from our feet (earth) to our shoulders and arms (tree branches). When you recycle your energy, you don't need to take/steal/manipulate in order to receive anything. You are capable of being filled up and energized off your own natural supply which makes you more magnetic to anything you desire. We also did sensuous movements that reminded me of one of my favorite cultural dances from Ethiopia, Eskista, that emphasizes intense neck and shoulder movement--I was so buttery while doing this because of my love for Eskista is tactile and deep. With all the ass and hip shimmies, breast shimmies, figure 8s, hip drops, and neck and throat opening and that intelligence invoked therein, I left class glowy, and that glow I inhaled even deeper as I biked home, allowing it to add value to my cells, tissues, and organs, and in how I love. More water in a world that is burning is also how we fight back and forward interests of our community and those we love. --India Ame'ye, Author
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cadere-art · 21 days
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1
For this list of worldbuilding prompts.
Are there any foods with symbolic meanings that are eaten on special occasions (e.g. katsudon for victory, or new years oranges for luck)? How did the tradition get started?
This was a challenging one! Here are two foods with symbolic meaning and / or eaten on special occasions.
Ambertree fruits and the Þuar
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Ambertree fruits are the apricot-sized, very fleshy galbulus of the ambertree. They have waxy white skin and pink flesh, with a single large seed. Their flesh buttery, with a peculiar taste that is both cloyingly sweet and very resinous.
Ambertrees are cultivated for their resin, which can be carefully prepared and baked into artificial amber. For the Þuar peoples, who first mastered ambercraft, both the tree and its fruit are sacred. The fruits were traditionally only eaten by ambercrafters in the purification ceremonies undertaken as preparation for the delicate processes of ambercrafting, or harvested for religious offerings.
After the Þuar Wars, the Namitan Empire stole the secrets of ambercrafting and began growing its own ambertree orchards and training its own ambercraft masters, coveting the wealth to be obtained through the trade of the precious material and aiming to weaken the still-free Northern Þuar Queendoms. Ambertree fruit is considered a delicacy in the Namitan Empire.
Roasted meat and nuts and the Ranaite Tahen
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For Ranaite Tahens, the inhabitants of the city state of Ranai on the Ojame archipelago, any meat meal is a special meal as the archipelago's high population density leaves very little land available for the raising of livestock (fish, seafood, and insects make up the majority of their protein intake, along with the meat of some small livestock like kabi).
Roasted meat, however, is a truly special thing and reserved for the solstice festivals. Ranaite Tahen have a strong cultural fear of fire, and fire is heavily regulated within the city of Ranai. Solstice festivals are days of exhuberance and nervousness as (heavily watched) open fires are lighted around the city and meats and nuts roasted on open flames to celebrate.
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saucymincks · 1 month
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Hey! Are you someone who forgets to grab a bite now and then, who gets stuck in one spot for a long while far away from food, maybe you work weird hours and your appetite is a little out of sync, whatever the case may be. If this sounds like you, hello, I am also this way.
I was recently reminded of a thing I did right before my son was born that ended up being a lifesaver on many occasions, and that has become a thing I return to every now and then when I want to make sure I remember to eat semiregularly:
Snack stations.
In strategic locations throughout the house, I set out little baskets/boxes/whatevers of as many snack options as I could manage. I tried to have a balance of options, and I had a "no rules" rule. If I wanted the little treat in there, it went in there, no questions asked. No restrictions, no diet culture bullshit, put the damn thing in the box and enjoy.
I did predictable little bottled water and almonds and protein bars kind of thing for the first week, and it was perfectly fine, but I got a bit tired of the little salty peanut butter crackers (and they kept flaking and it's very hard to keep flakes off of a baby's head). I started mixing it up and adding more options, and then I started doing little themes, because a thing they don't tell you about being a new parent is that it can get weirdly monotonous and liminal if you don't go out of your way to mix it up sometimes.
Mad Men was still new and a big thing in our house so I did a theme week and had things like stuffed olives and retro candies from the cool candy shop in town and Coke in a glass bottle as a drink option (room temp, unfortunately, but hardly a tragedy). I dunno, it was silly and cute and gave me a little moment of fun at 4:29 AM now and then.
There was also a stretch where it just WOULD NOT STOP RAINING so I added things like lemonade and those buttery crackers with that grassy dill flavor and trail mix with sesame cashews and dried apricots to the box, all stuff I pack for walking around the park in the summertime. Sunshine snacks. It helped.
And when I wanted things like sugary bottled coffees or Little Debbie cakes or a metric fuckton of discounted Easter candy added to the snack stations, then by golly they were and I would not hear a word about it.
I had one on either end of the couch, on my side of the bed, under my son's crib (also in my bedroom but on the other side), on the dining room table, on the kitchen counter, in my car (remember that temperature is a thing and remove according to what your weather is doing!!), in my backpack, and next to the TV on the floor, because sometimes that child would not fall asleep if the sound of the Mad Men opening theme was not on repeat in the background.
I'd size the stations up or down depending on what I could afford and what I could fit, do whatever you can do and whatever makes sense to you. But basically I just tried to make sure I had something within reasonable reach of a lot of places I might get stuck near, or might possibly just pass and notice and think to grab something.
This isn't a flashy discovery or a life hack or whatever we're calling things these days, and I know a lot of people who were already doing this long before me, but whenever I bring it up someone always seems to go "oh I should do that before I have surgery" or "that would be helpful while I'm studying for finals" or something. I figure I'll mention it when I think to in case it helps someone!
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diejager · 4 months
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From someone in the UK it honestly just depends on the person. I am okay with spice but I have relatives who die from pepper but others who can eat a ghost pepper and be like 'Oh that has a little kick to it but can I have something actually spicy'. So it does honestly depend.
And I think the issue with food being bland is that a lot of what would be considered cultural dishes are not past down or sound disgusting. For example the food we call faggots where I grew up is normally pig offcuts that are in a pig intestine with different herbs and they can be very tasty if you cook them right but they just sound disgusting.
It is just that the most common foods and the cheapest are the easiest things to cook which will not have a lot of stuff put into them as to not make it anymore expensive and there is a big focus on stuff already made that you can throw in the oven instead of "fresh" food. And this can be related back to the whole history and how different events have affected the food.
But that is just my experience but everyone will have their own experience or thoughts on it as different places in the UK are very different. I was just lucky that I grew up with a lot of things that tasted more "earthy" as I had a lot of herbs or "flowers" in my food or things that were buttery, cheesy, or salty which was passed down in family recipes.
It just honestly depends on the family and where they are.
ah, this is enlightening, and let me tell you, almost nothing in the food world disgusts me. I am Asian, and we eat a lot of shit. Pig intestines with herbs is my usual Sunday and that sounds delicious. I’ve had cow intestines, crickets, spiders, chicken feet, heart and lung, fish eyes and brain, raw clam and scallops, etc, but a lot of stuff I eat is somewhat spicy? Like jalapeño spicy, but that’s just barely spicy for some people.
And honestly? “Bland” food is a godsend at times, a little respite for your pallet, yeah? But this is an interesting point of view and it makes a lot of sense, cultural dishes have a lot of roots in history and people’s tolerance also depends on the food they grow up eating.
Thank you for explaining this to me, Ozzie! This will help me in writing fics one day.
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