burn your life down | chef luca x fem!reader | chapter one
summary: leaving your old life behind, you move to copenhagen to follow your dream of opening a restaurant. almost a year after opening, luca's quest for inspiration brings him right to your doorstep.
warnings: fluff, eventual smut, eventual angst not use of y/n, second person pov, swearing, danish inaccuracies, very little connection to the world of the bear.
word count: 2500
a/n: remember when i said we'd get pastry chef luca fanfic whether we liked it or not? well, it seems i can't be normal about anything bc i have an outline of (potentially) 10 chapters right now based on this headcanon. while i try to keep reader characters pretty neutral so that you can picture yourself, i have this reader creating food from her own life experiences/cultures so do what you will with that. also, i tagged some peeps from my headcanon post, but please let me know if you'd like to be removed.
masterlist | part two
He’s in search of inspiration when he finds the restaurant – your restaurant.
It’s an American stagiaire and a single conversation that makes him realize that he’s missing something – that he’s been in need of something fresh, a new perspective– setting him on his quest.
The best things are inspired.
Luca stares at a blank piece of paper for what feels like hours, writing a few things down, sketching up an idea, before viciously crossing them out, hopelessly stuck on new ideas for the new menu. After a few half-baked ideas that go nowhere, It occurs to him that he may be in need of a little inspiration himself. He can’t think of the last time he’s taken his own advice, mulling over the carefully-chosen words of wisdom imparted to Marcus a couple of weeks ago, and he’s determined to change that.
A review in the paper, an old colleague’s recent trip there, and a glowing recommendation from a close friend are what bring him to the restaurant.
He’s not sure what to expect – having forgone any interest in cuisine described with the words trendy or fusion a long time ago – but Luca reminds himself that it’s the writer’s word choice, not the chef’s, when writing the article.
When Luca steps into the small home-turned-restaurant, he’s immediately inundated with a warmth, a homeyness, that takes him by surprise. From the open kitchen, to the golden lighting, it feels vastly different from the classic Danish-style, fine dining establishments that have swept the country.
But Luca reminds himself that the announcement of noma’s 2024 closure, has shifted the conversation around dining culture in Denmark, and already, he can feel that this is the breath of fresh air that he’s been looking for.
Luca’s seated quickly with care and hospitality by a highly-attentive host, which he only assumes is a symptom of the fact that he read somewhere that you��re an American. While Danish, the host is boisterous, as if he’s known Luca since childhood. Luca smiles politely in response, graciously thanking the man and his chocolate brown curls.
The menu is small, indicating that each dish receives enough care to be excellent and he likes that, despite being described as trendy and fusion-focused, your menu is creative. It’s different. It’s inspired.
He chooses the special of the day: the mapo tofu bolognese – a traditionally Italian concept done from an Asian perspective – and the suggested wine pairing.
It doesn’t take long for him to receive his glass of wine, or his food, and he’s pleasantly surprised by how efficient service seems. Stealing glances through the open kitchen, he watches as you and your sous lead dinner service with a kind of compassionate leadership and playfulness that warms him from the inside out.
“We recommend mixing the whipped tofu into the dish for a creamier sauce. Skal,” his waitress greets, with a warm smile on her face as she sets down the bowl of noodles.
“Cheers,” Luca replies, his eyes savoring every single detail of the dish.
It’s somehow elevated, thoughtful, and elegant, yet comforting all at once.
Luca picks up his fork, using it to collect a little bit of everything – a perfect noodle twirl with just enough sauce, and ground pork before running his fork the whipped topping – raising the fork to his lips for his first bite.
As the flavors hit his tongue, he closes his eyes, and it’s as if time has stopped, just for a moment.
The wheat noodles are perfectly al dente while the whipped tofu is almost ricotta-like, transforming into a silky smooth addition to the dish, cutting the tingle and heat of the Sichuan chili peppercorn-based sauce.
The corners of his lips turn up as he takes a breath, opening his eyes as he savors the delicate layers of flavors. With a crooked smile on his face, he decides that he’ll most certainly be back next week.
-------------------------------
You make peace with the fact that tonight is one of those nights – a slow night – as you finish washing your hands. It being a slow night, you’d encouraged your staff to up the hospitality at the pre-shift meeting. Treating guests with the utmost personal touches in an effort to build genuine connections would be the focus of tonight’s slow service. In fact, you and Mathilde, your sous chef, had been running dishes out this evening – something you rarely had the luxury to do.
“You should go say hello,” your sous encourages, nodding towards the dining room through the expansive window of the open kitchen.
“Thought it was your turn,” you reply in a casual tone, paying no attention to who she’s referencing.
“No, I think you should take this one,” Mathilde nudges you, causing you to look up. You shoot her a funny look, your eyes flickering over the mischievous expression she has on her face, to where she’s gestured towards.
“To-?” you begin to ask, before seeing exactly who she’s talking about.
“Ehm. Tall, blonde, and tatted!” she emphasizes in a whisper yell.
You don’t really need the description as you glance over at the dining room, easily spotting the man seated at a two-seater near the front window.
“You’re right. He’s become a bit of a regular,” you agree with a curt nod that means all business, no pleasure, as you move a few things as you walk and talk around the kitchen, tidying up.
“That’s not what I meant,” she scoffs with a playful eye roll.
“You know, Jesper thought he was Swedish because… look at him… but he’s apparently a Brit,” she gossips with you, her eyes stealing a glance his way. “We’re slow tonight. He’s here every week. Sure he’d appreciate a direct thank you from the chef!”
“I-,” you hesitate, wondering why she’s so damn insistent on this. “... yeah, alright. I’ll go.”
“That’s my girl!” Mathilde cheers, in a sing-song voice, she hands you the beautifully plated bowl of pasta to take out to the dining room.
As you walk over towards his table, you make a note that it seems as if the mystery man has made this a bit of a routine. He shows every Saturday at exactly 7 pm, week after week, for the past month or so, as if it’s a standing date he has with himself. After his first visit, you half-expected him to bring a date when he returned, or bring a group of friends, or for something different to happen.
But it hadn’t and you’ve watched him come in, week after week, with a different book each time. He always orders the special of the day and whatever suggested wine pairing Jesper’s recommended that week.
Most Saturday nights you're busy leading a kitchen or cooking on the line – having little to no time to fixate or wonder curiously over your weekly diner – but tonight’s pace affords you the luxury to spend more time at the front of house. Truthfully, you know it’s the thing that sets you apart. Sure, the hospitality here in Copenhagen is excellent, but you bring an American hospitality-style to this restaurant – and above and beyond mentality – that feels welcoming, personal, even, as if your restaurant itself is just an extension of your home.
You’ve heard your staff – front of house and back of house – whispering about him, all seemingly enamored and enchanted by the charming Brit. All any of you knew about him was that his name was Luca and that he’s always more than kind to your front of house staff.
He doesn’t say much when he comes in, you’ve noticed, but every Saturday at 7 pm, he’s pushing his way through the front door with punctuality and a gentle ease.
The whisperings from your staff had all revolved around who your mysterious regular must be: whether he was Danish or Swedish, that someone that good looking must already have a partner, that he doesn’t wear a ring.
You hadn’t paid much attention to the gossip (or at least that’s what you’ve told yourself) more focused on running dinner service then trying to piece together the story of your handsome, mysterious regular.
“Hello,” you greet him warmly. “I just wanted to come introduce myself and say thank you for becoming one of our regulars. Your support means a lot to all of us.”
“Hi, I’m Luca.”
You share your name with a smile as he shakes your hand.
Luca turns his attention down to the bowl you’ve put in front of him, his eyes taking in the beautiful presentation hungrily.
“Wow, this looks… incredible,” he marvels, returning his gaze back to you.
“Thank you. I’m sure my front of house already walked you through this but if you’d like for me to-,” you begin.
“Yes, that’d be great, thanks,” he interjects, a crooked smile on his face that makes your heart skip a beat.
You have to pull your attention away from him, hoping he doesn’t notice that you’re quite possibly gawking at him.
He’s kind, charming, and he’s easy on the eyes (easy on the eyes, really being an understatement here).
“Today’s special was inspired by a childhood favorite of mine,” you begin, walking him through each component of the dish.
Crispy Rice. Caramelized marinated trumpet mushrooms and charred broccolini. Your mom’s sauce approached with classic French techniques, courtesy of your sous, Mathilde, a classically French-trained chef.
It’s a marriage of your story. Of the people around you. It’s your heart and theirs, put into a dish.
“You’re the chef?” he asks, unable to hide the surprise in his voice.
“Yes,” you answer, trying your best to get a read on him.
He balks, and you’re unsure of how you’re supposed to respond. Was he surprised that you’re a woman? That he’s been eating your food the whole time and expected a male chef? Before you can overthink it, Luca clarifies with:
“I’m sorry. It’s just-, I can't think of the last time I saw a head chef work front of house, let alone with this much care.”
Oh.
You let down your guard, wondering why you’d assumed the worst when the man’s been nothing but kind to you and your staff so far.
"We're a little short staffed tonight. And I love getting to talk to diners… especially on nights like this,” you explain, trying your best to sound like you hadn’t just assumed that he was a sexist asshole.
He shakes his head in disbelief, looking down at the picturesque bowl, then back to you.
Luca is impressed, and he has no intention of hiding it.
He picks up his wine glass by the stem, raising it to you.
"Cheers,” he says. “And thank you. This is a really beautiful dish.”
“Of course. Enjoy,” you reply, giving him a polite smile, before heading back into the kitchen.
-------------------------------
“Good service tonight, everybody!” Jesper, your front of house manager, announces while clapping a few times to signal to staff that it’s time for a post shift meeting.
As you all gather in the pristine front of house space. Some of your cooks have taken their aprons off, others haven’t had a moment to unwind from the shift yet – business picking up in the last hour or so of service.
Jesper goes through his nightly wrap-up notes, celebrating the wins of tonight, and making sure to celebrate how everyone rallied to pick up pace when business spiked. He’s gregarious, larger-than-life, the kind of person who can talk to anyone about anything, making him an excellent front of house manager, and even better sommelier. You really lucked out with the twins, you think to yourself – with Jesper and Mathilde – when they were more than eager to work with you on opening this restaurant.
“Oh, and before we go, a client left a gift… table number four,” Jesper says, in reference to Luca’s table. He pulls a tan-colored pastry box from another table, setting it down on a table where everyone can take a look.
“As a thank you. He requested for me to share. So have it and let’s make a note next time he’s in to really treat him like a VIP.”
One of your most-talented servers opens the box, eliciting a chorus of gasps, giggles, and excited whispers as soon as the assortment of croissants and pastries are revealed.
You and Mathilde exchange a look as everyone else busy themselves with unpacking the pastry box. Mathilde raises an eyebrow and you’re not sure what to say. Witnessing your silent exchange, Jesper makes his way over to the both of you, before extending his arm to reveal the card he’s holding.
“And this, my dear…” he begins, exchanging a look with his sister. “...is for you.”
“What do you-, just me?” you ask as you take it, hesitantly.
“I think so, yeah,” he nods, confidently.
To the Chef, the front of the card reads.
“Jesper, let’s check out some of these pastries, yeah?” Mathilde suggests, not so subtly hinting towards her brother.
He nods, giving you a little space so that you can read the card Luca’s left for you.
As your staff divvy up the box of laminated pastries, sighing with joy as they taste the decadent, hand-crafted sweets, you take a few steps away to open the note. His handwriting is pristine – perfectly neat in every way, like he’s written over carefully measured invisible lines.
Chef,
Thank you for all of the great meals. I'd like to return the favor, that is, if you're open to it.
Tomorrow. 5 pm. Dronningens Tværgade 2, 1302
While Luca’s gift has been more-than-generous, you find yourself overwhelmed by questions. Was he a chef too? And why had he not said anything? And what was this gesture all about anyways?
You read the card a few more times, turning the words over in your head as you try to make sense of it.
Mathilde can see your overwhelm, your eyebrows knitted into one confused expression as she saunters back over to you.
“What does it say?” she asks, curiously. “A love confession perhaps?”
“Mathilde, you really have to stop reading all of those French romance novels!” you tease her. “It’s giving you too many ideas.”
“It’s the only way I keep up with my French!” she defends herself with a lackadaisical shrug, earning a laugh from you.
“Uh no… it’s actually a thank you card… only I think he… wants to feed me,” you share with her, holding the card out so that she can take a look.
“He’s a chef too?” she asks, taking the card from your hands.
“I think so, yeah,” you reply, letting out an exasperated laugh.
“Oh shit!” Mathilde exclaims, as soon as she sees the address that Luca’s written down.
“What?” you ask her, wondering if there’s something you missed.
“The address… that’s AOC. I think he’s a chef at AOC, babe,” she gasps, shaking her head as she hands the card back to you, sending a ‘you lucky, bitch’ look your way.
Oh shit, is right.
1K notes
·
View notes
Soooo… guess here are my current obsessions One Piece OCs
@auxiliarydetective I did give it a try… not everything is final yet. Might not be a great introduction like this but it was fun to do and if anyone has different questionaires (or whatever they're called) just tag me.^^
Ideas, criticism, inspiration, all is welcome :) I've never so openly done this tbh
Animal Resemblances
Neri: Betta Fish
Niara: Emerald Swallowtail
Azura: Arctic Fox
Cordelia: Bombay Cat
Ellaria: Splendid Fairy Wren (Not 100% sold on that yet but it will be a beautiful bird)
Ginny: Leopard Seal (looks cute but could actually kill you)
Specific Numbers
Neri: 5/1/4 (ka – i - yo) (her last name)
Niara: 22 (ni - a)
Azura: 26 (a - tsu - ra) (eh, close enough^^)
Cordelia: 5 10 0 2 (Ko - da - lei - a) (lol again close enough - but the many numbers look weird, this one might definitely change in the future?)
Ellaria: 3-6-1 (Mirai = future) (it's a vision thing - but might also change if her name happens to fit better when she eventually gets one)
Ginny: undefined yet
Specific Colors
Neri: turquoise, light blue
Niara: pale green, pale pink
Azura: white, gold
Cordelia: black, red
Ellaria: white, grey, silver, very pale colors
Ginny: a fiercy, angry red
Specific Smells
Neri: ocean breeze, salt water
Niara: apple & honeysuckle
Azura: citron
Cordelia: amber
Ellaria: jasmine
Ginny: honey & rose
Favourite Type of Island and Season
Neri: summer on a spring island
Niara: spring on a summer island
Azura: winter on an autumn island
Cordelia: autumn on an autumn island
Ellaria: spring on a winter island
Ginny: spring on a spring island
Favourite Food
Neri: Seafood
Niara: icecream, watermelon, blueberry pancakes, cupcakes
Azura: oysters, shellfish, salad, filet mignon
Cordelia: sunday roast, fried shrimp, spicy food
Ellaria: Mushrooms, coffee, asian cuisine
Ginny: strawberries, meat, soup
Least Favourite Food
Neri: greasy food, meat, alcohol
Niara: most vegetables
Azura: fast food, cheap food, candy, cake
Cordelia: lentils, fish sandwiches, anything with pumpkin
Ellaria: fried foods, asparagus, ketchup
Ginny: rhubarb, olives, brussels sprouts, eggplant
As a Family
Neri: the adopted sister that comes from an entirely different culture
Niara: cheerful youngest sister, always getting into mieschief
Azura: the wine aunt
Cordelia: oldest sister, often annoyed at her younger siblings but quick to defend them/come to their rescue
Ellaria: the mother
Ginny: (distant?) cousin
Real-World Nationalities
Neri: Danish (as Denmark is associated with the little mermaid)
Niara: Dutch (the Netherlands are described as the country of flowers and her devil fruit power is flower-based, so…)
Azura: English-Irish (the latter shines through when she's drunk…)
Cordelia: Italian
Ellaria: Japanese
Ginny: Scottish
Inner Brain
Neri: probably lot's of excitement over various things that are happening around her or that she wants to give a try
Niara: having fun with her friends, pretty things she likes, crushes (well one crush in particular)
Azura: is annoyed at stuff and/or people half of the time so that's in her head a lot. Also, training.
Cordelia: work hard, party harder, looking hot while doing both
Ellaria: the fate of the world, secrets
Ginny: training, anger, distrust, more anger
Suited Flower
Neri: water iris
Niara: sunflower
Azura: white lily
Cordelia: amaryllis
Ellaria: tall garden larkspur
Ginny:
Are they Strawhats?
Neri: yes
Niara: joins after the timeskip
The others: no
Azura: is a warlord of the sea
Cordelia: works at a bar - it would be a different bar in cannon but she could keep her overall story I guess - might have to join a crew at some point though otherwise the characters would move on without her
Ellaria: is with the revolutinary army (at least for some part of her story)
Ginny: is with the revolutinary army
Ideas that first popped into my mind when certain OCs came to exist…
Neri: it's a show about pirates, there's GOT to be a mermaid
Niara: I want a character that uses a devil fruit mmmh what about plants/flowers (strangely enough, none of my pokemon oc's ever cared much about the grass type lol)
Azura: I want a cool sword fighting lady
Cordelia: I want a hot fierce type of character that looks good in black and that doesn't take anyone's crap
Ellaria: came into the picture much later, I only recently decided somewhat on her looks, only things I know for sure is pale green eyes and can sort of see the future. Might never make it into any kind of story but she popped into my mind so here we go.
Ginny: falls into the category "looks cute but can probably kill you".
Made some Picrew of them coz I saw other creators doing that
Neri:
Niara: (fun fact, she's currently one of my favorites)
Azura:
Cordelia:
Ellaria: (I'm almost certain I'm gonna keep the color palette and probably the hair...)
Ginny: (not her final look probably but I kinda want to keep the scars idk)
I took her pictures out because I decided on a different look for her. She will be a redhead now. She definitely has a scar or two on her face.
Bonus:
A picture drawn by @indig0pearl featuring Neri and her own OC, Sora, as well as Nami, Robin, Chopper, and three of our friends (here also draw as OCs - yes the alpaka is one of them, she ate a devil fruit^^)
16 notes
·
View notes
character info sheet
name: 七海建人 Nanami Kento
name meaning: Nanami's surname contains the kanji for "seven" (七 nana) and "sea" (海 mi), and his first name contains "to build, to establish" (建 ken) and "person" (人 to) ty wiki
alias: 7:3 Sorcerer, Nanamin
ethnicity: Japanese, maternal grandfather is Danish
(under the cut because its a lot of waffling)
picture/icon you like best of your character: this entire page is fire tbh. the fwish fwish. the ratio technique. the undercut.
ᴛʜʀᴇᴇ ʜᴇᴀᴅᴄᴀɴᴏɴs ʏᴏᴜ ʜᴀᴠᴇ ɴᴇᴠᴇʀ ᴛᴏʟᴅ ᴀɴʏᴏɴᴇ :
nanami runs hot. he is always warm to the touch. his metabolism is stupidly fast. he eats a lot, burns it all off and then is hungry again within 2 hours. its the muscle mass ok. because of this, he gets sweaty quickly (i know this is v unsexy of him. he showers twice a day at least, i promise) that's why the blazer and tie is first to go when things get serious
he sleeps like he's dead. nothing will wake him except his very loud and obnoxious alarm or vigorous shaking. he has also mastered the art falling asleep anywhere at any time; sitting up, leaning on something, on the floor. you name it, he can sleep on it. one minute you're having a conversation, the next he's balling up his blazer into a makeshift pillow, the next he's passed out. im sorry to all the faculty staff who have had to witness him laying around on furniture seemingly unresponsive ajfhkjagh
he will go into overtime after 8 continuous hours of work. it doesn't matter if the working day starts at 6am or 1pm. starting at 6am will trigger his binding pact at 2pm. starting at 1pm will trigger it at 9pm. getting ready for the day doesn't count as work, it only starts when he's officially on duty. so when he steps into jujutsu high, or when he arrives on location. lunches and breaks do not detract from his accumulated hours but if he spends the whole time messing around, he won't go into overtime at all. its about the mindset.
ᴛʜʀᴇᴇ ᴛʜɪɴɢs ʏᴏᴜʀ ᴄʜᴀʀᴀᴄᴛᴇʀ ʟɪᴋᴇs ᴅᴏɪɴɢ ɪɴ ᴛʜᴇɪʀ ғʀᴇᴇ ᴛɪᴍᴇ :
cooking. someone has to feed the beast that is his stomach. he's a v good cook and can rustle up something decent from whatever he finds in the kitchen. he finds it relaxing as well. there's something special about transforming a random assortment of veg and meat into something palatable. his parents raised him on both japanese & danish cuisine so he is equally fond of putting together a smørrebrød as he is a sammich
he likes watching movies, documentaries, cooking programs. generally he'll leave the tv on while puttering around because white noise. he'll always come back to the couch with snacks/ beer and carry on watching tv like he never left. he wont even ask what he missed. despite wanting to, he never has the mental capacity to pick up a book and read at the end of the day
getting wasted, sloshed, tipsy, hammered
sɪx ᴘᴇᴏᴘʟᴇ ʏᴏᴜʀ ᴄʜᴀʀᴀᴄᴛᴇʀ ʟɪᴋᴇs / ʟᴏᴠᴇs :
in the main timeline his people are shoko, gojo, yuuji, ino & haibara. that being said, he will lay down his life for literally every student and colleague. he is mad at geto for all this shit so he is deliberately excluding him from this list, even though geto was his 2nd fave upperclassman as a student. shoko is in first place. gojo is always dead last.
ᴛᴡᴏ ᴛʜɪɴɢs ʏᴏᴜʀ ᴄʜᴀʀᴀᴄᴛᴇʀ ʀᴇɢʀᴇᴛs :
haibara's death
leaving Jujutsu high/ coming back (?)
ᴛᴡᴏ ᴘʜᴏʙɪᴀs ʏᴏᴜʀ ᴄʜᴀʀᴀᴄᴛᴇʀ ʜᴀs :
nanami genuinely has no real phobias. he will put spiders outside. he will check if there's strange noises, he will sit in a darkened room with no windows np he is just unshakeable like that
people around him dying is probably it. the only true fear he has.
tagged by: @impishsensei (hearteyes u)
tagging: @cloistress, @vessuna, @10shadowd (because u 2 are a set) @pontevoix (for any jjk muse. do u regret being mutuals yet) @eveningbluemoon, @visioncursed (im sry for throwing so much at u omg)
16 notes
·
View notes