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littleladymab · 3 months

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FebruarOC - Xochitl

OOOHHHHHH SUSHI MY BELOVED!!!!!! She is my character for our Werewolf game (which we're playing TOMORROW) it had been on hold for four solid years due to pandemic (we play (mostly) in person) and life/job stuff, but we finally got to start playing again on NYE! Nothing like sounding in the new year trying to remember a game you haven't played in four years ;;;;

(It was fine I killed something in one hit)

Xochitl is the 5'3" alpha of her pack and team dad (her beta, Rory, huge 6'something, is team mom). One of the first notes I made for her was that her fighting style is: (ง •̀_•́)ง !!! and a little bit of (*｀ω´)/――――― ●)´Дﾟ) I was nervous about picking up the role of alpha originally, but I made the choice after figuring that no one else would probably do it (and I was right lol) in the end, I'm really glad! I've had a lot of fun, and she's the right amount of impulsive (it is one of her flaws) to carry them forward, and I'm the right amount of "I can't stand awkward silences at the table" to keep conversations going. Whoops.

She's from the Fiana tribe, though she's got a Hispanic name because of her father (Who was a Shadow Lord of Spaniard descent who left his tribe when he fell in love with Jael lmao), and she gets along most with her father who is also an Ahroun (meaning they're real good at fighting). Her mom had another child in a first... not marriage? I don't think they got married, but she had another child before she married Arturo and had Xochitl, but Xochitl never knew her sibling that well as they disappeared and presumed dead when she was still very young.

And by presumed I mean they actually did die, but they're back now! Hah hah! And working for the Autumn King, which, you know, isn't a real thing, so totally normal and okay and nothing wrong here, amiright????

Well, We're going to find out tomorrow, because we're totally going to finally kill the autumn king and save Zeke's mom and ????? something Xochitl's sibling.

the nickname Sushi comes from when the pack went to a bar and we met a group of Fae for the first time -- we were all being super paranoid about the Fae and you KNOW you're not supposed to give them your real name, except that Grace (the GM) said one of them was FC as Janelle Monae and I made some sort of involuntary sound and Grace asked "was that you or Xochitl?" and I went "(makes ionno sound)". But in her all her awkward grace, Xochitl introduces herself as 'Sushi'.

And then Ashanti (Janelle Monae) just won't stop rolling 10's when interacting with Xochitl and becomes instantly SMITTEN which now means that Xochitl is dating a really powerful fae lord of the winter court! And she's promised to bring back the head of the false king for her girlfriend! I'm so normal about them.

AND! ONCE THEY GET BACK FROM AUTUMN! There's something in the sewers that has been encroaching upon Rat territory, and well it's not like Xochitl and Remy are a thing, but also, Xochitl has two hands and I wouldn't be mad if she and Remy flirt a little hehe BUT MORE IMPORTANTLY, She's been keeping in touch with Remy (who is also team tattoo) about the goings on, and at the moment the ratkin have it under control, but Xochitl is gonna help investigate and deal with it later.

Now, generally, the pack is an investigation agency called City's Eyes! through a few different series of events during their investigations, everyone did get a gold lightning-scar tattoo on their body (hence the Team Tattoo) -- this marked them all as chosen by these lost totems, and so one of our big quests was to go and save all these lost totems! Xochitl switched from Clashing Boom Boom to Quetzalcoatl as a result, which is like, her learning some responsibility and really taking ownership of being a leader and not just going about it as pell-mell as she had been.

She has been one of my favorite characters to play, and even with our 4 year gap, the one that I've played the longest (we've been playing since like 2018). It's so easy to slip back into her! And even tho she no longer has her chaos twin that was Theane, she now has another Ahroun in Tali who is also more Mature(TM) than Theane was and I think that'll help keep Xochitl on the right track! Especially because right now she's distressed because her estranged "I thought you were dead but now you're working for someone who is legitimately insane and you're going mad but occasionally you remember who I am to you and try to warn me" sibling is there and she REALLY wants this king's head to give to Ashanti. She only just met Tali but insofar feels like she can rely on her! And of course, she can always rely on Rory and Theo to help protect the others.

Now, forgive me, I have a lot of playlists and a lot of pinboards for her, so I'll end with all of those! I've also uploaded her character sheet and her profile for free to patreon (which includes her gifts and weapons). Please know that when I roll to hit, I'm rolling a minimum of 9 dice, and then if I hit, WOAH BUDDY. What a satisfying sound!!

Pinboards:

Xochitl's Board

Xochitl and Ashanti's Board

"We went to a fancy party and all I got was second place in a tournament and also this fancy pinboard of outfit inspo"

Playlists:

Xochitl's character playlist

Xochitl's "Workout" playlist

Rowan's playlist (Xochitl's sibling)

City's Eyes playlist

Xochitl and Ashanti playlist (ver1)

Xochitl and Ashanti playlist (bodyguard AU edition)

I told you: normal.

Wish us luck storming the castle and killing the false king of autumn!!!

#februaroc #a lil miss original #lil miss writings

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boujeebunny8 · 3 months

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Also would you like to know about my oc, Raya? She is the latest reincarnation of Maya (I had the idea that Maya would be reincarnated, but with the same body type features) in the modern era, who is the daughter of the titan of death, ajax (Another oc of mine) wearing disufiroa armor (elder dragon from monster hunter), and her alternate serpent form (alter ego maybe?) is Quetzalcoatl, roughly a bit bigger than Ouroboros (Lord Mictlan's final form). Also the three armor sets (Maya, Raya beta, and disufiroa armor) are supposed to be fuse together, would you like to draw her https://www.tumblr.com/8rbwruns8kejkik/743723524853792768/behold-raya-she-is-the-latest-reincarnation-of?source=share

She’s so cute!!❤️❤️

#maya and the three #the book of life #princess maya

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bdwarrior1 · 2 years

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Al daughter of Quetzalcoatl Just some concept art of my character in the @celestials_of_war_offical comic series I’m working on with my friends. We are still in the beta stages of development but, so far, it’s been fun working on it. Check out some more art if you’re interested. #celestialsofwar #celestialsofwarcomic #celestialsofwarseries #comic #comics #comicseries #fancomic #fanart #betaart #conceptart #webcomicseries #webcomic #webcomicartist #comicartist #comicbookartist #comicbookart #comicbook #betastage #comicdevelopment #indevelopment https://www.instagram.com/p/CgQhsUagfzC/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

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rexcoatlarchive · 3 years

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So if anyone's wondering. Quetz 2/beta is meant to be the npc/enemy Quetz that appears in game. Basically since I decided that the original/alpha Quetz was going to be summoned near the beginning of the story that the one that appears in Babylon and so on would be a separate version. I mainly made her separate since it's mostly based on my own experience playing the game, and I managed to summon Quetz very close to when I started playing. And I decided to play around with the idea for my multiclass series, especially since if all of my fan alts were just Quetz or Kuku it would be boring. Especially since I'm basically doing to Quetz what the devs themselves are doing with Artoria and not all of them are just Artoria and Salter.

I'm not sure exactly how to explain her existence just yet. I'm playing with the idea of her being one of the many other versions of the feathered serpent in mesoamerican myth and was summoned in Babylon because the original who would've been summoned was already at chaldea.

#fate grand order #quetzalcoatl #quetzalcoatl beta

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jaybug-jabbers · 3 years

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Pokemon Gold/Silver Beta Pokemon: The April 2020 Leak

Look, 2020 was a rough year. So maybe I shouldn’t be so surprised that the April 2020 Gold/Silver source code leak flew almost entirely under my radar. If you Google about it, you’re find it’s very rare for news outlets to cover it. This is probably because many folks are hesitant to cover leaks. Also, the US was warming up to a truly awful pandemic around that point, not to mention other civil unrest, so it’s no surprise some people were a tad distracted.

But the fact is, another leak turned up in April of last year, following a recent trend of huge Nintendo leaks. And this one was a doozy. I’ve only truly realized its full extent in the past few days. As such, I’d like to do a post that covers some of the new information. In particular, I’m focusing on beta pokemon that were cut or heavily reworked.

Now, back in 2018, the Spaceworld ‘97 Pokemon Gold/Silver Demo was leaked online. I made a post about some of my favorites. So, from this leak, we already knew of a while slew of beta pokemon. However, as it turns out, there were still more new faces to find-- and a lot of them! I list 45 new beta pokemon here, in fact!

In the April 2020 leak, several sprite sets were found as internal files, each at different phases of game production. The sprite sets were dated May 6, 1998, June 13, 1999, June 21, 1999, and September 17, 1999. The August 17, 1999 Spaceworld ‘99 Demo build was also found, so we have information on that as well.

Essentially, if you want to see this information at The Cutting Room Floor, then head to this page for the sprites discovered as internal backups/sprite banks. Head to this page for the Spaceworld ‘99 demo information page. And, if you need a refresher for the older leak, you can go to this page for the Spaceworld ‘97 demo build.

For this post, we will focus on the May 6, ‘98 set of sprites, which contain the vast majority of new faces. So, without further ado, onward to the pokemon!

(#300) Kokopelli Pokemon/Celebi

(May 6, ‘98) (Spaceworld ‘99 Demo)

This first pair of sprites looks very much like Kokopelli, a fertility deity of some Native American cultures. This deity can be seen in ancient Native American petroglyphs, as a humpbacked flute player with feathers on the head. Surprisingly, we find that Celebi in the Spaceworld ‘99 Demo seems to be an updated version of this design, making Celebi’s design origins much different than expected. However, its fertility diety inspiration is still somewhat apparant in the modern Celebi, as a creature that causes plant life to flourish.

(#301) Eel Pokemon

While the sprite files did not reveal a name or other data, this eel’s sprites were numbered right beside the Gurotesu (Grotess) and Ikari (Anchorage) sprites, suggesting it once was the start of their evolution chain.

(#304) Fire Fox Pokemon

This little fellow is a fox that seems to have a fiery tail. It’s possible this fire fox was inspired by kitsune (just as Vulpix/Ninetails were) and that it was later redesigned as Fennekin.

(#305 - 308) Snow Bunny Evolution Line

These four pokemon seem to belong to the same evolutionary line. The second one seems to based on the Yuki Usagi, a ‘Snow Bunny.’ In Japan, these cute little critters are made in the snow (using leaves for the ears). They also sometimes make these Yuki Usagi as little marshmallow or mochi treats. So this pokemon line could be inspired by either of these. Considering the leaves and the snow, I would guess these would have been Grass/Ice.

(#309) Elephant Pokemon

You might wonder if this chonky boy-- looking tough with horns on his head and back-- was an early version of Donphan, but Donphan and Phanpy were present in the Spaceworld ‘97 demo. Indeed, this elephant and Phanpy/Donphan both exist in the same set of sprites from May ‘98, so it was simply a case of two types of elephants. This pokemon also calls to mind a glimpse of a cut beta pokemon we saw from Generation 1 (from ‘Satoshi Tajiri: The Man Who Made Pokémon’):

Same fierce eyes, at any rate! Alas, these both never saw the light of day. However, it’s possible this elephant was reworked into Piloswine, which is not in the May ‘98 collection but does appear in the June 13 ‘99 collection (although Swinub is absent). While Piloswine and Swinub are more akin to wild boars, there is also some relation to mammoths (an inspiration more heavily leaned on with Mammoswine in later games). Then again, there’s another pokemon you’ll see a little further down this list that might have inspired Piloswine instead.

(#311) Natu/Xatu Mid-Evolution

What is clearly a mid-evolution (its file number sits between the two). Has a peacock-like tail. Honestly, I think this works really good as a mid-evolution, and I don’t know why it was cut. I want to name it “Watu.”

(#313) Drunk Kiwi Pokemon

This one is just hilarious to look at. It appears to probably be a kiwi-bird? A very crazy-eyed, loopy one. I can see why this one was cut. The goofy, simple design kind of looks like a knockoff cartoon character for children.

(#314) Scorpion Pokemon

A pretty badass-looking scorpion, although a rather basic design. I dig the funky head, though. It seems like it has a single, beady eye and is rather menacing. This pokemon may have been later reworked into Gligar, a pokemon that first appears after this sprite set, in the June 13 ‘99 group:

Admittedly this is rather different from the Gligar we know, but it is an early design.

Or, who knows-- maybe this little fellah was later reworked into Skorupi. (If so, it’s a shame, as I don’t dig the weird accordian-like design of its limbs and its evolution.)

(#315) Quail Pokemon

A pudgey little quail pokemon. Doesn’t seem related to the kiwi pokemon. It’s a very cute little thing, and has lots of potential to evolve into something interesting, but it seems they scrapped it pretty quickly.

(#316) Music Note Bird Pokemon

Although these sprites are numbered right after the quail, and they are both birds, the designs are very different, so they seem unrelated. It seems the beta pokemon were simply blessed with a lot of birds. This little bird is in the shape of a clef, giving this bird a musical theme. It seems very likely it was later reworked into Chatot, a bird with a music-note shaped head and metronome tail.

(#319) Boar Pokemon

A cute, grumpy little boar with antlers. Probably what eventually led to Piloswine found in the June 13 ‘99 group. A bit of a shame, in my mind, as I kind of prefer this design.

(#325) Spikey Dog Pokemon

The curious thing is that this dog looks very similar to “Pudi,” a pokemon we saw in the Spaceworld ‘97 demo, which was intended to be a pre-evolution of Growlithe. But Pudi is also in this same collection of sprites!

Perhaps they were toying with the idea of re-designing Pudi (and had already scrapped a bunch of baby pokemon) and just hadn’t bothered to remove the old Pudi yet. It’s hard to say. Ultimately, these both were scrapped, but at least we still have Subbull/Granbull.

(#331) Yūrei Ghost Pokemon

This little ghost has two things that are common in Japanese folklore: the hitaikakushi (the white cloth headband it wears) and the two little balls of fire called hitodama. It is unknown why this ghost pokemon was scrapped, but perhaps they thought the little fellow wouldn’t translate well overseas?

(#344) Viking Ship Pokemon

Look at this beauty! A pokemon based off some sort of Viking ship. I absolutely adore this one. It’s creative and charming. I hope to see it in the future.

(#349) Wooly Dog Pokemon

This canine-like creature is fluffy as all out. Honestly I think it’s a tad odd, with how tangled and disheveled its fur looks. I can’t help but compare it to the early desings of the three Legendary Beasts, since they also are very canine-like:

These three designs are present in this same May 6, 98′ sprite collection as the representations of Raikou, Entei, and Suicune. Were they possibly playing with a different design idea for the Legendary Beasts? Perhaps Suicune. The Wooly Dog is just such an imposing sprite, that I can’t help but wonder. All pure speculation, of course.

(#350) Rabbit Pokemon

This rabbit has a rather intense look about him, and it makes me curious what the ideas were behind it. TCRF suggests it’s a possible pikachu clone.

(#351) Snake Pokemon

This cute little worm or snake seems to be wearing a feather headdress, suggesting its design may also be Native American inspired, like the Natu line. On the other hand, this could be inspired by Quetzalcoatl, a feathered serpent deity in Aztec culture. I would have loved to see this little guy’s evolutions.

(#352) Scarecrow Bird

A bird with a hat that kind of looks like a scarecrow. Honestly, it’s a super-cute idea.

(#353) Gargoyle Pokemon

This crouching beastie sort of looks like a gargoyle with a long, sharp tail. I can’t quite tell if those bits on the side are little wings or just a part of its legs. It would be interesting to see this creature standing in a different position-- I feel like that would give us a better understanding of what it looks like. Interestingly, there are striking similarities with Aerodactyl:

I wonder why they are so similar?

(#354 - 356) Manbō Evolution Family

The first of these three fishies was someone we already met in the Spaceworld ‘97 demo-- it was named ‘Manbō 1.′ In the demo, it evolved into Ikari (Anchorage) and then Gurotesu (Grotess). It seems it’s now been split off from those and given a new evolution family here. While I find that neat, and I quite like the expressions on these fish, they are admittedly a little bland.

(#360) Flying Squirrel(?) Pokemon

TCRF guesses this is a flying squirrel, and it seems to be wearing a sheathed sword. Not sure about the headgear it’s sporting. Is that a ninja star?

(#364) Early Cyndaquil

So, this May 6, ‘98 collection is really exciting. The original Gold/Silver fire starter line we saw in Spaceworld ‘97 (Honooguma’s line) is still present in this collection (as is the water-type ‘Cruz’ line and Chikorita’s line). So, what we have here seems to be an early Cyndaquil before they decided to turn it into a fire type and make it the fire starter! In fact, those spikes might even be icicles (like Alolan Sandslash), for all we know. If so, Cyndaquil’s typing pulled a 180.

(#377) Early Furret?

Possibly an early Furret. Looks pretty awkward, not gonna lie; I’m glad it was probably refined into modern Furret, with more body definition between the head and tail.

(#378) Stork Pokemon

It’s a stork, based on the myth of where babies come from. A cute idea, although its curly ‘hair’ looks a little funny to me.

(#380) Squid Pokemon

A squid with drills for its mantle and arms. Since that’s kinda Beedrill’s thing, I’m glad they scrapped the idea. The backsprite lacks drills so it’s probably from a different design stage.

(#382 - 383) Early Burmy/Pineco

Burmy/Wormadam/Mothim is based off the bagworm. Bagworms are grubs that use silk and lots of bits of leaves, bark and other objects to create a camouflaged cocoon. When they turn into adults, some species of female bagworms just look like their larval stage, while the males turn into winged moths. That is why Burmy/Wormadam/Mothim have their unique evolution situation. Clearly, these two beta pokemon are playing around with the bagworm idea. They probably went on to inspire both Pineco (another pokemon based on bagworms!) and the Burmy line in gen 4.

(#386) Koala Pokemon

It’s so cool to see they were thinking about a koala pokemon this early. We would not finally get one until gen 7′s Komala.

(#387) Tanuki Pokemon

A Tanuki that is carrying campfire kindling on his back, but the kindling has caught fire. Apparently based on the Kachi-Kachi Yama folktale, which is a surprisingly violent story, but I suppose folktales often are. Who knows why it was cut, but Sentret is the closest thing we have to a tanuki pokemon for now.

(#392) Megaphone(?) Bird Pokemon

Yet another bird pokemon! There sure were a lot of beta birds. This one appears to have a megaphone-shaped beak. Or, possibly, its head is shaped like a gas mask (the strange eyes seem to support this idea). Honestly I really dig the look of this one.

(#397) Frog Pokemon

It’s tough to tell but it has a small horn on its head. It has a long tongue and is probably shouting “ribbithhhhhh!” It’s cute, but a little plain.

(#400) Tiny Hippo Pokemon

Look at this little weirdo. I think it’s a tiny hippo? With a mohawk and a big grin and wild eyes. It doesn’t really seem to have a head, its mouth/eyes/ears are just stuck directly to a body. Looks pretty awkward, probably needed some polish. No idea what they were going for with it, but it’s interesting.

(#401) Skeleton Pokemon

A very spooky, bipedal, living skeleton beast. It has a long snout and sharp teeth, almost like a crocodile or a dinosaur-like creature. Its head and shoulders have bony spikes and the front of its snout has markings that seem to be a nasal cavity. Very detailed. It also reminds me of Missingno, as some Missingno used the fossil skeletons as their front sprites. I would have loved to have this pokemon, and it’s a real shame they didn’t use it.

(#402) Rodent Pokemon

A mouse or bunny with gigantic, spotted ears and no arms. Those are some serious ears; it almost looks like it could fly with them.

(#403) Fly Pokemon

A bug-type!! It has a huge, creepy face, curly antenna and wings strangely really close to its head. I love it?? But it’s a bug, so of course I do.

(#404) Plant Pokemon

The Snow Bunny was likely part grass-type, but other than that, this is our first grass beta! It has one eye, a spikey head, and almost foot-like roots. I love how grumpy it looks. There’s a possibility it was a pre-evolution for Sunflora, before they had created the idea of Sunkern (which is not present in this collection).

(#405) Ant Pokemon

Another bug!! This one looks a lot like a winged ant. (Those do exist-- usually a temporary thing for mating flights) It’s possibly related to the fly pokemon above, sporting very similar wings. However, it doesn’t really seem like an evolution.

(#406) Dinosaur Pokemon

A little dinosaur-like pokemon, looking up at you. It’s unclear if that’s a tough, bony skull, or if it’s maybe a hat. The clubbed tail makes me wonder if it’s related to #415 below, but it’s probably unlikely. However, it is pretty likely that this later became Cranidos.

(#407) Early Cherrim

This clearly was a design that was picked up later, in gen 4, to create Cherubi/Cherrim’s sunshine form. I am glad the design was improved, because the lips on this one scare me.

(#412) Early Dunsparce

Dunsparce looking quite different. No wings, no drill tail, with a much more typical snake-like face.

(#415) Dinosaur Pokemon

It looks like an aquatic version of an Ankylosaurus or something similar. It’s possible it’s related to the Viking Ship pokemon (as a pre-evo), but there’s no way to know. I quite like it, though.

(#416) Flying Fish Pokemon

This magnificent beast, this miracle of creation, is surely my favorite beta pokemon of all time. Revel in its glory. You may not like it, but this is the ideal pokemon body. What a perfect way to round off our collection of betas.

#pokemon #pokemon gold/silver #beta pokemon #april 2020 leak #pokemon betas #pokemon beta content #mycontent #pokemon discussion

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reignsan · 5 years

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Which Fate author made your favorite Servant?

Most of this list comes from Material books. Some of it comes from interviews. Please note that we don’t know every Servants creator, but I listed all the ones I could find.

Servants are listed in numerical order based on GO’s in-game list.

I am not listing Servants who are not in GO because that’d make this list even longer than it already is.

If a character is in GO but is not listed here I couldn’t find who created them. The Material books currently end at Fujino, so unless it’s really obvious Servants after her probably won’t have a known creator.

If a character was a collaborate effort they will be listed under both authors.

Kinoko Nasu: Stay Night, Hollow Ataraxia, Extra, Extra CCC, Prototype, FGO’s Fuyuki, Camelot, Babylonia, Solomon, and India chapters

Mash

Artoria

Nero

Siegfried (collab with Higashide)

Saber Gilles de Rais

Altera (collab with Sakurai)

Emiya

Gilgamesh

Robin Hood

Euryale (collab with Sakurai)

Cu Chulainn

Elizabeth Bathory

Medusa

Ushiwakamaru (collab with Higashide)

Andersen

Mozart

Lord El-Melloi II (but apparently Zhuge Liang’s powers were by Higashide)

Sasaki Kojirou

Hassan of the Cursed Arm

Stheno (collab with Sakurai)

Heracles

Lancelot

Lu Bu

Tamamo

Jeanne

Drake

Scathach

Diarmuid (collab with Urobuchi)

Nursery Rhyme

Mordred (collab with Higashide)

Solomon

Karna

Mysterious Heroine X

Ryougi Shiki

Li Shuwen

Angra Mainyu

Kiritsugu

Hassan of the Hundred Faces (collab with Urobuchi)

Raikou (collab with Sakurai)

Ibaraki (collab with Sakurai)

Gawain

Bedivere

Cleopatra (collab with Sakurai)

Vlad III (Fate/Extra version)

Ishtar

Enkidu (collab with Narita)

Quetzalcoatl (collab with Sakurai)

Jaguar Man (he made Taiga, but apparently Jaguar was a collab with Sakurai)

Merlin

King Hassan

Emiya Alter (collab with Higashide)

Arthur

Meltryllis

Passionlip

Suzuka Gozen

Kiara

Parvati

Ereshkigal

Asagami Fujino

Kingprotea

this one isn’t confirmed but most likely Kama given he wrote her debut story and she’s a Sakura pseudo

Gen Urobuchi: Zero, FGO’s China chapter

Caster Gilles de Rais

Spartacus

Vlad III (Fate/Apocrypha version)

Diarmuid (collab with Nasu)

Iskandar

Hassan of the Hundred Faces (collab with Nasu)

Irisviel? I can’t find anything but I mean it’d make sense, she’s from Zero and wasn’t mentioned in FSN.

Yuuichiro Higashide: Apocrypha, Extella Link, FGO’s Orleans, Okeanos, America, Shinjuku, and Russia chapters. It is important to note that several of Higashide’s characters were from the scrapped beta plans for Apocrypha, which was originally going to be an online game like what GO is. A lot of authors made characters for it that got scrapped, and then when Higashide was hired to turn Apo into a book instead of a game he picked the scraps up and altered their abilities/personalities a bit, making them half his character and half the original’s.

Atalanta (Original scrapped profile for Apocrypha’s beta from Complete Material IV was by Jinroku Myougaya. Higashide revived her for Apocrypha)

Siegfried (collab with Nasu)

Benkei (Original scrapped profile for Apocrypha’s beta from Complete Material IV was by Jinroku Myougaya. Higashide revived him for FGO)

Leonidas

Georgios (Original scrapped profile for Apocrypha’s beta from Complete Material IV was by Kiyomune Miwa. Higashide revived him for FGO)

Blackbeard

Ushiwakamaru (collab with Nasu)

Shakespeare (Original scrapped profile for Apocrypha’s beta from Complete Material IV was by Shoji Gatoh. Higashide revived him for Apocrypha)

Mephistopholes

Zhuge Liang (El-Melloi personality by Nasu)

Jing Ke

Sanson

Mata Hari

Carmilla

Asterios

Kiyohime

Eric Bloodaxe

Orion and Artemis

Hektor

Anne and Bonny

Jack the Ripper

Mordred (collab with Nasu)

Arjuna

Beowulf

Amakusa Shirou Tokisada

Rama

Thomas Edison

Geronimo

Billy the Kid

Tristan

Moriarty

Emiya Alter (collab with Nasu)

Hessian Lobo

Yan Qing

Hozoin Inshun

Osakabehime

Semiramis

Avicebron

Achilles

Chiron

Sieg (but the idea for him was proposed by Nasu)

Hikaru Sakurai: Prototype Fragments, Extella, FGO’s Septem, London, Shimousa, and Gotterdammerung chapters

Caesar

Altera (collab with Nasu)

Chevalier d’Eon

Euryale (collab with Nasu)

Arash

Romulus

Boudica

Ushiwakamaru (collab with Nasu)

Marie Antoinette

Martha

Stheno (collab with Nasu)

Phantom of the Opera

Kintoki (Original scrapped profile for Apocrypha’s beta from Complete Material IV was by Jin Haganeya. Sakurai revived him for FGO)

Caligula

Darius III

Fergus

Nikola Tesla

Paracelsus

Babbage

Jekyll and Hyde

Fionn

Brynhild

Dantès

Nightingale

Medb

Helena

Shuten-douji

Sanzang

Raikou (collab with Nasu)

Ibaraki (collab with Nasu)

Ozymandias

Nitocris

Hassan of Serenity

Da Vinci (I’m surprised, I expected Nasu given how important Da Vinci is)

Cleopatra (collab with Nasu)

Quetzalcoatl (collab with Nasu)

Jaguar Man (collab with Nasu, apparently)

Holmes

Tomoe Gozen

Chiyome

Yagyu Munenori

Kato Danzo

Sigurd (collab with Meteo)

Ryogo Narita: Fate/Strange Fake

Enkidu (collab with Nasu)

Meteo Hoshizora: Fate/Requiem, FGO’s Salem chapter

Astolfo

Frankenstein

David

Mysterious Heroine X Alter

Circe

Neza

Queen of Sheba

Abigail Williams

Hokusai

Sigurd (collab with Sakurai)

Hiroshi Hiroyama: Fate/Kaleid Liner Prisma Illya (original manga version)

Prisma Illya (of course, original Illya was by Nasu)

Chloe

Miyu

Hazuki Minase: Fate/Kaleid (anime adaptation), FGO’s Agartha chapter

Scheherezade

Wu Zetian

Penthesilea

Columbus

Makoto Sanda: Lord El-Melloi II Case Files

Gray

Reines (Sima Yi)

Keikenchi: Koha-Ace

Okita

Nobunaga

Hijikata Toshizo

Chacha

Okada Izou

Sakamoto Ryoma

Riyo: Learning With Manga! FGO

Paul Bunyan

#fate #fate grand order #fgo #fate series #fate hollow ataraxia #fate zero #fate stay night #fate apocrypha #fate extra #fate extella #fate kaleid liner prisma illya #fate requiem #lord el-melloi II case files

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akaseru · 5 years

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Up next is the magical tattoo artist!Juls fic. I don’t have much on this one yet as I’ve really only started on writing the dialogue more than anything with a few descriptors just so I remember what’s happening. After my discord fam betas this I plan on having @valvaldes go over it for reasons. I literally have no name for this yet.

Valentina is leading her brother by the hand while Guille keeps one hand covered over his eyes, following along good naturedly. Valentina is practically dragging him down the sidewalk with an easy smile and a pep in her step

G: “Vale, where are we going?” a smile in his voice

V: “You’ll see! We’re nearly there.” Sing-songs and chuckles

V: “Okay!” with barely contained excitement Val lowers Guille’s hand

G: “Inked Pact?’” in confusion and turns to Valentina with a raised eyebrow

V: “This is the best tattoo parlor in Cuidad de México!” gestures like a presenter with her arms towards the storefront

G: Smile gradually building once realization kicks in “Vale, you didn’t?”

V: Bites her lip and nods her head ecstatically “Sorpresa!” she does that little jump in place and barely maintains her balance when Guille gives her a bear hug and rocks her back and forth, both laughing

V: “After you” Val open the door while gesturing with one hand to go in, to which Guille “curtsies” and chuckles when Val either sticks her tongue out at him or pinches his cheek

Once they step in they are taken with the place. Not so much the appearance as the feeling/ambiance it exudes. There is the distant buzz of a needle or two in the background and muffled conversation between artist and client coming from behind the partition-like wall. Guille is looking at the pictures of tattoos hanging on the walls (a mix of designs and the designs on clients) and proceeds to pick up a binder/catalogue. Val is perusing all the piercings and lotions/creams on display.

V: “Did you have a design in mind?” Val glances over her shoulder briefly and examines a nice piece of jewelry, presumably for a bellybutton piercing.

G: “I thought I did until I saw that they do enchanted stuff. Look!” Guille walks over to her and shows a couple pictures from the binder.

As Val puts the charm back light reflects off it and something on the counter moves. Just as Valentina turns her head to see what her brother is pointing at she catches movement out of the corner of her eye.

V: Not quite believing what she is seeing Val grabs Guille’s arm. “Holy shit! Guille! Is that a Coatl?” Val had initially glanced at the coiled Quetzalcoatl and believed it to be an amazingly life-like statue/decoration, but now it lifts it’s head up from its coiled body and looked at them.

Note: Teal-blue serpentine body with mostly amethyst colored feathers composing the mane and the rare black back mixed with the occasional jade green and silvery-white feathers run the entire length of the body. There is a small black streak under the corner of the dragon’s amber yellow eyes, almost like a tear.

G: “Oh my god.”

Both Carvajals look at the Quetzalcoatl before them in reverence and Valentina bows her head in deference to the dragon. In turn, the serpent tilts its head to the side and ever so slightly tips its head before it starts slithering towards them. Valentina clutches Guille’s arm tighter in response, disbelief clearly written on her face that it not only acknowledged their presence and greeted them but is now approaching them as well.

J: “Enjoying yourself?” amused

The Carvajal siblings look in the direction of the voice and see a young woman leaning against the door jamb who appears to be rather amused by the scene before her. Valentina inexplicably felt herself blushing for being caught, imagining how ridiculous she and Guille must look gawking at the Quetzalcoatl.

J: “To be fair, I’d probably be preening too.” Losing interest in the siblings, the Coatl faces the woman and she raises an eyebrow while giving the snake a conspiratorial smirk. As she approaches the countertop the creature slithers closer to the shorter woman and, once it is near her, rears up and faces Valentina. Valentina tries not giggle at the fact that the sight makes her think of a dog proudly sitting next to its owner

J: “After all, it’s not everyday someone bows at the sight of you.”

V: clearly dying of embarrassment she covers her face with her hands and peeks through her fingers while mumbling “You saw that?”

J: “I did.” Her chuckle really grabs Val’s attention

#liz gets writing #writing things #fanfiction #juliantina #my sorpresa

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mintchocolatewitch-blog · 6 years

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A guide to chocolate by meee!

According to the Aztecs, the great god of the feathered serpent of wisdom and creation known as Quetzalcoatl introduced the cocoa bean to humanity. It is more likely that it comes from the Amazon rainforest and goes to Mesoamerica, whose inhabitants understood that they could tame, ferment, roast, mash and mix the cocoa with water, peppers and spices to produce a bitter and intoxicating drink. He then took a boat across the Atlantic to learn Spanish. Europe was not sure what to do with bitterness until someone spilled sugar into the drink. Cocoa quickly swept the continent, giving birth to large companies that persist to this day, such as Cadbury, Nestle, Hershey and Lindt.

Today, chocolate is everywhere. This is part of the fabric of the human experience.

Why is it so good?

Let's start with ...

Health benefits Chocolate contains healthy fats Cocoa butter is mainly monounsaturated and saturated fat, with very little polyunsaturated fat. And because most of these saturated fats are stearic acid, which turns into oleic acid in the body and is renowned for its neutral effects on LDL, even declared lipophobia can engulf cocoa fat.

Animal studies have shown that cocoa butter protects the liver from damage caused by ethanol.

Dark chocolate contains a lot of flavanols Flavanols are an important class of polyphenols, the phytonutrients that have beneficial effects on oxidative stress, inflammation and contribute to producing beneficial hormonal reactions. In terms of polyphenol content and antioxidant capacity, cocoa overturns super fruits, namely acai, pomegranate, cranberry, blueberry and almost everything else. The most studied polyphenol in chocolate is epicatechin, a flavanol.

Dark chocolate and endothelial health / blood pressure Epidemiological studies show fairly consistently that dark chocolate consumption is related to lower blood pressure readings. In Jordan, among the Kuna Indians living in Panama, among pregnant women and among the elderly in the Netherlands, this is true.

Controlled trials suggest that this observation is probably causal:

Cocoa consumption has improved arterial flow in smokers. This is not too surprising, as smokers have higher oxidative loads and foods rich in polyphenols help fight oxidative stress. What's really fascinating is the study that found that fifteen days of dark chocolate, but not white chocolate, decreased blood pressure (and improved insulin sensitivity) in healthy subjects. The main difference between white chocolate and dark chocolate is the polyphenol content; Both types contain cocoa fat, so that cocoa fat is not enough to improve blood pressure.

In another study, consumption of flavanol-rich dark chocolate improved endothelial function while increasing plasma levels of flavanols (indicating that flavanols are involved). Another study used flavanol-rich cocoa to increase nitric oxide production in healthy humans, which increased vasodilation and improved endothelial function. In another case, the highest dose of cocoa flavonoids caused the greatest drop in blood pressure. Yet another found that dark chocolate did not reduce blood pressure, improve lipids and reduce oxidative stress, but improve coronary circulation.

Dark chocolate is prebiotic Chocolate is a good source of polyphenols and fibers, both of which act as prebiotic precursors for healthy intestinal bacteria.

In spontaneousIn hypertensives, soluble fiber in cocoa decreased blood pressure, perhaps by reducing weight gain.

Dark chocolate and cardiovascular diseases In humans, with normal and high cholesterol levels, the consumption of cocoa powder mixed with hot water LDL and ApoB (good barometer of the number of LDL particles) increases while increasing the HDL. The three doses of flavanol-rich cocoa powder - 13, 19.5 and 26 g / day - proved to be beneficial. If you wonder, 26 grams of powder are about a quarter cup. It also works if you drink it with milk.

Given the effects of chocolate on lipid peroxidation, we can probably assume that it will also reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease. And indeed, epidemiological studies suggest that this is the case. In a sample of over 2200 patients (PDF), chocolate consumption was inversely associated with the progression of atherosclerotic plaque. The association was held for chocolate in general and I do not think everyone consumes 100% cocoa powder overflowing with polyphenols. This year's study of the same group showed similar results: chocolate consumption was inversely associated with cardiovascular diseases.

Dark chocolate and insulin resistance For two weeks, hypertensive patients with glucose intolerance received either 100 grams of dark chocolate with a high content of polyphenols or 100 grams of white chocolate without polyphenols. The diets were isocaloric and nothing differentiated the groups in addition to the type of chocolate. Dark chocolate improves beta cell function, lowers blood pressure, increases insulin sensitivity and improves endothelial function, unlike white chocolate. Again, this indicates that it is polyphenols, not just cocoa butter.

Dark chocolate and foie gras As mentioned earlier, cocoa butter is hepatoprotective in the context of ethanol consumption. These benefits seem to extend to other areas of liver health.

Daily consumption of chocolate is related to the decrease of liver enzymes.

Dark chocolate and UV damage One study showed that feeding healthy people for 12 weeks with large amounts of dark chocolate doubled their resistance to UV rays or their resistance to UV rays; feeding low amounts of dark chocolate had no effect on the MED.

Similarly, another study showed that a person who consumed high levels of cocoa flavanols had greater resistance to a given UV dose than a low flavanol group over a period of six to twelve weeks.

Dark Chocolate and Aging It seems that every time you read articles about the eating habits of a centenary, they are great chocolate lovers. This may not be a fluke because chocolate has been shown to improve many aspects of the aging process.

In postmenopausal women, dark chocolate rich in cocoa improves blood circulation to the brain and the periphery. It also reduces arterial stiffness.

A 40 gram piece of dark chocolate improves the ability of elderly patients with peripheral arterial disease to walk unaided within two hours of consumption. It's wild.

Older people who eat the most chocolate have better cognitive function and a lower risk of type 2 diabetes.

It is clear that the older you are, the more you should eat chocolate. I certainly work under this hypothesis.

How chocolate is made What are we talking about when we talk about chocolate? How is it going?

After the cocoa bean has been removed from her pod, she stays in battery for about a week to heal. It is the fermentation in pithe, the first stage of cocoa processing. During yeast fermentation, the yeast Degrading the mucilaginous pulp that surrounds the beans in ethanol, the bacteria transform the ethanol into acetic acid and carbon dioxide, which increases the temperature sufficiently to finally kill the cocoa bean. Now dead and their decaying cell walls, the bean undergoes chemical reactions that develop flavor and color. Fermentation also reduces bitter compounds and phytic acid.

Then, the beans are dried for a week or two, then roasted, then sprayed to form feathers. Sometimes this process is returned, they spray dry beans into feathers and then roast the feathers. The seeds are crushed into a paste called cocoa liquor or chocolate liquor, which is combined with sugar, vanilla and other ingredients to form the chocolate itself. This is also the time when they make cocoa powder by squeezing the liquor and extracting the cocoa butter.

They will further refine cocoa by trying to reach the point where human language will not perceive individual particles. Once it is smooth, it conquers chocolate, which involves mixing and aeration of the material at elevated temperatures to improve texture and mouthfeel. Soy lecithin improves the emulsification and reduces the amount of conching required.

Each step of the treatment reduces the flavanol content of the chocolate. This means that the higher the chocolate, the higher the flavanol content. But with the exception of explicitly raw bars, almost all finished chocolate bars undergo fermentation, roasting and conching. There is really no way around that. And even raw chocolate is probably not even raw. And if so, is it desirable? Fermentation and roasting all reduce the phytic acid content, after all. Even ancient Mesoamericans roasted their cocoa beans before eating or drinking them. And it is not clear if more polyphenols are still desirable.

In addition, not all chocolatiers use black cocoa products. They do not use unfermented raw cocoa beans selected by the Aztec elders. They use commercially available cocoa-based products that are undergoing significant processing, such as 85% dark chocolate or unsweetened cocoa powder. And they still work very well and produce great benefits.

Powder: There are different powders. I will not talk about premixed hot cocoa powders; avoid them

Raw cacao powder comes from dry beans, fermented and unroasted. Since the beans have not been roasted to extract all the cocoa butter, there are still some grease residues. The roasted cocoa powder comes from roasted and fermented beans. This tends to be less oily, as the roasting process allows for greater extraction of cocoa butter. Nibs: Feathers are like chocolate gravel, unsweetened. You can add them to the smoothies, eat them whole or grind them to get your own cocoa liquor.

Liquor or mass: The liquor / cocoa mass is crushed into grains / cocoa beans in solid or semi-solid form. These are equal parts of cocoa and cocoa butter. You can eat this as a maniac or use it to make your own chocolate.

Bars / chips: The finished product. The percentage of cocoa in a bar (100%, 85%, 70%, etc.) indicates the amount of mass and cocoa butter. An 85% chocolate bar contains 85% cocoa mass and cocoa butter, 15% other ingredients such as lecithin, sugar and flavors.

So yeah, mmummumumumumumumuummmm chocolate.

I’m going to try and do some more outreach with my content. I’m currently going through the https://www.BigGuestPosting.com chocolate guest posting list. So hopefully you’ll see me about online more!

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ao3feed-ddlc · 4 years

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Doki Doki Dragon Maid Club

read it on the AO3 at https://ift.tt/3kNsrjo

by ViridiHarmonia64

After her father’s arrest, Natsuki Kobayashi is on a mission to finish school successfully and live life to the fullest...starting with a drinking celebration, meeting a dragon, getting her to be her maid, getting two other girls to want to get close and personal with her...and hopefully ending in happiness, if the rampant amount of lesbianity doesn’t end her first.

Words: 3855, Chapters: 1/4, Language: English

Fandoms: Doki Doki Literature Club! (Visual Novel), 小林さんちのメイドラゴン | Kobayashi-san Chi no Maid Dragon | Miss Kobayashi's Dragon Maid

Rating: Mature

Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply

Categories: F/F, Multi

Characters: composite characters - Character, Natsuki (Doki Doki Literature Club!), Kobayashi (Miss Kobayashi's Dragon Maid), Sayori (Doki Doki Literature Club!), Tohru (Miss Kobayashi's Dragon Maid), Monika (Doki Doki Literature Club!), Quetzalcoatl "Lucoa" (Miss Kobayashi's Dragon Maid), Yuri (Doki Doki Literature Club!), Fafnir (Miss Kobayashi's Dragon Maid)

Relationships: Monika/Natsuki/Sayori/Yuri (Doki Doki Literature Club!), Kobayashi/Tohru/Fafnir/Lucoa (technically)

Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, i mean for doki doki at least, Polyamory, Maids, Alternate Universe - Roommates/Housemates, Sexual Humor, Drinking, at least it's started that way, Japanese-American Character, america is like big hero 6 and ace attorney translations, No Lesbians Die, Not beta read we die like women, Fluff and Crack, Trans Female Character

read it on the AO3 at https://ift.tt/3kNsrjo

#ao3feed #ddlc #doki doki literature club

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fishermariawo · 6 years

Text

The Definitive Guide to Chocolate

Ah, chocolate. What a life.

According to the Aztecs, the great feathered serpent god of wisdom and creation known as Quetzalcoatl introduced the cocoa bean to mankind. It’s likelier that it originated in the Amazon rainforest and wound its way north to Mesoamerica, whose inhabitants figured out they could domesticate, ferment, roast, crush, and mix cocoa with water, chilies, and spices to produce a bitter, intoxicating drink. It then took a boat across the Atlantic, learning Spanish along the way. Europe wasn’t sure what to make of the bitterness until someone spilled a little sugar into the drink. Cocoa quickly swept across the continent, giving rise to large corporations that persist to this day, like Cadbury, Nestle, Hershey, and Lindt.

Today, chocolate is everywhere. It’s part of the fabric of human experience.

Why’s it so good?

Let’s start with…

The Health Benefits Chocolate Contains Healthy Fats

Cocoa butter is mostly monounsaturated and saturated fat, with very little polyunsaturated fat. And because most of that saturated fat is stearic acid, which turns into oleic acid in the body and is well known for having neutral effects on LDL, even avowed lipophobes can happily and heartily gobble up cocoa fat.

Cocoa butter has been shown in animal studies to protect the liver against ethanol-induced damage.

Dark Chocolate Contains Lots of Flavanols

Flavanols are an important class of polyphenols, the phytonutrients that have beneficial effects on oxidative stress, inflammation, and help produce beneficial hormetic stress responses. When it comes to polyphenol content and antioxidant capacity, cocoa trounces the “superfruits” acai, pomegranate, cranberry, blueberry and almost everything else. The most studied polyphenol in chocolate is epicatechin, a flavanol.

Dark Chocolate and Endothelial Health/Blood Pressure

Epidemiological studies pretty consistently show that dark chocolate consumption is related to lower blood pressure readings. In Jordan, among Kuna Indians living in Panama, among pregnant women, and among elderly Dutch, this holds true.

Controlled trials suggest this observation is probably causation:

Cocoa consumption improved arterial flow in smokers. That’s not too surprising, as smokers have higher oxidative loads and high-polyphenol foods help fight oxidative stress. What’s really fascinating is the study that found fifteen days of eating dark chocolate, but not white chocolate, lowered blood pressure (and improved insulin sensitivity) in healthy subjects. The main difference between white and dark chocolate is the polyphenol content; both types contain cocoa fat, so cocoa fat isn’t enough to improve blood pressure.

In another study, flavanol-rich dark chocolate consumption improved endothelial function while increasing plasma levels of flavanols (which indicates the flavanols had something to do with it). Another study used flavanol-rich cocoa to increase nitric oxide production in healthy humans, which increased vasodilation and improved endothelial function. In another, the highest dose of cocoa flavanoids caused the biggest drop in blood pressure. Still another found that while dark chocolate did not reduce blood pressure, improve lipids, nor reduce oxidative stress, it did improve coronary circulation.

Dark Chocolate Is Prebiotic

Chocolate is a good source of polyphenols and fiber, both of which act as prebiotic precursors for healthy gut bacteria.

In “spontaneously hypertensive” rats, cocoa soluble fiber lowered blood pressure, perhaps by reducing weight gain.

Dark Chocolate and Cardiovascular Disease

In humans, both with normal and elevated cholesterol levels, eating cocoa powder mixed with hot water lowered oxidized LDL and ApoB (a good barometer for LDL particle number) counts while increasing HDL. All three doses of high-flavanol cocoa powder – 13, 19.5, and 26 g/day – proved beneficial. If you’re wondering, 26 grams of powder is about a quarter cup. It also works if you drink it with milk.

Given the effects of chocolate on lipid peroxidation, we can probably surmise that it will also lower the risk of cardiovascular disease. And indeed, epidemiological studies suggest that this is the case. In a sample of over 2200 patients (PDF), chocolate consumption was inversely associated with progression of atherosclerotic plaque. The association held for chocolate in general, and I don’t think it’s likely that everyone was consuming 100% raw cacao powder brimming with polyphenols. A study from this year from the same group got similar results: chocolate consumption was inversely associated with cardiovascular disease.

Dark Chocolate and Insulin Resistance

For fifteen days, hypertensive, glucose-intolerant patients received either 100 daily grams of high-polyphenol dark chocolate or 100 daily grams of zero-polyphenol white chocolate. Diets were isocaloric, and nothing differed between the groups besides the type of chocolate. Dark chocolate improved beta cell function, lowered blood pressure, increased insulin sensitivity, and improved endothelial function, while white chocolate did none of those things. Again, this indicates it’s the polyphenols, not just the cocoa butter.

Dark Chocolate and Fatty Liver

As mentioned earlier, cocoa butter is hepatoprotective in the context of ethanol consumption. These benefits seem to extend to other areas of liver health.

Daily chocolate consumption is linked to lower liver enzymes.

Dark Chocolate and UV Damage

One study found that feeding high levels of dark chocolate to healthy people over twelve weeks doubled their MED, or resistance to UV damage; feeding low levels of dark chocolate had no effect on the MED.

Similarly, another study found that a people who ate high levels of cocoa flavanols had greater resistance to a given UV dosage than a low-flavanol group over a six and twelve-week period.

Dark Chocolate and Aging

It seems like every time you read about the dietary habits of a centenarian, they’re big chocolate lovers. That may not be a fluke, as chocolate has been shown to improve many aspects of the aging process.

In postmenopausal women, high-cocoa dark chocolate improves blood flow to the brain and periphery. It also reduces arterial stiffness.

A 40 gram hunk of dark chocolate improves the ability of older patients with peripheral arterial disease to walk unassisted within 2 hours of consumption. That’s wild.

Older folks who eat the most chocolate have better cognitive function and a lower risk of getting type 2 diabetes.

It’s pretty clear that the older you are, the more chocolate you should eat. I’m certainly operating under that assumption.

How Chocolate Is Made

What are we talking about when we talk about chocolate? How’s it made?

After the cocoa bean is scooped out from its pod, it sits in piles for about a week to cure. This is heap fermentation—the first step in cocoa processing. During heap fermentation, yeasts degrade the mucilaginous pulp that surrounds the beans into ethanol, bacteria turn the ethanol into acetic acid and carbon dioxide, and this raises the temperature enough to eventually “kill” the cocoa bean. Now dead with its cell walls breaking down, the bean experiences chemical reactions that develop flavor and color. Fermentation also reduces bitter compounds and phytic acid.

Then the bean is dried for a week or two, then roasted, then pulverized to form nibs. Sometimes that process is flipped—they pulverize the dry bean into nibs and then roast the nibs. The nibs are ground into a paste called cocoa liquor or chocolate liquor, which is combined with sugar, vanilla, and other ingredients to form the actual chocolate. This is also the point at which they make cocoa powder by pressing the liquor and extracting the cocoa butter.

They’ll further refine the cocoa, trying to reach the point at which the human tongue won’t perceive individual particles. Once it’s smooth, they’ll “conch” the chocolate, which involves mixing and aerating the stuff at high temperatures to improve texture and mouthfeel. Soy lecithin improves emulsification and cuts down on the amount of conching required.

Each step of the processing, um, process reduces the flavanol content of the chocolate. This means the rawer the chocolate, the higher the flavanol content. But except for the explicitly raw bars, almost every finished chocolate bar undergoes fermentation, roasting, and conching. There’s really no way around it. And even the “raw” chocolate probably isn’t even raw. And if it were, is that even desirable? Fermentation and roasting all reduce phytic acid content, after all. Even the ancient Mesoamericans roasted their cocoa beans before eating or drinking them. And it’s not clear if “more polyphenols” are always desirable.

Besides, all those chocolate researchers aren’t using obscure cacao products. They’re not using raw unfermented cacao beans handpicked by Aztec elders. They’re using commercially-available cocoa products subjected to significant processing, like 85% dark chocolate or unsweetened cocoa powder. And they still work great and produce excellent benefits.

Powder: There are different powders out there. I won’t discuss pre-mixed sugary hot cocoa powders; avoid them.

Raw cocoa powder comes from dried, fermented, unroasted beans. As the beans haven’t been roasted to extract all the cocoa butter, some residual fat remains.

Roasted cocoa powder comes from fermented, roasted beans. This tends to be lower in fat, as the roasting process allows greater extraction of cocoa butter.

Nibs: Nibs are like chocolate gravel, unsweetened. You can add them to smoothies, eat whole, or grind down to make your own cocoa liquor.

Liquor or mass: Cocoa liquor/mass is ground up cocoa nibs/beans in solid or semi-solid form. It’s about equal parts cocoa solids and cocoa butter. You can eat this straight up like a maniac or use it to make your own chocolate.

Bars/chips: The finished product. The percentage of cocoa in a bar (100%, 85%, 70%, etc) indicates the amount of cocoa mass and butter. An 85% chocolate bar is 85% cocoa mass and cocoa butter, 15% other stuff like lecithin, sugar, and flavorings.

How to Eat

There’s the obvious way: Place in mouth and chew. I like to go a square at a time, and really just let it sit on my tongue, slowly melt, and envelop my taste buds. This way, chocolate lasts longer and you need less of it to get the desired effect.

You can also get creative in the kitchen.

Stu Can’t Stop Bark: Stu is my writing partner and buddy Brad Kearns’ dog, and Stu can’t stop barking once he gets going. Stu Can’t Stop Bark is Brad’s edible, polyphenol-rich homage to Stu.

Take a pound of 80%+ chocolate and break it up into pieces. Add half to a double boiler or glass bowl set above a boiling pot.

As chocolate melts, add 3 tablespoons of coconut oil. Stir to combine.

Add two cups of chopped macadamias or other nuts to a large mixing bowl along with the rest of the chocolate.

When chocolate/oil mixture is completely melted, pour it into the mixing bowl. Stir until everything is melted and evenly distributed. Really coat those nuts.

Spread half the mixture evenly into a 15 x 10 inch glass baking pan. Drizzle three tablespoons of almond butter across the top. Optional: sprinkle coconut flakes or coconut butter across the top.

Spread the rest of the mixture across the top. Sprinkle sea salt. Optional: sprinkle coconut flakes or coconut butter across the top.

Refrigerate until solidified. Remove from pan, cut into squares with large chef’s knife. Keep refrigerated or frozen until ready to eat (immediately).

Do not give Stu, or any other dog, Stu Can’t Stop Bark. They can’t process the theobromine in the dark chocolate. To a dog, chocolate bark is way worse than a bite.

Dark Chocolate Hazelnut Hearts: Just posted earlier today. Go read it and make it.

Spiced Cocoa: Heat water, coconut milk, regular milk, nut milk or a blend of some of them and whisk in cocoa powder, turmeric, black pepper, cayenne, cinnamon, and sweetener if desired. Top with real whipped cream (no sugar needed).

I’ll sometimes do a tablespoon of powder in my coffee, blended.

Next time you make chili, throw a bar of 85% dark chocolate in.

How to Choose Chocolate

Stick with dark chocolate.

Milk chocolate is, for all intents and purposes, not a health food. The milk and the extra sugar crowd out the cocoa. Some chocolatiers are starting to make milk chocolate with a greater percentage of cocoa content, which is an improvement—but you’re still left with the huge sugar dose milk chocolate inevitably provides. There is one company making chocolate (both dark and milk) sweetened with erythritol and stevia and a large dose of prebiotic inulin that tastes great and has just a few grams of digestible carbs per bar; I’ll grab one of their salted milk chocolate bars when I see it.

Similar story with white chocolate. It’s got the cocoa butter but no cocoa flavanols. Not a health food.

I won’t say “never eat white or milk chocolate!” Just don’t make them a health staple.

When I’m talking about chocolate, I’m talking about dark chocolate.

Aim for 85% cocoa content or above. You can still enjoy 72% cocoa chocolate. I won’t throw you out of the tribe just because you eat 66%. But 85% cocoa chocolate is really that sweet spot when good things start to accumulate. The sugar content becomes negligible. The fat and fiber go up. The cocoa flavanols start gathering force. And, if you can learn to appreciate it, the flavor is unmatched. Try your best to develop the taste.

The first ingredient should be cocoa. Cocoa (or cacao) bean, cocoa mass, cocoa liquor, cocoa powder are all acceptable. If “milk” or “sugar” or anything else comes first in the ingredient list, it’s not high-quality chocolate.

Avoid Dutch process cocoa. The Dutch process alkalizes cocoa, reducing the acidity and bitterness but also the bitter flavanols responsible for many of its health benefits. There are a few potential “tells” if you don’t know the Dutching status of your chocolate.

Dutch process cocoa will have a little residual sodium (from the alkalizing agent sodium carbonate) in the nutrition facts.

Dutch process cocoa will be darker in color and have a richer “classic” chocolate flavor.

Un-Dutched cocoa will be lighter in color and fruitier in flavor.

Look for Fair Trade chocolate. Cocoa production has a long and storied history with slave and child labor, and some of that continues to this day, particularly in West African countries—where most of the world’s chocolate originates. Sticking with Fair Trade chocolate helps avoid this ethical issue, increasing the chances that the people who grow, harvest, and produce your chocolate are adults receiving fair compensation.

What to Eat

There are thousands of boutique chocolates out there. Most are probably good, so eat what you like. Some of my preferred brands and products:

Santa Barbara Chocolate Company: These guys sponsored PrimalCon from the very beginning, and their awesome chocolate they provided was, for many people, the highlight of the experience. I still remember Brad walking around with a big sack of their dark chocolate and being surrounded by a Vibram-clad mob.

Hu Kitchen: I love their salty chocolate bar.

Addictive Wellness: Tasty chocolate with functional ingredients. They pair high quality cacao with adaptogens and herbs like reishi mushrooms, chaga, ashwagandha. Sweetened with stevia and xylitol.

Theo: Theo 85% chocolate is one of my favorite bars right now.

Eating Evolved: The coconut butter dark chocolate cups are out of this world. Treat as a treat.

Bare: Their chocolate coconut chips. Just try them. Treats, not staples.

Trader Joe’s: The Montezuma 100% chocolate bar is the smoothest 100% cocoa bar I’ve ever had. You can actually eat this straight up and enjoy it.

Green and Black’s: Their 85% bar is widely available and still one of the best I’ve had.

What About Toxicity Concerns?

What about heavy metal toxicity? A recent report from As You Sow, a consumer advocacy group, claims to

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cristinajourdanqp · 6 years