Spilled Ink

i live in the hightower in the center of oldtown, on the 132nd floor. my name is ormund hightower. i’m 37 years old. i believe in taking care of myself, in a balanced diet, and a rigorous perfuming routine. in the morning if my stomach is a little riotous, i’ll light some scented candles while filling my pomander. i can fit fifteen grams of dried herbs in it now. after i put out the candles, i have a tub drawn. in the bath, i use a rose and lavender soap. then a honey oak scrub for smoothing the skin, and on the face, a soothing almond oil. then i apply a rosemary lemongrass facial paste, which i leave on for ten minutes while my squire daeron prepares the rest of my routine. i always use an after-shave cream with little or no witch hazel, because witch hazel dries your face out and makes you look older. then a rosewater infused cream, then an anti aging eye balm followed by a final lilac scented protective cream. there is an idea of an ormund hightower, some kind of great lord. but there is no real me, only a new kingmaker, something better than criston cole. and though i can hide my sensitivity to odors and you can drink my wine and taste the same delicate aromas, and maybe you can even sense our lifestyles are probably comparable once i give you driftmark, i simply am not there.

at some point in your life you will be boiling fruit, water, sugar, and lemon juice in a pot to make a syrup or jam. the instructions will tell you to simmer for a certain amt of time. your timer will go off and you will look at the pot and go, "hm, this doesn't look thick enough. maybe i'll let it go for another 10 minutes." this is the devil speaking. it's only so liquid right now because it is at boiling point. it will thicken when it cools down. learn from the follies of my youth and do not let this happen to you

at some point in your life you will be making a sauce or a stew in which you need to add cornstarch to thicken it. and you will prepare a slurry of starch in cold water and think "this looks like way too little starch to thicken this amount of liquid." this is the devil speaking. cornstarch instantly polymerizes at 95°C and if you add too much it will turn into an impossibly thick goop.

at some point in your life you will be making some sort of cream based dessert that requires gelatin to thicken it. and you will soak some gelatin sheets in water and think "this is too few gelatin sheets for this amount of cream." this is the devil speaking. it will thicken in the fridge and if you add too much you will end up with milk jelly

at some point in your life you will be baking cookies. you will take the sheet out after twelve minutes as the recipe instructs and the cookies will still be glistening and soft. "these don't seem cooked enough," you will think to yourself, "i should place them back into the oven until their edges are nice and golden." this is the devil talking. this is how you get dry, overdone cookies. the cookies will continue to bake on the warm sheet for several more minutes and then harden up after sitting on a rack for a while. trust the process. trust the process.

at some point in your life you will be adding a small pasta to a soup and you will think "that is not enough small pasta." this is the devil talking. the pasta will absorb the stock and expand. this is how you end up with a soup that is a solid mass of soggy ditalini.

At some point in your life you will be adding garlic to a dish and you will think "that is not enough garlic." These are angels speaking. They are correct. Add more garlic.

you were born in 2006? what are you? a Honda Civic?

can i fucking help you?

yikes, unfollowing now. was a huge fan of his opera. had no idea he kidnapped the lead soprano and threatened to kill her fiancé if she didn’t marry him

Yeah sorry I can't come into work today. I accidentally heard Primadonna by Marina formerly of and the Diamonds. So I need the day to be a primadonna girl. Yeah it's going to be the whole day.