I do not own anything. RWBY was created by Monty Oum and is now owned by Viz Media. DC Comics and its characters are owned by Warner Bros.

BTW, this is a real dish in Mexico. In some places it's also called rellena, or even morcilla. If it sounds gross, I don't know what to tell you; it's real, and my family and I really like it. It's why I felt inspired to write this.

"Okay, what would you say is your favorite dish in Mexican food?"

The question was a simple conversation starter. It would normally be an automatic response. Something simple like pizza, or chicken. Favorite Mexican dishes specifically? How do you answer that question when the person asking is from another world and might have no idea how different food could be? "Favorite dish…" Jessica pondered for a moment before answering. "I mean, I'm not sure. I can't just decide that one is my favorite over everything, you know?"

Jaune nodded in understanding. "Yeah, I get that."

"Hmm." Jessica began thinking of all the different Mexican dishes she'd had over her life. Tacos were obvious. So were burritos, quesadillas, and frijoles. All those great memories and delicious smells and tastes brought up her grandparents. She and her sister had just seen them the other day when they went to visit.

Growing up with both parents working to support them, they had spent a lot of time with their grandparents. It helped that they all lived in the same house. They would pick them up after school, then sometimes help cook, and by the time her parents came home, they would all sit down for dinner together. They were such a huge and important part of her life that it was impossible to imagine it without them. In fact, her grandpa was the one that taught her how to make- Oh!

"I just visited my grandparents recently, and my grandpa made us some moronga. I think it's definitely in my top 5."

Jaune: What's that?

"Uh…" Jessica's eyes widened slightly unsure how to proceed. She had not thought her response through enough and didn't know how her boyfriend would react to knowing what was actually in moronga. "I'm not sure you would like it."

Jaune tilted his head curiously. "Why not?"

"Jaune, cow tongue is literally considered the most basic Mexican food. Moronga is a little more… out there." That was putting it lightly. Quite a few Mexican dishes sounded gross when you explained the ingredients, but moronga was especially gross-sounding.

Jaune, being the kind person he was, tried to reassure his new girlfriend about trying new foods. "Jessica, I once traded the feeling of sneezing with a talking oyster for some fish that I'm not even sure was fish." It was true - the Ever After was a mind-boggling place. Earth food was a significant improvement. "Grilled cow tongues is more accessible and way more delicious here."

Jessica let out a sigh, determining the best course of action from here. Finally, she looked up at Jaune and asked, "Do you want me to tell you what it's made of now, or after you try it?"

He thought for a moment. Why was Jessica nervous about him trying moronga? She seemed to think he would automatically dislike it. He asked her to introduce him to her and her family's culture when he first came to Earth. That included the food. He really enjoyed the tacos and horchata she gave him, so why would this be different? Then again, he hadn't expected what 'lengua' meant. Not disgusted, he just surprised. He would trust her judgement.

"How about after? Like I said, I was never sure if it was actual fish or magic fairy-tale food, but I find it best not to think about." That wasn't a lie, food was a small adjustment in the Ever After. Mainly because what he ate had ingredients that were completely different - sometimes the wrong thing entirely - but still tasted the same as they did on Remnant.

"Alright, fine," Jessica said after considering it. "I'll have some ready for you next visit. Just know that I warned you, and that I will not stop eating it if you don't like it." She wasn't about to stop eating moronga because her boyfriend didn't like it. Hell, she didn't stop even after learning what was in it, and then been taught how to make it by her grandpa.

A few days later

"Jaune, are you absolutely sure about this?" Jessica asked from her kitchen. She'd had to open all the windows so the apartment wouldn't fill with smoke from frying the freshly made sausages.

"Yeah, totally!" She heard him reply from the next room.

As she removed the sausages from the oil, she looked to the large pot beside the sink. She'd asked her sister Sara for help preparing the moronga for Jaune to try. Both the pot, and her sister's hands were dripping with blood. Hopefully their aprons didn't stain too badly.

She called out over her shoulder once again, "You don't have to just because I love it," she reassured. "Not every Mexican dish is appetizing to everyone. "

"No, I- I want to try it, I really do!" Jaune was quick to reaffirm his determination to try one of Jessica's favorite foods in Mexican cuisine.

Jessica once again looked to the pot full of pork and blood. Sara shot her a questioning look, then nodded toward the pot as if to say, "What do you want me to do with this?" before beginning to pack its contents into casing to be made into more sausages later.

"… Okay." She quickly removed her bloody apron and grabbed the plate in front of her. She walked out to the front room of Sara's apartment to the small dining table where Jaune sat. She insisted he stay here and out of the kitchen so he literally wouldn't see how the sausage got made, thus influencing his opinion.

Jaune had done as she asked and waited patiently, wanting to try more earth food. He'd never heard of anywhere on Remnant that had anything close to what Mexican food was, and here he was trying entirely new dishes no one back home had ever tried. While he did have some doubts, mainly because of how apprehensive Jessica was about him trying it, he was intent on trying it before passing any judgement.

"Uh…" then again, Jess had said it might look unappealing.

Jessica had placed the plate of moronga in front of Jaune, giving him his first proper look at what exactly he had agreed to try. Four pieces of sausage that had been fried and the excess oil patted dry. They were all also completely black. Maybe the recipe called for them to be burnt completely and that was why she thought he wouldn't like it.

A small part of her was disappointed by his pause. But she had already accepted he might not like it. "I already said it's fine if you don't want to eat it."

"No, no," Jaune tried to repeal his earlier reaction, "it's just… Uh, is it supposed to be black?"

"Yes," she frowned slightly. She might not be a 5-star chef, but both her mom and her grandparents had taught her. She made sure to commit every recipe to memory and carried them out exactly. Part of it was annoyance, feeling like Jaune questioning the dish was like questioning her grandpa, but deep down, she was nervous about what he'd think. This was the first time she was cooking for a guy that she really liked. "God, why am I like this?! What is he doing to me?!"

"Okay," Jaune decided it was probably wise to just shut up and eat the lovely meal Jessica had spent hours making for him. Taking a bite, he noticed that while it did feel crispy, it didn't taste at all burnt. "Huh, guess it is supposed to look like this," he thought.

As he chewed, he took notice of something else about the taste. His mouth started burning, but not from the temperature. A small stinging sensation began spreading over his tongue, as his forehead began perspiring. "Hoo," he exhaled, "I wasn't expecting it to be this spicy."

Seeing that he seemed to like it, Jessica smiled in amusement to Jaune's spice tolerance. "All Mexican food is spicy, hon," she bent down to plant a small peck on his cheek. "Get used to it."

And now came the difficult part of explaining what exactly moronga was made of.

A few minutes later

Neither spoke after the brief explanation of exactly what kind of sausage moronga was. It left Jessica fidgeting, growing tenser the longer the silence persisted. Finally, Jaune finished processing and tried breaking the awkward tension.

"So moronga is-"

"It's a blood sausage made with pig's blood, yeah." She had explained what ingredients she had been taught were used when making it. It had started normal enough - pork shoulder, green onions, white onions, salt, pepper, garlic, and the like. But apparently, that wasn't the main ingredient. "And we also use the intestines as the casing."

"Huh."

Jaune's eyebrows creased in contemplation. Again, he would take whatever food he could get before he settled with the Paper Pleasers. A lot of trial and error went into determining what was edible, and even more went into trying to recreate food he was familiar with. Eventually, he stopped questioning why cheese grew in the ground or how the Paper Pleasers made food that tasted like what he knew. He never once asked what was used to make them.

Now, even knowing what exactly was in it, there was some small peace of mind that this was made from normal ingredients. Despite the contents, all of it came from an actual animal that he knew was real and bound to the same laws of physics he was. It was definitely strange, but if this was what Jessica considered to be one of her favorite foods in Mexican cuisine, he could live with that. Maybe not 100% comfortably, but he would deal with it. For Jessica.

So, with only a small beat of hesitation, he once again picked up his fork to take another bite.

Seeing this, she quickly panicked, worried that he was forcing himself to eat it. She reached out to lower his hand away from his face. "You don't have to keep eating it."

"No, I said I would- " he struggled to swallow the morsel, nudging Jessicaa's hands away, "try it, so I'm giving it a- " he cleared his throat, "a chance."

"Stop! It's fine if you don't like it," she insisted once more.

"It's not that." He only partially lied. Putting aside the awareness of blood, it actually tasted fine. What was more concerning was the feeling of burning in his mouth. After finally swallowing the piece of moronga, he explained, "It's just so spicy."

Jessica raised an brow. While flattered that he would put himself through this discomfort for her, she was puzzled. She hadn't used nearly as much chili powder as her grandpa normally put in the sausage. "Jaune, I toned down the spice for you."

"THIS IS TONED DOWN?!" His forehead was shiny with sweat, and his breathing became inconsistent. He held his mouth open as if hoping the spiciness would leave if given the chance, drool beginning to accumulate.

Jessica let out a small laugh. The fact that he continued to eat it, despite how off-putting it was to him, and how poorly he handled spice showed her how much he cared. Her nerves about sharing this with him had settled, and she picked up a piece from the plate. As she ate it with him, she wondered how she'd been so lucky to meet him.

Hello, everyone.

It's been a while… again.

The final stretch of the year was not great. In early 2024, we lost one of my dogs. Then in December, we lost another one. Both had lived long – and I hope – happy lives. We had 14 great years together, and while I was devastated when they were gone, I'm happy that they're together again.

Obviously, the election results were also concerning. We had heard there were plans to denaturalize American citizens in order to deport them, and we grew worried about what that might mean for some of my family who born outside the U.S.

And then a week into 2025, the LA wildfires happened. Thankfully, the fires didn't spread to our area, but the devastation and fear was widespread. And that false alarm we got on the 3rd day didn't help. My aunt and uncle, thankfully, were not home when it spread, but they did lose their house of over 10 years.