#Salt blessed Salt

[muzsmocsing]

The only Calamity who would ever hook up with people is Qi Rong. Hua Cheng is the most demisexual man to ever demisexual, He Xuan cockblocks himself out of spite, and Bai Wuxiang is still not over his homoerotic teenage situationship from 2000 years back. But Night Touring Green Lantern? He's like Frank-n-Furter if he dropped out of highschool to sell ketamine at houseparties instead of majoring in medical malpractice. Not a single redeeming quality to be found but that androgynous swag, crunchy eyeliner and nasty attitude pulls those of questionable taste by the dozens. No doubt.

[demonir]

I bring you more snail aziracrow, ineffable snails if you will… and yes I’m making this an AU and it’s gonna be named Snail Omens, if you even care

The aftermath of him storming off is quite anticlimactic when he’s a snail and can only crawl away at a… well… snail’s pace

[aerialworms-art]

Silly little salt vamp doodles in my planner <3

(ID under cut)

[Image ID: Three doodles of the salt vampire from Star Trek: The Original Series. The first three images are the individual doodles, and the fourth image is the three doodles side by side, dated 06/02/25.

The first two doodles are a 3/4 portrait and a side profile of just its head, coloured in with scribbly, hatched coloured biro. The third doodle is the vampire staring at the viewer with its chin resting on its hands/tentacles, surrounded by lovehearts. It has been messily coloured with felt tip. They are drawn on dotted notebook paper. /End ID]

[magicpotatothoughts]

TGCF reread new finds #1

Xie Lian actively and consciously knows that he is attracted to HC the MOMENT THEY MEET in the Ox Cart. Like it’s not just blank gay panic, he knows.

His beauty was deadly like a sword, sharp and mesmerising. Xie Lian only met his eyes for a moment, then lowered his eyes in defeat.

MATE, normally wouldn’t you continue to be mesmerised and can’t peel your eyes away? That is, UNLESS YOURE WHIPPED. XL knows that SL's looks affect him to this degree. Defeat is the key word here.

Also

The distance between them had closed too fast. he suddenly didn't know what to do[...]Xie Lian blanked on the spot. He watched as the tall and slender youth walked away with his giant bag of junk as if it were the most natural thing in the world to do, and it made him mutter inwardly, Forgive my sins.

Making a rich young lad carry your things? Making him sleep in your crappy temple? That doesn't warrant the weighty thought? FORGIVE WHAT SINS Xie Lian??!!!

Many village girls saw (HC) and blushed [...] Xie Lian didn't know what they were going to ask, but felt instinctively that it must be stopped at once, and cried, "No!"

Jealous jealous boi! XL WAS POSSESSIVE after ONE night spent together at Puqi Shrine. Didn’t XL just say to SL that he will have no problem in the love department because girls will throw themselves at him? Yo, why are you cock-blocking? Everyone says HC is insane, no XL is equally insane for the other!

Also, when HC revealed that it's his real skin after the Banyue arc, XL instinctively poked him. Then

He looked at his own finger then hid it away, betraying nothing of his thoughts.

What thoughts XL ?!! Explain yourself right now!

Jumping back to OX CART scene, Xie Lian's character development was foreshadowed when they were talking about the gifting of ghost ashes.

Book 1: Xie Lian sighed. "It certainly is painful to think about, to have given everything for love and lose everything in return."

This is what Xie Lian is most afraid of! Like even thinking back to Xie Lian pushing Feng Xin away in Book 4, he definitely operated under that mindset. Love is a risk, it's something to be feared. Even now 800+ years later, he still feels that way and doesn't allow himself to get close to anyone. It just hits so much harder thinking that he operated under that for so many centuries.

Then Hua Cheng says

"What there to be afraid of? If it were me, I'd have no regrets giving away my ashes"

Which I think really changed the way that Xie Lian thought about love. Book 5 Xie Lian completely operates with Love is empowering and isn't something to be afraid of.

TGCF isn't about XL realising his feelings, literally from Book 1 it's about him wondering if it's worthwhile to act on them.

Three things, is this person worth losing cultivation over for?

He needs the reassurance that this person must reciprocate his feelings.

Then HC changed his perspective on love from FEAR -> EMPOWERMENT.

XL is soooo self-aware (unlike SQQ from SVSSS and WWX from MDZS), he's an unreliable narrator in the way that he doesn't reveal everything to the reader, especially his own feelings until he was absolutely sure that there really was both a physical and romantic attraction. I wanted to make this post to dispel the assumption for XL it was easy to forego 800+ years of cultivation. It was not? He ABSOLUTELY thought about it carefully.

[cyan-isnt-real]

"You okay?" no bancala walker

[ingravinoveritas]

Regarding this picture...

My first reaction was the same as everyone else's...but looking a bit more closely, I'm not sure this is actually Michael. It seems like it might be Elliot Levey instead, because Michael's face is rounder/softer than Elliot's, and the arms of the person here are slim...whereas Michael's arms are thicker. (Not that I've spent an inordinate amount of time looking at Michael's arms, of course...)

So, yes. Definitely difficult to tell for sure, given the blurriness, but I think that might really be Elliot instead of Michael. What does everyone else think?

[oorangesoda]

i hope u feel better soon boo !!!!!! i also wanna gush a little bc i love ur shane so much .. i love seeing him big and hairy like THATS HIMMMM !!!!!!! and i LOVE how much beard u give him like UGH .. so shane so delish .. i believe in u pookie 💕 i love seeing him and callum pop up on my dash they r so hot

TWIDDLING MY THUMBS!!! KICKING MY FEET!! 💚💚💚 THANK YOUUUUU

genuinely SUCH a sweet compliment… I’m weak in da knees… please… Kendall and Shane warm my heart SO MUCH 🥹🥹

Big hairy Shane lovers unite 💪!!!

And thank u sm I’m gonna try and recover as QUICK as possible :’)

Please have this little Shane and Callum bit for ur sweetness 🙇‍♂️

Think of it like a little follow up to the post shower beer from earlier!! Cal has very strong feelings about Shane shaving his beard/stubble…

[crying-adamantium]

How dare you. HOW DARE YOU. Lazlo my beloved they could never make me hate you. Colin knows, he knows somehow deep down. And he thanks you.

[arctic-hands]

Remember when that post went around by that user who had issues with feeling sick when their blood sodium was low and they felt physically ill from it so they would just sprinkle salt into their hand and lick it until they feel better? And it was reblogged by chronic illness/disability circles until it was picked up by nominally healthy people who were commenting that wow this made me feel so much better after feeling like shit constantly, which PROLLY meant they also had low sodium issues. But then health freaks and normies got ahold of it and were reblogging in embiggened letters "NO NO NO! THIS WILL LITERALLY KILL PEOPLE! AMERICA HAS AN EPIDEMIC OF HYPERTENSION DO NOT LISTEN TO OP THEY ARE SO STUPID"?

Anyway my Crohnsy, vasovagal syncopeic, hypotensive ass is out of Lays ☹️

[heartinhyacinth]

I care.

But do I care like Xie Lian cares for the common people—care as an action, a verb?

I love.

But do I love like Hua Cheng loves Xie Lian—love as an action, a verb?

Xie Lian teaches me kindness and compassion. He reminds me to be considerate, selfless, and merciful. In tough situations, especially those concerning people I don’t love, I ask myself what he would do and if this is how he would handle it. If the answer is no, never…I try to do better.

Hua Cheng teaches me love. He reminds me to be present, patient, respectful, and gentle. In tough situations with those I love, such as moments of impatience or frustration, I ask myself what he would do and if this is how he would treat Xie Lian. If the answer is no, never…I try to do better.

[pagan-stitches]

Annunciation Salt

Traditionally, on the Annunciation of the Virgin Mary, in some Czech villages there was a festive service, during which salt was blessed.

This salt has long been used very sparingly, because it is believed that it can cure any disease. This salt is also used to salt a wedding loaf. It is believed that then the young people will always be together and happy.

I did a personal ritual at the creek yesterday for Lady Day/Zvěstováni Panny Marie and consecrated salt that I plan on keeping at my kitchen altar and using sparingly in holiday meals. I used a little yesterday when pickling my spring equinox eggs and making my Lady Day waffles.

This brown thrasher kept me company during the entire ritual. Sorry for the poor quality of the video. I had to zoom in to capture him, and my phone doesn’t have the greatest capability in that regard!

[pinestripe37]

Bowed before the ever-shining Throne of my Creator.

Humbled beneath God's Gracious Mighty Hand.

Sheltered in the shade of Grace from every difficulty.

This is healing and Home, the place of peace,

Surrender is serenity:

The safety where my comforted heart becomes docile with humility

As I'm lovingly held in Jesus' Embrace all throughout my fragility.

[ryuuna]

Hello, Ryu

Do you have any advices for beginners? I'm starting to think this is not for me and I don't know how to keep going.

Love your art! But my favorite Is Ahri, I love The way you draw her >:3 <-

Honestly first thing that comes to mind is that it should be fun! I find that having ppl focus too much on only fundamentals early on can hinder your enjoyment immensely

Just try getting into the mood and find the joy of creating something out of nothing; draw ocs or ur faves making out tongues galore, maybe just a page full of eyes or cute little doodles of aliens wearing thongs, w h a t e v e r. Also that not everything has to be perfect, it’s totally okay to make some ugly ass art and in fact it’s good for you. Sometimes u just have to be a messy bitch

It can also help finding artists and styles you really enjoy and studying what you really like about them, like how someone paints/uses colors or how another artist draws faces, etc. Gotta start somewhere. Then you can really hunker down and try to focus on fundamentals. There are so many wonderful resources out there now, esp on YouTube to really nudge you in the right direction. It can take years of pain figuring this shit out, but it's also very rewarding when u finally see some progress

But it's also totally okay if drawing doesn't end up being for you! There’s so many other mediums out there you can use to express yourself. Honestly I kind of want to try whittling, seems like it would be relaxing and fun at the same time

Also im very glad u like my ahri’s lil >:3c faces, should do more some day

[bucefaloilgrande]

bro what the hell is wromg with alexander like i can not stop thinking about how he was like “world’s biggest diogenes fan” and when he met him he offered him tons of shit like dude his whole thing is having NO things. please think friend, pleade.

[saraptor-art]

Hangover

Since they were a little too cocky in the last post 😏

After Halloween, I had the worst hangover I had in a while and was reminder of @jinbrookpost about these guys. I said I was going to draw them like this next and totally forgot! But at last! Punished!

Here's the original post

I also remember painfully when I was around 24 and started having real hangovers, it felt really unfair.

[indignantlemur]

Ok, I binged Emigre and I LOVE IT. I’m on my second read through now. Always jazzed for fellow Canadian representation too.

As someone who adores cooking and has had many a debate about salt and acceptable recipe salt substitutions and volumes (kosher salt cannot be replaced by an equal amount of table salt in a recipe, you need way less when doing that), I am for some reason hung up on this idea of salt tasting different and how that would affect cooking for/with Andorians in mind.

You’ve mentioned that Andorians taste salt similar to capsaicin, I’m assuming it’s more nuanced than just heat but also has a bit of it’s own flavour depending on the salt make up itself. For their cooking adventures, did Dagmar make Thelen undertake a “great salt tasting” in which she acquired every kind of salt she could think of (human and Adorian) and make him taste them to write down the relative spice level and other notes? Does she have a spice rack and a salt rack for cooking? What is Andorian salt culture and opinions around cooking, especially when encountering human food which rely on salt to enhance flavour?

For humans there is a big saltiness difference between kosher salt, flaky sea salt, and table salt, and all have different uses. I image for Andorians there would be “baking salts”, “cooking salts”, and “spicy finishing salts”, and there in might even have opinions on like “Pink Himalayan salt is mild and general purpose, but has x undertone and an only be used with these types of recipes”, and “Human Smoked Sea Salt is a luxury good due to flavour and process, but is only ever a finishing salt”? There must be very strong opinions about the use of salt too, even by generation. With availability and slow dissemination of Federation recipes I imagine use of salt would change with exposure to human recipes.

Hi! It's lovely to meet you!

Okay, first of all, I love how much thought you've put into this! I'm absolutely delighted! <3

Second: Yes. Yes, Dagmar absolutely made Thelen taste-test a bunch of different kinds of salt at one point. She, herself, only generally uses table salt, sea salt, and Himalayan pink salt in her cooking, but for the taste-test she went and found every kind of salt she could get her mitts on. Thelen was a very good sport about it.

For Andorians, while straight salt carries the burn of capsaicin alone, the different mineral compositions create unique flavours. Much like a scotch bonnet pepper has a very different flavour profile to a serrano pepper or a Carolina reaper, the different forms (flakey versus coarse versus pyramid-shaped, for example) and chemical compositions (pink salt versus black salt versus grey smoked salt) of salts impart similar nuances.

(Thelen preferred the grey smoked salts, red salts, and black salts best, with the red salt in particular being described as 'almost sweet' to him.)

Andorians do prefer to use certain types of salt for particular kinds of dishes, but Humans actually tend to find that Andorian food - while pleasant and very compatible with their palettes - lacks a great deal of the salt most Humans are used to in their diets, and therefore feels somewhat bland. Part of the reason why is simply that Andorians don't need to consume as much sodium (or electrolytes) as Humans do, given that they do not sweat outside of extreme temperatures. Excessive salt consumption is hard on their kidneys, of course, but even in advanced age the Andorian metabolism is such that too much salt is far from life-threatening.

On Andoria, the primary kind of salt used is sea salt. It's what you'll most commonly find available for widespread consumption, from restaurants to at-home cooking - though plenty of other options exist as well! Andorian sea salt on its own has a strong and pleasantly bitter flavour profile to Humans, while Andorians describe the flavour as more intense than anything else. Accordingly, Andorians use very little salt outside of traditionally 'hot' dishes, and they don't use salt at all in certain types of foods (such as some of their more traditional and ancient dessert recipes, unless it is a very mild form of salt - and even then, it will be used quite sparingly!)

The oldest generations of currently living Andorians in Emigre's era are very anti-salt outside of very specific traditional dishes, and you'll never find it casually offered to guests either. Salt in all its varieties is, to these elder generations, a precious resource doled out like tiny threads of saffron for only the most discerning of palettes. There is something of an air of ritual about the way it is exactingly measured and added to family dishes hailing from before the Unification, as if each granule is more dear than gold or latinum.

Meanwhile, the youngest generations are far more willing to experiment with novel seasonings and salts - and Humans are more than happy to be a terrible influence in this regard. Gone is the traditional reverence and restraint used around salt, and only youthful enthusiasm and curiosity remains to fill the void!

Hilariously, most Andorians regard their own cuisine as robust, with full-bodied flavours and moderate to high heat levels in many of the modern savoury dishes. The news that their food was considered bland by Humans was not particularly well received by the public at first, until the first Terran foods hit the Andorian market.

Human cuisine, by comparison, is a study in endurance and hubris from the Andorian perspective. We put salt in everything, and we don't warn anyone.

In the years after the founding of the Federation of United Planets, Andorian-born Starfleet cadets and civilian immigrants alike will develop a stereotype on Human-colonized worlds as salt-fiends.

Usually ascribed to young and boisterous Andorians, salt-fiending describes a behaviour of actively seeking out the most heavily salted meals and drinks available in rapid succession and competing with one's peers to consume the most salt in a single sitting. This often results in a contest of what is best described (in the word of one bartender whose establishment is a popular haunt for Starfleet's finest) as 'oddly gender-neutral alien machismo.' Since Andorians are not overly rowdy customers otherwise, most bars will tolerate salt-fiending as a novel and somewhat entertaining new campus tradition.

It should be noted, however, that Starfleet's medical residents and physicians get quite tired of fixing the slew of oral salt-burns that inevitably follow a long weekend.

Hope this more or less answers everything! <3