#and lots of different ingredients you can use !!

[galacticwiseguy]

also: what makes us so sure that the past was so vastly less uniform? Lots of the ways that societies can be different from each other require physical and social technologies to enact. In order to have a particular governmental structure and attitude towards government you need to have a government, in order to have particular styles of dress you need the ability to decide what to make clothes out of and how you'd like them to look, in order to structure society in complex ways your society needs to have more than a hundred people in it. etc.

there are all these axes we can be different on now that they simply didn't have; there are only so many ways you can make a leather sandal, there are only so many kinds of cooking that can be done without ovens or refrigeration or the ability to get ingredients from far away, etc. social and technological complexity allows way more degrees of freedom to be diverse in.

certainly there are some ways in which neolithic humans would be more diverse than modern ones (religious beliefs, perhaps, because we can presume that those began developing and diversifying very early) but in a lot of ways I'd expect their cultures and behaviors to be more similar to each other than my culture and behavior is to people in other parts of the world today.

so obviously i get why people's imagined-distant-past is *factually wrong*, you have to actively learn the correct thing and its easy to be misled, but indepedent of correctness there's a tendency towards uniformity that is very odd. like, discussions of "what hunter gatherer life was like". itd be like asking what life currently is like! it's like different things! life in mumbai is not life in bihar, let alone life in dallas, or beijing, or lagos, etc etc. societies are different from each other! like, obviously you can make *some* generalizations. but the past was vastly less uniform than the present is! literally thousands of societies with different practices, ways of getting food, worldviews, etc etc. like "hunter gatherer" is a useful category but its very far from a homogenous category

[jamieroyjamieroy]

Bucktommyfluffebruary Day 2 - The secret ingredient

@bucktommyfluffebruary

“I thought we were cooking this together” Tommy laughs as Evan kisses the back of his neck and runs his hands down his sides. 

“We’re together. You’re cooking. It counts.” Evan replies placing more open mouthed kisses to Tommy’s neck, his hands firmly gripping Tommy’s hips and pulling their bodies together.

“I thought you wanted to learn so you could impress Bobby on your next shift.” Tommy smiles at the contact, he’s not really complaining at the attention he is receiving. He loves being close to Evan no matter what they are doing.

“Hmm, you put the ingredients in. You stir. I got it” Evan murmurs distracted by the skin under Tommy’s shirt. That little bit of extra padding on Tommy’s stomach is exciting to Evan. While they were apart Tommy had lost too much weight and stopped taking care of himself. Once they got back together Evan made it his job to cook and bake for Tommy so he would regain what he lost. He doesn’t even miss the definition of his abs like he thought he might. Tommy has always been attractive to him and he had spent many hours kissing and licking those abs but he much prefers Tommy like this. The evidence of his ability to care for and provide for his boyfriend is even more arousing than the sacrifices Tommy needed to make so he could look good without a shirt.

“Missing a few steps baby but if you aren’t interested in my family recipes we can stop and you will never know the secret ingredient.” Tommy sighs pretending to be disappointed. He hopes the mention of a secret ingredient might just be enough to get Evan to pay attention. Not that he wants the attention that is being paid to him to stop, he was just excited to share another part of himself with Evan.

“Secret ingredient?” Evan asks head popping up to look at what Tommy’s hands are doing. It reminds Tommy of the meerkat documentary they watched last night the way Evan is looking over his shoulder and around the counter, trying to work out which one is the secret to pulling this dish together.

“Well my secret ingredient. My mother’s mother made this one a little differently. My mother changed it again slightly when she would make it for me. And I make it different again, not much but I’ve put my own little spin on the recipe.” Tommy explains measuring out each ingredient carefully. His mother was a more of an ‘add until you think it looks right’ type of cook. He has always been more precise, more controlled just like with his flying. With his life really. He is learning to be more flexible especially now that Evan has given him another chance.

“So if I teach it to our children would I get to put my own spin on it or do I have to teach them your way?” Evan asks resting his chin on Tommy’s shoulder to watch him work. He feels the moment his words register with Tommy, both their bodies tense up. Likely for different reasons, Evan didn’t mean to say that out loud so he is bracing for Tommy to reject him. He breathes deeply when he feels Tommy relax. 

“You, you think about us having children?” Tommy asks trying to look back at Evan, his arms had clenched tight around him. He can feel the worry emanating from Evan.

“I, uh, well. I know. It’s uh” Evan struggles to find the words, burying his head into Tommy’s back to hide the emotions written all over his face. 

 “I think we would have to try your version before I let you teach our children.” Tommy says rubbing a hand over Evan’s arm. Trying to comfort and reassure Evan he isn’t running away from this.

 “Yeah?” Evan asks hope filling his voice. “You, you want kids? With me?” He replaces his chin back on Tommy’s shoulder to watch him prepare their meal.

 “It’s definitely something I’ve thought about. It may be a little early to think seriously about that for us but I would be lying if I said it didn’t make me happy knowing you are thinking about it too.” Tommy answers as honestly as he can. He has a lot of concerns about being a dad especially given his shitty relationship with his own father. It’s something he hasn’t closed the door on now that Evan is back in his life.

 “I know it’s early I didn’t mean to bring it up, I’m not even certain if I want that. My parents weren’t the best role models so I don’t know if I want to pass on that generational trauma. But I’ve never really thought about even the possibility of having my own family before you. Maybe we can just be the fun uncles for Maddie and Chim’s kids. You can be their favourite Guncle, I’ll be their favourite Buncle.” Evan laughs at the thought.

 “What are you even talking about? What is a Guncle? Or a Buncle?” Tommy asks confused. His mind completely off his task of cooking, sometimes he feels every single one of his 40 years.

 “Gay uncle and Bi uncle” Evan grins ridiculously as Tommy shakes his head.

 “You are such a dork. Now pay attention so you can teach our children or our niblings how to make this.” Tommy chides pulling Evan’s arms around him tighter enjoying the feel of Evan’s lips against his cheek as he peers over to watch.

 Future Tommy and future Evan can worry about children, all he wants to do right now is enjoy the feel of his boyfriend against his back. To share with him some of his history and then maybe reassure Evan that he isn’t running away from the scary topics they both seemingly want to talk about. The way Evan is moving his hands over Tommy’s body suggests the order of those wants might be reversed. Tommy makes the wise decision to turn off the stove, cooking together can wait a little while.

Read on Ao3

[omegastation]

Here comes my review (mostly writing & lore) of the Mass Effect Official Cocktail Book. I also included a list of all characters named with all page numbers related to their mentions.

I’m including this for our Andromeda Appreciation Week because the last part of the book is Andromeda-related :)

Introduction:

Cassandra Reeder is the recipe developer and Jim Festante is the writer.

The book is written by two writers in-universe. The first one is an asari calling herself “Ambree T’Sia” who is a lot like Gossip Girl (“you won’t guess and I’ll never tell” is an actual line in the book). We have to guess her identity but she doesn’t mind spreading a lot of stories about people and their drinks. 

The second writer is an angara called Roa who decided to add recipes to T’Sia’s existing ones, but more adapted to the Andromeda Galaxy. Roa dreams of a better world for everyone. He’s friend with Dutch and Anan from the Vortex.

Each writer presents drinks based on locations: bars and spots in the two galaxies. There also some snacks recipes as well.

Review: 

It’s hard for me to say anything about the recipes, though I will say it seems like there are different ingredients so a bit of everything for everyone. The difficulty can be adjusted: I thought some drinks looked really complicated to make (and some use other drinks in the books as base), but if you want to do a simple cocktail/mocktail, there are at least 10 good options.

Some recipes are directly named after characters or inspired by characters, so it might be fun to try some based on your favs. 

One drink seems weird to me, and that’s the N7 Shooter (mostly because of the mix of ingredients). If you try it, tell me what you think. 

Regarding American measurement: if you want to be precise, I would wait for a translation. Otherwise, I would get a cup and google some stuff before making it.

The drinks I'll try at some point, in a mocktail version only:

Tuchanka Sunset - 22

Perfection - 54

Tupari Blast - 61

Denorian Beer Granita - 64

Tequila Se’lai - 70

Shadowbrokertini - 74

The Mindfish - 83

Calibration Cooler - 95

Pink Marble - 130

Marljeh - 142

Kadara Sunrise - 143

So that’s pretty much it for the food & drinks, sorry!

My review is more about the lore and the writing.

I found the witty tone enjoyable. I like that there’s a distinction between how T’Sia writes and how Roa writes at the end of the book. T’Sia gossips a lot but there’s no malice. Roa is very earnest and seems quite adorable to me.

You’ll see I wrote down all the characters named and the pages, sometimes it says something about the writer, sometimes not.  A good example: Samantha is mentioned 5 times by T’Sia. She finds her charming and young, and mostly links her to drinks and other people (a full EDI/Traynor-like drink is in there). Meanwhile, Drack is mentioned 4 times, Vetra 3 times, but Roa has an entire page about how fascinated he is by Vetra.

Regarding what we learn, lore-wise: not a whole lot. It mostly plays on what we already know. 

What we do learn has to do with some characters. Without being too spoilery, it’s very light and fun for the most part - like Joker and Steve having a challenge, Vega seducing T’Sia, characters loving specific drinks (like Traynor), etc. Some characters (like Kaidan and Miranda) are sharing their woes or backstory. Roa, in the later part of the book, talks a lot about Dutch and their meeting is very very cute.

My favorite anecdote is that Liam’s movie night spreads to the Nexus and becomes a tradition :)

Some characters are very absent while others are more present. I would say it’s logical in a way, but it’s one thing to be aware of. If you’re a fan of Jaal, there are no mentions in the book. Though, like I said, a mention doesn’t always mean a lot: Peebee is mentioned once but we learn nothing new.  I also found it a bit sad that Ashley is not in the book. Obviously, I’m happy to have Kaidan there, but Ashley would have been a wonderful character for fun anecdotes here.

Characters named and pages:

Note: if you find that I forgot a mention, drop me a DM. I’ll add the page and/or character!

Joker - 12, 98

Sel Vass - 14

Solem Dal’serah - 21

Karin Chakwas - 25

Padok Wiks and and Urp - 26

Wrex - 26, 65, 106

Aria - 19, 27

Oleg Petrovsky - 27

James Vega -29, 46, 112

Shepard - 33, 30, 41, 93

Garrus - 37, 38, 95

Samantha - 42, 43, 73, 97, 106

Kaidan - 49, 106, 116

Miranda - 54

Kasumi - 55

Doran - 59, 60, 61

Grunt - 66

Fist - 69

Anderson - 71

Elijah Khan - 81, 88

Emily Wong - 93

Jack - 94

EDI - 97, 106, 

Steve - 98, 120

Tali - 101

Aethyta - 51, 57, 106

Dutch smith - 123, 126, 127, 131, 156

Anan T’Mari - 123, 127, 131, 156

Ryder - 123, 128, 133, 135

Drack - 133, 134, 137, 152

Umi Henon - 133, 134, 135, 138

Vetra - 137, 144, 154

Peebee - 137

Sloane - 138

Lexi - 138

Khan Dagher - 141, 143, 147

Kesh - 150

Suvi - 154

Buxil - 156

Niilj - 156

[exhaustedpirate]

when you look at me

day two of @bucktommyfluffebruary, let's gooo! buck learned to cook from the bobby nash school of cooking and it's all very specific, tommy loves every bit of it!

rated G | 1452 words also on AO3

Tommy is looking at him.

That’s not the surprising part, of course. Tommy looks at him all the time. And vice-versa, because when you have a hot pilot in a plaid shirt with rolled up sleeves roaming around your loft, you look.

No, the unusual part is the way he is looking at him. 

There’s a quirk to his lips, a raised eyebrow and a little sparkle in his eyes. It’s a good look, it always is, but Buck doesn’t know what he did to earn it.

They have been preparing dinner - lasagna this time-, same as they have done for the past month they’ve been dating. They stand side by side as Buck directs him to prepare the meat, to grab this or that ingredient and it thrills him that they can move so effortlessly around his kitchen.

The music playing in the background is quiet and calming, the loft is warm from the preheated oven and having Tommy’s body accidentally bump into him or having to maneuver close to the older man’s body has definitely brought a comfort to his house that he never thought he’d feel.

They laugh, they talk, they exist and in the end, only one thought remains - Tommy just fits.

But this isn’t new, no matter how much the figurative cat purring up a storm inside his chest tells him that it still feels new. They have done this every chance they get since the moment that Tommy agreed to give him another chance over coffee. So, Buck doesn’t really know what he did to deserve (to be blessed with) such a look.

Buck opens a new packet of cheese and the quirk on Tommy’s lips turns into a full-blown smile.

“What?”

Tommy’s smile turns into a smirk and Buck really needs to focus on the conversation and not on how he knows that smirk feels against his lips.

“That’s the fourth pack of cheese you’ve opened, Evan.” It’s not mocking - Tommy doesn’t mock.

Buck looks down at the counter and notes that there are, in fact, four open packs of cheese close to the oven-safe dish he is setting up. There is also another one yet to open and he appreciates that Tommy doesn’t mention that one.

“Oh,” He taps the cheese grater in his hand to loosen the pieces of cheese inside on top of the lasagna before he grabs the last packet of cheese. “T-That’s how Bobby does it.”

Tommy leans against the counter, turning to face him, arms crossed over his chest and an open amused expression on his face. It’s such a good look.

“Does he also use salted butter instead of unsalted? Or grates nutmeg instead of using the powdered kind I know it’s in your cupboard?” 

“Y-you, uh, you noticed that?” Buck is definitely blushing now, especially with the way Tommy looks at him.

“I did,” Tommy smiles and his eyes take on that intensity and his voice turns a tone lower and it all turns Buck’s insides into a rollercoaster. “I always notice what you do, Evan.”

Buck stumbles. While standing still. He stumbles. 

It’s such a good look. 

“Well, hmm, Bobby is a good cook,” Tommy nods, a soft smile on his face that makes Buck want to just…look at. “He’s taught me a lot.”

“The father you never had, right?”

Buck chuckles, finally finished with the cheese. “Yeah, Bobby taught me a lot,” He explains, sliding the lasagna into the oven and setting the timer for 45 minutes. “He took the time to teach me, you know what I mean?”

Tommy smiles at him while putting the cooking utensils in the sink and nods. Without being asked, the older man starts washing up everything. Buck stands beside him to help with the drying, as they’ve done all those times before.

“I didn’t have Bobby as my Captain for long,” Tommy says. “But I did have the chance to tell him about wanting to get back to flying and he was the one who supported my decision to transfer to Harbor. He created a safe space for all of us.”

“Yeah, Hen and Chim mentioned how different it was under Gerrard before,” Buck doesn’t look away from the towel in his hands. “I saw how he acted during the medal ceremony but I-I never thought he would be…you know?”

A warm hand lands on the side of his face, a thumb running over his brow, his birthmark, a soft kiss on the port-wine stain. Buck breathes, his shoulders relax as the hand on his face runs down his back.

“I miss Bobby.” 

Buck’s voice was quiet, almost child-like and he would probably be embarrassed about it if Tommy didn’t place a firmer kiss on his birthmark, arms wrapping around his shoulders and pulling him into a warm hug. His hands grip onto his shirt at his lower back, burying his head in Tommy’s shoulder. 

“I know he’s still around, I just-”

“Evan,” Tommy interrupts softly, his head resting against Buck’s. “It’s okay to miss him as your Captain, even if he’s probably gonna be around in half an hour for dinner.”

Buck’s chuckle is watery and he tightens his grip on Tommy who returns the embrace. 

“I’m sorry you didn’t have a Bobby for longer,” Buck says quietly. “I’m sorry you had Gerrard.”

“Thank you,” Tommy kisses the side of his head and he feels the smile on his lips. “I’m glad you didn’t have him then and that you have a good support system now.”

Buck looks up, his grip loosening on the man’s shirt but placing them on his back, keeping him close. Tommy gives him a soft smile, understanding and affection flooding his blue eyes - it’s a good look. 

“You have us too, Tommy,” Buck says, one of his hands running up Tommy’s back and down his arm, stopping at the forearm. “You are part of our family.”

Tommy’s eyes widen a fraction, his lips parting in controlled surprise, a faint hitch of his breath betraying his composed exterior. It’s a good look. His mouth opens and Buck can hear the protest start, the deflection forming and that just won’t do.

Buck pulls Tommy into a hard kiss, forcing all his emotions into it. Making Tommy believe that he is worth the effort, that he is a part of them, that he doesn’t have to be jealous. Making Tommy believe he is loved. 

When he pulls back, there is a different look on Tommy's face. Not good, better. The look of a man who might just be starting to believe all that Buck didn’t say, all that Buck channeled into his kiss. The look of a man ready to be a part of it. To be loved.

“Yeah?” Buck asks, a smirk threatening to burst through.

“Hmm, yeah,” Tommy clears his throat and nods, dazed, and Buck’s smirk is let out. “Yeah.”

“Good,” Buck nods, pleased, elated. He pulls away from the embrace but takes Tommy’s hand in his. “Now, help me assemble the tart.”

Tommy laughs, that giggle that always brings a grin to Buck’s face. They stand side by side, as they always do, in front of a bowl with a berry mix and the dough he made from scratch.

“Is this also a Nash recipe?” Tommy teases and Buck bumps into him. 

“Yeah, well, who better to impress a Nash than a Nash, right? Bobby is a great cook,” He repeats with a shy smile, focusing his gaze on making sure every inch of the pan is covered by the dough.

Tommy bumps back into him. “If it helps, I’m always impressed with your cooking.”

Buck’s blush grows and he bites his lip. “This is an important dinner.”

“Oh, I’m aware, it’s basically ‘meet the parents’.” Tommy’s tone might be teasing but Buck detects the anxiety in his expression.

“That’s why I wanted to cook with you,” Buck returns the tone, glad to be distracted from his own anxiety by taking care of Tommy’s. “It’ll put you in their good graces.”

Tommy laughs and Buck mentally pats himself for relaxing the man. He takes a small step back for Tommy to carefully pour the mix in the pan, far enough to not be in the way but close enough to feel the warmth that Tommy irradiates.

“Besides,” Buck continues, kissing Tommy’s cheek when he’s done. “They already know you and love you.”

Tommy’s smile is soft as he watches Buck work on the top layer of the pie, and when he looks up, he notes the brightness in those blue eyes and the crinkles around his eyes. 

“Then I think we’re off to a great start.”

It’s such a great look.

[pancatboy]

1)I am on Tumblr, because other social networks are either:

a)Banned in my country

b)turned into nazi homophobic bullshit

c)both

with the only exceptions being reddit, bluesky and tumblr

2)Fun fact - people can have different tastes.

You don't like AI art - that doesn't mean it can't be liked by other people. There are a lot of good-looking AI art, but it requires a lot of time spent on promting, fine-tuning the model, manually fixing artifacts, etc, which i just don't have enough time for.

3)You googled the link, but didn't bother actually understanding what the words in there mean. Here, an analogy:

You posted a video of you cooking some meal. I looked at it, bought exactly the same ingredients, and cooked a different meal. Does that mean i stole your recipe or your meal?

4)Yes, there are some bots fine-tuned for copying someone's artstyle. But:

4.1)They are mostly shitty, because most artists don't have enough arts to train a model properly, so "copy" would look a lot worse than "original"

4.2)Posting arts made by that model without a consent from original artist would be illegal under copyright laws, because they apply on result, not on the method of creating art

and 4.3)Actual 3d-artists, who can produce good-looking ai art, won't use that model because of the previous 2 reasons, so the only people using it will be noobs, who will create nothing other than slop

Finally, 5)You just admited insulting me just for the sake of insults, yet you try to accuse me of lacking empathy LoL

i need tumblr (and every other site ever) to have a “report ai” feature bc i’m sick of this shit. i don’t care if it’s writing or art, ai has no place on sites like tumblr that are supposedly for artists.

if you’re an ai “artist” go get a fucking hobby. go outside. go do something worthwhile instead of stealing from other people.

also, if you use ai to write your fucking essays you also suck! put in some fucking effort for once.

and before any ai dickriders try to tell me to just block those people, i already have!! it’s like you vermin multiply with each bitch i block.

[twentyfivemiceinatrenchcoat]

How did you make the curry it looks SO delicious!! 🤤

AWWW THANK YOU ANON!!! 🥺 it’s super simple to make hehe, i used golden curry blocks for mine:

^ this kind ….

the first step is to cook up lots of rice!!!! you can do this first or last, if you have a rice cooker it’s a simple process :3 then you peel, chop and pour all veggies you want in your curry (potatoes, carrots, onions, etc) into a pan and let them simmer in the oil until they’re nice and soft!!! after that you just pour water into the pan, let it boil up + simmer for a bit — and finally pour in the curry blocks !!!!!! stir and add blocks until it has a stew-like consistency.

and you’re done !!!!!!!! 🍛 super easy

[ruvviks]

coming up with zombie apocalypse stories is always fun because you can just say whatever and people will just have to take your word for it

[onrainynights]

JOB ACHIEVED. FINALLY

[babyblueetbaemonster]

Put instant coffee in water -> ✨Potion of Caffeine✨ Put milk powder in water -> ✨Potion of Calcium✨ Put pepper powder in water -> ✨Poison of My Eyes Hurt✨ Make a smoothie -> ✨Potion of Strawberry fantasy✨

Trough some strange alchemy, wizards turn everything drinkable into potion.

So basically, the only thing we ever need to create potion is mortar and pestle. So yes. Stir the powder in water, and you've done it! You create a potion🎉

I agreed with everything unsettlingcreature says. I just wanna add some of my thoughts, too :3

(I'm going to ramble a lot down here bc I love alchemy. Feel free to ignore, or click the Keep reading at your own peril XD)

Why Alchemy? Why not just eat the grass? Why bother doing the grinding and preparing?

Because the through out mixing can bring out the hidden powers (aka not the first effect). It also has stronger, longer, and more stable effects. Also everything taste better after cooking (?)

If you just eat the raw ingredients, no matter how many you eat, none of them combine and coherent together. You just have 23 effects all happen at that one second. (Dragonborn when they want to raise their alchemy skill XD)

Alchemy is like chemistry. Put a few random things together, do a little stirring and heating, then something new pops out. There's probably a lot of knowledge regarding the methods, too. Like when to add witch ingredients, when to heat, how hot is your flame, when to stir, and lots of things.

But I'll focus on the tools, which are Alchemy Apparatus. I arrange them in what I thought to be their necessary-ness, and it happens to be the same order as unsettlingcreature's :D

Mortar and Pestle

Basically, they can break down the ingredients, helping them release their essences. If you grind them into little pieces, they can blend together better, and are easier to have reaction with other ingredients. Probably easier to digest too.

Cook whole ingredients v.s. Cook the break-down ingredients

Some ingredients, like seeds, have a shell. So if you put it in water, it taste like nothing, zero effect. If you grind them into pieces, it's release what's inside. Like apple seeds have cyanide in it. So don't use a whole apple to make smoothie. Not only does it not help you for you health, but it will also poison you. So maybe the Apple's forth effect in Oblivion is Damage Health for a reason XD

I think the different quality of mortar and pestle probably define how fine you can grind your powder. If you grind it super fine, it's less likely to have sedimentation at the bottom of your bottle. No need to shake before drink if you're a skilled enough alchemist.

So I rewatch Spirit Away lately. Kamaji is basically an alchemist. He's using herb roller. It's kinda like mortar and pestle. It also serves the same purpose of grinding ingredients into powders. Anyway, he grabs some dried herbs, grinds them into powder, and puts them in the hot spring to create herbal soak. It's like potion, but in a way bigger scale. Remember when Lin tells Chihiro the herbal soak has dried worm in it? Yes, the ingredients they used are wild too XD

Kamaji making potion of skin care :D

Calcinator

If you put tea leaves in cold water, it needs at least 6 hours to have taste. If you put tea leaves in hot water, it only needs 6 minute to have good flavor.

Fire, is heat, is energy. When you give energies to your components, it can start the reaction, and also speed up the process. There's all kinds of energy. Like heat, electricity, light, and maybe magicka can be utilized for alchemy. But fire is the most commonly used one, and probably most easily used one.

So I read unsettlingcreature's post, and realized, in Morrowind, you're suppose to use Calcinator to heat the ingredients themselves?! I was imagine cooking the grass brew the whole time hahaha is that why I failed to make potions in game? XD

I think it's like caramelizing the onion before cooking the onion soup. It'd taste different than just cooking the onion in water.

So I played Potion Craft: Alchemist Simulator. The timing and duration of heating your brew will affect your potion. The experienced alchemist will know when to boil, when to turn to low flame, and when to remove your brew from the heat source.

Absolutely a great game for alchemy lover <3

Alembic and Retort

In game, they said Alembic can reduces the strength and duration of all negative effects, and Retort can increases the strength and duration of all positive effects.

In a way, they do the same thing?! The total portion of positivity in a potion increases. So, whatever So I'm going to treat them as same here, and technically, they do the exact same thing: Distillation.

The way of how distillation works is based on the solvents' boiling temperature. Like whisky making. Water's boiling point is higher than alcohol's. So if you heat the whisky in between their boiling points, only alcohol will evaporates, goes through the curly tubes, and turns back to liquid at the other side. Both water and some bigger bits stay this side, and the pure alcohol stays on the other side.

In my opinion, the tool does not matter. It's what inside which side that matter. You need to know if it's the poison going through the tube or not. In a way, this method can make two potions. One is the one with the effects you want. The other is your unwanted effect potion, but it still have effects (i think).

I watched Drink Master before, and they used a thing called distilator. It can extract anything's flavor into clear liquid. So you can have clear looking potion that taste exactly like a BLT sandwich, if you know how to use Alembic and Retort XD

So your high quality potion wouldn't looks like the blood and gore mess that you made only with mortar and pestle. It's clear and pure essence of a Daedra Heart, but it tastes exactly like the blood and gore mess you expected! (none can escape the better the potion the bitter it tastes curse ^^') Let's hope at least it has better shelf life.

I wanna talk about the solvent

They didn't specific what we use in game, but it's most likely to be water based potion. But not everything can resolve in water. Some plant's essence is oil based. You can use oil to extract that effect, then maybe emulsify with the rest of your potion. Or just use alcohol as solvent, because alcohol can dissolved both water and oil.

Anyway, if we use complex solvent, we can use Alembic and Retort to distillate the potion.

In ESO, they used oil as a base, but only as poison. You can actually use oil based medicine in real life, but it tastes disgusting XD So thank the Divines they only use it on your enemies haha

In Witcher series, Geralt uses alcohol as his potion base.

Our buddy literary drinks vodka to restore health XD

And speaking of alcohol. Vanilla Extract is actually an alcohol based potion.You're welcome tmblr XD

I wanna talk about the not-a-potion alchemy

I love picking flowers, and making potions. I always carry at least a dozen potions on me. But! Imagining carry a box of soda on me all the time. It's so heavy, and taking out so much backpack space. And not to mention all the sloshing when I walk. Potion may not be that suitable for travel.

My mom told me the time she had Traditional Chinese medicine. She said it had some wild stuff in it, like roots, mushrooms, bug shells, entire bugs, pearl powder, some minerals and whatever weird stuff they can find. Chinese medicine is basically real life alchemy.

Apothecary will grabs a bunch of grass, cook them in a pot, and drain the soup. And that is your potion (it's always brown, smells bad, and taste equally bad).

But! The patients don't want to carry a pot of soup home. So they'll actually cook down the soup until all the water is evaporated. It'll become dried powder (it's still brown, smells bad, and taste equally bad, but in powder form).

At this time there's two way of preparing your meds. One, they pack the powder, and you just need to stir it into water to have your potion (It kinda like return to soup, but really grainy). Two, they put honey in it (or other combining anent), and make it a pill (it's still brown, smells bad, and taste equally bad, but in pill form, and the honey didn't help much). You can make it big or small, depending on how strong you meds are.

Bitter Dumpling (苦団子, Niga-Dango). A mystic herbs medicine from Spirit Away. Chihiro took a bite and it's disgusting. She need to eat other thing to cover it's awful taste.

The Mind Awakening Pill (醒心丸, Seishingan). A dangerous drug from Naruto. It taste so awful Sasuke died XD

Anyway, your potion is now more portable. And if your pill is really small, you can swallow it with water to avoid its awful taste!

Wow I talk a lot. Thank you for coming for my TES talk.

How is alchemy in Elder Scrolls even supposed to work? How do you make a potion with a mortar and pestle? Are we grinding things into powder then steeping it in a bottle of water like an infusion?

That's my best guess anyway. I tried doing research but my tired brain keeps going "nope."

[nexus-nebulae]

i used to like. Never drink milk i think it was my most hated beverage for a while there. and then recently i found out im lactose intolerant and at the same time was noticing i have a tendency to "not like" foods that i didn't realise were making me sick (hating tomatoes or Specifically american soda or most american breakfast foods or specific artificial sweeteners = fructose intolerance! who woulda thought) like i guess i just subconsciously avoided all the stuff my body couldn't digest well (which was great i barely had to change my diet to avoid all my allergens and intolerances) but like. recently i decided to try lactose free milk like just regular milk with the lactose Deleted and. now suddenly i keep craving milk. im actively choosing to drink milk. i think i like milk now. what the hell

[theemporium]

james eating you out under your hogwarts skirt in the corner of a corridor 🤭

this could literally have been a whole fic tbh bedjwwbkbf anyways thank you for requesting!🫶🏽

.

This wasn’t the first time one of the marauders’ shenanigans had gone wrong, and you doubted it would be the last. 

But it was very, very different to their usual fuck ups. 

A lot of the time when something went wrong, it was for one of two reasons: either they got caught long before they could even hatch a plan, or something didn’t work out in their favour. You had seen it time and time again in the years you had been friends with the boys, and it never failed to amuse you.

This had been no different. One of them had a stupid idea, the rest of them encouraged it and the planning began. Despite the close friendship you shared with the boys, they never disclosed any details with you, so you were left sitting with the others as they huddled in the corner of the common room discussing their next prank. And ten minutes later, they were out the door to play out the prank, or so you assumed.

Instead, the boys had returned with sheepish looks on their face and a very fidgety James standing behind them, and it was all because the boys had tried to fuck with amortentia.

They fucked up the ingredients or the process—you still weren’t sure of the details—and it seemed James had taken the brunt of it all when he pushed the others away from the bubbling cauldron. 

However, none of you would realise just what side effects the dodgy potion would have on your boyfriend.

“Oh fuck,” your head hit the wall with a thump as you fought to keep your eyes open. “James, baby, please—”

“My pretty girl,” he groaned as his palms massaged the fat of your thighs, squeezing and pulling as he tugged one of your legs over his shoulder. “Taste so fucking good.”

“James,” you breathed out, your gaze shifting down but your skirt intruded the sight of your boyfriend lapping shamelessly at your cunt. “Someone can see us—”

“Don’t care,” he grumbled, his nose nudging against your sensitive clit until you were almost keeling over him. “Wanna taste my girl, princess. Can’t keep me away from her.”

Your heart was pounding in your chest, your body was humming with white, hot pleasure and the mere fact that anybody—whether it be a student or a professor or even a fucking ghost—could turn the corner as see your boyfriend pressing you against the wall, kneeling between your legs as he ducked under your skirt to eat you out. 

As it would turn out, the side effect of the dodgy potion made your boyfriend fucking insatiable. You had come more times in the last twenty-four hours than you probably had in the last few weeks, and it was all to do with the fact that James couldn’t get enough of you. 

He had you sprawled across the bed until you whined about other people hearing during the night. He had you bent over the common room couch when the rest of the castle was asleep. He had you pressed against the edge of the tub in the prefect bathrooms in the morning. He had his cock down your throat in the quidditch broom closet. He had you up against one of the windows on the staircase up to the divination tower between classes.

James Potter hadn’t let you have a single break to catch your breath since he was hit with the potion, and it was honestly a shock you were still standing at this point. 

“James, baby, please,” you whined, the noise was pathetic and needy, and something about the fact you could hear him slurping against your wet pussy between your pleas just made the coil in your stomach tighten. “We can’t—”

“Shhh, you can take it,” he murmured as his hands tightened around your thighs, pulling you closer to him until you were slumped against the wall with his face pressed against your cunt. “You’re still dripping, princess, can taste myself inside you.”

“Shit,” you hissed, your eyes clenching shut as your thighs squeezed around his head. “James—”

“Fuck, honey, need to fill you up again,” his voice was needy and whiny as he pulled his head out from under your skirt, his nose and chin and lips glistening with your arousal. Your eyes shifted down to see the way his cock strained in his trousers, how hard he was from simply making you come twice on his tongue. “You gonna help me out, princess? Gonna take my cock again?”

You were exhausted and you didn’t even know if you could stand up any longer, but the sight of your boyfriend pleading on his knees as he palmed his cock had your resolve shattering in seconds. 

“Please, Jamie, fill me up again.”

.

[marmorenshud]

in better news, I made rolls without a recipe yesterday and they turned out good

[cicadabooks]

2024 Olympic Muffins: Gluten-free and dairy-free option version (with gram and ml conversions)

(Recipe transcript originally from this post above by @norabee)

(Edits: I baked the muffins and I have been rewriting this post with recipe changes!)

Muffins I baked (Gluten/Dairy free version)

Notes:

Makes about 12 standard muffins. Maybe 6 jumbo muffins?

I added gram and ml equivalents based on some websites for converting US measurements. I think 1 teaspoon is same-ish everywhere, it's about 5ml.

The muffins taste VERY chocolatey to me! A friend thinks they have a nice balance of not too much sugar and good chocolate flavor. Either way, it may be nice to pair the muffins with coconut ice cream or coconut whipped cream. Especially if (like me) you baked the muffins with soy milk instead of cow milk - adding back in some cream may complement the chocolate flavors.

FYI, I used decaf instant coffee.

Muffin ingredients:

¾ cup milk (175 ml) (sub in: soymilk or non-dairy milk of choice.)

¼ cup water (60 ml)

2 tsp instant coffee (10 ml)

½ cup cocoa powder (about 40 grams) (Dutch cocoa recommended*)

½ cup chocolate chunks to melt (about 70 grams) (sub in: non-dairy chocolate chunks)

8 TBSP butter (1 stick, or ½ cup, or 113 grams) (sub in: non-dairy butter)

2 cups flour (between 240 grams - 280 grams?) (sub in: gluten-free 1-to-1 mix flour)

1 TBSP baking powder (15 ml)

¼ tsp salt (sea salt or kosher salt) (1 ml?)

½ cup dark brown sugar, packed (about 110 grams)

½ cup granulated sugar (about 100 grams)

¼ cup vegetable oil (about 60 ml)

2 eggs, room temperature

1 tsp vanilla extract (5 ml)

Additional ⅓ cup of chocolate chunks (about 47 grams)

Filling ingredients:

½ cup heavy cream (125 ml) (sub in: coconut cream - scoop out the top cream from a can of full-fat coconut milk.**)

¼ cup chocolate chunks (about 35 grams)

pinch of salt (use sea salt or kosher salt)

Cooking instructions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 C).

Add milk, water, and instant coffee to a saucepan, bring to a simmer. (I turned off the heat once it simmered.) Add cocoa powder, mix well, then add chocolate chunks and butter. Stir until melted, transfer to a bowl, and allow to cool.

In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking powder, and salt.

Once the chocolate mixture is cooled - add brown sugar, granulated sugar, oil, eggs, and vanilla. Mix thoroughly.

Add a third of the flour mixture to chocolate mixture and combine. Then add remaining flour mixture, folding in gently. Take care to not over-mix. Then add chocolate chunks (video says to fold in these choco chunks, but it also looks like choco chunks were added on top before baking).

Spoon batter into muffin tins. (Spoon about 1/2 cup or 120ml of batter, or just know that the muffin will poof up.) This might be when to add some chocolate chunks on top of the batter.

Bake for 24 minutes. (Baking time may differ with GF and DF substitutes, often takes longer.)

While waiting - For the filling: add heavy cream, chocolate chunks, and salt to a saucepan, heat until melted, taking care not to come to a boil.

After baking, fill muffins with filling (spoon filling into a ziploc bag, cut corner of bag, cut out a bit of the muffin center with a knife, squeeze filling into muffins)***

Serve.

More Notes:

* Dutch Cocoa suggestion is based on a tumblr tag I saw and also this article. “[....] Dutch-process cocoa powder is usually used for batters containing baking powder.”

** Coconut cream substitution as suggested on this recipe page. (One can had a little more than 1/2 cup cream, when I opened it.)

*** Muffin filling tips from @picturesque-about-it from this post:

"[....] But you could definitely just use a knife to cut out the middle and use a ziploc bag with the corner cut off to fill it." And more ideas -

#honestly…….. it would turn out a bit different but i feel like you could put the filling in before you bake it

#that’s how we made chocolate chip muffins at my old job

#scoop of ganache that would sink as it baked and chocolate chips on top

#they were soooooooo good

if you’re craving chocolate muffins after the olympic muffin man videos, jordan the stallion on tiktok has the recipe for you

[rabbitrah]

A continuation on my post about unloved foods, specifically this is my in-depth defense of root beer.

Root Beer isn't inherently gross, it's just one of those weird local flavors that's off-putting to people who didn't grow up with it. We all like different things and also we all tend to like flavors that are similar to what we grew up with. That's okay! But honestly root beer is pretty unique and, in my opinion, delicious.

One of the main complaints against root beer is that it tastes like medicine. Funnily enough, it was originally marketed as medicinal! This is true for most OG sodas actually. Pretty much as soon as carbonated water was invented, people were drinking it to soothe various ailments. A lot of the original soft drinks were actually invented by pharmacists. I just think that root beer is especially cool because the main flavor came from the root bark of sassafras, a common North American shrub. Because it's so widespread and aromatic, all parts of the sassafras plant have been used in food and medicine by many different Native American tribes throughout history and was subsequently picked up and used by European colonists. In the 1960s, some studies indicated that that safrole oil, which is produced by the plant, can cause liver damage. Whether or not this would actually remain true after it had been boiled and added to root beer is unclear, but it was really easy to replicate the flavor, so the sassafras in commercial root beer these days is artificial. Another fun fact about safrole is that it's a precursor in the synthesis of MDMA. None of this information has stopped my childhood habit of eating sassfras leaves right off the shrub whenever I walk past it on a hike. I'm like 85% sure it's safe and also mmmm yummy leafs go crunch.

Another root beer complaint is that it tastes like toothpaste. I think this is probably because another key flavor in most root beer recipes is wintergreen. I'm assuming that the people who think this are the same people who think mint chocolate chip ice cream tastes like toothpaste. I can understand and even respect that some people don't like mint and associate it only with brushing their teeth, but like. Mint is a pretty common flavor. I mean I think it's safe to say that humans have been eating mint flavored stuff for longer than toothpaste has existed... anyway!

Other common flavors in root beer (real or artificial) are caramel, vanilla, black cherry bark, sarsaparilla root, ginger, and many more! There's not one official recipe, and root beer enthusiasts often have strong opinions about different brands. Some root beer is sharper, with more strong aromatic flavors, and others are mild and creamier.

Another thing I think is cool about root beer is that it's foamier than most sodas. This was originally because sassafras is a natural surfactant (and why sassafras is also a common thickening agent in Louisiana Creole cooking.) These days, other plant starches or similar ingredients are added to keep the distinctive foam. Root beer foam > all other soft drink foams. That's why root beer floats kick more ass than like, coke floats.

If you've never had root beer before, imagine if a sweetened herbal tea was turned into a soda, because that's basically what it is. If your first response to that is a cringe, fair enough. That's why lots of people don't like it. If your first response to that is "interesting... I might actually like it, though" then I encourage you to track down a can of root beer today, hard as that might be outside the US and Canada. Next time you see an "ew, root beer tastes like medicine/tooth paste" take, know that there's a reason for that, but also the same could be said for literally any herbal or minty food/drink.

My final take on root beer is that it would be the soda of choice for gnomes. Thank you and good night.

[powdermelonkeg]

Slowpoke Tails - Shed vs Chopped

Okay, so there's something of a discrepancy between how Slowpoke tails are treated by the Pokémon franchise. Initially, it was understood that these are a tasty, unethical luxury item, starting in Gold/Silver/Crystal and mirrored in Heartgold/Soulsilver:

The whole plot here is that Team Rocket has taken the Slowpoke in the Azalea Slowpoke Well and chopped their tails off to sell on the black market. These run for a whopping 1,000,000 PD a pop ($10k in USD).

But then, in later generations, it's said that Slowpoke tails fall off naturally. In fact, they're a crucial part of both Alolan AND Galarian cuisine:

The curry ingredient even sells for a measly 2,200 PD ($22 USD).

So what gives? Why is it a Million-Poké black market item when you can get a package off your local hiker?

Easy. Sweetness.

Slowpoke use their tails to fish for food. Typically, they do this by dipping their tails into the water, then letting the current catch the sweet sap they give off and bring it to hungry Water-types.

When a Slowpoke sheds its tail, it's because the tail's ability to generate sap has dried up. It's no longer useful as fishing bait, so the Slowpoke has to either get rid of the tail, or starve.

Shed Slowpoke tails, the ones commonly available for cooking, aren't sweet in the slightest—they're more like heavily-marbled tuna steaks, somewhere between beef and fish with a lot of fat dripping from them, and a rich umami flavor.

Chopped Slowpoke tails, the kind you find on the black market, are a completely different experience. The meat is more tender, the flavor a lot more delicate, with a sweetness permeating it that's a lot like the honey glaze on a ham.

Naturally, chopped Slowpoke tail then becomes a novel experience. Because you have to take it from a Slowpoke, you can't just find it lying around.

So why, then, is it illegal enough for Rocket to move in on? Why is Slowpoke farming or hunting for those sweet tails not a thing? They still grow them back afterwards, so what's the deal?

The problem with chopping a Slowpoke's tail off is that, even though it regenerates, its body wasn't ready to do so. This can cause a whole lot of complications for the poor thing.

A tail doesn't regenerate from nothing, for starters: every time you cut a tail off unexpectedly, the Slowpoke's body rushes to make a replacement, using up its body's fat reserves. This causes VERY rapid and dangerous weight loss, and a frankly ridiculous amount of stress.

Incorrect cuts can cause deformities, like a tail growing back too short, not being able to make enough sweetness to bait fish Pokémon, or even Espeon-tail syndrome, where the tail splits into two at the end.

And, perhaps most egregiously of all, a cut too high might mean the Slowpoke never regrows its tail at all. If you cut into anything that's not specifically tail tissue, the body will begin the scarring process over the wound, removing the Pokémon's ability to fish and evolve. And while it can learn to survive by fishing manually, like its evolutionary counterpart is required to, oftentimes, Slowpoke will just sit by the water and starve, not realizing that they aren't getting a bite because there's just nothing to bite.

In short: Shed = ethical, chopped = unethical, possibly lethal.

Slowpoke responsibly, guys.

[pumpkin-bats]

When They Miss You- OP Boys Headcanons

Since the last one did so- bafflingly- well, here's another one!

Law:

He's chill for a while and for the most part he's calmed by the thought that you'll be back soon enough.

After a while he gets fidgety. Tapping his foot or finger, bouncing his leg, pacing, eyes occasionally darting to the door.

He sighs a lot and gets minutely more irritable. Only those who really know him notice the difference.

Throws himself into work to distract himself.

Spends more time standing next to the bed and staring at it than he does sleeping in it, and frowning every time he sees how the indent on your side of the bed lessens.

Zoro:

He doesn't wait like a dog... but he waits like a dog. On more than one occasion you returned to find him at the door.

Doesn't say a single word about missing you ever, but puts in every effort to stay in touch while you're gone.

There is a picture of you near him at all times that he hides when someone almost catches sight of it.

He holds his swords just a bit tighter.

Unconsciously flexes his hand a lot while he wonders if you're doing alright

Sanji:

Over does it with shopping for ingredients for the feast he plans to prepare for when you get back.

Casual keeping in touch with little calls or letters.

Surprisingly less bothered by your absence than most expect him to be, but that's because he doesn't want to worry you pointlessly by being a nuisance about it.

Quietly listens to music at night while daydreaming about you or remembering good memories to comfort himself.

The thought of you coming back keeps him too excited to be sad. He likes thinking about how he can surprise you each time you open the door and it occupies him thoroughly while he waits.

Ace:

He is obnoxious to everyone who is not you. That is to say, he won't shut up, ever, about you.

He talks about what you're up to, how much he likes you in general, and all the things he can't wait to do with you when you get back.

He'll lay awake in bed at night for a little bit, just smiling to himself and thinking of you.

There's an annoying number of phone calls, not to tell you that he misses you, but just to tell you he saw something weird. What he doesn't tell you is that he just likes getting to hear your voice.

He tries to keep the place clean while waiting for you to come back and always ends up breaking something.

Mihawk:

"I slept terribly." That is the start of every single phone call.

He will never tell you that he does this; but he gets an old pillow from the closet, stuffs it into one of your shirts and sleeps with it. It does not help and it makes him angrier in the morning than he would if he just stopped using it. But he likes that it smells like you so he keeps doing it.

Zones out a lot in the middle of a task or conversation thinking about how you're doing.

Accidentally makes an extra plate of food for breakfast and a cup of coffee/tea in the morning and pouts about it every time.

End of the day phone calls about your day and a gentle 'goodnight' before going to sleep.

Buggy:

Gets a bit more drunk than he usually does and spends his drunken stupor mumbling about how you are a traitor who abandoned him while fiddling with his cup.

The silence without you makes him frown a lot.

Every time he comes up with a good (or bad) joke that he thinks you'd like, he writes it down for when you get back.

Lies in bed like a sad puppy, staring at your side of the bed with a pout.

Only calls you when his people have had enough of his sulking and call you on his behalf before forcing him to talk to you. He cheers up significantly and is giddy for the rest of the day.

Crocodile:

He's minorly grumpy because half the time he tries convincing you to let him go with you and fails every time.

He spends significantly less while you're gone because literally everything reminds him of you and even he knows he can't buy everything in sight.

Calls you after lunch, of all times, to ask if you've eaten, tells you to take care of yourself, then promptly hangs up.

He's not particularly upset that you're gone because he has other things to occupy him, but also because the second he starts really missing you it makes him feel like you two are newlyweds separated for the first time and he's immediately soothed.

He does get a lot of things for when you return, planning to treat you to a relaxing day and sensual dinner. There's too many things for said day because he can't decide on what he thinks you'd enjoy best.