#more like salt MINERAL

[gizmotemusic]

@salt-rocks

heck you!!!! youre just jealous cuz i have a tag system that actually allows me to find posts i've reblogged later by searching my blog

[ducktollers]

i cant stand when people are like “umm actually generative ai isnt bad for the environment, its just as bad as everything else you do online ☝️🤓” like no fucking shit dude. the point is that it has the same environmental strain as other technologies except this one adds subzero value to our lives and most people dont even want it in everything and its only IN fucking everything using up tons of water and energy to pander to shareholders as Our Revolutionary New Ai Tool™️ or whatever the fuck

[triangle-strategy-notes]

Hello! I only recently got into Triangle Strategy and I’m really so impressed by how detailed the world of Norzelia is. However one possible mistake I found is in Rudolph’s final character story, he talks about the sea breeze! And Giovanna later also talks to Hughette about a sea of salt, with Hughette somehow understanding what that means. How is it that these characters know what the sea is, when it’s clear that Norzelia has no sea? Is there anything in the notes that could explain this?

Not as far as I know, unfortunately! Cordelia also uses the phrase "ocean of blood" in one of her character stories, and when the group reads Orlaea's journal, none of them seemed super confused by the word "sea" either, only the idea that it actually exists.

My headcanon is that they have some carryover language from way back before their ancestors migrated to Norzelia, and maybe have a vague idea of what a sea/ocean is but kind of consider it a fictional or metaphorical thing (like the way someone might call the sky "the heavens").

That said, especially with Rudolph's character story, I'm tempted to think it was just a straight-up mistake. "Sea breeze" is a pretty specific and vivid image that has a lot to do with the smell of salt, so it seems weird that that particular turn of phrase would have persisted as a historical language thing. But who knows!

[sourtomatola]

People need to accept that other people can have the opposite problems as one another

[jessaerys]

remembered i panic bought that blood pressure machine a while back > measured blood pressure > it's high -__-

[reasonsforhope]

Green energy is in its heyday. 

Renewable energy sources now account for 22% of the nation’s electricity, and solar has skyrocketed eight times over in the last decade. This spring in California, wind, water, and solar power energy sources exceeded expectations, accounting for an average of 61.5 percent of the state's electricity demand across 52 days. 

But green energy has a lithium problem. Lithium batteries control more than 90% of the global grid battery storage market. 

That’s not just cell phones, laptops, electric toothbrushes, and tools. Scooters, e-bikes, hybrids, and electric vehicles all rely on rechargeable lithium batteries to get going. 

Fortunately, this past week, Natron Energy launched its first-ever commercial-scale production of sodium-ion batteries in the U.S. 

“Sodium-ion batteries offer a unique alternative to lithium-ion, with higher power, faster recharge, longer lifecycle and a completely safe and stable chemistry,” said Colin Wessells — Natron Founder and Co-CEO — at the kick-off event in Michigan. 

The new sodium-ion batteries charge and discharge at rates 10 times faster than lithium-ion, with an estimated lifespan of 50,000 cycles.

Wessells said that using sodium as a primary mineral alternative eliminates industry-wide issues of worker negligence, geopolitical disruption, and the “questionable environmental impacts” inextricably linked to lithium mining. 

“The electrification of our economy is dependent on the development and production of new, innovative energy storage solutions,” Wessells said. 

Why are sodium batteries a better alternative to lithium?

The birth and death cycle of lithium is shadowed in environmental destruction. The process of extracting lithium pollutes the water, air, and soil, and when it’s eventually discarded, the flammable batteries are prone to bursting into flames and burning out in landfills. 

There’s also a human cost. Lithium-ion materials like cobalt and nickel are not only harder to source and procure, but their supply chains are also overwhelmingly attributed to hazardous working conditions and child labor law violations. 

Sodium, on the other hand, is estimated to be 1,000 times more abundant in the earth’s crust than lithium. 

“Unlike lithium, sodium can be produced from an abundant material: salt,” engineer Casey Crownhart wrote ​​in the MIT Technology Review. “Because the raw ingredients are cheap and widely available, there’s potential for sodium-ion batteries to be significantly less expensive than their lithium-ion counterparts if more companies start making more of them.”

What will these batteries be used for?

Right now, Natron has its focus set on AI models and data storage centers, which consume hefty amounts of energy. In 2023, the MIT Technology Review reported that one AI model can emit more than 626,00 pounds of carbon dioxide equivalent. 

“We expect our battery solutions will be used to power the explosive growth in data centers used for Artificial Intelligence,” said Wendell Brooks, co-CEO of Natron. 

“With the start of commercial-scale production here in Michigan, we are well-positioned to capitalize on the growing demand for efficient, safe, and reliable battery energy storage.”

The fast-charging energy alternative also has limitless potential on a consumer level, and Natron is eying telecommunications and EV fast-charging once it begins servicing AI data storage centers in June. 

On a larger scale, sodium-ion batteries could radically change the manufacturing and production sectors — from housing energy to lower electricity costs in warehouses, to charging backup stations and powering electric vehicles, trucks, forklifts, and so on. 

“I founded Natron because we saw climate change as the defining problem of our time,” Wessells said. “We believe batteries have a role to play.”

-via GoodGoodGood, May 3, 2024

--

Note: I wanted to make sure this was legit (scientifically and in general), and I'm happy to report that it really is! x, x, x, x

[gonemechaniic]

what if I added Madam M and/or Kyrie to my multi... >_>

[fuckingrecipes]

Do you have any healthy snack suggestions for someone who isn't a huge fan of nuts and dried fruit?

FIRST: A 'Snack' is just a small portion of food. It is a signifier of quantity. 'Snack' does not exclude any type or form of food - it just means a lil' bit of food.

SECOND: "Healthy" is entirely relative to every individual.

'Healthy' is just 'Supportive of a complete nutritional profile, taking into account a person's existing diet, dietary needs, and habits of energy expenditure'

For example:

A small, greasy hamburger is an EXCELLENT snack for a highschool athlete who needs to consume an large amount of calories every day to maintain their body. It has lots of fat and protein for muscle recovery and long-term energy, carbs for immediate energy, and some lettuce/tomato/onion for some extra fiber/vitamins/minerals.

On the flip side, if someone already eats a fair amount of of meat and carbs already but has a lower-energy lifestyle, a healthy snack for them might entail leafy greens, beans/legumes and vegetables, because they need more fiber and nutrients in their diet that plants have in abundance.

--

If you are allergic to or hate eating something, then it's not healthy to force yourself to eat it anyway. Find a different food, or a different way to prepare it that doesn't cause physical or psychological distress!

Don't like peanuts, but peanut butter is good? Eat peanut butter instead! Hate the texture of whole tomatoes, but tomato sauce is good? Eat tomato sauce instead!

Don't be afraid to finely mince or blend your ingredients into a sauce or smoothie if you feel you need or want to eat something for the nutrients but hate chewing it.

--

I'm a big fan of probiotic stuff in general, like fermented foods (kimchi, pickles, sauerkraut, miso, mustard and yogurts), since a strong bacterial colony in the gut has a positive impact on wellbeing for most folks. More importantly, I love the taste.

Buuuuuuuut~ some people are extra sensitive to compounds that are concentrated in fermented foods. Those people should not eat a lot of fermented foods. It's not healthy for them.

--

If you're munching snacks out of boredom when you're not actually hungry, something low-fat but satisfyingly crunchy usually does the trick for me. Something I can keep devouring for the sensory delight, gives some good nutrients, and won't make me feel overly full afterward.

Carrots, bell peppers, mung bean sprouts, apples, pears, jicama, radish, pretzels, sweet onions, green papaya, broccoli, popcorn, cucumber, water chestnut, seaweed crisps, coconut chips, any of those fermented foods I mentioned... hell, coleslaw is mostly cabbage with oil and vinegar - plow through that and have a great time!

--

If you want a snack because you're hungry, but you just want to tide yourself over until the next meal, eat something that is high in fat and fiber. Fat & Fiber makes you feel full.

Cheese, Yogurt, Butter. Olive oil. Guacamole. Tinned fish. Cream. Fry up an egg. Olives, Hard-boiled eggs - These are all relatively high in fat.

Beans, Legumes, Oats, Leafy Greens, and most Berries are pretty high in fiber, and can pair up with any of the fatty things.

Hell, a slice of cheese pizza is also fine! Buttered toast is fine! A small portion of roast beef from last night's dinner!

Eat a little bit, wait 20 minutes, and see if you're still hungry after that. A normal stomach takes 20-30 minutes to register feeling satiated. (Some people's stomachs don't really feel the difference of hunger vs satiation. Those people need to be more mindful of the quantities of food they eat - both eating too much, AND eating too little!)

--

If you want a snack because salty snacks in particular sound fucking amazing, but other fatty and high-protein foods sound kinda gross, Try chugging a glass of water.

If water doesn't resolve the feeling after giving it a few minutes, try something with salt.

Dehydration and not having enough salt in your body both cause salt cravings. Acute thirst is often mistaken as hunger.

Honestly, you can have a handful of chips. Eating a whole family-sized bag of potato chips in one sitting is probably too much salt & fat for most people, but eating a handful here and there is fine. It's just as morally neutral as eating a carrot.

Eat some rice with soy sauce. Eat some pickled okra, or pickled onions. Eat some miso soup. Drink some soup broth. Have some salt-cured meats.

--

So: A Healthy Snack!

Ask yourself: Am I hungry, bored, or thirsty?

Ask yourself: What have I been eating lately, and what has my diet lacked, or had in excess? (Fats, Protein, Carbohydrates, Vitamins/Minerals, Water, Salt)

Ask yourself: Am I trying to provide my body with a complete nutritional profile, including fats and carbs - or am I focusing on an imagined 'purity' of food and assigning moral value to eating what diet culture calls healthy so I can be 'good.' (Aka: Do you think instances of eating candy or fatty food is 'being bad'? Stop that.)

Ask yourself: Am I able to rely on my body's signals for hunger and thirst, or do I need to manually track this?

Sometimes a snack is a small portion of leftovers from yesterday.

Sometimes a snack is carefully sliced, cooked, and arranged on a cute plate.

Sometimes a snack is gnawing through half a head of cabbage doused in vinegar.

Sometimes a snack is a handful of shredded cheese eaten from your own palm so you become both the gentle horse and the stablehand feeding it, and that's all okay

[illwilledomen]

Adults n’ babies.

Info below.

Villagers (and all Testificates)

- Children have tufts of hair, and bald during puberty.

- The darker pigment in their proboscis occurs during puberty. They also grow into their noses.

- Kids are kind of scrunkly and wrinkly, like Sphinx cat kittens. They’re also very small, and have huge growth spurts once they hit their teenage years.

- Adult villagers are incredibly tall, and lack much visible hair aside from fine body hair, light facial hair (like stubble) and eyebrows, which are bristly and whisker-like. Another noticeable feature is their short philtrum and near lack of a visible upper lip. Their noses are as sensitive as human lips, and are typically used in the same way for affection and gesture. Villager proboscis can scrunch, wrinkle and twitch, moving to follow scents like the noses of elephant shrews.

- Villagers have much keener senses of smell than humans, and can produce a wider range of sounds.

Piglin

- Much like villagers, piglets start fuzzy and bald into wrinkly adult piglin.

- Piglets learn to vocally emote first, then sign phrases later on. Piglin use vocalisations as emotional context cues for the more complex sentences they sign.

- Piglin sows have litters of up to six piglets. Most of these piglets will die, particularly if it’s a nomadic horde, so they only receive proper names at one and a half nether years, or when they begin to grow out of their camouflage stripes.

- Piglets are born with stripes and an earthier pigment to help them hide from Infernal predators.

Endermen

- Endermen give birth through their mouth. They do breed asexually, though some Endermen do recreationally partake in what is possibly intercourse. It’s hard for Enderologists to tell.

- The offspring spends ten years inside of a nutrient sac before emerging as an Ender-child. The Ender-child will slowly develop features like limbs and a complex digestive system, though it begins with only a torso, a brain and a pair of eyes. These eyes are non-functional as psionic communicators, which is their secondary purpose in adults.

- They excrete an oily substance that repels Endermites and keeps them moisturized enough to move. As the larvae matures, it will develop the velvety exoskeleton of an adult Enderman. It will also begin to omit psionic frequencies, though these begin as nonsensical bursts of information.

- They mature at 100 years old. Most of this 100 years is spend engorging on chorus fruit, stem and endstone mineral salts. They have no emotional connection to their parent, as eventually they will develop enough to join the Chorus and become one conscious Being. Alternatively, they can worship a void God and become an Endersent.

Players

- Players were primarily constructed by Rana of the Elphar Senate of Builders, or artificers under her command. Most players were raised either in the Garden, an enclosed sterilized “meadow” next to the Senate building, or within the ancient city.

- They have three brains. The Animal, aka a normal human brain, the Purpose, an information tablet which dictates their robotic instincts, Basic Information and function, and the Soul, which enables emotion and sapience.

- Steve was constructed as The Builder, Alex was constructed as The Hunter, and Hero was constructed as The Friend, but is commonly referred to simply as the first. Hero destroyed two other players before he was supposedly decommissioned.

- Players begin existence as entirely androgynous beings, and may transition into genders upon discovering them. Gender is not encoded onto the Basic Information tablet, so they may struggle to understand it. Steve has adopted a masculine identity, enjoys it, though expresses confusion at being called a “male”.

[heartfullofleeches]

Carnis [Lab Experiment Cow Hybrid Yan] licks Reader. Like a lot. Especially after physical activity or on hot days. Why?

Because cows need salt.

Well, so do humans in small quantities, but sodium deficiency in cattle can lead to reduced appetite and weight loss amongst other ailments. During their time in the lab, Carnis was given a capsule by researchers daily that contained the needed amount of salt for cattle of their size and height. It made Carnis incredibly hungry which they hated because six times out of ten the food given to them was laced with a sedative which lead to them being more docile during testing when they began to lash out against their mistreatment at the hands of the doctors.

Carnis is weary of salt and sugar by proxy when they first escape the lab for the points listed above. Their body craves it, but they hate how empty their stomach feels and how dry their mouth gets when they eat it.

Reader notices Carnis insecurities with salt and food as a whole, and aids him in building up their confidence by pouring salt into their hand and encouraging Carnis to lick it up. They start off small with table salt, working up to mineral salt and finally buying a salt block necklace for Carnis to use whenever they're ready. Carnis appreciates all their help, they truly do, but they're curious as to why Reader feeds him that salt when their body produces it already. Through extensive research of their own, Carnis discovers Reader tastes just like granulated stuff during intense heats or when they've been doing a lot of heavy lifting.

Reader informs Carnis the water coming from their body is sweat. They also make note a tiny percentage of sweat is salt. Carnis puts two and two together that sweat equals salt therefore they can get all the daily salt they require doing what they love most.

"Carnis, my hand, silly. I haven't taken a shower all day! I'm all sticky from the sweat- I washed my hands real quick so I could give you your salt before I hop in."

"mm... But, but... Salt. Need it....Sh...Shower later. You taste good. Taste like salt. Salt tastes good because of.. because of you."

[honeytonedhottie]

refresh, reboot shower routine⋆.ೃ࿔*:･🧖🏽‍♀️🧁

WHATS A REFRESH REBOOT SHOWER? ;

a refresh reboot shower are the kind of showers that u take that act like a reset button. i personally love them especially when i feel like i have so much energy pent up and i can channel it into doing something positive for myself.

ROMANTICIZE ;

something important to remember while taking a refresh reboot shower is to be PRESENT. thats what makes these showers different. instead of doing ur normal shower routine, or ur everything shower routine, this is the REFRESH REBOOT shower routine.

take time to feel the water on your skin. make sure its to the exact temperature that you like. smell the products that ur putting on ur body and bask in how yummy they smell. feel the soapy foam beneath ur fingers, wash every inch of urself HAVE FUN.

GUA SHA IN THE SHOWER ;

sculpt that beautiful face. gua sha is good for so many reasons. its good to reduce puffiness and swelling and its amazing for ur lymph nodes. do a full gua sha routine and watch how amazing u feel.

EXFOLIATION ;

exfoliation feels like (at least for me) like im shedding an old skin and revealing a new one so its a MUST for a refresh and reboot shower. so before the shower do some dry brushing for the softest skin then go in with a body scrub.

i rly recommend the tree hut scrubs or you can make your own with this simple body scrub recipe. so first off decide if ur doing a salt or a sugar scrub and i'll briefly explain the difference here.

sugar scrub ; deposits minerals into the skin, gentle exfoliation, hydrates the skin, helps draw water into the skin, less abrasive, smoothens and brightens the skin.

salt scrub ; eliminates toxins, gives a rosy glow, anti aging abilities, provides minerals vitamins and nutrients, tones and restores the skin.

to make a sugar scrub simply (1/2 cup of coconut oil + 1/2 cup of granulated sugar + 15-20 drops of essential oil of choice)...💬���

hot tip ; if u want to make it more scented you can even use a couple drops of a body wash along with the essential oil

to make a salt scrub simply (1 cup of sea salt + 1/4 cup of a carrier oil + 10-20 drops of essential oil of choice)...💬🎀

CHANGE UP THE SCENT ;

if u have a signature scent that you do a lot of the time, try and go for a different scent. im a hygiene junkie so i like to have a variety of different soaps to use, even though i almost always stick with the basics (smelling like a yummy cupcake) unless i want something different. changing up the scent can be refreshing so if you feel like it'll be refreshing for you, try and go for a different scent for a couple of days.

DOUBLE CLEANSE ;

if double cleansing isnt something that u do on a day to day basis then its perfect to do in ur refresh and reboot shower. wash ur body first with a bar soap (preferably something unscented or organic)

doctor bronners soaps work good too if u dont have a bar soap that u like. after using the bar soap go in with a liquid soap (ofc following the scent guide in the previous section) that way you can feel even more squeaky clean and refreshed.

[raven-at-the-writing-desk]

💕 twst 2024 valentine gifts! 🎁

***Please note:*** Sharing merch images + news is not intended to encourage and/or to pressure anyone into making purchases. It is up to the individual consumer to be informed and to choose how they spend their money.

For general information about how TWST Valentine Gifts work, check out this post.

For character signatures and the messages from previous years, check out this post.

The gifts for 2024 are 100 ml fragrance sprays. These are not perfumes, they are more like room sprays. According to Yana, they worked with professional perfumers and the fragrances were formulated with each character's "image" in mind! These each come with a unique bottle label, plus a ribbon and a little wooden charm with a matching character motif on it. You can soak the wooden charm with the fragrance and use it to diffuse the smell through a room.

Preorders are open until 10 March 2024.

(Warning: in the case that these contain alcohol, it will not be possible to send the fragrances overseas due to shipping regulations against flammable materials. The paper goods—the 2024 Valentine Gift messages—will still be able to be sent out.)

Each character has their own unique scent. The following are summaries of what each spray smells like overall (according to official posts), but each also has its own more detailed descriptions of the top, middle, and base notes on their individual website postings.

Heartslabyul

Riddle - refined rose (geranium, rose, honey)

Trey - powdery mint (spearmint of course the guy obsessed with dental hygiene smells like MINT, white flowers, powdery musk and balsam)

Cater - lemon herbal (lemon, herbs like juniper, amber and cedar)

Ace - naughty cherry (cherry, almond and rose, vanilla and woods)

Deuce - citrus rhubarb (citrus and rhubarb, rose, warm musk)

Savanaclaw

Leona - clear wild (rosemary, neroli, musk and sandalwood)

Ruggie - dried nuts (hazelnut, vanilla, creamy musk and dry woods)

Jack - calm pear (pear, osmanthus, amber)

Octavinelle

Azul - salty milk (salt and minerals, herbs like sage, milky musk)

Jade - bergamot amber (bergamot, herbs, patchouli and amber)

Floyd - aqua vetiver (Japanese pepper yes, a literal pepper, a fresh bouquet, vetiver and musk)

Scarabia

Kalim - mystical musk (citrus, white flowers, creamy musk and sandalwood)

Jamil - smoky herb (spicy herbs, white flowers, musk and smoky leather)

Pomefiore

Vil - elegant fruity (cassis, white flowers, vanilla and musk and sandalwood)

Rook - dry green (eucalyptus, geranium, tonka beans)

Epel - spicy apple (cinnamon, apple, vanilla and sandalwood)

Ignihyde (warning that these were vaguely worded compared to the rest of the fragrances)

Idia - clean musk (“something refreshing”, lily of the valley, sweet musk why does bro smell sweeter than most of the others www)

Ortho - bluish clean (rosemary and other “fresh” smells, clear plants/greens he’s touching the grass that Idia refuses to)

Diasomnia

Malleus - deep oak moss (forest, spices, sweet and earthy vetiver and oak moss)

Lilia - historical depths (citrus, roses and white flowers, thick musk and sandalwood)

Silver - musty green (black pepper, cedarwood, warm sandalwood and musk)

Sebek - honest aroma (rosemary, white flowers and spices, patchouli and oak moss he shares a base note with Malleus, this was 100% intentional)

Grim + NRC Staff Shoot, no Rollo, Fellow, or Gidel valentine gift :(

Grim - innocent soap (citrus, lily of the valley, peach and musk he just hopped out of the bath)

Crowley - mysterious calm (***fatty aldehyde***, white flowers, cedarwood and amber)

Crewel - sweet charm (amber, woods, sweet oak moss)

Trein - tense wood (spices, dry woods, “sweet tangy tone” sorry, the base was vague)

Vargas - manly musk (smoky spices, incense, vetiver and leather and musk)

Sam - exotic bouquet (cloves, bouquet including ylang-ylang, tropical woods)

***NOTE ABOUT CROWLEY’S:*** I looked this up! Apparently, fatty aldehydes smell like fresh citrus but I believe the literally translated term is “fatty aldehyde”; not sure why it was worded like this. There are many forms of aldehyde and each smells different. For example, one form smells closer to a rose. Another supposedly smells like rancid butter 💀

[pokemonshelterstories]

So the Pokédex says that Onix get more round and smooth as they get older because of their tunneling. I thought that was really neat until I actually saw a picture of one.

Good arc. That poor, accursedly smooth beast.

Do you know of any other Pokémon that get odd features as they age?

super old onix are really cool to see! the smoothness does make it hard for them to get around, though.

tons of pokemon get some really interesting physical features as they age. rock and ground type pokemon with mineral deposits on their body often erode or get interesting shapes as the minerals wear out irregularly (garganacl are known to get "salt bunions" and end up looking kind of warty). hair growth is common too- the mustache on super old alakazam will practically reach to the ground. some grass types will struggle to produce as much foliage or seed out properly, so you'll see jumpluff with nearly bald cotton poms, or torterra that constantly look like they're overwintering; other grass types with more treelike features will grow rings that can be counted on necropsy. i've read about the bodies of old aggron found still standing with their joints rusted into place or skarmory whose feather follicles rust over and can't grow new flight feathers. dragon types can be incredibly long lived and will sometimes grow huge horns or tusks.

that's part of what's so cool about meeting a really old pokemon- they can show age in some pretty incredible ways!

[kingofthe-egirls]

APHRODISIAC: LUFFY x Y/N

for the ever lovely @jessysapphireblue

(cw: sex, aphrodisiac, gear two, fingering, breeding kink)

(a/n: alternate name for this fic is raspberry chocolate)

Songs: “Minerals & Diamonds” by Maude Latour

words: 1k

****

The chocolate melts on your tongue.

Luffy is sitting crosslegged next to you on his bed, the both of you alone in his cabin.

“Tastes good!” He chirps, biting down on his second square of dark chocolate. It has a raspberry center. He chews with his mouth open, enjoying the candy.

“Wait,” you say, snatching the chocolate bar from his hand, “We shouldn’t take too much,” you warn. You set it to the side, and sit back down on the bed with Luffy. The covers are soft and warm around you. You smile, wondering when and how the aphrodisiac will kick in.

“This is fun!” Luffy says, rocking back and forth happily. You smile, and lie down with your head on his lap. He runs his fingers through your hair, humming slightly.

“It is fun,” you agree, starting to feel a warmth in your belly. “Umm…,” you start, feeling your cheeks heat, “I think it’s working…” You peer up at Luffy from your spot on his lap, and see his cheeks starting to rose as well. He leans down to kiss you.

His lips are soft, if a little chapped. You lick his bottom lip, and he moans as he lets you in. You deepen the kiss, stroking your tongue along his.

The sparks in your belly alight into a campfire. Suddenly it’s not enough, his mouth on yours, and you sit up to start carding your fingers through his hair. You pull on it, eliciting a moan from your boyfriend and captain.

“More,” you whisper, and he nods eagerly. He shrugs off his vest, and you rip your own tank top off over your head. You sit on his lap, straddling him, and kiss him deeply.

Luffy tastes like salt, like meat, and you’re addicted. You can never get enough of him. His shoulders, his chest, his abs, his arms. His rock hard muscles and soft, amber skin.

He’s not immune to the pull of chemicals either, as his hands start to roam over your body, too.

He squeezes your breasts, your waist, your thighs. His smile turns lascivious, which is all the warning you get before he’s flipping you onto your back. He kneels over you, unbuttoning his shorts before kicking them off. You rip your own shorts and panties off, spreading your legs for Luffy to kneel between.

His cock is angry and dark, bobbing against his stomach. Your own center is wet with arousal, as you reach down to finger small circles on your clit. Luffy lines himself up at your entrance as you do.

“Ready f’me?” He asks, searching your face for any sign of discomfort. You nod, bringing your legs up to hold open for him, your hands under your knees and your thighs spread wide. He grins, and softly starts to push against your entrance.

You whine, feeling the weight and press of his cock inside you. He slowly buries himself to the hilt, and starts to thrust in soft, shallow pulses. Luffy’s head tips back in pleasure, a soft “Fuck…” falling from his lips.

Your eyes flutter shut, as his cock starts to massage your walls. His hands grip your waist, pulling you against him with every thrust.

His muscular form is stunning, as your drag your hands over his chest and abs. His muscles clench a little as your fingers greedily squeeze and grope his gorgeous body. His arms are so strong.

“Like whatcha see?” He asks archly, speeding up a bit. You moan at the change of pace, nodding.

“So hot, captain~!”

He giggles, and speeds up even more. His face is flushed, grin wide, as his skin starts to steam. “Luffy!” You squeak in surprise as gear two takes over his athletic body.

Luffy just laughs, speeding up with his newfound stamina. His cock is bullying your pussy now, pounding into you over and over again. You’re pushed upward on the bed, Luffy chasing you, as you brace yourself against the headboard.

He’s giggling, manic, as steam starts billowing from him.

“Luffy!” You gasp, nothing but his name left in your fucked-out brain.

“That’s it, sweets, take it f’me~”

He snickers a little, leaning down to kiss you. His lips are hot.

“Love you,” you manage, voice pitchy in pleasure. Luffy’s own voice is raspy as he dirty talks you.

“Love ya so much sweetheart, wanna pump ya full of my kids~”

You gasp, surprised, but it’s so hot that you don’t question it. “Cum inside me,” you agree, as your own cresting wave rises in your core.

Luffy’s thrusts send you over the edge, squealing and tumbling over yourself in pleasure. There’s nothing in the world besides Monkey D. Luffy, your captain, the king of the pirates~

“Luffy!” You cry out, shuddering with your cosmic orgasm.

“That’s it, don’t stop,” he rasps, “Keep comin’ f’me, princess, that’s a good girl, that’s captain’s good girl,” he snaps his hips, as you spasm around his length. It’s so thick. You’re stretched out wide, pussy sucking in his cock with every thrust. It’s so hot, so sexy, so mind-blowingly orgasmic that you’re cumming a second time as Luffy chants your name.

He’s cumming inside you soon after, thrown over the edge by your moans and your fluttering around his cock. He pours his seed inside you, head thrown back and hands gripping your waist. He pulls you down on his cock, wanting you as close as possible.

You whine his name, all sweaty and fucked out as you both come down. Luffy slowly pulls out, eyes glued to the sight of his cum spilling out of you. He gently traces a finger along your pussy, gathering his cum to fuck back into you with his fingers. You moan, over-sensitive, as his skin starts turning back to normal, the steam dissipating. You gasp out a sigh of relief, relaxing back into his now-sweaty bed. It smells like sex in here.

“Sweetheart,” you sigh happily. “Love having sex with you.”

He grins, pleased.

He crawls back over you, kissing your lips with a newfound reverence.

“Love it too.”

[togglesbloggle]

How come there's basalt but no bapepper?

This pun made me smile, and has earned you one(1) Toggle Point, anon!

That said, 'basalt' as a word has a rather storied history. The true association isn't with salt, but with gold.

Originally, at least as far back as ancient Egypt, the word meant 'touchstone'; though of course back then it was baban, not basalt. As you may know, touchstones are a common method for testing the properties of minerals and, especially, economically valuable metals like gold. The idea is simple, really. Take a very hard, very dark slab of stone, and scraaape your metal across it, like so:

With a little practice, you can get a fairly nice streak of residue, and the light tone of gold really pops against the dark stone. Then, if somebody is trying to sell you a lot of precious metals, you can perform this streak test using them on your touchstone, and compare the streaking pattern against metals that you trust. If they're similar, the metal is pure, and if the streaks are different, the bastards probably aldulterated it with something cheaper. There you have it- a straightforward, fairly reliable, and very pre-modern method of rooting out Ea-Nasirtesting the quality of your precious metals during high-stakes trading. To this day, it's still a tool in any geologists' kit; you can see how it's handy for mineral identification when you're out in the field.

Anyway, the substance we now know as basalt was particularly good for this task, so (as humans will tend to do) the function of the stone and the type of stone itself started to get mixed up and share the same name. Greek contact with Egypt taught Europe the word, with the slight modification to basan, and then there was a typo in one of Pliny's books, so when they dusted it off in the Renaissance, it became Basalt instead. But it's all the same thing and the same word.

One of my favorite cul-de-sacs of this history is that at one point in ancient Greece, when the word was still more 'touchstone' than 'igneous rock', the word had expanded enough to take on some metaphorical and maybe mythic proportions. Basanos meant 'touchstone', yes, but also 'trial' or 'test' as applied to our own more human ambitions, a thing you endure to show your quality. So basalt became the stone that could find true gold among false metals- not just in the marketplace, but in the soul as well.

[azzayofchaos]

You said you wanted art requests, how about tango trying to bake something?? :D

Not me getting busy and then procrastinating this for a month and a half. O_O

oops.

Here’s the guy! I think he’s probably a good cook, and at least a decent baker, he’s been alive for far too long to have not figured it out. Unfortunately he’s partial to Nether food which doesn’t always sit well with his non-nether companions.

Probably not the image either of us would have thought of but it was interesting to draw at any rate. He’s making a ghast-jelly souffl��s or something!

Some thoughts about food and the Nether? (You didn’t think you could escape my world building, did you?)

This particular dish I image to be a fluffy soufflé or mousse-like texture. It’s a relatively sweet dish, a rarity it the nether, though it could easily be modified for a more savory flavor.

The list of ingratiates might look something like this:

- The luminescent, warped-vine fruits that grow at high altitudes in the temperate zone. They are much smaller and more fragile than shroomlights, and are a rare source of sugar in the Neth. Most nether plants are savory, umami, or sour/biter,

— The viscous ichor from a ghast’s innards that whips up much like egg whites (there are eggs produced by some nether species but not ones well suited for this process)

— Aromatic herbs and spices that can be found in various biomes are a good addition especially when combined with the fruit juice to make a sauce. The specifics would vary from recipe to recipe, but the benefit of the dish is that it can easily be made with ingredients that don’t contain capsaicin which is present in many nether plants. (this dessert is considered one of the most palatable for overworlders as long as you can get past the use of ghast ichors.)

— some fat source, generally a hoglin lard or oil from stems.

— Salt! Readily available. It can often be found in large mineral deposits or salt flats in the rime zone or wastes.

Additionally, adding other ingredients can alter the sort of dish.

— The texture can be made more cake-like for example with the use of spore-flour, and hoglin or nut-based milks.

— Things like cacao, sugars, and fruit are coveted goods that the Neath has historically traded with the overworld for.

— I thought it would be interesting if there was a certain type of heat-resistant but heat-sensitive plant that curls/uncurls based on refined temperatures. It could be used as a thermometer!