#sludge techniques

[michellesanches]

“Reject All” cookie consent update

On 9 August 2023, the UK Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) and the UK Competition & Markets Authority (CMA) jointly published a position paper on harmful design practices in digital markets, particularly focusing on cookie consent banners. The paper clarifies the ICO’s stance on the “Reject All” button in these banners. Key points from the paper include: Equal Ease for Consent Choices:…

[juggalogojackerbox]

Maybe I'm just Sleepy but something seems a bit Twisted here

[Terrible puns aside, Onycraft uses he/him only]

[probablyasocialecologist]

Today, it’s common to see farms covered in plastic. It lines the sides of greenhouses, blankets fields as “plastic mulch,” covers hoop houses, and winds through farms as irrigation tubes, among other forms. In satellite images, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has observed the typically golden and green agricultural fields turned white, as though dusted in snow, from all of the plastic. Agriculture is responsible for 3.5 percent of global plastic production, a figure that may seem small until you consider the sheer volume of plastics produced: around 400 million metric tons per year.

[...]

The Earth’s soils have become a waste bin of the world’s plastics. Soil is thought to be even more polluted with microplastics than the ocean, which contains an estimated 358 trillion plastic particles. Agricultural soils have been called a “reservoir” for not just the plastic produced on farms, but also plastics from other industrial sources that enter the water to eventually wash up on farms during a flood, or are carried by the wind. In a world where all industries run on plastics, these fine particles can also find their way onto farms through poultry litter, sewage sludge applied to soils, and even fertilizer. “There are currently no viable remediation techniques,” said Cusworth. “If you want to remove them from the soil, [the solution] is to stop producing them in the first place.” The major producers of plastics, like ExxonMobil and Dow, continue to sell plastic to farmers as a way to adapt to extreme weather conditions like drought and flooding. For instance, ExxonMobil promises that plastic sheets, like those used by Emmert, will “protect and preserve harvests in even the most demanding weather conditions.” Yet the production of plastics—a derivative of fossil fuels, typically obtained through fracking—is a major contributor to climate change, responsible for over 5 percent of global emissions. This creates a vicious cycle, where the production of plastic drives climate change, which drives up demand for plastics on farms. Extreme weather also causes plastics to degrade more quickly, causing microplastic litter. Indeed, a 2021 report from the United Nations’ Food and Agricultural Administration noted that the demand for plastic on farms is projected to grow by 50 percent between 2018 and 2030.

5 June 2024

[annievrse]

"sorry, i can’t focus when you look at me like that"

nanami x reader —ᡣ𐭩 blurb

"duck!" you scream, falling to the ground. a blast of fire swallows where you once stood, and you guarantee a few strands of hair were singed off in the process.

"shit," nanami mumbles, quick to draw his blunt sword and aim for the arm of the curse. the purple, seven-armed first-grade wails as their arm is severed, rushing to the other side of the hall when the limb hits the floor.

you get up and run toward nanami, examining the burn on his shoulder. "fuck, you okay?" when he doesn't reply, you look up at him. "you alive?"

nanami nods, his eyes flickering between yours desperately. your expression softens when you notice his infatuated gaze — one for your eyes only. he opens his mouth to say something, but the sound of a disgruntled gurgle to your left draws you away from your lover's stare, and you look down — one of the curse's arms has wrapped around nanami's wrist, unbeknownst to him.

so, you stick your hand out, your technique making the curse freeze in shock. you sigh and close your eyes, focusing on your ability. nanami's stare never leaves your face, and he can't stop. he's enamoured with you.

and once the insides of the curse are scrambled, it explodes, raining violet gloop all over you and nanami.

"gross," you spit, wiping the sludge from your cheeks.

"why didn't you do that sooner?" nanami asks, his breathing ragged and his hair unruly.

you turn to look at the man beside you in disbelief, concern making your chest hurt. "how did you not notice that curse grabbing you? you could've been hurt!"

nanami laugh is deep, his eyes low. with red cheeks, you guess are warm from embarrassment, he shakes his head. "sorry, i can't focus when you look at me like that."

"like what?" you tilt your head in confusion because what sort of excuse is that? yes, it makes your body tingle and your heart rate increase, but at what cost?

instead of answering, nanami waves his hand in dismissal and turns. "we've gotta get back to the school."

"you're kidding. ken—"

he reaches his hand out for you, winking behind his green lens. "come on, i'll tell you all about it when we get back home."

[bitter-bats-cult-of-the-moon]

Energy Shields - Basic and Advanced Techniques

Psychic Defense Technique One – White Light

This technique is widely accepted and utilized within the new age and mainstream avenues involving metaphysics. The initial concept is about surrounding ourselves with white light encompassing positive energies relating to protection and love.

White light often is associated with illumination, purity, harmony, and wholeness. It raises our awareness and energy vibrations as a whole while neutralizing negativity away from us.

Visualization Remedies

Imagine yourself in the center of the room illuminated by light bulbs providing warmth and security to you and your home.

Find yourself standing under the shower waters or next to a waterfall. Seeing and feeling the waters turn into light illuminating over you and around you are becoming a protection barrier.

Visualize angels watching over you and the light is radiating and forming just the right kind of shields.

Psychic Defense Technique Two – Bubble Shields and Layers

Bubble Shields

The Bubble Technique uses the idea that we can mentally surround ourselves with either a bubble or shield itself that will reflect and absorb negativity, so we do not feel the full effects. It is useful when having to learn shielding techniques because the bubble or shields themselves can feed on the negative energies directed at us, but only if there is a filter being used.

Filters

When it comes to energy filters try to think of it like this. We use coffee filters to take in all the good stuff leaving behind the coffee grounds or else it slows down our intake and is more like sludge that we are drinking. Some of us are left feeling nauseas and will end up sick if this keeps happening.

Throat Chakra

The color blue is associated with the throat chakra and this energy point represents will power. Whenever an individual visualizes their personal shield try combining the associated color and chakra point energies because directing willpower and your voice to the shield strengthens it.

Layers

When it comes to the bubble shielding technique it is a good starting point for beginner energy workers, but there are advanced methods one should learn to further reinforce themselves.

The easiest way for me to explain this is an individual should start out by visualizing the sphere around them and from there adding more layers. You can be creative with this, and the bubble method doesn't always have to be utilized in this way. Some practitioners visualize a suit of armour or an actual shield that will aid in their personal protection. So, my question is what do you think would work best for you? Is the armor or bubble surrounded by elemental energies that correspond with you as an individual? What about colors and their metaphysical meanings? Are there any plants or animals that work with you in order to properly create these shields?

It doesn't always have to be the bubble method or suit of armour either. The shield can be a triangle like a pyramid or walls built around you. The creativity is left up to you as the author.

My best advice for trying out advanced shields and adding in layers is to write and / or draw it out physically for yourself. Do not show anyone else because this is for your eyes only. Having an actual physical visual for yourself helps because you can look at this and change things around at any given time.

Psychic Defense Technique Three – Shadow Shields

Like the bubble and light variations of shields the shadow shield can be formed as either a barrier, fog, mist, or utilized as a combination. For focus and laying out the basic foundations visualize yourself in a dark room so that there is a perpetual shadow. This will familiarize you with how you may look in the darkness of a room or another way to achieve this is by going outside and peering down into your own shadow visualizing it as a suit of armor or your shield.

The shadow shield can be turned into an offensive weapon as well if the magician visualizes additional parts to their own shadow such as spikes, barbs, or tendrils. It's also an effective cloaking method if one wishes to remain unnoticed by people around them. The shadow when visualized properly can create a camouflaged space around you, but this method requires more energy and focus to maintain. Remember and think of things like this as well. It's easier to hide behind shadows than in a clear or colored shield.

Psychic Defense Technique Four – Physical Body Positions

Certain body positions can act to close off the energy circuits and protect chakra points depending on where the arms and legs are crossed. Next time you are around someone that seems to be draining and pulling at your energy or spewing a bunch of negativities try sitting down and crossing your arms and legs. Simply listen, but do not give into their issues.

Another way to try this is to think about your chakra points along the human body. If you are unable to sit down, think about the throat and heart chakras. Visualize slowly closing the chakras off temporarily while around these types of people.

Psychic Defense Technique Five – Reflections

Mirrors

The visualization technique here is to imagine mirrors facing outwards so that energy is reflected away from you. This is a good method to try whenever keeping unwanted energy out. Everything will be reflected return to sender.

Another way to utilize this is by visualizing mirrors around someone else facing inward. Whatever they try to send at you will return to them. The cause and effect will be that they themselves get to deal with their own energies instead of causing harm to your own.

Negative Bubbles

Visualize a bubble around the person that is being negative. Similar to the mirror method, whenever the individual in question tries to throw negative energy or use negative emotions to their advantage, the energy won't be able to escape the bubble. The person will feel everything for themselves versus harming you. They will learn to be nice or be zapped by their own negative energies.

Hallways And Doors

Remember that person throwing negative energies at you? Instead of visualizing mirrors or bubbles to return to sender you can also try this. For any psychic attack being thrown in your direction visualize and redirect those energies by looping hallways with doors or imagine whatever it is attacking you on fire before giving the outside energies a kick to the curb.

Psychic Defense Technique Six – Salt

Kosher Salt or Sea Salt works the best for protection because these types of salt absorb negative energies and will ground them or take it away from you. There are many different ways to use salt. How does this help in shielding yourself one might ask? Simple. Sea Salt can be used as a physical or energetic barrier. It is also good for grounding your own energies because it is an element from the earth.

Salt Remedies

Salt in a small cup around a busy room and where you work the most will help by absorbing the negative energies. Make sure to flush and change the salt out every month.

Sprinkle salt into bath water and soak. The salt will absorb and take negative energy from you while also grounding your energies. Add a touch of baking soda if you need to kickstart your own energies and revive what has been lost.

Dilute salt and mineral water into a spray bottle. In each room that has been overloaded with negativity I want you to spray mist into the air. This will cleanse and clear your home. Alot of people tend to try this if they cannot or will not use smoke cleansing methods.

Psychic Defense Technique Seven – Protection Symbols

Protection symbols come in many different forms but will only work if you believe in them. Your belief in the symbol actually working will give the best results. Confidence is always the key whenever one is working in metaphysics, period. Belief is the most important, and when it comes to protection symbols, they can be utilized as an additional method to your energy shields. The symbol can act to strengthen the subconscious mind which adds to your defenses.

What works best for you? Many people believe in different things and any symbol can be used for protection as long as the symbol means something to you. What may work for you might not work for the next person due to having different beliefs.

Psychic Defense Technique Eight – Prayer and Affirmations

Prayers are good for building positive energy, amplifying protections, and adding layers of defense to your energy system. It's a good way to get to know your deities and spirits as well. While this may be a good tool for building a relationship with your spirits, please remember to not fall into the habit of doing this and becoming too dependent. Deities and Spirits are there to help guide you. They are teachers and sometimes will become your friend -but like all other mentors they want what is best for you so that you will grow. This includes being able to protect yourself without aid at some point as you progress in your metaphysical workings.

Affirmations are about bringing positivity to yourself as a person.

Simple affirmations include:

"I allow only positivity around me."

"My vibrations grow stronger every day."

When writing out an affirmation try to keep it in the first-person perspective and stay in the present. Do not sink into the past and think about all the negatives. Affirmations are about all the positives one possesses. Adding this right after a prayer is a good way to boost relationships with your spirits.

Psychic Defense Technique Nine – Crystals

Crystals can be used for various workings and amplify your protections or work to protect you on their own accord. Many crystals are already attuned to certain metaphysical properties and each stone holds its own meaning. There is even a way to use crystals and lay out a grid for bigger spell workings or intentions. To provide some great examples; black tourmaline and most obsidian stones are great for protection aid and are good choices for crystal grids when seeking out protection and absorbing negative energies away from you. Most crystal grids rely on a bigger crystal that is central to the rest being used because they act as a generator giving power to the grid itself and amplifying the other crystals within the line up. A lot of people use clear quartz for generator crystals, however if this type of crystal is under too much strain or absorbs too much negative energies they are known to chip and crack. Darker stones are your friend.

Psychic Defense Technique Ten – Sounds

Using sound as a means of defense can be effective and primarily it is used more so as a warning or deterrent within an outer to middle layer of your shields. Sound distracts and thus scatters a target's focus on the original intent. With this obviously there is a source of irritation present rather than direct counter attacks.

Various sounds that can be used are high pitched ringing, alarming bells, constant chatter of people as background noise, nails on a chalk board, etcetera.

Which sound you choose for yourself is entirely up to your imagination and as always one method may not work for all attackers.

At times, this is a temporary idea for whenever you need to craft your shield and get other layers up.

[thoughtportal]

A group of bacteria has proved adept at destroying the ultratough carbon-fluorine bonds that give “forever chemicals” their name. This finding boosts hopes that microbes might someday help remove these notoriously pervasive pollutants from the environment.

Nearly 15,000 chemicals commonly found in everyday consumer products such as pizza boxes, rain jackets and sunscreens are recognized as perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFASs. These chemicals can enter the body via drinking water or sludge-fertilized crops, and they have already infiltrated the blood of almost every person in the U.S. Scientists have linked even low levels of chronic PFAS exposure to myriad health effects such as kidney cancer, thyroid disease and ulcerative colitis.

Current methods to destroy PFASs require extreme heat or pressure, and they work safely only on filtered-out waste. Researchers have long wondered whether bacteria could break down the chemicals in natural environments, providing a cheaper and more scalable approach. But carbon-­fluorine bonds occur mainly in humanmade materials, and PFASs have not existed long enough for bacteria to have specifically evolved the ability to digest them. The new study—though not the first to identify a microbe that destroys carbon-fluorine bonds—provides a step forward, says William Dichtel, a chemist at Northwestern University who studies energy-efficient ways to chemically degrade PFASs.

To identify a promising set of bacteria, the study’s authors screened several microbe communities living in wastewater. Four strains from the Acetobacterium genus stood out, the team reported in Science Advances. Each strain produced an enzyme that can digest caffeate—a naturally occurring plant compound that roughly resembles some PFASs. This enzyme replaced certain fluorine atoms in the PFASs with hydrogen atoms; then a “transporter protein” ferried the fluoride ion by-products out of the single-celled microbes, protecting them from damage. Over three weeks most of the strains split the targeted PFAS molecules into smaller fragments that could be degraded more easily via traditional chemical means.

By directly targeting carbon-fluorine bonds, the Acetobacterium bacteria partially digested perfluoroalkyls, a type of PFAS that very few microbes can break down. Even so, these Acetobacterium strains could work only on perfluoroalkyl molecules that contain carbon-carbon double bonds adjacent to the car­bon-fluorine ones. These “unsaturated” perfluoroalkyl compounds serve as building blocks for most larger PFASs; they are produced by chemical manufacturers and also emerge when PFASs are destroyed via incineration.

Scientists had previously demonstrated that a microbe called Acidimicrobium sp. strain A6 could break down carbon-fluorine bonds and completely degrade two of the most ubiquitous perfluoroalkyls. This microbe grows slowly, however, and requires finicky environmental conditions to function. And researchers do not yet fully understand how this bacterial strain does the job.

The Acetobacterium lines target a separate group of PFASs, and the team hopes to engineer the microbes to either improve their efficiency or expand their reach—potentially to more perfluoroalkyls. Lead study author Yujie Men of the University of California, Riverside, imagines the microbes would perform best in combination with other approaches to degrade PFASs. The range of chemical structures in these compounds means “a single lab cannot solve this problem.”

Any future commercial use of the microbes would face numerous hurdles, including breakdown speed and replicability outside of the lab, but Men looks forward to seeing how far her team can push the technique. “We’re paving the road as we go,” she says with a laugh.

[uboatheflesh]

How hard would you say getting into making industrial and/or noise music is for a new artist?

Love your music sososo much 🖤🖤🖤

it depends on the type you want to make and what your previous experience is. i make fairly detailed, 'hi-fi' stuff and play numerous instruments - and sing. Some songs can take years to finish (say Golden Flower) and I have been doing music in some way since I was a kid and I have been using the Uboa handle for 14 years. I've also been playing guitar for 24 years and have 'music autism', meaning my brain is always obsessively writing or thinking about music 24/7, and can play back music in my head on command. What I do isn't easy and is actually quite distinct from a lot both noise and industrial because of borrowing elements from various other genres (sludge metal, folk, ambient...) so I have to learn a wide variety of techniques and it can be difficult to find reference tracks for mixing. I always feel like a bit of an imposter as i'm such a jack of all trades in so many things, and am generally worse at some instruments compared to people who specialise in them. Finally, I am a maximalist and tend to obsessively overthink music - but I don't necessarily think this a good thing. I am slowly learning less is more, and that showing off doesn't necessarily produce the best art. However, making more 'traditional' noise music - especially the more raw stuff - goes by the "easy to do, difficult to master" rule. It's quite democratic in that way. Get a bunch of noise pedals, a mixer, a mic and audacity and if you have a clear vision the bar for entry is quite low to produce something fantastic. With noise, context is key - put attention into album art, song titles, lyrics and treat every aspect of what you do as part of the artform. As long as you enjoy or find meaning in what you do, everything else is secondary.

[selfindulgentpixies]

Slight Suguru Geto x Gn!reader.

Edit: Okay so this is extremely self inserty and indulgent. It involves the cursed technique I head canon for myself in jjk. I've gone back and done some editing to bring it more up to my current standards. This part is relatively unchanged and just has some corrections in grammar. I love this series dearly and I hope you all love it too

The hands that hold you

chapter 1/prologue: Not alone

When Yaga tells Geto that he’d like for him to keep an eye on one of the new first years, he's not sure what to think at first. He's not sure how to feel when he learns you also have the ability to absorb curses and use them. The method is different, as is the ultimate application. You can't summon them but instead turn them into weapons. You also don't have to swallow down the toxic sludge of them which admittedly causes some envy to flare up in his chest. An ugly emotion that he squashes.

It's not until he's tasked with taking you on a mission with him that he realizes that the suffering that your cursed techniques cause the two of you may be different but it's there all the same. He watches as you clutch the orb of cursed energy in your hand, watches as veins like the darkest ink rise on your skin, spreading from your hand, up your arm, and even peek up above the collar of your uniform along your neck. He watches as your posture hunches slightly, teeth grit as you curl around your arm until the orb has been fully absorbed, your arm darkens in a way that distinctly reminds him of pictures of frost bite he'd seen on documentary once.

You're so focused on your arm that you don't even notice another curse making its way quickly toward you. Before it can get close enough to harm you Geto's already destroyed it.

He walks over to you and your eyes refocus looking up at him, glancing from him to the twitching remains of the curse that had been heading your way. You apologize to him, maybe for dropping your guard or for being weak in front of him, perhaps it's both. "S-sorry.." the words fall past your lips and he wants to catch them and put them back.

Carefully he reaches for your arm, mindful to see if you react in pain. You stubbornly keep your face neutral as he takes your arm to look at it. "You don't need to apologize," he says with a furrowed brow and you're taken aback a bit by the gentleness in his tone. Sure he wasn't as overtly rude as his best friend but you'd still been prepared for some sort of commentary on your moment of weakness. " Is this normal for you when you absorb curses?"

"Yeah... it usually clears up in a couple hours, sometimes less depending on the curse. Nothing to worry over." He looks at the tight smile you're giving him, wonders how much the ability actually hurts you as you put on a brave face in front of him.

He thinks in that moment that he understands why Yaga wanted him to keep an eye on you. That maybe the two you could find some sort of understanding in each other that you can't find among other sorcerers. There's comfort in knowing you're not entirely alone.

Edit: this is officially part one of a series!

master list

@nanamikentoseyebags @strawberrystepmom @gojoest

@icy-spicy (Since i know you also love him)

[deusvervewrites]

Convergence events,summer training camp snippet.

“Not bad,” Mrs. Tsutsumi says. “Again.”

Mina’s muscles are already sore—sorer than they’ve ever been since her transformation—and heavy sweat coats her body.

“Right!” she says between gasps of air, raising her shaky arms in front of her. Her Quirk, stretched thin from frequent use, protests her calling on it again, but she’s not going to give up now.

With that thought, a second wind hits her, and what she expected to be the last gasp of her Acid is instead enough to fire off a proper acid bullet. The grey sludge rockets down the range, several inches to the side of the target, and slams into the rock wall, eating another tunnel into the stone.

Ah. Shoot.

Mina stumbles back, collapsing in a heap.

“Damn it…!” she says, tears and sweat forcing her eyes closed. “I didn’t—not even once!”

“That’s true,” says Mrs. Tsutsumi, “But that wasn’t… the whole point of all this. Remember what we told you on the first day?”

“Yeah, yeah,” she waves, “Work on our Quirks by pushing them past the limit, I remember. I still wanted to hit the target!”

“Given that was a new technique you’ve been trying out, your accuracy is actually rather remarkable.”

[squirmydads-creations]

Spawn handler skinks for the spawn of Chotec. These were fun little guys, I didn't really try any new techniques, as the creative part of my brain is still digging itself out of sludge. Mainly I just concentrated on keeping them clean and doing good highlights, since I often skip highlights.

[wayofcloudbrain]

Lotus Pier Games (a headcanon)

Back when they were kids in Lotus Pier, Jiang Cheng and Wei Wuxian used to have a game called “Resentful Energy”. The game was invented by Wei Wuxian, as he would never let anyone forget, having always styled himself as a great inventor.

Jiang Cheng secretly thinks that there isn’t that much to the invention – if anything, Wei Wuxian can take credit for the name, and the rest is just a glorifiied making a mess. But he does have to admit that it is great fun.

Resentful Energy, the game, consists in diving to the bottom of the stagnant ponds around Lotus Pier, down to where the mud and sludge collects. That mud is sometimes a greenish brown, but sometimes it is magnificently, surprisingly black. It's that type of mud that you have to find to play Resentful Energy: You have to dive down, grab a handful, carry as much of it as possible to the surface and then you make your attack, hurling it at people with great force, aiming for a huge splat.

Important rules of the game include a) whatever Wei Wuxian thinks of on the spot and b) never ever letting Yu Ziyuan catch you at it (if you are attached to the idea of keeping your legs in working order). Special techniques include letting yourself sink to the bottom, digging your feet in to catch some mud between your toes and then shoving your feet AND the rotten-egg scented black goo into the face of your unsuspecting shidi, demonstrating great capacity for evil.

There are also less martial variations of the game, particularly for times where your limbs are already sore from training or punishment or growing pains and the summer heat is sweltering so you really wouldn’t deliberately seek out more physical activity other than lazily rolling around on the pier in advanced states of undress and occasionally toppling into the water to cool off or to procure a quick snack of fresh lotus seeds. For that purpose, Wei Wuxian invents the version of the game that consists of turning your shixionng into a fierce corpse by drawing craggly veins on his face and chest with your finger dipped into a reserve of Resentful Energy heaped on the edge of the pier.

Jiang Cheng thinks this one’s a little weird, and it becomes weirder the older they get, so he complains about it a lot, but even though they’re fifteen and almost grown up and should be beyond such silliness, Wei Wuxian is relentless, and okay, maybe it’s actually a kind of calming activity … meditative, similar to but less stressful than calligraphy. The mud dries into astonishing sparkly silver lines that stand out against Wei Wuxian’s brown skin, and habitually, Jiang Cheng will point out that it doesn’t look that much like the blackened veins of a fierce corpse, but he will grumblingly submit when Wei Wuxian tells him to lie down and let him paint the same lines on him.

If Jiang Cheng actually thinks it feels kinda nice, if half the reason he always struggles against it at first is that he thinks it may feel a little too nice, in fact, then that’s absolutely nobody’s business. Probably not even his own.

[captainofthedauntless]

More Rise!Nardo thoughts.

Just thinking about how he'd abuse the fuck out of his portal abilities with you. Always offering to be your "ride" when you need to go somewhere, using it as an excuse to see you for just a minute when you're busy. The classic you're upset? oh lol i just Happened To Pop By A Shop, Here, Your Favorite Snacks.

He'd show up in a heartbeat to help you move furniture, or to help you cook, or to help you speed clean because your aunt's in town all of a sudden and you cannot let her know you live like this.

You don't think anything of it, really. Because it's effortless for him. It's like getting up from the couch for how much energy it takes him.

But it gets to be a habit.

It's a pattern.

You text him after a long day, once, and you say something about being tired and not wanting to cook, and then he's in your kitchen with a crackle of blue energy and a bag of take out and a hoodie he pulls off less than five minutes later, passing it to you with an easy shrug and a nonchalant smile. Lot warmer in here than the lair, he says breezily, as though it isn't your favorite of his hoodies. As though it was an accident.

He does that a lot, you realize. Act as though calculation is coincidence.

And then you can't stop realizing it.

It's not just the portals.

It's everywhere.

He's everywhere.

He's spending enough time at your place that he just leaves his stuff there when he gets a mission call, and you end up with a stack of books and comics that you definitely didn't pick up yourself, and instead of mentioning it you just replace his horrifying whatever-he-can-find bookmarks (you find one of your bracelets there, once) with actual ones. People keep giving them to you as freebies- might as well put them to use.

Somehow he knows when you've got big appointments scheduled, and he just casually shows up the night before and complains about how you do your chores and insists on showing you how it's done, and then you blink and he's put away every dish in your kitchen, all while playfully critiquing your organization. And, like magic, you're free to sit down and relax, because evidently your sweeping technique is also tragic, no, no, give me that, you're- you're banished, that's abysmal, and feet off the ground- don't care, it needs swept, go on.

Crazy how his movie night picks are some of your favorites. Great minds think alike, eh?

And then 'huh, Leo's pretty helpful' becomes 'oh, Leo's given me impossible standards' when you wake up in the middle of the night and can't seem to catch your breath from a nightmare. You fumble for your phone and type what's supposed to say are you up? and comes out as ate yii yo? and then your phone is ringing.

He greets you with a you alright? that you think should probably be harsher than it is considering the hour, and when you manage to get the word dream out of your face he follows up with want some company?

And you must say yes, because the next thing you know is a crackle of blue energy (which should look dangerous, should feel dangerous, but looks like a playful wave and feels like home) and nearly six feet of mutant turtle dropping onto your bed, landing with a playful bounce that shakes a little of the dream-scented-sludge from your mind.

Sorry, he says, playful and grinning as he folds his arms behind his head and watches you like he can read your mind, traffic was a nightmare.

And you shake your head, because what the fuck, but you're laughing despite yourself and some of the scrutiny melts from his eyes.

Thought I'd-

Don't say drop by.

I would never, he says, but he doesn't elaborate on what he was going to say, and you draw your own conclusions. Anywhoozles, what's the vibe? Movie? Snack? Field trip to the top of the Great Wall?

And somehow he means it.

He's in your room at four in the morning, still in his pajamas, mask down around his neck, all warm and soft and sleep-shaped, and offering you the world like it was a piece of gum.

And you just stare at him, wondering if you're still dreaming.

[grubloved]

Hello <3 you are a big inspiration to me when it comes to the kitchen. I often struggle to get myself to cook, but I want to learn to love it !! Do you have any advice or words of encouragement ?

its good to think about what your barriers to entry are!! is it too many steps, is it too much forethought, does it not feel worth it for just you alone, do you not wanna wash all those dishes, stuff like that. keeping it simple, making big batches and eating them slowly, doing a little 10-minute meal planning session at the top of the week, inventing small reasons to cook for other people, eating out of the pot you cooked in, or even just calling someone you've been meaning to call while you cook are all good solutions to those kinds of problems & can help u get urself in the kitchen!!

as for learning to love it/be excited about it, i think it makes a huge difference to just put it more in your life! food video work on tiktok and youtube can help get you thinking about things you're excited to make or eat and can help familiarize you with techniques and recipes that might otherwise be intimidating. low-stakes messing around with additions to easy food like boxed mac and cheese or instant noodles can start getting you familiar with what it feels like to season to taste. interacting with stuff that explains How and Why things work (lavender loves j kenji lopez-alt for cooking, i love pancake princess for baking) can help you build up skills to make cooking more rewarding.

i said this once but i will say it again giving yourself opportunities to cook with and for people is just so fun. it instantly makes it feel more "worth it". it feels so good to feed somebody something you made, and cooking is a really good thing to take up your hands and work together on while you hang out! you can slowly ramp up difficulty level if you're making meals. personally fucking love attempting a maybe too complicated baking recipe with a friend as a hangout -- if it goes well, you can both be pleased and proud and have a tasty treat. if it goes bad, you did it together and so it mostly just becomes very funny instead of disappointing (and then you can just eat ice cream). i have had so much fun many times in my life attempting to make macarons but actually ending up with some sort of cookie sludge, or One Big Cookie, or what have you :)

[gibberishquestion]

listening to the original bmc album like. wow ewm’s vocal technique and delivery is actually a lot of fun! if only i could register this (his songs especially) as actual real singing and not auditory sludge i oversaturated my ears with as a 14 year old! its like semantic satiation but permanent and for an entire musical

[golvio]

The interview talking about Ganon’s focus on appearances, yet that not being relevant in-game, is still really weird to me.

Like…what does that mean for Ganon as a character? Is he self-conscious? Is he a perfectionist in terms of both his magic/martial techniques and his appearance? Is he hard on himself when he feels like he isn’t measuring up?

Also, what does that mean about his relationships with other people? The other Gerudo seemed to love him as a celebrity, or at least thought they loved him. Was his focus on appearances purely a manipulative tactic, or was it spawned from him being held to extremely high expectations as future leader the same way Riju was? Or was it both?

Did this focus on appearances have something to do with his thing for puppets, given that he spent most of his life effectively puppeteering his own body to restrain his less dignified emotional expressions? Could that line about “entertaining” Link by presenting himself as the image of what Link wanted have been given additional implications by a writer who genuinely wanted to spend time developing Ganon as a character?

And what was the deal with his demon transformation? When he changed, he seemed…happier? Was it just the power rush lowering his inhibitions and making him more outwardly expressive, or was it genuinely a relief that he didn’t have to fit his old image anymore? How does that tie in with him becoming a rampaging asshole once he returned home? Did he always want to do that, or did he fly into a rage when his people rejected his new form?

What does that mean for his general transformations throughout the game and the BotW arc as a whole? Was the real reason he didn’t really do anything while Link was active because he was ashamed of his diminished appearance and wanted to look beautiful and impressive again?

How did he feel about Draconification? Did the thought of losing his identity altogether and therefore losing control of his presentation and how others perceived him distress him? Does that have any implications for the similar state he was in as Calamity Ganon before he properly awakened? Was being in a state of barely identifiable sludge that couldn’t pull itself together into something coherent, much less beautiful, a kind of personal hell for him?

Did the Calamity ever have moments where he remembered who he used to be, or felt this vague sense that he was supposed to be something else, and experienced a brief twinge of loss over it? Or was it constantly on his soupy, jumbled up mind from the moment he reawakened and reemerged from his true body’s prison? Was that why he was so desperate to build a new body? Is that why he kept making ugly, flawed, and incomplete half-remembered self-portraits to send after his enemies?

You can’t just drop that information in an interview after having done nothing with it in-game! It could’ve been a really interesting throughline for his character arc, maybe even humanized him a little bit even as he ruined everything, or retroactively humanized Calamity Ganon by tying these two versions of himself together thematically, but it was only implemented superficially.

[cutebutalsostabby]

Indescribable

Short fic based on @breannasfluff's finish the prompt challenge :) first part, in italics, is Breanna's work. I wrote the second half.

(Tried to match the style and tense but oops in advance.)

-------

Hyrule wipes his forehead and turns to Wild with hopeful eyes. “So? How did I do?”

Wild’s face does this funny thing where it goes through too many emotions at once and ends up scrunched. “Well…six fires in just three hours is your personal best! The only problem is that we’re making fruit salad…”

“I need to cook the fruit!”

“Well, about that...”

“And then there’s that sauce you wanted me to add to it.”

“Which is…warmed in a pan.”

“And don’t get me started on the whipped cream!”

They both turn to look at the jar which once held cream and now holds…chuchu jelly. And maybe some butter.

It’s at this moment that Legend walks in and freezes, sniffing the air. “Do I even want to know?”

“Ledge!” Hyrule grabs a spoonful of something from his bowl and holds it out. “Taste this and tell me what you think!”

The veteran is dubious, but at a nod from Wild, accepts the spoon. Then his face scrunches up because it tastes–

Indescribable.

Indescribable is the word that comes to mind.

Sweet, innocent Hyrule is staring at him with bright, hopeful, expectant eyes, and yet the only word that comes to mind is "indescribable".

No, Legend tells himself sternly, he should at least try to describe the situation happening inside his mouth. If the scattering of pots and pans, the strong odour of burnt cabbages in the air (why?) and the heavy dusting of flour and cinnamon on Hyrule's clothing are any indication, his successor worked hard to produce that deeply indescribable taste. He should at least provide some form of feedback.

Reluctantly, he looks down at the bowl Hyrule is holding, on the off chance that it will offer up some further clues. The ominous sludge inside is a murky, greyish brown, splotched with brackish oil, and right in the middle, Legend thinks he can see...

"Is that... a tentacle?" he asks unwillingly.

Hyrule appears genuinely startled at the question. "Huh?!"

"I think it's a spicy pepper," Wild observes casually from the side. He reaches over with a spare wooden spoon and scoops the offending produce out for inspection. Sure enough, the bright red monster part is revealed and re-identified as a large, whole chilli.

For some reason.

"So?" Hyrule prompts eagerly. "How does it taste?"

"Uh," says Legend. He fishes for relevant words. "Spicy? I guess?"

"You guess?" a crestfallen Hyrule asks.

"Maybe he needs another taste?" Wild suggests sweetly.

And now that Legend's actually looking, he can't help but notice the distinctly vindictive edge to that smile. Obviously, that little shit is in on it. So Legend, of course, does the only thing he can do in that situation.

He lies.

"It's great, Roolie," Legend says cheerfully. "Might be the best thing I've ever tasted. Did Wild teach you how to cook that?"

Hyrule beams. "Yeah!" he replies, in tandem with Wild's emphatic, "No."

They look at each other - Hyrule with confusion and Wild with incredulity.

"Guess Wild still has a lot to learn then," Legend concludes. He claps Hyrule lightly on the shoulder, gives a small, encouraging nod, and rapidly evacuates the premises - a well-trusted problem-solving technique that is yet to fail him, even once.

Left behind to double-guess his scientific method, Hyrule can only glance mournfully at Wild. "That bad, huh?"

"...Let's just start again from the top. Alright?"