#chemical free hand sanitizer

[vyomindiaorganic]

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[nardo-headcanons]

Writing Scientist Characters

this post is mainly an excuse to post a certain list of lab supplies I've made for a friend and infodump about lab work. but feel free to use this as a little resource when writing characters who are scientists and/or lab nerds. who knows, maybe it'll be of use.

General thoughts

Many people think it's a stereotype that scientist or nerd characters talk using complex technical jargon. While that is true to an extent, there actually is some kind of lab jargon. It varies across different labs and fields, but one thing they have in common is that it seeks to simplify, not the other way around.

gelelectrophoresis becomes elpho

microbiology becomes mibi

deioninized water becomes aqua dist

biochemistry becomes BC

sodium hydroxide becomes NaOH

They will probably not call a glass of water "silicon dioxide and h2o".

...and more. feel free to get creative. If you're writing in any other language than English, you can throw in one or two anglicisms as well. Also, most scientists will never gatekeep their work, and in an opposite fashion, will not shut up about it unless you make them. And no, most chemists do not know the entire periodic table by heart, only the most relevant elements. (main groups and a few commonly used metals of the subgroups) When it comes to characters doing the lab work, keep in mind that there are a lot more people involved than the scientist themself. Most scientists are more occupied with paperwork and data analysis, it is the laboratory technicians and assistants that do most of the practical work. They often have more lab experience than the scientists themselves.

Things you can have your lab nerd character do instead of making random chemicals explode

writing a lab report (and losing their mind over excel)

degreasing the glass bevel stoppers

removing the permanent marker from beakers (labeling is important)

complaining about the lack of funding of [their field] research

cleaning glassware

preparing specimen for examination

googling the most basic equations for their report

checking if the glassware and utensil collections are complete

steal single use plastic pipettes from their lab

pirating expensive textbooks

A list of laboratory supplies and utensils you can have them work with

Laboratory general (chem + bio)

Erlenmayer flasks, beakers, precision scales (3 digits), glass rods, metal spoons/spatulas, screw on glass flasks (autoclave compatible) test tubes, stopcock grease, dispensers with sanitizer and hand cream, gas burners, heating plates, eppendorf pipettes, pipette tips, Peleus pipetting aids, squirting bottles, liquid and powder funnels, incubator/drying chamber, round watch glasses, magnet stirring plates.

Microbiology Autoclave, petri dishes, agar plates, innoculation loops (reusable and metal), clean bench, microscope slides, microscope, drigalski-spatula, test tubes with clamping lids

Histology

Paraffin bath, water bath, scalpels, scissors, razor blades, microtomes (rotating microtome, slide microtome and freezing microtome), histocinette, tweezers (various kinds), ocular

Biochemistry

Sequencing robots, eppendorf tubes, gelelectrophoresis chambers, centrifuge

Analytical Chemistry

Photometer, kuvettes, burettes, mass spectro meters, UV bank (for chromatogrophies), pyknometers, melting point meter, porcelain mortars, pH paper, analytical scales (4 or more digits)

Prep Chemistry

Tripod/standing material, miniature lifting platforms, spiral condenser, colon condenser, round bottom flask (three necked and y- necked), filtration material, Separating funnel

Electrical engineering

Electric generators, Soldering iron, Clamp connectors, plugin connectors, ohm’s resistors, plug in lamps, condensers, transistors, PCBs, amperemeters, voltmeters, multimeters

Mechanics

Tripod/standing material, metal hooks, metal rods, mechanical stop watches, marbles, metal springs, Newton meters, laser motion detectors

Optics

Prisma (various kinds), various glass lenses (concave, convex, biconcave, biconvex), laser pointers, optical bench, mechanical iris diaphragm, looking glasses, monochrome lamps, lamp filters

Most used chemicals

Deionized water, ethanol, NaOH, HCl, H3PO4, NaCl (+ physiological NaCl solution 0.9)

Useful websites for writing science stuff

DNA sequence generator (simple): http://www.faculty.ucr.edu/~mmaduro/random.htm

DNA, RNA and protein sequence generator: https://molbiotools.com/randomsequencegenerator.php Annealing temperature calculator: https://tmcalculator.neb.com/#!/main

Medicine name generator: https://www.fantasynamegenerators.com/medicine-names.php Anything chemistry related: https://www.wolframalpha.com/input?i=chemistry

Commonly used software:

MS Excel

Yenka

CASSY Lab

LabView

SpectraLab

LIMS

LaTex

Slack

Scientist friends, feel free to add onto this.

Have fun writing!

[crushedgraham]

A fic with Mercy x fem!Reader where reader is afraid of needles and only agrees to let Angela give her the shot she needs to get instead of her actual doctor? 🤍

You're My Silver Lining

sorry for the really inconsistent updating! im slowly getting through requests but work and school have been taking up most of my time 😞 enjoy :3

Training season and new recruits were right around the corner which was unfortunately your least favorite time of the year. Everything was too hot and busy but above all; you had to get your shots.

Vaccines were a top priority during these times to ward off flu's and sicknesses from the close proximities of trainees working with one another. They were the bane of your existence.

The entire process made you feel sicker than a flu would - everything from the smell of the sanitary products to the gleaming needle. Angela was the only silver lining in these situations. Before you had gotten together, you would always see your appointments as opportunities to get close to the doctor (cough only scheduling when she was free cough cough).

But lately the newer recruits have been getting a little too desperate for her attention, she was completely booked which meant you would have to get through the shots without her support - you were fucked.

Your hands fidgeted, clammy fingertips picking at the paper sheet on the medical bed. The unfamiliar environment made things worse. Once your bond with Angela grew, she started doing your shots in her office because it was a lot cozier. Now you were stuck in the fluorescent lit white room that reeked of chemicals.

The sudden knock on the door makes you jump, your heart skipping a beat as it slowly opens to reveal a younger woman in a long doctors coat.

"Hello Agent L/N, I'll be your doctor for today"

You don't meet her eyes instead focusing on her creased white sneakers. The sound of the doctor's palms rubbing hand sanitizer into the skin and the snap from her latex gloves twists your stomach in knots.

"We're just going to be doing two shots, a general vaccine and the seasonal flu vaccine."

The needle between her fingers approaches you sending ice throughout your veins. Suddenly you're panicking because who was this stranger that's trying to give you a shot? That's a task that only Angela was allowed to do. Then before you know it, you're arm is dodging the needle, twisting your body away from the doctor.

"Angela."

"Excuse me...?"

"I need Angela. Dr. Ziegler."

The doctor gives you a strange look, almost judgmental.

"Dr. Ziegler's unavailable at the moment"

"Please, just tell her my name and that it's an emergency"

The woman huffs and sets the needle back down on the sterilized tray. She throws her gloves into the trashcan and you watch her back as she leaves the room. A wave of relief washes over you and you drum your fingers lightly against the thin bed to pass the time.

When the door flings open and you see Angela with a worried expression your heart skips a beat again but this time it's from love not fear.

"Liebling? What's wrong? Dr. Choi told me there was an emergency. Are you hurt??"

She pushes herself in between your thighs, her hands run across your body to check for any injuries that might've been the cause of your outburst. Blue eyes, gleaming behind her glasses, scan your own worriedly.

"...I guess I got so used to you being there to comfort me that I forgot how scary shots normally are."

Angela gives you a look of disbelief and puts her face in her hands with a small laugh of relief. Then she meets your eyes once more with a more serious look. She pinches at your cheeks with furrowed eyebrows.

"Du hast mich erschreckt! I thought you were hurt!"

You whine and push at her hands in pain.

"I am hurt! Emotionally"

She lets out a chuckle while shaking her head. You watch as she goes through the same process of sanitizing her hands then putting gloves on.

"Righttt"

Angela picks up a new needle and stabs it into a small glass jar, filling it with the vaccine. She approaches you, sparing you a knowing look as you cower away when she places her left hand on your arm.

"Take deep breaths for me Liebling"

Your heart rate kicks up but you close your eyes and follow her instructions. Her hand moves up to caress your face when suddenly a mix of sensations flood your body. Though the sting from the shot doesn't compare to the soft kiss she quickly placed on your lips at the same time.

The doctor discards of the empty needle and returns back between your thighs. You throw your arms around her waist while burying your head into the collar of her coat.

"That was mean!"

Angela laughs while placing her own arms around your neck, mindlessly playing with the ends of your hair.

"But it was a good distraction, no?"

You don't respond because you both know she's right so you just stay there, content to lay in her arms.

"Liebling? We still have another shot to do"

"Ugh no!"

------------------------------------------------------------

Liebling - Darling

Du hast mich erschreckt - You scared me

[spell-bloom]

DON’T FORGET ABOUT VCU

Richmond police assaulted peaceful students at VCU on Monday April 29th, 2024. The students were granted permission by the university to protest. The protest officially started at 5PM EST outside of the Cabell Library, but several students started as early as 8 AM. They called it the Palestine Liberation Zone. Hundreds of VCU students attended.

The protesters' list of demands from VCU. They were not going to leave until the University acquiesced.

At 8:30 PM EST, Richmond police arrived at the protest in full riot gear. The pallets you see were brought in by the students to protect the tents, and themselves, from police. The University called in the police.

At 9PM, the police were armed with riot shields and formed a wall against the students. Students used pallets, signs, and themselves to press back against officers. Some flung empty water bottles against them. One of the officers used pepper spray against the students. You can see several students in the windows in the library.

Another officer pepper spraying students and setting off a tear gas canister.

RPD are claiming that they did not use tear gas.

The police retreated and the students heckle and cheer in victory.

By 9:12 PM, the students were locked inside the library by police for their safety and to prevent any chemicals from entering the building. Here is a video from a student's POV inside of the Cabell Library.

A student being arrested.

Sanitation workers take away tents and anything that was left behind. Laptops, books and other school materials were thrown away in a dumpster or were destroyed. Several students say that officers were snacking on the food that was left behind.

Past midnight, the organizers told the students to go home. The students in the library were officially let go after 4 hours of being stuck there. 13 arrests were made.

This is the University's response:

Is VCU providing safety to students in the form of riot police, pepper spray and tear gas? Almost all of the protesters were students of VCU, with maybe a handful of non-students joining in, according to a student who attends there. If the campus did not want disruption, they should not have given the green light to students protesting peacefully against genocide.

Here are several videos of the students being 'violent'

Sources: linked on twitter and a friend who attends VCU If any students or witnesses want to give more information, please feel free to comment or contact so I can update the post.

[ceruleanmusings]

Big Time Camping - Mickames

in which Gustavo would actually let them go camping.

@partiallypearl @raging-violets @witchofinterest

-----

“Ew ew ew ew ew! I can’t do it! I can’t do it! I can’t do it!”

Chuckling, James took the fishing pole from Mickey’s flailing hands. Her voice carried over the placid lake, echoing off in the distance, briefly blanketing the small slosh of water against the side of their boat. It rocked from side to side, a motion so gentle if it weren’t for the excitement shooting through his veins he would’ve been put to sleep.

“You can rock out on stage every night, but you can’t hook a worm?” James asked.

The disgust written all over Mickey’s face became erased, swiftly replaced with irk.

“That’s different! Playing shows is at least fun. Worms and bugs are wiggly and crawly and slimy and gross!” Her tongue shot out her mouth, propelling a gagging sound from the back of her throat.

He shook his head, running his fingers down the line, keeping the line taught. “You’re such a city girl.”

Her irk shifted to chagrin. Reaching out, she pushed at his shoulder. His smile grew a bit wider at the feeble push. “Excuse you! You’re from Duluth!”

James’ shoulders bounced in a shrug. “Yeah, but it’s right off the lake so if we’re not playing hockey we’re fishing.”

Mickey’s head bobbed from side to side as she repeated his words beneath her breath, taking on a mocking tone. With deft fingers, James grabbed the wiggling worm from the tip of the hook and readjusted it. “The trick is to have a little dirt on your hands. Adds grit so its easier to hold the worm.” See? He could compromise his ideals and comforts for a good reason. (It helped he had a bottle of hand sanitizer on him.)

Holding the pole between his knees, he drew the hook closer to his face and pierced the wiggling worm with the tip of the hook. He pulled the worm further along the hook, lifted its wiggling body, and pierced another section of it. He repeated the process once more and tilted the pole back at her, hook swinging. “There you go.”

She reached out for the pole, her sparkly black fingertips the only part of her hand uncovered from her long sleeves. Her fingers wrapped around the pole, brushing against his, briefly overlapping in her hold. Sparks popped at his fingertips, a crisp zing shooting straight up his arm and nestled deep in his chest. Their eyes locked, and hers, so dark, pulled him in, his heart lurching an extra hard thump. Three pulsating seconds passed, broken by Mickey clearing her throat and tucking her hair behind her ear. “Um, thanks.” She offered up a small smile and turned on her bench, shifting away from their previous knee-to-knee position. A rush of cool wind swooped in, bringing attention to the space between them in such a small boat.

“No problem.” James twisted at the waist, grabbing his own pole to worm the hook. Years of practice allowed him to move through the process without looking, allowing him to take in the picturesque expanse around him: the red, golds, and greens of the changing leaves, the expanse of the old docks, reaching out into the water like greedy hands, the tall trees scraping the underside of the sky saturated in early dawn, of Mickey’s profile as she looked across the vast expanse of water, the natural curl of her lashes, the soft slope of her nose, the seeping into the curve of her cheeks. Uttering a long sigh, he swung his legs around, shifting his sitting position so he straddled the seat. Drawing his arms back, he cast his line in one fluid motion, watching in satisfaction as the hook dipped beneath the surface with barely a drop.

“So you fish a lot?”

Her question nearly made him jump out his skin. He lifted a hand, ready to push it through his hair, only to stop halfway through the motion, remembering the dirt and worm juice clinging to his skin. He never put anything in his hair that wasn’t a Cuda product or something chemical-free he whipped up especially for his fussy locks. Curling his fingers into his palm, he set his fist on his knee, drumming his knuckles.

“Yeah. Back home, it’s some of the only quiet you can get. Being out in the middle of the woods.” He gestured around the scenery, dropping his hand back onto his leg.

“That’s funny.” Her words were still directed to the opposite shoreline; the still heard her loud and clear, the still surface carrying her voice in all direction. “You guys and quiet tend not to go together.”

“Well, no, you’re totally right. But the acoustics out there are amazing; nothing beats being able to hear myself and get instant feedback.”

Mickey faced him, her hair hanging to one side. “You went camping just to practice your singing?”

James nodded. “Papa Garcia used to let me tag along with him and Carlos, so it got me away from shuttling back and forth between my parents. Gave me more time. And the noise also kept the bears away. Not that that stopped Carlos from trying to attract them.”

“Wait, he purposely tried to attract bears?”

“Yeah.”

“Why?”

“He wanted to be able to say he fought a bear and lived.” At the widening to Mickey’s eyes James gave a nonchalant shrug. “It was on his bucket list.”

She snorted. “His list can’t be that long.”

“It’s not. The only other thing on it is eat his weight in beans.” Her eyes closed in a slow blink. He laughed and continued, “He wants to see if he can fart hard enough to power himself through the water like a speedboat.”

“Oh. My. God.”

“I know! It’s, like, the best idea ever!”

“But wouldn’t that scare the fish away?”

“I think it’d make fishing easier because then we only have to scoop the ones that float up to the surface.”

“Gross!” Her admonishment didn’t carry the weight he guessed it was supposed to thanks to the laughter wrapping around the word. Her smile softened as the seconds eased by, expression becoming wistful. She turned her attention back to the horizon before she spoke again, words soft, “My dad used to take us fishing. He told us we were his good luck charm because our noise would scare fish away from the other fishermen, so we could get all the fish. In hindsight he was just getting us out of the house so my mom could sleep after an overnight shift. It took me a while to get into fishing, though. The first few times I went I cried my eyes out.”

“Why? Did you get caught by the hook?”

The gold cuffs and loops in her hair clicked with each turn of her shaking head. “No, because I felt bad for the fish.” Her mouth briefly twisted to the side, and she sniffed. “After that, we’d go out a few times a year. We haven’t been fishing in a while, though. So this is…” Her tongue darted out from between her lips, swiping the bottom one as she nodded her head. “This is nice,” she continued, her words so quiet he wasn’t sure if she was speaking to him or to herself. He didn’t push.

Silence settled over them, like the fog hovering over the dewy grass on the opposite shore. James closed his eyes, taking in the light breeze on his cheeks, the way it ruffled his hair, filled his lungs, carried the crisp and heady scent of leaves and dirt and past rain around his nose. And, for a second, he was transported back to his younger days, eyes bright, cheeks stained red as he and Carlos trailed behind Papa Garcia, swinging sticks from side-to-side, mimicking the older man as he charged ahead with a machete in one hand and a can of bear spray in the other. Back to a time where he could sing his heart out as he watched the sunrise, trying to harmonize with the emerging loons, safe from being reprimanded for interrupting one of his mother’s constant phone calls or for waking up his father’s girlfriend.

He loved singing in his band. He loved traveling the world. But there was something about being out in the middle of nature, away from everything, that called to him and filled him up in a way nothing else could touch. When nature reverberated and pulsed on his same wavelength, it invigorated him and charged him up gave him a good, hard reset, setting him back on track.

A steady, thrumming buzz reached his ears, making his eyes flutter open. His gaze first landed on Mickey, expecting to see her dragging her dog tags against the beaded chain of her necklace only to instead be socked in the stomach by her gaze pinning him, so open and earnest, eyes lit up, like silvery strands of a moonbeam hung suspended in the dark depths. He gulped down the lump that had formed in his throat, all sound rushing back to him when his eyes finally trailed down her extended arm, finger pointing to his side. To his bending fishing pole.

Oh, right. They were fishing.

He grabbed the pole, grasping the rapidly turning handle on the reel. It jerked to a stop, the top of his pole bending beneath the strain of the fish pulling against him. James blew out a breath, relaxed his shoulders, set his jaw, and got to work reeling the fish in. it had no chance against him; all the time he spent in the gym wasn’t just to make himself look good. (Okay, not completely.) The fish swam and tugged but James held on tight, pulling back, dragging the fish beneath the water. He knew the right time to pull back and the right time to turn the handle, reeling the fish in. Within moments he spotted it thrashing just beneath the surface, its scales reflecting the growing morning light.

Its tail broke through the water, sending water droplets cascading through the air, splashing to and fro. He glanced at Mickey over his shoulder. He knew he didn’t need to check on her, she already had the net in her hands, ready and prepared. She always seemed to be on his wavelength, or he on hers. Grounding his feet in the boat, James pulled on the line, leaning backwards. The fish leapt into the air, a final chance at escape, only to land in the net Mickey thrust out over to the side. Shifting hand over hand, she pulled the pole closer until the net sat secure in the boat.

“You got it! Way to go!” Mickey cheered. She held out her hand and James reached out to strike her palm, the two quickly going through the motions of their secret handshake which involved slapping the back of their hands, exploding wiggling fingers, and what could look like to outsiders their hands doing a mini wave. But it wasn’t the feeling of her soft hands brushing against his but the look of pride in her eye that had him sitting taller. If he were a peacock he’d be strutting around, showing off his feathers, preening from where they sat in their boat all the way back to the shore. “I’ve never caught one this big.”

James scoffed, resting a forearm on his knee as he leaned forward and, with his voice dropping an octave, said, “You’re fishing with James Diamond; I don’t do anything small.”

Mickey lips twitched and she made a show of looking around them. “’Cept for this boat, huh?” She sucked air in through her teeth and said in a singsong, “Seems kinda small to me…”

“Hey!” James protested, voice jumping back up a view notches. “I had no control over this! If it were up to me, I’d get a yacht!”

“Now you’re just overcompensating.”

“No…I’m not…because I totally know what that means,” James spluttered. Quickly recovering, he continued, “Besides, I figured you’d like it on a yacht. There’s a lot of space and you can be alone.”

She blinked. “Who said anything about me wanting to be alone?”

Quickly baiting another hook, he drew back his arm and cast his line. It landed against the water with a small plop! “Uhhh…your entire personality?”

Her eyes tightened in a squint, and she clicked her tongue. Gaze shifting off to the side, back over to the water, her smile slowly faded like the dew burning off as the sun rose. James let out a quiet breath. Leave it to him to contort himself enough to stick his feet in his mouth. He could talk to girls and knew all the right things to say to them and yet, somehow, with Mickey, he tended to say the wrong thing. The worst part was he knew why: Mickey wasn’t just a girl, she was the girl. The rest of them, it didn’t matter what he said because they didn’t matter. Not really. Not like her. The last thing he wanted was to hurt her, but then it was still part of the list wasn’t it? “James, just because I want to be alone sometimes doesn’t mean I want to be alone.”

His eyebrows pinched and he titled his head, studying the side of her face. “I don’t get it.”

A splash gulped against the water. Flurried wings flapped overhead. Leaves shuffled and danced on the wind. Her southern accent came back soft, like the fuzz on a peach. “I like the quiet, but only when it’s my choice.” She looked at him again, cheek squished against her laced fists, elbows propped up on her knees. “I don’ wanna sit in the quiet ‘cause people put me there.”

“Oh.” He was a total jerkface. “I’m sorry.”

“What are you apologizing for? You didn’t do anything.”

“I mean, just from what I said. Before.”

Sitting up straight, she slowly shook her head. “I didn’t take that personally. Not from you. I never do.”

“Oh.” Geeze, he was really loving that word today. “Well, then sorry for disturbing your peace,” he said with a bouncing shrug of his shoulders. At the unasked question settling in her eyes, he continued with a little laugh, “Me and the guys. We kinda crashed into your quiet.”

She scoffed, dragging a hand through her hair, shifting it from one side to the other in a pinched clump. “You say that like it’s a bad thing.” She curled in on herself again, fingers caging around her mouth, one arm holding across her stomach.

“Well, I mean, we wouldn’t have dragged you out here otherwise.”

“Okay, for one”—she removed her hand from her mouth to lift a finger, “the only reason I’m out here is because I didn’t wanna deal with Carlos crying because Gustavo would only let you guys go camping if we came too. And two!”—she extended a second finger; the sunlight caught the thin silver band wrapped around it—“this…hasn’t…been…entirely…terrible.” Elation swelled his chest and fed his smile, making her quickly amend, “I still don’t like that I’m sleeping on the ground and I still don’t like a bear can eat me at any minute and I still don’t like all the sweating and the bugs and the gross. But…camping isn’t all bad with the right company.” Leaning over, she pressed her finger into his bicep; a firework bloomed under his skin at her touch. “Present company included.”

“So…you’d come camping with us again?”

She shrugged. “Any fin is possible.” Her eyes lit up and her tongue poked out between her teeth that spread in a smile so fast he was surprised her face didn’t crack. Laughing, she flashed finger guns his way and, a couple seconds later, it dropped.

His jaw slacked. “Oh my god.”

“What’s the matter?” she asked with a teasing wiggle of her head. “Can’t do any betta?”

“Stop it.”

“Are you trying to gill-t me?”

His shoulders shook in a suppressed laugh. God, she was adorable. “Mickey…”

“I’m so sorry, I can’t pass up the oppor-tuna-ty.”

“You’re ridiculous.”

“I can’t help that they’re kraken me up!”

He pushed up his sleeves, bunching them up by his elbows. “Okay, we’re going back to shore before I throw you in.”

“I’d just call for kelp.”

His head lolled backwards, and he rolled his eyes beneath her proud, gleeful cackle. Grasping their poles, they reeled their empty lines back in. They didn’t need much more fish anyway, the last one he managed to catch brought the morning total up to six. And there were still a few left over from the day before they could add for breakfast. The portions may be a bit smaller but Carlos and his black hole for a stomach would get over it. Gripping the handles of the oars, James gave a strong pull, directing the boat back to shore in even, fluid strokes. All his time at the gym paid off; his form was perfect and, in no time, he had the boat grounded back on the shore.

James jumped off the bow, boots landing with a crunch against the soft bed of shells, rocks, and sand. Turning on his heel, he flexed his fingers. Immediately, Mickey tossed over the poles which he stabbed the handles into the sand and then caught the old coffee can of worms she’d launched the minute she picked it up, chuckling all the while. Next, she passed over the tackle box, first aid kit, the net with their fish, and the bag of clippers, pliers, and cutters. He set the bag aside and held out his hand. “Okay, your turn.”

She lifted an eyebrow. “I’m not throwing myself at you.”

He grinned. “Not yet,” he replied, throwing a wink in for good measure. He couldn’t help it, it just came out and it was so worth the force behind her heaving sigh. Still, she moved from the stern to the bow, stepping over the thick plank seats with high steps due to her boots, the lip of which dusted her knees with each step. She rose to step on the bow, only to pitch forward when her boot caught the lip. James lunged forward, reaching out his arms, grasping her around the waist and pulled her close to him, uttering a soft oof at their collision. He swung her around, legs slicing through the air until he set her against the ground, hands shifting to her sides, steadying her. Her grip slid from his neck to his shoulders to his upper arms on her descent, fingers digging through the fabric of his sleeves.

They stopped all at once, heads and bodies close together, so close her shaky breath dance across his lips and every heaving, surprised breath squeezed out the miniscule space between them, push and pull, like the water reaching and retreating by her heels. And they stood, locked together, looking at each other, wrapped in fog and sunshine.

“Told you so,” he whispered, their faces so close he saw the twitch of every little muscle in her face, his reflection in her eyes, the tremble to her mouth. His chance was right there, he just had to take it. He was close. So close.

All he had to do was inch forward a little…just a little more…

“Hey guys!”

James was gonna murder Carlos.

The threat flashing in his eyes and the clench to his jaw did nothing to deter Carlos’s jaunty approach, nor the large smile on his face, not even when Mickey jerked away from James, putting space between them so fast James was surprised she hadn’t set the ground on fire. “You should’ve seen it!” Carlos continued, “we went searching for more firewood—"

“—And you got lost?” James filled in for him, not caring a bit that his voice had taken on an unrestrained shrill. Maybe if he widened his eyes Carlos would get the hint. But of course he wouldn’t, it was Carlos; a hint to him would have to be a brick to the head to normal person.

“No. Duh, or else I wouldn’t be talking to you.” Carlos made a face. “We found out there’s treasure near here! Well, Sammi says its something called geo-catching. Whatever that is. But it’s treasure! We’re gonna go find it later. Wanna come with?”

“Sounds fun.” James saw the tight smile on Mickey’s face, the stiff way she held her head. “But you have to help me make breakfast first.”

“Deal!” Carlos slipped between them, aiming for the net of flopping fish. “James, wanna help?”

“Nope.” James pressed his lips together, his fingers curling to fists at his side briefly before letting out the breath building in him. “I’m gonna go for a run.”

“Again?” Carlos scoffed. The word had barely left Carlos’ mouth when James took off, his steps a little stuttered due to the soft dirt and the boots on his feet. Maybe he should have changed out of them. Oh well, he was committed at this point, and they’d be a good challenge. Plus, he could imagine stepping on Carlos’ face a few times for blocking him and ruining the moment and breaking bro code. “So how was fishing?”

He hadn’t run far enough; he still heard her answer: “It was…interesting.”

Interesting. He’d take that.

[badboyfriends]

I joined an frc team

-GRABS YOU-

hello and welcome to the first day of the rest of your life . first robotics competition CHANGES YOUR BRAIN CHEMICALS

you want to survive? LETS DO THIS

1: NO MATTER WHAT try and stick it out. Get the grades, get the hours, get the permission to travel to at least ONE competition- especially one that stays in a hotel, since I know some teams will skip out on hotels for events close to them. I don't think ANYONE, in any scenario, should say "this isn't for me" until they go and experience one full event.

2: if you don't use deodorant YOU WILL BE EXECUTED . no matter what your job is, there is going to be at least ONE point throughout the day where you are shoulder-to-shoulder with someone . if theres a time to be self conscious its then . use Convention rules as reference

3:you will be tempted to fucking come out of the closet at least at one point . you do NOT KNOW how much it hurt to skip out on a cool write-your-own-pronouns pin because i refused to use she/her and wasn't comfortable writing any. proceed with caution as you see fit.

4: are you surprised by number four? YOU SHOULDNT BE the women. ohh the women are so pretty. my entire high school (aka: less than a year ago) was me being OUTRAGOUSLY STUPID whenever i saw a fem presenting person . oh my god. oh my god they are all so hot. and then those hot students become hot volunteers and alumni and the gay never leaves. there was a trans woman mentor at one competition she rocked we talked with her for like an hour

5: if your team. goes to far competitions. TAKE A BLANKET AND PILLOW. new kids sometimes do NOT get this memo. do it. get silly with it, to what your team permits. our team, being older than me myself, gave up . . most rules. involving the bus. for better or worse.

6: bring a hoodie. i dont care where you go. bring not just a blanket, but a hoodie. so worse comes to worse you can put it on the floor and sleep. that was a fun 8 hour bus ride.

7: if you have a remotely decent team. you will be killed on site if you cuss at a competition. one kid's "bad" or immature behavior can lead to your entire team being disqualified to any award not related to robot performance.

8: LEARN HOW TO EAT AT LEAST ONE BASIC FOOD. this one might be silly but it could've killed me (dramatic). eat pizza. even if you have to take off the cheese just. figure out a way its worth it. FIND SOMETHING TO EAT FOR BREAKFAST. at least one breakfast food, for if you're at a hotel that serves you. experiment a little. find something that works for you.

9: exercise what free stuff you take with caution . i have probably ten-fifteen pounds of buttons and pins, and i do not. genuinely do not. think thats an exaggeration.

10: headphones . soft, subtle earbuds. battery packs. and a BACKPACK. my senior year, i composed myself of:

fanny pack, attached to it my wallet which had a buckle, so i could easily access my money. a change purse also attachable, so i have somewhere for coins obviously.

reusable, collapsing drinking cup

a folded up draw-string bag, for hoodies, or eccentric amount of free stuff

one to two battery packs with a charger. if you have friends (or want to make some), consider having other types of chargers too!

wall outlet plug, incase i need to charge at a venue

miniature hairbrush

hand sanitizer

gum. a great way to make friends

a folded up sandwich bag with various medicines, and a piece of paper that describe which each medicine is (ibuprofen, anxiety meds, etc).

i genuinely considered wearing two fannypacks at the same time. also, tying your hoodie around your waist for extra storage works too.

AND MY PERSONAL FAVORITE HACK:

tampon box . your venue bans outside food or drink? tampon box with pads and tampons on top. contraband inside. almost NEVER looks. better to put it with team stuff like scouting equipment and spirit gear but a worthy inclusion. Same goes for if you have a backpack with pockets!

put food/drinks at the bottom, menstrual products on top. doesn't matter what you present as. lie. say your girlfriend needed it since she doesn't carry a bag with her to competitions. putting SOFT STUFF that mumbles wrappers crinkling also helps, like an extra hoodie. though I personally wouldn't matter to much about that, since competitions are LOUD especially when you're entering the venue when the doors first open.

a lot of the time though, security aren't too bothered. especially if you dont make it obvious.

this is my first robotics season as a college student. i don't like my team enough to go back, but god. god do i fucking love this program.

[girlfriendsofthegalaxy]

tuesday again 6/6/2023

two things to frontload:

if you have good vibes to send off in service of me getting a livable apartment in the greater houston tx area i would be most grateful, bc the hunt ain't fuckin goin too fuckin great

go play ABZÛ

listening

soul bossa nova by quincy jones bc it popped up on my discover weekly. i can only assume spotify recced this to me for bossa nova reasons bc i have been categorically ignoring austin powers my entire life and intend to continue on in this fashion.

it is a bop tho.

-

reading

when i wrote the pinned post for this blog i settled on "a common throughline in Shit What I Like is understanding how and why systems work" bc i hadn't yet listened to Well There's Your Problem, a podcast with slides about engineering disasters and systemic failures, and "OSHA aficionado" is shorter but less snappy than "WTYPP fan". anyway when i think "chemical spill" i do not generally think "hand sanitizer spill", and when i think "how do i get rid of all this unsellable poorly made hand sanitizer made in the early days of the pandemic" i do not immediately leap to "well i'll just dump pallets in this parking lot and warehouse and surely it won't spill and/or explode bc hand sanitizer is a product that makes you safer".

ArtNaturals was, at that point, not on the [FDA warning] list. Its sanitizer, labeled with a tasteful, millennial-friendly design that said it was vegan and infused with jojoba oil, was marketed as “safe for kids” and “a great bulk hand sanitizer pack for parents and teachers.” At least two school districts on the West Coast had purchased the sanitizer to distribute to students, in addition to two Ivy League universities. Then, in March 2021, a year into sales, an independent lab in Connecticut called Valisure announced that it had found benzene in the company’s sanitizer. Benzene, a widely used industrial chemical derived from petroleum, can be absorbed through the skin and is known to be a risk factor for leukemia.

came across it bc my rss feed really wanted me to subscribe to longreads (no), but this one did catch my eye as i was checking to make sure the site still wasn't for me

-

watching

watching this was a unexpectedly funny experience bc i recognized one of the backing instrumentals as a previous tuesdaypost song, which kind of felt like solving a mystery book on chapter three bc u knew an obscure fact about eels. this documentary came out in nov 22 and the song was one of this past feb's tuesdaysongs so i can only assume the spike in popularity from the documentary propelled it onto my discover weekly playlist??? the internet is a series of algorithmic tubes &tc

this is a tremendous work, as a documentary/history/archival effort/piece of art. it made me tear up. there's a very lovely sequence about memory and legacy that got me thinking a lot again about how i would like to be remembered. ive rewritten this section four times, when usually i don't redraft the tuesdaypost much at all. boils down to: complex and weird topic to talk about as an orphan, i am reluctant to be any more emotionally vulnerable than i absolutely have to during this time of great cross-country change and moving upheaval.

i appreciated how this was not tearjerker webby bait, which would have made it feel very hollow and embittered me even more during a week i am already predisposed to hate humanity. instead, mr perjurer is simply very good at his job (being an ethical documentarian)

-

playing

one game i really loved and one game i really hated, so it goes.

despite religiously downloading the epic store free game of the week bc i have a reminder written in my planner, i never fucking remember to actually look at what i have in that library.

ABZÛ genuinely healed my heart during a very unpleasant weekend.

i don't use this as a recs platform except for this one time when i am cashing in all my chips. go play ABZÛ, it takes like an hour and a half.

all you need to know about it you can get from the cover art. it is not a hard game and it is not a horror game. i went in totally blind and the less you know about this game the better. i was delighted nearly every minute. every time i saw an ammonite i felt like i was seeing an old friend. there are SO many clever game design choices i want to talk about. message me after you play this. i said "of COURSE IT WAS AUSTIN FUCKING WINTORY ON THE SCORE" during the credits. what an absolutely goddamn perfect little jewel of a game.

AGAIN: go play ABZÛ.

i also played Call of the Sea, bc it was in my epic library and i wanted something fast and oceanic to continue the high of ABZÛ.

Call of the Sea did not continue the high of ABZÛ. i think this team carefully and thoughtfully sidestepped several of the usual issues is making something Lovecraftian but fell into the rest of the pits. eg i liked that they had Polynesian culture consultants, but from an interview it seemed like it was limited to a one-day crash course? i am deeply grateful this isn't a dead-wife game and the female protagonist has a great deal of agency, but she's still a rich white lady from boston trekking about the Tahitian islands commenting on primitive structures, which made me suck air in through my teeth at many points. there is an "ancient slave culture" thread that never actually resolves. i really wish it resolved. the game overall is in a very weird place, trapped between the norms and mores of the early 40s and the 2020s. you have Got to commit to one or the other.

the overall vibe is very polished for a first game. general vibes are Firewatch but puzzle-adventure. the lighting is a little too dynamic and was very distracting throughout. due to this studio's age (new) and odd location (spain) and how their debut game came out (took a year and a half to make, debuted on gamepass) i understand why this game exists the way it does from a marketing and industry standpoint and why they favored visual polish and art style over everything else. it's still annoying bc it is so close to an interesting game.

the twist particularly infuriated me as a chronically ill person, spoilers for the twist behind rot13

gur gjvfg vf gung Abenu gur cebgnt vf frpergyl n "Qnhtugre bs Pguhyuh", naq ure puebavp cebterffvat gb grezvany vyyarff vf op fur'f ba Rnegu naq abg va gur Urnirayl Ernyzf jvgu Pguhyh jurer fur orybatf. guvf frg bss fbzr fvyrag nynez oryyf gb zr nf n puebavpnyyl vyy crefba, op vg vf Fb fvzvyne gb gur Arj Ntr "vaqvtb puvyqera" pbaprcg. n terng qrny bs zrqvpny nohfr naq abezny nohfr fheebhaqf guvf pbaprcg. guvf ernyyl fbherq gur raqvat sbe zr

-

making

fallow week. if it isn't moving-related it isn't happening, and even then a lot of moving-related things are grinding on painfully slowly

[aikoiya]

Plant Rights Lunatics

OmG... I just... my head hurts just thinking about this...

I just heard that there are actual studies out there... where people are trying to convince us... that plants feel pain & that they are intelligent & that we shouldn't eat them...

...

...

What does that mean for vegans? What? They just shouldn't eat at all? W-! What do these idiots suggest we do????

I...

I can literally feel myself losing braincells...

I just... why not just say that you want humanity to die & get it over with if you're gonna go this far? Like, give up the damn game & just admit that you're anti-human!

This is basically what not having balance in one's beliefs looks like. It's like how feminism these days is just being anti-man. Now being cruelty free is anti-human & this just makes me so upset!

I just... there should be a limit to the desire to reduce pain! A limit to the amount of 'compassion' that one has. Life is pain! You can't live your life without it!

In order for something to live, something ELSE must DIE!! That's how life WORKS!

These people even made suggestions like only eating fruits that have fallen off the plant & what basically amounts to roadkill!!

Apparently, only eating food that's fallen off the vine is a specific type of Fruitarianism that doesn't even seem to have a name. A decent name might be "fallen fruitarianism." Also, there are vegans that only eat roadkill & they're evidently called roadkill vegans. I haven't found a name for when the 2 are combined, but I imagine it's something like "roadkill fruitarianism" or "forager veganism" or whatever. Or you can just call them dumbasses with death wishes!

Either way, these guys are basically saying that we should go back to being foragers!!

From what I can tell, a fruitarian diet is absolutely not healthy. It could even send you to the hospital!

I wonder how Sam Manson & Damian Wayne would react to this information...

I wonder how any vegan character would react!

Either way, I could care less because I'm gonna eat like a sane human being.

Like... I'd kind of like to see these characters try. Initially, they start with fallen fruitarianism but end up slowly growing weaker & weaker over time because they would no longer be able to take nutritional supplements.

Those things are apparently often made from soy proteins & dairy cultures, so definitely not allowed.

In order to live, they'd need to learn to be okay with the supposed suffering of plants. But then, in such a case, why not eat meat? Don't animals suffer just like plants apparently do? So, why not eat them too? Is the suffering of plants somehow less than that of animals?

And what about animals? Aren't they all just as monstrous as people who choose to eat meat & plantlife that hasn't fallen from the vine? Because, for supposedly intelligent beings, they certainly don't seem to care about the pain they bring.

Like, don't get me wrong, eat what you want, but acknowledge that your choices come with consequences. Don't bring this moralistic bs into it.

Here's the thing. I don't give a flying frickadoo if plants do feel pain. If it's between me or the plant, I'm choosing to save myself. Same with animals!

Even still, plants don't have nerves or pain centers & thus even if they did feel some sort of 'distress,' it wouldn't equate to the same sort of pain that we feel.

Like, of course, they're gonna react to the possibility of cessation. That's how survival works. It's why some plants are poisonous. It's a defense mechanism. No organic life wants to die, but just because it reacts to such things doesn't mean its sentient or sapient. Let alone intelligent.

If all it takes is a desire to live to be equal in value to humanity, then wouldn't antibacterial medicines, soaps, & hand sanitizers be considered chemical warfare?

Also, what about parasites like ringworms? They're alive. Shouldn't that make them just as precious as any other animal? Should we just let them continue to live inside of us when we get them? What about when our pets get worms or fleas? What makes a dog more valuable than them?

What about mushrooms? Shouldn't we protect the poor black mold under our floorboards that just wanted to find a nice moist place to rest even if it literally kills us?

These pussies just need to get a fucking grip.

Actually... I do wonder how animal rights activists react when their pets get fleas or worms. Or when they themselves get parasites...

Like, what do they do? Does it just not count in those situations?

Isn't bacteria alive?

You can't say that "all life matters & it should all be preserved" without taking these things into account.

[dcvilgrams]

Family Chores

silly OM! family-fluff characters: Barbatos, Diavolo, my MC (Xhura) [he/him] word count: 674 rating: general

notes: enjoy some nonsensical slice-of-life dishwashing with barbatos, diavolo, & my mc xhura. some basic info: xhura was 'adopted' by barbatos once their pact turned him into a demon, & he calls diavolo his uncle after discovering diavolo's mother was the first human to become a demon & a distant ancestor of xhura's none of this is really necessary to know but i can't not over-complicate the explanations

diavolo just really wants to help do the dishes from time to time~

It’s become a pleasant routine—against Barbatos’ wishes, though admittedly not entirely to his distaste—that the three of them wash and dry the post-meal dishes together. Their own little trio of a family.

Barbatos busies himself readying the large compartment sink with the appropriate cleaners and sanitizers. Xhura is always reminded of his days working the dishes as punishment for clocking in late at Hell’s Kitchen. But it’s really no surprise that whatever the butler has set up is top of the line no matter the chore.

While his father does that Xhura rolls up his sleeves and slips out of his dinner coat — exchanging it for his apron at the hooks by the kitchen door. The seamless transition from guest of the Royal Family to, well, just one of the family.

Diavolo watches as he always does; eagerly and with a sense of wonderment, practically hovering behind Barbatos as he relentlessly searches for an opportunity to jump in and help.

“What if I washed them this time, Barbatos? Just this once?”

“No, Young Master,” replies Barbatos; an answer unlikely to ever change, “I would continue to ask that you leave such tasks up to Xhura and myself.”

“But I think I’m ready. I didn’t miss a single spot drying last time!”

Xhura chuckles and nudges Diavolo’s arm with the spare apron in hand. The Prince takes it immediately, though his disappointment is impossible to miss. “Don’t take it to heart, Dia-ji. I’m sure it’s just that…”

Eyes quickly darting around, Xhura thinks up the first most logical excuse that comes to mind— “Father just doesn’t want you exposed to the cleaning chemicals, I’m sure. Isn’t that right?”

Barbatos hums bemusedly. It’s not technically a lie, so Diavolo’s natural lie detection doesn’t raise a fuss. He’ll humor it for now.

“Indeed.”

With a perfectly reasonable explanation given then the only thing Diavolo can do is sigh and nod as he fumbles with the apron knot behind his back. It would be rude to continue pushing the matter now after all.

“Here,” Xhura gently bats his hands aside to work on it himself, “lemme help you with that.”

“Thank you, Xhura. I swear there’s a hex on this particular apron or something.”

“Preposterous,” Barbatos replies on instinct. Xhura just snorts.

“Between you and me, I agree. The knot always ends up slipping when I wear it, too.”

He can feel golden-tinted eyes flicker away from the mountain of soapy bubbles beginning to build in the sink to linger on him. Xhura meets his father’s gaze with a cheerful smile. Sometimes it’s just about humoring someone.

“And anyway, Dia-ji, you’re getting to be an expert at drying everything.” Again, another not-technically — as Xhura only had to go back behind Diavolo twice the last time they all did the dishes together to make sure there weren’t any water spots left over on Barbatos’ good dishware. But twice is a vast improvement from the number of times it had to be done before!

It’s the little victories in the end, right?

Indeed, if Diavolo’s sheepish little smile is anything to go by. “Well thank you Xhura.”

“If you two are ready?” Barbatos asks calmly. And it’s more than enough to spring the other demons into action.

And so their assembly line begins. Barbatos scrubs diligently at this plate and that pan before handing each one off to Xhura; who makes sure that everything that comes his way is properly rinsed off and free of soapy bubbles. Each item then goes from Xhura’s hands into Diavolo’s waiting grasp where he gives it a determined drying with two dish towels before setting it aside on the nearby counter-top rack.

It’s a monotonous tedium for most families — one that definitely would garner drawing the short straw in the House of Lamentation for example. But to this unique trio it’s not seen as a chore in the slightest.

It’s time spent together — as close as they will ever come to being equal to one another.

[adititarachand]

Green Living Made Easy: Eco Shopping Tips

Live a Greener Life: Sustainable Shopping and Living Tips with Brandfinity

Brandfinity, a leading branding and marketing agency in India, is committed to promoting eco-conscious practices. In line with this mission, we present these valuable tips to help you make sustainable choices in your everyday shopping and living:

Embrace Sustainable Materials for Clothing and Home Goods:

Opt for eco-friendly options: Look for clothing and home goods made from organic cotton, hemp, or bamboo. These materials often require less water and fewer chemicals compared to conventional options.

Reduce waste, support circularity: Choose products made from recycled or upcycled materials. This not only minimizes waste but also promotes a circular economy where resources are reused.

Support Local and Organic Produce:

Reduce your carbon footprint: Opt for locally grown fruits and vegetables. This not only supports local farmers but also reduces the environmental impact of transportation.

Prioritize health and a healthy planet: Choose organic produce to avoid harmful pesticides and synthetic fertilizers that can negatively affect your health and the environment. Organic farming practices promote soil health, biodiversity, and water conservation.

Minimize Waste with Reusable Bags and Containers:

Ditch the plastic: Invest in reusable shopping bags made from durable materials like canvas or recycled materials. This eliminates the need for single-use plastic bags, significantly reducing waste.

Embrace reusables for bulk items: Utilize reusable containers when buying bulk items like grains, nuts, and spices. This eliminates the need for single-use packaging, further minimizing waste. Remember to wash and sanitize your reusable bags and containers regularly.

Champion Eco-Friendly Brands and Products:

Look for certifications: Support brands and products with certifications that showcase their environmental commitment, such as organic, fair trade, or cruelty-free labels. These certifications ensure adherence to specific standards and minimal harm to the environment and workers.

Sustainable practices matter: Choose brands that prioritize sustainability throughout their supply chain, from sourcing materials to manufacturing and packaging. By supporting these brands, you encourage more sustainable business practices with your purchasing power.

Embrace Sustainable Fashion with Second-Hand and Thrift Shopping:

Reduce demand, extend lifespans: Consider second-hand and thrift stores for unique and stylish clothing at affordable prices. This reduces the demand for new clothing production and gives pre-loved items a second chance.

Promote a circular fashion economy: By choosing second-hand fashion, you contribute to a circular economy by extending the lifespan of clothing and minimizing textile waste. Don't forget to donate or sell your own unwanted clothing to keep the cycle going!

Live a greener life, one sustainable choice at a time!

Partner with Brandfinity to craft an eco-conscious brand identity and marketing strategy that resonates with your sustainability goals. Visit us at https://brandfinity.ch/en/ to learn more.

[squidkidcelebi]

After about a month of working on these, I finally give to you the completed refs for the (current) characters in my Squid Ink Spaghetti AU!

Here are some tidbits of info/bios on each of them... under the cut because it’s gonna be long lol

RED: Red is a former Octarian soldier currently residing in the Splatlands. To onlookers, he appears to be a sort of mysterious loner type that’s seldom seen in battle lobbies. But to the few who know him, he’s a very kind and friendly person. While open to the idea of trying new weapons, his go-to is the Splattershot Jr. 

MIKE AND STEVEN: Two Inkling brothers who are rarely seen apart, with Mike being the older and Steven the younger. Steven is a very competitive Anarchy player, making it to the top of the ranks in record time with his Hydra Splatling he lovingly named Miki. While he seems cold and reserved on the outside, mostly due to the shadows that cover his eyes and stoic expression, he’s actually pretty chill, although a little nervous sometimes. Mike on the other hand is a very happy-go-lucky kind of guy; always in high spirits and ready to lend a hand. While not competitive like his brother, he dabbles in a bit of Ranked with Steven sometimes, but he mostly plays Turf War on his own, sporting his trusty Splat Dualies. He would go to the ends of the Earth for his little brother without hesitation and would absolutely bash some Inklings’s nonexistent skulls in if they even dare to say something bad about him.

BLAKE AND GOLD: Blake was a former Octarian soldier before being a victim of the Sanitization process, thankfully escaping in the middle of it, resulting in the right half of his upper body and the lower of his left being Sanitized. Now that he’s in Splatsville, he’s usually seen with a very chipper attitude as long as he’s with his friends.  Gold, however, is a strange case. Being another victim of Sanitization, his memories and emotions were taken from him, but not his free will, which left him wandering around the Deep Sea Metro aimlessly until he met Blake, at which the two devised a plan to escape together. He relies mostly on instinct for decisions, and doesn’t talk too much unless prompted.

SILVER: Another former Octarian soldier and friend-turned-lover to Blake. He may not be able to speak, instead using sign language as his main form of communication, but he’s still very outgoing nonetheless. On occasion, he plays Anarchy, preferring to play with a small group of friends due to his lack of communication ability.

GREY: A young Inkling with a very unique genetic condition that leaves him unable to produce the chemicals needed to change his ink color, leaving it the same color as his name. Since playing Turf would prove to be more of a hassle for him, he instead makes ends meet by working shifts at Grizzco. One such shift led to him accidentally taking home a young Goldie Smallfry that snuck into his bag, which he decided to take in and name Shinto. When not at work, he prefers to spend his time playing TableTurf with friends. HYPNO: A cuttlefish Inking with a somewhat serious demeanor. Being rather old for an Inkling, he’s grown out of Turf Wars and instead spends his days doing his own thing. He may seem like a grumpy old man, but he’s very kind and understanding, given that you don’t prove to be an annoyance that is. He gathers at a local cafe to play TableTurf with some acquaintances, and is open to teaching younger folk how to play as well.

And now for the complicated relationship tree:

- Red, Blake, and Silver all know each other from the Octarian Army. Red acted as their mentor. - Blake and Gold live with Red in his home in Splatsville since they don’t exactly have anywhere else to go. - As stated previously, Blake and Silver are boyfriends (they start dating sometime after they reunite in Splatsville). - Red knows Steven personally, and they see each other as friendly rivals. - Mike and Steven are neighbors with Grey. Mike and Grey play TableTurf together sometimes, and he and Steven will babysit Shinto when Grey has to go to work. Shinto likes the both of them. - On the occasion Mike and Steven aren’t available, Grey asks Hypno to take care of the Smallfry, being only a few doors down from the youngster. He also plays TableTurf with him and even gives him a few lessons and tips. - Grey knows Neo Agent 3 (going by their official name of Veronika) and they’ll bring over their own Smallfry for “playdates” with Shinto.

[total-drama-brainrot]

Hello hello ophe 👋😇

I know this sounds weird and carp but I’m gonna say what some of my favs smell like

Trent (my dumb princess) probably smells like mahogany teakwood, strawberry kiwi or motor oil

He seems like a strawberry kiwi kinda guy

Axel would smell like pine, motor oil, or cucumber melon

Emma definitely smells like sunshine and lemons or cupcake sprinkles

WAYNE the boy smell like musty ass hockey bags or hot honey, or strawberry ice berry lemonade

Scary girl smells like red raspberries, unopened monster high dolls, candles, or a hot topic

Damien smell like chemicals, laundry detergent , ocean salt, or fresh water

OLIVIA VON TRASHPANDA smells like what a god would smell like

-Ass Stars anon

I’m gonna like ask every like three or four days so not to clog your ask box and so that I try and control myself

Hello hello, Ass Stars Anon! 👋😊

You're giving these kids way too much credit in terms of how good they'd smell, imo.

Axel would smell earthy, like mulch and wet leaves, because she's a survivalist. Having a traceable scent would bring down her 9.7 primitive survival rating! That's not to say she smells bad, but if you were to sniff a handful of dirt and then Axel herself there wouldn't be much of a difference. Of course, after she started her relationship with Ripper she started smelling like him too (given the fact that the two were literally near inseparable), which is mostly just the stink of body odour- Ripper believes in letting his "natural musk" and "alfalfa pheromones" run free.

Emma strikes me as the sort of girl to either wear super sugary-scented perfumes or drown herself in fruity/sweet body mists. She probably goes through a bottle of So...? Fragrance a day, either in the scent Birthday Cake or Raspberry Frappe.

In the same vein, Chase would reek of whatever cologne/body wash he's currently sponsored by, or if he has his own brand of cologne he'd wear it religiously. I doubt many of them smell great, but at least it's more interesting than deodorant and hairspray.

Wayne AND Raj both smell like Lynx Africa (AXE Body Spray for the US, I think?) with the underlying smell of hockey-sweat and gym lockers.

Scary Girl probably reeks of brimstone and hellfire. Joking, but given that she lives in a funeral home and (according to her audition) deals with explosives often, I imagine she's stained with the ever-present smell of dust and cinder- maybe with the underlying smoky smell you get from standing too close to a fire. Topped off with some sort of cloyingly sweet flowery perfume; she's got that creepy-cute aesthetic to keep up, after all!

I'd like to say that Damien smells like fresh linen and hand sanitizer- because as a science nerd and an anxious mess, he initially struck me as someone with good or even over excessive hygiene habits- but with Zee's secret spilling we know that this dude hasn't changed his underwear for weeks(?), so he in all likelihood smells like cheap cologne layered over dirty clothes.

Olivia von Trashpanda has ascended beyond trivial mortal concepts like "smell".

Trent, our silly little princess who has done no wrong ever, would smell like wood polish (for his guitar), motor oil (he strikes me as the sort of guy who's into fixing up old cars, or modifying his own motorbike) and Old Spice. A lot of oaky scents with a twang of petrol.

This is all off the top of my head btw. I haven't really put much thought into what the contestants would smell like- for good reason, given the fart jokes and gross-out humour in the series.

That's not to say that your own interpretations/headcanons are invalid or wrong, or that my headcanons are the gospel truth. They can smell like whatever you want them to!

This is just me adding my own interpretations. Feel free to disagree with me!

You can send asks as often as you want! I'll do my best to reply to them all, though sometimes I do find myself drawing a blank as to how to respond. If I don't reply to an ask please don't take it as me being rude/annoyed, I probably just couldn't think of anything to add.

[orthodox-femininity]

My Excitement Over Cleaning Supplies

So recently I’ve been seeing many recommendations for Grove Collaborative for nicer cleaning supplies without a strong amount of chemical. I remembered my family using it at one point so I decided to give it a try myself.

The first time you shop there, a large amount of free gifts are provided, then you sign up for the VIP programs for special deals and for an automatic reorder every month for the items you keep in your cart.

I will tell you, I was enticed by the apple and pumpkin fall collections and I am OBSESSED. Not only do the products actually work but they smell so nice!! And they also will send you a reusable spray bottle for their fantastic multi purpose cleaning concentrate. Im in love and I highly recommend for my fellow homemakers!

What I purchased (all in the scents Mulled Apple, Spiced Pumpkin, Apple Cider, or Blood Orange)

- Multi purpose concentrate and bottle

- Hand soap and pump

- Air fresher

- Hand sanitizer

- Garbage bags (wonderful quality, don’t break easily)

- Walnut dish sponges

- Microfiber cleaning clothes

[misterroo2000]

Let's talk about food

It all started with bread. I was a normal kid up until that point, and photographic evidence exists that shows me eating it. I don't know the date of the event, or what triggered it, but I knew that I no longer liked the stuff.

Over the years, it went from "no longer like" to "really don't like" to "can't stand it" to "don't want to be near it" to "OMG it touched me". What is it about this seemingly simple substance that is so foul, that the mere thought of it can make me lose my otherwise substantial appetite? Good question, let's explore it.

We're never going to be able to go back to the 70's and witness the event, so let's stay in the present and figure out what's going on here. Let's suppose there is a regular old piece of white bread on a counter. Let me also interject for a moment and say that this medium is perfect for this analysis, because the number of times I have to stop typing and suppress the gag reflex is hidden from my readers. Back to the counter. The bread is sitting there. Maybe you just put it there, because I sure as hell didn't. You know what? It's already starting to leave it's mark on the counter - crumbs, condensation, quasi-liquid ingredients from the food itself? If you pick it up, you'll see its mark. You know what else is going on there? It's starting to mold. I don't know how old it is. "But I just bought it" nah, there's no chain of custody here. "There's a date on the bag" You trust that? You know how many times I see dates on things from the future? We've already established we can't time travel, so let's agree we don't know old this stuff is. Even if it came right from the factory, this stuff is programmed to mold. It's just a matter of time. What is going on at the molecular level? Maybe I was sleeping that day in science class, but do we know if this mold disease is contagious? Do we know for certain that by touching it, we will be immune to becoming mold ourselves? I know life is about risks, but why not just let it sit there and heat up some dino nuggs for lunch instead? What you see is what you get there.

"But who can deny the joy of smelling fresh bread?" ME, that's who. We all know that smells are just airborne particles of what you're smelling. That means bread is airborne. Touching it is out of the question, and you think I'm going to invite it into my nose and lungs? Might as well just eat it at that point. You are what you eat and I don’t want to be this garbage.

So now we know we can't touch it and can't smell it. Your nose and taste buds are linked, so right away we've dismissed three of the five senses. Let's call it cosmic fate that this nasty stuff doesn't emit sounds, because I might have to find another universe to live in if that were the case. It's bad enough that I agreed to look at it a couple of paragraphs above, but at least one of my five senses are spared the agony of moldy apocalypse.

Something as inherently evil as this doesn't leave itself alone, and I'm afraid it is a gateway food. Before we explore the offshoots, let's look at the rules of engagement for dealing with this yeast-beast that's here to stay. I'm putting these rules in first person form just because I choose to live bread-free doesn't mean I expect everyone to.

Obviously I can't touch it, that's easy.

Going back to the counter scenario, any surface that has directly contacted the material is now contaminated. Moving it elsewhere does not cure the original spot of contamination. It must be cleaned thoroughly by any chemical means necessary.

Any object or body part that touches it is also contaminated. Do not expect me to shake your hand if you've been holding a $5 Super Arby's Whopper Mac Deluxe. Use some 200% alcohol hand sanitizer first and gargle some mouthwash, please.

If the bread was spawned from a factory, then the bag it comes in is safe as long as it factory sealed. Machines do not make mistakes and ensure the contagions are kept within the plastic.

If the bread comes from a bakery and placed in a bag by a non-robot, then the bag is irradiated and not to be touched or handled.

The only correct way to handle such a bag, like if someone is foolish enough to give me a shopping list with this grossness on it, is to use a disposable item to serve as a germ barrier to lift, yeet or otherwise transfer to the shopping cart and transport bag.

Food items that touch bread are no longer food. "Just take the burger off the bun and eat it." Basically the same logic as "So what if there were 50 flies on your burrito, they didn't eat much and left you plenty." Nope with a capital ope.

Okay, we've beaten bread to death. Let's look at its relatives.

Buns, biscuits, rolls - no matter how you slice it, it's bread in disguise.

Butter - Bread and butter, they're practically brothers. Butter is okay as long as it is hidden as an ingredient, and ignorance is bliss.

Ketchup - This is a horrible thing to do to an innocent tomato, and it makes sense that it can go to the electric chair with bread.

Peanut butter, jelly - Also horrible things to do to perfectly good natural items and turn them into abominations. Enjoy the underworld along with the rest of this list.

Let's take a summary break to see where we're at. All these things are definitively gross:

Hamburgers

Hot dogs

Sliders

PB&J

Any kind of sandwich

Croutons - come on, who are you fooling here?

French toast (admittedly, it took me several years after the original awakening to realize this, and I'm not afraid to admit my mistakes)

French bread pizza - what a joke, knock this off immediately

I'm not a monster and I have exceptions, because of reasons.

Pizza - "But it's bread" - No it is not. If it were, it would be called Pepperoni Cheese Pizza Sauce Sandwich, but it's not is it?

Donuts - These are fried, and frankly adorable. I'll never hate you, donut.

Cinnamon rolls - I do not want to know how close these are to actual rolls, and over the decades I managed to keep this one filed under plausible deniability. I'm probably lucky no one has spilled the beans here, and don't let yourself become the one to take this from me.

Pancakes and waffles. I've made these before, and they are perfectly innocent. To put these in the same category is bread is an assault on logic.

There is something about the word bread. I know corn bread exists, but I also know you can tell the Cracker Barrel server to bring out corn muffins and that's what they bring. Bread does not come in muffin form.

Someone seriously proposed : "So if I brought you a sandwich and called it Bobby Pasta, would you eat it?" Look, Steve, I know this whole thing may seem weird to you, but look who just made up a new food called Bobby Pasta. I can suspend disbelief to a point, but let's stay in the realm of reason.

So those are the severe food issues. Let's cover the rest of things and I'll let you get back to your day or evening.

Fish - I remember eating fish as a kid and being told to "chew it thoroughly, there could be bones in there". AND THERE WERE. Bendable little needle bones that would probably shred my digestive system into hamburger meat. Which, I must say, is preferable to eating any of the things in the bulleted list above. I've tried fish, but mostly just don't like it. I can touch it and it does not have all of the nasty mold spore qualities, so once elected Supreme Chancellor, I will allow this to continue to exist as food. This includes lobster, shrimp and sushi. I really don't know who decided to eat things from the fish tank, but hey I have stuffed animals I keep by the bed so let's not judge.

Foods with hidden ingredients. I don't mean things like butter. I mean like jelly donuts. WTF? "Hey let's make a treat but let's hide something in it that squirts out when you bite in it, wouldn't that be great?" I don't know about you, but I like my food NOT to bleed red goo when I have at it. If you want jelly on your donut, be honest and put it on the outside. Don't be hiding it and think you deserve to win a cooking contest. "Don't you eat Ding-Dongs?" Sorry Pam, there's a picture of what's happening right on the box. If you don't read it, there's not much I can do to help. Jelly donuts can't say that. For the record, this includes Cassata cake

Fig newtons - I don't know what pervert classified these as cookies, but these should be banned by the Geneva Convention. "Who wants Fig Newtons??" NO ONE CHERYL, THROW THEM AWAY OUT BACK WHERE WE CAN'T SMELL THEM.

Cheese - this is weird. It is perfectly okay on pizza in moderation, but it's hard to handle in most other settings. Like lasagna. Anyone ever say, "Oh you can hardly even taste it." Oh yeah??? Well then why is it in there? Can't even be honest about the cheese, how will I believe anything you say ever again?

Eggs - I don't even know what these are. I realize they are a critical ingredient for important things, but I don't see anyone eating flour out of a bag so why people eat eggs is a mystery to me. I will not be offended by your egg-eating as long as you don't brag about how runny that yellow liquid is and how good it tastes.

Ham - I eat this, but it's clearly the weakest of the meats. What makes ham not a pork chop? That is a rhetorical question because I do not want to risk losing pork chops to this list.

Let's end on a high note. I've obviously well-fed, so how did this come to be?

Maraschino cherries - the most perfect substance on Earth. So is the juice. Top of the list every time.

Pasta - What an awesome thing this is. Just bland little sticks that become the ultimate edible toy. You slurp them, throw them, put a lot of sauce, a little sauce, it doesn't matter. It comes in all shapes and sizes, because why not. There must be a whole science to knowing the names for all the shapes.

Rice - It's like they took the little sticks and chopped them up into 1cm line segments. Great as a side, and fantastic as a breakfast item with milk and sugar.

Normal meat - steak, pork, chicken, venison. Can't go wrong with any of these. Just don't try to pickle it or do anything weird like pot it.

Mexican food. Leave off the cheese and I can eat just about anything on a Mexican restaurant menu. Tortillas are amazing, too. They're edible napkins, and who doesn't want that? You can fill them with anything.

Chinese food. I love how there's nothing with cheese on a Chinese food menu. Except for the fish, I can eat just about anything here. I would come back from a trip to China much larger for sure.

I think that's about it. Good talk, I hope you got to know me a little better and if you ever invite me over for a meal, think of all the awkward conversations we can now avoid!

[wovenruggallerypgh]

Discover the Benefits of Professional Hand Wash Rug Cleaning!

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[vgrc-llc]

Soft Washing with The Roof Ninja & Kc at VGRC: Unveiling the Gentle Giant!

Greetings, Spokane County! 🥷👷‍♀️

Are you ready to awaken your home to a pristine, sparkling shine? Let The Roof Ninja, aka Fisk, and Kc guide you through the gentle yet mighty world of Soft Washing, the secret behind the rejuvenation of countless homes in Spokane and beyond! 🌟

What is Soft Washing?

Soft washing is the superhero of exterior cleaning, using low-pressure water combined with the right cleaning solutions to eradicate dirt, algae, moss, and mildew. Unlike pressure washing, which can be harsh and damaging, soft washing is gentle yet incredibly effective, protecting your home's surfaces while delivering a deep clean.

The Benefits of Soft Washing

Protects Your Home: Soft washing prevents damage to delicate surfaces like shingles and siding.

Long-Lasting Clean: It not only cleans but also sanitizes, ensuring that algae and mildew stay away longer.

VGRC: Your Local Experts 🥷👷‍♀️

At Veracity Gutter And Roof Cleaning, LLC, we’re more than just a cleaning service. We're a true local company dedicated to keeping your homes beautiful and safe. Our licensed and insured team (LICENSE #VERACGC770LW) specializes in house washing, roof washing, gutter cleaning, and roof blow-offs, ensuring your property remains in tip-top condition all year round.

Fun Fact About Spokane County 🏞️

Did you know that Spokane is home to the world's largest 3-on-3 basketball tournament? Just kidding! Let’s try something new: Spokane’s Riverfront Park is built on the site of the 1974 World’s Fair, one of the few remaining fairgrounds that still operate today! 🌉

DIY Tip for Homeowners 🛠️

Here's a fun DIY tip: Use a mixture of vinegar and water to clean your windows. It's a simple, effective, and chemical-free way to get sparkling windows with minimal effort!

Services We Offer:

Gutter Cleaning: Keep your gutters free of debris and flowing smoothly. 🌧️ #CleanGuttersVGRC

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Roof Washing: Remove moss and algae with our gentle yet effective methods. #RoofWashingVGRC

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Our Taglines

"WE FLAT LINE THE GUNK!" 💥

"DON'T RISK FALLS, GIVE US A CALL!" 📞

A Joke to Brighten Your Day 😂

Why did the scarecrow become a successful exterior cleaner? Because he was outstanding in his field! 🌾

Quote of the Day 🌟

"Your home deserves the best care, and at VGRC, we provide nothing less!" - Veracity Gutter And Roof Cleaning, LLC

Stay Connected with Us

For more information on our services, visit our website: 🔗 VGRCLLC.com

Need immediate assistance? DON’T RISK FALLS, GIVE US A CALL! 📞 509-530-1330

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Remember, with VGRC, your home is in the hands of professionals who care. We’re here to make your property shine while ensuring your safety and satisfaction. Let's make your home the envy of the neighborhood! ✨

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Now, let's get your home shining! Share this post with your friends and family and spread the joy of a clean, beautiful home.

Stay tuned for more tips, facts, and services from The Roof Ninja & Kc at VGRC!