#its just there to have fun not to be of any nutritional value

[asexualbookbird]

i feel like people see "three stars" and think thats a Bad Rating but for me it's more like. I had fun! Won't be revisting this, but enjoyed it while it was there! I know my ratings are more vibes than anything else but generally three stars are just that. Its the two stars that make it more There Were Problems Here That I Will Grumble About, four stars are like I May Think About Rereading This One Day. One star is shit. Yall know that Thats easy. Five stars altered my brain chemistry. It's mot about technical skills. Its about my enjoyment and three stars i enjoyed SOMETHING!

all this to say i dont think Scalzi is a Bad Author, hes just a very specific kind of author. He's like. A Midlist romance author that doesnt write romance and none of that is an insult. His books are easily digestible, theyre funny, theyre silly, they fall apart if you sit and pick them apart, bht they're not meant to be picked apart! They're just there to be enjoyed as is and thats okay!!!!!

His books are also the perfect thing to read when you have post covid brain, which is funny about Start Villain because he wrote it with post covid brain. So. High five mr scalzi.

[lets-try-some-writing]

Absolutely adore seeing all the bits of writing on the bots reactions to the kiddos 🤣 Fr makes my day, just scrolling though feed and BOom your writing! So I randomly thought of the kids doing barbecues or picnics and sharing all their grubby food like Oo try this and maybe not as it’s spicy. What I mean is I’m sure the bots wouldn’t understand how human food can have so many flavours.

Glad to brighten someone's day! I am honestly startled by how enthusiastic people are about TFP bots reacting to things. I haven't gotten this many notes in like, three months. Its crazy.

Anyway, lets roll with this.

Cybertronians do have a degree of flavoring involved in their fuel. However due to the nature of energon, there is only so much flavoring that can be added before it loses its nutritional value, turns into high grade, or explodes in some fantastic display. Not to mention their ability to taste is severely limited, partially due to the simple fact that their sensory systems are more focused on external stimuli or processor function. In fact, most Cybertronians can hardly taste, if they have an intake at all. It simply isn't part of their biology. They have no need for it. Of course some get modifications in order to have a wider range of taste, and some are forged with heightened senses, but as a general rule most do not have the ability to note much.

At most they can read sweetness, bitterness, and anything that is metallic in nature. But spiciness, savory flavors, and most of the finer flavors humans experience are simply out of their range. Fueling can be enjoyable, but for most of their kind, it is merely a way to keep on going. But humanity? They eat for FUN, and that is odder than the team expected it to be.

Watching the children swap food around for the sake of flavor is... strange to the team. Seeing Miko give up what they can tell is vegetation that is highly nutritious to humans for a bag of chips soaked in all sorts of chemicals left most of them in a state of confusion. Jack offered up a sandwich, the arguably healthier dish, for a handful of gummies. Rafael passed over some sort of meat in exchange for Miko's rice. The exchange of nutrition was not orderly or equal in any way or form. Then sometimes the children would just eat each other's food without regard for the nutritional value.

The team couldn't understand it. Sure Cybertronians would trade fuel at times, but rarely was nutrition a concern. Humans swapping fuel left and right was just a tad strange. Not incomprehensible, but strange nonetheless.

Smokescreen has tried to eat human good once just to see if he could taste it. He could not taste much at all and ended up purging for the next day due to the food not going well in his tanks. Bulkhead also made an attempt once when Miko offered him food. He was stuck with cheeto dust in the grooves of his jaw for almost a week before he gave in and went to the washracks to handle it. Wheeljack made direct optic contact with Ultra Magnus and purposefully ate an apple that was offered to him, just to watch the commander squirm of course. He had to purge it all up an hour later, but watching the reactions of those around him made it worth it.

Ultra Magnus was tricked into eating human food when it was put into his energon once (by a certain wrecker). Magnus tried to hold it together, but ultimately he too ended up needing to purge. Ratchet has given the "do not eat organic fuel" speech far too many times to be happy about it.

[sadie-bug345]

the gang as breakfast foods😟👹‼️

now ik i already did cereals but I REALLY LIKE BREAKFAST so let’s go💀

ponyboy:

gives me like eggo waffles realness

my guy is a hardworking academic WEAPON and he a runner he a track star🙄

so you’re probably assuming he’d need a complete breakfast

nope 😃

just a couple chocolate chip eggo waffles that are still slightly frozen in the middle and a pack of cigs is all he needs

5/10 he stays consistent

johnny:

he seems like a bacon and sausage kinda guy

but he can’t get it that often cause he’s #neglected

BUT darry knows how much he loves having a filling meal so he’ll make him a big ol brekky on his bday and stuff

also maybe oatmeal?? but like gross he doesn’t put anything on it so it’s just hot grains😭

3/10 struggle meals are struggling

sodapop:

i haven’t reread the book in a hot minute but wasn’t there smth abt him making green pancakes🤨😟

guy seems like the type to just root around in the kitchen for any sort of edible substance and considers it breakfast

like he’d make some frozen mini corn dogs just cause he knows how to use the microwave😭😭😭

6/10 for the zero thoughts just vibes

darry:

OATMEAL

and he calls it “cereal”🧍‍♀️

either that or raisin bran/kix typa cereal

BUT he actually puts stuff in his oatmeal like fruit or brown sugar

its def a vibe and he can whip up breakfast so fast it’s crazy

7/10 we love the father figure🏃‍♀️

dally:

doesn’t eat breakfast period.

/j

BUT if he does he’d eat like some sorta egg mcmuffin like he seems a hot breakfast kinda guy

despite this, cereal 24/7 some apple jacks are enough fuel for him

idk if yall have seen that deleted scene from the outsiders on youtube where he johnny and pony are all at a diner and he’s like “lemme drink mah cawfee” in that new york accent😩 ANYWAYS

he seems like the kinda dude to just drink black coffee and smoke a pack of cigs🧍‍♀️

but yeah cereal every meal

9/10 bro is him🤷‍♀️

two-bit:

this is so 2018 wattpad coded but chocolate cake and a beer

cause he is lowk an alcoholic which is not ok pls get help two butt🙏😔

but he lowk doesn’t need any more energy

just wakes up and decides to be a menace everyday

he seems like the type to make a single slice of white toast and then just DUMP NUTELLA all over it

8/10 zero nutritional value💀🫶

steve

surprisingly set when it comes to breakfast

he seems like an overnight oats/yoghurt and granola typa dude

on the run though he just chugs a gogurt i’m sorry😭

also probably a juice lover he gives orange juice kinda guy

10/10 my mom would be proud🙏🥰

THIS WAS FUN!! request hcs or imagines please‼️‼️ (also i’m currently working on ones in my inbox so don’t u worry pooks🥰)

[starfish-sonnyangel]

so bored you might... come out of fanfic retirement? you must be really really bored,,,

squad's favorite terran foods in your hcs?

-from @auroracycle-enjoyer

guess who has two thumbs and is working on this instead of their lit final! 🤗🤗🤗

THANK YOU FOR THE ASK!! again please please ask me things i promise ill respond even if it takes me a couple months lmao!

he squads fav terran foods

ty - 

had a gym rat phase during the academy so for like 3+ years he was literally only considering how much protein a certain food had not how it tasted or anyyyything

seasoning? we dont know her here

if you ask him he’ll probably say salad (he’s lying)

auri introduced him to pizza and he’s hooked

fav is margarita bc he likes to pretend that the basil add some nutritional value

auri

SOUPPP SOUP SOUP

ugh i just need her to curl up with a good book and music and a bowl of soup she deserves it

literally any kind of soup as long as its hot n served with some kinda bread

loves chicken noodle/irish stew/really heavy soups like that bc it reminds her of what her mom used to cook

also egg drop soup, oxtail, lanzhou beef noodles, all the stuff her dad used to make

give her a mug of chicken noodle and some sourdough and she’ll literally love you forever.

its canon from aurora rising that she likes spicy food so i know she loads allll her food up with spice

everyone’s learned to not ask for a bite of her soup if they dont need to give their sinuses a deep cleanse

ty was the first to learn the hard way, snuck a sip of her food secretly and 2 minutes later was curled up on the floor with a box of tissues and a jug of milk

“ty are you cryin-” “IM NOT CRYING SHUT UP MY EYES ARE WATERING”

again, he’s not a big seasoning guy

Scar

any kind of pasta

she got really into making fresh pasta during the academy, bc she obviously needed a hobby to fill up all the time she spent not studying

is lwky a pasta prodigy can lecture you on any type of pasta

her favorite kind is fusilli (“because it’s extra, like me!”)

also a pesto fanatic

goes vegan at least 4 times each year

her current record is 2 weeks

sweet treats!!

fav cake is tirmisu

can always be trusted to have a snack tucked away in her bag

Fin

survives off energy drinks and caf, you wouldn’t really call him a foodie

that being said, he’s a sucker for a good sandwich

clean, compact, won’t get into his suit, tastes good, sandwiches check off all necessary boxes

would sell his suit for a good turkey panini

took him a while to get used to terran food but he is now a confirmed fan

with that being said he cannot cook

once set off the fire alarms across the entire academy after forgetting about a baguette he had toasting in the kitchen

i feel like he'd also be straegly obbsessed with random terran snacks like goldfish and graham crackers

is a FIEND for those yougurt chew things that are for babies

"fin, two go-gurts and a family sized bag of chex mix is not a well-rounded dinner"

looooves those nerd gummy clusters

to be completely honest he'll eat literally anything if he's hungry enough

as previously stated i need to get on my academic grind so ill be completing everyone else soon, just wanted to get this out bc i havent posted in a while

this was so much fun to do, thanks again to @auroracycle-enjoyerfor the ask!

[hussyknee]

Does reading a lot of books "count" if they're all only popular light-read novels? As opposed to classics and literary fiction and whatever 600-page in-betweens are called. I can tear through all of Cat Sebastian (who's either hit or very, very miss for me) before I can pick up, like, Sharon Kay Penman, even though they're both popular historical novellists, because SKP's are about real historical figures and wars where a lot of horrible things happen to people. So of course my brain is convinced that SKP's novels "count" more than CS's, because it only counts if you have to struggle through an emotional morrass that makes you feel glad to live in climate collapse because at least nobody is sticking people's heads on spikes anymore.

This is also why I can only stand well back from literary fiction and poke it with a stick like I'm waiting for rats and snakes to jump out because, afaik, most of them are about people being sad and ruminating on the Human Condition. I don't get why I have to read about that, given I'm a sad person who's trapped in the Human Condition.

(I sometimes think the people that write these things are either so removed from the unwashed masses that they can look at them like a science experiment or five inches from offing themselves at all times. Presumably some of them are those mythical Normal People who have somehow emerged from the existential soup without any mental illnesses. Idk. How tf do you write fiction about real human pain that isn't even self-indulgent whump fic? I'm still trying to recover from having read Ninety-One Whiskey four years ago.)

You'd think the solution would be to just read some escapist fantasy, except the serious non-YA adjacent stuff that get submitted for Hugo awards (or Netflix and HBO adapations that shit all over the source material) are also about Bad Things Happening To People. I suppose this is better than white Christian manifest destiny bullshit like Lord of the Rings* where Bad Things Only Happened to Boromir, whose fans are the kind of people who think Gone With The Wind is a literary classic instead of Ku Klux Klan propaganda or people like me who are pathologically obsessed with conservative white bullshit**. And yet have I ever picked up NK Jemisin, who seems to be for all intents and purposes the queen of decolonial high fantasy? Of course not. Better to bear that media where Bad Things Only Happen To Imbibers Of This Racist Bullshit, than fly to others Where Bad Things Happen To The Characters that we know not of***.

It's really fucking hard to be extremely mentally ill and have OCD that won't let you DNF stuff that bores and distresses you and makes you think anything that lets you have safe, happy fun is just easy mode riffraff of no nutritional value.

***Still trying to figure out where Guy Gavriel Kay fits in. Without, you know, just reading the damn books.

**Tbh the reason conservative white bs is so appealing is because conservatives genuinely believe in the Just World theory. They rationalize the chaos of reality by assuming that the world used to make sense and work the way it should until Bad People happened to it, and it can be restored to its rightful glory if we can just root out all the shit that upended the old order. That's fascism in a nutshell and why its so deeply seductive even to people suffering under it.

*No, I'm not going to explain why LoTR is smuggling white supremacy. Y'all care more about defending the intentions of white men living in the fading era of the British empire than understanding how they could possibly have internalised white Christian supremacy that informs their writings about Fair, Enlightened Folk of the West yearning for a mythical past where they reigned supreme. Figure it out.

[bazhowletts]

Full Name: Baz Howlett.

Nicknames: Baz.

Age: 38.

Pronouns and Gender: He/Him, Cis Male.

Birth place: Aurora Bay.

How long have they been in town?: His whole life / various leaves of absence but he always ends up back one way or another.

Sexuality: Bisexual.

Housing: Fisher's Cove.

Occupation:  Front Desk @ Titanium Gym.

tw crime, drugs, death // @aurorabayaesthetic

QUICK OVERVIEW:

tearaway teen yup yup yup

only child to perpetual disappointment pipeline

fell into a bad crowd with very little prompting in high school and got involved in some dodgy dealings

shit stirrer since birth

not a violent guy (unless pushed) but he got a little too big for his boots when money started rolling in and pissed off the wrong people in increasingly more creative ways

was with his best friend when he was ended up being killed over a drug dispute that got out of hand and escalated from an argument to a shooting

took off when he heard sirens

still wonders if he could have done something more that night to actually save him - kind of shut down for a long time over that and has done absolutely fuck all to process it really

hasn't told many people about that incident or his actions in the aftermath despite both being there when it occurred and being one of the coffin bearers at andrew's funeral

joyriding since before he could even drive properly (or legally), was the fastest fucker around when it came to stripping cars for parts which is why when he ended up going straight becoming a mechanic was about the only thing he could think to do that didn’t make him want to die of boredom 

broke his mothers heart tbh his dad always likes to remind him that that's what killed her (more aptly it was illness, but it do be getting in on him) 

very much uncomfortable with everything about himself and his life and i don’t think he’s felt genuine joy in years 

suffers from a terminal case of seeming out of place and disinterested 

after working as a mechanic ran its course for him he tried his hand at being a mailman

that lasted all of a year and a half before he was let go after suspicion of mail tampering and not delivering to people he has petty vendetta's against

absolutely justly let go but he'll never acknowledge that

currently working the front desk at titanium and finds amusement in telling gym bros they're looking tiny and questioning the nutritional value of protein aloud

if he cares then he cares but he’s just not the best at making that translate 

a ghoul!

PERSONALITY.

+ funny, confident, indepedent.

- abrasive, disinterested, petty.

FUN ADJACENT FACTS.

ocean crest apartment anti even though he doesn't even live there anymore, can’t stand the ruckus that’s always being caused and has several lifelong enemies in the form of long-term residents who he's beefed with

drives a shitty car, especially for someone so formerly into cars, but he's spent too much time under the hood of other people's cars to care much about that

pathological liar. no real reason for it, it just gives him a giggle

thinks grace and frankie is the greatest show ever made 

known harasser of local politicians

thinks taxes are optional

voted most likely to tell you to get off his lawn

CURRENT CONNECTIONS.

ex-husband of @kaylatullz

employee of @ecchs

friend of @clint-bennet

friend of @peterbasara

cousin of @tabithaxking

sometimes mechanic to / goblin co-kings with @marsmoran

friend of @calinxsava

went on a vday blind date with @the-nelson-quinn

SPECIFIC WANTED CONNECTIONS.

ocean crest residents -- any of the folks he's got absurd beefs with. can range from nonsense to legit, let's goooo!

ex-gf from high school -- someone who knew him before andrew's death and saw that massive shift in him after it that's carried through to this day. pre-plotting required.

people who's cars he's worked on/will take a look at cheap -- from back in the day when he was a mechanic. hasn't much of an interest these days but will do nixers if it's into the hand

ride or dies / friends -- u know u know.

past exes/flings/fwb -- lets get messy.

neighbours @ fisher's cove -- can be positive or negative vibes

just all of it 

GENERIC WANTED CONNECTIONS.

connections wise he’s pretty much an open book right now, but some baseline ideas that can be springboarded off are:

friendly.

a best friend / ride or dies / close friends / childhood friends / pseudo-siblings / friends / drunk friends / new friends / former roommate / people he met on his travels (hasn't been outside of america but anywhere within can be plotted).

romantic

flirtationship / friends with benefits / one time hook ups / tinder matches / unrequited crush (can be either way) / exes from high school / exes on good terms.

antagonistic.

enemies / former (best) friends / exes on bad terms / frenemies / rivals / negative influence / tbh he's an acquired taste so most antagonistic connects would work for him.

[striigon]

fun things about matija’s eating habits

he bites with the intention of killing. every human he bites is turned into a vampire if he leaves them alive, and he’s of the firm belief that nobody should have to live with the curse he carries. so he will drain a body of its blood and kill his prey (sorry).

vampires he creates can be slain before they drink the blood of other humans (and in theory pass along the curse as well), so if someone somehow survives an encounter with him they’re being hunted down and killed asap.

he can go about a month without feeding and be fine depending on the size of the person he ate. he can live forever without drinking blood, but he feels like shit and is a lot weaker and is filled with a vicious hunger that isn’t sated until he’s eaten. the altruistic thing to do would be to starve himself so others may live. he’s not altruistic.

bro genuinely enjoys the taste of fear. to his palate, it tastes sour, kind of like a warhead candy, and he likes sour flavors. he can hunt someone and not be seen until he’s already in their throat, but sometimes he lets on that he’s hunting them just to spice things up for himself and get that flavor he enjoys. he has so few pleasures in life, y’know ??

in theory he could feed on animals, but it’s like eating fruits and vegetables and a nice juicy steak vs eating burger king. there’s not as much nutritional value and he feels shitty if he drinks too much animal blood for too long of a time (although no, he doesn’t create animal vampires). this is completely arbitrary and very likely attached to the curse, which makes him mad.

he struggled a lot with feeding on humans early on but is over it now. he doesn’t call himself a catholic anymore and isn’t convinced god exists at all given the Horrors he’s suffered, but he managed to gaslight himself into believing it was fine drinking human blood because jesus gave his body and blood freely or whatever. it’s a holy act if you squint !!

drinking the blood of a drunk or high person passes some of those effects along to him. there was a period of time in the 60s and 70s where he was constantly getting fucked up on drug blood in the cities and was like i have got to get the fuck out of here and fucked off to the countryside. this ended up being mildly terrible for different reasons but at least the food quality went up !!

blood-borne diseases make him ill (like food poisoning) so he tries to avoid those whenever possible because it’s not pleasant. one of these days he’s going to cough up a hairball of microplastics and he’s gonna lose his mind.

his favorite blood type is ab negative, and he prefers arterial blood to venous blood because the oxygen makes it more flavorful in his opinion.

he can still eat human food but it doesn’t provide him any nutritional value at all, even less than animal blood. at most he eats for taste or to blend in as human, but he will never be contented again by simple things such as a warm loaf of bread or a baked potato.

that’s it :)

[honeysmokedham]

TIMING: June 14th, 2023 PARTIES: Nora @honeysmokedham & Van @vanoincidence LOCATION: A Latte to Love SUMMARY: Van runs into Nora once again with the pink drink. This time, Nora is prepared and sidesteps her. WARNINGS : N/A

Van wasn’t sure that more caffeine was a good idea. She had stayed up all night playing games so that she wouldn’t think. So that if she closed her eyes, she’d see the bright hues from her screen instead of the face of somebody who she didn’t think she was ever supposed to know. It was easier, distracting and distancing herself from everything that had happened. It was easier to pour herself into what she enjoyed than it was to confront the very thing that made her so desperate for the distractions in the first place. But she was paying for it now. She did her best to stay hydrated, her grandmother’s voice ringing in her ears with every sip of red bull she took. She tried her best to stay fed, too, but it was getting harder to not gorge herself on uncrustables instead of anything with actual nutritional value. 

Like a zombie, Van shouldered the door of Latte Love open. She wasn’t watching where she was going, but luckily, the person she had nearly run into had stepped out of the way. Her drink went everywhere, pink coming to splash up on her shirt, as well as across the sidewalk. The espresso shot at the bottom of the cup leaked out of the crack of the cup and she stared downwards, mortified. It took her a moment to look up, but when she caught Nora’s gaze, she could have laughed. Instead, she sagged against the wall and held her face in her hands, a high pitched whine leaving her. She felt sticky and embarrassed, just like that day in New York. This time, at least, Nora didn’t seem like she’d gotten any on her. “You’re like a magnet.” Taking a deep breath, she looked between her fingers at Nora. “For frappe’s.”

–

Latte to Love was just a place Nora ended up gravitating to. There were always new people going in and out. There was the barista she liked to torment. Then there were the scenes she could cause if she went in to make a new friend. The location held the ability to feed many aspects of her needs: food, fear, fun. It all depended on who was around at the time. As Nora approached the building, she caught a glimpse of a familiar face exiting the premises. A pink drink was clutched firmly in her hand. This was a moment of true Deja vu. Nora knew how this panned out. Without skipping a beat, Nora stepped to the side. Just in time as the pink drink splattered everywhere. 

Van's face was covered by her hands, but Nora could smell the familiar fear drifting from her. Something had changed. A scent in the fear had shifted becoming deeper and more powerful. Nora took a deep breath in as she wondered what event changed her friend's fear. Was it because of Debbie or something before? Nora crossed her arms looking down at the mess splayed in front of them. "I think you are bad at carrying things," Nora stated noticing a tiny flick of pink shown on her combat boots. She wiped it off against the pavement. "Have you tried carrying different drinks? It might work better for you."  

–

“I’m not…” Nora was right. She was bad at carrying things. Or maybe it was just the pink drink she so sorely wanted. Van sighed and wiped her hands off on her jeans, grimacing at the way her fingers felt sticky with sugar. The drink probably wasn’t even the best choice, so maybe it was for the best that it had gotten destroyed. “Usually bad at it.” Only when it mattered, she guessed. How many more times would she throw a frappe at Nora’s feet? She looked down and noticed flecks of pink on her boots and she bit the inside of her cheek hard, but not hard enough to draw any blood. 

“Can’t survive on water, so I’m not sure I can do that.” Van ignored the fact that water was one of the things that she could survive on in its entirety. Maybe not alone, but in terms of liquid. The specifics didn’t matter. What mattered was her lack of sleep and hydration and the way that her vision was blurring every so often with said exhaustion. She rubbed her eyes with the heels of her hands, looking up to see a figure standing behind Nora. “Wha–” She blinked, then looked at the other girl who seemed unaware. “Hey–” She jabbed through the air at the man, nowhere near close enough to actually reach him. Fear acted as a blanket the longer he stared. She felt her skin begin to prickle. “Who–” 

–

Nora’s hands found their way back into her pockets, as she stood slumped there. “Third’s time the charm.” Nora noted, a hand casually leaving her pocket and swatting at Van’s arm. That was what friends did right? Friend swats to the arm? In support? The moment had been awkward. The movement hadn’t felt right to Nora. Her hand slunk back into its pocket and Nora summoned an illusion to make up for the awkward moment she’d attempted.

“You can survive on water.” Nora answered back, “You just want pink drink.” The amount of sugar in those drinks made her stomach hurt. Nora was decidedly a savory girlie.  Behind her, her illusion lurked. It was the hat man, world famous for his appearances in people’s sleep paralysis. Normally Nora wouldn’t summon an illusion of a famous monster. Not only were most of them copywritten, but everything she created was so much better. Today was an exception to the rule. This scare was spur of the moment, and Van’s need for coffee probably meant she was tired. Hat man seemed right. He stood lurking behind Nora, blurring in with the background. As Van tried to focus on the figure, it blurred more and more. “Who?” Nora turned around, making the illusion disappear. “You alright Van? Really needed that coffee, huh?”

–

Only half paying attention to Nora, Van shook her head. “The pink drink is better.” Better than the cheese she’d wanted, too, even though now she wasn’t sure it’d been cheese at all. Emilio had probably been right, and she really needed to stop putting so much faith in strangers. The last time she had, they ended up killing somebody. Then again, they’d saved her life, too. She cleared her throat and tried to distract herself both from the memory of Debbie as well as the figure that was behind Nora. Clearly it was because she hadn’t gotten any sleep. This had happened once or twice after she’d played a particularly horrific game. It had haunted her for weeks. 

“Yeah, maybe.” Van let out a nervous laugh and took a small step back, nearly falling off of the curb. She struggled to stay upright, grabbing onto the nearby waste basket. Its metal didn’t budge beneath her grip and she was grateful. “All over the place, sorta.” The man– no, the thing– the thing that didn’t exist, was still behind Nora. Van tried her best to focus on the other girl’s blank expression. “I ran into Ren,” Van tested, “got her to join us for Into the Spiderverse, if you wanted to join.” She gave Nora a hesitant smile, noticing the way that the figure’s shape shifted from behind her friend. A cold chill went down her spine and she began to fidget with the half-torn belt she was wearing. “But um, I’m not sure… when…” Her gaze found its way back to the figure, its features still blurred. “Are you sure–” She turned around, squinting up at the shop’s roof to see if there was any kind of projection equipment bolted to it. No dice. She turned back to look at Nora with an apologetic expression. “Been nothing but red bull lately, and like, a few slim jims. Some asshole keeps buying out the whole store when I go.” There were other stores, but she didn’t feel comfortable going back to the one they’d murdered Debbie in, and the gas stations always had stale slim jims. “You can imagine how constipated a bitch is.” Why did she say that? “Sorry.” 

–

 Nora’s head titled to the side as a look of distraction crossed over Van’s face. “Have you been sleeping?” She asked. Nora had only been sleeping because of the physical effort she put her body through each night. Each night she made sure to train until her mind turned off, and if her brain couldn’t turn off then she put in enough physical effort to shut her body off completely. Sure, she was sore all the time, but it was better than the sore feeling of remembering everything that had happened. “Do you wanna work out with me? At night before bed. To sleep.”

Behind Nora, she increased the illusion. She sharpened the lines; she moved him closer. His hand was reaching out towards her own shoulder, just to add a flair of the dramatics. Just for the fun of it. The horror of what would a stranger be doing grabbing my friend. These were the games Nora played. Nora did wonder if Van was too sleepy to notice. She noticed the other girl grip a garbage can to stay up straight. Interesting.

“I’m down.” Nora accepted her invitation to watch Spiderverse with grace. It was funny, just a week ago Nora wanted to do nothing but sit in her crypt and isolate herself from the world. Now she was ready to get back out there again. It helped to know that the Allgoods were bound together by something more than friendship. They shared a bond, an oath. It was irreplaceable. “Who’s the asshole who keeps stealing your slim jims?” Nora liked slim jims, she’d been stealing some from Emilio lately. “You want me to fight someone for you?” And Nora, even though she was actively trying to scare Van at the moment, knew she would. What she didn’t know was what to do with the information of her friend’s constipation. “I think coffee would help more with that than a pink drink.” 

–

Nora’s question caught Van off guard, but only slightly. She let out a nervous laugh and ran her fingers through her hair. “Why wouldn’t I be sleeping? I’ve been sleeping.” She’d always been a terrible liar. The only place she could effectively lie was behind a computer screen, and even then, sometimes she felt guilty abou tit. At the other girl’s offer, she shook her head. “No, it’s okay, I mean… I don’t want to ruin your routine.” Plus, the idea of working out even if it did exhaust her to the point of no return made her prematurely exhausted. “I’ve been sleeping though, so it’s okay.” She tried to give her best attempt at a reassuring smile, but it fell a little short. 

The figure behind Nora moved and Van felt her mouth go dry. She glanced from Nora who was still blissfully unaware, to the man behind her. He wasn’t real. Couldn’t be. Wouldn’t Nora have noticed? She felt the anxiety bubble, felt her stomach start to churn. “Um–” 

And then Nora accepted the invitation. She cleared her throat, glad for the distraction, no matter how small. “Cool, I’ll uh… I told Ren I’d pick up snacks..” She bit the inside of her cheek, forcing her gaze to remain on Nora’s unmoving expression. At her question, Van shook her head. “I’m not sure.” She hadn’t even thought that it could have been Emilio. It made sense, if she really paid attention to the fact that she’d gotten him hooked on them, he had even admitted it. “Hm?” Distracted, Van did her best to keep her gaze from lifting back up to the figure behind Nora. He looked so clear, even out of the corner of her eye. “No, you don’t…” She rubbed her eyes again, hopeful this time that he’d be gone completely. Of course he wasn’t. “You don’t need to do that.” Van dropped her gaze to the drink that was splattered on the ground. She still felt sticky. “Yeah, maybe. More fiber. People say to eat beans, but I’m not…” She shook her head again, supplying Nora with a nervous smile. “Sorry, I’m–” The figure was still there, no matter how many times she looked away. “I um…” She swallowed thickly, mouth still dry, desperate for some reprieve. “Yeah. Beans.” 

–

“Because you look like you’re running on caffeine and your caffeine just spilled all over the pavement.” Nora answered, kicking her a foot at the slowly drying pink drink that was congealing into the pavement. “It wouldn’t be ruining my routine. It would be adding to it.” Nora added that last bit. “It won’t change anything I do. You’d just be joining.” Nora pulled a knife out of her overall pockets, flipping it between her fingers. Something she’d gotten good at during the restless nights training. “Don’t you think you’d sleep better knowing how to defend yourself?” 

Nora tracked Van’s eyes flicking between herself and the little friend Nora had conjured up for Van to enjoy. The scent of fear was slowly starting to trickle out around them, giving Nora a nice little snack as the conversation progressed. Move night and snacks. “Shame its not a horror movie.” Nora commented, that would have given her ample snacks. “I’ll scrounge up something. Do you want me to steal alcohol from my boss? He’s always got so much around he probably won’t notice a few bottles missing.” It was a shame when Van said she didn’t need to fight the asshole who kept taking her slim jims. Nora was recently certain she could probably win in a fight. It could be fun to fuck around and find out.

Van was starting to get into peak nervous territory. She was stumbling across her words as she tried to grab on to a train of thought long enough to convey whatever constipation talk she’d be on to. Now was the time to strike. The figure behind Nora reached forward, wrapping an arm around her neck and a hand clamping to her mouth as if he was going to drag her back. A portal to “hell” opened behind the both of them, tentacles emerging and waving around ready to drag anyone in. Nora was surprised at how empty their piece of street was, normally this sort of scare would cause a commotion, instead it was just the two teen girls there to enjoy her performance piece. Oh well. 

–

“I–” Van’s eyes widened slightly at the sight of the knife. She looked from it, back to Nora as she flipped it easily over her fingers– to and fro, between, outward. Van was a little mesmerized at the motion, but her grandmother’s voice rang at the back of her mind. “I’m not allowed to play with knives. They’re dangerous.” She was dangerous, too, she thought. What would happen if somebody gave her a knife? Something like what happened with Debbie, only worse? “That’s.. it’s okay, I.. thanks, anyway.” She didn’t think she had much to defend herself from other than girls who wanted her dead, but the only one who did was already gone, decaying in a pit underneath how many more bodies? 

Van blinked at Nora, doing her best to ignore the figure that was still standing behind her. “We could… watch a horror movie, if you want.” She was too tired to argue about what movies they should watch. She had already told Ren they’d be watching Into the Spiderverse, so she felt guilty trying to swap it just to appease Nora. “We can have a sleepover with a scary movie another time if it doesn’t work out.” She swallowed, throat still dry. “Steal… alcohol from your boss?” Every word that Van managed to say was long and drawn out, as if she were only now learning how to speak. It was hard to keep steady when somebody was staring at her from over Nora’s shoulder. But they couldn’t be real, so telling Nora about them would be stupid. “Yeah, that sounds perfect.” 

She thought very briefly about what kind of horror movie they could all watch together. Van knew gore was out of the question, so maybe something with a haunting. She tried her best to adjust her mind to the here and now, to not think about the figure continuing to loom over Nora’s shoulder even as it– what was it doing? Van opened her mouth to speak, but the words caught in her throat. The figure clasped its hand over Nora’s mouth and began to drag her backwards. The portal was reminiscent of one she’d already seen, but– 

“Nora!” Van’s scream was loud, and just next to them, the trashcan that she had held onto began to melt into a puddle. A nearby car alarm went off, and then the windows of it shattered. She made a grab for her friend’s hand, her nails clawing at the other girl’s skin to keep her from falling backwards. Tears wet her eyes as she pulled the other girl back towards her, throwing her arms around her as the figure disappeared. 

–

The look in Van’s eyes struck Nora. Quickly, she shoved the knife back into her overalls. Of course it had been tasteless to pull out the knife. Not after the last time Van had seen Nora with a knife. She hadn’t even thought. The knife she’d pulled out had been Slayer, the old and worn bowie Emilio had given her. The knife that had killed Debbie was also tucked on her person, Vampire, given to her by Metzli. Van said something about not being allowed to play with knives and fuck. Of course, she was fucking normal. Nora had walked away from their Debbie encounter determined to protect herself and everyone she loved. Van had probably walked away traumatized and not wanting to see a knife ever again. Nora was really so fucking stupid. It was a good thing she had a scare on the way to change the subject and get Van’s mind off of it.

“I thought we were watching spiderverse? We can do horror some other time. No one is going anywhere.” Right? The right was silent. Nora didn’t want to lose her new group of friends now that she had made them. “Yeah. Some other time.” Nora agreed. Mission steal alcohol from her boss for a sleep over was ago. Nora knew it wouldn’t be hard. The old man got pissed when she touched his alcohol but he could go out and buy some more.

The scare was ago, the fear coming from Van was ramped up giving Nora a full meal to enjoy. Except something else happened.  Something that didn’t normally come with Nora’s scares. It was as if a disturbance had touched the streets. Windows burst around them, showering the girls in a thin glass rain. Van was dragging Nora back from the illusioned gates of hell, her fingernails digging into Nora’s skin causing pricks of pain to prickle at Nora’s arms, but Nora didn’t care.  Nora let the illusion dissipate around her, standing there like an emoji as she tried to piece together what had happened. The trashcan next to Van, the one that she had been leaning on was melted into a puddle. Nora’s eyes flickered between the two, the melted trash can, a mockery of the pink drink, and to Van, who must have done it?

“What just happened?” Nora asked. Her face refusing to give away any emotion. “What was that about?” Nora flipped around, staring in the opposite direction to see if anyone else was around. People started coming out of the shops to check why their windows had suddenly exploded. Nora could catch whispers of a sudden earthquake, or just too much sun. Someone even joked the car alarm must be pitched too high. Sound other then Van’s screaming, windows shattering, and the car started to fill their world. 

–

Maybe in another life, Van could have listened to Nora talk about self defense and identify with her. Maybe she’d take the knife from Nora and play with it, too. In that life, she wouldn’t be afraid of everything. She would go outside and enjoy the world without care, and she would take Nora up on her lessons, and Cass up on the visit to her supposed home-cave. She could do things without worry. But that was not this life, because Nora was slipping away. 

The figure behind Nora was hard to remember, despite it only having just disappeared. Van stood in front of Nora, fingers digging into her friend’s arms. She stared at her, eyes wide with surprise, completely ignorant to anything that had happened around them. 

Nora was speaking, but Van couldn’t quite hear her. Or maybe that was wrong. Maybe she needed to listen. Van tried to focus, her mouth still dry from the fear that’d dug its talons into her. She felt it all over her body– the way it felt ablaze, the cold sweat at the back of her neck. “What–” She blinked at her friend, not bothering to wipe the tears away from her cheeks as they rolled down, hitting her t-shirt. “I don’t–” She looked behind Nora. The figure was still gone. She blinked rapidly as if to trick the being into coming back, but nothing happened. She let go of Nora’s arms, her fingers stiff. “I don’t… did you…” Van chewed her bottom lip, staring at the other girl, words escaping her. “The man. You didn’t see him?” How had she not? She’d almost got ripped backwards into a void of some kind. It was absurd to think that she hadn’t been aware. But she didn’t seem scared. 

It took her too long to notice the broken glass and the melted trash can. Once she did, something rooted itself in her. “No, no, no.” She shook her head, looking at Nora with a pleading expression. “I didn’t– I didn’t do this, you have to believe me.” Van grabbed one of Nora’s hands and squeezed it tightly. “You believe me, right? I didn’t do this. Please, Nora.” 

—

Van was crying. For a moment, for the briefest moment, Nora was starting to suspect that the scare had been too much. That after everything they had gone through together, Nora should have held back her fun little joke in favor of something soft. The soft place to land that reassured her everything was going to be okay, the place she had in Emilio, Leti and Metzli. It was something she should have offered her friend here. That moment passed; a thought too slippery for Nora to grasp in the confusion of the moment. Nora stared at her friend’s tear-stained face, a question on her lips drowned out by the car alarm.

People were starting to look at them. People were swarming. Van still struggled with words. Nora tried to follow the lines of conversation. See the man? Yes she had created the man. But Nora couldn’t answer, Van was still going. Nos followed by a I didn’t do this believe me. Please believe me. The hair standing up on the back of Nora’s neck told her that she didn’t know what to believe. The windows didn’t explode because of Nora. If Van didn’t do it, then something did. Right?

Nora flipped the grip on Van. No longer being held on to by her friend, Nora was holding her, dragging her into the crowd and propelling them through. Her elbow met with any person that didn’t move fast enough as Nora shoved them farther and farther from the scene of the… of whatever that had been. If it wasn’t Van, and it wasn’t Nora it was something. “We’re going to your house.” Nora told Van. “It’ll be okay. I’ll keep us safe.” Nora looked back at her friend. Her friend that was bonded to her through promise and their shared scar. “I believe you.” Because Nora did. At least she wanted to. 

[stardustandash]

I did this for another SW fandom yesterday, and it was fun so

Headcanons about the bad batch and cooking:

Wrecker: Is the best cook of the batch. He is the king of comfort food. What’re you craving? He’ll make it. Also will try to fix your emotional problems by making your favourite foods. Even if he hasn’t encountered a recipe before he will make it and it will be amazing on the first try. However, he cannot bake to save his life.

Hunter: This man knows one thing and its barbecue. And by barbecue I mean he is an expert at cooking meat to a safe degree over open flame whether that’s an actual fire or a barbecue. Somehow he makes those “just add water” camp meals taste better when he makes them. But when put in an actual kitchen the best he can do is a pb&j.

Tech: he can “cook”, but hasn’t quite gotten the making a meal part down. He puts together the most nutritious ingredients, and cooks each one to ensure the maximum level of vitamins, nutrients, and food safety. He also doesn’t quite understand why things taste bland, as he always forgets to include herbs and spices as they have negligible nutritional value. However, he makes bread from scratch that’s absolutely insane.

Echo: Doesn’t cook often, and not overly adventurous in ingredients or flavour palates, but when he does its something elaborate. Absolutely has to be left alone in the kitchen while he’s cooking. He wields utensils like weapons and will use them to smack his brothers out of the space while he cooks. He likes to make fancy brunch for the batch when he can, complete with mimosas. 

Crosshair: This man only knows caf. What do you mean ration bars aren’t a complete meal. They have everything you need in them. What does flavour and texture have to do with fuelling your body. He does know what station/planet they are on by the flavour of the caf and will be upset if the Marauder isn’t stocked with his preferred type.

Omega: As she hasn’t really had much other than mess hall food and ration bars, she never stepped into a kitchen before meeting the batch. However, that does not mean she isn’t enthusiastic about trying. There have been a few fires, and she’s not great, but she hasn’t poisoned any of them yet. The only one who will finish a plate of her food is Hunter at this point in time. 

[rabbitcruiser]

National Bittersweet Chocolate Day 

Indulge in this darker, richer confectionery along with its various health benefits and bake some chocolate chip cookies to really bring out the flavor.

Sometimes the rich, sweet flavor of milk chocolate just isn’t what will satisfy that craving. Sometimes, the taste buds want to relish in the underlying bitterness that is intrinsic to darker chocolates. And National Bittersweet Chocolate Day is the perfect day to enjoy just that!

There are certainly a lot of different types of chocolates from all around the world, but dark chocolate reigns supreme on National Bittersweet Chocolate Day.

Get ready for National Bittersweet Chocolate Day!

History of National Bittersweet Chocolate Day

The first thing to know about National Bittersweet Chocolate Day is precisely what kind of chocolate it celebrates. The most common type of chocolate in the United States is milk chocolate, synonymous with brands like Hershey’s or Ghirardelli’s most popular lines of chocolate. These are made with lots of sugar, and a healthy dose of milk, bringing about the flavor that many people know and love.

But chocolate wasn’t always made that way! In fact, for many centuries, the cacao bean was used to create a hot drink that was enjoyed by the ancient Mayan people and ancient Olmec people who inhabited the southern portions of what is now Mexico. The chocolate of those times was revered and used in various celebrations and ceremonies. It would have been very bitter, sometimes sweetened with honey or spiced up with chilli peppers.

Today’s celebration of bittersweet chocolate falls in the middle of the scale between the ancient bitter chocolate drink and the milk chocolate that is popular around the world.

Bittersweet Chocolate, with one variety also known as dark chocolate, takes a unique approach. In making chocolate of the dark variety, fat and sugar are added to cocoa, without adding milk to even out the bitterness. It tends to be harder, richer, and a common ingredient in baking. And, of course, it is one of the foundational flavors in the richest of chocolate drinks, especially Mexican chocolate, which is made with a hint of Cayenne.

Real Bittersweet, however, is a lightly sweetened chocolate. Interestingly, this is the kind of chocolate most commonly used in baking, including the American Favorite, chocolate chip cookies.

How to Celebrate National Bittersweet Chocolate Day

This is a fun day to celebrate, whether alone or with a group of friends. Keep it simple with a chocolate bar, or make a big deal out of it by throwing a party in honor of the day! In any case, this is a day that is easy to celebrate. Try out some of these ideas:

Enjoy a Bittersweet Chocolate Bar

The best way to celebrate National Bittersweet Chocolate Day is to indulge that taste for the bitter side of things by picking up a bar of bittersweet chocolate to enjoy. The great thing about it is that the flavor is often so strong that just a little bit goes a long way!

Not sure what qualifies as bittersweet chocolate? Well, the rules might be a bit fuzzy when distinguishing between categories. But the general guideline is that, in order to qualify as bittersweet, dark or semisweet, chocolate must contain at least 35% cacao and less than 12% milk solids. However, today, many gourmet dark chocolate brands are putting out chocolate bars that are running in the 70% or even higher.

Single-origin chocolate bars are all the rage now, so sample some from a few different regions around the world and see which is best!

Learn About the Health Benefits of Bittersweet Chocolate

In recent years, it has come to the attention of healthy people that chocolate can actually be healthy. Sure, the sugary-sweet versions that are packed with milk solids are not very good for the body, but don’t blame the chocolate! The actual chocolate itself can be very nutritious when consumed in moderation, with health benefits including:

Nutritional Value. Dark chocolate contains fiber, iron, copper, magnesium and manganese.

Beneficial for Lowering Bad Cholesterol. Bittersweet chocolate may have the ability to lower bad cholesterol, which may actually have benefits to heart health and be able to reduce the risk of heart disease.

High in Antioxidants. Fighting off free radicals, a little bit of low-sugar dark chocolate in the diet each day may be able to clean up the body of destructive, age-inducing, cancer-causing cells,

Contains Flavonols. This substance may help to relax the arteries which, in turn, helps with improved blood flow and perhaps even lowers blood pressure in certain people.

Source

[crapcafe]

hearing people talking about cooking is always such an interesting topic and i'm gonna take a min to ramble about it. i learned how to cook (eggs and pasta mostly) as a kid from my mom because she learned to cook at a young age as well and she would also be gone on work trips pretty often. later on in life i worked in restaurant kitchens as a kitchen manager and a line cook. i've even had the displeasure of working alongside new hire line cooks that don't fucking know how to cook but figure that they can still do the job (they could not)

some things just become intuitive so it's hard for me to remember exactly what i needed to focus on learning and what did just come naturally from the start, but a lot of it relates to just general science/chemistry knowledge. denser items will take longer to cook than less dense things (potatoes take forfuckingever but sliced button mushrooms take like a minute or two), high heat makes things cook way faster so liquids will boil off sooner, dense items will sear/burn quicker, and thin/small things will just burn. some professional cooks don't even know this based on the amount of times i've had to talk coworkers out of turning the fryer temp higher because things were taking a long time to cook (this is a great way to get a nice crispy skin on some shit that's still frozen in the middle)

there's a lot of learning how to read recipes. abbreviations (sometimes tablespoon is T or tb or TBSP or Tbs), how to adjust amounts if you need more or less of something, looking up substitutions for things (if you don't have milk but need to make a cream sauce, using applesauce instead of oil or butter or eggs in some baking recipes, etc). its definitely a skill to know how to read some recipes, and coming in with your own knowledge is great, but it's another instance of "you need to learn the rules to know how to break them." this is how you get the screenshots of ppl substituting kale in their banana cookie recipes and then wondering why they suck

thinking of foods in terms of nutritional value can also be helpful. if you have tortilla chips and salsa youre technically getting some vegetables in you. frozen and dried fruits and veggies are still fruits and veggies. rice and beans is grains and protein. miso soup with tofu and spinach is lots of protein and iron. romaine salad with balsamic vin, olive oil, feta, and tomatoes is some vitamins and fats and calcium but without grains and fiber it wont give you too much energy so have some bread or something with it. moving away from processed food will make you feel better. apple slice and peanut butter is my new depression meal bc it makes me feel more alive than shredded cheese from the bag and you can feel like a roman emperor a bit.

if you're just starting out learning how to cook: try to keep it simple with starch + veggie + protein (veggie pasta is a staple classic, roast some stuff and toss it with pasta and garlic and olive oil), find something with just a handful of ingredients that you actually want to eat. the act of cooking can be fun but not everyone thinks its fun, so at least make sure you'll want to eat the final product. if there's any sauces you really like try to keep some on hand. gochujang+soy sauce+sesame oil+sugar+broth can be really good in a stir fry, and basically all of those things will last a long time.

anyway theres a lot of text about cooking. theres a reason i stayed working in kitchens for almost 5 years despite how shit working in kitchens is. i like food and cooking. its one of the few things humans have been doing for a bajillion years and its necessary to live a healthy life and if you can find some fun and peace in the process then thats even better. theres no shame in not knowing how to cook but there is shame in refusing to try and learn imo

insert senshi page about eating well and exercising regularly to live a healthy life

[honeysharkjuice]

What would your cursed technique/domain expansion be?

I saw a tik tok asking people what their cursed technique would be in Jujutsu Kaisen and I got all excited and posted a thorough description of the one I came up with in the comments. however, someone commented making fun of how long my comment was so I deleted it because fuck tik tok. in exchange i’m posting it here and asking what would your cursed technique/domain expansion be?

I know we’ve all thought about it and i’m sure people have really cool answers so i’d love to hear them. feel free to elaborate as much or as little as you want, no one’s here to judge just to have fun.

my answer:

i got the idea for it from the receipt guy megumi fights in the culling games. the technique would be the ability to conjure items out of images of the item. so pictures, paintings, drawings, etc. the more accurate the image the less cursed energy it uses because there are less ‘gaps’ to fill in when conjuring it.

items could be altered when being conjured but the more dramatic the change the more cursed energy it uses. additionally, they can be altered after creation but that, again, uses more cursed energy. for example: increasing the size of something.

the technique would allow for the conjuring of animals, but they would be more like shikigami than real animals. food items could be conjured but because they’re born of cursed energy wouldn’t have any nutritional value thus are ultimately pointless.

after an item is conjured it doesn’t take any effort to maintain its existence but because it is made of ‘my’ cursed energy I would always be able to manipulate it in any way including making it disappear.

my thought was I could get a bunch of tattoos of useful things and that way i’d at least always have those things on me.

finally, the domain expansion would be ‘domain expansion gallery’ which would be an art gallery where the art comes to life and attacks the opponent.

what would yours be? what inspired it?

[killemwithkawaii]

Shame on me I still have not sent you an official ask since following you so here I go!

Your Bliss art are some of my faves from you! 💚 🦠Any backstory you got with it or hcs or further scenarios? 👀💚

>Ehehe well, 'late' is always better than 'never'! uwu

>Eeee that makes me really happy to hear! Bliss is SO MUCH FUN to draw and I love thinking about it and Sal hanging out together. It's amazing how a little 'haha wouldn't that be funny' idea can grow into a whole AU that you're super attached to 🥺💖

>I do want to write more about them interacting (and getting to the 'third date stuff'), but it's not one of the projects I'm currently focused on. I would, however, love to share some tidbits about it (these will technically be spoilers for the eventual continuation, but🤷‍♂️)

About Bliss-

[CW: Mind control/manipulation, discussion of sentient beings/humans as food (???)]

>A lot of people that haven't read the original fic think that Bliss is supposed to be the Endless One, but Bliss is actually another member of the Endless Ones species! I have a theory that the Endless One is just an alien with abilities humans can't comprehend, so they think its magic (etc), and it keeps up the image to get its kicks and a steady food supply.

A little about the species:

>Nomadic and space-faring with a lifespan of billions (sometimes trillions) of years, going through various stages of growth, atrophy and dormancy depending on the amount of organic matter they have access to. They grow exponentially when food is abundant, and use the stored nutrients within their bodies to sustain themselves when organic matter isn't available (which causes them to shrink). Prolonged inaccess to organic matter (usually when the planet they're on is no longer able to support life or is destroyed) causes them to hibernate until they detect sentience, signaling that food is once again available.

>Their level of psychic ability and nervous system manipulation is based on their size and age. A huge, ancient individual can read and manipulate the minds of an entire planet, while a near-microscopic individual fresh out of dormancy has a 'read-only' range of a few feet.

>The species can consume pretty much any organic compound and aren't very picky- they can't taste or smell on their own, so preference is completely based on nutritional value and ease of access. Sentient creatures are usually very nutrient-rich and mobile, so Bliss' species evolved to detect and manipulate nervous systems as a hunting tactic, but they can also resort to scavenging or filter-feeding if need be.

>They do, however, develop preferences for certain sentience levels, emotions, thoughts, and tactile sensations as they grow. Some find high intelligence and complex sensory input fascinating and will actively seek it out, while others find it 'overstimulating' and limit their hunting to lower lifeforms. Some enjoy playing with their food and will manipulate the nervous systems of sentient individuals to achieve whatever emotion/sensation strikes their fancy. Bliss has a taste for pleasure/happiness and is fascinated with the sensory input and emotions associated with it, while the Endless One has a taste for fear/confusion/pain and creates complex narratives to achieve it.

>It is not at all unusual for highly sentient lifeforms to form religions/cults/etc. around individuals of Bliss' species, as they are perceived as being all-powerful and beyond comprehension to most. (these cults make for an excellent readily-available source of food and entertainment)

>While their own sensory organs are very simple, Bliss' species can experience a limitless range of sensation by tapping into the perspectives of other sentient individuals. Some prefer to experience these sensations and the resulting emotions vicariously and through chance, but others will cause them purposefully when the mood strikes. Bliss has mostly been a bystander, but became interested in being a direct cause of pleasure when it met Sally. 💙

>When causing thoughts/sensations by manipulating the nervous system, Bliss' species has to work with what's already there. They cannot make brand new ideas or make you experience something you have no basis for. They can, however, get creative with combining and distorting memories/feelings/sensations to make something you perceive as 'new'. (This is the motivation for being a direct cause of sensory input/emotion- to experience 'the real thing,' at the source, rather than a very convincing guess based on a combination of flawed memories)

[quetzalpapalotl]

Aircee, 18, 21, 25

Thank you for indulging me uwu

18.- who cooks?

Mmmm, I cannot stress how little homely skills Arcee has. She spent her life as a gladiatoral slave, then in a battlefield, then as a cryptid and then scouting the galaxy for traces of Jhiaxus. She's used to consume her energon in whatever form she can.

But given how little resources they had at Caminus, I imagine everyone just consumed the bare minimun without any fancy additions or anything. Aileron may know some recipes in how to add minerals and other stuff to energon, but they're focused on maximizing its nutritional value rather than making it taste good.

So neither is exactly a chef, but after being amazed at their new abundance, Aileron may decide to extend her skills and learn what things can be cooked and ingested just for fun. It would be nice if it was something they decided to learn together, as there aren't many areas where they stand on a similar skill level.

21.- do they go on dates? what are they like?

They do! Especially whenever Aileron comes back from exploration, Arcee likes to show her around Earth and what the humans are up to now (Arcee is very interested in Earth culture in order to create a path for humans and Cybertronians to walk together), while Aileron tells her about what she found in space. They also just really enjoy taking in the sights together, it all feels more beautiful when you have someone with you, then they start to make out, lol.

25.- who’s the laziest?

I don't think either could be called lazy. But I suppose that Aileron is very excited to know what's out there after all those years of being restrained by Caminus' lack of resources, she wants to eat the world! Meanwhile Arcee has had a very hectic life and has seen maybe not all, but a lot, so she's more comfortable taking things slow and just chilling.

[tanveesharma]

VidaSlim vs Herbalife: A Lighthearted Look at the Battle of Weight Loss Titans

In the world of weight loss supplements, VidaSlim and Herbalife are like the superheroes of nutrition. But as in any classic tale, there's always the question: Who wins the battle of benefits? Let's dive into a fun, comparative analysis and see if VidaSlim can claim the crown of cost-effectiveness and simplicity over Herbalife.

Round 1: Cost-Effectiveness

Let's talk numbers, the language of the wallet. VidaSlim plays a neat game with an MRP of 1400 INR for a week's supply, totaling 5600 INR per month. Now, if we put on our math caps, that’s a cost of about 1400 INR per kg lost, given their claim of up to 14 kg weight loss in 15 weeks. That's like buying a mid-range pair of jeans for the price of a high-end brand!

Herbalife, on the other hand, steps into the ring with a heavier price tag. At 292 INR per day, and 8760 INR for a month, it’s like opting for a 5-star buffet when you just wanted a healthy meal. Is your wallet sweating yet?

Round 2: Simplicity and Usage

VidaSlim keeps it as simple as a morning cup of tea. One meal replacement and you're good to go - no fuss, no muss. It’s like having a butler serve your nutrition on a silver platter.

Herbalife, in contrast, seems to be playing a game of nutritional Tetris. With a two-meal replacement plan that involves a complex mix of products, it might feel like you need a degree in mixology to get your meal prepped.

Round 3: Composition – Herbal vs. Non-Herbal

VidaSlim struts in with its herbal ingredients, like walking into a party with a green smoothie in hand – trendy, health-conscious, and eco-friendly. It’s the nutrition equivalent of wearing organic cotton.

Herbalife, sans the herbal tag, is like opting for synthetic fabric. It does the job, but it misses the earthy connection that makes you feel like a friend of Mother Nature.

Round 4: The Weight Loss Claim Fame

VidaSlim comes with a bold claim of up to 16 kg weight loss in 4 months. That's like shedding the weight of a medium-sized dog or a hefty stack of books you've been meaning to read.

Herbalife, playing it coy, doesn’t make a specific weight loss claim. It's like saying, "Trust me, I'm good," without showing the diploma.

Round 5: NR (Net Realizable) Value

When it comes to the bang for your buck, VidaSlim offers a net realizable value of 889 INR, while Herbalife’s NR value after discounts dances around 1480 INR. In layman's terms, VidaSlim is like getting a premium streaming service at the cost of basic cable.

Conclusion: The Weigh-In

So, who wins this witty war of weight loss warriors? If your vote goes to simplicity, cost-effectiveness, and a herbal approach, VidaSlim might just be your champion. But remember, every hero has its fans, and the best choice always depends on your personal weight loss quest, budget, and lifestyle.

Click here to get your hands on Vidaslim today!