#this is probably saltier than it should be

[domoz]

An a/b/o mada/hika/tobi (in that order) something or other.

(Which I need you to understand, is not something I thought I'd ever be writing. But here we are.)

In this au high status alpha/omega pairs often take a beta or two into their household to act as an assistant/handmaid/servant/etc etc. which is what Hikaku is doing here.

The moment Tobirama enters the room, Madara goes stiff. At a glance nothing seems wrong, and Tobirama pauses, seemingly as surprised at the reaction as Hikaku is.

A closer look shows Madara's pupils have blown wide, which means this is probably one of those instinctual things -- what's caused it though, Hikaku isn't sure. A deep breath of his own mostly gets him a nose full of Madara's overpowering campfire scent; if Tobirama's is doing anything different he doesn't know the man well enough to tell.

It's… A little saltier, maybe? Nothing so extreme that he couldn't chalk it up to a shift in emotion --

"You're in pre-heat." Madara blurts.

Oh. Well then.

The exclamation seems to have shocked all three of them. Tobirama's lips part for a moment before his expression tightens.

"Apologies." He says, "It's earlier than usual. I did not realize."

They probably should have expected this, all things considered. Tobirama may not be a typical omega, but spending so much time in the house with the alpha he had recently married and consummated with would wreak havoc on anyone's biology. Or so Hikaku has heard.

"Well, what do you -- I mean --" Madara sputters, color rising to his cheeks, "How do you want to handle it?"

There's a brief flash of surprise across Tobirama's face, one so small it would likely be missed by someone who's not an Uchiha, but it's there. Almost like he hadn't been expected to be asked.

"…I understand that I'm expected to bear your heirs." Tobirama says at length, "But if it is an option, I would like to wait to do so until after peace is more stable."

Until he knows they won't be born right back into another war. Madara nods, lets out a slow breath of his own.

(Breaths in through his mouth, Hikaku notices, but Tobirama's scent still seems so mild, to him).

"In that case, I think it's best if Hikaku takes care of you." Madara grunts.

Hikaku feels his eyebrows shoot up to his hairline, and wonders if Tobirama is looking at his clan head with a matching look of incredulity. What Madara's asking for isn't unheard of, but for a newly mated couple's first heat…

"I'm not ordering you to do anything that makes you uncomfortable." Madara clarifies, voice rising in pitch. His face has gone a lovely puce, but he doesn't take it back. "Either of you. Use your best judgement! But if we're trying to avoid… That, it shouldn't be me."

"…Right." Hikaku says, suddenly feeling dizzy. He's not actually ever experienced an unrelated omega's heat firsthand. He's heard plenty of stories, but all they're serving to do in this moment is leave him feeling woefully under-prepared.

But. He thinks with sudden clarity. Tobirama is hardly the kind of omega you hear about in stories. In cases like these it's best to just…

"Well then. Tobirama-san." He clears his throat and tries to fight off his own rising blush, "How do you want me to help?"

There's the twitch of an eyebrow again, the barely there surprise.

"Boil some water for tea and bring it to my rooms." Tobirama says after a moment. He hesitates where he stands in the doorway, and the silence stretches so long that it must mean that he wants to say something more, but some pride or embarrassment is stopping him.

Hikaku has already given in that he's not going to get out of this situation (this entire arrangement, really) with his pride unscathed, so he forces a smile and asks, "Would it be helpful for me to bring something that smells…" He nods at Madara, who is all but hiding behind his hair at this point. Like an alpha, he means, like Madara, like your mate.

Tobirama tilts his head in consideration, no trace of whatever had been stopping him, which meant this likely wasn't what he had been considering at all.

"I suppose it couldn't hurt." He says.

Madara gapes open mouthed for a moment before ducking his head.

"Okay. I can just…" Madara pulls off his haori, looks at it pensively for a moment before rubbing the fabric on his face and neck. Hikaku politely pretends not to notice the way Tobirama is watching with rapt attention.

Seeing as how Tobirama is across the room and how Madara appears to be entirely resistant to getting any closer, he hands the garment to Hikaku, who fights to keep himself from making a face as he folds it over his arm.

It would be a wildly inappropriate time to laugh. Still, the urge is there.

Tobirama clears his throat.

"That should be fine." He says, "You may also wish to bring a book."

He turns and flees back to his room before Hikaku can ask for clarification.

With the omega gone, Hikaku lets himself sigh. Quiet enough that it doesn't draw Madara's attention away from where Tobirama just left. He looks like he's about to vibrate out of his skin.

"…Madara-sama." He says tentatively, and those dark eyes snap to him, "Do you think you could handle a patrol, right now?"

It's one of the best ways he knows to help Madara get his instincts under control, letting him guard his territory and deem it safe. At the suggestion, his clan head all but shoots to his feet.

"Yes." Madara says, and now that the mortification has passed his voice is so low it's almost a growl. "I'm going to -- yes."

Hikaku looks down. He has plenty of reason to be blushing right now so if he is, it hardly matters. He swallows hard and reminds himself that this isn't about him.

Madara takes a step towards the front door, then another before pausing.

"…Good luck."

Madara, too, disappears out the door before Hikaku can formulate a response. With him gone, too, Hikaku groans and thumps his head against the table.

This is what you signed up for. He reminds himself, you knew this could happen.

The possibility had been there yes, but reality has him feeling so nervous that his hands are shaking when he forces himself up to boil the water for tea.

Hikaku scowls at them. Trained shinobi, and here he is getting shaky over the possibility of helping an omega through their heat. Tobirama is the omega in question, so he supposes some slack could be allowed, but still.

He only has until the water is boiling to dither around, then with another deep breath (and the room still smells mostly like Madara even now) he walks to where Tobirama is waiting for him, tea tray balanced on one hand, Madara's haori and book of poetry under the other arm-- which he's still got no clue about, but Tobirama suggested it and he's just --

He's just… Here to help, that's all.

Hands full as they are, it's awkward to rap on the door, but Hikaku manages, and also to maneuver it open when after a moment Tobirama calls, "Come in."

The pale omega is sitting cross legged on the floor, a series of tins open in front of him, the contents of which he appears to have meticulously measured and mixed together.

"You can set the tray here." Tobirama gestures to the floor in front of him, "And-- hm. You may as well put on the haori."

Hikaku does not allow himself to make a sound of surprise at that, but he knows his face must be burning scarlet.

He really, really hopes that Tobirama isn't going to ask him to pretend to be Madara. Still, he pulls the over-large garment over his shoulders and shakily falls to his knees to sit across from Tobirama.

This is not how he'd imagined he might end up with Madara's clothes on.

The herbal smell of whatever mixture Tobirama has put together is strong; it too almost overpowers the sea-salt scent of what must be the omega's pre-heat smell, and it only grows stronger when he opens the teapot and dumps it in to steep.

"I would offer you some, but I can reliably inform you that it tastes abysmal." Tobirama says without inflection. Hikaku blinks.

"I take it that it's medicinal?"

Tobirama nods.

"It helps shorten heats and lessens their symptoms, among other things."

Oh, well that's…

Hikaku feels some of the weight leave his shoulders. However this goes, he can at least take some relief in knowing it won't be as bad as it could have been.

They sit in silence as the tea steeps, and then as Tobirama pours a cup without giving Hikaku the chance to do it for him. That taken from him, all Hikaku can do is observe and try not to fidget.

Now that he's noticed it, that ocean-breeze smell is really starting to fill the room. It's not a bad scent, he decides. Objectively speaking.

When Tobirama finishes, he sets down his cup without making a sound. Hikaku forces himself to breath, to not allow himself to grow tense again, because surely that will make everything that comes next more difficult.

"My heats are usually quite mild." Tobirama says at last, "With this, I'm often able to ignore them entirely, except for how they cause others to behave. Though the fact that its come early may hint that something has changed, I don’t anticipate anything too extreme."

"…Okay." Says Hikaku, throat dry, "How do you want me to help?"

Tobirama blinks, and now that he's looking, Hikaku can see the way all of Tobirama's movement has gone just a little sluggish.

"Just…Hm. Sit on the futon, for now."

Mechanically, Hikaku nods and moves to sit at the head of the futon. It's got a few extra blankets on it, he notes, but not the huge amount he's heard to expect from a nest. Maybe this is all a utilitarian man like Tobirama needs?

Tobirama sits next to him after a moment, purses his lips.

"… Stay like that." He says.

So Hikaku does -- stays frozen in place as Tobirama all but drapes himself over Hikaku's lap, loops one arm loosely around his waist, buries his face near his side where the fabric of the haori is bunched together. The omega shifts. Gets comfortable. Sighs.

"Is it true that you can smell me in heat and not feel the instinct to do anything?"

"…Yes." Says Hikaku. He thinks so, at least, because he's still not entirely certain what people mean when they talk about having instincts like that, "When I smell you I just… Think it smells nice. That's all."

"…That seems useful." Comes Tobirama's voice after what feels like an age, muffled by fabric "To not be ruled by your urges."

"…It has it's drawbacks." Hikaku admits, "I can't tell what a stranger is feeling through scent alone, and some social cues pass me by entirely."

There's a reason betas don't often enter the world of politics, after all. Entire conversations can be had just through scent.

"Hm." Is all Tobirama has to say in response to that, and then, "If you wish to pet my hair, feel free. Otherwise, I am going to nap."

"Oh." Says Hikaku blankly. "Alright."

For the moment, at least, there is no grinding or biting or leaking like Hikaku has heard often accompanies heats. Maybe if he doesn't draw attention to it, there wont be.

This, he supposes, is why Tobirama recommended him to bring a book. Which does come in handy, because Tobirama is apparently content to lay like that for hours.

After the first, Hikaku works up the courage to run his hand through Tobirama's hair, just once. It's soft, and the man doesn't respond at all because he is well and truly asleep.

After the second, Hikaku's legs start to cramp, but he remains still. This is well within the realm discomforts he's to handle as a shinobi, after all, and less than he thought he'd be feeling today.

After the third, Tobirama rolls off of his legs and blinks up blearily at him.

"If you're invested in helping, you could consider telling Madara to stop stalking back and forth outside."

Madara was --?

Well, he had been doing it unobtrusively to anyone but one of the best sensors in the world. To have done a patrol of Uchiha lands in three hours, though… Hikaku hadn't thought him so eager to return.

He takes a moment to stretch out his legs before making for the door. When he slides it open, he's immediately hit by the smell -- not just a campfire but spicy, now too.

Hikaku hadn't recognized the change in Tobirama's smell, but he's known Madara long enough to know what he smells like going into a rut.

They should have predicted this, too. After all, his new mate had gone into heat right in front of him. Personal feelings for each other aside, it would have been more surprising if this didn't happen.

Madara freezes from where he's clearly been pacing the corridor, eyes zeroing first on Hikaku, and then on the room behind him.

This, at least, Hikaku has an idea of how to deal with.

"Hold on a moment." He says. Closes the door.

"Tobirama.-san" He turns to the omega, who has been watching the proceedings with half lidded eyes, "May I borrow one of the blankets you've been lying on?"

"Mm?" Tobirama hums, "Ah. I see."

When he pulls the blanket out from under himself, Tobirama, too, nuzzles his face into it for a moment, before holding it out to Hikaku. He's decidedly less ashamed about the whole ordeal, though whether that's because he's currently in heat, or just because he's a shameless man, Hikaku can't say.

"Thank you." He says, and doesn't bother folding the blanket, because the moment he opens the door again and holds it out to Madara, the man snatches it from him, eyes blown wide.

"Do you need anything else, Madara-sama?" He asks.

Madara doesn't even seem capable of mustering words right now. He shakes his head, and retreats down the hallway without ever turning his back to Hikaku. When he finally ducks into his own room, all Hikaku can do is shake his head and fight back a fond smile.

It's a bit like introducing two cats to each other, he thinks dryly. But it can be done.

[tavina-writes]

i find it extremely funny that we (mxtx fandoms in general but mdzs especially) will get into huge shouting matches about timelines and research and accuracy and meanwhile she was like "the death of the nie bros' dad, an event extremely important to explaining the buildup to the war that affected literally every single member of the cast, could have happened anywhere in these five whole-ass years" and "yeah they totally had potatoes don't worry about it lol". truly airplane was an autobiographical character.

You know nonny, I DO find this intensely funny at times. My uh, main source of "shaking my head at this" happens when inevitably, meta goes around and we rush back and forth going "X WAS A GOOD PERSON" and "X WAS EVIL! EVIL!" etc, which happens every now and again and always makes me a bit like "ah, yes, it's difficult to convey nuance and also differing points of view that may in whole or in part also be legitimate and valuable to discuss on a place like tumblr/the internet in general because it is difficult to grapple with uncertainties and we often want to nail things down one way or another so we can figure out if we're right or not" <- but this often comes out as me writing a joke post. Or a saltier post than I intended. Sometimes because I'm tired and sometimes because I just happen to be a salty individual on main.

And I do think fandom is a place where like, multiple interpretations of an event or a statement or a character's "morality" and themes and choices are often equally valid. And fandom should be a place for that, that's what makes fandom fun. If there was a One True Interpretation of the text there'd be no need for interpreting text at all, and that's distinctly sad for me. That's no fun. Anyone who tries to use their knowledge to cudgel people into the One True Interpretation is wrong, btw.

Though I think, and here's where I feel that research and accuracy is a nuanced thing and should actually be of consideration for meta/fic/engaging with fandom in general, and why perhaps people strive for it -- the "lol, potatoes" and "poetry from whatever era I want" is fun! MXTX, however, is still writing about a fantasy version of her own culture, which offers along with it a foundational basis of knowledge that makes this...easier? And again, here's where the part of me that does enjoy these anachronisms and inaccuracies (because they're fun and since we have flying swords why not potatoes) wars with the part of me that's also like, "okay but there is a difference between 'not knowing enough to be respectful of the background surrounding the characters and why that might inform their actions' and 'I've decided that peppers, which did not exist in Eurasia prior to the Columbian Exchange are a big thing here now.'" The difference is respect. Different members of fandom will draw this line in different places and it hits different on different days.

And this is one of the struggles of engaging with foreign language media a lot of the time - we try to strike a balance between engaging with it based on our own experiences and backgrounds and not accidentally saying anything offensive or strange or 'that would totally never happen' or 'he would not fucking talk like that' and I've found, with my time in this fandom, most people who are concerned with accuracy and research are largely trying to be respectful and avoid such gaffes.

Over the two or so years I've been here, I've also reacted to people who've insisted their interpretation is the correct one when it was definitely a case of 'the version Chinese culture that I'm familiar with 200% does not work like that', and saltily wandered off to vent about how 'this is inaccurate and also rude' or try to explain why it wouldn't happen like that. Maybe this comes off as preachy at times, or overly concerned with "accuracy," but that is typically where that sort of reaction comes from for me. I expect this is probably true for other people as well!

And by no means like, do we only engage in fandom because we want to be educated or educate others, and by no means is that an obligation of any fic writer or meta writer or casual fandom goer. We engage with media because it engages us, and we engage with fandom because we love community, and sometimes its no more complex than that.

I enjoy research and art history so that's typically why this appears in my fic, and I started out on doing it to better connect with my own heritage, which I've found more important to me as I've gotten older, so that's where it comes from for me.

Apologies nonny, this was probably not the answer you were looking for and I do commiserate, I'm just chronically unable to be funny on main. 😔

TLDR: there's always nuance in everything unfortunately. Even if this is the no nuance webbed site.

[miracles-and-butterflies]

oh god Luisa is the healer? Is she still a nightmare in the kitchen?

“I’m sorry? You don’t like my obleas? Die then.”

Luisa takes a lot of pride in her cooking, and that’s ignoring all the healing benefits of it.

After she got her gift, the adults quickly found themselves forever banned from the kitchen, unless they want to face Luisa’s rage and criticism. It’s a similar case for the rest of the kids.

She doesn’t simply do snack-like foods either. She’ll create entire feasts daily, just to show off. Even the animals will be fed the best of the best.

She doesn’t take well to rude or obnoxious complaints either. She’ll just refuse to heal you. She’ll later be forced to do so and apologise by her mother, but… if the food is a little saltier than it should be, just know you probably deserved it.

[addictedtostorytelling]

Hi! Would you be able to talk a bit about how you see Sara's relationship with Abby Fisher?

hi, anon!

so i will warn you up front: i am a great hater of the later seasons of csi and don't really have anything nice to say about them. that so, this answer is pretty critical of the writing of episode 15x12 "dead woods" and its depiction of sara and abby's relationship.

to give a "desalinized" short version of what i say below here: i actually like the impulse behind the whole "sara has a relationship with a foster kid" storyline; i just don't think the writers executed the idea well. logistically, the whole thing has more than a few holes. also, the vibes are off. ultimately, i have a difficult time emotionally investing because the implied depth just isn't there.

for a much saltier (and longer) explanation, click the "keep reading."

__

so here's the thing: one of the many skills which the writers of the later seasons of the show lacked was the ability to imply depth in their narratives.

while most of the time, this deficiency manifested in the form of them failing to provide any kind of contextual details about the characters' lives outside of work—would it have killed them to have sara occasionally mention visiting grissom or to every once in a while show her on the phone with him past s11?—it also sometimes did so in the form of them attempting to shoehorn in biographical information for the established characters that either contradicted or at least didn't mesh well with previously related canonical facts (e.g., when they accidentally changed sara's birthday, only to later change it back again).

and, to me, the whole abby fisher storyline falls into that latter category.

don't get me wrong: on paper, i think having sara connect with a foster child and mentor her is a really wonderful idea. executed properly, it could have been a source for some truly interesting character development for her—which, god knows, in the later seasons, she was severely lacking!—and may have even been something healing for her.

it's just—

to my mind, the way the storyline was written is so unbelievable and ultimately incongruent from sara's previously established character history that i can't really buy into it, either intellectually or emotionally.

problem #1 is the supposed timeline of it all.

within the episode, we learn that sara works the fisher case and first meets abby on 08.20.04, as is shown by the dates on the evidence photos taken at the original scene. however, that date falls right during the same interval when sara is supposedly on vacation between s4 and s5 (see episodes 04x23 "bloodlines" and 05x01 "viva las vegas").

and i know, i know! really, that discrepancy is such a small thing that only a truly nitpicky fan like myself might even notice!

i should probably just let it go.

but the thing is, it's not just an issue of sara not technically being in vegas or around to work the case at that time but also one of her not being in the right mental/emotional state to be able open up to a traumatized child then, either.

more on that point below.

furthermore, it's also not the only "fudge" of its kind.

in fact, it's actually indicative of a more general inattention to detail on the parts of the writers.

anthony zuiker took the lead writing credit for this episode, and, honestly, he's somewhat notorious for not knowing his own show's canon. he prides himself on being a big picture "ideas" guy, not a minutiae/details guy, and sometimes, the fact that he isn't the latter thing is really, really obvious. i mean, this is the same man who had to crowdsource major story arc recaps from fans on twitter to remind him of what had been going on on his own show before he wrote the series finale, for chrissake! and even then, he still got a bunch of the "fine print" stuff, like grissom not knowing who russell is, wrong.

this error being just one among many makes me less willing to ignore and/or gloss over it.

beyond the issue of sara's initial meeting with abby not fitting the timeline of the earlier seasons, equally as improbable is the notion that sara maintains regular contact with abby after they first meet.

for one thing, in the early seasons of the show when sara supposedly first meets abby, sara is a notorious workaholic who maxes out on overtime every month. if she's working 70+ hours a week on a graveyard schedule, when is she making time to have visits with this kid—and especially considering that said visits likely have to be scheduled long in advanced and supervised (because there are very strict rules in place regarding how noncustodial adults interact with kids in the foster care system), meaning she can't just swing by for a quick hello after a double shift?

considering that catherine can barely find the time to see her own biological daughter, of whom she has sole custody after early s3, when is sara fitting in hours and hours with abby, to whom she has incredibly restricted access, as per the rules and logistics of the foster care system?

also, for another thing, how does this relationship fit in with all of the canonical events of s5-15?

for example, when sara is recovering from her injuries following her abduction by the miniature killer in s8, what does she tell eight-year-old abby? does she see her during that time or do they go several months without any contact, until sara is healed up enough not to have to explain anything to her? if they don't see each other, what kind of excuses does sara make? if they do see each other, how does sara explain the situation? does she admit she nearly died at the hands of a murderer, knowing how triggering that information might be for abby to hear? or does she lie? or tell some sanitized version of the truth ("i had a bad accident, but i'm okay now")?

and what about the grissom of it all? do he and abby ever meet? if so, when? do they ever spend quality time together and/or develop any kind of relationship, especially after grissom and sara get married? if so, how does sara break the news to a fourteen-year-old abby of the divorce? does abby get any kind of closure for grissom not being a part of her life anymore?

for yet another thing, how does this idea (of sara being a regular presence in abby's life for ten years) fit with sara's nomadic lifestyle in the later seasons of the show, plus abby's general status as a foster child?

not only does sara spend significant amounts of time away from vegas between 2004 and 2014 (especially during s8, s9, s10, and s11), which would make it difficult for her to keep in touch with abby just on her side of things, but based on some of abby and her foster mother's dialogue in episode 15x12 "dead woods," it also seems that abby has only come into her placement with the higgins family fairly recently, perhaps within just the past few years or so, which means that prior to living with them, she likely moves around a lot.

the idea that sara could even keep track of this girl over the years—especially given the privacy laws surrounding foster kids—isn't particularly realistic.

one of the main things former foster kids (and especially those who are in "traditional foster care" as opposed to "kinship care") complain about is the inconsistency of the lifestyle and the fact that people are there one day and gone the next.

while the child protective services agency (cps) does their best to prevent foster kids from having to move placements, over a third of foster kids experience changes to their living arrangements at least three times per year (and some experience even more).

and, again, while cps generally tries to keep kids from having to move schools/districts when their placements change, if they can avoid it, they often don't have a choice; if the kid has been living in and attending school in henderson and the only available placement for them is in reno, then there's not much to be done but to uproot their whole life and ship them 450 miles across the state to their new home.

furthermore, to protect the privacy and safety of foster children, neither cps nor foster families are allowed to give out personal information about foster children—including their placement addresses—to anyone who doesn't have direct "need-to-know" involvement in their case (which would mostly just be custodial caretakers, school officials, and medical professionals).

all of the above so, it would likely be very, very difficult for sara to maintain a relationship with abby, especially over the course of a decade.

that girl has likely been in multiple placements in multiple locations (some of them not in clark county) since sara has known her, and since sara doesn't—even as law enforcement—fall into any of those "need to know" categories of persons who legally receive updates about abby's whereabouts when she gets reassigned, she probably wouldn't be able to follow her movements.

however, even if sara were somehow to (improbably) maintain contact with abby between 2004 and 2007, once sara skipped town and went "off the grid" circa episode 08x07 "goodbye & good luck" and/or later episode 09x02 "the happy place," the second abby moved placements, she likely wouldn't be able to find her again (and especially considering that, at the time, abby would be just eight or nine years-old and wouldn't have a cell phone or email account she could use to reach out to sara on her end of things).

the whole scenario lacks veracity, even with what sara herself has previously said about her own experiences in foster care.

for example, in episode 07x16 "monster in the box," sara remarks to grissom on how hard it is to keep up with foster kids due to spotty record-keeping.

—and that's the main problem, really.

beyond the whole "how would this relationship even work?" of the thing, there is also the issue of characterization—a question of "would sara even behave in this manner?", the answer to which i think, ultimately, is no.

i could forgive all of the logistical errors and the farfetchedness of the situation if the story itself didn't feel so antithetical to sara's character history and jar with everything we know about her development.

see, episode 15x12 "dead woods" suggests that sara sees abby very regularly and plays a prominent mentoring role in her life, enough to know who her boyfriend is—and have beef with him!—and to understand her complicated feelings about her foster family. they supposedly go to concerts together and hang out with some frequency. theirs is an emotionally open and socially intimate connection.

the implication is that sara is almost like a mother to abby—someone abby is even closer to and more highly esteems than her current foster (and soon to be adoptive) mom, joanna higgins; the first person she thinks to call for when she's in trouble.

but that implication doesn't fit with sara's character arc.

see, it's not that i doubt that the sara of 2014 could be open enough to bond with a traumatized foster kid over their shared life experiences and serve as a touchstone for her.

it's that i doubt the sara of 2004 would.

the sara of 2004—and especially the summer of 2004, six months prior to the events of episode 05x13 "nesting dolls"—wouldn't respond to seeing a little girl whose trauma so closely mirrors her own by reaching out to her, forming a deep connection based in mutual disclosure, and involving herself as a surrogate mother-figure in her life.

i'm not saying sara doesn't have the capacity to be nurturing—i mean, i am the person writing a huge geek!baby au series, the latest installment of which is all about sara discovering just how strong her maternal instincts actually are—or that she wouldn't feel for the kid or want to help her.

rather, i'm saying she just wouldn't be able to bring herself to get that close.

think of the analog situation: brenda collins in episode 01x07 "blood drops."

sara has such a difficult time even being around that kid and looking her in the eyes to start off with, all because she knows, on a deeply personal level, what it feels like to be her.

it's not that she's not empathetic toward brenda and her situation.

to the contrary: she can feel her pain all too keenly! she cares all too much!

that's why it's so painful for her to even acknowledge brenda's existence.

her feelings are still too raw for her to really force herself to interface.

though in that case, she does eventually end up dropping her guard and stepping up to advocate for brenda as needed, she only ultimately does so because grissom compels her to act as brenda's chaperone.

had he not given her that assignment and she instead been left to her own devices, she wouldn't ever have gotten close to the girl.

not of her own volition.

she only starts to show that external level of care because she's made to.

and what's noteworthy is that even when she does show it, she still conceals the reason why she is doing so—from grissom, from the rest of the team, and even from brenda herself.

though she behaves very compassionately toward brenda, she never makes their interactions personal. she never lets on that she understands what brenda is going through. she never transgresses the boundaries of what would be considered the expected behavior for any safe and caring adult looking after a traumatized child under the circumstances.

while we as fans can retroactively read her backstory into her actions throughout that episode, she as a character still plays her cards so close to her chest that no one else within the universe of the show can even think about reading them.

indeed, no one but grissom even really notices she's holding them.

and that's because she isn't ready to go "all in" in that way yet.

she isn't to a place where she is ready to face her own trauma, much less confess to it, much less process it—which is what would be required of her were she to allow herself to get any closer to brenda than she actually does.

—which brings us back to abby.

the sara of 2004 hasn't yet reached a place where she is ready to reckon with her childhood trauma yet.

though she wants to—desperately—and will eventually get to the point where she is willing to at least talk about it with grissom (see episode 05x13 "nesting dolls"), honestly, it will still be years before she is finally able to lay her "ghosts" fully to rest (see her letter in episode 08x07 "goodbye & good luck").

and that being the case—

well, i just can't imagine her being as emotionally available to abby as episode 15x12 "dead woods" suggests is the case.

not early on.

not when she would have initially been forming that bond.

that flashback scene from the hospital room where she ends up hugging five-year-old abby?

i can believe that moment could happen.

all but taken by surprise as she is, sara could and would be unguarded enough to open her arms to that little girl and offer her some comfort; she wouldn't reject someone that vulnerable, no matter how scared she was herself. she would recognize all she needed to be right then was a steady shoulder to weep on and a soft voice to reassure. she could hold abby for that moment and validate her cries for her mother.

but beyond that initial instance of connection?

i just can't see 2004 sara continuing to have contact with abby after the case had concluded.

watching that girl be absorbed into the foster care system while grieving the loss of her parents and grappling with the nature of her father's (alleged) crimes would just hit too close to home for sara—and especially at a time when she is herself really struggling with her own trauma.

lest we forget, during the summer between s4 and s5, sara is attending mandatory peap sessions, spending significant time away from the lab on much-needed vacation, and struggling to get her life/career back on track in the wake of her s4 depression and problematic alcoholic usage.

she's not exactly doing hot™ herself.

she doesn't really have much water in her emotional well to draw from in order to share with somebody else.

moreover, she still, to date, has never told anyone about her childhood. she doesn't even yet have the words to talk about it (see her speech to the mirror in episode 05x01 "viva las vegas").

so for as much as her heart undoubtedly goes out to abby, i just can't see her incorporating abby into her life to the degree that episode 15x12 "dead woods" suggests that she does.

it's a "please secure your mask before assisting others" kind of situation with her, you know?

she's still dealing with her own issues and isn't in a state to help someone else at that point—and especially not an incredibly vulnerable child.

and, honestly, i think she'd recognize as much.

she'd know she couldn't be what abby probably would need her to be at that time—and that being so, i can't really see her purposefully inserting herself into abby's world.

she'd figure abby would be better left to "the professionals."

i think the story we're told in episode 15x12 "dead woods" forgets just how jagged the sara of 2004's edges are; it acts as if she has the same emotional capacity back then as she does in 2014, and the fact is, she just doesn't.

had sara met abby in s10 or s11 when she a) was mentally healthy and emotionally stable; b) had gotten some closure on her childhood trauma; and c) had lots of free time on her hands given her whole "long-distance marriage" situation with grissom, then i could see her being able to open up to abby and thrive in a mentorship role with her in the way canon implies she does.

but that's not the story episode 15x12 "dead woods" tells.

it insists that a much younger, much more mixed-up, much less self-actualized sara somehow manages to step into the role of surrogate mother for a physically and psychologically-wounded child whose trauma closely mirrors her own and is able to say and do all the right things, to the point where that child comes to trust her implicitly.

and to me? that's a hard story to believe.

it requires an almost insurmountable suspension of my critical thinking and understanding of sara's character arc.

—especially considering how many needs abby likely has at the time when sara is first getting to know her.

traumatized children require a special brand of tlc.

one of the most important parts of having a relationship with them (as an adult) is to offer them as much stability as possible—meaning if you say you're going to see them, you have to show up; you can't miss the appointment, even if you end up getting pulled onto a double or triple shift; even if you're maybe having a shit mental health day yourself. failure to follow through can result in an erosion of their trust in you and cause setbacks for them in their recovery.

you also have to be very patient and help them regulate what are sometimes some very big emotions. traumatized kids will frequently throw tantrums or act out. they'll oftentimes be whiny or clingy. they'll enact age-inappropriate behaviors. and as the adult in the relationship, you have to meet them where they are, soothe them, and redirect those behaviors once they're calm enough. to do so, you must yourself manage your own emotions. you have to have awareness of the situation and be able to offer them what they need, whether it be cuddles or verbal reassurance or cognitive tools to help them process what they're feeling.

while of course if you as a caretaker or otherwise invested adult can apologize if you make mistakes and do your best to make amends, the point is that you need to be consistent and selfless and place the needs of the child first. and if you're struggling a lot yourself, then you need to make a judgment call about whether your presence will ultimately hurt the child; if so, you need to remove yourself from the situation and get your shit together before you resume interacting with them.

it takes a lot of energy and insight to navigate those kinds of relationships.

again, i'm not saying sara isn't empathetic or that she is incapable of being there for someone who's been traumatized—her ability to step up for members of her team (like nick and greg) after they go through various hardships proves she is more than equal to the task of offering support as needed—but i am saying that i'm not sure the sara of 2004 would choose to voluntarily place herself into that role; not when she has herself been that kid and knows what the stakes are.

realizing how she tends to react in situations where she's triggered, and realizing that just being around abby triggers her, i think she'd opt to stay away (probably more on a subconscious level than a conscious one).

she wouldn't want to screw up.

she wouldn't want to hurt abby because she was "too in her own feelings."

—which i suppose brings me to my last major objection to the whole sara and abby dynamic, which is just how the dynamic itself is written.

like i said: i'm not at all opposed to the idea of sara acting quasi-maternal; i think she probably does have that capacity in her, however deeply sublimated it may be.

i just feel like—once again—the execution in this case is flawed.

the sara of episode 15x12 "dead woods" seems almost strident in her "mama bear" role with abby. apparently, she has lectured abby about her ne'er-do-well boyfriend on more than one occasion. she even serves as a kind of liaison between abby and joanna, confident she has a better read on abby's feelings than joanna does. which, albeit, is a view with which joanna herself seems to concur. she doesn't hesitate to chase abby's shithead boyfriend down the hall at pd and all but assault him or to take abby out on a saturday night, seemingly without asking anyone's permission. though of course concerned about abby's feelings, she's noticeably forward in all of their interactions. she doesn't hesitate to offer advice or even to try to lay down ground rules.

—which, on a superficial level, could be a valid interpretation of how sara tends to love.

i mean, sara has always been a "heart on her sleeve," "in with both feet" kind of gal, just in general. she does tend to love fiercely and be protective of "her people."

right?

right?

i mean, kind of.

in a "broad strokes" sort of way.

but when you take a slightly more nuanced view of her and how she expresses love, her behavior toward abby actually feels somewhat off. it's too aggressive, in a lot of ways. too "in your face."

just like so much of her characterization of the later seasons, it comes across as inexact, like a flattened-out version of her actual personality, with all of the details and complexities of her sanded off.

yes, sara loves deeply and is very emotional by nature. yes, she has a strong sense of what's right and doesn't back down from doing what she thinks is needed. but she also gives the people she loves space and doesn't typically impose on them.

see, for example, the scene in episode 07x06 "burn out," where she both protects greg and redirects grissom's misplaced anger off of him and is very subtle in how she does so, showing great tenderness toward both parties.

she also tends to "know her role."

see, for example, in episode 10x01 "family affair": when she points out that catherine is lacking a "right-hand man," she doesn't attempt to install herself in that position, realizing it's not hers to fill not only for logistical reasons (i.e., because she is only in town temporarily) but also because she and catherine don't have that kind of dynamic with each other; instead, she just gently encourages catherine to seek out someone she trusts and is ultimately very glad to see her eventually select nick.

i have no doubt that sara loves abby and cares very much for her well-being, but i've also got to believe that even for as much as she loves and cares about her, she would always remain highly aware that she was not actually her mother, either foster or adoptive.

and to me, that awareness would cause her to act differently than what we see in canon—less vehement and imposing; less "in the driver's seat" and more "in the passenger's."

there'd be if not some reticence on her part—though maybe that, too—at least some deference.

sara would realize: the people who should be setting rules for abby and finalizing major life decisions with her are her foster (soon to be adoptive) parents, who play a role in her daily life that sara herself doesn't.

and, yes, sara has known abby for ten years while they've only known her for a few years at most, but that's why it would be all the more imperative for sara to make that demarcation very clear for everyone involved, particularly as the higgins family intends to adopt abby and will be her full-time guardians for the next several years.

based on her own experiences in foster care, i think sara would likely understand the importance of setting boundaries and making it clear to abby that though she is her friend and is happy to offer both a listening ear and advice, she is not her parent.

this delineation would have been especially crucial for sara to draw when abby was younger, so as not to inadvertently get her hopes up that sara was going to foster or adopt her.

again, while she could still be (and likely would still be) very nurturing to abby, i just don't see her having that much of an authority role in abby's life.

it just feels like too much of an overstep with a kid she probably only sees a couple of times a month at most* and who, given that she is a foster child, probably needs clearly-drawn relationship boundaries with the adults in her life in order to feel secure.

* even ignoring all of the real life logistics that would make it impossible for them to remain in such close contact.

the last thing sara would ever want to do would be to confuse abby or give her unrealistic expectations or to impose on/complicate/undermine her relationship with her foster family.

so, to me, if it were actually written with sara's core characterization in mind, then sara's relationship with abby would be one with a lot more gentle questioning in it as opposed to brash pronouncements. it'd be less "i told you you have to dump that guy!" and more "what exactly do you see in him? i'm genuinely interested to know." there'd be a pinch more "well, why don't you ask joanna?" and maybe some self-conscious awkwardness at the realization that, yes, in some situations she does know abby better because she's known her longer (but that still doesn't make her "mom").

above everything, sara would be very conscientious about not screwing up™.

she'd remember just how vulnerable being in foster care makes a kid. she'd understand abby was traumatized and likely has attachment issues galore. "sometimes i look for validation in inappropriate places," anyone? she would have doubts about her own capabilities to be as selfless and emotionally available as she would need to be for abby's sake, and, even though she would ultimately find both the strength and the wisdom to step up, she would always remain just a little bit cautious of herself.

she'd consider there are reasons why, even for all the love she has for abby and all she wants to be a part of her life, she never does foster or adopt her herself; that there are certain things she can't give or be, whether it's the time or just the "totality" of that kind of parent-child relationship.

even after ten years, she'd be careful not to cross the wires between "friend/mentor" and "parent."

so.

all of the above said, for as much as i want to like sara's relationship with abby in episode 15x12 "dead woods," to me, it just ultimately doesn't hit.

it feels like something poorly contrived and even more poorly executed.

like so much of the characterization of the later seasons, it falls about two inches to the left of who and what sara actually is and how she would really behave.

in a better world where the later seasons' writers actually knew what they were doing, i would have loved to have seen this storyline done differently.

instead of trying to retroactively insert a relationship with a foster kid into the already established show canon, why not show it develop in real time, starting in s15?

rather than saying, "sara has had this kid in her life all along. you just never knew about it before now!", let the audience watch her meet the kid and slowly get to know her.

let us observe that initial awkwardness. let us see sara's struggle with how much she ought to say regarding her own situation and how much she should keep submerged. let us be present for the moments when sara summons her courage to step up and be vulnerable in ways she didn't realize she was capable of. earn the emotional connection between them. allow the love to grow up organically.

and, yeah, i know, doing things that way would make it impossible to play out the "ten years later, abby's dad gets posthumously exonerated!" storyline of episode 15x12 "dead woods."

but, honestly? that plot was not very well done anyhow, so i don't think it'd be a great loss to sacrifice it in favor of giving sara some actual long-lasting character development.

make sara's interaction with the foster kid into a full-on arc. it could be really good—much more so than what we actually get in canon, which, frankly, just falls flat on multiple levels.

the writers tried to imply depth that just wasn't there and didn't succeed.

anyway.

enough salt out of me; we've got a whole mine here by now.

thanks for the question! please feel welcome to send another any time.

[mtbluecat]

DAY 3 (favourite clans/archetypes)

today's prompt is just a long textpost + my competitive decklists lmaoooooo since somewhere down the line, i accidentally became a sweaty tryhard vanguard player

warning: this post is really long but i would appreciate if even one person reads my ramblings about projecting onto characters really hard and my descent into coping the tcg full-time

tl;dr i like luard and shiranui a very normal amount

shadow paladin - luard

i definitely can't go without first mentioning my eternal main, shadow paladin luard. and there is a story behind this except it's like half just me being unhinged and projecting really hard but what is that but the spirit of vanguard itself. so i sat down to learn the actual tcg a while back and i was like "okay i need an avatar card. whomst will do" and eventually settled on luard since i liked his card art/aesthetic and his premise being "a member of this group of wizard researchers who study how to shapeshift into dragons". as a researcher and as a fan of shadow paladin from ever since i started watching this show, i was sold. oh yeah i also read the luard lore sometime after this (forgor how long after) but yeah i was definitely committed after that lmaooo yall should go read his lore you will not regret it hslkdfjklsdjlsk

at some point i also rewatched g next and for some reason, i noticed kazuma a lot more that time and the projection became real. like. man. we're a lot alike and at some points it was honestly kinda uncomfortable to watch but i think that also changed my perspective a bit lmao. anyway i'll be cringe i'll own it: my avatar card is luard.

if yall are interested in my v-prem list here it is: https://decklog-en.bushiroad.com/view/LKRM

nubatama - shiranui

so like when i watched g next for the first time, the character i did the most projecting on was actually kazumi, not kazuma. nowadays it's a pretty good mix of both + luard, but i am also very much attached to kazumi and his deck.

tbf the main reason why i picked it up was because i thought dominate was a really funny mechanic and also i first built it in vgzero (rip that game btw) because it was meta and also can be pulled from one set. but like. i really liked playing it in zero and it was the only deck i mained from that point forth. flash forward to when they announced history collection (histcolle) in en and all my competitive player friends were talking about nui making its way back into the meta and i was like "wait this is perfect actually zero is dying but i can finally learn premium with a deck i like".

anyway the deck is really fun except when rinne just rips out your opponent's shield tickets smodge. my only "complaint" is that when people lose to nui they are unreasonably saltier than if they lose to any other deck. it's the villain deck curse i think but at the same time it's pretty funny to watch people mald over mizukaze.

uhh the decklist is honestly probably gonna change but i'm pretty happy with it rn: https://decklog-en.bushiroad.com/view/9CWP

[ionlymadethissoicouldleaveanask]

🤍💘🖤

These questions come from this ask game.

🤍 - There are so many good options to choose from, but probably Fred-104. He's been my favorite since I first found Halo, and continues to be.

💘 - Fred/Kelly. I started shipping them back when I first saw Halo Legends and read the Nylund trilogy, and I'm saltier than Krayt about Denning trying to kill my ship for his detective waifu and am single-handedly keeping the Fred/Kelly tag alive over on AO3.

🖤 - This is a tough one, it took me a while to answer. But I think it's probably Halsey. I think she would be miserable to know in real life because she's so self-centered and manipulative, but what I actually hate about her character is the fact that the Powers That Be in the Halo development team have never let her be wrong. She keeps doing incredibly selfish things that only serve to benefit her, but then the universe bends and warps to make it so that her ridiculously selfish actions (that typically get dozens of people killed) always miraculously turn around to be a benefit to mankind so she can say "See? Of course I was right and you should never question me."

If you're open to "which faction is my least favorite," it's the Banished. I loved them as a pirate mercenary organization in HW2, but I hate that they have expanded beyond that scope to just become another Covenant. They were best as a small pirate faction.

Thanks for sending this in! Feel free to send more, or let me know if you're open to being asked about some of these things too!

[benevolentgodloki]

SALT UP MY DASH.

♢ Has anyone ever tried to steal your blog? Your headcanons? Icons? All that jazz

☢ What fads/trends are you so over?

❣ How salty are you feeling right now? (plus permission to rant about anything you need to :D)

Salty Munday Meme

// PREPARE TO BE DISAPPOINTED 😂

♢ Yanno, I don't think anyone has that I remember??? Back when I first started there were a heckton of other Lokis. I think there was once where someone had a more or less identical icon to me, which was annoying when I was scrolling the dash, but I don't own the images I use barring cropping whatever else I've found and never claim them to be mine so I've got little grounding to moan. Anyway, it's not the icons that count for me, it's how I use them :U It's possible I got irked in the past when someone pinched ideas of mine but it either wasn't big enough of a deal or didn't impact me enough to remember it. I'm just too weird to emulate I guess XD

☢ I'm so unfashionable that I'm over practically anything long before it starts. I like my role-play simple and lacking format. Oh, I never liked Carrd. SORRY. I mean, it's fine for people who use it, but I can't be arsed myself, and really my biggest bugbear is Google Docs because I have no idea how to hide my icon so people can just see me in there when I take a peek and apparently the buggers now scrape stuff for AI so it's probably worth people avoiding using it at all by now. I've been over tiktok a long time, too. I'm old and I have sensory issues. Fast things that make sound that I have limited opportunities to remember to view stress me out. Wow, I didn't expect to wring salt out of this one but there it went.

❣ Saltier than when I started??? I'm more tired than salty and a bit mope because it's almost that time of the month which brings me sadness, angerness, and general paranoia and bad brain. I should probably avoid looking at tumblr when I first get up in the morning, too, as even though the tags I go in are generally drama-free, they are filled with takes that are Not My Thing so I roll out of bed in a grump lmao.

Thanks for allowing me a salting!

[nilovalentine]

broooo that public transport post is making me way saltier than i should be. i mean its probably a cultural difference thing but ive never been on a work hour commute that didnt look like this

you gonna just sit on the floor? and get stepped on? and take up like 4 people's worth of space? come on

[peartreetheft]

Catholics and other Christians who want to say that same-sex marriage or even same-sex extra-marital sexual activity may actually be okay never try to use scripture to back up the idea, at least not any of the handful of verses directly referring to same-sex activity, because it's quite clear from those that it's prohibited. Instead, they rely on innuendo, half-truths, and "just asking questions." Fr. James Martin does this all the time. "Why do people have a problem with a gay couple who's been together for 50 years, but not a heterosexual man who's been married and divorced four times?" Sadly, there probably are a lot of Christians who would have a problem with the former but not the latter, but just because people are inconsistent doesn't mean we should actually accept this! Does Martin want us to accept the former, but not the latter? Both? I think he should say, as any priest should, that both are unacceptable. Similarly, Trent Horn recently had Randal Rauser, a "progressive evangelical", on his show, for reasons that are unclear to me. I looked Rauser up and found that he'd posted a response to this tweet by Frank Turek: If somebody asks you: "What do you think of same-sex marriage", you can go: "Well, it doesn't matter what I think about it. Here's what Jesus said about it. He said that marriage is between a man and a woman. So, if you want to argue with that, you can argue with Jesus, not me.

Rauser's reply: If somebody asks: "What do you think of remarried Christians", you can go: "Well, it doesn't matter what I think about it. Jesus said people who divorce for any reason other than porneia and remarry are in adultery. If you want to argue with that, you can argue with Jesus, not me

Rauser followed up on this in a blog post: I am attempting to expose a deep hypocrisy within evangelicalism (as Jesus did at length to religious leaders in Matthew 23 … and with far saltier language, by the way!). And by doing so, I am presenting a dilemma for folk like Turek: either be consistent and conclude that citing Jesus’ teaching on divorce and remarriage constitutes the illegitimacy of all marriages which follow divorces for any reason other than marital unfaithfulness (porneia) as adultery or concede that the issue of gay marriage, like divorce and remarriage, is more complex than prooftexting a single verse.

Just in case it is still not clear, let’s unpack this a bit further. Let’s say you initially opt for the first horn of the dilemma: you conclude that those who remarry after divorcing for reasons other than marital unfaithfulness are in adultery. It then follows that a lot of people in evangelical churches are in adultery. 

I agree that addressing any theological or moral issue is more complex than just prooftexting back and forth, but... uh, yeah! A lot of people in evangelical churches are in adultery. If the options are "either be consistent and conclude that citing Jesus’ teaching on divorce and remarriage constitutes the illegitimacy of all marriages which follow divorces for any reason other than marital unfaithfulness (porneia) as adultery or concede that the issue of gay marriage, like divorce and remarriage, is more complex than prooftexting a single verse" (those aren't actually our only options) I think we should be consistent

[antisocialxconstruct]

a little bit of GC banter because this prompt infected my brain yesterday

--

Ilya’s still slouched despondently in their seat when Maksim returns with the fries he had ordered just to buy them the table for a while. The little roadside stall was a compromise neither of them was especially satisfied with, after the pub that had been their first stop had barred them at the door and rather unkindly reminded Ilya that they had been banned the week before. Maksim vetoed their second choice, knowing it would be far louder than he could tolerate, but Ilya had refused to go anywhere that “felt ritzy,” and while they had refused to clarify any further Maksim suspected anywhere he would have chosen based on personal preference would probably qualify.

So they had walked until they found a place they could loiter for a while without drawing attention and talk in relative privacy. The very lightest of telepathic prodding had confirmed Maksim’s initial suspicion that the elderly troll behind the counter was not especially nosey.

“Still can’t believe it,” Ilya mutters as Maksim takes his seat. “You give one asshole a concussion, suddenly you’re enemy number one. I liked that place.”

Maksim eyes them thoughtfully. They had met to talk work, and he doubts their grumbling is really an invitation to discuss the pub… but he’s feeling slightly emboldened, perhaps by the fact that he’s not used to seeing Ilya visibly off their game. They might be more willing to get personal if they’re complaining, or they might lock down completely. The only way to know is to pry a little.

“Why bother then?”

It’s another second before Ilya’s attention actually settles on him. “What do you mean?”

Maksim hesitates in turn, taking a moment to better formulate his question. That was an easier hook than he expected and he doesn’t want to waste it. Over Ilya’s head he watches a little cartoon coyote bound across the stall’s holographic sign, skid and tumble to a stop. “It’s been months,” he starts, dropping his gaze back down to his partner. “I’ve got an idea of your methods by now but I don’t get it. You’re already a runner, you get paid to start fights, so why do it in your free time too? Why go out of your way for it?” It’s a genuine curiosity, he’s not sure he’s ever met anyone so perpetually spoiling for a confrontation, although he has his doubts that such an upfront question will get him an honest answer.

“I could ask you the same question,” Ilya volleys back. “That whole SINner charade, you do realize you don’t have to hang around those people when you’re not a face, right?” Those people. The contempt practically radiates off their words, daring Maksim to defend himself and his associations.

“I don’t like shadowrunners,” he replies with a shrug, unfazed. He pauses to pluck a fry from the basket, chews it pensively for a beat before wrinkling his nose. Saltier than he had hoped. Then he adds, “not your best deflection tactic.”

Ilya snorts, selects and eats several fries from the basket in one mouthful. Then they hook their boot around the leg of an empty chair from the neighboring table, drag it closer, and kick their feet up onto the seat. “Alright fine… you want the long version, the short version… or the fun version?” They offer up the last option with a grin and an arched eyebrow, as if to promise it will, indeed, be fun.

Maksim just allows the conversation to hang for a second as he considers them. Locked down it is, then, he concludes. But now he just wants to pry for the sake of it. “How about the truth?”

The grin falls from Ilya’s face. “Do you get how deflection works?” they scoff, failing to hide what Maksim suspects is a flicker of genuine annoyance. He picks at the fries again but lets the hint of a smirk slip through his own facade as he glances back up at them, feeling a little more satisfied by their reaction than he probably should. Ilya blinks, and the expression that overtakes them then is decidedly harder to read. “You’re fucking with me.” They sound like they can hardly believe it.

“I’m just asking questions,” Maksim insists, popping another fry into his mouth. The flavor is worse than the first one and he internally admits defeat, nudging the basket closer to Ilya as he continues, “but obviously of the options provided I need to hear the fun version.”

[potsmart]

5 Tips for Managing the Marijuana Munchies

If you have ever smoked cannabis, you are probably quite familiar with the munchies. You know, that overwhelming craving for a sweet and/or salty snack that comes on at some point after smoking some weed? Although a common side-effect of cannabis use that can be very beneficial to a medical patient needing to increase their appetite, succumbing to the munchies can be detrimental to some marijuana users who may be prone to give in to such cravings as regularly as they smoke. So, what exactly causes the munchies? and how best to manage them?

What Causes the Munchies?

Well,you can blame the same chemical that createsathehighafter smoking weed. Yup. You guessed it:It’sTHC (short for Tetrahydrocannabinol).

Our brain naturally produces its own cannabinoids, which areresponsible for controllingour mood, memory, pain reception,and appetite. However, when we smoke cannabis, THC attaches to our cannabinoid receptors and mimics the natural cannabinoids in our bodies, which signals to our neurons that we are hungry.So, why does THC cause us to crave junk food instead of healthier options? Researchers aren’t 100% certain about this. However, one theory involves the flavour profiles that THC enhances. Some researchers have found that THC enriches the taste of sweet, salty, and fatty foods, which could explain why we naturally gravitate to chips and cookies, rather than salads when we are high.

Tip #1 for Managing the Munchies:Eat a Steady Diet Throughout the Day

The first step to managing your cannabis-induced munchies is to eat a steady diet throughout the day. Eating 3 to 5 small, and relativelyhealthy meals willhelp tokeep your hungerlevelsat bay whenthose munchies inevitably come-a-creepin’. Now, if you are awake-and-baker,try to eat a protein and carb-packed,nutritious breakfast. Carbs are great at filling you up fast, and protein keeps you fullforlonger. Plus!,youcan use breakfasttimeas a wayto get in a bit of those sweet or salty cravings!

Tip #2 for Managing the Munchies: Stay Hydrated

Hydrate. Hydrate. Hydrate. Not only willdrinking a lot throughout the day help tominimizethecotton mouth,butit can alsohelp toreduce the cravings for an unnecessary snack. If you feel the munchies coming on, try gulping down a glass of water to try totrick your brain into thinking you are eating something.Drinking a decent amount of water can make you feel quite full.Also, smokingdehydratesyou, so you should probably drink more water anyway.Staying hydratedis a win-win. 

Tip #3 for Managing the Munchies: Choose a Different Strain

Sometimes,it’s the strain to blame. Instead of purchasing a cannabis strain containing highinlevels oftheTHCcompound, opt for one high in the chemical compound THCV. Thesetypes ofstrains are still sure to get you quite buzzy, but THCV is also known for its ability to suppress appetite. 

Thetheorybehind THCVas an appetite suppressant,is that it seems to block the cannabinoid CB1 Receptor. This receptor, whichis responsible forincreasing ourappetite, but when it is blocked,so too are some of those signals that let us know that we’re hungry. 

Tip #4 for Managing the Munchies: Purchase ‘Healthier’ Snack Alternatives

If you REALLY want to indulge after your smoke sesh, create a proactive snack plan and come home with healthier options. For example, if you want something sweet, load up on fruit, yogurt, or smoothie-making ingredients. You can also opt for low-sugar pudding, or even Cool Whip! 

If you are in the mood for something saltier, try pretzels, popcorn, or a handle full of nutsoverinstead ofa bag of potato chips. If it’s a colder day, a bowl of warm soup andagrilled cheeseisaresure to satisfy those salty andsavourycravings!

Tip #4 for Managing the Munchies: Distract Yourself

Okay. This one may be hard to do withmunchieson your mind, but trydistractingyourself to avoid overindulging. For many smokers,too much can be a buzz-killer.What if you’re notready to come down yet.?!?Youcanengage yourself invarious activitiesandcontinueto enjoyyour high,and ignore the urge to pig out. For example, you can take a nature walk, listen to music, play video games, or indulge your creative side BEFORE going to the fridge. Check out ourblogarticle,on6 Things to Try While High: A Stoner’s Guide to Beating Boredomto help you with some ideas.

Happy munching!

By the Potmaster General, for Potsmart

Sources:

Why weed makes you super hungry, according to science | PBS NewsHour

THCV: Everything We Know About So-Called ‘Diet Weed’ (healthline.com)

[pbandjesse]

I am very tired. I'm having kind of a hard night because I'm so tired but I had a really nice day. I just hope that I feel better after getting this written and being able to turn my brain back off.

My son was a lot of fun with the international staying here. And we have lots of very lively conversations. And I slept so hard. I woke up I did not want to get out of bed for a while. But I knew that James had gotten us bagels and fruit and the girls were probably getting up already. And I was right. Ibti I was getting dressed and Laura was hanging out in the living room. The air conditioning has really been nice in there and having the curtains down really made it comfortable. Me and James don't usually have the AC in the living room but maybe we'll keep it for the rest of the summer since it has been so hot.

We had our bagels and our breakfasts. Got dressed and hung out for a little bit before we started heading out. The girls thought our bagel guillotine was very funny. And everything was really nice.

My dad would call him we would sit and talk for a little while. He was sounding really good. Strong and healthy. He said some of the words that I said last night made him feel better and that made me feel better. And I just am glad that everyone is trying to be really positive about all of this. I have absolutely faith that everything is going to be okay and honestly I don't have any worry about that. I'm just really glad that they can feel a little bit more secure that things are going to be taken care of. I would tell him that I had to get off the phone because I have guests over and we were going to be leaving soon. He told me I should have told him that they were here but he absolutely read this post last night so I know he knew. But we said goodbye and then we were off.

Our first stop of the day was to go to amazing Grace to paint pottery. I love peanut butter and I was so excited to bring two people with me. Sometimes it's nice going with someone who knows how to do art like Jess and sometimes it's nice going with someone who doesn't like my dad or james. And this was kind of a mix of both. They seem to really enjoy it and we gave ourself a $30 budget. I decided to do a cup but I did the cup upside down so he'll be right side up when you're drinking from here I guess. I don't know I just thought it was a funny idea. And he's kind of based on pom pompuren from hello Kitty. But that was mostly a mistake. Because my two reference images were a pottery with this dog face on it and then a pair of yellow shorts that had smiley faces and frowny-faces on them. And I combine the two ideas and ended up with the hello Kitty dog. And I'm fine with that he's my favorite character.

It was a lot of fun though watching them work and working together. I did finish a little bit before then but I didn't mind watching and waiting. And it was just a really nice time. We were there for like 2 hours and I had a lot of fun.

Next we decided we were going to get something to eat. It was decided we didn't want to do fast food and instead go somewhere we could sit down. And it was decided we would go to Denny's. I thought it was the most American thing I could take them to. And I was correct and honestly they ordered the funniest thing to me. Are waitress was so nice. She was a sweet old lady and she kept calling us honey and darling I loved it. They ordered a strawberry lemonade and a mango lemonade. And then they ordered one chicken fried chicken dinner with two vegetable sides and french fries to share. And honestly I'm glad they just got one entree and split it because this was huge. I got a grilled cheese sandwich off the senior menu. I told the waitress that we can just pretend. And we got little fried dough balls as a starter because it sounds fun. And I wanted to share with them. And it was fun and I had such a good time. The food was a little saltier than I was expecting and I had a little bit of a stomach ache afterwards but the food was good. I'd go again.

Because I wanted to be a good host I paid for the food and they kept being like no don't do that no. But I did it and they can't stop me. It wasn't expensive. And after we ate we got to go cups for their lemonades and went to savers.

I kind of split off from the group a little bit. Let them explore and have fun. My stomach was hurting really really bad and I had to go and sit down for a minute. I texted James but it would pass it it wouldn't happen again. But the three really bad cramps that I got were very scary. I found some great stuff though. Honestly savers is out of its mind with some of the prices. But I got four really nice dresses. One yellow one that just fits me so well. I will probably wear it on saturday. But I mostly just enjoyed looking around. I did find a pair of real doc Martin blue velvet boots for $8. They were a little bit too big for me but Laura likes doc martens and so I showed them to her and they fit her perfectly. And the girls were so surprised that how good I was at finding really good stuff. And kept saying I should find more stuff for them.

Even though we spent too much money already we still decided to go to goodwill. I don't really like this Goodwill but I did end up finding a pair of Ralph Lauren boots for me. That have some very fun details on them. And I only have one pair of lace-up boots that are black. So having a brown pair of felt appropriate. And they were less than $15. I also got a very pretty silk scarf. And I feel very good about those purchases. Laura got a very fun Blazer that matches the boots very well. And then we headed out.

It was very hot out today and I decided that we needed to go and experience Rita's as well. I really wanted a mint chocolate chip misto but they didn't have that flavor so instead I got a brand new flavor to me at least. I got a lemon misto. And it was really nice. It was almost like a lemon cake creamy vanilla flavor. Laura got custard twist cone. And I declared that she had solved racism. And we all had a very big laugh about that. Ibti got a strawberry misto and we had a little swap in the car. We all got to try each other's flavors. And it was just really fun I was having a great day.

We got stuck in a little traffic on the way back to the house. That was all right. I was really starting to get tired but I held it together. We listen to good music and when we got back here we took everything inside and I came in bedroom to try things on. They tried things on in the living room. And James was recording their podcast.

After I finished trying everything on. With only one thing not fitting me the best. I decided I needed to lay down for a little while. I scored on my phone for a little bit but then I fell asleep. While I was asleep the girls decided to make cookies for us as a thank you. Which was so sweet and they were very good. They were chocolate peanut butter. And I had a very good nap.

I woke up a little dazed but I was okay. James was making everyone pasta and that was very sweet of them. But I wasn't hungry. I had two cookies and hung out with all of them for a while. Sharing pictures from the day and just chatting. And then not long ago I went and took a shower. And now I am in bed. Ready to sleep. We go back if we talk tomorrow and we will clean and get things ready and hopefully they let us go early. And we don't have to spend the entire day picking up sticks. I know it will be a lot but it'll all be okay in the end.

I hope you guys have a very good night. And are trying to stay safe out there. Sleep well.

[hellohappyplace]

Four Journal Entries, April '24

MIXTAPE

love can make you so brave it can push you to forget every fear your body previously held love works to obscure what threatens it love can make you so weak replacing old anxieties with new ones turning probability to superstition since the day i met you  my heart is a cassette tape side a: no two people could ever love each other as much side b: no two people should ever love each other as much my heart is a mixtape titled no two people can ever love each other equally

TREE

Love me as the spring loves the trees give me the warmth I need to bear flowers on my once barren arms And like the best, most robust trees, as we grow, know that it may not always be in the same direction But I hope that our grounding will teach us to support each other in finding our own paths to the warm sunlight

SPRING

Vernalagnia is described as the feelings of romance brought on by spring But seasons are for lovers For the rest of us it’s just the weather Only lovers can posit that the blooming of a flower Is not nature’s manipulation to sustain itself But is instead a manifestation of nature’s propensity for love The way the heart burts and puckers outwards from its branch Something beautiful from nothing

STEAK

Grief is, above all, deeply confusing Who can say why it is i missed the shred of red meat stuck between my teeth that ravaged my gums, made my tongue bleed from probing once it had dislodged Who can say why it is that every time i order steak I ask for it rare, so I may be blessed with more stray, stubborn shreds of flesh whose absence leaves me to ponder a mouthful of blood, always saltier than my memory of it and a loosely held belief that I am tasting life again

[advamedhospital]

Pregnancy Care In Zirakpur

Though it’s going to sound odd, your first week of pregnancy is predicated on the date of your last menstrual period. Your last menstrual period is taken into account week 1 of pregnancy, albeit you weren’t actually pregnant yet.

The expected delivery date is calculated using the primary day of your last period. For that reason, the primary few weeks where you’ll not have symptoms also count toward your 40-week pregnancy.

What Bodily Changes Can You Expect During Pregnancy?

Pregnancy brings a spread of changes to the body. they will range from common and expected changes, like swelling and fluid retention, to less familiar ones like vision changes. Read on to find out more about them.

Most women experience changes in their sense of taste during pregnancy. They typically prefer saltier foods and sweeter foods than non-pregnant women. They even have a better threshold for strong sour, salty, and sweet tastes. Dysgeusia, a decrease within the ability to taste, is most ordinarily experienced during the primary trimester of pregnancy.

Certain taste preferences may vary by trimester. Although many ladies experience a dulled sense of taste for a brief period of your time postpartum, they typically regain full taste capability after pregnancy. Some women also experience a metallic taste within the mouth during pregnancy. so all that need is Pregnancy Care with advamed hospital. All these above mentioned things will aggravate nausea and should indicate a nutrient imbalance. Learn more about impaired taste.

7 Foods to Help Your Acid Reflux

Diet and nutrition for GERD Acid reflux occurs when there’s acid backflow from the stomach into the esophagus. This happens commonly but can cause complications or troublesome symptoms, like heartburn.

One reason this happens is that the lower esophageal sphincter (LES) is weakened or damaged. Normally the LES closes to stop food within the stomach from moving up into the esophagus.

The foods you eat affect the quantity of acid your stomach produces. Eating the proper sorts of food is vital to controlling acid reflux or esophageal reflux disease (GERD), a severe, chronic sort of acid reflux. None of those foods will cure your condition, and your decision to use these specific foods to appease your symptoms should be supported your own experiences with them.

Vegetables, Ginger, Oatmeal, Noncitric  fruits, Lean meats and seafood, Egg whites, Healthy fats High-fat foods Fried and fatty foods can cause the LES to relax, allowing more stomach acid to copy into the esophagus. These foods also delay stomach emptying.

Eating high-fat foods puts you at greater risk for reflux symptoms, so reducing your total daily fat intake can help.

The following foods have a high-fat content. Avoid these or eat them sparingly:

french fries and onion rings full-fat dairy products, like butter, milk, regular cheese, and soured cream fatty or fried cuts of beef, pork, or lamb bacon fat, ham fat, and lard desserts or snacks, like frozen dessert and potato chips cream sauces, gravies, and creamy salad dressings oily and greasy foods

Supplements During Pregnancy: What’s Safe and What’s Not

If you’re pregnant, you’ll think that feeling overwhelmed and confused comes with the territory. But it doesn’t need to be so confusing when it involves vitamins and supplements.

If you probably did your extra credit work, we bet you already know that prime mercury seafood, alcohol, and cigarettes are off-limits during pregnancy. What may surprise you is that some vitamins, minerals, and herbal supplements should be avoided also.

Pregnancy increases the necessity for nutrients During pregnancy, macronutrient intake needs grow significantly. Macronutrients include carbohydrates, proteins, and fats.

For example, protein intake must increase from the recommended 0.36 grams per pound (0.8 grams per kg) of weight for non-pregnant women to 0.5 grams per pound (1.1 grams per kg) of weight for pregnant women.

You’ll want to include protein in every meal and snack to satisfy your needs but still, if you are confused you need to discuss it with a specialist who will explain to you about Pregnancy Care so you must visit advamed hospital for pregnancy care.

The requirement for micronutrients, which include vitamins, minerals, and trace elements, increases even more Trusted Source than the necessity for macronutrients.

While some people are ready to meet this growing demand through a well-planned, nutrient-dense eating plan, it are often a challenge for others.

You may got to take vitamin and mineral supplements for various reasons, including:

Nutrient deficiencies: Some people may have a supplement after a biopsy reveals a deficiency during a vitamin or mineral. Correcting deficiencies is critical, as a shortage of nutrients like folate has been linked to birth defects. Hyperemesis gravid arum: This pregnancy complication is characterized by severe nausea and vomiting. It can cause weight loss and nutrient deficiencies. Dietary restrictions: Women who follow specific diets, including vegans and people with food intolerances and allergies, may have to supplement with vitamins and minerals to stop micronutrient deficiencies Smoking: Although it’s critical for mothers to avoid cigarettes during pregnancy, those that still smoke have an increased need Trusted Source for specific nutrients like vitamin C and folate. Multiple pregnancies: Women carrying quite one baby have higher micronutrient needs than women carrying one baby. Supplementing is usually necessary to make sure optimal nutrition for both the mother and her babies. Genetic mutations like MTHFR: Methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) may be a gene that converts folate into a form that the body can use. Pregnant women with this point mutation may have to supplement with a selected sort of folate to avoid complications. Poor nutrition: Women who under eat or choose foods that are low in nutrients may have to supplement with vitamins and minerals to avoid deficiencies. In addition, experts like those at the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) recommend that each one pregnant people take a prenatal vitamin and vitamin Bc supplement. this is often advised to fill nutritional gaps and stop developmental abnormalities at birth like rachischisis.

Depending on your personal circumstances, be prepared to require on the task of adding supplements to your daily routine if directed by your healthcare provider.

13 Foods to Eat When You’re Pregnant

Pregnant? Hangry? trying to find a snack which will make your tummy and your baby happy? You’re probably hearing it a lot: Eating nutritious foods while pregnant is important.

We’re here to form your pantry into a one-stop shop of healthy and delicious foods which will give your baby the simplest start to life.

When building your healthy eating plan, you’ll want to specialize in whole foods that offer you higher amounts of the great stuff you’d need when not pregnant such as:

protein vitamins and minerals healthy sorts of fat complex carbohydrates fiber and fluids Here are 13 super nutritious foods to eat when you’re pregnant to assist confirm you’re hitting those nutrient goals.

Dairy products, Legumes, Sweet potatoes, Salmon, Eggs, Broccoli and dark, leafy greens, Lean meat and proteins, Berries, Whole grains, Avocados, edible fruit, Fish liver oil, Water.

6 Ways to Stay Fit During Your Pregnancy — Plus 5 Myths Debunked

Staying active and eating healthy during pregnancy isn’t always a smooth journey. trimester fatigue and nausea, alongside lovely ailments that come later — like back pain — make it difficult to figure out and choose healthy choices.

Yet it’s known that maintaining healthy pregnancy habits has many benefits. It can help bring a neater labor, assist you lose postpartum weight faster, and provides you more energy throughout your pregnancy.

Wholesome meals and exercising also are good for your baby. a replacement study even finds that weight gained during a pregnancy can impact a child’s cardio metabolic health later in life.

But knowing these facts doesn’t make staying healthy easier. If you’re like me, you’ll crave frozen dessert and french-fried potatoes — not salad. And it’s likely you’ll be feeling too queasy to hit the gym.

Without a doubt, staying healthy during pregnancy requires extra discipline. But there are tactics I found helpful for motivating me to eat well and exercise throughout the long months.

Here are six ways I kept myself energized and active. (Plus, common pregnancy health myths debunked!) 1. Examine your diet to know your cravings 2. Ease your mind for better sleep 3. Make yourself move a day  4. Limit your sugar 5. Find a bottle you’re keen on  6. Take an opportunity 

[rubys-domain]

rambly thoughts about the 4.1 banners under the cut. contains mentions of leaks

so it's confirmed that venti is getting his rerun in the 2nd half of 4.1 alongside wriothesley. guess i have more time to scrape a few primos off of sumeru. i already have 2k, which is a very unusual amount for me to have, so i'm feeling confident even though it's not even worth two 10-pulls.

i'm feeling a little fomo tho because wrio is cryo and he's a cryo catalyst and-

cryo characters are just bait for me at this point honestly. if it's a new cryo character then chances are i want to pull them. i'm still holding out hope for charlotte to be a cryo catalyst tho. i want her normals to have sucrose's range at the very least. kind of a shame that leaks indicate she's not gonna be a cryo yanfei but oh well. was too good to be true. as long as her normals have some range people who want to play her as a dps can with more ease. but if hoyo makes her a sword character i'm gonna be insanely disappointed. standard or not, i don't have plans to pull for wrio, so i'm really banking on charlotte so i can still have a cryo catalyst. am i gonna use her? let's be real, probably not. maybe in the future i can squeeze her into a mono cryo chongyun team. i just like cryo characters. i would've been sad if i didn't get freminet, even though i don't currently have any plans to use him either. (i still am sad that i don't have him yet on the alt.)

neuvillette having the underwater movement speed buff though.......... i know it makes sense. but how dare you hoyo. how dare you give that to a limited 5 star. i'm definitely speaking for myself here since technically lyney currently being the only character with the local specialties locator passive is objectively more egregious. and it's not like underwater fontaine is all that big. it's gonna get bigger i know, but i doubt even twice the current underwater square footage would make me desperate for a speed buff. all that said... i really, REALLY like diving in fontaine... so the fact that it's only neuvillette that has that passive... and i'm trying to save for venti who reruns immediately after his release... and i'm not even interested in his kit... let's just say i'm saltier than most seas. maybe i should pull for him on the alt JUST for his passive. i don't care about getting zhongli anymore; layla's good enough for me. and if my luck is bad and i don't get freminet on the alt, then that'll just bump the usefulness of his passive even higher.

also re: that one leak that said chongyun is rerunning with venti... i don't buy it one bit. while it would make me extremely happy if true (seriously those two alone would already make the banner tailor-made for me), i HIGHLY doubt they're rerunning chong so soon. he's in the range of 4 stars with the lowest demand, and he just got a rerun in the yae/yoi banner. more likely he's gonna be rerun around the same time next year. which is fair since he's already had a ton of reruns over the years. it pains me as a chongyun main obviously — having to wait literally a year for another chance to c6 him since my luck on the yae/yoi banner was so shit (sure i'm glad i at least got a copy of her, but i REALLY did not need all those kirara cons). but getting new 4 stars is good, and most players have c6'd him many times over at this point. besides, info from leakers seem to be rather unreliable lately, so yeah.

[aava9099]

Can the tortillas be frozen?

The tortilla is one of the most helpful storage room staples. It very well may be broiled into a chip, collapsed into a taco, heated into an enchilada and immediately changed into a messy quesadilla. Whether you like corn or flour, locally acquired or natively constructed, keeping a heap of these unleavened flatbreads on hand is brilliant. If you truly have any desire to be ready for taco night, you may ponder: Could you at any point freeze tortillas? The response is yes! Peruse on for tips on the most proficient method to hold up and warm them so they're all around great — then, at that point, give them a shot in Ree's Green Chile Enchilada Goulash, Seared Hamburger Tacos or Chicken Tortilla Soup!

Can the tortillas be frozen?

It tends to be pretty much as basic as hurling an unopened bundle of locally acquired tortillas in the cooler. (Lay them level, obviously, to save their shape.) In the event that the pack has previously been opened, bend over with a cooler safe resealable plastic sack, then press and eliminate any overabundance air. For hand crafted tortillas, simply ensure they've cooled totally prior to putting away and freezing, as the temperature variety might make them fall to pieces or become soft as they defrost.

Reward Tip: Slide sheets of wax or material paper between tortillas prior to freezing, if involving them in more modest amounts. Corn tortillas will generally be a touch more sympathetic while isolating them while frozen, though flour tortillas might tear during the division cycle.

How would you defrost frozen tortillas? Thaw out frozen tortillas short-term in the cooler or forget about them at room temperature. Contingent upon the thickness of the tortilla stack, it can require around 10 minutes for a singular tortilla or as long as an hour for a sack of unopened tortillas. Whenever crunched for time, eliminate the tortillas from the pack and microwave the stack in 10-second additions — simply know that the top and base tortillas are probably going to tear or dry out. (On the off chance that the tortillas are drying out, envelop them by a soggy paper towel until prepared to utilize — simply ensure the towel isn't excessively damp or you'll wind up with soft tortillas.) When the tortillas are defrosted, they can be utilized the same way you'd utilize a new tortilla.

How long do tortillas toward the end in the ice chest and cooler? New tortillas or an opened sack of locally acquired tortillas will toward the end in the cooler for around 10 days — any time past that and the quality will not be as great. When frozen, tortillas can keep going for no less than two months with no adjustment of value. Whenever bundled firmly with all the abundance air eliminated, the tortillas can probably keep going for longer in the freeze, yet remember that the more they are frozen, the more probable they are to lessen in quality after some time.

Sorts OF SMOKED As well as Relieved SALMON There are four primary kinds of smoked as well as relieved salmon which you'd probably experience in grocery store paths and shop counters. How about we go over their disparities so you should rest assured about which kind of salmon you have and accordingly gain the essential comprehension of the way things were handled, as these elements are significant when it comes time to freeze.

LOX Nowadays, many individuals utilize the term lox to allude to smoked salmon, yet in its start, this term alludes to salmon which has been restored however not smoked. Genuine lox has a comparative surface to smoked salmon however will taste a lot saltier and miss the mark on smokiness at all.

In certain circumstances, maybe where there is just a single salmon decision on the menu, it will be grasped that lox = smoked salmon. In different circumstances, where an entire scope of smoked and restored salmon sorts are offered, mentioning lox may not yield the smoky outcome you're anticipating!

GRAVLAX Gravlax is in the boat right close by lox, as it is likewise restored and not smoked. What sets gravlax separated, nonetheless, is that as opposed to being restored in plain salt, the relieving system is energized by the expansion of sugar, flavors like coriander or white pepper, and a lot of new dill. Numerous recipes for gravlax additionally utilize fragrant spirits like aquavit or gin.

These extra fixings in the fix make gravlax more tasty than lox, and it is by and large less pungent too. By and by, gravlax will be unmistakable from smoked salmon in that it will neither taste nor smell smoky.

COLD SMOKED SALMON Presently, onto the salmon choices which are really smoked! In the first place, we have cold smoked salmon, which is maybe the one the vast majority are know all about. There are numerous assortments of cold smoked salmon which are named for the districts from which they hail: Nova smoked salmon (from Nova Scotia), Norwegian smoked salmon, and Scottish smoked salmon to give some examples. These sorts of smoked salmon each convey explicit qualities in light of the salmon that is found in every district, the kind of hardwood utilized for cold smoking, and any distinctions in the restoring system.

Despite which type it is, all chilly smoked salmon is smoked beneath 80℉ and will have a smooth, rich surface and smoky flavor which might go from gentle areas of strength for to.

HOT SMOKED SALMON Otherwise called kippered salmon, hot smoked salmon will likewise have that pine for commendable smoky fragrance and flavor, yet the surface of the fish will be emphatically not quite the same as chilly smoked salmon. This is because of the way that it is smoked hot rather than cold.

Where cold smoked salmon has a smooth surface, more like that of crude salmon, hot smoked salmon takes on a firmer, more flaky surface which is like that of cooked salmon. Hot smoked salmon is for the most part smoked around 130℉, which brings about a delicate cooking of the fish tissue, changing its surface and leaving it dark. In view of these distinctions, kippered salmon doesn't yield similar paper-flimsy cuts as cool smoked salmon or lox. Thusly, kippered salmon is by and large sold in an entire piece as opposed to pre-cut.

The special handling of hot smoked salmon commonly makes it rack steady, no refrigeration required! Similar as canned fish or vegetables, fixed hot smoked salmon can keep going for a considerable length of time.