#and I would never use it in my prefered medium anyway

[ibrithir-was-here]

.

[strqwberryscapes]

hiii, i was thinking reader could be vernestra’s current padawan, and when they meet qimir he finds this out. he wants to protect them and train them instead so that they’re safe from vernestra

a new dawn, part one

part two

summary -> you're running from your master, who accused you of turning to the dark side, of failing, when suddenly you bump into a stranger who seems to know your past

content warnings -> canon typical violence

no use of y/n. she/her pronouns

a/n : wait i love this idea omg i have a scenario in mind already...

she rummaged through the crowded market, her heart threatening to jump out of her chest. she knew her master would eventually find her anyways- it was just a matter of time. the pouring rain didn't help, blurring her vision and wetting her robes.

for someone who was force sensitive, it was easy to sense powerful emotions. fear, anger, loss... the extent of them radiating from the small cloaked figure caught qimir's attention. even more so when he saw the lightsaber on her belt.

her chest heavied, as she tried to keep calm. she needed to get as far away as possible from here, now. keeping her head down, she didn't notice a person standing in her way, and she bumped into them.

"oh- sorry! sorry i, uh-"

she fretted, immediately regaining her composure. she took in the man in front on her. black medium-length hair, dark eyes, messy robes...probably a merchant.

"it's alright." he muttered, then tilted his head. "are you...okay?"

she knew it was easy to spot her distress with the way she carried herself, but the question caught her off guard.

"i'm fine. i just- i'm in a hurry."

she replied urgently, wanting to go. her eyes scanned the environment around her.

"you don't look fine." the stranger stated, then his eyes dropped to her belt. he immediately straightened up. "you're a jedi! is someone chasing you? are you on a mission? it must be important! whatever it is i'm sure you could deal with it, but if you seriously need to hide i can-"

he started jabbering, too loud for her liking. but the word 'hide' caught her interest. maybe he could be useful...

"yes, i'm on a mission." she forced the most formal tone she could, trying to hide the desperation. "an important one. and i don't need to hide. i need to get as far away from here as i can. now."

the man seemed excited. "follow me!"

he was quick and swift with moving around the crowd, unlike how he was presenting himself.

"my ship is just minutes away! i can't believe I'm helping a jedi..." he beamed.

she sighed. well, it was certainly a better option that being found by the jedi master that was sent after her, and when he brings her back to master vernestra-

she didn't have time to dwell on that though, as suddenly an invisible force sent her flying. alerted, she immediately grabbed her lightsaber, going in a defensive position. her hands were shaky, and her breath uneven. there was no escape now.

then she saw him- the jedi that was sent to bring her back to vernestra. he called her name, and that alone made her shiver with fear. his next movements were quick. attack, a blow, a kick to the stomach, force push, another blow- and she ended up without her weapon, his lightsaber pointing at her.

"surrender." he demanded, his voice emotionless. "you're going back to the temple. master vernestra wishes to speak with you." no sympathy heard as he spoke. the jedi didn't have sympathy for those who ever dared to question their ways.

and she knew that vernestra wouldn't have it either, even towards her own padawan. she didn't want to think of what is going to happen if the jedi drags her back to her master. she preferred to die here. with some honor left.

"never."

she spat angrily, trying to hide just how terrified she was. the jedi lifted his blade. she shut her eyes, waiting for the final hit.

but it didn't come.

she dared to open her eyes.

and what she saw, froze her in place.

the jedi hung in the air, desperately trying to catch his breath, choking and kicking his legs. then, a crimson blade pierced his chest. she looked, entranced, as his lifeless body fell to her feet.

behind it, stood the man she met on the market, his expression hard. as if he was a completely different person.

he turned off his lightsaber, and his gaze dropped to her, shaken on the muddy ground.

"you're safe now." his voice became softer, when he crouched down in front of her. "i'm not going to let her hurt you."

she looked at him with wide eyes. why would he do that? how did he know about her master?

"who- who are you?"

he tilted his head again.

"i'm qimir."

the simplicity of his answer in such situation baffled her.

"qimir."

she repeated, dumbfounded.

"and you are a jedi, aren't you...?" qimir's voice was almost mocking. "vernestra's padawan. i suppose she saw the 'darkness within you'?" he scoffed.

she furrowed her brows. how could he possibly know that?

"what-? how did you...?"

qimir looked away for a second.

"i suppose that she doesn't talk about her previous pupils... after all, what is there to say if they're dead?"

she hesitated. was she lied to? told that she was her first padawan? master vernestra never mentioned she taught anyone before her...

a hand in front of her chest snapped her back to reality.

"come on, you're going to get soaked. my ship is just right there."

he pointed in the direction of the clearing, and she indeed saw the silver flickering between the trees.

"i don't trust you."

she eyed him up and down. he had a red lightsaber, which could only mean that he was something she never thought she will see. a sith.

"nor should you." he smirked. "but right now, i am your only option."

she chewed on her lip. he was right. if he didn't lie, and he really was vernestra's fallen apprentice... she felt that she needed to know more. she accepted his hand, and he pulled her up to her feet.

she followed qimir to his ship. he was completely unreadable, and she felt so exposed. but at the same time he intrigued her. his power, ability to hide his force signature...

that's what she was looking for. knowledge. knowledge that the jedi said leads to the dark side.

but she was ready to take that step, after everything that happened. and it looked like she had a guide. an anchor.

a promise of a new dawn.

a/n : i actually fw this one heavy lmao

reblog reblog reblog<33

masterlist

[dingodad]

please tell us your homestuck movie thoughts... i am so curious

i think everyone gets way too caught up in how a homestuck movie would perfectly adapt all the comic's story beats when this conversation comes up, where the fun in brainstorming an adaptation should be figuring out how to change the nature of the story to fit the new medium without doing away with its core themes and characters. homestuck is full of events which are textually disconnected but thematically serve the same purpose - the death of parents vs the destruction of home planets versus the destruction of universes (vs the destruction of the self), childbirth vs creating new worlds, the scratch which synthesises elements of BOTH of these, the list could go on - which are just ASKING to be composited and truncated in an adaptation

my personal policy is that if the comic has forgotten about an element by the end of the story then it is the responsibility of the hypothetical Homestuck Movie Screenwriter to also forget about that thing. homestuck readers broadly speaking are very captured by a nostalgia fetish which demands any adaptation of homestuck include every single element of Sburb,* but i honestly feel that so long as the adapted version of the story still covers the essential Destruction, Creation, & Apotheosis story beats and finds a way to have all of its principal characters meet up halfway then 90% of the other game crap - prospit, derse, monsters, quests, who gives a fuck - can so easily be discarded as chaff that would obviously never work on screen anyway. people will hate me and try to have me excommunicated and killed in exile for this and i'm sure there is a hypothetical level 1 million auteur who could theoretically make the two sides of the story work in synthesis but the way i see it, operating within the assumptions that we are trying to respect both homestuck as a story AND film as a medium for storytelling, you can either make The Sburb Movie or you can make The Homestuck Movie. and to anyone who really respects homestuck as a story you simply have to recognise the latter as the preferable option

when i approach this thought experiment on my own i tend to think purely about how you could best make homestuck into a single one-and-done feature film, which i see as the ideal way to approach an adaptation on its own merits, but a reddit thread asked how people would approach homestuck as a dune-style planned-trilogy-from-the-start so i started thinking about my ideal imaginary homestuck trilogy. and i was thinking about how homestuck's medium and length allow it to just keep escalating for the entire 9000 pages, whereas a feature film can kind of only get away with escalating once between the first and second acts and then maybe one more time in the third act climax. without even getting into stuff about universes and timelines and lord english, homestuck's most iconic two-part-escalation is definitely normal kids -> jade -> the trolls; i've posted once already about how i think the trolls are a given inclusion in The Homestuck Movie (whereas they might not be in The Sburb Movie), but i don't really think the trolls are cool or interesting enough on their own to have a whole movie of the trilogy dedicated to them - whereas introducing jade in the same way as all the other kids would totally do a disservice to how unique and different from the other characters she is. so i got to thinking about what if movie 1 is john+rose+dave+the trolls and then the middle movie gets to take its time introducing jade... obviously a lot of metatextual baggage comes with the prospect of a film adaptation leaving out a major female character and then only tacking her on at the end post-credit-scene-style, but if in this perfect world i were GUARANTEED three homestuck movies actually get made then from a purely storytelling point of view i think that could be really strong, ESPECIALLY if we start thinking of a homestuck film series not merely as derivative product but as its own piece of artwork in conversation with the original text. like if part 1 ends with the initiation of the 3 year time skip then part 2 could open with jade's 3 years of isolation... THERE ARE POSSIBILITIES

*and how much of this is connected to the fact that 'a movie where kids get sucked into a video game' is itself pure nostalgia fetish material? could you really make a sburb movie that didn't come across even a little bit Ready Player One? i think it would be a hard line to walk.

[gene-nine]

pumpkin chai lattes (r.l. x fem!reader)

i felt the slightest chill in the air so it's officially marauder's girl fall.

pairing: remus lupin x reader

synopsis: your Starbucks order becomes remus' guilty pleasure.

warnings: not proofread (what's new!!!) also, not necessarily a warning but I wrote this in bullet-point format because it made more sense in my brain, hope it doesn't ruin the whole thing!

words: 883 (i've been busy, ok?!)

------------------------------------------------------------------------------the first time you brought Remus to a Starbucks, he was confused.

he didn’t even know there were that many ways to make coffee.

to be fair, Hogwarts really only offered black coffee, and the most you could do with it was add cream and sugar if you wanted to. Remus preferred black anyways. 

he’d switch it up sometimes, if he wasn’t in the bitter mood. but one cream and one sugar was all. 

you on the other hand, you like things sweet. 

Remus always teased that there was more sugar and milk in your cup than coffee (he wasn’t far from being wrong). 

you didn’t mind the teasing, however, because you truly loved your sweet, sugary drinks.

Remus’ Starbucks order is always the same. medium dark roast, hot. he refuses to abide by the tall, grande, venti system of sizes. he thinks it’s stupid. 

but, that doesn’t stop him from standing behind you, a hand on your hip affectionately, as you order your fall classic: a grande iced pumpkin chai. 

Remus laughs along when someone calls your drink order basic, but he really finds it endearing. it’s so you. 

you stand with a smile on his face as he pays for the drinks and the vanilla cake pop shaped like a raccoon you insisted on getting as well. 

“i don’t know how you drink that stuff.” he comments as you sip your slightly orange tinted drink, the dome lid holding whipped cream on top. 

“i don’t know how you drink that stuff.” you say in disgust as you nod at his black coffee.

“it’s cheaper and it contains like 80% less sugar.” he defends, taking a long sip just to piss you off. 

“but it tastes badddddd,” you draw out, “just try mine this one time.”

he glances sideways at your cup. “i’d rather not.”

“a little sugar won’t kill you, moons.”

“hey, you don’t know that. i could be a secret diabetic.” you can only roll your eyes at his response, plastering a fake pout on your face as you take another sip of your drink.

“don’t make that face.” remus remarks, looking at you with mock sympathy.

“what face?” you feign innocence.

“if i try your pumpkin spice.. whatever, will you stop looking at me like that?” 

you pass him your drink excitedly as a big smile replaces your pout.

you watch his face intently as he takes a sip, watching him flinch ever so slightly at the sweetness of it. he shrugs as he hands it back to you.

“it’s sweet.” is all he says before taking your hand and walking you out of the starbucks.

now here’s the thing remus would NEVER admit to anyone, maybe not even you. 

he actually liked your drink. 

he couldn’t explain it, all his life it’s been black coffee.

and he probably wouldn’t even consider liking the drink if it wasn’t for you.

when he’d surprise you with starbucks when he picked you up, he’d secretly take a sip or two of yours on the drive over. 

or when you’d leave the room for something, he’d sneak a sip.

the first time you catch him doing it, you’re shocked.

“remus james lupin!” you startle him as you came back from the bathroom sooner than he had been anticipating. his hands freeze in surrender as you catch him red handed.

“i was just- i was wiping the condensation off- it was going to stick to the coaster and then it would fall off when you picked it up and-” he rambles.

“you actually like my order?!” you accuse.

“like is a strong word.” you shoot him a pointed look.

“you’re a weak man, remus lupin.” you shake your head, sitting down on the couch next to him. 

“this stays between us.” remus says, completely serious.

“you’re ridiculous! there’s nothing wrong with liking pumpkin chai.” 

“wrong. there’s everything wrong with liking pumpkin chai.” 

“is it because you’re a man?” you pout in sarcastic sympathy. 

“no it is not because i’m a man, i happen to be very comfortable with my masculinity, thank you very much.” he sasses back. a silence falls over both of you before a giggle escapes your lips.

“what?” remus questions, slightly annoyed but mostly embarrassed.

“you like pumpkin chai.” you say in a sing-song tone, ruffling the hair on remus’ head.

“that’s it, you’re only ever getting black coffee just like me from now on.” he jokes, grabbing your drink and making a break for the kitchen to pour it out. you sprint after him, throwing yourself onto his back to slow him down.

“give it back!” you yell, laughing and reaching desperately for the hand he’s holding your drink in. 

“only if you promise to never mention this to James and Sirius.” he deadpans.

“okay fine, deal.” you exclaim as he finally gives in, setting your cup down on the counter unharmed. you let yourself down from his back and stand in front of him.

“i think it’s very manly that you like pumpkin chai lattes.” you say as you wrap your arms around remus’ neck. his hands find a place around your waist. 

“not a single word to the boys.” he mutters as he leans in to kiss you.

and to your delight, he tastes like pumpkin chai.

[petit-papillion]

It's crazy how misinformation keeps being spread. I saw a person on twitter who had a lot of followers and a podcast about f1 saying ferrari asked what tires carlos thought it was better and carlos answered "soft". And then they gave the soft to charles and hard to carlos.

When someone posted the transcription of the radio (from twitter user team55) that shows carlos answered "hards or softs" they said the transcription was wrong.

When someone mentioned ferrari wanted to give charles hards but charles refused, they said its not true and the only reason they gave charles soft was because carlos said it was the better tire.

I went back to listen the radios and the person is simply lying.

Ferrari asked carlos what he prefer between mediums, soft or hards and he said "hards or soft"

Ferrari told charles they were thinking about putting hards and he said "no that's stupid".

So whats the point to make up things like this ? Just so people can keep the narrative that carlos is the strategy master and ferrari favors charles ?

And it's one thing if it was just a random account but it's someone with a plataform. there's a lot of fans that don't have access to f1tv there are just believing what this person said.

Hi Anon! I feel like the F1 broadcasts have hugely contributed to this perception of Carlos being a strategic mastermind by being very selective about what they broadcast from team radio. Drive to Survive gets picked on for painting false narratives, but the main broadcast is, at times, just as bad. They pick and choose team radio, sometimes don't broadcast everything that was said or omit follow-up radio that puts the original one in a different light, or don't transcribe it correctly ("There was a cut." when Charles said "There was a cat." comes to mind). I do like that they put "I'm OK." on screen when a driver has crashed and they know from team radio the driver is okay. And I also understand it takes a little while to transcribe team radio. But to my recollection they have never actually said it's just a standard message they use, and instead they make it seem like they are quoting the driver, who in fact may have said, "I'm in the fucking wall." or "Red flag! Red flag! I'm in the middle of the track!!!"

Anyway, on to your point: why make things up? For the same reason drivers lie (and yes, they all do at one point or another) when they are on team radio or talking to the media. To make themselves look good/innocent. And some go to far more extremes than others. Fans are no different: we are biased towards our fave and have a really hard time accepting when he does something we don't like or agree with, as our meow meow just can do no wrong. Some people come up with excuses, others with just blatant lies. See recently Lestappen fans when Max chose Lando, Daniel and Checo as his top 3 friends on the grid, and they said he had to pick Checo because he's his teammate, otherwise he would've said Charles. Could be true, but that would still only put Charles as his 3rd best friend. Wouldn't Max have put Charles as his undisputed number 1 if they are really that close?

Sorry, I digress. The point is, we all need to use critical thinking to the best of our ability, check facts when we can, and try not to stay in a vacuum of like-minded people, but it's unavoidable to have false narratives slip in when it is being fed to us every race weekend. Commentators are biased and although we expect them to be objective, they often are not. I stopped listening to Sky, but it is incredibly clear Crofty's favourite driver is Norris, Chandhok is a Carlos-fan, etc. And you are right, not everyone has access to F1TV to check the onboards, but in this case, they do have access to Twitter and can look at more than just the tweets telling them lies.

In case anyone needs proof of what Charles said:

🎥 bliss_n16

[ladybacen]

How to input a Potemkin Buster in 5th Edition Dungeons and Dragons (2025)

Hello to you all. I am a recovering Potemkin addict. I must warn you, do not main him. Landing your first Pot Buster grants a high that never really leaves your mind. Day in and day out, all you can think about is landing the next one. Every other experience in your life will be diminished by virtue of not being a Potemkin Buster. The only thing that could possibly be more euphoric than a Potemkin Buster is a Heavenly Potemkin Buster. Suffice it to say, it's addictive, and I warn you to abstain unless you're prepared for your whole life to change. Anyways, I bring this up because you can't play Guilty Gear 24/7. Sometimes you'll want to play other fun games, like Dungeons and Dragons. This method will help any Potemkin addicts to get their fix even while not playing Guilty Gear. The method is as follows: Setup: You'll need a level 4 character. Race: Any medium-size (Aasimar preferred, but not necessary). Class levels: 4 in monk (any subclass, whichever is your preference). Stats: Again, allocate to your preference, but make sure either Strength or Dexterity is your highest. Strength is a lot better if you're trying to build Potemkin himself, but Dex is more optimal for monks. You want this so you can grapple your foes, and the monk class lets you use either stat. Feats: Any origin feat, but take Grappler at level 4, and use it to increase strength or dex, whichever you picked earlier. Additional equipment: You're going to need a pair of Boots of Striding and Springing and be attuned to them. Just as Potemkin has his gauntlet things, you'll need some special equipment too. Any of the Belts of Giant Strength would help a lot in raising your grapple DC, but you technically don't need one.

The execution: Essentially, you're going to attempt to grapple your opponent, that's step number one. At level four, you'll have two chances to do this (once with attack, once with your bonus action attack, twice if you flurry of blows). Once you've grappled your opponent, then you can use 10ft of movement to jump 30ft straight up using the boots. You might be able to use the monk feature step of the wind to double this distance, but that depends on how your DM rules that interaction. Mine said no :(. Thanks to Tavern Brawler, none of this movement should be halved as long as your opponent is medium or smaller. Once you're in the air you can either drop them or hold onto them. Either way, you'll both fall 30ft, taking 3d6 damage from it. If you want to use a reaction, you can use slow fall to reduce your fall damage. It'd be up to your DM as to whether or not you can slow fall while grappling without reducing the fall damage of the creature you're holding onto. But yeah that's a Pot Buster right there :3, you grapple your opponent, jump into the air, and then get some damage on them when you both land.

How to do a Heavenly Potemkin Buster: For this, you're going to want to use the Aasimar feature celestial revelation to gain a flight speed for a minute. You could also use anything else that allows you to fly, like if you can get a friend to cast fly on you, or if you have wings of flying or something. On round one get that flight speed as a bonus action, round two you grapple your medium-sized opponent, then use 10ft of your 40ft speed to use the boots to jump 30ft into the air, and then keep flying up with whatever movement you have left. Then dash as a bonus action with step of the wind and fly another 40 feet up. Once you reach max height, drop them. You'll probably want to slow fall for this. This should deal 10d6 damage under ideal conditions. You'll only be able to use celestial revelation once per long rest, but I think that it's limited use nature reflects that of a Guilty Gear overdrive. Also I think the Aasimar being angel people adds to the "heavenliness" of the buster.

That is my guide, I hope it is satisfactory, and hopefully this will be of use to someone :3

[thatonenovelist]

☆ Nightmare's Good and Evil Pasta ☆

Thanks to the convenience of canned foods, I found an easy way to make Nightmare's café collab dish. I wanted to make this for ages but never really had the time.

Anyway, the dish consists of two pastas; squid ink and bolognese. I assume it's bolognese since the colour profile matches that of the picture. Also, the bolognese is topped with parmesan. There's a bread/bun on the side. Unfortunately, I'm quite lazy so I just bought a can of meaty sauce for pastas.

And I fear this would be a nightmare to plate since plated pastas typically only have one kind of pasta... And this one's got two pastas.

I wanted to add as well that this is somewhat of a bulk recipe so I kinda used 1/4kg of pasta plus a a cup in making this. Just cook your pasta per package instruction. Additional 1 cup for the squid ink pasta. I suggest cooking the pasta once your 3/4 way done with the squid ink pasta.

Squid Ink Pasta:

recipe is the combination of the recipe of winsfoodtrips and goldengully (on TikTok).

1/2 tablespoon of olive oil [or enough to evenly coat pan]

5 cloves of garlic, grated

1 tsp chili oil [it's what I had on-hand]

1/4 tsp black pepper

2 cans 555 canned squid with ink, slice as preferred or left unsliced

at least 1 tbsp of squid ink [or it reaches prefered colour]

1/4 cup shrimp stock

Put pan in low heat and add in olive oil, garlic, and black pepper mix for a few minutes.

Add in canned squid and sauté for about 5 minutes on medium heat.

Add squid additional squid ink if necessary. Mix well.

Add in shrimp stock.

Cook in medium high heat for about 10 minutes. Or until reduced. Then add chili oil.

Add pasta once it's done cooking.

Add around 1/4 cup of pasta water. Mix well until saucy.

Plate and enjoy.

Meat Sauce Pasta:

PUREFOOD's Meaty Sauce Homestyle in a can

Cook canned meat sauce per package instruction.

Mix cooked pasta to sauce, plate, and enjoy.

Thoughts:

Squid Ink Pasta - Tastes good if you add a squeeze of lemon slice before you eat the pasta. Subtle fishy flavour. Pasta sauce tastes good. If possible, use fresh squid instead and just follow goldengully's recipe. It took awhile to reduce my sauce because the canned squids have liquids of their own.

Meat Sauce Pasta - It's good. Can't really nitpick much about it because I didn't have to do much preparation for it. Although, the addition of sausages would do wonders not gonna lie.

Overall - I honestly prefer the squid ink pasta but I suspect it's due to me living near the sea so seafood flavours are what I prefer more. And I was never really a fan of meat sauce pastas unless it's in lasagna form. Also, ignore how I messed up the pasta placement.

Reference: 1. Sweet Paradise 4th Anniversary Café

[yxstxrdrxxm-a]

SYNOPSIS: Tattooing is a work of art. Though, he definitely saw that it can also be used as more than an art medium itself.

TW/s: yandere behavior, abstract/drabble writing, protective Xiao, he’s a dumbass but its okay, nsfw tws include targeted by the dark web, graphic depictions of violence, near abduction, stalking + sexual harassment. Please proceed with caution.

NOTE FROM HR: Happy Valentine’s Day! It would seem that today just isn't working out for you, is it, miss Ana? Well, never fear! I’m sure our lovely tattoo artist has something to help you with that… Right?

“You’re back.”

That was the first thing that Ana heard from her tattoo artist, Xiao, speak at 1 in the afternoon— a weird time, considering he wasn’t aware she had an appointment booked with him.

“Are you here for a tattoo?” he asked her, making her shake her head. Carrying the food she bought for him, he placed it on the counter, noting the small shift of expression on his face as he caught a whiff of something faintly sweet in the packaging.

“No, but I’m sure you’ve been working for hours on end,” she said, tapping on top of the package. “Here, eat up. I made sure to buy almond tofu for you.”

Now, for those who may be wondering, just how can the reclusive tattoo artist be with a date that’s the clear opposite of his personality?

It was a long story, which started from the very beginning when they matched up in the app.

Xiao isn’t the type to choose anyone on a whim. He has standards, and for him, many others failed to fit those standards. It was also obvious when he saw Ana’s, but instead of scrolling past and ignoring her, he took his time to look into what she wrote. He didn’t want to write her off just yet.

The next thing he knew, he swiped right with her and began to talk to her in the app.

Their conversation topics were all random at first: general get to know questions, their experiences, and even bits of what the two like. The two clicked on what they both liked listening to, which artists they enjoy the most, and even a few preferences for both to tune into. He did suggest a few that lean into crime podcasts, since he tends to listen to them often while he worked on tattooing his clients. Perhaps it was a strange preference, but she didn’t see it that way.

It wasn’t even long until they began to discuss matters in seeing each other in person, and the first time was because of a tattoo appointment she wanted on her arm.

“So, you want this tattoo placed… Here. Am I right?” “Mhm. Do you think you can do it? My friends had said that you were a good tattoo artist, so I wanted to be sure that it’s something you can do.”

The two were sitting at his office as Xiao was looking at the image, examining the tattoo design she wanted him to put on her. The design wasn’t all that complicated, but he knew he could add something to make it pop out easily, and especially with the detailing of her tattoo choice.

“... I can,” he answered, closing the folder as he faced her again. “However, you must pay upfront. I need to get the materials and equipment needed in our next appointment for this type of tattoo on Friday.”

He watched her nod as she handed him the payment, his hand drifting over to grab it and check how much she paid. It was enough for what she wanted, with an additional $20. Raising an eyebrow, he looked over at her and grabbed it, handing it back to his client.

“No need to give me extra,” he told her, sighing. “It’ll be a waste.”

“Oh? Well…”

He could already hear what she planned on telling him. He should take it anyway as she felt bad, or that it’s not right to not tip someone for their services, or—

“... I’ll take it back, then. Thank you again, Xiao. it’s a pleasure to meet you.”

—!

Xiao seemed to be caught off-guard at the turn it took, his eyes widening for a fraction of a second, but it left as quickly as it did. Regaining his composure, he nodded and simply stood up to lead her out of the shop.

“If you need anything from me, you know my number,” he told her, his amber eyes shifting away for a moment. “... And if you want to go on a date, call me.”

It was strange. He’s not used to romance, and Zhongli had all but taught him how. He wanted to say that he had the confidence like that old man has, but he’s still learning. And Gods, he’s unable to even comprehend how social interaction and cues work.

Still, he did hear her laugh and feel a gentle warmth on his shoulder.

It felt nice.

“Of course! For now, I need to go and meet my friends this afternoon. Goodbye, Xiao.”

As the warmth left his shoulder, he finally raised his head to watch the lady exit, his eyes drifting to her while he recalled the expression she wore in front of him.

Such a gentle smile, unwavering and confident. He had always admired those who could do it without a single moment of hesitation, and sometimes, he found himself loathing that he couldn’t do the same. To be able to smile and look onwards, like nothing was bothering them in the first place.

He sighed and raised a hand to sift through his hair. The bitter feeling rising in him was something he disliked, but he couldn’t bring himself to blame it on her.

It was their first meeting, and it was one that Xiao remembered well.

How ironic, considering the next ones were as eventful as the first, if not even more than anything he’s endured.

The second time this happened was when he was on one of the first few dates with Ana. The two were surprisingly able to her friends commenting on how she found someone and kept it a secret from them.

He didn't like to make their relationship known, and there was a good reason why— he hated to have them find out he has someone he tolerated better than others.

Even if it was just a simple drunkard. Or two.

Point is, it happened. While Xiao was dealing with her friends asking him about his occupation, he caught wind of Ana getting involved and being harassed by one of the older men that are obviously wasted. She was trying to tell them to stop bothering her, but it seems they weren't paying much attention and even touched her in areas that can warrant sexual harassment.

“C'mon, pretty girl, why don't—”

“Move. She's my fiance.”

The drunkard looked over at Xiao, his eyes narrowed as he noticed that he was one of the clients he tattooed years ago. He scowled at the sorry state he was in— the man had a job as a republican, but one too many scandals led him jobless.

Hmph. I'm glad I managed to tattoo him with that before then.

“Yours? Pfft, do you have anything that makes her yours, little boy?”

Xiao scoffed.

“That ring she's wearing. I gave that to her.”

Complete and utter lie, he knows Ana had it since the day they met. Though, the ring was placed on her ring finger…

“You're harassing my girl. If you don't move, I'll get security,” he warned, walking closer to Ana to gently hold her hand. “And you wouldn't like getting kicked out again, would you?”

The ex-republican scoffed but he slunk away, and the two watched as the others jeered and called out to the republican figure for what he's done.

How annoying.

“I didn't know you'd say that out of all things.”

Xiao's head whipped towards Ana. It was clear from the way she said it that it was meant to be seen as light-hearted, but from the tense moment they had, he was struggling to process it.

…

He scoffed and let her hand go.

“He won't back out otherwise.”

And he knew he wouldn't. No one would.

“How many people have you tattooed with that mark?”

“I don't know.”

“Oh, but you do. People tell me that the victims went to you to get tattooed and died after a few days!”

“Sounds like a load of bullshit.”

Xiao isn't fond of dealing with people. He didn't even bother hiding that fact, since he disliked meaningless drivel with some of them. What he hates is when they become overconfident with knowing what he didn't.

It was a big deal to them, but to the artist, he found it more of a joke. An impractical, unfunny joke. He'd rather listen to one of his co workers explain it and ruin it than this.

“A load of— listen to me, sir,” he spat, jabbing at his chest. It would've been intimidating if Xiao didn't think it was a bit childish, “I work with the agency. We're trying to figure out what the hell is happening, and if you don't say shit, I'll tell them you're that famed serial killer going on the loose!”

…

“Seriously?”

Xiao sighed.

Such is the way of being an idiot, he thinks. It's no wonder I don't bother tattooing people on a walk-in appointment.

“Wh— are you doubting my credibility?!”

“Not when you're harassing me.”

Watching him get annoyed, he saw the man out, watching as a certain someone came to the shop. Seeing the man storm off, he watched Ana raise her eyebrow at Xiao; a silent question, it seems.

What happened? He can read from her expression. Though, this made Xiao sigh and turn his head to the shop.

Come inside. That is what he was trying to say by his body language.

And she did.

It wasn't long until the two were talking about the incident: Ana had to hear Xiao explain briefly of the accusations he's given, what he replied due to the lack of evidence, and the childish fit that the reporter had to leave.

Still, that looming threat was never something he can let go of, nor he can't stop pondering about. Maybe it's just him, but there have been moments when that came to light.

… Or nearly, anyway.

“I see… Well, they're definitely too nosy for their own good.”

“Mhm,” he answered, cleaning up the pen he used for tattooing. “Anyway, are you here for your appointment?”

“Oh! Yes, I am. I want you to tattoo my arm.”

Retrieving the paper detailing her tattoo, she handed it to him. Examining what it looks, he simply raised an eyebrow.

Granted, the tattoo is simplistic— he can make do with outlining the bird like it was a constellation. It wasn't something he would suck at. However, the bird she chose was a phoenix.

Interesting metaphor. Though, he's simply curious on what drove her to choose such an interesting thing to be on her arm.

“... Hm. Alright. I can do it.”

Placing it down, he began to prepare the tools and lead her to take a seat on the chair. Pulling on the lever, he adjusted it so that she was facing up and he pulled up the arm that she wanted it on.

It wasn't long until the soft thrumming of the tattoo gun echoed as he worked on the tattoo, following each and every step of the stencil down to its smallest details. Sure, Ana and him conversed while he worked, but he remained silent to focus on doing the tattoo.

Silence was a comfortable thing for him, and sometimes, he can see it be a comfortable thing for her, too.

It did take hours until he was done with the tattoo, and although he had half of his mind to add that mark, he added something else that’s tied to him. Right by the wing had 保护 written on it, each line and curve made as accurately as one could with writing a different language.

It was different from the ones he’d do. And he made sure to keep it that way.

“There. It’s done.”

He observed how Ana’s eyes would trail over at the tattoo, moving as she examined it in great detail. He was one of the best tattoo artists she could ever find, but he knew she saw that print on the wing, too.

It was just a relief that she didn’t bother to ask.

“Since it’s your first time getting a tattoo, you can have this,” he added, grabbing a bag full of supplies with an addition he left there for her. “It’ll help when your skin gets irritated with the ink. Others had that happen to them.”

“Really? Well, I’ll use them if that happens.”

“Good.”

His amber eyes flickered from the tattoo gun and towards the bag, catching the gleam of turquoise peeking from inside.

It was convenient that he placed that thing in her bag.

Now, he had an even bigger reason to do what he had to do to those that dare to mess with what’s his.

“I didn’t know you’d come back to stalk her,” the tattoo artist commented coldly, his heels digging into the wound on the reporter’s side. “I’m surprised. Seems like you have the audacity to try again to ‘frame’ me yourself.”

He hardly cared for the amount of blood he spilt. For the tattoo artist, having to make someone be worried in his shop was more than enough to gun for the culprit.

“Tell me. Were you going to abduct her?”

The reporter had the audacity to laugh at his face, the pain sending his mind to overdrive. Scowling, he dug in deeper, feeling his patience wear thin. He hated to delay what could hurt his lo— friend, he had to correct himself. He didn’t want those people to get to her.

“W-What’s it to you? I thought—”

“I’m not involved, but that’s my friend, you garbage.”

With another dig at the wound and his gun loaded, he aimed it at his other leg. He was already sure that she would wind herself in danger because of what he’s done, so he needed to be swift if he wanted to reach Ana.

He can’t risk losing her. Not to those bastards.

“I’ll ask again. Were you going to abduct her, you vile being?”

Much to his displeasure, the reporter laughed again. Although, he can tell that he wasn’t in the right mind. The expression he wore simply reminded him of those bitter memories he had hid all those years ago in his time at Enkanomiya, and he loathed to see it on another person.

Heaven knows what drove him like this, but he had done something immoral. He needed to do this in return.

…

Yes. He needs to. She’ll die if he doesn’t.

“... Hmph. I suppose you’re no talk and bite.”

Click. BANG.

…

Xiao could vaguely hear the gunshot ring as blood began to pour out onto the pavement, but this time, he felt no guilt for his actions. He knew it was bad, but he could hardly care about what’s on his mind.

Turning around, he grabbed his phone and contacted Ana’s number. He needed to be able to speak to her. He needed to.

…

It rang once.

It rang twice.

It rang far more than that. It continued to ring and ring, amping up Xiao’s worry the longer she didn’t take the call.

And after God knows how long, he heard it click.

“Xiao?”

… She’s fine.

“... Did I wake you up?” he asked her on the phone, his voice lowering its usual volume— possibly due to his relief. “I thought you’d be awake.”

“Mm… Almost, but yeah,” he heard her yawn. “I was… Looking for that guy. Then I fell asleep for, uh… an hour or something.”

…

“Has anyone entered the house?”

“... No. I’m fine. I had it locked, like you told me to.”

Good.

“Say, you sound panicked—”

“I’m fine,” he told her, cutting her off. With a sigh, he looked at the body, then at the phone. “Anyway, I’ll… Leave you alone for the night. I have a few things I need to take care of.”

He’d have to ‘clean’ things up. He can’t let her see it.

No one can ever see the crime he's done.

@.throw-letter-away | do not republish or repost my works anywhere | 2024

[babiebom]

So, I was thinking and would like to make a small request, how about Harvey x medium!reader?I just want to know what that would be like 🫂

(Sorry if the English is bad 😔)

A/N: I used to watch this show about a medium and for some reason I thought it was one of those ghost show where they’re ghost hunters and then I found out it was like a fake show (scripted actors ykwim) and my whole world came crashing down.

Tw:talks about death, maybe some cursing

Bc: at least 10

Stardew Valley Masterlist

Avoiding ghost in Pelican Town was harder than you thought it would be

Having the town cemetery in the middle of town instead of in some far away corner meant that when you walked through town you had to keep your eyes ahead of you

It wasn’t hard to know if what you were seeing was a ghost or not

Only a couple of people lived in Pelican Town which meant it was easy to ignore someone that you knew wasn’t one of the handful of people currently living there.

When you had first moved in it was difficult, seeing the dead and not realizing that they were in fact dead and not some random villager

But now more than two years of staying in the town there was no way to make that mistake anymore.

Well there wasn’t anyway until a new family (a dad and his daughter) moved in

You had ignored them both and walked past them into Pierre’s because no one had told you that there were new people arriving

And they complained to Gus who was confused because the FARMER? Being RUDE? NEVER

He in turn asked Harvey what was going on because he happens to be the town doctor and also happens to be your boyfriend

Harvey is SUPER CONFUSED because HUH what do you mean they’re being rude let me check on them.

And when he comes to talk to you you’re just like……they’re REAL, LIVE people?????

And he’s like WTF do you mean real live people of course they are

And you have to play it off like you’ve been feeling off for a couple of days

But him being a doctor, that just makes him suspicious because you’ve never acted weird in the last couple of days, nor have you said anything about being off.

The way he cares about you is insane like

He will find out what’s going on he needs to make sure nothing bad is happening.

He is the nosy significant other that almost gets you caught if someone is blackmailing you or something.

He wears you down until you confess exactly what’s going on

And by wears you down I mean he looks at you with those big ass hazel eyes and you immediately break down and tell him.

He doesn’t believe you at least not at first and is like “haha babe are you sure you’re okay?”

So you take him out to the graveyard at 3 am.

You set up some candles and an ouija board in the middle of all the gravestones.

He still doesn’t believe you and is HELLA afraid like dude doesn’t like this AT ALL.

Unlike with witches Harvey is TERRIFIED of ghosts even if he doesn’t think they’re real (they are you see your grandpa sometimes when he visits)

At some point things pop off with the ghosts and thankfully before everything goes wrong you close all communication and connections to the other side.

He thinks it’s cool but would prefer to NOT have ghosts in y’all’s house.

[beastomato]

hi tilin i hope rest can find you soon <3 <3 feel free to answer any or none of these :) <3

what are your favorite digital brushes to use?

what’s your favorite traditional art medium?

what’s your favorite film?

favorite song or album?

do you have a favorite pmd dungeon/area?

(silly question.) if totochimi were in the octopath universe, which classes would they be/where would they live? <3

WAHHHH YOU’RE SO KIND.. TY.. i did manage to sleep but it took a little while AHSJSJ i’m gonna answer all the questions bc i LOVE THEM SO MUCH

putting everything under a readmore section because it ended up being such a long post….!

what are your favorite digital brushes to use?

!!!!! it really depends on the drawing! i like to ball and switch brushes and textures with my work quite often because it’s more fun to work when idk what to expect, but here’s a little rundown of the ones i tend to use the most:

the 1px brush replicates the pencil from MS paint which is probably my favorite digital art texture ever? i use the thinner one for sketches and the thicker one for lineart but sometimes i also use both to sketch around. the airbrush i use for erasing, but i also use it for coloring (very rare) or even lineart (even rarer..). i’ve only begun to use the neopiko liner brush until recently but i like it a lot, and the ronin brush helps for messier-looking lineart as it’s really thick in texture (i found itwhile looking for chinese calligraphy textured brushes LOL). and the two best default procreate brushes which are the HB and 6B pencils i use either for sketch or lineart or even coloring sometimes. they’ve never failed me ever. some drawings i entirely use lasso tool for lineart or coloring which i don’t know if it counts as a brush.

also here are some examples of how i switch between brushes with recent drawings :-)

anyways THIS GOT TOO LONG i love rambling about my art processes I LOVE IT i wish i could do it all the time

what’s your favorite traditional art medium?

i honestly love ALL OF THEM AHAJSJAKSJ i’d even say i prefer them over digital art making….. i think it’s a tie between watercolors and acrylic though. i prefer acrylics because they’re much more flexible on where they can be applied (which is .. basically EVERYWHERE) while watercolor only ever shines to me in thick ass paper which is both expensive and hard to get imo.

also i don’t really get when people say acrylics get too opaque and dull when dry? like yeah they do end up more opaque when they dry that’s a property they have. idk if it has to do with the paint brands they sell here, but i never feel like acrylics lose their vibrancy when i paint.. i feel like it’s very easy for colors to look bright and saturated.. or maybe my process incidentally makes paint look more saturated? idk?

i do enjoy oil painting a lot but i don’t like the fact that you can fix your mistakes while working on it. being able to fix things means i go back to bad mind patterns and that sucks lol did you know i once broke an entire brush in half because i grabbed it too hard while oil painting. ANNNYWAYYY.. i also really enjoy pastels but the texture gets quite overwhelming on my fingers after a while. colored pencils are fun but too time consuming. ink drawings are great but again, same issue as watercolor except the paper for ink drawings has other requirements and i haven’t even looked for it LOL. i’ve never tried gouache, but i think i might have fun with it. OHHH you know which medium i also enjoyed? tempera. at school i was taught how to make my own paint with a recipe ^^ also idk if other art programs teach you mural painting but my school does and i also really loved it i wish i could paint all the walls in this world. it is quite daunting to begin, but once you get into the workflow it’s so much fun! <3

what’s your favorite film?

ohhhhhh i wanna start to watch more movies this year because i rarely watch movies but my favorite right now is probably Farewell to My Concubine. it is like 3 hours long bc it’s an epic that focuses on 3 characters but it is so worth it. the shots and the light in them are incredibly beautiful. it is quite heavy with its themes because it goes through conquests and revolutions and the societal consequences of both those things. i also liked that despite being a gay movie which would usually focus on just the men it makes the female lead between the 2 male leads a compelling character by showing you how she lives her new life as the wife of one of them despite the fact her past life as a sex worker weighs upon her heavily.. i simply don’t have energy for media where women don’t matter at all it annoys me so this was a good surprise. etc etc. i also watched The Boy and The Heron a few days ago which might be my favorite animated film now.. lots of thoughts. if surrealism has 0 fans then i am dead

favorite song or album?

ohhhh it really depends on mood but i really enjoy Boys at School by Spellling.. i love how layered it is i love when music feels intricately woven together.. in terms of albums it also kinda depends on my mood but i love Natalia Lafourcade’s Musas (both volumes) which are covers of iconic latinoamerican songs. also Yves Tumor’s Praise a Lord Who Chews But Which Does Not Consume; (Or Simply, Hot Between Worlds) which also has so many layers to it so i eat it up every single time HAJSJD

do you have a favorite pmd dungeon/area?

YESSS oh my god. i’ve only played blue rescue team and explorers of sky so my answer might change in the future, but right now it has to be the Hidden Land. i love fantasy and when things don’t really make sense so when they tell you the Hidden Land is between like intervals of time or something i was like…… COOLEST SHIT EVERRRR….

also the fact you view it at first like this??? oh my fucking god. i liked traversing through it and how you really do get a perspective of being high up somewhere.. iirc the blue spaces here change color because it’s meant to be the sky as it shifts through time:

also i know this shit when i see it. they definitely got inspired by prehispanic temples here there’s no other explanation for this at all LOL

the entire area feels so.. it feels so natural but also like a place you’re not meant to be a part of like you do not belong there but you have to be there in order to save the entire world. also from blue rescue team i really liked all the friend areas especially.. but yeah i’m also a fan of the Hill of the Ancients where you find Xatu. it looks good in the manga too LOL what the hell i gotta read these things

if totochimi were in the octopath universe, which classes would they be/where would they live?

!!!!!!!! WHATTTT NOT A SILLY QUESTION AT ALL I HONESTLY REALLY REALLY LOVE IT OMG. TOTOCHIMI 8PATH AU…… GOES CRAZY…….

i think Toto is more of a clear cut answer to me! she’d be a warrior. i think she fits into the idea of knighthood quite well (serving someone or a specific ideal, putting your life on the line in order for those to remain safe and continue thriving). it’s the main thought i’ve had ever since i conceptualized Toto as an OC, of her being a protector.. LOL

Chimichang’s where it gets a lil’ more difficult for me to translate a class to her. she’s demanded to take on a specific role at an age where she shouldn’t be expected to have that kind of responsibility. despite having a noble status i think it fits with her to have a rogue class.. dancer fits her well in that sense i think. her role in the world is to honor her ancestry, aka to be a spectacle, to Stand Out against others of her same caliber. it might not make much sense to have a fighting type take the 8path dancer class (focused on support & magic/special attack) but iirc her species is a mixed attacker in the main games & there Are dancer mons with the fighting type so.. it works imo…..!!!!

about the where they live… OHHH this is much harder to adapt. Chimichang is actually from an island in my comic and the only fucking island in both games is Toto’haha, but i got such a sour taste in my mouth from how Toto’haha was handled as a location in 8path II that i don’t even like to say “if we replace humans with mons it could work..” LOL. and Toto is technically from.. nowhere! because she’s a human that got turned into a mon. despite living alongside Chimichang she never gets to call their island ‘home’ because it sure doesn’t feel like one JSKDNX but neither does the rest of the world either. so she’s more like a vagabond of sorts.

ok i think that answers all of it! SUCHHHH A LONG POST.. THANK YOU SOOOOOO MUCH ILY ILY I LOVED ANSWERING THESE QUESTIONS!! i did manage to properly sleep after playing some ambient music as it helps me keep my mind at ease. i think napping so much sorta messed with my sleep schedule for a bit AJSJSH but i feel very rested right now <3 also helps that it’s a weekend! i needed it..

[phoenixyfriend]

The Myth of the Rational Actor

Ko-fi prompt from @vincentursus:

the myth of the rational actor please?

The myth as such: people will act in a perfectly rational manner, and the economy will respond in reaction to that.

So... the idea here is that emotions will never influence someone's actions in making economic choices.

Which is, as we can guess, bullshit.

To quote Medium,

Mainstream (neo-classical) economics idealizes human beings as perfectly rational actors when it comes to making decisions. This concept, known as rational choice theory, is based on three assumptions: 1. People have complete and consistent preferences (which can be assigned quantitative values called utilities) among a set of decision outcomes 2. People act independently based on full and relevant information 3. People always select the decision option that maximizes their utility.

So. That's absurd. Let's start from the bottom, utility.

One of the first things you learn in any marketing class is that half the industry is run on an appeal to emotion.

(The other half of it actually is an appeal to logic, like 'you can use this tool to compare your insurance costs,' which is the aforementioned rational action.)

The most obvious example of that utility element being wrong is: Food.

For a completely rational actor, the food purchased would be the most nutrition for the least cost. Taste is irrelevant. Ambience is irrelevant. Occasion is irrelevant. You fill out the food pyramid for whatever you can pay the least amount of cash. Buy a fifty pound bag of rice, wholesale canned tuna, and frozen veggie mixes that you only need five minutes to heat up and consume.

Chocolate? No. Salt or sugar? Only enough to fulfill your need for water absorption. Spices? Waste of money!

This sounds extreme, because a complete lack of emotional impact on your purchasing habits is extreme. You seek things that make you happy or pleased. You search for sweet tastes that cheer you up, for fatty tastes that satisfy you, for spicy flavors that you can eat in a competition with your friends to prove who's the manliest.

That's not rational! But we do it! Food is an inherently irrational thing to purchase, unless you are so strapped for cash that you cannot afford to be anything other than fully dedicated to the highest calorie:dollar ratio that you can find.

The other thing that the utility factor disregards is charity. On the standard 'rational' definition used in economics, charity is completely irrational for anyone who doesn't get a tax cut from it.

But people engage in charitable actions and donations anyway.

Full and relevant information: Uhhhhh no

I think we can all agree that full and relevant information is not actually a reality for most people.

Manufacturers bend the truth. Marketers omit things. Word of mouth is unreliable. Influencers lie. Online reviews are fake.

Some don't! But you don't know who is or isn't lying unless there is a law that controls what information they can put out. Researching takes time, and figuring out which lies are actually lies is difficult.

There are a lot of videos all over YouTube talking about scams, both the obvious, and the more subtle. There's a reason that misinformation is such a huge industry these days, and hey! A lot of misinformation relies on those aforementioned appeals to emotion that are both a marketing device and a rhetorical one.

Complete and consistent preferences: Sometimes?

I mean, some people have complete and consistent preferences. I have a favorite Starbucks drink that I get most times (technically I have four and it depends on the weather). I have stylistic preferences for my clothing. I have musical preferences.

But it still takes me time to make decisions when at a restaurant, you know? My little sister likes a lot of foods, sure, but if you ask her to pick a place to eat it can take literal hours. Hell, there are entire phenomenons named after the fact that people don't have preferences and have trouble making decisions!

And on top of all that, you have people whose 'preference' is spontaneity. They pick whatever they haven't tried before, because it's new, and exciting, and that's cool!

Which really harshes the mellow on that whole "clear and consistent preferences" thing.

Where does that leave us?

Well, the rational actor is clearly a majorly inaccurate standard to hold individual consumers and the market to. That said, I don't think more than a handful of very extreme people would ever claim that the rational actor is an absolutely perfect predictor for the market.

Rather, it's used as a starting point. If the market reacts to forces in a completely rational manner, here is what we would be expecting. Then, upon projecting the actions of the market under the most rational and perfect conditions, we can apply other possible factors. The possible success of a marketing campaign. The risks of weather or politics impacting supply lines. An unexpected trend rising up from a comedic social media moment among teens and young people.

Imagine you have a catapult. Imagine you know what the catapult will do under perfect conditions, with consistent rope length and artillery weight and weather conditions. The numbers you run your basic physics class formulas with are the rational actor.

The market trends that cause that rational prediction to have error margins is the equivalent of "the wind's been varying between 3mph and 9mph, and from NW to SWW."

I'm not sure how safely I can get away with embedding images that I don't personally have the rights to when they're actually relevant to the education portion of this, and not just a silly joke like the TGP inclusion up there, so I'll just tell you to go look at the first graph at this link, and you'll see what I mean about the 'best, most predictable case' line vs the 'actual possibilities' forecast.

Hope that helps!

(If you wanted me to go more into the history of this concept than its actual uses, uh... whoops?)

[reco-obsessed]

i just realized...... i dont believe ive ever asked you for naoreko hcs!?!?!!? what kind of hc anon am i..............unless i already did......hmm having bad memory really sucks......anyways/.........

hello anon . IM SO SORRY ITS BEEN LIKE A WEEK !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! i got really caught up with school and havent had time to sit down and type this out ... hmm.. no, i dont think you did anon. ursheen and reko, yes, but not naoreko. luckily for you, i also have a very bad memory, so we can just forget and rewrite the whole thing together. no need to worry, you're a very nice hc anon. lets see what i can think up...

most of this is fluffy stuff, set in some sort of no death game au. hope you dont mind (hey, who knows, naoreko headcanons deathgame edition could be a whole other request).

my interpretation of naoreko is very much based on the side content; reko being someone who gets flustered easily, with nao being surprisingly forward and unapologetic about her attraction to reko. though i dont think its always intentional on nao's part- sometimes she just blurts things out, without realizing how they sound to others. nao isnt so much "flirty" as she is an open book. if she wants to kiss, she'll probably let her crush know, and probably not on purpose. she has this line when shes talking to sara which is a big part of where my interpretation of this comes from. i think nao is just a very straightforward person that way. its a very funny + underrated character trait of hers.

that isnt to say i dont have things i drawn from the actual game, too- though i do wish we had more actual naoreko scenes rather than just the implication that nao and reko were close off-screen, at least during chapter 2. but thats kind of a side tangent.

i really enjoy interpretations that reko has infodumping tendencies. i dont think its hard for her to go on long rants about music, whether that be an album she just binged, a song shes working on, general comments / reflections on entire genres, all using technical language someone whos not super involved with music would probably never had heard of. shes pretty good about not springing this onto people unexpectedly, and is pretty good about checking in on the other person in the conversation. when it comes to naoreko, i imagine nao trying to get reko to rant about her passion fullheartedly, only for reko to usually have to backtrack because she didnt realize how it sounds to a non-musician.

of course, nao encourages her to talk about this kind of thing regardless, because she loves seeing reko go in depth about something she enjoys. but reko prefers the conversation to not get too one-sided, so she doesnt always indulge nao on this. reko could overthink a music piece for hours.

i think reko is very much the type of person to support and appreciate other artists. this is obvious when shes listening to other musicians, of course, but applies to other mediums too; i think shed really like nao's art and always be trying to get her hands on prints of them. nao likely didnt even produce a lot of prints until reko pushed her because she wanted to be able to appreciate her girlfriends art. the first piece reko ever mentioned wanting a copy of, nao reproduced a replica by hand. reko almost cried when she found out.

reko is a very busy person, but she also really values spending time with people. nao has puppy eyes that could level buildings with their sheer influence. this is to say, reko finds herself packing as many dates into her schedule as she can handle because she can rarely get herself to say no to nao. luckily for her, shes usually the one initiating, but even so, her work-life balance can get really hectic.

ive mentioned i interpret nao as a fandom kid and i stand by that. at the very least, she has a couple of "childish" or nerdy interests, like rewatching her favorite childhood shows or being really into cozy video games like animal crossing, stardew valley, the pokemon games, etc. shes very nervous to reveal this at first, but when she does, reko is pretty supportive. nao enjoys listening to reko rant, but doesnt realize it goes the other way too. they start to play video games together at some point, i think. nao manages to take reko to at least one convention (reko would be willing to go to more, but again, her schedule). she probably has to do something sneaky to make it work, like making sure she has a concert in the same city as the convention venue on the same day.

while reko has a lot to say about music, i think her aversion to one-sided conversations means that isnt what they talk about a lot of the time. while of course reko doesnt mind, it does mean shes out of her comfort zone, showcasing her more awkward and flustered side. reko is a virtusuo, a master in her field, and could talk other band nerds out of town, but.... shes spent practically her entire life in the music scene. she was never in it to make friends, but even if she was, her knowledge is specialized. while its not like shes not had friends before, she does have this kind of awkward energy around it, especially when shes in the presence of a pretty girl she likes. she knows how to act cool, but only from a distance.

nao, on the other hand, doesnt try to feign coolness at all. but shes so direct about certain things, she inadvertently gives off an unaffectable aura, which just makes reko even more flustered in comparison.

i think rekos intense love of music is part of why reko is so accepting of naos "strange" hobbies; sure, being really into music is seen as maybe a little less strange depending on who you ask, but she understands having hobbies youre really invested in and know a lot of facts about.

i imagine reko has a bit of a serious streak- she can see things in a very dramatic way, even if they dont seem that important to other people. this can lead to her getting worked up in her head about minor issues. i think naos tendency to blurt out strange things on occasion would take reko off guard in more ways than one, and snap her out of whatever funk shes in. similarly, her lighthearted hobbies compared to rekos (which are partially tied to both her identity and livelihood) give her a little refuge from the stuff she usually spends so muhc energy fretting on. its not things reko would have ever gotten into herself because shes got such a one-track mind, but with nao in her life, she ends up getting a healthy spoonful of sillyness and goofiness in her life she didnt realize she was lacking.

imaging them go out in public for dates is pretty funny to imagine. nao generally seems very approachable when shes out by herself, and its something that can make her nervous to go out. but she doesnt have this problem when shes around reko. reko, both unintentionally and very often intentionally, will stink eye anyone she even thinks looks at nao weird. this can bring up issues, but is typically a net positive.

of course theres the issue of meeting fans in public- not that reko minds signing autographs, but she definitely doesnt want to have to deal with that when shes out with her girlfriend. they tend to rarely go out for that reason.

karaoke dates. need i say more?

mishima and reko have a small rivalry that usually goes over naos head. nao is someone that makes reko feel pretty vulnerable (in a good way for once in her life), so she can get a little defensive when shes around others and nao at the same time; especially if its someone whos also close to nao. this is mostly harmless, as mishima is very mature and has a good sense of where to draw the line even if he indulges the rivalry just a bit; but rekos habitual jealousy is probably something her and nao have a serious conversation about at some point.

i dont think it comes up very often, but nao is more than willing to protect her girlfriend if need be, despite reko usually being the one scaring people off with her presence. should any one try to push reko on a boundary, like a fan complaining about not being able to take a picture with her or something along those lines, nao will jump in before reko can even respond. nao can be surprisingly intimidating when she goes from 1 to 60 like that. even if reko feels she doesnt need it, i think she still appreciates it a lot.

reko is usually too bashful to purposely initiate physical affection, but there are exceptions. there are times where she'll gain enough courage to attempt to coolly throw an arm around naos shoulders or hug her from behind. the chances she actually manages to keep that up have somewhere between a 60-70% success rate.

nao enjoys clothes swapping to the point where reko keeps getting naos clothes mixed into her own dresser and closet.

i think theyd have really lighthearted "sleepover" type dates every now and then. build pillow forts, do each others make up. reko really enjoys playing with naos hair and does it almost unconciously, especially if theyre cuddling while watching a movie or something.

nao is a plushie hoarder and keeps trying to offer her plushies to reko. nao forces reko to learn all her plushie lore. reko feeds her addiction because now everytime she sees a cute plushie she thinks of nao and has to buy it for her.

speaking of, reko would probably have a fairly decent income. reko buying nao new games she thinks she would like or limited edition figurines is probably pretty common for her. nao, who is the starving artist stereotype, always gets blown away by this.

i can see them getting matching jewelry of some kind. reko wears a lot of accessories and likes having at least one that reminds her of nao.

thats about all i can come up with for now ! sorry if these are very reko-centric, i uh... *gestures broadly to entire blog* . hope you liked 'em anon :-)

[accidental-spice]

I heard you were really really good at gluten free baking? 👀 As a person with celiacs I am Intrigued

I do like to think I am lol!! Honestly, it's not too hard, I just make regular recipes with gluten free flour! I recommend King Arthur Baking Company's measure for measure gluten free flour, it's AMAZING (They've got a section on their cross contamination protocols on their website which I can link at the bottom of this post!!) I don't have celiacs, I just bake for my mom who avoids gluten, but it's not super dangerous for her to eat it, so there might be a reason that wouldn't work out that I don't know about, but I can't see why it wouldn't!

Anyways, want some recipes? (Admittedly, most of these don't originate with me, but I've changed the recipes enough to claim them as new ones, if that makes sense)

Brownies!!!

Preheat the oven at 350 degrees, and butter a 9" glass baking pan (I think the one I use is slightly smaller than that so clearly there's room for error lol)

Melt 1 cup of butter of butter over medium heat. When it's all or mostly melted, mix in ½ cup of semi sweet chocolate chips, and 1 ½ cups of sugar

Next, add 4 eggs, though not if it's scorching hot. Then mix in ½ teaspoon vanilla (I just throw a splash in)

Then mix in 1 cup flour, ¾ unsweetened cocoa powder, ½ teaspoon of baking powder, and ½ teaspoon salt (I tend to just sprinkle in a couple shakes, but that's how much the original recipe says lol) with a spatula until combined enough that there's no loose flour or cocoa powder on top, then I like to break out a hand mixer and mix it until nice and combined and smooth!

Bake it for 55-60 minutes, I tend to start with 50, test it with a knife, and then keep going in 3-5 minute increments until the batter that comes out on the knife is thicker and more cooked looking, less shiny and batter like. I don't want it to come out completely clean, or else they'll be too dry. Hard pass, I love a fudgy brownie😂

Chocolate chip cookies

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees

Mix ½ cup of butter with 3 tablespoons of brown sugar, ¼ cup of white sugar, 1 egg, and a splash of vanilla. I use our Vitamix blender, but I'd imagine any blender or hand mixer would work well

Add 1 ⅛ cups of flour, ½ teaspoon baking soda, ⅛ teaspoon baking powder, and like. Three medium shakes of salt. Then add as many chocolate chips as your heart desires!

Bake for 15 minutes, until the cookies at the edge of the sheet are golden brown at the edges. This'll give you a nice soft cookie, I have no idea how to make harder ones, I like butter too much🤣🤣

White chocolate chip oatmeal craisin cookies (I think they could also make good oatmeal raisin cookies if you like those, I've never tried, but I so should lol(

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees

If you're using rolled oats, I like to run them through a blender real quick before I start, just so they aren't too hard on my teeth. Just until they look broken down a bit, they'll still add plenty of texture!

Mix ½ cup butter with ½ cup brown sugar, ¼ cup granulated sugar, 1 egg, and a ½ teaspoon of vanilla

Then add ¾ cup of flour, 1 ½ cups of oats, ½ teaspoon of baking soda, about three medium shakes of salt, and as much cinnamon as your heart desires, I usually add roughly 20 good shakes from our shaker. I really love cinnamon, and I strongly believe that a lot should be added, and that you can never have too much

Add your preferred mix ins!! I've used white chocolate chips and craisins, regular chocolate chips and craisins, and just chocolate chips, and all have been EXCELLENT. I also have a sneaking suspicion they'd be really good with walnuts, if you're a nut person

Bake for 15 minutes!

Let me know if you want any other recipes!! Some of my favorites include monster cookies, apple cider donut loaf cake, and chocolate chip sea salt cookies (they're really thick and sweet and salty, and they remind my mom of the cookies they sell at Costco now), to name a few!!

Also, if you're not in the mood to bake, and if you're comfortable with it, I am more than happy to just. Mail you some brownies or something!!!! Just let me know, and I'll see what I can whip up!!!!!

Thanks for the ask!!!

(And here's that allergen info!)

[cataclysmiccal]

TW: suicidal ideation and addiction

All New X-Factor issue #6

I’ll probably rant about this more when we get to Heir of Apocalypse but I think writers have forgotten the Truefriend stuff and I really wish they hadn’t. It’s obviously something that causes him distress and I think he would be concerned about having a position where he would be looking after the whole earth. Or at least the other New Mutants would be concerned. Of course that just happened and we have only seen Warlock and Bei’s brief reactions so we’ll see where it goes from here.

That’s all I’m going to talk about All New X-Factor because Doug is really mean and kind OOC. I think it’s intentional because other characters comment on it. But the story was cancelled so we’ll never know why he was acting like that. And it is a WEIRD book. I’m not going to get into the while Doug/Danger/Warlock thing. The fact that the X-Men’s training room was an anthropomorphized woman who was really horny was such a weird plot point.

New Avengers issue #18

Why’d no one tell me there’s a comic with the New Mutants and Squirrel Girl??? Not much else to say, Doug briefly shows up and Roberto makes fun of him.

Hunt for Wolverine: Weapon Lost

This is what I’m talking about when I say I prefer interesting takes on a character’s powers over useful takes. I find this so interesting and it’s probably one of my favorite takes on his powers. I love it when superpowers have a negative side effect and this feels like a very unique story. Most times negative side effects are like physical or mental degradation that come with using their powers. I wish they would reference this story again. Addiction feels hard to write in comics because most character arcs last a couple issues before being resolved, and then revisited later on (though maybe that makes them the perfect medium...) Addiction and recovery aren't the sort of things that can be resolved and forgotten about. Someone is "in recovery" not "recovered" Anyway I'd appreciate a nod to this story since I find it really interesting (maybe Doug doesn't own a phone or something, IDK I'm not a writer)

[beevean]

What pisses me off the most about NFCV is the way it disrespects the original medium of video gaming. The show sets up a potential action setpiece similar to a level from the game (the turning wheel, s1e3 I think) and then just *walks around it*. Everything about the way "Devil Forging" works in the show demonstrates that Ellis didn't even consult a cutscene compilation, much less the game. And sure enough, the fucker admits he never played them. Why adapt source material you've never experienced?

*Captain N* (a show I defend to the death) was better than this. It embraces the action montage, and even if things aren't 1-to-1, they do capture the appeal of the gameplay they adapt. It understands people love the original work. NFCV plows through the formalities of adapting a guy skimming the wikipedia summary of the game and then sits everyone in a basement for a full season.

The only times I felt I was watching an adaptation of Castlevania was in S1, with things like the fight against the Cyclop who petrified Sypha and Trevor falling into the deepest catacombs where Alucard hid himself, and in S4, where the last fight before the final showdown with Death happens in a clock tower, his iconic hideout.

As for the rest, I remember some snarky fans defending the show's wildly different direction with things like "what, did you expect to see Trevor jumping on platforms?" I don't know but it sure as shit would have been better than the trio wasting the entirety of S2 cooped up in a library! Yes, I would have preferred to see them travel through forests and caves and swamps, instead of wasting my time watching N!Alucard being a complete jerk to N!Trevor for no good reason! (and no, defending vampires is not a good reason)

bro. bro not even the vampire killer is treated with respect. it's replaced with the morning star which is a different weapon, and then n!trevor drops it in favor of a knife pulled out of the story's ass. the morning star pisses n!dracula off, but a fucking stick is capable of killing him. are you doing this on purpose.

And don't get me started on Devil Forging. I actually don't mind too much the idea of making it more similar to necromancy, because it would fit with the idea that it's a cursed, disgusting, blasphemous art. I also can concede that the knowledge that Dracula infused Hector and Isaac with his own power is very obscure, vaguely implied in one cutscene in CoD and one panel of PtR, and confirmed in a pre-release interview. But everything else is so less interesting. It's an art that apparently N!Hector was born with for no reason and N!Isaac could study on his own, removing the personal connection between Dracula and Forgemasters. There are other Forgemasters in the world: those two are not special (which also makes me wonder why N!Dracula bothered to hire N!Hector with a lie when he could have travelled some more: I'm sure Miranda would have helped him). N!Isaac eventually becomes so OP he can stibby stabby to create new Night Creatures without any effort. None of the interesting themes about dehumanization or forcing pure creatures to sin are hinted at*. Even N!Hector's unique cavalier relationship with death, a genuinely but interesting childish mentality of "oh no, death is sad! but I can fix it!", is never explored, because the story was too busy making him look stupid and breedable. And to top it all off, Nocturne literally introduces the concept of a Devil Forging machine which is so bad it sucks even in universe.

*the closest thing to this is in S4 with this line from N!Isaac: "You believe you are tools of destruction only because this is how your kind have always been used". Admittedly, it's a cool line I would have loved to apply to Hector and Isaac. But it doesn't quite work because by definition Night Creatures are not innocent, being demons from hell... and anyway he keeps using them to kill people in Styria because N!Isaac is a bastard and unlike Isaac he won't even admit it ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ that line comes off as so self-aggrandizing and I hate how much the show shills him so I won't cut it any slack because I'm petty.

As for Captain N, I will say this: the inclusion of the Poltergeist King is, of course, totally wrong from a lore stand point, but to me it tells that the writers actually read the manual in search of information, and the American manual really was the only resource they had at their disposal at the time. Just like that, they put in more effort than Warren "somehow didn't realize on his own that Mathias Cronqvist was Dracula's human name while reading a wiki page" Ellis.

[squeakygeeky]

I Feel You Linger in the Air Novel vs Series

I guess this is a thing I do now. Anyway, I feel like most people who posted about the novel were understandably focused on the ending, but this will be all over the place, full spoilers, this is for if you're interested in how it was adapted but don't actually want to read the novel. I would say I preferred the series since it took full advantage of being a visual medium and also because of the way it expanded on the story.

So the series only covered the first part of the novel, with Jom being transported back to 1928. The novel is first person from Jom's point of view and we really only get Jom adjusting to life in the past and his relationship to Yai.

Jom figures out he's in the past pretty quickly. There's also a mistaken identity thing so he never has to pretend to have amnesia.

Ueangphueng is still his sister's past life, but she's not Yai's sister, just a random neighbor married to Robert and not in a relationship to Mei. Ming is still in love with Mei but she's going to marry someone else, this is just a random thing not important to the plot. Fongkaew's story is kind of similar to the series and so is Khamsaen's, but there's no plot with Robert having done crimes etc. so she and Ueangphueng are just stuck being married to him and having his kids. James is there and flirty with Jom but there's no gay bar. Jom's piglet belongs to Robert and loses the race due to banana shenanigans, I'm sure you were dying to know.

Yai Palathip is 18 and going to be sent off for school and never gets engaged, instead his non-Ueangphueng sister does (happily it seems). No one finds out about Jom and Yai when Jom starts working for him, so there's not really homophobia they deal with, but also no support. They also barely get time together as lovers before Yai gets ripped into the past.

Jom gets transported to the 18th century (I think?) and meets Moustache Commander Yai. I won't go into much of what happens since it's not relevant to the series, but this Yai has no existing connection to Jom, so basically this part is Jom realizing he needs Yai to fall in love with him, which of course is successful because that explains why 1920s Yai was in love with him from the first moment. This is the Yai that gives Jom the tiger ring. Also there is stuff about personal pronouns used in the past: catnip to me.

Jom gets sent back to the present, but weirdly right before the accident. He doesn't check his phone this time but still goes into the River, he just manages to be in slightly better circumstances and gets rescued (by a foreign doctor, my theory is James reincarnated, although there is nothing to support this). He still has the tiger ring on so he knows it wasn't all a dream. When he returns to work on the renovation, he's given a key to a box in the trunk, which has his phone, the letter he wrote (not a letter from Yai), and the theater tickets Jom and Yai never got to use. Then he's told he needs to meet the son of the lady renovating the house, who is Yai Kanthorn of the present day.

1st special is a cute scene of Yai Palathip interacting with his nieces and nephews many years after Jom's disappearance. He became a judge and the family is prosperous because of Jom's advice about the future.

The 2nd special explains that present day Yai is a decendent of Lek, 1920s Yai's brother, so that's how he ended up also being called Yai. His adoptive mom/aunt is Yai's heir, tasked with giving Jom (as far as she knows just a random person of his full name) a key to the box in the chest. She sees his name in an article about a renovation which is why she insisted on hiring him. Yai sees Jom's picture in the article and remembers his past lives, so he goes to Thailand to find Jom.

The 3rd special is Yai and Jom in the present being boyfriends and getting engaged.

There is absolutely no explanation of why Jom time traveled.