#asian food goes so hard it’s all so good

[neuroticbookworm]

Parenting in Step by Step, a defense

I saw a bunch of posts about how Pat is immature and has poor communication skills, and citing his parents' divorce as one of the potential reasons.

*baffled* W H A T.

I don't have the time or energy to rant about the "poor communication skills" read, so all I'm gonna say is that Pat was busy holding his mushed up braincells together for the majority of this episode and direct your attention to @shortpplfedup's crisp and hilarious Ten Movements that perfectly summed up Pat's emotional journey. Cut him some slack, for fuck's sake.

Now, onto Pat's parents and their relationship with him and each other. I want to highlight the writing and dialogue in their scenes, because it hurts my heart to see not a lot of people talking about them.

When we first meet them, both Pat's Mom and Dad express concern about his eating habits, but the parent-child dynamics in these conversations were very different. Pat's mom says it's not good for him to eat ramen for breakfast, but she quickly accepts Pat's excuse and goes back to doting on him. When she brings up Jeng, and Pat complains that she is nagging and changes the subject, she lets him.

When Dad comes into town a few *undisclosed unit of time* later, he basically asks the same question as Mom, but this time, Pat is a little elaborate with his excuse explanation.

But Dad doesn't let him get away with his bullshit. He offers up a few solutions and wants to work on them with Pat.

After he's sure that Pat knows the need to change his food habits, he then adds levity to the conversation, and goofs around with his son. (I will forever adore the Asian Gordon Ramsey moment, more father-son wholesomeness in Asian media, please and thank you)

(did y'all notice how both Pat's Mom and Dad call him adorable with very different energies? did ya? okay, good)

Now, when the time came for Pat to let go of all his frustrations and break down in front of his parents, I was worried that the show would lean a bit too hard on the parental roles, the good cop/bad cop gambit. But no, it surprised me. It sure started out that way, with Pat offering up an empty excuse to Mom's question.

Which is immediately followed by this look:

(more on this later, I have SO MANY THOUGHTS about this)

When Dad follows up with this statement, Pat's defenses begin to crumble.

He opens up about how he feels overwhelmed and disconnected with himself, and Dad responds with this:

He brings the realities of adulthood to the forefront, reassuring him that he has also been there before and that Pat will learn to manage it. Still in line with the roles the show had previously drawn up for them. When Pat continues, Mom moves to Pat's side as soon as they realise that Pat's problems include heartbreak ("Everywhere I go, it's filled with memories") and she hits him with this:

Oooooof. That's a hell of a line. Accurate? yes. Comforting? Fuck no.

That's when Dad moves to Pat's side, and tries to soothe him. The roles are flipped.

Pat then says that maybe it would've been better, if they had stayed with him all the time. Now, this can mean two different things: I wish I didn't grow up so I could've stayed with you and life would've been so much simpler; I wish you guys did not get divorced and we could've all stayed together. Mom chooses to address the first part. She says that even if they stayed together, no one could stay with him all the time.

Dad, then acknowledges the separation and they tell him, TOGETHER, that they will always be his parents, and they never stopped loving him. And that they don't hate each other.

The TEAMWORK here, between Pat's mom and dad is executed SO WELL. They love their son, and want to comfort and reassure him, and they do it together. They don't do the "one of us do the talking and the other one hmms in the background" bullshit. They both understand his pain and give him their individual and collective opinions. They are in sync with each other's thoughts, and it shows. Remember the look between them at the beginning of this scene?

This speaks VOLUMES. They know something is weighing on him and they can't let him excuse his way out of this conversation. They look at each other, a non-verbal "let's do this", and start talking to Pat.

Being in love with each other and being good parents are not strictly inclusive. The show did not leave this unsaid, either. They show us, how two people can move on and still remain in each others' lives as someone to lean on. Someone who will always know you better than most people in this world.

How some people saw this amazing back-and-forth and thought "yeah, they're incompatible, and they traumatized their son, and he now has communication issues", I'll never understand.

TL;DR:

Stop demonizing divorce and calling it the root of all childhood trauma

SBS writers are doing some things EXCEPTIONALLY WELL, and they deserve credit for it

[transid--tips]

tips for transjapanese asian indv? we’re using subs but we’d love to do more than that!

got our many transjapanese headmates to help with this one ehehe.

this is our transjapanese advice

consume media from japan or ones popular in japan. anime and manga is the most widely known so you will have plenty of others to converse about it with. jdrama, jpop, japanese radio are also worth giving a try to. googling medias that are popular or have dedicated fanbases is also great.

watch things either in the japanese dub with english subs or even english dub with japanese subs.

eating/cooking japanese foods is probably one of the best ways to get into the culture. restaurants can be great if you can find any good ones locally, or traveling to find authentic japanese food places. but what we recommend is finding a local asian market. even if it isnt ran by a japanese person, most are very knowledgeable about japanese foods and can give recommendations and tips with making meals. plus its an amazing way to get involved with your local asian community.

speaking about community, connect with other japanese folks and asians. online is a good starting point for building your confidence around being perceived as cisjapanese. going out locally where you live is a big step to take but is worth is. local asian communities are generally kind and accepting of all asian people. side note that you could end up meeting other transjapanese people irl, since its one of more common transIDs.

participate in japanese holidays. you can do this in the privacy of your own home or go to any local events if you can find them.

take time to learn about japanese fashions and decide on some subcultures you might want to try out. also getting a kimono/yukata can be very helpful.

watch youtube videos about japan and its culture. like for example, the manors that they prioritize or things they like to do for fun.

learning to speak japanese can be hard but might be worth it if you have plans of moving to japan or just want a deeper connection to the culture. but dont feel bad if you cant! not all japanese people outside of japan know the language, and thats valid.

being out and proud about being japanese is great. some people may question it but just know that race is a spectrum and not all asians will look the same.

if you feel racial dysphoria relating to your body then you may consider cosmetic surgery. we dont have much to say about this one since its something we are still researching, but do look into it if its a goal that you have.

thank you for reading this and we hope yalls transition journey goes well! we did sprinkle some infodumping in here since we are also transjapanese and in the middle of our transition. but thats alright because this is an autism safe space so that means we get to info dump yay.

[blues824]

Continuing the TWST Boys Go to Reader's World??? headcanons, can I have the Third Years this time?

Reader is mentioned and only pronouns used are secondary pronouns. The amount of research going into this 😥😥

Trey Clover

Favorite Country/City: A lot of treats that he makes are from France, so I believe he would love being on the tasting side of the whole ordeal. Plus, candied violets (originally called violettes cristallisees) originate from there as well. As for his favorite city, it’s basic but it’s Paris. It’s the dessert capital of France, so yeah.

Favorite Cuisine/Dish: He is a bit of a connoisseur when it comes to multiple different cuisines, as people from all over have come to his family’s bakery. However, if he had to choose one, it would have to be Spanish cuisine. He just strikes me as the type. French food would come in second, but we are going by entrees and not desserts.

Favorite Drink: I feel like he would be a bit tired of tea, and coffee goes well with a lot of sweets but sometimes he wants something else. So, hot chocolate is a great go-to. Plus, you can spike it with bourbon or rum and many other things, and he prefers bourbon.

Favorite Souvenir: A cognac that he has used to cook multiple different things. He picked it up at a small shop in France, and the brandy is great for making sauces and for deglazing a pan. He rarely drinks it, but it’s of great quality.

Favorite Singers/Songs: He is an old soul, and with that being said, he likes older music. I feel like he would like songs in different languages as well. So, I think he would like the song Nunca es Suficiente, the Natalia Lafourcade version.

Favorite Movie: He doesn’t have a favorite movie, but rather favorite shows. He loves Nailed It!, Zumbo’s Just Desserts, Sugar Rush, but most importantly: The Great British Baking Show.

Cater Diamond

Favorite Country/City: This guy is hard because he would want to go absolutely everywhere and he would love everywhere he travels to. However, he would say that he loved Japan the most, as the people were very friendly and it was the first time he actually tried hard to learn the language so that he could be respectful.

Favorite Cuisine/Dish: His canonical favorite food is spicy ramen, so I would say Japanese cuisine would be his favorite. But, he has a more diverse taste than just that, so he would probably like Eastern Asian cuisine as a whole. It has a lot of savory and spicy foods that he absolutely loves.

Favorite Drink: He is also a margarita lover, and even though a lot of them are sweet, they are still delicious. However, he orders salt rather than sugar on the rim of the cup because he doesn’t want extra sweetness from sugar.

Favorite Souvenir: He picked up a pair of chopsticks that he always uses. He has finally got chopstick etiquette down, and the set he purchased at a souvenir shop served as a reminder of his hard work.

Favorite Singers/Songs: He is so into both K-Pop and J-Pop that it’s not even funny. He is one of those fans that will tear you up if you didn’t know the words, their meaning, who all the members in the specific group are, etc.

Favorite Movie: I had no idea he was into skateboarding, so I have to say that his favorite movie is Dogtown and Z-Boys. It’s a documentary-type film about the Zephyr skateboard team who helped develop modern skateboarding in the ‘70’s.

Leona Kingscholar

Favorite Country/City: He is not one to travel voluntarily, so you would have to drag him places. He does want to spoil you, so he will (hesitantly) go along with you. If he had to choose a favorite, it would be Sudan. He doesn’t have a favorite city, but rather a favorite state: the River Nile state. It holds the Meroë Pyramids, and he thought it was pretty cool that Sudan has the most pyramids in the world.

Favorite Cuisine: Pretty far from Sudan, but Argentinian food would be his favorite. They are known for having the best beef, and Leona loves having a good steak. The only downside is that it’s usually served with a few veggies or a chimichurri sauce composed of vegetables.

Favorite Drink: He doesn’t really care, so I would think that he likes beer. He strikes me as the type to have a glass bottle of beer that he holds nearer to his hip; the traditional uncle (Unca) pose.

Favorite Souvenir: When he first went to Sudan, he dressed to fit along with local traditions. He wore a jalabiya in order to maintain modesty, and he actually liked it and hung it in his closet for the next time he visited a country that prefers modesty.

Favorite Singers/Songs: It started as him getting into his edgy phase, but he did not want to go emo. He prefers rock, specifically AC/DC. His favorite song is Highway to Hell.

Favorite Movie: He usually falls asleep during every movie he watches. However, he did like the movie Silence of the Lambs. The way it left him disturbed and on-guard as well as made him want to stay awake is the reason why he would like such a gruesome movie.

Vil Schoenheit

Favorite Country/City: Cologne, Germany. I’ve always wanted to visit, and it was one of my hyperfixations for a while, but that’s besides the point. The point is that Vil strives for perfection. Part of that is smelling great. Surprise, surprise: cologne originates from Cologne. However, the Cologne Cathedral was beautiful as well.

Favorite Cuisine: I feel like he would like Japanese food as his go-to, as a lot of their food is a lot healthier than others and he strives to be healthy. However, he would like Greek food if he were just going off of personal preference. Briam would probably be his favorite dish.

Favorite Drink: Do smoothies count as food or drinks? People have them for breakfast as they have fruits and veggies, but you ‘drink’ a smoothie. Anyways, his favorite alcoholic drink would be a martini. He is classy and elegant, just like the drink.

Favorite Souvenir: A piece of the Berlin Wall. The history behind it fascinated Vil, and he considers it his most prized souvenir.

Favorite Singers/Songs: Lovefool by Postmodern Jukebox (feat. Haley Reinhart). He heard it from a co-star, and he liked it. Yes, he continues his career in your world.

Favorite Movie: Breakfast at Tiffany’s, as I believe that he loves Audrey Hepburn’s acting in that movie. He also likes Gentlemen Prefer Blondes because of Marilyn Monroe and her iconic character in that movie.

Rook Hunt

Favorite Country/City: The city of love, the city of lights, Paris. As much as I didn’t want to do such a basic answer, he is a connoisseur of beauty, and Paris at night is a sight to behold. Plus, he speaks French, so why not go to the motherland of the French language?

Favorite Cuisine: His favorite food is canonically liver pâté, so I believe he would love French cuisine the most. However, I would say that Danish cuisine comes second, as they have something similar (a dish that is derived from liver pâté: leverpostej).

Favorite Drink: A French 75 goes a long way with this man. He loves a champagne cocktail. They are typically for celebrations, and Rook just wishes to celebrate life and beauty as a whole. No, he’s not an alcoholic, but when he feels content and exceedingly happy he won’t hesitate in indulging himself with one glass.

Favorite Souvenir: A lavender perfume. He loves how relaxing the smell is.

Favorite Singers/Songs: His favorite song is Love Like You, by Caleb Hyles. Look at the lyrics, and you will see why lol.

Favorite Movie: The Notebook, as it’s a classic film filled with romance. You also cannot tell me that this man is not looking for the Allie to his Noah. He wants a romance story in his life, and that’s why he travels so much.

Idia Shroud

Favorite Country/City: I can’t decide between Greece and Japan, so I will say that they are tied on Idia’s list. The gamer boy doesn’t really go outside, but when he traveled to these places he absolutely loved it. He’s kind of simple, where he liked the capitals Athens and Tokyo the most.

Favorite Cuisine: His favorite food is just listed as ‘sweets’, and he hates raw fish. We are not going by desserts, but rather overall food, and luckily fish can be replaced by protein alternatives. Plus, the fish can be cooked. That being said, Chinese food would be his favorite. He loves the dragon’s beard candy.

Favorite Drink: He rarely ever drinks alcoholic drinks, as he is already very weak in build (remember his family’s curse?). Adding alcohol to the mix would be a disaster. However, he might like a light beer.

Favorite Souvenir: He likes board games, and while he was in Greece he learned to play Tavli, or Backgammon, and he purchased a board so that he could continue to play it with opponents.

Favorite Singers/Songs: He likes anime intros and outros, and like Cater he is very big on K-Pop and J-Pop, but also C-Pop and T-Pop. His favorite song is 夜に駆ける(Yoru ni Kakeru), by YOASOBI.

Favorite Movie: Your Name, as the two travel just to meet each other, but they have to get used to their new environments first.

Malleus Draconia

Favorite Country/City: He loves Denmark’s castles, but specifically the Rosenborg Castle in Copenhagen. It houses the Danish Crown Jewels as well as the Coronation Robe, and the history behind each item fascinated the draconian prince. The Notre Dame Cathedral in France comes in second for its gargoyles.

Favorite Cuisine: Again, we go by overall cuisine rather than the desserts (otherwise he would choose the cuisines that contributed to ice cream’s existence). He actually can’t choose a favorite, as all is better than Lilia’s cooking. He does have a least favorite, and it’s modern American food. His favorite type of food is street food, as it really allows him to surround himself with the locals and just be normal.

Favorite Drink: He doesn’t believe alcohol is necessary to have fun, but he will indulge himself from time to time. His favorite is a cocktail called a ‘Corpse Reviver’. It’s a morbid name, but it’s the one thing that magic can’t do. He likes when red food coloring is added, as it makes his tongue red.

Favorite Souvenir: Bro probably has enough money to actually purchase the Danish Crown Jewels as well as the English Crown Jewels tbh. Anyways, he actually treasures a book he picked up called ‘Once Upon a Broken Heart’. He was unaware that it was the first book of a sequel series, so he purchased the rest as well as the original series, ‘Caraval’.

Favorite Singers/Songs: His talent is listed as ‘stringed instruments’, but his relent would go beyond just the typical instruments you think of. Is an electric guitar not a stringed instrument? This man is in a 5 Finger Death Punch phase, favorite song being Wrong Side of Heaven.

Favorite Movie: He loves Sleeping Beauty, mostly because of that scene with Aurora and Prince Phillip where they dance together in the forest. Also, he related to Maleficent because she was not invited to see the princess.

Lilia Vanrouge

Favorite Country/City: His hobby is traveling alone, and I feel like he wouldn’t have a favorite location. He has been everywhere, and the only place he gravitated towards was Brazil. He went to that year’s Carnaval celebration and he actually really liked it. The parade floats were big and beautiful, there were many lights; it was just fun in general. The city of São Paulo comes to mind, as it’s the biggest city by population.

Favorite Cuisine: Part of why he likes Brazil is the food. Tomatoes originate from South America, and Brazil’s dishes hit different (I don’t think I’ve been to an authentic Brazilian food place, but from what I can see and from what I’ve tasted, I love it).

Favorite Drink: In the Trivia section of his Wiki page, it says that he likes potions that are said to taste bitter by everyone else. That being said, I feel like this would transfer to alcoholic drinks, so his favorite drink might be a negroni. It’s a bit bitter, so it suits his taste.

Favorite Souvenir: He picked up some spices in his travels to “better” his cooking (it didn’t help at all; his cooking still sucks even if he’s seen other people do the dishes he's trying to make).

Favorite Singers/Songs: He is what boomers would call “hip and trendy”, so he likes whatever is popular at the moment. Yes, this includes the meme songs that might go viral on TikTok, Instagram, and YT Shorts. At the time of writing this, his favorite song would be Paint the Town Red, by Doja Cat.

Favorite Movie: He liked the movie Crimson Peak. The costumes as well as the acting were amazing, and he loves learning about the Victorian Era and how both England and the United States were developing during the industrial era.

[annlillyjose]

Rock Salt – WIP Intro

hello again! on today’s news, your girl has a new wip aka something to fixate on and mould her life around for the next couple of months (or years). and because i cannot keep any exciting news to myself, here’s a wip intro.

but before we head into that, here’s a little backstory to how it happened. i finished writing dairy whiskey, i worried about my brain being incapable of forming new book ideas, two to three days after i get this new book idea that i’m totally hooked on, struggles to find a name, names it, decides to go forward with it, so again, here it is – rock salt!

here are the specifics:

disclaimer: this is an original work of fiction. plagiarism of any kind will not be tolerated. don’t be a pathetic loser.

genre: literary fiction

pov: first person retrospective

structure: probably going to be just full-length chapters

projected word count: 50k

concept: identical twins rain and norah move out of their family home for college where they purse two different degrees, live with different people in separate homes, and fall in troubles of their own. these begin to affect each other and they grow apart, being forced to navigate the the most confusing part of their lives – their shared existence as twins.

aesthetics/vibes: indigo skies, the beach, moths, seawater, salty breeze, chopping off one’s hair because existential crisis and queerness, lesbian relationships, house parties, fire, gloomy days where you feel like it’s going to rain but it doesn’t, cheap housing, bad grades, rotten food in the fridge, the moon, hanging plants, weed and local flowers

CHARACTERS

if you’ve heard these names before, no you haven’t, but again, they’re from twinepathy – the short story i wrote nearly three years back and scrapped afterwards. i tried to create new characters for this book but they feel like the perfect fit, so here they are.

norah

18

lesbian, she/they

her real name is eleanor

the protagonist and the narrator

studies political science

shoulder-length black hair, dark brown eyes, 5'3, skinny, wheat-coloured skin

always wears basic t-shirts or sweatshirts with a pair of mom jeans

distant, secretive, in constant disapproval of everything

strives on academic validation (and is being too hard on herself to bring in good grades)

rain

also 18

aroace, she/her

her real name is lorraine

studies painting and the applied arts

long black hair, dark brown eyes, 5'3, skinny, wheat-coloured skin

is a goofball, sunshine and rainbows, has a lot of friends, is extremely talented in her art, golden retriever energy with some drama to be unleashed

cannot keep her mouth shut so ends up in trouble with norah

don’t want to introduce them officially, because they’re not key characters, but here’s a little info on their older sisters –

harper

23

is called harp

is a high school geography teacher

engaged to her college boyfriend

oldest child in an asian household (i guess that’s saying enough)

violet

21

is called viv

the neglected middle child

in her last year of a nursing degree

wanted to study music but was too scared to bring it up to her parents and ended up being stuck at a hospital

plans to go abroad and marry a rich guy

well, that’s all i’ve got for you today. i haven’t started writing this book yet and i think i won’t until i finish editing dairy whiskey in august. i think i’ll start in september and then hopefully do nanowrimo for it in november. i’m super excited to work on it because it’s so different from dairy whiskey in a lot of aspects. but i’m discovery writing (as always) and we’ll just have to see where it goes. but until i come back with an update for this book, you take care, stay hydrated, water your plants, and eat a second dessert tonight.

– ann

general taglist (ask to be added or removed)

@shaonsim @heartfullkings @vnsmiles @dallonwrites @wannabeauthorclive @sienna-writes @violetpeso @flip-phones @silassghost @ambidextrousarcher @zoe-louvre @writing-with-l @magic-is-something-we-create @femmeniism @frozenstillicide @wizardfromthesea @rose-bookblood @coffeeandcalligraphy @rodentwrites @saltwaterbells @snehithiye @at-thezenith

[juniper-c]

Folks from the US getting condescending about people not from the states has to be my least favourite genre of posts. Like, i swear every other week I see some shit written in half baked (british) english slang about baked beans or jellied eels or rotten teeth and it drives me up the wall. Just a bunch of fundamental misunderstandings about a place they've never been too with little to no curiosity about what life might actually be like there.

Im only coming at this from a UK angle so cant speak for anywhere else but a quick rundown on all this shit states side people get wrong about our food specifically because thats what winds me up the most.

Beans on toast is a cheap staple breakfast food, not the cornerstone of our cullinary tradition.

In most urban city centers you get a complex mix of diaspora informed food stuffs, primarily indian and east asian because of all that colonialism we did. Relatively large muslim populations also bring in middle eastern influences.

Even what you might think of as a classic british pub will sell you a basic curry unless you're in the arse end of nowhere. This is not niche shit. Our whole food culture is shaped by this.

What you could call 'classic' british cooking like full roast dinners with Yorkshire puddings, propery gravy, sruffung, and all the other fixings are fucking great actually. Bit of lamb with mint, bit of pork with apple sauce, cut of beef with mustard. It goes hard.

Even if you are in the arse end of nowhere stuff like pasties, proper pies, stews with dumplings, fish and chips, and other sea side holiday basics that make you think of little coves in north devon are also good, actually. Yes its not spiced to all hell and back, but they incoperate herbs and vegatables and stocks in ways that give it a unique depth of flavour distinct from cultures informed by a more spice heavy tradition.

Say what you will about our shit (complimentary) chicken shops and rubbery high street donner in years of nights out blind drunk in student bits of the city they've never once given me the gastric distress y'all describe post taco bell.

Of course our mexican food isn't particularly authentic, the countries half a planet away and we dont have a large mexican diaspora. What we do have is tuned for mass market appeal by largish chains or sold out of artisinal taco food trucks that we all find a bit wanky tbh.

Spicy food exists, and we quite like it. Yes even pasty white tony who turns the colour of jam when he eats a medium hot vindaloo. Indian food is a cornerstone of our national diet of course we know what chilli powder is.

And finally nobody eats fucking jellied eels it was a victorian era poverty food and even then only in london.

Also our chocolate is better than yours because we dont put the weird chemical in it that makes it taste like sick. Eat a kit kat and die mad about it.

[sunny-reis]

Can I request headcannons with poly vbs reader who's like wonyoung from ive?

(Job and appearance wise)

hcs - vvbs w/a wonyoung-like reader

an: you bet your ass you can !! i saw wonyoung and did a little jump for joy (mentally)

tags: somewhat-feminine!reader, idol!reader, reader's a member of more more jump! or some adjacent j-pop group, ppl give idol!reader shit (much like wonyoung) but they handle it like the slayboss they are

🎀 okay first of all

🎧 bc you're wonyoung-like i have to clarify that yes, ppl on the internet criticize you for no fucking reason ! not cool but it izz what it izz

🍓 you don't let it bother you because you're just Better Than That (plus you're rich, loved, and confident, why should you?)

🎀 assume you're a very popular, well-liked member of mmj! and you've had a pretty large following from a past career as a soloist

🎧 i hc an and akito as big idol fans (akito would rather die than have you find out he used to be a die-hard fan of yours, posters and merch and all stashed in his closet), so they'd definitely support you at gigs and performances!! front row seats and banners babeyyyy

🍓 kohane doesn't really listen to idol music and toya... is toya. but they'd prefer to watch you dance/dance with you!! especially during the rare moments when your normally-PACKED schedule is empty for once !!

🎀 watch you three be stuck in the company practice rooms for hours on end (assuming akito and an join later/for less time since they're Busy doing Stuff . yeah)

🎧 now for specifics !!

🍓 akito defends you from antis online . user ynlover123? that's him [he has multiple side accounts on every social media you can think of]

🎀 every time a clip of you doing something random but Cutely (like wony's little happy dance and the video of her eating a strawberry) you get So Much shit for it. god forbid a girl (g/n) do anything

🎧 Haters be hating 😂

🍓 an is a full on fansite dude (idk why but she seems like a photographer to me. i haven't played through the vvbs story don't @ me)

🎀 fansign? concert in tokyo? popup event? coffee shop event? private performance? she's there with her big ahh camera and filters and light boxes

🎧 you think you look ridiculous in the pictures she takes but to Literally Everyone Else you look ethereal !! like that one relatively recent pic of wony at the airport - everyone (but you) goes wild bc. yeah

🍓 kohane and toya are there to comfort you and make sure you take care of yourself when things get rough

🎀 ik that sounds generic and bland as hell but HEAR ME OUT !!!

🎧 i hc kohane is like a walking heater!! she gives the best hugs that make you never wanna get up from bed (best lazy day partner fr)

🍓 toya isn't a good cook but he'd try to make snacks and your favorite food for you !! good thing you had to take acting classes bc ... he could've tried harder 🗿

🎀 thankfully he can at least cut fruit without losing a limb, so in classic asian mom fashion, he brings you plates of fruit when you're feeling down - he and kohane make sure you finish it all (and kohane sneaks some pieces while toya's not looking 😁)

🎧 (tbf she looks like a squirrel bc of how chubby her cheeks are - im not immune to the kohane rodent agenda)

🍓 all in all i feel like it'd be a really understanding relationship with poly!vvbs - they're dancers so they get how tiring it is, and especially with industry-induced worries, they'd be there to support you and make you feel loved no matter what!

[maxsix]

Favourite KPOP Songs of 2023

So I am 3 days late posting this but I wanted to do it to keep up the tradition. It's fun looking back at old lists. My criteria isn't so much based on technical merit but rather the songs that I wanted to listen to over and over again for whatever reason.

Cupid by Fifty Fifty. No doubt, this is social media's song of the year. I have never seen a song that is actually good become so organically viral, only to be reduced to absolutely nothing because of abysmal management. Not even New Jeans was this widespread this year (to me). Cupid was playing at my local supermarket and even people who know nothing about kpop loved this song. It ranks low for me because I'm definitely sick of hearing it by now. Regardless, it is still a very well written pop song.

Ayo by NCT 127. Okay, hear me out: NCT is like durian. You either completely understand why it is called the King of Fruits or you think I should be put in jail for saying that. If you are a brave connoisseur who refuses to be confined by societal pressure, then know what it's like to open your third eye and consume NCT for what they are: completely weird but never boring. It's an experience. If you don't get it, I don't know what to tell you.

Tinnitus by TXT. Temptation is my least favourite TXT album from the last 3 years but I think that is mostly due to how much I hated Sugar Rush Ride. I've been re-listening to a lot of their material again and okay, I'll give this one a pass: it's a mood. Thanks Kang Taehyun. I don't know if it was very intentional but his voice is all I hear on the final version. Man, that dude's voice always gets me somehow, I don't know how he does it.

Rover by Kai. It's not even that good of a song and yet, it was everywhere and I was gaslit into liking it. The viral dance made it the hit it became but to be fair, much of this was really down to his star power and ability to make really good choices that suit his strengths (dance first, vocals second). This is EXO Kai we are talking about after all; when he delivers, he really delivers. New Gen boys can take some notes.

Drama by Aespa. This is like Asian Junk Food. It's objectively so terrible, full of empty calories, no nutritional value but they took the Terrible and sprinkled MSG on it, so now it's TastyTerrible. As someone who wants to learn film editing, the MV is excellent and an example of top tier editing without choppy cuts. I have not noticed editing this neat and time consuming since Seventeen's 'HOT'.

Back To Me by The Rose. A group with solid talent and well written songs. I wish every success for them to be honest. I am posting the live video because they are one of those groups who are better live and won't give you The Fear watching it. I wish I could've seen them because I genuinely just love their voices and sound. They've filled the void left behind by Day 6.

Hard by Shinee. It's just your typical weird and perfect Shinee pop song but with a distinctly 90s flavour in my opinion. They are just all so talented that it's virtually impossible to ignore them. SM production is always so slick but with Shinee it is something to gild the lily rather than hard carry the entire song and group. Onew vocals never takes a day off, he was flawless even in the raw recordings.

Kitsch by IVE. It's just so cute and comforting in the way a harmless little pop song can be. It's like a fresh breeze. There's no pressure to do anything but enjoy it. In the absence of Blackpink, they are definitely my favourite girl group at the moment.

This World by Ateez. I do actually prefer it to Bouncy because it has that dystopian and almost gothic feel to it. I don't think it would've made a good title track because it's not as explosive as Bouncy but it 100% would fit into a movie or montage sequence. It absolutely goes so hard in the car, especially at night.

Flower by Jisoo. I think this was just a very smart choice for her and her team. It did not have anything too complex or overly dramatic. It suits her elegance and brand perfectly. It was also very pleasant and kinda of prettily boring? The dance was very popular and cute without being obnoxious. She is very much a Great Gowns Beautiful Gowns and "Go on girl, give us nothing!" idol but I have a soft spot for her. I can't believe we live in a world where Jisoo has the best Blackpink solo song.

3D (Alternate Version) by Jungkook. I did not like it when it was released (with that awful rap feature) but the purely Jungkook and performance versions of it really improved everything. I am really happy that Golden is as good as it is, because I think most Jungkook stans from 2013 lived in fear he would only release Mid Tier pop songs. I think most features on the album are unnecessary. Jungkook has presence and star power on his own. Everything else diluted what we all came for.

Blue Blood by IVE. It's an unexpectedly more mature sound from them and I loved it. I think the driving backing track makes this one of the best driving songs. It has this dark eloquence to it, which I always vibe with. One of their best B sides for sure.

Off The Record by IVE. This was the best track off their album this year. That title track was heinous. OTR was so calm and comforting and there is something about it that reminded me of Gfriend and OhMyGirl where it's just a good song with any histrionics. I do not think IVE suit that bad girl crush concept at all. They always had this expensive High Teen aura and it really took at hit with Baddie imo.

Ring (Unplugged/Acoustic Version) by TXT. This isn't cheating, they released this one on a July 2023 album. Even if it was cheating, I would've still put it on here. It's well written, well produced, well paced and suits everyone in the group. But personally, I always saw this as a Kang Taehyun song (even though he didn't even write it). His aura is all over it. Controversial opinion but I think this has one of Yeonjun's best rap verses because the slower tempo works so much better for his voice and flow.

Crazy Form by Ateez. Ah the Male version of Junk Food with MSG. I don't think it's anywhere near their best song but it's a good fun time and after the tough year(s) we have all had, it's nice to jam to something silly. It's very SKZ adjacent but in my opinion, with much better production and editing because the team behind Ateez are better at it. I'm also including this because it made me really see Jeong Yunho. If you know you know.

Roll With Me by Hyungwon/Shownu. Technically The H/S version of Wildfire is my favourite from them this year but since it wasn't official, I'll go with my second favourite release. It once again proves that Hyungwon is my favourite man (musically) in Monsta X. I like his style, tastes and instincts. It's true that he is my overall favourite in MX but I'm mature now! It's not just the visuals, I truly put his musical output as the number 1 reason I like him.

Standing Next To You by Jungkook. Listen, listen, listen.....I have been following this dude since 2013. I always KNEW he could give more and be more. Even though SNTY isn't even 100% of what I think he can do, it was enough for me to feel all these 10 years were not wasted lol. This deserved this stop purely for the instrumentation and production value alone. Granted, it is very westernised but good music is good music. This is the only time where a feature (remix) actually added something.

Silver Light by Ateez. The sister to Cyberpunk. It is really like its title: a sparkling God Ray of light that cuts through the darkness. It's mysterious but also so hopeful and comforting. They just scraped in with this at the last minute but it is already one of my absolutely favourite Ateez songs. Instant love from 1st listen. The type of song I wish I was more conscious and present for so I could go back to experience it again for the first time. Park Seonghwa supremacy because this is now a song I associate with him. He's not even my Ateez bias but he is my favourite and the most important Ateez member to me. How that works, I do not know.

My favourite song of 2023:

Chasing That Feeling by TXT. They achieved the trifecta in 2023 for me: favourite song, favourite lyric, favourite choreography. I'm not even going to link to the official MV because the choreography needs to be seen unobstructed and undiluted. This is the type of song that I barely have any critiques on (and if I did, they would all be minor). The type of song that I would put as my bio. The type of song I want my best friend to play at my funeral. This era was also the one that pushed Choi Soobin into my life when he knew damm well that my heart has been closed for business for the last 12 months. The power this song had on me was all consuming and cannot be overstated, ok?

[beautifulpersonpeach]

Hi.

I just wanted to thank you as I have spend the last couple of evenings going through your posts. I love how level headed you are and you offer a lot of insights for me as a baby (toddler? preschooler?) ARMY.

I really love Jimin, I consider him to be one of the most beautiful humans on earth, and that is inside and out. With a voice of an angel to match.

Watching Jikook interact is my happy place (as is the whole BTS), when I watch them I get a sense that this world is not entirely shit, if something so beautiful and tender as their bond (love) can exist.

I was very happy to read about how much you love the rapline b/c I share this with you.(Hobi is the best live performer this side of Milky Way, I am in awe of Namjoon, and I am in love with Yoongi) Just an fyi, BTS rapline has a very interesting ability to atract people like me who did not like hip hop. I am a metal fan (symphonic metal like Nighwish, melodic and poetic lyrics), and my whole life I was trying to understand how can someone voluntarily listen to rap music. I didn´t get the appeal, the usual lyrics of US rappers disgust me and as whole, I avoided the genre.

Do you know what changed my mind? Ugh, Tear and Daechwitta. These three songs are surely my most streamed songs on spotify.

whew, after this essay here is my ask:

Can you please talk about Yoongi. like anything at all you want? maybe you have some archived posts from your previous blog? Or what do you expect him to do for D3? Or talk about his relationships with the members? I love how much he loves Jimin and Hobi and I truly believe that he would be the first one to take a bullet for any of the members.

So pretty please ? give me something to read and feed my obsession :-)

Thanks and have a great weekend, I will be looking forward to your future posts, whether you decide to answer mine or not LOL Cheers.

**

Hi Anon, 💜

A quick comment on rap music and hip hop - this is easily the most diverse music genre in the world. Rap literally stands for Rhythm and Poetry, and this is music that has fueled political/class revolutions, rejuvenated Obama's 1st term campaign, and helped heal generational trauma. Much of it goes beyond bad bitches, pumping a rival full of lead, or big gold chains. RM, Yoongi, and Hobi are all legit hip hop heads who listen to and gain inspiration from the music you might find objectionable, to create the somewhat sanitized tracks you love in Ugh, Tear, and Daechwita. But please understand BTS are pulling from a long, old, tradition of Black rap music and there are many examples of Black artists employing that genre in the exact way BTS have: including J. Cole, Kendrick Lamar, 2Pac, Lupe Fiasco, Lecrae, Noname, and Logic. I understand how some of hiphop is crude, misogynistic, and needlessly violent, and this probably shapes how you view the genre as a whole, but as a Black and Asian woman who listens to a lot of hiphop I'm sharing this perspective to show it's not all black and white, and that there's too much good in the genre to write it off as a whole. At its core, rap is about authenticity, freedom of expression, and flow. BTS has been one way for you to tolerate the genre, but you might be surprised to learn rap has a lot more in common with metal rock music than you might think. Just food for thought..

*

I loved reading your essay, but the truth is I hate writing about Yoongi, Namjoon, or Hoseok. Probably because I'm not a natural writer, I sometimes struggle to express myself in English, and I'm a little in love with (and almost perpetually tongue-tied by) my biases in the rapline. No matter how hard I try I can't seem to come off as anything but a bumbling simp with no self respect who will gladly throw her panties in their faces if given the chance.

Ahem.

But you're not here to read my excuses, so I'll try to briefly talk about one thing I love about Yoongi: his voice.

Yoongi has the deepest voice in BTS, after which is Namjoon, then Taehyung. Yoongi is also very versatile in how he uses his voice. Out of all the members, I think he speaks the most softly in his everyday speech, after Jimin, but he also cusses the most in his natural speech. In their earlier years you could hear his dialect almost every time he spoke (less so now), whenever his temper rose you'd hear it in how his voice went sort of sideways. I don't know how to explain it, but he wouldn't raise his voice, he wouldn't lower it, but it would sound a bit more... harsh and maniacal?

And because this is Yoongi we're talking about, he knows exactly what his strengths are and utilizes them to the fullest. He knows people go gaga over his voice, and so since 2013, he has highlighted his voice in his radio shows including DJ Suga Honey FM.

The 'honey' there is not by accident.

One of my favourite pass-times in 2020, was listening to the radio Vlive Yoongi did with Jimin on May 30th.

(Cuties)

I'd play it when I was cleaning my home, buying groceries, or doing laundry. Yoongi and Jimin's voice in that Vlive is so calming to listen to, it feels like this:

(like settling into a warm velvet bean bag on cold winter day)

I'm a bit of an audiophile so these are the sorts of things that get to me. In that radio episode, these grown men make cringe sound effects, Jimin puts Yoongi on the spot so many times you hear it in how Yoongi chuckles nervously, they can't take each other seriously enough to not burst into laughter every 5 minutes. They just sound at ease, at home in their friendship, it doesn't feel like millionaires making a company-sponsored production for fans, it sounds like two guys goofing off and being so sweet and clever at the same time.

*

Jimin is my favourite vocalist in BTS, and Yoongi's vocal inflections when rapping and singing is my favourite in BTS. He has a keen music sense that comes through in his harmonizing and layering. An example:

My Universe (timestamp - 2:02 - 2:20)

(Yoongi's harmonizing verse is the most replayed segment in almost all the versions of this song)

*

That thing I said about his voice going sideways when he's pissed off, you hear it in his music. I'm struggling here but bear with me as I try to explain what I mean.

Yoongi sometimes sounds like a child when he's pissed off. Where RM leads fully with a deep voice when he's cutting into a bastard, Yoongi goes full joker on you. The tone in his voice sounds juvenile, like a child taunting you in the most annoying way possible, sticking their tongue out and waving their toosh in your face knowing there's nothing you can do to them. It's the kind of taunting that gets under your skin so quick and nobody in BTS has perfected it better than Yoongi.

An example:

What Do You Think (timestamp - 2:09 - 2:58)

*

I love how Yoongi has rounded out his manner of speaking as he's matured. He still cusses at the drop of a hat but he's become more delicate with his speech, at least to fans on camera, and I've noticed this towards Namjoon, Hobi, and Jungkook too sometimes in recent years. He seems to be most loose in his speaking with Jimin, Jin, and Hoseok (again).

Last year, people (rightfully) lost it over his voice in this Vlive:

...but the way he spoke also was straight-forward and very kind.

*

Yoongi has been fielding marriage proposals since January 21, 2013 when he was first introduced to ARMY as a member of BTS, and there's very good reason for it. In my opinion. I think Yoongi, Namjoon, and Hoseok are men and artists worth thirsting over in every fucking way.

Nobody asked, but I think this is important info for determining compatibility for anybody curious: I'd rate their sex drive thus: Namjoon > Hoseok = Yoongi. Backed by empirical evidence.

I'm excited for Indigo, and have almost lost my mind with glee at how it's very likely we're getting D-3 right after it. Yoongi could do something more acoustic as he's been saying for some time now. He's gotten more comfortable singing as the main vocal on his tracks, and we know it's likely his next album will have Adora on it too complementing him. I want him to have a track that's Spoken Word, something like this:

*

This is the most I can bear to say about Yoongi now Anon.

[damnfandomproblems]

Just a kind of vent no need to answer

So many people talk about blackwashing in genshin

But let me tell you it is the worst in mha/bnha

I've seen it in jjba since it started getting extra popular too.

Atleast in genshin it's usually just about three characters and the occasional all the characters (which is extra gross)

Seriously if black people are so pressed about not getting representation in Eastern media then they should make their own shit

Almost every anime and Manga creator have an Asian audience in mind. Americans just get to enjoy it too.

I'm sorry but as someone who happens to live in America

Black people can be some of the most racist people you will ever meet.

And no I'm not denying white people are racist anymore. They definitely still exist.

But black people are some of the most entitled assholes.

Don't get me started on how they use the race card anytime someone disagrees with them or something doesn't go their way.

It's like they immediately view anyone who's pale as a fucking threat. Even if they just disagree about the kind of dog they like.

They act like it's a competition for who's the most oppressed and if any other minority get attention they throw a fucking fit.

There are so many black people who have a decent life. Better than mine. And yet they act like spoiled entitled brats if anything goes wrong.

Like im sorry black people are getting pressed over getting some expensive ass shoes dirty then 2 seconds later say something about how hard it is to live as a black person.

While I'm over here barely able to afford food and been homeless twice last year

I know there are good black people out there

But until they prove it to me I don't trust a single one.

My ancestors sailed over here mid 1800s dirt fucking poor and we have never done anything to black people.

Racism has never been in my family.

So I think it's fucking bullshit to be treated like I do by them.

It's bullshit that they have the audacity to scream racism at every turn over the littlest shit like telling them not to fucking black wash characters. Don't fucking matter how pale they are.

I understand the feeling to vent.

[softsky-daily]

10/28/2023

Absolutely haunting image of my streetlight and the moon competing to be the brightest object in the middle of the night.

Positive thing: Language Table and chatting with my roommate friend was fun, and I got more free food at a café.

This one was even more random than yesterday's. The employee came by telling me they were closing up early for the night and then just went "and these are for you" and handed me a bag with two chocolate almond croissants. I guess they were probably just getting rid of baked goods they couldn't keep overnight, but I always like free stuff either way.

Tomorrow I have some plans to hang out with friends so I'm sure that'll be a good time. We're going to the bookstore so maybe I'll see if they have any good autobiographies. I'm kinda itching for another one by an Asian American writer ever since I finished Crying in H Mart. That was the last book I can remember staying up all night just to finish since it was so riveting. And also really sad- it's about identity and grief, so it hits pretty hard in some parts.

There's a bunch of other books I have that I still need to finish reading too. Maybe when winter break rolls around and I can have more free time...

Now that I'm thinking of it, I also really want to finish ORV (Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint). That was so good, even the wonky translations didn't take away from the story. I think I was over halfway done until something ultimately distracted me as always and broke my daily reading combo and then it was all over. Now I need to start from the beginning again to remember what happened (a LOT goes down in that story). But I know it's not going anywhere so I can get back to it whenever.

[dreaminginthedeepsouth]

Brodner :: Kevin McCarthy :: kicking the poor off of food stamps

* * * * *

LETTERS FROM AN AMERICAN

May 5, 2023

HEATHER COX RICHARDSON

MAY 6, 2023

Today’s job numbers came in higher than expected, with the U.S. adding 253,000 nonfarm jobs in April. Unemployment fell yet again, to 3.4%, matching a rate not seen since 1969. Black unemployment is at an all-time low of 4.7%. For Hispanics it’s 4.4%, and for Asian Americans, 2.8%. The rate for adult women is 3.1%. Average hourly wages rose 0.5%. This good economic news didn’t come from nowhere. The Biden administration has focused on building infrastructure, bringing supply chains home, and bolstering new manufacturing. The Bipartisan Infrastructure Act, the CHIPS and Science Act, and the Inflation Reduction Act have invested in workers. At the same time, the administration has taken measures to claw back some of the power the country has ceded to business leaders over the past decades. It has taken steps to promote competition, including Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen’s negotiation of a global minimum corporate tax to stop nations from racing to attract investment by cutting taxes, and the Justice Department’s enforcement of antitrust laws, which has led to a number of directors resigning from interlocking boards. The Federal Trade Commission has proposed a ban on noncompete agreements, which prevent people from moving from job to job. The FTC estimates that getting rid of the agreements would increase wages by nearly $300 billion per year and enable about 30 million Americans to move to better jobs. Biden’s approach to governance is not just a change in policy from the past forty years. It is a demonstration of the tedious, hard, incremental work of moving the ball forward in a modern democracy. The extraordinary work that goes into governance showed last night in a keynote address National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan gave on the administration's approach to Middle East affairs at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy. Moving away from the nation's previous tight focus on terrorism, Sullivan emphasized a theme that the Biden administration has highlighted since the president took office: “the integration of foreign policy and domestic policy.” Sullivan emphasized that the administration's template for foreign affairs is “realistic and pragmatic” but also “ambitious and optimistic about [what] the United States and our allies can achieve together over time.” The administration's new framework for U.S. engagement in the Middle East, he said, “is built on five basic elements: partnerships, deterrence, diplomacy and de-escalation, integration, and values.” Over the past two years, the U.S. has strengthened partnerships in the Middle East with “strategic dialogues, high-level visits—including two presidential visits—exchanges, and over 200 military exercises,” and it continues to strengthen ties between allies. It has deterred violence through counterstrikes but prefers to rely on diplomacy and de-escalation of tensions. “[E]very day, we are plugging away at proactive and creative diplomacy across the Middle East region,” Sullivan said. Most notably, the administration helped to end the war in Yemen by setting the terms for a truce mediated by the United Nations. That truce has held—so far—for fourteen months. “Humanitarian aid and fuel are flowing through Yemen’s ports, the civilian airport in Sanaa has reopened, and the parties are actively in discussions on a roadmap to ultimately bring this war to an end.” Sullivan said that the administration is working to help countries in the Middle East integrate into an interconnected region, and finally, he talked about values. “Just as we always strive to perfect our own democracy at home, we will always raise concerns regarding human rights and fundamental freedoms in our engagements around the world, including in the Middle East,” he said. Sullivan noted that U.S. values include women's rights and the ability to criticize leaders without fear. Enabling populations to unleash their full potential means religious tolerance and protection of minorities. It means pressure on other countries to acknowledge freedom, and it means remaining a key source of humanitarian aid. As if in illustration of regional partnerships, today Saudi Arabia and the United States issued a joint statement on the start of talks between the warring parties in Sudan. The statement emphasized regional alliances, noting: “The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the United States…would like to stress the efforts of the countries and organizations which supported these talks, including Quad countries (The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, The United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, and the United States), the League of Arab States, and partners from the Trilateral Mechanism (UNITAMS [U.N. Integrated Transition Assistance Mission in Sudan], the African Union, the Intergovernmental Authority on Development).” The careful cultivation of allies and complicated pressures enabled Biden and Secretary of State Antony Blinken to pull together an international coalition to stand against Russian president Vladimir Putin’s invasion of neighboring Ukraine. The pressure of that coalition appears to be helping Ukrainian forces undermine Russia: today, in one of a series of videos, the leader of the mercenary Wagner Group that has been fighting for Putin, Yevgeny Prigozhin, expressed fury at the Kremlin for leaving his men without supplies and vowed to leave the key city of Bakhmut on May 10. Standing surrounded by corpses, he raged: “Those are soldiers we lost today. Their blood is still fresh…. They were someone’s sons or fathers. You, f*ckers, who don’t give us ammo, will burn in hell.” Prigozhin could simply be jockeying for power, but a less ambiguous sign that Russia is in trouble is that Belarus has set up new border controls for Russians trying to enter their borders. The slow, careful work of governance undertaken by the Biden administration is a very different thing than what is offered by members of a party whose goal for forty years was to slash government and to use the military to make the world conform to U.S. goals, and whose goal now seems to be to ram through minority rule without bothering to follow the laws. When asked about Iran’s attempt to develop a nuclear weapon, Sullivan implicitly criticized the impulsivity of the previous president, who abruptly pulled out of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear capabilities. “[T]he best way to stop Iran from getting a nuclear weapon is an effective agreement that stops them from getting a nuclear weapon,” he said. He continued: “I regard the decision to pull out of the Iran nuclear deal, the JCPOA, without anything to replace it or any strategy to deal with it other than the imposition of sanctions—which we have continued and added to actually,” with concern. Today, Mississippi governor Tate Reeves illustrated the Republicans’ simplistic approach to governance when he announced his reelection campaign with a 12-second campaign video of his face superimposed on cowboy actor Clint Eastwood, shooting at Mexican “bandits.” The imagery tied directly into the history of the modern-day Republican Party, which rose on the image of the cowboy who would cut through the “socialism” of a government that used tax money to keep the playing field level and restore individual men to power. But that was always just an image, and now, shown up against the reality of the complicated and hard work of governance, it has become cartoonish.

—

LETTERS FROM AN AMERICAN

HEATHER COX RICHARDSON

[hua-mo-jin-is-a-cutie]

Please add things to your instant ramen packs

It’s really easy, makes your ramen taste better, and adds some nutrients. I wouldn’t call it a healthy meal, but it’s better than just the noodles and seasoning packet. 

How to spice up ramen:

Add vegetables

This is super easy. Keep veggies in your freezer. Whether you buy them frozen or freeze them yourself does not matter. Frozen veg is super convenient and holds basically the same nutrients as a fresh veg so yea keep them longer by freezing them. 

To add these icy veggies to your ramen, you just add them to the water while you wait for it to boil. They’ll cook in the hot water :) 

I personally like to add onions, green beans, carrots, snap peas, and or green onions to my ramen. Broccoli could be good too if you add it a bit later since broccoli cooks pretty fast and tends to turn to mush if you boil it. 

Add eggs 

Adding eggs is a bit more tricky, but is a great way to add protein. The way most people add eggs to ramen is by either hard boiling beforehand and cutting the egg in half OR poaching the egg. 

To poach eggs is kinda similar to hard boiling, but without the shell. You crack the egg into boiling water. This can make the water bubble over so be careful!!! You can do this either in a separate pan or in the same pan before/after adding the noodles, they cook at about the same speed so it depends on how done you want the eggs. 

Add miso paste

Miso paste is pretty good for you. Since it’s fermented, it has active cultures which aid in digestion. Miso also tastes really good and can add some umami to the often bland pack of noodles. 

Miso paste can be difficult to find in the average American supermarket so this option may not be the most accessible, but if you can find an Asian market, they usually sell miso paste. 

So how do you add miso? Well you can’t add it directly to the boiling water because it will kill the active cultures. Basically just grab a mug, scoop out some of your hot water, and add a tablespoon or two, and stir into the water until you have a sort of slurry. THEN you can add it to your already cooked, no longer boiling pot of noodles. It really is nice and if you aren’t too keen on the taste of miso, but want the healthy benefit, I can say with certainty you can hardly taste it if you only add like one tablespoon. 

Add Furikake 

Once again, if you don’t have an Asian market nearby this may not be the option for you. Also if you hate that fishy taste this is really not for you. 

Furikake is a yummy Japanese seasoning mix and it goes great on instant ramen to add a lot of flavor. There’s not much to this, just sprinkle it on top when you’re done making the noodles. 

Add Meat or Tofu

Adding meat or tofu, just like with eggs, is a great way to add some protein. I don’t do this often as it requires a bit more prep to add meat and I don’t have tofu in the fridge most nights, but it’s certainly something to make instant ramen into more of a meal. 

Obviously, precook your meats. Silken tofu is a great option for ramen since it’s more of a soup. 

Add an extra little bullion cube

Sometimes the seasoning pack is not enough, bullion cubes are so good to add extra flavor

Those are my tips for making instant ramen feel a little less depressing to eat. I wanted to make this, despite a lot of these being fairly obvious, for those of you out there that may not know how to cook anything. My roommate grew up in a household where her parents rarely cooked, they had fast food often, and when they did cook, it was bad and as simple (and white) as possible. My family wasn’t much better, but my parents did cook, again very white food, but they did cook. Going to college taught me a lot about how to cook for myself and how simple some cooking can be. Soup is a great place to start when learning to cook because it’s really easy to make good soup. So I guess this goes out to all the bitches out there that are afraid to cut a watermelon or fucked up last time they tried to make rice. Just because these are obvious to some, doesn’t mean you should feel bad for not knowing them sooner, I just wanted to put these out here so that anyone who needed to see it could see it. You can make ramen better. And you should. You deserve to eat good food. 

[mojithenooooob]

At first, I was like "What, how do they do that?!" But, when we think about how Japanese people reacted to the new trend each time, this might show us that it was normal. I have heard that Japanese people did not taste that much Asian food or we can say they did not feel common to it. If we talked about Japanese food we would think about Chinese food or curry rice. Before when we talked about coriander whatever species of coriander it was, Japanese people might show disgusting or smelly faces to it. So, at that time to find Japanese people eating coriander was hard to see someone eating it. 

A long time ago when we want to buy some coriander, we need to find the Asai Market Place, but we still saw it selling for a ridiculously small amount about one handful the price, and the price was 200 yens no more than that. Right now, since coriander went popular, especially Thai Coriander, I have heard some news that before it goes popular at Chinese or Thai restaurants in Japan, Japanese people might refuse for adding coriander on top of the dishes also at that time coriander was expensive too. 

Right now, coriander was extremely popular, there are only one species of coriander that people talked about it a lot, and might be only one species that people have mostly eaten, it was "Thai coriander". It was extremely popular so they pronounced it like Thai people. In Thai, it is pronounced "pukchee" and Japanese people adapt to there's own accent which was "Puk-ku-chi-i", but they still maintain the Thai original word. 

Since "pukkuchii" went so popular, Japanese people start to eat it more than 75% of people know what it was and tasted it. Many people said, "It doesn't that bad it's sweet and smells good and also has little bitter tastes". Not long there were a lot of companies that added the "pukkuchii" flavors into there's products. The "pukchii" recipes were very trendy. There are a lot of restaurants that have added "pukkuchii" dishes, drinks, and desserts to their menu too. There are many indictable menu types that can surprise you including me. Such as  "pukkuchii" ice cream, "pukkuchii" drinks including smoothies, "pukkuchii" cake, and more! this menu looks impossible to exist...Whatever it does. These not all yet, there is are many ready meals or snack products too such as "pukkuchii" instant noodles Flavors, "pukkuchii" chips flavors, "pukkuchii" cookies, "pukkuchii" soup flavors that need to add water and heated before eating. Another thing that I gave discovered there is are even the pukkuchii song exists! People started to eat it regularly so they start the "pukkuchii" festival! I also have a few more fun facts there are also games called super "pukkuchii" ramen challenge, the chef will give you 40% of noodles and 60% of "pukkuchii". You need to eat it as fast as you can and the reward is a big bowl of ramen. This super "pukkuchii" menu might have appeared in some restaurant menus. 

Lastly, I am not one of the "pukkuchii" eaters it tastes taste so bitter and a little spicy in Thailand there is also an idiom called “pukkchii roy na” is mean that we only use coriander for topping to make it look good or the mean is Doing good is superficial, doing good only then. So, as I said so the idiom is just a little fun fact, I want you to know, and everything I want to say to coriander is obviously I hated it, but Japanese peoples are very addicted to it, and this surprises me a lot! 

[8054yamato]

03/19/2024

Fuck it, same day post before sleep. I have been posting quite a bit this month. I think I have posted far more than any of my previous months. Anyway, I am skipping the LGBT community for now and moving on to the Asians. This may sound targeted and you are exactly correct. It is targeted. I hate everyone in this world because I am miserable and I can not stand anyone being happy.

Casual racism and sarcasm aside, I would like to talk about Japan, India, and Korea this post.

Today, I learned Japan has the most kinkiest fetishes in the porn industry. Do not ask how or why I know. One thing led to another and I found myself in the JAV rabbit hole. The west has the taboo and infamous step-bro type of content. Porn is already so fucking weird. With that type of content being the most popular in the west, that shit just baffles me. Japan's kinky films actually have a massive female fanbase which is unreal to me. The most popular genres I have seen are {r*pe, old-to-VERY young, and mother/auntie} types. That is so surreal to me how that JAV is popular amongst females in Japan and it is those same fetishes that would be another's worst nightmare.

Historically, Japan are known for actually comittimg those acts during and before Emperor Shōwa's reign. He looks like he try hards every Pokémon game. He looks like a geek, a nerd. Not the good kind, but the sweaty, no shower for weeks, and retarded kind.

The Japanese Imperial Army's actions were documented because it was more recent, but if you dig deeper into the history rabbit hole, you will find crazy and inhumane shit. I would argue it is far more inhumane than the concentration camps of Germany.

One of the most infamous ones being Unit 731 and the most well known of all being the R*pe of Nanjing. Aside from up to 80,000 victims of sexual assult and well over 200,000 deaths occuring, the way these poor souls died was tragic. Women would get impaled from their ass all the way through their head with a rod or something. Men would meet a similar fate.

Those two events only occured during WWII, now imagine before that. Do some research, you will not regret it. History is cool but it has the most gut-wrenching tales you will ever hear. It does not come from fiction, but from other humans alike.

It is now India's turn. The country that also loves r*pe, but not the fiction kind. They love anything sexual and unsanitary. One of the vendors was caught masterbaiting and placing his semen in their product. A Twitch streamer (Korean, I think) was groped and pinned by a man live and in public. A couple travelling the world who went through the most dangerous countries and even made peace with the Taliban was no match for these dirty fucks. If you can not tell, I hate India. They brought this upon themselves.

You know how I said to stop generalizing a group of people based off a minority? Except, these types of things are not a minority. Unsanitary food vendors, rampant of sexual assult and cases, scammers, and so on. I do not know how much % of Indians are involved in any type of actions listed above, but I am sure it is above 20% which are numbers I pulled out of my ass. Quick little hypocritical ramble. Never visiting India, not in a million years.

I also hate the Indian government because they are in alliance with the Chinese Communist Party who babies North Korea. I can not name a single positive thing from India. Not Indians, but India. No, Google does not count because it is American based. Fuck Google anyway, India can take credit for that.

South Korea. I love K-Dramas but I have not watched many. I love K-Ballads and some K-Pop just as much. Unfortunately, I have to be unhinged and like the ones above, magnify the wrongs of that country.

South Korea has an idol problem. That goes the same for Japan, but South Korea is arguably worse because they had a global impact while Japan has a more degenerate type. SK has a massive bandwagon problem. While this is common in the west, it is especially deadly in SK. Your odds of coming back after being wrongfully accused as an Idol or as a civillian is slim to none, especially if they accuse you for 'man on woman' crime.

I will not get into many detail for now. Just know that these idols and bandwagon culture impacted the west so much that some people's identity are these stars. Plastic surgery to look like them is not rare either.

Through word of mouth, I have heard kids graduating the American equivalent of elementary, middle, and highschool would get plastic surgery as a birthday present. I do not know how true that is, but that is funny as fuck. I love it and hate it. It is nowhere near the levels of the west's corny gender change surgery. I am glad South Korea has not stooped to that level.. yet.

At least on social media, I have seen soooooooo much makeup on these young Koreans (16yo+). It is as bad as the Chinese side. If you know, then you know. I wish the full white Michael Jackson skin was not so massive. This in combination with the plastic surgery, nose jobs, and so on is what really makes it bad. I feel like these people want to look as close as possible to their idol and I say it is unhealthy.

You thought I was going to go on the more dark side of Korea like light sentences, punishments, and government right? Well, I do not know enough to chat about it. Maybe an another day. I just wanted to say all that just to hate on an another group of people to fuel my racist meter. I will raise my sexist and bigot meter up for you next post.

Also, if there are errors, I am on my phone.

Okay, bye bye dykes. I am sleepy.

[lachrimae-verae]

Happy New Year's Adm's Eve!

I went out to dinner last night with my family to this dim sum place and got racially profiled.

So were were in NYC where my sister lives, so the restaurant was narrow af, but was super long. It actually had two entrances, one on the main street and one in the alley, plus a takeout window back there (which is relevant)

Here's my 2min shitty rendering of the place

So me and my family were sitting by the front door, and the bathrooms are inbetween the front dining area and the smaller one in the back. As we were getting ready to leave I needed to use the bathroom, but ofc they were all full, so I stood there waiting.

As I'm waiting this woman comes in from the back door, huffing and glaring. I ignore her. She snaps her fingers at me and says "hello? I'm waiting!"

I look at her honestly confused bc I am still riding the high of some incredibly delicious sauted green beans and soup dumplings so I say "oh, me too, all the toilets are full right now." She looks at me like I'm an idiot and goes, "No, I'm waiting for my FOOD".

I gave her my most mild customer service-esque face and said, "uh, okay ma'am, but I don't work here, I'm just a customer trying to pee. Do I look like I work here, besides the whole being asian thing?"

To this she huffed and marched herself further into the restaurant (which was hard bc she had to squeeze past me, but she steamrolled past me) and started snapping at the next asian person she saw, who did actually work there. He listened to the same rant she gave me and then informed her that there is a takeout window right next to the door she had entered through.

She did not like this answer (as this type never does) and went on and on about how they should have a worker stationed at the back entrance to inform paying customers of this and the man fully went "ma'am there is a sign over the door. It is now our responsibility if you refuse to read. Please exit our restaurant and pick up your food from the window".

She said something about giving them a poor rating on yelp and how you can't get good service anymore and left.

So yeah, happy holidays to me. I'm just glad she wasn't the type who gets violent with people.