#but I love this concept quite a bit

[misc-obeyme]

Hi, CC! Hope your day is going well! 😊

I saw you mention that perhaps Barbatos uses loose leaf tea rather than tea bags, and it made me wonder… Have we yet to consider if he can read tea leaves? (Or maybe that’s already a thing and I’m unaware lol)

I like to imagine that if he does, he gives little daily fortunes for MC or Diavolo, or anyone who’s curious and asks nicely. Maybe a simple morning read of the day ahead, perhaps one more in depth at night as a way to reflect on what they should be focusing on or other similar wisdoms, or even as a silly way to discreetly persuade Diavolo to finish his work because the leaves advise/encourage it lol.

I doubt he’s one to rely on superstition or divination wholeheartedly, if at all, as life is fluid and doesn’t stick to a set path and he enjoys the unknown the day could bring, but maybe he does it because of the novelty. It interests others to see him read what wisdom the leaves have for them and it allows him to partake in his hobby (as a tea enthusiast) in a more personal way. 💚

Hey there, Jo! My day has been surprisingly productive on the writing front, so I feel like I can say it's going well! I hope yours is going well, too!

Now as it happens, I did write a little drabble based on the idea that Barbatos can read tea leaves! I like to think that Barbatos finds all human methods of divination interesting. I mean, he can presumably predict the future with his own cosmic powers, but he doesn't anymore. So I think he would be fascinated to try all the different ways humans go about doing the same thing. Which means I also kinda headcanon that he can read tarot cards, maybe he even has a crystal ball, etc etc.

But there's no doubt in my mind that he would be extra interested in tea leaves. Considering how much tea he makes and drinks, he has the opportunity to read them all day every day.

I agree entirely that he likely doesn't rely on it at all, but mostly finds it interesting. I think it kind of helps him see things from the perspective of those who can't see the future using magic the way he can. I like that he sort of connects with this human custom because it helps him understand that human desire to know, to have a glimpse into a future we can't know.

And of course I think he'd find it adorable that humans use tea leaves in this way. And he probably sees how they would develop such a practice fairly easily. If they're drinking loose leaf tea as much as he does, they're seeing all those shapes, too, and wondering if there's some greater meaning.

And I LOVE the idea that he reads the leaves for Diavolo and MC. Like it's just a regular part of their daily tea experience, they don't even have to ask. Everybody else does, but he'll indulge them if they do. But for Diavolo and MC, it's like it becomes a sort of daily ritual. And I am SO HERE for him using the leaves as a way to get Dia to work lol. Like ah yes this symbol means that the day is best suited for industry, young master. And maybe Dia is onto him, but it's so cute, he never says anything.

I like the idea that he also kinda turns it more into advice than really future predictions, you know? Just because that feels like a very Barbatos thing to do.

Anyway, I love this idea, I love everything about it. I just can't imagine that there's any part of tea culture that Barbatos is not fully versed in, you know? I also like the idea that the Devildom has it's own version of such superstitions. Like maybe the symbols mean something different in the Devildom version of reading tea leaves. He's thoroughly versed in all such definitions and can read them Devildom style or human world style.

[katabay]

original thief series basso & garrett :)

ngl, it's about quality over quantity for me. an npc can have a total of three minutes of screen time, but if they have a cool name, they can live rent free in my head and I'll spend several hours trying to decipher drawable features from a blurry screenshot of pixels

there is a vague hint of a story here, and that's because every time I try to play thi4f, I get incredibly frustrated with how Not Fun the game play is. like, is the story good? well. but it has a PLAGUE. that should've given it instant 'I'll replay this once a year' status in my heart, but the game play sucks so bad that I've never finished it. I can't believe Not Fun gameplay beat out my obsession with narrative plagues.

anyway, the idea is basically if the original era had a game with a plague centric narrative and some other stuff I liked out of thi4f thrown into a narrative blender, with a heavy dash of horror thrown in because some parts of the thief games were scarier to me than entire dedicated horror genre games.

⭐ places I’m at! bsky / pixiv / pillowfort /cohost / cara.app

[ricky-mortis]

I drew Ted from the wonderful @nabwastaken ‘s Time Bastard Au! The original design is by the talented @midnightnautilus , and was so very fun to draw!

[atlantis-area]

JONGHYUN - 좋아 (She is) (2016) 8th anniversary

[mumblesplash]

don’t you hate it when your civilization flees deep underground to escape the wither only to find yourselves trapped down there with something even worse. anyway surprise! i can still draw

[layalu]

so i uhhhh. started PoE

[samanthamulder]

THE X-FILES (1993-2018)

SEASON EIGHT — I will go on record to say this: that I have seen things that I cannot explain. I have observed phenomena that I cannot deny. And that as a scientist and a serious person it is a badge of honor not to dismiss these things because someone thinks they're BS.

[naturecalls111]

I think I love Sanji so extra much because he’d acknowledge my ‘girl-ness’ in a way that I feel like has not ever been acknowledged in a way I wanted it to be wails

The chivalry intended not with hopeful reciprocation but with admiration. WAILS.

[absenthearted]

LITTLE RED RIDING HOOD || HACKEARNEY + ALTERNATE UNIVERSES [1/?]

A girl walks into the woods, and a wolf walks out.

The village has a tradition: a girl is chosen as a sacrifice to the Wolf. The Huntsman leads the Chosen into the woods and keeps vigil at the entrance. 

The girl does not come back. The Wolf stays away.

This is how it has always been—until now.

[daily-hanamura]

[sn0wbat]

of course i had to do the hair meme with him too

[aroaessidhe]

2024 reads / storygraph

Walking In Two Worlds & The Everlasting Road

YA sff set in the near future where an opensource augmented reality is commonly used like social media, and there’s also a completely virtual fantasy game version

follows an Anishinaabe girl who who’s the top player in the VR game, and is constantly fighting to keep her place against the misogynist neo-nazi group in second place

as well as her real life, dealing with being a shy and self-conscious teen growing up on the Rez, and her brother having cancer

and a Uyghur boy who’s moved to her community from China after finding acceptance in an online community (even when he doesn’t agree with their more extreme views) - but when he gets to know Bugz, he has to decide who truly deserves his loyalty

great mix of sff and culture, the future while also very real community traumas of the past (and present)

[ruvviks]

toying with the idea of making yancey's friends not real. would that be too evil

[luvsavos]

cat behavior

[orchideae]

1) Opens up drafts with my head empty, ready to be flooded, not knowing where I'll go. 2) 30 seconds later: Okay but I will go feral any day of my life over Perilous Trail, and the fierce dichotomy of Xiao and Yelan. While they're far from being 'the same', they both view themselves as soldiers in one way or another (it's a very difficult word to use for Yelan, so I'm using it very liberally and very loosely), they have both suffered losses on the 'battlefield' and carry the burden thereof in their own ways. And yet they stand so firmly in opposition throughout the entirety of that questline up until the very end of the 'the end of the line' conclusion of the quest. Yes, I know that she offers him her gratitude in its aftermath and it is genuine, but she still never agrees with him and the decision that he made moments earlier. It simply 'worked out' because of Zhongli's interference, he's the only reason it worked out. And it's because of that, that she doesn't give him a hell of a hard time (obviously she can't go down there, but imagine the inner frustration of severe extents; when you condemn someone who you can't even see anymore). In the same way that she would do to anyone who would sacrifice themselves for others, but in this case, I think it's 'beautiful' that it's to Xiao; the one who seems most adamant to do so (which honestly, fits into the contract that the Yakshas chose to sign with Morax; 'the ultimate sacrifice' to protect for Liyue; 'for Liyue', and Liyue has always centered itself around its people), the one who everyone reveres (and so does she, as she notes in her voiceline, 'if I ever have the honor to fight alongside') and respects for good reason, she stands against him, because in that moment, regardless of his status, he makes a call that she considers wrong. And he doesn't even... fight her on it very fiercely, and that's what actually hurts me the most, it's as if the following line hit the nail directly on the head?

"Besides, if you were really so determined to end it all, you wouldn't have given us the opportunity to share our opinions."

[sysig]

Just thinking about @10yrsy’s Things, y’know, casually (Patreon)