#esp if you bring color into the mix

[bonesblubs]

I have a question (suggestion?) about your Megazines. Once you get to the fourth, would you still be gloming them all together into one biggun zine, or would you consider doing 2 volume chunks? So like, peeps who got the first Mega (vol 1+2) could get the "next" Mega (vol 3+4)? I just really like the size of the Megazine, and if they keep getting thicker, I'd be concerned about breaking the spine! lol

This is very true!!! That may be something to explore if/when there’s a volume 4- BUT I don’t actually know if there will be; right now I’m treating vol 3 as my last MXTX zine (at least compiling the sketches to this scale). It’s a good idea though if there will be a follow up in the future!! May scale back in that regard, but I can’t deny the satisfaction of holding a big book and having to acknowledge how thoroughly entrenched and entranced I was with something. I will be looking into print options, bc there may actually be better ones for larger books- I may even explore printing with color and including my full illustrations? Lots to think about!!

[starlingstalk]

can you do a breakdown on how you color? i find interesting how you mix many textures and colors in a piece

Ofc! Color is my favorite thing about drawing. :D

I made like a very brief rundown with the technique I use for a majority of my drawings but ofc it still varies a little.

Usually the only cases my process diverges is in the rendering. The color jitter (can be applied to most brushes in most Programms though the water color 6 brush is like my special angel child) makes a rlly big difference during the rendering due to there already being a lot of texture and Color variation and is something I always do.

After step 4 I usually only stick to either the textured ink for a lot of control, to the velvet for a lot of texture and depth or the classic soft for a more soft gradual end product where the color jitter only shines through.

With the first and third the key word really is color picking.

An example for the third brush. I here I made the overlay extremely faint and used the underpainting peeking through as a way to separate the parts of the coat rather than the lineart (at least from the first to the second picture). Using hue as contrast without making a clear dark-light contrast can be a bit difficult if it‘s done solitarily in a painting but due to color having different depth-perceptions (cool colors seem further away, appear darker even if they have the same value) it is fun to play with esp in combination!

Using the velvet brush is my favorite atm. You can use really vibrant colors and apply them similarly to how you would with ballpoint pens or coloured pencils. It‘s really easy to draw subtle changes in hue without having to be too particular about having the right color and building up the colors leaves you with both a direction that signals to the form of the subject and a rich multitude of different colors that appear completely different than a flat color can.

For this I recommend starting either darker or lighter in order to build up the color in one direction of the other!

Another tip is also to use blur to reduce the sheer amount of color variation of the color jitter if you‘re going to redefine most of the shapes anyways.

Here‘s a speedpaint where I use most of the things I‘m talking about. Flash warning for the sheer amount of color adjustment making the screen flicker at the beginning.

I also didn‘t mention gradient maps yet. Very useful for further color adjustment and in order to bring a very busy composition together color-wise!

Color still is a very individual thing I feel like. There isn‘t one way to color and the way my process is right now is very much fit to my understanding of it. I feel like the decisions you make when rendering; experimenting with colors you thought wouldn‘t go together, breaking the rules you have, figuring out how relative colors are simply because they cannot be isolated. It‘s trial and error but also learning practical lessons that make color make sense to you as you go along.

I hope this makes sense! Color is so fun and I‘m always excited when I get an ask about it. :‘D

Also the jittery water color 6 and Textured Ink brush is free I believe. The bottom two are from a paid brushpack from a creator on instagram. I‘d say only the water Color 6 brush really is something that I find uncommon. The other three can be easily swapped for any other brush that has similar properties. (Pressure sensitivity + texture for the first two and flat marker + texture for the last). I‘ll repost this with a link if anyone‘s interested!

[kouhaiofcolor]

Dunno who needs to hear this (nah who am I kidding? I know exactly who I’m talking to & about, & y’all do too 😉),

but if your “Black friend(s)” are only Black males who are indifferent, entertained by or silent in the face of misogynoir, Black fetishism, colorism, antiblackness in general, & esp you using the n word as a non black — you do not have Black friends. I’m sorry. You’re simply friends with Black enablers who pander to & exceptionalize your ignorance bc they either hate themselves, their people or their culture (If not all of the above; & usually, it’s all if not most of the above). That’s what that is. At its core & in depth. The “Black People” you conveniently bring up to defend yourself when your humanity is brought into question or criticized online or irl, are just enabling your shitty behavior. And that is the purpose & function you comfortably reduce them to — whether either of you realize it or not.

They’re there for your convenience as apologists. I notice a lot of the time when y’all say or act on something antiblack, y’all reach vehemently for the minimal amount of Black “People” you actually know personally just to validate or excuse antiblack behavior, opinions or notions. I don’t think it’s a coincidence that these Black “friends” are always always totally fine w y’all mishandling them or things unique to our culture, either. It’s more birds of a desperate ass feather than anything else. Stop looking to these friends to protect, back and validate your prejudice, bc trust & believe actual Black People w self & cultural respect don’t & wouldn’t fw them anyhow. Y’all could be like, “BlAcK pEoPLe DoNt Go To CoLLeGe,” — and reference the all of 0.3 Black People you interact w on an even semi-regular basis as a representative for the entire diaspora just bc they coon ass agrees to save face in front of you. 😂 Be ffr.

Y’all are never acquainted w Black People who even have the balls to put you in your place “friend to friend” for the ways in which y’all make them look stupid. Please stop it. Also, not that it’s a secret at all, but Black men are pretty notorious for mistreating their own ppl the same way non blacks do so. 👀While it’s not all of them, they’re certainly not the most ideal group to testify for y’all, just saying. Them be y’all picks tho. Consistently. Y’all ain’t never friends w/ Black Women who don’t play that shit. Or even just a healthy mix of Black men and Black Women who even agree w y’all. 😂 Odd af. Y’all definitely cherry pick y’all dancing monkeys for testimony and line of defense — and they never fail to perform, I’ll give you that. You do not have Black friends tho. Tell your enablers to shut up since they’re so comfortable being silenced anyhow until you need ‘em.

Thank you for coming to my TED. ✌🏽😊

[dairyminki]

elle congrats on 300!!

i'm thinkin about cooler weather at the moment; could i give you autumn with mingi for a prompt? tysm and congrats again!! <33

✨️part of my 300 milestone event 🪄

title: pumpkin spice and everything nice

pairing: song mingi x gn!reader

genre: slice of life, coffeeshop au

warning/s: none

wc: 888

a/n: hello orion!! ♡ tysm for requesting ahhhh i rlly enjoyed writing this one esp the descriptions. i hope this one is to your liking tho ><

* reblogs and feedbacks are highly appreciated!

—

The sky is quite gloomy as you saunter through the wet asphalt road. A mix of yellow, orange, red, and brown leaves are scattered all over, the previous downpour having them glued to the pavement.

You got quite lucky that the rain stopped when you got out of work, or else you've been stranded at your workplace with nothing but the smell of leather and the sight of your almost robotic-like coworkers surrounding you.

It's a good thing you're out of that hellhole now, and approaching a quaint coffee shop, instead.

The bell by the door jingles as you push it open, the warm and nutty aroma of coffee and sweet caramel welcomes you, beckoning you towards the counter where the barista stood donning a brown apron over his head, his hair, a striking yellow and orange ombre.

The shop was bare, and you're betting, with all of the pennies currently in your pocket, that it had been this way since earlier today and the barista himself wasn't expecting any customers anymore to suddenly pop up.

You, being that unexpected customer, offer him a small smile as you proceed towards the counter.

"Hi! May I please have one pumpkin spice latte?" You state after carefully reading through their menu.

"Anything else?"

"No, that would be all, actually."

The barista merely nods in reply, and as he starts punching buttons on the register, you can't help but stare at him. Now that you think about it, his overall fit including his hair color actually resembles the colors of autumn. A giggle slips out of your mouth all of a sudden, making the barista give you a look.

Fortunately, he doesn't comment on it and just simply hands you the receipt, saying that he'll have your drink ready in a few. And so, you went to pick your seat by the shop's glass windows.

The sky is looking a lot gloomier than before, you take note. Although, not long after you've sat down, the rain came.

The sound of the barista's movements and the whirring of the blender and espresso machine accompanies your view of the falling rain and the dropping leaves from one tree branch to another.

The scene of the colorful leaves gradually forming a carpet on the road seemingly occupied you to a great extent that it took you a while to notice someone clearing their throat.

"Uhm, excuse me?" The barista, who was now standing by your table, says, finally earning your attention.

"I've been trying to get your attention for a few minutes now but you seemed to be engrossed with whatever's outside," He says while he puts your pumpkin spice latte on the table. Embarrassed, you mutter an apology.

"Thanks. It looks pretty, by the way," You tell him with a smile after admiring the aesthetically pleasing drink in front of you.

"Thank you, please enjoy," The barista says, mirroring your smile and then off he goes back to the counter.

—

"Hi, I don't want to bother you but-"

"Oh my god, have I overstayed?" You panic, glancing at your wristwatch and finding out it's already been over an hour since you've sat down in this coffee shop, your drink perfectly empty. "I can leave now, I'm sorry. You probably have to close up already, right?"

It's not like you didn't plan to leave after finishing your drink. It's just that the rain is still pouring hard, you didn't get to bring your umbrella with you, and your house is quite far from here. You're not sure if you're ready to go out and battle it out with the ongoing wetness outside.

"Oh, no, no! I can't let you leave in this weather," The barista had the same panic lacing his voice and he's quick enough to make you take your seat once again.

"And, uh, I actually came here to ask if you'd fancy a few slices of this apple galette…" The barista rubs at his nape, giving you a sheepish smile.

For a minute you look taken aback, and just when you were about to say something, he speaks yet again, exclaiming, "This is on the house, by the way!"

"Wow, that's so…sweet of you."

"Nothing biggie, really. Just figured you'd want something to accompany you since your drink's already finished and I don't think this rain's about to stop any sooner, so," He shrugs, placing the galette in front of you. An aromatic mixture of cinnamon and baked apples wafts through the air, and it awfully smells like home, fall, and everything warm.

"What's your name?" You ask just when the barista makes an attempt to retreat into his spot at the counter.

"My name is Mingi," He answers, pausing for a little bit before he asks you the same question, quite politely.

"I'm Y/N, and if you don't mind, would you like to accompany me, Mingi? We could share these pastries while we talk or something," You say, already standing up to pull up a chair for him, because you're not one who takes no for an answer.

"Well," Mingi drags out the word while he looks down at his feet, one foot lightly tapping against the floor. "Alright, I guess there's no harm in doing that." He gives in finally, taking the additional chair from you.

"Good choice."

[hairscare]

i dont know anything ab vivziepoop or whatever her name is and her work but could you give some examples and like. maybe explain how far they are from actual demonology? i love haterisms and i love learning things

kisses you on the mouth id love nothing more than to spread hate and infodump abt demonology. let me preface this by saying ive never watched any of their content so i cant speak on much besides what ive absorbed via osmosis of being on the internet and what i can see in their designs

so my special interest has always been on the 7 Princes of Hell aka the 7 Deadly Sins so thats what I'm gonna focus on. I'm also gonna bring beloved otome game Obey Me into the mix for another example of modern interpretations of them. also keep in mind im not a believer in these figures, though my research comes from both christian and pagan sources, i just like them a lot

so lets start with Mammon, the prince of greed. mammon is always depicted as a very money and power hungry kinda guy. in heaven, he was so obsessed with the golden pavement that they kicked his ass out first. hes super powerful and has 6,660,000 demons under his control that he makes build the capital of hell called Pandemonium. im not making this up demonology is silly as hell. hes associated with wealth, gold, jewels and emperors.

you may be surprised by this interpretation from the dictionaire infernal, but from my understanding/perspective, i believe this is supposed to be a lure to get more money as a begger? normally hes described as decked out in robes and gold and jewels and all that. but you can see in the illustration the bags of money.

so yeah hes like a super money hungry emperor type- in my mind i always kinda think of trump ngl. power hungry, money hungry, you get it. so if youre like me, for a character design, youre thinking a ceo with lots of expensive clothes and jewelery.

now, lets see what our friend viv has to say-

... they made him.... a clown? keep in mind, i literally know nothing abt the role he plays in the show, but... why? why is he a clown? if anything, him being a jester is the opposite of the typical emperor depiction. like a king vs a court fool. completely erases the whole idea of his greed for power. part of that greed is that he already has it but he wants more! this jester angle doesnt make sense.

okay, now lets look at obey me. theres a lot of things i dont like abt obey me's interpretations, but theyre so much better than vivs.

first of all, the white hair and blue eyes are actually accurate! the colored illustration above of begger mammon is actually colored wrong, hes often described as having very light hair and icy blue eyes. this interpretation of mammon, while yassified from the old man and the emperor, is fairly faithful. hes obsessed with money, hes constantly stealing money from other people, he wears the most expensive designer brands, and he has gambling issues. its not perfect, but hes clearly based on the demon mammon.

now Asmodeus. asmodeus has always been my favorite. hes the Prince of Lust, but he himself isnt horny. he teaches people Forbidden Arts and Crafts and also geometry, hes a disabled king (walks w two walking sticks), he likes messing with people and he hates the smell of fish liver. one time he threw someone 400 leagues and stole his identity. what a guy

asmodeus is particularly monstrous. hes got 3 heads, a bull, a demon, and a ram, hes got a duck bottom, and he has a dragon cat service animal. i think hes beautiful <3 but you can see a lot of potential symbols you can incorporate into a design! all these animals, esp his three heads, are just waiting for a cool design. so vivs, whatd you do?

... okay. hes... kinda got the heads, but its the cowards route. he has... that weird ass body that vivs loves to give men. theres... some feathers so he kinda has bird symbolism? im pretty sure he owns a casino, which is actually accurate. but like. thats #notmyasmodeus. this guy couldnt throw me 1 league if he tried. hes not monstrous looking at all. his legs are thinner than my patience.

since we couldnt really dissect viv's mammon, ill bring this up here. a big issue i have with these designs is that theyre afraid to make demons ugly on purpose. dont get me wrong theyre all ugly as hell. but not gross. not monstrous. these sanitized tumblr sexymen designs completely betray what makes the original designs so fun. asmodeus doesnt have 3 heads, he has one that looks like an evil sesame street character. the design is simultaneously trying way too hard and so fucking generic. literally if you take out the two tiny head motifs in his... hair? theres no indication that this is based on the demon asmodeus

okay, lets look at obey me.

again, hes sanitized, hes conventionally attractive, and he doesnt have any of the demon asmodeus' symbolism. hes also super horny. he doesnt do geometry or arts and crafts or even own a casino. not faithful to the source at all.

before you accuse me of being a hypocrite for liking obey me, hold on. let me get through beelzebub.

Beelzebub is known for being "lord of the flies". its literally what his name means. i cannot emphasize enough that he has fly motifs. he is the Prince of Gluttony, aka overindulgence. its typically associated with food. but beelzebub is *extremely* powerful. in Paradise Lost, hes Lucifer/Satans right hand man. all other demons respect him immensely. hes supposed to be so powerful that summoning him is supposed to run a high risk of seizures and death. he also fucking loves architecture. when a ton of demons were called on by solomon to build, the other demons were so appauled that beelzebub was being made to do manual labor, but his crazy ass was giving solomon building advice

hes a bug! hes big beautiful bug. the crowd cheers. so the motif is kinda obvious here. i mean, its kinda hard to miss it, right-

what the fuck. what the actual fuck. "but grim shes got a bee motif-" shut the fuck up. this... fox? wolf? furry thing needs to be put down asap. i genuinely think theyre using beelzebub as an bad excuse to introduce their kesha dog character. bro what the fuck thats not a fucking bug. thats not even a goddamn bee. i hate it here

i cant do this anymore show me obey me.

hes a fucking fly thank god. sure hes conventionally attractive but hes not a dog with the smallest waist ive ever seen and disproportionate birthing hips. he eats all the time bc hes gluttony. okay fine whatever as long as hes a fucking bug im ok

so. lets address why i like obey me and i hate vivziepops interpretations. first of all i just fucking hate vivziepop so jot that down. but more importantly, obey me doesnt pretend to be anything it isnt. its a dating sim. of course the characters are gonna be hot and fit into archetypes. ive made my peace with that. besides, the game actually makes their sins pretty interesting by showing how they affect their personalities, motivations, relationships and lifestyles. its not super faithful, but its not supposed to be.

but helluva boss isnt trying to do that. from my (admittedly limited) understanding of it, its supposed to be a dark comedy gritty adult animation. the characters are supposed to be questionable and unconventional because theyre literally in hell. so i ask the question: why are they so afraid to lean into that with their character designs? why does everyone have to have barbie proportions? why is no one (purposefully) unpleasant to look at or monstrous? its sad to see a creator trying so hard to make something thats supposed to be graphic and brazen in its depiction of hell and demons, and yet is afraid to actually confront the conventionally unappealing aspects of the source material, or even touch the motifs of the demons

i love the 7 princes of hell. if you want to read about the strangest characters with the oddest stories, symbols and trivia, go read some websites about them. none of it makes sense. lucifer and satan are the same person but also not and sometimes the other 5 are also the same guy. belphegor is in love with paris and is the infernal ambassador to france and has a toliet wheelchair. satan is depressed. lucifer is sometimes depicted as an whiny brat child and sometimes as a humongous terrifying beast. leviathan does jack shit and just boils the ocean and eats boats. its literally so much fun. also please feel free to add onto this! demonology is fun in part bc theres so many different interpretations and facts from all over the place that make it a wild ride

tldr: vivziepops designs are lazy and unadventurous when it comes to their source materials

[foremem]

Some design ideas I did for potential redesigns for several central sonic characters, gonna try and remember my mindset for each one: Team Heroes -knuckles removed to allow him to form his own team -Amy is given more focus on her tarot to tie together her various abilities over the series. -Sonics design is brought back to some SA2 sensibilities but done with more recent elements like the movie shoes and chips braclet. -Tails is given back alot of his distinctiveness that’s been slowly shaved off since his modern redesign (back hair, fang, snoot, blue bands on socks and gloves. Team dark +Eggman -No omega cause he’s already perfect -Rouge given a more team dark color scheme and given a more youthful hair style and outfit that emphasises her spy thematics -For shadow I wanted to do something that looks off at first but could grow on you over time. and gave him blue to contrast sonics red and black braclet -Eggman got some movie elements as well as integrating orbot and cubot into his outfit as more of an emergency minion protocol instead of them just kinda being around New team: Team Nova -Gemerl would be part of this team, but I wouldn’t change his design much apart from adding some star tipped screws to his wrists and ankles -Cream I wanted to look more action ready, while also being childish, so I gave her a bit of a onsie pajama or overalls look and added a star for the team logo. -Blaze I tried to go a little less regal and more casual, the idea being that since she’s not a princess in sonics world she can let her hair down and be a little more free spirited New Team: Team Guardian -Final member would be shadow or tikal but I wouldn’t know which would fit better (plus I was nearing burnout on the project) -Knuckles I mixed some elements of his movie and explorer designs, re-arranged the color palette and added black to it. Also made his shoe legos something more meaningful and easier to draw they’re now tiny mayan pyramids -Silver was mostly about bringing back some of his cool Esp traits that got lost along the way, as well as giving him an otherworldly cyborg feel without looking explicitly robotic. The overall design phylosophy was trying to find designs that would look nice in the cityscapes of the sonic riders games, since that always felt like the next step in evolving the sonic brand.

[xray-vex]

Weirder asks: 12, 19, 33?

12: what kind of day is it? A. it's a lazy Saturday, i slept in. i'm staying at my bestie's house for the next few weeks, planning to move back to this area over the summer. i'm grateful to have a place of refuge for the time being, time away from the crumbling, rotting remains of my prior relationship, where i have to live with my ex (who i'm barely on speaking terms with, who's currently dating other people and sort of rubbing it in my face) til i move. but it's a sunny day here, and it feels like a mild and blustery spring day, and it's a quieter neighborhood than the one i live in back west, so i'm enjoying a sense of calm. bestie and i made some cookies for her to bring to her family's for dinner tomorrow, just a box mix & nothing fancy, but it's nice to feel useful, & like my presence is appreciated, nice to feel like i'm loved, nice to feel like i'm actually a likeable and valuable person.

19: imagine we’re at a sleepover, would you paint my nails? A. fuck yeah! if you want me to, i'm totally down. i don't have any polish anymore, so you could bring your favorite(s), or we could go to a local shop and buy whatever color(s) you fancy, and we can chat & listen to music or put on a comfort show.

33: the last adventure you’ve been on? A. i guess that depends on what you mean by adventure! with the right circumstances/people/vibe, any experience can be an adventure, esp. things that are new to me. in this case, i think i'm gonna count my recent stay at an airbnb as an adventure because i'd never stayed in one before. the first week i was in town, i found a cheap room rental via airbnb that was cheaper than Motel 6 so i booked it. i had a private room & shared a bathroom with another lodger (i only saw him once or twice but he was wicked friendly). there's a shared kitchen space there too but i didn't use it. i work remotely so i set up my tiny office there. i watched birds from my bedroom window. the neighborhood was quiet and nice for taking walks. i took myself out for lunch on one of the nicer days, a pizza place a half-mile stroll up the road. it was a nice spring day & things were in bloom. i saw a tiny farm with a pony. it was peaceful and a nice place to decompress from the long trip from WA to CT.

[weirder asks]

[sofia-the-traveller]

Monsoon Shopping: Best Markets and Boutiques in Goa for June

Goa, renowned for its vibrant culture and stunning beaches, also offers an exciting shopping experience, especially during the monsoon season in June. The rains add a unique charm to the bustling markets and quaint boutiques, making it an ideal time to explore and shop. Here’s a guide to the best markets and boutiques in Goa for monsoon shopping, along with recommendations for the best places to stay, including the luxurious Adamo The Bellus.

1. Anjuna Flea Market

Anjuna Flea Market is one of Goa’s most famous shopping destinations. Though traditionally held on Wednesdays, it’s a must-visit even during the off-season for its eclectic mix of goods. From handmade jewelry to colorful textiles, the market offers a variety of unique items. The monsoon rains bring a refreshing atmosphere, making shopping here a delightful experience.

2. Mapusa Market

Mapusa Market, open daily but most vibrant on Fridays, is a bustling local market where you can find everything from fresh produce to traditional Goan spices and handicrafts. The monsoon season enhances the market’s vibrant colors and earthy aromas. It’s an excellent place to shop for authentic Goan products and souvenirs.

3. Calangute Market Square

Located near Calangute Beach, Calangute Market Square is perfect for those staying at a hotel near Calangute Beach Goa, such as Adamo The Bellus. This market offers a wide range of items, including beachwear, accessories, and local handicrafts. The proximity to the beach and the relaxed monsoon vibe make it a great shopping destination.

4. Panjim Market

Panjim Market is ideal for those looking for a more urban shopping experience. The market features a mix of traditional stores and modern boutiques. You can find everything from local produce to stylish clothing and accessories. The monsoon season adds a charming touch to the city, making shopping here even more enjoyable.

5. Baga Night Market

Though primarily a night market during the peak season, the Baga Night Market still offers plenty of shopping opportunities during the monsoon. The market features an array of stalls selling clothes, jewelry, and souvenirs. The monsoon rains create a cozy and unique shopping ambiance.

6. Ashwem Beach Boutique Shops

For those seeking boutique shopping, the shops near Ashwem Beach are perfect. These boutiques offer unique and high-quality items, from designer clothing to handmade crafts. The tranquil beach setting, combined with the monsoon rains, makes for a relaxing shopping experience.

7. Palolem Beach Market

Palolem Beach Market is a smaller, more relaxed market ideal for those staying in South Goa. The market offers a variety of items, including beachwear, handmade jewelry, and local crafts. The scenic beauty of Palolem Beach during the monsoon makes shopping here a serene experience.

Staying at Adamo The Bellus

After a day of shopping, retreat to the comfort of Adamo The Bellus, one of the best hotels in Goa. Located near the bustling Calangute Beach, this luxury hotel offers excellent amenities and a serene environment to relax and rejuvenate. With spacious rooms, a relaxing spa, and proximity to the best shopping spots, Adamo The Bellus is the perfect base for your Goan getaway.

Other Luxury Stays in Goa

The Leela Goa: Known for its luxurious ambiance and top-notch facilities, The Leela offers a tranquil retreat with easy access to local markets.

Taj Exotica Resort & Spa: This luxury resort provides a blend of relaxation and convenience, with proximity to vibrant shopping areas.

Alila Diwa Goa: A perfect blend of luxury and wellness, Alila Diwa offers easy access to South Goa’s charming markets.

Tips for Monsoon Shopping in Goa

Carry an Umbrella: The monsoon showers can be unpredictable, so an umbrella is essential.

Wear Comfortable Footwear: Markets can be crowded and slippery due to the rain, so comfortable, non-slip footwear is advisable.

Bargain Wisely: Don’t hesitate to bargain, especially in flea markets and local stalls.

Stay Hydrated: The humidity can be high, so keep hydrated while shopping.

Embrace the Weather: The monsoon adds a unique charm to Goa, so enjoy the lush, green surroundings and the refreshing rain.

Conclusion

Monsoon shopping in Goa offers a unique and vibrant experience. From bustling markets to quaint boutiques, there’s something for everyone. Staying at the best hotel in Goa, like Adamo The Bellus, ensures you have a comfortable and luxurious base for your shopping adventures. Enjoy the monsoon season, explore the local markets, and take home some unique Goan treasures.

[edgewaterfarmcsa]

CSA WEEK 1

  P i c k l i s t

strawberries - garlic scapes - arugula - bok choy - hakurai turnips -

basil - cilantro plant - plants for your garden!

Holy solstice light let it shine! Wow, what an entrance to Summer we have going on here.  Heat wave, upon strawberry season, upon the most perfect hakurai turnips we’ve ever grown at Edgewater.  Let’s all just knock off, celebrate JUNETEENTH with our CSA bounty, find some water and munch by the river side.  You in? Love this plan, meet ya there.

But don’t wait, start without me, something tells me we here on the farm have a big day of irrigation going on. Three days in a row of over 90 can really make the fields jump, bring on a ton of blossoms, ripen the fruit, and kill any strugglers out there. It’s a real “everything everywhere all at once” vibe.  

But all that aside, welcome! Welcome! Welcome! For all the returning CSA fam,  I’ve absolutely missed picking veg for ya.

And for all the new buds- Hi! Hi!! I am so happy to have you along for the best season of eating there is.  

And in case there is any confusion, these newsletters, recipes, emails, ESP’s, communications, vibrations are brought to you by me, Jenny.  The seeding and growing and picking and washing and setting up for the CSA is a total collaborative effort between all of us at Edgewater, field crew and farmstand crew especially.  

Please holler with any questions, curiosities, comments etc. It’s good to keep the momentum going throughout the season with some light vegetable banter, ya know?

ANYHOW, enter Summer Solstice and welcome this light, a big three cheers for Juneteenth, and goodness gracious enjoy and eat all these berries today, right now, in their absolute  prime. 

FARMY FOODIE PRO-TIPS: 

ARUGULA: its bagged unwashed, to remove grit, please wash :)

GARLIC SCAPE PESTO (it’s a scape season must)

YIELD About 1 cup recipe from the NYTimes

JENNY’S NOTE: No real measurements here, everything is to taste.

The star of this pesto is the garlic plant’s under-appreciated second offering: the fleeting garlic scape. The ingredients are straightforward except for the substitution of sunflower seeds for pine nuts. The seeds are a fraction of the cost and do the job just as well. A food processor is a must for this recipe. For pesto, ingredient order matters. Start with the scapes and process for about 30 seconds. Add the seeds until they are broken down and mixed well with the scapes. Scrape the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula for wandering bits. Next, pour in the olive oil. If you have Parmesan cheese in chunks, add it now, but if it is grated, wait until the scapes and seeds smooth out. If you’re serving right away, add the basil and lemon juice. If not, hold back on the basil for now — otherwise the pesto will lose its vibrant color. Add generously to cooked spaghetti or spread on crusty bread.

INGREDIENTS

1 cup garlic scapes, sliced crosswise (about 10 to 12 scapes)

¼ cup raw sunflower seeds

½ cup extra virgin olive oil

¼ cup Parmesan cheese

½ cup basil leaves

Juice of one lemon PREPARATION

Place the garlic scapes in a food processor and pulse for 30 seconds.

Add the sunflower seeds and pulse for 30 seconds. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.

Add the olive oil and process on high for 15 seconds.

Add the Parmesan cheese and pulse until the ingredients are combined.

Add the basil and lemon juice, and process until reaching the desired consistency.

Add salt to taste and serve immediately.

As for all the other crops included in this pick-list, welcome to salad season!

The following are some standby combos and quasi recipes I hold onto to brighten up all these greens for eating:

Rice noodle bowls!  Grain bowls!  Perfect vehicle for every green thing. Just add coconut aminos or tamari and sesame oil.  For protein you will have to look elsewhere- but as for the basil, bok choy, hakurai turnips- just chop and fold in.

GARLIC SCAPE PESTO SALAD DRESSING: 

Remember all that garlic scape pesto you intend to make this week)? Take a couple of tablespoons of that and add the following: olive oil, vinegar, maple syrup, and lemon juice. Everything to taste- whisk to combine.  

This Bok Choy Kimchi is a quick kimchi recipe ready in 15 mins.! With Vegetarian or Vegan options, plus detailed instructions on using baby or regular bok choy.

1 lb baby bok choy

1 garlic scape

2 bulb spring onions

For the sauce:

0.4 oz garlic cloves 2 large, grated

0.1 oz Ginger a tiny small knob, grated

1.5 tbsp coconut aminos

1 tsp coarse sea salt

0.5 tbsp fish sauce

1.5 tbsp gochugaru Korean red pepper flakes

1 tbsp maple syrup

2 tsp apple cider vinegar

For the garnish: Toasted rice sesame seeds, Toasted sesame oil to taste

Prep:

Halve the baby bok choy, rinse, and pat them dry. Thinly slice the garlic scape and chop the spring onions. If using larger sized bok choy, separate them into leaves and make crosswise cut into small pieces.

In a separate bowl, combine the sauce ingredients from garlic to vinegar.

Mix:

For baby bok choy (halved): In a big mixing bowl, add the bok choy, onion, and the sauce. Gently toss to combine. Take care not to bruise the leaves.

For larger bok choy (diced-up): Add the bok choy stalks, onion, and half the amount of sauce to the mixing bowl. Toss to combine for 2 minutes. Then add the leaves and the remaining sauce to combine for 1 minute.

Serve:

Transfer them onto a large serving plate and sprinkle with sesame seeds, sesame oil, and scallions. You can serve them right away or chill them in the fridge for up to 2 weeks but best consume within 2-3 days for the crunchiest bok choy kimchi!

Notes

When you first combine the bok choy with the sauce, they will seem dry. Gently toss to distribute the seasoning evenly. The bok choy will continue releasing water as they marinate, creating a saucier consistency.

Select bok choy with firm stalks so they will last longer, more juicy, and crunchy.

Add an apple: If you don’t want to use maple syrup, apples will add sweetness to the dish. Add it to a blender or food processor with sauce ingredients and blend until creamy.

Korean plum vinegar: You can use it in place of maple syrup and apple cider vinegar.

Vegan fish sauce or Yondu seasoning (a South-Korean brand of all-purpose, savory umami seasoning) will keep this recipe vegan/vegetarian.

To store: Store in the fridge in jars with a tight lid for up to 2 weeks. The kimchi will continue to ferment slowly in the fridge and the texture will turn softer.

To make ahead: Pack the sauce and the bok choy separately. Combine them before serving.

[gamesception]

Kingdom Hearts on Steam

So kingdom hearts is on steam, or at least the 'Integrum Masterpiece Collection' of 3 game bundles: Kingdom Hearts 1.5 + 2.5 Remix, Kingdom Hearts 2.8 Final Chapter Prologue, and Kingdom Hearts 3 + Re:mind. The games have been available on PC before via the Epic Games store, but those versions have an online check in DRM system that A) sucks, and 2) makes the games effectively unplayable on on-the-go handheld PCs like the Steam Deck. So far these seem to be high quality PC ports - everything's running well, few to no weird bugs. Always a crapshoot on ports from Squeenix, but this seems to be one of the better ones.

As always, it's nice to have the games on PC, if for no other reason than it makes modding a lot easier, and some of these games really benefit from modding. My favorite use of mods so far is to restore the original color palettes to the enemies in KH 1 final mix.

A downside of the Steam versions, which is unfortunately getting patched back into the Epic versions, is that the textures of the older games have been ai-upscaled for 4k resolutions. This has a negligible impact on visual quality, especially when playing at a reasonable, god-fearing resolution anywhere between 720 and 1440p, and even when it is noticeable it isn't always a good thing, as random elements can sometimes stand out weirdly. But it has a dramatically non-negligible and very negative impact on the storage space taken by these games. KH 1.5 + 2.5 remix is 3 ps2 games and a few extra cut scenes, yet takes up a whopping 72 gigs on your hard drive. It would be one thing if they let you pick between the original & upscaled textures when installing the game, but no.

The base prices for these games on Steam is, frankly, insane - fully 200 united states dollars to buy all three separately. Please don't do that. BUT the collection of all three together is discounted 50 percent AND both the individual games and the full collection are further discounted 30% through July 11, bringing the total for the bundle down to about us$70, which imo is just barely a fair price for this bundle of dearly beloved but honestly mostly kind of bad old games.

As for my brief (lol) thoughts on the individual games themselves... I was going to put summaries below a read more cut, but it all got too long so I'm breaking them into separate posts.

edit: Eh, coming out of the first game & into the others, and the quality of the port isn't as good as i first thought. some framerate issues, some slowdown & audio/video desync, esp in the cutscenes. tinkering with framerate limits & vysynch, &, on steamdeck, turning on halfrate shaders has helped. still doesn't feel bad at all, as such things go, but still jot as good a port as I let on above.

[inklingofadream]

anyway yesterday i saw a movie analysis channel that looked interesting, but the video being recommended to me wasn’t something i was interested in (hadn’t seen the movie), so i clicked over to the channel to see what else they had. And the video they picked to autoplay, where ppl usually have channel trailers and the like, was about how Avengers: Endgame was one of the best executed, most satisfying endings to a long form story ever, to which all future series should aspire.

and i simply do not understand

[blooming-violets]

Do you have any daddy Andrew!Peter headcannons?

Lol gonna assume you mean as a father with kids and not in the other daddy sense.

But of course I do!

Infant and Toddler Years:

Peter cried happy tears the first time he ever bottle fed his baby.

He insists on trying all of the baby food! He says it’s because if he thinks it’s gross, the baby will think it’s gross, but really he’s just curious. 

Peter never let’s his kids fall. He catches them every time. To the point that his partner has to remind him it’s okay for kids to fall down sometimes because they have to learn to get back up.

When he’s too lazy to put up baby gates, he just shoots webs over the open doors instead.

Uses his webs like a baby leash whenever the kids runs too far ahead 

All of his kids have him wrapped around their finger and they know it

Has the baby shark song and dance memorized. Gets stuck in his head all the time. Has 100% caught some bad guys while singing it under his breath. 

Young Kiddos: 

If he’s ever out late and misses bedtime, Peter will crawl into their beds and snuggle with them until he falls asleep too. So many nights his partner has been looking around the house for him only to find him passed out next to their kids

His kids ask him for Spider-Man stories for bedtime every night. He makes them child-friendly and often adds things like dragons into the mix for fun.

“Don’t tell mommy that I let you have three bowls of ice cream for dinner.” *later that night* “I swear I have no idea why they’re throwing up! Must be something going around the school.” 

His daughter has a fascination with bugs. Peter takes her on bug hunts through Central Park to see what they can find every weekend. They bring nets, jars, and magnifying glasses to study them. 

Always has his nails badly painted and in rainbow colors because his daughter wanted to do them.

Can braid his daughters hair better than any of the other dads

Makes all their Halloween costumes by hand. Makes the whole family have a theme each year. His favorite was their Addam’s Family one. (Baby number three was made that night.) 

Dresses up as Spider-Man and fully commits to pretending to chase the monsters out from under the bed whenever the kids get scared. 

The kids first sleepover ever is at Aunt May’s house. Peter calls to check in on them every hour. 

He’s the first one to volunteer as a helper for any of their school field trips. 

Pre-teens:

Brings them on movie dates every week and takes them out for dinner afterwards. Each kid gets their own special week night with dad to make sure that he stays a trusted person in their lives.

His kids are never afraid to tell him anything. 

When they go through a period of being bullied, Peter let’s them skip school and sleep in. Then he puts on their favorite music and forces them to have a dance party with him until they’re laughing again. 

His son loves the Percy Jackson book series so Peter reads them all too. That way he can have conversations with his son that speak to his interests. 

Peter often brings flowers home for his partner. His daughter mentions how pretty the flowers are one day. Peter then makes sure to bring her home a bouquet every time too. 

Teaches his kids how to skateboard. 

Teenagers:

When they’re too stressed out with all their high school classes, Peter will sneakily do their homework for them some nights. 

Spider-Man will watch over any first dates to make sure everyone is behaving themselves! 

Treats all their friends as if they’re his kids as well. Basically just adopts all the strays esp if they have crappy parents. 

Loves their emo phase. Listens to all their emo music. Knows the members of all the bands. 

He gets so excited when his daughter tells him that she’s into photography. Buys her a brand new camera. 

His daughter calls him drunk from a party one time. She says that her friends all got in the car to drive home but she knew better. He immediately goes to pick her up. Tells her how smart she was for calling him and brings her home safely. He takes care of her hangover the next day and waits until she’s recovered before talking to her about the dangers of drinking. He never yells at her. Never raises his voice. 

Will spend hours roaming the museum of natural history with his son.

Cheers the loudest at his daughter's volleyball games. She gets so embarrassed but he loves it. 

College:

Holds it together while dropping off. Lifts all the heavy stuff for everyone when rearranging the dorm room. Sobs the whole way home. 

Calls his kids every single night and insists they tell him all about their day.

If he doesn’t hear from them all day, he starts panicking and threatening to drive up to the college. His partner has to calm him down and remind him that they are adult now. They need a little space sometimes.

Peter doesn’t do well as an empty nester so he starts volunteering at a local youth group. He becomes a mentor to many young kids. He’s also conveniently absent on the one day Spider-Man comes to visit the kids. They excitedly tell him all about it the next day though while he sits there and smiles.  

That was fun! Give me more headcannons! 

[dinosaurtsukki]

HAIKYUU!! MALEWIFE HEADCANONS

feat. tsukishima, suna, sakusa, and iwaizumi

a/n: i've had a thing for malewives for the past few weeks and just let me write about tsukishima wearing an apron okay

☆.｡.:* TSUKISHIMA KEI

you guys already know i'm whipped for this man on an emotional, physical, and spiritual level

but just imagining him as a malewife really hits different

he's not exactly born as a malewife esp since i can imagine his mom and akiteru doing more of the chores at home

he's not great at chores either. like, he knows how to wash dishes but always forgets to separate the coloreds from the whites when he does laundry

but in the event that you're working longer hours at work and he has more time on his hands at home, tsukishima would absolutely step up to the job

he doesn't want to give you a hard time and if it means having to learn to unclog a drain right, he'll do it

tsukishima would spend quite a bit of time looking up how-to's online and asking his mom for help (when he's truly desperate)

soon finds that he doesn't actually hate cleaning and it's quite therapeutic and relaxing for him

he's a PRO at organizing things too and quickly develops the habit of just cleaning up quickly after you or himself (picking up towels that fell or washing dishes as soon as they're in the sink)

he comes to a Realization when he's sitting at the table sorting out coupons in a binder by expiration date and product

congrats you're an official Malewife now tsukki

pretty soon he's moved on to actually baking in his spare time

this is because he keeps dropping hints at you to bring home cake while you're out at work so you eventually just go 'if you want cake so much why don't you make it???'

and he does

it takes him several tries though but he finally manages to go from using cake mix to making one out of scratch

has a gloating smile on his face as he places a perfect slice of strawberry shortcake in front of you and smirks when you take a bite

"and you said i wouldn't be able to make a cake that good."

you reward him with a pink apron that is waaay too small for him like it only stops at his mid-thigh and he's adamant that he'll never wear it

he does wear it though when you're not at home he just doesn't want to give you the satisfaction

just imagine: coming home after a long day at work to the smell of cake baking in the oven and you see tsukishima standing at the counter making whipped cream by hand and wearing that pink apron that doesn't even reach his knees

be glad he married you

also i bet he ordered those rubber oven mitts that look like dinosaur mouths

☆.｡.:* SUNA RINTAROU

whenever it's not yet volleyball season suna actually has an adequate amount of time on his hands at home and knowing how hard you work, he doesn't hesitate to take on the household chores for you

his twitter bio actually says 'part-time professional volleyball player, part-time malewife'

he has an emotional bond with the roomba that cleans the floors in your house. during cleaning day, suna would strap his phone to the roomba to play music

at one point he tried to make one of those refrigerator organizing tiktoks but having to hold his phone while placing the eggs in their container was just not optimal and he gave up

the one thing that gets him up in the morning is the prospect of making you lunch and i'm not saying he's obsessed with making your bento look aesthetic but... he is

he's taken five photos of your bento already and he STILL hasn't wrapped it up and you're standing by the door five minutes before your train is scheduled to leave impatiently tapping your foot

you forgive him though when it's lunch break and you're enjoying the breaded pork cutlets that malewife suna made for you

that is until he sends you a text asking if you could take pictures of your lunch for him to post on instagram

but being the famous pro-volleyball player that he is, the malewife side of his instagram comes under scrutiny by some of his followers (mostly men)

one of suna's lunchbox photos got a comment from a guy saying 'lol i bet ur wife earns more than u' thinking that it would upset him

suna responds by posting a screenshot of the comment beside a selfie of the two of you with him wearing the frilliest pink apron he could find at the department store and you kissing his cheek

the caption is "i bet your wife wishes you were me"

nice kill suna

this guy is pretty sneaky though and sometimes when you're rushing off to work, he'll sneak your umbrella out of your bag when he knows its gonna rain later in the day

and then when you call him saying that you 'forgot' your umbrella, suna is quick to offer going to where you work to pick you up

as much as he doesn't mind staying at home, he also misses you a lot and won't miss out on the opportunity to share an umbrella with you while walking home

☆.｡.:* SAKUSA KIYOOMI

i am most excited about this one ngl

sakusa was the kind of kid who grew up not completely bothered by doing chores (aka, a parent's dream). he always had the cleanest bedroom among his friends also those clean as you go practices he learned in kindergarten really stuck with him

when the two of you started living together it was honestly such a relief for you that he was the kind of guy who would do chores without complaining unlike the ones from your previous relationships

in fact he's actually a bit nitpicky when it's you doing the cleaning but the way sakusa automatically washes the dishes is hot so no complaints from you

during the off-season, like suna, sakusa uses the time to just chill and help out around the house especially since you tend to be busy with your job

he ends up being a regular at the nearby market and a lot of the shop-owners there can easily recognize his curly hair and face mask

since sakusa regularly goes to the same places when he runs his errands, he ends up drawing the attention of the other housewives from your neighborhood

an unlikely friendship is formed when this 6'2" pro volleyball player from the MSBY black jackals realizes that he's out of fabric softener and kindly asks a group of middle-aged housewives doing their laundry together if they can spare some

they've always been curious about sakusa and end up talking with him while they're all waiting for their laundry

immediately after he says 'my wife is busy so i just took over the chores at home', these ladies have adopted him into their group

it goes from doing laundry on thursdays to going grocery shopping together. at one point they even join a morning yoga class

the ladies are so impressed watching sakusa to do all the hardest poses. they even affectionately call him 'sakusa-chan'

sakusa isn't really a fan of gossip but whenever his new friends end up talking together he just can't help but Listen and now he's invested into the latest news regarding chiyo-san's no-good husband

☆.｡.:* IWAIZUMI HAJIME

this Man. a malewife through and through

it started out with him assuming the role of the Responsible One among his friends, especially whenever they have training camps

once, their club manager was home sick and there was no one else to make dinner so iwa just stepped up because how hard could it be?

his teammates are genuinely surprised at how good the curry he made is and now iwa's the designated cook every time they have training camps

when you guys started dating he'd often invite you over to his place to cook dinner for you (even more so if you had a college kid diet bf!iwa would make sure you're eating healthy)

even on days when he's working hard, he tries to come home early enough to make dinner for you guys as well as buying groceries and doing the laundry and watering the garden

we stan a multi-tasker

something he's always been really good at though is sewing and fixing clothes because he actually paid attention in home economics class

whenever you lose a button on your jacket or get a hole in your jeans, iwa's already offering his hand out and grabbing his sewing kit that's always in his bag

he actually embroidered a little heart on the inside of one of your shirt hems when he was fixing it but if you point it out he'll just be embarrassed

at one point iwa definitely picks up crocheting or knitting as a hobby and it helps him pass the time during long volleyball games

when you watch a volleyball game on television sometimes you'll catch a glimpse of iwa sitting behind the players on a bench knitting a multi-colored scarf in deep concentration

he becomes quite well-known for it and one time a tv interviewer finally decides to ask iwa about it and he just blushes and goes 'its for my wife'

cue a resounding 'awwww' from everyone watching

another of his little malewife tendencies is to be kind of addicted to home shopping network and just any gadget that can be used at home

if you happen to come home early you'll catch your husband sitting on the couch bent forward and intently watching an ad for a spinning mop

"honey, it's a spinning superdry mop!!" "we already have a mop!!"

he gets his revenge by explicitly asking for that mop for his birthday

▸ 🎕 ┈┈┈┈ 🎕 ┈┈┈┈ 🎕 ┈┈┈┈ 🎕 ┈┈┈┈ 🎕 ◂

taglist (check out my post for details on being part of my taglist):

@laure-chan​​ ​​ @kirakirasaku​​ @atsumusdomain​​ @goodfoodxoxoxo​​ @kei-ya​​ @guardianangelswings​​ @definitely-yours​​ @loisuke​​ @whootwhoot​​ @liz-multifandom-hotel @kac-chowsballs​​ @procrastination-lady​​ @miyakiyo0mi​​ @duhsies​​ @alittlesimp​​ ​​ @shybooks2 @sage-brick @11nolongerhuman

[theloveinc]

YALL PLEASE IK WE LOVE DILF DEKU BUT WHAT IF YOU TWO ARE DILFS AND MILFS. Like YALL met in the 90s when he was JUST hitting his peak of being #1 and ALL THE HOT 90s/2k PHOTOS OF HIM AND HIS GF TOGETHER (Who is now his wife) LIKE JUST TWO PEOPLE YOUNG AND IN LOVE. Him holding her hand and laughing as they are trying to quickly get away from the paparazzi and he has his arm out and trying to wiggle through fans and having the other around her waist. He’s always wearing every day clothes in all of them cause he was young probably early 20s and didn’t really see the reason of dressing up! OH and if his wife is a poc she has those hot make up looks black girls did back then! OH I loVE IT! There’s definitely pics of the two of them like him sitting on the floor while watching a early 2000s music video from America while she is sitting behind him on the couch practicing corn rolls on his BIG HEAD OHHH YALL. AND IF THEY HAVE LITTLE MIX KIDS OMFG LET ME STOP

normally i'd stick two asks together but i'm gonna answer you in separate parts bc i wanna respond to all of your thoughts, if that's alright!

but this reminds me a little of my childhood lover post (here!)... and how deku is always so sweet to you in public, so confident with your love that he's not afraid of showing it off .... and esp how well you've both aged, still both beautiful as the day you met.

i'm sure this is what you were going for with your imagery (which def brings this imagery to life) , but this also makes me think of the tik tok trends of people sharing pics of their parents from the 90s, or getting their photos done at vintage studios. the funny but sweet poses of people standing together in y2k clothes in front of colorful backgrounds. OR even prom pictures, with the silly background drapes hehehe.

also imagining having some 90s love song being your + deku's SONG. like the song you always dance together to in the kitchen, that your kids make faces at🥺

and they're definitely cute, just like u say! either dressed up in all the cute little tracksuits you can find or in daddy's nice hero merch and similar big, chunky sneakers. or maybe u even buy them jelly sandals to match the color beads and clips in their hair... so nostalgic :(

this is such a deku vibe!!

[dolugecat]

On some Japanese social issues I had learned about at uni and abroad):

(Rb ok!)

Legit had an epiphany about the true hidden meaning of the last arc of Mob Psycho 100. It’s hella projection but for real there is nothing neurotypical about Mob or Mob Psycho. I do not wish to enforce my interpretation on others (ironic bc I do that all the time but this is a serious social theory). There are some interesting and very sad social issues in Japan that the west really doesn’t understand but would I think help people understand a lot of context behind not only Mob Psycho, but also a lot of other anime. I learned this at my shitty university (prestigious but horrific) and while studying abroad in Japan and talking with Japanese peers. Get ready here we go (and tw for bullying and darker things):

Unfortunately in East Asian education systems, bullying can be extremely intense. Growing up I assumed it was over exaggerated extremely in anime for drama but it really can be so horrific. From what I’ve heard, there is often a single kid or so who is just shit on by everyone else, even the teacher. Mogami land *is* the reality of some Japanese kids. I’ve read that in Korea, this social punching bag sometimes is just the darkest skinned person (yayyy colorism /angry) and or someone who does not fit in. I mean, we have that in America too, but maybe not as common for the bullying to be as focused on one misfit rather than several. These kids just can’t escape the stigma too, kids from other schools find out they were a major victim at their old school and it starts anew. Thus there is so much stigma and incentive to join in on bullying so you aren’t the one. Sadly, this also ofc leads to higher suicide rates. That’s where the “shoe on building roof” anime trope comes in, bc somehow taking off shoes is relayed to death (I forgot why sorry)

There is a difference in how intense in general high school vs college is too. In the West, commonly college is the more intense curriculum and is harder than high school, but in Japan it’s usually the opposite. Grind suuuupppeeerrrr hard for entrance exams (huge standardized tests that determines what college you can qualify to) bc unlike the ACT or SAT here, that test is by far the most important factor for college admission. Then chill and relax a bit in college. Can’t relate. Name and prestige is very critical for job application, more important than here. That’s why planning out your future is sooo much more intense for Japanese high schoolers than in America, and why there is sooo much more pressure to excel in high school than here. Japanese school years and holidays are done different than ours, I’d suggest looking it up.

Social prestige of going to an American high school or college is nuts. Like whyyy do you value our shitty education, Japan’s is much higher quality (it’s bc we neo colonized them). Being able to speak English is very, very highly valued and any association with Americans make you cooler. From my experience, some Japanese students got very excited to practice speaking English with us, and their biggest issues with learning it is pronunciation, lmao. Wasai english is unique slang that is indeed English words but it’s kinda different and it’s kinda jarring to remember lol. So, Teru having parents that are working overseas isn’t too uncommon, idk about leaving him absolutely alone, but I did have a ex-friend who just came from Japan in middle school who’s situation probably wasn’t too far off from that. Empty wealth with no love, it’s no wonder those kind of people can end up being huge bullies (minori?)

I did a presentation on 引きこもり(hikikomori) for which means “shut in”, (like Serizawa) and it’s fucked up. It’s a social phenomena where according to some Japanese researchers a mix of undisciplined parenting, guilt/not living up to expectations, and hopelessness makes an alarming amount of youth/ young adults literally never go out side their house/room. Often a parent is “enabling” the behavior by supporting them, but idk the articles seemed a bit victim-blaming to me when I read it, but I don’t think I should make a judgement too hard, not my place. I will say I do suspect and believe I read something to support that ASD might play a role in hikikomoris (there is pitiful resources for autistic people in Asia, much much less support than even here, to the point I don’t think most know it exists). Like come on, with the other points I laid out my personal opinion as an Asian American with autism is that it really seems it’s unknowing ableism against autistic classmates, but I didn’t grow up in Asia so I don’t want to say.

Mental health in general is tragically quite abysmal in Japan, and with it being so hyper competitive and brutal work culture, it’s no surprise birth rate in Japan is so low; some Japanese young adults say it seems unethical to bring a life to such hostile world. Suicide rate is of the highest in the world. It’s fucked, I’ve interacted with some of the locals in Tokyo and they were so nice, but the business men just looked dead inside, it’s so sad.

Relationships between child and parent is also strained bc of this intense work and school culture. Quality time is too scarce when you gotta work so much. And the pressure from parents to do well in education or else you might end up socially stigmatized is rough. Bc your job is who you are, it’s hyper capitalism (thanks us for making them do this)

With autism being so unknown, support for parents in raising autistic kids is almost nonexistent. What happens if the “darker” side of ASD shows up in kids? I used to be a menace when I had meltdowns, I felt so bad but really just became so indiscriminately violent. See where this is going? Legit, I think ESP is a sort of metaphor for neurodivergance to ONE. There is so much stigma around it, and even less way for kids to understand why they are different than the others. My Korean family can’t admit we all got ASD, too much fear and internalized shame.

I got finally diagnosed with ASD as an adult and I’ll tell ya, I relate too much to Mob hurting Ritsu. I felt so bad, but also not in control, I knew what I was doing but not how to stop. Luckily, is was blessed in that my hyperfixations involved science and logic, so I did well at school. Sadly, our boy Mob just don’t got the passion or ability to do well at school. His kanji is very bad, even to point of not being confident he wrote a kanji (世) they learn when they are 9, in elementary school (thanks @katyatalks). Him being a bit berated by his parents for having bad grades and bending spoons seems harsh to Westerners I think, but IMO it’s pretty tame from what I’ve seen of some Asian parents (I get to say that lmao). Ofc, however the shaming is very real and Mob just agreeing with them about how weird and stupid he thinks he is so sad. There is even more pressure for the eldest to be better than here, I feel from some interactions. Nonetheless, it’s implied Mob is quite emotionally detached from his parents, even though he loves them, which also adds to his emotional complex. Combined with originally fragile self esteem and feelings of worthlessness, we got one emotionally stunted boy. However, contrary to common belief people with ASD are sometimes hyper empathic and experience emotions very intensely. We are prone to having “meltdowns” which if not assisted with can be quite violent if very intense. For me, my worse meltdowns as a kid came from when I didn’t understand why I wasn’t getting what I wanted, it seemed selfish and cruel of me but I couldn’t control it. I wanted to be a good kid, so why did hit my moms leg at target when she refused to buy me Pokémon toys? I couldn’t come up with a good reason for why my mind just commanded my body to do bad things, just a single thought was controlling me, I want I want I want I want I want ____. Which I argue could be what ???% represents… bc well…. Yeah….. hmm….. not in control of self (mob unconscious), selfish (not actually, I’ve forgave myself but my “normal” kid self was so ashamed), destructive, hurt family, wanting to stop but can’t, that’s kind of…. Too relatable.

But legit, since realizing my new HC, I’ve started to think of the last chapter of mp100 when I “explode” and it helps me feel better and I do gain “control” a bit easier. I don’t feel so bad anymore either, Mob!

[corruptedconfessions]

I have a request for maybe some soft aob cuddles with either Todoroki or Bakugo. Maybe they are the omega and y/n is the alpha and they are cuddling right after their first heat or something :D

I kinda wrote this as a warmup so oops? I love writing alpha reader and omega characters, esp omega Bakugou lmao. 

I wanna say apologies for Todoroki’s side, He is just one of those characters thats like...impossible for me to write. I had a half idea and decided to include it for funzies. I feel like in A/B/O Enji would have maybe given him some insecurities about being an omega? Either by forcing him to pretend he’s an alpha or in other ways, either way I feel like he’d have some anxieties about not being good enough/not knowing how to care for his alpha. 

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Bakugou:

You had been unprepared when his first heat hit. Sure, you and Katsuki had been courting for awhile, you jumping every hurtle and fighting to meet the omega’s high expectations. You managed it of course, impressing the blonde hero with flying colors. (You even managed to make him blush when you got on one knee and asked him to be your mate, though he’d kill you if you ever told anyone that). Sure, both of you had known that his next heat would finally be…it. The last step in your courting process, the chance to finally be real…mates.

That didn’t mean the two of you were prepared, though. Katsuki was a late bloomer if there ever was one, be it the mix of intense stress and strain he put his body through, or his complete lack of interest in anything mating related until you came along, the blonde had never had a heat, didn’t know the signs that came with it. At least not until it was too late.

The first few days had been a whirlwind of sex and trying to get the necessary supplies with a very needy very horny omega clinging to your side and begging to be fucked every hour of the day. More than once you woke up, groggy and confused to your mate bouncing on your lap, whimpering and begging for your knot.

There was no nest made, no food prepared, nothing. It was stressful to say the least for you especially, as your mate was too far gone to worry or be of any help.

Still, laying here now…it was all worth it.

You looked down at your omega with a tender gaze, the two of you curled up in the center of his nest, a peaceful sight despite the absolute mess surrounding you. Sweat and…other bodily fluids soaked into shredded clothing that would need to be thrown away later, fluff and filling from the mattress and pillows strewn throughout the nest. That would all need to be replaced as well, along with some of the furniture that had your omega’s claw marks so deeply embedded into it there was no chance at salvaging any of it. It was needless to say that your omega’s…explosive personality carried over into his heat. Even still your hips throbbed from the strain of fucking him so hard for the past week, and your back burned with the scratch marks that covered your skin, you hadn’t gotten the chance to look yet but you wouldn’t be surprised if some of the deeper ones scarred.

You couldn’t bring yourself to be angry, though. Especially not while you were looking down at your omega, submissively tucked into your side, face relaxed and peaceful in sleep. A possessive thrill ran through you as you reached down to gently brush his hair from his face. Only you got to seem him like this…No one else would know how he looked, completely lax and free of any tension or stress. No, this was for your eyes only. You found yourself melting into the nest as well, crooning gently down at your mate when he twitched in his sleep, burrowing closer to you, that sweet face hidden as it burrowed into your chest, sleepily nuzzling at the scent glands on your sides, sleepy half lidded eyes cracking open for just a moment. Hands that were thrown across your waist flexed for just a brief moment as a soft chirp came from him, the sweet sound not fitting the person it came from in the slightest.

Cooing at the sight, you gently stroked your omega’s hair as you cupped his face, gently pulling him up and leading his head to rest on your shoulder, nose pressed against the scent glad that now held his mating mark. A slow soft rumble vibrated through your chest as you gently settled him down into your hold again, legs intertwined as you wrapped both arms around his torso, cradling him against you as he relaxed into the touch again.

Both of you stayed like that, trading soft purrs and calming scents until his eyes slid closed again, breath gently brushing across your neck. It wasn’t long before you found yourself following him, nose tucked into messy blonde spikes.

 Todoroki:

 You were woken by the desperate wiggling of your heat source next to you, gentle tugs at the protective hold you had around your omega. A quick sniff told you that your mate’s heat had finally passed, something that filled you with more relief than you like, as much as you tried to keep up with your mate and satisfy him, your stamina was nothing to that of a one of the top pro heros and you frequently had found yourself on the bottom, left helplessly crying under your mate as he took his fill.

“...What’s wrong?”

Your voice was croaky as you unhappily cracked your eyes open, gently letting go of your mate, frowning as he immediately slid out of your hold. A soft hint of anxiety filled the air, barely detectable under the heavy stale scent of sex and heat, but it was enough that it had you jolting awake, instincts screaming to go to and comfort your new mate. You had been moving to sit up but a displeased hiss and harsh shove to your chest had you plopping right back down into the nest. You stared up at your omega with wide eyes as he rumbled down at you, tucking blankets and pillows around you, fidgeting with the sides of the nest, fussing over you.

Oh…That’s what this was. Shouto had never been quite…happy with the nest he had made, anxiety manifesting in trying to make his nest perfect for his mate, for you. Even in the throws of heat he had been anxiously poking at the sides, face cold and unreadable but his scent and your new bond gave away the anxiety and turmoil that bubbled just under the surface.

“Baby, come here…You need to rest.”

Ever so gently you reached out to grab your mates arm, a soft soothing croon coming from your chest as you gently led him back down into your hold, tenderly tucking him into the nest just as he had done for you. Careful not to hold him too tight, knowing from experience never to trap the omega or make him feel suffocated you wrapped yourself around your mate, gently leaning in to rub your cheek against his, a soft warm purr vibrating in your throat as you tenderly scent marked your mate.

“Oh…”

A soft pleased sigh came from your omega, the lingering tension melting out of him as he melted into the touches, obediently baring his neck to give you more room as you rubbed your cheek there as well, steadily letting out your own calming scent.

“There you go, baby~ That’s it. Such a good omega~”

You purred down at him gently, continuing to mark him, gently holding him as you stopped to nuzzle every scent gland, watching as he relaxed into your touches, eyes growing half lidded and sleepy. Absentmindedly your hands massaged gentle circles into his skin as you moved back up to his side, settling down next to him. Instinctively he curled closer to you, resting his head on your shoulder as his eyes slid shut. You couldn’t help but press a kiss to his forehead where his sweaty bangs were plastered to his face.

“Sleep well.”