#mostly i just want to put them in a blender and turn it on

[silcobrainrot]

Mistakes Like These (It's A Bad Idea, Me & You)

Because fuck it, I've lost my mind. A gift for @aulwil on AO3, and if I've made a feast I may as well throw a banquet. It's too long to put in a text post here. I started this before season 2 dropped. I'm also writing it again from Jinx's perspective, so it'll [hopefully] have a twin sometime soon.

Word count: 11,348 (oneshot)

Summary: They have always understood each other with the smallest of gestures, the faintest of expressions. A softness reserved for each other; exclusive to one another. That softness paints Jinx's face now with a demure smile, her lidded eyes warm and tranquil. Everything Silco loves in this life. Everything he fears losing if he chooses to go down this road with her. If this is the last time he sees it, will it have been worth it?

Warnings/tags: DEAD DOVE DO NOT EAT -- psuedo-incest | adoptive father/adopted daughter incest | Jinx is nineteen years old | NSFW -- body worship, cunnilingus, blow jobs, vaginal fingering, missionary, multiple orgasms, hand jobs, top Silco, bottom Jinx | I've made characters use a condom for the first time ever | porn with feelings | post coital snuggling | corpses | fucking with a corpse in the room

AO3 Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/60484894

If you do not like what you see here, please just skip over the post and block me if you need to. No one's forcing you to click on the link or read this.

[howtocareforbunnyboys]

"Formula" baby food for ARFID age regressors 🍼🥤

I'll make a better post with progress pics next time I make some, but I wanted to post about it quickly, since it was such a success.

My small (@bunnnybcy ) has ARFID, which makes it very difficult for him to get much nutrition, and I'm always trying things to make health accessible to him. One way to make "scary" foods accessible is to make them cute or baby-like. This recipe is sort of a "base model," a warm and sweet treat that can be altered later to increase their fruit & whole grain consumption.

Equipment you'll need:

Saucepan

Stirrer

Measuring cups

Stove or hotpad

Blender

Sippy cup or reusable pouches (Link to reusable pouch example)

Refrigerator for storage

Sweet Cinnamon Formula Recipe 😋

Ingredients:

1 cup + 1 cup milk or plant milk of choice (we used vanilla soy milk) 🥛

1/2 cup plain rolled oats 🥣

1 tsp dark brown sugar, or to taste*

1 tsp honey, or to taste 🍯

Cinnamon, to taste

Vanilla extract, to taste

Steps:

🥛 Heat the first cup of milk in your saucepan on the stove. Turn the heat up to medium, or medium-high if you're impatient.

🍯 Stir in the brown sugar and honey, and continue to stir frequently until the milk starts to lightly boil.

🥣 Stir in the 1/2 cup of rolled oats, and turn down the heat to medium, if it isn't already there.

🥄 Stir frequently until the liquid is mostly absorbed, about 5-8 minutes. (The longer you cook it, the smoother your end product will be, which is important for ARFID smalls.)

🆒️ Take off the heat, and let cool for a bit, until you're confident that it won't melt your blender lol.

Pour the oatmeal into your blender, add 1/4 cup milk🥛, and blend until smooth. Check the consistency, and continue adding milk in 1/4 cup amounts until your small approves of the texture. This would also be a convenient time to add more cinnamon, vanilla, honey🍯, or sugar, if they feel the taste is lacking.

Pour into pouches or sippy cups.

You can store leftover formula in the fridge for 3-5 days.

Other formula flavor ideas:

Strawberry 🍓

Banana🍌

Blueberry 🫐

Peach ���

Chocolate 🍫

Peanut butter 🥜

Apple pie 🍎

Pumpkin pie 🥧

Sweet potato 🍠

Notes for other carers of little ones with ARFID:

If your small one will tolerate it, adding nuts or seeds during step 1 will yield a more nutritious result, but some may not blend down. Chia seeds, for example, will remain visible and will feel like poppyseeds, which may be off-putting to someone with ARFID, even though they don't taste like anything.

Always remember to introduce new tastes and textures slowly, and allow them to try a new thing multiple times on different days if they're unsure about it. Unsure may just mean unfamiliar, and it'll take them a number of attempts to acquire a taste for it. Uncertainty is a good sign of a future "yes", but don't push them to finish a serving of something they're on the fence about; the pressure may turn it into a "no". Instead, give them the option of putting the rest away for later, and after some time, when they're ready, encourage them to try it again.

[alltheboysandgirlsiloved]

So I've been trying to get a gist of post-time skip Ben based on Chaos Theory trailer (obsessed again? wrong, I never stopped being obsessed), and I feel like I can optimistically assume that his personality will make sense for his character development that we've seen in Camp Cretaceous.

I made a post about it once but to sum it up shortly:

season 1 Ben is a boy who was clearly raised in some sort of bubble (a different bubble than Kenji) - he is scared and anxious (not just regarding dinosaurs); at the same time we get hints that he can be very passionate and has a sense of an adventure (he's just scared to cross the line). Season 2 Ben experienced a massive traumatic event, to put it nicely, his personality was put into a blender which was then turned on and left unsupervised for several days. His season 2 jungle boy persona, while still consistent with the traits showed prior (as mentioned - Ben was both passionate and adventurous before - he was just too shy to act on it), is mostly a result of a severe trauma; meaning his personality feels more extreme because he had to rely on extremes to survive. Season 3 Ben is one of the most interesting "forms of evolution". The trauma is still fresh but at the same time Ben tries to think beyond it – wants to make decisions based not on "fight or flight" response but on his own feelings on the matter, it's very interesting but in this season - though not visibly - he slightly reconnects with season 1 personality (slightly) for example by considering advantages and disadvantages of his actions (leaving Nublar or staying) (it doesn't apply to every situation which is actually quite perfect because at this point he is still pretty damn traumatized). Then we have season 4 which is actually very important for Ben's character arc because, for the second time, he loses his footing - Nublar was wild but familiar, Nublar was 'never without Bumpy'. Mantah Corp Island is completely new and Ben is forced to reestablish what actions and behaviors are going to pay off in this environment; ironically enough, I think that the distance from Nublar is good for him - Nublar was also the environment where he got traumatized, personally I think that the island could, to some extent, prevent him from healing. And ofc, season 5 - Ben shows clear signs that he is going to evolve as a person; he mellows down not because he gets soft in a bad way but because he recognizes that he doesn't always have to be a knife. At the same time, he is not hesitant to strike if the situation calls.

So, now let's take a quick look at Ben in the Chaos Theory trailer. I noticed four traits that we can spot in that short clip:

He has that sort of shy-silly boy charm to him. A subtle mixture of bashfulness ("hey Darius," his voice is amused but he also sounds a bit apologetic). That is something that especially shines through his character in season 1

When he needs to be serious - he is ("Someone is hunting us"). This is such Ben-thing to do, especially in season 4 and season 5 Ben – when he is learning how to distinguish between a real danger and something that doesn't require setting the world on fire.

He gets slightly panicky sometimes ("before it's too late!") which is a fantastic news because trauma really messed up Ben's sense of danger and it's just good to knows that he feels fear like a normal person (yes, when someone is hunting you for sport, I guess everyone would be a little bit panicky)

From what I can tell - when the situation calls he does display signs of recklessness - notice how he's driving the car. Notice how Darius is visibly not impressed with Ben behind the wheel. Now, sure we can't tell whether someone (something?) is chasing them at that exact moment but either way - it seems that Ben is in a hurry and, excuse me but, he does not give a flying fck about safety on the road (which is! funny considering how he was driving the gyrosphere in season 1)

So yeah, overall, I think that we are going to get a nice continuation of Ben's character arc in Chaos Theory. I certainly hope so because watching Ben grow as a person was one of my favorite aspects of Camp Cretaceous!

Ah, and also... I really hope that at some point in Chaos Theory Ben will do something unhinged out of nowhere and the rest of the campers (because we will see all of them - I don't doubt that) will look at each other, nod, and say "ah, yes, that's our Ben"

[nyoomfruits]

So this is slightly on the edge of a director’s cut question, but the dynamic between charles and max in where I am going is absolutely hilarious (as with most things yours, everything that goes on in the background is at least as entertaining as the main story). Do they ever get anywhere or is it going to go on like that for a while for them?

Additional question: favourite background plot/thing?

FUNNY STORY i actually started writing the lestappen sequel. it's on hold now while i work on the summer fic but here's a snippet:

The bell above the door tinkles softly as Charles pushes his way inside Max and Daniel’s café. Behind him, a watery sun is illuminating the still wet pavement, a tentative promise that maybe, just maybe the first real summer days are finally here.

“Charlie boy!” Daniel hollers, from where he’s leaning against the coffee machine behind the counter. “My man! You’re early.”

“Meeting with Lando,” Charles says, leaning over the counter to bump his fist against Daniel’s outstretched one, trying not too obviously look around. “Is uh, Max in?” He glances at the kitchen doors as he says it, the little round windows in the double swinging doors too small for him to see anything through.

Daniel grins knowingly at him. “He’s doing something with sauces, I think. Hey, do you want to try my newest coffee creation?”

Charles hums, still trying to get a peek through the door. Sauces means stove, and stove means he’s on the left side, so if Charles moves a little bit to the right he should be able to-

“Wonderful!” Daniel says, gleefully pushing his way off the coffee maker. “I’ve been working on my breakfast series, you see. After the success of the English Breakfast Latte and the Omelet Frappuchino it is time for my next star,” he continues, fiddling with the piston before moving on to the blender. “The Iced Avocado Toast Coffee.”

There. There’s a movement through the little window, a flash of white that might actually be Max’s chef jacket, or maybe a tea towel he just slung over his shoulder, but he’s there. “Ah,” Charles says, rather noncommittally. “Interesting.”

“Right? Avocado coffee is already a thing in Vietnam, so it was kind of easy to adapt,” Daniel says, before whirring the blender to life with the flick of a switch. “Now the toast part is kind of the difficult thing. Same as the English Breakfast Latte I’m using a heavily roasted coffee bean to simulate that kind of toasted mouth feel of, well, toast, but I feel like I’m not pushing it enough yet, you know?”

“Oh for sure,” Charles says. At that moment, three things happen at once. The bell above the door tinkles softly again, Daniel puts a finished glass of iced coffee in front of him, and Max takes a step back, finally appearing in full view of the tiny swinging door window.

It’s unfair, really, how Max still manages to steal Charles’s breath away a little, even after all these years. His back is mostly turned towards the door, but Charles can see his side profile, his brows frowning in concentration, the downward tilt of his mouth as he considers something that’s just out of view. Charles wishes things were different, that he could just wander in through the swinging doors, kiss the corner of Max’s mouth, the crease between his eyebrows, until he was no longer frowning but laughing instead.

But he can’t do that. And he won’t do that. And so instead he watches mournfully as Max steps out of view again, gets back to work.

[flyingwargle]

sunaosa week day 7: past / future

suna stands in the center of his living room, hands on his hips, surrounded by boxes. after a long and successful volleyball career, it’s time for him to hang up his court shoes, fold the compression sleeves, and frame the jerseys. his retirement press conference went without a hitch, and so did his farewell party with ejp. all that’s left is to pack up his apartment, and move everything to his new home with his husband in hyogo.

it's the start of a new chapter.

osamu is in the kitchen, carefully wrapping the glassware in newspaper and old copies of volleyball monthly. he straightens to stretch his back, suna watching out of the corner of his eye. “everything good over there?” he asks.

“yeah. where are ya gonna donate these?”

“probably the nearby restaurants. “i’ll bring the cups to ejp.” they were always short on coffee mugs in the lounge, and most of his are in good condition. “washio said he’ll take the pots and pans, komori will take the air fryer, and nagito wants the blender.” osamu insisted they’ll buy everything new for their kitchen, which is why most of it is being pawned off.

“i put the pots’n’pans in a box fer him. he can just take it whenever.”

suna nods, then surveys the living room. they’re taking his tv, but donating the coffee table, couch, porch chairs, and shelves. the books and pictures are already packed, accolades safely wrapped and sealed. the bathroom is packed too, towels tossed with his clothes, toiletries spent. all that’s left is his bedroom.

it’s surprisingly cluttered, despite how little he brought with him. leading up to his retirement, he donated most of his training gear, along with clothes that no longer fit. he prepares a box and starts going through his desk drawers, filled with old receipts, invoices, contracts, and documents. osamu joins him, recycling bin in hand. “thought ya might need this.”

“thanks.” suna inspects each piece of paper before tossing it, just in case. osamu continues to pack the clothes in another box, an effort that suna abandoned halfway for a change of pace. they work quietly, until–

“hey, rin. look at this.”

suna turns around. osamu has a wrinkled envelope in hand, his name addressed on the front. it’s sealed shut, so he fetches a pair of scissors from the kitchen to slice it open. “did ya write me a love letter at one point?”

“actually…”

inside are three folded pieces of paper. osamu stares at the first page – specifically, the date. “ya wrote this…five years ago?”

he nods, joining him on the floor. “yeah.”

“were ya gonna send it ta me, or…”

“i was, but…well, you know what happened.” although many of their friends call them high school sweethearts, they broke up when they were 21, were exes for three years, and then got back together on new year’s on the cusp of the fourth. the reasons for their separation sound amateurish now – they couldn’t handle the distance, they were chasing parallel dreams, they couldn’t, didn’t, wouldn’t make time for each other.

while they were separated, osamu opened three more onigiri miya locations; suna played in the olympics and overseas. osamu won awards for his food and service; suna became sponsored by top brands and corporations. osamu starred in documentaries and television shows; suna was featured in interviews and press conferences.

when they met again during the new year’s party organized by inarizaki alumni, both agreed that it made sense to try again, now that they were older, smarter, better. it led to an engagement. it led to marriage. it led to this.

a life together, walking down a singular path.

“i was in chicago, i think. i felt homesick after eating at a japanese restaurant because their onigiri…reminded me of you.” suna’s arm snakes around osamu’s waist, resting his head on his shoulder to read his own writing, shaky kanji after years of writing mostly english. “i missed you, but i couldn’t tell you, so i…wrote you a letter.”

he remembers that night vividly. his teammates took him there for his birthday, where all the dishes were recipes passed down through the owner’s family. as he ate, all he could think about was home, but what came to mind wasn’t aichi, hyogo, nor shizuoka. instead, it was osamu.

osamu, who would video call him for hours while working in the kitchen. osamu, who would reply to his memes or shitposts with equally cursed content. osamu, who would sleep shirtless so he could absorb suna’s body heat, even in the middle of winter.

when home is a person that you can’t have, what does home become?

osamu flips to the second page. the kanji is messier, strokes uneven, with increasing amounts of hiragana to substitute the characters that suna couldn’t remember how to write. he is quiet, eyes traveling across the lines, pensive. then, he reaches the last page, which only contains a few lines.

when i’m with you, i feel timeless, because my love for you is infinite, no matter the distance or time. i used to fear what the life without volleyball would look like, but i’m not afraid anymore, because i know that it’ll always be with you.

“rin.” a hand finds his, the slim silver band digging into his skin. suna looks into osamu’s eyes, the same as he did on their wedding day, and sees nothing but love in its depths, an endless pool constructed of memories between them, from the first day they met at inarizaki, to now, sitting on his floor among boxes, packing a past to bring into the future.

“i never told ya, but in all those years…i never stopped lovin’ ya, either.” his voice rumbles deep and tight, the telltale sign that he’s holding back tears. “i knew why we had ta do it, but…if i were more selfish, i woulda asked ta keep tryin’, an’ tryin’, an tryin’. yer worth all my effort.”

“i wish we were both more selfish,” suna murmurs. “but look. we made it.” he puts their hands together, matching bands gleaming in the light. “you’re a successful business owner. i had the best volleyball run of my life. and now, we have each other. we’ll always have each other.”

the letter falls as they kiss, enveloped in one another’s warmth. there is one part of the writing where the ink is smudged, paper slightly wrinkled, relics of tears shed for a lost love, now a witness to a love that is eternal, that will light their way through the unknown, that will guide them to a new life.

together.

[perfectsunlight]

(𝟗) - 𝐚 𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐞?

𝗮𝗲𝗿𝗶 𝘂𝗰𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗴𝗮 𝘅 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗿, 𝗵𝘂𝗵 𝘆𝘂𝗻𝗷𝗶𝗻 𝘅 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗿

part of the series: best friends

warnings: none

word count: 2,339

“holy shit, jen.” the beauty blender you were using was doing its best to blend the concealer on your collarbone. however, it could only do so much considering your skin was now several tones darker than it was before. the american only shot you a sheepish smile, rubbing the back of her neck as she sat up from the couch. “sorry, i got a little carried away.”

“how am i supposed to hide these?” you whispered, glaring in her direction before you just gave up. “jen, you’ve never left marks like this before,” yunjin only shrugged at your accusation, only flashing you another feigned innocent smile. your eyes rolled before you continued. “and you decide to leave them while we’re here of all places.”

“it’s a good thing we performed already.” she pointed out, her gaze remaining on the patterns of crimson that decorated your entire chest and neck. there were definitely more on you than there were on her, mostly because yunjin can only restrain herself for so long. and if you were being quite honest, yunjin didn’t hold anything back this time.

“y/n!” 

your head spun in the direction of the door, causing yunjin to immediately panic at the recognition of whos voice it was. 

a string of hushed curses fell from your mouth while you just grabbed yunjin’s suit jacket from the performance earlier to cover yourself. you were already dressed, but your collarbone and chest were very exposed without the jacket, making the marks anything but hidden.

the door handle rattled, but fortunately for you and yunjin, you remembered to lock it before anything had gone down. your fingertips unlocked the door, and there you stood face to face with your best friend. 

the rapper’s eyes narrowed, eyeing both you and yunjin suspiciously before she spoke. “what took you two so long?” she playfully teased, but you saw a glint of something flashing in her eyes. except, you couldn’t quite put your finger on it. 

yunjin would have made her way over from the couch, but she realized she would rather not be burned alive by the aespa member who definitely had her suspicions about something if she came all the way backstage.

“we were just relaxing and talking about the performance,” you answered as naturally as you could, and you assumed you had gotten out of the woods since aeri didn’t ask any further questions.

 “anyway,” you smiled up at your best friend. “what are you doing all the way back here?” if you weren’t lying, she looked a little hesitant, which was an odd look for someone of her confidence. the aespa member never looked hesitant. it wasn’t like her to be timid or to shy away from her words and feelings. however, somehow the sight of yunjin in the previously locked room with you made something snap in her.

aeri took one last glance into the room at yunjin before looking back at you with a smirk. “i’m here to take you out on a date, y/n.” your eyes widened, and your jaw dropped. internally, you were exploding with numerous different emotions while simultaneously screaming into the void.

although your back was facing her, yunjin had to stop herself from sitting up the moment giselle spoke. she didn’t want to look suspicious at all, the last thing she needed was a fight with the japanese girl. and the last thing you needed was a ruined date apparently.

“a date?” you managed to squeak out, earning a chuckle from your best friend. aeri leaned against the doorframe, looking down at you with a simple smile. “yes, a date. i made us dinner reservations for,” she lifted her wrist to look at her pretend watch. “an hour from now, so we should go now.” 

how you didn’t go into cardiac arrest was beyond your understanding, but somehow you managed to nod in acknowledgement. “let me grab my phone,” you quickly said before turning back into the room. “jen-jen, have you seen my phone?” you asked, pacing around the room as quickly as possible, scanning every countertop as you went.

yunjin sat up at the call of her name before reaching under one of the pillows and handing you your phone. you walked over and gave her a grateful smile, but just before you grabbed it, she pulled it out of your reach. the american laughed at your visible frustration before actually handing it to you.

“good luck,” she mouthed before making a kissy face. your eyes rolled for what seemed like the tenth time that hour before you made your way back over to the rapper who was waiting in the doorway.

“what was that?” giselle inquired, scoffing lightly at the faint blush on your face. “just yunjin being yunjin,” you muttered before closing the door behind you. once the door was shut, the rapper pulled you in by your waist before pressing a gentle kiss to your forehead. you were very confused as to why she was being so affectionate all of a sudden, and was even asking you on a date. maybe things were looking up finally for you two?

you instinctively relaxed once the rapper’s lips kissed your forehead. her familiar scent of wood sage filling your senses. “you did really, really well up there.” she whispered, rocking you gently against her body. “thanks, gigi.” you mumbled into the crook of her neck.

“come on,” she pulled away and led you by your hand down the hall. “we can’t be late for our first date, can we?”

aeri managed to borrow somi’s mercedes for the occasion, and during the entire drive she insisted on keeping her hand on your thigh. it wasn’t in any suggestive way (which was another rare occurrence considering the nature of your relationship) and you’d be lying if you said you weren’t enjoying yourself so far. 

the two of you arrived at the restaurant, and you were thoroughly impressed at how aeri managed to get a reservation this late. then again, you two were idols, so it wasn’t too unbelievable. 

she actually blindfolded you once you got out of the car, and insisted on leading you to the designated area because she didn’t want to ruin your “surprise.” 

“okay okay are you sure you can’t see?” she asked, adjusting the blindfold for what seemed like the 10th time. “aeri,” you chuckled, admiring at how determined she seemed for this to go right. “sorry,” she apologized sheepishly before finally leading you up what seemed like some stairs. you walked a little further before she eventually stopped you.

your ears picked up on her moving behind you, and then you felt her hands gently undoing the blindfold. once your vision was restored, your breath hitched in your throat at the sight before you.

she had brought you onto the balcony of the restaurant where a table was set and decorated beautifully. there were fairy lights strung across the rafters, and flower petals adorning the white tablecloth. candles were lit across the floor, painting the otherwise dark night with soft hues of yellow. 

the best part was the view. it somehow managed to take the rest of the air from out of your lungs at the sight of the ocean that your table overlooked. even though it was late at night, you could still clearly see the waves crashing against the shoreline.

“aeri,” you whispered as she hugged you from behind. the rapper’s smile could be felt against the back of your head. due to the close proximity, you could feel her heartbeat hammering against her chest. she was nervous, but also filled with excitement. she had been planning this for a little while, and she clearly put lots of effort into this date.

she wanted to make sure the occasion was perfect, because that’s what you were in her eyes: perfect.

“do you like it?” she whispered softly, her signature smile never leaving her face, even when you turned around in her arms. “i love it, aeri.” you grinned at her, wrapping your arms around her shoulders while her hands rested on your waist. 

she had actually the owners of the restaurant set this up right before they closed, which was why no one was there. which was also a huge part of the other surprise that she had. 

“come on,” she led you by the hand once more. “let me make you dinner.”

your eyes widened comically at her statement. “you? cooking?” you gave her a teasing smile, “are you sure it would be edible?”

giselle’s mouth fell open as she turned around to playfully scowl at you. “i can cook very well, excuse you. besides, its your favorite alfredo, how could i mess that up?”

a faint blush painted your cheeks while butterflies fluttered in your stomach. “you remembered that?” 

aeri’s eyes softened as you two entered the restaurant’s kitchen, “of course i remembered, y/n.”

she let go of your hand and rolled her sleeves up. she had changed out of her stage outfit before you two left, and she had on a pair of black cargos paired with a hoodie that were now covered by an apron she found.

“let me help,” you whined, earning a quick shake of her head. “no,” giselle grinned and began pulling out a few bowls and ingredients. “i’m treating you for our first date, you can treat me for our next one.”

heat rushed to your face as you stumbled over your words, trying to find a way to respond to that. a first date with aeri was already a dream come true, but a second date? it was too much to think about right then and there.

“i’ll help you grab ingredients at least,” you smiled before moving towards the fridge. the rapper groaned in protest, but she couldn’t stop you now that her hands were busy. “fine, but that’s all.” 

“sing something for me, y/n/n.” 

the request caught you off guard, and you almost dropped the can of sauce on your foot. “sing? like a song?” 

aeri let out a laugh, “obviously, what else would you sing? the declaration of independence?” 

the comment made you laugh along with her. her wittiness was unmatchable sometimes, but it was always something you adored about her. “aeri, you’re japanese, not american.” 

“i still learned about the declaration of independence in school, honey.” she replied with a slight scoff, “and before you say anything, yes i did do well in history, because i already know you’re going to bring up my math grades.”

the memory of you two bickering over how to solve a 3rd grader’s math problem sent you into a fit of laughter. “hey, maybe i should really help you now since your counting is questionable.”

you teased while you took yunjin’s jacket off and threw it onto a nearby counter. your back turned to the rapper while you struggled to tie the apron. a pair of hands snaked around your waist, and a soft voice in your ear.

“let me help you,” she whispered as she pulled you closer to tie the apron for you. “thank you,” you mumbled, a soft blush forming on your face once more at the tender action. her chin rested on your shoulder while she breathed in your scent. 

“you smell different,” she muttered, seeming annoyed that you didn’t smell like you usually did. “its probably because of yunjin’s jacket,” you replied, motioning over to it on the counter. aeri hummed in response. 

“i don't like it.” 

your eyebrows raised, head turning in her direction to look at her better. “i can’t control someone else’s scents, gigi.” you snickered, which made her groan. “well, i don’t like her either.”

oh? this was different

“who? yunjin?” you snickered and caressed her cheek softly. “she’s just a good friend. besides,” aeri looked up to meet your eyes finally. “i’m on a date with you, not her.”

the notion brought a smile to her face and she pulled you in for a sincere kiss. she wanted to wait to kiss you properly later, but she couldn’t help herself anymore. you had to pull away before things got too heated. 

“now,” you smiled brightly and moved back towards the counter. “let’s make dinner, im starving.”

-

dinner was ready in roughly 40 minutes, which you found astonishing considering the fact that aeri kept almost dropping half of the ingredients. “finally, we can eat!” she shouted as she took her apron off and set it on the hook. “allow me,” she teased while she gently undid the knot she made on yours earlier. “thank you, aeri.” you giggled before turning to place it back where you found it.

the silence made you assume that aeri had gone to put the plates of food outside, and you hummed quietly to yourself while you walked back to the fridge to find something to drink for the both of you. 

“hey, where do they keep the,” you called over your shoulder, but stopped midway when you saw the rapper standing beside you. “oh, i thought you were still outside. do you know where the soju is?”

your brows furrowed at her tense state, not understanding why she suddenly went quiiet. “aeri?” you waved your hand in front of her face as you tried to get her attention.

“y/n,” she whispered, and you looked up at her in confusion. “yes?” 

the rapper swallowed loud enough for you to hear, and you couldn’t help but feel like a sudden tension had filled the room. did she forget something in the pasta? or maybe she realized she locked the keys in the car again. somi would definitely kill her, and you as well, for that. 

after what seemed like an eternity, your best friend finally broke the silence that loomed for quite sometime. she motioned with her chin towards you, eyes darkened with an emotion you had never seen on her before. it scared you, honestly.

“what’s on your neck?’

-

a/n: MWAH

[jbbartram-illu]

Hey hi hello!

I’m a big fan of your work, I bought a small raven witch from you, which I love and cherish, and I was wondering if I could ask you what kind of tools you’re using for your sgraffito?

I’m getting back into ceramics myself, and I just got a little jackalope cup back from the kiln, where I tried to sgraffito détails in my slip, but the cobalt was meltier than I anticipated and it covered most of them. I think I need to work on my application, but also that a thicker line might help, and I was wondering what you were using?

You can check my stuffs at @unnamedartist-portfolio if you want, and if you have any advice, I would be so honored to hear them!

Hope you have a fantastic day! :)

Hello @iam-adreamwalker! My apologies for taking 500yrs to reply to this - I've only just now found the time to take some better photos of my sgraffito gear.

These are basically all of my sgraffito tools, but you definitely don't need this many (I just have a pottery-tool-buying PROBLEM). My core tools are the ones to the left - the two pointy sticks & the two carve-y guys. Both of the wire loop tools are by Kemper, and I'm not 100% sure the brands of the sticks. The colourful set is from Xiem and is nice if you're doing a ton of sgraffito work, because it offers so many options for carving! I especially like the round-loop tools for carving feathers.

Here are some close-ups of my main tool gang:

I especially like the darker-brown stick tool because its point is slightly rounded, making it easier to scrape the slip off the surface of the clay vs. just making a deeper line that won't be as dramatic (more on technique later!).

Speaking of rounded-tip tools, I just realized I forgot my other favourite, a core tool that could replace the lighter-wood pointy stick in my Most Important Sgraffito Tools ranking - the ball-ended, double-sided stylus! This thing is a tiny powerhouse and, like the more rounded point on the dark-wood stick, it gently draws the slip off the clay rather than gouging:

Next up, slip! I'm not sure what you were using as your colour layer, because you mentioned that it ran/moved on the surface of the clay, which my stained slip doesn't do. Did you mix glaze into the slip? Or were you working with a powered pigment?

When I'm making coloured slip, I use a powdered pigment called Mason Stain, which can be used to dye slip, clay, and clear glaze bases (eg. to make translucent celadon glazes). I use a couple different brands, but it's all called Mason Stain.

If you're a sensible person you can find proper recipes for mixing the slip and the stain, but I honestly go by how it looks - I add it to the slip a few spoonfuls at a time, mix, and see how pigmented the slip looks. If you want to really make sure the pigment is well-mixed you can get a stick blender from a thrift store or attach a mixing head onto an electric drill (something I'd like to upgrade to as the stick blender is SUPER messy & hard to clean out), but I mostly just mix it really well with a stir stick.

Once it's mixed, I keep my slips in these little self-sealing glass containers from IKEA, which stop it from drying out too fast (I tried keeping slip in regular jars & it turned into a rock...you definitely need a container with a rubber seal on it!). You'll still need to add water here & there, but it can sit for weeks without too much concern.

My slip is a little thick & gloopy, so I usually brush two layers of slip onto the leather-hard sculpture, letting each dry before I put on the next coat, and I let it dry until it's no longer at all tacky before I start carving (otherwise things WILL smudge and it WILL be terribly messy.

Finally, technique! I did take a look at your blog & the sgraffito project you mentioned & one thing I noticed was that your scratch marks were very deep and didn't reveal much clay under the scratched-away slip. This is an easy thing to have happen, especially if your slip/clay/both are still too wet or you're putting too much pressure on the carving tool.

My best tips for remedying this are:

Make sure the slip isn't at all tacky to the touch & that the clay underneath is leather hard.

Go very gently at first! It doesn't take much to scratch the slip away and you can always come back and take away more slip/make your carving area deeper if you want to, but you can't put the clay back!

Use the carving tools at an angle to the clay (somewhere around 45º ish, this is not a hard science), not perpendicular to it - this will stop you from stabbing straight down instead of scraping. If you've ever done linocut prints, think of the angle you hold the linocut tool at - sgraffito is generally a pulling-towards motion vs. a pushing away one for lino, but the angle is important either way!

Having even just a small variety of tools (eg. my core 4-5 as shown above) will also help, as you'll have options for line-weight/how much slip a tool takes off.

Phew! I sort of got carried away there, but I hope this was helpful?? If you have any more questions (or if anyone else does), please don't hesitate to ask! I'm still planning on making a proper sgraffito tutorial/series of tutorials, but need to find the time for all the filming/editing that requires.

[bryce-bucher]

.50 Caliber 3D Platformer Post #5

(Flashing Lights Warning near the bottom of the post)

UI UI UI UI UI:

I've been working on UI mostly the past couple of weeks. It has been, as usual, both very cool & fun but also hell and evil. To be more specific, I really like designing the visual aspect of UI, but implementing it is always so horribly tedious and boring that it is really hard for me to focus on doing it. Without fail, I always end up getting UI done very slowly because of this. I am really happy with what I've got so far though, and it has brought me one step closer to getting to the point where I can just start hashing out levels.

Making the Health UI:

The health UI was something I was extremely excited about implementing, so I eagerly decided to decide that it was time to make it. Let me step u through the process 4 fun.

For me, it always starts with sketching out something crudely in pen. I've had this sketch done for months now, so it was p cool to see it finally come to life in game.

Next I hopped into blender and began trying to make some kind of cool y2k-era greebled out shape, but making detailed machinery (or details in general) is not my strongsuit, so I ended up with this kinda neat smooth shape that I wasn't entirely happy with. It looked cool, but I really wanted to challenge myself to make something closer to the windows media player skins I was inspired by.

More Specifically, I referenced this Half-Life 2 windows media player skin heavily, and started with a ring that I could build little pieces and wires off of. I hope u can forgive me if I maybe made it too similar lol, but I tried to get creative and put my own spin on it. I think the shapes on the top left are the most similar to my reference, and those are not-so-coincidentally the first bits that I modeled. This is my first time modeling something in this style, and I suspect that I'll get better at it if & when I do it again.

Finally, I slapped some materials on, made a texture for one of the faces I had sketched out, and rendered out a few frames of it gently(ish) flashing. I then went into affinity photo and made little speedometer components to slot into the small circle in the top right and programmed some functionality to it. The plan is to have the face represent the player's current health, so I am going to need to make a few more and then animate it rotating into a different face. But yeah, I am super happy with it, and I think it is lookin p sick!

Other Stuff What I Made:

Other than the health UI, I also added in functionality and UI for completing a level and selecting a level.

I was very much inspired by killer7 for the sequence that plays when you shoot your target, and I am addicted to intense flashing lights, so I included a lot of that. There are already accessibility options to turn that off, so if it's something that could harm u or if you just hate it (coward????!!!11) you can disable them. I've always found intense effects like that very cathartic, so I'm probably gonna include similar visuals in a few different things I make. That being said, I do also always want to make the alternative visuals (when the accessibility options are enabled) to also be cool af and get the point across. The level select screen was also really fun to make, I basically just slapped together some textures of warn-out paper into a little files situation and placed that on top of an abstract background that I made in jwildfire.

Conclusion:

I have honestly really loved working on this so far, but there has been a lot of anxiety about money in my life lately, so I really do hope to get this out in a reasonable time. I feel like I say that a lot about this game, but it is because it's always on my mind unfortunately. I don't want to make it sound like I am making this game entirely for money or w/e though, it is definitely a labor of love. Anyways, I hope to get to a point where I can get some environment art done soon, and I cannot wait to show off whatever this game is gonna look like. Have a nice day every1!

[plaguedoctormemes]

drop the chicken paprikash resippy 👀

caveat: I don’t use a lot a measurements and just use my eye/intuition/taste buds a lot, so if you need specific measurements you’ll probably be better off following a dedicated recipe online or comparing them to mine. Also, my recipe is by no means traditional as I am just a latino dude living in the southwest and i’m Not Hungarian in any way, and this is a riff off of my mom’s dish rather than the traditional dish itself. I also like to be really descriptive so there’s a lot of steps but this recipe is, in reality, mega easy lol. Okay-

This dish contains dairy. You can try dairy-free sour cream but I’ve never tried it. Lactose-free sour cream is a perfectly fine substitute though!

(Serves 4)

Cookery:

- a large pot big enough to line thighs on the bottom

- A wooden spoon or spatula to stir with, and tongs or something to take out the chicken with.

Ingredients:

- Chicken thighs with skins on (i really do not recommend skinless or substituting for breasts at all) enough for 1 or 2 per person

- 1 white or sweet yellow onion

- 3-4 cloves of garlic

- 5 large carrots, or two handfuls of baby carrots.

- 3 Russet Potatoes

- Sour cream (you can use 8 oz, i like to use 16oz because i always use a little more than half)

- Chicken broth (at least 4 cups, I used almost a whole 32 oz carton.)

- Any neutral oil (for frying), olive oil is ok though

- Salt and pepper

- Paprika (If you can get hungarian paprika that’s preferred, but otherwise dont sweat it. The dish is called Paprikash so make sure you have plenty)

- Cayenne pepper

- Dried red pepper strips (I happened to have a bag of them from Trader Joes. This is kinda optional but i liked it so much that i recommend it.)

Optional Ingredients:

- Any other vegetable you want (corn, peas, green beans or diced fresh bell pepper would be good!)

- Tony Chachere’s cajun seasoning (for seasoning the chicken, i put this shit in everything tbh)

- Parsley (for color)

Directions:

1. Season thighs liberally with salt, pepper (and tony chachere’s seasoning if available), allow to sit for 30 minutes or while you chop veggies.

2. Pre-cook the potatoes partway by using a microwave, oven, or cubing and boiling in water until almost done. I used a microwave since it’s much faster.

3. While potatoes are cooking, slice onion horizontally (into rings) or vertically (into strips), whichever you’d prefer. Slice large carrots into 1/2 cm coins or baby carrots in half. Smash and mince your garlic.

5. Blend entire bag of dried red pepper. It seems like a lot, but it’s not since peppers are mostly air now. If you don’t have a blender, use a mortar and pestle or put into a bag and smash the fuck out of those guys until theyre a powder. It’s okay if it’s not super duper fine. If you dont have dried red pepper, skip this step.

6. Whenever your potatoes are half done, take them out of whatever vessel you chose and carefully cut into large cubes (theyre probably really hot!)

7. At med-high heat, add a couple tablespoons of oil to your pot, enough to coat the bottom. Add your thighs skin side DOWN so that theyre in direct contact with the bottom. Allow the thighs’ fat to render out and the skin to brown a bit. It should take about 6 minutes. If the skin hasnt taken on a lot of color yet, that’s ok- allow a few more minutes and then flip the thighs. Allow the bottoms to cook for another 5 minutes in the rendered fat then remove.

8. Now put in your carrots, garlic, and onion in the pan to cook in the rendered chicken fat. Scrape whatever yummy brown fond has built on the bottom. Don’t sweat about scraping it all up, as youll get most of it later. Cook until carrots are softened but still a little firm and onions are starting to turn translucent.

9. Add your cubed potatoes in with the other vegetables, give them a toss, and take off of the heat so you can add the seasonings- papricka scorches easily. Most recipes use ~3tbs, I swear I always use more like 4. Also add in your powdered red pepper here, as well as 1 tbs of cayenne some more salt and pepper. Mix everything and bring back to the heat, which you will reduce to Medium.

10. Pour in your chicken broth, enough to submerge all of the vegetables. Add about 3 generous spoonfuls of sour cream, mixing it in so that the soup is now a creamy, luscious gravy. It’s important to not have the pot much hotter than Medium so that the sour cream doesnt curdle. This is a good time to do some extra fond-scraping if you couldnt get a lot earlier! The potatoes may soften and deteriorate, and that’s fine.

11. Re-place the thighs back into the pot as well, making sure theyre covered in the gravy. If the liquid doesnt cover the thighs, add some more chicken broth and sour cream until it does.

12. Chop up or tear up a handful of parsley and add.

13. Cover pot with a lid and allow everything to come back to a boil. Let everything mingle together for about 15-20 minutes, stirring occasionally. This will re-heat the thighs and finish cooking them. You can also taste the gravy for salt and adjust accordingly. This is also a good time to add some frozen corn, peas and stuff if desired.

And that’s it! You can serve this on top of egg noodles as well since thats pretty traditional, but the thighs and veggies alone with the gravy makes for a very savory and hearty dinner. Make sure you add another ladle-full of gravy on top.

This dish will result in something that sort of resembles a stew with a bright vibrant reddish zesty and creamy gravy, tender vegetables and juicy, tender chicken. The gravy should be chickeny, savory, and delightfully creamy. Paprika is already powdered red pepper, but I feel like adding just normal powdered paprika and then the freshly blended dried red pepper adds an additional fresh, sweet richness to the sauce. Thighs still have the bone in it, so i usually eat this dish with a fork and use my fingers to carefully tear the meat off the bone, and then just pick up the bone once it’s cooled off a little and gnaw on the rest of the meat and the softened cartilage.

My partner and friends really liked it. Next time we’re going to add some chipotle or southwestern red chile to it for some more spice and smokiness to try out.

[mercymaker]

So what is a 3D render compared to digital photography? I'm so curious about this medium.

I'm not sure I can entirely explain it in technical terms, but essentially...

Digital photography is like taking a camera, walking into a room and snapping photos, right? Of course, there's much more that goes into that than just that, you can spend a lot of time finding angles, trying to find certain poses, but it's all sort of... working in a sandbox that's already there, with pre-posed models and a pre-made world setting. The downside of digital photography is that you don't really have a lot of control of the environment, you're only really capturing what's already there (that can be somewhat influenced through mods in video games, but still).

Unlike digital photography, with 3D renders you start by 3D modeling the entire thing yourself. The models, the setting, the lighting, the camera position. It's a lot more work than playing in the sandbox of a game, because you are essentially creating the whole thing from scratch (not entirely, as most 3D artists rely on assets as well, but using them requires knowledge of 3D programs!).

For example, I am currently working on a render idea for a shot from one of my fics. I already have the nude models from my previous renders, but for this I want them to wear different outfits than before. So I need to extract meshes and textures from the game and "attach" them to the existing models. Then I'd need to pose those models to my liking (which can take A LOT of time), then you'd need to do the same with the setting. Find meshes for the objects you want to use, extract them, import them to blender and then 'dress' them using textures and shaders. And then the light, and the camera position. And that's not even touching on hours upon hours one can spend troubleshooting something (like textures not working, or having missing parts, or trying to figure out how to apply a certain effect, like putting dirt or blood on the model, etc.).

And then where with digital photography you capture the image with one click of a button and it's done, in 3D art you have to render the image, which is basically turning a 3D environment into a 2D image. And that, depending on your computer, can take anywhere from a couple of hours to days to weeks (the last is mostly with animation).

So yeah, it's a much more involved and complicated process that takes a lot of time and effort, but the ultimate advantage of 3D renders compared to virtual photography is the freedom you have. You can make pretty much anything that's on your mind happen with enough time and effort. You are not limited by the pre-built scenarios and poses, you can pretty much do whatever you wish. The problem is building all that from essentially scratch.

Hope that explains it well enough to see the difference between the two?

If you want a deeper look at all the little aspects that result in a 3D render, I can't recommend this blender tutorial that shows off and explains the process behind everything. I started learning blender by just following along and building on from there!

[hunterwritesstuff]

Same anon who requested the linzer fic and it was so cute I adored it!!! Should make an anon name for myself....snow anon maybe? Or maybe something else? Idk! Btw saw your introduction post and I'm also autistic so I understand need for detailing and I usually try to pack detail into something unless my brain battery is low lol! But for now...I got another request for ya!

Autistic female reader x Shining glitter and I got 3 scenarios cooked up! I'll let you choose or maybe we can do multiple in seprate requests if you end up wanting to do more than one and I can request it again or idk...sorry if this is weird to offer, i just find em all cute....all are possible things Shining glitter comes home to when they come back from a tour that they don't take y/n on because they know y/n would probably get overwhelmed:

1. Shining glitter coming back from a tour to find that y/n stayed up late to welcome her home and is very drowsy so Shining glitter has to put them to bed despite y/n wanting to welcome them home with some time to spend together...maybe Shining glitter has to sing them to sleep in order for them to be unable to fight the eepiness anymore!

2. Shining glitter comes home to y/n greeting them like an excited puppy, happily stimming and rushing at them with hugs and cute couple stuff ensues...maybe involving Shining glitter singing to calm y/n down if they think y/n is getting a little over excited since their singing always calms them down.

3. Shining glitter surprises y/n by coming home earlier than they expected and surprising y/n with their favorite food, favorite board/card/video game set up, and just watches as y/n comes out from their room to see the surprise! Happy stims ensues and happy girlfriends have fun together!

Hope you like these and have fun!

Of course! Snow anon totally works! Gonna throw these into a blender and make something outta it, hope that's okay! :D

You sat on the couch, having put the dinner you cooked in the microwave as you waited tiredly. Your girlfriend was coming home, so you wanted her to have a warm welcome! She'd been gone a while, so you wanted to make sure she felt welcomed!

You almost started to doze off before you perked up, hearing the sound of a pair of familiar keys turning in the door's lock. The door opened and your girlfriend stepped in. "Honey, I'm-" She was cut off as you tackle-hugged her.

"Oh! Hello! How long have you been waiting for me, love?" She asked, laughing softly.

"Since you texted!" You smiled tiredly. The smell of dinner wafted through your shared apartment and Shining Glitter Cookie sighed in relief.

"Mmm....something smells good...what'd ya make?" She asked, picking you up and carrying you into the dining room with her.

"Your favorite! Hot Jelly Stew with bubbly boba to drink!" You smiled. "The food is in the microwave, the drinks are in the fridge!"

Shining Glitter set you down in your typical seat, going to grab your dinner. "Yours is the one without the pearls, I'm guessing?" She asked.

"Mhm, you know me! It's a sensory sensation I can never really handle, ha ha..." She dropped your dinner off, kissing the top of your head.

"That's okay! I know it isn't something everyone can handle!" She giggled. The two of you ate dinner together, occasionally making small talk, which was mostly just you asking how your girlfriend's tour went.

After dinner, she carried you into your shared bedroom, you giggling and basically infodumping about how much you loved your girlfriend's music and how if and when you got married, you wanted to see if the music played could be hers.

Eventually, it got to be bedtime, but you were still going. Shining Glitter loved you, but she wanted sleep, so she just sorta...pulled you under the covers, singing softly to get you to calm down, eventually getting you to calm down enough to fall asleep.

"Goodnight, love~" And she kissed the top of your head, falling asleep with you.

Hope you enjoy! :D

[linagram]

[meet the guard!] guard 003: kuroki hinode

(this was supposed to be posted yesterday but.. i forgor...)

HE'S FINALLY HERE!!! THE THIRD GUARD!!! AND ALSO RIKU'S BIG BROTHER!! LET'S GO!!!

he gets not one but two drawings bc he's a very special little boy (and also bc i feel bad for him since he got introduced late for obvious story purposes but like.. i really need to make more content for him..)

(also fun fact: the first drawing actually was done in july and the second one just a few days ago.. i can actually see some differences in my art style hehe..)

another note is that when i started to work on hinode's character, my first thought was that i kinda wanted to create another physically disabled guard character (since i think eiji can count as the first one because kei's treatment of him had not the best impact on his body), it just sounded like a neat concept! but i also didn't want to make him.. how do i explain.. too sympathetic, maybe? too squishy? what really annoys me as someone who is physically disabled is that characters like that are often used to make people feel bad for them and don't really have any personality OR they turn out to be the bad guys who only pretended to be disabled for pity points. so instead i've tried to make hinode's problems realistic and a lot of it comes from my own experiences, but i still wanted to make him morally gray and kinda.. you know.. kinda suspicious. (you're more than allowed to joke about punching him or putting him in a blender and all that)

General info.

Name: Kuroki Hinode (黒木日出) (his last name means "black" and "tree" and his first name means "sun, day" and "exit, leave". yes, hinode's name has kanji for "day" and riku's name has kanji for "evening".. the parallels <3...)

Age: 22 y/o

Gender: Male

Status: Guard 003

Birthday: January 28 (Aquarius)

Blood type: AB

Height: 179 cm

Occupation: Unemployed

Personality: Hinode isn't as outgoing as his brother, but he still enjoys talking to others, learning more about them and just spending time with other people. However, he's used to being alone, so he won't complain if it's not possible for him to talk to anyone at the moment. It actually might be better for him, since he gets tired quite easily because of his poor health and can't be active for too long. He feels sleepy most of the time, so please don't judge him for suddenly dozing off in the middle of the conversation, even if it's very important. He's not as passionate about justice as the other guards and mostly just wants to do his own thing, not caring about morals too much, but still having enough common sense to punish those who deserve it (in his opinion). He dislikes the physical kind of punishments because he believes that they're too "basic", since pain can easily scare anyone and there's nothing special about it. It's also possible that he doesn't like them because of his own experience with chronic pain, but to be honest, Hinode is lying when he says that he doesn't like to see people in pain. Yes, he believes that pain is the worst thing that could happen to anyone, even worse than death. But also, as someone who has no choice but to spend most of his days in pain.. Maybe he does want to see the prisoners feel the same way as he does. Maybe just a little bit. He still prefers the psychological punishments, finding them more "effective" and "suitable".. mostly because he's too weak to punish anyone physically.

MV info.

His Milgram cover: Him and T1 Naomi are twinning and he'd cover Weakness! The lyrics remind me a lot of him and I think with an instrumental like that it'd be appropriate for Riku's brother to cover it.

His DECO*27 cover: Harinezumi. The lyrics remind me a lot of him in general, him trying to keep up with everyone even though his condition doesn't allow him and him feeling like a burden to others, especially his family, but also being jealous of Riku for being so popular, talented and living his best life (at least it seems so on the outside) ("I can still keep going! Jealousy, what a trifling thing", "Don't you sometimes feel a little dizzy? I'm sighing because I'm tired of my heart pounding", "People know their true forms after being broken and crushed") and also the song describes his dysfunctional relationship with Riku really well as two brothers who are both jealous of each other and who both want something the other has (Riku has friends, popularity, the time and energy to make music, meanwhile Hinode has the family's attention, others helping him and people not judging him for spending the whole day in bed) but who also still love each other and genuinely wish their life could go differently ("I'll embrace you, we won't be parted", "Don't be prickly with me, each time we touch, I throb. If I prick you, you might hate me, well, there's no way that will happen!.. At least, I think", "I'm an attention seeker! I want to be spoiled! I want to melt even more for you!") And also considering that one of them is extremely suicidal and the other one is afraid that his life won't be that long.. ("In the blink of an eye, which of us will die?")

His Non-DECO*27 cover: Waltz by Nashimoto-P. I imagine Hinode having this very soft and quiet voice that almost sounds like a whisper and I feel like it would fit the way Miku is tuned very well! Also the lyrics sound so much like him trying to cope with his condition, his relationship with Riku, other problems and slowly going insane in the process. ("Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, I ask what day is it today, regrettably thinking today will be a good time", "I don't know what's fun, but as I run out of things to do, I will accompany you", "My EKG is a straight line, I wonder how many decades ago") Some lyrics, especially the chorus remind me of the way he acts as a guard too. ("Stop trying to give up, the world is connected. Dance, smile, while you're being controlled. In the beginning, in the end, the details are non-existent. Don't resist, accept it, everything is connected") Also, Riku's T3 song is supposed to be by Nashimoto-P too, so :} They're matching!

His T3 Voice Trailer Voicelines:

"Ah, greetings, prisoners. Um, I apologize for such a late introduction, haha.. My name is Kuroki Hinode and I am the third guard of this prison. Nice to meet you. Starting from today, I'll be replacing Sanada Eiji-san as he's recovering. I hope we all get along. I'm really not the best person for this job, so I apologize if I end up falling asleep in the middle of the interrogation, haha.."

".. What was I supposed to do? I can't even get out of bed right now. If he wants to be saved, then I'm not the one who he should ask for help."

Trivia:

His eyes may not look like it because of the lighting on the first picture, but his eye color is supposed to be gray, meanwhile Riku's eye color is more of a mix of light green and gray.

Hinode's natural hair color is light brown, but a few days before Riku committed his crime, Riku suggested that he dyes Hinode's hair, hoping to make him feel at least a little better. They went with the brightest colors Riku had just for fun and it really did make Hinode smile and he was happy to spend time with his brother like that. In season 2, Riku dyed his hair the same way and noticed the colors only when it was too late, so it's possible that he missed his brother and did that subconsciously. It should be noted, however, that Riku's T2 hair is light green on the left and red on the right, meanwhile Hinode's hair is light green on the right and his hair is more pink rather than red on the left. Hinode also has a double ahoge just like his little brother and same goes for their little sisters. It's something they all share :)

He started putting his hair in a bun since he arrived because he found working with his hair down uncomfortable. Miki helps him with it now.

Hinode's illnesses aren't deadly, but a lot of them are chronic and dealing with them made Hinode a little bit paranoid and he has a lot of health-related anxiety. His condition is supposed to be mostly up to interpretation, but I can say for sure that he has anemia, narcolepsy and fibromyalgia.

He's the tallest out of all the guards (and that also makes Eiji the shortest). He's also the oldest one.

It's hard for him to walk because of how tired he feels most of the time, so he asked Miki if it's okay to hold her hand when they walk together. After a lot of internal screaming because of Hinode being so cute, Miki agreed. 

His room has everything he needs and he can see the whole prison on multiple screens, watch the interrogation recordings, adjust the brightness of the screens and the room temperature and whoever kidnapped him also somehow learned about all the medications he has to take. He was creeped out by first, but then went "Oh, it's kinda nice actually :)"

Speaking of him arriving to Milgram, he was kidnapped while he was asleep. So before Jackalope brought him his guard uniform, Hinode spent all his time wearing pajamas. He still thinks they're more comfortable than his uniform. (another fun fact is that the first "concept art" of him had him in his pajamas sjskkssl)

He's probably the best character to ask for medical help at the moment, since he does know a lot about things like that, but whether he's able to actually help someone depends on how he's feeling at the moment and what his relationship with that person is like. 

Hinode actually used to play the guitar before his health started to get worse and after he realized he doesn't have the energy to play anymore, he gave it to Riku. Riku still uses his brother's guitar and not counting the ones he got in Milgram, he refuses to get a new one. It also has a bunch of silly drawings on it made by Riku himself, Hinode and their little sisters. 

[calmdownandcook]

Adaptable Quiche

There is no such thing as the “Quiche Police”

Quiche was one of the first things I learned to make when I was 12 years old. My mother had just returned to the workforce and I was learning to cook to help her out. She said a quiche was easy, mostly assembling things rather than actual “cooking”. Over the years this is what I have learned.

The basics of a quiche are pretty simple. As long as your egg-to-dairy-to-filling proportions are consistent, you can do anything you want. Our family’s “norm” was Spinach and Cheese Quiche but I soon realized that you could turn anything you found into quiche filling by peeking into your fridge and cleaning it out.  There is no such thing as the “Quiche Police”. For a 9-inch pie crust, you just mix 5 or 6 eggs and ¾ cup of some kind of dairy liquid or dairy substitute for a base. Then you can go wild with 2 to 2 ½ cups of solid ingredients for flavor and texture. About 1 cup of this is usually cheese but relax, that’s not written in stone. Now all that’s left is the seasoning. You can increase or decrease according to your taste. It can be as simple as salt and pepper. Want to switch onion salt for regular salt? Perfectly acceptable. A couple of dashes of Tabasco? Sure. Now you get it. Go with what flavors you love.

So let’s begin. First, we need some ingredients. You look in the fridge and find some leftover ham from last night's dinner, a bag of shredded cheese you had planned to use for taco night but went out for pizza instead, and some scallions left over from the salad you made for lunch. Now, make a quiche.

Quiche

Preheat the oven to 375°F.

The Base:

1 refrigerated 9-inch pie crust (or homemade if doing that brings you joy)

6 large eggs

¾ cup any kind of milk (or dairy substitute)

The Flavor and Texture: 

1 cup cooked ham chopped 

1 cup shredded cheese (any kind you like best)

¼  cup of sliced green onions (or finely diced onions, any kind)

The Seasoning:

½  teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon black pepper

Let's start with the crust.  We always had a store-bought pie crust in our freezer, ready to go. I still keep them in my freezer, there is no shame in that. Store-bought pie crust has vastly improved over the years and you save more in stress and clean-up than you gain in saying it’s a homemade crust. If you are using the dough that comes in sheets and unfolds, unfold it and press it into a 9" pie plate, crimping the top edges if desired. This can be done by simply pushing the tines of a fork around the edge or the internet will offer many other ways if you want to get more fancy. If you have the kind that comes already crimped in its pie dish, you are set and ready to go.  

The one cheffy thing I do is blind-bake the crust. It will make a world of difference and is a good skill to have in your back pocket for dessert pies.

While the oven is preheating, cut a square of parchment paper or aluminum foil 2 inches wider than the pie pan you are using and place it on top of your crust. If you are using parchment paper, it can help to crinkle it up into a tight ball, and then open it up again. This will help it fit better into the pan. Gently pour pie weights, dried beans, or uncooked rice on top of the parchment paper or foil to fill the pan. This will hold down the crust and prevent the dough from puffing up during baking. I like to use dried beans, they are cheap, easy to pour, and spill less than rice. I keep them in a ziplock bag and use them all year. Bake the pie crust, with the weights for 10 minutes then lift out the parchment or foil along with the weights, and put the crust back in the oven for another 10 minutes. This whole process will give the crust a jump on the baking and keep the egg mixture from giving it the dreaded soggy bottom.

In a large bowl, whisk together your eggs, dairy liquid, and salt and pepper. A traditional or immersion blender will also get this done efficiently and leaves no trace of the unbeaten egg.

Evenly sprinkle the chopped ham, cheese, and green onions into the blind-baked pie crust. Pour the egg mixture over the top. You may find it easier to put your pan in the oven, on a cookie sheet, it will be pretty full.. Makes the transfer to the oven a lot easier.

With the pan on a cookie sheet, bake for 45-50 minutes until the center is completely set. A toothpick inserted into the center of the quiche should come out clean. Let cool for 10 minutes before slicing and serving. A quiche can be made the day before you need it and will keep for 2 to 3 days in your refrigerator. It’s delicious served cold. 

Now here is the fun part. 

Be brave, go crazy. 

Remember, for a 9-inch pie crust, you want 5 to 6 eggs and ¾ cup of some kind of milk or dairy substitute for the base and 2 to 2 ½ cups of flavor and filling. About 1 cup of this should (or could) be cheese. If you are leaning towards the full 2 ½ cups of filling, go with 5 eggs so you don’t run over the sides.

Here are some other filling variations to try

A 10-ounce bag of chopped frozen (but defrosted) spinach, squeezed dry of all the water, this leaves 1 cup of spinach. 1 cup of shredded cheese. Total solid filling: 2 cups 

6-ounce can (¾ cup) of drained crab meat, ¼ cup of thinly sliced scallions, and 1 cup of shredded cheese. Total solid filling: 2 cups

1 cup of sliced sauteed mushrooms. Saute in butter or olive oil. Be wild and add some crushed garlic, plus 1 cup of shredded cheese. Cook the mushrooms on high enough heat to dry them out and there’s no excess liquid. Total solid filling: 2 cups

4 ounces (½ cup) of Goat Cheese, a bunch of chopped chives, and 2 medium onions caramelized. Two onions slow-cooked in butter until golden brown, when properly caramelized will equal about ½ cup. Finally 1 cup of shredded cheese. Total solid filling: 2 ½ cups 

2 medium sliced zucchini chopped and sauteed in butter or olive oil until some of the moisture is cooked away. 2 sliced zucchini will cook down to about 1 cup when sauteed.1 cup of shredded cheese.Total solid filling: 2 cups

1 cup of frozen chopped broccoli (defrosted and at room temperature) plus 1 cup of shredded cheese. Total solid filling: 2 cups

8 ounces of sliced and cooked breakfast sausage, with cubes of boiled potato plus 1 cup of shredded cheese.

Sliced Poblano Chili, a few sliced jalapenos (as many as the mood strikes you), frozen corn (defrosted and at room temperature) any combination can be used, as long as you stick to the ration.

Random Add-ins to be used at your heart's content as long as you stick to the ratio

½ cup chopped Artichoke Hearts

¼ cup Slice Green Olives

¼ cup Sliced Black Olives

2 tablespoons of Chopped Chives

2 to 3 tablespoons of Pesto

¼ cup Salsa (red or green)

Sprinkle of Old Bay Seasoning

Lemon Pepper (instead of salt and pepper)

When surveyed, people on the interweb like this in their quiche.

Purple Onion, Spinach, Goat Cheese

Basil, Smoked Gouda, New Potatoes 

Caramelized Onions, Ham, Asparagus

Roasted Red Peppers, Mushrooms, Spinach

Artichoke Hearts, Feta, Greek Olives

[snowlupinwoodstories]

Corvid story!

So your votes were in, and you all picked a corvid! I went with the Stellar's Jay as they weren't something you think of (I wanted to avoid crows and ravens). I also added in a loggerhead shrike for @stoneshrike. I do plan on adding in the other honorable mentions as I go forward (Swans, Toucans, Fish, Pigeons, and Red tailed Hawks). Keep an eye out for more polls and feel free to send me prompts in the form of asks.

Stella, a lovely steller's jay, stepped into The Spicy Needle, stepping lightly over to the bar. While some people would love to meet a date in a coffee shop before going to the real location, but The Spicy Needle was Stella’s favorite way to start the evening. She sat at the bar, nodding with a smile to Chuck, the loggerhead shrike bartender. He nodded back, “Your usual while you wait?”

“Yep, just start it with a virgin one please. I don’t want to get too buzzed, we’re supposed to go clubbing,” she told him.

“Got it, one habanero-tomato juice,” he chuckled as he began to grab the ingredients. Pouring the tomato juice, lime juice, and a few spices. He then grabbed a jar from the color wall of jars behind him. It was bright orange, with a muted liquid surrounding bright orange peppers. He pulled two peppers out and tossed them into a small hand blender. After blending the mash was tossed into the shaker, along with some of the muted liquid from the jar. He shook the concoction vigorously with ice before pouring into a chilled glass from under the bar. He topped it with another pepper and a pickle before setting it in front of her. “Enjoy.”

She grabbed the drink and used her beak to pull off the pickle, crunching on it as she fluffed her feathers. She pulled the pepper off and crunched down, letting the fruity pickled taste dance across her tongue, and a light tingle intermixed. She sipped her drink, enjoying the slight tingle from the orange pepper that had been added. 

She was about half-way through her drink when a wolverine entered the mostly avian bar, striding over confidently. She sat next to Stella, her jean cut off vest giving her a rough and tumble vibe. “I’m looking for a pretty thang called StellarStella,” she growled huskily.

“I take it you’re tootoughtotumble69?” Stella asked back, eyeing the wolverine up and down. This wasn’t what she’d expected exactly. She’d thought tootoughtotumble was…taller. But she was around her height. It wasn’t a bad thing though.

“That’s me,” she smirked, showing off her sharp teeth. Stella had to admit, she did like the sort of danger that exuded from the wolverine, but she wasn’t sure how compatible they were really going to be. 

“Well, I’m glad to finally meet you,” she took another sip of her drink, wondering if it was really better or worse that she was having this meeting fully sober. 

“Good to meet you too. This is a nice change of pace from the coffee shops where I normally meet people,” she looked around, “Though I haven’t been here before.”

“Its a bird bar,” Chuck called out as he walked over from where he’d been serving other customers. “All the drinks are made to cater to the avian palette.”

“Oh so birds can’t handle their liquor?” the wolverine snorted at the implication, “Do they need a gentler touch?”

“Its not that,” the loggerhead shrike bit out, as a nefarious grin graced his features. “Its that most mammals can’t take our alcoholic drinks.”

“Try me,” She growled with a grin. Stella hid her face in her wing. Not even five minutes in and her date was determined to make a fool of herself.

Chuck turned around and grabbed a shot glass, a bottle with a thin neck, a small red jar, a thin shot glass sized strainer and a bottle of vodka. He put the strainer over the shot glass and spooned out a red mixture. He poured a few dashes from the thin necked bottle, followed by a pour from the bottle of vodka. He pulled the strainer out and placed the red liquid in front of the wolverine. “The tingle shot,” the shrike grinned. “A favorite.”

The wolverine rubbed her hands together before knocking it back. She slammed the shot glass down and smirked. Chuck smirked back. Stella groaned. The wolverine wavered, as she began breathing heavily. Before breaking out into a pant, trying desperately to pull air into her mouth. “Wh-wha id dat?”

“A jalapeno tingle shot. You see we can’t taste capsaicin, but peppers add amazing floral and fruity notes. Add in the right amount of alcohol, fermentation and concentration and we can get some of the tingly feeling you all call ‘spice.’”

Stella sighed as she ordered her drink a key lime mocktail, something kept on the menu for unsuspecting mammals that Chuck pulled this trick on. She hoped the sweet key lime drink would help salvage this date.

(@bloobluebloo, @standingpillar, @doveghost, @stoneshrike, @asordidbarwere)

[fereldanwench]

Goro + Valerie AU Master Post

💙 Canon-Adjacent Alternate Universes

These alternate universes/timelines explore the outcomes if Valerie chooses to not follow Jenkins' order to assassinate Susan Abernathy. There is still a heist and patricide at Konpeki, but without Valerie present, this also means the events following Saburo's death play out a little differently for Goro. (Spoiler alert: they still manage to find each other in these timelines, too.)

🎴 Corporate Loyalty

Valerie is forced to make a life-altering decision: assassinate the director of Arasaka counter-intel or betray her supervisor. She chooses betrayal.

[Corporate Loyalty on Tumblr] [Corporate Loyalty on Pinterest]

🏜️ The Open Road

When the demands of corporate life become too much to bear, Valerie deserts Arasaka and finds refuge amongst the Aldecaldos. It turns out life on the road is far from paradise.

[The Open Road on Tumblr] [The Open Road on Pinterest]

💙 Series Crossovers

These alternate universes either put Goro and Valerie into a whole new setting or combine elements of Cyberpunk with another series. These currently aren't nearly as fleshed out as the alternate timelines, and they're usually just a very way for me to continue exploring new ideas for Valerie and Goro if I need a break from Night City.

🏹 Thedas Adventures [Tumblr Tag]

I'm going back to my roots and getting in trouble in Thedas. While I'm technically exploring this through a replay of Inquisition with Valerie in the Inquisitor role, I want to craft a totally different life for her there. She and Goro might even find their way into my mostly canon-compliant Dragon Age worldstate come Dreadwolf, especially since I see Goro fitting into Tevinter pretty well.

🐺 Cyber Witchers [Tumblr Tag]

This crossover was mostly an adventure in modding. I wanted to see what clothing items I could put on Goro without having to learn Blender, and it turns out the Witcher Samurai jacket fits. Likelihood of revisiting this AU is low, but not entirely out of the realm of possibility.

💭 Coming Soon?

While I don't want to spread myself too thin, I've also thought about dropping them into Fallout and The Outer Worlds. One (or... four) thing(s) at a time, though.

🔗 Story Sets + Lore Post Links

The tags linked above of course have all the posts pertaining to each AU, but I have compiled some of my favorite story sets and bits of lore that you can find organized and linked below.

Last updated: 8 March 2023

🗝️ Legend

📸 - Photo story/photo-heavy post 📃 - Fic/text-heavy post

🎴 Corporate Loyalty Posts

Story Sets (Chronological Order)

Prologue 📸

One-Shots (No Order)

Secret Date at Embers 📸

Role Reversal 📸

Lore + Concepts

Goro Protecting Valerie from Militech + Creation Notes 📸📃

Goro & Valerie First Meeting 📸

The Inherent Eroticism of Loyalty 📸

🏜️ The Open Road Posts

Story Sets (Chronological Order)

Arasaka Leaves Goro for Dead 📸

One-Shots (No Order)

Bonding & Raiding 📸

A Little Friendly Competition 📸

It's a Trap! 📸

Lore + Concepts

TBA

🏹 Thedas Adventures Posts

Gameplay Notes

Notes + Commentary 01 📃

Notes + Commentary 02 📃

[duhragonball]

GT was obviously terrible, but in keeping with your positivity page, do you think there is something that the series, overall, had something going for it that was genuinely good? Like, an actual good idea, or is it just utterly irredeemable?

I've been saving this ask for last, so I guess we'll make this my final word on GT for the time being. I've got more stuff to cover going forward, and I don't want to get bogged down on old business.

If you're asking if GT could be "fixed" in some way, I think it's possible, but it would take a lot of work and it ultimately wouldn't be worth the effort. Toei would need to rewrite and reanimate just about everything, sort of like how they remade "Plan to Eradicate the Saiyans" in 2010.

The thing is, they improved "Plan", but the finished product still wasn't all that great. They basically took a low quality, hour-long adaptation of a video game story, and turned it into an okay-ish half-hour version in HD. Now imagine Toei doing that thirty-odd times, and that's probably what a "GT redux" would look like. You could tighten up the story, give the supporting characters more spotlight, make the battles more exciting, but in the end you're still retelling this tale that didn't exactly light the world on fire the first time.

And it's easy for fans like us to say "Well, they should take the team that made DBS: Super Hero and have them remake GT." But that would be a major undertaking, and I'd rather see those resources devoted to making something new, not remaking something old. It could be done, but it probably never will, and that's probably for the best.

But what you're really asking is if there's anything genuinely good about GT. When I consider the series in a vacuum, I think the answer is probably "no." There's some screencaps I took throughout this liveblog that look very pleasing. This one of Goten, Trunks, and Palace keeps springing to mind:

There's some others I could point out, and maybe one of these days I'll put together some sort of gallery, but they're mostly few and far between. I find them more enjoyable when they're stripped of the context of the anime they came from.

I also really like the idea of Pan as this feisty 110-year-old lady.

And some of the character designs are pretty cool. Baby right before he gets killed, Bulma's outfit in Episode 2 and 3, and Omega Shenron looks like a big deal, even if he failed to live up to the hype.

But you might have noticed that I'm kind of scraping up little things from the edges of the main story. That's because most of the "best" of GT is a mashup of things culled from better works.

Baby borrows heavily from several other DBZ characters and plotlines. What makes him unique is his dream of "Tuffleizing the universe", but we never get to see what that means or how he feels about it. He just wants everyone to have a "bad guy smirk" like he does all the time.

Super 17 is just Fusion Reborn and the Androids Saga crushed up and poured in a blender. It's especially insulting to me because that's some of my favorite stuff from DBZ, and Toei went out of their way to make a crappy version.

The closest thing GT has to any sort of throughline is the idea that the Dragon Balls are inherently dangerous. The Black Star Balls shows that if they're not made properly, they can blow up entire planets. Then the classic Dragon Balls turn evil, proving that there is no proper way to make safe Dragon Balls. This is a pretty shitty premise for a show with the word "Dragon Ball" in the title. In the finale, Trunks assures Pan that the Dragon Balls will return some day, but why would he want them to return? After all the destruction they've caused, you'd think Trunks would be relieved to be rid of the dumb things.

So what does that leave? The show itself is rotten, and Toei would be foolish to try to repair or remake it. What does it offer to the fandom?

And I think the answer to that is: Inspiration.

Marron is barely in GT at all. I meant to talk about her more, but I was surprised to find that she has even fewer appearances in GT than I remembered. She shows up in the Baby Saga for a couple of episodes, and then she's with Krillin and 18 when 17 attacks them, and that's it. And yet, there's a lot of fans out there making content about teen Marron and/or adult Marron. I don't know a lot about it, since I'm not particularly interested myself, but what does intrigue me is how it had to have started with the version of Marron we see in GT. Fans saw her, wanted more, and made their own version. Sometimes they stick to the GT design, and sometimes they steer clear of it, but it's always a response to the GT portrayal, one way or the other.

I won't lie, I've gotten some ideas from GT in the past, and I've developed a few new ones now that I've rewatched it again. The video games have done a better job presenting Super Saiyan 4 and the main villains than GT itself. A fan could probably write a kick-ass fixit fic about GT. Maybe someone already has. And there's plenty of smaller fics out there, shipping the younger characters, or just giving them the attention they didn't get from the source material.

I mentioned this before, but a lot of Luffa was inspired by my frustration with GT's refusal to give us Super Saiyan Pan or Bulla. Luffa's flash forward 1000 years into the future has a lot of resemblance to Goku's inscrutable presence in Age 890. Pan going from Age 4 to 110 had a lot to do with Keda going from 9 to 99 in my fanfic. The trick is that when I do it, I'm trying to give those moments more dramatic weight, something they sorely lacked in the TV Special and Episode 64. I think the Marron fans and Goten shippers are coming from the same place.

So it's dishonest for anyone to say "Oh, well you borrowed ideas from GT, so that means you actually thought GT was good." No. It's more like salvaging lumber from a collapsed barn and using it to build your own barn. GT is a challenge. You watch it and the show takes all your favorite characters and makes them suck and suck, and it's so disappointing that it basically dares you to do something better. Every time I think about the Shadow Dragons, and how that should have been a slam dunk for Toei, I start to think about how I could do it right. And maybe one of these days I will.

Alan Moore sums it up a lot better than I could, when he gives writers the advice to read bad books for inspiration. There's a lot to be gained from analyzing a bad story, because it helps you understand what went wrong, and how to avoid the same pitfalls in your own work. And I think that goes for bad anime too. That's why I'm here.

And there's always diamonds in the rough, too. GT #43 is one of the worst of the worst. It's just a terribly animated episode, and yet it somehow includes this gorgeous shot of Vegeta. Even a stopped clock is right twice a day. And as Diamond Dallas Page always says: That's not a bad thing. That's a good thing! Bang!