#so alas I shall do it

[goblinsandgals]

[icewindandboringhorror]

On average, what is the total MONTHLY amount that you spend on dining out*?

*(This doesn't only count going out to restaurants, but also stuff like picking up fast food to bring home, getting a coffee on the way to work, getting a premade sandwich from a grocery store deli during lunch, buying a quick snack from a convenience store or food cart whilst walking somewhere, ordering a pizza or any other food to be delivered to your home, etc.)

*(If you often dine out in groups/as a household: calculate and divide the costs so that you get a Per Person average. This is for YOU individually, NOT the total household/group costs)

(I'm sure polls similar to this have been made before (very common topic), I just haven't personally seen one that I can remember, so, I was curious to do my own! I was discussing this with a group of people today and it was very interesting to see how widely the number varied between individuals. :0c )

(Reblog for bigger sample size if you can, and feel free to explain your answer in tags if there's anything extra to add!)

[fumifooms]

Helki compilation

Helki is a prisoner-turned-servant. He’s a criminal canary and was implicitly one of Milsiril’s charges, and now that she’s retired he’s become her servant.

He must have gotten into Milsiril’s good graces, wether through attachment or convenience, which is a feat considering Milsiril’s a socially anxious recluse. Interesting since it’s not like he seems like the agreeable type, shifty upbeat delinquent style… We really don’t know much about him, not even what crimes he did, so there’s a lot of space for speculation on all grounds.

Edit: Shanghai QnA with Kui gave us a new juicy morsel of info!

Interesting… The original answer in japanese is: パッタドルと同じような杖を使っていました。今も同じものを支給されているのですが、すぐになくすのでもはや携帯していないようです。 That it’s written in japanese seems to say that there isn’t the same double translation issue there was last QnA, so if someone wants to look at the original phrasing and word choices it can be done. Perhaps Helki-Milsiril has a more protégé dynamic undertone than previously thought… "For various reasons", meaning circumstances that made it so the squad had to choose between saving him and saving their own skin, or like, "man this guy’s personality sucks we don’t really like him"? Likely to be a mix of several things, since ‘for various reasons’ implies the situation was either complex or they had multiple reasonings. In either case, the phrasing is very much that Milsiril couldn’t abandon him herself, and so a relationship sprung out of that. Another instance of outcasts seeking out and sticking with other outcasts in Dungeon Meshi. This could mean that it’s a bit less out of personal attachment and more out of a sense of duty on Milsiril’s side as well though.

Still edit: So then maybe him staying with Rin in that comic isn’t that much because of work ethics or that he cares for kids (or maybe he does because he feels kinship to them, alone and mistreated), but because he didn’t want to join the other canaries in that room chatting and laughing… Maybe the isolation was exacerbated because he became Milsiril’s favorite, teacher’s pet style, but I’d also be careful about assuming the others disproportionately dislike him, it could be that they just don’t really care for him. Why? Could be because of his personality, because he’s seen as shifty or unreliable or annoying, if an event, who knows who knows, but I like to think because of the Rin comic that he generally just tends to be a loner, that he’s "weird" in a neurodivergent vibe, he doesn’t conform to proper social behavior which in elven society seems especially alienating. He’s the only one with Rin to think of her sake, not only worth observing/caring for but also asks her to eat, but he does this with an offputting stare, not really emoting, and then well, the infamous alone with her staring munching covered in blood panel. He stands out. I’m a fan of the theory that it was a "Helki? Not that I dislike the guy but I’m not risking my skin for him" situation… Ok end edit back to older observations.

He seemed to be acting out of his own initiative in the Rin comic, he doesn’t look thrilled to be there in many post-canary comics but he also seems content enough. He restrains Milsiril in the Mithrun cleaning comic which is interesting to think of for their relationship.

It’s fun to notice how he’s the only one that didn’t get bored of looking after Rin, and then reports back about her condition… I’d say he was getting used to taking care of kids which would come with the job of serving Milsiril, but then, not enough for him to clean the blood off himself hah. In this way it’s interesting to think about his relationship to the idea of parenthood, he’s probably the closest thing to a father figure/male role model Kabru had growing up, without mentioning the other kids. I feel like he’d consider himself an older brother, cousin or uncle figure sooo much sooner than a father, but even then I do think it’s just his job and he’s not really invested or forming real relationships with any of them much.

It’s curious to note that he’s dressed in canary uniform presumably after having been pardoned and living with Milsiril? Which you can tell by the armor bits (the yellow strips of spider silk). In the Kabru training montage and the Rin comic specifically. It seems very implausible for him to have still been a canary while being a retired Milsiril’s servant and being with her all the time, and the cleaning with Mithrun comic (where he’s not in uniform) happens after Utaya so it could happen after Kabru was taken in but around the time of the Rin comic. So why uniform? It could be one of the best outfits he has, so it’d make sense to wear it around especially if you’re sparring or getting… Blood on you? Could just be because that's how Milsiril wants him to dress. But yeah we don't know when exactly Helki becoming Milsiril’s servant happened. We do see Mithrun’s charge Cithis be tasked with taking care of him, so a charge being given a servant-caretaker role doesn’t seem all that out of the ordinary, sometimes even prior to retiring.

Imo, if he doesn't work for Milsiril he goes back to jail/the canaries/has to try and get a job instead of just tending to her, so Helki is staying with Milsiril because she's the best option for him. He’s her milsiril's personal servant and does mostly dull tasks involved in that. He’s not particularly suited to the role but they’ve gotten used to each other to him so she took him with her, and he does prefer it to canary work so it works out decent for him. I think he’s used to reading her and managing her moods and he’s one of the rare social connection she has.

Under spoiler is stage 2 interpretation stuff, bigger speculation, in a reblog I’ll make soon I’ll go over my thoughts for stage 3 interpretation lol. Helsiril I’m coming for you

Translation of the canary hierachy chart used is by Thatsmimi, here

[to-be-a-dreamer]

Okay so I'm from the Newsies fandom which means I know how to make character backstories out of literally nothing and I'm done with my "This makes no sense what were the writers thinking?" stage of grief after the BuckTommy breakup and it's time to go to work and start asking "What could have happened to make this make sense?".

Because regardless of what you think about Tommy, it's very clear that the writers have characterized him (in the current stage of his life) as someone who has put in a lot of work to become a better person, is a very steady figure, and feels very confident in himself and his identity. We've also been told and shown that he and Buck care for each other a lot and neither of them wanted this relationship to end. So the question is, what happened in Tommy's past that could have caused this very confident, mature person to realize he's falling in love with his partner and then choose to leave?

"I'm your first, not your last."

How many times has Tommy been someone's first? How many times has he shown another man this new side of himself, taught them what it means to be queer and how to love yourself for it, and been left behind once they figured themselves out? How many times has he been someone's first and had a whirlwind romance, only to be left brokenhearted because his partners had a whole new world opened up to them only to realize they didn't want Tommy to be a part of that world?

Does Tommy think of himself as the guy people have fun with, not the guy they want to marry? Does Tommy think there's something wrong with him, that there's a reason no one ever sees a future with him? Do you think he's always told himself that he would keep trying, that it's worth the potential heartbreak to find out if this next guy might be the one who stays?

Did the way Buck was talking about their relationship being transformative for him just sound too familiar? Did he think Buck liked him because he was showing him something new, not because he could ever actually love someone like Tommy? Do you think he could never imagine Buck liking him anywhere near as much as Tommy liked him?

Do you think he realized he was falling in love with Buck, and the idea of losing him like all the others was just too much? Do you think he knew the potential heartbreak of someone as incredible as Buck deciding he didn't want Tommy in his future wasn't worth it this time? Do you think he was afraid of falling in love with Buck, of falling so deeply in love that he wouldn't be able to recover when Buck left him like all the others? Do you think he decided it was better to break things off with Buck before he could finish falling in love with him?

Do you think they could come back from this? That maybe, just maybe, if Tommy told Buck about all of his fears that he could convince Tommy that it is worth it to find out if they could make it?

"I'm not the guy people decide to spend their life with. They- you'll finish figuring yourself out and realize you don't want a future with me. And that's okay, I just... I don't want to let myself finish falling in love with you first because I won't survive losing you after that."

"Do you think that little of me? That I'm just using you for my own personal gain and that I'll leave you in the dust as soon as I get what I want?"

"I... No. No, I don't think you would do that."

"Then give us a chance. Let me show you that this is more than just an awakening for me. Let me prove that I want to finish falling in love with you too."

Because I think that's what Tommy's afraid of. He's a person who's spent a lot of time self-reflecting and he knows himself so well, especially his faults. I think he’s afraid of Buck seeing all of those faults and realizing he doesn’t love Tommy as much as he thought he did. Loving someone means you see every part of them and want to be with them anyways.

I think Tommy is terrified of falling in love with someone because he can't imagine anyone loving him back.

[normshortfornormal]

MORE steb fencing au bc my brain is thinking so much note: the reader, steb, and maddie do epee, and as such this is very epee centric so please keep that in mind!

steb does both epee and sabre

you, steb, and maddie started fencing at the same time. maddie convinced steb to try fencing and he ended up enjoying it more than he expected

the number of epees was really small when you guys joined. sometimes it would just be the three of you and your coach. because of that, the three of you grew pretty close

steb had an advantage because of of his height (at least 6'0 feet/183cm), which gave him a longer reach/range. because of that, you learned early on how to fence against taller people

the first time you beat him in a bout, you're so happy that he's a little endeared

one day, maddie doesn't come to that day's session because she's sick. it's just you and steb, and that day, you guys become a little closer

when you guys become good friends or start having feelings for each other, steb decides to get you a brand new blade for your birthday. the grip is perfect for your hand size and the weight is perfect for you, and the blade is perfect for what you specialize in (whether that be parries or flicking or something else)

either that, or when your blade breaks, he gets you a brand new one

you and steb both do badly in your first tournament, but the support of having each other makes everything a little better and a little more fun

after your first tournament, you two decide to work together so you can do much better in your next tournament. you guys do a lot of drills together, sometimes you can do drills for at least an hour, but doing it with him makes the time pass so fast

by your third tournament, you guys are a LOT closer, so close that you guys end up surprising each other by buying bouquets of flowers for each other (to wish good luck and commemorate any victories you guys have)

steb gets into fixing gear first. you eventually join him when you realize you sort of miss his presence in fencing

some days, when you two are too tired to fence, you'll just fix broken gear together and enjoy each other's company

sometimes, when steb wants you all to himself, he'll ask ahead of time if you want to fix gear together, and you two spend the entire time in the storage room fixing gear together. spending time together like this, it feels like no time passes at all

you two end up getting into the habit of going out to eat after fencing. when one of you invites the other over to eat at either yours or his place, that's when things really start to change between you two

[lottieshauna]

MARI WEEKEND DAY 1: Mari: a summary (insp)

[revenantghost]

Sometimes I think about how Nightow said something like (and I'm paraphrasing here) Vash only stays "Vash the Stampede" at the end of Trimax and continues to play that role simply because he doesn't know what to do

[mamawasatesttube]

i wish i could organize a timkon giftswap or week or whatever event, but like only for people who actually care about kon as a character, without coming off as a gatekeeping asshole or something lmao

[ladyartichokie]

@igotthisaccountunderduress you wanted updates on how the TS Cardigan (Lion Brand Yarn's pattern) is going, so here's update #1!

I have officially finished the back:

The picture doesn't quite do it justice, but I'm pretty proud of how it's turning out so far.

I've been working almost nonstop for the past several days and I am EXHAUSTED. I had to unravel and rework three days worth of work at certain points. Though I didn't start this a few days ago, I didn't really get into it until then. For reference for how much time I've spent on this thing, in the past few days I have binge-watched one season of the office and 6.5 seasons of Brooklyn Nine-Nine as I've done this.

This is the first time I've ever worked with a knitting pattern instead of just making up something on my own. I'm kind of just learning as I'm going (which probably wasn't the best idea for this big of a project), hence the many mistakes that I had to go back and fix.

Next step: the left front-piece. I have no idea when it will be done by but we shall see.

Someone tell me they're proud of me or I will cry

[oiiocha]

in. in honor of bnha being over let me throw in my old old old olddd oldddddddd redesign concepts because i love you women. don't say i never did anything for you women. i'm sorry that you had to be in a manga written by a man, my dear dear women.

[lucalicatteart]

A new sculpture! Finally... I feel like I never sculpt anymore since I'm always sick or have some 500 other things going on or projects to finish, but I'm trying to schedule time to do it more often this year hopefully..! Just a generic fantasy creature as usual, but did try making the eyes a little more sparkly this time.. hrmm..

[lynxfrost13]

Gamers I think workout wise I am going to take a couple days off 😔😔😔

[icewindandboringhorror]

I made a few new wax seal stamps out of clay (like the ones I did for my worldbuilding stuff forever ago), this time just of random symbols that I thought might look good done in the style of painting over the raised part of the wax or etc. :0c Some of them aren't carved deep enough to really show up that well, but overall they worked okay for being clay lol

[fandomfairyuniverse]

While they are definitely not doing a bad job with the time they have I just. I wish this show was a little longer. 8 eps really doesn’t feel like enough

[batsplat]

as someone who keeps an eye on academy boys growing up, just throwing out some random info<3

luca said he’s pretty good at tennis, and all i know is he’s a one-handed backhand player. pecco mentioned this summer that he often plays tennis in the winter, i’m guessing he means during the offseason. he said he hired a coach and takes three lessons a week. of course he’s one of those guys who got more into tennis because of jannik sinner

please ALWAYS throw out some random info

luca having a one-handed backhand makes sense because like. i genuinely don't think there's anyone else on the grid who is more one-handed backhand-coded than him. he very much comes across like a one-handed backhand type of guy. anyway i bet I could take him. and ohhh i didn't know that about pecco, that's really sweet!! i mean the taking tennis lesson obviously, not the being a sinner fan thing. have had to develop an extremely high tolerance for riders delving their toes into tennis opinions after Certain Beloved Riders keep posting instagram stories (?) about australian open finals that send me into a deep depression. not expecting them to have enlightened takes but they just keep rooting for their countrymen (very much only men #lmao) and that just has unfortunate implications given where they're from. alas. did see musetti was at the qatar grand prix chatting to pecco when he should have been on the practise court to support his child, which is at least marginally better taste in players. and pecco taking tennis lessons is nice

[chaoticcoven]

While I'm still voting that Carmen, Claudia, Digna, and Marta come together and handle the Santiago situation by just...

But in lieu of that, I'm hoping Marta does the next best thing and hires a private investigator. Santiago's rapid, untethered escalation suggests this is not his first go-round with brutalizing women. Also it isn't illegal and it is something even Fina could get behind potentially. Marta could easily argue that having a P.I. keeping tabs on Santiago helps keep her safe. All that a private investigator could probably dig up - even if it doesn't immediately send Santiago to prison - can still be used against him at the trial. Plus, call me fucked up, but I want that little creep to know what it's like to have his private life intruded upon and used against him.

I know as a society in 1958 Spain *and 2024 globally, cough cough* there's not much weight placed on the safety of women but I'd be seriously surprised if a guy like Santiago wasn't wanted for other crimes elsewhere. How fucked up would it be if they found out the grave Fina and Santiago visited wasn't even his mother's because he buried her in a shallow unmarked grave somewhere?

I can envision a scene in which Marta summons him to her office once more. Where he walks in confident of the promises she has made him on the phone. Only to arrive and find himself being the one arrested.

Speaking of peace of mind, it's wild that Andres was in the army and Marta hasn't enlisted him to help teach Fina and herself basic self-defense. That would also be an adorable scene in which Andres could interact with Fina and Marta and see them as a couple in paradise. I loved seeing Carmen there, offering Fina a loving community in her time of need. I love the idea of one-by-one their allies are introduced to the side of Mafin they've had to keep concealed so far. I've loved how Digna has really taken that on lately, seeing them both at their most vulnerable, offering them motherly advice, and consoling them at their most hopeless. It would be so great for a character like Marta who has always felt her family was more of a clan than anything to truly be embraced and see the love of her life being safe guarded by her family.

Hell, Don Damien is a hunter, there's no reason he hasn't gotten Fina and Marta familiar with handling guns. Marta loves Fina above all else, so lending a hand in this time would go a long way in rebuilding their relationship.

Or....

Marta goes to the dark side and hires a hitman which though ill-advised would be undoubtedly hot.