Ted: "[Daniel] got to the New Year and immediately he was getting into sending text messages to his engineers, trying to think about testing, about what kind of run plans he could do while he's here and then found himself motivated enough to get into his training and the gym.
It got me thinking those would be the first two things if i was a driver thinking I'm not interested in this Formula One lark anymore. I would think about do i have to start getting involved with the engineers and having ideas about the car and going to train. Daniel, pointing out those two very important things as him motivated to carry on."
I adore your comparison of a crafting table to a catalyst because it’s not only great world building, it’s also got some really funny implications.
When studying an IRL chemical reaction, broadly speaking the two things we care about most are 1) how energetically favorable is this reaction (do I have to input energy to make it do the thing) and 2) how fast does it go. These are thermodynamics and kinetics, respectively. You can have a really fast reaction that actually isn’t energetically favorable, and you can have super slow reactions that are actually SUPER energetic, and everything in between. Catalysts actually only change the kinetics (speed) of a reaction - if something isn’t going to happen naturally on its own over time, adding a catalyst isn’t going to help. Biological systems are a great example - cells mostly function on their own over time, but you NEED enzymes (natures catalysts) in order for your body to function on a relevant time scale.
You mentioned that a player could whole-sale code, say, planks into steps on their own, but that the crafting table just makes it faster and easier. However, by definition of a catalyst, just placing planks in the correct configuration would EVENTUALLY make steps over a REALLY long time, and that’s hilarious.
I suspect that Grian’s use of his natural catalytic abilities in upcoming chapters will be much less hilarious 🥲. Actually wait brb heading to the combined wall/google doc to check—
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CHEM ANON YOURE RIGHT THATS THE FUNNIEST UNINTENTIONAL IMPLICATION IVE EVER ACCIDENTALLY STUMBLED ON. IM GOING TO BE THINKING ABOUT THIS FOREVER NOW
people have such a weird view on cupbearers in this fandom, acting like they get demoted to "servants", like, what? being a cupbearer is an honour! you get to perform a very simple duty but are included in gatherings of great consequence where the important decisions are made? you are privy to all the politicking, get to hear all the hot gossip and in return you just have to pour a few glasses are you kidding me*
historically speaking the position of cupbearer was a high ranking one and given only to people considered trustworthy since the very nature of the job ensured that they had access to a lot of sensitive information. meanwhile on this website we have people claiming with their whole chest that rhaenyra and rhaena are treated like the help
it is currently 4 40 am here and my exams will be ending my 10 am and I am not ok
so i ask you this (cause you answer questions) : what is the purpose of life when you suddenly don't actually have anything productive to do. how do I feel happiness when reading or scrolling through videos without the finiteness, the looming knife of procrastination????
The purpose of life is what you make it.
Whatever makes you happiest.
Whatever fills you with joy.
Time spent enjoyed is not time wasted at all.
You will learn to rest and enjoy that time without guilt, I promise.
I absolutely loved your headcanon for zhongli! If possible can you make one for Alhaitham?
youtube
First off, I'm just going to put this trailer here because I actually think this is a good primer on Alhaitham in general and I just think it's really cool. It shows a lot more casual side of all the characters there.
I will preface this in that, I'm behind and only just finished the Nahida Archon quest and this is before I've played his solo quest, so somethings could change or be outdated. I'm just going off of the information that I have.
In a lot of ways, Alhaitham has a lot more potential in the burp category. He's incredibly intelligent, short tempered, and full of sass. Others may think he has a lack of emotion but I don't think that's the case really. He's blunt and straightforward and would rather be left alone or relax so he can read or think. I laugh that his least favorite food is soup because it's hard to eat it and read at the same time.
But Alhaitham is sarcastic often or at the very least sardonic and can even be petty when it comes to his roommate Kaveh or others. He's often the smartest person in the room and while he may not look like he's having fun, he definitely enjoys some jokes or a plan going well. Even if he doesn't always express it. He's mostly a no nonsense, cut to the chase kind of guy.
So how does all of this affect burps? Well in a lot of ways. First off, despite having a background in linguistics, he is well read in all manners of science and more. Not only that, but Alhaitham is a thinker, easily able to access the situation and take the appropriate course of action. Not only would Alhaitham know a lot about the digestive system, but he would know about anatomy, acoustics, and construction. So if there was an occasion where he needed or wanted to burp, he would have wonderful control.
Alhaitham would be able to make them sound however he wanted to, be it to suppress them if he was in the appropriate setting or to suddenly surprise everyone with one that would echo through the halls of the Akademiya. If he knew you were into burps, then heaven help you because he would show he's the best belcher around and tease you relentlessly. Or if someone else was burping, then whoops, he'd let one fly louder than that. All eyes would turn to him and he'd just respond with "Is there a problem?" Seeing his abs and his knowledge, I expect that he'd be able to burp on command and even be able to control his gas well enough that he could say whole phrases as a burp if he saw fit.
But Alhaitham can be an absolute brat when he wants to be. He definitely doesn't like to be told no or above playing tricks on others. If he's told he needs to have manners and thought the request was rude, you better believe your night is going to be full of burps that are rude and crass and interrupt your dinner. Or burping and blaming it on someone else, especially with his control might make it seem like someone else did it. You can also better believe if Kaveh complained about his belches, he's letting it loose all damn day to spite him. For fun. He's definitely one to pull a belch that would wake the dead in their house (potentially doing it by sneaking up behind Kaveh and letting it rip) with Kaveh scolding him like "The NERVE. Where are your manners!? How would you feel if I told everyone that the Scribe of Sumeru was so crass and vulgar as to burp so monstrously as to knock photos off the wall?" Then Alhaitham would come up close, burp in his face and say "Nobody would ever believe you," before leaving with Kaveh getting huffy.
Believe it or not, I think because of his voracious reading that Alhaitham has quite a bit of knowledge when it comes to lewd acts and knows how to wield things as emotional weapons. Kama Sutra the scholarly book lol. So he would definitely know how to flirt and entice someone with belches or know when to let one rip after a big meal and patting his stretched abs. He'd know at least on paper about kinks and would appropriately know how to make someone melt, even if it's just for his own amusement (with probably full denial afterward when confronted). Alhaitham is also not a bad actor or above roleplay when required when he wants to.
The other thing to mention that we see from the trailer is that he's not afraid to drink either. I think Alhaitham doesn't like to party much, preferring smaller gatherings, and doesn't let his guard down. But when it's something full of friends, then I think he's liable to eat too much and get drunk. He probably doesn't get drunk often, but when he does, all of what I've said goes out the window. I think he's mostly a sleepy drunk, falling asleep when he feels comfortable. Stuffed with food and drink, he might fall asleep right at the table or in his chair. I do think in this case, he's more likely to have a severe case of the hiccups, but mostly he'll let out small burps, not knowing what he's doing or rubbing his belly and trying to get them out. he may remember he's in good company and try to cover his mouth to suppress the gas, which only makes them reverberate in his chest and sound even deeper. It's possible he may do even more irresponsible things in this rare state like participate more in a burping contest with less inhibitions and control but it's hard to say.
The big difference is his bigger burps are low and airy, usually deep and loud with a lot of force but dry unless he wanted to be wet or after a meal. His drunken state or overly stuffed state is when he has small short burps that are higher pitched but wet and from true intestinal distress. But you better have some evidence of this happening because Alhaitham will deny that he was ever in a kind of state, and potentially use his connections to make sure any evidence you have are promptly destroyed.
as someone who grew up in a wine region, one of the funniest things about fanfics set in Mondstadt is how everyone always cares so much about drinking age
realistically, they would definitely let the average twelve-year old have a sip every once in a while, and you cannot convince me that the legal drinking age is anywhere above sixteen at the highest
you guys are talking about peeling chicken nuggets but has anyone else bite around the carrot center? like i eat the outer thicker layer then the thinner part, i saw my sister do it when i was younger now its just the way i eat them
I do that when I'm bored sometimes just for fun, but I like sauce a lot and I'm usually dipping my whole carrot in ranch or creamy italian before chomping the whole thing
That's if I'm eating them raw though, carrots in a good bone broth stew, cooked JUST enough to be soft but not enough to be mushy, is a religious experience.