#Clipper Construction

[lissomelace]

THE EUROPA CLIPPER LAUNCHED THIS MORNING, AND I AM SO NOT NORMAL ABOUT IT!!!!!

Space is so fucking awesome. We're headed to one of JUPITER'S MOONS!

Every time a launch happens, it makes the latent space enthusiast in the back of my brain jump up and down. It also derailed all my plans for today. I did have plans.

Instead, someone made one comment about how I could now maybe make mission patches on my embroidery machine, and the space thing crossed over with my current hyperfixation (silm) to produce THIS:

Mission patch for the launch of Gil-Estel! A bit messy, but a good place to start!

Design and linguistics details under the cut, because I put WAY too much thought into it and now must talk SOMEONE's ear off about it. Feel free to ignore this bit:

So, to start: Elvish NASA. I chose to call them Vardildi Elengolmo Vilciryamoyë, or VEV. The Followers of Varda, Astronomers and Astronauts. This could very much be totally wrong. Vardildi is Varda+the suffix used in Yavannildi, the followers of Yavanna. Elengolmo comes from the coined word for astronomer, Elengolmë (star-lore), with the -o suffix from nolmo, wise person. Vilciryamoyë takes the vil- from the root of vilya, meaning air, sky. ciryamo is mariner, and yë is the suffix added to the second word meaning 'and'. (I may be very, VERY wrong on this! If anyone has better ideas, I very much welcome input/guidance/constructive criticism)

So I stuck the tengwar for this on either side of the patch. (None of the tengwar is all that legible, though, I'm working on getting that sorted out) Most NASA mission patches don't actually have NASA on them, but I put it on anyway. Here is the tengwar and the start of a logo I made an attempt at (the tehta is supposed to be a shooting star, but that did NOT come through clearly in the embroidery [because it's tiny]):

(Probably going to try to make an elvish NASA patch before too long, honestly)

Most NASA patches (from research I did with great self-restraint here) have the (last) names of the astronauts. Not sure if they also have the name of the craft or if that's generally somewhere else, but I put both--Eärendil Ardamírë (his fathername and mothername) are the tengwar at the bottom of the patch, and Vingilotë is written on the keel of the ship. None of these are legible because they are small, and my machine has limits. It's a work in progress. Also I apologize for the bad lighting in the photo.

NASA patches sometimes also have a mission motto. That's the tengwar across the top of the patch here-- aiya Eärendil elenion ancalima, Hail Eärendil, brightest of stars (a common cry among elves and Frodo [when facing Shelob]).

(I half wanted to do something a bit more funny--maybe something like 'Now I have become Venus,' or 'Do I get to come down?' but this was a bit easier since it comes pre-translated into Quenya and tengwar, and also I have no faith in my Quenya translations that are any longer than a word)

The horizon is flat because Númenor exists, in the middle there between the shore of Middle-Earth and a teensy bit of Valinor and the Enchanted Isles.

The design for the Silmaril is sort of taken from the heraldic device Tolkien designed for the Silmarilli (though it isn't clear), and it is rayed with the six-pointed star from Eärendil's device. (I stuck the moon phases from the same source around the edges as well)

This was really fun, even if it might be the silliest thing I've ever made! It definitely needs some workshopping--i don't mind the black lines framing some sections from the background fabric, but I might try turning all the tengwar into lines of stitches instead-the satin columns really are illegible.

I now need to restrain myself from doing some sort of NASA/Astronaut Earendil AU, because it now sounds kind of fun (I do not have the background knowledge for this)

Sources:

NASA patches here: https://www.shopnasa.com/collections/patches

Quenya translations here: https://www.elfdict.com/

Tengwar transcriptions here: https://www.tecendil.com/

And if you want info on the Europa Clipper mission, here: https://science.nasa.gov/mission/europa-clipper

Embroidery digitization done with Embrilliance Stitchartist 1, embroidery done with a Brother SE630 machine. Thread is Brothread Cotton and YLI cotton bobbin thread, with a little sulky rayon on the Silmaril. Cloth is a black linen from Fabric Wholesale Direct.

[hryniewiecki]

Hi, this is how I made Jinx's chomper grenade, so (maybe) you could (hopefully) make one too (in case you'll ever want to)

With a lot of cardboard and some more paper!

I. GATHER REFERENCE PICTURES I used mostly fanmade 3D models and one or two screenshots from the actual show - that's why my chomper isn't exactly show accurate. I was trying not to go too hard on myself (for a change), so I didn't care about accuracy that much - do as you please.

For gathering refs I use Pinterest and Twitter accounts that share high quality screenshots (eg. this one).

II. PLAN OUT (the hardest part) Time to use refs to sketch the chomper - I started with a rough sketch to get familiar with the structure and all it's elements, to help me better understand how to build it. It was done keeping in mind estimated measurements I was going for (highly recommend using checkered paper), but keep in mind a 2D representation won't fully translate into 3D, so it wouldn't turn out the exact same.

When I was done with the rough sketch, I made a second, cleaner one (in pencil), this time to measure things more exact. Then constructed the "target board" you can see above it. It's representing all the "layers" - the cylinders that once stuck on top of each other would make the grenade - so I know how to space them out. It's basically a top view of the grenade without it's jaws.

III. MATERIALS, TOOLS and how I work with paper (important) List of the most important stuff: - different types of paper* - wood glue and/or any good paper glue - paper masking tape (or any that can be easily removed) - acrylic paints - compass (the one for drawing circles) - hobby knife / exacto knife / box cutter - hot glue gun (optional, but makes things easier) - air dry clay (optional)

*I used 4 types: - magazine paper (super thin, I used supermarket flyers) - cardboard packaging paper (from rice, cookies etc., rather thin but a lot more sturdy than regular paper, easily bendable) - super sturdy cardboard (still looks thin, but it's so hard it breaks easily when bend too hard) - corrugated cardboard (thick, but can be squished to be thinner; a pain to cut with scissors - recommend to use a knife)

Tips for working with paper: - scratch the shiny, printed side of the cardboard packaging to make it easier to glue (you can also try to gently peel it off, but it's not always possible) - another gluing tip: use masking tape or clippers to hold elements together before the glue starts to work, otherwise you may have to hold them in your hands and wait forever - if the paper is thin enough, curl it up to fit before gluing it onto a rounded surface (I mean something like this, except I just press it against a table and not my finger; it can be done with any tool really - scissors, ruler, pencil, edge of the table etc.) - the magazine paper can be used like a sculpting medium (bent, twisted, crumpled into balls etc.) to fill any empty spaces and even things out - I used it to make a "beveled edge" on two of the cylindrical parts, that's why they're covered in colorful stripes

IV. CONSTRUCTION (best part) Time to build some cylinders (how exciting!). I started with the tall middle one. Do I have to explain it? Just remember to add the details (the "bars", aka two layers of cardboard packaging paper spaced evenly) to it before you glue all the parts together.

For the thinner cylinders I simply glued circles of corrugated cardboard together, then covered the sides with a strip of cardboard packaging paper bent to shape. Depending on how tall the cylinder is, one can cut out two circles (top and bottom part), then sandwich (glue) some more scraps inbetween and cover the sides.

Now onto the two tricky parts: 1) Bottom I cut a ring out of the sturdiest cardboard I had and built an armature on top of it. It was then covered with magazine paper strips dipped in glue to create a half-sphere (basically paper mache). I filled it with even more crumpled paper to help hold the shape.

To make those funky "bolts" I scruffed each of those parts a bit a the bottom by cutting about 5 mm into them, so the paper would bend inwards allowing it to better fit the uneven surface. Then glued on the caps (this is when I run out of patience, filled the "bolts" with hot glue, placed random scraps on top of each one and then cut them into shape ..whatever works).

When you have everything assembled and it doesn't look the best, you can use more magazine paper to try to fill any gaps. Even better if you have air dry clay (that's what I used to even the half-sphere a bit). It's great for smoothing out the transition between parts if mistakes were made. If you want to make it super smooth you can use sanding paper.

2) Chompers (most important) I planned out the jaws on checkered paper, constructing the shape by following the lines or making diagonals, so it would be easy to replicate and make adjustments (super easy to measure).

It was then traced and cut out of cardboard packaging paper. I connected each part using masking tape to shape it into a jaw and check if it fits the grenade - after some adjustments were made I glued everything in place.

I wanted the jaws to be thick, so up to three additional layers of corrugated cardboard were cut out and glued on the inside of the initial "sculpt" - this allowed me to carve the eyes through the first layer.

V. PAINTING (suffering) general tips, because I'm not an expert - I used acrylics and started with painting everything black, then color and simple shading, then highlights (thin, bright lines on the edges), and paint splatters at the very end - the layering allowed me to later scratch some of the paint off to add more texture - follow your refs closely, you can even pic colors of off them (using a graphic software or any color picker online) to hint what to mix (eg. the jaws had a greenish/blue tint, so I mixed a bit of green paint with black and white)

- more on that note: just try not to use only black and white (that's what I did on my first try, when I forgot how painting works) - on the final version even the bottom part (which may seem plain black) has a drop of red or brown added; the highlights are not purely white either - it takes a lot of time and requires angelic patience (took me 2 days); take a break if you get too angry or frustrated

And I think that's it!

It's my first time trying to explain stuff and I wasn't sure how much detail to include, so if anything's unclear or missing I'll update the post. Feel free to ask and point out stuff, I'll be happy to help!

Good luck have fun

[uceyliyahh]

UNDER YOUR TOUCH

Summary: After her difficult breakup, Tiana wanted to start anew with her life. That's when she realized her life would be better when she met him.

This fanfic is 18+! NO MINORS ALLOWED

word count: 2922

smut warning; it’ll come in the story randomly so PLEASE PLEASE look out for it I’m not really good at writing ✍🏽 smuts but I’m improving at the moment.

Jey Uso x Tiana

AWFUL GRAMMAR IM GETTING BETTER I SWEAR LOL.

comments, likes, repost are appreciated I would love the constructive feedback in what area I need to approve in. 🤍

ALSO! I don’t not want nobody stealing my fanfics or take it as theirs that will be an issue fasho so keep it cute respectfully.

I only own my OC along with the make up scenarios

But I’ll be writing along the way since this story is in my drafts on Wattpad right now so yuh. 💁🏽‍♀️

TAGS ⬇️ lmk if you wanna be tag 🏷️

@pinkwithhearts @jstarr86 @biancasreign @empressdede @angiedawn02 @fearlesschimera @yana3sworld @zillasvilla @paigereeder

IX.

OMNISCIENT Tiana and Jey finally made it back to Cali to check up on Bianca and Montez and make sure everything was okay; before they could do that, Jey went to take Tiana to get a restraining order on Malakai.

She needed that badly since things were now getting crazy with him, especially with him running around with a gun on his hip. Anything could happen.

After doing that, Jey dropped off Tiana at her nail shop because she had some clients who wanted their nails done for today.

"Heyyy girly." Emma said as she came in.

"Omg Emma hey girl." She said as she hugged her friend.

"I haven't seen you in a minute since you know..."

Tiana nodded as she sat down in her chair to check out Emma's nails. She had noticed that they were getting old, so it was time for her to change them.

As Tiana got to work on her nails, she saw that Jey had texted her, but he had to wait due to her fixing her friend's nails.

"Sooo....how are you and your new man?" She asked.

"We've been doing good, girl; Kai got his ass whooped again by Josh, so yeah," Tiana replied.

"Damn for real? That's crazy." They both chuckled as Tiana was scraping Emma's old nails off.

While focusing on her nails, she cut her natural nails down with a nail clipper and got to work while Emma showed her what design she wanted.

She saw a car pull up in the parking lot but didn't recognize who it was, so she didn't really pay attention to that person as she was focusing on Emma's nails.

"Tink." When she heard that voice, her body froze. She looked up and saw Kai standing there.

"Dude, what the fuck are you doing here?" She questioned.

"I came to see you tink since you didn't answer your phone." Malakai said.

She scoffed at him and gave him a stern look, "I have a restraining order on you, so you can't be near me." He chuckled darkly at her.

"You think I give a damn about that damn restraining order? I'll do what I want, and what I want you to do is come with me."

Tiana shook her head as she looked at Emma, "nigga fuck you. Don't make me call my boyfriend to come fuck you up again. Leave."

"I'll shoot his ass if he do." That statement made her feel scared for Jey's safety, but she didn't want to leave with him, so she just stayed there.

Malakai just looked pissed as he walked up towards her until Emma stepped him his face as he was eyeing her down, knowing that he had a gun on his hip.

He tried to push her away, but Emma wouldn't budge. She used her strength to push him away, making him stumble a bit.

"Look, Kai, you're now getting out of pocket comin' up here messing with T all because she doesn't want you, so I would advise you to leave," Emma replied, giving Kai a stern look.

"Man, fuck you, she's coming with me; she belongs to me."

"Ion' belong to nobody but Josh, that's it, so you can see your way out the damn door Kai. I'm not playin' with'chu."

He pushed Emma out of the way as he snatched Tiana up by the hair, causing her to yelp, getting flashbacks of him doing this to her.

Kai pulled her down on the floor as he was dragging her outside towards his car; Emma had grabbed Tiana's phone, unlocked it as she called Jey.

Tiana tried to fight him off, "Get the fuck off of me, Kai!" As he kept dragging her down to his car.

OTP Jey: Mama? What's up? Tiana: this is Emma her friend we need you down here like now. Jey: why? What's goin' on is Tiana okay? Tiana: She's getting dragged by Kai towards his car and we need you here like now please. Jey: what? Ight bet I'm comin I'm comin' Tiana: thank you Jey.

CALLED ENDED.

Emma grabbed a vase with flowers and ran towards Kai and Tiana. Seeing Tiana getting hit in her face with the gun just broke Emma's heart.

She didn't want Tiana going through this, she told her not to deal with someone like Malakai because he was crazy and dangerous.

A/N: warning domestic abuse !!

Emma saw that Tiana was bleeding on the bottom of her lip understanding that Kai had hit her with his gun trying to bring her inside of his car, all she could do was knock him out with the vase that she had.

As she saw Tiana trying to fight him off of her, she didn't know if she wanted to wait for Jey to come or just hit him upside the head with the vase.

That's all she could do, so when she ran up and hit him upside the head with the vase, he froze, letting go of Tiana's hair.

He turned around, facing Emma with an angered expression on his face, pointing the gun at her, which caused her to back up slowly.

"You, stupid bitch are YOU tryna save her huh?!"

"YES, KAI, YOU'RE INSANE RIGHT NOW!" Emma shouted.

"ME!? insane? NAH, I'M JUST TAKING BACK WHAT'S MINE!" he shouted.

'This man was insane for this'

'Where's Jey?'

All Tiana could think about was Jey, wondering where he was because she was scared—so scared that flashbacks haunted her.

FLASHBACKS

I was in the closet hiding from Malakai as he went insane again during our argument. He was choking me out, but I managed to get out of it as I made a run for it towards the closet.

Covering my mouth so that he won't hear my muffled crying, I didn't know what to do I was shaking like crazy rocking bath and forth.

Hearing him breaking things, calling for me, yelling my name.

I quietly cried my eyes out, lost."

"Tink, I'm sorry, okay? I didn't mean for it to happen." Malakai said.

"Please, come out mama."

I didn't say anything other than hearing myself sniffing my nose and rubbing it with my long-sleeved shirt.

"Mamas pleaseeee."

"God, I fucking hate you so much." He said.

'How the fuck could his demeanor change after just apologizing just a straight manipulative asshole.'

I backed up in the corner so that he wouldn't see me as I heard his footsteps coming in our bedroom, I mean it was already a mess to begin with after he had hit me.

"I HATE YOU TIANA!"

It went completely silent, and I held in my breath as much as I could until I heard him throwing stuff around in our bedroom, fearing that he'd find me in our closet.

"WHERE THE FUCK ARE YOU?!" Malakai screamed.

I heard glass breaking on the ground, knowing that he had thrown it, but everything stopped as I heard his footsteps leaving while walking down the steps.

Hearing the car turn on and hearing him leave, I left the closet as I saw our room torn up with glass on the floor. Going towards the mirror, I looked at my face. I had a bruise mark on my cheek from him hitting me.

"Fuck I need to get out of this relationship." I said to myself.

FLASHBACK OVER.

She snapped out of her thoughts, darting her eyes towards Emma and Malakai, seeing that Emma was now on the wall with her hands up, while Kai had the gun still pointed at her.

"Kai, you're being delusional," Emma said.

"ME? DELUSIONAL? Last time I checked, she didn't say we broke up. She just left and tried to replace me with some bummy Samoan." Malakai retorted while pressing the gun on Emma's neck.

He was about to press the trigger when she saw Montez punching him in the face, causing him to fall, including his gun.

Jey approached her, looking at her state. He had a sad expression on his face, and he hugged Tiana tightly.

Seeing Malakai being pinned on the ground while his gun was on the other side she just closed her eyes as tears were flowing down her eyes going onto Jey's clothes.

"I'm here, mama; I'm right here." Jey reassured her.

✧.* JEY I was honestly losing my shit after what had gone down earlier at Tiana's nail shop. He had the nerve to come up here after the fact that she has a restraining order against him.

What made it even worse is that Tiana had a mark on her face from him hitting her with his gun which did break my heart, she was scared.

We made it back to her crib, and we both got out of the car together. I held her hand as she unlocked the door, seeing Bianca running up to her and hugging each other.

"Are you okay bestie??" Bianca asked.

"Yeah, I just want to go upstairs and lie down," Tiana said as Bianca saw her wound on her lip.

"Well first lemme' get you an ice pack for the bottom of your lip." As she was doing that, she felt me wrapping my arms around her waist while she looked up at me.

I placed a soft kiss on her neck and then onto her cheek as she gave me a faint smile, feeling so tired and mentally exhausted, all because Kai wanted to be insane.

She wanted to text Emma to make sure that she was okay because she knew that she would probably be traumatized by all of this.

Hell, even Emma told Tiana that Malakai was no good for her, and she didn't listen to her. Now, look what happened.

I didn't let go of her waist as I nuzzled my chin onto her neck. Meanwhile, Bianca came back with the mini ice pack and gave it to Tiana.

"Thank you Joshua, for rescuing her from him I hope Emma is okay." She said.

"B, you know I got Tiana. I'm not goin' to let anything happen to her," I said.

Tiana and I went upstairs to her bedroom. I heard her sigh deeply while shutting the door behind me. She began taking off her clothes in front of me again, knowing how I am with her.

But I was goin' to let it slide for today since it has been hectic as fuck, but it didn't stop me from admiring her naked body.

My eyes were narrowing downward seeing her bent over just made me want to get up and beat that shit in while she's standing but I kept that to myself as her eyes darted towards my direction.

"Are you comin' with me inside the shower?" She asked.

"I mean, I didn't bring any extra clothes with me, but yeah, if it makes you feel better." I replied while she nodded her head.

✧.*

After taking a shower together, we lay in bed together, watching Love & HipHop Atlanta, trying to help Tiana forget about what had happened today.

She was cuddled up against my chest while I played in her hair, focusing my eyes on the show, but for some odd reason, I couldn't stop thinking about what had happened earlier.

I could see the fear in her eyes and her friend Emma's eyes, too; she was almost this close to getting killed by this man all because she was protecting T.

'What would've happened if I didn't show up?'

That's all my mind could think about, Tiana noticed that I wasn't saying anything snapping me out of my thoughts.

"Josh, you good?" Tiana asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine, mama. Are you okay?" I replied.

She nodded her head as she continued to look up at me with her innocent eyes god she really think she's slick, acting like I won't bend that ass on all fours.

"Don't be lookin' at me like that," I warned her as she looked confused.

"What? I'm not doing anything but making sure you're okay." She said.

"Girl, you know what you're doing to me."

She chuckled at me while sitting up. She climbed onto my lap as I put my hands behind my head, admiring her.

I liked the way she was straddling me like this, even though I did say I was going to let this one slide for today. But she's tempting me right now.

She began to place soft kisses on my chest moving towards my neck causing me to moan softly, I placed my hands behind her ass giving it a good grip sucking onto my neck.

I felt myself getting hard underneath her wetness. I knew that her underwear was soaked, I adjusted myself as she began grinding on my lap.

Watching her doing it as her boldness was turning me on as I was gazing up at her.

"Lil mama, you tryna get fucked up right now, huh?" I said as my voice was raspy and deep.

"I don't know...you tell me papi.." her voice trailed off.

I sat up, holding her in place. Our faces were close together, staring into each other's eyes and then onto each other's lips.

Grabbing her throat firmly as I attached my lips to hers moving our lips together in sync, snaking one of my hands on her ass and giving it a smack while she moved her hips back and forth, causing me to hiss at her movements.

SMUT WARNING

I had her on all fours beating her shit in, hearing her moans mixed with mines were just music to my ears, my eyes were focused on her ass jiggling up against me as she throwing it back on me.

"keep throwing that shit back mama." I grunted.

I threw my head back in pleasure while gazing down at her, she felt so good wrapped around me like this almost driving me insane.

Meanwhile, I'm letting her do all of the work on me, giving her ass a few slaps and hearing her whimpering.

"Mhmm, mama keep goin.'" She looked back at me and tucked the bottom of her lip in. God, she just looked very sexy right now.

The room was filled with skins slapping against each other, and our moans were probably heard by Bianca and Montez.

I could see that she was getting tired, so I gripped both of her hips as I began thrusting into her cunt deeply, giving her every stroke I was giving.

"Fucccck, daddy." Tiana moaned.

She was gripping on the sheets tightly as I pulled her hair back, causing her to yelp, pounding into her shit, "oh my gooood Josh!"

She tried pushing me away only to make things worst for her I wasn't haven't that.

"Un Unt, take this fucking dick Tink." I growled pushing my dick in deeper inside of her.

I put pressure on her back as she held her legs up to adjust herself while I pounded her gushy inside.

"Joshhhh, I-I C-can't.." she whimpered softly as she tried to push me away.

"Nah mama take this dick like a big girl you got it."

I could see her eyes rolling in the back of her head looking down seeing myself going in and out of her insides. I felt her walls clenching around my dick causing me to groan Loudly while seeing her in a miserable state.

"Fuck, mama you feels so good make me wanna put a baby in yo' ass." I rasped as I've seen her cream coated onto my dick.

Her facial expression was turning up as I knew that she was going to come, so I continued to thrust into her deep.

She was gripping onto the bedsheets tightly as my name escaped from her mouth I moved my hips faster gazing down at her.

"God you're so pretty mama, taking my dick well.."

"yeah? papi?" Tiana mewled weakly.

"Yeah, mama."

I leaned in closer while continuing my movements as I placed nothing but soft kisses on her back, making her shiver underneath me.

She was feeling on my face giving her a kiss on the lips, I sped up my pace causing her to scream very loudly as I was beating that shit in.

"Joshhhhhh ouuuu fuck joshhh!" She cried out in a high-pitched voice as she put her face into the sheets.

I had a smirk appeared on my face hearing her screaming like that.

I felt my dick twitch inside of her wetness as I went deeper, hitting her g-spot and seeing her look helpless and defeated.

"Mhmm, mama take it  make a mess on daddy." I praised her as I've seen her expressions screwed up a bit.

Feeling her legs tighten, I moved my hips faster inside of her, cursing under my breath as she held onto my biceps tightly, squirting all over me.

Feeling her body shake underneath me as I tucked in the bottom of my lips, groaning, "fuck, daddy is finna fill you up, princess."

I felt my warm seed spread inside of her, causing me to roll my eyes in the back of my head, filling her up with my nut.

I thrust a few times in her before pulling out of her seeing her look so defeated.

SMUT OVER.

Trying to catch ourselves as I turned her over seeing nothing but dried up tears that were on her face looking all flushed, she was shaking violently due to the orgasm that she just had.

I placed her onto my lap, kissing her on the lips while rubbing her thighs to calm her down as she put her head onto my chest.

"I got'chu all shaking and shit I really got it like that mama?" I asked.

She nodded her head weakly at me while closing her eyes making me chuckle at her cuteness, placing her onto her bed on the other side of it.

Pulling her against my chest letting her hear my heartbeat as we both drifted to sleep.

Under Your Touch.

A/N: goodness I know yall is tired of Kai coming back doing some crazy shit especially now Traumatized Emma for good but don't worry everything is unfolding.

But I hope yall enjoy this chapter lmk in the comments

LOOK AT HIM OUR IC CHAMPION 🥹😮‍💨

Stay Ucey.

[cocoa-rococo]

Koopaling Headcanons: Morton

Larry | Morton | Wendy | Iggy | Roy | Lemmy | Ludwig

The gentle giant who's solid as stone, and the main enforcer of Bowser's army! A wonderful lad, he is.

Right-handed.

Fond of scrapbooking! He has a few about his siblings and growing up together, but also keeps some about his interests. Wendy likes to gift him cute papers and pattern clippers, and Lemmy finds him cool stickers.

Likes watching wrestling with Roy, which often becomes wrestling with Roy.

He likes watching cooking shows for recipes ideas with Larry, and listening to him ramble about how people are doing things incorrectly.

Has a fairly good memory, and is the most likely to not get distracted on a mission, a trait Ludwig is incredibly grateful for.

Favorite season is winter, due to the novelty (but he can't stay in the snow for too long). Summer is a close second.

A pretty decent writer. His prose is fantastic; it's speaking aloud that he had trouble with.

Surprisingly good at healing magic, possibly more so than Ludwig or even Kamek.

He got gifted a camera from Iggy when he was ten, and he's been taking good care of it ever since. He uses it for scrapbooking, mostly, but he likes taking pictures of what surrounds him.

Very fond of yarrow flowers, due to the colors and how so few of them grow in the Darklands. He first discovered them when he was stationed on a mountain fortress waiting for Mario, and picked a whole bunch to keep inside.

Favorite candies are butterscotch and caramel chews, as well as crunchy rock-candy.

While his favorite pastries are donuts, Wendy once gave him a slice of her patisserie’s strawberry shortcake to try, and he’s been hooked on the flavor even since.

Prefers keeping his notes on pen and paper rather than a phone. He likes the feeling of writing.

Favorite fruit is raspberries and oranges.

Allergic to peanuts, but he prefers Nutella anyway.

His skin is actually much thicker than his siblings to help resist temperature extremities, and since he likes to burrow in sand a lot, it sometimes can get cracked and dry. He and Wendy like to get treatments and make a day of it together.

One of his favorite things is just sitting with his siblings and seeing what they're doing. He's happy to help with whatever they're involved in.

The physically strongest koopaling out of the seven. He's sometimes not quite aware of his strength, but he's trying to get better at it.

Has a soft spot for cute, fluffy animals. Probably aware of Larry's love for a ‘girly’ pony show, but doesn't mind.

Likes listening to Ludwig go on about his mystery novels, and helps as a sound-board for when he needs to bounce theories off someone.

He keeps a miniature zen-garden in his room, and likes to spend time raking little patterns in the sand and moving the rocks around.

The first of his siblings to figure out how to transform his wand into another weapon.

Magic is a weird case with him; trying to cast was difficult, even if the effect was fine. When he learned how to wield his hammer, however, it felt much more intuitive.

Really good with kids, even if he doesn't see a lot of them. He was the most excited out of all his siblings for when Junior was born.

Easily the best secret keeper out of the seven. That koopaling is a VAULT.

Has a fondness for birds, especially ducks. He once got to go to a farm with little ducklings and hold them, and he was crying happy tears almost the entire time.

Coincidentally, he's got an amazing rubber ducky collection. It's very cute, and touching it without his permission will very likely kill you.

Is a big fan of sculpture work, and sometimes will make little trinkets and carvings from chunks of rock he finds. His love of making things is also what convinced him to create Morton's Construction, when his siblings were making businesses.

Wendy is on a persistent quest to make him an Instagram for his scrapbooks and carving work. Morton is on a persistent quest to remember to use it, but always gets distracted.

One of the best taiko drummers —and kumi-daiko performers — this side of the Darklands. He practices with the Hammer Bros.

Can and will stop everything and anything he's doing to make sure an animal crosses the street safely.

Has an almost mom-level accuracy for knowing where lost things are. Any time his siblings can't find something, they go to him, and ninety percent of the time, his guesses are right.

Loves giving hugs! Does not love how he sometimes hugs a little too hard and people get squished.

He likes experimenting in the kitchen with Larry, offering spice suggestions and combos, even if he turns the heat on way too high.

[missbabyjay]

New Era - Alex Turner x Reader

You and Al have an intimate moment shaving his head for the TBHC tour 🧡

Fluff!

a/n: OKAY SO!

First of all, I haven't written fanfic since March, and this is the first piece I've written about Alex. I am so nervous to post this lol, but I low-key thinks its really cute. Secondly, it doesn’t necessarily follow the true story about him shaving his head because I'm pretty sure he did it on tour? Not too sure. This is also a shoutout to all the pretty bitches who love TBHC (& the car). They’re such beautiful albums and I can’t understand suddenly ditching a band because they’re changing and evolving! To each their own but you can’t deny they are masterpieces ✨

But enjoy this made up moment I constructed in my delusional head trying to fall asleep a few nights ago :) p.s i am NOT a great writer lol but I do have pieces for Pedro Pascal on my blog as well.

Warnings (?): mid writing 😭😂, tons of fluff, idk if you'd consider it angst but reader is a tad grumpy, insecure AND confident Al?, tbhc era, buzz cut Al!, alcohol, oh & some cheesy British slang cuz why tf not

You exhausted a big sigh as you pulled up to your house. The rain was incessant; refusing to give up as it continued pelting down, creating a symphony of noise on your vehicle. “Fuckin’ rain,” you mumbled under your breath as you prepared for the journey to your front door. You mentally crossed your fingers in anticipation, hoping Alex noticed the text you had sent earlier about leaving the door unlocked. 

“3…2…1,” you counted to yourself as you quickly pushed the driver's door open and made a dash towards the front door of yours and Alex's house. To your benefit, Alex must have seen the text as the large door swung open with one turn of the cold, metal knob. 

You let out another sigh of relief as you sat on the cushiony soft ottoman in the front entry of the house. You pondered for a minute as you let the warm air wash over your body, relieving you from the cold and damp world outside. Today wasn’t your day, to say the least, you were knackered. Work was a mess; your boss continually nagged at you over the smallest things and nearly every one of your coworkers were in a sour mood. You faulted the weather outside as no one was ever in a good mood with weather like this, but your fuse was short and you were thankful to be back in the comfort of your own home.

After debriefing the day with your own thoughts, you removed your shoes and made your way into the house. The cool tile of the kitchen floor eased your sore feet as you reached for a bottle of your favourite wine and poured yourself a generous glass. Your brows furrowed as you took your first sip; typically you’d have heard from Alex at this point, but you were yet to hear his silky soft voice greeting you.

 

Alex’s mind raced back and forth as he sat in front of the washroom mirror. His fingers fondled the set of hair clippers before placing them on the counter. He knew what he was about to do would entail more attention and more criticism, but he hoped it would help the fans realise that the monkeys were entering a new era and that to be quite frank, they would continue to change and evolve no matter the criticism. 

He checked the time on his phone, the illuminating screen read 5:42. “Fuck,” Alex cursed to himself. He knew you’d be arriving from work shortly and he was uncertain of your reaction to his somewhat spontaneous decision. Of course your opinion mattered to him, but Alex knew deep down that this change was necessary, at least to himself. “Alright mate, just go for it,” he muttered to himself before reaching for the clippers. 

Unbeknownst to Alex, you had been home for the last few minutes, going about your own business. With one last deep breath Alex pressed the power button and the hair clippers came alive. “Al?” Your soft voice met Alex’s eardrums. He quickly brought the clippers closer to his hair as both his heart rate and breathing increased in speed. “In here, darlin’.”

  

You ventured towards the shared bedroom, noticing a sliver of warm light peeking through the ensuite bathroom door as you entered the contrastingly dark room. “Al?” you called out softly, not wanting to disturb his privacy. “In here, darlin’,” his rich voice echoed back to you from the washroom. You couldn’t help but smile to yourself - you had been craving Alex’s comforting presence all day. He was always the cure to a shite day.

But when you reached the door and gently pushed it open you were met with an unexpected sight. Alex was propped up in front of the large mirror on a barstool from your kitchen, hair clippers in hand, seconds from shaving away his long brown locks. “Bloody hell Alex! Have you gone crazy? What are you doing?” Your reaction came out much harsher than intended but you most definitely weren’t expecting to come home to Alex attempting to shave his hair off. 

Alex’s hand came to a still, nearly inches before meeting his hair. His big brown eyes stared at you through the reflection of the mirror and for a few moments the only sound that filled the room was the low buzz of the hair clippers. “I-,” Alex paused for a second, looking down at the hair clippers as his hand rested them on the counter. He internally cursed himself, wishing he went about this at an earlier time. “With all the stress over the new album I just thought, ‘why not have a new look too?’, everyones already chatterin’ about…” he trails off with a shrug, a light pink tint washing over his cheeks. 

You huffed, setting down your glass of wine before your arms came to wrap around Alex. Your head found solace in the crook of his neck and your eyes met his gaze in the mirror. You gave him a small smile, “Oh Al, I know this has been an odd time for you, but are you sure you want to do this right before the tour starts?” You placed a gentle kiss on the ridge of his jaw, the light stubble tickling your chapped lips. He returned a sheepish smile, “I do, love.”

You removed yourself from his shoulder, “Alright then mister, hand the clippers over.” A childish grin replaced the shy smirk on his face as he realised the intentions of your words. He fixed his posture and straightened out his back, proceeding to run his hands through his precious locks one more memorable time. “Have at it, darlin’.” 

You tousled Alex’s hair a few times before beginning to drag the clippers through his strands. You watched his face soften as his eyes gently closed and he began to embrace the affectionate moment. “I love you,” he said, just above a whisper as his locks began to fall over his shoulders onto the floor. “I love you too Al, I’m sorry for how I reacted… today was just one of those days,” you responded with an equally quiet tone and yet another exhausted sigh. You questioned how many times you could sigh in just one day, making you let out a quiet laugh to yourself. “Is that so?” Alex chuckled as he slowly opened his eyes and met your mirroring stare with a cheeky smile. 

The two of you continued to sit in an intimate silence as you finished the job, Alex’s hand reached backwards to keep a compassionate hold on your leg during the close proximity. You clicked the power button on the clippers and set them down on the counter, delicately placing your hands on Alex’s shoulders to give him a supportive squeeze as he revelled in the moment. His one hand raised, brushing over the short and stubbled hair that now resided on his head. 

“It’s quite alright, isn’t it?” his baritone voice ringed through the small space as a smile grew on his face. “Ya know what?” you started before pausing as you squeezed yourself in between Al and the vanity, bringing both your hands to cup his face as you stood in front of him. “It sure is, sweetheart,” your voice squeaked as you quickly closed the space between the two of you with a passionate kiss, enveloping him in a tight and loving embrace. 

His soft lips were like medicine, as if he could kiss away all the stress and pain. “I am so proud of you. You always do what you feel is best no matter the criticism and that’s really respectable, Al.” His smile beamed, the confidence now radiating off of him the same way the sun radiates a warm comforting glow on a summer day. “I have a good feelin’ about this tour, love. Once the fans hear this album live I think they will truly fall in love with it, just as much as I’ve fallen in love with you,” he says as he lovingly looks at you. You giggled, “Absolutely, Al. You cheeky bugger.”

[oreramar]

Florist Talk: Messiness

This one's for the sake of descriptions. Pull from this list of messes and ground them in situations. Most messes are the sorts of stains and so on that you might see on the Florbo themself; a few might involve the store or work area of the store.

Green fingers: certain stems and leaves stain, especially when you strip the leaves off by wrapping fingers around the stem and just running them down. Snapdragon stems are the worst for this in my experience; most others aren't too bad.

Yellow stains: some lilies have a very orange-yellow pollen. The stamens on these get plucked out so that they don't drop that pollen all over the flowers and, later, some poor recipient's tablecloth. You need to wipe the pollen off with a dry rag; using a wet rag or water only sets the stain into your skin further. Even then, enough contact = yellow stained fingertips, as well as yellow streaks and stains on any clothing or skin those fingertips happen to touch or brush up against. They'll fade or wash out eventually but can be noticeable for a bit, in a dingy sort of way.

Paint Flecks: Florbo might've used some florist spray paint to tint some flowers, or normal spray paint to alter a vase or basket or other container. This can mean speckles, streaks, or smudges on hands, arms, etc.

Glitter: Christmas and Valentine's Day can sometimes involve glittery picks and ornaments added to arrangements. The place I work at glitters everything for Prom. Glitter is always an option even outside of these special occasions. Florbo might well go home with stray flecks of glitter in various places, such as on the face.

Dirt: If the florist has live house plants on offer, they might also have to repot some plants, which can mean dirt on hands/under fingernails.

Sticky fingers: corsage glue is the worst. Tacky, slow to set, easy to spread. Create enough corsages and the fingers will come in contact with it. It's hard to pick off them even when dry. On a similar but less extreme note: there's this stretchy florist's wrap tape, usually green or brown, used to wrap the stems of boutonnieres. It's papery but there's just a bit of tackiness to it when stretched, which is how it sticks to itself. Use it enough, and that faint tackiness is left behind. Also also: pine sap. More of a hazard in the winter when that kind of greenery tends to be used, and can be mitigated by using hand sanitizer rather than trying to wash with water and soap, but it can persist even so.

Leaves n stuff in hair: less common in my experience but occasionally a possibility, especially with certain kinds of houseplants (ferns) or if working with dried moss (tangly, esp. spanish moss) around the bases of said plants.

Leaf and Stem mess all over work floor: Florbo perhaps has had a very very busy day to have scattered so much and not had time to sweep. I usually don't see this except around Mother's Day and V-Day, but that might be down to shop differences; some shops might allow clippings to accumulate on the floor and only sweep them up at the end. Even if big trash cans are available, not all trimmings go where aimed; some ricochet, bounce, or drop at a time not expected.

Blood: very uncommon very bad day, but always technically a possibility in a profession that involves a fair few sharp objects (stem clippers, trimming knives, boxcutters, broken vases, once or twice a really evil rose thorn that catches you just wrong). Severity will vary greatly. There'll be bandaids/a first aid kit in a cupboard in the back of the shop for sure.

Water on floor/soaked Florbo: could be anything from a spilled vase to a full on plumbing issue or leaky roof. A florist has to have access to water, probably some kind of work sink or other - something could've gone very wrong with pipes or nozzle. I've also worked in a place with a leaky roof and, when there was construction going on up there, a badly timed and very heavy storm resulted in an unplanned indoor water feature coming down from the ceiling. : )

Use any of these to describe a Florbo who is (or has been) hard at work recently. Mix n match if you like - maybe the length of their index finger and thumb are stained green from stripping leaves, but the tips are yellow from picking out pollen-laden stamens from lilies. Perhaps they've got flecks of red and gold glitter on their face and pine sap stickiness on their hands because xmas is coming and the people want their table centerpieces. Maybe they're slightly damp and frazzled because they had to move a bunch of display stuff in the store and set out half a dozen buckets to catch the drips and oh my god the landlord heard about this one.

Happy AU-ing!

[cerastes]

Some small insights on things I commonly saw in Japan - nerd edition:

Not one day passed that I didn’t see at least one person with some sort of Kirby charm or keychain or sticker or somesuch on their person or backpacks. Not even in “nerdy” places, this extends to Everywhere.

You’ve likely heard this already, but Akihabara as “weeb mecca” is pretty old news and not the case anymore. You can definitely find some kickass stores there (my favorites were Mandarake and Super Potato!), but otherwise it’s pretty Just Below Surface Level mainstream nerd culture shops now, that is to say, everything is Spy x Family (dear god Anya is fucking everywhere), Kimetsu no Yaiba, One Piece, Quintuplets, Genshin, FGO, Uma Musume, Vtubers, some Bocchi, and Kaguya-sama. Mind you, I don’t dislike most of these things, but it’s literally all that is there, alongside gunpla stuff.

Den Den Town and Nakano Broadway were way fucking better for nerdy stuff. Props to Rinka for the heads up.

Sunshine City was also pretty good for nerdy stuff but with a way more focused scope: You have a Pokemon Center + Cafe there, One Piece store, Bandai Cross Store, the works.

Holy fuck they were not exaggerating, gachapon is absolutely everywhere. The Cross Store even had “Luxury Gacha” or “Premium Gacha”, can’t remember what the exact word was, that were in some cases 1500 yen a pop (for a pretty cool fucking figure though, not gonna lie).

There is gachapon of absolutely fucking anything in the world that you can think of. No, even more than what you’re currently thinking of. Stray musical notes, tools like hammers, bozosoku jackets, Nintama Rantaro, that one meme construction cat, miniature nail clippers, literally such a massive amount of sundry variety. I was humbled.

I’m kind of fucking sick of Anya Spy x Family. Literally everywhere.

I didn’t know there were stores where people can rent a little cube and sell their figures and other nerdy stuff like that. That’s such a cool concept, a little nerd-to-nerd market. Imagine you’re trading in TF2 except instead of giving someone keys for their hat, you give someone a big titty One Piece character, I don’t know the name of any, sorry, as a trade for a big titty Vtuber.

Among the stuff you could see occasionally in stores? Sakamoto Days. That made me so fucking happy.

I met 4 honest to god monks in the wild and I really wish I was fluent in Japanese, I wanted to talk to them so so so bad.

Even older nerds do NOT know VOTOMS. Every old school nerd I met in nerd bars and other such places knew Dunbine and Kinnikuman but I met literally no one that knew VOTOMS. They pulled out their phone, every time, looked it up, looked at me with that certified Japanese polite but obviously flabbergasted expression with a tinge of lemon and horror, and asked me, “how do YOU know of this?? it’s SO OLD” and I did not have the heart to tell them a 4chan dude mailed me VHS tapes with the show subbed back in 1937.

[burgerdrome]

Are you still a fan of Warhammer? I hope it’s been long enough that you aren’t scared of this restarting anything but like, I’m a fan myself and everyone I know is also one, and your article gave me some uncomfortable feelings of “what’s the woke way to enjoy this” lol

Hello! Thank you for the delightful question and thank you also for allowing me to be part of the authentic Tumblr experience of receiving an inbox message from a questionable username.

So I guess I think the question about whether there's a "woke way" to enjoy Warhammer is an unhelpful way to think about it (or about anything). It's okay to enjoy a pretend game about silly clanking armoured men just in the same way it's okay to enjoy a pretend video game where you drive a car over the speed limit.

I think a lot of leftists get caught up in ethical hand-wringing and sort of paralysed by how to move forward with something but the reality of participation in a capitalist system is that while you can be conscientious about your choices, at the end of the day you still have to, you know, make those choices. There isn't a perfect way to do it - there is no ethical consumption under capitalism!

One of the great things about the Warhammer hobby - hell, just about all tabletop gaming hobbies - is that the companies who make the products simply cannot stop you from buying them, building them, and playing with them in the way that you want. The fact that Warhammer (hell, D&D too, etc) is essentially imagination layered on top of painted bits of plastic means that the barrier to entry, and the conditions under which a corporation can control your entry, are astonishingly low.

But of course this means that a huge chunk of potential profit is going missing. One of the big ways that Games Workshop - hell, just about all tabletop gaming companies, really - has tried to maximise their profits in recent years has been to attempt to normalise the idea that to "play Warhammer" is to engage in brand loyalty rather than personal creativity - in other words, to own as much of your potential hobby ecosystem as possible.

Purchase your official Warhammer model from the official Warhammer store (good luck getting a pre-order from a local games store which has been deliberately understocked!), clip it from the sprue using official Citadel clippers, glue it with Citadel plastic glue while you're watching the official Warhammer Plus "loremasters" show, basecoat it with Citadel spray, make sure to play it using the new rules we released 3 months ago and which we will update in another book in 3 months time (which you will need to buy, you don't want to miss out!) etc, etc, etc. Deeply tiresome shit.

(Illustrative side note: Recently I saw a post on Facebook marketplace with someone saying "Can someone sell me a pair of Citadel clippers, my last ones broke!" Someone immediately responded to recommend going to buy a pair at Bunnings for $5, and the person legitimately had to be convinced that they were the same product and weren't going to, in some way, "hurt" the models.)

Of course while GW has a long history of trying to trick baffled Christmas aunties into buying spray paint from their stores for $30 instead of from Bunnings for $10, when I got into Warhammer in 1997 DIY creativity was explicitly encouraged and that was pretty much the whole point - Games Workshop literally published books telling you to go to construction sites to find basing sand, to repurpose old cardboard boxes to make buildings and walls, to use guitar strings to make power cables, to write your own missions, to invent your own Chapters (with rules to do so), to build your own characters and leaders, etc, etc. And I did! And it kicked ass.

The old codexes are full of examples of people scratchbuilding whole terrain sets, converting up models for characters that GW couldn't be arsed to provide - that sort of "make it your own! exercise your creativity!" ethos was baked into the very DNA of the hobby, and it has always stuck with me, even as GW has tried to backpedal away from it and focus on "how well can YOU paint OUR kits?"

So now for me I look at Warhammer the same way I might look at an art supply store. Yes I can buy one particular brand of paint or one particular brand of canvas when looking at doing up a new watercolour, but ultimately it's about picking what I think is going to allow me to exercise my creativity the most, or what I enjoy working with.

And when I do throw dice (I am a busy full-time employee with a mortgage and now mostly play small scale Kill Team skirmish games) I play against extremely chill people who have straight-up 3D printed accessories or whole models, or play in my local games club on old Malifaux terrain on a third party game mat, or whatever.

I buy all my models second hand online or purchase out-of-production things at swap meets. I use third-party paints and brushes, and 3D print up conversion parts that I need which I purchase online. I engage with the hobby on my terms and look at it as a way to express my own creativity, or as a series of building blocks to assemble in whichever way I see fit, because that's what makes me happy. Ultimately Games Workshop's colour schemes, lore, etc are (and only ever can be) suggestions - the only difference is that they used to explicitly tell you as much and encourage you to play around, and now they strongly encourage the opposite.

This isn't to cast shade on anyone who just buys GW models and paints them with GW paints or whatever. Doing that isn't somehow a fascist act or a one way ticket to Cancel Jail. They make some nice fucking models! And tbqh their Contrast paints are the best in class for that sort of thing (Army Builder "Speed Paint" ones suck ass).

Buying little toy dolls from companies (at least companies which aren't openly funding genocide) is only a problem if we do so uncritically or treat those little toy dolls as sacred idols and allow them to consume our personalities. That's when you end up with weird right-wing 40K Lore Youtubers with aquila tattoos.

[princetonarchives]

The Ville de Havre struck a British clipper, the Loch Earn, halfway in it its journey across the Atlantic. Hamilton Murray, Class of 1872, and his sister, Martha, died along with 224 others in the crash and subsequent sinking of the ship. He left $20,000--more than half a million dollars in today's currency--to Princeton's Philadelphian Society for their use in constructing Murray Hall.

Princeton Alumni Weekly Photograph Collection (AC126), Box 23.

[laresearchette]

Monday, January 01, 2024 Canadian TV Listings (Times Eastern)

WHERE CAN I FIND THOSE PREMIERES?: MAS*H: THE COMEDY THAT CHANGED TELEVISION (CTV) 8:00pm AMERICA'S GOT TALENT: FANTASY LEAGUE (City TV) 8:00pm 90 DAY FIANCÉ (TLC Canada) 8:00pm TAKING ON TAYLOR SWIFT (CNN) 9:00pm KIDS BAKING CHAMPIONSHIP (Food Network Canada) 9:00pm CELEBRITY IOU (HGTV Canada) 9:00pm HGTV DREAM HOME 2024 (HGTV Canada) 11:00pm

WHAT IS NOT PREMIERING IN CANADA TONIGHT?: 2023 ROCK & ROLL HALL OF FAME INDUCTION CEREMONY (ABC Feed)

NEW TO AMAZON PRIME CANADA/CBC GEM/CRAVE TV/DISNEY + STAR/NETFLIX CANADA:

CBC GEM BOOKSMART GRAND DESIGNS AUSTRALIA (Season 10 B)

CRAVE TV THE HANGOVER HOUSE OF KARDASHIAN (Episodes 1-3)

DISNEY + STAR FX’S AMERICAN HORROR STORY: DELICATE (Season 12A)

NETFLIX CANADA ANNIE (1982) BATMAN V SUPERMAN: DAWN OF JUSTICE BITCONNED BRAVEN CHAPPIE FOOL ME ONCE (GB) LOURDERMILK (Seasons 1-3) MAHALIA MANDY ONE PIECE: MARINEFORD SEX TAPE SOMETHING BORROWED WAR DOGS YOU ARE WHAT YOU EAT: A TWIN EXPERIMENT

PWHL HOCKEY (SN1/TSN/TSN3/TSN4) 12:00pm: New York vs. Toronto

NBA BASKETBALL (SN1) 3:00pm: Timberwolves vs. Knicks (SN/SN1) 7:30pm: Cavaliers vs. Raptors (TSN2) 8:00pm: Pacers vs. Bucks (SN/SN1) 10:30pm: Heat vs. Clippers

NHL HOCKEY (SN) 3:00pm: Knights vs. Kraken

MURDOCH MYSTERIES (CBC) 8:00pm: Murdoch investigates the shooting of a local construction company owner who was executed in a barber shop.

DESIGNING CHRISTMAS (CTV2) 8:00pm: Complicated and unexplored emotions may jeopardize everything between Stella and Pablo, co-hosts of a home renovation show, as they work together during the holidays.

A CHRISTMAS… PRESENT (Super Channel Heart & Home) 8:00pm: Knowing that this is to be Paul's first Christmas alone with his daughter, Ashley, since his wife's passing, Maggie decides to bring Eric and the kids for a visit to spread some Christmas cheer.

MISS SCARLET AND THE DUKE (CBC) 9:00pm (SEASON PREMIERE): The sister of a missing woman hires Eliza to find her, but the case was already closed by the police -- creating new tensions between Eliza and the Duke.

GOLD DIGGERS (W Network) 9:00pm/9:30pm (SERIES PREMIERE): It's 1853, and two ratbag sisters from Sydney travel to the Australian Gold Rush in search of their own treasure: newly rich idiots.

TO CATCH A SMUGGLER (Nat Geo Canada) 9:00pm (SEASON PREMIERE): An HSI stakeout leads to nearly $500,000 of meth and fentanyl in San Diego; CBP finds concealed cash and a carload of cocaine at the El Paso border.

LETTERKENNY (Crave) 9:00pm/9:30pm/10:00pm (SEASON PREMIERE): MoDean's hosts a night of standup. In Episode Two, the Skids engineer a country music hit. In Episode Three, Dary gets in with a bad crowd.

[youare-number6]

Experiments in Image Prompts Overload - Part 1

I smashed 4 images then 6 images into an image only prompt. The first set had 4 images. They were: Internet image of the California Clipper Sea Plane Internet image of the City of New Orleans Freight Train Internet photo of a Norwegian Fjord OC image of some Brick Industrial Ruins

Then I added 2 more images:

OC image of an Under Construction Notre Dame Stadium Expansion OC image of an Old 30's Studebaker Car

Up next: Adding some text to get something more interesting

[the-real-things-tournament]

0.5mm Pencil Lead

2002 Honda Civic

320 Pack Glitter Gel Pens

A Blunt

A Candle That Smells Like Fragrant Evergreens

A Copy of "The Book Thief" (2005) by Markus Zusak

A Daisychain

A DVD Copy of Over the Hedge (2006)

A Train

Ace of Spades Playing Card

Adderall

Adipose Plushie

Adorable Cow Creamer

Airpods

An Innumerable Amount of Lost DS Styli

Animal Shaped Rubber Bands

AP French Exam Packet

Argon (The Element)

Aviator Goggles

Baguette Body Pillow

Battery

Bead Maze

Beaded Curtain

Beanbag Chair

Bed

Beehive

Best Rock

Big Drinking Fountain

Black Out Curtains

Blanket

Blue Jeans

Blåhaj/Ikea Shark

Bread

Bright Orange VHS for the Rugrats Movie

Broken Alarm Clock

Bubble Toy

Bucket

Bur Oak Tree

Buttons (for clothes)

Can of Beans

Cast Iron Pan

Cat Collar With Bell

Chalk Boards

Cheese Grater

Chew Necklace

Chicxulub Impactor

Claw Hairclip

Clip-On Earrings

Clock

Coconut Broom

Colored Fairy Lights

Comically Oversized Lollypop

Construction Cone

Contraception

Crane Machine

Crayons

Dead Baby Possum Killed by Chihuahua (RIP)

Digivice V-pet

Dildo

Dirigible

Dirty Glass Bottle You Find In The Woods

Disinfecting Wipes

Dice

Dragon Ball Z Volume 4 (Manga Paperback)

Drinking Bird Desk Toy

Earth

Egg Slicer

Elementary School Yearbook

Empty Pizza Box

Every Basket

Every Knife

Eye Mug From a School Ceramics Sale

Fake Dictionary Lockbox

Fancy Showerhead

Fantasia 2000 VHS Tape

Fencing Mask

Ferrofluid

Finger Cymbals

Finger Cymbols

Fingerless Gloves (made of wool)

Flower Bush By The Pavement On The Street

Four Seasons Puzzle

Froggy Chair

Furby

Furby

Garden Gloves With Claws

Garlic

Gendang

Generic Paw Of A Monkey

Geode

Glow in the Dark Celing Stars

Glow Stick Liquid

"god i wish that were me" Screenshot

Golden Acorn Statue

Googly Eyes

Guitar

Half An Onion

Halloween Skeleton Decoration

Hand Mixer From The '60s

Haunted Callie Calamari Doll That Drinks All Your Pepsi and Calls You a Bitch

Heart-Shaped Glasses

Holly the Dragon Beanie Boo

Homemade Hand Sanitizer

Hurdy Gurdy

Ice Cube

Ice Maker

Japanese 5 Yen Coin

Kids Watercolor Set

Kitchen Sink

Knockoff Garfield Plush

Knäckebröd

La Croix Sparkling Water Pamplemousse

Late Night Infomercials

Lavender Scented Candle

LEGO Spring 2007 Catalog

Lightning McQueen Crocs

Lindt Gold Bunny

Lint Roller

Lip Smackers Watermelon Chapstick

LNER Peppercorn Class A1 60163 Tornado

Lobster Ornament

Loch and Nessie, the Loch Ness Monster Ladles (one solid, one with strainer holes)

Loofah

Lun-Class Ekranoplan

Mammatus Cloud

Manatea Tea Infuser

Meat Cleaver

Meat Tenderizer

Mechanical Pencil

Microscope

Microwave

Mini Cuban Flag on Plant

Mini Fan

Monopoly Dog Piece

Mop

NA Mazda Miata (Specifically With Googly Eyes)

Native American Fire Opal Blade

Nebula

Nokia Phone 3310 (2000)

Occlupanids

Old Faithful

One Crouton

One Flavor Blasted Cheddar Goldfish

Onion Chopper/Mini Food Processer

Opalized Fossil

Oumuamua

Our Sun

Paint Tube

Palm Leaf Rose

Paper Crown

Paper Leaves

Paracetamol Tablet

Pencil

Pizza

Plastic Lightsaber

Plastic Play Food Set

Polly Pocket Website (circa 2005)

Popstar Microphone

Potato

"Previously on X-Men" (YouTube Video)

Rainbow Desk Lamp Christmas Gifted By Aunt

Rainbow Pride Flag

Red Bouncy Ball

Rice

Rocking Horse

Roller Skates

Rounde (Sheep Plush Adored by Friend Group)

Rubik's Cube

Russian Nesting Doll

Salt and Vinegar Chips

Sand-Filled Frog Toy Named Floppy

School Chair Attached To Desk

Screwdriver

Seattle Space Needle

Seki Edge Nail Clippers

Sewing Pin

Sharpie

Shoe Insoles

Shoelaces (From The President)

Silver Hoop Earrings

Simply Southern T-Shirt

Single Macaroni Noodle

Siren Percussion Instrument

Slap Bracelets

Sliced Bread

Slinky

Slip N' Slide

Slotted Spoon

Snowman Headband

Solar Eclipse Sunglasses

Soviet-Era Apartment Complex

Spamton Plush

Sparkly DND Dice That Look Like They Should Be Edible But Aren't

Spoon

Squirmles

Squishmallows

Squishy Water Tube Toy

Stained Glass

Stand-Up Bass

Starbucks Coffee Cup

Steel/Metal Pipe

Stick (From the Ground)

Stop Sign

Stuffed Animals

Styrofoam

Subway Employee Hat

Swiffer

Tamagotchi

The Bible

The Demon Core

The Entirely Of Wikipedia Printed Out

The Giant Canadian Rubber Duck

The International Space Station

The Internet

The Kaaba

The Milky Way

The Mona Lisa

The Moon

The Spinx

The Statue Of The Shoe That Almost Hit George Bush

The Tiny Jack Hiding In The Wall Of My Trunk For When I Have A Flat Tire

The Transistor

The Voynich Manuscript

The Wheel

The World Trade Center (WTC)

The Zener Diode

Theremin

TI-84 Graphing Calculator

Tofu

Tom Scott's Best Thing Survey

Torn Apart Skunk Dog Toy

Trans Flag

Tumblr Anon Hatemail

Tungsten Cube

Two Paper Cockatiels On A Wire Stand On My Desk

Umbrella Hat

Unicorn Pillow Pet

Vicks Vaprorub

Vincent Van Gogh's Sunflowers Painting

Vintage Railway Poster

Walkable City

Water

Water Bottle

Water Snake Wiggler

White Boards

White Out

Wind Chime

Wings of Fire Slightly Used Coloring Book

Wireless Headphones

Working McDonalds Ice Cream Machine

www.hasthelargehadroncolliderdestroyedtheworldyet.com

Xbox 360

Yoga Ball

Yu-Gi-Oh Cards

Zipper

Ōdachi

[dreaminginthedeepsouth]

[Thanks Ian Sanders]

* * * *

I once constructed a theory that as soon as a travel network was complete, it became obsolete: when canals were done, railroads came in; when railroads were done, highways came in. When the interstates were nearing completion, I expected another change — perhaps people working at home on a computer network. Oh, yes — when sailing vessels were perfected in the Clipper ships, steam came in; when passenger liners were perfected, air travel killed them. Where and how do we go from here?

Mystical experience: once one knows the reality is there, one is not impatient to repeat it, knowing it will happen again when one is ready. It is always there.

On a country weekend, lying in a field contemplating profound puzzles, I heard the voices of people climbing trees along a lane bordering the field. A man on the ground shouted, “Come on! I want to take your picture!” and a moment later, “Come on! Let’s make ourselves visible so we can record this thing!”

I laughed and thought, so that’s the reason for physical reality: to make ourselves visible and record this thing.

[The Cosmic Airdrome :: BY THADDEUS GOLAS :: OCTOBER 1990]

[excerpt from "Alive On all Channels]

[sa-bo]

Go ahead faggit . talk abt fishdick or whatevr

--

Hello everyone. It's me again, posting from post limit jail. I have impeccable taste and I'm not taking constructive criticism.

I know I KNOW I'm wracking up a list. But shut up. Listen to me. This one? This one I KNOW is good taste. This is your neighborhood fishing dad. This is the dad living at the cul-de-sac down the road who's hosting a block party and grilling with his shirt off. This is your dad renowned for putting on really good neighborhood firework shows and handing out candy to older kids on Halloween. You met this guy when you were over at your friend's house and he ordered pizza and let you two stay up past bedtime playing video games. Whenever you go to hug this guy you can't even wrap your arms around him you just cling to his stomach like a starfish. This guy is up at 4:00 in the morning trimming his bushes with hedge clippers and blasting 70's hits from a stereo on his porch

[pamprinninja]

For as long as I can remember, I've been in the habit of carrying around all manner of spare tools and supplies for whatever minor emergencies life might throw in my direction.

Since downsizing from a backpack to a messenger bag, I've had to give greater consideration to the volume and weight of such items; but this has only served to gamify my choices!

(Heck: I've modified my current bag multiple times, to better organize the contents; and now I'm planning to construct a new bag from scratch, to hold everything exactly the way I want.)

The following are always in my bag:

Hedgehog best friend;

Keys (on a retractable winder);

Wallet and checkbook;

A6 notebook(s), pencil, ultra-fine marker;

Hairbrush, hair ties;

Netbook and charger;

Folder of miscellaneous papers;

Spare N95 masks and hand sanitizer;

Tissues, spare pad¹.

There are two optional item sets that I include unless traveling light - a personal care bag:

Nail clippers, nail file, tweezers;

Hand lotion, lip balm;

Travel toothbrush, flushable wipes;

Medications;

Basic first-aid supplies (i.e. Band-Aids, pain relief).

...And what could broadly be termed a 'repair kit':

Multi-tool², bit driver, additional bits;

Needles, thread, safety pins;

Universal charging cable³;

Emergency rain poncho⁴.

¹ I'm a great believer in the idea that trans girls should carry a spare pad, in solidarity. However, this also proved personally helpful during my lengthy period (no pun intended) of post-reassignment healing.

² Once used to fix the latch on an ornery stuffing machine at a Build-A-Bear.

³ Each year I attend a convention with my friend; and one of the major highlights is a puzzle-solving activity - the research for which can quickly drain a phone battery.

⁴ Prompted by a situation in which I had to cross a small distance through driving rain, and did not have an umbrella with me.

@ people who carry bags everywhere what do you put in them what is there to bring other than chapstick, keys, phone and maybe a tampon why are you packing a suitcase to be outside for 5 hours

[labelleperfumery]

Clippers Host Inaugural Regular Season Game At intuit Dome, Owner Ballmer Goes Crazy

The Los Angeles Clippers might not have won their season opener last night … but, not even a 0-1 record could dampen fans’ excitement over their new $2 billion state-of-the-art stomping grounds in Inglewood! After years of construction, the… from TMZ.com https://www.tmz.com/2024/10/24/los-angeles-clippers-host-game-intuit-dome-steve-ballmer/