#Founders Brewing Co.

[auraeseer]

Coal dye pee, yay!

[libraford]

(I have permission to share this.)

Text- from Walking Distance Brewing Company

Happy Pride month! We are here another year to celebrate Pride with you! Thank you for your love and support through a difficult year of slander and harassment. Your support has not just kept us afloat but has made us thrive! Our inclusive community isn’t here just for Pride - we’re here all year. It's not always easy being inclusive in town. The library, community organizations, and yes, even Walking Distance have been targets. In this post, we're going to discuss the attacks against the library and against us. Last June, the library had a pride book display [1]. On July 3rd, (now ex) city councilmember Deb Groat wrote an email to the library at the request of the Union Faith Family Coalition [2]. In this email, she wrote: “I am deeply offended by explicitly sexual material on display in the children’s section of our library. Shame on you and your staff for pandering to any social agenda in displaying reading material to children.” [3] Later on in the email she wrote: “The library may well want to pass a levy in the future, or have input in a community TIF.” [3] On November 27, 2023 - Deb Groat was joined by city councilmember Mark Reams in voting for a TIF that would divert money away from the library for 30 years. Luckily, the extension did not pass. [4] According to Union County Faith Family Coalition’s founder, Mark Reams is a member. [2] Deb Groat and Mark Reams vote together to divert money from the library. Let’s move on to us. In June 2023, we had a drag show. On July 8th, Mark Reams’ wife, Leslie Reams posted on Facebook calling Walking Distance “Little Epstein Island” [5] joining in the same rhetoric spread by the Union County Faith Family Coalition, who nicknamed us, “Walking Distance Grooming Co.” Additionally, on April 15th, 2024 - while on-shift at her job, Leslie Reams called us a “den of depravity bar [that] preys on children,” and called our bartenders and customers, “pedophiles” and “drunks.” Let’s be clear. Leslie Reams, the members of the Union County Faith Family Coalition, and their followers have never called law enforcement (to our knowledge) - something we would expect and want to happen if pedophilia was happening. Law enforcement has never been called, we suspect that even they know that it’s not true. We have heard many rumors, as bad as, “Walking Distance is full of pedophiles” to more innocuous rumors that hurt our reputation. Our guess is that the same people who don’t believe we’re pedophiles, but want to demonize queerness, also know their audience and are able to tone it back to do the damage they can. We saw sales dips directly following Leslie Reams’ statements. We have heard city council members echoing similar rumors. Last summer, we had around 10 citations against the owner’s house and the business from the city and council - none of these citations asked us to remedy anything (except for the one about mowing…oops), and in fact there were instances when the local officials said that we were doing everything right, but they are only reaching out to us because they had so many calls. The year prior, Walking Distance and the owner's house had 0 citations. We’ll never know exactly how much business we lost due to the slander against us. We do know, we lost a lot. Similarly, we’ll never know exactly how much the support of our community has meant. We do know, it meant a whole lot. The support has kept us afloat, and with time, it's made us thrive. We know that we have survived to see another June. And we are ready to celebrate it, in the face of the hate. There would be no pride with no hate. Looking forward to seeing you on Wednesday for drag BINGO; Saturday for drag brunch; and also visit us on Saturday during Marysville Pride. We have more Pride events this week and month, keep your eyes peeled! And even if it's not a pride related event, we are always inclusive. Oh, and there's a city council meeting next Monday, June 10th at 7PM.

[/text]

Here's some photos of the extremely offensive library display:

They haven't given a call to action yet.

So anyways, that's what's happening in a nearby town. Marysville's pride event is this weekend and if you'd like to show up for local queers its going to be a very fun time.

I'm thinking of grabbing some of my local gays and giving them our patronage, of course. Its somewhat unrealistic to ask strangers on the internet to do take a hike all the way to Ohio for drag bingo.

So I think I would just like to call attention to it- if this is happening in our area, its probably happening in yours too. If you were thinking of attending a drag show but were on the fence about it, I think you should. They're a fun time.

Being involved in the queer community can be as simple as attending a drag show. Or going to a silly queer-focused event. Or supporting a queer-owned business. Every little bit of support for your queer community counts!

[girlactionfigure]

in broad daylight

It's 2024, not 1933. 

Crowds of thousands are chanting for the indiscriminate murder of Jews in major western cities.

why do you continue to gaslight us?

Intifada: indiscriminate suicide bombings, bombings, stabbings, and shootings targeting civilians.

There it is. In plain English. To a crowd of thousands, in front of an exhibit in New York City memorializing the victims of the October 7 massacre. "Long live October 7."

These are not ceasefire marches. They are Jew-hate rallies. Why are you still gaslighting us?

OCTOBER 7 SHOULD HAVE BEEN YOUR WAKE UP CALL

For years, as someone whose politics have always been left, myself and others have been warning of the genocidal antisemitism brewing on the left. Our concerns were minimized, and we were gaslit, both within and outside the Jewish community. Even when people conceded that yes, antisemitism does exist on the left, they insisted that only right-wing antisemitism was actually dangerous. If you’ve been following me for a while, you’ll know how frustrated I always was with this sentiment. I hope they see now that they were wrong. 

Even though I knew something ugly was brewing on the left, even I was shocked not just by the Hamas atrocities committed on October 7, but by the world’s reactions. On October 7 itself, very few people on the left unequivocally stood with the Israeli victims, no ifs, ands, or buts. They talked of “context,” decided that was the appropriate time to criticize the Israeli government, justified, or even went as far as to celebrate the heinous massacre. Now, as more indefensible information came out, they deny it. 

Supposedly progressive organizations, like the Women’s March, #MeToo, and even some chapters of Black Lives Matter either ignored the atrocities or outright supported them. On October 8, before Israel retaliated, enormous crowds in New York City marched in support of the murderers of October 7. As recently as a few weeks ago, influential progressive politicians were gaslighting us about the unabashed antisemitism present at the college encampments. 

If you haven’t noticed that genocidal hatred for Jews has become acceptable, in broad daylight, so long as it’s disguised under the costume of “pro-Palestine activism,” I don’t know if you ever will. Maybe you will after it’s already too late. Every genocidal antisemite in history had an excuse. This is no different. 

WHO IS ACTUALLY RUNNING THESE PROTESTS?

Virtually all “ceasefire,” “pro-Palestine” protests in the United States are organized by groups such as Within Our Lifetime, Students for Justice in Palestine, and Samidoun. 

Samidoun, which has ties to the internationally-recognized terrorist group the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine and has an office in Tehran, is banned as a terrorist organization in Germany. Within Our Lifetime and Students for Justice in Palestine both openly support Hamas, other Islamic Republic proxies, and the October 7 massacre. 

On October 7, various SJP chapters released statements justifying and even celebrating the massacre. National Students for Justice in Palestine released a “toolkit” calling the massacre a “historic win for the Palestinian resistance.” 

SJP’s founder, Hatem Bazian, is also the co-founder of American Muslims for Palestine, an organization formed by former members of the HolyLand Foundation, KindHearts, and Islamic Association of Palestine, all of which were disbanded after its members were convicted of transferring material support to Hamas. 

Meanwhile, Within Our Lifetime is openly supportive of Hamas and other Islamic Republic proxies. WOL promotes “Palestinian resistance by any means necessary.” On October 7, WOL issued a statement, saying, “We must defend the Palestinian right to resist Zionist settler violence and support Palestinian resistance in all its forms. By any means necessary. With no exceptions and no fine print.” Abdullah Akl, a WOL organizer, has a top role at the Muslim American Society, which was founded as the American arm of the Muslim Brotherhood, though MAS denies that they continue to have an affiliation. 

Would you attend a protest hosted by the KKK? By the Nazis? If a hate group organizes a protest, can that protest actually be deemed “peaceful”?

WHAT ARE THE PROTESTORS ACTUALLY SAYING?

In between “ceasefire now” and “free Palestine” calls, the protestors aren’t exactly making their genocidal aims a secret. Among the most popular chants at “pro-Palestine” protests since October 7 are “intifada, intifada,” “there is only one solution, intifada revolution,” and “globalize the intifada.”

The intifadas were Palestinian “uprisings” that indiscriminately and primarily targeted civilians, in a series of suicide bombings, car bombings, shootings, stabbings, and even stoning. When you call for a “global intifada,” you are openly calling for violence against Jews, not just in Israel, but around the globe. The chant couldn’t be any more explicit. 

Even more horrifying, “there is only one solution, intifada revolution,” alludes to the Final Solution. Of note, at the outbreak of the 1948 war, the Palestinian Arab leadership, which had allied with the Nazis during the Holocaust, vowed, “The Arabs have taken the Final Solution to the Jewish problem. The problem will be solved only in blood and fire. The Jews will soon be driven out.”

Another popular chant is “from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free,” which, regardless of Rashida Tlaib’s lies, is not a peaceful call for coexistence. It’s a call for the destruction of the State of Israel, which has nine million citizens, the majority of them Jews. Its Arabic counterpart is “from water to water, Palestine will be Arab,” also heard at the protests, an even more explicit call for genocide and ethnic cleansing. 

Another common chant at pro-Palestine protests is “Khaybar, khaybar ya Yahud, Jaish Muhammad, sa Yahud,” translating to “Jews, remember Khaybar, the army of Muhammad is returning,” which alludes to the surrender to Muhammad, ethnic cleansing, and extermination of the Khaybar Jews in the seventh century. The chant is also explicitly genocidal. 

We’ve spent the last decade discussing microaggressions and dog whistles, and yet, when we hear antisemites call for the murder of Jews in broad daylight, you tell us that’s not what they reallymeant. Why?

MAYBE YOU MEAN WELL

I understand that you don’t want to see Palestinians suffer. No moral person likes to see people suffer. But has it ever occurred to you that terrorist organizations are not moral? That terrorist organizations extort your empathy to further their goals? Just the other day, The Wall Street Journal uncovered secret documents that revealed that the leader of Hamas in the Gaza Strip, Yahya Sinwar, openly said that more Palestinian deaths help Hamas further its political goals. They are extorting you because you care. This is not brand new information. Hamas leaders and leaders of virtually all Palestinian political factions and terrorist organizations have made similar statements in the past. 

(And yes, you could argue that Israel didn’t have to “give them what they wanted” by retaliating. Either way, though, it’s a lose-lose situation for Israel, because no matter what, the message Hamas would be getting is “slaughtering and kidnapping people is a great way for you to get what you want,” such as releasing Palestinian mass murderers from Israeli prisons. Most countries would react to October 7 exactly as Israel did, or worse, but this is a separate discussion from this post). 

If the “globalize the Intifada,” “there is only one solution, Intifada Revolution,” “intifada, intifada,” and “long live October 7” crowds do not represent the core of the free Palestine movement, why are these the voices leading the protests? Where are the condemnations from “pro-Palestine” organizations? From “pro-Palestine” celebrities? Why do they not issue statements making it explicitly clear that these people don’t represent them? When pro-Israel protestors fired fireworks into a “pro-Palestine” crowd at UCLA, Jewish organizations issued loud and clear condemnations. 

If these sentiments didn’t represent the pro-Palestine movement, the movement would be the first to distance themselves from them. Instead, they are either silent, or worse, they openly support them. 

PLEASE SEE WHAT'S HAPPENING BEFORE IT'S TOO LATE

Every antisemitic regime in history has mobilized the masses under the guise of a “righteous cause.” The Catholic Church did it. Hitler did it. Stalin did it. Now the Islamic Republic of Iran and its proxies — Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, Hezbollah, and the Houthis — are doing it too. And you, who has vowed to “punch Nazis,” are falling for it. 

In the nearly eight decades since the Holocaust, just about everyone has wondered: had I been alive during World War II, what would I have done? Would I have I have hid Anne Frank, as Miep Gies did, or would I have been a collaborator? Everyone, except the most rabid of Jew-haters, reaches the same conclusion: of course I would have hid the Frank family. I’m not a monster. 

The problem is that most people have been playing the wrong game, deliberating on a misguided rhetorical exercise. If it’s between the bad guy and the good guy, well, of course everyone will choose to be the good guy. But in truth, it’s notbetween the bad guy — and don’t get me wrong, the Nazis were certainly bad — and the good guy. It’s between the antisemite and the Jew.

When people pontificate over what their behavior would have been during the Holocaust, they tend to do so with one glaring oversight. Antisemitism, this deeply-engrained 2000-year-old hatred, projects whatever any given society hates the most onto the Jewish people. Nowadays, certainly in left-leaning circles, where white colonialism is considered the most egregious sin, we are powerful white oppressors and settler-colonialists. When we play bad guys versus good guys, a whole bunch of people will conclude that the bad guys are…well, the Jews. 

If you can't figure out a way to oppose the war without supporting protests led by groups that back Hamas and Hezbollah, call for a global intifada, protest in front of Holocaust museums and October 7 memorials, and wave banners that proclaim "long live October 7," your problem is not with the war. Your problem is with Jews.

Hope that helps. 

[theroyalthrones]

Behind the Scenes | Vandeleur Headquarters | Monaco, Capri, Orillia

beginning | previous | next

Transcript Under the Cut (It's a bit different than normal, If you want bonus content, check here.)

The air is chilly as she walks her morning commute. The mundanity is predictable yet rewarding as everything falls into place… as they always do.

“Nothing has changed” is the mantra she obsessively repeats in her head. Every hour, every day. “Nothing has Changed.” As if there isn’t an unmistakable void in her. Her confidant, her partner, is gone. All because of misunderstanding she’s calling it.

Like clockwork, her favorite street food truck has her coffee and morning bagel ready for her. They go through the same monotonous small talk, and she walks on and eats.

“It’s not the time,” she thinks as she walks down the street, on her way to work. Her face is plastered all around the city [Use custom billboards, and News stand], she’s found it quite easy to ignore as she walks past a news stand. Filled with her likeness. Not quite the same girl eating and walking.

“Nothing has changed”

she repeats to herself, but everything has. She see’s it clear as day as she rounds the corner to her building. Kai steps out with someone, a girl, to her dismay. Sneaky as ever, she walks paces behind them. She’s curious, but she has no other choice to size up her opponent.

The Girl, tall and beautiful. With hair of ink, so glossy, yet no sign of care. It takes Lorraine hours of prep for her own, yet this girl wears it so simply. At least she’s in Vandeleur, the girl has no dressing skills. That much is apparent, there is only so far you can go with a pretty face, Lorraine thinks.

Lorraine takes her elevator up to the floor she assumes Kai is also heading to, Their offices. On her way into the lobby, she spots Romilly. Romilly watches Kainalu and this girl walk past.

[R]“who’s with Kai?” she asks.

[L]“how would I know.”

[R]“She’s gorgeous, maybe a model?”

[L] He wouldn’t date an employee. She’s not even his type, they could never be dating”

[R] …

[L] (defensive)What? Are you pitying me?

[R] Nothing.

[L] Can you look into her for me? See if there’s any dirt, I don’t like her.

[R] How can you know that already? And I’m not a spy.

[L] (exasperated) Just do it.

She walks away feeling more annoyed then she could have anticipated. Had this mysterious girl really agitated her so much? She tried to pretend she didn’t know the reason why.

On the other side of the building, Kai and Maliah were sitting in his office. Kai sat behind the desk, watching as his unwelcome guest propped her dirty boots onto his glass table. He did not want to imagine where those boots had been.

[M] This place is nice. I expected more though, you’re president, right? No golden statues?

[K] Co-founder

[M] Close enough. Where’s the co-founder to your co-founder?

[K] (angry)If you touch her-

[M] (mockingly) Relax, I’ll do what I have to Kai. You’re the one who’s in control here. Don’t make me have to.

[K] What do you need exactly?

[M] it’s simple, really. I’ll just need your cooperation in handing over a large amount of money, and access to you’re dear old girlfriend.

[K] You’re not having her, that’s off the table.

[M] (coyness) I don’t know what you want me to do.

[K] I want you to stay away.

[M] I will, but I can’t guarantee what others might do.

[K] who else is with you?

[M] it’s just me… for now. The time is ticking.

[K]…

A few hours has passed. The office is quite, people talking amongst themselves. Other’s completing their tasks. Lorraine is standing alone in the sunlight of their tiny office kitchen. She has been brewing her coffee and stirring, listening to the slow moving of the office around her. She loves these moments, the moments that are only possible due to Her and Kai’s hard work.

She walks out of the tiny kitchenette with her new coffee in hand, fully intent on enjoy their remains in the quiet of her office suite. Pouring over newly submitted sketches from the design department. Her plans are quickly dash to the side with the appearance of Kai and his mysterious guest. She braces her shoulders, always up for a battle, she is. She walks up to them, not yet noticed by Kai.

[L] Kai.

[K] (startled) Lorraine… I’m sorry we’ve gott-

[L] (scoffs) Talk to me for longer than 2 seconds without running away, kai-

[L] Your face… Who did this to you.

[K] (mumbles) It’s nothing.

[L] hmmm… You’re leaving early? Rare, you must be that reason. I’m Lorraine.

[M] Mal-

[K] This is Maliah, she’s a friend.

[L] friend. (chuckling) I get it.

[K] (gritted out) We really need to go.

[L] (offended) by all means.

Lorraine watches them walk away, to her it seems intimate, Kainalu’s hand going to the small of Maliah's back. But in reality, Kai heards Maliah out as fast as he can. Putting as much distance between her and Lorraine.

[cemeteryspider]

Just A Little Mysterious

Mysterio!/Quentin Beck x Vigilante!/ Wife! Reader

*Set during the events of Spiderman 2*

Summary: What-if Quentin Beck had a wife during the events of Spider-Man 2, and helped Miles fix the situation

Trigger Warning: Kidnapping, Unconsciousness, Violence, and Emotional Distress

Word Count: 1243 Words

Quentin Beck was rushing to the main Mysterium in the Coney Island Fair. A work of art expertly designed by him and his team.

Although hesitant at first of using the Mysterio name and image to advertise and promote the new form of entertainment, Betsey and Cole told him that they were remaking his image and showing the world that he is not a bad guy, just that he had done bad things in the past. When his lovely wife Y/n got hold of this information she just about burst.

~~~

"God, they can't just force you to be someone you're not anymore. This is ridiculous. You are Quentin Beck not some super-villain. You've done so much to move past that life and to dredge that up for some ad-revenue, it's sickening"

She furiously started typing on her phone presumably to Betsey or Cole or both. Carefully I removed the phone from her frenzied hands and turned it off.

"Sweetheart it's okay. I think it will be good to give a new life to Mysterio. Show the world that people can change. Maybe inspire some others to change along the way"

Quentin wrapped his arms around her gently and started to sway. He could feel her anger drip away with every deep breath she took.

He knew she learned this technique from the same therapist he was court mandated. When she was calm enough she gave him a big squeeze signaling she was ready to talk and that she wasn't going to speak out of anger.

"Sorry, I just know how hard you've worked to separate Mysterio from Quentin. I just don't want to you lose progress over some buisness decision someone forced upon you"

"I know but I understand that Mysterio is an act I will put on to help the world now. Quentin is the man behind the mask who deals with the paperwork and who has a loving wife to come home to"

She smiled up at him with her soft lips. He leaned down to give her a quick peck.

"As long as you always come home to me"

"There is no one else in the world that I rather would"

~~~

He should have listened to her that day. Took himself and his former villain name off the menu. Now he was running to save his wife from what ever mess he had got her into in the first place.

Once Beck arrived at the Mysterium he was swiftly deal with. Told to put handcuffs on and his (now former) business partners would lead him to Y/n.

Only, once he was standing in a maintenance closet, and he turned around to demand to know where his wife was, he was swiftly knocked out with the butt of a gun and his head smacked against the cabinet beside him.

He could only hope his wife was okay wherever she was.

~~~

Inside a stupid snow globe of New York with nothing to do except hope to find a way out. Which for however long Y/n was in there, she couldn't find.

Frustration brewing, she preemptively started her breathing exercises. She wanted to call out to Quentin, but knowing exactly who was behind the mystery now it seemed useless.

Her friend Miles Morales asked for her help with solving the cases with the Mysteriums, which she happily obliged. She knew this would help Quentin and Spider-Man solve the case laid out before them. However, the more they uncovered the more her husband seemed to be the culprit, but she knew him like no one else.

She saw him cry when he came home from work, and get frustrated at the technology as well as his co-founders. Never angry enough to do the things the dev tapes insinuated.

Then she thought back to the day when she lost her cool in front of Beck. He calmed her down and everything was starting to make sense. Then she went to confront the two women, Quentin had once called friends, and she landed here.

In a snow globe.

Just as she was starting to lose hope Miles crashed into the tiny New York City and a fight ensued.

She knew what Miles thought, after all he dismissed her help and told her to stop looking into the case. "Conflict of interest", he stated. But went he saw her in the same predicament as him, he understood he had the situation pegged wrong.

She gave him a little wave and they got to work. He was taking out the Mysterio floating around while she was taking out the green goons on the ground with a baton and her Red Room training.

Once Miles turned Mysterio to green mist, he grabbed her hand and we swung towards the portal. Her hair swung around as they whipped through an upside down New York City.

When they swung through the next portal Quentin Beck was standing there holding his chest and breathing heavily in his Mysterio costume.

"Baby"

Y/n was running towards him and held him up a little. He smiled at her and brushed a strand of hair behind her hear.

"I'm so glad you're okay, Darling" He quietly whispered in her ear.

He did his best to turn to Spider-Man, and said the best advice he could,

"Keep fighting. Keep doubting. It is the only way to defeat him"

After a bright flash of purple both Y/n and Miles were in a Coney Island graveyard facing multiple Mysterios. Together they made quick work of the copies finally facing the 'true' Mysterio. The fight was happening fast and Mysterio held Y/n is a chokehold and threw her into a gravestone.

While worried about her the fight for their lives continued. In one final punch Mysterio disappeared and they were in the main room once again.

The illusion broke for the final time, and Miles finally saw Y/n sprawled out on the ground, unconscious. Quickly, he broke the door down to reveal Cole furiously typing on a computer and Betsey yelling to get the illusion back on.

Miles made quick work webbing them up, and inspecting the bumps coming from the closet door.

"I knew you'd find us"

~~~

As the police took Betsey and Cole away. Quentin took Y/n to a nearby ambulance, which she was trying to resist but eventually gave into.

Miles rested on top on the Mysterium roof. When Y/n was getting checked out Quentin appeared on the roof next to him.

"still have a lot of questions"

"this should clear things up"

"so can I tell everyone Mysterio's a good guy now?"

A small laugh escaped Beck's mouth.

"Mysterio will always be a villain. Just as Spider-Man always be a hero. It's when you start looking at the people behind the masks that things get messy"

They both looked at Y/n who was laughing at Quentin's jokes, and when Miles turned to look at Beck he was gone.

~~~

"Are you truly okay Darling?" Quentin asked as they closed the door to their apartment.

"Yeah I promise I'm doing just fine"

He looked deep into Y/n's eyes and held her close to him. He breathed in the scent of her hair which mingled with sweat and blood.

"I almost lost you"

That's when the tears started to make their way down his face. She held him a little tighter.

"I'm here and I'm not going anywhere"

[ringleaderising]

Can you tell me about the Constantine tab in your lair? I'm assuming Pete is not quite a normal dragon, what about the others? - frgreenmoon

You're completely correct in your assumption that Pete is not a... normal dragon. If we're being wholly accurate, Pete's not been a living thing for quite some time.

And his fellows in the Ever Constantine Mall are not friends, so much as... his most notable cast of victims.

TW: Horror themes, dragon death, 'zombies'/living doll themes.

I Got No Strings...

"...Frontman of metal band 'Half Dagger' found dead in the Ever Constantine Mall mere weeks before its planned grand opening- Ice Flight's authorities are working alongside Lightning's developmental crews to determine if this event is foul play...."

Hungry, resurrected- A new comment, I'm speaking tongues and infected, Atomic. My throat corroded, dissected, I've cut it. Petyr Shacklefrost "Pete" [He/It] [Pre-Reanimation]

Petyr Shacklefrost Better known by simply "Pete" was at one point a promising musician, the lead vocalist of the band Half Dagger and a well known punk in Plague's music scene, Pete spent much of his early life clawing his way from niche obscurity in Plague's music circles to something resembling mainstream success. and at one point, he simply... gave up.

With a loss of will but lingering, cutthroat ambition, he turned to rumor and ghost stories- an interest in the occult had been commonplace within his crew, after all, and among the stories shared over cold, cheap brews in taverns after shows- the tale of a Plague local from some time ago made something of a Goddess- a battle poet, a bard- a Mirror with her bones twisted and reshaped for an escape that still proved entirely futile- who in death offered her blessings to musicians she deemed worthy. But laziness and ambition in tandem do not a smart man make- and a plea to the wrong goddess would seal his fate.

Pete would be given what he sought- his trade made in blood on the grounds between Shadow and Plague where thick purple earth gave way to crawling sinew, he would be given a pendant- and a set of rules by the voice of what he surely thought was the lady of music- a string was a string, after all, Right?

It is unclear what rule Pete broke, or if he simply grew to bore the mistress he accidentally swore himself to- Sixteen cycles after he found the fame he so desperately clamored for- he would be found broken and lifeless in the construction zone of the Ever Constantine Mall.

His death would not be the respite he sought.

WE ARE VOLT-SPIRE ! ! !

Is this what you wanted? A clearer state of mind? Better bite the bullet~! Press down on bruises like wine heals better with time! From Left to Right: Heartb-b-beat (She/Her), RebelRebel [He/they], Ripley [They/She], Arcade [He/Him])

Time moves forward, and despite its rocky start, the Ever Constantine Mall quickly recovers from the troubling events of its grand opening- capitalism keeps Lightning flight at the forefront of invention and innovation, after all! Neon-soaked and a popular hangout with young locals, It's no surprise that it would draw in young creatives, over time- and our plucky young heroes for this story are the teenaged members of 'VOLT-SPIRE!' a pop punk outfit made up of drummer Ripley, lead guitar and backing vocalist Arcade, bassist and lead vocalist HeartBeat, and 'generally here because he's the only one who knows how to do sound tech and how to play the keys' RebelRebel, VOLT-SPIRE! is a project of plucky hope and lofty ambition, naivety turned into wild upward momentum, this little group of friends are the eponymous mall rats- though these days, its unclear if they still go because they like being at the Ever Constantine, or if they're simply guilty about the fate of their former rhythm guitarist, and co-founder of the band, Ducky.

The VOLT-SPIRE! kids are little more than a group of kids trying to enjoy the fleeting remainder of their childhood before they're expected to spread their wings and find a place of their own- friendships strained by strange happenings at their favorite hangout in the twilight hours of their time together, they cling to the good memories desperately.

Unbeknownst to the four of them, though, the Ever Constantine now exists contained in a time-loop, cycling back on itself to allow for the pursuit and containment of INTRUDER- a member of The Host who was created in the initial cataclysm- but the mangled reflection that caused the disappearance of their friend Ducky is not the only thing that lurks among the neon lit halls.

Now: Survive.

Aren't you lucky you're a bleeder?- Do what you need to stay alive. Bast Whipwire [He/Him], Pete [Post reanimation]

A deal made to the Puppeteer is one that the living never hope to escape- Pete had hoped death might be the freedom he sought, cut free of her strings, no longer bound to the will of something he never hoped to understand- no longer a puppet tied to her twisted rules- a new one each day to keep his newfound fame- her mocking laughter each time he nearly broke one.

He is now little more than an echo of what once was. The shambling, wire-bound remains of a once wild-eyed, passionate performer, the "Pete" of today is little more than a hollow doll guided by hunger. it crawls within him, leaves him desperate and moving surprisingly quickly through darkened hallways cast only in pale neons with jerky, unearthly movements as if guided by marionette strings affixed to each point of his body. He does not speak, the once-confident and capable way he carried conversation swallowed up with wild, hyena-like laughter and spilling, streaking puddles of black gore from his maw and injuries in his battle jacket clad pelt, hot like a flame and evaporating as they drip- smoky hands forming to pull invisible strings around his body.

And in the pursuit of the INTRUDER- Agent Bast finds himself the caregiver of the teens now trapped after hours in their practice space, the very music store where Shacklefrost made his final gamble- and lost. Pete is not a symptom of what Bast seeks, nor is it an entity he can cure, but he is a stopping block, and the more prevalent danger to the innocents within the cycle.

And thus, the INTRUDER will have to wait.

@frgreenmoon (bc you sent this on anon like, literal months ago lol)

[krispyweiss]

Moby Grape Co-founder and Guitarist Jerry Miller Dies at 81

Moby Grape co-founder, guitarist and songwriter Jerry Miller has died at 81.

Miller died July 20 at his home in Washington state, according to media reports. No cause was given.

“He will be missed,” said a post on Country Joe & the Fish’s Facebook page.

Moby Grape released four influential albums during its initial 1966-’69 run and reunited occasionally over the ensuing decades. The first album, in particular, was “no joke, one strong track after another,” Tom Constanten said.

“I have only the most wonderful memories of Jerry Miller, both as a person and as a musician,” the former Grateful Dead keyboardist said. “He was thoughtful and supportive, onstage and off. It was not just the way he played, he was just as good as a listener.”

Miller went on to session work and became a local legend in Washington where he played regular, outdoor gigs with his eponymous Trio at Acorn Brewing during the pandemic.

“Honestly, the crowd they drew here got us through the worst of it, and we will forever be grateful,” the venue said of “one of the greatest guitarists of all time.”

Miller contributed to Bill Cutler’s 2008 album Crossing the Line, years after inspiring the musician with such Grape compositions as “8:05.”

“He was one of the greatest lead guitarists in rock,” Cutler said. “Jerry had a unique style and rich tone that was unforgettable, and he wrote some classic songs. … I will miss him for the rest of my days.“

7/22/24

[jeksburyofficial]

How Your Garden Grows - Chapter eight update

(Rating: Explicit, heed the tags)

Excerpt:

" “...ah.”

That was all Henry had to say as he stood in his office, staring down at the coffee table by the couch, or more accurately, what was sitting atop it. A collection of small glass vials and containers, some filled with liquid, others pills, each with a very similar purpose. A rough ‘ahem’ drew his attention to his co-founder, who was standing with his hands on his hips, face pulled into a disapproving scowl. Sighing deeply, he readied himself for the familiar argument about to play out.

“Robert-”

“No,” The other was quick to cut him off, pointing accusingly at him. “No, no, don't Robert me, you know you're in the wrong! You promised you weren't going to skip your heat this month.” The word made Henry scrunch his nose with distaste. Heats were inconvenient, and messy, and overall rather anxiety-inducing for him. His scent was so much stronger during his heat, his mind hazy with need, leaving him vulnerable and exposed. They also took up far too much time, time that could have been spent working, hence why he'd gotten into the habit of brewing himself heat blockers, right after figuring out scent blockers. The medicines he'd created had preserved his reputation, wrapping his true nature in secrecy no matter how good someone's nose was. Unfortunately, they also had some rather nasty side effects; headaches, loss of appetite, and worsening his transformation into Hyde and back again. But it was worth it, it was so, so worth it, and yet-

“You're going to hurt yourself if you keep doing this!”

And yet his closest friends cared too much about his physical wellbeing to leave him be."

[nwbeerguide]

Maui Brewing Company raises $1.5 million for Maui wildfire relief via their Kōkua Project.

image courtesy Maui Brewing Company Press Release Kihei, Hawaii … In response to the wildfire tragedies across the island of Maui, Maui Brewing Company spearheaded the Kōkua Project, a collaborative beer effort inspired by Sierra Nevada’s Resilience project of 2018 to raise money for those in need. Translated as “extending help to others” in the Hawaiian language, the Kōkua Project was touted as “one beer, brewed by many, to support the people of Maui”. Over 700 breweries across the United States and internationally participated in the project which began in late August to raise funds for the people of Maui. While Maui Brewing Company coordinated the efforts and provided the recipe for their suggested brew, brewing material partners jumped in with support by donating the yeast, hops, malts, and more to breweries that reached out for supplies. Ongoing email marketing kept brewing participants up-to-date on recipes, participating vendors, foundation information, events, marketing assets and logos, tap handles, and merchandising kits “From New Zealand to Japan and every US state in between, the brewing community has come together in a powerful and humbling way to support the people of Maui,” said Maui Brewing Company Founder and CEO, Garrett Marrero. “As one beer, brewed by many, Kōkua supports our Maui ‘Ohana who have been affected by the tragic wildfires. We are grateful to every brewery who has participated this year.” Maui Brewing partnered with Global Empowerment Mission to facilitate the fiscal responsibilities for the Maui Brewing Company Fire Fund. While participating breweries were encouraged to send their donations to GEM, some breweries opted to donate to Hawaii Community Foundation, Makai Foundation, or other legitimate non-profit organizations including Legacy of Aloha. Legacy of Aloha benefits Maui Brewing and TS Restaurants teammates that have been displaced and lost their belongings and livelihoods. The two restaurant groups partnered for the largest impact. Across these collaborative efforts, the beer community has raised $3M for Maui’s relief efforts with $1.5M pledged through the Kōkua Project. President and CEO of Maui Brewing Co. Restaurants, Chris Thibaut sent the update, "We're stoked to share that we've hit the $1.77M mark through the Legacy of Aloha program! The amount of support and aloha our community has shown these past few months has been truly amazing. Huge Mahalo for making a real difference in the lives of our Maui 'Ohana!" The financials provided by Legacy of Aloha did not only include brewery contributions from the Kōkua Project. The Maui Brewing Company team led by Garrett Marrero have been providing ongoing support to Maui, also facilitating supply missions, collecting vital items for the survivors, and delivering emergency drinking water to communities affected by the wildfires. As a result earlier this month, the brewing trade publication Brewbound announced their Best of 2023 Award Winners. Marrero was presented with the Person of the Year Award for “exemplifying the spirit of the craft brewing industry”. Beer lovers and those looking to support Maui’s relief efforts can donate directly to the Maui Brewing Company Fire Fund online HERE. For more information, visit MauiBrewing.com or follow @MauiBrewingCo on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. ### About Maui Brewing Company Founded in 2005, Maui Brewing Company is Hawaii’s largest craft brewery. MBC is based on Maui, with its grid-independent production brewery, restaurant and tasting room in Kihei, as well as restaurants in Kahana (Maui), Ka'anapali (Maui), Kailua (Oahu), and Waikiki (Oahu). Maui Brewing Company is available in 26 states, 1 district, and 3 international countries with more areas to follow. … from Northwest Beer Guide - News - The Northwest Beer Guide https://bit.ly/4aFdA4p

[toastedwrittenthoughts]

First of all; Damn.

Man... Looking at the titles to these episodes has my head whirling with ideas of where this show is gonna go...

After reading these I decided to make projections for the future and see if I am close or not.

Episode 6.... Sloppy Seconds Ain't My Style..

All I can hear is Johnny from Grease saying this ass a dig to Rizzo so I would want to put money on Richie taking a jab at Jane for not choosing him first, but I think that boy is too far gone for her to really dig in.

The second thought and one I'm REALLY hoping for is the potential Olivia x Gil relationship that's brewing.. He's gotten glimpes of Olivia and Mr. Daniels and when/if an opportunity to talk to Olivia, about this budding romance between them, he will be the one to pull away and say that he isn't the kind of guy who wants to be second choice to a teacher or something.

HOWEVER!!

Richie has yet to have a solo song! And since this perfect boy has just gotten his heart crushed a bit, he's well due for one... Just hope that it's a great deal better than Sandy. I am not hoping for sad and mopey. I'm almost expecting anger, bitterness that ends on a sad note.

Anger because of how he caught HIS girl with Buddy, bitter that HIS girl didn't want to wear his jacket, and I can't unsee him feeling that gutteral heartbreak at the thought that he LOST HIS GIRL, BEFORE SHE EVEN WAS HIS GIRL.

Do you know what I mean?

Cruisin' for a Bruisin'

Buckle up if ya can folk, I get a feeling we're gonna see a race or two but with a catch! Now if the creators of the show keep with the theme, Richie and Gil are our Zuko and Kenickie.

Now if I recall correctly, Danny races in Kenickie's place since he takes an injury to the head; but our boys Richie and Gil share the car but Gil hasn't really had a chance to shine as the Co-founder of the Tbirds. This I think is where he shines. I have a feeling that the Birds/Socs/jocks will get into an argument that ends with them racing, slips or bragging rights, don't matter.

What matters is that Olivia is going to be the flag girl. She is the one with neck ties that could work and honestly I would live for it. Gil sees here getting between the cars, share a look and the race is on. I'd want Gil to win just so that when he does get out of the car and everyone rushes around him to congratulate him, he sees Olivia and amongst the adrenaline, kisses her. Richie gets all protective like the good brother he is...

Though I would like to say that I think Gil would respect both Olivia and Richie enough to say that the way he acts with Olivia isn't because she's almost like forbidden fruit. Best friends sister and all that..

I would almost want Gil and Richie to sit down and for Gil to explain to Richie that he's cared about Olivia for a while, to which Richie would agree and that he's noticed...

I'd almost want a confession out of Gil in that moment where he tells Richie that he'd want Olivia to be his girl.

Or At The High School Dance.

Just classic getting ready for the dance and another time for our lovely lady Nancy to mak some AWESOME outfits for our lovely ladies and maybe get a special date all her own.

Cynthia I hope would rock a funky suit and perhaps I even be seen dancing with Lydia?

Anyway, that's all for now.

I look forward to the upcoming episodes.

If you have any predictions, let me know!

[bourbonandoak]

Copperworks Distilling Co. has released three new whiskeys, the company announced today

Copperworks American Single Malt Whiskey Single Cask No. 22-2 7 Year Five Malt Recipe Single Cask No. 22-2 was brewed and distilled from Copperworks’ Five Malt recipe —a recipe developed by the distillery’s founders using their extensive brewing backgrounds. The Five Malt recipe, a cornerstone at Copperworks since its inception, blends pale malt with four caramelized malts for a rich, complex…

[solarpunkbusiness]

 Our “snapshots” are brief, structured case studies that give a taste of the many diverse ways that startups have been trying to grow into community ownership and governance, albeit with mixed results.

The snapshots range from my Colorado neighbors Namaste Solar and Trident bookstore, which converted to employee ownership, to major open-source software projects like Debian and Python, which are mini-democracies accountable to their developers. There is NIO, a Chinese electric car company whose founder set aside a chunk of stock for car-buyers, and Defector Media, a co-op founded by employees who quit their previous job in protest. There are also blockchain-based efforts, like Gitcoin and SongADAO, that have tried to make good on a new technology’s often-betrayed promises for making a more inclusive economy.

I have taken two main lessons from these snapshots so far.

1. There is widespread craving for a better kind of exit—and the creativity to back it up. Entrepreneurs, investors, users, and workers alike are all recognizing the need for a new approach, and they are trying lots of different ways to get it. They are relying on old technology and the latest innovations. They are using many different legal structures and techniques for empowering communities. The resourcefulness is pretty astonishing, really.

2. Better exits need to be easier—and this will require structural change. In just about every case, E2C attempts have faced profound challenges. They are often working at the very edge of what the law allows, because many of our laws were written to serve profit-seeking investors, not communities. Much of what communities wanted was simply not possible. Truly changing the landscape of exits will mean policy change that takes communities seriously as sources of innovation and accountability.

I want to stress this second point. It first became clear to me when working with collaborators at Zebras Unite on the idea of turning Meetup into a user-owned cooperative. The founder wanted it. The business model made perfect sense—a rare platform whose users actually pay for it. The company was up for a fire sale. But we simply could not find investors or lenders prepared to back a deal like that. This is a problem I have seen with many other co-op efforts, over and over. Policy is the most powerful shaping force for where capital can aggregate, and there is no adequate policy to support capital for large-scale community ownership. This is also the reason we have lost many community-owned companies in recent years, from New Belgium Brewing to Mountain Equipment Co-op—the most successful community-owned companies too often can’t access the capital they need to flourish.

[infantisimo]

In the 1950s and ’60s, women baked cakes in the abandoned ammunition boxes left behind by British troops in the villages of Nagaland, a state in northeast India. The Naga writer Easterine Kire recalls how wives of Christian missionaries taught English and cake-baking to young girls, including her mother. While they didn’t really pick up the language, the tradition of baking cakes was passed down “from mother to daughter and from daughter to granddaughter.” It was the men who thought to repurpose the boxes — they were airtight, preserved heat well and fit perfectly over the wood fire. Since they had no temperature controls, the baker had to sit by the fire, constantly stoking it and eventually reducing it to embers. The timing had to be perfect: A minute too soon or too late could alter the fate of the cake. The boxes eventually ended up becoming part of a family’s heirloom until electric ovens became commonplace.

In the opposite corner of India, in Kerala in the deep south, several bakeries trace their history to the Mambally Royal Biscuit Factory in Thalassery, established in the late 19th century. Its founder, Mambally Bapu, is said to have baked India’s first Christmas cake. Bapu had trained as a baker in Burma (now Myanmar) to make cookies, bread and buns. When he set up shop in 1880, he made 140 varieties of biscuits. Three years later, the Scotsman Murdoch Brown, an East India Company spice planter, shared a sample of an imported Christmas plum pudding. Wanting to re-create this traditional recipe but unable to source French brandy, Bapu improvised with a local brew made from fermented cashew apples and bananas. He added some cocoa and — voila — the Indian Christmas cake was born.

The beauty of the Indian Christmas cake lies in its local variations. The Allahabadi version from north India features petha (candied ash gourd or white pumpkin) and ghee instead of butter, along with a generous helping of orange marmalade. Maharashtrians, in west India, add chironji, also known as cuddapah almonds. The black cake in Goa derives its color from a dark caramel sauce. In the south, in Kerala and Tamil Nadu, cashew nuts are added to the mix. The Indian version is “a close cousin” of British plum pudding, but it has no lard and is not steamed. “Indian Christians add a generous dose of hot spices such as nutmeg, cinnamon, cloves and shahi zeera (royal cumin seeds), roasted dry and then ground and added, also referred to as ‘cake masala,’” writes Jaya Bhattacharji Rose, an Indian publishing consultant, in “Indian Christmas,” an anthology of personal essays, poems, hymns and recipes.

“Our Christmas cakes reflect how India celebrates Christmas: with its own regional flair, its own flavor. Some elements are the same almost everywhere; others differ widely. What binds them together is that they are all, in their way, a celebration of the most exuberant festival in the Christian calendar,” writes Madhulika Liddle, co-editor of the anthology. Reading the book feels like a celebration in itself and makes one realize that Christians in India are as diverse as India, with Syrian Christians, Catholics, Baptists, Anglicans, Methodists, Lutherans and others. Though Christians make up just 2% of India’s population, this equates to some 28 million people.

Christianity came to India in waves. It is believed that Thomas the Apostle arrived in present-day Kerala in 52 BCE and built the first church. Syrian Christians believe he died in what is now Chennai in Tamil Nadu. San Thome Basilica stands where some of his remains were buried. Toward the end of the 15th century, the Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama landed on Indian shores, followed by others, paving the way for Portuguese colonies in the region. Christian missionaries, who set up Western educational institutes, spread the religion further. The trend continued under the British Empire.

What is unique about India is the “indigenization of Christmas,” notes Liddle. It can be seen in the regional dishes prepared for Christmas feasts and celebrations. Duck curry with appams (rice pancakes) is popular in Kerala, while Nagaland prefers pork curries, rich with chilies and bamboo shoots. In Goa, dishes with Portuguese origins, such as sausage pulao, sorpotel and xacuti, adorn the tables. Biryanis, curries and shami kababs are devoured across north India.

The same regional diversity can be seen in Christmas snacks. “East Indians,” a Christian community in Mumbai described as such for their close ties to the East India Company, fill their plates with milk creams, mawa-filled karanjis (pastry puffs filled with dried whole milk), walnut fudge, guava cheese and kulkuls (sweet fried dough curls). In Goa, a platter of confectioneries called kuswar is served, including kormolas, gons, doce and bolinhas, made with ingredients ranging from coconut to Bengal gram, a yellow lentil. In Kerala, rose cookies are popular. Common across north Indian Christian households are shakkarpara, a sweet fried dough, covered in syrup; namakpara, a savory fried dough studded with cumin seeds; gujiyas, crisp pastries with a sweetened mix of semolina, raisins and nuts; and baajre ki tikiyas, thin patties made from pearl millet flour sweetened with jaggery, an unrefined sugar.

Liddle, who used to spend the festival at her ancestral home in the north Indian town of Saharanpur, also tells us about a lesser-known variation of the Christmas cake: cake ki roti. (In Hindi, “roti” means “flatbread.”) Like most communities in India, many Christian families in north India buy the ingredients for the Christmas cake themselves and take them to a baker who will prepare it. Bakers used to make the Christmas cake by the quintal (220 pounds) or more, and cake ki roti was a byproduct of that large-scale baking. The leftover Christmas cake batter was “not enough for an entire tin, not so little that it can be thrown away,” Liddle explained. So the baker would add flour and make a dough out of it. “It would be shaped into a large, flat disc and baked till it was golden and biscuity,” she said. The resulting cake ki roti may have “stray bits of orange peel or candied fruit, a tiny piece of nut here or there, a faint whiff of the spices … It was not even the ghost of the cake. A mere memory, a hint of Christmas cake.” Since cake ki roti was considered “too pedestrian,” it wasn’t served to the guests. Instead, it would be reserved until the New Year and eaten only after all the other snacks were gone.

Jerry Pinto, co-editor and contributor to “Indian Christmas,” recalled his childhood Christmases in Mumbai. There may not have been much snow in this tropical city, but wintry scenes of London and New York adorned festive cards and storybooks, and children would decorate the casuarina tree with cotton balls, assuming it to be pine. The mood would be set with an old Jim Reeves album featuring “White Christmas.” “Where do old songs from the U.S. go to die? They go to Goan Roman Catholic homes and parties,” quipped Pinto. Raisins would be soaked in rum in October, and cakes baked at an Iranian bakery. Every year, there was a debate about whether marzipan should be made with or without almond skins. The “good stuff” meant milk creams and cake slices with luscious raisins, while rose cookies and the neoris (sweet dumplings made of maida or flour and stuffed with coconut, sugar, poppy seeds, cardamom and almonds) were just plate-fillers.

The feasting is accompanied by midnight mass, communal decorations and choral music, with carols sung in Punjabi, Tamil, Hindi, Munda, Khariya, Mizo tawng, as well as English. “One of our favorite carols was a Punjabi one, which we always sang with great gusto: ‘Ajj apna roop vataake / Aaya Eesa yaar saade paas’ [‘Today, having changed His form / Jesus comes to us, friend’],” Liddle remembered.

Starting as early as October, it would not be unusual to hear Christmas classics by Boney M., ABBA and Reeves in Nagaland’s Khyoubu village. “The post-harvest life of the villagers is usually a restful period, mostly spent in a recreational mood until the next cycle of agricultural activities begins in the new year,” wrote Veio Pou, who grew up in Nagaland.

“Christmas is a time when invitations are not needed. Friends can land … at each other’s homes any time on Christmas Eve to celebrate. … The nightly silence is broken, and the air rings with Christmas carols and soul, jazz and rock music. Nearly every fourth person in Shillong plays the guitar, so there’s always music, and since nearly everyone sings, it’s also a time to sing along, laugh and be merry,” wrote Patricia Mukhim, editor of Shillong Times, a local newspaper in the northeastern state of Meghalaya.

Neighborhoods in areas with Christian populations, like Goa and Kerala, are lit up weeks in advance with fairy lights, paper lanterns and Christmas stars. In Mizoram’s capital of Aizawl, local authorities hold a competition every Christmas for the best-decorated neighborhood, with a generous prize of 500,000 rupees ($6,000) awarded to the winner. This event is gradually becoming a tourist attraction.

Rural India has its own norms and traditions. In the villages of the Chhota Nagpur region, mango leaves, marigolds and paper streamers decorate homes, and locally available sal or mango trees are decorated instead of the traditional evergreen conifer. The editor Elizabeth Kuruvilla recalled that her mother had stars made of bamboo at her childhood home in Edathua, a village in Kerala’s Alappuzha district. The renowned Goan writer Damodar Mauzo, who grew up in a Hindu household, said his family participates in many aspects of the Christmas celebrations in the village, including hanging a star in the “balcao” (“balcony”), making a crib and attending midnight mass.

In the Anglo-Indian enclave of Bow Barracks in Kolkata, Santa Claus comes to the Christmas street party in a rickshaw — the common form of public transport in South Asia. “Kolkata’s Bengali and non-Bengali revelers now throng the street, lined by two rows of red-brick terrace apartment buildings, to witness the music and dance and to buy the home-brewed sweet wine and Christmas cake that some of the Anglo-Indian families residing there make,” wrote the journalist Nazes Afroz. Bow Barracks was built to house the Allied forces stationed in Kolkata during World War I, after which they were rented out to the city’s Christian families.

Kolkata also is home to a tiny community of about 100 Armenian Christians, who celebrate Christmas on Jan. 6, in line with the Armenian Apostolic Church. Many break their weeklong fast at the Christmas Eve dinner, known as “Khetum.” The celebration begins with an afternoon mass on Christmas Eve followed by a home blessing ceremony to protect people from misfortune, held at the Armenian College and Philanthropic Society, an important institution for the community. The Khetum arranged for the staff members and students includes a customary pilaf with raisins and fish and anoush abour, an Armenian Christmas pudding made with wheat, berries and dried apricots, among other dishes. The Christmas lunch also includes traditional Armenian dishes such as dolma (ground meat and spices stuffed into grape leaves) and harissa, a porridge-like stew made with chicken, served with a garnish of butter and sprinkled ground cumin.

“Missionaries to Indian shores, whether St. Thomas or later evangelists from Portugal, France, Britain or wherever, brought us the religion; we adopted the faith but reserved for ourselves the right to decide how we’d celebrate its festivals,” Liddle wrote. “We translated the Bible into our languages. We translated their hymns and composed many of our own. We built churches which we at times decorated in our own much-loved ways.”

[dwaintypetal]

⭑ WELCOME TO THE TEAHOUSE BY THE SEA.

ᡣ𐭩 YING. SHE/HER. 8TEEN. WRIO'S GF. HAITHAM'S ANGEL. XIAO'S BAOBEI.

― you want to befriend the sea nymph? yes, she's accepting mutuals.

⌗ miss ying's teahouse brews sfw teas & slightly spicier cocktails. minors are warned to view at their own risk – everything is properly labelled. MINORS TO BLOCK THE TAG [ # ― ying's dreams ]

╰ would you like to know more about the nymph?

about me. rules. selfships. inbox ( open ). requests ( closed ).

╰ take a look at our menu?

masterlist. personal recs. tag index.

╰ oh, who is this teahouse affiliated with?

mutuals ( one ) ( two ) ( three ). @astronetwrk ( admin & co-founder ) @hearthenhome ( co-founder ) @celestiamail ( mod ) & teyvat's valley.

⟢ SIREN'S SONG PLAYING : PROLOGUE ノ ICHIKO AOBA

a note from the nymph : ❝ you're ready? i'm here to take your orders, love. ❞

the most recently brewed.

to be loved from the start body & soul

― ah? you'd like to be on the teahouse regulars list [ taglist ] ? do send miss ying an ask regarding that. ‹𝟹

a note from the nymph : ❝ oh dear ... please be careful with my teacups! ❞ ִ

previously: i23kazu ノ yinyinggie. ― affiliated with & @astronetwrk ノ @celestiamail

𖤐 2024 @xianyoon do not plagiarise, translate, or feed any of my works to ai.

[satoshi-mochida]

Tea witch simulator Loose Leaf announced for PC

Gematsu Source

Boyfriend Dungeon developer Kitfox Games has announced Loose Leaf, an occult sandbox game about brewing tea and reading tarot cards coming to PC via Steam. A release date was not announced.

“My mother read tarot for friends when I was a kid, and she would only take silver for payment, joking she was a witch,” said Kitfox Games creative director and co-founder Tanya Fox in a press release. “Then I started reading tarot myself as an adult, for fun. When some of the Kitfox artists told me they wanted to make a game about tea-brewing, and we started talking about witches, I knew we could follow our hearts and make something really unique and true to ourselves.”

Here is an overview of the game, via its Steam page:

About

Different teas need different times to be perfectly steeped, or else they’ll become bitter. Making a cup of chamomile tea may be easy, but can you perfectly serve a cup of matcha? What even goes in a Lady Grey Latte? What are the flavor profiles of blood? What pairs well with eye of newt?

Befriend or Counsel Your Regulars

Customers can open up to you, asking for guidance in their next course of action. Read their cards, but more importantly, listen and help them find what they need, here in this safe pocket of a dark world. Telling someone what they want to hear is not always the best choice in the long run.

A Growing Collection

Follow the clues to learn more about your ingredients and mysterious tools left by the previous tea master, and fill in your journal. By brewing more recipes and reading the cards, you’ll be better-able to fulfill requests and figure out what kind of witch you really are… a helpful healer? A mischievous warlock? An ominous doomsayer? Something else entirely?

Key Features

Fully 3D environment and fluid simulation for immersive tea brewing.

Satisfying physical interactions with ingredients and equipment.

Open-ended experimentation-based gameplay; combine ingredients and try to create your own perfect tea.

Read from the Deck of Fortune to get to know your troubled guests and alleviate their suffering, interpreting the cards and giving advice.

Fully original witchy soundtrack by the composer Leaf.

Learn the ways of the tea witch.

Watch the announcement trailer and a developer video below. View the first screenshots at the gallery.

Announce Trailer

Developer Video

[karihigada]

just as sweet

for CubScar Week on Tumblr @cubscarweek

day 6 - cookies

Read on AO3

a sweet breakfast and a little mischievousness

Having Cub move in with him had been a delight. It was just like old times, the two of them together. Helping each other out, or teaming up to terrorize their friends. Just like old times. Cub was ever the rapscallion as he'd always been, and Scar himself wasn't spared from it.

First siphoning off from Scar's smelter. Then when he got caught, filling all systems with magenta terracotta. Scar loved it, it kept him on his toes.

But his favorite were the shared meals, especially breakfast. Being able to spend more time with Cub was wonderful. Starting the day together before going off to their respective projects. His theme park, and the monstrosity Cub was building out in the desert. Scar couldn't wait. 

And breakfast was a constant wonderful game in its own right. Scar, the head elf and chef of the cookie empire. Cub, co-founder and advocate for GigaPies. The eternal (new-found) rivalry of who had the superior sweet delight.

(Excluding cake, of course.)

Every day the table between them was stacked with glorious foods. Not just cookies and pies, but also cut fruit, honeyed bread, jam, and yogurts. A feast every day. 

And every day they tried to convince the other to give in to their sweet temptations. 

In-between talking about projects or plans, banter was filled with playful words and silly little teases. Needling each other up over everything and nothing at all, before lapsing into comfortable silence and enjoying each other’s company.

Cub was leaning his chin on one hand, a satisfied half smile on his lips. He was watching Scar eat, Scar exaggeratedly savoring every bite. It was all part of the game. Scar knew Cub well enough that some devious plan must be brewing in that pretty head of his.

And sure enough, after a moment Cub slowly and purposefully moved his free hand to take a cookie off Scars plate and inspect it closely from all angles.

Scar watched him with curiosity, he knew their pretend feud wouldn't end so easily. They were both not the kind to give in without a fight.

"They do look good, gotta admit, gotta admit." Cub met Scar's eyes. "Compliments to the chef. What'd you call these, an Elven Kiss? Well," his smile grew sharper, more mischievous. He held the cookie out to Scar. "There might be one way to convince me to try one of these."

Scar matched Cub’s grin in kind, his eyes gleaming. This was not a challenge he would back down from. But he didn't take the cookie, oh no, two could play this game. Instead he deliberately leaned over the table.

Scar opened his mouth to eat the cookie out of Cubs hand, keeping eye contact, licking some frosting off Cubs fingers. Cub's eyes were intense and focused on Scar’s every move.

Scar braced one hand on the table to lean over Cub and kiss him. Cub gave a deep appreciating hum, clearly savoring it, licking into Scar's mouth to chase the taste.

"Mhmh, yes, very sweet." Cub said as Scar leaned back after what felt like an eternity and yet not long enough. "But I think I'll stick with pies." The look on his face was full of mirth and mischievousness.

Scar chuckled, something pleasant spreading in his gut at the taste of his favourite treat. This wasn't over yet. 

Looking Cub in the eyes he licked his lips. "In that case, maybe I should try it as well?"

"Sure, man. I can't speak for the skills of the cook, but it is the superior food around here."

With bated breath Scar watched him raise his fork and pick up a small slice of pie.

But instead of bringing it to his own lips to then let Scar have a sweet taste, like Scar had hoped, Cub held the pie out in front of him with a self-satisfied grin on his lips. Clearly he believed he had won the little game they were playing. "I knew you would come around."

"Oh, you trickster." 

Cub laughed and Scar wouldn't want it any other way.